Finally, a new post!

Can you believe it? I'm posting!!! Sorry it has taken me so long. I am starting to feel better and spending most of my days at the hospital. I want to try (don't hold me to it) and post just about every day. I want to share the story - so much went on and I know that not all of you got the full story and then also put updates. I'll break the story into little pieces so that you don't have to spend 2 hours reading it.

Jacob update: he is doing good. He looks sooooo good. He is 2lbs and 11oz. His nurse today said that he is the smallest one in level 2 nicu (that is where he will go home from - they don't have a level 1, odd) and the only reason why he is there is that he is doing so well medically. We had a rough day today and I didn't get to hold him as much as normal. He was just a little bit agitated. I think it is because I got there an hour later than normal...he is his mother's child. They are going to start increasing his feedings. He is fed through a tube through his nose (the part of his brain that tells him how to suck isn't developed yet and will take another 2-3 weeks). They feed him 3 milliliters every 3 hours and will be increasing that 1 milliliter every 9 hours. He is our beautiful baby boy!

Mommy update: I'm feeling pretty good. I stay on my pain medicine, but am starting to be able to go longer between pills. I'm very emotional and cry a lot. Today I'm having a rough day and am overwhelmed with how long it will be before I get to bring my baby boy home so I've had lots of tears. Everyone says I am looking smaller. I lost 17lbs in a week! That is how much water I was retaining and I still have some to lose. What a great diet! I walk everywhere now and don't need a wheelchair for the hospital anymore. I'm slow, but I make it!

Jacob's Story Part 1: The story really started before last Tuesday. The first complication I had was swelling in my hands and numbness in my fingers. I wore a brace at night that helped with the pain, but there was nothing we could do for the numbness and it would only go away with delivery.

Just when I was getting used to that, I started to itch. I itched and itched and itched. Mostly at night. I think that started 4 weeks before he was born, but I don't remember. My feet also began to swell and swell. At some point they tested me for preclampsia (don't know if I spelled that correct). I had spots in my vision one night (12/03) and I went to the hospital. They checked on the results of my preclampsia test and it was negative and they sent me home.

I seemed to be doing OK, still itching, but doing OK.

Monday night (12/10) I had a really bad night. I was so itchy and irritated and felt like I was going to jump out of my skin. I didn't sleep at all. I called the doctor that Tuesday and they worked me in. They ordered more tests and thought I might have something wrong with my gallbladder and that would be causing the itching. If that was the case, then they could give me another medicine (I was already on one that wasn't working) and I should be good to go. The only problem was that it took 7 days to get the results back. So, that Wednesday I went and got my blood drawn for that test and waited.

The next Monday (12/17) they called and said the results were back in and were positive and that the doctor wanted me to come in so that they could go over everything. I made an appointment for 9:40 Tuesday morning (12/18). I was excited because finally we had a reason for my itching and they could fix it.

Meanwhile, my feet were continuing to swell and my ankles were huge and (sorry it I gross you out) my urine had started to get really dark, but I was drinking a ton and my trips to the bathroom were not increasing that much....to be continued.

I'll post more pictures later as I get further along in the story. Here is Jacob's first picture ever. Here he is only a couple of hours old!

Jacob's 30 week update

Jacob had his theatre debut this weekend. He played baby Jesus in the womb. He wasn't too nervous. He did well and slept through just about the entire thing.

This is how he is growing:

Did you know your baby is nearly three pounds now?


His head is getting larger to accommodate a period of rapid brain growth. Don't forget to continue to "teach" your baby in the womb by exposing to music, literature, and simply talking to him.

A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds him. As he grows and fills your uterus, the amount of amniotic fluid will decrease. Funny, you certainly won't feel any lighter!


He spends more and more time practicing opening and closing eyelids. His eyes can move from side to side, following a light source. He may even reach out to touch the light.

Early lanugo is beginning to disappear that served to protect your baby's skin from the water in the womb. Your little one's own hair may begin to appear.


Toenails are entering their final growth stage.

Bone marrow is now in charge of red blood cell production. These red blood cells will continue to service your child's body by transporting oxygen and removing the wastes (carbon monoxide and other gases).


Your baby has the capability now to produce tears -- yes, within the womb.

By the end of this week, your baby is now 15.7 inches long and weighs 2.91 pounds.

Update

My feet and my ankles are HUGE! I really need to take a picture and post it for you to see. It is too funny.

Pray for us as we have a big Christmas production tonight. Adam and I have several roles in it. It will be a blast. I have been running so hard this week and am wiped, so I'm going home early to rest before we have to be at the church. It should be fun and impacting! I cannot wait!

I leave you with these thoughts . . .

Amazingly Simple Home Remedies:

1. If you are choking on an ice cube , simply pour a cup of boiling water down your throat. Presto! The blockage will instantly remove itself.
2. Avoid cutting yourself slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop.
3. For high blood pressure sufferers: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer.
4. A mouse trap placed on top of your alarm clock will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.
5. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you will be afraid to cough.
6. You only need two tools in life - WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape

Remember: Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

Cousins

Look at Jacob's cute cousins waiting to play with him!

