36 week update...or 2 week update :)

Well, a lot has happened since the last blog post.  Let me back up and fill you in. We did get released from the hospital on Wed, May 15th.  They felt like I'd gone several days with no new episodes and were comfortable with me going home on bed rest.  We were ready to be home, but also a little nervous.  I was able to sit/lay on the couch, do stairs 1-2 times a day and leave the house for Dr appts only.  Friends and family continued to help take good care of us and keep me company.  My mom and sisters came over and allowed me to "boss" them around in order to get the nursery put together.

We had a shower scheduled for Sat, May 18th.  My sister-in-law, Lesley, was flying in for the shower from Minnesota.  We changed the plans and had the shower at my house.  It was a shower for both sides of Mitch's family.  It was sweet that they brought the shower to me so we could still have it.

On Monday, I wasn't feeling well and went to lay down for a while in the afternoon. My mom, Meg and Owen were there working in the nursery.  I got up around 3 and started bleeding quite a bit again.  I called Dr Holly, she called the specialists and they suggested I go back to antepartum.  Well, it was nice while it lasted!  We quickly packed bags while Megan drove me to the hospital.  I went to the nurses desk and they said, "Sorry, your old room isn't clean."  You know you spend too much time in the hospital when you have "a room!"  Mitch met us there and we got settled back in. Dr Holly came by to check on me and said that everything looked fine.  I was hooked back up to monitors.  The contractions weren't causing me to dilate, so she said to plan on being there another 5 days for monitoring. I went ahead and ordered dinner and began to mentally prepare myself for at least another 5 days in the hospital.  Mitch ran to McDonald's to eat and send some work emails.  After he got back we were just relaxing and I started to feel the contractions.  I let the nurse know  and she had me drink a lot of water to see if they continued or maybe they were just Braxton Hicks.  I drank the water and the contractions continued.  They were getting stronger and were coming every 1 1/2 minutes and lasting 1 minute.  The nurse called Dr Holly and she had her check me.  I was dilated to a 1and she said she'd be transferring us to labor and delivery.  It took a while for that to sink in!!  We were not prepared for that, since just a couple hours before the Dr assured us I was not in labor.  How quickly things can change.  They moved me to labor and delivery down the hall a little after 11pm.  We were a little uneasy as we adjusted to the reality of the situation.  Mitch was great about taking my hand and praying for us and the baby.  We were resting in the knowledge that none of this had caught God off guard, this was exactly the way He planned it.  We knew that the baby was a good size and that he'd already had the magnesium for his brain and the steroid shots for his lungs.  I called my mom to let her know and have her go to our house for the video camera.  I told them we'd call when it got closer to the time of delivery.

We had been attending childbirth classes and made it to all but one of them.  Thanks, Sarah Young, for all the great information!  It was our plan to deliver naturally and had been practicing for that.  Well, being in premature labor changed things a little bit.  Because of the situation I wasn't able to use the shower, jacuzzi tub, wireless monitoring or walk around much.  I had to be hooked up to constant monitoring so I had limited movement.  The contractions were close together all through the night and spaced out a little around 2am.  After that they got closer together again and much harder.  This was not what I was expecting at all. By 6am I was only at a 2.  Then progressed to between a 3-4 at 8:40am. The contractions were coming one on top of the other and I couldn't catch my breath or recover before the next one hit. I asked for some medication that would lessen the pain for about an hour.  It worked great for an hour and a half, and I was able to get some rest.  After that the pain came back and we tried another dose of the meds, this time they did nothing for me.  I knew I had a long way to go still and couldn't handle it.  So, I broke down and asked for an epidural.  It was hard for me to do that because I had wanted to go naturally. So, far none of this was going the way I had planned, but it was time to adjust and go with plan B.  I got the epidural about 10am and felt better immediately.  I needed to rest in order to make it through the rest of the delivery.  I felt like I was weaker already from being on bed rest for several weeks.

