Despite my complaining, life is good and these children are so sweet!
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
One Month Update
Today Gemma is 1 month old! It is so hard to believe that a month has gone by already! [I spent the whole month in a fog, totally surreal!].
Here are some recent pics of little Ol' Monkey6:
She started out sleeping really, really well [like 18 hours a day], but that has gradually decreased until for the last 2 weeks I've slept most nights like this [if you can call it sleeping]:
She's becoming fussier and fussier and I'm a little worried. 3 of my other 5 had colic, and I'm scared this may be the beginning of it for her. [I am *praying* that is not so, because I really, truly don't think I can live through that again!].
But, whatever the cause, sleep is becoming very rare around here again. Last night she decided to be awake and fussing and crying from 9:45pm till 2:30am and then I at least was able to lie down on the couch [holding her] and snooze for 3 hours. [My other kids got up at 5:30am - boy am I tired!].
And now, proof that we are raising yet another avid reader:
She gets creative with her reading though:
We have all kinds of weird dynamics going on around here lately. Monkey5, pictured above looking so sweet, is having serious problems with violence. She has always been extremely clingy - a velcro baby and now a velcro toddler. I am not allowed out of her sight, preferably I should be within touching distance at all times. She is also violent with the other kids if they come near me - she will try to kill them if they try to touch "her" mama. Oddly enough, this isn't really new - she's always been very clingy and possessive and she's always had a violent streak. But now she's added tantrums [20 months old you know....]. She will literally throw several fits a day that last 45 minutes up to 1.5 hours and during the tantrums she will bite, scratch, hit, kick, pull hair and generally try to murder me [and often Monkey4 who is her other "primary" target for violence for some reason]. These tantrums can be set off by anything - her being sleepy or hungry or sick, but also her being frustrated, angry, or not getting her way over something simple...sometimes they seem to come on for no reason at all...
My son used to throw really long, dramatic fits like this several times a day when he was her age, but he was never violent. So, this is something new and, um...not really exciting, more like disturbing. My son grew out of this stage [I didn't think I'd survive it, but he did finally grow out of it around 3] and he turned out to be a perfectly wonderful boy. So, I'm hoping and praying that the same will be true of Monkey5 - if not, I see a long future of incarceration for her as an adult if she doesn't get her temper and violent impulses under control. [Maybe this is what you get when you cross a part-Italian daddy with a part-Irish mama.... or a Green Beret with a Marine...WHAT were we thinking?!! whew.]
In other news, my poor 3yo Monkey4 isn't even allowed near me [by the 1yo]. She is, fortunately, a very, very sweet and easy going girl. But it is starting to wear on her. She's also realized recently that she IS three, and we are seeing some mild tantrums and crying/whining about things [which is my pet peeve....the whining thing]. But, really, for a 3yo, she's doing so well I have nothing at all to complain about.
The combined effect though of 3 children age 3 and under is quite... exhausting for the moment. I know this will get better once we are out of the "newborn stage" [I remember feeling this way with all my newborns, even the first one!]. But for now I'm mostly really sleepy and overwhelmed - and trying not to be cranky in the midst of it all.
My poor older 3 children are getting practically nothing from me these days because I'm so consumed by the younger 3. [Actually, Monkey5 takes up about 95% of my time and effort and Monkey4 and Monkey6 split the remaining 5% - how sad is that?!]. So, they are fighting and acting out, mostly because they are being neglected a bit I think.
Which leads me to all those doubts....should I put them in school? [Homeschool is NOT in full swing at this time for obvious reasons]. What can I do with the younger ones so I have more time with the older ones? What is WRONG with me that I can't do it all? [Human much, MonkeyMama?!!!]
Then there is this other weird dynamic with Monkey2 and Monkey3, who we call "The Wonder Twins". They really ARE like twins - they are 19 months apart and they really do act like twins. They are inseparable, together 24/7 [even both sleep in Monkey2's room]. It is really cute, but I am actually wondering now if they are TOO close - silly huh? But I am starting to understand why parents of twins often separate them into different class rooms when they are in school to help them grow on their own. That is hard to do with homeschool.
The other problem is that they leave Monkey4 out - she is big enough to want to be part of their "club" and they won't let her. I feel very sad for her - on the one side she has the Wonder Twins leaving her out and excluding her and making her cry, on the other side she has Monkey5 ThunderDome trying to maim and kill her every time Monkey5 has a bad moment... ugh.
