Well our plans definitely changed and it turns out that baby Hilton was ready to make his appearance earlier than we had planned, which although at first it came as quite a shock; nerves and chills if you will, we were also very excited to meet our little boy.
Carter William Hilton was born on October 10th, at 9:20 am weighing 5 lbs., 4 oz. which was amazing because we thought we would be lucky if he was 4 1/2 lbs.!!! Our last measurement appointment had been three weeks before and we weren't going to have another until next week but we were thrilled to know that he had gained more weight in order to help him once he was out. His length was at 17 1/2 inches too which we think is just perfect. :)
Thursday morning, around 10:15 am, we were admitted into U of M Hospital to be monitored, with the thought that it was possible that he could be delivered the next day due to the low amniotic fluid that I had. The previous week there was more than enough and this week it seemed to have disappeared. Mike and I were put into a room and basically hung out there all day long waiting to hear the news.
Around 8:30pm we were told that a C-section had been scheduled and that we would have the first c-section baby of the day! Due to my previous surgery we knew that I would have to have a c-section for Carter as well as any other children in our very far future. ;)
We watched a movie and tried to get some sleep... For Mike this was MUCH easier.
At 6:00 on Friday morning, October 10th, Mike and I got up and started getting ready for pre-op! We were then taken to the pre-op room and the nurses and doctors came in to say hello and talk to us about our day. A little after 8:00 am I was wheeled into the operating room and the doctors got started with making sure mom was good and numb before it was time for Carter to arrive. Around 8:45ish... Mike came into the operating room all ready to go (he looked so handsome, even with his shoe covers, head cover, and stay puff marshmallow man suit to go over his clothes).
Once Mike was in the room and hanging out with me it was time to get started. The doctors played us music while I was lying there ready to meet Carter! Around 9:17 (thanks for the time check Mike) I started to feel a lot of tugging and pulling. Then we heard "Happy Birthday!" from the doctors. Carter was put into the NICU doctors arms and she came around the corner to show us our little man who was very tightly snuggled up against himself. This, I thought, was a really cool experience because we were able to see his exact position when he was inside of me and what it looked like from the outside.
The NICU doctor immediately took him out of the room and they began to get to work. Mike followed Carter and stayed with him to see what was going on and then report back to me.
I continued to stay on the table because my doctors wanted to take a look at how my previous scar and uterus incision was looking; it was very important that it wasn't stretching or tearing, and thankfully it wasn't. I was told that you can see the cleft or divot in my uterus but that would hopefully heal more over time. Since it is also very important that Mike and I do not even think about having another baby for over two years the doctors input an IUD so that I had a strong form of birth control in order for my uterus to completely heal before trying to put another baby up in there. (Yes I did just sing the part from DMX... up in here it's okay ;) ).
While all of this was happening Mike was with Carter in "the nest" which is a small room outside of the OR. There were many doctors who were checking on him to see what was happening and how he was doing. Overall, Carter looked great! He did need to have a breathing tube and oxygen at first because this breathing was very new to him. However, as the day went on, that was taken off and Carter was breathing on his own!
The neuro-surgeon also stopped by to look at Carter's back and see how everything had been healing. Where his surgery had previously been (in the center of his back) he looked great! It was healing beautifully and there was NO fluid leaking from him back. However, there was an issue on the right side of his back. When Carter originally had his surgery there wasn't enough skin to sew where the doctors had been working; because of this, they had to make small incisions on each side of his back to pull the skin over the nerves and stitch them together. Although Carter's left side had healed and his skin was looking normal, his right side did not, exposing muscle and no skin.
Doctors also took a look at Carter's legs. His left looked great, while his right looked as though it may have a bit of a club at his ankle. The good news is we found later, due to him being a preemie and the way his body was while he was inside of me, doctors felt that his ankle and foot would actually take care of itself and it was not a Spina Bifida thing but a preemie baby thing. :)
Tests were done and Carter was responding well to them all! He was even kicking and moving his feet and legs around, especially because he does not like his feet to be touched!
As for his brain the neurosurgeon said that he would make sure to monitor how his ventricles and fluid was looking before deciding if he would need a shunt. Plus they want to give him time to just heal and rest and relax before having to go into any sort of surgery. As of now, we are waiting to hear what they want to do. We do know that Carter will have a MRI to check his nerves and see how his body is responding. We are not exactly sure when this will happen because the doctors that need to see the results are not here on the weekends so as of now, we wait! Which, is fine with me because it gives us more time with him before more work gets involved.
