My Big Joshy Boy

Today amongst all the chaos of life for us right now Josh had his 7th birthday. I can't believe how fast 7 years have gone by!! I love my Josh and how big of a help he is for me. As for the interview here are a few things I know about Josh:

1. Favorite color: all the colors

2. Favorite Food: Hamburger

3. Favorite Subject in School: Anything especially art

4. Favorite Candy: Starbursts and Sonic Drinks (I know they aren't candy, but they might as well be according to Josh)

5. Favorite Activity: Miniature Golf and Bowling. He also loves watching movies as well (takes after his Dad)

As for Josh I am thankful he is part of our family. He really helps me out with chores and helping his brothers and sister with getting dressed and cleaning up. He really adds a lot to our family and is a great brother and son! It seems like I was just bringing home my sweet 9 lb 8oz baby boy from the hospital. 7 Years goes by fast! We love you Josh!!

Ventilator and Chest Tube

Unfortunately with NICU babies it is one step forward two steps back. Noah started having trouble breathing last night. It progressed from needing oxygen through a nasal cannula to needing to re-intubate Noah and place him back on the ventilator. In the mean time with him struggling so hard to breath he tore a small hole in his lungs so they also had to place a chest tube as well to help get out all the excess air in his chest cavity. The poor little guy just is struggling right now. So for now we have to leave him alone and not stimulate him in any way because he is working so hard to breath. At least I got to hold him last night because I don't know when the next time will be...Keep him in your prayers please. Here's a few pics from this morning with Noah sporting his new chest tube and umbilical line. The umbilical line is a central line where they can feed him and take blood from for labwork and blood gases: The last picture shows his big feet with little toes.

Rebecca and Noah Update

Rebecca had a rough night last night. It seemed that all she wanted to do was sleep and all the nurses wanted to do was wake her up every 30 minutes. It was a long night. She made an attempt about 11:00 last night to go see the baby but had to turn around halfway there because she was so dizzy from the meds she was on. She basically spent all day laying in bed until they turned off the Magnesium Sulfate she was on. Then she felt much better. She even got to go see the baby around 7:00 tonight (see picture) with Grandma and Grandpa T.

As for the baby, he now has a name, Noah Terry Mancil. He is doing much better today and, unlike his mom, is recovering well from yesterday's events. He spent the night on a ventilator, but at around noon, he was able to get off any assisted breathing apparatuses and is now on room air. Now we have to work on feedings. They start giving him just a little bit at first, around 5 cc, at every feeding, then increase it everyday as long as he is tolerating it. Ideally, it is a 5 day system to get him up to full feedings. He has a feeding tube for now. We don't know when that will change, but we will just have to be patient and wait for things to happedn. Right now, we are excited and pleased by his progress. We appreciate everyone's help and prayers. Please keep the prayers coming!

Presenting . . . "Baby Boy" Mancil

Well, the perinatologist said that if any of Rebecca's liver tests come back worse, or if her side hurts more, or if she develops a big headache, that they will go ahead and induce. Well, Rebecca woke up this morning feeling crappier than ever with a huge side pain (worse than before) and a monster headache. These are signs that things may be going south. I had gone to work, because I thought that nothing was happening today (see previous post). At about 1:30, I got a call from Becca saying they were inducing her. When I got to the hospital, she was in the Labor and Delivery area. When the nurse checked to see how far Becca was dilated before inducing, she noticed that she could not feel the baby's head down. They got the ultrasound out and found out that the baby was breech with his head under Becca's ribs. The doctor said that with Rebecca's liver inflamed as it was, it wouldn't be a good idea to turn the baby, so we went in for a C-Section. Rebecca was scared, but she did a good job. When we got into the operating room, we looked over to the transition area where the baby between the OR and the NICU and saw a familiar face. The NICU nurse was a lady from our ward at Church, so that was a blessing. When "baby boy" came out, he came out screaming. He is still needing help breathing with the ventilator, but he is bigger than most 33 1/2 week babies and the neonatologist (premie doctor) said his lungs sounded good overall. He ended up needed to be intubated and got a treatment of Surfactant to help his tiny lungs. He is 4 pounds 15 ounces and 18 inches long. He is definitely a cutie in my non-biased opinion. We have been blessed that everything has gone relatively good so far and want to thank everyone who has helped us. These last few weeks have been a challenge in our family, but we have the greatest friends and family anyone could ask for. Thank you to everyone who has offered babysitting services (especially my sister who flew 1200 miles to help us out), meals, and most especially prayers for our family. We truly feel blessed. Here are some pictures of the new tyke! He has yet to be named.

