The Thing About David is...

You've probably been wondering, where are all the posts about David?  How is he doing?  With Emma, I posted weekly/daily updates, but now, nothing.  Brief, sporadic bouts of blogging/Facebook is about all I can do these days, and not because of David, but I've had my hands into a variety of different things. Let it suffice to say, I've been busy, and in a good way.  Acclimating to two kids plus new friends, new jobs, new hobbies, new calling at church--but that's another post.

August 18, 2013.

Back to David.

The thing about David is:  He is SUCH an EASY baby.  

Did I mention he was an easy baby?  I don't know if it was all the sleepless nights we had with Emma or if it was the constant worrying if she was doing alright (her schedule, breathing, eating enough, gaining weight, eating often enough, growing, nursing well, keeping her temperature, when she should be weaned from her oxygen, if her ROP surgery would affect her vision forever), or the fact that we could never put her down without her crying because of her reflux that made it so difficult, but I've pretty much determined with her, I must have been supermom.  There, I've said it.  I didn't know having babies could be this easy.  Back in this previous post, I dreamed for the most "normal" average baby because I didn't want David to have to experience all the challenges Emma had...

...and you know what?

Dreams really do come true.

At least for me, parenting David has provided a sort of healing process for me as a mom.  He has reaffirmed me as a capable mom and that my experience with Emma was really quite the atypical situation.  He has given me the gift of me knowing that I can be a good mom, that what I thought were complete "fails" weren't really failures with Emma, but really large victories.  I mean, I knew that, but now I feel it deep down inside.  That's progress.  He's my second miracle child.

Parenting David has been a breeze so far.  I mean, yes, he still is a preemie and has the apnea/heartrate monitor to prove it, but he does all the things I've only heard that babies do--you know--sleep, eat, pee/poop, and repeat.  He even cries when hungry.  Yes!  He even gets hungry.  Period.  Imagine that.  (These are all things that were lacking with Emma when she was born.)

• David sleeps about 14-16 hours a day.  Check.  
• He eats about 4 oz. of fortified breastmilk every 2.5 to 3 hours.  Double check.  (Shoot, make that triple check.)  
• He poops...wait, no, actually he doesn't poop very often at all.  (Time-out for some potty talk.  He has even gone 9 days without pooping.  We called the doctor and she said if he doesn't go within 5-7 days to give him prune juice.  She said some breastfed babies just don't have a need to eliminate as often and utilize every nutrient.  I would worry about it, but he's been growing and gaining weight beautifully.  The kid is obviously not hurting for calories here.  I mean, have you seen this kid's chunky cheeks lately?  I guess that is one more thing that makes him easy.)  Less poopy diapers to change.  Quadruple check.

Now, in no way do all these comparisons to Emma diminish how special she is.  We appreciate EVERYTHING about her.  Man, we love that girl so so much.  The fact is, they are two very different babies, and she's the only experience we've got.  I actually can now agree from experience when mothers say each child is different and what worked for one child doesn't necessarily work for another.

Sleeping...like a baby! :0  This is truly a breath-taking sight.

HIS STATS:

Actual Birth Day: May 2, 2013

Due Date: July 9 or 11th (they couldn't decide), 2013

Birth (Adjusted age: 30 weeks) *was in NICU - 05/02/13

Weight: 1.38 kg (3 lbs 1 oz)

Length: 41 cm (16.14 in)

Head Circumference: 27 cm (10.63 in)

Clothes: small preemies are even big

Feeding: 0-30 ml every 3 hours by bottle

Sleeping: great sleeper, just wakes up to eat

Apnea/Bradycardia: about 5-10 a day

Parenting David: I was at peace, even though he came early.  I knew he would be okay the moment they told me he was breathing room air and didn't need oxygen support.  When I saw him, he looked so perfect.  He was small, yet fully formed.  He looked strong.  It was the most difficult not being with him at the hospital all the time and having to divide my time between home/Emma and David.  The commute and visits started to wear on me. I had to visit in the wee hours of the morning or late at night so I could have quality time with both children.  I became okay with that.  That is when I hit my stride as an NICU parent.

1 Month (Adjusted age: 34 weeks) *was in NICU - 06/04/13

Weight: 4 lbs 9 oz

Clothes: large preemie - newborn (newborn diapers)

Feeding: eats 30-60ml, every 3 hours, at the end, could eat however/much he wanted.

Sleeping: great sleeper, just wakes up to eat, more a night owl

Apnea/Bradycardia: about 1-5 a day

Parenting David: Journal entry dated 06/04/13 4:17am, "David did wonderfully nursing today.  As I hold him I notice how peaceful he is.  His hair is so soft as I run it against my chin and cheek.  He's so warm.  It's one of my favorite things.  This time during bottle feeding, David grabbed my fingers with both his hands to bring the bottle closer to his mouth, as if to say, 'I'm hungry! Don't even think about taking the bottle away from me or putting it down.'  He's never done this before. It was so nice to witness this little moment of communication.  I forget how magnificent it is to have those developmental moments unfold and to be the person who is there to notice them.  I am his mother and he needs me.  Every little thing about his life testifies this simple truth to me.  I could never leave him (long term).  I can't wait to take him home."

