Our First Week

Its hard to believe Lucas is already a week old!  We have been pretty busy at home, adjusting to having a newborn in the house again. 

The first 2 nights at home Lucas was awake every hour.  Jim and I took turns getting up to soothe him when it wasn't feeding time.  We have a new video monitor that is positioned to view inside of the crib.  At one point Jim decided to try to let him sleep in the bouncy seat on his bedroom floor, but didn't tell me.  I woke up and looked in the monitor and saw there was no baby in the crib, rolled over and saw Jim sleeping next to me and panicked!  I woke Jim up asking "Where's Lucas?".  It took Jim a little bit to realize what I was asking before he told me he put him in the bouncy seat on the floor, but didn't move the camera!  About gave me a heart attack!

Sunday we had a visit from our Pastor at church.  She told us that during the Children's Christmas Eve service the family with the youngest child goes up to the front to light the Christ candle.  She asked us if we would like to do that this year, and of course we were honored. 

We received a beautiful basket of flowers from the fire company.  They smell so good in the living room.

Jim's work sent us an Edible Arrangement, which was yummy.  The boys loved the chocolate covered strawberries the best!

On Monday, Lucas had his first doctor appointment.  The doctor said he looked great and is very strong.  He's already starting to hold his head up on his own.

Eric had 1/2 days of school on Monday and Tuesday.  Jacob and I spent some time playing together with Lucas.  Jacob shared videos on his ipod and taught Lucas how to make a "nest" with his stuffed animals!

Lucas is doing great at home.  He is getting the hang of eating, about every 2 1/2 hours during the day, but has been sleeping 4-5 hour stretches at night, which is awesome!  He loves to sleep in his bouncy seat at night and loves to be held.  Of course, since he's our last we are probably holding him a little too much but he's only little for a short time. 

Lucas's first sponge bath at home.

 

We had a great Thanksgiving at home with Mom and Dad. We have so much to be thankful for this year!

Lucas Joel's Birth Story

It's been quite a week in the McMillan household!  We are all adjusting to being a family of 5, and quite well I think. 

I wanted to take a few minutes to write the story of Lucas's birth so I could remember it down the road. 

Wednesday evening, November 20th (my due date) Jim and I dropped Eric, Jacob and Tyler off at Mom and Dad's and headed for the hospital to start the induction process.  Once there I was assigned to Delivery Room #5, which by the way, had NO CLOCK in the room!!!  Every doctor or nurse that came in the room over the course of the night and day made a comment about the clock missing.  Eventually Jim and I just started announcing there was NO CLOCK whenever someone new came in! 

I was first hooked up to the Non Stress test machine to monitor baby for a while.  The doctor came in to check to see if I had dilated at all since the Monday before, which I hadn't. I was still only 1 cm.  At 8pm I was given Cervidil.  The plan was to keep it in for 12 hours and hope that it worked to dilate me enough to break my water the next morning.  We spent a sleepless night in the hospital room, hooked up to the baby monitor, contraction monitor, blood pressure machine, heart rate monitor and IV fluids.  Every time I had to get up to use the bathroom I had to be unhooked from everything.  Jim got pretty good at doing this for me! 

There were lots of babies born through the night... one woman in particular apparently waited a little too long to come in to the hospital.  We heard her arrive and about 15 minutes later we heard her baby cry.  Good thing too because she sounded to be in a lot of pain!!!  

8 am Thursday morning the doctor took out the medicine and checked me.  Unfortunately I was still only 1 cm.  The Cervidil did nothing....needless to say we were pretty disappointed.   The new doctor on call, Dr. Cadieux, decided to give me a pill called Cytotec at 9am, which is a little more aggressive than the Cervidil.  It stays in for 4 hours and can kick start labor as well as help to dilate.  About 2 hours after she gave it to me the contractions started. 

By 2 PM I was definitely in labor.  Contractions were coming about 2 minutes apart and getting harder to breathe through.  Doctor checked me and I was 4 cm.  She called for the anesthesiologist to administer my epidural.  At 3PM my epidural was in and I was feeling much better!  No more pain and I could rest.  I was so proud of Jim for being able to stay in the room and hold my hands while I was getting my epidural.  He was such a trooper, since just the thought of me getting it makes him a little lightheaded. 

By 3:30 I was feeling more pressure even with the epidural and I was so excited to hear the doctor say I was 7 cm.  3 cm in 1/2 hour is awesome!!!

At 5pm I was ready to go!  I was feeling a little pain with each contraction and the nurse reminded me that I could push my button to up my epidural but I chose not to so I would be able to feel the contractions to know when to push.  I started pushing at 5pm and about 5:30pm they gave me an oxygen mask to help me and the baby while I pushed. I was so exhausted in between and my throat was so dry.  Jim was such a great help feeding me ice chips in between contractions.

