Bath Time

We moved to the other nursery! He is doing really well, he's on room air and off his feeding tube! He's nursing from me during the day and bottle feeding at night. The nurses were impressed with my milk supply, so it's a blessing I can feed my baby! The lactation consultant at the NICU was awesome. Max LOVES to eat. We have been so blessed with great nurses that have helped us to get to do all his cares. Tonight Javi and I got to give him his bath. The nurse showed us how to swaddle him in a clean blanket while bathing him- strange, I know, but he loved it. He slept through the bath and we were able to see our little man with NOTHING attached for the first time since he was born. His IV had gone bad before the bath so she took it out so we could get a good cleaning. He's such a calm baby right now, and loves to snuggle. We are in love with our little guy!

Javi got creative with the breast shield 

Room air! 

Getting to bathe him for the first time

Waking up after bath time 

Baby Max update

Our little guy is a trooper and improving every day. He is currently off all supplemental oxygen and is getting to try breastfeeding. Once he's got that we get to take out his feeding tube, and his face will be free from tubes! My mom got to hold him today and even got to change one of his awesome poopy diapers. Javi even got to change his first poopy diaper! We have loved his nurses and doctors. He's also moving to the 'grower/feeder' section of the NICU, which is good news! The earliest we'd be able to take him home is Monday, but possibly Thursday if his lab levels are still high. Things are improving! Max also got to meet grandpa Dale who wanted to sneak him ice cream. We are thankful for all the prayers and help we have received- and so ready to get this little guy home!

Welcome Baby Max!

Our little guy decided to make his entrance on Monday, April 20, 2015 at 4:02 pm! He's the cutest, sweetest little guy. 

This is going to get long, gross, and emotional, but I want to remember this and typing is the fastest way. Pictures are at the end if you want to skip! 

All day Saturday I was having contractions, they were getting more consistent and a little bit harder, but nothing too concerning. We decided to go to bed and see if they continued, except I couldn't sleep through them at that point. We waited until 3 am when I was getting them 3-5 minutes apart to go to the hospital. We went up and got checked and I was totally expecting to be dilated to at least a 2 or 3. I had been a 1+ at the office for the past three weeks. No luck- still at a 1+, but 80% effaced. We checked again in an hour and still a 1+, so I got a pain shot and went home. I was able to sleep from 6am to 3 pm, which is the most sleep I had for a long time. We had dinner that Sunday with my family and feeling tired, went to bed around 10. 

I woke up at about 330 am and felt like I had peed my pants a little, so I went to the bathroom. I peed, and then when I was standing up I just felt liquid coming out. It was the strangest feeling. It just kept coming, and so I yelled to Javi that it was time to get up. He was so cute running around gathering random things that hadn't made it to the hospital bag while I took a shower and got ready to go. I made Javi go to McDonalds so I could eat something quick on the way. 

When we got to the hospital they checked to make sure it was amniotic fluid, and it for sure was. I was already dilated to a 3, but I wasn't having contractions at this point. Within the next half hour they started. I wasn't making any progress for a while, and so they started Pitocin. Holy Ow. It hurt so bad, so at this point I got an epidural and the next time they checked me I had gone from a 3 to a 5+ in 30 minutes. Max did not like my right side, so I was stuck on my left with everyone sitting on the right side of me. Javi, Lindsea, and Whit were all able to be there. We turned off the pitocin and I contracted on my own, each hour dilating at least 1 cm. 

My right side was not numb at all, so we tried turning to help to epidural get to that side and Max's heart rate dropped. He stayed down for a little bit until the nurse touched his head and then he jumped back up. The anesthesiologist helped even it out and by then I was 9+, with just a little lip of cervix on the top. My doctor came and thought that we could push through the cervix because it hadn't changed for a while. We tested during a contraction and sure enough it was soft enough his head passed through the cervix. We were going to wait a while to push, then his heart rate dropped a little more, but eventually came back up. We started pushing to get him out.

 Javi and the nurse were holding my legs and helping me push. I started pushing with contractions, and his head was stuck against the pubic bone. Poor little Max has a big head! I pushed and pushed, and then his heart rate dropped and was having a hard time coming back up, so we pushed and pushed and PUSHED, but we got him out quickly. We had to use a vacuum to help get his head out eventually, and now he has a nice little circle and owie where it was, but we got him out! We got some skin to skin time and got to hang out with the little guy.

