Amazed

"AMAZED"

       This song has been my all time favorite worship song for years, and was played in our wedding 3 years ago. I've always felt the most connected with God through music, and this song never fails to bring me back to where I need to be. On my 12 mile run this morning God brought me to a place of peace and serenity that I have not felt since Caleb was born 9 months ago... Let me share.
      I rarely run my long runs alone, and even more rare, I chose to run this morning instead of going to church... but this morning Caleb slept until 8 (which is a true rarity), and I felt it necessary to take advantage. :) So I mapped out a random run around Champlin, grabbed my iphone and running gear and head out this morning for a solo run, praying I'd make it the full distance on my own without getting bored, while Adam stayed back with Caleb.
       I was about 6 miles in, tired, sore and complaining to myself when i came across this unexpected beautiful lake in the middle of a very autumn wooded area. Right as I neared this splendid scene, on came this song, Amazed, by Desperation Band. I stopped in my tracks and immediately knew God was trying to tell me something... so why not stop, listen, and take a much appreciated walking break to take it in?
       I was instantly brought to tears, as i started reminiscing of my current life's circumstances.  My dear sweet Caleb was born 9 months ago, 9 MONTHS AGO... and I can honestly say its been the toughest, most wearing 9 months of my entire life. Most parents can agree with this statement, but they would also say... "but its been the most rewarding" or "I wouldn't trade it in for the world"... and i thought to myself... how can i not say that? I have this perfect, beautiful little baby boy. How awful of a person can i really be when i'm stripped down to my core and I am overwhelmed with exhaustion, saddness and discouragement, rather than pure joy as i have begun this journey as a new mom.

      For those of you who know Adam and I, know our life has been extremely difficult with our Caleb. In a nutshell, he is the epitome of a "colicky" baby.  The first 6 months of his life are literally a haze to this family... screaming, crying, a non-sleeping haze.  And yes, i know many of you will say... "oh yes, we had one of those...our baby just didn't sleep", but nobody, nobody knows the extent of just how unique our baby boy has been. The ONLY way to get him to sleep would be with hours, HOURS, of bouncing on an exercise ball. No rocking, bouncing, jumping, stair walking, car driving, swings, baby seats or shhhh'shing would do the trick. just the exercise ball.  but it was something, it was our savior for the first half of his life.  Then SLOWLY starting around 5-6 months, we would be able to set him down for short periods of time, play with him, smile with him and start to enjoy our little guy during the day... but nights... back to the same ole thing. Countless wake ups throughout the night, crying, screaming, arching in pain... but the doctors had no answers. Wasn't reflux, bowels tested out fine, wasn't what was in my breast milk as i changed my diet more times that i can count... he was just a "colicky baby". So we finally gave up trying to find the answer, and tried to enjoy the happy times we got. And yes, there were many many happy times... it was our sigh of relief during the day, because once it hit night fall we knew it was going to be rough. I began getting literally anxious as bedtime came because i knew how tired, sick and upset i'd feel at 12, 1, 130, 230, 3, 4, 415, 430, 5 and 6am. The countless times you'd bounce him and finally get him to sleep, only to lay him down and see him wiggle awake screaming right when you hit your pillow. It was getting so hard and resentment was building in our marriage.  We tried switching off nights so one of us could get a full night sleep, we tried taking late night/early morning shifts... you name it. But exhaustion hits you, and it turns you into somebody you don't even recognize. Adam and I became such bitter people, with only enough energy to be "pleasant" once we were out with family and friends, but at home... we were selfish, unloving, and were just getting by, while focusing on taking care of caleb, and caleb only. 
     Now the point of this post isnt supposed to be negative, I promise... as I was standing staring at the lake, these are the memories I have of the past 9 months and it broke me to tears.  How are they all SO negative. I love my baby more than life itself. He is the cutest, sweetest, funniest little guy, and I wouldn't ever trade him back for life without him. It breaks my heart to have so many negative memories of his first months of life. and it makes it even worse to think of how I handled it so poorly... so selfishly. Yes i have an excuse, I was exhausted... I was, and often still am, averaging probably 3-5 hours of sleep a night. Some nights less, some nights more. for 9 months, that is NOT enough sleep. There were SO many times I'd complain to God... why? why did you give me a son who I can't even enjoy as an infant? but you know what... how awful am I to say this? Some families can't have babies, some families have babies who really are sick. WE are SO blessed. I was reminded today just how blessed I am. I HAVE a son, I HAVE Caleb who IS a healthy (ha!) baby boy, who I get to spend my days with, who i get to care for, nurture and love. And yes its been hard, but from the get go we knew we were going to have a baby boy who was different than the rest, and that's why we named him Caleb. He's a tough cookie, already been through a lot... he's a baby of a different spirit, with courage, strength, and will grow up in a family of faith.

