Thursday, December 22, 2011

Prayers Answered and Final Countdown

ROWLEETRISTAN20111222132729046Mason’s nose and mouth with arms over his eyes.

Today we had our last scheduled ultrasound to check on baby Mason before delivery day.  Jason was able to come to this one and we met one of the neonatologists, the last perinatologist, and toured the NICU there at the hospital.  Mason will only be there a few hours before transferring to Children’s Hospital.

Okay, so let’s back up and go through the visit so I don’t forget anything.  First of all Mason weighs about 6lbs 10 oz already and is 35 weeks 6 days along.  Everything looks good.  As a matter of fact God answered our prayer and Mason’s hydrocephalus has not increased AT ALL since his last ultrasound!  A huge blessing because it gives him two more weeks before we’ll deliver. 

Mason is still breech however.  If he doesn’t turn head down before delivery they’ll have to do a vertical incision for my c-section to protect his back/spine, which has some repercussions for me, but nothing we can’t deal with.

We’re officially scheduled to have a fetal lung maturity test (long needle into my uterus through my abdomen) at 8:00am on Monday January 9th, followed by a c-section at 9:30am that same morning.  After my disastrous visit last time (read it here) with one of the obstetricians at the high risk clinic my perinatologist Dr. M personally called and scheduled my c-section to be done by him.  Yay!  That’s what we wanted and is another blessing.

After our ultrasound we met with the neonatologist to have final questions answered about what will happen and what will be possible once Mason is delivered and before he is moved to Children’s Hospital.  I had a few questions, so I’ll share those with his answers:

  1. What happens to Mason once he’s pulled out?  He’ll be held up for me to see and taken directly to the NICU.  Jason is able and encouraged to go right with Mason and that is the plan.  In the NICU they will put Mason in a sterile bag up to his armpits.  This is done to protect from infection because his back is open to the spine.  He’ll have a heart monitor on and an IV started.
  2. Will I be able to hold Mason at all before transfer?  No.  Neither will Jason.  It is all to protect from infection or injury to the spine/nerves and was what I suspected.
  3. Will I see Mason other than that moment in the delivery room before they move him to the other hospital?  Yes.  After I’m sewn up and finish my time in the recovery room they will literally wheel my bed into the NICU to be with Mason for a little while.  Then I’ll be taken to my room.  When the transport team gets Mason into his special travel isolette for transfer to the other hospital they will bring him to me to say goodbye.  Jason will have been with him through all of this and Jason will follow him at transfer to go stay with him in the Children’s Hospital NICU and through surgery.  I’ll stay at my delivery hospital.
  4. How can we get breastfeeding going with me and baby separated for days and Mason unable to be held for a few days after surgery?  Pumping.  Lots of pumping.  I’ll be honest, this is not something I planned on attempting, we’ve breastfed in the past with lots of issues (some are hormone based on my side).  However I feel really strongly that at least in the beginning we need to be nursing, or pumping and feeding it to him as the case may be.  There are lactations consultants and great pumps to help me at both hospitals for the duration, so that’s a plus.

We also toured the NICU there.

Now we wait.  And pray.  We have 2 1/2 weeks until delivery.  We’re praying for Mason to turn into a normal position for delivery and that his lungs mature well. 

He’s almost here!

16 comments:

  1. Tristan,

    I have been thinking about you today and am glad to hear the hydro has not increased. Continued prayers for you and Mason.

    Marie

    ReplyDelete
  2. I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for his blessings to our family! I can't wait to have Mason here.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tristan,
    What beautiful news about the hydrocephalous. I have worked in L&D next door to a NICU. I have watched the entire process that you described and my first child was born via C-S. I find the professionals in these situations absolutely competent and amazing in their skills, their decision making and their ability to make it special for you while providing the best care for the child. May God bless you as you wait for this sweet boy to be born. You are in good hands and it's obvious that they care about your situation.

    Praying here in WI for you all.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So glad things are progressing well! We will continue praying for Mason, you & the rest of your family!!!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tristan,

    I am so happy for you and your family. It has been nice reading about your journey in expectation of Mason's arrival. It is such a blessing that so many of your prayers were and continue to be answered which should make delivery and the next steps a little easier to take. I like that you are so well informed about where Mason will be and the treatment he will receive once delivered. Although I am sure it will be difficult not being able to spend more time w/him immediately after delivery, at least you know that he is receiving the best care while the two of you are apart. I will continue to pray for you, Mason, and the rest of your family.

    ReplyDelete
  6. I left a comment on your other bloc but came over here to read the details. Time is going so quickly. Praying for you guys during this time and after.

    ReplyDelete
  7. We are praying for you and baby Mason. Many blessings on your family in the next few weeks!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Tristan! God is really good and has heard our prayers for you & Mason!

    ReplyDelete
  9. You are amazing! You and your family are in my prayers.

    ReplyDelete
  10. So thankful God is watching over you all!What an amazing blessing!

    Love ya Sis!
    Christina

    ReplyDelete
  11. Tristan,

    This is so exciting!! I am crying tears of joy for you and your family. Continuing to pray for you all as well!

    Alyson

    ReplyDelete
  12. Praying for you and Mason! I'm excited to read that his hydrocephalus is stable at the moment, yay! It sounds like everything is very well organised for his arrival. Hopefully the pumping will be a good focus for you to help you during the time you are apart from Mason, as something you can be actively doing to help him heal. :) I will be praying for you continually over the next few weeks, here in London, England!

    ReplyDelete
  13. I'm so glad he gets more time and that Heavenly Father's hand is so evident in everything going on.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Tristan, so happy to hear this bit of good news. Continuing prayers. Good luck with the pumping, my hubby (a pediatrician, who did a fellowship at your very Children's Hospital) says all breastmilk is liquid gold especially for NICU babies, he says even 1 cc is helpful. But he also says what a blessing to be born in this day where there is very good formula if needed. Good luck with that.
    I also hope, this gives you time to get all of your family healthy before your delivery.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Tristan, I am so happy to hear about Mason's hydrocephalus not progressing! That is wonderful news! I am also glad that he is going to be a term baby (I had 2 preemies and one with hydrocephalus)! I am also glad that you will get to see him that many times before he goes for surgery! I also had to pump for all of my kids (bf issues here too) and while it is not fun it really does help them and I admire you for hanging in there with everything else that is going on. We are still praying for you, Mason and your family! Specifically that he turns and that the surgeries (yours and his go smoothly)!

    ReplyDelete
  16. I will be keeping you and your baby in my prayers. Tomorrow was my due date for baby number 5- she was born still on November 30. So I know the anguish you are going through. ((HUGS)) http://plainoldunromantic.wordpress.com/

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for commenting!

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.