James' First Week

December 23-29, 2012 

James spent the first week of his life in the Fairview Hospital NICU. Although it was so hard not to be able to hold him, have him in our hospital room with us or take him home right away, we took comfort in knowing what great hands he was in. We cannot say enough wonderful things about all of the doctors and nurses there. During this holiday week, our little man became the NICU's number one priority, and was sincerely cared for. He was in bed #1, in the front left corner of the NICU. To keep his area as quiet as possible, he had a "fort" of screens surrounding his incubator to help keep the noise out and remind those around him to be silent so that he could get as much rest as possible.

After Phil and I came home from the hospital on Christmas night, we continued to spend our days and nights in the NICU by James' bedside every day; holding his hand, telling him all about Christmas and the snow, and reading him stories. Each day James grew stronger and stronger; surpassing the doctors' expectations every time. It was truly amazing to see.

Here are some of the memories and milestones from his first week:

December 24: Monday, Christmas Eve 

• Phil spreads the word about James' condition. If it weren't for Phil, I don't think anyone would have gotten any details, as I was not up for talking on the phone and could only handle minimal texting without crying. Phil was wonderful and took on the role of the communicator, updating family and friends each day of James' health and progress. We were overwhelmed with how many people sent along their thoughts and prayers to us in the hospital (Thank You!). Our days centered around visiting with James at his bedside, pumping breast milk for future feedings, taking naps in between, and usually ended with Phil and I alternating tears upon reading every one's well wishes. I think I even forgot that I was also at the hospital because I too was a patient. My recovery seemed trivial compared to what James was going through.

• When James was first placed in the NICU, his body was not circulating oxygen properly. Because his lungs could not expand, his body reverted back to circulating blood as it did when he was a fetus in the womb; bypassing the lungs and circulating carbon dioxide instead of oxygen, thinking it could rely on the placenta to circulate the oxygen for it. Only, once the cord is cut, there is no placenta anymore to do this function. Therefore, from the beginning he required a machine to give him 100% oxygen. Each day, as his lungs began to clear and his body became stronger, he was slowly weaned off the oxygen levels.

• James' blood/gas tests show improvement; his body begins to circulate it's own oxygen, instead of carbon dioxide.

        Oxygen and Nitrous Oxide Machine (Left)                   Dopamine, IV fluid and Morphine drips

         High Frequency Oscillator Ventilator (Right)               (administered through James' cord stump)

 

Sweet Baby James 

• Nurses made a card from James, using his tiny footprints to create an adorable penguin Christmas card. They also made a separate footprint set for us to keep and bring to our hospital room with us. 

 

With love, from James 

 

10 Tiny Toes

• James' nurse said he looked around when she turned him (he is constantly laying on his back, and turned every 12 hours, with his head facing either North or South of his bed). She told us he had big beautiful eyes and was so handsome. We hoped to see them open for us soon!

• Being Christmas Eve, Phil and I read James the story of "The Night Before Christmas." The book was given to him as a gift from one of the nurses.

• James receives his first Christmas ornament! Handmade by one of the NICU nurses. So sweet. 

• Our parents get a peak at their grandson for the first time!

December 25: Tuesday, Christmas Day

• Our Christmas present was James finally opening his eyes for us when I changed his hat.  We could finally get a glimpse of those big beautiful eyes and see him peacefully awake. It was such a nice surprise to see, as James is normally sedated and sleeping when we see him. I was discharged from the hospital this day, and was struggling with the idea of having to leave the hospital without James. This small miracle allowed us to be to be discharged with a sense of peace despite all of the madness of the situation. We see this as a great sign, given all of the medication he was on to sedate him. 

• Nitrous oxide support is cut in half, Morphine cut by 50%, Dopamine by 40%.  

• Oxygen levels on the oscillator are now around 30% (we breathe 26% in room air). 

• We hang his reindeer angel ornament from Grandma Wisch over his bed to watch over him while we are away.

  

 

Christmas card to James from a little boy named Brendan. So sweet!

James' footprints and Christmas hat from the hospital. 

Poinsettia from Grandpa and GrandMama Yale

 

Daddy and his strong little man

December 26: Wednesday

• Our first big winter snow storm hits. Daddy has to snow blow the driveway and walkways before we can head out to the NICU to visit James for the day. Look at all that snow. We began associating snowfall as a "good luck" sign that James was improving each day. And, he really was!

