A miracle

Last night I held my 3 pound baby niece, Olivia Joy. And she is a joy. What a miracle. I believe God has a very special plan for Olivia because of all this little girl has overcome to come into this world. First, she overcame great odds to be conceived. Because mommy was fighting breast cancer she was on birth control and also taking a medication to shut down her ovaries which were feeding her cancer. Yet, with God she was conceived in secret. Eleven weeks later her mommy discovered the secret. Then there was worry that the medicines mommy was taking to fight the cancer were dangerous for baby and could cause birth defects or death to the baby. But with God she survived them with no birth defects. Then there was worry that baby Olivia would be addicted to the pain medication mommy needed. But Olivia, with God, survived that too, with no withdrawal symptoms at all! I truly believe this baby is a strong fighter and a miraculous survivor. I am certain God has big plans for her life. I can't wait to see them.

God bless you Olivia - thank you for letting me hold you last night - you are more precious than gold!
Love, your auntie Kristi

Ever heard of a Hair Tourniquet?

So one night, in the middle of the night, when Elizabeth was just 8 weeks old, I woke to nurse her. After, I lifted her up to burp her and she let out a scream like I've never heard from her. It was pain, but I had no clue where her pain was. I comforted her enough to get her back to sleep and thought things were solved. In the morning Dave woke with her. He woke me up a little later and said that he'd changed her diaper and noticed that her toe was very swollen and that we should take her to the doctor. He'd made an appt with our family doc, but when I saw it, I said that we were taking her to urgent care instead. At the urgent care they discovered that some hair was wrapped around her toe so tightly that it cut off circulation. They tried to get it off but weren't sure if they got it all. We went home, but I was still uncomfortable about the whole thing. We called the office of the surgeon who took care of her umbillical cord and they suggested we take her to Children's Emergency Room. So off we went again. I had the worst fears go through my head - thinking that the only way the doctor is going to be able to get into and through the cut skin in her toe to remove the hair is to put her to sleep and surgically remove it. I was afraid of another hospital stay. But they were so kind to us there. They said it was called a hair tourniquet and that it's somewhat common in little kids. Hair can wrap itself tightly around fingers, toes, and even little boy parts too. They gave Elizabeth's foot a shot of numbing medicine (I didn't even think of that!) and brought it a bright light and dug into the cut skin. I had to step out of the room - thankfully Dave was there. After all the hair was out we put antibiotic cream on it and wrapped it up and took her home. What a relief that it was so much easier than what I originally feared. The nice doctor from the Urgent Care called me the next day to ask her how she was doing (so kind that she cared - and that she called!) I told her what we did, so she learned something new that day too.

In about 4-5 days the swelling of her toe started to go down, the skin finally scabbed where it had been cut, and she is back to normal now. But, boy, do I ever watch those toes for hair now!

The pictures are the progression from worst to getting better.

Pain

My pain is such a variable issue, but recovery this time was slightly faster than after William’s birth. I stayed home from everything, including church, because of the pain. It was hard to bring the wheelchair and a preemie baby out in the winter, plus is was cold and flu season, and a nastly flu was making it’s rounds in our church. On the 4th week, as Elizabeth was now fully gestational age, I still felt that she was too newborn to take out so I think I waited til the 5th week, and by then I could walk some. I did take the wheelchair to church though. I missed that attention one gets when bringing a newborn baby to church, feeling like she wasn’t as new anymore because she was 5 weeks old, but really she was the size of a 1 week old!

Also at 5 weeks, I was able to walk to the end of the block and back. It didn’t hurt at the time, but I paid for it a couple hours later.

At 5 weeks and 2 days, I made my first meal for the family. Dave has been gracious to do most of the cooking. Some days it’s great, and somedays it’s what ever can be pulled out of the fridge, or sandwiches. But at least the kids are getting fed. Our church is so gracious and generous too - as they have been arranging for meals from parishioners to make meals for us. Thank you Lord!

My pain has gradually getting a little better. I’m able to do most walking but I am still in a lot of pain. But I think a lot of that is due to the lack of cortizol from the adrenal problems I’m having.

Elizabeth's name

I never did tell the story of how Elizabeth acquired her name (and two middle names). Dave and I have liked the name Elizabeth for a while. I like the traditional feeling of it, and while doing geneology I came across the name several times on both my and Dave’s side. I guess I’m not the only one who likes that name. Also there are so many wonderful saints named Elizabeth. But in particular she is named after Mary’s cousin Elizabeth, relative of Jesus. And Dave and I like to include Mary in our girl’s names (with the exception of Maggie, but she is named after Mary Magdelene).

