Going Home!

This morning we learned that we were still on track to go home today, but it wouldn't be until the afternoon.  The state of Indiana requires a blood draw for newborns to be done at two days (48 hours) old...and not a minute earlier.  That being said, it would be after 2:14 p.m. that we would be released.  Luckily, the nurses and doctors all made their rounds early, and the release papers were put together by noon.  Therefore, we were free to go as soon as the blood draw was completed!

Ma-maw once again brought the older kiddos to the hospital, and Dallas was quick to ask to hold Julianne.

Not only did Ma-maw come today, but she surprised us with Pa-paw!

and Aunt Lisa!

The hospital also gave us a congratulations present to take home...

Dallas and Reba then agreed to help dress Julianne to go home

Dressed and ready to go

Fitting the carseat straps to fit a tiny baby (she had dropped to 7 lb 3 oz)

On the way home, 2 out of the 3 kiddos fell asleep...

Yep, Julianne pretty much cried the entire ride home, while Dallas and Reba slept.  Of course, those two had been two days with no naps...makes a difference.

Until next time...

Day 2 with Julianne

Our second day at the hospital brought some more visitors...Aunt Josie, Gram and Pa

Later in the day, Ma-maw returned with the bigger kiddos, and of course, Reba couldn't wait to get her hands on Julianne!

Notice the Santa hat?  Someone else had made and donated the hats for babies born in December; unfortunately, Julianne didn't like the feel of it.

Ma-maw also took Dallas and Reba shopping before coming to the hospital.  They each picked out some clothes, socks, and a blanket for Julianne.  Dallas even made a card for her...

Yes, it is a picture of Julianne wearing her Santa sock hat!

Do you think she looks anything like her big sister?

This hair explains all the heartburn/indigestion I have had for the last 9 months!  I kid you not...I slept last night with absolutely no problems of heartburn.

Until next time...we are scheduled to go home tomorrow!

Welcome Julianne Faith!

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, the doctor offered for us to come in this morning, break my water, and have a baby!  We jumped at the chance, even with the snow storm in the forecast.  Ma-maw came down last night so she could stay with Dallas and Reba while Daddy and Momma went to the hospital.

Just as the weatherman predicted it rained first and then turned to snow after midnight.  Schools were canceled, so we were going to let kiddos sleep in, but they had other plans!  They woke up just a few minutes before we were going to leave, so I got one more picture with them and Baby in my belly.

As Doug and I were driving to the hospital, we were glad we made the choice to induce labor and not have to make an emergency trip with the poor road conditions should I have gone into spontaneous labor.  We also talked about how it was the perfect day to sit in a hospital room and watch the snow fall!

Around 7:30 a.m. the doctor broke my water and labor started.  After an hour or so, the contractions really had not picked up, so my doctor decided to start Pitocin.  That did the trick!  A little before 1 o'clock, I had dilated to 6 cm, and the contractions were very strong, so I decided to get an epidural.  It was roughly 1:30 p.m. when the anesthesiologist finished, and unlike the epidural I received when Reba was born, it helped ease the pain right away!  Between 1:45 and 1:50 p.m., my nurse was explaining that she was going to call my doctor with an update, and she was going to suggest Dr. Alvey come up in an hour or so to check on me.  Just then, Dr. Alvey walked in (her office to see patients is on the second floor of the women's hospital and labor and delivery is on the third floor).  She mentioned to the nurse that she would like to check my progress, and low and behold, I was fully dilated and ready to push!

At 2:14 p.m., we welcomed our new baby girl in the world!

Meet Julianne Faith Bergman

She weighed in at 7 lb 12 oz and was 21 inches long.  She was the quietest newborn ever!  We couldn't hardly get a single cry out of her; she had her eyes wide open, taking everything in around her.

Excuse my red eyes, but there might have been a few tears of joy!

Daddy watching over the nurse getting Julianne's measurements

Proud Daddy and his newest little girl

Gotta have a bow on little girls! (her eyes are wet looking for an ointment the nurse applied)

When we called to let Ma-maw know we had a surprise, the kiddos were just getting up from naps.  Dallas told us that he did not want us to tell if he got a brother or sister, he wanted to wait until he got to the hospital.  Ma-maw then braved the weather (and the worsening road conditions) and brought Dallas and Reba to the hospital.

