This last week we have had a public health nurse come over to help with nursing, if we have any questions for her regarding bringing up baby, or if we just want to see how much he weighs. Will's birth weight was 7 pounds 14 ounces. His discharge weight from the hospital was 7 pounds 7 ounces. Tuesday he was 7 pounds 6 ounces, Wednesday he was 7 pounds 8 ounces, and today he was 7 pounds 13 ounces. We are so proud that he is gaining weight so well...
Since being home from the hospital we have had quite the interesting sleeping arrangements. We have had nights of sleeping in our bed with him because he wouldn't sleep in the bassinet. A night of sleeping in the living room, Michael on the couch, Will in the bili bed and me on the floor. A night of me sleeping on the couch with Will on my chest. Then there was last night, oh what a wonderful night. Will ate at 10pm, I put him down in the pack -n- play upstairs and he stayed asleep until 2am. He woke up at 5am, I fed him, put him back to bed and he slept until 8am. Ahhhh it feels so great to have a 'normal' night. Now if only my 3 year old would sleep past 7am that would be delightful.
I'll try to post new pictures when I get them on the computer. I have taken a bunch of pictures since being home so I know I have some good ones to share.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Pictures
Yesterday we had the joy of showing off our newest baby to Stacey She took some wonderful pictures of us in October and I have been looking forward to her taking pictures of William and the four of us as a family. She does such a great job and we love working with her.
Some of the pictures she took are on her blog. Click here to check them out.
Joshua had a lot of fun playing with her son and checking out her house and pets. William had a great time eating and sleeping, ah the life of a newborn.
Some of the pictures she took are on her blog. Click here to check them out.
Joshua had a lot of fun playing with her son and checking out her house and pets. William had a great time eating and sleeping, ah the life of a newborn.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Oh what a day!
All through the Sunday night I got to deal with the on comings of mastitis. Finally at 4:30 I couldn't take it any more. Michael researched on the Internet what mastitis is and it's symptoms. I figured that was what was going on but wanted to be sure. I was sobbing as Will was feeding just feeling horrible. I had a fever and a stabbing pain in my right breast. I asked Michael for an ice pack, turns out you are supposed to put a warm pack on it instead. Michael was very concerned and called the Family Care Center at the hospital to get a suggestion for what they thought I should do. So we called Michael's cousin (thank you Anna) and Michael's mom (thank you Maxine) and they came over right away to help. I got to the Er and was checked out. Sure enough I have mastitis. They gave me some prescriptions, and sent me on my way.
That morning at 9:30 I saw my midwife for a one week after deliver appointment. She noticed that Will looked Jaundice to her and suggested we get him tested. We got the number back and it was 15.9 under 11 or 12 (I cannot remember) is normal. We received a Billy bed later last night and he was sleeping on that in our living room all night long. It was horrible. Every time I would nurse him and lay him down in the bed he would scream and cry. I decided to feed him while he was laying down on the bed so I wouldn't have to move him when he was finished eating. The only time he got off the bed was to get his diaper changed. This morning he was getting fed up by me feeding him that way and would no longer nurse so I had to take him off the bed. The nurse will come by this morning at 11am to test his levels again. Please be praying that everything is okay and his levels are dropping. I don't think I can handle another night like last night. Michael was sleeping on the couch. I would feed Will and most of the time fall asleep by him or I would sleep on the sleeping bag on the floor. I am thankful Joshua didn't wake up at all last night, it would have been VERY crazy if he was in on it all as well. He did think it was pretty funny this morning seeing us all sleeping in the living room.
This is a link to a friend's blog. She says every baby should come with this disclaimer attached to their big toe. This is very true, thank you Debbie for sharing this with us!
Click here to view the link.
That morning at 9:30 I saw my midwife for a one week after deliver appointment. She noticed that Will looked Jaundice to her and suggested we get him tested. We got the number back and it was 15.9 under 11 or 12 (I cannot remember) is normal. We received a Billy bed later last night and he was sleeping on that in our living room all night long. It was horrible. Every time I would nurse him and lay him down in the bed he would scream and cry. I decided to feed him while he was laying down on the bed so I wouldn't have to move him when he was finished eating. The only time he got off the bed was to get his diaper changed. This morning he was getting fed up by me feeding him that way and would no longer nurse so I had to take him off the bed. The nurse will come by this morning at 11am to test his levels again. Please be praying that everything is okay and his levels are dropping. I don't think I can handle another night like last night. Michael was sleeping on the couch. I would feed Will and most of the time fall asleep by him or I would sleep on the sleeping bag on the floor. I am thankful Joshua didn't wake up at all last night, it would have been VERY crazy if he was in on it all as well. He did think it was pretty funny this morning seeing us all sleeping in the living room.
