Kason Kolt Piquet was born on July 3, 2013 at 7:40 PM.
He weighed 9 lbs. 8 oz. and measured 22 ¾ inches
long.
We are so happy to have Baby Kase
home with us.
I wanted to make sure to
write the details of Kason’s birth, so we can always remember this long awaited
day.
I’m not much of a writer, but at
least you can get the full details if you are interested! It's VERY long, so I won't be offended if you just look at the pictures! Here is Kason’s birth story:
On Tuesday July 2nd, Kolt and I went into Monarch
Healthcare for our weekly appointment. I
was like the typical pregnant woman, very anxious to get this baby here. I had been experiencing morning sickness,
afternoon fatigue, and evening nausea during the entire pregnancy, so I was
ready to have this baby any day. Kolt
kept encouraging me to carry the baby 42 weeks just like his mom carried him,
but I assured him that I would never let that happen. As we sat in the waiting
room, I told Kolt that I wasn’t leaving until she told me I could have this
baby before the 4th of July.
Well, I got exactly what I wanted. When the doctor came in,
she asked me when this baby was coming.
I quickly replied, “We’re having him tomorrow.” I
measured at 40 weeks, and his heart beat sounded great. I was dilated to a 3 and 70% effaced. Dr. Huggins commented that this baby wasn’t
tiny, and then asked me if I wanted to induce the next morning. Even though she did what I was hoping for, I
immediately was overwhelmed with emotions, my favorite side effect of
pregnancy. Kolt says it’s lke a 9 month
long roller coaster! Tuesday evening I
hosted the Annual Flash-from-the-Past BBQ with my teammates and friends from
high school. The BBQ went so smoothly,
and I was even able to take my mind of the big news of the day for a little bit
to visit and catch up with all the girls.
Wednesday morning we woke up at 6 to call the hospital to
see if they had room for us at 7. They
told us that they had some walk-ins last night and to call them back at
7:30. We tried to catch a few more
minutes of sleep, which worked for Kolt, but I couldn’t sleep for a
minute. At 7:30, they told us to come in
around 9:00 AM. We walked into Labor
& Delivery at 9:10 AM. We had a good
drive to the hospital, talking about how the next time we drove home, we would
be with our baby. They took us to Room
121 and told me to get in my gown. The
whole morning was pretty special for Kolt and I; we enjoyed remembering how 5
years ago when we began dating, we talked about the day we would have a
baby. That made the day much more
sentimental and rewarding.
After I got my gown on, we met our nurse Karen. I loved getting to know our nurse because I
kept thinking of Makayla, who just started working Labor & Delivery in the
Rock Springs Hospital. I would’ve loved
to have her as my nurse! Dr. Huggins
told Karen she was ready to break my water right away. I got hooked up to the monitors; it is always
good to hear the baby’s heart beat and know that he is okay. They also drew my blood and hooked up the IV. Dr. Huggins came in right after to break my
water. I was a little worried about the
pain, but it was a piece of cake. Kolt
and I quickly noticed the difference between my water breaking this time and when
we thought it broke last time. I was
already dilated to a 4 and 100% effaced.
Karen put Pitocin in my IV right after to get the contractions going.
At 10:30 AM, I had already started very regular, intense
contractions. My mom came in right at
that time. I was dilated to a 5 right
away. The anesthesiologist had a
scheduled C-section at 11:30, so we got him in to give me my epidural before he
got busy. We signed the first of a lot
of paperwork for the day and got going right away. I was just finishing a contraction when they
asked me to sit up and roll my back over.
Karen stood in front of me, and the anesthesiologist, Douglass, told
Kolt to go over by the couch. I quickly
told him that I needed him right there to hold on to, so he got to stand by me
next to Karen. This was the first moment
I was really worried about. I was so worried
about something going wrong. Douglass
was awesome, and it went in perfectly. I
felt a stinging sensation during the numbing shot, but after that, it was
completely smooth. It felt very mild
compared to the contractions. Kolt was a
great sport and let me squeeze his hand as hard as I could. As Douglass left, he asked if we were having
a boy or a girl. When we told him we
were having a boy, he quickly replied, “Douglass is a great name!” We had a
great laugh.
At 11:45 AM, my contractions were quite regular, and I didn’t
feel the epidural had completely numbed me.
Douglass came back in a shot a dose of a different anesthesia in my
tube. They warned me that it often makes
your blood pressure drop. About 30
minutes later, my blood pressure dropped to 88/42. I was immediately light headed and felt
nauseous. It all happened so quickly,
but Kolt threw the oxygen mask over my face, and Karen gave me a shot of Ephedrine
and Zofran within seconds. I couldn’t believe how quickly my blood
pressure rose, and my symptoms went away.
