ER

Today has been a long day. I spoke to my pediatrician around noon and she felt like we should take Sarah to the ER, so we ar here and being admitted as I write this.

I am scared and pray that she will start to gain, but I find comfort in the fact that we are in the hospital and everyone here wants to see her improve.

They have drawn a bunch of blood and run some other tests and we will know more in the morning.

Thank you for your prayers and support.

I will try to update the blog to keep everyone updated.

I am extremely exhausted and am going to try to get some rest.

UPDATE: We are now in a room and getting settled. We won't know more until morning.

Little Sarah

I know I missed the weekly picture of Sarah, I promise to get it up soon.

Today we had a doctor's appointment and it did not go well. She has lost more weight. She is now down to 6 lbs 9oz. We are going to supplement with formula and hope that she makes some progress in the next few days. I am scared and this is not fun. If she does not gain on the formula we will need to dome some tests and figure out why she is not gaining weight.

Our main focus over the next couple of days is going to be fattening our little lady up.

I hope to bring better news next time. Please pray for her and that she will be able to put on some weight over the next week or so.

I will get her two week pictures posted soon, I am consumed with feeding right now.

Breastfeed, supplement, pump, repeat...

Pax River or Bust

Well, the news is in.

We are moving back to Southern Maryland. We are all super excited. It will be so fun to be back on the East Coast and close to family and friends, many who are fellow bloggers. Of course it will be hard to leave all of the wonderful friends that we have made here in Oklahoma, but that is the nature of our lifestyle.

We are planning to stay here through most of the summer and get out to Maryland just in time for the school year to start in August. It should be a great time to have some quality time with our dear friends here and hopefully we will see a LOT more of Adam.

Now, on to the not so fun part, selling our house. We are hoping that will happen quickly and we will able to negotiate the time table we are looking for.

Nothing to report on Sarah unless you want to hear how adorable she is...because she is a cutie.

One week old

My dear friend, Katie commented yesterday that she wanted a "one week" update.

That gave me a great idea.

I am going to try to post a picture of Sarah every Monday so you can see her growing.

I can't think of of catchy name for this weekly post, any ideas?

Here is her one week picture, taken yesterday.

Back to the grind

Well, I meant to post something yesterday...that never happened.

Yesterday was the first day that was somewhat back to normal. Adam went back to work, the kids went back to school and I was home with sweet little Sarah. It is hard to believe that she is already one week old.

She appears to be growing and getting stronger every day. As any new parent knows, there is much rejoicing with each poopy diaper. Those yucky diapers and signs that her bodily systems are doing their jobs. The diapers are also proof that the jaundice is leaving her body, she looks a little less yellow each day.

The other kids are adjusting to her well and love getting home and holding her and seeing what she is up to. It has really been fun to have a baby and older kids at home, it has been a whole new experience. Adam and I are still tired but are finding tremendous joy in this sweet little life.

Here are a few pictures of the kids loving on their baby sister.

Update

I have neglected the blog since we have been home. As you can imagine life with four kids is busy most of the time.

Yesterday we took Sarah to the doctor and her bilirubin had risen to15 and she lost three more ounces, none of that was good news. The day was spent trying to get keep her awake and get her to eat. It was a long day for all of us, with not much sleep for the adults. Adam and I both commented how much easier this was eleven years ago when we were both twenty five.

Today we took her back to the doctor and she gained an ounce from yesterday and the doctor did not feel that we needed to retest the bilibrubin. Sarah is still pretty yellow, but she is producing wet diapers and is gaining weight, that was all good news. We were hoping for progress like that as we headed into the weekend. As long as she continues in this direction we will not see the doctor until she is two weeks old and the goal is to have her back up to her birth weight.

I am so thankful to have Adam home, he has been such a huge help. I love to see him with our little newborns, there is nothing sweeter than seeing a big man hold a helpless little baby and talk to her so tenderly. My heart swells with pride... I love that man.

I am going to try to get some rest before the big kids get home from school.

Home Sweet Home

We just wanted you to know that we are all under one roof again. It is good to be back together as a BIG happy family. There will be some adjusting to do in the days ahead, but we will manage.

Tomorrow we are off to the pediatrician to get Sarah's bilirubin levels checked.

I am off to bed.

Sleepy

Whoa!!! I am zonked out, is that word? zonked?

Yesterday I must have been running on adrenaline, today it is all catching up with me.

I do know one thing, "pain killers are my friend".

