Hallie LaRue Peters a Birth Story, Part 2

09/22/14

Do you know that I was embarrassed to announce my pregnancy this time? I didn't even tell Steve for several days.... do you want to know why? Both Em and Ry took such a long time to conceive and Hallie did not. Em took around 18 months with a miscarriage prior, possible loss of her twin as well (not confirmed, just speculated by the doctor). Ry took around 2 years, with a miscarriage before as well.... Hallie was conceived the very month I went off birth control, and I felt guilty. Very guilty. I know what it's like to have a hard time conceiving and then have other people's pregnancies thrown in your face, and I didn't want to do that to anyone. I knew people would know we got pregnant fast because of how soon it was after Ry was born, only a month after his first birthday. So, I thought it was important to get that out, because I actually experienced that guilt for most of the pregnancy.

Now onto the rest of the birth story.....

Today is the morning of my induction, I wake up feeling the same as I have for the last 2 weeks, but more pressure and actually a little bleeding. We got both kids bathed, Em ready and off to school on the bus. We had the kids bag packed for over a month now. Also, made arrangements for the bus driver to drop Emarie off at my step-dad's place (they're only a couple blocks away from us), we were going to drop Ry off there on our way to the hospital.

Finally, after relentlessly cleaning and trying to organize things to kill the time, the hospital finally called a little after 11:30 and told me to check-in at 12:45. So we finished up all the last minute prep, and got going, dropped Ry off and headed to the hospital. Once I was all dressed down and hooked up, a nurse checked me and I was surprised that I was nearly a 4, so labor was finally beginning anyway! They still started pectocin anyway just because things had taken so long to get to that point, and the plan was to have my doctor still come and break my water when he got a moment. I was glad about that, because it doesn't seem like anything really happens until my water breaks. And he came a couple hours later, and I still hadn't dilated any more, even on the pectocin, that was about 3:30. By 4:30 I was feeling a lot more pressure and strong contractions that were mainly in my hips. The nurse checked at that time and declared I was a 7, and thought the baby would be here within a half an hour.... Figured it was time to text Lacey to let her know she needed to be there soon if she was going to get pictures. She was still in Provo, but said she could head to American Fork as soon as she dropped off her husband. Less than 20 minutes later, I knew it was time, and the nurse confirmed I was fully dilated, and went to call Dr. Haskett, which they had a hard time getting a hold of him, the hardest part was trying not to push as I felt the urges. My doctor wasn't there, and my photographer was doing everything she could to make it in time, luckily it all worked out AGAIN! Just like with Ryker's birth. Lacey walked in about 3 minutes before my doctor finally made it. I pushed 4 times max and again for only a couple minutes and she was out by 5:02 pm. I knew she was bigger than my first two because I actually had pain pushing her out (even without an epidural, I didn't feel much pain pushing Ry out and I didn't feel Em at all), it still wasn't that bad, and for the first time ever, even with a baby a lot bigger than what I'm use to, I didn't tear at all, so no stitches. I think I can chalk that up to all the Evening Primrose Oil I'd been using in hopes of inducing labor myself! So, Dr. Haskett was in the delivery room less than 5 minutes! I guess he raved about me in the office the next day and said I was his easiest delivery ever.... at least that's what his associate told me when she came to check on me the next day.

Hallie came out so fast that she was quite swollen and had some bruising and petechia, she still has small hints of this even 3 weeks later, mostly in her eyes. Most of the comments from the doctors and nurses were about her full head of long, black hair! In fact, when I stated that her head was harder to push out than my other two, Dr. Haskett said, "It must be all the hair!".... I remember the nurse who took her to wipe her down said, "Oh she has a dimple!" I was SOooo excited about that!! It is one of my favorite features about myself and I have always hoped one of my kids would inherit them.... even if she only has one, I was so happy! Dr. Haskett thought it was funny I was so excited about that and said, "I figured you'd be most excited about all the hair?".... I told him, "Eh, my babies always have hair!" Hahaha.

She came out screaming her entrance and was the first of my kids to not have the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck, so Steve actually was asked for the first time ever if he wanted to cut it, which of course he declined! I'm still surprised he stays in the room for the birth of our babies, he gets really queasy and doesn't like the thought of the pain it must cause.... funny, huh?! My labors with both my girls have been extremely painful, but birthing them is not.... nothing about Ry's labor and delivery were very painful.

I got a lot of skin to skin time with Hallie and she took to breastfeeding great and right away! I couldn't decide who she looked like, but Steve thought she looked more like Emarie than Ryker, and I started to see that too. She mostly gets comments on her hair and her lips. It's debatable where those lips came from since Steve and I both have pretty full lips, but her hair definitely came from me since I had a full head of black hair when I was first born as well. Either way, we both agreed that she is beautiful, and BIG! She came out weighing in at a whopping 8 lbs 10 oz beating her brother by a pound and her sister by 2 pounds! Quite long again at 20.5 inches (which is what Ry was as well, but a pound less). Her complexion was pretty dark coming out like her brother's, so I was pretty sure she'd be showing some high bilirubins like he did as well, and I was right, but I'll get to that later.

Her first visitor other than Lacey, was my mom that came just an hour two after her arrival. Other than that we didn't have any more visitors until the next day. We had a perfect first night together (Steve went home so that Em and Ry would be able to sleep in their own beds). She breastfed every 2-3 hours through the night, and snuggled with me. They gave me two vaccines that night, a flu shot on my right arm, and per a strong suggestion from them since my asthma was reported to be pretty bad during my pregnancy, a pneumonia vaccine. I had never had one of these before, and also have actually never had pneumonia, but I didn't think too much of it. I regretted getting it though!

Our next day was nice, Steve came and brought the other kids to meet their new little sister the next morning, and we had a few other visitors throughout the day (Steve's parents, grandpa Mitch ((my step-father)), my grandma and grandpa Wilde and my cousin Alexis). That night is when things started to go south. I had been feeling great postpartum (I usually do feel pretty well since I have such difficult pregnancies, I usually feel so much better when I'm not pregnant), actually I felt better than ever since I didn't have any stitches, so really just had the postpartum contractions to deal with, but even they were not very bad and didn't last nearly as long as they usually do. I actually wasn't taking any narcotics, just the ibuprofen. But that all changed when I woke at 2 am on the 24th..... I had the most searing pain in my arm where I'd got the pneumonia vaccine, I could barely move my arm, couldn't put any weight on it (to pull myself up in the bed), and honestly the pain was liken to a broken bone. I called the nurse and when she came in, I let her know that something wasn't right. So, she checked it and said, "it does look awful red, they can become irritated, I'll grab you a heat pack".... Irritated??! No, my flu shot area was irritated, this was WAY worse! And yeah, the heat pack didn't help much and I was rating my pain at 9 at this point. The nurse knew then that something was off, because she could see in my chart that I hadn't rated my pain above a 4 since having my baby. So she called the doctor and they suggested it was probably an allergic reaction and ordered benadryl. I still wasn't terribly satisfied with this, but being as I'd never had a reaction to a vaccine before, I didn't know what to expect. The benadryl knocked me out though, so I fell asleep until Hallie woke up again at 5 am, that's when I took this picture....