While I was pregnant, I was praying a prayer for a safe and peaceful delivery. I had been such a nervous wreck thinking I would have a hard delivery again like William’s so I was praying this prayer diligently. There were three parts to the prayer. Each paragraph made a request to a different saint: Mary - mother of Jesus, Elizabeth - mother of John, and Ann - mother of Mary. The paragraph which called on the intercession of Ann was the request for a peaceful delivery. Since I was so afraid of dying during childbirth - a fear I had during William’s birth when he was stuck - I prayed that part of the prayer most fervently. One day I realized that I was naming my baby after two of the people in this prayer of 3. So I made a deal with Ann that if she gave me the peaceful delivery I prayed for, that I would name my daughter after her too! She came through for me with flying colors. I was amazed at how peaceful the delivery was. I even thought about that between contractions once. I vividly remember thinking that this time was different. I could rest between contractions and I didn’t fear death. I focused on that picture of the Blessed Sacrament and remembered that Fr. Corey was in front of the Blessed Sacrament for me and that others were praying. I found out later that Suzanne (Elizabeth’s Godmother) prayed a rosary for us and she ended it right at the time Elizabeth was born! So thank you Ann for the peace from God that I needed to get through that birth. Thank you for Elizabeth Mary Ann.

Colic

Can colic ever be avoided completely? I don’t recall ever escaping it with any of my kids, though some have been milder than others. Well Elizabeth was no exception, as she began a fussy period around 6 weeks. She would sleep fine all day, but around suppertime she would fuss and fuss and cry. Dave would have to walk her to sleep, but she would only sleep for about 10 minutes and then wake and cry again. She wasn’t too bad but I couldn’t take care of her without Dave. One time, the girls and I stayed overnight at Patti Goke’s house, and Elizabeth cried til past midnight. It was a very hard night for me. A couple weeks into this, I took Elizabeth to Dr. Sarah for a chiropractor adjustment. She is so good with babies. She said her Vegas nerve was pinched. That nerve deals with digestion, so it would make sense that Elizabeth was fussy and pulling her legs up to her stomach (stomach pain?). After one adjustment she cried less, after two her fussiness was completely gone. She is such a pleasant baby again. She gently goes to sleep by sucking her pacifier now. It’s very sweet, and fun to watch. She is 11 weeks old now and is such a joy.

My depression

Well, as I stated briefly previously... my postpartum depression, my regular companion after childbirth, came to be with me on postpartum day 2, the day we entered the hospital. For me, that meant starting to cry, and only stopping briefly occasionally. On the evening of our first day in the hospital I scolded myself for not asking for a shot while we were at Spencer’s clinic that day, but it wasn’t even on my radar because of Elizabeth’s problems. Oh well, so much for “could haves” and “should haves”. The next day, after surgery while Elizabeth and I were resting, Dave ran home to get some things, check on the kids, and swung by the clinic and picked up two shots for me. The next day at the hospital we found a super kind nurse who said she would stand by and watch Dave inject me to make sure I was injected in the right place and the right way, since Dave had never done it yet. When they disagreed on where it should go in, my back suddenly filled with sweat and I got nauseous! So I made them quit and said I would wait til I was home and have Michael do it. When I did get home, Michael wouldn’t do it! He wanted Dave to learn. I was not happy. He did teach Dave though and Dave did wonderfully. I hardly felt it. But I was very nervous. Two days later Dave had to give me the other one and it hurt that time, and for a day or two after my hip joint hurt. It made me wonder if he put it in a wrong place, but I will never know.

I think I only took a total of 3 shots. I went to the clinic for one more after the two at home, and they gave me one to take home, but since I was a little nervous about Dave giving it to me I toughed it out and didn’t take it. I was feeling borderline and I guess I fell on the ok side of the border since I did ok without the shot. I did get a little depressed feeling again a couple weeks later, but I was too tired to get a shot, and it passed.

Christmas

Well, I write about Christmas almost two months after the date (it’s Feb 20 today) and I hardly remember much of it! Christmas is such a blur from waking up in the middle of the night, and nursing, and nursing, and nursing... But I do remember this:

We arrived home on Christmas Eve at 4:00. My mother had made dinner for us (don’t remember what) and it took us most of the evening to unload and get settled. Nursing took some time because I had to nurse, burp, nurse, burp, and pump. The lactation consultant came to visit me in the hospital, and said that since she was premature I should pump after each feeding to make sure my milk supply comes in well enough, and that I should continue doing so until my due date. So a nursing session took about an hour.