     I dont have the answers, I don't know why God has given Adam and I such "needy" pets and children... but you know what... i'm thankful.  I'm constantly AMAZED at how we've gotten to the point we are at now... and the growth we have ahead of us.  It's not easy, and Adam and I constantly struggle to get through it, but we do. And we have God to thank for that.
       As i listen to this song I think of the many nights I lay crying while bouncing Caleb to sleep, feeling abandoned by God, but all along... He was there. He was dancing around me, ALWAYS there, wrapping his arms around the both of us and trying to say... "I love you, it will be ok". You don't always know what God's plan is... but He will bring you through tough times to grow you as a person and this is one of those times for my family.  I'm constantly and will always be AMAZED by His love for me. At my deepest hours, He is there... Now my job is to remember that, ask for forgiveness, move on and continue caring, loving and praying for my family that I am so truly AMAZED to have.

FINALLY!... our birth story...

OK to say the past 5 months have been choatic would be an understatement... but the fact that i haven't even opened my blog to write on it may have been your first clue. :) Here it is, 5 months late... Caleb's long awaited BIRTH STORY in a nutshell..

Caleb Timothy's - oh so lovely - entrance to this world did not go so easy, but no labor is, right?! Due to my pre-eclampsia I was induced on Decemeber 29th, after 1 1/2 weeks of modified "bed rest". I was exactly 39 weeks along, but ironically also my original due date. I was showing no signs of labor, no dialation, cervix still closed... nothing. So we arrived at Maple Grove Hospital at 9am that Friday... and started meds to basically pre-induce me... and get things going. Within an hour, things were progressing slowly and fine... when all of the sudden one nurse rushes in, then another, then another.. then another. Low and behold the beginning of a long day, Caleb was not responding well to the induction and decided his heart-rate wanted to keep dipping too low. So I got to flip back and forth, on my back, to the side, to the other side... oxygen mask on, flip flop flip... few minutes later heartrate was back up and in the clear. After another hour of monitoring things were going fine so we decided to try pitocin... at this point maybe dilated to a 1. Within a half hour of the pitocin, Caleb decided to keep us on our toes, heart-rate back down... flip flop, oxygen mask...out came pitocin. Waited another hour or two and monitored baby... Caleb's heartrate did this a few more times. Our sweet doc (whom we endearingly nicknamed doogie houwser (sp?)... she was 31) came in and basically explained that we need to plan on a c-section. I was truly disappointed, the one thing i wanted to avoid... but she was worried had we kept on progressing like this, Caleb's heartrate may not bounce back after an episode and then we'd have to rush to an emergency c-section which was DEFINITELY not in our plans. So she gave us a few minutes to discuss. Adam convinced me it was the safest choice and we were agreeing on doing the c-section, when doc came back and said she may have rushed into things and suggested one safer measure of induction she could try before we go that route. We wont' get to the nitty gritty but this was the most painful part of my labor... imagine a balloon being blown up... up there, with a hook... ok enough details, it was painful... but it WORKED after 2 tries and a LOT of pain.. and this point mind you i had no pain meds. My body responded and before we knew it i was dialated to a 6 in no time. Decided to get the epidural, mainly because contractions were coming fast and hard... and we were still worried about a c-section and wanted to have the epidural ready incase. The epidural lasted a good hour for me, totally enjoyed being able to converse and relax a bit while feeling just mild pain. But once it was go time, and i reached 9... that sweet epidural was not doing the trick. Not to mention at this point I had been put on Magnesium... basically the drug from hell. It is an anti-seizure medication i needed to be on due to my pre-eclamsia. Magnesium basically makes you feel out of it, tired, dizzy, drunk. So that had kicked in, epidural not really working all to well... but before we knew it it was 930ish pm and i could FEEL that it was time to push. Told the doc, and sure enough i was at a 10. doc came in, and praise the Lord, the only time Caleb's heartrate stayed in the safe zone was during active labor (the one time the doc would be most concerned about it dipping). He was ready. :) After a half hour of pushing, we heard that first ever sweet baby Caleb cry. RELIEF!!! I DID IT! i honestly did not think my body could handle such a feat... but once they pulled Caleb out, he peed all over me... all i could do was cry laugh and cry some more. Most amazing miracle one could ever endure. 

And before this post gets any longer, i must give my "fainter" of a husband some mad props. He faints at blood, any sort of bad injury or THOUGHT ofa  bad injury... and not only did he NOT faint, he watched the whole thing, cut the umbilical chord... all while keeping the world informed of my step by step labor via facebook. :) Way to go Adam!

There ends the beginning of the most amazing, yet most challenging and trying time in our life. Our sweet family welcomed a sweet baby boy into the world. Thank you Jesus. 

6 lbs 0oz, 20 inches

Pregnancy and Labor... out of my control.

The final trimester has finally hit and there is so much going on in my mind!

I can't believe we are sitting at 30 weeks pregnant right now... it all comes into perspective when i think about how my sweet little nephew Chase, my brother and SIL's first baby, came at 34 weeks... um, that's like just over 3 weeks away.

Not saying my baby will come early, but I have to be prepared right?! Basically, in my mind, its crunch time!

