Cole is 2 Months Old!

 2 Months Old!

 

 

 

Cole is 2 months old!!! He weighs 14.1 lbs and is 23.5 inches. He is in the 95th percentile on both height and weight! We may have a future linebacker on our hands here! Cole can roll over from his belly to his back. He is starting to smile and coo. Cole is NOT sleeping thru the night. It makes me laugh when people ask me that...and they ask me that all the time. He usually goes to bed between 7:30-8:00 and wakes every 2-3 hours to eat. So far he is still exclusively breastfeeding! I am very proud of him and myself for this accomplishment!

 

Cole had 2 stays in the hospital during this month. Both times he was admitted for a high fever and had several tests ran, including a spinal tap to rule out meningitis. Luckily, all test came back negative! Poor boy had a rough month!

 

 

We sure to love this little boy! He is such a good baby! Gracyn is such a good big sister. If he is crying she will rush over to him to give him his pacifier. She loves to nuzzle his little head and gives him kisses.

 

Cole and his puppy!

Big Sister keeping a close watch over her baby brother!



Sick Baby Boy

Clint and I experienced the scariest thing last week! Our sweet boy was transported to Arkansas Children's Hospital due to a fever.

Cole at the ER. He still had the scary blank stare.

 

 

I had a dentist appointment Thursday afternoon and also needed to run by the mall. I fed Cole about 1:00 then headed out. I had told Clint to use some frozen breast milk when it was time for him to eat. I went to the mall and was there a bit, then headed to my dentist appointment. After my appointment, I realized I had gotten the wrong size in some swimming trunks I had bought Cole for next year, so I headed back to the mall. I got home about 5:00. Clint said Cole hadn't eaten and I said, "Oh good, I didn't want to have to pump." At this point, I'm thinking he must have taken the milk I laid out and was ready for another seeing how it had been four hours since he had last eaten and he usually eats about every two hours. Clint told me he hadn't eaten at all. I though that was odd, but then decided to pump so we didn't waste the milk that was laid out. While I was pumping, Cole was sleeping on Clint's chest and making an odd humming noise. After I pumped, I took him to try to feed him. He wouldn't take the bottle, but he has only had two bottles so I thought maybe he wanted to nurse. He wouldn't. His eyes were really glassy and he just didn't look himself. I took his temperature and it was 100.9. I ran out and got Clint and told him we needed to go the doctor now. I then took his temperature in his other ear and it said 101.4. We literally ran out the door and headed to the ER.

 

The nurses rushed Cole to the back and took his vitals. His rectal temperature was 102.4. They put some oxygen on him right away, which turns out his oxygen levels were fine so he didn't need it. We had Gracyn with us and of course she didn't understand what was going on so was wanting to act out. Clint called Jeffie to come get her. The ER doctor came in and looked him over. He said he looked like he might have been having a seizure in the way that his back was arched and he had a blank stare, however, he wasn't rigid so wasn't 100% if that was it or not.  They took him back for an X-Ray then came back and got an IV started on him. The ER doctor later came back in and said he had made some phone calls and they felt it was best they fly him to Children's. Of course, I assumed the worst and broke down. Just a couple of days ago, I had read where if a newborn has a high fever they will do a 48 hours sepsis test. So I was somewhat prepared for what we were about to go thru, however I was not prepared for him to say they were sending him to Little Rock!

 

Clint headed to the house and packed some clothes for him, me, and Gracyn. He took her clothes to Jeffies then headed back to the hospital. At this point, it had been nine hours since Cole had eaten, five hours since I had pumped. While Clint was gone, Cole's Tylenol and antibiotic had kicked in and he was acting hungry so I was able  nurse him, even thought he didn't eat much. When Clint got there, he brought my pump so I was at least able to get some relief. Not long after, Angel One from Little Rock arrived. They weren't able to fly him since there was a lightening storm in Little Rock, so they sent an ambulance to get him. I was planning on riding along, but they brought three EMT's and a doctor so there wasn't room. One of the hardest things ever was watching them load him up and take off without me being with him. Clint and I followed behind them. We arrived to Little Rock about 3:00am. A couple of doctors came in and talked to me while Clint was down in admissions. They explained that they were going to run several tests to rule out sepsis and meningitis. They did the spinal tap about 4:30 am. After that, it was just a waiting game. We would be there at least 48 hours. They said NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS.

 

 

Getting some rest.

