Life :: An Update

Well, it has happened. The end has come. No more halycon summer days. Winter has reared her head, beautiful though it may be, and eaten away the last of the warmth.

Oh well.

I guess the snow is pretty.

(ahem. obviously we have hit the time of year that I do no particularly claim as my favorite)

Anyways.

So, here I sit with my second cup of coffee (why is it so much harder to get the ratio of coffee to cream right with the second cup?), listening to Rat Pack radio on Pandora. Grateful for today, as it is much better than yesterday, when I was taken down with an awful stomach bug (and no, that is not a coy way of mentioning morning sickness. it was definitely a bug!).

Anyways, I thought I should commemorate this first snow of the season with a brief update on what is happening in this happy* little household in the middle of the South Dakota prairie.

*happy = giggly, whiny, temper-tantrumy, snuggly, etc etc etc

Drew:

-He is 3 and an ultimate threenager. Sassy, saucy, and mouthy. But sweet, funny, and smart!
-Started Head Start this fall, which means we have an awesome teacher come to our house once a week to teach him one on one (which, really is two on one, because of course Will wants to learn too!), and then he gets to go play with the other kiddos twice a month. He LOVES it all.
-Also started Sunday School, which is the highlight of his week next to preschool.
-Has quite an imagination. He has started setting up all these different scenarios, and he converses with all sorts of people that only he can see. Sometimes it comes across a bit Gollum-ish as he takes different sides to the same debate, but it's cute!
-Is very helpful, often running to get stuff for sister for me.
-Loves all things farming, including moving bales with the tractor (in real life and in pretend play) and cows (milking them with daddy and grandpa, etc), and talking about Grandma B's horses and donkeys. Also, watching movies.
-Is still small, but has managed to stay on the charts for the past year or so, so we are down to just every 6 month check-ups. Still super picky, and mostly lives on chocolate milk and peanut butter and meat.
-Is mostly potty trained!
-Has entered the questioning/'why' stage of life, much to the chagrin of his parents. One of his favorite questions to ask lately is 'are you SURE you want to keep that baby?' in reference to his baby sister (the answer is yes, yes I am sure buddy).

Will:

-He is 2 and showing it in every way! Independence-seeking, vocab increasing, wanting his own way getting.
-Slightly quirky, and I love it! Often is found with socks on his hands, or boots over his footie pajamas, or wearing a helmet in the car.
-Gets his way a bit too often with a flash of his big blue eyes and his heart-melting smile.
-Loves loves loves tractors, cows, Curious George, daddy, and grandpa.
-Mostly easy-going and will often go along with what Drew tells him to do. But has plenty of stubbornness and will dig in his heels when he wants to.
-Lives in his own little world of being a tractor, often picking up 'bales' (wooden blocks) and moving them around the house using his hands as the gear shift and the bucket.
-Has such a fun way of speaking ('tupper time!' for supper time, 'by turn' for my turn, 'bove you' for love you, 'haymers' for Sammers, our cat)

Lucy:

-She is 6 months old, no matter how much we try to deny it.
-Is ready to start eating real food, if the way she watches us like a hawk while we eat is any indication.
-Rolls all over the living room, playing with whatever toy meets her fancy.
-Is still a bit shaky on the whole sitting thing, but she's getting it!
-Is a pretty chill baby, unless she's tired. But she will just play and play and watch her brothers for hours. It's lovely.
-Loves her brothers and find them endlessly amusing, especially when they are throwing fits because then they're dynamic.
-Is our most talky baby, often cooing and growling. Will definitely put her brothers in their place if they need it!
-Still a mama's girl, but she loves her daddy and lights up when he comes in the room.
-Won't take a bottle, so she gets to spend most of her time with mommy.

-Luke is busy busy busy with his full time job, raising pheasants for a local preserve, and working for a neighbor.
-I am busy with managing my childrens' schedules. I also am a member of the Policy Council for Head Start, which involves several meetings a month.
-We also are blessed with family, friends and a community that gets us out and about on a regular basis. We are not ones to thrive on busyness, but it seems to find us anyways.
-We have also become those people that marvel at how fast time is passing, and how fast our children are growing.

Well, that is us in a nutshell. Still here, still thriving.

on this Friday::

I am ...

believing random pictures of my kiddos are an integral part of this random blog post

believing in extra snuggles, extra kisses, extra apologies.

believing in this life we have built together, the two of us side by side, BFFEAE, no matter what.

believing that my children are the most beautiful, smartest, sweetest, rascal-ist children in the whole wide world (but I am more than a little biased, so take that with a grain of salt).

believing that I can push myself forward, even if day by day it doesn't feel like it.

believing that movie nights are not complete without popcorn and hot tamales.

believing that sunshine cures many ills. as does sleep. and food. because there is nothing worse than being hangry!

Currently:

administering kisses to a little boy's head who is sitting on my lap while I type this (to which he says 'thank you but your face is yucky')

elbow-deep cleaning up this house of ours so we can start this weekend on a happy note

speed-reading this book so I can finish the trilogy without having to renew my library books AGAIN

vacillating about whether or not to buy new clothes for family pictures

borrowing this book from my mom

missing spending fall in MN

craving pop. always pop.

eating whatever is the easiest and quickest thing to grab, even if that happens to be a fun-size Twix bar.

thinking about what craft projects I want to put time and effort into

loving that my husband is the perfect husband for me

praying for eyes to see the gifts He has given me

gearing up for starting a new season of life that is going to involve going to board meetings and using my adult brain

wishing for contentment that settles into my bones

inspiration for this blog post from Kathleen and Nora

Lucy Jo :: What's In A Name

With our boys, we really struggled to name them. Especially with Drew. We dragged that process out as long as we possibly could!

