Nylah, My 29 Week Baby

It takes 40 weeks from conception for a baby to be completely developed and ready to enter this world. A baby born at 37 weeks is considered full term and ready to enter the world as well but there is no way that a baby born at 29 weeks is ready to enter the world and can thrive on their own.

My little Nylah was born at 29 weeks weighing 2lbs 6.8oz and having trouble breathing on her own. I was in the hospital a few days before my emergency c-section and was given steroid shots to enhance the development of my baby's lungs and brain in case she needed to be born early, sooo happy that I was able to get those shots. She was immediately taken to the NICU after birth with issues breathing on her own and was placed on a C-PAP machine to help her. She stayed on this machine for a few hours and was then able to breathe on her own.

There she is with the ventilator,  Artery and Vein lines in her umbilical cord. 

She was also jaundiced and had to receive phototherapy, a light treatment that helps to lower her levels of bilirubin. She was jaundice free after about a week.  She also had an artery line and vein line through her umbilical cord for drawing blood and giving fluids, these only remained in for the first week and a half. She also had a feeding tube placed in her mouth,  down her throat and into her belly and 24 hours sensors monitoring her heart rate, respiratory rate and oxygen percentage.

Nylah with the CPAP machine on and her Photography glasses on the side there.

After having her Artery line removed we were able to hold her for the first time, on the second day! It can be very overwhelming holding a tiny little baby, she lost water weight from her birth so she was even smaller. I was able to do Kangaroo care with her; holding her skin to skin on my chest to keep her warm and establishing a bond with her. She was such a feisty baby,  sucking and moving her head all around! She came off of all of the support machines within 2 weeks and spent most of her journey focusing on growing and eating. This is just the beginning of her journey! I have so much more to share. 

She's sucking her hand during one of our kangaroo sessions.

My Birth Story

So, we always here that you should expect the unexpected. I know exactly what that phrase means but you never expect it until you have to and on March 30, 2014 the unexpected hit me right in the face. I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl at only 29 weeks gestation! My daughter,  Nylah Amerie Dogan was born at 3:34am on March 30, 2014 due to my severe pre eclampsia.

I was hospitalized 3 days prior to her birth with no intentions of giving birth. I was already having issues with high blood pressure throughout the 1st and 2nd trimesters but was not diagnosed with pre eclampsia. I was on 2 medications and would visit the doctors (OBGYN & Cardiologist) for BP checks biweekly. I was not feeling well one night (high BP, nausea and headache at 28 weeks) and my mother persuaded me to call my doctor who insisted that I come in to the hospital. When Aaron and I got there I was given a room on the labor and delivery floor and put on Magnesium Sulfate (which makes you feel crazy and insanely HOT). My Doc came to see me the next day and told me that I had protein in my urine and which meant that I had mild pre eclampsia. She said that I would be delivering the baby between now and 34 weeks, 34 weeks being the time frame that we were very sure of. But nonetheless,  she had a NICU doc meet with us to discuss what it would be like to have a baby this early. Aaron and I listened but we did not take it seriously because we knew that I would be pregnant a bit longer!

My doc wanted me to stay under observation over the weekend and early Sunday morning my pre eclampsia took a turn for the worst, 29 weeks into my pregnancy. My BP skyrocketed to extremely dangerous levels and was uncontrollable. Doctors tried giving me 2 different medications and neither worked. My baby was not under any distress but I was informed that she needed to be delivered immediately at around 3 am. I was pumped with more Magnesium Sulfate (Ugh!) and quickly prepped for an emergency c-section. I was scared but had no time to think about anything!!! Everything went fine in the OR, including my spinal tap, and my baby was delivered at 3:34am. Aaron was able to snap a quick pic of her before she was rushed to the NICU with issues breathing on her own. I was not able to see her until about 4 hours later in which she was stabilized and breathing with the help of a machine. She is doing great now and I'll be posting more on her!

Newborn, Nylah Amerie Dogan!