Pregnancy in a nut shell

Ruka 1 month

Week 36

Ruka is 3 weeks old now. Since I've last blogged, Ruka has moved to an open crib. He's nipple fed every other feeding, but he's still gets so tired from feeding. He has passed almost everything else. We're pretty much waiting for him to take a bottle, or breast, for every feeding. This is taking longer than I was expecting. He probably won't be home till the beginning on June.

I'm getting really stressed and tired of going back and forth, pumping every 3 hours, and now poor Emi has a little cold. Maybe Heavenly Father is trying to test my limits. I am very fortunate to have my husband home, but he's going to start teaching German again next week. Miya's 7th birthday is coming up too, so, I'll be praying really hard that Ruka will be home before then. Well, here are few pictures from this past week...Kyla and Sean came to visit and some of my lovely friends from church threw me a cute baby shower (Thanks Ladies!!!)

Ruka in his open crib sporting the monkey outfit from Baba.

Can you tell his face is filling out?

All bundled up

Meeting Uncle Sean

Being comforted by Auntie Kyla, she's going to be an amazing mom.

baby shower

12 days old

I've been home for a week now and time seems to be flying by. Ruka has been doing so well growing and trying to latch on. They took him off his IV earlier this week and have just been feeding him the breast milk (I've been pumping and taking in everyday) thru a tiny tube that goes in his nose to his stomach. They also started fortifying the breast milk and giving him vitamins to help him put on the pounds. Today, the nurse said she's going to take him out of the incubator (which means he hit the 4lbs mark...yay!) and put him in a crib. She also said that she's going to start bottle feeding Ruka, because he keeps on trying to pull out his feeding tube. I'm trying to be optimistic and hope he'll be able to come home by the end of the month. I can tell he's maturing everyday and can't wait to always have him around. It's been tough having to go to the hospital everyday and then leave. I know he's getting the care he needs at the NICU, but it's still hard to say good-bye everyday.

I've been so blessed and have received so much support from friends and family during these last few weeks. It has really confirmed to me that Heavenly Father is really watching over me and my family. I could never deny the realness of the Holy Ghost and his promptings. I honestly believe that Mason's brother was prompted to come here the night I had Ruka and many of my friends and family members have been prompted to help me. I definitely feel the LOVE! So thank you to all my friends and family, even if it was a phone call or email, it was all the Christ-like love that has really gotten me through these past couple weeks. Thank you and I love you all!

Emi and Brother starring into each others eyes.

Miya Holding Ruka for the 1st time.

Meeting Baba

Meeting Tutu

I love this old man photo of Ruka...Larry David or Larry King? lol!

Last week in a nutshell

Last week was the craziest and most surreal week I've ever experienced. It all started last Saturday, May 7th, at 1 am. I was woken up by an intense contraction and then felt some wetness, at first I thought I peed the bed, so I went to the bathroom to clean up and noticed there was a pink tinge on my bottoms and in the toilet there was "the mucus plug"(sorry in advance, but there will be some gross stuff written here). I was really tired, so I didn't freak out I just changed my bottoms and went back to bed. In bed I had 2 more pretty strong contractions and then a gush of something. I was like, "Oh crap, what's going on?" I went back to the bathroom, but this time there was lots of blood, like a period. Now, I started to freak out. Was I having another miscarriage, was I going into labor? I had no idea what to do. It was 1:30 in the morning, I didn't want to go to the hospital, I just wanted to go back to sleep and pretend everything was fine.

