And then there were five...

(I'm wayyyyyy behind on blogging, so I'll blog about October, November and December later, but I wanted to post this first before I forget all the details.)

Introducing the newest member of our family: Bennett Alan Easton!

My labor with Bennett was very different from the other two, but still pretty short like the others. With Dallin's birth, I was induced and had no regular contractions beforehand. With Connor, I was already 5 cm before contractions really started, so I went to the hospital quickly after only a few contractions.

The morning of Monday November 24th, I felt like it would be a good day to have a baby. A two day hospital stay would put me getting home on Wednesday, just in time for Thanksgiving. My parents would be flying in that night (for a Thanksgiving/baby visit). Plus, I had an appointment scheduled with my midwife that afternoon, and I was hoping that after she checked my progress she would send me over to the hospital. I was already at 4cm for my 38 week appointment, so I figured once contractions really started, things would go quickly like Connor's birth.

That morning around 7am, I started right out with several regular contractions for an hour, then a break for an hour. This kept up all day: a solid hour or so of contractions every 6-7 minutes, then a long break. Mckay stayed home from work because I felt like things would pick up. We went to Home Depot so that I could walk around and keep the contractions going strong and so Mckay could get some supplies for his latest project. That really seemed to help and contractions kept coming longer and stronger throughout the day. We grabbed our hospital bags, dropped Connor off at the home of our neighbors/friends (who would also get Dallin off the bus for us), and went to my appointment with Sharon, my midwife at 3pm. With contractions coming every 4-5 minutes, she checked me and I was about 5-6 cm. We went straight from the appointment to the hospital. Sharon was not on call at the hospital that day, so I got one of the other midwives. I'd met this midwife before and liked her, but I was hoping for Sharon since she had attended Connor's birth. 

My last belly picture at 39 weeks.

Since I tested positive for Group B Strep with this pregnancy, I wanted to get to the hospital as quickly as possible so that I could hopefully get the antibiotics in a full 4 hours before birth. (Given my previous two birth, it was unlikely for labor to last longer than 4 hours total.) We got up to the delivery room around 4 pm. The midwife told me that antibiotics had been ordered and would be there soon. I got changed, filled out paperwork, had a saline lock placed, had 20 minutes of fetal monitoring, and still the antibiotics had not shown up. We keep asking about the status of the antibiotic and was told it should be there soon. Finally at 5pm, the antibiotic was brought in and hooked up to my IV. I see no reason why it took so long to get. This antibiotic is routinely used to treat GBS. I was in a hospital on a labor and delivery floor! Why don't they just keep some stored nearby?! Right next to the saline and pitocin? Ok, I'm moving on...

After the full dose of antibiotics was in, I got into the birthing tub, planning to have another water birth. The contractions weren't very painful yet (intense, but not quite painful), but I was getting bored and wanted to do something different. We watched some TV, talked, ate some snacks, monitored the baby's heart rate occasionally and waited. My body seemed to be in no hurry. Contracts slowed a little. My midwife was hoping I could wait the 4 hours until a second dose of antibiotics at 9 pm before she would brake my water to speed things along. At 9pm, I got the second dose while I sat in the tub. Once that was finished around 9:30, she broke my water. I normally wouldn't have been so quick for her to step in and break my water, but I was getting tired and hungry and just wanted to be done. Up until this point contractions were very manageable. About 10 minutes after my water was broken, the contractions quickly become more intense, more painful and much closer together. Thoughts of "Why did I want to do this again?!" crossed through my mind. A little after 10pm, I felt pressure to push. More thoughts of "I'm crazy but it's too late now!" At 10:15pm, Bennett was out of the water and in my arms.  

He screamed and screamed and had great coloring. 

We got all cleaned up. Bennett ate. He weighed in at 7lbs, 4oz and was 20 1/4 inches long. Since the hospital cafeteria was closed by this point, Mckay went out to grab some dinner for us. He brought me back a special treat.

Smart man. 

I hope ice cream becomes a new tradition for after having a baby.

