Mommy and James

Snug as a bug!

It's wonderful to be home. The three of us are adjusting to our new life pretty well.

We had an appointment with the pediatrician on Monday. James had another bilirubin test done and we found out that his levels are low enough that we no longer have to watch his levels. He is gaining enough weight and is an all around rockstar. We are so happy to have a healthy baby!

Home Sweet Home

Yay! It's finally time for us to go home. The pediatrician came in this morning and gave us the green light. James passed all of his tests with flying colors. We do still need to come back tomorrow to test his bilirubin levels as they typically go up a little once the lights are taken off. So hopefully that testing will go well. I can't believe we get to take him home! He is really ours!

Can we take a baby nurse home with us?

Home tomorrow? Maybe?

Well we were hoping that we would be able to go home today but we were thrown a curveball - James didn't gain any weight last night. It's amazing since he is drinking anywhere from 20-40 milliliters more than his required amount. At least we are learning a lot while we are here.

The good news is that his bilirubin levels seem to have gone down further so the bililights are off right now. Hopefully his levels will be okay tomorrow so that we can go home. His little goggles are gone and later the nurses will remove the special lights and blanket and take off the tape from his face. I'd remove the tape myself if I knew it wasn't going to hurt the little guy but it's on there pretty well and it's even in his hair so I'd rather the nurses be the bad guys. :)

This will be the first time that I get to see James without tape on his face other then when he was first born! I can't wait. I've gotten used to seeing my baby with wires and wrapping and tape all over him. Once the tape is removed I'll take some more photos and post them up.

Well both of the men in my life are asleep and the room is nice and quiet. I'm going to take advantage of this time and take a nap myself!

We'll be home before you know it

Dr. Miller, one of the pediatricians we have been working with, came in this morning and told us the latest he could see James going home is Monday. How exciting! He could potentially come home as early as tomorrow. I'm a little nervous too. I hope we are prepared at home for him.

James is still under the lights but his bilirubin levels have gone down. Hopefully they will go down even more today and tonight. Here are a couple of photos of him this morning. I know we have a ton of other photos that look exactly the same but I can't help myself. Since he is still under the lights he does still have his goggles on. I can't wait to get some photos of him without them and without all the icky wires and tape. :)

Just a small update!

I can't believe I'm awake right now. I think I have gotten 5 hours of sleep in the last two days. I know every mother reading this is thinking 'Welcome to motherhood'. Thanks. David can apparently sleep through anything. The night before last I attempted to wake him on three separate occasions. On the third try I finally kicked him [gently] in the side to get him to tend to the baby since I had my hands full. As I write this its almost noon and David is still sleeping. I think he has been asleep now for 14 hours. This isn't fair.

James is currently sleeping like an angel but last night he gave the nurse and I hell. We couldn't believe how hungry he was. Between his hunger, his diapers, and gas, it seemed that he was much more vocal than usual. It was just one thing after another. I think he is preparing me for when we get him home.

He is using the bili-blanket again to help assist the bili-lights in reducing the jaundice. Hopefully between the lights and the dirty diapers, his levels will be normal in no time. Since he is feeding so well, he is off of the IV completely now. It's nice having one less cord attached to him. Currently he has four cords attached to him which all work together to monitor his heart rate, his oxygen levels, and his respiratory system.

Things are looking really good. The swelling and bruising on his head [trama from labor] has gone down quite a bit and his head is almost perfectly normal. I'm so happy that he is as healthy as he is. We look forward to taking him home.

Day four

Now that I have been released as a patient from the hospital and David and I are boarders, we can come and go as we please. David and I went out to dinner last night and this afternoon we took a trip to our apartment to work on some of the chores that got left undone when I went into labor. Leaving James was almost as difficult as labor. I know that we are leaving him in wonderful care when we do leave and we have nothing to worry about but I just miss him like crazy. David and I are head over heels for our little guy.

