Our Fingerprints of God Pt. 2

First of all--if you haven't heard the song--"Fingerprints of God" you are missing out. It is a wonderful song that I often hear on the radio and relate to my husband and now 2 beautiful children. Part of the verse goes "I can see the fingerprints of God--when I look at you." You just know and believe in God and his creation when you see evidence of his wonderful miracles.

This blog is written for Alaina so she knows how she made it into this world--Hopefully I will persuade Dad to write his version so she may also have that.

Tuesday morning (Sept 23rd) I woke up early as usual--but something was different. I went downstairs, grabbed a bite to eat and snuggled in on the couch. It was just before 5. That is when I had a contraction. Big deal--I am used to them by now. I have been having them pretty consistently for 10 days now. After two more followed within the half hour I did feel that something was different about them this time. Within an hour I had 6. Still--I wondered if this was really something or not--I had often had contractions for several hours 10 minutes apart--yet I had a feeling this was it. I waited for one more--and decided that if it happened within 10 minutes I was going to wake Rob and let him know that I was thinking today was the day. I walked upstairs during that contraction and woke him up. We sat in bed a little bit and timed them together. They were still coming 10 minutes apart. We went downstairs and started planning our day.

We called Nana around 6:30 just to give her a heads up and let her know that we may be needing her today. We then waited for Ky to get up, we had breakfast, I did some laundry, Rob vacuumed--basically we were trying to get the house in order for the big event. Contractions were still around 8 - 10 minutes apart. I then suggested that we go for a walk so that I could walk ourselves into a quicker labor. This appeared to help. As we walked my contractions increased to 4 - 7 minutes apart. I was getting happy. I was ready to get this over with and get back to my old self--not to mention meet our newest family member. There is a park nearby in our neighborhood and I suggested that we stop there and let Ky play while I do some further timing of contractions. Once I sat down on the bench my contractions stopped. ARGH! I was pretty angry. I didn't want to be the one that cried wolf--yet how would I know? This was the closest I have gotten! I told Rob, lets walk home and he can go to work for the remainder of the day. We ate lunch together and Rob left.

Of course, and oddly enough the contractions then began again. At this point I had planned to resume my day. I was in a rush and was ready to leave for the Y. However, prior to this, I was timing and realized that my contractions were now 5 -7 minutes apart and getting stronger. Hmmm....I had decided already though that I was going to work--and if it was really labor I would know soon for sure.

I traveled to work and noticed that my contractions were indeed getting stronger. I let my coworkers know what is going on. My boss informed the building manager and the told me that she was scared that I was going to give birth at the Y and wanted me sent home. We laughed and I continued to work my shift. I continued to time the contractions and they were often 4 -5 minutes apart, yet not strong enough for me to rush to the hospital--just enough to be a nuisance. At around 3:00 I realized that I would not be able to go to bed like this tonight. I called Rob and recommended that we call his mom and see if she would be willing to come to our house after work tonight and help with Ky. Rob agrees and does so. At 5:00 I leave work and break down into tears as I drive home. I realize I have been contracting for 12 hours--yet nothing to go to the hospital with. I begin to pray that God would break my water or strengthen the contractions--ANYTHING. I cry all the way home. Ky keeps asking me why I am laughing. I tell him I am not laughing. I just can't deal with this day anymore!

I got home and parked the car in the driveway, let Ky out of his car seat and called my mom--after all she is a pro--she had four kids. Ky is playing in the driveway as I am bawling to her. I am so tired of pointless contractions. I want to sleep again. Why am I being tortured like this? Rob pulls into the driveway, and he is clearly concerned and wondering what is wrong with me. He has no idea why I am crying or who I am on the phone with. Then it happened. I was having a contraction and feeling the pressure build when my water broke. Down my legs, on to the driveway and for the first time I felt relief. Not just from the pressure build-up, but also because now we were finally getting somewhere. I yelled to my mom "My water just broke" and hung up on her. Looking back at this, I bet she was then a mess--wondering if I could get to the hospital, or if Rob was around, etc... But all I was thinking was God had answered my prayers. He heard me. Today was the day after all. Hallelujah!

At that point Rob tells me his mom will be there any minute. She actually left work early to come be with us. Another work from God--first of all--how else was I given an urge--or directive to have Rob's mom come and secondly for her to leave work early--more evidence of his presence in my life and how he watches over me--and for those that don't understand why this is a miracle--Rob's mom lives 1.5 hours away. She was our sitter for Ky. When your water breaks you are supposed to go immediately to the hospital because the baby could come right away--plus you increase your chance of infection the longer you are not monitored and undelivered.

