Lucy Jo Vance

She made it!  Our beautiful little girl has joined our family at last.  And I must say she is a cutie.  Here are the numbers:
Born at 12:02 pm
Height - 18.25"
Weight - 5lbs 8oz

Lynette and Lucy are doing great.  Lucy continues to sleep and wants nothing with food.  She is slowly getting over that.  Lynette is now starting to walk around and is progressing well with the abdominal pain.  She has quite a bit of pain when it comes to standing up but overall is doing great.  Lucy has blonde hair and perfect little features.  Between Lynette and I she looks like the Weston clan with some Vance mixed in (perhaps the nose).  I will let you decide for yourself.  These are some pics from Lucy's first day with our family.  More will come another day but hope these are sufficient for now.  

 

7.11.12

Isn't that a great date?!? Wouldn't that be a great day to have this baby born?  Well that's when it's set for.  We had a Dr. appt today and set the day for the c-section.  I'm pretty excited about it and can't really believe it's coming so quickly.  I don't think we're ready, at all.  But really what do we have to get ready for?  We have the carseat and the pack-n-play for her to sleep in.  So anything else we can get as we go.  (Oh I do need to get a couple oneies so she doesn't have to wear blue ones :)
I'm still at home, doing great.  After doing over 4 months on bedrest I can totally do 30 more days.  Tomorrow I'll be 32 weeks.  They will take this baby at 36 wks b/c they don't want anything to happen (like for my uterus to rupture). 
This past month we've had so much help from our ward members in taking care of Benson and bringing in meals.  One of my sisters, Rebekah and her family, surprised us by coming for 10 days at the end of May and Sara Anne got here last Thursday.  She brought my niece Raleigh who will be here until June 20th.  Sara Anne will be here until July 20th!  So glad she'll be here when this little girl gets here! 

Home

Isn't that a beautiful word? 
I'm home!  I was able to come home last Saturday!  It was supposed to be Tuesday, my 28th week (today), but my Dr. (Tia) said I should be home for Mother's Day, so I was!!  It was the best mother's day ever!  Just to be able to talk to Anth whenever and to watch Bens play made it a wonderful weekend!  My body and this little girl are still doing well, really more than they ever should have.  Everyday is a miracle!  I'm not sure how long I'll be here.  The Dr.'s aren't really looking at my cervix length as they are waiting for me to show signs/symptoms i.e. painful/consistent contractions, bleeding, or water breaking.  I'm a bit nervous about how it'll work out, when and how, but continue to have faith and hope that all will go well. 
Thank you to friends and family for the fasting in our behalf.  Thank you to the wonderfully kind women who have been taking care of my Benson.  For loving him in ways I haven't been able to in a few months.  Thank you for the visits in the hospital, they were lifesavers!  Thank you for all the packages of treats, books, magazines, etc. they really helped passed the time.  We have felt such an outpouring of love and support through this whole process!

It's a Miracle!

So, when I was thinking of the title of this post and the news we received Lynette said, it's a miracle.  As I thought about that some more I was reminded of a skit that was part of Bill Cosby's act involving him as a little boy staying home from school because he was sick and then miraculously he was fine when school ended and his friends came calling.  In this bit about his life, the little boy proclaims, "It's a Miracle!..."  This proclamation is equal to the news we received recently.

Last week the ultrasound tech came and performed both abdominal and vaginal ultrasounds.  As you may remember Lynette was checked-in to the hospital on account of the thinning of the cervix.  Since she was checked in they had not returned for measurement.  As the tech was performing the measurement Lynette indicated she had an odd expression about her.  Lynette inquired as to the problem and the tech only indicated that her doctor would let her know.  Well, it is pretty great to have such an amazing relationship with our doctor as she is one of our close friends.  Lynette began to text with her to get all the details.  The tech finished up and again said nothing but indicated that Lynette's doctor would be in to give her the news at a later time.  Tia came in and indicated that she hadn't received any information but then received a call.  She stepped outside and took the call.  Lynette had other visitors at the time (she is now very popular) and was able to wait patiently.  When Tia returned she indicated that Lynette's cervix had sealed back up and was measuring 3.1 cm (before was 0.5 cm).  It appeared to be a normal cervix.  There was no funneling, just a healthy looking cervix.  Tia shared with Lynette that she had only seen this once about 25 years before.

It is remarkable to have received this news and we know that it really is a miracle that her body has responded so well.  She is now 26 weeks 5 days.  She is not having any contractions, she has bathroom and shower privileges, and she loves all the hospital food (wait that's me...).  She is doing extremely well.  She is doing so well in fact that her doctors have said that if there are no changes between now and 28 weeks she will be able to return home and have bed rest at home.  I must say that I am excited about that prospect, however, she must know my cooking is not much better than what she is getting in the hospital.  We continue to pray for the both Lynette and our sweet little girl.  She is about twice the size as William weighing in over 1 lb and getting bigger every day.  We are so excited at the prospect of this little girl joining our home and watching her grow alongside her older brother.  To think how far we have come and the blessings that have been ours because of the faith of family and friends is truly remarkable.  We are not out of the woods in any of this.  Each day is very positive and the chances of survival only increase.  It is our prayer that all continues to progress according to the Lord's will.