Our family of five! (side note: I was so excited that the kiddos were able to come to the hospital and meet their new sister; you might remember, Dallas was not allowed at the hospital when Reba was born)

Even though Dallas was convinced he was getting a brother, he quickly fell in love with his new sister.

My little mother hen couldn't get her hands on Julianne fast enough

Because today was St. Nick's Day, someone had donated Christmas stockings filled with goodies for all the babies born today.  Dallas and Reba were more than willing to check out the goodies.

They were then more interested in the stocking while Little Julianne got a few more vital checks from the nurse

Daddy and Ma-maw then took the kiddos to get some supper, while Momma got the chance to get cleaned up and Julianne got her first bath.  She then got to hang out under the warming lights until her body temp got back up to normal.

Shortly after, the group returned and we were all moved the postpartum room.  The kiddos each held Julianne again, and then Ma-maw decided they better start the trek back to the house, and Momma needed to get some sleep!

Until next time...

Week 32

Here we are...less than 2 months to Baby B's due date!

I'm loving the weather we have had this last week.  The temps drop down into the mid 50's at night and get up to the mid 70's during the afternoon!  We have had our windows opened all week.  I love to get curled up under the blankets and drift off to sleep.  If only it was easy to find a comfortable sleeping position these days...

Doug is almost finished harvesting at work.  His group has one more field to go, but that means he now gets to travel to other stations that are needing help.  Tuesday night, he stayed over night in Terre Haute before heading to help the Lebanon station Wednesday morning.  We (the kiddos and I) are hoping he will be home tomorrow afternoon/evening.

OK...back to Baby B.  Last Friday afternoon, I started to feel very uncomfortable while I was on my way to pick up Dallas at school (about 2:30 p.m.)  We came home, I got the kiddos a snack, turned on a PBS show, and lay down on the couch.  That did not help.  I was having this near constant stomach tightening.  I decided to try getting up and moving, so we all went outside to play with the kitties and swing.  Well, that didn't help either, plus it was pretty warm and humid that day, so after a half hour we came back inside.  I put in a movie for the kiddos and went to lay down in bed.  I did fall asleep for a short while and woke up when Doug got home around 5.  I started to get out of bed, thinking I was feeling better, and then changed my mind.  The pains were still there.  I then decided to call my doctor's office.

Of course, they were already closed for the day, so I was transferred to the after hours answering service.  I explained what was going on...lots of constant belly pain, (not coming and going like contractions), baby was still moving - which was increasing the pain, etc.  Luckily, my OB was the doctor on-call that evening, and she called me back a short while later.  She asked a couple questions, and said the best thing would be to come in and get hooked up to a monitor to check what was going on.

Thankfully, my friend Carla was able to take the kiddos while Doug and I headed to the hospital.  She also suggested I bring jammies and a change of clothes just in case they decided to keep me.  At first I thought, that's silly...but I'm glad she was thinking!  By the time we got to the hospital, the belly pains were starting to lessen, but there were moments that they would become more intense.  I was hooked  up to two different monitors - one to track Baby's heartbeat, and the other to track the contractions.  Yep, I was having contractions - at 31 weeks 1 day.  The first doctor that came in to check me, pointed at my stomach and said, "It's too early!  Stop it!"  We all laughed, if only it were that easy...

The doctor ordered blood work to check my gall bladder, liver, and something else (I can't remember).  They also checked for a urinary track infection.  Then my OB came to check on me.  The first round of tests came back normal, but as she was feeling my belly in between contractions, she found that the right side was very, very tender.  She believes I pulled a muscle, and the contractions were a reaction to it.  She also checked my cervix, and found that it was not responding to the contractions; therefore, I was not going into labor.  She still decided to start me on an IV and keep me over night.  The contractions were very irregular (5 to 10 minutes apart), and slight to moderate in intensity, but the tenderness of the muscle was causing me the most pain.

Doug left a little before 9 to go grab some food for us (we had not had supper at this point).  At first, I didn't think I was hungry, but I ended up eating all that he brought back!  Finally, around 10:30 or so, we decided to try and get some sleep.  Doug was able to get comfortable on the couch in the room, but each time I turned or moved or started to drift off to sleep, a nurse was coming in to readjust the monitor on the baby.  Somewhere between midnight and 2:30 a.m., I was actually able to get some sleep.  Then the nurse came in to check my vitals.  When I woke up, I felt 100 times better, and the nurse informed me that I had not had a contraction for about 20 minutes!  They had stopped.

