Thanksgiving

Just to give you all a quick update on Sawyer. His first doctor's appointment was on Monday. He weighed in at 6 lbs, but considering he was 5lbs 15ozs when we brought him home our Dr. said we need to fatten him up! Trust me, I am working on it. We were able to get rid of the biliblanket the day after we came home. His bili went from 12.4 to 7.0 and our Dr. said his color was great. Other than needing to gain a little weight, he is doing great! Marcus and I were just wondering if he is always going to be this easy, if so, Marcus says we are having 15...I told him more like 3. This babe eats about every three hours and at night is really easy to get back to sleep. During the day he is up and willing to chill in his bouncy seat and just look around. Of course, he gets plenty of holding from mom. Hard to resist the little guy! On Monday at his appointment I was given a prescription to help stimulate my milk production. It has been pretty slow going, which is beyond frustrating. I am barely keeping up and basically only able to get enough to supply his current feedings with nothing to freeze for later. I am sure it will get better, or at least that is what Marcus keeps telling me. We stopped into the Dr.'s yesterday to get another weight and good news, we have gained a few ounces. He currently is at 6lbs 3ozs and everyone at my Dr.'s is smitten with him! Well, while Sawyer is being his usual rock-star self, I seem to not be finished! Wednesday night while cleaning up the kitchen a little, (I made a mess making pies!) I noticed a few drops of something here and there. Turns out my incision from my c-section was draining. Off to acute care we went. Turns out my my incision is infected. I was given a shot of antibiotic in the butt, a written prescription for another antibiotic, and told to sit with a heating pad 3 times a day for about 15/20 mins to continue to allow it to drain. I was told to consult with my Dr. on Friday to see if there is anything else they would like me to do. Ugh...what a pain, however since this is Thanksgiving and a Thanksgiving post here is what I am thankful for. I am thankful to not be spending this holiday on bed rest in the hospital but rather to be spending it with my family. I am thankful for the most wonderful, loving, willing to pick up my slack, handle my crazy emotional post pregnancy persona husband in the world. Don't know how I would do it without him. I am thankful for all the family I will not be spending the holiday with, but are still the best family! I am thankful for my besties and that they are the other loves of my life. I am thankful to have them and their families as my extended family. I am thankful for all the people unable to spend this holiday with their families because they are allowing me to spend the holiday with mine. I am thankful for an amazing Dr. and his staff and wish them all the happiest of Thanksgivings! I hope this finds everyone well and for those traveling have save travels. I hope everyone has a very Happy Thanksgiving and I will continue to keep you updated!
Love,
Jo

Sawyer Kirk Hunter

Our little man just couldn't wait to join this world and to meet all his family and friends. Sunday night, 11/13/2011 at about 8:30pm I went to the bathroom and was having some bleeding. It wasn't much but told the nurse and they hooked me up to the monitors to watch. Baby as usual was being is rockstar self and I wasn't having any contractions. However I did start to have some cramping. When I say cramping, I mean cramping. I seriously have never had such painful cramping in my entire life. All I could think about was if this is what labor was going to be like there was no way I was going to make it through without pain meds! The bleeding and the cramping continued to intensify so at about 9:30 I called Marcus to let him know that it was getting worse. I tried to tell him that is was nothing and to stay home, but it was probably a good thing he didn't listen to me! My doctor was called and so was the prenatal doc. At about 10:30 the prenatal doc stopped in and saw the amount of bleeding and decided it was time to go. Because of the amount of bleeding a vaginal delivery was out of the question and it was time to do a c-section. Let me tell you, when this decision is made, things move super quickly. I had a bunch of nurses start working on getting me prepared. IV's were being put in, forms being signed, etc. Marcus got to wear this awesome jump suit and you should have seen how excited he was! My doctor was on his way in as well to do the c-section with the prenatal doc. Once in the OR, I was given something called a spinal. This is a shot of numbing stuff that basically numbs you from the chest down and it takes affect immediately. Before the shot was all the way done my feet were numb. I was given some oxygen just to help me breath. The also monitor my pulse and blood pressure through the whole thing. The actual surgery took only a matter of minutes. Marcus said from the time he entered the room to the time the baby was out, it was like 7 minutes. He said it was one of the craziest things he has ever seen! As the mother, you of course don't get to see the surgery, not sure I would have wanted to! I could feel them moving around and some pressure when pulling the baby out, but no pain. Oh man, when he came out he screamed and screamed which was what we all wanted to hear considering the main concern was his lungs! To everyone's relief, lungs were at a 100%, his blood sugar was great, and he was completely healthy! Sawyer Kirk Hunter was born at 12:18am on 11/14/2011. He weighed in at 6 lbs 6 ozs and was 19 1/4 inches long and I am sort of partial but he was perfect! Because he was born by c-section I didn't get to hold him until I was completely stitched back up. This process takes the longest, seemed to be about a half hour. Marcus however got to cut the cord and hold him while I was being stitched up so I got to sit and stare at my little wonder the whole time! He definitely was telling us all about his journey and continued to squawk the whole time. The doctors and everyone were certainly happy to hear it though. After I was stitched back up, we went to recovery to spend a couple of hours and make sure everything was good before heading to our room. Having never had major surgery before I could not believe how sore I was. Each day gets better, but getting up and down is somewhat of a struggle and I don't move very quickly. Sounds like we are heading home on Thursday the 17th. Currently the little guy is a little jaundice and is on a billi blanket. We are hoping the billi blanket gets to stay at the hospital and not have to come home, but I will take it. Better than being in the ICU! Most important thing is that we had a healthy precious little boy that we get the pleasure of introducing to all our family and friends. Some he has already met and I think they are just as smitten by him as his mom and dad! Can't wait for those who haven't gotten the chance to meet him to meet him. I will continue to keep you update!
JO

