NG Gone

As I stated previously, Kristin had her first BM last night since the surgery. She had a few more today and is feeling good. Today they did a tolerance test to see if Kristin's digestive system was working. The test is to clamp off the suction on her NG tube for 4 hours. Then reattach the suction for 30 minutes. If the suction removed less than 100 CZ of fluid then the stomach and intestine are doing their jobs. Then repeat this test a second time to make sure the first wasn't a fluke. Well, for both tests Kristin produced less than 20 cc of fluid. At 7 PM the NG tube was removed. The RN, Tracie, made a comment about the size of the tube that was used. She stated it was much bigger around than what they would normally use. Once the NG was removed there was a noticeable difference in Kristin's energy level. Now she is still extremely tired, but feeling much better than earlier today.

As for Victoria, she continues to do well. Since Kristin was infected, the doctors in NICU decided to do blood cultures on Victoria and begin her on antibiotics. Last night we learned that the culture had shown a presence of Gram positive Cocci. It appears that this infection has not had any major symptomatic effects on Victoria to date. However, the "big guns" or "gorilla killers" have been deployed to combat this infection. It is not known if this infection was contracted by contact with Kristin. Regardless, we are confident in NICUs ability to return her to forward progress.

Here is a pic of Kristin after our big moment today. Happy New Year! May it be MUCH better than 2005 has been to both sides of our family.

Holy Crap!

I never thought I would be so happy (once again) to see feces. Tonight around 8 PM Kristin had her first BM since the surgery. This is AWESOME news because it means that her colon appears to be working properly. Also after twisting some arms and making threats...Kristin finally received the TPN and it appears to be working already. She has some energy back and I know it will continue to build. I hope you all are as happy about her poop as I am because it means she just took a huge step towards going home.

How to say Thanks

Kristin continues to do well on her long road to recovery. She has been very tired today due to not eating since Monday. TPN has been ordered and will hopefully return some energy as it provides calories and some nutrition via IV. Today she has gone for two short walks and is making good progress.

As the days pass, we begin to realize exactly how serious this infection was. Women's OB in Saginaw is Kristin's OB group practice. So far 4 of the 6 doctors have stopped in to check on Kristin, or just say hello and wish us well. Some of them have come in on their own time (not on call). So, I would like to thank all of the doctors, especially Dr. Ladonna Jones for their professionalism and overall caring for my wife. Bruce normally has wise words for me....one thing he normally tells me is either "Thanks for doing your job" or "Thanks for locking up the bad guys". I must admit that I have stolen these words and used them several times in the past 2 months. Last night Dr. Jones was telling Kristin how lucky she was to be alive. She said, "If we wouldn't have gotten to that infection quickly, it would have killed you." At this point, I made it a point to thank her for saving her life. I said, "Thanks for doing your job." "No problem." she replied. I have realized that being a doctor is a unique profession, but possibly similar to being a cop. Here this lady is responsible for saving my wife's life and all I can do is say thanks. She put herself through years of education and countless hours of practicing her art, all for us. I have directly reaped the benefits of her hard work. Sure the pay is good, but if the job was easy then we would all be doctors. So I encourage anyone reading this to call or write Women's OB and thank their staff on our behalf. I have tried to think of a way to show my appreciation. Like many cops, they don't want to be called a hero. But a smile, a handshake, and a "Thanks for doing your job" goes a long way.

Women's OB
5400 Mackinaw Rd.
Saginaw, MI 48604
(989) 792-3100

http://www.womensob.com/

WTF!

Sorry! As you can probably tell, this is Rod reporting again. I apologize to those that know what the title means...but lately I have been wondering WTF is going on!!?? I'm sure you are all worried and concerned for Kristin, so I will actually give you the whole story...beware, its long.