Not to mention how awesome was it for my water to break outside! No mess to clean up!

So at that point we ran inside, drippy legs and all and finished packing our bags. I called the hospital to let them know we were coming in. I also sat down to eat some food (I learned this from the last labor) and sent out a few quick emails and updated the blog.

Rob layered his seat with a trash bag---yeah I was leaking fluid everywhere and off we went. On the drive I called family members and let them know we were on the way to the hospital. I also noticed the contractions were increasing in intensity.

We arrived at the hospital and then made our long walk to the maternity ward. And it was a long walk--with me leaking fluid along the way--yuck and how embarrassing.

We checked into triage and they checked me out. First the confirmed my water had indeed broke, second they confirmed my contractions, third they confirmed my baby had a head--okay funny story here. So a first year resident comes to do an ultrasound to make sure the baby is head down, and yeah she couldn't find the head. She was a very nice girl--but as a Dr. I really don't think you should ever tell your patient (me) that you can't find their baby's head. Now I knew my child had a head, so it really didn't bother me, but I did find it amusing that she told me "I can't find your baby's head, I am going to call another Dr."

They also confirmed I was 4 cm dilated (yeah! the day before I had been 1 cm. dilated) and I was 90% effaced by 7 PM. Now here was the problem. They had so many patients laboring that they did not have enough rooms for everyone--including me and a couple of other women in triage. Well Rob was disheartened by not getting a room (especially one with a jetted tub.) I guess I was a tad bummed too--but honestly, I was just so happy that I was truly in labor that I had little to complain about.

They hooked me up to an IV--something I also was trying to avoid with this labor, but I was informed that since I was high risk (VBAC) I had no choice. I named my new buddy "Frankie" and we made the best of the situation. Also, because I was a high risk patient and they were overbooked I did get strapped to my bed for a while. This sucked because my doc had told me that they had remote monitors that I could wear so I could get out of bed and walk around. Luckily I had a great nurse-Felicia-who retrieved one for me later--so I did lots of walking.

At 10:30 I scared Rob. I had contraction after contraction after contraction. Hey--I was focusing on my breathing--but couldn't talk--it kind of freaked him out and he pulled the emergency cord. I had a roomful of people run in and then my water broke--again. I guess this happens sometimes. Anyways they checked me again because they thought I might be ready to give birth right away. They discovered I was 7 cm. YEAH ME! Our nurse then informed us that a birthing suite had opened up and I was in competition with the lady in the triage room next to me for the room. Whoever was going to "go" first was going to get it. I guess the other lady was a pro at birthing because she won the room. However, I had convinced the staff I was going to go soon as well so they started looking for other options of places to deliver me. (The triage room was really too small to do a delivery in--and the supplies were lacking.) My triage nurse was a little stressed as well since she had never had anyone deliver in triage before.

I also need to add at this point that I did not have my own bathroom. So each time I had to go (which was pretty often—think IV) I had to walk back to the triage area and use a shared restroom—and yes I wheeled Frankie with me. Rob also started coming with me when I had Frankie since navigating became a little difficult.

Once in the recovery room they quickly began rearranging and bringing in things for a delivery. The contractions continued to get hard and strong and I was getting excited about having the baby. Then midnight came and things began to turn. My contractions were still strong, but they started getting farther apart (5 -7 minutes.) It was really bizarre how the changing of rooms coincided with this phenomenon. Around 1 AM I asked to be checked again. I knew that I wasn’t dilating like I should have been. Sure enough I was still at 7 cm. At this point I should have been near 10.

I started changing positions hoping that something would stimulate the contractions to move closer together. Nothing seemed to work. Eventually the Dr. came and visited and said, Pitocin, C-Section, or Epidural. Any or all were options I had. I did not want to choose any at the time so I continued to labor slowly. Some contractions were rough, but because they were not frequent I was actually starting to doze in the downtime. Rob and I discussed our options and decided that we would try and epidural. At this point I was feeling that a C-section was more probable and I wanted to be awake for our baby’s arrival. The Dr. had also said it might help me to relax more and let my body just take over.

If you remember my blog of Ky’s birth you remember that the epidural was the worst part. Previous to this delivery I had written a birthing plan for Rob and included info on what he needed to do if I got an epidural. Rob was great. He made sure that the anesthesiologist talked me through it and he held me tight. It was nothing nearly as horrific as the first time---and at one point the tube was outside of my spine, which was very uncomfortable—and he had to readjust.

