Our first pediatrician appointment on Monday went great! Parker gained 3 ounces, his color was looking better, and of course, he peed all over the nurse and scale! We were so excited to FINALLY get a good report from a doctor, as up until this point, it seemed like doctors were only around to tell us bad news. Obviously, with Parker's multiple diagnosis, we have a lot of questions that no one can really answer for us...but we ask anyway. It seems that there is no real information about children who have both Down Syndrome and Klinefelter's Syndrome. The two tend to have some similar traits and some opposite traits, even though Klinefelter's can be something that men live with all of their lives and don't know about. For example, typically with DS, children have shorter limbs, whereas with KS, children are taller and lanky. We think this is why during ultrasounds, Parker's measurements all turned up normal instead of accurately indicating DS. None of this stops us from foolishly trying to predict what Parker's capabilities will be...which I am sure every parent wonders.
Dr. Peters, one of our pediatricians, had an amazing term for this...he said Parker will be a "Show Me" baby. He will show us all of the amazing things he is capable of in his own time, in his own way. He will do great things, even if they may be a little different than what other kids can do. This really resonated with us...that we have to blindly accept Parker's challenges, and just do everything we can to help him grow and be pushed to his fullest extent.
The car ride home from the hospital is one of our favorite memories...one that we will hold closely. It marked so many things for us...health, independence, family, thankfulness...and so much more. Parker was not a huge fan of the car seat, but passed out pretty quickly. So much love for this new life!
The Tuesday night after Parker was born, he stayed in the nursery for monitoring while we went home...a pain I will never forget. The next day, our neonatologist (Dr. Fisher) told
us that he would need to spend a few days in the NICU, again not allowed to come home with us. His sodium and potassium levels were too high, showing that he was dehydrated. Closely matched with the pain of not taking him home is the pain of seeing an IV in your newborn's head.
Though his time in the NICU was extremely difficult for us, I can't speak highly enough of the staff and facility at Northwest. They allowed us to call in 24 hours a day to check on Parker, feed him and snuggle him (as much as you can snuggle with a baby hooked up to so many machines), and taught us tricks to help us better care for him.
Dr. Fisher was a godsend...some may feel that he does not have much of a bedside manner, but all we needed at the time was someone to just be blunt and honest with us. We knew that under his care, Parker would get what he needed to be healthy enough to take home. His expertise and attention to detail helped Parker get better.
Even though we were devastated by his admittance to the NICU, it was really a blessing, because we got to take Parker home confidently, knowing he was truly well enough to be with us.
The past week has been quite a roller-coaster ride for the Preis family. It has by far been the most joyous and the most painful week of our lives. The morning after he was born, we were told that Parker has Down Syndrome, and a few days later, were told that he also has Klinefelter's Syndrome. In addition, he has potential cardiac and hearing issues that we hope with all of our hearts are just temporary. During this week, Matt and I have really had to dig deep within ourselves and within our marriage to cope with the different things we found out. On some days, we had great successes, like getting Parker to eat, my milk coming in strong, and getting to snuggle with him. Other days were straight from hell, where every time a doctor spoke to us, it was to tell us another problem that we had to face with this new little baby that we already love so much. We have been blessed to have the most amazing family and friends to look after us, pray for us, and help us. They have been by our side every moment, and for that we are forever grateful. Even though Parker's life isn't going to be what we originally invisioned, and there will be moments through out the next days, weeks, months, and years where we break down and struggle, our little boy is perfect to us and for us. We couldn't ask for a more special gift, and are thankful for him every moment of every day.
After having severe back pain all of Thanksgiving (Matt's birthday!), I decided to call the doctor Friday morning, the 23rd. I wasn't really having stereotypical measurable contractions, but still quite a bit of pain that kept me up at night. They told me to just come in and get checked to see if anything was going on. Little did I know that I was already 6 cm dilated! The doctor was stunned, and was announcing it to everyone in the office that "this patient just walked in here smiling and is 6 cm dilated!) We didn't even get to go home to get our bags- I was wheeled straight to the labor and delivery hall. Within 2-3 hours, I moved to 8 cm, and the nurses started setting up the room for delivery. We were told that things would move very quickly based on what they had seen so far....boy were they wrong. My contractions were not measurable on the monitors because they were basically constant, and in my back. I ended up stalling at 8 cm. Epidural? Yes please! After moving so fast, it took me about 8 hours and a LOT of Pitocin to move from 8 cm to 10 cm: pushing time. Because my contractions were not measurable, pushing was difficult. After 45 minutes or so of pushing, the nurse decided to put a scalp monitor on Parker's head to better see his heart beat, as it seemed to drop during each pushing session--which was scary for us, as no one wants to hear about a monitor attached with a hook to their baby's scalp. The nurse inferred that the cord must have been wrapped around him somewhere. After an hour and a half of pushing, baby Parker's heart rate dropped well into the danger zone. It appeared to the nurses that he was in the "sunny side up" position, and struggling to get past my pubic bone. They stopped me from pushing, and called Dr. McCool back in. At one point, Matt saw baby's heart beat hit 0, and the decision to rush a c-section was made. I was wheeled into the OR, and surgery started very quickly. Parker Jonathan Preis was born via C-section at 10:02pm on November 23, 2012! Hearing his first cry was the most incredible experience that I will never forget. He weighed 7 pounds and 1 ounce, and was 20 inches long. Though the c-section was difficult and recovery is a tough, we are blessed with this sweet baby boy that I get to spend the next 8 weeks with. Welcome, sweet baby, we love you with all of our hearts!
The Doc says baby could come any day now! I am 90% effaced and 1 cm dilated! Woohoo for progress! I am trying to hard to be patient--- but it is tough when I have this short window of opportunity to get more time off with him! If he is born this week, I will get extra days off with Winter Break, otherwise it is just the standard six weeks. Come on baby boy!
Sadly, these are Chase's last days as "the baby" of the family, though we will love him just as much no matter what. This has been and will continue to be a life-changing year for him--and us! Graduating, two new jobs, long distance, moving, pregnancy, and all that goes with those things!
Playing the waiting game now....and not very good at it! We had a false alarm Thursday...I have to admit, walking yourself out of the labor & delivery unit is a little embarrassing. Luckily, the doctors and nurses are all very kind and supportive! We are also counting down until my dad is feeling better. His surgery was also Thursday, making for a pretty stressful day. We are so looking forward to Christmas, when my parents will be able to meet Parker, and everyone will be feeling 100%.
FINALLY we have just about everything in the apartment and getting organized for baby's arrival. It has been a challenge to get everything jig-sawed into place in our small apartment, but it is worth it! We are about 3.5 weeks away (or less) from meeting our little boy...and getting so impatient! Next up...packing our hospital bags and installing the car seat! Oh how the things that excite you change over the years....
Hurricane Sandy hit last week....and destroyed much of my most favorite place in the world...Long Beach Island, and damaged much of New Jersey and New York. We are thinking of everyone there...and wish we could help more. We plan on taking baby Parker there the first chance we get!
We have been so luck to have two beautiful showers thrown by both of our moms. Parker is going to be the best dressed little boy around! It was so great to spend time with family and friends and celebrate this little life that will be the biggest thing to happen to us! THANK YOU to everyone....we can't show our appreciation for your generosity enough.
Our first pediatrician appointment on Monday went great! Parker gained 3 ounces, his color was looking better, and of course, he peed all over the nurse and scale! We were so excited to FINALLY get a good report from a doctor, as up until this point, it seemed like doctors were only around to tell us bad news.