Yesterday when I was feeding Sarah, I thought her nose looked yellow up against my skin. Well, my pediatrician came in and told me that she is a little jaundiced and that we need to keep on eye on her. This is not a new road for us to walk down, but never one I enjoy. We will be going in for daily blood draws now. The problem with jaundice is that they don't want to nurse because they are so tired and when they are so tired they are not sucking strong enough to really stimulate a good milk supply. It is a vicious cycle..... Today we will start some finger feeding with formula to get some nutrition in her and fatten her up a little and hopefully give her a little extra edge. She has lost more than 10% of her birth weight so we need to keep an eye on that, just think a few days ago we were worried about her getting too big and now we are worried about her gaining weight. And one day when she is the postpartum mother she will be worried about losing it....

I better go, I feel like I have been hit by a MACK truck or something like that.

We'll let you know how our little girl is doing again soon. She is still as perfect as can be, just a little on the yellow side.

In a Fog

I can't believe our little one is really here, it has all been rather surreal. Until the percocet starts wearing off....it feels pretty real then. :)

I am getting as much rest as possible and the kids are back at school this morning...life goes on as normal when baby #4 arrives.

She is still looking really pink and healthy and is nursing like a champ, which is great. The six year gap between Laura and Sarah is making me feel rather rusty in the newborn department, but the nurses have been super sweet when I remind them I might need a little refresher.

Her name seems perfect for her. It always feel weird to me the first couple of days after naming a child, it seems like a lot of pressure to give them a name they will use the rest of their life. She looks like a Sarah to us.

In all of our kid's middle names we have tried to incorporate some sort of family name. Jane was the name of Adam's paternal grandmother, so we wanted to honor her in that way. My maternal grandmother, that many of you knew, who I just lost a few years ago was Janet. She once told me I better not use Janet one day. :) So we just dropped the "t" and we can still honor her.

That is one of the hard things about having Sarah. It is hard to think about some of the family members that have passed away since my last birth. How I wish they could be here to call and give the news and share pictures and "war stories" with. Most especially my grandmother Janet who I affectionately called "Nana". She was my hero, the mother of six and we had so much in common it was unreal. I have also lost two dear aunts both who would have celebrated with me in this time of new life. I guess that is the hard part of growing up and time passing by, there are times to celebrate and times to mourn and they are both unavoidable.

I will just smile every time I look at this sweet little girl and think about the bright future she has ahead of her.

I am going to try to get some rest between all of the different people that come in and out of the room. It has been so fun sharing this experience with so many of you.

Have a wonderful day. I hope you are not rushing to get your taxes done.

Finally

The biggest sister.

The sweetest big brother.


Still my baby girl.




The kids came and got to meet Sarah and I wanted to upload some pics before the sleeping pill takes affect.

It was fun to see them all interacting with her...too cute.

Needless to say, it has been a long day for ALL of us.



I wanted to upload a few pictures of our newest addition.

I hope you are enjoying the pictures. The Ambien has kicked in and I will be in dreamland soon.

Thanks for making this a special day for us with all our your encouragement and prayers. We are thrilled you could join us on this special day.

Data

The numbers are in....
Sarah weighed in at 8 lbs 14 ozs. She's 21 inches long.
She's pink as could be and is currently receiving her first bath.

Both she and Charlotte are doing well.

Again, I'm so proud of both of them.
Thanks for your prayers. They have been answered.
You have all been so sweet with our live blogging.

The big kids are about to come visit Charlotte and meet Sarah.

She's Here

Sarah Jane has arrived. She drew her first breath at 1:37. We don't have her weight yet.

She and Mom are bonding right now. Her little cry is so sweet.
Let's just say she's not a small newborn. There were several comments about her size and strength from the cast in the delivery room.

Charlotte did a great job in the delivery. I am so proud of her.

Thanks for all your prayers. Please continue to pray for both Charlotte and Sarah.

Pictures to follow.

Page the Doctor!

"Ok, you're ready. I'm going to go to page and talk to the Doctor." said the nurse.

There's lots of action in the room right now.

Pray for a continued smooth labor and delivery.

Thanks for your prayer.

Getting closer

The nurse just came in and checked me and I am at 8cm. I sent Adam to get a snack in case things get going here soon. He is back and we are ready.

I am feeling good. It is fun to know so many of you can keep track of me this way. Thanks for all of your prayers and encouraging comments and emails, keep them coming.

It shouldn't be long. We will keep you up to date.

