I decided that i would like to keep notes/diary of our journey and as i seem to spend most of my time on the forum, this might be the only place that i will keep it upto date! So i hope you don't mind.
If anyone does want to read i havent finished it yet!
Our story
Paul and I had been trying for a baby for around 12 years, however nothing seemed to be happening but we continued with life, got married, cats passed away, I had an operation for sleep apnoea, my uncle had a brain haemorrhage and major stroke, and I traced my real father, but unfortunately it was to late.
I was given a Laparoscopy and a Hycosy was told I had a blocked tube and also had went through having a ovarian burst cyst and years in our local PCT started NHS funding for IVF treatment, to which we had been put through for treatment because we had passed the criteria! We were so pleased to be able to get given opportunity that we started to think of our housing arrangements as we lived in a one bedroom bungalow which you couldnt swing a cat in as they say, so Paul come home one day and said wed put it on the market. To cut a long story short we did, got a buyer, we found a house, I lost my job, our buyer dropped out, we nearly lost the house we were after and the £5,000 fees which we didnt have. We didnt have any chance but to keep fighting for what we wanted even though I didnt know how we were going to afford it with me not working and currently taking my employers to a tribunal, but things seemed to turn around from a very bleak point in our lives as we found a new buyer, brought our house, moved and I started a new job days before moving so things were looking up.
The our luck took a turn for the worst again by my Nan being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died within 3 months, then Pauls Nan died within a week of mine, and we attended 2 funerals within 48hours in different parts of the country and arranged his Nans in 24 hours of arrive up north. Thinking that it was all over and we could start again when Paul went back to work after the funeral he was made redundant! Fantastic! Not! Anyway Paul found a job and we started the IVF treatment.
The treatment and experience was harder than I thought if I really think about it, I coped with it all at the time but it really is an emotional rollercoaster. I had to have injections in the morning which in time I got used to taking and I had to get my mum to come and do the evening ones, this continued together with the every other day visits to the clinic to check everything was going ok, which they did apart from my weight for some reason increasing greatly since starting the medication after the 5 week treatment I had put on nearly 2 stone! We went through all the egg collection, the 24 hour wait to see what had taken, then the will they survive till their transferred and then the longest 2 weeks of our life before we could test. However we never got that far as I started to bleed 2 days before test day, so game over for us.
In November for 2007 we decided to buy a Clear Blue Fertility monitor as it was cheaper than the £6,000 for another treatment of IVF and anything was worth ago while we tried to get it together. So mid/end of November we started using it, then for some reason unknown to myself I did a pregnancy test on the 30th December, my period wasnt even late and said to Paul before I went to work Ive done a test and it looks abit different to normal (as had done a few by now) but didnt think anything of it and said Ill do a digi in the morning and off to work we went. At silly oclock hours the next day I did a test as we were going away with friends for New Year and I hadnt even packed our bags let alone sorted what I was going to wear! Anyway sat on the loo peed on the stick and put my thumb over the result and sat there waiting and waiting until I plucked up to pull my finger from it to see the words PREGNANT, Oh my god!!!! Oh my god is all I kept saying and walked into the bedroom to tell Paul.
Well the pregnancy continued and was going fine until at 7 weeks I passed a large amount of blood, I didn't have any pain or warning that this was going to happen although I hadn't felt that great the night before (Also I didnt have any bleeding after). I rang my local maternity unit who told me to call EPU in the next town, they said that I couldn't go straight to them and had to go to my doctors....arrrrgh. By this time I was panicking, my doctors don't open to 3.30pm so there was nothing I could do. I saw a doctor who felt my tummy and rang the hospital but they wont give me a scan until nearly 48hours later to find out if Ive had a miscarriage or not.. I even tried going through A+E that morning at 4am but still couldnt get it done earlier as they had no beds to admit me to. Then on the 31st January 2008 would have to be the most emotional day of my life, I could do nothing but cry once I got on the couch to find out if our little shrimp was still with us, and when she said that there was still a little heartbeat I couldnt believe it and was now crying because I was so happy. Needless to say I had a headache for the rest of the day, but was so happy.
