Melanie Maxwell delivered Andrew

[WonderingInWA]

Love how the updates have stopped for a couple of days. Lots of build up, prayers please, drama, and then - boom- nothing. Sure, I know things are busy, but write one decent sentence (not a baby rambling) and update all those blog readers who really hang on this stuff...and FJers too!

Methinks Sarah is quite the drama queen, but I can't blame her. When life is so, so, so dull, it's inevitable that you'd latch on to any bit of thrill that comes your way.

I really do hope that Drew is skating through his early days now; I just think it's rude to get everyone on their knees praying and then keep them there. Oh, wait...

Right! If Melanie didn't have a c-section, she has to have been kicked out of the hospital by now, right? Or is that only for people with insurance? Maybe if you have Scamaritan, you get to stay as long as you like -- sort of like a hotel.

And the creation of the drama without coming back to follow-up with a progress report is just part of the marketing. Stevie WANTS us to want an update and he's in control!

[N The Prayer Closet]

Melanie delivered Drew in the western suburbs of Kansas City where I live. I was able to stay "under the insurance radar" when my son spent his first 8 days in the NICU once I was kicked out of the post-delivery room. There's a good chance she's in the hospital I delivered in and gets to sleep and freshen up in a tiny private room near the maternity ward. By the time you drive to the hospital, get to the NICU wing, sign in, scrub in for 3 minutes, etc., you are better off just staying in the recliner next to your baby anyway, especially if you are nursing/pumping every 2 hours. I'm sure it's a scary time for them given the baby girl they lost just a few years ago.

It makes my blood boil the way these women discuss having more children after difficult, scary pregnancies. I don't wish Melanie any harm or ill will but it's completely selfish to want another baby/ baby boy given her history. I find it so odd of them to word it as "my FIRST boy" because any normal person would be living one minute at a time under their circumstances. JMHO

[Jana814]

Agreed, but I wonder how much pressure Nathan puts on himself about having a quiver of 4. I'm sure it hurts his ego, even without Steve; especially knowing that Christopher is likely to have a much larger quiver.

I completely agree w/ u when it comes to Nathan & Christopher. Not only that but it seems as though Anna Marie can easily get pregnant while Melanie has some issues.

[Joan of Snarc]

These are the decisions that they make, though. I don't really for sorry for Melanie or any of the adults in the family (her children, yes) if something happens to her. These people are capable of rational thought, but they reject it, believing Jeebus wants them to birth a small army of Christian babies when all the physical evidence points to needing to stop and enjoy the healthy children they already have.

If they continue on and something happens to Melanie, let it be on her and Nathan's heads. It was their choice. How many infertile couples would be thrilled out of their minds with one healthy child? Mel and Nat now have four, assuming baby Drew is healthy. If they continue on and something bad happens, I don't feel one bit sorry for them. Their kids, maybe. But Mel and Nat are adults and should be capable of making good decisions.

:twocents-02cents:

[theologygeek]

Dang, that is a big pre-term baby! My daughter was a week late and she only weighed 6lb 13oz.

One of my kids was a month early. He was 6lb 4oz.

Melanie's sister posted on fb a couple of hours ago that the baby is still having problems.

[Dru]

Looking through Mel's sisters facebook page and read this:

This article may not make me popular but I found it interesting and I am happy that Hobby Lobby will not be forced to provide the morning after pill. I don't believe a company should be forced to pay for something to ensure life is stopped that another individual's choices started. It is a matter of freedom of conscience.

Being very transparent here, in my not so pretty past, I was strongly pressured to take the morning after pill before and even really wished I could but my conscience would not allow it. I cannot imagine being forced to choose between violating my conscience for another's choices or losing my livelihood.

"It’s worth noting that Hobby Lobby has no problem with contraception — it already provides birth control. The company only took issue with abortion-inducing drugs, like the Morning After Pill.

...

Progressives have reacted to the ruling in their typically reasonable way, calling for Hobby Lobby to be burned to the ground, marking the first time in recorded history that anyone has made terroristic threats against an arts and crafts chain. Jo-Ann Fabrics better start beefing up its security."

.......................................................................................

I am not trying to bring up the Hobby Lobby topic on this thread- I know there is a separate thread for that. However, I was shocked that she was admitting being pressured into taking the morning after pill. This implies she has had sex. I hope this was not the case of a rape.

Grace has mentioned several times that she strayed from the path in her younger years. Of course I'm sure in Steve's opinion she still can't even see the path from where she is now.

[Muriel]

Melanie's sister posted that 3 hours ago:

"Update: Cpap is off, fluid is draining, more alert and aware. He had some Brady's yesterday. Praying those will quit."

He seems to be better... I don't know what Brady's mean though :think:

[Coconut Flan]

Bray's are bradychardia or slow heartbeat. It's rather common with early/immature for date infants.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

I assume bradycardia, slow heart beat

Wikipedia says

Infantile

For infants, bradycardia is defined as a heart rate of less than 100 bpm (normal is around 120–160). Premature babies are more likely than full-term babies to have apnea and bradycardia spells; their cause is not clearly understood. Some researchers[who?] think the spells are related to centers inside the brain that regulate breathing that may not be fully developed. Touching the baby gently or rocking the incubator slightly will almost always get the baby to start breathing again, which increases the heart rate. Medications (theophylline or caffeine) can be used to treat these spells in babies if necessary. Neonatal intensive-care unit (NICU) standard practice is to electronically monitor the heart and lungs for this reason.

