Welcome Rachel Elizabeth Laufer!!

What a roller coaster ride these last few days have been! Short version; We have a new daughter, Rachel Elizabeth Laufer, born 9/1/09 weighing 6 lbs 13.8 oz and measuring 18.5 inches in length.

Long version; From my last post you'll remember that I had been on Procardia and bed rest to stop pre-term labor. Well, as of noon on Sunday I was directed to stop taking the Procardia but remain on bed rest for another week. By Monday afternoon, around 2pm, I started having contractions. They were light but rythmic. By 2:45pm I called Paul at worked and he started timing them for me. He said they were 2-3 minutes apart and lasting approximately one minute. So the contractions passed both criteria that the doctor gave us for going in to the hospital. Paul told me he was coming home immediately and told me to call my doctor, so I did. I called Dr. Bowman, my OB doctor, and she wanted me to come in to her office immediately, so we packed up the truck and went.

Dr. Bowman saw me right away when I got to her office and she checked to see how I had progressed since my last appointment. We were disappointed to find out that I actually hadn't progressed at all! I was still 3cm and 80% effaced. Dr. Bowman decided to put me on a monitor to determine exactly how far apart my contractions were and how long they were. After 30 minutes on the chart recorder she looked at the chart and determined that my contractions were very regular, lasting approximately one minute, and 4.5 minutes apart. She said that I was either having a reaction to going off Procardia or in the first stage of labor. She gave me a choice, I could either be checked into the hospital for further monitoring or I could go home and come back in if the contractions got stronger. I talked it over with Paul and we decided to go out and have dinner (some spicy food!) and see where things went.

For dinner we went to Los Dos Portillos, a local Mexican restaurant, and had some spicy food. During the meal I started feeling stronger contractions and had trouble finishing my meal. However, the contractions still weren't strong enough for me to go to the hospital so after dinner we went home and watched some TV.

While we were at home watching TV I noticed the contractions starting to get more painful and frequent. Paul tried timing them again but I was so distracted I kept forgetting to tell him when they were starting! So we called the doctor back (by this time it was 7:30pm and after hours) and she instructed us to go check into the hospital. So we did!

Back at the hospital, now in the Labor & Delivery unit, we got settled in and I was hooked up to the IV and baby monitors. By this time it was about 8:45pm on 8/31. They monitored Rachel's heartbeat while simultaneously monitoring my contractions. By this time my contractions were 4-5 minutes apart but much stronger. The nurse checked my progress and told us that we were 4cm dilated and 80% effaced. So there was some progression from earlier in the afternoon. The nurse left us hooked up to the monitors, asked Elizabeth a battery of questions, and then left to wait to see if we progressed.

I was able to get up and walk around the Labor & Delivery unit (which I was not allowed to do last time). I was hoping that it would help further my labor and the contractions along. I walked around for a while. Which did seem to make a difference in how I was feeling. I was even able to go into the jacuzzi tub (another of the things I was not allowed to do last time). After walking for a while I got into the jacuzzi tub for about half an hour. The warm water and jets felt really good. I did not feel a lot of the contractions while I was in there. It was nice not feeling the contractions but did make me think that maybe things were slowing down and not progressing. I started to get cold so I decided to get out and get back into the bed.

A few hours later the nurse returned to check my progress. She said I was 4, maybe 4.5cm dilated and that they would monitor me a little longer but were thinking of sending me home. They thought that I was just reacting to being off Procardia and not in real labor. However, she said they'd monitor me for one more hour and check my progress. After she left the room Paul prayed for me and Rachel and asked the Lord that if it was His will that Rachel be born soon that I'd progress enough that they wouldn't have us leave the hospital only to have us turn around and come right back. Shortly after the prayer my contractions increased noticeably in strength.

The nurse returned an hour later (now around midnight) and checked me again. She said I had progressed to 6cm, that I was clearly in real labor, and not just reacting to being taken off Procardia. She then left the room to report to the doctor. She returned just a few minutes later and asked me if I wanted my water broken. Paul and I quickly discussed it and decided that it would be a good idea to help the labor progress. Shortly later the doctor on duty came in and broke my water. I was expecting an experience similar to when this happened last time when I was giving birth to Jeremiah. The pain I experienced then was nearly unbearable due to Jeremiah's position (back labor). However, I was pleased to find that there was no pain and my contractions only felt slightly stronger after the procedure. This was around 1AM. The nurse said they expected me to progress at a rate of about 1cm an hour, and estimated that Rachel would actually be born some time around 5:30-6 in the morning.

