ConnellyTracks: January 2009

10 PM Thursday, Jan 8.
Ok..
I finally got this email distribution list put together.

A recap…. Mindy has developed "preeclampsia."
(Google it) Baby and mom are ok, but the condition requires
labor to be induced. Mindy was given the first induction drug
at 2:30 PM. Contractions started to occur around 4:00 PM.
It's now 10:00 pm and the contractions are strong and regular.
Last dilation check was 2cm. Next check will be at 2:30 AM.
Since this is an induced labor in response to preeclampsia she is on
Magnesium Sulfate which gives her fluctuating chills and sweats.
Overall she is doing well, but uncomfortable being stuck in bed (also
a Preeclampsia requirement).

..................

5:56 AM Friday, Jan 9

Its 5:30 am and we just met with the Doc. Mindy's still at 2

cm and contractions have slowed down so the next stage has been
initiated. Pitocin will work to strengthen and lengthen the
contractions. Hopefully this will get the dilation moving
along. It means some more discomfort, but that's the road
to a baby! Mindy and Ryan both got a few naps in overnight so
we'll try to catch a few more restful moments before the contractions
increase. If anyone has a suggestion for a "superhero"
name, Mindy needs one for when she puts on her "going to the
bathroom hooded cape." Getting out of bed to go pee is the
highlight of the labor process thus far.

Thanks for your prayers.

..............

10:54 AM Friday, Jan 9

Its 10:30 AM Friday. The

Doc just came in and manually broke the bag of waters. Mindy is
still only 2cm dilated and Baby is still at -2 station. We've
got a ways to go. Pitocin is up to 16mL per hour. We want
more dilation! Thanks everyone.

..............

2:17 PM Friday, Jan 9

OK… water is broken, pitocin is up to 24mL/hour, contractions

are strong but more than 5 minutes apart and a bit random. We
need contractions that are at least 2.5 minutes apart, a baby that is
lowering into the birth canal, and dilation! Thanks for your
prayers!

........

6:14 PM Friday, Jan 9

OK.. we've made progress. 3cm dilated and baby at -1

engaged. Still lots of work to do, but the Doc says we'll keep
trying. Pitocin was stopped for a half hour and then
restarted. We're 28 hours into the process, but not technically
in an "ACTIVE" labor pattern. We need the
contractions to hit a consistent 2-3 minutes apart. Mom and
Baby are hanging in there but fatigue is beginning to set in.
Mindy needs some sleep and a hamburger. Unfortunately, eating a
hamburger is still a few days out.

......

9:32 PM Friday, Jan 9

Well after 30 hours of pain killer free labor, super woman decided

she needed some medical intervention to get rest. Mindy is
"epiduraled" and getting ready to go to SLEEP!! I get
to sleep too!! Labor is still progressing slowly and we hope to
make the final jump to greater dilation and steady/consistent
contractions. Till later… Good night!

......

4:09 AM Saturday, Jan 10

After a nice sleep from 10:00 PM to about 2 AM sleeping beauty

final woke up from his nap in the corner to help Mindy and the Nurses
move around Mindy's "heavy" and uncooperative legs.
The epidural has successfully relieved a lot of contraction pain and
Mindy got to rest, but she is not going to get uninterrupted sleep
till she is off the tubes and wires.

It's now 3:47 AM and the doctor just left after a report of 9 cm
dilation!!! They turned on the super high tech baby bed and its
blinking "Admit Baby." We'd love to oblige, but that
is at least an hour or four away. Mindy is smiling and feeling
pretty positive, but a bit nervous about her strength to push.
We're 38 hours into this labor process and MAYBE nearing the end.
One thing you could pray for, in addition to the usual final stage
delivery stuff, is to see Mindy pee some more. She got 3000cc's
of retained liquids over the last couple days and it would be good to
unload some of that fluid.

ok… updates may be a bit delayed once the delivery begins.

Thanks so much for your prayer support.

.......

5:15 AM Saturday, Jan 10

Hey

everyone… we're gonna start pushing in a few minutes!

.......

