Sick Mommy ....

The day after I had you in the hospital, mommy came down with a bad cough. I've had bad coughs before, a couple times a year... usually around a vacation I catch bronchitis. Mommy's doctor put her on antibiotics and sent me on my way home. That first night home was the first time mommy tried to lay flat in bed. I woke up very scared because I had all of this chest pressure. It felt like someone was sitting on my chest. I woke your daddy up twice. I told him I was scared and wasn't sure what was going on. You daddy took me downstairs to the recliner and told me he would hold my hand until I fell asleep. That next day, I went to urgent care and they took a chest xray and mommy had severe double lung Pneumonia. I cried at the urgent care. I was worried about you not getting breast milk, because that is your major defense in staying healthy while mommy was so sick. That next night was another difficult night. I only slept 1 hour. My chest pressure got worse and mommy went back to the urgent care the next day for a follow up chest x ray. The doctor told me she wanted to call an ambulance to take me to the hospital. She told me she was concerned I was having congestive heart failure or a pulmonary embolism. I told her I could make it the the ER. I was very worried. When I got to the ER, the doctors took me straight from the lobby back to my own room. They ER doctors told me the same the urgent care did. They were very concerned mommy was having a pulmonary embolism or congested heart failure. I just couldn't imagine what was happening. Daddy was stuck at home with you, Sean & Aidan. We didn't have any options to get daddy to the hospital. He called your nanny and made plans to fly her out the next day to help. Our good friends Jim & Shelley heard and they drove over an hour to Grapevine to watch you and your brothers while daddy finally made it to the ER. Just before that, mommy's good friend Lisa came to give me moral support while I was waiting on test results. At the end of the day, I was being readmitted to the hospital for two days. The CT Scan from my throat to my knees did not show a pulmonary embolism. My EKG was ok. My pneumonia wasn't looking so good. The doctors put me on a medical surgical unit. Mommy was worried about having you there by herself, so you stayed at home with Daddy and Nanny. It was a long two and a half days, I also had an allergic reaction to a blood thinner, but mommy got released and is feeling much better. I still have some outpatient tests that have to be done, but I am a little less nervous about my health. I can't even express to you that afternoon in the afternoon, my whole life seemed to flash in front of my eyes.

I am incredibly impressed with your daddy. Not only did he handle all three of you on his own, he did it on little or no sleep. He was also under a lot of stress because he was worried about your mommy. I am gratetful your nanny made it to Texas. We could not have done it without her and she got great cuddle time with you!

Love, Mom

Welcome Aaron!

Aaron, you were born on St. Patrick's Day. Tuesday March 17, 2009 at 2:09 PM. You weighed 10lbs 2 ounces, 22 inches long, and came out kicking and screaming! We we all surprised at your size! When they pulled you out everyone said you had curly hair. It appears that it has straightened out. You are beautiful and we cannot have asked for a better blessing from above!

Labor Time

Well, I decided to create a separate post about having you.. so hear goes...

Mommy decided a week ago that she wanted to have you on St.Patricks Day. You have Irish in your blood and I thought that would simply be a cool birthday. I reached out to my group of mommy friends for some bringing in baby tips early. Honestly Aaron, they are a bunch of wives tales, but they work for some. Silly things like Castol Oil, Walking for long periods of time, eating pineapple, eating eggplant... the list goes on and on.... at the end of the day, I chickened out and decided against trying to do anything to bring you in early, but to let mother nature take it's course.

