Our Little Miracle

Miracles come in all shapes and sizes and ours happened to weigh in at 4 lbs 2 oz (and 17 inches long). We were blessed with a beautiful baby boy- William Roland James - born on November 11, 2008. William was delivered after I developed toxemia and the doctor felt it was in the best interest of both of us to go ahead and perform a C-section. William spent 11 days in the NICU because he was premature and very small. We had known beforehand that he would be in the NICU, but I don't think, no matter how prepared we thought we were, that we were ready to see our little baby hooked up to monitors and machines. We were so blessed, however, to have good nurses taking care of our baby and explaining to us what every thing was for and what it all meant. While in the NICU, William was in an isolette to keep him warm enough, he had to be under phototherapy lights for jaundice, he had an IV in his head (this was probably my least favorite thing), and a feeding tube going down his nose into his stomach. He was hooked up to lots of monitors to measure just about everything it seemed like! We were able to hold him 2 times a day for thirty minutes at a time. The rest of the time he had to be in the isolette in order to keep him warm enough. It was hard not to be able to hold him longer and be with him, but we are grateful for modern medicine that made it possible for him to be okay.

We saw blessing after blessing while William was there and after a mere 11 days (we thought it would be much longer) he got to come home. There is a certain moment when you are overcome with complete panic when the doctor tells you that you get to take home your 4 lb. 9 oz baby. I remember thinking "NO WAY. . .you can't send me home with such a tiny baby. . .I think he needs to stay here until he is a LEAST 7 lbs!" But really, it was wonderful to bring him home so soon and it only took me about 2-3 weeks before I could actually sleep without waking up every 5 minutes to see if he was okay!

William is now between 8-9 lbs (we find out tomorrow how much he weighs, so that is just our guess) and doing great! He eats well and is healthy and strong and is such a wonderful little baby! One of the most interesting things about William is that he has red hair. . .now, that may not seem all too weird to most of you, but when you take into account that Roland is half Japanese and I don't have red hair, then you might start to wonder. The first time the nurse pointed out his red hair I admit I thought to myself "Well, they have made a mistake, this can't possibly be our baby because our baby can't possibly have red hair!" But, Roland and I are finally getting used to our little Red Headed Asian Baby!!!

We are just so grateful to have William here with us. There were so many complications surrounding this pregnancy and yet each time after the doctors found something else that could possibly go wrong or had gone wrong, we immediately saw blessings and felt at peace knowing that everything would turn out the way it was supposed to. We are also grateful for all the wonderful family and friends who visited while I was on bedrest and who constantly prayed for our little baby. . .he is definitely the product of alot of people's prayers and love! We love being parents and are excited for the years to come, although we already think he is growing up too fast! Here are some fun pics of William's first weeks of life!


William all snug and cozy in his little isolette

Hangin' out with dad an hour or two after he was born

Roland right before the C-section

We got to hold him twice a day for 30 minutes at a time.

He slept alot at the beginning!

Holding on to Roland's finger. . .isn't he so cute (and small!)

Sleeping peacefully in his little isolette

Not too excited about eating. . .we decided we could call him

"One-Eyed Willy" (from the Goonies)

Looking pretty cool with his shades, made especially

for being under the phototherapy lights!

Eating with Dad

He had to have a feeding tube for a couple of days

to make sure he was getting enough nourishment. . .

He probably would have had it longer, but he pulled it out. . .

he definitely has a mind of his own!

Alot of stuff for such a little baby!

Gaining his first 1.1 oz. . .he was up to 4 lbs 3 oz. . .

it was a very exciting day!!!

Burping a 4 lb baby is a little scary!

"Get me out of here already!!!!"

His first clothes drowned him. . .and they were even preemie!

The bottle was so big compared to him!

After 11 days in the NICU, he got to come home!
He only weighed 4 lbs. 9 oz

He looked so tiny in his car seat!

Grandma and Grandpa James

Hmmmm. . . .

Grandpa Batt

Look at the red hair. . .where did that come from???

