2 weeks old

so how did we celebrate silas' 2 weeks old birthday you ask?  with another doctor appointment!  this was just to our sweet pediatrician and i was curious to see how much he weighed now.  7 pounds 5 ounces!  hooray!  we're finally getting this little guy to gain some weight!

we also celebrated by giving him a bath tonight.  look at his sweet little face!

this was a huge improvement over his first bath, which was this past saturday.  this is what he thought of that!

totally not a fan and he let us know by pooping all over the place at the very end.  so much for getting clean, ha!  we figure this will make for a great story when he is older. :)

silas at 2 weeks you are still stealing our hearts.  your skin is still peeling but getting better.  we've settled into a feeding groove which makes your mom so happy.  you are a laid back baby and i think we are more laid back parents this time around.  you are more aware of your surroundings and you are staying awake for longer periods of time.  i swear you can see the ceiling fan because you are mesmerized by it.  your older brothers are ready for you to be awake more and eat less so they can play with you more...it is super sweet to see the love they have for you.  in fact, when noodle realized he missed going to a birthday party this past weekend, burrito said to him, "would you rather go to a party or have a baby brother?"  they both clearly felt like a baby brother was way better! :)  you are not a fan of the carseat and neither am i because you look way to tiny to be strapped all in there.  you love to sleep in your swing but we are going to work on sleeping in other places this week too.

we love you silas!

cardiologist

so i thought i would write about our cardiologist appointment yesterday mainly because this helps me remember everything and also, there is so little on the web about situs inversus with levocardia (flipped organs except the heart is on the left) maybe some of this will help someone else.

so i've learned not to assume that medical people know what situs inversus means.  you would think if they are looking at the order from the pediatrician to perform an ekg and echocardiogram due to situs inversus and you didn't know what that term meant, you would look it up.  yea, don't assume that.  i've learned my lesson and will verbalize that from now on at every appointment.

so, first the nurse did an ekg on little man.  he did not like this part because she put a million little sticky things all over him and then had to rip them off when she was done.  she also took his blood pressure, temperature, weight and length.  because he was getting fussy and hungry, i fed him before they did the echocardiogram.  the tech doing this was clearly in the wrong profession or having a really bad day and i had to pray myself through her attitude towards my squirmy baby.  i mean, he is just 12 days old, what do you expect, for him to be perfectly still the entire time???  this took about 45 minutes then we were back in the patient room waiting for the cardiologist to take a look at those pictures.

i loved the cardiologist.  he was an older gentleman and very sweet and thorough.  he brought the above picture in to explain exactly what he saw on the echocardiogram.  i am a visual learner so this helped me SO much!

so the diagnosis was what i expected from the research i've been able to do online.  the main issue has to do with the inferior vena cava.  they call it an "interruption of the vena cava."  if you look at the bottom left of the picture, you can see where this vein enters the right atrium from the lower parts of the body.  this did not form in silas so instead that blood comes up through a vein that runs behind the liver (which is on his left because things are flipped) and behind the heart and enters the right atrium at the top instead of the bottom (azygous vein to the superior vena cava).  so the blood gets to where it is meant to go, just in a different way.

he also has a ventricular septal defect (VSD) that is about 2mm.  this is the circle noted in the middle of the picture.  lots of babies have this and because the heart still has a lot of growing to do, it usually closes on its own.  he could not hear it with his stethoscope and he said even if it doesn't close, which it may not, it is so small that it will not cause any problems.

he has a similar hole between the right and left atriums (patent foramen ovale) that will also likely close as his heart grows bigger.  again, this is something that should not cause any problems.

so we talked about the rarity of situs inversus and how he has only had one other patient similar to silas.  it is likely a genetic thing but there is still a lot they don't know about what causes it.  he said if we were to have more children our odds of seeing this again in another child are about 2% more than anyone else.  also, silas' kids may be more predisposed to having this as well but the odds for that are just about 5% more.  it is such a mystery to me how all of this happens and really makes me appreciate the extreme intricacies that the Lord has established in the human body.

