May 4, 2010

           Well not much has happened today. Andrew and I got up at about 8:30 this morning to start our day. Drew is working nights this week so he was here when we woke. The phone was ringing when I was in the living room with Andrew and I made Drew get up to answer it, mostly because I didn't want to talk to anyone. But he answered it and handed it to me! But it was Robyn and she said she was on her way over this way and wanted to know if I wanted to go to playgroup with her, it was going to be at Jessica's house. So Andrew and I got ready and went with her to it. One other lady came to playgroup, so there were just three toddlers playing together. I sat there and held Andrew and didn't do much talking, I just really don't have anything in common with anyone so nothing really to say. Anyways, I got home and told Drew to hurry up and get ready so we could go to the commisary to get some stuff for me to make for dinner tonight since we're feeding the missionaries. So we went and got stuff to make Sloppy Joes.
            Since Drew is working evenings this week he wasn't here yesterday evening when Andrew threw the biggest fit of his life, so far! He screamed for 1-2 hrs straight! He had gas and I tried rubbing his tummy but that didn't help him much. The only thing that helped was if I stood up with him and patted his butt to sort of bounce him a little. He burped some but thats about it. So and he threw that fit we were both tired so we went to bed early, at 8 that night. It was nice and all but we are used to sleeping then waking up early and changing his diaper and feeding him then going to sleep for another 2-3 hours. Since we went to playgroup we did not have time for that. So right now I am trying my hardest to keep my eyes open. He is awake of course, since he slept through playgroup which ended up lasting like 2 hours. So I was cranky after we went grocery shopping and trying to clean up some for the missionaries tonight. And of corse I start saying rediculas stuff and Drew and I start to argue! Honestly if I just would have stayed quiet nothing would have started. I am just cranky because I have not showered in days and the house, as always, is a mess and I have to get everything ready for tonight.
           On a happy note, Andrew is 2 months old today!

2 Month Examination

           Today we took Little Andrew to the pediatricain on the Spangdahlem base for his 2 month check up. He is a little more than 22 inches long and is 9.9 pounds! I am so proud of him! So they are happy with his weight! So I don't really have to give him anymore formula which is nice! So the next time I have to take him in is for his 4 month check up. So we will be in the States for that one. I will have to take him to Fort Gordon for that one.
           Yesterday I went thru his clothes and packed them. I am probably going to go thru them again though. I am going to try and pack as lite as possible for him since I have ALOT to pack for him. When he out grows his clothes and if they are still in good use-able condition then I am going to box it up and send it here to Germany. I don't know if I will send it while I am in GA or if I will send it at the end right when I am about to leave to come home. If I send it while I am still in the States then I will probably send the boxes to Robyn or someone who will still be living here.
         I want to go to the States while Drew is gone, but then again I don't want to go. The reason being is family issues. I mean, I won't even be able to be around everyone at once because no one can get along. And it hurts me on the inside so bad! My heart is like so heavy because of it. I just want to cry! I wish people would just GROW UP and act like an adult. And realize how much people have helped them out and what not. I feel like I have NO ONE to talk to. I don't like crying in front of people at all, or letting people know how I feel. So it like totally limits me. I mean I can talk to Drew about ANYTHING but I just let stuff build up and bother me on the inside because SO MUCH is going on right now I do not want people to know how scared, annoyed and frustrated I am with stuff right now. Everything that has been bothering me is just stuff in the States. I mean, people want me to go and see them but they don't want other people to be there. Or me travel to see people, I mean, who is going to come and see me? Drew and I have been married 4 years, next month, and NO ONE has ever come to visit us, at either of the places we have lived! I am not complaining because I understand that people have situations and what not but people think I can do EVERYTHING! People don't understand my husband is going to be gone for 6 months and we never know what will happen while he is there! So I have enough to worry about without having to worry about what everyone else wants me to do.
           Okay well writing this down in here has helped me to vent some! :) Anyways, I better get going. Tomorrow is my little sister Caroline's birthday, she will be 15 and she is so excited about going and taking her test at the DMV to get her learner's permit. Friday, the 30th is Gina's birthday.

