Happy Birthday Charlotte!

In the very early morning of November 1st I woke up to find myself lying in a puddle of blood on the bed. My first thought was that I must be losing the baby at just a little over 23 weeks gestation there was no way I could be bleeding this much and not be miscarrying. Panicked, I woke Ned up and had him call my parents to come watch the boys while I called my doctor. The bleeding had stopped so we made our way to Reston Hospital praying all the way that what we expected would not be the case. My doctor was on vacation and Dr Alfreda Jones was on call for him. By the time we got to the hospital everything seemed completely normal. They did a couple tests on me to see if my water had broken and immediately hooked me up to monitors for the baby. Charlotte seemed to be doing great...her heart rate and respiratory rate were completely normal but I was having very small contractions. They took me downstairs for an ultrasound which determined my water had not broken but they saw something of concern on my uterus. After two more ultrasounds they told me what they saw on the ultrasound were blood clots on my uterus; this is what had caused the sudden bleeding. I had what they call a placenta abruption (where the placenta tears away from the uterine lining) and in some cases this heals on it's own but because of the huge concern they had for me with the large blood clots they wanted to keep me at the hospital on strict bed rest and monitoring. Later that afternoon after a ultrasound done by a high risk doctor they saw that my water would most likely rupture in the next 24 to 48 hours and talked to us about our "options." If we decided to work to save our little girl I would have to be taken to Fairfax Hospital since Reston Hospital is not prepared to care for a baby under 26 weeks. Of course we wanted to do everything we could to save little Charlotte and as soon as we caught on to what this doctor was asking, we quickly told him we wanted to talk to our doctor and take the next steps to ensure that Lottie was taken care of.

Off we went by ambulance to Fairfax Hospital and up to the high risk floor I went to remain on bed rest until Charlotte was born. After I was settled in I sent Ned home to be with the boys thinking it could be days or weeks before I actually had her. Not more than two hours after he left, I started hemorrhaging again. I lost quite a bit of blood and they felt it was necessary to take me to labor and delivery. I called Ned to come back but knew it would take him a while so I called his sister Heather who lived down the road from the hospital and she came and stayed with me until Ned got there. Charlotte still seemed fine but the growing concern were the clots that were dislodging and the loss of blood. We went all day on the 2nd like this (bleeding on and off and multiple ultrasounds and shots to stop labor) and most of the day on the 3rd the same. On the afternoon of November 3rd the ultrasound they did found that my water had ruptured but they still thought the best thing for Lottie was to stay in the womb. Early on the morning 4th we were met in our room by Dr Jones, the neonatologist, and the high risk doctor. They were all helping prepare us for Charlotte's delivery. They told us that the ultrasound they did earlier that morning showed that the blood clots on my uterus were getting bigger and causing lots of risk for me, they were also concerned that keeping Charlotte in the womb much longer would increase her risk of infection and make it harder for her in the long run. They wanted to deliver her as soon as possible. Ned and I hardly had time to take it all in before they were wheeling me into surgery! Ahhh...the joy I felt seeing Charlotte for the first time right before they took her to the NICU. What a sweet and perfect baby girl!

I had some trouble after the delivery. I lost alot of blood and had to have a transfusion. The worst part was I wasn't able to see my little girl again for 2 days! When I finally did make it down to the NICU what I saw was amazing! I remember thinking of Psalm 139, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." I had no idea really what to expect and I'm kinda glad...He promises never to give us more than we can handle. It would be six incredibly long weeks before I could even hold her for the first time. It was over 8 weeks before I heard her cry for the first time (the things we take for granted) I remember hearing other babies in the NICU cry and having to hold back tears . What I wouldn't give to just hear her sweet cry. We are so thankful for the most amazing doctors and nurses! We got the three best nurses Fairfax Hospital has to offer!! They really loved on our little Charlotte when we weren't there to do it.

Charlotte is 1 year old today and we've been so busy celebrating that I'm just now updating the blog! God is so good! He continues to show His mercies are new every morning! She is such a joy and blessing to us. She's such a happy baby laughing and "talking" to us! We are working on her birthday video and will post it as soon as it's finished. Thanks to all who have loved our little girl and prayed so faithfully!

Looking Back...

Holding Charlotte tonight, listening to her laugh and watching her smile, I can't help but think about a year ago tonight and how close we were to loosing her. Tomorrow Charlotte will be one year old and we are truly celebrating what a year it has been! This time one year ago, I was at Fairfax Hospital praying (after finding out through ultrasound that my water had broken) that we'd be able to hold off delivering our sweet baby Charlotte for another week at least. At 23 weeks and 6 days gestation, every day she could stay in the womb increased her chances of survival. There was also some concern for me since I had a placenta abruption (where the placenta pulls away from the uterine lining) and I was hemorrhaging on and off. Blood clots were forming inside of me and periodically dislodging, causing significant bleeding...this had started around 2:30am on November 1st, and continued on and off up until the delivered her on the 4th.

