Monday we went to Harper's two week appointment. I mentioned to the doctor that during my stay in the hospital they did several ultrasounds, and they saw some extra fluid on her kidney. Dr. Hanes felt it necessary to do a repeat ultrasound to rule anything out and get some peace of mind from what the prenatal ultrasounds found.
Today we went to the hospital to get an ultrasound. I also delivered some pumpkin spice brownies to the labor and delivery floor for all my nurses. The ultrasound went by easily. I expected there to be lots of screaming from Harper, but they did such a great job trying to keep her warm and comfortable. The ultrasound technician told us what they were looking for. She explained that if they saw something alarming they would ask us to stay, but if they did see anything too alarming that I should hear back from my doctor within a few days.
I received a phone call at 4:00 this afternoon from Dr. Hanes office. My phone was in the car, so I missed it. I listened to the message and it was Dr. Hanes herself. I took this as not a great sign, so I immediately called back.
Dr. Hanes and the radiologist seem to think that Harper only has one kidney. They think that in the prenatal ultrasounds the extra fluid they were seeing was due to the fact that the one kidney is enlarged. Today, they could not find her second kidney. It could be there, but likely if it is there it is much smaller/underdeveloped. In the prenatal ultrasounds there were shadows where the other kidney is supposed to be, so it was missed. This is not uncommon. Ultrasounds can be tricky and shadows appear. If I would have been able to see the high risk specialist while in the hospital we might have seen this before but that would not change anything.
We will be referred to a specialist who will run more tests and give us an idea of what to expect. Dr. Hanes explained a lot of what to expect. It was sudden and unexpected news, so I wasn't prepared with questions, which are now forming in our heads. We go back to Dr. Hanes in a few weeks, and hopefully we will have seen the specialist by then.
Thanks for following our story and keep this on your prayer list. Dr. Hanes said that although it is not common for this to happen, it is not rare either. I know two young boys that were born with only one kidney and they are healthy. People can live a healthy life with only one kidney. It is just different when it is your own child, and you just want to do anything possible for them to be healthy!
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Harper'a arrival
Harper Grace Bruner was born on September 13, 2010 at 6:58 pm. She weighed 5 lbs 11 oz and 18 1/2 inches long.
After spending one week on bedrest at home, 24 days in the hospital on bedrest, and then 6 more days at home on bedrest, she decided to come at 35 weeks. We went for regular appointment and decided that she was ready. We went over to labor and delivery to check back in. I was greeted with friendly faces, and this time much happier to be in the hospital.
I got my epidural at about 4:00 pm. The doctor came and broke my water and started the pitocin to induce more contractions. Harper did not like the drugs and her heart rate plummeted. At that point the nurses started rushing around and more people just showed up in my room. They stopped all medications, laid me on my back and started oxygen. After about 5 minutes, her heart rate finally rebounded. The nurse said that we were seconds away from an emergency c-section. They did an excellent job of not letting me know how serious it was in order to keep me calm. Soon after it was time for the big moment! The NICU nurses were called to be at delivery because she was coming at 35 weeks which is about 5 weeks preterm.
She was born at 6:58. She came out crying loudly, and the NICU nurses were pleased with her right away. Because she was so early, she had to go to NICU to be monitored. (if she would have been born at midnight she would not of had to go, but 35 week babies HAVE to go, 35 weeks and 1 day babies don't go unless they need to) DJ followed her to NICU to get progress updates. That was a really long 30 minutes! Soon enough he came back and the update was that she was doing AWESOME! Everybody but me got to go back and see her. (I was still under the influence of the epidural and couldn't move my legs) After spending two hours in the NICU, she came back to my room and we were reunited!
She is doing awesome! At her two week appointment she weighed 6 lbs 4 oz and is 19 1/2 inches long. So she is growing fast already!
After spending one week on bedrest at home, 24 days in the hospital on bedrest, and then 6 more days at home on bedrest, she decided to come at 35 weeks. We went for regular appointment and decided that she was ready. We went over to labor and delivery to check back in. I was greeted with friendly faces, and this time much happier to be in the hospital.
