A perfect little surprise!

Introducing Frederick William!

Once I was home from Nashville, we settled in for me getting better and enjoying some quiet family time before Christmas.  Apparently, that wasn't quite yet in the cards.  Brittney's mom had come out to be here to help with Brittney and the kids as I transitioned back to home and regained strength.  What a blessing to have her here.

On Saturday we went for a walk with Thom and Brittany and their kids, showing them some of campus and stopping by the bookstore.  As we returned home from the walk, we had the first sign that something might be wrong.  Brittney was leaking some sort of fluid.  This kept up at a gradual pace for the rest of the night and throughout the next day.  She still felt the baby moving, so we weren't super worried, but we started to think that she might be leaking amniotic fluid, and what we found out about that online showed that this could be a problem, and lead potentially to inducing birth immediately, which was a little concerning, since there was still 3 and a half weeks until the due date for our little one.  All of our other kids have been so strong right from the get-go, that I feel like we have almost gotten to avoid the super-newborn stage.   Having a premature little one felt like a new challenge, and I feared spending the next week or two in some neo-natal intensive care unit keeping an eye on a struggling little one.

Monday morning Brittney called her doctor and got an immediate appointment to get checked out.  I was able to go with her, since I got grades in that morning.  The doctor couldn't get a lot more fluid to come out, and sent us to an ultrasound.  The ultrasound revealed that the fluid levels were super low.  The doctor decided that it would be best to induce labor immediately, due to the risk of infection for the baby.  So we headed directly over to the hospital.  We got there a little after noon, and it took until almost two to have Brittney hooked up to the pitocin.  Over the next 7 or so hours they kept gradually increasing the dosage, with seemingly little impact.  Brittney said that she could feel the contractions, and the monitor showed them as happening, but if I was just watching her I couldn't really tell that anything was happening.  We watched some tv, I took a nap to try and conserve energy for the coming storm, we tried to deal with the weird deja vu of being in a hospital, but with me in the bed, so recently, and we tried to get our minds around the fact that this was really happening.

Around 9:30 or 10:00 the contractions finally started getting painful and feeling productive.  Around this time we had the doctor check Brittney and she was only at a 2 or 3 and her cervix wasn't feeling very ready.  This was a little depressing, but not too surprising, as with previous pregnancies it seems that the painful contractions are the ones that actually do something.  After about two hours of painful contractions, the doctor checked again and very depressingly, Brittney was only at a 4, but the cervix had made huge advances and was pretty much ready.  I think this really set Brittney back mentally, but she pushed on.

It was getting so late, and had been such a long day, that Brittney was quickly hitting her wall.  A little after 12:15 she told me that she wanted an epidural, that she didn't think she could go any longer.  We called the nurse, and she got things set up, then the doctor came in and started things for that.  During this time Brittney had to sit on the edge of the bed, and she wasn't really supposed to move much during the contractions that continued while the doctor got things going.  This was really hard for her, and tough for me, without much I could do to help.   The epidural was all done about 12:45 am, and the doctor said it would take about 15 minutes for it to kick in.  We got Brittney situated back in the bed, and at this point she was barely hanging on, but felt like pushing.  The doctor checked her again and said that she was at a 10! and totally ready to go.  She held off pushing for a contraction or two while the nurses and doctors got everything ready, and then pushed about 6 times through 3 or so contractions and out he came.  The official birth time was 12:59am, and the epidural hadn't kicked in really at all yet.  I think it did do something to help ease the pain of the aftermath, but didn't really help at all with the birth process.   The whole thing was a great reminder of Brittney's strength, courage, and determination.  She amazes me and is the strongest person I know. I sure love her.

The first sound we heard as our baby boy came out was music to our ears: crying.  He was loud and strong, and I knew right away that we didn't need to worry about his lungs being underdeveloped or anything.  They set him right on Brittney's chest, and almost immediately he calmed down.  Both Brittney and I were at or past the end of our ropes (my stamina is still so low due to the stem cell transplant) and tears came easily as we beheld the perfection that is our new baby boy.  So many of our hopes and dreams, faith and prayers, fasting and concerns had been tied to this little boy since at least a year before.  It was quite an emotional event, and I for one was overwhelmed with feelings of gratitude and joy.  Once the initial commotion died down, I crashed for the night on the couch, and Brittney kept feeding him and caring for him through the night.  He did really well with eating, and seemed strong and again, just perfect.  He was 6 lbs 1.8 oz, and 19 inches long.  He scored 10 on his Apgar, and we have not had any worries about his health.

