Eric, Talon and I decided to go to the "compound" (aka GiGi and Pops' house) for the first time to watch game 2 of the Lakers NBA Finals.  GiGi cooked dinner for all of us while we seemed to destroy the house.  While I was breastfeeding, all of a sudden Talon spit up all over the place!  It was like a water balloon exploding.  Once we cleaned up the spit up, Eric changed his diaper.  As Eric was changing his diaper a stream of pee went everywhere.  So, we decided to get Talon naked and wash him off in the kitchen sink.  Before I was able to get to the sink, another stream of pee went all over the floor.  We were able to get Talon cleaned up and into outfit #3.  Then no more than 5 seconds later, he spits up again!  We thought we came well prepared with 3 outfits, many diapers and a burp cloth.  But it wasn't enough.  Thank goodness GiGi had an outfit on hand that was actually quite perfect for the evening.  It was a onesie that read "What happens at Grandma's, stays at Grandma's!"

Finally after the hour escapade of changing clothes and diapers, we were able to sit down and enjoy dinner as we watched the Lakers lose game 2 to the Celtics.

Well, we can now say Talon "christened" GiGi and Pops' house!  And now they realize what it's like all over again to take care of a newborn.

Despite the little incidents, all 3 of us had a good time!  I think Talon really felt at home and he looks forward to coming back. 

It's Saturday night and time to go out!  Even if we do have a newborn baby, that won't stop Eric and I from our normal routine and going out.  Some might think we're crazy, others might think we're bad parents, but Eric and I are active people and want Talon to be active too!  It's good to get him out in the environment and used to the public.

I say "normal routine," but "normal" is not normal anymore.  As a matter of fact, it takes us about an hour or two to get ourselves out the door.  I started getting ready to go over to Jason & Carey Fizet's house to watch the Kelly Pavlik (Jason's buddy from Youngstown, Ohio) boxing match at 5:30pm and didn't get out the door until almost 7pm!  Okay, so breastfeeding, pumping, getting Talon dressed and myself dressed takes some time.  Note to self...start getting ready 2 hours (or more) in advance! 

GiGi and Pops also came over to the Fizet's so I had plenty of help, if needed.

We all ate dinner while Talon slept peacefully in his carseat.

The fight was turned on and Talon was passed from person to person not making a single peep!  He never woke up!  Well, he would flutter his eyes open and then go back to sleep.  He was such a great baby.  I think he'll be asked over more often since he was so good.   

P.S. Kelly Pavlik won as his opponent took the knee and threw in the towel in the 3rd round!  Pavlik is still the undefeated middleweight champion of the world!

Friday night rolled around and we decided to BBQ burgers (veggie burger for me) and watch a movie.  Eric and I kidded around and said "I wonder how much we'll be able to eat of our dinner before we have to change or feed Talon?"  Believe it or not, we were able to eat all of our dinner, and start the movie.  We placed Talon in the vibrating chair and Eric bounced him to be soothed.  He loves this chair.

We got through about half of the movie when Eric noticed Talon was snoring -- a new sound.  Eric thought the snoring was too unusual along with some breathing patterns that bothered him, so he picked up Talon and placed him on his chest.  We returned to watching the movie.  But then Eric paused the movie again and said "this isn't right -- he's not breathing normal."  Talon would take in 3-4 quick breaths and then stop; the pattern would repeat.  Eric got extremely worried and said we had to go to the doctor.  Me trying to be calm, said "he'll be fine, we'll see the doctor in the morning."  But Eric wouldn't take that for an answer so we quickly got Talon bundled up and into the car.  I have to admit, I was a bit worried at this point.  But of course I wouldn't show it.  We can't all be frantic because Talon would sense the uneasiness.

We quickly drove over to the nearest Kaiser location, but the facility closes at 9pm.  We arrived at 9:10pm.  So, as we got back into the car, I was on the phone calling the Kaiser on-call nurse.  As we were driving to the Kaiser in Irvine, I was talking to the nurse on the phone giving her Talon's symptoms.  She then told me to hang up the phone and call 9-1-1!  Okay, now I am totally worried & scared!  Luckily, we were on the exit ramp.  We briskly walked in to the Emergency Room door at Kaiser and tried to be as calm as possible telling the nurse the issue.

