MIA

I have to admit, anytime anyone has said in the last several weeks, "It's on my blog," or, "I posted the pictures on my blog," or something similar, I almost have to think to myself, "What's that?" I have been so out of touch with the blogging world that I have only facebook to thank for keeping up with everyone's lives. And, let's face it: facebook gets old.

There are a few reasons why I haven't touched a keyboard longer than a few seconds to type a password into said facebook website. Number one of which is that the hard drive in our computer took its last breath back in April - and everything - EVERYTHING is gone. Pictures from the past three and a half years, videos, music, programs, you name it - all because we didn't back it up when we said we were going to, about a year ago. Oops. Talk about depressing. I grieved for a while, then realized we do have pictures on facebook (who I have to thank again, for that), and I found most of the pictures on my iPod touch (thank you, apple). But - the pics I took daily of Jack in the hospital, the weekly pictures I have been taking since day one... gone. Moral of the story? Back your computer up. No matter what. SO not worth the pain.

Other than praying that our old hard drive can still be revived by some data recovery software, we have been keeping busy. Here are a few things that have happened over the last few months.

Chris has been working graveyards at his job. Not fun... for any of us. It wouldn't be so bad if they were consistent with it - he doesn't ever know when he's going to work them, and therefore pulls doubles sometimes. Again... not fun.

Jack has been doing stellar. He was 10.5 lbs at the beginning of May, so he's more than likely almost 12 now. He will be five months on the June 28th, and is so much fun. He has some new tricks, including rolling over from his stomach to back, and standing on dad's hand in the air. The kid is tough. He also likes climbing up my front when I try to burp him (mostly because he's angry for being done eating. I'm not sure he'll ever get over that stage). He sleeps in his own room now, which was a little tough for me but is so nice. Crazy how time flies.

I myself have started selling nursing and car seat covers, as well as a handful of other things. I'm in the process of starting my etsy shop, and I'm selling things at shows. It keeps me busy and I am enjoying myself. That's what life's all about, right?

Here are a few things I've documented over these few weeks.

Jack's first official major blowout. It was loads of fun. :)

Our first experience with rice cereal...Pretty sure he didn't eat any of it.

First mustache... smashingly handsome little man, isn't he?

Jack has had an umbilical hernia since his umbilical cord came off. It's quite common, actually, and nothing to be worried about. I know it doesn't look like it (because I haven't posted anything to compare it to), but it's quite smaller than it used to be. Yay!
First time in a Bumbo chair. He liked it.
The day before coming home from the hospital, the doctors did an echo on Jack - an ultrasound, basically, of the heart. They found a couple of holes in some different places, but assured us they would close up and that it was nothing to worry about. This is him at his follow-up appointment three months later. He was a curious little guy for the ultrasound tech, and was so good.
After the echo they wanted him to get an EKG to check for any heart murmurs.
This kid was a champ... thanks to the sweet sugar water his binkie was dipped into. :)
Truth be told, he wasn't happy about any of it.
And to top it all off, he had to get his blood drawn. At least he got a cool arm band out of it.
We've had a fun few months. Hope you've had the same!

Woah.

Has it really been an entire (almost) four weeks? Or has it only been four weeks? Either way, it's been jam-packed with emotions... among several other things. The most important being that our little man is finally home. Ahhh....

It began with us visiting the little guy at Primary Children's on Sunday the 21st. We were informed that there was a possibility of him being transferred to Intermountain Medical Center. Torn because we loved the nurses so much at Primary's but knowing IMC could be a better environment for him, we tried not to focus on it. It was only a possibility, they said.

The "possibility" became a reality when the next morning at 9:00 AM we got a call telling us he'd be transferred within the hour. I met him there about an hour after he was settled, and walked into a room with just Jack inside. Compared to Primary's with a total of six babies in his large room, this was quite a shocker. It was so quiet... I'm not sure he knew what to think as his large eyes shifted around the room, trying to understand what was happening. Poor kid - it was his third hospital within a month.

They welcomed him right in, and we soon discovered that the nurses were just as good there as they were at his former home.

Jack's goal was to take his entire feeding every time he ate, while remembering to breathe, which kept his heart rate up - for two days straight. At Primary's his feeding schedule was every three hours, which just wasn't cutting it. We weren't sure we would ever get him home with that schedule - unlike his dad, he just didn't want to eat that much. They put the remaining food not taken by mouth through his feeding tube, which happened more often than not.

Which was why it was quite a surprise to walk in to Jack's room the next day to see a feeding tube-free baby.

They had changed his schedule to feed him whenever he was hungry... and it was working wonders already! We were thrilled and so proud of our little guy. He was doing awesome!
Meanwhile, I spent less time at IMC than I had at Primary's. We had decided to move before I had Jack, and it had taken almost an entire month to find renters to take our place (which was required with our standing contract). Knowing that Jack was improving quickly and given a date to be out of the apartment by, I spent most of my days packing, cleaning, and taking loads to the new place.

By Wednesday afternoon, Jack was only a few hours away from reaching his goal - and we were told that he was likely go home the next day. As much as we had been praying, waiting and hoping for that to happen, we felt more unprepared than ever. The next day we walked into the hospital knowing we'd be leaving with our son. We were prepped on everything and thought we were ready... until Chris accidentally happened to catch his cords on something and tore them off. Normally the nurse would replace them; this time she didn't. We held a "wireless" baby for the first time... and we were petrified. Without monitors to tell us if he was ok, all we could do was pray that he was... and that he stayed that way.

Look mom! No cords!

Can't wait to go home. Finally!

We chose to keep him coming home a surprise, not telling anyone. That was fun. What wasn't fun was coming home to this.