Many have asked how Lynette is doing.  To their question I always respond the same, "Extremely well."  Lynette is not a complainer.  She does not sulk, she does not shy away from the challenge.  She makes incredible sacrifices for our family.  She has such tremendous faith and is ever constant.  She counsels with me, she loves me, and helps me become a better man.  I love her and hope that I can rival her goodness and sacrifice.

It may come as no surprise that Lynette comes from an incredible family.  I have known them since I was about 11.  I grew up being close friends to her brother Dan (aka Daniel to her family) but never really had a chance to meet many of the others.  I had only a few interactions with her parents but knew it was a good home.  As I have been a part of this family now for the last 4 years I have realized how incredible they really are.  If you think of a baseball team and how difficult it may be for an opposing pitcher to face not one or two but three great batters you will understand that this family has not one, two, or three great individuals.  It is a lineup that is strong from top to bottom.  They are wonderful people who love, care, and help all those around them.  We have benefited from that love and support many times.  To all of you, thank you.  I/We love you!

We had such a wonderful time with Rachel and Adelaide in early February and then Lynette's mother was with when from February to April.  Then in March, Lynette's father was able to come and spend some time with us and his wife as they celebrated their anniversary.  We look forward to seeing all of you when the time comes but until then here are some pics of the past few months.  We love you all and thank you for your prayers and faith.

Change of Venue

Well, it's happened! We hoped and prayed this day would be delayed but alas it has arrived. Lynette has found her way back into the hospital on bedrest. The silver lining is she beat her old time of about 20 weeks. Lynette went in for her weekly appointment last Thursday and never came home. Instead I received a phone call letting me know they were admitting her right then. We had just hit 23 weeks and were feeling pretty good because Lynette was not having any contractions and things seemed to be going great. It appeared the only thing that we had to worry about was how things were going to work when her mom left (she left the day before Lynette went to the hospital - must be the reason she is in the hospital - okay maybe not).


So, what is going on? Let me try and explain the best I can....Lynette, has a cervix that is almost non-existent. It has almost completely effaced (thinning before dialating) and she has become a high risk of pre-term labor. Fortunately, we knew about this prior to the pregnancy and she was able to get a cerclage which is helping strengthen the cervix.

Now Lynette will be staying in the hospital for the remainder of this pregnancy. She started out on strict bedrest which means no bathroom privileges. However, as she began to improve (no contractions) and through her bribing the doctors with candy, they have allowed her to have bathroom privileges. She is very grateful for that as anyone who has ever been on bedrest in the hospital can attest to. She started receiving steroid shots (big accomplishment) today to help the baby's lungs continue to grow and develop.

The baby is healthy as far as we know and we have to take it one day at a time. We are doing well, overwhelmed to say the least. We have some great friends who are helping with watching Benson Monday through Friday. This has been a huge help. The schedule goes something like this: Wake up at 7:30 am (rough I know) and get ready, get Benson's stuff together, Benson then goes to ward members home, I go to work, come home from work, pick Benson up, and go visit Lynette in the hospital and eat a hospital dinner between the three of us, stay for about 1.5 hrs or less then go home and put Benson to bed. This is the same each day but we do the best we can to make it work.

Lynette encouraged me to start updating everyone through this blog. As many of you remember we did the same thing when we had William. It was such an incredible experience to document all that was going on. It was as if you could see the hand of God in all that was taking place. It was exactly what I needed. I think it is needed again as we go through round two. I will try to keep all informed as things change but it may be sporadic at first. Hope this helps provide a glimpse into our lives!

Bedrest It Is

So we've had a couple of great Dr. appointments, one even where I was given permission to sit up periodically. But as I was talking to my Dr (who by-the-way is the most amazing, goes-above-and-beyond-anything-you-can-imagine, kind of Dr) she told me the goal for this pregnancy is for me to not end up in the hospital before the scheduled c-section and to keep this baby in. So I will be down, on our wonderful couch, for the duration of this pregnancy. I can't really wrap my head around 6 months but I can do tomorrow. So I just take one day at a time.
Benson was taken such good care of by Rachel and Adalaide (although she, Adalaide, did teach him some things we'll be trying to fix for years) and now my wonderful mother is here for two months!! Isn't she great! I cried when I read she wasn't flying home until April 11. We feel so blessed with the outpouring of love and offers to help from both family and friends, it's quite overwhelming. Thank you to all!

Band Wagon

I am planning on getting back on the blogging band wagon but think it's a bit daunting to think about catching up. We had so many fun times in November, December and January. Trips to the Bills, my favorite place to visit in Arkansas, for both Thanksgiving and Christmas. Plus having fabulous weather in So Texas and going to the park everyday. Hopefully I'll get some pictures up.

In other exciting news...we are expecting!!!!!! We are super happy to be adding an addition in August. I have been put on bedrest (can this ever be easy?!). Hopefully it won't be for the next 6 months, wow can't even comprehend that. We should be finding out today if I get some more mobility privileges. My amazing sister, Rachel (and her daughter Adalaide) is here taking care of Benson and me. Oh she is wonderful! Benson has done pretty well, I think it's harder on me than on him. But of course it's all worth it. Anthony (and his work) has also been so amazing, what would I do without him?