• James gets a new chest X-ray; Doctor deems his lungs look "good," and are clearing the fluid and meconium nicely. Great news!

December 27: Thursday

• James graduated to new vent! Although still requiring a tube down his throat, instead of the high frequency oscillator ventilator, he is now on a conventional respirator, allowing him to breathe on his own, while still receiving additional support.
  

• Off Dopamine drips. Blood pressure is now stable!

December 28: Friday

• We officially find out the results of James's head ultrasound, revealing no brain impairment! 

December 29: Saturday

• James is off the normal respirator at 6 am! This means no more tube down his throat! We could tell he was so much happier and more comfortable.  He could finally give us that loud cry we had been waiting all week to hear!
  
  

• Mama is able to hold and cuddle with James for the first time. Best day ever! He was not a fan of the oxygen tube on his face. He kept pulling it out from his nose as if to say, "Hey, I don't need this anymore, get it off me!" Sure enough, this was the first and only day he needed the extra support. The next day the oxygen tube was gone and he was breathing on his own.

• James gets a new incubator! Since he no longer requires the vent and as many meds, he has now graduated to an Isolette incubator, instead of the open bed incubator.  This will block out more noise for him (since he is no longer on sedation medication), and allow him to rest more peacefully without all of the monitor beeping and other baby cries startling him every few minutes. A nurse also gave him a very boyish sports quilt (in Browns' colors!) to help keep him cozy as well.

 

James' First Day

December 23, 2012

Around 5 am, three hours after James was born, we were finally able to go see him in the NICU (Newborn Intensive Care Unit). 

Exhausted from labor and delivery, as well as the 48 hours of contractions / not sleeping from the weekend, we find out heart wrenching news from Dr. Mohammed Tamim - James is very ill with meconium aspiration. This means that he essentially inhaled his first black tarry stool (meconium) and amniotic fluid in the womb, during delivery.  The meconium and fluid filled his lungs, inhibiting his breathing. This was why we never heard the loud cry we expected to hear in the delivery room; his poor lungs weren't able to expand. Unfortunately, James needed full assistance from an oscillating ventilator to breath and recover.  

Although about 20% of full-term babies pass their first stool in the womb (they are fully developed and ready for the world, anyway), this unlucky respiratory condition only occurs in roughly 1% of full-term babies. Even though it isn't a rare occurrence for the NICU, it is definitely uncommon to inhale as much as our little man did. That is never settling news, especially coming from a NICU doctor. Right from the beginning, James proved to us that he was an individual who would take the path less traveled in life.

When we see James, he is on a respirator with many cords and tubes attached to him, including a breathing tube down his throat. He appears sleeping, as he is on high doses of pain medication and sedation. The doctor explains to us that he is very sick, and uses the words "critical condition." Words you never want to hear about anyone you love, let alone your newborn baby that has only been in the world for a few hours. We are told not to touch him, as any startling could send his body into stress and disrupt his vitals. However, although his condition was deemed critical, the doctor tells us he is optimistic that James will recover given the amazing resilience of babies.

James on Day 2

(no pictures were taken Day 1 in the NICU, as we were in total shock)

We go to bed in our post-partum room stunned and exhausted. Passing other new families on the way to our room, tears fill our eyes as we see other families dotting over and sleeping with their healthy newborn "rooming in" their rooms. I remember hearing cries of nearby babies, waking for early morning feedings, and realized that we never even got to hear what James' cry sounded like yet. With a million thoughts running through our heads, we finally settle down to a very brief sleep at 6:30am.  We were scared and not sure what to think about the timeline on James' recovery.

We are woken up at 9:30 am by a social worker telling us about the NICU; and she tells us to go down to the 3rd floor and talk to the doctors about the James condition, given the "doctors' rounds" were done around 10 am.

A new doctor, Dr. Wasim, one who we would come to like very much, briefs us on James.  He tells us that James is still considered to be in critical condition (being the first 48 hours of life), but he reassures us he is "stable."  While James is very sick, the doctor keeps reminding us that it "could have been a lot worse."  The initial tests run reveal the high likelihood of no neurological (brain) damage due to lack of oxygen. Thank God.  

