The Tale of Two Preemies: Meet Shelby

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Meet Shelby

Ok, gush away! Sorry I don't have any pictures of just our little girl, they are all on my phone. So instead you get to admire pictures of the very excited big brothers.

Shelby Kay was born Thursday evening at 7:20PM. She weighed in at 5lb 7 oz and 19" long. She is perfect in every way. She even has a head full of red hair! So you want to read a good birth story? Well, read away...

I had my routine appointment Thursday morning. They've been a bit concerned about her growth, so I've been doing weekly ultrasounds for about the last 3-4 weeks. There were a few things that in and of themselves weren't concerning, but together my doctor decided it was better for her to be out than in. I was happy to oblige. So after my appointment I headed upstairs where they monitored me and baby for a while to make sure everything was ok. At about 2 they started me on pitocin. The contractions were getting stronger, but nothing unbearable. However, Shelby wasn't tolerating the meds very well. Her heart rate would periodically drop and we couldn't find a position for me that would keep it where it should be. So they stopped pitocin at about 4. My doctor came in at 5:30 and broke my water, then they started pitocin at the lower dose. The contractions were getting much stronger and more frequent this time around. They still weren't unbearable, but I knew they needed time for the epidural, so I rang for the nurse. When she came in, my contractions were right on top of each other and Shelby's heart rate was dropping again. So I ended up with 3 nurses in my room trying to situate me in such a way that was good for Shelby, but we weren't having much luck. At that point they decided to call in an OR team just in case. The plan was to take me down to the operating room and let me labor there but be ready just in case a c-section was needed. Shortly after 7 we made it down to the OR. The anesthesiologist started trying to get the epidural in, but it was too late. She got the catheter in, but when they flipped me over to my back, I was already pushing. We were in the OR for less than 10 minutes before our little girl made her appearance. She's small, but healthy. Pat finally got to cut the cord for one of our kids. He did really well through it all. The worst part for him was when they were trying to put the catheter in for the epidural. It certainly didn't go as planned, but it's over and she's here! I promise I'll post more pictures once I get home and settled.

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Cole's Story

Cole was born at 30 weeks 3 days, much to our surprise, in 2006. I went in to the hospital because I wasn't feeling well and was afraid I'd get dehydrated. I ended up being air lifted to a larger hospital where Cole was born 24 hours later. He weighed in at 4 lbs. 2 oz. and was 17" long. He had some developmental delays, mostly due to acid reflux. He also had positional plagiocephaly and was in a remolding helmet for 6 weeks. At 14 months he underwent a cardiac catheter procedure to close his PDA. At 25 months he tripped getting out of his kiddie pool and broke his femur. He was in a cast from his hips to his toes for 4 long weeks. He also broke his shoulder at age 5 1/2. His latest medical drama has been a cyst in his left ear. He's had his adenoids removed and another surgery to remove the cyst. He'll have a second surgery in August. He's been through the ringer, but you'd never know it. He just rolls with the punches. He's 100% farm boy. He wants to know how everything works and why. He loves the farm. Farming is definitely in his blood.

Tate's Story

Tate was born at 34 weeks 2 days in 2008. Since I had a previous premature delivery, I was on high alert for another one. It didn't help. We had ultrasound after ultrasound and everything looked great. Tate, however, was not patient. I was admitted to the hospital with preterm labor. He held off for a couple of days, but was still born early. He weighed 5 and a half pounds and was 19" long. Fortunately he had no problems and was released from the hospital 3 days after he was born. He was born the middle child. He desperately wants to do what his big brother does, but has his own interests and wants Cole do to those with him. He's my trouble-maker, fit-thrower, and snuggle bug.