One Month Old!

Jude is one month old... kind of. There is no 31st this month, so it's an approximation! Here is a photo I took recently of my two kids:

We're all doing well. Jude has started to give big smiles and make little cooing noises. He's really growing out of his newborn-ness. Claire is getting over a cold, so things are getting easier around here. We're starting to enjoy our days instead of just attempting to get through them intact! The past two weeks were challenging with a 2 week old and a sick two year old! I'm starting to look forward to the days again! Hope to have more fun things to report soon!

More pictures

Playing outside in the sun with her sweet shades.



Our house is cold and the heater is ineffective. Blankets and hats are always warm, though!




Free face-painting at Ikea. Claire was unsure about having her cheeks painted, so the lady did her arm instead. She was super excited!

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3 AM

• Last night. 3 am. Both kids awake. Both parents awake.
• 4 am. Everyone finally asleep but me. What am I doing? Composing this post in my head because I'm a crazy person and also a bit of an insomniac. It started out as a facebook status update, and then I realized it was too long a story for that medium. So I'm just laying there, writing, revising, grammar checking. All in my head. Seriously.
• 4:45. Jude awake, but no big deal because I hadn't fallen asleep yet.
• 6 am. Jude's up for good, so after feeding him, cleaning up all the spit up he doused me with, and pouring a much needed cup of coffee, it's on to the internet.

Now as I sit to write about our night, I realize it really isn't all that interesting. I suppose it's just easy to be a bit narcissistic at 3am and presume your experience is worth documenting for the masses (and by masses I mean you 5 or so friends and family who read this.)

So, lately life here has been a bit, shall we say, exhausting. The cold virus has invaded. Claire has a horrible chest cough and looks like she must feel terrible. Of course, if it weren't for the cough, you'd assume she had just been possessed by the most vehement case of the terrible twos know to man. When she's sick she doesn't slow down, she speeds up and gets nasty. We've been dodging tantrums all week. Of course, Claire shared the cold with me and I have no opportunity to rest it off. I've gone a little OCD with hand washing in an attempt to keep Jude from catching the cold. (So far, so good!)

Claire's 3 am wake up was due in part to her cold, and in part to a technology fail. We have been using a nightlight on a timer to train her to stay in bed in the morning until a reasonable hour. She knows that she has to stay in bed until the light goes off. That means it's morning and it's ok to come in our room. Because of the crazy tantruming of late, I experimented with using the light for naps as well. It did not help. Nap time continues to be a battlefield. Well, apparently when I set the timer for her nap I mistakenly set it for 3am instead of 3 pm. I never realized it before because we never made it through an entire nap time. Because Claire's sick, she's not sleeping well. When she came wandering in our room last night, Kevin tried to take her back to bed. She got so sad and kept saying, "The sunshine's awake!" When we discovered her light was on, we realized what had happened. We felt so bad for her! It was the middle of the night, she was so sick and obviously exhausted, but she thought it was time to wake up. It took an hour of cuddling before she was ready to go back to her room.

So, between that and Jude's normal newborn waking up, sleep was hard to come by last night. I'm compensating this morning with Lion King and blogging! (I just skipped past the part where Mufasa is trampled to death.) I can't wait till everyone is healthy again and life can get back to "normal." Until then, I foresee a lot of TV in our future. Oh well!

Pictures

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Surviving

We've made it through two weeks! So far, so good. Jude is pretty mello so far. He often sleeps well in between feedings, and his fussy periods are nothing compared to Claire's when she was this age. Actually, Claire continues to be the most work! But she loves her little brother and is so sweet with him. Currently Claire is playing "soccer ball" outside by herself, which is a huge improvement over the high needs playing she usually requires. She growing up so fast!