Our families started arriving to support us from the waiting room.  They took turns visiting since I was doing much better with the epidural.  I was at a 5 when they checked me around 12:45 and went ahead and broke my water.  Dr Holly was at a school program for her daughter and wouldn't be available until about 3:00.  I wasn't in any hurry, because I wanted her to be there!  Breaking my water didn't help me to progress at all.  I was still at a 5 when she checked me around 3:00.  So far nothing about this labor seemed normal!  Mitch and I both took a nap.

Feeling a little more refreshed

My sisters came for a visit.  They held a mirror while I put my makeup on.  I figured that would make me feel better.  Little did I know that I'd slept through transition and at this point was dilated to a 7. 

I started to feel some more pain and called the nurse.  She checked me again and I was dilated to a 9-10 and was almost complete.  They called Dr Holly to let her know. She arrived and I started pushing at 5:23pm and delivered him at 5:46pm.  The cord was around his neck, so Mitch was giving me oxygen in between pushes.  The Dr and nurses were great to talk me through the process.  Dr Holly gave the baby to the NICU team standing by to access the situation.

  After they worked with him a few minutes, they put him in my arms for about 30 seconds.  Just long enough to get a few pictures. It was the most amazing thing I'd ever experienced.  There are tears in my eyes even now as I recall the moment.

Caden Garrett Hancock

5-21-13

5 lbs 3 oz

18 1/2 inches long

Mitch went with Caden to the NICU and I was able to go see him a couple hours later.

Mitch and I stayed in a room in Mother/Baby to recover until Thursday when we were discharged.  This is our first family picture in the NICU.  Caden was having some problems with jaundice so he was under the photo therapy lights.  That's reason for the cool shades. He never had to have any oxygen and was only on the CPAP machine for a couple of hours.  

Daddy's 1st feeding

What a sweet face!

Bonding with Mommy

We were able to board in the NICU parent suites and then back to antepartum so that we didn't have to leave him and I was always available for the feedings every 3 hours.  From start to finish we stayed in 7 different rooms at Overland Park Regional Medical Center!  We were blessed with such great nurses and doctors during our stay!  Caden continued to do well.  He needed to work on his feedings, keep his body temperature regulated, continue to do well breathing and get the bilirubin level down.  The neonatologist told us that premature babies normally stay in the NICU until their due date.  

This is the second bed in the progression of three.  They are dropping the temperature in the isolette and watching to make sure he maintains his body temperature.  His bilirubin level came down enough that we were able to get rid of the photo therapy lights!

He did great in the isolette and was moved to the big boy bed.  The feeding tube was also removed. One step closer to going home!  Our neonatologist told us on May 31st that we could start preparing to be discharged within about 48 hours.  That was quicker than we were expecting!  God has been so good to us!  

Passing his car seat test

We could feel the prayers of all of our friends and family! June 1st was Mitch's birthday and Caden came to stay with us in our room for practice.  What a great birthday gift!

Daddy's Little Buddy

This is our last picture in the NICU before being discharged!

All I've ever wanted!  Thank you God for giving me the desire of my heart!

We went to see Dr Holly for a follow up appointment on Wednesday.  Caden had already gained half a pound and weighs 5lbs 11oz and is 19 1/4 inches long.  It has been an adjustment for all of us, but we are loving it!  Mitch is able to work part time for several weeks since he had a lot of sick days saved up.  That has been a huge blessing for all of us!  On the days he works the grandmas have been more than happy to come over.  Because of the fact that he should still be inside of me for 4 more weeks, we have to be much more careful with him.  So, we'll be spending a lot of time at home, away from germs. 

33 week update

Well, we have made good progress since the last blog update.  The doctors have been pleased with everything and had a meeting yesterday morning and made the decision to let me go home about 3:00 after my last hour of monitoring.  I hadn't had any bleeding in 3 days and all of the times of monitoring showed no concerns with the baby or my contractions.  So very thankful to sleep in my own bed!  Poor Mitch has been sleeping on a fold out chair next to my bed since last Tuesday when we were admitted. What a good daddy and husband to want to stay close even when it's uncomfortable.  Our family has been great about taking turns spending time with me in the hospital so that Mitch could keep working.  I will be on bedrest at home with permission to leave the house for Drs appts.  At least I will be at home where I can boss people around and still get the nursery ready :) The doctors don't want me to return to work, which is difficult for me to wrap my mind around.  I have been at Huerter Ortho for almost 17 years and had planned to work up until the baby arrived, then quit to stay home with him.  But, it seems that I'm going to be done even sooner.  I had pictured my last day at work, after so many years, being different than the way it was!  It will be an adjustment for sure!

