A little while later, I found Lucy, nose to nose with Maebry, saying loudly, "Maebry, UNO, DOS, TRES, QUATRO...."
She's bound and determined that Maebry is going to speak Spanish. :)
Monday, September 16, 2013
Hola, Maebry.
Lucy has been asking what language Maebry will speak when she learns to talk. Will it be English, Spanish, French? This began a discussion about language acquisition. I told her that Maebry will learn to speak the language we speak because that's what she will hear and therefore repeat. I wasn't sure where she was going with these questions, but I could see the wheels turning in her head.
Friday, September 6, 2013
Organizing School Papers
My girls bring home a boat-load of papers from school. And for the longest time, they just piled up because I didn't know what to do with them. Well, here's the system.
First, when I unload backpacks, I sort the papers depending on whether they need to go back to school or if they stay home. The ones that go back need to be dealt with immediately or they WILL be lost in my bowl of shame.
If it's a calendar, reminder, short term sort of thing, I hang it in the command center. Jason thinks that name is lame. He's never actually said that out loud, but I know him. I'm right, aren't I, honey? :)
He still loves me.
I do keep the calendars when they are no longer relevant because it helps me look back and see what the kids were doing at a certain time. :) If it's something that I might need for ready reference (class room list, future dates, etc. it goes on the bulletin board in my laundry room. I also have a file in my MomAgenda binder for things that I need for Room Mom responsibilities, like the email list of parents, special information about the teachers and other things like that.
The final resting place for the kids' papers is in a binder... to keep forever more. Actually, some of them find their final resting place in my recycling bin. Because how many math worksheets do we really need to hold on to forever more?
No, really, I sort through their papers and decide what to keep and what to "file" in my trash can.
We make a binder for every year. You can find the cover sheet here. And when I say we make one, I mean I made one once.... like 3 years ago. But we ARE going to make one for every year. I'm only one year behind, actually.
The girls LOVE to look back on their work and see their art. :) This is also helpful, because we can look back on their achievements... like the Big Hand award or the MVP in P.E.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
A Day in the Life of a Mom of Four
I was asked by a friend and mentor to record what a "typical" day in my life looks like. I first laughed, and then realized she was serious. "You don't want to know." That's what I was thinking. But I acted like a respectable person that has it all together and said I would be happy to.
So, I started looking at my calendar to see which day would be "typical." And then I realized that typical doesn't exist at the McKeown house. So, here's a day. It's not typical. It's just a day. A crazy day, which IS typical.
So, I hope you've read "If you give a moose a muffin", or "a pig a pancake", or whatever.... because that's what this blog post will souund like. In fact, I've written about that before. I think the beginning of my next Day in the Life post will begin with "5:30, take Adderall." But for now, it doesn't.... so hang on for the ride.
My day started at 2:15. In the morning. Okay, I didn't really start my day then, but that's the first time after midnight the night before, that I had something to do. Maebry wakes up, crying. I change her diaper and fix a bottle.
She sleeps through most of it and only takes a couple of ounces. I tuck her back in bed at 2:40 and flop back in my bed. Which is now cold. I flop around and get warm again. Then she cries. Again. I get up and feed her the rest of the bottle (because I left it on the couch.... where I was sitting... because they magically get to the sink somehow in the morning *read-Jason picks up after me*. I tuck her in, again, and climb back in bed. It's now around 3:30.
5:27- footsteps.... in the room above me. Running footsteps. The kids are awake. WHY!?
5:30- Bible study and prayer time for me (the only time that's quiet in my day.... at least it's USUALLY quiet.... today it sounds like I'm reading my Bible at a Rodeo.
5:50- kiss hubby goodbyeand hang on his leg, begging him not to leave me with these crazy kids all day
6:00- Start laundry.... before you get all "you're supermom" and junk, this is a load of laundry that's been sitting, wet, in my washing machine since yesterday. It now stinks and I have to wash it again. On hot. With vinegar.
6:05-Wake Maebry, change her diaper and feed her a bottle (I HATE waking a sleeping baby, but it's the only way she'll get fed before 8:00, realistically).
6:15- Big kids descend. And fix breakfast for themselves (which means they opened about 10 packages of pop tarts and actually ate about 1.5, leaving the rest of them in crumbles around the house). I do usually prepare some sort of breakfast for them, but the timing of Maebry's bottle this morning didn't allow.
While they eat and I feed Maebry, we practice our memory verse for the week. This week's verse is Colossians 3:12. "Clothe yourselves in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."
6:30-7:10- I remind the children3,256 times to brush their teeth, put on their clothes, make their beds, find put on their shoes, etc. We do hair (this takes forever with all girls). I prepare snacks and pack them. This is where I would normally pack their lunches, but they decided to buy lunch today. HOORAY!
7:10 Bible time and prayer before school. I try to incorporate our memory verse into our thoughts for the day. Today, we talked about kindness. The thought for the day is that you might regret being rude, obnoxious, snobby, standoffish, etc, but you'll never regret being kind. Find someone that is left out, kinda strange, new to school, lonely and practice your kindness on them. (stolen from a blog).
We pray for self control, and that God will show us how to be kind to those around us.
7:20- load up for carpool
I also during this time, clean up massive amounts of spit up from Maebry, her carseat, the floor, the van.... pretty much everywhere between the nursery and the car..... after she pukes, exorcist style, when I buckle her in. And by clean up, I mean that I throw a towel on the floor and scoot it down the hall while I'm loading Maebry in the car... and I stuff a blanket down next to her to hopefully soak up some of the vomit. (it doesn't).... because we're going to be late for school if I get her out, change her clothes and clean up her carseat.
This is also the point which I pray to delight in my children. Not because of the spit up, but because of the shouting (happy shouts, but loud voices nonetheless), knots in shoelaces, backpack won't zip, where are my library books, stuff that only comes up when we are walking out the door.
7:40- This is when I actually DID clean up the carseat, baby and floor.
7:45- Wash bottles, unload/load dishwasher, clean up breakfast dishes
8:00- Play babies with Julianne and listen to her "read" me a Tinkerbell book.
8:30- Change out laundry (woohoo! It made it to the dryer!) and start another load.
Clean counters, and by "clean counters" I actually mean stack everything in this bowl on the island, Jenga style, hoping it doesn't all fall over.