This is a link to a friend's blog. She says every baby should come with this disclaimer attached to their big toe. This is very true, thank you Debbie for sharing this with us!
Click here to view the link.
Will's Birth story
Well I had been having Braxton hicks contractions since 20 weeks then what I would consider more realistic contractions since 31 weeks. But I would consider me actually going into labor on Monday May 4th. I saw Esther, my midwife, at 9am on that day. She told me I was 2 cm dilated and very soft. She said when my body decides to go into labor it should be fast. She asked me if I wanted her to strip my membranes and I said yes, she was very thorough, it was quite the interesting feeling kind of shocking at first. Then she said she would strip it one more time for good measure. I believe that is what did me in. She said I should experience some cramping and if this works I could go into labor 12 to 72 hours later. The rest of the day I had a lot of cramps with stronger contractions every now and then. That night I woke up to a lot of contractions and wanted to call it quits for the night and take a shower around 3 or 4 am. I got up at 7 instead. I took a shower and spent the rest of the day at home.
That morning, May 5th, I felt like that day could be the day but I wasn’t sure. Michael had an exam from 10am until noon, so I was hoping something would start to happen while he was gone so we could go to the hospital that afternoon. I played a lot of Super Paper Mario, Joshua loves that game, while bouncing on a ball and having irregular contractions. From 12:15-1:15pm I timed my contractions and they were every 4 to 6 minutes apart but weren’t consistent enough for me to feel comfortable calling my midwife. About every other contraction was strong. After lunch I felt like going on a walk but changed my mind. I knew something might be happening and didn’t want to be far from home if I needed to go to the hospital. That afternoon I bounced on a ball while not knowing what I should do. My mother-in-law called sometime around 3pm to ask if we thought this was it, I said I wasn’t sure. My contractions were getting more intense but still far apart. When ever I would get one if Michael or Joshua was talking to me it frustrated and annoyed me making it harder for me to focus through the contraction. I thought it might be time to get checked out. I called the hospital around 5:00 and was able to talk to Dr. Keeler, the doctor on call. Then he had my midwife call me shortly after that.
I told Esther, my midwife, what I was experiencing and that my only fear was not being admitted to have this baby. She assured me she wouldn’t send me home, so I thought it was time to go in. We called my mother-in-law back to let her know we were going to go in to the hospital as soon as she got to our house. She arrived at 6:20 and we were off to the hospital. We arrived to the hospital and were in the room by 6:45pm. The man who wheeled me up to the OB floor asked me how fast he needed to push me. I told him he didn’t have to hurry but I didn’t want him to take his time. I had one contraction on the way to the hospital (at 30th and Grand ave.), one more in the ER waiting room, one on the way up to the floor and then I was in my room. At the elevator there was a woman and a little boy who just got on it, the man pushing me waited for the next one. I thanked him a lot since our son was irritating me at home I really didn’t want to have some other kid irritate me there. He figured if he was annoyed by the little boy I probably would be too. We were then wheeled into the same room we had Joshua in 3304. It was neat having the same room. I changed and then was hooked up to the monitors for 20 minutes, while I was waiting on my nurse and midwife to arrive. I wasn’t contracting; on the monitors as much as I would have likes and was worried they were going to tell me I hadn’t dilated very much. I was checked at 7:25 or so and was 6 centimeters dilated. I was SO happy with myself that I hadn’t wanted any pain meds yet and had made it to 6, over half way there. I asked for a birthing ball and worked through more contractions. I found the best places to be during a contraction were squatting while holding onto the bathroom toilet handles (the hospital toilets are handicap accessible so there are big handles on either side) and on my chest on the birthing ball. At home I bounced on my ball all day and that helped a lot. The nurses station were impressed with how fast I was moving through the hall when I would walk around and didn’t think he would come tonight. I wanted the contractions to come quicker so I wasn’t in that stage all night long. I guess I was progressing quicker than I thought because at 8:45pm I was checked again and was at 8cm. About 9:50 I asked Esther when I would l know I needed to start pushing and she said I would know when the time came. A couple more contractions later and I knew it was time. They got the bed ready, lowered the bottom third so I could squat on it. She asked me if I wanted her to break my water, I said yes, I wanted this to go a little quicker so it could be over with. The fluid ran clear and I was very glad to hear that. The squatting helped for a while but my arms and legs got tired, and very tingly it was hard to support my body weight. I then held onto the nurse’s shoulders and Michael’s shoulders but that didn’t seem to help. I started to feel faint so she had me lay on my right side. It didn’t take much longer after that. He was born at 10:25pm. My sister Wendee was standing out side the door. She knew he was born because I was screaming, then yelled ‘Praise the Lord’. She placed him on my belly as they rubbed him down and she cleaned me up. His umbilical cord was pretty short but everything looked great. Michael was able to cut the cord. I felt so weak but glad I did it ALL NATURAL and I didn’t rip, tear, or need to be cut. About an hour later we took him to the nursery so they could do some tests on him. He weighed in at 7 pounds 14 ounces and was 20 ¾ inches long. He is so beautiful and I couldn’t have asked for a better delivery. He wasn’t too interested in nursing right away after birth, we were both very tired. He did successfully feed and did great feeding while we were in the hospital. The first night after he was born was hard on me. I was tired but was excited to talk to everyone about him being born. I didn’t sleep much at all; it did feel great being able to lie there on my back though. The next night I wanted a sleeping pill but Esther said that would go into my milk and if Will was already a sleepy baby that wouldn’t be good on him, so I didn’t. I was able to sleep more that night than the night before so I was feeling fine on the morning of the 7th. We stayed in the hospital until the 7th of May at 3:30pm.