We got the epidural around 4 AM and I laid on my left side hoping to get the contractions going again. I was talking to Rob, when a nurse ran into our room and started yelling at me to roll over to my other side. It was then that I realized that our baby’s heart rate had drastically slowed. The nurse began yelling for a doctor. She had me lay back and rubbed my stomach. The heart rate remained labored. She then inserted her hand and tickled the baby’s head. The heart rate went up for a second but continued to slow.

At this point she did get one other nurse to join her and they were looking for oxygen to give me—but had difficulty finding it since they were unfamiliar with the room. At some point they got a mask on me and the Dr. came in and informed me that I needed an emergency c-section. During this time I remember telling myself to stay calm and breathe. I knew that it was important to breathe deeply since they could not find the oxygen. I could not panic. When the Dr. said emergency c-section I could only nod my head yes. I remember a tear sliding down my face brought my attention back to my breathing. I really didn’t care at this point. I just wanted her to be okay. Thankfully her heart rate did return back to normal---but that was a very scary 5 minutes. Something I never want to relive again.

When the heart rate returned to normal, everything slowed down. The c-section was not as urgent, however they still did not want to waste any time. I was wheeled into the operating room and Rob put on his snazzy little white jump suit.

They were much nicer to me this time around in the operating room as well. I think my perspective is more positive this time around because I was prepared for the possibility of this happening—and I had been through it before. I was rolled over (like a beached whale) onto the operating table (epidurals make your legs feel like they weigh 200 lbs each.) Then I was disrobed and strapped to the table (seriously this is how it happens—and you wonder why I had a bad first experience.) The anesthesiologists were much nicer this time. They talked with me and even made a few bad jokes. After they numbed me completely I began to get the shakes badly. This I also expected since it happened last time.

Rob came in shortly after they started cutting. It took much longer this time to get the baby out since they were cutting through scar tissue. When the time came, they lowered the curtain so I could watch our baby pulled out. It was a moment I will never forget. I watched them pull out this pink child covered in goo and blood (not the prettiest picture but you don’t really focus on that when it is your child), the cord was hanging down. She was long and let out a raspy, yet solid cry. That was my little girl. They then whisked her away, pulled the curtain back up, and resumed their work. I remember asking Rob—“Is it a girl?” We knew the gender, but also know that it is not 100%. Rob didn’t know. It took a few minutes to get that verified.

Our little girl was born on her due date, September 24, at 5:24 AM.

They cleaned her up in the operating room and I listened as the nurses talked about her to Rob. Kylan was whisked to another room so I never got to listen or see much after that—plus Rob had left with him. Rob and I had a bet going on weight—he had said 7 lbs 12 oz, I said 8 lbs 2 oz. The nurse thought Rob was going to win—but I won when she weighed in at 8 lbs 5 oz. Shortly after that one of the nurses brought my placenta over for me to see (another request I had had.) It was neat to see this 2lb liver shaped organ that provided everything for my child. I also saw where the umbilical cord had been attached and the sac that she was in. Amazing! Isn’t it neat the way that God made our bodies!

Our little girl was brought over to me shortly afterwards. She had the chubbiest cheeks and my dark hair! But still resembled Kylan in so many ways! What a beautiful baby!

It took a long time for them to finish stitching me up and then in recovery for them to remove the epidural and clean me up. Finally I was able to hold my little girl. She was beautiful. So thin, yet her face was so chubby! She was so quiet. She had not cried since the moment they pulled her out of me. She seemed very content and just kept looking around.

The nurse placed her on my stomach—I was going to attempt to nurse. This little girl immediately rolled over and latched herself on. The nurse was amazed and so was I! And that pretty much describes her eating now. I have done very little to teach her how to latch on. She has been a natural at eating from the get go. I have been blessed to have 2 children who have so quickly taken to the breast.

To continue my amusing too many babies being born story, I was quickly kicked out of the recovery room since another birthing woman was coming. I was lucky in the fact that I got the last post partum room. I got moved up in priority since I had had a c-section. (There’s a blessing to a c-section, and more yet to come!)

By the way there were 14 babies born on Sept 24 at the hospital I was at, and another 10 or so at the other local hospital. A baby boom!

The Dr. came and talked to us later about the c-section. It turns out that while they were operating they discovered that my uterus was paper thin in the area of the incision. This meant that I would not have been able to push the baby out on my own. It also meant that I would have been a high risk for a uterine rupture. Another blessing to having a c-section. We talked a little further, and she confirmed that I could still have more children if I wanted to, but any future pregnancies would have to be via c-section and several weeks early.

