Ten Things I Love About Foster Everett!!!
Monday, August 8, 2011
New Family, New Look
You may have noticed that I just changed the blog background and blog header... how do you like it?
I thought it was time for something new that featured the little guy instead of me being pregnant since things have changed a bit =)
I thought it was time for something new that featured the little guy instead of me being pregnant since things have changed a bit =)
Catching up!
Ok, now that things are settling down I promise to update more often! Things have been great with Foster. While we have been working on some medical issues he is really a perfect baby. He barely cries and he loves to just lay on my chest and cuddle... totally my favorite thing to do at this point!
We have had lots of wonderful visitors come by to visit and love on out little guy. We have such a wonderful group of friends and family and we are truly blessed.
Here are some pictures of the little guy from his first few days home:
We have had lots of wonderful visitors come by to visit and love on out little guy. We have such a wonderful group of friends and family and we are truly blessed.
Here are some pictures of the little guy from his first few days home:
{Trying out his bouncer for a minute!}
{Come on cord, fall off!!!!!}
{Cuddling with Great-Grandma}
{Hanging out with Grandma}
{Quality time with Aunt Sherry}
{Just lounging}
{Whats better than naps with daddy?}
{Checking out his playmat!}
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Our first week home
After coming home on Monday from the hospital it all started to sink in....
all of the things that we went through,
all of the things we did,
all of the sacrifices that we made,
they all led us to this.... being parents.
It was scary going through treatments,
It was scary thinking that it may never happen,
It was scary being pregnant,
It was scary going through test after test thinking something was wrong with our baby,
It was scary being so sick at the end of our pregnancy,
But let me be the first to say it is SO MUCH SCARIER once they are born.
I have seen his face,
I have smelled him,
I have felt his softer than silk skin,
I have run my fingers through his hair,
I have kissed his forehead a million times,
there is NOTHING scarier than thinking if something happened that could all be taken away.
I thought that once I had my baby and he was home with me all the worries and all the hurt would melt away but the truth is that now its just a whole new set of worries.
Our first night home once it got close to bed time I panicked. How was I supposed to go to sleep and trust that he would keep breathing? Trust that he was ok? After failing his carseat test in the hospital and not keeping his oxygen level high enough I was terrified about him breathing all the time. I spent 2 hours crying and begging Justin to take us back to the hospital because without a pulseOx hooked up to him I would never be able to sleep. We did sleep, a little, but it was a rough night.
On tuesday we called the pediatrician because Foster was breathing really hard and part of his abdomen was distended and sticking out more than it had before. They told us to come in to the office so off we went. While at the office Foster had 3 separate attack of arching his back, turning bright red, not breathing, making sounds like he was suffocating, and bubbling at the mouth, then freaking out because this was scary for him. It was TERRIFYING. Being a registered nurse I am trained to deal with these situations and deal with emergencies all the time but when it is my child I shut down and dont trust my own instinct. I have never been so scared. The nurse rushed him out to the dr and I looked at Justin and just started crying.... how can I be expected to take him home and have this happen?! What if next time it lasts longer and he doesnt start breathing again?! Seeing him freak out after the attack was absolutely heartbreaking... I had never heard him cry like that, I didnt know he could cry that loud or that hard. After the third time this happened the Dr said that we needed to go to children's hospital. We were going to be directly admitted to the pulmonary floor so we didnt have to go through the ER, thank goodness. The last place that we wanted to be at that point was the hospital but we knew Foster needed it. The crib that was in the room was awful... it looked like a prison cell and I didnt want to put him in it at all. For the first 6 or 8 hours that we were there I just held him and hugged him and rocked him. My poor little boy should have to be this sick after all that he went through. After a whole day and night there with no reoccurring attacks they told us that they were diagnosing him with severe reflux. From then on we were to hold on upright for 30 minutes after all feedings and burp him more frequently during his feedings. We also have to limit him to 2 ounces on formula or breastmilk at a time. So on wednesday we were sent back home!
all of the things that we went through,
all of the things we did,
all of the sacrifices that we made,
they all led us to this.... being parents.
It was scary going through treatments,
It was scary thinking that it may never happen,
It was scary being pregnant,
It was scary going through test after test thinking something was wrong with our baby,
It was scary being so sick at the end of our pregnancy,
But let me be the first to say it is SO MUCH SCARIER once they are born.
I have seen his face,
I have smelled him,
I have felt his softer than silk skin,
I have run my fingers through his hair,
I have kissed his forehead a million times,
there is NOTHING scarier than thinking if something happened that could all be taken away.
