Life with Little Isabella

Fall is here, and all is well...

2006-09-13T23:26:00.000-05:00

Sorry I have not written more, but it's been a busy summer. Isabella is more of a joy to have in our lives each day.

I have put up some more recent pictures, in case any of you are looking. http://toeknee.com is the address (toe + knee = Tony, in case you didn't get it)

All is well. Thank you for visiting. Tony and Angi

Bella's fever

2006-07-04T14:34:00.000-05:00

I decided to start using the weblog again, because I want to remember some things.
First, I need to say that life with Isabella is delightful. She's a charming little girl who loves kitties. We are so blessed to have her.

We had a scary incident this past Sunday night, June 2. We had been up in Luck, WI, at Angi's relatives' house Saturday and Sunday. Bella had a temperature, but nothing too bad, and she was mostly in good spirits. When we got home from the trip home about 5:30 pm and Angi took Bella's temperature, she was at about 103°. Angi called the nurse line and they said to try alternating Tylenol with Motrin every few hours. Since Isabella was due for something, we gave her some Motrin. The nurse said we should bring her to Emergency if she reached 105°. I think her temperature remained stable for a bit, but then at 7:30 she registered 105.4°. Angi took the temperature two or three times in each ear and it was the same each time. I put it in my own ear, and it registered 98.3°, so if anything, it seemed Bella's temp might even be a bit higher than 105.4°! The worst part was the way she was acting: listless and lethargic, very unusual for her.

While trying not to freak out, we got ready and piled in the minivan to go to Children's. All sorts of terrible thoughts raced through my head, and we made good time to the hospital only breaking a few traffic laws. They weren't busy and we got right in with a nurse who measured her at about 104°. That was a relief. We were told that the Motrin dosage we were giving was not enough, so they put some more in her. Then we went to wait to the waiting room. We were lucky we got there when we did, because it got much busier after that. Soon we were in an exam room to first see a nurse and then a nice doctor from Chilé. He was great with her, and after a thorough checkup, he said they would run a blood test and urine test. The lab would know in under an hour if her white blood cell count was elevated (I guess indicative of something bacterial), and if it wasn't, he was suspecting it was a virus due to the odd rash Isabella had on her upper body. The nurses came in got blood and urine samples (which upset Isabella very much), and then one of them pushed a cart with TV/VCR and some "Baby Einstein" tapes, which she loved. When the results came an hour later, it was as expected: normal white counts. Her fever had also fallen dramatically by that point, and though tired, she was getting back to the Bella we know and love.

Two days later, we still don't know what she has, but it isn't getting much better. The staggered Tylenol and Motrin doses help stave off the fever, but she is still obviously not feeling well.

That's all for now-- good to be back to the keyboard writing about Isabella!

T

Going HOME!

2005-09-06T13:05:00.000-05:00

I had to be at school today, but the surgeon was apparently pleased with Angi's progress, so she called a little while ago to say she can go home today. I am at school, so her parents have to pick her up-- darn it. But I will see her after school.
Yeah! The queen is returning to the castle!

#10 - Surgery Recap & Pics

2005-09-05T22:51:00.000-05:00

For those of you just joining us, a brief recap so you don't have to read all the way down to post #1-- Angi was feeling increasingly rotten for the last few weeks, and she finally went to Urgent Care last Thursday and the doctor on Friday and was admitted immediately on suspicion of appendicitis-- but the surgeon found out that it was actually a perforated colon as a result of diverticulitis-- and they caught it early enough so it could be fixed and she only needs to be in the hospital a few days. If the colon had leaked out more, the situation would have been much more serious. She's been in a lot of pain but quite a trooper. We expect her to come home Tuesday or Wednesday. If you need more info, you can scroll down and read the earlier posts.

The good news is, she'll make a full recovery and only needs a modified diet. Angi's parents have been taking care of Bella and bringing her to visit twice a day, which has been wonderful. I start school Tuesday so will depend on our families even more to help out.

