Father's Day & Caden's birth week

My family has a longstanding tradition that one day is not enough to celebrate the birth of someone, so we have birthweeks in my house. My dad thought this up long ago & Stan has jumped on the bandwagon with both feet.

In honor of Caden & the fact that it is Father's Day, I am copying a letter that my husband wrote a friend of his a few days after Caden was born. It's long, but it tells the story of his lively birth from the interesting perspective of Dad.

Here goes...

Caden Alan arrived on Monday 6/20/2005 at 1:14pm. Weight: 8 lbs. 5 oz. Length: 21 in. Both mom and boy are doing great.

We should have known the delivery would include a rather intense moment after the pregnancy ran very smoothly.

Let me begin by saying….Praise God for ignorance. I never fully understood how serious the situation was until late Monday night. Apparently God knew I needed to stay calm, so he didn’t allow me to understand.

This is going to be a bit wordy, but I think it needs to be in order to get you in the moment.

Because of his size (mainly his head) the doctor induced a little over two weeks early. His head measured 42 weeks at 37 weeks. Most of the other measurements were also around 40 weeks.

We went in Sunday night to start the induction. They gave DeAnn a pill twice during the night to help her dilate. The Pitocin began flowing around 6am. They broke her water around 8am. She got her epidural shortly after that so she was in good spirits. She was checked every hour and was progressing nicely. At noon the nurse felt Caden’s head and estimated he would be born around 4 or 5pm. At 1pm the nurse entered the room to do the hourly vital signs check on DeAnn and see how much she had dilated. The doctor entered the room about 10 seconds behind her. She said she had walked past the monitor at the nurses’ station and noticed an irregularity so she wanted to check DeAnn.

When she checked DeAnn she said the cord had come out. Since Caden had an internal heart monitor attached to his head I thought that was what she was talking about since she said it so calmly. I looked at the monitor and saw a heartbeat so I said, “What does that mean?” She said “We are doing a c-section NOW”. I said “OK”. (Not the words of a man that understood what was going on.) We had a prolapsed cord situation. Apparently Caden moved around and something caused the umbilical cord to start coming out first.

I went and caught DeAnn’s parents at the elevator. They had been in the room with us and just left to go get something to eat. DeAnn sent me because she wanted them there. All I said was “Don’t go anywhere. The baby is coming now. Emergency c-section”. I didn’t have time to explain to them but I’m sure you could imagine how this made them feel.

When I got back to DeAnn I saw her doctor (who is about 8 months pregnant) on top of DeAnn’s bed, strattling her legs. She was holding the baby’s head off the umbilical cord. The nurse was moving at a frantic pace to get everything disconnected to get her out of the labor room and into the room for the c-section. DeAnn looked terrified so I grabbed her hand and calmly comforted her until she got into the other room where we were separated. They immediately took DeAnn to the table and asked me to stand in the corner. The doctor told me I would need to put on some scrubs so I was taken out into the hallway. The assisting doctor walked past me and said “Everything’s fine. We will have him out in two minutes”. I didn’t think anything about it.

Then a nurse asked me to move DeAnn’s labor bed back to the labor room to get it out of the way. So I did.

Then a nurse came in and spoke with me. She appeared a little frazzled and was stammering a bit. Since I was still calm (I have no idea why) I simply said “I am fine. Will I be allowed in the room with my wife?” She immediately calmed down and said if they kept DeAnn awake I would be, but not if they had to knock her out. She pointed to the scrubs on the table and told me to put them on.

I just got to the bathroom in the room to change (roughly ten seconds after the previous nurse left) when another nurse stuck her head in the room and said “The baby’s out and he’s screaming. He’s fine”. I was also assured that DeAnn was fine. They had knocked her out and the doctors were closing her. She said a nursery nurse would come get me in a few minutes.

