Last summer:
June
Gabriel turned one at a party just for him at the zoo. All of both of our families were there, some extended family, and friends. Even Bubba and a very-pregnant, contracting Claire made it for a few minutes before they had to go back to the hospital where they would eventually stop Claire's contractions.
We also took the opportunity with all of the family together to announce that we were expecting another baby. After Gabriel's cake non-eating mess, Trent and I took him to the bathroom and changed his outfit. When we came back, I asked my friend Jen Kaler to hold him for a minute and while her husband Andy caught the message on his shirt right away, it took a minute for Jen to see the "Big Brother" on his shirt. Cute moment, although the rest of the family *kinda already knew*.
Sunset beach was as I remembered. Trent had never been, so this was a first for both him and Gabriel. I could only stay for the first week due to work, but we had a great week. Gabriel started eating (we went 3 days early with my mom and emmi) when Grammi introduced him to some new foods - you know, what every baby on a g-tube eats - calamari, she-crab soup, steak, spaghetti, and yes - gum. He also got his first tooth at the beach! and loved the sand and surf. I also have a specific memory of Gabriel being such a good little sleeper - he wasn't able to crawl yet and both of the playpens went to Luci & Levi, so we rigged up a crib for him in the closet :)
Almost the whole family made it this year.... Bubba and Claire were missed at the beach, but they were a little busy having my little niece Ella - a little "firecracker" on July 4th, who is quickly becoming a heart-grabber and such a cute little personality at 8 months old!
Fall 2012
Every day things happened in the fall - work, kids, marriage, family, friends. Although our socialization was limited, we tend to gravitate toward other couples with kids, because they really "understand". Jami & Josh Cecil actually welcomed their 4th child, Lincoln, in August, so we all feel more "normal" when we are together. We have dinner with them fairly often, and for a while Trent and I seemed to be in fight each and every time we had plans with the Cecils... but we never cancelled, because after an evening of "counseling", things were always much better. *Marrital bliss.*
During the work week, Alicia would come and watch Gabriel - a lifesaver at the very least. She was always on time, came to our house, worked with Gabriel and most of all, loved him like only an aunt can. We are so blessed that she was our nanny for this school year, and will be un-replaceable when she starts her Physician Assistant program this coming May.
In September, Gabriel and I went to New Mexico with my mom to watch Emmi play volleyball. Gabriel seems to really thrive on vacation (I know, who doesn't)... I'm not sure if it is the time away or the one-on-one time, but he did REALLY well again on that trip. On the plane he woo-ed all the fellow passengers with peek-a-boo, eye flitting, and bright smiles until he fell asleep and napped. He was borderline angelic... sickening for all those moms whose kids are a nightmare on planes. Other highlights of the trip - Gabriel started to pull up and "cruise" after learning to crawl only three weeks before. He was also "almost" eaten by a lioness (she seriously tried to get him through the glass) at the El Paso Zoo. But he mostly just loved hanging with Grammi, auntie Em and her pal Jordann, who Gabriel was basically gaga over (well who wouldn't be- she's gorgeous). Gabriel's very first boo boo (of many to come) also came at the expense of a very watchful Grammi, who was more traumatized at the bump than the child himself!
I love the Fall. This is not a new revelation for those that know me, but it's really a great time of year. This season has been good to me - I got married in the fall, passed my boards, it's volleyball & football season....The temperature hasn't gone frigid, but the leaves are changing and its "sweatshirt" weather at night. Whats not to love? There's so much to do outside; pumpkin patches, bike riding, family walks, swinging at the park, I could go on. I just love fall.
Here are the stories of Fall 2012 in pictures:
November 2012
In terms of November - Gabriel was not only walking....he started running...away from us. He loves to play and laugh, but doesn't love the giant playpen we made the living room into....complete with gates and total babyproofing.
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| photo taken by Sarah-Beth Photography |
Changing gears here.....
I feel total and complete guilt for not posting for an entire year. I am ashamed of myself for not documenting (in writing) Gabriel's life, our marriage, our extended family's growth, ups/downs, highs/lows... not to mention Stella. Who's Stella? Our daughter. Right about the time I stopped writing last year, we found out we were having another baby. While it wasn't exactly a suprise or a plan, we were happy but anxious about what this second pregnancy would be (considering the first one wasn't exactly sympatico). There were special considerations along the way - more ultrasounds, checking of the cervix (yuck) and progesterone (p17) shots. Lets just talk about these shots. Starting at week 17, they were once-a-week shots until 37 weeks (that's right - 20 shots) in the rear that could be given at the office or to a "nurse-educated" family member.... Translation - one little lesson for Trent and he can shoot me up every week with this very viscous, s.l.o.w. injection. At first I was able to see the bigger picture - while the progesterone didn't guarantee a full term pregnancy, it has been shown to protect pregnancies in mothers with previous PPROM. So each time Trent would wield the needle I would shove my face in a pillow and remember this was so my baby didn't have to go through what Gabriel had to endure. But as time went on, I dreaded Wednesday (shot-day) more and more. I even went to the extreme one week of accusing Trent of hurting me on purpose because we were in a fight when he gave me the shot (it DID bleed more than any other shot). At the end, I hated those shots, but there is a *chance* they helped Stella, so it was all worth it.