Of course, the truth is that eventually Monkey5 will grow out of her "soul sucking phase" and one day I'll miss the little thing leeched onto my side [clawing and biting... OK, maybe I won't so much miss THAT part!]. And the baby will grow [too fast!]. And I will have more time for the other children and I will be able to get back to what I love most: adoring my kids and being with them.
But for now... *yawn* I'm just trying to keep my head above the water. [What?! Tsunami you say?!! Its headed this way?!]
;)
If you have a spare prayer today, please say one for my sanity, my endurance, my kindness and also that I may discern what is best for my children and help them through this rough spot.
Take care and God Bless you!
Here are some recent pics of little Ol' Monkey6:
She started out sleeping really, really well [like 18 hours a day], but that has gradually decreased until for the last 2 weeks I've slept most nights like this [if you can call it sleeping]:
She's becoming fussier and fussier and I'm a little worried. 3 of my other 5 had colic, and I'm scared this may be the beginning of it for her. [I am *praying* that is not so, because I really, truly don't think I can live through that again!].
But, whatever the cause, sleep is becoming very rare around here again. Last night she decided to be awake and fussing and crying from 9:45pm till 2:30am and then I at least was able to lie down on the couch [holding her] and snooze for 3 hours. [My other kids got up at 5:30am - boy am I tired!].
And now, proof that we are raising yet another avid reader:
She gets creative with her reading though:
We have all kinds of weird dynamics going on around here lately. Monkey5, pictured above looking so sweet, is having serious problems with violence. She has always been extremely clingy - a velcro baby and now a velcro toddler. I am not allowed out of her sight, preferably I should be within touching distance at all times. She is also violent with the other kids if they come near me - she will try to kill them if they try to touch "her" mama. Oddly enough, this isn't really new - she's always been very clingy and possessive and she's always had a violent streak. But now she's added tantrums [20 months old you know....]. She will literally throw several fits a day that last 45 minutes up to 1.5 hours and during the tantrums she will bite, scratch, hit, kick, pull hair and generally try to murder me [and often Monkey4 who is her other "primary" target for violence for some reason]. These tantrums can be set off by anything - her being sleepy or hungry or sick, but also her being frustrated, angry, or not getting her way over something simple...sometimes they seem to come on for no reason at all...
My son used to throw really long, dramatic fits like this several times a day when he was her age, but he was never violent. So, this is something new and, um...not really exciting, more like disturbing. My son grew out of this stage [I didn't think I'd survive it, but he did finally grow out of it around 3] and he turned out to be a perfectly wonderful boy. So, I'm hoping and praying that the same will be true of Monkey5 - if not, I see a long future of incarceration for her as an adult if she doesn't get her temper and violent impulses under control. [Maybe this is what you get when you cross a part-Italian daddy with a part-Irish mama.... or a Green Beret with a Marine...WHAT were we thinking?!! whew.]
In other news, my poor 3yo Monkey4 isn't even allowed near me [by the 1yo]. She is, fortunately, a very, very sweet and easy going girl. But it is starting to wear on her. She's also realized recently that she IS three, and we are seeing some mild tantrums and crying/whining about things [which is my pet peeve....the whining thing]. But, really, for a 3yo, she's doing so well I have nothing at all to complain about.
The combined effect though of 3 children age 3 and under is quite... exhausting for the moment. I know this will get better once we are out of the "newborn stage" [I remember feeling this way with all my newborns, even the first one!]. But for now I'm mostly really sleepy and overwhelmed - and trying not to be cranky in the midst of it all.
My poor older 3 children are getting practically nothing from me these days because I'm so consumed by the younger 3. [Actually, Monkey5 takes up about 95% of my time and effort and Monkey4 and Monkey6 split the remaining 5% - how sad is that?!]. So, they are fighting and acting out, mostly because they are being neglected a bit I think.
Which leads me to all those doubts....should I put them in school? [Homeschool is NOT in full swing at this time for obvious reasons]. What can I do with the younger ones so I have more time with the older ones? What is WRONG with me that I can't do it all? [Human much, MonkeyMama?!!!]
