We are thrilled that Henrik Peter was added to our family on March 11, 2014! After a busy week I sat today to look over our pictures of the last 10 days since he arrived. I decided it was time to get a blog entry done as I was already forgetting some of the fun details of the past couple weeks. This blog is a fun way to share things with friends and family, but it also serves as a journal for me (since my 'handwritten' journal has not had a pen to it in nearly a year...this is nice to print off entries for the kids to read someday).
First, some pre-Henrik pictures:
Will decided to "tatoo" his hand :-) Markers in the car may be a bad idea. We had been to Madrid/Ames for our niece/cousin Brooklyn's baptism.
It may take 20 minutes to get everyone prepped to be outdoors in the snow, but once out there they do enjoy it!
And since it melts as quick as it came...they enjoy Frisbee in the snow also. Too bad I was the first one to hit the house with it when I've warned the kids not to.
Happy 2 1/2 years birthday, Will! I tried to make a train cake to replicate Thomas the Train. I didn't do well. But Gabbie was nice enough to say "Mom, you got the colors right". Well that's something at least!
I did no "belly bump" pictures this time. I think Will is the only one we took a monthly picture of, and now I never look at them :) But we did want a few pictures at least of the last few days. I meant to get one on our due date, but that morning was a total disaster for some reason-cranky kids, everyone rushing around, etc. So this one is on Monday the 10th of March. I went to work as usual (just a shorter day, since I'd done extra the week before 'in case' we had the baby).
The family belly shot. Will was not into it! This was as I was getting ready to head out to my doctor appointment on March 11th. I had been having contractions through the night, so thought it a good idea to take this picture before I left.
In true "Brice and Melanie fashion"-I'm in full blown labor, and here is Brice, using an application on my phone to search for baby names.
I told Brice "don't forget to get the picture on the scale" several hours before Henrik was born. He remembered :-)
About 20 minutes after he was born I finally got to hold him. He was born in the same room as his older brother
Proud big sister! She got to come the next afternoon (couldn't go to school due to having had a fever the day before...luckily the fever never returned so she could come see the baby)
Dad holding Henrik the day after he was born
Grandma Linda had planned this week to be out of town helping my sister with her 7 week old baby as Lisa returned to work. Lucky out of town was just an hour from Carroll so they made the trip. Also lucky was that Lisa got off work early that day, so it wasn't a late night for them. Grandma thought he for sure looked like a dark haired version of Will :-)
Meeting Grandma Shelley, and close watch from sister Gabbie. Gabbie had spent most of the day at the hospital with me, so maybe was getting ready to get home at this point :-)
I was not happy about a 2nd night in the hospital, but I guess it gave us lots of extra cuddling time! I had wanted to return home after the first night since I slept so terrible, but doctor said baby had to stay at least 24 hours (apparantly there is a lab they draw at 24 hours or so after birth...had be been born more in the late afternoon/evening we probably could have gone home)
I can't believe what 7 weeks can do! Better enjoy the tiny baby time.
Packed up and ready to get out of the hospital!
So content...
Grandpa and his grandsons
"Sweet Willy" may be my favorite wine, but also describes our now "middle child" at times. He has been great with the baby. We were worried about how he would adjust, and in fact it was the oldest child who through us for a loop. Will has just sort of continued to 'do his own thing'. I will admit we delayed the potty training, thinking he'd revert anyway once the baby was born. For some reason we decided to start getting more serious about it this week. So far its a massive failure, go figure.
Here's the story of how Henrik finally came into the world. A disclaimer: this is probably boring and overly detailed, but it will be printed off to put in his baby book. Someday when the kids are out of the house I may have nothing better to do than read my long and overly detailed versions of their births!
