What a week!

Man, it's been a strange and long week. There is much to tell, so I suppose I'll start at the beginning, which happens to fall on Tuesday of last week. It was 8:30 in the AM, and the phone rang. I happened to be up, because I'd just finished feeding Keely. Answered the phone. It's Keely's pediatrician's nurse, Reyna, who proceeds to tell me that Keely's PKU test she had in the hospital right after birth came back abnormal for thyroid. They want additional testing to make sure it was done right. After freaking out the whole way to the doctor's office, I got to visit with the doc at around 11:00. Dr. Stripling talked with me for a little bit, explaining that the test shows that her thyroid is not making enough of the hormone it produces. In short, her pituitary gland is telling the thyroid to produce more of the hormone, so it is working in overdrive to fill the demand. If it kept up at the pace it was going, her thyroid would eventually burn out completely. Think of it as diabetes but with an entirely different organ. He did manage to calm my nerves by saying that since they caught this early, she should be completely fine. It would mean a few visits to an endocrinologist and medication. Next, I took her down to the lab for the additional testing. I had to watch them stick my baby again; this time was one of the worst. They drew a full vial of blood from her arm. She was screaming, and I felt helpless. I wanted to cry with her. Poor, sweet baby. Mean lady sticking her with a needle in the arm. I mean, they'd pricked her heel twice within the week. Third time is not a charm. After waiting a day and a half for the results, Keely was diagnosed with Congenital Hypothryoidism. She's okay, really, but it could have ended up rather unfortunately, if they hadn't caught this condition at the beginning. So, this brings us to Wednesday. We got her prescription from the pharmacy the night before. The pharmacist recommended we wait until morning to give it to her. It came in a tablet form that had to be dissolved in 5 mL of H2O. Carl crushed the tablet, combined it with water, and tried to give it to her while I held her hands and head. She hated it! I mean, really hated it. I don't think babies like water anyway, but she really didn't like it with a semi-dissolved tablet in it. It took 10 minutes to get her to finish it. Carl and I agreed that we had to find another way to get her to take this stuff.

Luckily, Keely's 2 week appointment was scheduled for the following day. Carl took off work and came with me. The appointment was at 1:45, but it was literally 3:30 before we saw anyone. Carl's pretty impatient. He did not do well with the wait. It turns out that a different patient had appendicitis, so the situation could not be helped. The good points of the visit: 1. Keely now weighs 7 lbs. 2 oz., meaning that she has surpassed her birth weight. 2. Keely has grown 1/2 an inch since birth. 3. We found a new way to burp her that actually works most of the time. 4. The nurse hunted down a pharmacy that would compound the tablets into liquid form and mix them with grape flavoring. Keely actually likes this. 5. Keely's muscle tone is very good. Dr. Stripling said she is very strong already. The bad points of the visit: 1. They had to do another PKU test, where they pricked Keely's heel and filled those 6 circles. She cried pretty hard. 2. We didn't get out of there until nearly 4:30. Talk about a long wait! Imagine enduring that wait with a husband who needs to get back to work and a baby that had to wait an additional 45 minutes to eat. It was a long day, to say the least. At any rate, we did get to ask our questions and get some answers about this condition. Keely actually got a version of this medicine that she takes well, only I'm afraid it will take her body time to adjust to it. She's had an upset stomach for the past three days, since we started the medicine. It might not be a direct link, but I'm thinking it is. So, now we are at Friday. We had to take Keely to the hospital (doctor's orders) to get a thyroid scan. The procedure resembled an MRI, I guess. They wanted to figure out if her thyroid was fully developed and where it was exactly. With congential hypothryoidism, her thyroid either did not develop fully or developed in the wrong place. The purpose of the scan was to tell which it was. Our appointment was scheduled for 11:00, so we checked in around 10:30. They had to give her an IV in the hand in order to give her a minute dosage of radiation so they could see what was going on and some saline. Poor Keely had to get stuck yet again! It was horrible. Now, I have grown somewhat accustomed to have blood drawn due to all of my fertility treatments and being pregnant. But, I hated watching Keely have to go through all of it. Of course, she cried when they stuck her. I wanted to cry, too. The good points of this visit: 1. We'll get results and know where we go from here. We would really like to know what the next step is. 2. The pictures taken will go to the endocrinologist, and we'll get an appointment set up with him. The bad points: 1. We did not get out of there until after 2:00. Carl had to miss even more work, which he understandably complained a lot about. 2. We had to hold Keely completely still, while at an awkward angle to do so, during the photo session. Keely was not happy, but she finally fell asleep (and so did Carl and me) during the last shot. 3. We won't know results until Tuesday. Friday was a long day, too, to say the least.