Then there is this other weird dynamic with Monkey2 and Monkey3, who we call "The Wonder Twins". They really ARE like twins - they are 19 months apart and they really do act like twins. They are inseparable, together 24/7 [even both sleep in Monkey2's room]. It is really cute, but I am actually wondering now if they are TOO close - silly huh? But I am starting to understand why parents of twins often separate them into different class rooms when they are in school to help them grow on their own. That is hard to do with homeschool.
The other problem is that they leave Monkey4 out - she is big enough to want to be part of their "club" and they won't let her. I feel very sad for her - on the one side she has the Wonder Twins leaving her out and excluding her and making her cry, on the other side she has Monkey5 ThunderDome trying to maim and kill her every time Monkey5 has a bad moment... ugh.
Of course, the truth is that eventually Monkey5 will grow out of her "soul sucking phase" and one day I'll miss the little thing leeched onto my side [clawing and biting... OK, maybe I won't so much miss THAT part!]. And the baby will grow [too fast!]. And I will have more time for the other children and I will be able to get back to what I love most: adoring my kids and being with them.
But for now... *yawn* I'm just trying to keep my head above the water. [What?! Tsunami you say?!! Its headed this way?!]
;)
If you have a spare prayer today, please say one for my sanity, my endurance, my kindness and also that I may discern what is best for my children and help them through this rough spot.
Take care and God Bless you!
I Love Your Blog Award
Melanie was so sweet to give me an "I Love Your Blog" award. [In spite of me being awful about updating lately!]
Along with the award, I'm supposed to answer the following questions with one word:
1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Where is your significant other? work
3. Your hair color? brown
4. Your mother? sweet
5. Your father? funny
6. Your favorite thing? family
7. Your dream last night? sleepless
8. Your dream/goal? kindness
9. The room you’re in? bedroom
10. Your hobby? blogging
11. Your fear? loss
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? healthy
13. Where were you last night? couch
14. What you’re not? rested
15. One of your wish-list items? book
16. Where you grew up? GA
17. The last thing you did? diaper
18. What are you wearing? clothes
19. Your TV? gone
20. Your pet? chickens
21. Your computer? PC
22. Your mood? exhausted
23. Missing someone? no
24. Your car? minivan
25. Something you’re not wearing? shoes
26. Favorite store? amazon.com
27. Your summer? over
28. Love someone? truly
29. Your favorite color? bright
30. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
31. Last time you cried? today
[That was hard to do with one word and no explanation! LOL!]
Here are the bloggers I tag with this award:
Slightly Crunchy Catholic
Totus Tuus
Deogratias
Laura The Crazy Mama
Our Four Kiddos
I think I'm supposed to stop with 5...which is hard since there are so many blogs I love!
God bless you - hope you are having a great day!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
A Quote
I saw this quote on my friend's web page and I wanted to pass it on, it is a good one!
"Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning, the devil says 'Oh crap, she's up!'".
LOL!
[Thanks Danielle!]
"Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the floor each morning, the devil says 'Oh crap, she's up!'".
LOL!
[Thanks Danielle!]
Friday, September 19, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Happy Birthday Monkey1!!!!
Yesterday Monkey1 turned a whole decade old!!!!
She got a bright pink iPod for her birthday from us [which Monkey4 was already trying to snatch!]:
She also bought an American Girl book with the money her great grandma sent her:
She got to pick dinner, and she chose Chinese Food - YUM!
Here she is with the cake she picked:
Her birthday ended up being spread over two days actually. The day before her birthday we did her "birthday dinner" because she had choir at dinner time on her actual birthday. She also chose to open her iPod a day early and her dad got it all set up for her. [You know your baby ain't a baby any more the year that she wants nothing but an iPod for her birthday...*sob*].
On her actual birthday, she got to spend some time with several of her homeschool friends while her little sisters took ballet and then she went to choir that evening [her favorite activity], so it really worked out to be a wonderful day too.
We ended the day looking at her baby photo album...it was really neat to go back and look at all the pictures of her as a tiny baby and tell the story of her birth again.
I'm really proud of my big girl! She was the "original" monkey. We seriously only planned to have one kid. She was just so darn cute and smart and fascinating, we kept thinking "wouldn't it be neat to have just one more?" and then that one would come along and be so cute and smart and fascinating in a completely new and different way and we "just one more'd" ourselves into 6 kids somehow! [With absolutely NO regrets!] LOL!