I truly have been blessed with a beautiful birth. I didn’t need to get an IV or oxygen. I didn’t tear or need to be cut. I wasn’t even in much pain at all until it was time to push. It just mostly uncomfortable. Thank you Lord for this blessing.
That morning, May 5th, I felt like that day could be the day but I wasn’t sure. Michael had an exam from 10am until noon, so I was hoping something would start to happen while he was gone so we could go to the hospital that afternoon. I played a lot of Super Paper Mario, Joshua loves that game, while bouncing on a ball and having irregular contractions. From 12:15-1:15pm I timed my contractions and they were every 4 to 6 minutes apart but weren’t consistent enough for me to feel comfortable calling my midwife. About every other contraction was strong. After lunch I felt like going on a walk but changed my mind. I knew something might be happening and didn’t want to be far from home if I needed to go to the hospital. That afternoon I bounced on a ball while not knowing what I should do. My mother-in-law called sometime around 3pm to ask if we thought this was it, I said I wasn’t sure. My contractions were getting more intense but still far apart. When ever I would get one if Michael or Joshua was talking to me it frustrated and annoyed me making it harder for me to focus through the contraction. I thought it might be time to get checked out. I called the hospital around 5:00 and was able to talk to Dr. Keeler, the doctor on call. Then he had my midwife call me shortly after that.
I told Esther, my midwife, what I was experiencing and that my only fear was not being admitted to have this baby. She assured me she wouldn’t send me home, so I thought it was time to go in. We called my mother-in-law back to let her know we were going to go in to the hospital as soon as she got to our house. She arrived at 6:20 and we were off to the hospital. We arrived to the hospital and were in the room by 6:45pm. The man who wheeled me up to the OB floor asked me how fast he needed to push me. I told him he didn’t have to hurry but I didn’t want him to take his time. I had one contraction on the way to the hospital (at 30th and Grand ave.), one more in the ER waiting room, one on the way up to the floor and then I was in my room. At the elevator there was a woman and a little boy who just got on it, the man pushing me waited for the next one. I thanked him a lot since our son was irritating me at home I really didn’t want to have some other kid irritate me there. He figured if he was annoyed by the little boy I probably would be too. We were then wheeled into the same room we had Joshua in 3304. It was neat having the same room. I changed and then was hooked up to the monitors for 20 minutes, while I was waiting on my nurse and midwife to arrive. I wasn’t contracting; on the monitors as much as I would have likes and was worried they were going to tell me I hadn’t dilated very much. I was checked at 7:25 or so and was 6 centimeters dilated. I was SO happy with myself that I hadn’t wanted any pain meds yet and had made it to 6, over half way there. I asked for a birthing ball and worked through more contractions. I found the best places to be during a contraction were squatting while holding onto the bathroom toilet handles (the hospital toilets are handicap accessible so there are big handles on either side) and on my chest on the birthing ball. At home I bounced on my ball all day and that helped a lot. The nurses station were impressed with how fast I was moving through the hall when I would walk around and didn’t think he would come tonight. I wanted the contractions to come quicker so I wasn’t in that stage all night long. I guess I was progressing quicker than I thought because at 8:45pm I was checked again and was at 8cm. About 9:50 I asked Esther when I would l know I needed to start pushing and she said I would know when the time came. A couple more contractions later and I knew it was time. They got the bed ready, lowered the bottom third so I could squat on it. She asked me if I wanted her to break my water, I said yes, I wanted this to go a little quicker so it could be over with. The fluid ran clear and I was very glad to hear that. The squatting helped for a while but my arms and legs got tired, and very tingly it was hard to support my body weight. I then held onto the nurse’s shoulders and Michael’s shoulders but that didn’t seem to help. I started to feel faint so she had me lay on my right side. It didn’t take much longer after that. He was born at 10:25pm. My sister Wendee was standing out side the door. She knew he was born because I was screaming, then yelled ‘Praise the Lord’. She placed him on my belly as they rubbed