A few months ago I started paying the kids in REAL money every week (instead of Mommy Bucks) so they could pick out things from the store themselves. I also wanted to start teaching them about giving and saving.
Every Sunday, as long as they've done their chores that week, Aaron gets $2 in quarters and Claire gets $1 in dimes. They each put one coin in a "give" bank, one coin in a "save" bank, and the rest of their coins in their "spend" bank. Once they have a few coins in their give bank we put it in an offering envelope and take it to church.
The first time Aaron got up to $6 he was at Walmart and decided to spent his money on a little cherry-picker truck. They had a garbage truck for the same price, but he really liked the bucket arm so he decided to get the cherry picker first and save his money again for the garbage truck.
A couple of weeks later he had an itching to spend some money, so I let him go to Dollar Tree. He did such a great job picking out only 2 things (even though he had enough money to buy 3 or 4 things!). The cashier was so impressed when he counted out his money all by himself. He knows that 4 quarters is $1 and 1 quarter is 25 cents, so he was able to figure out $2.14 pretty easily! He couldn't understand at first why she gave him money back, but he took it!
This past Sunday he had finally gotten up to $6.50 in his spend bank so I took him to Walmart to get that garbage truck. Unfortuntely, it wasn't there! He was disappointed, but started looking for something else to buy. I felt bad for him, having to learn at such a young age that you can hardly buy anything in the toy department with just $6.50! Claire only had $1 that day so she was waiting to go to Dollar Tree, and Aaron decided he would wait for Dollar Tree too.
So off to Dollar Tree we went, and Aaron picked out 3 toys (an FBI playset, a yo-yo ball, and a foam airplane shooter thingy). Claire knew she could only get one thing, so she immediately picked a princess tiara and carried it around the store. She just knew that was what she wanted, until we got to the baby dolls. She really wanted a little pink baby, so she said she changed her mind and wanted to put the tiara back.
Then we had a really sweet moment. Aaron said, "Claire, I have enough money to buy that crown for you! I will check it out and buy it for you."
So very sweet--it melted my heart! Aaron got to the checkout with his 3 items plus Claire's crown, and he did a great job counting out $4.28. (I gave him 3 extra pennies!) The lady behind us in line thought he was the sweetest little thing and didn't seem to mind waiting for him to count it all out. Claire checked out her little pink baby doll, helping me count to 11 as we counted out her dimes.
These are the sweetest kids!!!
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Funny songs
Right now the kids are quite obsessed with two songs on a CD I found. It's from a set they got a while back, called Songtime Kids. The CD has Bible songs on it, and their favorites are "Funny Names" and "Giddy-up Gideon". (Track numbers 15 and 12 on the CD...I wish I could somehow put it on repeat on those 2 songs to save myself some effort!)
When I first put the CD in, Claire was by herself in the van with me, and after a little while she asked to hear the bunny song again. I couldn't figure out which song would have been the bunny song, until I realized she thought it was saying "Bunny Names". Ha!
The Funny Names song is about how there are so many funny names in the Bible, and in the song the soloist messes up a couple of the names. The kids crack up laughing every.single.time! Especially funny is "Belly? Belly-Easy-Bub?" (which they actually think is "bug") instead of "Beelzebub". I really think Aaron has learned alot of the hard names in that song because we play it over.and.over.and.over.
The other song they like is "Giddy-Up Gideon". It's got horse sounds and a nice clompety-clomp beat. It cracks me up to see Claire in her car seat just bobbing along with the beat (she actually has some rhythm which Aaron doesn't seem to possess). The song says, "Giddy-up, giddy-up, giddy-up Gideon, You gotta get up and go face Midian. Giddy-up Gideon, don't you be afraid, God's gonna use you mightily today!"
I had to laugh when I realized Aaron thought it said, "You gotta get up and go praise Midian." Wow, he totally missed the point there! He also cannot seem to say the word "mightily". I can't even type what he thinks it says...because I can't figure out what word he's saying. Something like "morterly"...but not quite. It's so funny to hear what they think they hear!!
