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Hello all! I had some time today to sit down and think about all that has happened the past 3 days. So much has changed. So much has happened. I thought I'd give a quick run-down of the happenings for those who may not have heard details or would like to know a little more.

I started having some pretty intense contractions Wednesday night around 11:00. By about 1:30 a.m. they were coming about 3-5 minutes apart, so Dan and I packed a bag and headed to the hospital. By the time we got to the hospital I had dilated to about 4 cm, so they decided to keep us and got me all checked in and everything. I can say I have learned for myself that epiderals are true. It was amazing to watch the little graphs they have that measure the contractions and see these huge contractions but not feel a thing.

Just before it was time for me to start pushing, I got a fever of about 101. The baby's heart rate wasn't doing too well. Rather than being too high or too low, it was just all over the place--high one minute, low the next. The doctor wasn't sure if I should push because he didn't want to put stress on the baby. He told me I could try pushing a little but I would have to stop if the heart rate showed any more signs of distress. During pushing they realized that there was quite a bit of muconeum (baby stool) in the amniotic fluid. The doctor told me I had to get that baby here as quickly as I could. He used a little vacuum on his head (the baby's head, not his own head) and I pushed a little more and was luckily able to get him here pretty quick. He was covered in the muconeum, so the doctor gave him immediately to a respiratory specialist (who they had previously called to the room) who started putting tubes down his throat to clear out the muconeum. Dan and I each got to hold him briefly before they whisked him away to the NICU.

Dan went with the nurses and the doctor went to work stitching me up and getting me some drugs for the fever. They moved me down to my recovery room and my parents were able to come in and see me. Dan soon joined us. The doctor had originally told us the baby would only be in the NICU for 1-2 hours while they ran tests and got his lungs all cleared out. However, we soon found out that the situation was a little more complicated than that. It turns out that the baby's trachea or possibly lungs were bleeding.

Exactly what happened next or when the following things happened, I'm not sure. It was kind of a blur... But here are some of the findings of the next few days:

-The baby was having trouble getting his blood to clot. He had run out of the chemical that helps it clot. It is possible the bleeding started while he was still in utero, so his supply was depleted. The doctors were able to pump out blood from both his lungs and stomach. They also pumped out the muconium he had swallowed.

-X-rays showed some clouding in his upper right lung. This means that the alveoli (the little parts of the lung that hold the oxygen) weren't holding oxygen. They have the right side of his body raised a little in hopes of getting rid of the cloudiness.

-X-rays also showed a little dark spot near his lower right lung that the doctors believed was a patch of trapped air. They weren't sure if the air was trapped in the lung, or where exactly it was trapped, but it has since worked its way out.

-He was having problems controlling his blood pressure, so he's on medication to help regulate it.

-He is hooked up to a respirator so they can make sure he gets the oxygen he needs since his lungs aren't working at full capacity.

-He had to have a blood transfusion.

-The poor little guy even has to have a catheter.

-He is on medication that basically paralyzes him so he can't move around and possibly irritate the tubes down his throat.

-The doctors ran some test on the placenta and found E. coli. The nurses said this can cause spinal meningitis in babies, so he's on some good antibiotics just in case.

-He was retaining so much water from all the fluids being pumed into him that they eased the dosage of the drug that keeps him immoble, in hopes that by moving he would be able to lose some of the water. However, the moving caused too much stress on his system so they had to give him more of the paralyzing drug. Luckily, the swelling has gone down.

I'm sure there are some things I can't recall right now. A lot has happened in 3 short days! Despite all of Hyrum's health problems, he is an adorable little baby. I love how much hair he has. I may be a little biased, but I think he is WAY cute.

We are seeing little improvements each day. Baby steps. That's what he'll have to take to make it home to us. And I know he will. There are hard days, hard hours, and hard moments. But overall, the Lord has blessed me with a calm assurance. I know in my heart that everything will work out.

Dan has been a great source of strength to me. He is taking such good care of me as I heal and get my energy back. He is so kind and attentive. I couldn't ask for a better man to have at my side. I love him and am so grateful for his support and faith as we go through this trial together.

Please keep our little Hyrum in your prayers.