Friday, July 25

Home from the Hospital

We are finally home from the hospital. Thank you all so much for your thoughts and prayers during these past 11 days, they have been very much appreciated. I know you all are must be curious about all the excitement our son has had in his very short life. I will be posting our story soon so you can hear all about our labor, delivery and ER experiences. I wanted to just take a moment to let you all know we are now home - happy and healthy! Thank you for thinking of us during this time. Our family is very appreciative of your care!

Saturday, July 19

Saturday

Brendan is eating well and has been moved out of the isolation part of the pediatric unit. He had a great night last night! Mommy seems much calmer already.

Between Mommy, Daddy, and both Grandmas, someone is with him all the time. On Monday they will be running a few tests on his Kidneys to determine the cause of a urinary tract infection (very uncommon with newborns).

Friday, July 18

Hospital Stay

Brendan will be in hospital until at least next Tuesday. No tests will be given during the weekend if not super neccessary.

Update on Brendan

It has been an interesting few days for the new addition to the Key's family. Brendan came home from the hospital with Mommy and Daddy on Tuesday late afternoon. Rachel's family came from Bakersfield for a few hours to hold and stare at the beautiful new baby. Brendan slept as Grandma (Brenda), Grandpa (JT), Mimi, Aunt Benita, Uncle Mike, and Melissa held him and took hundreds of pictures of his cute little lips and tiny toes.

The first night was hard (as expected) because he slept very little and Mommy and Daddy wanted to sleep so much. Wednesday Brendan started having a few problems with eating. By Thursday morning it was evident that something was wrong with the precious baby and the pediatrician told Mommy and Daddy to bring the baby to Loma Linda Medical Center (the best NICU in the area). Brendan had a fever, blood in his urine, and was hard to wake. After thirteen hours in the ER, many tests later, and even more people praying for an answer, the doctors found out that he had an urinary tract infection. The infection was probably caused by dehydration, which was happening because he wasn't getting enough breast milk. When he got the infection he stopped trying to eat, which made it worse.

Brendan needs to be on antibiotics for twenty-four hours and is in an isolation ward in the NICU (he started this at 6 pm yesterday, so he is almost done). Only one person can go into the room at one time and they must scrub down before and be covered in robes and protective clothing. Mommy spent the night last night and Grandma Brenda took over this morning so that Rachel could sleep for a few hours. The doctors want him to stay in the hospital to get him nice and "plump" before they release him to go home.

He is eating half formula and half breast milk now and hopefully will be on breast milk only soon. They wanted him to eat two ounces every two hours and Brendan wasn't having it; the lactation consultant came and spend a lot of time with Rachel giving tips and advice. The consultant suggested that Brendan should only eat 1-1.5 ounces every three hours because his tummy is so small.

The doctors believe that there is nothing else wrong and Brendan will become a fat little baby soon! Prayers for the Key's family would be greatly appreciated!

(Please don't call the family--they cannot use phones while in the hospital--if you want to contact them, send text messages or emails. Updates (as they happen and are available) will be posted here as soon as possible. You can also call Jenni)

Tuesday, July 15

He's Here










He is finally here! Rachel went into the hospital Sunday with contractions about 10 minutes apart. Contractions were good and strong, but baby's heart rate would not go back up after each contraction; because Brendan was overdue and they were worried about the complications it could bring.
She labored for about 3 hours and was only at 3 centimeters. The hospital O.R. was short staffed so they decided to hold off and wait until this morning when the doctors, surgeons, and other staff came back on duty, just in case they needed to do an emergency cesarean.
Monday morning around 6:00, her water broke naturally and she began to dilate on her own. She pushed for a short time (about 10-15 mins).

Brendan came at 8:26 a.m., July 14, 2007. He was 7 pounds, 11 ounces, 19.5 inches long. Baby is great, and Mama is tired. Both should be coming home today sometime after both Rachel's and the baby's doctor give the okay.

The first three pictures from yesterday morning right after he was born. The rest are from yesterday evening (started at the yelling face).

Wednesday, July 9

No Baby

Still no baby...I am now 7 days past my due date (8 in about an hour) and I am getting anxious. I am restless, can't sleep, don't want to watch TV, about to go crazy. I am at a loss of what to do. I know that he will come when he is ready but I am really beginning to wonder how much longer he needs....Until that time, I try to fill my days with activities. I scrapbook, walk around, watch movies, clean cupboards. Today my mom, brother and I went to the Citrus state park and walked around, went to the museum and then had a picnic. It was a very nice day, but now it is 11:00 at night and I still can't sleep. When will this end?

Sunday, July 6

Grumpy Day

Yesterday I had a grumpy day. I didn't get out of bed until 10:30, after some errands that Scott and I ran, I came back to write my paper for my new class that just started but I was so grumpy and irritated with the world that I just stayed in bed all afternoon, all I wanted to do was to sleep the day away, and I pretty much did! My poor husband, I snapped at him all day for absolutely no reason, I was just grumpy! Scott tried to leave me to myself; he worked on his lesson plans, went to the gym, and then went to the store. When he came back, he brought me back some beautiful flowers - daisies, my favorite! They were so pretty and he was so thoughtful I tried hard not to be grumpy at him anymore. What a wonderful and understanding husband I have!

Saturday, July 5

4th of July

Well, the 4th of July has come and gone, we did not get our little Independence Day Baby but we had a nice day anyway. Scott and I started our day with a nice walk to the grocery store and the donut shop for breakfast; it was about a two mile walk which was nice but HOT on the way home. We then did some moving around of furniture in the baby room, buckled up the car seat in the car, cleaned out the trunk of the car and put the stroller in the trunk and a few other odds and ends around the house. Last night we went over to my sister's new house for a 4th of July BBQ. It was nice; my family came down from Sacramento and Bakersfield so we had a nice time. Unfortunately, when it came time for the fireworks shot from Mt. Rubidoux, the hill caught on fire early on. So we didn't really get a firework show as planned. Other than that, it was a nice evening spent with friends and family. Now the goal for me is to just keep cool! Good luck to the rest of you trying to do the same!

Wednesday, July 2

No I have not had my baby yet...

Questions you do not want to hear the day of your due date:

1. Are you still carrying around that basketball?
2. What are you still doing here?
3. Are you still pregnant?
4. Why hasn't the baby come yet?
5. And my favorite: Weren't you due before me?

Yes, I have heard all of those questions today alone as well as others! The last one was today at the mall, I ran into a girl from my Childbirth Preparation course from the hospital who was due on July 13th and there she was with her brand new baby boy! AHHH! If you feel as if I am ignoring you, you are not alone. Without meaning to, I have started shutting people out, basically due to the questions that I do not want to answer.

No, I am not dilated according to the doctor visit yesterday. Yes, I am frustrated. Yes, I know it is God's timing not my own. Yes, I know the baby will come when he is ready. No, none of these responses make me feel any better. For those of you who are curious, I did go and see the doctor yesterday, I am not dilated as I stated earlier and so if I have not given birth by next Monday, I will see the doctor then and they will set a date to induce me at that time. Until then all we can do is wait. and waiting is not fun!