Jonathan Ross Green

Introducing Jonathan Ross Green. Born at 9:42 pm on December 10, 2009. He weighed 8 lbs. 1 oz. and was 20 1/2 in. long. As you can see from the first picture, he was a bit blue after birth and needed a little help. He stayed in the NICU for a brief time for observation and it was determined that he just didn't have time to squeeze all of the amniotic fluid from his lungs because he came down so quickly.

So I had to have a picture of all the "stuff" on him. It's actually sad when it feels normal to see your child with an IV. I told Ross that it just seemed to fit. If you have a child in the hospital, it's only fitting that there be an IV; right? Now, I know this is not normal especially for a newborn. I did tell him that he didn't have to try so hard to prove he was part of the family; we will keep him...healthy and all! ;) Abbz was really sweet. She kept touching the IV, saying I have one of those. I think it was a bonding experience for the two of them.


The Green kids! My sweet girls and little guy. Somehow they all look different, yet they all favor. As Mandy would say, they are definitely Green Babies!

Look what Santa left us under the tree. The best little Christmas present ever! Eight pounds of pure joy!!

Update and Birthday Wish!

Here I am, and yes I am still alive. Quite frankly, I just have not felt like even getting on the computer much less blogging. The baby and I are doing okay. He is still growing well, and I am too! ;) I had some significant swelling at my appointment yesterday, but my blood pressure is still holding steady so for now everything is still good. Dr. P is out all week so I am praying that this week proves to be a good one. The swelling is still pretty bad which is usually an indicator that my blood pressure is either on the rise or going to be. We are hoping to get me to 36 weeks, he would be happier with 37 weeks, and if I have not delivered by 38 weeks, he will for sure induce me then. So before Christmas we should have a happy, healthy baby boy in our arms at home. The best Christmas present ever!! Oh, I guess you probably would like to know how far along I am right now...35 weeks tomorrow. On another note, I have officially reached that point in my pregnancy when I can no longer sleep. Going to sleep usually isn't the problem, staying asleep, now that is a different story. If something wakes me, I am pretty much up for the night. I have been awake since 3:30 this morning, and don't foresee me going to sleep until bedtime tonight. Oh well. I guess God is preparing me for when Jonathan arrives. I have joked in the past that I have to have a baby to get any rest, and this time I am definitely thinking that may be the case. Oh.......I just realized what today is.........

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ABIGAIL!!!!!!!!!!!
Today is Abigail's 3rd Birthday! I really cannot believe it. She is getting so big, and her personality is really beginning to shine through. She has come a long way over the past two years health-wise, physically, and developmentally and I cannot wait to see what the future holds for her. Daddy, Mommy, and the Girls love you very much and hope today is a very special day for you! What was it you wanted?...a white kitty cat (stuffed animal) with green eyes? I guess we will have to see if your birthday wish comes true!

Sweet Boy!

Here is a profile of Jonathan sucking his thumb. What a sweet boy!

Well, I had my 31 week appointment today. After an ultrasound to check Jonathan's growth, it was determined that he is a very healthy growing boy! It is estimated that he already weighs 4 lbs 10 oz., and he is measuring 11 days bigger than his due date shows he should be. As if I wasn't stressed that he was going to be a big boy before now, I really am after hearing that news! For goodness sakes, Ross weighed 11 pounds. Eleven pounds! Now I figure that I will be delivering before I am full term, so hopefully I won't be having anywhere near an eleven pound baby. The goal right now is to make it to 36 weeks. That will be December 2, and Dr. P will be on-call then; so for now, December 2nd is the goal. From here on out, I will have a non-stress test to check for baby distress and prenatal visits every week until delivery. I could be bringing home this sweet baby boy in 5 weeks. Oh, and bed rest. He did say that he was not putting me on strict bed rest, but that I do really need to take it easy. In his words, "I don't want you out running around all day, but taking care of your kids is okay." So, I will take it easy so that I can bring home my beautiful baby boy.

Bed Rest

That's right folks, it's that time again. My blood pressure has been a little elevated for a couple of weeks now, but it spiked pretty high today. After seeing the on-call doctor this afternoon, monitoring the baby, and doing lab work, I was told to increase my medication and take it easy. "Take it easy" translates into bed rest. So for now it isn't strict bed rest. I just have to take it easy, laying around as much as possible...no cooking, cleaning, or shopping. Sounds like strict bed rest to me! Well, she did tell me that "if I had to" I could pick up and take the girls to school. Actually she said that realistically, complete bed rest would probably be impossible with three children. I appreciated the fact that she took that into consideration. All she kept saying was do as little as possible, call in favors from friends, have my husband help, and so forth. The husband helping isn't a problem. He is really great about helping with the kids, doing laundry, picking up the house, etc. Just so you know, as I am writing all of this my husband is reading over my shoulder (out loud I might add) in his seductive voice. No really, he is! Silly boy!! The only problem with all of this is that I am not at all prepared. When I was pregnant with Abigail, I already had the nursery done, most of the Christmas presents purchased, and all of the baby stuff done. I am not prepared at all! Nothing is done. I still have baby stuff I need. I haven't even started on Jonathan's room, and as for Christmas...well, Merry Christmas...they may be all anyone is getting. Have I mentioned that the baby bed and bassinet are still in the attic? Oh my. The good news is that she did allow me to still be a bridesmaid in my sister's wedding. I just have to sit down immediately following the ceremony and have people cater to me at the reception. Hum? How well do you think that will go with 3 little girls running around? I didn't mention to her that the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner are tomorrow night. I figure I just need to make it through this weekend and then I can really take it easy. I may just have to excuse myself and lay down and rest for a bit while dealing with the wedding and stuff, but that will be okay. I have to go instruct my children (from the couch) to start their bed time routine now. This should be interesting...

