Audrey Claire was born at 2:52pm on 5/31/12. All 11lbs 3oz and 21-1/4" of her!!
My appointment was for 1pm, and we got to the hospital at 11am for pre-op. We had to wait a little longer though because of an emergency c-section that came in just before I was scheduled. It still went fast though! Before I knew it, I was back in surgery, about to deliver daughter #2!
Knowing she would be a big baby, the nurses and my doc were betting on size during the moments before delivery. I think the largest bet was 10lbs 5oz. Boy, was the 11lbs 3oz a surprise for everyone!! Even more surprising was our first look at her when they held her above the curtain; dark skin, dark eyes, black hair! Quite a difference from Madie's light blue eyes, and strawberry blond hair. My first thought was actually, how did I have a black baby!?! That was how dark she looked! I am so exited that we have one brunette and one blondie though, I hope she keeps her dark hair and eyes. As for features, her and Madie look so similar from when Mads was a newborn, it's crazy.
I had been worried about her blood sugar since mine was so much harder to control this pregnancy and sure enough, her first blood sugar taken in recovery was 21. We immediately gave her formula which brought it to 37, but it remained below 40 or 50 for the rest of the afternoon. That early evening, they told me they were going to need to bring her down to NICU for a sugar IV. I was so scared and sad that I would not have my dear new baby in the room with me.
Late that night, after I was able to walk, the nurse brought me down to feed my Audrey. The rule was that she needed a >60 blood sugar before each feeding for about 12 feedings. This would have equaled about 36 hours if they stayed consistently high, though we still had some below. I made it down every 3 hours for feedings. When I was able to walk, I walked behind my wheel chair and then just down by myself. I think it was Friday that I met with the doctor in NICU as she was looking Audrey over and she told me that there was also a heart murmur and needed an echo. It was a valve that could still close on it's own, but man, it was tough to tell Jason and think about myself. I felt that I had let her down. That I did not do enough while I was pregnant with her to keep her healthy and now she was suffering. I had a LOT of guilt. Her poor little heels from all of those blood sugar pricks, not being with her mommy and instead laying by herself 2 floors below. She wasn't even crying from the pokes after a short while, probably thinking it was just a part of life. My poor baby. I know there are so many worse things, but for me, this was bad enough.
Saturday morning, the NICU nurse on duty noticed that Audrey's IV arm was puffy (I think it was called infiltrated?). They took the IV out and started trying to find a new vein to reinsert. Luckily, they could not find one and decided to take a break. I say luckily, because the doctor decided that if her blood sugars stayed higher that 60, she would no longer need the IV. And they DID! This was also good because the IV was only at 7.5. This was down from 12.5, but was going to need to get to 0 before she could leave the NICU. This way was much faster! She was able to come back to my room with me by Saturday late afternoon. I was beyond thrilled to cuddle non-stop with my baby girl, with no IV or monitor wires attached.
Our next obstacle was the murmur. I was able to leave on Sunday, but her echo was scheduled for Monday. Luckily with a c-section, my insurance would cover me for the extra day. However, thanks to my amazing nurse Brenda working with the NICU nurses and our pediatrician, they got the echo done Sunday and we were able to go home together on Sunday evening, after finding that the valve had closed on it's own and the murmur was gone! So Audrey got to come home at 100%. My strong little girl.
More about Audrey: she has a hidden dimple on her right cheek that only comes out in those elusive newborn smiles. It is the most adorable thing. She constantly makes these little sighing noises which are sometimes content and sometimes just..noises. When she cries, it starts with a great big girly squeak/squeal. Adorable! She has so far been a very good, content baby. Sleeps, eats, with short periods of content looking around, not much crying at all. She prefers to be upright and sleeping against my chest with her knees bent. She like her soothie nuk. She is not as much of a bouncer as Madie was. She likes a little bit of gentle rocking, but mostly just likes her back rubbed.
Madie LOVES her new sister. "My baby sister" as she mostly calls her. She is so proud of her and calls her sweetie and is gentle (for the most part). She tells me how special she is and how cute. It is amazing to see and such a relief.
Madie's 3rd birthday was celebrated a little late, on the 9th, since I was in the hospital on her actual birthday. And since she was too young to know the difference, although the mommy guilt came in hard, no worries! But, on the Saturday of my hospital stay, Jason and Madie took a break from visiting and went with friends to a local carnival. Madie's bff Robby was there as well as some other daycare friends. She rode on rides this year (!) and the merry go round was her fave. As much as I hated missing her first enjoyment of rides, Steve, a friend sent pics and vids, and I was so happy that she spent quality time with Jason.
But back to the party! She had a tiger bounce house, which she LOVED and got a good few hours of bouncing in until the breaker made the house deflate WITH HER IN IT! Other kids were pulled out as well, and went back in soon after, but poor Mads was scarred for the rest of the tiger bounce house existence :( I felt so bad about that. But she still loved her party. All the friends, presents (barbies galore!), kiddie pool, crafts, and general "All about Madie-ness". It was a great time. And luckily, I think the fear is focused only on tiger bounce houses, as she said next year, a princess castle or elephant would be okay...
It has been a wonderful start to our summer as a family of 4 :)
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