A couple minutes later the nursery nurse came and handed me my son. I got to do all the new father things in the nursery. When we got to the glass where other people could look in, DeAnn’s mother just stared at Caden with a huge smile on her face. Her dad looked at me with a rather scared expression and mouthed “How is DeAnn?” Apparently DeAnn is a daddy’s girl. I told him she was fine. Then he smiled and couldn’t take his eyes off his new grandson.

Later Monday night we went over what had happened. I finally understood the seriousness of the situation when I saw it through DeAnn’s eyes. I had seen doctors and nurses moving quickly to perform the c-section. I simply saw them doing their job. And they were very good. From the time the doctor called for the c-section until Caden was born was less than five minutes. (We’ve debated this a little, but I had looked at the clock above the door when the doctor came in. It was 1:10pm. He was born at 1:14pm.) DeAnn had seen the looks on their faces, heard the concern in their voices, and had overheard all of the conversations going on around her. Even with all the words I’ve used to describe the situation, I cannot begin to express the emotional toll it took on her. Of course it was quickly forgotten when they handed Caden to DeAnn for the first time.

I wouldn’t wish this on anyone, but now I have an interesting story. When people ask what my job was when my son was born I can say, “I was moving a hospital bed into another room”.

All kidding aside, we are just happy Caden is healthy. We were glad to welcome him to our family.

I don't share bread

Is it wrong that, when I went to get seconds of pasta, I took my garlic bread with me so Caden wouldn't eat it?

Hmmm...

Give it to me now & nobody gets hurt

What Your Taste in Chocolate Says About You

You are sweet, mellow, and easily satisfied.
You don't like anything too intense and dramatic.
Deep down, you're a kid at heart... and you're nostalgic for the past.

You are lively, goofy, and a total blast.
You're incredibly happy, and you always are lifting spirits.

You love the feeling of accomplishment. You enjoy doing what's important.
You feel lost when you have to do frivolous tasks or hang out with shallow people.

The Chocolate Oracle

And speaking of candy - the birthday party we went to last weekend had a pinata, remember? Now this was not the pinata that we grew up with. Nobody had a stick. Nobody was blindfolded. The kids lined up in a sweet orderly line and the pinata had a bunch of strings hanging down from it.

ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS PULL THE STRING!!!

What kind of bad bull is that?

Oh, I get it. It's safer. Blah blah blah.

All I know is - it's not a party unless someone leaves crying with a black eye.

That's all I'm sayin'.

Caden's heart

Every now and then I'm reminded that Caden is his own person and no matter the expectations that I put on him, he's going to go his own way.

We went to a birthday party this morning at The Bounce, a lovingly rambunctious place filled with those big bouncy things - hence the name.

There were quite a few other kids there, most of them older than Caden, and they were running around having the time of their lives.

Not my little man.

He was a tad bit clingy, not very sociable, and not at all interested in playing on the big bouncy castles himself. He wanted to watch before he dove in to the fray.

After a while, he warmed up and started playing - running around and screaming like the other kids, and then it was time for cake.

After cake, his little friend opened her presents, and her parents brought out the Dora pinata. Candy rained down and all the kids dove in and started snatching up candy.

Not Caden.

He hung back and waited for most of the kids to get their fill before he reached down and got some of his own.

And this is what reminded me of what a sensitive heart my little man has. Sometimes he's got to make sure of his place and his surroundings before he jumps in. Sometimes the noise and chatter is just too much and he'll go off and play by himself for awhile before rejoining the group.

I am blessed beyond measure to get to hang out with such a sweet-natured boy.

First time tagged!

OK, I've been a little behind in my blogging, so it took me a couple of weeks to realize that I had been tagged by my sweet friend Jenny!


4 Jobs I've Had in My Life:
McDonalds manager - where I met the love of my life
bank teller - Frost and Nations Bank
Office assistant extraordinaire - UCS
High school English teacher - Conroe, Cameron, & now (drum roll) A&M CONSOLIDATED!!!


