December 31, 2008
Our growing boy
Tiger, or Henry Danger as he is officially known, was born on Sunday 21 December and weighed in at 10 pounds 5 ounces. When we left the hospital on 24 Dec, his weight was 9 pounds 8.6 oz, about 7.4% down from birth (but with a paper diaper on). His doc requested that we make a visit on the Friday following his birth – Boxing Day, that is – to the pediatrician for a “weight check”. Two days after being discharged from hospital he was back up over 10 pounds! 10#1oz to be exact, with a cloth diaper on. And at his official one week check up, yesterday 30 December, he tipped the scales over his birth weight at 10 pounds 12 ounces, also with a cloth diaper on. 11 ounces in 4 days. “What are you feeding him?” the doc asked… “Nothing but the best” I said. Her reply – I love it – “you must be making pure cream then”.
Kinda makes me feel good.
And we’re getting the diaper routine down too. 24 newborn size cloth diaper pre-folds, 4 covers, and 2 all-in-one cloth diapers. 24+3+1 are in the washer right now, with the last all-in-one on his little tush. And we washed them 2 days ago too. Not too bad I think. And Dan’s aunt gave us a stack of some more that she found when cleaning out a closet so now we’ve got more to throw in the mix and maybe not be down to the absolute last one by the time there’s enough to fill the washer! And sure, we’ve both been peed on a couple times now but that’s the joy of Boy, no?
And he loves bath time too. I think it’s because we turn on the bathroom heater/fan for a little while before we get started so it’s sort of like a sauna in there when we strip him down. But he watches us and smiles at us and coos when we wash his hair.
Such a beautiful gift. Thank you Lord, for this miracle you’ve bestowed upon us. I pray we would raise him in a manner worthy of your reputation.
your host for this episode : carrie; 11:57 AM | Comments (0)
December 22, 2008
More Photos
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| Henry Danger |
This will take you to our Picasa Web Album.
your host for this episode : dan; 07:35 AM | Comments (2)
December 21, 2008
the long awaited photo
i will get more up tomorrow… but it has been a long day and now we need to sleep…
your host for this episode : dan; 08:35 PM | Comments (7)
Tiger’s real name
For those who are not familiar with the whole “Tiger Danger” and “Tiger Lilly” game we have been playing, Tiger is a boy, who’s given name is Henry Danger Elzinga.
I found that I forgot to pack the USB chord for the camera, but Carrie’s parents are at our house right now and they will bring it to us so that we can show you all how handsome he is.
your host for this episode : dan; 02:42 PM | Comments (0)
Danger!
We have a Tiger Danger! 10# 5oz 22in born 4:12 AM by emergency C-Section.
your host for this episode : dan; 05:36 AM | Comments (5)
Sunny Side Up
As it turns out Tiger is “sunny side up” putting Carrie in the much dreaded “back labour”, which is likely why the Pit was not really doing it’s thing…. It was, but it wasn’t… plenty of contractions, but very little dilation and Tiger was not coming down. The short story is we started the Pit at around 10 am and 3 cm, and at 7 were dilated to 7 and by 10 pm there was no change, even though Carrie was having very hard labour. The Pit was trying to do one thing, and Carrie’s body was saying “NO, Baby is not in position!”
Around 10, Tiger started reacting poorly to Carrie’s desire to squat. It was the only comfortable position for her during contractions, but it was not working out for Tiger, her heart rate started indicating that he was in distress. They got things settled down, but Carrie was both miserable and exhausted ( remember her water broke at around 3 am on Friday, and since then she had gotten at most 5 hours of fitful sleep), and now told that she could not be in the one position that made the contractions bearable. So she opted for an epidural, which caused her blood pressure to drop, again sending Tiger into distress… for about 20 minutes there were like 20 people in our room. I was totally exhausted, all I could do was sit there and cry as I saw my wife with all these people around her with IV’s and tubes and wires, and a monitor showing my baby’s heart rate falling along with Mom’s Blood Pressure… I was scared, to say the least.
Once they got Carrie’s blood pressure back to normal Tiger perked up, and Carrie fell asleep.
They turned the Pit drip off to give Mom and Baby a break for about an hour. I fell asleep shortly after the nurses convinced me that Carrie was ok, and that one of them would be watching all her vitals, as well as Tigers, all the time. I woke up briefly a few times and there were nurses changing IV bags, and moving Carrie into a different position to try to keep Tiger happy. Around 12 I woke up and found that we had a new nurse. Our new nurse Annie (who for some reason took over mid-shift) totally ROCKS! Turns out she is the one who trained the other nurses on “skin to skin” (putting the baby directly on Mom’s belly at birth) and is TOTALY on board with natural child birthing and supportive all of our hopes and dreams for this experience. They had re-started the Pit (per Dr) at a very low dose (like lower than we first started at) and watching the monitor Annie thought something looked suspicious… So she checked at around 12:30, and found that Carrie was now at 9 cm! but Tiger was sunny side up… Since then she has been trying to get Tiger to turn, massaging Carrie’s belly and making sure that Carrie changes position frequently.
