Welcome, little one...

His birth story

Doctors finally released me from the hospital on Saturday, December 13th, after an 8-day stay. We were given plenty of instructions... strict rules for bedrest (stairs once per day, bathroom and shower privileges, etc.), some new Rx to keep the contractions at bay, instructions for a potential diagnosis of gestational diabetes, along with when to return to the hospital. Things were going really well, and aside from being weak after lying in bed for 8 days, I was feeling pretty good.

Shortly after dinner on Tuesday evening, I started noticing some back pain, in addition to a few regular contractions. Sadly, it was enough to force us to make a return trip to the hospital... one of the most depressing moments of my entire life.

We arrived at Labor & Delivery, and the docs and nurses began checking me out right away. Sure enough, the back pain was back labor, and I was definitely having contractions. Now dilated to 4-5 cm, the doctor ordered an ultrasound where she noticed that a portion of the amniotic sac was pushing through my cervix, and above that was one of the baby's feet. She contacted the high-risk specialist, and they decided that I was to have a C-section that evening, while they could keep everything controlled. As she broke this news to us, sure enough my water broke then, too. Now, it became an emergency C-section, and within 20 minutes I was all prepped for surgery. At only 27 weeks pregnant, we were terrified of the outlook for the baby.

Luckily, I had already received the steroids to help his lungs develop the week prior... so that offered some comfort. Brian offered me a blessing that brought great peace. Having my mom there with us, was also a special treat.

Connor Alan Sprik
Born December 16, 2008 at 9:43pm
13.75 inches long
2 pounds 6 ounces

Miraculously, he emerged crying and breathing all on his own! He scored a 9 on both his 1-minute and 5-minute Apgar tests. (Our nurse told me that she's only ever given a 10 to one full-term baby before... that a 9 is the most common score.) He's definitely a fighter, and has been doing remarkably well over the first 3 days of his life. He's still breathing on his own, with a little assistance from a CPAP machine. His heart rate, respiratory rate and sats have all been consistent and very high. He can be a little feisty, but isn't too fussy, and tends to quiet down very easily. So far, he's been impressing everyone, including all of the medical professionals, with how strong he is. There are other babies in the NICU right now, born less premature than Connor, that are doing much worse. He still has a long road ahead of him, and may have to spend the next three months here in the hospital. We feel so blessed to be the parents of such a strong little boy!

On the other hand, I haven't been doing so well myself. Right now, the earliest I'll be leaving the hospital is Monday or Tuesday... and that's what I've been praying for. Unfortunately, I've developed some sort of blood infection, and my body has not been responding very well to all of the combinations of antibiotics they've been trying on me. About twice a day since the surgery, I've spiked a fever higher than 103, and the doctors are having a hard time figuring out why I'm so sick. When my fever is down, I'm actually feeling pretty good The worst part is that this has kept me out of the NICU, and I haven't been able to really see or touch Connor since the night of his birth. That means I've also been unable to hold my baby boy. Until I haven't spiked a fever for 24-hours, I won't have those privileges. My last fever began at 12pm today, so the earliest I'm looking at is sometime Sunday, provided there are no more fevers today. This morning there were 2 nurses, an anesthesiologist tech and doc, trying to find a new vein for an IV line for 90 minutes... with no luck. Shortly I'll be receiving a PICC line to solve this problem, since I still have to be on IV antibiotics. As you can imagine, unable to be near Connor, I'm an emotional wreck.

Not to leave you on a total downer, Brian has been able to spend a lot of time bonding with Connor. He's been able to feed him, change his diaper, soothe him, and hold him. Connor responds really well to the sound of dad's voice, and loves to squeeze his finger. We're just both so happy he's been doing so well!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers, phone calls, e-mails, gifts, visits... for everything! It's all done wonders for our spirits and has given us so much strength. We're incredibly blessed to have the family and friends that we do.