4 Movies I've Watched More Than Once:
Coyote Ugly - can't turn it off if I run across it on TV
Nine Months
Shawshank Redemption
The Princess Bride

4 Places I've Lived:
College Station, Texas
Bryan, Texas
Houston, Texas
Pasadena, Texas
(good thing it was only 4 b/c that's it!)

4 TV Shows I Watch/Watched:
House
Grey's Anatomy
The Biggest Loser
The Amazing Race

4 Places I've Been:
Colorado
Washington, D.C.
Las Vegas, Nevada
Pensacola, Florida


4 People Who Email Me Regularly:
Stan
Melanie
Stacey
Catrina

4 of My Favorite Foods or Restaurants
Casa Rodriguez
Taste of Texas
Stan's steak & baked potatoes
banana pudding


4 Places I Would Like to Visit:
Ireland
Italy
England
Yellowstone Nat'l Park

4 Things I am Looking Forward to in the Coming Year:
Hanging on for the ride of being the mama to a 3-year-old redheaded boy!
Teaching at A&M Consolidated
Celebrating 12 years of marital bliss with my honey
Coming to some sort of agreement with my hair

4 Websites I Visit Daily:
www.csisd.com
www.realsimple.com
www.msn.com
www.blogger.com


4 Bloggers I'm Tagging:
If your name is listed below feel free to join in the fun and participate!


Amanda
Shannon
Andrea
Leslie

So close...

Thanks for a wonderful season, ladies. Gibson - you're the greatest.

I will miss you!!!!!

Cameron - Yoe High School - Class of 2008


Yoe High School English department

City boy goes country

This past weekend was a big one for the Cade-man. He was my prom date on Saturday

& on Sunday he got to go to the country fair held at our church.


I was more scared than he was, I think. He wouldn't pet the horse, but he was bound and determined to get on and ride. His little face was set in complete determination. All the way home, he kept talking about the horse.

I can't believe he's almost three...

Life lessons on Racheal Ray

I was watching Racheal Ray the other day (see what I did there?) and she had Leah Remini on from King of Queens on. It was interesting because she wasn't interviewing her so much as sharing her story about her daughter.

See, her daughter is 3 1/2 and is STILL ON THE BOTTLE!!

She made many self-deprecating remarks about how she and her husband are horrible parents and they do everything wrong. For instance, her daughter has THREE rooms, yet where does she sleep? Right between Mommy & Daddy in their bed.

Not only that, but she goes through SIX bottles filled with water every night. Six bottles every hour or two - all night long.

Leah made the comment that she's very consistent; she gives in all the time. She seemed proud of the fact that her daughter ruled the house.

She kept saying that she had to "follow her heart" and having her daughter cry because she wanted the bottle seemed wrong. "After all", she said, "what could it hurt?"

She talked to her pediatrician who only addressed the fact that most children are off of the bottle by 12-18 months. (Remini was aghast at that and didn't seem to believe it.) She even let a 'regular' mom come in and give her some pointers about taking the nipple off of the bottle and giving it to her daughter that way.

It didn't work. Remini couldn't bear to listen to her daughter cry. She was happy at least that they went through 2 less bottles that night. Nobody informed her that the daughter still won.

What struck me through the whole show - and what nobody else was saying - was the real issue wasn't bottles; it was who was in charge. The daughter is indeed ruling the house and her parents seem oblivious that this shouldn't be the case. She has figured out how to get her way and she has become a master manipulator in the process.

Don't get me wrong - I don't blame the child one bit. She's figured out how to get her own way and her parents are reinforcing this message every minute of the day.

I see a burgeoning Paris Hilton in our midst.

My new hobby

There have been some really good comments on the "Hospitals are our friends" post. If you haven't read the post or the comments, please take some time to check it out.

And I always welcome comments!

Change of pace now.

So I'm at the gym this morning at the unholy hour of 5:15am. I know, I know, I'm weird. But if it doesn't get done in the morning, it doesn't get done.

I am a completely inappropriate people watcher! That is what I've learned about myself in the past month since joining the gym. I cannot stop watching other people.

