Well...we will be heading back to the states on Tuesday. All 4 of us will be coming. BabyM has an appointment with a pediatric gastroentologist on Thursday. She definitely is anemic, and it is because of iron deficiency. She is also on a very powerful antibiotic for an intestinal infection. The doctor thinks that it is salmonella, but the cultures came back negative, and because she is so small, we can't risk salmonella going untreated.
My brother and his wife have a very dear friend who is a pediatric gastroentologist in Lubbock and thinks that we need to do a scope of her tummy and a colonoscopy just to rule out some serious conditions that have the symptoms that she has. The doctor here agrees, and was going to send us to a GI in Guatemala City, but said that if we have someone in the states, that is even better.
Just so you know...I just have a feeling in my gut (maybe it's intuition) that she is fine, and that the tests will all come back normal. Maybe I am just overly optimistic. I guess we'll see.
Please pray for her. I don't know how long we will be in the states. It will all depend on how the tests come back. I think that the procedures are scheduled for Friday morning (1 week from today.) Just pray that we can get some answers. To get more of the story, you can read past blog posts.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Well...pretty sure it's anemia.
Ok..I'm no doctor, but I got some of BabyM's results back today. She is almost surely anemic. Now, I have mixed feelings about this.
At least we are on the way toward answers. I mean, we still need to find the cause, but we are no longer wandering around in the dark. Now, I don't know if there are any hematologists here, so we may have to travel to Guatemala city if there isn't. I really hope that we can just fix this. That all she needs is a vitamin and we can move on. We have been giving her iron supplements for about a month now. But I just found out that we were giving her the wrong stuff. Quality is important when it comes to iron.
Ok...please pray. I will take her results by the doctor tomorrow. I think she also has an infection which is not only indicated by the vommiing and diarrhea, but also by some lab work! So, we will pick up a few more lab results on Thursday and go back to the Dr. then.
I have to go to bed. BabyM is fussing in her crib. Oh, did I mention that BoyD has a fever of about 102? We are really hoping that he doesn't throw up.
At least we are on the way toward answers. I mean, we still need to find the cause, but we are no longer wandering around in the dark. Now, I don't know if there are any hematologists here, so we may have to travel to Guatemala city if there isn't. I really hope that we can just fix this. That all she needs is a vitamin and we can move on. We have been giving her iron supplements for about a month now. But I just found out that we were giving her the wrong stuff. Quality is important when it comes to iron.
Ok...please pray. I will take her results by the doctor tomorrow. I think she also has an infection which is not only indicated by the vommiing and diarrhea, but also by some lab work! So, we will pick up a few more lab results on Thursday and go back to the Dr. then.
I have to go to bed. BabyM is fussing in her crib. Oh, did I mention that BoyD has a fever of about 102? We are really hoping that he doesn't throw up.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Not a good day for eating.
Well, today was not a good day for BabyM's appetite.
For breakfast we tried to give her toast with black beans (which she loves) and cheese melted on it and a glass of milk. Actually, a glass of pediasure. She wouldn't touch, or even taste the toast and she drank about 1/3 of a cup of milk. She finally ate 2 club crackers with some beans spread on it. Sigh. She didn't nurse very well at all today and for lunch we had eggs, fried potatoes, beans, and tortillas. She ate 2 or 3 bites of tortilla with beans and another 1/3 of what was left of her milk. For dinner, we tried: Macaroni and cheese, yogurt, peaches, coleslaw, pizza, lasagna, more club crackers, and frozen peas. The only thing she will eat is the frozen peas. We even tried ice-cream which she promptly spit out of her mouth. Any idea how to add calories to frozen peas? She didn't want them thawed. Ok, and now, total for the whole day, she has had 1/2 cup of pediasure. Today she wouldn't drink water or anything else. I am a little bit at a loss. Her Dr. appointment is tomorrow at 11am. Lets just pray that she has gained weight.
On a lighter note:
BoyD has a new toy that he got for Christmas from his Mi-Mi. It is called Tag books from leap frog.
