We had our baby girl, Francesca Holly, Tuesday, December 2, 2008 at 1:34 P.M. She was quite a surprise at 16 weeks early! I was due around March 20, 2009, so I was only about 24 weeks along. My pregnancy had been uneventful and perfect until the Sunday after Thanksgiving. To sum up my two days in the hospital, I went into pre-term labor, and despite several bouts of steroids they couldn't stop it. She was breech and kicked her little foot through the placenta, and once that ruptured we had to go in and get her.
Out she came at 1 lb., 11 ounces. She had lost a bit of weight over the last couple of days since I hadn't eaten. She was perfect formed with ten fingers and toes but incredibly tiny. They allowed us a brief view of her scrunched up little face and then whisked her away to the neonatal ICU at All Children's Hospital. Fortunately our hospital, Bayfront, is next door to All Children's, so they simply ran her through the underground tunnel.
Not being able to hold her right away was excruciating. We were able to visit her around 8 P.M. that evening after my spinal anesthesia had worn off and I could feel my legs. She had her own incubator and had several IVs hooked up to her already, running everything from dopamine to saline to platelets. They let us touch her briefly through the holes after scrubbing ourselves for 30 seconds. The first thing we noticed was her adorable toes - she has a huge first toe, just like Adam. She moved it around, separating it from the rest of her digits - just like her Dad! She lightly squeezed our fingers with her fist and pressed her tiny feet against our palms.
At 24 weeks a baby doesn't have well-developed lungs yet. So they gave her a shot of surfactant to help her breathe. They told us that babies born at 24 weeks have a 50/50 chance of surviving, and those that do survive can develop a multitude of long-term problems. We cried and just enjoyed touching her precious little hands and feet, trying to prepare ourselves for the worst. We were so glad to even be able to see her. We had no idea what to expect.
Out she came at 1 lb., 11 ounces. She had lost a bit of weight over the last couple of days since I hadn't eaten. She was perfect formed with ten fingers and toes but incredibly tiny. They allowed us a brief view of her scrunched up little face and then whisked her away to the neonatal ICU at All Children's Hospital. Fortunately our hospital, Bayfront, is next door to All Children's, so they simply ran her through the underground tunnel.
Not being able to hold her right away was excruciating. We were able to visit her around 8 P.M. that evening after my spinal anesthesia had worn off and I could feel my legs. She had her own incubator and had several IVs hooked up to her already, running everything from dopamine to saline to platelets. They let us touch her briefly through the holes after scrubbing ourselves for 30 seconds. The first thing we noticed was her adorable toes - she has a huge first toe, just like Adam. She moved it around, separating it from the rest of her digits - just like her Dad! She lightly squeezed our fingers with her fist and pressed her tiny feet against our palms.
At 24 weeks a baby doesn't have well-developed lungs yet. So they gave her a shot of surfactant to help her breathe. They told us that babies born at 24 weeks have a 50/50 chance of surviving, and those that do survive can develop a multitude of long-term problems. We cried and just enjoyed touching her precious little hands and feet, trying to prepare ourselves for the worst. We were so glad to even be able to see her. We had no idea what to expect.
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