Straighten and pick up the house while Maebry swings and Julianne watches cartoons
9:00 Fix a protein shake.... not only because I don't have time to chew my breakfast, but also because I love chocolate and peanut butter and this is the only way I can make an excuse to eat it for breakfast without actually eating a brownie or something.
9:30- Get Julianne dressed and throw on a different t-shirt and yoga pants than the ones I slept in.
10- Head out the door to shop for a new refrigerator. It's 2013. I shouldn't be emptying ice trays. Just sayin'. We went to 3 places before finding the exact one we wanted at Lowes, for $1 cheaper, free delivery TOMORROW, and a 4 year warranty, 30% off for Labor Day and 5% off to put it on a Lowes card (which we'll pay off when we receive our first bill... woop woop!).
12:00- Heat up leftovers for lunch for Julianne and me
12:30- Fold laundry. Change out and start one more load for the day.
1:00- List old refrigerator on Facebook trading sites while Julianne watches Dora
1:30- Diaper change/ bottle/ another diaper change
2:00- Fold/hang laundry
2:20- Leave for afternoon carpool
3:00- Home from carpool, checking folders, doing homework, talking about our days
3:30- Fold/hang laundry
3:45- Jason gets home
4:30- Take Adelaide to Irish Dance class
5:00- Shower
5:30-Babysitter arrives for Jason and I to attend parent night at school
6:00- Bottle
8:00-Pay sitter, put Maebry to bed, several times
8:30- Fooootballllllll
10:00- Bottle/Diaper change and bedtime for mom
So, I started looking at my calendar to see which day would be "typical." And then I realized that typical doesn't exist at the McKeown house. So, here's a day. It's not typical. It's just a day. A crazy day, which IS typical.
So, I hope you've read "If you give a moose a muffin", or "a pig a pancake", or whatever.... because that's what this blog post will souund like. In fact, I've written about that before. I think the beginning of my next Day in the Life post will begin with "5:30, take Adderall." But for now, it doesn't.... so hang on for the ride.
My day started at 2:15. In the morning. Okay, I didn't really start my day then, but that's the first time after midnight the night before, that I had something to do. Maebry wakes up, crying. I change her diaper and fix a bottle.
5:27- footsteps.... in the room above me. Running footsteps. The kids are awake. WHY!?
5:30- Bible study and prayer time for me (the only time that's quiet in my day.... at least it's USUALLY quiet.... today it sounds like I'm reading my Bible at a Rodeo.
5:50- kiss hubby goodbye
6:00- Start laundry.... before you get all "you're supermom" and junk, this is a load of laundry that's been sitting, wet, in my washing machine since yesterday. It now stinks and I have to wash it again. On hot. With vinegar.
6:05-Wake Maebry, change her diaper and feed her a bottle (I HATE waking a sleeping baby, but it's the only way she'll get fed before 8:00, realistically).
6:15- Big kids descend. And fix breakfast for themselves (which means they opened about 10 packages of pop tarts and actually ate about 1.5, leaving the rest of them in crumbles around the house). I do usually prepare some sort of breakfast for them, but the timing of Maebry's bottle this morning didn't allow.
While they eat and I feed Maebry, we practice our memory verse for the week. This week's verse is Colossians 3:12. "Clothe yourselves in compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience."
6:30-7:10- I remind the children
7:10 Bible time and prayer before school. I try to incorporate our memory verse into our thoughts for the day. Today, we talked about kindness. The thought for the day is that you might regret being rude, obnoxious, snobby, standoffish, etc, but you'll never regret being kind. Find someone that is left out, kinda strange, new to school, lonely and practice your kindness on them. (stolen from a blog).
We pray for self control, and that God will show us how to be kind to those around us.
7:20- load up for carpool
I also during this time, clean up massive amounts of spit up from Maebry, her carseat, the floor, the van.... pretty much everywhere between the nursery and the car..... after she pukes, exorcist style, when I buckle her in. And by clean up, I mean that I throw a towel on the floor and scoot it down the hall while I'm loading Maebry in the car... and I stuff a blanket down next to her to hopefully soak up some of the vomit. (it doesn't).... because we're going to be late for school if I get her out, change her clothes and clean up her carseat.
This is also the point which I pray to delight in my children. Not because of the spit up, but because of the shouting (happy shouts, but loud voices nonetheless), knots in shoelaces, backpack won't zip, where are my library books, stuff that only comes up when we are walking out the door.
7:40- This is when I actually DID clean up the carseat, baby and floor.
7:45- Wash bottles, unload/load dishwasher, clean up breakfast dishes
8:00- Play babies with Julianne and listen to her "read" me a Tinkerbell book.
8:30- Change out laundry (woohoo! It made it to the dryer!) and start another load.
Clean counters, and by "clean counters" I actually mean stack everything in this bowl on the island, Jenga style, hoping it doesn't all fall over.
Straighten and pick up the house while Maebry swings and Julianne watches cartoons
9:00 Fix a protein shake.... not only because I don't have time to chew my breakfast, but also because I love chocolate and peanut butter and this is the only way I can make an excuse to eat it for breakfast without actually eating a brownie or something.
9:30- Get Julianne dressed and throw on a different t-shirt and yoga pants than the ones I slept in.
10- Head out the door to shop for a new refrigerator. It's 2013. I shouldn't be emptying ice trays. Just sayin'. We went to 3 places before finding the exact one we wanted at Lowes, for $1 cheaper, free delivery TOMORROW, and a 4 year warranty, 30% off for Labor Day and 5% off to put it on a Lowes card (which we'll pay off when we receive our first bill... woop woop!).
12:00- Heat up leftovers for lunch for Julianne and me
12:30- Fold laundry. Change out and start one more load for the day.
1:00- List old refrigerator on Facebook trading sites while Julianne watches Dora
1:30- Diaper change/ bottle/ another diaper change
2:00- Fold/hang laundry
2:20- Leave for afternoon carpool
3:00- Home from carpool, checking folders, doing homework, talking about our days
3:30- Fold/hang laundry
3:45- Jason gets home
4:30- Take Adelaide to Irish Dance class
5:00- Shower
5:30-Babysitter arrives for Jason and I to attend parent night at school
6:00- Bottle
8:00-Pay sitter, put Maebry to bed, several times
8:30- Fooootballllllll
10:00- Bottle/Diaper change and bedtime for mom
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
The last 11 months, condensed version (birth story)
Remember when I used to blog??