Since giving life to our wonderful little Victoria, Kristin's recovery had been slow. She recently (Past week to two) had been experiencing low back pain and minor cramping in her stomach area. Since this was our first baby, and due to all the added events, we thought it was "normal". Monday night was my first night working after a nice 4 day Christmas weekend. Before I left for work I noticed that Kristin was a bit warm and we took her temp (100.3). Shortly after I left for work, Kristin began to have much more extreme pain in her stomach. When I got home from work at 7:15 AM, she was in obvious pain and told me that she had not slept at all. Both Kristin and I thought that it was simply the flu again that may have been passed from on of the kids or adults that were visiting over the weekend. So, I laid down and slept for about 3 or 4 hours. When I got up Kristin was still in a lot of pain. Still thinking it was the flu we decided to go get checked out. Since St. Mary's has an emergency care unit near our house we decided to just go there, again thinking it was just the flu. Luckily we received excellent care... they performed a pelvic ultrasound on Kristin. This discovered an area of concern around Kristin's ovaries. The PA described the concern as being a large cyst on her left ovary and medium cyst on her right ovary. He also told us that there appeared to be an area of bleeding around her left ovary. The PA contacted Dr. Jones at Covenant and they arranged for Kristin to be transported to Covenant's ER via ambulance.

Shortly after arriving at Covenant, Dr. Jones came and spoke with us. She told us that she had reviewed the radiology reports and that surgery was necessary to see what was actually going on around Kristin's ovaries. Dr. Jones stated that she believed that it was most likely a large cyst that had ruptured and began to bleed. So, after many questions and signing some paperwork, Kristin was transported back to Covenant Harrison. She went to the 5th floor operating room. Ironically, this is the same floor that the NICU occupies. Kristin was quickly preped for surgery.

At 8:30 PM, Kristin was taken into the operating room for surgery. Dr. Jones told me that if all went well the surgery would last up to 90 minutes. I decided to wait in the NICU to be with Victoria. At approximately 8:55 PM one of Dr. Jones' assistants called me and told me that they did not believe that the ovaries were cancerous. This was obviously great news. About an hour later I received another phone call. This time the assistant told me that Dr. Jones had discovered a "pocket of infection" around the ovaries. She also told me that Dr. Jones had called in two general surgeons to assist her. I was unsure what this all meant, but I knew it wasn't good. At about 10:30 PM Dr. Jones came to speak with me at the NICU. Dr. Jones explained to me what exactly occurred. As we were speaking, Bruce and Karen arrived and I asked Dr. Jones to explain all the details to us. Dr. Jones told me that she observed a devastating infection in and around Kristin's uterus. She stated that she believed the infection began inside her uterus and quickly spread to her ovaries. The infected tissue had spread to Kristin's appendix and her colon. Therefore, in order to save Kristin's life, the doctors removed her uterus, ovaries, tubes, and appendix. The general surgeon, Dr. Patel, cleaned out much of the infected tissue and repaired her colon. Dr. Jones told me that, if left untouched, the infection would have killed Kristin within 24 to 48 hours.

At approximately 1:45 AM I was able to see Kristin in the recovery room. She was stable and did not require ICU. I had the unfortunate burden of explaining the results of the surgery. However, Kristin took the news well. She remembered my advice to her just before she went into surgery, "Victoria needs a mother more than she needs a brother or a sister."

At this point, Kristin is feeling very well. Her spirit is high and she is very positive about the situation. We are so thankful for the skill, dedication, and knowledge of Dr. Jones, Dr. Patel, and everyone that assisted us thus far. Covenant is a great hospital and we are lucky to be here. And I am thankful that my wife, my best friend, my LIFE is still here with me....Smiling!

So now what?? Kristin will remain in the hospital for a week or more to recover. As long as her colon responds normally there will be no more surgery. Unfortunately, Kristin will not be allowed to visit Victoria for a few days due to the infection. NICU has already began preemptive measures to check and combat a possible infection. Anyone wishing to call or visit, please call me or the Balcerski's for details.

This has been a difficult few months....we may never have all the answers to our questions....but at least we have our baby girl.

Just a cool pic!

What's changed in this picture?

It seems like every day we visit the nursery, something has changed - sometimes better, sometimes a little step back. I guess it's a mixed Christmas blessing.

