Day 2

On April 1, Becky was able to head up to the NICU for the first time to see our son. Becky continued to be on magnesium for her preeclampsia until the evening and this made her very tired. Still, it was wonderful to be able to hold Jonathan for a little while. For now, Jonathan was in a warmer bed that allowed easy access to him for the doctors as they continued to stabilize him, but also kept his body temperature stable. We were allowed to hold him for about 30 minutes, but he needed to spend the rest of his time in the warmer bed.

Jonathan in his bed

Chris and Jonathan

Becky and Jonathan

Later on Jonathan's first night...

Jonathan went to the NICU, while Becky recovered in her room. Becky was very sore and tired, but Chris was able to go up to the NICU later that night to check on Jonathan. Jonathan had many tubes and wires attached. Wires monitored his breathing and heart rate and temperature. A tube was in place to feed him some milk in his stomach later in the week. For now, he would get most of his nutrition by IV. Jonathan also had a CPAP tube (like the CPAP used for sleep apnea) to help keep his lungs open. He briefly had a tube placed to allow the doctors to give him surfactant in his lungs as his lungs weren't completely developed due to his prematurity.

In the Operating Room...

The remainder of the afternoon of March 31 passed quickly. Within an hour, Becky was in the operating room, Chris was seated by her head, and the c section had begun. At 5:04 pm, Jonathan William Eller emerged and our son was born. Jonathan was quickly assessed by the team from the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Jonathan looked pretty good for a 32 week baby, and so we were allowed to see him before he was whisked off to the NICU. The remainder of Becky's surgery went well and she soon found herself back in the room on the 13th floor of Roanoke Memorial Hospital that we had occupied for 10 days so far.


Becky sees Jonathan for the first time in the operating room

Jonathan on the scale in the operating room (4 lbs, 1 oz.)

How we got here...

At 31 weeks of pregnancy, Becky developed high blood pressure and was found to have protein in her urine, which meant that she had preeclampsia. This required her to be admitted to the hospital until Jonathan could be delivered. We also learned that Jonathan was in a breech position when she was admitted and had an ultrasound. The plan was to try to hold off on delivery until 34 or 36 weeks. The only cure for preeclampsia however is delivery, so if things worsened, we knew that an earlier delivery was possible.

Becky continued to do well (although was pretty tired of hospital food) until 32 weeks and 4 days (March 31), when she started to have what she thought was bad heartburn. As the day went on, she developed severe pain over her liver, and blood and urine tests revealed that she had developed severe preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome. By 3:30 pm on March 31, we were told that Becky would require an emergency c section, as she was rapidly becoming very sick and her health and Jonathan's health were in danger.