Carrie is sleeping now, but it looks like Tiger will be here in the very near future… Finally.
your host for this episode : dan; 02:14 AM | Comments (0)
December 20, 2008
On Hold
after quite an ordeal that we can fill you in on later, Tiger is now stable, still inside, and Carrie has an epidural, and is now sleeping… Dan is going to try to get some sleep too…
your host for this episode : dan; 10:40 PM | Comments (1)
5@4
We were checked at 4 and were at 5… they say the long half… get checked again around 6. Carrie is a pro, relaxing well thru the contractions and letting them do what they need to do.
your host for this episode : dan; 05:13 PM | Comments (0)
The Pit Crew
We have reluctantly joined the “pit crew” as I am calling it. the ranks of women who are given pitocin to “speed things up”.
The supplemental breaking of the bag of waters only showed minimal results in two hours.
We are disappointed, but must sat that we love our nurse Sarah, and really hope that Tiger makes his grand entrance while she is still on, as she is very supportive and has an excellent bedside manor.
Things are ticking along now, we have opted for the “slower” dosing schedule, so that hopefully we can get thru this without an epidural.
Our apologies to all of you out there who are pacing the floor biting your nails, we are trying to do what is best for mom and baby.
your host for this episode : dan; 12:00 PM | Comments (0)
Buying Time..
Well, we didn’t get the 5 we were hoping for, but we did get a stay…
It seems that the “bag of waters” was leaking up high, but still in tact down under Tiger’s head, keeping her from really getting his head in where it needs to be.
Doc came in a few minutes ago and used the ‘ole crochet hook on her, and wow was there a lot of liquid there! This gives us another hour or so for things to “get going” before we resort to the Pit.
Pray that Carrie will get very uncomfortable quickly! (I know it sounds like an odd request, but that is what we need)
Grace and Peace.
your host for this episode : dan; 08:25 AM | Comments (0)
Five by Seven (thirty…)
It has been a long night… with little to report. The Dr. let Carrie have dinner last night, (praise Jesus), and we spent several hours walking, in the shower etc. to try to get things going. Around 11:30 the Dr. came by and tried to talk us into Pit. We declined, however we agreed that we don’t want to wait until there is a sign of a problem before starting an intervention, as by that point a C is almost given. We decided to let things go until around 7 and re-evaluate then. We slept for about three hours, and when we got up and started roaming the halls things started to pick up. For the last hour or so contractions have been 2.5 min apart, and are getting stronger. Carrie has to stop to “think about them”…
The Dr. wants to see progress… I think it is progress, but it looks like they want an exam to forestall Pit.
We are praying for at least a 5…
In just a few minutes.
your host for this episode : dan; 07:17 AM | Comments (0)
December 19, 2008
fixin’ to have a baby today…
so many of you called or emailed to let us know you were praying. thank you! it worked! my (or tiger’s?) water broke at about 3am and we went back to bed to rest up and wait for the contractions to start.
still nothing regular or at all intense but i called my dr’s office about an hour ago to check in what to do. they said “come on down” so we ate some lunch, put the scrubbing bucket aside (i had been scrubbing the kitchen floor, doncha know) and dan is now packing the truck. all the bags have been packed for a while now (like since thanksgiving), so it’s just a matter of loading it up, birthing ball and all – just in case all the balls are occupied by other moms on the ward.
it’s pretty amazing, as we reflect on things, just how many of our major life events together have occurred in the snow… when we met (in da U.P. in February 97), our wedding (23 Dec 2000 – in a blizzard), our move to Egypt (March 04 – with much snow as we left MI)… why not one more? the roads and sidewalks today are absolutely incredible. at 3 there was no snow on them and nothing falling, at 4 it had started falling, and by 7 when dan let sheba outside there were already a few INCHES of snow on the ground. he’s blown the walk twice, each time the chute of the blower was buried – and it’s a 7 inch chute! crazy business. loving it.
please continue to pray, as we would like to do this “all the way” without drugs or medicinal augmentation. yes, i really am that crazy.
and when baby comes, we welcome your visits. but please only between 3-5 or 7-9pm, so that we can rest and get to know our new little family.
much love,
carrielyn, daniel, and the soon to be named tiger!
your host for this episode : carrie; 02:46 PM | Comments (2)
December 18, 2008
tired.
i have to admit, i’m very tired. i remember being this tired during the first trimester. somebody told me then that it was as if i were climbing a mountain everyday. and a 14′er at that. i slept 10 hours last night – from 9 til 7. or at least i was in bed that long, and resting. i think i was sleeping. and i was only up twice in the night, which is weird considering that since thanksgiving (since having a cold) i’ve been up every hour or so… which works out to at least 4 times a night.
but like dan said, i’ll be having a really long day soon, so it is Okay to go to bed early.