Things continued fine with the pregnancy and classed myself a s being very lucky as I didnt have aches and pains and wasnt being sick, apart from being tired I felt great, my stomach was huge and at last I had something to blame it on!
On Friday 13th I got an appointment with my doctors because for some reason I thought I might have a urine infection, it wasnt smelly or anything like that but I just had this feeling, so took a sample with me for him to send off.
Then on Saturday 14th June 2008 I got home from work and sat on the sofa with hubby and started to get lower back ache something I dont normally get. I though I had just sat funny as was lying on the sofa next to hubby so tried to move to see if that made it any better but it didnt. For some reason the next thought I had was having a warm bath makes labour pains easier, but I wasnt in labour so why was I thinking this, but anything was worth a go so off I went and had a soak. It did make it feel better for a while and later on went to bed however I could sleep as I couldnt get comfy and in the end about 2am I rang NHS Direct to ask them what I could take as I was pregnant, they asked me details and telephoned me back, told me there wasnt much I could do apart from get some Ibrofuin backrub from the chemist in the morning!
So on Sunday I went down to my local Savers store to by some rub before going to work, Paul had to help me because I could hardly even walk because of the pain. Luckily the pain started to wear off around 3pm and it was much easier for me to walk, so carried on life then as normal.
On Tuesday 17th June I had got up as normal in the middle of the night to go to the toilet and returned to bed. Pauls alarm went off at 6.30am, I was so tired that I just rolled over and waited for Paul to bring me a cup of tea, when he come back upstairs I decided that I needed to go to the loo, so rolled over his side of the bed and tired to get up (our bed is really low to the floor!) and as I did wee started running down my leg, then it gushed, we laughed and I made my way to the bathroom leaking all the way, thinking god, my bladders gone, not oh my god its my waters. I sat on the loo for ages and was still leaking, Paul gave me a kiss on the loo and went off to work not thinking anything of it. After another 5 minutes it suddenly hit me that this was my waters and that I needed to contact our midwifes, to which they told me to ring the hospital in the next town! They told me to make my way to hospital, so I called my mum and dad and asked them if they could get me to the hospital as there was no way I could drive as I was still leaking. When we arrived they asked questions, and sent us for a scan which showed I only had 2m of water the recommend minimum is 5m! 2m of water was a little bubble of water in front of Shrimp nose and that was it. I asked if it was possible for a photo, but they told me no (This really shocked me), they she said that the head was engaged! What! this was really scary as at no point did anyone reassure me of anything. Once back from the scan they told me that I could go into labour at anytime but that the SCBU was closed and therefore the baby would be transferred to another hospital, but to also be aware that all hospitals were very busy at the moment and the hospital could be anywhere in the UK, they then gave me a steroid injection in my leg, which hurt like hell and Paul nearly fainted!. As I wasnt having contractions I was transferred onto the ward and the only bed available on D Bay with new mums! Just what I didnt need when I didnt even know if my baby was going to live or die, in the end I was transferred into a side room as all I could do was cry and wanted to keep my curtains closed. I also had a feeling that there was something down there but they didnt seem worried. I also had to have another steroid injection.
Wednesday 18th and Im still in hospital, they are semi keeping an eye on me but feels like I shouldnt be here and that theres nothing wrong with me. They gave me a trace and Shrimp not moving much so they will keep downing them and now Im losing fluid with no control which isnt a nice feeling, together with what I think is a bit of the plug.
Thursday 19th and Ive been informed that they are sending me home, in some ways I will be glad as I didnt have a hospital bag packed but in another Im so scared. How can he survive without very much water, what happens if something goes wrong at home and to make it worse they have cancelled my scan that I was due to have today aarrrrggggh. They have told me that I have to try and hold onto him until 34 weeks, that over a month how do they expect me to do that?
