Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Jaxon Gunter 2 days old
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Our beautiful son...Jaxon
So its been awhile since I have found the time to update our blog. So much has happened in such a short amount of time. So I will have to start at the beginning, please bare with me cause this will be a long blog.
About 3 weeks ago I started having contractions. We went into the doctors office and he ordered a test called Fetal Fibro Nectin (FFN), which allows the doctors to know whether or not the baby's birth is imminent. He also ordered an ultra sound to check fetal growth and how long my cervix length was. It was a little nerve wracking not knowing what the test results would come out as. They also checked to see if I was dilateing. I was dilated to a finger tip which is not much to be concerned about but he was concerned because my cervix was thinner then it was suppose to be and it felt shorter. The test results for the FFN came back negative which made us relax a little. However the next day was our scheduled ultra sound. During the ultra sound the tech was able to get a good side profile of Jaxon, he was being stubborn and had one hand over the other side of his face covering it up. He was definately cute though. The ultra sound showed that fetal growth and amniotic fluid was good. It did show that my cervix was shorter then normal. A normal cervix measures at 4cm, at 2.5cm the doctors will usually admit you and keep you on bedrest. My cervix was 3cm long. Not bad but not great. Our doctor decided to be on the safe side and put me on bed rest anyways. He also started me on a medication called Procardia to help stop the contractions. He said it would give me a migraine but to push through it but if it made my feet and legs sweel that I needed to stop the medication. So I started the Procardia and pushed through the migraine, but on Saturday my feet began to swell and so I stopped the medication. I wasn't due to see him again till that following Tuesday. However on Monday morning and into the afternoon I was cramping and contracting. We went up to L&D and they monitored my contractions and watched Jaxon on the fetal monitor. The nurse that we had mentioned that we should talk to Dr. Smith about doing the 2 shots to help mature Jaxon's lungs if we were flirting with pre-term labor. So after having the contractions stopped and Tuesday came Dr. Smith checked another FFN and to see if I had dilated anymore, he also changed my contraction medication to Terbutaline. I was then at that point dilated to 1cm. He agreed that it was a good idea to give me the steroid shots for Jaxon. We returned 24hrs later for the second shot. On Wednesday I told the doctor that I wasn't feeling Jaxon move as much and so they hooked me up to the NST(non-stress test) machine. Jaxon was doing good. Movement was great. We went on throughout the week with no other complications. The Terbutaline was working and we were feeling very optimistic that I would be able to continue on bedrest and that Jaxon would be carried full term.
That all changed on Sunday morning. I was trying to get my fetal kick count in after I had eaten breakfast and before church. I got the ten kicks in an hour but he was still being abnormally quiet. I had this nagging feeling that I needed to keep paying attention to how often he was moving. As the afternoon went on his movement got less and less. I became very concerned and tried doing the few things the doctors recommend. I had 3 Sunkist soda which are loaded with caffine, I had something to eat and 5 Capri suns. He didnt move, even if I were to push on my stomach he wouldn't move much. I got 6 kicks in 2 hours. At that point I called the on call doctor and he said he thought it might be a good idea if I came in and had Jaxon monitored. Never in mine wildest dreams would I have imagined having to have him delivered. As they watched him on the NST machine he was having declerations in his heart rate. They started me on fluid IV's and had me lay on my left side. That didn't seem to help. So the doctor ordered an ultra sound that checks for 4 things, tone, amniotic fluid, breathing and movement. The highest you can score is 8/8. We were happy to find out that that is what we scored, However the doctor was still not satisfied and decided to keep me over night. As the night turned to morning Jaxon's movement did not change. He was still pretty flat lined meaning not moving. At that point after consulting with the high risk doctors and neonatologists our doctor decided to proceed with an emergency c-section. Having received a preiesthood blessing earlier in the night I felt okay with this decision. I felt the Lord would be on our side and things would be okay. I am still pretty tired and groggy about the whole procedure but I do remember a few things. I remember Sterling holding my hand and rubbing my cheek telling me it was okay and that he loved me. I remember Sterling was able to stand up and watch as they took Jaxon from my stomach, cut the cord and pass him off to the NICU team. At that point he leaned back down and put his forehead to mine. He was smiling so big and I couldn't keep from smiling as well, especially after we heard Jaxon cry for the first time. What a beautiful sound that is. Sterling then went over and watched as they cleaned him up and wrapped him. When they finally decided to take him away I asked Sterling to go with him, that I would be okay. They brought Jaxon over and let me kiss his face once before they left, taking Ster with them. As I laid there on the OR table I couldn't help but feel so elated to know that he was doing okay. I thanked my Heavenly Father for without him I know this could have been worse for us. When I was done being sewed up they took me back to my room where Sterling and his parents were both waiting. The doctors had given me a spinal and they said I couldn't go see Jaxon until I could get up into a wheelchair without much help. It kinda sucked not being able to go see him but I knew Sterling was passing on all my love to him. Ster was able to take his parents and his sister Shannon in to see him. They would take pictures for me so I could see what a cutie he is. They decided at some point that he wasn't getting enough oxygen on his own and put him on a ventilator using 60% oxygen. They also gave him surfactant to help mature his lungs a little more. I tried so hard all afternoon to get my legs un-numb so i could go see my boy. Finally around 3:00pm I had enough feeling in my legs that I was able to get up. The nurses came in and took me over to see him. He was doing much better only needing 45% oxygen. That made me really happy. Sterling was at home. I made him go and sleep. There is no reason both of us be so tired that we were none functional. After being able to see him I went back to my room. It was hard not being able to pick him up and hold him. I told him how much I loved him and how much his daddy loved him. I thanked him for breathing and for coming into our life. I thanked my Heavenly Father for everything, my son, my husband, the doctors, medicine, hospitals, knowledge...the list goes on and on. I went back to my room and waited there for Sterling to come back. When he finally made it back we went in again and saw Jaxon. This time they had put a few tubes through his belly button and he was only requiring 25% oxygen. Doing leaps and bounds better. Because of how tired I have been and how time consuming recovering is this blog has taken me a few days to write... So right now its Wednesday morning...
