Hospital Adventures

This email is originating in the Parent's Room next to the Nursery in the hospital.  Mom is taking a break from sleep and nursing to start the chronical of Miss Ellis' VERY ADVENTUROUS first week of life.  I think the easiest thing to do is to cut and paste the emails that were sent out, so here goes:

On September 18 Ryan wrote:
Ellis Lane Campoamor was born today, 18 September, at 515pm. She weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and was 19 in long. Shannon did fantastic. We were admitted at 3pm, got to the room at 330 and Ellis popped out after 1 push at 515pm. Ellis and Shannon are both doing great and Shannon is planning on Crossfitting in the morning  Ellis was fashionably late and held out 5 days past her due date! Such a tease.

Thanks for all your thoughts and continued prayers.

Ryan, Shannon, Leyton and Ellis Campoamor

Very early in the morning on September 20, Shannon wrote:
As you can see, Ellis is now working on her tan. Her billirubin is elevated, which is totally expected, so the light will help. You can also see her heart rate and respiratory rate monitor's, and the splint on her arm is for her IV. She is getting Dextrose to keep her fed and hydrated, as well as antibiotics because an infection is the most likely cause of her breathing problem. Because she is working so hard so breathe, they stopped her nursing because that is also really hard work -especially trying to coordinate it with breathing fast. So I am pumping until she can nurse again, which will hopefully be today sometime. I will be discharged today, but may be able to stay as a boarder. We are hopeful that Ellis will be clear to go home sometime tomorrow, but they haven't given us much information on that yet. It largely depends on her culture labs that will not be complete until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest.Ryan and I are trying to get some sleep and spend as much time as possible with Ellis. We really appreciate the prayers and we will keep you posted. Leyton and Grammy are doing well at home. Playing lots of princesses!
Love you!
Shannon and Ryan

Also on September 20, Ryan wrote:
Ellis is still getting better. The XRays that they took this morning possibly found signs of pneumonia or still maybe just an infection.  They still want to take more x rays and see what develops. They are waiting for the x rays and the culture results before officially start her again on her antibiotics. They gave her the "broad spectrum" meds yesterday which is good because they are already in her body fighting whatever she has. Once they get an idea of the results they will start her on specific antibiotics.

The good news is that Shannon can breast feed her now. She is still doing excellent in every other test and all her vital signs are perfect. Her first feeding went very well. She latched right on and ate really good. We were worried she would struggle with figuring out what to do but she was a pro. The bad news is that best case scenario is she'll be here a minimum of 7 days for the meds and observation. And then worse-worse case scenario is meningitis. We are hoping that is not the case. The staff here is great and have taken great care of us. We are probably being discharged today and headed home for a bit here and there.

Love you all and we continue to ask for your prayers.

On September 21, Ryan wrote:
Hello, Friends and Family. Today was a great day for little Miss Ellis. The night was long with all the trips to and from the hospital, but well worth every second. When we went in at 6am this morning, they had completely removed her IV fluids only leaving her port. They said she was eating well enough to take her off the Dextrose. They did have to switch hands on her IV so they had to stick her again - but, thankfully they got it on the first time. I guess when you are well hydrated, finding a vein isa piece of cake. Her eating is really improving too. Due to the light therapy they've been giving her (for jaundice), she has to wear "sunglasses" to keep the bright lights out of her eyes. So, when it is time to eat they get removed and she is able to look around. She loves to just sit up and look at all the lights and movements. She also uses that time to pass gas! This little rascal it one gassy kid. She loves to pass gas and poop/pee on mom and dad. Once she is content, she usually nurses well, which sometimes takes 45 min to an hour. They also took her lung X-rays again in the morning and the results were awesome. There is no more fluid in her lungs! She still has to take her antibiotics until Wednesday, but because she is doing so well, they are kicking her out of the NICU. She was transferred this evening to the newborn nursery upstairs, with makes us so so happy. She also is getting a "tron" blanket to get her more exposure to the light therapy. Her buillyruibin (sp?) levels came up a bit so they wanted to get her on the glowing blanket - which also means no more space glasses. We are going to continue to go back every few hours to feed her and hang out with her throughout the upcoming nights. We are counting down the days until Wednesday to bring this little blessing home. They are still very pleased with her progression and said she is doing really well.

Thank you all for your continued prayers. God is good!