In the morning Brittney's mom brought the kids by to see their new baby brother.  This meant that we had to finally decide on a name.  We chose Frederick William Archibald.  It was great to see the kids with Frederick.  They each wanted to hold him, and were each so tender and careful around him.

Things continued to progress nicely, and we were able to return home from the hospital the next day.  Now we are finally all together, in time for Christmas.  Never has a quiet holiday all together as a family sounded quite so good and meaningful.  We are so grateful for Frederick's safe arrival, so grateful for his and Brittney's health, and so glad we are a family.   Now on to the challenging rest of our lives: together, healthy, and blissfully happy.

Chris comes home!!!!

Chris' levels all week had made steady progress. All but his red blood cells were in a satisfactory amount and barring some new infection the nurses told Chris he could probably go home 5 days early...meaning on FRIDAY! Both Brittany and I were quite anxious to have our husbands home.

Thursday night I had a Relief Society meeting and Brittany graciously finished putting all 6 kids to bed by herself so I could go.  She is amazing. Earlier that day, Chris had his tri-fusion catheter line taken out and had his last appointment at the clinic giving him the "all clear" to go home the next day.  I really enjoyed telling my friends at the RS meeting that Chris was indeed, for sure, coming home the next day.

I had lots to do to get my surprise finished for Chris and I contemplated pulling an all nighter to finish. I had gotten texts from Chris throughout the afternoon about what things at the Nashville apartment were ours. Brittany and I kept dropping strong hints that they should pack the car tonight so they can leave first thing in the morning. I was on the floor cutting and sewing curtains when I heard my phone bling a txt and then a knock on the back door and for some reason I knew who it was.  I jumped up as quickly as my 8 month pregnant body would go and raced to the door.  There they were...my handsome Chris and his smiling brother Thom. I leapt (at least that is what I attempted to do) into Chris' arms, ignoring my squished tummy, and held him as tight and as long as I could.

Our sweet boys wanted to surprise us and had packed as quickly as they could after Chris' clinic appointment and got on the road around 6:00pm and drove on the dark country roads for the entire 5 hour drive home to surprise us. So happy!! It felt like ages since I had seen Chris and I couldn't help but shed some tears as I thought about our family finally being home together.

Gwen woke up at 5:00 am (not uncommon for that week) and the very first thing she said to me as I walked in her room and tried to get her to go back to sleep was...."Is Daddy home?!?"  By 6:15 all the kids had run into our room with smiles on their faces from one ear to the next as they hugged and mauled their sleeping Daddy. Alec was sure to clarify our statement of " and he doesn't have to go back to the hospital!" with the question of, "ever? ever again?"

Brittany had to take baby Jane to the doctors Friday morning, Thom had to work from home and Chris was beyond tired and needed to sleep all day. I started unpacking all the stuff they brought home from the apartment and we all looked forward to Friday Night Movie Night. The entire MSU football team was at some promotional at Little Caesars that night when I picked up the pizza. Alec was surprised how "big" and "fat" all the football players were in real life. Pretty fun.

Saturday we hung around home and played and ended up going for a long long walk on campus. (More on the repercussion of that walk later...) The missionaries dropped off some soup and bread from an anonymous provider and we ate that for dinner.  My mom was flying into Birmingham late that night and we tried to get the house cleaned up and ready for her arrival. I had planned on picking her up myself but I was leaking fluid ever since the walk and was feeling nervous and anxious about the baby so I stayed home and let Thom and Chris make the almost 6 hour drive round trip.

I made up a cot in Gwen and Charlie's room for my mom, using the king sized memory foam topper, had Alec sleeping on the bean bag in the hallway (oh! before I forget, Alec lost his front tooth the night before!...he is getting SO BIG and seeing him sprawl over the edges of our bean bag makes him look even bigger). Jackson slept on a crib mattress on the floor, Graham and Jane each in a pack 'n play, and Thom and Brittany slept in the queen airmattress/cot/memory  foam topper bed....all together in Alec's bedroom. Then Chris and I (finally!) together at home in our own bed. We had a full house.