Grandma Batt stayed with us for a WHOLE MONTH!!!

It was great!!!

First bath at home

The Countdown Begins

Well, I have officially been on bedrest for 15 weeks and 6 days (not that I'm counting) but we are excited to announce that the end is in sight and more excited that we will soon be parents! We went to the doctor's last Friday and were told that we will be having this baby in the next 3 weeks. . .it's crazy to think how soon that is (just for those who might not think that is a short amount of time, you'd be surprised what a couple of months on the couch will do to your whole perception of time. . .it kind of warps it!) Our baby is still on the smallish size. . .because of my condition he is not growing as fast as he should be, but everything else is okay and we figure we can fatten him up once he's born. We feel it's a miracle that I've been able to carry him for so long (I should be about 37 weeks when he is actually born. . .which is really good!) and we have had so many wonderful blessings throughout this whole pregnancy. . .we can't wait to meet this special little baby.

One thing we have been extra blessed with is wonderful family and friends. . .so many people have come to visit me and keep me company and have brought in meals. . .I don't know how we would have done this without everyone's help.



Nicole, Heather, Jana, and me. These girls took work off and came and spent a 'bedrest day' with me. It was wonderful. . .we watched 'North and South'. . .the ultimate chick flick!

I'm also lucky to have such a great husband! I'm sure no one thinks their first year of marriage is going to be so crazy, but Roland has been so great through all of this! He works all day and then comes home and takes care of me. . .I think he should get some kind of credit in med school for this for sure! On top of it all. . .he still finds time to work on the apartment!



We are happy to announce that we (meaning Roland) have finally finished renovating the downstairs bathroom. . .Meet Dr. Fix It (it's the guy under all the dust!)

The Ultimate Couch Potato

Okay, well, that was my first attempt at posting anything. . .I've got to figure out a few more things, but I think I can actually do this blogging thing.

Here's the real update. We have now been married a little over a year. Roland is in his 3rd year of medical school at the University of Utah. He is doing 6 week rotations in the hospitals and clinics and is enjoying it. . .for the most part. He works crazy hours sometimes (30 hour shifts) and doesn't always get a ton of sleep.

As for me, I have become the ultimate couch potato. . .yes, it's true, I spend all day, everyday on the couch in our living room. Don't worry, it is all for a good cause. . .I am pregnant!!! We are having a little boy and are super excited. However, I have been having a few difficulties with the pregnancy, which meant I needed to go on bedrest. . . and have been here on the couch since the middle of July. I've had to have surgery once and am on medication to keep me from going into labor, but we have been very blessed throughout the past couple of months and are excited for the arrival of our little boy (he is due December 11, but we are guessing he might be more of a Halloween baby. . .or hopefully a Thanksgiving baby, but we'll be excited whenever he comes!!!)



Celebrating our one year anniversary. . .yes, it's true. . .I wear a bib--it is hard eating when inclined!!!


Roland with all my water bottles. . .he fills them up each night for the next day!



Instead of some crazy long review of the past years events, I thought I would just post a few pictures to sum up what we've been up to. . .





Our first Halloween. . .and it looks like our first attempt ever at a Jack-o-lantern.


Hanging out in Idaho on the fourwheeler. . .In case you weren't sure, Roland is behind me (he's kind of hard to see due to his awesome camoflauge outfit).



Fixing up our apartment. . .it needed a little (actually ALOT) of help!


Well, that is not much of a review, but I was having difficulty with the pictures, so it will have to do. I'll post more later.

Cambodia and Hong Kong

Well, it is about time that we finally got a blog. People have been pestering us for awhile to start one, but I think it was a little too intimidating. . .I'm not exactly the most technologically savvy person, to say the least. . .but I'm willing to try.

I will try to catch everyone up on what has been going on. . .with a few pictures (if I can figure out how to download them. . .we'll keep our fingers crossed!) Since we got married last August, lots has happened. We went to Cambodia and Hong Kong on our honeymoon, which was fabulous.