We were traveling to NC for Jeff (Amanda's brother) and Angela's wedding and our first stop was in DC to spend the night with our good friends the Samuels. We woke up early Friday morning and Amanda started feeling some cramps in her stomach. She called her doctor's office and they told her to sit down for a couple hours and see if they pass, but the cramps quickly started getting more painful and more frequent and we knew they were contractions, so we decided to head right to the hospital, which thankfully was only a few miles away. This ended up being a great decision, since when we arrived, the baby was breached (head facing up, which is the wrong direction) and Amanda was fully dilated - Lucca wanted out! They rushed Amanda into surgery for an emergency C-section, while Rocco and I waited in the waiting room. It was the most terrifying moments of my life. My friends Ryan and Kate came right over to help out with Rocco and I had thought they were going to bring me into the room with Amanda. However, moments later, the nurse came out and asked me if I wanted to meet my new son! I was in complete shock. Because Lucca was breached and ready to come out the wrong way, they had to act quickly to give Amanda general anesthesia and get Lucca out. They immediately brought him to NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) to give him whatever care he needed. Luckily, or perhaps fatefully, this hospital's NICU is one of the best around. Lucca is in good hands. I got to see him shortly after being born and it was amazing. He was so tiny and looked a lot like Rocco when he was born. He was breathing well on his own at first, but quickly tired out since his lungs were still not fully ready, so they determined that he needed help breathing and gave him a CPAP (the tube in his nose which provides him more oxygen - basically the same treatment used for sleep apnea) as well as a slew of other tests and monitors. It looks bad, but he seems to be pretty comfy and sleeps most of the time, so hopefully he is not too uncomfortable.
Amanda took a couple hours just to wake up from the anesthesia, and I was finally able to see her then. She was very tired and groggy all day, but was in good spirits and couldn't wait to meet Lucca. She finally got to meet him (and hold him!) for the first time later that night. It was really an amazing experience. Unfortunately, Rocco hasn't met his little bro yet, but we hope that will be soon. We think Rocco is a little confused by being in a different place and the hospital and seeing his Mommy in a bed most of the time, but otherwise he has been his typical self and is talking more and more every day. He loves running up and down the hospital hallways and high-fiving all the nurses! His Noni and Poppy are here, so they have been helping us and taking good care of him when we can't.
We are now on Day 3 and Lucca is doing well. He still has the CPAP, which they hope to take off today or tomorrow. He is also jaundiced, which is pretty typical for premies, so he is under the blue lamp getting a tan. He is one floor above us, but we can go visit him anytime we want, so we've been going up as often as possible. They let us change his diaper and take his temperature and hold him a few times. It is hard not having him by our sides all the time, but we know they are taking great care of him. Unfortunately, he has to stay at the hospital for at least a couple weeks, so we are going to be here with him until he can be released.
He surprised us a little early, but we are so happy Lucca is here. He is tiny and cute and perfect. He has some hair (hard to tell the color, but it might be blonde like his big brother) and we can see Rocco in his face. We'll try to share some more pictures soon, especially when the CPAP is not blocking his face so much.
First picture
Mommy, Daddy & Lucca
Lucca with all his equipment attached...poor little guy!
1 comment:
We are SO happy that Lucca is here-safe and sound! Anthony can't wait to meet his little cousin! We love you all and can't wait to see you!
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