Just an update...

Whitney is doing great!!! And I think we've been vomit free for almost a week!! More and more of Emily's time is being spent at the hospital, as Whitney keeps progressing. The doctors are all really impressed with Whitney's health and strength. Feedings are going well. Still no concrete times on when she'll get to come home, but things are looking really good. Thanks for all the prayers, food, baby sitting, words of encouragement, etc... It really makes events like this more manageable.

Why do 40 when 31 seems to work...

Well, it all started with Zach throwing up at 3AM Saturday morning. He then spent the rest of the day feeling sick, and working on trying to keep foods down. At about noon, Emily joined him in the same sick feelings, however, she didn't loose it till about 7 at night. That's about when Zach's fever went away, and he was ready to go. One kid done...

Well, at about 2AM Sunday morning, Emily was able to keep a Popsicle down, which was good, but at about 3 she began to express that the random contractions that she'd been experiencing all day were starting to hurt. She began to time them, and as they were only 4 minutes apart we headed off to the hospital.

We got checked in at about 3:30AM and with a little luck, Emily was able to get a spinal block, but by just after 4AM Whitney had joined us and was ready for life. Well almost. This is where the fun begins.

Due to the fact that she's 2 months early, they had to transfer her to another hospital. One that is capable of dealing with 31 week old babies. I've never seen a portable incubater, but it had everything needed to keep Whitney going. It was an interesting drive, following an ambulance to a hospital, knowing the person inside the ambulance is your child. (No lights or sirens, just a nice Sunday morning drive.) Plenty of time to think about what just happened....

After I left with Whitney, Em hung out for a few hours and was then let go. Talk about super mom, she didn't even get a normal recovery room, they just let her go from labor and delivery.... she's amazing.

Well, to make a long story short, Whitney is breathing on her own now, and we're going to start working on foods, etc... The doctors say, "Plan on her being here till her due date (Mid March)." I'm, of course, hoping for something much sooner.

At any rate, we are counting our blessings given the fact that things played out how they did vs. how they could have played out with birthing a baby 2 months early.

We've had tons of support from family and friends, all of which we are indeed grateful for. That support has allowed us to provide our attention on Whitney during these first few days of her life, while not completely shafting our other kids of the attention they need.

It's a full service solon where they have her. Tanning beds and all... :-)

This is one of her better pictures, this was shortly after they took the respirator out, and she began breathing on her own. It was nice to see her face for once.

At any rate, I would recommend 31 weeks instead of 40, only if you have super good insurance....we're going to be finding out if we do over these next few months. It apparently makes for a much faster recovery for mom, so that's a plus :-) Ok not really, I'd go the 40 week route any day.

I'll update as things progress, but for now, it sounds like we'll be waiting for her plumbing to wake up and kick into gear. Which could take a few days to a few weeks.....

Deer In The Headlight, Literally

This past week I got a real good look at a deer, right before I ran into it with my car. I think my car made out better than the deer, but the deer still did some damage.

Here are the kiddos helping me repair the car.

I was on a 50mph road, and by the time I slammed on the breaks I was probably still going 35 or so. The deer was trying to get out of the way, but I hit her back half with the drivers side of my car.

I talked to the safety inspection people, and it sounds like I don't need a grille, and my bumper should be ok, so my car just took the next step towards complete gettoness. :-)

This might be all that's left of the deer, looks like my grille kept a chuck as a souvenir...I never knew deer hair was so thick.....