Thanks for all the kind words-- hope you enjoy a few pictures of Isabella visiting her Mommy.
T

#9- Monday's OK

2005-09-05T10:10:00.000-05:00

Hi,
everything is progressing just fine-- Angi's plumbing has come back to life the past two days as they are introducing her to food again. She had oatmeal this morning, at least a couple bites, and that is the most substantial food she's eaten. That's the good news. The mediocre news is that she's not getting out today, and I'll be surprised if she's discharged tomorrow. Two doctors have told us that typical hospital stay for surgery of this kind is 5-6 days, and recovery time at home is a few weeks.

The bad news, if you can call it that, is that school starts tomorrow, and I have not been able to prepare these past few days as I needed to, so I am getting rather nervous...

The best news is that Angi will be just fine, and we are extremely blessed. More coming later, including a cute pic of Angi and Bella I took last night...

T

#8-Sunday morning

2005-09-04T09:03:00.000-05:00

Ang had a fever and bad headache last evening, so they decided to give her some Tylenol, and that seemed to do the trick. Today she's a little better than yesterday morning, so I guess that's progress. When the doctor comes in today, we'll try to pin him down on a discharge plan. Angi would certainly like to stay another night, but that's about it. It's pretty strange living in a hospital-- the people are nice, but it's not home. And it's not our bed!

Speaking of home, I need to run home this morning and have the first shower since we checked in and get a few supplies. Gotta get going so I can get back here by the time Isabella arrives-- and then they have a prayer service in the chapel down the hall as well.

Cheers!

#7 - Update @ 5:00 PM

2005-09-03T16:55:00.000-05:00

Our little Isabella Bellaboo Bellaballuba booboo doll came to see Mommy and Daddy today, and we sure enjoyed that. She got the broadest of smiles when she spotted Mommy, and she even smiled a lot at Daddy (I am sort of chopped liver compared to the "Dairy Queen" treats Mommy provides, and I am OK with that). I caught her just staring at me later, so I know she likes me, or thinks I'm quite an odd bunny. Isabella has been well taken-care of by Marcia and John (Granny & Papa). They are also taking care of our 'doggers' Hannah and Mud, who no doubt are wondering what's going on.

Angi was still in pretty rough shape this morning, but as the day has gone on, she's brightening up. The surgeon came in (when I had snuck out for a bite of lunch, so I missed her). She said basically the same stuff as we already knew, though we found out they have sent the tissue sample out for a biopsy on the very very slim chance there is something else wrong. Angi is still have 'ripping' pains in her abdomen from time to time, so it is likely she'll be here until Tuesday. Another doctor came in a little while ago to see if we had any questions about diverticulitis, etc. Angi will have to take it easy for a few weeks and eat a little more fiber, and fewer things with small seeds.

Anyway, Granny and Papa are bringing Isabella back for a visit this evening. I am going to try to sneak home and get a shower before then. We are thankful for the thoughts, prayers, and well-wishes. The hard part is over, now the waiting for Angi to feel better. She is only able to walk a few feet without feeling sick, so that's something that needs to be overcome in the next few days.

More later---

#6 - 5:00 am - restless night

2005-09-03T05:30:00.000-05:00

It's been a mostly restless night for Angi - hard for her to get comfortable, keeping the pain down with self-administered morphine bumps limited to one every ten minutes. The care team is quite excellent, and nurse Daphne has been very accommodating, especially of me and my assortment of bags and technology devices littered around. They also set up for me a pull-out chair 'cot' which has been much more comfortable than the one I had during Isabella's birth.

I was able to get a few hours sleep, though it took me a while. I foolishly drank a diet Coke I had in the car at about midnight - I think the caffeine kept me tossing and turning for a while. In any case, they are trying to get a new IV in to make her more comfortable. It looks like success!

Angi needs a lot of rest today, so I think I'll request minimal and short, quiet visits from those of you who choose to come. Psychologically, she's going to need time with her baby. And this room is not like the maternity ward; it's literally half the size.

Good, the nurses have left, and Angi feels more comfortable and is dozing off. Maybe a few more hours of sleep. T

In other news...

2005-09-02T23:00:00.000-05:00

If you're visiting this page for the first time looking for news about Angi, please scroll down... to #1-- this comes in reverse order.

