3 Weeks Old

Henry is three weeks old today. I am going to try to take a picture of him sitting in his boppy (just like those here) every Thursday so we can see how much he is growing on a weekly basis. He is doing well - gaining weight for sure, although I don't know how much exactly. He is staying awake more and more every day, which is great. Wilbur is very sweet to him now. At first he was a little rough but now he stays near him all the time and if Henry cries Wilbur immediately gets up and checks on him. If we let him, he tries to lick Henry all over - his feet, hands, face, head. I think they'll be great friends.

(Doesn't Wilbur look gigantic next to him?!?)

First Bath!

Taken last week while mom was still here...

EARLY ARRIVAL!

Top picture: Hours old, Middle picture: 5 days old, Bottom picture: 9 days old

Hello to all!

We'd like to introduce you to the newest member of the family - Henry Theodore Winder Sutter. Born on March 27th, 2008, at 7:46pm. He was nearly four weeks early (three weeks and five days) but still weighed in at 6 pounds 1 ounce and 19 1/2 inches long.

My water broke at home at about 9 am on the 27th. After a quick stop at the doctor's office, we were admitted to the hospital and began to wait... I thought it would most likely be a long labour since my mother loves to relive how long her labour was with me... but with the help of Pitocin, I was fully dilated and pushing by 7 pm. We had to use Pitocin because even though the water had broken, Henry was still way up high in the birth canal and not descending. The Pitocin really kicked in and by about 5 pm I didn't want anyone to touch me, talk to me, or even look at me. Luckily, this part of the labour only lasted a couple hours and, also luckily, since I had gone into labour in the morning, I was well rested and ready to go.

Despite being so early and having a few breathing problems, Henry did excellent at the hospital. We checked out Saturday morning but had to be readmitted on Tuesday because he was extremely jaundiced. (Bilirubin level of 27 - which is VERY high.) Once in the hospital, they found that he had also lost a lot of weight - down to 5 pounds, 5 ounces - and was having a difficult time maintaining his body temperature. So into an isolation incubator under heat and blue lights he went. He spent nearly 48 hours there (with us by his side) and was discharged on Thursday afternoon.

Since then, he has been doing incredibly well and is almost back up to his birth weight. Since he is a premie, he sleeps all but about 30 minutes a day. It is very difficult to get him to wake up - even to eat! I know one day we'll look back on this time period and think we were crazy for wanting him to wake up...but right now we really look forward to those rare open eye moments.

The stress of being back in the hospital as well as that of simply having a newborn has left us quite exhausted. Thankfully, mom has taken an (extended) leave from her school and has been here for the past 2 weeks. She is cooking and cleaning and even staying up over night with Henry when he's fussy. It is going to be a real change when she leaves!! Many apologies to those of you who have called and left messages - we are not ignoring you...we are simply too tired to talk! Given his weight issues, we are on a very strict two hour schedule meaning that by the time feeding and changing is done I have about one hour of time before we start the routine all over again...around the clock. One hour to sleep, to eat, to shower, to clean, etc., etc! But I promise I will catch up on returning calls at some point!

Thank you for all the well wishes and support.

35 weeks down, 5 to go

It's hard to believe, but only five more weeks to go! Here is a new picture of the belly - taken today. I'm still feeling pretty good....considering the extra 20 pounds of weight I'm lugging around. It's hard to find comfortable sleeping positions and the ligaments in my pelvis hurt, but all in all I'm doing well. I had horrible heartburn for about 2 days last week before realizing it was probably the half gallon of apple juice I was drinking a day. Once I cut that out I've been just fine! We have our last ultrasound next week and hopefully will get some good pictures to share.

Wild Weather - part deux

Another night of wild weather in Savannah! Following the storm systems that hit Atlanta yesterday, we were ready for the possibility that they might be headed our way. For most of the day it looked like they would miss us to the north but we still kept getting severe storm warnings for most of the evening. Then, at about 10 pm, our power went out. We had our candles and flashlights ready but fully expected the power to come back on fairly quickly, as it usually does. But the minutes and hours ticked by and all that happened was a spectacular light show and an increase in wind. The lightening was pretty much constant which was fun to watch. The wind was eerie, however, since it is hardly ever windy at all here.