                                                

It started with two bright red, thumbprint sized welts and the pain was unimaginable. I knew when I saw it that it was infected. But still no one would listen to me. Every time the nurses came in, I was rating my pain and saying it was only coming from my arm. I kept saying I thought it was infected, they gave me more benadryl, even sent in someone from the pharmacy to train me in reactions and what to avoid. I told her that I knew it wasn't a reaction, she told me to keep an eye on it. By the time I was getting ready to be discharged that afternoon, the two little welts had morphed into a large red patch, but still they gave me more benadryl, then sent me home.

By that night, I spiked a high fever, tremors, was delirious and exhibiting other flu-like symptoms, so Steve took me to the ER where I was diagnosed with a serious case of cellulitis. I was given an IV and an infusion of an antibiotic, as well as started an oral antibiotic and was sent home even though the doctor said he would normally admit me under the circumstances, but with all the sickness they had and likely my immune system was compromised when it was doing all it could to fight this infection, he didn't think it would be safe for me there. So I was given the script for the orals, then given instructions on going to outpatient IV therapy.

                                 

We took Hallie's newborn pictures up in Salt Lake the next day since we already had the studio reserved. I didn't feel well all that day even after having the two different antibiotics in my system. I went to my first outpatient infusion that night and after getting home, I felt horrible, and that's when Steve noticed how much the redness had spread on my arm. It was also incredibly swollen at this point.

                                            

I was so exhausted, I ended up falling asleep, but woke up in the middle of the night with such pain in my arm and now feeling it in my side and back, so I went back to the ER at 4 am. They added another oral and another infusion. He told me that these were the strongest antibiotics I could be on, so if they didn't work, he wasn't sure what the next step would be, I became pretty scared at this point. So I went to IV therapy morning and night for up to 3 hours at a time for a total of 8 days of treatment. It took until I took my very last oral antibiotic for the pain to completely go away, but my skin is still darkened (bruise-like) where the infection was the worst, it took the longest to get out of my elbow. But I finally feel better from it all, though it was one of the hardest things medically I've gone through, and definitely wasn't fun dealing with it right after I had a baby.

                                             

                                                          My picc line I had for 8 days

All of this pretty much made Hallie completely shy away from breastfeeding, so once again I'm exclusively pumping and she is getting bottled breastmilk. So, once again my supply is ridiculously abundant and I'm making way more than she's eating. So far I haven't had any signs of infection, but that could be that I still have a lot of antibiotics in my system.... but I hope not. I've already begun donating since I'm putting more than 40 ounces in the freezer on top of what she's eating everyday. She is getting her lip tie revised next week, and I'm hoping to go back to lactation and hopefully get her back to breastfeeding again.

And yes, she had pretty high elevated bilirubin levels, actually got above the 20 mark, but thankfully our pediatrician took pity on our situation (when I was getting treatment), and she never had to go under the lights even. We just did our best to make sure she was getting enough food (and it really helped when I just gave up and let her have bottles for every feeding) and keeping her near the window and even taking her outside once and awhile. Her complexion is still quite dark though, and I know Ry's had completely corrected itself at this point, so I don't know if it is part of her coloring now.... so, we shall see.

But that's it, now for the good part.... here's her birth video (G rated again!), pictures were all by Steve and Lacey Lynn.


   

Hallie LaRue Peters a Birth Story Part 1

9/21/14

My last full day of pregnancy... Tomorrow I will be induced for the first time ever. I'm feeling very indifferent right now. Part of me is sad that this is most likely the last full day I will be pregnant. I'm guessing that part will become more pronounced once this is all truly over. But mostly right now, I mostly feel immense relief that it will be over soon. 

Tomorrow will mark 2 weeks since I started labor.... Labor that doesn't do what it's supposed to do, as in, I'm not dilating. It is the same thing that happened with Em, and I'm not sure I can truly portray to you how awful it was then. Only those that witnessed it firsthand can really know. That would be mainly Steve, but my brother and sister-in-law who were living with us at the time, were front row witnesses too. Though when the worst was going on, it was right after their baby was born, so they had more to focus on. But I consistently contracted with her for two weeks.... Yes, that means I had strong contractions every 5-7 minutes for 2 weeks straight. The last 72 hours before she was born, was pure hell. I had hard labor contractions (those are what are considered the pushing contractions at the very end, not supposed to last 72 hours, and not suppose to start before you've even dilated), these contractions were on top of each other, so I couldn't sleep, eat, or even feel like I could breathe, it was terrible. 

I can't even tell you how many times I went to the hospital during that time, only to be continuously sent home. The nurses felt awful because they could see the contractions, but my doctor wouldn't do anything because I wasn't progressing, I still was not dilated even a half a centimeter, only about 40% effaced, my water hadn't broken and I wasn't past my due date. I was offered shots of morphine, but I quickly learned that they didn't help much, so I began declining them. The last time I left there before being able to stay, I remember the nurse saying to come back if it got any worse, after all it was finally my due date... But I remember thinking that if it got any worse, I'd probably be dead. 

That night I kept switching from our jacuzzi in the master bath (I miss our house) to the bed. Steve was rubbing my back and applying counter pressure to my hips. I was so exhausted, but amidst the biggest contraction yet, I finally exclaimed that we could go to the hospital and they wouldn't be able to send me home! Steve asked why, and I said, my water broke! He asked if I was sure, and I said I was positive. Seeing it though, Steve asked if it was supposed to be that color.... Green and a lot of blood, I told him I didn't think so, and we should probably get there soon. I hopped in the shower real fast, still heavily contracting, but with a new found energy and adrenaline knowing the end was finally in sight. Steve got us to the hospital at lightning speed, and when a security guard saw us coming in, he quickly grabbed a wheelchair and escorted us up. 