My daily view from the recliner.  (David is in an open air bed here.)

*We left the NICU to go home on 06/22/13, during Week 37.  Before we left, we had to "room in", which meant I stayed the night with David.  We practiced with the monitor he would go home with and I had to feed him, change his diaper, take his temperature, and anything else he needed just as I would at home to prove to the nurses that we wouldn't kill him.  I had been doing this all along, but they wanted me to do it "all by myself".  Gladly.

 

David's ride out of the NICU.

Sister and brother meet for the first time.  Emma gives David a wave hello.
Love at first sight.

Right before leaving the hospital.  So excited!
After about 2 months in the hospital, we finally get to take our son home.
Emma is maybe second guessing the situation, "Wait, he's coming home with us?!"

(06/24/13 - first checkup after being home)

Weight: 6 lbs 3 oz

Length: 18.5 in

Head Circumference: 13.75 in

2 Months (Adjusted age: 39 weeks) - 07/05/13

Weight: 7 lbs 12 oz

Length: 19.25 in

Head Circumference: 14 in

Clothes: newborn, but growing out of (size 1-2 diapers)

Feeding: eats 60-100ml every 3 hours around the clock

Sleeping: great sleeper, still a night owl, but just wakes to eat and stays awake for only 15 minutes besides eating time every 3 hours

Apnea/Bradycardia: about 1 a day

Parenting David: Feeding is our main concern at this point.  Mama is pumping and bottle feeding him breastmilk, but also trying to ween him from the bottle and just breastfeed.  This is a difficult process because he is not strong enough and doesn't have the stamina for a full feeding.  I appreciate how good of a baby he is.  He doesn't cry hardly at all, just grunting.  He still sleeps a large part of the day so this is easing Emma into the fact that she's not an only child anymore.  Whenever he sleeps, I decided to spend time playing with Emma to make sure she is getting quality time with momma.

This is the first time Emma ever held David.  She was just so excited and gave him the biggest hug ever.

Emma loves her brother and gives him lots of kisses.

3 Months (Adjusted age: 43 weeks or 3 weeks, however you look at it) - 08/02/13

Weight: 10 lbs 8 oz

Length: 21 in

Clothes: 0-3 m (size 2 diapers, growing out of)

Feeding: eats 100-120 ml every 3 hours, during the night wakes for a 10pm/12am and 2/3am feeding, and 7/8am morning feeding

Sleeping: great sleeper, starting to be awake more during the day, day and night are fixed now, 

Apnea/Bradycardia: 0-1 a day

Parenting David: He's a good baby. Such a content baby.  Only thing is he isn't that great at keeping his pacifier in his mouth and will cry if it falls out.  He loves his pacifier!  Still hasn't mastered breastfeeding so the pumping continues...We're getting our first real smiles and coos.  He's soooo cute!  He's doing so wonderfully.  We couldn't ask for more.

Venturing out "illegally" for a Costco run.
Trying to keep David secluded from large crowds until his 4 month vaccinations.

Mr. Chubby Cheeks.

This kid is just a happy guy.
He is in a great mood almost all the time, except for when he's hungry...

Emma is 31 months old today.

Emma is 31 months old today. I wanted to remember all the growth she has done since David was born.

She really has grown up so much. In so many ways she is so sweet and lovely, a wonderful older sister, and a beautiful, fun-loving little lady.

She has hit many of the milestones that I've been waiting for: her hair is finally long enough for a ponytail, she and I can have real two-way conversations, she uses the potty on a daily basis, she can follow simple commands, she doesn't fight getting in the carseat, she can pick up and set down a cup without spilling (for the most part), she says and does things on her own accord that I have not taught her, and a number of other things that are so exciting.

She can sing now, too, which is so awesome to me. She has memorized nursery rhymes and lots of songs/tunes. Today she picked up David's toes and spontaneously did "this little piggy". I mean, c'mon! How cute that is because I have never taught her that (she learned it from dad doing it to her).

On a more serious note, this last month she said her first prayer, and all by herself. It's moments like this one that melt my heart.

Words/phrases she is saying:

1) okaaay (long and drawn out, usually after any yes/no question we ask her)

2) Alright! (With one fist raised and a lot of gumption)

3) I hold you (she means "hold me")

4) I broke it

5) I('m) sowee (sorry, she apologizes for things like if she bumps into you or if she falls down, things she doesn't even need to be sorry for)

6) thank you, mama (she is so polite. She says the phrase even when it is the other person who should be saying it, like when I ask her to bring me the TV remote, she gives it to me and excitedly says "thank you")

7) I foun you (I found you, she says in instances when she's lost something/toy but also in situations like when I go into her room in the morning when she wakes up. It's how she greets me sometimes, you know, to change it up.)

