Two Weeks Old!

G V

I just came across this old blog entry in our "drafts" folder. V Man was only two weeks old. Amazing how he has grown since then.

Pee Pee

Gus V - 3
New dad - 0

This bonding thing can be costly. We both like it when he sleeps on my stomach, but things can go south in seconds. Next time, I might have to spank him. (Actually, he can pee on me all he wants.)

A Few Firsts

We've had a few highlights worth mentioning.

Friday, the 17th: Gus IV and V caught some of the Cardinals / Cubs game. Yes, we watched baseball on the day he was born, but I had to indoctrinate him at the first possible opportunity.

Monday, the 20th: First introduction to a contigent from the Currin family (Sam, Sr. and Sam, Jr. absent). The Currins have been friends since my freshman year at Covenant. Luke (green shirt) was quick to point out Gus's developing neck rolls.

Tuesday, the 21st: Gus's first "walk" in the neighborhood. We got to show him off to a few of our friends while using our new jogging stroller. Thankfully, the mosquitoes didn't carry Gus off.

Wednesday, the 22nd: Gus's first field trip. It was to the pediatrician's, which he wasn't crazy about. He was happy to get a clean bill of health, however. We discovered that he really does well in his car seat. Hmmm...can we use it at home, too?
Thursday, the 23rd: His first bath. He actually seemed to enjoy it. Of course, we had very little idea of what we were doing so it may be a different story in the future.

Saturday, the 25th: Our first "date" without Gus. Admittedly, it was only to the scooter shop and lasted about 45 minutes, but it was nice to be together. We've been missing each other the last week or so. This teamwork thing often requires us to trade off responsibilities. Thanks to Patti and Chris for "watching" Gus while we were gone. He was the perfect grandchild as he just slept the entire time we were gone.Saturday, the 25th: Gus, V pees in the face (literally) of Gus, IV. I was ready to cover his pee pee with a washcloth, but he caught me in the 1.6 second transition. Gus, 2. New dad, 0.

Saturday, the 25th: Gus went out on the town for the first time. The Deterdings wanted to treat us to some of our favorite Thai food, but instead of take out we decided to just take him with us and test the waters. He just stayed in his car seat and slept the whole time, up in the window next to our booth...quite a sight.

Gosh, it's been fun so far.

First Field Trip

We took Gus to the pediatrician's office today. While he was not at all thrilled about being poked, prodded and undressed, we did get a clean bill of health. For that, we are extremely thankful. Now, the only remaining appointment as a result of his initial infection is to go to the audiologist's office. Apparently, some children that are administered that particular kind of antibiotic at such an early age may lose some or all of their hearing. We're not worried though, because he seems to react to the noises around him. We'll go, however, just to make sure.

Now, if we could just keep him from sticking his fingers in his eyes...

Thanks, again, for all of your prayers.

The First 24!

We've survived our first 24 hours home together!! It's been exhausting, but fun. I didn't sleep much last night...not because Gus was up but because I kept checking on him at every little peep (he peeps alot!). I've decided that the secret to success at this new parent thing is three-fold:
*My mother (who has made us delicious meals, brought us treats from Niedlov's for breakfast, vaccuumed, made the bed, watered plants, etc...and we still have one more mother yet to come!)

*Naps! (It's amazing how the world can look completely different after some sleep...for all of us!)

*teamwork (Scott and I have been sharing responsibilities.)

So, we'll see how our second night as a family goes...and then it's off to our first pediatrician's visit bright and early in the A.M.! We'll see if Gus is up for a field trip! Please pray that Gus will continue to get a good report with regards to his previous infection.

Unplugged and Home!

Give thanks! Gus was discharged at 2 pm today and we're finally home! As far as the NICU goes, I'm sure we had it easier than a lot of moms and dads out there but it sure was hard at times. We are so glad to be back together.

After getting him through the house tour, Gus nursed for a while in his new room. (Amy says that nursing with out all of those wires attached to Gus was 10 times easier. And oh, Amy's milk started letting down this am!) Afterwards, I offered to hold him while Amy had a late lunch. Two minutes later, he went pee on my shirt. Gus, 1. New dad, 0.

Thanks for all of your prayers! We appreciated them so much. Please pray for us as we get settled here at home.

Got Milk?

The nurses in the Special Care Unit have been so wonderful over this last day and night. Gail, our favorite nurse by far, is pictured below and has been assigned to Gus both day shifts he's been there. She reminds me a lot of Scott's aunt, Wendy. Give thanks for Gail! She's been a God-send.


