Lights, Jaundice, Action!

I thought his little eyes looked a bit yellow.  He had barely passed his bilirubin screen in the hospital, so we were sent home with orders to go to the lab and have it checked again in 48 hours.

Sadly, he did not pass that test.  However, we were able to get him immediately on lights thanks to wonderful homecare, and start phototherapy.   It's a little "bed" that they lay on with UV lights to help the body process and get rid of bilirubin.  I was afraid he would scream his little head off and hate it.  Because even when they are not it in the bed, they have to use the "blanket", a little panel that you hold on their back.  But, he did fabulously.  Slept, well, like a baby haha every time he was in the bed and didn't mind the blanket at all.

Results were almost immediate.  The night before we took him for his blood test, he was awake off and on all night acting hungry, but just wouldn't eat.  He wasn't pooping very much either, so I was a little frustrated and worried at the same time.  As soon as he got on the lights, his next feeding went down without any problems.  And he made massive messy diapers.  Crazy huh??

We went back this morning for his follow up test, and thank goodness!  He passed!  He went from an 18 to a 14, which is still in the intermediate risk zone, but it's good enough he doesn't need to be on lights anymore.  We'll just need to do another check in 48 hours to make sure his body is still processing the bilirubin well enough on it's own.  Hopefully, fingers crossed, he will pass again.  He is such a little trooper, already been through a lot in his first 6 days of life.  Still, he is much more of a mellow baby than Tristan was.  We always talked about what it would be like to have a snuggly baby, hahaha and now we know.  Aramis is just going to be a chill kid probably, while his big brother is going to be the crazy kid always on the go.  It's okay, I'm glad I have one of each.  I bet they are going to get along really well; it would be a problem if they were too similar!

A Little Surprise

Celebrating our son's birth.

We'd known about Nick's trip to Florida for months.  And for months I had been teasing (half scared of it actually happening) that I would have the baby while he was gone.  "You're not going to have him while I'm gone," Nick would say.  "Oh, I bet I will," I always said back.

And funny enough......that's just what happened.

For my regular NST check on Wednesday, they noticed he was having some heart rate decelerations, monitored me for an extra hour and a half, said he was recovering well enough to let me go home.  However, they wanted me to come back on Friday and two times the following week as well.  When I told Nick about it, he said, I bet they are going to just take him on Friday.  Of course I told him that was silly, but in the back of my mind, I was thinking the same thing.

Partially in denial, partially thinking I was going to have a baby this week, I dedicated Thursday to cleaning and preparing my house.  I guess you could call it nesting, but it was more like, if my parents have to come stay at my house, I don't want them to think I am a slob.  So I got all of the laundry, dishes and vacuuming done, scooped the cat box, cleaned the kitchen, and made sure all the animals were watered and fed.  Then Tristan and I just played with his toys until bedtime, when I konked out.

Friday morning was normal, went to my regular prenatal visit with Shelly, she said everything looked great, but we talked about what had happened on Wednesday.  She said she hoped she didn't have to see me again that afternoon, but that everything would turn out fine if she did.  Then, Tristan and I went to the hospital for my repeat NST.  We stopped at the cafeteria first, and still in denial, I got myself a milk and Tristan some potato chips.  They were super full and backed up because of a bunch of add-ons, so we ended up pushing the stroller around  the hospital grounds for 45 minutes while we waited.  I figured it would make Tristan tired enough to want to just sit in his stroller and watch George while I had my test.  And luckily, I was right.

Everything was going just fine, until I had a contraction.  Baby's heart rate dropped below 90 for a full two minutes.   With my next contraction, he did something similar.  The doctor came in and said, we can't let you go home, we need to send you upstairs and deliver your baby.  Of course, my heart starts racing and I start freaking out, sorting out in my mind who to call first.  Nick of course, then my dad to come get Tristan, and my mom to come help as well.  I almost started blubbering on the phone with Nick, but kept my composure because of the nurses around.  He said he would try and switch his flight to get back as soon as possible, but to not wait for him.  My dad luckily works in Orem, so he came right down to get Tristan, and my mom, working in Riverton area was there about 45 minutes later.

