Ebenezer Shower

Tonight there was a baby shower for David at Ebenezer. Since the doctor said he shouldn't be in public places for two months, he stayed home with Daddy while Julie, Mom and I went. It was such a blessing!



Here are the ladies that helped organize everything. THANK YOU!! You did a great job!!



One of the really special times came when Julie opened a quilt from Dee, Myrt, and June.
This was especially touching to me because these were all friends of my Grandma's, and tears welled up in my eyes thinking about her! I feel like I can hardly be inside Ebenezer for more than a few minutes without thinking about her, she is so ingrained into my memories there. Tonight we were in the Fireside Room, and this is the room where coffee and treats are served every Sunday after church. All throughout my childhood, I would join my Grandma, her with her coffee, me with my water in a coffee cup, and sit beside her and her friends during that fellowhip time, soaking in all their stories or chatter. I miss her! She's been gone for 3 1/2 years, but I still miss her all the time! I think it hit me hard tonight because I hadn't prepared for it, and I started thinking about how much she would've loved to be there, and would've loved to meet David. Thank you, ladies, for the good memories, and for the beautiful quilt! As a quilter myself, I sure appreciate the hard work that went into that project!

Well, I'm off to Fergus tomorrow morning. I need to work at 3pm. Maybe during this stretch in Fergus I'll actually get around to some sorting or packing???!!! I have LOVED every minute of being near David (and the rest of my family!) but I know that time will fly by and I need to get a few things done on my house. Hmmmm, I wish I could just pick it up and move it to the Cities and not have to sort or pack a single thing! If only......

I'll end with a picture from this afternoon. Isn't he adorable?! I can't wait to see him again at Easter!

David Douglas

Today was one of those really GREAT days! I'm in the Cities for the weekend to hold baby David. Yesterday his parents and I took him on his first walk. We went about three blocks, and even though he slept for most of it, I'm pretty sure he loved it.


Today I spent 9-10 hours just holding, feeding, holding, changing, holding, bathing, and holding him! I couldn't get enough of him! I arrived at David and Julie's house, and promptly sent them on their way out the door (well, okay, they asked me to watch him while they did some errands). He was so alert and happy that I'd put him down for a few minutes to take pictures, but I couldn't wait to just pick him right up again!





Then he fell right to sleep and I just couldn't bear to bring him all the way into his room, so he had his nap on the couch next to me so I could watch him sleep. What a doll! He's just so beautiful!!!





When I arrived at their house, it turns out I just missed our cousin, Sara, who had stopped by with a lovely blanket that she knit for David. She did an amazing job! I thought I'd post the pictures Julie and I took of David enjoying the blanket, so Penny could be proud of her daughter! By the way, even with Julie filing his nails, David keeps going for his face so they've been using the little mittens for his hands. It's too hard to watch him hurt himself!




He hung out in his bouncy seat while we all ate dinner (Mom and Dad were over by that time)...



had some good cuddle time with Grandma....



I gave him his bath...



and it was time for bed. I can't wait to see him again tomorrow! Good night!

Fun Visitors!

This afternoon I had the pleasure of going out for smoothies at The Coffee Cabin with Emily and Corbin! He's gotten SO big since the last time I saw him, which was only for a few minutes anyway because I had a cold and didn't want him to catch it. Emily lived at my house for a few months, and it's hard to believe it was already three years ago! It was great to hang out for a while today and really get to see his fun personality! In the picture, you can see his huge grin under the pacifier. I only had to hold the camera and say his name and he knew just what to do! Thanks for the fun visit!

NICU Update

Well, I'm back in Fergus because I need to work in an hour. I'll get to see my perfect little nephew in two weeks, and I know he'll have changed a lot, even in that short amount of time!

Julie called while I was driving to say that his blood cultures are negative at this point. This means he probably doesn't have an infection, but just had a high temp. He wouldn't have needed the antibiotics, but they wanted to be cautious and not have to wait for the test results, and now they're committed to finishing this course, which I think ends tomorrow morning. Then I'm not sure if they keep him any longer for observation, or just send them all home!

I thought I'd add a few pictures of him from NICU, with the different monitors attached and his tiny IV in his foot!

NICU

My little nephew is in NICU today. This morning I was Oak Hill LBC for church. We finished the doxology and I turned around and found my dad there. I was surprised to see him but he said that he didn't want to wait until I remembered to turn my phone back on. The baby had a fever and was sent to NICU for antibiotics. I got pretty nervous because of the concern about Group B Strep for him, so was anxious on my way to the hospital.

