Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Samuel Benjamin Aprecio

After 48 hours of labor, and 2 hours of pushing Sam was born at 4:28 Sunday morning at 6lbs 13oz and 21 inches long. With only a few hours to ourselves as a family, Sam was whisked away to pediatrics after the nurses found him with low blood sugar. A few blood tests later landed him into the NICU where he will remain for the next week.

Sam has not been completely diagnosed yet, and things are changing every hour so I will try to keep this blog as updated as possible, but please understand that things are very hectic right now and I want to spend as much time with my baby as I can.

First off, I will remain in the hospital for a while on anti-biotics to clear up an unknown infection. We are awaiting tests on that. The suspected infection is known as Coreo.

Sam is also awaiting many test results, but a few things that we know are as follows:

Samuel has a very rare antigen in his blood called JKA. When he was in utero, there was a small blood swap between him and I through the placenta (this is normal for many babies). However, because I do not carry the antigen, my body created Antibodies to fight off the JKA. So, Sam is at high risk for anemia during the next few months and is now "chillin' in blue" due to jaundice. JKA should not pose any further risk to him once he is in the clear, but it is something that Matt and I need to keep in mind for future pregnancies.

The second condition, is a more serious one for Sam. For reasons unknown at this time, he has a very low platelet count. When he was born, his levels were at 19k-the normal being 200k. As of today he has had 3 transfusions 2 of which were not very successful, and the last one bringing his numbers to 150k. This is very good news, but we are watching to make sure that number doesn't drop again, as did the first 2 infusions.

It is not known what is causing this blood disorder but we have done tests and cultures and are awaiting results to hopefully give us answers. Right now we are busy keeping Sam comfortable, clean and fed.

Due to illness and a long labor, Sammy has had a very difficult time eating. So they started him on glucose (which brought his blood sugar to normal levels) and have a feeding tube in place. We have had a few good sessions of breast feeding, but we are working hard to use that as his only source of nutrition. In 30 minutes today he drank 22ml which is very exciting.

We can not wait for things to normalize! It is so hard to hold your newborn amongst wires and tubes with a strict time limit but we are loving every moment with Sam. He is the most beautiful baby we have ever seen. (biased, we know) He is so strong and is such a great example to everyone who has met him. Matt and I are so very thankful for him, and we can not believe that he is ours for eternity.

I am feeling great. There have been very tough times, and I am sure that there are many more to come, but everyone is very positive about the outcome. I will probably be sent home soon, but I will be here ever couple of hours to feed and cuddle with my new son. I will be able to post more pictures and details later, but for now this is the outline of what is happening.

We greatly appreciate prayers for Sam. We are so thankful to those of you who have helped us already either through favors or words of comfort. We are a very blessed family, and I can not wait to see how many more blessings are in store for us through Samuel.

23 comments:

whitney said...

you are such a trooper. i love you positive attitude. it is such an inspiration to me! sam is such a gorgeous baby. seriously. i LOVE him!
you will all be in my prayers. congratulations! keep us posted......

Cholidi said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Shelly said...

Congrats Holly and Matt! Hang in there...it WILL get easier! Thinking of you!

Jenn G. said...

Our thoughts and prayers are with your family!
The Bishop Gordon Family

Sabs said...

congrats I'm so glad he finally came! He is just so adorable already! I'm so sorry for all the difficulties. I pray that both of you will recover quickly. I sobbed like a baby the first time i got to hold olivia without all the tubes and wires, i hope this day will come soon for you! love ya!

merideth said...

our thoughts and prayers are with you three. i hope everything keeps getting better and that you get the answers you need.
you are so strong. already such a great mother!!

Shannon Hunnex said...

so proud of you babe, you are one amazing mom already!! he is lucky to be in such good hands and i know he will be ok soon. can't wait til you can take him home to show him the beautiful nursery you set up for him!!

Marissa said...

Congratulations. I am glad that you are doing well. We just need to get that little Sam healthy. He is a cutie. Your family is in our prayers.
Congrats!

Lindsey said...

Congrats!! He is SOOO handsome. I am so greatful he is here. I hope you and Sam recover quickly and I will keep you both in my prayers. LOVE YOU and Congrats Mommy:)

The Dillon 6 said...

Hottie!! I am so excited for you and Matty and Sam. We love you all. You (and especially Sam) are in our prayers.

Elizabeth said...

What a beautiful baby you have...just beautiful. Congratulations Holly and Matt! The Morgans are sending all our love and positive thoughts in your direction.

Michelle Williams said...

Congrats on a gorgeous boy! I'll be praying that you will be taking home a healthy Sam SOON. Love his name, good choice!

Michelle Williams said...

Congrats on a gorgeous boy! I'll be praying that you will be taking home a healthy Sam SOON. Love his name, good choice!

Colton said...

Geez, it seems so tacky to empathize with you on your blog, but I don't want to bug your phones. I'm praying for you! You are such a special family and amazing examples to me. Hang in there!

The Powells said...

congrats on baby Sam! You guys will be in our prayers. I know what its like to hold your baby with all the wire in NICU - it's so heart breaking and tough; you are so strong. Way to have a good attitude about it. CONGRATS!

Crawford's Corner's said...

We will keep you and your family in oiur prayers. Congratulations! We look forward to more good news about Sam.

The Cox Trio said...

Good post Holly! You are ALL in our prayers. Please let me know if I can help you guys out in any other ways. It was hard for me not to pick Sam up and snuggle him... I can't imagine how you two feel! Eli cannot wait to play with his new best friend... :-)

Unknown said...

Congratulations on your new little guy! We wish you the best of everything, and hope you and Sam can come home soon.

Bart and Jill said...

I am so proud of you! 48 hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing! But you did it!!! I will keep Sam in my prayers... what a gorgeous baby... look at all that hair! Keep up the breastfeeding, it's the best thing you can give him... xoxo

Nick and Tiffany said...

I'm so glad Sam is here. We'll keep you guys in our thoughts and our prayers. Hang in there.

Love,
Nick & Tiffany

Dena Coleman Bailey and Randy Bailey said...

We love you guys. Thanks for the update. Our prayers are always with you.

Adam and Dani said...

Sam is such a beautiful boy! Congratulations to you guys. You are in our prayers. :-)

Linda and Dave Browne said...

Congrats to the new family! Our prayers are with you and Sam that he'll be home soon!!