4 weeks left

I found out...

1. It is good to take Folic Acid vitamins if you plan on ever becoming pregnant.
2. Squatting while delivering your baby may give you a five pointed star in an area
you don't want it.
3. Contractions are normal during the last few weeks of preganancy during a
movement.

My baby's heart rate was 158 today. Hmmm... Any ideas as to what gender the baby will be. Early in preganancy, a lot of people thought I was going to have a girl. Recently, many people changed their minds to a boy. What's your thought? We'll find out soon : )

Grandma L. in Vermont

My Grandma L. went back to the hospital again today. We're praying she gets the arotic valve repaired and is back to her old self again soon : ) We definitely don't want her sent home without anything done like a couple days ago.

Thanks for your prayers.

Baby Nephew, Colin

Colin is pronounced the French way. For us English people, we pronounce Culin the way the French pronounce Colin. I learned that lesson yesterday : )

In any case, Colin was placed in ICU either last night or early this morning. He had an IV in him, not to be confused with IVY, and oxygen tubes in his nose. This afternoon, I was informed Colin is off oxygen and eating. Both great news! He is scheduled to go home Monday. Mom, Sonya, is scheduled to be released tomorrow although she'll be living at the hospital still to take care of her baby and feed him.

I believe the reason for the complications was due to breathing in/swallowing fluid
during labor. I guess that is more common than I realized.

Thank you for all your prayers, and please keep them coming : )

Price of Children

I didn't write this, but I had to share it : )

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The government recently calculated the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 and came up with $160,140.00 for a middle income family. Talk about price shock! That doesn't even touch college tuition.

But $160,140.00 isn't so bad if you break it down. It translates into:

* $8,896.66 a year,
* $741.38 a month,
* $171.08 a week.
* A mere $24.24 a day!
* Just over a dollar an hour.

Still, you might think the best financial advice is; don't have children if you want to be 'rich.' Actually, it is just the opposite.

What do you get for your $160,140.00?

* Naming rights .. First, middle, and last!
* Glimpses of God every day.
* Giggles under the covers every night.
* More love than your heart can hold.
* Butterfly kisses and Velcro hugs.
* Endless wonder over rocks, ants, clouds, and warm cookies.
* A hand to hold usually covered with jelly or chocolate.
* A partner for blowing bubbles and flying kites.
* Someone to laugh yourself silly with, no matter what the boss said or how your stocks performed that day.

For $160,140.00, you never have to grow up. You get to:

* finger-paint,
* carve pumpkins,
* play hide-and-seek,
* catch lightning bugs,
* never stop believing in Santa Claus.

You have an excuse to:

* keep reading the Adventures of Piglet and Pooh,
* watch Saturday morning cartoons,
* go to Disney movies, and
* wish on stars.

You get to frame rainbows, hearts, and flowers under refrigerator magnets and collect spray painted noodle wreaths for Christmas, hand prints set in clay for Mother's Day, and cards with backward letters for Father's Day.

For a mere $24.24 a day, there is no greater bang for your buck. You get to be a hero just for:

* retrieving a Frisbee off the garage roof,
* taking the training wheels off a bike,
* removing a splinter,
* filling a wading pool,
* coaxing a wad of gum out of bangs, and
* coaching a baseball team that never wins but always gets treated to ice cream regardless.

You get a front row seat in history to witness the:

* First step,
* First word,
* First bra,
* First date,
* First time behind the wheel.

You get to be immortal. You get another branch added to your family tree, and if you're lucky, a long list of limbs in your obituary called grandchildren and great grandchildren. You get an education in psychology, nursing, criminal justice, communications, and human sexuality that no college can match..

In the eyes of a child, you rank right up there under God. You have all the power to heal a boo-boo, scare away the monsters under the bed, patch a broken heart, police a slumber party, ground them forever, and love them without limits, so one day they will, like you, love without counting the cost.
That is quite a deal for the price!!!!!!!

Love & enjoy your children & grandchildren & great-grandchildren!!!!!!!
It's the best investment you'll ever make!!!!!!!!!

Baby Nephew Born Today

I got to hold my nephew's hand today. He was born around 11:45 am today - 5 lbs 11 oz 18 1/2 inches

He is having some issues getting enough oxygen due to drinking too much fluid during delivery, and his heartrate is too high. Please keep him in prayer.

He is beautiful : )

OB Appointment

Baby is head down and far down at that : ) Doc. confirmed that the baby's gender that was written in an envelope I still have yet to open or find : ) is correct. Amniotic fluid is good.