Today, they took Victoria's IV out. Overall, this is a "YAY!" event, though we wish it would just have happened because she had been completely weaned off of it. The IV site in her leg started leaking, and they weren't able to restart the IV in her hand, so the doctor decided that she was getting little enough in the way of the supplemental fluid that she could do without it.

The little step back was that she had to be put on Oxygen via a cannula. In speaking with Dr. Mohsini, we're comfortable with the decision. As she explained it, as we increase the amount of food Victoria takes into her belly, the harder her body has to work to digest that food, which means it's tougher for it to control other functions. Doctor's comment to us was, "I see tons of premies every day, and Victoria is doing as well as she possibly could for a baby her age/size". How reassuring to hear that! We only know our situation, and don't really know what to expect - it's great to hear it from her.

Weight-wise, Victoria's still on an upward trend, which is important. The overall trend seems to be 40 grams gained, 20 lost. That's what happened yesterday. She's now 3-3.

The nursery was a very busy place, as the parents of six of the babies were there celebrating with their little ones. By the time Victoria comes home, she should be able to sleep through anything!

Crazy few days

Sorry we haven't updated this in a few days... It's that time of year when schedules seem to get tight (even if we don't have to work!)

Friday, Rod and I hosted our second annual family Christmas dinner, and were able to take Uncle Jeff and Aunt Marie, and Uncle Steve and Aunt Brena to meet Victoria. Of course, both sets of grandparents were at the hospital for a while visiting as well! Jaj (Grandpa B.) got to hold Victoria for the first time, and I think she enjoyed it (see pic below)!

Also on Friday Victoria got moved to a different nursery in the NICU. There are eight total nurseries - 1-3 are for those babies needing the most attention, and the remainder are for everyone else. We moved from nursery 2 to nursery 5. In many ways, this is a big milestone - it's one step closer to coming home.

Victoria is the second smallest premie in her new nursery, so she's got some catching up to do. But she's working on that part! She's up to 3-4 now, and taking 20cc's of milk at each feeding. The doctor has stopped increasing her feedings for now, as that amount seems to be just about all she can handle.

When I was holding her the other night, I had my pinkie finger in her mouth, and she started sucking on it like crazy! It's exciting to see her slowly having more control over her actions. Now all she's got to work on is the swallow/breathe part. Her nurse told us it takes a while for them to learn to hold their breath when they swallow.

It sounds like around 33 and a half weeks is when they usually start to try to get the babies to nurse or bottle feed. If Victoria's on target, that would be around January 5 or 6, I think, since she's 32 weeks today. I can't wait for that!!!

Well, it's Christmas, and Rod and I are going to be spending most of the day at the hospital with our miracle.

Ta-Daa!

Here she is - our big Christmas star! Grandma Penny bought this outfit the day Victoria was born. It's a preemie outfit and still a little too big for her, but we couldn't resist trying it on!

Not too much has changed since the last update with Victoria. She's still getting her feedings increased every 12 hours by 1cc. The medication they're giving her to help with the reflux really seems to be helping. She's also doing a good job digesting her feedings in time for the next one, with not too many residuals. Victoria's weight did go down 10 grams, but she's still technically at 3-2. All in all, a pretty good day!

New Ticker

I've added a countdown ticker to the top of the blog, as I'm sure you noticed. We don't really know when we'll be able to bring Victoria home, but originally the doctor told us to plan on around her due date, so that's what I did. If it's sooner, it's that much more special for us!

We've become "those people"!!!

What do I mean? We got excited over poop yesterday!! Victoria has been getting daily suppositories to help her move things through... Yesterday, she pooped all on her own!! Funny how such a little thing can seem like such a big milestone. I understand that it doesn't mean she won't need help in the near future, but it's still a step in the right direction.

Also, now that she has been on the medication for a day to help with the reflux, she seems to be keeping her feedings down. With the exception of one little setback, she also seems to be digesting all off her feedings in time for the next one, too.