I thought I'd take advantage of the audience here to point out that Angi and I feel most grateful for all the prayers, love and kind words sent to us, and we feel mightily blessed by God. Despite this little run-in with human physiology, we have nothing like the problems being experienced right now by folks in Louisiana, etc. In fact, my predecessor at St. Rose, the guy who left his job teaching the urchins to move to New Orleans to be with his sweetheart is now homeless. He also has a blog here on blogspot, and you can click here to visit it.

Bill and his wife threw their newborn kidlet in the car and headed north to beat the traffic, thus they left most of their stuff at home, quite near Lake Pontchartrain, where one of the levies broke. Say a prayer for them, please!

Baby Bella misses Mommy...

2005-09-02T22:13:00.000-05:00

When I stopped at home today I snapped this photo of cute Isabella looking for her mom...

#5 - 9:45 pm - Post Op

2005-09-02T21:45:00.000-05:00

I finally got to come see Angi about 9:00 - the nurse said she had a tough time in recovery and that's why it took so long. She is very groggy and in some amount of pain. She is saying that this is 10 times worse than the C-section.

Angi confirms that she was told this was indeed diverticulitis, inflamed pouches on the colon which rupture. This may mean she's in for a special diet. Maybe not since it's only the first trouble. In any case, she's in here for a couple days, it looks for sure, unless she feels much much better tomorrow.

We have seen about getting her some more pain medication, and there is a call in to the surgeon for something for her nausea. Quite a mess.

In case you're wondering, she's in room 104 of St. John's Hospital. I am not going to give out the phone number, because I'd like to keep the phone calls to a minimum until she gets enough sleep. Send me an e-mail to read to her or post a comment here if you like, and I will read them all to her.

She will be able to have visitors tomorrow, but of primary importance is Isabella. Angi misses her terribly right now. They're bringing in a cot for me to sleep. Unless there's more news, it's good night from Maplewood! T

#4 - Colons & Semi-colons

2005-09-02T20:20:00.000-05:00

It's now after 8:15. It's been over an hour since the doctor left, and I am getting a little restless. I have been sitting here mostly researching perforated colons, diverticulitis, peritonitis, etc. Although the surgeon has assured me that this is fixed, and there was no spillage of toxins into Angi's body, I am--of course-- skeptical and somewhat concerned this might happen again, so I want to know what to look out for.

I will post again later when I get to see Angi. If you get bored waiting for updates, look at photos of our dear daughter Isabella! Click for Isabella's galleries

Update @ 8:30 pm: I found some info on diverticulitis, which is basically inflamed pouches on the colon which can cause pain and also get perforated. I am not sure if this is what Angi had, but take a look at this link.

#3 - NOT the appendix...

2005-09-02T19:30:00.000-05:00

The surgeon came out about 7:00 - Dr. Ogren. It seems Angi's appendix was OK, but there was a lot of inflamation around it caused by a perforated colon!

Ouch! She said they don't know how it happened, but there was a hole in her colon. She could see right into it. But it was somehow contained, so it didn't make her really sick. Dr. Ogren took out a chunk of the colon and the appendix and sewed it back up. She said she should never miss it, everything should be fine, except she'll be pretty sore for a while.

And, she'll be in the hospital at least a few days. Maybe until Tuesday-- depends how she heals.

I should get to see her shortly. I will post more later.

T

#2 - 6:30 pm-waiting, waiting

2005-09-02T18:32:00.000-05:00

I got my laptop plugged into a normal phone here and got online in the surgery waiting room. Sure aren't many people around here!

So, here's what happened: Angi was not feeling well this week, progressively worse pain in her abdomen, right side. She went to Patty's yesterday (Thursday) and felt worse as the day went on, calling me and saying she thought we should go to Urgent Care or the Emergency Room.

Her mother, Marcia, was at Patty's and decided to accompany Angi home and stay the night. I looked up Healtheast Urgent Care and found out it was in South St. Paul, right on her route home from Patty's, so I directed her how to get there and made plans to meet her.

The urgent care doctor did not seem to know what could be the problem, said their imaging equipment was out of order, so we should go to the ER if we thought it was something bad, but otherwise she could give Angi some Vicodin to get her through the night. Without any idea what could be wrong, we agreed.