I told my doc. about the dream I recently had delivering my baby in the toilet. He then told me about a true story of a woman recently at a hospital. She thought she had to take a dump but ended up delivering her baby in the toilet. My doc. interupted the story to ask me what the first thing you should do if you deliver your baby in a toilet. I said get the baby out of the toilet. He agreed but told me the mother just stood their screaming while the baby's head was in the water. People came running in and took the baby out of the toilet and resuscitated him/her. Wow! I know mine was only a dream, but I am SO glad I grabbed my baby out of the toilet as soon as I realized what happened.

I am so excited! My baby will be out and in my arms soon : )

Baby Boy

Last night my husband gave me a perenial massage. Shortly after, I had to pee. To my horror, I saw a lot of blood. Then the baby was born right into the toilet. I reached right in and grabbed him out. Yes, him. A beautiful 8 lb baby boy. He was as white as white can be with a ton of black curly hair. A few minutes later, I woke up.

Thankful

One of my brothers, Gregor, and his family were safe on vacation when their house burnt down last night. Their dog, Molly, didn't make it out alive even though she had a doggy door. My mom thinks there is a good chance the family could have been hurt or worse. They have really good insurance, thankfully. But they'll have to start from scratch with everything they lost. Still, I am so thankful they are alive and well. They are wonderful people, and I am so blessed to have them as part of my life.

The Rain Has Hopefully Stopped

Bob is out of the hospital and doing well : ) He just needs to take it easy and rest a LOT!!!

Sonya and baby are doing well. The accident doesn't seem to have done any damage : )

Yesterday some friends were in a car accident on the way to my baby shower. Other than a messed up car and seatbelt bruising, they are doing well : )

Just so you know, no one else, family or friend, is allowed to have any more "accidents". I don't know if I can handle any more issues.

Baby's Kicking

Wow! Baby's been kicking like crazy today. It started around 2 am. I was laying on my side sleeping when it felt like baby started standing up and pushing. Both sides of my ribs were being attacked at the same time. Ow! It took me about 2 more hours before I could fall asleep again. During those two hours, I was thankful it was spring break and I didn't have to work the next day. Well, I had a rude awakening this morning realizing spring break is next week not this week.

All day today he's been beating me up, but I'm loving it. I could actually see him moving. I'm so excited! Others should be able to feel him now too : )

When it Rains it Pours

My step father, Bob, went to the hospital due to two hours worth of "indigestion" which turned out to be a minor heart attack. He went into surgery. Two of the bypasses were blocked. He's in ICU tonight due to his blood pressure not being at a level they were ok with. He'll probably be in the hospital for a couple days.

We found out this morning that Bob had a massive heart attack, not a minor one. However, he is doing much better today. I took off work today to spend it with my mom and Bob. We were able to see Bob a couple of times. It was definitely good for the soul to see him. He is a good guy, and I am looking forward to seeing him out of the hospital once again : ) It turns out his veins and arteries are smaller than normal. And the vein they took from his leg to do the bypass is larger than the arteries it was attached too. That was the cause of the blood clots. They put two stents in those bypasses. I'm believing that the bypasses and arteries become one as if they were made for each other. God is good, and He is a miracle worker. I won't ask how. I'll just be extremely thankful : )

Then I find out, Sonya, my sister-in-law was in an accident around 3 pm today. She and baby are fine, but still. Everyone was stopped until a truck ran into the vehicle behind her which was pushed into her vehicle which pushed her vehicle into the vehicle in front of her. The driver of the truck jumped out as soon as it happened and took off running. Sonya was taken to the hospital just to make sure all was well. She feels fine now, but the pain usually sets in the next day.

I found out today that Sonya didn't get released until 8:30 this morning. They were monitoring the baby's heartbeat. If Sonya or the baby moved, the information would be inaccurate. With that and the change of shifts, it took forever. Blake spent the night with her. They didn't really get to sleep with nurses coming in every hour and the nonstop beeping. She went to her ob appointment, but the doctor wasn't there. She has to wait until next week to find out the induction date. However, the nurses at the hospital think the reason for the induction is the amount of amniotic fluid. Sonya said it's a normal amount but on the low side of normal.

Please keep them both in prayer.

Baby Nephew

Please keep Sonya, my sister-in-law, and baby Colin in prayer. He's rushing his debut, but he really needs to remain in his incubator for a few more weeks. We're praying he waits until March 24th. Thank you for your prayers.