Back to the girl of the hour. A baby girl was Trent's dream after Gabriel. To have a girl - sweet, innocent, little blue-eyed-blonde daddy's girl.... but Stella had her own plans and is for-sure her own person. She was born via emergency c-section on a Wednesday (November 7, 2012) due to my *$%(#@ high blood pressure. At 36 weeks, 4 days, she was considered "almost" full-term and "probably" wouldn't experience any of the problems that Gabriel had. Wrong. The birth was full of turmoil and scariness to say the least. My doctor "made me" come to the hospital and be admitted after she got some concerning labs back from my appointment that day for my checkup (during which she jinxed me and asked "how does it feel to be full-term?"). She said on the phone that she was afraid I would stroke or have seizures due to the pre-eclampsia and she didn't want to risk MY health. But I still wanted to protect Stella for a few more days if I could. Trent and I struggled with the decision, but in the end, all roads (and extreme pressure from my medical team) pointed to delivery. Since my blood pressure was so high, when I got to the hospital, I was started on Magnesium sulfate until the delivery and then for 24 hours after to decrease the risks for me.... but I soon found out Magnesium = the devil. It made me feel hot inside myself, but still cold, I had difficulty breathing, low heart rate, light-headedness, and an overall "fogginess". In the OR, I had a reaction to the spinal block + magnesium and vomited while my heart rate fell to 36 (I was watching the monitor as I almost passed out). The second c-section wasn't as pleasant as the first (if you call delivering a baby at 26 weeks pleasant). But Gabriel was small and easy to get out with no scarring from a previous surgery. Stella wanted to plant herself in there forever. It felt like the doctors (yes - two surgeons) were standing on my lungs to get her out. But when she was delivered, Stella cried. At that moment, Trent and I looked at each other with so much happiness and love - all from one *big* cry.
Soon, though, we would find out that Stella wasn't able to oxygenate like she should, and once again, we would miss out on the made-for-TV first meeting of our daughter just as we had missed out on it with Gabriel. She was put on CPAP and taken to the NICU seemingly faster than Gabriel had been. I was still a crazed lunatic on magnesium, so Trent went and got the details of her condition as soon as he was allowed. I followed and we began the NICU life all over again - it seemed impossible that we were back in this position - helpless.
Since I was supposed to be on magnesium for 24 hours post op, they made me spend most of the time in my bed (I wasn't "supposed" to walk by myself while I was on it), but at about 18 hours post-op I couldn't stand that medicine anymore, so I disconnected it from my IV and let it run into a towel (I do NOT recommend doing this to ANYONE with ANY drug). I am simply stubborn and I was D.O.N.E. So I went and spent time with Stella and Trent, while Gabriel stayed the week with Grammi, Poppi and Aunt Al - such a relief to know he was being cared for in a way that was better than if Trent was trying to do it and be at the hospital.
By the time I wasn't in a medical fog anymore, I realized that Stella really wasn't improving. On the contrary, she was steadily getting worse until she had to undergo something that we were able to avoid even in Gabriel - intubation. On her third day, she was intubated for a short time to receive surfactant to attempt to improve her pulmonary status. When that didn't yield results right away, she had a cardiac ultrasound that showed pulmonary hypertension. She was placed on dopamine for 48 hours, as well as IV nutrition, and finally on day 5, she was able to be weaned from CPAP and we saw her beautiful face. After that, Stella's recovery was quick and relatively painless. She was a great eater from the start and didn't lose any weight. Unfortunately, though, when "big babies" (a whopping 5 lbs, 8 oz) are on CPAP, TPN and dopamine, they tend to fight back (unlike Gabriel, who would barely move), so they had to rotate sedation and morphine to keep her relaxed enough to treat her....so when she started to get better she went through a little withdraw period, in which she was ANGRY - never content. She resembled a mad little bulldog, but she was getting better and we could hold and snuggle her, which she loved from the beginning... and when she was ready to be, she was happy.
After coming home at 10 days old, Stella had newborn pictures taken at exactly two weeks... and while she still looked a little skinny, she was perfect during her pictures - a sleeping beauty.
More catch up blogging in the next few days... it turns out, a lot has happened in the last 12 months!
Wow! Glad you decided to get the blog going again! You are truly blessed with two beautiful babies! And, you appreciate just how lucky you are ... thanks for sharing. :)
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