Merritt in Action

Everyone says that Merritt is super strong. My favorite is when the lab technician says it through gritted teeth as Merritt's blood is drawn from his heel.

The Bili level from today's lab work showed that it went down over two points. YYIIPPEE!!

The docs are still keeping an eye on him (cause it is still high). They aren't exactly sure what keeps spiking his levels into the "brain damage" field of concern. (seriously, jaundice can cause brain damage) They say that it might be due to hereditary factors, due to how red when he was born (breaking the red blood cells down may have put strain on his liver), and/or due to breastmilk jaundice.

Me and My Bro

Chills and Thrills

WHAT a week!

It was a pretty hard week. From hospitalization to repeated doctor appointments, we have been through the ringer. It has ended with all of us becoming sick (Merritt only is jaundiced, thank goodness.) Toddler Evy has a cold and the Toddler Grumpies (NONONONONO!). Erik, the Rock that is never sick, is very sick and weathering through this. Sheila was finally able to drive the car today to take Merritt to his lab appointment--she hadn't healed enough before today to handle that. She seems to have caught the lightest version of what Erik and Evy have . . . though she still functions the least best right now.

We are very thankful for the meals that were brought in and shared with us. It has helped immensely. Overall, we are looking forward to busting out the Christmas decorations and settling into some new routines this week.

Hit Me, Bili, One More Time

Well, Merritt's bili level is on the rise again. sigh.

It is as high as it was when he was admitted this past weekend. sigh.

The doctor said it was unlikely that we would need to admit him again.

hope. hope. hope.

We go in on Sunday for another level. sigh.

We continue to wait to get to know the non-jaundice Merritt.

What does jaundice do to a baby? He is a cross between yellow and orange. His eyes are cloudy. It was only today that I caught a hint of blue in them. Jaundice makes the baby extremely lethargic. Feedings take about an hour because I have to work to keep him awake--strip him down, use a wet cloth, etc. You have to wake him up to eat. It is important to make sure that he is eating well because the way in which to decrease the jaundice is through the pooping/peeing.

Merritt's Birth Story

On November 18th, I woke up wondering if my water had broken, in short, I felt like I had a leak. I obsessed about it for about 2 hours before I called and set an appointment to see the doctor. At the doctor's visit, I found that I had dilated to a 3 (had been 1 cm for several weeks). He predicted that I would give birth within the next week considering how quickly I went from a 1 cm to a 3 cm. He explained that with term babies, there would more than likely be a gush when my water broke.

I had an especially hard time walking and moving the rest of the day. Though I followed through on getting everything arranged if the baby were to come soon, I had doubts that I would deliver in the next week. I really thought that I would just be insanely uncomfortable for the next 3 weeks.

That night we went to the mall so that all of us could get out of the house and burn some energy. I was so slow going and mostly just stood and watched Everett and Erik lap the stores.

Throughout the night I had horrible contractions, and being physically tired and just tired of timing the contractions, I just let them come thinking that they weren't doing much. At 5:35 in the morning, the gush happened and woke me up. My water had broken. It Was Time!

I woke up Erik, he called Everett's caretakers, and I calmly walked through the house grabbing the couple of things that we hadn't packed. The hospital is about 30 minutes away. I had contractions that were horrible, but none of them were patterning. I was excited about the time of day that it happened--our caretakers could come over with minimal interruption of their workday and Erik and I could get to the hospital without waiting through rush hour.

When I was gathering my things, I heard Everett calling out my name. WHAT? We weren't loud, but he must have known something was up. He had removed his zippered footsie pajamas and was ready to GET UP! Meg and Aaron took over as soon as they arrived and we were on our way.

On the drive over, the contractions patterned to 3 minutes apart. Yes, THREE. I couldn't believe it. Erik drove as fast as he could muster (yeah, that is pretty fast) with the hazards on warning others that we were going to get around them one way or another.

By 6:30 I was in triage in Labor and Delivery and needed the epidural RIGHT then. No go, gotta get pumped full of fluid first. I tried not to scream at them and overreact thinking if I did that it wouldn't matter since lots of women may overreact in that room, but I felt so much pressure and the contractions were one on top of another. No breaks between. Even when I had Everett, there was a break between contractions while I was pushing.

The nurse checked me, I was 4 cm. I don't think she realized how much pressure I was feeling. After 20 minutes, we were wheeled to the delivery room. As soon as I saw my nurse, I said that I needed to push now. And not like the "I need to push, can I?" But the "I NEED TO PUSH AND CAN'T STOP MY BODY FROM PUSHING!!!"---where was the epidural. She called for it, checked me, looked at me, and said,"you are fully dilated."