We are so grateful for the care we received while at the hospital and thanks again for all of the texts, emails, visits, prayers  and food from friends and family.  It encouraged us so much!  Here are a few pictures from our last week at OPR.  So thankful to have made it to 33 weeks with this little guy content to still be inside!!

I had planned on having lunch with my mom and sisters last Friday to celebrate Mother's Day.  So, they decided to bring lunch to me so we could still have our celebration.  They picked up Fazoli's and we ate and exchanged presents.  Mother's Day has gotten harder for me each year of our infertility.  It was so wonderful to be able to really celebrate it this year!

 On Mother's Day the nurses and doctors were all very sweet to wish me a Happy Mother's Day.  My parents had taken Mary Lu to lunch and stopped by for a quick visit after lunch.  Mitch went to church and then had lunch with his mom at Panera.

For dinner Mitch let me pick a restaurant and I called in an order to Bo Ling's.  He came back with dinner, a flameless candle and a card that of course made me cry!  It was a special time for me and a nice treat to have a candle lit dinner.

I'm already so thankful to be this little guy's mommy!

This is a picture of our last dinner at the hospital.  We knew the doctors were planning to make a plan Wednesday morning and Mitch was allowed 1 complimentary meal during our stay.  We decided tonight was the night.  We both ordered the KC Strip dinner and it was a really good steak, considering it came from a hospital cafeteria :)

 This is the progress I've made on the baby blanket since my crochet lesson on Friday.

 Here's a picture of monitor that I've been hooked up to during my stay.  We were able to watch his heart rate in the blue section and the yellow line was tracking any contractions.  He didn't like the monitors being hooked up.  He doesn't like sharing his space.  So, he spent alot of the time kicking the monitors which got his heart rate going for sure!

32 week update

Well, we had some unexpected things  come up this week, which is why my 32 week belly picture was taken from my hospital bed yesterday. Tuesday as my work day was coming to an end, I started bleeding quite a bit.  I called the doctor's office, knowing this was not a good sign.  They suggested I go right to the ER at Overland Park Regional.  I called Mitch and he came to pick me up and we headed to the ER to find out what was going on.  They sent us up to the baby unit and took us to triage where they hooked me up to a monitor and we heard the baby's heartbeat!  Huge relief just hearing that sound!  They called in the specialists and our OB.  We got moved to a room in the antepartum department of the Labor & Delivery floor.  The perinatologist that we see on a regular basis came in to do internal and external sonograms because the monitor was showing I was having contractions every 2-3 minutes. There was a flurry of activity as they got me hooked up to the IV and started figuring out our situation.  The sono showed that there was a slight abruption where the placenta had pulled away from the uterus. The uterus was contracting to get rid of the blood the abruption caused.  So, the contractions were not causing the cervix to change.  This made everyone feel better that I was not trying to go into preterm labor.  They decided to monitor me over the coming days to see what happened.  I started taking antibiotics, magnesium sulphate and steroid injections.  All of this was in case I would go into labor early. They wanted the baby to be as prepared as possible.  Wednesday, I continued to bleed less and they were pleased with the progress.  I continued to be on all the same drugs and had visits with a great team of doctors and specialists.  Everyone at OPR has been wonderful!  I had very few side affects from the medication which the medical team kept mentioning. I told them I had alot of people praying for me!  We had the opportunity to share our story with with several of the doctors and nurses.  As they would read our chart, they would see part of the infertility story and several asked to hear more.  It was fun to share our miraculous story.  It also built confidence in us to tell the story because it was a great reminder that in these days of the unknown, we could be at peace because from Day 1 He has orchestrated this baby's life and would continue to do so. Thursday was a calm day as well.  We hit the 32 week mark today.  I was able to be taken off of the magnesium and got to take a shower! It's the little things that get you excited when you're on bed rest!  They had to watch me pretty closely while on the magnesium, which meant a 20 minute routine every 2 hours night and day.  At 5 that morning I was laying in bed, unable to sleep and realized that in the midst of everything that was happening to me and my body I was grinning from ear to ear, because I was laying there listening to the beautiful sound of the baby's heart beat on the monitor next to me.  It was strong and steady and has quickly become my favorite sound.  The baby continues to respond wonderfully and for that we are so grateful.  Today was a little harder because after 15 hours of no bleeding,  it started up again and they aren't sure why.  I didn't have to restart any medications, they are just keeping me on the monitors constantly and observing me.  So, I will be staying at the hospital for now. 

