We've grown..

SINCE THE LAST TIME...

Our family has grown by 1

WELCOMING

Edison Kay Jenks

July 26 2011 

7 lbs 8 oz

19 inches

Someday I'll get around to the story, but until then.. enjoy his cute face that has grown.. and grown and grown over the last 5 months.

BIRTHDAY

Right after I got back to my room and finally got to hold him.

Skinny legs!

1 MONTH

(He has loved his hands from day 2!)

2 months and full of chunk!

3 Months

SUPER CHUBBY

4 Months

5 Months

Adorable, chunky, giggly, and growing too fast!

We love our Baby K and we are so glad that he is part of our family!

Edison Kay

This update is completely for this sweet baby boy that we are currently waiting to meet. 

I'm a bit behind.

[Bed rest is NOT as restful as it sounds, and it is NOT easy to sit at a computer to do these things. I was too hopeful. Thank goodness that is OVER!!]

Here are some pictures of Mr. Edison from my targeted ultrasound, nearly 3 months ago.

 He has  VERY cute strong leg, and bum!

She had an unbelievably hard time getting a shot of his face because the kid HATES pictures.

He would look right at her, and then as soon as she would try to get a picture, either his hands were in his face or he would turn the other way. To watch it back on the ultrasound is so funny! He really didn't want his picture taken.

These next images are from my stay at Ogden Regional after my incident.

[I passed out at church in the hall and fell on my stomach. I caused a small abruption in the placenta and started some very frequent and strong contractions.]

The images all have text on them explaining what the image is so I am not going to explain each one.

This one is a bit silly. It is not pointing at his 'thing' but pointing at his scrotum. Still proof he is a boy. But not the typical "boy" shot.

At 30 weeks, he was growing very well and even had some visible hair. I'm curious if he will come out as hairy as Ezra did. I hope so!

Right now I am:

• 35 weeks and 5 days pregnant
• Counting contractions- 
• I have been having contractions between 5 and 10 minutes apart for the last 8 hours. They are lasting between 45 and 90 seconds
• Dilating and Effacing (warning.. this part has some details.. if you don't want to know, please skip to the next bullet)
• At my appointment on Thursday, I had Dr. H check me because of some super intense vaginal pressure and sharp pains that I had been having. I was over 1cm dilated and about 80% effaced. Since I have had contractions consistently since then (not as strong as they are now) I would assume that I have moved some more.
• Having trouble sitting, getting up or down, lying down, sleeping, focusing, etc. Between pain and other things, it's been a little rough. It does mean it is almost the end which I am SO excited for so I will take it.
• Really hoping that Edison comes soon. :)

I had an appointment with Dr. H on Thursday (1 week before my scheduled appointment) because of some intense pain I mentioned above. I did not experience this pain with Ezra and so I wanted to make sure everything was okay. He did check me and the contractions I had been having since June 29th (which were small but very frequent) were actually doing something. I am progressing, and since the contractions have just gotten worse (harder, longer) I am hoping that I am still progressing nicely. I hope.

** Does anyone know how far they let you go when you are for certain having a C-Section? Will they do it earlier if you dilate to a certain point or something? I really should have asked the doctor something about this, but I can never remember my questions when I am there.

Edison is growing very well. I had the shots the first week of June to develop his lungs, so I'm sure they are pretty strong. This is very nice, because I don't have to be paranoid about him being born, especially since I am almost full term. On Thursday he was measuring 6 lbs, and a full week ahead. If my doctor changed due dates, I would have been moved up a week. He was measuring 36 weeks 2 days. That would put my EDD at August 2nd not August 9th. I'm glad he is growing so well!

I did get my FIRST stretch mark, and it is HUGE! It freaked me out when I first saw it, but now I actually kind of like it, except that it looks like I got beat up. I want a picture of it, but I need Jarom to take one and we haven't had the time. Maybe soon.

I do have a few pictures of my growing belly, but they are on my camera which I can't find at the moment so I will have to share those later. I am really hoping that little mr. Edison comes soon, but that nothing embarrassing happens while I am at church tomorrow. I guess I will take whatever I get!

