We Have a Son!

Grandma Glupker with her first grandchild!
Ready to go home!
So alert!
I'm sure you all expected more posts from me since I was put on bedrest. But things got a little busy for me earlier this week.

I went in for my doctor's appointment on Monday to find the results of my lab work and to get an ultrasound done. The ultrasound came back fine, the baby was safe and doing well. My lab work was not fine. My blood pressure was dangerously high (my doctor was concerned about a possible seizure) and I had 9 grams of protein in my urine when only 5 grams is not safe. In addition, my swelling was getting significantly worse. I definatley had preclampsia and my doctor told me to leave his office and go straight to the hospital. Ben started smiling from ear to ear and was giddy with excitement at the thought of having a baby that day. I on the other hand was crying because this was not "the plan." I even told the doctor, "But my hospital tour isn't until Thursday." He replied, "Well, now you can go on Thurday and be the one to give the tour."

I ran home, packed a bag, grabbed a bite to eat (against the doctor's orders) and went to the hospital.

I was admitted shortly before noon on Monday morning and because of my condition had to be hooked up to every monitor you could think of. I had tubes coming out of every hole except my ears! I kept thinking, "But I wanted to labor at home, I wanted this to be as natural as possible. This isn't what I had imagined." I had to have an internal fetal monitor (something I did not want) because the baby's heart rate was so low and needed to be carefully watched. I had to have a catheter because of all the IV's I was hooked up too. I had to have an internal tube pumping fluid to the baby because the doctor was afraid the cord was being pinched since his heartrate was so low. I had to have magnesium sulfate pumped in continuously in an attempt to bring down my blood pressure (which didn't really work), but it also slows down contractions so we had to keep increasing the pitosin to make up for the magnesium sulfate. Then I had to wear a heart monitor and keep an oxygen mask on my face. I looked and felt like a mess! To make matters more uncomfortable, I had to lay on my left side the entire time to try and bring down my blood pressure. I thought I was going to get bed sores. To top it off, I couldn't eat or drink anything. These conditions certainly didn't make labor comfortable. I dialated to a 5 fairly quickly, but got stuck between a 5 and 6 for about 5 hours. The contractions were strong and hard, I just wouldn't dialate. The nurse kept asking me if I wanted pain medication. I kept telling her no (and besides, I wasn't in the mood to talk or answer questions, I just wanted to be left alone). At 11:35 p.m. the nurse checked me and I was barely dialated to a six and the baby's heartrate was dropping very low with each contraction. There was no turning back, the baby had to be delivered. She told me she was going to go talk to the doctor and see if we were going to do a c-section. I was in too much pain to talk, but I prayed I wouldn't have to have a c-section. She left Ben and I alone in the room and I told Ben I needed to push. He said, "You can't. You're only dialated to a 6." I told him it didn't matter, I had to push and he needed to go get somebody. He turned to leave and I said, "Don't leave. I can't be alone." So he stayed and I started pushing. The doctor saw on the monitor what was going on and came running into the room to see what was up. In a matter of about 2 minutes I had gone from a 6 to a 10 and was ready to go! Amen!!!! I started to push and the baby started crowning. Ben stood next to the doctor practicially jumping up and down with excitement. Between pushes I asked the doctor, "Does this mean I don't have to have a c-section?" He smiled, and said, "No, you won't have to have a c-section." Ben kept yelling, "Come on Keller! The head is almost out!" I said, "Ben, I can be pushing for a couple hours. This doesn't mean the head is almost out." My doctor replied, "It's not going to be a couple of hours, it's going to be more like a couple of pushes" to which I responded, "Thank you, God!"

So . . . at 11:35 p.m. I was dialated to a 6 and at 11:54 p.m. a baby boy was born! When he came out I actually told the doctor to be careful and not drop him!

We named him John Owen Glupker which has a lot of meaning behind it. We picked this name back in February. John is after Ben's Dad. John Owen of course was a great Christian theologian who Ben admires. And the name Owen we just like. We are referring to him as Owen - yes - we are going to be like those other odd people who call their child by his middle name. We almost changed his name because it has become so popular in the last several months. When we picked it out we didn't know a single person who had used the name. Now, we know 4 other families who have used the name too. But after he was born we decided we didn't care. It's the name we picked and love and we stuck with it.

He weighed 5 pounds 8 ounces and was 18.5 inches long. He has quite a bit of dark hair and so far has dark blue eyes, but I think they are going to turn brown like his Daddy's. He's a sweetheart and we love him SO much!!!! God has been so good to us! He was born without any trouble even though he was 3.5 weeks early. He's breathing fine, eating well, filling his diapers a lot and seems very content.

Please pray for me as I am still struggling with swelling, high blood pressure, and blurred vision due to the preclampsia. I am still on bedrest for at least 2-3 more weeks. If my vision isn't better by Wednesday I have to see a specialist to check out my eyes. We don't have eye insurance so this is a matter of prayer for us. It is rare, but it's possible that preclampsia can cause permanent eye damage. We know God is in control and He is good - all the time!