It was rather slow that night (most people plan better than to have their baby's birthday on Christmas Eve I suppose... But probably people who don't have problems conceiving), so I was able to get my epidural within 15 mins of arriving. When checked, I still was barely a half a centimeter, so the nurses told me it would probably be awhile and that I should get some rest. I didn't need to be told twice... But my nap didn't last long, I woke up and there was a nurse in there because she was concerned about her heart rate. I told her I felt like I was going to throw up, so she got me a bucket, and then lifted the sheet to check the monitors on my belly. She then panicked, saying if you throw up, your baby will be out, and I don't have a doctor. She then hit buttons for medical emergency and in came a full team, turns out they were concerned about the fluid color as well, and the fact that this happened so fast. I went from not dilated hardly at all, to baby crowning in 15 minutes. And little miss Em pretty much birthed herself, I never even pushed, which is probably good since I don't think I contained the strength to do so. 

Em was born under complete distress, with a low heart rate, pretty much listless and not breathing. It felt like an enternity to finally hear her strained cry. They kept trying to suction and vacuum out her lungs, but were having a really hard time, and that's when they discovered her cleft and all her other issues and whisked her to the NICU before I could even get a good look at her. We didn't see her again for 6 hours and most of you know the rest... 

Of course I had anxiety about Ryker's birth being that bad, but his was actually perfect in hindsight. I had maybe 2 days or contractions and dilated fine. My doctor did break my water, but I was already a 6 by then, but my cervix still hadn't moved from it's extremely posterior normal position. But once my water was broken, things really progressed and he was born about 2 hours later, with hardly any pushing as well. So after that, I chalked Em's horrible birth to being related to her special needs.... But I'm doing the same thing now, so it's enough to make anyone anxious about the outcome. 

Thankfully though, this one hasn't been nearly as bad as all that. But still really hard. The contractions are more pressure contractions that start below my ribs, and are like a strong wave that goes all the way down to my legs. Some are a lot more painful than others, they are lasting 1:30-2 minutes and coming about 5 minutes apart. But I'm still a 2 like I've been for the past month now. My doctor has taken pity on me, but not soon enough in my opinion, but at least it will be over tomorrow and I can finally meet this little girl who's been causing all this trouble ;)

I got a call a little after 5 this evening from the hospital wanting to know if I was still planning on coming in the next day, unfortunately they couldn't give me any kind of time frame, only told me which number I was on the list. I hated not knowing, but what could I do.

To be continued..... 

Ryker Brooks Peters

A Birth Story

One week post-partum, everything fresh in the brain still, still sleep deprived but no longer clouded by narcotics ;) Actually stopped those after day 3.... really prefer the pain over the way I feel on them. 

So here it is. And truly it was perfect in every sense of the word. Better than I could possibly ever imagine. 

With Em, my pregnancy was rough and labor was even rougher... luckily her delivery was not bad at all. Ryker's pregnancy was even more difficult with an emergency gallbladder removal at 20 weeks, and a broken rib due to excessive coughing from bronchitis at 30 weeks, which lead to pre-term labor, stopped with nifedipine taken every four hours until I hit 35 weeks when my doctor felt comfortable for me to go off of them.

Contractions started early on in both my kids' pregnancies, around 24 weeks with both. Though mostly inconsistent, and pretty sporadic. They begin to get more frequent and consistent toward the end. 

I have measured at least two weeks ahead of my original due date of December 10th from the very beginning, so I got bumped up to weekly appointments sooner than normal. My first weekly appointment, I was measuring the same as I had the week prior. My doctor was a little concerned since I was really good with growing each time, but not enough to have her considering any action yet. But she thought that by the next appointment, if I was still measuring the same, she would consider inducing me. Now this is where a lot of confusion came in from my family. This is also where I want to say that I have the most amazing doctor this time around, and I could not be happier with my instinct to go with the doctor that had ended up delivering Emarie (even though she was not my doctor for her pregnancy). I couldn't say enough to have a woman OBGYN. Not only does she really know the female body, but she's had four kids herself, so she really knows pregnancy, labor and delivery too. Now she does not believe in inducing unless there's a problem or you are past your due date..... Ok, so now that we've got that out of the way... on with when labor began....

Like I said contractions were no stranger to me and by Thanksgiving, I was having some pretty good ones, so I knew labor was coming. By that Sunday, I was having very frequent, strong contractions, I thought we might have our baby by that night. But I figured if I could sleep through the contractions, that they probably weren't enough to send me to the hospital. Besides, I had a doctor's appointment next morning, the appointment turned into an all day thing though. After checking in at 9:15, I was told that they were already behind.... really behind! Apparently she'd had a scheduled c-section, followed by an emergency c-section and then when I was lead back to a room because she would be on her way there (already undressed mind you!) I was apologetically told that she had to attend to TWO more deliveries after her c-section. Many patients were talked into rescheduling, or coming back later... but I was already undressed and curious to see where I was at. Finally after being at the doctor's office for 3 hours, Dr. Grover finally got there, and honestly I felt bad for her! She looked so frazzled and you could tell she felt really bad for making me wait. She is amazing and I can't say enough about how glad I am that she is the one that cared for me and my baby boy for 8 months! She was aware of everything with Em and did not press me to do any prenatal testing, nor did she think I should have to go through the same torture again that I did when Emarie was born. So she did check me and I was 3 centimeters which surprised me since I never dilated on my own with Em. However, I was only about 50% effaced and my uterus was still pretty posterior (really far back and hard to find.... excruciating for them to try and check too!). I was not measuring the same anymore, but only a tiny bit more, so she wanted me to go in for a non-stress test to make sure my fluid levels looked ok. She didn't think she would have to intervene unless things looked worrisome there since she was sure I would be having this baby within 48 hours on my own. Non-stress test was scheduled for later that afternoon, fluid levels were fine, but his base heart-rate was a little low at first... they kept me a little longer, and it looked better toward the end. 

That night we went to get some more painting supplies to finish up the baby's room. While we were there, I was feeling really frequent contractions, about every 9-10 minutes. Again that night I was thinking we would have a baby, but I was able to sleep through the contractions again... though this time it was much harder. I was up for good at 5 am on November 27th and couldn't go back to sleep, and at that point, I was pretty sure we were going to have our baby that day. Still, I didn't want to go to the hospital until they were 7 minutes or less apart. And they still didn't seem strong enough to me. In fact the contractions I had at 30 weeks were much stronger. Steve didn't go to work, but I thought it might still be awhile, so he put a coat of sealer on the floor boards in the baby's room, which had a really strong odor and was really making me sick. So after a bath and getting myself dressed and then Emarie ready for school (we asked grandma to take her though), we decided it was time to go to the hospital, my contractions were 7 minutes apart at this point, but I still didn't feel they were that strong, so I was expecting to get sent home to be honest.