It is these books that appear normal, but you use this very cool pen thingy and it "reads" the books for you! You can touch the pen to the a symbol at the beginning of the book to read the whole story with voices and sound effects and everything, you can click at the beginning of each page to just read that page, or you can touch each word individually to read that specific word. Not only that, but you can touch illustrations and such to hear even more. AND, if that wasn't enough, each page has games that you can play if you touch the game button. Then, when you connect the pen to your home computer, it can tell you about your child's activity using the books. Like what level of game they answer successfully, etc. Here is a little video clip of BoyD "reading" one of his books. He will ask for the pen, and although he prefers to read them with us, he also loves to just sit and read his Tag book.
Update: At the end of the video (sorry that it is so dark) you can hear a bizarre noise. That is BabyM throwing up. I guess that explains the no appetite today. Sigh.
Hopefully it was just the once. So much for vaccinations tomorrow. This is exactly what we DON'T need.
Just keep praying and I'll keep updating.
For breakfast we tried to give her toast with black beans (which she loves) and cheese melted on it and a glass of milk. Actually, a glass of pediasure. She wouldn't touch, or even taste the toast and she drank about 1/3 of a cup of milk. She finally ate 2 club crackers with some beans spread on it. Sigh. She didn't nurse very well at all today and for lunch we had eggs, fried potatoes, beans, and tortillas. She ate 2 or 3 bites of tortilla with beans and another 1/3 of what was left of her milk. For dinner, we tried: Macaroni and cheese, yogurt, peaches, coleslaw, pizza, lasagna, more club crackers, and frozen peas. The only thing she will eat is the frozen peas. We even tried ice-cream which she promptly spit out of her mouth. Any idea how to add calories to frozen peas? She didn't want them thawed. Ok, and now, total for the whole day, she has had 1/2 cup of pediasure. Today she wouldn't drink water or anything else. I am a little bit at a loss. Her Dr. appointment is tomorrow at 11am. Lets just pray that she has gained weight.
On a lighter note:
BoyD has a new toy that he got for Christmas from his Mi-Mi. It is called Tag books from leap frog.
It is these books that appear normal, but you use this very cool pen thingy and it "reads" the books for you! You can touch the pen to the a symbol at the beginning of the book to read the whole story with voices and sound effects and everything, you can click at the beginning of each page to just read that page, or you can touch each word individually to read that specific word. Not only that, but you can touch illustrations and such to hear even more. AND, if that wasn't enough, each page has games that you can play if you touch the game button. Then, when you connect the pen to your home computer, it can tell you about your child's activity using the books. Like what level of game they answer successfully, etc. Here is a little video clip of BoyD "reading" one of his books. He will ask for the pen, and although he prefers to read them with us, he also loves to just sit and read his Tag book.
Update: At the end of the video (sorry that it is so dark) you can hear a bizarre noise. That is BabyM throwing up. I guess that explains the no appetite today. Sigh.
Hopefully it was just the once. So much for vaccinations tomorrow. This is exactly what we DON'T need.
Just keep praying and I'll keep updating.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Just A Little Something To Make You Smile.
Iam going to try to get BabyM into the doctor for her 1 year shots and to weigh her tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then Tuesday, and I will be sure to post an update. Thank you again for all of those that have been praying. She is eating a little better sometimes, so we just pray that every calorie that enters her mouth is being used well and is sticking to her little body.
Finally a little video of our musical prodigy. Brandon really did think it was me in there playing the recorder. Nope!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
God Loves Ugly
My friend Christa Black wrote and performed this song. You've got to listen to this. Please play this song "God Loves Ugly." It is amazing! Just click play on the little player on the sidebar.
It takes a minute for it to load...so give it just a sec.
You can find her album on iTunes and you can listen to some of her music if you click here.
Please let me know what you think!
It takes a minute for it to load...so give it just a sec.
You can find her album on iTunes and you can listen to some of her music if you click here.
Please let me know what you think!
Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Happy Birthday BabyM!
Happy Birthday BabyM!
My tiny baby girl is 1 year old today! Yeah! I can't believe it has been a year!
