Jackson is Here!!

Jackson Lee Stringham3-1-2011

3 pm

8lb 10 oz

20 1/2 inch

*37 weeks 3 days

*Amnio to check for lung maturity at 0800

*Lots of contractions while waiting in L&D

*Csection scheduled for 1300'

*Nurse Anesthesist used to be hypnotist

*Spinal left me "numb" up to T4 - caused my BP and HR to bottom out, but it was great and only allowed me to feel pressures

*I heard the clamp clang together... yuck!

*Room was dead silent as they got ready to pull him out

*Jackson SCREAMED before he was even out of me!!!

*Jason peeked and almost jumped for joy when his belly looked "normal"

*Jason got to cut his cord

*I got to see him before he went off to NICU - I could NOT believe how big his cheeks were!

*We were told right away that he had a hypospadia but otherwise looked great. There was no evidence of a patenet urachus.

.*It took 45 minutes for Dr Muller to sew me back togehter, but my sutures have gotten many praises by nurses!

*Jason wheeled me over to NICU at 1700

*The girls, Grandparents, Mandy and Brian got to peek quickly at him in the NICU around 2030

*Jennibelle had been cleared by her Pediatrician to go see him with a dx'd sinus infection but she had gotten sicker on Fri so she struggled to not look or act sick in the NICU. (She was so cute!!)

*Jaylee seemed a little nervous, like she would break him!

(You can see how sick Jenni is feeling!!)

*On Weds morning (3/2/11) he was moved to the step down NICU.  I got to breast feed him.

*His creatnine went up to 1.1 after being 0.7 initially. Our AWESOME Nephrologist (Dr Muchant) explained that it could take 2 weeks for his Creatnine to level out.

*Jackson had 4 or 5 dirty diapers within the first 24 hours!

*He was peeing - Jason saw an actual pee stream when he was first born, I only ever saw drops on his penis.

*The Urologist (Dr Semfest) did a stat US and believed that he had a Post Urethral Valve and orded a VCUG for 3/2  to confirm the diagnosis

*The VCUG could not be done at 1500 b/c Dr Semfest could not advance the catheter up his urethra.  We were informed he would need surgery the next AM (3/3/11)(cystography with probable PUV clipping).

*An IV was started and he was NPO after MN before surgery

*He was so sweet before surgery... he is patient and gentle and he never cries!!  We got to old him in the pre-op area before they took him away.  We were both obviously nervous for him!

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*Surgery lasted 1 1/2 hours... Dr Sempfest came to tell us that he did not find a PUV, like we expected... He found that his urehtra was a dead-end "urethral atrasia".  He then said "It is a lethal diagnosis, I don't know how he survived being a fetus"  Becuase of this, he had to make a vesicostomy... A hole in his lower belly that allow his urine to literally drip out of his bladder continuously.  The plastic surgery to repair his urethra and penis will be done around month 9 and then eventually his stoma will be closed up.  They are expecting that his urological swelling and dilation will subside some on it's own, now that the blockage has been relieved. The hole is about the same size as his belly button.

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*We will cont to monitor his Creatnine daily until he's D/C'd (3/4 or 3/5) Then we'll have out patient lab work done in Lancaster every few days and follow up with Dr Muchant weekly for a while.

He was in A LOT of pain after surgery (HR 200s, Resp 50, BP in the 80's, Arching back, crying...) The first thing his NICU Nurse said was "I will NOT ignore your son's pain", right before she sat on her big fat butt for 2 hours charting and never giving him his Tylenol.  Luckily, the next Nurse administered it right away!!

* It's 8 hours post op, he looks much more comfortable and has some bowel sounds so I will be able to feed him again soon.  He is not nearly as mottled and his color isn't as dusky.  It's obvious he feels better.

*Though this diagnosis is not a great one, it IS a diagnosis and it IS fixable and we finally have some answers.  I can't explain how good that is to us!!!!!

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Jaylee and Jennibelle absolutely LOVE him already!!! They have been very gentle with him and can not wait for him to finally come home! 

Grandma and Grandpa flew in from Seattle to spend some time with us and to care for the girls while we are here in the hosp.  They stayed up here in Danville for 2 nights at a hotel with an indoor pool

Nan and Poppop came up and spent two nights in the hotel too.

Mandy and her family came up for Jackson's delivery and ended up staying the first night so that Morgan could play with the girls and so that Mandy and I could hang out.
Meg drove up late at night on the 1st after work. She came to the hosp early on the 2nd to meet Jackson.
Everyone in Seattle has been calling and facebooking me to keep updated.

It is just amazing to me how many people care about this little boy and the rest of us.  People I barely know and have never even met have been diligently praying for us.  I honestly don't believe that I would be here, holding my son, without it.

I am exhauseted but want to keep everything straight.  I am already mixing things up and he's only 48 hours old.  I hope that he will one day realizes just how lucky he is to be here, and that we will never take our little miracle boy for granted!!  We hope to go home tomrrow evening!!

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I got to feed him tonight at 2000 and 2230.  He was awake for a little bit and just stared at us, taking us in while we inhaled every detail about him.  He's lost 14 ozs since birth, and looks a lot different.  is face is not nearly as swollen, though he's obviously parched from the anesthesia and it beaks my heart to see his dry lips and tongue.  We're hoping to go home tomorrow so, he'll be bottle fed tonight while I sleep and hopefully tomorrow my milk will come in and we can head home, as a family... JUST 4 days after he is born.  I've been wondering WHY God has blessed me with this boy.  Why did I get lucky enough to be his Mom?  Usually after I have a baby, I toy with the idea of L&D nursing.  These days I find myself wondering WHERE God wants me to go from here.  I feel like I make a difference at Bayada and love the realtionship I have with Emily and her family.  But maybe I could use this experience to help people in another foled of nursing?  Maybe all this is just eh pain pill typing?  Who knows... I am terrified that my Short Term Disability will be rejected and I'll have to return to work sooner than expected.  This is one of those days that

 I WISH MONEY GREW ON TEES!!!

We filled out the paperwork to have Home Health Nursing for a little while, though I'm not sure what the nurses would do, other than check on his stoma.  We've met with the Nurse Case Mgrs and have gotten and given lots of information regarding Medical Assistance Health Insurance and Social Security Disability Benefits.  This is all so new to me and it is so very confusing!!!

G'night!!