The Story of Matthew's Birth

TMI alert:  This is a birthing story.  Even though I don't get very graphic in my description I do talk about vomiting, dilating, and breast feeding.  Consider yourselves warned.

It's 10pm as I begin this and this time six years ago, I was laboring in a hospital bed still hoping that my contractions would slow down...maybe even stop.  About an hour later, I was told that I would indeed have my baby before midnight.  I was shocked!  Seriously?  I wasn't due until the beginning of November.  We weren't ready.  The baby's room was still an office, we didn't have any diapers, my sister was planning on coming to stay with us just before Halloween so she could be with our oldest son while we were in the hospital.  I had a plan, and things were not going as planned.

I had actually been awakened the previous night, having contractions, unable to sleep.  I panicked.  It was 3am and I was writing notes.  Notes that would tell whoever may take care of our oldest son, Daniel, in case this turned out to be labor, what his routine was, what he liked to eat and when, what shows he liked on TV, what he liked to play with, etc.  Hmmm, this is eye opening for me.  I'm realizing that I may be a tad controlling.  Moving on...

After I made the list, I felt much better and did go back to sleep.  After sleeping for a few more hours, and getting my eldest ready for music class I thought I should probably call the doctors office and check in.  They thought I should come in and get evaluated and if things looked okay we could be on our way.  Before leaving, I threw a load of baby clothes in the washer...just in case.

So that's just what we did.  Thankfully my husband, who travels a lot for work - mostly out of state, was in town.  He had his last trip before the due dated planned in four days.  A month before the due date, plenty of time...or so we thought!  He came too and took our oldest to a friend's house after a while.  There isn't much interesting for a 3 year old in a hospital room.  Once we arrived at the hospital they had me go right into a room.  I wasn't officially checked in, I was assigned to a room designated for patients who weren't staying long term.  That made me feel more at ease because I didn't want to stay long term.

I was given saline, had a test for bladder infection, and then given a chance to relax and let the saline get into my system to hopefully slow things down.  My contractions weren't very close or consistent, but they weren't stopping either. 

I stayed in that room, most of the day, until about 2pm, when they moved me to a more permanent room.  They wanted to keep me overnight because the contractions weren't stopping.  Again, they hadn't gotten closer, but they hadn't gotten farther apart either.  Nothing else had changed.  But the saline hadn't helped and I didn't have a bladder infection.

I wasn't looking forward to spending a night in the hospital.  I was watching Oprah when the doctor came in to check me, she looked at the paper that tracked my contractions and said, "So, looks like your contractions are getting a little farther apart.  And, they're not as intense, right?"  I agreed with her, even though within the past hour I had noticed them getting more intense and being more regular.  But I wanted outta there!  I let her know that my house was only a minute or two away from the hospital and if things intensified we'd be able to return quickly.

It wasn't an hour after we got home and I was lying on the couch, in extreme pain, knowing I'd be returning to the hospital sooner than I wanted.  Chris made dinner for Daniel.  I called my Mom, told her the news of the day and that I would be probably heading back to the hospital to have the baby.  I vomited a few times and that's when I told Chris to call the OB.  I'm still not sure if he was speaking to the Dr. or not, but when he told them of my vomiting, they said that wasn't consistent with being in labor, that maybe I had the flu.  Uh no.  I do not have the flu!!

After Chris put Daniel to bed (it was so strange for me to not be doing these routine tasks) we called our dear friend and neighbor and asked if she could come over and stay while we headed into the hospital.

It was around 7:30pm and I was back, much more uncomfortable, unable to look anyone in the eye, waiting on someone to come escort us to labor and delivery, concentrating on my breathing, and trying not to vomit anymore.

Labor progressed, and they decided to not give me the steroid to help develop a premature baby's lungs.  Since I was past the 34 week mark, even by just a couple of days, they said there was no concern that our baby's lungs would be underdeveloped.  It was 10pm when the nurse informed me that I was dilated to a 9 and would definitely be having this baby before midnight.