9:49 AM Saturday, Jan 10

Hey all! We have a son! After 41 hours at the hospital

(7 hours of cervadil induced contractions, 32 hours of pitocin aided
contractions, and 2 hours of pushing) Mindy delivered our baby boy!
She was a super hero and he was a trooper. Oh, he is… Reid
Eran Dawson Connelly. He weighs 7 lbs 15 oz and measures 20 3/4
inches long.

Everybody is healthy considering the long process and the extra

drugs to keep Mindy safe. Mindy ate her first non-liquid food
(two slices of toast) and Reid is getting some intravenous food to
raise his blood sugar and flush the Magnesium Sulfate.
Eventually when he wakes up a bit more he will get to breast feed.

We'll be here in the hospital for at least two days. One to

wean Mindy off the Magnesium and watch for seizures, and another to
get everybody strong enough for going home. Mindy and Baby
MIGHT get to host visitors on Sunday afternoon. Please call
Ryan on Sunday to see what's up. We may be home by Sunday night
or Monday. Ok… that's it for now.

THANK YOU ALL for your prayers and support. We are blessed

immeasurably.

......

9:28 AM Sunday, Jan 11

Everybody is healthy! We've been moved to postpartum and

will be here for at least a day. I'll get more info out this
afternoon!

......

5:15 PM Sunday, Jan 11

Aunt Sara does SUCH a good job. see below…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/happyjanssens/sets/72157612408955649/

....

10:57 PM Tuesday, Jan 13

Hi all.

We're back in the Hospital. We were discharged Monday afternoon
and spent our first night at home, but on Tuesday afternoon we took
Reid for his first Doctors appointment. He is a healthy baby EXCEPT
for his Jaundice levels which came back too high. He was
immediately admitted to the nursery for UV light treatments and
supplemental feeding.

The goal is to get him to pee and poop out the red blood cells

camping out in his skin. The condition is treatable and was
caught early so we expect no complications, but we are hanging out in
a hospital room for at least one more day. You could pray for a
couple things on our behalf: (NOTE: thank you ALL for so much
support, we are certainly feeling the effect of diligent prayer
warriors) First, that the "billy reuben" (sp) levels
in Reid's blood stream would drop below 15 by tomorrow. Second,
that Mindy's "milk would come in" and she would be able to
fill his belly with Momma Milk. Thank You!

We'll let you know when we're back home!

.......

7:06 PM Thursday, Jan 15

I am thrilled to report the arrival of Reid and Mindy at home!
Wednesday was quite a whirlwind. Reid had spent the night in
and out of the "Billy Tank" (I now know that it
is spelled bilirubin) eating breastmilk mechanically pumped by Mindy
and fed via finger and syringe. His levels were improving so I
headed home to get random things done. I returned home to
discover that Xena had eaten a whole chicken carcass out of the
garbage can!

Yikes.. a quick call to the Vet and they said bring her in to the

Doggie Hospital for induction of vomiting. With Lee's
help I forced Hydrogen peroxide and salt down her throat to get the
job done at home. "Ol' Iron Gut Xena" laughed at us
and spit the foam back in my face with out any vomiting. Off to
the Vet hospital. Now everybody in the family but Ryan was
admitted to the hospital! I left her there for professional
vomit induction.

Phew… to make a long story short… Xena pucked up the chicken,

Reid turned in a nice low bili score, and we all got to go home by 8
PM. Overnight Mindy's milk has "let down" and she is
filling Redi's belly with EASE. Now our hardest challenge is
keeping Reid awake long enough to eat enough food. As you can
see in the attached picture, Reid spent his afternoon nap tanning
next to the window.

We'll head back to the hospital tomorrow for another bili test and

another meeting with Reid's Doc. Unfortunately for Reid, it
looks like he will not be able to delay his circumcision any
longer. The hospital adventures are HOPEFULLY coming to
an end. Thanks all for your caring support and understanding
patience.

This is the last mass email, but if you'd like to keep up with the

Connelly Family advenutre tune in to our blog at
www.connellytracks.blogspot.com

After Dinner I'll post up a bunch of picutres… Thanks again.

We can't wait for you all to meet Reid… maybe after he's a bit more
biologically robust.

;-) Blessings,

Ryan, Mindy, & Reid