Day 2- Blaze gets broke out of NICU

Friday August 28, 2009

We finally get our boy...

0930- We arrive at the hospital again after we both crashed at our hotel room from emotional exhaustion. I arrived just in time to feed him as the nurses (sisters) were so busy with the critical babies the day prior, it put Blaze's feeding schedule off by 40 mins. I got all dressed, excited and anxious to see my guy and as soon as I walked into the NICU the Sister says, 'you need to leave, give us 5 minutes.' So, I step out and I wait, and wait and wait. Finally one of the Sister's walks by and I ask, can I go in to see my baby now. She tells me, 'yes.' I walk through the door and over to my precious Angel. I am so happy to see him, I just hate being separated from him. So I go to pick him up in my arms and another Sister turns to me and says, 'you must leave Mam. His feeding is over.' WHAT??? I question her that his feeding time was off from yesterday and that I haven't seen him, and have waited patiently while they took care of their emergency with the 3rd little girl who had now arrived. But, she is adamant, 'Come back at 11am!' I manage to at least get out of her that Blaze is now up to 12cc and tolerating them well. As Gerry and I get back to the room, I loose it, the tears come pouring out. I am tired, I am frustrated, I am missing my son SO terribly. Gerry is really upset now. Now the Mother can't even visit?! I quickly regain my composure and decide to look forward to the 11 a.m feeding and hopefully a visit from Dr. Mehta as we still don't know what the plan is for Blaze's discharge.

1100- Blaze's feeding went great.

Dr. Sudhir called in a favor from the Nursing Director at the Hospital to allow Gerry to go in for the next feeding and not have to wait until 5 p.m. The nurse tells me that I need to bring Blaze a bottle, clothes, and cap. An exciting step for him.

1300- I brought in a bottle and a cute little onesie, cap and some socks for the Sister's to dress him in. Gerry came in, but again was asked to leave. He explained to the nurse that he had received permission to come in for the feeding, but she was just rude and told him to go. That was the last straw for both of us. I went in for the feeding and decided to ask a lot of questions. Only to find out that Dr. Mehta had made rounds early in the morning (and no one called us as we requested so we could come down and meet with him personally) and gave instructions that he wanted Blaze to get to taking at least 20cc of formula and he would consider discharge. Again NO communication. The nurse prepared Blaze's feed in the bottle I whispered in his ear. 'Come on little guy drink it like a Champ for Daddy, so we can break you outta here.' That's just what he did. Not only did he drink the 15cc that the nurse prepared she went back and got 10cc more and he drank that too. I was so happy I almost screamed. I couldn't wait to get out into the hall to tell Gerry the GREAT news. Before I left the 'nice' nurse said, 'please tell your husband he can come back for the next feed at 2:45 p.m. We will adjust the time so he can come in alone without any other mothers.' I ripped all my gear off and ran out in the hall to tell a very upset and sad 'kicked out x2' Daddy the wonderful news. We got on the phone and asked Dr. Yash to call in a favor and see if Dr. Mehta could make rounds early so we could get Blaze discharged to our room as soon as possible and so we didn't miss his visit this time.

1445- Gerry can't wait to get down to the NICU to see his little Champ. We arrive to find out that Dr. Mehta had been in and rounded again (and we were not notified), but this time we got the news we were anxiously awaiting. YAHOOOOOO!!!! We were finally going to get our boy with us. That's ALL we wanted. Gerry stayed and did the feed and with all our excitement it made it that much more special. So we returned to the room to wait for our little package to be hand delivered.

1615- There is a knock on our room door. It is Dr. Sudhir. He said to gerry 'Blaze isn't in the room yet?' and Gerry said to him 'no, we are STILL waiting!' And no more did he finish saying that then in walked Dr. Yash with our beautiful Blaze in her arms. It was PERFECT! All that frustration, sadness, stress and tears was a long lost memory. Blaze's very first visitors, how fitting, his Indian God Parents. We had our Angel and there was no one going to keep him from us again!!!!

FINALLY with Daddy...

Dr. Sudhir (God Father)

No mask, no gown, just pure kisses

Dr. Yash (God Mother)

Day 1- NICU

And so the story continues...

Thursday August 27th, 2009

0025- We return back to the waiting area outside the OR where our Blaze was born. All of the Doc's are visiting. We take some more pictures of the very happy bunch (see Birthday post). I ask Dr. Soni if I can go and see KT, who is recovering in a small room just off of the OR theatre. I put on a green OR gown and head into recovery while Gerry goes to get J, her husband from the family waiting area. KT is groggy, but all smiles and says she feels okay. I kiss her cheek gently and tell her 'thank you' again. I tell her that it's a boy and he is perfect. She smiles big and it is such a great moment in time. J enters the room and I quietly take leave so he can be with his wife.