We are SO very excited to meet Edison! 

a LONG overdue update

I know this is a rough update, but given that I can’t sit here at my computer for too long before my legs go numb, I figure if I get this out than at least I won’t feel so bad if I just post new stuff until I can sit long enough to finish all of my older, still waiting posts.

So, here is goes.

*Ezra is getting really big and so very smart! He says over 75 words, and he also can recognize from sight all of the letters of the alphabet and his numbers 1-9. He knows some sign language, and uses it often. He loves to color, play with cars, trains, blocks and he really LOVES to read. Mickey Mouse is his favorite character, even though he doesn't get to watch him often. He was always a 'big' boy on the charts until 9 months, when he seemed to decide it was time to slow down. He has only gained 3.5 lbs since then (he will be 2 in a few weeks) and just barely started to grow taller. He went from being in the 90% to the 15%. It was a big drop but he is making up for it quickly. He still has to have lactose free milk, but can finally have cheese, ice cream, and even regular milk in moderation. He just has a sensitive stomach. His asthma is doing better now that it is starting to get warmer, and I'm so glad. He loves to run around outside and really do anything while he is out there. He is such a smart, loving little boy and it is so fun to be his mom.

*Addie recently decided it was time to grow, and within a month went up a size in her shoes, clothes and maturity level. :) She is very well behaved and is such a great big sister. She is very helpful and almost always the most polite. She loves to take care of Ezra and to do anything with him. They are attached the entire time she is with us. She has been struggling in school, for some reasons that I don’t feel comfortable sharing here, but mostly because of her inability to pay attention and stay focused. She is smart, but she is so very stubborn!! She definitely does her homework the best for me, she does pretty well with Jarom, but she fights her mom about it quite a bit. She has started to come over more and we were able to help her stay caught up on her homework until school was out and she did really pretty well. I think it is hard for Addie to come here sometimes, because she knows she has to do her homework before anything else, and she usually comes with an entire weeks' worth when it is due the next day. She always does it, does well, and actually does it all fairly fast (if I do it with her). But it isn't near as fun as what she gets to do with her mom every day. She will be with us for almost 5 weeks straight this summer, and we are really excited. We had some big plans for before the new baby comes, and some have had to change, but Addie is still really excited to come and we are excited that she will be with us, and that hopefully we can get some good habits going before she goes back in hopes they will help with school. She was just recently diagnosed with ADHD (mostly the AD, not the H) and we are currently working with the doctor trying to find the best treatment for her with the least amount of medication. (Hard because we have to get things through 2 homes, but we are all working to do the best we can for her.) Oh, and she is getting baptized on August 13th. She is such a smart, loving and beautiful little girl who is just growing up too fast!!

*Baby #2- Edison Kay- that is what we are naming him. The Kay is after my dad and my grandma Gilbert.:) He is growing really good, he is about 4lbs right now, which is good. He has had some shots to help develop his lungs more in case he doesn't make it to 37 weeks. He is completely out of room in my body. At my last appointment, the dr said "There are no picture taking opportunities today; his face is completely squished into the bottom of your uterus." We tried to move him, and there just wasn't anywhere for him to go. We could see on the ultrasound the back of his head, but if Dr. H went near the baby's face it would just go black. Dr. H said that it's a good thing he doesn't get his oxygen from breathing through his nose/mouth because neither one of them would be able to get any air with the way he is. [lol] He is head down though which is good (not quite as important since I have to have a c-section though.) He has bruised my ribs badly from his frequent kicks/attempts to move. He knocks the wind out of me multiple times a day, and where he is sitting is also pinching my sciatic nerve making my legs not feel so great. But even with the hard parts, I'm still so grateful that I get to be able to have a healthy baby and to be a mom. It will be easier to remember that when I can feel my legs again though. ;)

*Jarom is working.. and waiting for school to start up again. He is such a great dad and he loves to get down and play with the kids. He is also a great husband and takes good care of me and our family. :) He is actually doing everything at the moment- cooking, cleaning, child care, and doing all he can to make sure I am comfortable and have everything I need without needing to get up. He is a good man, and I feel very blessed every day that he is my husband. He is kind of nerdy though, and I've been seeing that a lot more lately as he has been trying to entertain Ezra with his imagination and dance moves. Even Ezra thinks it is too silly; he will cover his eyes and say "Oh, Daddy. No more." It is hilarious. We are very lucky to have him!