We could not get a doctor appt until 11:40 this morning, and new doctor at the clinic named Dr. Koranne, from India. Very nice guy, very complete, and he seemed genuinely surprised that the Urgent Care doctor did not suspect the appendix based on Angi's pain when he touched her stomach in certain places. In any case, he ordered a CT scan at St. John's Hospital, behind the clinic, and that took a number of hours, of course. We were led from the CT area to the admitting department... no one had told us what they had found, but we figured out that Angi was being admitted.

Nurse Pam said she would be scheduled for surgery as soon as possible, which could be 10 minutes or could be later this evening. Angi was in need of a pump to relieve her Bellaboo-lessness, so I decided to fly home and get it and some provisions for me to stay overnight. I stayed too long, of course, I wrote and e-mail to family and friends, held the baby, petted the dogs, etc., and I was getting in the car to go back to the hospital when my phone rang, it was Angi telling me they were ready for her to go into surgery already! I said if she had to go, I understand, but I would be there in 20 minutes. Well, rush hour traffic slowed me down, and when I arrived 25 minutes later, the nurse said I'd missed her. But she said it was a lady surgeon in there with her, all would be fine, the procedure would not take very long and Angi would be in recovery for about an hour.

That was 1:15 minutes ago-- I hope word comes soon.

T

#1-Angi's Appendix

2005-09-02T18:00:00.000-05:00

Hello!
I am continuing to use this to inform family and friends about Angi's stay in the hospital for an appendectomy...
It's about 6:00 PM on Sept. 2-- She went into surgery about 5:15, and they say it doesn't take long. I went home to get some things, thinking it would be a few hours until she went in for the surgery, but as I was leaving home to come back, she called and said they were waiting just for me-- I tried to get to the hospital quickly but I just missed her. The nurse said the surgery was no big deal and she'd be out soon, in recovery for an hour, and probably go home tomorrow (Saturday). That's good news.

Well, I am going to get this posted in case any is waiting for news-- the news is, THERE IS NO NEWS. I will post later after I see Angi in recovery. In the meantime, feel free to leave Angi a comment below. You can post anonymously and just sign your name-- don't bother signing up for a blogger account if you don't have one.

T

Time, time, time

2005-06-08T17:12:00.000-05:00

Some of you might still be checking this, looking for new info. Isabella is seven weeks old today, and I can't believe it. She's a wonderful baby, and we are so blessed to have her.

I have been taking lots of photos, but due to all the hassles at the end of school last week and getting the house and yard ready for a family event for Isabella's baptism this week, I have not taken any precious time to put up any more galleries.

But I will-- Gallery 9 may be along by the end of the weekend, but by sure early next week.

Thanks for your patience and interest... she's getting so beautiful, I can't wait to show her to you!

T

Fatherhood is busy...

2005-05-15T22:05:00.000-05:00

Have not taken the time to write lately-- not much to say. We are truly blessed by God. But I needed to get some more photos online for Isabella's fan club. Gallery 7 went up tonight. And I got some nice shots this weekend, I will try to get Gallery 8 created in the next few days...
Regards,

Tony

more photos

2005-04-28T15:09:00.000-05:00

I created two galleries in the past day-- check them out if you're so inclined!

Monday Update

2005-04-25T10:08:00.000-05:00

Mother and child are doing fine, bonding well and 'latching on.' Angi probably overdid it this weekend when she was feeling well by doing the stairs too many times and lifting things she shouldn't have, so today she's reclined and resting.

I put up a fourth gallery on the Isabella photo site-- I don't know how long I'll continue to publish these updates, because the suspense is over, the baby is here and doing well. But anyone who knows me knows I'll continue to update my dear child's photo site!

Thanks again for all your support!

More pics...

2005-04-24T23:12:00.000-05:00

The third Isabella gallery is up - isabella.schaps.com

Scroll down to see the links to the newer galleries--- T

12:30 pm Saturday - Going home!

2005-04-23T12:28:00.000-05:00

Angi passed her checks, Isabella passed everything with flying colors, and the car is mostly packed. Just when I thought we'd get going, they brought us lunch. They had an extra one for me. Due to my predilection for conserving food whenever possible (a holdout trait from my bachelor days, borne of the post-depression values passed down from my parents), we're eating before heading home...