Everyone is outside still visiting. We tell Dr. Soni that everyone is singing her praises on their blogs and the SI forum. Clients from all over the world and from many different clinics. She is in shock and jokes to Dr. Yash that, 'I am still the crazy woman you knew from way back.'

0100- Gerry is starved. We head over to the restaurant in the Rogus Hotel, which is very close by Hirananadani hospital, and one of the only ones that is still open at this hour of the night. We go for a bite to eat and regroup from a long, long day. Gerry calls and leaves a message with the consulate that we won't be able to make our Thursday a.m appointment and will be coming the following Thursday, as he was able to arrange earlier in the day. We aren't able to see our Angel until the next morning, so we decide to head back to the hotel to get a good nights sleep and a hearty breakfast to start our day.

0900- We return to the hospital refreshed and raring to go. We immediately head down to the NICU and go in to see our Angel. Gerry is told he is unable to come in and can only visit during visiting hours from 5pm-7pm. This doesn't go over so well. He has only seen baby Blaze for a few minutes the moment he was born. We ask to have assistance with the 'big book' to register Blaze's birth certificate.

This is not an easy task and takes 5 requests from different nurses, doctors and Administration who pass by numerous times. Finally we get it taken care of, all written in Capital letters, you do not fill in the baby's name, and no mistakes!

1000- I head in to visit with Blaze just finishing his morning feeding. He is sleeping soundly and the Sister tells me that he has had a bit of vomiting over the night, but is doing well and tolerating 7-10cc's of feed every 2 hours. They let me hold him and I stare down at him for what seems to be only moments, but later find out that it was 45mins. No wonder my arms were falling asleep. Not to mention the sweat pouring down my back from the heat in the NICU. I am covered with a blue cap, mask and green OR gown. I try and give Blaze kisses through the mask but its just not the same. I talk away to him and tell him that he is our miracle baby, that Daddy is very sad he cannot see him and hold him. I am in awe at his perfect little facial features; round lips, little nose and cute little double chin (just like Papa -my Dad). It is all overwhelming and still surreal to know that this little Angel I hold in my arms is ours forever.

1100- I go back in after a few moments outside with Gerry, feeling his pain and sadness of missing his boy. The Sister feeds Blaze and I stand to the side, getting pointers on holding and burping. She has trouble trying to wake him. He loves to sleep. She tickles his cheeks and says, 'beta, beta, beta' which means son in Hindi. The Sister let me burp him. He let out a big burp and I tell him with a giggle, he is just like his Daddy. He is SO tiny, but not as tiny as the girls that surround him. One baby girl to his right is 1 kg and the other to his left is 1.5 kg. Blaze is a giant compared to these 2 little ones. He is the healthiest baby in the NICU. We change his little diaper and I get to see his cute little butt, back and black curls of hair at the base of his neck. He really is perfect in every way! We swaddle him up and my post partum nursing training from years past, starts to come back to me. I don't want to leave him again. I am savoring every single minute I have with him. Gerry and I head back to the room for a snooze.

1300- I am back just in time for the 1pm feeding. I am getting more comfortable holding Blaze. He suckled great as the Sister feeds him with a syringe and he eats all 10cc's, Great! I tried to help wake him to feed by rubbing his little hand, and he gave me a little grumpy frown. Both the nurse and I giggle at his many funny faces. Daddy sneaks pictures through the tiny window to the door entering the unit.

This time I swaddled him on my own and he started to cry as I left. It broke my heart for the first time. Just the first of many...I am sure.

1500- After his feeding, we head up to visit with Dr. Soni. We haven't been told anything from the nurses and do not know what the Pediatrician's plan is, as Blaze was only supposed to be in the NICU over night. His Daddy is getting very impatient and just wants to be with his son. Dr. Soni is her usual wonderful self and calls Dr. Mehta to get some information. She doesn't have the news we wished for...Dr. Mehta wants Blaze to be eating at least 20cc and vigorously before he will discharge him to our room.

1700- DADDY GETS TO SEE HIS BOY! It is such an emotional moment. Gerry cries tears of joy at the long awaited moment he can hold his son. He talks to Blaze and kisses him over and over again. It is such a beautiful moment it brings tears to my eyes. But, it is short lived when a mother comes in to breast feed her baby, Gerry is asked to leave. We are not happy. They cater to the 'Mom' only in the NICU. Which is very different from the U.S. What if I wasn't there and he was the only parent? What if he were a gay man and there was no 'Mom' involved? What then??? The frustration builds for both of us. We JUST want our son with us. We talk with Dr. Soni again as the nurses tell us Gerry can only come in to the NICU for a few moments during the 2 hour visiting period and then he must leave once Blaze's feeding is done. Why a 2 hour visiting hour then? Dr. Soni calls down to the NICU and tells them to allow Gerry back in to see his son for the remaining time he missed when he got kicked out. She is frustrated too. We understand it is a different culture and a different country but it is so hard when such deep emotions are involved. No one can tell us the same information, it always changes, you get a different answer to the same question. The rules change by the hour. But, the good news is that Dr. Mehta will be rounding @ 1030 pm and will meet with us after examining Blaze. So...again we head back up to our lonely room all alone.

