An Update on Waylon

Waylon has had a speech problem for a little while now. He echo's a lot and he's had difficulty with articulation.

We also noticed that he occasionally has trouble making eye contact, and it can take him up to 2 hours to complete a meal because he can get so distracted. He had some other struggles that concerned us as well so Cameron and I discussed it and decided to get Waylon tested for ADHD.

I went down to the Naval Hospital and filled out a 2 page form of my concerns and Waylon's behavioral patterns. After a week I got a call and was told that they usually don't test children under the age of 5, so I shouldn't have been given a form, but I was and the concerns I have are consistent with a child who has ADHD. So they asked me to come in and get him tested. 

After waiting nearly a month, we were finally able to get him tested on Tuesday October 30th. After a 2 hour evaluation, lots of questions and feeling like we were right in our accusation that Waylon had ADHD, the therapist sat across from me and handed me a paper. At the top read " Autism Spectrum Disorder". She looked at me matter-of-factly, like it was obvious that Waylon was autistic. 

She could see my shock and confusion and asked if it had even crossed my mind that he could be autistic. I remember my mom briefly mentioning it a couple months prior, but I brushed it off because I didn't see any signs of Autism in him. But as a parent, it's difficult to see signs when you are so used to those traits being part of their personality.

After the therapist explained why she diagnosed him as autistic, so many things started to make sense. Why he organizes and categorizes everything. Why he shakes his hands when he's stressed or excited. Why he flaps his arms when he's happy. Why he doesn't understand when he gets too close to other kids, and why he doesn't understand when they get frustrated by it. Why his meltdowns are over the top and can have a hard time calming down afterwards. Why he echo's every sound or phrase. Why he reenacts every show or movie. Why his imaginative play is pretty much non-existent. Why he has difficulty with change, and why he insists on having the same cereal every morning, even after I've made him eggs or pancakes.

It took a good 24 hours for all this to sink in. I was slightly overwhelmed at first, and I knew our lives would become very busy very soon.

Having previously worked with remedial children, and occasionally helped with autistic children, I knew how much work was going to go into helping Waylon. 

Our families have been so supportive and helpful. And honestly, I'm glad we received this news now so we can get him the help he needs before he starts school.

This week I made Waylon some calming bottles filled with a mixture of glitter glue, fine glitter and water, and they have helped tremendously with his meltdowns. Having been informed of his autism has allowed me to do research and find the best way to help him, and it's a relief to finally know how to help him. 

This journey will be a learning process, and it won't be easy, but I know everything will be alright.

Any words of advice are welcome and wanted!

Walker's Birth Story

Monday May 14th, 2018:

Monday morning I had an appt with my OB to sweep my membranes and talk about an induction. I was nervous about going over my due date again and having a really big baby and needing a c-section. My Dr was willing to induce me before my due date, but after 39 weeks. But she wanted to sweep my membranes to give my body a chance to go into labor on its own. 

Welp, between 37-39.5 weeks, I had my membranes swept a total of 5 times, and still did not go into labor. 

That morning we came in for the 5th sweep. I was dilated to 5 and having some contractions, but they were mild Braxton Hicks, so I didn't think much of them. My Dr told us to not go home just yet and to walk around for about an hour and if I have more contractions, then I needed to go up to labor and delivery triage.

After walking around the hospital, up and down stairs, trying everything to help get me into labor, I did have more contractions and I thought my water broke a little bit, so we headed up to triage. They put monitors on me, gave me some water, and called my Dr in. She said my water wasn't broken, but they noticed Walker's heart rate dropped when I was having contractions. They said that alone was enough to admit me. So the induction began, we were admitted and having a baby!

By this time it was around 9:30 in the morning. They first they started an IV of fluids to help with Walker's heart rate. We waited another 2-3 hours and then they got me started on Pitocin to help regulate my contractions. My Dr wanted to break my water to help things progress quicker and I wanted the epidural before she did that. So we waited for what seemed like forever to get an epidural. Once the epidural was in and working, my Dr came in and broke my water around 2pm. There was so much fluid that came out my Dr said "Well, that's why your belly looked so big. You had all that fluid in there. Yep, you're definitely gonna have about an 8.5 lb baby." 

That's what they told me with Waylon too, and he was 9 lbs 6 oz.

