Mason's Birth Story

Our wonderful little man has arrived:) I have had several friends requesting his birth story and I have had it written since he was 2 weeks old- but wanted Brett to make sure it was accurate before I posted!  I feel so blessed to have had such an amazing birth experience and I am in awe of the human body and how God made women to be able to have such little precious gifts:) I also feel blessed that we have such great healthcare as a part of Brett being in the military- so many women had told me not to have my baby at the military base hospital because they have heard of people who have had bad experiences, but I am so glad I had Mason at David Grant Medical Center- it was a great experience!

So here is the story of how my beautiful baby boy entered the world! Enjoy!

Mason’s Birth Story

Our little boy was due to grace us with his presence on February 5^th (or close to that date, and if anything we expected him later since many first time moms have their babies after their due date), I had gone to my 38 week OB appointment on Monday January 23^rd and had gotten checked and nothing was happening, no dilation or anything- so I wasn’t expecting to go into labor any time soon. I was stressing and trying to decide whether to have my membranes stripped at the next appointment or just to let things happen naturally. I wanted to meet our little boy but was also very anxious about the whole labor and delivery process. I worked a full week at work and was supposed to have 2 more days before I started my maternity leave on February 1^st. I had a whole mental list of things to get accomplished and ready before the baby came- but little did I know that my “me” time would soon turn into me and baby time. (which turned out to be better anywaysJ)

Saturday morning Brett and I went to a day of prayer at our church and then called up our friend Chris to meet us for brunch at the Black Bear Diner. We stopped by Ace hardware to look for a few things and then had a very large brunch- to which I commented that baby wasn’t very happy because I invaded all of his room! We then went home and had a lazy day of Brett doing homework and me making some phone calls and catching up with some of my good friends from college. I was talking to my friend Cassie when I had my first contraction at 4pm- I had thought I maybe had some Braxton Hicks contractions before this, but this was a pretty intense menstrual cramp feeling and there was something different about it. I continued to make my phone calls and tried to relax, and the contractions kept coming about every 15 minutes but didn’t last long each time.

 We had plans that evening to go over to one of our neighbors houses for dessert (which when they invited us they had joked about making something rich to put me into labor- little did we know at that time that I would already be in labor when we went over thereJ). We had been trying to get together with them for months since they moved in and finally we had found a time that worked for both of us. I had mentioned to Brett I didn’t know if I wanted to go anymore since I was having contractions- but decided we should just go and we wouldn’t stay long. So I continued to have contractions through dessert and chatting with them about every 15 minutes and they would get more intense when I stood up- so when we were ready to go I bolted out of there.

I continued to have contractions all evening and poor Brett was scrambling to finish up his homework for his masters class that was due the next day! I emailed my boss and told him I wouldn’t be in to work for my last 2 days. I kept walking around as much as I could and the contractions kept getting stronger and closer together. By late evening we knew we weren’t going to get much sleep if any! At about 1am we decided to call labor and delivery- my contractions were 2-3 minutes apart and lasted for a minute, this had been going on for about an hour (which is when they had told us to call in). I talked to a nurse who told me to try and take some Tylenol and lay down for a while and see if things slowed down- as a lot of first time moms go on like this for days (not what I wanted to hear). So I took the Tylenol and laid down and sure enough things slowed down again- but didn’t stop- I still had contractions about every 15-20 minutes so I knew this was real labor. So all night Brett and I hung out on the couch and tried to sleep as much as we could between contractions- which wasn’t much.  I spent a lot of time on my knees on the couch with my head resting on the couch back- this was a very comfortable position for me and I used it over the hospital bed for much of my later labor as well.

So for the whole next day I again paced the house, bounced on my ball, watched Friends, watched the episode of the Office where Pam doesn’t want to go to the hospital, took a bath and shower and breathed through a plethora of contractions. Brett was an amazing coach- reminding me to breathe, rubbing my back, getting me drinks to stay hydrated, and pushing me to keep moving because we both knew that all of the movement would keep things progressing like we wanted. Finally at around 6pm my contractions were again 2-3 minutes apart and lasting for a minute- which had been going on for an hour and a half and we called labor and delivery and were told to come in and get checked. Brett had gotten the car seat in the car and the rest of our bags packed in-between contractions (as best as he could because there wasn’t much time between anymore!).

