Baby Kina - She's HERE!!

I know! I can't believe it either. She came early!! We've had a busy, crazy week in the Latu house with the arrival of our little daughter, Kina. Everything has happened so fast it's a little overwhelming and I think I've yet to wrap my brain around it all. One thing we are sure of though, is that we are very, very blessed. I thought I'd post a day-by-day account of events to keep everything organized on paper and in my brain. It all started. . .

Wednesday

Tuesday night, I woke up several times because of pains in my lower abdomen. I had gone on a long walk the evening before so I thought it was just growing pains or something similar. Before Wayne left at 7 in the morning, I told him I'd been in pain. He immediately said, "Let's go to the doctors". I, of course, said, "No" - I didn't want to make a big deal of it - my due date was not for another 6 weeks. Wayne left to football and about a half our later I started bleeding.
I was so scared. I called Wayne, my mom and then 911. The ambulance and paramedics were there in a few minutes. We went to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center and they checked me in. The bleeding didn't stop and soon it was accompanied by contractions. They said we may have to be transferred up to the U of U Hospital if the labor progressed, however, the doctors were very hopeful that I would stabilize and be home by morning. Still, they banned me from food in case of an emergency c-section and gave the baby a shot of steroids to help her lungs better develop in case of an early birth.

We hung out there the whole day - Wayne came from practice and stayed with me, which was very nice. The word got out and Fui and Leonne, all Wayne's sisters, and David and Shan came to visit. Fui said the football team had a special meeting for our baby and my little brother, Michael offered a prayer on behalf of the team. I was so touched.


Around 10 pm my contractions were coming 5 minutes apart and they were more painful. The doctor found I was dilated to a 3 and said I would be taken by ambulance to the U - we had planned to deliver there from the beginning when our baby was diagnosed with gastroschisis. It was a high risk delivery and she would need to be taken to the NICU at Primary Children's Hospital immediately after birth. The fact that she was coming early only made things more urgent and scary. He called the U to arrange the ride and they said they were sending the Life Flight helicopter to pick me up. It was my first ride in a helicopter!! The flight from Provo to Salt Lake City took 15 minutes. I definitely like this form of travel.

Once at the U, they hooked me up to everything and found I was already dilated to a 6. That was definitely a big surprise. The plan was to slow down my quickly progressing labor so the baby could have more time and receive her much needed shots which could only be given every 24 hours. Wayne arrived, laid out his little cot and went to sleep. I had an oxygen mask on and about 6 different tubes and wires going in and away from me. Needless to say, I was pretty uncomfortable and had a very, very long night.

Thursday

Even though they were giving me medicine to slow things down, it seemed the baby had other plans. My contractions continued and I was dilated to an 8 by morning. Soon, the decision was made to allow my labor to take it's natural course and have a baby. The pain was SO extreme. I think I was already so exhausted from the bleeding and the long foodless day before . . . I was not handling it very well, to say the least. I asked for an epidural . . . and it made a huge difference. They had to give me the shot twice because the first one didn't take, but when it finally kicked in I was able to relax.
Things went quickly from there. My water was broken and after 3 pushes Kina was born at 10:08 am. She was immediately taken to the U of U NICU right next to our room so they could wrap and protect her bowels. She weighed 4 lbs. 10 oz. and was 17 1/2 inches long. Wayne, my mom and Tali were present for the birth.

I got to see her soon after. My first thoughts were that she looked like Wayne. She has his mouth and her face looks like a Latu. She has a TON of black curly hair and long fingers. She is beautiful.
When we moved into our recovery room, Kalo arrived with Malia. The transport team from Primary Childrens Hospital brought in Kina en route to her new place in the NICU at Primarys and Malia got to meet her baby sister for the first time. It was a special moment.

The rest of that day was spent in bed recovering. Wayne went down for the first of Kinas operations - she got a silo around her bowels which will suspend them above her abdomen and make it possible for them to slowly fit back into her body.
Our family came up and everyone got to meet our little Kina, the newest addition to our family.

Friday

I spent most of this day in bed, but Wayne got to go back and forth to see little Kina. Kimberly Roy and Shan came up to visit in the morning, Vai, Kina and Leo came in the afternoon and the rest of the family came in the evening.

Kina seems to be doing very good in the NICU. The doctors like her color and are impressed that she can breathe on her own. In the evening she received a PICC line that goes in her arm, through a vein and to her heart. This line will enable her to receive medication easier and quicker and it can stay in for days or weeks, as needed.
I have felt so great and I feel like the recovery process is going very smoothly. I'm so grateful for the awesome nurses and doctors at the U and and at Primary's - they have been incredible.

Saturday

I felt great. I was moving around a little more and Tali was with me to check out around noon. I really enjoyed my hospital stay - everyone was so great and I got some much needed rest - but I was very excited to be home and with Malia again.
I checked in with Kina before we left and the doctors had just done their rounds. They reduced her bowels a little and said she was looking good. We're hoping for the best!