Officially RSV

Last night we had to take Beckham in for his first suction because he was retracting so bad (where his stomach/neck sink and is one of the first signs of respiratory distress). His lungs sounded good but my Dr told me not to take any chances. They sucked his nose and throat out and sent that away to find out exactly what virus he has.

This morning he woke up retracting worse but still sounding clear but I took him in just to be safe. His oxygen was at 94 when we went in (they want it above 90) and he did sound clear but his retraction was bad. She suctioned him out and said that with him being sucked out last night that there was a lot of stuff. She also said based on what she saw she thought he probably did have RSV. His oxygen went up to 98 but his retraction didn't get any better.

We got the results about an hour after we got home and I'm not surprised based on the fact that he got this from his brothers and it makes sense why Caleb's asthma got so bad and he had to use the heavy steroids and have such heavy treatments for 4 to 5 days. There biggest concern is that he will stop eating which has not been a problem until this last bottle where I could only get him to take an ounce and half. We will just keep watching him and taking him to the clinic to be suctioned and evaluated. At this point on a scale of 0-5 (0 being normal and 5 being admitted to the hospital) he is a 2.

Anyway, I want to do some more research on RSV since I got conflicting info from the pediatrician and the respiratory therapist about when the worst will be. According to the pediatrician we are in the worst of it right now and in 10 days he should be better except a little lingering cough (this is where Davis is) but according to the respiratory therapist its going to continue to get progressively worse and will last about 28 days. Sadly I'm pretty sure the respiratory therapist knows what she is talking about.

Until then we will just continue to lay low and chill around the house in our jammies.
And for the record, no I'm not okay. I'm just barely holding on and holding it to together. These racing helmets have been a lifesaver since it gets the kids running around and they can get their energy out while stuck at home (many thanks Brian and Kate)! Poor Caleb didn't get to go to gymnastics or preschool because I didn't want any other germs coming into the house!

What a two weeks it has been...

I guess I couldn't really expect with two kids with raging cold/chest virus' that our little man would be spared...but any hope I had was dashed yesterday when he started in on the virus. Yesterday he just had a stuffy nose and little raspy cough and it was his two week apt. So he also was circumcised and had to do his 5th heal prick test. We still have not heard back on the PKU and they call this two week test a "PKU" test but they check for a whole bunch of other disorders too so he was not spared that trauma.

His little virus got worse over the night and by this morning he was coughing bad and starting to have difficulty breathing so we were off to the pediatrician for the 7th apt in the last 9 business days! Hes in the early stages of having bronchiolitis. I am feeling better since they gave us a prescription for the bronchiolitis clinic which is a clinic where I can take him, any time day or night, and have him sucked out and they will check his oxygen saturation and give him treatments if he needs them. Its nice to know that there is a resource and I don't have to worry about making it to the morning or paying the huge ER copay. They said there are a ton of virus' that can cause bronchiolitis which is just an umbrella name for breathing problems and lung infection, one of them is RSV. If we take him into the clinic the first time my Dr has ordered that they test him to see exactly what he has.

The only saving grace has been his sweet disposition. I seriously have tears in my eyes when I think about what a trooper he has been. I thought Davis was a good baby but Beckham has handled everything without ever getting fussy or cranky. He never has crying bouts but is....peaceful. I think that's the best word I could use to describe him. Last night as I lay in bed with him propped up in the boppy pillow by my head. He was coughing, trying to breath through his stuffy nose and he just smiled and stretched and slowly closed his eyes as his breathing eased up a little as he drifted off to sleep. He is the PERFECT baby!Mom on the other hand is not peaceful, perhaps afraid, frustrated, at her wits end for a break would be a better description. It just feels like its been one thing after another for about 9 months! I'm ready to just be a normal family and have everyone healthy and be able to just relax and enjoy normal life!

I'm forgetting what that is like....

