Where does time go?

***Editors Note: This blog was actually typed on 2/4/09 at 9:30am. I am not sure why it has the wrong date listed.***

Time flies when you aren't sleeping. I can't believe that Andrew will be 12 weeks old on Sunday. He has kept us busy for sure. It is hard to find a free hand to type so posting has been a little difficult. Becoming a mommy has been the most extreme thing I have ever done. People tell you how much you are going to love you child but you really don't understand until the little one arrives. It is truely extreme love. You are also faced with extreme responsibility, extreme joy, and extreme frustration. Oh! And did I mention the extreme exhaustion? It is impossible to ignore a crying baby for very long. Not sleeping was probably my biggestest fear of becoming a mom. But it is funny...I (usually) want to get up when the baby cries. Yes, I am tired but it isn't so bad when you look down in the crib and there is that sweet little face. The sleeping has actually gotten better. It went from up every 2.5 hours, to every 4 or 5, and is now sleeping through the nights some nights. Sleeping through the night now feels like a real luxuary.

Being home everyday is harder then I thought it would be. I miss my job...well I miss the people at my job more accurately. Andrew and I spend our days cleaning house and doing laundry (well actually Andrew sits in the swing while I work. I don't have him doing chores...yet.). We go shopping and out to lunch with Dad. We go to Mommy and Me and visit friends. I try to get out of the house at least once every day. I make an effort to shower, do my hair and put on make up. And it really does take effort when you are juggling the baby. I understand now how the Mommies from "What Not to Wear" on TLC end up in the sweat pants rut. It would be so easy...

This past week, Kyle and I made an offer on a new (larger!!) house and it was accepted. We will be closing on Feb. 27th at 11:30am! I can't begin to tell you how excited I am. Our current home while perfect for the two of us is too small for the three of us. We have run out of room. Every nook and cranny is filled. Kyle tried to implement and one in-one out policy...if I brought something in I had to take something out...I am sorry to say it didn't work so well. So now things are beginning to pile up. Our new home is 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bath, with a large open greatroom/kitchen, dining room, office. It has a large flat back yard that will be perfect for a playset in a couple of years. It is large enough that we can have friends AND family over for Birthday parties and dinner. It will be sad to leave our little house but I am exited about all of the new possibilites in the new house. You will have to come and visit.

Well that is it for now...I am going to try to do a better job keeping up with this Blog now that life has gotten back to a new normal. Check back when you can...and feel free to comment so we know you were here!

Sarah

Andrew's First Post...

Check me out in my swing! I am definitely getting to try on lots and lots of clothes. Daddy told me that Babies ‘r’ us called wanting me to model my wardrobe but I quickly pooh poohed that idea. For now, I am very content hanging out here at the house with Mom and Grandma. I really love it when daddy is around, but today for some reason he had to go someplace called “work”. He did come home and feed me (and himself) lunch.
I like my new home. Daddy gave me the tour, but to be honest, I slept through most of it. In fact, that was the problem the first day I came home. I slept a lot and I didn’t eat because I was tired, because I didn’t eat enough, because I was tired….. you get the idea. Luckily, Mommy made a Dr’s appointment for me. I went to the doctor and I had lost 13 oz since my birth. Daddy went to weight watchers for more than a month and didn’t lose 10% of his body weight, and I did it practically overnight. I’m an overachiever. I went back the next day though, and I gained some of it back. The doctor, mommy, and Daddy were all happy.
So far, the trips to and from the doctor’s office are my only trips outside my new home. You should see me in my fancy car seat.
My first few days here have been really terrific. I got to be a part of my uncle John’s 29th birthday. I had my first experience of Chinese take out, and I have met Sydney. She is the really hairy one in daddy’s previous post. Mommy and Daddy think she is a dog, but she told me that she is a person just like me. All I know for sure is that she really likes peanut butter candy.
I have met my cousins Elizabeth, Delaney, and Logan, and on Wednesday I had a great time with Grammadine. She came up all the way from Salisbury just to hang out with me for a few hours. Mommy and Daddy told me she was really special. Her husband is Grandaddy David and I am looking forward to meeting him soon.
This Saturday I will get to meet Granddad. Daddy tells me he is pretty awesome too.

Okay, I have to go and get some sleep now. Hey, it’s what I do. AKF

Andrew is HERE!!!

We certainly apologize for being slack in the posting depsrtment. We do, however, have a relatively good excuse.

After a Doctor's apointment on Thursday, we went to the hospital. We begged to go home and avoid spending days and days in the hospital. Dr. Patel let us go, but we had another Dr's appt. for Friday (Nov 7th). It was after this appointment that I got the call from Sarah, to leave work, meet her at the house, and take her to the Hospital.