So, yesterday, we gave Keely her medicine in the AM. She cried for about half of the day, acting like she just felt off. Carl and I were tired, too, but we mostly felt sorry for her. We would get her to calm down and doze off, but she would wake up as soon as we put her down, crying and crying. We held her most of the day, because of this. Even still, she was not very happy. It wasn't until we took her for a car ride and stroll around the mall that she slept for an extended amount of time. When we got home and took her out of the carrier, though, she woke up again and cried some more. She was having a rough time, and we didn't know what to do about it. I finally called my mom around 9:00 PM. By the time I got off the phone, though, Carl had her settled down, I fed her, and she slept, meaning that I could sleep. We slept on the couch until her next feeding at 1:00 ish. Carl went on to bed, while I fed her. Keely slept until her next feeding at 4:00 ish. She was awake after that feeding, so I didn't think she would let me get some sleep. I was wrong, though. I put her in her swing, and she fell asleep. She didn't wake up until 8:30. She's really a good baby. She just isn't used to all of this medicine and got worn out with the doctor's visits and long waits. Poor, sweet baby. It was as tough on Carl and me, if not tougher, as it was on her, though. So, for those of you who are praying people, send one up to the big man on Keely's behalf. Pray that she'll overcome this condition or at least adjust to the medicine. Faith moves mountains, and I am confident Keely will be just fine. Even still, a few more prayers for her would be greatly appreciated. Enjoy the pics.

Keely Pictures

Here are the pictures I promised. I've taken so many more, but these are a few of my favorites. These are from my camera, but I am sure there will be more to come from Carrie Tungate Photography soon. She designed the birth announcements we got last night and plan to send out soon. Those of you needing a pro photographer, keep my sister in mind.

A week ago today . . .

I gave birth to our daughter, Keely Star, at exactly 3:32 in the afternoon. I thought I would offer some highlights of the past week and share some of the latest photos I have of our sweet baby girl.

