Baby Andrew Birthday

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Dateline: Fairfax, VA- At 2:54pm this Tuesday afternoon, 8 November 2005, Andrew James Lampe entered this world.

12:12am: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. We've been too busy enjoying Andrew. He is doing great!

Just last night he slept from 8pm to 4am straight so he's doing better and better at night. Mona pushed to get in to see the pulminologist today and they said Andrew can come off the breathing monitor. They can check logs in the monitor and there is absolutely no reason to continue it. That's great news.

Andrew had the routine newborn screenings and a few of the tests came back high which had us a little concerned. After a retest last week however, everything came back normal. He was on so much medication right after birth that it caused those high levels.

We had our first real snow in the Nation's Capital today. We had a little on Thanksgiving Eve but it melted pretty quick. By the way, happy belated Thanksgiving to all.

Not much else to say. We couldn't be happier and we love our son so much. The girls have really taken to him as well.

3:17pm: Andrew had a great checkup at the doctor yesterday! Mona and the kids gave Andrew his first bath yesterday as well. Check out the pics below. Also, his monitor hasn't gone off once other then when the sensors fall off his body, etc. so his breathing is fine. He is also sleeping a lot at night too.

11:08pm: I better get to bed because last night was rough! Mona was up more than I so I can't complain but when she nudged me at 5am or so and said, "it's your turn, I've been up for 3 hours," I knew things had changed for me real fast. It's not like I was sleeping until 5am because Andrew's monitor went off about 5 times over the night. The leads kept falling off his body so we had to use a Velcro strap (also supplied with the monitor) to hold them. That worked and they've remained in place all day. He's a good sleeper so we hope he was up a lot because of the monitor going off and tonight will be different.

Sheryl stopped by today with Joey as did my Mom. There was also a courtesy visit from an Inova Fairfax home nurse. We see the pediatrician tomorrow morning so I'll let you know how it goes.

11:39pm: We finally got home a few hours ago. Actually about 8pm. We thought we'd be home by about 2pm but due to some delays with the heart monitor training and circumcision, it took longer.

The kids got meet their new little brother and it was awesome. They're pretty thrilled and immediately showered him with love and kisses. We're teaching them about being careful with baby, of course.

They sent us home with a machine that monitors Andrews heart beats and respiration. We thought is was only for naps and at night but he needs to wear it 24/7. That means we'll lug around the machine until the doc says he doesn't need it anymore. We see the doc in 4-6 weeks and we're not complaining. Whatever it takes to keep him safe. He actually hasn't had an episode of Apnea in a few days or longer so the whole thing is a precaution.

Andrew completed all his tests and exams today. One doctor who assesses at-risk babies for developmental issues thinks Andrew looks great and will be fine. We received a final report of exactly what happened and the little guy went through a lot!

I'm tired and can't think of too much more to write. We'll update this page for a little while longer and then leave it to history. Don't forget to look for Andrew and Lampe updates elsewhere on this site in the future.

Today Mona and I went over to the hospital to see Andrew and also receive some infant CPR training. It's awesome getting a crash course in how to save your kid's life. I recommend it. Tomorrow we go back for the respiration monitor training. Andrew gets his circumcision and hearing test tomorrow morning and after the monitor training we're outta there!

7:46pm: Andrew is free of all tubes and IV's! The only tether remains the respiration monitor. Tomorrow Andrew will be moved to another part of the NICU which will be the final step for him to come home. It's possible he comes home tomorrow but most likely it will be Tuesday.

He is eating 100% breast milk and Mona was able to nurse him today for the first time. He latched on like a pro. He had an upper GI done today to see if he had any acid reflux and tomorrow he's getting another scan on his heart. After that he gets his standard hearing tests and of course the circumcision.

They will send Andrew home with a monitor to watch his breathing and warn us of apnea. If the alarm does go off we'll have to stimulate him and he would remember to breathe again. It hasn't happened the last day or so but they are always cautious of it in these cases. Mona and I will have training tomorrow or Tuesday on the monitor and also get CPR training, which is great.

