Reuben's 2nd month!

I think I'm getting the hang of this posting slideshows to my blog. These last 8 weeks have FLOWN by so fast! I'm dying to know how much my "little" boy weighs but his Dr is out of town right now. If I get around to it, I'm going to make a trip to the Mother Baby Center and weigh him next week.

Just an update on his sleeping patterns...since everyone seems to be asking: "Is he sleeping through the night?" I'm beginning to think that people just don't know what to ask about a new baby other than how they're sleeping. (maybe because new babies don't really do much else?)

He slept for 7+ hours for 3 nights in a row! He goes to sleep @ 7 or 8, wakes up at around 4am (eats then goes back to sleep) and doesn't get up until 7am. On Wednesday, he didn't get up until 9am! Just as I began to think I was getting spoiled, he didn't go to sleep until 9pm and woke up twice last night (1am & 3am) and was up for good at around 6:45am... I'm definitely NOT complaining about this though since I know it could be way worse!

I am working on getting him on a rough schedule during the day that repeats the EAT. WAKE. SLEEP. pattern. I read that it works MUCH better to keep them awake following their feedings and so far this has worked WONDERFULLY.

My "typical day" (i.e. it's more like a goal for a typical day) goes something like this:
7am- wake-up, feed
7-8:30am- AWAKE time
8:30-10am- Nap
10am- feeding
10-12pm- AWAKE time
12-1pm- NAP
1pm- Feeding
1-2:30pm- AWAKE time
2:30-4pm- Nap
4pm- Feeding
4-7pm- AWAKE time
7pm-Feeding
7:30/8pm- BEDTIME

I'm reading two VERY different books on parenting techniques (pretty much two extremes on the spectrum). The first book I am reading is the Dr. Sears "The Baby Book", he is an advocate of Attachment Parenting. I like some of his philosophies but definitely not all of them. It seems like with his method the baby becomes the center of the family (everything revolves around baby) which is something Matt and I have decided is not the model we want for our family. The second book I'm reading "On Becoming Baby Wise" has really helped me organize our routine and I think has really helped Reuben know what to expect in his day. I don't agree with all of his philosophies, however. I think I'm finding Matt and I fall somewhere in between these two extremes... more on this as we further develop our parenting strategies! :)

I better get to bed now, Matt's asleep next to me on the couch and we have a busy day ahead of us tomorrow! Garage sales, strawberries and gardening... oh my! :)

Reuben's 1st month!

I'm a bit of a newbie at this whole "blogging" thing. I'm just now figuring out how to get the pictures from photobucket onto my blog without messing everything up! Bear with me as it might take me awhile to get updates on here :)

Reuben's 1st week (plus or minus a few days)

REUBEN DUANE HAS ARRIVED!

Now that it's been just over 3 weeks, I am finally getting around to posting the information about Reuben's birth. Our story goes something like this....

It all began at 12:30pm on Wednesday, April 29th. I was sitting on the floor in the living room going through our honeymoon pictures, when all the sudden I felt a small gush. "hmm... was that my water breaking?" Another gush. "that's definitely my water breaking!" I called Matt at work to let him know was was going on. I was excited but very calm. I gave Kim Bauer (my midwife) a call and we decided that if labor didn't begin by 3:45pm she would head down to Seattle to teach her class. Matt came home around 2pm and labor had not yet begun. We decided to head into Lynden to go for a walk on the Jim Kaemingk Sr trail... hopefully this would get labor going. By 3:45 labor had not begun so Kim made "backup arrangements" with Christine at the birthing center just in case we needed it and headed down to teach her class in Seattle. I was sure these extra arrangements were completely unneccessary but figured it's better to be safe than sorry. We finished walking and got some yummy deli sandwiches at Safeway. Of course we had to run into Bob Johnson (a guy from Matt's work) while we were there. After getting our dinner, we headed to Berthusen Park to continue walking. At this point I was having some minor cramping about 4 times an hour (no regular contractions though).

After we got home, we put in the movie "Walk the Line" and sat back and relaxed. Matt's mom and brother stopped by to bring the motor home over so that my mom would have her own place to sleep while she visited. At about 8:45 I spoke with Kim on the phone and I still wasn't having any regular contractions. We discussed starting some "natural induction" methods in the morning (I was NOT thrilled about this at all). Sure enough, around 9:15pm, the contractions began. They began strong and hard and about 4-5 minutes apart. Matt gave Kim a call around 9:30 because I wasn't able to talk through the contractions. She was just leaving Seattle but we decided to plan to get to the birth center by 11pm and Christine would meet us there.