By 5:30 a.m., both Doug and I were awake.  He needed some coffee, and I once again needed something to eat.  Doug was able to find the cafeteria, and brought some stuff back to the room for us.  The nurse came in around 7:30 for another blood draw and check, and my doctor came in to check on me around 8.  The blood work came back normal once again, and since the contractions had stopped and I was feeling much better, we were released.

I'm glad to say that I have not had any contractions since then, and I am feeling really good - even great.  Which is nice since Doug ended up having to leave out of town this week.  I had my two week check-up this morning, and everything looked great.  I was up a pound since my appointment two weeks ago, my blood pressure was down to 98/74, and Baby's heart rate was around 140.  I go back once again in 2 weeks.

Until next time...

Big Brother Meets Baby Sister

We made it home from the hospital yesterday! Here is a short video of Dallas meeting Reba for the very first time. Dallas did such a great job of being gentle and nice. He has quickly learned who Reba is when we say her name. Let's hope he continues to be this excited about his little sister.


Here is Miss Reba dressed and waiting for Mama and Daddy to get finished packing to go home.
We had to do some major readjusting on the straps of the carseat. They were still set for Dallas when he was just under a year old!
Dallas waiting for Daddy to uncover baby sister.

Mama has room on her lap again for Dallas to sit!

Until next time...

More Pictures of Reba

"Where am I?!?!"
Weighing in at 7 lb 4 oz

All stretched out to her 20 inches!

Our sweet (screaming) little girl

I think she has as much hair as her big brother!

We are all doing very well. Grandma and Grandpa Robertson have already stopped at the hospital for a visit, and Grandpa and Gram Bergman are on their way. Miss Reba is sleeping peacefully right now.

Until next time...

Introducing Reba Elizabeth Bergman

Here she is, the newest addition to the family. Reba was born around 7:20p.m. She weighed in at 7lbs. 4oz. and 20in. long. The parents are very excited as you can imagine and are very grateful to God that she is healthy! More pictures to come as Rajean takes back the reigns of the blog postings.

Week 39!

Another week closer to due date.
I'm still feeling well, just getting anxious for Baby Gertie's arrival. I forgot to mention in my doctor appointment update post that we learned Dallas will not be able to meet Baby Gertie in the hospital...he will have to wait for us to bring her/him home to meet. The hospital is not allowing any visitors under the age of 18 during the flu season. Doug and I are really bumbed about this, but we also understand the precautions the hospital is taking. I learned from a friend in Kentucky, that is due in December, that her hospital is not allowing any visitors in the maternity area besides the father! Thankfully, my hospital is allowing adult visitors, but that is limited to 2 at a time.

Until next time...

The Computer is Back!

Yes...we finally have our computer fixed! The hard drive crashed, and the Geek Squad was unable to save any of the information. That means we lost all the pictures, songs, and files we had saved. I guess this will teach us to back up our system every now and then!

Anywho...what you all have been waiting for...pictures of Dallas. I have published five (yes, 5) different posts containing pictures. I even posted them so that the oldest are the first ones you will see, and the newest are the last ones...this way you can see Dallas grow and change.

A short story of what we have been up to...Aunt Katie came down on Thursday evening to help me prepare for the weekend...Mom, Dad, Granny, and Lisa came to visit. Katie also helped me go grocery shopping...something I don't think I'm able to tackle on my own yet. She also went with Dallas and I to his 2 week check-up. At the check-up, Dallas weighed in at 9 lbs 5 oz and was 22 and 3/8 inches. He is definitely a growing boy!

Like I said, my family came to visit. They arrived Friday evening, and stayed until Sunday afternoon. We had a great time...and everyone got to enjoy some Dallas time!

Enjoy the pictures!

Until next time...

Grandma Connie made up this flower arrangement for me. Bob's Grandma originally purchased it for when Bob was born...then she made it up again for when Doug was born, and now Connie made it up for Dallas. It's a pretty neat tradition!

The flowers we received while in the hospital.

The one sock hat that fit Dallas's head!

The first picture we were able to capture with open eyes!

Remember me talking about the splint on Dallas's arm for the IV...this is what it looked like.

The "newborn" socks that are way too small!

The 12 months socks that semi-fit!

I just love this face!