Love you all,

Ryan, Shannon, Leyton and Ellis



Also on the 20th, Ryan wrote:
We were discharged at 5pm this afternoon. We stayed for one more feeding at 6, which went well but not as good as the first, before we went home it was pretty dang hard packing up the car without a baby to take home. Hopefully we can experience that first hand next week. We went home to hang out with LC before she went to sleep. We tucked her in and quickly exited to head back to the hospital for Ellis' 9 pm feeding. This one wet very well. We also heard her burp louder then anyone one of us has ever burped, combined. It even blew Shannon's hair back. The nurses have decreased her dextrose drip and said if she has 2 more good feedings like this evening, they will take her off the fluids and just keep her IV only in for the antibiotics. Thats one less hose for baby Ellis. They are also anticipating her buillyribbon levels to be low enough tomorrow to take her off the heat lamps which means we will get to hold he as long as we want. Right now they are restricting us to 20 min every three hours of her off the lamps, which equates to her feeding times with mom. Her 24 hour blood cultures all came back great with nothing popping up. She is sked to get another x ray in the morning and if it isn't  looking any better they are going to give her a spinal tap to draw spinal fluid to check for meningitis. We are praying for a good x ray tomorrow. As of now, if everything remains the same, we are on track to get her out on Wednesday due to the seven full days of anti biotics.

 We are crashing at a friends house, who lives a few blocks from the hospital, to ease the travel time to and from the hospital.  We are going to go back at 3am, and 6 am for feedings and then head home to see LC. We miss her terribly but she is having a ball with Grammy. In fact she cried when Grammy left to walk the dog right after we got home. 

Thanks for the continued prayers. Love you all. 

Ryan, Shannon, Leyton, and Ellis Campoamor

On September 22, Ryan wrote:
Ellis continues to do well. Her buillyribbon levels were on their way down so they took her off her Tron table. She is still having great bowel movements and continues to eat well.  That also meant we were able to hold her all day long. Boy, was that a treat! We fought all day over who got to hold her next.  A lactation consultant also swung by this afternoon to refresh Shannon with some tips and techniques and from then on breast feeding went well. Ellis has also moved up to plushier digs at the newborn nursery. We now have our own "pod" which is more private with a lot more space. Her vitals are still rock solid, she is gaining weight, and she is still getting her daily doses of antibiotics. They are still telling us that we can bust out of here on Wednesday.
We are still making trips up here every 3 hours to feed and hang out. It has been great seeing her get better. Snuggling with her is the best.
We both are astonished on how much LC and Ellis looked alike as babies. We pulled up some newborn photos of LC and they are practically identical. I'm in for a load of trouble when these girls of mine get older. Next week I will start stockpiling my gun and ammunition collection.

Thank you all again for the prayers. God is great!

Love,
rgc

On September 23, Shannon wrote:
Miss Ellis continues to do awesome. All her tests and labs are normal, breast feeding is going great, and she is almost back up to her birth weight. She spends most of the day snuggled up to either Mom or Dad, which is a great treat. She will give her nurses the occasional hard time, but only with typical newborn tricks. Ryan and I are in a good groove. Leyton is competely spoiled rotten and will be her own challenge when the dust settles. So now we just continue to wait until Wednesday. We are doing all our discharge stuff now so as soon as she gets her last dose of antibiotics, we are out the door.
Tired, happy, and completely blessed!

On September 25, Shannon wrote:
This is hopefully the last Ellis update. Tomorrow is the day we have been waiting for since January when we found out we were pregnant. All our boxes are checked here at the hospital, Ellis just needs her meds around noon tomorrow and then we are home sweet home. To finally have my girls under the same roof will be such a relief. We have made every effort for at least one of us to get home to be with Leyton as much as possible, but still, it has been a hard week for her too.
Ellis is back to birth weight, aided by her 3 ounce per day weight gains! I slept at the hospital last night and I will again tonight, to feed her whenever she wants, which is every two to three and a half hours.
Okay, don't worry if you don't hear from us. It just means we are all home and happy and too busy to email. Thanks again for all the kind words and prayers!
Love Ryan, Shannon, Leyton, and Ellis

On September 26, Shannon wrote:

Okay, so one more good update before we head home. Ellis is currently taking her carseat test. She has to sit in the carseat for an hour without her oxygen saturation and heart rate dropping. She is half way done and so far passing. She also has to have a hearing test and finish off her meds. Unfortunately her IV is no longer working, so the nurse will either start a new one or just give her two shots. She will assess her veins and decide which method will be the least painful for Ellis. So a few last minute hoops to jump through and we get to take her home. The nurses took pity on me last night and found a hospital bed down the hall for me to sleep in. And Ellis only woke up once to nurse and then went directly back to sleep. So we all had a great night. Looking forward to many more!
Ryan, Shannon, Leyton, and Ellis

Ellis Lane Campoamor

     Due to the lack of recent blog postings, you all probably assumed that Baby Campoamor 2.0 decided to grace us with his/her presence. Your assumptions were correct! Ellis Lane Campoamor was born Tuesday, 18 September, at 5:15pm. SHE (yeah that's right - another Girl) weighed 7lbs 7oz and was 19 inches long. After an unannounced weeklong delay at the hospital (I'll explain below) we are all happily and safely at home under one roof.