Eventually after supper, nursing, and unpacking, baby and I came downstairs and joined the family. Dad and Mom, and Tony came from ND. Rebecca and Michael came over at suppertime. After supper we opened presents; the many presents from various places and people God blessed us with. We couldn’t afford presents for the kids this year, so our church stepped in and blessed our kids beyond what I could have imagined. The church asked me if I could tell them a suggestion of what the kids would like. For a couple of the kids, I wrote they would like either “this” or “that”. To my surprise, they kids received both! Ben even received the Minnesota Wild wrist watch that I only knew could be bought online or at the Mall of America! He loves it so much. Then Josiah brought up a bunch of presents that he bought, and he also brought over a bunch of presents that someone from the church he lives by dropped off. (At Halloween, someone from the church came to all the apts in his building looking for homes with children - she had bags of candy with bible verses and advertisements for their church. Josiah said no kids live there, but that he had 9 siblings.) The lady came to his door and said, “Remember me? I have some gifts for your siblings.” And of course, she asked if she could pray with Josiah too. They each received a general “boy” or “girl” gift, like puzzles or a teddy bear. The little kids loved it.

Our tree, which was put up on Sunday the day Elizabeth was born, still had not been decorated, so after the kids had opened a bunch of presents and things slowed down, the older kids decorated the tree. Then we all relaxed until about 10:30. Rebecca and Tony went to the late mass, and the rest went to bed and went to church in the morning. I didn’t make it to Christmas mass, walking was still very painful for me. I still have a very hard time with the stairs - they are overwhelming, but I needed to come down to visit with family, yet go back up every couple hours for nursing and pumping, which was very stressful physically and mentally. Just a week prior, when I was still pregnant, I only tackled the stairs once a day. In fact I would try to sleep in as much as possible so I didn’t need to go back up there for a nap. But after she was born, and when company was here, I felt obligated to be downstairs. My mom complained one day she was here. I had slept in til 10:00 or so, and then stayed upstairs til around noon because it took time to nurse, pump, shower, and get dressed. Around 1:00 Mom was tired and took a nap. By the time she woke up, I was tired and took a nap. After my nap I nursed and pumped upstairs, which again took nearly an hour. By then it was nearly suppertime. I came downstairs and she complained that I was hardly around her that day, and that since she was going out to a restaurant with Michael and Rebecca that I would probably be in bed when she got back. How did this become my fault that she took a two hour nap when I was awake, and that she was going out for the evening??? I just had a baby for crying out loud, and she’s complaining about my lack of being downstairs! I had to admit I was glad they were going home soon. It was really hard for me to have company at my house just days after the baby was born. I am glad my family was able to see the baby, but it would have been more enjoyable for me to have been still pregnant at Christmastime. But they wouldn’t have liked that either. My parents and siblings have never quite understood the depth of my pain while pregnant and why I would have more children. They don’t understand that I’m willing to sacrifice to bring another life into the world and how important that is to me, Dave and God.

The day after Christmas, Jim and Patti Goke, and Mark and Sarah came over. Unfortunately, I was so out of it that day too, that I really didn’t enjoy the company to the extend I would have liked to. But mom and dad met and visited with Jim and Patti, and Mark and Sarah visited with Jim and Patti too.

I told Dave that since Christmas went by in such a fast blur that he would have to keep the Christmas tree up til spring since I hardly felt like I experienced Christmas. I managed to keep the tree there til February (but then I was tired of the cramped chaos mess :-)

The Second Problem: Biliruben

We had a second problem with Elizabeth which started before she went into the hospital , her biliruben was too high. At first Dave, myself, and Jeanne (our midwife) disagreed and refused the test for it, finding it unnecessary. But after 3 doctors in the hospital requested it, I succumbed only after they agreed to do the blood draw right in front of me and while I nursed. I did NOT want her being upset by a needle stick right after having surgery on her belly. I was fearful the crying would be too much on her surgical site. Well, her levels came back just below the criteria level for treatment. She was to be tested again the next day, but they would have home-health care come to my house to test her since it was Christmas and there would be no clinics open. The next testing came back high so they ordered a bili-bed for her. It was like this.
She just had to lay on it with only her diaper on. It didn’t seem very comfortable - like a very taught hammock, but I guess she didn’t mind it. She was still young enough to sleep on a board. I was sleeping when the person delivering it came, so when I woke up I saw Elizabeth all packaged in it. I cried though when I saw her in it, mostly because I was still having postpartum depression, hmm did I mention that yet? I guess that will be it’s own subject later.