2230- Dr. Mehta arrives as scheduled, but tells us he wants to see how Blaze does tomorrow. Still no Discharge. We are both very, very sad. What turned into just one night of observation is not what we had originally planned for. I try to keep positive telling Gerry this is just a few days of Blaze's life, and we have the rest of it to spend with him. That the Doctors are just being cautious and we don't want to do anything prematurely and end up with a sick little guy. It doesn't make it any easier for us though when all the other hospital staff Pediatrician's come out and say, 'Oh, your little guy is doing great! Still no discharge?' We both decided our stay at the hotel did us good and since we have just an empty hospital room with a very uncomfortable couch we would head back to the VITS hotel for the night and arrive bright and early to anticipate a Friday discharge. Fingers crossed...

Happy Birthday Blaze!

Wednesday August 26th, 2009

0200 - KT is still in the hospital. She has been transferred from a regular ward room on the 5th floor to a Labor and Delivery room on the 2nd floor earlier in the day. Dr. Soni had Cerviprime Gel applied to her cervix to help with dilatation.

0915 - Update from Dr. Soni to Dr.. Yash. Contractions have started but not as she anticipated. KT is only 1cm dilated. A Pitocin drip is started. We are officially in labor!!! We head off from our hotel room to the SI clinic to pick up the Docs.

1215 - 2cm dilated. Pitocin drip on hold. Contractions 15 mins. apart. So we manage to get some lunch with the entire SI staff before heading to the hospital to check into our room. Gerry is very anxious and requests Dr. Yash call Dr. Soni again to see if we have time for lunch. Dr. Soni just laughs and tells her, 'Only 5 mins. have passed! I will notify you if there is a change. Tell Gerry he will be the first to know.'

1430 - We all arrive at Hiranandani hospital. Dr. Yash, Dr. Sudhir and the expected parents. We check-in to the hospital at the admitting desk and with the help of Dr. Sudhir it only takes a couple of minutes. We go up to our room, #415 (just a single room as we didn't feel we needed the suite and wanted to save $$ where we could).

We drop our bags off and head down to the second floor 'Labor and Delivery' to visit with KT. J, her awesome husband is with her. He hasn't left her side for 2 days. What a guy!

He tells us he missed the labour of his 2 boys and so,'there is NO way he is going to miss this.' KT is still on the NST(non-stress test) machine and she smiles to see us. We can hear the baby's heartbeat and I sit and touch her belly and feel the contractions.

KT is such a trooper. The baby's heart rate slightly decreases as she has a contraction and she just grimaces not making a sound. I stroke her forehead and arm and tell her how strong she is, and that 'I would probably be waking the whole hospital with my screams.' KT gets a giggle out of that.

2100 - We head back down to visit with KT after the Docs leave. We had gone back up to the room and both taken a bit of a nap, since we are sure that we are in for a LONG night.

Dr. Soni is in to check on KT and gives us a detailed update. KT has not progressed past 2cm even though the Pitocin drip was restarted. Her contractions are regular and each time the heart rate of the baby slightly decreases but labor is not advancing. KT is in pain. We have 2 options Dr. Soni explains; Stop the drip and wait it out and see if she progresses, or do a c-section and get the baby out. We both tell Dr. Soni we trust in her 110% and she is the boss, whatever she feels is best for both KT and the baby, we are on board. She says that even if we wait it out, KT may not progress and she is in SO much pain already. With the babies size and heart rate lowering slightly with each contraction we don't want to wait and then run into an emergency and have to rush her in for a c-section, which at this point is where she suspects it may end up. Let's not put either of them at risk. At this point a c-section is probably for the best. 'Let's just get the baby out and both the baby and KT will be just fine,' she says. Dr. Soni first asks, if we are 'okay with that?' Of course we agree. She then turns and explains it all to KT and J in Hindi and they both agree, 'yes, let's do a c-section.' We were all in agreement and it was nice to know we all felt the same way. Dr. Soni had already called and told Dr. Yash the options so everyone had been well informed. After Dr. Soni leaves the room, KT looks up at me, smiles and says, 'Soon you will have your baby.' What a heartfelt moment for me, Gerry and I were worried about her procedure and all she could think about was us. Gerry and I each gave her a kiss on the forehead and stepped out so the Sisters (nurses) could prep her for OR. As we waited, Gerry had tears in his eyes saying, I hope it won't be painful for her. 'I worry about what KT is going through.' I tried to console him, telling him that the procedure in itself she wouldn't feel at all, but there would be some pain while she recovers. She has J and all the care givers at the SI clinic to care for her, so we know she will be in wonderful and caring hands. Not long after, KT was wheeled by and we gave her a last hug and smile as we headed down to the waiting area outside of the operating theater.