I was shocked!  I really shouldn't have been because I had been laboring all day.  I just couldn't believe that I will actually be having our baby on this day, this September day.  I wasn't due until November!  I wasn't mentally prepared.  Our home wasn't even prepared for the baby.  I had just that morning talked to Daniel that the baby might come earlier than we expected.  My sister wasn't here.  I thought I had it all planned out and now that plan was out the window blowing down the street.

Then my fear set in.  As I was leaving the hospital a mere 6 hours earlier I began wondering if there could be health problems, should our baby be born this early.  My cousin's first born child was born five weeks early.  He was very ill, having to stay in the hospital for 5 weeks and needing 3 blood transfusions.  I was thinking of her and her then healthy 3 1/2 year old son and wondering if that would be my fate.

I solely breast-fed my first son, and I had planned on doing the same with this baby.  How difficult would that be?  How much time would they allow me to spend at the hospital?  How much time could I spend at the hospital since I also had a 3 1/2 year old?  I'm a very hands-on parent.  I never let Daniel out of my site while we were in the hospital.  I wanted the same for this baby.  Would he have to go to the NICU though?  Lots of questions and uncertainty filled my head as I was also preparing to welcome another baby into our family.

I started pushing at 11pm.  The doctor warned me that there would be a few extra people in the delivery room.  Some specialists needed to be there because of his being premature.  I didn't expect another 30 people to be in the room.  And, once our little Matthew Elbert entered the world at 11:22pm our room became a bustling place.  He was placed on my chest right away, but only for a minute.  He was whisked away to be examined by the many teams in the rooms.  Once they found out that he was a healthy baby, albeit a small baby (weighing in at 4 lbs 15 oz) they were gone quicker than you could blink your eye.

We were left to comprehend what had just happened.  "We just had our baby!"  Amazing...

He stayed in my room our entire time in the hospital.  They asked if I wanted them to take him, so I could get some rest.  No thanks.  I'm good.

He was born Thursday night and I was technically able to stay for 48 hours, but since he was so little and early, they wanted him to stay Sunday night as well.  Thankfully they let me tag along and I was able to spend that extra night with him.  That's a long time, though!  I don't know how anyone can stay longer than that and not get claustrophobic and home sick!

Matthew was more jaundiced than Daniel was and he had to spend some time on a bili bed.  He didn't mind because he slept the entire time.  In fact, he slept his first entire 2 weeks of life outside of me.  He was very fuzzy too.  He had those little unpigmented hairs all over his body, called languo.  And, he was even too small for the premature clothes I bought him just after he was born.  But, he was healthy, home with us, and our baby boy.

Happy sixth birthday, Matthew!

The Feeling of Fall

The weather has been cool, cloudy, and a bit rainy the past couple of days.  It's quite a change from the hot, humid days we've had so far this summer.  Days that have brought us to the beach more times than I can count...

days that have taken us to the Sleeping Bear Dunes on numerous occasions...

days that have brought so many visitors into our home.  We have been so blessed this summer season to have 11 (so far!) family members or friends spend some of their vacation with us.  And since we've had so many visitors and so many adventures together, I can't quite talk about them all in one post.  Beginning in the next week or two I will begin sharing our summertime adventures with the people who chose to travel and spend some time in our beautiful part of the country.  Now, if they would travel up here in January, then we'd really know how much they loved us!  just kidding

But, back to the fall-like weather.  I love all of the seasons.  That's why Texas and I didn't get along so well.  Yes, it was kind of nice having the sunny, blue skies, and 65 degree temperatures on Christmas day.  But, that's not right.  I should be wearing a sweater, sitting by the fire sipping hot chocolate, watching the big snowflakes fall gently to the ground while listening to Barry Mannilow singing in the background.  I just couldn't get used to that crazy Texas weather.  Although, spring in February sure was nice!

But we've had such a fun summer!  I know fall is coming, maybe my most favorite of the seasons, and I wasn't ready.  Until this weekend.  The cool air, the smell of the pine trees wafting through the house, I was starting to long for soup and baked potatoes fresh from the oven.  Not to mention back to school time.  I love my children to no end, but I also love school and the endless office supplies that we must go look at and purchase (for the oldest boy anyway).  Have I mentioned my addition to office supplies?  Too bad I don't have an office.  I guess you could call my kitchen my office.  But, I digress...  I love office supplies:  pencils, pens, erasers, notebooks, calculators.  My oldest needs a protractor this year!  Yipee!!

