From the Hospital

One more Scott addendum because LB foolishly gave me her username and password and now I can add things anytime I want. But this will be the last time because I have relevant information. I thought everyone would want to know his size. He measured in at 21in and 7lb 3oz. He weighs less than Ada did (7lbs 11oz)! And she still only weighs 23lbs. Poor guy is destined to be a horse jockey.
-Scott

Hey everyone, it's Laura Beth. I am taking back over my blog.

I read the post below, and for the record I did not ask Scott to say anything about my water breaking or mucous plugs--I apologize for that information. I am sure none of you wanted to hear that:)

First things first. Little John is doing GREAT. He is so strong and healthy other than the fact that he just got too excited about finally being born that he took too big of a breath:) Truly, he is doing wonderful. The little hole in his lungs is gone based on the most recent x-ray, and tomorrow, if things stay the same, they will take out the tube that is currently in his chest. Once the tube is out for a day, he can come home. Woo-hoo.

As much as the doctor has assured me throughout this entire process that everything is going to be just fine, you can imagine how emotional it's been. You just don't want your baby wisked away to the NICU right after his birth. Add the fact that I am exhausted, hormonal, and once again, pumping rather than nursing, well I have cried a few tears;) But...for the most part I am doing great as well.

And last night, I decided to make the best of a bad situation, and I slept all night long. I won't do that again, as I am now pumping at John's bedside and immediately giving him that magical colostrum through a bottle (tears over that), so I will be downstairs in NICU every three hours tonight. And tomorrow, hopefully, I will finally be able to nurse him. For those of you who understand my sentiments towards breastfeeding, please join me in praying that he will latch on like he never even saw the bottle. Other than his lung being 100% healed (which it is well on its way), my next main prayer right now is that all of this will not stop John from nursing. I know that the Lord is in control of this little man's life, and he certainly knows the health benefits of breast milk, so I am (trying) to trust Him with this. At times I have complete peace, and at other times I don't have peace at all;) You know how that goes.

I did get to hold John for a brief second after he was born, and as soon as that tube is out, I can hold him again. I am dying to get him in my arms.

Labor itself was wonderful, as most of you read below. We got here at 4 am ish, and I was in quite a bit of pain. But as soon as that epidural was in, things were much, much better. John's contractions were much worse than Ada's. I am in awe of women who do this without an epidural. My epidural was also different in that I felt much more of the birth than I did with Ada's. I truly thought that I was going to have John before the doctor came because of the intense pressure I was feeling in my entire lower region including my legs. I was holding on to the side of the bed, wondering if the doctor would ever get there. But once we started pushing, I only pushed through 4 or 5 contractions, and John was here. What a glorious thing to see that baby for the first time. And he reminds me so much of Ada when she was born. They are not identical, of course, but you can certainly tell they are siblings.

And his hair. Ya'll, he has a head full of dark, dark hair. What in the world? No little red-headed boy for us, unless it falls out and comes back red. I was actually born with dark hair, so it could happen to him too.

What else do I want to tell ya'll? Thank you for all the comments, friends. I feel like little John is so loved already. And of course, please continue to pray for complete healing of that little lung. I can't wait to show you pictures. I am so proud of my little man. He was a little bug eyed and swollen when he came out (do any brand new babies really look that great?), but he is looking better now;).

I am sorry if anyone called and I have not responded. Scott accidentally left the hospital with my phone yesterday, so I have been away from my phone for 24 hours. Do you see a pattern in my life? I always have some sort of trouble with my phone.

I will continue to update as we learn more about how John is doing. For now, I am going to get some rest.

UPDATED x9: John's coming...

Hello LB's readers,

This is Scott, LB's husband. We are at the hospital and LB is numb from the waist down, so she wanted me to update everyone. Her mom has already done one update this morning if you want to go check it. But you should also check out my blog . I haven't updated yet and probably won't for a while, but there is various other hilarious content for you to peruse while waiting to hear about John.

-Scott

UPDATE: I've decided to just update here when there is something new. For example, this is the first update because I should have mentioned that she had dilated 4cm.

UPDATEx2: LB's water broke. I have already heard to phrase mucous plug too much today and it is only 830. LB wanted me to be sure to add that it broke on its own, like she is proud of it or something.

UPDATEx3: LB's new nurse is British and her accent is awesome. Every time she leaves the room LB says "I love her." It may be the epidural talking, she seems to love things a lot more since getting that.

