Tiny Hands

Tiny Handprints

Author Unknown

Tiny handprints grow so fast

Their awkward groping soon will clasp

A ball, a book a sweetheart’s hand

A diploma, briefcase, a wedding band

Tiny handprints grow so strong

It doesn’t take them very long

To snap a shirt, to paint, to draw

To work hard, to drive a car

Tiny handprints grow to be

A person that is quite unique

A wonderful mix of so many things

With her own feelings, thought and dreams

Tiny handprints grow to rely

On her parents to bring her up just right

Her parents pray that when she’s grown

She’ll say their job has been well done

Tiny handprints are ours to love

The sweetest gift from God above

A miracle that never is surpassed

How sad they grow up way to fast.

Makinley's Two Weeks Old

Although each day seems to pass slowly the weeks seem to pass quickly.  We have spent two weeks in the NICU already.  Makinley is up to 4 lbs 9 oz and has made some good improvement this past week.  The doctors took out her PICC line so now all of her feedings and the caffeine doses are given to her through a feeding tube in her nose which goes to her stomach.  I have been spending more time with Makinley this week since I am gaining strength back.  I love to sit and her room and just hold her.  She tolerates being out of the incubator very well and she keeps her temperature up for any amount of time.  This means I can hold her for any amount of time :)  I was also able to give Makinley a bath for the first time this week.  A "bath" for a tiny baby was not at all what I was thinking.  I used small white cloths, dipped them in water with a small amount of shampoo in it, and wiped her down.  I am sure it took me a lot longer than most nurses.  She still seems so small and I was worried about pulling out tubes and setting off alarms.  Pictured below is the two week old Monkey picture as well as a picture of her first bath from mommy.

Since today is Labor Day a few family members were able to come up and visit for the weekend.  Grandma Cyndi, Great-Grandma Rachel Fynaardt, Uncle Layton, and Aunt Dee spent a few days in the NICU with us.  Unfortunately, we can only have four people in her room at one time so we do a lot of rotating in and out of the waiting room.  Makinley is the first grandchild on both sides of the family, she is the first great-grandchild on the Vos side and the tenth great-grandchild for the Fynaardt side..

Memories with the High Risk OB Staff

Before too much time passes I wanted to write a blog on the wonderful staff we became close to on the High Risk OB unit.  THANK YOU ladies for becoming my family during an unknown situation and in an unknown environment.  Andrew and I will always have good things to say about our time on HighROB and we will always cherish the memories.  I wanted to take time to mention a few of you and to journal what I will remember most about you.  You all impacted us in some way - some of you we just had more often than others :)

Shanna - You work more for the high risk doctors than a nurse on HighRob but we both appreciated all that you did for us.  At first you were just the lady that came in with the specialists but then you became a friend.  I looked forward to seeing you and hearing about your weekends.  You were a big Hawkeye Fan which we could relate with!  When I was overwhelmed with the roof situation - you offered to find me someone who could do a pedicure in the hospital.  And I remember talking to you on the phone when I went into labor early in the morning.  I felt bad for the nurses waking you up and you told me that was the least of your concern....you wanted to make sure I was okay and that I had access to anything I was in need of.  Thank you for being a great person!

Pat - We both remember having you as a nurse when we were admitted the first time in May.  We will never forget your kindness as you walked us out during discharge.  You told us to come back and have our family with you guys.  Little did we know that we would come back and deliver this baby in your unit and add her to our family.  I will also remember when you took me for a ride through the museum downstairs while they were working on the roof.  I needed a silent area and it was fun looking through all of the past hospital equipment and how it has evolved.  The love you have for your job is very evident!

Lori - You have such a quiet demeanor about you.  We remember playing Dutch bingo with you and finding out that you were a sister to my Oskaloosa Christian Grade School principal Ron Halma.  What a small world we really live in.  You were also very cheerful whenever you entered my room and I looked forward to seeing you.

Denise - You were the funny one.  You always had stories to share about cars & your kids.  You were always calm and made a light situation out of a stressful one.  You also brought me Hershey's Hugs upon reaching 26 weeks gestation. 