I am looking forward to getting back into the routine of school.  Did I just say that?  Yes, I did.  I'm all for routines.  And this summer was probably the one time, since having our first child over 9 years ago, that I've been very lenient on our daily routine.  Which, has lead to many a cranky child (mostly the 2 year old variety) and mommy (not that often, but on occasion).  But, oh the fun we've had!

In a mere three weeks I'll be sending two of my boys back to school.  Both of them will be going full time which will leave me home with my youngest, for one more year.  Can I cry now?  Because I seriously could.  I love my boys, and I know that in an instant the years will fly by and they will be off to college, and then married with children of their own.  And, where does that leave me?  I'm not so sure yet, I'm still working on that one.  Baby steps...

Getting back to the topic at hand, this change in weather has given me more to think about than just a change in wardrobe, or a change in routines.  It has me thinking of the constant change in our lives.  Change is a good thing, change is the only constant in life.  And, change is good.

See you soon, autumn.

Busy summertime

It's been a month now since the boys have been off for summer vacation.  And boy have we been busy!  This is our first summer in our new house and we're loving it up here.

We're exploring all over Northern Michigan and for me, it's like re-discovering these hidden gems.

We took our first trip to the Sleeping Bear Dunes.  It was a shortened visit having just done the Pierce Stocking drive, picnic and only stopping at a few of the lookouts.  We didn't have time to do the super fun dune stop as we were getting close to naptime.  Don't worry, we've made 2 more trips to Sleeping Bear and we've done the super fun dune stop both of those times.

We saw some trillium growing in the woods.

And enjoyed the covered bridge.

Then, stopped for our picnic.  Yes, someone looks grumpy, I just happened to catch everyone with their mouths full.

Some of the dunes...

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As a side note...we got some new barstools for our counter area.  And, the boys are frequent eaters at the counter now.  Breakfast and lunch is now served here.  We did have one casualty, as I expected.  But, there was no blood or scratches and he (the littlest one) hasn't fallen off since (knock on wood).  The downside to everyone enjoying eating here now, is that there are only 3 stools, so mama has to stand.  But the brightside is I can empty the dishwasher while eating, cause I can multitask like there's no tomorrow.

The weather soon warmed up and we got out our pool which we bought at the end of the season last year (on clearance...my dear hubby is good at finding great pools on clearance) and cooled off those hot boys.

If you are my friend on facebook, you may remember that my oldest went away to camp...for 3 days!  It was the longest 3 days in my life.  He had a great time, experiencing the fun aspects of camp.  But, mama's happy when everyone's home.

This is where my heart skipped a beat. 

And shortly after this, his teacher came to my car window and asked how I was doing.  I put on a brave face and mentally knew I would be okay.  But my heart wanted my boy to stay with me.   And, he came home...almost unscathed.  He learned the hard way about dune grass.  I felt better knowing he was having fun and I would have gotten a call if he needed anything.

So, that's all for today.  I'll be posting more pictures of our trips to the Dunes (we did the huge dune climb!) and some of our visitors that have come.  We're expecting friends from back in Wisconsin tomorrow.

Our busy summer continues!

My salad of the moment

I'm not that creative in general, especially in the kitchen.  My sister is the opposite, she creates all sorts of wonderfully yummy recipes on her own, but I prefer to follow a recipe...to a T.  Now, I don't know what came over me one afternoon.  I was having a feeling that I really wanted a salad that had some warm, sauteed veggies on it.  And, that's when my idea was born. 

I started out with some tempeh, sauteing it in olive oil after seasoning it with salt and pepper, cumin, and garlic powder. Then, I added asparagus and snow peas, seasoning them with a little salt.  I browned the tempeh nicely before flipping it over to do the same on the other side, while continuing to stir the veggies.  Towards the end of cooking the tempeh and veggies, I added some chopped green onion and cherry tomatoes in addition to some balsamic vinegar.  I served this over some romaine with a little bit of raspberry vinaigrette.  Can I just tell you how delicious this was?  Oh my, the crunchy, seared tempeh was just so yummy.  And, the veggies were bright green, while the tomatoes were warmed just enough.  It was really just what I envisioned.  Imagine that!