Kolt just stared at me after and told me that was too scary.
Kolt and my mom had a good time visiting. They watched a couple NCIS episodes, Wimbledon,
and the movie Rudy throughout the day. I
had to work pretty hard to get Kolt to even look at me. He was pretty distracted, but I kept
reminding him that he needed to pay attention to me. We had a good time talking to Karen who is a
mother of 6 boys. She then adopted a
little girl who is now 12. We had a
great time talking about raising boys. I
think it was about that point when I got very tired and tried really hard to
sleep. I couldn’t actually fall asleep
because the Zofran was giving me a terrible headache.
At 2:30 PM, I was dilated to a 7. I was sure the baby was going to come any
minute at that point because I had no idea how long labor could last. The Pitocin was making me have contractions
every minute which ran the risk of stressing out the baby too soon. She shut off the Pitocin, but I did exactly
what I was supposed to and maintained slightly less intense contractions every
2 minutes.
At 3:00 PM, our nurse switched to Heather. I was so sad that Karen was gone, but she was
pretty good too. She measured me at an
8. I remember taking another short nap
before I woke up with a lot of pain.
They said that the extra dose of Lidocaine had worn off, so they gave me
another one. We were all ready for my
blood pressure to drop again, but within a minute, I felt nauseous and threw up
right away. It was a little difficult
throwing up ice chips because that was all they let me eat! I was starving! I
felt better afterwards though, and the anesthetic gave me great relief. They put in a catheter which gave me much
needed relief! At 5:00 PM, I was
measuring a 9 ½, but the baby hadn’t dropped past my pelvis, so the nurse didn’t
think I was close.
I took another little nap, but woke up to what I thought
then was the worst pain imaginable. I
had no idea what was coming. The anesthesiologist
had warned us that for long labors close to 12 hours, epidurals don’t
necessarily wear off, but your body gets accustomed to it, and you will not
feel the relief. That was exactly what
was happening. At 6:00 PM, I was in
tears telling Kolt I needed help. He
told me to call the nurse in and get help.
She came in and helped me get started pushing at 6:30 PM.
The pushing seemed to be useless as I couldn’t see the
progress, and nurse said I would be pushing for 2 hours if I started now. They told me to hold my breath and push for
10 seconds at a time. I had a really hard
time pushing for the whole 10 seconds, but Kolt was amazing and helped me by
holding his breath with me every time.
My mom later said that she was doing the same thing over on the couch. I was in horrible pain though and asked for
more Lidocaine. He came right in and
injected more, but it gave me no noticeable relief. The nurse said that I just need to push the
baby’s head past my pelvis. It scared me
immediately because I knew that my sister Natalie’s pelvis didn’t spread for
her babies, so she had to have C-sections.
I was pretty panicked when she said that, but Heather assured me that my
pelvis was spread, but his head was just big.
At 7:00 PM, the nurse saw his head and said he had dark
hair! I was pretty miserable, so she told Kolt to come down and look. He came back with the biggest smile. It was moments like those that helped me keep
pushing. Heather had helped me finish
dilating to a 10 from the pushing, and I got the baby’s head past the
pelvis. There was several times I had
Kolt put on the oxygen because I was getting so lightheaded. My mom left the room and said she would wait
outside. At 7:20 PM, Heather said if I
pushed 2 more times like I did, she would call Dr. Huggins. I was determined to push with all I had. At that moment, I thought I may just
die. I kept telling Kolt that I couldn’t
do it, and he just got this sick look on his face and told me it was too
late. I must’ve done it because the next
thing I knew she was on the phone telling Dr. Huggins to come because she
thought we’d have the baby in an hour. I
looked at Kolt right away and said I wasn’t pushing another hour. They also called the NICU nurses to come in
and set up their baby station because Kason had had a bowel moment during labor
and ran the risk of inhaling meconium.
Dr. Huggins came in immediately, and I tried not to stop
pushing. She is an amazing doctor. She kept it so light hearted and helped me
focus and remember the ultimate goal. I
was really struggling right then. Dr.