Marsha - You have a gift!  You know just how to wait on people without making them feel like a patient in a hospital.  You always had a smiling face and were so kind to help with anything I needed.  Thank you for sharing your camping stories with me as well as the news that you were going to be a grandma!!  I loved our coffee time outside and wish I would have stayed on bed rest so we could have had a few more :)   (See, I still only remember the good thoughts even though you had to do over 15 blood draws on me!)

Char - My price is right buddy!  I still think of you every time it comes time for the showcase showdown.  How close can we get to the actual price :)  I will remember you spent the day as my nurse the day I had magnesium.  I loved hearing about your boys and your adventures walking to work.  Another thing Andrew and I both remember is that if you were working the weekends - you would always let us sleep in.  We would never start monitoring at 8 am.  This was greatly appreciated....especially the weekends that Andrew didn't get up to the hospital until midnight or later the night before! 

Becky - The first thing we will both remember about you is from our visit in May.  You were our nurse upon arrival and I remember you saying that my bleeding was not significant.  That was the first phrase that pointed to no delivery we had heard all night and it was so calming to hear.  The other standout moment was the next day when you were finishing up your shift. Lori had come in to introduce herself as the new nurse and we had just finished talking with her about who her relatives were.  We told you we were playing Dutch Bingo and you asked what that was.  Highlight of our day!!  Since we both grew up in Iowa I guess we take for granted that everyone knows what that is around here.  I also loved hearing about your two kids and listening to all of the places you would take them on your days off. 

Heidi - If the world would be a perfect place....everyone would be Heidi.  You have such a kind heart and you are using it to please God.  We both loved having you as a nurse and enjoyed hearing about your trips to Haiti.  You were the person that introduced me to the soft serve ice cream.  I will never be able to thank you enough for that one :)  You are a great nurse and will always be considered a friend!

Elaine: You will always be remembered for helping me start my frog cross stitch blanket.  I had no clue what I was doing and you tube was no help because the hospital had the site blocked.  Thankfully you were willing to show your skills to me and teach me what I needed to do.  That blanket passed many hours of monitoring for me and will be a great keep sake for Makinley.

Sarah: Also known as the short Sarah.  This is the way we kept you separate from the other Sara.  I had you many times as a nurse and it was always reassuring to see your smiling face enter my room at night.  After awhile I enjoyed having the same people over and over again.  I asked you a lot of random questions (I am sure some seemed so simple) and you were always willing to share personal experiences.  I loved hearing about your three girls and appreciated you sharing stories about them with me. 

Pam: Twin sister to Pat.  You guys could fool many people.  I remember you came into my room one morning and I didn't have my contacts in yet.  You hooked me to the monitor and I kept thinking to myself that you sounded like Pat but yet had slightly different actions than Pat.  I was about ready to tell you that I liked your new haircut when you told me I probably knew your twin sister Pat.  Thank you for speaking up because I didn't have to think I was crazy anymore :)  I also remember you gave me my one and only back massage in the hospital one evening.  It had been a stressful day and you truly made my night.  I was also thrilled to have you in the delivery room when Makinley was born.  It was so nice to have one face that was familiar to us from our stay on HighRob to bring a little reassurance to the situation.

Joni & Denise: We loved to waste time with you late at night and spend hours talking in our room!  Time always seemed to fly by but we always found more to talk about.  Thank you for stopping by and sharing stories about your kids, relatives, camping trips, etc.  (Denise - thank you for making my second IV experience WAY better than the first - I now know that they exist without bugging you 24/7)

Roni:  I always remember your name because I associated you with the Ronald McDonald house.  When we first met you, you were trying to help us decide whether to stay at the Ronald McDonald house or to return home and wait until we miscarried.  I got to know you even better when you visited me later on in July.  You helped me conquer all of the insurance issues, enabled me to get a day pass out of the hospital, and were willing to take me downstairs to eat with you.  Thank you for all your help and visits on a weekly basis!!