Thank you God for slowing the contractions, and thank you God for not rushing me into letting them administer the pitocin—which would have started the contractions up again. Thank you God for the brief heart rate drop that alerted all of us that something was not right. All things happen for a reason and I know that God was watching over my daughter and I then.

We didn’t get much sleep on that Wednesday. The joy was too much! A girl to go with our boy. What family could be happier!? We did cat nap a little. At one point that morning the nurse took our girl to the nursery to bring her temperature up. She told me she would bring her back in 20 minutes. When more than an hour passed I sent Rob to get her. I was nervous and wanted her back in my vision. All was good, it just took a little longer than expected to get her temperature back up.

Rob and I waited until the nurse gave our baby girl a bath before we named her. She still had goo on her and we wanted to see her all cleaned up. Unfortunately, it was early afternoon until a nurse was free to do so (remember all the births!). After the bath, we discussed her name. We pretty much had two finalists. We had discussed naming her Leila if she had dark hair or Alaina. We chose Alaina. Alaina is the Gaelic form of Helen. It also matches her brother since he has a Gaelic name. Alaina means “little rock” or “beautiful joy” both of which I think fits her. Her middle name had been discussed for a long time. I liked the name Autumn because she was a fall baby and also because Rob’s mom’s last name is Herbst which is German for Autumn. We also liked the name Annaleen—which we made up—it combines 5 strong women in her life. G’ma Anna on Rob’s side, Ann is my middle name, G’ma Arlene on Rob’s side, Rob’s mom Kathleen, and my mom Maureen.

Autumn won out—it just fit better and because there are no Herbsts to continue the family name it seemed appropriate. So that is the story of her name. Alaina Autumn Schnake.

A few quick words on recovery. It was much easier this time. I knew what to expect and it didn’t hurt as much (I think because all my nerves down there are probably dead from being sliced twice.) I stood up by the end of that day. By the next day I was walking and they pulled out all my tubes. It was sad to see Frankie go—but I was ready. I even convinced the docs to let me go home a day early. The only concern I have had is with the large gaping hole on my left side. Apparently the skin did not come together right so I literally have this large area of ugliness and scariness. The docs have said that it is okay, it will just take longer to heal as I will have to wait for new skin to form over it.

Lastly, I must write about Kylan. As all of this was hardest on him. Ky stayed with Nana and G’ma Jan at our house. Rob had to stay with me at least a few days until I could get up to tend the baby. Ky visited us several times. He was obviously very confused. It appeared to him that we had moved to the hospital to live with this baby and left him with Nana. How hard this had to have been on him!

On Thursday, he was worse than ever. He had several tantrums/meltdowns during his visit. We then decided it was best for Rob to go home that night and for Nana to leave that way Ky could have some normalcy back in his life. This did help. The next day he was in better spirits, but was giving me the cold shoulder on the visit. He still did not understand why I wasn’t home. We showed him my “owie” and explained to him that we were waiting for the dr. to say it was okay for me to come home. This is also the explanation we have given him for why I can’t pick him up—but yet we know he still does not completely understand. I carry his sister everywhere, yet I can’t pick him up. 5 more weeks until I can carry my little boy again—and you know I will be smothering him when that day comes.

As far as feelings towards his sister. He seems okay with her. He sometimes seems curious, other times pays no mind to her. I think we will have to wait and see.

For now though we have been blessed with 2 beautiful children. Thank you God for all you have given us! And thank you for your love and support.

Our Fingerprints of God

Alaina Autumn Schnake was born on her due date September 24, 2008 at 5:24 AM. She was 8 lbs. 5 oz and 19.5" long. She looks like Kylan with much bigger cheeks (she is really thin--but has HUGE cheeks!) and has my dark hair. She is a pretty good sleeper and eats well too.

We got home on Saturday. More details to come soon!

Here comes Schnake 2!

After 12 hours of contractions today---that were not strong enough to go to the hospital--my water has just broke (THANK YOU GOD!-- AN ANSWER TO MY PRAYER!)

So I am off to the hospital. Please pray for me to have a natural birth that is quick and not too painful--and pay for protection on this little one!

I want to pee in the volcano!

So--Ky has discovered the urinal. And he LOVES it!

Except he calls it the volcano. Pretty funny. He also gets mad when I can't take him to the urinal (like in church, or at the zoo.) I try to explain to him that only daddy can take him--but he doesn't get it. Oh well.

So we are ENTIRELY potty trained! Yeah! No more BM issues! And he hasn't even wet his pull-up at night or during naptime. AMAZING at his age! In fact he wakes up at night and asks to go.

