Ali was able to spend about three hours with Brady today and I was able to get up there for an hour before conferences. Not much had changed from yesterday. Brady had a 40 ml bottle feeding at 2 a.m. It seems like he is consistently the most hungry and awake at that time. We're hoping to change that to 2 p.m. by the time he gets home. :)
Ali was there when the OT visited today. The OT showed Ali several movements that we can do with him on our own with Brady's hips, knees, ankles, shoulders, wrists and mouth. The OT said his muscles were tightest on the left side of his upper body.
Ali nursed him for his 2:00 feeding and spent the rest of the time cuddling with him. While there weren't any significant improvements, we've learned that we need to be patient as Brady continues to learn how to breathe and eat on his own.
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Because of Ali's diabetes, we had a biophysical ultrasound and follow up appointment every Tuesday and Friday since before Christmas. In fact, Brady failed his first BPP on 12/23 and returned on Christmas Eve for the retest. If he would've failed that retest, we would've needed to return to the hospital on Christmas Day for another retest. Luckily for us he passed the test on Christmas Eve (and every other BPP test until the one on his birthday).
Because of other complications Ali was having during pregnancy, we visited the OB office on several other occasions in addition to the biophysicals. The doctors said Ali had one of the thickest files they have ever seen.
Since we were there so often, we formed a special bond with the doctors and nurses in the office. Casey and I also went to almost every appointment, and Casey always looked forward to getting a sticker from the nurses in the lab.
We saw three doctors for most of our appointments (Dr. Swigert, Dr. O'Halloran and Dr. Meschke). On our 2/28 appointment, Dr. Meschke visited us with results of the BPP. She told us that the baby wasn't doing well and needed to come out within the next few hours. She informed us that she was finished working for the day, but Dr. O'Halloran was the doctor on call that night. We felt relieved that one of our regular doctors would be there for the delivery.
Instead of going home at the end of her shift, Dr. Meschke ended up staying late and worked side-by-side with Dr. O'Halloran to deliver the baby. Since the birth, Dr. Meschke has called Ali almost daily to answer any questions and walk Ali through the healing process. She's gone above and beyond what a doctor is required to do.
This morning Ali visited Dr. Meschke for a follow up appointment at the Ridges. The doctor said that Ali's wound is healing well. She also gave Ali a bracelet that says, "Expect Miracles". Her three children were all in the NICU and she handed out those bracelets to family and friends.
The doctor was also able to answer some of the questions we had about those frantic minutes after Brady's birth. At 30 seconds after his birth, the nurses started cleaning him. They noticed that he wasn't being stimulated (no crying and no movement). They checked for a pulse and couldn't find one. At 45 seconds after birth they called for two Code Blues (one infant and one generic). They wanted as many people as possible there to help.
At one minute and 30 seconds of life they began bagging him (oxygen) and started chest compressions. At two to three minutes of life they intubated him twice. The first time the tube didn't fit. The second time he bit the nurse. This was the first positive sign that we had a little fighter on our hands.
At three minutes they put a pulse proximitor on his toe. At four minutes of age a recorder arrived and started writing down details. We're still trying to get those records to see if there is an exact time of his first breath or heartbeat.
Dr. Meschke is convinced that if Brady's BPP was on Wednesday instead of Tuesday that he wouldn't be with us today. We were that close to losing our child.
The doctor told Ali that she was amazed at how that team of nurses worked together to bring our son back to life. They were organized, calm, and precise.
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From the moment of his birth until now, our son has received care from doctors and nurses around the clock. The shifts change every 8 or 10 hours but the attention to detail is always the same.
We're now going to bed about 30 miles away from our son. While we're sleeping, a person we barely know will be devoting all of his or her energy checking Brady's vitals, feeding him meals, and caring for him. We feel so very blessed.
With love,
Tyler, Ali, Ava, Casey and Brady
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