2 Week Check Up

Ian had his two week checkup yesterday. He is doing really well. he is back up to his original birth weight, plus 1/4 of an ounce. He has grown from 20.5 inches long to 20.75 inches. and his head is also bigger. So, good news. Ian is growing and he's healthy.

A Letter to Ian

Dear Ian,
Tomorrow you are two weeks old. I have looked at pictures from your first day and I am amazed that you have grown and changed already. I never would have believed our lives would change in such a crazy and wonderful way. We've gotten a lot less sleep. It takes us a lot longer to get out of the door when we need to be somewhere. We sleep in because sometimes it might be the only time you are sleeping, so we take advantage. There's been a lot of diapers to change, laundry to do, bottles to wash. I was disappointed that I was not able to breast feed you like I wanted to, I just don't have enough milk, but the 1-2 times a day that I do get to breast feed you, I really enjoy. You are so much calmer. I'm glad that you are gaining weight now, now that we know that you need the formula to get enough calories. That first week when you had your days and nights completely messed up. It was hard to get no sleep at all at night. I'm glad I was given a chance during the day when you decided you had to sleep. It was a rough week, now we seem to be settling in, it's not a breeze, but we are doing pretty well now.
The 17 hours of labor, they are all but forgotten. I would do all of it again to have you in our lives. You are absolutely the most amazing boy and you don't even do anything yet. It amazes me that God loves us enough to let us be part of his creating in this world. I now understand why God said after people were created, "And it was very good," because that is what you are. Very good. A beautiful creation and I feel so blessed to have made you.
I can watch you for hours. There are a couple days where I haven't gotten anything done, I was too busy watching you. Thank you for being a part of our lives. You are incredible.

Pictures of Ian James Lien

Ian James Lien
27 hours old, fed and very content






















Our first family portrait.
We are very tired and very happy.















Mommy and Baby. Now, I'm not sure why I would consent to pictures being taken or why I would publish them on the internet, but I do know that I would regret not taking the pictures more. I don't think I have ever looked happier or more tired and I know it was all worth it.
I also know that I am amazed at what I was able to do.







I never thought of Dustin as a "baby" person before.
To see Dustin and our son is a pure gift. He is a baby person, he just needed the right baby.

Daddy is very excited that tomorrow Ian and I get to come home and our family will be together.

WELCOME IAN JAMES LIEN

If you follow facebook, you have read this narrative. Why reinvent the wheel?
The waiting is over!! Yesterday we welcomed Ian James Lien into the world at 5:07 p.m. He wieghed 7.5 lbs. 20.4 inches long and is absolutely perfect, even if he was awfully hard on his momma coming into the world.

My water broke Thursday night at about 10:PM. I was brought to the hospital so I could be started on IV antibiotics for group B strep and since my cervix was thin, but I wasn't dilated or having contractions, I was put on petocin (sp?). Now, we didn't think it would kick in until the next morning, so we'd get some sleep. Wrong. I started having contractions a half hour later at about 12:30. By 1:00 they were coming every 2 minutes. The adjusted the petocin, the best if got was 2 and a half minutes. By 2:00 we got the IV med. Nubane was administered at 2:30. It was great for the next 3 hours. We thought I was going to do pretty good. The contractions started to get worse and I'm still not dilated. The second dose of Nubane was called for at about 6. It did absolutely nothing! Nothing! Contractions were coming every 1.5 minutes and they were very hard. I wasn't dilated at all and we had to call for the epidural.

At 7:30 the RNA showed up to give me the epidural. I am very lucky. I know the whole story now, it is good I didn't know then. You get three tries for an epidural. I was having contractions every. 1.5 minues. So, he had to stop so I could have them, I had to have contractions while in position and not move the stuff in my back. He missed the first two tries. My vertebra are apparently very tight. First time he bent the needle. Second time he couldn't get through the three vertebrae, just two, so he had to take it out and try again. Third time he made it. The good news. It as the perfect epidural. I could move my legs. I could feel the pressure of the contractions, the only thing I could not feel was the pain of the contractions. He did a marvelous job. If it were not for the epidural, the C-Section would have had to happen because I wouldn't have been able to make it through. I barely made it anyway.

