An Unexpected Stay

On the evening of February 8th we  were nearing the end of our 24 hour stay in the hospital.  A quiet day alone in the hospital with my baby was the reward I wanted for making it through labor.  Shem was home with the kids and trying to stay on top of his busy work schedule. My sister Kathryn was going to stay with the kids while he came to pick us up around 7:00 p.m.  The kiddos at home couldn't wait to meet their new brother later that night.

I was cleared for discharge and the nurse was looking over Liam's final vitals when she expressed some concern that he was breathing at such a rapid pace. A normal respiratory rate is about 40 breaths per minute and Liam was breathing about 80-100 times per minute. This fast breathing can be an indicator of infection, heart problems, or fluid in the lungs. The pediatrician on call decided he would not be discharging Liam that evening and blood tests were ordered.  All of our other children had been discharged 24 hours after birth and so I was disappointed and frustrated. His other vitals signs were great and he looked perfectly healthy.

I was told not to try to nurse him. With the fast breathing he could aspirate the milk. Shem arrived and we waited together in the newborn nursery for the test results. When the blood tests came back normal a chest x-ray was ordered.  Shem gave Liam a blessing. Sometime later that evening they decided that Liam needed some fluids and this would require and IV and a move to the NICU (newborn intensive care unit). 

It was difficult and emotional to see Liam on the open-bed warmer. He had sensors that monitored his respiratory rate, his heart beat, his blood oxygen level, and his temperature. They put an IV into his left hand and immediately started fluids and a broad spectrum antibiotic. 

 

I cried seeing my little newborn surrounded by such an array of medical equipment (the bed its self looked like a giant robot). But in my heart, I was filled with gratitude knowing that things could be so much worse. We were sharing a room with another newborn. He got to leave for the newborn nursery after a few hours. The little girl that replaced him was rushed in from a c-section (I had to leave while they got her assessed and situated) and on some pretty heavy duty machines and it was uncertain how long it would be before she could breathe on her own. 

Shem had to get back to the children late that night and by midnight I was exhausted. The hospital was allowing me to keep my room for one more night and the nurses assured me the best thing for me to do was get some rest. I went back upstairs, leaving baby Liam in the very capable hands of the NICU nurses, and cried myself to sleep.