Update on Murphy...

So...as many of you know, Murphy and I have spent the past 9 days in the hospital while he received antibiotics in response to the kidney infection he developed a week ago Sunday. Here's the timeline to catch all of you up to speed on his situation (I apologize it's so long...now you can see why we don't want to keep repeating this over and over again :-)):

36 weeks pregnant: My OB detects that Murphy has a dilated left kidney on a routine weekly ultrasound. The pediatrician comes in and explains that this is fairly normal and that 50% of the cases fix themselves prior to birth...so not to worry, we'll re-evaluate the situation after his birth and go from there.

Monday, May 11, 2009: Murphy (4 days old) has his follow-up ultrasound at Wittlich (it's a standard procedure for all newborns in Germany) and it is determined that he still has a dilated kidney. The pediatrician explains that Murphy could be prone to kidney infections because of this. He said that Murphy may never get a fever, or he could get one every two weeks -- we'd just have to wait and see. However, he did say, that if Murphy is to get a fever, we need to come to the hospital immediately in order to prevent permanent damage to Murphy's kidney.

Sunday, May 17, 2009: I couldn't get Murphy to nurse to save my life...he went about 9 hours without eating that morning. Later in the morning, I feel that Murphy is starting to get warm. I took his temperature and it was 100.2 -- higher than normal, but not high enough to rush him to the hospital. By noon, his temperature was 101.6 (the doctor had said to come in at 101) -- so Matt and I packed our bags, put a "pee catcher bag" on Murphy with the hope of collecting a urine sample on the way to the hospital -- and headed back to Wittlich.

The pediatrician on call says that Murphy is pretty sick (at this point, his temp was over 102) and immediately draws blood, tests his urine (it tests positive for bacteria), inserts an IV (luckily in his hand and not his head), and starts administering 2 different antibiotics.

Monday, May 18, 2009: Murphy has another ultrasound -- we learn that nothing has really changed -- and we are told that the antibiotic treatment is a 7 day treatment...in other words, Murphy and I would be staying at the hospital for 7-10 days until the treatment has been completed. Luckily, Murphy had responded very well to the antibiotics -- his fever had broken and everything was looking good -- now it was just a matter of putting in the time.

The rest of the week: Murphy and I were visited by Nana, Papa, Matt and JP tons... The doctors allowed us to go out for walks, so Murphy and I took many hikes along the same trails that I hiked when I was in labor with him, and Mommy read MANY books! It was a long week...however, it's all worth it if we can get this situation under wraps sooner rather than later. The silver lining to this long week was all the one-on-one time I had with Murphy. How often does a child (other than the firstborn) get so much quality time alone with Mommy??? We had a great time together...learning each other's quirks, we just wish it had been at home with the company of Nana, Papa, Daddy and JP!

THANKFULLY, my mom was able to extend her trip to help us out with JP. Between Nana and Matt, one was always able to be with JP while the other was visiting Murphy and me at the hospital. JP loved all the one-on-one attention from Nana and Papa, and I sure appreciated the company as well! We could not have done it without her help! Thanks Mom --- you are a life-saver!

Monday, May 25, 2009: Murphy and I are finally given the green light that we can go home! The doctor sits with Matt and me for nearly 30 minutes explaining what they know for sure, what the doctors' concerns are and the course of action from here on out.

What they know for sure: Murphy's kidney and ureter are dilated (bigger than they should be) most likely caused by a reflux of his urine back up the ureter to the kidney.


Their concerns: what is causing this dilation? Most likely, the doctor thinks that it is due to Murphy not having a properly functioning valve where the ureter enters the bladder. He explained that this valve's purpose is to close when the bladder is being emptied in order to prevent the backflow of urine into the ureter and the kidney. Due to the fact that Murphy had a fever/infection so quickly, he seems to think this is the most likely scenario. The other possibility is that the muscles are too tight which is therefore obstructing the flow of urine from the ureter into the bladder.