I should really get video of them singing these songs, shouldn't I?
**Note--If you visited Amazon to hear the song, the clips of the songs are wrong...none of those clips are playing the songs on that CD! Weird... I found a better link for clips of the songs.... http://www.rhapsody.com/songtime-kids/all-new-bible-songs--2003 ***
When I first put the CD in, Claire was by herself in the van with me, and after a little while she asked to hear the bunny song again. I couldn't figure out which song would have been the bunny song, until I realized she thought it was saying "Bunny Names". Ha!
The Funny Names song is about how there are so many funny names in the Bible, and in the song the soloist messes up a couple of the names. The kids crack up laughing every.single.time! Especially funny is "Belly? Belly-Easy-Bub?" (which they actually think is "bug") instead of "Beelzebub". I really think Aaron has learned alot of the hard names in that song because we play it over.and.over.and.over.
The other song they like is "Giddy-Up Gideon". It's got horse sounds and a nice clompety-clomp beat. It cracks me up to see Claire in her car seat just bobbing along with the beat (she actually has some rhythm which Aaron doesn't seem to possess). The song says, "Giddy-up, giddy-up, giddy-up Gideon, You gotta get up and go face Midian. Giddy-up Gideon, don't you be afraid, God's gonna use you mightily today!"
I had to laugh when I realized Aaron thought it said, "You gotta get up and go praise Midian." Wow, he totally missed the point there! He also cannot seem to say the word "mightily". I can't even type what he thinks it says...because I can't figure out what word he's saying. Something like "morterly"...but not quite. It's so funny to hear what they think they hear!!
I should really get video of them singing these songs, shouldn't I?
**Note--If you visited Amazon to hear the song, the clips of the songs are wrong...none of those clips are playing the songs on that CD! Weird... I found a better link for clips of the songs.... http://www.rhapsody.com/songtime-kids/all-new-bible-songs--2003 ***
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Quailty family time
The new loveseat we bought has given us lots of nice family togetherness! That's the whole family, minus the lady behind the camera.
Friday, September 18, 2009
I swear I didn't know...
Monday after school we went to the dentist and then ran some errands. I took Aaron to Dollar Tree to spend some of his allowance (which is a post in itself--he did a great job counting out his money!), and since we were over by Payless, I told Aaron we'd go in and see if they had a good sale since I figured his shoes were getting worn out.
I told the sales lady that we needed to have his foot sized, and sure enough he needed a full size bigger than the shoe he was wearing. He took his shoe off and handed it to me, and I was FLOORED when I saw how worn out it was. (Yes, I took pictures! I just couldn't believe it!)
Both shoes had holes in the toes, and they were absolutely falling apart. I felt like a HEEL! (Pun intended!) What kind of mother sends her kid to school and church and everywhere in shoes with holes in the toes for probably weeks on end???
In my defense, the reason I had no idea is that he puts his shoes on by himself--with no help from me. I never really looked at his shoes, because he's just so independent! ;-)
And we came home from Payless with some nice new kicks that he really likes!
I told the sales lady that we needed to have his foot sized, and sure enough he needed a full size bigger than the shoe he was wearing. He took his shoe off and handed it to me, and I was FLOORED when I saw how worn out it was. (Yes, I took pictures! I just couldn't believe it!)
Both shoes had holes in the toes, and they were absolutely falling apart. I felt like a HEEL! (Pun intended!) What kind of mother sends her kid to school and church and everywhere in shoes with holes in the toes for probably weeks on end???
In my defense, the reason I had no idea is that he puts his shoes on by himself--with no help from me. I never really looked at his shoes, because he's just so independent! ;-)
And we came home from Payless with some nice new kicks that he really likes!