Logan and Noah Butschek

(He does have another cute cousin, Reece, not pictured here)

Video Fun

This is a long video, but so worth it. The best part is at the end. Enjoy!

Jacob is 29 weeks today!

Your baby's head is in proportion with body now. He appears more like a newborn each and every day!

Fat continues to accumulate under the skin -- only now preparing for entering the *real world*.

Your baby's brain can control primitive breathing and body temperatures.

His eyes can move in their sockets. Soon he will be able to follow a blinking light.

Your baby is increasingly sensitive to changes in light, sound, taste, and smell! Various studies show that your baby may indicate preferences (or disdain) for particular tastes or odors at this stage.

He is also moving from side to side, but probably still is head up. In the next few weeks, he will move to the head down birthing position. At times you may feel as if he is performing somersaults for a circus act!

His length is now approximately 15.2 inches and weight is 2.54 pounds.

How many legs?

Well, thanks to the 3 of you who posted your guess. Here is the answer:

Problem: There are 7 girls on a bus. Each girl has 7 backpacks. In each backpack, there are 7 big cats. For every big cat there are 7 little cats.

Question: How many legs are there in the bus?

Answer: 10,990 LEGS
7 Girls x 2 Legs = 14 Legs
7 Girls x 7 Backpacks = 49 Backpacks x 7 Big Cats = 343 Big Cats x 4 Legs = 1,372 Legs
343 Big Cats x 7 Little Cats = 2,401 Little Cats x 4 Legs = 9,604 Legs
14 Legs + 1,372 Legs + 9,604 Legs = 10,990 TOTAL LEGS!

Stay tuned....I have the BEST video in the world to post shortly!

Sometimes I remind myself that I am a blonde . . .

. . . and I wonder if blondes should be allowed to be pregnant - it might not be in the best interest of the baby.

When I left the hospital Monday night, they told me to drink 10 glasses of water a day. I thought, holy cow that is a lot, but I decided that I was going to do it. I set a reminder on my computer at work to go off every hour and thought if I downed one an hour I would be able to pull it off. I started Tuesday and by noon I had downed 4 water bottles. I went to lunch and felt funny. I felt like I was swimming. It was if I didn't have room in my stomach for lunch because it was full of water. I then started to think - something I should have done that morning - they wanted me to drink 10 GLASSES of water and I think that that means 10 8oz glasses of water. I called Adam who confirmed my thinking and it was then that I realized that I have finished off 80oz of water before lunch - that is how much I was supposed to drink that entire day! No wonder I felt like I was swimming - I really was swimming!

Update on Jacob: he is doing well. The doctor checked on him yesterday and his heart rate is good. My belly is measuring 28cm and it is supposed to measure 1cm per week +/- 2 (so that means it is just perfect). He is starting to become more active and that is so much fun!

Update on Mommy: well, I have been awake since 2am (so, if any of this doesn't make sense you understand why). I hadn't been sleeping at all and then I slept GREAT Monday and Tuesday night, but then last night it was back to the itching and the tossing and turning. The only thing I can figure is that on Monday and Tuesday I had no caffeine. So today I experiment - no caffeine and we'll see how I sleep. Hopefully that is the reason and I can go back to sleeping. So, I have been feeling better, but today I just feel weird and really tired. But still so happy to be an almost mom!

Are you smarter than a 5th grader?

I'm not. I needed help to figure this out. See what you come up with.

I think I fixed the comments so you can leave your answer as a comment and I'll post the winner next week.

Problem: There are 7 girls on a bus. Each girl has 7 backpacks. In each backpack, there are 7 big cats. For every big cat there are 7 little cats.

Question: How many legs are there in the bus?

Jacob is 7 months old.

Eyebrows and eyelashes are now very noticeable!
Hair on baby's head is growing longer. Some babies are born with almost none at all, while others appear to be ready for their first haircut!
Eyes are completely formed now. Quite a view from inside!
Your baby's body is getting plump and rounded. Most of that increase is muscle tissue and bone. Fat will be added during the third trimester.
Muscle tone is improving. Preparation for the Olympics feels like it is taking place in your womb!
Lungs are capable of breathing now (but baby would still struggle and require medical attention if born now)
Talk to your baby often, reading stories, singing songs and more. He or she can recognize your voice now and will often calm to it later on!
Your baby weighs in now at 2.2 pounds and is 14.8 inches.

Jacob and Mommy Update

As some of you heard, I went to the hospital early last night (around 6pm). Everything is fine and I'm feeling better. I have had (and still have) a TON of swelling (my ankles have disappeared and my fingers are numb from the swelling in my hands) and my blood pressure has been border line lately. At my last doctor's appointment they ordered some test to be run just to make sure everything was OK.

