The Oliver Files

I have started a private Facebook page for Oliver updates. FB is easier to access and update in my phone.

So... If you would like an add to the FB group please send me a text or FB message. I will no longer be blogging unless someone keeps me in bed for another month! 😊

Happy Birthday My SWEET SWEET Boy!

Oliver Edward Beier has arrived!
November 22, 2015 @ 3:37AM
2lbs 6oz  14 inches 
26 weeks 6 days 
(We will call it 27 weeks)

 He is pretty amazing!

Birth Story

Saturday night bleeding started and would not stop. Nurses started magnesium to protect Oliver's brain and I pretty much new this was the end. Keith and my Mom were called, and were at the hospital ASAP. They moved me to L&D so that I would be closer to the OR in case there was an emergency. Once in L&D I started having contractions that were not letting up. I asked for pain medication, and they determined I was in active labor and they were going in for a C section. Apparently, they do not give you drugs when your baby is 27 weeks.
They prepped me for the C section, and then there was a bigger emergency before me. I sat for another 2 hours having contractions. OUCH
Once in OR it took a bit to things rolling. Spinal, puking, drugs, LOTS of pulling and tugging, lady runs out with a baby, panic attack, drugs, calm, passed out.

Keith and my mom were waiting in recovery when I woke up, and two hours later we got to meet Oliver.

Doctor came in to say she was happy we delivered when we did. She had never seen a placenta so deteriorated and was really surprised Oliver was doing so well under those conditions. She said had we not delivered Sunday morning it would have been within two days with Oliver in duress.  Not that I had the choice, but I was glad it was under more calm circumstances.

I am having a pretty good recovery. Still a little drugged, have no idea if this blog is coherent.

Oliver was put on the respirator for the first day. He has since moved up to the Cpap, which still gives him support but he breathes more independently.  He is pooping and peeing and eating 2ml of breast milk every 2 hours. The scariest thing so far was the install of his picc line.
(A peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC or PIC line), less commonly called a percutaneous indwelling central catheter, is a form of intravenous access that can be used for a prolonged period of time (e.g. for long chemotherapy regimens, extended antibiotic therapy, or total parenteral nutrition).
They use this line to feed him.

He is just a little peanut but is already known as the feisty one in the NICU. He likes to take swings at the doctor when he is getting examined. The nurse said he has a temper. I see all those things as positive and I am  happy to be the mom of the feisty one.

Tonight I will get to hold him skin to skin and can't wait!!  

Ivy wants to see him so bad, but they will not let anyone under 14 in the NICU due to flu season. It is unlikely she will see him before he comes home.  She is very sad about it, and it  breaks my heart. 
On a happy note...she had her school Thanksgiving yesterday.

 Oliver has been able to meet his Vava, Vovo, TT, Uncle Mike, and his Dinha.  Thank you Dinha for wheeling me around on Monday, getting me going with my pumping bra and helping get situated for a successful milk producing journey. 
Dinha also brought us our first IT"S A BOY balloons and beautiful flowers.
Thank you Grace for the yummy cookies and adorable bear!

And for those interested...my new project will be areola coozies!

- NOT no more time for knitting.

Sorry Melissa I know were really hoping for a par for this nippley winter.

 People are very interesting. 

 

Well... Sonofabitch

Happy Birthday to the best mom ever!! I know you will attempt to eat cake and have fun without me
- even though it will be VERY hard! XOXOXOX

Shitty morning for me and Oliver. Having contractions, still bleeding, and now Oliver is head down with the umbilical cord between his head and my cervix. His little head keeps pushing on the umbilical cord and causing the drops in heart rate. No Bueno.
Second they are worried if my cervix opens a little the umbilical cord will just fall through. Awesome. Still anemic, they are upping my iron again. I'm pretty sure I will never poop ever again. Gassy and grouchy. Humph

With all the extra attention I got this morning, this very high tech flashlight was left in my room. I think you can agree a picture was absolutely necessary!

In addition to the flashlight discovery, the second highlight of the day was my delivered and home cooked meal by Nadien. I think it might have been the best meal I have had in a very long while! It came complete with real utensils, Sumol and dessert!

Thank you Nadien!

26.3 &26.4

There has been a Good Sam week before Thanksgiving miricle.
I actually found something from food service that is good...Raviolis with meat sauce! Yes, this is true, I am happy to say I will order it again and actually enjoy my meal. This excitement came at a much needed time today.

After a heart rate drop that lead to an additional hour and a half of monitoring, I was pissed. Of course, I am not a doctor and I know they are just being cautious but today I was pissed and felt it over the top. This lead to me having to eat my dinner laying down. Not only is this particularly difficult to do with any meal, but anything with sauce makes it much more exciting. I suggest you give it a try I would love to know how it goes.