But, obviously, we prevailed and named our children. And we remain happy with what we named them.

Drew Solon, meaning bold and courageous wise one.

Will Bennett, meaning blessed strong protector.

Not only do their names have great meaning, but they are also named after great men, our dads. Luke's dad's middle name is Andrew and my dad's name is Willard.

While I didn't set out on this naming journey with the idea that I would name my children after our families, I love that we ended up doing that. Since both grandpas were covered, that just left the grandmas. And so we played around with their names, and quickly came up with a combination of their middle names that we loved: Lucy Jo.

(Luke's mom's middle name is Lucille and my mom's middle name is Jo)

So, we knew even before we were pregnant that we would most likely name our first little girl Lucy Jo. Then, at our 20 week ultrasound when we found out that it was indeed a girl, that just solidified our choice. However, as a commitment-phobe, I did not fully fully commit to naming her that until she was born. But, when she came out and they asked if we had a name, it felt right. And the longer she is part of our family, the more Lucy she becomes.

Lucy Jo, meaning beloved light.

(and in a weird coincidence, I love that all 3 kids have names that are 4 letters and short for another name. and that the last letter of drew is the beginning of will and the last letter of will is the beginning of lucy. having a harder time coming up with a name that starts with y, so we might have to break that cycle, but still fun in my nerdy brain!)

a random Wednesday in August

we have been taken down by the plague. it has been two weeks of coughs, cries, fevers, and runny noses. I succumbed a week ago, and it has been rough. last night I spent most of the night coughing, which means I don't sleep well, and neither does Luke.

it's not a great way to end a summer.

and as a result, I feel behind on everything. my house suffers, my eating habits suffer, working out is a joke, the bookwork I do for my brother is not done promptly or extremely thoroughly, and it's all I can to keep the boys alive, let alone keep them on a prompt schedule and diet.

and the worst thing? I don't get to interact with many people. my in-laws are stuck with us, so they get to share in our germs. but, I was raised that if you're contagious, you don't go anywhere unless you have to. not to church, not to hang out with people, etc. I had to cancel a playdate I had really been looking forward to two weeks ago, and I haven't been able to reschedule because she has a wee one I don't want exposed to this. and our good friends just had a brand new baby girl I can't wait to get my baby-craving mitts on, but I had to stay a good 5 feet away when we went to see her. I want to be able to bring them meals and help out, but I can't. and there's another little baby I need to get myself up to MN to see pronto, but can't, because, once again, plague.

ugh.

so, we have been spending lots of time watching Gilmore Girls and Curious George (watch da monkey! is a common refrain heard from my 2 year old), drinking hot Chai, and just feeling cruddy.

I'm over it. time to get well, time to finally enjoy the last vestiges of this summer, weird weather and all.

speaking of weird weather, my toddler is all confused as to proper weather attire. last week it was quite chilly, which maaaaaybe explains his choice of wearing two winter hats on a 90 degree day?

the boots are an all weather accessory however. he can put them on himself, and mommy is all over that!

What I Want To Remember

 All those cliches are cliches for a reason right?

Time is fleeting. They grow up so fast. The days are long but the years are short. 

Yada yada yada.

So, these are the things I want to remember about my kiddos right now.

Drew (2 yrs and 2 months):

Daddy teaching him to ride his 'micycle'

 -the way he says 'fuve you' when we tell him we love him
-the cuddles he needs with mommy in the morning when he's trying to wake up
-how much he loves his lovey, who he calls 'fuvey'
-how much he loves his 'papa' 'mas' and 'dranma' 'dranpa' (Luke's parents and my parents respectively)
-how he will happily watch 'horsies' for hours, which is what he calls my mom's eventing DVDs. 1998 Rolex is his current favorite.
-his '1,2, 3 GO' before he takes off running or jumping
-the way he runs with his shoulders all scrunched up, pumping his arms and swinging his little bum from side to side

                                          

-listening to him learn new words everyday, and start to use them in his sentences. we currently hear about how he 'throbs up' (throws up) several times a day (he really doesn't do that much anymore. but enough that he knows what its called).

-his extreme love for 'movies'. he loves Baby Einstein Baby MacDonald and World Animals and Curious George.

-his little peanut size. he is still about 6 months behind, so he's the size of an 18 month old.

-his love for all things farm, and watching him 'feed my cows hay with tractor and wagon' multiple times a day or listening to him ask to 'milk tows' with 'papa and daddee'

-how he is super outgoing/talkative at home, but stares down strangers with a death glare

-listening to him greet daddy when he comes home 'hi daddee!'

-how much he LOVES being outside, and will happily bomb around for hours at a time

-his excitement about life

Will (9 1/2 months):

     

-his big blue eyes that capture everyone he meets
-his big smile and contagious giggles
-the way he sucks in air over and over again very loudly when he gets really happy
-the way he books it crawling to get to whoever he is excited to see, who is mostly daddy right now
-his sweet cuddles
-the way he eats and eats and eats
-his easy going personality, unless Drew takes his toy
-listening to his motor run
-the way he burrows into his lovey or our shoulder and then comes out with a big ole' shy grin
-how much he loves hanging out outside, eating dirt, rocks and grass  
-the way he has conversations with you - he'll say a syllable (ta or ba), you repeat it to him, and he'll repeat it back to you. again and again and again.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

I really am the luckiest. These two little boys are my constant companions, the ache in my heart, the joy and laughter in my day, the frustration and exhaustion behind the bags under my eyes. 

