Quick pics

Nate and Lucy the other night (doesn't Lucy have long fingers?):



And Levi last night with some toys Lucy thought he should have:

Bath time

Levi had his first bath yesterday. He didn't love or hate it, but he did startle a few times when I didn't have my hand on him. He still looks pretty red/yellow, doesn't he? At his 2-week check-up today, the doctor wasn't concerned about that. He weighs 5 pounds 13 ounces--a 10-ounce gain from his birth weight, which is great.



Nate and Lucy tonight after their bath.

Bye bye, Mimi!

Well, I've made it through 24 hours without Mama. :)

Actually, things are going wonderfully here. There's something about having your kids healthy again that makes you appreciate how great they normally are. I remember feeling much more desperate and unprepared after Mama left when Lucy was born. It's too early to say, but maybe my transition from two to three will be easier than from one to two! How about you? Mamas of two or more: what was the most difficult transition?

Nate is off with Jon at a turkey bowl/touch football game at church; Lucy is napping (I think); I just mopped and put in a load of laundry; and Levi is ready to eat. But first, pictures of the kids in the prize Nate picked from the treasure box at school:

From yesterday and today

P.S. Levi is done with the phototherapy blankets as of yesterday evening. Cool!

Another update

This has been a week of survival mode! Nate is better. Lucy is not all the way better, but at least there's no more throwing up. :) Levi is doing very well, though he's still under the lights. He has another test today and I anticipate they'll say he can be done in the lights by the end of the day. Yay!

Some more pictures.

Spoke too soon

Did I say Lucy was on the tail end of the sickness? Maybe not. Up much of the night with her last night. This is by far the worst sickness either of the children has ever had. I am SO glad my mom is here!

I'm taking Levi to the doctor today to have his tests run. He still looks jaundiced but I'm hoping the numbers have kept improving.

Oh, and here are two new pics... One from the hospital and one of Levi looking like a glow worm! :)

Very quick update

We are home, and we are busy! Nate and Lucy were both very sick beginning Thursday night (the day Levi was born). Lucy is on the tail end now, but Nate is still in the midst of a killer bug. May be the stomach flu. Levi and I came home yesterday (should have been 11:00 a.m. but ended up being 7:00 p.m.!). His bilirubin levels were a bit high, so we have him under the blue blanket lights--they make him look like a glow worm. :) He stays in the lights all the time except for feeding, when 30 minutes are allowed. Good thing he is a sleepy, great baby, because he hasn't really fussed much at all. My mom and I took him back in to the hospital this morning to have his blood drawn for the test again, and we still have him in the lights. He goes in to the doctor again tomorrow. That's all for now!

Levi's birth story

On Tuesday night, we were up quite a few times with Lucy, who was sick. I think something about getting up and down very quickly multiple times overnight did something, and I woke on Wednesday morning wondering if I had had a leak. I spent all day Wednesday feeling uneasy, wondering if I was imagining things or just feeling weird or something. Once I finally called the phone nurse that evening, she recommended I come in to be checked. I waited until Jon got home, and we made it to the hospital at 11:00 p.m. They checked my fluid and confirmed it was indeed amniotic, so they admitted me at 1:30 a.m. I wasn't completely mentally prepared for this, as I was 35 weeks along and planning for at least a couple more weeks of pregnancy! I hadn't even brought anything (like a camera) other than my purse with me along to the hospital. Oh well!

I was having contractions pretty regularly, and they started to progress a little bit, but not much. The doctor wanted to start me on pytocin, but I asked instead that they let me labor for a while, then check me and also break my water the rest of the way; the doc agreed. I asked my nurse several times through the night when I could get up out of bed, since I knew that would help the contractions progress, but she kept saying no. I could tell she was a new nurse, and knowing my history of quick labor with Lucy, she didn't want anything bad to happen (I guess). So I spent a few hours in the bed, watching my contractions being monitored on the computer screen.

At 5:00 a.m., when my contractions had gotten quite a bit stronger, the doctor checked me, and I was at a disappointing (to me) 1.5 cm. She broke my water, which I was sure would really jump start things, considering my labor with Lucy (water breaks = baby born!). But instead, my contractions stopped! I guess when she broke my water, my blood pressure went way down. (Incidentally, this is the only time I slept all night; I took a nap for about 20 minutes--my blood pressure must have been really low.) They put me on some oxygen, and I agreed to have some pytocin, which they started around 7:00. This is when they finally let me get up out of bed.

I spent the morning laboring, visiting with Neil, Casey, and Bennett, and walking around the room. Contractions were getting much stronger, but I could still talk through them.