8) I wee you (I love you)
9) I heard it (and she stops and points to her ear)

10) can recite/sing/hum "abc song", "we are the alphabet" YouTube song, Dora theme song, Humpty Dumpty, twinkle twinkle little star, Mickey Mouse clubhouse theme song and hotdog song, a bunch of Kindermusik songs, once there was a snowman, hey diddle diddle, here we go round the mulberry bush, plus lots more I can't remember but wished I could.

Business As Usual

It's 3am in the morning and I find myself yearning to catch up on our blog.  I've taken a three month hiatus from blogging for the birth of our baby boy, David.  I posted on Facebook a couple days ago and noted that David was now 3 months old!  How time flies!  Precious memories have been photographed and need to be catalogued and recorded!  (I have taken only a few thousand pictures since my last post...)

So, the next posts are going to happen in a flurry.  They will be "backtrack" posts of the last three months, so bear with me.  (This seems to be a theme with me on this blog.  Hey, nobody's perfect and I know I'd rather have it recorded late than not at all.)  I've just been enjoying David and being a mother of two way too much.

So, here's to business as usual and sharing some good reading/journaling.  Hope you all enjoy my little family as much as I have for the last few months.  I am so grateful for my little family that has grown, in more ways than one. ;)

David's Birth: He Just Could Not Wait Any Longer, Thursday

Since I was pretty out of it, I asked that Joel write this portion of the birth story from his view.  So, the following is written by Joel.

After the doctor removed Jen's cerclage, her bleeding slowed but the contraction pain increased to levels only a mother could understand. I felt so helpless. Nothing I said or did affected her positively. Beads of sweat were glistening on her forehead from the intense and tortuous labor. I started to wonder if she could handle much more. When the nurse came in, she asked Jen if she would like to get an epidural. Jennifer gave a resounding yes, and before I could ask her if she was sure (she didn't want one with Emma or Ryan), she gave another resounding yes. It took quite a while for the pharmacy to fill the epidural order, long enough that I began to wonder. Jennifer barely felt the epidural needle as the contraction pain was so much worse. They had to steady her as the contractions were right on top of each other at that point. Within minutes of the infusion of the medication, Jennifer was fast asleep. It was night and day. One minute she was in excruciating pain and the next minute she was fast asleep. About two hours elapsed before the nurse came in and another 30 minutes until Dr. Desmarais came back. She performed a speculum exam and determined that Jennifer was 7 cm. The doctor decided she wanted to move forward so she inserted a long metal tool with snips at the end and ruptured the sack and prepared for delivery. After breaking her water, things moved pretty quickly. They moved her from her labor and delivery room over to the OR. They had me put on the hat and the shoe covers and gown. I felt a little unsettled about how quickly things moved. I didn't feel that great about the epidural or the way doctor Desmarais ruptured the sack so early. Once we were in the OR, it was a matter of getting everything set up. Getting all the tools, cloth, equipment, and personnel in place. At last we were ready to go. Dr. Desmarais asked Jen to try to start pushing. Dr. Desmarais inserted her hand and felt the baby's head and again asked Jen to push. Jen did the best she could considering she was completely numb, and before I knew it, little David Christopher came out. He had a full head of hair and he was crying. It was amazing. It almost wasn't even real. A little baby boy had been born, with his whole life ahead of him along with all the accomplishments and disappointments and joy and sorrow that would come along with it. This little boy will meet and touch the lives of so many people. That is why the feeling that I felt in that OR was so special; a child of God was born. That one moment represented the beginning of so much to come, and I get to be the one, along with Jennifer, to raise him up in truth and light and help him on his way. They held him up for us to see for just a moment or two, and then they sent him off to the NICU.

They rated him an 8/9 apgar. I felt a sense of peace and calm, as if his cry had somehow remedied our worry. I think it was a few hours before I went into the NICU to see him. After the delivery, I turned to Jennifer and said "I can't believe we have a little boy!" She looked at me, smiled, and said "I know." She was so tired that she fell fast asleep. However, I couldn't fight off the temptation to think "what if he could have made it just a few more weeks?" I think I felt that way because I truly didn't want David to struggle. It wasn't because I was being selfish and didn't want to spend the time in the NICU with him. (I still do have fears though that he will be a reflux baby like Emma.) However, only time will tell. Whatever his future, we will love him and support him 100%. I know Heavenly Father will have His hand in everything. We are so glad he made it safe and sound even if he was about 10 weeks early! What a blessing! 

Welcome to our family David Nyland Christopher! We love you so much.

David Nyland Christopher
Born May 2, 2013 at 2:48am.
3 lbs. 1 oz. (1380g) and 16 inches.