BabyM is really a very funny baby. She likes to tickle me, and hug her baby while saying "aahh." She isn't a big eater. Her first word was "kitty cat" and she can meow. She can crawl super speed, and loves to give hugs. She can stack 4-5 blocks, and she will hand you what ever is in her hand if you tell her no. She has a temper! She will scream like a banshee and shake her whole body (fluffy curly hair flying around like a halo) if she gets really mad. She took her first steps while my mom was here, but won't do it now that she is gone. She loves Bella. She will just laugh if Bella licks her face. She always wants to play with BoyD. She will follow him from room to room and no can make her laugh or cry like her brother! She likes to play ball with herself. She will throw it and then go after it to pick it up.
BoyD came in the room today when I had two guests over, and says "Mommy...I'm gonna toot, and you smell it" I was so happy that he said it in English! I still laugh as I think about it.
BabyM ate a good dinner! Yeah! but then she began to cry. Like really cry hard. When we got her upstairs, Brandon turned her over to pull off her clothes for her bath when he discovered a wet shoe, and what looked like beans all over the inside cuff of her pants and her sock. Well...it wasn't beans. She had diarrhea. Big time. I mean, down both legs, and up the back.
GROSS! :)
I love my life!
Friday, January 02, 2009
Again, I'm piling it all on in one post!
To catch you up:
BabyM finally got rid of the diarrhea, gained a few ounces, but got sick again with maybe a cold yesterday and has 103 degree fever this morning. Going back to the doctor.
This is BabyM with a French braid. It doesn't stay b/c her hair is too fine, but cute none the less.
BoyD had a dinosaur birthday party. It was a blast and we had about 20 kids there. Here are some photos of the party:
This is the Dinosaur cake and a photo of my precious and wonderful mom with my precious and wonderful BabyM.
All the kids had a go at the giant Dinosaur pinata. BabyM went first, and then BoyD got a turn.
When the pinata breaks, everyone goes in for the kill. Even the parents go in to score some loot for their kids. It was crazy and a miracle that no one got hurt!
The two games that we played were musical chairs with dinosaur music in Spanish, and an archaeological dig where the kids dug for fossils that I had made from coffee grounds and hidden in the sand box. (the sandbox was BoyD's birthday present from us!)
It was a beautiful day for the party!
This is BoyD (aka the Joker) after drinking some punch. Notice the red streak on his forehead from the top of the cup! And that is the piece of cake that Brandon gave BoyD. It is as big as his head! Needless to say, he didn't finish it all.
My mom came for two weeks and at the beginning we went to panajachel (on lake Atitlan) and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Isn't my mommy a cutie?
The following photo is not staged. He was using the bathroom and Brandon went to check on him, and he was "reading" Parenting Wit and Wisdom, by Barbara Coloroso. Very funny.
We went to this really cool Catholic culture thing here. December 12th was Dia de la Virgen de Guatalupe. Basically a day to celebrate, honor, (to some worship) Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Here in Xela, there is a big mass at the huge catholic church here in the center of town followed by a fair of sorts in the central park. Everybody (mostly catholics) bring their children dressed in typical Mayan dress and there are all kinds of food vendors and trinkets to buy. They also have all of the scenes set up with paintings or statues of the virgin where your kids can pose and you can have your photo taken for 25Q (or about $3.00). It is really fun to see all of the kids all dressed up.
Well, we went and we took the kids in their typical dress and we wanted to share a few of the precious photos. Enjoy
Next, Christmas. Christmas eve, we went to a service at our church where BoyD was a wise man. It was so cute, and I am going to either post a little blog about that later, or get Brandon to. Our tradition is to open one gift on Christmas eve (always pijamas to wear that night). Christmas Eve Day, we made cookies for Santa. YUM!
BoyD playing with his little people construction stuff, and BabyM with her new cell phone.
BoyD is ready to ride his tricycle with his new helmet, fight all the "bad guys" with his foam swords, and finally he got to dig into the stocking to see what tiny goodies Santa brought.
