Moments

Monday, September 7, 2009

Our Summer 2009

Watch Tyler grow

The Summer has gone by so quickly.I can't believe it has been over two months since I blogged last. There has been so much going on I just didn't feel like blogging.

This summer was a summer to stretch our faith. Stephen ended up being out of work all Summer. He looked everywhere for work but it seemed like everyone around here was laying off instead of hiring. It was very hard for us. The money we had saved up ended up having to be used. I am very thankful for good family and friends that have been so helpful. God provided in many places. One person from church gave us about 8 packages of diapers, a family member gave us a $100 gift card for gas, someone else gave us a gift card to target, and our church family gave us some money to help with groceries. I am glad too that we had a roof over our heads thanks to my family. Yes God is good. Stephen , Tyler and I ended up having a whole summer together. We went on picnics,many walks, and had many talks. Time just seemed to go by.

Tyler has been such a good baby. I love him so much and can't imagine life without him. In the picture above is one of his first smiles , he had just learned to smile a few days earlier. :)

Because Stephen was home for the summer it let Tyler and him have some bonding snuggling time. I often found them like this when I came home from running errands.

My family has a camp in the adorondacks on Cranberry lake and we got to go there this Summer. Tyler is the sixth generation there. I didn't think we would be able to go this summer but my family decided to go so we decided to join them. The week we were there was spent in playing games, taking night swims, canoeing, fishing, and great camp food. Our camp doesn't have any electricity or running water. Tyler didn't seem to like how quiet it was and had a hard time sleeping while we were there. Usually at home we have fans going or a cd to get him to sleep.He would sleep fine while we were all up and making noise but as soon as we would all go to sleep and everything was quiet he would wake right up. It made for a long sleepless week for me. Tyler also had his first fever while we were there of 101.1 . We were concerned he might have a ear infection or something so we took him into town to see the dr. They couldn't find anything wrong and he ended up only having the fever for about 24hrs.

We also got to go and visit our good friends Mark and Ruth and their children Lydia,Ike,Zeke, and Jed in Vermont. We had such a good time there.Stephen got to help Mark out on the farm and Ruth and I got to hang out and have fun just doing everyday things together. Ruth had just had Jed a month before and Tyler and Jed are just two months apart. It will be so much fun watching them grow up together.

While we were in Vermont Ruth and I went garage saling and at one of the sales we bought this large bag of baby boy clothes to split up. In that bag was a pair of matching outfits that just happened to fit Jed and Tyler. Here they are in their matching outfits.

Aren't they cute!! I can't wait to see what they look like as they grow up.

Now here we are at the end of the summer. Stephen is now going to BU for his second semester there. I can't wait til he has his four year degree. Stephen also just got a job at Lowes again as a stocker on the night crew. As much as I am glad that he got a job I will be sad to see him go back. He will be working from 9pm- 5am so I will be spending my nights alone. It will be weird sleeping alone again. But it is a job and we are grateful for it. I also have to go back to work. I really don't want to but I have no choice. We need the health insurence and the little extra I bring home will be helpful. I will miss Tyler so much. My mom will be watching him while I am at work. I hope I don't have to work for too long and that Stephen can get a better job with good pay and health insurence.

I guess that is all for now. I will try to keep you better posted so please check back at my blog once a while again.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Tyler's Birth Story

Tyler was due on May 15th and it's funny I always thought that would be his Birthday but God had other plans. Everyday after May 15th past I would wake up after another restless nights sleep wondering will this be the day? Wednesday May 20th was the same. Stephen and I tried to keep busy. After exhausting all of our ideas of what we could do around the house for fun we decided to go to the mall and buy a play station game to help the time pass. We ended up buying a $5 golf game. We played that for hours between mild contractions. In the afternoon I tried to take a nap but was restless. Then all of a sudden I had a burst of energy and I decided that I had to stop sitting around waiting and get up and do something. I asked Stephen to do up the dishes while I did the vacuuming then decided that the cats needed their spring baths so Stephen helped me do that. By the time all of that was done it was time for dinner so we decided to go to Wegmans (a local grocery store) for some dinner and pick up groceries while we were at it. As we were walking around Wegmans my contractions were becoming worse and I told Stephen we needed to get going home because I wasn't feeling well. As we were walking out to the car I noticed that I was wet. Not very wet, but enough to wonder if my water was leaking. We went home and I called the Midwives and asked them what I should do since I tested positive for Strep B so I needed to be put on an IV as soon as my water broke or was leaking. They told me to come in to get tested to see if it was my water that was leaking. They took me right in as soon as we got there at 7:30pm and the test came back negative but the Baby’s Heart rate was very high so they wanted me to stay and drink 2 large glasses of something cold to see if they could get the heart rate to drop. They were just getting ready to discharge me when I was very wet again and I said to the nurse "either my water is leaking or their is something wrong with my bladder." They did another test and that one came back positive. They put me right in a room and put my IV in. Stephen then went home to get our bags. I really didn't believe that I was finally in Labor that is why we hadn't brought them with us. LOL.