Monkey1 is the most social introvert I know. People who know her will think I'm crazy for saying that, because she is very outgoing and friendly and makes friends very easily. But she also needs a whole lot of alone time too - when we leave a big gathering or an event where she's been around people for hours, she immediately escapes to the backyard alone for a good long time to think and process and create.
She spends hours and hours writing stories and screen plays. She's constantly researching for her newest "story" - I'm always blown away by what she learns in the course of her writing. She's also quite the artist - her newest art form is "Shoujo", or Japanese style comics. She's actually quite good at it. I could totally see her being the first world famous female comic book writer!
Monkey1 is very kind to other people and tries very hard to help others and make them happy. I'm proud of how great she is at being a friend and putting others first. That was one of our big goals in raising her of course, but it is neat to see it actually happen.
She is an obsessive reader and knows a lot about just about everything. I am often surprised these days when she comes to tell me some fact she learned about some historical event or some scientific discovery. At some point I ceased being the only teacher in our house and she snuck into that role as well! It is incredible to see her learning and to realize the real breadth of her knowledge. She's constantly learning - she's one of those kids you couldn't STOP from learning even if you wanted to.
This year she has started learning to cook, along with learning the violin. This was the year she had two big solos in the Church choir and really came to understand that her voice is a gift from God and should be used for His glory. This year she has grown so much in maturity that often she seems like a little adult [and sometimes she seems like a sullen 15 year old...but that's a different post. LOL!].
All in all, she is an amazing, enjoyable, completely lovable young lady who I am so proud to call my daughter!
Happy Birthday Monkey1 - you are AWESOME Baby Girl!!!!!
.......
And here is a pic of Gemma "Monkey6!", so you can see she's *growing*! WOOHOO!!!
She got a bright pink iPod for her birthday from us [which Monkey4 was already trying to snatch!]:
She also bought an American Girl book with the money her great grandma sent her:
She got to pick dinner, and she chose Chinese Food - YUM!
Here she is with the cake she picked:
Her birthday ended up being spread over two days actually. The day before her birthday we did her "birthday dinner" because she had choir at dinner time on her actual birthday. She also chose to open her iPod a day early and her dad got it all set up for her. [You know your baby ain't a baby any more the year that she wants nothing but an iPod for her birthday...*sob*].
On her actual birthday, she got to spend some time with several of her homeschool friends while her little sisters took ballet and then she went to choir that evening [her favorite activity], so it really worked out to be a wonderful day too.
We ended the day looking at her baby photo album...it was really neat to go back and look at all the pictures of her as a tiny baby and tell the story of her birth again.
I'm really proud of my big girl! She was the "original" monkey. We seriously only planned to have one kid. She was just so darn cute and smart and fascinating, we kept thinking "wouldn't it be neat to have just one more?" and then that one would come along and be so cute and smart and fascinating in a completely new and different way and we "just one more'd" ourselves into 6 kids somehow! [With absolutely NO regrets!] LOL!
Monkey1 is the most social introvert I know. People who know her will think I'm crazy for saying that, because she is very outgoing and friendly and makes friends very easily. But she also needs a whole lot of alone time too - when we leave a big gathering or an event where she's been around people for hours, she immediately escapes to the backyard alone for a good long time to think and process and create.
She spends hours and hours writing stories and screen plays. She's constantly researching for her newest "story" - I'm always blown away by what she learns in the course of her writing. She's also quite the artist - her newest art form is "Shoujo", or Japanese style comics. She's actually quite good at it. I could totally see her being the first world famous female comic book writer!
Monkey1 is very kind to other people and tries very hard to help others and make them happy. I'm proud of how great she is at being a friend and putting others first. That was one of our big goals in raising her of course, but it is neat to see it actually happen.
She is an obsessive reader and knows a lot about just about everything. I am often surprised these days when she comes to tell me some fact she learned about some historical event or some scientific discovery. At some point I ceased being the only teacher in our house and she snuck into that role as well! It is incredible to see her learning and to realize the real breadth of her knowledge. She's constantly learning - she's one of those kids you couldn't STOP from learning even if you wanted to.
This year she has started learning to cook, along with learning the violin. This was the year she had two big solos in the Church choir and really came to understand that her voice is a gift from God and should be used for His glory. This year she has grown so much in maturity that often she seems like a little adult [and sometimes she seems like a sullen 15 year old...but that's a different post. LOL!].
