Mr. Magoo, that's who!!

Well, Luke is doing fantastic tonight! He is up to 9cc of food and that makes me very happy! He is really getting stronger in his grip! He makes little white knuckles when he grabs my finger...it's so cute! His biliruben count (the stuff that makes him jaundice) dropped just a tiny bit, but at least it is not going up. I read him another story tonight (Goodnight Moon) and I swear he just dropped off to sleep holding my finger. It really felt like my heart could explode with love for him! The nurse did let me take off his jaundice shades so I could see his cute little face more. His little eyes kept going cross because he has no control of those muscles yet. It was quite amuzing! I am posting some pictures from tonights' visit! Keep praying hard for God to help his body grow strong, strong, strong!!

Oh, the whole Mr. Magoo title is because his daddy thinks he looks like Mr. Magoo! I think he looks like a sweet old man!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Luke is here!!!!

Hey everyone! I have not been keeping up with the blog like I wanted to because my hospital room did not have good wifi. Also, I've been a little busy birthing a baby!! On Friday, September 26th at 8:48 pm the most precious little man entered our lives (almost 10 weeks early!!). Luke Thomas Smith weighed in at a whopping 3lb. 13oz. and was 16 1/2 inches long! That may sound tiny but we were so glad that he was as big as he was!! In the preemie world, that's pretty big! He has all his parts and a TON of hair! The doctor said that if he had stayed full term we would have had to braid it! Don't listen to the old wive's tales....I had hardly no heartburn during my pregnancy!! He is now in the NICU and we honestly don't know how long he will stay. All in all, he is doing very well! The nurses have told us that it is a rollercoaster ride with preemies. One day they are doing awesome and the next day they take a nose dive. So far, Luke is doing fantastic! We have had a few setbacks, but they are all to be expected. The nurses say that he is a fiesty little guy! He has lost a little weight and has severe jaundice right now. They have these high powered lights on him so he looks like he is in a tanning bed! He also is have a few of these moments that the nureses call "bradys". Basically, he has a type of apnea that causes him to stop breathing and his heartrate drops. This, of course, freaks me out a little, but they say this is very common for any baby born before 35 weeks because their little nervous systems are not developed yet. They stimulate him a little and if he has several of them, they give him a jolt of caffeine!! But...Praise be to God ~ he has not had to be put on a ventilator at all! He is doing pretty good breathing on his own. They help him out with a little bit of oxygen in his nose but that is all! This is GOOD news! Also, they have started feeding him a little. He gets less than a teaspoon every three hours through a little tube that goes in his mouth and to his belly. He is doing great with digesting and having no residual food in his tummy! Luke is just the most beautiful little person I have ever seen! He is a tough little cookie and I hope and pray he continues to be a fighter! I hated leaving him yesterday but am totally confident in the care he is giving. I am at peace knowing that his every need is taken care of and that he is hooked up to so many monitors that nothing will slip by his nurses. He is exactly where he needs to be right now, so I can't be unhappy!! God has been so unbelieveably good to us and it amazes me how he is continuing to bless us and our little spider monkey every day! I also have to tell everyone that the nurses in labor and delivery and the NICU at St. Vincent's have been AMAZING! They all will have HUGE crowns when they get to heaven! They have catered to my every need and Luke's every need and I will be eternally grateful for every sweet woman that I have met there during the last 13 days! I will be posting some pictures (the best I know how) and will keep everyone updated on sweet Baby Luke! Keep him (and all the NICU babies) in your prayers!

Getting used to my new life!

Bedrest. Till he comes. Which could be tomorrow or six weeks from now. Wow. How did THIS happen?? Most of you guys already know that my water broke last Thursday (while I was driving down I-20 at 80 mph on my way to a scheduled doctors' appt!). Needless to say, I freaked out! This was no leak...it was like a tsunami!! Did I mention that I freaked?? I called my dr. and they met me with a wheelchair, sent me straight to sonogram and informed me that I would be heading straight to the hospital. Um, what? No no no! This has been a Picture Perfect pregnancy! I have had NO problems and now I am told I will be in the hospital until Luke comes?? Also, you guys know that I am a kindergarten teacher and I had absolutely NOTHING planned out for my sub!! I thought I had two months!! Oh dear! I guess God had other plans for me...But things so far could not be better. I am not dilated or having contractions (which should buy me some time). Also, I tested negative for Group B strep so they took me off antibiotics. I did get two steroid shots just in case I start dilating, but so far nothing! From Thursday to about 6 hours ago, I was not allowed to let my feet touch the floor, but this morning the doc gave me bathroom privileges! O happy day! I have never been in the hospital before and using a bedpan has to be one of the most humiliating things in life! I even got to take a shower (sitting down of course) today! I feel like a new woman! They have taken him off 24 hour monitoring b/c everything looks good, so now we just monitor him every 4 hours for 30-45 minutes. They have even taken me off fluid but they made me promise I would drink LOTS of water. Currently they tell me Luke only has about 3 cm. of fluid inside (which is very low) but they say that it is OK because he is making new fluid all the time and my body is making fluid which is washing over him constantly. The nurses have told me that he won't be a "juicy" baby. He might look like a little dried raisin! He will definitely have to go to the NICU but for how long, we don't know! And, odds are, I will have a c-section. That is OK by me!! I just want him to be healthy and strong!! I does not matter to me how he gets here! I just want him to wait a little while longer and cook some more! I believe in the power of prayer so if anyone is reading this, please take a minute to pray for my little spider monkey, Luke Thomas Smith. Pray that he will stay in his mommy's tummy for at least 4-5 weeks! God has a plan for all of us and I just pray that the plan will be revealed soon! Thanks so much to everyone at OES, Crosspoint, my friends, family, my friend's families, and anyone else who has taken a minute to call and check on us, send us flowers and goodies, and for all the monetary help. I have been blessed with the most amazing group of people who love me and the sheer volume of kindness and concern for me, Luke and Tom has been overwhelming! I love you all and will find some way some day to repay you! I love you all and will keep you posted with anything I find out! Love, Rhonda

