All posts by amy

Becca’s Special Visitor

IMG_0999Sunday night, Becca had a special visit from Santa! Santa visited all the babies in the NICU and left them Christmas presents. The nurses took the above picture…looks like they dressed Becca up like a little elf.

INICU 12-20--2010Collages enjoyed holding Becca Sunday afternoon. Josh brought a mirror so I could watch her face, since kangaroo care doesn’t allow for much “face-time.” Becca settled right in to being held and did really well during her 30-minute holding time. Afterward, we changed her diaper and settled her in for another long winter’s nap.

Off the SiPAP

IMG_0975Today Becca came off the SiPAP and is now back on the nasal cannula. The haze in her lungs is clearing up and the doctors are satisfied with her progress. Her current weight is 2 lbs and 15 ounces, and we’re excited about her reaching the 3 lb mark. Yesterday, the doctor changed Becca’s feeding process. She is now being fed 28 ml in 30 minutes, every three hours. This is to prepare her for bottle feeding.NICU 12-19-2009

Happy 3-Week Birthday, Becca!

IMG_0967Today is Becca’s 3-week birthday!! Anna stopped by to give Becca a birthday present – two cute outfits! This picture was taken by one of the night nurses the other night when she had Becca’s SiPAP off. They’ve decorated her bed for Christmas and put a red bow on her head. The haze in Becca’s lungs seem to be clearing up, but she will remain on the SiPAP until she can consistently stay at 30% or less oxygen saturation. (Currently she is around 37% oxygen and does not do well on her own when they removed the SiPAP.) Thank you for all your prayers for our little girl – we appreciate them.

Back on the SiPAP

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This morning, when Josh called the NICU, he was given the doctor, instead of the nurse. The doctor said that today’s NICU 12-13-2009x-ray showed haze in both of Becca’s lungs, and that she was being put back on the SiPAP (see picture) until this problem clears up. About a week ago she had a foggy section in her left lung, and they started respiratory treatments, in the hopes that it would loosen the fluid. There have been no improvements, so she’s now back on the SiPAP and our holding of Becca has been discontinued until her lungs clear up. Becca also may have an infection. The nurse said that this is all part of the preemie roller coaster. Please pray that Becca’s lungs would clear up and that there would be no further complications with her respiratory system.

Holding Our Little Becca

IMG_0936-1Last night we got to hold Becca for the first time. I was a bit nervous as we drove to the hospital. Susan, her nurse, bundled her up so we could look at her face for awhile before NICU 12-10-2009letting her snuggle on our chests. Susan was Becca’s the nurse on her first night in the NICU and it seemed appropriate that Susan would be there the first time we held Becca.

Becca seems much smaller when she’s out of the incubator – I was NICU 12-10-2010surprised how tiny she is. We were delighted to be able to hold our little girl and were pleased with how well she handled being held. We’re allowed to hold her once a day (being held causes her to burn more calories) — as long as she’s handling well.

Becca now weighs 2 lbs and 7 ounces. Today, her doctor increased her feeding to 11 ml per hour. Right now the goal is weight gain. Thank you for your prayers for our family!

Happy 2-Week Birthday, Becca!!

IMG_1493Today is Becca’s 2-week birthday!! We’re thanking the Lord for her growth and development over the past two weeks. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for our Becca.

IMG_1536As of  last night, her weight is 2 lbs and 4 ounces, and we will now be able to hold her during the times she’s not being fed. So, we’re anxiously waiting for when we can make it during an “off” feeding time to hold our little girl!

The picture to the left is from the other night: one of the night nurses at the NICU took a picture of Becca at 3AM when she (Becca) was “clowning around.”

NICU Visits

jensen-j-a-b-2People often ask us if we spend a lot of time visiting Becca, and they’re usually surprised by our answer. We typically visit NICU 12-5-20123 times a day,NICU 12-5-2010 but our visits usually last less than 30 minutes. Contrary to what most people expect, Becca isn’t ready for a lot of touching or talking. Developmentally, she’s supposed to still be in the womb, and too much touching or noise can agitate her. Josh and I usually touch her a little bit, talk to her, and sing to her when we visit. The NICU tries to make Becca’s environment as much like the womb as possible. She usually has a cover over her incubator to make it dark.

