Cayman Lance Dyer ~ Birth Story

Boy oh boy has a lot happened since my last post. On March 18th 2011 our little bundle of joy arrived at 12:12am, weighing 2 lbs 0 Oz 13.8 inches long. Even though he was small, he was still perfect and beautiful in every way.

Pre Term Labor~
On March 7th at 25 weeks 6 days pregnant, I was standing in our kitchen making Skyler and I dinner. I started to feel really uncomfortable and noticed that the baby seemed to be sitting really low and I was feeling a lot of pressure. It got so bad that Skyler had me sit down as he rubbed my back. I had never been in labor before so I had no idea what to look for, or even if this was normal. I thought maybe the baby had changed positions and I was starting to get into the "uncomfortable 3rd trimester" everyone talked about. That night while in bed I started to feel pain in my back along with tightening in my stomach. I called my doctor, and my sister Becky, who both told me to time them to make sure they weren't consistent. If they were consistent, I should go to labor and delivery. At first they were 15 minutes apart, then 10, and after a while I started to get so exhausted that I finally fell asleep. I woke up the next morning at 5:30am with bleeding and contractions 3-5 minutes apart. I told Skyler we needed to go to labor and delivery asap.

Once there, they hooked me up to all the monitors and started an IV. The babies heartbeat was great and he seemed to be moving around like normal, but every time I had a contraction he would stop moving and his heartbeat would drop dramatically. They checked my cervix and saw that I was dilated to a 1 and ran a bunch of tests. One test they did was called a fetal fibronectin. It tests to see if you will go in to pre term labor within the next two weeks, my results came back positive. I remember being in shock when they explained that I had a high chance of having my baby boy any day now. They gave me medicine to stop the contractions. It made me feel sick, anxious, and dizzy but they did stop the contractions. I stayed at the Fairview Ridges Hospital for a little over a week with off and on contractions until my contractions started to get worse. Because I was only 26 almost 27 weeks pregnant, they couldn't keep me at that hospital anymore because they don't deliver babies under 30 weeks there. Finally, they took me in an ambulance to a higher level hospital, the University Hospital in Downtown Minneapolis. I stayed there for a few days and after a while my contractions finally stopped. I was SO excited when they told me we could go home. They sent me home on medication to stop contractions and I could not wait to sleep in my own bed and be with me sweet puppy Rookie again.

That excitement didn't last very long... On March 17th at only 27 weeks pregnant (The same night they released me from the Hospital) I went in to FULL BLOWN labor! It started off really slow and not very painful, so I called my doctor and she said to take my medicine every 4 hours instead of every 6. I did that, and they did not slow even a little bit, instead they just got worse and worse. It got to the point that I couln't walk and every 5 minutes I was throwing up because the pain from contractions were so bad. Once again we packed up everything we needed, and headed back to the University Hospital. Ironically we were put in the same room we had stayed in earlier that day. The doctor there checked my cervix again which was now dilated to a 2 and was "soft." So, as a last resort they put me on Magnesium to stop the labor. It worked for less than an hour, and then my contractions started right back up again, except this time they were A LOT worse. I wasn't able to eat anything and I was throwing up during every contraction. After being in labor for over two weeks, and full blown labor for 24 hours...Cayman was ready to come. By this point I was completely exhausted from the pain, so my nurse called my doctor and had him check my cervix again. I was dialated to a 3, and a half hour later I was a 4/5 and he could feel his head, so they rushed me over to labor and delivery. The doctor said they had tried everything and it looked like there was no stopping it.

Skyler had a hard time watching me get the epidural, once he saw the needle go in my back he had to turn around and take a deep breath. Haha he must love me or something because I saw him wipe a few tears. It must have looked pretty scary cause I hardly felt a thing, and once it was over I was in HEAVEN! After being in that much pain for 24 hours, I could finally relax! My contractions were off the charts and I felt no pain, and didn't even notice when my water broke!