Me neither.
No really, it's been a long time. A lot has happened since my last blog post. Like, God blessed us with another pregnancy and I had a really awful time carrying her and she spent the longest 7 days of my life in the NICU and now she's home and we are happy. If only that was enough to sum up the last several months. It's not. I would love to share some more details.
Well, we found out in November of last year that we were expecting our fourth baby. I was ecstatic and scared and super sick. All at the same time. I was nauseated and had migraines from day two. Seriously.
Well, beginning around week 13, I started having horrendous nose bleeds. In fact, the first one I had scared me pretty badly. I was walking into Office Depot and I sneezed. All of a sudden, I looked down and my entire shirt was covered in blood. I couldn't even figure out where all the blood was coming from. I ran back to my car and held napkins (thanks Starbucks!) on my face until I could get home. My shirt had to be tossed and I had a hard time getting my nose to stop bleeding. This went on for a few weeks. I would have one really awful nosebleed every week and a few smaller, less concerning ones in between. Well, I called my doctor, thinking "really, fourth baby and I'm calling my doctor about a NOSEBLEED!" Well, I did. And the nurse acted like I was an idiot (as expected), telling me nosebleeds are normal. "This is not normal." That's what I told her.
Fast forward another month. Nosebleeds are still a frequent nuisance. I talked to my doctor at my regular appointment. He said (and I quote) "Nosebleeds are normal in pregnancy. If you had a clotting disorder, we would know it already. You've had 2 c sections." Hmph.
Another month passes and I'm still having nosebleeds. Not your regular, hold a tissue, lean your head back, nosebleeds. Like, go home and change clothes because you look like you've been stabbed, nosebleeds. I mention it to my doctor again and he agrees, reluctantly, to send me to a hematologist. I'll give you the Cliff's Notes version of this because it's not all that interesting. They took approximately all of my blood one day (I seriously walked in, expecting a finger prick or, at the most, a couple of vials of blood and they asked if I had eaten and if I had anyone that could drive me home). I didn't. That didn't stop them from taking 21 vials of blood. Twenty one.
After several days of waiting, (including another blood draw because the lab messed up the first one... and then a third blood draw because the lab messed up the second one) they gave me the news. I had a blood clotting disorder. One that's normally genetic. And I've most likely had it all of my life. My parents should be tested. My brother should be tested. My children should be tested. Gulp.
My doctors were shocked that I had never miscarried a baby. They started me on blood thinners. Injectable blood thinners. One a day at first, and then two a day starting at 35 weeks. This posed a risk if I went into labor on my own, but otherwise was just a pain. In the belly. No really, I had to give the shots in my belly. That's delightful.
I had preterm labor and lots of contractions for weeks, and thankfully my mom was able to come and help we with the older girls while I tried my best to rest and stay off my feet. There were lots of doctors appointments and tests. I spent almost all day every Monday at Brookwood having multiple ultrasounds, non stress tests, OB appointments and high risk OB appointments.
On July 22, at 4:30 am, I wasn't sure if my regular contractions were anything more than they had been for the last 2 weeks.... but something sure felt different about them. I was already scheduled for my day of appointments, but I called my OB anyway. I wasn't scheduled to see him until 2:00. Jason went on to work, promising to be available by phone or pager. I called my dr. and he said to come in. He immediately called me back to tell me not to eat breakfast or take my shot. I didn't, but I packed both (my shot and a granola bar).... feeling certain this was going to be the same song and dance we'd been through before.
My mom dropped me off at the doctor and took the girls home. I walked to my appointment by myself... stopping to rock and breathe every 4 minutes. I signed in, telling the receptionist that I was pretty sure I was in labor and that Dr. Huggins had asked me to come in to be checked. She told me to sit in the waiting room like normal, where everyone around me watched me like I had a bomb strapped to my chest.
They finally called me back and checked my vitals like normal. Hmm.... blood pressure is a little elevated (I WONDER WHY). You've lost 3 pounds (after not gaining the last 3 weeks). That's unusual, they said. They put me in a room and handed me a paper sheet to "wear." I sat and sat and sat and sat..... no doctor... lots of contractions. Tiny room. Paper sheet to "wear." You get the picture, right? After an HOUR I went into the hall. Did I mention I'm wearing a paper sheet? I didn't care. I needed someone and I was tired of waiting. By myself.
I found the first nurse (or person in scrubs) that walked by and told her I was in labor and I had been waiting an hour. She turned awfully pale and got my doctor.
He checked me, and sure enough, this is it. "Who is here with you," he asked. "I'm by myself," I answered. "Call Jason. We're headed to L&D. Surgery scheduled for 2 hours from now. " HOLY MOLY. I started calling people and barking all kinds of orders. I didn't ask. I just told people to get to my house and take care of my kids. Sorry, friends. You know who you are, and I'm so very thankful that I can count on you to take care of everything.
Anyway, surgery happened. It went well. I didn't bleed like crazy. I thought everything was rosy. Maebry Lynn weighed 6 pounds and 10 ounces. She was 20.5 inches long.
I got to recovery and realized everything wasn't rosy. Not at all.
Maebry was struggling to breathe. Her oxygen saturation was poor and she had respiratory distress syndrome. She needed to go to the NICU. I was crushed, bawling and scared. They wheeled me to the NICU to see her and I couldn't believe how tiny and fragile she looked. I was devastated when I had to go to my room without her. I was furious when I heard the baby next door crying. And I couldn't hold my baby.
I just wanted to hold her! She spent the rest of the day Monday under her oxygen bubble. Tuesday, she seemed a little better. In fact, Tuesday night, they weaned her from oxygen overnight. She was looking so much better. The doctor said we might even get to hold her Wednesday. I was so encouraged and excited!
On Wednesday morning, we got the news that she had a pneumomediastinum, air that had leaked into her chest cavity. This was dangerous stuff. She was put on 100% oxygen and there was an ominous chest tube box next to her bed. Just in case. I didn't completely understand everything that meant, but I knew there were plenty of complications that could go along with a chest tube. And I didn't want any of those to happen to my baby.
