MOVED MY BLOG!

Sorry it has been so long! I have decided to create a new blog, you can find it HERE.

Drop by, check it out and say hello!

Short and sweet blog entry!

The onesie says it all!

My boys! The best picture in the whole world!

Chaz here!

Good evening blog readers. It is almost my bedtime so I will have to make it quick, I just wanted to let everyone know we are still here! Me, mommy, daddy and Turbo have been having a busy few months and have not been able to blog but we miss everyone and are working on getting back to regular blogging.

Mommy now has internet at home and is hoping that that will make it easier!

It's dinner time then I am off for a bath and a good story.... isn't that the life? I leave you with this.....

RRRAAAWWWRRRRRR!

Our baby is 3 months old!

As of yesterday that is.

He is officially a double digit baby weighing just over 10lbs. It's hard to believe he has come this far after being born a tiny 4lb9oz!

In just the last few weeks has rounded a total corner. He has discovered his hands and insists on putting them in his mouth every chance he gets and he will 'talk' your ear off if you let him.

Brett and I (as well as the rest of the family) get so much joy out of this tiny little person it is amazing. Just hearing his name puts the biggest smile on my face.

Here is my big boy yesterday. Yay for being 3 months old!

He looks like a little man! Haha.

These are from this morning when he woke up from his sleep over with Granny! Can you tell he likes his bumbo!?

My Birth Story.

I know, finally right?! It may be late but here it is.

Well lets start out with Friday February 6th.

I was having a "needy" day for some reason so Brett agreed that we would go home, make dinner and spend the rest of the evening just laying in bed together like we use to. No TV, no Playstation, nothing but good old quality time with each other. We talked about everything under the sun, we joked and laughed, we really just enjoyed being alone (we figured we wont get a lot of that once the baby came).

Around 1am I figured I should get some sleep, we had a busy weekend ahead of us. We had our birthing class and hospital tour the following morning at 9am and then my maternity photo shoot on Sunday.

I woke up to the worst cramping feeling EVER at about 5:30am. This may be a bit TMI but it was the kind of feeling you get when you really need to poop but times 100! So I stumbled to restroom and sat with NOTHING for a good 10 minutes (another TMI) meanwhile the cramping was still there as well as the worst back pain I have ever experienced in my whole life. After not being able to have a successful poop I pulled my pjs back on and sat on the end of the tub hoping that it would all pass. I decided to grab one of my MANY pregnancy books and keep myself entertained because I knew there was no way I could go back to sleep until this pain went away. I read everything I could find on contractions and early labor. I couldn't decide if I was psyching myself out or I was actually experiencing contractions. The more I read the stronger and more frequent the cramps seemed to get. I didn't have a way to time the cramps so I would just count in my head, they would last for about a minute and the dissipate for a couple of minutes. It eventually got to the point where I could not breath and was literally on my hands and knees on the bathroom floor in tears.

I finally came out of denial and figured that something was going on other than I just needed to poo, I just wasn't sure what so I decided to call my Dr. (thank god for her emergency line). I honestly don't think my Dr. even comprehended who she was talking to as she calmly told me that I could go to Labor and Delivery and get checked or if I could tolerate it she would recommend me staying home because if I am not progressing they will most likely send me home. There is no way Kathy would have told me this if she had realized who she was talking to and that I was only 34weeks along.... at least I hope not.

At this point I figured I should wake Brett up. I think back now and I should have gone about this part waaaay different. I am seriously surprised I didn't give him a heart attack. It was pitch black in our room as I shook his shoulder, it took a couple shakes until I finally got any sort of response out of him. Just the sound of his sleepy voice sent me over the edge and I broke down to a full out cry as I not so calmly at all sobbed "I think we need to go to the hospital!" I have never seen Brett move so fast in his life. He practically jumped out of bed as I explained what the last 30minutes had consisted of. We quickly got dressed, brushed our teeth and put Turbo into his kennel.

Brett did such a good job of attempting to calm me down. Did it work? No. But he put a whole lot of effort into it and I am glad he was calm because I sure in the hell wasn't. As we drove the drive that seemed to last 3 hours when actually it was only about 10 minutes, the contractions got significantly worse. I was kicking the floor of the car, screaming profanities and arching my back exorcist style. Dramatic right?! Would you expect anything less of me? Haha Brett was still doing such a good job at calming me down. He would calmly rub my leg and say "just breath babe" and I would respond with "I CAAAANNNN'T, SHIT!!!" The funniest part was that when I was not having a contraction I would be just fine, crackin' jokes and being my usual wacky self but OH BOY the second one hit it was like night and day and I was ready to do some serious damage to anyone or anything that got in my way. I would be something along the lines of .... 'Hey at least we will already be at the hospital for the birthing cla.....OH SHIIIIT, DRIVE FASTER NOOOOOOOOW!'

