The first US Citizen of the McCarthy Clan -> Joshua Craig McCarthy

When Liesel and I awoke on Friday morning, we had no idea what lay ahead of us in the next 15 hours! I went to work as normal, and Liesel had an appointment with her OBGYN to check her progress after recently upping her dosage of blood pressure medication.

On Monday, Liesel was diagnosed with pregnancy-induced hypertension, and was promptly sent to the hospital for monitoring! Her blood pressure was brought under control and she was discharged on Tuesday. So we went and bought a home Blood Pressure monitor and started measuring Liesel's blood pressure.
On Wednesday night - it got dangerously high so we called the Dr and she told us to go straight back to hospital. Nathan got picked up by a friend of ours and he spent the night with them. At the hospital, Liesel was given some medication intravenously and that seemed to stabilize the BP so after testing her BP every 5 mins they thought it was safe to discharge her at 1:30am.
Then on Friday she went for a regular checkup and her BP seemed normal at the Dr's office. Then a bit later her doctor phoned and said that she had spoken to the High Risk Pregnancy doctor and they were both not happy that she was in the hospital again this past Wednesday, so they ordered her back to hospital to be monitored. So I checked her in and spent a couple of hours with her and her BP seemed good and we didn't really know why they admitted her again. I left and took Nathan home to make supper and shortly afterwards got a call from Lee saying that her BP has shot up and is 160/100 and they have found traces of protein in the urine now - so her Dr wants to get the baby out tonight (4 weeks early). So Nath and I packed his bag (a friend would be picking him up from the hospital) and we drove in one of the worst snow storms of the season so far to the hospital - doing about 20 mph the whole way. (Amazing how Mother Nature times these things!) Anyway, we made it there safely and soon after Nath was picked up - I put on my scrubs and went into the OR. This time the OR experience was far more enjoyable for me, as I had been there before and my nerves weren't frayed. Also I knew what to expect and could savor the moments, rather than being filled with anxiety and unsure of what was to come! One of the best sounds I have heard was when little Joshua, barely out of his mother's belly, let out a hearty cry! We were concerned that a 4 week premature baby's lungs might not be fully developed, but that cry proved that this was not the case! Once he was out and lying in the bassinet, I had the fantastic privilege of trimming the umbilical cord! His APGAR scores were 9/10, 9/10 - so we are hoping that the rest of the scores he gets through life will be this good and better!

Even though Joshua is 4 weeks premature, he tipped the scale at 6lbs 6oz, 18 inches long, and he hasn't needed to go to any special care or ICU. Each night he has stayed in the nursery with all the other newborn babies! Praise God!

With Joshua out of Liesel's womb, her blood pressure is down and close to normal, and she seems to be out of the woods now too. We are just both trying to catch up on some sleep, before Liesel and Joshua return home in a few days time, to start a whole new chapter in our lives!

So as you can see, this was totally unexpected and but every turned out perfectly.

Nathan has taken an immediate liking to his baby brother and loves every minute together. Nathan has such a caring nature and it shows as he sings to Joshua when Joshua is crying, while gently caressing his soft brown hair! There is already a beautiful bond between these two brothers and I cannot wait to see how it will develop and strengthen over the years!

So there you have it, from high blood pressure to a beautiful baby boy in 5 short days! God is amazing and his timing is always perfect! We thank Him for our incredible gift!!

I want to apologize to anyone who has recently sent me an e-mail, or written on my Facebook wall, as I have not yet had the time this past week to respond. I will do my best to get to them! Thank you for all your prayers, encouragement and well wishes! It means a lot to us :)