Joshua

Joshua Pratt Schultz was born on December 24, 2012. He weighed 7 lbs. 7 oz. and was 19 3/4 inches long.

What a perfect Christmas present.  Our sweet little Joshua was born on Christmas Eve. I woke up at 2:30 am on the 24th, feeling contractions.  They were about ten minutes apart, then seven minutes, then sporadic with about a half hour between and then back to ten minutes.  Since they weren't consistent, I stayed in bed but kept timing them.  At 8:00 am, I called my OB's office to see if I could come in that day to see how far along I was.  I was told they were mostly closed with just a skeleton staff and to go to the hospital if my water broke or if my contractions got to ten within an hour.  Wendel and I talked about going to breakfast since my mom was in town to be with Oliver (she flew in the night before - perfect timing) but we decided to sleep a little longer instead and never made it to breakfast as my water broke around 9:30 am.  We were then off to the hospital.  My mom had taken Oliver "train hunting" (we live near a train track and he loves to have us drive to it and watch for trains to come by) so she met us at the gas station where we were filling up so we could kiss Oliver goodbye.  We got to Banner Gateway Hospital at about 10:40 am (after searching for something to eat - I knew I wouldn't be able to eat until after he was born once I was admitted and I was really hungry.  Sadly, the only place we could find nearby was a Carl's Jr. so I had tater tots and an orange juice, which just didn't cut it).  We got checked in and checked out in triage, where they confirmed my water had broke and then took me into the labor and delivery room.  Even though my water had broke, my contractions were still not five minutes apart or really completely consistent.  I was also positive for Group B Strep so I needed two cycles of Penicillin before the baby came if possible.  The two cycles took four hours.  The part I hated about that was feeling a burning sensation go through my left arm (the IV was in my left hand) as the Penicillin went through my body.  I was also positive with Group B Strep with Oliver but I don't remember that sensation at all.  Maybe because I was in so much pain.  About half way through, I got the epidural, which went smoothly.  The nurses were so nice and friendly.  I was told I was the only patient in L&D that day (until about 6:00 pm, when one more came in) so I think we got a little extra attention.  Once I had the epidural, I was just chatting with them pain free, which was so nice.  They gave me Petocin to get the labor going and had me start pushing.  The doctor arrived at 5:25 pm and Joshua was born at 5:39 pm.  I pushed for about 45 minutes total.  The nurses laid him on my chest right away without washing him off first, other than rubbing him down a little with a towel (also different from Oliver's birth).  Wendel has a weak stomach, so that was kind of hard for him but I kind of liked being able to see him right away.  When they laid him on my chest, I was overcome with emotion and started to cry.  I had been worried about loving another child the way I love Oliver and didn't think it would be possible but immediately felt love for him.  It was such a sweet experience.

Joshua's and Oliver's births were like night and day.  Oliver's birth was very traumatic for me, as the epidural wore off hours before he came and I wasn't given any more.  I physically shuddered for months after his birth when I thought about it.  With Oliver's birth, I tore and they didn't numb me when they stitched me up.  With Joshua's birth, I tore as well but couldn't feel a thing and talked with the doctor as she stitched me up.  When Oliver was placed on my chest, I could barely focus on him because I was being stitched up without anesthetic and was in extreme pain.  I couldn't even enjoy that first moment with my son.  This was such a better experience for me as far as labor and delivery.  I think the most painful part was the IV because they had to try three four times (I have really small veins) and finally ended up putting it on the top of my left hand, which was really painful).  I am so thankful for the epidural!  It was kind of annoying not being able to feel my legs at all, but I could feel pressure to push and that was perfect.  The labor was shorter and it was overall a good experience.  We weren't too impressed with the staff who attended to us in recovery but it was Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and I'm sure no one wanted to be there.  The hospital gave us a little stocking with wash cloths and an ornament inside, which was nice of them. 

 

When my mom brought Oliver up to the hospital and he walked into the room, he exclaimed, "Baby brother came out!"  It was really cute.

Oliver (age 2.5 - 3 years old in March) meeting his baby brother for the first time.

