Update #2

When we went to see Kilun earlier they had just inserted the needle to extract the air from the pneumothorax, they got quite a bit out and as time went on they continued to get air out. When this happened with Xadun, it was a one time thing that they took the air out and the needle was out. This time they left the catheter in the chest and continued to get air out. This was concerning because if they continued to get air out, it meant that the hole wasn't closing itself and they might have to put a chest tube in. Before we left for lunch it was finally looking better and they were no longer to air out. This all happened before they did the surfactant. They were waiting to do the surfactant because the lungs react quite quickly to it and it might cause additional leaking and want to get the one taken care of first, hoping if that one was fixed, the surfactant might not cause any other problems. (sorry, run on sentence) While we were at lunch they administered the surfactant and when we got back he had again gone backwards, was on 100% oxygen and was breathing quite rapidly. They were getting ready to put in the chest tube. The nurse practitioner showed us how they were able to see the air in the lung and why they wanted to put the chest tube in immediately instead of waiting to get another xray first. So, they kicked us out and they are doing a little surgery to put the chest tube in. This is new territory for us. None of the boys have had to have chest tubes. We were also told that Kilun has officially bought himself a 7 day course of antibiotics due to all the problems. Initially they start out with 3 days of antibiotics and then go from there depending on how they do. So, we will be here at least 7 days, probably more. And last, but not least, he's looking a little jaundice, so he's also on phototherapy to get that taken care of.

Thank you for all the prayers and support! I am definitely feeling stronger as we deal with all the issues we didn't anticipate having. Little Kilun needs all the help he can get, both from the nurses and doctors here, but most importantly from his Father in Heaven.

Update

I just received a call from the NICU that our little Kilun has taken a few steps backwards instead of forward like we had hoped. On this morning's x-rays they found that he has a pneumo-thorax, which means there's a little hole in his lungs and the air is leaking out into the tissue around them. They also found that the lack of surfactant is becoming an issue. Surfactant is a substance that our bodies naturally produce that helps our lungs to stay open and not stick together. With Kilun's lack, his little air sacks are sticking together. So, he's having to breathe faster and harder to get the oxygen that he needs.

They're going in this morning to do the procedure for all this. He will have to be intubated so he'll be on a breathing tube for most of the day, but hopefully we'll be able to get it out by tomorrow morning.

We could really use some extra prayers throughout the day. We've been through all of this before with Xadun, but we weren't prepared to go through it this time. If this had been 2 weeks ago I probably would have been able to handle it a little better. I'll try to post some pictures later.

**If anyone local has a breast pump that they'd let me borrow for a few weeks, it would be greatly appreciated**

Another stay in the NICU

Despite being a full term baby, we have again been admitted to the NICU. They did a chest x-ray last night and it looked "streaky", meaning he doesn't have the amount of surfactant he needs in his lungs. They put him on a C-PAP last night and to help keep the lungs open. His respirations are a little high and he's working more than he should for his air. He'll probably ween himself off the C-PAP, hopefully in just a couple of days. Then we have to figure out the eating thing, etc, etc. So we're looking at another week at least. This is just so unexpected. I though for sure we'd be able to take him home seeing as how this was my longest pregnancy, biggest baby, etc. It's very frustrating, to say the least. Even more frustrating is that because I thought we wouldn't have any problems, I delivered down in Murray at the new IMC. This is an hour away from home. If we were going to do a NICU stay we had planned on delivering at McKay so that I'd be closer to home.

I also have had a couple of complications that have made my recovery a little harder. Last night I hemorrhaged and lost quite a bit of blood. I had been feeling fine up until that point, but spent the next 12 hours flat on my back and unable to get up. They gave me 3 different types of pitocin to help my uterus cramp down, get back to it's normal size and stop bleeding. Along with that came lots of fluids, so today I look like I've gained 20 pounds. They just took the catheter out that I was on for almost 24 hours.

Chris has been great to me! He's really taken care of me and has been strong when I have really struggled. There's been a couple times when things were really bad, that I really didn't know because everyone else was so calm. They called a code blue on Kilun yesterday soon after he was born because he stopped breathing, turned blue and limp. I had no idea until after everything was fine again. Then when I hemorrhaged last night I didn't realize how big of a deal it was until my room was filled with nurses and the resident trying to get the bleeding taken care of. Through all of it Chris just held my hand and was there. He's been so sweet to open my butter when I haven't had any strength, change my gown, and even tried to change my sheets before a CNA stopped him. He did have to tell me "I told you so" today in regards to being in the NICU and we should have gone to McKay. haha I have to give him that one.

He's Here!!

Since I'm sitting here with nothing else to do, I thought I'd put a couple of the first pictures up of Kilun. Kilun Nicholas Engelbrecht was born July 31, at 5:17 pm. He weighed in at 6 lbs 13 oz, 20 1/2 in.

Labor was uneventful. I had a doctors appointment this afternoon and I had progressed from last week, so she sent me over to the hospital. I got here shortly after 1 and he came at 5, so it was pretty quick. All it took was the doctor breaking my water.

Unfortunately, despite the fact that I was past 37 weeks and considered full-term, I still don't have him here with me. He was doing great when he was born and then they think that he "inhaled a lugee" or something. So, they took him down to "transition" which is where they watch babies to decide whether or not they need to be admitted to the NICU. Please pray that little Kilun will not have to make a NICU stay. We want so much to take him home (don't mind my previous post about liking the NICU, I lied :) ) Chris went down to check on the status about a half hour ago but they were in the middle of shift change so he couldn't go in. I'll post an update when I hear one.

36+ Weeks

Yesterday I officially hit 36 weeks along in this pregnancy. Hopefully that means that we no longer have to worry about being in the NICU and this will be a take home baby. I'm both excited and nervous about this. On the one hand, it was kind of nice being in the NICU for a few days to get to know my babies. Their stats were monitored and I had a lactation specialist available at all times. We didn't go home before we knew the baby could eat and breathe. It was all just a little more safe. On the other hand, it's so hard to have kids at home that I have leave every day while I spend all day at the hospital, not to mention stressful and sometimes lonely since Chris didn't spend much time there. If we can just make sure the baby can eat before we leave, before we even leave the labor room, actually, all would be great! So, for every day this little one continues to cook the better off those lungs are and the better off we'll be-as long as he comes in July.

All About the Blue

About a week and a half ago my mom took me to get a pedicure. With the upcoming events, I decided to go with blue. Yesterday I got my nails done, and again, we went with blue. I got my hair cut on Friday (don't worry, nothing blue there) so I think we're ready for this baby boy to join our family now. I guess since all the nails are painted blue, I should put my hospital bag together. Eh, just one more minor detail.

I'm 35 weeks tomorrow and it's in this week that both Xadun & Brekan were born. So now, we just wait.

May...Better Late than Never