Overall, it has been a good week, and Oliver is still cooking away.  I have had some moments of irritation this week where I just have been done with all the monitoring, blood withdrawals, and temperature taking and I want to yell LEAVE ME ALONE!  So far, no one has been injured. Pray for my nurses.

I just started season 4 of Downton Abbey and I am pretty sucked in. Do you think it would be over the top for me ask people to start referring to me as "My Lady"? Maybe even require an English accent? Me either!

Ivy has been having a fun time with Krista (The Nanny), Tt, Vava, Dinha and Daddy. I send my love to all of those who are helping love her and entertain her while I am here.

Thanks Vava for the new boots!

26 weeks!

This will be a quick update.

We made it to 26 weeks!

Monday morning brought some stress as Oliver decided to set off the monitor with an irregular heart beat and several drops. The nurses scared the crap out of me. After three hours of monitoring, he finally calmed down and we were back to stable.  The rest of the day was non eventful....just how we like it!

Tuesday was a day of napping and no major evens. Perfect.

My baby...

Weekend #2 Update

Pretty quiet in these parts. Nothing new on the Oliver front.
Not leaking a lot of waters, I assume he made himself comfortable on the hole again. Good job baby boy! Bleeding remains consistently inconsistent, some days are worse than others. I pretty much have resolved that I have no control, and have just been letting things take their course. It seems the more I drink the better I feel, so I am sticking to that plan. Vodka seems to work the best.  Well, vodka cranberry minus the vodka. I crack myself up!

Debbie sent this reminder...

 And it is true, so I/We keep chugging along and counting our blessings.
This week brought lots of blessings...um...yes... that is what we will call them.

School Mommies visits

Awesome friends bringing meatball subs and much needed paraphernalia to get the attention of the other guests at my resort. Yes, that is a microphone, I am very soft spoken.

 Pictures of love sent friends and family. I love these.

 Finally, happy customer #2 baby Luke got his hat. I made Keith the hat below and thought it would be fun to model it. Well, do not be frightened, I think maybe some sunshine is in order. (It is my first complete grown up hat!)

Tomorrow we will have reached WEEK 26! BOOOOOYA
Keeping my legs crossed and my heart full!

25 weeks 3 days

Here we are...we made it 2 more days.

Tuesday finished up a little sketchy. This put me over the edge and I am pretty sure I had a small panic attack that led to a two day stomach ache or the burrito I ate from Chipotle was too much after all this DELICIOUS hospital food. Either way my stomach is back to normal! PHEW

Wednesday Sucked (except for the Debbie and my container of Rice Krispie Treats!)...we have moved on.

Today was a better day Alyssa brought my drugs (Starbucks), Jen brought cake, and Ivy and Vovo stopped in for some Jello and kisses. Things leaking from my uterus seemed to have slowed and I hope to get a good nights sleep. Well, you know, from 1-6:30.

On a brighter note...I have lost 10 lbs. Best diet ever.  I decided this should be a fat camp model. You don't have to do anything if you don't want. You can eat as much as you want. Just make the food really gross. Why hasn't anyone thought of this?!

Apparently people have high hopes for my knitting, Mallory has requested some Thanksgiving shorts...good thing my mom just delivered some Thanksgiving colored yarn. On it's way Mal!

My friend Theresa also Facetimed with me today so I could pick out some yarn from her collection and keep myself busy...how sweet she is! Selfies when you are laying down are VERY flattering! We decided it was called "keeping it real".

Leslie sent the laugh of the day! I needed it~

 

I would love to knit this...what an accomplishment...but then I thought is $416 THAT much money? I guess so...Keith never acknowledged my text. Whoops, I guess he didn't think it was funny. Although, he did promptly text me the deductible for my hospital stay. Coincidence? Who knows. Bawhahahaha

Goodnight monitor, goodnight dripping shower, goodnight toilet hat, goodnight mesh underwear and goodnight to my little balls of yarn sitting in the chair.

Week 25!

YAY! We have officially made it to week 25! Every day is one day Oliver gets to grow stronger. We are thankful.
The last three days have been pretty quiet up in the uterus and that is just how we like it. No major bleeding, amniotic fluid loss, and no contractions.  Oliver is moving around a lot, and that is a good sign things are stable. They have me on the monitors  3 times a day for an hour unless things look questionable, then we earn and extra hour. Yesterday and today we had 2 major heart rate dips that lead to long monitoring. The monitors showed he recovered quickly and so we are not seeing it as a major distress sign. Lots of things can contribute to the deceleration in heart rate, but most importantly if it happens too often he is safer out than in.

I started wearing some of my own clothes now that I am free of the IV, and it is a lot more comfortable with pants. However, I just cant give up the mesh underwear, I wonder how much I get charged for every new pack they bring me. (Don't judge) ;>

I have now finished 3 beanies, and have had one happy customer! Baby Jackson! (Thanks for lunch Les.)

 I love all my people sending me pictures of Ivy doing her everyday stuff that I miss so much! I know you are looking out for her and it means the world to me!