4:55pm: Andrew is eating like a champ and is getting increasing amounts of milk/IV with each feeding. He is slowly getting more breast milk and less of the dextrose (sugar water) via IV. Tomorrow he will be eating 100% breast milk and they'll remove the IV. Once that happens Andrew can egress the incubator and hang out in one of those plastic hospital cribs. They'll even move him to another part of the NICU considered to be a "step down" unit. If he continues to look good and the eating/digestion remains normal, he can come home on Monday or Tuesday!

The chest x-ray they spoke of yesterday was deemed unnecessary. They will take one more look at his heart tomorrow and that will finally be the last test/check. Today Mona spoke to the pulmonary specialist who recommends we use a respiratory monitor on Andrew for maybe the first month. The monitor sounds a loud alarm if all of a sudden Andrew stops breathing. It's really just a precaution but there were still a couple of times when while crying, Andrew slowed his breathing down. It's no big deal and something a lot of babies go through. The monitor will actually be kind of nice in that we won't be so paranoid when he's napping, like a lot of new parents experience. You know, checking up on the baby every five minutes, etc.

Mona's sister Rhonda stopped by for the weekend and she was visiting with Andrew today.

5:14pm: Today we got to hold and feed Andrew for the first time! He's awesome.

The brain wave (EEG) test came back perfect as did the kidney Doppler scans. All Andrew has left is a chest x-ray. They started feeding him late last night in very small increments and have slowly increased the amount. He also will work his way to 100% breast milk which, of course, Mona is providing. That process may take still another 2-3 days.

Andrew no longer is on any medication or antibiotics. He's just hanging out learning how to eat. I hope he doesn't get as good at it as me (Daddy)! Here are some pictures from today. Thanks again for your prayers. It seems as though Andrew is going to be just fine!

11:50pm: Mona is back home tonight. It's her turn to update the site in her own words:

Little did I know that when I left on Tuesday morning to deliver Andrew that the possibility was even there that something could go wrong. We had no idea that he was so big...I had gotten back to measuring right on track. We had no idea that he had such hulky shoulders...that got stuck in mommy. We had no idea that we would be so scared that he wouldn't make it. These things just weren't in our plan and you all know how I like my plans to stay put!

This delivery could have become a tragedy and we are so lucky that he is here and is going to be just fine. In a split second, there were no less than 30 people in our room, including other ob/gyns, nicu drs and nurses, and every available nurse...several of which were on my stomach pushing on Andrew and literally trying to pull my pelvis apart so they could get him out. During this time, Andrew was not getting oxygen and wasn't going to get any until he got out. Once he was delivered, they started CPR and very soon after that, he regained consciousness with a breathing tube down his throat and they whisked him off to the NICU and I didn't even lay my eyes on him, yet. It was just like a TV show. Jim held my hand and we cried because we didn't know what could happen or even what had happened....everything up until that point had been perfect. The labor had gone smoothly, the pushing was going fine...I knew an episiotomy was coming, but had no idea that it would be followed by all of the drama. I knew that my dr. was experiencing one of her worst nightmares as an OB...shoulder dystocia. It really can't be predicted, but can lead to paralysis or even death of the infant. Jim went off to be with Andrew and when he came back, I felt much better....because all that mattered is that he was alive.

Because he had the possibility of oxygen deprivation he has to go through a full battery of tests to make sure that none of his major organs and body systems are affected. So far he is getting a clean bill of health, but it is a long process. He has had an ultrasound on his heart and kidneys, a neurological exam including an EEG of his brain. All are clear. He wasn't peeing for a day or so, but now he is. He would cry and would sometimes stop breathing...sort of like he would forget...that has gotten so much better. He was on a breathing tube, but is now without anything on his face and is breathing room air. When he would suck on a pacifier, he would stop breathing because he didn't want to do both things at the same time...but now he does both. He received his first breast milk just this evening and he did great. This seems cruel that he just had his first food, but the reason behind it is they want all of the fluids that they give and the body systems to concentrate on only the major systems...brain, heart, kidneys....now that all of that is fine, they have added the feedings and we just called and that is great, too. All of this has happened to my baby and I still haven't held him or fed him myself. This is not how I planned it.