Cleaning Ladies:  Most people probably do not take the time to get to know the cleaning ladies.  But most people are not hospitalized for 50+ days either.  I saw these wonderful ladies every other day and they were always kind and considerate in their work.  I felt bad that they were cleaning up after me when I wanted to do some of it myself.  They too shared part of their lives with us and told me what I should order from the cafeteria that is NOT on the menu.  I have learned hospitals keep the good food off the menu :)

I was officially an inpatient for 56 days.  As much as I thought I would be thrilled to leave that floor - it is hard to let go of the friendships we have formed.  I was so used to seeing all of your faces on a daily basis that it is weird moving on to our next stage with Makinley.  Thank you for leaving us with awesome memories and for being so good at what you do. 

You will always be highly recommended by us!

No Coincidence: God was Piecing Together the Puzzle

Throughout our journey we have tried to share times when the only reasonable explanation is that God was in control.  We have felt God walking beside us in this journey and there are so many situations that scream God was watching over us. 

1. God made sure that we arrived safely back to Sioux Center in May before I started bleeding and had to visit the ER in Orange City.  Once we arrived in Orange City we fell into the hands of a doctor who loves God and who asked to pray with us before transferring us to Sioux Falls.  What a true Christian to openly share his faith and personal stories with a family he didn't even know. Thank you Dr. Hanson!

2. As we left Orange City to drive to Sanford Hospital in May we had Life 96.5 on the radio.  It was pouring down rain outside and the thunder/lightning was making its presence known.  The song, "Healing Rain" by Michael W. Smith came on the radio.  God knew that Andrew and I had to hear those words and that we needed to be reminded that true healing in Christ comes with fire.  God doesn't say that being a Christian is going to be easy.  God chose us to carry this child for an undetermined amount of time and He was using us for His work.  We knew we could weather this storm and God would stand beside us.  I don't think it was any coincidence that for the next six weeks, every Friday when we had an appointment, it rained.  God was reassuring us that His will was still being done and we just needed to keep on with our journey.

3. In July, my sister and friend happened to be visiting when I needed to go to the ER yet again.  Andrew was flying so if they had not been around I would have had to drive myself to Orange City.  They were also able to each drive a vehicle to Sioux Falls with our luggage since we had to be transferred by ambulance.  This was wonderful because it allowed Andrew to stay with me instead of him having to drive to Sioux Falls alone. I don't think it was a coincidence that my sister Deann did not find a job after graduating in May.  God knew we would need the extra help in our pregnancy and she was able to make trips to Northwest Iowa easier due to not having a job yet.
4. Our contractions stopped in July - that happens in less than 20% of women.  What a God thing!

5.  When a woman gets pregnant she usually has nine months to prepare for the baby's arrival.  She also assumes she will be working for nine more months before having to take a few weeks off.  This obviously was not the case in our situation.  I went on bed rest at only four months pregnant and was no longer bringing in the income we had planned on before the baby's arrival.  In addition, when you have as many doctor's visits, emergency room visits, and an extended hospital stay....the paperwork begins to pile up.  I was starting to get very overwhelmed with all of the bills we were paying and the last thing I wanted was for them to become a burden.  The same day I was complaining to Andrew that I was tired of dealing with our insurance companies and multiple hospitals, we received an email from our church.  They wanted to give us a gift card to help with meals, gas, and any other expenses we may be enduring during our hospital stay.  At this point we had no idea of the monetary value of this gift card but it just reminded us that God WAS in control.  When we were feeling overwhelmed He used that opportunity to calm our nerves and to remind us to trust in Him.  He will provide for us - even financially. 

5. God had planned convenient timing for Andrew's brother Adam to close on a house in Sioux Falls.  This became a huge blessing to us for a few months.  My family was able to stay at his home whenever they came to visit.  I was also able to live in his basement night after night while we waited for the day we would take Makinley home.  It was so nice being close to the hospital but yet having my own space that I could go back to at night.  This was God's way of providing a shelter for us.

6. We were faced with many decisions before Makinley's delivery.  When do we want to be admitted to Sanford once she is viable?  What do we want to do if she is delivered at 23 5/7 weeks?  Do we want doctors to revive her?  What do we want to do if mommy or baby get an infection prior to delivery?  How many weeks do want to wait until we induce?  Do we want to learn how to deal with a child who has a tracheotomy and oxygen?  What do we want doctors to do if she doesn't tolerate labor? 