Leading up to David's Birth: Part IV Wednesday

At 4am, it was time to get started for day: take procardia and vitals, use bathroom, FB emails and note taking.  I find that I can't stop eating those pretzels Lisa dropped by.  I am now completely unhooked from cords and equipment and feel comfortable enough to go back to sleep at 5:15am.

6:15am Woken up and hooked up again to the IV for antibiotics.

7am New assistant RN emptied my urine.  The industrial toilet flush woke me up...again.  Did I mention that I had to use the bathroom every 1.5 hours or I felt like I would explode?  The nurses said I had fantastic "output".  Lol.  I was an ice-water drinking machine.

7:30am Rounds with Dr. Acuna and Bethany (nurse with short dark hair).  She wants to send me home on procardia and wants me to keep taking progesterone shots.  I am to be on strict bed rest with bathroom privileges, and don't need antibiotics after I leave.

8:30am Rounds with Dr. Sharon Desmarais.  I asked her if I should keep my 4-hour glucose test appointment.  I had failed my 1-hour test, but I am sure it was because I had eaten before it because they said I didn't need to fast.

9am Breakfast: eggs and bacon with banana bread and pudding.

9:15am First bowel movement since I arrived.  What a relief.

9:30-10:30am Shower and get dressed.  More pudding, procardia pill, gather personal belongings, brush teeth and comb hair.  Rest.  That tuckered me out.

11:00am They take my supply cart away that holds IV kits, needles, disinfectants, and other medical supplies.  I try to charge my phone and catch some shut eye.

11:10am Discharge instructions from the nurse.

11:40am I past the NST with flying colors.

12-12:30pm Figuring out child care schedules, canceling and rescheduling doc appts.

1:30pm Lindley picked me up and I left the hospital. I didn't have time to finish my lunch, burger and fries, so I brought it along. The nurses said oddly enough, everyone else on the floor got a fish sandwich and veggies. Weird.  Lindley brought Kallie and Jayda. The nurse brought me down in a wheelchair. I had some crampy feelings, and despite my better judgment I chalked them up to packing up my stuff and moving around during the transition.

Lindley dropped me off and no one was home. I got settled in, poured myself water, and filled up my pitcher. Trying to stay hydrated and drinking enough water at home has always been a challenge.

3:00pm I had a panic moment. I realized I was due to take my procardia pill at 4pm, but forgot to pick up my prescription from Walgreens. Joel was still at work and he had the car. (Meanwhile, Emma was with Kim Hunt and her kids. She was letting me rest without worrying about Emma.)

I ended up asking Lena  if she would take me to pick up my prescription. She came to pick me up and brought Emma and Lexi.  I was so happy to see Emma. She seemed well, busy as always, and looked so old and grown up. It was amazing how much older she looked to me after a few days. I missed her terribly.  We tried going through the drive thru but had to wait about 30 minutes in the car. Lena ended up going inside and got me some Fiji water. I laughed because our friend Alisa says it's the best. By the time I took the procardia, my contractions were 2 minutes apart. I tried to remain calm and tell myself they would magically go away after I took my medicine. They didn't.

I told Lena and Lexi to just leave Emma with me since Joel would be home soon. We watched Dora together and some other Netflix shows. She held my hand and did the foot balance thing on the coffee table. I watched her and studied her face almost the whole time in wonderment and adoration. When Joel came home and found out what was happening, he was upset with me for not asking for help. He was worried about the baby and me.

After the contractions didn't stop, I finally called the doctor. Some spotting was happening now. I knew the baby was coming soon. The doctor on-call was Sharon Desmarais, the first doctor I saw at WPJ. She told us to go to the hospital.

We gathered up my stuff and since we weren't expecting to go back to the hospital so soon we didn't have a care plan for Emma. Since it was still early, we decided to bring Emma with us and have Joel drop me off at the hospital and then drive Emma back home to put her down in time for her bedtime.  We also needed to find a babysitter so he could come back up to be with me.

After he dropped me off around 7:30 pm, I checked back in and they wheeled me back up to the same triage room. They took a urine sample, and by this time, the bleeding had increased considerably. I warned the nurses that starting an IV would be difficult and demanded a nurse practitioner right off the bat instead of being a human pin cushion. Luckily, they requested Dr. Acuna from ROC to be on-call. She was the one who originally placed my cerclage. She checked me to see the status of the cerclage. She determined it needed to come out because of the excessive bleeding and because the contractions were not going to stop.  Dr. Desmarais told me we would not do another round of magnesium sulfate because we already had done that and I had already received the two betamethasone shots for David, so there wasn't much more to do than to try to prevent the ripping of my cervix by the removal of the stitches.  David was going to have to come.