Huggins commented on how Kolt must work outside because he’s so tan. She was also combing Kason’s hair in a Mohawk
as he came out. She helped me find some
handle bars to hold onto because I was pinching Kolt’s hand, pulling on his
shirt, and once I grabbed him by the neck, which I feel bad about now! I still
had a hard time holding on to it, but I sure tried. They offered to get me a mirror, so I could
see Kason’s head of hair. I said no
initially, but decided I needed something to take my mind off it. When I saw how much progress I had made and
how much of his head I could see, I gained so much motivation. It hurt worse than anything I could ever
imagine, but seeing my baby’s head helped me push with all I had. The next 5 minutes lasted forever. I pushed and pushed and tried not to let
up. The nurse was on one side, and Kolt
was on the other. I remember lots of people
on the other side of the room, setting up a place for Kason. After I had pushed all I could, Dr. Huggins
told me to try to relax, and she helped work his shoulders through.
As soon as I felt like I could breathe again, she set Kason
up on my stomach for about 15 seconds while she cut the umbilical cord
off. The NICU nurses then grabbed him and
started working with him. Kolt stayed
with me until Dr. Huggins stitched up my 1st degree tear. She and the nurse had worked really hard to prevent
tearing during labor. I felt every
stitch and was so ready to be done when she put in the last stitch. Kolt kept smiling at me and saying, “You did
a good job, Susie. You did it.” When Dr. Huggins finished, Kolt went over to
Kason and sat with him while they finished.
He cried and cried so loud, which we later found out was an indication
that he had swallowed the meconium.
Everyone kept commenting what a big baby he was. One of the NICU nurses commented to my mom in
the hall that he was ready to walk out himself.
The nurses yelled from his bed that he was 9 lbs. 8 oz. and 22 ¾ inches
long. I couldn’t believe it. He was a huge boy! Dr. Huggins promised me
she wouldn’t let the baby get that big next time. I told Kolt to run out and tell my mom how
big he was. She couldn’t believe
it. The nurse asked me what his name was. I smiled at Kolt and said, “Kason! Kason Kolt
Piquet” Kolt got to bring him back over
to me, and we shared the sweetest moment as we looked our son and felt the most
peaceful, calming moment.
The next 2 hours were kind of a blur. My mom came in right away and helped me feed
him. Imagine that! Kolt’s son came out ready
to eat. My dad waited in the hall for a
few minutes and then came in right away.
He was the happiest grandpa when he got to hold sweet baby Kason. My mom did a good job taking pictures. Landon and Shauna came next! Paisley got to meet baby Kason. Kolt’s family came just after that. Everyone took a turn holding him. They had to wait for Kolt to finish giving
Kason a bath first. Natalie also was
there then, so we all had a great time visiting and telling them our entire
story. Our families had waited all day
for this baby, so by 7:40 PM, they were ready to come see our baby. At 10 PM, everyone left. Kolt and I got to spend another hour looking
at Kason and being together with our new family.
Kolt and I asked the nursery for help on Wednesday night, so
we could get some sleep.
We had a great
day Thursday with visits from both of our families and Makayla, Sam, and Mandi.
We just loved holding Kason.
Kason was feeding really well, and his mom
was getting used to nursing.
We visited
with Kason’s pediatrician, Dr. Southwick.
He mentioned that Kason had a slight heart murmur, but he only heard it
once in 5 minutes.
We didn’t worry
because I have a heart murmur that doesn’t affect me at all.
He told us that if we wanted to leave that
night, Kason was good to go.
Dr. Huggins
also came and told me I could leave that night also if I was ready.
We worked really hard to get all checked off, so we could
get discharged. The last thing we did
was send Kason to the nursery for his final checkout. The nurse told us it would only take 15
minutes. After 35 minutes, Kolt and I
both had an uneasy feeling. We were both
anxious to leave, so we initially blamed it on that. Kolt finally had enough and went to go look
for him, but he couldn’t see him anywhere.
After 50 minutes, the nurse came in.
She was Kolt’s least favorite nurse of our entire hospital stay, but it’s
obvious as to why. Her first words were,
“Kason is not cooperating. He is failing
his oxygen saturation test. He is not
going home tonight.” I tried so hard to keep it together as we listened to her
tell us that he was going to the NICU and would need to be monitored because he
had a heart murmur and was struggling to breathe. She told us she would come back, so that we
could see him before he went to the NICU.
That was the worst 5 minutes of my life.
I cried and cried to Kolt, and we both just held each other pretty
broken hearted. Kolt kept assuring me
that it was okay, but the news broke both of our hearts as we unloaded the car
again.
Dr. Huggins told us we could stay another night, which
helped us, so we didn’t have to leave Kason quite yet. Kolt pushed me in the wheel chair to go see
Kason for about 30 seconds before he was sent to the NICU. All I could do was watch his chest and see
how he was breathing. It broke my heart
to leave him. It took about an hour
until we heard from the NICU. We went to
the NICU and saw Victor running a heart ultrasound. It was amazing to see the tiny things in
Kason’s heart. We met the Neonatologist
who was called in to see Kason. She
teased us for ruining her firework show because it was the night of July 4th. We loved the doctor; she explained things
beautifully and helped assure us that things were not as bad as they could
be.
