Victor's birth story
July 21, 2009
Victor James Garza- 3 lbs 10 oz 16 in.
October 21, 2009
Victor James Garza- 10 lbs 12 oz 22 in.
I thought it would be a good idea to chronicle Victor's birth story...it's taken me 3 months to do it!
We were in and out of the hospital nearly every two weeks from May 8th until Victor was born on July 21st. Our stay could be as short as 4 days or as long as 3 weeks depending on the issue I was facing at the time. We were also officially on bed rest from May until July as well so I spent a lot of time shopping online. We were admitted into the hospital immediately following a visit with my Nephrologist when my BP was suddenly in the 160's over 110's for seemingly no reason- this was July 9th. We were sent home 4 days later with my BP medicine raised to 400mg ( from 200mg) and instructions to buy a better BP cuff to track my pressures. So off we went. Joseph went to the store and bought a wrist cuff because I was having all sorts of nerve pain in my arms resulting from taking my pressures several times a day. I decided to take my BP and when it registered again in the 160's over 110's I decided I needed a baseline since this was a new machine...or maybe I was in denial. After nearly 3 hours of getting BP's (which stayed pretty consistent) I called the on call nurse and told her my situation. I was told to take my night meds an hour early and take me pressures again an hour early. If things had not improved (meaning normal pressures) then I was to report to the ER to be admitted immediately. I did what I was told but decided I wanted a decent night of sleep and went to be admitted early the next morning. We had only been home from the hospital for one whole day and it was off we went...again.
I thought I was doing pretty well this stay with my BP's being only slightly elevated but for some reason they wouldn't release me. Apparently the nurses were noticing that my face was swelling and I was gaining significant weight overnight. On the morning of July 21st the nurse came in at 6 am to give me my meds and to record my pressures. Joseph had just left for work when a flurry of nurses came in and began to manually take my pressures one after the other. It was 20 minutes later that the on call OB came in and told me to get ready to be transferred to L&D- we would have this baby within the hour. I attempted to get a hold of Joseph but my reception was awful and thankfully before they sent me to L&D I had text my sis in law, Natalie to let her know what was happening and she was able to leave a message for Joseph. Joseph showed up about 20 minuted later huffing and puffing as he had run to try to make it in time. Next thing we know we are wheeled into the operating room and about 15 minutes later I hear a small cry that sounded like a kitten and I was a mommy to a 3 pound 10 ounce, 16 inch long, baby boy.
Victor immediately went to the NICU but I was able to see him and kiss him right before they took him away. Unfortunately I wasn't able to see him until about 3 PM the next day as I was to be off the magnesium sulfate and able to get into a wheelchair for the ride to the NICU. Victor stayed in the NICU for 32 long days and finally came home to us on August 21st- his one month birthday. He came home at 36 weeks gestational age.
We would find out later that the reason he was delivered 9 weeks early was due to a condition I have called IgA Nephropathy (or Berger's Disease) and my kidney's were only functioning at 30%. My high blood pressure was due to my kidney's shutting down and not my pregnancy.
I am so proud of my little boy. He is incredibly strong and has such a strong will to live. He didn't have any major complications, aside from a scare with NEC and a leaky PICC line that resulted in a burn on his belly. We also made some friends during our stint in the NICU and met some wonderful parents of some incredibly strong preemies. I am so happy to be Victor's mommy and feel completely blessed to be a part of his life.
We were in and out of the hospital nearly every two weeks from May 8th until Victor was born on July 21st. Our stay could be as short as 4 days or as long as 3 weeks depending on the issue I was facing at the time. We were also officially on bed rest from May until July as well so I spent a lot of time shopping online. We were admitted into the hospital immediately following a visit with my Nephrologist when my BP was suddenly in the 160's over 110's for seemingly no reason- this was July 9th. We were sent home 4 days later with my BP medicine raised to 400mg ( from 200mg) and instructions to buy a better BP cuff to track my pressures. So off we went. Joseph went to the store and bought a wrist cuff because I was having all sorts of nerve pain in my arms resulting from taking my pressures several times a day. I decided to take my BP and when it registered again in the 160's over 110's I decided I needed a baseline since this was a new machine...or maybe I was in denial. After nearly 3 hours of getting BP's (which stayed pretty consistent) I called the on call nurse and told her my situation. I was told to take my night meds an hour early and take me pressures again an hour early. If things had not improved (meaning normal pressures) then I was to report to the ER to be admitted immediately. I did what I was told but decided I wanted a decent night of sleep and went to be admitted early the next morning. We had only been home from the hospital for one whole day and it was off we went...again.
I thought I was doing pretty well this stay with my BP's being only slightly elevated but for some reason they wouldn't release me. Apparently the nurses were noticing that my face was swelling and I was gaining significant weight overnight. On the morning of July 21st the nurse came in at 6 am to give me my meds and to record my pressures. Joseph had just left for work when a flurry of nurses came in and began to manually take my pressures one after the other. It was 20 minutes later that the on call OB came in and told me to get ready to be transferred to L&D- we would have this baby within the hour. I attempted to get a hold of Joseph but my reception was awful and thankfully before they sent me to L&D I had text my sis in law, Natalie to let her know what was happening and she was able to leave a message for Joseph. Joseph showed up about 20 minuted later huffing and puffing as he had run to try to make it in time. Next thing we know we are wheeled into the operating room and about 15 minutes later I hear a small cry that sounded like a kitten and I was a mommy to a 3 pound 10 ounce, 16 inch long, baby boy.
Victor immediately went to the NICU but I was able to see him and kiss him right before they took him away. Unfortunately I wasn't able to see him until about 3 PM the next day as I was to be off the magnesium sulfate and able to get into a wheelchair for the ride to the NICU. Victor stayed in the NICU for 32 long days and finally came home to us on August 21st- his one month birthday. He came home at 36 weeks gestational age.
We would find out later that the reason he was delivered 9 weeks early was due to a condition I have called IgA Nephropathy (or Berger's Disease) and my kidney's were only functioning at 30%. My high blood pressure was due to my kidney's shutting down and not my pregnancy.
I am so proud of my little boy. He is incredibly strong and has such a strong will to live. He didn't have any major complications, aside from a scare with NEC and a leaky PICC line that resulted in a burn on his belly. We also made some friends during our stint in the NICU and met some wonderful parents of some incredibly strong preemies. I am so happy to be Victor's mommy and feel completely blessed to be a part of his life.
posted by Sprinkles4Lisa @ 12:03 AM
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