We finally made it to labor and delivery around 6:30, where my mom met us as I checked in. In all honesty I wanted to reach over the counter and choke the nurse at the check-in as she looked at me thinking I was over exaggerating and that I was probably just experiencing braxton hicks. They took their sweet time getting a room ready as I paced back and forth in the waiting room.

FINALLY, a room was ready. I was asked to undress and give a urine sample. I don't know if it was the nerves but I could not for the life of me give a urine sample. I was told that was fine and they would just get one a little later (ha little did we know Chaz had different plans for later). I was hooked up to the monitors and right away felt great as I heard our little mans heart beating away. The nurse said that I was definitely experiencing contractions (no shit?) and that I would be receiving a shot to stop the contractions and sent home to rest. Before I could receive the shot my cervix was to be checked, now keep in mind 2 days prior at my regular appointment I was not progressing at all and everything looked just as it should at 34 weeks. I will never forget the look on the nurses face and the words that came out of her mouth as she checked me. "Wow, you are dilated to a 5...... Rachel, you are having this baby today!"

This is the point at which I came completely undone. I burst into tears repeating "No, it's too early, he isn't ready." I was immediately wheeled to a delivery room as I prayed to God not to let me lose another baby. The nurse explained to Brett and I that the chances of a baby surviving at 34 weeks is GREAT and although he may need to spend some time in the NICU he should do wonderful.

Once I had embraced the fact that my son was coming whether I liked it or not I was able to calm down a bit and breath through the contractions until I received my epidural. My epidural was placed around 9:15am and I was in pure heaven at that point. I was checked again and was dilated to a 7. I was told that due to the fact that our little guy would need to go directly to the NICU I would be delivering in the operating room. I had always imagined both my mom and Brett being by my side during the delivery but was told that only one person can be in the operating room with me. We did however convince them to let my mom wait behind a window just outside of the operating room.

I honestly don't remember being nervous as the wheeled me to the OR. I had complete trust in Dr. and her staff. I did explain to Kathy though that I had no idea what to do or expect since I wasn't able to attend my class at 9, LOL. We did a couple quick practice pushes and then it was time for the real thing. I was so glad I had Brett at my side because for some reason or another he was the only voice I could hear. I was focused completely on Brett and was depending on him to get me through this. Kathy performed a small episiotomy to avoid applying too much pressure to Chazs head. Right as I was crowning I was told to push with everything I had and with that one big push out came my little boy. Chaz Christopher was born at 10:01 am on February 7, 2009 4lbs 9oz. His tiny little body was placed on my chest while Brett cut the cord and with that he was whisked away to the NICU. I was in such amazement and could not believe my son was here already. I squeezed Bretts hand as hard and I could as we both smiled from ear to ear crying tears of joy.

After I delivered the placenta and received my stitches I was wheeled back to the delivery room where ALL of my family waited. Of course everyone was in shock at how fast it had all happened, as were Brett and I. The room exploded in conversation but in the craziness of it all I tuned everyone out and longed to holding my little boy. I couldn't even remember what he looked like. It had all happened so fast. I wanted to see my baby dammit. I was told that as soon as I had the feeling back in my legs I would be able to go the NICU to see my little man.

I knew my little boy was a champ when the nurse told me that he was doing great and that he was needing no assistance in breathing or eating! :)

The time it took for my epidural to wear off seemed like a lifetime. I couldn't take it anymore and told the nurse that my legs were feeling fine (I lied) and I was ready to see my baby. Brett and I were taken to the NICU and I cannot even begin to explain what I felt when I laid my eyes on my little miracle. I have never felt so much joy or love in my whole life. I honestly fell in love with Brett all over again as I watched him carefully pick up his son as tears came to his eyes. That is when I knew that my life was complete.

Postpartum Check-up

I finally had my postpartum checkup today, after 3 reschedules. For the most part things look good. I have been having some stomach pain for the last couple of weeks so I am being sent to get an u/s done on my gallbladder. I guess it is extremely common for women to need to have their gallbladder removed after pregnancy. I never would have guessed.

Brett and I decided on the Mirena IUD for birth control. I was on the Depo shot before getting pregnant and did not do well on it AT ALL. I am not very good at remembering to take vitamins daily therefor I don't dare go on the pill so the IUD seemed to be the best option for us since I am breastfeeding and my options are limited.

OMG was that painful. I obviously don't have great pain tolerance (yeah I am a sissy). I am glad it is done though. The exciting part of the appointment was when I passed out. Ok it really wasn't exciting or fun. I am not sure what exactly happened but I do know that I am glad that Brett was able to go with me since he is the only thing that came between me and the hard floor. Leave it to me to make a simple appointment dramatic!