Friday 20th and Id been taking it easy although having a few pains. Paul come home at around 5pm and I started to get contractions so back to the hospital with him and mum, straight to the delivery suite and monitors put on and this is how it stayed until 4am and still only 1cm dilated, when everything stopped and I was moved back onto the ward. My infection level (CRP) have raised again so have to take stronger antibiotics.
Monday 23rd and my crp levels had halved so that was good news.
Tuesday 24th and was sent home again, after a scan which showed no change since the last time. So home and crossing legs!
Wednesday 25th June 2008 and although tired, I popped out with mum today as I had my 28 week midwife appointment even though I was 29 weeks! Went to Morrisons and town to get bits to start putting together my hospital bag. When I got home I just rested on the sofa and mum did some tidying up for me and left just after 4pm. Paul got in from work around 5pm again and I then started to get back ache again but didnt think anything of it, but this time I kept wanting to go to the toilet, so up and down the stairs I went. Once I wiped it seemed as though there was a bulge but again really didnt think anything of it. I wanted to go to the toilet again but got to the bottom of the stairs and couldnt get any further, although it didnt hurt I had to breath through it but didnt realise this at the time. Paul started to get worried and said that he was going to call my mum, to which I told him not to bother as I was fine. Anyway mum arrived and Im holding on the back of the sofa breathing through, when she asks if Ive called the hospital which I hadnt. I rang and said that I didnt want to bother them but I had back ache and did I need to go back to which they said yes. So made it upstairs to pack a hospital bag as I had only just unpacked from coming home yesterday! Got in the back of the car and Paul drove as fast as he could to the hospital with me clinging on in the back for dear life trying to keep my bum off the seat and breathing through. My mum thought I was going to give birth in the car on the A120.
Paul dropped us off at the door of the hospital, mum rang for a wheelchair and Paul went to park. I told her I wanted to walk but she was having none of it, so I arrived at the delivery suite being pulled in a wheelchair. As I got into the room a nurse started to ask questions to which I ask her to wait a minute, clung to the end of the bed and breathed through a contraction, once she saw this she ordered me on the bed right away and the doctor come to check me over and then said I was 10cm dilated. My response was and so does this mean that his coming? to which the reply was Yeap What now? Yes. Oh my god, this was it, it was 7.50pm and I was lying on the bed, monitors being hooked up, bloods being taken and paediatricians being called, and SCBU say although they are closed they are going to take my baby as long as things are ok. So here goes the breathing and the G&A is given to me together with being told Here you havent got time for anything else What am I to do, I havent had any classes yet. I tried to get myself in a rhythm as it seemed as though the contractions were back to back and my hips were hurting, the only way to relieve the pain was to move my hips so tried to imagine I was cycling to get through it, the next thing I know they wanted to check everything was ok and I wanted to push, so teams were called and I pushed around 3 times and him was out quicker than anyone expected straight on the bed! At 9.45pm When they realised he was there and started to pick him up there was no crying or anything, and the only words that come from my mouth was breath, breath, breath. I remember them just looking at me as though I was mad and then he cried. There are no words that I can tell you what I thought at that moment, and the hardest thing was I had taken my glasses off at the start of labour and therefore hadnt been able to see very much at all through the whole thing and couldnt see people properly, just that they were in and out all the time and that they had now taken my baby away and it was time to deliver the placenta, once all this was over I was offered a cup of tea and told get a shower, which Paul helped me to do and then we waited and waited until we were allowed to see our son in the SCBU. I really dont know what I was expecting, and everyone said that I looked good considering I had just given birth, but we walked up to the incubator, I dont remember any nurses faces just their voices saying that he was ok, doing really well and breathing on his own and did I want to touch him. I quickly said no I dont want him to get an infection, I was so scared that something would take him away from me and just wanted for him to be safe. I did scrub up and touch him, all in a bit of a blur, I dont know how long I was there but at the end we were given an envelope with information and 2 photos, it was now around 12.30am and I was taken back onto the ward and Paul was sent home.