After I ran out of asparagus, I decided to buy brussel sprouts because I love them so!  And, I think I may like this version better.  Why?  Because the brussel sprouts get nice and charred and are just so delicious!  This picture is of a salad I am making this week.

 

 

I've also been making a yummy wrap that is quickly coming in at a close second place to this salad.  I'll be writing about that later, after I take a picture of the deliciousness.  

 

Happy creative cooking!

Vegan macaroni and cheese??

Sounds crazy, huh?  It's an oxymoron even.  I love that word, oxymoron.  Anyway, one might think that you can't make macaroni and cheese vegan.  One also might wonder, why would a vegan want to eat macaroni and cheese?  Well yes, it can be made vegan and yes again, we vegans love us some mac and cheese!  Only, the vegan recipes I've seen don't call it macaroni and cheese.  Usually they make it a play on words.  For example the recipe I made tonight by my favorite vegan chef, Dreena Burton, is called Mac-Oh, geez!  Cute, eh?  And, it was just as delicious as the name is cute.

So, why would a vegan want something creamy?  Doesn't cream remind us of...milk...cows?  Mmmm, not really.  Maybe I might think of cows and think of how happy I am that none of them were uncomfortable, at the least, for me to enjoy some creamy pasta.  But, I digress, I'm getting a little off track here.

As a vegan, I still enjoy creamy, warm, hearty dishes that may remind me a bit of the original version.  But, after eating the vegan version, instead of feeling heavy, bogged down, and down right gross, I feel full, satisfied, light, and happy.  All is good.

Where does the creaminess come from?  In this recipe, and some others that I've seen, it comes from nuts.  Dreena used cashews and brazil nuts, along with some spices and almond milk.  I used whole wheat chiocciole which held onto the sauce beautifully.  It was divine.

I failed to take pictures, although Dreena has a gorgeous photo of it on her recipe page.  Isn't she generous?  She has published 3 cookbooks, she's finalizing her fourth, and she puts recipes online for us to try?

So, if you're curious you should give it a try. It's creamy, it's delicious, and no cows were harmed in the making of your mac and cheese. 

Happy cooking!

Cinnamon rolls!

I used to make cinnamon rolls for the boys a lot when we lived in Wisconsin.  Not the homemade kind, the dairy case, pop out of the can kind.  The boys liked them, and I always insisted they have yogurt or a yogurt based with fruit smoothie to counteract the sugar and preservatives in those cinnamon rolls. 

A couple of weeks ago I bought another package of cinnamon rolls, and again the boys loved them.  But, I was thinking that I wasn't so happy giving them those with all that junk in there.  So, I wanted to look at making some homemade cinnamon rolls...and make them vegan too.  Why not?

How did they turn out?  FABULOUS!!!  I used the recipe out of my Tassajara Bread Book.  The dough was very similar to my basic bread dough I make, just smaller proportions, the addition of an egg and more sugar.  I made them vegan by using Earth Balance instead of butter and a flax egg in place of the regular egg.  The icing was just powdered sugar and water.  The brown sugar and cinnamon mix in the center browned up nicely, forming a delicious caramel that got a little crispy as they cooled.  Heaven!

I probably won't be making them again this weekend, since we ate them for 3 days.  The batch made a lot!  But, this will definitely will be a repeat recipe.

Sunday walk in the woods

My husband thought he was going to take the boys for a walk in the woods by himself.  I entertained the idea of getting a head start on my Sunday baking, but when given the option of walking in the woods, I'll take the woods every time.

The boys love to pick dandelions.

Daniel and the boy across the street are building a teepee.

Even the littlest boy needs a stick for a walk in the woods.

 
There's lots to see...

The "stick fort".

The "step fort".

The baby likes to climb trees.

It was worth putting off my baking until the afternoon.  The older boys enjoy playing with the kids in the neighborhood and sometimes I don't see much of them on the weekends.  This weekend was different, we had lots of family time.  And I loved our family walk in the woods.