In true Dave Letterman style, here's today's top-ten list.
Nicholas's Favorite Activities
10. Smiling with a toothless, mouth-wide-open grin (sometimes this is accompanied by a sharp intake of air that sounds like a laugh -- and maybe it is!)
9. Laying on the floor
8. Staring at lights
7. Crying
6. Creaking (he makes a lot of sounds, the most interesting being his ability to sound like an old, unoiled door being opened, i.e. creaking -- a noise he makes whenever he's doing activity #1 or pooping)
5. Sleeping
4. Watching his mobile endlessly turn round and round over his head
3. Peeing all over mom or dad (this often leads to big smiles... see #10)
2. Sitting with one of his big brothers
1. Eating
Monday, November 26, 2007
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
A mother's concern
Nicholas has some kind of very red, very itchy rash covering his face, chest and back. I am quite concerned. Steen and I think it might be an allergic reaction -- the question is "to what?". We'll see the nurse about it tomorrow.
Happy Thanksgiving (one day early) to all of our friends and family in the US and to those who are celebrating it elsewhere. I think we'll be holding our turkey-fete on Sunday if anyone would like to join us, so hop on a plane and head on over!
Happy Thanksgiving (one day early) to all of our friends and family in the US and to those who are celebrating it elsewhere. I think we'll be holding our turkey-fete on Sunday if anyone would like to join us, so hop on a plane and head on over!
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Focus
Ulla teaches Nicholas how to use a pacifier (a heatfelt "whoopeee" is appropriate here!)
OK, so the store only this type of pacifier in pink, much to Steen's chagrin ... At least it's staying in his mouth!
Lucas and Nicholas hanging out
Meeting Ingelise and Nicoline for the first time
Nicoline and Matthew share a bit of play timeNot much time to write, but wanted to say that our little boy is doing well. I cannot believe that four weeks have already flown by. We saw the nurse yesterday, and he now weighs over 5 kg and is 57 cm long -- in other words, healthy and growing as expected.
He's now able to focus on our faces, and when he focuses on my eyes and really looks at me, it makes my heart skip a beat. He's also been awake in the evenings the past few days, which is great -- gives us some more time to get to know him. He's a sweetie... although I'm a bit biased about all of my boys!Monday, November 5, 2007
You know you're a mother when...
Yesterday I turned 36. To celebrate the day, my kind, loving, caring husband sweetly informed me of the following as soon as I opened my eyes in the morning:
"Honey, now you're closer to 40 than to 30!"
I failed to come up with a smart rebuttal fast enough and promptly closed my eyes again. I should have pointed out that we're only the same age for five weeks... at the end of which, his age-o-meter will click up another notch.
A few minutes later, while eating at a very festive birthday breakfast table, Matthew looked at me and said:
"Hey, mom! Now you've been 9 years old four times!"
He then proceeded to also inform me that I've been 18 twice, and 6 six times. At least my birthday was good for some multiplication and division practice!
Regardless, I had a great day, hanging out with all of my boys and walking through the frosty forest nearby. Did I mention we had our first snow on Friday night?
Back to the headline. Here's the situation setup: your baby decides to take a middle-of-the-night poo while you're changing his already dirty diaper. The poo happens to come while the diaper is off and shoots out of him like a rocket. You know you're a mother when, in order to save the wall and the curtains from a mustard-yellow poo stain, you reach out to stop the flying poo with your hand! ICK!!!
"Honey, now you're closer to 40 than to 30!"
I failed to come up with a smart rebuttal fast enough and promptly closed my eyes again. I should have pointed out that we're only the same age for five weeks... at the end of which, his age-o-meter will click up another notch.
A few minutes later, while eating at a very festive birthday breakfast table, Matthew looked at me and said:
"Hey, mom! Now you've been 9 years old four times!"
He then proceeded to also inform me that I've been 18 twice, and 6 six times. At least my birthday was good for some multiplication and division practice!
Regardless, I had a great day, hanging out with all of my boys and walking through the frosty forest nearby. Did I mention we had our first snow on Friday night?
Back to the headline. Here's the situation setup: your baby decides to take a middle-of-the-night poo while you're changing his already dirty diaper. The poo happens to come while the diaper is off and shoots out of him like a rocket. You know you're a mother when, in order to save the wall and the curtains from a mustard-yellow poo stain, you reach out to stop the flying poo with your hand! ICK!!!
Monday, October 29, 2007
Experiences
Tomorrow Nicholas will be two weeks old. Unbelievable. Our days have been busy and we are adjusting to the new addition to our family. Mom and dad were here for a week, which was terrific. I don't know how we would have gotten by without all of their help around the house. Plus, I think it was great timing -- they arrived the day we left the hospital, and got to spend a good deal of time with their three grandsons on the Pedersen side.