*I have been doing a lot of nothing the past 2 weeks, since I fell and passed out at church. When I fell, I caused a small placental abruption that could have been really bad. The baby’s blood mixed with mine, but luckily I got my rhoGam shot before it did. I have O- blood and so does Jarom so there wasn't really a chance that the mixture could have hurt me, but it still is a concern if/when they mix but things with that should be good. I also may have torn my inner c-section incision a little, which could be very bad, but there is not really any way to tell. The pain is still bad around my incision, so we are watching it closely. I am going to see my dr once a week and I am on bed rest until this kid comes out. I have to take medicine every 6-8 hours to stop the contractions, which are still happening all day, every day. The medicine does break them up a bit so they aren't consistent, most of the time. The last 2 days it hasn't seemed to work very well. My nearly dead blood pressure (I'm usually 90/40) has jumped in the past week to 125/60. While that is still in the "normal" range, it is rather high for me. I haven't seen it over 110 since two days before I had Ezra, and I had preeclampsia then. I am swelling really badly, even though it does go down some. They are watching me closely for preeclampsia (I got it at 36 weeks with Ezra, and delivered at 37 weeks, 3 days.) and while I don't want to be a downer, I can feel my body getting worse, and see the swelling getting worse each day so I'm sure it’s coming. But I know that we are in good hands with Dr. H and the Ogden Regional staff so I’m not too worried.

This has been long and sorry for the lack of pictures, I will add those the next time I sit here for a long period of time so you can see how they have grown and changed.

Until then…

I hope you all are happy, healthy and doing good!

PS… I need to give thanks.

 I know that there aren’t many people in my ward who will see this, but I want to say how grateful I am to be a member of such an amazing, loving, and caring ward. We have had meals brought to us and daycare for Ezra Monday – Wednesday both of the last two weeks which has been so incredibly helpful. The ladies in the ward are so wonderful, and I don’t know what I would do without the help we have received. Ezra is loving making new friends with their cute kids, and I am enjoying getting to know some of the women more. I especially want to thank my neighbor Michelle who not only has volunteered to take Ezra, but has let me come sit on her couch and visit for hours so that I can get out of the house a bit. I need to come up with something good to do for each of these wonderful women who have helped so much, and also for the wonderful men and women who took care of me when I collapsed at church, and took care of me until the paramedics took me away. I feel so blessed and so grateful to get to be near all of these wonderful people! If you are one of them, THANK YOU!

Also, thank you to my best friend Sue who brought me a bag of books and movies to keep me entertained, and to my wonderful aunt Kathy who made sure to bring books by for me so that I have something good to do. I’m lucky to have these two women in my life!

Oh.. and to Sue, my other mom, for being there for me each day I was in the hospital, even when it was the middle of the night. Thank you for driving to Layton to pick me up, just to drive me back to Ogden to go to the hospital. I don’t know how I would have done that without you.

And my siblings and anyone else who has helped in any way… I am so eternally grateful for all you have done and continue to do! Thank you for helping me keep this little boy inside as long as possible. You are all helping to better his life and I am so thankful for that!

THANK YOU!

Counting contractions

I am sitting here waiting for the medicine to kick in to stop the contractions.. or at least slow them down and break them up a bit.

I thought that maybe trying to blog while I did it would help distract me, but I can't seem to think straight.

So instead I will sit here and read your blogs about your lives, and hope it kicks in soon so I can get some sleep.

Oh, and so this boy doesn't try to come any sooner than he should.

PS.. 

