David's First 10 Days

My little man is already 11 days old! Time flies when you're not sleeping.

Some highlights of his first ten days:

• Nothing makes him more angry than having his diaper changed - unless it's having his clothes changed. There is NO DOUBT that this baby has healthy lungs!
• Nothing makes him happier than nursing. He's doing a great job, and now we just need my milk supply to kick in.
  
• His jaundice is fading, and his skin looks pretty good in the sunlight. His eyes are still a little yellow, but less so every day.
• He cracks us up when he gets a serious, frowny look on his face & goes cross-eyed.
  
• He's growing well despite the milk supply problems; we've been supplementing him with formula to give him a boost, since he lost almost a pound. His last weight check was on Friday, and he was 6 lb, 9 oz - so he gained half a pound from Monday to Friday!
• I'll be calling the lactation people on Monday for an appointment to see what else we can do to improve supply. I was really hoping we'd be able to nurse without problems this time around, but apparently that's not going to happen.
• I'm tired. But very blessed. I mean, seriously - look at my wonderful guys:

Cradle of Faith

Back in October, about 3 1/2 weeks after we found out we were pregnant, we had a bad day. We were told, "There is no way you will have a baby from this pregnancy." We were devastated. They told us to wait a week and then go see our obstetrician, who would confirm a miscarriage and tell us where to go from there.

It was not a good week.

During that week, though, my family gave us a gift. It was one of those "meant to be" kind of things - my aunt happened to be driving by a yard sale, something happened to catch her eye, and she happened to be able to round up the funds to get it as a gift from my whole family.

The gift was a cradle. A beautiful, handmade wooden cradle.

At first, I wasn't sure I even wanted it in the house. I didn't want to see it, didn't want to picture my baby sleeping in it, when we were most likely in the process of losing our baby. I didn't want to have to come home from some sort of "procedure" to see that empty cradle staring at me, with no hope of being filled.

The cradle came to our house the same day it was purchased, and something else came with it - hope. I began to think that maybe, just maybe, the ER staff was wrong, and that God had other plans.

Here is the result of God's plans:

David's first nap in the cradle.

God is good.

Drum Roll, Please...

Introducing...David James Allen!
Born 5/20/09, at 12:33 p.m., by C-section
7 lb, 2 oz, 19 1/2 inches long

Grandma and Wendy see David.

Grandpa meets his namesake.

What a great big sister - see the look of delight on her face?

Wendy - the Only Child

This being Wendy's last day as an only child, as well as her last day home for the next week, we decided to play hooky for awhile and head to the park. Besides, with a sky this blue, who can stay indoors? This is a straight-out-of-camera shot. Isn't it beautiful?






I look at pictures like these & wonder where the time has gone. Surely Wendy isn't really 2 1/2 years old. Surely my baby isn't about to become a BIG SISTER tomorrow. Surely.

But it's true, and we're so blessed to have been a part of her life.

I think she'll be a great big sister!

Awesome

I think I brag on James fairly regularly on my blog, because he's a great guy. Definitely not perfect, but a great husband, a wonderful father, a conscientious employee, and a stubborn seeker-of-God.

One of my favorite roles of his? Grocery shopper.

With this pregnancy, he has taken on the additional burden of being our family grocery shopper. And about half the time, he takes Wendy with him, meaning I get a few hours of quiet AND a replenished kitchen. Sure, he has to call me a couple of times each trip to ask for clarification about something on the list, or if I know where in the world Kroger hides the relish, but it's totally worth it.

I'm serious - I haven't set foot in a grocery store since maybe November. I don't miss it.

In a few weeks, after David arrives & we get a bit more settled, I'll have to take over the grocery shopping again. I'm not looking forward to it, but I have been so thankful to have this time of rest.

My Famous Cornbread

I really don't care for cornbread in general...but I love MY cornbread. The recipe came about from James describing to me how his mother made cornbread when he was growing up. I gave it a try, winging it a few times, and stumbled upon the most delicious cornbread. Ever.

If you don't like sweet cornbread, you may not like it, because it does turn out slightly sweet. But it's so moist, and buttery, and yummy, and MMMM...we had some tonight with beef stew, and it was fabulous.

It's very easy, and very cheap, too. Whenever I take it to a potluck or gathering, someone always asks for the recipe! So here goes:

My Famous Cornbread
2 boxes Jiffy corn muffin mix
1 can cream-style corn
2 eggs
1/2 cup of milk (roughly)
6 Tbsp butter, softened

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Stir together muffin mix, corn, eggs, & milk. Pour into a lightly-greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake for 25 minutes. As soon as it comes out of the oven, place butter on top & melt evenly all over top.

A little bit of sadness...

