it's a boy!

I'll post a birth story when we get home and things settle down, but I want to use this site right now for info regarding our little guy, Brecken Levi. We are now at Denver Children's Hospital with him, he was flown in the Flight for Life down here from Laramie last night. Josh came with him, which I am grateful for! I got released from the hospital this morning, one day early, so I could be here too. My mom came down from Gillette last night just in time to meet Brecken before he was put on the airplane. So she drove me down today and Josh's mom came also. My dad is on his way and should be here any time.

Brecken will be OK. His official diagnosis is TTN, which means the fluid that is in a baby's lungs while in utero is supposed to be absorbed by the body during the first big cry after birth, and his wasn't. It was stuck in his lungs. He also has immature lungs due to being born early. His breathing was scary in Laramie yesterday- about 130 breaths a minute, they were pumping 60% oxygen in him at all times, (that's too high!) and his chest would really cave in at each breath. I asked if I could hold him for the first time ever before they put him on the plane but he only tolerated being without his oxygen for 10 seconds. So my little boy is 2 days old and I've only held him for 10 seconds. He was under a breathing thing I called his Tupperware bowl, as you saw in a lot of the pictures my sister sent out.

Today however, he is much more calm. He's not grunting all the time to work at breathing, his breathing is down to about 45 breaths a minute which is fabulous, his own oxygen level is in the high 90%s which is also fabulous, and the oxygen they have him on is only 38%. MUCH improved from yesterday. He's also sleeping finally, he's not having to work so hard to breathe so he can sleep. I haven't seen his eyes yet today, in fact! They're about to do some x-rays on him to see how things are. Right now, he has a feeding tube in him because he cannot suck and breathe at the same time. I'm pumping for him, but my milk hasn't come in yet. Hopefully soon. He also has a chest tube since an x-ray this morning showed an air pocket around one of his lungs. They got that deflated and his breathing is SO MUCH BETTER.

Like I said, he's in the Denver Children's Hospital NICU and will be for a week or so. Josh and I are staying here at the hospital for a couple nights and then we'll go from there. Our families are going to find a hotel.

We'll keep in touch through this website- feel free to email us!!! I'd love to hear from everyone.

Love,
Josh, Kara, and Brecken