okay, so I should have posted this first, but my brain was on BABY and not on Posting!
Bree Caitlan arrived at 10:12 yesterday morning(May 29). She was 6 lbs 11 oz and 19.5 inches long. She came after 6 weeks of bed rest for our daughter who stayed with us 4 nights and two days each week, along with our 23 mo old granddaughter. Daniel’s parents took care of them two days a week at their home, and Daddy was in charge on the weekends. Daniel joined us for dinner sometimes too. He’s a good Daddy, but their staying here made it easier on everyone – sleep wise for Daniel, rest for Aud, and easier playtimes with Brooke - while we were still being able to tend to things here at home.
Miss Bree arrived not breathing, but quickly became the loudest kid in the nursery. Once all the docs and nurses finished fooling with her, she settled right down to sleeping. When she awoke, she began cooing at everyone. No one can resist smiling when a newborn ‘speaks.’ She’s in her room with her mommy and daddy now, resting on mommy’s chest and nursing well. We’re taking Brooke to see her baby sister today. That will be a treat for us all!
Ah yes, I was there for the delivery while Angela babysat Brooke at home. Yep, that’s a Best thing about being married to a T again!
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Baby Bree Has Arrived
May 29 a brand new person suddenly was, who never was before! (That's a line from the musical "I DO! I DO" based on the play The Four Poster). Her name is Bree Caitlan, and, of course, she's adorable! She was born cesarean, and she wasn’t breathing, which gave us quite a scare. “This is normal,” said the docs, as everyone else worried while they worked over her little body. There was a lusty cry after a few minutes, and we all smiled. She continued to howl for a good fifteen minutes while she was poked and prodded, measured, weighed, and put through all the required tests.
She came home on the first of June, and settled right into the routine of home life. She slept through dinner, so we all had a nice repast. Then she awoke and demanded her fair share. She’s an excellent breast feeder, unlike her sister, who had a difficult first week learning how that worked. Brooke was a month premature, so that was the primary reason for that problem.
Brooke has taken to her little sister completely. She’s offering to share her blanket, which is a real coup for Bree, since Brooke will hardly let her “blankie” out of sight!
Welcome, little Bree!
She came home on the first of June, and settled right into the routine of home life. She slept through dinner, so we all had a nice repast. Then she awoke and demanded her fair share. She’s an excellent breast feeder, unlike her sister, who had a difficult first week learning how that worked. Brooke was a month premature, so that was the primary reason for that problem.
Brooke has taken to her little sister completely. She’s offering to share her blanket, which is a real coup for Bree, since Brooke will hardly let her “blankie” out of sight!
Welcome, little Bree!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Things couldn't get any stranger
It all started around 9 p.m.:
I was getting the baby ready for bed.
Our daughter, who’s been confined to bed rest through the last couple months of her pregnancy, was having contractions again.
Angela was going to bed to read. She was also having some having some indigestion/angina discomfort, and so she was monitoring her blood pressure. It was a little high.
10 p.m. rolled around and -
the baby began what was to become an intestinal episode.
Angela’s blood pressure was suddenly quite high(!)
Aud’s contractions got closer together.
11 p.m. and all H--- broke loose:
We headed for the emergency room, and checked in at Children’s Hospital
I warned the nurse practitioner that we had “a couple other problems going on.”
She said, “We have a full service emergency room, but we’ll probably transfer both of them to their regular hospital - if there’s time.”
I was seeing myself having to leave the baby at the hospital so I could take both Angela and Audra to another hospital – Aud to have the baby and Angela with another heart episode.
Because the baby was in distress, we were quickly upgraded and taken in to see the doctor.
Aud’s contractions were now 2 minutes apart, but when she lays down with the baby, the contractions lessoned.
Thankfully, Angela's blood pressure began to settle down.
Midnight
The granddaughter was diagnosed with an intestinal blockage after being seen by the doctor and having X-rays.
1 a.m.
The baby gets meds and soon appears to be on the road to recovery; Aud's contractions continued to lessen; and Angela was finally okay.
2 a.m. The blockage was taken care of, and all was well.
3 a.m. We checked out of the emergency room and returned home
4 a.m. Everyone went to bed.
6:30 a.m. Our alarms went off – It was time to get ready to take Audra to her 8 a.m. OB appointment.
Angela handled breakfast, and off they went while Brooke and I slept in until 8 a.m.
It’s great to have a T for a spouse! (Yes, Angela has an appointment to see her heart specialist next week!)
