A Whirlwind - Two Weeks Into Parenting

After the ultimate high of witnessing my incredible wife achieve her goal of an unmedicated delivery, we had our first punch to the gut as parents.

Baby's First Solo Photo

Mommy and Baby

Our first night as a family was filled with all of the events we dreamed of: holding her for the first time, kissing her, and even the footprints being entered into our baby's memory book.

Then as we put her down to catch some shut eye, it happened. Aurora showed signs of retractions when she was breathing. She was gasping for air.

We took her to the nursery to have her breathing monitored. It turned out that our sweet little bundle of joy had issue with her oxygen saturation. The result was a trip to the NICU.

The pediatrician ordered her to be hooked up to a flow of oxygen. This seemed to work well and within a day, Aurora was breathing on her own and maintaining normal oxygen saturation levels.  Then the Jaundice battle began.

To simplify it, jaundice occurs when bilirubin concentrations existed within the body and her body wasn't ridding itself of it quickly enough. The result was a yellowish skin tone and lethargic behavior.  Phototherapy treatment was required and was effective.

Phototherapy for Jaundice

We were filled with hope that we'd soon be able to take our little one home. We had a checkup scheduled in the morning and we're confident that a brief monitoring period was all that separated us from our first night at home as a family.

Then came the gut punch. Between the diagnosis of hip dysplasia and potential seizures...the next several minutes seemed like an eternity.  Our baby would need to see an orthopedic specialist and a neurologist.

The absolute fear of the unknown began to set in. What does this mean? Trust me...Google doesn't make matters any easier.

The orthopedic special confirmed the hip dysplasia and discussed the brace that is needed to remedy the issue. The neurologist studied the results of the EEG and completed an examination and alleviated our fears. Brain activity was normal; no seizures!

The overwhelming feeling of relief was unlike anything I have ever experienced before in my life.  It requires a follow up appointment with both the orthopedist and the neurologist, but we felt as if we were in the clear.  The last hurdle was to get this girl eating more.

Following birth, our baby lost 12.5% of her body weight. That threshold put her in the danger zone as 10% is the point in which weight loss becomes concerning.

We monitored this by weighing her before and after breastfeeding. She showed weight gain over consecutive time frames and we were optimistic that we could take her home soon.

The next morning we were given discharge instructions and after a 5 day stint in the NICU, we were free to welcome Aurora home.

Leaving the Hospital After the NICU

She's home and our next adventure finally begins.

First Diaper Change at Home

Holding Our Little One