J
Monday, January 16, 2012
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Three Days Old
We finally decided on a name!! His name is going to be ... Oskar Brinkerhoff Ackerman. It's quite a big name for such a tiny guy but we think he'll grow into it quite nicely. Oskar has been doing really great so far. He has been breathing on his own and today started eating from a bottle. He doesn't eat very much at a time but he has those reflexes which is just awesome. He is really tiny, only 2 pounds and some ounces but he is the cutest baby I have ever seen in my entire life. He's just perfect. I got to change his diaper twice today which was kind of scary because he's so small and I don't want to hurt him but with practice I think I'll be fine. I also got to feed him three times today and he did so good. Sometimes he gets tired in the middle of eating so they did put a feeding tube in so when he gets tired they can just put the food down in his stomach but the for the last feeding he ate all his food by himself. I'm so proud. He's eating every three hours and so I'm pumping every three hours and taking what I get to him. It hasn't been enough yet so they supplement with some formula but hopefully soon I'll begin making enough. I also got to burp him after he ate which was way scary because he kept jerking backwards. The nurse kept telling me I was stronger than him and to hold him there but that is easier said than done.
We really like the nurses that are taking care of him, they're really informative and always tell us what a cute baby he is. They help us and show us what to do and always calm me down when I get anxious about an alarm going off or Oskar pulling on his cords. He's also had a lot of visitors in two days, Joel's parents have come to see him along with Kelsey and Boyd, Dave and Lisa, and Cecily. Tyler and Jessica came yesterday morning and Tyler helped Joel give Oskar a blessing. Amanda and Jake came yesterday and today the Jackie and Jason Brinkerhoff family came along with Pete and Bekah. He's meeting a lot of his family and I hope the nurses don't get tired of us bringing in so many visitors, we just have big families!
We love his SOOOO much and are so grateful to have him be ours, we realize how blessed we are to be in such a good situation now with all of the scariness of before. Keep praying for him and hopefully he'll grow and progress quickly. I can't wait for the day when I get to take him home with me, I don't think I'll ever put him down!
We really like the nurses that are taking care of him, they're really informative and always tell us what a cute baby he is. They help us and show us what to do and always calm me down when I get anxious about an alarm going off or Oskar pulling on his cords. He's also had a lot of visitors in two days, Joel's parents have come to see him along with Kelsey and Boyd, Dave and Lisa, and Cecily. Tyler and Jessica came yesterday morning and Tyler helped Joel give Oskar a blessing. Amanda and Jake came yesterday and today the Jackie and Jason Brinkerhoff family came along with Pete and Bekah. He's meeting a lot of his family and I hope the nurses don't get tired of us bringing in so many visitors, we just have big families!
We love his SOOOO much and are so grateful to have him be ours, we realize how blessed we are to be in such a good situation now with all of the scariness of before. Keep praying for him and hopefully he'll grow and progress quickly. I can't wait for the day when I get to take him home with me, I don't think I'll ever put him down!
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Friday, January 13, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
Latest Baby News
Joel got a job offer to write for a PAC here in Utah so we decided to stay for January to see if it's something he wants to do. If it is something he wants to do we're going to move back to Utah for this year. Because of this our original plan of staying for three weeks was extended to staying through the end of January. So I made a baby appointment with the same midwives Kelsey goes to so I could have a checkup while I was here.
The first thing the midwife did was listen to the baby's heartbeat, which sounded good. Then she measured me with the tape measure to find that at 31 weeks I was measuring a 26, which is what I measured at my last appointment a month ago. She immediately took me to get an ultrasound there at the clinic where they found my baby was in the 10th percentile, compared to being in the 27th percentile at my last ultrasound more than a month ago. They also found in this ultrasound that the blood flow from the cord was cutting in and out which meant the baby wasn't getting a constant flow of blood. Perhaps because of that the abdomen and femur measurements were small (the head was good though). The midwife said when a body needs something it sends it to the most important places first, like the head, and the other parts of the body suffer, like the abdomen. So it seemed like the baby wasn't getting enough from the placenta, causing him to be small.
Next she sent us up to the maternal fetal medicine section of the hospital at St. Mark's in Salt Lake. On the way there we stopped at Joel's parents house where Joel and his dad gave me a blessing. At this point I was feeling terrible and figured that we would have to deliver the baby not only early but soon. The midwife had told me that he was probably going to have to come early but he would be okay.
Once we got to the hospital they did another ultrasound where they essentially found the same things except with their measurements he was in the 15th percentile. Next they took me into another room where they strapped me to the monitor to check the baby's heart rate. The doctor said it was okay but not as good as she wanted it to be. While the heart rate was being monitored they gave me a shot to help the baby's lungs develop in the case that he would have to come early he would be farther along. Then they looked at the baby on an ultrasound again to see three good movements from him before they would let me go.
Today we have to go back again so they can monitor his heart rate again and give me the second steroid shot for the baby's lungs. Unless things drastically increase we're going to have to go back every week for the next 9 weeks to check on him. Along with that I have a fetal kick sheet where I have to monitor the movements of the baby and write them down.
All in all I feel a lot better about things. I've realized that if he comes early it obviously wouldn't be ideal but it would be okay. He would have to be in the hospital a while but hopefully he would still be healthy and he would grow like he needs to. I'm not a fan of worrying myself to death the next 9 weeks monitoring the movements but that's better than a premature baby. I already had a freak out early this morning where I didn't feel him for a while and thought something was terribly wrong. Luckily I have Joel who calmed me down, made me eat something and lie down to count the baby's movements. I felt 10 movements in 15 minutes so everything was okay.