     Shannon started to have noteworthy contractions early Monday (17 Sept) morning. We both got up thinking the time had come but as quickly as the contractions appeared, they went away. With that, we both went back to bed. Things didnt start picking up until Tuesday morning. I went to work with Shannon stating she was fine and feeling nothing out of the ordinary. I received a text message from her stating the contractions had returned and to be ready to leave work at a moments notice. I think they came and went a few times before she asked me to go ahead and wrap things up at work and come on home. I said some goodbyes at work and left for the house. I think this was the only time during the whole delivery process where I felt sick to my stomach. As most of you know, I throw up when I'm really nervous (i.e. the multiple vomits before our wedding) and if I see or am around blood. I thought I was going to yak in the drive home and had my subway sandwhich bag at the ready just in case. I got home (noon) thinking Shannon was going to be waiting in the driveway keeled over in pain waiting for me to scoop her up and head to the hospital. However, she was in the kitchen doing dishes. What is happening!? I had time to shower and get things ready before she said she wanted to go do a few laps around the block. We did 2 laps around the block stopping to time the contractions. At the time they were about 4 min apart and lasting anywhere between 30 sec to 1 min. I also learned a few things during our walk: dont talk to her or try to make any funnies while she is "coping" with a contraction. Also, the reason we were stopping was not to get an accurate time of the duration/frequency of the contractions. She (allegedly) couldnt move - All this stuff was good to know and I put those nuggets away for future use. We decided to leave the house around 2:30pm to make sure we didnt hit any of the California traffic. We loaded up the car and off we went.
  We arrived at the hospital at 3pm and after Shannon took us on a tour of the Hospital (she thought she knew where to go after telling me, "Ryan, you dont know where to go. I got this.") Roger that. So we visited a few elevator shafts and a few floors before meeting up with our midwife and arriving at the birthing center. Before admitting her they wanted to make sure she was "progressing." She measured around 5-6cm (whatever that means) and said she was far enough to be admitted. At 3:30pm we were given the penthouse corner suite with the Queen-sized four post bed and the nurse started to log us in. I think her contractions were around 3-4 min apart at this moment. Shannon sat on the exercise ball and "coped" with the contractions as they came. I think around 3:45 - 4:15pm the tub had filled up enough and the nurse gave her the option to labor in the tub. She stated that it could either drastically reduce or enhance the frequency and strength of the contractions. She decided to give it the ole college try and in she went. From here, things for me started to get a little blurry so forgive me if there is an incompleteness in my journal entries. It felt like 2-3 contractions into the tub before Shannon screamed, "Get the Midwife immediately!" After some screaming from Shannon and some confusion from me, the Midwife came in and non-chalauntly said, "Oh, I can see your baby's head. I'll call in some other folks and we can all assist you with getting out of the tub and going over to the bed." Just as soon as the Midwife said, "I'll call...." Shannon leaped out of the tub and walked over to the bed. The nurses and midwife did not know what to think. How could she possibly do that! She got up on the bed and after 2 pushes, Ellis was born! There was a little confusion to what sex the baby was due to a "short (umbilical) cord" and it covering up it's genitalia. I carefully moved the slimy/nasty/throbbing cord over to the side and announced, "It's a Girl!" After what seemed like an hour, they were all done with cleaning everything up and getting us situated. They weighed her, did a quick assessment on her and after that it was just Shannon, Ellis and I in the room. I called the grandparents and immediate family while Shannon ate dinner.
    I'll have to admit, it was a pretty cool experience! Im glad I was able to be here for it this (first and last) time around. Not once did I feel nauseous or anything - not even while I was cutting the slimy/nasty/throbbing umbilical cord. I take that back... the one and only time I got semi-queezy was when the midwife held up the placenta for us to view, pointing out "the tree of life" and asking us if we wanted to take it home. I had to turn away and ask the doula to come back around one more time and wave her bottle of lavender scented aroma therapy bottle in my face. They did also ask if I wanted to come take a quick gander as she was coming out. I graciously declined. Shannon had done great! She was up walking around and asking how long she had to remain at the hospital before being discharged. After a few more hours they moved us to another room down the hall (they needed the room because it was 1 of 2 that had the tub) and we stayed there for the night with Ellis sleeping right next to us.
     The next morning is where things got interesting. I picked up Grammy and Leyton to bring them up to the hospital to meet Ellis. Just as we returned, the pediatrician had just left and said her breathing was a little faster then they would like to have seen. The came back a few more times within and hour to recheck and sure enough, her respiratory rate was too high. They wanted to take her down to the NICU to x-ray her lungs and observe her a lot more closely. I turned out she had pneumonia and had to stay in the NICU for 7 days to receive her anti-biotics. The NICU was a scary place for Ellis and parents. They had trouble finding veins in her hands, feet, and elbows but after the 20th try, they were able to find one in her hand. She really was the largest and probably the most healthy baby in there but it was still our kid and it was heartbreaking to see her hooked up to all the machines and monitors. Since she was on an IV, and under the lights (for jaundice), they did not want Shannon to breast feed or for us to hold her. We could just sit there by her bedside only allowed to talk and touch her. Her x-rays revealed some fluid in the lungs but they were not sure what caused it. She had to stay there for 7 days to receive the full series of anti-biotics. We had friends that lived nearby and they were gracious enough to let us crash there over night. We would go back as much as possible to be with her and wait for updates from the doctors. After a few days the fluid started to subside and they allowed Shannon to breastfeed. She started to get better quickly, which was a huge blessing. We would juggle our time between the hospital  and home to hang out with our kids. We would try to come back every 3 hours or so to feed which made days rather long. Shannon was discharged 2 days after the birth. We were just waiting out the seven days for her meds. With 2 days to go, the doctors were very happy and declared her a well baby. On Wednesday, 26 Sep, we were able to bring her home.
      Things have been going good at home. LC is slowly warming up to Ellis and we are trying to work out the dynamics of the house with having 2 kiddos. Ellis is eating good, pooping a lot, and sleeping some. But all and all - we are doing good. It was a blessing to have Grammy and Papa here to hold down the fort and sustain life for Leyton. She was devastated to see them leave this weekend but we're pretty certain BB and Poppy will be spoiling her again soon.
     Ellis had her check-up with her pediatrician this past Friday and she is up to 7 lbs 15 oz, and 21.5 in. Big girl!
     Sorry this post was so lengthy, but I wanted to fill you all in after a week long no-blogging hiatus. Here are some photos of our new little girl

