Georgia and Patrick

My babies!

Patrick's Pictures

Patrick Pictures and Breast Surgery

Good morning! I had my breast reconstruction surgery this morning and am now recovering in my room. Baby Patrick is a dream. P.J. and my mom are here now. We're just so happy about everything.

Rebecca flew in from Atlanta to surprise me on Monday. I didn't expect her to be here since she is planning to fly in next week with Logan, Julia and our Dad for Halloween. She came in while I was in labor and stayed through the delivery. That was so special. It has been nice to have our professional photographer with us throughout the past few days.

I'm pretty tired, but wanted to post some of her photos to show off our son. We'll be going home tomorrow. Thank you for for keeping my family in your thoughts and prayers.

xxoo

Jana

Surgery Day

Today is the day Jana has her tissue expanders removed and the new, permanent boobs put in. She went into surgery around 8:30 this morning and they are expecting to have her for a little under 2 hours.

She had another really good night of sleep, which has been rare the last few months, so she was feeling really good before the operation. She also got to spend some time with Patrick before she went in, so that put a huge smile on her face.

I'll update you all later as time allows.

It's not P.J. Jr.

But we did name him Patrick John O'Neil, Jr. We're calling him Patrick.

Obviously, big sister Georgia is thrilled.

More updates to come soon.

Baby Day

Well the day has finally come. We came to the hospital at 9 this morning after yet another night of little sleep for Jana (contractions started at about 3:30 this AM). Everything is progressing very nicely. Jana is at 6 cm right now and the baby should come sometime this evening.

The staff here are great and we couldn't be happier with the way everything is going.

We should have some news later tonight.

Thanks for all of your good thoughts and prayers.

P.J.

Count down to baby!

I know it's been a long time since I've written. We are in the home stretch now and I'm scheduled to be induced on Monday, October 19. These past few weeks have been filled with numerous doctors appointments, errands, spending time with friends and nesting. My energy is good and most importantly, so are my blood counts. Even my hair is growing back, but is mostly gray (I'll fix that when I have enough!).

Even though I haven't been blogging, I've been keeping a handwritten journal with notes of things to share (and some not to share). Here are a few recent tidbits:

- P.J. and I have both had celebrity citings: mine of Vince Vaughn in Market Square. P.J. played poker with Julian and Ed from the Bachelorette. He said Julian is cute and fun; however, Ed seemed more interested in the other guys than Julian.
- With her usual enthusiasm, my mom has made the Cancer Warrior's group in my hometown of Griffin, Georgia her newest volunteer endeavor. She's been helping them out at the county fairgrounds with their information booth and soliciting donations from local businesses. In my honor, my mom is generously matching all donations to their organization this month.
- Georgia wants to have playdates with my former gynecologist's daughter. If you have read my previous blog entries about that doctor, you know why this bothers me. We just keep putting it off and limiting our contact to soccer practice and games.
- While having a manicure and pedicure with Georgia at a local Asian salon, a manicurist asked me how many children I have. I pointed to Georgia and said she's one and then pointed to my stomach and said this one is two. The manicurist said "why so far apart?" in a judgmental kinda way. I hate this question and seem to only get it from women from different cultural backgrounds. I replied, "I've lost six babies," which I thought was a simpler explanation than I've had six miscarriages and struggled with infertility. End of subject. She mumbled "sorry" and started speaking Chinese to her coworkers, about me, I'm sure.
- During this National Breast Cancer Awareness month, it's been amazing to see all the co-branding of products. P.J. and I have been on the look out for the most random, unusual product that gives a portion of their purchase to a breast cancer organization. Outside of the Duracell batteries, Kitchenaid apple corer, York Peppermint Patties, I think the oddest co-branding is Quilted Northern toilet paper. Wipe for the Cure?
- Our cleaning lady likes to put my maternity shirts in my 8-year-old daughter's closet. Even the labels say maternity in the brand names. Two t-shirts that she regularly puts in there have messages on them: one says "Oh, Boy!" and the other says "Will trade husband for chocolate." Does she think that Georgia is pregnant and married? I guess she can't read English. This was proven to me yesterday when I left a list of "not miss" items to clean and they were all missed.

This past Monday was the first one in 22 weeks that I have not had to go to my oncologist's office for bloodwork or chemo. It was actually kinda weird to be out of my routine. The nurses and staff always make me feel so good. I missed them this week. My oncology break lasts until Monday, November 2 when I go back for bloodwork and a check-up to see if I'm ready to begin chemo again the following Monday. Then I'll be back every Monday for 12 consecutive weeks while I do my next round of treatments.

I don't know if I'll have a chance to write again before Monday. My mom and cousin Angie are arriving this Saturday to help out when I go into the hospital. If all goes well with my induction on Monday, then I will have another procedure on Tuesday to swap out my tissue expanders for breast implants. I anticipate that I will be in the hospital until Thursday. P.J. will update the blog with stats on our baby and photos.

Thank you so very much for all your prayers to keep our baby and me safe and healthy. I believe that is what has kept me well through this amazing journey. Your support means the world to me.

We can't wait to introduce you to our miracle baby boy in just a few days.

Love,
Jana