February 22

Reiley is now 35 gestational weeks,and her weight is 5 pounds! She is getting very limited amounts of oxygen through her cannula. We are having lots of fun putting outfits on her. Thanks to all of you who have given cute clothing.
Her challenges this week have been with the bottle. She still has not mastered the sucking/swallowing/breathing sequence that is needed to keep oxygen in her body while she feeds. She has been really sleepy and its hard to wake her for her feedings. She definitely needs to grow a little more before she is ready to go home.

February 14

First try at a bottle. The goal is to get her to take all of her food by mouth, and since mommy is not here at night, the nurse let be the first to try it. She drank about 10 ml. Later a night nurse got her to take an entire feeding with the bottle.

Reiley had a major poo, so the nurse let us give her a bath. We had a lot of fun, and Reiley seemed to like the water. She instantly relaxed when we put her in the little tub.





Reiley is out of her isolet! Yay!! She has been holding her own body temperature for several days now, so she no longer needs the heated bed. This is 1 of the 3 requirements she must meet before she can go home. Her weight is 4lb. 5oz. Also, her feeding tube is out of her mouth. Now it goes though her nose so she can nurse much better. Her gestational age is 34 weeks today.

February 8

But mommy, I'm sooo sleepy.

At 31 gestational weeks, Reiley is gaining 1.5 ounces per day.

Reiley is now on regular nasal cannula trials. She is on CPAP for three hours, then on cannula for three hours. Ruthie and I make sure we hold her during the hours she is on the cannula.

I LOVE DADDY.

It suddenly hit me I will never be able to tuck her in my shirt again. There is something totally amazing and awesome that happens when you hold a preemie bare skin to bare skin. Ruthie did it from day four, and I stood with my mouth open as her monitors showed an instant improvement in her vital signs. How can one so tiny know who her mother is. I can't help but think of our wonderful Creator time and time again.

Reiley was very active at this stage(12 days), so much so the nurses would practically tie her down. She was burning most of her calories kicking instead of gaining weight.


Reiley is now 12 days old and is wearing her hated CPAP mask. This machine was developed by one of the doctors in the NICU and is capable of keeping an infants lungs inflated at an earlier age that a regular oxygen mask. An infant needs more pressure to support its lungs than an adult does.


A peep inside Reiley's 'little house'.


"Yay, mama finally come to hold me," says Reiley at four days.


This is Reiley at three days old. She is on a ventilator at this point, which is the larger tube in her mouth.

Ruthie was discharged from the hospital 4 days after Reiley was born, on Jan. 16. This picture was taken 2 hours before Ruthie was discharged. I was able to get a room at the Ronald McDonald house, which is a 5 minute walk from the hospital. Since we live and work in Manassas, which is a 2 hour drive from Charlottesville, I visit my family on the weekends and on Wednesdays. I was able to return to work the week after Ruthie was discharged thanks to her Mom spending an extra week with her to help get her on her feet.
Being away from my wife and daughter has been really hard, but I am thankful I have work. Medical attention is great, and so is the cost.

This is the first time mom got to touch Reiley. This was two days after Reiley was born.

Reiley Kate, 5 hours after delivery

Ready for the operating room

University of Virginia Hospital, Charlottesville, VA Saturday, Jan. 10

We were greeted by an excellent staff when Ruthie was wheeled into her room on the eighth floor. Several doctors came in to introduce themselves, and even a doctor from the Newborn Intensive Care Unit, which is on the seventh floor, came up to let us know who she was and how we could reach her in case we had questions. Our room was not as big as the room at Fauquier, but I was soon at ease once the staff had met us. I knew both mom and baby where in good hands.
Our head physician wasted no time in informing us about preeclampsia. The disorder in mom’s body is a response to the placenta. While the exact cause is still uncertain, the cure is delivery. Our doctor explained the course of action they would like to see happen, and asked for our questions. We did not have any at first, as my brain was in overdrive trying to process all the information being given to us and Ruthie being dazed by her magnesium. We had plenty of questions in the next several hours, however; and the staff did great addressing them.
The doctors wanted to try for a vaginal delivery. Several things were making this a big challenge. First, magnesium is used to stop premature labor. Ruthie had been on it for 36 hours already. Taking her off of MAG was not a risk the doctors were willing to make. Second, since her water had not broken, her cervix was not dilated at all. The doctor let us know it would be a real challenge, but they wanted to give it their best try. So, labor was induced at 6 PM.
My brother Kelvin and his wife Beth were kind enough to bring us food that evening, but Ruthie was not allowed to have any. This was annoying for us both, as delivery was projected to be 2-3 days away.
It took several hours for the contractions to give Ruthie any discomfort, but after 4 or 5 hours she did begin a pain medicine. We were both able to rest well, and I think I did sleep a little. Instead of a comfy cot, I had a recliner with a steel bar in it that insisted on poking me.

