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.

Chocolate Covered Goodness

Or Junk. Whatever.

The tradition of odd birthdays continues (that is, continued, a couple of months ago... I'm a bit behind. As is typical of me these days), and gets ever more creative.

TJ decided to cover some odds and ends (no doubt that he found around his house) in chocolate. Put inside a Whinnie the Pooh bag, it was sure something special...

Pictured below is an old tool belt. As much as I wanted to wear it, I had a hard time just grabbing it with my hands...

Who doesn't need something sweet when doing math with your beyond giant calculator?

He did include a dollar bill in the mix, along with a few coins, which were worth cleaning up.

Mmmm...

Note: No germs were spread in the opening of this gift. Ok, so more than a few, I'm sure, were. But none of it was touched by my mouth. Despite what may be the popular opinion, I'm not that disgusting.

Princess Bubble Yum

Perhaps marshmallow peep fits better. If I had to be pregnant for my brother-in-law's wedding, I was looking forward to being one of three, all of us due in March. As it turned out, the other two went on bed rest shortly before the wedding. So, it was just me who got to look the way I did.

We had fun, despite the pink. At least I wasn't totally alone. My sister-in-law Julie got to be a pink lady, too. Of course, the difference between she and I when looked at from the side was quite amusing.

The temple that day was beautiful (and cold), and Jamison and Dawn were so happy.
And, her dress was GORGEOUS.
All the Lewis siblings are pictured here. This hasn't happened for quite some time.Aubri, Chris, Aaron, Dawn and Jamison, William and Geoff

Julie, Aaron, Chris and myself. They currently live in Ohio, where he is attending Case Western for dental school. We love it when they come home, even if we don't get to spend a ton of time with them (which happened to be the case this time).
Me and Julie
Julie and I with Geoff's girlfriend, Aubrey.
We love her.
I'm not sure there's anything like witnessing two people who love each other make a commitment for forever. It makes me realize how lucky I am to have what I do. I kinda like this kid. I'm looking forward to forever.

R & R

Not that I need rest and relaxation too desperately... I've been a pretty lucky gal not to have to work while pregnant. While rocky it may be, financial-wise, it's been unbelievably nice not to have obligations such as early mornings and long days. Kudos to those who do it... you rock.

The trip I took to Florida was kind of an unexpected bonus. Thanks to the credit left to use from our Australia trip, we decided to use some of it to visit family. With my third trimester almost here (yikes!), my window for flying is coming to a close. And, after choosing the week of my vacation, Chris was hired on at a new job and was to start the day I was leaving. I think my pregnancy hormones had something to do with it, but I was hysterical the day before I left. I cried just thinking about leaving. At one point, Chris looked at me and said, "I didn't realize you were so attached to me." I guess I didn't either!

So, we may have done more had he come. But, truth be told - I felt like doing nothing more than being lazy. So that's what I was. Lazy. My sister Holly didn't mind at all - in fact, much of our time was spent lounging around the house with the kids, not ready for the day even one bit (aside from being awake) and looking like this.Talk about yuck-ville. Good times.

The rest of the time was spent getting to know the nephew and niece I never get to see.

Robby: Loves music. Only rock music. Dances like a rock star. Is smarter than any three-year old, or most teenagers, I know. Loves to tell jokes. Major poser.

Not only does he make a sweet Bono, this kid sure knows what tact is. When at a restaurant for dinner one evening, I came back to our table after using the ladies' room. I will never forget the question that came out of his mouth as I arrived and sat in my chair. "Did you poop on yourself?" he asked. I have no idea what was going on in that kid's head, but I was still chuckling several hours later.

Next, toward the end of the meal, our waiter came over to check on us. Robby, who loves Michael Jackson and is obsessed with "Black or White," took the liberty serenading him with his version of his favorite song. "... You're still my baby, it don't matter if you're black or white..." Talk about ironic. Our waiter happened to be African-American. Awesome.

Bree: Too Funny! LOVES food. Loves her mommy. Starting to put sentences together. Loves to play with her brother Robby and ALWAYS makes sure he is offered whatever she has. Abnormally thoughtful for an 18-month old.

At the same dinner I mentioned earlier, Bree was not interested in waiting to eat. This was obvious as she grabbed any plate she could reach and yelled "FOOD!" as loud as she could. She ate at least half of the giant turkey leg Holly got at Disneyworld when we were there.

She loves, loves, LOVES her brother. She'll ask for a drink (or anything, for that matter), and when it's handed to her, her first word is "Robby." Wanting to make sure her big brother gets the same thing, she'll say thank you after it's given to him. She sometimes will "feed" Robby by shoving whatever it is into his mouth, whether he wants it or not. It's quite entertaining.

I'm lucky enough to have visited Florida several times before, but there were some firsts for me this time. I had my first gelati (a combination of Italian gelato and ice cream), and a shake from Steak and Shake (both delicious). I visited Epcot for the first time in Disneyworld. We visited some new parks as well, and you'd think it was my first time feeding ducks. Maybe it was, I can't be sure. I'd hold out a cracker, and they'd take a snap at it - only to back away when I dropped it after snapping my hand back. I was a total wuss.

Here are some highlights.

Robby and I at this awesome park called Crane's Roost
Me, trying (and failing) to feed the ducks. See the cracker on the ground? I yanked my hand back so fast he couldn't even get near my hand. Like I said... total wuss.

I just can't get enough of this girl. Check out those cute little legs. You can't tell in this picture, but she's rocking black socks here. Love it.

My first time at Epcot, looking super nerd-tastic.

The Disneyland castle has NOTHING on this one.

It's seriously magical, and my favorite part of Disney.

Me and Hol. I don't see her enough. I laugh harder with her than with anyone. We missed you, Heather.

Robby and Bree wearing the cute Christmas shirts my sister Heather sent. She's a better aunt than me... pretty sure I don't send them stuff.

Did I mention Bree loves food?

That sweet little Robby tried to avoid saying goodbye to me the morning I left. As he looked up at me with tear-filled eyes, he made my heart sink. I miss these kids like crazy. And speaking of crazy, the next time I'll see them I'll have one of my own!