We have witnessed first hand the miracle of little Charlotte! We are so grateful to everyone who prayed for her and for us! I will post pictures and another update tomorrow on her birthday.:)

The picture above is of me going in for my last ultrasound where they determined they needed to go ahead and deliver Charlotte as quickly as possible.

Happy 2nd Birthday James!

Two years ago today, we welcomed our second baby boy into the world. He weighed 7lbs 8 oz and was 21 inches long. James Patrick Ryun is a joy to everyone he meets. His best friend by far is his big brother Nathaniel. He loves looking at books and playing with and talking about tractors. His favorite word is "why" and his favorite song is "Happy Birthday." Often times I'll be doing stuff around the house and hear James in the other room singing softly, "happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you..." that's the only part he knows and it goes on and on.:) He LOVES the drums and constantly has something in his hands that resemble drum sticks, (thanks Evan) it usually ends up being my chop sticks or two unsharpened pencils. The other day we were in the drive-thru at McDonalds and J.J. was waving to the people working there and saying, "Hi! Hi! Hi!" over and over because no one was saying hi back. I finally said, "they say hi back J.J." Nathaniel immediately pipes up in the back, "No they didn't mommy!" Haha...poor James.:) I don't have enough time in the day to say all the wonderful things I love about little James. The best thing about being James' mommy is I get to cuddle with him all day long...he loves this.:)

We love you little buddy! Happy Birthday!!

Love, Mommy, Daddy, Nathaniel, and Char-Char :)

Poor Little James :(

Poor little JJ caught some sort of virus that has pretty much kept him in my lap or in the bed since earlier Thursday morning. He threw up Thursday morning and had a fever, I gave him Motrin for the fever and lots of fluids (which he threw up) and he slept for most of the morning. Ned stayed home from work Thursday, so I could take Lottie to her video swallow, he told me James seemed fine in the afternoon while I was gone. When I got back he looked like he was feeling better but he felt warm again when I put him to bed so I gave him some Tylenol. He woke up at 2:30am Friday and threw up again and was running a temp. Around 11am Friday morning he still had a fever (even though I was giving him medicine) so I decided to be extra cautious and call the doctor. They told me to bring him in that evening so I did. By the time I went to leave for the doc, James was acting totally fine and I almost called to cancel but thought since I had the appt I'd better just keep it (can't be too careful with Lottie in the house). He still felt and acted fine when we got to the doc but as we sat there waiting to be seen he started getting lethargic and feeling really warm. First thing doc did after asking me what his symptoms where was check his temp. He looked at the thermometer with a shocked face and showed it to me and it read 105.8 degrees! He thought maybe his thermometer was broken so he tried another and it read the same! He shot out of the room to get his wife to run a tepid bath, got Tylenol in him and ran him to the back to get his fever down. I stood in the back of the doctor's office for 30 minutes pouring cold water over poor James' head. We were able to get his temp down to 99.0 (thank God). After it was down doc told me that was a record for his office. He was very happy to find that JJ's little body could handle a temp that high! We still need prayer though...we've been fighting this fever all day today and have given him 2 cool baths already when it shot up too high. He hasn't thrown up since yesterday morning so that's good. Right before I started this post I took the picture attached, he was feeling really good, but now he's sitting on my lap and I can tell his fever is back again.:( Thank you all again for your prayers!

Quick update on Charlotte: The speech therapist got back to me late yesterday afternoon and said I did the right thing in putting her back on the nectar. She suggested I keep her on nectar for another week or two and try taking her off again this time more gradually. Thank you for your comments! It's always sweet to see people are reading this.:) Love you all!

