Birth Date: August 29, 2007
Weight: 3 pounds, 7 ounces
Height: 15 1/4 inches
Shippensburg, PA
At my first doctor appointment the doctor looked worried that there was not enough fluid in the one babies sac. She made me an appointment for an ultrasound with the specialist in Harrisburg at the Maternal Fetal Medicine.”
“When we went to the first appointment the doctor stated that he wanted me to have an amino for the baby that has fluid and a placenta biopsy for the baby that did not have any fluid. I could wait till more weeks passed and see if there were any changes in the fluid level. There was not the second appointment … a different doctor saw us and stated that one of our babies has Bilateral Renal Agenesis. This is when a baby does not develop any kidneys and can not urinate to create more amniotic fluid. The lungs will never develop and the baby will not survive at birth. The doctor opted for a selective reduction. Where they stick an injection in and stop the baby’s heart. I chose not to have the procedure done at that time. A week later I was taking a nap and woke up with a puddle of blood. I went to the emergency room and found that the second baby with the kidney problems placenta was separating from the uterine wall. Since this was going to risk both babies I chose to proceed with the selective reduction on May 25 at 18 weeks.”
“When I was 32 weeks, I woke up in the morning and found a bone in my underwear. I called the doctor and they said that they did not think that was anything to worry about. The day went on and I found more every time I went to the bathroom. I ended up in the Carlisle Hospital that night about midnight. They started to give me magnesium to stop the contractions. The medicine worked for a while but I continued to contract. The ambulance came about 9 am to me pick me up at the Carlisle hospital and take me to the Harrisburg hospital. When I got there they assessed me and stated that I was about six centimeters dilated, and after doing an internal ultrasound they stated that I was really only two centimeters dilated and that they wanted me to get a amniocentesis or they would stop the medicine. I refused the amino and they stopped all medicine”
“I went to sleep for a couple hours and woke up to the nurse checking the monitors for the baby’s heartbeat. When I woke the contractions were getting more intense. The nurse called for the doctor to come and check me. He was on his way on the highway. I felt as the baby was coming. When the doctor arrived, he stated that the second baby was in the birth canal and I need to push to move this baby from the opening to check how much I was dilated for the second baby. I was scared to push that the bones were going to scratch me, but I made one final push. All the fluid busted and everything including Nathanial came out on the bed. I think that the doctor was completely surprised. None of us were expecting this to happen”
“Nathanial Dyllon was born at 4:58 am on August 29 2007. He weight 3lb 7 oz. and was 15 ¼ inches long. He had an Apgar score of 9 and then again a 9 in five minutes. They took him to the NICU where he was for his first 33 days of his life. He was so fragile and small looking that I was afraid to touch him. Nathanial did not require any oxygen only air flow for stimulation. He started to drink from a bottle and decided that he was going to take out his own feeding tube. All the nurses in the NICU were the best moral support. He scared me a lot with all the feeding alarms when he would forget to breathe when eating. But they were always there to help.
“He came home on October 1 2007 weighing 5 lb.4.5 oz. Now he is five and a half months old weighing 13 lb 7 oz. and you would never have know that he was a preemie. He has no health problems and no physical handicaps.”
“I just want to thank everyone at the Harrisburg hospital for everything that they did for my son and me. I had thee teenagers at home and could not be there for every feeding but I was there everyday at the 1 o’clock feeding.”