Thanks so much to all our friends and family for the visits, texts, emails, food, flowers and prayers most of all.  All these things have been such an encouragement to us.  

 32 week belly shot

Here's a picture of the finished crib project.  We did this a couple weekends ago.  So, the nursery is starting to come together. 

30 week update

30 weeks!!  Wow, that's hard to believe.  We are in the third trimester with only a couple months to go!  We are half way through our childbirth classes and have learned alot so far.  Our goal is to deliver naturally, with no pain medications, so these classes are helping to prepare us for that.  We've been busy the last month, so here are some pictures to keep you up to date.

28 week belly shot

We had our first baby shower on April 4th.  It was given by my mom and sisters.  We are so blessed by our friends and family!  It's so sweet for so many people to help us celebrate this gift God has given us!

Aunt Shannon & Aunt Megan

 The Grandmas

Coworker Friends from the Past

 Millsaps-Family friends for more than 30 years

 Bible Study Girls and my neighbor/friend, Amanda

The creative spread my mom and sisters prepared.  The theme was bow ties!  So, there was cheese and crackers with the cheese cut into bow tie shapes, mini bow tie sugar cookies, chicken salad sandwiches, veggie pizza, bow tie pasta, make your own bow tie fruit pizzas, along with homeade peanut butter cups!

Fruit infused teas in mason jars, with bow ties around each one

Then on April 5th, my coworker friends took me to lunch at the Webster House and showered us with more blessings!  It was such a nice lunch, with fun games and of course, cake!

Last week we went on a "babymoon" to Breckenridge, CO.  We flew to Denver last Wednesday and finally got there after sitting at KCI for 7 hours & boarding and deboarding the plane 4 different times due to security problems and weather delays in Denver.  They got a late snowstorm and weren't accepting any incoming flights. After we arrived, we got our rental car and attempted to drive to Breckenridge.  Because of the delay, we were driving through Denver at rush hour and it was snowing.  The roads were getting worse and worse after we'd been in the car for a couple of hours.  We finally decided we should give up and stop for the night.  The roads were getting very slick, curvy and steep as we drove around the mountains.  So, we stopped in Evergreen, CO for the night and ordered in a pizza.  The next morning we completed our drive and once we saw how curvy and steep the rest of the trip was, we knew we'd made the right decision to not attempt that the night before.  Thursday morning the sun was shining and the roads were much better.  We had a relaxing several days where we didn't do a whole lot!  It was great just to enjoy the snow, mountains and each other. They did reopen some of the slopes because of the late snow.  We took a gondola ride up to watch the skiers and snowboards one day.  Other than that we just did alot of eating :)  We came home on Sunday night.  Our crib did arrive, but we picked it up a couple days before we went out of town.  So, we haven't been able to put it together yet, so you'll have to wait until the next post for pictures of the nursery.

Today we went for our monthly growth scan at the perinatologist.  We also had our first biophysical scan at the same time.  Because of my blood clotting disorder we have to have that scan done weekly from here on out.  So, I'll be spending alot of time at the Drs offices!  Everything looked great on the scans today.  He is growing and developing just like he should.  The sono projected his weight at 3lbs and 5oz, which puts him in the 48%, right where they want him.  We always love to see his sweet little face. 

30 week belly shot