is it over yet?

I am really tired of being pregnant. I am still not feeling well most of the time but I can't think about it because there is so much other stuff to do during the day. Maybe thats why people say each pregnancy gets better, because you don't have time to know that it isn't better. I am now going to the Dr. weekly, or at least I would be if they hadn't screwed up my last 2 appointments. I have to call about the rest of the appointments I have already scheduled to make sure they have all of them. The Dr. checked me yesterday and I am 1 cm and 50% effaced. That doesn't sound like a lot to me right now. I always hope that when I go in to be checked the Dr. will say, "you are 5 and need to go to the hospital" but that never happens...too bad. I asked the Dr. to strip my membranes while I was there but she said she couldn't until the results of the test she took yesterday came back, bummer, I have to wait until next week for that one. I have been having a lot of contractions the past week or so. Sometimes every 10 min for a few hours at a time, but they don't seem to get much closer together and thus I can't go to the hospital. I have been throwing up in my sleep again recently, most recently last night. When that happens I have to go sleep on the couch in a semi upright position for a few hours so I don't wake up coughing and gagging. Yesterday on top of everything else I had a migraine. The screaming children were not helpful. But I made it though the day and, once again, didn't go into labor. I guess that's all for my complaining post, at least it doesn't last forever, although it seems like it...3 years is a long time. Time to go put Kate down for a nap, and maybe do some coloring with Aidan, who is singing in his room right now. I think he is trying for the ABC's.

awhile

As my mom so lovingly pointed out in a recent email, we've not posted anything in quite awhile. Whelp, Aidan now says his own name really well and knows that it is his. He points to me and says "daddy," to Amy and says "mama," to Kate and says "sissy," and then points to himself and says "Aidan." Kate is getting more gorgeous all the time. We just had another doctor's appointment for her. The appointment previous had indicated to us that she had not gained any weight from the appointment before that, but that she had gained considerable height. Well, the doctor was not good with no weight gain, but said that there was at least no loss. The doctor then told us to up her calorie intake again. We started putting rice cereal into her formula bottles. We also upped the baby food. The appointment was yesterday, Thursday, and she had gained half a pound, so the doctor was pleased. Amy has found something for her heartburn. It is a powder that she diludes in water that she drinks in order to balance out her body's pH. The RN that got Amy into the essential oils was the one who pointed her in this direction about her body's acidity. Amy has felt a lot better, in relation to the heartburn, but another problem has arisen. Amy got some blood work done recently, and we found out that she is severely anemic. She got some iron pills, but they've not done enough yet. We're hoping that with some more time that she'll balance out there, too, and have the energy that she's been lacking. Hope you enjoyed our quick update. We'll have to do some more pictures and video soon.

Kate update

I just realized we haven't said anything about Kate recently.  She is doing wonderfully now.  Right before Christmas we took her in for a weight check and she was at 15 lbs.  She was sucking well now and eating enough oz during the day so the doctor said that we could take the tube out so we didn't have to take all of the stuff with us to Alabama.  We were excited about that.  She told us to e=keep everything in case we had to put it back in when we got home but we would check her weight again when we got back.  THe doctor was just expecting her to maintain her weight while we were gone and not to gain anything else.  We took her in again a couple of days after we got home and she had gained another pound while we were away!  So now she is off the tube for good and we are starting over on solid food.  Thank you so much for your prayers throughout this whole situation.  God is good.

injustice

I meant to post this awhile back. I wrote this during a doctor's appointment for Kate after we'd been home for three days. They checked her weight and gave her the 6 month shots they didn't the last time we went in because of the weight issue. Her weight, according to the numbers the doctor gave us, was up a pound and a quarter from what it was when we left the hosiptal. I find that incredible. The LORD does answer prayers. By the way, she is now taking formula from a bottle by herself (allowing Amy to simply sit there and hold her as she feeds, instead of having to be more proactive). She still takes about 45 minutes to finish her feeding, but at least she's progressing. And her little body is starting to take on body fat again. Praise the LORD. Here's the post I meant to do on November 21st (last Wednesday):

Aidan's first injustice was done to him today by one of his peers (that I've at least been witness to). When we were at the pediatrician's office today, a girl wouldn't let Aidan play on the same waiting room apparatus as her. She told him "no" and "go away" as she waved her arms at him. He handled it with poise, but he was not totally sure what to do about her. He stood at a distance, tried to give her space as he moved, and was faced with opposition when he tried to play near her. The girl's father would say things to her like "you can't dominate all of the toys" and "be nice" and "don't tell him no," but was sadly inept at controling his offspring. It was quite the lesson for me to watch, since I decided that I shouldn't interject on his behalf. Aidan did enjoy spinning the "picture body arrangements" and sitting in "Aidan-sized" chairs (which he needed help to sit in and get out of; still a bit too tall for his little legs, or, at least, his dexterity).

back and forth

Life's been pretty "back and forth" lately. Back and forth to the hospital and home for me, and Amy, at times. We've put over 220 miles on the van in the past three days. Kate is worth it. I did go to work and teach today, but I am now headed back to the hospital to be with Amy and Kate. I still have not seen Aidan in three days. I miss my little buddy. Hopefully tomorrow.