Course of action: Murphy is on a daily antibiotic to help prevent the occurrence of additional kidney infections. He will have a follow-up ultrasound June 15th to determine if this dilation is getting worse, better or staying the same. Then, on July 2nd, he will then have a "Centigraphy" (that might be a German word for the procedure) where they will infuse his body with a trace amount of radioactivity to determine how efficiently his kidney is functioning. At this time, they will also infuse a solution via a catheter into his bladder to see if it also makes its way up the ureter to the kidney. This procedure is not going to be very comfortable for Murphy, however, the doctor said he will be given a drug that will cause him to have "No remembrance" of this procedure taking place (I wonder if Mommy and Daddy can also take this drug???) After this has been completed, we should have a much better idea of his exact situation.

Best-case scenario: The antibiotics that Murphy is taking will work and we will not need to return to the hospital again. At that point, the doctor will most likely recommend surgery for Murphy next May after he turns 1. (The older he is...the easier the surgery is for both him and the surgeon.)

Worst-case scenario: Murphy and I become fast friends with the pediatricians and nurses at Wittlich -- going back frequently over the next few months due to him getting repetitive fevers/infections. If this is the case...Matt and I will consider having Murphy undergo surgery prior to turning 1 to prevent him from thinking that the hospital is his home :-)

We promise to keep you posted on his situation as we learn more about it! Who knew we would become such experts on the kidneys and urinary tract :-)

Here are some pictures from our week's "vacation" in Wittlich...the first is a diagram of his situation and there are also some pictures of the trails that we hiked.



If you want to read the medical explanation of his situation...you can read up on this website:

http://www.uroinfo.ca/brochures_pediatric/vesicouretericReflux.html

JP and "his" baby :-)

JP found a baby that I use while teaching my Childbirth Classes and has adopted it as his own. Matt isn't too happy about it -- he thinks we're raising a "sissy" -- however, I think that it's just a natural way for JP to get used to us having a new baby around the house. Anyways...as you can see, JP's baby does everything with him! (We also changed the baby's clothes from a pink outfit to a CU Boulder onesie in an attempt to make the baby more "masculine".) Currently, JP is taking a Happy Nappy with his baby -- Matt would cringe!

New pics of Murphy...

Here are some pics that were taken the first week Murphy was home... As we mentioned below, it was great having Nana and Papa here (unfortunately, we weren't very good about getting pics with Nana in them -- she was always the one taking the pictures :-))

**The slide in the last picture is the present that Murphy gave JP when he arrived home from the hospital. JP LOVED it...that is, until he caught his shoe on it and fell off backwards -- bonk! Now he won't go down without someone holding his hand...so much for having an activity for JP to keep him busy while I am nursing!

JP's Special Week with Nana and Papa

JP had a blast playing with Nana and Papa the past couple of weeks... As you can see with the last picture, he is one happy boy!!! Thank you so much for visiting us here in Deutschland, Nana and Papa! It was so special to have you here :-) We can't wait for our next visit VERY soon! WE LOVE YOU!

It's all in the name...

How we chose the name John Murphy Glynn...

"John":
Matt and I chose John to honor two very special men in our lives...Matt's Grandfather, John Osterkamp, and my Dad, Jonathan Quinn.

Grandpa Johnny has been, and always will be, Matt's hero and role model in life. The special bond the two of them share...their love of flying...is something that Matt has always cherished. Matt and I also admire Grandpa Johnny's dedication to his family. I often hear Matt make the remark that if he could create 1/2 the incredible family that Grandpa Johnny has created, Matt would consider our family a huge success!

John Murphy marks the 5th great-grandson for Grandpa Johnny -- a milestone Matt and I felt should be honored by having a namesake is this new, and quickly expanding, generation of young Osterkamps! We look forward to introducing Grandpa Johnny to this little one VERY soon!