She remained in it for a couple of days, only coming out for feedings and changing diaper. I hated that because I was in those first critical days of bonding and all I wanted to do was hold her! Especially after just coming home from surgery and feeling like life was fragile - I just wanted to hold her and now I wasn’t supposed to. I cheated a few times and held her for a couple hours anyway. The light did help though - and within hours she was perking up. High biliruben makes babies very sleepy - which makes it hard to nurse them and they need to nurse to pee out the biliruben. After a few days of high biliruben, if it’s not excreted in the urine, it goes into the blood stream and then the ultra-violet lights are needed to break it down and excrete it. After a day on the lights she was waking up on her own finally, instead of my trying to wake her up. She would nurse sooo much better and she was starting to pee more. So I was thankful for the light (in retrospect).

Surgery Day

During the morning of the surgery, at 4:00 AM, I was no longer allowed to nurse Elizabeth, as she needed to fast before her surgery. I predicted this would be very hard, so I stressed and cried during each feeding prior to 4 AM. But the first time she awoke for a feeding after 4:00, she actually took a pacifier quite well and fell back asleep. Still, I felt guilty in doing it. My heart broke because I couldn’t feed her. I don’t even remember now how many more times I went through that. I didn’t sleep well all night, and I was very tired by the morning. Remember, I was still very much in pain and not able to take a single step without the walker, could barely roll over without help, and couldn’t even lift my legs up onto the bed by myself. Thankfully Dave stayed in the hospital with us for my sake.

Side note: Another thing to be thankful for was the many friends who stepped in to help with the kids left at home. On the first night, Artzens brought a meal, Regina was with Rebecca my sister, Kostick’s took Isaiah, Dominic and Jeremiah. Clare, Ben, Maggie and William stayed here with Mark Meuer who stayed overnight with them. On the second night, Father Corey came to visit, so did Mel Larsen who also brought food, and Suzanne Peach took all my kids but William and Ben. William would have done better in his own home anyway. And Ben was grateful for the other kids to be out of the house.

Back to the morning of the surgery:

At some time in the morning, I don’t even remember when now, the nurse came in to take us downstairs. I started praying (and crying) as Dave and I took our daughter down to surgery. We met with the anesthesiologist and with the doctor. Dr. Feltiz was very kind and understanding. He knew I was concerned with Elizabeth’s young age, and he told us that he’d performed surgery on even smaller babies. Just the day before he’d operated on a baby less than a pound. Eventually handed over Elizabeth to the nurse who would take her to the surgery. Then I broke down and bawled. Dave and I cried together. I don’t like reliving this again even as I write it weeks after the fact.

We moved to a less private waiting room with other families who’s children were in surgery too. They all seems so calm and collected, nonchalant even. I couldn’t stop crying, Dave went to find food for us, and to call people for prayers. He dealt with his stress by occupying his mind on the phone. After my kleenex pile was embarrassingly large and I had not the ability to bring it to a garbage can, I apologized to the young woman closest to me. She asked me about my child’s surgery. I told her what it was and how Elizabeth was only 3 days old! She replied that her child’s first surgery was at 3 days old too, and that she was a total mess as well. She was now at her child’s 3rd surgery, he was 3 months old. She soon left and a new family took her place. Dave was still not back, so I fumbled my way from my wheelchair to the waiting room couch. The man near me asked if I needed help. I thanked him, but said I could make it, but that it would be helpful if he would read the tv screen which said when Elizabeth would be in surgery since I couldn’t see it from where I sat. The children’s names are not on the screen, they are listed by birthdate. I told him to look for 12-20. “Three days old?” he asked. I replied, “yes,” and teared up again. He looked at me with such compassion and said that his daughter had her first surgery at three days old too. She’s now 12 and has had many surgeries. My heavenly Father sure knew who to bring near me that day - two other people who had been through my exact sorrow. They were both a comfort to me that day. Visiting with them helped the time go by fast, and soon the doctor was in to tell me that he was done. Dave was STILL gone, so I talked with the doctor alone. But it was good news. She did wonderful in surgery, and of the 5 scenarios, her’s was the best. She had her bladder caught up in the muscles of the umbilical cord, and a little bit of vein and artery too. He tied them off and put everything in place and sewed her a bellybutton. Dave came in minutes later, and I told him the news. I cried with relief of course, and I was happy that Dave was back. Soon a nurse came to direct us into the hall to retrieve Elizabeth. A nurse put her in my arms and I kissed and kissed her. The trip back upstairs is a blur, I probably don’t remember it because I had so many tears in my eyes and saw nothing but my baby!