This is little miss Ellis only a few minutes old. We are going to have to dig up some photos of LC as a newborn but we both think she looks exactly like Leyton did.  

Shannon and Ellis - only a few minutes old 

This was her aquarium in the NICU. 

 Shannon was finally allowed to breast feed LC so here she is trying to get her to belch. Which she does quite well. The noises that come out of this kid are unimaginable. 

 Because she was slightly jaundice, she had to be under the UV lights and one day on the "TRON" blanket. They gave her these sweet shades to block out the bright lights. 

 One of the cuddlers (a volunteer who goes around calming babies down) made her this beautiful sign for her tank. 

 Grammy and Ellis at the Hospital. ~17 hours old.

 LC and Ellis meeting for the first time. As you can see, Leyton was thrilled. 

 The four of us. 

Aunt Sonya, Uncle Ben, Cousin McKinley and Piper were in town for a few days so they were able to meet Ellis too. 

 Ellis receiving her hearing test

(Finally) going home!!!

 Leyton, her doll Stella, and Ellis

 So tired!

Bath time complete.

There is so much I missed so you will have to check back for some of the holes to be filled in. Thanks for all your prayers. We truly are blessed with two girls!

W-A-I-T-I-N-G

Yep, still pregnant.  Thanks for asking.  Again.  BC2 is now officially 4 days late and I feel like a watched pot.  I know everyone means well and is only excited to hear news about the baby.  I promise I won't have the baby in the bedroom and hide it away from everyone.  I will share the news as soon as there is news to share.  BC2 still has plenty of time though.  Until next Thursday, the 27th to be exact.  I had an appointment on Friday, and the midwife said everything looked great.  She guessed I'd have the baby by yesterday.  She was wrong.  I guessed I'd go into labor tonight and have it tomorrow (stay tuned to see if I am right or wrong).  We have another appointment scheduled for this Friday and they will do a nonstress test and an ultrasound to make sure the baby and placenta are still holding up.  If all is well, they will give me a few more days before beginning medical interventions to move the process along.  Until then, I am trying all the 'old wives tales' to help induce labor.  Well, some of them.  Some have terrible side effects that I am not desperate enough to try just yet.  I'd say by this weekend though, if still no baby, then I'll have to step up my efforts.
We have really enjoyed having Grammy here.  She and Leyton have played lots of princesses, Buzz (iPad), and 'get really dirty outside.'  Grammy has also found out first hand just how long LC can sit on the potty without going.

