She's here

McKenna Joy Fitzgerald came into the world Wednesday, May 6th at 10:41 am. She weighed in at 6 lbs, 7 oz and 19 1/4" long. She has lots of hair that is dark, but at least she has hair. She is currently in NICU for some fluctuation in her heart rate. We are praying for her to recover fast enough for her to come home soon.

Now for an update on her. I have called the NICU nurse and McKenna was sleeping (imagine that at 11 at night, duh!!). The nurse said that since i've been home today she has finally decided to drink some formula and her breathing has normalled out. This means that she's able to be swaddled since they're not focused on looking at her chest anymore when she breathes. If she continues to eat 30ml or more and keep it down, she will be off the IV. This means there is a possibility that she will be released this weekend or Monday at the latest.

Prayers would be much appreciated. Thanks... Oh, and stay tuned for more updates and I will also post pictures of her.

Heading to hospital

We are headed to the hospital in an hour. I have been having contractions for the past 2 days, but after being examined, i'm only 1 cm dilated and 20% efaced. That was yesterday (Monday). Today we walked the mall to check on job opportunities for Ian, and ever since after dinner I've been having 1-3 minutes apart and they've been getting more intense as time goes on. The bags are packed, his parents have Hunter's car seat, and we're headed soon to get examined. Stay posted.

We've arrived

We are in CA (got in Saturday night just in time for dinner). It was a nice trip and I'm grateful to Ian's aunt and uncle for helping us into the house at 2:30 Saturday morning. Then getting up 5 hours later to make breakfast, and even taking care of me when Braxton Hicks got out of control. I even got to take a bath in a spa tub which was nice. Thanks Polly.

This week will be filled with getting food stamps switched over and WIC checks set up for CA. Then getting in for a check up at the hospital since a dr won't touch me with a 10 ft pole. Ian also needs to be looking around and hopefully get some interviews for this week. It will be good to have Ian home during the day.

I'll post more later when I have an update on how McKenna is doing. So far still pregnant and I'll be 36 weeks on Tuesday.

Almost here

We are less than 2 weeks away from the move. We have the ABF Pod reserved to get delivered on 29th during the day. We'll load it up that night and then finish last minute items on 30th. We've sold the furniture that needs to get sold on craigslist, and we're just listing some other miscellaneous items that we could live without. We're excited to be back around family but I will miss my family. I know that this is the best decision for our family (Ian, Hunter and I), and I pray we succeed there in CA.

On the pregnancy note, I'll be 34 weeks on Tuesday and my doctor's appt is that morning. I'll get my last round of shots done and will get measured to make sure i'm doing okay. They'll also check the heartrate of McKenna and make sure everything is okay. Then they'll hand me the paperwork for me to carry on the road and they'll also fax it to the dr there in CA (which I don't have one). I work at Sears Monday night and Thursday night then i'll be done until I have the baby and can get back to work.

Moving update again

We will be moving in May instead of July, so now comes the stress. Our landlord called me Tuesday morning while on spring break, and informed us that there were people that wanted to rent OUR apt on May 1st. If we wanted out of our lease early without paying a penalty, this was our only chance. We needed to give him a decision by Friday, so we had 3 days to decide if this was plausible.... After telling Ian and us discussing it while doing laundry that night, we decided to go for it. We called up family and asked for their opinions, and they just wanted to make sure we would be safe and were doing what was best for "our" family. So, on May 1st we'll be driving straight thru to Southern CA with a quick stop in UT to drop off a friend. She'll help with gas and driving, and I just need to make sure I have my paperwork on me from doctor's office just in case... Plus, this will help me to get in to doctor sooner rather than later before I deliver. I'll be 35 1/2 weeks when we move, and I had Hunter at 37 weeks. My doctor wants to make sure there are no complications on the road. This will require me getting up and actually walking around every 4 hours, but that will be about when we fill up with gas too, so I'll use it as an excuse to go to the bathroom and change Hunter.

I pray that our car will make it to UT and CA in safety with no problems in the middle, and that McKenna will be delivered in a safe environment and hopefully with our old doctor and hospital. We'll see. Keep looking for more updates....

Health inspection

The health department came out Monday (not Wednesday) and found that we have high levels of carbon dioxide in the apt. Carbon Monoxide is what will kill you which is why you normally have a detector for it... Carbon dioxide will still kill u, just not as fast... We put a coat on Hunter and opened up all the windows and the levels went down. He suggested to leave the windows cracked 1" for every occupant in the room, and deal with it for now. He didn't even suggest getting it fixed or talking to landlord. High levels of carbon dioxide will cause vomiting, headaches, diarhea, etc. which is what Ian and Hunter found. He said by the time u get to a doctor or hospital, u wouldn't be able to trace it as you would've been outside and it would've left your system. I'm glad this visit was free and our questions have been answered...

I had a brief hospital visit Tuesday morning as I was having cold chills Sunday night and Monday night. Having Friday, Monday and then Tuesday off from babysitting, I finally decided to cave in and figure out what was wrong with me. I found out I have a 2nd UTI (Urinary Tract Infection) and so I'm on medicine to cure that. I will then be on medicine every day until I have the baby to make sure it doesn't come back again...

Update

Ok, so without having internet at home for the past month, it's been harder for me to do an update. So, here I am with internet access and a day to write one...

The past month has been crazy. Ian and Hunter have both been in and out of hospitals or doctors. Ian was getting sick but it wasn't viral, however the doctors couldn't figure out what it was. Hunter was getting sick and not producing the diapers they wanted, but it was happening every once in a while and not consecutive. They chalked it up to viral and we didn't think to push the matter any. After her running a fever of 102.8 for a day, then down to 101.9 for 2 days, we decided to call the health inspector to have them come out and check our apt. They will be coming on Wednesday and we'll see what comes of that.

Ian is finally doing better and after having several tests run for IBS (irritable bowel syndrome), blocked arteries, pancreas, appendix, etc. they came up with nothing. He has had fun experimenting with different foods to see what makes him act up. So far he's found chocolate cake, but yet he's fine eating brownies, white cake, ice cream, etc. Hunter is also doing better for now.

On the pregnancy note, I am 28 weeks along and plan to deliver in the next 8-10 weeks. Lots to do to prep including trading in our single stroller at a consignment for credit towards a tandem stroller. We still need to get a car seat as well (Hunter's rear facing is in CA and will cost more to ship than to keep it there and have us get it when we move), and then we should be set except for diapers. We have plenty of clothes thanks to my sister and sister-in-law. We have a pack n play from Hunter, so we are just needing diapers which we'll start to stock up on as they go on sale. I have a doctors appt in 2 weeks and will let you know how I'm doing. So far McKenna is in good health and I anticipate for that to continue....

Bye for now....