1st Doctor's Appointment

Monday was Grayson's first trip to the doctor.  So, we got up early, got ready and headed to the doctor.  We took the opportunity to also get Jon-Christian the flu shot and the H1N1 shot since Grayson is too young to get either and they recommend having everyone around him vaccinated to protect him.  Wil and I have already had the flu shot, but haven't been able to get the H1N1 shot.  Hopefully, we can get by with just the regular shot.

The doctor scheduled us to come in early so that we could avoid running into any sick kids in the office, so our appointment was one of the first of the day and they immediately took us into a room.  We had some concerns with Grayson's eating and just some general questions about his gassy tummy, etc.  Many of which were addressed through questions from the doctor.  Grayson hadn't been eating as well as we would've liked and we mentioned that to the doctor which was confirmed when they weighed him.  He's lost weight and is down to 5lbs 1oz.

Needless to say, this news caused great concern an angst in me. We go back to the doctor on Wednesday and she'd like to see a 2 oz weight gain.  No gain will indicate that we need to put him on formula.  Not one to wait and well, he's so small anyway...I didn't feel as though I could risk waiting to put him on formula, we've decided to supplement him with formula immediately.  I also started trying to pump and discovered that I may not be making enough milk and that could be the problem.  I spoke to the nurse at the hospital and I'm trying to get an appointment with the lactation consultants at the hospital for further guidance.  If all else fails, we'll either simply supplement his formula with whatever breastmilk I have or stop breastfeeding all together.  A disappointment, but ultimately all that matters is that the little guy is getting fed and healthy.

Thankful for the Mary Washington Hospital Doctors and Nurses

I am very thankful to my doctors and to the nurses and staff at Mary Washington Hospital.  As you saw on the earlier post, Grayson's delivery was more complicated than we had originally thought it would be and I truly feel as though the doctors and staff did everything they could to deliver him safely and he is here today because of their efforts. 

In addition to the amazing work they did delivering Grayson, they were also extremely compassionate.  In the rush of the emergency c-section, they had me take my necklace off.  This necklace contains a charm with Bailey's handprint on it and I always wear it.  When I woke up in the recovery room, I couldn't find the necklace. I had taken it off as they requested and then remembered holding it in my right hand.  However, it wasn't there when I woke up.  The nurses, doctors, and staff scoured the hospital looking for the necklace.  Housekeeping started searching through laundry that had already gone downstairs.  The anestheologist and the nurses went back into the operating room (which had already been sanitized, so would need to be sanitized again), and the nurse with me, Emily, called all the doctors and staff to see if anyone remembered seeing what happened to it.  We eventually found it on my bed, but I was so impressed and thankful for their willingness to put so much effort into finding my necklace.

Another surprise was a visitor I received while I was in post partum.  The surprise visitor was Tammy Ruiz.  Tammy is the perinatal bereavement specialist at the hospital and worked with us last year after our loss of Bailey.  She heard that we were in the hospital for Grayson's birth and she wanted to come and congratulate us.

All in all, while I complained about the lack of comfort of the hospital beds, I can't complain about the wonderful care we received while there.

Breaking the rules already...

On Thursday, we came home from the hospital and while I try to do things "by the book" as always...it has been a little harder with the little one.  First of all, he's so darn cute.  All you want is for him to be happy and healthy.  So, by Friday I caved...some say that you shouldn't give them a pacifier too early (whatever that means), but I figure if he's sucking on his fingers or mine, what's the harm in giving the little guy a pacifer? He seemed to like it and it helped calm him down when he would get frustrated either during feeding or during diaper changes (he really doesn't like to be naked).

The next "bad" thing we've done...and I do understand why this isn't recommended, but we have let him sleep with us on occasion.  Wil is a light sleeper and I've become one since he's arrived...waking up in 15-20 minute increments to check and make sure he's alright.  Grayson does have a bassinet in our room and after he gets settled and asleep we usually move him over to the bassinet (although I know that's not recommended either...you're supposed to let them fall asleep in there)...but we're adjusting.  Everything I've read says that they can't be "spoiled" at this point...so no amount of attention is too much.  But his sleeping locations are definitely going to be one of those things that we'll need to get settled sooner rather than later.

