Going Home.. Again

So Brenna had a great night on Thursday and we actually got to go home on Friday. Tests confirmed viral meningitis and the preliminary results on the bacterial cultures were all negative but formal results will be in next week. The doctors all wanted us out of the hospital asap so she didn't catch something else.

She was eating fine when we left the hospital but has been struggling to eat ever since. We are trying to be patient with her and are even trying different bottles in the hopes that will help her start to eat normal again. We are closely monitoring her intake and outflows since she can get dehydrated so quickly and will be checking in with the doctor frequently.

Here are the pics I promised of her recent hospital stay...

Still at home.. pondering if she is sick enough for the hospital.. YEP, she was!

Jacob visiting his sister in the hospital.. It was almost a year ago when he was the patient.

Brenna with her difficult IV that took four sticks to get started. Thank goodness Nonna knows people in high places that finally got her IV started (thanks Pam!!). That IV was known as the IV from hell because the pressure monitors were constantly going off due to the positioning.

Getting some TLC from mommy. We didn't get to hold her too much because her IV was so sensitive and her oxygen levels fell when we held her but we took advantage of a few opportunities.


Close up of our baby.. this was the last night so she actually looked a lot better than she had days earlier.

TLC from Daddy.. feeling and looking better!

Back at home and getting ready for bed. Jacob is very glad to have his sister back home!

Jacob loves his sister.. he loves to uncover her, give her his toys, and give her kisses.. he's a very good big brother already!

Brenna's Hospital Pics & Update

Brenna had a good day for the most part. She is eating better than she has in days and her fever is consistently going down. Some further tests did confirm she definitely has viral meningitis and we are still waiting on blood cultures to confirm or deny any other illnesses.

Her oxygen levels did keep dropping throughout the day but our pediatrician does not seem too concerned with that. He is confident her lungs are fine and does not believe she has any other respiratory issues.

We were lucky enough to also get her hospital pictures back. Below are the pics.. she is such a sweetie!! (These were the pics from when she was born 10 days ago.. not pics from this hospital visit)

This is her favorite pose.. she is always 'one-eyeing' us. I think it's because she's not sure if whatever is waking her up is worth opening both eyes :)

Oh.. I'm cold!!

Daddy Love!

So tiny... she fits in the palm of your hand!

She's got mom in the palm of her hand...

Thanks Grandma for the pretty bow!

Say A Little Prayer for Brenna

Well Brenna is following right in her brother's footsteps. On Monday we noticed that Brenna wasn't eating very well and really never had woken up from the delivery. At first we thought we were very lucky to have such a good baby but slowly we realized something may not be right.

So after a rough Tuesday night we decided to call the doctor yesterday. After explaining what was going on they decided to see her right away. When we got to the office we learned that our little baby had a low grade fever as well. We were then sent directly to the hospital for further observation. Our little one was a very tough girl and had many blood tests and was stuck 4 times trying to get the IV in her little arm. She also had a spinal tap.

So far they have ruled out the flu and RSV. Her white blood count also was relatively normal. However, the spinal tap did show an infection in her spinal fluid which leads the doctors to believe she has viral meningitis. Our doctor was here bright and early today and still believes that it is a viral infection but they are doing lots of tests to pin point the infection for sure and also rule out any other illnesses.

We will be in the hospital for at least another 24 hours and longer if any of the tests come back 'positive'. Please say a little prayer for our 10 day old angel as she continues to battle this infection. I will do my best to post some pictures soon - the camera did not make it in the emergency bag to the hospital yesterday.

Thanks everyone for your continued support!!

More Visitors and Heading Home

Below are lots of pics of Brenna meeting friends and family and some other pictures taken over the last 3 days.

Brenna - Day 2

Here is one of Jacob on Day 2 - think they look alike? the verdict is still out so far

Brenna with Great Grandpa and Grandma Bayerl

Brenna with her cousin Alex... One day Brenna will be wearing a SJA sweatshirt too and carrying on the Angel tradition :)

Brenna with her cousin, Kayla

Brenna with my Aunt Lori

Brenna with Aunt Nicki, Uncle Brian and Daniel

20 months ago - Aunt Nicki, Uncle Brian and Daniel meeting Jacob for the first time. Jacob and Daniel are 8 weeks apart.