UPDATEx4: Yes, Amanda, that was a shameless plug. I did tell LB when she asked me to do this that I wasn't used to writing for an audience this large, so I wasn't promising anything.

UPDATEDx5: It's 10:15. The doctor just checked and she is 9.5cm and they said that will start pushing in about an hour.

UPDATEDx6: Hen, we came in on Friday night/Saturday morning at 3am after not sleeping that night and neither of us have slept since yesterday morning. I'm not on top of my game enough to compete with those two. Plus, I don't have a donkey so I don't stand a chance against BP.

UPDATEDx7: The nurse just told us that since LB's water broken on its on, we don't have to pay for the tool they use to break it for her. The nurse said in 2002 when hers was done, that tool cost $14, so given inflation and LB's proficient use of coupons, we probably just saved a week's worth of groceries. Sweet.

UPDATEDx8: It's getting close, y'all. I'm starting to get butterflies, my stomach is churning, there is a constant lump in my throat and my hands are freezing. I think this will be the last update until he is here.

UPDATEDx9: Ok, sorry for taking so long to update. I'm working on 37hrs of no sleep and 11hrs of no eating. LB is in pretty much the same state except for birthing a human today, which from what I can gather, is quite taxing. LB is doing well. We had a slight setback with John though. He suffered a pneumothorax, which is extra air in the chest cavity due a hole in his lung. It was scary for us but not as bad as it sounds. He wasn't born with the hole there, but did it to himself. Basically he took an overzealous first breath when switching over from breathing fluids to breathing air and popped his own lung. The air is seeping out of that hole and forcing things to go where they're not suppose in his chest. That's about as scientific as I can get and I don't even know if that is totally correct, I kind of just wanted to use the word seeping. The docs were saying it's pretty common, but when they were taking him to a special treatment area and putting one of those face mask type deals on his head to help him breathe, that did not make me feel better. They were saying it probably happens a lot more than we know about, they just don't catch it. I thought when they said that it wasn't really helping their case or making me feel any better. Anyway, the good news is, barring any infections he should be good to go within a 3-5 days because God crazy smart and made lungs so that they can repair themselve. They also said that there should be no long lasting effects, once its healed it, its healed. Of course anything could happen so we greatly desire your prays.

Right now John is hanging out in the NICU looking all handsome and suave even with a mini greenhouse over his head. LB is at the hospital with her sister Sarah. And I'm at home with my parents, sister, and LB's mom. I'm not sure what is going on downstairs though because I am in bed hoping to put an end to this 37 hour non sleep marathon. Also, as I just mentioned it has been a while since I have slept so there is a slight chance everything I just wrote doesn't make sense. If that is the case, my bad. I don't feel like going back and proofreading it all. I'm sure LB will be back soon with her eloquent well manicured prose to clear everything up. Good night.

One last update, and then I am not reporting anything until it's the real deal

Okay...so let me tell you about my day yesterday. It was a long one.

On Friday, starting about 11 am, in Target, I began to have regular contractions--you know, 5-10 minutes apart, 1 minute long, etc. etc. They weren't super uncomfortable or anything, so I just continued on with my day, praying that they wouldn't stop. I was in Target for a while, and I still had to go to Publix and Kroger and even CVS. And the contractions continued. At 4:00 ish, I finally finished all of my grocery shopping, and I started some cleaning projects around the house. Again, I was scared to stop for fear the contractions would stop, and they were becoming more uncomfortable. I was having to stop every once in a while, catch my breath, etc. etc. So... Scott and I went to Chili's as planned, and the contractions were less intense, but they never stopped all during dinner. In fact, I couldn't really enjoy my dinner because I was thinking about the contractions.

So...after dinner we had to go back to Target, and at this point, the contractions started to intensify. Walking across the store seemed impossible. So...we finished up there, ran one more errand at Publix and headed home. I was fairly uncomfortable at this point and tired, so I decided to go to bed early, thinking I might need my rest later. Sure enough, at midnight, I woke up again, the contractions stronger than they had been. I went downstairs, and Scott and I began to time them. They were coming very regularly, so I called the doctor, and we decided to get ready to go to the hospital just in case. I took a shower, got my stuff together, and then I decided to lie back down just to make sure they were the real thing. As soon we lay down, Scott was falling asleep, but the contractions started getting worse, so I told Scott I thought it was time. We loaded up and headed up I-75.