Next report from there!

T

Second Photo Gallery Up and Functioning

2005-04-22T13:43:00.000-05:00

After a whole bunch of trouble, I finally got the second photo gallery online.
http://isabella.schaps.com

Remember you can always click the smiley face on any page to go back to its index page. Let me know any problems. The theme of this second gallery is "Up Close and Personal" with Isabella. More pics later... and tomorrow we go home!

T

All is well, just tired

2005-04-22T08:50:00.000-05:00

Hi everybody--
everything is going well, Angi is on track to be discharged tomorrow, Isabella is wonderful and precious, and I was just too tired last night to do my planned update and photos!

But I am working on that this morning, so stay tuned-- I have some wonderful photos from yesterday. And Angi is in good spirits. Feeding the baby is going very well, and we can't wait to be home and also to see our little puppies we miss so much (and we know they are missing us). Thanks to Gayle and Zosha for taking care of Hannah and Mud during our hospital time.
If I can get the photos up before the 10:00 breastfeeding class, I will. Otherwise, shortly thereafter.

Update at 12:50 pm - I have been uploading pics for almost an hour. This dialup access is for the birds. I can't wait to get home to my cable modem! There aren't that many pics, but some really good ones... so check a little after 1:00 for the new gallery. You may have to 'refresh' or ' 'reload' the page to see the update (Windows users, hit F5).

T

The First Morning

2005-04-21T10:51:00.000-05:00

She had a good night, she's such a good baby. They brought her in a few times to try to breastfeed-- she finally got the hang of it this morning.

Angi slept well with medication helping. I was restless on this rock-hard cot-couch contraption, but I am OK.

This blog website is having technical problems-- sometimes giving error messages, sometimes duplicating your comments, but stick with it-- they are ironing out the problems.

And if you haven't seen the photos I put up last night, see http://isabella.schaps.com. If you forget, there's a link from the bottom of the main page of http://schaps.com

Tony

Better Photo Gallery

2005-04-21T00:36:00.000-05:00

I got to bathe my new daughter tonight-- her first bath-- wow.

Angi has to miss a lot of this in recovery, but I am photographing and videotaping as much as I can. I uploaded some more pics to the site I posted below-- check them out.

This has been such a wonderful experience!!!

To bed with mee -- z--z -zzzzzzzzzzzz

photos and a repo

2005-04-20T20:56:00.000-05:00

Angi just was brought back to the room from recovery-- she looks great and is going to be fine. Her whole immediate family, niece, and nephews are here.

The photos are up in a raw directory-- no index page-- just click here:
http://isabella.schaps.com

There are three-- now I have to be a good husband and father and I will post more photos overnight. Thanks for your prayers!!!!

T

ISABELLA HAS ENTERED THE BUILDING!

2005-04-20T20:39:00.000-05:00

Born at 7:07 p.m., CDT

9 lbs, 2.6 oz, 21 1/2 " long, our beautiful girl is here!

Isabella Nicole Schaps

Picture to follow in a few minutes...

T

6:15 - a new road to Isabella

2005-04-20T18:24:00.000-05:00

Nurse Joyce and Dr. Waschbusch were not happy with the dilation progress being made and at 5:00 decided to give Angi's cervix one more hour to open. The 6:00 check showed no progress, so the decision has been made to perform a C-section ("Kaiserschnitt" fuer die deutsch-sprechenden Lesern). It will take a bit of time to get everything arranged, but we will welcome our lovely Isabella to the world tonight, and you WILL have photos to see early tomorrow morning!

We are of course a bit nervous, but also thankful we have these modern options available to us. Please say your best prayers for Angi, Isabella, and the doctor tonight.

Thank you-- Tony

3:52 pm - nursing update

2005-04-20T15:52:00.000-05:00

Nurse Kay's shift ended at 3:00, but she hung around doing reports for a while. Our new nurse is Joyce, and she just said her goal is to get Angi delivered by the time her shift ends at 11:00.

That's nice to hear.