We got to the hospital around 7pm and I got hooked up to the monitors. The nurse looked skeptical when I told her my pain level was an 8/10 (they had told me to come in when it was a 10/10 but I am more realistic about the pain scale than most and knew that 10/10 would come during transition) but I was just trying to focus and breathe, I guess I hide my pain well. The MD resident came in and talked to me for a little while and then checked me and I was at 5cm! They weren’t seeing the accelerations in heart rate like they wanted to after each contraction so I had to change positions a few times and drink some cold water- they saw what they needed to and I was moved to my labor and delivery room. I told them my intentions to go through labor and delivery without an epidural or any IV pain meds and that I wanted to be out of the bed and walking around as much as I could- they were very understanding and the nurse got me a ball and said that I needed to be on the monitors intermittently and that we could take them off to walk around more if I wanted to. I spent most of my time bent over the bed, swaying and on the ball.

One of my favorite things was when the anesthesiologist came in to introduce himself I was on the ball bending over the bed and my gown was wide open and my bare butt was hanging out- because really- who cares what people see at this point I was about to have a baby coming out of me and I was in so much pain my butt showing was the last thing on my mind. He was quite shocked and went back behind the curtain and introduced himself and said that he was here if I had any questions or needed anything. When the nurse came back in she said he was quite shocked when I mooned him, but I thought it was a good metaphor to how I felt about his epiduralJ

I continued to labor like this with the nurse checking in on me every once in a while for the next 2 hours. The MD resident came back in after 2 hours to check me again- which is more uncomfortable than a contraction- and said that I was 6.5 cm. I was hoping he would say I was farther along- because the contractions had started getting more intense. I labored along for probably another hour and the contractions were now very intense and did not completely end before the next one started. I went from just breathing through them to needing to be reminded to breathe and I kept saying “oh no” as each contraction kept coming. I was doubting whether I could do this for very much longer and when the nurse came back in I told her I still didn’t want anything heavy for pain but asked if I could just have some Tylenol- I am sure it sounded so silly to her- but even though I was having the worst pain in my life I still didn’t want anything that could potentially affect or harm my baby. I was hoping the Tylenol would take some of the edge off- or at least psychologically I was hoping to trick myself into thinking the pain was less.

When she came back she brought a nurse midwife with her (who was also on duty that night, the MD resident was in the ER seeing another patient at the time) and some Tylenol. The midwife said she would check me again and see about my progress. By this time I had started to feel like I needed to poop (which I knew I didn’t, I had already tried) and was feeling a lot of pressure in my pelvis. When she checked me I was 8cm, we had talked about breaking my water since it hadn’t yet which she proceeded to do and then I progressed to 9cm. I was pushing at this point- my body just started to and I couldn’t stop- it was the craziest feeling that my body had just taken over and it knew what to do. I was very anxious about it at this point because I knew if you start pushing too early you can tear your cervix. I had one more contraction and I was at 10cm and ready to push! The nurse took me through some small pushes to keep me from doing too much pushing until they had everything set up. There were several other people in the room now getting ready for the baby and setting everything up. It was so crazy how fast everything progressed at the end. The midwife and nurse were both very supportive and encouraging because at this point I was very uncomfortable and doubting my ability to push the baby out. It is so amazing how God makes women’s bodies to have babies- all I had to do was let it and provide some extra force with each contraction and he was coming out! I

I was pushing and kept looking at Brett to see if he could see him coming out. I was in the middle of pushing when the midwife announced that he had hair- I stopped mid push (I had been grunting and everything) and said “he has hair?!?!” I was so excited that my baby boy was on his way and being able to see his head of hair finally made it real. They asked if I wanted a mirror to see and I said “in a little bit” and they proceeded to inform me that I didn’t have a little bit- so they got me a mirror so I could watch, which I didn’t end up doing much of because keeping your eyes open while pushing is not really possible. I continued to push for 6 minutes and then my little boy came into the world. They set him on my chest and he was crying and flailing all of his extremities- and he was beautiful.