Labor actually began Saturday morning around 7am and Saturday afternoon at 2:46pm, Andrew arrived into the world.

Mom, Andrew, Dad, and even Sydney (our golden retriever above) are all at home and doing well. We have quite a few pictures posted on a photobucket album. Shoot me (kylerfranklin@yahoo.com) an email and I will give you the link.

After this weekend, Sarah and I are HUGE fans of High Point Regional..... particularly of their weekend staff in Labor and Delivery, the Nursery, and the post partum wing. I am racking my brain to think of a memorable way to express my gratitude to:
Stephanie, who was able to ease my wife's worry
Ann: Who went above and beyond with Keeping Sarah comfortable
Karen: who went out of her way to answer our questions
Sandra: who took such AWESOME care of our son
Libby: who made us feel so comfortable
Susan: worked a miracle in the lactation dept
and on and on and on.

We had the best weekend of our life.... Thanks so much to all of our family and friends who have been and continue to pray for us. We couldn't have done it without you.

KRF

A Close Call

We had a close call at the Dr. office this morning. I had my normal Thurs. appointment. I had to turn in a Preeclampsia test and do an NST as normal. My blood pressure was fine but my protein in the office test was 4+ which was really bad. So bad that Dr. Mattern wanted to send me on to the hospital. Luckily, she changed her mind and said we would wait on the result of the 24 hour test that I had brought in this morning along with the blood work she had done. Though I don't really relish the idea of spending the next two weeks in the hospital it didn't cause the same panic from a few weeks ago. Andrew's room is done (I promise I will post pics soon) and my bags are packed. It would have been do-able. I have decided that Andrew and I must have an army of guardian angels who hate the hospital protecting us. The test results came back a little worse then then last week but not significantly so. Yet again, I have avoided becoming a temporary resident at HPRHS. Dr. Mattern did say it was amazing that I had remained an outpatient this long and she PROMISED that if I was still an outpatient next week they would let me schedule the induction.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Today is Sarah's Birthday. October 26th. It is no doubt a birthday she will not soon forget..... likely to be filled with lots of fun bedrest activities like sitting on the couch, laying on the bed... potty breaks.... and travel between. Come to think of it.... Sarah is going to be doing the same routine as our golden retriever Sydney.

Actually, we may do a few more exciting activities especially for her birthday, but indoor skydiving is out... at least for this year.

I must apologize for the dearth of my postings to this blog. I have had occasion over the past few weeks to meet up with some old friends and realize that I should get in gear and participate.

Life is VERY good. I love my wife. She loves me. We are preparing to bring a son into the world... and he is going to be one well-dressed, well euipped, riding in style, Babies'R'Us promoting, barrell of cuteness. While we are quickly realizing that our little 1000 sq. ft. house is not going to be adequate for much longer..... but at the same time, we are really loving that 1000 sq. ft. mortgage. Work is going well. In short, there is very little drama going on currently, as we anxiously await Andrew's arrival.

Gotta Go... Sarah is getting up and I need to do what I can to make her special day AWESOME!!
KRF

Stable Is Good...

Sorry I have been remiss in posting this week. Like Kyle says "No news, is good news" in our family. My last two doctors appointments have gone pretty well. I am stable for now. My blood pressure was around 130/80, my proteins had gone up in the office tests but were still within reason. Today it was 1+. I received the results from the 24 hour test I did yesterday and it had also remained stable at 500. The doctors are really pleased. We only have a few more days until we hit the ever important 35 week mark!!

So Much Fun!!

Thank you to Stacey H., Marianna S., Nadine P. and Judy D. for the baby shower on Sunday. It was so much fun! Kyle and I had a great time seeing everyone We got lots of really useful and special gifts. It was so sweet of everyone to come. The cake was especially yummy! Here are some pictures of the good times!

Judy make this quilt especially for Andrew! I am so excited Andrew has a "special blanket" too.

So many great people and nice gifts...you would be smiling too!

Quickie Update

Bed rest continues to agree with me. I had my regular appointment today. I turned in a pre-eclampsia test and should have the results back this afternoon or first thing in the morning. My protein level this morning was 0 again! I had not gained any weight and my BP was 139/74 which is higher then we would like but still good enough not to cause a hospital visit. The Dr. remained pleased. I scheduled my appointments for Mon/Thurs. next week and only have to do one Pre-e test next week! Yeah! I had to do an NST this morning as usual only it took 1.5 hours. I ate breakfast right before I got to the office. When they hooked me up to the monitors Andrew absolutely refused to hold still so that they could monitor him. They would place the heart monitor on my tummy and he would kick it and move. Finally the nurse just had to stay in the room and every time he would move she would have to move the monitor. It felt like he was in there doing back flips. It took forever.