him down and she cleaned me up. His umbilical cord was pretty short but everything looked great. Michael was able to cut the cord. I felt so weak but glad I did it ALL NATURAL and I didn’t rip, tear, or need to be cut. About an hour later we took him to the nursery so they could do some tests on him. He weighed in at 7 pounds 14 ounces and was 20 ¾ inches long. He is so beautiful and I couldn’t have asked for a better delivery. He wasn’t too interested in nursing right away after birth, we were both very tired. He did successfully feed and did great feeding while we were in the hospital. The first night after he was born was hard on me. I was tired but was excited to talk to everyone about him being born. I didn’t sleep much at all; it did feel great being able to lie there on my back though. The next night I wanted a sleeping pill but Esther said that would go into my milk and if Will was already a sleepy baby that wouldn’t be good on him, so I didn’t. I was able to sleep more that night than the night before so I was feeling fine on the morning of the 7th. We stayed in the hospital until the 7th of May at 3:30pm.
I truly have been blessed with a beautiful birth. I didn’t need to get an IV or oxygen. I didn’t tear or need to be cut. I wasn’t even in much pain at all until it was time to push. It just mostly uncomfortable. Thank you Lord for this blessing.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Our family!!!
I had been having contractions since 31 weeks and was dilated to 2 cm when she checked me at 37 weeks. When I went in to my 38 week appointment at 38 weeks 3 days pregnant she stripped my membranes. She said it takes 12 to 72 hours to put someone into labor if it works. The rest of the day I had a lot of cramping but not a lot of contractions. Towards the end of the day they had turned more into contractions. That night we ate dinner at Corona Village, went home and tried to sleep. I was up a lot through out the night because of contractions. Nothing horrible but they were waking me up so that wasn't fun. I finally got up before Joshua to shower and get ready for the day. I told Michael that morning that that day could be it. He had an exam at 10 until noon and was hoping nothing would happen until after that. He called me just before his exam to see how I was doing. The rest of the day went slow. I was having contractions on and off but nothing regular enough for me to go the hospital. Finally I started counting them and had them every 4 mins for an hour, but only every other contraction felt strong so I still didn't think I should go in. I played Super Paper Mario (Thank you Shannon, we beat the game :) Joshua loves watching us play games and all I wanted to do was bounce on the ball so it worked out perfectly. I thought at one point that I wanted to go on a walk but once we got ready I though maybe I shouldn't. I thought we should stay close to home. My mother in law called at one point to ask us if we thought this was it and we were going in. I told her I wasn't sure. At 5pm I called the hospital to talk to a Doctor. He said it sounded like I was in the early stage of labor and if I came in they would take good care of me. He called my midwife and she called me back shortly after. I told her my only fear was that she would send me home. She assured me she wouldn't do that. So we called my mother in law. Once she arrived, about 6:15 or so we left for the hospital. I was checked at 7:20 or so and was 6 cm dilated. At 8:45 I was checked again and was 9 cm dilated. He was born at 10:25 very healthy and 10 days early. I was so happy he came when he did. I was READY for him to be out.
We are all doing well. He is a great eater. He was a very good nurser in the hospital then didn't do so well his first day home but now he is doing great! God blessed me so much with a wonderful delivery. The contractions weren't bad at ALL until I needed to push then they were horrible but that only lasted 20 mins at the most. I didn't get any pain meds, no IV, no oxygen, no nothing. :) I am so blessed with a great nurser and so far a pretty good sleeper. He let me sleep 3 hours in a row last night. :)
Here are the pictures I am sure most people are waiting so patiently for. I have more to post but they aren't on the computer yet. I'll try to do that later.
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My last belly picture. I think my sister may have taken a picture of me in the hospital as well, but I don't have that picture yet.
35 minutes after he was born
Tired happy parents
Tired Will
Me in the nursery about an hour after he was born. I needed the boppy pillow to help hold my belly up. :) It felt strange not to.
My nurse, with Will
His first bath.