Our son was born on wednesday 25th June 2008 at 9.45pm weighing 3lb 2oz
Friday 27th June 2008 (2days old)
Started to syringe feed on 0.3ml of breastmilk
Saturday 28th June 2008 (3 days old)
First time I was allowed to breastfeed
Sunday 29th June 2008 (4 days old)
Placed under UV light for 12 hours
Monday 30th June 2008 (5 days old)
Feeding 1ml every 2 hours
CPAP on 12hrs then 4hrs off
Brain scan all fine
Tuesday 1st July 2008 (6 days old)
Feeding 2ml every 2hr
CPAP 6hrs on 6hrs off
Wednesday 2nd July 2008 (7 days old)
Feeding 4ml every 2 hrs
CPAP taken off
Thursday 3rd July 2008 (8 days old)
Feeding 6ml every 2hrs
Weight 2lb 130z
Friday 4th July 2008 (9 days old)
I had to leave hospital today and leave Calum in SCBU
Sunday 6th July 2008 (11 days old)
Feeding 18ml
Breastfeed
Heart Monitors taken off today
Weight 1.38kg
Monday 7th July 2008 (12 days old)
Breastfeed today
Weighs 3lb 10z
Longline taken out
Cord fell off at teatime
Tuesday 8th July 2008 (13 days old)
Weighs 1.380kg
Wednesday 9th July 2008 (14 days old)
Weighs 1.385kg - 3lb
First set of clothes put on today
Thursday 10th July 2008 (15 days old)
Weighs 1.425kg - 3lb 2oz
Feeding 21ml
Smiling lots AM
Friday 11th July 2008 (16 days old)
Weighs 1.470kg - 3lb 4oz
Moving head from side to side
Moved from high dependency to middle nursery
Saturday 12th July 2008 (17 days old)
Weigh 1.465kg
Sunday 13th July 2008 (18 days old)
Weight 3lb 5oz
More awake and waking at feed times
Feeding 26ml every 2½ hours
Monday 14th July 2008 (19 days old)
Weigh 1.540 - 3lb 6oz
Feeding 33ml every 3hrs
Tuesday 15th July 2008 (20 days old)
Weigh 1.555
1st bottle feed today
Wednesday 16th July 2008 (21 days old)
First burp
Weigh 1.615 - 3lb 9oz
Was told of slight heart murmur
Thursday 17th July 2008 (22 days old)
Weight 1.640kg - 3lb 10oz
ECG requested as doctor now cant hear heart murmur
Feeding 37ml
Friday 18th July 2008 (23 days old)
Weighs 1.675
Had ECG today, brain scan to be repeated
Saturday 19th July 2008 (24 days old)
Finally out of incubator and moved into a cot
Weigh 1.720 - 3lb 12oz
Has taken 3 bottles in a row
Sun 20
Weigh 1.760 - 3lb 14oz
Feeding 39ml
Mon 21
Moved to final low dependency nursery
Weigh 1.796 - 3lb 15oz
Tues 22
Stat monitor taken off and placed on breath mat monitor
Weigh 1.822 - 4lb
Wed 23
Weigh 1.864 - 4lb 1½ oz
Sat 26
Weigh 1.964 4lb 5oz
Sun 27
Weigh 1.996
Feeding 60ml every 4 hrs
Monday 28
Weigh 2.028kg - 4lb 7½oz
Hearing test
Tues 29
Weigh 2.068kg - 4lb 8½oz
Eye test
Wed 30th
Weigh 2.055kg - 4lb 8oz
Thur 31
Weigh 2.050kg
Feed tube taken out
Stayed at hospital
Fri 1st
Weight 2.082kg
Paul & me stayed at hospital
Sat 2nd August
Calum come home
Sun 12th October
Calums first time in his baby bouncer
Sun 19th October
First laugh
The cardigan was what Calum wore when he was 19 days old
This was taken on the 6th Dec 08 - Calum was 23weeks +3
If anyone does want to read i havent finished it yet!