I got my epidural at about 4:00 pm. The doctor came and broke my water and started the pitocin to induce more contractions. Harper did not like the drugs and her heart rate plummeted. At that point the nurses started rushing around and more people just showed up in my room. They stopped all medications, laid me on my back and started oxygen. After about 5 minutes, her heart rate finally rebounded. The nurse said that we were seconds away from an emergency c-section. They did an excellent job of not letting me know how serious it was in order to keep me calm. Soon after it was time for the big moment! The NICU nurses were called to be at delivery because she was coming at 35 weeks which is about 5 weeks preterm.
She was born at 6:58. She came out crying loudly, and the NICU nurses were pleased with her right away. Because she was so early, she had to go to NICU to be monitored. (if she would have been born at midnight she would not of had to go, but 35 week babies HAVE to go, 35 weeks and 1 day babies don't go unless they need to) DJ followed her to NICU to get progress updates. That was a really long 30 minutes! Soon enough he came back and the update was that she was doing AWESOME! Everybody but me got to go back and see her. (I was still under the influence of the epidural and couldn't move my legs) After spending two hours in the NICU, she came back to my room and we were reunited!
She is doing awesome! At her two week appointment she weighed 6 lbs 4 oz and is 19 1/2 inches long. So she is growing fast already!
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Tuesday September 7th
I am writing this post from my couch! Yippee! The doctor visited me this morning, and released me right before 11 am. I had a very calm weekend, and she felt confident in releasing me. I am still considered to be having pre-term labor because I am still having contractions. Because of this I am still on bed rest and on the medications to stop contractions until I deliver, or until 37 weeks whichever comes first. I go to the doctor on Thursday, and will continue to go to the doctor two times a week. I am so thankful to be in my house!
I was packed up my things (really I just sat and gave directions to my mother-in law, and she packed) on a very large cart. I had been at the hospital 24 days so I felt like I had moved in. I had a full shower of things, a bag of clothes, a hamper, a bag of snacks, knitting materials, gifts, flowers, books, magazines, computer, and other random things. I feel like I am in a weird transition phase right now. I think that I will have a big adjustment to being here at home. I will not have nurses at my beckon call, which also means I will not have people coming in and out of my room checking vitals. With that being said, I did feel like I needed to say goodbye to all of my favorite nurses. I am so thankful to so many of them. I had a few who really made the hospital stay bearable. Becky always knew how to lighten the mood and keep things upbeat. Barb was my nurse mother, she brought DVD's for DJ to watch and she even brought me a donut one day! Kristin was a sweetheart, who was a friendly face and helpful ally. There were many others that were extremely nice and helpful, those 3 in particular stuck out and will remain special to me. I will get to go back and see some of them when I deliver-so it wasn't goodbye, just see you later!
Thank you for all of your prayers and support! Prayer was what got me this far! We still need your prayers as we go through the adjustment of being home on bed rest. We still need prayers for a healthy baby in a few weeks. After this week (I am 34 weeks), we are even more in the clear, and technically at 37 weeks, I will be full-term and can stop medications. The doctor and nurses laughed because they did everything possible to stop labor, and now I will probably go post-term, begging for them to induce!
I was packed up my things (really I just sat and gave directions to my mother-in law, and she packed) on a very large cart. I had been at the hospital 24 days so I felt like I had moved in. I had a full shower of things, a bag of clothes, a hamper, a bag of snacks, knitting materials, gifts, flowers, books, magazines, computer, and other random things. I feel like I am in a weird transition phase right now. I think that I will have a big adjustment to being here at home. I will not have nurses at my beckon call, which also means I will not have people coming in and out of my room checking vitals. With that being said, I did feel like I needed to say goodbye to all of my favorite nurses. I am so thankful to so many of them. I had a few who really made the hospital stay bearable. Becky always knew how to lighten the mood and keep things upbeat. Barb was my nurse mother, she brought DVD's for DJ to watch and she even brought me a donut one day! Kristin was a sweetheart, who was a friendly face and helpful ally. There were many others that were extremely nice and helpful, those 3 in particular stuck out and will remain special to me. I will get to go back and see some of them when I deliver-so it wasn't goodbye, just see you later!
Thank you for all of your prayers and support! Prayer was what got me this far! We still need your prayers as we go through the adjustment of being home on bed rest. We still need prayers for a healthy baby in a few weeks. After this week (I am 34 weeks), we are even more in the clear, and technically at 37 weeks, I will be full-term and can stop medications. The doctor and nurses laughed because they did everything possible to stop labor, and now I will probably go post-term, begging for them to induce!
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