Charlotte's Video Swallow Update

This morning I took Charlotte to Fairfax Hospital for her third video swallow since she was born. A video swallow is like a live x-ray to make sure she's not aspirating her food. Since the feeding tube was taken out in the NICU Lottie has been on Nectar (a thickener for her formula). Before she left the NICU in March speech therapy did a video swallow to see if she could go home on regular formula. The study showed she was aspirating thin liquids. It's pretty interesting to watch actually, they mix what they call a barrier in her formula which is like a white powder, this allows them to watch the liquid go down into her stomach through the x-ray machine. In Lottie's case, some of the thin liquid she swallowed was going into her airway. Anyway...she had another one done the middle of May and they said the same thing, she was still aspirating thin liquids. I went back again today hoping and praying we'd be done with nectar forever! They tried her formula in a few different bottles with thin and thick liquids and we watched her swallow it down great! The speech therapist noticed just a little penetration in her airway but no aspiration yay!! They said I could feed her regular formula without the nectar but that I should just watch for signs that she might be aspirating again and to call if I had questions. I made my way home very happy! I had to stop on my way back to feed her (her first full bottle with no nectar) she drank it down like a pro, so I put her in her car seat and made my way back to the car, before I could get outside however she started choking really bad and I frantically tried to get her out of her seat. Just as I was lifting her out she projectile vomited all over herself and her seat! So...I'm going to call the speech therapist tomorrow to see what I should do but until I hear back from her I guess we're back to the nectar. I was pretty discouraged earlier, but after a nice talk with my mom, I feel so much better.:) We have so much to be thankful for when it come to our little girl! Having to put nectar in every bottle is just a reminder to me of where we came from and how blessed we are that nectar is the only thing she is on due to her prematurity. We are still so grateful for your prayers! We can't believe she is going to be one year old in just 3 weeks!

Nathaniel and Charlotte

A very serious Charlotte waiting to be fitted for her second DOC Band

Lottie hanging with Daddy

Baby Food!!

The last couple of weeks we have been trying to introduce Lottie to baby food but she hasn't wanted anything to do with it until today. She ate every bit and licked the bowl!! The proof is in the pictures.:) I took these with my phone so that's why they're a little fuzzy.

Summer Fun!

The last few weeks have been very full for us to say the least. On the 3rd Ned's twin brother Drew, his wife Becca, and their two little girls Skye and Lily came for a visit and stayed almost 2 weeks. Ned and Drew had a week long running camp in Gettysburg (which Drew heads up) starting July 5th and ending on the 10th. Drew's Becca and I held down the fort here at home with the five kiddos. Our plan: 1. Keep the kids happy (mainly Lily who has a history of puking on you when she gets upset). 2. Wake up early every morning to run and do yoga every afternoon while the kids sleep. 3. Stay up late watching movies and eating junk.:) What actually happened: 1. I really wasn't keeping track but I think Lily puked about 5 or 6 times...help me out here Bec. We learned that Skye needs personal space and Nathaniel doesn't know what that means. Also Nathaniel likes pushing Skye's buttons i.e. sitting down right in front of her while she's watching a show (she's very serious about her cartoons) or touching a toy she has repeatedly because I told him he can't take it from her...even worse, sitting on her blankie! I could go on and on...I was having to get after Nathaniel so much for stuff that Skye caught on towards the end of their stay and started blaming him any time something happened even if it wasn't his fault...smart girl.:) 2. I think we woke up early to run once the whole week and didn't do yoga at all! 3. We were able to keep ourselves awake one night to watch a movie all the way through...we were so exhausted from taking care of five kids 3 and under that going to bed early always sounded better than staying up late watching movies. We did eat LOADS of junk, I think I must have put on 5 pounds in the 12 days they were here!! It was crazy but fun!

All the fun ended on the 14th when they headed back to TX. In other news, Charlotte had her last appointment for the first DOC Band on the 15th. They had told us she would probably be in the first band 3-4 months before she outgrew it. She is growing so fast that she was only in that helmet for 5 weeks!! She is due to go in this Wednesday to get her second (and last) band...hopefully she will get through this one as fast as the first! She is going to be 9 months on August 4th and is developing beautifully! She is wearing 9mos clothes and #3 diapers! She's such a chub and happy most of the time.:) She loves her brothers and they love her! Nathaniel helps her with her exercises (holds her toy rings above her so she learns to reach for them and grab onto them). She is rolling over and holding her head up great! I started feeding her some solids but she doesn't like it too much yet. James loves to help feed her! We have to watch him like a hawk because he's been known to find old bottles around the house and try to feed her! He did this with Lily too when Drew and Becca were here...I guess he just wants to make sure the babies are getting enough to eat.:)

I wanted to share a picture of Charlotte with Jackie (one of her primary nurses from the NICU). We got to visit with her at the hospital for a little while a couple weeks ago when Charlotte went in for one of her appointments. Hope everyone had a great weekend!

The Best Daddy Ever!!

Father's Day (a week late)

I've been so bad at updating!! Hope everyone had a great Father's Day last week! Last Thursday evening I did a last minute photo shoot with the kids as part of Ned's father's day gift...it was pretty crazy! I had a specific idea of how it all would go in my head but it didn't quite work out the way I'd planned. Mary, my sister (the photographer) was a very good sport to put up with all of us. Three kids 3 and under + 3 pairs of rain boots + flooded creek + loads of mud = DISASTER!! I think we were out for 2 hours and this is what we got.