NICU 12-5-2013Only two people are allowed to visitNICU 12-5-2011 Becca at a time (our NICU’s rule), and one of the two must always be a parent. We have to wash our hands for 3 minutes before entering the pod (Becca is on C-pod). Sometimes, if we arrive when she’s having a procedure done, they let us help. The other day the respiratory therapist let me help with her breathing treatments (similar to an inhaler for asthma patients).

Becca is doing well. Her weight as of tonight is 2 lbs and 3 ounces! She finished her antibiotic today and hopefully is clear of her respiratory infection. She continues to eat 10ml/hr and is receiving 1.5ml of sugar an hour because of her insulin levels.

This week the results came back from the analysis of her umbilical cord. She only had 2 blood vessels, instead of the normal 3 . . . and the cord was missing the Wharton’s jelly, which supplies cushioning for the blood vessels. We’ll never know what caused these abnormalities, but my doctor said that it’s unlikely that these things will occur in other pregnancies.

Josh is doing well. He has two major papers to finish this week before the semester ends. He’s been a wonderful NICU 12-5-2009IMG_1434husband and I have seen him demonstrate his love to his girls over and over again. We got our first official family picture last night (top of this post)!

During her stay, my mom has been a huge help to us! On Saturday she made 7 pans of lasagna for us to freeze, on Monday she made lemon garlic chicken for us to freeze, and today she’s helping de-clutter the closet, with the hope that we can keep the baby stuff in the closet and live in our apartment until Josh finishes his degree.

Happy 1-Week Birthday, Becca!

IMG_0915Today is Becca’s 1-week-old birthday! It’s hard to imagine that only a week ago, our little Becca was born. Becca continues to do well with her feedings and is now taking 6ml an hour. Today they started her back on antibiotics to clear up an infection in her lungs. The nurse said BNICU 12-2-09ecca will probably be on the NICU 12-2-09antibiotics for 5 day, and they’re hoping this will help her to get off the respirator.

Becca received several presents today…which arrived just in time for her 1-week birthday. Uncle Sam and Aunt Ashley sent her a box full of clothes and a Bible Story book, one of my piano students gave her a blanket and teddy bear, and (honorary) Uncle Brian and Aunt Jo sent her two preemie outfits with a preemie headband. I love looking at her new clothes and thinking that someday she’ll be wearing these and be home with us. I guess they represent “hope” to me in what God is going to do in the weeks to come.

NICU 12-3-09

Pictures from Monday (11-30-2009)

IMG_1332-1Monday evening I was discharged from the hospital and returned to our home after being away for 15 days. It was NICU 11-30-2009weird to think of all that changed since my admission on Nov. 16th. It was hard to leave the hospital, since I was leaving Becca behind. I never dreamed I’d have our baby early or leave the hospital without her in my arms. I made it up all 17 steps to our second floor apartment and am adjusting to what I can and cannot do as I recover from the c-section.

IMG_1331-1Before we left the hospital, I was able to visit Becca twice. The first time I was able to help change her diaper…it was a little bit scary to change a diaper on a baby that small! I was also able to stick my little finger in Becca’s hand. She likes to grip things and usually holds on to her feeding and ventilator tubes – I’m thinking she’s used to grabbing her cord. It was very special to have our little girl hold on to my finger.

Becca is doing well. She started being fed her mommy’s milk on Monday. She’s currently up to taking 3ml every hour. It’s exciting to see my “work” finally being used.IMG_1344

IMG_1359My mom is with us until Dec. 10th. She’s been our photographer and cook. She’s excited to be a grandma for the first time. We appreciate all her help as we adjust to our new schedules. She also captured our weather event of the day – snow in Texas.

Just a few pictures….

IMG_1287Becca’s “honeymoon” period is over — as the nurse said — and her ventilator had to start doing a lot more work for her today. The NICU nurses say that normally, babies have a “honeymoon” period for the first 24-48 hours in the NICU and then it takes a while for them to adjust. So…Becca’s now “adjusting” to her new home in the NICU. The good news is that they started feeding her today – 1 ml every hour for three hours and then she gets a break for an hour, so they can check to make sure she’s digesting her food. Usually babies “fail” at this feeding process a few times…but she’s had a good start so far. She’s now getting what I’ve been pumping for her the past three days.

