Avery's Arrival story - Part I

So, I should have done this two weeks ago when Avery first got here, but I didn't, so I'm doing it now before I forget even more than I already have. Here is the story of Avery's arrival from her daddy's perspective.

We learned at Sarah's 36-week appointment that her blood pressure was pretty high and so she was put on bed rest to try to bring it down. I was CONVINCED that would work as I was sure it was Sarah's job raising her blood pressure. Well, Sarah went back on Thursday to get more lab tests run and we would get the results on Friday.

Anyone who has ever lived in the Atlanta area can understand why any expectant parent in this city is terrified by the thought of getting "that phone call" on a Friday afternoon with Atlanta traffic being as awful as it is. Of course I was downtown at Turner Field that day, finished up a tour of the ballpark when, yep, I got the call...or the texts actually. "Call me" "ASAP." I also see that Sarah has already tried to call me. Her doctor had called and told her that she had preeclampsia and said that she should go ahead and come down to the hospital and that she should go ahead and pack a bag. She had texted me at 2:37 pm. I'm at Turner field, 35 miles from home. Doc wants us at the hospital (another 15 miles from the house) for an ultrasound by 5:00pm. After nearly having a heart attack when I get on the highway to head home, only to find traffic crawling...OF. COURSE., I slowly get out of downtown and make good time getting home, my heartbeat climbing with each mile.

I get home, Sarah's nearly ready to go. I throw some clothes and laptop in the backpack and walk Layla. We get down to the hospital shortly after 4 and they pretty much took Sarah straight to ultrasound after putting us in what I have to think is the smallest room at Northside Hospital. I'm pretty sure it wasn't originally a room, rather some extra space that they converted into one. Sarah was gone for close to an hour, but once she got back, we just kinda settled in to wait for whatever was going to happen next. At this point in time, we were still thinking there was a chance that we could be going back home.

Before we saw a doctor, the nurses returned and began prepping her for an IV, our first indication we weren't going anywhere. They said they expected the doctor to put her on magnesium sulphate to regulate her body and the BP so that we could try to get Avery to full-term (37 weeks). If Avery didn't tolerate things to well or Sarah's BP didn't calm down to a safe level, they would induce delivery even earlier so that she couldn't have a possible seizure. Awesome. Reality really settled in when a nurse told Sarah that the next time she went home, she would have baby.

Thoughts on the magnesium sulphate: it was described to Sarah that "the mag" would make her feel like she had the flu. By my observation, that was underselling it. That stuff looked like it packed quite a punch on Sarah. I've never seen her with so little energy. Even though they tried to give her meds for the headache that developed on the way to the hospital, those didn't seem to help because we were told the mag could cause headaches. Sarah was on that stuff from Friday to Sunday morning, making for a very long weekend. But the stuff did its job, it regulated her BP well and while she was on it, we didn't have a lot of worries, other than her over all lack of comfort.

Back to Friday night. Right before Sarah was put on the mag, we had a surprise visit from one of our church elders and his wife, whose daughter is one of our best friends and also works in Labor & Delivery at Northside. They were so nice to spend a few minutes with us and pray over us before heading out.

We had already asked a couple times about whether we were going to be in this "room" for the night or if we were possibly going to get an actual room? By midnight, I was worried we were going to be spending the next 4 days there. There was no room for visitors, and I cannot describe how much noise there was around the room. Several times, it really sounded like someone was slamming a hospital bed into the other side of the wall next to my chair. After spending about 30 minutes trying to get to sleep, I had just decided to go ask what was going on with the noise when the door opened and some angels disguised as nurses appeared and asked if we were ready to be moved upstairs to our room. I was up and ready to go in less than a minute, and we were taken up to the High Risk Perinatal unit where we would stay until Monday...and most importantly get some sleep after an emotional roller coaster of a day.

To be continued...

Thankful Thursday - Graduation edition

Understandably, there's been a lot going on the past several weeks, and I'm constantly reminded that I have so much to be thankful for. Thus, this Graduation edition of "Thankful Thursday."

It finally arrived. I always have a fear of crossing the line between being proud of an accomplishment and bragging. In this area I know that I have nothing to brag about. However as Sarah and I discussed the other night, this was a BIG. DEAL. And not that I just graduated, but how I graduated - "with honors" (Cum Laude). I definitely get that in the big picture, honors or not isn't that big of a deal, but just that I graduated. But to me, I've always looked back at graduating from high school and feeling like I was the only one among my circle of friends who didn't graduate with honors. I was just happy to get out with a somewhat average GPA, and I expected the same when I headed off to college. Then in 2008 when I finally returned to college, I carried the same goal - just make it through and finish the degree. Well I did that, and to my own surprise, I did it in better fashion that I would have given myself credit for. I am so thankful that I graduated which leads into my second TT item...

Sarah
She was absolutely amazing through my time back in school. She was without question my biggest supporter and encourager. The number of sacrifices she made so that I could finish school are too many to count. I'll do my best though to make sure she never forgets how thankful I'll always be for that.

My family & friends
I have the best family and friends I could ever ask for. I've wanted for YEARS for my parents to see their son graduate from college and I finally gave them that opportunity. As added bonus, my grandfather was able to make it to the ceremony, making it that much sweeter. Both my parents and Sarah's have been nothing but supportive and encouraging, and I know her parents really wanted to be there. It was great to have her brother there though, and I kinda looked at it as he was there representing the whole family which meant a lot to me.