I thought that once I had my baby and he was home with me all the worries and all the hurt would melt away but the truth is that now its just a whole new set of worries.
Our first night home once it got close to bed time I panicked. How was I supposed to go to sleep and trust that he would keep breathing? Trust that he was ok? After failing his carseat test in the hospital and not keeping his oxygen level high enough I was terrified about him breathing all the time. I spent 2 hours crying and begging Justin to take us back to the hospital because without a pulseOx hooked up to him I would never be able to sleep. We did sleep, a little, but it was a rough night.
On tuesday we called the pediatrician because Foster was breathing really hard and part of his abdomen was distended and sticking out more than it had before. They told us to come in to the office so off we went. While at the office Foster had 3 separate attack of arching his back, turning bright red, not breathing, making sounds like he was suffocating, and bubbling at the mouth, then freaking out because this was scary for him. It was TERRIFYING. Being a registered nurse I am trained to deal with these situations and deal with emergencies all the time but when it is my child I shut down and dont trust my own instinct. I have never been so scared. The nurse rushed him out to the dr and I looked at Justin and just started crying.... how can I be expected to take him home and have this happen?! What if next time it lasts longer and he doesnt start breathing again?! Seeing him freak out after the attack was absolutely heartbreaking... I had never heard him cry like that, I didnt know he could cry that loud or that hard. After the third time this happened the Dr said that we needed to go to children's hospital. We were going to be directly admitted to the pulmonary floor so we didnt have to go through the ER, thank goodness. The last place that we wanted to be at that point was the hospital but we knew Foster needed it. The crib that was in the room was awful... it looked like a prison cell and I didnt want to put him in it at all. For the first 6 or 8 hours that we were there I just held him and hugged him and rocked him. My poor little boy should have to be this sick after all that he went through. After a whole day and night there with no reoccurring attacks they told us that they were diagnosing him with severe reflux. From then on we were to hold on upright for 30 minutes after all feedings and burp him more frequently during his feedings. We also have to limit him to 2 ounces on formula or breastmilk at a time. So on wednesday we were sent back home!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Without further ado: The Pictures to go with the birth story!
{During the induction}
{Dad prepping for the OR}
{Last bump pic: 36 weeks}
{Cool surgery pictures!}
{Foster getting cleaned up}
{Little Man}
{First Family Photo}
{Daddy with Foster in the NICU}
{My beautiful boy}
{Without his CPAP!}
{My first time holding Foster!}
{Finally out of the NICU and in the room with mom and dad}
{Little Napper}
{Ready to go home!}
{First car ride- headed home!}
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Foster's Birth Story!
Wednesday I went in to the OB to turn in my second 24 hour urine collection and have an ultrasound. I had been thinking that bedrest had been going well and they were going to just tell me to keep hanging in there. WRONG. My OB said that she was no longer comfortable with me being at home and managing me there and she was going to go call my MFM.
She walked back into the room and said "Lets have a baby!"...... Immediate shock and panic. She said that labor and delivery was full but to head home, pack my bags and be ready because they were going to call me to come in as soon as they had a room that night. She also gave me the "come to jesus" talk telling me that realistically my odds of having a c-section are VERY high. I have an extremely narrow pelvis and my body isnt dilating or effacing on its own yet. I still opted to try for the induction since this is the delivery that I had dreamed about and pictured in my head. I know things dont always go as planned but I wanted to be able to say that I tried everything.
So, I went home and started to rush around the house because NOTHING was ready. My DH had to install the car seat and I had to pack bags for baby and myself and DH. My house wasnt done being cleaned and the carpet cleaners hasnt come yet... how could this be happening?!
We got to the hospital at 9pm and got our room and got settled in. My OB was in the hospital so she came over and talked to us and it was so nice to see her and know that she was following us all the way.
The first thing that we tried was Cervadil. It is supposed to ripen your cervix and start you dilating. The way that drug works is that you put it in and wait 12 hours and then check to see how it worked. Right before placing the Cervadil the resident came in and checked my cervix because I as having contractions ever 4 minutes steadily but no progress. So, in went the cervadil and12 hours later they checked me (11am the next day) and it had done NOTHING. We were so disappointed and it seemed like such a waste of time.
The next plan was so use cytotech which does the same thing as cervadil but just works differently. The only problem here was that in order to use this drug you have to have less than 12 contractions in an hour and i was having them every 2 to 3 minutes. So, no cytotech.
