Month in Review: August 2008

Welcome to Month in Review: August 2008, documenting events for our family history. This was a month of miracles.

• Tommy started 2nd grade at the beginning of the month. (His school has a two-month summer, then they have a couple extra 2-week breaks during the fall and spring.) His new teacher is Mrs. Burt.
• On August 13, I went in for an OB checkup and got put on bedrest, due to high blood pressure. I had had a bit of a problem with this in my first pregnancy, but not in the next two, so it was quite surprising.
  
• On August 16, Chris and the boys flew to Virginia to attend the Worth Family Reunion (without me!)
• August 16 also happened to be Tommy's Seventh Birthday. He was pretty excited to take a plane ride on his birthday. We celebrated a little in the morning before they left, and then they had a little party for him at Grandma and Grandpa Worth's house. Tommy was excited that Grandma and Grandpa do under-the-plates (a party-favor-passing tradition), just like we do!
• I was sad to miss the reunion, but my follow-up doctor's appointments confirmed that my preeclampsia was getting worse, so it was good I stayed home. By then I was feeling very blessed that my regular OB checkup had been scheduled for before our big trip, so that I was able to be warned that I shouldn't go. Bedrest in an empty house was very quiet. I spent a lot of time watching the Olympics.
  
• On August 22, I started feeling slightly sick. It wasn't severe at all, but since I was home alone, I decided to play it safe and drive to the hospital and have them make sure everything was ok. I didn't think it was strange to go by myself, since I was just going to have them check my blood pressure. I felt a bit embarrassed going in (by then I was even starting to feel better), but it turned out to be an inspired decision; within an hour I was extremely ill--my blood pressure reaching 200/110. I was thinking they would just admit me to finish out my 11 weeks of bedrest in the hospital. Instead I was quickly prepped for an emergency C-section (the baby was breach) and by 4 am on Aug 23, we had a new little baby. Too bad Daddy didn't make it home from the reunion until late that night.
  
  
• Baby Robbie was born 11 weeks early, weighing 2 lbs 13 oz. He will spend his first couple months in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
• Carl and Stacy's family were also traveling home (to Oregon) from the reunion the day Robbie was born and realized they had a layover in Salt Lake City. Stacy stayed while her family went on, so she could be with our kids for the first few days. This allowed Chris and I to spend a lot more time together and in the NICU. It also allowed me to come home to a clean house and folded laundry.
• August 25 was Michael's Fourth Birthday. I was still in the hospital, so a few of my friends threw together and impromptu party for him. Stacy made sure there were decorations and under-the-plates; Daddy took them all out to dinner, and we even had a little celebration in my hospital room.
  
• For those of you keeping track, yes--we now have 3 kids' birthdays within 9 days of each other.
• The jury duty that I accidentally missed in June had been rescheduled for August, and I got called in to show up the Monday after Robbie was born. They accepted my excuse.
  
• My sisters Stephanie (from OR) and Karen (at BYU) spent a weekend at my house, organizing every nook and cranny of every room, cupboard, and closet. This was a great gift, so that I can have a little order among the chaos of the next few months.
  
• Chris and his brother Phil took the kids up to Idaho to visit Grandma Sydney for a few days. It looks like they had a great time
  
  
  

We're not sure exactly what the next few months will be like, or what our future holds, but we feel extremely blessed.

Five Stories of Fun!

While I was on bedrest, Chris had his hands full! He and the boys flew to Virginia, stayed with my parents for a few days, and attended the Worth Family Reunion in West Virginia, home of the infamous "Big House"--a ginormous 5-story ski lodge with more than enough room for my parents and all ten of their children's families. It boasts an indoor pool, one entire floor with private rooms and bathrooms for each family, 3 gargantuan family rooms, 2 huge kitchens, and more. My sisters-in-law wrote about the vacation here and here, but unfortunately so far I haven't seen a good picture of the house in its entirety (Richard?).

From what I hear, Chris deserves the "Father of the Year" award for how well he did on his own with the boys. He really is great at that. Look, he even managed to snap a few pictures... (click on any of the pictures to enlarge)

He said the flights and layovers were the hardest parts,
but you wouldn't know it from the smiles on these faces:

What family reunion would be complete without a talent show?
Tommy and Michael told knock-knock jokes.

And what Worth event would be complete without some kind of brainy-mind-stimulating (read: geeky) activity? Everyone tested the laws of physics during the egg drop. Chris and the kids took the easy way out and protected their eggs in their laundry hamper (thank goodness I had prevailed before the trip, when Chris claimed they didn't even need to pack a hamper...).

