Our first family picture
Stretching time with Nona
Monday, August 7, 2017
First Mass
Sunday, August 6th
All day today I had no idea what day it was. Or the time. Really neither matter anymore, just when Zay ate last. It's funny how quickly he's taken control over our lives. :)
We started off the morning with grand plans to get to Mass early and in between feedings. Zay is eating about every 3-4 hours, and with 5 churches within 5 miles of us, we had plenty of masses to pick from. 9:15 quickly came and went. 10am was pushing the feeding schedule. He didn't get up to eat in time to make 10:45. Somehow he was up and ate in time for us to make it to 11:30! Zay didn't make a peep (well maybe a few small ones) during the entire mass and did really great with the loud organ music. In fact, he seemed to smile every time the music started up. :) He even got a blessing from one of the Priests. And what better mass to make his first one than the feast of the Transfiguration!
After Mass we headed back "home" for the day. At one point mom and I left to pick up more stuff for the kid (we are going to need another room here soon just to keep all of his stuff in!) and left Trent with some time alone with the little guy. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful although we did give Zay his first sponge bath as he managed to pee all over himself today (such a proud mom moment there).
Tomorrow (Monday), Trent's parents arrive in town and Zay will have two Grandmas and a Grandpa doting on him. Boy is this kid going to be spoiled...
Sunday, August 6, 2017
The First Few Days
So it's early on day 3 as a mom. I've been wide awake since 5am (the last time Zay got up) and although it was Trent's turn to feed him and get him back to sleep I couldn't get myself back to sleep and decided I better start doing some writing for you all. :) So I'm sitting here in the dark (other than my computer screen), listening to my husband snore and my baby boy made funny little noises and could not be happier. Thank you God for such amazing blessings in my life!
Back to Day 1. Isaiah (or Zay as we are calling him) is overall a pretty easy baby. He only cries when he's hungry, dirty or cold (he hates being cold). Otherwise he's pretty chill. The first day and night went pretty good and were fairly uneventful. We traded off times getting up with him and although he didn't eat as well as his did the during the day, it wasn't terrible.
Day 2 was our first full day with him. Again, pretty easy baby. Slept a lot and ate better. I got out for a little bit to get a few needed items for the baby and a few groceries for our little "home away from home" in the Residence Inn. My mom booked her flight to come on Saturday and Trent's parents made plans to drive down and arrive on Monday, so we are excited to have reinforcements on their way. I know many more would have loved to have to come visit, but we limited it to the grandparents only. Planning for all of this, we read books that said to keep this time to just us for bonding and at first that was our plan. But we later decided we couldn't hold off the grandparents from visiting and told them they could come. We are so glad we did as I have no idea what we were thinking when we thought we could do this for days on end with just us!
The second night was rough. Zay was fussy most of the night and barely ate or slept. Finally around 5am he decided to sleep. I guess we all know who is in charge now. ;)
Day 3 brought reinforcements in the form of an "old" friend from my freshman year at SLU and Nona Lembke! My friend Alli from SLU stopped by and brought over a bouncy seat to use while we are down here. It was great to see her again and catch up. It's amazing how people come and go in our lives but some you know will always be there for you. Alli is one of those amazing people. We were immediate friends at SLU, living on the same floor together, and although I've only seen or talked to her a handful of times since then, we are able to pick up like we just saw each other last week.
After Alli left, all 3 of us loaded in the car to make the trip to airport to pick up my mom. It was so great to have extra help and another person to talk to. I would love to have my Dad here too, but the bike trip to Sturgis was already scheduled, so he was leaving for that. That, and we all know there was no way Nona was going to share her time with Zay with anyone else! :) With my mom here I was able to get some laundry done and in hopes that he would sleep better, washed the sleep sac that the hospital gave us when we left. Oh my that thing is amazing! I'm sure you're wondering how a new mom is awake at 5am and can't sleep while the baby is sleeping? Well that's because Zay slept for two 4 hour stretches last night. That's right, less the 30 minute feeding at 1am, I got 7.5 hours of sleep last night. Thank you God for sleep sacs! First thing we will be doing after mass this morning is going to buy more of those! :) And then I'll be taking a nap, because even I know I shouldn't be up right now.
I can't thank you all enough for all of your prayers and support this last year and half and especially these last few days. We both felt all of your prayers from here and know that we could not have made it this far without all of you.
