Friday, May 16, 2008

Back at the Hospital




As you can see in the pictures, we're back in the hospital. A few days after we went home the first time, we came back for a check-up for Tara. It was Tuesday, so it was early to be coming in for a check-up but it's a good thing we did because they discovered a bacterial infection in some of the lacerations and tears that Tara experienced because of the birth. They told us right away that we'd need to be admitted back into the hospital and that Tara would go in for surgery that night. So on Tuesday night she went to the O.R. and they were able to get the infected tissue out. Then it was a waiting game to see if it would come back. That night Tara underwent tests, exams, a CT scan, X rays, a blood transfusion, multiple IVs, and doctors and nurses in and out of the room about every 10 or 15 minutes. The next morning we had 6 doctors, each a specialist in a different area, surrounding her bed and talking about the situation and telling us what could or might happen. It felt like being on an episode of House. A lot of the conjecture was quite grim and scary. The worry was that she could have an exceptionally aggressive form of bacteria, called necrotizing faciitis, that's commonly called flesh-eating bacteria. The group was able to rule that one out after a few days (much to everyone's relief), and they've decided it was a less threatening but fairly aggressive bacteria that could have been much, much worse had it not been caught as soon as it was. Fortunately, they got the infection removed in her first surgery, and a second trip to the O.R. the next night showed that the infection hadn't regrown or spread to any other areas. She has been on steady antibiotics since we got here and will have to continue with them for at least another week from today. The good news is we're on the road to recovery now that the infection has been stopped. The tough part is that they have to change the packing and dressing of the wound twice a day, and it's extremely painful. This will be the regimen until it heals, and each time it gets a little better and a little easier. We expect to be discharged from the hospital on Monday, and we'll be having home care nurses come to the house twice a day to change the packing. Tara will also have the IV at home for a week or so and will be recuperating for several weeks to come.

Needless to say, it's been a wild past couple of days. Even after they discovered the infection on Tuesday, we didn't imagine we'd be here this long. We're just grateful that the infection is taken care of and that Tara is on the mend. The healing isn't going to be easy but it'll be nice to be home. You never expect this kind of thing to happen, but we're getting through great. Tara has been incredibly stoic throughout the ordeal. I'm convinced she has done as well as she has because she has been so positive and upbeat. She's made much more progress than any of the doctors expected. We are so grateful for all of your thoughts and prayers and we know they have made a difference. We're excited to get out of here and get on with enjoying our little Eva.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Going Home

Everything good here at the hospital. Tara has been recovering nicely and Eva is feeding well and sleeping lots. We're going to be heading home in the morning. Right now we're just hanging out in our room watching the Jazz game and taking turns holding our adorable girl.

Go Jazz!

Thursday, May 8, 2008

She's Here!

After much ado......Eva Elizabeth Bleazard finally made it into the world at 9:07 this morning! Labor and delivery proved to be quite the ordeal for us, we checked into the hospital at about 4:oo in the afternoon and Tara was battling all night. I was exhausted by the early a.m. and I still don't know how Tara got through it. The active labor stage lasted until about 4:00 a.m., she started pushing at 4:30 and pushed pushed pushed for a bit over four hours until we finally had a breakthrough. Eva was stuck in the pelvis area and needed a little extra help getting past the obstacle, but once she did, everything went well. She weighed in a 7 lbs. 3 oz. and measured 21 inches. Tara is recovering now and the baby is here in the room with us. We're excited to take some serious naps this afternoon.

Eva is a beautiful baby girl and we couldn't be more excited to be parents. We can't wait for you all to meet her.

First Moments
Mother and baby
Happy Parents
Proud Papa







Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Labor Time

Well, here we are in the hospital. It's been a pretty long wait to get to this point. Tara has been in the early labor phase for past couple of days (and has been a real trooper), so we were anxious for it to progress to active labor. After a nap this afternoon (she was prescribed a little something to help her sleep) we packed it up and came to the hospital. Her water is broken now and she's having more painful contractions than ever. Currently she is up and about the room getting through her contractions. We just got back from a little walk around the floor. Can't complain about the accomodations... we have a nice big room with pretty much everything we need. Now we just need that baby to come out!