At this point Jaxon is doing awesome. He is off the ventilator and using only a nasal canulla as needed. They have removed the tubes from his belly button and I finally got to hold my baby :).
They call it Kangaroo care meaning holding him skin to skin. I was able to hold him for an hour and half, sleeping some of the time. It was such a wonderful feeling having his body against mine and feeling his breath on my chest. He was so content and peaceful that when the nurse said it was time for shift change and that we would have to come back and removed him from my chest his little cry broke my heart in two. Im sure they were able to get him to stop but I couldn't stay, it was too hard on me. I went back to my room and made a few phones calls. As for Sterling he was able to do the Kangaroo care a couple hours later. They were so cute...father and son. I am so blessed to have 2 important men in my life now, both whom i love so much. As for me, I am doing better. Having a c-section was not the ideal way for me to deliver but I will be able to carry a baby to term next time as well as deliver vaginally if I want to. I am sore and it takes me a while to get up and moving but I can do it on my own. I was finally able to shower, what a glorious wonderful feeling that was. The doctor said that I am okay to go home but I am more then welcome to stay till Friday. I think I might do that because Carol has been sick and I dont want to not be able to come see Jaxon. My whole family is also coming up this weekend and I am anxiously awaiting their arrival to show off my new baby boy. As more information comes along about Jaxon I will do my best to make sure I post it. Oh at this point they are saying that he might be able to come home in 2-3 weeks. Yeah!!!
Thanks to all those who have been praying for us and our safety. We appreciate it. We love you all. Enjoy the pics of Jaxon, me and Ster.
About 3 weeks ago I started having contractions. We went into the doctors office and he ordered a test called Fetal Fibro Nectin (FFN), which allows the doctors to know whether or not the baby's birth is imminent. He also ordered an ultra sound to check fetal growth and how long my cervix length was. It was a little nerve wracking not knowing what the test results would come out as. They also checked to see if I was dilateing. I was dilated to a finger tip which is not much to be concerned about but he was concerned because my cervix was thinner then it was suppose to be and it felt shorter. The test results for the FFN came back negative which made us relax a little. However the next day was our scheduled ultra sound. During the ultra sound the tech was able to get a good side profile of Jaxon, he was being stubborn and had one hand over the other side of his face covering it up. He was definately cute though. The ultra sound showed that fetal growth and amniotic fluid was good. It did show that my cervix was shorter then normal. A normal cervix measures at 4cm, at 2.5cm the doctors will usually admit you and keep you on bedrest. My cervix was 3cm long. Not bad but not great. Our doctor decided to be on the safe side and put me on bed rest anyways. He also started me on a medication called Procardia to help stop the contractions. He said it would give me a migraine but to push through it but if it made my feet and legs sweel that I needed to stop the medication. So I started the Procardia and pushed through the migraine, but on Saturday my feet began to swell and so I stopped the medication. I wasn't due to see him again till that following Tuesday. However on Monday morning and into the afternoon I was cramping and contracting. We went up to L&D and they monitored my contractions and watched Jaxon on the fetal monitor. The nurse that we had mentioned that we should talk to Dr. Smith about doing the 2 shots to help mature Jaxon's lungs if we were flirting with pre-term labor. So after having the contractions stopped and Tuesday came Dr. Smith checked another FFN and to see if I had dilated anymore, he also changed my contraction medication to Terbutaline. I was then at that point dilated to 1cm. He agreed that it was a good idea to give me the steroid shots for Jaxon. We returned 24hrs later for the second shot. On Wednesday I told the doctor that I wasn't feeling Jaxon move as much and so they hooked me up to the NST(non-stress test) machine. Jaxon was doing good. Movement was great. We went on throughout the week with no other complications. The Terbutaline was working and we were feeling very optimistic that I would be able to continue on bedrest and that Jaxon would be carried full term.