CHAZ

Chaz is doing wonderful! He is such a great baby, I couldn't ask for more. He is starting to get such a little personality. I am loving that he is staying awake and alert more during the day. I can't get enough of him, sometimes I find myself just staring at him. I am in love!

He is sleeping good for the most part. We usually give him his 9 o'clock bottle (formula, we are supplementing to get his weight up) and he sleeps till about 2am then we breastfeed and he is good till 6 or 7. We are planning to move him to his crib sometime in the near future. :( I am excited to have the 'romance' part of our room back but also sad that I won't be so close to my baby. I still find myself waking up and making sure he is still breathing.

Now for your viewing pleasure!

Our big boy is 1 month old today!

Happy one month birthday Chazo!!

We are still alive, I promise.

I have been a horrible blogger! :(

Just a little update....

Chaz been has home with mom, dad and Turbo for almost 3 weeks now! He is doing awesome!
He is eating like a champ and as of Tuesday he weighs 5lbs. Yay for our little chubber. I know I know, you are probably saying "5lbs? That isn't a chubber at all" but to us it is! haha

I think I have passed sleep deprived and am now onto zombie. He really isn't a horrible sleeper and usually only wakes up twice a night but it is the fact that I have a hard time going back to sleep once I lay him down again.

Turbo loooves his little brother. I do think that he is feeling a little neglected because he isn't getting our attention 24/7 anymore but he is adjusting well. He is so protective of him. The second that Chaz wakes up and cries Turbo runs to him, sits down and looks at me like "help him, now". It is sooo cute and I am glad he is doing so good with him. I will say that I was a bit worried at first because Turbo is such a big boy for just being a puppy but I am so proud of him. He is a great big brother!

All in all we are loving our little guy and can't get enough of him! Him and mom have a blast all day :) I really need to get better and snapping pictures of him because he is growing so fast and he always has picture perfect moments.

Prayers and positive thoughts for Chaz!

We found out earlier today that 3 of the babies in the NICU have come down with NEC (necrotizing enterocolitis). It is an infection of the intestines. One has been sent to primary childrens to have surgery it was so severe. The two others have been put on antibiotics and they seem to have caught it early.

The worst part is that the 3 that have it were in the same nursing unit as Chaz. Chaz is the only one that was in that unit that does not have it. All of the other babies (the ones that were not in that unit) have been moved to a whole different section of the NICU. Chaz has to stay in the area with the two that do have it just in case. They have ran tests and so far have found no evidence that links the 3 cases to each other which means it was most likely not something transfered from one baby to another, just a coincedence (sp?) that those 3 got it at the same time. But they are keeping Chaz in that area just incase they find something that does link the 3 cases because they don't want to expose the other "healthy" babies.

The part that upsets me the most is that they knew about this last night when we went to his evening feeding and they didn't tell us. We knew something was up because they were moving all of the babies and cleaning the whole area from top to bottom. We asked but we were told the babies were being moved due to staffing issues. The regular pedi (the one that has been there since Chaz was born was the on call pedi not the regular pedi) was there this morning and explained everything to us. I feel a bit better because he seems very sincere in keeping us updated and answering any questions we have, where as the other pedi was trying to hide things from us.

We had some tests ran on Chaz and so far everything seems fine. He has no signs of the infection and all his tests and x-rays came back clean. Please say a little prayer or keep him in your thoughts that he stay infection free and he can get the hell out of that joint soon. :) I have been an absolute mess today. Not only do I want my baby home where he belongs but I can't eat or sleep knowing that my babe could get this infection.

In other news he is eating WONDERFULLY! :) At his last 4 feedings he has eaten 35 to 40 (they upped his minimum to 35) all on his own and hasnt needed to be fed through the tube. I hope he keeps it up and is released soon.

Our little man is here! Surprise!

Chaz Christopher was born February 7, 2009 at 10:01AM, 5 weeks and 2 days early!

He is just a little guy at 4lbs 9oz and 17inches long.

Our little champ is still in the NICU but we are hoping not for much longer. He is maintaining his temp. perfectly and breathing on his own. The pedi would like to see him eat 30 cc's every 3 hours. He can usually take about 20 on his own and then tires out. Whatever is left of the 30 is then tube fed to him. As soon has he is able to take the full 30 on his own he should be good to come home.

Keep our little guy in your thoughts and prayers. We can't wait till he gets to come home with his mommy and daddy!

He truly is perfect in every way! Brett and I are both so in love it is unbelievable.

I will try to post a birth story soon and update with more info and pictures. Thanks for every ones support!