I've been thinking about all of the things Nicholas has experienced for the first time during his first days on earth. The list is endless -- is it any wonder he's so tired all of the time??? Imagine, his first...
meal
glimpses of the world
breath
dirty diaper
clothes change
meeting with his brothers
meeting with his maternal grandparents
meeting with his parents
walk in his buggy
pee all over mommy
nap
bath
hiccups
etc etc etc.
Anyway, here are some photos... Have a GREAT day!!!!
Nicholas with grandma
Nicholas with grandpa
and with Matthew
Lucas in his Halloween costume
Matthew in his Halloween costume
Me with Nicholas
(no, that's not a Halloween costume!)
The "Yoda" look
Nicholas with Steen's cousin Rasmus
Sleeping on my lap as I write this
I may be a bit biased, but this boy is gorgeous!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
Joining the world
As promised, here is Nicholas's birth story. Although I have tried to limit the amount of gooey or overly vivid details, I apologize in advance if I happen to offend anyone.
First off, my thanks to my wonderful husband, who took detailed notes throughout the birth on our progress, rubbed my back, stayed calm when I started to freak, and reassured me more than once that "No, honey, you're not going to die!"... more about that last one in a bit.
We arrived at the hospital at 12:45, which was the time assigned for our induction. The department we were sent to is actually a gynecological department and we were informed that we would not be moved to Labor & Delivery until they felt the amniotic sac needed to be broken (is it called "break the waters" in English, too?). I took a urine test and then spent the next 30 minutes hooked up to a machine to measure the baby's heartrate and uterine activity. Everything looked fine on the readout. At 13:45, an IV was inserted in my arm for later use and we then proceeded to wait quite a long time for a doctor to arrive, which we spent inspecting the pay-by-the-hour TV that was in the room and reading a Glamour magazine someone else had left behind. I think we were both a bit amazed by the thought that in a few hours we would be holding our little one.
The doctor showed up at 15:05 and checked to see whether I was dialated. This was one moment I had been fearing, as I knew it would be a long birth if I hadn't dialated at all, so I was absolutely elated when she said I was at 2 cm. She and the attending midwife made the decision to transfer me to L&D, and my request to go to the L&D center that is part of the (previously described) birthing project was accepted.
After arrival at L&D, the amniotic sac was broken by our midwife at 15:45 and a heartrate monitor was attached to Nicholas's head. There was a bit of merconium in the water, but this had also happened with our two older boys, so we weren't particularly worried. After the water was broke, contractions started and I could feel a good deal of pressure.
By 17:30, I had dialated to 3.5 cm and at that point an oxytocin drip was started to help increase the intensity of the contractions. The baby's heartrate remained stable between 120 and 138.
At 18:30, the dose of oxytocin was increased, and it was increased twice more after that. However, after several hours of what I felt was relatively hard labor, I was dissapointed and on the verge of tears to learn at 20:10 that the dialation was only at 4.5 cm. Neither I nor the midwife had any idea of the massive changes that would occur after that 20:10 check.
At 20:20, I was in incredible pain, mostly radiating from my lower abdomen. The midwife suggested trying saltwater deposits on the front of my belly, which are given with a tiny needle and syringe. She said they would hurt like bee stings... When they were putting them in (4 in all) and I was sure that someone was stabbing me, I heard the nurse mention to Steen "actually, it feels more like being burned with a cigarette". Thank you very much!!! But I have to say that as soon as they were done, the pain in my abdomen was suddenly managable. At the same time, the pressure on my cervix became enormous, as if the entirety of the pain shifted lower.
At 20:30, the midwife asked me to try to stand up and go for a walk around the room. I managed to move myself to the edge of the bed, breathing through the contractions (and telling Steen I was going to die), and my feet were actually on their way to the floor when I said to Steen "I need to push! Why do I need to push???" I was extremely frightened, having already given birth to two children and knowing full well that I needed to be dialated 10 cm in order to push. 20 minutes earlier I still had nearly 6 cm to go (a process that normally takes around 6 hours).
The midwife, nurse and Steen managed to swing my legs back onto the table and the midwife said "Let me see if someone wants to come out". I thought through the haze of everything that she must be kidding... but she could see the head crowning.
After two contractions (and the associated pushing), Nicholas came screaming into the world, was laid on my belly and wiped down. A beautiful, perfect little boy -- ten little toes, two dark blue eyes, a button nose, tiny ears and tons of black hair.
I was in shock, tears pouring down my face -- tears of joy, of relief, of disbelief. Steen was crying too. The birth went much faster than either of us would have ever guessed even 30 minutes before. Suddenly, we were parents again. Our miracle had become a tangible reality.
