Well, after some prodding and teasing, and an idea from a friend's site, I am blogging again. I'm switching over to posterous from blogger, mostly because the design is so clean and lovely. Also, with Rachel leaving us this week, I am renewing my picture-taking vows and this will provide a nice forum to post them easily.
So, Hello (again) world. I'm back.
Bethany
p.s. The title is a link, or click here
Jacob's Big News
Note Bene: This post is old. I wrote it when we were in transit and sans internet. A more current update is forthcoming. -Bethany
As of his Tuesday night (6/23) weighing, Jacob is 6 pounds, 1 ounce! I also measured him and he was 18 1/2 inches long--the boy is growing!
The other news comes from a conversation I had with the doctor yesterday morning. It seems that he will be able to come home in about 2 weeks--much sooner than I was expecting!
This of course, is just an estimate based on his progress so far. But we expect him to continue to grow and gain strength, and continue to eat well (which is the main determining factor for when he can come home).
Also, I am continuing to gain strength and recover, both from Jacob's birth and from my sore throat. I have recently been re-instructed by my doctor not to lift anything--including Nathanael! This has been a huge challenge for both of us, but we are sticking it out for the full 6 weeks. :)
We successfully moved into our new house this past weekend thanks to many, many earthly angels. Two of those came over this morning and transformed my kitchen from a mountain of towering cardboard into a beautiful horizon of counter top. I cannot begin to express the boost this gave my spirits!
And Nathanael continues to adjust to all the changes in his life and astound us with his creativity and his energy. He loves his new (windowless!) bedroom and all the space for playing.
We are also all adapting to another addition to our family: Rachel! Michael's younger sister volunteered to nanny for us for a few months after Jacob surprised us. We love her and are so grateful for everything she is doing for our family.
Love,
Bethany
As of his Tuesday night (6/23) weighing, Jacob is 6 pounds, 1 ounce! I also measured him and he was 18 1/2 inches long--the boy is growing!
The other news comes from a conversation I had with the doctor yesterday morning. It seems that he will be able to come home in about 2 weeks--much sooner than I was expecting!
This of course, is just an estimate based on his progress so far. But we expect him to continue to grow and gain strength, and continue to eat well (which is the main determining factor for when he can come home).
Also, I am continuing to gain strength and recover, both from Jacob's birth and from my sore throat. I have recently been re-instructed by my doctor not to lift anything--including Nathanael! This has been a huge challenge for both of us, but we are sticking it out for the full 6 weeks. :)
We successfully moved into our new house this past weekend thanks to many, many earthly angels. Two of those came over this morning and transformed my kitchen from a mountain of towering cardboard into a beautiful horizon of counter top. I cannot begin to express the boost this gave my spirits!
And Nathanael continues to adjust to all the changes in his life and astound us with his creativity and his energy. He loves his new (windowless!) bedroom and all the space for playing.
We are also all adapting to another addition to our family: Rachel! Michael's younger sister volunteered to nanny for us for a few months after Jacob surprised us. We love her and are so grateful for everything she is doing for our family.
Love,
Bethany
Email Update
Hi everyone,
I have time just for a quick update. Jacob is out of the NICU and in the special care nursery. He is doing great and has recently passed the 5 pound milestone!
This is one of my favorite pictures of him--of shows his handsome eyes!
Thank you for all your prayers and love. It is helping him heal.
Love,
Bethany
Your Prayers are Working!
We had a great surprise when we came to visit Jacob on Monday--he is breathing on his own! He is also back on his "feeds," meaning that he is able to digest the breastmilk we give him in that tube in his nose. This is good news. It means we are one step closer to nursing!
Other updates as of Tuesday: He will be getting a picc line tonight which is a special type of IV to keep him hydrated until he is eating all on his own. This is exciting; it means that his umbilical IV will come out and then we can hold him skin to skin. (Which we can't do yet because of the risk of infection with the umbilical IV.)
He is also off the photo-therapy because his biliruben levels are down. Translation: his liver is doing a great job keeping his blood clean, so now he doesn't have to wear his little sunglasses. Hooray!
We are just in love with this little angel. Michael took these pictures with his phone from the inside of the isolette. Jacob seemed really curious about what Dad was doing with his arm. We enjoyed seeing him so alert and cute, cute, cute!
While I (Mom) was holding him, he relaxed and fell asleep. I am so grateful and excited for that experience to repeat itself many more times.