Dr. Wasim explains all of the medication and support James is receiving to us (oxygen to breathe, nitrous oxide for vessel stimulation, fluid IVs for nutrition, morphine for pain, dopamine for blood pressure, antibiotics to reduce possibility of inflection, and most importantly - surfactant). Surfactant is a complex naturally occurring substance made of six lipids (fats) and four proteins that is produced in the lungs, but can also be manufactured synthetically.  James needed this pumped into him to reduce the surface tension of fluid in the lungs to help make the small air sacs (alveoli) more stable.  This prevents the lungs from collapsing when an individual exhales.

Although we aren't sure which questions to be asking, Dr. Wasim does a wonderful job of explaining things to us in words we can understand; and doesn't mind repeating himself several times, as we try to process and understand it all. The doctors and nurses tried to prepare us for a "roller coaster ride" of a recovery, which could take up to several weeks. We were told to expect James to take 2 steps forward and 1 step back; the recovery would be slow and hard to predict what his little body could handle - he just has to take it hour-by-hour, one day at a time.

James' Birth Story

December 21-23, 2012

As you know, my due date weekend (Saturday, 12/15) came and went with no sign of baby. Although it was December, there was also still no sign of snow. Phil and I would joke that maybe the baby was waiting for snow...

Although everyone says it's typical to be late with your first child, each night past that date I would go to bed anxiously awaiting to be awoken in the middle of the night, ready to go to the hospital. At my last doctor's appointment (12/14), since I had not yet started to progress and labor did not seem imminent, my doctor suggested we schedule an induction the week of Christmas, "just in case" I didn't go into labor on my own. The tentative date was 12/27. After dodging the C-section talk from the previous week, I was hopeful I would just go into labor on my own and wouldn't need to be induced. Plus, I was really hoping Baby Gibbs would be here before Christmas. :)

The following week, I took off from work each day, optimistically thinking I was going to go into labor any minute. The hospital bag had been packed, house had been cleaned. While I was off from work, I was determined to "get things moving" by walking around the block daily, pacing around the house, cooking up a storm (mini meatloaves, pastas, Oreo truffles, and cookies, just to name a few) and spending lots of time sitting on the exercise ball. Since I had already completed my nursery/house "nesting" by my due date, the bonus week nesting came in the form of cooking, baking and freezing meals. We were ready. At least, we thought we were!

What I wasn't ready for was 48 hours of contractions! 

Around midnight on Friday, December 21 mild contractions began = no sleep for me. I was up every hour or so, partially because I was uncomfortable, but mostly happily wondering, "Could today be the day?! Should I wake Phil up or let him keep sleeping?" Since this was our first baby, I really had no idea what to expect, but I anticipated labor would take awhile. Phil went to work in the morning to finish a few things, just in case we would be heading to the hospital later. Contractions continued throughout the day. And, just as we had joked, it started to snow flurry outside! Baby Gibbs really was waiting for snow! "I'm going to have this baby either tonight or tomorrow!" I thought. Phil and I began letting family and close friends know that contractions have started. We thought it would be only a few hours until the contractions got shorter in duration and stronger in magnitude to warrant a visit to Fairview General Hospital in Cleveland. 

That night, given that contractions had carried on for nearly 24 hours, and were now about 6-8 minutes apart, we went to the hospital just to see if I was progressing. After being checked, we were disappointed to find out that I was only 1 cm dilated. How?! I thought. The contractions seemed pretty strong, why weren't they doing their job?! We were sent home, instructed to continue laboring at home until contractions get stronger and closer together; essentially wait until "things get worse." Awesome.

Well, contractions continued and they were definitely getting worse, preventing me from sleeping Friday night. I would wake up every few minutes clutching my pillow and breathing through the minute of pain, all while Phil was sound asleep next to me, with no clue what I was going through. Contractions continued through the early morning of Saturday, December 22, and well into the day. As time passed, they clearly were stronger as I was stopped in my tracks in many cases, clutching anything I could get two hands on (Phil's shoulders (bear hug/middle school dance style), the couch, the kitchen counter top, the banister on the stairs, the towel rack in the shower, and the list goes on).  Feeling like we were on house arrest, we took a few visitors on Saturday during the day, including Papa Yale, Mama Wisch, and Matt Carson, all of which largely providing food while I am laboring in the family room, trying to carry on conversations through increasingly painful contractions. After seeing me that day, our parents predicted the little man would be here very soon.