As for his back, both the neuro, and plastic surgeons got together and decided that they wanted to see if Carter's back would heal on its own. They are placing Vaseline on his open muscle and keeping it covered up for now. If it heals on its own, excellent! If not, then Carter will have a skin graft done but we are not sure when this would happen.
As for his bladder and bathroom functions Carter is peeing on his own and not, not letting it out which is wonderful! At first we were told that they were going to catheterize him to compare what he does on his own and what is done for him. However, they changed their minds because he was going on his own. Should anything change from that there may need to be adjustments but for now, this is just another blessing.
As for eating and pooping... Carter does have a feeding tube BUT he has also been taking a bottle which was another great sign. Until I can get enough milk Carter is eating a mixture of breast and formula milk. Once I have a steady supply (fingers crossed) he will go straight to breast milk. Carter has already latched and sucked too which is a huge step for such a little boy and the nurses were very happy to see that connection. Due to him eating this also means that he will have to poop, we hope. ;)
Last night as the nurse was changing his diaper, (which he HATES by the way) we did see that he was trying to poop and a little came out. This was another sign because we weren't and really still aren't sure how he will do with this from the Spina Bifida. It was great to see a little poop exiting his body but this is something else that will have to be monitored to see how he is handling things.
So in the longest story short, Carter is doing an amazing job and is doing a lot on his own, which we are thrilled to see. He will be here for some time and until we get tests done, and results back, and talk to the doctors that need to see the results of those tests we won't know more. As of now we wait and enjoy spending time with our little one.
Best news of all?... We get to gold him and feed him. Something we weren't sure we would be able to do after his delivery.
Here are a few pictures of Carter and some of his visitors from the last few days. (thanks Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles, and cousins for stopping by to say hello!)
he next few blogs we will share what we found from the doctors and carter's next steps. :) We cannot begin to thank you enough for the kind words, well wishes, support, and prayers from all of you during this time. We are truly a very blessed family and couldn't have done this without your support and love. Thank you.
Carter William Hilton was born on October 10th, at 9:20 am weighing 5 lbs., 4 oz. which was amazing because we thought we would be lucky if he was 4 1/2 lbs.!!! Our last measurement appointment had been three weeks before and we weren't going to have another until next week but we were thrilled to know that he had gained more weight in order to help him once he was out. His length was at 17 1/2 inches too which we think is just perfect. :)
So here is our story... or should I say Carter's birth story as well as what we know now:
Thursday morning, around 10:15 am, we were admitted into U of M Hospital to be monitored, with the thought that it was possible that he could be delivered the next day due to the low amniotic fluid that I had. The previous week there was more than enough and this week it seemed to have disappeared. Mike and I were put into a room and basically hung out there all day long waiting to hear the news.
Around 8:30pm we were told that a C-section had been scheduled and that we would have the first c-section baby of the day! Due to my previous surgery we knew that I would have to have a c-section for Carter as well as any other children in our very far future. ;)
We watched a movie and tried to get some sleep... For Mike this was MUCH easier.
At 6:00 on Friday morning, October 10th, Mike and I got up and started getting ready for pre-op! We were then taken to the pre-op room and the nurses and doctors came in to say hello and talk to us about our day. A little after 8:00 am I was wheeled into the operating room and the doctors got started with making sure mom was good and numb before it was time for Carter to arrive. Around 8:45ish... Mike came into the operating room all ready to go (he looked so handsome, even with his shoe covers, head cover, and stay puff marshmallow man suit to go over his clothes).
Once Mike was in the room and hanging out with me it was time to get started. The doctors played us music while I was lying there ready to meet Carter! Around 9:17 (thanks for the time check Mike) I started to feel a lot of tugging and pulling. Then we heard "Happy Birthday!" from the doctors. Carter was put into the NICU doctors arms and she came around the corner to show us our little man who was very tightly snuggled up against himself. This, I thought, was a really cool experience because we were able to see his exact position when he was inside of me and what it looked like from the outside.
The NICU doctor immediately took him out of the room and they began to get to work. Mike followed Carter and stayed with him to see what was going on and then report back to me.
I continued to stay on the table because my doctors wanted to take a look at how my previous scar and uterus incision was looking; it was very important that it wasn't stretching or tearing, and thankfully it wasn't. I was told that you can see the cleft or divot in my uterus but that would hopefully heal more over time. Since it is also very important that Mike and I do not even think about having another baby for over two years the doctors input an IUD so that I had a strong form of birth control in order for my uterus to completely heal before trying to put another baby up in there. (Yes I did just sing the part from DMX... up in here it's okay ;) ).