We went on to pitocin. We upped the dose many times and sometimes had to bring it back down because my worthless contractions were too close together. They did multiple cervical checks but nothing was changing except my cervix was getting softer. They decided that they thought they might be able to force a fingertip through my cervix so they wanted to try a foley balloon to cause my to dilate to 4cm.
By this time I was extrememly frustrated and done. Baby refused to stay on the monitor so there was literally a nurse in the room with us 90% of the time trying to get him on the monitor... my belly was SO sore from them poking that monitor around for hours and hours. I was ready to throw that monitor! Haha.
The resident came in to do that foley and immediately said that he wouldnt be able to get it because of the awkward position of my cervix. He said that he would have to go get another Dr. The new Dr came in and he was about 70 years old and they tell me that he and his father are the 2 doctors that brought this procedure to the US in the 1980s. He starts and let me tell you that it was the most painful thing that I have maybe ever felt. I was emotionally exhausted at this point and the pain added to that I just had had it. He kept asking for different tools and trying to force it when it just wasnt working. After a few minutes I was literaly crying so hard that I was almost screaming and I said I didnt want to do it anymore and the Dr would not stop! My husband and my nurse tried to get him to stop and he wouldnt. Finally he said that my cervix just wouldnt allow it and that I was only the second patient he had EVER had that he was unsuccessful on. Gee, thanks buddy.
After 28 hours of induction and no progress I was ready to throw in the towel so they called my OB and she said she was gonna come in right then and it was c-section time. This is when I panicked and realized I was about to have surgery, eek!
My blood pressure got really high and they decided that I couldnt walk to the OR, they were gonna have to roll me there in my bed. They did a spinal block and it was surgery time.
At 12:55am July 22nd Foster Everett D_____ was born at exactly 36 weeks, 6 pounds 14 ounces, and 19.4 inches long. He cried immediately and in turn I cried immediately. I could not believe that after all we had been through our miracle was finally here. It was emotional to say the least. I still cry when I think about it.
They took him over to the warmer and worked on him immediately. They then wrapped him up and brought him to Justin and I got to see him for a moment and kiss his head. Then they had to take him to the nursery they said and I told Justin to go with them.
After surgery they took me to the recovery room and I got to see my parents, justin's parents, justin's aunt, and cousin. It was so nice to see them and they were all headed back out to the waiting room to wait and see Foster.
I kept trying to stay awake because I was expecting them to bring me my baby but the first thing I heard was that he was in the NICU with CPAP, oxygen, a feeing tube, IV, and monitors. It broke my heart that he was having such a hard time and I wasnt there with him. They told me that I wasnt going to be able to go to the mother-baby floor right away because I had to be transferred to high risk and be on a magnesium sulfate drip for 24 hours for my sever preeclampsia. I wouldnt be able to see my baby until after that was over.
Worst. news. ever.
Justin and the family all got to go see him and Justing brought pictures to show me. It was so nice to see him but I wanted to hold him so badly. After going through all of that I couldnt believe I didnt ever get to hold him =(
I ended up getting off my magnesium sulfate drip after 12 hours instead of 24 and the next afternoon I got to see my baby boy. It was such an amazing moment to get to look at him and know that he was real.
He spent about 48 hours in the NICU (as did I, haha). Then on Monday we went home.
Tuesday he had some issues and we went to the pediatrician and he had 3 attacks of respiratory distress in the office and we got sent to Children's hospital. He was admitted and we spent every moment there with him. Its so sad to see a tiny little preemie get poked and prodded but we knew it was for the best. They thinking that he has severe reflux and so we are trying a few things to improve it. Yesterday afternoon we came home and we are hoping to stay home this time!!!!
She walked back into the room and said "Lets have a baby!"...... Immediate shock and panic. She said that labor and delivery was full but to head home, pack my bags and be ready because they were going to call me to come in as soon as they had a room that night. She also gave me the "come to jesus" talk telling me that realistically my odds of having a c-section are VERY high. I have an extremely narrow pelvis and my body isnt dilating or effacing on its own yet. I still opted to try for the induction since this is the delivery that I had dreamed about and pictured in my head. I know things dont always go as planned but I wanted to be able to say that I tried everything.
So, I went home and started to rush around the house because NOTHING was ready. My DH had to install the car seat and I had to pack bags for baby and myself and DH. My house wasnt done being cleaned and the carpet cleaners hasnt come yet... how could this be happening?!