While the contractions during Saturday were increasingly strong, they were very erratic in timing; some 2-3 mins apart and some closer to 15 mins apart.  After already being sent home from the hospital once, we were waiting for consistency before going back, which we did not seem to get.  However, around 8:45 pm, while watching the last part of the Wizard of Oz, my water broke during one of my contractions! When your water breaks, there is no turning back; we finally had our ticket through the hospital doors! We immediately called the doctor around 9 pm, and she suggested that, given it was our first child, we had between 2-4 hours to get to the hospital.   

Knowing we could be in labor at the hospital for awhile (and I would only be able to eat popsicles), we took our time collecting our things, ate a few bites of food for strength and headed to the hospital around 10 pm.  Good thing we only live 15 minutes away, I had two very painful contractions in the car ride there! Upon arrival, Phil dropped me off at the emergency room, and I waited in a wheel chair for him to park and come get me. I had several contractions there and felt people looking at me like who is this lady in labor alone?! Shouldn't you be heading to the delivery room?! When Phil arrived, we headed upstairs and were quickly admitted into the triage room to be checked. To our collective dismay, the nurse told us that I was 7-8cm dilated. Really?! Being only 1 cm the night before, I expected her to say 3 or 4 cm. That was a nice surprise! The nurse was impressed I did all of the hard labor at home without any pain medication. After telling me many women beg for pain medication around 3-5 cm, I was clearly in active labor during much of Saturday afternoon and had no idea. I was shocked and proud of myself for laboring at home as well. This excited us because we knew the "finish line" was close at hand.  We had a discussion about whether I wanted an epidural for pain, and thinking things would of course have to be getting worse, I quickly said yes. 

We were brought into Birthing Room #8 at Fairview a little before 11pm on the 22nd (Phil likes to note #8 because this was his soccer number growing up, he thought it was a good "sign").  About 30 minutes later, when I was checked again, I was fully dilated and contractions became even closer together, about 1-2 minutes apart.  At that point, it was about waiting for the doctor to arrive and getting ready to push.  Needless to say, everything happened so quickly that the epidural option was virtually in the rear view. When the nurse told me the worst of the pain (contractions) was over, I decided to not get the epidural and geared myself up for a natural childbirth. Plus, hearing the list of possible side effects and complications as I was coming in and out of reality through contractions didn't seem worth it at that point for just a few hours! I was ready to meet this little guy - no time to think about it, it was go time!

Last picture of us as a family of 2!

Began pushing around 12 am on December 23. It was now clear that our son would be born on the 23rd!  Phil was a great coach, playing many Phillip Phillips and James Taylor songs for me in the background, supplying water and chap stick as I rallied during quick contraction breaks. After playing a 2-hour game of "tug-of-war" with the nurses to help me through the pushing (a technique I loved and highly recommend!), our little snow bear, James Theodore, emerged at 2:19am!

Daddy cut the cord, but there was no cry, only a faint gasp. Something was not right in the air. James was thoroughly suctioned as Dad held his little hand; the pediatric doctor on the floor and nurses pulled out all the fluid and meconium from his airways that they could, but James was white and not responding, and not crying. In what should have been a typical joyous moment, our uneasiness began to grow... 

Not knowing the extent of his condition, the nurse brings James over to me so I could finally meet him - he was so handsome! Instantly in love. However, I knew things were not right when I was not allowed to hold him; he was placed on my chest for only a very quick snapshot and then whisked away to the NICU for further examination. After the dust settled and we were finally left alone in the delivery room to rest and recover, we just starred at each other. On one hand, we were amazed at what a beautiful baby we just welcomed into the world, and on the other we were terrified, wondering what was going to happen to him and how long they were going to make us wait before we could see our sweet baby. During this time Phil sent out a simple message to family and friends letting them know JTG was born. 

Around 5 am, 3 hours after birth, we were finally taken to the NICU to get a glimpse of our little man.

Handsome little man. Look at all that hair!

Quick 20 second snuggle before being whisked away to the NICU. 

At this time, we had no idea how critical his condition was. This image of his sweet face got us through those tough days and nights that were to come. 

James Theodore!

Sorry for the lack of posting lately! Can you tell we had a baby?! These past few days and nights have sure been a little hectic and sleepless, but we are so thankful we are all finally home together and can now enjoy adjusting to life as a family of three!

Without further delay...

After spending 12 days in the NICU, recovering from meconium and fluid aspiration, we can finally exhale. Our little snow bear is finally healthy and home with us. We could not be more excited and thankful! Thank you to all for your positive thoughts and prayers.

