As promised, here are more Facebook status updates and pictures from Andrew's clinic stay. :)

Monday, March 23, 2015 at 12:03pm

Friday, March 27, 2015 at 3:15pm
Long little toes smile emoticon

Friday, March 27, 2015 at 3:15pm
Nap time smile emoticon

Friday, March 27, 2015 at 4:40pm
Went to the nicu by myself today. Not the clinic, but the nicu smile emoticon It was near the end of shift, so the nurses were prepping for shift change and they didn't offer to let me hold him...and I didn't know how to ask, but Dude and I just hung out for a bit anyway. He was a bit awake when I got there. Matt came back to pick me up and talked to the nurses a bit. Only real news is they increased his breastmilk to 7ml. Also, his one black eye was starting to look better today.

Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 12:59pm

I love getting to hold my little guy. He's eating 10 ml at a feed now. They are talking about soon taking out his IV and trying him solely on breastmilk to see if he can gain weight faster. He is also off of his antibiotics. Matt thinks they said he's at 1.26 kg.

From Matt - Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 11:17pm
Not the way I imagined 30 would go. Thanks all for the well wishes. Spent most of the morning at the clinic with Andrew. Went to dinner with friends and had some imported Angus from the states. Got a call at 930 or so saying we had to sign some things at the clinic. Andrew forgets to breathe sometimes, so they put oxygen on his nose to keep him out of deep sleep and breathing. They're going to run some blood work early in the morning (thus the signatures) just in case. He'll need a transfusion at the same time. Everything should be fine, xrays of his chest look good, it's more of a way to make sure everything's ok. We're home now at 1130 and so done with everything. With any luck henlie will go back to sleep in a reasonable amount of time. Thanks again - we really do appreciate everyone's support.

Saturday, March 28, 2015 at 11:26pm

Got a call from the clinic tonight. Andrew was moved from the incubator to an open bed, but since then, his O2 sat. has dipped more frequently. This didn't really surprise me as I've noticed this happen when I've gotten to hold him the last few days.

Anyway, we had to go to the clinic to sign something. Apparently he had a routine blood draw scheduled for tomorrow morning, but due to this, they're going to take a bit more to run some additional tests to verify there isn't anything wrong causing this. The doctor doesn't think there is, but wants to check just in case. Since they are going to be taking more blood, he will need a transfusion to replace it, which is what I had to sign for. (Let me point out it had to be me, not Matt, who signed this...) Also, they wanted it to be my blood, so we had to go to the lab for that.

At the lab, she took some blood, but wasn't able to take all that they will need since I recently gave birth and lost blood due to that. They will use the blood bank, but we need to supply a donor to replace the blood used from the bank. Matt should be able to do this.

For now, they put him back on nasal oxygen. He seems to dip when he falls into a deep sleep, so the air on his nose is more to keep him from forgetting to breathe than anything, it sounds like.

We will visit him around 10 tomorrow like usual for Sunday. I believe his blood draw is scheduled for 11. Hopefully we have more updates tomorrow. Not sure if I'll get to hold him tomorrow or not, though. They did do an X Ray and have already ruled out pneumonia, so that's good smile emoticon

Sunday, March 29, 2015 at 12:40pm
Peek a boo!

Sunday, March 29, 2015 at 12:41pm
My little tough guy.

Sunday, March 29, 2015 at 1:11pm
Visited Andrew today after dropping Henlie off at church. Found another nurse who speaks some English. His tests came back negative for whatever they tested for, but he did have low hemoglobin, so they gave him the blood transfusion. The nurse said he was more stable today, but still needs to be monitored for his O2 sat. and still on the air on his nose. Other than that, no new updates.

End week two!

Lil Dude stayed in the clinic for a wee bit longer than I did. Due to logistics of getting to the clinic, dealing with Henlie, me not speaking Spanish, and not being able to do much with Andrew for awhile, we typically only went to visit him once per day. Then I'd post an update of his progress on Facebook. As the title indicates, this post is pretty much just going to be those status updates and pictures. Enjoy!