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Rebecca Grace Jensen

IMG_0909Rebecca Grace Jensen – Born, November 26, 2009 at 5:58PM (emergency c-section). Weight: 2 pounds and 1 ounce.  Length: 14 inches long. ICU 11-2627-2009

ICU 11-2627-2010After a rough morning and afternoon on Thanksgiving Day, our doctor decided it would be best to take our baby from the womb, hoping that she would do better outside than inside.  Josh was able to see the baby at birth – I was only able to get a glance at her head and little arm from my place on the operating table, while they put me back together. Josh was able to go to the NICU later than evening and see little Becca.

ICU 11-2627-2011I will describe our first day after Becca’s birth as being “awful.” The pain from the surgery was strong, ICU 11-2627-20091intensified whenever I would move…getting out of bed was quite an accomplishment. The pain medication they gave me after the morphine was too strong and made my morning miserable. I finally got to see Becca in the afternoon…she’s so little and helpless and there’s no way I could help her. By the end of the day, both Josh and I were drained and discouraged.

But God is good. We know that He has us here for a purpose and that His hand is upon little Becca’s life. We are confident that He is working His good will for His glory and we look forward to seeing Him continue to work throughout the next several weeks. And I continue to pray “Lord, I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief” (Mark 9:24).

Thanksgiving 2009

IMG_0875Happy Thanksgiving! This year we’re thanking God for our little baby girl and for helping us know when to come to the hospital, so she could continue to live in the womb. We’re praising God for the safety He has given our little girl so farIMG_0866 and praising Him for His continual hand in our lives.

Nov 2009 2Baby J has had a rough Thanksgiving. She’s had several major decelerations and talk of delivery was in the air. The picture (right) of the heart monitor strip shows what a “decel” looks – the top graph is the baby’s heartbeat.  (When the line disappears, that doesn’t mean the heart isn’t beating, just that the monitor isn’t picking it up — perhaps because of movement.) I’ve been given oxygen twice today, had my iv restarted, and was put back into the Trandelenburg position for about an hour. The doctor was called in around 2pm and has decided that if Baby J has another bout like she has had the past 4 hours, we will have to deliver. Presently the baby’s heart has stabilized and she seems to be content. We continue to thank God for His control in this situation and look forward to seeing His hand work in all our lives.

(The picture collage above: top left – Trandelenburg position, top right – Thanksgiving flowers from Steffanie, bottom left – trying to use the computer while lying down, bottom middle – reading the newspaper a elderly man [hospital volunteer] brought by, bottom right – oxygen.)

My Doorsign – Nov. 25

IMG_0863-1IMG_0864I decided to make a door sign for my room, since we’re going to be here for a while.  Here’s a picture of the sign I put up yesterday. I also had a diabetes test this morning. Last night they put a sign on my door to inform people that I was not allowed to eat or drink after midnight. I decided to put up my own translation for the sign.

Here’s an update Josh wrote on Tuesday, after our follow-up visit with the perinatologist.

The perinatologist (maternal fetal health specialist), Dr. Goldaber, came by this afternoon.

The sonogram showed that the amniotic fluid is about the same as last Tuesday. Amy’s had a couple decelerations today, and when Dr. Goldaber looked over today’s chart, he said, “Those are some very significant decelerations.” Right now the cord is wrapped around the baby’s neck, which may explain why some of the decelerations today have been deeper than we’ve seen for a little while.  The baby is breached, which I suppose doesn’t matter much right now, since a natural birth is out of the question anyway. Then again, if the baby turns and gets her head out of the cord, there might be less pressure on the cord.

Dr. G. said he anticipates an early delivery, and wants the IV port hooked back up now so that Amy will be ready whenever the time comes. But at least she doesn’t have to be hooked up to the whole IV until it’s time to deliver.

Thanks all for praying. Dr. Moseley, Amy’s primary OB, said today, “You have a lot of people praying, right? WellIMG_0862 have them pray that your amniotic fluid goes up.” So there’s one prayer request. And the other is that Baby J can keep cookin’ inside a while longer. And keep praying for Amy’s health.

My dear husband continues to take excellent care of me. Here’s a picture of him traveling back to our apartment to do some laundry and transport some more things back to our new home.

