Iain's First Days!

Ok all - sorry for the lateness in this post - things have been very busy for the Pitman clan!

First of all, we thank all of you who prayed for us during labor and delivery. Beth was induced on Wednesday morning and Iain decided not to come into the world until very early Friday morning - needless to say we didn't get very much sleep during this time. Beth did very well throughout the whole process, but she did develop an infection and fever during the end of her labor. Iain's head was also turned in a bad position and this made it hard for him to be pushed out. As a result a c-section was performed. She is recovering very well.

After Iain was born the neo-natology team checked him over and showed him to Beth quickly before he was whisked away to the NICU. Because of the potential for pressure on the brain the doctors wanted to make sure that his breathing and heart rate would be stable and that his body temperature could be maintained. Neil was able to make the journey with Iain to the NICU while Beth's surgery was completed.

As soon as Iain arrived in the NICU the neurosurgery team (yes, 7 doctors) arrived to evaluate him. There was a possibility of imminent surgery so they were ready to take him if necessary. However, the head surgeon said he looked great and they would not perform any immediate intervention. We were thankful for this!

Neil stayed with Iain for a bit while they poked him full of tubes and then went back to check on Beth in the recovery room. Beth was able to go visit Iain for about 20 mins before she was sent to bed to get some much needed rest.

Iain progressed very well on his first day and spent his first night under the warmer. Both sets of grandparents and his aunts and uncles were able to come and see him. By the late evening Beth was able to be wheeled down and got to spend about 4 hours with him. Iain did have an ultrasound and MRI done on his head, which was quite swollen in back. It was hard to tell how much of this was from labor and how much was concerning. We just received word from one of the neurosurgeons today that Iain will not need to have surgery at this point! This is a huge answer to prayer. They believe his head measurements to be good. They want us to come back for another MRI in 4 weeks to check on his progress. They were not able to find the corpus callosum on the MRI, and we are unsure of the ramifications of this at this point. It may be a concern, it may not.

Iain is doing really great with all of his vitals and is breastfeeding like a very hungry boy, so these are all great signs for him. He was moved from the warmer to a regular crib yesterday. He is being treated with antibiotics for the infection that Beth had and he will have to stay on those until Wednesday. We are also waiting for some other blood work to come back. If all goes well we hope he will be discharged soon, but we are trying not to get our hopes up too much! Beth is on schedule to be discharged tomorrow so we need to figure out where we are going to stay for the next few days (hopefully). There is the possibility that we can stay at the hospital - currently we are on the waiting list...

Continue to pray for this sweet little guy - that he would have normal blood work and no infections would come back from the lab, and that the ventricle size in his brain would remain stable and that it would not increase. Also pray that the absence of the corpus callosum would not bring any physical or mental developmental delays. Thank you for all of your prayers for baby Iain and our family. God has been so good to us through this challenging time and we are so grateful for His provision.

And now, what you all came here for...

Meeting Mom for the first timeMommy time!Dad and Mom and IainGrandpa and Grandma PattersonGrandpa and Grandma PitmanUncle Stu, Aunt Ashlee and Uncle GraemeUncle Stu and Aunt BeckyRest time

I love my toothette! It's the best way to get medicine!
(This is to prevent yeast infections from breastmilk. The nurse let him hold it like a lollipop!)

Iain James Pitman is Here!

Finally, after 43 hours. Full long story and more pictures to come when we get time!

May 22nd

4:16 am

8lbs 14 oz

21.5"

Beth is doing fine and Iain is doing great for now. He is in the NICU and he has a lot of swelling in the back of his head due to the fluid - but his vitals are good and the surgeons have said that no immediate intervention is needed. Lots more tests to follow today...

First Picture Ever!

In the NICU

Baby Pitman's Birthday?!

Well, we are in Iowa City and Beth is being prepared for induction. Baby is not quite ready to come out yet, so it may be some time before we have any news. Here are some pictures to satisfy you for now. Please continue to remember us in prayer today! Pray for a safe delivery for Beth and that Baby would be ok and not have to spend a lot of time in the NICU! We will post any updates as soon as we can!

The final family picture before we are four!


Driving to the hospital

Last belly picture!

All ready to go!

Final IC Appointment...

Just a quick update on our current situation...