Let's cross our fingers and hope that he keeps this up even when the baby comes. We tried to have some discussions with him, preparing him for a baby that wears diapers vs. him being the big boy. We will see. I just purchased the DVD "Potty Power" online. The library made me return it--and well I guess I bragged about it TOO much because it is gone. Someone else has got it now. I figure this DVD is a great investment not just to keep Ky potty trained, but also for the next one. BTW--I would like to mention that this video is very annoying to the adult--but at least it is short.

So no baby yet. And just an FYI--assuming I have time (which I most likely will) I will update my blog when the big day comes. Otherwise, I am growing more uncomfortable by the day AND the contractions have been pretty constant for 9 days now--just not growing in intensity or regularity. My last appointment (last Weds) had me at less than 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. Take that for what you want since some women can go from 0 cm to in labor in hours. Right now the numbers mean very little to me. I am still in refusal to be induced or C-sectioned, and at my last visit I saw the nurse and nothing was said and no pressure was put on me (thank goodness.) My next appointment is tomorrow. I see the female doc. We will see what she says...but I am sticking to my guns--don't say anything about induction or c-section until I am close to 42 weeks. I want to go about this the natural way--and I will fight to get it!

Otherwise I have to say I am ready--yet no nesting desires or such which makes me think I have at least a few days yet. Right now I am trying to get quality time in with my boy--lots of snuggles and special trips like the zoo or the park. Things will definitely be changing soon. This is just a short entry to inform everyone who is asking---no baby yet...and yes I will call/email/update the blog when it happens--I find it especially funny that close family keep calling and asking if we have had the baby yet. I told Rob that next time we should tell them--"oh the baby---yeah --he/she was born weeks ago." Until the next blog--which will hopefully be THE blog everyone is waiting for.

We are Potty Trained!

Okay--now go back up to the title and sing the title with the "We are FAMILY" song in your head--that's what I was thinking when I wrote it.....Just want to get us on the same vibe before I get too far into this blog.

So are we totally potty trained? No, but we are pretty much there. Ky is no longer in diapers--and we may an accident a day (at most)--but have gone most days without any accidents....

A lot of people think I am nuts for potty training my boy in the last month of my pregnancy--but he was ready---he has been ready for a while...and the last straw was his holding himself 5 hours or more without going--and then when he did go the flood gates were overwhelmed and no diaper could hold him. So if I didn't move ahead with pottty training I was just condemning myself to more laundry and carrying around even more clothing changes for Ky--not to mention the carpets.

So I read the book--Potty Training in One Day. This was my guide--though I have to say I was a bit intimidated by the book--it was published in 1974 and the author was also well known for his book "Potty Training the Retarded." However, I read the book keeping in mind it was 30+ years old and I would need to adjust for how I want to work with Kylan. It was a very good guide.

I also got the video "Potty Power" from the library--which I still illegally have--I am not giving it back yet (hopefully I don't get arrested like the one chick that made CNN headlines--and yeah she was from Wisconsin)--Anyway, the boy loves the video and it is still incentive for pottying. I had Kylan watch it once a day each day about 3-4 days before I did the potty training. It was good background and got him excited.

So I planned to do it on a Friday, leaving Saturday for reinforcement, and then Sunday our first adventure out (church). Monday was then Labor day and we were traveling to Milwaukee. I was hoping that we would have it all down by then.

So Friday morning, Ky and I got up early. I gave him breakfast right away with lots of water to drink. Once he was done, I stripped him down, put on his new underwear (dinosaur underwear--he was very excited), pulled out 3 different options of beverages (none being juice--I didn't want to give the boy the runs), and pulled out dolly. I told Kylan we were going to have a FUN day--and yeah I really played up the fun.

So for the first 30 minutes, I taught Ky how to potty train "dolly." Dolly is a doll that you give her water and she pees. Ky would feed her and then we would run dolly over to the potty where she would pee. Dolly then got lots of praise--and here's the kicker-- CANDY! But of course Dolly can't eat candy--so I would tell Ky that if he would be a big boy and pee pee in the potty he could eat the candy. Well--what little boy wouldn't agree to anything if you give him candy. Ky received candy every 10 minutes then for having dry underwear and being a big boy (yeah he really got sugared up--but I figured it was worth it in the long run.)

We then went back to the beverages---Ky drank and drank and drank...and when he would pause, I would pretend to take his drink--that would make him upset so then he would take it back and drink more....Looking back on this--I was really setting him up to fail--but we all learn best through failure. I would then ask him if he needed to go pee pee--he would say no each time and then he started peeing. I tried what the book said--I tried to interrupt him, but nothing was stopping the great and mighty Mississippi. The first 3-4 accidents I was unable to get him to the potty to finish.