I decided to call my doctor and just see what she had to say. She said that I should definitely go to the hospital to the labor and delivery area. I woke up Mason and told him what was going on, we debated on who to call to watch our girls (thank you Yeates) and then we went to the hospital. Once we got to the hospital, they quickly checked me into triage, hooked me up to some monitors, gave me an IV, did a quick ultrasound, and gave me a shot to stop the contractions that I was consistently having. They couldn't find wrong with me, except that I was bleeding and that my cervix was soft and dilated to a 2. The ultrasound did show that I was measuring small, about 3 weeks behind, but there was no rupture to the placenta or placenta previa. The doctor decided to admit me and put me on continuous monitoring. After about 24 hours, my contractions stopped and everything seemed to be fine, but they still wanted me on bed rest. They decided to move me to the antepartum part of the hospital, where the nurse would only check on me every 3 hours. During this time they gave me 2 steroid shots to help develop the baby's lungs faster, just in case he were to come early. Those steroid shots hurt! It felt like getting a really bad charlie horse or punch in the bum. I hung out in the antepartum room for a couple of days, bored out of my mind. I was like Martin Sheen in Apocalypse now, falling into insanity and going stir crazy.

The nurses checked in on me and would hook me up to the monitors for an hour here and there, just often enough to prevent any good sleep. Everything seemed to be going fine. I thought I was going to be able to go home, but then they told me that they wanted to keep me there until I had the baby, or until I was 37 weeks and then they'd deliver the baby. I was pretty bummed, but I knew it would be best for the baby. On Monday, May 9th, I had another ultrasound to check the blood flow in the umbilical cord and to do some other tests. Everything came back with great results. Later that day the nurse was doing her normal routine monitoring around 7 pm. I started to have contractions here and there, but nothing painful. The nurse told me that she wanted to keep me on the monitors for another hour because there wasn't much variance in the baby's heart rate. I guess the line is usually more wavy than his was. This continued for another hour, so they called the doctor. The Doctor was also concerned, and so they moved me back to the labor and delivery room. The doctor explained to me that during each of my contractions the baby's heart rate would drop. This was a big concern to her, so she had me put back on continuous monitoring. During this time Mason was at the airport picking up his brother Matt, who decided last minute to come and help out. I called Mase and told him that he should come back to the hospital after he drops Matt off at our place. By the time Mason got to the hospital, the doctor notified us that they would have to perform an emergency C-section. I watched the monitors and saw the baby's heart rate dropping every time I had a contraction. I started crying because I never wanted to have a C-section. I was so scared, but I knew that I wanted my baby to be safe.

Mason got dressed up in scrubs, they prepped me and took me into the operating room. It was freezing in the room. The anesthesiologist came and talked to me about everything he was doing. He was very comforting and gave me all the drugs I needed. I thought how crazy it was that I was totally awake and aware of what was going on, but I really couldn't feel anything except some tugging and pulling. Such a weird experience. It all happened so fast and before I knew it, I heard the cutest little cry. Baby Ruka was born. I couldn't help but cry. I was so happy. They came around and showed me Ruka, then took him to clean him. I got to touch my baby for a little bit before they took him to the NICU. Mason was able to follow them and stay with the baby, while they sewed me back up.

After waiting for 3 hours to ensure that I was OK after the surgery, Mason and I were able to go up to together (they wheeled me in my whole bed) into the NICU to see Ruka. He is the most beautiful little boy and super tiny. Fortunately he never needed any breathing assistance and has been doing really well.

Now I am home and it is all a matter of healing and making frequent trips to the hospital to feed and be with our little boy. I can't wait for him to come home.

Ruka Kamana Allred has arrived!

Emergency C-section. 3.3 lbs. 17 in. 11:58 pm May 9. The cutest little guy ever!

XXXII

(Theme of the week: Celestial Thoughts)

I know this week's photos are quite a contrast to the past couple of weeks' photos, but we were at the Temple for a baptism and I thought of the eternal family that Mase and I are building. I'm so grateful to know that this baby is eternally sealed to us and that there is a power and love that binds us beyond this life.

I had my 32 week check up on Friday and it was literally 5 mins long. I did the normal routine, got weighed (136lbs), blood pressure taken, and peed in a cup. Then my Doc came in, measured my uterus (it measured 30cm) and said that I was right on target, as if there was never a concern in the first place. She checked the baby's heart rate, asked if I had any questions, and then said she'll see me in 2 weeks. It was almost annoying how fast she did everything, but then again, I guess there's no concern about the size of my uterus. It's growing, just measuring small.