All it all this has been an action packed last month. I really plan on blogging more often so that I don't bombard you all with so much info at one time. Oh, and after the Doctor, BabyM lost 2 ounces...really sad about that...but is on another antibiotic for a throat infection. Maybe she'll begin to eat again. Sigh. We still ask for your continued prayers, as she only weights 15lbs, 10ounces and she is 3 days short of a year.
BabyM finally got rid of the diarrhea, gained a few ounces, but got sick again with maybe a cold yesterday and has 103 degree fever this morning. Going back to the doctor.
This is BabyM with a French braid. It doesn't stay b/c her hair is too fine, but cute none the less.
BoyD had a dinosaur birthday party. It was a blast and we had about 20 kids there. Here are some photos of the party:
This is the Dinosaur cake and a photo of my precious and wonderful mom with my precious and wonderful BabyM.
All the kids had a go at the giant Dinosaur pinata. BabyM went first, and then BoyD got a turn.
When the pinata breaks, everyone goes in for the kill. Even the parents go in to score some loot for their kids. It was crazy and a miracle that no one got hurt!
The two games that we played were musical chairs with dinosaur music in Spanish, and an archaeological dig where the kids dug for fossils that I had made from coffee grounds and hidden in the sand box. (the sandbox was BoyD's birthday present from us!)
It was a beautiful day for the party!
This is BoyD (aka the Joker) after drinking some punch. Notice the red streak on his forehead from the top of the cup! And that is the piece of cake that Brandon gave BoyD. It is as big as his head! Needless to say, he didn't finish it all.
It was dino themes all around. We had a stand up dino to take photos by, and every kid wore a dino mask during the party. We had a lot of fun.
My mom came for two weeks and at the beginning we went to panajachel (on lake Atitlan) and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. Isn't my mommy a cutie?
We went to this really cool Catholic culture thing here. December 12th was Dia de la Virgen de Guatalupe. Basically a day to celebrate, honor, (to some worship) Mary, the mother of Jesus.
Here in Xela, there is a big mass at the huge catholic church here in the center of town followed by a fair of sorts in the central park. Everybody (mostly catholics) bring their children dressed in typical Mayan dress and there are all kinds of food vendors and trinkets to buy. They also have all of the scenes set up with paintings or statues of the virgin where your kids can pose and you can have your photo taken for 25Q (or about $3.00). It is really fun to see all of the kids all dressed up.
Well, we went and we took the kids in their typical dress and we wanted to share a few of the precious photos. Enjoy
Next, Christmas. Christmas eve, we went to a service at our church where BoyD was a wise man. It was so cute, and I am going to either post a little blog about that later, or get Brandon to. Our tradition is to open one gift on Christmas eve (always pijamas to wear that night). Christmas Eve Day, we made cookies for Santa. YUM!
This is BoyD and Mommy spreading some reindeer food on the front porch (Thanks, Alicia for the idea!), Mommy helping BoyD open his Christmas Eve gift, and Mi-Mi and the kiddos sampling the cookies for Santa.
BoyD checking out what Santa brought and awing over Santa's footprints that he left.
BoyD is ready to ride his tricycle with his new helmet, fight all the "bad guys" with his foam swords, and finally he got to dig into the stocking to see what tiny goodies Santa brought.
All it all this has been an action packed last month. I really plan on blogging more often so that I don't bombard you all with so much info at one time. Oh, and after the Doctor, BabyM lost 2 ounces...really sad about that...but is on another antibiotic for a throat infection. Maybe she'll begin to eat again. Sigh. We still ask for your continued prayers, as she only weights 15lbs, 10ounces and she is 3 days short of a year.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
YEEAAAHHH!!!
We have some fantastic news! We are just so pumped that we wanted to share it with all of you!
BABYM IS SICK!
Isn't that great?
I mean...she actually has an infection. That is so good b/c it means that she doesn't have some sort of lifelong allergy, or metabolic disorder, or malformed intestines! She doesn't have crones disease, or celiacs disease, or a wheat or milk allergy! It is just a bunch of really hard to find bacteria living in her gut.