After he would have an accident. I would calmly tell him that big boys don't pee in their pants, he had an accident. I love him, but I don't love accidents. He needs to pee pee in the potty so we are all happy and he could be a big boy! I would then make him clean up the accident. I had a large pile of rags. He would wipe up the mess, deposit it in the laundry pile, take off his own underwear and put on new ones, then wash his hands. In essence I made him responsible for his own mess (as I followed him making sure it was adequately cleaned up.) By the way, I want to mention that I kept him on the tile floor to ensure there were no accidents on the carpet.

Our big break through occurred at 10:40 that morning. Ky said--"I have to Pee pee!" and then he went on his own. On his own means, pulled down his underwear sat and peed, got up, pulled up his underwear (though I usually have to assist with the back if the elastic gets folded down), took the pot out of the potty, emptied it into the toilet, flushed, gave the pot to me (so I can rinse and put back), then washed his hands with soap. Now that is a lot for a 2 year old--but keep in mind he had been practicing potty training the doll with all these steps throughout the morning. He received lots of candy then and praise--not to mention we called daddy at work.

I would like to say that Ky did great after that--but he didn't. We cleaned up many more messes into the afternoon. Throughout the day I kept track of when Ky had accidents, and by the late afternoon I knew he had to pee every 40 - 45 minutes. So I started to encourage him to sit on the potty about that time. That's when we really started to nail things on the head. He would go, do his ritual, and then resume playing. I rewarded with candy each time.

That night we put him in a pull-up, telling him they were night time underwear. The next morning he got up and we discovered he had not even wet them. (Nor did he wet them at naptime the day prior.) We put him on the potty right away and he went. Saturday went pretty well for us. He had a couple of accidents, but did really well over all. Naptime came and went and another night--and he still had yet to wet his pull-up.

Sunday was the real test--church! Yes we took him to church in his underwear. Remember if you want your kid to be potty trained you need to be consistent. Ky passed church with flying colors. He even told us half way through that he needed to pee. Dad took him to the big potty where he hesitated--so Daddy did his business and I think that helped to inspire Ky to go. What a big boy! I am so proud. Sunday was pretty much accident free as I recall.

Monday we drove to Milwaukee and spent early afternoon with Nana & G'ma Jan and then the afternoon with G'pa & G'ma Debi for G'pa's, Jordan's and Stephanie's birthdays. The drive was over an hour--Ky did fine. When we arrived at Nana's we tried to get him to go right away but he hesitated (this had me worried!) In the end it was all good. Ky went several times at Nana's and then succeeded at G'pa's as well. No accidents with travels! YEAH!

I do need to mention that at this point we had no successful BM's in the potty. If he had an accident it was usually that. After talking with a good deal of my friends though--they pretty much confirmed that it can take months before a child will go in the potty. Hey--I am okay with that.

So to continue on--Ky, most nights & naps, wakes up with a dry pull-up. What a great money saver! Several nights in fact--he has woken up and asked to go pee pee.

This may sound like everything is great with Ky, but we have had some difficulties. The biggest being BM's--and this problem has just been the last couple of days. Ky is holding it. He won't even go in his underwear. He will tell us he needs to go, strip down to nothing and sit on the potty--then when the urge comes he takes off running. ARGH--yeah you know what that means. So the last several days I have had to clean poop off my floors (only tile--thank goodness.) The first time he did this our friend Wendy was at our house and it was pretty funny--not funny to clean up, but funny to watch. Now it is no longer funny.

Today I have sought new measures. I am now making him sit on the potty until the BM happens. He can't be running around naked leaving his remnants everywhere and then stepping in it and then the dog---yeah, you get the picture. It seems to be working okay. I was afraid he might backfire on peeing, but he hasn't. I think secretly he appreciates us forcing him to go. He just doesn't have the courage. ARGH. So after he went today he was very VERY proud of himself and spent the day bragging about it. Let's hope it makes next time easier for him.

(Continuing a few days later) BM's are going pretty good now. He runs to the bathroom often claiming he has to poop and then nothing...but he has had enough successes on his own now that I can safely say we are BM potty trained. I think he is just very concerned with having an accident. And it has been days and days since his last accident....not even during the night or naptime!

Alright--so some other good stuff about Ky....

Ky is just as creative as ever. He is now putting his own words into songs he knows (a mommy & daddy trait). For example he was in the tub the other day and he started singing "It's washing time with Daddy & Kylan" to the Signing Time tune.