While all of this was happening Mike was with Carter in "the nest" which is a small room outside of the OR. There were many doctors who were checking on him to see what was happening and how he was doing. Overall, Carter looked great! He did need to have a breathing tube and oxygen at first because this breathing was very new to him. However, as the day went on, that was taken off and Carter was breathing on his own!
The neuro-surgeon also stopped by to look at Carter's back and see how everything had been healing. Where his surgery had previously been (in the center of his back) he looked great! It was healing beautifully and there was NO fluid leaking from him back. However, there was an issue on the right side of his back. When Carter originally had his surgery there wasn't enough skin to sew where the doctors had been working; because of this, they had to make small incisions on each side of his back to pull the skin over the nerves and stitch them together. Although Carter's left side had healed and his skin was looking normal, his right side did not, exposing muscle and no skin.
Doctors also took a look at Carter's legs. His left looked great, while his right looked as though it may have a bit of a club at his ankle. The good news is we found later, due to him being a preemie and the way his body was while he was inside of me, doctors felt that his ankle and foot would actually take care of itself and it was not a Spina Bifida thing but a preemie baby thing. :)
Tests were done and Carter was responding well to them all! He was even kicking and moving his feet and legs around, especially because he does not like his feet to be touched!
As for his brain the neurosurgeon said that he would make sure to monitor how his ventricles and fluid was looking before deciding if he would need a shunt. Plus they want to give him time to just heal and rest and relax before having to go into any sort of surgery. As of now, we are waiting to hear what they want to do. We do know that Carter will have a MRI to check his nerves and see how his body is responding. We are not exactly sure when this will happen because the doctors that need to see the results are not here on the weekends so as of now, we wait! Which, is fine with me because it gives us more time with him before more work gets involved.
As for his back, both the neuro, and plastic surgeons got together and decided that they wanted to see if Carter's back would heal on its own. They are placing Vaseline on his open muscle and keeping it covered up for now. If it heals on its own, excellent! If not, then Carter will have a skin graft done but we are not sure when this would happen.
As for his bladder and bathroom functions Carter is peeing on his own and not, not letting it out which is wonderful! At first we were told that they were going to catheterize him to compare what he does on his own and what is done for him. However, they changed their minds because he was going on his own. Should anything change from that there may need to be adjustments but for now, this is just another blessing.
As for eating and pooping... Carter does have a feeding tube BUT he has also been taking a bottle which was another great sign. Until I can get enough milk Carter is eating a mixture of breast and formula milk. Once I have a steady supply (fingers crossed) he will go straight to breast milk. Carter has already latched and sucked too which is a huge step for such a little boy and the nurses were very happy to see that connection. Due to him eating this also means that he will have to poop, we hope. ;)
Last night as the nurse was changing his diaper, (which he HATES by the way) we did see that he was trying to poop and a little came out. This was another sign because we weren't and really still aren't sure how he will do with this from the Spina Bifida. It was great to see a little poop exiting his body but this is something else that will have to be monitored to see how he is handling things.
So in the longest story short, Carter is doing an amazing job and is doing a lot on his own, which we are thrilled to see. He will be here for some time and until we get tests done, and results back, and talk to the doctors that need to see the results of those tests we won't know more. As of now we wait and enjoy spending time with our little one.
Best news of all?... We get to gold him and feed him. Something we weren't sure we would be able to do after his delivery.
Here are a few pictures of Carter and some of his visitors from the last few days. (thanks Grandparents, Aunts, and Uncles, and cousins for stopping by to say hello!)
he next few blogs we will share what we found from the doctors and carter's next steps. :) We cannot begin to thank you enough for the kind words, well wishes, support, and prayers from all of you during this time. We are truly a very blessed family and couldn't have done this without your support and love. Thank you.
Mom and Carter's First Picture :)
Look at those lips!!!!
Carter's Bed for now!
All Curled Up :)
Gigi and Carter
Dad, Papa, and Uncle Dylan
Aunt Julie :)
Oh hi there...
Emma and Anna Meeting Carter for the first time!
Loving that face already...
Daddy and Carter time
Already rolling his eyes ;)
Mike gets to feed Carter!
Uncle Brian and Carter!
Never have I ever been so excited to hear a baby pooped! Praise God for all the great
ReplyDeleteProgress. Keep up the great work buddy!
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