The Perfect Pregnancy . . . Until Now

I have been terrible about updating my blog, but as I surf the internet I realize that many of you haven't been blogging much either. I now have a lot of time on my hands and I suspect you'll be finding lots of posts from me over the next few weeks. Here's why:
Yesterday I went to the doctor's office for my regular appointment. As many of you know, I have had a terrible problem with swelling from the knees down for the last 3-4 weeks or so. My doctor and I have discussed this and he felt that it was mostly due to the fact that the heat in Kentucky this summer has been horrible and I am adjusting to it for the first time as well as adjusting to being pregnant for the first time. So, we thought nothing of it. Over the last week, however, the skin on my feet and legs has become really tight. It hurts to squat or do anything physically that would cause this skin to pull. Bending down, lifting my legs, and other small movements really hurt the skin because my legs are so swollen. If you were to push your finger on my leg or foot, it will leave a huge indent. It's bad. I don't have any stretch marks (yet) but I was beginning to wonder if it was possible to get stretch marks on your feet!
Two weeks ago my doctor noticed that I had gained six pounds since my previous appointment. He said with certainty that it was all due to the swelling. Yesterday, he said I had gained 9 pounds between appointments and again, he felt that it was all due to the swelling. My arms are their normal size, my belly is not huge, my face isn't even really puffy, it's just from the knees down. My blood pressure was checked and it wasn't good. My blood pressure has been great until yesterday's appointment. Then came the urine sample which also came back not good. It was filled with protein. Most of you probably know where this is headed. That's right - I am on the road to preeclampsia. At this point my doctor has not officially diagnosed me, but he said with confidence that that is the road I am traveling down. He said that women with my blood pressure, protein loss, and swelling end up with preeclampsia - he's just catching it before it's already there.
SO . . . I am now on bed rest. Yesterday was my last day of work and I have been ordered to keep my feet up. I will spare you all the details regarding what tests and labs we are doing over the next couple of days, but on Monday I should be getting the results of those tests back. I also have an ultrasound scheduled for Monday morning to make sure Baby Glupker is doing okay. I am still feeling a lot of movement which is a good sign.
Unfortunately, my hopes and dreams of an all natural pregnancy may not be a reality at this point. My doctor already told me that he won't let me go full term because it's too dangerous for the baby. He will be seeing me at least twice a week to check my blood pressure and protein levels and from there decide when to induce. I also may have to have a c-section because it is possible that a vaginal birth would be too much stress and pressure on someone with high blood pressure. A c-section isn't a guarantee, so please pray that I can deliver vaginally!
In the meantime, you can all start updating your blogs so that I have something to read while I lay around at home!

Whew, It was just a dream!

Have you ever had a dream that seemed so real that you woke up having to convince yourself that it really wasn’t? I had a dream like that two nights ago – and it was terrible!

I dreamt that I was at a Tiger’s baseball game. I don’t know who the Tigers were playing, but the score was 0-0 and it was the last inning. Jim Leyland saw me and decided that he wanted me to play in left field. I tried to tell him that was a bad idea, but he insisted they needed me! Not wanting to disappoint, I ran out into left field. The pitcher got ready to throw the ball and I tried to yell to the infield that I wasn’t ready – I couldn’t get my glove on. Nobody could hear me over the roar of the crowd. At once the batter hit the ball right in my direction. It was a fly ball and I wasn’t ready. I was using my right hand to hold the glove onto my left. It was a really high ball and even though I have had laser eye surgery, I couldn’t figure out if I should be running forward to catch it, running backward, or stay in position. The crowd was cheering like crazy as the ball dropped right next to me. All of the sudden the screaming turned to booing. Apparently it was an easy ball to catch – at least from the fan’s perspective. I felt like an idiot as I bent over to pick up the ball. Brandon Inge was my cut off and I yelled to him that I couldn’t throw that far and he needed to come closer. He insisted I just throw the ball. I did. It wasn’t even close. My release point was terrible and I didn’t even throw the ball straight – it steered way to the left. Now the crowd was really booing! What should have been an easy out turned into a homerun for the other team. The Tigers lost 1 to 0 and it was all my fault!
I woke up from this dream with a horrible feeling in my stomach. What a relief it was when I realized it was only a dream – or a nightmare!

Beyond the days of "cute"

It's in the mid 90 degree range here in Kentucky and the humidity is high. I don't know if that is why my body decided to swell up in the last week or if it's just because I'm pregnant. All I can say is, "wow!" My arms and legs aren't bad, but my feet have grown an entire shoe size. I now know what it's like to have "rolls" - but mine are in odd places. I have a role by my ankles and toes. I look ridiculous and Ben thinks it's funny. I can no longer wear my wedding ring and my face, which is where I gain weight anyway, is quite puffy. It may be a while before you see a picture of me again.
The last week has been especially crazy for us. We work all day and spend several hours each night moving into our new home. We plan to be done moving by Saturday. I hope that once things slow down a bit and I have a chance to put my feet up, the swelling will go down. I'm sure it doesn't help matters that I am sitting at my desk all day at work with my feet down and then I'm on my feet all night packing boxes, moving boxes, and unloading boxes. By Saturday night I hope to put my feet up and relax!