I cried during the whole process of the IVs and cervical checks because the pain of the contractions was  so great.  Dr. Acuna held my hands as they tried and failed several times with the IV.  I remember her face and she was very concerned for me, in a very compassionate way.  I was very glad she was there. I really didn't want David to come early, but I sadly accepted it.  I prayed he would be okay.  This experience of the contractions was a lot more painful than the first time I came in.  As I laid on the exam table, I texted Joel to see if he had found someone to watch Emma and wondered when he would be coming. I really wanted him there.  I suggested we should call Kathy Thomas.  I called and talked to her and she agreed to watch Emma while she slept at our apartment.

Joel finally arrived just after they transferred me to my room in Labor & Delivery around 9:00 pm. The contractions were terribly painful by this time, and the bleeding continued to worsen.  With every comtraction I could feel a gush of blood. They wheeled me into the surgical room.  When they transferred me from bed to table, I was sitting in the most massive pool of blood that shocked even me.  I was very worried, but calm, mostly for David's sake.  The procedure didn't last very long.  Dr. Acuna removed the cerclage inbetween my very painful contractions that were coming every minute on top of each other at this point.  I could feel the tautness of the pulling of the stitches inside me.  It was a pretty surreal experience.  They offered me 1ml of morphine which I regretted taking because it made my neck hurt.  I felt like it slowed my recovery too.

When we got back to the room, it was a waiting game.  I was completely exhausted by midnight and wondered how much longer it would be.  My contractions had been a 9/10 for hours, and I didn't know if I could do it much longer out of sheer exhaustion.

Leading up to David's Birth: Part III Tuesday

I stayed up and couldn't sleep as a million things were running through my head.  I worked on a blog post on my IPhone, but it just got deleted because the internet connection was sketchy.  I took a deep breath and ate the entire spice cake at 2am. Went to sleep after for a couple of hours until I was woken up by the nurses to take my vitals.


Breakfast was on ticket around 8:30am: sausage, eggs, and waffle with oj and coffee.  I don't drink coffee either so I called the cafeteria and said no tea or coffee.

Dr. Renneck rounded at 10am or so.  She decided to let the magnesium sulfate run out and to start procardia pills.  Contractions kept coming at 1-3 hours apart, but by afternoon they were gone.  Hallelujah!

They wanted to make sure I had no reactions to the procardia and that contractions did not come back after the magnesium sulfate stopped.   I took the procardia every 6 hours on the 10, 4, 10, 4 schedule.

A new day nurse was amazing.  She brought me a bedside potty, you know, as a gift.

Lunch was on ticket with vanilla pudding (kinda obsessed with it since I arrived at the hospital) but they put on coke for the beverage.  I had to laugh and called the cafeteria again and told them I didn't drink iced tea, coffee, or soda either and to substitute milk or juice.

Lisa Burningham visited me from 1-3pm and brought some awesome dipped pretzels that were quite addictive.  It was nice talking with a friend who has been in a similar situation (she had premature twins).

After she left, from 3-5pm I caught up with Kimberly Whipple and Kim Hunt for how things went for Emma.  Emma went to Megan's school for an awards ceremony and they told me the mascot was a panther so there were paw prints painted all over the school.  Emma saw the paw prints all over the walls and yelled, "A clue! A clue!" with delight.  Adorable, but I think she's probably watching too much Blues Clues.

At 6pm, dinner was on ticket: great roast beef W gravy, salad, carrots, roll, mashed potatoes, pudding, and chocolate milk.  Yippee for the beverage of choice.  Yes, the little things in life!

I talked with the day shift nurse a lot today, all throughout the day.  She told me she has high functioning Aspergers.  She was truly one of the best nurses I had ever come in contact with.  She even remembered questions I had but forgot to bring up to Dr. Renneck.  It was so wonderful to have a caretaker that had such attention to detail.

From 7-8pm they unhooked me from the IV, mag and antibiotics.  It was the first time untethered so I sat by my room window.  Joel said Emma fell asleep early, so no Facetime.  I said my good nights to Joel.

At 8:30pm, I updated FB and caught up on emails and calls to friends/family.

On Facebook, my friend Gina Begin had a post about the sounds in a day in her life.  I was inspired and started recording because of Gina's post.  I will post that here later.

The new night shift nurse gave me a fetal stress test at 8:10-8:30pm and I passed!  That means I am one step closer to out the door.  We celebrate.

Leading up to David's Birth: Part II Monday

After settling in, Joel left me around 2 or 3am and went home to Emma.  I didn't want Emma to wake up in the morning to someone different.  She had already had enough changes with being watched by friends lately that I didn't want her to freak out and not have at least one of us there.  After he left, they had to get the bloodworm they didn't get while in the triage room.  They were supposed to pull it from the IV they started, but they didn't want to chance clogging it up, after all that they I went through to get it.  Even after my warning, the nurse tried to draw the blood, but then failed before I asked that Tom come in again.  He even failed 5 times before getting it.