Sunday, Jan 11
Today was a waiting game. Ruthie’s contractions get were not getting much done. She was only dilated 1 or 2 cm, and 10 seemed like a long ways to go. Her parents came into her room around 11:30, and surprise, her sister Ragina and Cousin Wanda were along. Much happiness. Ruthie’s brother Steve and his family were there as well, and not to much latter our pastor Dave and his wife Vonnie came to be with us.
In the afternoon, the team of doctors decided to was time to try to step things along, so Ruthie had to endure some grueling procedures to help her cervix dilate. Needless to say, neither one of us got a lot of sleep that night. We had two excellent nurses who took really good care of Ruthie that night. Her doctor kept coming in to example her and I was kept busy asking questions, answering other questions, and sleeping.
Monday, Jan 12
This morning it seemed like the progress we made during the night leveled off and not much else happened till around 10.
With Ruthie being 4 cm for several hours, her doctors wanted to break her water so the baby’s head would put pressure on the cervix. There was considerable risk in doing this, and as a caution the doctors wanted Ruthie to have an epidural in the event that they would need to do an emergency c-section.
After Ruthie’s water was broken, her contractions were closely monitored for strength and length. For 6 hours strong contraction marked the monitor, and still Ruthie was only 4 cm. Around 6, the doctor came in and informed us that they would need to do a c-section that evening.
The longest preparation time for the c-section was waiting for the attending anethesaligist. She finally showed up, and Ruthie was wheeling into the operation room around 7:45. I was kept waiting outside till they had Ruthie all set up and were already working on her. I was then allowed to side beside her head on a small stool and keep her mind thinking pleasant and relaxing thoughts. The anethesaligist was a great help, asking if we knew the sex of the baby, if we had a name, and updating us on what was happening on the other side of the curtain. I kept having an incredible urge to look over the top of the curtain, but I was really concerned about Ruthie. She was in a lot of pain for most of the surgery, and towards the end of the operation she kept wanting to fade out of alertness. She never really was unconscious, but somewhere close to that.
Reiley Kate was finally born at 8:55, and immediately put on a ventalator. Her doctor told me she was doing really well, and doning most of the breathing on her own. The seroid shots given at Fauquier had done their job. They took Reiley to the 7th floor and into the Newborn Intensive Care Unit. I stayed with Ruthie till she was back in her room and cleaned up. I did watch the surgens sew Ruthie back together. I must admit I was really fasinated.
Ruthie was sedated enough at this point she had to work to even talk. Her mind was clear, and that was a big comfort to me. I was really worried for several hours for she could not move any of her body below her shoulders. Her nurse would check her toes every half hour and slowly she regained movement of her feet and legs.
The only cool part of the operation itself was I got to wear this suit that I just thought was totally cool. I don’t know why, because its not a very flashy garment. I guess the whole process of becoming a dad does give a cetain feeling of accomplishment and pride. Anyway, I was extremely releived the delivery went without complication, Ruthie was on the road to recovery, and we had the most beautiful baby daughter in the world.

