Wait a Minute...You're 5?!!??!!

I actually had a hard time with Colin turning 5.  Not emotionally.  I just REALLY thought it was his 4th Birthday!  I even called up the doctor to make his 4 Year physical appointment and finally realized as I was talking to the operator that he was turning 5, not 4!  It obviously came around much sooner than I was expecting.

Another Year Gone By

It's been a few weeks now, but Ryan turned 7!  Sometimes I catch myself watching him walk down the hall wondering when he got so tall!  Only a few more years and I'm sure he'll be passing me up.

 

1. My favorite color is green.
2. My favorite snack is a root beer float.
3. My favorite movie is Lego Ninjago.
4. The coolest person on earth is Jesus.
5. My favorite thing to learn in school is how to read.
6. The thing I do most awesomely is build Legos.
7. If I could go anywhere in the world, I would go to Legoland.
8. The book that I am loving right now is "May I Have a Cookie?".
9. Three words that describe me are funny, playful, and imaginative.
10. When I was little I used to crawl.
11. My favorite season of the year is Spring.
12. One food I really dislike is apples.
13. If I could wish for only one thing it would be for Legos.
14. My best memory is when I saw Daddy in an Army truck.
15. My best friend is Liam.
16. My favorite song is my made up song.
17. My favorite game is Chutes and Ladders.
18. On my cake this year I want my skeleton monster truck.
19. The candy I like the best is a sucker.
20. When I grow up I want to be a Ninja.

Dillon Isaac {Part II}

Welcome back!  If you missed Part I of Dillon's birth story you can catch it here.

Saturday morning, March 2nd, Lenora arrived back at the hospital right around 6 AM.  Right about the same time I started having some contractions again.  They were strong but not necessarily painful and were about 10/15 minutes apart.  We were told to check back in after breakfast, so I walked around for another 20/30 minutes, then at 7 AM we headed to the breakfast buffet.  Right around this time my contractions were getting more painful, but still about 10 minutes apart.  I grabbed some yogurt and granola from the buffet, but when the next contraction came I was too uncomfortable to even sit down.  We quickly finished our breakfast and headed back down to L and D. 

A few minutes later I met my Midwife for the morning, Birgit, and was hooked up to the fetal monitor once again.  The number on the chart wasn't very high, but the contractions were much more painful than any that I had had the day before.  Probably around 7:45/8 AM my Midwife came back in and did an internal check.  I was dilated to a 5.  For some reason hearing that didn't really phase me.  I guess I had figured since my contractions were still 10 minutes apart and I hadn't progressed any the day before, this wasn't really "it".  I've never experienced the "build-up" of contractions with a clear break in between.  But....the next words out of my Midwife's mouth were, "Let's get you into the delivery room."  (I still thought she was a little crazy.)

We moved down the hall to a delivery room and they brought another Midwife Student in to assist (also named Laura).  The plan at this point was to let me labor a little while longer and then the doctor would come in and break my water.  Because Dillon was sitting so low the chance of my water breaking on it's own was slim, but they were confident that once my water broke the rest would go quickly. 

At this point, the talk of an epidural also came into play.  In my last two labors, I never had the option of asking for one.  I was really torn on what I wanted to do.  I was fearful of the pain, but there are so many other reasons I wanted to go natural.  After a few conversations with Birgit she greatly encouraged me to go without and offered some pain meds through my IV if needed.  Birgit was confident that I could handle it and was afraid that if I wanted the epidural it would only prolong the labor since they wouldn't be able to break my water until the epidural kicked in.

Again, I'm completely lost on time here...but the doctor came in to introduce himself and to review "the plan".  At that point, I believe he did an internal exam.  It pushed me over the edge.  I needed some pain relief.  Birgit and Laura quickly got me hooked up on some goods.  While the contractions were still extremely painful, it took off the edge in between and allowed me to relax a little more.  The doctor left and at one point came back ready to break my water, but he ended up having to leave again to help out another woman in labor.

A few contractions later, he was back in and after some very uncomfortable minutes my water was broke.  I'm guessing that was right around 9:30 A.M.  The doctor left and I would say about two/three minutes later I felt the urge to push.  Laura went and called the doctor back in.  I wasn't completely dilated so Birgit had me lay on my left side and sit through two or three contractions to allow the cervix to finish opening.  A few minutes later I was given the go to start pushing.  (The part that I'm most horrible at and generally causes the most fear in regards to labor.)

