What should have been 80 days turned into only 20 days, 20 precious days God blessed Jonah with.
Day 1: Sunday, June 8th Jonah received his 1st blood transfusion while still in utero. They also did an amniocentesis to check for infections. His hemoglobin level was at a 2 and normal levels are 12-14. Later that evening they gave me the 2nd steroid shot to help his lungs.
**For those of you who don't know how the blood transfusion works I'll try my best to explain. I am taken into the OR and prepped as if I'm getting a c-section done. They prepare me for this in case of an emergency during the procedure. I'm given either a spinal or epidural to numb the bottom half of my body. At this point I can't see anything and I'm just listening to what the doctors are saying to each other. There are many doctors in the operating room. They then stick a needle through my belly, through the placenta, and into the uterus. They have to get the needle into his umbilical cord. When they are there they draw waste and quickly send off for numbers/results. Based off of this they then know how much blood to give him. The hardest part is getting the needle into the cord because of how small it is.**
Day 2: Monday, June 9th Jonah had his 2nd blood transfusion. They also did an echo on his heart and the results were good. His hemoglobin level was now up to a 4.
Day 3: Tuesday, June 10th we were able to go home. However, that evening I had lots of cramping/contractions so we were brought back to the hospital.
Day 4: Wednesday, June 11th we stayed at the hospital for monitoring.
Day 5: Thursday, June 12th they did a doppler ultrasound. This checks the blood flow through the brain and it showed that he was still anemic. They also did a biophysical profile during the ultrasound. For this they look at 5 things, body movement, muscle tone, amniotic fluid, and heartbeat. Jonah failed. They did say he didn't seem to have very much fluid around his heart as before.
Day 6: Friday, June 13th they did his 3rd blood transfusion.
Day 7: Saturday, June 14th he has his 4th blood transfusion and also gave him platelets. His hemoglobin level was an 8. We were sent home that evening.
Day 1: Sunday, June 8th Jonah received his 1st blood transfusion while still in utero. They also did an amniocentesis to check for infections. His hemoglobin level was at a 2 and normal levels are 12-14. Later that evening they gave me the 2nd steroid shot to help his lungs.
**For those of you who don't know how the blood transfusion works I'll try my best to explain. I am taken into the OR and prepped as if I'm getting a c-section done. They prepare me for this in case of an emergency during the procedure. I'm given either a spinal or epidural to numb the bottom half of my body. At this point I can't see anything and I'm just listening to what the doctors are saying to each other. There are many doctors in the operating room. They then stick a needle through my belly, through the placenta, and into the uterus. They have to get the needle into his umbilical cord. When they are there they draw waste and quickly send off for numbers/results. Based off of this they then know how much blood to give him. The hardest part is getting the needle into the cord because of how small it is.**
Day 2: Monday, June 9th Jonah had his 2nd blood transfusion. They also did an echo on his heart and the results were good. His hemoglobin level was now up to a 4.
Day 3: Tuesday, June 10th we were able to go home. However, that evening I had lots of cramping/contractions so we were brought back to the hospital.
Day 4: Wednesday, June 11th we stayed at the hospital for monitoring.
Day 5: Thursday, June 12th they did a doppler ultrasound. This checks the blood flow through the brain and it showed that he was still anemic. They also did a biophysical profile during the ultrasound. For this they look at 5 things, body movement, muscle tone, amniotic fluid, and heartbeat. Jonah failed. They did say he didn't seem to have very much fluid around his heart as before.
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| Ultrasound on 6/12. You can see how puffy his face looks from the fluid. |
Day 6: Friday, June 13th they did his 3rd blood transfusion.
Day 7: Saturday, June 14th he has his 4th blood transfusion and also gave him platelets. His hemoglobin level was an 8. We were sent home that evening.
Day 8 & 9: Sunday, June 15th and Monday, June 16th we were able to be home.
Day 10: Tuesday, June 17th I went in for the doppler ultrasound and it showed he was still anemic. He still didn't have as much fluid around his heart and his skin didn't seem to have as much fluid around his head. His biophysical profile was better this time around.
Day 11: Wednesday, June 18th he had his 5th blood transfusion.
Day 12: Thursday, June 19th he had his 6th blood transfusion and his hemoglobin level was up to 11. We went home that evening.