We arrived at the hospital at 11:30 am that morning, and after getting dressed in my gown the nurse came in to get the monitors on and check me. Well, I was dilated to 4 1/2 centimeters by that point, but still only about 60% effaced and very posterior still (man it was terrible for them to check me when it wasn't in the right place!). After an hour, the nurse came in again to check and see if I'd made any progress to see if I was staying or not. Not a whole lot of progress, so she said it was likely that I was going to go home, but that she would call and talk with my doctor. At that moment a commercial came on for Dunkin Donuts and I decided that I needed a donut. Steve graciously complied and hurried downstairs to get me one. While he was gone, the nurse came in with an IV bag and a bunch of other supplies and asked, "So do you really want to go home today..... or would you rather have your baby??!" I was a little taken aback, so she explained that Dr Grover thought, given my history of Em's delivery, that my posterior uterus might not move on it's own, just like I didn't dilate on my own with Em. So she wanted to keep me there, come and break my water in a bit... possibly start pectocin if needed. So when Steve came back with donuts in hand, I excitedly told him I wouldn't be able to eat it! He was confused of course, so I asked him if he wanted our baby to come today? 

So it began.... 

After they started my IV, they were supposed to watch me and see my progression, but my Dr believed she would need to at least break my water to get my uterus to move in the right position and avoid a c-section. They asked me if I wanted an epidural or anything for pain, I declined seeing as my contractions were still not bad and I figured I would get one after she broke my water. The nurse wrote the date on the white board, and below that "Welcome Baby....." and looked at me expectantly. I had to tell her that we hadn't completely decided on his name yet, and we had decided to wait to see him for that. She was just fine with that, so finished it with a "?". My contractions progressed and got stronger and closer together, but still not too bad. Steve and I talked about what he would look like, if he would look like me, Steve or Emarie. We watched a little tv, talked about Em and how she was at school and if anyone suspected I was having my baby today. 

We had decided long ago.... even before we were pregnant about how we wanted things to go differently the next time we had a baby. I don't say this ever, But Steve and I both worried the day Emarie was born that we might not ever take her home.... we did not know if she would live with how her birth went and how they were talking. And the grief of that day was publicized for everyone that was at the hospital, which was a lot. We have no pictures from her actual birth since it happened so fast and they whisked her away for several hours afterward. It has caused me so much pain to think about that day.... so much so that I have a hard time hearing other people's birth stories, or seeing their wonderful pictures and videos. I wanted everything to go different this time. That meant that we didn't want anyone there with us until we had our time with him. Some people may still not get this, and that's ok, it's what I wanted, and that's all that mattered. And we were very blunt about this from the get go. I worried that I might need to keep people from knowing I was in labor, to make sure that my wishes were respected. But a few people ended up knowing. 

Because of the no pictures from Emarie, I wanted the complete opposite for this baby. I thought about hiring a birth photographer, even though Steve would have his camera, I wanted pictures captured of all of us, at all the key moments. So I asked my best friend if she would be willing. Lacey has taken some amazing pictures for us before , and since she knows us, I know she would be best to capture everything I wanted. She has a new little guy of her own at home, who is just over a year. So I was worried that the birth would come at inconvenient time. What's even harder is that she had just started a new job this month and was worried about it happening during work hours. But I had to have the mentality that we would still have some amazing pictures from Steve even if Lacey couldn't make it.... but luckily, everything worked out perfectly. And a lot of the pictures in the video below are ones that Lacey captured. 

Going back to the birth. I had gone until 5:30 and had dilated to about 6 centimeters and 90% effaced, but still that darn uterus was very posterior, so that is when Dr. Grover came in to break my water. I was relieved to hear that the fluid was clear, since Emarie's was anything but! Almost immediately after she broke my water, my contractions finally started to get strong! I thought maybe it was time to get an epidural..... however the first nurse I told must have forgot since half of the nurses had to respond to a "code white" in the ER parking lot.... which I was assuming was a baby being born there. But after another nurse came in, she got the anesthesiologist and I got my epidural around 6:30. Things became a little easier after that, and the next time I got checked around 7:30, I was a 7, baby's heart rate was dropping a bit at this point too, so they put me on an oxygen mask. By 8:15, I felt the urge to push and told the nurse.... she was skeptical since I was only a 7 about a half hour ago, but she checked me and with eyes wide she said, "You're right! You're ready! I'll call the doctor, she's only 5 minutes away!" I had been sending Lacey updates so that she could be ready to come at the final moment too, she as well is only about 5 minutes from the hospital, so I told Steve to text her to come. 5 minutes later, Dr. Grover walked in, and two minutes after that Lacey did. Oh, and I had had them turn off my epidural about an hour before this because I wanted to be able to feel my legs and know exactly when to push. I did not have to push Em and so I was excited and a bit nervous for this part. It took maybe 5 good pushes and less than 5 minutes and our little boy was here! 

Steve had told me right before Dr. Grover got there that he did not want to cut the umbilical cord. He is grossed out by this, haha! But he didn't get the chance with either of our kids since they both had it wrapped around their necks pretty tight at birth. Which is why baby boy's heart rate dropped here and there. 

I have never been so relieved and happy than I was the moment I heard my boy's first cry! It took what seemed like an eternity for Em to cry.... and baby boy was almost instant after the cord came off his neck. Even though there's no sound to the video clips below, you can see me say "He's crying!!". I also was so excited for all the rest of what I didn't get to experience with Em's birth- them putting him on my stomach, being able to hold him, kiss him, talk to him and love on him. I held him for a few minutes, before they took him to finish cleaning him off and weigh him and such. 7 lbs 15 oz and 20 1/2 inches! Great size!! All the nurses were commenting on his crazy hair and perfect little head.... which I was Sooo relieved about, since Em's head was so small, I was worried his would be bigger and therefor harder to labor. But I guess I just have small headed kiddos! After all that was done, they gave him back to me in just a diaper for some skin to skin. After I had loved on him awhile, I told them they could wrap him and give him to Steve, and he had his little hand clasped on my gown and cried when they took him away from me! My heart was so full at that point. And I want to thank Lacey for being there, but also just doing her thing, so that at times it was like she wasn't even there. The nurses had heard bits and pieces of what our birth was like with Emarie, so they let us keep our little guy a lot longer than is typical. When I got him back from daddy, I nursed him and boy was it painful, but wonderful all at the same time! This was also a first for me since Em was never able to nurse. Then I realized he needed a name. So we said both names a few times to him, and it was easy to see that he was clearly a "Ryker" :) And I love that both of my kids are named after people that were taken far too young and still are very dear to me. Of course Emarie's middle name is after my sister Breanne, and now Ryker's middle name is after my cousin Brooks. Ryker also came on a significant day, his grandmother Karen's birthday! She has a twin (Kenneth) too, so it was Ryker's great-uncle's birthday, and another great-uncle (Bob) on my other side of the family. Also one of our wonderful Chromosome 18 mom's, Dana as well! What a great day for him to come to the world! 