 

 

We were finally able to lay down about 5:30 to get some rest. Clint slept about three hours, I slept about 45 minutes in between nurses coming in to take blood and swabs for more tests. Since I'm nursing, I was able to order a patient breakfast. I got up and ordered breakfast, took a shower, and got ready for the team of doctors to come in. The attending doctor explained that we were going to be waiting for his test results for 48 hours. They were going to go ahead and start him on the antibiotics then stop then as they rule out different bacteria along the way. She explained that they assume the worse and start treating him as if he has it. She said we may never find out what caused the fever, it could be something that Gracyn brought home from daycare or I brought home from Wal-Mart.

 

Cole enjoyed the mobile the nice nurse brought him.

 

That day, Cole was already acting more himself! He had a slight fever that morning, but it broke once they gave him Tylenol and if never came back. He was back to nursing about every two hours and was having an adequate amount of dirty diapers. We had to save them all so they could weigh them. We were so lucky to be in a city where we have such great friends. Heather brought us lunch that afternoon and Bill and Sarah brought us dinner. It was so great seeing them. It really helped Clint and I take our minds off what was going on. Clint and I both felt everything was going to be ok, but you can't help but think about the "what ifs."

 

Arkansas Children's Hospital was amazing. Everyone was so helpful and you felt they really cared. There was a nutrition room at the nurses station with drinks, fruit, and snacks. We were able to just help ourselves.  They also had a laundry room so we were able to wash our clothes. We only had enough clothes for a days stay so it was very nice to be able to wash clothes.

 

Saturday, Clint's parents brought Gracyn down to see us. I was worried about how she was going to behave. I know she was very hyper when I was in the hospital having Cole. She did very well though. I put The Little Mermaid on for her and she just sat and watched it. Clint and I went down to the cafeteria to eat while his parents stayed in the room with Cole. We just couldn't leave him alone. That evening, Clint went with this parents to get dinner while Gracyn and I stayed behind with Cole. It was nice just having some time with her. They headed back to NWA that evening. We were now counting down the hours till that 48 hour mark on the spinal tap.

 

Waiting to get this IV out.

Happy Boy! We were given the ok to go home!

 

The doctors made their rounds about 10:00 the next morning and said the spinal tap still had no growth!!! Great news!!! We were waiting the results of on more test, but she felt we would be going home! Finally, about 12:00 we were discharged!!! We couldn't wait to get this boy home and get his big sister back home with us! We prayed hard that nothing was seriously wrong and we thank God there wasn't. We sure do love this little boy.

 

Sleeping in his own bed!

 

 





 



 















Gracyn Goes Fishing

The end of July is always Clint's family reunion. This year, his parents decided to rent a house in Cotter and stay a couple of days. We got a place right on the White River. Of course, we had to do some fishing. We bought Gracyn a Disney Princess fishing pole. She could not wait to get to fishing! We got there Thursday night and walked down to the river and let her put her feet in the water. It was so cold! The next day, Clint and I went to Wal-Mart to get our fishing licenses. On our way out, it started raining....it rained the entire day! Poor Gracyn didn't get fish that day.

The next day we drove about an hour to Salem, AR to the family reunion. Gracyn enjoyed playing with her cousins and everyone enjoyed meeting Cole. Every year, everyone makes a quilt block. His grandma then pieces it together and has it quilted. It's then raffled off at the reunion.  His grandma passed away this past October so this was the last quilt she made. Gracyn was the one that drew the winning ticket. And the winning ticket was....Gracyn Thomas! We were so happy we won the last quilt his grandma made!

That evening we finally got to go fishing! Gracyn is a pro at casting! I was actually very impressed! Too bad none of us caught anything. She was so upset and cried about not catching a fish! She wanted to call Grandpa Peevy. Once he told her that their are days he doesn't catch anything she seemed to feel better. Later that evening, Peepaw built a fire and we roasted marshmallows and made s'mores. We had a fabulous time! One thing is for sure...this girl is a country girl at heart! She loves water, dirt, sticks, and rocks.

Gracyn and her cousin Jake.

Cole and I just chilling at the family reunion.

Daddy teaching his little girl how to fish!

Wading in the spring!

COle is 1 Month Old!

 

 





Cole is one month old!!! He really doesn't do anything besides eat, sleep, and dirty his diapers.  He is eating about every 2 hours and waking every 2-3 hours in the night to eat. So far, he is a good baby...as long as he isn't in his car seat. He is not a fan. He will cry until we get moving on the interstate, then he goes to sleep. If we get off an exit and sit at a stop light he will wake up and start crying again. I'm hoping he gets use to it soon.