Victoria gained 40 grams last night, so she's now up to 3-2. She also seems to be getting more and more alert every day - though we've still got a long ways to go.

Photo for today - two hands with no IV! Of course, it's not gone, it's just been moved to her foot.
And our little Christmas Elf :) A group of women made and donated little outfits for all the girls in the NICU.

Just a quick update

Daddy and I are both still trying to catch up on the sleep we lost over the past month... Not too successfully, I might add. Everybody says we should sleep now, before Victoria comes home. But Rod's got to get readjusted to working nights and sleeping days, and I can't sleep much anyhow. We'll get it figured out eventually, I'm sure!

Weight updates: Victoria's weight was up to 3lbs, 1oz last night, and stayed the same tonight.

Her feedings seem to not quite sit so well with her belly today, but it might all just be too much too quickly. They'll get that delicate balance figured out soon, we're sure. I was at the hospital earlier when Dr. Chai made his rounds, and he's just as wonderful as ever. If ever there were a group of doctors who really seem to earn the money they make, it's the neonatologists in the NICU. He really takes the time to make sure we're completely comfortable with everything that's going on, explains why he's doing what he's doing, and at the same time, tries to prepare us for what might be going on when it's time to bring Victoria home.

Today's camera shot:

A Breath of Fresh Air

Just as the doctor suggested yesterday, Victoria's weight won't always go up. The main thing is that there's an upward trend overall. Last night, Victoria's weight went down an ounce, so she's an even three pounds. The good news today? The doctor ordered her feedings to increase by 2cc's every three hours (they were going up by 1cc), so she's already up to getting 12cc's at each feeding! Also, the doctor okayed the cannula to come out of Victoria's nose! We can finally see her face, and she looks like her daddy!

It's Time for Mom to Take Over

I'm back! I figure it's about time you hear from the happy mommy for a change. I'm feeling a little bit better as the days progress, though I think little Victoria is recovering more quickly than I. It seems patience is the key for everything these days. I still can't do much around the house, but at least am feeling up to getting the laptop out to post updates. I'll try to be as consistent as Rod has so wonderfully been the past month. It's been a long month, and he's been an amazing husband and father. I couldn't ask for a more perfect life partner. He is my rock.

3 lbs. 1 oz. and counting

Yesterday we took time to rest and then went to visit Victoria around 8 PM. We were there for the daily weigh in, and she crossed the 3 pound mark again. Victoria is doing very well with only one minor issue. She is getting a sopository pretty much daily to help out with the #2 situation. The nurses say that this is common and really nothing to worry about. Today, Grandma Penny is coming down and going to take Kristin over to the hospital to visit. Once again, thanks to everyone that has been leaving encouraging comments on the blog. We really enjoy reading them and they help us a lot. Now, I must go snowblow the driveway so that mom's Park Avenue can make it up to the house....Fun!!!

1 Week Old Today!!!

Today Victoria became 1 week old. Kristin and I were at the hospital on Thursday around 9 PM and she told me she wanted to stick around until 0402 hours for Victoria's 1 week birthday. Then about 5 minutes later I noticed Kristin closing her eyes in exhaustion. It seems that the long 6 weeks has taken a toll on the both of us. As much as we want to be at the hospital it is also important that we rest. So, off to home we went and Kristin went directly to bed. I am assuming that she is getting some good sleep but, as you can see, I am not. I am writing this at 6:15 AM and I just finished feeding the dogs and putting dinner in the crock pot......As they say, I'll sleep when I'm dead! Till then, Bruce bring me some more "ex"presso.

Test Run

Day 6

Wednesday was another good day. Victoria maintained her previous weight of 2 lbs. 15 oz. They continue to increase the amount of breast milk she is receiving so that should turn into more weight because it has a high fat content. Today we gave her another bath and I was able to do "kangaroo care" for about an hour and a half. It was definitely a good day!