Animated Hannah
Hannah is getting more animated with every passing day. She has really found her voice and she likes to "talk" alot! She is staying awake longer during the day, and getting into a nice nap routine. She likes to play peek-a-boo and the hokey pokey. I just love her little laugh!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Sunday, September 13, 2009
A web of lies
The kids have a cute devotional book that they like to read from for our nightly Bible story. It has stories about animals, then it relates that to some truth the kids should learn.
Tonight Aaron picked the one about the garden spider. The story explains how the spider spins a web, then traps an careless insect and eats it. Then there was a seque to a lesson about how we shouldn't tell lies, because we can get caught in a "web of lies".
After the story there are follow up questions to ask. I asked what happened to the fly, and Claire said, "He got caught in the web, because he told a lie, so he got caught in the web for telling a lie." (She says run-on sentences like that all the time!)
We started snickering at her response, then I asked, "What happens when we tell lies?" to which Aaron responded, "We go to the time-out chair. It's the web of lies!" Then we were all laughing. These kids are so funny!
Tonight Aaron picked the one about the garden spider. The story explains how the spider spins a web, then traps an careless insect and eats it. Then there was a seque to a lesson about how we shouldn't tell lies, because we can get caught in a "web of lies".
After the story there are follow up questions to ask. I asked what happened to the fly, and Claire said, "He got caught in the web, because he told a lie, so he got caught in the web for telling a lie." (She says run-on sentences like that all the time!)
We started snickering at her response, then I asked, "What happens when we tell lies?" to which Aaron responded, "We go to the time-out chair. It's the web of lies!" Then we were all laughing. These kids are so funny!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Fun without Aaron...but fun with Claire!
One of the hardest things for me to adjust to since Aaron has started Kindergarten is going to do fun things during the day without him! He's been my little sidekick for five years, doing everything with me, and suddenly I'm doing all these things without him. I am enjoying the time with Claire, though. She has such a sweet little heart. She just loves playing with friends, so I've been trying to set up playdates with her little girlfriends. The bonus is adult conversation with the mommies!
A couple of weeks ago we went to the Children's Museum with Claire's friend Emma Kate, and her mom and brother. It was actually quite an amusing outing. We had initially planned on going to the zoo, and even with a huge blob of green and red headed toward us on the radar, for some reason we naively thought it would just magically stop raining when we got there. (I think we both just really needed a day out, so we were determined to go somewhere!) It was POURING by the time we got to the zoo, and we finally realized that was not going to be a great idea. So we changed our plans and ended up at Claire's favorite place...the children's museum!
I had to whip out my camera at the dress-up stage. The girls (and EK's brother Noble) were sooooo cute.
There was much distress caused by this orange princess dress...all the girls wanted to wear it, and there was only one.
How cute is Noble?
It's getting easier to do things without Aaron, but I sure do miss my little guy! We're looking forward to more outings...it is easier to do things with only 2 kids!
A couple of weeks ago we went to the Children's Museum with Claire's friend Emma Kate, and her mom and brother. It was actually quite an amusing outing. We had initially planned on going to the zoo, and even with a huge blob of green and red headed toward us on the radar, for some reason we naively thought it would just magically stop raining when we got there. (I think we both just really needed a day out, so we were determined to go somewhere!) It was POURING by the time we got to the zoo, and we finally realized that was not going to be a great idea. So we changed our plans and ended up at Claire's favorite place...the children's museum!
I had to whip out my camera at the dress-up stage. The girls (and EK's brother Noble) were sooooo cute.
There was much distress caused by this orange princess dress...all the girls wanted to wear it, and there was only one.
How cute is Noble?
It's getting easier to do things without Aaron, but I sure do miss my little guy! We're looking forward to more outings...it is easier to do things with only 2 kids!
The birds and bees...
Labor day weekend Chris got a ticket to the MSU game, in the posh club level seats, so naturally he went to the game! Since I had the kids by myself all day, I decided we were not staying home! It was the last weekend of the "birds and bees" exhibit at the zoo, and with me having a newborn we had not been to the zoo in months. I thought it was quite adventurous of me to load up three kids to take to the zoo by myself, but I just kept my expectations of the trip low--if we saw just that one exhibit I would be happy! And it was better than sitting home all day.