We had to wait 3 hours to do the C-section because I had drunk milk, stupid me, but it went by super fast.  Nick talked to me for a lot of it, and my parents wrangled Tristan, so that was nice.  But when they came in for my epidural, I was all by myself.  I didn't want my parents there for that, they didn't need to see how awful it was, besides, they also put in the catheter right after.  Don't worry, I was a brave girl, squeezed the living daylights out of that pillow while the anesthesiologist drove a railroad spike into my back.  Then my favorite part, the numbness.  I think I've said it before, but my least least least favorite thing ever, that causes me the most anxiety, is being numb.  Probably why getting my teeth worked on freaks me out so much.

Nick called to let me know he had been able to change his flight, but he still wouldn't get there until around 1 PM the next day.  It was sad he wouldn't be there, but at least I knew he was coming.  He said we could talk as much as we needed until he got there, and I could call him as much as I wanted, and he wanted to know every detail about what was going on.

Shelly came to check on me before they wheeled me to the OR, asked if I was doing ok, and I was like, I honestly don't know, too much in shock.  But, Nick had asked my dad to be with me in the OR, and he thankfully obliged   My mom couldn't handle that part, so she stayed with Tristan.  It went by it seemed like in slow mo, taking soooo much longer than it had with Tristan.  Of course it didn't really, it just felt like it.  But I had asked the anesthesiologist to video the baby being pulled out, and he did that for me, so I got to watch it later (it was dang awesome!)  He came out screaming, which made me feel pretty good, and I waited as they stitched me up for the nurses to bring him back for me to see.

When they did, he was bubbling at his mouth and kind of struggling to breath.  As they explained that to me, I said, don't worry about it, just take him up to the NICU.  So they whisked him away, and I asked my dad to go with them.  Then, I waited for a million years as they finished sewing my gaping hole back up.  I was wide awake for my recovery, which was nice, Tristan and my mom were waiting for me, and I was sooooo happy to see them.  Tristan gave me a nice big hug, which come on, is the best medicine any mommy can ask for.  My dad took my phone when he wen to the NICU, I had asked him to call Nick and let him know what was going on.  An hour later, once I was all "recovered", the nurse wheeled me to the NICU, and I got to see my little man.

Aramis Declan Davis.   6 pounds 3 ounces, 18 inches long.  A tiny little peanut.  He was hooked up to a CPAP to help him breathe, and according to the doctor, he was doing much better.  They were going to keep him for another couple hours to make sure he was really okay, and assured me they would get him down to me as soon as they could.  Then I was taken down to mother/baby to wait.  An hour later, the doctor came to see me.  He said they had done an xray to see why his breathing hadn't improved, and discovered a pnuemothorax, air leaking into his chest cavity.

PANIC!  I called Nick to let him know.

I asked if they could tell if it was from a structural abnormality, and the doctor said no.  A lot of near-term babies have the same problem, from trying so hard to breathe, they force air out of their lungs.  The problem with that is that it makes it super hard to inflate their lungs, so it's pretty counter productive.  He said they were going to go ahead and tap the air out, and would let me know how that went.  An hour later, I still hadn't heard anything, so I called.  They had gotten 22 cc of air out of his little chest, but as a result, he was finally breathing on his own.  I called Nick to let him know everything was fine.  An hour later, they brought Aramis down to me.  And I got to hold him for the first time.  It was amazing.

The next day, I waited anxiously for Nick to get there, sending him pictures and updates.  And then, he got to hold his little boy for the first time as well.  I'm very sad for him that he didn't get to be there, but everything thankfully turned out perfectly.  Thank goodness my parents live here now, the took care of Tristan the whole time, and happily too.  They all had a great time together, and Tristan was pretty darn upset when we came home and they left.  I only stayed 3 days, I needed to go home.  Wasn't too happy about my face and feet swelling from all the pitocin they pumped me full of either.  But hey, I bet you I am one of their only patients that can get through a Csection with nothing but ibuprofen and tylenol! (ok ok, and the IV meds they start you with)

So here we are, a family of four, home, healthy and happy.  Not going to lie, that was one of the most terrifying things I have ever been through, but I discovered just how strong a woman I am!  I hurt like crazy, but holding this perfect little Tristan clone, it's all worth it.

Welcome to the world Aramis!  We love you sooo much, even if you couldn't wait just two weeks!!!

Getting ready to be cut open.......

I can't believe this is happening

Recovery

Snug as a bug

First meeting

With Papa

Sitting with daddy

Cutie pie

Holding him for the first time

Family of four!

With Nana

Our newest!