Today Nathanael came with us to visit Jacob. We didn't take any pictures, but he (Nathanael) got to scrub in at the big sinks with Dad, ride on Mom's lap in the wheelchair, and touch Jacob's knee. He seems to be getting a firmer idea about this baby we've been talking so much about. He even said, "Jacob" at dinner time without being prompted.
He also got to play in the family room outside the NICU with Dad while Mom spent a few more minutes with Jacob. Then he was very grown-up and went out to lunch with Mom and Dad. He ordered french fries (an old favorite) and discovered ketchup (and licking instead of biting)!
We are glad that our boys got to meet today. It was great to be all together as a family! Thank you all for your love, support and prayers. I could not have made it through this week without all the food, cleaning, Nathanael-watching, hugs, phone calls, emails, and prayers. I can truly feel the hand of God through each of you.
Jacob Day 4
This was our second time holding Jacob. Michael let me hold him for a long time, and then I passed him over. It was love at first sight.
It's funny, the nurses at the NICU say "this is our big baby." We like the nurses a lot; they are angels. Angels with Hand Sanitizer.
Jacob Day 2
[Details to be filled in: but that thing is called a CPAP. It keeps his lungs inflated when he exhales; they were collapsing.]
Jacob is born!
Wednesday, 27 May 2009 at 3:44 pm, Jacob Sanderson was born. That is a whole eight weeks early. He weiged 4 lbs 8 oz, and measured 17 1/2 inches long.Here are the day's events:
9:00 am -- I am heading out the door to begin my bike-commute to work, and I notice Bethany isn't feeling so great. I tell her "I'll stay home for a few minutes [to watch Nathanael] while you take a shower." I took one when she was done.
9:45 -- Bethany thinks she's having contractions. I whip out an iPhone to start timing them.
10:00 -- These are very regular: 1 minute long, 4 minutes apart. She spends her time on the exercize ball while I hold her; inbetween, I start packing bags, calling midwives, changing Nathanael's diaper, answering phone calls (sorry if I was curt to anyone).
[more details will be filled in later; I'm just going to put up more pictures and fill in details later.]
Sweet Boys
I am so blessed to have such a sweet boy in my family. Today he was teaching another toddler some of his games and made-up words and I was thinking ahead to the day he gets to show his little brother how life works.
I'm sure he'll be the expert reference for things like opening doors, using a spoon, taking off lids, plugging in electrical appliances--all of Nathanael's specialties. :)
p.s. Growth update: Baby Jacob is 3.1 lbs (as of 2 weeks ago) and growing perfectly. He is kicking and heart-beating and getting all of us very excited to meet him.
Angels Vacuum
At least mine did, this morning.
I was having a hard time wading through the weeks old layers of dried cereal on the carpet. Our living space had become a maze of clean and dirty laundry. I woke up and wondered how I was going to chase a two-year-old around for another 12 hours when I could barely roll over.
But my angel woke up and sent me to the shower. He changed, dressed and fed our little wild man. He sent me out the door to my appointment only 10 minutes behind schedule, still in his pajamas.
And in the meantime, he vacuumed.
I was having a hard time wading through the weeks old layers of dried cereal on the carpet. Our living space had become a maze of clean and dirty laundry. I woke up and wondered how I was going to chase a two-year-old around for another 12 hours when I could barely roll over.
But my angel woke up and sent me to the shower. He changed, dressed and fed our little wild man. He sent me out the door to my appointment only 10 minutes behind schedule, still in his pajamas.
And in the meantime, he vacuumed.
"I Am A Strong Pole!"
Well, Michael is redoing his blog and we were reminiscing over some of his old posts. One of the most notable is the post on movie quoting. It inspired me to post about non-movie quoting, which is quite pervasive in our family.
The title quote is from Michael- when he was bracing himself for a (well-deserved, I'm sure) tickle attack by yours truly. This was last October. Most of the rest of them are years old. These are the ones that have stuck around. :)
Does she have hair--I know her! (Monta)
Ha ha. Funny joke. (Dad D.)
It's a potato and it's a bug. It's a potato bug. (Y mountain girls.)
Whap-whap-whap-whap. Well, I'm all scuttled out. (complete with actions. James.)
That is all. (Okay, that is from a movie--Mr. Roberts.)
Suckers! (Actor who played Charlie in Playmill's 2005 The Foreigner--amazing!)
I guess this post is mainly for me to remember these funny moments. But if any of the people involved happen to stumble by, they may chuckle too. :)
The title quote is from Michael- when he was bracing himself for a (well-deserved, I'm sure) tickle attack by yours truly. This was last October. Most of the rest of them are years old. These are the ones that have stuck around. :)
Does she have hair--I know her! (Monta)
Ha ha. Funny joke. (Dad D.)
