Late Night Rockin'

Anderson,

Mommy loves you so much- more than you'll ever know. It's 2am. I just pumped and took some milk up to you for the nurse to give tonight. I rocked you and sang to you and we said our bedtime prayers. You are so tough and mommy is so so proud of you. I can't wait for all of this to be over. 

Xoxo

PS- you have the best daddy in the world and he loves you too! 

Normal to ... NICU

Yesterday was a really happy day that took a really sad and scary turn.

Side note: If I had been able to choose any day for Anderson to be born it would've been the 29th; Elliott was born on 11-29 and 1-29 is my Aunt Lisa's birthday! However, I just couldn't resist being offered an induction for the 28th! Haha.

The first really hard thing of the day was that my mom woke up with a horrible stomach bug. It had been going around... Tony, Elliott and I all had it this past week, and unfortunately she woke up feeling terrible, and was also probably very exhausted from labor/delivery and being here this past week helping us get through it ourselves. So, she wasn't able to come up today and see us. I feel so incredible bad for her. I missed her a lot today.

Most of the day was a typical "first day with your baby" type of day. We were exhausted because Anderson woke up almost every hour but we were so happy and got to introduce him to all the visitors {including his BIG BRO}, give him a bath, and had a visit from the pediatrician.

Elliott met his little brother and was SO IN LOVE. It was probably one of my very favorite life moments to date. The way he said "Baby Brother" with the BIGGEST smile on his face was the best thing ever. SO glad we got that on video!! He was so ready to hold him and get down to carry him. Haha! Looks like we're going to have to keep a watchful eye on him around the baby. Nothing compared to being able to hold both my boys in my arms. You know that corny quote about how your child is your heart walking outside your chest. It's true. I can't even begin to describe my love for these boys.

     

This afternoon Anderson had some visitors and he got a sponge bath. He did great getting washed but wasn't happy when he was laying down without being held. It was fun seeing his fluffy hair. His hair is definitely lighter than Elliott's was when he was born.

    

    

 

Feedings got harder and harder this afternoon which was starting to worry me a little bit, but I also know that newborn stomachs are only about the size of walnuts (or something like that!). 

Early in the evening the pediatrician came and examined him and said everything looked great, but then a little later in the evening I noticed his breathing was kind of weird. I've only had a newborn once so a part of me thought maybe it was just kind of different but then I started thinking it was abnormal... then he started doing this gagging/choking thing.... still not eating very well, despite the fact that I was producing quite a bit of colostrum already at that point.... and then my mom instincts kicked in and I knew something was wrong. Thank God for the nurse we had (the one in the pics giving him a bath) who was only very experienced, but genuinely listened to my concerns and spent some extra time examining him. I trust the pediatrician, it's who we use for both boys and he's great, so I feel like things started getting worse pretty quickly after he left because I know he would have caught such high respiratory rates, and it was pretty obvious his breathing was not normal. The nurse called our pediatrician back, who was surprised to hear how much things had changed in just a couple hours, and he instructed the nurse to keep monitoring him and call NICU if she kept getting high respiratory rates. They want babies to stay around 60 and he was in the high 90's.

So, around 11pm NICU came down and had to take him.

I was so so so incredibly scared. She said, "Would you like to kiss your baby goodbye before we take him upstairs? You guys can come in a little bit after we get some blood, run tests, and get him set up in a room." Tony walked him up there with the nurses and before he left he gave me a big hug and a kiss on the forehead and told me that we weren't allowed to have any more babies because this was all just too scary! First my blood pressure issue and now this. After they left I changed into regular clothes from my gown so I'd be able to go upstairs and see him when he was ready and then I tried to get ahold of my parents and couldn't. I'm not sure I've ever felt so scared and alone. I didn't know what was happening, I couldn't get ahold of anyone on the phone, so I just sat on the bed and cried.

