Welcome, Mallorie!

Wow, I didn't realize that I haven't updated this blog since July....

Since my last post, we have had several adventures! The first was the bi-annual Hunt family reunion, which was held at the Hunt-Campbell cabin in Crouch this year (north of Boise for those not familiar). There was an Olympic theme and Emily had made books for each family member to keep track of the events we each participated in and we got to rate our efforts with different colored stars. For example, there were equestrian activities, basketball, a hike, and markmenship. Despite the lack of hot water in the cabin, stuffy bedrooms upstairs due to the 90+ degree weather, and being over 8 months pregnant myself, we had a blast! I love to spend time with Chadwick's family and Morgan enjoyed playing with her cousins. Her favorite question that weekend? "What's your name?" Poor girl couldn't keep track of everyone!

I spent some time in other clinics at the beginning of August doing relief work and then finished my usual job at Bench Animal Hospital at the end of the month. The last two doctor appointments with my OB demonstrated that this little girl was heads down but apparently in no hurry to continue to drop and there were no signs of my going into labor earlier than my expected due date of Sept 7. My dear husband told me that he had a premonition that I wouldn't deliver until the 15th! The voice inside my head told him where to stick that thought, as I had no desire to go so much later than expected!!

Because children, from the beginning, have their own agenda, I started having contractions the night of the 1st - I was restless at the time I went to bed and awoke at 3 am feeling some back labor. Not sure if this was the "real" thing, I dusted the house, swept the living room and kitchen, wiped out the fridge, and finally woke Chadwick up at 4 am. After some debate, we made a call to his mom and made the journey to the hospital. The staff let us sit in the room stewing for a while and when they checked, I was only dilated to a 3. The nurse had me walk for an hour to see what progressed, and by 6 am I was at a 4! They finally took us seriously and admitted us. Let the baby come!! Or not. I continued to have contractions at regular intervals for the next, oh, 12 hours. Chadwick ordered lunch, then dinner, fed me some jello (the best I had ever tasted, might I add), juice, and tried to keep himself occupied by watching tv and playing chess on the laptop. Prior to the start of the contractions, I had made the decision to have this baby naturally and without an epidural. So I breathed, tried to relax, and find a comfortable position throughout the day. By 8 pm on Sunday, the doctor broke my water and we thought "Sweet! Now things will start moving a little faster!" Or not. The contractions became intense, and despite the urge to push, I had to wait until 1 am before getting the green light. Come to find out, she was mostly face up, which means she wasn't coming easily and I pushed hard for 2 hours before being rewarded with our beautiful little Mallorie!

Her stats: Mallorie Jackson Hunt. Born Sept 3 at 2:43 am. Weighing in at 6 pounds 13 ounces, measuring 20 inches.

Mallorie in her isolette

Tired, new parents!

She was wide awake at birth, but having increased effort while breathing and she sounded kind of wheezy, which didn't make the nurses happy. They took her to NICU for monitoring and a chest x-ray - she had some air outside her lungs on the left side which can be fairly common in these little newborns. Chadwick and I visited her briefly after they finished with me and then we got a few hours of sleep. We spoke with the doctor in NICU Monday morning and she wanted to keep her for observation for 24 hours. Um, okay. Fast forward 24 hours, and Mallorie still hadn't produced any urine despite an IV fluid bolus, so they hooked her up to a constant rate infusion via IV catheter and kept her another 24 hours. Mom and I spent the night at the hospital Monday night and I hung out Tuesday, going up to NICU every 3 hours to nurse my baby. I was discharged Tuesday, Mallorie finally came home Wednesday.

Side story - my mom and Mark drove up from NM and arrived in Boise Monday afternoon. Chadwick had to work Tuesday, so Morgan was with Grandma and Grandpa Graham. She was super cranky Tuesday morning (not surprising given that her schedule was all off) but she developed a fever later that afternoon. And continued to have a fever despite Tylenol. When I got home from the hospital that evening, she had an armpit temp of over 102. Chadwick and I turned right around and took her to the urgent care down the street 10 minutes before they closed. And I was starving, by the way, so Mark brought my hamburger and fries to the clinic....Morgan checked out clean and had a fever of unknown origin, but they recommended Advil over the Tylenol. Within 40 minutes of Advil, Morgan was cool, eating dinner, and acting like her old self. For the next three days, as long as she didn't miss a dose of Advil, she was fine. Miss a dose and the fever was back with a vengence. She wound up with an ear infection and since being placed on antibiotics has had no trouble.


Morgan and Mallorie

Life is full of unexpected challenges and surprises! We are so grateful to our parents for their support and hard work the whole first week after Mallorie's birth. There is no way I could have managed on my own without their help. We are blessed to have such wonderful people in our lives!!