I got here and Dad waited at the front door to bring me to David and Julie and my mom in NICU. In a single-sized patient room, they have three babies in bassinets or incubators, so there wasn't enough room for me to go see him (only parents and grandparents). Agghhhh!!!! I finally caught Julie's nurse on her way back up to the Birthing Suite and finally found out some information. It turns out that he's not really in immediate danger, but they wanted him there as a precaution. She said that Group B Strep isn't really an issue for a c-section baby, so it's more that they're worried about sepsis, so he's on a few strong antibiotics until his blood culture results come back tomorrow and they can find out for sure what's going on.

He isn't fussy, just sleeping a lot, and is still able to eat a little. His vital signs and CBC are all okay. Julie and David were obviously pretty worried at first but seem to be holding up okay now, and Auntie Kari feels better after getting information from the nurse to find out just what's going on! Sigh, breathe easier!

So much for this new family being discharged today, but being in the hospital is sure better than being at home! Please keep praying with all of us that he'll quickly improve.

I love being Auntie Kari!

Today has been a good day. How can it not be with this beautiful new little one? Here he is with the blanket I made for him that will soon become his favorite!

It started for me late last night when Julie and I took a walk in the hallway before bed, and she asked if I would stay overnight with her so David could go home to their dog and get a good night sleep in their bed (he's had a cold). How could I say no to that request? So, I ran home and got stuff, then came back to the hospital for a sleepover. It's been great to be needed! I slept from about 12:30am-4:30am. Julie and the baby have been doing a great job of feeding. It was great as the big sister to be able to watch my little sister do that, and really be able to start bonding with her baby. She'll be a great mom!

I'll still be in the Cities for another day and a half, and boy is it going to be hard heading back to Fergus this time!

Grandma and Grandpa

My parents have waited a LONG time to get to be called Grandma and Grandpa. I know they are thrilled with their new names!


Here's my mom holding her grandson for the first time.


And my dad, saying "I don't know if I've held a baby this young since Kari and Julie were born!" My dad does SUCH a great job with kids, and we often tease him about only having girls around, I'm excited to watch him with a grandson!

Proud Auntie Kari!

You knew you wouldn't have to wait too long for this picture! Even though I was the first to hold him after David and Julie (shhhh, don't tell the Grandma's!) this picture wasn't taken until this morning. Don't worry, he's still just as beautiful as he was last night! Wouldn't you agree??!!

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!

IT'S A BOY, Oh, boy!

D.D.Olson was born at 10:18pm, 7 pounds 14 ounces, 21 inches long, and completely healthy!!!! I realized I haven't asked David and Julie yet if they are going to type his name online, so until I know for sure, I'll only put his initials and let you guess! Or call me and I'll be happy to tell you all about him!!!

He's beautiful, has ten fingers and ten toes, blue eyes, and possibly a shade of red hair?? He has a little cone head from her 17 HOURS of labor, but her c-section delivery went perfectly!


Here is the first picture I took of him, when he came off the elevator from OR with his dad and nurse, and ALL of us were standing there waiting, and I burst into tears!


Here is the nurse, and David like a good new father with the camera around his neck!


And my favorite picture of the day, with Julie grinning away at her new baby, totally in love. I took 10-15 pictures quickly in a row, and he had a different face in each one! He's already sucking his fingers!

Revised update

Wow, I didn't really expect to be writing this blog. They just wheeled Julie downstairs to the OR to do a C-section. The MD was here to do that next "check" I had told you about, and he said he "just didn't feel like she has been progressing enough and we needed to think about an alternate way to get this baby out". She's been laboring since 5am, at the hospital since 7am, and it's now 10pm and he said she was really measuring an 8-9cm. So, she and David are in the OR and we're all a little surprised. I have to admit, also a little nervous, just because we have been praying for "no complications" and this seems to be one..... I have so many emotions that the tears are welling up again. Excitement because the baby really is almost here, nervousness for Julie having surgery, disappointment because I'm not standing at her side (but this really does pale in comparison to the other emotions), and concern that Julie's now in that toughest of situations, where she labored for a long time and then still ended up with needing to recover from surgery.

The bonus is that the next post should be really informative!!

Update

The update on Julie's labor is that she's dilated to 8cm, but she hasn't been checked in a while now (nursing shift change). She got the epidural this afternoon, and felt some relief right away, however was still feeling pain -that sometimes got really bad. After an hour I checked with the nurse, who then bumped up her epidural and she's really felt good relief since then. Wish I would've checked sooner! So, at this time she's comfortable, and we hope she's dilated further, and she'll be able to start pushing soon. Please keep praying for her during the painful part of pushing!