Well here is what I have been up to recently. As most of you know I was put on bed rest on Nov. 2nd. Well, on Monday the 7th I went to the bathroom at 12:30am and had more bleeding. Went to the hospital and was monitored and given a shot to stop contractions. Was released and sent home around 2:30am. I woke up at 5:30am to more bleeding. I called the triage area and because the bleeding had stopped and I wasn't really having any contractions they said if I was comfortable to just lay low and call my doctor when the clinic opened. So I called my clinic at 7:30am. My doctor's day off is Tuesdays but the nurses got a hold of him and he said as long as the bleeding had stopped, I wasn't having any contractions, and the baby was moving good I was okay to stay home. Well, I went to the bathroom at 9:30am and was bleeding again. So Marcus came home from work and off to the hospital we went. Again I was monitored however was not really having any contractions so wasn't given a shot. At this point they decided to check me in for the night. My doctor stopped up on Tuesday night to check on me and said the prenatel doctor would be up in the morning. Spoke to the prenatel and he at this point recommended that I stay until I deliver however if I have anymore bleeding they are going to simply induce me than. We decided to do an anmio to see how the little guys lungs were developing to see if it was worth just inducing. Well his lungs were not mature enough to induce. They like to see 50 and baby H's were at 22.2. At this point I have been given a round of steriod shots to help the lungs mature more quickly. Currently, if I stay incident free, basically no bleeding, they are going to induce me at 37 weeks. Which would be the 17th. They are inducing mainly to put an end to my numerous trips to the hospital for bleeding. 37 weeks is no longer considered pre-term and the lungs will/should be developed enough at this point to avoid the ICU. The steriods take effect immediately and they like to deliver within 48 hours to 2 weeks of having the shots. If I have bleeding before then, they are going to induce and if I happen to go into labor on my own, they are not going to stop it. As scary as it is to imagine that I am going to have a child in less than a week, I certainly was relieved to find out I was not going to be in the hospital until Dec. 8th. Not sure I would have survived that. My child is truely a hunter considering he has decided opening deer is the best time to make his arrival! Guess he just wants to go hunting with daddy that bad! Not going to lie, sitting in the hospital doing nothing is pretty boring and stressful at the same time. I am a pretty big worrier and I get to sit here and stress over all the things that need to be done before I come home with a little one. Marcus is rather happy I am in the hospital because I am not allowed to do any of the things that I would be doing at home but I try to tell him this is more stressful than me actually cleaning a toliet! For now anyway we are just hanging around wondering when this one will make his apperance. I will do my best to keep you all updated as I learn more, but the next post could certainly be to intruduce the little man to you all!
JO

Bed Rest

My finger crossing did not go so good. Yesterday, I head to lunch with a coworker and as we were walking into the restaurant I could just feel it was coming. I went to the restroom and sure enough, bleeding. So I called Marcus and had my coworker take me home. Marcus got home and I called the clinic and my doctor's nurse said to go ahead and go to the hospital. Did I ever mention how tired I am of going to the hospital. I think I knew in the back of my mind what the bleeding signified, but I was going to keep my hopes up. Once we were at the hospital we were taken to the labor triage area and again hooked up to the monitors. Baby was still rocking like usual and I was having some contractions. Saw the OB on call, who was the same OB from last Tuesday. She did a speculum exam and checked me and at this point I am dilated to a 1. They gave me a shot to stop the contractions. They had been talking to my doctor as well and I was sent home around 5 with bed rest orders. Not just for the rest of the week, but sounds like the rest of the pregnancy. Not going to lie, it took a lot to hold back the tears in the hospital cause heaven forbid the nurses see me cry! I am upset for two reasons, first I was really excited to get back to work. I don't feel sick or am in pain so I hate being at home when I could be doing something more useful. Second, because I am now on bed rest, I am lucky enough to have this time paid, it does however shorten the amount of time I get to spend at home after the baby is born. I pretty much will get to spend the 6 weeks and then return to work. It just would have been nice to have a little more time to get routines discovered, his and my own, and send him off to daycare a little older than a month and a half. That would be of course if I make it to my due date. My friends and husband are convinced I am going to be having a November baby instead of a December baby. My only hope is that it does not fall on opening deer or my poor child will virtually never have a birthday party! So, for now, I am taking it easy and trying to keep myself occupied for the next how many weeks. I suppose it will be completely different once I actually have a baby to occupy me! I go to the doctor on Monday so I will surely keep you updated if anything changes but considering last time he told me if anymore bleeding I was done, I am pretty sure this is it. 
Jo

