NICU

Ok, so I obviously have not been as on top of blogging as I hoped I would be.  But, I am going to try harder!

I figured I had better blog about our experience in the NICU before I forgot everything (because, let's face it, I would really like to forget it).

Logan was born at 3:40 PM and everything seemed fine.  He scored well on his Apgar.  But after a couple of hours, it became apparent that he wasn't breathing as well as we hoped.  His color started to get a little dusky when Chris was holding him while the midwives were taking care of my bleeding issues.  When I got to hold him again skin to skin and he was put on a little oxygen, his color came back.  So, it was just thought that it was taking him a little longer to transition.  My Mom took over Logan holding duties while the midwives prepared to finish taking care of me.  It took me a half an hour alone to walk to the bathroom, so that was fun.  His color started to get dusky again and they were running out of oxygen.  It was decided at 7:20 PM to take him into the ER to get him checked out.  Chris and my Mom went to the ER in Conway while the midwives stayed with me.

Logan's breathing problems ended up being a whole lot worse than any of us anticipated.  Chris' experience in the Conway ER was less than pleasant (but we won't get into that).  But, they did do one thing right and they had Arkansas Children's Hospital on the phone right away and got a life flight helicopter on it's way.  Chris was able to ride on the helicopter with Logan (which we found out later NEVER happens) and my Mom drove back to the house to tell me the news and to spend the night with me.

It ended up that Logan aspirated some fluid into his lungs during birth, which ended up developing into pneumonia.  The doctor told us that nothing we did or could have done differently would have prevented this.  It was just one of those things.  Logan had to be intubated, which made it so we couldn't hold him.  That in itself was so hard.  But, my wonderful husband on Tuesday (Logan's 3rd day in NICU) asked the doctor when I could hold Logan.  The doctor consented to letting me hold Logan that night as long as the nurse and respiratory therapist were there to help me.  They let me hold him for an hour and it was wonderful.

Logan ended up getting the tube taken out on Wednesday or Thursday (we can't remember, lol) and was put on oxygen through his nose.  Which made it easier for us to hold him, but we still weren't able to when ever we wanted.   Once he was taken off his oxygen and was breathing completely on his own (YAY!) we got to hold Logan almost all the time!

After Logan finished his round of antibiotics, we had to get him to the point of being able to eat on his own and not through a feeding tube.  This was probably the most frustrating for Chris and me.  We didn't think it would take that long, since babies are supposed to eat all the time!  But, eating just wore Logan out.  So, it took 5 days for Logan to get to the point where he could take a whole bottle on his own in the allotted time limit (he was only given 20 minutes to finish a bottle and then he was given the rest through his feeding tube).  We decided not to nurse while we were in the hospital, since it was so stressful for both of us and we wanted to get out of the hospital as soon as possible.  Luckily, I was able to pump enough milk that he only had to be supplemented with formula twice.

I'm so thankful for the doctors and the nurses at Arkansas Children's Hospital.  They took such wonderful care of our little man.  They made an awful situation the best it could be for us.  I can honestly not say enough good things about the staff there.  They kept us up-to-date on everything and talked to us like we were their friends and not just a patient.

We were discharged on Thanksgiving Day and it was wonderful!  It was definitely the best Thanksgiving I have ever had.  My wonderful mother stayed home and made us a fantastic meal while Chris, Dad, and I brought Logan home.

Once again, I'm so thankful my parents were able to be with us the whole time Logan was in the hospital.  It made things a whole lot easier for Chris and I.  Their support was so wonderful throughout the whole ordeal.

Thank you all for your prayers and support throughout that trying time.  They meant so much to us and I truly believe the Lord was working miracles for Logan.  The nurses were surprised at how fast Logan progressed through it all.  We are so thankful for the Arkansas Children's Hospital for helping our son and keeping him in our lives.  Logan is such a blessing!

And baby makes 3!

Well, he's here!  Logan decided to be a BIG surprise and make a HUGE entrance into the world (in more than one way!).  He arrived on November 13, 2011, three weeks before his due date! 

2 AM came with a bang on Sunday morning.  I jumped out of bed out of a dead sleep thinking I had completely peed my pants, I ran to the bathroom to take care of the issue and... wait... that's not urine.  Oh crap. Oh Crap, OH CRAP!  Chris...  Chris... CHRIS!!!  My water broke!  CHRIS!!  *Huh?* MY WATER BROKE!!  It took me forever and a day to wake up my husband and then convince him that I was really in labor!  I called my Dad (who was in Las Vegas) to let him know what was going on so he could book tickets for him and my Mom (who was in Laramie with my nephew who just got his tonsils out, great weekend to have a baby, huh?) 