Happy Thanksgiving

Good evening everyone. This has been a really happy Thanksgiving for us. I know many of you have kept up with our progress on Facebook, but for those who haven’t, the baby formerly known as “Bob” was born on November 24, 2009 at 3:51am. He was 6 lbs and 19 inches long and has been officially named Grayson Paul Dean Pharis.

It was a long road to get here, but we made it. We went into the hospital on Sunday November 22nd at 4pm to start the process for induction. We were expecting that “Bob” could be anywhere from 6 to 8 lbs and pretty sure that he would be delivered “naturally” on Monday November 23rd, but as most things, nothing went quite as planned.

We started the cervadil on Sunday and after some Ambien got a little sleep (although not too much because I was having some lower back pain and was restricted to the hospital bed, which we all know aren’t very comfortable). After 4 failed attempts at running the IV for the pitocin (which means 4 blown blood vessels and bruises up and down my arms), they eventually got one and started the pitocin on Monday morning at about 9:20am and gradually ramped it up throughout the day. However, being on the pitocin through the IV and the baby monitors meant that I was pretty much tied to the bed all day, which did not help my aching back.

At about 5:30pm on Monday they decided to break my water and said that they expected us to progress at 1cm per hour from that point on. We had only progressed to about 3-4cms at that point, so we were still expecting another 6-7 hours of labor. I resisted the epideral as long as I could and by the time I finally got it I was in some pretty strong contractions and in quite a bit of pain (although I’m not sure the contractions were nearly as painful as the blood pressure cuff that they had on me monitoring my blood pressure every 30 mins…apparently they had it on wrong and it was cutting off the circulation in my arm leaving me with bruises all around my upper arm). We got the epideral a little after 8pm and the pain started to ease a bit. However, that wasn’t the end of our “adventures”.

About 15 minutes later the nurses came running in as “Bob’s” heart rate began to drop with each contraction to worrisome levels. They put me on oxygen, decided to stop the pitocin (we were already receiving the max dosing of pitocin at that point) and decided to “recreate” the amniotic sac by injecting a solution in the uterus in hopes to ease the stress on the baby. This worked temporarily. We had 2 more episodes of the nurses and doctors running in, stopping the pitocin, putting me on oxygen and monitoring very closely. We were told after the first incident that this may result in a change of plans and a c-section, but they were optimistic that everything would be fine. However, at about 330ish am on Tuesday November 24th, the nurses and doctors made a decision that they needed to conduct an emergency c-section immediately.

Wil had been asleep, but I hadn’t been able to sleep as I had been watching the heart rate very closely after the previous incidents (obviously getting more than a little nervous at this point). At about 330am, the nurses came running into the room and told me that they were going to have to conduct a c-section and began pulling the wires and plugs out of me and the bed in earnest. They woke Wil up and threw some scrubs at him, told him to change, but that they couldn’t wait for him. They wheeled me out of the room and down to the operating room. While, I think I had handled most of the concerns fairly well throughout the pregnancy, seeing the concerns on the faces of the doctors and nurses was finally more than I could handle and I admit to loosing composure at this point. They wheeled me in the operating room and quickly moved me from one bed to the other and had me prepped and standing over me with cutting instruments in what seemed to be just a couple of minutes. Someone eventually showed Wil where I was, but they wouldn’t allow him into the operating room. They told me that there wasn’t time for the epidural and that they were putting me under general anesthesia and then I heard the doctors arguing about hurrying up and that there wasn’t time to talk that they needed to move now.

That was the last thing I remembered and then I woke up in the operation recovery room not knowing what happened or if the baby was ok. The nurse came in and started giving me the update. They had NICU ready, but didn’t need them and that he was in the nursery and had scored a 9 on the APGAR (apparently no one ever gets a 10—a perfect score), so that was great news. It turns out that he had the cord wrapped around his neck and his foot and was pinching off the cord every time there was a contraction. I asked to see him, but it still took quite awhile…maybe 20+ minutes before the nursery staff, Wil, and my mom were able to come down and see me. I only got to see him for a couple of minutes before they had to take him back to the nursery and prep me to go to my room. I got to my room and asked to see him again. They eventually brought him in after some checking some initial vital signs on me.