The first night we were home, Keely kept us up all night. Fortunately, Carl didn't have work the next day, which was Saturday; so despite being dragged down from a physical standpoint, the lack of sleep didn't affect us to the point of total inability to function. We figured out real quick that Keely loves to cuddle. She wanted us to hold her, and we did most of Saturday and Sunday--really, most of the week. I guess I like to cuddle with her, too. On Saturday, we realized that none of the clothes we had for Keely to wear fit her. She was born weighing 6 lbs. 13 oz., which is pretty small, given the fact that our last sono estimated her birth weight to be in the vicinity of 8 lbs. After little hesitation, I called my oldest sister, Amy, who lives just about 4 blocks from me, to stay with Keely, while Carl and I ran to Babies R Us to get the girl some clothes that fit, preemie size in other words. I wasn't supposed to drive due to the pain pills I was taking, and I did not trust Carl to pick out clothes on his own. We were only gone about 45 minutes. Amy was thrilled that I had asked her to do us this favor. We got two really cute outfits and some of those waterproof lap pads, spent pretty much all of the gift card we'd planned on saving for an emergency need-more-diapers-but-we're-broke run. Carl and I enjoyed the time alone and out of the house, since we had not left home or the hospital since being admitted the previous Tuesday. But, even though we enjoyed the time away, I ended up feeling super guilty that evening. Keely would not eat--we're breastfeeding--and she kept crying. I spent Saturday night up with her, trying to get her to nurse, and crying my eyes out because who leaves a three-day-old baby with a sitter to complete some mindless task and why wouldn't my baby girl eat, amongst being so tired and feeling the effects of post-partum blues. I decided to give her formula at that point, because I was afraid she would starve. This continued all through Sunday. I would try to nurse but end up giving her formula. I was so sad about it, too. It was a wishy-washy day. Carl didn't know what to do. I couldn't stop feeling the way I was feeling either. Between both of us, we were a wreck. Then comes Monday, the day of Keely's first doctor's appt. I tried to feed her prior to making the 8:30 visit with Dr. Stripling. She actually ate a tiny bit, but I still supplemented with formula, which she only took an ounce of. I left the diaper bag and everything else in the car and headed uo to the 5th floor with Keely in my arms. (I'm not supposed to carry anything over 10 lbs., since I had to have an episiotomy during delivery.) Lo and behold, I brought a starving baby to the appt. The office was freezing, and her blanket was in the car. She was screaming, and I had nothing with me besides the useless contents of my purse. The nurse came in to assess the situation, took Keely from me so I could finish filling out the mounds of paperwork needed, and even found her a bottle of the ready-made formula I'd been using so my little girl wouldn't go hungry. She fed her, while I expressed my concerns about breastfeeding. The lady made me feel a lot better and made sure to list nursing as one of my concerns for Dr. Stripling to address. When he came in, he was almost exactly the same as I remembered him being when I was a kid, only he was quite a bit older. He said Keely looked great, that he thought she was a pretty baby, had great muscle tone, even that he thought her cry was sort of cute, compared to some of the other cries he'd heard. He addressed all of my concerns and gave me the phone number to La Leche League, a group of "breastfeeding experts," according to him. After watching my daughter scream and wail during the PKU test, where they prick a heel and squeeze the blood out of it, I headed to my mom's because my Momo was due to arrive soon to see her newest great-grandchild. I spent the day there, called the number to LLL, and ended up getting some wonderful advice from Helen (of the league)that worked like a charm that afternoon. Keely breastfed for 20 minutes that time. I was relieved and happy. I decided to attend