what more is there to do to get ready for this little one? what have we forgotten? what’s missing? the nursery is ready, the diapers are washed, the bags are packed for the hospital, the car seat is in the car. i even made gatorade, finger jello and frozen juice chips for during labor. it’s hard, this waiting game. surreal even. we’re just ready to meet our little miracle.
this morning i spent 20 minutes on the phone with my friend kristin in ypsi. you might remember, they had baby adelaide in october. she prayed with me for grace and patience today. it helped.
we prayed this baby in – all of us. we can pray this baby out, right? will you pray with us?
your host for this episode : carrie; 06:13 PM | Comments (2)
December 17, 2008
beautiful bulbousness
Auntie Lynell came by last night and captured some of the beauty of the belly. Check out a handful of the pics here:
or you can order them here.
and let us know what you think 
she has a business, too, you know: www.lizziephoto.com or www.lizzieweddings.com. check out both pages!
your host for this episode : carrie; 07:44 AM | Comments (0)
December 15, 2008
40 weeeks
nothing new to report, except that i had a non-stress test done on friday at my now-weekly appointment. baby seems just fine and dandy, and for about 45 minutes i got to sit and listen to the sweet little heartbeat of our little one. for the first 20 minutes, s/he was sleeping and the heart rate was right around 125-127. then a couple sips of ICE water and a couple tickles of the feet woke her up and boy, was he ready to play! heart rate jumped to 157 now and then as she rolled back and forth and pushed back at my hand poking her.
both the nurse and the doc thought everything looks a.o.k., baby’s doing all the right moves and sounds great.
my doc said she’s willing to let me “go over as far as two weeks but that’s Christmas so let’s get induction scheduled before that” so we can be home by Christmas… i didn’t feel it was worth it on the 12th to argue over induction on the 22nd when it’s quite likely we’ll be home with baby already by then. but i think it’s more likely that she doesn’t want to make the hospital staff (or herself) work that day! and the 22nd is when she’s on a 24-hr shift in hospital so she’d be with me all day. in any case, i don’t really care whether i’m home “in time” for Christmas. i’m most concerned with a healthy baby.
that said, we also have an ultrasound scheduled for wednesday this week to look at things and evaluate whether we’re both healthy enough to “stay pregnant” or not. i can speak for myself that i am, and actually, the cold that i’ve had since thanksgiving is just now going away. i slept soundly last night and only used one kleenex when i woke up – none In the night! that’s a major feat for me b/c it’s been almost 3 weeks and i’ve gone through 2 boxes at the bedside, not to mention all the other boxes in the house and at work, etc. i’ve been praying since the onset of the cold that i Not go into Labor before i’m Well. and well, i’m mostly Well now. prayer answered, thank you Jesus besides the cold being mostly behind me, my bp is fine and my weight is good (still only up 27 pounds).
so labor could start at any moment, really. so stay tuned…
our friends max and court had their little guy Ryan last thursday – he was due on the 25th. when we went to visit she was apologizing for “beating me to it”… at least they didn’t take any of our names, right? 
i’m working on getting in for a pedicure (probably tomorrow morning), and will try for a chiropractor visit later in the week if nothing progresses. i’d really hate to resort to castor oil but i’d rather do that than pitocin. for real!
stay tuned…
your host for this episode : carrie; 03:22 PM | Comments (1)
December 08, 2008
Bum Wrappers – why cloth?
Here’s a link to an article that explains it better than I could possibly try to. The stats are absolutely incredible.
thanks d, for the tip, and thank you Penny for the research and the writing!
your host for this episode : carrie; 01:11 PM | Comments (0)
December 07, 2008
39 weeks today
and i can still squat! poor sheba’s not so sure what to make of all the changes going on around here but we’re pretty sure that she knows a baby’s coming. we’ve even caught her “nursing” her bed a few times… not sure what that’s all about but it’s kinda funny nonetheless.
and a couple of the belly for all you following along
doc said friday that everything still looks good, measuring right on for 39 weeks, heart rate was 140. my bp (130/80), weight (up a total of 27 pounds this week), and proteins (not present in the urine) are all good. she said next week “if you make it to the next appointment” we’ll do a non-stress test (sit in a lazy boy and put baby on a monitor for 20 minutes) to make sure that everything’s still good. and she’d let me go up to two weeks over, but given that would be Christmas they’d probably want to induce me earlier than that so as to “get me home in time for Christmas”. i told her i didn’t really care, i was willing to wait ’til baby’s ready to come! i think it’s more of “get them home in time for Christmas” or “ensure that they don’t get called in on Christmas” or something…
more and more, people at work are saying “are you still here!?”… they’ve been saying all along that i’m sure to go early. dan’s company christmas party is saturday night, and if we’re not in labor yet, my plan is to have a full glass of wine that night at the party. i’ve had probably a total of one full glass of wine in the last 9 months, and i’ve been told that wine thins the cervix… as if you wanted to know That.
your host for this episode : carrie; 09:12 PM | Comments (3)
December 03, 2008
the finished cradle
mom just sent me a pic…
made for our house or what?
your host for this episode : carrie; 12:43 PM | Comments (1)