I cried shortly after his success.  They left me and I was alone.  It just all hit me, in that dark room with the harsh room's spotlights on my sweaty face.  I was generally uncomfortable and in pain, but moreso, I was scared for the baby.  I was thinking about the baby and hoping for the best possible outcome.

I chose to use a bedpan and forwent the catheter.

I slept from midnight to 2am the next day.  After that, I couldn't sleep anymore.

On Monday at 8:30am, Dr. Acuna from ROC visited to round on me.  Dr. Renneck from WPJ was on. The ROC ultrasound tech did an internal ultrasound and found my cervix had not changed from 2.8cm and was not funneling, so Dr. Acuna (who was the doctor who originally placed the cerclage) said we should keep the cerclage in place, and felt that this was our best option for prolonging the pregnancy.  She also said that I could eat and use the bathroom toilet if I wanted to.

Despite my efforts to get a hot breakfast and reminding every nurse that came in that I did indeed want breakfast, my nurse made it to the cafeteria at 10:03am, three minutes too late.  She told me of the argument she had with the cafeteria staff about wanting to get her patient a hot breakfast, bless her heart.  Instead, she was forced to bring me back honey cheerios, banana bread, a banana, coffee, 1% milk and pudding.  I wasn't disappointed, and later Emma shared it as a snack.

Joel and Emma came to visit from 8:30-10:30am.  They went home for her nap, and Kim Hunt still took her at 2pm as usual.  Joel did errands like a Walmart run and checked out the Medela breast pump I wanted at Target.  I think he was able to sneak in a little nap too.  He was really tired.  I was fortunate to have that weird rush of adrenaline flowing through me and could function quite nicely on two hours a sleep a night, but Joel didn't have that luxury.

Lunch was pork chops and carrots amd salad and iced tea at around 2pm.  I don't drink iced tea.  Randomly, they gave me a really dry turkey sandwich with just turkey on wheat bread.  No condiments and no cheese or anything.  I asked a nurse to save it anyways and to put it in my room's mini fridge.  I felt like a squirrel stocking up for the winter.

At 6pm, I was served dinner, this time I was on the ticket.  It was chicken and rice, and mixed veggies and a roll with iced tea.  Boo again.

I can't tell you how much I missed my Emma...and Joel, of course.  We did Facetime at 7pm with Emma and Joel after her bath.  I just wanted to give her the biggest hug.  I shed a few tears after we got off the phone.

I received a blessing from Brad and Brother Dunn from church.  Brad went to wrong hospital downtown so they weren't able to give me the blessing until 9:15pm (supposed to be 8:30pm).  In the blessing, it was said that it wouldn't be the end of this baby at this time.  I contemplated what that meant for a few hours.  The solace was it seemed to mean that I wouldn't lose the baby to death and that the baby wasn't coming that night.

(I requested that Brad bring me cheese and mayo (for my weird sandwich) and spice cake and crystal light.)

Leading up to David's Birth: Part I Sunday

For those who are interested, here is our birth story for our baby, David Nyland Christopher.  For fair warning, it is detailed and wordy because this blog is our family journal, and we want to remember everything -- the sights, the sounds, our feelings.

I want to say that I would be prepared for the birth of David, but even under the close supervision of a high risk OB (Regional Obstetrics Consultants) and a regular OB (Women's Physicians of Jacksonville) for the last 24 weeks or so, I still wasn't.  I didn't know what, when, or how it all would happen exactly, but the day I went into the hospital I just had a feeling.

I had already had this feeling before, but with Emma.  The day before I started having contractions, I felt a little off.  In fact, I remember asking my husband and brother-in-law, Brad, for a blessing.  The same thing happened with David.  I was feeling tired, unusually more tired.  I missed church (it was Stake Conference Sunday) and slept.  Joel went ahead without me.  I told him to take good notes.  Because church was held at a different time, we had just put Emma down for a nap, so Joel felt okay leaving me.  We both had a really good nap.  I think Heavenly Father blessed me with this opportunity to sleep because I never get to nap when Emma naps.  It usually never works out.

Joel and I had plans to go to his sister's for dinner.  I felt quite rested and we had to eat anyway, so I thought it would be okay to go.  I just told myself I was going to take it easy and sit on the couch most of the time we were there.  For dinner, we had tortellini soup and dessert was spice cake.  It was super tasty.

I remember talking with Brad and Lindley about how I felt like this baby just wanted to "head out".  There was a lot of pressure really low.  I felt like the baby was sitting so low the last couple of days and I even asked Lindley if she wanted to touch down there to see if it felt normal to her.  She never did...because she was nursing Jayda, but I'm sure she would have.  We have a special bond.  Lol.

They sent us home with leftovers, which looking back, was pretty inspired.  I'll explain in a minute.

