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Couple welcomes baby 13 weeks premature at PCH
It’s not every day a baby is born at Putnam County Hospital … at least not anymore.
The OB unit at the hospital closed more than 10 years ago in September 2011.
So a baby born at PCH is really worthy of note … particularly one who was born 13 weeks ahead of schedule.
That’s the story of young Mabel Baidinger, born in the wee hours of Sunday, Nov. 7 in the PCH emergency room.
Parents Julie and Dan Baidinger were looking forward to meeting their firstborn, but they didn’t expect her quite so soon — Julie’s due date was early February.
However, the contractions started that Saturday evening. The Baidingers called their Indianapolis-based obstetrician, but this wasn’t the first time. Julie had experienced Braxton-Hicks contractions earlier that week as well.
She followed the doctor’s advice, which included resting and drinking water, but something was different this time. The contractions were getting faster, more painful, more aggressive.
That was when they got in the car and headed for Putnam County Hospital.
“It was really good we didn’t wait any longer or try to go to Indy,” Dan said.
Mabel was apparently in a hurry to meet her parents. When the Baidingers arrived at PCH, Julie was helped in via wheelchair, taken to the ER and had delivered the baby within 10 minutes.
“They barely caught her when she was coming out, she came so fast,” Julie said. “It was just so shocking.”
The Baidingers had nothing but praise for the team that assisted them at PCH, which consisted mainly of Dr. Keshava Reddy and registered nurses Rebecca Gibbons-Caldwell, nursing house supervisor and Hannah Crooks, emergency department staff nurse.
“They did a great job,” Dan said.
With the strong possibility of false labor or at least a longer labor process, the doctor was conducting an examination when he realized the baby was already in the birth canal.
“There was never a sense of panic,” Dan said.
“Except for us,” Julie added.
The Baidingers were especially impressed with the two nurses who had come to work that night with no idea they’d be delivering a baby.
“These young nurses who weren’t expecting this, they never panicked,” Dan said. “Dr. Reddy had delivered babies before, but they hadn’t been part of this.”
After the birth, though, the work was just beginning, as babies born at 27 weeks have a lot of developing yet to do. The staff quickly worked to get Mabel stabilized, getting her on oxygen and her temperature under control.
“Everybody kind of knows what a baby looks like coming out,” Dan said, “but not when it’s only two pounds.”
Two pounds, two ounces was the exact count, a number that went down to two pounds even at one point but had climbed back to two pounds, four ounces by last Friday afternoon.
A response team from Riley Children’s Hospital soon arrived at PCH for Mabel, intubated her and got her stable before airlifting her to Indianapolis.
Julie followed soon after in an ambulance.
While Mabel has a long stay ahead of her at Riley, mom was discharged on Nov. 9.
“There’s not a lot of recovery after delivering a two-pound baby, so I’m doing fine,” she quipped.
In fact, many who might have seen Julie on her mailcarrier route around town might not have even known she was pregnant, as she had gained only 15 pounds due to walking 10-13 miles daily for her job.
But both Julie and Dan, who owns the Farmers Insurance Agency on East Washington Street in Greencastle, are likely to be spending less time at work for a while, as Mabel likely has a 12-week stay at Riley ahead of her, which will take her very near the time of her original Feb. 3 due date.
Still, there have already been signs of progress. The breathing tube was taken out last week, with a CPAP mask in its place. While the oxygen is still being pushed into the mask, Mabel’s tiny lungs are at least learning the process of breathing on their own.
As mentioned, her weight is also up as she’s drinking milk, a change from the water and electrolytes she was initially fed. With that also came her first bowel movement, which any parent of a newborn can tell you is a big deal as well.
As they take it all in, the Baidingers find themselves overwhelmed with gratitude for what they’ve experienced every step of the way.
“We just want to make sure we communicate how deeply thankful we are for the effort of Putnam County Hospital, Riley Children’s Hospital and the generosity of the Indianapolis Ronald McDonald House,” Dan said.
As it turns out, Mabel arrived just in time to help celebrate a milestone in Julie’s life.
“We were joking that she wanted to make it out for my 40th birthday,” Julie said.
That milestone arrived on Sunday, and with it another — Julie and Dan got to hold their daughter for the first time that day.
It’s hard to imagine a better birthday present than that.