To end on a funny note: Yesterday when we were at the Pediatrician Davis was with us and they came in to do the heal prick and they use the tray they use when they give shots. Davis was sitting in the stroller and he saw that and DOVE, and I mean DOVE, head first to the side out of the stroller and under the chair. He then proceeded to work his way under the other two chairs until he was all the way in the corner hiding behind the stroller saying, "no, no, no, stop it!" Guess he hasn't forgotten about his 2 year check up yet!

(I'm sorry but I turned off the comments for this post. I'm sure you all would have sweet words of comfort but I just felt like I wanted to just inform and not get feedback. I'm not trying to be rude I just feel like I'm always talking about some sort of drama of one sort or another and you are all always so sweet but today I just wanted to throw my thoughts out there and leave it at that. I hope that makes sense and that you all understand)

New camera + New baby= LOTS OF FUN!

Oh...and Photoshop of course!

The Story of Beckham

I haven't really taken the time to write down about my labor and delivery with Beckham yet and decided I better while the details are still fresh. So if you like Labor and Delivery stories, read on...

I woke up around 4:00 knowing they wouldn't be calling until about 5:30 but I was to excited to go back to sleep so I got up and showered and got all ready. Right at 5:15 they called and we called our neighbors the McNamees to let them know and Nate came over to be here with our kids until they woke up. We checked in and they got me hooked up to the contraction monitor and the baby monitor. She checked me and was like, "Oh, your cervix is like butter, oh and you are dilated to a 5, and 60% effaced!" (She looks at the contraction monitor at the is point and sees that I have had a contraction) "Did you know that you are already in labor!" I wanted to scream yes! Ive been telling everyone that for weeks!

She gave me my IV and my first dose of penicillin. She waited 30 mins to start the pitocin at a level 2 because I had gone so fast with Caleb and Davis at the end and she didn't want me to go faster than the 4 hours we thought I needed. It was probably about 7:45 at this point. John set me up with the show Numbers and we started waiting...

Dr Fagnant came at about 9:15 and told them that I didn't have to wait for the 4 hours for both doses of the Penicillin since the meds were for me and not for the baby. He broke my water (and there was a ton...it even made the Dr jump back) and they put the Pitocin up to 12. I also got my epidural at this point because I was a 6 and thought it would be like another hour before I delivered.

The epidural hurt to get this time and I hate getting them and cried the whole way through. This may have caused the Dr to think I'm a wimp because it was a HEAVY epidural! Funny thing was my right side didn't want to go as numb as my left. So they pushed me back and forth trying to get it even but my left side was dead. At one point I remember hitting my leg thinking it was the bed and then I realized that I was touching my own leg but just couldn't tell.

More Numbers, more Numbers, more Numbers! I was not dilating fast at all. By about noon I was a 9 and bored and hungry and getting a horrible headache! I thought for sure it would happen fast now but his head was turned just a little bit to the side so they rolled me from side to side again trying to get him to go face down completely. At around 1:30 I was fully effaced, he was at a +1 but there was just a little anterior lip that wouldn't go away! Finally at 2:00 I could tell that it was time and they got the Dr there and I was able to start pushing at 2:10. With Davis I didn't have to push him out, he just kind of fell out and that was with my epidural wearing off. This time my epidural was still really heavy and I did that first push and thought I was going to die! I pushed 3 times through that first contraction. On the second contraction his head came out on the first push and all you hear is a bunch of people go, "WOW, look at that head!"

On the next contraction I was able to push him all the way out and it felt so good to just get some relief on my bladder! Like Davis, he took forever to cry which scared me to death! They put him right up on my belly after he started breathing so I could help clean him off and he was covered with the white stuff! We scrubbed him off for a bit but you could hear the fluid rattling in his lungs so they took him and cleaned him off some more and sucked out his nose and mouth more and put a diaper on him.

