I just have to say that there is not a day that goes by that I am not in awe of this little boy.
His birthday festivities turned out absolutely wonderful. He was sick leading up to his party but was healthy as a horse the day of and the following week. Now he's sick again, poor kid. He went his whole first year with barely anything and now he's got this congestion and diarrhea thing going on, breaks my heart.
Thatcher is a speed walker and has even done a little jog/run here and there, it's hilarious. He "talks" nonstop and it's so neat to see him understanding what certain words mean. We think he knows Mommy Daddy Georgia bath juice banana hot apple cheese kitty more and all done. And he has attempted to say all done, and the usual mama dada. He will also shake his head "no" when we do it to him. He climbs all over the place, loves to "help" with laundry, and is really into some of his toys right now, especially the mail box, and getting on and off his rocking horse and elephant all by himself. He gives the best hugs, unfortunately it's usually when he knows it's nap time and he's like a monkey clinging to me for dear life :) And get this-he stopped using his paci a couple weeks ago, when he was sick the first time. I think it was because he couldn't breathe while he had it in. He has not had it since or needed it, which I think is pretty sweet! Thatcher has started to insist on feeding himself too, whether it be with his hands or his baby fork or spoon. Ben's mom said he did the same thing when he turned a year. Like father like son.
I am SO excited to be able to just sit back, relax, and ENJOY his second year of life. It will be nice to have a break from things like 1st holidays and I think my picture/video taking will quiet down a bit. This summer I want to join the Channahon pool and go as much as possible, as well as the zoo. Just gotta get through this gross winter first.
Ben is doing well, still really enjoys his job a lot, that for which I am so grateful for. Except that it is going to take him away from us for 2 weeks in February :( I blogged about that last time he left for a week in July, so I know that this time I have to keep us really busy to make it go by as fast as possible.
My heart is breaking for the people of Haiti right now, especially the children. If someone called me up and said we need you to take a baby right now we totally would. In the mean time we're praying and doing what we can, giving money and I gave my blood :) I doubt that will go to Haiti but it will help someone somehow right?
P.S. Aldi rocks.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Monday, January 4, 2010
A Baby Story
Ben and I tried to get pregnant for a year off of birth control before my OB finally referred us to a specialist. The basic “problem” was that I do not ovulate regularly, and my cervix is off to the side instead of a “straight shot.“ The specialist explained that we would try 3 rounds of IUI, intrauterine insemination, and if that didn’t work, we would move on to Invitro. The struggle to get pregnant was a journey in itself, that for which I am forever grateful. It is a part of our story and I feel like I appreciate pregnancy and giving birth and I realize it is not something to take for granted. And it is a testimony to how God uses the people he created, doctors, and the medicines and procedures they’ve created, to perform miracles. On the 3rd and final IUI try, we got our positive pregnancy test, and with that, a new journey began.
A year ago we had family over for my sister’s birthday. I had cleaned like a mad woman the day before, and from the moment I woke up I felt “crampy” all day. By the evening the crampiness had progressed but I sort of ignored it because, well, the party must go on. Everyone left by 9pm but my mom stayed behind. She was sure that I was in labor, but I wasn’t convinced. She took our dog Georgia home and said she’d be waiting anxiously by the phone, and I laughed at her. I started to realize that these cramps were indeed labor, so I started timing them on an online contraction timer. Ben went to bed because it was a Sunday night and he had work the next day, and I assured him that I would take a shower and try to sleep and see how I felt in the morning. Around 11pm I took a shower and that’s when the contractions started to get a little harder. I got myself and a bag ready then went in the room and said, “Ben I think we need to go to the hospital.” I came back in the room 5 minutes later and he was still asleep, so this time I really had to shake him. He sprang up and off we went. By this time the contractions were a few minutes apart and getting to be pretty unbearable, which made for a fun car ride.