I would say I struggled through one or two contractions, but then I did my best to focus.  On the next contraction I had Dillon's head halfway out.  He even started crying and we could hear him.  It was strangely cool and definitely a first.  At this point I asked if one more contraction would have his head out.  They said yes, which gave me a great goal.  One contraction later Dillon's head was out!  I felt so relieved (emotionally) having his head out; knowing that it was the hardest part and that soon I would be holding him.  A short break, one more contraction, and Dillon Isaac was born!

10:07 A.M. on March 2, 2013.  8 lbs 3 oz and 21.25 in.

I have to say I felt quite proud of myself.  While I still screamed, "I can't do this!", multiple times, and I still mis-focused, I feel like Dillon's labor was my personal best.  (Not that I care to challenge it anytime soon.)

Germans are big on skin to skin contact right after birth (which I LOVE!), and I was able to hold Dillon for at least 45 minutes before they even took him to weigh or measure him.  I was also able to call Tim at this point and share the news with him.

A few hours later they moved us up to our room.  Lenora had brought the computer back with her that morning, so I was able to Skype with Tim and he was able to see Dillon for a bit.  Lenora had gone home to rest for a bit and then brought the boys up to see us later Saturday afternoon. 

I have to say although it was a long hospital stay, it was a relaxed hospital stay.  No lab workers came in at 4 AM to take my blood.  Minus the 4 PM blood pressure and temperature check, the nurses left me alone.  I'm not sure if was due to the fact I didn't speak German or that this was my 4th kid, but it was kind of nice.  There were no security bracelets strapped to his ankle and I was never even given a wrist band.  I didn't have to chart his pee's or poo's.  (He had his first poo late Saturday night and I had made note of the time in my mind thinking someone would ask me the next day.  Nope.  No one asked.)  I wasn't waken up every two hours to wake Dillon up to feed him.  I even fell asleep with Dillon on my chest and I didn't get scolded for it.  They had a nursery and I was able to send him there for two/three hours in the middle of the night to get some rest and for a few minutes in the morning when I wanted to shower. 

We enjoyed multiple visits from other friends over the next few days and were finally released on Tuesday.  I was elated to be heading home!  Lenora stayed with us till March 12thz.  She flew out that morning and my mom flew in and stayed with us till this morning, March 29th.

Tim finished his school on March 20th and flew back in on March 22nd.

 

(Holding Dillon for the first time.)

In retrospect.....
After having a short labor with Colin and having no pre-labor signs, I was expecting a short labor with Blaine. With Blaine, I started praying for a clear sign of labor. God heard my prayer and my water broke giving me the clear sign that I was praying for. With Dillon, for the longest, I was unsure of what to pray for. Looking back, I realized that I had whispered prayers throughout the day asking for a pre-labor sign. Something that would let me know it was about time so that we could get to the hospital and I wouldn't have to have this baby at home (a genuine fearful thought).  God once again heard my prayer, and the prayers of others who were praying similar, and I was at the hospital A WHOLE DAY early!  I think He's a pretty funny guy sometimes.  haha.  Dillon was quite content in letting Blaine hold the record of fastest labor.  Dillon's was still quick, being active labor from 6-10 AM, for a total of 4 hours!

Although, those last three days were stressful, with lots of ups and downs, and I was in the hospital MUCH longer than I wanted to be...I am pleased with the important parts.  I made it to the hospital, without a ride of chaos, I labored and (eventually) progressed naturally, and I have a healthy new boy.  I was so glad to have Lenora there and I was blessed with great Midwifes, and a great doctor.


Currently.....
Dillon is doing great!  Minus the occasional moments of crankiness (normally due to the soda I gave in and drank), he is such an easy baby.  A refreshing change compared to the difficult baby that Blaine was.  We had some minor feeding issues those first two weeks, but we've worked through it and he's eating like a champ.  He will be 4 weeks old tomorrow and currently weighing in at 10 lbs and 4 oz!  He's put on a pound a week the last two weeks.  Since the day he was born he was holding his head up and that only improves every day.  When he's awake he loves to sit up and to look around.  There are times when he's laying down where he is clearly trying his best to sit up.  I think he'll be rolling over sooner than I'd like.

 

Dillon Isaac {Part I}

Here's our story.....with a little backround info...