Our story
Paul and I had been trying for a baby for around 12 years, however nothing seemed to be happening but we continued with life, got married, cats passed away, I had an operation for sleep apnoea, my uncle had a brain haemorrhage and major stroke, and I traced my real father, but unfortunately it was to late.
I was given a Laparoscopy and a Hycosy was told I had a blocked tube and also had went through having a ovarian burst cyst and years in our local PCT started NHS funding for IVF treatment, to which we had been put through for treatment because we had passed the criteria! We were so pleased to be able to get given opportunity that we started to think of our housing arrangements as we lived in a one bedroom bungalow which you couldnt swing a cat in as they say, so Paul come home one day and said wed put it on the market. To cut a long story short we did, got a buyer, we found a house, I lost my job, our buyer dropped out, we nearly lost the house we were after and the £5,000 fees which we didnt have. We didnt have any chance but to keep fighting for what we wanted even though I didnt know how we were going to afford it with me not working and currently taking my employers to a tribunal, but things seemed to turn around from a very bleak point in our lives as we found a new buyer, brought our house, moved and I started a new job days before moving so things were looking up.
The our luck took a turn for the worst again by my Nan being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died within 3 months, then Pauls Nan died within a week of mine, and we attended 2 funerals within 48hours in different parts of the country and arranged his Nans in 24 hours of arrive up north. Thinking that it was all over and we could start again when Paul went back to work after the funeral he was made redundant! Fantastic! Not! Anyway Paul found a job and we started the IVF treatment.
The treatment and experience was harder than I thought if I really think about it, I coped with it all at the time but it really is an emotional rollercoaster. I had to have injections in the morning which in time I got used to taking and I had to get my mum to come and do the evening ones, this continued together with the every other day visits to the clinic to check everything was going ok, which they did apart from my weight for some reason increasing greatly since starting the medication after the 5 week treatment I had put on nearly 2 stone! We went through all the egg collection, the 24 hour wait to see what had taken, then the will they survive till their transferred and then the longest 2 weeks of our life before we could test. However we never got that far as I started to bleed 2 days before test day, so game over for us.
In November for 2007 we decided to buy a Clear Blue Fertility monitor as it was cheaper than the £6,000 for another treatment of IVF and anything was worth ago while we tried to get it together. So mid/end of November we started using it, then for some reason unknown to myself I did a pregnancy test on the 30th December, my period wasnt even late and said to Paul before I went to work Ive done a test and it looks abit different to normal (as had done a few by now) but didnt think anything of it and said Ill do a digi in the morning and off to work we went. At silly oclock hours the next day I did a test as we were going away with friends for New Year and I hadnt even packed our bags let alone sorted what I was going to wear! Anyway sat on the loo peed on the stick and put my thumb over the result and sat there waiting and waiting until I plucked up to pull my finger from it to see the words PREGNANT, Oh my god!!!! Oh my god is all I kept saying and walked into the bedroom to tell Paul.
Well the pregnancy continued and was going fine until at 7 weeks I passed a large amount of blood, I didn't have any pain or warning that this was going to happen although I hadn't felt that great the night before (Also I didnt have any bleeding after). I rang my local maternity unit who told me to call EPU in the next town, they said that I couldn't go straight to them and had to go to my doctors....arrrrgh. By this time I was panicking, my doctors don't open to 3.30pm so there was nothing I could do. I saw a doctor who felt my tummy and rang the hospital but they wont give me a scan until nearly 48hours later to find out if Ive had a miscarriage or not.. I even tried going through A+E that morning at 4am but still couldnt get it done earlier as they had no beds to admit me to. Then on the 31st January 2008 would have to be the most emotional day of my life, I could do nothing but cry once I got on the couch to find out if our little shrimp was still with us, and when she said that there was still a little heartbeat I couldnt believe it and was now crying because I was so happy. Needless to say I had a headache for the rest of the day, but was so happy.
