Baby G's name revealed: Gavin Denison Getchius

At long last, I have time to write this post. However, it's coming from Dad, not Mom. Let me share with you a few updates about Gavin Denison Getchius and Mom.

Jackie was induced on Saturday, September 18th at 4pm CDT. She delivered Gavin at 1:29am CDT on Monday, September 20. That's right, over 30 hours of labor. You'll probably guess correctly that this picture was taken before any of the medicine, walking, and contractions started. We wanted to document our excitement for meeting our Baby Boy!

Gavin greeted the world calmly. The physicians thought there might be something wrong with his airway as he was rapidly taking shallow breaths. However, after sucking the fluid out of his lungs, he turned out to be just fine. He weighed in at 7lbs 13oz, measuring a long 20". Jackie and I were so relieved for the pushing and the labor process to be over.

Gavin, Jackie and I came home Tuesday evening and were relieved, scared, and happy all at the same time. Relieved that we wouldn't be walked in on by another nurse to check on Jackie or Gavin, scared to care for this new tiny human being, and happy that he's here and mostly healthy (he had a little bit of jaundice, which has since passed).

Yesterday was Gavin's first appointment with his pediatrician. He is doing remarkably well, almost completely jaundice free and regaining all his weight since birth. Jackie however has been a little stricken with the aftershock of the birth. We went to see her physician and found that Jackie has developed a bladder infection and mastitis. On top of that, last night she fought off a 102.1 fever and got no sleep.

But today is a new day. Jackie fed him at 9am, got some rest from 10-Noon while Gavin and I had some tummy time, and all have eaten lunch at 12:30.

Parenting is certainly a roller coaster. At times you are so in love with your baby and your spouse, other times you wonder if you have the strength to carry on, and others you push through and pull deep within you to make it happen.

I can't close this post without thanking Jackie's physician that helped us through the entire pregnancy and aftercare. Without her wisdom, training, guidance, and expertise, we would be muddling though this.

Thank you to the nurses that helped Jackie through the delivery and the pushing to greet Gavin. Their passion for treating their patients and their unbelievable motivation to keep going through the pain is awe inspiring.

Thank you to both of our parents. To mine for the prayers, support, gifts, calls, and everything else that comes to mind. To Jackie's for their meals, taking Marty, the pictures, and the love that they show both of us.

Thank you to our Immanuel church family for prayers, advice, comfort, and helping hands. A special thanks to Pastor Paul for providing a blessing to Gavin in the hospital and to Pastor Susan for her wisdom, prayers, and love for our family.

And finally a huge thank you to our friends. Your laughter, crying, joy, meals, movies, visits, and love mean so much to us. We appreciate everything you are to us in this transition.

Love,

Tom, Jackie, and Gavin (and Marty)

First time in the car seat

Proud Papa!

Loving Mama!

A very happy family :)

Week 40: We made it!

Today is September 10th, the official due date for Baby G! I can't believe the 40 weeks have come to pass now and that it could be any day till we meet our baby boy. Though we don't know when he'll make his appearance I think Tom and I are doing a pretty good job at this point in being patient waiting for him to decide when the right time is. I'll admit I'd prefer it to be sooner than later because I'm REALLY ready to not be pregnant anymore. But I've made it 40 weeks so a few more days isn't so bad.

We had yet another prenatal appointment this week and there really wasn't any sort of progress to report. I did get a 30 minute non-stress test where they hooked me up to a machine that measures the baby's heartbeat and any contraction activity. They did this test to see if there were any contractions going on, even mild, and to see how my placenta is helping the baby at this point. If his heartbeat looks good then that apparently indicates that my placenta is still supplying enough oxygen, blood, and nutrients to him. My doctor said that placentas can get a bit worn out at the end of pregnancy so it's good to check it out. So anyway, his heartbeat looked great but I wasn't having any sort of contractions at all. The plan at this point is that I'm going to have another prenatal appointment on the 17th when I'll be exactly 1 week overdue. At that point they'll do another non-stress test and see if I've made any progress yet. If not then we'll discuss induction options. Tom and I also agreed that the 17th will be my official last day of work as well. I'm really glad to have an official end date in sight as far as work goes as it's been more challenging to focus there with the baby on my mind so much. Of course, we hope that the baby will decide to come out before the 17th but I'm happy with our back up plan just in case he doesn't!

As for Baby G, this week he has enough fat on his body to be able to regulate his own body temperature out in the world. It'll be so neat to not only see his face, but to also see how much he'll end up weighing and how long he'll be since at this point there's quite a variance to those things. So, who knows, our next post could be an announcement of the baby's birth (fingers crossed)!!

Week 39: Getting Closer and Closer and Closer

I'm starting the writing of this post on September 1st which is a big turning point-the month I'll have the baby and only 9 days from the due date. It's crazy to be in the single digits for the due date countdown, but boy are we excited about it! I'll admit that it's getting harder and harder to be patient waiting for his arrival. We had a doctor appointment this week and the baby is now estimated at about 7 pounds. Unfortunately there really hasn't been any progress as far as getting closer to birth time. I did have some Braxton Hicks contractions on one afternoon this week which were the first I've felt the whole pregnancy. They weren't really painful just uncomfortable, but only lasted a few hours so it wasn't that bad. Also at the doctor appointment they once again confirmed that he's still head down so that's good news.

This week I've been ever more uncomfortable. My hips and back are super achy and I've had more leg cramps too. But I've been taking nice long baths and Tom has given me back and foot rubs to help too. As for Baby G this week his skin has changed from pink to white due to a thicker fat layer now covering his blood vessels. Here's another interesting baby tidbit: the tear ducts in babies' eyes don't produce tears until they're about a month old. So all that crying will be dry crying for awhile.

We're glad we've been able to share updates every week with you all and look forward to introducing you to our baby soon!