Jason was invited to look at her chest x-ray (our neonatologist was amazing about keeping him in the loop). While he was gone, I sat by Maebry's bed. Alone. I was terrified. I laid my head on my arm, my hand on Maebry's tiny bottom and I prayed. I prayed for God to heal my baby. I prayed that she would remain calm. I prayed that He would give us peace. I sobbed, shaking, tears ran down my cheeks and into my lap. I couldn't stop. I felt an arm around my shoulders and heard an unfamiliar voice. She said she would pray for our baby. She said to lean on Christ. She said everything would be okay. Then she prayed. Right there in our NICU room. While I cried. She prayed for complete healing for our baby. She prayed for peace and understanding for Jason and me. She promised to continue to pray for us. When I turned around, expecting a nurse, I saw a lady leaving the room with our trash. She didn't have to stop and pray for us. She had a job to do. A job that I took for granted. Had I been in a normal state of mind, I probably wouldn't have even noticed that she was there. But I'm so thankful she was. I needed her right then, and I have no doubt that God used her where she was... doing what she normally does. She let Him use her. I want to be like her.
I asked people to pray.... begged people to pray for our little one. She had another chest x-ray that Wednesday evening and it showed that her lungs had improved a bit. Then on Thursday morning, they looked a lot better. The doctor said it was okay to start weaning her off of oxygen. Again. She did great.
On Thursday, I finally got to hold her for the first time. I cannot even put into words how amazing that felt. I had ached to hold her. Every bit of my being hurting for my little girl, and I was finally able to smell her sweet head and hold her tiny frame.
On Friday I got to feed her her very first bottle.... well, about a teaspoon of her very first bottle. We had to take it slow since she had never fed before, but she took to it well!
I was discharged from the hospital on Friday. That was so hard. I wanted so badly to be home with my big girls. They missed Mama and I missed them terribly. I knew their little worlds had been turned upside down. They were worried... about both Maebry and me. They were scared and they were struggling. My mom was taking good care of them, but they knew things weren't okay. I felt torn. I didn't feel right being at the hospital while they were at home. And I knew if I was at home, Maebry was alone. It was awful. I never felt right about my decision, no matter where I was. I finally decided to spend my days at the hospital with Maebry, arriving to give her the first feeding of the day. I would stay all day and leave after her evening feeding. I would come home in time to eat dinner with the family and for bedtime. Then repeat all over the next day.
Jason and I spent hours every day staring at our tiny baby. We studied every inch of her precious face. The tiny peak on the top of her ear, the tiny bump on her upper lip (just like mine).
On Monday, one week from the day she was born, we were discharged from the hospital. I couldn't help but think of what Jason said when we left the hospital almost 8 years earlier with our first baby. He said he felt like he was driving a truckload of eggs.
I'm so thankful we had that time to memorize every bit of her. We wouldn't have had that if she had come home on time. She would have been in her swing while we rush around taking care of our family of 6. That's just reality. But God had another plan for us. For Maebry. I can't say that I would choose that plan for us, if I had the option to do it all over. It's still too raw for me. Too scary. But this isn't about my plan. It's so much bigger than that. I learned so much from our week in the NICU. I learned dependence. Dependence on my friends, my family, Jason and most importantly, on God. I learned that our faith is essential. I'm so very thankful that, in the darkest moments in our marriage, we had a like faith. Jason and I clung to each other and cried out to God together, never doubting that He would hear us. I learned that I should look for God to use me in my daily walk to be a light for someone else, just like the sweet lady doing her thankless job that stopped to pray for us. I learned that we have the best family and friends anyone could ever ask for. I learned compassion for NICU parents. I truly believe that nobody can ever explain the pain or understand the heartache until you've been there. We now pray for the NICU parents and babies every day. I was forced to slow down. I was humbled. I was told, firmly, to trust.
I wouldn't choose that path, wouldn't wish it on anyone. But I'm so thankful for the lessons I learned. And I'm so thankful for the chaos of having four little girls at home.
Thankfully, Maebry is doing great. She's gaining weight well and is such an easy baby. She sleeps well (most of the time) and just hangs out and watches the world around her. We love the way she completes our family.
Me neither.
No really, it's been a long time. A lot has happened since my last blog post. Like, God blessed us with another pregnancy and I had a really awful time carrying her and she spent the longest 7 days of my life in the NICU and now she's home and we are happy. If only that was enough to sum up the last several months. It's not. I would love to share some more details.
Well, we found out in November of last year that we were expecting our fourth baby. I was ecstatic and scared and super sick. All at the same time. I was nauseated and had migraines from day two. Seriously.
Well, beginning around week 13, I started having horrendous nose bleeds. In fact, the first one I had scared me pretty badly. I was walking into Office Depot and I sneezed. All of a sudden, I looked down and my entire shirt was covered in blood. I couldn't even figure out where all the blood was coming from. I ran back to my car and held napkins (thanks Starbucks!) on my face until I could get home. My shirt had to be tossed and I had a hard time getting my nose to stop bleeding. This went on for a few weeks. I would have one really awful nosebleed every week and a few smaller, less concerning ones in between. Well, I called my doctor, thinking "really, fourth baby and I'm calling my doctor about a NOSEBLEED!" Well, I did. And the nurse acted like I was an idiot (as expected), telling me nosebleeds are normal. "This is not normal." That's what I told her.
Fast forward another month. Nosebleeds are still a frequent nuisance. I talked to my doctor at my regular appointment. He said (and I quote) "Nosebleeds are normal in pregnancy. If you had a clotting disorder, we would know it already. You've had 2 c sections." Hmph.
Another month passes and I'm still having nosebleeds. Not your regular, hold a tissue, lean your head back, nosebleeds. Like, go home and change clothes because you look like you've been stabbed, nosebleeds. I mention it to my doctor again and he agrees, reluctantly, to send me to a hematologist. I'll give you the Cliff's Notes version of this because it's not all that interesting. They took approximately all of my blood one day (I seriously walked in, expecting a finger prick or, at the most, a couple of vials of blood and they asked if I had eaten and if I had anyone that could drive me home). I didn't. That didn't stop them from taking 21 vials of blood. Twenty one.
After several days of waiting, (including another blood draw because the lab messed up the first one... and then a third blood draw because the lab messed up the second one) they gave me the news. I had a blood clotting disorder. One that's normally genetic. And I've most likely had it all of my life. My parents should be tested. My brother should be tested. My children should be tested. Gulp.