Matt kicked into gear and started packing the car. It seriously looked like we were going to be gone for a week with all the stuff we had! At this point the contractions were getting stronger and closer together and I definitely had to focus through each one. On the way to the birthing center, I was focusing through the contractions and even had to deal with a double-peaking contraction.

Arriving at the birth center was a relief. It was about 11pm and Christine was there waiting for us. As we got settled in, Christine started checking me out and found that I was already 5cm dilated. We wanted to slow the labor down a bit to be sure my mom and Kim could both get there in time for the birth. I got into the labor tub and tried to get relaxed and comfortable... this was not working. Kim arrived at about 11:30pm and helped me try some other laboring positions. I tried sitting backwards on the toilet, standing up leaning on Matt, these didn't work either. So, to the edge of the bed I went (the only position I found moderately comfortable). As the contractions picked up, Matt and I fell into a rhythm and he reminded me time and time again to relax and breath deeply (thanks to all our practice in our birthing class!). My mom arrived at about 12:30am and helped Matt coach me through the tougher contractions.

At around 1pm, Kim checked me a second time and I was 8cm dilated and starting to feel the urge to push. I still had a lip of cervix over the right side so we worked on rocking back and forth to get the rest dilated. I was well into transition and the contractions came one on top of another. I remembered the pain and exhaustion of training for soccer and this wasn't much different from that. I was tired and out of breath but Matt kept reminding me that each contraction brought us closer to meeting our baby.

Soon, I was being told to get up on my hands and knees... I thought this was just so I could get in a different laboring position, but hoping it was because the pushing stage was just around the corner. I got on my knees on the bed and leaned over a birthing ball. Sure enough, the contractions slowed slightly and I felt an “unavoidable urge to push” (just like we learned about in our class!). I began pushing with the contractions and within about 15 mins or so (about 3 or 4 contractions), the head was crowning. Kim took a couple steps away to put something in the laundry bin when someone exclaimed "the head is coming!" She rushed back just in time to deliver his head. One push later, his body was out and he was crying. It was an incredible rush of adrenaline and joy and I held my beautiful baby boy for the first time. Reuben Duane TeVelde was born on Thursday, April 30 at 2:16am.

Within minutes, he was comfortably nursing as we waiting for the cord to stop pulsing and the placenta to be delivered. Matt was able to cut the cord and shortly afterward the placenta was delivered. Reuben's first poo occurred shortly after birth all over my tummy... such a boy thing to do! Since Reuben was born with his right hand up by his face, I had a slight tear that needed to be stiched. The three of us relaxed for about 20 minutes and then had to get the midwives to check something. At this point they did the newborn exam and found the following:

Weight: 7lbs 12oz
Length: 20.5 inches

We left the birth center by 6:15am and drove home as the sun was rising on a beautiful spring day. It was a reminder of the beauty that God has created both in the sun rising over the majestic mountains and the amazing baby boy laying beside me.

25 random things about Sarah

1. I have had 7 or 8 (maybe 9?) concussions (I lost track somewhere around 5 or 6)

2. I'm one of "those" women who has enjoyed being pregnant (so far anyway!)

3.I will forever hold the 50m sprint record in track at Pine Lake Middle School @ 7.56 seconds (they retired the race the year after I broke the record)

4.In 5th grade I thought I actually had a beautiful singing voice because I was a soloist in our DARE performance. (come to find out, I sang so quietly no one could hear me!)

5.I was a “sympathy bed-wetter” when I was little. Even though I was potty-trained, when my older sister wet the bed at night, I would purposefully wet mine.

6.My sister and I used to have contests to see how many boogers we could wipe on the wall in our bedroom.

7.I honestly believed we had crocodiles living under our bed (thanks Theresa!)

8.I played Division 1 soccer on a scholarship for 1 year, then realized it was time to “retire”

9.I still enjoy playing with dolls, barbies, etc... and I'm not ashamed!

10.I organize my closet by color and type of shirt (i.e. long sleeve, tank top, etc)

11.I sometimes have to write people's names down just so I can remember them

12.I changed the spelling of my middle name from Christen to Kristen because I liked the letter “K”
better.

13.I stayed in my pajamas until 4pm yesterday, just because I didn't feel like changing into “normal clothes”

14.I just became an In Home Cooking Consultant with the Pampered Chef

15.I played soccer for 16 years (ages 3-19) and thought I would play in the world cup someday.

16.My favorite children's book is “The Pokey Little Puppy”

17.I'm wearing one of Matt's shirts right now because my belly is getting too big for my t-shirts

18.I'm pretty sure my baby is going to be a soccer player (my ribs are sore from all the kicking!)