The Waiting Game...

It seems like we are playing the waiting game. When we got to the hospital last Thursday morning according to my horrible labs they were going to take the baby right after he received his steroids to mature his lungs. Since then things have calmed down a little bit, but every day we hear today is the day he will be born and then the doctor changes his mind. It is pretty hard riding this emotional rollercoaster. After receiving the steroid shot it has calmed my liver down somewhat, but the doctor keeps telling me the steroid is masking the HELLP disease and whatever is going on is still going on even if my labs don't reflect that. He said when the "honeymoon" phase of the steroid shot wears off things are going to get real bad in a real hurry. So right now they are walking the fine line of keeping baby in as long as possible vs. risking my health to continue the pregnancy. My platelets are trending downward and my hematocrit is falling as well which does show things are still happening even if my liver levels (although still really high) aren't reacting too much at this point. The interesting thing is my blood pressure was really high at home, but as soon as I got to the hospital it has been normal. Maybe my kids stress me out too much at home ;). Anyway so here we sit just waiting and waiting. My OB did ask for a Perinatal (high risk OB doctor) consultation this morning just to get his opinion about what's going on. Unfortunately, the perinatologist was in an accident this morning and no one knows when or if he will make it in today. It has been quite the dramatic soap opera I tell you. In the mean time I have wonderful family/friends who have taken on the roll of parents for my kids--too bad it is Spring Break and there is no school to help keep the older two kids busy. I feel so helpless and out of control of everything it is hard, but I can't change anything. It has been very humbling to ask for help because I tend to be fiercely self reliant. I have been very touched and thankful for all the support we have gotten in the way of meals, babysitting offers, etc. and I am truly appreciating it because I really NEED it right now. THANKS to everyone. In the mean time we are just waiting and watching...later today I will get to go on a tour of the Newborn ICU which I have mixed feelings about, but at least it gets me out of my room for a few minutes....I am just trying to find some positive out of all this.

Hospital Update and HELLP Syndrome Explanation

I got the second steroid shot last night to help mature the baby's lungs. They drew liver enzyme levels, red blood cell, and platelet levels last night as well (I am starting to feel like a pin cushion!). They also keep a close eye on blood pressure because all these things co inside with HELLP syndrome. If the blood pressure gets too high it can cause seizures and a stroke. Thankfully mine has stayed pretty low considering. They are keeping a close eye on my red blood cell count, platelets and liver enzymes because with HELLP syndrome the red blood cells start bursting, the platelet counts fall (platelets help in clotting), and the liver enzymes show how my liver is functioning and right now it's not so good. Basically the further the HELLP syndrome continues the more likely my blood will not clot which is not a good thing when you are going to have a baby. Luckily even though my red blood cell count is low, it's not too bad yet. My platelet count is still normal which is really good news and it means I still have the ability to clot. With HELLP syndrome it also effects your organ systems especially the kidneys and liver. They are testing my urine to see how my kidneys are functioning. The results show my kidneys are in distress, but they are still functioning ok for now. Anyway, I am still swollen and puffy so finding a vein isn't the easiest thing to do either and it really doesn't help that I am so NEEDLE PHOBIC it's not funny. Don't get me wrong I don't mind sticking people, but getting stuck myself I absolutely HATE!! Anyway the liver enzyme level labs came back last night and they had doubled in number the bad way. The doctor called and said they would probably induce me Friday afternoon after looking at everything. If left untreated HELLP syndrome will eventually shut down my organ systems which is scary. However, they would do labs the next morning to see if they were still increasing. This morning they came in took my blood and we just waited and waited. They also told me that occasionally the shot of steroid given to mature the baby's lungs can also slow the progression of HELLP in some people for a bit. Finally the nurse came back and my liver enzymes had gone up, but not by much. The doctor came in to see me and said the results had not increased enough to warrant an immediate induction. YAY I guess the steroid slowed things down for a bit! However, they were still going to keep a very close eye on me. Since the baby is so early the doctor wanted him to get the maximum amount of exposure to the steroid shots to mature his lungs which is usually 48 hours. That means we are tentatively scheduled for induction Sunday afternoon. The amazing thing about HELLP syndrome is after the baby is delivered everything returns back to normal--liver enzymes, platelet levels, red blood cells etc. That is crazy to me. No one knows what causes it, but the only remedy is delivering the baby. That is why I am sitting in the hospital on bed rest, being a pin cushion, and bored out of my mind just hoping to make it until Sunday afternoon for the baby's sake.