Tony came back down to my room and once they let us know he was settled and they had done everything they needed to do (apparently it was super hard getting blood drawn from him and they had to wait on one of their flight nurses to come), we went up together to see him and meet the nurse and then came back down to my room for the night. It was actually a relief to know he was in good hands and being watched for the night because I was getting pretty scared to even hold him with how his breathing was and with the gagging/choking thing he was doing. It was a super late night, well, really early morning, but we were able to get a few really good hours of sleep and then after waking up I took a shower which made me feel so much better.

We are really really hoping and praying we can figure all of this out quickly.

HAPPY BIRTH DAY!

Happy BirthDAY!

Well, we waited and waited for our "any day now" and it didn't come. So, today is the day!

We got up early and got checked in.

Once the room was assigned, the paper work was filled out, and a few veins blown in my arms (OUCH!), I was hooked up and ready to start the day around 10am!

I feel like I did pretty good most of the morning and early afternoon.
I walked some. Bounced on the birthing ball. And tried to rest... but rest isn't so easy when you're so excited. However, my mom gives the best foot massages and those did relax me quite a bit.

Around 1:30pm my doctor broke my water. By the way, for all the many many people, even strangers, who asked if I was sure there was only one baby in there... rest assured, just one baby and about a million gallons of fluid. Even the nurse, ever so sweetly, had bulging eyes and while acting shocked, told me that she's never seen that much fluid. Lovely.

At 3:30pm I got an epidural to help me relax a little more and see if it would help me dilate.. and I didn't want to wait too long and then have it be too late to get one. I was pretty scared getting another epidural but I knew I didn't want to do it without one either. The first time, with Elliott, it hurt pretty bad and the anesthesiologist hit a nerve and sent a huge shock down my leg. It just wasn't a pleasant experience at all and didn't work very well either. This time was different- the Dr. talked a lot.. pretty sure he told us his entire life story involving everything from medical school to his deployments, his wife's life story, and all about his kids... but he also explained everything he was doing and what to expect (push, prick, bending, etc) which made a world of difference. The only thing that really sucked this time was that after a little while my blood pressure fell really low. We're talking 70/35 BP where the nurse rushes in and calls anesthesia back in. Saline didn't work. Ephedrine didn't work. They added some phenylephrine and it came back up. Whew. That was crazy. I didn't pass out but I was sure loopy and couldn't keep my eyes open no matter how hard I tried. Then the itching. OMG. I itched and whatever they gave me to stop the itching made me loopy also and I started getting all philosophical by saying, "You know, drugs are incredible things. Think of how they can control our bodies and these tiny receptor sites on our cells know what to accept and how blah, blah, blah"! So embarrassing! And I'm really glad I didn't mention anything at the time about the birthday cakes in the shopping carts that I had a weird delusion of seeing... So.Ridiculous!

So, I labored for a while. At one point the pain was so intense. I'm pretty sure the epidural wasn't working at all. I was on my hands and knees rocking back and forth promising myself I would never have another child! Then they refilled the bag, upped the epidural, and things were better!

At 10:21pm I started pushing. It was such a better setting this time around. I had my doctor (which was awesome because the doctor I had with E wasn't there for the birth) and, ironically, the same resident that delivered Elliott was on call this weekend also. The doctors, Tony, and my mom all did a great job of coaching me through it. I felt like it was a much more calm and relaxing atmosphere, even though it felt like way more intense pain and pushing than when I had Elliott... but it was only 32 minutes of pushing compared to 3.5 HOURS of straight pushing!

At 10:53 PM our 8lbs 9oz and 21.5 in. little boy stole my heart and instantly made our lives so much sweeter! 

Welcome to this big, wild, world Anderson Anton Dreier! I'm SO happy to have you here in my arms! You will never know how special you are and how many times through my pregnancy when we would have a scare (miscarriage possibility, genetic testing) just how many thousands of prayers I have said for you already! And that's just the beginning-- I will never stop praying for you! You are loved more than you will ever ever know! Welcome to our family, buddy.... may the fun Dreier Adventures continue with the 4 of US!!!  

Rise and Shine-- It's BABY TIME!

  

During the day we were lucky enough to have family help with Elliott.
He even came up to the hospital for a little bit and loved the playground... and walking along the glass window ledge. (Ha!)

   

And then... the moment our little Anderson was born and placed upon my chest!