She explained that Kason had inhaled some meconium during
delivery. Because of this, he was not taking
deep breaths, and the oxygen was not getting through his body. This caused an airway in the heart that is
open in the womb, but closes during the first week of life, to stay open and
not close completely. By being open,
Kason was not using his full heart to breath.
The extra breaths and lack of oxygen was causing Kason’s heart
murmur. All of the irritation in his
lungs, which wasn’t an infection, caused him to have PPHN. PPHN babies get stressed by lots of touch and
noise, so our time with him was limited if we wanted him to improve. The doctor said that Kason would need to be watched
in the NICU for at least 48 hours. It broke
my heart to see Kason in an incubator, hooked to a machine with all kinds of
cords. He had a gavage feeding tube and
oxygen in his nose. They told me that I
would not be able to breastfeed him, and we were only allowed to hold his hand
in the incubator for limited periods of time.
The next 12 hours were really hard for Kolt and me. It was horrible being without him. All of this had surprised us completely. After having my baby for almost 24 hours, I
hadn’t even considered the thought of him being in the NICU. We weren’t prepared for it at all. It was emotionally draining, but it just
continued. Initially, we didn’t really
understand what was going on. Kolt
studied about Kason’s condition for hours that night, but it was hard for me to
completely understand. It just didn’t
seem right that Kason could be fine one minute and not the next.
Kason was released from the NICU on Sunday, July 7th. My dad came over Friday morning, so Kolt and
he could give Kason a blessing. We got
to spend the day with him at the hospital Friday, but had to go home without
him Friday night. We got to visit with
the doctor about Kason’s progress once a day.
On Friday, Kason didn’t make any progress, and the doctor said we would
be here a little longer, just waiting to see how he progressed. They said that he always acted hungry, so
they increased his feedings. They also
called us and said that he needed to be held and asked if we wanted to. Kolt and I were in heaven holding our little baby
Friday night. It was so hard to not be
able to feed him or help him or make him breathe better. When we finally left Friday night, we were
very tired, and I was in a lot of pain. We
called the nurse to see how he was doing at about midnight, and she said he was
on room air and doing great. We
instantly thought that maybe he’d be home Saturday night, and the roller
coaster continued.
On Saturday I sat at his bedside from 8 AM to 10 PM. Kolt was there the entire day also besides a few hours to go back to work for the day. He made so much progress through the next 2
days. We turned down his liters/minute
to 2 instead of 3. He handled it
great. We also got to try breasfeeding
on Sunday, and he loved it. He just kept
amazing the doctors. They called him
their little man at the NICU. We held
him the entire day on Saturday. We loved
having our family visit. Jeanna also
visited and lifted our spirits through the afternoon. He got off oxygen Saturday night and
maintained it all through the night. On
Sunday morning, the doctor told us to prepare for discharge. It was still very emotionally exhausting as
he almost didn’t pass the car seat test and struggled a little bit during the
day. Finally, at 5:00 PM on Sunday we
got to carry our little boy out to the car and take him home. It was the most rewarding moment of my
life. I sat in the back seat with my
hand on his chest, just to make sure he was still breathing.
We have loved having Kason home with us. He sure made us work hard to bring him
home. I still have a hard time setting
him down or not holding him because I just keep thinking of the hours when we
weren’t allowed to hold him. The first
night he was home I never once complained about him not sleeping during the
night. I was perfectly content to hear
him cry, breath, grunt, and fuss. Having
Kason in the NICU helped Kolt and I grow so much in our marriage and as a
family. As we spent our 3 days in the NICU,
we realized just how lucky we are to only be in there for 3 days. I am in awe of those mothers, fathers and families
who have babies in the NICU for weeks and months. I admire all those who are there with them
each and every day because it is emotionally draining and physically exhausting
to always be on ups and downs.
We are so grateful for our amazing families and friends, who
sent meals, texted, called, visited, emailed, prayed, and fasted for us. Our testimonies of the Priesthood along with
the power of prayer and fasting have surely strengthened. We are so grateful for our loving and supportive
parents. They never fail to build the bridge
that gets us through. Thank so much for
all the love, prayers and support. We couldn’t
have made it through without you. Kason
improved so quickly because of your prayers.
We are so grateful for the gospel in our lives. We are so thankful to have our sweet baby
Kason home. We love him so much, and he
has already become the center of our lives.
Thank goodness families can be together forever!