Henrik Peter was due to arrive on March 7th, 2014. We knew from past history that this probably wasn't going to happen. And this was okay, because as of that date all we had was a few baby outfits washed. Everything else was still packed away in the basement. March 10th I got ready and headed to work as usual. I was grateful that it was going to be a shorter day, as I had done extra the previous week 'in case' the baby came. When I got home I made sure laundry was done and the house was at least in mild order, all I had left to do was grab a few groceries that night. Gabbie had dance that evening so we headed to Denison after she got home from school. I was starting to feel like I had a mild flu. Achy, tired, whatever. After dance we stopped at Fareway and I almost grabbed one of the motorized scooters. That's not meant to be a joke-I really almost did it. Then realized the cart would probably be too small and opted to tough it out. A little ways into the store I knew I was having a contraction. I felt excited (I knew I had a doctor appointment the next morning and had been hoping for some progress by then) but then remembered my doctor saying "you might have contractions for a few days before anything happens". We kept on shopping and by the time I was paying the bill I had just about had it. I was having frequent contractions. Once we got home and got all the groceries put away I sat in the recliner and Googled "how to time contractions". I had no idea, never had it happen to me at home before. I figured out they were about 6 minutes apart and lasted 45-60 seconds. Luckily Brice was home and helped get the kids to bed and I was on the couch for the night. The contractions continued through the night. The next morning I got my bag packed and got ready to head in for my doctor appointment. Then the contractions let up. Of course. I started preparing myself to be sent home after the appointment was done.
I headed to Carroll and went through multiple situations in my head. It would be great to stay and have the baby, but I really had nothing organized as far as what I was going to do with the kids. I also had 2 home health clients and no back up plan for that. I called my Mom on the way to distract myself and see how her week with baby Brooklyn was going. While on the phone I had a strong contraction...I didn't want to tell my Mom yet, and she later said she had wondered why I got so quiet on the phone :-) Another contraction occured in the doctors office. He determined I was dialated 1 cm and could head up to the hospital whenever I wanted to. Well, that's what I wanted to hear, but suddenly I didn't want to go. Initially I thought it was because I was
aftraid of the pain of labor; then it dawned on me the true reason I was delaying
the process. With each child the baby phase has gone entirely too fast. I knew once this little one came out time would fly. So, I called home to have the kids sent to daycare and update Brice, then I went and saw the 2 home health clients, toward the end of the second one I needed more 'seated rest' than she did, whether I liked it or not the baby was going to come today. On the way to the hospital I remembered once I was in full labor I couldn't eat anymore. I stopped at Walgreens for some snacks. I drove to the St Anthony Hospital parking ramp and sat there, eating granola. I texted my good friend how I was feeling, and she responded "maybe should have thought of that 9 months ago" :-). I needed the laugh, and finally went to check in.
The woman at the desk
said they were busy with some other people checking in, so I would be waiting
awhile. No problem, had a good book to read and I was alone so no worries. I
was checked into my room just in time for lunch (unfortunatly it was ham
salad...), then had to wait until 2:30 for the doctor to arrive and get things
started. That was about the time Brice came. I think it was Cervadil they used
to get things moving, and I had to lay still for 2 hours. Doctor left, saying
he would be back in a couple hours to adminiter more of the drug if the first
round didn't work. Brice headed out again to run the rest of his errands.
The nurse came back
in around 4:00 and said she thought things were working well according to the
monitor; doubted I would need a second dose.
Also around
4:00...daycare called. My kids have had 1 sick day in the past 5 months.
And of course on this day Gabbie started running a temperature of 103. Making
phone calls in the middle of contractions makes for short, quick conversations!
Typically I would let her wait the fever out, but not today when I knew we'd
have a new baby coming home with us. I called our doctor's nurse, who said they
would wait until she got there and swab her for influenza and
strep. I called my in-laws, and Brice's mom kept Will and his dad headed
to Carroll with Gabbie. Thank goodness for them! One of my 'plans' had been for
the kids to just stay at daycare (their provider had offered to keep them
overnight if needed) but that plan fell through once Gabbie got sick.
Okay, Brice came back
sometime close to 5:00. The nurse took the monitor off and said I could move
around and wait until the doctor came back. Supper came at 5:30 and there was
no way I could think of it so Brice got that (insert here-he had hardly eaten
all day, so he had arrived with BK fries, 2 sandwiches, and an ice cream
sundae). I was having intense and frequent contractions. Brice was just
chilling and watching TV :-) The nurse came in around 5:40 to tell us the
doctor was on his way, and noticed I was completely uncomfortable. She put the
monitor on, then said "Geez, why didn't you call?" She checked our
progress and we were given the option for an epidural. Of course! I heard her
call the doctor for permission, then page anesthesiology. A little before 6:00
they arrived, and by 6:15 I was very comfortable again.