I admit that it was hard to stop looking at him and holding him. I’m still amazed every time I look at him. We were in the hospital until this morning (appropriately Thanksgiving) when they released us early (originally we were planned to be released on Friday). So far, we’ve been doing really well. He initially lost about 6oz going down to 5lbs 10oz by Wednesday, but had gained 2oz back by this morning. He’s a bit smaller than we were expecting and so even his newborn clothes are swimming on him. Fortunately, we do have a few preemie outfits that a friend, Cathy, had given us as they didn’t fit her newborn. Those have been great for our little guy.

We really appreciate all the calls, emails, facebook notes, and visits we’ve received. Tamara came by to visit just about every day we were in the hospital, which was great. Unfortunately, the day she brought Nate by to meet the little one happened to be the day that Wil had to go into work for a few hours leaving me alone with little Grayson and therefore left it up to me to sign for his circumcision (so I’ll be the one blamed) and that’s where little Grayson was when Nate and Tamara stopped by.

It’s not surprising that we are extremely thankful for Grayson and Thanksgiving is even more special this year…but as you can see from his dramatic entrance into the world, he seems like even more of a true blessing and we are feeling very thankful and fortunate.

One More Day...

It's only one more day until we go into the hospital for "Bob's" induction.  And I have to admit that I am a bit anxious and excited.  I'm looking forward to having him here and healthy...but I also realize that since I've been fairly tired the last couple of days that I have not been able to accomplish all that I wanted to and doubt that I will be able to finish those tasks before we head to the hospital tomorrow...but here's hoping.

Today, in addition to shopping for Thanksgiving groceries, spending time with the family, and prepping for Bob, we also celebrated Indiana's 4th birthday.  And while Indy is supposed to be on a diet...he still needed to have his Chic fil a today and maybe a few other little surprises.  After all, a puppy only turns 4 once.

Counting down...

Well, we're officially getting really close to the big day...just a few more before we go into the hospital.  I am excited and anxious. 

We had our last official doctor's appointment yesterday morning and all seems to be going well.  We're measuring at 40 weeks...which I think is a way for them to tell me that my belly is huge...but the baby is still in the average range for size (on Monday at the Perinatal Specialist he measured 6.6 lbs, with a 1 lb margin of error and he could potentially gain 1/2 lb before Monday). The heart rate was great at 148 and apparently a look of relief comes across my face whenever they get the heart rate as the nurse made a comment about my face glowing when I heard the heartbeat.

According to the doctor we're about 1cm dilated and 25% effaced...so she went ahead and "swept the membranes" to really get things started before Sunday.  And let me just say...if you've never had that done...not the most pleasant of sensations...but if it helps move things quicker than a coworker's 59 hours of labor...I'm all for it!

But just to keep me from getting too relaxed or forgetting how quickly things can change, while at this appointment I ran into a couple from the Childbirth Class we had taken when we were pregnant with Bailey.  So, no worries about me relaxing and feeling like everything will be just fine because that was definitely a very real reminder that I won't really be able to "relax" until Bob is delivered. (And I know from all of you parents out there...a new set of worries will begin...but at least they'll be different worries and not reminders and fears of what has happened in the past.)

I saw the couple in the waiting room and then, ironically, we finished our appointments at the same time and rode in the elevator together (talk about just continuing to pour salt in that open wound).  We chatted and caught up.  They're expecting again in February and I had to explain what happened with Bailey as I had not seen them since our last day of class.

After that, while I really would've preferred a glass of wine, I opted for some Christmas shopping and a pedicure.  I then came home and wrapped presents and started the holiday decorating and when Wil got home we put the car seat in.  At least we think we did.  I've been trying to reach the Stafford County Sheriff's Department as they are the ones who supposedly will check to make sure it's in properly, but they have not returned my messages. So, if anyone in the area feels that they are an expert and comfortable double checking the car seat for us...that would be great...otherwise I may have to start reaching out to other counties in Virginia that will be a more helpful.

Less than a week...

It's officiatlly less than a week before we go into the hospital to Bob's delivery. I'm not really sure if it seems so far away or rapidly approaching.  I think it depends on the day...I think about the long list of things that I need to accomplish before Bob's arrival (finishing holiday shopping, decorating the house, cleaning/organizing, getting the car seat in, writing Christmas cards, getting the last few things packed for the hospital bag, getting a manicure and pedicure :) and then it seems like there's not enough time...but then there are other moments when I just want him here safe and sound and that can't come quick enough.