I know everyone thinks this about their kids, but the world really is better by having these 2 little munchkins running around.

a classic 'in front of the peonies' shot taken in the backyard of the house where my grandparents lived, where my dad grew up and where I spent much of my childhood. my grandma Myrtle always posed us in front of this exact bush.
 just carrying on tradition! the house is about to leave the family, so I insisted we take pictures before we didn't have a chance anymore.

Failure To Thrive :: An Update

The last update I posted about Drew's struggle to gain weight mentioned that we were going to take him to one last specialist, the pediatric endocrinologist.

Well, we took him. And, like we expected, we did not really learn much. In fact, the doctor did not run any tests. From his viewpoint, all the pertinent tests had been run, and any that he could add to the mix would be more hassle than they were worth because of how intense they were. 

Basically, all he could tell us was that he did not feel Drew's problem was a result of an endocrinological problem. He did not have any of the typical signs of a kiddo who was lacking in Human Growth Hormone, and his thyroid was normal on all of his blood tests. He did throw out the possibility that his structural growth (bones and teeth) were simply 6 months behind where they should be. After Drew turns 2, we can have an x-ray done of his hand and that could tell us more definitively if that is the issue or not.

So, we took him home and decided to be all done with specialists. They weren't telling us anything our family doctor wasn't telling us, and it wasn't worth driving all the way to the city for a 15 minute appointment where we were told to keep on doing what we were doing and to come back in 2 months for the same advice.

Then, Drew got sick. And was sick for basically most of December. He cycled through a cold, the stomach flu, roseola and an ear infection.

Not only that, but he was throwing up. Majorly throwing up. I tracked it for a couple of weeks, and it was intense. I could barely keep up with his laundry. One of his sheets was almost always in the wash, along with a lovey (getting 2 loveys was one of the best decisions we have ever made!!). 

It felt like we were at the doctor's constantly. Between the throwing up and his other sickness, he started to lose weight. And that was slightly concerning. There was talk of sending us to Omaha to the Children's Hospital because of his condition.

It was a really stressful couple of weeks. We had a newborn, I was still recovering from a c-section, and our poor little kiddo was so sick. At one point, he ran such a high fever and felt so junky that he spent a couple of days basically just sleeping. He would get up from his nap and come out to the living room to fall asleep on my lap on the couch. Very unlike him!

However, we were finally able to get him on antibiotics, and we took him off of dairy to give his system a chance to reset. For a month he drank soy and almond milk, and went light on other dairy offerings. And it worked. He quit throwing up, he started to gain weight (we finally broke the 20 lb mark!!), and got his energy back. We slowly reintroduced dairy into his diet, and it's been going really well. He had one instance of throwing up last weekend, but besides that, he hasn't thrown up since before Christmas. 

His turn around was so great that our doctor went from talking about Omaha Children's to telling us that we didn't need to come back to see him for 2 months. So lovely.

So, things have settled down. Drew is eating a lot better than he ever has, he still has a ton of energy, and he is astounding us every day with his developing mind. Our doctor is going to keep a slightly closer eye on him than some of his other patients, but we're praying that we're over the hump. He might just follow his own growth curve instead of the growth curve 'they' say he should. As long as he's growing, we'll be happy!

Failure To Thrive:: Another Update

We are now over 5 months into our journey of having a child who was diagnosed as Failure To Thrive (for those of you who don't know, Failure to Thrive simply means that they are not thriving at the level that they should be, according to the averages, charts, etc.).

5 months of pushing Pediasure, trying our hardest to make him eat, going to doctors appointments, and spending time worrying.

So far, nothing has helped.

In July we took him to Sioux Falls to see a Pediatric Gastrointestinal doctor. While we were there, the doctor called in his colleague, who was a Pediatric Cardiologist to consult. Which meant that Drew was put through hours of tests. He had his blood drawn (during that procedure, both he and I were sobbing, and he got so mad that he blew out his vein, so they weren't able to get all the blood they needed. I refused to let them poke him again). He had an EKG and an echo-cardiogram (thank goodness for Baby Einstein Old McDonald, as he loved seeing the animals so he was distracted enough not to cry/move around/fight them during the whole procedure). He had an upper GI test (thank goodness for Grandmas as I wasn't allowed to be with him because it was an x-ray and I was pregnant. but, he still fought them, and it took at least 4 nurses to hold him down).

He was so mad, that he cried the whole way out of the clinic, and only calmed down once I stripped him and let him play in the water fountain:

At the end of the day, the only answer we got was that he had a mild case of acid reflux. Well then. That was a lot of drama for not a lot of news.

However, I will say that I was grateful that his heart tests all came back normal. In fact, the cardiologist told us he never wanted to see us again. Done and done.

The GI did choose to put him on a low dose of Prilosec to see if that helped (it hasn't). Besides that, they were pretty much flummoxed.

So, we go along with our life. Trying to get him to eat (he doesn't). Feeding him Pediasure. Enjoying him. 

Today we take him to see the Pediatric Endocrinologist. Maybe he will have the answer?

I'm not holding my breath.

Failure To Thrive :: An Update

(I wrote this back in July, but thought I'd still post it to give a complete overview of his story. Look for more updated information soon!)

Well, it has been over a month since we have gotten the 'official' diagnosis on the Drewster. He has been weighed twice, drank more than his weight in milk and Pediasure and is officially weaned.

And?

He has gained a full pound. Which is great!

However, he did all of his gaining in the first 18 days.

Our original appointment where we got the diagnosis was on the 31st of May. We then took him back to see the doctor on the 18th of June, where he went from 16 lbs 14 oz to 17 lbs 13 oz.

