One month down...

Tyler has now been home for almost a month (and the cliche is correct... time flies!). We are all still doing well (college is great prep for sleep deprivation). Tyler is now almost 6 and a half pounds and quickly outgrowing all of his preemie clothes. The nursery is almost finished (still have some hanging to do).

Tyler has been growing, learning and playing. His favorite thing is to stare at the ceiling lights and sun coming in through windows. He also plays with his hands (just like his mom did)... we call it "hand dancing". He loves his swings (we have two ~ one on the main floor and one in the office upstairs). His favorite thing to do is sleep on either Mom or Dad (though anyone will suffice). We've gotten really good at doing other things while being slept on.

Caspian and Ripley still stand guard and watch over him.

They don't even trust us to watch him...

Our NICU adventure...

Our journey started with Tyler's birth and ended 17 days later when he was finally released.

Tyler was basically fine at birth, even though he was a little young. He was breathing on his own and had good APGAR scores. He did spend about 6 minutes in an oxygen tent but that's it. He also had an IV put in to keep him hydrated and supplement his feeding (since his stomach was little). After about 2 days he decided he didn't want to have an IV so he pulled it out. The nurses had trouble starting a new IV (but finally got one in his head). That IV lasted only a few hours before he pulled it out too. They decided not to try to start a new one (since he obviously wouldn't leave it alone). They began upping the amount he got at each feeding a little quicker to make sure he was getting enough nutrients. He made it all the way to 27 ml (about an ounce) before he started to use more energy than he was getting. So they put in a feeding tube (he still got as much as he could suck and then we would top him off with the tube. After a few days he no longer needed this either.

The majority of my time (after I was finally released) was spent getting the house ready for our little man (since I though I still had 2 months not much was ready) and having Jess drive me to the hospital (since I wasn't allowed to drive).

The nurses that we worked with, and who cared for Tyler, were wonderful. They were friendly and taught us all sorts of things (like how to swaddle a squirmy little boy). They also made sure that we understood everything that was going on with Tyler. They made sure we understood so that we could be comfortable with the wires, tubes and whatever else, and could focus on Tyler and not on the medical stuff. They were supportive and caring.

On January first we were sent home with our little man in tow. What a wonderful, terrifying day!

In the beginning...

This is the story of my little man (the things I remember, cherish, and hope to never forget)...

I'll start slightly before the beginning...

I was married to my best friend and all was good with our life, but we decided something was missing. I would see children and declare that "I want[ed] one". After much consideration and discussion (including how to time it with me still in school) we decided to start trying for a little one (appropriately enough on Valentine's Day). We tried for several months until one fateful day in May it worked.

I had been at my internship since January so it only took me about a week to realize something was different. I was in class everyday and noticed that for about 2 hours everyday (from 10am to noon) I was overly warm and kind of ill. I thought maybe it was because the sun was heating the room (since there was no air conditioning) and that the heat was making me sick. Until I realized I was the only one who was warm. That Saturday I took a home test and got a faint positive. I went running into our bedroom (where Jess was sleeping) and excitedly informed him of my news. He was sleepy but happy. I then showered, dressed, ate some food and left for work. I was interpreting for high school graduation in Fort Collins. It was impossibly hard to keep my mouth shut as my partner was one of the interpreters I'd been working with since January and considered a "friend from work" (you know those people that you only see at work but enjoy their company and share the goings on in your life ~ more than co-worker but not someone you see socially outside of work).

I then proceeded to take many many more tests over the course of the following week (until I could see a doctor). I walked into the office and tried to wait patiently, I'd brought a book but it was useless to try to read it. They finally called my name and I practically sprinted up to the nurse. I can only imagine what she must have thought. I explained why I was there and she handed me a cup. I gave her my sample and waited some more. She came back into the room after what felt like hours (it was probably closer to 10 minutes). She asked if I had been trying to get pregnant and when I replied that I had been she broke into a huge grin and said, "Well then congratulations!". She apparently doesn't get many women who want the test to be positive so she was very happy to be able to give good news. I was walking on clouds as I left the office. I promptly texted a select group of people because I couldn't wait 12 weeks. I did not, however, call my mother, I had other plans for her (insert evil laugh here). I did call Jess though. He was thrilled.