At around 1:30AM I was checked again and determined to be at around 7.5-8cm. I seemed to be progressing much faster than they anticipated. My contractions after having my water broken were much faster in duration and much stronger. They were only 2-3 minutes apart and strong enough that I had trouble talking during them because I was concentrating on my breathing technique.

By 2:30AM I had progressed to 9cm, and nearly complete. The nurse started preparing the room for the delivery and notified my doctor that I was getting ready. The contractions at this point were quite strong and I discovered, after having to get up to use the restroom, that I felt much more comfortable handling the contractions in a standing position bent over at the waist and supporting my upper body with my arms placed on the bed. The contractions were now back to back with very little time between to rest or speak.

They had a NICU nurse there to check Rachel after she was born due to the fact that she was going to be premature. So there was a lot more people in the room then last time. I was really starting to feel the need to push but the nurses kept telling me not to push. My doctor had not made it yet and the nurse was telling me not to push. I was really needing to push by this point and was making it very clear to everyone there.

Finally me doctor came in threw her jacket on the chair put her cloves on and checked me and said that I was ready to push. I couldn't wait any longer Rachel was coming whether they liked it or not. I started to push. My doctor was trying to get her scrubs and sterile cloves on while I was already pushing. She saw what was going on and told me to wait that she was still trying to get ready. She got ready just in time to deliver Rachel. Three pushes later Rachel Elizabeth Laufer was born.



I was so happy to be able to deliver without having the epidural. Rachel had a little trouble keeping her oxygen level within the normal range. They kept monitoring her and giving her some oxygen. She never had to go into the NICU and was able to stay with us the whole time I was in the hospital.

We are all home now and trying to adjust to being a family of four. We are grateful to God for His blessings and seeing us through this time. Jeremiah is loving having his new baby sister. He is kissing her all the time. He is still working on being gentle with her. Which can be a challenge at times. But we can see how much he loves Rachel.

That's all for now!

P.S. Here is a picture of Jeremiah and Rachel both one day old.

Update on Baby Rachel

35 weeks & 3 days

Today I went for yet another doctor appointment. I saw my doctors partner who also delivered Jeremiah. Anyway, I have not changed at all from last week to this one. I am still 3cm dilated and still 80% effaced.

I am looking forward to being off this medication so that I can sleep through the night without having to wake up and take medication. I have 6 more days of being on the medication. I just keep telling myself "I will make it through this day".

Bea is now gone home and my mom is back for two weeks to help out. That will take me right up until I am off of bed rest. Then I will be able to play with Jeremiah again. I miss my time with him.

Jeremiah is doing rather well with the whole situation. He is running (and I do mean running) all around the house. He is wanting to climb all the time now. He is into to Sesame Street and of course Elmo. My mom says this is the best workout routine ever and that she will look like a model when she gets back home. He loves to go outside and play with the rocks and run around the yard. He is very interested in other babies and wants to say hi but he is good about not touching them.

I am waiting to for Rachel's baby furniture to come so that I can start setting up her room. It's hard not being able to "nest". I have the room all painted and everything ready to go once the furniture gets here. I am hoping that it comes this week. I have plenty for clothes from 3-9 months for her. My sister-in-law Christine sent a bunch of clothes that her twin girls have already grown out of for Rachel. I also got a few newborn outfits from my sister-in-law Marsha. I am set for a long time with clothes. I may need to get a few things for Rachel that are warmer because of the difference in the weather.

When I get Rachel's room all set up I will take some pictures and post them for all to see.

Anyway, that is the update for now. If anything changes I will let you know.

Docotr appointment

34 weeks & 5 days

Today I had another checkup at the doctor to see if I have dilated any further than I was last week. I went from 2cm dilated to 3cm dilated and from 50% effaced to 80% effaced. She is hoping at the very least to have me hold out until Aug. 31. When she is back from her vacation. The ultimate goal is to have me hold out until Sep 4 when I will be 37 weeks.