For the rest of the day and into some of the evening, Elizabeth was very groggy as the anesthetic wore off. By the evening she was nursing again and looking more like herself. We were told she would be going home in the morning. I was glad to hear that, as the doctors said that if she developed an infection from the surgery she could be in the hospital until Christmas day. Mom and Dad were coming in to town that night, they arrived and only Ben and William were there. The rest of the kids were still at the Peach’s for a couple more hours. The next morning we were told Elizabeth could go home. Actually, because hospitals never do anything quickly, it was more like 3:00 when we were released. Dave packed up all our stuff and brought it out to the car first while I waited in the room with baby. At that moment, all the stress from the past 3 days came out again. I cried and cried and cried. A mother’s love is indescribable, and the pain of seeing my child go though surgery is agonizing. I’m so glad it’s over. I hope Elizabeth knows how much we love her and how this broke our heart to see her go through it.

The Omphalocele

Two days after her birth, Dr. S looked at Elizabeth’s hernia and didn’t know what to do, so he sent us to a specialist: a pediatric surgeon. So we drove to Children’s Hospital an hour later. I remember feeling tired and my back was hurting, I wished I didn’t have to do this. I just wanted to be at home. Well, we arrived at the clinic, and the doctor was still in surgery so we waited there for over an hour longer than expected. Finally, it was our turn to be seen. Dr. Feltiz took one look at Elizabeth and new exactly what it was. He said to us, “Well, you won’t be going home today. We are going to admit Elizabeth to the hospital today and she will need surgery tomorrow morning. I already have a full schedule, but I will rearrange it so she gets in right away.”

“What?” I thought, “Surgery? Tomorrow? What?” This was happening way to fast. I was feeling very panicked. The doctor explained that a hernia like hers was called an omphalocele, and it can have 5 different things trapped in the cord: vein, artery, intestine, colon, bladder. The latter would be the best case scenario, Intestine being the worst, and a more invasive surgery. But she was already suffering an infection, redness was spreading on the skin surrounding her cord area. If we hadn’t come in as soon as we did the infection would have taken over within a week and she would’ve ended up in the NICU.

So, we moved to the next building over, to the hospital rooms and were admitted that afternoon. I had already cried for over an hour as we waited in the clinic for a hospital room to be prepared for us. My postpartum depression had started showing up that day, but with this news, the depression and crying reared their ugliest head of all.

Dave and I decided since there is risk involved in surgery that Elizabeth should be baptized. Dave called Fr. Corey to see if he wanted to do it. He came right to the hospital that night. Suzanne Peach was also there. She had brought us our essentials from home and to bring Clare home from the hospital. An emergency baptism was performed for Elizabeth Mary Anne on December 22, 2010. I cried through it all.

We visited for a while, I tried to keep my mind off of what was to come, but eventually the nurse came for Elizabeth for her IV. Dave went with her because she didn’t have an id tag yet. I stayed in the room and cried more and more. Dave said that one of the worst things in his life is to watch his daughter scream like she did and not be able to help her. The times in my life that I have seen my husband cry are less than the fingers on my hand, and it hurt me to see him hurt too. Elizabeth was brought back to me with an IV in her little hand and I cried for her. I’m glad that Elizabeth’s early birth didn’t cause more complications because I don’t think I’d have been strong enough to handle more than I did on this day, minor as it was.

Elizabeth's birth story (Ladies only!) :-)

The birth of Elizabeth Mary Ann (posted late, but better than never) I wrote this earlier, just posting it now.

Six weeks have passed since the beautiful birth of my youngest daughter, Elizabeth Mary Anne Landis, born Dec 20, 2009. She arrived a little early to our suprise and gave us a little worry just to keep us on our toes... here’s her story.

On the evening of Dec 19 Dave, Ben, Isaiah and myself relaxed with a late night movie after the young ones drifted off to sleep. As far as movies go it was good, but I did fall asleep on the couch because of the hour. I woke up a the end of the movie around 1:00 AM, and proceeded to use the bathroom as pregnant women often do. An odd thing happened. I won’t go into detail, but suffice it to say that I felt like my water was leaking. I was uncertain, but about 5 minutes later I went to the bathroom again and had the same feeling. I called Jeanie, my midwife, and we talked. I was uncertain because I was still 4 weeks away from my due date of Jan 15, so I didn’t think this could be happening. We decided the best thing for me to do, would be to get some sleep just in case something did happen, I would be somewhat rested.