We were then admitted into the ER.  The nurse took Talon's vitals (heartbeat and temperature).  Though, the heartbeat monitor was a bit difficult to get a reading because Talon was crying and squirming like mad.  As a result, the nurse took us to an ER room to get bedside monitoring; it's a bit easier.  Talon was again hooked up to wires to get his heartbeat tested.  At first it was a bit under than normal, but then returned to the average beat per minute.  The ER doctor came into the room.  We discussed the problem and symptoms.  Immediately the doctor diagnosed the breathing pattern as "periodic breathing."  This means a newborn baby will take in quick breaths, stop and repeat again.  The same exact breathing pattern of Talon!  The doctor said this is normal in birth and death -- we breathe from our bellies, not our lungs.  Since this doctor was not a pediatrician (specialist for babies), he put a call in to the on-call pediatrician.  Meanwhile, since Talon was rooting and crying, I breastfed him.  That calmed him down.

The doctor returned after speaking to the pediatrician and his diagnostic was correct.  The doctor asked if Talon was sneezing or hiccuping a lot.  Apparently when babies sneeze frequently, it is a normal reflex of the lungs.  Just like sneezing, hiccuping is normal in newborns.  It is a normal reflex that helps strength the diaphragm muscle for breathing.  Both reflexes are mainly due to the immaturity of the nervous system.  

The doctor and nurses were very helpful as usual, and very kind.  Eric even said to the doctor "gosh, we feel stupid."  But the doctor said "it's better to be safe than sorry."  The doctor reassured us we were good parents and to come back if ANYTHING was unusual and if we thought something seemed out of the ordinary.

Even though at first I thought Eric was a bit dramatic about the situation, I am so glad we got a doctor's opinion (promptly).  Talon's breathing "problem" would be in the back of my mind and we wouldn't be able to sleep at night.  So, as the doctor said "it's better to be safe, than sorry!"

Since the day before was so successful, Eric and I planned another outing with Talon.  Today, we decided to eat breakfast at Pacific Whey in Newport Coast, then walk the pathway along Crystal Cove beach.  What were we thinking, when we thought we'd eat breakfast!?  Ha!  We should have known better from the previous day.

We called my mom (aka GiGi) to join us for the day.  All of us drove down to Newport Coast for a nice stroll along Crystal Cove.  It was lunchtime when we finally got started so we walked to the Beachcomber for lunch.  The Beachcomber is literally on the beach, so this time we were able to see the ocean and even dolphins!  Talon was really good throughout lunch.  As a matter of fact, the entire day he was so peaceful.

After lunch, we walked back to the car and drove to Fashion Island for a short shopping trip.  Then we headed back home to cookout dinner.

Another successful day out with Talon.  We tired Talon out so much that he slept from 6p to 1am.  And then went back to bed from 3a to 8a.

All three of us had been in the house since Talon's arrival so we decided to get out.  And what better day to get out than on Talon's 1-week birthday!  At first we planned to eat breakfast in San Clemente but we quickly realized how long it takes to put ourselves together.  The "checklist" is a bit different now there is a newborn in our lives.  We got ourselves ready, got Talon changed and dressed, put in another load of laundry (oh my goodness I've never done so much laundry!), put the stroller in the car, got the car seat ready, got all the necessary items in the diaper bag and finally strapped Talon into the car seat!  We didn't get to San Clemente until 11:15am, so Eric and I settled for Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf drinks as our breakfast.  We parked the car so we could walk to Trestles beach.  It was a nice walk along a pathway, though not much of an ocean view.  Eric wanted to show Talon where daddy surfed.

When we got back to the car, we changed and fed Talon.  He was a happy camper now!

Afterwards we went to Stewart Surfboards to show Talon the variety of surfboards.  And of course we had to get a Stewart onesie.

When we got home, Eric had to go to the dentist.  Devin came over for a visit.  The entire time Talon was on her chest sleeping peacefully.  Then Dan & Carol came over to visit.  When Eric came home from the dentist, we all went outside to ride the new bikes Dan & Carol just picked up -- the ones you sit low to the ground.  As we played with the new bikes and chatted, the neighbors came out.  It was like an instant party -- all for Talon.   All of us went in the house when Phil & Lisha arrived since they had dinner in hand.  

The evening ended with Talon's last feeding before he crashed out.  We wore him out on his 1-week birthday.  But I think he had a really good day!

Talon visited the Pediatrician for the first time today.  He weighed in at 5 lbs. 7 oz. and 19.5 inches long.  The Pediatrician said it's normal for a newborn to lose some weight in the first few days of life, but by 2 weeks he will be back to birth weight.  The Pediatrician flapped his legs like a chicken to check his hips, and then checked his heartbeat too.  The Pediatrician noticed Talon was a bit yellow, therefore we had to take a jaundice blood test.  She also said we needed to start feeding every 2 hours.  And we thought 3 hours was difficult!

Poor little Talon had to be pricked on his heel to get the blood needed.  He actually did pretty well, despite the few cries.  Results from the test would take about 24 hours.  If at that time, the jaundice level was higher than normal, a warming bed would be delivered to the house.  However, if the test is average all we need to do is feed, feed, feed!

