Grandma Was Right!

Ok, I concede...grandma Umina is right! We have tons of clothes for 0-3 months but hardly any for 3-6 and 6-12. Yikes! I just realized that Will is already outgrowing a few things and Jack is another issue all together! His shorts are looking a little retro (ie: like he's on a basketball team from the '70's...you know SHORT). Most of his shorts are 2T and he's almost four! Then again, he's small for his age and now that the weather is getting hotter I realized I haven't had to buy him shorts for over a year. I did buy him a few 4T shorts and they are huge, but as we all know it's here until October so he's got plenty of time to grow into them.

His shirts are beginning to show his belly button when he raises his arms and I've already bought two pair of shoes in the last 4 months. I swear his feet are growing an inch a week! I may have to start playing the slot machines to afford these two :) Actually, I am thankful they don't care about labels at this age because Walmart and Target are wonderfully cheap.

As for me and the mommy front, things have been interesting. I have had to stop trying the breast feeding thing. My milk isn't coming back and my chest is incredibly sore from trying. Will is healthy and happy although a little gassy, so I'm happy for that. I feel bad about not being able to nurse like I'd planned, but I did my best and it's not my fault I got sick. The hospital stay really tossed a wrench into the works but again, that's not something I had any control over. Dan's been supportive and now it's up to me to move forward without guilt. Easier said than done, but I'm working on it :) Even my doctor has done his best to reassure me that I did everything I could.

Other than that I feel good for the most part. I still feel like a WHALE but I'll be working out as soon as I can. The one thing I don't like about pregnancy is trying to get back to "pre" baby weight. I hate dieting, but I guess it's back to work...no more Jack-in-the Box vanilla shakes for me :( I told Dan I felt like a cow the other day and he said, "Well, I feel like a goat and Jack is a pig so together we have a barnyard!"

Ha, Dan. Ha, ha. Funny. He was supposed to say, "You are not fat and I love you and you are the most beautiful woman on the face of the planet", but then again he did make me smile :)

Anyway, here are a few more pictures for everyone!

Sleeping baby...awwwww!

Will's first bath. Poor thing hated every second!

We took Jack to see Kung Fu Panda and he made Kung Fu faces for hours afterwards!

Getting ready to head out to mommy's chiropractor.

Health Update

Good news!

I’m back home and trying to take it easy. I know Dan is not much of a dissembler of information so here’s what happened.

Friday I felt dizzy and achy but I thought it was just from being tired. I thought the aches were from my ligaments going back to normal (this happened after I had Jack) and the pains would only last a week or so. Then the fever kicked in. Again, I felt good other than being hot so I thought that was the normal purging of hormones that come after giving birth. I think I was hot every night for a month after I had Jack.

By morning, I felt worse and by afternoon the fever wouldn’t go away. My doctor told me to take Tylenol, put an ice pack on my chest and go to the hospital if my fever went over 102. About thirty minutes later my fever was up to 103.8 and I was hurting really badly. So, Dan packed up the kids and then took me to the emergency room. Of course, we didn’t want the kids around all the germs so I walked myself in there and checked in. By the time they took my temp again I was up to 104.8. Of course, this is not good so they rushed me back as soon as they could.

Now, as you all know, hospitals like to hurry up and wait so I waited and waited and waited until I called for a nurse because I felt like my head was going to explode. I started to think I was having a stroke and began to cry a lot but I think that was partly nerves and partly disorientation from the fever. They got me started on IV’s and pain medications (Vicodin didn’t work and neither did Morphine!) and began conducting tests. They took a chest x-ray, EKG, and CAT scan of my chest looking for possible blood clots. Then they did an ultrasound of my legs (also looking for blood clots) and took several blood samples.