We just give her medicine, and in 5-10 days, she should be gaining weight, eating again, and having solid poopy!
I just can't explain how relieved we are. God has answered our prayers. Thank you for your prayers and support and offers for groceries, and love. It means so much!
So we go back to the Doc in a month or so to re-weigh, but he told us that her appetite should improve very soon.
And tonight, she ate a hamburger patty (from mcdonalds) like 8 french fries and a half of an oreo. Oh, and an ounce of juice! That may not seem like a lot, but compared to practically nothing, it is a ton!
Ok..off to bathe the kids.
BABYM IS SICK!
Isn't that great?
I mean...she actually has an infection. That is so good b/c it means that she doesn't have some sort of lifelong allergy, or metabolic disorder, or malformed intestines! She doesn't have crones disease, or celiacs disease, or a wheat or milk allergy! It is just a bunch of really hard to find bacteria living in her gut.
We just give her medicine, and in 5-10 days, she should be gaining weight, eating again, and having solid poopy!
I just can't explain how relieved we are. God has answered our prayers. Thank you for your prayers and support and offers for groceries, and love. It means so much!
So we go back to the Doc in a month or so to re-weigh, but he told us that her appetite should improve very soon.
And tonight, she ate a hamburger patty (from mcdonalds) like 8 french fries and a half of an oreo. Oh, and an ounce of juice! That may not seem like a lot, but compared to practically nothing, it is a ton!
Ok..off to bathe the kids.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Skinny BabyM
Well...I really haven't been posting much. I have a lot on my mind. I am worried for one of the first times in my life. I mean really worried. Now, please, don't give me any comments about how I shouldn't worry, and how worrying doesn't add a day to your life, etc. If you have ever had a child with a serious health issue, or even a potential minor health issue, you know, that worry (aka concern) is really unavoidable.
Now, don't get me wrong. I am not worried like this: sitting, anticipating all of the bad things that are going to happen, and then giving myself an ulcer over what might not ever happen. When I say worry, I mean that many times throughout the day, thoughts of concern and desire for the best for my baby girl come to my mind, and I have to stop and pray for her. Thoughts of how I can help her permeate my life as well as varying plans to "solve" the problem.
Ok...here is the problem. BabyM is very underweight. She weighs only 15lbs 10oz and she is a month short of 1 year. She should be weighing closer to 19-20 lbs. Even for being petite, she isn't even on the charts.
We have been working on this "issue" for about a month now, and the first 5 days she gained 10 ounces and we really celebrated! But, in the last 3 weeks, she has grown 1 cm in lenght, .5cm in head circumference, and only 2 ounces. That is really not good. If she was a healthy weight, she should be gaining 2-3 ounces a week, and she is already underweight.
We have been force feeding her all of the fattiest, carb loadiest things we could find. Cream with her meat, butter on her veggies, yogurt with her fruit, etc. Well, she has also had diarrhea on and off since we started feeding her, but we live in Guatemala! Every one I know has diarrhea on and off. Well, now, the diarrhea is keeping her from gaining weight.
We will do a second round of feces and urine tests tomorrow (the first set came back clear). We are cutting out all dairy (all the things we were giving) as well as all wheat. Not an easy thing. I think we can find some health food stores here that will sell some dairy and wheat free stuff. It is hard to help the girl gain weight w/o typical wheat carbs and dairy fat.
All that to say, please pray for our little girl. Please pray that we can find what is wrong. Please pray that it is no more serious than lactose intollerance.
We have been trying so hard to make some progress with her eating and nursing. She just won't eat much or nurse for very long. And then I go to the doctor today to find out that all that work was for 2 ounces. 2 ounces in 3 weeks. 3 weeks!
Anyway, now that this is out in blog sphere, I will post more as soon as I know more. Thanks in advance to those of you who read this and will pray for our little precious baby girl.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
What did I do today?
I COOKED!
I make green bean casserole w/o canned green beans OR French's fried onions.
I made 4 skillets of cornbread for cornbread stuffing.
