Our Growin' Girl

Baby Q grows and grows and grows every day! She is up to 3 lbs 14.8 oz, and we are thrilled! We can't wait to have 4 lb baby. She is amazing, and I am so proud of the progress she makes daily. As I chatted with the doctor this morning she made it clear that our biggest obstacle in getting her home will be teaching her how to eat. Don't worry, she gets fed, but we have just begun to bottle feed her. She isn't sure if she likes it, and it tuckers her out. Sometimes she eats quite a bit and other times she won't eat more than a few millileters. However, we won't push her to eat more than she feels like eating. Our nurse last night told us that when the babies control how much they eat, instead of being force fed like they used to, they come home faster. We are all for her coming home faster! So, now our prayers have a specific focus...please help our little girl to learn how to eat and to continue to grow healthy and strong!

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU AND YOURS!

Christmas Eve

Our little girl was visite by a very special man the other day. When the nurses first told us that Santa came to the NICU to visit the babies and take pictures, I was beside myself. I am often overcome with emotion these days, and the thought of having a picture of our miracle with Saint Nick was something I wished for deeply. My mom was with me, so we were able to take the picture posted above, and I just love how it turned out! We have copies from the hospital that Daddy will be able to take and hang up at work. The hospital staff really takes care of us. For example, when Mom and I went in to see Quincy tonight our nurse had presents for her parents. FOR US! I felt like we should be showering her with presents--and that still wouldn't be enough to show our appreciation--and here she is giving me homemade chocolate treats!
As of today Baby Q has been moved from her isolet (incubator) into an open air crib. This is a very big step, and I am very nervous about it. She is so strong, but I am worried about pushing her too hard too soon. I want her to be successful, and I don't want to have to move her back into the isolet...it would be a step backward. I am just a nervous mommy. She continues to gain weight daily, and we are thrilled! I can't wait until she hits four lbs.
I am sitting here watching The Muppets Christmas Carol with Mom and Nick, and this is the first traditional Christmas thing that we have done this year. It is so strange to think that tomorrow is Christmas. I will be spending the day back and forth from the hospital--Christmas in the NICU--who would have thought that this is where we would be? No one plans for these things. No one. So, I promise to try and focus on those things I should be most grateful for. There is so much. I know that. My little one is being watched over by a host of special angels--both those we can see and those we can only feel. I have my mom here. I have a loving and uber supportive partner in all of this. I have a beautiful daughter! This is a Christmas when I should just be very happy, and I am! This is also a Christmas where I will be very sad. Not because I have any right to be, but quite simply because I want my girl to be home.
Please know that I am grateful for this time of year. I am thankful for a baby born in a manger. And I am thankful for a baby lying in a crib growing, growing, growing every day.

Our Girl

My mom took this, and she posted it on Facebook. I am adding it here for those family and friends who do not have Facebook. Enjoy! I know I could watch it over and over and over again.

Some of God's Greatest Gifts...

I had to post this one as my heart is so full of love from my Father in Heaven. As I have looked back at the events that have or have not happened to Nick and I since we got married and started our life here, I realize that we have been watched over and blessed...all in preparation for this challenge in our life. Here are just a few examples.

1. I don't have a job. For a year and a half I have questioned why I don't have a job. I'm qualified enough. I'm a pretty great teacher. I had quite a few interested parties this summer, yet no job. Flash to now where I can't IMAGINE trying to be a mom with a baby in the NICU and worrying about a classroom too. I love that I don't have to worry about that. I can focus all my time and energy on my baby!

2. I literally stumbled across my doctor by accident. I had no idea who to go see or even really how to find a good doctor. In my random search, I came across my doctor's partner--who no longer delivers babies--and was referred to Dr. Read. He has been a true angel through this process! He was the only one who was able to calm my angry and frantic husband, and EVERY nurse we worked with in the hospital sang him praises! We are so blessed to have someone with his compassion and expertise working so hard to take care of me.

3. My darling friend, Ruth, reminded me today that had my long term sub job actually could have made the PIH so much worse. I would have been working everyday until Thanksgiving. So, when my long term sub job ended early, it was actually a blessing in disguise.

4. The week before this all happened I had been offered a sub job that would have lasted the entire week. I accepted the job, but afterwards I didn't feel right about it. So, I told Nick that I just didn't feel good about taking the job, and he supported me cancelling it. I would have had to worry about calling in sick for a job last minute AND I would have been on my feet all week too. That probably would have been bad.

I am sure there are countless other ways we have been watched over and blessed in preparation for all of this. I am so overwhelmed by the love I feel continuously right now. I am an emotional mess, so when I burst out in tears (and this happens A LOT) please know that my heart is really just full.

This is a picture of daddy's first diaper change. He is really good at it! Thanks to my friend, Angela, for documenting this for me!

