ONE WEEK!!!

HAPPY ONE WEEK OLIVIA ADELE!!!

Jeremy & I have been surrounded by family since 7pm Monday May 23rd, the night our little Olivia was born.

Tonight will be the first night it will just be ME & Him. It is finally settling in what happened, I have had a week to process it but it still feels UNREAL.

THE STORY:

It was just another Monday. After an amazing weekend (Jeremy had the WHOLE day off Sunday and the night off Friday AND Saturday...UNHEARD of...) I was back at work. I remember on Monday thinking "I wish the weekdays went by as quickly as the weekends..." On Sunday I had mentioned to Jeremy that I felt that the baby hadn't been moving as much, before this we had an EXTREMELY active baby. I had a dr's appointment on Monday (the next day) so we figured I would mention something to the dr. Monday at work it was BUSY, EXTREMELY busy. Time went by fast and then it was time for my dr's appointment. I let my coworkers know I would be back in an hour or so and left. Welllllll that's when everything changed...

Once in the room at the dr's office the nurse asked me if I was having any concerns. I let her know that I hadn't felt as much movement. She kind of brushed it off but inside I felt something wasn't right. Luckily this dr's appointment wasn't just a check-up but also an ultrasound. Before the dr started the ultrasound I mentioned to him my concern about the babies movement. He said that we would check this during the ultrasound. As he started the ultrasound the dr was SILENT, I just KNEW something was wrong. He kept adjusting the screen and asking me weird questions like " when did you feel the last kick" "Was it a hard kick" just things like that. He then showed me the screen. The fluid in the sack was LOW, EXTREMELY low. As if the baby was just given a bath and we had let the water out. He then told me to get dressed, told me to meet him outside and rushed out. I didn't know what to think, or what to do. Usually Jeremy is with me at EVERY SINGLE APPOINTMENT. All I could think is OMG I need my husband.

I got out to the desk and the dr said he is sending me to Saginaw (30-40 minutes away) for an ultrasound at the hospital. He said the baby's fluids were dangerously low, the heart rate was fluctuating and he was having a hard time seeing the babys organs like the kidneys. I couldn't think...I just gasped for air. My stomach sank and I thought I was going to faint. Luckily the office was able to get me an appointment at the Midland hospital instead. I called Jeremy and let him know that he needed to get to Midland and that something was wrong with the baby. By the time I called work almost 2 hours had gone by and I was balling like a baby.

Before this appointment everything had been progressing PERFECTLY. I was also a freak about everything. Everything I ate, I drank, my sleep, getting exercise. If there was a .0000000002% chance it was bad for you while pregnant, I WOULDN'T do it. While waiting for Jeremy all I could think was "What did I do wrong?" "What should I have changed?" At the hospital we got another ultrasound, the tech wasn't able to answer any questions but just did tons and tons and TONS of measurements, and pictures to send to my dr.

First Pic from ultrasound, BARELY any fluid...

In this pic the tech told us that the baby already had its head down and knees bent into chest. This is usually the position when they are ready to be delivered...we found out later this was NOT good...

After the ultrasound we maybe waited 10 minutes and the tech sent us to the maternity ward of the hospital. We didn't know WHAT was going on still. By now we had seen 2 dr's and the tech. As soon as we entered the ward EVERYTHING changed. A nurse met us in the front and took us to a room where I was asked to change in a gown. I came out and they had an IV waiting for me and a fetal monitor. We asked what was going on and the nurse said "no one told you?" Jer and I just looked at each other shook our heads and the nurse said " You are here for an emergency c-section" "WHAT?!?!" I was in shock.

After that everything happened SO fast! All the sudden I was being hooked up to an IV, being hooked up to heart and fetal monitors, being asked questions by dr's and 3 or 4 different nurses. Jer went and called our parents and was asked to change into scrubs that looked like an astronaut suit, then all the sudden I was being rolled into an OR. Neither of us had a minute to process ANYTHING!!! We were told that our baby had a 10-15% chance of survival...yes you read this correctly. During the 2nd ultrasound the babys kidneys were not seen and they didn't think there were any. They don't do kidney transplants on newborns let alone premies.

In the OR it took maybe 2-3 minutes to get the baby out. Right before Jer & I realized this was the moment. We had waited to find out the gender of our baby, up until that previous weekend I had thought our baby was a boy. Jeremy had always thought the baby was a girl. As I felt pressure I heard someone yell "it's a girl!!" It felt like forever until I heard her cry, it was the QUIETEST noise I had ever heard. Then I heard them yell out her weight 1lb 7oz! All I kept doing was praying and praying. Jeremy was torn between us. I wanted him to be with her but he wanted to be with both of us. The first time I saw her was a pic on his phone bc I had all the tenting still up so I couldn't see her. She had TONS of dark brown hair, my nose, blonde eyelashes and eyebrows and DEEP blue eyes. She looked SO tiny! She had 7-8 nurses and dr's working on her so Jer had a hard time seeing her. After 10 mins they turned me so I could see her. They wheeled me off into a room and we just couldn't believe what had just happened.

Our parents got there about an hour or so after Olivia was born. It was SO surreal. The nurses brought the baby into the room and we got to see her before they took her to the NICU in Saginaw. SO many doctors and nurses were in and out telling us things and giving us paperwork and information but it just went in one ear and out another. The only thing I remember was the dr told us the baby had kidneys. We would find out if they were FUNCTIONING kidneys throughout the week. Just that information made her survival rate go from 10-15% to 50%. On Saturday June 4th I would have been 28 weeks, on that day her survival goes up to 90%.

It's finally setting in what happened a week ago today. Our daughter was born. She is a miracle and a fighter. I thank G-D that I had a dr's appointment that day. I don't want to think what would have happened. I have nothing but a positive and optimistic outlook. Olivia amazes us everyday! So far she has gained an ounce everyday, at the rate she is going she should be 2 lbs by mid-end of this week!

It has been extremely difficult to be strong, but I must be for her.

I am her mommy.

Olivia is my HEART