19.I am so sick of drinking water I would rather have an IV hooked up to give me fluids

20.I have an odd attachment to my stuffed animals, I can't bring myself to throw any of them away.
(maybe my kids will want them someday, right?)

21.Every time I see the clock at 11:11 I think to myself “at 11:11 the angels sing in heaven!”

22.In elementary school I was on a jump rope team called “Hot Dogs USA”

23.I can still remember my elementary school theme song “Helen Keller we are the best! Helen Keller, we beat ev'ry test! We are the yellow and the blue, we are the Cobras we'll make it through!” haha..

24.I could eat ice cream every day, for every meal! Mmmmm... my favorite is double chocolate brownie fudge from Haggen

25.I participate in these types of things just to procrastinate doing things I really should be doing instead

New Endings and New Beginnings

Yesterday was my last day. It was my last day getting cuddles from Sammydoodle & my last day getting "kiss-kisses" from Maddie-girl. It's all a little Bittersweet. Bitter because of what I know I will be missing in their little lives. Sweet because of the new opportunities that I know God is holding in my future!

My last day began with yet another frustrating circumstance, but ended with a time of prayer for our futures and the exchange of gifts. I received a cute framed picture of the kids, a sweet smelling candle and a very girlie pencil with a heart-shaped eraser (I love how Sam's mind works!). It didn't really hit me that this was "goodbye" until I walked out into the icy night, put my keys in the ignition and took one last look at the place where I had given so much of my time, energy & love. Just like that, it was over. Fighting tears, I pulled out of my parking spot, glancing back picturing Sam & Maddie waving from the vacant porch. Is this really the end? So hard to believe.

Christmas letter 2008

I thought in order to get started I should post our annual Christmas letter... I still have a stack of cards that I have yet to deliver, we'll see if I ever get around to it.

The 2nd Annual TeVelde Christmas Letter 2008

To Our Family & Friends,

“Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful, and since we've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!” While I sit here typing this letter, the wind is howling outside and the temperatures are dropping to lows we haven't seen in 20 years! (which means, Matt & I can't remember the last time it was this cold) We are so blessed to have a warm home, cozy blankets, and, of course, hot chocolate!

Now, for a glance back at this past year. We started off the year with our first Oliebollen party on New Year's Day. It was a delicious success and we plan to continue the tradition this year. There's nothing quite like a donut to destroy our New Year's resolutions before they even get started!

The Spring brought with it an array of projects. We ventured out to our backyard to test how green our thumbs are. We planted a garden that consisted of corn, green beans, strawberries, lettuce, spinach, pumpkins, zucchini, yellow squash, and our less-than-successful attempt at cucumbers. The “TeVelde Garden” grew and grew and grew some more! Needless to say, next year we will need to expand. Overall, it was fun experiment that left us with bags of shredded zucchini in the freezer.

We kicked off the summer with a trip to Baker Lake with some good friends. The weekend consisted of “campball” (the guy's version of baseball), Settlers of Catan, and hiking in the snow! Our 1^st wedding anniversary came in July with a camping trip to Lake Perrygin in Eastern Washington. We had fun riding our bikes around the desert and even came across a “Bike Route” sign ridden with bullet holes (doesn't that just make you feel safe?). We also spent plenty of time basking in the sun down by the lake. The summer ended with another trip to Baker Lake with my side of the family. This time consisting of Dutch Blitz and hiking in the rain.

Fall fell upon us with the wonderful news that we're expecting our first baby! We are now 21 weeks along and baby and I are still doing great! Our precious baby is due on April 27^th and God-willing we will be delivering at the Bellingham Birth Center, assuming all continues to go well. Please be praying for us as we embark on this adventure of parenting! Matt continues to enjoy his job at TriVan Truck body. He recently was promoted to Design Supervisor and continues to have plenty of work, praise God! I am so proud of him and all the hard work he has put into providing for us! Matt is also keeping very busy as a member of the board of directors at our church, Oikos Fellowship, and leading a bible study here in Ferndale. I am still working as a Nanny for two kids; Sam is 4 ½ and Maddie is 18 months. They are a joy and it has been a blessing watching them grow and change over the past year, it will be hard to leave them! I also keep busy as the Children's Ministry Coordinator at our church. The fall came to a close with a last-minute vacation out to Orcas Island for my 24^th birthday (thanks mom!). It was a fabulous trip and quite possibly our last getaway before baby comes!

As the snow continues to fall outside we want to wish you all a warm and blessed Christmas

and a very Happy New Year!

Matt & Sarah TeVelde