I changed Henlie myself for the first time since having Andrew. Friday,

Friday, March 20, 2015 at 10:45am

Babycenter kindly reminded me that I should be 29 weeks pregnant today. Good news, I guess, it said he should be about 2.5 pounds... Andrew came into this world nearly a week ago at nearly 3 pounds. That's gotta be helpful, I'd think smile emoticon

 — feeling grateful.

Friday, March 20, 2015 at 4:44pm

The hospital is not good for my poor feet.

HOWEVER, Andrew is doing well. His stomach has seemed to have cleared up and they're trying him on some milk fortified with other nutrients again. They're hoping he will start pooping on his own again now that he's eating.

They've placed the IV.

They keep turning his oxygen support down. He's almost at room air.

His head looks good. (Recall how blue it looked in the first picture?) Apparently with 28 to 30 week babies, there is an 80 to 90 percent chance of hemorrhaging on the brain, so he has beaten those odds so far smile emoticon

They figured he was 30 weeks along based on his size and weight. That fits with the extra week the doctor who did his mid-pregnancy ultrasound gave him based on the measurements.

He has started gaining weight again. He's up 10 grams and currently weighs 1.1 kg. (He started at 1.34 kg for all of us who don't do metric.)

Doc today said if things keep going well, it would be a 4 to 6 week stay. Step 1 is breathing on his own. Step 2 is eating. Step 3 is gaining weight. After he weighs at least 1.7 kg, we can start learning to breastfeed together. After he gets off the cpap, we can hold him and do kangaroo care.

They are going to hold off on the X-ray of his valve as long as he stays stable. They are very much hands-off as long as he is doing fine. They may check it later after he has gained some weight.

I think we found our sweet spot for visiting. It was only about 30 minutes there and back today. We didn't have to wait forever to get into the nicu, and Matt really likes the afternoon nurse, Edith.

Unfortunately, it coincides with Henlie's ideal napping time. We're looking into finding a nanny/maid for the afternoons so she can stay home and get a nap. Today, Carmela kindly picked her up at the clinic to go play so Matt and I didn't have to take as much time taking turns going into the nursery.

Friday, March 20, 2015 at 5:00pm
Oh! And I totally put on the booties at the nicu by myself today! I feel accomplished smile emoticon

Saturday, March 21, 2015 at 6:04pm

I very much hate Peru right now. Okay, at least the clinic. As if it wasn't bad enough that Henlie made it so we left late because she was super upset, we've been waiting for nearly an hour to see Andrew. Matt went to find out how long it was going to be, and then like a minute later a nurse came out and said they needed a package of premature diapers. They don't have them at the pharmacy downstairs, and since we're waiting anyway, we should go get some. Let's just forget that I haven't seen my baby all day and have been waiting forever and have to pump in 30 minutes. I am so upset right now.

 — at Clínica Ricardo Palma.

Saturday, March 21, 2015 at 10:33pm

Updates - Andrew is basically unchanged today. He's off milk again. Apparently this is just what they do, give him a little to try to get him used to eating and digesting then take a day or two off until one day it clicks.

His color looks good. More like a white kid and not a pink baby lol.

His O2 sat. was better today than yesterday. He stayed in the 97 range today while I visited, even when stretching. Yesterday, he was in the 89 - 90 range usually.

Lil Dude opened his eyes a bit for me and reached his hand over. You bet I opened the incubator side to hold my guy's hand smile emoticon When I was getting ready to leave, he squeezed tighter on me. Manipulating Mommy already wink emoticon

As for me, my core is pretty displeased today, even through an extra pain killer. My feet and ankles still swelled up after the hospital, but even though they were painful, my legs and knees maintained some definition. I think I'm on the receding side of the swelling finally. I'm super excited for it to go away entirely.