I can't remember what
time it was, maybe 8:00 or so, the doctor came in and broke the water, then he
headed home. Brice and I were engrossed in multiple episodes of "The Big
Bang Theory"; Henrik will have to watch the 'Justice League' episode
when he is old enough...that's the only episode I can for sure recall watching
that evening.
Around 10:00 the
nurse came in and discovered I was fully dialated. I was feeling great-Brice
says likely because I was extremely liberal with the pain pump! Either way, she
called the doctor to come back. Just before 10:30 the nurse asked if I wanted
to push. Sure, just tell me when. So, I pushed when she said, and between time
I listened to the doctor and Brice make guesses on "American Pickers"
(the doctor had a guess that was spot on at $6800...so he was quickly accused
of having watched the episode previously...another random conversation that I
remember).
I think I had pushed
for about 10 minutes when I would hear the beeping on the heart rate monitor go
down. They put an internal heart rate monitor on the baby and an oxygen mask on
me. The nurse (in my interpretation) got a worried look on her face and said
"you need to push like you've never pushed before". I tried getting a
reading from the doctors expression but couldn't tell if he was worried or not.
All he said was "Baby is coming; you are doing very well". (Brice
said later that doctor said something about the baby being 'cordy'.)
I remember looking at Brice and saying "for real?"
"Yeah," he said "its actually coming". In my head I had
remembered being told Gabbie was coming and I was on my 2nd hour of pushing.
Anyway, every time after I pushed I would hear that heart rate go down. I had
to turn to my side and push a few times and then doctor said "Here you go
Brice...see what it is." Little Henrik came out, crying right away :-) He
also peed right away, I think before Brice even got to cut the cord. The nurses
took him, and Brice thought it was funny that Henrik was peeing and pooping as
soon as they took him.
They held him up and
everyone took guesses at his weight and length. One of the nurses won the
guess. I will admit that I was surprized he was only 7# 14 oz. I thought he was
going to be at least as big as our other 2. Will never fit in newborn clothes,
and Henrik has been fitting in them nicely. Brice swears if they had weighed
Henrik before he did all that peeing and pooping that he was for sure 8 pounds
:-)
Brice said later that
he thinks what the doctor meant by 'cordy' was that the cord was wrapped up
around his shoulder. I wondered how long it would have been that way. For the
past 2 months I had not been able to lay on my left side without extreme
discomfort.
Brice and I agree
that Henrik initially looked MUCH better with a hat on! His head was misshapen
terribly. We were both impressed that by the next day it looked just fine.
After baby was born
Brice did his 'usual' Hy-Vee run. Got himself and me a celebratory beer, got me
some flowers (a miniature rose an an orchid), and himself a snack. We sat for
an hour or so and watched the History channel (I actually slept that entire
time the best hour of sleep I'd had in 6 months). Then about 1:30 a.m. Brice
headed home...then called at 2:00 to tell me he was in the ditch, come get him.
Ha ha...I always ask Brice to call me when he arrives at a destination when it
is night time, and he always calls me with that line.
I was up the rest of
the night, literally. I think I had every side effect of the epidural, especially
the itching. The next morning I told the nurse about it and she said "you
know, you could have asked for Benadryl". Hmm...that might have been
smart. Oh well. I didn't sleep any better the next night. Actually, the best
sleep I got was the 2 hours the morning we were heading home. I laid in bed
snuggling with Henrik and was out like a light.
I was very happy to
come home. That was an unusual feeling for me, as I've always been sad to leave
the hospital. Just always has felt sad to have that part done with. This time I
was so relieved to have a healthy baby and get home and relax. I'd spent a lot
of time finishing up things in the house, painting, and moving Gabbie into her
new room. I was ready to get home, enjoy it, and get back into a 'routine'.