Quick Update

Charlotte had another appointment for her DOC Band this afternoon and it went really well. They were really impressed when they noticed improvement already! It's pretty cool actually, the way it works is the helmet holds the side of her head that grew out too much because of the way she laid on one side in the NICU while she was so small. While the band holds the side that sticks out too far, the other side of her head can fill in. Her head had grown so much in a week that they had to shave the inside of the band down quite a bit to give her more room to grow and they want to see her back in a week instead of the usual two weeks. Hope you all are having a great week so far!

Becca

Thumb Sucker

The rest of the gang!

Don't worry, the boys are getting just as much attention or more now that Lottie is home as they were before she was born. I think they must have made it their mission to do whatever they can to get a reaction out of us...scary.:) James has figured out how to climb out of his crib...I knew this day would come! He and Nathaniel sleep together and the other night after we had tucked them in Nathaniel did his usual scurry downstairs thinking of a good excuse to get out of bed (it almost always ends up being because he, "wants to give Mommy kisses!" How can I resist this? That's just what he's thinking:)) but this time James came down behind him! Ned and I looked at each other and knew this was the beginning of a very long night! The next 30 minutes were spent sitting outside their door waiting for him to climb out of his crib and getting after him for it. Nathaniel was the informer...as soon as James got out of that crib Nathaniel was shooting out the door yelling, "James got outta bed again!" I guess it was maybe the third or fourth time James tried to climb out that I heard Nathaniel whispering something, I couldn't quite hear him but I had the feeling he was telling James to get out of bed (it would make sense because this was making his night pretty interesting...full of purpose) I stepped in just in time to stop James from getting out of bed and told Nathaniel to encourage his brother to do the right thing. He assured me he didn't tell him to get out of bed so I left the room and took my place outside the door. This time I listened very carefully, just as I had suspected, Nathaniel whispered, "James, get out of bed." I opened the door right away and stated the new rule: If James climbs out of bed from now on, BOTH of you get in trouble! This ended the problem for the night.

Everyone asks how I'm doing having Charlotte home and I always say that she's the easiest of the three! I wouldn't have it any other way though, they keep life interesting and fun! They LOVE Lottie, I often come into our family room and find Nathaniel laying down beside her showing her a toy of his and how it works. She loves them too! Her face completely lights up when ever either of them give her kisses or talk to her. She loves when I let Nathaniel hold her...you wouldn't think so because it never looks too comfy but they both are in heaven.:)

Ned left yesterday morning for Texas on business and we all miss him already! No one reads stories at night as good as daddy does! We are so spoiled to have him working so close to home! We get to see him most afternoons for lunch, and he gets home from work most nights no later than 5:30. Praying for a good trip and a safe plane ride home Wednesday!

Happy Monday!

Update on DOC Band

I took Lottie and the boys to Cranial Tech Friday afternoon so they could take a look at the place above her ear that had rubbed raw from the band and the rash on her forehead. They were not concerned at all by the rash and told me it looked like a heat rash which makes sense because I can imagine it would get pretty hot wearing a helmet in the summer! They did shave the inside of the band where it rubbed her above her ear but I've been giving her breaks from wearing it still because it still looks pretty irritated. She's been a trooper through it all and even giggled for me this morning while I was trying to feed her. She's such a happy baby...we are so blessed! Thank you for your prayers!

Back to Cranial Technologies

This morning when I took Charlotte's DOC Band off to give her a bath I noticed she had a rash on her forehead and a place above her ear that looked like it had been rubbed raw. When it didn't go away within a few hours I called the Dr. at Cranial Technologies, she wanted me to bring her in so she could take a look at it. I don't think it's anything serious at all, just a little setback. Poor baby...I don't think it feels too good.:( I'm headed in with the kiddos in about an hour will update later this evening. Thanks for praying!

Charlotte Laughing!

What a sweet sound!

Doc Band

Charlotte had her Dynamic Orthotic Cranioplasty (DOC) Band put on this morning! She's adjusting to it pretty well...she did great at the Cranial Tech office but I can tell it bothers her a little to sleep on (hopefully she'll get used to this soon). The band is designed to correct Plagiocephaly (abnormal head shape). Since Lottie was on one side of her head for so long in the NICU it pushed the right side of her face forward a little. We'll have a better idea for how long she will have to wear the band next week when she has it adjusted but right now they're saying 3-4 months 23 hours a day (taking it off for bath time only). We'll update more later but I wanted to post a couple pictures.

Charlotte's Journey in the NICU

Here's a video we wanted to share with everyone who prayed so faithfully for little Lottie while she was in the NICU and still continue to pray! We have witnessed the power of prayer in our little girl! Thank you all for your love and support!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfRc2JOT8V0


Charlotte's Journey
Source: www.youtube.com