so his long term heart prognosis is great.  the cardiologist recommended that we come back in 6 months for a follow up to check on the status of the defects and to see if they have closed.  we are SO thankful for a good heart report!

a silas medical update

sweet silas has had his fair share of doctor appointments in his first week of life and it seems there will be more in his future.

i am so thankful for our pediatrician and the care and concern he has shown for our little guy.  he's never had a patient with abdominal situs inversus and he's an older guy so he's probably seen a lot of things.  i love that he's shown an interest even before silas was born by researching and sending me info on his condition with a hand written note noting the questions we should ask at our prenatal ultrasound appointment.  i love that he has seen us twice and called me twice this week to check on him.  yes, that's right, the pediatrician himself has called me.

we've been monitoring his weight this week because he had dropped down 10 ounces from birth.  i think the doctor wanted to make sure that it was more of a "needs to eat more" issue than a "not absorbing his food" sort of issue and it was just that he needed a bit more to eat.  by wednesday he was back up to his birth weight plus a couple of ounces.  the pediatrician also was concerned about a mass he was feeling on the left side of silas' abdomen, and because things are not in their correct places, there was no way to know exactly what he was feeling without an ultrasound.

so silas had his first ultrasound yesterday morning.  we were glad to have one ordered because we knew all along that this would be standard procedure for him and for us, the sooner the better.  we were really praying before the appointment because silas could not have anything to eat for 3 hours prior.  that just seems so mean and sad for a newborn but we knew it was necessary.  we were expecting him to be upset and hungry throughout the procedure but he literally laid there asleep the entire time the tech moved the wand over his abdomen.  it was totally divine intervention!

he survived his first ultrasound!

look at that little hospital anklet

so the tech of course is not allowed to comment much on what he saw but he did confirm that silas does have a spleen!  that is something we had been praying about for months and we thank those who have been praying for that with us as well!  he explained that the doctor would contact us about the results but that he didn't see anything that would require us to stay there.

so a few hours later, our amazing pediatrician called me personally again!  he explained that the mass that he was feeling was the liver.  he also explained that silas does have the one spleen (he could have had one, none or several) which is a good thing because typically the one spleen suggests that there are fewer other issues.  everything in the abdomen is indeed flipped which was not a surprise.

now the concerns:

there were no noted malrotations of the bowels but after consulting with a pediatric surgeon, they are suggesting that silas have an upper gi test performed to see if a malrotation is likely to occur in the future.  from what i understand from reading about this online, when the bowels are flipped they are not "tacked down" like they would be in a normal orientation so a malrotation is likely to occur.  if this is the case, silas would need a surgery to correct this.  so we have an appointment on september 12 with the pediatric surgeon.

there is also an issue with his inferior vena cava.  this is the large vein that carries de-oxygenated blood from the lower half of the body into the right atrium of the heart.  it does not enter the heart in the correct place.  so we are being referred to a pediatric cardiologist for an echocardiogram to make sure that this is okay.  i read online that it can be explained like this:  in a normal body, it could be compared to 2+2=4 but with situs inversus it is like 1+3=4.  you get the same result, just in a different way.  we are waiting to hear when this appointment will be.

so from what i can tell, all of these referrals are more to confirm that things are working okay or to catch something before it becomes a problem.

i've tried to research all of this online but with situs inversus there are so many variations that it is virtually impossible to find another case exactly like his.  we are so thankful that he is doing well and thriving and acting like a normal newborn.  you just look at him and you would never know that things are so crazy on the inside.  i find myself asking God why He would make silas different in this way and i wonder if this is part of silas' testimony because God redeems everything for His glory.

we are loving his sweetness and enjoying his little personality.  he loves to suck on his hands and fingers when he figures out how to get them into his mouth.  he likes music and seems to calm down when we sing to him or play the music on my phone that we put together for his birth.  he loves it when you talk to him up close so that he can see your face.  he does not like diaper changes.  his skin is peeling everywhere, especially his hands and feet.  we can't decide if he looks more like burrito or noodle...i think he might be a perfect mix of both of them.  he had a little eye infection but that is almost completely gone.  his umbilical cord came off today, yay!  he had his first photo shoot with a dear friend today and i can't wait to see those pictures!  he's been to walmart and sprouts and tomorrow will be his first visit to church.

so that's the latest update on our guy.  we can't wait for everyone to meet him!