Thom and Brittany decided to leave a few days early since Jackson and Graham each had coughs that were getting a little worse each day. Also, the doctors thought Jane had a virus that was causing all her diarrhea, and an ear infection! (Poor Brittany really had had her hands full all week) In hopes of sparing our family from getting this virus/cough, they decided to head to UT Sunday morning.

So for most of Sunday, it was just my mom and our little family.  Since Chris has been so tired and just living normal life at home wears him out even more than his quiet secluded life in Nashville, he has been needing extra naps.  I was still leaking fluid and by Sunday night I KNEW that I was not just peeing my pants. I woke up a lot during the night, changed out my soaked pads and anxiously awaited for Monday morning to dawn so I could call my doctor.

P.S. By the way, my surprise for Chris still isn't finished, but its ok because to be honest, I knew he wouldn't really care about it. It was a complete makeover of our downstairs. Tiff and I switched the play room to the front entryway space and made the play room a dining room. We ordered some nice folding wooden dining room chairs, and bought fabric to hang mock curtains on all the tall windows (hung with command hooks instead of drilling holes in the walls for rods).  We had planned to stain our old dining room table a deeper brown to match the new chairs and got 1/2 way through that project before we ran into problems staining outside in a thunderstorm at 100% humidity and ran out of time to finish it before Tiffany had to leave, but tablecloths can work wonders as a cover-up. We moved the heavy piano from the entryway to the dining room and the white shelf with all the toys to where the piano was (quite a feat for us two!...seeing as how I could barely help myself....mainly Tiff did it all by herself). We organized, gave away and put away the toys in the toy closet and unpacked the remaining boxes in the entry way and upstairs. We decorated for Christmas and hung maps up in the new dining room. It was a huge project but makes such a difference in how organized and homey it feels here. I had been refusing to unpack and really settle since I am so anxious to move out of this house, but living in limbo isn't so good for my emotions. And Tiff pointed out that all the organizing, unpacking, even decorating here is just going to make our next move and settling in even easier.

Hello Thom and Brittany!

It was time for another switch up for our sweet care takers. Tiff and Clara (my caretakers) and Dixie's brother Todd (Chris' caretaker) were needed back at their own homes. I'm so glad they could each come. 

Now it was Chris' turn for some brotherly love as his brother Thom went up to Nashville to take care of him and still more sister love for me as Thom's wife Brittany stayed with me in Starkville. We each were single parenting it with all our kids...6 kids, 6 years old and under.  I mostly put my fun project brain on hold and Brittany and I focused on spending time with the kids. 

We read them stories...

Took them out for walks....

Sang Christmas songs at a bedtime popcorn picnic....(we had to get creative to keep the kids motivated to listen and obey us poor mamas )

Let them run off some energy at the gym...

And took them to storytime at the library...

It was so nice to have some company in the house, kids for my kids to play and be distracted with and someone for me to talk to, to switch off doing dishes with, to brainstorm ways of handling the kids better with. Alec went off the deep end one night and somehow the battle ended with him trapping me in my own bedroom where I cried myself to sleep at 8:30pm. I had intended our roles to be reversed but that's not the way it worked out. I think the stress of our family's situation has been taking a toll on Alec and he's not quite sure how to express his feelings on all that's happening. At least that's what I'm telling myself his recent behavior is all about. He just needs some stability and love...right? 

Home with Tiff

When we got home we had a big surprise waiting for us. This wonderful family from our ward, who we had asked to just de-cockroach the house for me and maybe turn on the heat, had gone above and beyond. 

I could tell the house had been cleaned, even the baseboards wiped, and some laundry folded in baskets next to some wrapped presents to everyone in our family! I spied groceries on the counter and found the fridge and freezer stocked! Amazing. We must have surprised them with our timing because it looked like they were in the middle of doing even more for us since I saw my box of Christmas decorations out and the Christmas lights laid out on the floor. They showed up within 10 min and continued to work and serve us for the next hour or more. They winterized all the windows (even vacuumed them all out) helped Tiff and I unload the car, set up the Christmas tree, put up some outdoor Christmas lights and I find out they even put fresh sheets on all the beds for us. 

 I was a little overwhelmed but much more grateful to not have come home to a empty, cold, spider webbed and cockroached covered house. 