We got settled into the recovery room and got a little sleep here and there. It's amazing how quickly my body has gotten used to waking every few hours again. 

Bennett got his first bath in the morning.

Just in time to meet his brothers and grandparents.

Meeting Bennett for the first time:

Both boys were excited, but Connor was instantly smitten.

When they went home at the end of the day, Dallin kept asking if Bennett and I could come home with them. He was really sad that we had to stay at the hospital.

The "normal" postpartum hospital stay is 48 hours after birth. With both previous births, I stayed the full 48 hours, but with Bennett's birth I was feeling great and ready to get home to my family early Wednesday, especially with it being the day before Thanksgiving. I knew that with me having GBS, they would want Bennett to stay the full 48 hours, but with how great he was doing, I hoped they could be lenient. And I really didn't want to be getting out of the hospital at 10:15pm. I wanted to get home and see my children before they went to bed.

My midwife said I looked great and was cleared to go Wednesday morning. Bennett was eating well, gaining weight, no jaundice, great temperature, no signs of infection. Several of my nurses said that we might be able to leave before the normally required 48 hours because he looked so good. The on-call pediatrician (who had never met me or Bennett before) came in Wednesday morning to look him over. She came in and said, "So you want to leave early today?" I responded yes and was very hopeful things would work out. The doctor started reading over Bennett's chart: "Weight is good, that looks good, mmmhmm, good good.... Oh wait, you had GBS. (closes chart) I can't let you leave early." I was floored. I said, "Really? You were just saying how great he's doing. Can't we leave just a little early?" She responded that hospital policy is a full 48 hours to ensure no signs of infection for the safety of the baby and there was nothing she could do. 

Enter Mckay.

I'm a person that does not like confrontation, so even though I was upset and frustrated by the doctor's response, I wasn't going to rock the boat. But Mckay is good at rocking boats. He stands firm by what he thinks and is willing to work to get what he thinks is right. Mckay was not there when the pediatrician came, so he asked the nurses if he could speak with the doctor about her decision. An hour later, the nurse came back and said the pediatrician wouldn't be back at the hospital at all that day, and that the pediatrician rechecked her guidelines which said to observe baby for at least 48 hours.

Mckay spent all day researching and found the CDC's recommendations. The CDC's own algorithm stated that while a 48 hour stay for newborns is recommended, "observation may occur at home after 24 hours if other discharge criteria have been met, access to medical care is readily available, and a person who is able to comply fully with instructions for home observation will be present." Mckay told the nurse what the CDC allows and asked to get the doctor on the phone. I think the doctor was getting sick of us. She probably wanted to just enjoy her holiday at home with her family. (Oddly enough, we were trying to do the same thing....) Around 7pm, the nurse came back in and said that the doctor would allow us to leave early, but only if we brought Bennett back on Friday to complete the newborn screening test and if we took him to see his pediatrician on Friday (sooner than the Monday appointment we originally had). I think the nurses thought we wouldn't want to go through all the hassle just to leave a few hours sooner. We were packed and ready to go in 20 minutes. At that point it wasn't so much about getting home early, it was about setting a precedent that hopefully will affect future families. 

 I don't like that the doctors and hospital would have such a strict policy that didn't allow for individual cases. (This is where I get on my soapbox, so you can skip this if you feel so inclined.) Everything about my labor and Bennett's health made him a great candidate for leaving early. And it really bothered me that they tried to scare me into staying, saying that my baby would not be safe otherwise. The last time that any nurse checked on Bennett's vitals or looked at him before we left the hospital was 11am on Wednesday. Had we waited until 10:15pm to leave for Bennett's "safety," it would have been a full 11 hours since his last vitals check. No one was going to be checking on him the last part of the day. If he were to show any signs of infection or complication, it would have been up to me to notice and inform hospital staff. That's something I could do just as easily from home. If you're going to require me to stay at the hospital for the safety of my baby, you better be in my room checking on him right until the end. Ok, stepping down...