She said that she is surprised that I have not already gone into labor yet and that I am doing well and to keep doing what I have been doing. Bed rest is not too bad except that I have Jeremiah. Even though I have family here to help I cannot stop being a mother. I am getting up more than I should and doing more than I should, but how do I stop being a mother?

So although I am progressing my doctor seems happy and I am happy that I do not have to go into the hospital. My next visit is next Monday with my doctors partner who happened to deliver Jeremiah. I had never met her until she came to deliver JP. It will be interesting to see her again.

I am so grateful to everyone for their prayers and well wishes. It means so much to us!

Preterm labor update

33 weeks & 4 days

Today I went for a checkup to see if I had dilated any further than last week. The good news is that I am still at 2cm dilated which means that I have not progressed any further. So between the medication and the bed rest I am doing ok. Rachel's heart rate was normal and she is measuring normal as well. So those are all good sings.

I will continue to go to the doctor every week until Rachel is born. The doctor told me that she wants to keep me on the medication until I am 36 weeks and bed rest until I am 37 weeks. She also said that at 36 weeks the lungs are developed 95% but at 37 weeks the lungs will be developed 99%.

So right now my goal is to make it to 37 weeks gestation and then Rachel can come at anytime. My doctor is going on vacation in two weeks (I will be 35.5 weeks) and said that I better not go into labor while she is gone. She really wants to be here for Rachel's birth. Which makes me feel good that she really wants to see this through till she's born.

Thank you to those who have sent me well wishes, warm thoughts, and welcomed prayer for our family, especially for Rachel. I will continue to keep you updated as best I can. May god bless you all.

Pregnant and on bed rest...

32 weeks 5 days
Wednesday 8/5/2009

I had a standard OB appointment to check Baby Rachel. I mentioned to the doctor that I had some blood tinged discharge and she wanted to check me a little closer than they normally do at this point in the pregnancy. Everything seemed to be going well. Her heartbeat was 157 bpm (which is within the normal range) and she was measuring normal in size.

Then the doctor did an exam and told me that I am already 2 cm dilated and had to go on immediate bed rest. This was very shocking news to hear. I was by myself and Paul was in Arizona on business and would not be home until late Thursday night. She told me that I could not get up for more than 30 minutes a day and that I could not be elevated more than 30 degrees. She also told me that she would be putting me on medication to stop my labor. The medication that she put me on is Procardia and needs to be taken every 4 hours even at night. So I have to set an alarm to wake me up at night to take my medication.

She then wanted me to come back on Thursday (the next day) to have an ultrasound done to check the baby and see how she was doing. During this time my mom flew out to be with me and help with Jeremiah. Paul was due to come home but not until late that night. The technician checked my amniotic fluid level (which look normal), the size of the baby (she weighs 4 lbs 15 oz), the lungs, heart (heart beat was 142 bpm still normal), and all the other organs, measured her bones and checked the length of my cervix. My cervix is shortening and is measuring 1.5 cm. A normal cervix length is 4cm.

The technician told me that my doctor would call me later that day to let me know the results of my ultrasound. I have yet to hear from her. They only things I have to gone on is that if things looked really bad she would have called me. I go by the old saying "no news is good news!"

So here I sit or rather lay waiting to hear from my doctor. I do see my doctor this coming Tuesday where she will check to see if I have dilated any further than I already am. If I do start to get worse or if I do not comply with the bed rest then she will have to put me into the hospital.

At this point I am not sure how long my mom will be able to stay. Her boss is out of town of business. He won't be back until Monday. She is going to see if she can work out of our house and help us. Paul is home and has today off. So he is here helping along with my mom.

We would greatly appreciate your prayers during this very difficult time and will keep everyone posted when I receive updates.

Happy First Birthday Jeremiah!

Saturday July 11, 2009 (his actual birthday is the 13th)

Jeremiah has turned 1 year old! We can hardly believe it. We had a wonderful birthday celebration with Grammy Linda, Grandpa Charley, and Grandma Debbie all coming from California and many of our friends coming from our church just for Jeremiah's birthday.
Thank you Grammy Linda, Grandpa Charley, and Grandma Debbie for coming and making his birthday so special. It really means a lot to us that you traveled just for JP and he really enjoyed having you there. It made all the difference having family celebrate with us. So thanx again!!!