Cue ecstatic cheering.

He was drinking whole milk like a champ (especially since he gets to have chocolate milk, the lucky duck. hey, it's all about the calories right??), and downing Chocolate Shake Pediasure like it was going out of style (once again, it's all about the calories!).

The whole food thing wasn't really exciting him all that much, but he was eating a fair amount.

Then, he just kinda quit eating. When I say my kid doesn't eat a lot, I don't mean he eats a container of yogurt and then quits. I mean he eats 1 tsp of yogurt and then quits. I don't mean he eats a serving of spaghetti and then quits, I mean he eats about 2 TB worth and then quits (and spaghetti is one of his all-time favorites!).

Cue frustrated mommy sighs.

It's hard. When I took him in to get weighed on July 5, he was up an ounce. One measly ounce. This was on a different scale, so it's hard to say really how much he has taken in, but still. ONE OUNCE.

We give him food all day long. He gets more treats than I am comfortable with, simply because if we can get him to take anything in we consider it a win. There are time he doesn't eat a single thing except maybe 1 piece of shredded cheese. I would love to just feed him his favorites so he would eat, but I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THOSE ARE.

Except cheese. He loves cheese. So he gets it a lot. But you know what cheese does? Binds a person up, if you know what I mean. And since starting on this journey, our poor little one has gone through some serious bouts of constipation. As in screaming, writhing, sweating and crying his way through the process and then being completely wiped afterwards. It is pitiful.

Granted, he has also gone through 2 extended episodes of the opposite issue, but that I blame on teething.

Anyways, here we are. Still documenting his every ounce (when I can muster the strength. some days its just too much ya know? but I figure any days I do it is better than nothing. the doctors can be as upset as they want, but I think they'll get a pretty good idea from what I do write down). Still shoving whole milk and Pediasure down his throat (except the past couple of days because he had some projectile vomiting issues. in a camper that is covered solely in carpet and fabric. let's just say it's not ideal). Still trying to tempt him with the nummy, nummy food.

On the 25th we go to see a Pediatric Gastrointestinal doctor in Sioux Falls. He was originally meant to see a Pediatric Endocrinologist, but they passed us on to the GI. Hopefully we will get some answers. If not? Well, I guess we'll just do what we do and love on our little boy. Because he is very lovable!

Failure To Thrive

Drew has always been a wee little guy. When he was born he was a mere 6 lb 5 oz. Sure, that's not exactly the smallest baby that has been born, but considering I was over 9 lbs when I was born, I was a bit surprised. In fact, I had to go buy smaller sleepers for him because the ones I had were way too big. He sure was cute in his little preemie pajamas though!

(our little grumpus on his birth day. ooo so tiny!)

As he continued to grow he never shot up. He always hovered at the 25th or less percentile for height/weight (40th for head ... but what can I say? he's a smart kid!). And then his percentiles started to drop. He went from the 25th to the 10th. And then from the 10th he disappeared right off the charts. 

(still just a wee little thing. drowning in his 0-3 month shorts)

As any good doctor would, our doctor started to get nervous. After all, they have these Bell Curves for a reason. And when someone isn't on a Bell Curve, they don't really know how to react to that. So we started to look more into what was going on. 

He considered the possibility that perhaps Drew's heart murmur was connected. However, after monitoring it pretty closely for a month, it became clear that it was fading, and that possibility was taken off the table. 

We were stumped. But, we just kept soldiering on. After all, our baby was happy and healthy (with the exception of weight). He was meeting all his developmental milestones. His little legs were quite chunky and he still hasn't grown wrists. Plus, he constantly moves, so we kinda figured he was just burning it all off. So, we were okay with his size. After all, his daddy was never huge, nor were his aunt and uncles on that side.

But, our doctor continued to be worried. I had to call in or stop in every month to get him weighed. And that number wasn't going up. Maybe an ounce or two a month, but that was it. So, we were given an order for a blood panel. We didn't rush right out to do it, but we knew our doctor would insist at his 12 month check-up if we hadn't done it, so we went ahead and did it ahead of time so he would have the results.

And? Nothing. There might have been a number or two that was a little higher or lower than it should have been, but nothing unreasonable or even noteworthy. 

All this leads up to last week. Our wee little guy went from being a tiny little wee to a bit bigger of a wee. 

(celebrating being one with Minnesota family and friends!)

And it was time for his 12 month well child check. We trotted in to get his weight, and I was feeling good. He felt heavier, he really had taken off on the whole eating real food thing, and he was obviously doing ok. So I stripped him down and plunked him on the scale with a bit of mommy pride. After all, I had done it. I had kept my little boy on the right track. I was certain he was up at least a pound from the last time.

Sadly my optimism was a bit too optimistic. 

He wasn't up a pound. In fact, he was down from the last time he had been weighed. However, in all fairness that was on a different scale and involved him wearing a onesie and a diaper. But, after I told our nurse that, she had me put him in a onesie and a diaper just for comparison sake. He was still down. The only argument I had on my side was that he was on a different scale. And since I was quibbling over mere ounces, somehow I don't think I really had a leg to stand on.

So, here we are with a little guy who is quite insistent on staying little. Not only did he stop gaining weight, but he stopped growing length wise. He dropped from 10th percentile to 5th percentile in height. And he still isn't touching the chart with his weight. 

All of that leads to a diagnosis: failure to thrive.

Well, ouch. That just shot mommy right through the heart. After all, I am the one feeding him and caring for him. He gets a majority of his sustenance from my very own body. And I didn't get the job done. 

