A few hours after their birth both Magnus and Ragnar had their blood sugar tested. This was something we knew would happen as I had gestational diabetes for the last month of the pregnancy. Ragnar's blood work was fine- a bit low, but still in the normal range. Magnus was below where they wanted to see him, so a NICU nurse was called to our room to evaluate. She immediately wanted to take him to the NICU, but we asked to try and feed him again and see how he responded. After giving him the colostrum I had pumped prior to giving birth and feeding him colostrum from after the birth, he was retested and the level had dropped again. At this point our pediatrician was called and she suggested he go to the NICU for observation. I was heartbroken, but Nate went with him and I knew he was in good hands.
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| Magnus in the NICU |
During the observation it was discovered that Magnus was unable to regulate his temperature. He had stayed warm on me because we were doing skin-to-skin. When removed from mama and put in a crib, his temp plummeted. Once at the NICU his blood sugar had climbed back up to 45 - it was low but in an approved range. He was put in an incubator under a heat lamp while his blood sugar continued to be monitored. 30 minutes later his sugar was back down to 30. During this time the doctors insisted we put in an IV, but Nate worked with them to try to get some high calorie formula into his system to see if it would come back up again. Unfortunately, it dropped even further to 16. At that point it became critical that it be brought up and feeding wasn't doing it. It was agreed to put in an IV and after trying several sites they ended up running it into the large vein in the crook of his arm in the interest of getting it run quickly. They had to strap a board to his arm to keep it straight and prevent him from pulling out or damaging the IV. They gave him glucose and got his blood sugar back up. He was admitted to the NICU and our pediatrician turned care over to the neonatologists on call in the NICU. Over the next few hours his glucose IV was adjusted, and he had repeated heel sticks to measure his blood sugar. I was allowed to get out of bed and come to the NICU to see him 6 hours post-surgery. He looked so fragile in the incubator, and I prayed that his little body would adjust quickly and begin to regulate the blood sugar and temp on its own.
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| Magnus in the incubator |
Nate stayed overnight in Magnus' room. Magnus had blood sugar tested every 3 hours. On Monday I was able to visit every 3 hours to give them the colostrum/milk I had pumped for him. The Dr would try to lower the IV fluids when Magnus had a good blood sugar number, but inevitably it would have to be raised again after a low test. By the end of Monday Magnus was able to regulate his body heat and was put in a regular crib.
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| Magnus & Ragnar sharing a crib in the NICU during a visit |
Nate once again stayed overnight with Magnus. Tuesday morning Ragnar and I were discharged from the hospital and we packed our stuff and headed over to the NICU to stay with Magnus. The nurses there were great and helped us get set up. They even brought in another crib for Ragnar. The IV line that was placed continued to get jostled as Magnus moved and a new line was suggested. They finally found a spot on his head and got a line going. This looked awful but was so much more comfortable for Magnus. We continued the rollercoaster of good blood sugar numbers, followed by the lowering of the glucose in the IV, followed by low numbers, followed by the raising of the glucose in the IV. With the IV line in his head, I was allowed to nurse Magnus. This seemed to be going well. We did several weigh-feed-weigh sessions that showed he was indeed getting milk.
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| Magnus & Ranar in their NICU cribs |
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| Magnus with his scalp IV |
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| Magnus with his scalp IV |
We were together as a family in the NICU on Tuesday night. Magnus continued to get heel sticks and tests every 3 hours. His poor feet were covered in bruises. His arms and hands were covered in bruises from the numerous times they attempted IV lines. I felt so awful for him. But through it all, he had such a peace about him and was such a trooper.
Wednesday was much of the same as Tuesday. Formula was introduced in the form of a gavage line. I now was allowed to nurse him and then they would give him formula through the tube directly into his stomach. The food did not seem to make a difference in his blood sugar levels.
Thursday my mom arrived, and Nate was able to spend the night at home and get a good night sleep while she stayed with us in the NICU. Overnight Magnus' blood sugar tests were great, and it was decided to continue lowering the glucose in the IV until he was down to none. After he had 2 great tests with no glucose they removed his IV line. HOORAY! At that point he was no longer nursing effectively and usually only ate 2-4mL per nursing session. Because of this he was not immediately discharged.
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| Gramsie's first visit |
On Friday morning our nurse told us that if we could get Magnus to prove he could eat 40-50mL in a feeding that she would go to the Dr and fight for us to get discharged. We decided to follow her advice and began feeding Magnus pumped milk and formula via a bottle. He took to the bottle pretty quickly. During the day we also had his hearing tested (perfect) and he had his car seat test (perfect.) After 4 feedings on the bottle the neonatologist stopped by and told us we could leave. YES!
When Nate heard the news, he started packing. He and mom took all of our stuff down to the car and came back for me and the babies. Our nurse was surprised at how quickly we were ready to leave, but we just wanted our family to be home! She escorted us out of the hospital and the boys had their first car ride. They both promptly fell asleep in the back seat-- as did I.
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| Ready for the trip home |
