Our NICU Journey ~ Kordsiemon Family

On Monday, July 6th our lives took a very unexpected turn. I was 26 weeks pregnant, and hadn't had any complications or irregularities in my pregnancy. The previous Friday I had started having some Braxton Hicks contractions (some were fairly painful, but for the most part they subsided) but they had eased by Sunday afternoon, and I was feeling normal.

Monday morning I went to work and had an uneventful day. Around 4:30 PM, I felt a gush and realized there was some blood. I drove home from work and had another gush, and immediately called the on-call doctor at Riverton hospital and he told me to come in and they would monitor me for a few hours. Taylor got home from work a few minutes later and we left for the hospital. When we arrived, they took some samples to run a test and make sure my water hadn't broken. They were watching baby's heart rate on a monitor, and it was steady and looked great. I wasn't having any contractions and wasn't dilated. They did an ultrasound, and baby boy was transverse (sideways). (If I did go into labor, I would have to have a C-section.)

My doctor was actually at the hospital, and he examined me and said he didn't see any other blood, and that if the membrane test came back negative he felt good about sending me home. I had a doctors appointment scheduled with him for the following morning, and he would make sure everything was going okay. Taylor and I were feeling pretty reassured at this point and thought we would be on our way home soon.

The nurse came back with my test results, and it was positive. My water had broken, and I was starting to have some mild contractions. I was in shock as they told me they were going to transfer me to IMC, where they would keep me on bed rest for at least five weeks and do their best to prevent me from delivering so prematurely. My parents met us at Riverton hospital, and it took an hour or two for everything to be arranged for my transport. Meanwhile, my contractions were getting worse. Finally it was decided that I was going to be taken by ambulance to IMC. Right before leaving the hospital they checked my cervix and I had dilated to a 2. The pain was becoming more intense and they gave me a small amount of morphine before leaving Riverton. Taylor came with me in the ambulance and my parents followed behind. The ambulance ride was surreal - I could hardly believe what was happening and that I was going to be on bed rest for the next few weeks.

When we arrived at IMC, my contractions were getting worse. I was given magnesium and some medication to hopefully stop the contractions. I was also given a steroid shot to help my baby's lungs in case I did deliver soon. The doctors told us that their goal was to go at least 48 hours from giving me the steroid shot (and they would administer another one later) so that the baby would gain maximum benefits from the shots. After another hour or so went by, I was pretty loopy from the magnesium but still in a lot of pain from contractions. A doctor came in and talked to us about the risks of delivering at 26 weeks, but I don't really remember anything she said. I was having difficulty breathing through the contractions. I think I was able to sort of fall asleep for an hour.

I woke up and felt extremely flushed and in pain. They checked me again, and the doctor said she could see hair (!) and that I was dilated to a 7. An ultrasound confirmed that baby had changed positions (a miracle!) and he was head down. At this point it was about 3 AM, and the anesthesiologist came in to give me an epidural. I don't remember much about what he did, except that he was asking us about the origin of Kordsiemon and kept talking about Prussia the entire time he was in the room. :) At this point I still couldn't fathom what was happening around me. My parents, Laura, and Taylor were with me and we were all having difficult processing how quickly things were escalating.

Around 4:20 am they took Taylor and I back to the operating room, and after pushing for about 15 minutes, Cooper Ross Kordsiemon was born at 4:36 am. I remember looking at him and thinking that he looked bigger than I expected. He also had quite a bit of dark, beautiful hair. :) He was immediately handed off to the waiting NICU team, and we were told we would be taken to see him as soon as he was stable. I was taken back to my room, where we all fell asleep for a little while.

A little while later I was ready to be moved up to a recovery room, and Taylor and I were taken back to see Cooper. The doctors told us he weighed 2 pounds 5 oz, which was more than they expected for a 26 week baby. I felt the most overwhelming love as they wheeled me over to Cooper's isolette. The nurse let me reach in and touch him for a minute, and I cried and cried as the reality of the last 12 hours sunk in and I laid eyes on my beautiful son. I was only able to be there for a few minutes, and then was taken upstairs to my recovery room.

Cooper's delivery is not even close to how I pictured the birth of my first child. I hadn't had any baby showers (but have been assured by wonderful family and friends that those will happen soon:) ), hadn't purchased a car seat, and didn't have a hospital bag packed filled with the things we would need. I hadn't even worn most of my maternity clothes yet! Cooper was not immediately placed on my chest, and even now six days after his birth I have yet to hold him. Despite these things, I know Cooper and I were watched over by our loving Heavenly Father and miracles surrounded his birth.

Cooper is the light of mine and Taylor's lives, and we are so thankful for the tremendous support and love that has been shown from our family and friends. I plan to update this blog daily with Cooper's progress, and will work on posting the events from the last five days. Thank you for your prayers for our super Cooper:)