My OB left on vaction the day before (that was how we knew I was going to have the baby this week! (heehee) So, another doctor had to be dispatched. She came in and said point blank the she was pretty sure I had ruptured prematurly and that we'd do the best to get me dilated and let me have a vaginal birth, but most likely we were having a C-section and she had made arrangements.

Our fabulous nurse Theresa (this woman was one of many of God's gifts to me), Dustin and I decided that we were going to prove her wrong. We almost didn't. By 1:00 I was dilated to 9 centimeters. We just hand one to go and some cevix. We thought we were home free. Our friend Kris came, she was my back up coach if Dustin couldn't be here. We asked her to come and Dustin and I needed her, the extra help and encouragment was what we needed. Thank you By 2:30 or so I was ready to push. I pushed and I pushed. I pushed with all my might for 2 hours. We were so close, just not close enough. The doctor was thinking it was time for a c-section because I had been working so hard. It took a lot to get his head around the corner and I was running out of steam.

Because Ian was not in distress, she said she would let me keep trying if I wanted to. I said I was going to do it. Another half hour of pushing. I was making progress, I had been the whole time, just never enough. We got the vacuum out and she said she would give it 3 tries and then we were probably going to have to call the surgeon. The first try with the vacuum did a lot. The second set of contractions with the vaccuum did even more, but the suction came off during my second round of pushing, I thought the doctor was going to fly across the room when it went. The good news, it went so well that she let me keep trying. I did not have a lot of strength left, so our last effort was an episiotomy. I figured I had 6 pushes left in me. That was two sets of contractions, three pushes each. On the first set of three. I delivered Ian. Dustin, Kris, Theresa, Dr. Hoggarth and I willed that baby out as much as I pushed, I have no idea how our Good Creator was able to give me that last bit of energy to get him into the world, but I am so thankful that it was there, because I know it wasn't my energy, I had to borrow it from somewhere.

Also, leave it to a Lutheran Pastor to have her baby on Good Friday (the day of the crucifixion) I guess Good Friday has extra meaning for me today, it is a day of life all around. Possible, potential and real. My own Death and Ressurection day rolled into one.

So, I did it! We have a beautiful baby boy. He is so healthy and precious and perfect. We are very proud. I have to say, if it wasn't for feeding, which only I can do, his father wouldn't have given him up at all. Dustin and our family were the main ones to hold him yesterday. As exhausted as I was, it was probaby okay. At 3:AM this morning, Ian and I had a good hour and a half of mama/son time with feeding and me not willing to let him go back to the nursery yet. I sent Dustin home last night to get some sleep too, everyone needed it! He'll be back this morning some time. I think everyone is just leaving me alone for awhile to rest.

I will post pictures as soon as Dustin comes back with the camera. He took it with him to show it off to the staff in ER on his way home last night.

So, there's my week in a nutshell. No more waiting! And all the pain and craziness. Totally worth it!

Update from the doctor!

So, Good news. I do not have preeclampsia. My urine test came back and there was no protein. On the other side of things. I do have pregnancy induced high blood pressure. My bp was pretty high at the doctor's appointment. I am on a low dose of blood pressure medicine and it is working well. We will induce Friday the 17th.
I have to take it easy still, but I'm not quite as limited as I was going to be. I had a very good nonstress test. It took less than 5 minutes. That is how active Ian was. Good boy.
I also had a bio physical profile with the radiologist. That looked really good as well. Circulation to the placenta is good. I have more than adequate amniotic fluid. Development is on track and we got two great ultrasound pics, I'll post them after Dustin gets home, they are in the pickup. He wanted to show them off at work.
We have a great side profile of the face and we also have a great picture of his foot.
So, there is the baby update and assuming that I don't go into labor, we will have a baby on the 17th. YAY!

Wow! Look at how many times I can post in a day?

I finished a knitted baby blanket today. It's yellow. I have another blanket to finish, one I started forever ago. I ended up hating the yarn. Not the color, but working with it. It's feels great worked up, but there is no give, so I don't enjoy working with it. but, I don't have much left, so I am going to finish the blanket. I have the time.
The puppies are both sleeping. Thank goodness. They have been pretty good today. One Gracie accident, but she caught herself by the door and whined, so she is getting there.
I haven't packed my bag for the hospital yet. I would like to get the toiletries together, at least. I just haven't been in the basement to get the bag.
I found a list of what to pack for the hospital. Ummm. How long do they think you are going to be staying. I know there is a worse case scenario, but wow, some people really pack a lot of stuff. I cut the list down to what I thought I needed. I'm pretty sure that I'm overpacking. Hmmm. Still, I wouldn't know what to cut out. I'm glad that I found the list, there are some things I never would have thought of and they made sense. so, hopefully I can get a few things packed tonight. I've got the stuff. Here's the late afternoon update.