Thankfully - we NEVER had to give an answer for any of these questions!  We were admitted when contractions started occurring, she was not delivered early (under 24 weeks), we had no infections, God chose the day he wanted her born, she handled labor wonderfully, and she was able to breathe on her own!  NOTHING will ever be able to explain how blessed we are that God took those hard decisions and laid all of the answers out in front of us.

7. Lastly - the biggest miracle of all - our baby girl is alive!  No medical diagnosis, test, or doctor can explain why Makinley survived.  The specialists are even more shocked that she has no lung issues and she is breathing on her own.  They thought we would be in the NICU for close to a year just working with her breathing and after four days she is breathing on her own. 

Thank you Lord - for letting us be a part of your great works. 

Please let us be a witness to those around us and use Makinley's story to benefit you.

Makinley's One Week Old

Makinley has been doing very well the last few days.  She is now back to her birth weight of 4 lbs.  The doctors conducted a routine head scan yesterday.  Everything looked great and there were no brain bleeds.  Makinley was also taken off of the Bili light today.  Her numbers have stabalized and she no longer needs to be under the light. 

We are adaptly quickly to life in the NICU.  It doesn't take very long to learn all of the alarms and whistles.  I swear there are alarms for everything.  She has an oxygen cord that wraps around her foot or hand.  If she moves a lot this will alarm because it does not pick up her levels correctly.  Alarms go off if she doesn't have her three stomach patches on correctly.  They are just sticky on the back so this happens frequently.  If her oxygen level drops below a certain level there is a yellow warning signal and a red danger alarm.  If the red alarm goes off nurses come running in the room and stimulate (rub her back) her to start breathing again.  She is getting caffiene to help eliminate these spells.  We have been told this is very common in the premature babies and they will just keep monitoring her.  Here is a picture Makinley's bed and monitors:

This weekend Andrew bought Makinley her first large stuffed animal.  We found a great big monkey that we thought would be cute in Makinley's NICU room.  I hope to take pictures with it as she grows so we have something to compare in size.  

Daddy & Makinley with Monkey: One Week Old



Makinley: Day 5 in the NICU

Makinley has been very stable the last two days.  She has lost a little weight and now weighs 3lbs 13 oz.  Unfortunately, Andrew & I decided not to go up last night and go up today instead.  I have been struggling to gain strength back and have been dealing with severe back pain.  I have had back problems in the past but thankfully during the pregnancy I felt great.  We made an emergency call to my chiropractor and he saw me this morning and made a few adjustments.  It is hard to do too much though considering I just had a baby five days ago.  I am just hoping the pain subsides a little bit because it currently does not seem like Ibprofin is working and I am not sleeping well at nights.

We packed our bags to stay at Adam's house tonight in Sioux Falls.  We set up an air mattress in his basement and the plan is that I will stay there at night by myself once I feel I have enough strength to do so and Andrew will come join me on the weekends. It is such a blessing to know that we are only fifteen minutes away if we ever need/want to be with Makinley.  Adam has opened his house up so many times and I am thankful he is allowing me to be a "house guest" for an undetermined amount of time.  We met Andrew's dad, Dan at the hospital today.  This was the first time he got to see Makinley. 

Upon arrival the nurse also said that we could hold Makinley today.  YAY!!!  We get to hold our baby girl for the first time.  Andrew was sweet enough to let me go first.  I was so scared to take her out of the incubator.  She seems so much smaller than babies I am used to holding and she has so many cords attached to her.  After I finished holding her then Andrew took his turn.  Of course she has to show off for him too.  Pretty sure he got her to smile.  He would rub his finger on the tip of her nose and she would give a little smile and raise her eyebrows.  So cute to watch them bond already this early on.  Thank you nurse Jill for photographing this precious moment for us.  No one can ever describe what it feels like to finally hold your baby for the first time.  Holding Makinley was the best feeling ever - it made being a mommy feel real to me!  I felt like I had some control in the situation now and it made the 15 weeks of waiting for her arrival totally worth it!