Proud Daddy
Me and my boys
Grammy and her boys
My sister Wendee and her nephew Will
Joshua opening his gift from his Daddy, Mommy, and Will. He thought this was great! He is also wearing his The Big Brother shirt I made for him. Lost of people commented on it. You could tell he was very proud of his little brother.
Papa and Will
Proud Family
Joshua and Will
William all ready to go home.
Joshua is doing great with his brother. He loves him so much. We have to really keep an eye on him though. He gets all excited and almost can't control himself. he loves to help hold Will's pacifier in when we are changing his diaper. Today Joshua woke up and I went to get Will. Once Joshua saw I had Will he said 'Awww' he is too cute and makes us laugh all the time. The other day he saw me nursing Will and asked what Will was drinking I told him 'Mommy's milk' he said 'Will's drinking cocoa milk too!'. Joshua saw Will's umbilical cord stump the other day and said something along the lines of 'him poop out his belly'. When I was pregnant I would ask him where Will would come out of mommy. He would point just to the left of my belly button. I don't know what made him think that but I thought it was funny. It is great seeing him be so in love with his baby brother. I am truly blessed, thank you Lord!
We are all doing well. He is a great eater. He was a very good nurser in the hospital then didn't do so well his first day home but now he is doing great! God blessed me so much with a wonderful delivery. The contractions weren't bad at ALL until I needed to push then they were horrible but that only lasted 20 mins at the most. I didn't get any pain meds, no IV, no oxygen, no nothing. :) I am so blessed with a great nurser and so far a pretty good sleeper. He let me sleep 3 hours in a row last night. :)
Here are the pictures I am sure most people are waiting so patiently for. I have more to post but they aren't on the computer yet. I'll try to do that later.
alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334209818917639218" />My last belly picture. I think my sister may have taken a picture of me in the hospital as well, but I don't have that picture yet.
35 minutes after he was born
Tired happy parents
Tired Will
Me in the nursery about an hour after he was born. I needed the boppy pillow to help hold my belly up. :) It felt strange not to.
My nurse, with Will
His first bath.
Proud Daddy
Me and my boys
Grammy and her boys
My sister Wendee and her nephew Will
Joshua opening his gift from his Daddy, Mommy, and Will. He thought this was great! He is also wearing his The Big Brother shirt I made for him. Lost of people commented on it. You could tell he was very proud of his little brother.
Papa and Will
Proud Family
Joshua and Will
William all ready to go home.
Joshua is doing great with his brother. He loves him so much. We have to really keep an eye on him though. He gets all excited and almost can't control himself. he loves to help hold Will's pacifier in when we are changing his diaper. Today Joshua woke up and I went to get Will. Once Joshua saw I had Will he said 'Awww' he is too cute and makes us laugh all the time. The other day he saw me nursing Will and asked what Will was drinking I told him 'Mommy's milk' he said 'Will's drinking cocoa milk too!'. Joshua saw Will's umbilical cord stump the other day and said something along the lines of 'him poop out his belly'. When I was pregnant I would ask him where Will would come out of mommy. He would point just to the left of my belly button. I don't know what made him think that but I thought it was funny. It is great seeing him be so in love with his baby brother. I am truly blessed, thank you Lord!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
He's here!!!
Baby William Anthony Lucas was born yesterday May 5th 2009 at 10:25pm. He weighs 7 pounds 14 ounces and is 20 3/4 inches long. He is doing well and so am I (the momma)I'll post the birth story sometime when we go home as well as pictures. Thank you so much for all of your prayers. I am so thankful he came 9 days early!!!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Poor Guy!
For some reason Joshua has hives on parts of his chest, back, underarms, arms, neck, ears, eyes and cheeks. I have no clue why and it looks horrible. At first I thought maybe he was sunburned from playing outside today so I put aloe on his neck and face. Then I noticed the hive/welts all over his body. He was scratching them and complaining that they were burning. I then gave him some benadryl and put some hydrocortizone cream on the welts. As I was going to the bathroom to get the cream Joshua started praying and when I came back in he was still at it. He said something like this
'God please take my owies away. Arm burns, face burns, ears burn, please take them away... ears...' then he spoke some jibberish 'amen... Amen!' It was so cute listening to him pray and it broke my heart to know that he doesn't feel good at all. Please pray for my little boy. Pray that the welts go away fast and he isn't in any more pain.
'God please take my owies away. Arm burns, face burns, ears burn, please take them away... ears...' then he spoke some jibberish 'amen... Amen!' It was so cute listening to him pray and it broke my heart to know that he doesn't feel good at all. Please pray for my little boy. Pray that the welts go away fast and he isn't in any more pain.
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