Poor Jack. Poor me… spending the last month putting it all together with a new baby has taken longer than usual.

We at least had a bed for him...

...and this was our sleeping situation until today, when we finally finished and put his cradle together we started on before his arrival.
Jack is doing very well – other than the fact that he seems to be confused about which is day and which is night. He’s still really sleepy, which is expected. He brought with him a never–ending mountain of laundry… which was also expected, but not as cool as his sweet smile and deep blue eyes when he seems to be studying us.
The kid hates being naked or cold, and isn't afraid to let us know. Ear plugs might be a smart thing to invest in until he likes either getting his diaper changed or taking a bath... the kid also has a great set of lungs.

One word to describe the last four weeks? Unexpected. Imagining it was nothing… the reality is that there is nothing, much like delivering a child, that can prepare you for parenthood. The good news is...

It's totally worth it.

What A Ride...

"Have you felt your contractions? You're dilated to a six..."

And so it began.

On Tuesday, January 26th, I noticed some pink-colored discharge (sorry for the information some of you may not have wanted to know) when I went to the bathroom for the first time early in the A.M. Throughout the rest of the morning, it got a little darker pink, and some red. Worried, of course, I called my doctor about it. I was told to go to labor and delivery if it turned bright red, and it was persistent. Otherwise, to come to my 34 week appointment, which had already been scheduled for the next day.

I arrived about 10 minutes late, and sat in the waiting room until I was the last one there. I weighed 142 - which was quite a jump from 138 just two weeks before. My blood pressure was good, Jack's heartbeat was strong, and I was told to wait for Dr. Smith to come in. I changed, he checked me, and told me I was to go straight to labor and delivery. I was to be monitored over the next 24-48 hours, and it was possible that I wouldn't leave without a baby.

Cue the tears. I cannot describe the emotions I was feeling, but most of them weren't good. I was so unprepared, so overwhelmed. Was I ready to give birth? Really? Trying not to freak myself out, I visited the bathroom and dropped to my knees. I prayed for a blessing of comfort, and tried to pull myself together before facing the nurses downstairs.

I was told to leave a urine sample, which I had just done upstairs, so with difficulty (I think because of nerves) and peeing all over the place... literally, I managed to get some in the cup.

The nurse came in to hook me up to the monitors around my belly - one for Jack's heartbeat, and one for my contractions. Pretty glamorous looking, eh?

I jumped up to a seven within the hour, still not feeling contractions. This baby was coming, and I wasn't leaving. Because I was only 34 weeks, I was given a steroid shot for the baby's lungs, hoping to make them more mature for when he was born. The shot, however, takes 24 hours to kick in, which we weren't sure I had. I was prepped for the worst, told what would probably happen when he was born. I wouldn't be able to hold him; he'd most likely be taken and put on oxygen right away. Again, I tried not to worry.

I was given the choice of an epidural, which I took. I may not have been feeling contractions, but I was positive I'd feel what would be coming out of me in a matter of hours. Turns out it slowed everything down - and left me at a seven for the next 22 hours or so (which is just what we needed).

Chris, waiting. And waiting. It's hard work.

My water still hadn't broken by 2:00 PM the next day, and Dr. Smith came in around 5:00 to break it himself and get me started. After he did, we waited some more.

Here we are, just before our world was about to change forever.

After about an hour of no progress after the water was broken, I was given pitocin to speed it up. I started pushing at 7:00, and at 7:40 PM, Jack Bauer Lewis arrived in the form of 4 pounds 8 ounces, and 16.5 inches long. He was beautiful.

Our new family... I was a bit overcome with emotion at this point.

I have to hand it to those mothers who do this without drugs, and to those who push for hours. 40 minutes was exhausting. Not to mention afterwards... which I will spare the details here. Let's just say I hope I forget it before we decide to have another one... either that, or Chris will have to do it. He laughed when I told him that. Pretty sure I wasn't kidding.

I was done.

That night they brought him in so I could hold him before they took him to the nursery, where he would stay for the remainder of my hospital stay, and after I left.

Yes, this is me. Can we say swollen? My face is nothing.

Here are my feet... I believe they call it elephantitis? It didn't go away for a week.

Jack didn't need oxygen, but there were some other issues. His belly was enlarged, and he wasn't digesting his food like he should.
Sometimes he liked it in the nursery,

Other times, he didn't.

He was fed through a feeding tube, and had an I.V. for additional nutrition, but we knew Altaview could only do so much and there was a chance he would be transferred somewhere where he could be taken better care of.

Here he is being transported to Primary Children's Medical Center. We knew he would be getting the best care available, so we were ok with this.

They welcomed his arrival and were ready to help.

This is how he looked when we arrived at the Newborn Instensive Care Unit on Sunday night at Primary Children's. Poor little guy.

He was placed under the lights for his bilirubin, which causes jaundice if there is too much in the blood. Until he could make bowel movements to pass it through his system, sun tanning was his life.

He started taking a bottle on Monday, and we were able to burp him.
He smiles for us and we love it when he opens his eyes to say hello.
Proud daddy. It's so fun to watch.

Proud mommy... I love to snuggle with him whenever I can.
We gave him a bath for the first time on Wednesday night. So fun.

We read books to him. This is Chris reading Oh The Places You'll Go (which he could only get through a couple pages before we both got choked up. I finished it later).

He has his dad's legs, I love it.

He is now working on taking a bottle and tolerating his feeds. He's progressing so well, we are incredibly blessed. As far as how long he'll stay, we're not sure. He's just little and needs to learn how to do it on his own.

Even with all of his cords, he makes it look good.

We can't wait to bring him home.