Our doctor is worried, but supportive. Right now we are tracking everything he eats, including breastmilk, which means we may be working our way to weaning since I have to pump and my supply is way down, which makes pumping hardly worth it.

Since he is now one, his food possibilities are practically endless. And we are taking advantage of that! So far he is a fan of peanut butter. We are a fan of all its calories! 

We go back in on the 18th for a weight check and will assess then, but our doctor is currently working with a pediatric endocrinologist in the big city so most likely we will end up in that doctor's office within the next month or two. They are currently reviewing his files and will be getting in touch with us soon.

And if he doesn't have the answers? Then I really have no clue. We'll just keep trucking on. And enjoying our little boy, who may be little but sure has a BIG personality!

Life :: An Update

I feel like all my posts lately have had a theme to them. And that theme would be the story of how our little peanut came into this world. Which is all good and all if you’re into reading birth stories, but if you come to blogs and want to know more about the person than just the fact that she birthed a baby, then hey, maybe you would like an update on life.

(Drew’s 1st deer hunt – Thanksgiving Day)

So here goes.

I’m currently sitting in my SD kitchen, which is probably 10 times bigger than my ND kitchen, which really, doesn’t take much. Baby is napping, and I’m listening to the radio while reading blogs.

And that’s a pretty typical day.

(Thanksgiving Day Deer Hunt)

The dishes are piled up in the sink and on the counter.

Also a pretty typical day.

(bonfire by the Missouri River – 11/25)

Anyways, for those of you whose heads are spinning, trying to figure out if we live in SD or ND or WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON WITH OUR LIVES, let me help you figure it out:

We live in both states. One state permanently (as in, that’s where our stuff is, where our driver’s license and bank thinks we live, etc) and the other one we live in because that’s where the work is.

(Drew showing us his mad Big Buck Hunter skills)

However, when it got to be getting on to winter and all we had for a place to live was a camper with a garden hose running over a driveway for water and nowhere to dump the grey water, we figured it probably wouldn’t be the best situation for winter. Especially with a baby.

So, we headed back south and let my brother use our camper for the winter. Of course, less than a week after we left, a full hook up spot opened up. So goes life. But my brother was able to put the camper in the spot and he’s spent the winter making it all cozy.

(Christmas Eve)

We have really enjoyed being back in SD for awhile. It’s been nice to be in a place that not only has its own bathroom/shower, but SEPARATE ROOMS! Oh the beauty. It’s also been really nice to be back by family, especially around the holidays.

(Drew and Mommy playing with his Christmas present from Mommy and Daddy. Forgive the creepy red eyes. It’s a curse.)

Luke has been staying busy helping his parents out on the farm and with some remodeling projects (we live about 5 mins from their dairy farm). Drew and I have been staying busy playing with toys, snuggling and staying warm.

(Drew taking his afternoon nap by the River on Christmas Day)

Soon enough we will go back up North and Luke will start driving truck again (for those of you who wonder what he does … he drives a semi truck that carries a trailer full of dirty water that is pulled up from oil wells that needs to be dumped down another old well. as my brother expands, he will probably start driving an oil trailer, which mean he will be carrying a trailer loaded with the actual oil from the wells). And Drew and I will play, snuggle and stay warm. It’s what we do.

(celebrating our 2nd anniversary – 1/2)

And in a nutshell, that’s what new with us!

Drew Solon :: What’s In A Name

You know what’s hard? Choosing a name for a person. One that is theirs for the REST OF THEIR LIFE!

Luke and I spent the whole pregnancy trying to come up with a name for our baby. We discussed it a little bit in the beginning, and then amped up the talks once we knew we were having a boy. And could not find a name we agreed on.

I would say one, he would say no. He would say one, I would say no. We read a whole book full of thousands and thousands of names. We noticed them in movies, in books, in talking with people. We would find one that we were interested in and then remember that our friends had a baby named that (our rule was that if we were related, or they were in our wedding, the name was out). We went into the hospital and still had no name.

The one thing we agreed on was that we wanted his name to have meaning. While driving one day we talked about what traits we hoped and prayed for in our first-born and came up with some ideas. So, we started looking at names with those meanings, but struck out again as none of those struck us.

So, after he was born, Luke went to the computer and started looking up names again. We had come across the name Solon on a list, and loved the meaning: wisdom or wise one. For a while we debated having Solon as his first name, but both of us felt like it just fit better as a middle name.

That just left the most important name then, his first name. We had talked about Andrew before, but I wasn’t crazy about it. But then we started talking about shortening it to Drew. And it started to grow on me. We also loved it’s meaning: bold and courageous (at least on the site we used. it can also mean man or warrior or trusty. also great meanings!).

By this point, it was Sunday afternoon (and Drew was born Saturday at noon). In other words, people were chomping at the bit to get us to name this child. It was the number one question of the nurses and the doctors, plus family and friends. But, we wanted to make sure Drew Solon was the right choice, so we tried it out for a day, without telling anyone what it was.

And it fit him perfectly. So, finally, on Monday morning, shortly before 9:00, we signed the papers. It was official. No going back!

And as the lady walked them out of the room, we could hear all the nurses gathering around her, excitedly asking what we had finally decided on as a name.

Drew Solon :: A Birth Story {Part 3}

So the last time I left you, I was 24 hours into the induction/labor process. And my body was basically saying ‘na na na, can’t make me!’.

And she was right. We couldn’t make her.

My doctor decided to try one more round of Cervadil and see what happened. But because we were going into the 2nd night of ‘fun’, they wanted me to get some sleep so they gave me an Ambien. Which meant I spent that night in a cycle of dozing off, waking up with a contraction and squeezing Luke’s hand, and then dozing off again.