By Midnight that night my contractions were 2-5 minutes apart and getting stronger. My Mom came in the morning around 8:30 to be with me while Stephen went to get breakfast and take a nap. Time just seemed to pass, not quickly but it just felt like I was standing still and time was going by around me. Contractions came and went. Stephen and Mom took turns coming and going. Nurses came and went and there I was still laboring. It really didn't hit me how long I was laboring until I started to see some of the same nurses back for another seven hour shift .I began to Hate the big clock with Bright Red numbers in front of me reminding me how long this was taking. Twenty four hours came and went and here I was still only 5cm dilated. Then all of a sudden my contractions began to slow down to every seven minutes after them being every 2 minutes for hours. They started to give me petocine a little at a time to make them come more regular and make them a little stronger. It worked but I was still not dilating. After 36 hours of this I was exhausted and was falling asleep at the end of my contractions making them less effective. The Midwife came in and said it would probably be best if they cranked the petocine up more but before they did that they should put a epidural in to let me rest for a while. I was ready for a break and agreed to that. The epidural was GREAT! It made the pain go away and let me sleep for about 4 hours to regain some of my strength. When I woke up it was around 12pm on May 22 and the midwife checked me out and I was 10cm dilated and was ready to start pushing. I pushed for an hour with the epidural still on but it wasn't being effective so they turned the epidural off. The petocine by this time was up to 9.I pushed for 3 more hours but nothing was changing. The midwife then had a surgeon come in and check the baby out. He was starting to have swelling on the outside of the head developing a hematoma so they said it would be wise to do a c-section so that he wouldn't have brain damage. I was ready to have this done and agreed to the c-section. They told me it would be best to stop pushing. The hard thing was my body was already into pushing and the petocine was already up so the contractions were 1 minute apart. They were working as fast as they could to get me to the c-section but it still took a while. When the Dr came in to turn my epidural back on I was so grateful!! The c-section was painful because Tyler was wedged in me like a cork, but I was glad to have it done. When Tyler was out and was cleaned up Stephen brought him over so I could see him, I saw him blinked and they were gone. I then asked the nurse where they were and they were already at the nursery. I must have fallen asleep for a few minutes. Come to find out Tyler would never have come out without a c-section. He was upside down and his head was too big for my pelvis. I am thankful that everything is done with and we are all healthy.He is a beautiful little boy and we are so grateful for him. It amazes me how you can already tell a little about his personality, he is a calm, content little boy who likes to sleep, is hard to wake up like his daddy, has a temper when he is starving, and loves to snuggle. He is growing well and seems like he is changing daily. Today is his one month Birthday and he is now 9 pounds 4 ounces, 23 1/2 inches long.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Second Anniversary

It's hard to believe that it's our second anniversary.So much has happened since last year.Last year for our anniversary we went to Vermont stayed at a Bed and Breakfast and visited friends.This year we have Tyler.My parents gave us a gift card to go out to lunch and are going to watch Tyler for a few hours.We are really looking forward to that.I am so thankful to God for Stephen and for bringing us together.He had a much better plan for me than I did for myself.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Announcement!!!!!

Tyler Stephen Brower

Born: May 22, 2009 at 5:51pm

By- C-Section

Weight- 8lbs. 10oz.

Length- 22 1/2in. long

We are soooo proud!!

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Last post until Baby...I hope!!

Time is quickly ticking by and in a few short days I will be a mommy.The questions I have now will be answered; like what it will be like to be in labor?What will he or (still possibly she)look like? When will my baby come? How big will he be? Will he be healthy or will their be complications? Will he have hair? All will be known in a few days.

As this pregnancy comes to an end I sit here reflecting on how this pregnancy went.How it started with a pregnancy test taken at a chinese resturant where I thought it didn't work and burried it in the garbage under paper towels until after my shakiness from hunger was gone and I went back and retreved it and saw that I was indeed pregnant!!I was so excited and couldn't wait for Stephen to come home from work so I could tell him.Then we had to tell our parents which we were nervious about since we still didn't have a home of our own and we thought they would be upset with our carelessness.Only to find them all so excited and supportive and saying they couldn't believe it took us that long!!LOL!! I never did get morning sickness although I didn't feel good when it came time to make dinner.I couldn't eat or even smell chicken for the first 3 months without feeling queezy.Tomato sauce wasn't something I could tolorate either, but that doesn't usualy agree with me anyways.Tiredness is something I have gotten use to.This baby really takes all the energy right out of me.I have had alot of water swelling in my legs and have stretch marks all over my legs.I never thought that would happen.I have had to wear uncomfortable stockings for the last 11 weeks.The first time that I felt him move was the most amazing feeling.The first time we saw him move on the outside was on March 3 while we were at LaMaze class.Neither Stephen or I paid much attention to the class after that.It was so amazing.Ultrasounds are the best.I could stare at my baby for hours if they would let me.I couldn't believe that that was really what was in me.How could anyone believe that we came from monkeys instead of from a Amazing God!!

So here I am now two days away from my due date. As of right now I have gained 31 pounds which I guess is pretty good.Baby is in position and getting stronger by the day.He is still really active.I am pretty much all ready.Bags have been packed and placed by the door.The carseat has been installed in our car.I washed all the baby clothes last week and have them folded and put away.I have the laundry all caught up on and have been working at keeping our house clean and organized so I wont be stressed when I come home.Thank You notes from my baby showers are almost done.I think I have about 12 to go.Not bad!!My aim is to get them done before the baby comes.I better keep working on that.Come on Baby,I think I'm ready!!