Monday, December 20, 2010
What a month!
WOW! Has it really been over a month since my last post? We have been so busy just hanging out with Evan that I haven't taken the time to update my blog. Nick and I have had such an amazing month of bonding with our little guy. I am so grateful for all of the time that we have been able to spend together getting to know each other. Evan is so sweet, and we both are so in love with him! I will try to take some time and get this blog up to date.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Lots of Visitors at the Hospital
Evan had several visitors while we were still in the hospital. Unfortunately, I didn't get a picture of everyone that visited, but here are the few pictures that I did remember to take. As you can tell, everyone was so excited to welcome Evan. He is already so very loved!
Aunt Tracy
Marty
Gretchen and Colin
Great-Grandma and Papa Schnittker
Papa Schnittker
Great-Grandma Schnittker
Aunt Tara
Grandpa Schnittker
Cousins Emily and Mason came to visit too. Mason didn't make it into the picture.
Daddy needed some time with Evan too. Daddy had something wrong with his eye the whole time we were in the hospital... it was puffy and very irritated almost like there was something in it but he never found anything.Evan Nicholas Schnittker
So, we finally decided on a name for our "Baby Boy Snickers." We have decided to officially call him Evan Nicholas Schnittker. We had it narrowed down to two possible boy names and two possible girl names and just needed to make a decision between the two. Nick really wanted to have a Nicholas Jr. but I was not a fan of having a Jr. Our compromise was to use Nicholas as the middle name. Poor little Evan didn't have a name until about noon on Wednesday because we just couldn't decide. :)
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
IT'S A BOY!
When my brother Brandon finished with the tile project last Tuesday, he quickly packed up his things and left to go back home so that he could go hunting early in the morning. (He was on vacation afterall.) It is probably a good thing that he decided to leave that night because it turned out to be a very interesting evening for Nick and I.
Monday night I began to notice the "bloody show" or the loss of my mucus plug. I went to school like normal on Tuesday (one day past my due date) and throughout the day I had noticed increased pressure in my pelvic area. It really wasn't painful; I just kept thinking that maybe the baby was finally starting to drop into place in preparation for delivery. I made it through the day at school, attended a meeting after school and after Brandon left and Nick went to work I even made a trip to Target and a few stores in the mall. When I got home at about 8 PM, I started noticing increased pressure combined with increased pain. About every 5-10 minutes I would experience this pain/pressure, so I just hung out on the couch all night long watching TV. I didn't think that they were actual contractions because I thought contractions hurt in your back as well as in the front. I was only experiencing pain in the front, almost like menstral cramps. When Nick got home at about 10:15 or so, the contractions had gotten closer together, so we decided to call the Labor and Delivery department at the hospital to see what they thought I should do. The nurse said that since my water had not broken, that I should lay on my left side, drink plenty of water and time the contractions. She told me that if the contractions started coming every 3-5 minutes then we needed to get to the hospital. (I still hadn't packed my bag for the hospital and we were a day overdue--- it's the true procrastinator in me. While I was laying on the couch timing out the contractions, Nick packed a bag for me.) It only took about 15-20 minutes of timing the contractions to realize that they were indeed 3-5 minutes apart and we needed to head to the hospital.
On the way to the hospital, Nick called his parents and my parents to put them on standby. At this point we didn't know if it was the real thing or if it might be false contractions so he told them he would call back if we were indeed going to stay at the hospital. As soon as they got me checked in and situated in a birthing room, the Dr. came in to check things out. He said that I was 4 cm. dialated and 80% effaced and he decided to break my water right then. (As exciting as it was that we were going to have our baby very soon, I was a little bit disappointed because it was not the same doctor that I had seen all along during my pregnancy. Each of the doctors have a specific day that they are on call in the hospital for deliveries and my doctor's normal day is Thursday. I was scheduled for an office visit with Dr. Bruner on Wednesday and I was hoping that he would tell me to come in on Thursday to be induced. Unfortunately, Baby Snickers didn't feel like waiting until Thursday so that Dr. Bruner could do the delivery.) Nick called all of the parents to let them know what was going on, so my parents jumped in the van and headed north. After my water had been broken, he realized that the baby had had a bowel movement inside of me and they were going to have to take special precautions during the delivery to make sure that the baby does not breath in any of the nasty fluid. That meant that I needed a bigger room because there would be more people involved in the delivery. They got me moved into a bigger room and hooked up to all the machines and then the real fun began!