Brenna meeting her friend Reese, 7 months old

My second set of parents- Barb and Bob White (aka Nicki's parents) meeting Brenna

Brenna and cousin Kimberly

We got to go home on Wednesday - here is Brenna in her going home outfit. It was HUGE on her - by Wednesday she had lost 7 oz and was 6lbs 1 oz.

In the car seat heading home.. so tiny!

Day 4 (Thursday) - Comfy at home.. such a good baby!

Could she look any sweeter?

Happy Birthday Brenna Margaret!

Brenna Margaret was born on Monday, October 4th at 3:49 PM. In typical fashion she made a dramatic appearance! We were called to the hospital around 4:45AM to start the induction. After several hours of the contractions being 3 minutes apart they administered the epidural and then broke my water. At that time they realized I had not dilated any further and needed to move things along faster. At 1pm the drs did their thing and I started to progress very rapidly. By 2:30 pm, the baby was starting to show signs of distress and my epidural was wearing off. I felt just a few contractions but could not imagine going through a natural child birth!

The hospital called my doctor because at each contraction the baby's heart rate was dropping dramatically. My doctor okay a fluid infusion (where they insert a tube and flush water around the baby in the attempt to reduce the stress) but also said she would head to the hospital. By the time the dr got there 45 minutes later things had progressed significantly. The baby was still in distress and I could feel very strong contractions and pressure. They already had me moved to my side because at one point baby was face up and they were hoping she would turn.

When my dr got to the hospital she realized the baby was definitely coming very soon. In fact, she told me not even to cough.. lol! Baby had also turned face down so delivery should go smooth and they needed to get her out because of her heart rate. The doctor suited up and 2 contractions later baby was here.. but silent!

Since she dropped so fast and turned in the birth canal, she had wrapped the cord around herself and with each contraction she was lacking oxygen. Also, she had swallowed a lot of the fluid they were infusing around her so her lungs were full. The doctors and nurses quickly took her and started working on her. Of course, I was very scared but everyone kept saying she would be fine. They tubed her lungs and suctioned everything out of them very quickly. They then put the baby on a balloon pump and oxygen to get her breathing. It probably took less than 5 minutes in reality but seemed like an eternity to us. She never did cry but her color changed from blue to pink so we knew she was okay.

Her weight came in at 6lbs 8 oz and she was 19.5 inches long. She was perfect! We originally named her Bryna Margaret. However, after 2 days of everyone pronouncing it Br-Y-na we decided to change the spelling to Brenna. With a name like Beffa that already getting pronounced incorrectly I didn't want her to have to correct everyone on the first name as well.

Below are some pictures and I'll continue to post them. Our little angel is perfect and we feel so lucky to have her here healthy!

Mom, Dad and Brenna - still in the delivery room


Nonna, Me & Brenna and Dad still in the delivery room

Nonna and Brenna

Jacob meeting his sister for the first time - he wanted to kiss her right away!

Jacob holding his sister - getting ready for another kiss!

Jacob's favorite place in the hospital room. He went in and out of that 50 times and it was the perfect fit!

Grandma & Grandpa Beffa with Brenna

Grandpa Beffa, Dad, Jacob and Brenna - Jacob giving her a kiss before leaving to go spend the night at Nonna's

The end is in sight...

At 39 weeks, baby girl has decided that she now has a comfy home and doesn't want to meet her mommy, daddy and big brother. So... it's come time to coax her out. I will be induced on Monday (TOMORROW, YAY) morning. I am the 2nd scheduled induction and they could call as early as 4:30 AM to tell us to come to the hospital. Nonna will be keeping Jacob overnight tonight so that he can go to Miss Kim's tomorrow and hopefully will be able to meet his baby sister later in the afternoon.

We are all very excited to meet our little drama maker. Needless to say, we are also glad she lasted this long inside growing healthy but mom is getting a little impatient to meet her! I will be sure to post pictures asap when she makes her grand entrance. Below are a few recent pics.

Me and baby girl - 38 weeks and counting!

Jacob finding the napkins.. I knew he was too quiet!

Going back for more napkins... he really did pick them all up though.

Jacob in his big boy booster seat sitting at the table like mom and dad. We lost the high chair when we realized he ate much better when sitting at the table and eating the same food as mom and dad. Although his interest in meat is still not there - we can trick him sometimes with chicken in a casserole or meat on a pizza but for the most part we supplement with eggs and peanut butter. Maybe one day he'll eat bologna like a normal kid?!?