I could tell the hormones were getting to me, and having the epidural and not being able to move around, things get to you. Cameron came back from getting food at the galley and I was crying haha I wanted our other son, Waylon, with us. I missed him. That was the longest I've ever been away from him, and I just wanted our little family together.

Once I gathered myself together again. The nurses brought in the peanut yoga ball to help with dilation. My OB had already ended her shift, so another Dr would be delivering Walker. We were getting close to the end of the day and they had upped my pitocin. My contractions were much stronger and about 2 minutes apart. It didn't take long and I was finally at a 10. 

This time around I was determined to not spend 3 hours pushing, again. My hope and goal was to push for an hour or less. This time Cameron and I had a plan to help me push. I could barely get my shoulders off the bed, so I asked him to put an arm behind me and lift me while I pushed.

At 11:45pm, we started pushes. I asked the nurse to bring in the mirror because it helps me to see my progress and I can push myself more. And just like with Waylon's delivery, I threw up right before we started pushes. While pushing, I noticed some pain near my tailbone. The nurse said that Walker was face up and facing my left hip, so the back of his head was on my tail bone. But once I pushed him down some more, the pain was gone. At midnight, the Dr came in ready to catch Walker. During the next few pushes I threw up some more. I pushed a few more times and I finally had Walker crowning. When I got his head out Amniotic fluid shot across the room haha I actually had no idea this even happened, Cameron told me about it later. 

The nurse told me to take a break and breathe in more oxygen, but I didn't want to, my body just wanted to push. I did stop for a second to get some air to prep for the next push. The Dr started taking off the end of the bed ready to catch Walker. I remember thinking "At this point with Waylon, I had one push left. So that's it Chels, one more push and he's here." So I gave it my all, I pushed and pushed and pushed. During this push, Walker pulled a 360 move and he went from face up to face down. He still wasn't out yet. His shoulders were barely through. His shoulders never got stuck, they were just a little snug. Everyone kept telling me "Almost there, one more push, he's almost there, just give it one more push." I gave one last big push, and he was out! at 12:33am our little Walker was here. A total of 45 minutes of pushing. I remember telling Cameron, "I didn't even break a sweat this time!" haha

They laid Walker on my belly, Cameron cut the cord and Walker's hand clasped around my finger. He was crying, of course, so I started talking to him and he instantly stopped. I felt his legs and they felt smaller than Waylon's, so I thought, "Maybe my Dr was right, maybe he will only be 8 lbs.". They let me hold Walker as long as I wanted before they weighed and measured him. I was very curious about his weight, so I let them take him and weigh him. As I'm laying in the bed, Cameron is standing in front of the scale so I couldn't see the numbers, so I just waited patiently for them to say the weight out loud. Except the only words out of anyone's mouth was "Oh my gosh!" Gasps were everywhere, The nurse looked at me with her hands over her mouth in shock. I looked around and kept saying "What? What is it??" But nobody answered! So I said "Somebody needs to say something now! What? What is it??" And the nurse just said "Look!" Cameron stepped back to reveal the scale. 10lbs, 3 oz. I was FLOORED! I was so shocked! I was so terrified of having a 10 lb baby and not being able to delivery that baby vaginally. I could not believe I had just delivered a baby that big, and how easy it was to get him out! 

I truly underestimated the capability of what our bodies can do. 

We spent the next 38 hours in the hospital before we were finally discharged. Luckily, everyone is healthy and doing well. I can't believe how quickly my body is recovering. I feel like I've bounced back quicker this time.

Waylon is so in love with his baby brother, and he has made this transition much easier on us. we're so excited to be a family of 4 now and I can't wait to see Walker grow and develop his little personality.

Waylon - 6 Months old

Wow, I can't believe how fast 6 months has come and gone. Our little moose is half way to a year! It feels like it was just last week that we were bringing him home from the hospital.

He is so much fun right now, and it's fascinating to see him learning and growing. Since he was 2 weeks old he's been able to hold his head up, which was a big sign to us that he would be quick learner. 

He can roll over and turn in a circle to get what he wants. He is now able to sit up on his own which my back is very grateful for, and it has made grocery trips much easier. He said his first word 5 days ago, which was mom!! Now along with his baby babble he says mom and momma, and it melts my heart every time. We try to get him to say dada but he just smiles when you say it.