I was getting the baby ready for bed.
Our daughter, who’s been confined to bed rest through the last couple months of her pregnancy, was having contractions again.
Angela was going to bed to read. She was also having some having some indigestion/angina discomfort, and so she was monitoring her blood pressure. It was a little high.
10 p.m. rolled around and -
the baby began what was to become an intestinal episode.
Angela’s blood pressure was suddenly quite high(!)
Aud’s contractions got closer together.
11 p.m. and all H--- broke loose:
We headed for the emergency room, and checked in at Children’s Hospital
I warned the nurse practitioner that we had “a couple other problems going on.”
She said, “We have a full service emergency room, but we’ll probably transfer both of them to their regular hospital - if there’s time.”
I was seeing myself having to leave the baby at the hospital so I could take both Angela and Audra to another hospital – Aud to have the baby and Angela with another heart episode.
Because the baby was in distress, we were quickly upgraded and taken in to see the doctor.
Aud’s contractions were now 2 minutes apart, but when she lays down with the baby, the contractions lessoned.
Thankfully, Angela's blood pressure began to settle down.
Midnight
The granddaughter was diagnosed with an intestinal blockage after being seen by the doctor and having X-rays.
1 a.m.
The baby gets meds and soon appears to be on the road to recovery; Aud's contractions continued to lessen; and Angela was finally okay.
2 a.m. The blockage was taken care of, and all was well.
3 a.m. We checked out of the emergency room and returned home
4 a.m. Everyone went to bed.
6:30 a.m. Our alarms went off – It was time to get ready to take Audra to her 8 a.m. OB appointment.
Angela handled breakfast, and off they went while Brooke and I slept in until 8 a.m.
It’s great to have a T for a spouse! (Yes, Angela has an appointment to see her heart specialist next week!)
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Dinner and a movie
No, it wasn’t a date; yes, it was Dinner and a Movie.
We worked our behinds off today. Angela worked on more projects than I have fingers for – hardware for new drapes, cleaning house, doing the laundry, making a few store runs for her projects’ necessities and half a dozen other etceteras. I worked outside all day, mowing, planting, killing weeds, trimming bushes and working in the garden in 90+-degree heat. Dumb, huh? When I stopped at 5 p.m. I was beat – too tired actually. So she fixed dinner and let me cool off with a drink and a catch up on the daily national news. She also added yet another run to the store, this time it was to KFC for their coleslaw - just because I like it. She picked out a movie we both love, and we snuggled up on the couch and watched it together. What more could I ask for? So, here’s another Best Thing About Being Married to a T!
We worked our behinds off today. Angela worked on more projects than I have fingers for – hardware for new drapes, cleaning house, doing the laundry, making a few store runs for her projects’ necessities and half a dozen other etceteras. I worked outside all day, mowing, planting, killing weeds, trimming bushes and working in the garden in 90+-degree heat. Dumb, huh? When I stopped at 5 p.m. I was beat – too tired actually. So she fixed dinner and let me cool off with a drink and a catch up on the daily national news. She also added yet another run to the store, this time it was to KFC for their coleslaw - just because I like it. She picked out a movie we both love, and we snuggled up on the couch and watched it together. What more could I ask for? So, here’s another Best Thing About Being Married to a T!
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Busy waiting - how about you.
No, I haven't been sitting on my backside, but I have been waiting around. Our daughter is 34 weeks into a problematic pregnancy and has been restricted to bed rest. Angela and I have been babysitting our granddaughter, sometimes at our home, and some times at our daughter and son-in-law’s. It’s amazing how busy a 22 month old can be. It’s also amazing how busy she's kept us. Our daughter and granddaughter have come over each Monday evening and returned home on Friday morning when Daniel's parents take over for the day. How do we work out our schedules? We compliment each other by using our strengths - Angela’s a morning person, and I’m a night owl. I do the middle of the night (2 and 4 a.m.) wake ups that usually amount to a few pats on the back, a couple ounces of milk and an occasional diaper change. Angela takes over the early morning wake up call (5:30 or 6 a.m., which is a bit early for her, but she manages just fine). She changes Brooke and gives her breakfast. That allows our daughter and me to sleep in. We both fetch and carry for our daughter and have a ball playing with Brooke. So yep, here’s another Best Thing About Being Married to a T. On our "off days" we mow the lawn, clean the house, take care of bills and otherwise sleep in. Meanwhile, we wait and stay VERY Busy! - All Day. There'll be a new baby "soon." We just don't know "how soon."