24 Hours Later and I'm in the Hospital to Stay for Awhile

We have had a crazy last 24 hours. I had an OB doctor appointment yesterday that was unscheduled. I happened to check my blood pressure at home and it was pretty high. The doctor's office was able to squeeze me in because I don't have the best past history pregnancy wise. When I got there they found I was starting down the road into pre-eclampsia, but it wasn't too bad yet. However, they wanted to see me again the next day to keep a close eye on what's happening with me because when my body starts into this it usually doesn't take too long to get very bad. Thankfully, Jill, my sister-in-law was able to fly in from Texas last minute to help out since I am officially on bed rest. We are so thankful she could come! She ended up getting to our house at 2 am this morning. We went over the kids' morning routine and medication schedule, but not too in depth because I thought I would be around in the morning to help out as much as I could. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. I started having really hard contractions about 3 am and seeing as I did not want to experience another home delivery like Sarah, Aaron and I headed to the hospital. I was just expecting to be monitored and then sent home a couple hours later if nothing happened. That of course did not happen either. They drew my blood to check things out and when they got the results they came and told me that I will be admitted to the hospital until I have this baby because my labs were so bad. They started me on steroid shots to mature the baby's lungs because I will only be 33 weeks tomorrow which is pretty early for the baby. As for now I am on bed rest in the hospital and it couldn't have come at a worse time. I am somewhat of a control freak and to have to turn all control of my kids and home life (especially Josh's seizures) to Aaron and Jill is hard for me. However, they have done fabulously. There was nothing but trial by fire for Jill. She was immediately put in charge of 4 children without any help this morning and was able to get them up, breakfasted, showered, dressed and ready for school and to school on time by herself. Impressive! As for now they are checking my labs to see how my pre-eclampsia/HELLP syndrome is progressing every 12 hours as well as keeping an eye on my blood pressures. They are hoping that things progress slowly because ideally it takes 48 hours of the steroid for the baby to get the full effect. If I am lucky I may even go past the 48 hours if my body decides to take things slowly. So right now we are just watching and waiting--something that is very hard to do.

Jill even got some extra experience when she got a call from Josh's school today saying Josh was sick. She had to load up Sarah and Daniel and take them over to the school to pick up Josh who was not feeling well. Unfortunately, Josh needed to visit the doctor because he had a high fever. As it ends up he has Strep Throat--AWESOME! At least it is something that is quick and easy to treat. My only concern is the fever if left untreated can spiral Josh back into uncontrolled seizures, but I am sure Jill and Aaron will stay on top of things because they are great as I have seen by what's gone on today. Hopefully the strep throat doesn't make the rounds through the rest of the family! So here I sit in the hospital twittling my thumbs waiting for baby#5, who still doesn't have a name yet, to make his appearence....