In all seriousness...

With tomorrow being our last day in the hospital (fingers crossed), I have to just say again how great the Riddle Memorial Hospital Birth Center & NICU staff has been. I don't know that Molly or I would have been able to deal with the circumstances of Nate's birth. They are Nate's extended family and can't wait to bring him back for a visit over the coming years to let them continue to share in his life.

We have friends who's children spend time in the NICU and with them we can only sympathize with them again as we understand what they dealt with, even if on a smaller scale, and appreciate their support.

To our families & all our friends who've been there for us the past week, visited, called, texted, etc...it has meant a lot to us and we can't wait to have you over to meet Nate!

Thank You!

ps: Molly hasn't seen any of this blog yet (no internet access at the hospital; I've been reading everything to her each night) but I promise she'll be a regular contributer soon. And I'll try to keep any serious entries to a minimum and work on the humor as much as possible.

No Extra O2

So Nathan's grandfather (call me Sir??? :-) ) and I were visiting with him to have Aunt Eileen whisper in my ear "he's not receiving any supplemental oxygen, but I didn't tell him!"

The pneumothorax had healed up, and at this point, he's only being given air to assist in clearing out any possible infection from the meconium.

Mother and Son

I arrived at the hospital today to see Molly had energy, and wandered down to the NICU.....

And we were able to hold our son.

Nathan's Birth or How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the NICU

Since people have been asking, its time to put it all out there... especially since pics following could use a little introduction.
Molly's blood pressure late in the pregnancy had gotten a bit high, so she had a Nonstress Test on Monday at 1 pm.  The results gave us a few interesting points:
 1. Molly's placenta was old
 2. Molly didn't have much amniotic fluid
So I got the call just before 3ish... "we're having a baby."  Yes, I knew that one, but I didn't know it was that day.  Molly was going to be induced.

So the cervidil was administered at 5.  It really didn't do its job, thinning and dilating the cervix while starting some minor contractions.  Moreso, Nathan's heartrate was dropping after each contraction.  This made the pitocin both pointless and risky.

So the C-Section prep was started. 

At 3:06 Nate was born. He had inhaled meconium and had a slight pneumothorax.  Molly had a bad reaction to the anestesia, making her dizzy, light-headed & nautious throughout the day.  Not a fun first day of motherhood.

Nate has been spending time with his extended family, the Riddle Memorial Hospital NICU since birth.  He's been treated with antibiotics to prevent infection from the meconium and oxygen to help his lungs.