The appointment yesterday went well. Ventricle size is still enlarged and is not showing a decrease at all, but the doctors do feel that although the condition is serious it is stable (no huge spikes in the amount of fluid). The baby's head size is within the normal range so the doctors feel good about a natural delivery, which is positive. The baby is doing well apart from the ventriculomegaly, so this is also positive. Current estimated weight is 8lbs 11oz! This being the case (combined with baby's condition) - if Baby Pitman decides not to come by May 20th Beth will be induced. We are still delivering in Iowa City and baby will go to the NICU shortly after birth. We are still hopeful for a reduction in ventricle size after birth. Surgery is still a possibility at this point, but this won't be decided until the baby can be evaluated outside of the womb. We are hoping that this can be avoided, but of course we will do whatever is best for baby! Infant brain surgery just sounds, well, a little unnerving.

Please continue to pray for us, we have been so blessed by the faithful prayers of God's people. Pray that:

Baby will come safely into the world
Beth will stay healthy these next 2 weeks and will have a safe labor and delivery
Neil will not break every traffic law known to man driving to Iowa City if Beth's water breaks in Dubuque :)
We will stay encouraged and will trust God and His perfect plan

Our Bags Are Packed and We're Ready to Go!

Baby Pitman could come any day now as Beth is almost 39 weeks! We have been trying to get all the last minute details taken care of before this Tuesday night, as we have our final appointment in Iowa City on Wednesday. Please keep us in your prayers as we meet with the doctors once again. If the baby's condition has worsened then they will most likely schedule inducement or a c-section, but if things have remained stable then they will let things progress naturally. Here are perhaps the last pictures before Baby Pitman arrives. Enjoy!

Beth's Final Open House at TSCS! (37.5 weeks)

Parts of the Nursery

Someone's Favorite Part of the Nursery...

Appointment Update...

Sorry this is so late in coming, we had a very long day yesterday in Iowa City.

Our first appointment was another ultrasound at 11 am. The baby's ventricles are still measuring large. The doctors were encouraged that in 5 weeks there had been very minimal enlargement (measuring 18 and 19 mm now instead of 17 mm). This means that though the condition is still serious, it is currently not rapidly progressing, so we are thankful for that. The baby's head is measuring a little big, but nothing off the chart so that is another positive thing (often swelling in the brain can lead to an extremely swollen head). And, we have a 6lb 4oz kid in there, so we think it will be a big one by the time 40 weeks rolls around...

We then met with the high risk delivery doctors to talk about the birth plan. We were also encouraged that the baby has a good head size so at this point we are all set for natural labor and delivery. The baby then had a non-stress test for about 30 minutes and passed with no problem.

Our next meeting was with a neonatologist, who discussed with us what would happen after the birth and the potential treatment options. The baby will go to ICU right after birth to get checked (ultrasound yet again). After that, how the baby does with feeding, response, etc. will determine how long the baby is in ICU and the hospital in general. The doctor did say that 50% of the time these type of cases turn out just fine if they are isolated. We toured the birthing suites and the ICU and then finally called it a day around 4:45.

We will head back for an ultrasound on May 6th. If the fluid increase is negligible, then we will go ahead with a normal birth. If we see a huge increase (the docs do not think this will be the case, but are always cautious I suppose) then we will most likely have a scheduled c-section.
We are very grateful for your prayers, we cannot say how much it means to us. As you can imagine the uncertainty and waiting is hard at times, but we are really learning to place our trust fully in the Lord and His perfect plan.

Please continue to pray for a decrease in fluid in the baby's brain and that there would be no brain damage as a result of the fluid. Also you can pray for Beth as she finishes out the school year being 9 months pregnant!

Appointment Tomorrow

It has been a crazy busy time for the Pitmans in the last few weeks and we have really slacked off in blog-o-land.

We just finished directing Willy Wonka at Tri-State this past weekend, and it was a smash hit by all accounts. Beth's parents even made the trip from Canada to see the show!


We have appreciated your continued prayers for us and the baby. We head back to Iowa City tonight and go to the University Hospital tomorrow for 3 appointments. It is our prayer that the Lord will have provided healing for our child and that everything will show up normal on the ultrasound. Please pray for us as we meet with the specialist, the high-risk delivery doctors, and the neonatologists.

We need to set a plan for the birth tomorrow, and it will be dependent on the ultrasound results. If the baby's condition is stable then we will wait until labor comes naturally. If the doctors feel that the ventriculomegaly has worsened, they will likely set a date for inducement or a c-section. We are still set to deliver in Iowa City in the absence of a miracle of total healing.

We would appreciate your prayers today and tomorrow as we seek to submit to God's will in this difficult time of uncertainty. We will post an update tomorrow afternoon/evening. Thanks again for your support!