Backed Up Tuesday

Tuesday was yet another good day. They continued to increase the amount of breast milk Victoria is receiving with only one minor setback. At the 11 PM feeding they noticed that her entire feeding from 8 PM was still in her stomach. Then they realized that she had not gone #2 in a while. So, after giving her some medicine, the way no one wants to get medicine, she went #2...And #2 again..And #2 again. I should know, I was the one changing the diaper. It was probably the most fun one could have looking at feces. Either way, I definitely have the lead in the messy diaper contest.

Day 4

Victoria again lost a bit of weight on Day 3. She is now down to 2 lbs. 9 oz. The good news is that they have increased her breast milk intake and will increase it 1 cc every 12 hours. Once she is receiving around an ounce every 3 hours they will be able to remove the IV which provides her with nutrition. The Rn said this could take around 15 days. Day 3 I was lucky enough to hold my daughter for about 45 minutes. She fell into a deep REM like sleep, and I couldn't be more proud! Kristin and I will attempt to spend most of today at the hospital, as we believe that our presence is essential to our little girl's health. And now for 1,000 words...

Home ...Not So Sweet Home

Around 7 PM Sunday, Kristin and I finally left the hospital for home. It was bitter-sweet. Coming home without our little girl hurts, but we know she is in the best hands. Sunday Kristin and I got to be involved in some more firsts. We assisted with Victoria's first bath and we both changed a diaper. It was so FUN!! Kristin also spent some time doing "kangaroo care". If you don't know what this is, well neither did I a few days ago. This is a time of bonding where they place the baby directly on the parent's chest for skin to skin contact. It has all kinds of benefits for the baby and parents. Today Victoria lost a bit more weight, down to 2 lbs. 15 oz., but I am assured that this is not a major concern. It is now 7:30 AM and we are getting ready to go she her, so once again I leave you with a picture. This is one of my favorites to date!

What a difference a day makes

Day 2

Wow, were we tired or what?! Kristin and I both cashed out last night around 8 PM. Sleep has replenished our energy. Kristin is feeling better by the hour, and as soon as the pneumonia clears up, we will be able to go home. Victoria is having a wonderful day of firsts. Her first bit of food in her stomach closely followed by her first poop. Her first time being held by mommy and followed by daddy. Today they removed the Cpap (breathing apparatus that makes her look like a Navy pilot). We were able to hear her cry for the first time (for us) also. Lots of visitors and phone calls has made it a busy day. So again, I will leave you with a picture and a promise to continue the updates as much as possible.

Just Pics

December 9, 2005 Victoria Makes A Grand Entrance

As you may have heard, our beautiful baby girl was born today at 4:02 AM. Kristin had been experiencing increasing contractions for the better part of the day. At about 3:30 AM, I was finally able to talk a RN into checking her. Kristin was almost fully dialated. Fifteen minutes later Kristin's water broke while she was on the toilet. Her immediate comment, "Oh, that can't be good." Seventeen minutes later Victoria made her grand entrance. As she was born she opened her beautiful eyes and looked right at me. It was a nervous time because it was unknown if Victoria would be able to breath on her own. I watched as the medical staff placed a small bag-valve mask on my little girl. After two pumps, I heard the operator say, "Oh. There she goes." Then I was able to see her little chest moving up and down. She was breathing and making little sounds. They quickly rushed her up to NICU. About an hour and a half later I was allowed to go and see my baby girl. They warned me of all the equipment that would be hooked up, but I expected this. What a sight. For some reason, I was not worried. I had complete confidence in the personnel and the situation. I knew that Victoria was born for a reason. Either to protect herself, or to protect mom. A few hours later Kristin was able to go up and see her creation. The moments are simply indescribable. Later in the day we learned that a test taken a few days ago showed that Kristin was infected with the Flu. Of course, she had the flu shot two days before all of the contractions began.......If it was the cause, no one expected it. However, all is well with both mom and baby. She is breathing on her own and everyone speaks highly of her. Victoria weighs a grand 3 pounds 5 ounces and she is 16 and 1/2 inches in length. Well there is simply too much to say, so I will leave you with two photographs. The first face to face meeting between mother and daughter and the proud parents. More to come. Enjoy!