NICU

Well, here she is. Quincy Anne Sadler joined the Sadler Family on December 11, 2010 at 11:46pm. She weighed in at 3lbs. 4oz. and has been breathing on her own! We got to see her for a minute while she was wheeled by us and right on up to the NICU, and then the real adventure began.
Things went fine as far as the C-section went. There were no complications, but since my blood pressure had been so high for so long, the doctor started me on a magnesium drip. This AWFUL medicine serves the purpose of keeping a person from siezing when their blood pressure has been too high for too long. I was on the mag drip for 36 hours instead of the typical 24 hours because my BP was really bad. My poor hubby was really worried. He spent lots of time at my bedside and would only leave to go see our little girl when I made him. She has been doing really well, and the nurses and therapists in the NICU have been so amazing! They are a gifted group of people! We are blessed by their knowledge and their expereince.
The mag drip wouldn't allow me to leave my room. While you are on it, you can't go to the NICU, so I was stuck in my room--literally. I couldn't even get out of my bed. I might be enjoying my freedom too much now--my BP has been a little high today--but I love that I can go see Quincy any time I want. She is such a special little girl. She has such a strong spirit, and as I cuddle her, I feel the love of our Heavely Father surrounding us both.
Ok that was Jen and now this is Nick.  What a crazy week.  Life has never moved so fast.  Jen covered most of it but I would like to add how wonderful and strong both of my girls have been.  I got to hold Quincy the night she was born.  I wanted to make sure she knew that there were people here that loved her.  As Jen said she had me worried for a few days, I wish I could have spent more time with Baby Q but I felt like mama needed me more.  The only people who have really been worried about Quincy have been me and Jen.  Everyone else here knows she is doing great. 
I told Quincy the night she was born about all the wonderful people there are in this world to love her.  The wonderful grandparents and great grandparents, the uncles both real and extended, and don't even get me started on the AUNT conversation we had!! 
It looks like Jen will be able to come home Wednesday or Thursday depending on her blood pressure.  Quincy is still up in the air right now.  From what we have been told we are looking at 3-6 weeks before we can bring her home.  We want her there so bad and it will be frusterating having to drive up here everyday to see her but we also know this is what is best for her and at this point this is where she is in the best hands.

A Quick Update

Just to keep people in the loop. I have officially been put on blood pressure meds to try and control that symptom. We will reevaluate my protien levels tomorrow through Monday and a decision will then be made as to whether I will continue my bedrest here at the hospital or at home. We are hoping for home, but I will have to be stable still for that to happen. My labs this morning were the same as yesterday, so that is encouraging! My blood pressure seems to hold steady (still high, but steady). We are just sitting tight.

It has been nice to have some visitors today, and we have plans to see more tomorrow! Thanks so much to those who have come to see us. Your support is very much appreciated!

Jen, Baby Q, and how Nick is the best hubby ever!

We have been busy this week getting the house ready for Christmas. Nick put the lights up on the house while I gasped and sighed and handed him the light clips! Needless to say, he didn't get hurt or fall despite his precarious perches. The lights look very nice! We like to keep it simple.

The inside of our house is also simply decorated, and I love it. We have our six foot fake tree, and some decorations. I got some new candles this year, and they make our mantle sparkle.

So, after getting all this finished this week, we were ready to settle into shopping and shipping off Christmas cards and gifts. The cards are in the mail! The gifts will have to wait. We have been sidetracked for what could be a very long time.



Thursday morning at around 2:30am, I woke up with some severe abdonimal cramping. They felt kind of flu like one minute and as if I was suffering from extreme hunger the next. So, I got up and went to eat something, hoping that would help. It didn't. Around 4am, I began to wonder if there was a pattern to this pain I was feeling--I have never felt contractions before, so I started timing them. I did that for about an hour before waking Nick up and filling him on what was going on. We called the on-call nurse around 5:30am. She thought I might have the beginnings of a virus that is going around, so her advice was to take a warm bath and try to get my stomach to relax. If that didn't work, then we should probably head into the hospital to get monitored.



At this point, I am 32 weeks pregnant, and up to this point, I have had a happy pregnancy. I sleep a lot, but I was lucky enough to not get morning sickness. We had some spotting issues, and while scary, they eventually went away. My weight, my blood pressure--everything has been great until lately.



When we checked into Triage and the nurses started checking things out, their first worry came because my blood pressure was REALLY high. 212/96 is not healthy. It came down in small increments, but it still isn't great. My last blood pressure reading was 141/72. My labs came back with elevated liver enzymes and protien in my urine. This was the expected result. All this does is comfirm what we alreay know. I have preeclampisia/PIH/toximia (it is known as all those things). If the protien levels in my urine spike out of control--to the 3000 level or above--then we will talk about getting baby out soon. We are not even close to that yet.