the monthly meeting of LLL the following morning, despite having success for most of the night. I gave in and gave Keely a bottle of formula during her 6 AM feeding, mostly because I was so exhausted. The meeting was at 10. I am so glad I attended, too, because I haven't had to give my baby a bottle since that 6 AM feeding. Helen helped a lot. Breastfeeding in front of people was almost a violation of my modesty, but I got over it because I wanted to help my baby girl get this down. And, I did. Yay for that! I even met another mom of a 6 week old that I thought I could be friends with. I didn't get her number or anything, but I plan to go to the next meeting in July, where I will likely see her. Even though we're getting the hang of things now, I still liked being able to connect with other moms and moms-to-be. Getting and giving advice were also perks of the meeting. Keely's had successful feedings since. That doesn't necessarily mean my darling hubby and I have gotten a good night's sleep, though. Keely sleeps better now that her tummy is full, but she still wakes up wanting to be held multiple times during the night. For instance, on Monday, I was so exhausted that I didn't know if I would make it. I was going off of 2 hrs. of sleep each night for the past 3 nights. I was drained. I also was trying to help Carl out by staying up with Keely during the night. He had to go back to work Monday, and I have the summer off. But, Monday night, I just couldn't do it. After feeding her and putting her down in the bassinet, my energy was shot. She woke up less than an hour later, crying for someone to pick her up. Carl woke me up, thinking I would do it, but no go. I just didn't have anything to offer. He got up instead and brought Keely to bed with him. She slept, while he watched a movie and tried his hardest not to doze off. When I woke up a couple of hours later, it was time for Carl to get ready for work. He told me that she was being so sweet and that it was okay I didn't get up with her. He was pretty tired Tuesday, though, which affected his temperament. At around 5 AM the following morning, I was trying to feed Keely, but she wouldn't wake up. I kept thinking she would wake up any minute, ready to eat, and I would just have to get up out of my comfy bed again and feed her. Rather than do that, I propped my feet up on the couch, got a few pillows, and held her. Of course, I dozed off, only to be awoken at 8 AM by Carl, who proceeded to tell me that I shouldn't hold Keely if I was going to fall asleep. Keely woke up 10 minutes later, ready to eat. I included those stories as precursors to last night, when something so sweet and adorable happened. I was feeding Keely at about 4 AM, and she made this sweet little cooing sound. I looked over at my sleeping-completely-out husband, and he was patting his chest the way he pats Keely when he's holding her. I tapped his hand, and he opened his eyes (still asleep, though). He said, "I need to put her down because I'm about to pass out." I said, "You mean I need to put her down." He responded by repeating what he'd said. I told him he didn't have her. He said, "I don't?" I said, "No, I have her." He rolled over then and was out. I thought it was adorable he was in DAD-mode even while sleeping. Thus, I want to end with some thoughts on what I've witnessed regarding my spouse since Keely's birth. When she was born, she cried and cried, as most babies do. Once they handed her to Carl, though, she stopped. He's gotten up with her at night, watched her while I went to bed two hours earlier than normal to catch up on sleep, changed diapers, and picked out clothes. He's kissed her and told her he loves her every time he leaves for work or puts her down for bed. He's sympathized and celebrated with me throughout the whole feeding debaucle. He even cried with me then. You never know how great your significant other can be until you see how he handles being a new dad. I am so thankful Carl's my significant other and the father of our sweet Keely. Even though our marriage has had some rocky spots, I will always think Keely and I both got lucky when God put Carl and me together.