There's a guy there who is strangely flexible. He leans over with his feet out and puts his face between his knees so it is touching the mat. Meanwhile I'm struggling at an 84 degree angle. I look like I'm merely resting, while my hamstrings are on fire. Sweet mother.

I always wonder what people are up to when I see them at the gym. Where do they work? What time do they have to be there? How long have they been working out? Is their spouse taking care of the kiddoes? Do they return the favor in the afternoon and let him/her work out then?

There's a few older women who are there regularly in the morning. I think that's awesome and I hope I'm in that good of shape when I'm their age. Heck - they're kicking my tail now and I'm probably thirty years younger than they are!

It's a good thing I'm so self-confident because if I see one more 7-month-pregnant woman kicking my booty on the elliptical machine, I'm going to scream! So far the count is up to three. I had no idea so many pregnant women - REALLY pregnant women - worked out so hard on the cardio. I think Stan walked around the block with me a few times and that was it. Of course, that thinking is probably what got me so out of shape in the first place!

I would do it completely differently

My wedding, that is.

I wouldn't have the extremely traditional wedding dress. I got married in July for pete's sake & I had the whole poufy shoulders, long sleeves, and cathedral train.

Good grief.

I wouldn't have the corkscrew curls that hairdressers do so generically. I would have something more soft and natural - more me.

I wouldn't get married inside of a church. I would do it outside under some trees and near water. Not sure where this perfect location is (or how much it would cost!) but I would definitely try to find it.

I would get married in the evening. The July sun was a killer and under a shade tree at 8:00 would've been much better.

I wouldn't care how my bridesmaids did their hair. I can't believe I wasted valuable time worrying and thinking about that.

For that matter, I wouldn't care about their dresses. I would give them a color and tell them to go get what they wanted.

I would've had a 'food' reception. We were trying to save money, but if I could do it over again, I would have some kind of buffet set up - again, very casual.

Anything you would do differently???

Uncle Terry uncled his nose...

Isn't Anezka's little dutch girl dress precious???

Saturday was one of those days to relax, reconnect, and laugh with family. We had a blast at my in-laws' house. We got to spend time with Stan's sister, Sheila - not an easy feat since she married a navy man. We got to laugh at Gerrit, Caden's older cousin by 4 months - he and Caden had fun running around being silly. And we got to snuggle with Anezka, the newest cousin, who's 6 months old.

We found out when we got there that Uncle Terry and Gerrit had been in a go-cart accident a few days before. Uncle Terry had stitches in his nose (hence the title; that's what Caden said today when I asked him if he had fun yesterday!) and Gerrit hurt his right arm a bit. He didn't want to use it too much, but then he and Caden would get to wrestling and he would forget that it was hurt.

The goal was to get all of the grandkids together for a nice picture before Sheila and Terry move to Washington (state), but alas, the two older cousins had prior commitments. So...we decked the remaining 3 out and snapped pictures outside my in-laws' house. It was a hoot. A 3-year-old, a 2 1/2-year-old, and a 6-month-old - can you imagine? We'd get one set up and looking good and then Caden or Gerrit would jump up to see what the picture we had just taken looked like. Sheila was trying to hold Anezka because Caden and Gerrit were having none of it. Gerrit didn't want to get dirty so we couln't put them in front of the tree. Nobody would be still and smile at the same time, and the adults barely got in any good pictures because we were laughing so hard!

I miss spending quality time with that part of the family and I wish they lived closer - BUT! - it is fun to travel and visit them wherever they are stationed. So far, we've made it to Pensacola, FL; Charleston, SC; and Memphis, TN. We had tickets to go to Connecticut to see them there, but that was the day after the BIIIG power outage across the country and it was a big rigamarow, so we had to cancel that trip. I'm still a bit bitter.

So...even though we wished they lived closer, we are already planning the Washington trip to go visit them!

We love you Uncle Terry, Aunt Sheila, silly Gerrit, and snuggly Anezka! We'll see you soon!!!