Yesterday afternoon they said that it would be OK for us to come and breastfeed Gus in the NICU after we told them that we didn't want them to supplement his IV with formula. So we are trying to get all that figured out...it's pretty complicated as some of you may well know. We fed him at midnight, 4 am, 8 am and then again at 11 am so far today. It's actually going fairly well and my milk is already starting to come in. We'd really like to be able to get some pumped to leave here for him before we have to go home (which will be at some point tonight), but I'm not quite able to get that much into a bottle yet. Please pray that it would come in quickly, so that we don't have to supplement with formula. The plan is to check out of the room around 8 or 9 pm, watch the Cards/Cubs game in the lobby (I love listening to Joe Morgan and John Miller) and then give him a midnight feeding before we head home. If we've got enough milk to leave, we'll come back in the morning. If not, I'm not sure if we'll come back at 4 am or not...and from where. We've talked about getting a hotel room so we don't have to drive from home in the middle of the night. The NICU nurses have been calling us when he starts to get fussy, so getting a call and then making him wait 20 minutes isn't ideal. We may have to let them give him some formula if the logistics just don't make sense.

As far as Gus goes, he seems to be showing signs of improvement. His fever is gone and his breathing has slowed down some, but not to the ideal level. The biggest hurdle to clear Monday morning will be his bloodwork. We don't really understand what they'll be looking for, but those results will determine whether or not he stays for another round of antibiotics or whether he comes home with us. So, please be praying for a positive reading. More than anything, we just want him to be healthy so if he has to stay another few days that's obviously best, but it sure would be great to get him unplugged and take him home.

Sick Baby

Please pray for us this morning. We spent the day with Gus V yesterday and had a blast; everything was great. We were wiped out, however, and sent him to the nursery last night. While he was there, the staff determined that Gus had developed a low-grade fever and was breathing too quickly, so they decided to do a chest x-ray and blood work to check for possible infection as a result of me (Amy) being group b strep positive. They give you antibiotics in labor if you are positive, but they had a lot of trouble getting my IV in so my doses happened pretty late in the process so it may be that they were not entirely successful.

Gus's x-ray this morning showed some possible congestion in his lungs and he had a slightly elevated level of some type of inflammation thingy in his blood (don't quite understand it all.) So he has been admitted to the NICU for 48 hours of antibiotics and monitoring.

We are allowed to visit whenever we want, but of course we miss him terribly. Just please pray that the medicines would head off any possible infections, that Scott and I would trust and not worry and that we would all be able to be home together soon. We hope to have him back for good on Monday, but it could be as long as a week. He spends most of his time sleeping, and he's not in any pain, but it's just so hard to leave him alone. Thanks for your prayers!!

All in the Family

Well, the day we thought might never arrive has come!! I'm sitting here now looking at our brand-spanking new son....who is whining in his sleep with the cutest little voice ever!! So to recap for everyone, here's our story in a nutshell.

Tuesday: 100% effaced and 3 cm - we are assured by the midwife we will have the baby that day. Other than prelabor contractions, nothing happens.

Wednesday: Another day of increasing prelabor contractions, but no real action. After 16 weeks of waiting, OUR CRIB ARRIVES AND GETS ALL SET UP!! Talk about perfect timing! See, God is gracious with small details, too! (Thanks to Dad and Judy for the crib!!!!! Also, thanks to Patti for her help making the pillows, bumper cover and dust ruffle!)

Thursday: A laid back, uneventful day with no contractions until around 8:15 pm...when they hit full force. NO warmups; NO progression. Then the show was definitely on! Here's our recollection of the highlights:

8:15 pm strong contractions begin
9:00 contractions strong and regular…4 minutes apart 1 to 2 minutes long
10:35 headed to hospital
11:00 admitted to test room; contractions hurting badly; still only 3 cm dilated
12:30 admitted to our own room
1:00 heplock for administration of strep B antibiotics finally started...4th try a charm
2:00 finally done administering antibiotics; check up; 5 cm dilated
3:45 6 cm dilated; contractions hurting badly
4:45 7.5 cm dilated
5:10 water breaks! midwife arrives a few minutes later
5:39 OK given for Amy to start pushing; second treatment for strep B only half way in
6:33 GUS!


We really enjoyed the medical staff. They were so supportive of our birth plan and were great encouragers, especially during the pushing stage. Since labor began, we haven't gotten much sleep, but it's been great to hang out with Gus and to introduce him to those friends who have stopped by. Patti and Chris, Amy's parents, arrived from Maryland at about 3 this afternoon. They've already been so supportive and helpful.


Our visitors have included: Dave and Sally Worland (Dave is Scott's boss); Dauna Clinton (a teacher from Amy's old school) and two of Amy's old students; a doctor from our pediatrician's office; Luke Currin (one of Scott's old friends); Andrew, Jessi and Bennett Cook (Drew and Jessi are friends from Covenant); and Drs. Lisa and John (our chiropractors...here to meet Gus and also give him his first adjustment). Lisa and John were very supportive and helpful as we tried to create a natural birth plan.



After our visitors left, Chris and Patti were wise enough to suggest that we get some rest. After 34 hours without sleep, we were happy to take their counsel!