Small-town Inconvenience

I love the small-town qualities of Siloam Springs, but it also has it's inconveniences. A major one being that it does not have a 24 hour pharmacy. Hey, at this point I would settle for one staying open until 9 or 10 on a Saturday night. We think there is a pretty good chance Mary Grace has the flu. Well, either that or mono. Both Sarah and Blair have mono, and we are pretty sure that Coy and Daddy have it too :( . Now, there is a better chance that MG has the flu than mono so Dr. B called in Tamiflu and said to start taking it immediately. Hence the reason I wish there was a 24 hour pharmacy here. Ross is on his way to Fayetteville as we speak to pick up said Tamiflu. Here is to hoping the Tamiflu works and we don't have to worry about anything more than keeping the rest of the family healthy!

Blog Time

So, it has been a while since I have blogged. Prepare yourselves, this could be a long one. Last week was our trip to Cincinnati. I didn't blog while we were there because this was this first trip since Ross and I have had kids that we didn't have to bring anyone along. I decided to spend my free time with my hubby instead of updating our blog! :) His scope went well, and by appearances nothing has changed from last time. Although appearances really mean very little; we are hoping that is a good sign, and that he has passed his beef trial. We won't know anything until his biopsy results come back in about a week.

Our time together in Cincy was wonderful. Amanda said it was our "babymoon" and really it was. Our last chance to be alone before he gets here! It was nice being able to just walk through stores and around the mall without having to keep up with little ones or push a stroller! We were able to go to a movie at 10:20 pm and then to a restaurant afterwards because it didn't matter what time we woke up the next morning. We did see a family at the movie theater that I would like to address.

Dear young Mom with your pajama pants and over-sized sweat shirt and Dad standing outside the bathroom yelling, "Let's go!",

The next time you want to see, and I quote, "The scariest movie of the decade" (Paranormal Activity), you should probably leave your three year old little boy at home! Not only did that movie probably give your child nightmares for days, but really? did you have to take him to the midnight movie?! Let me give you an example of what "good parents" do: If you want to take your three year old to a movie, I suggest the 3D version of Toy Story and Toy Story 2. Accompanied with popcorn, M&M's, and a bottle of water. Oh, and let me mention that for best results take your child to the matinee or at latest the 7 pm showing. This way he will be able to enjoy a horror-free film and be in bed at a reasonable hour.

Sincerely,
Concerned Parents

Now that I have gotten that off my chest, let's get on with the rest of the week. We were finally able to find Jonathan's coming home outfit! It is a little blue cable knit sweater outfit with little brown suede shoes. So cute! My sweet husband literally took me to every baby store in Cincinnati in search of this outfit. We finally found it in the last store we went to. On our way home, we had decided to stop for the night in St. Louis to break up the trip a little. However, this plan quickly changed when Ross' dad called (as we were driving to St. Louis) to tell us that Ross' grandfather had passed away. Poppa was 93 years old and really lived a full life. His health had suddenly gone down hill so we knew this was coming. We just didn't realize it would be so soon. Fortunately he passed in his sleep and did not have to suffer long. All that to say, we ended up driving to Springfield, MO and arrived at 2:30 am. We slept for a few hours, got to Fayetteville about 1 pm, packed up the kids, were home for about an hour and a half and then drove to Hot Springs. The funeral was Monday morning, and by Monday evening we were finally home. So much for a relaxing trip home. We were in the car for about 20 hours over a 3 day period...I don't care if I go anywhere else until after this baby is born. My body hurts in places I didn't even know could hurt. Really, for being 7 months pregnant I did very well. Now we wait for results and go from there.

A Bitter Sweet BB&B

So I really have nothing important to say. I should be up cleaning the house, but sitting at the computer blogging about nothing seemed more appealing. I can't imagine why, she says sarcastically. Ross is out riding his motorcycle. Bikes, Blues, and BBQ is this weekend. We anticipate it's return from the time it is over every year. This year is a little bitter sweet. Excited that it is here, sad that it's just not going to be quite the same. Grumpy (Ross' dad) always rides up here on his bike the week of BB&B, but couldn't this year. Ross' grandmother has been in the hospital and was just discharged today. Ross is disappointed and a little sad that Grumpy couldn't make it, and frankly the girls and I are too. (Although, let me say that we completely understand why he cannot make it.) This is the one time out of the year that Ross gets to spend some time alone with his dad. They always enjoy a ride together on Friday morning, and then we all meet up as a family sometime Friday afternoon. Saturday is probably the best day of the week. We all go as a family that morning, watch the parade that afternoon, and then that evening it's just Ross and I with Grumpy. We all get "our time" with Grumpy, and this year he is going to be greatly missed. My girls LOVE there special Grumpy time and looking at the motorcycles. As they are getting older, they have learned that when the motorcycles start rolling into town, it must be time for BB&B. I hope that we can continue this tradition for many many years to come, and we are already looking forward to next year! We miss you, Grumpy.