The exhibit was amazing and well worth the trip!
They had feeder sticks you could hold out to the birds, and they just jumped right on the end of the stick!
It was fun trying to get a "double"--two birds at once!
I got lots of pictures--like everyone else in there, I was clicking away on the camera! We did get to see a few other exhibits, but I didn't get the camera back out. Aaron insisted on seeing the snakes, and we went in the tropical bird house, which we usually skip. We went through the cats then called it a day!
The exhibit was amazing and well worth the trip!
They had feeder sticks you could hold out to the birds, and they just jumped right on the end of the stick!
It was fun trying to get a "double"--two birds at once!
I got lots of pictures--like everyone else in there, I was clicking away on the camera! We did get to see a few other exhibits, but I didn't get the camera back out. Aaron insisted on seeing the snakes, and we went in the tropical bird house, which we usually skip. We went through the cats then called it a day!
Sweet moment
Today Claire woke up from her nap, only to find almost everyone else still sleeping. (Love Saturday afternoon naps!!) She crawled up on the new loveseat with Daddy, and fell back asleep.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
My Labor Days...Claire
Claire, born July 7, 2006
After having a c-section with Aaron, I was thrilled when my doctor told me that I could attempt VBAC (vaginal birth after cesearean) with Claire. There are risks associated with it, but really no more than with a second c-section, and I really wanted to try to give birth normally. I felt I had been robbed of that experience and wanted to at least give it another shot. My doctor told me the circumstances that led to my first c-section would not necessarily present themselves again, so I had a decent chance of successfully having a VBAC.
About 3 weeks before I was due with Claire, I started having lots of contractions. Some were more painful than Braxton Hicks and most of them took my breath away. I found myself always needing to sit down to catch my breath, and my tummy would get hard as a rock!
About 2 weeks before my due date, I just knew I was in labor. I was having lots of contractions and wasn't able to sleep. We called Chris's mom to come stay at the house with Aaron. I think it was around 4 or 5 in the morning. We told her not to rush, but I think she did anyway and got there around 5:00 or 6:00. I was second guessing my decision to go to the hospital by the time she got there, because my contractions started calming down anytime I sat and rested. Every time I got up and started stirring around, they would come back. Since Mimi had already come all the way to the house, we went on the hospital.
When I got to the hospital I was a couple centimeters dilated (maybe 3 or 4?) and they started monitoring my contractions. I was having regular contractions every 5 minutes, so we thought, "This is it!" However after several hours, my contractions got more sporadic, and I wasn't dilating any more. They finally sent me home that evening, and said there was a good possibility I'd be back the next day.
A week and a half later (!!!), I was still having several contractions each day, but nothing more than what I had been having. I walked around the block every night--just trying to bring on real labor! I made it to my next scheduled appointment, 3 days before my due date. The doctor was surprised to see I had made it that long, but she knew I didn't have long to go! That afternoon I picked Aaron up from summer camp at church, and I remember having to pause in the hallway a couple of times because the contractions really hurt. That evening, while Chris cut the grass, I walked around the block with my friend Debra, and we were timing my contractions. They were every 5 minutes, but I was still hesitating about going to the doctor. Debra couldn't believe I would hesitate, and asked, "Am I going to have to take you to the hospital myself???" Ha!
When I got home I went out to see Chris in the yard, and told him I thought it might be getting close to real labor, and maybe we should send Aaron to spend the night away so we would be free to leave whenever. We got Aaron's bag packed and took him to Mammaw's house. I will never forget the smell--Mammaw had been canning pickles that day (she wasn't really expecting company!) and when we walked in the house the smell of the vinegar cooking burned my eyes!! Aaron didn't seem to notice and was excited to stay with Mammaw and Pappaw.