He also is understanding that letters make words. He will look for words on the page of a book and know that that is what we are reading. He will also notice words on street signs and stores, etc...He wants to know what they say.

Finally--I don't know where he even learned the word--but he always uses it at the right time "beautiful". He has told me that I am beautiful, I have beautiful hair, or if I made something (like the curtains in the baby's room) they are beautiful. What a thoughtful boy!

Lastly--as I am writing we are 11 days from the due date. Last night I had 5 hours of pretty consistent contractions. I actually thought that maybe the chocolates that my friend Liz had sent me had put me in labor or something (they started right after I had a couple of pieces)--BTW they were SCRUMPTIOUS! I was also a bit worried--I still wanted to do some apple picking--but now with the rain it looks like we won't get to do that after all. I also have felt pretty sure all along that this baby will either be born around the due date or after--so that would make me wrong (and I hate to be wrong!)

I think I got Rob a little panicked---he started packing snacks and then wanted to finish his homework. (I went to bed after doing some laundry and placing a few last things in the bag). I figured if it was for real, I would wake up later and at least I would get some sleep before my body exhausted itself. The contractions had started at 8 and at 1 I woke up still having contractions now every 7 minutes apart--yet they weren't more intense. I then woke up at 4 and they were gone. And the contractions were really hurting my back--another sign that they are for real. Hmmm...Interesting....Kind of weird for Braxton Hicks or False Labor...

Oh yeah--I should also mention that my Dr. this week told me that my baby was not engaged in my pelvis and that I should start thinking about a C-section or being induced. This made me mad. The whole reason for a V-BAC being defeated. I then went on line and read that most babies don't engage in the pelvis until you are in labor. I also read that most inducements (without the baby being engaged) lead to C-sections (75-80%) so right now I am not happy with him. He also estimated that the baby is at least 8 lbs, when a couple of weeks ago he estimated the baby would be between 6.5 and 7.5 lbs. Yeah---I have really lost confidence in him. At this point I have decided that there will be no interventions from me having a natural birth--and I will not consider a C-section or inducement until at least week 41 (if I make it that far) or if there is concern for the baby. I have been doing a fair amount of reading lately about the unnecessary amount of c-sections done now a days--especially when Dr's would prefer to go home instead of wait around and let nature take its course.

That's all for now.

A Met Reunion on Lake Huron

First this Blog needs some background….

So over the years I have kept in contact with my core Meteorology study group from college. Sarah, one of my good friends, decided it was time to have a reunion of this core group. Probably before last Christmas Sarah started planning this get together.

It was to take place in East Tawas Michigan on the shores of Lake Huron (at her grandparents cottage) in August.

Well it turned out FABULOUS! Sarah did an extra job—especially since she pretty much planned the whole thing!

As always here is my point of view (hey it is my blog after all!)

I was a bit hesitant committing to this journey. After all I was going to be over 34 weeks pregnant and with Ky I had complications at that time. I saw the doctor a few days prior though and was given the big “OK.”

We left Thursday after Rob got home from work. Our plan was to have half-way stops for the journey to and from E. Tawas. My family actually turned out to make good half-way points. (This was a 9 hour drive for us.) Thursday night we drove to my brother’s house. Ky was excited to see U. Joel. And of course U. Joel taught Ky a new game—now instead of “Wait for me!” it is “Don’t shake the bed, I’m trying to sleep!” This is actually a funny game because Ky will just start yelling it out at random times (not even when he is laying down.) As always, I love catching up with my brother and his wife on how they are doing. They have been extremely blessed and actually just recently had their own miracle occur. Long story short—Joel was laid off and then rehired. His employers were so impressed by his Christian attitude of the situation (it was on the front page of the local paper) they created a position for him because they did not want to lose an employee that shone that brightly!

Anyway—we left the next morning and finished our drive rather late. We arrived probably close to 5 PM on Friday (we were hoping to get there around noon.) Ky did excellent on the drive. He got a little grumpy in the last half hour, but who can complain when he has spent 9 of the last 24 hours in the car.

Sarah’s grandparents cottage (or house) was great. It had 2 downstairs bedrooms and a bathroom and then a loft filled with beds. The house had a huge lot with a long backyard that stretched quite a distance and then had beachfront with perfect sand. Not a rock was found in that sand. What a great place!

So we arrived and took some time to settle and greet my fellow alumni. We then walked down to the beach and let the kids play for a bit. It was chilly, but the kids did not mind. Bear (yes we brought Bear) was ecstatic to have the run of the beach and all these people around him.