All in all, she is an amazing, enjoyable, completely lovable young lady who I am so proud to call my daughter!
Happy Birthday Monkey1 - you are AWESOME Baby Girl!!!!!
.......
And here is a pic of Gemma "Monkey6!", so you can see she's *growing*! WOOHOO!!!
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Gemma's First Days
Above is Gemma sleeping - aren't they all so beautiful when they are asleep?! :)Below is a picture of her tiny little feet. I am amazed by these teeny feet ... I don't know why, but they are the tiniest, most perfect things I have ever seen!
My dad and mom came over and we celebrated my dad's birthday. Here is dad below with sweet Monkey3 and Monkey5 sneaking a bit of frosting!
Here is my mom with all the kids:
Here is my dad getting to hold Gemma for the first time - a pretty cool birthday gift IMO!
Here is Monkey1 holding Gemma - look how tiny she is in her arms!
Last week we started Homeschool Band, which has been a GREAT experience so far! Monkey1 is old enough to be in "orchestra" and she has chosen to learn the Violin. She has been in love with the violin since she was a very small child [Vivaldi has always been her favorite composer]. So, the violin seems a fitting choice for her for sure. Here she is with her violin:
Monkey2 is in the "Recorder" class, and he is *fascinated* with his recorder. He is practicing it all the time. He only got his recorder on Friday and he has already learned one song. He is supposed to practice for 10 minutes a day, and he is practicing for more than an hour. He's so cute and so enthusiastic!
Monkey3 and Monkey 4 have a little kid music class while the big kids are in their classes - their class is sort of a "Kindermusic" type class and they both really love it. Though Monkey3 is already learning to play the recorder too because her big brother is teaching her -she is very eager to get her own so she can play with him. I may just buy her one so they can learn together - like they do everything else!Below is Monkey2 putting together one of the complex lego sets he got for his birthday last month. It would drive me INSANE to have to put together something like that, but he loves it. He amazes me at his little engineering brain... once he got this whole thing put together, then he took it apart and designed and constructed his own space ship designs from the pieces. [He is on the top bunk of his bed in case you are wondering - the only "toddler safe" place in the house! LOL!]
I am doing OK. Recovery has been awful - it turns out that I have a uterine infection. My incision has healed well, but the inside still hurts like crazy and I have a horrible "flu like" body ache and alternate between chills and sweats. *sigh* I am on antibiotics now, but so far [48 hours into it] they aren't helping at all. DH is getting a little freaked out that I'm not responding better. Hopefully it will just take a couple of more days.
It is really killing me to be "down" this long though! I am the kind of person who "hits the ground running" after every birth [not so much because I want to I guess, but because I *need* to] and it is very difficult for me to be "laid up" for this long - we are two weeks post surgery now and I want to be "back to normal".
I hope the antibiotics kick in soon. Leave it to me to get an infection and make this as hard as it could possible be. Geez.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
If I Die Before You Wake
Wow - please take a moment this Sept. 11 to watch this video. Three of our soldiers over in Iraq wrote this song, and it really is amazing. Take the time to give it a listen and pray for those who serve our country.
If I Die Before You Wake
God Bless Our Troops and their families.
[Note: in the 8th picture in this video, you will see a Muslim woman holding her fingers in what looks like a peace sign with purple ink on her index finger. In case you, like me, don't know what this means, my husband was kind enough to explain it: When the Iraqis held their first elections and the Iraqi people finally got to vote for their own government, each person who voted put their finger in purple ink to prove they had voted [to prevent anyone from voting twice]. This woman is holding her fingers in a "V" for Victory sign and showing her purple finger, proof that she had gotten to vote - this day was considered the day of "Victory" by the Iraqi people, when they won the freedom to vote for their own government. Cool huh?]
If I Die Before You Wake
God Bless Our Troops and their families.
[Note: in the 8th picture in this video, you will see a Muslim woman holding her fingers in what looks like a peace sign with purple ink on her index finger. In case you, like me, don't know what this means, my husband was kind enough to explain it: When the Iraqis held their first elections and the Iraqi people finally got to vote for their own government, each person who voted put their finger in purple ink to prove they had voted [to prevent anyone from voting twice]. This woman is holding her fingers in a "V" for Victory sign and showing her purple finger, proof that she had gotten to vote - this day was considered the day of "Victory" by the Iraqi people, when they won the freedom to vote for their own government. Cool huh?]