Snuggles with mommy

Daddy's little boy

Ready to go home

Proud big brother

Giving kisses

Watching baby brother

Home and Happy

NST

For the past few weeks, I have been having nonstress tests at the hospital, to monitor my fluid level and baby's heart rate.  It's for several reasons I don't really need to go into detail about, but the tests aren't the most enjoyable.  Pretty much I just lay there for half an hour to an hour while they monitor.  And laying on your back while pregnant is never fun.

Since Nick is in Florida, I got to take Tristan to this week's appointment.  I figured it would be the same half hour deal, and just stuck him in his stroller with his pale of toys.  But, it ended up going longer......a lot longer.  Whenever I had a contraction, baby's heart rate would drop, not super terrible, but enough to be concerned.  So they ended up making me stay longer, had me do an ultrasound monitoring, and then more normal monitoring for about 45 more minutes.  It was two hours total.  And poor Tristan, had to sit in his stroller the whole time.  I felt pretty bad for him, but he did great apparently.  Other kids the nurses have seen have been much worse.  He did almost break the cover off his stroller, but for being a good boy, I took him to McDonald's and got him a happy meal afterwards.

They almost had me go up to labor and delivery for a several hour monitoring session, thank goodness that didn't happen!  But I do have to start having nst's twice a week, and my next one is on Friday.  Nick is still out of town then.....poor Tristan.  I think we'll bring better toys and snacks this time.  Maybe a nurse will take pity on him and walk him around or something.

Hopefully Aramis stays put until my scheduled c-section, or at least until Nick gets home!!!

Nick's gone

So here we are, what, only like 19 days left?  And where is Nick?  That's right, out of town at a research conference.  Leaving me with Tristan and all the animals.  I will say, surprisingly, no one has been more clinging than Lilly.  She is constantly climbing all over me, trying to get ontop of my head, following me everywhere.  I drew a bath last night, and what did she do?  Got in.  Then, afterwards, soaking wet, tried to climb up on my shoulders to lick my face.  And in the night, curled up around my head and started kneading my hair purring super loud.  Who knew she loved Nick so much??

Tristan has been okay, a little upset now and then, especially in the morning when he runs out to the window immediately calling for "dada".  Saturday started out really early.  We had to take Nick to meet his professor and colleague at 3:45 AM so they could all drive up to the airport together.  But, I ended up driving because his professor wasn't even awake yet.  Luckily, they all made it safely.  But, Tristan and I had to drive all the way to SLC and back.  We took Bangerter home so we could just go slow, and ended up stopping at Walmart on the way.  There isn't anyone there that early except stockers, so I let Tristan just run around the isles for a little bit, which of course he loved.

Sunday was nice, got up early for church.  It was nice a peaceful, I just put on some church music to get ready to before getting Tristan up.  It's been awhile since I've had a nice Sunday morning.  And like always, we sat in the Relief Society room to listen to Sacrament Meeting, but Tristan was surprisingly good, and I was able to hear almost all of it, which was enjoyable as well.  He did okay in nursery, probably still a little upset by his experience last week, and ended up calling for me for most of the time.  So after church, I thought it would be nice to take him for a little drive.  We ended up going to the Timpanogos Temple.  Tristan was nice and let me take a picture of him before it started getting to windy, and I'm glad for that.  Before we move to Iowa, I'd like to get a picture of all of us, me Nick, Tristan and Aramis, so they can see where we were married.  I mean, I'm sure we'll be back to visit often because my parents live here, but it will be nice to have up on the wall of our home.

Yesterday was our day out.  We went shopping for daddy's birthday and father's day *shhhhhhhhhh!* and that was a lot of fun.  Figured now was my only time to do it because I'm having a baby in less than three weeks.  Though I am crossing my fingers it will be sooner!  The last stretch of pregnancy, to be candid, sucks.  I wake up all night long with contractions that make me have to pee.  Then I can't get back to sleep because Aramis thinks he is an olympic kick boxer   Nick said maybe we made a vampire baby, but because he inherited my bad teeth, he hasn't been able to chew his way out yet.  Just my luck, right?

So anyhoo, still got until Saturday until Nick gets home.  But I'm just going to stick around the house and take it easy, don't need to be going into labor while he isn't here.  Man, I can't wait till I'm blogging new baby pictures, that will be sooooooooooooooo lovely!