  

We had "the stork hour" where Mommy holds him skin-to-skin and nobody interrupts us. 

Then he got all checked out and cleaned up... and was not very happy about it!

I love the little wink. Probably thinking, "This place is too bright!"

Found out he's Blood Type O+ (like Mommy) so we don't have to worry about Coombs.

  

Grandpop taking a little peek!

WE ARE SUCH HAPPY AND PROUD PARENTS.

  

And these are some of your proud grandparents!

   

Tomorrow Is THE Day!

I'm laying in bed, so anxious and excited for tomorrow... I'm not sure how I'm going to get any sleep tonight! I know I need to rest up but it's a million times more intense than being a kid and knowing Christmas is the next morning.

My precious baby boy,

We have just one more night of you tucked snuggly in the safety of my belly. These past 9 months have gone by so fast and I've loved every second of watching and feeling you grow inside me. Tomorrow is our big day! I'm so excited and ready to meet you. I'm not sure I've ever been this excited to meet anyone before! ...And that's saying a lot, because I met your older brother Elliott a little over two years ago (but I was a first time mom and I had a lot of other emotions like fear of the unknown and a little bit of terror mixed in with the excitement and I didn't know how much life could change in a single instant), I met Ellen on her show a few years ago (that was pretty amazing) and I've met some other really cool people, but this- this is just pure excitement! I know you will change our lives forever and be the perfect addition to our family. Life is kind of crazy right now, but I promise it will get better. I feel really sad that we have to bring you back to a hotel room after you're born, but hopefully our house will be as good as new very soon... and luckily, you won't remember it! I promise I will be brave and do my best for you tomorrow so you have a safe and healthy start to life, and I pray that we both have lots of angels surrounding us. Please know it's okay to make a fast exit-- my arms will be open and waiting for you and you have so many people waiting to love you!! 

See you tomorrow, sweet boy! 

My sweet Elliott,

Mommy loves you so so much. I cannot wait to see you become a big brother. You have been the best answer to any prayer and have helped me navigate the waters of becoming a mom. Thank you so much for being such an amazing first born. I promise to do my best in making this an easy transition for you (and all of us). Love you with all my heart, buddy!

Tony,

You are the best husband and partner any woman could hope to have. Thanks for holding my hand through all of this, keeping me sane, and making me laugh. I love all of life's adventures with you.. and I LOVE YOU!

Mom,

There are simply no words for how much you're appreciated and loved. I simply wouldn't and couldn't make it without your unconditional and amazing love and support. Thank you for all your incredible help lately... and Dad, thanks for holding down the fort, loaning Mom to us, watching the dogs for us, and being such a great support too! I love you both so much.

Life in a Hotel Room

Life lately has been.... interesting.

The original deadline for the hotel was 1/19, but there's still quite a bit more that needs to be done at the house so we had to get the contractors to fill out some papers and submit an extension to State Farm. By the way, our works, contractors, and everybody have turned out to be amazing. State Farm has also been pretty good to work with. Our home office here in Norman has the sweetest people, but most of our dealings have been on the corporate/claims side.

So, since we're extending our "home-tel" stay... I thought I'd jot a few things down.

Good things about "living" at Embassy Suites:

• We get a great breakfast every morning. The hotel has a chef that cooks fresh eggs, omelets, etc. and they always have fruits, pastries, cereals, juices... and diet coke.
• Although we don't do it too often, we can go swimming anytime we want.
• We COULD use the gym if we wanted. Haha.
• Snack tray comes at 3pm every day and always has great candy bars, chips, and pop.
• Somebody else comes and cleans the bathroom, gives fresh towels, and sheets.
• The workers are super nice, the hotel is pretty great, and we have a good room with lots of windows.
• There is a happy hour every day with drinks and snacks. Pretty sad when you are there every day and hope they have certain snacks. 
• We can take Elliott down by the ballrooms and let him run the halls until he's worn out.
• If there was any hotel you'd have to live in for 8 weeks in Norman, America this is where you'd want to be.
• Insurance is paying for it and we have jumped to Hilton Gold Members. Haha.