My sister Tiffany is amazing. She does it all and goes goes goes all day. She took care of me and my kids and helped me do some big and fun projects around the house to help me feel more settled and happy living there. I'll post pictures once Chris comes home since it's a surprise to him. 

She fed me my first fresh vegetables in about a month, it seemed. I love her healthy cooking 

We also had a combined branch Christmas gathering party with yummy food and good company. The kids did a little program and Alec had a long part to read at the end. He did great! I'm so impressed with how much he's learned in school so far. 

Santa came and gave all the kids a little present. So fun. 

We had fun playing with Clara and are sooo sad to see them go...

All together in Nashville

We were all together in Nashville for just over 24 hours. After seeing the kids in the hotel on the first night and helping them get ready for bed we left them once again in the care of Tiffany and Jordan. It felt a bit weird to say goodbye so soon but Chris and I were both pretty tired after it, especially Chris.  Gwen had been throwing up a few days before and we wanted to keep the apartment a safe and sanitary place for Chris so they all stayed at the hotel and Chris and I slept in the apartment. 

We met at a local gem: The Pancake Pantry for breakfast. Then Chris was all tuckered out and headed back to the apartment with Jordan while Tiff and I took the kids to a park.

 

We grabbed some lunch at a grocery store and ate it outside the apartment, determined to keep down the germs in the apartment. 

 But....the kids really wanted to see the inside so we let them take a peek inside as long as they kept their hands in their pockets and didn't touch anything.

 

Then we left Chris there to rest and Jordan work some more and took the kids back to the hotel for some 'quiet time' with a movie. I think I was the only one to fall asleep. :) Chris met us there close to dinner and I administered his LAST DOSE of IV antibiotics!! (These doses had been getting me out of bed a couple of times each night...and we were SO happy to have Chris' levels high enough to be done with them.) We had the kids wash their hands, sanitize and glove them to let them help push in the last flushes. They loved it.

 

Then we walked down the street to TGIF for dinner.

 

 That night I slept with the kids at the hotel since Chris' uncle Todd had flown in late and slept with Chris at the apartment and since I had to take Jordan to the airport early.  With the car all packed and checked out of the hotel, Tiff, the kids and I went to the Stem Cell Clinic to say goodbye to Chris for 17 days. It was fun to show the kids where Chris and I had been for so long while they were in UT. I admit, I was also really wanting to show my kids off to the nurses. They had to hear me talk about my kids all the time and I wanted them to see how cute my children were.

 

The nurses were not disappointed. My kids are amazingly adorable.

 

Saying goodbye to Chris was painful and I, to know ones surprise I'm sure, ended up crying. How would he survive without me? How would I survive without him?  I drowned my sorrow in pastries at one last stop to the bakery: Au Bon Pain. 

 

And then we were off! On the road back home to Mississippi. Good thing Tiff and Clara were with us to help distract us and keep us laughing and busy. 

We're all together again

After 3 long and difficult weeks we're all back together!! Chris and I have missed the kids terribly but we were simultaneously always so glad they were having fun and spending quality time with family in UT... and not stuck around here with us. These past few weeks have been so hard and tiring and stressful and draining we can't imagine how we could have done it with our 3 kids to look after too. 

Seeing them in person and breathing in their presence made me teary. They are all so perfectly scrumptious I could hardly stop touching them: tossling their hair, giving them hugs, kissing their cheeks, rubbing their backs, stroking their faces. They were like well behaved angels letting me smother them, the boys wheeling around their suitcases like pros as we walked toward the hotel room. Once we opened the door their little rascal sides broke free and they jumped on the beds and tried to ignore my attempts at getting them ready for bed. Ahhhh there they are. My children that I love. It's so great to be together again even for this short while. 

Chris still has to stay in Nashville for another few weeks. His levels have been steadily going up the past 3 days and he officially reached engraphment yesterday with a neutrophil count of 670!!!  White blood cells were at 1.8, red at 31, and platelets at 87. He gets to stop measuring his input and outtake and after today I get to stop giving him his IV antibiotics.  Hurray!! Here's to an uninterrupted nights sleep (yeah right...I'm 8 months pregnant). 

It does finally feel like the holidays. I'm so excited for Christmas. Chris will come home the week before Christmas Day and we will all finally sleep under the same roof, and be in our own space for the first time in 7 long weeks.