Planning Our Summer

I am trying to fill up our summer with fun, fun, fun, even though we will have a newborn in tow. I think I did a good job last year, going to fun places, keeping the kiddos entertained for the most part. We are not doing the Hawaiian Falls season passes this summer, so I won't feel that pressure to go there every week. Plus Claire cannot be in the sun, nor can she wear sunblock, until she is 6 months old. I am sure we will find plenty to do and have plenty of playdates.

This summer will also include so eduction each day. I bought each one of them their own workbooks, that they will be able to work in each day to keep their brains working. I am also making a chart for reading books. They will have to 'earn' their TV watching time, by reading books. I want them to learn some stuff this summer, not just let their brains go on auto-pilot. I also bought them each their own composition notebook, map pencils, regular pencils and scissors. We are going to do 1 or 2 craft projects each week. I want them to start school in the fall with plenty to write and talk about what they did for their summer vacation.

Some ideas:
Swimming lessons

Swim Thursdays
Dallas Arboretum
Dallas Museum of Art
Fort Worth Zoo
Six Flags
Library Storytime
Circus
Free Bowling at AMF
Free Movies at Cinemark
Bedford Splash
Joann Fabrics - craft time

*Just a few ideas so far!

Enjoying Claire

I know this is my last baby. And I know that I have 2 choices: to enjoy every stage and phase or to 'get through' to the next milestone. I am choosing to enjoy every minute of Claire. To not wish away her to be older, walking, talking, etc. I am wanting to soak in every minute of her and her experiences, and make the most of them. I really want to relax and enjoy her infanthood.

I am a different parent than I was 7 years ago. When Cooper was born, it seemed like a race to get him to stand, walk, talk, potty train, and on and on to the next major step. I wanted him ready for kindergarten before he was 18 months old. Cooper was very precocious and did most things ahead of schedule. I took great pride in that, though it probably had little to do with me, that is just the way Cooper is. Natalie was ahead of schedule for most things as well. Luke was right on target, but always wanting to do what 'the big kids are doing', therefore ahead of his peers in his skills. Claire? She can just saunter through these next few years as casual and comfortable as she wants. I know that she will be just as bright, intellectual and athletic as the other 3. Those things will come natural, given her genetics and her sibling role models. I am excited to see the kind of little lady that Claire will become!

Why I Do What I Do

I do a lot of things for my children that either my mom never did or could not do.

Why? Because I can. I do not mean that flippantly or sarcasticcally. It is because I can, time-wise and logistically. God has provided a great job for John that provides for us financially enough for me to stay home. And focus on our children. I want to be the best mom that I can be. I want to view my children as my mission field. To raise them up as God would want me to. To be the mom that God wants me to be. I know that He has only given them to me temporarily and I want to do my very best.

Luke and Claire

Luke has really surprised me when it comes to Claire. When I first told him about the baby in my tummy being a girl, he had some NOT NICE things to say. When anyone would ask him how he felt about having a little sister on the way, he would say, "I don't know." Which is much better than his first reaction!

Now, however, he is quite the doting big brother to her. He LOVES to hold her. When he would be gone and come home to us, he would RUN to the bathroom to wash his hands so he could hold her. He will sit right next to her bouncy seat and barely bounce her to keep her from crying. He will even sing to her. Sometimes, he will even cry if he is the last one to hold her. One time, I got him to go to sleep (and quite making tons of racket) by promising him he could hold Claire first thing in the morning. I love how much he loves her!

Natalie and Claire

Natalie LOVES Claire. Natalie has loved Claire since we first told her that Claire was in my tummy. I think that Claire, in Natalie's eyes, could do no wrong. Natalie begged to be able to share a room with Claire. This was FINE by me, creating a 'boy room' and a 'girl room'. She was even more thrilled when I got a matching twin comforter to match the crib bedding. It touches my heart to see the love that Natalie has for Claire already. I hope it continues throughout both of their lives. :>)

Cooper and Claire

Cooper is so sweet with Claire. He LOVES to hold her. Loves it! He will come running in from school and go straight to the sink to wash his hands before he asks to hold her. He asks if he can sit 'up front', so he can sit by Claire in my car. One of the sweetest things that he does is when she is crying (quite LOUD), he will, on his own accord, go over to her and either sing to her or put her binky in. He is quite proud of himself when either one of these tactics work.

One of the funniest things, is when Cooper is holding Claire and she makes some loud gas. He usually sounds the alarm and decides that is enough of holding Claire. He'll say, "Mom, she just loaded her drawers. Can you come change her?" It is pretty cute to see his face when she talks from that end. He gets this surprised/horrified/scared look that says he is afraid she is not wearing a diaper.