Last week was spring break and mommy was going to have your 2.5 year old brother Aidan and 5 year old brother Sean home all week by herself (daddy would be home, but he would be "working from home" , so really not an extra set of hands. On Monday morning mom had the brilliant idea to give Sean a medication that would help "mellow him out" so that I would not have to worry about separating him and Aidan all day. His doctor prescribe it for him. Long story short, Sean didn't like his medication. Mommy was only getting about 2 hours a sleep a night and was tired and cranky. Daddy decided he needed to take Sean to the hospital after he complained of his chest hurting. I stayed at home struggling with your brother Aidan when my contractions started to kick in. I decided not to time them as they had been coming for no weeks with no progress. Well, they kept coming. Around 7:30pm, I timed them to 10 minutes apart. I called the on call OBGYN and he told mommy when to head for the hospital. Your brother Sean made it home from the hospital with an "all clear" from his doctor. That night I got about 2 hours of sleep, woke up and called her doctor and he said to come in.

In a nutshell, your mommy was indeed in Labor! Enough to where you were born 3 hours via Cesarian Section after that doctor's appointment. Even more to mommy's amazement was your size... 10lbs 2 oz and 22 inches long. I would have never guessed you were that big! I didn't gain much weight at all with you, in fact, I gained the least weight compared to your brothers.

Stem Cells

Your daddy & I decided it would be a good investment for our immediate family and our extended family to bank your stem cells. Our new president elect just opened the flood gates for federal funding for research and we are hoping some day to use your stem cells to help one of our immediate family members. We would love to use these on your older brother Sean, if the research is perfected enough to show they can reverse some of his more obvious signs of autism, such as his motor tics. Another excellent candidate is your Aunt Jennifer. Although never officially diagnosed, it appears to most of her medical professionals that she has Parkinson's Disease, we hear that the next two major stem cells studies are hoping to help individuals with Type 1 Diabetes and Parkinson's. We got our kit for the C Section delivered to us today via Fedex. I have heard some great stories in the research industry on what they have done with stem cell therapy.

Love, Mom

5 Words....

Can You Come Out Already?

Mommy knows that your ready to come out. People are stopping me at stores and asking me if they can help me load the car. I'm getting comments left and right since last week, so I must look like I am going to bust!

I'm not sleeping at all either. Most of it is excitement and anticipation... the other part is your head is on my bladder.

Our Pisces Baby

well, if you are born prior to the 23rd of March, here is your forcast... your mommy is a Pisces as well!

Seeming like a bit of a lost soul, the Pisces baby will get emotional and start crying for no apparent reason. It's part of this timid baby's personality, along with a tendency to carry things inward and not push them out. Expect a whimper rather than a shriek. Along these lines, the Pisces baby will pick up on the family's vibe, sensing arguments and other familial disruptions, and being profoundly affected by them. This fits in with this child's very caring, almost selfless persona, a quality which manifests itself in things like giving away toys. For this reason, Mom and Dad need to see to it that their Pisces tot doesn't get pushed around in the play group. Extra-sensitive by nature, this child also benefits from an added dose of attention, whether it comes from parents or sibs. With a wandering mind (this is the sign of the dreamer, after all!), the Pisces baby will find it easy to get lost in thoughts, almost blocking out the real world. Safe to say that this kid shouldn't be entrusted with many details -- they will simply forget them! That dream state is one which should be monitored at night, as the Pisces baby will be greatly distressed by bad dreams. To sum up, the Pisces baby would rather give than receive, is dreamy by nature, and possesses the fluidity attached to a Water sign. Let this sweet river flow!

Full Term!

Today, we hit full term! Yeah! Mommy is so excited! My feet are swollen and it's hard to get any more than 2 hours of consecutive sleep... please please come out a good sleeper! Mommy was told by her doctor last week to get off her feet. Daddy has been helping out the best he can. Your mommy's blood pressure has been creeping high... just like it did with your older brother Sean. Mommy came down with a condition known as pre eclampsia. I am borderline there with you. I want you to stay in as long as possible to cook, but I have a feeling you will be making your grand entrance soon! Your new cousin Bethany is due to be born tomorrow morning. How crazy is it that your birth dates will be so close! I enjoyed picking out your outfits today for the hospital bag. I picked two sizes, just in the event you came out bigger. Only time will tell.

Love, Mom