Bleary eyed and teary eyed... good to be home.

Well Reed did a great job last night being a week old baby. About 2 am, he was wide awake and sqeaky... when he wasn't fussing, usually right about the time we all fell asleep, the nurse would stop by and check him and us out... that'll be once nice thing about tonight at least... no nurses.

We're back home, and loving it. I cooked up a big dinner tonight to celebrate a non-hospital food meal, and Reed seems to be adjusting well to home life. Both kitties seem more upset at us for leaving them for a week, than by Reed, so that's a good thing. Arlo has been really cute, cheek rubbing Reed, and laying next to us... until Reed throws a fit... then its 'puffy tail' as far away as he can get. Edison is a bit more guarded, but seems to be tolerating him well enough.

I also got around to reading some e-mails, and we're so lucky to have such great friends and family. You guys are great. I'll try to put up some more pictures in the next day or so, but right now we're just looking forward to doing a whole lot of nothing in the next few days.

Going Home

From Grandma Mills: Friday (10:45 AM) Cammy called and the hospital staff is writing discharge orders as we speak!! Woohoo!! Tonight they will be in their own bed, not getting enough sleep!

Thursday afternoon

Reed is out from under the lights today, which has made Cammy and I very happy. "Parenting through plexiglass"(Cammy's quote) isn't exactly ideal. Hopefully, by this afternoon, he'll be off the monitors and feeding tube, and will able to stay in our room with us tonight. So we're finally going to get our first sleepless night! I never thought I'd be so excited about that. It's also looking like we're going to get to go home sometime tomorrow assuming all goes well. We're both very excited. It's kind of funny, we left home on Friday afternoon a week ago, and hopefully will be back home Friday afternoon tomorrow. This certainly has been one of the most, if not THE most difficult weeks of our lives, but we couldn't have gotten through this all without the support of all of you. We have an awful lot to be thankful for on Thanksgiving this year.

Cammy said the other night that I found to be hillarious. "This is just making up for how easy the pregnancy was." She had a very easy pregnancy, very little discomfort, no sickness, and was just all around pretty good. Quite a contrast to how the last week has gone...

Thank you all for all your good energy, thoughts, and prayers. We love you all.

Wedensday Evening

Here's our little boy basking in his own glory... ain't he cute!

His billiruben levels have dropped considerably in the last day, from a high of about 17 yesterday, to about 11 today. We've had several poopy diapers which we're very happy about since that helps move it all out of his system. Cammy was even singing a 'I love poopy diapers' song earlier today, which I tried to video tape to remind her of in a few months...

Reed is feeding very well, and is much more active... he's been pulling the monitor leads off his chest, as if he's saying "I'm fine...". It's kind of funny, the monitor goes into alarm mode and starts beeping, then we see Reed squirming around with a wire in his hand and a grin on his face... At four days old, I fear what he'll be getting into by the time he's two!

Also, some of you have asked if there is any way you can help. Mary Lou mentioned this in a previous post, but I would like to reiterate it. If you would like to help us, we ask that you make a small donation ($10 or so) to either the NICU here at Tacoma general, (you can google for the weblink), or to a similar Childrens hospital charity. We've been helped considerably by donations like this that have been made in the past, so we encourage all of you to help parents like us in the future. Also specifically, the NICU here at TG is short on Baby hats, so you can also help by either mailing them, or dropping them off here at Tacoma general.

Thanks so much for all your thoughts and all your kind words. We're really fortunate and thankful to have such caring and supportive friends, family, and coworkers. We love you all.

Tuesday Night update #2

Gerry here: So I finally got a chance to flip open the laptop and wander around the hospital looking for a hot spot, and found one not too far from our room near the coffee stand. It's been a tough few days, when we're not gazing at Reed in the 'fishtank', we're usually trying to forage food or catch a nap. I've got several more pictures, that I'll try to download and post tomorrow.

Grandma and Grandpa Mills have done a great job keeping this updated, and I'm going to share all of your comments with Cammy as soon as I get back to our room.

Reed is doing better, but we just have a few more hurdles to overcome before we get to go home. It was tough to see him have to get another tube (feeding), after having two taken out yesterday(air and IV), but he needs to get some nutrition and hydration to get all of the bulliruben (sp?) out of his system, which is what is making him jaundice. Both Cammy and I have learned a lot about medicine in the past few days, and in some ways it's been really nice having the support of the hospital here to help us through the first few days of being parents. We've both gotten good at changing diapers, and Cammy's been taking advantage of the lactation support in getting tips on breast feeding. It'll be a bit difficult for us when we get home because we've become so accustomed to looking at the monitors whenever he sneezes or breathes fast, that it'll be tough to not have that blinking monitor to tell us that he's fine.

