In previous posts I have bragged about how amazing my OB doctor was. Dr. Piepmeier always answered my questions and had great advice to relieve some of the aches and pains of pregnancy. I always thought highly of him, but when he walked 4.2 miles in an ice storm to deliver my baby, he only confirmed what I had already thought. He was a doctor that really cares about his patients and is willing to go the extra mile (or 4) for them.
The hospital got word of Dr. Piepmeier's amazing journey to Jaron's delivery and contacted the local newspaper. They decided it would make a great story. As a result Dr. Piepmeier came over to the house yesterday and we shared with the newspaper what happened the night of Jaron's birth. I had never heard Piepmeier's story, but it was pretty amazing and thought I would share with everyone else his trek that night.
At 11:30 Dr. Piepmeier decided he should start heading into the hospital. He lives on top of a hill. He started to drive his car but before he even got to the incline his car slid to the side of the road. He decided at that point it was too dangerous to drive down his hill. So he went back to his house, put on his warm clothes and grabbed some cardboard. He decided it was safer to slide down the hill on the cardboard instead of trying to walk. So imagine and 47 year old, 6'7" bald guy sledding down the hill at midnight during an ice storm. Is the picture kind of humorous? The college students out walking around that night (it was the last day of finals and they were celebrating) found it funny as well and he got some fun comment from them.
After he safely made it down the hill he began walking main drags to the hospital. During his walk he walked through our church's parking lot and he said he began to wonder if he was going to make it on time to deliver the baby. But his long legs covered ground fairly quickly despite the ice. However, before he would reach the hill where the hospital is located, he end up falling 3 times. Once he reached the hill he said he literally had to crawl up it because it was too icy to walk normal. At 1:00 he made it to the hospital. He was really sweaty and needed to take a shower. I finally saw him at 1:30am. He walked into the room and apologized for running late, but he had to walk to get there. I of course forgave him and told him thank you for walking on that way. Jaron was born an hour and half later.
Dr. Piepmeier left the hospital at 7:30am. He got a ride from a nurse who dropped him off at the bottom of the hill he lives on. He said he had to crawl up it to get home. Later that day (after he had taken a good long nap) he was out walking his dogs. The neighbors came out and asked, "Were you the guy who was crawling up the hill early this morning?"
"Yes, " he answer. "I just got back from delivering a baby."
It was really enjoyable having him over and listening to everything he went through for us. He held Jaron for awhile. When the reporter asked Dr. Piepmeier if there were any other exciting weather related births he had done, his reply was, "Nope. This one takes the cake." It is going to be fun to share with Jaron how his doctor braved the ice to be there for his birth.
December 22, 2009
December 17, 2009
Life with Jaron
So...I didn't post the other day like I thought I would. I think I took a nap instead. Here are some pictures of what has been going on around our house the past couple of days.
This is the first time Josiah got to hold Jaron. He was super excited. Now he carries the Boppy around hoping I will set it on his lap and let him hold Jaron again.
Josiah reading to Jaron and I while I feed Jaron.
Mommy, Josiah and Jaron with our Christmas tree
This is the first time Josiah got to hold Jaron. He was super excited. Now he carries the Boppy around hoping I will set it on his lap and let him hold Jaron again.
Josiah reading to Jaron and I while I feed Jaron.
Overall we are doing good. Jaron slept really good last night so I was able to get 2 hours of sleep in between feedings which feels good. Jason and Josiah left to go pick Katie up at the airport so I am having some relaxing/sleep time with no responsibilities. Now I am off to take a nap.
December 15, 2009
Quick Update
I hope to update the blog tomorrow with pictures, but for now I will give you a quick update with how things are going.
We are now all home. We were able to come home last night, which is a real miracle considering all the problems Jaron had with this lungs. Not only did he have fluid in his lungs he had to work out, but he also a pnemothorax (I think that is how you spell it) which is a small hole in his lung that was letting some of his air out into his abdominal cavity. This was one of the reasons why his breathing was so irregular. After a rough Saturday he started to improve around midnight and by noon on Sunday he was able to join us in our room. He was cleared the leave the hospital at 5:00. After we cleaned up our stuff and ate dinner we headed home around 7:00. It amazes me how God creates babies that seem so fragile to heal so quickly. He is doing great. He is doing all the typical newborn baby stuff. Eat, sleep, soil diapers, and keep mommy and daddy up at night. We have a follow up appointment tomorrow just to make sure everything is okay.