Kate update: Kate's going to be fine, but it is going to take a bit more time to get her used to a bottle, actually to suck on it, and to then get her the full amount of nutrients she will need to catch back up to where she should be growth-wise. We have a nutritionist who is going to be giving us the amounts of liquids and solids we'll need to give her daily, and then we'll break that down to how much per meal. Kate did take 5 oz from a bottle for breakfast this morning, but she did not suck on it. That should come, though. We are confident that the LORD has been answering all of your prayers for Kate. We are excited about bringing her home, but the doctor told us yesterday that it would be another two days (we're hoping that means she'll be coming home tomorrow - Saturday - night). Thank you for your continued prayers and support. Our body is a loving one (and I'm not just talking about the local body of ncc, but of all the believers involved in our lives). "God is good all the time. All the time, God is good!"

kate in hospital

Tuesday nights are always CCC (the Christian Club on Campus) for Deer Valley. I sponsor this club as a ministry and help shepherd and disciple the student leaders of the group. But not tonight...

Katelyn has been having a rough day today. Amy took her in for a follow-up visit from our last week's excursion. Last week we took her in just because we're concerned about her weight loss. She's not been eating as well as she should have been. She had been sick, so she stopped eating as much, but more than that, she's not been taking in the amount of formula she needs because she will not drink from any type of bottle, no matter the nipple or sippy cup form or size. Is she just picky? Is she having a hard time swallowing? She eats baby food, and swallows it, for that matter, without pause. Since we found out Amy's been pregnant, she's physically been unable to breast-feed, otherwise we'd still be doing that (well, she'd still be doing that). With that background laid for you, Amy took her in to see the doctor for the follow-up, but she had lost 3 more oz. in the last week, so he suggested the hospital for her. Amy came by school and got me after school was out. Amy had already taken Aidan to the Ogles', where he is spending the night, and we then proceeded to the Phoenix Children's Hospital at 19th St and Thomas in downtown Phoenix. We got her in there around 3:30-4:00. We got a room and they took her vitals. The doctor for the night shift (a very personable and understanding man) was great and asked us the same questions we'd answered at least twice before, but we obliged. He told us that nothing more would happen tonight but that we'd get at it in the morning and run tests and the like. I came home so I could sleep and then teach tomorrow, and Amy stayed with Kate. It was hard for me to leave, but I have teaching to do, also. Amy is holding up well, and Kate is doing fine. Strangest thing about it: she is "healthy," happy, coos, smiles, interacts, lifts herself up, and is overall doing fine (not to mention that she's gorgeous).

One of the great things that happened tonight, though, is that my Grandma Irene called and came to the hospital to be with us. It was great to see her again, catch up a bit, and have her around in a time of need. She is a great care giver, and we appreciated very much that she was willing to come and help us out. Love you, Grandma.

We'll see what happens tomorrow. If I have to leave work, I will leave work. Family first. But there is no need for me to just be there and wait (not to mention that there is really only one chair in the room for others besides patients). Amy is great. I appreciate her very much for stepping up and being there and allowing me to work in the meantime. I'll be getting back there as soon as I can after school tomorrow. I'll try to keep you all posted on what's going on. But for now, please pray for our little girl.