 

 



Cole with his puppy that Gracyn got him.



4th of July Weekend

We decided not to do much for the 4th of July since Cole was so young. We got snow cones then parked off College to watch the fireworks that they let off at the mall. We bought sparklers so Gracyn could let those off. The next day, Clint smoked a pork butt and we had the Bunzel's and the Grise's over for dinner. This was the first time Cole and Brooks got to meet!

Loving the sparklers!

Cole is just chilling.

Things are going to get interesting with these four kiddos!

Gracyn is a Big Sister!

Gracyn is absolutely loving being a big sister! She loves to kiss him and rub her cheeks on his soft hair. She loves to help me give him baths. If he is crying, she runs over to him to put his pacifier on his mouth then runs to me to tell me that Cole is hungry.

We have had our downs though. I came in to her putting her bean bag on top of him. She now knows that we do not put anything on top of him. She has had some issue with going to the bathroom. There have been a couple of times that she has gone in her pants while standing in the bathroom. She told me she was doing it for attention....at least she is honest. I had some pull ups in her closet from last year so threatened to put those on her and she did not like that. So, I think we have that issue taken care of.

I want my sweet kids to stay little, but of course, I can't wait to watch them grow up together!

Welcome to the World Cole Matthew!!!

So my last blog post was June 21. I was 38 weeks along. I had an appointment the day before and my doctor wanted me to do another 24 hour urine test. So Friday at 3:00 I took my urine sample to triage. Dr. Smith went ahead and checked me again and said I may be in this weekend to have a baby. That evening, Clint, Gracyn, and I went to dinner. As we were leaving I started having contractions. I started timing them about 8:00 that night and they were 7-8 minutes apart. I spent the night timing them then about 4:30am they were 4-6 minutes apart. I woke Clint up at 6:00am so we could start getting ready to head to the hospital. We took Gracyn to G-rise and Shannon's house then made it to the hospital about 7:00am. They checked me and I was already dilated to 5cm. So far this labor was going the same as Gracyn. Since it was my second I assumed it would go faster. At this point, we called our parents so they could start traveling to NWA.

They got me set up in a room and got my epidural ordered. I got it about an hour later, then they broke my water. At noon I was dilated to an 8 and we thought we would have a baby by 2:00! However, as with Gracyn, my labor stalled at this point.  Several hours went by and finally at 6:00 I was 10 cm dilated! Dr. Smith came in to "have a chat" before I started pushing. She said we knew he was big so there was a chance of shoulder dystocia and she gave me the risks that came with that. She did mention C-section if he wasn't moving down the birth canal, but said I had delivered a 9 pound baby before so she thought I shouldn't have any problems this time around. Finally at 6:05 I was able to start pushing!

I pushed, and pushed, and pushed. He was hardly moving. I was actually sleeping in between contractions. They would have to wake me when the monitor showed a contraction. I was exhausted! At 8:00, Dr. Smith told me he just wasn't making any progress and recommended a C-section. I really did not want a C-section, but I knew he wasn't moving down. I wasn't even feeling any pressure. About an hour later, Cole Matthew was born!

Cole Matthew Thomas

June 22, 2013 9:11pm

9 lbs 11 oz. 22.25 in.

All cleaned up. Look at all that hair!

 

 



After he was delivered and taken to the nursery to be cleaned up, I must have passed out. Next thing I know, I was being woken up in recovery to nurse him. He latched on right away! After he nursed, they took him back to the nursery. Since I had a C-section, they kept him in the nursery so I could get some sleep. They would bring him in for feedings. The next morning, Clint told me that none of the family had met him yet, they had just seen him in the nursery. He wanted me to have time with him first and really know what was going on. I wanted Gracyn to be the first person to meet him. She finally got to meet her little brother about 11:00 the next day! She absolutely adored him!!! After she had her time with him, the rest of the family got to meet the little guy!

Finally get to hold my baby boy!

Sweet cheeks!

 

Big sister loves her little brother!

Aunt KK meeting her nephew!

 

Waiting to be discharged.

Getting ready to go home!

 

A C-section is not the way I had planned on having Cole. I'm still dealing with a couple open spots on my incision, but they are healing. In the end, all the matters is that I have a healthy baby. He is doing great! He has been able to exclusively breastfeed, which I wasn't able to do with Gracyn. He is gaining weight like a champ! Gracyn is such a great big sister! She really is a big help. He favorite thing to do is give him a bath! We are so blessed to have two healthy, wonderful kiddos!