My doctors were shocked that I had never miscarried a baby. They started me on blood thinners. Injectable blood thinners. One a day at first, and then two a day starting at 35 weeks. This posed a risk if I went into labor on my own, but otherwise was just a pain. In the belly. No really, I had to give the shots in my belly. That's delightful.
I had preterm labor and lots of contractions for weeks, and thankfully my mom was able to come and help we with the older girls while I tried my best to rest and stay off my feet. There were lots of doctors appointments and tests. I spent almost all day every Monday at Brookwood having multiple ultrasounds, non stress tests, OB appointments and high risk OB appointments.
On July 22, at 4:30 am, I wasn't sure if my regular contractions were anything more than they had been for the last 2 weeks.... but something sure felt different about them. I was already scheduled for my day of appointments, but I called my OB anyway. I wasn't scheduled to see him until 2:00. Jason went on to work, promising to be available by phone or pager. I called my dr. and he said to come in. He immediately called me back to tell me not to eat breakfast or take my shot. I didn't, but I packed both (my shot and a granola bar).... feeling certain this was going to be the same song and dance we'd been through before.
My mom dropped me off at the doctor and took the girls home. I walked to my appointment by myself... stopping to rock and breathe every 4 minutes. I signed in, telling the receptionist that I was pretty sure I was in labor and that Dr. Huggins had asked me to come in to be checked. She told me to sit in the waiting room like normal, where everyone around me watched me like I had a bomb strapped to my chest.
They finally called me back and checked my vitals like normal. Hmm.... blood pressure is a little elevated (I WONDER WHY). You've lost 3 pounds (after not gaining the last 3 weeks). That's unusual, they said. They put me in a room and handed me a paper sheet to "wear." I sat and sat and sat and sat..... no doctor... lots of contractions. Tiny room. Paper sheet to "wear." You get the picture, right? After an HOUR I went into the hall. Did I mention I'm wearing a paper sheet? I didn't care. I needed someone and I was tired of waiting. By myself.
I found the first nurse (or person in scrubs) that walked by and told her I was in labor and I had been waiting an hour. She turned awfully pale and got my doctor.
He checked me, and sure enough, this is it. "Who is here with you," he asked. "I'm by myself," I answered. "Call Jason. We're headed to L&D. Surgery scheduled for 2 hours from now. " HOLY MOLY. I started calling people and barking all kinds of orders. I didn't ask. I just told people to get to my house and take care of my kids. Sorry, friends. You know who you are, and I'm so very thankful that I can count on you to take care of everything.
I got to recovery and realized everything wasn't rosy. Not at all.
Maebry was struggling to breathe. Her oxygen saturation was poor and she had respiratory distress syndrome. She needed to go to the NICU. I was crushed, bawling and scared. They wheeled me to the NICU to see her and I couldn't believe how tiny and fragile she looked. I was devastated when I had to go to my room without her. I was furious when I heard the baby next door crying. And I couldn't hold my baby.
On Wednesday morning, we got the news that she had a pneumomediastinum, air that had leaked into her chest cavity. This was dangerous stuff. She was put on 100% oxygen and there was an ominous chest tube box next to her bed. Just in case. I didn't completely understand everything that meant, but I knew there were plenty of complications that could go along with a chest tube. And I didn't want any of those to happen to my baby.
I asked people to pray.... begged people to pray for our little one. She had another chest x-ray that Wednesday evening and it showed that her lungs had improved a bit. Then on Thursday morning, they looked a lot better. The doctor said it was okay to start weaning her off of oxygen. Again. She did great.
On Thursday, I finally got to hold her for the first time. I cannot even put into words how amazing that felt. I had ached to hold her. Every bit of my being hurting for my little girl, and I was finally able to smell her sweet head and hold her tiny frame.
Jason and I spent hours every day staring at our tiny baby. We studied every inch of her precious face. The tiny peak on the top of her ear, the tiny bump on her upper lip (just like mine).
On Monday, one week from the day she was born, we were discharged from the hospital. I couldn't help but think of what Jason said when we left the hospital almost 8 years earlier with our first baby. He said he felt like he was driving a truckload of eggs.
I'm so thankful we had that time to memorize every bit of her. We wouldn't have had that if she had come home on time. She would have been in her swing while we rush around taking care of our family of 6. That's just reality. But God had another plan for us. For Maebry. I can't say that I would choose that plan for us, if I had the option to do it all over. It's still too raw for me. Too scary. But this isn't about my plan. It's so much bigger than that. I learned so much from our week in the NICU. I learned dependence. Dependence on my friends, my family, Jason and most importantly, on God. I learned that our faith is essential. I'm so very thankful that, in the darkest moments in our marriage, we had a like faith. Jason and I clung to each other and cried out to God together, never doubting that He would hear us. I learned that I should look for God to use me in my daily walk to be a light for someone else, just like the sweet lady doing her thankless job that stopped to pray for us. I learned that we have the best family and friends anyone could ever ask for. I learned compassion for NICU parents. I truly believe that nobody can ever explain the pain or understand the heartache until you've been there. We now pray for the NICU parents and babies every day. I was forced to slow down. I was humbled. I was told, firmly, to trust.
I wouldn't choose that path, wouldn't wish it on anyone. But I'm so thankful for the lessons I learned. And I'm so thankful for the chaos of having four little girls at home.
Thankfully, Maebry is doing great. She's gaining weight well and is such an easy baby. She sleeps well (most of the time) and just hangs out and watches the world around her. We love the way she completes our family.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
Busy fall
October is a crazy busy month in the McKeown home. We have two little girls with birthdays this month and I feel like we party from start to finish. It's so much fun... and so much work. Adelaide and Lucy have the same due date (November 1) exactly two years apart. Their birthdays ended up being 9 days apart, landing on October 15 and 24. So, we really do spend a lot of time partying and eating garbage in October. We've had a couple of joint parties (not like drugs... ha!), but typically they like to have their own. I mean, let's face it. My kids have to share. A lot. They share at Christmas (Santa brings toys to everyone and we all share), Easter, every other holiday is shared. Their birthdays are the only days that are just for them. So, we try to make them special.