Tristan's word explosion

Bock: bike
Teet: teeth
Weeth: feet
Wock: rock and walk
My: mine
Poopoo: "just pooped/peed farted myself"
Fo: phone
Han-ahhhh: hang on
Muhmuhmuh: more
Caca: crackers
Buggie: binki, monkey
Caa: cat, car
wuck: truck
My: mine
Bah: ball
Papa: my dad
Nana: my mom, bananas
Keeee: key
Show: movie, tv
Shoes
Ooooooh
Uh-uh
Yeah
Uh-huh
Uh-oh
No no
Eeeeeewww


That happened real fast, huh???  Hopefull he keeps learning more and more just as fast!

Alien

So, funny story.

Last night, after playing a game of Lost Cities, I said something teasing at Nick (don't remember what it was, but probably insulting his intelligence or something), but he put his hand on my belly threatening to tickle me.  I guess he put a little too much pressure, because Aramis kicked his hand so hard it hurt (me, not Nick....)!  To which, Nick jerked away shrieking "EEEEWWWW!"

.........

Sure hope that's not the reaction the poor little thing gets when he's on the outside!  You think that's bad Nick?  Just be glad you aren't experiencing it from my side, hahahaha.

Free Dinner

Who am I to pass up a free dinner??

My parents invited us to come and spend Sunday evening with them and have dinner.  It's nice that they live so close to us and we can visit as often as we do.  When we got there, my dad came outside to meet us, and Tristan got so excited when he saw him.  He ran right to him, going "Papa!" and gave him a huge hug.  He was also super excited when he found Nana upstairs in the kitchen.  And poor Bear, my parents kitty, ran and hid in the bedroom almost the whole night.

Before dinner, we went outside to fly a kite, which didn't go as well as we would have liked because the wind was blowing on and off.  Eventually it crashed over the giant concrete fence outside the apartment complex and kite flying was over.  Oh well, dinner was ready anyways.  My parents also invited my sister Becky and her kids, so we all had dinner together.  Which was amazing!  It was a beef roast with potatoes and carrots, lovely old fashioned great flavors.  And what else is amazing?  My parents have a blender just like mine, so I got to have dinner with everyone else just the same!

After dinner, we all walked over to a park and played on the play ground.  Tristan was having a blast, until right before we left.  Nick let him go down the covered slide alone.  I mean, come on, how dangerous can that be?  There's no way to fall out!  However, as I was waiting at the bottom to catch him, camera on to capture the moment, he popped out backwards and upside down!  How did that happen???  It was a good thing I was able to catch him before he went headfirst into the wood chips.  He went down one more time, this time, on Nick's lap.  That went much better!  He was so tuckered out, he walked slow as a snail the whole way back.

Once we got back to my parents, we just sat and relaxed, had brownies, and watched a movie.  Tristan was so tired on the way home, he hardly made a peep and went right to sleep when we put him down.

Sundays are great, but they are even better when you get to spend them with family!

Happy Birthday Tristan!

Two years ago today, we were blessed with a beautiful baby boy.  We named him Tristan.  He was cut out of me like a tumor.  Haha, just kidding........well, technically.......

I can't believe it has been two years already.  And I can't believe how much he has grown and changed and turned from a tiny baby into a sweet little boy.  He really is very sweet, going around all day giving hugs and kisses to his stuffed kitties.  He's starting to talk more, learn more and be much more interactive, especially with strangers.....

Today, he woke up super early.  But, it was okay, he got to have Fruity Pebbles for breakfast and then played with toys and the animals all morning until his nap.  During his nap, I made a little tiny cake so he could brow out candles later.  When Nick got home from work, we went to GoodWood Bar-B-Que so Tristan could have a tasty cheeseburger (pretty much his favorite next to fries).  He ate about half of the burger and a bunch of fries and then kept whining for my rootbeer.  And flirting with the waitress, which of course she played right into.  It was cute.

Great Grammy had sent him some birthday money, so we took him to the store to get him a present from her and from us.  We picked him a tricycle, and then got him a slide from Grammy.  My dad had come over yesterday and given him a waddling duck toy, and he also got a Cars lunch pale from Uncle Will.  I'd say he made out pretty well!  He wasn't too happy when we put him down to bed tonight, he was having way too much fun going up and down the slide.

He also got a package from Nana and grandpa Roger, super hero themed!  So now he's got a couple of cute T-shirts with capes attached that look adorable and some new toys to play with as well.  Aunt Michelle's birthday gift was a leap pad learning tablet thingy, which has been great as well because he is starting to learn some more words with it.

Happy Birthday Sweet Tristan!  Mommy and Daddy are so happy to have you and love you lots and lots!

Strolling the duck

Breakfast Time!

