After swallowing and inhaling meconium during delivery, Eli had low body temp and poor oxygen levels so he ended up in the NICU for observation. It was a hard experience that was made even MORE difficult by the fact that Deniz had a bad cold and was not allowed in to see the new baby! He and my mother were both sick for nearly a week before Eli was born and coughing is simply not allowed around sick little babies. :( The whole experience was relly difficult especially since I was alone for much of the time and Deniz didn't really get to see his baby until he was 2 days old! For anyone who had problems in delivery or after, I hope everything worked out for you in the end, you know how hard it is to have complications of any kind! For all of you who had healthy pregnancies, labors, and babies, you are SO lucky! The added pressure is a lot to deal with, we are just so blessed to have such amazing people there to support us. Deniz was amazing the entire time of course but we both really needed help to make it through the emotional turmoil! We had my mom, Poppy, arrive from Hawaii 3 days before my due date and she stayed nearly 2 weeks after Eli was born to take care of us and the house (I think I forgot how to do the dishes!). Deniz' mom was wonderful during the entire hospital stay. She is a nurse so she understood everything a lot better than I did and that really helped me to feel like we were understanding everything. What was really nice was that, when I couldn't be in the NICU with Eli, she would sit with him for hours so he wouldn't have to be alone. Everyone from Deniz' family visited during the delivery (after my epidural!) and came back to visit several times during our 4 days in the NICU. It really helped to keep our spirits up to see how supportive everyone is.
So, on to the medical stuff...
His first day of life, while on all sorts of monitors, hie heart rate skyrocketed to 275 twice (his normal resting rate is around 120)! This caused alarm so the doctor ordered an EKG and an ECO of his heart. They discovered a few things wrong in his heart. First off, he has a congenital heart defect that is a small hole between the ventricles of his heart that causes a slight murmur. This is not as bad as it sounds and he will likely grow out of it in a few months, he is not being treated, they just monitor it and wait for it to go away. the second, more serious problem is a heart condition called Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome (WPW). It is the presence of an extra abnormal electrical pathway in the heart that leads to periods of a very fast heartbeat. WPW occurs in 1% to 3% of the population. It is a condition that often is not noticed until adulthood because the symptoms don't usually present themselves in people until their early twenties. The condition has no complications or noticible symptoms in many people. When Eli's heartrate was spiking in the hospital, it was not noticible in his demeanor, he didn't even seem to notice.
So, for now, he is on beta blockers to keep his heartrate from getting too high and we see the cardiologist every month or so. Best case scenario, he will grow out of it by the time he is one year and he will go on to have no problems! If he does not grow out of it, he will likely have to have an surgery called an ablation where they destroy the extra pathway through a radiofrequency catheter procedure. This would likely be done around 4 or 5 years old, when he's a bit bigger so the catheter is less likely to cause damage. We are happy that it was found early so he can avoid having any complications without knowing what the problem is.
Well, in the end, we only had to stay in the hospital one extra day and Deniz and I were able to room in even though I had, technically been discharged. He came home from the hospital three days, 17 hours old and we are really enjoying getting to know our new little man.
If you are interested in reading more about WPW, the Mayo Clinic has a great site with information on symptoms, causes, complications, and treatments:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/wolff-parkinson-white-syndrome/DS00923
So, on to the medical stuff...
His first day of life, while on all sorts of monitors, hie heart rate skyrocketed to 275 twice (his normal resting rate is around 120)! This caused alarm so the doctor ordered an EKG and an ECO of his heart. They discovered a few things wrong in his heart. First off, he has a congenital heart defect that is a small hole between the ventricles of his heart that causes a slight murmur. This is not as bad as it sounds and he will likely grow out of it in a few months, he is not being treated, they just monitor it and wait for it to go away. the second, more serious problem is a heart condition called Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome (WPW). It is the presence of an extra abnormal electrical pathway in the heart that leads to periods of a very fast heartbeat. WPW occurs in 1% to 3% of the population. It is a condition that often is not noticed until adulthood because the symptoms don't usually present themselves in people until their early twenties. The condition has no complications or noticible symptoms in many people. When Eli's heartrate was spiking in the hospital, it was not noticible in his demeanor, he didn't even seem to notice.
So, for now, he is on beta blockers to keep his heartrate from getting too high and we see the cardiologist every month or so. Best case scenario, he will grow out of it by the time he is one year and he will go on to have no problems! If he does not grow out of it, he will likely have to have an surgery called an ablation where they destroy the extra pathway through a radiofrequency catheter procedure. This would likely be done around 4 or 5 years old, when he's a bit bigger so the catheter is less likely to cause damage. We are happy that it was found early so he can avoid having any complications without knowing what the problem is.
Well, in the end, we only had to stay in the hospital one extra day and Deniz and I were able to room in even though I had, technically been discharged. He came home from the hospital three days, 17 hours old and we are really enjoying getting to know our new little man.
If you are interested in reading more about WPW, the Mayo Clinic has a great site with information on symptoms, causes, complications, and treatments:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/wolff-parkinson-white-syndrome/DS00923
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