The arrival of Miss Lucy Rose

Both Jordan and I were convinced that this little princess would have made her debut prior to July 1st due to our experience with Lily. She measured 4 days big at her 20 wk ultrasound and came 14 days early. Lucy measured 9-10 days big at her 20 wk ultrasound, so we were thoroughly convinced that Lucy was coming before July 1st. So convinced were we that we sent Lily down to New Harmony thinking she would come at that time. 

However, after 2 1/2 weeks of false labor, I woke up on Sunday, July 10 (4 days before her due date) with what we think was an upper water break. Lucky we have wonderful neighbors who watched Lily early that morning until later in the afternoon when Lily's equally wonderful Uncle Justin came to get her for the remainder of our hospital stay. 

Labor was fast and easy (especially with the miracle of an epidural!) After Dr. Harrison finished breaking my water I went from a 4 to delivering within an hour. Lucy came out in just 5 minutes, but apparently wasn't quite ready to transition into this world because she refused to breathe!!!                           

She scored only a 6 on her 5 minute APGAR score due to her blue skin color. I remember looking over at one point to see her entire body was dark blue - despite all the rubbing and stimulation the nurses were giving her. The respiratory team and NICU nurses rushed in and got her breathing, however she was still showing signs of respiratory distress. 

9 lbs 5 ounces & 21 inches. No wonder she gave me more stretch marks than Lily! 

After she started breathing they let me hold her for about 30 seconds before they wisked her away to the NICU to be put on the CPAP machine to help her lungs open up. 

Along with grunting, tachydyspnea, and low oxygen saturation she had low blood sugar which meant that they had to put a central line IV through her umbilical cord for TPN (total parental nutrition - nutrition through an IV line) along with a arterial IV to better measure her vital signs. This meant that we couldn't hold her until Monday afternoon :(

All her IV lines and monitor cords were such a mess that I wasn't even allowed to switch sides for nursing without having a nurse there to help make sure nothing got pulled out of place. 

She was breathing on her own by Monday morning and she maintained adequate blood sugar levels at that time as well. However they wouldn't let us take her home until Wednesday afternoon because they wanted to monitor her as they weaned her from the TPN. I was discharged on Tuesday so luckily they had a little room on the NICU floor that I could sleep in and stay close to my little pumpkin.

She was by far the biggest baby in the NICU - her diapers weighed more than the majority of the babies in there! We are grateful for the wonderful hospital that helped our precious baby safely transition into this world.