I love how sweet and kind Cooper is with his baby sister, Claire. :>)

My Sweet Claire

Things I notice about you, sweet Claire:

• you have very long, narrow feet. OHH, they are so cute!
• you have beautifully long, slender fingers. Good 'piano playing' fingers!
• you make a lot of grunting and gulping sounds when you are nursing.
• you cannot stand to get into your car seat, but once you are in there, you LOVE to sleep in it.
• when you are hungry, you let EVERYONE know!
• you like baths.
• you love to watch the ceiling fan.
• you are learning to take the binky.
• you love to be held by your daddy.
• you love to be held, period.
• your legs are still all curled up. I think you must have been tightly squeezed while in utero.
• your brothers and sisters adore you. They love to hold you and you do not seem to mind, unless you are hungry.
• you like bumpy roads vs. smooth ones. Bumpy ones help you go to sleep.
• your bottom makes a plethora of noises. And loud!
• you don't mind being in the 'sling' carrier.
• you like to tag along when I do bleachers at UTA. You just hang out in the Baby Bjorn and sleep through the whole time.
• you don't mind wearing a headband bow or an occasional flower.
• you are just BEAUTIFUL!

My Pregnancy Prayer

Throughout my whole pregnancy with Claire I prayed for 3 things: that there would be no complications, no infection and that I would be able to nurse Claire successfully. Even in Ladies' Bible Study, I would write down that prayer as my prayer request.

After all that happened in the OR, I was thankful that I was OK, but could not believe that I had such a weird complication. That night, Dr. Seligman came to my room and said, in these words, "Placenta acredia is not a complication of pregnancy. Placenta acredia is a condition, a condition that had to be diagnosed and treated. There is no way to detect it prenatally." How perfect was it that he specifically used the word complication. I had not said that word or used it in a question, he just said it. That was God's way of letting me know that He heard my prayers.

After all 3 c-sections I have been so lucky as to get a urinary tract infection. I always blame it on the catheter. This delivery I did not get a UTI. That's right, no infection this time. God heard my prayers.

Now that we are 6 weeks into the breast-feeding, I am realizing that I need to quit worrying. I need to trust God if I want to be successful in feeding Claire. I have lots of times that I doubt myself, but if I can stay focused on believing that He will provide enough to my body to feed Claire enough, I will be successful. He hears my prayers.

Claire's 'Birth' Day

Tuesday, March 30, 2010.

We check into the hospital at 11:30a.m. The surgery is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., but that time is subject to change. I had already preregistered and done my pre-op, so we were ready to head upstairs to get the show on the road. After paying $2400 as half of the co-pay, I officially had my hospital wristband to declare me a patient at MCA. (Medical Center of Arlington)

They wheeled me into the operating room ~2pm. The plan was to do a c-section and NOT tie my tubes. I did not want them messing with my girl parts any more than necessary.

After my spinal block was put in, we were ready to get underway. John stayed at the end of the table closest to my head. I was nervous as anything, but a lot of prayer had been prayed in preparation for this day. At 2:33p.m., Claire Coolidge Nohinek entered this world. She was 8 lbs. 1 oz. and 19 3/4 inches long. To me, she was just perfect. Perfectly perfect.

However, when Dr. Seligman went in to remove the placenta, he discovered that I had developed placenta acredia. This is when the placenta actually starts growing into the uterine wall. The only course of action is to remove the uterus. Either that or hemorrhage to death. Those are the only two things that could occur. Dr. Seligman told us exactly what was going on and what he was going to have to do. He called in one of his partners to verify that was what it was and to help him with the surgery. Over an hour later, they finally finished. When he took the blue curtain (sterile field) down, I saw that not only did his mask have a lot of blood on it, but the nurse was covered in my blood. From chest level to her knees, her apron/scrubs were completely covered in blood. My blood. Dr. Seligman said that I had lost twice as much blood as a normal c-section. He ordered a CBC (complete blood count) and it turned out the my hemoglobin count was at 2. (from 11)

I do not remember after the surgery. I was happy that Claire was here and arrived healthy. I was still in shock about what had transpired, but knew that God was in control. He had answered my prayers and protected me from a much worse outcome. God in good.

I'm Back!

After quite the hiatus, I am ready to start blogging again. I have too many thoughts in my head that need to be captured!

The end of Claire's pregnancy was just so hectic, trying to get everything done before her big day. Then, after all that happened on her 'birth' day, I needed to concentrate on getting my body back to a healthy state.

Now I am ready to play catch up. In reality, I will never be 'caught up' completely, but I would sure like to go a day without kicking myself for not getting anything accomplished. I love lists, so if I make myself a list, I can cross things off, day by day. Eventually I'll get a little closer to that light at the end of the tunnel. Anyways, that's the plan...