The first question we get asked when talking to friends and family is 'when does he get to come home?'. We still don't know an exact date and we probably won't know until the day of or maybe the day before he is release. So many things can change from day to day but things are really looking good.

He is feeding really well. I think he might be bent on being a 20 pound baby by the time he leaves this place. Since he is feeding so well he is pooping and peeing a lot which is helping to lower his bilirubin levels and means he needs less from the IV's. The more bilirubin he disposes of, the less light therapy he needs. Once he is off of the IV's and lights, he can come home!

While I look forward to taking him home, I greatly appreciate the fact that James is in the care of such a wonderful nursing staff and that I am able to continue to recover in such a safe place. It's nice knowing that my child has around the clock care while I can take it easy. If we were at home... I wouldn't have that luxury. I'm really getting spoiled here.

Half way outta here

Well I have officially been released from the hospital and am now a 'boarder' here. So I'm no longer under medical supervision but since James is still here, David and I get to stay here too.

James is doing well. He is still under lights but we managed to get a few photos of him while he was out from under them. Here he is being fed by mom. He is being fed donor milk by bottle until mom's milk comes in and his sucking reflex matures.

I am feeling better and better as each day goes on. It won't be long before I'm not on any painkillers. I'm still a bit swollen but I know it will go down before too long.

We are so grateful for all of the support and prayers we've received. Thank you everyone. We will continue to write updates as we get them.

Baby update.

After spending a couple of days in the special care nursery, James is finally in our room with us. He is currently under special lights which are causing the blue glow in the photos. Since the labor process was so eventful, James has quite a bit of trama to his little head. As the bruising on his head breaks down it releases bilirubin into his blood stream. This causes the skin and eyes to yellow... aka jaundice. These special lights help James to release the bilirubin through his urine. The faster it gets out of his system the better. This morning we were told that while he is looking so much better, his bili levels are up. They've turn the lights up on him a bit to help out with that. Don't worry - It just means that his bruising is disappearing quickly.

We thought he looked pretty cool with his little goggles. He almost looks like he is tanning. We can't help but think that he is getting cuter and cuter everyday.

James flashes the peace sign for the camera. He was born in Boulder after all.

Look at his little cheeks!

All of the wires on him are to monitor his vitals. Mommy looked the same for a while. If you are wondering where his other foot disappeared to... its there but its covered in another diaper so that the wiring that is on his foot doesn't get messed up by the bili lights.

Daddy has huge hands in comparison to little James.

I'm working on recovering. I feel decently okay after everything but I am still a bit tired and in a little bit of pain. My blood pressure has gone up and I have a good amount of swelling so we are turning away visitors right now. It's not unusual for this to happen especially since I had so many medications in my body I'm not used to anything stronger than excedrine. James isn't expected to go home anytime soon. He could be here another week or two.

We will post more updates when we get the chance!

James Grey Ruybalid is here!!!

On Thursday I was working around the house and getting things ready for the baby's arrival. I finished folding the clothes that I had washed the day before and a few other things like hanging the letters I had painted for his room. I was planning to head on over to the hospital to pre-register but decided to take a nap before I left. At about 2:20 I woke up from my nap and I felt a small trickle. My first thought was 'Am I peeing my pants?' and wrapped my blanket around me. I felt a little bit more and thought 'Is my water breaking?!?!?!?!?'. I dropped myself to the floor from our couch and felt a huge gush! 'What just happened?' I thought. I could hardly believe it as I sat on the floor in the blanket. I knew there was no way I had lost control of my bladder like that. No way.

I called David and I tried to act casual.
'So where are you? and how much work do you have left to do?'
'I'm at the office, why?'
'Not to freak you out but I think my water just broke. I could have also peed my pants. I'm going to call the doctors office to see if I need to come in. Come home when you are finished with your work.'

