Due Date...

So yesterday was my actual due date for Kade. It's weird to think about actually having just had him yesterday instead of 2 1/2 weeks ago. I'm very thankful that he was born when he was. Not only was I absolutely sick of being pregnant, but he would have been more likely in the 9lb range rather than his tiny little 8 lb weight:-)

Already it feels like he's been a part of our family forever and we're getting in the swing of having 3 kids. I thought I'd post some more up to date pictures since he's already changing so fast and all the pictures I've posted are hospital/newborn pics.
What a great dad! Reading, "The Saggy Baggy Elephant."
Third baby to use the cradle Grandpa made!

New take on a "bear" bottom!

Cole taking a nap with his baby. Doesn't he look so big!

My Aunt Kathy made me this sweatshirt when I was a baby so I passed it on to Kade.

Sweet baby

Not liking bathtime yet. Cried till he turned purple and started holding his breath.

Mason love being a big brother!

My 3 boys!

Oldest brother and lovin' it!

Great Grandpa Johnson

Granny

Papa

Grandma

Grandpa

Kade's Wild Adventures

So our 3rd boy has arrived and I'd better get a blog post done before he is 6 months old! Today is his 2 week birthday and I can't believe how fast that time has already past!

Proud Daddy

Our nurse Bridgette was great.

The BEST doctor ever!

The weigh in...

Don't mind what I look like, I just gave birth:-)

Kade Phillip Bucher arrived a little unexpectedly on Sunday February 6th at 10:51pm. We were all set for an induction the following Friday and I had my week planned. Get groceries, clean house, change sheets, take boys to Chuck E. Cheese, etc. Well, my best laid plans usually don't work out so I should have known better. I worked an 8 hour day shift on Sunday and then came home to get the fam together to go to a Super Bowl party at Keith and Michelles. Instead, I found myself in the bathroom telling Cole to go get Adam, I was pretty sure my water had broken. We scurried around throwing clothes in bags for the boys and Adam (I was actually ahead of the game in that area) and then we jumped in the car to meet Adam's parents at a gas station to take the boys. Never mind that my house was a disaster, with no food in the cupboards or fridge.

I had a few mild contractions on the way to the hospital but nothing to get worked up about. I had to tie my coat around my waste though on our way in because my pants were soaked down to my knees and I was praying I wouldn't see anyone I knew. They checked me and said that yes, my water had broken (no kidding) and I was between a 4 and 5cm dilated. Not bad for minimal pain and agony:-) After about an hour though, I was only about 5cm and Auntie Fay thought some pitocin would help speed things along. Not really wanting a long drawn out labor, I agreed and we got that going. I was asked if I wanted an epidural and I decided to wait and see how things went, since at the moment they seemed to be going pretty well. Adam and Auntie Fay watched the Super Bowl as I laid there having more painful contractions thinking, "If these get any worse, the game is done!". Before I knew it my contractions were extremely painful and I was getting ready to push. Okay, bad decision before hand because now it was too late for the epidural. Oh why didn't I get it before?!? After what seemed like an eternity of excruciatingly painful contractions and pushing, it was all worth it. Kade was placed on my stomach and I got to see and hold my baby for the first time. Such an amazing miracle and blessing! He weighed in at 7lb 15.8oz (which basically equals out to 8lbs.) and was 20 1/2 inches long. His head was 14cm which though they said was good size, was small in comparison to our other round headed babies.

After getting him wrapped up and a short bout with the NICU nurses making sure he was breathing okay, we got to take him upstairs with us. At about 3am our nurse came in and said that Kade was going to be moved down to the NICU. His bilirubin levels had started going up already and with our history of isoimmunization with Mason, he would be best cared for there. So we loaded me into a wheelchair and headed down to see our baby and talk to the doctor. Of course he was under phototherapy by the time we got down there and we found out that we wouldn't be able to hold him and I wouldn't be able to feed him at all until his bilirubin levels were under control. I was so thankful for the time I had to hold and feed him in the labor room. He was going to get some IVIG, an immunoglobulin that Mason had also gotten, and they were starting him on IV fluids to keep him hydrated and give him nutrition. This routine went on for the next 3 days and his bilirubin started to even out. Then, in the middle of the night on Wednesday night, they came to let me know that his bilirubin level was up to a dangerous level and they needed to do an exchange transfusion. This is where the neonatologist takes syringe-fulls of blood out of the baby and replaces them with donor blood. It takes about 2 hours and is supposed to greatly decrease the amount of harmful antibodies and bilirubin, making it much easier for the baby to manage the bilirubin level on their own. The first doctor did about half of the process and then his umbilical cord IV stopped working very well and they had to stop. Later that day they put a new line in his umbillical cord and finished with almost twice the volume they had already done that day. By the end of that day, his bilirubin level had gone way down and everyone was breathing easier. The next day it continued to drop and they decided to take the phototherapy away and see how he did. The best part about that was that I could hold and feed him for the first time since in 5 days! He did marvelously and his bilirubin levels came down even further with every lab draw. After we weaned him off the IV fluids and made sure he was nursing okay, they let us come home on Monday afternoon. We didn't have to do phototherapy at home and we don't even have to do follow-up labs unless we feel like there is a problem.

It has been so wonderful to be home and be back with my boys and hubby! The boys absolutely love holding and talking to Kade. Cole is such a helper and gets me diapers or burp rags when I need them. Mason love to bounce him in the bouncer and almost catapolted Kade right out of it one time. He means well but needs a very close eye kept on him! We've been adjusting to live as a family of 5 and are counting our blessings! God has taken such incredible care of us and I'm so thankful that we can have comfort and peace, knowing that He is in control of all situations. We had people praying for us throughout the whole hospital stay and God even woke people to pray in the middle of the night when Kade was getting ready to have his exchange transfusion. He provided me with a room at the hospital every single night so that I could be close to our baby and take care of him. Although having a baby in the NICU is very trying, it is so worth it to have him home and healthy now. We had such incredible nurses and doctors caring for him and are blown away by the things they are able to do for babies now. Our families dropped everything and helped take care of our boys and us and we are so thankful to them and thankful that we live close to them!

A week of being home does wonders to make things start seeming normal again. Before we know it it will all seem like a distant memory and we'll just be enjoying our baby boy! I'm looking forward to the time to come and watching him grow!!!