Ya right. Do you know how hard it is to fall asleep with the anxiety of a looming labor and delivery in the air, much less an early one? Well I think I did sleep some. I vaguely remember about 8 contractions in my half sleep, when I awoke at 3:00 AM to use the bathroom again, my water broke more. I now thought that labor was certain. I called Jeanie again. My biggest worry was deciding on going to a hospital or staying home to birth. Usually Jeanie doesn’t allow a birth at home until 37 weeks, and I was at 36. She said the biggest worry would be if the baby needed oxygen. She said she has some, but if the baby looked like she was having trouble breathing we would call for a transport to the hospital and the baby would probably need oxygen for a couple hours or up to a couple days. Since it would be a problem that would be easily handled with the aid of her oxygen I felt more peaceful about staying home. I really didn’t want to go to the hospital. I am much more peaceful at home. That decided, we then talked about when she would come, but since my contractions were mild and I had been sleeping through them, I decided to have her wait to come.

I tried to sleep more, but I get so worried and anxious about the pain of labor that I just couldn’t sleep. Dave and I mostly just laid in the dark, talked once in a while, and called a few people to ask them to pray. Contractions were still light and about 15 minutes apart. Then around 4:00, I had 3 hard contractions right on top of each other. Jeanie was called immediately. Come fast, was the order!

Dave began to fill the bathtub for me and came to my side at the bed for each contraction. In between, he awoke Regina and Clare - who didn’t believe Dave - they thought he was joking, mostly because I was a month early, and some because they just watched “Father of the Bride 2” which was about two baby deliveries, so they thought Dave was teasing. But they soon believed him and they came to my aid as well. After a couple hard contractions I had a strong sense of wanting to get OUT of my bed and into the warm water. Dave said it was ready so I practically ran (as much as a woman in labor with a walker can run) to the bathroom to get in the tub. But then he said it was too hot, so I sat on the floor and waited. Another awful contraction. I thought I’d have the baby right there. It scared me. Moments later I sank into the warm bath waters and relaxed. Heavenly. Untill the next contraction anyway.

Earlier, when Dave had made a few calls for prayer requests, he texted Fr. Corey to pray for me. He actually answered. Not like him, especially at 4:00 in the morning! When he answered I had a sudden strong feeling to demand that he go to adoration for me at that exact moment and stay till the baby was born. He texted back, “Now?” Dave texted back, “Yes - that’s what she insists.” He agreed, reluctantly, but he did :-) Now, I asked Regina to run downstairs and get the picture of the Eucharist for me and place it where I can see it. It was right in front of me during the last hour or so of labor. Each time I looked upon it I was reminded that a real person was in front of the Real Presence on my behalf at that moment. It was beyond comforting!

At this point my contractions were stronger and Jeanie and Melissa, her assistant, were still not to my house. I was beginning to worry. The contractions were closer and harder, but I was just focusing on that picture of the Blessed Sacrament before me and praying. At one point I sat back and relaxed between contractions and Dave rubbed my back. It felt soooo good. I remember thinking how different this labor was from William’s labor, and how I had enough energy for it this time. That made me happy.

Finally Jeanie arrived and started setting out her supplies right away. Melissa arrived just a few minutes after her. I had begun to feel like pushing so they arrived just in time. I don’t know why I felt this way, but I felt the urge to speak to Elizabeth at that moment. I told her to get ready and to get into position. I arched a little and suddenly it seemed like I felt her roll into position. It was the weirdest feeling. Then another contraction occurred and she started coming down! She came out in one relatively easy push. Jeannie grabbed her and I turned around and scooped my newborn into my arms and onto my chest. She was so small! I worried a bit about that, but Jeannie assured me that she wasn’t too small. Breathing was the biggest issue at that point, so both midwives rubbed Elizabeth vigorously to get her lungs going. Her breathing was great and her lungs were very clear, she was just fine.

I still couldn’t believe how small she was though. I never had a baby this small. Well I guess Clare was 7# 3oz but she didn’t SEEM this small. Maybe I only felt this way because she was early and I was concerned, but my LAST daughter was 9# 4oz!!! Elizabeth is 6 weeks old and she is just starting to look like Maggie’s baby pictures.

