Here's The Story Of A Girl Named Nora

Nora Katherine Miller was born to Mary and Paul Miller at 5:51 a.m. on Friday, December 18, 2009. It was somewhat of a surprise. Paul and I went to see Dr. Roussis on Thursday, December 17, for a repeat ultrasound to check the baby's growth. We thought we were going to schedule a cesarean section for the next morning if the baby was estimated to be 9 pounds or greater. At that visit, Nora was estimated to weigh 8 pounds, 10 ounces. Dr. Roussis then gave us the option to induce labor so that we could try to have Nora vaginally. This was preferable to us since it is the natural way to give birth, and I would be able to avoid surgery. Dr. Roussis felt that if we waited until Nora's due date, we would be obligated to have a cesarean section because of her size. So we opted to go ahead and try the induction. We were admitted to the hospital that afternoon to start a medication, called Cytotec, which helps to encourage the cervix to dilate in preparation for labor but does not actually augment labor or cause contractions. The plan was for us to get a good night's sleep while the Cytotec was working, and Dr. Roussis would come in on Friday morning and start Pitocin, a drug which does augment labor. Things worked a little differently for us, however. We started the Cytotec around 6:00 p.m. A little after 8:00 p.m., Dr. Stephens, who was on-call, came in to see me. He asked if I was feeling the contractions that were apparently being picked up by the external fetal monitor. I had very little discomfort but was already in labor! He examined me at that point, and my cervix was already dilated about 3 centimeters (10 centimeters is complete). He then told me he thought we needed to "break my water." I was shocked. Here I was about to have a baby, and Paul and I were watching "G-Force" on his computer! I continued to have contractions with very little discomfort until about 11:00 p.m. The contractions were more intense and more frequent at that point, and I requested an epidural. The CRNA came in to do the epidural at 11:45 p.m. My discomfort was relieved, and we continued to watch and time the contractions. I started to have more pain between 1:00 and 2:00 a.m. The CRNA came back and gave me more anesthesia. My nurse then examined me around 2:00 a.m. and was very surprised to find that I was completely dilated. She called Dr. Stephens then and informed me that we needed to begin pushing. Nora and I worked very hard together, but after 2 1/2 hours of active pushing, Dr. Stephens informed us that we had made very little progress and that a cesarean section was necessary. I was initially very upset. Everything had gone so smoothly, and we had worked so hard. Now I was going to have to have surgery anyway? I knew that it would not be good for Nora if I kept pushing, so Paul and I agreed to go ahead with the surgery. The CRNA came back and added more anesthesia, and they took me to to the Operating Room around 5:15 a.m. Nora Katherine was brought into this world at 5:51 a.m. Paul and I were ecstatic. We would have been thrilled either way, but we both really wanted a girl. She was beautiful and perfect in every way. They brought her to Paul while I was being stitched up, and he held her right next to me so we could both look at and talk to her. Very soon after, we returned to our room with Nora and were overwhelmed with happiness.

Unfortunately, Nora had some difficulty with her blood sugar levels after birth. The doctors explained that Nora had begun making higher levels of insulin while she was in the womb because I have diabetes. Not all babies born to diabetics have problems with blood sugar control, and it is less common in women who are well controlled like I was during the pregnancy. Sadly, Nora was one of the few. They initially tried feeding her to see if she would bring her blood sugar up. But she was unable to keep them up in response to being fed. At that point a neonatologist (doctor who specializes in the care of infants less than 28 days of age) from Children's Hospital came to see her and felt that Nora needed to get dextrose through an IV and be watched very closely in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) at Children's Hospital. We were devastated, but we knew that we had to do what was best for Nora. So they took her to the NICU at around 11:00 a.m. on Friday. Although we know she is getting excellent care, it has been stressful and disappointing to me and to Paul. We were expecting to have our daughter with us - to hold her and feed her whenever we wanted. Instead, we are in separate hospitals, which feel miles apart even though they are directly across the street from each other. Every morning we have woken up and headed immediately to the NICU where we spend several hours with Nora, feeding her, changing her diapers, reading and talking to her, taking pictures and video of her. We then come back to Fort Sanders for my assessments and then head back to the NICU. We generally go 3 times each day for several hours each trip. It is not ideal, but we feel very fortunate to have the ability to spend as much time with her as we have been allowed.

Nora has improved dramatically in the las 24 hours. Her IV came out late Saturday evening, and the doctor decided to leave it out as long as her blood sugar levels remained stable. Her blood sugars have been excellent since she stopped receiving the fluids, and her appetite has increased significantly. She is more alert and active. The swelling she had at birth related to trauma during the labor process has improved, as well. The doctor, who saw Nora today, told us that he is very pleased with her improvement and that he is hopeful that she will be discahrged soon. We told him that I was going to be discharged on Monday, December 21, and he told us that there was a possibility that Nora could go home with us if she continues to eat well and maintains her blood sugar levels.

Please pray for all of us. We are all doing well, but we have been through a lot. We are looking forward to taking our daughter home and spending Christmas with family. We hope that all of you are well and that your holiday season is as bright as ours.