Hospital Update Nov. 22

Nov 1091We are in our 6th full day in the hospital (I’m not sure yet if I should count last Monday or not).  On Friday the doctor decided that I could have my iv removed…having a free arm was a wonderful present! The baby has been doing well. She had a rough morning on Tuesday and the possibility of an early delivery was “in the air,” but since then she’s been doing much better. She has heart decelerations every day, but the doctor is pleased with the heart accelerations she has as well…it’s a sign of a “healthy baby.” I’m monitored all the time and a nurse usually comes in a couple times a night to have me shift my position to help decrease the decelerations she sees on her screen. My OB has been great – she comes by every morning and usually at night as well to check on me. She also stopped by on Saturday and Sunday. IMG_0851Today we’re waiting for a specialist to come in and do an ultrasound on the baby. He is stopping by on IMG_0861his way back home from the airport from a trip to Mexico.

We’re continuing to adjust to our new lives in the hospital. Josh has made the place quite homey and the nurses and doctors seem to like the atmosphere of our room. Josh was able to purchase a portable computer desk and has brought his computer over to the hospital. Now he’ll be able to do both his school work and web work from my room at the hospital.

martin-visitWe’ve enjoyed getting visitors and appreciate encouragement we’ve received. Baby’s favorite gift was the IMG_0839-1edible fruit basket she received from Uncle Sam and Aunt Ashley. The chocolate got her so wound up that it took the nurses over and hour to find her heart beat with the monitor! Micah and Anna Martin came over for lunch today and we had a wonderful time visiting with them.

Our New Home

IMG_0830-1I am now living in Texas Health Arlington Memorial Hospital – for an indefinite time period until our baby girl is born.

Here’s a clip from the email Josh sent out Tuesday night:
“Yesterday around noon, I took Amy to the hospital because she’d noticed decreased fetal movement for a few days. (We had called her OB in the morning, and the doctor had recommended we go in to the hospital to check things out.) After a few hours monitoring the baby’s heartbeat and doing a sonogram, they decided to keep Amy overnight to have a specialist check her out. The specialist determined today that because of an abnormally small amount of amniotic fluid, the baby’s at high risk of
IMG_0836-1pressing too hard against the cord, resulting in a dangerous decrease of blood flow. So they want to keep Amy in the hospital until delivery — which may be at 34 weeks or before — to constantly monitor the baby’s heart rate.

“We’re very thankful that the baby is healthy, with normal development and a strong heartbeat. We’re also thankful that Amy noticed the decreased movement so things could be checked out. Please pray that the Lord would give us grace for this unexpected change. Naturally, Amy won’t be teaching any more this semester. Please also pray for the baby’s health, and for Amy’s.”

IMG_0842Except for getting up to use the bathroom, I’ve been confined to the hospital bed. I’m hooked up to an iv on one arm and a heart monitor on the other hand, as well as the baby heart monitor and contraction monitor, both on my tummy…and I get some fancy leg wraps that fill up with air to prevent blood clots in my legs and increase circulation while I am in bed all day.

Josh has been the most amazing husband in the world. He’s taking very good care of his girls and I daily thank God for giving me such a wonderful man for my husband.

More updates to follow.

Baby Bump – 20 weeks (and miscellaneous)

Oct 2009-2

My little baby bump is growing! This past Thursday was the first time someone actually noticed (without any prior knowledge) that I’m pregnant. It was rather exciting to have someone shriek and exclaim, “Are you pregnant?!!!!” My kids at school keep me informed on the growth of my belly (“Mrs. Jensen, your tummy is getting bigger.”) and many love touching my baby bump. Baby Girl Jensen is doing well and I’m enjoying feeling her move. I feel her movement more on the weekends, but that’s probably because she’s wondering why her mommy isn’t talking really loud, singing, playing instruments, and dancing/moving. Weekends are probably pretty boring for our dear little girl!IMG_0756

Oct 2009I finally took some pictures of my classroom. I moved to a different portable this year and love the extra space! After my ultrasound last week I had all the kids vote on the gender of our baby. I also brought a printout of the ultrasound picture to show them all. My pregnancy is quite a learning experience for some of my students and has led to some interesting conversations in the classroom. After seeing the picture, one 3rd grader asked if the baby would be born with skin! I was also given advice about eating and taking care of myself from the 5th grade boys. This week they were concerned that it was not good that I was pregnant and wearing a belt with my shirt. When they asked why I had a belt on, I explained that it was a decoration and not tight at all.IMG_0776

Oct 2009-1Josh has had the flu all week, so I made him some homemade chicken rice soup. I always tend to put too much rice in the soup and then it’s more like stew than soup. I had to stop by the store and buy some chicken broth to add to my concoction! (The roses in the picture are a gift Josh brought home to me last weekend – my husband is so sweet!)