The arrival of John Paul Mattice

Hello all....sorry this has taken me so long to get posted, but there has been quite a bit going on these past 2 days. I guess I should start from the beginning.....

Tuesday night at about 7:30pm my water broke....just as we were putting Ray to bed. I called the doctor and the one on call (not mine this time around) said to head on in. I tested + for strep B again, so I needed to start on antibiotics. Labor was shorter this time around...about 11 hours.

John Paul Mattice arrived at 6:43am this morning and weighed in at 7lbs 12oz - just an oz shy of what Ray had weighed. We do not yet have a length because shortly after Peter cut the cord, John began having some complications. He was struggling to breath, so I only got to see him for a minute and then they took him away.

We soon found out that he had swallowed some fluid on the way out....likely due to the fact that once he was ready, he made a quick exit. His pediatrician figures it was a small bout of pneumonia and had him placed in oxygen and on an IV. He was breathing at about 100 times a minute vs the normal 45 and the x-ray did not look good. He has not been able to nurse yet and I am having to pump to get ready for him.

Tonight they transferred him to another hospital with a better NICU unit. We were quite worried.....thanks to the grace of God and lots of prayer though, things are looking up. Peter just came back from seeing him (they won't let me out till tomorrow morning) and his breathing is back to normal. He is out of the oxygen tent as well, but is still on an IV for food and antibiotics.

We do not yet know when he will come home, but things are looking much better. We appreciate your continued prayers.