Sunday, September 7, 2008
The Vaccine Book
OK, I have just read a book that I think ALL parents ought to have!The Vaccine Book by Dr. Robert Sears
This book is amazingly thorough and manages something no other book I've read on Vaccines does - it manages to be non-biased and present both sides factually. Wow.
I have found it to be tremendously helpful in trying to decide what to do when with vaccines... I'm so glad I bought it and had to share!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Reflections on Gamma Ray
I'll warn you right up front - this is a shameless, besotted new baby post. If you don't like that kind of thing, feel free to skip it. ;)
God is so good! As I was sitting up at 3am this morning feeding and watching my sweet new baby, several things occurred to me.
It occurred to me that you would think that after doing this six times that some of the awe and wonder and sheer amazement would wear off. It doesn't. Just so you know. As I sit here looking at this amazing, tiny, perfect human being, my heart almost bursts with love and happiness. She is so adorable - so perfect. So sweet. So amazing.... so completely lovable and precious.
And then, I am just awed at the amazing way God worked in all of this. How did this baby survive? Her conception shouldn't have been possible. Then she never should have made it without me being on progesterone [because I always miscarry if I'm not]. She shouldn't have made it through all the radiation I had. And the anesthesia. And then, she came through the whole pregnancy to get to the end and - geez, how did she survive that delivery?!!! Not only did I move into "severe preeclampsia" in record time ["rapid onset" they call it], but then her cord prolapsed, and, after the Section, the doctor discovered that her cord had a "true knot" in it - it was tied very tightly. My OB said she thought it was actually a good thing that everything went so wrong so early because Gemma wouldn't have survived much longer with the cord like that. If we hadn't have had to deliver when we did, there is a high liklihood that she would have been stillborn. [This is probably the reason she was extremely "quiet" the week before delivery and scaring me half to death....].
Then, my word! We joked through the whole pregnancy about how she would come out with "Super Powers" because of all the radiation, and darned if little Gamma Ray didn't! How else do we explain how well she's doing? At 34 weeks and 2 days - she breathed perfectly, and needed NO help at all. She latched right on and nursed like she'd been nursing for years [something extremely rare in a preemie of that gestation]. She had no trouble at all - the first night she had trouble maintaining her body temperature, but that was it [and that would have resolved if they'd just left her on my chest skin to skin all night - but I was so sick and in such trouble after the C-Section and blood loss that I was unable to care for her that night]. She never did see the inside of the NICU at all - I mean, the baby is truly amazing. My husband jokes that "nobody told her she's a preemie - she doesn't realize it!" and he's right! Her pediatrician said she was acting like a 37weeker, not a preemie!
And God is truly so good.
I would NEVER have had the guts to try again for another baby [even though I always said I wanted at least 6!] after Monkey5 was born and the Eclamptic Seizure and my husband's health problems and all. But I am SO glad God had other plans - I am so deliriously happy with this baby girl! She is amazing.
We all are - my husband, my children, my extended family - we are all just thrilled that she is here. Every baby should be born into a family that adores them this much - and it makes my post partum self burst in to tears to think that so many babies AREN'T born into situations where they are loved this much. Every baby deserves absolute devotion and every parent blessed to have a baby SHOULD be down on their knees thanking God for such a blessing!
Our cultural priorities are so screwed up - we see babies as "burdens" and stuff as "important". We have lost all sense of what is truly important, we have lost our sense of awe at new life. Such a sad situation.
I am just loving life these days - watching this sweet baby, learning her cute personality, watching my husband dote over her, watching my children adore her... it is all just SUCH an amazing gift.
Thank you God! Thank you so much!!!!
And now I have about nine million pictures to share [OK, I wanted to share that many, but I did restrain myself to only a dozen and a half or so LOL!].