Hopefully, he'll only need another day or two of phototherapy, and then they'll want us to stay at least one more day for observation, so if everything goes well, we're hoping to be back home in time for Reed to watch the Cougs win the Apple Cup, but if not, we won't be too upset at the people here are great, and we're taking full advantage of our stay here.

Thanks so much for all your kind notes. Specifically, Marica, I'm sure that Cammy would love your breast pump; Courtney, we may not get a chance to talk to you until we get home, but we've got your number and I think Cammy knows what time is good to call, we love you lots and can't wait to hear your voice; Dave, Sarah and Robbie, we can't wait to see you guys; to all our family, we love you all; and to all ya'll in bldg 98... tell Betty I'll be a little late on the next PQDR :)...

Tuesday night

Grandma Mills for Gerry and Cammy: Tuesday night at 7PM. The good news today is that our little boy graduated. Reed is no longer in NICU (neonatal intensive care unit). He graduated to the next level called the intermediate care unit (ICU). The doctors said he was ready a day or more ago to leave the NICU (where babies get the most intensive care), but they had to wait for space in the ICU to open up. The other good news is that Cammy and Gerry now have a room on the same floor in the same building with Reed. It was a cold walk across a wet rainy street last night from the other room they had (at feeding times, Cammy did the walking not Reed). Reed has turned into our golden boy (a common condition where the biliruben goes up and the baby begins to jaundice - - it is related to normal break down of extra blood cells). He is basking in his own special light to resolve this. The treatment is to shine ultraviolet light on the skin (he certainly would not get it outside in sunlight here in the Pacific Northwest). Unfortunately, the lights and transition to breast milk have made him a little dehydrated, so they are going to insert a feeding tube and get him plumped up. Cammy is determined to continue breastfeeding so I am sure they will all work through this.

Sunday Evening Update

From Grandma Mills: Cammy and Gerry are at Tacoma General with Reed. She got him to nurse a little. It won't take him long to figure out that there is lots more to life than a plastic pacifier. Everyone is doing really well. They are waiting for a spot in the regular nursery to move Reed there because he is ready. Cammy and Gerry have an apartment in the hospital complex. Gerry and she asked that if folks want to give a small present to the baby, they would be delighted if people want to give a donation to the Neonatal ICU at Tacoma General Hospital. You can find the donation page on the TG web site under the Multicare Foundation or you can donate at the front desk of TG from 8-4 weekdays. The NICU also needs baby caps and baby outfits right now if anyone wants to purchase some and drop them by. Thanks to all who have logged in, blogged and prayed for our little boy. love mary lou

Sunday Morning Update

Here's a picture of Red being weighed. The last few hours have been a bit stressful.

Reed was moved, as a precaution, down to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Tacoma yesterday afternoon. He was doing ok here, but Harrison is a regional hospital that doesn't have the facilities to care for him, if he would have taken a turn for the worse, so the doctor felt that since we had the opportunity to move him, that that would be the safest thing for him. It was very difficult to let him go, especially after just meeting him, but he's got excellent doctors caring for him.

They sent a special team up here that transferred him, in first class style, and by he time he got down to Tacoma, he was already doing better. Last night, they said he was doing very well, and if he had been doing that well earlier, they probably wouldn't have moved him. Grandma and Grandpa Mills have been visiting him down there, so he's not all alone. Grandma and Grandpa Austin are on their way down to visit this morning.

We just talked to Tacoma again this morning, and they said they have him on room air, and he's doing fine, so Cammy will be able to breastfeed once we get down there. We'll be discharged from here later this morning, and will probably be staying in Tacoma until he is released, which hopefully will only be a few days from now. I doubt that they have wifi, so this is likely the last update until we get home.

I know that there are many of you who are anxious to talk to us and congratulate us, but please try to resist calling, as this is still a difficult situation for us. I've been reading Cammy all of the comments that are posted, and we may try to start calling people in the next few days, but may also wait until we get home.

Hospital Picture

They've posted a picture at www.harrisonmedical.org

Doctor said

He'd be fine... I don't think I mentioned that in the previous post. I don't want to send anyone into a panic... I'm doing a good enough job of that.

The absolute worst case scenario is that he would be transported to the neo-natal unit down in Tacoma until he gets over that, but the doctor is thinking that that probably won't be nessecary.

Some problems

We noticed a few hours after his birth, that his color wasn't quite as pink as it should have been.

