Well today marks the end of a four week journey that began very unexpectedly on the afternoon of June 22, 2012. I had a routine prenatal appointment at 3:00. I went in and was a little concerned when the doctor was listening to the babies heartbeat. The doctor said that the heart beat was erratic, so they did a non-stress test and listened to it for half an hour and recorded it. Things didn't sound quite right (later Dr. Filmore said in 20 years of being an OB she has never heard a heard beat like his before) and had me go to the hospital to have an ultra sound with a perinatologist to see what was going on. I went to John Muir and had an ultra sound- she then called the pediatric cardiologist who came by and both agreed that the heart beat was irregular baby needed to be delivered that night so they could treat the problem. Needless to say this was a shock since I was only 35 weeks pregnant. They said it would have to be a cesarian since they didn't want to put the baby through the stress of labor. Chris was at a training in San Luis Obispo and I knew it would take him at least 4-5 hours to get here. I asked if they could wait but they said no, so ready or not, I was prepared for surgery. My mom came in with me since Chris was not there. Dana, Eddy, my Dad and Becky were in the waiting room. At 8:19 PM on June 22, Baby Harold was born weighing 7 pounds 8 oz and 19 inches long. I only got to see him for a brief minute before he was whisked away to the NICU for treatment.
 |
| Feeding tube in his nose |
 |
| Alexandra loved him right away |
 |
| Alexandra loves her cousin Ryan! |
 |
| Alexandra and Gamma (Makka as she calls her) |
 |
| Enjoying a little relaxation in mommy's bed |
 |
| Cousins Marisa and Lance came to visit Lucas |
 |
Her favorite thing about my hospital stay was the ice machine!
|
I stayed in the hospital for four days, and then came the dreaded day- I had to leave the hospital without the baby. We still hadn't chosen a name at that point because we really couldn't agree on any- the afternoon before I left, we were told we had to choose so we named him Harold Lucas Queen but he will go by Lucas. Harold is Chris's name and his dads, grandfather and great-grandfather so we wanted to keep the tradition going. Coming home was really hard. For the next 3 1/2 weeks, we had to go back and forth every day, sometimes several times a day to visit Lucas, to bring him food and eventually for me to feed him. He improved steadily but premature babies have issues that only time can take care of like sleep apnea and inability to swallow, suck and breathe effectively. He had episodes when his heart rate would drop or when he would turn blue and need intervention. He initially lost almost a pound but then began gaining weight. Those weeks were stressful but we were blessed with support from family and friends and the excellent care of the NICU staff of John Muir Hospital.