An Apple A Day???? I wish.

Today started out a bit rough. Many contractions and a lot of pain. However it is ending up a bit better. It seems that the Procardia is working again and Kristin has regained some energy. It seems that a good shower should be in the medical books under "How to make someone feel better." Kristin's appetite is getting better each day and her breathing is nearly back to normal. Hopefully only a day or two more on the O2. Bad news is that there is no end in sight. It is becoming more and more evident that Kristin will be here for the remainder of the pregnancy. Luckily Jeff and Marie have agreed to take in Foxy for a while and Brandon (cop buddy) has agreed to take Olly. This is a huge weight of guilt off of my shoulders. Thanks also to Ben for taking care of the dogs last night.

Doctor Roulette

As quickly as Kristin was placed on magnesium sulfate, she was taken off. You have to understand that the doctors work 24 hr shifts and change at noon. So, a lot of quick changes come in the early afternoon. Again, medicine is an art and not everyone can draw a straight line. A few more ultrasounds and we were assured that Victoria has no idea what is going on with mom. As of late, it appears that the contractions are slowing. Kristin's O2 level keeps getting higher and her white count keeps getting lower. All good signs that she is kicking the crap out of the infection. Oh, we also saw the Pulmenology specialist, Dr. Cannon, came in to see Kristin today. (Remember he was the one 95% positive she did NOT have pnoumia) When he asked if Kristin or I had any questions for him...We simply said "No." Guess we are not to sure about getting advice from the guy that was completely wrong in a subject he "specializes" in.

Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back

After having the best day in a while, Kristin started contracting again today. At about 2:30 AM Kristin began contracting. Procardia and Breathine had little effect. Therefore, she is back on the magnesium sulfate. Definitely not what we wanted to happen. So it appears that the infection in the lungs may not of been the cause of the contractions. This means we are back to square one, and it appears that Kristin may be here indefinitely. Hopefully by the end of the day I will have some better news to report. Until then...

Phone Calls!

Phone calls at work from my wife always seem to scare me, especially now. 6 AM this morning and my cell phone rings...I have temporarily made a spot for it on my duty belt in case of an emergency call from the hospital...Its Kristin and the thought "Oh Shit!" runs through my head. Kristin says, "Hi. I just wanted to call you and tell you that I feel great!" Ahhhhh, dodged a bullet. So, as you can see, the doctors appear to be doing something right. Today was the best Kristin has felt in about a month. Towards the end of the day she has gotten worn down, but nothing a good nights sleep won't cure. Me, well I have to work tonight and I have traffic court tomorrow. Can you believe this knuckled wants to fight one of MY stop sign tickets...What a joke. Anyway, after court I am off for three. Looking forward to visiting with Rich, Cyndi and Jordyn on Thursday and whoever else decides to stop.

Patient or Felon? You decide!

From this picture....Is this a medical problem or a law enforcement problem? I thought I was witnessing a violation of the controlled substance act, however it turned out to be medicine. Dang! Missed yet another collar. Well, if you can tell by my demeanor, Kristin is feeling much better. Still not good enough to even think about coming home, but making progress. More sleep and more food equals more energy. This weekend we had much help from our families. Thanks to Russ for coming down to support. Thanks to Penny for washing all the baby clothes, cleaning the entire house, and shoveling the porch. Thanks to Bruce and Karen for being here for support and company. Thanks to Scott for taking care of our dogs again and again. Thanks to Jody for visiting and for all the nice gifts! Certainly things would be much more difficult for us if you all didn't pitch in. More to come...Stay tuned.

