Our heart-wrenching week in hospital

After Braxton's eventful birth, we all went home for 24 uneventful hours.  And then chaos struck our lives and fear filled our hearts as Braxton had three episodes of turning blue while he was feeding.  As a first-time mom, I thought the first may have been a fluke and the second may have been the lighting, but by the third, witnessed by Chris, we rushed to the emergency room at Hinchingbrooke where they admitted us straight away.

Babies turning blue is serious business.  The first pediatrician we saw (within ten minutes of checking into the ER) had me feed Braxton and witnessed his apnea episode.  He, another pediatrician, and the nurses spent the next thirty minutes inserting an IV line into Braxton's arm, putting in a feeding tube, setting me up to start pumping breast milk so Braxton could get my milk through the tube, and hooking up oxygen and heart rate monitors.  Then they had the X-ray department do a chest X-ray and started the process of getting Braxton transferred to Addenbrookes, the world-renowned hospital in Cambridge about 20 minutes away.  The tentative diagnoses were that Braxton either had a heart defect or an abnormal connection between his trachea and esophagus, both of which would require surgery.  We had an AWFUL first night as Braxton was being fed every two hours, which he didn't handle well, and listened to his heartbreaking cries all night.  Courtney came and spent a couple hours with me while Chris ran home to get some clothes for both of us and take care of Bailey as we realized that we were in for a long ride.

The nurses encouraged as much skin-to-skin as we could fit in between feedings and tests.

Such a little guy on such a big (baby) bed.  Absolutely heart wrenching.

He's a squirmy little monster.

We were absolutely impressed with the professionalism and caring that each and every person showed us.  We were also very thankful for the breastfeeding encouragement and support – I was given three meals a day and pumping supplies.   The staff also encourage as much skin to skin contact as we could give Braxton to try to settle him.

When a bed became available, Braxton and I traveled by blue-light ambulance from Hinchingbrooke to Addenbrookes while Chris took his car and met us there.  The staff at Addenbrookes was as impressive as that at Hinchingbrooke.  They cared for Chris and me as much as they did Braxton, calling it "family-based care."  They'd take Braxton out of the room at night when he cried inconsolably (little guy was so, so hungry) so I could get sleep.  Chris went home each night to get sleep, changes of clothes, etc.  Katherine came to the rescue and took the train in to stay at the house and watch Bailey (who had eaten a huge piece of chocolate cake the day we went to the hospital...) while we were occupied with getting Braxton well.  We couldn't be more thankful for her - she cooked dinners for Chris, gave Bailey love, cleaned the house, and kept track of who dropped off what at the house.

Nurses driving Braxton to the scary die test to look for a fistula between esophagus and trachea. 

Cuddle time.

Let us think about it for a minute.

After the plethora of tests came back unremarkable, and Braxton had been examined by every pediatric specialist known to man, the speech therapy ladies were allowed to have me try a controlled breast feed.  They were convinced that Braxton just hadn't figured out the suck/swallow/breath combo and turned out to be CORRECT!  Our little man ATE and didn’t turn blue! Chris and I both shed some major tears and Braxton was finally happy with his full tummy.  After all that time in the hospital he had grown up and figured out how to eat.  We stayed in the hospital a couple more days to make sure he didn't have any further episodes and were so relieved by Sunday afternoon when they approved our discharge! 

Aunt Kate saved the day more than once AND she worked up the nerve to hold Braxton!

Happy to be home!  Breaking out the good beer...

Momma is so, so happy to be holding Baby Boy without tubes and to be home for the first time in a week!