   

Makinley: Day 3 in the NICU

Those of you who have had NICU babies understand how hard it is to be away from your child.  You want to be that sound and smell they are used to but at the same time it is necessary you take care of yourself too.  Today I called in to check on Makinley.  You call the front desk, ask to talk the nurse for your child, wait to be transferred, and then supply a code number that is associated with your kid.  As hard as it is to prove that you are the parent - I am also grateful for this tool that allows parents to follow the care of their child even if they can't physically be present at their bed side.

Makinley is doing awesome.  Far better than anyone would have ever thought.  She is off of ALL oxygen.  Last night she pulled her nasal cannula out and the nurse did not even catch it right away.  She was doing fine without it because none of her monitors went off.  They all decided on rounds to leave it out and see if she could maintain her oxygen.  What a huge accomplishment for Makinley!!  Yesterday, they also decided they would start giving her breast milk to her stomach and start to cut back on the sugar/IV nutrients.  She has been taking 2 ml every three hours for over a day now and had no issues. 

Our only concern at this time, which is common in preemies, is she has times where she stops breathing or holds her breath too long which causes her heart rate to drop.  They are giving her caffeine for this and said it should decrease in two or three weeks.  She also continues to be on the Bili light to help with the jaundice.

Today was my first full day at home.  It did not go so well.  I did not realize how close in proximity everything was for me in my hospital room.  The bathroom, my bed, and even the fridge were only a few steps away.  Now I have to walk a lot farther if I want to lay in bed, or if I want to get a drink, or use the bathroom.  I didn't feel weak while on bed rest but not I can definitely tell I have no energy.  Shortly before lunch I was exhausted and feeling very light headed.  My biggest worry was that I was going to pass out and no one was going to even know it.  Since Andrew was gone on a flight, I called up a friend and previous co-worker, Bonnie Ruden.  Thank you Bonnie for coming to my rescue!!  She was so nice to not only come and sit with me for a while but she brought over some much needed groceries so that we had some food in our house.  Since Andrew spent all of his free time at the hospital with me for two months - we really didn't have anything edible left in our cupboards.  Later in the afternoon, Andrew's mom, Joan came over for a while until Andrew got home.  I am hoping each day gets a little better and I become a little stronger.  I know it is going to take time but at this point I wish it would speed up.

To Makinley: This is the first day we have not been together since we knew of your existence.  It breaks our heart that we could not be with you today.  We love you soo much.  Thank you for doing so well while we are away.  You make us so proud and it makes us not worry so much when you are doing well.  Keep up the good work.  We hope to see you tomorrow!

Makinley: Day 2 in the NICU

Just wanted to give you all a quick update on how Makinley is doing.  We are so pleased with her progress!  Shortly after we updated you yesterday the NICU decided to take Makinley off of the C-pap because she was doing so well.  This meant she went down to only a nasal canula that provides a little bit of oxygen if she needs it. 

Today was a very stressful day for me.  I was feeling very overwhelmed with everything that was trying to be accomplished.  They started Makinley on the bili light since she was showing small signs of jaundice.  My parents took off shortly after lunch.  It was sad to see them leave because they have been such a huge support for us on this long journey.  We were trying to sign all of the discharge papers, birth certificate papers, and get prescriptions filled.  All the while the NICU kept calling to ask us to sign a waiver for them to put a PICC line in Makinley.  This will allow for a more sterile way for the nurses to give her nutrients and medications instead of to her stomach through the umbilical cord line.  I was not feeling confident in doing this procedure at all.  I finally broke down in Makinley's room and Andrew made the decision to go ahead with it.  We have made so many decisions on her behalf and I felt like we didn't have the adequate time to research our options like we had done before. 

We told the NICU nurse Jenn that we would be downstairs waiting for them to call when they were completed.  We packed our bags and brought some of our many things out to the car at this time.  They finally called to tell us the procedure was finished and we could come up to see her again.  I was really anxious and looking forward to possibly holding her before we left for home.  I was sadly disappointed.  They failed to tell us that she would be sedated for this procedure and therefore would not be in the best state to be held.  Not the way a new mommy wants to leave her baby.  It was so frustrating - she was so out of it when we said goodbye but it was time that we headed home as well.