Honestly, I feel really good. I am tired, but otherwise, I feel very peaceful right now. I haven't felt this at peace for a while. In fact, for the past few weeks I have been very anxious about this pregnancy. Now we know why. And in thinking back, at the beginning, I was given a very wonderful blessing and felt a deep impression that the trials we were facing that day when I was afraid we were losing another baby, would not be the only trial to come--that before this baby came, we would have another curve ball thrown at us. Now we know why. Last week I was offered a week long sub job for this week, and I told Nick that I really wanted to take it, but something was holding me back--I just felt that it was a bad idea. Now we know why. I know that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and knows me and who is with me every step of the way right now. I feel His influence constantly around me and through the prayers of others. We want to thank you all for that. Thank you for thinking of us, calling, checking in, and coming to visit. We are so amazingly blessed by those around us!

November Recap

Whew! Where is December going? I knew this month would fly by, but wow! Wasn't it just Thanksgiving Day? It was, I know...

We had lots of visitors in November, so I thought I should post a little recap from those visits--assuming I can even remember back that far! My brain is on the fritz. Thank you, baby, for that! (Yep, I am claiming pregnancy brain!)

Nick's birthday is the beginning of November. He is now the BIG 30! His dad's birthday is also in November, so as a birthday present to himself, Ed came to Texas for a few days to see his kids. We had a really nice visit. Nick and his brother, JB, (and Kobe--JB's girlfriend's nephew) went to pick Ed up while Savanna and I waited at home. We spent the day going to lunch, catching up, playing Wii, and going to a nice dinner at PF Changs--LOVE THAT PLACE! JB, Savanna, and Kobe spent the night here with us, and part of Sunday as well, but they had to head back to Abilene to move into a new place! We then had Ed to ourselves for a few days. The boys went shopping. Ed bought us all our Christmas presents, and we took him out to dinner for his birthday the night before he left. We had a really nice time together.



Candeling Ed and Nick's ears




Starting a fire in our new fire pit.



After Ed's visit, we began preparations for the arrival of the Mahan sisters and their families, spouses, or significant others! Shortly after Michaela was born, Stef decided that she wanted to come to Texas for Thanksgiving. This began a landslide of plans being made for the rest of the sisters to come here as well. We had me, Nick, Stef, Matt, Michaela, Holly, Eric, Lisa, Hondo, and Kelli staying at our house! It was madness! GLORIOUS MADNESS! We had such a good time doing what we do best--just hanging out together. Holly and Eric were the first to arrive on Tuesday night, and we had a steady stream of people coming Wednesday and Thursday. Stef, Holly and I worked our magic in the kitchen, and we had a really fantastic Thanksgiving dinner, along with three extra guests! We had some friends come for dinner who were unable to be with family this year. I like to see a full table, and we definetely had one full table! Nick borrowed some long tables from work, and we put them together in the living room to fit all 11 adults and the two babies. 

The Thanksgiving Crew

We were missing some key players this year. Of course, Mom and Dad were not here with us. This was the first year they didn't have anyone at home with them for a holiday. We missed them immensely! Plus, while all the Mahan girls were together, we were missing Adam and Kara! As much fun as we had, it just doesn't feel completely right without the brother there too! Love you, Adam and Kara! 

Book #20

The Battle of the Labrynith

By: Rick Riordan

Somehow I managed to skip Book 20, so I am sure that I meant to post about this one here. I knew I was missing something, and here we go! I have posted about why I love Percy Jackson. These books open Mythology up to the modern day student, and makes Myths a little less daunting. I love that the gods and goddesses have such distinct personalities. I love that they are made a part of our world while maintaining a their authenticity. Riordan is a genius!

So, The Battle of the Labrynith is wonderful because it takes one of the greatest stories, and twists and turns it into a modern classic. Of course Daedalus would be some kind of underground technological wizard if he lived today! Of course the labrynith which is his home and his prison would be underground. Of course there would be all kinds of scary things to be found, and OF COURSE Kronos would need him to execute his evil plan.

Just read it, and love it! I know I do!

http://neolibrarium.com/?tag=percy-jackson



Book #28

Wicked Appetite

By: Janet Evanovich

I can't believe that I am about to admit this, but I think I am finally getting sick of reading the same old thing from Janet Evanovich. I love her novels, most of the time, and I think that if I were to go back and re-read the By The Numbers Series, I would still love them. The problem now is: THERE ARE TOO MANY OF THESE BOOKS THAT ARE ALL THE SAME! Okay, okay...the formula of quirky characters and sexual tenstion and unexplainable events has worked for Evanovich for a long time. She is successful and wonderful, and I really do like her. I was just hoping for more from this novel than I got.

Wicked Appetite follows a character, Diesel, who makes some appearances in the Stephanie Plum novels. He is, in this book, as yummy and mysterious and brass as he is in the other stories. However, all the other characters--with their names changed--could herald from the other series. The story is cute, but predictable. The main character, Elizabeth Tucker, is kind of a nobody who actually has a power she didn't know she had. Diesel needs her help. Someone else wants her help too, but for dark and devious reasons. She must come to grips with her power, help Diesel whether she wants to or not, and try to keep the chaos from all the other characters in the story from interferring. Sound familiar? I thought so. Maybe I will write a novel in the same style and see where it takes me. No? Yeah. No.