We're Baaaaack!

Our Snuggle Munchkin- 4 mos

What Rhymes with Tucker?

I know you didn't just think that.....
 Pucker! Pucker up!  This one is a kisser! We keep him covered in kisses all day long.  Aww... just thinking about it makes my heart melt.  I'm at work on lunch break.  Tucker is now a month old and weighed in at 8lbs 12 oz on Monday.  He is eating like a champ!Tucker interlocks his fingers sometimes, especially when nursing. He's such a good little baby.

When he is not being held He is usually doing THIS...

It's a classic case, really...I just won't say of what, or someone might get mad.

Other than a lack of sleep- we are loving every moment- literally. 

A few things I've learned:

• Carey doesn't care if he matches.  I like to color coordinate down to the burp cloth.
• There is a fine technique to washing baby clothes and keeping them looking like new.
• You can give a new mom advice, but inevitably, she'll learn the hard way. (I'll be punished for this statement later.)
• No sleep and working at 6 am is near impossible.
• Sleep is near impossible.
• Breastmilk volume doesn't increase like formula... it changes composition (3 oz of breastmilk can be equivalent to 5 oz formula)
• peeing up the BACK of the diaper is common in newborn boys.
• There are many kinds of spit up... the "hurler", the "dribbler", projectile vomit, the "when did this get on my shirt?", the "suck it off your binky" type, the "yogurt mouth"
• Icecream on my lips brings Tucker to his happy place in 1.2 seconds flat and for atleast 5 mins thereafter (I'll be punished for this statement later.)
• 2 mommies, 1 baby- and a dirty house? Yeah-living proof, right here.
• even treasured family pets become villians when you find a hair on the binky- yech!
• Washing the baby in his own pee-peed bath water is far more fathomable than wrapping up a soapy baby, emptying the water, and starting over again. He'll get another bath tomorrow.
• There IS such a thing as projectile poop.
  
  The joy of motherhood abounds.... it really does. :)

Bizzy with Baby

We are busy enjoying Tucker... I intend to write all the details when I can stop holding him and admiring his sweetness... enjoy the pics!

Tucker London is here!!

He was born Saturday, June 5th at 1:09pm.  He weighed 7lbs and was 20 ozs long.  After going home, Tucker was admitted to the hospital for jaundice, so we are still waiting to be discharged again.  Hopefully we will get to go home again today.  We are in love with this little miracle!!!!

Cerclage Removal Complete!

We have arrived. 37 weeks is full term and we reached that milestone on Sunday- Yipee!
Today Carey and her step mother, Marie (who has been such an amazing support through all of this) went for the cerclage to be removed. It was an in-office procedure, that went better than she had hoped for. If there were any complications removing the stitch, Carey would have gone in tomorrow for a spinal block and removal in the "O.R." (needless to say we didn't want that to happen). The stitch was removed in about 3 mins. There was some blood on the doctor's hands and Carey continues to bleed a little, which the doctor said was normal. This next part is only documented for readers curious about cerclage removal...it may be Too Much Information (TMI)for those not otherwise interested... Carey said there was a clot that came out after all was said and done. I'm guessing maybe it could be the equivalent of a mucous plug? We never did get a firm answer as to whether or not she still actually had a mucous plug after delivery of Owen- apparently no one knows... Anyhow- now that you are thoroughly grossed out...

The doc said Carey is 1cm dilated and 80% effaced. Google searches are no help as to this being indicative of impending labor within a certain time frame. So I guess this leaves us like everyone else- playing the waiting game until "D-day".

Yes, the bags are FINALLY packed! I've asked Carey to work on a birthing plan today, but my guess is that the 2 percocet that they gave her for pain will take her out for the afternoon and I'll breathe easier some other time.

We have worked on my list of TO DO's all weekend, however, and made some major progress. We cleaned the entire house, packed the baby's bag and both of our bags, washed the 2 vehicles, installed the carseat, listed items on ebay, went to a birthday party, saw a movie, fixed the kid's bikes,bathed and groomed the dog(at home-woof!), went grocery shopping, did all of the laundry, packed the kids for summer camp on Sunday, and a bunch of other miscellaneous tasks. All that to say- we were productive this weekend- and worked together to get it done.
When I rewrote my list last night (minus our accomplishments) it was still pretty lengthy- but much more manageable now. Thank you Carey :) I need a freakin' Xanax. :)

Sorry, no pics of the cerclage removal are available hahaha... Instead, I'll leave y'all with a video I enjoy watching for a laugh every now and then- if you don't know the song, it won't be as funny- but even if you don't know the song you have to laugh. Til next time...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXxvsShaAoA&playnext_from=TL&videos=jpwS_YxkwzQ

Tucker's newest pic

Tucker's last ultrasound...he smiles.