Update! Two weeks to go!

I am enjoying the afternoon. I was going to slowly deal with the shelves in the pantry. One shelf at a time for 20 minutes at a time. But, my fingers are a bit swollen, which means my blood pressure is up a bit. So, I think I'll just sit and knit some more. Maybe this rest thing isn't so bad. Hmmmm.
I will get a blanket done today, I think.
My neighbor called and we had a nice visit.
Ian is moving around quite a bit today. Mostly, he's been dropping. I have had a bit of trouble walking, it is very uncomfortable.
i had some contractions on Saturday, but they stopped after I got to sit down for awhile. I haven't had any since.
My parents are coming on Thursday, so I am going to get some freezer recipes together and have my mom make them for me while she is here. I don't think she will mind. She's usually looking for something to do. They are coming to help get the house ready for the baby. We have lots of cleaning to do and it will be too much for Dustin to do it all by himself. It might be okay for me to do a little more after tomorrow's appointment.
I think I'll get back to knitting. Go Go Garter blanket.

two weeks to go!

Hi all,
Sorry for the late post last time. I wrote it, but couldn't get it to post and then we had internet issues over the weekend. So, you got it late.

I am doing much better. I am getting over the guilt of sitting around. I know it is what is best for the baby, so that helps. I was just in full nesting mode when the doc told me to put the brakes on, so that made it tough.

I go in tomorrow to get an update on the preeclampsia. My bp's have been really good since I have started taking it easy. So, I feel good.

Dustin went in to work today. He'll be home tonight, so that's nice. He originally had to be gone until tomorrow morning.

The only thing I want to get done today is get my bag packed for the hospital. It seems like something that should get accomplished pretty soon. Just in case.

My doc is out of town from the 9th-15th. So, it needs to be really soon...or after awhile. We'll see how tomorrow's appointment goes.

Have a good day.

Bed Rest! Really? Ugh!

So, my OB appointment didn't go according to plan on Friday.
My appointment was at 9:AM and Dustin had to work, but would meet me if he could. I called on my way into town. He had just gotten to the ED (emergency department) and was doing a report when I called, so I said, no problem. Most of the time. I wait for 30-45 minutes to see the doctor for 5 minutes. I get weighed, measured. blah, blah. blah.
Things did not happen this way, this time. go figure.
My blood pressure was up a bit the week before, but the urine tested clean for protein, so they just watched it.
This time. My blood pressure was up again. A bit higher and the urine test showed protein...So, I am borderline for preeclampsia. So, plans changed. I had blood draws. I was then sent to the hospital labor and delivery ward for a nonstress test and given instruction to get my feet up and relax.
So, stresstest went great. I sang at a wedding on Saturday. My bp was up a bit after that and that made Sunday morning tough.
since I have been relaxing on the couch and not doing too much, my bp has stayed really good. So, tomorrow we'll find out how it is going.
Until then. You will get knitting and TV updates.

I've been better for awhile. Sorry, internet was down!

When the blizzard hit, my internet wasn't working. Dustin got home the morning after my last depressing post and was home until today.
He went into town today and will get some work stuff caught up, get a haircut and fill my grocery list. I am home cleaning up the demolition.
We started another phase of remodeling. Taking out part of a wall in the kitchen. It is looking good, but we need to do a bit of clutter control.
Right now, I am taking a break from putting away laundry.
We got about 16 inches of snow. So, it seems we have started all over again waiting for spring.
Jamestown started sandbagging today. The crest should be in about two weeks. It looks like it may set records. It isn't a good spring as far as all the water goes.
Our township has roads washed out, so, it is getting difficult to get to my inlaws house. I haven't gone there in awhile. I didn't go when Dustin went yesterday. As soon as calving starts it is going to be a muddy mess. I won't be helping with calving this year. The chances of getting kicked are too high. After the baby is born. Well, someone has to be with the baby.
So, there's teh update of the day.