I'm telling you all of this here because I don't know how much I want to discuss all of this when you see me. I don't want Gina and Allison to hear much of this. They wonder why he isn't home with us and why they haven't seen him. I tell them that sometimes babies have to stay a couple of extra days in the hospital and that is ok with them. I am fine...surprisingly, I feel about the same as I did after Gina and Allison's deliveries and you all know I felt great. Emotionally, I am fine. I dealt with the whole jaundice thing with Allison and for some reason this NICU thing just seems normal now. I know I'm in this process and very soon my home life will be chaos just like I planned it.

4:34pm: Mom (Grandma Lampe) got to meet Andrew this afternoon. Andrew continues to do great. He's been even more productive in the pee department which further indicates the kidneys are getting their act together. A neurologist will examine him tomorrow morning just to get a baseline. There's no seizure activity or anything but they just want to get all the info they can. Andrew is getting every check and test imaginable. More than most babies would get after a normal delivery.

He is on an antibiotic and will be for 6 more days so we might not get to take him home until then. The kids should get to see him tomorrow or the next day through the door. The doc will take out the heart monitor line and then they can wheel Andrew over to where his big sisters can see him.

The docs have to remain cautious and say, "we need to continue to monitor him and make sure he continues to improve." I got to hear him cry when Mom and I were touching him. A couple of times the doc said he cried so hard that he forgot to breathe (had no more carbon dioxide to give). This is something that can happen in any baby and he should work himself out of that as he improves.

There are more checks and tests in the next 24-48 hours so we just pray the news keeps getting better and better.

1:18pm: It was exciting this morning for the kids to get the low down on Andrew. Here are some pics: (Andrew update below these pics)

Andrew continues to do very well. When I got there this morning a cardiologist was watching an ultrasound on Andrew's heart. He said everything looked perfectly fine. They wanted to make sure the heart was functioning properly and getting enough blood to the kidneys. The kidneys are really the last major thing they need to see perform. Andrew has to relieve himself (to put it delicately) a few more times so they know all systems are fine. Finally after that they need to see him eat. He is still on the sugar water tube into his belly button.

He was tearing up a pacifier earlier and Mona got to hear him cry for the first time too (he couldn't yesterday while he was intubated). They took off the oxygen mask and now he's down to the small tubes in his nose. That will come off soon because his breathing is great. The only time it dropped was when he freaked as the cardiologist was doing something but that happens to a lot of newborns (forget to breathe sometimes). They need to keep an eye on his heart rate once they take him off some medication and until that happens we can't actually hold him. But that will be soon.

He is indeed the biggest baby in the entire NICU, which is about full. It's amazing how many babies are there and every one of them it seems, except for Andrew, is premature. The one right next door is 2 lbs. We count our blessings.

The NICU at Inova Fairfax Hospital is rated with the best in the area and maybe the country so we are very lucky.

I'm heading over with the kids and my Mom now. They won't get to see Andrew as I don't think as kids are allowed in the NICU.

11:42pm: It's time to call it a day. I just returned home little while ago and Mona should be sleeping at the hospital. I tied some blue balloons to the mailbox to alert the neighbors as promised.

We can't thank you all enough for your prayers today. We appreciate the kind messages. Some people may think it's crazy or even weird that we expose our lives like this but today it definitely helped that a lot of people out there were collectively thinking about Andrew. Honestly it was very scary for a good hour there, especially the first 10 minutes. There seemed like a million people in the room and we heard things like, "CPR" and "I'm not getting anything" and on and on.

Tonight though Andrew rests peacefully. The tube is out of his mouth and they continue to check things off the list of things about which to worry. He has oxygen going into his nose and that may be replaced by something (an even lesser assistance) later tonight. I can't remember what it is but is has something to do with his lungs, etc. We still haven't heard him cry but that's because he was intubated today and tonight they have him on anti-seizure medicine. That has him pretty groggy. By the way, he didn't show signs of seizure but it's just precautionary.

We did see him yawn and he grasped my finger gently. He also has good reflexes when we tickle his feet and legs. We really feel good and it seems like Andrew will be fine.

Here are yet some more pics of Andrew but this time without the tube in mouth. Good night!

8:55pm: We'll be heading back down to hang out with Andrew some more but Mona wanted to stop back up to the room. We had to leave for 20 minutes or so so the docs could exibate Andrew. They want see how he does without the tube. He may be strong enough not to need it anymore but if he does they said not to worry, he needs to work his way back to a normal breathing pattern.

