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Dad and Michaela | Dad's hand and Michaela |
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Getting an early start on her tan :-) | Crying? Or hungry? |
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Winking? Probably not. |
Wow! I am finally grasping just how many times a baby can go to the bathroom. For example, while changing a dirty diaper, she senses the opportunity to let loose. And right after I get the clean diaper on her while she's still on the changing table, it's time to change her again!
We had a brief scare on Friday when Michaela's blood analysis indicated a bilirubin count of 16. Followup analysis on Saturday showed that it was down to 14. Prescription: Feed her more and get her some sun :-)
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Dad and Michaela | Dad's hand and Michaela |
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Getting an early start on her tan :-) | Crying? Or hungry? |
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Winking? Probably not. |
Here's Michaela sleeping after a rough day. Today she had her first hepatitis B immunization shot and also had blood drawn because her jaundice appears to be getting worse. We should know the results tonight or tomorrow.
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Michaela sleeping in her car seat. |
We're finally back home with baby! Michaela was born on April 1, 2002, at 4:56pm PST weighing 5 pounds, 6 ounces and 18 3/4-inches long. Mom and Michaela are doing well.
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Mom on the operating table with Michaela |
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Dad in the operating room with Michaela |
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Michaela on Day 2 of her life. |
Staying at the hospital really sucks. An amniocentesis is scheduled for Tuesday. If the baby's lungs are fine we expect induction will begin by Thursday.
We're off to the hospital again - this time labor will be induced.
It was nice to sleep at home again. Mike is off to the hospital to finish up lab testing from our hospital stay and Margarita is relaxing around the house on her side - as much as possible.
Margarita and I are both at home after being discharged from the hospital. We have scheduled frequent visits for fetal monitoring and with her doctor. The baby's health looks great (note it has not been born yet), and with a few exceptions, Margarita's health is fine as well. We'll be doing some monitoring of Margarita at home over the next few days. We are hopeful that the baby will remain in Margarita for another week or two.
We are staying at Alta Bates hospital in Berkeley, California, where Margarita is being monitored for her mild pre-eclampsia. Today, she had an amniocentesis and the results of the tests of the amniotic fluid indicated that the baby's lungs were not yet mature. Later, Margarita was given a shot of betamethasone, a steroid which causes "the fetus's lungs to produce a compound called surfactant. The surfactant lubricates the inner lining of the lungs, allowing the inner surfaces of the lungs to slide against one another without sticking during breathing. Premature infants whose lungs have begun producing surfactant have an improved ability to breath on their own, or with less respiratory treatment, after birth." At this point, all indications are that our baby girl is normal and healthy.
It looks like we'll be in the hospital until it is decided to induce labor. We'll update this information as we can.
These is the first picture ever of Michaela, our little baby. Here she is 12 weeks old.