Keely Star Kline

Okay . . . I finally broke away for a second to update everyone. After my doctor's appt. Tuesday morning, I was hopsitalized due to high blood pressure and other signs indicating pre-eclampsia. I had to be monitored all day Tuesday. Sweet Carl slept on the most uncomfortable couch in the room. We really didn't sleep at all that night. On Wednesday, they checked again to see if I had dilated any more, which I hadn't, so my OB gave the go ahead to start the induction process with Cervadil that night. Still being monitored like crazy. They had to draw blood, start an IV, check my vitals, and do Non-Stress-Tests periodically. After completion of the 24 hr. urine test, I was officially diagnosed with pre-e. Blah. Fortunately, my OB did not see this as an immediate need for a Cesarean. She told me she would probably have me take blood pressure meds after delivery and depending on how my blood pressure looked prior to starting the Cervadil, she would decide whether or not I needed to be on magnesium sulfate during or after the induction. She decided in the end that I didn't need it but did need the meds after delivery. More monitoring all day. Around 8, they wheeled us up to Labor and Delivery to start the Cervadil. They gave me some Ambien so I would sleep, and it helped a ton! I woke up at 6:15 Thurday AM when my water broke. It felt really weird, if I may say so. I woke Carl up and called for the nurse. She checked me and verified that it had broken but I had not dilated any more. Contractions started around 8 that morning, and they began Pitocin. They asked if I wanted an epidural, and I said no. More contractions. They increased and lengthened by 10. I thought I was dying. Another check. Cervix dilated to a 4, which was why I was feeling the contractions more. Carl was helping me remember my breathing techniques, which weren't helping me feel less. I was given Stadol, which made me sleepy but didn't relieve much of the pain. Carl's phone rang. My older sister told him to encourage me to get the epidural if he really thought I needed it. He thought I did. In my state of sleepiness, I told him to call the nurse and ask for an epidural. I gave in, but I didn't care. Those contractions hurt! The epidural didn't hurt, though. The nurse and anestesiologist teased me when I told them I had a fear of needles because they saw all of my tattoos. I fell asleep after that and didn't wake up until an hour and a half later. I was feeling pain on the right side of my body. Pain like the epidural didn't work on that side. More breathing. Nurse got worried because I thought I was dying again. I know . . . I'm dramatic. She called the anesthesiologist who put more meds in my IV. They also upped the dosage I was getting from my epidural. Still didn't help. By now, I was dilated to an 8. Another call to the anesthesiologist. Same thing. Upped dosage and gave more meds in my IV. Told me that if it didn't work this time, I was too far along to do anything about it. Fortunately, it worked. Dilated to a 10 within the hr. Started pushing at that point. I only had to push for about 30-45 minutes. Keely was born at 3:32 pm. She was hollering and hollering, but it was the sweetest sound I'd ever heard in my life. I was bawling as I held that little girl. I didn't want them to take her away to clean her up. Delivering the placenta sucked because my OB was pushing my stomach over and over to get it out. It was not a long process, though. Keely was still hollering. The second they handed her to Carl, though, she stopped. She knew her daddy. I told him all throughout my pregnancy that if he would talk to her, she would know him at birth. He did, and she did. Delivery went according to plan, aside from getting the epidural. Oh, and I had to have an episiotomy. They removed the catheter shortly after that, because I sort of lied and told them I could walk to the bathroom on my own. I mean, I could, but I was pretty wobbly. That catheter was so uncomfortable! I was monitored all through the night and next morning, but we got to go home Friday. Our first night home was tough because Keely was fussing all night. I don't regret losing sleep, though, because I got to bring my baby girl home. She's beautiful and healthy. We go to the pediatrician Monday at 8:30 for a weight and color check. I have to take blood pressure meds and can't drive for about 2 weeks. Other than that, I'm doing great, considering what I experienced. Carl and I are completely in love with Keely. Breastfeeding is hard, but I'm trying to hang in there. Oh, and Keely is so little that she has to wear preemie clothes. They are even a little big on her! It's absolutely adorable. Can you tell we're in love?

Waiting for Thursday

So, my induction is set for this Thursday, meaning that I will be a new mommy in three days or less. I'm still holding out for Keely to make her appearance on her own, but I'm not really thinking it will happen. Carl said he thinks we're going to have to force her out. We've been cleaning and organizing the house like crazy the past two weeks. It's really coming along. We got our carpet steam cleaned Friday, and we've been working on the rest of the house steadily since before that. I just want to bring Keely home to a nice, clean house. Not to mention, who knows when Carl and I will have time to thoroughly clean it again after her birth. We also spent some time cleaning out our cars, so they are ready for our baby girl, too. Not everything is done. We still need to clean the kitchen floor, sweep, mop, and organize the utility room--our biggest challenge--and mow our backyard. But, I think both of us would be fine if Keely came before we get those things done. Carrie came over this morning to help me finish the nursery. I wanted to move some of the things hanging on Keely's walls and needed an outside perspective. So, as of about 11 this morning, Keely's nursery is completely done. Well, I guess we technically have 4 things to hang, but we know exactly where they are going. I'm just waiting on Carl to take a break from his alternate World of Warcraft universe so he can put them up. For those of you who didn't know, I am married to a computer nerd who plays World of Warcraft like it's the best thing ever invented. I actually don't mind so much. I just like to tease him because it's funny. Anyway, I'll have to post pics of the finished product, soon to be the room of our little girl, once they are taken. I'll get around to it eventually. Maybe tomorrow. For now, I thought ya'll might enjoy more pics from the Carrie Tungate Collection--pics that will likely be the last maternity photos taken before my daughter gets here.







For those of you who are praying people, please send one up to the big man on our behalf Thursday. Look for pics of Baby Keely Star Kline sometime in the very near future.