Top 10 of 2011

Happy New Year Everyone! I have been awful about blogging and am hoping to be better at it this year- but no promises! In an attempt to catch everyone up without taking me forever I am going to simply highlight our favorite 10 events/trips of 2011!
Enjoy!
#10: Emily moving out to California and Brett and Emily FINALLY living in the same house:)

#9: Brett's first and second deployments and sweet homecomings

#8: Emily graduated with her Doctorate of Physical Therapy and got a great job in acute care

#7: Hunting trip in Oregon and many fishing trips in CA

#6: Getting our new black lab Cooper

#5:Meeting some great new friends and exploring CA together

#4:Making a trip to MN in August for Brett's brother Eric's wedding and getting a fishing boat

#3:Finally going on our honeymoon to Hawaii in September

#2:Celebrating our 2 year wedding anniversary in May by going on the Napa Wine Train

#1: Finding out we are expecting our first baby boy on February 5th!!!!:)

God has blessed us with so many wonderful people and opportunities this year! We are so excited for what 2012 will bring!
Happy New Year!
Brett and Emily

Home

Home....it has become something that I have pondered quite a bit these past couple months as we have been able to visit MN which I think both Brett and I will always consider "home". Then when it is time to leave MN and come back to CA where we live we say it is time to go "home". So what really is "home"? It has become an ever abstract concept to me as we have moved more and more these past few years- and finally now that we have a home together, we have less places that we both call "home". Many people have tried to define home with clever catch phrases:

"Home is where the heart is."

"Home is not where you live but where they understand you."

"A house is made with walls and beams, a home is made with love and dreams."

"Home is the place you grow up wanting to leave, and you grow old wanting to get back to."

and my personal favorite quote about home:

"Where we love is home, home that our feet may leave, but not our hearts."

 

 

Home is a place where we feel comfortable and welcomed going back to. Minnesota will always be home for us- and the place we want to go back to when our Air Force adventures are through, but for now California is home, wherever Brett and I are together as a family is home, and I feel as though we will leave a little piece of our hearts in every place we live. I still tell Brett all the time how I miss Oklahoma- even though I never actually lived there- but we had our first place there where I spent summer breaks and we spent holidays together when we were first married.

I just hope that my heart is big enough that I will still have some left if I start leaving part of it in every place we live:)

Living He Loved Me

So my newest favorite song is Glorious Day which Casting Crowns sings- which is actually an old hymn that they made more contemporary. There are so many hymns that are so powerful and have such great meaningful words. It gives me goosebumps every time and I never get sick of hearing it! It played on my way to and from work today and I cranked the volume and sang! Check it out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqrqPGt11bA&feature=player_detailpage

It makes me sad that our contemporary churches don't sing these songs any more because they are "old" and "outdated" as far as musical style goes- when I think many of the hymns have more meaning then some of the new songs that just repeat the same line 15 times- and 3 different times in the song. Don't get me wrong I like choruses and contemporary songs just as much as the next person- but there are so many amazing hymns that get forgotten and are amazing worship songs.

I think part of the reason I am so nostalgic about hymns is some great memories I have are from hymn sing nights at my small town church in MN- where the whole church congregation would come out and we would sing together- and when one hymn was over someone would shout out another number of a favorite hymn and we would just sing for an hour or so- and of course have refreshments afterwards, which I am sure at that time was my favorite part:) But looking back as I get older- singing those hymns and all of the cherished older individuals in my church loving it so much- including my beloved Grandma Clara- makes me appreciate those hymns so much more. They are packed with spiritual truth and encouragement! Who wouldn't love them!

Graduation, Goodbyes, and New Beginnings!

So I am obviously really bad at blogging and it is many months between each of my posts, maybe now that I have more time to myself I will blog more often. Well lots of things have been changing with us lately! I finished my last clinical at NorthBay Medical Center here in Fairfield, which I loved! I got to know the therapists and everyone was so great! I graduated from PT school in May and Brett was able to accompany me back to MN and ND for visiting family and friends and my hooding and graduation which was amazing! We didn't think he was going to be able to come- we thought he would probably be deployed! It was so great to see all of my classmates, many of whom have become my very close friends from all of the stress, studying and times of relaxing between tests, classes etc. we have had together. It was fun to celebrate this exciting time with them and was very hard to say goodbye at the end of the weekend! But maybe now that we can make some money we can see each other every once in awhile! Everyone is pretty spread out from coast to coast- but with email and facebook it makes it easier to stay in contact. Brett was able to be up on stage and put on my hood with my advisor Peg. The hooding ceremony was very personal and it was nice because the graduation ceremony is so huge and impersonal. It was nice to have the hooding ceremony to be just our class and Tom the head of the department gave a nice speech about how they already miss seeing us around the department. It was very heartfelt and a nice end to a difficult and rewarding 3 years.