We start discussing their next birthday exactly 2 minutes after their party is over. It's true. Adelaide is already saying she's "almost 8." Let me adjust to 7 first, whydontcha. Anyway, Adelaide has been begging for a sleep over all year. She went to a sleep over last year and LOVED it! Well, let's just put it out there... I don't like bedtime with my own kids most of the time, I sure don't want to put everyone else's kids to bed. And I would also like to point out that although my firstborn is super smart and sweet and beautiful and such, she's pretty awful at making snap decisions. Quick example: she was asked to bring in 3 things in a paper bag that represent her for homework one day. It took us hours and she was literally in tears by the end of it. She was brining stuff like a bouncy ball. I would ask her, "What does that say about you?" *crickets* Then she would bring stickers... again, not something about you. We settled on a picture of her with her sisters, her small bible and her Irish dance shoes. She's just not good at coming up with a certain number of things in a short time frame.
Well, when we discussed the sleepover, I told her that she would have to narrow her invitation list to about girls. *insert deer in headlights look here* She named 4 children (I will not mention their names here because that would be terribly wrong and it doesn't really matter anyway) that she doesn't even hang out with anymore. I mean, they're sweet kids, but they aren't who I thought she'd pick. Well, when we talked about the fact that if we didn't have a sleepover, she could invite more friends, she was okay with that. We decided on an "almost sleepover" theme and it was a huge hit! We invited 28 children because the rule is if you invite one person from this area, then you invite them all. I do allow only girls, so we invited all the girls from her class at school, her bible class at church, her girl scout troop, the neighborhood, dance etc. Well, it was a friday night and I thought we might have half of them actually come. How about 22. 22 six and seven year old girls came to my house. Did I mention I was sick? Did I also mention Jason was in Washington D.C.? I'm so thankful that my parents were here and I hired the help of our babysitter for backup. I'm fairly certain if they hadn't been here I would have been sucking my thumb in a corner by the end of the night.
Okay, if anyone is still reading, here are some pictures of the night.
We start discussing their next birthday exactly 2 minutes after their party is over. It's true. Adelaide is already saying she's "almost 8." Let me adjust to 7 first, whydontcha. Anyway, Adelaide has been begging for a sleep over all year. She went to a sleep over last year and LOVED it! Well, let's just put it out there... I don't like bedtime with my own kids most of the time, I sure don't want to put everyone else's kids to bed. And I would also like to point out that although my firstborn is super smart and sweet and beautiful and such, she's pretty awful at making snap decisions. Quick example: she was asked to bring in 3 things in a paper bag that represent her for homework one day. It took us hours and she was literally in tears by the end of it. She was brining stuff like a bouncy ball. I would ask her, "What does that say about you?" *crickets* Then she would bring stickers... again, not something about you. We settled on a picture of her with her sisters, her small bible and her Irish dance shoes. She's just not good at coming up with a certain number of things in a short time frame.
Well, when we discussed the sleepover, I told her that she would have to narrow her invitation list to about girls. *insert deer in headlights look here* She named 4 children (I will not mention their names here because that would be terribly wrong and it doesn't really matter anyway) that she doesn't even hang out with anymore. I mean, they're sweet kids, but they aren't who I thought she'd pick. Well, when we talked about the fact that if we didn't have a sleepover, she could invite more friends, she was okay with that. We decided on an "almost sleepover" theme and it was a huge hit! We invited 28 children because the rule is if you invite one person from this area, then you invite them all. I do allow only girls, so we invited all the girls from her class at school, her bible class at church, her girl scout troop, the neighborhood, dance etc. Well, it was a friday night and I thought we might have half of them actually come. How about 22. 22 six and seven year old girls came to my house. Did I mention I was sick? Did I also mention Jason was in Washington D.C.? I'm so thankful that my parents were here and I hired the help of our babysitter for backup. I'm fairly certain if they hadn't been here I would have been sucking my thumb in a corner by the end of the night.
Okay, if anyone is still reading, here are some pictures of the night.
I can't believe this baby is 7!
Pizza!
Making bracelets
Heather working her manicure/ pedicure magic.
Adelaide's cake... I know it looks like lingerie, but it's pajamas. :)
The Tooty-tah
Julianne said it was past her bedtime.
Pops to the rescue!
Lucy thinks she's just as big as the rest of them.
Watching a movie
I laughed and said our house looked like a frat house by the end of the night with the knocked over solo cups and the popcorn on the floor.
It sure was a night. :)
Stay tuned, Lucy has asked for a Pump it Up party... which is super easy, so I'm excited! :)
Friday, October 5, 2012
Brain dump Friday.
It's time to nurture my terribly neglected blog for a much overdue brain dump.
1. Life has been NUTS!! Whoever said that life would be easier after the kids were in school were crazy.
2. I've been super-dee-duper busy with Scentsy stuff and I LOVE it!! Can I go ahead and shout that I'm so on track to earning an incentive trip this year! I need a couple more people on my team, though, so I'm gonna need some of my readers to jump on that, okay?
3. I hate touching wet wash cloths. I do realize that is totally random, but have we met? That's how I roll.
4. Everyone I know is pregnant. Everyone. I kinda of love it.
5. I have had a Scentsy table set up at Kidsmarket this past week (and next week) and it has been going really well. However, I'm really glad that I wasn't working today. I dropped in to take some stuff to a new friend I met there and my team-mate was getting some stuff all set up. I looked over and there was a vendor set up with some exotic creatures. She had a flying squirrel on a "leash" (read: string that she wasn't even hanging on to) and the crazy thing was crawling all over her (including up her shirt), in her hair and jumping off of her onto the surrounding tables. Again, have we met? I hate creatures. No thank you. If that thing got loose, I would officially create a new exit. Talk about the definition of chaos... what would happen if that thing was "flying" around in all those clothes. I shiver just thinking about it.
6. Adelaide is going to compete in an Irish dance competition in Atlanta in a month. I'm excited and she's a little nervous. I think she will LOVE it!
7. I'm having to talk Lucy into buying a new costume for Halloween b/c she likes her costume from last year so much.
8. I've already decided on our family costume for the year and I am so excited I can't even stand it. Friends of our's have a rockin' party every year and our costume is just the right amount of crazy tacky. :)
9. I love all shows on TLC that deal with little people, people with a stinking ton of children, girls with two heads and any other kind of craziness that makes my life seem normal. Jason hates all of those shows which brings me to #10.