While they were cleaning him off the nurses were all talking about how big he was and making guesses as to how much he weighed (8 lb 15 oz). He was really good and wasn't crying much.
They gave him back to me so I could lay him on my warm skin and help warm him up. He immediately wanted something to suck on so he latched right on and nursed for 30 minutes before I switched him sides and then he nursed on that side for another 30 minutes.

Poor John didn't get to hold him until he was like an hour old!After Daddy got to hold him I sent John for food! I was so hungry and they offered me a turkey sandwich but I sent John to Carl's Jr for a burger, criss cut fries, and a shake! I was starving! Beckham nursed the entire time he was gone and I was so excited because I was sure he was going to be a great nurser! He had grey eyes like Caleb when he was born and we cant tell if they are going to go blue or go darker and go brown. He had a lot of black hair, the longest finger's and toes, and a huge head!

I just remember being overwhelmed that he was finally here! Knowing that this was probably our last baby made every single second with him those first few hours so much more meaningful to me. There is something amazing about a newborn and as the cost has gotten higher to get them here safe, it has made everything seem so much more miraculous.

Someone must be tired...

Warning: No serious feelings were hurt by the following commentary. This posting is for entertainment purposes only. Husbands....do not try this at home.

As you can see by our last post that things here at our house have been a little crazy in the sickness department which means that we have been up more often at night with the kids not to mention with the baby. With Caleb's asthma we often have to set an alarm every 4 hours to give him a treatment which takes about 15 minutes and you have to try to keep Caleb awake enough to breathe through his mouth so you cant really sleep though it. Johns been a trooper for the whole week until last night...this is our actual conversation:

Beckham: fuss, cry, fuss, fuss
Lisa: hey babe?
John: what?
Lisa: can you tell me what time it is? (the clock across the room was blocked and he has a clock on his nightstand)
John: NO! snore....

Honestly what does the kid have to complain about.....

Our week at the pediatrition

Last Friday: Took Beckham in for rash and the gagging
Monday: Caleb went in for breathing issues and got put on really, REALLY strong steroids
Tuesday: Beckhams 1 week check up. Found out about the PKU test had blood drawn from arm
Wednesday: Our day off :)
Thursday: More PKU testing because the results came back inconclusive. Had heel pricked and had to wear a bladder bag. Came back after he had peed but nothing made it into the bag. Had a new bag applied and waited for an hour and half for him to pee (this equaled 3 trips into the Dr office).
Friday: Took Davis and Caleb in for suspected ear infections. Davis has a double ear infection and Caleb has one. As I was currently starting this post I hear vomiting from the bathroom and Caleb is now throwing up, as in the stomach flu throwing up (Ummm NOPE its a huge allergic reaction. He ate a couple walnuts off of a Banana nut muffin from Costco and I'm pretty sure that's what made him throw up. Now hes covered, and I mean covered, from head to toe with huge welts and hes itching like crazy. Guess his nut allergy is getting worse....)

Honestly it hasn't been too bad because my parents have been here to help its just kind of a joke now! I do feel better about the PKU stuff. We probably wont get the results until next week sometime but the Dr I talked to today has one PKU patient and her levels were off the chart from day one and got worse over time, where Beckhams have gone down. She also told us that it takes months for the brain damage to start to happen. So I feel much better and more patient waiting for the results. Thanks so much for all your prayers and thoughts. Its sounds really bad but unless the baby gets sick we are all good!

PKU: updated

I tell you, its tough to be 7 days old!

Today was his 1 week apt and while at the Dr they were faxed the results of his PKU newborn screening and it was abnormal. This happened with Davis too.

What is PKU:

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an autosomal recessive genetic disorder characterized by a deficiency in the enzyme phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH). This enzyme is necessary to metabolize the amino acid phenylalanine to the amino acid tyrosine. When PAH is deficient, phenylalanine accumulates and is converted into phenylpyruvate (also known as phenylketone), which is detected in the urine.