Our ordeal started on January 6, when a scheduled checkup at Ruthie's OB revealed elevated blood pressure levels and a high protein count in Ruthie' urine. Fortunately for both of us, I had decided to take Ruthie to her 2:30 appointment that day. I will never forget the freaked-out look Ruthie had in her eyes when she told me we had to go to the hospital for more testing. We registered at the outpatient desk, and went straight to a room on the 4th floor of Fauquier hospital. Within an hour, the nurse monitoring Ruthie confirmed the blood pressure levels and protein count, and Ruthie was admitted by 6:00.
One of her first treatments was magnesium, an IV to control the blood pressure. This IV has some nasty side affects. Ruthie became very warm, so I turned the temp to its lowest setting, and when that was still not enough, our nurse brought a fan into the room. Magnesium also makes a person feel very lousy and grumpy, and Ruthie got the brunt of this side affect as well. I was very glad she was not vomiting, as our nurse told me some people can get very nauseous.
The next treatment was a steroid shot in the butt cheek. This was to stimulated Reileys lung development, since she was only 28 weeks and 4 days at this point.
The doctor also ordered 24 hour urine testing, so all of Ruthie's urine was collected for the next 24 hours.
The last test of the day was a sonogram. The nurse estimated Reiley's weight to be around three pounds.
I bunked down for the night on a cot next to Ruthie's bed and slept relatively well that night. I did not find much out of her nurses, but Ruthie did tell me in the morning that they had taken more blood tests during the night.
When I woke up, Ruthie was not taking any more Magnesium, and she was feeling much better. We simply had to wait on the 24 hour urine collection to be finished before we could go home. Ruthie was ordered to complete bed rest, with only bathroom privileges once every hour. I was to take her blood pressure 4 times daily, and report any pressures higher than 160/100 immediately to her doctor. We arrived home at 9 PM on Wednesday, Jan. 7. Most of our discussions that day focused on how I was to care for Ruthie for 11 weeks and keep my job which required me to leave town every day.

Friday, Jan 9.
Our solution brainstorming came to a screeching halt when I woke to find Ruthie's blood pressure to be well over the limits given to us at discharge. Ruthie was put under the same treatment as before. This time our nurse was someone we knew, and we thought this was really great. We had excellent care and advise. Most of the day was uneventful, with the exception of a few visitors in the afternoon and evening hours, which was an incredible morale boost. I did think Ruthie was not as perky as she had been two days ago, even with the magnesium.
Jan. 10
Early this morning Ruthie developed a severe headache. It was bad enough she did not want to speak or open her eyes. The nurse was NOT impressed, and our doctor came in soon after breakfast to tell us she was talking with the doctors at UVA in the event we would need a transfer since Fauquier is not equipped for an infant that small. Our doctor also let us know she was not happy that Ruthie was having headaches, as that was a sign Ruthie's preclampsia was advancing. Around 10:30, she came back to inform us that all the test results she had been waiting for were back, and Ruthie would need to be transferred.
Ruthie and I had been preparing ourselves for a several week hospital stay, but did not anticipate her condition to worsen so rapidly. I was concerned when she started with her headaches, but was surprised at how much alarm it set off in the doctor. Our doctor explained to us that the headaches were a result of the high blood pressure and put Ruthie in at a very high risk of seizures or stoke.
Several good things happened that day. The support we were getting from our family and church was encouraging. Our pastor was in touch with us as was Ruthie's brother Steve. It was a great relief to me when I heard Ruthie's folks were on their way from Florida. My parents were out of the country and would not be back for 4 more days. We were getting many encouraging texts and it was strengthening to know our friends were praying for us. Personally for me, the biggest angel of the day was Emily Mast. She was planning to come visit us, and I didn't know we were getting the transfer when she called that morning. She arrived just after we got the news from the doctor and helped both of us dry our eyes. God seemed to know just when we needed encouragement.
Our transport went well. We had a great EMT who let me ride in the back with Ruthie. The ride was a little over an hour long, and the first snow fall I witnessed this winter was from an ambulance.

to be continued...

2/11/09

Here are some shots from the weekend. Reiley now weighs 3 lb. and 9oz. She has become very responsive, and is very curious.

Reiley Kate Hershberger

Proudly indroducing Reiley Kate Hershberger, born January 12, 2009 at UVA Hospital in Charlottesville, VA. She weighed 2 1/2 lbs. & measured 15 1/2 in. in length. She was born prematurely at 29 weeks & 3 days because Ruthie developed Preclampsia & became very sick. The doctors tried to control the severity with complete bed rest, but that lasted only one day. Reiley was finally born by C-section after two days of labor induction failed to get things going.

Reiley is now 4 weeks old & has gained 1 lb. She is doing really well, but still needs to learn to take all of her feeds by mouth, develop her lung capacity, & gain more weight. We are delighted to be able to hold her 1-2 hours every day. She is very responsive to our voices, and loves being held.

We feel very blessed to have this gift from God. Please keep us in your prayers as it will be at least another month before we get to take her home. We will be posting more of her story as we have the time.