The Delivery~

When it was time to push I was terrified knowing that in just a few minutes I would have a Micro Preemie baby born at 27 weeks. What if he didn't make it? What if he wasn't breathing? I could feel him moving around inside of me and I wished he could just stay in there where I knew he was safe. It was way too early. He came out in less than 10 minutes, YES it still hurt, but it was so fast I forgot about the pain instantly. On March 18th 2011 at 12:12am Cayman Lance Dyer was born. He came out crying and breathing on his own, and I remember feeling so relieved when I heard his little cry. He was tiny, the smallest baby I had ever seen, but PERFECT! He had Skylers blonde hair, his hands, his feet, nose. I swear there is no Bethany in that baby at all! Maybe he has my toes...lol but thats about it! He was the perfect 2 pound miniature baby, a little red in color, but perfect. I instantly fell in love with him. It was so hectic after the delivery that its almost a blur looking back, but once he was out a team of NICU doctors and nurses started working on him. I could hear him crying and all I wanted to do was pick him up and hold him, but I knew I couldn't. They got him all clean and then brought him over to me and let me hold him. He had the sweetest spirit, so strong that it completely filled the room. Stronger than anything I had ever felt or experienced.

When they first told me that I was in pre term labor, I remember imagining what it'd be like to see my tiny little baby. I thought id cry uncontrollably, and that id be devastated seeing him that way. It was actually the exact opposite. When I first held him, I felt that strong spirit that he possesed. I knew without a doubt that this baby was very recently in the arms of our Heavenly Father and I couldn't help but stare at him and smile. I couldn't believe that he was all mine, and that Heavenly Father trusted me enough to be his mom. Skyler and I gave him one last kiss before they took away, and then they rushed him to the NICU.

Baby Blues~

Because Cayman was born in the middle of the night, it was really hard for me to get a good nights rest. My adrenaline was still pumping from delivery, and I was still in shock that I just had a baby. So, while everyone was still sleeping I went to the NICU by myself and sat by his Incubator. His skin was very red and fragile and he was crying because he was in so much pain. He had two IV's and a CPAP mask over his face to help him breathe. I put my hand in the incubator and he wraped his hand around my finger and grabbed it tight. It was at THAT moment that I knew my life would never be the same. I never knew what it felt like to have my heart outside of my body until that moment. I never knew what it felt like to literally want to take your babies place so he never had to feel any pain, until that moment.

The day I was released from the hospital was a little bittersweet. I was happy to finally be out of there, but extremely sad that I couldn't bring my baby home with me. I'd wake up every morning in tears and have a mental breakdown. I dont know if it was just because my exhaustion had finally caught up to me, or if it was my hormones going crazy. One night I woke up to breast pump and started yelling at Skyler while looking under the blankets and pillows screaming, "WHERE IS MY BABY!!" I think I might have scared him a little bit, but Skyler just said, "Honey, our babies in the NICU, he's ok...calm down." I think back now and remember yelling at him, but still can't figure out why in the World I thought my baby was under my pillow??

Thank You~ 

Cayman is now 7 weeks 5 days old and has been in the NICU for 54 days. He is 35 weeks corrected and is 5 lbs 4 oz and 17.8 inches long. He is now doing two feeds a day at breast and is in a crib instead of an Incubator. They are slowly weening him off of his oxygen and stopping his caffeine because he isn't having as much APNEA. A lot has happened since his birth. He's had three infections; E Coli, UTI, and Yeast Infection. He had/has chronic lungs and was really sick, puffy and was having a hard time breathing. So they treated him with medications and he seems to be fully recovered, aside from the chronic lungs. THANK YOU for all of your prayers, love, and support. Skyler and I have felt the Saviors love through all of this and we know there are so many people out there praying for our little guy.  He represents everything good in this life. In a World full of doubt, he is proof that miracles DO happen and that Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers. Keep fighting baby Cayman, you've got a lot of people who love you and CAN'T WAIT to meet you and see you come home! :)