Random info: So while I was in the delivery room I had my phone on me the whole time...texting people etc. Then after I got wheeled up into the postpartum room it was like I had seriously lost my mind. I could not remember my passcode to unlock my dang phone! It was ridiculous. It was the same 4 digit number as my dang pin number to my debit card. I could not for the life of me remember it. So I wasn't able to text anyone from my phone for like 48 hours...or take pictures etc (or use my debit card). haha. I kept waiting for it to come to me, but it didn't! I had to completely back up and reset my whole phone.
In the morning your dad and I dropped you off at the nursery so that we could go attend the lactation class. It was so boring... and sitting on a hard metal chair was pretty miserable. My tail bone was pretty sore!
When we got back from the class your dad went to the nursery to get you. Waiting for him was the pediatrician on call, Dr Carter. He asked if he could follow your dad back to our room to talk with us. Your dad walked in first and said that your doctor was going to be in in just a minute to go over some things. It sounded really weird, but I wasn't too worried about it.
Dr Carter walked in and made small chit chat for a minute about how our room smelled like essential oils...blah blah blah...I told him that we had been using a few. Then we sat down on the bench/bed thing and he pulled up a chair. He started by saying "Well guys, Eva is really sick. She has a blood infection. I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that you will be here anywhere from 7-21 days receiving antibiotics, the good news is that I think we caught it in time". I started freaking out. We had no idea that there was any chance of infection. At this time we still didn't even know that I had been positive for strep B (what a joke, right?). He went on to explain that your infection was serious and that you could have meningitis. I was bawling. He explained what meningitis was...and how it could cause hearing loss, brain development issues etc. He said that he needed to do a spinal tap right away to see if the infection had traveled to the brain.
At this time your dad was holding you. Your dad was trying his best to be brave and to ask all of the right questions. I was pretty much losing it...let's not forget that I had just had a baby and that my hormones were out of wack. Dr Carter suggested that I hold you (to calm me down). I asked when he was going to do the spinal tap. He said he wanted to take you right away. We asked if we could go in there and be with you. He explained the procedure and said that its not an easy thing for parents to see, so we needed to wait. Your dad asked the doctor if you being sick had anything to do with why you were so calm and relaxed, never crying or upset. He said that only really really sick babies are this calm, and that that is what worried him the most.
All of this was so scary to us. New parents, no idea what the heck we're doing and then we have to sign a paper saying its okay for the doctors to do a spinal tap and whatever else necessary to get you better. We said our goodbyes to you and then he wheeled you away. 2 seconds later a lady came in to talk to us about your social security card. It was obvious that we had been crying and upset and were still crying and upset...and she goes on and on about the social security card. I stopped her in the middle of her speech and told her that we had just found out that our new baby was very sick and we didn't have time to talk about a social security card! She felt so bad that she actually started crying herself. haha, kinda funny when I look back on it now. She told me how sorry she was and that she would be praying for you.
We called your grandparents to let them know what was going on. I assume that they told the rest of the family. We arranged a time when someone could come help give you a blessing. Then your dad and I said a special prayer for you. We had a feeling that everything was going to be okay.
Shortly after the doctor wheeled you back in the room and told us that he got the spinal fluid. I asked if you cried during the procedure and if you were okay. He said that you actually didn't cry at all. That's exactly what a mom wants to hear...but your dad asked if that was bad. The doctor explained that he had done a lot of spinal taps and that only really sick babies do not cry during this procedure, and that that was actually a bad sign. blah. Not what we wanted to hear. However, he said that the labs would be back in a few hours to let us know the results but he suspected that you did not have meningitis because the fluid that he retrieved was clear (usually cloudiness indicates meningitis I guess).
The next few hours were spent holding you extra tight. All of your grandparents came. Oh Oh, I forgot to tell you that your Uncle Spencer actually opened his mission call the night that you were born. We skyped with the whole family while we sat in the hospital with you. It was a very crazy day! Anyway, uncle Spencer came to help give you your first Priesthood blessing. I held you on my lap on the side of the bed, and uncle Spence knelt on the floor in front of you and did the anointing. It was probably the sweetest most tender thing I have ever seen. Then your dad gave you a beautiful blessing of healing.
A little while later we got a call from the doctor saying that your spinal tap came back negative for meningitis. We were so relieved. The doctor had explained to us that your CRP levels (C-Reactive Protein's...things that fight off infection) were very very high. I can't remember the numbers exactly but it was bad. He said that your CRP levels would determine when we could go home. He later told us that he almost put you in the NICU, and could have, but he wanted to wait 24 hours to see if you got a little better. He also said that had it been at another hospital, a smaller one, we definitely would've been placed in the NICU. IMC is a fairly big hospital and their nursery is equipped to handle babies in your situation. We were so grateful for that!
That pretty much sums up your 2nd day of life. We didn't take very many pictures that day...we were a little busy freaking out.
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