We then invited my parents over for lunch, using my mom's birthday as a reason. They arrived that Saturday (June 1st, her actual birthday). We had planted a few subtle clues around the house. We had a vase of baby's breath flowers set out. We had baby carrots for snacks. Lunch was baby back ribs and a cake that I had written "Happy Birthday NeeNee" on (NeeNee is her grandmother name). All of these clues went un-noticed. We then gave her her present. She got a couple of necklaces (I had bought before I knew about our little bundle). Beneath those were some baby bibs I had bought that said "I [heart] Grandma". She still didn't put the clues together. I then handed her card to her, which she opened and pulled out the paper that was inside (without looking at it) so she could finish reading. When she got to the signature she finally made the connection (we had signed it "love, Laura, Jess and baby Odum). She was excited to say the least (to view her reaction follow the link... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xRg3VaaNcC0 ).

My pregnancy proceeded without incident until December 8, 2008. I went to my OB for a routine check up. My parents decided to come too since they wanted to hear Tyler's heartbeat. We arrived and the nurse did the usual things, checked my urine for various things, weighed me and took my blood pressure. After a slightly longer than normal wait my OB came in and said that I had some protein in my urine and he wanted to re-weigh and re-check my blood pressure. I had put on quite a few pounds since my last visit (I tried to blame Thanksgiving) and my ankles and hands were significantly swollen. He then started telling us about pre-eclampsia (otherwise known at toxemia and pregnancy induced hypertension or PIH). He warned of how serious it could be, eclampsia is a seizure disorder, PRE-eclampsia means you haven't had a seizure yet, and that the only cure was delivery. He then re-checked my blood pressure (and surprise it was even higher!). He promptly sent me to the hospital, to Labor and Delivery (L&D) for more tests and a warning that I may be having a baby in the next 24 hours.

We arrived in L&D and I was immediately hooked up to a fetal monitor (little Tyler was doing great!), a blood pressure cuff (that went off every 15 minutes) and a uterine monitor (to check for contractions). I also had blood taken and was supposed to pee in a special thing (called a hat, though I wouldn't want to wear it on my head) so they could do more extensive tests. I was diagnosed with mild pre-eclampsia and given a steroid shot (to help mature Tyler's lungs should he need to be delivered early). They decided to keep me in the hospital pending further tests. The following day I was given a second round of steroid shots. I was admitted on a Monday, I was released at 5pm the following Wednesday. I was sent home on strict bed rest (I was only allowed to get up to pee ~ I was to be off my feet 23/24 hours). It's not as much fun as you think. My mom came up the following day (with her blood pressure machine since I was supposed to check it 3 times a day).

By late afternoon on Thursday we were getting increasingly high results so back we went to L&D. They decided to re-admit me for a 24 hour observation. They hooked me back up to the blood checking machine (though the numbers were much lower than they had been at home). We figure the cuff at home was too small so it gave false high readings. They did another urine collection (let me tell you how fun it is to have to let the nurse know every time you pee). The level of protein was increasing but wasn't at a dangerous level, yet. My blood work showed no increase in any of the markers (liver function, red cell count and some other stuff) so I was released on Friday (still on bed rest). Saturday passed fairly uneventfully. We had now switched blood pressure cuffs (Jess's parents had one ~ which we calibrated with the hospital's machine so we knew how close to accurate ours was now). I got ready for bed and had a headache (one of the things I was to look out for was a severe headache as it indicates swelling in the brain and I was to call the on-call OB if that happened). This headache was more of a "overuse" type, very similar to the ones I get if I read a lot without my glasses or stare at a computer screen for long periods of time. I popped a couple of tylenol and tried to fall asleep. I woke up at about midnight and the headache was much worse, more like an ear infection or swimmer's ear type. We paged the on-call OB (my OB's sister was on that night). I explained what was going on and she advised me to take a couple more tylenol and try to sleep (but if something changed to call again). I did and fell asleep for about an hour. But by 2:30 am my headache had gotten MUCH worse and now felt like someone had left their hatchet in my skull. We paged again and she told us to come back to L&D.

I walked in at 3:30 am. I was again hooked up to the evil blood pressure machine, and had more blood taken. This time the results showed that my liver was starting to be involved. My blood pressure was still elevated (hovering around 158/98). They immediately hooked up an IV and gave me Magnesium Sulfate (an anti-seizure medication) and told me I would be having a C-section at 7:30 that morning. I was very groggy (mostly from the meds and lack of sleep).

The c-section went off without a hitch and at 8:11 am Tyler was born. He was 4 lbs 4 oz and was 17 inches long. His 1 minute APGAR test was 7/10 and his 5 minute was 9/10 (which is good). He was taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU ~ now called the Special Care Unit or SCU). He was given 6 minutes of oxygen (via a tent) otherwise he was just fine. Thus starting our journey through the NICU and life with a preemie.