The Hoellein's: Karlee Ann Hoellein

Karlee Ann Hoellein was born on October 23, 2014 at 7:35 pm. She was 7lbs 1oz 18 1/2 inches long. It was a very difficult delivery for me! After my water was broken I started getting very sick. I ended up delivering her with a fever of 104.7 and throwing up. I have not been this sick in a very very long time. Despite having an epidural and being numb from the very top of my stomach down I was in an enormous amount of pain. By the time I was ready to deliver her I was so sick I did not think that I was going to be able to push her out. When Karlee was born we found out that I had gotten a bacterial infection in my uterus which was the reason I had gotten sick. The minute Karlee was born I felt almost a hundred times better despite still having a fever. Karlee was born with a fever of 103 we were both put on antibiotics and she ended up in the NICU because of the antibiotics they had to put an IV in her.
At the begining of this pregnancy I found out that I had contracted CMV. This is a virus that 85% of the human population has but they do not know it. However if babies contract it there can be some serious side effects. CMV is the leading cause for deafness in infants. During this pregnancy I participated in a research study for CMV. I got monthly infusions of an antibody that was found in the hemoglbin in our blood. When admitted into the hospital I needed to let the hospital know that I was participating in the study. When the Neonatal doctor who was on call in the NICU he put Karlee in isolation and I was not permitted into the NICU so I didn't infect the other babies. Which would be fine except that CMV is only passed through bodily fluids so me just walking through the NICU would not have done anything. Luckily the head nurse in the NICU cleaned out an adjoining room to the NICU and put Karlee in there so I was still able to go down and feed her and hold and cuddle her. I was very appreciative of this, however it was still extremely hard for me to leave my baby girl at the hospital when I had to leave. I know a few days is not bad and that other people have to leave their babies a lot longer than we had to however it does not make it any easier.
Despite everything that went on we are extremely blessed and excited to finally have Karlee here! The boys love their little sister and want to love on her every chance they get. :)