Asher's Hospital Stay

The hospital we delivered at supports this great program called "Family First" where the first hour after a baby is born the delivery room clears out (after Mommy is taken care of) and the parents get to bond with their new baby.  It was great to have these special moments together with Asher after he was born and it was in that first hour that we FINALLY decided on what his name should be.  After that first hour a few nurses came back to check Asher's vital signs again (they did this already before they left the room) and while they were checking him out there were a few concerning things. He was breathing faster than normal, his glucose levels were really low, and his body temp was at 94 degrees (which was so low the thermometers weren't picking it up)! The nurses decided to play things safe and they took him to the NICU to be checked out.  

The quick version of the story is that most likely because I birthed Asher so quickly his body was struggling to transition from life inside of the womb to the outside, which was putting stress on his body.  Additionally, he was a big baby and many times big babies have issues maintaining their glucose levels (I remember E had to be given formula right after he was born to keep his glucose levels up).  Glucose levels also effect body temperature and body temperature can impact glucose levels, so we are actually not sure if AJ went into "Cold Stress" (he just got too chilly) which then made his glucose levels drop OR if his glucose dropped which made him get really cold.  Either way, by the time he got to the NICU his breathing and glucose issues were resolved rather quickly but his body temperature was a different animal.  They had to put him in a incubator to warm him up and then once he was at a normal temperature range they had to slowly drop the temperature in the incubator, which took two days.  

All that to say, our hospital stay was not what we expected! Asher was in the NICU from Friday night to Sunday evening, which also meant he could have very few visitors and it meant that we did not get to have him by our side all the time (I was bummed about that).  However, the NICU people were FANTASTIC and when we saw how many babies were in the NICU for weeks we felt very blessed to take our guy with us after just two days.  Asher is doing well now and doesn't seem to have any lingering temperature/glucose/breathing issues--thank you Jesus!  

We couldn't have our phones in the NICU which meant that we didn't get many pictures posted online as we probably would have.  Here are some pics taken by our camera, along with pictures of the meeting of our two boys! 

Tom and Asher meeting for the first time.

Asher's home for his first two days of life. He was able to get out to nurse, which is why he's not in there for this pic.

Most of the time while he was in the incubator he was only wearing a diaper and had cords all over him.  This was the first time he was able to wear clothes!

The hospital does not usually give pacifiers to babies but they do allow them in the NICU since the babies there sometimes need the extra comfort. Asher was a fan. 

For the first day in the NICU only Tom and I were allowed to hold him.  By Sunday (day 2) other visitors could hold him so Granny (my mom) was able to officially meet her grandson. 

Uncle James (one of the people Asher James is named after). 

Uncle James and Aunt Jen did an AWESOME job of taking care of E while we were at the hospital.  We are so blessed to have them nearby. 

The meeting of the brothers did not happen as I had pictured it.  I had envisioned being in our hospital room soon after the baby was born with someone else besides Tom or I photographing/recording the experience.  Instead we had to wait until Sunday (day 2) for them to meet.  They had to meet in the NICU (which is FULL OF THINGS a two year old wants to touch but shouldn't).  And because the NICU only allows three visitors there wasn't an extra set of hands to help us capture the moment.   The meeting of the brothers may not have been what I had expected but it was sweet.  Everett insisted on "holding baby brotha" and we had some funny and endearing moments with our two boys together. I can't wait to watch these two grow up together. We are so blessed. 

"Everett hold baby brotha!"

There's a little too much love from Everett in this picture and I just love Tom's face! Haha! 

I love this one.  Brothers are so sweet.

This was Asher right after he graduated from the incubator.  Good job buddy!

Everett brought baby brother a sign for his crib. So cute!

Like I mentioned earlier, the first few days of Asher's life did not go as I had expected but they were (and still are) so so so sweet.  We are so thankful for this little man.