Things continued fine with the pregnancy and classed myself a s being very lucky as I didnt have aches and pains and wasnt being sick, apart from being tired I felt great, my stomach was huge and at last I had something to blame it on!
On Friday 13th I got an appointment with my doctors because for some reason I thought I might have a urine infection, it wasnt smelly or anything like that but I just had this feeling, so took a sample with me for him to send off.
Then on Saturday 14th June 2008 I got home from work and sat on the sofa with hubby and started to get lower back ache something I dont normally get. I though I had just sat funny as was lying on the sofa next to hubby so tried to move to see if that made it any better but it didnt. For some reason the next thought I had was having a warm bath makes labour pains easier, but I wasnt in labour so why was I thinking this, but anything was worth a go so off I went and had a soak. It did make it feel better for a while and later on went to bed however I could sleep as I couldnt get comfy and in the end about 2am I rang NHS Direct to ask them what I could take as I was pregnant, they asked me details and telephoned me back, told me there wasnt much I could do apart from get some Ibrofuin backrub from the chemist in the morning!
So on Sunday I went down to my local Savers store to by some rub before going to work, Paul had to help me because I could hardly even walk because of the pain. Luckily the pain started to wear off around 3pm and it was much easier for me to walk, so carried on life then as normal.
On Tuesday 17th June I had got up as normal in the middle of the night to go to the toilet and returned to bed. Pauls alarm went off at 6.30am, I was so tired that I just rolled over and waited for Paul to bring me a cup of tea, when he come back upstairs I decided that I needed to go to the loo, so rolled over his side of the bed and tired to get up (our bed is really low to the floor!) and as I did wee started running down my leg, then it gushed, we laughed and I made my way to the bathroom leaking all the way, thinking god, my bladders gone, not oh my god its my waters. I sat on the loo for ages and was still leaking, Paul gave me a kiss on the loo and went off to work not thinking anything of it. After another 5 minutes it suddenly hit me that this was my waters and that I needed to contact our midwifes, to which they told me to ring the hospital in the next town! They told me to make my way to hospital, so I called my mum and dad and asked them if they could get me to the hospital as there was no way I could drive as I was still leaking. When we arrived they asked questions, and sent us for a scan which showed I only had 2m of water the recommend minimum is 5m! 2m of water was a little bubble of water in front of Shrimp nose and that was it. I asked if it was possible for a photo, but they told me no (This really shocked me), they she said that the head was engaged! What! this was really scary as at no point did anyone reassure me of anything. Once back from the scan they told me that I could go into labour at anytime but that the SCBU was closed and therefore the baby would be transferred to another hospital, but to also be aware that all hospitals were very busy at the moment and the hospital could be anywhere in the UK, they then gave me a steroid injection in my leg, which hurt like hell and Paul nearly fainted!. As I wasnt having contractions I was transferred onto the ward and the only bed available on D Bay with new mums! Just what I didnt need when I didnt even know if my baby was going to live or die, in the end I was transferred into a side room as all I could do was cry and wanted to keep my curtains closed. I also had a feeling that there was something down there but they didnt seem worried. I also had to have another steroid injection.
Wednesday 18th and Im still in hospital, they are semi keeping an eye on me but feels like I shouldnt be here and that theres nothing wrong with me. They gave me a trace and Shrimp not moving much so they will keep downing them and now Im losing fluid with no control which isnt a nice feeling, together with what I think is a bit of the plug.
Thursday 19th and Ive been informed that they are sending me home, in some ways I will be glad as I didnt have a hospital bag packed but in another Im so scared. How can he survive without very much water, what happens if something goes wrong at home and to make it worse they have cancelled my scan that I was due to have today aarrrrggggh. They have told me that I have to try and hold onto him until 34 weeks, that over a month how do they expect me to do that?