T is for Tucker

We're already losing sleep!

T is for Tucker- and named appropriately so... we are Tuckered out! It's Janine here- bypassing my ebay money train to catch y'all up- not to mention I am freaking TIRED. I have been totally busy at work, and coming home to frantically gear up for our new arrival... They told us in childbirth class that she would start "nesting", but I feel like I've built about 20 in the last 2 weeks. The pressure to have the house spotless when our guests arrive- and not being able to use Carey as a helper is taking it's toll. I'm a little overwhelmed- oh! and PMS is putting me into BITCH overdrive. "Love wash over a multitude of things..." as Sara Groves sings... Thank God for my understanding partner and children.

We are so close now at 36 weeks and we *never* thought we would reach this point. We are nervous at any little sign of possible or remotely possible- or near impossible symptoms that could indicate trouble. I'm not helping matters any by being like, "Danger, Wil Robinson! You have swelling to your hands and face!" Proceeded by, "Did they check your protein? How much did you gain? Are you seeing spots? Is he moving ok? Do you have any discharge?" Yes- you would not believe how many times a week I ask this question. It's insane. This morning my serious gf orders breakfast from bed- she's trying to do her "kick counts" and is concerned. I fixed her the cereal with the highest sugar content (cocoa pebbles) and a tall glass of apple juice. We pushed, we prodded. I was this ***** close to doing a external cephalic version, i swear. I had a hold of his little buttocks and was trying to help him move a little :) Finally we played his song "Cody's song" by Kenny Loggins (yes, we are aware it's a little gay-er than say, John Mayer..but we are ok with that. :) And it worked... he was well on his way to 10 kicks and then some.

Carey is not loving the lugging. Of our bouncing baby boy, that is. She is having a hard time sleeping. When she tosses and turns she has to hold her belly like a bowling balland it's like she's in slow motion- poor mommy. She's eating massive amounts of food, but she is doing great weight wise- I'm proud of her for that --> I didn't do that part so well with mine. Her feet are getting bigger and she is sleeping a great bit. Overall she just can't wait to get him OUT! I think it's funny how our bodies prepare us for childbirth like that. Just a month ago she was petrified of giving birth and was saying things like, "I'm realizing he has to come out SOME way!" and now if they offered her delivery today- she'd be all over it.

We STILL don't have a middle name. We STILL don't have his room ready. We STILL don't have the bag packed all the way. We STILL don't have a birth plan... I'm a little spazzed out at this point. I'm tempted to say something positive here, but I know how silly that is, given the circumstances- we only have 2-3 weeks left!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, uh... Carey, now that atleast 14 people in the world are reading our blog- How's about a birth plan, eh???

I took some belly shots this evening- when I get time, I DO intend to make a music montage... lol... I love those things :)!

Finally got the crib put together...what do you think??

Baby Boy Is Growing!!

At ultrasound yesterday, he weighed 3lbs and 12ozs!!  He is measuring right on schedule and seems to be very healthy.  My doctor has scheduled my cerclage to come out on June 2...at 37 weeks.  It is great to be talking about 37 weeks..I remember not to long ago when his survival was questionable.  We have a baby shower on Sunday, so hopefully I will have some pictures to post then.  Please continue to keep us in your prayers :) 

88 days maximum

Wow... 88 days is the very most time my love will be "with child". Our baby boy is steadily growing. He has been more active in the daytime, whereas he used to be active at night. It never fails, though, at 11pm he decides to get busy in there. Sometimes I will push on her belly and he will play a little game with me. I push, he kicks back. I push, he kicks back. I talk to him every night. I say things like, "Hello, baby! Are you having a party in there?"- at which point he gives a good "BAM!" to her bump... After that, we play a lullabye or two and he starts to squirm. We haven't figured out if it's pleasant for him, or if he is moving away. However, my parents did it for me in utero and I did it every day for my 2 boys... so that's what baby boy gets too!
Carey's dad will come to set up the crib next week because we will be at our greatest milestone yet, 28 weeks!!! I still have a lot of work to do, clearing out the "study" of our accumulated junk...it's our "hoarder" room... ebay stuff, baby stuff and the original room stuff...sigh... it's going to be a long and hard weekend.
I have 3 papers to write for school in the next 2 weeks, which has me overwhelmed. I also have a ton of yard work to do- on top of the kid's spring break and working full time. I plan to take 2 days off so I can manage, though I don't plan on squandering the kids vacation. We usually plan something big in April and I feel guilty not being able to go.
Carey has been given permission to drive and move around more- but I think she is taking it a little futher than necessary. Although, I have to admit, I like not having to do the dishes!!! :) She isn't complaining as much about her stomach hurting this week *knock on wood*. She seems to hold some pride in being in the third trimester. She should. She made it happen by doing all the doctor said to do. She has an appt on Thursday- and I will miss little booger on the "big screen"
:( . I'll definitely try to post this one and update the blog on how big he's getting.