So after a few minutes to take a breather after birthing Elizabeth, we made our way back to the bed to cuddle up and nurse. Oh how I love that brand new baby nursing experience. I love the bonding it creates. Then I took a break to eat breakfast - Dave makes the BEST breakfasts after I have a baby - Eggs, sausage, homemade hash browns... a big plate of them, then seconds!

Jeannie and Melissa then do a throughout newborn exam on Elizabeth. I just wanted to know what her weight was! My girls, Regina and Clare LOVE to be involved, so of course they are right in there with the midwives helping where they can. During her newborn exam, it was noticed that Elizabeth’s umbilical cord was somewhat herniated. This was something to be concerned about so we called in to our family doctor. The doctor on call said it probably wasn’t something that needed emergency care at that moment, but to bring her in within a couple of days. We took the first appointment available which was Tuesday.

As they were continuing with the newborn exam, I became very light-headed, even though I was just sitting. They came and checked me and I was starting to clot and hemorrhage. Jeanne had to break up a large clot and get it out and then give me a shot of pitocin to help with the uterine contracting. I am glad that she is able to carry some of those low level emergency supplies like oxygen and pitocin for times such as this. Within a half hour or so the bleeding was down enough that she was not worried about me any longer, but she did say that this border-lined on being called a bad hemorrhage.

Buying a new warranty

Well, in line with my last post, I'm am going to buy myself an extended warranty.

I have done my research (well actually Dave did for me since I can't think straight) consulted two doctors - one MD, one Naturopathic - and I'm off to start my plan of rebuilding my adrenals back up. If you are dying to know, I'm going to be taking a boat load of supplements to rebuild since I'm that depleted. I'm taking:

whole desiccated adrenal cortex, but only for a short time.
P5P, the activated form of B6
pantothenic acid
niacinamide
Vitamin C
B12
tyrosine

in addition to my daily multi-vitamin, omega 3's and 6's (say burping fishing oil - yuck), vitamin D, and extra iron. So instead of eating cereal and milk in the morning, I eat a bowl full of pills :-) Well, I prefer that to pharmaceuticals. I did go through adrenal exhaustion before after having Maggie. I was on an adrenal supplement for over a year. My naturopathic doctor did some tests on me and told me that I was one of two patients in all his years of practice who had their adrenals that low. On a scale of 0-10, I scored a 2 (via blood tests, hair sample analysis, and applied kinesiology). I'm guessing that during that year I worked my way up to a 5 or 6, felt much better (in comparison to a 2) and didn't refill my supplements, as they are kind of expensive. 3 pregnancies later (two full, one miscarried), my body has depleted itself again, most likely back into that "2" range or lower, since my symptoms are worse. This time I'm going to do better and stick to my care plan better.

I am also needing to get off the sugar and processed foods. These foods, especially sugar, work the adrenal very hard, so it is necessary to combine this step with the supplements. Pray for me on this journey. This is going to be hard.

My warranty

Today the sun was shining so I knew today would be the day to do any driving errands, as cloudy days make me scared to drive because I get too brain-fogged. Ben was out with me. I missed a few turns and forgot a few very important items (like Ben's birth certificate so he could take his permit test). I was feeling brain-fogged anyway. Ben asked me why I've been so forgetful and spacey lately. I explained that I'm adrenal fatigued. I had a list of symptoms quite long. I can't remember all of what I told Ben, but this is what I'm experiencing...
1. Excessive fatigue and exhaustion, chronic fatigue
2. Non-refreshing sleep
3. Sleep disturbance, insomnia
4. Feeling overwhelmed or unable to cope
5. Craving salty and/or sweet foods
6. Sensitivity to light
7. Low stamina and slow to recover from exercise
8. Slow to recover from injury or illness
9. Difficulty concentrating, brain fog
10. Low immune function
11. Menopause symptoms
12. Low blood pressure
13. Sensitivity to cold
14. Allergies,
15. Arthritis
17. Anxiety
18. Irritability
19. Depression
20. Reduced memory

Then Ben said, "So, basically what you are saying is that your warranty has expired?"

"Yes, I guess when the warranty ends, the product breaks down doesn't it?"

I just hope they don't trade me in for a new model!