It's so fun to see his personality showing more and more each day. I feel like I get a small glimpse into the kind of person he will grow up to be. He is so strong! He has some of the strongest legs I have seen a baby his age have. We have an excersaucer that he absolutely loves to bounce in. He absolutely loves mom & dad, and he smiles at everyone he meets.

He has a tooth coming in! It's coming through his gums, but it hasn't quite cut through yet. And he has RED HAIR!? I never EVER thought I would have a child with red hair, and to our surprise, Waylon has red hair. Cameron's grandmother has a mom and 3 sisters with red hair, so that's where he got it from, but no one else in our family has red hair. It's pretty red so it's 50/50 whether it'll stay that way or get darker as he gets older. But it shocked Cameron and I both! haha

He loves when Cameron comes home! I'll be feeding him and he can hear anyone's voice and he won't budge, but as soon as he hears Cameron, he instantly looks around for him. He is definitely a momma's boy, but he sure does love his daddy!

He's also interacting with Daisy more. She gives him her toy and they'll play a little tug-o-war. She is so gentle with him, even when he grabs and pulls her beard haha 

He loves watching Cars and Toy Story, and football on Sundays.

He weighs 18 lbs., and is 27.5 inches long

Waylon's Baby Blessing/ Dad's visit

This weekend was AMAZING! My parents are really good at surprising me.. because my dad came out for Waylon's baby blessing!!! He got in Friday night a little before midnight. 

Cameron had told me earlier on Friday that we had to pick up his 'friend' from the airport a little after 11.  Well, around 9 PM, I decided that since Waylon was sleeping, that I'd get a little nap in myself. 11 o'clock rolls around and Cameron comes to wake me up. I was so exhausted I told him to go without Waylon and I. He said he really wanted his 'friend' to meet Waylon and bribed me with a milkshake. So we start heading to the airport and Waylon starts crying because he's hungry and got woken up from his nap. We had to stop in the cell phone lot before picking up Cameron's 'friend' so I could nurse Waylon. After that, we start pulling up to the front of the airport and I see a guy with a cardboard sign. In my mind I was thinking "Who's this guy with a sign expecting to get a ride from someone?" As we get closer I see that it's my dad!! I was so shocked, I started crying! His sign read "Help! Need ride to Waylon's baby blessing.." I hadn't seen my dad in over a year so I was so excited that he was able to take the time to come see us for a few short days. 

On Saturday, we packed in all the sight seeing. First we went to the beach to walk around and throw the frisbee back and forth. The weather was perfect and the water was fairly warm. Then we headed to Tattooed Moose for some yummy Duck Club Sandwiches and pinball challenge between Cameron and my dad. Next, we drove through Downtown Charleston to see the historic buildings and scenery. We also, walked through a park and from faraway, got a look at Fort Sumpter.

Sunday was Waylon's baby blessing! Cameron got to bless our sweet Waylon and my dad was able to be a part of it. It was a very tender and very special moment. I've dreamt of that day for a long time and having my dad be a part of it made it extra special. After church, we took my dad to go see Charlie. He's the 13 foot alligator that lives on base here. He's lives inside a caged pond with other little alligators.
Sunday was also bittersweet because my dad flew back home later that day.

We had such a great time with my dad here. I'm so grateful that he was able to come out here and share this special moment with us! Being away from your family, you really learn to cherish the time with them however small that may be.

Labor and Delivery

Tuesday July 28th:

I had a Dr's appointment to check on my progress. At this point I was 40 weeks and 3 days. The first thing my Dr said when she came in the room was " I can't believe you're still pregnant". So we talked to her about getting induced and she was more than happy to help us out with that! She cautioned that we could schedule an induction date, but if other girls come in and there are no rooms available, then we would get bumped to another time or day. One of the nurses was calling the hospital to see when we could be induced. To our surprise, they scheduled us for 6:00 AM the next morning!!! We were beyond excited because the 29th happens to be Cameron's Dad's and Grandad's birthday!! That night we hardly slept because we were so excited to meet our little boy.