Also a different
feeling, a mild case of the 'baby blues'. We took Henrik in for his 1 week
(ended up being 10 day) check up and I could tell that day was the most I'd
felt them. I'm starting to feel like I'm getting over those. I think a lot of
that was that we were so busy the first week, we didn't have one day where the
van wasn't heading somewhere. I didn't want to be so busy that I didn't get to
have my time of just getting to loaf around and hold a baby. I also was down
about how Gabbie was reacting to the baby. She became very attention seeking,
and I was starting to feel like I had done something very wrong. She had been
looking forward to the baby, or so I thought. Everyone always talks about how
great their older children are with babies, why wasn't I having the same
experience? Lucky the worst of this from Gabbie is over, and I'm grateful for
friends who have admitted to me that life wasn't perfect when they got home.
Maybe I would have been wise to call for more help the first few days. Not that
I didn't have help-the kids did go to daycare the first couple days I was home,
Brice was awesome as well as his parents, and my Mom came for a few hours on
our first Saturday at home to watch the older 2 while Brice and I took the baby
and attended a funeral. I have always debated having someone stay with me for a
couple days, or if that would make me feel even more like I needed to be doing
something, like cleaning and cooking.
Another odd feeling;
I'm truly missing my job. In a good way that is. I'm loving my time at home,
and have been blessed to never hate going to work no matter where its been. But
ever since 2003 when I did a clinical at the hospital I always knew that was
where I wanted to build my career. I just figured it would have to wait until my
kids were older. I've been so lucky that its worked out great that its flexible
and just 3-4 days a week. I've also been lucky to work with a group of people
in an age range where I get to have conversations with peers my age, and also
with women who have raised their families and can give me great advice. I'm
missing those conversations, and my noon time swimming or running, and my drive
time to listen to books on tape :-) However I plan to absorb every minute I can
at home, yet with happiness look forward to what is coming up when I go back to
work.
When Henrik was 1
week old I did return to seeing home health clients. So for about 4-5 hours a
week him and I venture out to do that. They love it and so do I. It keeps me in
the loop and also keeps the other 2 kiddos in a routine of going to daycare a
couple days a week. Otherwise we are all home together, yikes! Its been 2
weeks today since he was born and we are settling into things well. Today
Gabbie declared that we need one more girl to even things out...I reminded her
that there is also a chance it would be another boy and then we'd really be
outnumbered!
For my own purposes,
I had to include a couple articles here that I've read lately. The past few
months have been different; with some work changes I have significantly less
responsibility at the nursing home than I previously did. This is turning out
to be a great change for me, as I needed a way to better balance work and
family, mostly put more emphasis on family. At first it was difficult as I felt
slightly bored and not as challenged; a co-worker at the hospital reminded me
continuously "a lot is going to change with this third one, don't take on
too much." I had my annual review at the hospital just before I had the
baby, and was given the option to pick up more days if I wanted to. I didn't
commit to anything, thinking I'd wait and see what the workload would be like
at home and financially how things looked (is it worth the gas and daycare
expense). I have opted not to at this time, and will continue with being home
Monday afternoons and all day Tuesday. This seems to be working well as far as
keeping the daycare bill down and everyone here, including myself, happy,
healthy, and organized (kind of...that may be a full time job itself!) I will
save the links to these articles to remind myself to not get into the thought
process of thinking I need to work 5 days a week, have the kids at daycare full
time, and run around being busy. I instead need to focus on having no regrets
as I raise these little ones and be home and present with them as much as
possible.
Then an article to
remind me to quit reading so many articles and just do the best we can:
Pardon the swearing
in that one :-) They do have a point under all the profanity.
And now, 4 days
later, I'm finally wrapping this post up! Henrik is 2 weeks old today. He has
gained over a pound in a week, as discovered at his doctor appointment. We can
already tell he is changing-I had intentions of doing newborn pictures of him
so I better get going on that! He's a gassy guy, Gabbie & Will laugh at all
his farts :-) He also eats often and what seems to be a lot, and so far no
success with him taking the bottle. I'm going back to help at the nursing home
a few hours a week in early April, so he is going to have to take the bottle
soon I hope! Will get more pictures posted soon of the past week.
