Hi Everyone!
I'm sorry that I have not written sooner, but I wanted to let all of you know that Mike and I are now the proud parents of a baby girl! Her name is Tate Suzanne Wallace and she was born Friday, June 10th at 10:08 PM. I am doing well physically, however Tate had a very difficult start. Sometime during delivery, Tate had a bowel movement inside of me and when she was finally delivered she was not breathing and had a very weak heartbeat. The doctors infomed us that she had ingested some of the meconium during delivery and this was causing her breathing problems. They began doing chest compressions and giving her bagged air in the delivery room to help her along. It was a very frightening time, and Mike and I have never been so concerned in our lives. They rushed her out to the nursery and we received updates about her health throughout the night and early morning. They put her on a breathing tube to help with her breathing, and her heartbeat came up to a good pulse. After a few hours we were able to see her and she looked much better. Immediately at birth, the team of doctors and nurses informed us that Tate would need to be transferred to another hospital where she could receive the necessary care she needed. She stayed at the initial hospital for about 5 hours and then was transported via ambulance to MUSC (Medical University of South Carolina in downtown Charleston) which has an amazing children's hospital. Upon arrival there, they didn't like how tight and tense she was, or that she was arching her back. Fearing that there may have been brain or neurological damage, they made a decision to treat her with a cooling process. This meant that Tate was not wrapped or covered and she was lying on a blanket over water that would cool her body temperature down to near 90 degrees. This hypothermic state was to help prevent an attack on her system from the stress she experienced at birth. She was in the cooling bed for 48 hours and Monday morning at 5:45 they began to rewarm her. By 6 o'clock that evening she was warmed up to a normal temperature of 98 degrees and I was then able to hold my baby for the first time!!! It was amazing! Mike and I didn't want to put her down. She was so content being warm and wrapped...it was quite a turnaround from where she had started.
Tate's nurses and doctor's are AMAZING and I couldn't be happier with the care she is receiving. She is one strong, tough little girl and a true fighter. The doctors are very optimistic about the progress she is making. While on the cooling bed, they liked her suck (she was given a pacifier) and grip and gag reflex. They said that these are all really good signs. Her muscle tone (the tenseness and tightness) have already decreased now that she is warmer, and she is obviously much more comfortable. A neurologist looked at her yesterday and said that everything looks great and they don't have any need to see her again. They also did an EEG on her to look at her brain activity, and that all came back positive as well. She will have an MRI done today or tomorrow, with the results coming back by the end of the week. The doctors told us today that she will be coming home this Friday or Saturday. We obviously couldn't be happier!!
I appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers you have been sending. Please continue to pray for us. She is the most amazing little girl EVER and I couldn't love being a mother any more than I do. We feel so incredibly blessed to have this little girl in our lives, and we can't wait for her to meet all of you.
I will update as I find the time, but please know that I appreciate all of the love and support you give. I also have to thank my parents, Mike's parents, and my amazing sisters for everything they have done for me, Mike and Tate in the last three days. Even though it has been a difficult beginning, I couldn't feel any luckier! Thank you again and I love you all so much.
I'm sorry that I have not written sooner, but I wanted to let all of you know that Mike and I are now the proud parents of a baby girl! Her name is Tate Suzanne Wallace and she was born Friday, June 10th at 10:08 PM. I am doing well physically, however Tate had a very difficult start. Sometime during delivery, Tate had a bowel movement inside of me and when she was finally delivered she was not breathing and had a very weak heartbeat. The doctors infomed us that she had ingested some of the meconium during delivery and this was causing her breathing problems. They began doing chest compressions and giving her bagged air in the delivery room to help her along. It was a very frightening time, and Mike and I have never been so concerned in our lives. They rushed her out to the nursery and we received updates about her health throughout the night and early morning. They put her on a breathing tube to help with her breathing, and her heartbeat came up to a good pulse. After a few hours we were able to see her and she looked much better. Immediately at birth, the team of doctors and nurses informed us that Tate would need to be transferred to another hospital where she could receive the necessary care she needed. She stayed at the initial hospital for about 5 hours and then was transported via ambulance to MUSC (Medical University of South Carolina in downtown Charleston) which has an amazing children's hospital. Upon arrival there, they didn't like how tight and tense she was, or that she was arching her back. Fearing that there may have been brain or neurological damage, they made a decision to treat her with a cooling process. This meant that Tate was not wrapped or covered and she was lying on a blanket over water that would cool her body temperature down to near 90 degrees. This hypothermic state was to help prevent an attack on her system from the stress she experienced at birth. She was in the cooling bed for 48 hours and Monday morning at 5:45 they began to rewarm her. By 6 o'clock that evening she was warmed up to a normal temperature of 98 degrees and I was then able to hold my baby for the first time!!! It was amazing! Mike and I didn't want to put her down. She was so content being warm and wrapped...it was quite a turnaround from where she had started.
Tate's nurses and doctor's are AMAZING and I couldn't be happier with the care she is receiving. She is one strong, tough little girl and a true fighter. The doctors are very optimistic about the progress she is making. While on the cooling bed, they liked her suck (she was given a pacifier) and grip and gag reflex. They said that these are all really good signs. Her muscle tone (the tenseness and tightness) have already decreased now that she is warmer, and she is obviously much more comfortable. A neurologist looked at her yesterday and said that everything looks great and they don't have any need to see her again. They also did an EEG on her to look at her brain activity, and that all came back positive as well. She will have an MRI done today or tomorrow, with the results coming back by the end of the week. The doctors told us today that she will be coming home this Friday or Saturday. We obviously couldn't be happier!!
I appreciate all of the thoughts and prayers you have been sending. Please continue to pray for us. She is the most amazing little girl EVER and I couldn't love being a mother any more than I do. We feel so incredibly blessed to have this little girl in our lives, and we can't wait for her to meet all of you.
I will update as I find the time, but please know that I appreciate all of the love and support you give. I also have to thank my parents, Mike's parents, and my amazing sisters for everything they have done for me, Mike and Tate in the last three days. Even though it has been a difficult beginning, I couldn't feel any luckier! Thank you again and I love you all so much.
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