7 Weeks Old

           On Thursday April 22, 2010, Andrew turned 7 weeks old! We also took him in to get weighed again. The previous week he weighed 8.7 pounds and they wanted him to gain a little more. So when we took him in to get weighed on Thursday, a week later, he weighed in at 9.1 pounds! So they were happy with that! (finally!) But she went ahead and scheduled him for his 2 month appointment which is next Wednesday.
           He started one of the coolest things on Thursday also! Smiling like crazy! I love it! Drew was naming off schools like ASU, Florida Gators, and then he said BYU and thats when Andrew put the biggest smile on his face that I have ever seen! (We'll have to work on the BYU thing though!)
           Wednesday April 21, 2010, he slept all day! I knew something was not right. So the next day for his appointment I told the head nurse that he has not been feeling well. Honestly that day I would not have been smiling if I felt as bad as he did! I don't know how he pulled it off! His face would get really warm for a while and he was just so clingy, which I do not blame him. So I pretty much just held him all day Thursday. But the head nurse, which was a nice lady, wrote out a prescription for him for some nasal spray. She told me to put some in his nose then suck it up with the surrenge. I told her that shouldn't be a problem because I had been up since 4:30 that morning surrenging his nose so he could sleep. Now it is Saturday and he is still not feeling well at all! He has a stuffy nose and is conjested and caughs and sneezes and gets warm every now and then. Oh and another thing he does is like throw up the milk he drinks. I was telling Mama about how he was feeling and she said he is probably throwing/spitting up because it is probably the only way for him to get the mucus out of his chest. So this weekend we are just going to stay home and take it easy.

Just Updating

           I guess I am just going to do a little update on here today...
           On Friday, April 16, I went to my 6 week appointment checkup. Everything was good and I was able to get 3 months worth of birth control pills. And I started taking them then. I have to wait like 1-2 weeks for them to work. We have a month left til we go to the States, I just REALLY DO NOT want to get pregnant before he leaves! Because I do not know if I will be able to handle being pregnant and taking care of baby Andrew and the stress of Drew being gone serving the Country! But seriously, whatever happens, happens. Its all in the Lord's hands!
           After my appointment we took Andrew to get weighed at the pediatric clinic on the Spangdahlem Base. And the RN guy told us it had been 22 days since he had been weighed last and he should gain 20 grams a day. So to make it easier, he just did 20 days.... So he was saying that he should have gained 400 grams since then. So I undressed Andrew and took his diaper off to prepare him to get weighed. And I noticed that he had a messy diaper! "Awe Man! He just pooped out some of his weight!" hehehe... But I layed him on the scale and the RN turned it on and weighed him. Just a reminder, the last time he got weighed, 22 days before, he weighed 7.11 pounds. Well the final weight came up, 8.7 pounds!!! I was so happy that he gained! And I was hoping the RN would say that all was good and we didn't have to being him in til his 2 month check up. But the RN was impressed with the 300 grams that he gained but he had to run it by the Doctor on duty. And it was a lady Doctor. (We didn't see her, he went to another room to see her)
And she told him to tell us to keep feeding him formula after everytime I breast feed and to bring him in again next Friday to get weighed again. Well I honestly only gave him formula like 4 times during those 22 days. I had told people what the Doctors have been telling me to do and everyone said to just hang in there and to ONLY breast feed! Everyone said that breast fed babies gain weight slower than formula fed babies. The reason the lady Doctor was concerned about him is because he is only in the 5th percentile. I think that is how you say it. I don't even know if it is spelt right either! He has been eating like crazy though! Seriously he eats like every hour! I think he is going through a growth spurt if you ask me!
            Andrew is so sweet! I love him so much! Last night Drew layed down with his son in between his arm and his side and Andrew fell righ to sleep! He loves his Daddy so much!

Andrew 3 Weeks Old

           Andrew is doing well! He is such a blessing to our little family! He fits in perfectly! We have taken him to the pediatricain 2 or 3 times in the past 2 weeks because they want to keep weighing him to make sure he is gaining weight. The first time he was 7.8 pounds, and then next time that we went he was 7.11 pounds. And they want us to bring him again this week to get him weighed again. The RN told me to feed Andrew 3 oz of formula after I feed him 10-15 min on each breast. And I think that sounds ridiculous! He can barely finish 2 oz of breast milk when I pump it! What makes him think that Andrew will be able to eat from me then eat 3 oz of formula on top of that?! Anyways, I have asked alot of experianced people about this topic, breast fed babies having trouble gaining weight... And well, everyone pretty much that I have asked said not to worry about what the RN says because breast fed babies gain weight slower than the formula fed ones. But he has plenty of wet diapers, like a healthy baby is supposed to and he eats PLENTY! lol. Lately he has been eating every 1-2 hrs! My Mom says it looks like he is about to go through a growth spurt. And she said not to worry about his weight, because it will soon be here!
            Besides that, this weekend we are going to visit Drew's Sister De-An and he husband and child. They came to visit us last weekend. And this weekend is Easter so we will get to spend it with family! Which alot of people stationed here in Germany can't do, we are just lucky enough to have relatives near! It is like a 5 hour drive. Andrew should do just fine with the car trip though! He just falls right to sleep when riding in the car! And when we sit through church it seems he sleeps the whole time! lol.