Also forgot to mention that a chaplain came by to say some prayers with us a while ago. When tension was a little higher due to baby heartbeat and Angi blood pressure, I got a little concerned and asked for the chaplain to come. Was very nice. Seemed to help, too!

T

2:30 pm - The road to Isabella is not without its bumps

2005-04-20T15:45:00.000-05:00

Isabella is delaying the game a bit-- but she's doing OK, which is the important part. The epidural led to a reduction in Angi's blood pressure, which is normal, but it took Nurse Kay out of her comfort zone because it went a bit too low. Then Isabella reacted to that and her heartbeat jumped up. So while the nurses scrambled to contact the doctor and fax her the printouts, Kay turned off the pitocin. It was off about a half hour until the doctor called to say it could be turned back on, but during which the contractions slowed down.

So, we're back on the road to birthing after a Bella detour-- but once again, the important part is that she's doing fine.

3:35 pm - update for the update

I wrote the above but never got online to post it. Now it's 3:35, and here's the latest... Angi's been holding on like trouper, falling in and out of sleep. In the past hour, Angi's blood pressure became stable, Isabella's pulse normalized, and the pitocin is back to doing its thing. But it's slow going. I am no longer fully confident we'll have a baby yet today! But Molly the Doula tells us that this is the hump of dilation to get through, and it will be easier and probably quicker soon.

So, is that the news you've been hoping for? Gosh darn it, no! Everybody wants a baby! And we'll be in touch when it happens.

T

1:30 update - No baby yet, but...

2005-04-20T13:30:00.000-05:00

A lot has happened - after a lot of walking and many and more frequent contractions, Nurse Kay reduced the amout of pitocin. But the contracts were coming with barely any time to rest between them. Angi finally requested some relief an hour or so ago, so Kay put in the order for an epidural. It took nearly an hour before it all happened, but with great results. Angi is now able to get a bit of sleep. The contractions have taken a lot out of her, but she's quite a trooper. After the epidural kicked in, the contractions have subsided, so I think Kay has now kicked up the pitocin again. Andrea and Molly have gone off to have a bite of lunch and stuff, and I ate Angi's very basic lunch that she can't have now.

So, while I am quite certain we'll have Isabella yet today, it's taking longer than I hoped. I am just so relieved to see Angi charging her batteries for what's yet to come.

I am not used to being so disconnected from the world and world news, but I suppose it's good for me.

One other note-- one of the nurses in this unit has the name "Necole." Not spelled the same, but sounds the same as Isabella's middle name. Necole came in to adjust Angi's contraction monitor, because they weren't getting a good signal at the nurses' station.

OK, I am exhausted, too. I might try to catch a few zzzz's while Angi rests and I don't have to be there to hold her hand. I am emotionally tired, which doesn't compare to what she's going through, but is still hard for little old me. Thanks for all your prayers and happy thoughts.

T

10:22 am update

2005-04-20T10:22:00.000-05:00

I know there are a whole bunch of people checking on this blog - it's been a mostly uneventful morning, but now there is something to report!

Let's catch up--

Nurse Cynthia woke us up about 6:30 and did the check which prompted me to write the first report today. Baby head is right there. Cynthia had been our nurse all night, but of course, we had slept right through it.

Nurse Kay is our new nurse today-- we hope she won't get called away. She started Angi on the pitocin and put her on the monitor (actually, reverse order - they monitor her for 15 minutes to make sure all is well). Then, after some sleep, some food, some walking, not much had transpired. Then my mother came to visit and brought some extra clothes for me (and my slippers-- thank you Mom!) As she was leaving about 10:00, nurse Kay walked by and said, "change of plans." She came in with a crochet-hook type apparatus and broke Angi's water. Now we get down to serious business! Angi's resting again (the medication from last night is still having some effect), then we're on to some more walking and birthing ball exercises.

Angi is feeling more contractions, and we're quite sure that this will be the day!

Thanks for sticking with us and sending your prayers -- Tony (for Angi).

A new day, a new life coming...

2005-04-20T07:01:00.000-05:00

Good progress this morning-- first check of the day shows baby's head is much lower than yesterday, no bouncing around, right at the cervix, and the cervix is further thinned... so Angi's showering and getting ready for the pitocin IV...