Poor Luke. He didn’t have the benefit of an Ambien so he had to deal with his wife squeezing his hand REALLY hard every 2 minutes, so he didn’t get very much sleep that night.

We also had nurses coming in and out of our room all night checking on the babe. I didn’t mind that they were concerned and monitoring us, but it bothered me that no one introduced themselves, except my 2 main nurses. So here I am, having some unknown person looking up a place where no unknown person should ever look.

They finally called my doctor in at around 5:00 because they were concerned about Drew’s heart rate. He felt I was far enough along in the process to break my water, so he took his little crochet hook and did so. It didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would, but it was still a weird feeling.

It didn’t do anything magical, but there was definitely no turning back after that!

They did decide that I should get up and walk to see if that would help, so they sent Luke and I on a round through the hallways. It was so (NOT) fun.



Luckily there was the rails for me to lean on when I hit a contraction. But it was really annoying because when my nurse put TED compression hose on me the night before she didn’t pull them all the way up, so as you can tell from the picture I had a bunch of hose hanging off the end of my feet and it felt funny when I walked.

I did not make it very long with this whole walking thing. All I wanted to do was get back in bed. So I did.



After a couple hours of letting my body try, they hooked me up to Pitocin. That sent me into terrible back labor. It was awful. I was exhausted because I hadn’t slept in 2 days (well, really 6 months because of being preggo, but officially 2 nights), I was still a little out of it because of the Ambien and IT HURT! We had decided not to go for an epidural if at all possible, but I needed something so I asked my nurse for some pain medicine. Not sure if she just put saline in my IV or what but WHAT A JOKE. It did absolutely nothing.

So we tried the Pitocin for a couple of hours. At least I think it was a couple of hours. I really don’t know. I just remember laying there thinking this was the most horrible thing I’ve ever experienced and I just wanted to get out of there. I was about to walk out of that room and never come back. Ever. I didn’t care if I never had the baby. He could just stay in there. I was really hazy, so I would basically just deal with the contraction and then lay there in a stupor.

Finally my doctor came in and checked me one last time. After 40 hours, and 4 rounds of medicine my doctor basically said he would be generous and call me a 5. Wow. Basically my body was having none of it this whole labor thing, but I wasn’t in a good place health wise and my baby was in distress.

My doctor tries to do everything he can to avoid c-sections, but he felt it was necessary in my case. Since I had just spent the last 3 hours laying there knowing that my body just wasn’t going to be able to do it and begging them (in my mind) to just cut the kid out, I agreed without hesitation. Poor Luke. I didn’t consult him or even talk to him about it.

Once the decision was made, things moved along. I was taken to the OR and the nurse anesthetist put my block in. That was fun because I was still having contractions and had to sit very still. But he did it and I started to go numb.

Soon we were ready to start. Luke was in there, so they asked him if he wanted to watch. He took one glance behind the sheet, and that was enough for him. We still weren’t so sure about the c-section process, and part of us wondered if trying an epidural wouldn’t have helped enough to have the baby born naturally.
However, the doctors quickly dispelled that question when they came to the baby and found that his cord was wrapped around his neck 3 times. 

With that news, I just felt the protection of God wash over us. If we had pushed through and tried to go for a natural birth, it could have ended with catastrophic results.

As soon as we heard the baby cry, we knew that it was ok. Everything was ok. It was ok that I went through a failed induction. It was ok that I had a c-section. Because our baby was here. And he was perfect.

Let Me Tell You a Story

On a cold, frosty morning in October, a mom and her baby, plus a pregnant lady, bundled up and headed to the nearest bus stop.

The beast of a machine took us up and down this street and that before crossing a bridge and taking us into a new city. We disembarked and became 3 among hundreds who were converging on one building. It took some walking up and walking down sidewalks but we found our entrance, commandeered our tickets, made a stop by the el banos and then found our seats.

And I think that is the last time we sat in our actual seats all day.

See, here's the tricky truth of the day: a 5 month old baby boy is not too keen on the conference scene.

As a result, we spent time walking up and down hallways, we spent time (lots of time!) in the nursing mothers' room, and we spent time sitting/standing in the back of the auditorium.

And you know what? It was still great. So much fun. I think if you were to ask any of the Women of Faith team members about why they put these events on year after year, they would say one of their main reasons is because of the relationships between the women that come.

This lady who so patiently walked alongside me that day is one of my dearest friends, who was 'randomly' assigned to the same room I was at NWC those many years ago. We don't get to see each other as often as we like, but we are kindred spirits.

And spending a day with her was priceless.

My Women of Faith experience didn't look like what I thought it would. I didn't get to take copious notes of  great speakers (because, guys? there were some GREAT speakers there!). I didn't get to worship alongside the thousands of other women there (it was a bit too loud for the babe). I didn't even get to go back for the second day (a situation came up which necessitated me leaving for home right away).

But I don't for one second regret going. Because it gave me a beautiful day of living life alongside one of my favorite women of faith. And it doesn't get much better than that.

Drew Solon :: A Birth Story {part 2}

My induction process started Thursday May 26 at around 8:30. That gave Luke time to go home to shower, and grab some supper. I believe he brought me some supper too ... but I don't really remember :-)

Now, remember that going into this whole process, my body was basically at zero. I wasn't contracting, I wasn't dilated. Basically, I wasn't ready.

But, my health situation was precarious enough that my doctor felt it was worth going into the induction process. Since we had had a long talk just a couple days before about how I didn't want to be induced, and he was very understanding of that, I trusted that his opinion was valid.

