Baby Caleb is born!

Precious baby, Caleb Bradshaw Daniel, was born this morning at 11:11. He was 7 pounds 14 1/2 ounces and 21 inches long. They had difficulty getting his lines in and had to whisk him away to the NICU after letting me give him a quick kiss. They continued attempting to get his lines in including IV s and lines through his umbilical cord; however, could only get one. They had to put in a pic line eventually. He was whimpering a good bit.
He's very cute and has a head full of dark, dark hair!

Pedicure Day

Kate and I snuck in some special Mommy/ Daughter time and had spa pedicures today!   She was home "recovering" from being sick the day before.  (Prayers that we all stay healthy from here out!)   She was completely fine today and it was actually nice to have her home to spend time together while all the boys were in school.  (Like I said in my last post, I do not like to be by myself!)  Although all the cleaning and sanitizing has become a full time job; Darci pointed out, we turned lemons into lemonade and thanked God for this extra time together before baby arrives and just had a great girls' day!  I haven't had a pedicure in years and this was her first experience.  It was so nice for us to get to have this special one on one time to feel so relaxed and girly.  She thought that they were just going to paint her toenails and was so surprised by the special massaging chair and all the extras.  She said that she could definitely get used to the pampering and can't wait to go back!  Well, back to the laundry, bleach, and lysol!

Bo Going to School

     Reality is starting to kick in.  It's been a bit of an emotional week as we get closer to the birth of our little one.  The doctor will induce me next Wednesday.  We started Bo at preschool where Cooper goes.  He was signed up to start next year; however, Zack and I decided it would be helpful to have two days a week where they would both be in school.  I know he is going to have a blast playing with his friends and has the most special teachers and staff loving on him all day; however, it was a super hard day for Mommy to leave him.  It was the first day in 9 years where I had all of them in school!  I didn't know what to do with myself and after my 2 hour doctor appointment, just went up and sat in Zack's (empty because he was in a meeting) office and cried!  Well, I prayed, too, and it was nice to have some quiet time; however, it just hit me that he isn't just going to school only for fun, but because of all of the change that is about to occur.  It just was hard to swallow.
     He had a great day and fit right in.  We do need to search our house for a boy backpack-- how can we not find one with all these boys??  The only extra one I could find was Kate's girly monogrammed one!  Luckily he didn't mind.  I guess that comes with being the fourth child!

Kids' tour day

Today was a long, well synced day. Kate got her braces off! Only 6 months of wearing them. She looks precious and can't wait to eat corn on the cob. They trained her on the importance of putting her retainer in a safe place and warned of pets that can mess with them. Kate replied that we don't have any animals, but 3 curious brothers may be even more challenging!
Then we were off to our appointment at Vanderbilt. Jake got anxious as he realized he has his annual cardiology appointment in a week and a half. The kids watched as they did a fetal echocardiogram on the baby. They asked at least 30 times throughout the appointment whether the baby was a boy or girl! Anytime someone asked if they had any questions, this was their reply. It was funny only the first few times!!! Cooper wanted to know whether it has any inny or outy belly button!
The baby was squirming all over. It was pushing out both sides of my stomach as the ultrasound paddle was pushing against it. The kids thought this was hilarious! The doctors were looking very closely for a long while trying to confirm the existence of an interatrial septum defect, which is very important in HLHS babies (this is opposite in typical babies & usually closes after birth; however, it will always be open in our little one. It is extremely hard to see due to the left ventricle being so small, but they did confirm and doppler the ASD.
After this we met with the doctor in her conference room. She was very kind to have a tray of snacks & drinks for the kids. Of course, they act as if we never feed them & devour it all in minutes (spilling a drink & leaving crumbs for Daddy to pick up). The child life specialist showed them pictures of what to expect on her iPad then took us all on a tour of the floors. (While walking, she let jake carry her iPad. Little did she know, he has a knack for breaking passwords, to which he managed to show off!). It was helpful for them to see the rooms. They asked good questions about the equipment and monitors. It was a bit hard for me of the realization of seeing the little babies.
After a full afternoon, we headed home to our "normal" nightly routine.

2 Appointments a Week for BPP

     Whew!  This week I've started going to the high risk OB doctor two times a week.  Blessings that I'm able to go the Franklin office for these appointments until we get closer to the due date.  It makes a big difference to not have to drive into Nashville that often.  It is challenging enough to squeeze in these appointments with the rest of "life" that goes on with four other kiddos!  As soon as I got finished on Tuesday, the wonderful school nurse called and said that Jake had a terrible headache.  He had no fever or other symptoms (to which Daddy said, "Send him back to class.  He's not sick!")  I completely agreed with him recalling that I never missed a day of school!  However, a little snuggle time was just what we needed that afternoon.  :o)  Of course, that didn't last long, as he was out the door playing the entire afternoon!
    I'm going twice a week now for a BPP (Biophysical Profile).  Basically this is an ultrasound that looks for 4 criteria.  One thing in particular that they look for that could make the test take longer each time is for "practice breathing".  Our little one has done it successfully both days.  She said sleepy babies tend to not show this as easily.   Baby is definitely NOT sleepy.  It is super active!  Prayers that these tests continue to show what they are looking for.
   I met with our Priest, Father Bala on Thursday, after my doctor appointment.  He was very comforting and shared with me a bible verse that I'm holding close to my heart now.  It is from Sirach 38: 1-12.  Hold the physician in honor, for he is essential to you, and God it was who established his profession.  From God the doctor has his wisdom, and the king provides for his sustenance.....
     I encourage you to look up the complete verse and pray it for the doctors and surgeons that are preparing for our baby.
     I am 33 weeks along today... so 7 more weeks to due date!

CHD Awareness Week

This week is Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week.  It is so appropriate that the week we all celebrate love is correlated to these sweet, precious little ones.  We attended a luncheon at Vanderbilt today to spread awareness as well as to hear a proclamation from the Governor of Tennessee on CHD's.  Jake got to miss a bit of school to attend this and was so concerned during the whole event with the time and what he was missing.  We have learned firsthand how important for research on CHDs is to be encouraged and funded as well as for pregnant mothers to know questions about the heart that they need to ask during their ultrasounds and have a pulse oximetry screening when the baby is born.  It is so scary to think that 1 out of 100 children will be born with a form of a CHD.  We had no idea when Jake was born a "healthy" baby that he actually had a CHD that sent his little body into shock and almost toxic at 9 days old.  We are so blessed to celebrate his special heart, loving spirit, strong mind, athletic body, and truly incredible life.

Ob measurement update

I had my appointment this morning with the high risk OB doctor.  They do an ultrasound every appointment to measure anything and everything about the baby, but mainly they are looking to ensure that he/ she is growing.  With the two vessel umbilical cord that this baby has (instead of the typical 3 vessel cord), sometimes, babies don't get the nutrients they need to continue growth, which would be very dangerous.  So far, our little baby has grown great and is perfectly average.  It measured 3 pounds 12 ounces today and was in the 53 percentile.  Yea!  Praying for continued growth.