My family and some of Brett's family came up for everything- it was nice to have them there to celebrate with me!

We were able to see a lot, not all, but quite a few of our friends when we were home in MN, which was so nice. It is always for an occasion that we are home and it is nice to be able to see all of the people we can even with our busy schedules!

So then after we came back to CA we had a couple weeks before Brett left for his first deployment. We celebrated our 2 year anniversary by taking a trip on the Napa Wine Train- it was a 36 mile trip that was 3 hours long and we ate on the train- it was great food and fantastic scenery- it was nice to relax and enjoy each other and California. We have been so busy we haven't had a chance to enjoy all the area we are living in has to offer.

Brett left May 31st for his first deployment to the Middle East and has been flying quite often refueling all of the planes that are protecting the troops and borders over there. He has been doing well- there is air conditioning thank goodness because it is 115 degrees. It has been lonely here since he left- but I am so glad we got Cooper when we did, he has made it bearable. I also have lots of great people that I know out here and they are looking out for me as well.

I took my national physical therapy examination this past week (board exam) and passed! which was very exciting! It was a 5 1/2 hour test with 250 questions and I had been studying 24/7 for several weeks. It is so nice and quite a relief to be done with that! I have another exam on Tuesday over the laws of PT practice in California but this is a much shorter exam which I have heard is not too bad! I also got a job working for NorthBay Healthcare- where I did my clinical. They have 2 hospitals and 2 outpatient clinics and I will be working on-call covering people's vacations, sick days, and maternity leave. I am very excited to be working for them- it is a really great opportunity- they have a growing women's health program in one of the outpatient clinics (which is something I have become interested in) and the hospital is getting certified as a Level 3 Trauma Center as well as working on being a certified Stroke Center. So there are many exciting things going on and I am excited to be a part of it. I am hopeful that the position will turn into a part time position at some point! But as for this summer I already have work for almost every day in July! so I will be keeping busy! I am excited to finally be using my knowledge to help others and making money while I am doing it!

Well I am tired so that is all for now! I need to update more often so I don't have so much to update on when I finally write. I will try to write more often now that I have my evenings and weekends to myself (instead of studing ruling my life) :)

Emily

CALIFORNIA!!!

Well it has been ahwhile and as always lots has changed! I am sitting in front of the fireplace with a cup of tea and ready to catch everyone up on all that has gone on! I am FINALLY in California and living with Brett! We are really enjoying spending time together and making our house into our home! I drove out to California after finishing my 3rd clinical in Stillwater, MN. My sister helped with the drive and it was so nice to have company and another driver. The drive was uneventful for the most part, we did sit on I-80 in Wyoming for about 30 minutes waiting for it to open again after a snow storm! Otherwise it was great and we had a nice time- we were ready to get out of the car though after 30+ hours of driving!!

We got to California on the first Friday in March and Shelly was able to stay til Tuesday which was great because on Saturday (not even 24 hours after we got to Cali) Brett left on his first mission to Europe and Quatar for 12 days. It was so nice to have Shelly around while I was getting used to being in Cali. We also had our friend Will Giles (who is a C-17 pilot we met while Brett was in pilot training at Vance AFB) staying with us while he completed his inprocessing and finding a place to live.

Brett made it back safely and has also gone on another 5 day trip since to Hawaii, Guam and Japan. He is enjoying flying and the guys in the 9th Air Refueling Squadron. He now has a job in the squadron and is helping to schedule trips for the pilots. Hopefully he will get his pick of trips that work best for our schedule:)

We now have a new addition to our family! His name is Cooper and he is a 3 year old Black lab. We got him from the Golden Gate Lab Rescue and he is a great dog. He is very energetic and likes to play and run, we took him to the lake today and he was fetching a stick in the water for at least an hour! He also does very well at being calm in the house, as I type he is sleeping in the front living room. He stays in the house when we are gone and hasn't even chewed on anything!