As many of you know, I tend to have quicker labors than most.  My labor with Ryan lasted 5 hours.  With Colin my labor was 2 hours and 45 minutes.  With Blaine, my labor was  2 hours and 30 minutes; including a ride to the hospital in an ambulance. 

When I found out I was pregnant with Dillon, my anxiety over getting to the hospital on time was greatly COMFORTED by the fact that Tim would be here this time.  Tim's work is 3 minutes away, and the hospital was only about 15 minutes away.

And then....Tim got his school date.  January 22nd - March 20th.  My due date was March 5th.  There was no way Tim would be around for this baby.  He would be in Virginia.
 
Once we were certain he would be gone, both my Mom and my Mother-in-Law started making plans to fly out to help me.  I started making plans for childcare arrangements and getting to the hospital prior to my MIL's arrival (just in case I went early/early).  Backups were found for my backups.  Once again, the Lord has blessed us with some AMAZING friends who were a great support to me both before and after I had Dillon. 

Tim's mom, Lenora, arrived the morning of Wednesday, 28 February.  That afternoon we took a drive off post and I showed her how to get to the hospital.  That night, I was up extremely late and was having trouble sleeping.  Laying down was probably more uncomfortable than sitting or standing.  When laying I felt like every cell in my body was on edge and every feeling was magnified.  Dillon, like my other boys, dropped early and created an immense amount of pressure.  It still felt much more than just pressure though....I felt like his head was just going to pop out of me.  I also vividly remember my water breaking with Blaine.  It felt like two soft punches inside of me and then a huge gush of water.  With every little twitch Dillon made I felt like water was just going to rush out.  There was a part of me that felt like I was in labor, without any of the contractions.

On Thursday, Lenora and I made another trip out to the hospital to help her familiarize the route.  After dinner I started to feel a little "off" again.  The boys went to bed and Lenora and I sat down and finished going over any/all details of who to call, where to go, what paperwork was needed, etc.  During that time I was having some contractions and after a few trips to the bathroom, in a short amount of time, my body had naturally cleared out it's system (a good sign of labor for me).  I was getting a little anxious, but unsure as to if this was it or not.  Lenora had me lay down on the couch and after about ten minutes things seemed to calm down.

Friday morning, 1st of March, I had an appointment with my OB.  I woke up feeling a little weak and shaky.  I had originally planned on going by myself, but decided I would feel better if she came with me.  (Especially considering I had to park the car and walk 3/4 blocks to get to the doctor's office.)  I called my friend Marque and we dropped the boys off at her house prior to my appointment.

My doctor confirmed that Dillon was sitting even lower than he was the week before and she was confident that he would come on his own in the next two days.  My doctor also knew of my history with quick labors and that my husband was out of town and my MIL was only here for a certain time.  I think she saw the stress/anxiety that I was feeling and offered the option of going to the Klinikum (the hospital) and being induced.  {Side note:  Being induced in Germany is different than being induced in America.  They do not use pitocin in Germany.  They first offer you a drink, they call it a cocktail, that is supposed to help start contractions.  If that doesn't work then they give you a pill to take that is supposed to help soften the lining of your uterus.)

At this point, I was tired, stressed, anxious, and generally immensely uncomfortable.  (But of course, what pregnant woman isn't?!)  I couldn't make the decision.  I prefer for labor's to go naturally and I didn't really want to be induced...although in my mind I qualified the "cocktail" in a different category than being induced with pitocin and figured it would just be something that would be enough to put me over the edge.  At the same time, I was feeling stressed and SUPER uncomfortable and I wanted to get it over with.  We called Lenora in and my doctor explained the option again, and she thought it would be a good idea.  My doctor made some calls and after my appointment we headed straight to the Klinikum.

We probably got to the Klinikum around 12:30 PM and waited around for at least another hour before I was called back.  At that time one of the midwives examined me.  After speaking with the doctor on duty, they agreed that inducing me was not a good idea.  Dillon was sitting too low and they were afraid that even the cocktail drink would make him come too hard, too fast.  I was also having some steady, but not real painful contractions at this point.  They wanted me to do some more time on the fetal monitor and then do some walking to try and see if labor would progress on it's own.

At this time, they also decided to start an IV line.  I tested positive for Group B when I was pregnant with Blaine.  Once positive, always positive.  They wanted to go ahead and get a dose or two of antibiotic in me.  This to me was encouraging.  I figured if they were going to start poking holes in me, active labor was close!

