What a Day wait What a Week

Were did I leave off, well since WED we have been over on the Mommy and me siad of the birthing center, right across the room from the NICU. Maggie is doing amazing, she is a fighter. she had been on the c-pap since tues with her Oxygen levels bouncing around, and the cpap's level doing the same. She has also battled a severe case of consitpation in which she has overcame as well. Today our choice for our pediatrician took over Maggies case. Not that the other was doing anything wrong if fact I thank god that he was around he has great knowlege and talent and got Maggie to whee she is today. Trace and I both werr more comfortable changing over to the doctor who we initially were going to go with before this all happened. To make a long story short both grandparents have been here, my parents and I wee in Lindsborg for most of the afternoon. On our way up Trace calls me and says you need to hurry up there thinking something was wrong, I was kind of in a paninc well I find out that they have removed her from the c-pap and we wee going to get to hold her. The grandparents said good night to her and Trace and I went in to hold Maggie for the first time.

On a side note, our next prayer request will be handed out to Trace, thinking we might have gotten out Frday it did not happen. Her BP has been all over. High Low you name it it has happened. The doctors are tying to get it under control before we can break her out of here.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Well we moved to a new place, Trace parents came up last week. Overall Trace looked completly fine. A lot better then she had been. We left for our daily doctors appointment on Monday, thinking it would be status quo. Dr. Knox's nurse then her daily dip test in her urine. She had her back to Trace but I watched her do somewhat of a double take. So I asked if everything was ok. Well she said her protein was at a 2 plus, that started our concern because that was the point in which the doctor would start to worry. She said lets check your BP before we jumed to conclusions, she then checked it and her BP was 171 over 118. With in three minutes Doctor Knox was in and said I will see you in the Hospital.

Thinking that it was for observation and hoping to get her number stable, we would continue on bed rest. Well we then found out herr 24 urine test came back and had the protein levels had jumped up 200 mg. Then the amniotic fluid level had gone down, and to top that her blood pressures were still all over.

Then coms Tuesday, when I arrived at the hospital the nurse put her on a clear diet we knew what was comming next. Dr. Knox felt like it was time to go, to get Trace's health back to normal. The rest is kind of a whirl wind.

BUT AT 12:11 pm our life will never be the same, Maggie was born. Her lungs are still a little under developed but are getting better.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAGGIE

a few things

as noted on my recent facebook status: Maggie is crazy. every time a nurse tries to put the fetal monitor on my belly, she tries to run and hide (not as though she could get very far), or kicks the nurse. i love that.

we met the pediatrician today she was super nice and the office was a fun place, so this should be good. this may be typical of pediatrician offices, but how would i know?!?! each exam room had a theme; we were in the Princess Suite; there was also a cowboy room, a lion room, and (for my friend Lulu) a frog room.

there was the very strange point early in the visit when the nurse called us back for the initial tour, and said, "Margaret." It took me a long time to realize that was us. I am going to be a mom....YIKES! (oh also, they gave us this folder of information about the practice and in the introductory letter used the phrase "post haste." LOVE THAT. i suppose if i did anything post haste i would add that one to my vocabulary...well...post haste.)

after the pediatrician, we had the weekly sonogram, or, at least, we thought we did. evidently, once a patient is admitted to the hospital in-patient, all of his subsequent appointments are cancelled. inconvenient. especially when the patient is not informed of this. anyway, they were very nice about it all and got us in right away, as if nothing had ever happened. i really appreciated that!! so, sono was good. fluid was 13+ and Maggie (at 32.5ish weeks) weighs an astonishing FIVE-and-a-HALF pounds. YIKES! they say babies gain about 8 oz. per week during the last trimester; mine gained nearly an ENTIRE pound.

then we went to the ob, and all was fine there. same ole same ole

nick (with the help of some very nice members of the Bethany College Swede football team) is still working on getting us all moved over to the new place. i continue working on not going completely nuts lying here for as long as it takes; at least there will be new surroundings soon.

k.. as always...we will keep you posted

32 weeks + 3 days

well, after an uneventful 36 hour hospital stay, I am back home. nothing is new really. nick took me in Saturday, May 2 around 8 p.m., because my bp was really high -- even for me. when i went in for my friday appointment, it was high, so dr. knox said if it continued, worsened, or i felt the "yuck" to go straight to labor and delivery. we did.

as soon as i was there, my bp went down, but it did fluctuate some. they ordered the 24-hour urine, which i would have been doing at home anyway, and said i would be there until this morning.

all of the labs came back fine. protein at 295 (up slightly, but 300 is the diagnostic level, and OH-NO-really-scary is 5000, so there is a way to go).

so, for now we are home with all of the same requirements as before. my original due date was (and still is) june 28; however, the dr. says he will not let me go past 37 weeks. five more weeks seems like an eternity considering i have been laying around for four weeks already AND a six-week recovery will likely follow that (c-section). a long way to go.

the upside is the lifetime of fun and joy that will come from the waiting...

i am so thankful to have a terrific husband. nick is so committed to taking care of everything. (a little stressful for ocd-control freak trace); stressful but appreciated and loved more than i could ever say.

add to that--we are moving into a new apartment, and the stress multiplies slightly. my parents are coming this week to help out with that, and Nick's parents visited to check in and filled our fridge last weekend too, so we are very blessed.

more than anything the prayers help, so thank you for that. we love you guys and will continue to keep you posted.

