she is all healthy, finally!!

Well, the Rinker crew has had a very busy week. I was supposed to be induced Saturday morning at 7 but I ended up going on my own at 3 am. I woke up with contractions that were 7 minutes apart so I decided to take a shower and just get ready. By the time I got out of the shower, they were 4 minutes apart. We rushed to the hospital. When I got there I was already 5 cm so I went ahead and had some drugs. Beautiful Laura Davis Rinker was born at 11:41 am.

This is when all the excitement happens. When she was born, she was awake but never cried. They ended up calling in the NICU team to assess her. They took her own to the NICU because her O2 intake levels were low. Then they decided to do a chest xray because they thought she had fluid on her lungs. During the xray they found that she had broken her collar bone durning labor. She was a little too big to come out of me. Which is weird because I am a big girl and she wasn't really all that big (8lbs 10oz and 21 1/2 inches long). This fracture caused her whole right arm to be really brused. That was pitiful to see. Next they told us that her plasma levels were too low and they were going to have to keep her in NICU for a little longer. Finally, everything came back OK and she was able to come be with me.

Then we finally though we were in the clear when the lactation consultant told us that she was "tongue tided" and needed the thing cut under her tongue. We are still waiting to meet with the ENT to decided when to do this. Because of this problem, she is unable to latch on so I am having to pump and feed her a bottle. This makes me really sad because I loved nursing Price. Hopefully we can have this little thing cut soon and Laura Davis will be able to nurse.

The day we were supposed to leave the hospital, they run all those tests. Her bilirubin numbers came back too high. They let us take her home but we had to go to the lab the next day to see if they had gone down. Well, they had gone up so the drs office called home health and we had to put her under a bili blanket. This is a little "thing" that wraps around the babys skin and is supposed to lower the bilirubin count. We had to take her back every day until her numbers got better. Finally last night they called and said her numbers were good and we could take her off the blanket. SO.......right now she is healthy. Hopefully the last little thing we have to do is clip that part under her tongue and she will be ready to go. Thank you all for your prayers. This little one has really needed them.

Price is being a GREAT big sister. She kisses Laura Davis all the time and tells her she loves her. I know this will probably wear off soon but it is good while it is lasting. I am very proud of Price and how she is handling all these changes. She gets so sad when Laura Davis cries and tells me to make her better. Isn't that sweet? I will keep you posted as to her health and all the new things she does.