And I guess it was the week for babies! As I had already mentioned how many babies my Dr had delivered the day before.... and while I was on the labor & delivery floor, they were completely full! No rooms left! And by the time we made it down to mother/baby, same thing... FULL! They were even over-flowing to the pediatric wing! So Ryker may meet a lot of kids one day that share his birthday! We were told that there were 9 babies born during the day that day, and another 12 that night! And of those 12, only one was a girl! Crazy!! 

Stress reeks havoc on Steve, and the poor guy began to suffer from an allergic reaction and had to leave to go get medicine. Luckily he made it back in time to capture some pictures of our Ryker in the nursery getting his bath and such, and I was taken down there shortly after. Once the nursery brought him back to me, I held him all night. Like I said, I didn't get that with Em, so I was absolutely content to just snuggle him all night long. And Steve was completely passed out from all the Benadryl, so I got him all to myself!  

The next morning is when we began to tell people that our baby boy had arrived, but we did not share his name or pictures yet. We wanted people to know his name when they came to meet him, and for far away family, when they received an email with pictures later that night. And we said we would be accepting visitors after his sister had met him later that morning. Em was a little unimpressed with him when she came around ten with Steve's parents (video and pictures of people that came to visit will be in the next post), but I was hopeful that she would warm up... and I was right.... mostly ;) 

We had many visitors throughout that day and evening and I was so proud to show off my new son! Em also came back and hung out with us that evening so her grandparents could go out to dinner. That night I did have him go to the nursery for part of the night since it had been an emotional day and I wanted to be able to get some sleep before we went home the next day. 

Ryker had a few minor problems while we were there. He had swallowed an excess of fluid, so had to be suctioned out and they even did a chest x-ray to make sure none was in his lungs. But he was clear. But he also had problems breast feeding, which I know is very common, but frustrating! His blood sugar was a little low, so we did have to give him some formula in the hospital since my milk still hadn't come in. He did not tolerate it though and threw up I believe every ounce of the two bottles he had! After meeting with a lactation nurse, she thought it might be a good idea to have the Dr clip his tongue since she could see it was tied in pretty much the same place Em's had been.... right at the tip. So Dr Bailey our pediatrician (also one amazing doctor!) did that and his circumcision the morning of the day we went home (which was Thursday the 29th). He did not like the tongue clipping, but surprisingly was not too bothered by the circumcision, and yes I was there for both! So was Steve, but he mainly stayed in the corner ;) We left the hospital around noon that day and I can't tell you what an amazing feeling it was to leave with my baby! 

Adjustments have been hard, and no one's getting much sleep this week... but my milk came in on Friday the 30th (3 days later) and Ryker is slowly, but surely becoming a champ with nursing! Though it is clear that he has reflux just like his sister since he can projectile vomit up to 3 or 4 times during a feeding! We might have to do medication by his next Dr's appointment if it looks like he needs it. 

But he is the sweetest baby! Even when he cries like a pterodactyl! Not exaggerating on that one, I will share a video of it in another post! 

We are all in love with our little "Ry Guy" and we're so glad he decided to join our family! 

Now here's his birth video.... maybe it's my emotions, but I can't make it through without crying every one of the hundred's of times I've watched it! A million thanks to Lacey for the heartfelt pictures, and Steve for his pictures and videos. Now all those birth videos that I have always been so jealous of.... I have a perfect one. And it is clean, so no need for worry about what you'll see! Now for optimum viewing, make sure it's set to 720pHD and full screen :) 

20 uhh... 23 Week Ultrasound and Marble Scare

The week that I hit 20 weeks, the ultrasonographer did not have any appointments late enough for Steve to be there, and the following week, which was the week of the 24th (Utah's birthday) she was out of town, which only left us with being able to do it when we got back from San Antonio (and yes, I know I should be blogging about that first, but I have about 3 posts still before that one and hopefully once we're moved I will get caught up... and yes, more about the move later too!). So 2 days after we got home, we had our "big ultrasound". 

We picked up daddy from work and then all went to dinner somewhere near the hospital which ended up being Arby's. 

Em's been watching the Olympics with us and really enjoying it! Especially running and gymnastics... and diving. Anyway, she started doing the hands in the air thing around the same time.. so there you have it! When wanting to acknowledge an accomplishment, she raises her arms in the air, pretty funny!

Did you notice the "missionary photo bomber" in the background?? We thought that was pretty funny later, didn't notice he was looking right at the camera (phone) when I took it! 

After dinner, we headed to the appointment. Our little guy is doing well! Not measuring quite as big anymore, though my uterus is still measuring a bit big... so who knows! 

 Ultrasonographer pointed out his defined bicep! 

 Our sweet baby! 

He likes to look at us 

Isn't amazing how much you can love someone you never met! 

After the appointment, we headed to Steve's parents house to see them since we hadn't since we'd been back. Thought it would be nice to show them the video and pictures from the ultrasound too. 

There is a toy that they have that is Em's absolute favorite! In fact she starts asking for it right when we walk in the door! She has been playing with it for years without ever having a problem.... until that evening.... 

We were just getting ready to go, when Steve laid Em down to change her diaper and I noticed her struggling and then going purple.... and then I freaked because I knew she was choking on a marble, I got to her as fast as I could and Steve sat her up.... and at this point everyone had come to the room. It seemed like it took forever, but she finally coughed and then started crying. Another moment to add to the list of "scariest moments of my life". She kept grabbing in her mouth and at her throat though, so we didn't hesitate to take her to the hospital that is right around the corner from their house. Subsequently it is the same hospital where my sister died, and I haven't been there since. Needless to say, it was a little hard on me... 

However....

By this time, Em was pretty much back to herself... 

Just reading a magazine here.... 

Got her back and their first initiative was of course to do an x-ray. Most people I know were thinking we were overreacting.... but she did choke on them.... and she is unique in every aspect! Key one being here... her digestive system. She has issues, and when I say issues, I mean issues. She does not digest things well or without some kind of help every day. So, to say the least, I was almost as worried about her digesting them, as I was about her swallowing them.... almost. 

 Still doing the Olympic Arms... proud of herself I suppose ;)

And daddy taking on my usual role as baby boy and I wait behind the safety glass

After the x-rays, we were sent back to the room to wait where Em and Steve went about their usual business

yeah, don't ask ;)

After a few minutes the Dr came in and told us they didn't find one marble..... they found two!! Yup, two round perfect objects making their way to her abdomen. He told us we should expect their exit in about 48 hours..... haha, yeah right! But he wanted us to watch her and follow up with the pediatrician if in a couple days she hadn't passed them. And then we headed home... 

