All right..I give in!!

I've always thought I was pretty good at not giving into peer-pressure. Guess not, in my old age. ;) Everyone in my family is all over me to blog, so here it is.

I had started this blog at the beginning of the year, about two months after Bug was born. Then life got a bit out of control, and I let it go. So I'm going to give a quick update and start where life is today.

We found out in April of this year that I was pregnant..again. I was already six weeks along when we found out. To say we were in shock, would have been the understatement of the year. My first pregnancy test was expired, but it was positive before I had the chance to put it down on the counter. We got another one...same thing. That was Sunday. On Thursday I went into my OB and had another positive test and an ultrasound. When I saw how big the amniotic sack was I told my OB I was going to pass out. She asked if I was kidding. I wasn't and rolled over on my side just in time, before it happened.

Because of my medications we had a couple of special 4-D scans with a specialist. The first one showed extra skin on the base of the baby's neck. This is an indication of a chromosomal defect, such as Downs syndrome or Turner's syndrome, among hundred's of other "problems". Lee and I were devastated on that ride home. That night, as we prayed for the health of our baby, the Lord showed me my baby..in a blue blanket and everything was fine. We had to wait about three weeks to have an amnio done. In the meantime, I went to Utah to help Mom after her back surgery and Lee went to New York on a business trip. Both went fine and we both did our best to hold onto the Lord's promise that everything was fine. When we both came back, we had the amnio done. They said it would take 7-10 days for the results. Because it was memorial day weekend it took closer to 15 days. Finally, after a bunch of calls we got the results. The baby was fine..and we were having a boy. Lee and I knew the baby would be fine, and were ecstatic this was a boy...since this was our last one.

Fast forward to September 22. I was having horrible pains in my right side. We figured it was appendicitis. We drove the 58 miles down to the hospital that my OB is at. It took a long time, and the ride was made longer when I threw up and we weren't able to pull over. We went straight to Labor and Delivery, rather than the Emergency Room. We knew they would have just sent us there anyhow. They admitted me that night and the next day the tests showed that I had pre-eclampsia. I was stuck in the hospital on bed rest until the baby was born. I was there for two and a half weeks. The last week Mr. William decided he wanted out. Nine shots of terbutaline and Terb pills every six hours for the last four days, he was delivered via C-section on October 8, at 5:57 P.M. He weighed 6 lbs 6.2 oz...or 2900 grams exactly. He was admitted into the NICU immediately because of breathing problems. He also was having a hard time regulating his temperature and blood sugar. We were hoping his stay would be similarly short, as Bug's was, but not so.

Will is still in the NICU. He has graduated from the heater, to the incubator to the open crib. He is gaining weight so he doesn't need the IV's anymore. Everything the NICU is watching for is great...except the eating. Right now he is alternating between bottle feedings and gavage (which is the feeding tube in his nose) In order for him to come home he needs to have every feeding be nipple and he needs to eat it in less than 30 minutes..which is a problem. He does not have the endurance at this point to even do two nipples in a row. He also uses his strength to socialize rather than to eat. Fits right into our family. :) Yesterday they did two nipples in a row and the second feeding took fifty-five minutes. So he's back to alternating. It's a bit frustrating for us. We see babies come in after him and leaving before him, but hopefully soon it will kick in an he'll be home.

Other than the feeding issues, we've been told the Will has a few "unusual features". Apparently he is disproportionate. His arms and legs are shorter than they should be. His head is larger than most newborns and the first joints on his thumbs are short. According to his neonatologist this could mean nothing or hundreds of things. One of the doctors explained to us that sometimes pieces of chromosomes will break off and re-insert themselves somewhere else. They decided to not do another chromosomal test and just to watch him as he grows. They seem to not be too worried so we just trust them. We're not at all worried about the large head. That is a family trait on Lee's mum's side. Will's physical therapists will be following up with him as he grows and we will know later on if we have something to worry about.

We are hoping to have him home soon. He has an amazing, mellow personality at this point. Already, he is smiling. Apparently, according to the nurses and physical therapists, some babies can smile early on. I didn't believe it at first, but I've seen it with my own eyes. We feel very blessed to have such amazing children. I will continue to update the blog and send e-mail updates when I have time and am not at the hospital. I will post new pictures on here when I have them. Also, we post all our pictures on our photo album which is at http://www.leeandangela.myphotoalbum.com/. Prayers would be appreciated for our family, especially little Will.