Friday, March 27, 2009
A Michael Update
I took Michael to the doctor today. His weight was 5 lbs. 6 oz. In a week he has only gained 2 oz. He really should be gaining about an ounce every day. So, they want me to supplement my breastfeeding with 3 bottles a day of either breast milk or formula. So, I started today by giving him a bottle of formula because I am out of the breast milk that I had previously pumped. I am going to try to pump so I can give him that instead of formula. They also checked his hematicrite and hemogloban levels and they were both fine, which is really good news!! So, we'll see if he gains weight next week at his appt. We are just loving Michael and enjoying him so much!! He is so cute and we all love holding him!!
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Michael is home!!!
This is Michael after the transfusion and feeling much better!!
This is Michael in the NICU.
Michael came home on Sunday afternoon! We are so glad to have him home with us. It is so much easier than having to run back and forth to the hospital. We only had to do it for 8 days, i really feel for families who have to do it for months!! Michael is so sweet and so little...his brothers and sisters love him and just want to hold him non stop!! Pat is most happy when he is holding Michael...What a blessing Michael is to our family!!!
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Welcome MICHAEL KENNETH SCHNEEMANN
This is kind of a long story so I will be as brief as I can...Things really started on Tuesday night the 3rd of March. As I was going to sleep on Tuesday night I was having a hard time getting my kick count of 10. I woke the next morning and could not feel the baby moving. I went to the triage at the hospital and they checked Michaels heart rate and it seemed to be ok. I hardly felt Michael moving the next 3 days. Friday I went back to the triage hoping that my doctor would induce me...she did!!! They got the pitocin going very gradually. I was ready to push at around 7:oo am. The baby was posterior (facing up) and therefore, took a little longer to enter the world. The doctor had to use the vacuum to get him out and his heart rate kept dropping really low.
Sweet Michael Kenneth Schneemann was born at 8:21 a.m. He weighed 5 lb. 5 oz. and was 19" long. He didn't really cry at all when he was born and had a hard time breathing. His APGAR's were 5 and 9 at 1 and 5 minutes. Which are not so great. We all could not get over how pale he was. I mean like vampire pale. It was scary!
At about 9:45 my nurse noticed how pale Micahel was and that he wasn't breathing that well. They took Michael to the nurses station and after about a half hour that charge nurse from the NICU came to my room to tell me that Miachel had been admitted.
After taking some blood tests they determined that Michael had lost 2/3 of his blood volume. Michael's hematocrit was a 15 (normal is 45 and up) and his hemoglobin was a 5. They weren't sure how it had happened but they were sure that they needed to fix it!!
They ended up doing a partial transfusion exchange. Two nurses sat at Michael's bedside with a unit of packed red blood cells. One nurse injected 10 ml of the new blood while the other nurse took out 10 ml of Michael's blood. A tech constantly monitored his vital signs. This process took over 4 hours for one unit.
After a couple of days of discussion, the doctors have finally decided that Michael had a fetomaternal hemorrhage. Basically, they think that a finger of the placenta broke off and his blood was gushing into my blood stream. They think that this happened around Tuesday night/Wednesday morning when I noticed that Michael's movement was so different.
It is miracle that Michael survived and that we had the outcome that we did... Had my doctor waited one more day to induce me or until the next Tuesday(my official induction date) he probably wouldn't have made it. His body somehow was compensating with the incredible blood loss and protected his vital organs. So far the testing has not shown any damage to any of his organs or systems. They did a CT of his brain, which was normal.
Since the transfusion, they have been working on his eating/feeding. He gets tired really easily so breastfeeding has been a challenge. They did move him to the step-down unit on Wednesday which is one step closer to going home. His hematocrit is up to 37 and his body is producing red blood cells. YEAH!!!
Heavenly Father truly does perform miracles and has a hand in our lives. Not only did he bless me and Michael but the doctors and nurses as well. The doctors have been amazed at the outcome that Micahel has had. I saw the blood that they took out of Michael... It was thin and watery. Once the blood had a chance to settle, the few red blood cells settled to the bottom and it truly hit home how few red blood cells he had.
To make things a little more challenging...on Wednesday my blood pressure was so high that they re-admitted me and I had to have an IV of Magnesium for a couple of days. If you have never had Magnesium before it makes you feel pretty awful!! Kind of like you have the flu...hot, achy, flushed, and dizzy. I am now on some blood pressure medicine and it seems to have my pressures in control. I am so happy to be home and not in the hospital. Being with my kids and Pat makes me happy and healthier.
Michael's doctor has told us that he should be able to go home either tomorrow or on Monday. He is such a sweetheart and just a little peanut too. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!! We are soooo blessed!!!!
Sweet Michael Kenneth Schneemann was born at 8:21 a.m. He weighed 5 lb. 5 oz. and was 19" long. He didn't really cry at all when he was born and had a hard time breathing. His APGAR's were 5 and 9 at 1 and 5 minutes. Which are not so great. We all could not get over how pale he was. I mean like vampire pale. It was scary!
At about 9:45 my nurse noticed how pale Micahel was and that he wasn't breathing that well. They took Michael to the nurses station and after about a half hour that charge nurse from the NICU came to my room to tell me that Miachel had been admitted.
After taking some blood tests they determined that Michael had lost 2/3 of his blood volume. Michael's hematocrit was a 15 (normal is 45 and up) and his hemoglobin was a 5. They weren't sure how it had happened but they were sure that they needed to fix it!!
They ended up doing a partial transfusion exchange. Two nurses sat at Michael's bedside with a unit of packed red blood cells. One nurse injected 10 ml of the new blood while the other nurse took out 10 ml of Michael's blood. A tech constantly monitored his vital signs. This process took over 4 hours for one unit.
After a couple of days of discussion, the doctors have finally decided that Michael had a fetomaternal hemorrhage. Basically, they think that a finger of the placenta broke off and his blood was gushing into my blood stream. They think that this happened around Tuesday night/Wednesday morning when I noticed that Michael's movement was so different.
It is miracle that Michael survived and that we had the outcome that we did... Had my doctor waited one more day to induce me or until the next Tuesday(my official induction date) he probably wouldn't have made it. His body somehow was compensating with the incredible blood loss and protected his vital organs. So far the testing has not shown any damage to any of his organs or systems. They did a CT of his brain, which was normal.
Since the transfusion, they have been working on his eating/feeding. He gets tired really easily so breastfeeding has been a challenge. They did move him to the step-down unit on Wednesday which is one step closer to going home. His hematocrit is up to 37 and his body is producing red blood cells. YEAH!!!
Heavenly Father truly does perform miracles and has a hand in our lives. Not only did he bless me and Michael but the doctors and nurses as well. The doctors have been amazed at the outcome that Micahel has had. I saw the blood that they took out of Michael... It was thin and watery. Once the blood had a chance to settle, the few red blood cells settled to the bottom and it truly hit home how few red blood cells he had.
To make things a little more challenging...on Wednesday my blood pressure was so high that they re-admitted me and I had to have an IV of Magnesium for a couple of days. If you have never had Magnesium before it makes you feel pretty awful!! Kind of like you have the flu...hot, achy, flushed, and dizzy. I am now on some blood pressure medicine and it seems to have my pressures in control. I am so happy to be home and not in the hospital. Being with my kids and Pat makes me happy and healthier.
Michael's doctor has told us that he should be able to go home either tomorrow or on Monday. He is such a sweetheart and just a little peanut too. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!! We are soooo blessed!!!!
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