These past few weeks have sure been an emotional roller coaster; the best and worst moments of our lives intertwined over the holiday season. However, we are so proud and thankful to share that James Theodore is finally here! One week past his due date, Baby Gibbs made his big debut; and what a journey it's been!

James Theodore Gibbs 

Born December 23, 2012 at 2:19 am
8 lb 21 inches long 

The strongest and sweetest little man we know! We feel very blessed and so thankful he is here with us, he is amazing.

Stay tuned as I relive the past few weeks and post all the details of his birth story, NICU stay and new life here at home this week.

Although some details we'd like to forget, it's important to write it all down so James can read all about his birth story one day; it's inspiring to see how far he's come in just a short time, he is our hero. He is a blessing and we just love him so much!

Surprise Visitor!

Look who came to town all the way from Texas - Uncle Bryan!!

What a fun surprise! My brother flew in for my due date weekend. So nice to be able to spend time with him. Although his nephew hasn't arrived yet for him to meet, we are trying our best to get this little man to make an appearance soon! 

 

Bryan & I

40 weeks!

 

Phil, Me & Bryan

 

Bryan & Dad

just before heading to the Browns game!

No baby, yet!

Due date weekend!

No baby, yet! But, we are keeping ourselves busy. We had a nice dinner date night on Friday, and then took the little guy to see some Christmas lights.

 

Anyone remember the house in the musical streets that does the massive lights display every year? Still going strong!

 

Last day of 39 weeks!

Any day now, little guy. We can't wait to meet you!!

Turn Baby, Turn!

December 11, 2012

At my doctor's appointment last week, I found out some interesting and mind-boggling news. After weeks of Baby Gibbs being in the optimal "head down" vertex position, at week 38 he decided to do a little tumbling act! At week 37 (a Friday) my doctor had checked me and could immediately tell he was head down, ready to go. However, at last week's appointment (a Wednesday, literally 5 days later), his head was nowhere to be found. Which left her puzzled, so she went to grab the ultrasound monitor, so we could clearly see what he was up to in there!

Well, sure enough, little man was now kicking and playing around, but facing head up! His little head was right under my right rib cage, and feet were actively kicking my lower left side. Now, I know many of you have not seen me up close in awhile, but there does not seem to be that much room in my belly! Especially for a 6-7 pound-something baby to be doing flips. However, just like his Dad, he proved he is one active little man with his own agenda.

38 Weeks ~ Our little breech baby 

With his new positioning, my doctor began prepping me with the "options" for our now breech positioned baby. All I remember hearing her say was that if he did not turn on his own very soon, we would need to schedule a C-section to get him out. Her preference was a scheduled C-section, VS. letting me go into labor naturally with a breech baby and ultimately needing an emergency C-section. The more calm environment, the better. I appreciated that thought. However, I had a feeling that if the little guy could flip this late in the game, he had to be able to flip back. Maybe he just wasn't ready yet. Right?!

When I cam home that night and shared the news with Phil, we started considering the options. Did we want to have a C-section scheduled for 12/11 or 12/14? NO. Not if he could flip naturally on his own. But if it was medically necessary and best for the baby, so be it.

Other options? We could have set up an appointment with my doctor at the hospital to perform an External Version, which essentially tries to flip the baby from the outside by pushing on the baby and your uterus. Although there has been proven success with this technique, there has also been times where the baby does not respond well to the vigorous maneuvering and his heart rate could drop, or the placenta could rupture, and we would need to be ready for an emergency C-section that day. To us, that just seemed scary. Not only for us, but it sounded a little traumatizing for such a little babe. We didn't want to put stress on him - we just want him to be healthy!

Our next appointment was set for Tuesday (12/11) to check on his progress. Therefore, we had a short window (Thursday - Tuesday) to try to get our little man to flip back naturally on his own, or else have to face the C-section discussion.

How? You ask. If you ever Google "How to flip a breech baby," oh the amount of information you will find. There are even You Tube videos out there to show you these techniques instead of just describing them. Last weekend, we were on a mission: Mission Turn Baby, Turn. We were willing to try anything, as long as it appeared harmless for me and the baby.

What did we try? What didn't we try?!