Keep in mind the entire time I was there I was next to an older woman with a pain pill and methenphedamine addiction who forgot to take her pills that day. She was in withdralw and very unhappy. She screamed at the nurses because she thought they were laughing at her and ignoring her pain. She tried to take out her IV and go home, but when she demanded to be released they unhooked her and sent her packing. She was back 10 minutes later crying about how her daughter didn’t love her and wouldn’t come pick her up and how she needed something for the pain she had in her “gut”. All the while this was going on she was calling out to Jesus to “take her home” and “save” her. Then she would ask for forgiveness and two minutes later she was damning the nurses for not caring about her. Add that to the drunk tourist who passed out while trying to pee on the floor, and you have one interesting night!

After 9 hours I was moved to a room where they gave me Percoset. That finally killed the pain and I slept, but was sweaty and shaking the whole time. Yuck. It took two more days, lots of blood work, and two doctors to figure out what was wrong with me. Turns out I had a horrible urinary tract infection that the doctors were worried about. They thought it had spread to my kidneys and blood stream which can be very serious requiring time in ICU, but I was lucky it hadn’t gotten that far. I also had a small breast infection that needed to be taken care of.

That is another issue all together. I had to get an ultrasound of my breast tissue and they found some pockets of milk ducts that had been infected, but were too small to drain with a needle (ouch!!) so they were hoping the antibiotics they were pumping into my IV would clear it up. The pain is a lot less, but my milk supply is gone. I contacted a lactation consultant and she is trying to help me re-establish breast feeding but it is very hard and we are not sure yet if it will work. I have 48 more hours of trying the “frequency” technique before we give up. It’s tricky to explain, but it basically means I can’t go anywhere or do anything because I have to be working on getting Will to latch on every hour or so. He’s good at that part, so it’s up to my body to “meet his demands”.

I know this may all be a little more than anyone wanted to know about my body, but I figured too much information was better than not enough :)

If the breast feeding doesn’t work then I’m going to need some time to adjust. I had troubles breast feeding Jackson and I’m still not over it. There is something integral about being a mother and being able to provide for your child. Not having the ability to do that for Jack was pretty devastating for me and lead to a case of the “baby blues”. I am praying that all of this works and I can provide for Will, but I also need to pray for the strength to NOT blame myself or feel guilt if I can’t. It’s hard to explain, but it hurts me a great deal and while I know I have not failed my children I still feel like something is missing. I have Dan’s support no matter what happens and that is what is really important. He’s been a good man and father and I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Anyway, we are all finally home and I am very glad to be sleeping in my own bed. Hospital beds are awful! The food was even worse because they put me on a low sodium diet because I was so dehydrated. I am going to do everything the doctors told me to do so I don’t have to go back! I asked them how all this happened and they believe it’s most likely from sharing a bathroom with a messy man and a toddler who pees on everything. No, it’s not from going to work for three hours the week after William was born or from going grocery shopping four days after he was born. It’s not from keeping busy around the house when I got home, or lack of sleep, or eating poorly. One doctor even thinks I picked up the bugs when I was in the hospital having William and that I had been fighting it for a few days before I showed symptoms.

Well, that’s the scoop y’all! I expect to relax some time this week even though my brother arrived the day after I got home. He’s not here to be entertained and in fact, has a paper to work on for the last class he’s taking towards his Masters in Education. I’ve been trying to convince him to move to Las Vegas and while he likes it here he can’t see leaving our dad back in Washington. My dad will never, ever, EVER leave his house, so my brother will stay as long as my dad is still kickin’ around. I’ll be pretty busy hanging out with him and my boys this week, but I’ll find time to post more pictures as soon as I can. For now, here are some of ones from Dan’s camera!

Love,
Christine

Proud Papa!

Will the Burrito

They say it's gas, but I like to think it's a smile :)

Nothing like a little visual stimulation!

No More Clothes!

Just a quick note for those of you asking: We don't need any more clothes :) Between my shower, and shopping Will has enough clothes to go a month without me having to do laundry...lol. Seriously, I'm running out of room :)

I'll be posting more pictures later today if I can and give everyone an update, so stay tuned!

WILLIAM WYATT UMINA IS HERE!

Hey everyone! Will is here! YAY! We are so very happy he has arrived.