In other exciting news all of my accessories arrived for the nursery yesterday and I have another baby shower in Salisbury,NC this weekend! This shower is with lots of people who have been (are) important to Kyle throughout his life. We are both really looking forward to seeing everyone this weekend. Between the shower and the arrival of all the goodies I should have the nursery (FINALLY) finished sometime early next week. I will be sure to post pictures.

Baby Shower Thank Yous

To everyone who made my babyshower possible this weekend I want to say THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! The shower was so classy and the food was OUTSTANDING! It was so good to see everyone and we got so many nice gifts. My babyshowers will be a huge bright spot as I look back on this pregnancy. I thought I would post a few pictures...

Someone Must Be Praying For Me...

Good news! Good news! I had a great Dr. appointment today! My blood pressure was 124/74. I had not gained any weight. The NST was fine. And here is the best part... I didn't have ANY protein in my sample today!!! It was 0...zero...nil...nadda...!!! Dr Patel was really pleased. He said he "was proud of me!" Who knew I would excel at sitting on my butt all day long?? While the lack of protein doesn't exactly mean that I am out of the woods. It does mean that I am stabilized for the time being and not in immediate danger of preterm labor or having to be induced. Dr. Patel also mentioned that they will keep me on Level 3 bed rest until I reach 35 weeks (I will be 33 weeks tomorrow). He said after that we could talk about a compromise!! Good news all around! My next appointment is Thurs. and I have to take in a Preeclampsia 24 test. I only have to do one test this week. It feels like a luxury.

I also just want to say thank you to everyone that is sending prayers and positive thoughts to Kyle, Andrew and I over the past few weeks. I think it really does make a difference. Hopefully it will help Andrew make it here around 37 weeks safe and sound.

Happy Day!

Today's appointment went great! My BP was 130/74. My protein was +1 which was down.I hadn't gained any weight this week and I found the secret to the NST. Two Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and a small Dr. Pepper. Andrew was up dancing thanks to the sugar and caffine. I don't do that often but they want him to be really active during the test. We were done in 15 minutes! Dr. Patel was very pleased with everything. The office called late this afternoon with the Preeclampsia test results and my proteins went down even further to 450mg!!! I don't have to go back to the Dr. until Monday and I don't have to do another Preeclampsia test until Wed of next week. So exciting!!! It is such a relief that I can relax and enjoy my baby shower this weekend. I can't wait!

Good News and Walmart

Dr. Mattern called to let me know that my protein levels had dropped to 575 from 1175! So I will not be a patient at our local hospital tonight. WHOOO! HOOO! Why did it go down? Well, there are a couple of possible reasons. The first is that our nurse at the hospital on Saturday passed on a little piece of advice. The better hydrated I am the lower my protein numbers will be. AHHH!!! Now why no one has given me that information before now I don't know. So the evening and day of my last test I drank a couple of gallons of water. I also was on complete bed rest for the first time for a test. Both reasons probably had a little to do with the improved test results. The only news from these results was that my potassium was significantly lower so I now have a new pill to take for the next few days. I am turning into a walking pharmacy but if it keeps me out of the hospital I am good.

Our trip to Wal-Mart this evening was fun. My family pushed me around Wally World in a wheel chair. I am so lucky to have such a great husband and family. They have gone out of their way the past few days to make sure that I am well taken care of, prepared for a hospital stay and Andrew's impending arrival. Fun stories for the baby book...

Not in the hospital yet...

Well, I had my doctors appointment today. I was stressed that they might send me directly from the Dr. office to the hospital....but they didn't. My NST went fine, my blood pressure was up at first 155/82 but then went down to 127/74 which was acceptable. I turned in another PE test and should have the results back this evening or first thing in the morning. If it comes back significantly increased Dr. Mattern said the hospital is the next step. She said she would call sometime tonight or tomorrow and let me know how it went. I thought positive and made my Dr. appointments for next week. I am hoping that the proteins have stabilized and that I have at least a few more nights in my own bed. I also got a wheelchair trip to Wal-Mart approved! How exciting for me! We will keep you posted!

best Laid Plans...

Two things I learned as a child were re-affirmed today.

#1 – Nurses are neat people and
#2 – I don’t like hospitals.


My mom was a nurse, so there is a definite bias, but Sarah and I went up to Labor and delivery to have some tests and lab work done today, and our nurse was GREAT! She made us feel very welcome and comfortable. I don’t really know why, but I just don’t like hospitals. There are lots of sick people, it’s way to easy to get lost, and it’s impossible to find a good cheeseburger.