Jeremiah had a lot of fun running all around and playing with the other kids. He really enjoys playing with the older kids (3-6 age). He got a lot of presents and had a lot of fun opening them. He did not want to read the cards but wanted to dive right in to opening the presents. He is really good at ripping the paper off and truly got spoiled by everyone. He loved watching everyone sing him ♫Happy Birthday♪ and had fun digging into the cake once he knew he wouldn't get into trouble and that it was eatable. Here is the cake before JP got a hold of it. If you cannot tell it's Cookie Monster.








And here he is after digging into and making a big mess. The frosting stained his teeth and hands blue but we were able to get it off in the bath. He had a lot of fun! If you can't tell by the look on his face.



































For his actual birthday the grandparents and I took Jeremiah to Toys R Us! Grammy Linda and I bought JP some nice wood toys. They don't make any musical noise and do not require batteries. He really is enjoying those. They seem to be some of his favorites.















He got a tricycle from his mommy and daddy. It is a nice one that is for 1-5 year old. He still is just a little to short to reach the petals even on the smallest settings but will reach them in no time I am sure. It has a parent control bar on the back so that the parent can push him. We have not taken him outside on it yet but when we do we will get some pictures and post them.

Jeremiah is trying to run now! He loves to go outside and play. He now knows that in order to go play outside he has to put his shoes on. So he will bring me his shoes so that he can go outside. He loves to go for walks on our paths and cries when I turn him around to go home. He just loves to explore and is sad when it has to come to an end. He is truly a toddler now and is always on the go. He goes and goes until he crashes. Apparently that's just how his daddy was...can you say "little chip".

He went for his 12 month check up at the doctor and he is doing extremely well. They want to see him back when he is 15 months for more immunizations. Our doctor said well I will see you before then at the hospital for your new little girl. Which surprised me at how close we really are to meeting our Rachel.

This year has gone by so fast and we are looking forward to this next year and all God has in store for us as a family of four. Thank you everyone for your prayers and support. May God bless you all!

Jeremiah's First Camping Trip

For the Fourth of July weekend we took Jeremiah camping for the first time. We went to Grand Lake in Colorado. It is about 2 1/2 hours from our house. All the trees have been chopped down due to the bark beetles. You can see the stumps where the trees used to be, but there are hardly any left. It was really sad.This is our campsite. As you can see there are no trees.

It was a real adventure! It was raining when we got there so Paul had to put up our tent up in the rain while I watched JP who wanted to go exploring. It rained the whole first night we were there but we were all nice and dry in our tent. We brought his pack 'n play and put it in the tent. That worked out real nicely. He slept really well. He woke up once and I let him know we were right there and that everything was ok and he went back to sleep.















The next day was beautiful and warm. We went on a boat ride with Uncle Brad and his family until it threatened to rain again. Which it did rain with lightening and thunder but it did not last long. Jeremiah loved to be outside and was sad that the rain kept us inside our tent. When the rain was over he really wanted to go outside and would bring me his shoes so I could put them on. He knew that he had to wear his shoes to go outside. It was so neat to see him communicate what he wanted.










He loved exploring outside and was not afraid at all. There wasn't a real flat area so I had to keep a close eye on him to make sure that he didn't fall and go rolling down the hill. Which did happen once but I caught him.

Daddy though it would be fun to give JP some of his s'more. He loved it and cried for more. Which Paul gave in to. Then when Paul's was gone I caved and gave him some of mine. He had such a sugar rush and then the sugar crash. It was so funny to see him all hopped up on sugar.










We had a lot of fun camping although it was very hard on me because of being pregnant. I did not have a lot of energy and bending over all the time to make sure JP did not fall was very hard on my back.

Paul put JP in a backpack to give me a break. He ended up falling asleep in it. It was really cute.


We look forward to camping again in the future with the whole family. I look forward to not being pregnant so that I can do a lot more. All in all though we had fun and it really was a fun adventure.