Dallin and Connor were overjoyed to have Bennett home. Their very own baby in their own house! We spent Thanksgiving and the weekend loving on our new baby. We admired his hairy back:

and marveled at his blonde hair.

He's been a great baby and we're enjoying getting to know his personality.

Surgery

Dallin had surgery at the end of June. After several instances of fluid in his ears and failed hearing tests, we decided that Dallin needed ear tubes put in to help the fluid drain. It is supposed to be a very simple, 5 minute procedure, but that still didn't make me feel any less nervous about it.

Dallin wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything past midnight before the surgery, so we let him stay up a little late that night to pack on some final calories.

We were due at the hospital by 7am in Indianapolis (an hour away) so we woke up really early. Shout out to the Hartwells (with 2 kids of their own, one being a newborn baby) who willingly agreed to watch Connor at 5:45am so we could concentrate on Dallin at the hospital. We have great friends.

Once we got checked in at the hospital, Dallin changed into a hospital gown and was given a teddy bear to keep. 

Dallin has always looked super adorable in a hospital gowns, despite the circumstance that cause him to wear one. (like this and this.)

The nurses did paperwork and 5 or 6 people asked us the same questions over and over for about an hour.

Dallin and Mckay snuggled up in the bed and watched TV while we waited.

Then the nurses took him away. The doctor came back to us 10 minutes later and said the procedure was done. Five minutes after that, Dallin was awake from the anesthesia and we got to see him. He was a little whiny and groggy. I think he was just mostly confused about why he suddenly fell asleep and why his head felt so weird.

We got him dressed, gave him a drink of water and walked out of the hospital 5 minutes later. I was surprised at how quickly they let us leave. Dallin was feeling fine though. He spent the hour drive home just sitting and relaxing and by the time we got there, he was back to his old happy self and ready to chow down. 

Guess who has 2 kids now?

We do!

Connor David Easton was born on October 18th at 3:56 pm, weighing 7lbs 8 oz and measuring 20.5 inches long.

On Tuesday, I had an appointment scheduled with the midwife to see how I was progressing. I was dilated to 5 cm, so labor could start soon. Given my history of fast labor with Dallin (read about it here), she was concerned that once labor started, it would take too long to get to the hospital. She was almost reluctant to let me go home to pack. As a precaution, she gave me her personal cell phone number and brief instructions on delivering in the car. She was making me feel very nervous.

After a while at home, I was having regular contractions (every 5 or 6 minutes), but they were not really that strong. I was nervous about what would happen when they did get stronger though, so I called the midwife and we went over to the hospital a little before 1pm.

I felt silly walking into the ER and telling them I was in labor, when I didn't feel like I was at all. I thought about making my contractions look more dramatic so they would believe me. But they knew I was coming because the midwife called ahead and they took us right up to Labor and Delivery to get settled.

My last belly shot at 38 weeks, 5 days

They monitored my contractions and the baby's heartbeat for 20 minutes while they got all my information down and paperwork signed. I had to get a stupid IV lock on my hand "just in case" anything happened. It was annoying having it on my hand the whole time, but it was much better than being attached to an IV. Sharon, my midwife, checked me again and I was already at 7 cm. By this time contractions we definitely picking up in intensity, but still pretty manageable. They filled up the birthing tub and I got in. It was kind of nice relaxing through the contractions in the warm water. For the next hour or so, we just relaxed, watched some Law and Order on TV and chatted with Sharon.

I really liked having my freedom during labor rather than being constrained to the bed by wires and tubes. I could go to the bathroom whenever I wanted, I could walk around the room, or sit in my tub of warm water. Sharon just needed to monitor the baby's heartbeat occasionally to make sure everything was still going well, which it was.

A little after 3pm, things were really picking up and getting intense, but the warm water was helping to soften the intensity. After sometime, things were really getting intense and I was feeling some pressure. During one contraction, Sharon broke my water and that really got things going. The baby dropped pretty quickly after that and I was feeling strong pressure to push. After pushing through 2 or 3 contractions (maybe 5 minutes?) Connor was out and brought up on my chest.

