Baby John update

Well, John has been here a little over two and a half days and fortunately things continue to look good. He has started eating (breast milk put directly into his tummy) and has pooped and peed, so his kidneys and bowels seem to be okay. He has been receiving oxygen, since his lungs were not fully developed, but he is now breathing regular room air, and receiving just a little help to keep him going. Hopefully he has learned how to breathe on his own and will be able to do that without assistance sometime soon. Both Barb and I have held him numerous times and he is just a sweetheart. If things continue to progress at this rate, we will all be absolutely elated. The staff at the hospital has been wonderful; we can't thank them enough.

Barb also continues to get stronger by the moment. She has been very pro-active in recovery from her surgery and is now able to be on her feet for small moments. We are hoping she comes home tomorrow or Sunday. Stay strong, Sweetie.

Now that a few days have passed, I'll give an abbreviated version of what took place. Sunday afternoon Barb had some contractions and we had to head to the hospital. She was released that evening and things seemed to be going well. But early Monday morning she started bleeding at a pretty alarming rate. We called 911 and got her to the hospital. They were able to get the bleeding stopped and the baby still looked healthy. We stayed in the hospital overnight and things appeared to settle down. They wanted to keep Barb at least one more day to make sure everything was fine. Barb was doing great; there was no more bleeding and she was very stable, so we went to bed. But Wednesday morning at about 12:30 AM, Barb woke me and said she was bleeding badly. We called the nurse, who in turn called the doctor on staff that night. Neither the nurse or the doctor were able to locate the baby's heartbeat using ultrasound. Barb and I were beside ourselves and wanted to get the baby out right then and there. The doctor agreed and Barb was wheeled into the O.R. I had to stay outside. Barb was given a general anesthetic and John was removed from her womb. From outside the doors, I heard the sound of a baby crying. A nurse came out and told me that the baby was alive and that Barb was stable. I was able to go in and hold the baby while they got his footprints and weighed him. Barb was still unconscious and being closed back up. It was a horrible frightening time, as I was worried about the baby's health and Barb waking up okay. I thank God for helping us get through such a tough time. He/She/It was definitely in our corner, that's for certain. We were told that had Barb not already been in the hospital, neither she nor John would have survived. So you can imagine how thankful I am.

John was delivered 4-6 weeks early, so his health has been a real concern. As I stated earlier, all signs are looking good up to this point. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers, especially Dave Roland, who I called in a panic after Barb was wheeled into the O.R. He was able to calm me down a bit and I appreciate his being there for me at such a crazy time in the morning.

We are very fortunate that Barb's parents have been in town with us this whole time. They have kept the rest of the family going and have been priceless to us. And as usual, my own parents and siblings have been a real source of strength as well. I know I scared the heck out of them when I called them to say that Barb was going into surgery. As always, they were right there for us.

Thanks everyone and please keep little John in your thoughts and prayers. He still has a ways to go and we are going to be there for him every step of the way.