June 22, 2008

Evan Todd has made his grand arrival into this world. He chose to come 8 days early and facing sideways, resulting in 18 hours of labor and then a C-section. He weighed in at 9lbs 12 1/2 ounces and was 21 3/4 inches long (this added to the need for the C-section). He also chose to come with some extra fluid in his lungs resulting in a problem called transient tachypnea of the newborn (TTN). This basically means there was too much fluid in his lungs (wet lungs) and it caused a rapid respratory rate and a low oxygen saturation rate. The hospital where Evan was born only has a level 1 nursery so they did everything they could for the first two days but he had to be transfered to the NICU at Florida Children's Hospital in Orlando Tuesday night. It is now almost a week later and we're still here. He is doing great and there is a strong possibility he will go home tomorrow. He has gone from being under an oxyhood, to having a nasal canula (the thing in the nose), to now no additional oxygen...he's had an IV in both hands, then in his arm, then two in his head, then just one in his head, to now no IV's...he's had a tube down his throat into his belly for feedings and now is breast/bottle feeding. We are now just waiting for him to eat a bit better and he can go home. This is by far the condensed version of what has been going on. It would take me hours to go into the detail needed for everyone to understand what we've been going through. Never in a million years did I ever think I'd be going through something like this. I had a picture perfect pregnancy, I thought my delivery would be the same way. None the less, my preciouse son is here and he is just wonderful! I am already amazed at how strong he is and what a trooper he can be. He doesn't even cry when his foot gets pricked everyday to check his sugar levels. We are 45 mins to an hour away from home right now so that has only made this experience even more difficult. We are staying at the Ronald McDonald House which is a charity that I will fully support for the rest of my life! (Save your soda can pop tops and donate them to a Ronald McDonald House near you!!) Just please pray that he continues to improve and that we will be home in a day or so. In the mean time, take a look at our precious little boy!!

"Wow! You're Huge"

Says the lady to me in the grocery store today. "It's really funny that you're buying a watermelon when it looks like you've already got one, especially wearing that green shirt" says the man to me in the grocery story last week. I'm starting to dread going to that place now. Truthfully, I find it all pretty funny. I am huge. I'm the first one to say it. I never thought it would be possible to be so big. The scary thing is, I'm going to get bigger! I've still got about 3 weeks to go. According to the ultrasound that we had yesterday, baby Evan is already weighing in at about 6 lbs 14 oz. If he continues to gain a pound a week (like they say babies do at this time) and I go until my due date, I'm looking at a 9-10 lb baby. Can you say ouch?!?! I go back to the doctor on Monday so we'll see what she has to say about his size and whether or not I'll need to go a bit early. In the meantime, please pray that my belly can hold itself together for the remaining weeks. It's so tight it doesn't feel like it can stretch any more but judging by my numerous stretch marks, my belly is finding a way to accommodate for the still growing little guy in my belly. Oh, and by the way, we had the ultrasound tech check to make sure it's still a boy and it is :) She said they were definitely boy parts. So here are the latest pictures. I'm 37 weeks so, a little over 8 months. I'm now considered full term so he can safely be born any time now. So come on little Evan Todd. We're dying to meet you!!

37 Weeks

The same shirt at 3 months - glad it still fits...very few shirts still cover my belly

Look carefully, can you see my stretch marks?

Look how shiny and round it is!