Bad things about "living" at Embassy Suites:

• We set up a toddler bed in the corner of the bedroom but we're still all sharing one bedroom.
• I love my people but it's a tight space.
• It's a decent trek down to the lobby and out to the parking lot if you forget something in the car.
• Germs. Viruses. Coughs. Colds... We've got essential oils, humidifiers, and children's tylenol. 
• I'M 500000 WEEKS PREGNANT AND MISS MY HOME.

Overall, I'm really trying to look at the silver linings here. We can run to our house and do laundry when needed. There are lots of stores and restaurants across the street so we can have outings and not go stir crazy in the room. It's definitely not ideal, but we've made it our little "home" with a toy section, kitchenette area, bathroom and bedroom. And, when my mom has needed to come stay she can usually get the room next to us. We have the biggest room in the hotel with lots of windows so it's nice to have a view and get lots of sunlight. 

Other things that I don't think I've posted about....

At the beginning of the month, I had a doctors appointment and she checked me and I was actually dilated to a 2/3 and told me no more driving back and forth to Tulsa just in case things started progressing-- you just never know, it could be weeks, it could be days. Waaaahhhh. I was pretty bummed about that because I wanted to keep Elliott in Tulsa for as long as possible instead of being stuck in a hotel room... but I also didn't want to delivery in Tulsa, so I went back to Tulsa one more time to load all our things up and then off to Norman it was. 

We (Tony) couldn't find the newborn Rubbermaid tub with the burp rags, swaddles, or wraps ANYWHERE in the pod. All our stuff is crammed in there so it's kind of hard to dig around and find specific things. So, before leaving Tulsa my mom and I decided we'd run out and find some stuff. As we're shopping frantically trying to think of the things we needed that we couldn't find, I get a call from Tony that he is on his way to URGENT CARE because he was working on the mantle and a piece of wood jammed up in his pinkie. Not like a splinter... like, wood jammed through his finger right by the joint. AWESOME. The did x-rays and everything was okay (Thank God!!) and they were able to get it out, then gave him a couple stitches and put it in a splint. I mean, because we really just need one more little thing to add to the stress, right?!? But the mantle looks great!! I wish we would've done this years ago to cover up that orange wood!

        

It's kind of nice being right across the street from so many things. I've been able to go over and get pedicures and manicures and the boys have enjoyed Chuck E Cheese.

I know I posted about the snow, but here are some more cute pictures. Elliott didn't really know what to think about it!! And, thankfully, we were able to go over to Target and buy some stuff for the snowy weather and get me some boots!

  

On 1/20 I turned 31! It's crazy to think that I'm already in my thirties and expecting my second baby. Life is pretty sweet and turning out way better than I could've ever dreamed. My parents, Aunt Lisa, and Uncle Greg came down for a nice steak dinner and yummy (the best mom-made) strawberry cupcakes.

   

Also, on my birthday, Donald Trump was sworn into office. 

I thought this was such a funny picture-- like father, like son.

We've been busy over these past couple of weeks choosing things and replacing things in the house. 

We've done mattress shopping (not so easy trying out a bunch of different mattresses when you're ginormously pregnant and have a hard time getting up after laying down. hahaha!), picked out paint colors, and been trying to figure out all our flooring options for wood in the dining room and carpet everywhere else. Thanks to my sweet husband for making it fun and giving my feet a rest by pushing me around Lowes/Home Depot.  

If this little guy doesn't decide to come on his own, we only have a couple days left until induction.

I've really been soaking in these last days of him in my belly and enjoying the kicks and squirms.
This child is so big, or at least seems to be, that when he moves my whole belly kind of shifts.

Seriously think I might pop soon. I've definitely been having some contractions where everything feels like a big cramp and my belly feels super tight, but they're not evenly spaced apart or getting closer together. Just really hope my water doesn't break on the Embassy Suites couch!! 

     

 

Hey, little guy. I don't know if you're actually really comfy in there or what... it seems like you're probably pretty squished up in there. You can come out whenever you want! I'm so excited to meet you in (or in less than) a couple days!! Love you so much!