Season's Greetings 2016!

 Season’s Greetings!

As 2016 comes to a close, I feel the (annual) urge to reflect on the ups and downs of the past year. 

Of course, the biggest change for our family this year was becoming a family of THREE! Our big reveal to my family in Montana came at Christmas - unbeknownst to my father, I *CAN* actually keep a big (little?) secret for 4 months! Then, we found out we were having a BOY in January, which was a wonderful surprise, but then we had yet another surprise months later while in New York!

Easter morning, at only 7 months pregnant (29 weeks), my water broke while visiting our dear friends Jenn & Gilliam in New York - after being approved to travel by my OB/GYN the day before we left Utah. So, instead of catching a plane home, we caught an ambulance to the Bronx!!! At 11 weeks too early, the doctors attempted to keep me pregnant as long as possible, so I was on enforced bed rest and under careful observation. I was given steroids to develop the baby's lungs, and magnesium (UGH!) to help with controlling the contractions and to help develop his brain. I also received antibiotics to prevent infection (a big risk after premature rupture of membranes) and a variety of tests.

Mine was an eventful stay in the hospital, including having to have a cardioversion after my heart (with no prior history!) went tachycardic and arrhythmic and I got to have the singular experience of being put under and having a heart shock administered to get me back into sinus rhythm. It was like being kicked in the sternum by an electric mule! It left a "sunburn" on my chest even! I tried super hard to keep my sense of humor, and told the staff that I just wanted to get to know EVERYONE at the hospital from Labor & Delivery to Cardiac to NICU, PACU & in recovery! Thankfully I have had no further issues with my heart. Unfortunately, I continued to have daily contractions, my white blood cell count rose, I went into labor, and the doctor determined that we would be having a C-section on April 7, 2016. Unfortunately, after a week of James sleeping on the floor or in the window ledge in my hospital room, he had to fly back to Utah. Thankfully my dad was able to fly out for a week to keep me company and was there for the birth of his grandson! James arrived the follow day and we were able to take our first family photo! (above.) Born at 30 weeks gestation, we had a 3 lb. 8 oz. baby boy named Calvin James! (Calvin for the cartoon Calvin & Hobbes, and James for his father.) 

Though born 2 1/2 months too early, he is a strong boy, was off his CPAP machine within 4 days, and never on oxygen, just on room air. He did spend some time under the "billy lights," in his incubator, but quickly progressed to an open bassinet, learned to eat by bottle pretty quickly, and overall was incredibly healthy and we were released when he was just 6 weeks old. (They originally prepped us to be released at his ACTUAL due date of June 11th, so we were very lucky!) In total, we spent a little under 2 months in New York, instead of our planned 4 day Babymoon. Unfortunately for me, I contracted a super rare bug in the incision that one would ONLY catch in a hospital, and it did require a partial re-opening of the incision for drainage, but thankfully the infection cleared up, and while I'm still in physical therapy, my strength is slowly improving. The scar continues to bother me, and I don't have the same core strength from before, but I'm too stubborn to quit trying. :)  Calvin even got to walk through his first 5k this autumn and I look forward to the day he can go with me again!

Calvin had two main objectives to be discharged: he had to hit 5 lbs and be able to take all feedings by bottle prior to being released, and we got 4 days' notice that we were going to be allowed to leave the NICU, and finally flew home on May 15th, 2016, almost a whole month before they projected we would leave! No more cab rides back and forth from our hotel to the hospital! I was able to celebrate my FIRST Mother’s Day (as a human mother) just as Calvin reached 1 month old. Due to the medical necessity of additional healing time since my incision was re-opened, I was able to get extended maternity leave to be with Calvin, and returned to work July 1st. I am so very grateful that I was able to spend that time with him and attend all our various medical appointments once we came home to Utah. Calvin continues to excel, and we have been incredibly lucky as he's been an amazing baby, and even the pediatrician is astonished at his progress. He's a very happy, talkative boy, loves baths, bananas, and pulling off his socks, and we're over the moon to be his parents! I couldn’t imagine loving him more, this expressive, hilarious, darling blue-eyed boy! I LOVE BEING HIS MOM!

My family was able to meet Calvin as we took a quick trip to Montana meeting all my family, a Bartholomew extended family reunion at Bear Lake, UT, and then my Mom was able to come down in September to spend two weeks with us. We were also incredibly lucky to have my best friend Allison (the matron of honor at our wedding) come in August, and between our visitors, we went to Arches National Park (Calvin’s first trip to a National Park), the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium, took Allison downtown to the Piano Bar, and Mom was able to spend lots of quality time with her first biological grandson! We surely love getting to go everywhere and try new things with our cute boy!

In sad news, however, my horse Storm contracted a very rare fungal infection that was eating his carotid artery, and was unfortunately humanely euthanized in late July. I miss him very much, his funny personality and hilarious antics. I still have his mother, Sebien, and she is the record-holder for the longest I've ever owned a horse at 15 years and counting! She is still my sweet zippy little girl at 16 years old! I love her, and have been so lucky to have her in my life all these years! Some of my favorite days have been spent at the barn.

James continues to grow the family business, and is a very hard worker, doing work most days of the week. I have been employed with AdvancedMD for a year and 8 months now as an Implementation Consultant, helping to assist clients with implementing their software and training them to use it. It can be a challenging job at times, but I LOVE my team, and was very lucky to have such great fundraising efforts while we were stuck in New York waiting for Calvin to be released home! James and others still want me to write a book about our experience in New York - the good, bad & ugly. Perhaps when Calvin goes to school and I have some free time? Ha ha! (Does free time exist once you're a parent???) 

Again, a heartfelt thank you to all our friends and family for the fundraising efforts, the care packages, the texts, emails, Facebook posts, and all the love and support!  Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year too!  

With all our best, Ruth, James & Calvin & Sebien too!