During our brief conversation I worked to finish packing my hospital bag and wash the blanket. The more I did the more I panicked. I knew it was my water but I was secretly hoping it was urine. I know thats gross but I'm not due for another month! There was no way this could be happening. After all, we weren't ready and we hadn't even taken a hospital tour yet!

I called the doctors office and they told me to come on in. At this time I can feel the contractions coming on. I started timing them and while they were tolerable, they were only five minutes apart. I told David and he looked at me and asked what that means 'It means we should head to the hospital'. Our doctor's office is at the hospital so they told me to just head on to the labor and delivery area. Ekk. Once we got there, I was tested to see if it was my water that broke. It was water. I couldn't believe it. It was time.

By this time its around 4pm and we are settling into our room. I'm being monitored and being given pain killer [thank goodness]. Getting the epidural wasn't bad at all. I had pictured in my head that it was awful and almost as bad as labor itself. I barely felt the needle go in. They also gave me another painkiller that I could control with a button. I referred to this painkiller as my 'magic button' for the remainder of the stay in that room. It really was magic. Before I knew it I couldn't even feel the contractions.

They continued to monitor me and see where I was until I was fully dilated. About 4 in the morning, my doctor came in and told me it was time to start pushing. This meant I couldn't press the magic button anymore. Boo. I pushed for four and a half hours. I pushed well according to the doctors and nurses who were helping me but we weren't getting anywhere. James head was just not moving any further. We changed positions to see if that would help. Nope. We tried the vacuum next without success. We finally realized that I had been pushing for a while and barely had energy to push anymore and he wasn't coming out willingly anymore.

It seemed that our little guy, who was so eager to come out, had changed his mind. It was time for a c-section. At this point I was very sore from pushing for so long. It seemed that I might as well have been without an epidural since it seemed it had worn off so much. They wheeled me into the operating room and transfered me onto a new bed. There they numbed me from the ribcage down. That was spectacular. Other then some pushing, I couldn't feel a thing. They put up a sheet so that David and I couldn't see anything going on during the surgery [because it's gross] and one of the doctors helped to keep me warm since I was shaking.

The surgery was over before we knew it and they were holding James above the blanket for us to see. He was red and crying like most babies do when they are first born. David accompanied James and the nurses to the nursery while the doctors stitched me up.

James Grey Ruybalid was born on July 4th, 2008 weighing in at 6 pounds and 11 ounces. He is 19 1/4 inches long. He is currently staying in the nursery while the nurses monitor him. He is no longer on oxygen but is under light therapy for jaundice. He is doing amazingly well for being premature. David and I finally were able to hold him today and I attempted to feed him. Feeding didn't work out too well since he just wanted to sleep :).

We are not sure of how much longer the baby and I will be at the hospital. It still seems unreal. I feel a little more like a mom every time I hold him. We will keep everyone updated when we can. Right now David and I are taking advantage of James being in the nursery and sleeping every chance we get. We appreciate all of your support and prayers. We've received a ton of phone calls, text messages, and emails over the last few days and each one has brought a smile to our faces. Thank you again! Here are some pictures for your enjoyment.

The baby's room

Here are the letters that I painted to hang on the wall in the baby's room. You can't tell from the photo but the brown color is actually a sweet metallic brown and the 'J' has green dots all over. All of the letters also have a gloss finish on them.

We got the curtains up. We will change the long curtains for a valance once James is crawling so he doesn't pull them down. For now these will keep out the light the best.

This is the crib! I put it together not too long ago and I'm very proud of myself. It wasn't terribly hard but I did it in the middle of the night, by myself, at seven months pregnant. The bedding is a green and white gingham print which you can't tell from the photo. It looks great in person.