Fingers Crossed

Let's try this again! Had an appointment today at 8am and after a very boring week at home, I have been told I am good to return to work. However, if I have anymore bleeding, that is the sign and will be done working for the remainder of my pregnancy. So at this point I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will be incident free for the next 5 weeks. I will continue going weekly to the doctor and doing the non stress tests twice a week at this point. I am still having a few contractions, but my doctor said this is expected and I will probably have them throughout the rest of my pregnancy. Once again, none of this has seemed to phase the baby, which I am hoping is a good sign that not much will phase him when he comes out! That is about it for baby news, of course stay posted because things seem to change in an instance with this kid! In other news, I am seriously contemplating my Bronco fandom. I am not really contemplating this because I just am too set in my ways to change, but could we be any worse?!? Even the teams that have 0 wins have looked better than us. Needless to say, Tebow was not the answer and I think it is time to give the Notre Dame boy a shot! Congrats to all the Viking fans for pulling an upset, however this derailed me a little on my pick'em league. Lot of season left so hopefully I will make up some ground! Birthday season has officially kicked off with both nephew Mason turning the big 3 and niece Avery turning the big 4! With that being said, I bid October goodbye and welcome November! I am excited for what the next few weeks hold!
Jo

Eventful

Well, just when I thought everything was going good, the child of mine decides it is time for another couple trips to the hospital. Marcus and I are getting very familiar with the ins and outs of Sanford. We had baby class on Saturday, so we spent the entire day at Sanford. Got some great information and took a tour, some of which we were familiar with! Sunday night, went to the bathroom and was bleeding again. Good news, not near as much as it had been previously, but since it was enough off to the hospital again. Was given an IV of fluids and monitored for a while and back home. I already had an appointment with my doctor on Monday morning at 7:30 so since the bleeding had pretty much stopped again we got to go home. My appointment went good, and I was told to relax on Monday to make sure the bleeding was not going to come back but I could go back to work on Tuesday. Since I was monitored Sunday night, which basically is the non stress test, I didn't need to do another one yesterday morning. So, once again I am all excited to go back to work, and my kid has other plans. Tuesday morning at about 4, I woke up with cramping. It wasn't major cramping, but enough to keep me from sleeping. There was no bleeding when going to the bathroom so I figured that is a plus, but still decided to call. Didn't want it to be a sign that the bleeding was going to return. I called the clinic this morning and they told me I better go in. Once again, Marcus and I made the fantastic trip to the hospital. Good news, we are pros at navigating around! Turns out my cramping was contractions. Not the Braxton Hicks but some regular contractions. I was seen by the resident OB on call and again I am not dilated at all, cervix is completely closed. I was given a shot to stop the contractions and my doctor was notified. He asked that a urine sample be taken, which was fine since I had to go to the bathroom anyway. In my sample there was blood and something else, but basically it came back to I have an infection of some sort. So we hung out a little longer while more tests were ran and it seems I have a urinary tract infection. Even though I have not had the usual symptoms for this, I guess it can be common in pregnancy. This is to be believed what caused my contractions or pre-term labor. The cause for the bleeding is still unknown. Through all this, baby H has been just fine. Heartbeat is great and he is a moving like crazy which is all good! He is however, going to be grounded for like the first 10 years of his life, only kidding! At this point I am at home and have been told no work for the rest of the week. This really bums me out for two reasons. Daytime TV stinks and I really love my job. I hate the fact that I do not get to contribute and that others need to pick up my slack for me not being there. I know there is not much I can do about it, but I still don't have to like it. The dog however, will completely eat this up. So for now, I will be doing as little as possible and trying to relax. Hopefully everything will be cleared up by Monday and I will be free and clear for the remaining 5 weeks of this pregnancy. All in all though, I am not going to complain too much, and I would totally do it all again!
Jo

So Far So Good

Went to the doctor today, and so far everything is good. The bleeding at this point has disappeared completely and the non stress tests continue to be good. My doctor said that if my next one this week shows good and my first one from next week shows good, then I will only have to do them once a week, which means I will combine my weekly appointments with him and the tests. Baby is moving like crazy and seems to have flipped again and is currently head down, which is a good thing. Marcus and I were talking and really hoped he would flip to head down before delivery so that we can experience the whole delivery thing. Weird, I know. Hopefully he will keep his little head down. I have been told that he will really start gaining the weight these next couple of months, so even though I feel I am as big as a house, I get to get bigger! Other exciting news, our friends had their baby boy, and our other friends are pregnant again! It is a babies world, they just let us live in it! Boomer, our first child in the form of a big black lab, has shown that he will take to maternity leave very well. Marcus and I will be just hanging out, watching TV on the couch and he will decided it is time for a nap, in bed. Apparently the floor is not comfortable enough for him! Hoping to get some pictures of this lazy pooch and the nursery, which I am happy to report is almost done, up soon! I might actually be somewhat prepared for this kid...then again...most likely not! Until next time!
Jo