I checked on her a lot that night! But every time, this is the way I found her... peacefully and soundly asleep! And ten fold, that blanket on Em is the very blanket they placed on my sister at that hospital nearly 18 years ago. Bittersweet. 

Now the reason I waited on this post is because I knew people would be asking if those marbles were still in her.... so that is why I did it tonight. As of tonight which is 8 days later, this girl has finally "lost her marbles", pun intended ;) 

And yeah, seems like this girl is already set out to upstage her brother! 

Who Needs a Gallbladder Anyway?! *Squeamish BEWARE!

As most of you know, I recently had my gallbladder removed, 3 days ago to be exact. I have had ongoing problems with my gallbladder for 3+ years. The doctor I dealt with before though did not think it necessary to remove since I didn't have the presence of stones..... however the doctor that took it out said it showed years of disease and should have been taken out a long time ago. I also did have stones this time, thanks to baby boy probably. 

My first attack during the pregnancy was probably around 13 or 14 weeks, though I wasn't sure that's what it was then, I am now. I went to the ER for one that lasted a good 2 days when I was 16 weeks, and there is where they referred me again to a surgeon. The surgeon was pretty sure it would need to come out one way or another.... either now in my second trimester, or right after the baby is born.... like we're talking a week after *doesn't give me much time to recover from birth, would it?!* I was fine to wait since I really didn't want to do anything to jeopardize this rare pregnancy of mine. However, after talking to my OB, she was pretty sure she wanted me to get it out now. She thought it would only get worse, and that the attacks would come more frequently and be worse than they already were (and they were already pretty bad), they cannot remove it in the third trimester. She made me promise that I would reconsider getting it taken out if I had another attack. That didn't take long... the very next Friday I had an attack that lasted well through the weekend. Even though I had been very careful with what I was eating (low fat diet). When I called the surgeons office, they were fine to take it out right away.... the very next day actually. 

Originally they gave me a check-in time of 12:30, which I thought would be hard with fasting from midnight. But that morning they called a little before 7 am and said they'd had some cancellations and asked if I could be there at 8.... and we took it! 

They did some bloodwork and such first, and it was probably about 10 before they wheeled me back to the OR. I was grateful that Steve was able to be off work and be with me. The time it said on the clock when I finally opened my eyes was about 11:45. 

Before the surgery, it had been decided that when I was out of recovery they wanted me to be monitored in Labor & Delivery for a few hours afterward. So at about 12:30, we met Steve in the hallway and headed up the elevator to L&D. I wasn't really aware of any pain at first, probably because I was still groggy and numb from the anesthesia, so I declined anything for pain, especially through an IV at that point. They wanted to make sure that I could eat something and keep it down... liquids only though, so the nurse brought in a menu. I decided on some chicken broth and an orange italian ice, which was really good. She had brought in some crackers and Sprite before then, which were hard to eat with how dried out my mouth was. So I guzzled two sprites and then two waters. And by then my food was there. Halfway through eating I vomited, so I waited a little while before trying again. They also wanted me to be able to go to the bathroom on my own, otherwise they'd have to place a catheter and I would have to stay the night. First 3 attempts were unsuccessful, but I still had time before they wanted me to go home anyway (they wanted me there for at least 4 hours). It was at this point that I finally accepted Steve's offer to see "the pictures".

Now here's the squeamish part.... sorry! 

First off, here's what a healthy gallbladder should look like

And this was mine....

Anyone still want to debate whether I should have had this organ out?!..... No?? Didn't think so! 

So after I was finally able to relieve my bladder and keep some liquids down, they said I was good to go home, exactly at 4 pm. Steve and I stopped at Article Circle on the way home to get me a chocolate malt, and right before we pulled in, I had to use the sick back I had in my lap.... but I still wanted the shake ;) At home, went to sleep for awhile and Steve went to get Emarie from his parent's house and get my prescriptions filled. I admit I broke down and have taken a few of the Loritab that they prescribed, but they told me I could take 2 every four hours, and I've only been doing about 1 every six... and that's only if the pain is really bad. I'd say I've only had one in the last 48 hours, and it was yesterday morning. 

So I have a total of 4 incisions. The only one that really bothers me is the one on my belly button... the one where my uterus and baby boy are. At least I've been able to ice it for 20 minutes at a time. And found out today that I will finally be able to soak in these amazing jacuzzis  that are all around on Tuesday at the resort we've been staying at since Friday night (yes I came up the very day after my surgery, recover at home, or recover in luxury.... what would you choose?). And yeah, the reason I didn't know when I'd be able to get my incisions wet is because I never got any discharge instructions from the surgery, only L&D.... odd I know! So I have called the hospital a few times, but today I actually needed to go in to the Park City instacare since I was pretty sure I had a UTI.... lovely! And I was right. So I started on antibiotic and took advantage of being able to ask the dr there about certain things. Common sense told me that I shouldn't be getting them wet... just didn't know for how long. And I'd already been told I can't be lifting anything over 20 lbs for about a month.... yup, sorry Em! So far we've had enough help that I have been fine... only thing I worry about is when we get home from San Antonio and Steve goes back to work... but I'm sure we'll manage. 

So there you have it. Finally the swelling has begun to go down. Seriously looked like I was more like 8 months pregnant on Friday (which was the day after)

Yikes!! 

And here's the picture I took today. I am currently 21 weeks (hit that on Saturday), and now 3 days post-op and feeling pretty good other than the infection! 

Even walked all around downtown Park City today... but did have to ice my belly when we got back. And both of these pictures were taken in our amazing suite at the Westgate Lodge, courtesy of Steve's parents! We are here with most of Steve's family, minus his sister Amber and her husband Kevin in West Virginia... she feels too pregnant to travel! Anyway, more on the trip in another post... hopefully :/ I'm still really behind thanks to my obsessive photographer of a husband ;) 

The Results Are In....

With a measly total of 34 votes, girls beat out boys by 2 votes (18 to 16).... wish we'd had more people care to vote, but that's just the way it goes. Also I would say I don't count about 3 of those votes since Steve cheated the system ;) 

We were coy about telling people when we were actually finding out since we wouldn't be sharing it until the next day. But at 7 pm we walked into the Dr's office to see what this sweet baby would be. 

The face was actually the first thing we saw :) Made me cry. Em waved to us the first time we saw her on screen, and this time we got "looked" at

Little legs crossed.... had me worried for just a sec that we wouldn't get a peek at the "goods" ;) But low and behold... 

No mistaking! 

Y'all were wrong.... just saying!

Outside the dr.'s office after the ultrasound..... I even wore my blue shirt!