We got to the hospital at 9pm and got our room and got settled in. My OB was in the hospital so she came over and talked to us and it was so nice to see her and know that she was following us all the way.
The first thing that we tried was Cervadil. It is supposed to ripen your cervix and start you dilating. The way that drug works is that you put it in and wait 12 hours and then check to see how it worked. Right before placing the Cervadil the resident came in and checked my cervix because I as having contractions ever 4 minutes steadily but no progress. So, in went the cervadil and12 hours later they checked me (11am the next day) and it had done NOTHING. We were so disappointed and it seemed like such a waste of time.
The next plan was so use cytotech which does the same thing as cervadil but just works differently. The only problem here was that in order to use this drug you have to have less than 12 contractions in an hour and i was having them every 2 to 3 minutes. So, no cytotech.
We went on to pitocin. We upped the dose many times and sometimes had to bring it back down because my worthless contractions were too close together. They did multiple cervical checks but nothing was changing except my cervix was getting softer. They decided that they thought they might be able to force a fingertip through my cervix so they wanted to try a foley balloon to cause my to dilate to 4cm.
By this time I was extrememly frustrated and done. Baby refused to stay on the monitor so there was literally a nurse in the room with us 90% of the time trying to get him on the monitor... my belly was SO sore from them poking that monitor around for hours and hours. I was ready to throw that monitor! Haha.
The resident came in to do that foley and immediately said that he wouldnt be able to get it because of the awkward position of my cervix. He said that he would have to go get another Dr. The new Dr came in and he was about 70 years old and they tell me that he and his father are the 2 doctors that brought this procedure to the US in the 1980s. He starts and let me tell you that it was the most painful thing that I have maybe ever felt. I was emotionally exhausted at this point and the pain added to that I just had had it. He kept asking for different tools and trying to force it when it just wasnt working. After a few minutes I was literaly crying so hard that I was almost screaming and I said I didnt want to do it anymore and the Dr would not stop! My husband and my nurse tried to get him to stop and he wouldnt. Finally he said that my cervix just wouldnt allow it and that I was only the second patient he had EVER had that he was unsuccessful on. Gee, thanks buddy.
After 28 hours of induction and no progress I was ready to throw in the towel so they called my OB and she said she was gonna come in right then and it was c-section time. This is when I panicked and realized I was about to have surgery, eek!
My blood pressure got really high and they decided that I couldnt walk to the OR, they were gonna have to roll me there in my bed. They did a spinal block and it was surgery time.
At 12:55am July 22nd Foster Everett D_____ was born at exactly 36 weeks, 6 pounds 14 ounces, and 19.4 inches long. He cried immediately and in turn I cried immediately. I could not believe that after all we had been through our miracle was finally here. It was emotional to say the least. I still cry when I think about it.
They took him over to the warmer and worked on him immediately. They then wrapped him up and brought him to Justin and I got to see him for a moment and kiss his head. Then they had to take him to the nursery they said and I told Justin to go with them.
After surgery they took me to the recovery room and I got to see my parents, justin's parents, justin's aunt, and cousin. It was so nice to see them and they were all headed back out to the waiting room to wait and see Foster.
I kept trying to stay awake because I was expecting them to bring me my baby but the first thing I heard was that he was in the NICU with CPAP, oxygen, a feeing tube, IV, and monitors. It broke my heart that he was having such a hard time and I wasnt there with him. They told me that I wasnt going to be able to go to the mother-baby floor right away because I had to be transferred to high risk and be on a magnesium sulfate drip for 24 hours for my sever preeclampsia. I wouldnt be able to see my baby until after that was over.
Worst. news. ever.
Justin and the family all got to go see him and Justing brought pictures to show me. It was so nice to see him but I wanted to hold him so badly. After going through all of that I couldnt believe I didnt ever get to hold him =(
I ended up getting off my magnesium sulfate drip after 12 hours instead of 24 and the next afternoon I got to see my baby boy. It was such an amazing moment to get to look at him and know that he was real.
He spent about 48 hours in the NICU (as did I, haha). Then on Monday we went home.
Tuesday he had some issues and we went to the pediatrician and he had 3 attacks of respiratory distress in the office and we got sent to Children's hospital. He was admitted and we spent every moment there with him. Its so sad to see a tiny little preemie get poked and prodded but we knew it was for the best. They thinking that he has severe reflux and so we are trying a few things to improve it. Yesterday afternoon we came home and we are hoping to stay home this time!!!!
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