Left untreated, this condition can cause problems with brain development, leading to progressive mental retardation and seizures. However, PKU is one of the few genetic diseases that can be controlled by diet. A diet low in phenylalanine and high in tyrosine can be a very effective treatment. There is no cure. Damage done is irreversible so early detection is crucial.

Translation: They don't process protein and basically live off shakes that don't have protein in them for the rest of their lives.

I guess its uncommon for the test to come back abnormal but common for an abnormal test to be fine after a second screening is done. This was the case with Davis. We did this today and the poor little kiddo had to have the blood drawn from his arm vein. They even used a little tourniquet and boy did the tears flow...from Mom!

He has also lost a lot of weight and is down to 8 lbs 6 oz. So it looks like nursing may not be going as well as I thought. They want him back to his birth weight in a week from today so Thursday I will go weigh him again and if he isn't gaining we will start supplementing. The hormones the Dr gave me to help me make more milk cant be started until Sunday because they want to make sure they wont give me a blood clot.

We don't know how long the results will take but most likely a few days (they come from the state). The Dr said we will know for sure if its positive because things will go wild. For example he remembers one test coming back positive and they couldn't get the parents on the phone after an hour so they sent the police looking for them to get them to come into the Dr. I did get a kick out of the thought of Johns work being raided by the police looking for him!

So for now we just wait...

UPDATED: His test results came back inconclusive so tomorrow we are going to go in the morning for a blood test again and also for him to have a bladder bag put on so we can get a urine sample too. They said things look good since it has gone down but they want to be sure. The Dr said he hasn't seen anything like this in over 10 years. They will send the samples stat to the State and then they are sending them back east to some specialist place and they will give us a definitive answer when they have it. There is a huge rush though because the longer we go without knowing the more damage we will do if it is positive.

The good news is that tomorrow I can weigh him and the feed him in the office to get him to urinate and then weigh him again and we can tell just how much milk he is getting so there wont be any question about my milk supply.

Boys, Boys, Boys!

We have some great neighbors and friends who both have boys close to our boys ages. It seems all that is being born around here are boys! Little Kekoa was born a week before Beckham but he was a tiny little guy at 5 lb 5 oz. Nathan is 5 months old and was so nice to his new little friends!

Please also take note of the DARLING blanket in the background! My sister in law Kate has made each of the boys a special blanket when they were born and I love this one she made for Becks!

This is what the inside looks like...
SO, SO, CUTE!

Lovin' on our baby

We haven't been doing much here but loving on Beckham. All he does it sleep so its pretty easy to do! I feel pretty good but it has been a harder recovery than Davis for sure (something probably having to do with the fact that he was almost a full 2 pounds heavier). Here are some of the pictures of our little man this week!

Had to do a little sunbathing because he was borderline for jaundice.

Taking a bath...we actually took him to the Dr because he has a rash that looks like hives. They said its a normal rash that about 20% of babies get. Most of the time it doesn't look this bad and it should be gone in a couple of weeks. We also wanted to find out about this gaging thing that he does during the night that freaked us out because when hes doing it he doesn't breath. They said its a form of reflux and it should get better, which it has thank goodness! At the Dr on Friday he weighed 8 lbs 9 oz. He goes back on Monday for his first week checkup.

Poor Caleb watched a movie today and when he got up he found everyone in the house asleep! Grandma's first chance to see Beckham

Worth every moment...

Beckham Lewis Henderson
January 13th 2009
2:12 pm
8 pounds 15 ounces
20.5 inches long
As you can see we are very happy at the moment!

EXCITING!

Last night I called Labor and Delivery and they said they were empty so to expect a call at 5:30 this morning...I'm very excited and couldn't go back to sleep after 4:00 so I'm up, showered, and shaved and just waiting....waiting...waiting...