This weekend we thought that Bob might have decided to make his entrance a little earlier than planned, but no...it was just 9+ hours of FALSE labor filled with some pretty painful Braxton Hicks contractions.  Fortunately, the only one "inconvenienced" by these contractions was me since I figured they weren't the real thing as they were somewhat sporadic over that time frame and not within a consistent timing and duration...so alas...I tried to sleep between contractions. As I told a good friend, it was kind of like a very long and painful dress rehearsal with no flowers or standing ovation at the end.

But alas...Bob will be here before we know it...so I better get focused to accomplish my long to do list...

Decision '09

And here you thought after Tuesday all of that was over...no way...a much more important decision is left to be made...what does "Bob" wear home from the hospital.  Wil and I haven't been able to make a decision.  Wil thinks it's because I bought too many outfits, but I beg to differ.  This is just a tough situation with all of the candidates really standing out on different points.

So to help with this effort, we are requesting your input.  We will take the popular vote via email, blog, or facebook to the electoral college (made up of Wil and I) to make the final decision.  It may come down to letting the Indy dog choose, but I'm desperate at this point. 

The first 4 pictures are the outfits in the running and the last 3 pictures are really just showing off the super cute outfits that Bob will be wearing on Thanksgiving.

We appreciate your support in our "get out the vote" campaign for Decision '09!

If you think, hey...it's football season...go football, support

Option A: Bulldogs Football

If you think, I love football as much as the next guy...but football should be a little more casual support
Option B: Football #18

If you think football schmootball...a little boy should just be cute as a bear, support

Option C: Bear Overalls

If you think there's nothing better than a well-dressed young man, support

Option D: Corduroy Loafers

And now for a few previews that aren't in the campaign for the homecoming outfit, but will be worn during that first week to celebrate "Bob's" first big holiday...

Everyone needs a special turkey wearing outfit...that of course has some "give" for enjoying a Thanksgiving Smorgasbord

And it's always good to plan ahead for the much needed nap after consuming way too many calories on Thanksgiving...

Seemed like the perfect outft for our "little turkey".

Halloween...

This year Halloween was fairly low key for us, which was just fine with me as I've been feeling increasingly more run down in the past week or so. I ran out on Friday night to pick up some candy to distribute, but began to worry when the weather was less than cooperative.  Fortunately, we still had a pretty good turnout and as the evening progressed, kids were getting handfuls of candy to ensure that we made a dent in the candy container.  Wil's office will now benefit from the left overs, which is fine with me...

I admit that I was initially worried about having the extra candy in the house, but along with feeling run down, I've also been feeling fairly nauseous...so candy...or really anything sweet...does not sound even remotely appealing.  I actually told Wil on Halloween that all I wanted was some fresh vegetables...but then opted to just go to bed instead of eat dinner. This could be a good thing...preparing me for the massive diet that will ensue in less than 3 weeks now.

We had lots of cute little goblins and princesses that graced our doorstep and even several that I really couldn't tell you what they were...I was just hoping that it was in fact a costume and not their normal attire.  Indy wasn't so sure about all of these visitors coming to the door to take candy, but not come pet him.  He almost got his wish though...We put the gate between the living room and the foyer so he could see the little kids, but wouldn't run them over in his excitement when one little fella who was probably about 3 decided to walk right into the house and go greet Indy, who was of course thrilled that someone finally came to the house to see him. And although this young man's parents were quite embarrassed by his willingness to make himself at home in a stranger's house and immediately retrieved him, Indy was quite thankful for the "almost" attention.

With one holiday down, I decided that it was time to begin planning for the next holidays and on Sunday began wrapping Christmas presents. We didn't start decorating yet, but at least we're making some progress.  Now to store the presents, try to shop for the rest of the presents, and get the house completely decorated (all 12 minus the live tree for the inside, plus the other holiday decorations--inside and out) in the next 3 weeks...no problem...except that I'm tired and nauseous all the time...oh yeah, and there's work and doctor's appointments to squeeze in too...hmmmm...