So...we check into the hospital, they check me, and I am only 1 1/2 centimeters. DISCOURAGEMENT!! But, naturally, I think, alright, pack it up, we're headed back home. Well, the nurse goes to talk to the doctor, and they decide to keep me for observation because Ada was rather quick to arrive for a first pregnancy. Lying down at the hospital, however, my contractions came to an abrupt stop. I walked for a couple of hours, hoping to get things going again, and the nurse told me that the doctor would be in to see me at 7 am. (This was at 5ish, I think). This story is a long one, so I will make it quick--we did not see a doctor until 10 am--going on 7 hours after we got to the hospital. This was after my nurse talked me into an induction. I didn't want to be induced because I didn't think my body was ready, the nurse told me all these great reasons why I was a prime candidate for induction, I called my mom and Ann, discussed it with Scott, discussed it with the nurse, and we decided that I would go ahead with the induction, and everyone prepared to make their way to ATL for John's birth. I was praying a lot and nervous about how things would go, but the nurse was very convincing. And every time I said, "let's just wait to hear what the doctor says," she would reply, "I know what the doctor is going to say." WRONG--7 hours after I got there, a midwife comes in (a mistake on their part because I am supposed to see doctors) and tells me they are sending me home. You can imagine that I was a bit emotional at this point. I am still confused about why they didn't send me home as soon as they checked me and saw that I was only 1.5 centimeters. But, no, 7 hours later, after no sleep, we headed back to the house. I was emotionally and physically exhausted, and I was (and am) convinced that John has decided to permanently make his home in my womb.

So...I am changing my thinking. They will not let me go 10 days beyond my due date, so we know that this baby will be here by February 20th. Until then, I am getting my mind on other things. Emotionally, I can't take the waiting. I think I thought that he would come around the same time as Ada, as did the doctors, but now, I have decided it will be a while.

In fact, mom and Sarah are headed back home, and only when I am overcome with so much pain that I can not stand it, or my water breaks, will I head back to the hospital. For the time being we are carrying on with life as normal, and I am going to try to blog about things other than this pregnancy.

And that is what is going on with us.

(p.s. the doctor did give me some ambien--the same thing they gave me when I was pregnant with Ada--and I got a wonderful night's sleep as a result)

Still Waiting

Nothing to report.

I didn't feel so great today. I stayed on the couch for most of the day, which I hoped somehow meant that labor was about to kick in to high gear. So far, it hasn't.

I am dying to see little Ada. She and mom are headed this way on Saturday unless something happens tonight or tomorrow. (I'm not counting on it).

I went to bible study tonight, which helped to get my mind off of the waiting and onto some truth. Like God is in control of this thing called labor, and I am not.

I have my coupons ready for a grocery run tomorrow. Still trying to stock the freezer and pantry for easy meal preps over the next month or two.

What else? What else?

Oh, I think Scott and I might go out to dinner tomorrow night. Nothing fancy; probably Chili's, because we love it and it's not too expensive and we never go there (or any other restaurant really). But I am just as excited about a Chili's meal as I used to be about our "fancy" dates in midtown when we were newlyweds.

And that's what is happening here.

What a Day: Again, it's long, bear with me.

Okay, let me start with a quick update on what is going on in our world.

Yesterday mom and I were talking on the phone, and in a spur of the moment, whirlwind decision, mom met me a few exits above Atlanta to pick up Ada and take her to Scottsboro. We decided this would be best for everyone under the circumstances. Ada was excited, and it will allow me to rest and wait this labor out without worrying about getting Ada situated in the process. If nothing happens in the next several days, mom will head back this way with Ada in tow. Hormonally, I am not all together, so I have been a bit emotional about the Ada separation, but I know it really is the most practical solution. And Ada isn't worried about it. Just me.

In other pregnancy news...there is no news. I went to the doctor again today, and I was 1.5 centimeters. Woo-hoo...another half a centimeter (note sarcasm). I do think I am rather effaced, which I assume those of you who care, know what that means, and those of you who don't care, would rather me not explain. I think it's better to be effaced than dilated, right? I also scheduled appointments for the next two weeks. If I have to go to my doctor's appointment on the 16th (my due date is the 10th), it will not be pretty.