We went in this morning to have some routine work done….. three and a half hours later, we emerged just happy that Sarah didn’t have to spend the night. Level III bedrest is the official nomenclature of what Sarah has been put on. The next step is the hospital. Basically it means she can sit on the couch, lay in bed, TCOB in the bathroom…… and leave the house for Doctor’s appts. That’s pretty much it…. So if you see her around town…. Feel free to give her the “shouldn’t you be at home on your couch?” look…. At least until her next doctor’s appointment.

Cheers
Kyle

Getting Prepared

Andrew and I had our Dr appointment yesterday. I had an US and Andrew looks perfect. He had gained 4oz. (4.4lbs) since last Monday. The NST went great too. His heart rate was perfect. My blood pressure was great. 124/73 which is almost normal. However my protein was up to +2. We got the results back from the DR this morning. The results from the Pre-E test that I turned in at the appointment came back with a 200mg increase. Since my Pre-E is getting worse the DR feels that it is prudent for me to have steroid shots to help Andrew's lungs grow faster. There is apparently pretty increased chance of either pre-term labor or the DR having to induce me earlier then the 37 weeks that we had hoped for. Dr. Cope actually said he could be here in A COUPLE OF WEEKS! Hopefully that won't happen but they want to be prepared as possible just in case.

So I went for my first shot this morning. I will have to make a visit to labor and delivery in the morning to turn in another Pre-E test, have the second shot and let them hook me up to the monitors for an NST. I have to do it at the hospital tomorrow because the DR doesn't have Sat. hours. I hope they let me come home and that Andrew doesn't get any ideas while I am there. We haven't even scheduled our official tour yet so it will be Kyle's first look if he comes.

Please keep us in your prayers! We need Andrew to cook a few more weeks and I need to stay healthy enough not to have to go on hospital bed rest. Thanks so much!

Well crap...

The results came back in from my pre-e test last week and the proteins had increased over the week before. This means that my pre-e is gradually getting worse. I was hoping being at home would help to stabilize everything. My blood pressure was 139/78 which did remain steady but that is most likely due to all of the BP Meds that I am taking. I am still considered "Mild Pre-E" The Dr. just wants me to take it very easy and do as little as possible. My next appointment is Thursday. At that appointment we will do our usual meet with the doc and NST. But due to the worsening test results the Doctor also added another ultrasound.

Update on Andrew

I was written out of work last Monday! I haven't been put on "bed rest" but I am suposed to be taking it very easy from this point on. I am now doing appointments twice a week with a Non-Stress Test included. They monitor his heart rate and me for contractions for half an hour each appointment. We also had another ultrasound last week to check and make sure he is growing like he should. He was already approx. 4lbs!! He seems to be a very healthy little guy. The biggest news from the latest round of doctor appointments is that Andrew will be a November baby. Because of the blood pressure issues that I am having the doctors will induce me at 37 weeks. So that means he will be here sometime between Nov. 12-19th. That is only 6 weeks away! That realization did come as quite a shock to both Kyle and I. There is still so much to do! This should help to keep me busy but visitors are always welcome. Plus, I am really looking forward to my baby showers and Fall Festival with my mom and sister, and my 30th birthday! With all of that fun scheduled October is sure to fly by. Yikes!



I am going to try to post Andrews newest ultrasound picture...I hope it works.

Our First Post!

Hi! I am Sarah! When I found out I was pregnant I thought it would be wonderful if I kept a pregnancy journal so that I could look back on this exciting time in life. It was all good intentions because 7 month later I haven't written one page. I came up with this crazy idea that my husband Kyle and I could write here and then share it with well...the whole world. It would also be a way for our friends and family to check on us and the new arrival as baby time grows near.

So a little about us. We have been married three years. Kyle is 30 and I am 29...at least for a few more weeks. We live in my home town and love being so close to friends and family. I work for a local non-profit and Kyle is a manager for a pest control company. We also love spending lots of QT with our Golden Retriever, Sydney. And we can't wait to meet our son!

I am 7 months pregnant and not the happy pregnant person that I so wanted to be. I thought for sure that since this baby was something that I wanted so badly that I would LOVE being pregnant. HA! After the puking of the first trimester past, I was left with gestational hypertension and a bad back. I offically start the third trimester on Tuesday....the adventure is sure to continue. Andrew Kyle Franklin is due on December 3, 2008. I can't wait to meet this little guy who is currently kicking me in the side. Kyle has been great the past few months. He has gone above and beyond and puts up with my craziness and whiney moodiness remakably well. He has definately made this journey so much easier on me and way more fun.

We hope you enjoy our thoughts about our life and becoming new parents. ...