Notice the green glove on my hand? That was to keep the IV dry while in the tub. He was a very calm baby, but very alert and opened his eyes after just a few minutes. Mckay cut the cord and then Connor and I got out to get dried and warmed.

We got to relax and bond for a while. Connor ate his first meal like a pro.

He got to snuggle with his Daddy.

He was weighed and bathed, and then they moved us to the Mother and Baby wing.

My mom got into town Sunday night, so she made it just in time.

She stayed at home with Dallin while we went to the hospital. Dallin took a nap and when he woke up, they came over to the hospital to see us.

Dallin has loved Connor from the very first moment.

He's so sweet to him and always wants to hold him...

...and hug him...

...and poke his eyes.

We got to order a special celebratory meal for our family after Connor was born.

We had Filet Mignon, Lobster Ravioli, Pizza (for Dallin), and enough for drinks for twice as many people, apparently.

Dallin enjoyed walking around the room eating his pizza and getting into stuff.

He would play at home with Grandma during the morning and night...

...and then would come to chill with us during the day.

Connor is a very laid back baby. He's not a big crier (except when you change his poopy diapers, of which he's had several).

He's mostly content to eat and sleep, as long as someone is holding him.

On Thursday, we got to come home.

I think I like having another little boy in our family.

What a week!

Last week was not spent quite how I planned to. On Tuesday, Dallin had an appointment with the Nephrologist (kidney specialist) at the children's hospital in Indianapolis. That's a little over an hour from us, so it's not too far, but you have to plan for it. We saw the doctor, and he got his blood drawn, an ultrasound of his kidneys, and gave a urine sample. (Is it weird that I would rather he get blood drawn than a urine sample? At least with the blood I just hold him while someone else pokes him, but I do not like being the one who has to peel a very strongly adhered bag from his body.)

This was the first time meeting with this doctor and Dallin's first time seeing a Nephrologist since the one in Utah 2 months ago. It went pretty well. She was mainly concerned with his blood pressure being high and about his diet (just like everyone else.) I mentioned the low calcium formula that was being mailed to us and the plan to start him on that as soon as it got to us and she agreed that it would be good to start him on that. The doctor told me she would call in a few days to go over the lab results with me, and then we left.

It was about 5:30 pm and I had just gotten home from Indianapolis and picking Mckay up from school when I got a phone call from the Nephrologist. She said that Dallin's lab results had come back and that the calcium levels in his blood were extremely high. To give you an idea of how high, a normal calcium level would be from about 7 - 10.5. His calcium level was 15.2. She said that we needed to come back immediately to the emergency room. We talked to her for a few minutes and asked if it was really that necessary to take him to an ER an hour away. She felt it was. We called a few other people, including our nephrologist in Utah, and they said we should go to the ER.

We packed a few quick items, got in the car, and drove all the way back to the hospital. The doctor told us that she had notified the ER and that they would be expecting us. We got to the ER and checked in and they seemed to be in no hurry. We told them that the doctor had said they would be ready for us, but the ER nurses said they didn't have any beds and we'd have to wait. After waiting for an hour, they took us back. I've decided that if you need to go to the ER you should go in an ambulance. You get much faster service. Both times we've had ER/ambulance experiences (one for Mckay, one for Dallin), a room was ready for us as soon as we pulled up. I do not like being told that I need to rush my son to an ER, and then waiting around for an hour.

They got him a gown and a bed and still seemed in no hurry to do anything.

They asked us a ton of questions. They almost seemed more concerned about his other issues (low weight, not eating "normal" food, not walking, developmentally behind) than his calcium levels. I wanted to say, "Look guys, we know exactly why those other things are happening and they are being treated just fine already by the proper medical assistance. The only thing I need from you is an IV and drugs to lower his calcium!"

Dallin of course had no idea what was going on. He was just happy that he got to stay up past bedtime and play with his daddy.

Finally we had some nurses come put an IV in his arm. More nurses volunteered for the job than was actually needed. They just wanted to come play with Dallin.