To any of you who may have had to survive bed rest for weeks while pregnant, especially if you had to do it with a toddler, can you share some advice please? Good things to do, ways to not feel completely useless.. etc. Any help or ideas would be lovely! I'm hoping this little guy stays until at least 36 weeks.. but that means we still have 5 weeks to go. 

the yucky bug

May 17th, 2011

While snuggling with my little one on the couch, he started whimpering and while I was trying to figure out what it meant, I got a nice visual of what it was.

Poor Ezra got violently ill. 

He threw up his milk all over himself, the couch, his blanket and me. 

It was horrible. [and very smelly!]

So we made a bed on the couch. Underneath what you see here is a crib mattress protector sheet and a towel. I did NOT want it to get through again.

I gave Ezra a bowl.. he LOVED it. Until it came time to use it that is.

It freaked him out and he would push it away whenever I put it in front of him. It did not work well.

After 3 clothes changes, we opted to be naked. and on top of blankets and pillows.

(The set from the last picture were all in the wash because he had thrown up all over them.)

Then we got dressed again, sort of. 

But it didn't last long. Right after this picture, he got violently ill all over everything here. 

So we changed again. Here he is wearing one of Addie's PJ shirts because it was all he wanted.

(He is drinking 1 tbsp of water or juice at a time in each picture.. it was very minimal and he hated it!)

This was the last picture I took that day.

He finally felt well enough to fall asleep.

Unfortunately it only lasted 40 minutes before he was violently ill all over us both.

He threw up a total of 12 times between 11:00am and 6:00pm.

He was so sad and so upset. It scared him every time, and when it would start he would try to crawl onto my lap and lay down. It was so so hard to watch him be so panicked when I had to hold him in place, or give him a bowl. He was so terrified and so upset. 

I hate to see my children sick, especially when there is no way to get them to understand what is happening.

It was awful, and I felt like a bad mom.

Actual Facebook Status':

I've got bronchitis pretty bad, and while resting on the couch with Ezra this morning because moving makes me cough lots, he threw up all over both of us. (gross) the poor kid is mad that I won't let him have milk and that I'm making him lay down right now. But he says his tummy hurts and he looks a little pale so I think he's best resting.

We've hit 4 times in less than an hour, and it is at least what he has had today. He is so pale and weak and just mopy. I think he may have the stomach flu. I've given up on getting him redressed.. We will just use blankets today. Poor kid. It's so sad, it scares him every time he throws up. :(

It's heartbreaking to watch your child suffer. Ezra was so sick he couldn't have milk or food and he was throwing up so frequently that I had to limit how much he could drink at a time. He was so hungry and thirsty and he looked at me with such sad pleading eyes. I felt so bad to keep these things from him but it was for the best. We've finally made it 3 hrs without puke, I'm hoping we get through the night. :/

Luckily we did.. but it was rough. 

The next day was much better. 

We snuggled, and Ezra had fun taking "cheese" with my phone.

[He begs for "mommy phone cheese" every day. He just wants me to open the camera and then he takes random pictures. He is getting good!]

I think this is one of my favorite pictures of him ever. 

HE TOOK IT HIMSELF! 

Such a very smart boy!

He also asked to play games.. We played the Sesame Street alphabet game.. 

he LOVES his letters! He was cheering because I was opening it for him.

Here he is just looking at pictures and he was telling me what they were. 

It made him so happy!

He is such a smart kid, and it was so nice that this bug only lasted one day, and then just a tummy ache the next day.

Unfortunately Addie got it on 'the next day'. Hers only lasted one day, and the a tummy ache the next also. She was at Marie's though, so we didn't get/have to do cleaning for that one too. [Even though it was so gross it made me feel sick, I would have gladly done it for Addie too. It's what you do when you love your kids.] 

Both kids are doing well now.. and are actually sleeping.

Well, Addie is snoring and Ezra is sleep talking about Crazy Hippo (for another post). 

It is so wonderful. 

But now I'm off to bed. 

1 part of catch up complete.

So much more to come.