Caden Randy Lee
November 16, 2010
3:25 pm
3 lbs. 12 oz.
16.5 in.
Caden was born at 32 weeks and 5 days. His due date was January 6, 2011. Here is his story.
On Saturday, November 13th, I was sitting at home watching iCarly after a full day of rehearsal. It was not a vigorous rehearsal, I only have 20 lines so I was sitting and working on grades the whole time. I had just put the jello in the fridge becasue I was going to bring jello jiglers for our ward linger longer on Sunday. I had just eaten a treat of apples and peanut butter and went to put my dishes in the sink. While throwing away my napkin I suddenly felt a strange feeling. Ok, so I rush to the bathroom and call my sister-in-law, Sena, to ask her if what I'm feeling is my water breaking. She confirmed my suspicions and told me not to drive myself to the hospital. I called my friend Pam and she headed over. Sena had called Mom and so I was talking to her while I rushed around the house throwing stuff in a bag while holding a towel (gross). Mom asked what the dr. had said and I simply stated, "I didn't call her". So, I called the dr. She said that she was pretty sure my water had broken so she told me to go to IMC in Murray because the Riverton hospital won't take you if you're under 34 weeks. Pam gets to the house so I grab an extra towel and walk out to the car. On the way there I was having small contractions, just uncomfortalbe, not painful, and very irregular. So I call Joe to tell him what's going on. I call Laura to tell her that my grades are in but I hadn't posted yet (how was I this calm?) We got to the hospital and I walk in. As I'm standing at the countar signing papers, I suddenly realize that I now know how if feels to pee your pants.
So the dr. did an exam and said that indeed my water had broken (DUH!). So I would have to stay in the hospital til he was born to avoid infection. They said that when your water breaks, its best to keep the baby in (if they're not stressed) until 34 weeks. After that they've found the baby does better outside. That would put us at Thanksgiving. I settled in for the long haul. I wasn't having contractions regularly and they weren't getting any stronger. If I had gone into labor they would've let him come because that is often a sign of infection. They started me on steroids to help his lungs develop more quickly. They wanted him to stay in for at least 48 hours to get the most benefit from the steroids. On Monday I went down for an ultrasound and a nonstress test. They were looking to see if everything was still good. I ended up having 2 nonstress tests because he wasn't very active in the morning and his heartrate wasn't peaking as often as they wanted. He was doing good.
On Tuesday, the 16th, I went down again for my regular nonstress test. Again, he wasn't peaking so they sent me down to labor and delivery so I could be monitored for a longer time. I was all hooked up about 9:00 am, working on lesson plans on my laptop. A resident came in and briefed me about a c-section, so in case something happened I would already know what the procedure was. As they monitored him they saw his heart rate dipping every once in a while, but he would bring it up himself. They thought maybe he was laying on the cord at those times since there wasn't fluid to prevent him from doing so. About 1:30 they came in and said that what they were seeing was his heart rate dropping everytime I had a contraction (still not regular and just uncomfortable). They said they thought we should deliver him today. My mom called Joe at work and told him it was time to come to the hospital. They were going to give me patocine to see if he could handle real contractions. About 30 minutes later, the high risk ob came back and said, they didn't want to stress him anymore so we were going for the c-section. She said we could wait and see what happened during the rest of the day, but she didn't want it to get to an emergency situation. She said they would prep and be ready in about half an hour. It is very weird to have someone tell you that you're going to be a mom in a half hour when you were planning on being a mom in 2 months.
So they get all preped and Joe gets to the hospital but he had woken up with a sore throat so they said he shouldn't go in. Mom came with me. It was the most sureal experience of my life! They used a spinal block which is like an epideral but it works faster and numbs you from about midchest down. The hardest part was about 10 minutes in when I started panicking that I couldn't breath. They told me this might happen. Because you're numb from midchest down, you can only feel the top of your lungs expanding. I felt like I was sufficating or drowning, even though in my mind I knew I was breathing. It was like a panick attack. It lasted for about 10 minutes, 5 minutes before they got him out and 5 minutes after. When they got him out he went right through this little window to the NICU where they can quickly asses and help him breath if need be. Well, the steroids worked and he was brething on his own. His apgar scores were 8 and 9. The nurse came back about 15 minutes later to get my mom's camera so I could see what he looked like. I was sleepier as they were putting me back together (also a weird feeling). There was no pain but I could feel them tugging.
When I was all sewn up they brought me back to recover. I was shaking uncontrolably which they say is adrenaline. Since Joe and I couldn't go to the NICU, mom went back to see him and got some pictures that they printed of him. I got back to my regular room about an hour later. They said I'd be able to see him about 10 pm when the spinal block was all worn out. I stopped shaking soon after and wasn't feeling pain or nausea. I rested and talked and slept. About 7:30 Randy and JaNise came to see me so mom went down to eat since she hadn't eaten since breakfast. At 8:00 a nurse practitioner from the NICU came in and told me that they had found that Caden's esophogus and stomach weren't connected. He would have to be taken to Primary Children's Hospital for surgery. Randy called mom and she came back up. They let me go down to the NICU since I was not feeling nauseated (wheelchair ride). Joe came at about 9 and I got to hold Caden for about an hour and a half before the Life Flight team got there. Joe went with him in the ambulance to Primarys. I had to go back upstairs.
Caden had his surgery on Thursday morning. It went well. I got out of the hospital on Saturday morning and went straight up to the Primarys to see him. I am very grateful for all the prayers and thoughts that were with me during that week. I know that Caden is doing so well because other people were praying for him. I know that I was calm throughout this whole experience (really, ask my mom, I was weirdly peaceful) because the spirit was with me. Thank you to all who prayed and continue to pray for our little family.
Then on Saturday night, fake Halloween, I got the most trick-or-treaters I ever have. I was very excited. But then I realized that I have a kitty that loves to run outside. I decided to put his harness on him because when he has his harness on, he doesn't think he can move. Its like he's frozen, he just slinks along whenever he decides to move. Most of the time he just sat. 
