Jr. Has Arrived

Hello Peeps!


The remainder of Day 3 in The Joint turned out to be quite eventful. After receiving a visit from a staff massage therapist, I thought I would need to start calling this place the Country Club instead. Really went bananas after having delicious lamb chops for dinner. I thought, "Maybe 9 more weeks of this won't be too bad." Then all hell broke loose.


I once again endured trauma in the potty when I discovered the umbilical cord making its way out last night. I calmly asked Steve to get the nurse and the madness began. I was ushered back to bed and told upon examination I was 3 cm dilated. There was an intense, slient exchange of fear between Steve and me, but somehow, he was able to convey he was going to be strong for us. A nurse placed what felt like her whole hand up there to keep Jr. off the cord. The room filled up with people. It was utter chaos. Next thing I know, we were on the run.


We arrived in the delivery room and I was quickly prepped for surgery under general anesthesia. Steve couldn't get too close to the action, but kept a steady eye on me and kept telling me he was right there. Neither one of us have ever been so terrified. Then I woke up and was told our son had arrived at 9:08pm. I was pretty out of it, but managed to get a peek at him in the NICU before being transported to my new room. I couldn't see much of him, he was so tiny (a whopping 1lb 13oz). My heart has never felt so full.


We got to the NICU today just as the neonatologist was doing rounds. He said Jr is doing "remarkably well". Also said his lungs were doing great, all things considered. The support needed from the ventilator is minimal. We've got a little fighter on our hands!


At one point, he clutched my finger and his Daddy's at the same time. He also likes to do the "we're #1!!" thing a lot too, as you can see in the attached photo :) He is simply precious and we are smitten beyond words with our beautiful son. What a wild and wooly ride!
There are no words to accurately express how thankful we are for the tremendous outpouring of love and support. We are truly humbled. Also, I apologize for not being able to respond to every individual email and voicemail. I look forward to catching up with all of you once we are settled in. We've got quite a path ahead of us, but we are going to relish every moment with our sweet boy :)

With so much love,
Team Martz
P.S.- still negotiating on the name :-P

Day 3 in the Joint

First, I will fill you in on the rest of Day 2. I received the 2nd steroid shot for Jr's lungs yesterday afternoon. I've never been so happy to be stabbed in the butt. I hope it does its thing.

I'm sleeping a little better and not having crazy dreams. The other nite I dreamed one of my incisor teeth somehow got knocked out and Sandra Lee from the Food Network was my dentist!!! I was to receive a dental implant. She was refusing to bill my insurance and I went ballistic. Good times.
I also had my very first bed pan experience. Thrilling!! There's something unnerving about feeling the pee rise to butt level. I was sure I was gonna overflow it. Thankfully, I was spared that embarassment. Though the baby making process doesn't exactly leave room for modesty, so why start now?? Just making the list of folks that have seen or been up in my junk that much longer. Community cootchie for sure. Anyhoo, the whole thing was/is a bit demoralizing, but gotta do whatcha gotta do.

Steve went home for a shower and change yesterday. He returned with a batch of freshly cooked bacon. HUSBAND OF THE YEAR!!!!!! Prior to his arrival, I had pizza for lunch. It wasn't bad! With the exception of the gross turkey samich, the food has been pretty decent. Way to go Stanford! Dinner was some sort of marinaded beef with potatoes and those cube cut carrots your parents probably fed you as a kid. Meat good. Potatoes good. Carrots bleh. The lemon pudding for dessert tasted like hair conditioner. Ack! The food arrived after I'd gotten comfy on my side, so Steve fed it to me. Feeding AND bathing me! He's going to be an expert by the time Jr. arrives!

The neonatologist came by to discuss milestones and potential complications that come with an early arrival. Scary, but stuff we needed to hear so we can make decisions now instead of in the heat of the moment. So much to take in.

I was moved to ante partum yesterday evening and I will be in this room for the duration. I got to visit a friend who has been in the joint for 6 weeks. She's doing great and will welcome her prince this Friday. Her story is so inspiring to me.

I miss my L & D nurses, Shirley and Christina. The nurses here are great, but CNAs who are less skilled do all the fun stuff like BED PANS. It's already difficult, let alone when they have you sitting on it backwards and other fun stuff.  I remember grumbling about having to get up to pee so much. I'd give anything to be able to roll out of bed to pee on my own now.

So, on to Day 3. Jr. Continues to do beautifully. He's a hard-headed fighter like his Mama. His heart rate is strong and steady. I'm not having contractions, which is great. All things considered, we're doing great.