Josiah loves his baby brother. He was so excited when he finally got to hold Jaron for a few minutes today. He always wants to hold him or touch him. Josiah reads books to us while I nurse Jaron and he has been very helpful in getting me stuff when I am busy tending to Jaron. We couldn't have ask for a better big brother for Jaron.
Jason has been an amazing support and help through this whole thing. Not only was he an amazing labor coach, but he handled a lot of the stressful situations we had to go through with great composure. He drove wondefully to the hospital in an ice storm while helping me work through my contractions. When Jaron had to leave to be monitored in the nursery, and I had to wait until my epideral wore off, he did a great job of running back and forth to be with Jaron while keeping me informed of what was happening. When I was sleeping he would go and hold Jaron in the nursery just to make sure he was okay. Since we have been home Jason has done a lot to help clean, cook food, and allow me time to rest. I couldn't have asked for a better husband or father to my two boys.
Right now Josiah is laying in bed singing, "My God is so big, so strong and so mighty there is nothing my God cannot do." I think that sums up our past couple of days.
We are now all home. We were able to come home last night, which is a real miracle considering all the problems Jaron had with this lungs. Not only did he have fluid in his lungs he had to work out, but he also a pnemothorax (I think that is how you spell it) which is a small hole in his lung that was letting some of his air out into his abdominal cavity. This was one of the reasons why his breathing was so irregular. After a rough Saturday he started to improve around midnight and by noon on Sunday he was able to join us in our room. He was cleared the leave the hospital at 5:00. After we cleaned up our stuff and ate dinner we headed home around 7:00. It amazes me how God creates babies that seem so fragile to heal so quickly. He is doing great. He is doing all the typical newborn baby stuff. Eat, sleep, soil diapers, and keep mommy and daddy up at night. We have a follow up appointment tomorrow just to make sure everything is okay.
Josiah loves his baby brother. He was so excited when he finally got to hold Jaron for a few minutes today. He always wants to hold him or touch him. Josiah reads books to us while I nurse Jaron and he has been very helpful in getting me stuff when I am busy tending to Jaron. We couldn't have ask for a better big brother for Jaron.
Jason has been an amazing support and help through this whole thing. Not only was he an amazing labor coach, but he handled a lot of the stressful situations we had to go through with great composure. He drove wondefully to the hospital in an ice storm while helping me work through my contractions. When Jaron had to leave to be monitored in the nursery, and I had to wait until my epideral wore off, he did a great job of running back and forth to be with Jaron while keeping me informed of what was happening. When I was sleeping he would go and hold Jaron in the nursery just to make sure he was okay. Since we have been home Jason has done a lot to help clean, cook food, and allow me time to rest. I couldn't have asked for a better husband or father to my two boys.
Right now Josiah is laying in bed singing, "My God is so big, so strong and so mighty there is nothing my God cannot do." I think that sums up our past couple of days.
December 12, 2009
A Cry of Rejoicing
Jaron David Swick entere the world at 3:05 this morning. We choose the name Jaron because it means "a cry of rejoicing." After all the events we have been through to during Jaron's labor and delivery you will understand why is birth into the world has left us much to rejoice about.
Thursday at 3am I woke up with my first contractions. For the next 20 hours I would labor through contractions ranging between 3-10 mintues apart only to have them stall at 10pm that night. Even though they weren't as close, I would still be awaken every 20 minutes with painful contractions all through that night into the Friday. By Friday afternoon I was exhausted and discouraged.
At 6pm the contractions that finally told us it was time to head to the hospital started. By 7:20 we had Josiah off to the babysitters and we were headed into Corvallis to the hospital. The problem was that we were driving in freezing rain and the roads were like an ice skating rink. The two main roads we would normally take to Corvallis were blocked by major car wrecks. We had to take back roads. The blessing is that we were able to get behind a sand truck and follow it into Corvallis where the main roads had already be salted and sanded. There was much thanksgiving and rejoicing over that provision even though it took us an hour to get to the hospital.
Once a the hospital I labored for another 4 hours before my body just couldn't handed labor anymore. The 40 hours of contractions before true labor began had taken their toll and I found it difficult to find the energy to breath through my contractions anymore. At midnight I received an epideral and was able to rest for 2 hours, the longest I had been able to rest in 2 days.