We got to Silver Cross Hospital around midnight and went in the ER entrance, they took one look at me and up to labor and delivery I went. Thankfully the doctor I was not too fond of was coming off on-call and my doctor was headed in; I was so relieved. The first doctor broke my water and said I was around 2cm. At some point my parents and sister arrived, as well as Ben’s parents. I gotta tell ya, the abdominal contractions were nothing like I had ever felt in my life, but that was nothing compared to what was to come. I got my epidural and I.was.in.heaven. I never again felt abdominal contractions. But after a few hours I started to feel pain again, and this pain was out of this world. If the abdominal contractions were a 10 out of 10, these were a 19. They were coming fast and hard and none of the drugs were touching the pain. This was all because the baby was coming out head first, but face up towards the ceiling instead of down towards the floor. When babies come this way, their heads ram into the pelvic bone, causing intense pain and rectal pressure. (We had learned all of this and much more at our Prepared Childbirth class, another thing I highly recommend and am so grateful for), At one point I really thought I was going to die. One nurse had the nerve to ask me repeatedly, “Why are you crying?” Finally I blurted out, “Listen, this is my first time, it hurts really bad, and I’m scared, why do you think I’m crying?!” She shut up after that.
By this point it was around 3pm and I still wasn’t progressing enough, at the last check the doctor mentioned a c-section as an option, but only if we wanted it, he did not push it on us in any way. So I said to myself and Ben, “The next time he checks on me, if I’ve finally made it past 7cm, even if it’s only 8cm, I will keep going, but if I still haven’t progressed past 7cm after all of this, we’re doing a c-section.” So here we are, the doctor checks and says, “Sorry, still at 7cm.” Through choked sobs of pain I begged for a c-section. He was very calm and talked us through everything, making sure it was what we wanted, then off to surgery it was. There was a huge team of people in the surgery room, and Ben was by my side. They finally gave me a drug that blocked out the rectal pressure, and he made the incision. But I swear, I felt him pulling my insides out of my body! He said “You may feel some pressure,” to which I said, “NO, I FEEL YOU PULLING STUFF OUT!” It took a few more shouts to get them to believe me, and before we knew it the baby was out. We waited for the big announcement, and finally he said, “It’s a boy!” Even though we “knew” in our hearts it was a boy all along, it was still so awesome to wait and hear it proclaimed as he entered the world. But then we heard our son cry for the first time, which instantly melted our hearts and we began crying. Then I saw the most amazing creature I have ever seen in my life pop his head from behind the surgery drape. I kissed my son and then…everything went black.
The next thing I know Ben and the baby were gone and they were just about done stitching me up. Thatcher had to go to the nursery because he had gotten some of my fever that I had. I had felt a cold come on a few days before and I had managed to keep it at bay, but labor brought out the fever in full force. Another reason I am so thankful for the c-section because Thatcher’s fever may have gotten much worse if he had stayed in there any longer. After 6 long hours I finally got to see and hold my son. It was the most surreal experience of my whole life. Here was this baby, that by the grace of God Ben and I had created, now sitting here in my arms looking at me as if he knows exactly who I am. Like he had heard me and loved me for 9 months and now was thinking, “There you are Mommy.” My heart grew 10 sizes that day and has not shrunk back down since. That is also the day I watched my incredible husband turn in to the most amazing, loving, caring, protecting father I have ever met.
Thatcher Benjamin Skwirut was born January 5, 2009 at 3:34pm. The heavens rejoiced and the world became a better place that day. This first year of my son’s life has been nothing short of amazing. He is healthy, strong, smart, funny and dashingly handsome. I don’t see how anyone could deny God while looking into his gorgeous blue-eyed face. We've also made it a whole year nursing, which I am very proud of. I never really saw myself as a nursing mom, but it is so incredible and such a bonding time for mom and baby. And now that Thatcher is starting his 2nd year of life, I'm so excited to just sit back and enjoy him to the fullest. There are now 2 things I know for sure in life: I was meant to love Jesus, and I was meant to be this little boy’s mommy.