           Yesterday was our third time going to the pediatric doctor in the past 2 weeks. And we have to go back again in 3 days, Andrew is not gaining weight like they think he should. Earlier this week on Monday when we took him in he weighed in at 7.8 and yesterday when we took him in he weighed in at 7.11. So he gained! Which I was excited about, thinking we wouldn't have to go in again until his next appointment. But they said that he needs to keep drinking formula after each feeding. They want me to give him 3 oz after feeding for 10 min on each breast which I think sounds rather ridiculous! He can barely drink 2 oz when I pump and give it to him in a bottle! See, Monday they told me to give him an ounce after each feeding which to me sounds more realistic. And thats how he gained the .3.

Our Amazing Son!

           On March 2, 2010 I went in for my appointment at the Bitburg hospital and the Dr checked my blood preasure and it was pretty high (or so he said) So he asked if I wanted to just stay in and be induced, seeing that I was already 5 days past due. When he asked me I almost broke down in tears! Well mostly because Drew was not there with me, he was taking Spanky back home. (Why he brought him to the appointment, I do not know) But the car ended up breaking down in the parking garage so he had to walk Spanky home. When he finally returned I broke the news to him that I was going to be induced that day. Well I got induced but it had now effect on me so the next day I was not enduced once but twice more before it started to take effect. Drew left the hospital Wednesday evening, at about 9 PM and I turned out the lights and layed in my hospital bed at 9:30 and thats when the contractions started. I layed there trying to think good thoughts and just deal with it, since they weren't too terribly painful yet. Well I was thinking about the beach and sunny weather, trying to see if my body would allow me to fall asleep. The night before, Tuesday night, I had only gotten 3 hrs of sleep because my room mate's baby cried alot and made it impossible to sleep. ( She had her baby EARLY Tuesday morning, before I even had my appointment) Well the pains were not going away and they were getting somewhat worse so I decided to take out my cell phone which had a stop watch on it and time them. Not only how long they were but also how far apart they were. The longest one I timed was 1 min 20 sec and the shortest was 1 min 7 sec. And they were about 2 min 20 sec apart. (and the pain was getting worse)
         So not wanting to wake my room mate, who would have tried scaring my by tell horror labor stories, I put my glasses on and grabbed my phone and went out in the hall and went to the nearest doctor. I asked what time it was and said that I had been having contractions since 9:30 and I have been trying to fall asleep since I was so tired because I had only had 3 hrs of sleep the night before. Well the Dr had told me that it was 11:30. So I had the contractions for 2 hours in the room before coming out. But they were getting pretty bad. Although when I was walking down the hall the did not even bother me, like they didn't happen when I was standing. So he took me to the labour and delivery room and my favorite mid-wife was on duty which I thought was awesome! Well she hooked my IV up to some AWESOME medicane! It made it to wear my body was super heavy feeling, I could barely open my eyes! My body soon fell asleep! I could even hear myself snoring! But my mind was still alert. I could think and hear what the Dr and mid wife were saying. I could even talk back to them, but my words were slurred and I talked really slow! After all of the meds were in me the two of them helped me up and with one on each side they helped me to a room with a king size bed all to myself with no room mate! Although my body was VERY relaxed, I just could not fall asleep and I still felt the painful contractions. At about 4:30 am the mid-wife said I could call Drew and he could stay at the hospital since the time was drawing near. I called him and it turned out that he was having trouble sleeping that night because he was worried about me.
         To make a LONG story short, I had contrations for 20 hours and went 24hrs without any sleep or any food. I got the epidural at 3 cm and just layed in the delivery room just waiting. at 4:50 pm the midwife, which was a different one from the night before, and the Dr, which was the female Dr I was hoping not to get, came in my room and got things ready because baby Andrew was on his way! It was like he was a bull running full force and hitting a brick wall! At least thats what it felt like to me! It was like hard core knocking inside of me like he was trying to get out, which he was! At 5:20 pm baby Andrew arrived! The German Dr said he was 22 inches and 8.8 pounds, although they had it wrong. I will put the correct weight and length up later. I could not believe what a beautiful baby he was! Drew was in tears when he came out! It was really a special moment! All of the pain and everything really was worth it! And other mothers had always said that but I never did understand it, it is just something you have to experiance yourself I guess.
        On March 7, 2010, when he was 3 days old, Andrew and I were finally able to go home!
        On March 11, 2010, when he was 7  days old, we took him to the Dr on the Spangdahlem Base to get circumsized. The Dr the circumsized him was a guy from church, Brother Reeker.
        On March 12, 2010, when he was 8 days old, his ambilicle chord fell off. 
        On March 14, 2010, when he was 10 days old, he went to church for his first time. He smiled when we walked in the Chaple, they were singing the opening hymn! It was pretty neat!    
        I never knew I could love someone so much! We truly have been SO BLESSED to have him come into our family! He is the perfect fit! And we wouldn't trade him for ANYTHING in the world!
        It is a little past mid night now, but I needed to write in the blog before I forgot everything. Andrew is asleep in my lap right now. I will write more stuff in here another time, and anything that I may have forgotten to write tonight.