Almost 24 weeks!

Things are going good for now and we are almost 24 weeks :)  We are trying to keep the baby in utero as long as possible, but every week that goes by is a milestone to us because we arent sure just how long he is going to be able to stay.  I am on bedrest now and trying to make the best of it.  We finally got cable and I am watching a ton of  reality educational shows :) 

Thank you to everyone who commented on my last post about the pictures of Owen.  We miss him every day.  Please continue to pray for us..every prayer helps.

Last Blog Post

Janine posted pictures of our baby Owen on the last post.  It occured to me that these pictures of him (being so small) may make some people uncomfortable.  We have gotten used to looking at them, so I apologize if anyone finds them uncomfortable to look at.

Owen James

This is Owen about 30 minutes after birth.  He is alive here and lived to be 2 hours old. He was absolutely beautiful. He had very big hands and feet!  The color in the second pic is because they stamped his feet in ink.  Carey came home from the hospital on Friday, and went back in on Monday about 4AM.  She was discharged last night again.  We are holding onto baby "B" with all our might. We just need to hold out (at a minimum) 3 weeks!  Our family has been the best you could ask for through all of this... I hope to blog in more detail as soon as I can, so I don't forget it all...look for more soon!

Update

This is Janine here...
stopped by the house to take a shower and check on the kids...
Carey is due to come home tomorrow if all goes well tonight.  She developed pneumonia and is taking a course of antibiotics.  She has been off of the meds that make her stop contracting for 24 hours now and is doing well.  Now all we need to do is hope the cerclage will stay til term.  tomorrow we go to the high risk OB for an ultrasound to check on the cerclage and baby B.
Coming home to the ruins here is hard.  I feel like i am in suspended animation... so much to do- and no energy...
going back to the hospital in a bit.

Sadness

Carey is in the hospital. We are grieving the loss of baby "A", who was delivered yesterday at only 15 oz and 9 3/4 inches long. We had a heartbeat for nearly 2 hours and we loved him and took in every little detail while we held his tiny little body... Carey's cervix decided to dilate and thin on it's own. When she started bleeding we went straight to the dr's office where they discovered she had a "bulging bag" The amniotic sac had "hourglassed" into her cervix, with Owen still kicking as usual. After an amniocentisis to check for infection (done once for each), they calmed the contractions in the uterus. Then, her water broke. We have been to hell and back in 24 hours...A long story short, the high risk OB developed a plan to deliver Owen- who would surely die- and stich her cervix closed to save baby "B". The chances of success with all of the factors involved were slim- but the doctor managed to stitch her cervix. Carey is in bed, with major doses of Magneium sulfate to ,again,calm the uterus' contractions. the baby has a strong heartbeat and as far as we can tell, is doing fine. I have a lot of things to tend to at the moment, but when I can I will try to add more details of our journey. Please pray for baby "B" to be able to stay in utero and Carey's continued health.

Comfortable sleeping

is now something of the past I think!  My belly isnt really all that big, but I can't find any position that is comfortable and even pillows arent helping :(

New slide show.... 21 weeks

http://www.rockyou.com/show_my_gallery2.php?source=ppsl&instanceid=156476749

be sure to click on the little speaker in the bottom left hand corner!

Snakes and snails and puppy dog tails..

that's right!!  2 of them!!

Help us find a boy name, win a giftcard!

Check out the widget I made (my first) to the right...We have found perfect girls names (we aren't telling :) ) but really need help finding boys names! There is a $50 giftcard in it for you if you win! Ask your family and friends for some suggestions! We are looking for a name that isn't too common. We may be having twin boys, so names that go together MAY be considered as well. Thanks!

Baby B Kicks!

Carey has felt kicks for SURE now.. and I felt a itty bitty kick last night- it's so (I've spent 2 minutes looking for the right word) awesome, wonderful, neat, uh... sweet! Can't wait til Friday to see them again, make sure they are healthy and happy in there... getting enough to eat :)

One week...

until we find out if we are having boys or girls!!  I think I will relax a little after that....or not LOL!