Wednesday July 29th:

We were up by 4:00 AM and at the hospital by 5:30 AM. We were waiting to see if they had a room available and they did! We were so excited because we were officially admitted to the hospital to have our baby! We were lucky we got there when we did because within a few hours every delivery room was full! We got set up in our room and they start me with an IV. When they tried to put the needle in my left wrist, they hit a valve in my vein and I had started to pass out. They let me calm down and they put the IV in my right hand. They immediately started me on Pitocin to help regulate and speed up my contractions. I was dilated to 3 and 80% effaced, which they said was a good start because most women that get induced start at 0. Luckily my mom was able to fly in from Arizona in time to be there whenever Waylon decided to make his arrival.
By 8:00 AM I was dilated to 6, and Dr Cook, my OB, said that we would most likely have Waylon here before the end of the day. 

The contractions started to get more intense and more painful, so they had the anesthesiologist come in and give me the epidural, which honestly wasn't painful to get at all. Soon my legs went numb, and I could still feel the pressure of my contractions but they weren't nearly as painful as they were. Once I was numb, they broke my water. At 11:00 PM I was finally dilated to 9 with just a small part of my cervix still in the way. 

Thursday July 30th:

Around 12:15 AM it was time to start pushing! An hour later the nurse noticed Waylon's heartbeat started to drop and she had me turn on my side to help calm him down, luckily it helped and we were able to keep pushing. Another hour later I was still pushing. I was starting to get frustrated and I was extremely tired. I was falling asleep in-between pushes and I was thinking I didn't have the strength or endurance to get our little man here. That's when the nurse brought in the mirror. I didn't want it because it was just another thing to think about, but it honestly helped to see my progress and to see Waylon starting to crown. Once his head had crowned my body just took over and kept pushing. I felt a pop, which I thought was my hip, and I remember looking at the Dr and asking if my hip had just broke, but she just looked at me and said 'Keep Pushing'. I gave one last push and I felt the Dr pull him out. I had my eyes closed while pushing and when I felt him come out I was so shocked by the feeling I opened my eyes really quickly to see our big baby boy, and my first thought was " He is so big, there is no way I just pushed him out!" Luckily, I only had to get one stitch because I hardly tore.

During the pushes the nurses noticed some Meconium coming out and knew that there was a chance that Waylon had some in his lungs. So as soon as he came out they placed him on my stomach, Cameron cut the cord, and they whisked him away to have his lungs vacuumed out. It all happened so fast, I didn't get to see Cameron cut the cord. They cleaned up Waylon and weighed him and when they announced that he was 9 lbs 6 oz, everyone in the room was shocked and couldn't believe that I had just delivered a 9 lb, almost 9.5 lb baby! After that, they quickly did skin to skin with Waylon and I, and then they took him off to the nursery to be observed. 

The nurses noticed that Waylon's breathing would pick up very quickly if anyone moved him. He would have 120 Breaths Per Min, instead of the normal 60 BPM. So even when we did go see him in the nursery a few moments later, we weren't allowed to hold him. This was a very hard time for Cameron and I because we just wanted to be with our baby boy. They kept Waylon in the nursery for 30 hours, and every 3 hours I was in there to nurse him, the rest of the time I was supposed to be resting, but that was extremely difficult to do knowing we couldn't be with Waylon.

All day Thursday any nurse we saw would say "You delivered that 9 pounder?" , "You're the one with the toddler in the nursery??" , "That baby came out of you??". I was pretty famous on the labor and delivery floor for having the biggest baby in the nursery.

Friday July 31st:

I knew I was getting discharged the next morning, but we weren't sure if Waylon would be. But he had been making such great progress, that they let him stay in our room with us for 24 hours to see how he did. We finally had our little guy with us, but every few hours someone would come in the rom to either take my vitals or Waylon's, and Cameron and I felt like we weren't able to have that family bonding time. But Waylon did extremely well being in our room with us, and we took in every moment with him.

Saturday August 1st:

We pretty much knew we had the green light to take Waylon home with us, but they were still checking his vitals and making sure his breathing was ok. He passed the tests and both mine and Waylon's discharge papers were being worked on by 8 AM. By 10 AM we had my papers done and ready to go. But we had to wait another 2 hours for Waylon's. We signed his discharge papers and we were finally leaving the hospital with our sweet Waylon. It was such a relief to be home where we could finally be a family and not worry about being bombarded with nurses and doctors. It was a very long and tiring 4 days, but we are loving every minute of having our little guy with us.

Third Trimester

Well, this trimester has been the most exciting and the hardest! 