Friday 20th and Id been taking it easy although having a few pains. Paul come home at around 5pm and I started to get contractions so back to the hospital with him and mum, straight to the delivery suite and monitors put on and this is how it stayed until 4am and still only 1cm dilated, when everything stopped and I was moved back onto the ward. My infection level (CRP) have raised again so have to take stronger antibiotics.
Monday 23rd and my crp levels had halved so that was good news.
Tuesday 24th and was sent home again, after a scan which showed no change since the last time. So home and crossing legs!
Wednesday 25th June 2008 and although tired, I popped out with mum today as I had my 28 week midwife appointment even though I was 29 weeks! Went to Morrisons and town to get bits to start putting together my hospital bag. When I got home I just rested on the sofa and mum did some tidying up for me and left just after 4pm. Paul got in from work around 5pm again and I then started to get back ache again but didnt think anything of it, but this time I kept wanting to go to the toilet, so up and down the stairs I went. Once I wiped it seemed as though there was a bulge but again really didnt think anything of it. I wanted to go to the toilet again but got to the bottom of the stairs and couldnt get any further, although it didnt hurt I had to breath through it but didnt realise this at the time. Paul started to get worried and said that he was going to call my mum, to which I told him not to bother as I was fine. Anyway mum arrived and Im holding on the back of the sofa breathing through, when she asks if Ive called the hospital which I hadnt. I rang and said that I didnt want to bother them but I had back ache and did I need to go back to which they said yes. So made it upstairs to pack a hospital bag as I had only just unpacked from coming home yesterday! Got in the back of the car and Paul drove as fast as he could to the hospital with me clinging on in the back for dear life trying to keep my bum off the seat and breathing through. My mum thought I was going to give birth in the car on the A120.
Paul dropped us off at the door of the hospital, mum rang for a wheelchair and Paul went to park. I told her I wanted to walk but she was having none of it, so I arrived at the delivery suite being pulled in a wheelchair. As I got into the room a nurse started to ask questions to which I ask her to wait a minute, clung to the end of the bed and breathed through a contraction, once she saw this she ordered me on the bed right away and the doctor come to check me over and then said I was 10cm dilated. My response was and so does this mean that his coming? to which the reply was Yeap What now? Yes. Oh my god, this was it, it was 7.50pm and I was lying on the bed, monitors being hooked up, bloods being taken and paediatricians being called, and SCBU say although they are closed they are going to take my baby as long as things are ok. So here goes the breathing and the G&A is given to me together with being told Here you havent got time for anything else What am I to do, I havent had any classes yet. I tried to get myself in a rhythm as it seemed as though the contractions were back to back and my hips were hurting, the only way to relieve the pain was to move my hips so tried to imagine I was cycling to get through it, the next thing I know they wanted to check everything was ok and I wanted to push, so teams were called and I pushed around 3 times and him was out quicker than anyone expected straight on the bed! At 9.45pm When they realised he was there and started to pick him up there was no crying or anything, and the only words that come from my mouth was breath, breath, breath. I remember them just looking at me as though I was mad and then he cried. There are no words that I can tell you what I thought at that moment, and the hardest thing was I had taken my glasses off at the start of labour and therefore hadnt been able to see very much at all through the whole thing and couldnt see people properly, just that they were in and out all the time and that they had now taken my baby away and it was time to deliver the placenta, once all this was over I was offered a cup of tea and told get a shower, which Paul helped me to do and then we waited and waited until we were allowed to see our son in the SCBU. I really dont know what I was expecting, and everyone said that I looked good considering I had just given birth, but we walked up to the incubator, I dont remember any nurses faces just their voices saying that he was ok, doing really well and breathing on his own and did I want to touch him. I quickly said no I dont want him to get an infection, I was so scared that something would take him away from me and just wanted for him to be safe. I did scrub up and touch him, all in a bit of a blur, I dont know how long I was there but at the end we were given an envelope with information and 2 photos, it was now around 12.30am and I was taken back onto the ward and Paul was sent home.