We saw one of the nurses leaving her shift and she said Andrew was doing great. He does look even better than when I saw him earlier and is responding to our touching him, etc.

I'll probably be taking some more pics of him in minutes but here are some of Mona laying eyes on her son for the first time.

6:08pm: The news keeps getting better. Andrew is doing fine right now and the docs are checking things (things to be scared about) off their lists left and right. Andrew is a fighter and has been battling the staff. They had to somewhat restrain him because he was grabbing at the blankets. He responded to my flash camera and moved and looked over at me when I spoke to him. We feel better and better and thank you all for your prayers so very much. Andrew is breathing fine on his own and they will probably take the ventilator out soon. When I was down there the ventilator wasn't doing anything anyway. If his breaths get below 30/second the machine kicks in but he's at 56/second now. All the other vitals look good.

Mona hasn't seen him yet and can't now until the NICU reopens at 7:30pm but we'll be in line at the door to see him. Mona is doing fine.

4:36pm: It's incredible that there are no pics posted yet but I'm sure you can understand the situation. The doc came back in and after visiting Andrew and is feeling better (the doc). He is moving his left arm a lot and that was one of the things they were worried about when they had to pry him out. His left shoulder wouldn't budge for a while. It appears that he was never without oxygen to the brain which is great news. That is the primary thing. The doc said he's big and he's definitely a fighter.

Mona is starving and having some cookies. We're doing fine and feel good about the latest good news. I'll head down to see Andrew and eventually he'll make his photo debut to the world. Thanks for your prayers, I know I've said mine.

3:40pm: Andrew James Lampe was born at 2:54pm. He weighed in at 9lbs., 9oz. He took a while to come out and was in some distress when he arrived. We had a room full of people within a minute and they took good care of him. He needed assistance breathing and had a low heartbeat. He started to pink up nicely and began fighting the tube in his mouth. He looks like a real mean little SOB!

He's in the Neonatal Intensive Care unit now. They need to keep an eye on him and I'll go back down to see him in about an hour. We're confident that everything will be OK. Please pray for Andrew.

1:30pm: Mona is 7cm dilated! And the doc increased the Pitocin a little so Andrew's arrival could be imminent.

11:46am: C'mon baby! C'mon baby! Just checked in with Mom and the kids. Everyone is excited. She's still 5cm but 100% effaced. Doc thinks things might start speeding up.

10:14am: They just left after giving Mona the epidural. Dr. Koons stopped by to say hello too. He's Mona's doctor along with Dr. Jeffries, who is handling the delivery today. Dr. Koons happened to be here today but wasn't scheduled to be so it was a nice surprise for Mona.

9:23AM: Mona is 4cm dilated! They gave her the Pitocin about an hour ago. She's starting to hurt a little so bring on the epidural.

8:02AM: Mona is in bed and ready to go. She's having contractions now and the doctor is going to come back in about an hour and break Mona's water. Andrew's heart rate is awesome and moves around quite a bit because he's moving quite a bit.

11/07: How 'bout them Redskins??? Well, it looks like we'll go all the way to tomorrow when Mona is scheduled to be induced. We need to be at the hospital at 7am tomorrow. If we're there for a while look here for hourly updates and pictures. It helps pass the time (for me) and it's fun anyway. By the way, Mona begins week 39 today.

Evening Update: We head to the hospital at 6am tomorrow. They begin inducing Mona at 7am and Mona predicts Andrew will arrive between 11-1pm. Mom thinks 10am. Any guesses?

11/04: Mona woke up this morning thinking this could be the day. This won't go past Tuesday, 8 November, because we're scheduled for induction that morning.

10/31: Happy Halloween! Mona is 38 weeks today and still hanging in there. Stay tuned...

10/24: Not much more to report. The contractions have quieted down so all we can do is remain alert.

10/21: It's 5:44am and we're off to the hospital. Mona's contractions are getting closer and this could be it.

We were at the hospital (until about noon) hooked up to the monitors and the contractions started occurring less frequently. We decided along with the doctor to head home and wait...