My Dad is a dedicated family man that Matt and I greatly admire. As we embark on our own parenthood journey, we appreciate more and more everyday the calm demeanor with which my Dad has been able to maintain while raising 4 children. My Dad has the incredible ability to bring out the best in all of us simply because we would never want to let him down -- a quality that we both hope to emulate as we raise our own children. I greatly respect my Dad as a person, a father and a friend and feel honored to have a son carry on his name.

"Murphy":
We first stumbled upon the name Murphy while traveling in Ireland last June during the two weeks of leave Matt received after his deployment. Knowing that we hoped to be pregnant again in the upcoming year, I used this trip to seek out great Irish names for Baby #2. Time and time again, we would drive through a quaint Irish town with a pub named "Murphy's." I thought "Murphy Glynn" had a good ring...so the name made it to our short list to be tucked away for later.

As Matt and I decided on middle names, we ran them by JP to see if, at less than 2 years old, he could help us in picking out a great name to go with John. When we would ask JP if the baby in my belly was named "Johnny," he would reply, "Play Nurphy." (And trust me, I didn't practice this with him daily to win over Matt's heart...JP simply would not recognize the baby as anything other than "Nurphy.")

With JP's approval, we had our name -- John Murphy Glynn! In the past couple of days, we have gone back and forth about whether we would call this little one "Johnny" or "Murphy" -- without a doubt, this adorable little boy is definitely "Murphy." So, it is with great pleasure that we introduce you to, John Murphy Glynn, aka "Murphy!"

Wilkommen...John Murphy Glynn!

Matt and I are so proud to announce to arrival of John Murphy Glynn!!! JP is taking to his little brother VERY well -- wanting to hold him and hug/kiss him all the time! Here are some of the first pictures and the birth story...more to come very soon!

The "Cliffs Notes" Version...
see below for the full birth story if you are interested :-)

Went in for a routine appt. on Thursday at which time I was having contractions so the doctor checked me and noticed I was already 3-4 cm. dilated. The doctor told me I needed to stay until the baby was born. Luckily for both Matt and me, that happened Thursday night at 9:23pm when we welcomed John Murphy Glynn, weighing in at 7 lb. 10 oz. (3470g) and 21.25in (54cm)!



John Murphy's Birth Story:
As I mentioned above, I saw the doctor for a routine appointment late Thursday morning. I had been having contractions all morning, so the doctor decided to check me to see if/how far along I was dilated. The doctor's eyes widened when he realized that I was already 3-4cm and strongly recommended that I stay at the hospital until the baby was born.

After being monitored for 30 minutes where the contractions were consistently 3-4 minutes apart, I called Matt and told him the great (and not-so-great) news...(not-so-great news...it was an absolutely gorgeous day in Germany and he had a really awesome flight planned -- his first flight in 2 weeks since they had cleared his name from the flying schedule in anticipation of Baby Glynn's arrival :-)) Matt ran home quickly to feed the dogs and pick up a few things before meeting me at the hospital around 1:30pm.

Right after Matt and our friend Lindsay whom we had invited to witness the labor (she's interested in becoming a doula) arrived, I laced up my running shoes and headed out the door to go hiking on the trails above the hospital. My mom and Lindsay relaxed on a bench while Matt and I hiked 3-4 miles -- all the while keeping the contractions coming at a steady pace. Once we returned to the hospital, I did a 30-min stair workout (going up and down one stair) and then checked in the labor/delivery area to get monitored/checked again.

Unfortunately, my contractions had nearly stopped after getting back from our hike...and when the midwife checked me, I was still at 3-4cm dilated. At that time, she said she couldn't yet say I was officially in labor. Since Thursday had been the first day they had checked me, no one could say for certain if I had been dilated for 1 day or 1 month...so until I progressed to 4-5cm dilated, they would not officially consider me to be in labor. I had been having contractions in the mornings/early afternoons for a few weeks -- so Matt and I very quickly realized that we could be lucky to have this baby out by next week. This could be the beginning of a long stay at the hospital!