done waiting...finally

Well, I guess I was wrong about Kate being early. But that's because we are done waiting for her to make her arrival, as everyone already knows. I am sitting at home on the couch, a soon to be rare moment that nothing is happening. Aidan and Kate are both napping, we have already eaten lunch, there is laundry washing, and Adam is playing racquetball with Chris. I am tired, Adam let me get a nap in this morning though, it was a nice couple of hours. So I am not too sure where to start, I am going to write about my experiences these past few days, I guess I'll just start at the beginning...yeah...So I went to the Dr. on Tuesday morning and I was the same as I had been for the last 3 weeks. Adam and I had talked about when we wanted to be induced by if nothing was happening. I asked the Dr. if we could go in Thursday night and she said she would have to check the scheduling of the other Dr. on call. She said that it might be hard to get in and made it sound like we wouldn't be able to do anything until next week. I told her I would take what I could get and they were going to call me later in the afternoon with a time for me to go in. They called a few hours later and told me the wanted me to go in the next morning at 6. I wasn't expecting that. So we tried to get some stuff done on Tuesday night and called the next morning and were left waiting for a bed. There was finally one open a couple of hours later. The next thing I knew we were in the room waiting again (it was busy for a while there). They started the IV with petocin and bring on the contractions. So last time I had he epidural right when they started the petocin , this time I waited a few hours before I got it. The contractions weren't quite what I expected them to be. I wasn't sure since I didn't feel much of anything last time. There was a lot of pressure during the contractions but it was decently bearable. I got the epidural again, this time was so much better than last time. I think that last time the Dr. gave me too much medication. I pretty much couldn't feel anything at all. This time was much better I think. I could still feel the contractions but not the pain from them, I could still feel the pressure of Kate pushing down and I could actually move my legs. I dilated fast, I was fully ready to go about 3:30 I think (they started the IV at 10:30). I felt like I needed to push, I pushed for 10 min or so and they wanted me to wait for her to come down some more on her own so I would stretch out some more and have less of a chance of tearing again (apparently my tear last time was really bad and they were concerned about it). So I had to wait for an hour and sit with my legs crossed in front of me; so much for gravity and the epidural. I had a really good nurse, she was talkative and informative; I liked her a lot. Finally it was time to push, the Dr. checked me out and found that Kate was facing her side instead of the back, I pushed once and she turned right around. It took 3 good contractions (3 pushes per contraction) for her to crown. Then the Dr. told me to stop pushing, I said I wasn't. Kate came out anyway: apparently she didn't want to be in there anymore. I didn't push any more and out she came. She was crying before she was even all the way out. It was more emotional for me this time; I almost cried. I think that this time around I will cherish things more because I know they will be gone quickly. She really is quite beautiful, I was glad to have the time in the hospital with her to get to know her a bit better. I decided to stay an extra night so I wouldn't have to deal with both kids so soon. It was nice, Kate and I just napped and relaxed yesterday morning at the hospital while Adam was at school. I really enjoyed my experience again, it was so much different than last time but just as special. More to come later, time for Kate to eat.

still waiting

We are still waiting for Kate to come. She was due yesterday, I really thought that she would be early. I went to the Dr. again this morning, she seems surprised that Kate is so low and continues to move down and I haven't gone into labor. I am still 3 cm dilated, just waiting now. I really don't want to be induced again, not that it was a bad experience but I am not so sick this time and would like to wait. Unfortunately this isn't a really good time of year to be waiting. Adam has finals to give next week and is doing things for DVHS graduation. He has an interview tomorrow, and not to mention all of the graduations that we really want to go to for our kids from church. I am also taking a wedding on the 3rd of June and would like to at least be able to walk around well for that. Then the next week my cousins will be in town and we are off to HS camp at the end of the week. So, the sooner the better for Kate as of now. I feel like I am going to be pregnant forever...maybe that's just cause I have been for the past 2 years...I know God's timing is perfect, but its hard. I have started throwing up in my sleep again this past week. The other night I threw up and didn't really even fully wake up until I was already sitting up coughing and Adam was patting me on the back asking if I was OK. I think it's kind of scary that I was still mostly sleeping and could have not sat up or started coughing, God is a good protector. So I guess we are just waiting to see when they can get me into the hospital to induce me. Any time now Kate...

interesting meeting

Whelp, you wouldn't normally think that going with your wife to an ultrasound would give you the chance to see James Jones in person, but today it worked out that way. We had just finished getting the ultrasound done to see if Kate was still doing well and was on schedule, and she is. Kate seems to be completely healthy, is head down, and has dropped. Amy is ready for the pregnancy to be over, especially now as she is starting to get sick and a lot more emotional than normal (I love my wife). Aidan wasn't as big of a pain as he could have been, so that was a plus, as well. Gotta love that kid. BTW, have you seen his recent pictures below? Just a plug. Then, on our way out of the doctor's doorway, Suns forward James Jones and his wife were getting out of their Hummer H3 with a Florida license plate to go into the same office that we were leaving. It took me a second to place who he was, but we said hello to each other and went our own ways. Amy said I should go back in and get his autography, since I probably wouldn't have another chance like that again, but I refused. I said that he was with his wife and I should just let him be with her. Truth is, I was probably more afraid that he was just someone who looked like Jones. Oh, well. It is a cool story to tell. So, Amy's alright, Kate's fine, and I said hello to James Jones. Not a bad morning off from work (since I took a "family sickness" day to go with Amy to the ultrasound).

no longer "fat head"

Well, the day has now come that I cannot call my son, Aidan, "fat head." That was one of the nicknames that I had for him so that he would be scarred for life. Heh heh. Amy took Aidan for his 9 month check up today, and the results of his measurements were that he is 29 inches tall (75 percentile), 20 lbs. 2 ounces (50 percentile), and his head circumference was 44 cm (only in the 45 percentile). Because his HC percentage is only 45, that means that 55% of babies have bigger heads than my son. No longer "fat head." Oh, well, I still love him. I'll call him "chubby cheeks." Oh, and we've found out that he is teething. He's got his two top middle teeth coming in. The doctor told Amy that she's never seen top teeth coming in first. Go Aidan! What a Van Liew stud!