Noah's first week

Here are some pictures from Noah's first week


His little feet

Enjoying his first bath at home

Tetralogy of Fallot

Giving birth to Noah was one of the greatest moments of my life and such an emotional time for Pete and I. He is so beautiful and every moment with him is such a gift. Along with the high of welcoming our new baby we were also given some really tough news. Noah has been diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot. He was given an EKG at the hospital after the pediatrician heard a heart murmur. She told us of her suspicion and referred us to Children's Hospital in Dallas. Pete and I were devastated and very scared of the unknown. It was such an emotional roller coaster.

We were sent home that day and the following day I made an appointment with a cardiologist at Children's. We then had to go on base to get Noah on our insurance, etc. Then the following morning we got up really early and headed to Dallas. It was very reassuring to speak to the doctors about his condition and hear how positive they were about his future.

Tetralogy of Fallot is characterized by 4 hear abnormalities. One of the problems is that he has a hole between the chambers of his heart where the oxygenated and unoxygenated blood can mix. We are to watch and make sure he is eating well and to watch for tet spells. This is where he could turn blue due to the unoxygenated blood entering his body. If these spells do not occur (they are hopeful they will not) then he will be scheduled for a surgery when he is around 3-4 months old. Pete and I feel that he will be in good hands at Children's.

After meeting with the cardiologist they decided to keep him overnight to observe him. We were not prepared for this, but the hospital social worker made sure we had everything we needed. I spent the night in Noah's room. They monitored his oxygen level, which was great and had me weighing his diapers to make sure he was not dehydrated. He checked out well, so we were sent home the next day.

Finally we were able to be home and enjoy time with Noah. He has been eating very well and has been content most of the time. He seems to enjoy sleeping during the day more than the night. Thankfully my mom has been here and has been so helpful in making the transition into parenthood easier. Pete is an amazing father and even changes poopy diapers!

God is always good! We know that God has already gone ahead and is in control of everything. We are continuing to pray for miraculous healing, but are believing that God can use doctors to heal him as well.

Noah in his hospital bed at Children's

His blood pressure cuff.

Noah's arrival!!

*Warning: the following blog contains some icky details

Monday July 20th started like any other normal day. While the carpet was being cleaned that morning I went to walmart and target to get some of the last things I wanted/needed for Noah. I came home, organized his room and washed his newest clothes. I then had a doctor's appointment at 12:50. I was about to eat lunch and get ready for the appt when I discovered I was bleeding. Knowing this was not a good thing I quickly packed a bag for the hospital just in case, threw on some clothes, and left for my appointment early without eating lunch. I called Pete and told him to meet me at the Dr's office and called my mom to alert her. Once I got to the Dr he checked me out and decided to send me to the hospital to be monitored. They did a sonogram and we waited to hear from the doc. When Dr. Thompson arrived he said that he did not know why I was bleeding, but that the sonogram showed low fluid so he felt it was best to go ahead and induce labor.

Pete ran to the house to get my bag and change clothes and while he was gone the Dr broke my water (I was suprised at how it did not hurt at all). They gave me pitocin threw my IV to start labor. I felt a few contractions, but nothing too painful. We sat there for a couple of hours and discovered some things we forgot at home. When my friend Amie arrived Pete decided to go home again to gather a couple of things. Contractions got harder so they decided I could have my epidural. Luckily Amie was there with me because Pete had not made it back yet. Pete walked into the room seconds before he inserted the needle so I was glad to have Pete to hold on to.

After the epidural I had more visitors and felt great. My mom arried from Emory and my dad, sister and brother-in-law arrived shortly after. I progressed really slow at first, then at about 12:15am the nurse told me I was 9 1/2 centimeters and it was time to push. They called the doc to come back up, got the room ready and I was pushing in no time. Thank goodness I had gone to the birthing class 3 days earlier! After about an hour of pushing little Noah arrived. The labor and delivery was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be thanks to the awesome epidural. Pete was a great coach and offered a lot of encouragement.

This is Pete loving on me during the early contractions.

Noah's first few moments. It is crazy how I thought he was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen and was brought to tears even when he looked like that!

Arrival time: 1:29 am

Date: July 21, 2009

Weight: 6lbs 12 oz

length: 19.25 inches

Our new family of 3 moments after delivery.

Noah trying to figure out what just happened while at the Nursery. Pete got to go help get him ready. They did not make it back to the recovery room with me until about 5 am. During that time I was moved to our new room and given a check up and cleaning. The most painful part of the whole experience is when the nurse pushed aggressively on my stomach (she said to keep me from clotting) after my epidural wore off. Ugh.

The next day we had a lot of visitors, took a lot of pictures and worked on recovering. Noah latched on easily and nursing has been a good experience for us both. He seems very content and usually whines when he needs something instead of full out crying. I can't count how many times I have kissed his face and my new favorite hobby is staring at him. Pete and I can get choked up so easily just talking about how much we love him. Noah already has Pete wrapped around his little finger. I love looking at Pete hold him. My two favorite boys!