Fully dilated . . . that means it is time to push . . . that means no epidural.

There are many things that I would like to experience and many things I don't want to experience. I considered pain management during delivery one of those instances where I could choose what I wanted to experience. I didn't want to experience an epidural-free delivery. I had put up with horrid contractions for a good part of the pregnancy and wanted to be free of paralyzing pain to see my baby born. (I like to watch it happen with a mirror they set up. So amazing.) Once I realized it that wasn't an option anymore, I wanted to get it DONE.

The nurse contacted the doctor on call and happened to walk into her in the hall. She was leisurely walking in to check on me because as far as she knew I was only 4 cm.

She saw my face, realized the situation, asked if I had an epidural with Everett, and wanted to give me the choice. I knew that there would be no waiting. This baby was coming now. All I could do was manage to choke out,"DONE," between clenched teeth.

I don't know how long I pushed. I do remember that I did all I could to push my baby out and just tried to focus on that blocking out the pain---finishing this so that the pain would stop and I could enjoy the rest of the experience. I remember that I had my eyes closed the entire time and they had to say,"Open your eyes, HE is here!"

What a miracle! My baby was here!

8 pounds, 8 ounces

21 and 3/4 inches long

He entered the world at 8:05 am on November 19th.

Merritt was here. I got to hold him for ages after I delivered. I was able to feed him shortly after delivery. I didn't have to give him up until I was ready for Merritt to get his bath. MY Choice. My baby. No NICU. NO giving up my baby. It was great.

Erik didn't fare as well as I did for a portion of the delivery. He broke out in the hot sweats and the doctor ordered him to sit down until he felt better. BTW, those people that say that you heal faster if you didn't have an epidural are LIARS.

Later that day, Everett visited the hospital. He and Erik were on their way to a special dinner and came to meet Merritt first. Everett brought a present for Merritt. Merritt had a present for Everett.

The first thing Everett said when he gangbusted into the hospital room was "BABY!!!" He was so excited to meet baby and see momma. What a precious boy.

Going Home
We stayed a couple of days so that they could watch Merritt's bili levels. Though we ended up going back and admitting Merritt to the hospital the next day, we were excited to go home, get Everett, and start building our new life together.

Oddly, getting out of the hospital turned out to be the most stressful of all the interactions we had with hospital staff. The volunteers got lost. In their own hospital. Wouldn't listen to Erik tell them they were lost. I was pushed around and roughed over construction areas, huge Bumps, countless elevators, and was ready to get out of my circa 1950s wheelchair and walk a mile just to get to the car on my own. We did make it. The two volunteers were sort of two halves make a whole . . . but not, bless their hearts.

Merritt is here. Merritt is at home. We are Thrilled.

Thanksgiving

Erik and I have always felt blessed. Though we do hit rough patches and bumps throughout the year, we are always quick to acknowledge just how much our lives are blessed particularly with blessings from a Heavenly Father and with friendship and love from our family and friends.

It will be no surprise to you that I feel particularly blessed this year. We were blessed with the opportunity to become pregnant, blessed with the resources to fund that opportunity, blessed with the best medical care during the pregnancy, blessed with good and solid jobs, blessed with the most loving toddler, blessed with friends who seem to know our needs before we even do, blessed with family who are unwavering in their support and love, blessed with our Merritt, and blessed to have each other.

The holiday of Thanksgiving was never a particularly fave holiday for me. It was just one more time that I would sit at the little table with the rest of the kids. At the same time, it was always fun to have Dad around for the weekend, and I always enjoyed the roadtrips to visit family. The timing of Merritt's birth has changed how I cherish this holiday. My first holiday with my two boys and husband.

Unto Whom Much Is Given, Much Is Required is a teaching that we live by and expect of ourselves--rather, require. We have been given so much--oftentimes, it is humbling to figure out how we can fulfill the second part of that statement. In any case, we realize that we have been given much and for that we are grateful.

• This morning Evy said, "Wow, Cool!" as he watched his dad flip fried eggs in the air for our bagel sandwiches.
• Merritt hung out with Dada and Evy in the living room in the light of a flickering fire as Momma took care of herself after a rough night.
• Evy tried to take care of Merritt by sharing his breakfast.