A year ago we had family over for my sister’s birthday. I had cleaned like a mad woman the day before, and from the moment I woke up I felt “crampy” all day. By the evening the crampiness had progressed but I sort of ignored it because, well, the party must go on. Everyone left by 9pm but my mom stayed behind. She was sure that I was in labor, but I wasn’t convinced. She took our dog Georgia home and said she’d be waiting anxiously by the phone, and I laughed at her. I started to realize that these cramps were indeed labor, so I started timing them on an online contraction timer. Ben went to bed because it was a Sunday night and he had work the next day, and I assured him that I would take a shower and try to sleep and see how I felt in the morning. Around 11pm I took a shower and that’s when the contractions started to get a little harder. I got myself and a bag ready then went in the room and said, “Ben I think we need to go to the hospital.” I came back in the room 5 minutes later and he was still asleep, so this time I really had to shake him. He sprang up and off we went. By this time the contractions were a few minutes apart and getting to be pretty unbearable, which made for a fun car ride.
We got to Silver Cross Hospital around midnight and went in the ER entrance, they took one look at me and up to labor and delivery I went. Thankfully the doctor I was not too fond of was coming off on-call and my doctor was headed in; I was so relieved. The first doctor broke my water and said I was around 2cm. At some point my parents and sister arrived, as well as Ben’s parents. I gotta tell ya, the abdominal contractions were nothing like I had ever felt in my life, but that was nothing compared to what was to come. I got my epidural and I.was.in.heaven. I never again felt abdominal contractions. But after a few hours I started to feel pain again, and this pain was out of this world. If the abdominal contractions were a 10 out of 10, these were a 19. They were coming fast and hard and none of the drugs were touching the pain. This was all because the baby was coming out head first, but face up towards the ceiling instead of down towards the floor. When babies come this way, their heads ram into the pelvic bone, causing intense pain and rectal pressure. (We had learned all of this and much more at our Prepared Childbirth class, another thing I highly recommend and am so grateful for), At one point I really thought I was going to die. One nurse had the nerve to ask me repeatedly, “Why are you crying?” Finally I blurted out, “Listen, this is my first time, it hurts really bad, and I’m scared, why do you think I’m crying?!” She shut up after that.
By this point it was around 3pm and I still wasn’t progressing enough, at the last check the doctor mentioned a c-section as an option, but only if we wanted it, he did not push it on us in any way. So I said to myself and Ben, “The next time he checks on me, if I’ve finally made it past 7cm, even if it’s only 8cm, I will keep going, but if I still haven’t progressed past 7cm after all of this, we’re doing a c-section.” So here we are, the doctor checks and says, “Sorry, still at 7cm.” Through choked sobs of pain I begged for a c-section. He was very calm and talked us through everything, making sure it was what we wanted, then off to surgery it was. There was a huge team of people in the surgery room, and Ben was by my side. They finally gave me a drug that blocked out the rectal pressure, and he made the incision. But I swear, I felt him pulling my insides out of my body! He said “You may feel some pressure,” to which I said, “NO, I FEEL YOU PULLING STUFF OUT!” It took a few more shouts to get them to believe me, and before we knew it the baby was out. We waited for the big announcement, and finally he said, “It’s a boy!” Even though we “knew” in our hearts it was a boy all along, it was still so awesome to wait and hear it proclaimed as he entered the world. But then we heard our son cry for the first time, which instantly melted our hearts and we began crying. Then I saw the most amazing creature I have ever seen in my life pop his head from behind the surgery drape. I kissed my son and then…everything went black.
The next thing I know Ben and the baby were gone and they were just about done stitching me up. Thatcher had to go to the nursery because he had gotten some of my fever that I had. I had felt a cold come on a few days before and I had managed to keep it at bay, but labor brought out the fever in full force. Another reason I am so thankful for the c-section because Thatcher’s fever may have gotten much worse if he had stayed in there any longer. After 6 long hours I finally got to see and hold my son. It was the most surreal experience of my whole life. Here was this baby, that by the grace of God Ben and I had created, now sitting here in my arms looking at me as if he knows exactly who I am. Like he had heard me and loved me for 9 months and now was thinking, “There you are Mommy.” My heart grew 10 sizes that day and has not shrunk back down since. That is also the day I watched my incredible husband turn in to the most amazing, loving, caring, protecting father I have ever met.
