Allison Claire Hartsell was born at 10:07 am on January 17, 2014. She
was 39 weeks and weighed 8 lbs 7 oz & measured 20 1/2 inches. I have no idea how I grow such big babies. I only gained 30 lbs this pregnancy.
My water broke at 9 am at work on Thursday, January 16th. I went home after that but labor did not start until about 8 pm. We went into the hospital around 10 pm when my contractions were getting close. But just like Madelyn it was a slow labor. I was having contractions close together but it still took a long time to dilate. Since I was trying to have a VBAC, I had to be constantly monitored which meant I had to labor in the hospital bed which was not fun so I opted for an epidural. Around 7 am it was discovered that I had a fever
which indicated a possible infection.
At that point they told me Allison would have to treated for Chorio, be in the NICU for 7 days, and I wouldn't be able to see her until I was fever free for 24 hours. I was heart broken. Allison was then delivered by a c-section. The NICU doctor said she looked great would would probably be out within in 48 hours. YEA! It was so hard to see her go but Brian stuck by her side. She was downgraded to the other side of the NICU around 6 pm that night. I contacted lactation to see what they recommended. The NICU nurse from the Operating Room said they wouldn't feed her anything but IV fluids for the first 24 hours until I could breastfeed. But lactation suggested pumping and syringe feeding. We then found out that only bottle feeding is allowed in the NICU. This broke my heart because I didn't want her to become attached to bottles since they can cause a lazy latch and mess up initial breastfeeding. The nice NICU doctor from the Operating Room and lactation came up with a plan to cup feed when both lactation and Brian were able to be there. They fed her at 8 pm, 12 am and 8 am on Saturday. Brian slept the night in the NICU which apparently is against the rules but the night nurses were great especially since they knew I couldn't come in. He said Allison was fussy around 4 am wanting more food but they survived.
I was able to go see her and feed her at 10 am on Saturday. This was my first time out of bed which was difficult so they took me in the wheel chair. I was so happy to be able to see her and feed her after being so alone for the last 24 hours. They made a deal with me that we'd check Allison's blood glucose level every time before feeding and would decrease the IV fluids by 2 mL/hr every time the blood glucose was over 50. I spent about 2 1/2 hours in there until I was exhausted and needed to eat lunch. I was happy to leave knowing she was down to 4 mL per hour of IV fluid. Only 2 more good feedings left.
After lunch, I walked back to the NICU to spend some more time with her. This time Madelyn and Beth showed up. It was so much fun seeing Madelyn's reaction through the window of her little sister. Madelyn didn't stay long though. She always asked to leave the hospital quickly even when she was having a good time. She left to go to Chipotle for dinner with Grandma and Grandpa Hartsell. She had great time with them.
After dinner when I walked back to the NICU, I learned that if her glucose levels remained good she could be taken off the IV and there was a possibility that after her last antibiotic, she could be released to our room by midnight since the preliminary results showed no infection!! I couldn't believe it. I stayed in the NICU from 8 pm until she was released to our room. It was amazing. I was so happy to have her in my room and close to me and couldn't believe after first hearing 7 days, just 36 hours later, she was all mine.
On Sunday, we learned that my doctor said I was good to be released but doubted if the baby would be released so we had to wait to see the pediatrician. Brian picked up Madelyn and took her shopping for a gift for Allison. Around 11:30 am, Madelyn finally got to meet Allison in person and exchange gifts. Madelyn was so excited and loved seeing Allison's belly button and touching her hair. Just as Madelyn was leaving, the pediatrician came in and it was OUR pediatrician. What a wonderful surprise. She checked Allison out, said she looked great and asked if we wanted to go home that day and we did!!
There were lots of discharges that day so we ate dinner at the hospital and left around 6:30 pm. Madelyn stayed the night at Beth and Joe's so we could have an easier night. We were both exhausted and went to sleep as soon as we could.
Thanks for Beth and Joe for taking care of Madelyn Thursday through Monday. A special thanks to Brian who found out Monday that he has bronchitis and pneumonia but was a trooper taking care of Allison and me throughout the whole hospital stay.
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| Meeting Mommy |
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| Family Photo |
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| She looked like a sumo wrestler! |
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| First Feeding |
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| Starting her early on "shots" |
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| I am so overcome with emotions holding her for the first time. |
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| Snuggling with mom in our room |
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| Madelyn so excited to bring her gift |
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| She was fascinated by her belly button and clamp. |
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| Touching her hair |
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| So excited |
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| Madelyn with her photo of her sister Allison which she's carried all day long |
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| Allison's gift for Madelyn |
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| Loving her pillow pet from Allison |
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| Madelyn wanted to put Allison's hat back on |
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| Madelyn got Allison a sleep giraffe like Madelyn's sleep sheep which she still loves |
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| Kisses for Allison |
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| So happy and in love!! |
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| Going home!! |
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| Time to leave! |
