Darr Family Blog – Page 135 – The place to follow the Darr Family

She’s Here!

I’m breaking from my normal format to write up Abigail’s birth story. Then I’ll add pictures that we’ve taken this week, both before and after she arrived.

Thursday, December 22, 2016

4:00 AM: Paul and I got up, ate breakfast, and got ready to head to the hospital for me to get induced. We had dropped Joseph off at our friends’ house the night before, so he could spend the night and play with a friend while we were busy at the hospital.

5:30 AM: We checked in at Labor and Delivery to get set up in a room…they said it would be a bit since all the rooms were full.

11:30 AM: Yup, that’s right. SIX hours later we finally were given a room. Once we got in, they started me on a pitocin drip and broke my water to induce labor. I dilated to 4 cm rather quickly (I think it was a couple hours), so we went ahead and had them give me the epidural. The epidural seemed to work great for a while, but then I started to feel pain and immense pressure. Paul was a great coach, keeping me calm and breathing so that I didn’t hyperventilate. I also started to literally shake from head to toe with an adrenaline rush (this started about 3:00 PM). I expected it to pass quickly, but it lasted (along with the pain and pressure) until I was ready to push, at about 5:30.

5:30 PM: I started to push and they said I was doing a really good job, so they called the on-call obstetrician (my doctor had already had to leave). I pushed for a little bit and then at…

6:02 PM: Abigail was born! She weighs 7 lbs, 2 oz and is 19.5 inches long. They were able to give me skin-to-skin with her. This was a luxury I didn’t have with Joseph since he had to be taken to the NICU for observation (to monitor his breathing and make sure he swallowed anything he ought not to have, if you know what I mean) right at birth. I was also able to feed her right away. Then they transferred me to a recovery room, took her to the nursery to get cleaned up, and we began our journey as a family.

The next two days were a bit of a blur of feeding, checking vitals, etc. They noticed a slight murmur in her heart, but that was something that went away by the time we were discharged. They also said she didn’t quite pass her first go at the hearing screening. She passed the second test, so they think there was just some amniotic fluid trapped in her ear (since it was just her right one). Paul spent the first night at the hospital with me, but the second night he went and collected Joseph and they stayed at home (after coming to visit). My night solo was a bit difficult because Abigail wanted to be awake and attached to me all night. I finally had them take her to the nursery so that I could get some sleep. We were able to be discharged yesterday, with both of our blood sugar levels being great, and were home for Christmas Eve as a family. Now just to get used to this new stage in our life. 🙂

Christmas 2016: We awoke early, had breakfast, and then opened presents. Joseph got a new DS with a game and case, a book, and some new church clothes. He also got a Pokemon watch from Jason and Saira and some cool science kits from one of Paul’s former foster moms, Barbara Diamond. Paul got a new shirt, a foam pad to put down on the bench in his new office, a gift card to purchase some eBooks, and a couple of new tools. I got some slippers, some new measuring cups, a handmade scarf (one of my friends crochets some amazing stuff), a book I can read to Abigail, and a recipe kit for some yummy dessert from Barbara. Abigail got some cute clothes from Barbara.

This Adventure in Pictures:

img_20161220_111116 — Playing with LEGOS. Last bit of time as an only child well-spent.

16-1-9 — I was a bit worried when I saw this weather. Would we need to bring Abigail home in a parka in a few days?!

img_20161221_113926 — One more trip to the temple grounds before Abigail made her arrival.

16-5-1 — All the babies had these stockings draped over them, with candy-cane hats.

img_20161223_164318 — …cutest thing, ever.

img_20161224_092901 — Daddy holding both his babies.

16-6-1 — The lactation consultant said a bink would be a good idea since Abigail likes to suck a lot. She assured me it wouldn’t be a problem with breastfeeding (and so far, it hasn’t been). Here she is, holding her own paci.

img_20161224_170134 — After we got home from the hospital.

img_20161225_100043 — All dolled-up for Christmas.

img_20161225_074355 — The open-mouthed sleep.

16-1-27 — While Paul and I were busy at the hospital, my friend took the kids to the temple. Joseph loved hanging out with their family for a couple of days.

Our friends also got this video of Joseph. The original video was sent as MMS so it’s pretty small but still very awesome.

Prep for the Final Countdown

Weekly Happenings: We’ve mostly been ticking off our boxes for the final countdown before Abigail arrives. Paul finished up final exams and projects, I crossed the last thing off of my “must-do-before-baby” to-do list, and Joseph had an epic last week of school before the winter break (his teacher must be exhausted). When I say the “final countdown”, I really mean it. At my last OB appointment, we set up an induction date. If she doesn’t come independently, we’re going in early this next Thursday morning to put everything in motion. One of my friends has already graciously volunteered to watch Joseph, so we’ll drop him off at her house the night before. It’s baby week!