1 week old

i can't believe he is already 1 week old.  time is going by too fast.  except for the nights when he decides that sleep is overrated, ha!  i feel like we are settling into a bit of a routine which feels good.  we are all quite smitten with him.

we have been to the doctor every other day since his birth monitoring his weight and his special organs.  we went for a sonogram today and because i am so tired, i'll have to blog the details of it later but we have more doctor appointments in our future.

we are so thankful for all those who have been praying for months for this little guy.  would you keep praying for him?  he's doing great but we have to see a few more doctors to make sure there are no future problems.

isn't he a handsome little thing?  i keep reminding myself of this verse:

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. Psalm 139:13-14

silas' birth story

i am so happy with the events of silas' birth.  back in week 20 of pregnancy when we found out silas had the flipped organs (technical term is situs inversus), i was convinced that my dream of having a water birth at a birthing center was over.  i, of course, was ready to accept whatever was necessary for his safe delivery, but i had dreamed for many years of having another baby and doing it this way, something totally different than my experiences with burrito and noodle.

once we received the news at his 32 week ultrasound that he was okay and cleared for a birth outside of the hospital, i was so happy and relieved.  but then, this sweet guy made us wait extra long for his birth so once again i was wondering if my hopes and plans would need to be rewritten again.  thankfully, he finally came 12 days after my due date and we didn't have to cross that bridge.

his birth story starts thursday night, august 22.  it was parent's night at the boys' school and honestly, i was hoping to attend that and not be in labor.  and i did and learned a lot about 4th and 2nd grade! :)  as i was recounting some of the things discussed at the meeting with john when i returned home, i started having mild contractions.  we were watching the local news, and i told him that he better get some substitute teacher plans together because i was thinking that this was the real thing.  i started timing the contractions at 10:38 pm on my phone and they came consistently every 5-7 minutes.  we continued noting them on my phone and around midnight i decided it would be wise to call my mom and let her know that we needed her to come and stay at the house with burrito and noodle.

my midwife advised me to get in a warm bath at home and see how things progress.  i did that until around 3 am and i felt like things were progressing enough that i wanted to head to the birth center in case things went really fast.  my past labors with the boys moved very quickly at the end, and the last thing i wanted was to deliver in the car on the way to the birth center!  my midwife told us she would head that way and give us a call when things were ready for us.

we arrived at the birth center at 4 am and she checked me and i was dilated to a 4.  she then showed john and me ways to labor more productively by walking around and sitting on a birthing ball.  we did this for a bit and then decided to try and rest some in the bed as labor progressed.  around 5:45 am i started having really intense contractions and lots of pressure.  i remembered this from my previous two labors and knew that i was getting close.  we were going to walk around some more but my contractions became super intense and we decided it was time to check me again.  i was at a 10!  there was some major scrambling that took place to get the tub ready and get me in it before silas decided to pop out.  in between contractions, i knew i wanted to text two really close friends to PRAY for me as i went through this last part of labor.  i texted them at 6:21 am and silas was born at 6:38 am august 23, just 17 minutes later!

i was able to get in the jetted tub and with two pushes, he was born!  it was such a euphoric experience to have him naturally with no pain medication in the water and to finally see him!  he seemed so tiny and was so perfect.  when you look at him, you would never know that his organs are flipped or that he is any different than any other baby.  his birth was so calm and peaceful.  the room was dark (that's why the pictures are dark and grainy) and quiet and he came out so content.  he hardly made a sound and was immediately looking around and wanting to eat.  we stayed in the water for awhile to allow the umbilical cord to finish pulsing and then for me to deliver the placenta.  then it was out of the tub and into the bed to let him nurse.