I made two pumpkin pies and one pecan pie. (Crust from scratch!)
I hard boiled 15 eggs for deviled eggs and for the stuffing.
Oh, and this is the rosemary and sage that we buy here for the dressing.
Anyway, Brandon is brining the turkey tonight, I will be making the stuffing and baking my green beans in the afternoon. I will be baking some yeast rolls and finishing the deviled eggs. Brandon will cook the turkey in the morning, and I think we will be ready! We have 32 confirmed people.
Happy Thanksgiving!
I make green bean casserole w/o canned green beans OR French's fried onions.
Therefore I made french fried onions
.
A bunch.
.I made 4 skillets of cornbread for cornbread stuffing.
I made two pumpkin pies and one pecan pie. (Crust from scratch!)
I hard boiled 15 eggs for deviled eggs and for the stuffing.
Oh, and this is the rosemary and sage that we buy here for the dressing.
Anyway, Brandon is brining the turkey tonight, I will be making the stuffing and baking my green beans in the afternoon. I will be baking some yeast rolls and finishing the deviled eggs. Brandon will cook the turkey in the morning, and I think we will be ready! We have 32 confirmed people.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Sunday, November 23, 2008
BabyM's Birth
I don't think I ever told the world about the birth of BabyM. I mean, everyone (at least everyone who reads this blog) knows that she was birthed, but I wanted to recount the story of "how."
Don't worry, I wont get "too" graphic. If you don't like this kind of thing, then don't keep reading. It is a wonderful memory for me!
Well, b/c of our finances and lack of decent insurance at the time, we had decided to have her at my mom's house instead of a hospital.
We found these two midwives in Midland (about 2 hours away from my mom's house going the speed limit). We did prenatal visits in their clinic, had all of our questions answered, and on the third day past my due date after walking and walking and walking all around Lubbock, my water broke at about 12:30 in the morning. The breaking was much less violent than it sounds, and so I wasn't entirely sure that it had broken and I didn't want to wake everybody up over a false alarm.
Finally, after some Internet research, at 2:00am, I woke up Brandon to call the midwives. Now, if you didn't know, my labor with Deacon was like 5 hours long, it had already been 1.5 hours and the midwives were 2 hours away. They told Brandon to time the contractions and call back when they were 5 minutes apart. Well, they never were consistently 5 minutes apart. Well, we called back at like 3am and they said they would come. They fell back asleep.
They showed up at 6:30am and BabyM had not yet showed up. About that time I got into the bath hoping to ease some of my pain. My contractions were all over the place. Some lasted 60 seconds, and my longest lasted over 3 minutes. 3 minutes can be a very long time.
Anyway, a little while later I got out of the bath and after a check, found out I was dilated to a 9 and had transitioned in the tub. I HIGHLY recommend that. Transition with BoyD was so hard that I didn't think I would make it through, but this was totally doable!
It took a long time to go from a 9 to a 10 b/c for me at least, moving made the pain worse, and the midwives were very laid back. All that to say, finally, they got me on the floor on my knees to move it along.
It worked. I dilated the rest of the way in about 10 minutes. It was the longest 10 minutes of my life, but then it was finally time to push. I pushed through 3 contractions before the midwife said "ok...stop pushing NOW" to which I said "I CAN'T" (b/c stopping pushing when you feel the urge to push is really impossible) and she said "you can and you will."
Turns out that it appeared that BabyM's umbilical cord was around her neck and one of her hands was coming out with her head. Those can both be problematic.
Well, it all turned out ok, and she was born at 9:56am. Having her at home ended up being such a blessing. After she was born, I got her on in my arms for like an hour! They did the after birth check with her there with me and it was so calm and wonderful. She didn't scream and she nursed so well right away. The midwives stayed and checked us all our for a couple of hours, and then they left us to our selves! Brandon did all of the post birth checks like temperature, pulse, respirations, mushing my mushy belly, etc.
Oh, at about 7:30am when BoyD woke up, I was in the bath tub and my brother came to get him and he hung out at their house until after lunch when he came back to my mom's house to meet the baby, see me, and take his afternoon nap.