I was in labor for a couple of hours and the contractions seemed to keep coming faster, felt stronger, and lasted longer than each previous contraction. I wanted to go as long as I could without having any pain medication. Nick was by my side the entire time and every time a contraction came, I squeezed his hand as hard as I could. We were both exhasted at this point. We both had gotten up at 5 AM Tuesday morning and had a full day of work with no naps or anything. Around about 2:45 AM Wednesday, I had just had a horribly painful and long contraction. I looked up at Nick and said that I was seriously thinking about getting the epidural because I just didn't think that I could handle several more hours of this pain. Not even a minute after I mentioned the epidural to Nick, the doctor came back into the room to check on me. Nothing had changed... I was still 4 cm dialated, 80% effaced and the baby had not dropped at all. SO, the doctor suggested that we go ahead and do a c-section. He explained that normally after the water is broken and a mother is in labor for as long as I had been, there is some progress. I had not made any progress. He also mentioned that Dr. Bruner (my normal doctor) had written in his notes that he thought I would be a possible candidate for a c-section because the baby was just not dropping. Dr. Visci also said that I could wait, keep on having the contractions for 4 or 5 more hours and there was no guarantee that I wouldn't still need to have a c-section. I was a little disappointed that I was going to have a c-section, but if it meant that I would get to see my baby a little bit sooner, I decided to go ahead and do it.
Thankfully, my parents had just made it to the hospital, so I was able to see them for a few minutes before they took me to the operating room for the c-section. I was relieved that they had gotten there and would be there in the waiting room througout the surgery. Grandma and Grandpa Schnittker had also made it to the hospital, but they didn't have as long of a drive to get there. Unfortunately, Mimi and Papa Ledbetter live way too far away to make it to the hospital for the delivery (they live in Arkansas), so they will see the baby at Christmas. After they gave me the spinal and had me situated on the operating table, Nick was allowed to come into the room with me. I liked the fact that I didn't have any more pain, but it was a little strange to not know what was going on behind the curtain draped over my chest. Nick got to watch the whole procedure and even took some pictures. When they finally told us that we had a boy, it was the most amazing surprise that I could ever ask for. I can't even begin to explain the emotion that I felt when I heard that it was a boy. I just remember looking up at Nick and both of us were crying. Our baby boy was born at 3:58 AM on Wednesday, November 10, 2010. He weighed 8 pounds 1 ounce and was 20 1/2 inches long. His head was 36 1/2 cm in diameter, which is probably another good reason why I needed to have a c-section! :)
It was a few minutes before I could even see the baby because they had him in a crib with 3 people working on him. I could see his little legs, but nothing else. Eventually the 3 people were finished and just 1 nurse was working with "Baby Snickers" so I could actually see him. (We still hadn't decided on a name at this point.) He was all red and wrinkled and cried like crazy. It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. He looked just like his father! He was a mini-me version of Nick. I just wanted to reach out and touch him, but I couldn't move anything from my chest down. Nick stayed there with me for a little while but then ran out the the waiting room so he could tell all of the grandparents the great news. While he was gone, the nurse swaddled the baby and brought him over to my head so that I could take a good look at him and talk to him for a little bit. Unfortunately, Nick was not back yet, so he didn't get a picture. When Nick was offered the chance to hold the baby, he declined because he wanted me to be able to hold him first. I told him that I wouldn't be able to hold him for a long time yet, so I talked him into holding the baby. Eventually they got me stitched back up, cleaned up, and wheeled back to my room to recover. Then I was finally able to hold "Baby Snickers" for the first time and so did his grandparents.
Nick's parents both had to leave to go to work and my parents left to go back home around 8:00. After I recovered from the surgery, they moved us into a different room in the postpartum area. Needless to say, we were both EXHAUSTED because we had been up since 5 AM Tuesday morning. All we wanted to do was take a nap and the nurses kept coming in to check on me. We eventually got a little bit of quiet time so we could take a small little nap before all of the visitors started coming.