Kevin went back to work yesterday, so I've been on my own now for the first time since Jude was born. Yesterday was challenging because Jude was awake for 4 hours in the morning, and wanting to be held and fed a lot, while Claire was cranky and misbehaving a lot. I was exhausted by 10:30! But today is going more smoothly (even though I have not and probably will not get to take a shower!) Jude has started to make eye contact consistently. I think real smiles will be coming soon. I went to the pediatrician yesterday. He is 9 pounds 6 ounces now. I don't remember his length, but it was not much more than when he was born. His jaundice is completely gone. Overall, he's in great shape, just a clogged tear duct that is more annoying than anything else. The Dr said it could clear up tomorrow, or take as long as 4 months! I hope for sooner rather than later. I have some cute pictures on my phone, so I'll try and do a picture only post from there to share them.

Joys and Trials

Hello Everyone! We finally have a chance to announce that Jude Daniyel Schaub Bringard is here! He was born October 31st at 5:04 am. He weighed in at a hearty 9 lbs 1 oz (wow!) He was born at home in the water. It was exactly the birth we had hoped for! Only 3 hours of active labor. The water made all the difference! Our midwife was wonderful! He was born alert and healthy and is thriving. Claire is so excited to be a special big sister. She is always giving him kisses and showing him her toys. She even likes to share her silky (security blanket) with him-but only for short periods of time!

Unfortunately, our joy with his birth was quickly overshadowed by fear and anxiety. After he was born I was unable to deliver the placenta. The condition is called a retained placenta, and is a rare complication (approximately 1% of deliveries.) My midwife worked more and more aggressively as it became clear that I was loosing a lot of blood. She determined that the best course of action was to call an ambulance and have me taken to the hospital before my condition became too critical. This was followed by a series of escalating miscommunications and confusion on the part of the paramedics and ER. I was taken to the wrong hospital who did not have an OB on premises. The ER Dr. was unprepared for my condition and proceeded to exacerbate my blood loss significantly. They had difficulty contacting an OB to come. Finally, someone was contacted and on his way. I was wheeled into the OR where I had surgery, was given a blood transfusion, and the Dr. was able to save me without removing my uterus. Unfortunately I was not out of the woods yet. Due to the amount of blood loss I had experienced, my kidneys were not working properly, and my recovery was stalled. It took some more medication and many hours before I was finally stable. I received wonderful care from the OR until I was released the following day. I am home with strict orders not to do anything! haha!

We have been showered with love and support from everyone and are receiving so much help! My parents are staying with us now, cooking, cleaning, taking care of all of us. Then Kevin's mom will be here when they are gone. We have not been alone for one second, which has been essential! Others are cooking us meals, leaving cookies and amazing notes of encouragement on our doorstep, and generally being God's hands and feet to us. We are so blessed!

The experience was very scary. But I had one amazing moment of hearing from God, just when I was about to give in to fear and panic. I was laying in the OR all alone. They had refused to let my Midwife accompany me inside (she had been right beside me every second up to that point, advocating for me, protecting me, battling the doctors to keep me alive, and speaking constant words of encouragement.) The OB came in and I heard him tell someone "Get her to sign the consent for a hysterectomy." Those words hit me full force along with all the experiences I had just come through. All I could think was, I'm going to die, or all my hopes and dreams for more family were going to be taken before I was 30. I had asked if anyone in the OR was a Christian and would pray over me. As she was praying, I was calling out asking for God to send me his peace. I clearly heard the Spirit speak to me, telling me the Lord is with me, and that I would be OK. He was silent when I asked if I would avoid the hysterectomy, but told me to trust. God's promises are true and were a great source of comfort to me. I knew absolutely that I would be waking up soon! When I awoke, it was to discover I was not only alive but also intact.

Although this was a very traumatic experience for all of us, I am grateful for the good. God works all things for the good of those who love Him. This promise does not mean we get nothing but good, but that in all things God will bring about good. In that OR the Lord was glorified and my faith was made strong. For that I am thankful.

Thank you all for your prayers and congratulations! Please enjoy some pictures here:

http://picasaweb.google.com/rbringard/JudeSBirth?feat=directlink