Saturday, April 28, 2012

More hospitals


My mother will probably kill me for posting this, but I think a little boy's first trip to the ER is somewhat of a rite of passage.  Mason went to the farm with his Mimi and Grandpa for the weekend and had a little accident.  My rambunctious little man face-planted into the stone hearth and got a little cut on his head that required a quick trip to the Hawkinsville emergency room and some surgical glue (it's the equivalent of 2 stitches).  He's perfectly fine and I'm sure his Mimi was more traumatized than he was.  I actually commented to Chris just the other day that we were lucky that we had made it almost 2 years without a trip to the ER.  I'm sure it won't be our last - like I've said before, he is ALL BOY!

As you can see, all he needs is a fancy gauze headband, Elmo PJs, and a buddy fruit to make everything OK.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

We're hanging in there

I have nothing new to report, but I'm bored, so I'll update the blog.  I'm still at Northside being monitored very closely.  The baby is doing great and I'm hanging in there.  The pre-eclampsia gives me horrible headaches and my blood pressure is a little high, but other than that, I just want the time to pass more quickly!  Just like last time I was stuck here, Chris has been amazing.  We live very close to the hospital, so he visits several times a day and brings me anything I need.  And my mom has been a HUGE help.  She's stayed at our house to help with Mason and keeps me company during the day when he's at school.  Mason has visited me several times, which definitely helps me get through another day.  He doesn't understand what's going on, but he loves exploring the hospital room :-).  Being away from him has been the hardest part, but I know he's in great hands it's only temporary.  The goal is to get far enough along that his baby brother will not have to stay behind in the NICU, which will be better for all of us.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Update

We finally have a diagnosis.  They have determined that I have BOTH cholestasis, which is a rare liver disease caused by pregnancy, and pre-eclampsia, which is more serious.  What are the odds of having both of these conditions during the same pregnancy?  Pretty darn rare (lucky me).  This means I will not be going home before this baby arrives.  The plan now is to monitor me closely and induce at the first sign of stress for the baby, if my blood pressure gets too high or when I reach 37ish weeks (each doctor seems to have their own specific time frame).  And they will not stop labor again if he decides to come on his own.  Honestly, I think the latter is most likely since I have been having sporadic contractions since I've been here.

After my last pregnancy, we went through great lengths to make sure that we weren't at a greater risk for the same thing happening again.  My biggest fear was being stuck in the hospital and away from Mason for an extended period of time.  Unfortunately, our bad luck continues and here we are for a completely different reason.  At least I am farther along this time (35 weeks today) and looking at a much shorter hospital stay.  I pray that the same goes for the baby.  Chris has been wonderful and my mom has graciously moved in to our house for the time being to help with Mason and whatever we need.

Thanks for every one's thoughts and prayers!  I'm not gonna lie, this is going to be tough and I'm already anxious on my third day here.  But if I had any doubt that God wasn't looking out for us, here is the daily devotional sent by our church Pastor just this morning.  It will definitely help me get through the days ahead.

Psalm 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside still waters;...

In God's presence, find the calm you need to face each day.

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Here we go again...

It looks like Baby H2 wants to have a dramatic entry into this world just like his older brother did.  I am currently at Northside Hospital being monitored for complications.  I thought I had a stomach bug last week, then Thursday night, I started itching VERY badly at night - especially my feet.  I called the doctor on Friday after doing a little google research and they ran some blood tests.  He called Saturday evening and wanted me to come to the hospital for a 'quick' stress test on the baby because my liver enzymes were elevated.  When I arrived, my blood pressure was high and I started having strong contractions, so they kept me overnight and gave me a shot to stop labor (which luckily worked)

I'm 34 1/2 weeks, which is 2 weeks more than when I delivered Mason.  Ideally, we'd like to get 2 more weeks, but we'll see what this little guy wants to do.  The plan for now is to monitor me another day to rule out pre-eclampsia and then send me home on bed rest for the duration of the pregnancy with close monitoring (and I'd probably be induced a few weeks early).

We appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers.  Just as last time, I know we're in the best place we can be and me and baby will receive the best possible care.  I guess I kind of had a mother's intuition that something was about to happen because I have been in nesting freak-out mode the past week.  Even being sick, I was able to get a lot done last week to prepare for this little guy.

Friday, April 20, 2012

Easter and G-Day

We've had a fun and busy spring!  As you can see, Mason enjoyed his first attempt at decorating Easter Eggs (very closely supervised, of course).  We traveled to Letohatchee, Alabama on Easter weekend for my family's annual Easter egg hunt and picnic.  We hadn't been in years, so it was wonderful to see everyone and meet some of the little ones for the very first time.  My Aunt Donna and Uncle Jim graciously host the event at their farm and it was a beautiful day for the kids to hunt eggs, fish, ride in the paddle boat and just run around!  Mason had a blast and did pretty good at his first Easter egg hunt.  His favorite part was opening each egg and throwing the contents into the pond.

Here is Mason with his Mimi at the picnic. It was a beautiful day!
Some of the cousins and their little ones - Me and Mason, Amy with Mary Drue and Elizabeth and Emily with Townes and Julia

Then the following weekend, we went to our second annual G-Day spring game in Athens.  It was another beautiful spring day and we had a great time with the Rueckel's and Callahan's tailgating before the game.  As expected, Mason didn't last very long sitting still at the actual game, but we were able to watch the first half.  Don't worry - Georgia won the game!

Mason and Ashley enjoying some snacks at the tailgate
 And watching the game with daddy - we had great seats!
He wouldn't wear his sunglasses all day, but decided once we got home that he didn't want to take them off.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

Spring has Sprung!

I've been neglecting the blog because we have been enjoying this early spring weather! All my child needs for entertainment is to be outside with a ball. We've been very busy and I'm trying to enjoy every minute while I still feel good. I know I will probably not want to get out in the heat very much in the next few months. Unfortunately, a little cold (or allergies, who knows) has been bothering all of us the past few weeks, so hopefully we will all be healthy soon.

Last weekend Chris and I enjoyed a 'babymoon' in St. Simons Island. We had plenty of rest, relaxation and delicious seafood, but not a lot of beach time because it rained quite a bit. I can't believe we got married on that beautiful island almost 10 years ago! We hadn't visited in years, so it was quite a treat to see the island again. We're already planning a family vacation there sometime in the future. Mason spent the weekend on the farm with Mimi & Dee. My outdoorsy child had a blast! There is plenty there to keep him busy. He even caught his first fish in the pond - I think with lots of help from grandpa Dee and daddy!! Here's a few pictures from the past month.

BUSTED!! I knew he was being too quiet one afternoon and caught him putting all of Shadow's food into her water bowl.
Still best buddies. Poor Shadow has no idea what she's got coming when there are 2 of them!
He loves to run around naked before bathtime. It's a struggle now to catch him and get him into the bath!
Loves brushing his teeth before bed.
And new obsession toy is the golf clubs. I'm sure his grandparents will get a kick out of this one.
More pictures in ours spring album on picasa - https://picasaweb.google.com/chenretty/MasonSpring2012#