And, again, a big thank you for the flowers, balloons, food, company, well wishes and love! I have quite the stash!

Weekend update

So we have almost made it two more days!

Saturday was another bad day as far as scares and constant monitoring. The bleeding continued and Oliver had to be on the monitor to make sure his heart was beating without any major decreases. Of course, his heart rate was continuously perfect and he insisted on Jazzercising all day so the nurses were in every 5 minutes to get him back on the monitor. Him moving around a lot is also a good sign he is getting enough oxygen and is feeling well.

At some point if the doctors feel we are going to need to deliver soon they will put us on Magnesium in order to protect Oliver's brain. Apparently this magnesium will make me  to feel terrible while it is coming through the IV. Small price pay.  I am just not ready to hear them say that they are ready to start that IV. This almost happened last night. However, toward the end of the day the bleeding had greatly reduced in amount and we dodged the bullet.

Today, so far, has been awesome! No bleeding, Oliver is moving around, and I am in a much more relaxed state of mind.
Ivy came to visit and we snuggled in bed...I miss her...A LOT!

More updates to come.

Please no visitors his weekend... going to try and keep it low key. xoxo

Day 2

Day 2 sucked!

Lots of bleeding.
They think the corner of the placenta has pulled away from the wall of uterus causing blood.  I was kept on the monitor most of the day, and was required to stay in bed. They did blood work to make sure my white blood cell count was normal and there was no sign of infection  and that I hadn't lost too much blood. Oliver's heart rate took some dips so we were preparing for maybe having to deliver. Luckily, blood work came back good, the heavy bleeding stopped and we were put back in stable condition.

On the up side...If you get stuck in the hospital, your husband will buy you a new tablet for blogging! BOOOYA
Now I know why knitting is so popular here, you can do it while laying down.

Thanks to those sending funny photos! 
Tori likes to send trashy ones...

 When Ivy spends the day with Tt...

AND...the one you have all been waiting for... SEXY hospital selfie!

Don't be jealous...not everyone can pull off a gown of this caliber.

Introducing Oliver to the blog!

Howdy People.
I figured this would be the best way to keep everyone posted on our Very exciting adventure at Good Sam.

Wednesday night while talking to my mom on the phone, I thought I had uncontrollably peed my pants. Turns out my water broke. As I am only 24 weeks pregnant this NOT an ideal situation. I am now officially living at Good Samaritan Hospital until baby Oliver makes his appearance. This could be today and this could be 10 weeks from now. Of course, we would like him to stay in as long as possible or until 34 weeks. At 34 weeks it is safer for the baby to be out than in. Before 34 weeks it is the opposite. According to doctors there is nothing I could have done to prevent this, it was a freak thing that sometimes just decides to ruin your pregnancy.
What will cause his early arrival:
1. Infection. If I get any sort of infection they will remove him ASAP to avoid the infection passing to him.
2 Contractions. If I start to have contractions they will also deliver. Although there are meds to stop contractions they do not stop them long enough to make a difference in the health of the baby this early.
3. Distress. If the baby heart rate drops or he shows signs of distress he come out.

He is currently BREECHED and will likely be born via c- section.

Our short term goals are to get to 28 weeks, which will reduce the chance of any major birth defects and give him a 95% chance of living. Ideally we get to 34!

The hole in Oliver's sac has a very small chance of healing itself. However, even if that happens I still get to live here. There is no way for doctors to repair the hole. Oliver has spent a good amount of time sitting and blocking the hole, so that has worked in our favor.

The doctors will not "refill" the sac with fluid. Oliver creates amniotic fluid as he pees so, if the hole is blocked or closes itself he is replenishing it himself. The goal is to not even look or touch anything vaginally as to not introduce infection. They are able to see the fluids etc... Via ultrasound.

They have pumped us full of antibiotics and I have had two steroid shots. I get 7 days of antibiotics and that's it. If I make it through the seven days without giving birth, I get another round of two steroid shots. And, we wait it out.

There are no definite answers, people in my position have lasted 3 days to 10 weeks before baby was born. So I plan on just being a 10 Weeker!

Please feel free to ask questions I will answer the best I can- or even ask a doctor. Who knows, maybe I didn't think of that.

So, in the mean time I will be upgraded to my own suite with my own shower! Whoot whoot. God knows I could use one. Thanks for those who have visited and withstood the BO!

Room service is timely but leaves some culinary desires.

View is... how shall I put this...industrial. (Beautiful AC units)

Staff is AMAZEBALLS. Learned how to knit today. Who needs a beanie?!

As my laptop has not arrived I have typed this on my phone. Please disregard and typos.

Thank you to EVERYONE for the messages, prayers, visits, care packages, flowers, balloons. You are all very sweet and it is nice to be reminded of how lucky I am to have all of you in my life.


And, I know you can barely wait to see my first beanie so, I will  post it when I am done!

Love,

Me