Back to Day 1. Isaiah (or Zay as we are calling him) is overall a pretty easy baby. He only cries when he's hungry, dirty or cold (he hates being cold). Otherwise he's pretty chill. The first day and night went pretty good and were fairly uneventful. We traded off times getting up with him and although he didn't eat as well as his did the during the day, it wasn't terrible.
Day 2 was our first full day with him. Again, pretty easy baby. Slept a lot and ate better. I got out for a little bit to get a few needed items for the baby and a few groceries for our little "home away from home" in the Residence Inn. My mom booked her flight to come on Saturday and Trent's parents made plans to drive down and arrive on Monday, so we are excited to have reinforcements on their way. I know many more would have loved to have to come visit, but we limited it to the grandparents only. Planning for all of this, we read books that said to keep this time to just us for bonding and at first that was our plan. But we later decided we couldn't hold off the grandparents from visiting and told them they could come. We are so glad we did as I have no idea what we were thinking when we thought we could do this for days on end with just us!
The second night was rough. Zay was fussy most of the night and barely ate or slept. Finally around 5am he decided to sleep. I guess we all know who is in charge now. ;)
Day 3 brought reinforcements in the form of an "old" friend from my freshman year at SLU and Nona Lembke! My friend Alli from SLU stopped by and brought over a bouncy seat to use while we are down here. It was great to see her again and catch up. It's amazing how people come and go in our lives but some you know will always be there for you. Alli is one of those amazing people. We were immediate friends at SLU, living on the same floor together, and although I've only seen or talked to her a handful of times since then, we are able to pick up like we just saw each other last week.
After Alli left, all 3 of us loaded in the car to make the trip to airport to pick up my mom. It was so great to have extra help and another person to talk to. I would love to have my Dad here too, but the bike trip to Sturgis was already scheduled, so he was leaving for that. That, and we all know there was no way Nona was going to share her time with Zay with anyone else! :) With my mom here I was able to get some laundry done and in hopes that he would sleep better, washed the sleep sac that the hospital gave us when we left. Oh my that thing is amazing! I'm sure you're wondering how a new mom is awake at 5am and can't sleep while the baby is sleeping? Well that's because Zay slept for two 4 hour stretches last night. That's right, less the 30 minute feeding at 1am, I got 7.5 hours of sleep last night. Thank you God for sleep sacs! First thing we will be doing after mass this morning is going to buy more of those! :) And then I'll be taking a nap, because even I know I shouldn't be up right now.
I can't thank you all enough for all of your prayers and support this last year and half and especially these last few days. We both felt all of your prayers from here and know that we could not have made it this far without all of you.
48 Hours
As expected, the 48 hour wait until the birth mom could sign over her parental rights to us was tough. We woke up on day 2 and knew that we likely wouldn't get to spend the whole day with him but weren't prepared for the birth mom to tell us that she wanted this day with him since it was her last and we wouldn't get to see him. We were crushed but at the same time totally understood her wanting that time with her baby. So then were left with a whole day in St Louis and needing to find something to occupy our minds...
A good friend of ours had been in STL just a few weeks prior and had recommended a taco restaurant that was near to the hospital. We decided that we would head there for lunch as that would put us near the hospital in case the birth mom changed her mind and decided we could visit. We headed out for Mission Taco in the Central West End and along the way though we passed the Cathedral Basilica of St Louis. As we passed, we both agreed that would be our next stop. There were so many constant prayers going through our heads that day that it just made sense to spend some time there in prayer.
Lunch was amazing (thanks Vicki!) and it was a quick drive back to the Cathedral. Walking towards the front doors of the cathedral took us both back to our honeymoon in Italy. The size of this place was similar to the Duomos in Italy but without all of the amazing green and pink colors. We quickly stepped inside and I was immediately drawn to the cruicifix on the altar. It was perfectly lit so that the main focus was Jesus and I instantly started to cry. This was where I needed to be right now. We spent the next 2 hours in the cathedral, praying and spending time in front of each of the four tabernacles that they had. Sometime during that time we had a text conversation with the birth mother where she confirmed that still wanted us to care for her baby but that she was having a tough time. To say we needed to hear that is a understatement. I will never forget the time we spent in that Cathedral, praying for our baby and his birth mom and getting some much needed peace during a very tough day. On our way out of the Cathedral we stopped a the gift shop and picked up a few books for baby and a new crucifix for our house.
What to do next in St Louis when you have time to spare? Yep...tour the Budweiser plant. I had been there before but remember it being a nice short tour and knew Trent would love it, so off we went. And who wouldn't love a free brewery tour with free beer at the end? Not us! After the tour we headed back to the hotel and ordered the St Louis staple of IMO's pizza and toasted raviolis (another first for Trent).
