Memorial Day, Baby Shower & North Carolina

We have had a busy summer so far, and not much time to blog about it, so I'm catching up now. Cameron's dad came to visit for Memorial Day weekend, along with Cameron's brother Justin and his wife Brooke. We had a fun weekend. We went up to the Blue Eidge Parkway and caught crawfish, went out for ice-cream, and hung out at home.

Sleeping with Grandpa

Crawfish

Ammon with Uncle Justin and Aunt Brooke

Ammon and Grandpa

Since Ammon was born early, I didn't get to have a baby shower while I was pregnant, so my friend Holly threw me a baby shower after Ammon came home, and it was so nice to have Ammon there so that all my friends could see him and hold him.

My friends Becca, Emily, Becky, and Christy





Holly and Ammon

Whitni and Dawn

The diaper game. Holly put different types of baby food in diapers and we had to guess what they were by smelling them. We got pretty into it :)

Ammon and his girlfriend, Blythe, my friend Mackenzie's baby.

I got to spend a week with my mom, step-dad, and my brother in North Carolina. It was so nice to be there with my mom so she could spend time with Ammon, and so I could relax.

Mommy and Ammon







Ammon and Uncle Alex

Ammon and Great-Grandpa Cooper






Ammon and Great-Grandma Cooper

Ammon and Uncle Jack





Ammon and Aunt Sydney





Grammy and Ammon

Grampy and Ammon

It has certainly been a busy, but fun summer. The highlight of our summer is our trip to Maine that we took in July. That's a whole other post, coming soon!

Four Months Old!

So, here are some more recent pictures of Ammon. I can't believe he is four months old today! Time is going way, way too fast. Even though I want him to stay little forever, I'm loving seeing him progress and do new things. Lately, he's gotten really good at interacting with us. He's starting to make noises and smile and there's a little laugh here and there. I love that there are things we do that make him laugh. His favorite game is Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes, he loves it, and it makes him smile every time. He loves being outside, he loves being in his swing, and he is so fun. Life is definitely not boring with him. We love him and we're so happy to have him in our family.

Snoozing with Daddy.

Playing with Grammy :)

Playing video games with Daddy.

Smile!

Holding his bottle!

Love my little man so much!

Pictures!

Here are some pictures of Ammon. They're not that recent, mostly from the end of May-June, but I really needed to post something new. I still have TONS more to post and TONS to write about, so for now, enjoy!

P.S.- Don't ask why there's so much space in between pictures, I have no idea how that happened.

I can't believe my little boy is going to be four months old tomorrow! Where is the time going? Make it stop!

He's Home!!!

Ammon is finally home! YAY!! We are so happy to have him home. He came home on May 20th, which was my due date! We spent the night before that in the hospital to get a feel for what it would be like to have him at home, and it was also really comforting to know that so many nurse and doctors were there if we needed them. He slept the whole way home, and he has been such a good baby.

Ammon has been doing amazing since he's been home. He eats a little more than 2 oz every 3 hours, which means Mom and Dad don't get a lot of sleep...but it's SO worth it! He hates having his diaper changed, and we've had more than our share of projectiles, but we know that there's always more. I took him to the pediatrician on Monday, and she said he was doing great, he weighed 5 lbs 12 oz now!

He is such a sweet baby, he's so cute and we can't get enough of him. It is such a relief to have him home, and without any special equipment or monitors. We are so blessed to have this little miracle join our family, we love him so much, and we are so proud of how far he's come!



So, I can't find my camera, so these are all I have right now, but I'll post more as soon as I find the camera. Enjoy!

Coming Soon!

I know it's been forever since I posted, and I definitely have a lot to post, so look forward to one soon!

Ammon Michael Thomas

So, this post is LONG overdue, but I wanted to post the whole story of Ammon's birth. Updated post coming as we speak...

Our little boy!

Our little boy is here! And he came early! I guess he was ready to be born, he just couldn't stay in Mommy's tummy anymore!

So, here is the story...

It was a Sunday and Cameron and I were at home unpacking a few things because we had just moved to a new apartment. When I stood up, I started bleeding pretty heavily. I thought I had gone into early labor...and way to early, since I was only 31 weeks. We drove to the hospital and waited for my OB. When he got there after what seemed like forever, he did an exam and told me that my water had broken and that I would need an emergency C section. I was terrified. Since the hospital where we live is so small and it isn't equipped to deliver and take care of premature babies, I had to be transported to Roanoke Memorial, which is an hour away from us. When I got there, they brought me to a room and the doctor did another exam and told me that my water was not broken. Needless to say, I was relieved, but I was still worried about the bleeding. They kept me overnight so they could monitor me and the baby. THANKFULLY my mom drove up from NC because Cameron had class the next day, so he couldn't stay, and I did NOT want to be there alone.

The next day went well for the most part...except that I had more bleeding. They did an ultrasound and everything looked normal, my fluid level was good, the baby was moving and his heartbeat was good. The doctor did another exam and I wasn't dilated and I wasn't having contractions. He told me that my placenta may have abrupted and that there was the possibility of a C section, but that it wouldn't happen that day because the baby seemed to be doing well and I was doing well other than the bleeding. I think at this point, I was mildly preeclamptic because there was protein in my urine, but I didn't have any of the other symptoms. So, it became a waiting game, and I sat in the hospital for almost a week. On Friday, the doctor told me that since the baby's heartrate seemed ok, except for a dip at least once every hour, (ended up being a problem with the cord, it was only a 2 vessel cord) which I guess is normal for a baby at 32 weeks, that I would probably be able to go home if I did well over the weekend. I was so excited, I wanted to be home so badly, but I was scared at the same time because we live so far away from the hospital.

Saturday afternoon, the OB that was there on the weekends came in and told me that she was very concerned that I had such a high level of protein, and the fact that my blood pressure was slowly rising. She told me that if I wasn't at least mildly preeclamptic (which I'm pretty sure I was) then I would be later. She sent me down to radiology for an ultrasound and...it was not good. The tech said he wasn't responsive and he wasn't moving at all, and he had a biophysical profile of 0/8. My fluid level was also below a 5, which for anyone who's never been pregnant, that is dangerously low. After the ultrasound, I went back to my room and as they were hooking me back up to the monitor, the resident came in and said "don't freak out", which is SO NOT what anyone wants to hear when they're in the hospital, and then he told me I needed a C section because the baby was not doing well. Well, I freaked out. As they were prepping me, I was desperately trying to call Cameron, who didn't answer (go figure) because he was in the middle of a sale at work. The doctor who was going to perform the C section told me that he couldn't wait for Cameron to get there, and that I needed to go right then. As you can imagine, I started bawling. I was terrified of surgery, but even more terrified of having to go ALONE. And on top of that, I had to be completely knocked out because they didn't have time to give me an epidural. Luckily, I had an amazing nurse that day who stayed with me the whole time, and the team of doctors who were in the OR were all so great. The last thing I remember before going to sleep was the nurse asking me who I was and what was going on and then I was out.

When I woke up in recovery, Cameron was there and apparently, I had been asking the same questions over and over again. The anesthesiologist told me that everything was fine, the surgery went perfectly without any problems or complications and that the baby was fine. Ammon Michael Thomas was born Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 2:03 PM, weighing 2 lbs 8 oz and was 16 and 3/4 in long. He is such an amazing little boy, we are so blessed to have him in our family, he is truly a miracle.

29 weeks!

I can't believe I'm 29 weeks today! It seem like it was yesterday that I found out I was pregnant! It's so crazy to think that in 11 short weeks our little guy will be here! I can't wait!