The First 36 Hours

Corrie wasn’t able to meet Brooklyn until after midnight that first night because she was recovering from surgery.  I was able to show her pictures on my phone, but that first meeting in the NICU was beautiful.  After piecing together a couple hours of sleep that first night, Corrie and I met with Dr. Lloyd, the neonatologist who had been taking care of Brooklyn in the NICU overnight.  We didn’t expect to meet with him so early in the morning, but he came down to Corrie’s room to let us know Brooklyn had stopped breathing several times throughout the night.  We were shocked, didn’t know what to think, and scared.  We knew she had a heart defect but our expectation was that she would be fine for several weeks or months before needing surgery.  These breathing issues were unexpected and a complete surprise.  Dr. Lloyd told us that they had started some tests overnight and would continue running tests throughout the day to find out what was causing her to stop breathing.

We were able to see Brooklyn several times throughout the day as they continued to run tests.  She eventually was intubated (breathing tube) to help her out.  They ran an EEG scan (brain scan) late in the day that revealed she was having seizures, and the seizures were ‘presenting’ themselves in these breathing problems.  We learned infant seizures don’t always show up in the normal shaking we associate them with in adults.  The neurologist at Dell Children’s Hospital requested an emergency transfer of Brooklyn to Dell from Seton.  So, Brooklyn and I said bye to Corrie and family and headed across town to Dell.  This was incredibly difficult for us.  We hated being separated from each other.

-AH

EEG Scan & Intubation in the Seton NICU

Transfer to Dell NICU

Her new room at Dell

Intro – Pregnancy & Labor/Delivery

Hello!

We are so excited to introduce you to our beautiful daughter, Brooklyn Olivia!  Some of you are probably aware of what has been going on throughout Corrie’s pregnancy and over the past 47 days of Brooklyn’s life.  If you are up to date, please come back to stay updated as this will be our primary way of delivering updates from now on.

Time to catch everyone else up…

Pregnancy & Labor/Delivery:

We found out during Corrie’s 20 week appointment that Brooklyn had a heart defect.  This was difficult news and started us down a tough road.  Over the course of Corrie’s pregnancy, we had regular appointments with her OBGYN (Dr. Grogono), perinatal specialist (Dr. Harstad), and pediatric cardiologist (Dr. Finnigan).  We saw small victories and set backs as things progressed.  Our last appointment (11/13/12) with Dr. Harstad revealed elevated levels of amniotic fluid, so Dr. Grogono made the call during our appointment with her later that afternoon to admit Corrie to the hospital and induce the next morning.  Corrie labored like the unbelievably strong woman she is for close to 9 hours.  She got very close (almost 9cm) before having to have an emergency c-section because Brooklyn’s heart rate dropped off.  Brooklyn was born at 5:16pm on 11/14/12.  She was 37 weeks, 3 days.  We waited to find out the gender and we were confident the baby was a boy, so Brooklyn was definitely a HUGE surprise!

Due to her size (4lbs. 5oz.), Brooklyn was immediately taken to the NICU for close monitoring.

-AH