I do have some exciting news though...My cousin Kelly and I are about 6 years apart but neither of us had sisters growing up so we kind of filled that role for each other. Its been so wonderful that as the years have passed it seems that the age gap between us has also closed. Figure this, her husband Brian and John even grew up together in Seattle. Needless to say I feel much love for her and her husband.

When we found out we were pregnant it was kind of sad because neither of my brothers or Johns siblings were going to have babies really close to this little guy and both Caleb and Davis have multiple cousins within a month or two of them. But then we found out Kelly and Brian were expecting and they were just a couple of weeks behind us. Well, yesterday I got the call that she was in labor! They expected her to have the baby this morning between 6-8. Which means that their little Savannah and our Beckham are going to be born the same day!

Pretty much they are already best friends that they cant stand not to come to earth the same day!

Keep us both in your prayers and since John hasn't got a clue to get on our blog, let alone post, it might be a few days before I report back!

Lots of love and thanks for all your prayers and thoughts that you have given us in this pregnancy!

The Advantages to be Induced

• Babysitters are all lined up (we have the best friends who are like family, since we don't have any family around here...Thank you!)
  
• Laundry is all done and put away
• Time off from work is all lined up ahead of time
  
• The house is clean with clean sheets to put on the bed right before we leave
  
• The car is packed
• Make up makes for much better "after the delivery" pictures
• Season 2 of Numbers that the library has for me to pick up tomorrow to watch during labor on our DVD player
  
• I will be sure to get the meds I need before delivery
• Getting a blessing the night before
• Having a ready response for when people ask, "WOW you must be ready to pop!" ME: "Yes, I will be popped on Tuesday..."
  
• KNOWING that in 48 hours from now I will hold our new sweet baby!!!

Oh, and for the record my guess for Beck's eyes is blue. John refuses to guess! The only reason I'm guessing blue is because I had NO clue with Caleb but from the day I found out I was pregnant with Davis I KNEW his were going to be brown. This time around...clueless so I'm just guessing like the last time I was clueless. It would be sweet though to get a green eyed baby and have one of each!

Its hard to imagine....

with boys this cute, what a third will look like!
Vote over on the right...

The date is set.....

I went to the Dr yesterday and was almost a three. I think hes starting to feel sorry for me because he knows I just contract all the time. He very "aggressively" stripped my membranes (which is just as awful feeling as it sounds) and said that the inside of my cervix is almost dilated to a 5. The baby also has dropped and I went from measuring big to measuring smaller than where I am at in weeks because hes dropped down. He then put me on the NST and the contractions were showing up pretty hard. He said he expects that I will go yesterday or today.

Sure I will...

We set up Tuesday to be induced and I'm pretty sure I'm not going on my own after all of the contractions and everything that Ive been doing and still not going. I think I just get my body so in the "do not go!" mindset that I cant change it. I mean I have been telling myself since I was 17 weeks to not go...hard to just flip a switch. I still have contractions they are about 2-4 minutes apart and are uncomfortable enough to make me really crabby. One of the only benefits to contracting is that its a lot of work. Last night I slept really well because I was SO tired from the day and when I went for my apt yesterday I had lost 2 pounds. My body is working in overdrive but honestly its like 5 more days and just to have an end in sight for sure I think will help give me the strength to deal with the contractions for that much longer!

Is it just me or are you all ready to hear about something else because I sure am!
DRAMA, DRAMA, DRAMA!

New Years Goals

I might be a little late but I did want to get my goals down for the year....

Last year I set only spiritual goals for myself. I have to say that I did good. I mean there is always room for improvement but I am happy to report that this last year felt like a year that I reawakened myself to my spiritual side. I just found a balance between being a Mom and doing what I needed to keep myself spiritually sound.

Here are this years goals:
Goal #1: Keep up the goals I had last year

Goal #2: Obviously take off the baby weight. Not just Beckham's, but the 10 pounds from building our house and the 10 pounds that was left from Caleb. We really live in such a great outdoor adventure area so I want to do this with running, biking, and eating fresh and healthy. No crash diets, a healthier lifestyle.

