Welcome Home!

Welcome home Baby Miles!

Miles came home yesterday afternoon and it's been SO wonderful to have him here with us. He sleeps all the time and we have just been enjoying snuggling and staring at him all the live-long day!


Caroline and my mom decorated the house for his homecoming with sidewalk chalk and some banners. Caroline made the banner on the top by cutting out pictures from an old kitten calender and taping them together - her idea and execution!

Caroline was over the moon to have him home and finally get to hold him. She has been so good and patient while he was in the hospital. She wasn't allowed to visit him back in the NICU like the grown-ups could. I really thought she would get sick of going over there several times a day and waiting in the family waiting room, but she never complained and loved looking at him through the windows.

She stayed on the couch and held him for probably close to an hour this morning. I think Archie got a little jealous. She has been a little unsure about the whole breast-feeding thing. While she was holding him, we had the following conversation:

Caroline: I wish I was his mommy and he was my baby.

Susan: Well, someday you will be a mommy with a baby. But now, you get to be a big sister.

C: (long, thoughtful pause) Yeah, but when I'm a mommy, I think I'll just go buy milk at the store and put it in a bottle to feed him, instead of... you know.

I feel like one very, very lucky and blessed lady right now. The last week hasn't gone at all like we had planned or hoped. But I really feel, possibly for the first time ever, that I literally felt the prayers of other people in our behalf. I know I was strengthened and comforted far beyond by own natural capabilities, and I attribute that entirely to prayers of ours and others and to priesthood blessings. It has been difficult of course, but still an amazing, miraculous week that I will never ever forget.

Update

We got to hold Miles this morning for the first time. He is still doing great. His heart rate, lungs, and oxygen levels are where they need to be. They did say that he is committed to the antibiotics, so he will have to stay until at least wed morning when his 7 days are up. And as long as everything is cleared up and his levels are where they should be, then we can take him home. We are just so happy and grateful, there is nothing like holding your baby in your arms for the first time and having him look back up at you. Susan is doing a little better, they told her that she is definently getting spinal headaches and for now we are going to try caffeen, fluids, and rest. So please keep her in your thoughts and prayers. Again, thank you for all your love and support.

Happy update

Well we have some GREAT news!!!!!!!!!!!! When I went in to see him at 8 pm after the shift change, one of the nurses told me that I would be very surprised when I saw him. The first thing I thought was "he's out of the oxygen tank", but part of me didn't want to believe it because, though he had improved, he still had a ways to go with his breathing and oxgen levels around 1pm when I saw him last. But I walked around the corner and sure enough I saw our wonderful precious little baby calmly sleeping with no help from the oxygen hood. I was AMAZED and instantly overwhelmed with joy and gratitude towards my father in heaven. I have no doubt that his quick turn-around is a direct result of the power of prayer and the priesthood. We are just so very grateful. We're still not sure how long he will have to stay, it could still be until Wednesday, but at least now we should be able to hold him soon. Susan is still having a hard time with the headaches, back pain, and nausea but we were able to give her a blessing tonight, so hopefully with a good night's rest she'll feel better. Again, thank you for all of your prayers and love.

Miles

Miles Scott Martin was born Wed March 9th at round 8:15 am. He weighed 6 lbs 15 oz and was 20 inches long. He has some fluid in his lungs and so they are keeping him in the level II nursery under an oxygen tank to give him some extra oxygen. We will need to be there until the fluid clears enough that he can breath room air. They told us that room air is about 20% oxygen and for the past 2 days he has been getting 30% oxygen. Though this morning I went in and they had him on 25%, so he is improving. We can go in and see him and touch him, but we can't hold him yet. We are told the fluid was caused by either an infection or it's some ambiotic fluid that didn't get "squeezed" out during birth. They put him on antibiotics right away just in case it turned out to be an infection. In both cases the solution is time. He will probably he here until the middle of next week, he has to stay on the antibiotics for at least 7 days and that would put him at wed morning, so we are hoping he will be ready to take home by then. Susan is doing very well and healing good. She has been getting a lot of headaches and I think that's been the worst part for her. Susan's mom has been taking care of Caroline and I know C is enjoying some much needed grandma time. We are grateful for all of the love, prayers, and support we've recieved.

A Family of 3...

Dave and I have been talking a lot lately about how different it will be to no longer be a family of 3. After 5 and half years or so, we're pretty well set in our ways! Caroline is easy to take places, she gets in and out of the car by herself, buckles herself, feeds herself, can get her own snacks, and we haven't had to change diapers in over 3 years! Things are going to change around here big time.
The last couple of weeks we've been trying to cram in a lot before we are no longer a family of 3. One last date night, a fun mommy-daughter day, and family outings around town have kept us busy. This last weekend we asked Caroline what she wanted to do, and she said, "Go to Chuck E Cheese!" Luckily, we had a bunch of tokens left over from the last time we went, so it was easy to say yes.

We had a fluke week of great weather so we had a picnic in the park one Saturday.

And here is us all dressed up on our last Sunday as a threesome:

It sure will be interesting to add someone to our family. I keep wondering if it will be a strange adjustment, or if he will fit right in seamlessly. Either way, we're going to find out in a few days - and we can't wait!

One Week To Go!

So in ONE WEEK we get to hold our little boy! I started thinking about it at about 4:30 this morning and got myself so excited I couldn't go back to sleep!



This picture is a little skeletor-looking, but we love that it looks like he's playing peek-a-boo!



So a little update:

I had to/got to have an extra ultrasound a few weeks ago because I'm measuring small. The ultrasound showed that he was growing just fine and is just in a sprawled out, posterior position that makes it seem like I'm only 33 - 34 weeks. I had my "last" appointment today and she ordered another ultrasound for tomorrow for the same reason - to get a growth scan, because I'm "too small". I'm not worried at all and part of me just thinks she's trying to squeeze everything she can out of our insurance, but it's kind of neat to keep seeing him, so I'm not complaining! I promise I'm eating (although, I haven't had the healthiest eating habits these last few weeks - lots of grilled cheese, candy, and junk) and I've gained weight within the appropriate norm, so it's not my fault!





My pregnancy has been SO different this time around. With Caroline, I was swollen and gained much more weight. I felt pretty miserable by this time. I couldn't wear my wedding ring or most of my shoes. But with this little guy, I still feel great! I can still wear high heels and shave my legs! Woot! I have minor complaints (heartburn, backache, etc) but nothing that I feel is really burdensome. Some wonderful ladies in my ward hosted a "Pamper Party" for all the pregnant girls in our ward due in March (four of us I believe) and it was SO fun. We ate, did nails, got massages and chatted. A true ladies-night!



So we are counting down the days until 1. Grandma comes and 2. Miles comes. I'm about 90% excited, 10% nervous. Ok maybe 80/20.