Elise Paige Kaiser...Surprise!!!!!

On Sunday, January 4th, Elise Paige Kaiser was born ... 4 pounds 12 ounces, 18 inches. What a surprise! My ob had me monitoring my fetal movements since the beginning of my third trimester.... a normal practice where I time how long it takes for me to feel the baby move 5 times. If I feel no movement in one hour, I am to call the doctor. After not feeling little Elise move in one hour, I called the doctor on call and she suggested that I head into the hospital and be hooked up to a fetal monitor. So, we were off to the hospital just to be 'checked out' and 'assured all was well'. We even started making plans as where to stop for dinner on the way home... plus we had to return a movie at the video rental store!

After arriving at the hospital, the doctor monitored the baby's heartbeat... which was slightly slower than the normal 152 that she had been in the past. Due to this, the doctor did an ultrasound, only to discover what I had already known, there was no movement. An IV was started and we were told that things were going to happen 'very quickly' and I was off for an emergency C-section. Jeff was handed scrubs to change into and I was whisked away to the operating room where an anesthesiologist was standing by for my spinal and the NICU team had been paged. I was prepped and Jeff was led into the room to a chair near my head to offer much needed support and love.

In a matter of minutes, Elise Paige Kaiser was brought into the world. She came out quickly and was rushed to the neighboring room just as fast- without a sound or any movement. Poor Jeff had witnessed our limp little girl being rushed next door to the NICU team. We waited a long time before an update, she was alive and breathing but needed to be moved to the neonatal intensive care unit as soon as she was stabilized. Later, we were told by my doctor, that had we waited until the following morning, little Elise would not have made it. I was moved to a recovery room before I had my first look at Elise. They brought her by in her incubator as they rushed her upstairs to the NICU and then I was moved to my room which would be home for the next four days. By this time, our parents had arrived and they were updated and relieved to find out that we were all alive and doing well.

The following day we spent the visiting with friends and family up in the NICU. My parents , brother (Kevin from Baltimore) and best friend (Sarah from Columbus) along with Jeff's parents, sister, and uncle had all come to visit. Visitors were limited to two at a time and had be present with either Jeff or myself. Little Elise spent all of the previous night and that Monday wearing a C-Pap machine which provided positive pressure oxygen to help her breathe. Even with the help, she still had problems remembering to breathe- a common problem with preemies because they have underdeveloped lungs. Her monitors kept going off which kept the nurses running to her incubator and stimulating her to breath. Luckily, she always rallied to breath on her own and evaded having being put on a breathing machine.

By Tuesday, Elise had been moved off the large and annoying C-Pap machine and was fitted with a more conservative nasal cannula. She also had not had a 'breathing episode' since the night before. A major improvement! She also had her first bottle.. a mere 5 cc of milk in addition to all the nourishment she was receiving from her IVs. While she spent most of her time warming in the incubator, Jeff and I spent all of our waking hours near her side if we weren't meeting with the my doctors, eating or pumping milk. The poor grandparents were not yet able to hold her as her IV was too small and fragile to allow her being passed around.


On Wednesday, Elise failed her bilirubin test. Bilirubin is broken down by the liver and excreted in the urine and feces. It is not uncommon for a newborn to have problems with jaundice. So, little Elise got to spend the day under her special blue light, naked- only allowed to come out for half hour intervals at feeding times. Because of the light, she had little velcro dot stickers placed on her temples that held her light blocking goggles. Just like spending a day in the sun, Elise was extra tired after this and only took a few bottles.


Thursday brought continued milestones and improvements for little Elise Paige. Even though she was still under her blue light, her IV had been removed and all nutrition was received via milk. More importantly, the grandparents could now hold her! My mother and Jeff's mother and father were all there that day for the big occasion. They had been dying to get their hands on their first grandchild! Unfortunately, my father would have to wait until the following day- as he was not coming back to Toledo until later that night, after I was to be discharged. It took all day for the doctor to finally make her rounds. I wasn't discharged until after 8pm. Our parents had planned a welcome home dinner- complete with decorations and pink themed desserts. Needless to say, we missed it but the leftovers were yummy!!







On Friday, my father finally was able to hold Elise. As far as he was concerned, Friday couldn't have come fast enough! Elise's doctor also discontinued the blue light over her incubator and she had passed enough blood sugar tests that her twice a day blood draw was no longer needed. Most importantly, her doctor discontinued the drug used to remind her to breathe. This drug takes five days to be removed from the body, so if within this time no further apnea episodes occur, Elise's lungs will be considered mature and strong.



Today we found Elise in her new bed! She no longer is in her incubator but rather a bassinet. Because of her new digs, she is now able to wear some of her own clothing even though most of it is a bit too large even with a bit of a weight gain (4 lbs 6 3/4 oz). Up until yesterday, she had been losing weight. Most newborns lose 10% of their initial birth weight before gaining. Soon she'll be filling out her newborn clothing. More updates to come!




It's hard to believe that just a mere week ago (January 3rd) , Jeff's sister (Amy) and mother (Jane) held our last baby shower at Brandywine Country Club in Maumee. The room was beautiful and obviously took a lot of planning and work to pull off! We had a wonderful brunch buffet that any pregnant or non-pregnant person would enjoy filled with pastries, quiches, fruit and a ton of crunchy bacon (my favorite!!). I'm sure Elise enjoyed the extra calories!
(Me, Jane, Aunt Betty, Amy, Nicole)
Jane and Amy made the cutest sugar cookies that matched our invitations and even matching candy bar wrappers. They also put pink and brown m&ms in Jeff's grandmother's tea cups to include her on our special day. But the sweetest thing of all were the diaper cake centerpieces on each of the three tables. They are almost too cute to disassemble. If we had only known that the next day Elise would be arriving to check out all of her wonderful shower gifts! Needless to say, our thank you notes are coming out a bit late!!