GOD is so good.

32 weeks

well, almost.

i am 31 weeks and six days now, and i have been on bedrest for a month. let me tell you, when the highlight of your day is going to the obgyn for a urine and blood pressure check, your life has reached a new ;evel of pathetic.

anyway, so here is the latest.

last sunday, i did my 2nd at-home, 24-hour urine, and the results were consistent. 250 mg of protein--not enough to be diagnosed as pre-eclamptic or to be concerned.

on mondays, tuesdays, thursdays and fridays, i go to salina for bp and daily urine checks. my bp has been stable (higher than a normal person, but good for me at this point). the in-office urine screens read between a trace and +1, which i guess is not anything to be concerned with either.

on tuesdays, we have a sonogram to check the level of amniotic fluid to make sure there is enough for maggie to be safe and healthy in there. i guess 10 is the magic number. i am not sure what that means exactly, but the lower the number is, the more emergent the situation becomes. last week, i was at 10; this week 12.73--good news. also, we made nice with the sonographer, so she fills us in on maggie's size every time too. this week (at 31 weeks and 3 days) she weighed 4 lbs and 11 oz. that is about average weight for a baby at 35 weeks. so that is very favorable.

i had to do some bloodwork today, the dr. was concerned that i have been feeling yucky. to be honest, i am not sure how one does not feel yucky when all she does is lie in bed all day every day. BUT, generally, i can discern the different "kinds" of yuck, and this one seems to be of an iunknown physical nature. so we will get the results tomorrow.

the other good news is -- now that i am (basically) at 32 weeks, i will be able to deliver in Salina with my obgyn. although the facility in wichita is top-notch, and i loved the staff there, it will be nice to be close to home and in relatively familiar surroundings. the downside is that depending on Maggie's condition, she might have to be transported to NICU in wichita. but we will cross that bridge if we get to it. the drs. all say she has a lot going for her in terms of health and premature delivery. 1) she is a girl; 2) we had the steroid injection for her lungs, and 3) she is a big girl.

so with the exception of my being close to the edge of sanity, things are still going very well. thank you so much for our prayers. nick and i truly believe it is faithful prayer that has gotten us all this far.

we will keep you posted.

there's no place like home

After ten days in the hospital, and to the obvious surprise of my OB, a resident, and a perinatal expert, I am home...without the aid of ruby red slippers, heel clicking, or the premature delivery of Maggie. Evidently, my doctors do not know the power of prayer. Thank you ALL for knowing it, believing in its power and doing it!!

Even though I am home, I am not out of the woods. I am still on complete bed rest--which means my activities are limited to going to the bathroom, showering, and travelling to Salina for daily doctor's appointments--at least i am home. The downside is that from what the doctors tell us, the situation can change dramatically and quickly, and Maggie still needs to hang out for at least a couple more weeks. The upside is that those same doctors thought Maggie would have been born already.

The remainder of this particular blog is a lot of details, so please do not feel obligated to read on. However, we believe (I think it is safe for me to speak for Nick in this case) GOD is in these details. Medically, there is no reason for me to be home or for Maggie to still be sittin' up in my womb (for those of you who enjoy '90s R&B, i was singing Brandy as I typed that). We have to praise God, because it is so obviously His work.

from about 20 weeks, Dr. Knox, my ObGyn, has described toxemia/preeclampsia/PIH as "a pathway." The two primary indicators of the condition are high blood pressure and protein output in the urine. Although my blood pressure had been high throughout the pregnancy, the protein had not been an issue until a severe and persistent headache combined with elevated blood pressure landed me in the hospital. ANYWAY, Dr. Knox used the pathway metaphor ad nauseam (I think just to be sure we understood), and added that typically, once you are on the pathway, the only way off it is to deliver the baby. He told us not only was there no way to determine when I would enter the pathway, but also that, once on the pathway, there was no way to determine how quickly the severity of condition would progress. i will tell you that today at my first follow up with him since my release from the hospital yesterday, he and his staff were very surprised and pleased to see us. God is so good!!

i was admitted to the hospital on april 4 (at 28 weeks pregnant), for observation. the first urine test and all of the preliminary blood work came back fine, but my blood pressures were all over the place (p.s. there has still been no explanation of that, and although my pressures are high, they are managed and within the range the doctors consider safe). dr. knox ordered my first of four 24-hour urines. this is when he became particularly concerned. The level of protein required to diagnose me with preeclampsyia is 300 mg (severely preeclamptic is 5 grams, so there was a long way to go); my level was mild at nearly 400. because of that result, it was determined i had officially entered the pathway, and because of Maggie's impending premature delivery, I was immediately transferred to Wesley Medical Center by ambulance. all of my doctors said i would reside in there until Maggie was born. AND because they figured she would be born within a week to ten days, they ordered i receive a steroid shot (no fun) to help develop her lungs. in addition, i remained in the hospital, under a watchful eye, and on bedrest for the last 10 days.