As we were checking out at the doctor's office today, my phone rang with a number I didn't recognize. When I checked the voicemail, it was from a Good Samaratin - a Terminex guy in Fairview, TN, who found a terribly injured little dog with our phone number on the tags.

I knew it was Bella; we had Bella for about 7 years, and gave her away to a nice single mom & daughter this past February.

Soon we got a call from a vet in Fairview, letting us know that they had Bella & asking what we wanted to do about things. Bella had been attacked by another dog, and had serious abdominal injuries, possibly compromising her intestines. I ransacked my Gmail folder for the name & phone number of Bella's new owner; I didn't feel like I could authorize any kind of treatment, since she wasn't my dog anymore. I passed along the contact information, hung up the phone, and wondered for awhile how things were going.

About 30 minutes later, I got another call from the vet's office - they hadn't been able to reach the new owner, but they had taken a radiograph & Bella's back was broken. She was put to sleep.

It makes me sad. Bella no doubt brought it on herself - she was a tiny little trash-talking fury, and would bark & act aggressive around other dogs, even though she was only 5 pounds. But around people, she was gentle & sweet & silly. I hope the vet's office is able to reach the new owner, so that they'll at least know what happened to her.

"Sleeping" in the Third Trimester

I never used to have problems sleeping. Throughout childhood, college, vet school, you could point to me & say, "Go to sleep!" and I probably could, right there on the spot. After vet school, when I started struggling with depression & anxiety, I had trouble staying asleep during the night.

But it's been nothing like this third trimester of pregnancy.

Here's last night as an example:

• 10 p.m. - about to get ready for bed, but legs are very twitchy due to pregnancy-related Restless Legs Syndrome. Hard to relax.
• 10:30 p.m. - in bed, thinking about all the things I still need to do before we have David next week.
• 10:45ish p.m. - asleep
• 11:15 p.m. - bathroom break
• 12:00 a.m. - bathroom break, heartburn, move out to the couch, have trouble falling back asleep, more twitchy legs
  
• 12:30 a.m. - asleep
• 2:30 a.m. - bathroom break, awake for about an hour, more twitchy legs, hot flashes
  
• 5:00 a.m. - wake up with headache, try to go back to sleep
• 7:00 a.m. - "Mommy, yous seepin?" The day begins.

It's no wonder I'm tired.

I know that I won't get much sleep when David comes, since I'll be nursing & taking care of him, but for goodness sakes - at least the sleep I get will be good!

WFMW: Packing for Hospital

If you read my blog at all, you know that we'll be having a baby next Wednesday, if all goes according to the new plan. I spent some time this weekend getting a bag ready to take to the hospital, so that we're ready to go when the time comes.

Before beginning my packing, I asked around for suggestions of things to pack. We've been through this before, but when we had Wendy, I didn't do such a good job of packing. I took too much stuff to the hospital, and was missing some things I could have really used. Anyway, here's a compilation of suggestions from folks who are much smarter than I am:

• 3-4 changes of comfy clothes, depending on how long you anticipate your hospital stay to be. Comfort is key!
• Nursing bras if you're planning to breastfeed
  
• Extra socks, comfy slippers
• Light sweater, no matter the season - sometimes hospitals are COLD.
• Toiletries. Don't forget some basics for your husband - he'd appreciate being able to brush his teeth.
• Maxi pads. From what I remember, this is no time for the thin & trim styles!
  
• Clothes for your husband if he's staying with you the whole time.
• Chapstick & lotion - must stay hydrated!
  
• A comfy pillow - can stay in the car if not needed
• Camera/camcorder
  
• Chargers for cell phones/camera/camcorder
• Laptop and/or iPod if you're into that.
  
• Light reading/crossword puzzles/sudoku book - nothing too heavy, but something to occupy your mind if you can't sleep or get bored with the TV!
• List of people to call when baby arrives
• Snacks - we're taking peanut-butter crackers & trail mix for between-meal munching.
• Things for baby - two going-home outfits (just in case), socks/booties, hat, receiving blanket, Binkie, baby nail trimmers
  
• Gift for older child or children - we have a baby doll for Wendy that looks a lot like a newborn baby. It even has hospital bracelets. When she first comes to see us in the hospital, she'll get her very own baby to take home with her - I think that'll help with the idea of a baby brother.
• And don't forget to install that car seat! Can't take baby home without it!

Looking at this list, it sounds like a lot of stuff. It really isn't; ours is mostly packed into a smallish rolling duffle bag. Also keep in mind that my list is based on a scheduled C-section - I would imagine that if you're going through labor, you may want a few additional things.

Please, let me know in the comments if you have other suggestions! There's still some room in the duffle bag!

Being prepared for our hospital stay works for me. For more tips & ideas, visit Works-For-Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family!

Update

Today was supposed to be the day we met David, so I'm a little sad, but at least we have a new plan.