Okay, so I left the doctor a bit worn out and discouraged and grumbling to the Lord about how it felt like John would never get here despite the never-ending stop/start contractions. I also grumbled a bit to mom and then Ann on the phone. And even Scott and my college bff, Amy Speakman. I thought I might even cry a few tears of frustration, but they never came.

Well, I noticed about halfway home that my gas light came on, but I thought I had plenty of time to make it to the house without stopping because all I really wanted was to get home and into something comfortable. I was wrong.

About five minutes from my house, I ran out of gas. Completely out of gas.

So, I coasted to the side of the road, and I called Scott--at this point a few tears were falling.

Technically, I was close enough to walk home, and maybe if I had, then I would have gone into labor finally, but I didn't think I should just leave the car there, and I didn't think my body would hold out for that long of a walk. So Scott said to stay put, and he was on the way.

Well, the next thing I know, a policeman is pulling over and walking up to the car. I explained my situation, and he told me he would drive me to the QT down the road, so that I could get some gas. So, there I go, 39 weeks pregnant, climbing into the back of this police car. No joke. I laughed as I got in and said, "I've never ridden in a police car before."

Ya'll, it was a bit humiliating to pull up to that QT in the back of the police car. And then when I tried to get out, I realized you can't let yourself out, that would probably defeat the purpose, right?

Anyway, we got the gasoline, he drove me back to my car, and Scott came home anyway because I think he thought I might be an emotional wreck. And honestly, I was laughing instead of crying by the time he got here. After that, I climbed into bed and slept for two hours, and now I am anxiously waiting for the season premiere of Lost. Get excited!!!

On a completely separate note, I did want to show you a few pictures of John's room. I took most of these this evening, so excuse the lighting and picture quality. I repeat--we have been given so much.

My mom did the pictures hanging above John's bed. I love them. I actually bought the bed and bedding back when I was first pregnant with Ada. They were on clearance at Target, and I jumped the gun, thinking they were neutral enough, and I bought them. When I found out that Ada was a girl, I realized that I wanted her room to be very girly, so the bed and bedding have been at mom's since then. The glider was Ann's through all of her newborns, and mom (UPDATE: Mary Ann also bought this for me!!! I am so sorry, Mary Ann, if you read this before the update. Please forgive my absentmindedness. I know that you also bought it for me) bought it from her and gave it to me. It is a nice glider, and mom's plan is to continue to pass it around to all the sisters. I am so thankful to have it because I didn't have a comfy glider with Ada. I gave that up when I decided to redecorate her entire room:)The changing table was Ada's. I bought it off Craigslist for 25.00 when we moved into this house. She didn't have room for a changing table in our apartment. The little duck was a gift at the work baby shower, and Ada loves it. I don't think John will even get to use it. Ada hugs it, talks to it, and lounges in it. She also puts her baby doll in it and drags it around. Tutti was getting rid of the chests of drawers you see above, and we gladly took them off her hands. Thank you, Tutti!! I want to purchase a mirror to hang over those. I also want to buy some really cute Animal wall cards from Land of Nod, but that will all come in time. His room is a work in progress for now.The diapers, oh the diapers. Above you see just the size one diapers that we have been given. His changing table is stocked with newborn diapers, and below are boxes of size 2s and 3s. Really, I am overwhelmed by the generosity. My family gave me a baby shower, Scott's family gave me a surprise baby shower, Tutti and Jessica gave me a baby shower, and Scott's work gave me a baby shower. We have not bought anything for this little guy.And the clothes. Ann has given me all of Andrew's old stuff, and we have also been given several new things and other hand-me-downs. I have several precious Feltman Brothers outfits that I can't wait to put on him despite Scott's protests.

We are ready for this little guy, if my body will just do it's thing.

Yet another update. Warning: It's Long.

I have hesitated to blog about labor for a few days because sometimes I feel crazy saying, well, I have been having contractions all week long. And, to be honest with you, I believe it's real labor. I think this is how my body does labor. It's incredibly stop-start, but it makes for a fast and easy (with an epidural) labor when it comes time to actually go to the hospital and began stage two.