this is my favorite picture

he seemed so tiny to me

john cutting the umbilical cord

my sweet husband had made a music playlist on my cell phone a few months ago knowing that i would like to listen to music during labor.  we had a good time choosing songs that were our favorites and would be a good distraction for me.  it really was nice to listen to songs that inclined our hearts to worship the Lord as i labored and as we both prepared to meet our third son, a true miracle and gift from Jesus.  the song that played as i held silas for the first time was Jesus Cast a Look on Me.  These are the lyrics:

Jesus cast a look on me,
Give me sweet simplicity
Make me poor and keep me low,
Seeking only Thee to know

All that feeds my busy pride,
Cast it evermore aside
Bid my will to Thine submit,
Lay me humbly at Thy feet

Make me like a little child,
Of my strength and wisdom spoiled
Seeing only in Thy light,
Walking only in Thy might

Leaning on Thy loving breast,
Where a weary soul can rest
Feeling well the peace of God,
Flowing from His precious blood

In this posture let me live,
And hosannas daily give
In this temper let me die,
And hosannas ever cry!

we thought this song was so timely and perfect, especially the line leaning on Thy loving breast as he was nursing for the first time.  it was such a super sweet moment that it brought us both to near tears.

while we snuggled in bed, the ladies prepared the one treatment i had been looking forward to the most: the herbal bath!  a warm, herbal bath in a claw foot tub with twinkling tea lights and a brand new baby...what is better than that!  another super sweet memory that i will always remember spending with john and silas.

the herbal bath

he was so calm and happy

after that, i was helped to get dressed and breakfast was served to both john and me in bed.  my mom brought burrito and noodle up to meet their new brother (they were so pumped when mimi woke them up that morning to tell them that silas was here and they did not have to go to school!).  they watched as he was weighed and measured and checked over.  then instructions were given about how best to care for me and silas over the next couple of days and then we were headed home to rest in our own bed! 

he weighed 6lbs, 10 oz

love these baby feet

he measured 19.5 inches long

so that's the story of how we met silas jack.  we love him so much and are so grateful for all the excellent care we received during my pregnancy and delivery.

Silas Jack

We are thrilled to announce the arrival of Silas Jack Rutherford, born August 23, 2013 at 6:38 am, weighing 6lbs, 10oz and measuring 19.5 inches long.

We are all totally in love with him and can't wait to share more about the newest addition to our family!

Thank you for praying for him and for us.  He is perfect and we are praising the Lord Jesus!

thank you Jesus

thank you Jesus for allowing me to parent and love and nurture another son

thank you Jesus for giving me a baby despite just having one ovary

thank you Jesus for the satisfaction and joy that comes from being a mother

thank you Jesus for knitting Silas perfectly in the womb and though he has some medical issues, he received the best medical prognosis possible

thank you Jesus for blessing me with 3 healthy pregnancies

thank you Jesus for giving burrito and noodle hearts that are excited to have a new baby brother

thank you Jesus for all the ways you've molded and shaped our family before Silas is even born

thank you Jesus for a wonderful, supportive husband who is eager to love and serve his pregnant wife

thank you Jesus for giving us a great experience with a midwife

thank you Jesus for a pediatrician that is sincerely interested in caring for Silas and monitoring his health needs

thank you Jesus for all the friends who have prayed for us and prayed for Silas throughout this pregnancy

thank you Jesus for giving me these extra days of being pregnant and feeling a baby kick and move inside of me

thank you Jesus for all of the baby gear that others have blessed us with that fill our house

thank you Jesus for answering my prayer to grow Silas big and strong before he is born

thank you Jesus for teaching us patience as we wait for Silas' arrival, knowing that You will bring him at the most perfect time