10. I am so very thankful for DVR. It might be my favorite invention since peanut butter and chocolate.
11. I bought ugly Christmas sweaters for my children yesterday for my all time favorite party of the year: the Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. My kids have already won best dressed... no one else need apply.
12. I accidentally prayed for patience today and God laughed hard. So my day has pretty much stunk.
1. Life has been NUTS!! Whoever said that life would be easier after the kids were in school were crazy.
2. I've been super-dee-duper busy with Scentsy stuff and I LOVE it!! Can I go ahead and shout that I'm so on track to earning an incentive trip this year! I need a couple more people on my team, though, so I'm gonna need some of my readers to jump on that, okay?
3. I hate touching wet wash cloths. I do realize that is totally random, but have we met? That's how I roll.
4. Everyone I know is pregnant. Everyone. I kinda of love it.
5. I have had a Scentsy table set up at Kidsmarket this past week (and next week) and it has been going really well. However, I'm really glad that I wasn't working today. I dropped in to take some stuff to a new friend I met there and my team-mate was getting some stuff all set up. I looked over and there was a vendor set up with some exotic creatures. She had a flying squirrel on a "leash" (read: string that she wasn't even hanging on to) and the crazy thing was crawling all over her (including up her shirt), in her hair and jumping off of her onto the surrounding tables. Again, have we met? I hate creatures. No thank you. If that thing got loose, I would officially create a new exit. Talk about the definition of chaos... what would happen if that thing was "flying" around in all those clothes. I shiver just thinking about it.
6. Adelaide is going to compete in an Irish dance competition in Atlanta in a month. I'm excited and she's a little nervous. I think she will LOVE it!
7. I'm having to talk Lucy into buying a new costume for Halloween b/c she likes her costume from last year so much.
8. I've already decided on our family costume for the year and I am so excited I can't even stand it. Friends of our's have a rockin' party every year and our costume is just the right amount of crazy tacky. :)
9. I love all shows on TLC that deal with little people, people with a stinking ton of children, girls with two heads and any other kind of craziness that makes my life seem normal. Jason hates all of those shows which brings me to #10.
10. I am so very thankful for DVR. It might be my favorite invention since peanut butter and chocolate.
11. I bought ugly Christmas sweaters for my children yesterday for my all time favorite party of the year: the Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. My kids have already won best dressed... no one else need apply.
12. I accidentally prayed for patience today and God laughed hard. So my day has pretty much stunk.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Home projects and other news.
I wanted to post an update on my Unglued progress. I am loving this book. Loving. It is the perfect book for me to read right now, at a time that I feel seriously unglued. The book repeats over and over to put the word of God in your heart. Read the word, memorize the word, meditate on the word. Well, I think now's a good time to tell everyone that I'm about 3 weeks in to reading through the Bible in 90 days. I haven't told you (or many people at all) that because, frankly, it scares me. It's a lot of reading and I don't want to fail. I've started (and quit) reading the Bible from cover to cover, in chronological order, New Testament first... you name it, I've tried it. And I always quit. It's hard. There are some places, especially in the Old Testament that make me go cross-eyed. But, I'm going into week 3 tomorrow and I'm in Deuteronomy. Which means I'm passed Exodus AND Leviticus! Woot woot! Those are a couple of my stumbling blocks from the past. So, those are behind me and I've told the world (or at least my 3 readers) that I'm doing this, so now you're holding me accountable, right?
In other news.... I want to start some new projects around the house. As most of you know, we just finished a ginormous outdoor renovation that I LOVE and I'm super-excited to enjoy it even more once we can light up the fireplace and curl up in front of it. It's been awhile since we've taken on a project inside the house. Here are the things I want to do... in order. Jason, if you're reading this, don't fall over.... I don't plan on trying to do all of these at once! ;)
I would like to move Julianne's room upstairs. My thought was to keep Julianne downstairs until we have another baby.... but I don't know when/if that's going to happen. And since Julianne wakes up at every. single. sound. I think it would be great to move her upstairs and away from the morning business. Jason gets up at tooearly:thirty and I get up about an hour later at tooearlyforme:thirty. Well, as soon as we start stirring, guess who's up! I tuck her back in her bed so that I can have a minute of quiet (or an hour since I'm reading like a ton of God's word daily)... but she's still up too early... which means she's super crabby and exhausted. Will moving her upstairs actually help? I don't know *I hate it when people ask and answer their own questions, don't you?? Super annoying.* But I want to try. Julianne moved into the room we totally decorated for Lucy. In fact, the only things we changed were the name sign on the wall (and that took like a year) and I had a friend paint a sign to put over the changing table. Nothing else changed. At all.
We totally re-did Lucy and Adelaide's room about 2 years ago and then we moved Adelaide into the guest room when she started Kindergarten (and bought her some bedding to make it look like she's not sleeping in the guest room). We had always thought at least 2 of the kids would share a room... but right now, we don't like the combinations. Lucy wakes up too early (do you see a trend?) and Adelaide really needs her rest because she's in big school all day. So, instead of bunking Lucy and Julianne together (which I think would only result in them waking up earlier and earlier), I would like to move Julianne into the other guest room upstairs. We would then have a guest room downstairs. In order to convince Jason this would work for our future plans, is to tell him that we can paint the downstairs room that has always been a nursery gray. I will use gray if we ever use that room as a nursery again. I promise. :) Anyway, it would be a guest room now and if we have another child (or two), it will remain the guest room/nursery. And all of our children, for now, will be upstairs along with the playroom. Sounds like a great idea to me!!! So, first and foremost, I would like to turn the guest room upstairs into Juli's big girl room and I would like for it to look like this.
If anyone would like to offer their expertise on repurposing furniture or other things into furniture, I'd love a good lesson... we would like to furnish this room on a dime. :)
And I would like to paint the downstairs room gray and move the upstairs furniture into this room for our guest room. I would love repurpose an old, beat-up mantle into a headboard like this one. I should take a moment to mention that I don't really like anything else going on in this room.... other than the headboard.