SIDEBAR: I had to have both an IV and a catheter for the ambulance ride. NO FUN. the IV was for magnesium sulfate which prevents seizures--a concern due to my elevated pressures. all i have to say about that is YUCK. although i am sure there are far yuckier things to come, i did not enjoy the side effects of that medicine AT ALL. basically it caused me to have severe muscle spasms in the left side of my body. they started in my leg and progressed to my arm. the worst part was i could feel the spasm coming on, but had NO CONTROL to stop it. it was horrible.

as soon as i got to Wesley on Monday, April 6, they ordered another 24-hour urine, blood work, and a 2nd IV site--in case I needed a c-section, they could use it for anesthesia--, and a sonogram. all of the tests produced favorable results. on Tuesday I was moved from labor and delivery to the women's health floor. Basically, i chilled there in bed, getting up only to bathe or potty, while nurses brought me meals, snacks, beverages and medicine, took my vitals and listened to the baby's heartrate three times a day, and that was it until Easter Sunday. (P.S. we received visits and information from drs, specialists, a care coordinator and toured the NICU. all of which was incredibly helpful and reassuring)

in a blog on Sunday, Nick reported i would undergo a variety of tests in the next couple of days. I ended up having twice as many as originally ordered. The first was a 24-urine which came back with reading so low that they assumed the test was invalid and ordered another immediately. The bloodwork all came back fine. The other was a one-hour blood glucose test, which most pregnant women have at around 28 weeks; it tests for gestational diabetes. i failed -- evidently miserably, so they ordered the three-hour blood glucose test for the next morning. i figured this was it. now, not only would i be on bed rest, but also on a restricted diet...boohiss! Did i mention the three-hour requires FOUR blood draws?...boohiss again! (The upside is that Panera is across the street, so Nick treated me to a huge comfort food dinner for what i assumed would be my last supper) Anyway, all of this to say the second urine and glucose screens I passed with flying colors! In fact, the level of protein actually DROPPED to below 300 mg (to 260 mg), making me no longer diagnostically preeclamptic. YAHOO! yesterday afternoon I called Nick to come get me.

I have to admit, we are a little nervous to be home without the constant monitoring of trained professionals, but we know this is God's will. His is the only hand that could have caused the u-turn on the toxemia pathway. so anyway, sorry for all of the details, but the contradictions in thier results are miraculous. Thanks again for the prayers, and please keep 'em coming!!!

We will keep you posted.

Happy Easter

Same thing different day, well I got to take Trace out for a spin (in a wheelchair) today it is amazing what a 30 minute date can do. Not much new to report, plan and simply we are here in the hospital until Maggie decides it is time to show up or Trace's health gets worse. As of right now neither is happening. We do start another round of testing tomorrow (24 hour pee test) I will explain later it is worse for the nurses then it is for Trace or Maggie. Blood work on Monday to make sure Trace is functioning properly. A sonogram to check the fluids under the hood (Credit goes to John Jensen for that joke). And then a stress test were Trace will be hooked up to to all the gadgets to monitor the baby and and for contractions.

As long as they stay stable I am traveling back and forth frequently throughout the week. I try to stay as long as possible at 1 time. The nurses are amazing here and have been very patient dealing with our situation. In addition to the nurses the Hospital has many great resources for us as well. We were able to tour the NICU were we met a baby named Matthew born at 28 weeks who weighed in at 1 pound 5 ounces, when we met him he was ony 24 hours old and already off the ventilator, and is on the CPAP unit that assists with getting oxygen to his lungs but he is breathing on his own. Doing this tour calm both of our nerves knowing that if the point and time that Maggie shows up early she will be in tremendous care, the best in our region. On Tuesday we will meet with the Care Coordiantion Department that will inform us about resources and suport both inside and outside the Hospital.

You know I think I work crazy hours and the fact that our resident comes in to meet with with Trace at 6:00 am daily WOW. I was barely awake for that meeting this morning.

Mr. & Mrs. Nevad spent the last few days here checking on us making sure everything is OK.

Trace is suppose to get as much rest as possible, so if we don't get back to you right away please accept our apologies in advance. We will continue to update the blog as much as possible. And will write back e-mails and facebook as much as possible. But trying conserve cell minutes we might not get back to phone calls.

Thanks again for for all of your prayers and thoughts.

Happy Easter from the Taylors