Thatcher Benjamin Skwirut was born January 5, 2009 at 3:34pm. The heavens rejoiced and the world became a better place that day. This first year of my son’s life has been nothing short of amazing. He is healthy, strong, smart, funny and dashingly handsome. I don’t see how anyone could deny God while looking into his gorgeous blue-eyed face. We've also made it a whole year nursing, which I am very proud of. I never really saw myself as a nursing mom, but it is so incredible and such a bonding time for mom and baby. And now that Thatcher is starting his 2nd year of life, I'm so excited to just sit back and enjoy him to the fullest. There are now 2 things I know for sure in life: I was meant to love Jesus, and I was meant to be this little boy’s mommy.
Friday, January 1, 2010
2010
Yup, I'm too old for New Year's Eve :) Ben and I went bowling at the cutest little old bowling alley in Lockport, then we headed over to a friend's house for some games drinks and lots of food. My mom kept Thatcher for his first overnight so Ben and I went straight home and climbed in bed at 1am, and I slept till 10am, after Ben brought me breakfast in bed at 8am :)
But back to Christmas. It was so much fun and amazing this year, and yes a big part of that is because of Thatcher. I pick up stuff for him all the time, but it was so neat shopping for MY SON'S Christmas presents, it was such a nice feeling. And being that he is almost a year old, his first holidays were soooo much fun, he really enjoyed them, especially Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve at Ben's parents' house and my friend Annie was there too. We ate salmon, opened gifts, and Thatcher slept while we went to the Christmas Eve candlelight service at my church. Christmas morning my family of 3 opened gifts together then my mom and sister came over and we opened more gifts. THEN we went to my cousin's house for our big family Christmas which includes Santa. Thatcher was very aware of him and didn't cry, but he also didn't want to be Santa's friend. Then the next day we headed to my aunt's house in Tremont, IL and had Christmas with my dad, aunt and uncle. We were all very spoiled by our gifts from everyone this year. It was also a nice Christmas because our good friends Amy and Scottie were in town from Montana.
Now it's 2010, the year of my 10 year high school reunion, and in just a few short days, Thatcher's first birthday :( We are planning a fabulous party for him at Grandma and Grandpa Skwirut's house on Jan 9th. I think on his birthday I will post about his birth story, since I didn't start blogging till a little while after he was born. Funny how it's still fresh in my mind, like it was only yesterday. My heart grows 10 times bigger every time I think about the day Thatcher Benjamin Skwirut entired my life. Love you Bubba.
But back to Christmas. It was so much fun and amazing this year, and yes a big part of that is because of Thatcher. I pick up stuff for him all the time, but it was so neat shopping for MY SON'S Christmas presents, it was such a nice feeling. And being that he is almost a year old, his first holidays were soooo much fun, he really enjoyed them, especially Christmas. We spent Christmas Eve at Ben's parents' house and my friend Annie was there too. We ate salmon, opened gifts, and Thatcher slept while we went to the Christmas Eve candlelight service at my church. Christmas morning my family of 3 opened gifts together then my mom and sister came over and we opened more gifts. THEN we went to my cousin's house for our big family Christmas which includes Santa. Thatcher was very aware of him and didn't cry, but he also didn't want to be Santa's friend. Then the next day we headed to my aunt's house in Tremont, IL and had Christmas with my dad, aunt and uncle. We were all very spoiled by our gifts from everyone this year. It was also a nice Christmas because our good friends Amy and Scottie were in town from Montana.
Now it's 2010, the year of my 10 year high school reunion, and in just a few short days, Thatcher's first birthday :( We are planning a fabulous party for him at Grandma and Grandpa Skwirut's house on Jan 9th. I think on his birthday I will post about his birth story, since I didn't start blogging till a little while after he was born. Funny how it's still fresh in my mind, like it was only yesterday. My heart grows 10 times bigger every time I think about the day Thatcher Benjamin Skwirut entired my life. Love you Bubba.
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