At a little after midnight we could hear sirens in the distance and figured that those were the tornado sirens so we got into our closet (the only room in the house with all interior walls). Wilbur was not happy with this arrangement, but eventually decided to lay right on top of Brett's shoes. We called Mom to see if she could look online and see if there were any weather service warnings...and sure enough, a tornado had been spotted in Effingham county which is probably less than 5 miles away. Luckily the storm was fast moving and by 1 am there wasn't any danger. Our power came on a little after 2 am.

This morning we found out that the power outage had affected the entire city and was a result of a tornado hitting one of the major power stations in Effingham county. Additionally, the news is reporting at least 12 homes damaged or destroyed. Meanwhile, all the St. Patrick's Day celebrations had to be shut down after it was evident that the power would not be coming back on any time soon. Imagine 100,000 drunk partiers having to be funneled out of little downtown Savannah - I'm so glad we weren't down there!!

The strangest part was when we actually heard the warning sirens since neither one of us has every heard them before and you know that when you hear them, there is actually a tornado nearby - not just a warning or a watch. We were really kicking ourselves that we never bought a weather radio - something we will definitely need to get! But, all's well that ends well. Today the sun is shining and it is going to be 80 degrees. What a change from last night!

34 Weeks - The Countdown Begins

Only six more weeks to go! (Or thereabouts.)

We had our check-up at the doctor's office today and everything baby related is fine.

However, I am feeling increasingly less enthusiastic about delivering this baby at the hospital. From the very beginning I expressed a preference for delivering at a birthing center but have been swayed towards the point of view of those who think a hospital is the best option. Since I've never given birth before and don't know what to expect, I let go of the idea of an alternative birth place. Now as the time gets nearer, I feel less assured that my voice will be heard in the midst of the cacophony of "hospital policy," choruses of "that's just how it's done," and refrains of "it's the best for the baby." In my opinion there does not need to be a trade-off between safety and alternative birthing methods. Yet, when confronted with an argument from the MD I find it very difficult to articulately express this concept. I've found this [not listening to a patient and assuming that they know best] to be a problem consistent to many MDs which frustrates me to tears. So that's where I am at today. Frustrated to the point of tears and feeling mute.

Of course I am quite cognizant of the fact that all of the above may become a completely moot point once I go into labor and decide to hell with my plan, give me all the medical interventions you can. Regardless, I still feel that I should walk away from a doctor's appointment feeling confident that my concerns were listened to, validated, and will be respected.

Bottom line is that the baby is fine. At this point, that's the most important thing. I can get busy reforming the medical system later.

March Madness....at least the weather

I've gotten some emails about the crazy weather that's happening down in this neck of the woods, so I thought I'd give an update. We were supposed to have a big storm come through on Tuesday from the west, but it missed us. Today we had a tornado warning for a couple hours this morning and apparently a little one did touch down about 20 miles from here...but no damage. It rained for awhile, but nothing serious. It's supposed to be rainy and windy tonight, but it doesn't seem like anything in comparison to the storms we had last summer!

Otherwise all is well here in Savannah. The town in gearing up for the big St. Patrick's Day celebration which begins next Friday. The city goes completely nuts and is host to one of the largest parties in the country. The festivities for us begin tomorrow when Brett has to spend the day at the LITTLE MISS ST. PATRICK'S DAY PAGEANT. (It's a Clear Channel sponsored event.) Oh my goodness...all I can imagine is Little Miss Sunshine and spray-tanned JonBenet's and an audience full of creepy older men who have no legitimate reason to be there. As far as next week's festivities go, I think I'll watch from afar...like from my couch. I have no interest in trying to maneuver my big belly through the swarms of drunken Southerners wearing all green outfits and Mardi Gras beads. Anyway, the parade's on TV.

Cheers!