At the beginning I started to get the hip pain and a little heartburn, nothing too difficult. Then I hit 30 weeks and BAM! My left hip felt like it was out of place. Any time I took a step on my left leg, my hip would be in so much pain. I had a pretty sweet pregnant gangster lean and wobble for a few weeks. The pool on base finally opened up so I spent most of my days there. It really helped to take the weight off my hip and still get a workout in.

I think Waylon shifted sides or moved around, but one morning I woke up and the pain was gone! It was amazing! By that time I was 36 weeks and starting my weekly appointments.

I was going every Wednesday so I was 36.5 weeks when they started checking me for dilation. I was 30% effaced and dilated a finger tip. I was so excited to hear that I was effaced and dilated somewhat, cause I knew our little Waylon was on his way!

The next week (37.5 weeks) I was still 30% effaced and dilated to 1. I was a little discouraged to hear that I hadn't made much progress, especially since I was so sure he was going to come early. That Saturday we had some friends over for the 4th of July, and one of my friends was due just 3 days after me, so we got to talking about her progress and she was already 80% effaced and dilated to 1. I'll be honest, I was completely jealous and was wondering why my body wasn't progressing like hers. But I quickly put it behind me and focused on other things. 3 days later, that same friend had her baby. Yep, I cried. But, Cameron was so sweet and reminded me that we still had 2.5 weeks until our due date, and I felt much better.

At 38.5 weeks we went in for our check-up and I was only dilated to a 2 and I needed to be at a 2.5 for them to strip my membranes. The next day, I started having contractions that were 10 min apart but they wouldn't get any closer than that, and they had to be 5-7 min apart for the hospital to admit us. So I went to my doctor the next day and they stripped my membranes, and my contractions pretty much came to a screeching halt.

I remember my doctor telling me that they wouldn't let me go past 41 weeks, but I was so sure we wouldn't even get close to that, especially with how big Waylon was. So at my 39.5 week appointment I tried to schedule an induction date for July 25th, my due date, but they shut that down real quick. They wanted to avoid having to induce me at any cost, which is understandable. They said I was dilated to a 3 and 70% effaced, and they stripped my membranes again, and my doctor actually suggested using a breast pump a couple times a day for 15-20 min to help get labor going, and she said that we should have our baby boy here before the end of the week. 

So I diligently started using the breast pump. Between Thursday and Friday I lost my mucus plug and I was so sure Waylon was going to make his arrival soon. Saturday morning came and still no Waylon. We found out that our neighbor across the street, who was due 4 days after me, had their baby that morning. And again, I cried. I couldn't understand why Waylon was not here already. My Doctors told me at every appointment that my body was ready for delivery, so I couldn't understand what was happening.

I was slightly stressed out that we hadn't had Waylon yet because Cameron was scheduled to class-up for Prototype on Monday and he would have to work 12 hour days, and it would be a little difficult to get ahold of him if something were to happen.

Sunday morning, Cameron and I went to church, and I'm so grateful that we did, because the talks that were given led to motherhood somehow and it reawakened my drive, and to focus on the positive and not the negative. Yes I'm in pain, yes Waylon is past his due date, and 4 of my other friends that were due after me already had their babies. But, Waylon is healthy, and in a very short amount of time, he will be here. And I thought about one of my friends who had her baby 9 weeks early. She had posted that it was so bittersweet to have her baby so early because she loves that her baby is here and his health is progressing really well, but she never had her baby shower, she never got to take maternity pictures and doesn't have many pregnancy pictures, and she doesn't get to take her baby home yet and he's 2 weeks old. It was like eating a big fat piece of humble pie when I read that post, and I've had a much better attitude since then. 

Today we had a HUGE blessing! Cameron found out this morning that he is not classing up and will be on pre-fill for another 2 months, and he will be a Duty Driver again, which means he will only work 5 hours a day and he can have his phone on him and I can easily get a hold of him. We are now 2 days past our due date, and I think he will be another 2 days late because Cameron's dad's birthday is July 29th, and he said from the very beginning that this baby would be born on his birthday, and now I'm starting to think he's right haha.

I have another doctor's appointment tomorrow and I'm hoping they will schedule an induction date. I really hope Waylon decides to come before then, but either way, we should have our little man here by the end of the week :)