• Pelvic tilts. Getting down on your hands and knees, arching your back like a rainbow (head down) and then arching your back up like a U (head up) to try to open your hips, give the baby more room in your belly to turn, and gently "rock the baby" back into the right position. Apparently my Mom was taught this exercise at her natural childbirth class, and was surprised I didn't hear about it / was not doing it as well. I started to do these every morning, afternoon and night, for 5 days.

• Playing Music. Put headphones near the bottom of my belly, and played music, trying to entice the little guy to move his head toward the music. You would not believe how much movement we saw (and I felt!) every time we turned the music on! Little man loves to dance! Although I couldn't tell if he completely turned around solely using this technique, it definitely perked him up and got him moving! Music of choice? Although we played many options, Baby Gibbs LOVES James Taylor. Especially the song Sweet Baby James. (Thanks Alan & Ashley for the album!) It will be interesting to see how he responds to this music when he's out in the world!

• Sleeping on Right Side. Every pregnancy book you read, you hear it's best for circulation to sleep on your left side. However, I read that if the baby is positioned facing to the left side, it would be extremely difficult for him to "turn around" if I continued sleeping on this side. If I slept on my right side, this would give him more room to turn and motivation to scoot away and down from my rib cage. So, depending on which way baby is facing, sleeping on the opposite side is suppose to help!

• Exercise Ball. Did lots of hip circles on my trusty exercise ball (which, I haven't used in about 2 years), every morning and night. Also just sat on it for better posture, to help open up my hips and to relieve lower back and abdominal pressure.

• Acupuncture. Well, no, I didn't actually go see an Acupuncture therapist, haven't ever been to one and the idea of putting needles in your body doesn't seem up my alley in my current condition. However, our good friend, Mr. Mark Parr, consulted his Acupuncturist and found there are pressure points on your hands and feet, that when pressed all at the same time, help the body relax and help the baby to turn. The pressure points are on each hand, under your middle finger (your tallest finger, pressing on the palm side of your hand, where your finger meets your palm) and on your feet, under your tallest toe (pressing on the base of where the toe meets your foot, on the base of your foot). The catch is that you need two people to do this to you (you cannot do this to yourself), to be able to press on the two points on your hands and two points on your feet at the same time. However, it does relieve tension and helps you feel more relaxed!

           

• Pedicure. Phil's Mom and I went to get a pedicure over the weekend. Mainly because it was her birthday gift from us, but also because a nice foot massage does wonders for you to feel relaxed as well. And, now our feet are hospital/holiday ready! 

• Moxibustion. Moxi what? Phil's Mom read about an ancient Chinese herbal technique, where they burn these Moxa Sticks (essentially a cigar shaped incense stick) near your pinkie toenail, which is found to be a pressure point to help warm and relax the body, open the uterus and allow a breech baby more room to move around and turn naturally. However, this treatment is recommended around week 35-37 and suppose to be performed every day for about 2 weeks to help baby to turn. We had  5 days and were at week 39.  Although it seemed a little "out-there" we were willing to try anything! Couldn't hurt! However, we just didn't know where we could find these said "Moxa Sticks" to perform our own at-home experiment. Although you could order them online, we didn't have that kind of time. So, after venturing to the nearest Chinese supermarket and asking the workers there, we were directed to a Chinese medicine man's shop downtown, at Asia Plaza. Who knew?! The medicine man knew exactly what we were talking about, and we purchased 5 sticks (only $1 each). He explained how to use them (confirming what we had heard) and wished us luck! For that weekend and the next few days, Phil became my personal medicine man, waving Moxa sticks near my pinkie toes and talking to the baby to get him to move. NOTE: If you ever try this, make sure all windows and doors are open - the herbal sticks create lots of smoke and smell, therefore lots of ventilation is needed to breath. However, I must say, it is quite relaxing.

This goes under the category, "you know your husband loves you when..."

Dr. Phil, my "Chinese medicine man" 

Doesn't he look thrilled?

This past Tuesday was where we learned the verdict. Did our crazy efforts and experiments seem to work?

THEY DID!!

Although the doctor couldn't tell his positioning just by looking at and feeling my belly, once she brought in the ultrasound, she could immediately see that he was in fact, head down again! Little man turned back on his own (or gentle coaching from his parents!). He did it! He listened!!!

What a huge relief and answered prayer!

Now, it's a waiting game. Fingers crossed he stays put.

Any day now, little one. We can't wait to meet our little active guy!