Shortly after I received my epideral my nurse informed me my doctor had arrived but it took him a long time to come and check in on me. We found out he was defrosting because while he was trying to get to the hospital his car slid to the side of the road near his house so he decided to walk 4.2 miles, in freezing rain, at midnight to deliver our son. We rejoiced at having such a committed, compassionate doctor.
At 3:05am Jaron entered the world, but he was struggling to breath. Instead of big bolsterous cry all he could do was grunt. they took him to the nursey and did a chest xray and found out he had inhaled a lot of amniotic fluid making it difficult for him to breath. He has been doing better, but he still isn't ready to be taken off the monitors. But we rejoice that he was able to eat and that he doing better.
Here are the pictures.
Thursday at 3am I woke up with my first contractions. For the next 20 hours I would labor through contractions ranging between 3-10 mintues apart only to have them stall at 10pm that night. Even though they weren't as close, I would still be awaken every 20 minutes with painful contractions all through that night into the Friday. By Friday afternoon I was exhausted and discouraged.
At 6pm the contractions that finally told us it was time to head to the hospital started. By 7:20 we had Josiah off to the babysitters and we were headed into Corvallis to the hospital. The problem was that we were driving in freezing rain and the roads were like an ice skating rink. The two main roads we would normally take to Corvallis were blocked by major car wrecks. We had to take back roads. The blessing is that we were able to get behind a sand truck and follow it into Corvallis where the main roads had already be salted and sanded. There was much thanksgiving and rejoicing over that provision even though it took us an hour to get to the hospital.
Once a the hospital I labored for another 4 hours before my body just couldn't handed labor anymore. The 40 hours of contractions before true labor began had taken their toll and I found it difficult to find the energy to breath through my contractions anymore. At midnight I received an epideral and was able to rest for 2 hours, the longest I had been able to rest in 2 days.
Shortly after I received my epideral my nurse informed me my doctor had arrived but it took him a long time to come and check in on me. We found out he was defrosting because while he was trying to get to the hospital his car slid to the side of the road near his house so he decided to walk 4.2 miles, in freezing rain, at midnight to deliver our son. We rejoiced at having such a committed, compassionate doctor.
At 3:05am Jaron entered the world, but he was struggling to breath. Instead of big bolsterous cry all he could do was grunt. they took him to the nursey and did a chest xray and found out he had inhaled a lot of amniotic fluid making it difficult for him to breath. He has been doing better, but he still isn't ready to be taken off the monitors. But we rejoice that he was able to eat and that he doing better.
Here are the pictures.
December 4, 2009
Counting down
I am now 39 weeks pregnant. I thought people would like to see how big I have gotten. This isn't the most flattering picturing of me, but since I took the picture of myself I wasn't expecting it to be very good.
I am feeling "okay." The baby has dropped which has given my lower back and pelvis a lot of discomfort, but I can breath easier and I don't have as much reflux, so it has been an okay trade off. I had a doctor's appointment today and he told me I could go into labor whenever I was ready (with a sly smile on his face). I explained to him that I have been holding off my labor so Jason could finish his paper for his class. He turned it in yesterday afternoon so I guess I am free to go into labor now. I have been having mild contractions off and on for a day now. My doctor decided to check me and to see if the contractions were doing anything. I am already 2 cm dilated. I am not too excited about it yet, because I did this with Josiah and it was another week before I went into labor. But the news that I am dilating (and the fact that he is done with his paper) has got Jason finally motivated to help me get the baby's room put together. Hopefully by the end of this weekend my list of "things that need to be done before the baby arrives" will be completed and then I can relax until he finally decides to bless us with his presence.
Josiah seems excited for baby brother to enter the world. The other day I had my shirt up to scratch my belly and he yelled really loud, "Look, baby brother is waving at me. Hi baby brother." And he waved back. He also likes to come up and pull up my shirt and lay his head on my belly. He tells me he is giving baby brother a hug. When people ask Josiah about his baby brother he tells people that his baby brother lives in mommy's tummy and he needs to come out so we can play toys with him. I know that the transition to having a new family member won't be completely easy, but it is nice that he is excited about the possibility.
So all is well in our family right now. It is nice to have Jason's paper done and for the UCC activities to slow down so we can actually prepare and be excited about our new addition. I expect the next time someone posts you will get to see pictures of our new blessing.
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