Here is a picture showing the decels she was having from the cord prolapse:
Here is Gemma's first picture - Daddy is cutting her cord [or what was left of it after they pulled her out of the "escape hatch" they cut!]:
Here is our first picture together [see how conscious I am in this picture?! The reality is that I spent most of the first few hours after her birth fading in and out of consciousness - from blood loss and the fact that my BP would not stabilize. I kept waking up only long enough to puke!]:
Here is Gamma Ray meeting all her sisters and brother and her cousin and my brother and his girlfriend [who were SO sweet to help my parents keep the other kids while I was in the hospital for almost a week!]:
Here is Gemma meeting her aunt [my sister] who was there with us for the delivery [though not allowed into the OR at the end] and who also helped keep the kids for us during our hospital stay:
Here is Gemma with Monkey3, Monkey5, and Monkey4 and my brother's girlfriend and DH:
Here is Gemma with her Granny and Monkey2 and Monkey3 and her cousin.
My wonderful Spiritual Advisor came to the hospital and gave Gemma a blessing! So here is Gemma with Father just after receiving her first blessing:
I almost didn't include this picture because it is truly AWFUL! But gosh, it just sums up the whole experience of this birth! Don't I look like the living dead? LOL!
Here is Gemma's first diaper change:
Here are two of Gemma's "Little Mamas" - Monkey1 and Monkey5 who both just adore her!
Here is Gemma with my brother's Girlfriend:
Here is Gemma with my brother and with Monkey4 [her other "Little Mama"] and Monkey5:
Here is Gemma with her three "Little Mamas":
Here is Monkey4 with Gamma Ray!
Here is Monkey5 getting to hold "her baby" with Monkey1's help:
Here is Monkey2 with Gemma - he is so good with her!
Here is Monkey3 with Gemma - like her brother, she'd rather build things with legos than watch the baby sleep [unlike the other 3 girls LOL!], but she adores Gemma just the same:
Here is Monkey1 holding Gemma. She is *excellent* with her - very careful and very devoted.
And thus concludes Gemma's first photo shoot. :)
Thank you all, again, for your prayers - I am eternally grateful!
God bless you!!!!!
God is so good! As I was sitting up at 3am this morning feeding and watching my sweet new baby, several things occurred to me.
It occurred to me that you would think that after doing this six times that some of the awe and wonder and sheer amazement would wear off. It doesn't. Just so you know. As I sit here looking at this amazing, tiny, perfect human being, my heart almost bursts with love and happiness. She is so adorable - so perfect. So sweet. So amazing.... so completely lovable and precious.
And then, I am just awed at the amazing way God worked in all of this. How did this baby survive? Her conception shouldn't have been possible. Then she never should have made it without me being on progesterone [because I always miscarry if I'm not]. She shouldn't have made it through all the radiation I had. And the anesthesia. And then, she came through the whole pregnancy to get to the end and - geez, how did she survive that delivery?!!! Not only did I move into "severe preeclampsia" in record time ["rapid onset" they call it], but then her cord prolapsed, and, after the Section, the doctor discovered that her cord had a "true knot" in it - it was tied very tightly. My OB said she thought it was actually a good thing that everything went so wrong so early because Gemma wouldn't have survived much longer with the cord like that. If we hadn't have had to deliver when we did, there is a high liklihood that she would have been stillborn. [This is probably the reason she was extremely "quiet" the week before delivery and scaring me half to death....].
Then, my word! We joked through the whole pregnancy about how she would come out with "Super Powers" because of all the radiation, and darned if little Gamma Ray didn't! How else do we explain how well she's doing? At 34 weeks and 2 days - she breathed perfectly, and needed NO help at all. She latched right on and nursed like she'd been nursing for years [something extremely rare in a preemie of that gestation]. She had no trouble at all - the first night she had trouble maintaining her body temperature, but that was it [and that would have resolved if they'd just left her on my chest skin to skin all night - but I was so sick and in such trouble after the C-Section and blood loss that I was unable to care for her that night]. She never did see the inside of the NICU at all - I mean, the baby is truly amazing. My husband jokes that "nobody told her she's a preemie - she doesn't realize it!" and he's right! Her pediatrician said she was acting like a 37weeker, not a preemie!
And God is truly so good.
I would NEVER have had the guts to try again for another baby [even though I always said I wanted at least 6!] after Monkey5 was born and the Eclamptic Seizure and my husband's health problems and all. But I am SO glad God had other plans - I am so deliriously happy with this baby girl! She is amazing.
We all are - my husband, my children, my extended family - we are all just thrilled that she is here. Every baby should be born into a family that adores them this much - and it makes my post partum self burst in to tears to think that so many babies AREN'T born into situations where they are loved this much. Every baby deserves absolute devotion and every parent blessed to have a baby SHOULD be down on their knees thanking God for such a blessing!
