Hands-On Daddy

Johnny is so wonderful, learning all he can to be the best daddy to Cash that he can be. Here he's changing Cash's diaper.

Cash Loves His Pacifier!

Cash also loves his mommy & daddy and Mommy & Daddy love their Cash!

Daddy Feeds Cash

Since I'm breastfeeding and Cash is in the NICU, I ended up pumping today and the nurse filled a small syringe with the breast milk and had Johnny feed Cash. She took a bunch of pictures so I could see, then came to my room to tell me all about it and offered to take me to Cash's room to watch if I felt up to it. I was still very, very sore from my C-Section but really wanted to watch Johnny feeding Cash as it was a very special time for us, not getting to experience that with Weston. My nurse wheeled me down to Cash's room in the NICU. Johnny was done feeding Cash by the time we got down there, but we did make it in time to watch Cash hamming it up for his daddy. Johnny asked Cash if he was going to smile for Daddy - and Cash actually smiled. It was so funny (and my nurse, still taking pictures, was crying). Every time Johnny said the word "smile" to Cash, Cash would smile at him. Apparently, he's a very happy baby. :)

We also got a family picture of Cash, me, Johnny, Gramma & Grampa Russell (my parents).

Introducing Johnathon CASH Jenkins

Cash was born at 7:28pm (my C-Section got pushed back to 7:00, so by the time I was prepped and the doctor got there and started it was about 7:20). He was 4 lbs 3.3 oz and 17 1/2 inches long. He is a total miniature of Johnny - very handsome!

Final Appointment

Today I went back to the doctor so he could check the progress of my pre-eclampsia. It has gotten worse. We also had an ultra sound to check Cash's growth. The ultra sound shows he is now lagging behind by 17 days. Much to my dismay, my doctor decided to do the C-Section tonight at 6:30pm. I really am not ready for this!!!

Could Be Any Day Now

I had a follow-up appointment today to go over the results of the test the doctor ran on Monday & Tuesday. The blood work came back that my liver levels were good, but the other tests came back that I do have pre-eclampsia. I really wasn't expecting to hear that, nor did I want to hear it! I have to repeat one of the tests over the next 24 hours then go back to the doctor Friday morning for the results and an ultra sound. My doctor is pretty confident that we'll be having this baby Friday or Saturday - unless the results of the test show that the pre-eclampsia hasn't progressed much, then I'll probably be admitted to the hospital for round the clock testing and the doctor will determine when the baby needs to be delivered. It felt a little like deja vu when the doctor said we'd be having the baby in the next 2-3 days. Sure brought back memories of going into the hospital in TN for Weston. The great thing is that we've made it to 36 weeks with Cash and he's such an active little bugger he should be just fine according the the doctor and nurse.
I'm supposed to be on bed rest now but made sure to get my bag packed as soon as I got home. Johnny is talking about taking tomorrow off work to do some last minute baby shopping, put the crib together, install the car seat & do a little cleaning.
We'll keep everyone posted as to how things are going and when this little guy makes his appearance!

36 Week Checkup

Today was my 36 week checkup and boy was I ever glad. I went to the doctor on Thursday because I wasn't feeling well, and I found out I had another infection. The doctor thought it was a bladder infection so put me on an antibiotic for that. I stayed home from work on Friday because I was feeling so horrible and was exhausted. I felt pretty rough all weekend long, taking Tylenol every 4 hours for my backache and headache and just trying to take it easy. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night with the worst headache of my life. It lasted through about 11am then finally let up a bit. I was only scheduled to work until noon today because of my doctor appointment but ended up calling in because I hardly got any sleep and still had the headache when my alarm went off. When I got to the doctor, they hooked me up for a non-stress test (which they did last week and will continue doing each week until Cash is born). The doctor said everything looked good on the test, but because I had some protein in my urine and have had the headache since Thursday he wanted to run tests to see if I am pre-eclampsic. I go back on Wednesday for the results of my tests, so he has me off work until after that appointment. If I do have pre-eclampsia, he will more than likely put me on bed rest and Cash will be born some time in the next 3 weeks. If it turns out that this is all just a result of my infection and I need to be on a different anitbiotic, he'll probably set a date for the c-section sometime 3-4 weeks from now. Today I am feeling very ready for this baby to be born and this pregnancy to be over.