More news as it develops...

T

11:30 pm - last post of the day

2005-04-19T23:17:00.000-05:00

Well, Angi is finally asleep-- they gave her some sort of sleeping pill at 9:30 but it didn't have much effect. At 10:30 we called in our evening nurse, Marianne, and she gave Angi a little shot in the posterior which made her drift off to dreamy land shortly thereafter. I have been doing a little online stuff and am following suit quickly. I actually got a nice nap this evening-- as Angi was watching the Gilmore Girls in the 7:00 hour, I predictably fell asleep in the chair. I awoke at 8:30 to find that Marty, Monica and Kaden had been visiting for a little while without waking me (I guess I was sawing logs pretty heavily). Monica gave birth to Kaden at this hospital 14 months ago, in a room two doors down. By the time I awoke, they were just leaving. Darn it, but that nap did me good. And the Mike's Hard Lemonade that Marty brought me will help me get to sleep now!

We are optimistic about tomorrow, a new day, and we thank God for all the wonderful friends and family members who have sent their wishes and prayers and helped us along the way. Thanks also to my co-workers at St. Rose School who have been so supportive and understanding. It looks like I won't be making it in any day this week.

Good night, and God bless...

T

P.S. If we'd had a boy today, Benedict might have been his name at the last minute. I'll bet there are a lot of newborn Benedicts today.

6:45 pm, and all's well...

2005-04-19T18:54:00.000-05:00

Hello dear readers-

Time for some clarifications:I guess Angi's not gellin' (like Magellan, or otherwise)-- Nurse Julie put in Cervidil® - 10 mg Dinoprostone in 241 mg hydrogel polymer (cross-linked polyethylene oxide/urethane) with polyester retrieval system. I am so glad I at least can read the package. Too bad I just can't understand exactly what's going on, despite the continued explanations of patient people like Nurse Julie. In any case, this is not gel, this is a gauze-like material with some sort of stuff on it I callously, but somewhat correctly, referred to as a type of meat tenderizer. Its purpose is to soften the cervix and hopefully help contracts get stronger, and lead to the cervix opening and moving forward.

A common problem with all the nurses we've had today has been reaching the cervix to measure it. Dr. Kohls did not have trouble with this yesterday, leading to the possible conclusions that Angi's cervix retracted somewhat, or that Dr. Kohls has darn long fingers. OK, too much information.

Now Angi is resting on her side to let the Cervidil take effect, we're watching "Friends," and just chilling. Angi looks nice in her pink hospital gown. The gown they gave her today was light blue, and Andrea marched out in search of a pink one, and did not disappoint us! She also took some nice pics of us... if I am able tonight, I'll put a few online. But I am very tired... Thanks, Andrea!

Big thanks also to Molly Campe, our doula. If you don't know what a doula is, Google it! After all, you're on the internet if you're reading this. Molly's been a big help to both of us, and we hope she can come back tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day, and the next day if that's how long it takes to bring Isabella to this world!

Until later, T

5:25 pm - Holding our position for the Night

2005-04-19T17:25:00.000-05:00

Well, Angi's doctor, Dr. Kohls, is off tomorrow, so she wanted to have us go home tonight and come back tomorrow evening to start this gel stuff overnight. Angi, who has maintained an incredibly positive attitude all day, finally broke under the stress and exhaustion and told the doctor she didn't want to retreat now. Dr. Kohls was just concerned that we got her excellent care and also that Angi got some much-needed rest, but Angi convinced her one of her associates would be fine tomorrow, she would sleep better tonight here, and we really wanted to continue the induction. Thus, Dr. Waschbusch will be Angi's doctor tomorrow, and we are hopeful the 20th of April will be Isabella's day. I am so proud of Angi for sticking to her guns.

Some may know that Angi picked April 20 in a "Due-Date" pool back in December. Some may also suspect that Angi has designs on winning this pool! But we know Isabella is on her own schedule and will come when she's good and ready, or when properly induced to think that she's good and ready!

I told Angi that God only wants one big event per day, so with Pope Benedict XVI being elected today, our big event had to be postponed until tomorrow. And hey, she's looking healthy, and that's the important thing.