Fairly often, Sarah and I talk about moving out of Atlanta, just to see what life is like somewhere else. But the hardest thing about seriously looking at it is knowing who we would be leaving behind. I cannot say enough about our church family and small group. They're just awesome. Our small group gets together as often as we can. We have great Bible studies, and we have great fun. When Memorial Day or July 4 or other events come around, that's who we want to spend it with, and we always have a great time. Just like my family, they stood by me throughout going back to school with nothing but support and encouragement, and our dear friends Josh and Erin even came to my graduation. I love those guys and everyone in our church group.

Turner Sports
Simply put, without this internship, graduation wouldn't have happened. I am so thankful for the opportunity I've been blessed with to come work at NASCAR.COM. I held my first presentation yesterday and all feedback so far has been nothing but complimentary. Every day I walk in, I'm reminded of how lucky I am to be here, and that one of the biggest reasons I am here is because of the help of others. This has been a great opportunity, and I'm looking forward to my final month here.

That'll conclude the Graduation Edition of Thankful Thursday, but that's not all I have. Check back later for the second part of Thankful Thursday.

The cake our NACofC Small Group presented me in celebration of graduating.

C25K

Going back to one of my new year resolutions, I have started making progress on my resolution to run a race this year. Last week my wife wrote a post about the running plan she has started and I have decided to undertake the same plan.

Couch to 5K

I'm big on researching before buying/starting anything. I was all ready to go with the "Nike+ Walk to Run" program on NikeRunning.com. It seemed like a pretty good plan to get started. Sarah, on the other hand, started on the C25K program and as she was telling me about it, I realized that the C25K plan would probably have me ready to run a 5K race MUCH sooner. By the Nike plan, it would take me about 24 weeks to be ready for a 5K. Maybe that's good for some people, but I'd like to progress a little faster. C35K's 9 week plan sounds much better to me.

A popular question is always, what gear are you using?

The shoes: Asics Nimbus 11

One of the perks of working for Hibbett Sports is that I get a pretty nice discount, which I must say I've taken pretty good advantage of. Another perk of the job is that I get to spend a LOT of time trying on different kinds of shoes so that I can know how to describe them to customers, while at the same time learning which ones I prefer. It came down between the Nimbus and the Mizuno Wave Creation. The Nimbus is probably the most comfortable shoe I have ever put on. I've now been running twice and have had no trouble with shin splints. That's a big deal for me.

Under Armour

I just can't justify UA's standard prices, so yep, there's my employee discount being used again. However, being that the temperature has been in the low-40s both times I have gone running, these two items have been life-savers. I'll be straight up with you - I don't like skin-tight clothing. At. All. But I have to admit, these work. I'll have you know, though, that I am mindful of the general public and wear a t-shirt and shorts over both.

For those of you keeping score at home, I've added a box on the right where you can track my progress and times. Call it a way for you to keep me held accountable.

As for my next run which is schedule for Friday, I'm looking at anywhere from 98-100% chance of rain. All. Day. This ought to be fun.

Thankful Thursday - Satellite Edition

Even though she didn't do it today, for a long time Sarah has been doing the Thankful Thursday post on her blog. I think that is a great idea - doing something each week that brings you back to the good things that are happening in your life. Thus, my first Thankful Thursday post.

To start off, I'm so very thankful to come home from work tonight to find out that Tom Glavine, my favorite baseball player ever, will officially be returning for another year with the Braves. I know a lot of people out there would rather see that spot in the rotation go to a younger player, but I'm just not ready to see Glavine go yet.

On a related note, I'm thankful that just a little over a month away is baseball season, and with that comes going to work for the Braves again. I can't wait. I love Turner Field. I love the Braves. And, even with all the negative press recently, I still love baseball.

I'm thankful that my classes are much more interesting this semester. Most of the work this semester is reading, and I won't lie, I have such a hard time getting myself to just sit down and read my textbooks. But I'm in classes that are actually my focus of study, which will always be better than college algebra or macroeconomics.

I'm thankful for Sarah and I having the opportunity to host our Sunday night small group. I'm really excited about being a part of this group.

Most importantly this week, I am thankful for Sarah. She has been such an example to me the past couple weeks, and months. She is so much quicker than me to completely put her trust in God. I need to be like that. She is always my biggest supporter in school and work. She makes sure that I remember that she is always by my side. Now she'll be the first to tell you that she has her faults. But she's the best wife I could have ever asked for. I don't deserve her, but I'll never let go of her. Thank you babe. I love you!!

Satellite - Guster
Shining like a work of art
Hanging on a wall of stars
Are you what I think you are?

You're my satellite
You're riding with me tonight
Passenger side, lighting the sky
Always the first star that I find
You're my satellite

Elevator to the moon
Whistling a favorite tune
Trying to get a closer view

You're my satellite
You're riding with me tonight
Passenger side, lighting the sky
Always the first star that I find
You're my satellite

Maybe you will always be
Just a little out of reach

You're my satellite
You're riding with me tonight
Passenger side, lighting the sky
Always the first star that I find
You're my satellite
You're my satellite