We got home and I laid in the bed to try to rest for a while. The contractions were hurting pretty bad. Chris was standing by the bed during one of them, and when the contraction was dying down I heard a pop (he didn't hear it), and I jumped up and realized my water had broken!! The contractions came fast and furious at that point, and I was in some serious pain. We scrambled around to gather up all our stuff, and I remember thinking, "Get me to the hospital NOW!!"
We got to the hospital room around 11 pm, and I was blessed to have two nurses. One of them was in training, her 2nd day on the job. She was Indian, and had been a labor and delivery nurse for something like 20 years. Since she didn't really have any responsibility yet, she was able to stay by my bedside and help me through the pain until I got my epidural. She was wonderful! She massaged my back and helped me breathe. I think I would still remember her face if I saw her again!
I fully dilated on my own (no pitocin required, which was good because pitocin causes more risks for VBAC) by 4:30 or 5. When it was time to push I felt so confused about what to do. I had never done that before, and I couldn't really feel anything because of the epidural, but I tried to just do what the nurses were telling me. I pushed for an hour, then the doctor on call decided I needed a c-section. Claire was not coming down any further, and she was starting to go into distress. I was at peace with the decision, because I had come into it knowing it was a possibility. I was glad I had gotten a chance to at least try.
Claire was born around 7:30 am on July 7, 2006. She weighed in at 6 lbs 8 oz (a chunk compared to her tiny brother!), and healthy as could be. Aaron got to come later that day to see her--he was so proud. We are so thankful to have our sweet Claire Bear!
After having a c-section with Aaron, I was thrilled when my doctor told me that I could attempt VBAC (vaginal birth after cesearean) with Claire. There are risks associated with it, but really no more than with a second c-section, and I really wanted to try to give birth normally. I felt I had been robbed of that experience and wanted to at least give it another shot. My doctor told me the circumstances that led to my first c-section would not necessarily present themselves again, so I had a decent chance of successfully having a VBAC.
About 3 weeks before I was due with Claire, I started having lots of contractions. Some were more painful than Braxton Hicks and most of them took my breath away. I found myself always needing to sit down to catch my breath, and my tummy would get hard as a rock!
About 2 weeks before my due date, I just knew I was in labor. I was having lots of contractions and wasn't able to sleep. We called Chris's mom to come stay at the house with Aaron. I think it was around 4 or 5 in the morning. We told her not to rush, but I think she did anyway and got there around 5:00 or 6:00. I was second guessing my decision to go to the hospital by the time she got there, because my contractions started calming down anytime I sat and rested. Every time I got up and started stirring around, they would come back. Since Mimi had already come all the way to the house, we went on the hospital.
When I got to the hospital I was a couple centimeters dilated (maybe 3 or 4?) and they started monitoring my contractions. I was having regular contractions every 5 minutes, so we thought, "This is it!" However after several hours, my contractions got more sporadic, and I wasn't dilating any more. They finally sent me home that evening, and said there was a good possibility I'd be back the next day.
A week and a half later (!!!), I was still having several contractions each day, but nothing more than what I had been having. I walked around the block every night--just trying to bring on real labor! I made it to my next scheduled appointment, 3 days before my due date. The doctor was surprised to see I had made it that long, but she knew I didn't have long to go! That afternoon I picked Aaron up from summer camp at church, and I remember having to pause in the hallway a couple of times because the contractions really hurt. That evening, while Chris cut the grass, I walked around the block with my friend Debra, and we were timing my contractions. They were every 5 minutes, but I was still hesitating about going to the doctor. Debra couldn't believe I would hesitate, and asked, "Am I going to have to take you to the hospital myself???" Ha!
When I got home I went out to see Chris in the yard, and told him I thought it might be getting close to real labor, and maybe we should send Aaron to spend the night away so we would be free to leave whenever. We got Aaron's bag packed and took him to Mammaw's house. I will never forget the smell--Mammaw had been canning pickles that day (she wasn't really expecting company!) and when we walked in the house the smell of the vinegar cooking burned my eyes!! Aaron didn't seem to notice and was excited to stay with Mammaw and Pappaw.
