Introducing .....

JackRyan Gatherum. Born Monday, June 25th at 5:26 pm. 6 lbs 14 oz and 19 1/2 inches long.

He is finally here! I can't tell you what a relief it is having him out of my stomach! He is the cutest darn thing ever!

Here's the update -- Jack is still in the NICU but is doing so much better. It's amazing how quickly he is healing and how much better he has started to look. The doctors have finally narrowed down to what the problems are and they have been able to start treating the problems instead of doing a million tests to figure out what is wrong. Thank goodness!

Problem #1: His lungs may have been a little underdeveloped. This isn't that big of a deal but then sometime over the first couple of days, Jack popped a bunch of vessels in his lungs. This basically means that he had a bunch of holes in his lungs that a lot of the air escaped out of. He isn't getting the oxygen he needs so he has to breath fast to compensate. They put him under this space helmet thing for a day or two that supplied him with a ton of oxygen so that his lungs can seal up the holes. As of this morning, the doctors think most of the holes have healed. His respiratory rate is back down to near normal and he was able to take the space helmet off and just use a tube in his nose for oxygen. Anyway, HUGE news for us!

Problem #2: He might still have an infection somewhere in his body, so they need to do 7 days worth of antibiotic treatments just to make sure he's ok.

Problem #3: Jack has a crazy heart. It's something called SVT (stands for something I can't say) and his heart will randomly increase to 3 times the normal rate. The doctors have given him some medicine but are still trying to figure out the dosage. We'll have to keep him on the medicine and work with a cardio guy up at Primary's when Jack comes home. I don't know too much about this but can figure it all out once we get him out of the hospital.

Other than that, things are looking good. He is taking a bottle pretty well now and we might get to take the feeding tube out tomorrow. I get to hold him fairly regularly now which has been so great for me! It was absolute torture not to hold him or touch him!! We hope to be able to bring him home by the end of next week ... keep your fingers crossed! I came home from hospital yesterday and it is so good to be home! I miss my little Jack like crazy but I know he needs a lot of help and the nurses up there are fabulous.

Below are some pictures from over the last couple of days. Only a couple of you have actually been able to see him .... these pictures don't do him justice! He's darling!












Me & Gator heading off for the C-section. I was absolutely terrified! Notice the arm-band of death .... I have the bruises to prove it!
















Ella and Jack "Bidu" Gatherum. She was so excited to see him! She's going to be a great big sister!








Jack in his space helmet.










Getting sleepy. He just finished his dinner and had a great big poop. I'd be tired too!

Get out of my belly, Baby!!!

Today was the day that I was supposed to wake up early, have a piece of toast and go and deliver Junior. Things didn't happen quite as expected. I did get up early, ate a piece of toast and got to the hospital by 6:45 am (15 minutes early!). They asked for a urine sample, but of course, I went to the bathroom right when I got to the hospital. They asked me to take my clothes off and put on a gown .... I think I spent 15 minutes in the bathroom trying to figure the damn thing out! Seriously, there were snaps everywhere, no sleeves and a couple of ties that didn't quite match up to each other. I put my clothes back on, swallowed my pride and went to the desk to ask a nurse to help me put on my gown. Lame! The nurse puts an IV needle in my arm ... misses ... tries again in my other arm. I've got a disfunctional blood pressure band attached to my arm that makes me cry every time it squeezes. They poke and prod for a couple of hours and tell me my cervix is missing. Yes, it's missing. Finally, the doctor comes and I think he's going to tell me that after all this, I will be delivering a beautiful baby boy in a couple of hours. Well, thanks to mine and Gator's ever-so lucky genes, the doctor instead delivered some crappy news.

Bidu is in breach position (which I guess would help explain why my pelvic region hurts so bad - with Junior practicing his flutter kick and all). And while I would think it wouldn't be that big of a deal to flip the kid right around, I guess it is. So, after some big therapy session with an administrator lady with ugly hair, the decision has been made to have a C-section later this evening. In the mean time, I am home typing this never-ending blog to pass some time. I can't eat or drink all day and I am kicking myself for not eating that extra piece of toast this morning or sneaking a few ice chips while I had the chance. The good news is is that before this day is through, Bidu will be out of my stomach! Yahoo!

We'll keep you posted.

p.s. Matt, I apologize for any grammatical errors. I have a needle stuck in my arm and my mouth feels like I've been chewing on a wad of toilet paper.....

Eeeewwwww!!

One word ...... SICK!!! Could this be one of the grossest things you have ever seen???? Seriously, imagine the maintenance on these bad-boys! This is a real foot off of some guy from Scotland. How many toes do you think there are? Do you count actual digits or toenails? From now on I will do my best to thank my lucky stars for 10 short, stubby, normal toes!!

Ahhhh Yeah!

Please tell me that there's someone else who thinks this show is as fabulous as I do! The greatest thing about this summer, besides birthing Junior on Monday, is this show! I already don't like Danny - good dancer but drives me crazy for some reason. Love Lacey & Kameron -- and not because Lacey's generally are incredibly talented -- and would bet money that they've got a little something going on on the side. Call me crazy ....

I feel like I'm inching closer on Bidu preparations (Bidu is Ella's official name for the baby .... sounds like Beedoo... guess I should spell it that way...). I've been on this rampage about everything getting organized and cleaned, however, I think I bit off a little more than I can chew. Not only do things not look more organized and cleaned, they might actually look worse! Poor Gator! I think he will be so grateful for Monday to arrive and for my crazy hormones to maybe start getting back to normal.... maybe?? As of tomorrow, the office will be officially cleaned out and Bidu might actually have somewhere to sleep. Hopefully the internet people show up and Gator can figure out how to wire the plugs so I won't have to give up my daily computer obsession for too long. Keep your fingers crossed!

Does this color make me look fat??

Honestly, where are my ankles? I think we topped out around 82 degrees today and already I have Michelin Man feet. I just heard on the weather that we should get up to 100 degrees by Saturday .... can hardly wait. I guess the pedicure I had two days ago was a waste. The last thing anyone is going to notice about my feet are my cute, pink toenails!

What's the word, bird?

Oh, I wish this is how I looked! Went to the OB on Thursday and everything is great. 2 more big fat weeks! June 25th is going to be the big day..... it's scheduled and everything (can I get a hallelujah?!!). It's funny how I sat in the doctor's office and just about bawled my head off because he told me I may not deliver until July 11th. Now, a month later, same office, I panic and feel a slight urge to vomit when my doctor tells me he wants to induce me on the 25th. Well, I'm passed the vomiting stage and am anxious for junior to arrive. Names are still in the air, so if you have any suggestions....

Hopefully soon I will do something fun and get some good pictures. Any of you bloggers out there, send me your links!

The truth of it is .....

I am addicted to blogs. Ok, obviously not my own, but I love the idea of intruding into people's lives and not actually having to spend any time talking to them! What a fantastic idea! So, after a lot of convincing, I am opening up my own blog. I am not guaranteeing anything entertaining or even remotely interesting, but I will do my best.