 


Me and my sweet nephew, Ryan! He is 13 and sooo excited about Luke coming! He has never really been around babies, so he is really looking forward to holding/feeding/changing diapers (well, we will see about the diapers...).

 


No longer able to see my feet! This is what I see (or don't see) when I look down!!

 


Me and my hubby Tom at my mom's.

 


Me at 29 weeks! Only 11 more to go! Time is flying by!! Check out that nose!!

Feeling like Shamu...

Well today I think I am officially turning into a bloated whale! At least, that is what I feel like. The weather is soooo hot and humid! When I walk outside, I swear I can feel myself swell. My BFF Jennifer finally admitted to me that, yes, my I am getting "pregnancy nose". For those not familiar with this lovely phenomenon, the raging hormones cause your face (in particular your nose) to swell and to spread. Scary stuff! Everyone else has been like, "oh no...I don't think your face looks any different...". Liars. I'm not bitter. I appreciate them sparing my feelings, but looking at my face everyday, I SEE what is going on!! Supposedly it goes away after the bambino comes and things will get back to normal. Well, I want better than normal!! Can God just not make my body morph into Jennifer Lopez's or Eva Mendes after Luke comes? I mean, I don't want to work for it....I just figure I deserve SOMETHING after going through these months of craziness!! Oh wait. I do get a cute little baby! Maybe THAT will be my gift....He will be better than any hot body, right?? Oh, today I really felt 2 - 3 braxton hicks contractions. I thought I might have been feeling them before, but OHHH NOOOO! These were the real deal! My stomach got so hard and I made Tom feel it just to prove I wasn't just whining (he thinks I do that a lot lately....heh heh heh...wait until I really go into labor!!). Anyway, from feeling those nasty practice contractions, I have decided to ask my doctor if he can give me an epidural at .5 cm! I mean, I'll be willing to test if giving one this early helps....Then they can give me another at 4, then 7, then when I am fully ready to go!! Sounds good to me, but I don't think he will go for it! I'm going to try to post some pics from today! Until next time.......

BABY BUMP!!

Hormonal Hannah!

So last night Tom and I were watching Miami Animal Police (why I do it, I don't know...) and there was this deer with wire around its neck. To make a long story short, if the animal guy did not try to get the wire off, it would die. So they caught it, removed the wire (but its neck was SEVERELY cut) and it got up, wabbled around, then collapsed. Well, it died. And I started bawling!!!!! Tom looked at me and asked, "Are you serious??? Are you crying over that deer??". What can I say?? I literally cried for 1/2 an hour! I told him it wasn't just the deer, it was all those sad, abused animals and then I was crying because I missed my dad, and then I was crying because our nursery is not done, and then I was crying because Sept. 11th had just passed, and so on, and so on, and so on....
Crazy. The hormones have started up again!! But, just 11 weeks to go! And I am sure I will still be crying after Luke is born (but hopefully, those will be tears of joy!). Anyway, the moral of this story is DO NOT watch sad animal shows when you are pregnant! Nothing good comes out of it!!

Oh, I have not figured out how to add pictures to this thing yet...I'm working on it! Then you will be filled with never-ending pictures of my swollen face, tummy, maybe even feet!! :0 Ok, maybe not my feet, but I would like to get some pics on here soon!!

Blogging is HARD!!

Well, I have entered the world....The blogging world, that is! I have no clue what I am doing and am really going to rely on some friends (hey Meg, I need help!!) to get this page going. I have been reading several of my friends blogs and decided, yeah, I need to do that! Trouble is, I'm clueless! Just a little about me...I'm Rhonda and am currently 28 weeks pregnant with my first child who will be named Luke Thomas. I am married to a computer nerd who likes guns (oxymoron, I know) named Tom. He is a really good guy and I love him LOTS! I can't wait to see him as a daddy! He has never held a newborn, changed a diaper, or fed a little one...so it should be fun! I am a kindergarten teacher (kinda hard on a pregnant body) and have lots of family and friends whom I adore! I'm using this blog to keep people posted on the daily/weekly musings of my somewhat crazy life! Enjoy!!