What a wonderful experience! I am still in shock that I am a mother and Nick is a father. "Baby Snickers" is such a precious little angle and gift from God. We are so thankful to have been given the opportunity to be parents of this beautiful child.
"Baby Snickers'" head is coming out. He had had a bowel movement inside of me so they had to make sure that he didn't swallow any of the yucky fluid.
The rest of the body coming out. They really had to push and pull to get him to come out. All I could feel was a lot of pressure and a lot of pushing on my stomach in order to get him to drop far enough to come out.
A peek between all of the people that were working on him in the crib. I still hadn't been able to see him at this point.
Healthy baby boy
8 pounds 1 ounce
Funny face
"Baby Burrito"
I finally got to hold him!
Proud daddy
Grandpa Schnittker
Grandma Schnittker
Papaw Larrick
Mamaw Larrick
Monday night I began to notice the "bloody show" or the loss of my mucus plug. I went to school like normal on Tuesday (one day past my due date) and throughout the day I had noticed increased pressure in my pelvic area. It really wasn't painful; I just kept thinking that maybe the baby was finally starting to drop into place in preparation for delivery. I made it through the day at school, attended a meeting after school and after Brandon left and Nick went to work I even made a trip to Target and a few stores in the mall. When I got home at about 8 PM, I started noticing increased pressure combined with increased pain. About every 5-10 minutes I would experience this pain/pressure, so I just hung out on the couch all night long watching TV. I didn't think that they were actual contractions because I thought contractions hurt in your back as well as in the front. I was only experiencing pain in the front, almost like menstral cramps. When Nick got home at about 10:15 or so, the contractions had gotten closer together, so we decided to call the Labor and Delivery department at the hospital to see what they thought I should do. The nurse said that since my water had not broken, that I should lay on my left side, drink plenty of water and time the contractions. She told me that if the contractions started coming every 3-5 minutes then we needed to get to the hospital. (I still hadn't packed my bag for the hospital and we were a day overdue--- it's the true procrastinator in me. While I was laying on the couch timing out the contractions, Nick packed a bag for me.) It only took about 15-20 minutes of timing the contractions to realize that they were indeed 3-5 minutes apart and we needed to head to the hospital.
On the way to the hospital, Nick called his parents and my parents to put them on standby. At this point we didn't know if it was the real thing or if it might be false contractions so he told them he would call back if we were indeed going to stay at the hospital. As soon as they got me checked in and situated in a birthing room, the Dr. came in to check things out. He said that I was 4 cm. dialated and 80% effaced and he decided to break my water right then. (As exciting as it was that we were going to have our baby very soon, I was a little bit disappointed because it was not the same doctor that I had seen all along during my pregnancy. Each of the doctors have a specific day that they are on call in the hospital for deliveries and my doctor's normal day is Thursday. I was scheduled for an office visit with Dr. Bruner on Wednesday and I was hoping that he would tell me to come in on Thursday to be induced. Unfortunately, Baby Snickers didn't feel like waiting until Thursday so that Dr. Bruner could do the delivery.) Nick called all of the parents to let them know what was going on, so my parents jumped in the van and headed north. After my water had been broken, he realized that the baby had had a bowel movement inside of me and they were going to have to take special precautions during the delivery to make sure that the baby does not breath in any of the nasty fluid. That meant that I needed a bigger room because there would be more people involved in the delivery. They got me moved into a bigger room and hooked up to all the machines and then the real fun began!
I was in labor for a couple of hours and the contractions seemed to keep coming faster, felt stronger, and lasted longer than each previous contraction. I wanted to go as long as I could without having any pain medication. Nick was by my side the entire time and every time a contraction came, I squeezed his hand as hard as I could. We were both exhasted at this point. We both had gotten up at 5 AM Tuesday morning and had a full day of work with no naps or anything. Around about 2:45 AM Wednesday, I had just had a horribly painful and long contraction. I looked up at Nick and said that I was seriously thinking about getting the epidural because I just didn't think that I could handle several more hours of this pain. Not even a minute after I mentioned the epidural to Nick, the doctor came back into the room to check on me. Nothing had changed... I was still 4 cm dialated, 80% effaced and the baby had not dropped at all. SO, the doctor suggested that we go ahead and do a c-section. He explained that normally after the water is broken and a mother is in labor for as long as I had been, there is some progress. I had not made any progress. He also mentioned that Dr. Bruner (my normal doctor) had written in his notes that he thought I would be a possible candidate for a c-section because the baby was just not dropping. Dr. Visci also said that I could wait, keep on having the contractions for 4 or 5 more hours and there was no guarantee that I wouldn't still need to have a c-section. I was a little disappointed that I was going to have a c-section, but if it meant that I would get to see my baby a little bit sooner, I decided to go ahead and do it.