So our afternoon of errands went on... We went to the driving school to sign him up for the 6 hrs of Behind the Wheel, but we forgot Ben's money. So I wrote a check. Then we had to drive all the way back home and get his birth certificate and go back to where we were (plus a little farther) to the DMV. I brought the baby in to give her a quick nursing and diaper change, grabbed Ben's money, the birth certificate, and we were off again. Stopped at the bank to deposit Ben's money to cover my check, arrived at the DMV 20 minutes later. I couldn't figure out where to park. The DMV does driver's tests there so there is a small pretend city set up around the grounds for new drivers to take their test right there rather than on real city streets. In my confusion, I ran one of their red lights, and then almost went down a one way the wrong way. It was stupid. It was a street with four lanes going one direction separating two parking lots! Finally I found a place to park, and entered the building only to find out that they locked the door just 3 mintues before our arrival in the building. They close at 3:45??? There was a lady there complaining that they shut and locked the door right as she was the next in line to enter, and that the same thing happened to her yesterday too! I guess when we go next time I'll make sure we go there when public school is in session so we don't have to battle the lines! So back to home we started only to notice that we were almost out of gas! My van is unpredictable, and I've run out of gas in it twice before, so we started praying to make it to a gas station! Well, we did thankfully. Then I went home and took a well needed nap!

The Census

So Dave is not exactly the type to sit down and fill out forms, I usually get that job by default, but today Dave decided he is going to fill out the 2010 Census. I guess filling it out ourselves is better than the years in the centuries prior where someone would come to the door and meet our barely speaking English immigrant ancestors; ask their name, age, and race; and then illegibly misspell the name the census worker thought they heard on their forms so that we can look it up 150 years later on ancestry.com. I digress. So Dave is filling in the info and I can see that each person is dedicated their own page. I ask him how many people can be filled in, after all, we have a large family and on other forms I usually have to add a second sheet and write, “see attached”. Luckily there are room for 12 people! If Josiah were still living at home, we’d have filled the whole thing! Hey the Larsens can fill the whole thing! Cool. I digress again. So, Dave is having trouble remembering everyone’s birthdays and I’m thinking this could be quite entertaining... so I quietly listen to him fill in the blanks... out loud. Dominic decides he’s the birthday expert and wants to help. I giggle. Dominic is feeding him wrong information. Giggle again. Other kids correct Dominic. Then Dave gets one right, and Dominic tells him he’s wrong. More kids correct him. By this point I can’t keep it in. “See how hard it is!!!” I exclaim. I just had to list all their birthdays last Friday - and I had to do it in a couple minutes. Dave so far has taken quite a few, of course his little assistant wasn’t making things any easier. Oh what a joyful and heartwarming, funny moment. At least I don’t feel like the only one with birthdate memory loss any more... :-)

Book Review: John Treegate's Musket

Description from the Bethlehem Books web site:
"It is 1769, ten years since America’s colonial militia had joined with the British regular army and defeated the French for dominion of Canada. The current of feeling about what it means to be loyal to the King has changed. While many colonists are angry about England’s unjust taxation, wealthy merchant John Treegate remains fiercely loyal and certain that an agreement can be reached between the colonies and their mother country. Deciding to travel to England to appeal to the government there means leaving his motherless, eleven-year-old son Peter on his own, apprenticed to one of Treegate’s friends, a manufacturer of barrel staves. Peter’s new master is not severe, but the senior apprentice is a vicious bully and worse. A chain of events leads to trouble for Peter—involving murder, shipwreck, loss of memory, adoption by a strange and bitter Scotsman, until finally he is reunited with his father on the eve of America’s battle for independence. First title in the acclaimed Treegate Series.


Kristi's review: I found this book to be one of the most intriguing historical books on the Revolutionary War time period. The writing style is very impressive. All of our kids (k-9th gr) enjoyed listening to Dave read this aloud. We so enjoyed it that we located the out of print sequels. Bethlehem Books does intend on printing the next two, so I've heard, but we couldn't wait for them so our local library ordered them for us. We are reading the 3rd currently, "Sea Captain from Salem" and there is a very funny chapter on how to test gunpowder, whether the Devil is brave enough to enter the gunpowder room; and an thought provoking section just a few pages later about a character named Peace of God who prays for his enemy (the British) after he kills him. A master gunner says, "I seen him in the fight outside Boston, on that hill, bring down a grenadier with a hanger and then go down on this knees beside him and pray for him. And righ in the middle of it up comes another, and Peace of God left off praying long enough to bring him down too. And then he kneels between the two of them, with the battle smoke drifting over them, and call them poor sinners like himself and asks God to receive them joyfully into the everlasting glory, Amen."

"Seems odd to kill a man and then pray for him," said the powder boy named Dickie.

"Odd it is," replied the master gunner. "And yet if you take another look at it, it's odder yet to kill a man and not pray for him."

William's precious laughing