He is definitely a companion dog, he likes to be wherever we are. He had a hard time when Brett was gone on a trip a couple weeks ago and he followed me wherever I went, and I do mean wherever, bathroom and all! He likes to be a part of everything we do and doesn't even like to be in the backyard unless we are there. He barks when people come to the door and is protective of me. We were over at a friends place on Thursday and he would growl whenever their dog came close to me. He loves to play with other dogs and has a blast at the dog park whenever we take him. He is a great dog and is very gentle and loves any attention he gets.

The weather has been warming up here lately and we took a trip to Lake Berryessa today to go kayaking! We grilled and took a walk and kayaked and had a great time. It is so great to relax and enjoy the outdoors. I am loving my clinical at North Bay Medical Center, a local hospital. I am working on preparing for my national exam in May/June and applying for a license and jobs!!! Not much fun but I am looking forward to getting a paycheck for all of my hard work! We are really enjoying the Fairfield area and are making some great friends. Everyone is so nice and welcoming at our church and at the Air Force Base, it is a great place to live and we are so excited to be finally settled down for awhile:)

Changing seasons once again!

So once again the seasons are flying by and I am just trying to keep up! I have been in California with Brett since last Friday and it has been so great to spend some time organizing and relaxing in my own house! I am very excited that this is the last time I will "visit" my own house and in March when I come back I will be living here and visiting everywhere else!

So here is a synopsis of the past 3 months- hang on there is a lot that has happened!!!

Brett was able to come and visit me in Grand Forks in the beginning of October- we had such a great time. It was so warm and beautiful out that weekend- we were able to walk around campus and reminisce about when we met and just enjoy the campus together for the last time (we will be back for my graduation- but will probably be crunched for time). We were also able to go down to Moorhead and meet up with my sister and go to Extreme Makeover Home Edition which was building a house for a family in the area and we were able to be a part of the crowd screaming "move that bus". It was a fun time!

At the end of October I was able to attend a national physical therapy conference for students in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. There were 20 of my classmates that went and 2 students from the first year class- we had a fun time and learned a lot. It is definitely different out east and we were ready to come home! We had a good time seeing all of the historic sights in Philadelphia and took a trip to Atlantic City as well! I had my first ever philly cheese steak sandwich in Philadelphia so that was pretty neat.

While I was on my trip in NJ we found out that my mom has breast cancer. I was able to go home for a couple of days and be with her when she had a lumpectomy. She is doing well and the cancer is stage I and her recurrence rate is low so she doesn' t have to have chemo. She will be starting radiation in January sometime. Keep her in your prayers- it is never a good situation but God has blessed us with much good news with things that could have been worse.

I was able to come out to California for Thanksgiving and we had a nice time. We had Thanksgiving with a couple that Brett knew from ROTC at UND, Kristy is a nurse out here and in the Air Force and her husband Randy works at a golf course .They are fun and we really enjoyed spending the holiday with them and a few other of their friends and some other pilots who didn't go anywhere for the holiday. It is nice to have familiar faces out here and people who have similar values of living in the midwest. We decorated the house for Christmas and Brett put up lights outside with his new ladder!

I finished out my last semester of PT school classes and I am excited to get back into the clinic and see patients. I am doing my first clinical in Stillwater, MN at the Courage Center and will be staying with Brett's parents. Then after 9 weeks at the beginning of March I will be driving out to CA with my mom and sister and then I will be living here full time! School went by so fast and it was sad to leave GF and all of the amazing friends I have made there- but I am ready to live with my husband and it will be so great to finally get settled in together and not have a long distance relationship. It has been way too long! Before I left GF we had a class banquet and we had a nice dinner with all of our professors and the students and it was very nice. It was a nice ending to a great semester and great couple of years!

Brett has been busy doing simulator training. He is finishing his last sim today and then will start to fly sometime after Christmas break. He has really enjoyed his instructor and the guys that he is training with. It will be nice once he gets in the plane and can start flying- he is excited to keep going. He will be done with training sometime in late February- early March. he is scheduled to deploy at the end of May- so he should be able to be at my graduation and be back for his brothers wedding in the middle of August!

We are heading back to MN tomorrow to have Christmas with our families and are excited to see family and friends. Several of our good friends have had babies in the past couple of months and other friends that we haven't seen for awhile are in town so we are excited to have a week of celebrating Christmas and spending quality time with family and friends.

Merry Christmas to all of you!

Love,

Brett and Emily