Once his head was out the doctor told me to stop pushing but there was no stopping him.  He slid right out into her arms.   At 6:08 pm Lucas Joel McMillan came into the world sunny side up!  Normally babies come out face down but he was face up, so he sucked up a little more mucus.  The doctor suctioned out his mouth and we heard his first cry.  The best sound ever!!!

The NICU nurse who was in the room worked with a thin tube down his throat to suction him out even more and he was breathing great within a few minutes.  He had a large red bump on the top of his head from coming out face up, but that quickly went down within a few hours. 

Lucas was 7 pounds, 11 ounces and 21 inches long with brown hair.  Originally I thought he looked like Jacob, but he has some of Eric's traits as well.  He has the longest fingers and toes.  The verdict is still out about his eye color.  Some days they look brown, other days they look dark blue.

Now I can say that all my boys were born the day after their due date!

All through the day I was emailing back and forth with Mom.  Jim and I were picturing her sitting at the island with the computer, home phone and cell phone in front of her....eating cookies (she admitted to eating too many waiting for news!)   We had no cell service in the delivery room so we relied on her to update everyone else.  I know it was a long day for us at the hospital and for everyone waiting at home for news.

The boys came in first to meet their new baby brother.  They were both very excited.  Jacob couldn't believe how small he was.  Eric just wanted to hold him all night. 

I was supposed to be in my delivery room for about 2 hours after Lucas was born but at 7:30 they came in to get me up and moving because they needed my room for another delivery.  There were 5 delivery rooms and one operating room for c-sections  in the hospital and they were all full.  Labor and Delivery was very busy!

Here are some pictures from Lucas's birthday.  I am hoping to keep my blog going with updates about our family.

Let's get this show on the road!!!

So baby is finally full term and like his brothers, he has decided he is perfectly content to stay inside my belly instead of making an early appearance!!! 

Last Friday I went to the doctors and for a Non Stress test.  I was still not dilated and the baby was still really high.  We spent the weekend doing lots of walking and bouncing on my exercise ball to try to get things moving.

Saturday we worked in the yard to get ready for winter.  That evening we had Jim's parents and Mommom Mac over to celebrate her 80th birthday!

Sunday we had a relaxing day at home....enjoying what was probably the last of the warmer weather for the season!

Monday I had another doctor appointment.  I was FINALLY 1 cm dilated but baby is still really high.  She did an ultrasound to make sure he was still head down, which he is, but she showed me the big empty space that he still needed to move his head into.  Most of the time second and later babies do not drop until labor so hoping that will happen!

I am currently scheduled to go into the hospital Wednesday night at 6pm for a dose of Cervidil to help me dilate and then the plan is to have my water broken Thursday morning.  Hopefully everything will work and baby will be here sometime Thursday. 

Of course, there is still a little bit of time for him to decide he wants to come on his own, so we're still hoping that will happen.  We're all getting really anxious and can't wait to meet him.

How far along? 40 weeks!!! 

Maternity clothes? Nothing is comfortable at this point.

Sleep: Usually have no problem falling asleep at night but insomnia has been awful in the middle of the night and I’m wide awake about 5am!

Best moment this week: Finding out I was finally dilated, even though it was only 1 cm!!!

Miss Anything?  Sleeping, feeling normal!

Movement: Lots of movement still

Food cravings: Not much of an appetite

Anything making you queasy or sick: brushing my teeth, STILL!

Gender:  BOY

Labor Signs: more contractions throughout the day, dilated to 1 cm, Baby just needs to drop.

 Symptoms: tired, sore, backache, heartburn, acid reflux, sciatic nerve pain

Belly Button in or out? Out
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Cranky because I’m still pregnant….can’t I have 1 baby come before his due date?

Looking forward to: Meeting our baby, hopefully by Thursday!

Eviction notice....you have 1 week to vacate :)

I can't believe we only have 1 more week until we meet our third little boy.  I am getting anxious, Jim is ready and the boys are excited to meet their baby brother.  They made him cards to hang in my hospital room!!!

Friday I had another doctor appointment and non-stress test because of the protein they found in my urine on Wednesday.  Everything was normal so nothing to worry about there, Wednesday was just a fluke thing I guess.  As of Friday I was STILL not dilated so I've spent lots of time walking and bouncing on my exercise ball this past weekend!  The doctor said if he doesn't come by my due date, next Wednesday (the 20th), they will induce me.  I am hoping he comes on his own, but at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel!

Saturday we took the boys to the Elmwood Park Zoo for the morning.  Free admission for Pottstown residents!!!  The weather was nice and the boys had a great time.

Jim has been busy this past weekend working on getting all the equipment on the new firetruck.  He's been at the firehouse late and usually comes home while I'm sound asleep (though I'm in bed by 9pm most nights, so that's not saying much!)