Drugs

Charlotte is doing very well. The anesthesiologist just finished giving Charlotte her epidural. For me the epidural is the part that makes me the most nervous. I'm nervous about other parts but it makes me the most nervous. Science is amazing, Charlotte has a smile on her face and looks great. I asked her if she's alright and she smiled and said, "yes, I wish I'd have gotten an epidural this early the other three times."

The pitocin has begun, slowly at first...

The baby "looks good" on the monitor the nurse says. Apparently she's been bragging about how good "her" baby looks to the other nurses at the nurse's station.

We're Here

We've arrived and she's getting checked in. Walking back on the maternity ward brought back memories of Laura's birth. She was born here.
Charlotte is doing well. She's nervous.

Hangin' in there

Thank you so much for all of your birthday wishes. I had a great day.

As many of you know, I did not want to have a baby on my birthday. I am not a big fan of sharing birthdays within a family, I think it is nice for each person to have their own special day.

Although I have been induced all three times, my water always breaks but I do not go into full blown labor without pitocin. I have never been scheduled for an induction. It is weird to think "this is my last weekend". We have a few errands to run today, Emma has a volleyball game, it will be my last pregnant Saturday. Tomorrow will be church, some kids' activities in the afternoon and then early to bed for the next morning.

We have heard that there is WiFi at the hospital, so we are hoping to do a little live blogging on Monday to keep you up to date. Don't worry, we won't share anything too gory, just the facts. This will also be a great way to inform so many without being on the phone all day.

I must say that I am a little nervous and excited all at the same time. I am not sure how I will get any sleep on Sunday night, but I will try.

Keep us in your prayers on Monday morning and check back in to see what is happening.

Her day

Today is Charlotte's day.
It's all about her.
The focus of our attention.
Let's celebrate her.

I love the excitement she brings to our family.
I love her adventurous spirit.
I love her magnetic personality.
I love her laugh.
I love that she is our family historian.
I love that she is a communicator.
I love that she is independent and strong, yet weak when I'm around.
I love to talk with her at night after the kids have gone to bed.
I love to take her on dates. (She is intelligent and hot!)
I love to be a part of her life and to see her grow. She is great.

I am thankful she is willing to listen to my counsel.
I am thankful she surrenders herself to be a good mother.
I am thankful she is our children's advocate.
I am thankful she said yes to my proposal.
I am thankful she lets me be her protector.
I am thankful she loves our children.
I am thankful she is a thinker, that she's analytical.
I am thankful she's emotional. I'm thankful for this most of the time.
I am thankful she understands me.
I am thankful we are one.

I want her to know she is loved.
I want her to know she is a blessing.
I want her to know I see Christ in her.
I want her to know I am here.
I want her to know she's a good mother.
I want her to know the kids love her.
I want her to know she's a good cook.
I want her to know she gives good advice.
I want her to know that I trust her.
I want her to know I am praying for her.

You make our lives better.
You are special.
You are one of a kind.
You look more beautiful then ever.
I am thankful for you.
I love you.
Happy Birthday.

Take me out the the ball game

This afternoon we went down to the local minor league ball park for our first ballgame of the season. Andrew and Laura love to go and hang out and watch the game. Emma is not so sure about the game but is a good sport and comes along and tries to have a good attitude about being there.

Tonight was a special night, after the game there was a Jeremy Camp concert right on the field. It was a lot fun and we all had a great time.

My feet are hating me right now for it. Good thing I can blog on the couch with my feet up.

This week will be a busy week of trying to get many things done before our little one joins us next week. I am getting so excited to meet her and pray that she will enter the world without complications.

Like Brother...

like sister.

It looks as if this little baby is following in her brother's footsteps. She has consistently been measuring on the larger size for the past month or so. Today was my ultrasound and sure enough she seems to be on the larger size. At the ultrasound she was an estimated 8lb 8oz already, YIKES!!!

The doctor feels confident that I can go ahead with a normal delivery since I brought Andrew into the world at a whopping 9lb 9oz. He is going to induce me early to prevent her from getting TOO big.

So... April 14th it is.

Unless she decides to come on her own, earlier. Which would be fine with all of us.

Many of you know I have a weird preference for even numbers, you know 2,4,6,8,10, ...you get the picture. I even get my even day!!!! Yea!! Does anyone else share this odd preference? Just curious.

It is fun to think in two weeks she will be here, either way. I am hoping the estimated weight was off a little and she is not any bigger than her brother was.

We will keep you posted.

It was fun to update my ticker. I will be in the single digits soon.