He's not getting quite enough oxygen, so he's over in the nursery getting oxygen (he was at 86, while a normal range is in the nineties). The doctor thinks he just may have inhaled some amniotic fluid, and his lungs are having a tough time getting rid of it, along with getting all of the avioli opened up in his lungs. They're taking every precaution that they can and are keep a close eye on him while we get some rest. Mary Lou and I are taking turns sitting with him, and we should know more in a few hours.

Please think good thoughts and send us all your positive energy. Cammy's in good spirits, I'm kind of a wreck though. So I'm going to try to take a nap.

6 lbs 11oz, 18.5 inches

Ten fingers and Ten toes. He's absolutely perfect!

11/11/2006 04:32

Introducing..... Reed Mills Austin.

I'm speechless.

Push em' out

We can see the head, he'll be here probably within an hour.

100%

She's fully dialated, and nearly ready to deliver. We've both been able to catch a little bit of a nap over the last few hours, so she's in much better shape than she was a few hours ago.

Comfortably Numb

She did it halfway... and did it like a champ, but after two nights of next to no sleep, almost a day without eating, she opted for some pain managment. She's doing much, much, better now, and will hopefully get some rest before it's 'pushin time'.

5cm

Don't have much time to write this one, contractions are getting very close.

"That is the best news I've heard all day"

That's what Cammy said when she just found out that we're up to 3cm! Making more and more progress. So all the work in the last few hours was worth while. He still needs to move down just a bit, but at least we're moving in the right direction. The nurse is fairly certain that it will be at least four more hours though, probably longer... so we might as well start a guessing game on this thread since I know there are a lot of friends and family out there waiting with us.

The hospital birth center here is really nice, all the rooms are private, and we've got everything we need. Darrell, Steve, and Lisa are all out waiting in the waiting area, and will probably go to get a bite to eat soon and bring food back for Mary Lou and I.

making progress

She's almost to 2cm... so we're making progress.

Not much new

Cammys relaxing in the bathtub, which is quite a bit more comfortable for her, and Mary Lou just got here a few minutes ago to help out. The contractions are still coming regularly, and she's hooked up to the monitor. Everything looks ok so far, the nurse just said that baby is looking great.

At the hospital

We just got to the hospital, as the contractions started getting really close and much harder. She was just examined and is still about about 1.5cm, which is where she was yesterday. The nurse says that these contractions may not be full labor contractions yet. So it'll be a while still. I'll update again when we know more.

Research

I came back to the computer to look up labor positions, as they seem to be coming harder than they were, but still anywhere from 2-1/2 to 5 minutes apart... found a good page, http://www.transitiontoparenthood.com/ttp/parented/pain/positions.htm, with some positions where going to try.

Arlo and Edison are pretty interested everytime Cammy gets down on the floor... but otherwise don't seem phased by whats going on.

Truckin'

Contractions are still coming fairly regularly, about 5 minutes apart. I filled up a hot water bottle to help her muscles relax, and she's run the hot water tank out of water once already in the shower. Yesterday, the nurses suggested staying at home for as long as we could before coming in, since Cammy wants to try to do this naturally, so we expect to be home for a little while longer anyway.

Stormy day in the NW today, lots of wind and rain...

Night Owl

Baby must take after his Mommy, as soon as Cammy tried to go to sleep last night, the contractions started up again. We're at about 4 minute intervals, and things seems to be moving in the right direction. Poor Cammy barely got any sleep last night, but did manage a minute here and there between contractions.

False alarm?

Well, Cammy's had about 1 contraction in the last hour... things seem to keep slowing down. I probably won't post again until things pick up again. Hopefully, it won't be at 2:00am again.

Still at home

Contractions still coming, albeit slowly... Cammy's napping when she can...

Exciting day at home... UPS dropped off a package, and a magazine salesperson came by.

E-mail to contact us

I should also note, that the hospital has wifi, and we'll have our laptop with us. So you can e-mail us at gerrycammy at wavecable dot net.

Things just started

About 2:30 this morning, Cammy started having contractions. They were pretty close together (3-4 min), but tapered off a bit later in the morning. We went up to the hospital to get an exam about about 10:00am, as the contractions were still close and she thought her water may have broken. She was still at about 1.5cm, which is where she was in her exam yesterday... and her water had not broken yet, so not wanting to spend days in the hospital, we decided to come back home and take it easy.

The contractions have slowed down a bit more, but kind of come and go. Sometimes they're strong and close together, othertimes they'll be 10-15 minutes apart. She's napping right now, as we anticipate a long night should things pick up again.

I'll do my best to keep writing updates as things keep going.