We both did the night time routine with Emmy -- struggling to get Emmy more food to eat after dinner, bathtime, story time in mommy and daddy's bed, toothbrushing "fight", kisses and hugs for mommy, and Joel placing her in her crib and saying goodnight with a prayer and songs, "Love One Another" and "Silent Night".

I laid there in bed, silently, still and finally fully aware of my body.  Night brings quiet time and reflection for me.  Things slow down after Emma goes to sleep.  I began to notice that at around 9pm, that "pressure" that I was feeling was becoming more intense and was coming at regular intervals.  The lights turned on for me -- I was having contractions every 8 minutes.  I continued to time them for another hour and a half before calling the doc.  I didn't want it to be a false alarm.

When we called the doctor, he told us to wait another hour to see if the contractions would go away, and to call back if they didn't.  Meanwhile, I told Joel to start packing our bags.  He packed for me and Emma, in case we had to drop her off with someone.  Because we didn't know when this would all happen, we didn't have a concrete plan of childcare for Emma.  We called our friend, Kimberly Whipple, and she agreed to come over and stay with Emma while she slept.

The contractions didn't go away.  They were surprisingly not painful, but very deliberate and steadily coming.  The doctor on call, Frank Trogolo, told us to go to Baptist South, even though previously, they said if I delivered very early, they would send us to Baptist Downtown.  Joel and I actually wanted to deliver downtown because we were told it was the best.  Ironically, just the day before I took the tour of Baptist South's Labor and Delivery/Maternity Ward.  I even pre-registered.  It must have been fate that I was able to get that tour in...and it actually did make me feel more at ease because I knew where everything was, all my paperwork was in order, and it was all fresh in my mind.

Kimberly arrived and in our haste, I still managed to know my priorities.  I packed food for the 30 minute car ride, even though I was completely stuffed from dinner.  I even managed to eat one more serving of spice cake before leaving the house, for good measure, of course.  Little did I know, that would be the last thing I ate until they let me eat again in the hospital.  With Emma, it all happened so fast that I didn't get to eat a meal before being flown to Utah, and then they starved me for 50 hours before letting me eat ice chips, and administered tortuous magnesium sulfate all the while.  I wasn't going to let that happen this time, at least, not on an empty stomach.

On the way to the hospital, Joel avoided a 10 car collision off of Kernan.  We were driving pretty quickly, but he was able to see far enough ahead to know that cars were stopped on the road, some off to the side and some smack dab in the middle.  As a car smashed into another car, sounds of screeching metal hitting the guardrail, he was able to think quickly and say that we needed to get off the road altogether and head for the exit ramp.  He did some snake thing with our CRV winding through the hurricane of cars, and was able to safely get us off onto the exit.  I remember yelling, "I don't feel safe!  I don't feel safe!!!"  As we were a little down the road, I continued to hear the sound of screeching cars and emergency braking with more cars impacting.  I was so grateful that Joel was able to make these quick decisions.  If I was driving, I would have probably just pulled off to the side and been rear ended.  I was a deer in the headlights.  I couldn't think clearly.  I was frozen and scared.  Joel handled it like a pro.  We were able to drive just past all of the wreckage and proceed back onto the on ramp and barely lost any time.  Heavenly Father was definitely looking out for us.  I was grateful for Joel.

When we arrived at the hospital, it was about 10:30pm.  We got admitted pretty quickly because the registration had been done.  We actually spent more time waiting on a wheelchair to bring me up to the third floor.  I tried chatting with the older black man who was wheeling me up, making small talk to take my mind off of things.  I asked him how long he had been working at Baptist and if he liked it.  He said 3 years and "no".  He said it was time for a career change...I kinda felt sorry for him.

We arrived on the floor and they quickly whisked me into the triage room.  They got me hooked up to a fetal heart rate monitor and measured that my contractions were 4 minutes apart.  The baby's heart rate was normal and he seemed to be doing well despite what mommy was feeling.  They had a really hard time starting an IV for me.  Two nurses stuck me several times before they got a nurse anesthetist to come in.  He only had to stick me once.  His name was Tom.  They immediately started me on fluids for hydration and the antibiotic ampicillin for possible Strep B.  They also did a swap test to see if I would deliver, but it came out negative.  I really didn't see the point in that test.  Dr. Trogolo then arrived and came in and checked me.  He said the cerclage was in place holding well and the ultrasound showed that I was still at 2.8cm, which was what I measured at 3 weeks prior.  He said he was pleasantly surprised at my cervical length and foretold that I wasn't having this baby that night.  He told me that I would need magnesium sulfate to stop the contractions and wanted the baby to get steroids for the lungs and head, two betamethasone shots 24 hours apart.  They administer the first of two shots right there in my right butt cheek...ow.

After that, they brought me into my real room that I was going to be staying in; how long, I wasn't sure.  I thought about this for awhile.