The Weekly Weather: It’s been crazy to say the least. We’ve had cold days, cool days, and down-right warm days all mixed together. I think the craziest temperature jump was yesterday. During the day, it was literally in the upper-70s. By last night, it was down in the 40s. Today’s high is only suppose to be 41, with an overnight low of 29. Yeesh.

What Paul’s Been Up To: He’s mainly been finishing up with his classes. He’s also been a huge help with Joseph since I just haven’t been up to doing a whole lot. I sure did marry a great guy! One fun thing that happened was that his former coworkers (from when he was working in the DLI library as opposed to the IT department) surprised him with some gifts for Abigail. They made a diaper cake and also gave us some cute outfits for her. We were not expecting it in the least, and it was so sweet! It means so much that they would still think of us even though he’s no longer working in their department.

What Sarah’s Been Up To: Mainly the normal stuff with a few extra things thrown in. I finished up with my piano students until March (making sure I get recovery time in there and also just getting used to the new way our house is going to run warrants for a bit of a break). I also helped out with Joseph’s class party on Friday. I was in charge of the cookie decorating center, so I helped small groups of his class decorate sugar cookies. It was fun, but exhausting, haha. I was ready for a nap afterward! I also went to my final ultrasound/growth scan for Abigail (she’s measuring at about 7.8 lbs) and my last OB appointment (I’m already 2 cm dilated). I have one more appointment for an NST (non-stress test) and the last meet up with the nutritionist to go over my blood sugar numbers (which have been great). I’m so amazed that I have been able to control this gestational diabetes with diet alone. Not every momma is so lucky. For many of them, even if they start out diet-controlled, their numbers start to rise towards the end and they end up needing medication or insulin injections. My numbers have actually been getting a bit lower as we’ve gotten towards the end. It’s amazing to see the Lord’s hands in truly all things.

What Joseph’s Been Up To: He had a really great last week at school. I think he brought home a new craft every day (including a few fun ornaments for our tree). I feel blessed to have him in this pre-k program. It reminds me of what kindergarten was like when I was five. 🙂 It’s been a fun transition into school for him. The more I think of it, the more I’m grateful he didn’t have to go from absolutely no school exposure to a straight 7.5 hours of school. It most likely would have been really rough…on all of us. Joseph has also shown us just how patient and understanding he is. We’ve been getting a lot of stuff for Abigail this last little bit and he has not complained, once. We have gotten him little things here and there (and a sweet sister in our ward included a gift for him when she gave me a gift for Abigail) to make sure he knows he’s not totally getting left out, but that hasn’t caused an increase in the “I wants” in the least. I think that Christmas being so close has helped a bit, since he has presents to look forward to. One of my favorite things about him is that after he receives something, he is immediately grateful. He’ll tell us thank you and express how nice it was of us to get him something. He does that with the other people that have given him things, as well. Last night, we had friends over for games and we had a bit of a gift exchange. Joseph was not forgotten in that two of our friends brought gifts for him. He was quick to tell them thank you and and then later told me that it was so nice of them to bring him gifts. He really is a gem of a kid.

This Week in Pictures:

img_20161212_185937 — Mixing up imaginary pancakes for me “since you can’t have real ones because it would mess up your blood sugars.” Seriously…so observant!

16-1-8 — Just to show a bit of what we’ve been experiencing, weather-wise. The fluctuations have been just a bit crazy.

The diaper cake and present from the DLI library staff. I loved all the little useful things tucked into the cake.

download_20161214_183455 — While I couldn’t possibly photograph all of the cute clothes we’ve received for Abigail, I had to snap one of this onesie that friend made for her. It’s a quote from a show that we have a common love for. It’s pretty awesome that she thought of that when coming up with a present. 🙂

16-1-26 — We needed to run out to the distribution center by the temple yesterday. While I took care of business in the center, Paul walked Joseph around the temple grounds. It’s always so peaceful there. Here’s Joseph in front of some flowers (I love the landscaping).

16-2-4 — I love this picture. We didn’t see these rocks the last time I took him there. I’m glad my boys were able to go on an adventure!

16-3-3 — While the grounds aren’t decorated with lights like some other temple grounds, they do apparently have this really beautiful nativity display.