Goal #3: Relax and enjoy the good things in my life. I have so many blessing and sometimes I look to the future to much and this year I want to live more in the moment. I want to let go of the things that don't matter and hold onto and enjoy the things that do.

Goal #4: Be more positive and less critical, especially of myself

Goal #5: The new skill I want to develop this year is photography

Looks like I have a busy year ahead of me but after this year BUSY is exactly what I'm looking for!

Why Sundays were created

Where the heck is Baby Beckham!?!

So....its a little frustrating to fend off all the, "you're still pregnant!" comments but yes this baby is going to be just like Caleb. With Caleb I pretermed bad and when I was finally off of bedrest I was dilated to a 5 and had contractions every few days and wouldn't progress. With Beckham I'm a 2 and have steady contractions all day long and about half of the day they are hard and about 2-4 minutes apart. I was at the Dr last week every other day because they want me to come in and be checked if they are 5 min or less apart. Seriously though...its kind of getting embarrassing!

{contraction}

I think whats the hardest is that you expect the baby to come early and then when it doesn't it gets discouraging. This is what happened with Caleb and by the time I had him I was all flustered. Ive decided to just let things go now and not worry about when hes coming and not expect him anytime soon. I have a apt on Wed and I fully expect to be there...pregnant. If he comes faster than that great {contraction} but I'm just not going to expect him.

I mean really, the longest I can still be pregnant is 2 more weeks, actually one because I think they will induce because of his size....Its just lame to have contractions all the time, hard ones too!

I think the biggest reason I worry about getting to far along is the strep issue. I have Strep but not strep B which is the one most women have, but the "weird" one as my Dr put it. Luckily this one does not {contraction} have anything to do with the baby but everything to do with me. There is a chance that during delivery it can get up into my uterus and if it does then there is a chance that I will have to have a hysterectomy. Its happened to two women at this hospital this year. The worst part about it is the Dr was honest with me and said that they really don't know how to treat it. For now they treat it like Strep B so I have to have 2 doses of Penicillin before I deliver the baby and then as a precaution he will give me 2 doses after the baby is born. In order to have 2 doses {contraction} you have to be in labor for at least 4 hours and with Davis I only labored for 4 hours. So I don't want to get to far along that I cant get the medicine in me before hes born. Which maybe its a good thing that he isn't coming on his own yet and perhaps inducing will be the best option to get me the medicine I need.

So long story short (I know WAY to late) Davis who I never had a contraction with before the Day I delivered him {contraction} will be my earliest baby at 38 weeks and its looking likely like both boys I had preterm labor and bedrest with I will have been induced.

The irony!

A force to be reckoned with

Happy New Year!

We had a great day yesterday and yes, we did celebrate the day by going out and shooting shotguns, no roses on parade in rural Utah! It was a blast! I haven't shot a gun since my friend Matty took me in college and I forgot how fun it was. There were 9 adults there and I don't think anyone expected the 9 month pregnant lady to take 2nd place. That's right...2nd of of 9 and I beat out all 5 boys there. I labeled my picture if you had any questions or doubts....You should see my bruise! It was very awkward to hold a gun with so much weight in the front and so I had to put the gun into my arm and I am black and blue! This was Johns first time shooting a shotgun and he did good but I'm pretty sure I left him a little shocked that there is a sport that I am better at him at. To bad it probably wont be for long since he really wants to get a gun, we both do, we just have to decide the best way with our kiddos safety.Davis was not so excited about the loud noises the guns made and so he chose to spend most of the day in the car. Which suited me just fine since we didn't have to worry about his safety as much.

Caleb had a blast running around with the other kids and at the end he even got to shoot a rifle. He was really good about not coming past the line and all the rules we established before we went.
Thanks Wheelers for another great day!

Not a contraction yesterday but today I woke up with them and they are pretty strong so we will see...