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Laughing together
It was one of those days when both of us had long job jar lists, were tired from a prior day of tree cutting, and our minds were fretting about our granddaughter's continuing bout with a stomach flu. We carefully managed each job and were actually feeling pretty good about whittling down our lists.
About mid-afternoon, we both seemed to run out of brainpower, I guess. I was mowing the back yard when Angela stepped outside onto the patio and motioned for me to ‘pull over and turn off the mower’. I did. She walked over with a big grin on her face. “You’d probably have more success,” she said, “if you put the blade down.” I looked at the yard and realized I hadn’t taken off more than a half inch of grass. I looked at Angela’s broad smile, put the blade down and broke out in guffaws. She joined me. She soon returned inside and I started the mower.
I put away the lawn tractor and headed into the house. The sweeper was going, so I walked in to report that her suggestion had resulted in a nicely cut lawn. I reached the hall and stopped dead in my tracks. Angela was sweeping the laundry room with the wand. The body of our upright Kirby stood at the doorway facing into the room. Dust and small debris the dogs had brought in was puffing out from the zipper area. A small, but growing, pile was forming in the hallway. A grin spread across my face as I stepped into the laundry room and tapped her on the shoulder. I waited for her to turn off the sweeper and then said, “I think you forgot to put the bag in the sweeper.” I pointed into the hall. She looked at the little pyramid of dust in the hallway and broke into a giggling fit. Ten minutes later, she was sucking up the mess with the shop-vac and heading to the Kirby store for replacement bags.
I love these times when we’ve caught each other in little boo-boos and can laugh together at our foibles. Ah yes, it's another Best Thing About Being Married to a T!
About mid-afternoon, we both seemed to run out of brainpower, I guess. I was mowing the back yard when Angela stepped outside onto the patio and motioned for me to ‘pull over and turn off the mower’. I did. She walked over with a big grin on her face. “You’d probably have more success,” she said, “if you put the blade down.” I looked at the yard and realized I hadn’t taken off more than a half inch of grass. I looked at Angela’s broad smile, put the blade down and broke out in guffaws. She joined me. She soon returned inside and I started the mower.
I put away the lawn tractor and headed into the house. The sweeper was going, so I walked in to report that her suggestion had resulted in a nicely cut lawn. I reached the hall and stopped dead in my tracks. Angela was sweeping the laundry room with the wand. The body of our upright Kirby stood at the doorway facing into the room. Dust and small debris the dogs had brought in was puffing out from the zipper area. A small, but growing, pile was forming in the hallway. A grin spread across my face as I stepped into the laundry room and tapped her on the shoulder. I waited for her to turn off the sweeper and then said, “I think you forgot to put the bag in the sweeper.” I pointed into the hall. She looked at the little pyramid of dust in the hallway and broke into a giggling fit. Ten minutes later, she was sucking up the mess with the shop-vac and heading to the Kirby store for replacement bags.
I love these times when we’ve caught each other in little boo-boos and can laugh together at our foibles. Ah yes, it's another Best Thing About Being Married to a T!
Friday, April 3, 2009
Hormones don't change everything or My T has a boo-boo
Hormones don't change everything. Angela still has that thing about not going to doctors that most guys have. So, while working on installing the new sink, she got a boo-boo - a scratch from a staple. It didn't bleed much, and it didn't seem serious, so she didn't worry about it. A couple of days later, she showed me that the area seemed to have become infected. I suggested she open it up and give it a good cleaning out, which she promptly ignored. Well, it got worse. I know that doesn't come as a big surprise to most of you, but it did to her. We left for our RV trip on Thursday, and by then, it had begun to show little spots of puss through the pores of her skin in the growing area of infection. By this morning, the area that had been about the size of a silver dollar, had grown to encompass the better part of her forearm. So, we headed for the local emergency room. We were shown to a room quickly, and Angela was immediately put on an antibiotic drip. She was also given antibiotics in pill form. The drip took a tad over an hour, and when it was all done, we headed for the local drugstore to fill the prescription. All is well, and her arm is already looking better. She has felt fine through all of this, but she will have to hear a few, "I told you sos" from me over not taking care of her injury when it happened AND NOT GOING TO THE DOCTOR when it starting looking bad! So, hormones may change many things, but it doesn't change hat old "no need to see a doctor" attitude. I still have the perfect T, but I have to warn you, Hormones Don't Change Everything!
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