Goodbye Reefs, Hello Salt Waters

I have a sad goodbye to make, and it is a doosy.  After a decade and a half, I must say goodbye to my beloved Reefs.  They are wearing through, and the fabric is fraying.  I could cry; after all, they have been with me since 1998--eight years longer than I have been with Joel...

These Reefs have really been a part of who I am.  I am the Florida girl who wore her sandals into December when she lived in Minnesota and Idaho.  I like to be free and these sandals allowed that.  They took me Canada, China, Hong Kong, Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, every U.S. state except for Maine, Hawaii and Alaska.  They have been on the beach, on the grass, on the turf, in the ocean, on a mountain, in a stream/river, in the woods, in the snow, on a bike, in a plane, in a wagon, in a canoe, out rock climbing, on the courts, at Disney World, to college, at church activities, in the car, on a boat, on a yacht, on a cruise ship, on my honeymoon, in the hospital when I gave birth, and countless other experiences/places.  I could never say goodbye to them without being truly grateful.

Here's to the last 15 years!  You've been wonderful to me, Reefs.  Love ya!

I'm replacing them with these new babies.  They are Salt Water Sandals.  I think I may have had a pair as a kid in the 80s...  They oddly feel very familiar.

I know, red.  I decided I need more color in my life.  We'll see if they hold up as long.


P.S.  I also got Emma a matching pair, in silver.  Aren't they cute?

27 Weeks! So close, I can taste it...

I have been truly blessed.  I can't believe I've made it to 27 weeks pregnant with Baby #2.  We're so close to the third trimester, I can taste it.  I had a check up with my high risk OB this morning, and they say I'm doing well.  My cervix is measuring 2.8cm, and only shortened 0.2cm vs. the last visit, when I shortened 1cm.  They are still sticking to the fact that if I get to 2.0cm, they want to hospitalize me.  That's not going to happen, here, folks.  Positive thinking, right?  In reality, it's truly been a miracle brought about by much prayer, fasting, blessings, and help from family and friends.

April 1st, we started a new routine where a friend and her kids watch Emma for about 3-5 hours a day, 4 days out of the week, so I can rest more...in bed.  I have been on bed rest for the whole pregnancy, but I have never actually stayed in bed.  It has been too difficult because Emma and I had so many doctors appointments, probably averaging one a day, and we needed a full-time nanny.  So, getting a friend to help is so good.  The first week went well, but lately Emma has been having some attachment issues.  She doesn't want me to leave her.  I've noticed some behavioral changes, too, as she has started throwing more tantrums.  She also doesn't want to eat her dinner very much.  It's really sad, but I know it's for Baby #2's good.  At the same time, I am going to start going over to my friends house with Emma more, so at least I'll be with her and she can see/talk/play with me, even if I am lounging on their couch.  Overall, I think we've struck a happy medium here:  I still have my Emma time alone, but I still can get some needed bed rest and help.

I also have another good friend, who has become a friend through service, really.  Before being pregnant with Baby #2, I never knew her.  She signed up at church to come over and help Emma to the park.  She shared how she had a similar experience with her pregnancies.  We had a couple of rainy days where we couldn't go to the park, but she still stayed...and talked and cleaned and listened and put Emma down for a nap and rocked Emma and...She is one of those people who just knows how to help another person.  Over my life, I have come to realize that this is truly a talent.  It is not as easy as one may think to walk into a situation and see what someone needs and proceed to do it.  I know because I have been that person who has tried, but I am sure has failed on many an occasion because of lack of knowledge, wisdom, experience, guts and my personality.  I think, often people want to help, but they just don't know how.  Anyways, this friend has helped by bringing me food, cleaning (my bathroom, my kitchen, vacuuming, sweeping, doing mirrors, the list goes on), doing laundry, taking Emma and I to the doctor, helping me with my allergies and pregnancy-induced asthma, bringing Emma toys, and just talking with me.  She even texts me daily to see how I slept and if I and Emma are doing fine.  I don't know how she does it, but she does.  She really cares.  It's amazing.  And I am thankful.  Yes, you know who you are...

It is people like her who have brought me to this point that I have never been to in pregnancy.  I didn't think it was possible.  I had learned to not get my hopes up too high during pregnancy thinking that would take the sting away if things didn't work out.  Now, I feel lucky, but I know it is more than luck. I know that God has given me this wonderful chance, and whatever the outcome, I am grateful to have made it this far and experience more of everything--more flutter kicks from the miracle in my belly, more time to ponder motherhood, more acts of service, more faith and trust in my Heavenly Father, more prayer, more love between husband and wife, and more precious moments with Emma.  I just love it.  I love being pregnant and the experience this has been.

24 Weeks
Over a large milestone:
this is when we had Emma!

25 Weeks
Uncharted territory ;)

26 Weeks (technically this was the end)
Baby is 2 lbs, 11.5 inches long!