We will have a regular OB appointment on Friday, to make sure everything's still fine.

We do NOT have to repeat the amniocentesis, for which I'm very grateful.

We will have a C-section scheduled for NEXT Tuesday, 5/19. We'll be 37 1/2 weeks, so his lungs shouldn't have any problem functioning.

We'll be spending this week doing little things to make bringing him home easier. All the essentials are already done.

***Updated to add***
Not next Tuesday - the schedule was full. It'll be next Wednesday, 5/20, at noon.

Bummed

The amniocentesis results show that baby David's lungs are not quite ready to work. My OB is out today, so I don't know what Plan B will be. We should talk to her tomorrow & see where to go from here.

I'm bummed. I mean, I'm glad we know, so that we don't risk having him too early & have him struggling to breathe. But I was really, REALLY looking forward to being done tomorrow.

Amnio Adventure

Today was the big day. Well, not the BIG big day, that'll be next Tuesday or Wednesday. But the day I've been dreading for several weeks - our scheduled amniocentesis. Ever since my OB mentioned that we should have one to make sure David's lungs are mature before we deliver, I've been nervous & anxious about it. After all, long needle? In my belly? Really? Yikes.

I did quite a bit of research about the procedure, so I knew what was going to happen. None of my friends have had an amnio, though, so I was really missing a trusted first-person perspective. Was it going to hurt? How much? Would it feel like the infamous "pressure," as OBs seem to describe all kinds of pain? Would David move? Would it take a long time? Would I be sore afterwards?

So here's the scoop: it was by no means pleasant, and I'm not in a huge hurry to do it again, but it wasn't THAT big a deal. James was right beside me, so I got to squeeze his hand through the whole thing. It was painful, but definitely not unbearable - I'd rank it about a 4/10 on a pain scale.

The two worst things about it:

1. I almost fainted. Seriously. I've never been that close to fainting in my life. Although, really, if you're going to faint, what better conditions? Laying down in a dark room, with a doctor and two nurses with their hands already on you? I told them I was feeling "a little dizzy" (which was a big understatement) and I think once they noticed I was the color of cottage cheese, they had me turn on my side. Problem fixed almost immediately - it was just from David's weight cutting off my blood supply.
2. They had to stick me 3 times. David kept moving, which made the fluid pockets shift. The first poke was definitely the worst, since after that I knew roughly what kind of pain to expect. Even with 3 tries, they didn't technically get enough amniotic fluid, but they called it quits to keep from turning my belly into a pincushion.

After the procedure, we went to Labor & Delivery for monitoring, to make sure I wasn't going to go into labor as a result of all the poking. We spent about an hour relaxing in a quiet room, munching on ice, listening to David's heart on the monitor, and watching reruns of "Home Improvement." It was actually kind of nice.

We should have the results on Monday, and hopefully once those are in we'll be scheduled for either Tuesday or Wednesday for the C-section.

Oh, and David's weight estimate today is 6 lb, 9 oz, which puts him at the 71st percentile. We'll see how accurate that is in a few days!

Thank you so much for all of the encouraging comments & prayers. They've made a huge difference in strengthening this little chicken-hearted girl.

Scalloped Potatoes

Tonight I mentioned on Twitter that I was making scalloped potatoes for dinner, and Ann asked for the recipe. It's been awhile since I posted a recipe, and I don't have anything else enlightening to say, so here goes!

I'm pretty sure this "recipe" originated with my mom's family. It's not something I make following strict instructions; it's one of those things you just kind of...make. But I'll do my best in trying to get a follow-able recipe down for you!

Scalloped Potatoes
6-8 medium potatoes, well-scrubbed & diced (peeling optional)
12-16 oz. package of bacon
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x13 casserole dish with cooking spray. Boil potatoes until fork-tender (10 min or so); drain & dump into casserole dish.

While potatoes are cooking, cut bacon into 1-inch pieces - kitchen shears are the easiest way to do it. Cook in a skillet over medium heat until done. Remove bacon to drain, and reserve 3-4 Tbsp bacon grease; pour the rest of the grease into a separate container for later use. Once bacon has drained, sprinkle over the top of the potatoes in the casserole dish, tossing lightly to combine.

In bacon skillet, with reserved grease, add flour & stir over medium heat until lightly browned. Add milk & whisk well to combine. Cook & stir until thickened & bubbly. Pour evenly over potatoes & bacon in casserole dish. Sprinkle with 1 cup (or more!) of Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes, or until cheese is toasted & sauce is bubbly. Let cool for 5 minutes, and enjoy!!

Attack Bug

If you can look at this picture without imagining Ninja sounds,
you're more mature than I am.

Hi-YAH!!

(It's just a random picture I thought was funny. I didn't take it.)