Somewhere around 3 or 4 PM (I really didn't keep good track of time during all this.) the Midwife came in and told us that they were assigning me a room.  She suggested taking my things up to the room, getting something to eat, and then walking around for a few hours.  I was then to come back in a few hours to be checked again.

This was all new to me as I have never been in a hospital that long before giving birth, and I have never been checked into a room before having a baby.  And from what I've heard in the states they send you back home if you aren't progressing...they don't check you in.  So again, I was a little encouraged by this...but still unsure and confused.

I was definitely hungry at this point.  All I had eaten so far that day was a fried egg for breakfast.  Lenora and I went downstairs to the restaurant for an early dinner.  After that, back up to the room and lots of walking. 

Somewhere around this time I made some phone calls to Tim, my mom, and Marque.  I had spoke with Tim around 1 PM after we initially got to the Klinikum, and Marque had been calling him to keep him updated, but with no changes in my status, it had been a while since he had gotten a call.  The general consensus was surprise that there was no baby by this time.  Tim's words, "Why hasn't anyone called me?!  It's been six hours."  I think we were all expecting another quick labor. 

As the day went on, I started to feel much more "normal".  Not nearly as uncomfortable or stressed as I was that morning.  Walking was even much more natural and not a painful waddle.  At some point that evening we went back down to LandD for more fetal monitoring.  Throughout the day my contractions were getting much stronger, but they also started getting further and further apart.  Things did not seem to be progressing at all.

The options at this time were the following...
1.  Get a enema now to see if that will help contractions start.
2.  Go sleep/rest, and then be rechecked in the A.M.  If nothing changed..
a.  I could talk to the doctor again about being induced.
b.  Be sent home to come back when I was in active labor.

I couldn't believe I was doing it, but I agreed to the enema.  Then more walking, and then back for some more fetal monitoring.  Still nothing.  No changes.  No progression.  Contractions were few and far between.  My midwife was clear in stating that she would not classify me as being in labor.  While I thought the same, it was somewhat disheartening to hear it.  I even asked if I could go home at this point, but the answer was "no", so we we moved on to option 2...going to bed and starting over in the morning.

I was extremely discouraged at this point.  Not just the fact that I wasn't in labor...but I felt like I had "jumped the gun".  I felt like in my weariness and unclear thinking I agreed to being induced, which landed me in the hospital, NOT in labor, stuck with an IV line, away from my boys, and unable to go home and sleep in my bed, and just feeling somewhat foolish for trying to rush it.

There is no space for a visitor to sleep, so I sent Lenora home to hopefully get some rest with the promise that I would call her with the slightest change.  I was still discouraged and a little on edge again thinking about the decision I might have to make in the AM if I didn't start progressing naturally.  Now that I was feeling better and thinking more "rationally" I wasn't sure I wanted to be induced.  There was a security in already being at the hospital though.  I was able to talk to Tim again and go over the options with him.  He encouraged me that if I didn't progress at all and they offered me the drink in the morning, to take it.  I was already there, his mom was there, the boys were taken care of, etc.  With that, I headed to bed around midnight.

(click here for Part II)











 

Closing Up Shop...

It will be pretty quiet on the blog front this year, as I've decided to try and focus some of my extra time in other efforts.  There might be one or two random posts, but don't be waiting in anxious anticipation.  :)

December {In Pictures}

 

We haven't been slammed with snow as much as I thought we would be at this point (and I'm ok with that).  We have had a few good snow days though.

 

The boys watching the snow fall...

 



 

 

This particular day there were HUGE flakes and it covered the ground in about 30-45 minutes.

 

 

The boys coming in from playing in the snow.

 

 

On December 7, the Home School Group was invited to a Saint Nicholas party at The Seehof.  Soon after we arrived Saint Nicholas arrived and handed out small gifts to each of the children.

 

 

 

Blaine did great and sat at the table for a whole hour!!! The plateful of cookies and candy probably helped. :) 

 

Ryan and Colin greatly enjoyed the unlimited supply of hot chocolate.

 



 

 

 

We only made it out to two Christmas Markets this year.  Tim and I ran through the one at our downtown while on a date a few days before Christmas.  Then on Christmas Eve we all took a small trip to a local town, Forccheim (one of the few that was still open).