So there is the whole situation. Joel and I have recently tentatively decided that we will stay in Utah until the baby comes because it's probably not smart to travel back to California in this state, plus the doctors here are so nice and a much shorter drive than they would be in California. Please keep us in our prayers and especially keep praying for the little Guy.
The first thing the midwife did was listen to the baby's heartbeat, which sounded good. Then she measured me with the tape measure to find that at 31 weeks I was measuring a 26, which is what I measured at my last appointment a month ago. She immediately took me to get an ultrasound there at the clinic where they found my baby was in the 10th percentile, compared to being in the 27th percentile at my last ultrasound more than a month ago. They also found in this ultrasound that the blood flow from the cord was cutting in and out which meant the baby wasn't getting a constant flow of blood. Perhaps because of that the abdomen and femur measurements were small (the head was good though). The midwife said when a body needs something it sends it to the most important places first, like the head, and the other parts of the body suffer, like the abdomen. So it seemed like the baby wasn't getting enough from the placenta, causing him to be small.
Next she sent us up to the maternal fetal medicine section of the hospital at St. Mark's in Salt Lake. On the way there we stopped at Joel's parents house where Joel and his dad gave me a blessing. At this point I was feeling terrible and figured that we would have to deliver the baby not only early but soon. The midwife had told me that he was probably going to have to come early but he would be okay.
Once we got to the hospital they did another ultrasound where they essentially found the same things except with their measurements he was in the 15th percentile. Next they took me into another room where they strapped me to the monitor to check the baby's heart rate. The doctor said it was okay but not as good as she wanted it to be. While the heart rate was being monitored they gave me a shot to help the baby's lungs develop in the case that he would have to come early he would be farther along. Then they looked at the baby on an ultrasound again to see three good movements from him before they would let me go.
Today we have to go back again so they can monitor his heart rate again and give me the second steroid shot for the baby's lungs. Unless things drastically increase we're going to have to go back every week for the next 9 weeks to check on him. Along with that I have a fetal kick sheet where I have to monitor the movements of the baby and write them down.
All in all I feel a lot better about things. I've realized that if he comes early it obviously wouldn't be ideal but it would be okay. He would have to be in the hospital a while but hopefully he would still be healthy and he would grow like he needs to. I'm not a fan of worrying myself to death the next 9 weeks monitoring the movements but that's better than a premature baby. I already had a freak out early this morning where I didn't feel him for a while and thought something was terribly wrong. Luckily I have Joel who calmed me down, made me eat something and lie down to count the baby's movements. I felt 10 movements in 15 minutes so everything was okay.
So there is the whole situation. Joel and I have recently tentatively decided that we will stay in Utah until the baby comes because it's probably not smart to travel back to California in this state, plus the doctors here are so nice and a much shorter drive than they would be in California. Please keep us in our prayers and especially keep praying for the little Guy.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
New Bed
When we first moved to LA we had to buy a bed because we didn't have a way to transport our old one. Not wanting to spend any more money than we had to we ended up going to an outlet type store and buying a queen bed for less than $300. It was fine at first because I'm a tummy sleeper, squashed frog more specifically, and so the hardness of the mattress didn't really bother me. Joel, being a back sleeper had a harder time. But when my pregnant belly got too big for me to sleep on my stomach it became very very uncomfortable and I would wake up with sore hips and a sore back. So recently we decided that we should start looking for a softer bed so we both could sleep better and not wake up in so much pain. Then yesterday in the Penny Saver I spotted a California King bed for sale with a pillowtop AND bed frame for just $100. We went over to see it and laid on it and it was MUCH more comfortable. So we got a friend with a truck to help us and we bought it! Last night I felt like a dwarf sleeping in this huge bed, but it was so comfy. The only problem now is we have two beds in our tiny apartment and our room is completely taken over by the thing. It's worth it though.
12 Days of Christmas
Because Joel is so sweet and precious and the best husband ever he decided to do the 12 Days of Christmas again for me this year. Last year he ended the 12 days with a Grand Slam by proposing to me so I guess he's got a lot to live up to this year. Just kidding! I was so surprised by him doing it again this year and I'm already thrilled with the gifts he's given me. He's spreading the 12 days out over 25 because we're going to Utah for so long and some of the gifts are too big to travel with.
Behold the first day of Christmas: A Winter Scene
The second day of Christmas: A sewing desk!
There is a hing on the top left of the desk that allows the top piece of wood to fold out to make room of the sewing machine and fabric. Now that I have a place to sew I just have to figure out how to thread the stinkin' machine correctly.
The third day of Christmas: A sewing cabinet!
This is my favorite so far!! It's so cute! It reminds me of a mailbox. In the card that he gave me with the gift he said he that it may look like he's encouraging me to sew but it's just that he found these cool pieces and thought I would like them, which I do and I do want to sew so maybe this will encourage me. If I don't use it for that though this cute little cabinet will house something else.
I'm excited for the rest of the days of Christmas!! Thanks Joel for being so sweet and giving! I love you!
Behold the first day of Christmas: A Winter Scene
The second day of Christmas: A sewing desk!
There is a hing on the top left of the desk that allows the top piece of wood to fold out to make room of the sewing machine and fabric. Now that I have a place to sew I just have to figure out how to thread the stinkin' machine correctly.
The third day of Christmas: A sewing cabinet!
This is my favorite so far!! It's so cute! It reminds me of a mailbox. In the card that he gave me with the gift he said he that it may look like he's encouraging me to sew but it's just that he found these cool pieces and thought I would like them, which I do and I do want to sew so maybe this will encourage me. If I don't use it for that though this cute little cabinet will house something else.
I'm excited for the rest of the days of Christmas!! Thanks Joel for being so sweet and giving! I love you!
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