Tons of fun at the Ruybalid's

Alright, I got some complaints about my last photo that I posted since it was from the front and I was wearing black. Well here is a side shot of me and the baby bump. I look massive but I promise I'm only having one baby! Just be thankful that you are not the one who has to push him out! :)

David and I are still working on settling into the apartment. I haven't put everything into place as quickly as I originally thought. I actually ended up nannying for a family who used me for the last five weeks. I had a blast watching the kids and hopefully will be able to watch them again in the future. Sydney is 9 and Brandon is 12. Both of them are very active in various activities [baseball, soccer, girl scouts, piano, camps, acting] and a lot of my job required me to drive them around from place to place. It was a great way for me to get to know the area too.

David has been very busy with work and other activities. At the beginning of the month, David's good friend and old roommate, John, got married! He married his long time girlfriend, Rindy. They are such a perfect match. Their wedding was absolutely beautiful. David ran the music and sound for the wedding. Below is a photo of the bride and groom during their first dance as a married couple. They both looked beautiful!

David has also been playing for various events. Last weekend he was in Colorado Springs playing with his good friends, Boyce and Rebekah Burley, for SpringsSpree. Earlier in the afternoon he played for a charity event in Woodland Park. This Saturday he was finally able to take a little bit of a break after the events of this month.

While David was relaxing, I took my car down to Castle Rock to be worked on. My dear friends, Chris and Vanessa, entertained me for the day and Chris replaced the brakes in my car. They are two of the sweetest and selfless people I have ever met. They are a true example of Christ's love. After Chris was done working on my brakes, we helped one of their neighbors get ready for their party. I had a ton of fun and it was great hanging out with their neighbors.

After I left Chris and Vanessa's house, I headed down to Colorado Springs to hang out with my old roommates and friends. Two of my roommates are actually getting married next weekend! It's going to be busy going to two weddings in one weekend but it will be a blast. I'm so excited for both of them. I know their weddings are going to be absolutely beautiful too!

This week should be decently relaxed for the two of us. I'm going to continue working on the baby's room and the apartment. The baby's room is looking great! I'll post photos of the room soon. Hopefully it will be complete before James joins our family! :)

7 weeks left...

TheNestBaby.com kindly reminded me this morning that there are about 55 days left until my due date. That's if the bump doesn't decide to show up early. AHHHHHHH. I can't wait for him to be here but at the same time... we are not prepared for him. We just got the crib put together the night before last. His room still needs to be painted [it's a third of the way done] and the shelves need to go up and his clothes need to be washed and we need to babyproof the house as well as a ton of other things before he arrives. Ekkk! Hopefully everything will get done in time.

We met with the new doctor last week. Dr. Jensen is great. We are lucky to have found yet another great doctor! The hospital looks great too. We still have to do a tour though. I wish we could have moved up here a little earlier though because I'm going to be waddling while we do the tour. Waddling? Yes, I'm kinda like a penguin now with my big belly and swollen ankles. Yay.

Long time no talk...

WOW! It's been a while.

David and I are currently without internet access at our house so unfortunately I don't have any photos to put up.

We have finally moved up to Longmont and are working on getting settled in. It's great being up here but it's tough adjusting to all the 'newness' of it.

James is getting bigger and bigger everyday. My bellybutton is almost an outie!

David has been working a lot more since the church increased his hours and I've been babysitting a couple of times a week to fill up time.

Hopefully it won't be too much longer before I get some photos up but don't hold your breath, it might be a while.

Living out of boxes!

It's finally time for us to move! Yesterday, David and I signed the lease and got the keys to our new place. It will be nice to have a place to call home for a while. We plan on being in this place for a while!

Tomorrow, Saturday, David and a crew from church will be helping us move in all of the heavy boxes and the little furniture that we do have. Thank goodness for friends and family because I'm not any help right now! I just get to 'boss' everyone around and tell them where things go.

David and I also finally picked out a couch. We've been needing one for a while since our futon has been on the brink of falling apart for the last year. Now we just need to give the furniture place all of our hard earned pesos and pick it up! The couch we picked out is above. Once we get the living room painted and the sofa in, I'll post a photo on here of the completed room.

Once we get settled in, we hope you will visit! :)