Next on my list is the pantry/laundry room. I have asked a friend to make these. My laundry room is tiny, and the storage isn't very functional. It does have some great cabinets above the washer/dryer that I'm too short to reach without a step stool and a counter opposite the washer/dryer with a utility sink. So, it has some bones that are great, but the use of the space hasn't reached it's potential. I think the use of the pedestal under the washer/dryer will be great for sorting laundry and actually using that space. Then I would like the other side of my laundry room, under the counter to look like this.
While all that is going on, I would love to paint the laundry room a fun color I wouldn't be able to get away with in the rest of the house, like a fun orange or hot pink. :) Since it's so small, though, I might need to settle for a soothing green or Tiffany blue. I wonder if Jason would go for a chandelier in there? Hmmmm....
Speaking of under-utilized spaces, my pantry... it's kinda pathetic. I know, I know... I'm thankful I have a pantry. I really am. But, only half of it is really used... actually less than half. It's the size of a small closet, but the only shelves in there are on the back wall... and they stop about 3 feet from the floor. We are losing some major function in the pantry. I would love to yank all of the wire shelves out and toss them... paint and then get a great closet shelving system put in that will actually work for us. Like with real shelves that won't let stuff fall through and that cans can't sit on levelly.
Something like this pantry.
Okay for long term, I would love to see about having my kitchen cabinets painted and glazed.
And super long term, I would like to pretty much rip out the entire master bathroom with it's beautiful but totally uncomfortable bathtub and start over.
Please don't take this post to mean that I'm not thankful for our beautiful home. I am. But I want to make it our's and I want to make it work for us.
I don't see a point in keeping a perfectly suitable room upstairs just for guests that come once every three months or so (sorry grandparents)... we live here every day and I want it to work first and foremost for us. And I didn't envision all of our girls having their own rooms, but if that's what gives everyone the most sleep, split 'em up! Anyway.... stay tuned... I'm looking to start switching stuff up here soon.
In other news.... I want to start some new projects around the house. As most of you know, we just finished a ginormous outdoor renovation that I LOVE and I'm super-excited to enjoy it even more once we can light up the fireplace and curl up in front of it. It's been awhile since we've taken on a project inside the house. Here are the things I want to do... in order. Jason, if you're reading this, don't fall over.... I don't plan on trying to do all of these at once! ;)
I would like to move Julianne's room upstairs. My thought was to keep Julianne downstairs until we have another baby.... but I don't know when/if that's going to happen. And since Julianne wakes up at every. single. sound. I think it would be great to move her upstairs and away from the morning business. Jason gets up at tooearly:thirty and I get up about an hour later at tooearlyforme:thirty. Well, as soon as we start stirring, guess who's up! I tuck her back in her bed so that I can have a minute of quiet (or an hour since I'm reading like a ton of God's word daily)... but she's still up too early... which means she's super crabby and exhausted. Will moving her upstairs actually help? I don't know *I hate it when people ask and answer their own questions, don't you?? Super annoying.* But I want to try. Julianne moved into the room we totally decorated for Lucy. In fact, the only things we changed were the name sign on the wall (and that took like a year) and I had a friend paint a sign to put over the changing table. Nothing else changed. At all.
We totally re-did Lucy and Adelaide's room about 2 years ago and then we moved Adelaide into the guest room when she started Kindergarten (and bought her some bedding to make it look like she's not sleeping in the guest room). We had always thought at least 2 of the kids would share a room... but right now, we don't like the combinations. Lucy wakes up too early (do you see a trend?) and Adelaide really needs her rest because she's in big school all day. So, instead of bunking Lucy and Julianne together (which I think would only result in them waking up earlier and earlier), I would like to move Julianne into the other guest room upstairs. We would then have a guest room downstairs. In order to convince Jason this would work for our future plans, is to tell him that we can paint the downstairs room that has always been a nursery gray. I will use gray if we ever use that room as a nursery again. I promise. :) Anyway, it would be a guest room now and if we have another child (or two), it will remain the guest room/nursery. And all of our children, for now, will be upstairs along with the playroom. Sounds like a great idea to me!!! So, first and foremost, I would like to turn the guest room upstairs into Juli's big girl room and I would like for it to look like this.
If anyone would like to offer their expertise on repurposing furniture or other things into furniture, I'd love a good lesson... we would like to furnish this room on a dime. :)
And I would like to paint the downstairs room gray and move the upstairs furniture into this room for our guest room. I would love repurpose an old, beat-up mantle into a headboard like this one. I should take a moment to mention that I don't really like anything else going on in this room.... other than the headboard.
Next on my list is the pantry/laundry room. I have asked a friend to make these. My laundry room is tiny, and the storage isn't very functional. It does have some great cabinets above the washer/dryer that I'm too short to reach without a step stool and a counter opposite the washer/dryer with a utility sink. So, it has some bones that are great, but the use of the space hasn't reached it's potential. I think the use of the pedestal under the washer/dryer will be great for sorting laundry and actually using that space. Then I would like the other side of my laundry room, under the counter to look like this.
While all that is going on, I would love to paint the laundry room a fun color I wouldn't be able to get away with in the rest of the house, like a fun orange or hot pink. :) Since it's so small, though, I might need to settle for a soothing green or Tiffany blue. I wonder if Jason would go for a chandelier in there? Hmmmm....
Speaking of under-utilized spaces, my pantry... it's kinda pathetic. I know, I know... I'm thankful I have a pantry. I really am. But, only half of it is really used... actually less than half. It's the size of a small closet, but the only shelves in there are on the back wall... and they stop about 3 feet from the floor. We are losing some major function in the pantry. I would love to yank all of the wire shelves out and toss them... paint and then get a great closet shelving system put in that will actually work for us. Like with real shelves that won't let stuff fall through and that cans can't sit on levelly.
Something like this pantry.
Okay for long term, I would love to see about having my kitchen cabinets painted and glazed.
And super long term, I would like to pretty much rip out the entire master bathroom with it's beautiful but totally uncomfortable bathtub and start over.
Please don't take this post to mean that I'm not thankful for our beautiful home. I am. But I want to make it our's and I want to make it work for us.
I don't see a point in keeping a perfectly suitable room upstairs just for guests that come once every three months or so (sorry grandparents)... we live here every day and I want it to work first and foremost for us. And I didn't envision all of our girls having their own rooms, but if that's what gives everyone the most sleep, split 'em up! Anyway.... stay tuned... I'm looking to start switching stuff up here soon.
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