2130 - Dr. Soni and her team pass by and she says with a big smile,'Give me 30 mins. and you will have your baby.' WOW THIS IS REALLY HAPPENING! The Anesthesiologist comes out and tells us what she will be doing. Again Gerry asks her about KT and the Doctor assures him she will be just fine. Just a few more minutes pass and Dr. Yash rushes by to get in for the delivery. She promised us before we arrived in Mumbai, that she would go in and give us every detail of our Angel's birth. Pictures and all:

Thanks for his first pictures Dr. Yash

We wait, Gerry peaks his head into the room where the nurses station is to see if he hears any baby cries.

Time ticks by, 30 minutes... 45 minutes... Now I am getting antsy. I start to pace the halls.

A nervous mother. What is taking so long? Is everything okay? Is KT alright? Is our baby okay?

Just then Dr. Sudhir comes rushing through the doors, 'I didn't miss it, did I?' We both laugh as he breaks the tension. He tells us how he was at the clinic getting his last dose of IV antibiotics with the nurse (since he is still feeling under the weather) when Dr. Yash called him. He pulled the IV lines off and told the nurse, 'I will finish later! I must go!'

The moment is perfect, everyone is there. We continue to wait. Now we see the Medical Residents and Doctors and various other people pass by, they are all tight lipped but smile as they pass, and we know that we are just seconds away from the big moment.

2222 - (I wonder if the number '2' will be his lucky number?) Dr. Soni rounds the corner at the nursing station as we peek through the little window. Our moment has arrived. She comes through the door, 'CONGRATULATIONS, you have a healthy baby boy!' I look at Gerry and say, 'You have your boy.' We look down at our Angel in Dr. Soni's arms. The tears begin to flow. He is perfect in every way. Big blue/grey eyes stare back at us. He is quiet and curious.

Dr. Yash and Dr. Sudhir are all smiles, and snap photos as Dr. Soni places Blaze into our arms.

The happy Indian God Parents

Gerry talks to him and he immediately turns his head to the sound of Gerry's voice. He is Daddy's boy! I look up and say (much to their surprise) Congratulations Indian God Mother and Father to Dr. Yash and Dr. Sudhir. They smile and say, 'we wouldn't have it any other way', and neither would we.

It was a moment etched in our minds forever.

Dr. Soni, Gerry and Dr.Yash

And now me too

2235 - (I kinda lost track of time at this point) The Resident Pediatrician takes Blaze to the NICU. Dr. Soni says, he is fine, but we want to observe him over night, he is still slightly early at 37 weeks so lets not take any precautions. The umbilical cord was very thick and it was wrapped around his neck once. 'Its a good thing we went ahead and did that c-section. She would have needed it anyway.' I think what my Mom will say, as she still to this day, tells me stories of my birth with the umbilical cord around my neck 3 times. We both follow Blaze to the NICU. We go in for a few minutes to see him before we go up to our room. We just beam and say to each other as tears stream down our faces, "Look at what we have done. We are so very blessed. Our perfect little Angel has arrived."

And this is only just the beginning.... (we promise more pics of handsome little Blaze)

Where to start ???

I am going to try and split this up, so to capture a day in the life of new Mommy and Daddy and Blaze's amazing adventures in Mumbai. Sorry it has been so long since we updated. Yes, we have had internet connection here at the hotel, but we have been a very busy bunch and finally today we have decided its a family day here at the VITS and Mommy needs to work on the blog.

But first some very important photos that many of you have been waiting for (patiently, I might add) just to tide you over:

Our beautiful little Angel

Daddy and his little man

Flirting with Dr. Yash

INTRODUCING TO THE WORLD....

With much love and overwhelming happiness we are very proud to introduce:

BLAZE XENNON

Xennon (pronounced Zee-nun, meaning from a foreign or far away land)

He arrived into this world at 10:22 pm India Standard Time on August 26, 2009 weighing 5.9 lbs. He is absolutely perfect in every imaginable way. KT and baby are healthy and well.

With tears of joy the first time holding our Angel.

His little head turned to stare, eyes wide open at Gerry at the sound of his voice. Priceless moment.

We are very tired and going to try to get a few hours of sleep, but will give all of the details very soon. Special thank you to all the staff at Hiranandani Hospital, KT and hubby J (who never left her side), and the fabulous SI team. Huge thanks to all of you for your kind and loving words and who patiently waited for the long anticipated arrival of our little Angel.

Stay tuned...