Sunday, March 22, 2015 at 11:09am

Dropped Henlie off at church and came to the clinic. I'm hanging out pumping before we see Andrew. However, the doc just walked by and told Matt they are going to pull the cpap off to see how he does! I don't know if this means we'll get to hold him or not just yet, but it's exciting!

 — with Matt Biggs at Clínica Ricardo Palma.

Sunday, March 22, 2015 at 12:43pm

Happy one week birthday, Lil Dude! Looking good without the cpap!

 — atClínica Ricardo Palma.

Sunday, March 22, 2015 at 12:44pm

Thanks for the bear, Ricardo!

 — at Clínica Ricardo Palma.

Sunday, March 22, 2015 at 12:50pm

They removed his cpap. There is oxygen in the tank, but nothing directly on his nose. smile emoticon Today is another milk trial. Almost done with Step 1 - breathing on his own. Hopefully I get to hold him sometime this week smile emoticon So happy to see his little face again!

 — at Clínica Ricardo Palma.

I think I'll stop at his 1 week birthday since this is getting a bit long. More to come!

I realize I never mentioned where I gave birth, hence the title :) Anyway, here is a continuation of the clinic stay. (Here, hospitals and clinics are different things. Hospitals are state run and usually sketchy. Clinics are private and so generally nicer.)

Let's start with Sunday night. I didn't appreciate Sunday night. Nurses are constantly coming in to check your vitals and palpitate your stomach to facilitate uterine shrinking and postpartum bleeding. OUCH! Plus side, my one nurse the first day was Gloria. Even though I only had her one shift, I won't ever forget her because she's Mormon! :) Thanks to Google Translate, I asked her in the middle of the night if I'd be able to see my baby the next day, which she said yes to. It's hard to give birth and not see your baby until 24-ish hours later.

Monday morning, Carmela came to the clinic to pick up Matt so he could pick Henlie up from our friends' house. Christina is also pregnant and was having her mid-pregnancy ultrasound that day. Matt also went to our house to pick up some supplies, then Carmela and Henlie played at the clinic for a little bit. I was missing my little girl! After a little while, Carmela took Henlie. They went and played with her grandson, Sebastian.

March 15th started like any other Sunday. We got up. We got ready. We went to church. We stopped by the bishop's offices and talked to Brother Hovenier about blessing the baby in the States when we go visit. While we were waiting, I felt pressure and squatted in the hallway trying to find relief. Being so soon after church, it was probably about 11:45am. We chatted for a few minutes and then called a cab.

On the way home, I had some other contractions.  I've never experienced Braxton Hicks, so I thought maybe that's what was going on.  Except one hurt really bad.  Like I had to grab the seat of the cab, bad.

We got home and I went straight to bed to see if resting would help the contractions subside. It didn't. I googled early labor and how to stop early labor. Google told me that if contractions came within 10 minutes of each other, it was probably early labor and you should call your doctor. I wanted some lunch, so Matt made me a grilled cheese. During this time, I had 3 contractions with 10 minutes or less between them, so I called Dra. Brocker. She told me she wasn't near and to rest to see if they would go away. (Yes, I had just told her I had been doing that... There is still a language barrier, even though she speaks English.) She told me ultimately I had to decide if I wanted to go into a clinic. I hung up feeling like it was a useless conversation. Matt came in and I told him when I was finished with my sandwich, I wanted to go in, so he needed to pick a clinic.

Matt called a cab and we tried to get Henlie ready. She had been watching George on Netflix for not that long and did not want to stop. I was freaking out. After all, I was only 28 weeks. There was begging and praying. We got to the clinic (Clínica Ricardo Palma) and had to enter the ER from the back because they were doing some construction. They had me sit while Matt got us checked in. At some point, I figured we'd be having the baby that day, although I still hoped they'd be able to stop labor or at least give me a steroid shot to help Lil Dude's lungs. The only way I could deal with the pain was to push some, so by golly, I did.