Day 13, 14, 15: Friday, June 20th, Saturday, June 21st, and Sunday, June 22nd we were at home.
Day 16: Monday, June 23rd I had a non-stress test done. I was hooked up to monitors and they watch contractions and baby's heart rate. Jonah looked extremely great but I was contracting. They checked my cervix and I was not showing any changes or signs of labor so we were sent home.
Day 17: Tuesday, June 24th while we were at home I received a phone call from my doctor saying that I now have developed Cholestasis. My bile acid test came back at 95 and normal is 0-6. My liver enzymes were a little raised. Now that I have this they wanted me to come into the hospital permanently. They will monitor me for an hour everyday, watching the baby. Cholestasis is something that can cause stillbirths and on top of Jonah having hydrous then they wanted to keep a close watch. That evening while they watched me Jonah looked good but I was having contractions. They checked my cervix and no change.
Day 18: Wednesday, June 25th we were monitored and everything seemed fine. Jonah received his 3rd steroid shot.
Day 19: Thursday, June 26th I had an ultrasound done. They did the biophysical profile on Jonah and he did great and passed! His skin around his face is looking a lot better. They still see the fluid in his belly and a little around his heart. They can no longer measure the blood flow in his brain to see if he is anemic because of the number of blood transfusions he's already had. So they are assuming he is still anemic and will continue the blood transfusions. His next one should have been July 1st. They also gave him his 4th steroid shot.
Day 20: Friday, June 27th we were being monitored. They didn't like the dips they were seeing in Jonah's heart rate so they moved me to labor and delivery for more observation. After what seemed like all day of monitoring they were going to do an ultrasound to do the biophysical profile. About 40 mins into it they tell me he has done them all except for showing the practice signs for breathing. He only has a total of 90 mins then they assume he doesn't have enough oxygen and they will deliver.
Day 10: Tuesday, June 17th I went in for the doppler ultrasound and it showed he was still anemic. He still didn't have as much fluid around his heart and his skin didn't seem to have as much fluid around his head. His biophysical profile was better this time around.
Day 11: Wednesday, June 18th he had his 5th blood transfusion.
Day 12: Thursday, June 19th he had his 6th blood transfusion and his hemoglobin level was up to 11. We went home that evening.
Day 13, 14, 15: Friday, June 20th, Saturday, June 21st, and Sunday, June 22nd we were at home.
Day 16: Monday, June 23rd I had a non-stress test done. I was hooked up to monitors and they watch contractions and baby's heart rate. Jonah looked extremely great but I was contracting. They checked my cervix and I was not showing any changes or signs of labor so we were sent home.
Day 17: Tuesday, June 24th while we were at home I received a phone call from my doctor saying that I now have developed Cholestasis. My bile acid test came back at 95 and normal is 0-6. My liver enzymes were a little raised. Now that I have this they wanted me to come into the hospital permanently. They will monitor me for an hour everyday, watching the baby. Cholestasis is something that can cause stillbirths and on top of Jonah having hydrous then they wanted to keep a close watch. That evening while they watched me Jonah looked good but I was having contractions. They checked my cervix and no change.
Day 18: Wednesday, June 25th we were monitored and everything seemed fine. Jonah received his 3rd steroid shot.
Day 19: Thursday, June 26th I had an ultrasound done. They did the biophysical profile on Jonah and he did great and passed! His skin around his face is looking a lot better. They still see the fluid in his belly and a little around his heart. They can no longer measure the blood flow in his brain to see if he is anemic because of the number of blood transfusions he's already had. So they are assuming he is still anemic and will continue the blood transfusions. His next one should have been July 1st. They also gave him his 4th steroid shot.
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| Ultrasound picture on 6/26. You can see the fluid in his belly. His face is looking good. |
Day 20: Friday, June 27th we were being monitored. They didn't like the dips they were seeing in Jonah's heart rate so they moved me to labor and delivery for more observation. After what seemed like all day of monitoring they were going to do an ultrasound to do the biophysical profile. About 40 mins into it they tell me he has done them all except for showing the practice signs for breathing. He only has a total of 90 mins then they assume he doesn't have enough oxygen and they will deliver.
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