We were still texting a little back and forth with the birth mom during this time and offered to bring her dinner up to the hospital. She agreed and by the time we picked up the food and made it to the hospital it was almost 10pm. We were just going to drop the food at the nurses station and leave, but she invited us to come into her room and see her and the baby. It was a short visit but it was amazing. She is the sweetest, most amazing person I have ever met and it was so good to see her again (we met her over Memorial Day weekend). We both got to hold the baby again briefly, and before we said goodbye, the birth mom invited us to come up early the next morning before the signing was scheduled to spend some time with them both.
It was another long, sleepless night and a tough morning until we got the text from the birth mom that she was up and we could come see her. I won't go into the details on the signing, but at about 12:30 on August 3rd, we walked out of the hospital with our baby boy, Isaiah Michael.
A good friend of ours had been in STL just a few weeks prior and had recommended a taco restaurant that was near to the hospital. We decided that we would head there for lunch as that would put us near the hospital in case the birth mom changed her mind and decided we could visit. We headed out for Mission Taco in the Central West End and along the way though we passed the Cathedral Basilica of St Louis. As we passed, we both agreed that would be our next stop. There were so many constant prayers going through our heads that day that it just made sense to spend some time there in prayer.
Lunch was amazing (thanks Vicki!) and it was a quick drive back to the Cathedral. Walking towards the front doors of the cathedral took us both back to our honeymoon in Italy. The size of this place was similar to the Duomos in Italy but without all of the amazing green and pink colors. We quickly stepped inside and I was immediately drawn to the cruicifix on the altar. It was perfectly lit so that the main focus was Jesus and I instantly started to cry. This was where I needed to be right now. We spent the next 2 hours in the cathedral, praying and spending time in front of each of the four tabernacles that they had. Sometime during that time we had a text conversation with the birth mother where she confirmed that still wanted us to care for her baby but that she was having a tough time. To say we needed to hear that is a understatement. I will never forget the time we spent in that Cathedral, praying for our baby and his birth mom and getting some much needed peace during a very tough day. On our way out of the Cathedral we stopped a the gift shop and picked up a few books for baby and a new crucifix for our house.
What to do next in St Louis when you have time to spare? Yep...tour the Budweiser plant. I had been there before but remember it being a nice short tour and knew Trent would love it, so off we went. And who wouldn't love a free brewery tour with free beer at the end? Not us! After the tour we headed back to the hotel and ordered the St Louis staple of IMO's pizza and toasted raviolis (another first for Trent).
We were still texting a little back and forth with the birth mom during this time and offered to bring her dinner up to the hospital. She agreed and by the time we picked up the food and made it to the hospital it was almost 10pm. We were just going to drop the food at the nurses station and leave, but she invited us to come into her room and see her and the baby. It was a short visit but it was amazing. She is the sweetest, most amazing person I have ever met and it was so good to see her again (we met her over Memorial Day weekend). We both got to hold the baby again briefly, and before we said goodbye, the birth mom invited us to come up early the next morning before the signing was scheduled to spend some time with them both.
It was another long, sleepless night and a tough morning until we got the text from the birth mom that she was up and we could come see her. I won't go into the details on the signing, but at about 12:30 on August 3rd, we walked out of the hospital with our baby boy, Isaiah Michael.
August 1st
3am - The phone rang and woke me out of a deep sleep. I knew it was "the call" as I had the birth mom's ringer set to a different one than everyone else. She told me that her water broke and that it was time. I told her we would get packed up and it would be 6-7 hours before we would be there.
Trent was up as well and we both jumped out of a bed and set to motion getting packed up and on the road. Poor Ping had no idea what we were doing and was not excited for our bags to get moved to the car. She always knows when something is up. We were on the road, packed and fully gassed up within 30 minutes.
4am - The phone rang again and it was the birth mom. I don't know if it was the time of the morning or the adrenaline rush, but I could not understand/hear what she was trying to tell me. Finally after her repeating herself about 5 times I got it. "He's here." Uhhh...what? Yep, our little man decided to make a grand entrance and could not wait to get to the hospital and was born at home. Thankfully the birth mom anticipated that he was not going to wait so the ambulance arrived within minutes of his birth.
Somewhere along the 6.5 hour drive we talked to our attorney a few times and got news that mom and baby made it to the hospital and that everyone was healthy. Baby weighed in at 7 lbs 6 oz and measuring 20.5 inches long.