16-1-25 — After finishing up at the temple, we had lunch and then took Joseph to the outdoor play area at La Cantera. Notice he’s not wearing a jacket? That’s because it’s almost 80 degrees in this picture. 5-6 hours later, it was in the 40s. All this next week is supposed to be cold, so it’s a good thing we squeezed in this play time! He was playing tag with some insta-friends (kids he’d just met a few minutes before).

img_20161218_065615 — “Just because” flowers that Paul bought me yesterday. I love how thoughtful he is. 🙂

The Calm Before the Crazy

Weekly Happenings: We had a pretty low-key week as far as extra out of the house activities were concerned. Monday night, we went to Bass Pro Shops one more time so Joseph could play with all the fun Christmas stuff and get his picture taken with Santa. Friday night was the ward Christmas party. It was pretty low-key, too. Dinner, singing Christmas carols, and a short talk given by the bishop. It was nice to have a relaxing night. 🙂 Other than those two activities, we were mainly home-bodies. Getting ready for Abigail’s arrival, finals, and the weather kind of influenced that decision.

The Weekly Weather: It’s been COLD. Now, I know it’s all relative. I know that it hasn’t been as cold here as it has been in other parts of the country, but this is South Texas. When the temperature drops into the 40s-50s during the day (30s-40s at night) and the humidity jumps into the 70s, I don’t care what anyone says…it is down-right cold. We’ve been layering like crazy to stay warm. We’re supposed to have a brief respite tomorrow, but then it’s supposed to dip back down. I guess winter has arrived!

What Paul’s Been Up To: He’s entered the trenches of finals week with quite a few projects due for his classes. The poor guy has been hindered a bit by a bad cold and cough. It seems to slowly be getting better, but it is proving to be one tough bug! In spite of that, he’s still been making time to do fun stuff with the family. I sure appreciate his hard work ethic and the love he has for us! Yesterday, he and Joseph touched up the side of the crib (which Joseph had used as a teething tool when it was his) with a fresh coat of paint. It looks like new! He did also take Joseph to Old Town Helotes yesterday. They were having a craft fair and one of my friends had a booth set up, selling some of her crocheted items. I’ve been dropping some pretty strong hints about wanting one of her scarves for Christmas…it won’t be a total surprise, I suppose, except I don’t know what color he ended up getting, so that’s enough of a surprise to look forward to. 🙂

What Sarah’s Been Up To: In addition to being Joseph’s taxi and teaching piano, I’ve been nesting like crazy. My to-do list is almost a have-done list, though. There are a few things left on there, but they are sort of last-minute time sensitive things. The biggest thing was getting all of the littlest baby clothes washed and put into Abigail’s dresser, along with washing all the blankets, towels, etc.. It took a while, but it is done! My doctor let me know that she plans on inducing me anytime between the 21st-28th (unless I go into labor before then), so the more we can get done now, the better. We’re leaning towards before Christmas as opposed to after, simply because there are more options of days that are not holidays (which would be days that the hospital would not schedule one) and it would be nice to be home with her before Christmas. 🙂 Never mind the fact that by picking an earlier date, it’s less likely that I’ll go into labor on my own on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. I meet with my doctor again tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll be able to pick a date then that works with us as well as with her on-call schedule.

What Joseph’s Been Up To: Playing around the house, drawing, reading, school, etc. He had a blast at Bass Pro Shops. I didn’t get any pictures, but he loved playing with the bow and arrows game, the shooting game, and the diggers in the ball pit. He was a bit nervous to meet Santa, but ultimately decided that it was an okay idea. We try really hard to let it be his decision because his comfort level is what’s important. He’s also been a huge helper around the house. It’s been a bit more difficult for me to do some things and he is quick to come help. I love his helpful heart!

This Week in Pictures:

img_20161205_074745 — The dark mornings have made it so that this little guy is sleeping in a bit more than normal. I loved discovering the foam sword in his bed one morning.

img_20161205_201848 — This year, in addition to getting to see Santa for free and getting a free copy of the picture, Bass Pro Shops gave us this cool wood frame. This apparently was a weekday-only type of deal (people who went on the weekends didn’t get the frame). This was an extra bonus we didn’t realize at the time (we were just avoiding the weekend because we knew it would be crazy, haha).

img_20161211_073524 — A close-up of the picture. Last year they let us have a digital copy for free, which they aren’t offering this year. I don’t mind too much, though. I was pretty impressed with getting the frame which we can use in years to come and I’m grateful that we can still get one free option of the picture.

img_20161208_094443 — Cowboy Joseph stomping along to the Count’s beat (each episode they stomp out the the number of the day).

img_20161208_094446 — Whoops. I got caught taking his picture!

img_20161209_103227 — He’s really into the Santa count down this year. He also looks way taller than he actually is because he’s standing on steps to reach the count down.

img_20161209_110057 — He opted to spend a chunk of one morning reading a Pokemon comic book from the library.

img_20161210_182943 — Abigail’s set-up in our room. She can come any time now. 😉

"Driving" the wagon in Old Town Helotes while at the craft fair with Paul. — “Driving” the wagon in Old Town Helotes while at the craft fair with Paul.