In addition to the one above, here's another of our favorite pictures so far:



Given that we're already so in love with Gus, I'm sure there will be more to add soon! Thanks for all of your prayers!

Good Morning!

Gus Noll V
7 lbs. 0 oz.
19.5 inches long
6:33 am, August 17th
We are all doing fine. More later!

Bragging Rights

Amy and I took pregnancy classes with Stephanie Thomas, one of Chattanooga's four Bradley Method certified instructors, along with four other couples. We were pleased to have the opportunity to meet the first baby born to the group earlier today. Despite being "due" one day later than we are, Norman and Angela had "Troy" late last week and are already out parading him around town (and they should...he's a very cute newborn). Thanks for coming by, guys. Hopefully we're next (although not much is happening right now).

DEFCOM 2

Well, we had another appointment this morning. Amy is 100% effaced (same as last week) but is now up to 3 cm dilated and Gus has moved to +2 station. So, what does that mean. . .it means the circumstances are right, but Gus is going to come out when he's finally ready and not a second before. Our midwife says we'll probably deliver sometime tonight, but she also guessed last Tuesday that we wouldn't make it a week to today's appointment. I guess that's the way it goes...you just never really know. Every woman is different and so is every situation, so the best one can do is make an educated guess.

A few things I do know. First, Amy's contractions are coming more frequently and they're certainly different than before...along with being stronger. Second, our little time bomb is taking Amy on an emotional roller coaster. Everytime she thinks we're close, things slow down. She's frustrated, so pray for her if you have a second.

So, that's where we are. We'll let you know when we have something definite. Since we don't have any pictures of the little fella yet, I've pasted some of our first few pictures with our new camera. I had a little time this past weekend to take some shots. Thanks to everyone that pitched in to help us save up for this!!! We'll reward with you plenty of baby pictures sometime soon!

The Waiting Game

While Amy has been having some stronger contractions over the past few days, there still isn't a definite pattern. We thought for sure that he'd be here by now, but it just shows how little is up to us. Actually, it's probably better this way. Otherwise, we'd continue to believe that we have the foggiest notion of what we're really getting into.

We have an appointment tomorrow (Tuesday, 8/14) so we'll have more specific information soon. Until then, we'll just keep playing the waiting game...

Nothing New For Now

Well, we have nothing new to report today. I'm getting impatient and a little bored, so to keep me occupied, Scott challenged me the other night to come up with a list of things I'm looking forward to once I am no longer pregnant. Needless to say, it did not take me long to come up with a top 10 list. So here it is!

1. Being able to get up off the couch/bed without having to execute a 3-point turn-like maneuver.

2. Being able to drink wine again!

3. Being able to bend over (it's amazing how many tasks require this skill).

4. Being able to go more than approximately 30 minutes between restroom breaks.

5. Having normal-sized ankles and toes again...even when it's hot out.

6. Being able to sleep with just two pillows, instead of being wedged into a fort-like complex involving 4 or 5.

7. Not having to change my shirt multiple times a day because I have, once again, spilled food on my shelf of a stomach.

8. Being able to wear my beautiful wedding ring again!

9. Being able to (I cannot believe I'm saying this!!) go running.

10. Being able to watch my husband hold our baby for the first time:)

Woo-Hoo!

Good news at the doctor's today! I'm 1-2 cm dilated and 100% effaced:)

So, it's any day now....

or in two weeks....

we'll keep you posted!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCOTT!!

Why is he so special??

Well, he's fun-loving....

responsible.....

(most of the time!)

willing to try anything....

and, plus, he's just so gosh-darn good looking!!

I love you buddy! Have a wonderful day!

"Are you ready to come out yet?"

This is Scott's favorite saying these days!! He has been asking Gus this daily, but so far...we've gotten no answer! The nursery is almost ready....it's painted, organized and toys are ready to be cuddled! We're just missing a crib-but it's due to make landfall in the U.S. sometime

THIS WEEK!

As we get more and more excited, I am getting more uncomfortable, which I've been told is a good thing. I think that Gus must be getting uncomfortable too! He's been doing a ton of stretching and pushing and general fidgeting lately. So now we are just getting used to waiting and wondering when he will arrive. We had our last pregnancy class last night so technically we should be prepared, but I'm still not sure:)

8 months!! Sometimes, we still can't believe this is actually happening to us!

Our Bradley classmates and teacher

This morning, I enjoyed an hour long prenatal massage which was one of my shower gifts from a teacher at school. It was lovely!! I think I've been more pampered in the last 2-3 months than any other time of my life!

We had two more showers this past weekend. It's unbelievable how blessed we have been! We had one with a bunch of neighborhood folks on Friday night and another at church on Sunday. It was especially great to get to know some of our neighbors a little better and for a lot of them to get to meet each other for the first time. We even got some babysitting offers in advance!!

The beautiful cake from our neighborhood shower!

Guess that's all the latest news from the Nolls. Gus says hello (if hiccups count!).