All in all, it was beautiful! Here are some photos.
The extra people in the photos are first my mom, and then the two midwives.
Don't worry, I wont get "too" graphic. If you don't like this kind of thing, then don't keep reading. It is a wonderful memory for me!
Well, b/c of our finances and lack of decent insurance at the time, we had decided to have her at my mom's house instead of a hospital.
We found these two midwives in Midland (about 2 hours away from my mom's house going the speed limit). We did prenatal visits in their clinic, had all of our questions answered, and on the third day past my due date after walking and walking and walking all around Lubbock, my water broke at about 12:30 in the morning. The breaking was much less violent than it sounds, and so I wasn't entirely sure that it had broken and I didn't want to wake everybody up over a false alarm.
Finally, after some Internet research, at 2:00am, I woke up Brandon to call the midwives. Now, if you didn't know, my labor with Deacon was like 5 hours long, it had already been 1.5 hours and the midwives were 2 hours away. They told Brandon to time the contractions and call back when they were 5 minutes apart. Well, they never were consistently 5 minutes apart. Well, we called back at like 3am and they said they would come. They fell back asleep.
They showed up at 6:30am and BabyM had not yet showed up. About that time I got into the bath hoping to ease some of my pain. My contractions were all over the place. Some lasted 60 seconds, and my longest lasted over 3 minutes. 3 minutes can be a very long time.
Anyway, a little while later I got out of the bath and after a check, found out I was dilated to a 9 and had transitioned in the tub. I HIGHLY recommend that. Transition with BoyD was so hard that I didn't think I would make it through, but this was totally doable!
It took a long time to go from a 9 to a 10 b/c for me at least, moving made the pain worse, and the midwives were very laid back. All that to say, finally, they got me on the floor on my knees to move it along.
It worked. I dilated the rest of the way in about 10 minutes. It was the longest 10 minutes of my life, but then it was finally time to push. I pushed through 3 contractions before the midwife said "ok...stop pushing NOW" to which I said "I CAN'T" (b/c stopping pushing when you feel the urge to push is really impossible) and she said "you can and you will."
Turns out that it appeared that BabyM's umbilical cord was around her neck and one of her hands was coming out with her head. Those can both be problematic.
Well, it all turned out ok, and she was born at 9:56am. Having her at home ended up being such a blessing. After she was born, I got her on in my arms for like an hour! They did the after birth check with her there with me and it was so calm and wonderful. She didn't scream and she nursed so well right away. The midwives stayed and checked us all our for a couple of hours, and then they left us to our selves! Brandon did all of the post birth checks like temperature, pulse, respirations, mushing my mushy belly, etc.
Oh, at about 7:30am when BoyD woke up, I was in the bath tub and my brother came to get him and he hung out at their house until after lunch when he came back to my mom's house to meet the baby, see me, and take his afternoon nap.
All in all, it was beautiful! Here are some photos.
The extra people in the photos are first my mom, and then the two midwives.
Friday, November 21, 2008
Please Pray for My Friend
Final update: PRAISE GOD!! Well, right now Larry is in surgery ICU. The doctors have said that it is a miracle. He is doing so much better than he should be doing. He is recovering well. Thanks be to God. I know that He is not obligated to heal, nor does he always do it. I have seen first hand (as have all of us) when God doesn't not give us the answer that we desire. And I want to praise Him in these circumstances as well. But...it is SO FUN to see him say 'yes' sometimes. Thank you for those of you that prayed. I don't understand it, but the "prayers of a righteous man avails much."
Update: As of the middle of the night, the surgery went well, the half of the heart that had died was starting to "come back to life" a bit b/c it was getting blood flow. He has scoliosis and so his chest cavity was very strange so they had trouble with that, but last word is that the surgery corrected everything and they were just waiting for his blood to clot so that they could sew him up.
Thank you for praying. I thank you on behalf of the family, too.