Right now, both boys are on Dada's lap--Evy is reading his I'm a Big Brother book to himself, Dada is watching Cars (the movie Evy begged to watch), and Merritt is sleeping.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Home Sweet Home

All the Sjolseths are now back at home. We are enjoying getting to know Merritt. Everett is sick--so we've got some toddler crankies going on . . . but overall we are faring well.

Merritt's bili level is still high and he is still yellow, but his bili level hasn't rebounded to the level it was on Saturday. We'll take that.

We haven't had much chance to take pictures of him since Friday . . . something about having to keep him in the isolette, which every nurse reminded me of upteen times and would basically faint if they saw that I had him out. HE HAS TO EAT!!--I wanted to scream. (Kind of annoying when someone else feels like they can boss you around about your kid.)

Tomorrow will mark our first day without a doctor appointment or some annoying prick on the heel. We are all looking forward to that.

Evy and I are hanging with our ball "step stools" in an effort to get rid of our cankles. I must say that it worked quite well for both of us.

Evy's Thought for Today

Erik is currently getting in some Merritt holding time before he takes Evy up for his nap. Evy is trying to be involved by "giving" Merritt a pacifier and talking to Merritt.

After a few minutes of silently gazing at Merritt, Evy looked up at Erik and said, "Turtle!"

Erik said, "Does Merritt look like a turtle?"

Evy replied, "YES! HAHAHAHAHA!"

My Bili Boys

Right now, Merritt and I are in the hospital. He is sunning himself under two bili lights and laying on a bili blanket. I am slowing watching my ankles turn to cankles since all that pregnancy water retention hasn't left yet.

We knew Merritt was jaundiced when we were discharged from the hospital on Friday. What we didn't expect was how quickly his levels would rise by day 3 (most rise to the numbers he has by day 4 or 5). After a harrowing experience getting a bili level done on Saturday (still don't know if I want to share that--too tired to think about it), Merritt was admitted Saturday afternoon.

Evy also experienced the bili lights while staying in the NICU. I hear that everyone in my family gets at least a bit of jaundice, too.

Merritt fought the isolette all evening, crying hysterically. He is so long, he can reach both sides of the isolette with his hands and he beat the Plexiglas container with his hands and feet--rolling to the "access" side when he figured out where the hands come in and out. Thankfully, today he seems more content to hang in the heat with his sunglasses on . . . for that I am grateful.

"Bebrit"--as Evy calls him, is doing well. We may stay another night. Me, I'm ready to be at home with my boys so that we can all get to know one another. For now, I am thankful that I am able to be with Merritt while he gets a tan. Hhhmmm--My cankles could use a tan, too.

Picture With Mom on the Day Merritt Was Born

Click Here for: Merritt's Awesome Hospital Picture

Wanna Compare all 4 of us?

Merritt

Everett

Dad

Mom

500th Post: All About Merritt

We just wanted to put something brief out there to give an update.

Merritt is a cutie! He eats, pees, and poops more regularly than the rest of us and is a Squeaker and a Grunter, which we love.

We'll post pictures later, but he has a cow lick right on the front of his hair line on his forehead. He also has a cow lick in the back, like Everett. His hair is really dark right now, as well as his eyes. Like all newborns, he can tell you when he is uncomfortable but hates it if you do anything to make him more comfortable, like change his diaper or clothes. His skin is RED!

Everett and Merritt met last night, exchanged presents, and got a good look at one another. Everett, being his affable self, wanted to give Merritt hugs and kisses. He also wanted to hold Merritt, but changed his mind when given the squirming bundle. Everett is excited about the baby.

We are all doing well and appreciate the tokens, phone calls, text messages, and congratulations. Both Merritt and Sheila are doing well and receiving the best care. We are very blessed.

Thanks also to the Everett Caretakers that have watched him through this time! He is just having a party everywhere he goes!

8 lbs 8 oz - 21 3/4 inches

Merritt Walker Sjolseth

Evy's New Room

He loves his new room.

(This is how dark it is at 4:00 in the afternoon.) And isn't that a great valence!

The mattress on the floor is an extra crib mattress that I ended up getting quite by accident. I made it into a reading area using extra material from his silky blankies to cover some extra large pillows. This is one of our favorite places to hang at the end of the day.

The hooks for his towels and jackets were a labor of love, sweat, and swearing completed by his father. Evidently, there was a reason why I was able to get each one for only 25 cents.

Pretty soon Evy is going to have to give up his Suite of Rooms and solely occupy his new room. (yes, we kept the room white in case we need to sell the place. I found some cute vinyl tractors to put on the walls, but that has yet to be accomplished.)