It was weird finally being home again tonight.  Although I knew this was my house - I felt like I was in a totally new place again.  I even had to adjust to the smell of my own home again.  Andrew has a trip tomorrow so hopefully I can survive on my own.  Our plan is to head back on Friday after Andrew gets off work.  Thank you for your thoughts and prayers.  We will keep you updated as things progress with Makinley.

Makinley Grace Schreier has arrived!

We are excited to announce that Makinley Grace Schreier was born yesterday, August 22, at 10:38 am.  She weighed 4 lbs 1 oz.  She tolerated delivery very well for being a premature baby and so far things look good.  Her lungs were developed!  She was intubated immediately after birth and given 45% oxygen so that she didn't have to work as hard to breathe.  After one dose of surfactant, she was down graded to the Cpap machine and is only receiving 21% oxygen(normal human level) as of this morning.  She does have two clubbed feet.  This means that both of her feet turn inward.  It was most likely caused by low fluid amounts.  A baby is not strong enough to push away from things inside the womb and therefore as Makinley grew her feet began to grow inward since they were being pushed up against the uterus wall.  This is something we can address in a month or so and most likely fix with six to eight weeks of casting.  In addition, one of her thumbs is is deformed.  It looks like two fingers put together with two nails, etc.  This is something we will also address later on when she is a little more stable. 

I was able to finally meet our baby girl this morning.  Andrew wheeled me up to the NICU for me to see her.  Her room is on the back wall of the NICU.  Doctors thought she would be in critical condition so they placed her in the high risk area of the floor.  She is so tiny!!  Andrew can wrap his hand around her whole bottom half.  It is so wonderful to see how much he loves her already.  It melts my heart to see the way that he looks at her.  We have loved her from day one but it so nice to put a face with a name now.  She is fairly dark complected which is a trait from her daddy.  Believe it or not she is darker than me at the moment.  No sun and blood loss have caused me to be pretty pale right now.  She has a head full of dark hair.  I can not wait to start putting bows in it!  I wish that we could hold her but so far they have not offered for us to pick her up.  They want to make sure she is stable before we move her a lot.  For now, I will just take in every feature and let her hold on to my finger for as long as she desires!  I am sure nurse Mindy thought we took LOTS of pictures - my sister Dee was making sure to capture our special memories on camera.

 





I would love to stay in Makinley's room every hour of every day but my body is still very weak.  I get light headed really easy and need to do things slowly.  Andrew took me back to our room and we spent some time talking to my family which allowed me to rest.  We will try to keep you updated with progress and appreciate all of your prayers and patience during this time.  We have a lot going on and are still focused on Makinley's well-being as well as the next steps for her care. 

To Makinley - We are so glad you have arrived.  Thank you so much for doing a great job during delivery.  You stayed strong just like we talked about and you didn't cause any problems.  Thank you for crying when you were born so that we knew you were fighting hard and mad to be in that cold room.  You have already won us over and we will help you anyway we can.  We have had your name chosen for a while now.  We really liked the name Kinley but it took us a while to agree on how to spell it.  Once we had that part Makinley just came to us and we figured you could be called Kinley for short if that's what you wanted.  We know that you are a miracle and we wanted to give credit for your birth where credit is due.  This is why we chose your middle name Grace.  It is only by God's grace that you are alive today and we wanted you to always remember that.  You will forever be our miracle baby and we pray that one day you will understand how much of a miracle you are and what a mighty God we serve.

Makinley's Delivery

It is hard to believe that 15 weeks ago we were told that we would lose our baby to a miscarriage after my water broke prematurely.  Only because of God's miraculous works are we excited to announce that Makinley Grace Schreier has arrived!

This past weekend, Andrew and I had a few visitors at the hospital and we got to spend some time with them catching up.  We really enjoyed having people over but I think we were both ready for a good night's sleep on Sunday night.  Andrew left around 7 pm and I requested to be monitored early so that I could go to bed earlier.  Nurse Joleen brought me my sleeping pill (something I have been taking for a while to help drown out the noise of sleeping in a hospital) and I expected to wake up in the morning and do our daily routine yet again.