That first night (Thursday) he used Cytotec, which is a pill (ahem. not taken orally) that is supposed to help my body start the process of labor. It took a couple of hours for it to kick in, so we spent the time getting Luke settled for the night. Since we were in the Labor and Delivery room (there is only one at our teeny tiny hospital), they only had a very not sleep friendly chair for him to sit in. After pointing this out to the nurses, they switched the chair out for the one that is in the Recovery room, which was supposedly good for sleeping in. According to my husband, it was not. So, he opted to sleep on the floor.

(waiting for the meds to kick in. and my only bare belly shot of the pregnancy b/c i forgot to take one before i got hooked up to the monitors. )

He fell asleep and I dozed in and out, before the medicine kicked in. And when it kicked in? Well, it felt like I was having my period, which is something I had not missed over the past 9 months. Basically it just gave me terrible, terrible cramps. After trying to make it better by trying different positions, and telling myself to get over it, I finally rang for the nurse and requested to use the whirlpool tub that was next door in the Recovery room. I hobbled next door, and sank into the warm water and enjoyed myself for about 1/2 hr. Then? The nurse made me get out and get hooked back up to the monitor. It was about 2:00 in the morning at this time, so I just sucked it up and tried to get some sleep, which was mostly a failure.

My doctor came around the next morning to check me and found that the medicine had done nothing. Besides keep me up of course.

So, the next medicine of choice was Cervidil. This is a string that has medicine in it, somehow. This one actually started some contractions, so I was hopeful we were getting somewhere. And while yes, I was contracting, it was not as awful as having a little urchin take a pliers and continually squeeze the heck out of my uterus, so there was that.

Guys, I'm not gonna lie. This whole day was a bit of a haze. I didn't get much sleep the night before, and I wasn't feeling the greatest. So I really can't give you a play by play. I do know that I spent most of the day in bed, because I was continually being monitored. And people would come in, look at my sheet, and then leave. Except, they weren't worried about me. They were worried about the babe.

And that? Made me a bit worried as well.

Basically every time I had a contraction, his heart rate would go way way way down. Now, it's normal for them to dip. But I don't think this was quite normal as my doctor was taking my sheets and sending them to Sioux Falls for the perinatologist to consult on (my wee little hospital is part of a bigger hospital system, so you get lots of perks without having to travel! for example, my 20(ish) week ultrasound was sat in via webcam by a perinatologist).  The answer was always to wait and continue to monitor the situation, but it added some stress.

Then we hit the 24 hour mark of beginning the induction process. And my body? Wasn't really having none of it. Basically I was at a 2. Maybe a 3?

It was time to take the next step ....

Drew Solon :: A Birth Story {Part 1}

Let me remind you of what I looked like at the end of my pregnancy:

This is me at 39 weeks and 6 days pregnant (according to dating ... when baby came out, they figured he was about a week early).  I actually crawled out of my hospital bed to take one last belly shot before they induced me, so this was literally taken at the very end of my pregnancy.

This is also me at 184 lbs (which is 59 lbs above what I started at) and with a blood pressure that slightly elevated. And by slightly elevated I mean that I always have excellent blood pressure (seriously. almost every nurse comments on how great my blood pressure is) and on this day my blood pressure was low when it was in the 140s. So, that was probably not good. 

I actually was at the doctor for the second time that week. I went in for my regular 39 week check-up on Monday, where we talked about all my options. I really really didn't want to be induced because of all the horror stories I had heard, and my doctor respected that. However, he was leaving on Saturday for a week long vacation and he was worried about me, so he wanted to check me one last time before he left. It was his hope that I would come in on Thursday and he would check me and I would be dilated and ready to go with a little pitocin.

(a little foreshadowing ...that wasn't how it was at all)

When Thursday rolled around I dragged myself out of bed to get ready to go the doctor. I woke up with a sore throat and just felt crappy. I hemmed and hawed about packing my hospital bag (it was somewhat packed, but not really. the energy simply wasn't there!) and finally decided that even though I was most likely coming home, I should still take it with. So I halfheartedly packed (I packed facewash, but not my toothbrush) and headed into town. Unfortunately it was a super busy day in the ER and my doctor kept getting called away. My 11:30 appointment turned into 1:15, which turned into 3:30. 

At that point, I had been in town since 12:00 and I was ready to go home. Actually, I was ready to go to Mitchell with my husband for one last fun date night.

So, we got in to see the doctor and he was slightly concerned. After all, my blood pressure was in the 140s, I had gained 3 pounds since Monday (so basically I was packing on a pound a day ... even though I was supposed to be off of all sugar, and I mostly was), and I looked/felt like crap. However, I wasn't having any contractions and was not dilated/effaced in the slightest. 

All those things added up to a non-stress test. So I waddled my way up to the hospital and got hooked up. By this time it was about 4:30 and I was told I was supposed to stay connected for 1/2 hr, which put us at 5:00. We needed to get to Mitchell by 7:00, so we were watching the clock, commenting on how this was probably just a waste of time and how much we wanted to get out of there. 

Well, the time slowly ticked by, and 1/2 hr turned into an hour, which turned into an hour and a half. Obviously by this point we weren't going to make it to Mitchell, so we settled down disappointingly and waited on the doctor. He finally came in (like I said, it was a crazy busy ER day) and looked at the data. 

To say he wasn't ecstatic about my stats would be putting it mildly. In fact, he was so concerned that within just a couple of minutes he let me know we weren't going to be leaving that hospital without a baby. 

And that started our fun adventure with induction .....

Let's Talk About Pregnancy {Third Trimester}

To read about my first trimester go here or here for my second!