So here's the scoop:

Wednesday I had an appointment with Dr. Ibay who was pretty shocked to discover I was 4cm dilated. The week before nothing had really happened and we were preparing to go the full 40 weeks. Dr. Ibay jokingly remarked that he may see me over the weekend and not wait until the following Wednesday. After the appointment I felt icky and started having contractions, but when I went to bed that night I felt better. I figured they were just the "practice" contractions --aka Braxton Hicks.

I went to work on Thursday morning so I could make sure my seniors were all taken care of. I wanted to make sure they were ready for finals-- just in case. Yes, that's dedication for you...lol. After second period (the end of my senior classes thank goodness) I felt REALLY weird and decided I'd better go to the hospital to make sure everything was fine. I called Dan to let him know I was on my way and not to worry, I'd call after I was monitored for awhile to see what was going on. Two hours later I sent him a text message that just said: Come to the hospital now, please.

The nurses told me I was now 5cm and were admitting me. I felt pretty good until I hit 6cm. The contractions had been getting worse, but when I got to six they were very strong. Ironically, they didn't hurt as badly as having my water broken by the nurse! Apparently, they need to check your freakin' tonsils via your most sensitive areas and I thought I was going to die! While they were in there they put on two internal monitors to measure Will's heart rate and the other to monitor my contractions. Dan kept his eyes above the waistline and held my hand the entire time. I made him cry a few times because I guess I looked like I was in serious pain (which I was). He was very strong and helped me get through it. Without him I would have started to panic and that wouldn't have helped anything.

During the contractions Dan stayed strong and helped me breathe. He was supportive and focused and helped remind me that our son was on his way. I finally gave into the idea of an epidural at 7cm. The nurses were surprised that I waited that long since most people get them at 4cm. One nurse commented on my high tolerance for pain :) The epidural was another interesting endeavor. I don't remember the one from Jack because I was in so much pain and things were happening so fast. The weirdest thing was when the catheter hit a nerve and my entire right side jumped like I had been shocked. Funky! After that things were much better.

Apparently, I was given a big dose of medication so they turned off the little pump that administers the drugs so I could push. I couldn't even move my toes and they were worried I wouldn't be able to tell when it was time to do the hard work! I was so numb that when the nurses rolled me from side to side to get Will to descend more, my whole body literally felt like a dead tree. It was very strange and I don't like the feeling of not having control over my limbs. I concentrated hard on my toes and still couldn't move them which actually made me mad! But, after only 20-30 minutes of pushing he arrived! Dan got really excited when Will's head crowned and was really encouraging me to push hard....lol.

Will had a death grip on the umbilical cord which Dr. Ibay said he's never seen before. During the delivery Will's heart rate kept changing so I got worried, but when we saw the cord we understood why! He looked like he was playing tug'o war. He didn't want to leave his warm cozy home for the last 9 months I guess :) It made everyone laugh pretty hard so maybe Will is going to be a little jokester!

He scored a perfect 10 on the Apgar test (which means VERY healthy) and when Will grabbed Dan's fingers, he lost it. I could tell he was trying hard not to cry too much, but it was a very tender moment and I started crying pretty hard too. Dan said he was also crying because the nurse had to poke Will and Dan felt a little helpless for awhile. I tested positive for Strep B which everyone has in their bodies, but can harm babies so he had to have an extra pin prick or two.

Anyway, the recovery room was pretty swanky and I had a nice private place to relax (yeah...relax. Try, "up all night staring at a new baby"!). Dan says I should be napping right now and catch up on some sleep so I'd better sign off for now. Here are some pictures for everyone! Believe me, there are lots more to post!

Love,

Christine, Dan, Jack and Will

P.S. Thanks mom Umina for the flowers and the little blue elephant!

Me in recovery with Will by my side.

I think this was Dan's first attempt at swaddling...ummm, time for a re-do!

Proud daddy!

My first flowers from Grandma Diana!

The "morning after" getting home. It was a looong night and my boys were pooped!

MUCH MORE TO COME!