Little Noah had grown so much since we last saw him. Mike was building castles and he was eagerly destroying them. Dylan is as tall as Ky—which surprised me since Ky is usually taller than most boys his age. Katelyn was as cute as a button and very content to play in the sand (or eat it). Dakota was the sand wonderboy—he would spend a lot of time concentrating on building or digging in the sand. I love kids—and it is always neat to see how they have grown and who looks like who—too bad Rich was unable to make it with Brooklyn to finish out the bunch of Met kids.

It was great to see all of my old pals again. Everyone in different roles of their lives as parents and/or professionals—somewhat different than our carefree days of college. Sarah I hadn’t seen if FOREVER—and she looked great—and just had such a warmth and confidence gleaming from her. She has definitely taken life by the horns. Linda has managed to keep her same sarcasm that turns any conversation into a surprise. Her little boy has also changed her with a motherly softness that comes as needed. Karen was right on top of things as far as planning and having ideas—we could always count on that. At the same time her devotion to her son and husband was definitely priority for her. Jason has turned into a man of adventure and confidence. I really enjoyed seeing pictures and hearing stories of where he has been. His career has really taken him to a lot of places. Melissa is a busy mommy—and balances both her kids so well. I am impressed by her patience—I hope that I can have that when my second one comes. I didn’t get as much of a chance to talk to Kelly as I would have liked—but I can tell that she has become even more inquisitive and observant than she even was in college. She is always thinking & doing. I wish I lived closer to her –she inspires me to always take the time to reflect.

So after some beach time—we all got cold and were ready for some good food. BTW—KUDOS goes to Sarah for planning, purchasing, and then preparing all the meals. They were delicious—and I honestly have to say it was nice to have a break from having to make meals for a couple of days. Night 1 was hamburgers & brats and such—and it was well-balanced, like all of Sarah’s meals, with fruits & veggies. YUM. After dinner it was decided that we needed an ice cream run. Poor Dakota fell asleep so didn’t get to enjoy the ice cream, but the rest of the kids devoured theirs. From there we went on a WalMart run for odds & ends and then back to the cottage. The moon was BEAUTIFUL over the lake, so I took some pics experimenting with camera. In one of the pics above you can see Jason in the moonlight bending over the water. Pretty cool!

We then put the kids to bed. Ky however decided that it was a new place and he did not want to go down easily. So we left him to cry. He EVENTUALLY fell asleep. We then tried to have some adult conversation, but were overcome by sleepiness. And in the end Ky ended up in bed with Rob and I. We were beaten and kicked by that little guy—this is why we don’t like to share the bed with him, but we survived.

The next day was our official relaxation day. After getting the kids fed & dressed (which took a LONG time) we all beached it for the morning. The kids had fun in the sand and perhaps dipping their toes in the water, but it was a bit too cold to wade in—however the men & Sarah had more guts than the rest of us and waded in chest high. (There’s a pic of them coming out.) BRRRRR!!! I can’t believe they did that.
For lunch we had –I forget what you call them—you basically make your sandwich over the fire. It was delicious—and Rob and I decided we needed to get some of these sandwich makers for ourselves.

The afternoon led to naps for the kids and some adults, for the rest of us we had some good ole games of UNO and SkipBo. I don’t know how I managed to NOT win even once, but I blame it on the Michigan air. My lungs just weren’t adjusted to such purity.

Dinner was a taco extravaganza. Sarah once again out did herself. There was so much food! Every pregnant lady’s dream! And then came the cake as we celebrated Miss Kelly’s 30th birthday (of course we didn’t forget!) Ky was very excited he LOVES cake!
Kelly told him he could have a second piece if he sang happy birthday to her again—he was happy to oblige.

That night we enjoyed a nice campfire and sat and talk. Karen and Dakota were too cute (check out the picture.) Of course Ky would never fall asleep like that in my arms when there is the excitement of other people and a fire. I miss it when he was little and he would sleep with me (nicely—not the torture that we were put through both nights in MI).

Anyways, Sunday led to farewells. I wish we could have hung out longer---but we have to save vacation for the new one and I was ready for my own bed. We stopped halfway and had a delicious dinner with my mother. Ky picked veggies out of the garden with her and now he says “remember when Grandma Mo and I picked peppers from the garden?”. His memory is amazing. By the time we got home we were beat. We all slept in on Monday and Dad went to work late. It was a needed recovery from the weekend.
Okay one more blog to catch up on---Potty Training and then we will be ready for the blog introducing number 2!