Ahh, the third trimester. That magical 16 weeks where you feel the baby move, gain weight at a horrendous pace, and have to pee every 5 minutes.

Technically, I started to feel the baby (whom we affectionately called Waldo) in the second trimester, but as all you mamas know, the third trimester is where it's at. This was, hands down, my favorite part of being pregnant. There I was, going along with my day, and BAM there's a little kick. Such a cool, cool feeling!

Luckily everything was placed just right in there, which meant that Luke could feel him soon after I could. Baby Waldo LOVED his daddy. He'd just be chilling in there, not doing anything and then Luke would put his hand on my stomach and BAM! He woke up. It was magical.

When anyone else would try? Nada. Nothing. He'd be in there dancing away and then someone would try to feel him and it was like he left the building.

(2/19)

The third trimester was a busy time for me. I was in my final full-time semester of college, which meant I was taking 4 classes, plus doing an 135 hr internship. Of course I was also hugely pregnant, which meant I was exhausted. I spent a lot of time on the couch, watching ALIAS and sleeping. Then I would have to hurry up and finish the work that was due for my class, so I would spend 2 days working on Stats (ugh by the way).

(2/25)

 I definitely started to get the aches and pains associated with being pregnant. By the end, it was a major ordeal to turn over in bed. My one side would be in a lot of pain, but it took me a good 5 minutes of laying in bed giving myself a pep talk to actually flip over. Luke would wake up in a panic, asking me what was wrong because I was moaning and groaning so much (and no, I'm  not dramatic at all!).

I also dealt with my hands falling asleep. By the end, all I had to do was grip something (a fork, a knife, a pen, etc) and my hands would be gone. It made cooking and eating all that more interesting!

And of course there was the PUPPS. Luckily someone I knew had gone through it before me and she recommended using Dandelion Root. I seriously believe that is the only thing that kept it under control. That and lots of body butter.

My Boppy body pillow (affectionately nicknamed Jack) was a necessary sleep aid, much to the chagrin of my husband. We only had a full size bed, and there wasn't a lot of room left once the 3 of us were in bed. Also, any time I traveled Jack came with. He was a real conversation piece! He is now shoved underneath our bed, much to the relief of my husband!

(3/29)

The bigger I got, the more ungainly I got, which is pretty typical. Luke would have to pull/push me off the couch and forget about bending down to pick something up! My toenails went unpainted for a looong time because of this.

I also had a harder and harder time finding clothes that would fit me. By the end, even  my maternity pants were too small because of how wide my hips got. Luckily I have an amazing mom who would go to Target and buy me bigger (comfy!) clothes and then mail them to me (we're about an hour and a half from the closest Target and I wasn't about to hop in the car!).

(Easter Sunday)

In the middle of all that fun, I graduated from college! Well, kinda. I went through the ceremony and got a diploma holder, but I technically didn't finish until July 15th. But, I'm a college graduate! 

We debated a long time about whether or not to go to the ceremony. It was in Billings, MT, which is a 12 hour drive and I was a month away from delivering a baby. However, I received an award from my department and so we decided it was worth the drive. So we piled into the Expedition with my in-laws and headed West. We went right through the area in Montana we lived in so we were able to stop and spend the night with our friends. 

It was really nice to break up the drive, because sitting in car for a long time? Not very pregnancy friendly. However, I did get to rock some sexy TED compression hose!

Once we got to Billings, we met up with my mom and my sister-in-law who flew in from MN and Denver respectively. It was so awesome to have family with us. They have all stood beside me and cheered me on during the whole process, so it meant a lot to me to have them there.

(all photos taken 4/30)

As far as we could tell, I was the only extremely pregnant graduate, so I guess that's an honor too! Graduation itself was really hard on my body. I had to go stand in line for an hour on a hard cement floor before the ceremony itself, then I had to sit and stand and sit and stand in various forms for another 2 hours for the ceremony. 

By the time I found Luke afterwards I just started to cry because I was so tired and my whole body hurt and my mom and sister-in-law had to leave to catch their flight as soon as they saw me walk and I didn't get to say goodbye, and a lot of the pictures we took were fuzzy and everything was a BIG. DEAL.

However, we went out to eat and after I got some delicious steak into my body I felt a lot better! After eating we hit the road and headed back East. We stayed with our friends again that night and then the next morning we got to go to church with our dear friends at Hope. And I got to see my Fern (for those of you who read my wedding recap, she was the one who kept me sane!), so it was an all around good day. After we had lunch with Fern and her family, we went to Rapid City, where we met up with Luke's aunt and uncle for an early supper (eating was a major theme of the whole weekend, which I loved!).

By the time we got home at 1:00 that morning, I was done. My body was done. My emotions were done. I think I just laid around and did absolutely nothing the next 2 days to recover. But, in the end, I am glad we went!

After graduation all that was really left was to wait for baby (and prepare myself for summer school ... but that's a whole 'nother thing altogether isn't it?). 

This is the point in most people's pregnancies when they start nesting. Me? Well, let's just say I'm still waiting for that nesting energy to kick in and Drew is 2 months old. Instead of cleaning and organizing I was dreaming of cleaning and organizing and having panic attacks over the fact that it wasn't done. Gosh I was a bundle of fun to be around.

I also threw in some sleeping late, napping and other important tasks. It was nice because I was able to savor my last days as just the two of us. 

(39 weeks and 6 days; taken in the hospital right before induction!)

The other things I was doing at this time were gaining weight and making my blood pressure skyrocket, which made my doctor increasingly nervous. Those fun little activities took me straight to induction-ville, but since that's part of his birth story you'll have to wait on those details!