By the time they got me back and checked me, I was a 10, so they wheeled me right up to Labor and Delivery. Matt had to stay outside because he had Henlie. No one spoke English. As if the situation wasn't scary enough, right? Try doing it in another language. Not fun.

They broke my water, and it was glorious. There was nothing for the contractions to push against so there was no more pain. A nurse checked me and found I had placenta previa, or the placenta was presenting first. I learned later that Dr. Quispe (the doctor there that day, and thus my default new OB, which I'm okay with. I like him better than Dra. Brocker, even though he only knows a little English.) wanted to still try a vaginal delivery because sometimes the baby and the placenta can come out together.  However, his arm was in the way. Oh, and I started bleeding. 

Want to know what happens when you start bleeding? The poor nurse gets to shove two fingers up there and push hard to try to stop the bleeding. Not exactly the most comfortable thing in the world. They started to prep me for a C-section. Fortunately, the OR was next door. Guess what? Matt still had Henlie, so he couldn't go in. Guess what? No one spoke English still. Terrifying.

I remember thinking, "No, I don't want a C-section." Of course, I had deduced I was bleeding and therefore probably needed one. It was a quick turnaround between C-section resistance and resignation. Then my thoughts just turned to my baby, hoping that he would be alright.

As they prepped, I could see a little in the reflection off of the light. Then they put the drape up. I thought, "I want to see! Wait, maybe I don't?" The anesthesiologist asked me (in English) if I'd eaten. I said yes, then I got drugs in an IV I don't remember having placed. And then I was out. I know scheduled C-sections don't use general anesthesia, but I was very glad I was completely out. I don't think I could have handled being awake. Of course, if it had been scheduled and not emergency, that would maybe be different.

I woke up later in a recovery room. Matt was able to come in for a minute. Our friends from the ward who actually live near us had taken Henlie for us. I don't recall if he gave me an update then or later when I was in my room. Anyway, I felt like they rushed him out, and I went back to sleep. I awoke at 6:30pm when Dr. Quispe came to check on me. I was unsuccessful at going back to sleep after that. Instead, I watched the hours tick by on the clock and tried to communicate. I asked for Matt, but he was no longer there. Between Google Translate on the nurse's computer and the husband of the woman who ended up next to me, we got a little communication done. Pretty sure I was an emotional wreck. I know I cried. I couldn't speak. I was all alone and I had no idea how long I'd be staying there.

They did finally transfer me up to my room, where I was greeted by Matt, César and Carmela Hooker (Matt's old mission president and his wife. We have adopted them as our Peruvian family, or they adopted us? whichever :)), their son Aaron, and Lee Engle from our ward. It was so nice to see so many people there to support us. I think it was like 9pm or something by the time I got to my room. I asked Lee and César if they'd help give me a blessing, which they did. We visited for a bit. Matt checked on Henlie, and she was asleep at the Tidwell's. They said she could stay for the night, but Christina was getting her mid-pregnancy ultrasound the next morning, so we had to pick her up by like 7am. Carmela offered to get Matt to pick Henlie up. Everyone left and I updated Facebook ;)

Matt had posted a few updates to let people know what was happening. We were kept pretty busy the first 24 hours or so checking all of the new comments and seeing the FB likes pour in. We received so much love, support, and prayers from everyone back home and here.

Matt had taken one picture, and that was all I had been able to see, which sucked. Matt informed me they had to start him breathing, but other than that, he was doing pretty well and was stable. 

So, March 15, 2015, we welcomed Lil Dude into the world. He weighed 2 lbs. 15 oz. and was 15.75 in. long with an APGAR of 5, 7. His measurements put him at 30 weeks, so that is what the clinic figured his gestational age at. He was born at 2:50pm. (For those who kept track, that's 3 hours from the very start of labor to his delivery in the OR. Henlie was fast, but not that fast.)