I think that Nicholas was shocked by the speed of his birth too. He spent the next three hours screaming -- I'm quite sure he must have been in a lot of pain. But together we worked through it -- he through his pain and me through my feeling of surprise. This birthing experience was so different from anything I have ever experienced, but just as beautiful, unforgettable and rewarding as the birth of Matthew and Lucas.
First off, my thanks to my wonderful husband, who took detailed notes throughout the birth on our progress, rubbed my back, stayed calm when I started to freak, and reassured me more than once that "No, honey, you're not going to die!"... more about that last one in a bit.
We arrived at the hospital at 12:45, which was the time assigned for our induction. The department we were sent to is actually a gynecological department and we were informed that we would not be moved to Labor & Delivery until they felt the amniotic sac needed to be broken (is it called "break the waters" in English, too?). I took a urine test and then spent the next 30 minutes hooked up to a machine to measure the baby's heartrate and uterine activity. Everything looked fine on the readout. At 13:45, an IV was inserted in my arm for later use and we then proceeded to wait quite a long time for a doctor to arrive, which we spent inspecting the pay-by-the-hour TV that was in the room and reading a Glamour magazine someone else had left behind. I think we were both a bit amazed by the thought that in a few hours we would be holding our little one.
The doctor showed up at 15:05 and checked to see whether I was dialated. This was one moment I had been fearing, as I knew it would be a long birth if I hadn't dialated at all, so I was absolutely elated when she said I was at 2 cm. She and the attending midwife made the decision to transfer me to L&D, and my request to go to the L&D center that is part of the (previously described) birthing project was accepted.
After arrival at L&D, the amniotic sac was broken by our midwife at 15:45 and a heartrate monitor was attached to Nicholas's head. There was a bit of merconium in the water, but this had also happened with our two older boys, so we weren't particularly worried. After the water was broke, contractions started and I could feel a good deal of pressure.
By 17:30, I had dialated to 3.5 cm and at that point an oxytocin drip was started to help increase the intensity of the contractions. The baby's heartrate remained stable between 120 and 138.
At 18:30, the dose of oxytocin was increased, and it was increased twice more after that. However, after several hours of what I felt was relatively hard labor, I was dissapointed and on the verge of tears to learn at 20:10 that the dialation was only at 4.5 cm. Neither I nor the midwife had any idea of the massive changes that would occur after that 20:10 check.
At 20:20, I was in incredible pain, mostly radiating from my lower abdomen. The midwife suggested trying saltwater deposits on the front of my belly, which are given with a tiny needle and syringe. She said they would hurt like bee stings... When they were putting them in (4 in all) and I was sure that someone was stabbing me, I heard the nurse mention to Steen "actually, it feels more like being burned with a cigarette". Thank you very much!!! But I have to say that as soon as they were done, the pain in my abdomen was suddenly managable. At the same time, the pressure on my cervix became enormous, as if the entirety of the pain shifted lower.
At 20:30, the midwife asked me to try to stand up and go for a walk around the room. I managed to move myself to the edge of the bed, breathing through the contractions (and telling Steen I was going to die), and my feet were actually on their way to the floor when I said to Steen "I need to push! Why do I need to push???" I was extremely frightened, having already given birth to two children and knowing full well that I needed to be dialated 10 cm in order to push. 20 minutes earlier I still had nearly 6 cm to go (a process that normally takes around 6 hours).
The midwife, nurse and Steen managed to swing my legs back onto the table and the midwife said "Let me see if someone wants to come out". I thought through the haze of everything that she must be kidding... but she could see the head crowning.
After two contractions (and the associated pushing), Nicholas came screaming into the world, was laid on my belly and wiped down. A beautiful, perfect little boy -- ten little toes, two dark blue eyes, a button nose, tiny ears and tons of black hair.
I was in shock, tears pouring down my face -- tears of joy, of relief, of disbelief. Steen was crying too. The birth went much faster than either of us would have ever guessed even 30 minutes before. Suddenly, we were parents again. Our miracle had become a tangible reality.
I think that Nicholas was shocked by the speed of his birth too. He spent the next three hours screaming -- I'm quite sure he must have been in a lot of pain. But together we worked through it -- he through his pain and me through my feeling of surprise. This birthing experience was so different from anything I have ever experienced, but just as beautiful, unforgettable and rewarding as the birth of Matthew and Lucas.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Our little miracle
We are (finally!!!!) proud to announce the arrival of our son
Nicholas Erik
He came into this world on October 16 at 8:41 p.m. weighing 4,280 (9 lbs, 7 oz) grams and stretching a full 53 cm (21 inches).
Nicholas, his mom, dad and brothers are all doing fine.
Full birth story and an update to follow... Thank you for all of your prayers, thoughts and support throughout the pregnancy!!!
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