Results: The jaundice level was average.  We feed every 2 hours.  So basically, we feed for about 15 minutes, change the diaper and rock back to sleep.  And it seems like I only have an hour before time is up again!

It was a normal work day, so I thought!  I started off the beautiful morning with a 45 minute walk, with my 20 oz. Aquafina bottle in hand, of course, because I must stay hydrated!  I came home, checked my work emails and lifted my 8 pound weights (to stay strong) before heading off to my twice weekly NST testing.  My NST appointment was at 9am.  I quickly made a cup of oatmeal to eat on the road since I was going to San Diego immediately after my testing to conduct a Wienerschnitzel ADI meeting.

I arrived at Kaiser in Irvine for my NST.  As always, the nurses hooked the fetal heart rate monitor up along with another monitor that shows if I’m having contractions.  That lasted for about 20-30 minutes before I had to get my amniotic fluid levels checked.  The nurse was joking around when she said “this is dooms day, we’ll see how low the fluid is.”  My fluid levels from day one had been coming in lower than “normal,” the goal is 8 and above.  Throughout the pregnancy my fluid level fluctuated from 13 to 8.  Until the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend when we had a scare with the fluid level at 7; babies are delivered at 5 and below.  I had to immediately return the following day to re-check the fluid.  The level had increased.  As our OB/GYN stated, “we dodged a bullet.”  I suppose that was a sign and not to mention a fire was light under our you-know-what!  

I spent Memorial Day weekend as my “nesting” period.  I purchased last minute items from our baby registry that we knew we needed right away.  I did the remaining laundry for the baby, as well as cleaned the guest room sheets and all the rugs in the house.  We finished decorating the baby’s bathroom.  I vacuumed the entire house, cleaned the entire downstairs and tidied up the baby’s room. 

The day before Memorial Day, Sunday night, we had friends over to watch the Laker’s Western Conference Championship game.  I made appetizers, side dishes for our carne asada, and dessert.  It was a great “last meal” and not to mention fun spending time with our friends.

So, back to the amniotic fluid level testing.  Before I got my fluids checked, I overheard another mom-to-be in testing get admitted to Labor & Delivery.  I thought to myself, this poor girl probably isn’t ready.  I even asked the nurse, “does she have time to go home real quick to get her bags?”  Nope!  I congratulated the girl and went in to the room where the nurse hooked me up to check my fluids.  We were in the room for awhile, which was getting me worried.  I could see the monitor and noticed there were not many “pockets” to measure the fluid.  As a matter of fact, the nurse could only measure two quadrants equaling to 4.5!  Okay remember, the doctor said “it’s black and white, when the fluid level measures at 5, I get admitted immediately and start the labor & delivery process.”  I looked at the nurse and said “oh, the fluid is quite low, let’s measure again.”  She left the room saying “no, you’re getting admitted today.”  I was scared and felt lonely.  The other NST nurse came in sat next to me and rubbed my back saying everything will be okay.  I mentioned to her that I had been on my feet all weekend, running around (we stayed out late Saturday night at a family friends BBQ, had friends over at the house on Sunday, and cleaned the house all day Monday before attending the Angels game with my parents).  The nurse said that didn’t have much to do with the low fluid level.  The nurse then walked me through a long hallway to Labor & Delivery.  As we walked, I kept repeating to the nurse, “I’m not ready, are you sure; we need to re-check the fluid.”  I was SO nervous!  I never expected my labor would go this way!  As the nurse checked me in, my OB/GYN doctor was actually on-call at the hospital.  I even tried telling her that I would come back since they looked busy – that didn’t work!  My thoughts were all over the place, my heart was pumping fast, and I couldn’t stop thinking that we weren’t ready.  Never did it cross my mind that I was going to have a May baby.  I thought for sure Talon would come the first week or two in June.  The OB/GYN told me that I was going to be induced; not exactly what I anticipated either.  Reality hit in when I was given my labor & delivery room with a nurse immediately asking me questions.  As I was answering questions, Eric called me since it been awhile since my test began.  I told him “this is it.  Are you ready today?”  He didn’t believe me so I had to put the nurse on the phone.  She confirmed we were having our baby boy today.  Eric was at work close to home so he was able to drive home to get our bags.  He made all the necessary phone calls to family members.  I got dressed in my hospital gown and immediately was poked for blood work and given my IV.  The OB/GYN came in about 45 minutes later and said the Pitosin had to be hooked up which causes contractions to occur.  Additionally, she inserted a balloon type bag to open the cervix.  I was only dilated at 1 and the bag would help me get to a 3 or 4.  At that time, the bag would slip out and my contractions would cause me to dilate more.  After about 4.5 hours, the bag was removed, the Pitosin increased 3 times and the doctor broke my water.  Once my water was broken, the contractions came on strong!  Before my water broke I told the doctor I wanted an epidural.  The order was in and we had to wait for the anesthesiologist.  About 2.5 hours of MAJOR contractions – this is excruciating pain I could not describe, but it HURT – I realized I was not receiving the epidural.  My contractions got frequent and strong, lasting 50 seconds with 1-1.5 minute intervals.  Eric was a great “coach” counting for me, making me focus on him and his fingers counting, telling me to breathe, and talking me through the peak of each contraction.  Eric knew it was important for me to take deep breaths and keep breathing because I was hyperventilating, which caused both hands to lose feeling.  I could not even move my fingers.  As a matter of fact, I had to use an oxygen mask.  My parents came in to the room to check on me and quickly left when they saw me in the terrible pain and agony from one of those excruciating contractions.  I looked at the clock and saw it had been about 2 hours since the nurses said my epidural was coming.  I thought this is taking way too long, I’m in pain, and therefore I’m going to start pushing.  A strong contraction came and I pushed.  I told Eric something is happening to go get the nurse.  The nurse quickly came in and checked me.  I was fully dilated, which meant the baby is coming.  The OB/GYN came in turned on the bright lights, put up the stirrups to start delivery.  She told me “sorry honey the epidural is not coming.  You’ve got to do this natural.”  No, this is not what I wanted!  The nurse quickly explained that when a contraction came, I had to push.  I was fighting against the pushing by using my legs, but quickly learned the correct way.  I held my breath for 10 seconds to get in strong pushes and 30 minutes later Talon’s head was popping out.  It wasn’t until another big push or so, the entire body came out and he was placed on my chest.  WOW, what a feeling of relief and excitement!  One more push and the placenta came out.  It was all over with!  Not only did I give birth natural (not by choice), but it was a short labor.  I was lucky, if you want to call it that.  I was also lucky because the umbilical cord was wrapped around Talon’s neck two times.  In which, if he was in my belly any longer, he could have suffocated.  So in the end, as I firmly believe, “things happen for a reason” whether we were ready or not!

