Hernandez Heroes: Here We Are

Since my first entry wasn't very detailed, I'm going to try to explain how we got here. This blog is intended to serve as a way to keep our family and close friends updated on Vanessa's stay in the NICU and beyond.

I'm going to try to make a long story short, so here we go. My pregnancy was very uneventful up until the last 3 weeks. I actually had extremely low blood pressure throughout the entire pregnancy, which seemed very promising. When my blood pressure did start to rise around week 22, the doctor asked me to come back a week later to check my pressure for a second time. When I went back and it was still high, he put me on medication and bed rest. Again, the doctor asked for a week follow up, and when I went in my blood pressure was still high. The doctor sent me over to labor and delivery to get checked and my blood pressure was even higher. From there on it was kind of a blur, the doctors admitted me and were doing everything possible to control my blood pressure. The hospital I was at was only equiped to deliver a 28 week preemie and older, so it was ultimately decided to transfer me to a hospital with a higher level NICU. Every day in the hospital was a battle to keep my blood pressure low and keep the baby happy. Henry and I knew that since the doctors had been able to control my blood pressure, that the only reasons left for delivery would be if the baby took a turn for the worst, or my symptoms changed meaning that my organs were starting to shut down. Unfortunately on Friday, September 23rd, the baby was just not acting as responsive as the doctors would have liked so it was decided to move forward with delivery.

Vanessa Alicia Hernandez was born at 9:30 in the evening. She weighed only 1 pound 4 ounces and was 12 inches long. She cried when she was born. She was immediately rushed to a neonatal team that stabalized her. The first 2 days of her life were pretty uneventful, she was intubated but we really didn't come across many obstacles. I learned later that medical professionals call this the "honeymoon" period. On Sunday morning the nurses started finding blood in her breathing tube and found that her plateletts (sp) were low, so they ended up having to do a blood transfusion and switch her to a high frequency oscilatting ventilator, which meant she required more oxygen support that she had needed. This was really hard to handle, going from "she is doing the best she could be for being a 25 weeker" to things looking not particularly optimistic. Since Sunday morning, we have seen some huge progress. It seems like everytime we check in on her, the doctors have been able to turn down the support of the ventilator and they are very pleased with everything she is doing.

I know this is a lot of information, and I'm hoping to start updating daily so that it doesn't get this lengthy, but this is how we got here. We are trying to figure out what our routine will be like with Vanessa in the hospital and how that it look for Travis. Travis has not yet got to meet Vanessa because the NICU is not allowing kids under the age of 12 in because of the risk of whopping cough. I showed Travis some pictures today and he asked me "why is your baby brown?". It was so cute! To clear up, this isn't necessarily how dark Vanessa will be. At this point, her skin is so thin, that really all you are looking at is her blood, which makes her look dark.

Hopefully my next post won't be as long :)

♥ cassea

Vanessa's Name Tag