So as I mentioned before, we waited until the next day to let everyone know what we found out. My cousin Alexis (2 months older than me) is also expecting and is just a week or two behind me. She also found out what she was having the next day.... which is why we waited, so that we could do a fun reveal together. Alexis came up with the idea to fill a black garbage bag with either pink or blue balloons and release them at the same time with the family gathered around. Only problem was that Lexi's appointment was kind of late and we didn't want the reveal to be really late, so I said that I would buy the balloons after my appointment. I knew the color I needed and then just got 5 of each for Alexis. I put all of the balloons in the garbage sacks before we headed over to my grandparents, so that everything would be all ready. I put the 2 for Lexi in the storage room of the basement and told her that I had marked the one with blue balloons with a small marker mark on the knot of the tie so that she wouldn't have to try and open them to know which was which. And the rest is history...

Steve posted this picture on my Facebook wall shortly after with the caption that said, "Emarie was right!" Because just the day before when I was getting her up in the morning I had asked her if she thought she was going to have a baby brother... or, but before I could finish, she very boldly and clearly said, "I do!" So she knew it was a brother all along! 

Someone had also asked in a comment on Facebook on the above picture why we were releasing balloons, and one of my dear friends (an affected young adult of ch18 actually) stated that she thought we were doing it for my sister..... how sweet is that? And I didn't even think of that! Even more special because my cousin too has lost a sibling to a car wreck, her brother Brooks. 

Blue balloons all around! We will have 2 baby boys only a couple weeks apart! So fun, especially since we live so close to each other, and grew up together ourselves! And NO the pregnancies were not planned.... do people really realize what they are actually asking when they ask this??! And neither of us knew what were in the other's bags! So it was really fun!

And here's the video of the whole thing. And I must feel the need to defend myself here because I got so frustrated that mine didn't come out at the same time.... plus the hormones (I suggest turning the sound way down)! Haha!

I have already bought some clothes of course! Actually the first thing I bought was from some generous Kohl's cash that one of my fellow ch18 mom's sent to me (she lives in Canada and just went shopping there when they were visiting the states recently, and knew that she wouldn't use it before it expired without having one near her).... but seriously, how lucky am I?! Unfortunately they expired before we would find out, so I bought myself some maternity jeans and a maternity cami for layering (since all my regular ones are not working out too well anymore!) and then a generic layette set. But the day after we found out, I took the layette back and got one that screamed a little more boy than yellow ducks ;) 

I have since bought this little number online to save on some shipping for a dress I got for me :) It isn't here yet, but here's what it looks like... and boy am I excited for this one!

Now who says shopping for boys is no fun??!

And here's the most recent belly shot of me. Taken between 16 and 17 weeks on Father's Day

And can't go without adding a picture of the the whole reason we stopped to take pictures in the first place! 

Em and her wonderful daddy! 

The Story of How Baby #2 Came to Be

This post is a bit hard for me to write, which is why I've put it off so long. I think the reason for that is because I feel vulnerable about all of it, and that I'm still at the beginning of this "unattainable dream" that could fleet from my fingers at any moment. I think it was easier to breathe a sigh relief at the last doctors appointment where I once again heard that reaffirming sound of my sweet baby's hearbeat, and knowing that I am now considered past the "safe point". So, now I'll get on with it. 

I had gone off birth control long before this happened for us. We knew with the fact that I was on such a high dose of hormones in my birth control to help control frequent cysts and onset of endometriosis, that it might take awhile. My doctor had told me that it could take at least 4-6 months to get pregnant, if at all.... but we were well over a year later and it still hadn't happened, and honestly I had quit expecting it to happen anymore. When the year mark had come and past, I thought about going back to my doctor, but honestly I was afraid.... I was afraid of what she might tell me, I was afraid of fertility clinics, but mostly I was afraid that they would find nothing wrong and I would be left to wonder why. So, I put it off, but it nagged at me.... and nagged. So a few months later I went ahead and made an appointment, I was overdue for my yearly exam anyway. 

My doctor expressed concern as well that it had been nearly 16 months with no pregnancy. She suggested we run some blood-work first, since hormone deficiency is the most common and easiest to treat for infertility. The fact that my cycle has only been lasting between 24-26 days, made her think it more likely that I could have a hormone deficiency, and most likely with a cycle that short it was slim I was even ovulating at all. She still did give me some brochures for some fertility clinics, which I hoped I would never have to use. 2 reasons for that... first being that we would spend a whole lot of money and still not get a baby, the other being that our likelihood of multiples is already high... and with our luck, I could see us having 5 :/ Still, I walked out of the office with a little bit of hope and an order to get some blood work, which I did that very day. 

A week later I was called by my doctor's office saying they had my results and wanted me to come in as soon as I could. I hoped that meant "good news" if they weren't sharing it over the phone. An hour later Em and I sat down in my doctor's office as she pulled out her notes to discuss the results of my previous blood-work. As we had hoped, it showed I had a significant deficiency in progesterone, which was a super easy fix and most likely to blame for my short cycle and lack in pregnancy. She didn't think it necessary that I begin the medication right away, rather wait until the middle of my cycle, around the time I could be ovulating, which would be around the 16th day of my cycle. This was a Thursday, I should be starting on Saturday. So I was eager and elated that this could finally happen for us. I prayed in the car that day, prayed very hard and long.... didn't expect that prayer to be answered so fast! 

Saturday came and went, but my "monthly gift" never came. Not too surprising, I had been late once before since I stopped birth control, and like I'd said I'd quit expecting any other reason for being late.... but I was, and when the end of Sunday came and I still hadn't started, I decided I'd get a pregnancy test to take in the morning, just for my own sanity. Because this was really late, most of the time it came early, so it wouldn't be a bad idea to take a test. Sunday was April Fool's day, and Steve thought it would be funny for us to do what a lot of other people were doing and that was to announce a pregnancy.... I thought it would be cruel though, since I thought a lot of people would really take that to heart and be so happy for us, only to be shot down. 

Monday, April 2nd is when I took the first test. I got up in the morning and took a test, waited the 3 minutes and it was negative.... or so I thought ;) Wasn't surprised, of course a little disappointed, but I had been getting better at pushing that disappointment away. I even forgot about it... but then it was Wednesday and I was now 5 days late, so when Em woke up at her almost usual time of 5 am, I decided to take the other test that was in the box, so that that way I could call my doctor to find out what was going on since I was sure this one would be negative as well. 3 short minutes later, I looked at the test to see the same result as before.... negative.... hmm, but then wait.... I think I've been reading this wrong! I've been looking for a + sign all along, and this test says right here that 2 lines indicate a positive result..... 2 lines? I have 2 very bold lines, and come to think of it, so did the last test. I'm pregnant.... I honestly can't believe it. But it must be true, because I have apparently had 2 positive tests telling me so.