I have been talking to my mom and Ann quite often over the past two weeks as I believed at various times that it just might be the "real thing," and Ann kept telling me about a term--prodromal labor--so yesterday, when I was contracting yet again, I decided to google the term and see what it was all about. It described me to a T. It's what I did with Ada, and it's what I am doing now. Have you heard of it? Basically, it's when a woman labors over a course of weeks rather than in one big chunk of hours. So instead of 24-48 hours of intense labor, I have stop-start labor for about three weeks beforehand, sometimes stopping for days at a time. Again, the good news is, this usually means a short period of time once I am actually at the hospital. Ada came strangely fast for a first born, so I anticipate the same with John, unless of course something goes wrong, which is always a possibility. Another characteristic of prodromal labor is lots of lost sleep, which happened with Ada. When I arrived at the hospital to have Ada, I was going on maybe four hours of sleep over a course of two nights and days. So...this time I am really concentrating on getting as much rest as possible.


Everyone says that the true test of "real labor," is to lie down, completely relaxed, and if the contractions continue to come and get stronger, then it's the real deal.


Last night, I thought it was the real deal. I made it through the dinner/bath time/ bed time hour with no contractions. That was a first for this week. The rest of the week I had fairly intense contractions during the bedtime process, but then they stopped when I was finally able to sit down and relax. Last night, it was when I sat down on the couch that the contractions began. I told Scott that I was going to lie down for a while to see if they would stop, and they would not. I then called my mom to see if she was snowed in because I had heard that North Alabama was the recipient of some crazy weather yesterday, and I told her I would call her in an hour if the contractions continued. They did continue, but they never increased in intensity, so I decided to try to sleep. And I did sleep for most of the night. Every two hours or so, I would wake up and the contractions would still be coming, but again, the intensity had not increased. I woke up at 5 am, with some fairly strong contractions, so I moved back downstairs, and then at about 7:30 this morning, Scott let me go back to bed, and I slept solidly for three hours. It was Heaven.

I thought that once I got going with the day, the contractions would intensify, but they really haven't. They continue, but nothing is increasing in intensity, so I continue to wait. Basically, I feel achey and uncomfortable, but that is it. I do have a few things on my to-do list--clean the bathrooms again, clean out the pantry and freezer, dust a few pieces of furniture, etc. etc.--so I will just continue on with those things. Anything involving physical activity increases the contractions, but then I sit down and they go back to just dull, achey contractions, so it's not really getting me anywhere. I am a bit frustrated and tired. Can you tell?

Anyway, for the very few of you that might still be reading this post, I have a question, having nothing to do with labor. Do you have a good recipe for chicken spaghetti? I don't have chicken broth or white wine, so is there a recipe that doesn't call for those ingredients? I really don't want to go back to the grocery store because I have already spent my allotted grocery money for the week. Can you help me? I want to make the spaghetti Wednesday or Thursday night (unless, of course, things "crank up").

Part of my nesting seems to be wanting comfort food recipes. I have been trying different biscuit recipes, searching for just the right combo of ingredients to taste like my mom's, and I think I am about to make a cupcake recipe from the most recent Southern Living. I am craving good, full fat;) food. Scott is loving it.

Stone Soup

Last night Ada and I read the book "Stone Soup," so today, soup is cooking in the kitchen. I am reading the book, For The Children's Sake, which spends much time emphasizing the need for children to read real books, not "twaddle," as Charlotte Mason calls those pointless books. She claims that if the adult doesn't enjoying reading the book, then the child probably shouldn't be reading it. Good books can be enjoyed by people of all ages. Does this mean that I am putting Elmo away for good? Of course not. But I do want to make sure that real books are mixed in.

So...we are working on that, and Ada's attention span is increasing. What I do is I mix all the books in together. The Elmo books are there alongside the classics, and I give Ada the freedom to choose which ones to read. Some days are Elmo days, and some days she chooses the meatier ones. Last night she chose "Stone Soup" for the first time, and she was able to sit through it. I was surprised. I don't think she understood a lot of it, but again, based on the book that I am reading, that is okay. The book talks about reading to children without forcing them to "get" certain things. She says that a five year old and a two year old can listen to the same book and walk away with different things, and that is a good thing. In fact, two different five year olds will get different things out of books, and that is also a good thing. Children lose interest when we try to force the facts. Our job? To give them real literature, and then let them do with it what they will.

Anyway, those are just some things I am thinking about as Ada gets older, and I become more interested in her "education."

Again, I ask, what are your favorite "real" children's books? I loved Velveteen Rabbit. Wasn't that a great one?