Birthday Scowl

Happy little family

Ooh cake!

Blowing out the candles

Going down the slide

Figuring out the pedals

Birthday box from Will and Emily

Reading Nana's popup card

Displaying super hero people

Facebook posts

I posted an article this morning about a little boy shooting his little sister to death, commenting that our country needs better gun control.  Most people who commented said gun control would not have at all prevented this from happening.

While I didn't say it would have prevented THIS particular instance, I do believe it could prevent similar instances.  You can't really assess for instances like this one until they happen, however, we can have better education and regulation in the future to help.

I believe people need to be governed.  I also believe people should be allowed certain freedoms.  I do not believe all people are created equally.

Now before you call me a communist, let me explain.  Everyone is born with different talents, different abilities, different mental capacities.  Does it then make sense to treat them all equally?  Probably not.  People with Down Syndrome require special care very different than someone born without Down Syndrome.  People who are born blind can in no way drive a car.  I'm not talking about a person's individual worth, if you want to get religious.  I'm talking about their ability to function in a society.

In the issue of gun regulation, while I don't agree with EVERY proposed idea currently, I do agree that there needs to be some regulation when it comes to who we allow to own a gun.  In the case of the parents of the 5 year old who shot his sister, I would not want them for neighbors.  Because they are allowed to own a gun, same as me, however, while I would keep my gun in a safe, they leave theirs in the living room.  Should someone that irresponsible be allowed to own a gun?  Probably not.  That woman who's son murdered all those school children, her son had access to her guns.  Should she have been allowed to own them?

You can't regulate everything, I understand that.  Accidents can and still happen.  However, a lot of what has been going on lately in regards to gun use hasn't exactly been accidental.  It is people, mentally unstable, using guns to do harm, not protect anything.  Do I know the perfect way to keep guns out of their hands?  No, but am I opposed to finding a solution?  Of course not!  The Constitution of the United States was written by imperfect people, without a sound understanding of human mental capacity, in a time of war (a lot of whom owned slaves, so we can't say their understanding of ethics was very sound either.....).  Just because it is written on a piece of 300 year old paper that all American's have the "right" to bear arms, doesn't mean it is valid today.  Today when more mentally unstable people survive to adulthood than probably did then.  And I don't think people who are just unstable shouldn't be allowed to own guns, I think there should be a complete competency exam enforced in order to be a gun owner.  It makes me think of that episode of "House", where a respectable businessman was actually a crazy lunatic with a whole arsenal of guns in his basement.  Which apparently is completely legal.

What had happened was our government was looking for a way to respond to gun related mass murder problems.  These proposed gun regulations, imperfect as they are, needing to be refined perhaps, are the result of too many instances or violent murder, which has caused unnecessary fear in the American public.  I don't think government officials are sitting in Washington, diabolically scheming "oh yes, first we will take away their guns, then we will turn them into mindless zombie drones simply to do our evil bidding".  Like I said, times are different now than when the Constitution was written.  Violence isn't for self defense, it's for pleasure.  So tell me, does anyone really need to own an automatic weapon?  And do we really want just anyone to be able to be able to have a gun, merely because they can shoot it?  Sure, just make them take a gun safety course, so they can be more precise when they shoot you.  There probably should be a little more than that.  Just because we regulate who can own a gun (which I think should be a privilege because of it's dangerous and serious nature, not just a right), doesn't mean we are sacrificing freedom.

The problem with facebook is that anyone can comment on what you post.  I'm not very quick to take offence, like some other people.  I'm not offended by other people's opinions, but I will stand by mine.  I do however hate when people pull up stupid examples, with nothing to do with the issue being discussed.  Like a couch or playground being just as dangerous as a gun, that's just ridiculous.  Or how more people are killed with knifes.  And duh, drunk drivers kill people.  If I wanted to talk about better ways to regulate alcohol consumption and driving, I would have been talking about that.  But no, I was talking about gun regulation.  And I'm sure the Nazis told the Jews not to worry as they were burning them alive in concentration camps.  So if you want to make a point, you may want to elaborate on what you mean, not just say you are not trying to cause offence while comparing me to Adolf Hitler.  And don't tell me I don't understand my rights because my opinions are different than yours  Like I said, it's a good thing I'm not very quick to take offence.

Anyhoo, since apparently I am the only person in my immediate family to think the way I do, I'm going to just keep my opinions to myself when it comes to them.  Not worth them hating me I guess.