Trying to remain calm, cool, collected... at the same time i'm thinking holy moly... so many things we don't have yet for baby, a nursery that needs to be set up, a house that needs to be baby-proofed, research that needs to be done, plans to be set (is it sad that i'm already concerned about what we are going to do with Milly when we go into labor), budgets to be made, bags to be packed, decisions to be made (drugs/no drugs is a biggy)... the list goes on. And I can guarantee if my husband is reading this, his eyes are rolling. :)

Yes i know we have a good start on almost everything on that list, but I am a planner... NOT such an organizer, although i wish i was, but a planner. I feel the need to be in control at all times, and let's be honest... pregnancy and labor are two things that are completely OUT of our control. Sure we can prepare for certain aspects of it, but in all reality... Caleb is going to enter this world on the exact day and time that God has intended him to come. And there isn't much i can do to control the length or severity of my actual labor, so why worry about it?

Control is something that I need to completely surrender, and remind myself daily... some things are out of my control. And you know what, every time I do let go of that control, God shows up in huge ways.... what a concept.

Regardless, we are in our final 10 weeks... and after 2 childbirth classes, the excitement rises. God has blessed us with this pregnancy, and the gift of being parents is something that Adam and I look forward to and are ready to take on with open arms! :)

29 WEEKS and counting...

29 weeks! WELCOME to the 3rd TRIMESTER

Size of baby: 2.5 lbs?! and will triple in size by the time it's born... ok, how is my belly going to get that big?!

Maternity Clothes: Basically made the switch. Still loving my leggings, but now that it's getting colder, i'm LOVING my sweatpants and sweatshirts (maybe a little too much), preggo jeans and shirts.

Gender: BOY! our baby Caleb is a kicking machine these days.

Baby bump: Ever so big! People now ask me about my baby out and about :) cute.

Sleep: The potty stops in the middle of the night have bumped back up to 3x a night on average. Also, the belly bulge is making for some uncomfortable sleep. but the body pillow helps a bit :)

Cravings: Nothing that stands out right now, still loving my carbs :) and ice cream seems to be creeping back, uh oh.

What i miss most: clothes fitting, running and working out frequently.

Symptoms: back pain, and LOTS of baby movement! yay!

What i'm looking forward to: baby showers! and setting up our baby room! our parents ordered us our crib and dresser, can't wait to get the baby room all set up.

24 WEEKS Preggo

~ 24 weeks ~

Size of baby: getting big... between 1-2 pounds now!

Maternity Clothes: I tried following my dear SIL Kelly's advice and went with stretchy

hydraulic jeans rather than the maternity jean route... well i bought them a month ago, tried wearing them yesterday... was NOT going to happen without a belly band. so i think its time to hit the stores, i'm in full out maternity gear now. guess it's time to shop for some new fall clothes. :)

Gender: BOY! our baby Caleb is growing so fast

Baby bump: It's definitely noticeable now... :) Passed up the "girls"

Sleep: I am getting more uncomfortable these days, sleep is never uninterrupted, ah well.

Cravings: Love me some grapes and fruit as usual... nothing else out of the ordinary. bread and chocolate are still top runners. :)

What i miss most: Being fit, being able to walk fast, run and workout regularly without getting tired.

Symptoms: just an ever expanding belly! i'm feeling awesome these days! and kickin baby all the time, woohoo!

What i'm looking forward to: getting started on our nursery! :) (classic whinnie the pooh)

Sporting my new "due date postage stamp" shirt

Over Half Way Preggo!

~21 weeks~

Size of baby: a whoppin 1 pound now... size of a cantaloupe!

Maternity Clothes: Just recently started hitting up the stores for maternity only clothes for me, i am officially moving out of my normal clothing... bittersweet. :) I'm loving my cotton skirts, maternity shorts, and maternity tanks

Gender: BOY! our baby Caleb is growing so fast

Baby bump: it's ever expanding... and strangers can finally tell i'm not just fat, but preggo! finally! now it can slow down. :)

Sleep: On and Off days. I am now an only side sleeper, pillows help with my back. waking up less for the potty, only 1-2 times now.

Cravings: cravings have decreased some, but still bagels, grapes, and i've added cheese and pbj to the list :)

What i miss most: Being physically fit and having endless energy! Not used to the extra weight just yet, but reminded that it's helping my wee one grow up healthy. and trying to walk as much as possible.

Symptoms: I've been feeling SO much better this past month. some muscle cramps here and there

What i'm looking forward to: Still waiting to really feel the baby kick. My placenta is in the way, so I think i've felt him a few times, but I can't wait until I can feel him undoubtedly.

BABY registry ADVICE!?!?! :)

Well, we are halfway through our pregnancy and couldn't be more thrilled! The bump is growing, our baby room is starting to fill up, and now it's time to start thinking about baby necessities before it's time to REGISTER :) I have been so blessed to already start stocking up on some cute clothes and baby basics from family, friends, and awesome child care parents. But now it's time to start picking out fun new things for our first little baby boy.

I need ADVICE. I would love ANY and ALL opinions on what items have been a

--"must have"--

--"waste of money"--

--"just plain fun"--

for your newborn babes. So any of you experienced mothers out there... please help me out!

Also any advice you have on brands of car-seats, carriers, pack-n-plays, strollers, joggers, etc... I'd love to hear it. I am experienced with caring for babes and kiddos, but when it comes to quality, SAFE, yet affordable purchases, I am a novice and would love some guidance... :) THANKS ALL!