It's a potato and it's a bug. It's a potato bug. (Y mountain girls.)
Whap-whap-whap-whap. Well, I'm all scuttled out. (complete with actions. James.)
That is all. (Okay, that is from a movie--Mr. Roberts.)
Suckers! (Actor who played Charlie in Playmill's 2005 The Foreigner--amazing!)
I guess this post is mainly for me to remember these funny moments. But if any of the people involved happen to stumble by, they may chuckle too. :)
The Bay Leaf Condition
[Note bene: I wrote this in early November and found it today while looking through my drafts. I don't know why I never posted it. Anyway, ta da!]
After President Uchtdorf's wonderful remarks at the Relief Society Broadcast, the Parable of the Bay Leaf has become a household topic. In it, he describes his wife's ability to create wonderful and delicious meals, beautifully presented; but that she consistantly punctuates the creation with a comment such as, “I’m afraid I used a touch too much ginger,” or, “Next time, I think it would be better if I used a little more curry and one additional bay leaf.”
President Uchtdorf points out that as women, we may not appreciate the value of what we do in the world and more importantly who we are. These 'bay leaf' comments, while showing a desire to improve and create goodness and "perfection", may also clue us in to the fact that our focus is on a tiny fraction of the scene.
Enough with the generalizations.
I do this. Since my husband has pointed it out, I am amazed how frequently it occurs.
An example: I busted my butt making homemade whole-wheat bread sticks for a ward party. I juggled it between Nathanael's nap, picking up yeast when I discovered we were out, and the Halloween event that afternoon. I ran to and fro, keeping my perspective, and enjoying Nathanael all throughout the day. We finally were sitting at the party chatting and eating and I got my first bite. I said, "Oh! Next time I need to let them raise longer. It is so dense!"
Now, this was after several people had already complemented me and Nathanael was halfway through his (the ultimate complement). Michael pointed out my comment (in light of the bay leaf) and I was so surprised! I didn't even notice.
It is now becoming part of my personal culture to say things like, "Wow. I did a really great job on this!" And then I bite my tongue when I want to add my bay leaf comment.
I realize that our public culture doesn't allow for this type of comment. It doesn't expect it. And it doesn't fit into the model of self-depreciation as humility that we frequently buy into. But as I have trusted and taken the step to believe in myself--enough to verbalize it--I have felt peace.
After President Uchtdorf's wonderful remarks at the Relief Society Broadcast, the Parable of the Bay Leaf has become a household topic. In it, he describes his wife's ability to create wonderful and delicious meals, beautifully presented; but that she consistantly punctuates the creation with a comment such as, “I’m afraid I used a touch too much ginger,” or, “Next time, I think it would be better if I used a little more curry and one additional bay leaf.”
President Uchtdorf points out that as women, we may not appreciate the value of what we do in the world and more importantly who we are. These 'bay leaf' comments, while showing a desire to improve and create goodness and "perfection", may also clue us in to the fact that our focus is on a tiny fraction of the scene.
Enough with the generalizations.
I do this. Since my husband has pointed it out, I am amazed how frequently it occurs.
An example: I busted my butt making homemade whole-wheat bread sticks for a ward party. I juggled it between Nathanael's nap, picking up yeast when I discovered we were out, and the Halloween event that afternoon. I ran to and fro, keeping my perspective, and enjoying Nathanael all throughout the day. We finally were sitting at the party chatting and eating and I got my first bite. I said, "Oh! Next time I need to let them raise longer. It is so dense!"
Now, this was after several people had already complemented me and Nathanael was halfway through his (the ultimate complement). Michael pointed out my comment (in light of the bay leaf) and I was so surprised! I didn't even notice.
It is now becoming part of my personal culture to say things like, "Wow. I did a really great job on this!" And then I bite my tongue when I want to add my bay leaf comment.
I realize that our public culture doesn't allow for this type of comment. It doesn't expect it. And it doesn't fit into the model of self-depreciation as humility that we frequently buy into. But as I have trusted and taken the step to believe in myself--enough to verbalize it--I have felt peace.
Stroller Giveaway
Well friends, I'm caving in. I'm posting about a giveaway simply in order to have a better chance (10 extra chances) to win it. Although there are 790 comments already and the contest doesn't close until next Friday, you will see that this has not stopped me.
So here's the fabulous item:
Wish me luck my friends.
So here's the fabulous item:
Wish me luck my friends.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
Posts