In Case You've Lost Count

Chills and Thrills

Thanks mostly to Erik's moxy and energy, we are doing as well here in the Sjolseth House as can be expected.

• Erik got rid of another round of leaves--Sheila's Fall Curse as she strives to keep our floors clean. We totally caved and bought a new mat--super-duty clean mat. When you come by you'll think you've arrived at the back door of a farmhouse--it is that heavy duty.
• Erik also cut up a bunch of wood that Sheila will be using to make Everett's Christmas present. Hopefully this present will cut down on the amount of "wall driving" done around here.
• Erik did several other things around the house-but Sheila has forgotten what they are and was asleep when he was doing it. But, he gets super credit for working so hard.

• Sheila is hanging in there. Sleep is a thing of the past mostly because there is not one position that she can sleep in for more than 20 minutes . . . sleeping at night doesn't allow her enough sleep--Erik took Everett to church today and Sheila slept all morning in her nap-sleep style. That opportunity was a total blessing because she was crankier than a Momma Bear freshly woken from hibernation before they left and was a bit sweeter when they arrived home.
• Sheila is walking when she can, keeping her feet up when she can, and is trying (sometimes in vain) not to be so emotional or cranky.

• Everett had a great week. His vocabulary development each day sends us to one another saying,"Did you just hear what he said?" We are enjoying watching his language skills unfold.

If Everett is playing with his cars when it is time to transition to nap or nighttime, we talk about how his cars need to go to sleep, too. He takes this very seriously. He walks them up to the top floor, says "night-night," and lays them in a line (upside-down) on his shelf. The upside-down part is very important as this is the position that cars sleep in when they are resting.

November Awareness Month

Prematurity Awareness Month

National Adoption Month

No News

We've gotten several emails and phone calls about where we are in Baby S's arrival. We are thrilled to hear from everyone!

We don't have any news yet.

Sheila is uncomfortable and seems to be getting bigger by the day. She swears that her nose is going to swell past the size of her face.

We are just taking it easy and making her run around the block every hour on the hour. J/K

Aptly Put

I saw this on a pregnancy message board. It was the title of the strand:

"If my gas gets any worse I might actually asphyxiate myself."

Week 37

from The Bump

"The baby is now FULL-TERM!"

This is the first thing that my OB said to me when he walked into the examination room. He then added, "It must be because you have an EXCELLENT doctor!" He cracks me up.

We are all thrilled to be here. It took effort from lots of people, and I feel very blessed.

I am experiencing painful contractions, compliments of my irritable uterus. I haven't moved from 1 cm in two weeks. So, as I am not on the medication now, we'll see how the next week goes.

Today was VERY liberating as now I can walk, pick things up, move around, carry Everett, all without fear that it will result in pre-term labor. I feel so FREE!

As my OB was leaving the examination room this morning, he turns to me and says,"I'm a little sad. You won't be coming much longer, and I always have a good laugh during our visits."

It is true. I am a delight. He is also a very good doctor.

Rainy Day Dancing

It rained all day--so, in the evening we all went to the mall and just let Everett run around from store to store. He loved running with freedom, the retailers loved greeting him, he was given a free balloon--but the fave stores were the ones that had PUMPING music coming out of them. He would run in and DANCE, DANCE, DANCE! He really does have some groovy moves.

Something About That Guy: My Grandpa Albritton

My sister is sharing an article that was published this weekend in his hometown paper, the Waco Tribune. Grandpa is a Veteran of WWII and the Korean War.


You gotta go look at it just to see his picture! Moore Fun Stories

I love you Grandpa!

Happy Veteran's Day!

Here is one of my fave pictures of him with Preston, one of his greatgrandkids. You just gotta know he loves you if he lets you do that to his head. (Surely you can't SLEEP through that?)

Dear Irritable Uterus,

Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop! That is, unless the contractions are actually opening the cervix. Absolutely no more temper tantrums! I need some sleep.

Grateful for all the work you've done!

Lovingly,
The Brain

Chills and Thrills

Though last week was pretty rough contraction-wise, things are starting to settle down. Though I am the one that is pregnant, Erik is the one that is nesting, killing himself to get things ready for when the baby comes. I do what I can, but there isn't much I can do since I am too big to maneuver very well with anything in my hands (my balance is terribly off all the time now.) My attention spans lasts exactly 6.5 seconds. Just enough to start and leave something right in the middle of it being completed. Erik loves that.