Back track to September when I found out I was pregnant... Seeing that my due date was May 9th, and being that I'm big into numbers, I commented that having the baby on "05/07/09" would be pretty cool. Of course in the weeks leading up to the delivery, had the baby decided to come early, I would not have protested! However, since I was still pregnant on 05/07/09...and close to having the ball get rolling, I became determined that Thursday would be the day. Unfortunately, time wasn't on my side as it was now 3:30pm -- that meant only one thing -- back to the hiking trails for Matt and me! (Matt was SO excited...spending hours hiking the hills above the hospital was exactly what he had been hoping to do today!)

So, we laced up my shoes and headed back to the trails for another 3-4 miles. Once again the contractions came back consistently every 2-3 minutes -- a good sign! So, now that both Matt and I had jello legs...a great start to labor!...we headed back to the hospital in the hope that the contractions would keep up and I had made progress. Sure enough, once getting back to my mom and Lindsay, the contractions became more erratic and less intense. At this point, I needed a break and Matt, my mom and Lindsay were getting hungry (it was now 5:45pm/6:00pm) -- so the three of them headed to an Italian restaurant in Wittlich (10 minutes down the road) and I stayed in my room bouncing up and down on an exercise ball and visiting with my roommate and her husband.

After roughly 90 minutes (it's now 7:30pm) of bouncing and doing large circles on the ball, I decided to walk down the hall to fill up my water bottle. While on my way, I had a pretty intense contraction... I kept walking around the hall and sure enough, another contraction just 3 minutes later. After about 20 minutes, I go back to the room and just then Matt calls -- to which I tell him, I think you need to get back here -- I'm having pretty good contractions!

At 8pm, the three of them return to dinner and we walk down to the labor/delivery area to get monitored and checked. The midwife checks me and says I'm 5-6cm -- yippee! I'm officially in labor! After a few more contractions, the midwife asks if I'd like to get in the bath -- I did (I just didn't want to have the baby in the bath), so she filled it up and I happily jumped in.

After being in the bath for 25-30 minutes, I was starting to feel the urge to push, however, my water still had not broken...so the midwife checked me again and said that I was 8-9cm -- WOW! This was going fast! So, I asked if she would break my water. She said to take my time getting out of the bath and she would break my water once I got to the delivery bed. No problemo!

After a few contractions in the delivery room, I send my friend to ask them to come in to break my water. As she is checking me, she says, you're 10cm...time to break your water! At that time (9:20pm), my mom and Lindsay leave so that Matt and I can have this time together, and sure enough, 3 pushes and less than 5 minutes later, John Murphy Glynn was born! The midwife announced, "Es ist ein Junge!!!" -- It's a boy!!!

Matt and I were thrilled...of course we would have loved either a boy or a girl, but our hearts were really hoping for a little brother for JP. We couldn't be happier... Murphy is such a precious little boy and JP is taking to him very well (maybe a little too well!) We promise to keep posting pictures as we enjoy this time with our boys :-)

Bowling...JP's new favorite activity!

So the base bowling alley is running a special...FREE bowling from May thru July!!! I think I could be spending quite a bit of time at the bowling alley -- JP has a blast (and actually gets the concept...at least enough to watch the ball go to the end of the lane) and I can't beat the price! With a 6-lb. ball, a ramp and bumpers, JP is completely self-sufficient -- and bowls a great score!!!

May 2009

Baby update...feeling consistent contractions, just none that are substantial enough to have us go to the hospital. We'll keep you posted! I'm feeling great -- just ready to meet our little one and get this show on the road. In the meantime, my Mom flew in on Thursday night and we've been busy getting everything set -- cooking meals to freeze, planting flowers in the garden, visiting all the horses in Orenhofen, hanging out with Sandra, Oliver, Brigitta and the girls, etc. We promise to send out an e-mail once the little monkey makes his/her arrival -- and to post pictures here once we return from the hospital! Take care...