 Once we went downstairs he started breathing pretty quickly and grunting, and the nurse wanted to take him to the nursery to have him checked out. Eventually it was decided he was having trouble breathing, and now he's deciding to throw us for a loop and hang out in the NICU. He started out on a CPAP machine, but has graduated to a high flow nasal cannula! The other problem now is that his labs have been indicating that he has an infection somewhere in his little body, but they haven't been able to determine where. 

He has been on antibiotics since the first night, but there was no improvement so today they got our consent to do a lumbar puncture to check his spinal fluid. The primary results are looking good, but we still have to wait to see the final results which could take up to 4 days. We got to hold him again today, skin to skin. I have been pumping and he's been getting my colostrum through a feeding tube until my milk comes in and he's off the cannula and can breastfeed. 

This has been one of the hardest trials I have been through, and even though I know it could be worse and I know he is well taken care of in the NICU (we love his nurses and doctors!) Javi and I are learning how to change what we expected being new parents would be like and adjust to the new reality. There have been lots of tears and frustration at not being able to hold our little guy whenever we want. It's hard to come home and have him stay at the hospital, not knowing exactly when he can come home. We really appreciate all the texts and phone calls, and I'm sorry if we don't respond quickly or at all- one of the reasons I am going to be updating the blog daily with little updates. We are lucky to have the family that we do who support us so well, here and from all over. My mom has been here and helping me release tears whenever Javi is gone (it was his finals week) and loving on Max.  I'm extra grateful for Javi and for the love and patience he has for me when I have a little meltdown. Also thankful for the gospel and for the knowledge that this little man is being watched over. Thank you for all the prayers and kind thoughts! 

They already love each other

Proud Daddy

Little Max getting changed while he still had the CPAP

Graduated to a high flow nasal cannula! Yay!

Woke him up 

Skin to skin isn't just for mom! :) 

Times Being Pregnant Made Me Cry

When I was in high school I rarely cried. After high school I cried in normal situations for crying. Being pregnant, I cry for everything. Seriously everything. While talking to my sisters we decided I needed to record some of these crazy pregnant lady memories for the future, or to show my babies what I did for them. haha I'll go chronologically. 

1. The first time I cried for a crazy reason was a random weeknight when I just really wanted frozen yogurt. Javi was studying and I was finishing up work, and I mentioned that frozen yogurt sounded good. Javi didn't agree, and didn't take my hint. He kept studying, I kept thinking about frozen yogurt. about 30 minutes later I mentioned that maybe we should get some frozen yogurt. Javi still didn't agree, and he mentioned that it was getting pretty late, that we could just get some tomorrow. That's when I cried. haha Poor Javi was so confused. We got the frozen yogurt, and now when I mention that something sounds good, he just asks where I would like to go for it. :) 

2. The second time was at work. I'm a home health nurse, working an hour away from home, so I get to be creative in where I find somewhere to use a bathroom. I chose a 7-11 because I was far from my usual spots and I was dying-I needed a bathroom fast. I walked in, obviously pregnant, and asked if they had a restroom I could use. The lady was very nice and said yes, but there was someone in it. That's when a middle age man yelled at me that he was not going to let me go first, he was next. I said that was fine, I understood, and then walked out to my car crying. Like, bawling. It was bad. The thing I hated was that even while crying I knew it was a dumb reason to cry, yet I would just cry harder. 

3. The third time was another food related incident. Javi and I were driving and went to Burger King (we never go to Burger King). I got some dollar hamburger and asked for no mustard. When I bit into my hamburger, all I tasted was mustard. So gross, and not to mention it was tiny. Javi offered me his hamburger, but it was too late, I was already crying. 

Other than those times, I cry listening to normal songs (not sad or sappy) on the radio, watching anything sentimental, if I'm happy, tired, or excited, or if I watch any movie. I cried in a comedy show the other day. Javi has gotten used to it, and it's almost strange if I go a whole day without having tears in my eyes. We'll see if this keeps up after this little man is in the real world!

Tulip Festival

Javi had me get dressed up for our date night, not telling me where we were going but that we would be taking pictures. We went to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point, and it was SO pretty. We took lots of pictures and walked a TON. We also found out my kissing style (born leader, or as Javi said, born bossy), and tried some stroopwafles, which were delicious. It was perfect weather and we ended the night listening to a random country duo in the amphitheater. We have a week and a half until baby Max is due and then there will be some cute pictures to post!