We got home and I laid in the bed to try to rest for a while. The contractions were hurting pretty bad. Chris was standing by the bed during one of them, and when the contraction was dying down I heard a pop (he didn't hear it), and I jumped up and realized my water had broken!! The contractions came fast and furious at that point, and I was in some serious pain. We scrambled around to gather up all our stuff, and I remember thinking, "Get me to the hospital NOW!!"
We got to the hospital room around 11 pm, and I was blessed to have two nurses. One of them was in training, her 2nd day on the job. She was Indian, and had been a labor and delivery nurse for something like 20 years. Since she didn't really have any responsibility yet, she was able to stay by my bedside and help me through the pain until I got my epidural. She was wonderful! She massaged my back and helped me breathe. I think I would still remember her face if I saw her again!
I fully dilated on my own (no pitocin required, which was good because pitocin causes more risks for VBAC) by 4:30 or 5. When it was time to push I felt so confused about what to do. I had never done that before, and I couldn't really feel anything because of the epidural, but I tried to just do what the nurses were telling me. I pushed for an hour, then the doctor on call decided I needed a c-section. Claire was not coming down any further, and she was starting to go into distress. I was at peace with the decision, because I had come into it knowing it was a possibility. I was glad I had gotten a chance to at least try.
Claire was born around 7:30 am on July 7, 2006. She weighed in at 6 lbs 8 oz (a chunk compared to her tiny brother!), and healthy as could be. Aaron got to come later that day to see her--he was so proud. We are so thankful to have our sweet Claire Bear!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
My Labor Days...Aaron
In honor of Labor Day, I'm going to write my labor stories, for posterity!
Aaron, born June 6, 2004
It was the weekend of a cousins' reunion with Chris's mom's cousins. We spent the day Saturday at his parent's house, hanging out with some cousins we had never met before. We watched the news coverage of the death of Ronald Reagan. I laid around most of the day, even napping in the recliner some. I kept noticing mild contractions during the day but figured it was just the Braxton Hicks contractions and no biggie. After all, I was only 39 weeks pregnant, and people always told me you didn't have your first baby early. I naively believe I had one more week to go!
We got home that evening, and I got Chris to take a belly shot since I had not really done that the entire pregnancy, and I realized I might not be pregnant much longer. My contractions were getting a little more uncomfortable, but I was still smiling.
I tried to go to bed that night, but couldn't get comfortable for all the belly scrunching that was going on and the pain that came with it. Chris started scrambling around, looking for the booklet we had gotten at childbirth class, because suddenly we had both forgotten everything we had learned about when you're supposed to go to the hospital. We realized we needed to time the contractions, and when we did, they were 5 minutes apart! Time to pack up and go!!
I think it was around 1 am when we got to the hospital...or maybe 11 pm? All I know is we decided not to call the family in the middle of the night, because we knew it would be a while. I was only at 2 cm, I think. My contractions got pretty painful, and I got my epidural around 4 cm, maybe around 4 am or so. (Wow how these memories have faded!) Around 6 am we started calling family to tell them where we were. Chris's parents rushed to the hospital, and my aunt and uncle followed shortly later. All morning we just had family time in the delivery room...I was feeling fine with the epidural (just tired from being up all night), and I wasn't progressing very quickly.
Sometime around 2 pm the decision was made to do a c-section, because I had gotten to 7 cm, was progressing slowly, and Aaron was showing signs of going into distress. I cried and cried, and cried some more. I was totally unprepared for a c-section. It just never occurred to me that I might have to have one--I had even wanted to skip that week of our childbirth course! I remember after our family all left the room and I was waiting to be rolled back to the operating room, our pastor came in to pray with us. I tried to maintain my composure, but as soon as he walked in the room, I started sobbing, "I...have...to...have...a...c-section!" He was a little taken back but prayed with us nonetheless.