So far Oliver is doing pretty good with Joshua.  My mom bought Oliver a little baby boy doll and he practiced taking care of his "little brother" before Joshua came home.  I think that helped.  Sometimes when I am holding Joshua, Oliver will come up to me and say, "Mommy, hold you" (meaning he wants me to hold him).  As long as I give him 1:1 attention too, he is fine.  However, I've had my mom in town helping me with Oliver and Joshua so we'll see how it goes now that my mom left (I was so sad to see her go this morning.  She was so helpful.)  It was cute - my mom told Oliver to say hi to his baby brother the other day.  Oliver waved his hand and said "Hi" and then said, "He doesn't talk" and walked away.  It was so cute.

Joshua actually looks quite a bit like his brother when he was a baby.

He is the sweetest little baby and I love to just hold him and look at his sweet little face.  Babies are so precious.

He gave us a bit of a scare on December 28th.  I took him to his first doctor appointment that morning.  The night before was terrible.  He would nurse for an hour, seem content for about ten minutes and then want to eat again.  I was bleeding and sore and he didn't seem satisfied.  I had nursing issues with Oliver so I figured this must be the case again.  My milk had just come in the night before his appointment so I didn't know this was the case for sure.  At his appointment, we found out he lost a pound since birth (weighing 6 lbs. 7 oz.) and was dehydrated.  His oxygen level was at 95 (borderline low) and he was at the 50% for Jaundice.  His eyes looked cloudy and his face looked a tiny bit yellow.  He had only had one wet diaper in the last 24 hours, which I knew was concerning.  His doctor (who is amazing) got him a bottle of formula right away.  He ate the 2 ounces quickly.  She set up an appointment for a weight check.  She called me later that afternoon to check on him and I told her there were still no wet diapers and he spit up most of the bottle I had recently fed him.  He also seemed very drowsy and not alert when we woke him.  At that point, she told me to go to the ER.  That was kind of scary to hear.  I called Wendel and he met me at Cardon Children's Hospital in Mesa.  (Again, it was so nice that my mom was here to be with Oliver and drive me up there, since we are down to one car right now.)  We had several nurses try to give him an IV in his arm with no luck.  After four attempts, they had two nurses from NICU come down to the ER to put one in a vein in his head.  Even though I know the IV was only in a vein in his head, it was still hard to watch and looked terrible once attached.

Poor little guy.

We spent 20 hours in a little ER room.  We were admitted to the hospital but never left the ER room because all the beds were full.  He eventually had four wet diapers while we were there and his blood work came back fine so we we finally able to go home the next afternoon.  We are glad that experience is over and Joshua is okay.  We were not impressed with most of the staff and the whole experience was long and frustrating.

Joshua with Grandma Louise

It is today, a week after our baby boy's birth, that we finally decided on his name.  I knew it would take a long time.  We just didn't agree on boy names; those I loved, he didn't and those he liked a lot, I didn't really care for.  We had a list of names we both didn't dislike and we have even struggled picking a name from that list.  In the end, we chose Joshua because we like that it is a scriptural name.  In the Old Testament, Joshua was appointed by God to lead the Israelites from Egypt to the Promised Land after Moses' death.  Joshua means "God rescues" and the Hebrew meaning is "Jehovah saves."  We like the idea of naming him after someone who was close to God and is a good example to look up to.  His middle name is Pratt, which is a family name.  Wendel's middle name (one of them) is also Pratt.  His Grandma Rose recently passed away, the weekend before Joshua was born.  She also had the name of Pratt, as she is a descendent of Parley P. Pratt.  During Wendel's last conversation with her before she died, he told her he wanted to name our son's middle name Pratt, after her and after himself.  She told him she would like that. Wendel pointed out this scripture to me from The Book of Mormon tonight, which kind of expresses how we felt as we were trying to choose a name for him:

5 For they remembered the words which their ^afather Helaman spake unto them. And these are the words which he spake:

 6 Behold, my sons, I desire that ye should remember to keep the commandments of God; and I would that ye should declare unto the people these words. Behold, I have given unto you the names of our first ^aparents who came out of the land of Jerusalem; and this I have done that when you remember your names ye may remember them; and when ye remember them ye may remember their works; and when ye remember their works ye may know how that it is said, and also written, that they were ^bgood.

 7 Therefore, my sons, I would that ye should do that which is good, that it may be said of you, and also written, even as it has been said and written of them.

Heleman 5:5-7

I really like that...giving our son a name so he can remember the people he was named after and their  works.

It has been a busy week for us.  We are tired but feel so blessed.  Joshua is waking up so signing off for now.  Hoping to not let as much time pass before checking back in here.