When I was fixing dinner I got a spot in my vision and then it got blurry. It was really weird. I thought I had something in my contact, but after washing it 5 times and then taking them out, it still hadn't gone away and I started to get a head ache.

When this happens, they like for you to go in and get everything checked out just to make sure. Adam, of course, was in Clermont so I called Stacy - my cousin who is a labor and delivery nurse - and she picked me up and we headed to Florida Hospital South where we were met by my mom and sister and soon Adam (My family couldn't stay away. Micah wanted to come, but had homework. He told my mom to call if anything was wrong and he would come right away. There wasn't anything for them to do - Mom and Juli ended up going to get some food. Just a lot of waiting on the tests).

My blood pressure was higher than they like (the top number was sticking around 141 to 138 - and they like it to be at 110, I think), but Jacob's heart rate was good and my reflexes were good (I don't know what that has to do with anything, but since I was so swollen it was a good thing). They took 3 vials of blood to test and were able to get the results from the other tests that I just had run and everything looked good. They sent me home and I have to go to the doctor's office for a follow-up visit tomorrow.

I'm glad everything checked out ok. I wish I could have done that from home, but you never know and I'm glad I went in. It was good to listen to Jacob's heartbeat for over an hour. It is just too cute. We were home by 9pm. I slept really good (which was a HUGE blessing since I have been getting 3-4 hours of sleep per night the past 3 nights) and I'm feeling pretty good today. I'm tired, but a good kind of tired. I think I'll sleep well tonight and Jacob and I decided no more trips to the hospital until he is ready to come out!

84 days until we meet him!

Potty Stop: a 3-year-old tells all from his mother's rest-room stall.

My little guy, Cade, is quite a talker. He loves to communicate and does it quite well. He talks to people constantly, whether we're in the library, the grocery store or at a drive-thru window. People often comment on how clearly he speaks for a just-turned-3-year-old. And you never have to ask him to turn up the volume. It's always fully cranked. There've been several embarrassing times that I've wished the meaning of his words would have been masked by a not-so-audible voice, but never have I wished this more than last week at Costco. Halfway, through our shopping trip, nature called, so I took Cade with me into the rest-room. If you'd been one of the ladies in the rest-room that evening, this is what you would have heard coming from the second to the last stall:

'Mommy, are you gonna go potty? Oh! Why are you putting toiwet paper on the potty, Mommy? Oh! You gonna sit down on da toiwet paper now? Mommy, what are you doing? Mommy, are you gonna go stinkies on the potty?' At this point I started mentally counting how many women had been in the bathroom when I walked in. Several stalls were full ... 4? 5? Maybe we could wait until they all left before I had to make my debut out of this stall and reveal my identity. Cade continued, 'Mommy, you ARE going stinkies aren't you? Oh, dats a good girl, Mommy! Are you gonna get some candy for going stinkies on the potty? Let me see doze stinkies, Mommy! Oh .. Mommy! I'm trying to see in dere. Oh! I see dem. Dat is a very good girl, Mommy. You are gonna get some candy!' I heard a few faint chuckles coming from the stalls on either side of me. Where is a screaming newborn when you need her? Good grief. This was really getting embarrassing. I was definitely waiting a long time before exiting.

Trying to divert him, I said, 'Why don't you look in Mommy's purse and see if you can find some candy we'll both have some!' ' No, I'm trying to see doze more stinkies. Oh! Mommy!' He started to gag at this point. 'Uh oh, Mommy. I fink I'm gonna frow up. Mommy, doze stinkies are making me frow up!! Dat is so gross!!' As the gags became louder, so did the chuckles outside my stall. quickly flushed the toilet in hopes of changing the subject. I began to reason with myself: OK. There are four other toilets. If I count four flushes, I can be reasonably assured that those who overheard this embarrassing monologue will be long gone. 'Mommy! Would you get off the potty, now? I want you to be done going stinkies! Get up! Get up!' He grunted as he tried to pull me off. Now I could hear full-blown laughter. I bent down to count the feet outside my door. 'Oh, are you wooking under dere, Mommy? You wooking under da door? What were you wooking at, Mommy? You wooking at the wady's feet?' More laughter. I stood inside the locked door and tried to assess the situation. 'Mommy, it's time to wash our hands, now. We have to go out now, Mommy.' He started pounding on the door. 'Mommy, don't you want to wash your hands? I want to go out!!' I saw that my 'wait 'em out' plan was unraveling.

I sheepishly opened the door, and found standing outside my stall, twenty to thirty ladies crowded around the stall, all smiling and starting to applaud. My first thought was complete embarrassment, then I thought, 'Where's the fine print on the 'motherhood contract' where I signed away every bit of my dignity and privacy?' But as my little boy gave me a big, cheeky grin while he rubbed bubbly soap between his chubby little hands, I thought, I'd sign it all away again, just to be known as Mommy to this little fellow.