We've spent most of our nights just relaxing at home, watching movies and playing xbox.  I think we have everything ready for the baby to come.....grocery shopping is finished for the next 2 weeks, I've been keeping up with laundry every other day and I wrote a schedule for Mom for the boys while I'm in the hospital....yes it was color coded :)

Non stress test tomorrow morning and doctor appointment on Friday.  Hoping to have made some progress by then!

How far along? 39 weeks- Baby is the size of a pumpkin

Maternity clothes? Just trying to stay comfy for now!

Sleep: still tired, falling asleep pretty early and trying to nap/rest during the day.  Insomnia hits about 3am though…not fun!

Best moment this week: Zoo with Jim and the boys on Saturday!  Loving our family time.

Miss Anything?  Sleeping through the night….I know this won’t happen again for a long time!

Movement: still lots of movement everywhere.  Praying he is still head down. 

Food cravings: No appetite anymore.

Anything making you queasy or sick: brushing my teeth, STILL!

Gender:  BOY

Labor Signs: nothing new…a few contractions a day.

 Symptoms:  no change….tired, sore, backache, heartburn, sciatic nerve pain

Belly Button in or out? Its out most of the time now!
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy and ready to meet this new little boy!

Looking forward to: Meeting our baby by next week at the latest!!!

2 weeks to go!!

Wow....only 2 weeks to go!  Though I am exhausted, I think continuing to stay busy has made the time seem to pass more quickly.  I am hoping this coming week is our last busy week.  I am hoping to make next week a relaxing one.

Last week we celebrated Halloween.  Jacob had his Halloween parade for preschool on Wednesday.  They paraded around the classroom then sang a couple Halloween songs.

Thursday I went into Eric's class to help with his Halloween party and parade.  They decorated their own cupcakes, played a few games and then had a school-wide parade outside.

We went trick-or-treating to family on Wednesday night and through the neighborhood on Thursday night.  The boys got a TON of candy...we'll be eating it until Easter at least!!!  They had a blast!  I was so proud of Jacob for using his manners while trick-or-treating through the neighborhood.  He only took 1 piece of candy from the bowl that was offered and always remembered to say "Thank You".  I was worried he would be one of those kids that takes a big handful of candy!  Of course I wasn't worried about Eric, he knew the drill!

Here are the finished Ninja Turtle pumpkins the boys painted using the green pumpkins that grew in our garden....such talented boys we have!

 Saturday morning we took the boys to the Movie Tavern to see Free Birds.  They got to order breakfast.  The kids love this theater!  The movie was really cute too.

Saturday afternoon we finished setting up the living room to get ready for the baby.  We brought the cradle down from the attic and set up the swing.   We are ready!!!

Sunday night we had dinner at Mommom Kolb's to celebrate Matt's birthday.  Next year we'll be celebrating the new baby's birthday as well!

Monday and Tuesday, Eric was off from school for in-service.  Jacob had school Monday, so Eric and I went to the library and ran some errands in the morning.

Tuesday was voting day so the boys wore their "Vote for My Grandpa" shirts and we went to the firehouse to vote.  We had lunch with Jim in the afternoon and then met Eric's friend at Manderach park.

This morning I had my 38 week OB appointment.  Good news was they did another ultrasound to check baby's position and he is still head down so my c-section was cancelled!!!  Bad news was my blood pressure was up and I had protein in my urine so I had to go for a non-stress test.  I already had one scheduled for right after anyway.  They checked my urine again and said it was only trace amounts of protein which wasn't a huge deal and my BP was back to normal after only 15 minutes.  I've had a headache through the night from my allergies so I am guessing that had something to do with my higher blood pressure.  Because of all this though I now have to see the doctor and go for NSTs twice a week....ugh!  At least we only have 2 weeks left.  I'm still not dilated at all, so hopefully something will start happening sooner than later!

How far along? 38 weeks

Maternity clothes? Same old, same old

Sleep: exhausted…napping most days.  Sleep is difficult at night when you have to get up to use the bathroom 2-3 times. Insomnia between 2-3am each morning…not fun!

Best moment this week: Movies with the boys this past weekend. Only a couple more weekends as a family of 4. 

Miss Anything?  Not being pregnant :) So ready to be able to feel normal again!  

Movement: lots of movement everywhere…

Food cravings: Nothing this week….seems like everything gives me heartburn!

Anything making you queasy or sick: still brushing my teeth…ugh!  1^st trimester nausea has come back….I gag really easily at different smells.

Gender:  BOY

Labor Signs: more contractions each day, lots of pressure

 Symptoms:  same as usual….tired, sore, backache, heartburn, sciatic nerve pain

Belly Button in or out? It finally popped!  Wish it was like a turkey timer and I would be done!
Happy or Moody most of the time:  still happy and getting impatient!

Looking forward to: a relaxing two weeks before my due date….not making any plans from here on out!