The extra anesthesia they put in my epidural gave me the shakes really bad--I could hardly keep my arms from flying up off the operating table. All my nervousness was not helping that situation either. We were not in the operating room for long, when they pulled out Aaron and I heard him cry. I started sobbing tears of relief and joy and emptiness. It's the strangest feeling-- such mixed emotions to suddenly be separated from this being who has inhabited your body for 9 months. I was so excited to meet him!
As soon as they took Aaron out, the anesthesiologist put something in my IV to help with my shakes, and my body immediately relaxed. The next couple of hours are pretty foggy...I was pretty out of it, but I remember getting to hold Aaron as they wheeled me to my postpardum recovery room. I got to breastfeed him for the first time, then our family came in to meet him. he was so tiny--5 lbs 6 oz, 19 1/2 inches long. In fact, his weight was just below some threshold the hospital has, so he had to go in a little isolette for 12 hours (they initially told me 24 hours).
So after the family left, the nurses took Aaron to the nursery, and I was pretty shaken up about this. I had planned on having him room in with me the whole time! I was worried about my poor little guy. But then they gave me drugs and I slept for 12 hours straight (only slightly wakened when they came in for blood pressure and temp checks). When I woke on Monday morning, I immediately asked to see my baby. They said he was doing great and could come out of the isolette early. I was so relieved! He was such a sweet little baby.
Claire's story...up next!!
Aaron, born June 6, 2004
It was the weekend of a cousins' reunion with Chris's mom's cousins. We spent the day Saturday at his parent's house, hanging out with some cousins we had never met before. We watched the news coverage of the death of Ronald Reagan. I laid around most of the day, even napping in the recliner some. I kept noticing mild contractions during the day but figured it was just the Braxton Hicks contractions and no biggie. After all, I was only 39 weeks pregnant, and people always told me you didn't have your first baby early. I naively believe I had one more week to go!
We got home that evening, and I got Chris to take a belly shot since I had not really done that the entire pregnancy, and I realized I might not be pregnant much longer. My contractions were getting a little more uncomfortable, but I was still smiling.
I tried to go to bed that night, but couldn't get comfortable for all the belly scrunching that was going on and the pain that came with it. Chris started scrambling around, looking for the booklet we had gotten at childbirth class, because suddenly we had both forgotten everything we had learned about when you're supposed to go to the hospital. We realized we needed to time the contractions, and when we did, they were 5 minutes apart! Time to pack up and go!!
I think it was around 1 am when we got to the hospital...or maybe 11 pm? All I know is we decided not to call the family in the middle of the night, because we knew it would be a while. I was only at 2 cm, I think. My contractions got pretty painful, and I got my epidural around 4 cm, maybe around 4 am or so. (Wow how these memories have faded!) Around 6 am we started calling family to tell them where we were. Chris's parents rushed to the hospital, and my aunt and uncle followed shortly later. All morning we just had family time in the delivery room...I was feeling fine with the epidural (just tired from being up all night), and I wasn't progressing very quickly.
Sometime around 2 pm the decision was made to do a c-section, because I had gotten to 7 cm, was progressing slowly, and Aaron was showing signs of going into distress. I cried and cried, and cried some more. I was totally unprepared for a c-section. It just never occurred to me that I might have to have one--I had even wanted to skip that week of our childbirth course! I remember after our family all left the room and I was waiting to be rolled back to the operating room, our pastor came in to pray with us. I tried to maintain my composure, but as soon as he walked in the room, I started sobbing, "I...have...to...have...a...c-section!" He was a little taken back but prayed with us nonetheless.
The extra anesthesia they put in my epidural gave me the shakes really bad--I could hardly keep my arms from flying up off the operating table. All my nervousness was not helping that situation either. We were not in the operating room for long, when they pulled out Aaron and I heard him cry. I started sobbing tears of relief and joy and emptiness. It's the strangest feeling-- such mixed emotions to suddenly be separated from this being who has inhabited your body for 9 months. I was so excited to meet him!