I woke up shortly after 1 am and got up to use the bathroom.  I thought I was leaking fluid but soon realized I was bleeding.  So I called in the nurse and we started monitoring me to check on baby and to see if I was having contractions.  The monitor confirmed that I was indeed having contractions.  When I first woke up I did not feel any different - less than an hour later I was feeling the contractions.  I think I knew deep down that this was it so I kept asking the nurse if I should call my husband to come up.  She said I should let him know what was happening and we could watch it for fifteen more minutes.  I sent Andrew a text around 1:30 and told him that he was probably going to have to drive back up because I was most likely in labor.  I also remember telling him that if our baby girl was going to be okay I really wanted this to be it so we could be finished with bed rest and move on to the next stage.  They gave me a 1/2 dose of Terbutaline to try and stop my contractions.  We didn't want to do a full dose because after being ruptured for so long this could be my body's way of saying the baby needs to come out for her own safety.  The contractions weakened for maybe 1/2 hour and then started again so at this point we knew we were going to deliver our baby girl. 

Andrew didn't wait for me to send him another text.  He began packing a few things right away and started on his way up to the hospital.  He made it in record time and was in my room by 2:40 am :)  Good thing it was early in the morning and most likely no one else was even on the road!  Once he arrived we went ahead and started an IV (I will forever ask for Lidocaine to be used before the IV needle) and found out that I was 3 cm dilated.  They also said that they wanted to start me on magnesium for the baby's sake.  This would help to strengthen her blood vessels and hopefully eliminate any brain bleeds with her being premature.  I knew this was best for our baby but I was not impressed by the idea.  I had already done one round of magnesium in June so I knew the effects it would have on me.  The only side effect that impacted me revolved around my vision.  After 7 or 8 hours I start seeing double or triple.  Not exactly the way you plan to deliver your own child but I was willing to do it for my baby girl.

I went in with a plan to labor naturally but also knew that if the time came I would get drugs if I felt it was necessary or if our baby needed me to do so.  So I was not happy when one doctor said I should get an epidural just in case they were to need it in the delivery room.  Why would I get an epidural - just because?  I asked for a second opinion and Dr. Boyle said we could go in without one.  They could always put me out or intubate me if things changed during delivery.  Awesome!  One thing Andrew and I have learned after being involved with so many hospitals and doctors - SPEAK YOUR MIND!  Andrew would always remind me that WE have the final say in our care and what procedures we want done.  So I was glad that we remembered that during delivery too and we could continue on a path we chose.

Labor moved along quickly.  I was not super uncomfortable and had nice breaks between contractions.  Most of it was in my back which Andrew and my nurses Tamra & Janelle helped a lot with.  Baby girl was handling delivery awesome - something they didn't know for sure would happen.  Her heart rate was steady and I could still feel her moving.  I tried not to think about the uncertainty of her actual entrance into this world.  We so wanted her to be a part of our family but we also knew her lungs may not have formed.  Andrew was definitely more optimistic than I was.  Maybe he knew he had to be positive for me since I was the one going through all of the unknown changes and procedures.

Around 7 am we found out that Dr. Boyle was the doctor coming on call.  They discussed letting the previous doctor finish our delivery and once again my wonderful husband spoke up on our thoughts.  We have always been thrilled with the level of care and personal relationship we have formed with Dr. Boyle.  Andrew requested that if he was willing we would really appreciate him to deliver our baby.  I don't think this came as a surprise to him.  We had already discussed that if we made it to 34 weeks we wanted to pick an induction date when he could deliver.  We had set the date for September 12 - we should have known not to set a date.  Every time we try to plan something dealing with this baby - she makes her own plans and changes everything.  Needless to say, he was willing to be our delivery doctor today and we found out later that he even gave up a c-section he was supposed to do that morning in order to be our doctor. 