[Muriel]

Bray's are bradychardia or slow heartbeat. It's rather common with early/immature for date infants.

Is it serious ?

[Coconut Flan]

Short course on bradychardia:

Bradycardia (bray-dee-car'-dee-ah) is the medical term for a heart rate that is too slow. How slow is too slow varies. Babies usually have heart rates faster than adults do; so a heart rate of 80 may be fine for an adult but may be low for a newborn. Also premature babies tend to have faster heart rates than full term babies do and the heart rate tends to decrease with age after birth. In general, a heart rate of 120­-160 is normal for a premature and 80-140 for a full term.

Most apnea and bradycardia episodes are due to prematurity but many other medical conditions can cause these problems; so infants with episodes are usually checked for these problems. This is especially true if the baby is a term infant.

Infection - infection is a fairly common cause and is often looked for if a baby develops apnea.

Low blood sugar.

Low blood oxygen.

Environmental factors - high or low body temperature, over­-stressing or excessive handling of a very premature infant.

Airway problems - any kind of block in the airway or nose, including mucous, can cause problems especially in a premature.

Neurological problems

First, your baby is checked for how often the events occur, how long they last, how much stimulation is needed and if there may be other causes such as infection, low oxygen, etc. If the baby has only occasional episodes that respond to gentle stimulation, no further treatment may be needed except to monitor the baby until the episodes stop happening

Most babies will have stopped having events by the time they are ready to go home. If your baby is at risk or is still having occasional brief episodes that recover quickly, then a home apnea monitor may be an option.

[WonderingInWA]

A friend of mine had a baby who was 10 weeks early. The baby was in the hospital for about 6 weeks, IIRC, then when they brought her home they had to treat her with caffeine (I don't remember how it was administered) for her apnea for about another 6 weeks.

[Muriel]

Thank you CoconutFlan !

That seems to be a pretty common problem and doctors seems to know how to handle it...

[Coconut Flan]

It is. One of my infants was very small at birth and while dated at 38 weeks didn't respond as full term. She spent a few days in NICU and had a few episodes with apnea and bradychardia the first two or three days and then was OK. She was also difficult to feed the first two months and had some other issues that usually preemies have. By four months no one would have ever known.

[freethemall]

Their blog is so confusing - I looked through posts and see the "Andrew is his name!" although called Drew, and underneath that "Baby Max is here!", making me think there's either twins named Max and Drew or they renamed him or something, until I realized they meant Baby Maxwell. Silly Sarah.

[twin2]

While I'm not so naïve as to think they'll start to use birth control, it really is terrifying to think that trying for more kids will continue. Melanie is 39, she very well could get pregnant one or two more times. The thought of how much danger her health could be in, with four young children at home, really scares me.

And good points from the posters above who point out how much these difficult pregnancies affect the younger children and their schooling. Those kids are LITTLE, and they need a mom. It's strange to me that a culture that emphasizes family and women becoming mothers above all else can't seem to understand this.

Abby is what 6 now? In the fundie world that is more than old enough to start raising her siblings so her parents can have more blessings.

[Coconut Flan]

Abby is what 6 now? In the fundie world that is more than old enough to start raising her siblings so her parents can have more blessings.

Plus three unwed aunties available for free labor.

[Hane]

This was posted on June 15, 2012 by cci.

After a very hard labor, the doctor deemed it necessary to do an emergency C-section, and at 1:57 p.m. Christina Mercy entered the world. She was 9 pounds 6 ounces and doing fine. Melanie is “okay,†and we are praising God for His mercy and grace.

I noticed the post was signed by cci rather than Sarah. Now I'm wondering if Steve wrote this. The scare quotes around "okay" were mentioned in some comments as being worrisome, but the Maxwells couldn't be bothered to address these concerns in the comments.

My sister's son showed up as 9 lb. 6 oz. in his ultrasound, so she chose to have a C-section (her daughter had weighed over two pounds less and had been a rough delivery owing to my sister's narrow pelvis). I wonder whether Melanie and her doctor had considered a C-section earlier, but she was guilted out of it.

[FloraDoraDolly]

Their blog is so confusing - I looked through posts and see the "Andrew is his name!" although called Drew, and underneath that "Baby Max is here!", making me think there's either twins named Max and Drew or they renamed him or something, until I realized they meant Baby Maxwell. Silly Sarah.

Sarah calls all of her in-utero nieces and nephews Baby Max.

[WonderingInWA]

I think the Baby Max thing is actually pretty cute. Since they generally don't find out the sex of the babies until they are born (this time N&M did, though), it's a good way to refer to the baby rather than an "it".

[anjulibai]

Sarah update with a few more pics and a lot more details. Drew seems to be doing better; he's also a cutie.

[Trynn]

I'm glad he's doing better.

I don't fault them for not updating too often. It must be difficult to go through; rushing to update the blog wouldn't be my first reaction either.

[HereticHick]

Not one g**damn word of praise or even acknowledgement for the doctors and nurses and SCIENCE that have saved Drew's life.

[Jana814]

Not one g**damn word of praise or even acknowledgement for the doctors and nurses and SCIENCE that have saved Drew's life.

I have such a issue w/ that!! They just won't acknowledge it. They never do. Even when Abby was in the hospital they wouldn't.

[moodygirl86]

Not one g**damn word of praise or even acknowledgement for the doctors and nurses and SCIENCE that have saved Drew's life.

I know, and I'm wondering whether it would be the reverse attitude if he hadn't been fine.