Baby showers and time with friends

My friends in Abilene through me a great shower. Noah was spoiled rotten!! I never got a photo of me with the hostesses, but a special thanks to: Diana, Melissa, and Amie for making the party so special.



Our church friends threw us a couples baby shower at Fran and Billy's house. It was so fun to hang out with everyone and they got us some great necessities. Here is Pete with some of the boys.



This is me with the hostesses. They are so creative and make the evening feel really special. We are so blessed to go to an amazing church with amazing people!



This is two days before Noah's arrival. Pete and I went bowling with some friends. I didn't actually bowl, but i did use a ramp they have for kids to drop the ball on. I bowled a great game and beat most everyone because the ramp was pretty accurate. I may start bowling like that every time!

We also had a 'cyber shower' with Pete's family. We had people representing just about every time zone across the US. We had a phone conference set up and Pete and I were streaming live so people could see us opening gifts. It was a lot of fun to talk to many of his family members we don't see very often. I married into a phenomenal family who shower us with love and support!

Belly Pictures

Pete and I had some pictures taken with my big belly. Mandi Scoggin, a sweet and talented girl from our church, took them. I highly recommend her if you live in the area.
If you would like to check out the pics follow the link:

http://www.mlynnphotography.net/index2.php

Go to clients and the password is noah. I think she did great!

Noah's Painting

This is the painting I have been very excited about getting. A girl named Emilie at our church painted it for us. She did an amazing job and was so creative!! I love the Bible verse: "Noah did everything just as God commanded him" Genesis 6:11. I will be praying that verse over our Noah!

Fun times with friends

This month has already been fun hanging out with friends.

Amy, Emily, Amie

Amie and I handed out programs at our friend Emily's wedding. It was beautiful!! Her wedding colors were black and white and the ceremony was at a Ranch in Abilene. Let's just say it was a little hot...and Amie and I are both pregnant!

The pregnant Amy and Amie. And there was another pregnant girl there named Amy...no really.

Amie and Tomio invited Pete and I to the lake on their boat. It was lots of fun and the water felt great.

Belly pic

Laura, Kami, Amy, Rachel....2001

Kamie, Rachel, Laura, Amy

Some college friends came to Abilene for a visit. This is us taking a walk through ACU. Kami and I are both due in the next couple of weeks and Rachel and Laura have little girls. And Laura just found out she is pregnant again! Congrats!

They brought Kami and I baby gifts and we had a good time talking about what was to come with motherhood. It was great to see them.

I am still feeling great. Noah continues to move around, I have multiple Braxton Hicks contractions daily, my hips are a little sore from spreading. I stay indoors mostly thanks to 105 degree weather, but have been full on nesting since my days are numbered. I have even tried my hand at making granola, homeade bread, homeade muffins, and from scratch pancakes. Pete is enjoying this new hobby of mine. Today my friend Jessica is coming for a visit!

The countdown begins!

I had a doctor's appointment today and we had a great check up. I am dilated 1 1/2 centimenters. I realize this is not much, and doesn't really mean much, but it told me that things are starting to happen down there. Dr. Thompson sat down and talked to Pete and I about delivery options. As luck would have it the doc will be out of down during my due date. Since Noah will officially be considered 'full term' (37 weeks) on Friday and he seems to be growing and doing well we decided to induce labor the day before the doctor leaves (I will then be 39 weeks). So his birthday is July 30 unless he decides to come sooner on his own!! It feels so real to have an end date. Pete and I have 17 (or less) days to prepare for the little one. Everything crucial is already complete, but now I can focus on nesting and getting everything really organized. Ready or not, here he comes!!

June

I think it is safe to say that I am a little behind on posting. Well, June was a very busy month for me. I started out by going with my mom and sisters to New York City. Only my oldest sister had been before so she planned an awesome trip for us. I came home for a day and then left for Poland to visit Pete. It had been almost 2 months since I had seen him so it was great to spend some time with him. He seemed amazed at how big my belly was. He had to work, so this was a very relaxing trip with lots of good food. I then stopped off at Ireland to visit a college friend, Kelli. We did as much sightseeing as we could in 2 days. She was a great host. Upon returning to the US I went straight to my parent's house for my sister's wedding. whew. Now I am back in Abilene just waiting patiently on Noah's arrival.

Rockefeller Center

The bull near the stock exchange

We saw Mamma Mia! and it was great!

The hotel where pete lived while in Poland

Belly shot in the garden behind our hotel in Poland

The street in Gniezno, Poland

Kelli and I on our country side tour outside Dublin.

Guiness brewery in Dublin.


Having some relaxing time before the wedding

The cute couple

Off to the honey moon

When i returned to Abilene I went to the doctor and he said that everything looks good. My belly is measuring the size it should and all my vitals looked good. I have an appointment again in 2 weeks. The baby's room is almost ready, so when i get the rest of it together i will post some pics. I had hoped I would be ready to finish the nesting process, but since I have been back I have been pretty lazy. Maybe next week...