Around 9 am I was told we were going to move to the Operating Room.  We just finished breaking my water - yes you heard correctly!  Although I was losing fluid constantly there was still a pocket of fluid they had to break in order for Makinley to be delivered.  I was dilated to 8 cm and progressing quickly and therefore they didn't want to wait much longer.  We knew we would probably deliver in the OR for precautionary reasons.  Since Makinley's outcome was so unknown they wanted to be prepared for an emergency c-section as well as have the NICU doctors in the room ready to assist her after delivery. 

After moving to the delivery room - my labor slowed down tremendously!  I blame it on the OR table.  I wish to never deliver on an OR table again.  I don't consider myself a big person - and all I remember is that I felt I was going to fall off.  They had me turning side to side and Andrew stood right next to the table so that I wouldn't go off one end.  I recall at one point, Nurse Pam, looked at me and said you better hurry up with this baby - Dr. Boyle is outside the door pacing as if it was his own child being born.  One hour after moving to the OR, they gave me the option to wait out the labor or to start Pitocin.  I was having adequate contractions they were just spaced really far apart.  We opted for the Pitocin since the magnesium was starting to make me see double and I was ready to be done.  A few contractions later it was time to push.  The Pitocin had made Makinley's heart rate drop so Dr. Boyle delivered her as quickly as possible.  A few pushes later our baby girl was born!

I will never forget that moment of hearing Makinley cry.  What a glorious sound - that meant her lungs had formed to some degree and she at least had a chance!!  What a blessing!  I had just accomplished a non-medicated natural delivery and our baby girl was breathing!  Andrew asked if she was a girl since no one had said for sure and he was the first one to notice that she had two thumbs on her right hand.  Dr. Boyle cut the cord and handed her over to the team of doctors near the back of the room.  Andrew counted earlier and said there was probably 15 to 20 people in our delivery room.  He said it was really neat to see how organized they were with her care.  One doctor would step in and evaluate what they needed to, step aside, and the next person would take over.  After the initial evaluations she was ready to head to the NICU.  They did bring her over to me inside of the incubator.  I wish I could have seen her more but the magnesium was causing me to see triple and we were still dealing with some of my complications.

Andrew and I had originally planned to have him go with Makinley after delivery but while in the delivery room we decided I needed him more at the moment.  After Makinley was born my placenta was in pieces and therefore could not be delivered.  This is something the doctor was prepared for since it is more common to occur in pregnancies with little to no fluid.  He was unable to retrieve it and they ended up putting me under for a short period of time.  I vaguely remember the anesthesiologist telling me to open my eyes as we left the OR but then woke up in the recovery room around noon.  Andrew was waiting when I woke up and he told me that Makinley was doing okay.  They did have to intubate her because she needed some help breathing.  They were giving her 45% oxygen at the moment. 

Once I was awake in the recovery room they wanted to move me to our post delivery room.  This was happy and sad.  I really just wanted to go back to "my room" on the High Risk floor and with all of the nurses that I knew.  But while I was sleeping Marsha and Andrew moved all of our stuff into our new room.  My nurse Janelle asked if I wanted to see Makinley.  Of course I wanted to see her!  This sounded a lot better than how it turned out.  They rolled my bed through the NICU and next to Makinleys bed. We couldn't really get my bed high enough for me to get a good view of her in the incubator.  In addition, my body was still overcoming the side effects of the magnesium drip so I couldn't really make her out "clearly" yet.  I guess it is the thought that counts.  We knew Makinley was in good hands with nurse Cindy.

The rest of the day went by quickly.  I remember the nurses were determined to get me standing within a few hours.  I was not so sure.  I knew I could stand - but after 15 weeks of bed rest plus losing 1.5 liters of blood during delivery - I didn't feel like I physically had the strength to stand on my own two feet.  My parents & sister Deann arrived mid afternoon and Andrew took them down to see Makinley.  Adam, Andrew's brother, also came later that evening and was introduced to Makinley.  He was also my family's "hotel" for the night. 

We are so thankful that Makinley's delivery went as smooth as it did.  We are even more blessed to have our baby girl alive and well as part of our family.  We look forward to raising her and watching her grow up!