Our midwives showed up at the house around 9 AM and by this time I was well into labor.  My contractions were pretty intense.  I can honestly say this was the hardest thing I have ever had to do in my life.  I was able to labor in the bathtub for a while and that helped.  I gave birth to Logan in our living room at 3:40 pm and his daddy was the one to catch him :)  I love that I will be able to tell my son that.  He weighed in at 6 lbs 11 oz and was 20 inches long.  I ended up being in labor for 14 hours, which I didn't think was too bad for my first baby!  Although, during labor, it felt like an eternity!

After he was born I started having some complications.  I was having such bad cramps it felt like I was still in labor.  I was also losing a lot of blood.  My midwife decided I had blood clots in my uterus that were making it so my uterus wouldn't clamp shut.  She ended up having to reach into my uterus and scoop them out.  IT WAS PAINFUL!  I hated my midwife during those minutes.  The blood clots were the size of lemons and she pulled out almost 2 bowls full!  But, when it was over, I had instant relief!  Thank God I had a midwife who knew what was wrong and how to rectify the situation.  And, I loved her again after it was over :)  Luckily, she was able to accomplish this just before I would have needed to be taken to the hospital for blood loss.

Chris was so wonderful during labor as well.  He was by my side through the whole thing and was such a rock for me.  He helped me to relax through my contractions and pushed on my back for the really bad ones.  Toward the end of the labor I kept telling him I couldn't do this and he kept reassuring me I could.  I definitely could not have had a home birth without him. 

Chris and I are both so glad we decided to have a home birth.  It was so nice to be in the comfort of my own home with people I completely trusted and was comfortable with.  I didn't have to worry about if I was being too loud or be embarrassed about what was going on.  And, after all was said and done, it was so nice to sleep in my own bed that night.  Plus, I didn't have to worry about being released from the hospital so I could go see Logan at Arkansas Children's Hospital (more on that later!).  

So, welcome to the world Logan Carter.  We love you immensely!

Baby Boy

We went in for our 26 week check up a couple of weeks ago and got to see baby boy!  We were lucky enough to get to see him in 4D as well as the normal sonograms.  But, he was being a little stinker (already taking after his father!)  He kept his arm in front of his face almost the whole time and then when he FINALLY did move it, he smooshed his face into the placenta!!  But, we are able to get a couple good profile pictures of him, and of course I think it is the cutest little profile ever!

 Look at those cute little hands!!

 I don't know if I like this picture or not, he kind of looks creepy because he was moving his arms so much!

 Our little man!!

We are getting so excited!  I can't believe on Monday we will be in the 3rd trimester!  Time has definitely flown by!  We can't wait until we can finally meet him!!

We're moving!

Here we go, again...  Schlumberger's timing is, of course, impeccable.  We are headed to Conway, AR this time.  Chris was promoted to Maintenance Manager of the shop up there.  So this will be a new adventure all around.  We were luckily able to find a house pretty easily this time, so we should be all moved by the middle to the end of the month.  Hopefully I will be able to find a new midwife or ob fairly easily as well!  I'll try to keep everyone updated with any new information!  Hope all is well!

It's a....

Boy!

We weren't shy at all about showing off my boy parts!  Chris is super excited and I didn't care either way!  Baby boy is growing nicely and was a half pound at 18 weeks! 

I am going to try to keep the blog updated better about what is happening with the pregnancy, so hopefully you will see another post soon!!

Big News!

11 Weeks and 1 Day!

Chris and I are very excited!  Our due date is 12/5/11!

Almost a year later...

Well, since it has almost been a year since I have even gotten on here I thought I should post an update.  Chris and I are still in the heat of Louisiana.  We have adjusted better than last year and are finally starting to get used to the differences down here.  We have made some great friends and have had some awesome experiences down here.  I no longer work for Regions, I started working for another Schlumberger spouse at the store she just took over called Lil Miss Priss & Co.  I love what I do, it is SO much less stressful than the bank.  Chris is still slaving away with the good ol' Schlumberger.  He has finally been assigned his Grade 11 project, so who knows, we may be getting out of here at some point.  But, we aren't holding our breath!!  But other than that, not much has changed for us!  We celebrated our 3rd anniversary earlier this month, still can't believe it has already been 3 years!  Chris and I are bad about taking pictures but here are a few from the last year...

 Chris and I at the National Hot Rod Association Drag Races

 
The Drag Cars

Chris on Pit Row at Nascar

At a friends wedding in July