The kid sure can hold it.  Meanwhile, Leyton has learned how to work the iPad like a pro.

We did celebrate one birthday.  Grammy turned 29+ on the 13th, so we made Hello Kitty muffins and decorated them with cream cheese icing.  Yummy!

Well, hopefully the NEXT post will be about BC2.  He or she is certainly a squirmy baby and I have generally a couple of contractions every hour.  So I know someone is definitely in there, we just have to wait patiently until he or she decides to come out.

And Waiting....

More Please!  This is LC signing 'More Please,' as in more time please before BC2 gets here.  She loves being the center of attention.  Grammy got here on Saturday, which was the last piece of the puzzle we needed to be completely ready for baby (or as ready as one can ever be for a baby).  Now we wait...

In the meantime, we are not at a loss for entertainment.

Leyton learns new things every day.  She sings 'Ring Around the Roses'  among other sweet songs.

She has figured out that she is missing stuff when she goes down for nap/bedtime.  She used to be a dream to put down, but alas, those days are over.  Now she will stall with more books, sippy cup, more toys, and finally screaming/crying... anything she can think of to delay going to sleep.

She can throw a good tantrum, but that's really nothing new.

Thanks for some silly princess book that Grammy brought her, she now dances on her toes and spins like a ballerina.

She has used the potty prior to bath time a couple of times, which is a big breakthrough after the potty 'training' session.  We bought her a DVD titled 'Potty Power!'  

She hasn't gone potty on her own yet, but her Bunny sure has it down.

She is also a budding artist.  She is skilled with both ink and crayon, but her favorite medium is sidewalk chalk.

We also started soccer.  She likes the fashion aspect of the game the most.

And playing with her friends, especially Susannah.

Nope, that is not a soccer ball in my shirt!  That's what 39 1/2 weeks pregnant looks like...

Because these kids are 1 and 2 years old and have no attention span, there is very little actual 'soccer' going on.  The Coach does a great job of giving the kids fun things to do.  Like crawling in a tunnel.

Notice the adults showing the children what to do with the hoops... and notice what the kids are actually doing.  The class is just as chaotic and cute as I had hoped.

Hopefully our next post will be about BC2 being born!!

Waiting Game

BC2 is due in 10 days.  I am huge.  But still feel good.  A nice man said to me the other day, "Wow, you are so big, I can't believe you aren't waddling yet."  I'm pretty sure he meant that as a compliment, so I chose not to be offended.  I have spells of fatigue, heartburn and contractions that are getting more interesting, but certainly not miserable, which is a blessing.  That being said, come Saturday, the 8th when Grammy gets in, I will be READY for baby!  If I take a Benedryl at night, I sleep well.  If I don't take one, I toss and turn.  I almost always take one.  At this point, there are few things more precious than a good nights sleep.
I can't wait for find out if we have a son or a daughter.  I've been getting several little boy clothes as gifts, and it makes me even more hopeful that BC2 is a boy.  We will be happy with whatever we get of course.
Big Sis Leyton is turning into more and more of a dainty princess each and every day.  At a birthday party on Friday, she wanted nothing to do with the bouncy house with the other kids.  And when it came time to hit the pinata, instead of wailing on it with the stick like the other children, she gently tapped it with her noise maker, like a pretty princess would with a wand.  And the she loves dresses and shoes and playing in my make-up bag while I brush my teeth.
Maybe sports will help.  I've signed her up for a Mommy and Me soccer camp, which starts next Monday and runs one day a week for 8 weeks.  So I am an official Soccer Mom.  I think she'll have fun, and it will be cute to watch her and the other kids.  It is at the park down the street too, which is awesome, since soon I will have not one, but two kids to haul around.  I am already thinking of ways to be better organized so I don't have to ever take them both grocery shopping with me.  I'm already a big fan of online shopping.  Amazon Prime is the best -if I can't get it in two days with free shipping, then I don't really need it.
So the baby clothes are washed, the hospital bags are packed (including the goodie bag to butter up the nurses so they will be extra helpful), the newborn cloth diapers are ready, just waiting for these contractions to get a little more regular.  Ryan will be responsible for getting the baby news out to our parents and siblings, who will then be responsible to spreading the news to the rest of family and friends.  That was the plan with Leyton, and as far as I know, it worked well.  Until then, you'll just have to wait around for news like the rest of us!

To celebrate Labor Day and the last weekend of 'Just the 3 of Us' (starting next weekend we will have guests and a maybe a new baby!), we went for a little hike.  Ryan dared complain about carrying 30 pounds of baby around!  He said at least I had 9 months to get used to it.  Well at least he could take his off when we were done!