I had another huge breakfast. All the same goodies as yesterday. I ate just about everything. Jr weighed in at 1lb 9oz yesterday, which is spot on for this time, but I'm hoping these calories will make their way to him. This may only succeed in making my a** fat, but it's a chance I'm willing to take.
Steve went home to shower and returned with a cupcake from Sprinkles. Did I mention he's HUSBAND OF THE YEAR??!! Shortly thereafter, lunch arrived. Some kind of chicken curry in a pita that was quite tasty! Then they brought a snack!! Half an egg salad sandwich, a chocolate covered strawberry and a banana.

Here's the biggest news of the day. Since Jr is doing so well, I was allowed to get up to pee!! Woooo hooooo! Have a bit of PTSD regarding the toilet since that's where I was parked when all this madness began, but it was nice to skip the bed pan. It's the little things. Also, doc wants me to walk around a bit to ensure I don't get clots in my legs.

This morning Steve and I were discussing how grateful we are to have stellar insurance. Blue Shield should hate me. I can't imagine going through all this worrying about the fat bill coming at the end. We are so blessed.

I was enjoying the heck out of my pregnancy, but lately dreamed a lot about seeing Jr's face and imagining what he would look like. Guess he took my dreams to heart and tried to show me his beautiful little face too soon. He's been put on a 12 week time out.

I miss my kitties so much. I also miss Tivo. A LOT.

Here's to continued good reports on our little dude! Thanks again so much for keeping us in your prayers.

Day 2 in the Joint

My request for bacon with breffus was honored, so we're off to a good start. I also had eggs, a half bagel with cream cheese, half a scone, o.j. and 2 servings of milk. Trying to fatten up Jr!

Today's ultrasound shows Jr is right on target, but of course, he's still tiny, which brought me to tears. All his parts look properly developed and his heartbeat is still strong. Sounds like madly galloping horses. He is also in a better position today, which will help eliminate the possibility of the cord dangling down into my cervix. This could change at any moment though. I told him to stay put. We'll see if he's listening to Mom yet.

Steve is doing that thing he does, which is being outstanding during a crisis. He's displaying some seriously stellar husband skills and taking excellent care of me. Even gave me some kinda bath this morning. Good practice for wiping Jr's butt :) I couldn't ask for a better man to be by my side.
Because of my history of pulmonary embolus, I'm rockin' some super sexy compression hose. They're obscuring my freshly painted, beautiful toes. My hair? Not so beautiful. I did request Steve bring my night and eye cream. Its definitely not helping though. Fortunately, Steve seems to think I'm a beautiful, disheveled mess :)

My catheter was removed this afternoon. Woo hoo! Let the bed pan fun begin!

Our nurse rocks. She took Steve to see the NICU wall with lots of healthy kids that were born way early. Gives us hope our little guy will make it too. Btw, he's kicking me still and its much more pronounced without the cushion of all that fluid. Kick away, son!

Thank God (or Apple and Costco) for these fancy phones that keep us connected to all of you. We are so grateful for the outpouring of love and concern. Makes us feel a little less isolated. We love ya'll. I will post an update when there's more to tell, but no news is good news.

What Just Happened??

My water broke yesterday at 24w 4d. I was at work on the potty. Delightful. The medics got to me quickly (I work in the emergency dispatch center at SFO there are 3 firehouses on airport property). I was transported to a hospital 5 mins away. Steve got down from work in Marin so quickly, I thought he was choppered in. After some tests (I received the first of 2 steroid shots to mature Jr's lungs) and monitoring, I was transported to Packard Children's Hospital where they have a level 3 NICU. I arrived around 730.

Jr. is still going strong in there, though as Steve said, he's probably wondering why someone drained the pool! Greatest concern is risk of infection and major contractions. I've been pumped with antibiotics from the start. Also got a drug to stop the very mild contractions. It made me short of breath, heart raced and I shivered like I was in an igloo, but it passed.

I finally got something to eat at 1030. What did they give me? A turkey sandwich. A TURKEY SANDWICH!!! Per orders, I've been avoiding lunch meat like the plague. Oh well. I ate the hell out of it. Also sucked down 2 servings of cranberry juice like it was my favorite scotch (Lagavulin 16 in case you were wondering :)

We are, of course, fucking scared.  Excuse my French. And apologies to France for calling that French. We pray Jr. stays put for a good long while and has minimal complications when he does show himself. Between fearful bouts of crying and cursing the universe, we are trying to maintain our humor and determination. Its the moxy that kicked the asses of city government, a labor union, the IRS a couple of REs and various others. Surely, we can muster a little more to fight for our son.

I actually got a tiny bit of sleep while listening to the soothing sounds of Jrs heartbeat steady and strong on the monitor. Steve went home to get some of my things.

Thanking you for all your kind posts and individual emails seems so inadequate, but Team Martz does indeed thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Even the tiniest little heart. It means the world to us. Whether you pray to God, Allah, Mohammed, bacon or anyone/thing else, we'll take all the prayers we can get.

I will post an update tomorrow. Nite nite.