Original Post: I am going to ask you to pray. The husband of one of my dearest friends went to the hospital today with a heart attack. Two of the three arteries leading to the heart are totally 100% blocked and the third is open by a string. He has been on blood thinners since he entered the emergency room but he must have surgery if he has any chance of survival. So...he will have a very bloody, very dangerous surgery where he might die. And then, even if he makes it through, he will have a long, very long recovery. This is what the doctors are saying, and my friend is at the hospital, waiting to know if her husband of over 30 years will be alive in the morning.
Now, I have seen many prayer requests on blogs, and I know that it is very easy to read them and think "oh, how terrible, I need to remember to pray for them"
Please stop right now. Please just offer up at least one petition for my friend, Robin, and her husband, Larry.
Thank you.
Update: As of the middle of the night, the surgery went well, the half of the heart that had died was starting to "come back to life" a bit b/c it was getting blood flow. He has scoliosis and so his chest cavity was very strange so they had trouble with that, but last word is that the surgery corrected everything and they were just waiting for his blood to clot so that they could sew him up.
Thank you for praying. I thank you on behalf of the family, too.
Original Post: I am going to ask you to pray. The husband of one of my dearest friends went to the hospital today with a heart attack. Two of the three arteries leading to the heart are totally 100% blocked and the third is open by a string. He has been on blood thinners since he entered the emergency room but he must have surgery if he has any chance of survival. So...he will have a very bloody, very dangerous surgery where he might die. And then, even if he makes it through, he will have a long, very long recovery. This is what the doctors are saying, and my friend is at the hospital, waiting to know if her husband of over 30 years will be alive in the morning.
Now, I have seen many prayer requests on blogs, and I know that it is very easy to read them and think "oh, how terrible, I need to remember to pray for them"
Please stop right now. Please just offer up at least one petition for my friend, Robin, and her husband, Larry.
Thank you.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Harvesting Corn
We harvested corn!
We were Guatemaltecos for a morning. It was really fun.
We were Guatemaltecos for a morning. It was really fun.
We told a friend of ours that has a bunch of land with corn that needed to be harvested that we would love to come and help one morning if we could. She said that she would talk to her family and told us the day.
The next day she called to tell us that we couldn't come, b/c her family said that we were too "special" to do that kind of work. It is dirty, difficult, tiring work. We protested for several days in order for them to extend the invitation to come. They were very worried about it.
The reality of it is, is that it wasn't any harder than working in the garden on a hot May day. It was dirty and there were quite a few bugs (including one that looked like a crab but the size of a fire ant) and dust but it wasn't that hard to do and Brandon and I had a good time chatting and trying to keep up with the Guatemalans.
BoyD and our Spanish teacher had fun exploring! All of kids just hung out together in the grass and dirt. BabyM had fun too! She was in a sling of one of the Guatemalans for quite a while.
After we finished, Patty's grandfather had lunch prepared for us. It was amazing! The whole morning turned into a really fun time.
That was also the day that BabyM started to eat a little again! For those of you who didn't know, BabyM is very underweight and her doctor here (as well as her pedi in the states) had said that she really needs to gain some weight. We started feeding her more and I tried to nurse her more, but we were having to force feed her and she basically stopped nursing for like 3 days. We were very worried, but all is well. God is good and answers prayers and her appetite just spontaneously picked up! She is now nursing again, eating more, and she gained 10 ounces in 6 days! PRAISE GOD!
Anyway, thank you for all of you that prayed for our little princess. If we can keep this up, she may get back on the charts by the time she turns one. We are under orders from Grandpa to fatten her up with ice-cream and french fries. Here's to you, Grandpa!
FYI...for those of you who are health conscious, this was her first sampling of fries, and she only ate 2. The box of fries was for effect!
The Retreat: Here are also a few photos from the camp that we went to on our couple's retreat. We left early b/c BabyM wasn't eating. It wasn't an american style couple's retreat. The men and women slept separately and there was mandatory 6:30am devotions. I think it would have been fun, but I was so incredibly stressed out about her not eating.
The kids with BoyD were his babysitters for the weekend. They were fantastic and really loved on him and BabyM.
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