Hannah

I just wanted to post an update on our newest member of our family, Hannah Katelyn.
(I will do pictures later.)

WARNING: Extremely long post!!
Last week was seemed very long. Monday we went to my doctor appointment. When we got home we discovered we had a pipe leaking water into our garage. So we spent the night at the Johnson's since we had to shutoff the water. (Being 34 weeks pregnant without a working toilet, cold water to drink, and air conditioning just doesn't work.) So while Brent and I spent the night in the hospital to watch and see if my labor was progressing on Monday night, the kids were able to stay with them. We got back to the house about 5:30 am. The kids and I spent the day there while the plumber came to fix the problem. There was a leaky pipe running from the water heater into the kids bathroom. So the plumber was able to get it worked out enough that we could have cold water until he could get the approval from our landlord to do the work.

Tuesday night my water broke at 11:30. Jeremy came and stayed with the kids while we went to the hospital. We got there just about midnight, and Hannah was born at 1:02 am. She was 4 weeks early and weighed 7 lbs. 12 oz., 21.7 inches long. She has a lot of dark hair.


Wednesday morning at about 3:30 am I got a call from the on-call pediatrician telling me that Hannah's billirubim levels were high and since the nursery was completely full they didn't have the room or staff to take care of her. She told me that an ambulance was on the way to pick her up and take her to a bigger hospital about 20 minutes away. When the ambulance got there they brought her to me to say goodbye. The first person to walk in was a flight medic followed by two people who work for the ambulance company. It scared me at first that maybe they had decided to fly her there (which would me it was a lot more serious), but luckily he was just there to help with the transport. I was told that they weren't going to take her out because then she would want to eat and take too long. I told them that if I held her they probably wouldn't get her back, so it was better if I didn't hold her at that point.

I was later discharged by my doctor about 9 am and Brent and I went straight to she how she was doing. She was only on the blanket light, and had already been taken off the overhead lights. Throughout the course of her stay at the hospital her levels went up and down and the same with her weight. She was put back on the overhead lights after her levels had gotten over 11, which normally isn't extremely high except it happened when she was so young. But the next day they took her off the overhead lights and took out her IV. I was able to hold her while I fed her every three hours. She was only supposed to be off the lights for up to 30 min. but it always ended up being closer to an hour by the time the nurses did their assessments, she got her diaper changed and then being fed.

I had just left her room for a few minutes on Sunday morning and when I came back in the doctor was there checking to see how she was doing. When she saw me she asked if we wanted to go home that day. I was so excited because I was thinking it would be at least Tuesday before that happened. We had been told that her levels had to go down and stay down for at least 24 hours and that she had to start gaining back some of her birth weight. This doctor wasn't concerned about sending her home because Hannah was doing everything she could (eat, sleep, and poop-which by this point she was really good at). She said to follow-up with her doctor in two to three days.
Brent and my parents took the kids to church on Sunday. When I found out the news I sent Brent a text saying that she was coming home. He was a little surprised and extremely excited. I also found out that Kayley was fasting for Hannah that day. She was so excited when she found out that she was coming home that day.

I took Hannah in for her followup visit and the doctor said that he isn't going to check her levels again because she is looking so good. She is still a little yellow in the face and eyes, but looking alot better everywhere else. She has gained back two ounces since Sunday. When she was discharged she weighed 7 lbs., today she weighed 7 lbs. 2 oz.

We are so thankful for everyones prayers and thoughts on behalf of Hannah. They have been felt and very much appreciated.