Apparently, a good time was had by all

Well, all except for poor little Nancy, who was stuck at home missing everyone (as well as Jolie and Tim's family who were missed). And who says Chris is the only one who can handle things on his own? I managed to have a baby while he was gone, but that's another story...

He Has a Name (and a Face)!

We finally finalized the little baby's name:

Robert Scott Clark (Robbie).

(click to enlarge)

As you can see, he's pretty cute. Even though he is so early and small, he looks pretty normal--just tiny. One of the cutest things is that he is "furry," covered in lanugo--fine, white hair covering his body--which will eventually be shed from his skin.

His health seems pretty good so far. He is on a ventilator for breathing, which means we haven't been able to take him out and hold him yet, but we are able to help care for him--changing diapers, taking his temperature, sponging off his mouth and tongue, etc. We do this all through arm holes in his isolette (incubator-like bed). He has been getting nourishment through a PICC line (a more long-term kind of IV), but a few days ago he started getting fed with my milk as well--through a tube directly into his stomach (it will be a few weeks before he can try nursing).

My recovery is going very well. I checked out of the hospital yesterday, and am officially up and around. It's been nice to be back with the older boys (most of the time), and I keep pretty busy pumping my milk and making visits to the hospital.

A huge thanks to everyone for all of your prayers and support. We appreciate Stacy being here this week, and Stephanie and Karen who will be around over the weekend. We have lots of friends who will be a huge help to us in the coming months as I will be spending most of my time going to and from the hospital.

Again, we feel so blessed about the way things have progressed. My doctor was extremely attentive to my symptoms, and I was definitely prompted to go to the hospital to get checked out that night (I wasn't actually very sick until after I got there). As far as we can tell, little Robbie is on track to grow and develop as he should, and we are in for quite a growing experience of our own along the way...

A Tiny Announcement...

Well, so much for a month or two of "easy-going" bedrest...

I decided to have a baby instead.

Last Friday night my mild case of pre-eclampsia very suddenly became a severe case, dangerous enough to put the baby and I at great risk, so early Saturday morning I had an emergency C-section (29 weeks along). Chris wasn't able to make it back in time, since he and the kids were flying back from Virginia all day Saturday. We're all reunited now; I'm recovering well and feeling great.

The baby is tiny - born at 2 lbs 13 oz, and 15 inches long. He will reside in the Newborn ICU for 8-10 weeks. As far as we understand things, he is doing reasonably well. The major concern right now is his lungs; so he is getting lots of help breathing. We haven't even been able to touch him yet, but hopefully tomorrow we will have our first chance to hold him. It's been hard to get a good picture of him, but here's a little peek of him full of his wires, tubes, and even a huge bug-eyed mask...

(click to enlarge)

We haven't named the baby yet, but hopefully will come to a truce in the next couple of days.

Thanks to everyone for your prayers and well-wishes. Despite the difficulties, we feel very blessed for the way things have progressed up to this point.

More details to come...

Be Careful What You Wish For

If you had followed me around during the last few months and listened to the kinds of things I sometimes mutter underneath my breath, you might have caught something like:

"Can't I just have one day where I stay in bed all day long?"

or,

"I wish I just had a few days with nothing to do..."

Well, as the saying goes, be careful what you wish for. A couple days ago I went in for a regular OB checkup (I'm 28 weeks along), and found out that my blood pressure had suddenly become extremely high, putting me at risk for toxemia--which could be very dangerous to both my and the baby's health, and unchecked would require an early delivery. The answer? ...Bedrest.

It might sound appealing for a couple days or so, but it turns out it's quite an ordeal. The saddest part is that I won't be attending the Worth Family Reunion this coming week. We rent a huge, amazing 5-story ski lodge in West Virginia, that houses my parents, all my siblings, and all the grandkids; it includes an indoor pool, tons of places to play and visit and eat and have a great time. We've all been looking forward to the reunion for 2 years, so I am more than disappointed to miss it; fortunately the kids can still go and have a great time, thanks to Chris, who is willing to take them on his own.

At first, the timing seemed terrible, but thinking about it, I'm glad I had the checkup a few days before the vacation, because things would have certainly gotten worse had I put all the work into preparing and going on such a huge trip. And now I have a full week to get some actual rest in a very quiet home.

And, also on the bright side, maybe I'll finally find a little time to write about the past few summer months, post some pics, etc.