When Talon came out, he was placed immediately on my chest – the doctors call it “softing” when the baby and mom are skin-to-skin.  Then Talon was taken across the room (still within my sight) to get washed off, weighed and measured.  Talon was born at 7:06pm on Tuesday, May 27, 2008, weighed 5 lbs. 12 oz., and measured 19.5 inches long.  Once all the medical procedures were completed, Talon was given back to me again to lay on my chest for the next hour as family members anxiously waited to meet the new addition to the family.  Dan & Carol, Tracy and my parents all came in to the room to celebrate.

Eric, Talon and I went from our labor & delivery room/suite to the postpartum room.  Both rooms were quite spacious and very nice.  Kaiser Irvine was only about 2 weeks old so everything in the hospital was new and nicely decorated.  The three of us arrived in our new hospital room about 12midnight.  We were exhausted but so overjoyed we weren’t ready to end the momentous day.  We all finally went to sleep around 1:30am.

During the course of our stay in the postpartum unit, we were visited with various doctors to check on Talon and his health.  We were also visited with friends and family.  The help and attention we received at Kaiser was unbelievable.  Any question or uncertainness was immediately answered.  We were given all the attention newborn parents needed.  The OB/GYN visited us about 12 hours after Talon’s birth and said she was going to discharge us.  However the more Eric and I thought, we decided to stay one more day, just in case we needed anything or had any questions.  We were glad we stayed because we learned a lot – how to correctly change a diaper, care for the circumcision and umbilical cord, breastfeed successfully and best of all get the attention we needed.

We were then discharged on Thursday, May 29^th at 11:30am.

Thank you to everyone for the support and advice, reading my journal and being there for us throughout the pregnancy.  We will continue to update the website as Talon grows up.

Love, Brittany, Eric & Talon

So after I delivered the news to Eric about the amniotic fluid being really low and quite possibly needing to deliver ASAP, all he could do was think about how not ready we are!  As soon as he came home from work, Eric installed the car seat.  We also had our last Childbirth Preparation class last night.  I think he was more in tuned, as I was too, knowing our baby will be welcomed in to this world soon.  Eric was still stressed so as soon as we arrived home from our class he started packing his clothes/bag!

I was tested this morning for the heart rate and fluid.  Thank goodness my fluid is back up to 10.3.  We are going to make it through the Holiday weekend!  So that means we must buckle down and get ready!

Have a safe & fun Memorial Day weekend.