Our cultural priorities are so screwed up - we see babies as "burdens" and stuff as "important". We have lost all sense of what is truly important, we have lost our sense of awe at new life. Such a sad situation.
I am just loving life these days - watching this sweet baby, learning her cute personality, watching my husband dote over her, watching my children adore her... it is all just SUCH an amazing gift.
Thank you God! Thank you so much!!!!
And now I have about nine million pictures to share [OK, I wanted to share that many, but I did restrain myself to only a dozen and a half or so LOL!].
Here is a picture showing the decels she was having from the cord prolapse:
Here is Gemma's first picture - Daddy is cutting her cord [or what was left of it after they pulled her out of the "escape hatch" they cut!]:
Here is our first picture together [see how conscious I am in this picture?! The reality is that I spent most of the first few hours after her birth fading in and out of consciousness - from blood loss and the fact that my BP would not stabilize. I kept waking up only long enough to puke!]: 
Here is Gamma Ray meeting all her sisters and brother and her cousin and my brother and his girlfriend [who were SO sweet to help my parents keep the other kids while I was in the hospital for almost a week!]:
Here is Gemma meeting her aunt [my sister] who was there with us for the delivery [though not allowed into the OR at the end] and who also helped keep the kids for us during our hospital stay:
Here is Gemma with Monkey3, Monkey5, and Monkey4 and my brother's girlfriend and DH:
Here is Gemma with her Granny and Monkey2 and Monkey3 and her cousin.
My wonderful Spiritual Advisor came to the hospital and gave Gemma a blessing! So here is Gemma with Father just after receiving her first blessing:
I almost didn't include this picture because it is truly AWFUL! But gosh, it just sums up the whole experience of this birth! Don't I look like the living dead? LOL!
Here is Gemma's first diaper change:
Here are two of Gemma's "Little Mamas" - Monkey1 and Monkey5 who both just adore her!
Here is Gemma with my brother's Girlfriend:
Here is Gemma with my brother and with Monkey4 [her other "Little Mama"] and Monkey5:
Here is Gemma with her three "Little Mamas":
Here is Monkey4 with Gamma Ray!
Here is Monkey5 getting to hold "her baby" with Monkey1's help:
Here is Monkey2 with Gemma - he is so good with her!
Here is Monkey3 with Gemma - like her brother, she'd rather build things with legos than watch the baby sleep [unlike the other 3 girls LOL!], but she adores Gemma just the same:
Here is Monkey1 holding Gemma. She is *excellent* with her - very careful and very devoted. 
And thus concludes Gemma's first photo shoot. :)Thank you all, again, for your prayers - I am eternally grateful!
God bless you!!!!!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
We Are HOME!!!!!
Catholic Mama is back in the house! ;)
We are home now, praise God!
Last night was a nightmare of warding off evil nurses with formula and sugar water...and a baby that screamed all night long because she feels strongly that billi-beds are torture devices and that she should be held all the time and nursed non-stop [a point I agree with her on LOL!].
Anyway, we had a different "on call" Pediatrician this morning who agreed with DH and I that the billi bed was totally unnecessary [at her relatively low billi levels] and that the best thing she could be doing is nursing non-stop [which is what she WAS doing before they restrained her on the stupid billi bed] and he sent us home with a "good job" pat on the back.
I'm so glad to be home!
Gemma is doing so well - it is really amazing. It is TOTALLY to God's Glory and thanks to your wonderful, kind prayers that she is alive and doing SO well - it really is a miracle.
I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all your prayers, sacrifices, and offerings - you are all so wonderful.
I will try to write up a bit of a birth story this week to share, but tonight...I'm going to bed. :)
THANK YOU!!!!!
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
Need More Prayers For Gemma
Well, we are not going home today. Gemma's bilirubin is up so she gets to stay another day while laying on a bili-bed. We are asking for prayers for her to get better soon and go home. She is nursing like a little champ but some of the doctors and nurses are getting quite eager to interfere with her breastfeeding. We are just ready to take our little monkey home.
We are also struggling to keep Monkey Mama's bloodpressure under control - it is trying to climb back up again. We are hoping that the doctors will get the medication right and get it back down to stay.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)