He said...She said

They say that medicine is an art...Each doctor sees medicine a bit different. Originally, Dr Wagner used the chest x-ray to say that Kristin had pnoumia. Then the Pulmenology specialist came in and said that the x-ray was inconclusive and that he was 95% positive that she did not have pnoumia. Later in the day we saw the infectious disease specialist, Dr Kahn. Dr. Kahn stated he was 100% that she did have pnoumia. He said listed several reasons and was able to convince both Bruce and I. Later in the day Kristin was transported to the Cooper building for a CT of her lungs to check for blood clots. Results showed that she did not have any blood clots and it proved that she did have pnoumia. This was great news since it may be a cause for all the garbage going on. The antibiotics that Kristin is currently on double covers any possible bug that may have caused the infection. Today looks like it will mainly be a day of resting. Kristin and I just returned from the shower....Sounds sexy, but not really! :) She is feeling a lot better as her energy level has increased a bit and she doesn't currently smell.

Doppler, and X-Rays, And Glucose Oh My!

Last night Dr. Wagner pulled out the book and ordered every test imaginable. The goal was to use the process of elimination to try and find a reason for Kristin's condition. He ordered Doppler tests on Kristin's legs to check for blood clots. Results were negative. Next up was a chest x-ray to check for pneumonia. Results....POSITIVE. The x-ray showed signs of pneumonia in both lungs. Now this may sound bad, but it may also be good. The good part, is that it may be the cause of the contractions in a round-about way, and it is treatable. Kristin has received every imaginable antibiotic in hopes of knocking out any infections. She is also getting breathing treatments every 4 hours. The glucose test is to see if Kristin has gestational diabetes. This test involves fasting for 8 hours and then taking a glucose filled drink. The lab then draws blood every hour for three hours to check her sugar level. This test turned out to be a bad idea. Since Kristin had been on a liquid only diet for the past few days, her stomach was completely empty. If there was anything in her stomach, she puked it up last night due to the effects of some of the antibiotics that were given to her. Kristin had to drink the glucose beverage within 5 minutes. Approximately 30 seconds later, the glucose drink was in the basin and I flushed it down the toilet. Needless to say, they are going to have to do that test another day. A few hours later and Kristin has eaten a little food and appears to be feeling better, however she is extremely tired. Today she is supposed to see a breathing specialist regarding the pneumonia.

I would like to thank everyone for all the kind words and help you have been giving us. Thanks to the Packard family for taking care of my other two kids (Foxy and Olly). We are looking forward to visiting with Bruce, Karen, Penny, and Jody on Saturday. Stay tuned...More updates are sure to follow...I seem to have a lot of time on my hands.

As The World Turns...

We had a hectic night. After telling us that Kristin would not receive magnesium sulfate, Doctor Jones changed her mind. It appeared that procardia was not working, and Kristin continued to have contraction after painful contraction. At approximately 1 AM, they started the magnesium sulfate to "clean out her body so the procardia will be able to work." Kristin slept for about 2 hours on her left side until about 3 AM. At this time, Kristin rolled over and described sharp pains on the left side of her body. Kristin's stomach was tensed on the left side for approximately 15 minutes. This was very painful. I alerted the nurse, who alerted Doctor Jones and within a short time they were performing another ultrasound on Kristin. The doctor's were very concerned the placenta was beginning to separate from the uterus. As Doctor Jones stated, "This would be catastrophic." This would cause bleeding which would jeopardize both Kristin and Victoria. Since this was a possibility, they requested that Kristin give permission for an emergency cesarean section if it became necessary. The ultrasound did not show anything unusual. They also did a amniocentesis (basically they jam a needle into the womb and pull out some amniotic fluid). This is done to check for bleeding and infections inside the uterus. This showed no signs of blood or infection and after a short time, along with some pain medication, the pain subsided and Kristin was able to fall asleep. She slept well from about 4:30 AM until about 7:30 AM. If you are wondering about me...Well, I slept from about 6:30 AM till about 8:30 AM. Today, we had another ultrasound performed by the neoperinatologist, Dr. Wechter. He did observed an area where their may have been some bleeding. However he stated that it may have been caused by the amniocentesis. For now, Kristin is feeling better but still not good enough to return home. As the world turns...We get closer and closer to having a healthy Victoria that is ready for the outside world. We can only hope that she holds out another 4 weeks ...Preferably longer.