We rolled into St Louis around 9:30am and were told to go to the hotel and wait for the birth mom to invite us up. We checked in to the hotel, unloaded all of gear and then made our way to find lunch. About 1:30pm we got a message from the birth mom that we could come up and see him.
We made our way to the hospital and up to the 9th floor maternity ward. The nurses were expecting us and we soon found ourselves in the nursery. While trying to explain who we were to this set of nurses and handing over our IDs, I turned around to see two babies in isolettes behind me. I quickly found the birth mom's name on the one on the right and saw my baby boy for the first time. All swaddled up with his mustache hat on, looking as perfect as could be. The nurses got us checked in and lead us to the other side of the nursery where there were rocking chairs so we could hold him. We stayed there with him for several hours and I even got to feed him. He never made a sound the whole time we were there and opened his eyes for a few short minutes. Here was this perfect little miracle we had been waiting for for over a year and yet he wasn't ours just yet. The next 48 hours were going to be longest on record for us.
We got word that the birth mom requested him back in her room so we headed down to the cafeteria for some dinner. We got to see him briefly after dinner when they brought him back to the nursery for a doctor's check. It was nice to talk with the Pediatrician on how he was doing (all good!). But our visit was cut short as the birth mom wanted to keep him her room over night and spend some time with him. We headed back to the hotel as we were complete zombies at this point.
So many emotions were going through our heads that night. We were parents, but not officially, and our baby wasn't with us just yet. So we did the best thing we knew to do and that was sleep while we could.
Trent was up as well and we both jumped out of a bed and set to motion getting packed up and on the road. Poor Ping had no idea what we were doing and was not excited for our bags to get moved to the car. She always knows when something is up. We were on the road, packed and fully gassed up within 30 minutes.
4am - The phone rang again and it was the birth mom. I don't know if it was the time of the morning or the adrenaline rush, but I could not understand/hear what she was trying to tell me. Finally after her repeating herself about 5 times I got it. "He's here." Uhhh...what? Yep, our little man decided to make a grand entrance and could not wait to get to the hospital and was born at home. Thankfully the birth mom anticipated that he was not going to wait so the ambulance arrived within minutes of his birth.
Somewhere along the 6.5 hour drive we talked to our attorney a few times and got news that mom and baby made it to the hospital and that everyone was healthy. Baby weighed in at 7 lbs 6 oz and measuring 20.5 inches long.
We rolled into St Louis around 9:30am and were told to go to the hotel and wait for the birth mom to invite us up. We checked in to the hotel, unloaded all of gear and then made our way to find lunch. About 1:30pm we got a message from the birth mom that we could come up and see him.
We made our way to the hospital and up to the 9th floor maternity ward. The nurses were expecting us and we soon found ourselves in the nursery. While trying to explain who we were to this set of nurses and handing over our IDs, I turned around to see two babies in isolettes behind me. I quickly found the birth mom's name on the one on the right and saw my baby boy for the first time. All swaddled up with his mustache hat on, looking as perfect as could be. The nurses got us checked in and lead us to the other side of the nursery where there were rocking chairs so we could hold him. We stayed there with him for several hours and I even got to feed him. He never made a sound the whole time we were there and opened his eyes for a few short minutes. Here was this perfect little miracle we had been waiting for for over a year and yet he wasn't ours just yet. The next 48 hours were going to be longest on record for us.
We got word that the birth mom requested him back in her room so we headed down to the cafeteria for some dinner. We got to see him briefly after dinner when they brought him back to the nursery for a doctor's check. It was nice to talk with the Pediatrician on how he was doing (all good!). But our visit was cut short as the birth mom wanted to keep him her room over night and spend some time with him. We headed back to the hotel as we were complete zombies at this point.
So many emotions were going through our heads that night. We were parents, but not officially, and our baby wasn't with us just yet. So we did the best thing we knew to do and that was sleep while we could.
Sunday, July 30, 2017
Counting Down the Days
Sorry for my lack of posts. I can't tell you how many times I thought that I should go write a blog post and update everyone, but that's usually when I'm in the car driving and by the time I'm home I've long forgotten.
We've been counting down the days for a while now thinking Baby was going to be born early, but we are actually down to just a few days until his due date on August 3rd. We're all packed and ready to go when we get the call, but until then we are enjoying our days together, just the two of us. I will post again when we know more or are heading to St Louis. I will also write a post at some point soon to update you all on what's happened in the last few months.
Until the next post, keep the prayers coming, especially for the Birth Mom and Baby.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)