Chills

• Last night our basement flooded. We have a suspicion as to why, but we aren't sure yet. I don't think that I ever mentioned that when I went into labor with Everett (when my water broke), we had three water leaks in the house, all from difference sources, that same week.
• One false labor alarm, but we were able to see if we had everything lined up.
• We also realized that Erik needs access to a huge wad of cash if I go into labor while he is at work. Metro isn't quick getting back to Reston and his bus only operates during rush hours. So, we figured the best route for the cab to bring him home (or to the hospital) if he is at work when this starts.

Thrill

• Everett stayed in nursery all by himself on Sunday for the ENTIRE time and didn't cry one tear (even with a girl constantly following him and demanding kisses). We are thrilled! I wanted him to have some success there before the baby came, and it happened. He jabbered happily all the way home about the "bubbles" that they played with at the end of nursery time.

Not much else to mention, it was a busy but quiet week with nothing too terrible or great happening.

Yesterday, Everett talked forever to himself in getting down to sleep for his nap. The last 10 minutes of his talking were basically, "hug, hug, hug, hug, hug, hug"--Erik checked it out and found that Everett was responding to this book that had fallen open on the floor by his crib. (He also will now ask for a hug when he needs one. We love that.)

Our Saturday

Delightful would be the word I would use to describe this past Saturday.

Course, I basically decided much of what we would do--so, I better have enjoyed it. We went to the Original Pancake House--an establishment that we started going to when we were in graduate school while Erik was at the University of Chicago. We hadn't been to one since before I was on bedrest with Everett. The Falls Church location is a bit less, uh, greasy than Hyde Park--but just as delicious.

While waiting for our food, Evy and Dad talked (and drew/colored) our family and talked about how our family will change. (notice Mom's belly). Everett was so sweet listening intently and repeating the things that he understood.

Awhile ago I realized that I am not a fan of leftovers because I don't make my own favorite dishes. So, when it gets to eating it a second time, I just am not motivated. A couple of weeks ago, I started to remedy this and attempted something I like, chicken-n-dumplings . . . mm-mm-good . . . well, my attempt wasn't so good. Erik and Everett lovingly choked it down. The note I left in Erik's lunch a couple of days later said:

Knock, knock!

Who's there?

Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you glad I didn't pack you the chicken-n-dumpling leftovers?

He was.

We had dinner where I could get undeniably great chicken-n-dumplings. The Cracker Barrel. In this picture, Everett is showing off an idea I stole from a sister-in-law. Rowdy toddler ready to go WAY before you have finished eating . . . insert lollipop (or "pop"), it totally works!

And, then, when we were out in the "country" eating my chicken-n-dumplings, we saw the best gas price EVER! (It is around $2.30 in our neighborhood after getting to about $4.30 this summer.)

Erik figured out how to post videos from his phone. I think this means we are ready to go.

Subject

Text

Flashback 2

Test to prep for baby s

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learning to blog from our phone

Flashback test

Floor Fanaticism: Infomercials

Everett is down for a nap. Erik is off relaxing (well-deserved and overdue).

I am trying to sleep, channel hopping with the remote. Until I get to the latest infomercial about some floor cleaning apparatus. I was public about my Shark purchase . . . and have overall been pleased with it.

But, I want something, one thing, that can clean my kitchen/bathroom floor, the carpets (including any stains), the stairs, and do it all without any prep work . . . and I'll throw in a bonus if it can make dinner and sing a cheerful tune. (and if it costs less than $50 then I would probably start selling them house to house)

I pulled myself away from the "germ-free/lightweight/no chemicals needed" product's infomerical, quickly wondered if I should add it to my Christmas wish list, and decided to get off my duff and just look up ratings rather than look in awe at the newly cleaned floor on the TV, wishing it were my own floor upstairs in the dining room. I have a toddler, a cat, and the next month is one of the worst in the year because of all the leaves and mud outside.

Besides the Cadillac-cost vacuum cleaner Dyson, I found Hoover SteamVac Deep Cleaner With Clean Surge had consistently strong ratings. Anyone use one or have thoughts on steam cleaners?

Perfect Day in Virginia

Today has been so beautiful! I've been trying to spend as much time with Everett outside . . . keeping in mind contractions. And, get this, only 3 contractions so far--total for today. It is like a vacation for me.

We were able to spend the morning outside on the field near our townhouse, eat lunch with Dad outside, run around with Dad for a few minutes after lunch, and Everett plans to be outside for dinner, too.