We'd also ask for prayer for the health of the baby. Julie was tested positive as a carrier for Group B Strep, which we knew when she was 27 weeks along. This means that she needed to receive IV antibiotics during labor and she's been getting those. However, she has a fever right now which might signal that the antibiotics aren't working, and she'll be fine but it could become serious for the baby. Obviously it's our prayer that everything will be just fine, but we're a little worried about the unknown right now. I'm trying to help explain things to David and Julie, and not look worried, but there is concern until the baby's born and we know exactly what we're dealing with.

Thanks for the prayers, and the fun comments so far! I just read them to Julie and she grinned!

At the Hospital

Well, there's been a small change since my last post. Julie went into labor!!!!

When I talked with her yesterday and found out that she wasn't progressed any further, I decided to stay in Fergus and go to youth group, do some laundry, and get packed. Everything took longer than expected (too busy looking at blogs!) so I went to bed fairly late. Then, at 6:45 this morning my phone rang. It was my mom calling to say that Julie and David were on their way to the hospital with strong contractions 3-5 minutes apart. I quickly hopped in the shower, grabbed my bags and hit the road! I'm sure glad I had packed last night, since I was now leaving a few hours earlier than planned.

I got a few updates from the road, and found out that they arrived at the hospital at 7:00, she was dilated to 4cm, and they wanted to keep her. A little later the update was that the MD came in and broke her water. It was all I could do not to speed! I'm thankful for cruise control! I sure knew that I would get here on time, but I didn't want to miss out on ANYTHING!

I arrived at 10:30am and found Julie having really stong contractions one right after the other. I got a quick smile out of her, then she was in her "zone". It's now almost 2:00pm and she's got an epidural in (and IMMEDIATELY felt some pain relief!) and is dilated to 6cm. There'll be a baby today!

I'm so thankful that we don't have to wait anymore! On the way down here, I had tears welling up in my eyes thinking about watching my sister deliver her baby. I thought about watching my dad hold his grandbaby for the first time, and my mom's dream about becoming a grandma finally getting realized. What a huge blessing!

PS-On a side note, following my friend Shannon's lead, I'd love to give a quick "shout out" to all my ghost readers and invite you to leave a comment. I'd love to hear from you!! It's pretty easy to leave a comment, just choose "annonymous" then type your name at the end of the comment. It would be great to tell Julie about the people thinking about and praying for her today!

Baby Update!

Thank you to all of you asking about the baby! So here's the latest update. Julie had her last doctor's appointment today, and she's not dilated any further so isn't in active labor at the moment. She will be induced on Friday morning, so we're expecting a new little baby sometime on Saturday! YEAHHHHHH!!!!!!! That's one week after her due date.

I can hardly wait! I was telling some people at work today about how much I already love this baby, and tears welled up trying to explain it! I'M SO IN LOVE!!!!! I can't wait to see if it's a he or she. I can't wait to see what he/she looks like, acts like, what he/she will grow up to be, what type of personality he/she will have. I can't wait!! I can't wait to tell him/her about Jesus. To take him/her to the park, to take him/her on vacation someday, to be the cool aunt that will always have gum in my purse, even though I don't often chew gum! I want to be the person that he/she can't wait to spend time with and will call at any time just to chat. Of course, he/she will have to be born and grow up a little first! It's almost here!

Please keep praying with us that all will go well with the delivery. Pray for Julie and for the baby during these last few hours of pregnancy. Pray for the doctors and nurses, that they can make all the right decisions to help this process along. Please also pray that the induction can happen on Friday as planned, as Julie was told there is a slim possibility that the Birthing Suite could be full and they'd reschedule for Monday.

Thanks for praying! I'll keep you updated!

Due Date

Today is Julie's due date. Since it's 11:00pm we are finishing the last hour, and then she'll be overdue. So many first-time Mom's go over, but we were all sure hoping for an early (or on-time) baby! She's been feeling contractions for the last week, and many this weekend, but still no baby. She and David had snow-days on Friday so they've been out walking and today Julie, Mom and I spent quite a bit of time walking around. I think her contractions today were much stronger and more frequent than they had been, so we'll see..... but still no baby. Soon!

At her appointment on Wednesday the doctor said to make an appointment for this Wednesday and if she made it that far, they'd set an induction date. Maybe we'll beat that? I'm sure excited for the post I'll get to make saying she's in labor! Thanks for praying with us that all goes just as planned.