Our son was born on wednesday 25th June 2008 at 9.45pm weighing 3lb 2oz
Friday 27th June 2008 (2days old)
Started to syringe feed on 0.3ml of breastmilk
Saturday 28th June 2008 (3 days old)
First time I was allowed to breastfeed
Sunday 29th June 2008 (4 days old)
Placed under UV light for 12 hours
Monday 30th June 2008 (5 days old)
Feeding 1ml every 2 hours
CPAP on 12hrs then 4hrs off
Brain scan all fine
Tuesday 1st July 2008 (6 days old)
Feeding 2ml every 2hr
CPAP 6hrs on 6hrs off
Wednesday 2nd July 2008 (7 days old)
Feeding 4ml every 2 hrs
CPAP taken off
Thursday 3rd July 2008 (8 days old)
Feeding 6ml every 2hrs
Weight 2lb 130z
Friday 4th July 2008 (9 days old)
I had to leave hospital today and leave Calum in SCBU
Sunday 6th July 2008 (11 days old)
Feeding 18ml
Breastfeed
Heart Monitors taken off today
Weight 1.38kg
Monday 7th July 2008 (12 days old)
Breastfeed today
Weighs 3lb 10z
Longline taken out
Cord fell off at teatime
Tuesday 8th July 2008 (13 days old)
Weighs 1.380kg
Wednesday 9th July 2008 (14 days old)
Weighs 1.385kg - 3lb
First set of clothes put on today
Thursday 10th July 2008 (15 days old)
Weighs 1.425kg - 3lb 2oz
Feeding 21ml
Smiling lots AM
Friday 11th July 2008 (16 days old)
Weighs 1.470kg - 3lb 4oz
Moving head from side to side
Moved from high dependency to middle nursery
Saturday 12th July 2008 (17 days old)
Weigh 1.465kg
Sunday 13th July 2008 (18 days old)
Weight 3lb 5oz
More awake and waking at feed times
Feeding 26ml every 2½ hours
Monday 14th July 2008 (19 days old)
Weigh 1.540 - 3lb 6oz
Feeding 33ml every 3hrs
Tuesday 15th July 2008 (20 days old)
Weigh 1.555
1st bottle feed today
Wednesday 16th July 2008 (21 days old)
First burp
Weigh 1.615 - 3lb 9oz
Was told of slight heart murmur
Thursday 17th July 2008 (22 days old)
Weight 1.640kg - 3lb 10oz
ECG requested as doctor now cant hear heart murmur
Feeding 37ml
Friday 18th July 2008 (23 days old)
Weighs 1.675
Had ECG today, brain scan to be repeated
Saturday 19th July 2008 (24 days old)
Finally out of incubator and moved into a cot
Weigh 1.720 - 3lb 12oz
Has taken 3 bottles in a row
Sun 20
Weigh 1.760 - 3lb 14oz
Feeding 39ml
Mon 21
Moved to final low dependency nursery
Weigh 1.796 - 3lb 15oz
Tues 22
Stat monitor taken off and placed on breath mat monitor
Weigh 1.822 - 4lb
Wed 23
Weigh 1.864 - 4lb 1½ oz
Sat 26
Weigh 1.964 4lb 5oz
Sun 27
Weigh 1.996
Feeding 60ml every 4 hrs
Monday 28
Weigh 2.028kg - 4lb 7½oz
Hearing test
Tues 29
Weigh 2.068kg - 4lb 8½oz
Eye test
Wed 30th
Weigh 2.055kg - 4lb 8oz
Thur 31
Weigh 2.050kg
Feed tube taken out
Stayed at hospital
Fri 1st
Weight 2.082kg
Paul & me stayed at hospital
Sat 2nd August
Calum come home
Sun 12th October
Calums first time in his baby bouncer
Sun 19th October
First laugh
The cardigan was what Calum wore when he was 19 days old
This was taken on the 6th Dec 08 - Calum was 23weeks +3