As soon as they took Aaron out, the anesthesiologist put something in my IV to help with my shakes, and my body immediately relaxed. The next couple of hours are pretty foggy...I was pretty out of it, but I remember getting to hold Aaron as they wheeled me to my postpardum recovery room. I got to breastfeed him for the first time, then our family came in to meet him. he was so tiny--5 lbs 6 oz, 19 1/2 inches long. In fact, his weight was just below some threshold the hospital has, so he had to go in a little isolette for 12 hours (they initially told me 24 hours).
So after the family left, the nurses took Aaron to the nursery, and I was pretty shaken up about this. I had planned on having him room in with me the whole time! I was worried about my poor little guy. But then they gave me drugs and I slept for 12 hours straight (only slightly wakened when they came in for blood pressure and temp checks). When I woke on Monday morning, I immediately asked to see my baby. They said he was doing great and could come out of the isolette early. I was so relieved! He was such a sweet little baby.
Claire's story...up next!!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Some recent funnies
Last week Aaron asked me, "Do you grow an inch on your birthday?" He has noticed he is smaller than the other kids in his class (mostly because people will comment on how he doesn't look big enough to go to Kindergarten!). A few days later I talked to his teacher, and she told me they tell them crazy things to get them to lay down at nap time, like "You'll grow 3 or 4 inches while you're resting!"
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A few nights ago we were telling Aaron at dinner time, "You better improve your attitude." Claire looked at me with big doe eyes and said, "What's ATTITUDE?" It was just the cutest thing ever--maybe you had to be there!
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While playing with Aaron I overheard Claire making her princess doll talk to one of Aaron's trains. "But I need a fodder," she said.
"Why do you need a father?" Aaron asked.
"I need a real person fodder to take care of me," she made her princess answer.
Later I heard her saying, "Wait, train! I am your husband fodder! I'm not alone anymore!" She cracks me up! The way she plays is so different than Aaron, and it is so cute!
*****
*****
A few nights ago we were telling Aaron at dinner time, "You better improve your attitude." Claire looked at me with big doe eyes and said, "What's ATTITUDE?" It was just the cutest thing ever--maybe you had to be there!
*****
While playing with Aaron I overheard Claire making her princess doll talk to one of Aaron's trains. "But I need a fodder," she said.
"Why do you need a father?" Aaron asked.
"I need a real person fodder to take care of me," she made her princess answer.
Later I heard her saying, "Wait, train! I am your husband fodder! I'm not alone anymore!" She cracks me up! The way she plays is so different than Aaron, and it is so cute!
*****
Recently we were reading the Bible story about Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. They had never heard that story before (it is in one of their new children's Bibles, but it is not in any of the other ones that I have seen). The kids were very intense listening to the story, about this new character "Satan" they had never heard of, who told Jesus to turn the rock into food when he was hungry. After the story Claire said, "Yeah, he wanted Jesus to turn that rock into food, but Jesus wouldn't do that, because that's silly, and God doesn't like silly things." I realized she had totally missed the point of the story, and I told her God DOES like silly things, at appropriate times. Now she'll do silly things and say, "That's silly, and God likes silly things."
*****
Claire got one of the chapter books we checked out from the library, and while she was patiently waiting for me to finish taking care of Hannah, she started "reading" it to herself. The book is actually about a dog named Lucy, but she said it was called "Emily Goes to Kindergarten". She had this whole story "written" about Emily wanting to go to Kindergarten, because she is 5, but her Mommy tells her, "I'm sorry honey, it's not a school day. The mean witch might lock you in a tall tower (Dora reference) if you go to Kindergarten when it's not a school day." "Oh No!" Emily said.... and it went on and on. It cracked me up how she would make the mother in the story say things like "honey" and "baby" when talking to Emily, the way I use those words when I talk to Claire! She told me the story over and over, and she would turn the page and say "Chapter 2....The next morning..." She is such a smart and funny girl!
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