Dylan is here!

My pregnancy updates were interrupted by the birth of our son Dylan. At birth he weighed almost exactly 4 lbs and was 17 inches long. He is very tall for a baby his age, can't imagine where he got that. He was born June 19th at 9:51 AM via c-section. His birth signifies the end of an ordeal that challenges my brothers heart transplant for the most difficult time of my life. For all of the support and love we have been shown from friends and family, from the bottom of my heart... Thank You. I don't know how we could have made it through without all of you.

As of now Dylan is still living in the NICU. He has been gaining weight and has almost made it to 5 lbs. With the exception of eating, he manages all normal life functions on his own. No ventilators, IV's, or isolated incubation. I should mention he was never on a ventilator. We are able to hold him and spend as much time as we want in his room. As soon as he learns to breastfeed he will be coming home. Hopefully we will have him home within the next 2 weeks.

(nose tube is for food)

15 days to Dylan

More headache today. Last night we ended up on the main floor in Labor and Delivery. This is essentially the ICU of the Womens Center. Sunni has been having some bleeding and contractions for the last couple days. This morning everything looked fine, and the bleeding had completely stopped, so we were sent back upstairs. Around 6 this evening Sun had an episode of major bleeding. The amount of blood was similar to what we experienced in Wyoming over a month ago. We were moved back downstairs into labor and delivery. Both Sunni and the Baby are stable and doing fine. She will be under close watch until the bleeding stops. If the bleeding gets worse they may have to deliver Dylan sometime tonight. They also need to watch Dylan closely to make sure he doesn't react negatively to what is going on. I asked the Doctor if she could predict what she thought would happen and she said it could go either way. We are at 32 weeks today so Dylan should be fine one way or the other. Two more weeks inside his mom will make his stay in the NICU much shorter. This pregnancy has been hitting turbulence ever since the baby shower. First episode of bleeding was after we picked up a load of baby supplies from Nicole. Second bleeding episode was after the baby shower. I think this kid is tired of waiting for his toys.

16 days to Dylan

The last couple of days have worn us down a little bit. A series of minor concerns have kept Sunni hooked up to monitors and talking to different Doctors most of the time. Her moral is a little low and two more weeks in bed are a little much for her to handle. This morning, during her no-stress test, a deceleration in Dylans heartbeat was monitored. After they buzzed him he woke up and the heartbeat returned to normal. Over the next hour everything looked fine so they sent her back upstairs.

Dr. Ponder came in this morning to answer questions and evaluate Sunni's situation. She told us the decelerations and bleeding are normal for P-PROM patients. She said that overall, Sunni and the Baby are doing great. This was great for Sunni's mood so hopefully the rest of the afternoon goes good.

Waiting for the Baby

I have been meaning to leave updates on my blog about our extended stay in the maternity ward. I am hoping to look back on this and get a laugh out of it one day. Hey remember when we were stuck in that hospital for 5 weeks? Ha ha ha!

Anyways...

We are about 2 1/2 weeks into this ordeal. Considering the circumstances, things are going great. Chances are Dylan doesn't even realize that things are out of the normal. He has healthy heart patterns and the hospital staff are optimistic that Sunni will stay pregnant until July 2nd. Today Sunni was feeling some fairly strong contractions. Strong enough that they hooked her up to the monitor for a few hours. One contraction was so big it led to an examination to make sure her cervix was closed. We have both been sleeping much better lately. Life at this hospital is becoming our routine. Family and friends kept Sunni entertained for most of the day and she fell asleep in a good mood. Overall status: GOOD.

In other news,

I am working through my last semester at SLCC. I am struggling a little bit with my Strengths of Materials class. Calc III with Chuck has been the easiest math class since Math 1010, so that's a relief. My FE Prep class started on Thursday. I am taking the FE Exam this October. This is a year earlier than most people take it, but I am hoping to get it out of the way. If I can pass I am sure it will help me get some good internship options next summer. It will be good to finally get to the U. Getting into the Engineering program at the U has been a goal of mine for almost 3 years.

17 more days in this hospital

Goodnight

Space... The final frontier

I have decided to embark upon an epic quest.

I am going to watch every single episode of Star Trek ever made. I am starting my journey as soon as my Ramen finishes boiling. I will documenting my experience, episode by episode, with brief summary's as my Trekkie marathon rages on. This project will take months, but let's be honest... what else do I have to do? After I have completed my quest I hope you all will join me at a victory party. The victory party will consist of me, my friends, and Star Trek Trivial Pursuit. If you want any chance in beating me, you better join me in Trekkie land. However, even if I beat the pants off of you, I think it's safe to say I'd earned it.

Live long and prosper

-Dave

Unbelievable

This bird is out of control. Watch until 1:55 to see what I'm talking about.

Dedicated to the only eel fanatic I know

EELS - In My Dreams - from HOMBRE LOBO