I tried to go back to sleep for another hour, but I was too excited to sleep, and I didn't want to wake Steve yet since that's what I had done at more like 4 in the morning when I found out about Em, and I think he had wished I'd waited until later ;) So instead I came out to the living room and laid on the couch and just reveled in my own excitement.

First thoughts- honestly my very first thought that moment was: "I get to do this again, I get to have another shot." Now please don't get me wrong here, Emarie coming to this world is one of the best things that ever happened to me. It's just that her delivery was just such a traumatic moment, full of fear, worry and unknown.... not how it was supposed to be. I felt cheated out of the whole "first birth" experience. So much so that I still have a hard time hearing other people's birth stories, seeing pictures or videos. And I know others have had harder experiences than even I did, and of course those who can't have children on their own, and I am sensitive to that, believe me! So that was my first thought, that I would have that chance again.

My next thought was a little more panicked, "I've never breastfed a baby, I don't even really know how to feed a baby.... how am I going to do this when they'll think I know what I'm doing since I already have a child??" This thought was made evident further down the road when my niece (who's 16 months old) came up to me wanting one of the chips I was eating, and I told her no since I wasn't sure if she could eat them. I later found out from her mom that she was fine to eat chips.... see, typical baby dummy here! But Steve was quick to point out that it would be fine and we would learn along the way like first time parents..... sort of ;)  

That morning before Steve got in the shower, I sent him this message.... 

Corny I know, but keep in mind I hadn't had much sleep! 

That very day, I made a call for a high-risk OB (doctor's recommendation since I have had a few miscarriages and Em's pregnancy and labor were rather difficult), and luckily they fit me in the very next day with the nurse practitioner. First of all, they confirmed my pregnancy, but expressed concern that I was already having pelvic pain and cramping.... they wanted to make sure I didn't have an ectopic pregnancy with my history, so I went in for my very first ultrasound that evening. Being as I was no more than 5 weeks, they couldn't really see much even by the less than traditional way :S (sorry didn't want to be too graphic.... some of you will probably know what I mean though). So I was then sent next door for more blood-work to check my HCG levels. Next day I tried calling the Doctor's office since I hadn't heard from them yet, and they said a nurse would be calling me with an hour. Not even 10 minutes later I got a call, but not from the nurse, but from the actual doctor whom I haven't even seen yet.... that scared me a bit! She mentioned that my levels looked great for a pregnancy that would be indicative of 5 weeks, her concern though was that I might actually be further along (8-9 weeks) and it actually was implanted somewhere else which would produce some low HCG levels. So she wanted me to repeat the test every other day for the next 2 weeks, possibly repeat an ultrasound in a week, which I did and thankfully we could see the sac was in the uterus, but couldn't see a heartbeat yet... so repeat the blood test for a little longer, then I had another ultrasound nearing the 9 week mark, where there was definitely a heartbeat! Also had a Dr's appointment the next week and we heard the heartbeat with the doppler for the first time :) Here's a little video Steve put together of that

Ok, so next up will be the details of when we told family and photos and videos from the reactions and FYI the video above was done after we'd told our families, but before we had announced it on the blog or Facebook.... so to be continued :) 

Sleep Study Success? And a Bit of Nostalgia

We quickly got Em's last Sleep Study Fiasco rescheduled, and went the night after Memorial Day. It was as much of a success as it can be.... meaning they got a reading, but it was a less than stellar night. You can all now appreciate the fact that sleeping on a pull-out bed (and pull-out from a small chair, not a couch!) is less than appealing to me in my pregnant state. I'm already having trouble sleeping in my own comfortable bed, so this is almost torture on my aching body. Steve is nice and offers to go, but unfortunately he can only go on a Friday night and of course those are the first to fill up. So I went, and even with a smile on my face ;) 

I don't know why, but every single one of our 5 times at a sleep study, they always seem to choose Em to hook up last.... regardless of if she's the youngest there or not (and most of the time she is)! So sometimes, it's not until after 10pm that they even start, and it takes over an hour to get everything on! Granted we were about 15-20 minutes late this time (lost track of time as I was cooking dinner).... but still! 

This was the dinner I made, mini meatloaves with mashed potatoes and cheese on top.... divine! 

Back to the sleep study.... 

This was as they were hooking her up, and as you can see, very, very tired already! 

Of course though, it still took a couple hours for her to fall asleep since she likes to get silly and then grumpy because she wonders why we aren't home. 

But here she is finally asleep

Amazing how peaceful she looks in all that! 

She woke up I'd say at least 5 times that night... which is more or less usual. I slept a grand total of about an hour! I certainly missed my "Moog" at home :( That is the name for my pregnancy pillow that saved me at about the 15 week mark with Em... and I had Steve fish it out of storage at about 7 weeks this time... 

Yes, you'll have to get one if ever you're expecting.... well worth the money! 

It also didn't help that this baby of mine was trying out some new acrobatics, which unfortunately didn't play too well on my already stretched bladder! It didn't help that the only bathroom in the clinic (which is already a distance to walk) was out of order, making for an even longer walk to the next clinic over. And I'll say I waddled there no less than 5 times during the night! 

We made it the whole night though! Em woke up at her usual time of 5 am, she does this a lot, but usually goes back to sleep after no more than 15 minutes, makes it real fun on those days when we're about to get up for work in about an hour :/ Anyway, since they have cameras on her and could see she was awake, they just decided to end the study then, a whole hour earlier than they would've. Whatever though, I had been awake the whole night, so it didn't matter to me! 

waking up...

And after all that gunk is taken off... 

the infamous hair picture!

We for sure faired better with the hair this time, then the last "successful" sleep study...

Sleep study from September 2011

And it takes dish soap, and at least 3 washes with a medicated shampoo (t-gel) before you can get all the glue out of her hair!

So now, we will have to wait until the end of the month to get the results. But I was already told from the tech that night that although she never needed oxygen, she is still showing significant obstruction.... which means most likely we'll be looking at that dreaded surgery. But if it will help her, then we will do it! 

Now the nostalgia part of the title.... I don't know why I thought of this that night, but I do see how significant it is in light of recent news. That night as I was desperately trying to fall asleep, I couldn't help think of Em's very first sleep study the week of Christmas, and how cute she looked in the Christmas outfit that a fellow Ch18 family had sent her. I received news last Saturday that Mandi Fisher had passed away at the young age of 30. She left behind her husband Jason, and her sweet little Mckenzie, who like Em has 18q- and is only 2 years old. I hope you'll keep this sweet little family in your prayers. This news absolutely broke my heart, and news of how we will help honor her life is coming in a following post.