Around 11:30, I was pretty uncomfortable, and the nurse checked me: 4 cm. Hmm. Contractions were no fun at this point. I'm not Superwoman, so I asked for an epidural. During the hour-and-a-half wait for the epidural, my contractions kept getting worse and worse. Casey came again and visited with me (while Jon rested on the window seat), but our conversation had to stop every 2-3 minutes while I focused and breathed through a contraction.

The anesthesiologist arrived. He started explaining the risks and benefits of the epidural while I ignored him through a contraction. Mid-sentence, he asked in good humor, "Do you even care what I'm saying right now?" "No," I moaned. He gave me the epidural, which took a little while so I had to remain completely still during several very strong contractions. Ahhh, relief!

Within 2 minutes, my doctor came in and checked me. "She's complete!" she exclaimed. Yes, I had made it to 10 cm before even getting the epidural. The baby was at +1 station, which meant he was low and pretty ready to come out. Dr. Raffo had to do a scheduled c-section right then, so I waited (happily, since the epidural had kicked in). My nurse turned off the epidural, so no new medicine was coming in, but I was still numb. Just a few minutes later, though, even through the numbness, I thought I might feel the urge to push. I told the nurse; she checked me and declared the baby was at +3 station (VERY ready to come out). I held tight (quite literally) while we waited for Dr. Raffo. The baby's heart rate was starting to dip really low during each contraction, and I had to really try not to push, so the nurse called for a different doctor to deliver immediately. Just then, Dr. Raffo arrived.

I pushed through two contractions, able to feel a little bit through the epidural medicine, and Levi was born! They had told me earlier that I might not get to hold the baby right away since he was premature and may need to be taken immediately to the isolette for the neonatologist to check him out, but Levi cried out on his own right away, so I got to hold him for a moment. His APGARS were 8 and 9--he was teeny tiny but healthy! His hair seemed blonde when he was first born, but it looks brown today. He doesn't look much like either Nate or Lucy, especially his little mouth and chin. I am so glad he's here!



Nate and Lucy came to meet their brother a few hours after he was born. Nate was SO excited to get to hold him. He held him long enough for Jon to snap one picture, and then he enthusiastically said, "Here you go!" and lovingly but quickly handed him right back to me.



Jon said that Lucy kept saying "Wee-vi, Wee-vi!" in the car all the way to the hospital. When she saw him, she didn't know quite what to think, and she isn't a big fan of someone holding him instead of her. She warmed up to him a little bit, though, especially while Colleen was holding him.

Introducing...

Introducing

Levi Paul Varela
Born November 13 at 1:53 p.m.
5 pounds, 3 ounces
18.5 inches long

Healthy and precious!

Our sweet boy decided to come a little early! We are all doing great; I'll post more information soon.

Poor girl

Lucy has a stomach bug, the poor thing. So that has been my day yesterday and today. Jon took Nate to school this morning, and I'm here with Lucy. She has eaten a few crackers and kept some liquids down this morning, so that's good. One of the worst things is not letting your little one have anything to eat or drink when they're begging for it (she kept asking for a drink last night but couldn't keep anything down)! They just don't understand.

Nate has been a sweet helper, fetching Lucy's blanket or pacifier or whatever I needed. Jon said Nate prayed for Lucy this morning too. :)

The picture of her standing below is funny--she was standing like that just holding the cracker for a long time. She had begged for something to eat, got it, and then realized she didn't feel like eating.

Fun for all

My good friend Jenny and her husband, Drew, offered to take Nate and Lucy for the day today for some fun. They picked them up this morning and whisked them off to a fun park. They also went to a bookstore, then In-n-Out for lunch, and then Target to pick out a new toy! Wow--I think our kids have some new favorite people in the world. Nate cried when they left. :)

While they were away, I got through a few boxes of baby boy clothes and arranged them into the new (used) dresser I picked up yesterday. (It's now in Lucy's closet.) And then I went and got my hair done--something I haven't done in months and it just feels so nice! Jon spent the morning working on some Bible studies he is writing for a 2-day Mexico trip he is taking next weekend to help train some pastors down there. Then he and I met for lunch at Taco Bell (I know--so romantic, but it sounded good to me!) before coming home to be here when everyone got home. Nate and Lucy are down for naps now, and I'm relaxed!

GrosgrainStore.com grand opening & gift card giveaway

GrosgrainStore.com Grand Opening & Giftcard Giveaway!!!!!!!!

This crafty mom opened her own store this week (grosgrainstore.com) and has some cute stuff! :)

Lucy today

Girl clothes are just so cute sometimes, so I wanted to get a few pictures of Lucy in a new dress.