At 1:30am we were finally admitted to the hospital and got checked into a room. We all tried to get some sleep, but it's hard to sleep when nurses keep coming in every 2 hours to take his vitals, give him medication, or draw his blood. And it was a shared room so we were woken up when they came in for the other patient too.

In the morning we talked to a bunch of doctors. This was a teaching hospital, so we had a lot of doctors "practicing" with us. And of course, Dallin is a medical rarity, so a bunch of doctors asked if they could come in just to listen to his heart or examine a patient with Williams Syndrome. I'm glad we could help them learn! Our team of doctors told us that the IV and medication he had was helping to flush the excess calcium out of his body. The blood test from that morning showed that his calcium had come down, but they wanted to get it much lower before releasing him. So we spent 4 days in the hospital waiting for his calcium to come down. Mckay talked to his teachers and worked out missing class so he could stay with us in the hospital.

Dallin was a good sport about the whole thing. He got really sick of being confined to a hospital bed, but he found ways to entertain himself.

Like eating the wires and IV attached to him.

He played with mommy and daddy.

He pulled the sensor off his finger.

He also did some not so fun things. He had to get his blood drawn 2 times a day. It was nice to see how his calcium levels were doing each day, but it was not fun to see him get poked so much. They always had a hard time finding a good vein. And once it was used, they couldn't use the vein again, so they were running out of places to stick him by the end of the week. One time they drew blood from a vein on his head.

He did not like that one very much. At least it was a really good vein and they were finished pretty quickly.

They also took his blood pressure a lot. He has always hated getting his blood pressure taken. Maybe it's the cuff squeezing him? I'm not sure, but he always cries. By the end of the week, he was so used to it, he wouldn't even make a sound when they took it. He would just smile and keep playing with his toys. His high blood pressure was related to the high calcium, so they wanted to get his blood pressure lower before releasing him as well. He is on a medication for it that has been keeping his blood pressure consistently low.

We didn't plan on being there that long and we did not bring enough extra clothes. The wonderful Ronald McDonald House organization saved our lives. They had showers, laundry facilities and a kitchen for families of patients to use anytime they wanted for free. They had snacks and meals every day made by volunteers, so we never starved. It is a great organization and I'm so grateful we were able to benefit from it. And we didn't have to wear dirty clothes the whole time!

Part of Dallin's medical plan for lowering his calcium was that we start him on the low calcium formula immediately and begin weaning from breast milk. I was already planning on doing this but not quite so abruptly. It's going ok though and he seems to be handling the change to bottles pretty well.

Saturday morning, the doctors said his calcium was low enough to release him. It was still a little high (12.2), but it would keep getting lower with continued medication at home and continued weaning to the formula. The medication that lowers his calcium also lowers his potassium, so he has to take medicine to keep his potassium up. We were released from the hospital with three prescriptions: calcium meds, potassium meds and blood pressure meds. He is supposed to have his blood drawn again on Wednesday to see how his calcium level is doing and a follow up with the doctor in 3 weeks.

Now we're home and Dallin is loving being able to crawl around and have his freedom back. He has to take medicine 3 times a day and the only way to get him to take it is to put it in his bottle. I'm trying to adjust to making and washing bottles all day AND getting the right medicine in the right bottle at the right time. It's a bit of a hassle.

It wasn't very much fun, but I'm glad we are getting his calcium situation taken care of. We had some really great doctors and a few great nurses in the hospital and that always makes things a little better. We were approved for Medicaid literally the day before all this happened, and I am so grateful for that! If it weren't for Medicaid, we would be in so much debt from all Dallin's medical bills.

This experience made me realize how lucky we were to be so close to family in Utah. When Dallin was hospitalized before at 3 weeks old, my siblings came to visit, brought us food and kept us company. No one could come visit us here since we're so far away from everybody and it got lonely. But we did appreciate the people that called to see how things were going.

So that was our fun experience! Now I'm off to do laundry and dishes and the things that were neglected for a week.