That all changed on Sunday morning. I was trying to get my fetal kick count in after I had eaten breakfast and before church. I got the ten kicks in an hour but he was still being abnormally quiet. I had this nagging feeling that I needed to keep paying attention to how often he was moving. As the afternoon went on his movement got less and less. I became very concerned and tried doing the few things the doctors recommend. I had 3 Sunkist soda which are loaded with caffine, I had something to eat and 5 Capri suns. He didnt move, even if I were to push on my stomach he wouldn't move much. I got 6 kicks in 2 hours. At that point I called the on call doctor and he said he thought it might be a good idea if I came in and had Jaxon monitored. Never in mine wildest dreams would I have imagined having to have him delivered. As they watched him on the NST machine he was having declerations in his heart rate. They started me on fluid IV's and had me lay on my left side. That didn't seem to help. So the doctor ordered an ultra sound that checks for 4 things, tone, amniotic fluid, breathing and movement. The highest you can score is 8/8. We were happy to find out that that is what we scored, However the doctor was still not satisfied and decided to keep me over night. As the night turned to morning Jaxon's movement did not change. He was still pretty flat lined meaning not moving. At that point after consulting with the high risk doctors and neonatologists our doctor decided to proceed with an emergency c-section. Having received a preiesthood blessing earlier in the night I felt okay with this decision. I felt the Lord would be on our side and things would be okay. I am still pretty tired and groggy about the whole procedure but I do remember a few things. I remember Sterling holding my hand and rubbing my cheek telling me it was okay and that he loved me. I remember Sterling was able to stand up and watch as they took Jaxon from my stomach, cut the cord and pass him off to the NICU team. At that point he leaned back down and put his forehead to mine. He was smiling so big and I couldn't keep from smiling as well, especially after we heard Jaxon cry for the first time. What a beautiful sound that is. Sterling then went over and watched as they cleaned him up and wrapped him. When they finally decided to take him away I asked Sterling to go with him, that I would be okay. They brought Jaxon over and let me kiss his face once before they left, taking Ster with them. As I laid there on the OR table I couldn't help but feel so elated to know that he was doing okay. I thanked my Heavenly Father for without him I know this could have been worse for us. When I was done being sewed up they took me back to my room where Sterling and his parents were both waiting. The doctors had given me a spinal and they said I couldn't go see Jaxon until I could get up into a wheelchair without much help. It kinda sucked not being able to go see him but I knew Sterling was passing on all my love to him. Ster was able to take his parents and his sister Shannon in to see him. They would take pictures for me so I could see what a cutie he is. They decided at some point that he wasn't getting enough oxygen on his own and put him on a ventilator using 60% oxygen. They also gave him surfactant to help mature his lungs a little more. I tried so hard all afternoon to get my legs un-numb so i could go see my boy. Finally around 3:00pm I had enough feeling in my legs that I was able to get up. The nurses came in and took me over to see him. He was doing much better only needing 45% oxygen. That made me really happy. Sterling was at home. I made him go and sleep. There is no reason both of us be so tired that we were none functional. After being able to see him I went back to my room. It was hard not being able to pick him up and hold him. I told him how much I loved him and how much his daddy loved him. I thanked him for breathing and for coming into our life. I thanked my Heavenly Father for everything, my son, my husband, the doctors, medicine, hospitals, knowledge...the list goes on and on. I went back to my room and waited there for Sterling to come back. When he finally made it back we went in again and saw Jaxon. This time they had put a few tubes through his belly button and he was only requiring 25% oxygen. Doing leaps and bounds better. Because of how tired I have been and how time consuming recovering is this blog has taken me a few days to write... So right now its Wednesday morning...
At this point Jaxon is doing awesome. He is off the ventilator and using only a nasal canulla as needed. They have removed the tubes from his belly button and I finally got to hold my baby :).
They call it Kangaroo care meaning holding him skin to skin. I was able to hold him for an hour and half, sleeping some of the time. It was such a wonderful feeling having his body against mine and feeling his breath on my chest. He was so content and peaceful that when the nurse said it was time for shift change and that we would have to come back and removed him from my chest his little cry broke my heart in two. Im sure they were able to get him to stop but I couldn't stay, it was too hard on me. I went back to my room and made a few phones calls. As for Sterling he was able to do the Kangaroo care a couple hours later. They were so cute...father and son. I am so blessed to have 2 important men in my life now, both whom i love so much. As for me, I am doing better. Having a c-section was not the ideal way for me to deliver but I will be able to carry a baby to term next time as well as deliver vaginally if I want to. I am sore and it takes me a while to get up and moving but I can do it on my own. I was finally able to shower, what a glorious wonderful feeling that was. The doctor said that I am okay to go home but I am more then welcome to stay till Friday. I think I might do that because Carol has been sick and I dont want to not be able to come see Jaxon. My whole family is also coming up this weekend and I am anxiously awaiting their arrival to show off my new baby boy. As more information comes along about Jaxon I will do my best to make sure I post it. Oh at this point they are saying that he might be able to come home in 2-3 weeks. Yeah!!!
Thanks to all those who have been praying for us and our safety. We appreciate it. We love you all. Enjoy the pics of Jaxon, me and Ster.
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