Oh, yes, we've gone through a few more nurses-- Nurse Linda had to go attend a C-section, so Nurse Patty came on the task. Then she got called away for something else, and now we have Nurse Julie. But, Nurse Julie is off work at 7:00, so someone else will take the night shift.

In any case, Angi just took a bath herself and is now chatting with her mother on the phone. I'll upload this, and then we'll go for a walk, and then have a bite to eat. Around 6:00 they'll start the gellin' (like Magellan?) and about 9:00 they'll be giving Angi something to help her sleep.

More later-- thanks for reading! T

3:30 pm - Isabella exercising her prerogative...

2005-04-19T15:44:00.000-05:00

Inching up the pitocin has not had too much effect. They are doing a nurse shift change right now, so we'll see what the new nurse Patty says when she checks in with us. Outgoing nurse Linda says that at 4:00 p.m., if signs are not more encouraging on the contraction front, they will probably stop the pitocin and put in some sort of gel thingie (progestiglandin?) which will work to further soften the cervix. With Angi relaxing overnight, the baby may decide to come after all. And if not, they will restart pitocin in the morning.

Smarty husband (that's me) made the suggestion that Angi try sitting on the birthing ball to ease her back pain and stretch the birthing channel a bit. Unfortunately, after 20 minutes on the ball, Angi found that her pitocin IV (intravenous link) had come loose, and she was going probably the whole time without the pitocin going in.

But, there is fantastic news to report: the baby heartbeat monitor shows that Isabella is in fine shape. She's just not ready to meet us yet. And, frankly, the way I look today, I don't blame her!

In any case, Angi (and I) will probably get a better night's sleep here than we got last night with all the preparations and anticipation. Sheer exhaustion will win tonight.

More later, once we find out what is going to happen.

T

12:30 pm - still waiting...

2005-04-19T12:35:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone--

we just had a new nurse come in (nurse Kim got called away to another mother whose baby was ready to pop out). Nurse Linda checked Angi and found no major change yet; still 3 cm, still very soft and apparently ready for action. Linda said she still has a ways to go on the pitocin dial, but she wants to call the doctor about 1:00 with an update. So if you're the prayin' sort, put in a request for a little kick into what they call 'active labor.'

Molly the doula and Andrea the camera operator and comic relief just went for a bite of lunch, and Angi and I caught about 5 minutes of shut eye. Considering how little sleep we ended up getting last night, that was nice.

More news forthcoming as we have it...

9:45 am update

2005-04-19T09:42:00.000-05:00

We got checked in, have a nice room, Angi started pitocin drip about 8:30. She is feeling fine. They will be checking her dilation again about 10:00. It was still at 3 cm this morning, we'll soon see if anything has progressed. Molly, our doula was here to meet us, and Andrea just arrived to take video and pictures. We took a few rounds around the halls with the pitocin drip thingie in tow.

We put in a DVD, but there are so many interruptions, we can't watch more than 5 minutes at a time. Kim is our nurse, Marisela is the student nurse, and Dr. Kansas is a resident who's been here to check. We've not seen Dr. Kohls yet.

All is fine. Angi just found out I am online, and she is not happy. But I assured her this is all I am doing.

SHOULD YOU NEED TO CALL-- we are in room 17, the direct dial number is 651-232-7517 (when I am not online)

More later, T

Up early---

2005-04-19T05:26:00.000-05:00

I couldn't sleep very well-- I got up at 4:00 am, Angi followed at 4:30. We are a little discombobulated... only thing that could stop us now would be the hospital when we call about 6:00 to confirm they didn't fill up their rooms overnight...

Stay tuned!

T

WAITING....

2005-04-19T01:26:00.000-05:00

Hi-- this is papa-to-be-Tony-- we are waiting patiently for baby Isabella to come out, but the doctor thinks she needs a little encouragement. We are checking Angi in to St. John's Hospital tomorrow (Tuesday) at 7:00 a.m. to begin induction.

Everyone is healthy, and I'll post any details I am able to give. At this point, I don't even know if I'll be able to get online at all at the hospital.

Until later... T