 

 

 

This couple playing music was probably the best part.

 



Christmas In Review {The Project Side}

 

This was the first Christmas in 3 years that we haven't been on the move.  Over the last few years I've collected a few decor pieces from Hobby Lobby's 80/90% off sale.  There were a few things still in the original box or still with tags on it.  The last few years I've also collected quite a few ideas, thanks to Pinterest.  Here's what we made this year....

 

  

1.  Wooden Nativity Sign - I originally pinned this a year or two ago.  There is a wife here that owns a Silhouette machine and we (my friend, Marque, and I) paid her $10 to print the scene for us.  We bought the wood and painted it for less than $6 and she came over and put the vinyl on the board for us, and wa-la! 

 

2.  Wooden Merry Christmas Sign - Back in the beginning of November I set up a Mini Christmas Photo Shoot for 5 clients.  Inspired by the link above I made this sign as one of my props to use.  I figured if I made it well enough I could use it as decor as well, so I made it out of wood.  Unfortunately, I didn't have strong enough hooks to hold it this year and it fell down after about a week of hanging across our big living room window. 

 

 

 

 

 3.  Wooden JOY Sign - Not quite the same as the inspiration piece, but I had some extra wood from the "Merry Christmas" sign so I decided to put it to good use.

4.  Fingerprint Ornament - I'm sure you've seen this floating around Pinterest.  The fingerprints don't really come out looking like the fingerprints on the inspiration piece, but it still works.



 

5.  Stamped Salt Dough Ornaments - Who knew?!!  Some stamps and colored ink?!  The possibilities are endless!  Thanks to Tim's Grandma and the box of stamps and ink she sent me a few months back we had plenty to choose from.  We made a good amount of the above ornament and handed them out as gifts to friends this year along with our annual cookie tins and bread loafs.  Ryan and his friend, Liam, also had a great time making these!  The following is one of Ryan's!

  

 

Side Note:  I compared two or three salt-dough recipes and had trouble with the first batch.  I ended up having to add 3 to 4 more cups of flour.  After we were done with those, we still wanted to make a few more and the next recipe I tried turned out great!  I had it mixed, rolled out, stamped, and in the oven within 10/15 minutes!  Just in case you are looking for a good recipe..and just so I don't forget...

*1/2 cup salt, 1/2 cup flour, 1/4 of water. Place on a baking sheet lined with Parchment Paper.  Bake at 250 for 2 hours; turning every 30 minutes to keep flat.

 

6.  Cinnamon Ornaments - No picture for these.  ( I think there's one in the background two pics up.)  I tried making these last year and they were a complete failure.  I had trouble with the consistency in the dough and I ended up chiseling them off the pan.  I searched for a different recipe and I figured you can't go wrong with Martha.  I was right!  The boys were even able to help with them as well.  The above link takes you to her recipe. 

 

 

7.  Subway Art Printable - I have two frames that I kept out and just added a Christmas themed printable to them.  I printed the Subway Art from the above link and cut it to a 4x6 and it is a bit squishy.  If you have a 5x7 frame it would probably work better.

 

For this second frame, I just played with a font and size on Word and printed out "NOEL". 

 

8.  Pine Cone Tree - At some point in the last few years Target had this gorgeous pine cone tree for around $25...if I remember right.  In some after season sale at Walmart I came across small boxes of mini pine cones.  I bought them and stored them away.  This year I found the tutorial linked above and made my own; also getting the worst hot glue gun burn to date!  If you are up close and personal there are some obvious holes, but from a general view, it looks great!

 

 

 

9. Scrap Paper Tree - I'm sure most of you have seen this on Pinterest.  At first I just had the boys make one for themselves and they decorated the trees with stickers and such.  I still had a ton of paper left and had this grand idea to make our Christmas cards this year based on that idea.  The boys helped make a few of them, but I was left to the other 40 by myself.  :)

10.  Ruffled Tree Skirt - My biggest project!  I just finished it yesterday.  The original tutorial is a no-sew project, but of course my crazy brain decided that it be better long term if I could make it more permanent and washable.  About $15 worth of broadcloth fabric and 10-12 hours of labor and I have this beauty!  Finishing this tree skirt concludes my Christmas projects for this year and I'm so excited to put it all away and move on!

 

 

Next year new stockings!  Someone hit up the sales at Hobby Lobby for me!!!!