Thankfully, my parents had just made it to the hospital, so I was able to see them for a few minutes before they took me to the operating room for the c-section. I was relieved that they had gotten there and would be there in the waiting room througout the surgery. Grandma and Grandpa Schnittker had also made it to the hospital, but they didn't have as long of a drive to get there. Unfortunately, Mimi and Papa Ledbetter live way too far away to make it to the hospital for the delivery (they live in Arkansas), so they will see the baby at Christmas. After they gave me the spinal and had me situated on the operating table, Nick was allowed to come into the room with me. I liked the fact that I didn't have any more pain, but it was a little strange to not know what was going on behind the curtain draped over my chest. Nick got to watch the whole procedure and even took some pictures. When they finally told us that we had a boy, it was the most amazing surprise that I could ever ask for. I can't even begin to explain the emotion that I felt when I heard that it was a boy. I just remember looking up at Nick and both of us were crying. Our baby boy was born at 3:58 AM on Wednesday, November 10, 2010. He weighed 8 pounds 1 ounce and was 20 1/2 inches long. His head was 36 1/2 cm in diameter, which is probably another good reason why I needed to have a c-section! :)
It was a few minutes before I could even see the baby because they had him in a crib with 3 people working on him. I could see his little legs, but nothing else. Eventually the 3 people were finished and just 1 nurse was working with "Baby Snickers" so I could actually see him. (We still hadn't decided on a name at this point.) He was all red and wrinkled and cried like crazy. It was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. He looked just like his father! He was a mini-me version of Nick. I just wanted to reach out and touch him, but I couldn't move anything from my chest down. Nick stayed there with me for a little while but then ran out the the waiting room so he could tell all of the grandparents the great news. While he was gone, the nurse swaddled the baby and brought him over to my head so that I could take a good look at him and talk to him for a little bit. Unfortunately, Nick was not back yet, so he didn't get a picture. When Nick was offered the chance to hold the baby, he declined because he wanted me to be able to hold him first. I told him that I wouldn't be able to hold him for a long time yet, so I talked him into holding the baby. Eventually they got me stitched back up, cleaned up, and wheeled back to my room to recover. Then I was finally able to hold "Baby Snickers" for the first time and so did his grandparents.
Nick's parents both had to leave to go to work and my parents left to go back home around 8:00. After I recovered from the surgery, they moved us into a different room in the postpartum area. Needless to say, we were both EXHAUSTED because we had been up since 5 AM Tuesday morning. All we wanted to do was take a nap and the nurses kept coming in to check on me. We eventually got a little bit of quiet time so we could take a small little nap before all of the visitors started coming.
What a wonderful experience! I am still in shock that I am a mother and Nick is a father. "Baby Snickers" is such a precious little angle and gift from God. We are so thankful to have been given the opportunity to be parents of this beautiful child.
"Baby Snickers'" head is coming out. He had had a bowel movement inside of me so they had to make sure that he didn't swallow any of the yucky fluid.
The rest of the body coming out. They really had to push and pull to get him to come out. All I could feel was a lot of pressure and a lot of pushing on my stomach in order to get him to drop far enough to come out.
A peek between all of the people that were working on him in the crib. I still hadn't been able to see him at this point.
Healthy baby boy
8 pounds 1 ounce
Funny face
"Baby Burrito"
I finally got to hold him!
Proud daddy
Grandpa Schnittker
Grandma Schnittker
Papaw Larrick
Mamaw LarrickTile is done!
Brandon and Nick finished putting the grout in the tile on Tuesday. They finished just in time, because I ended up going into labor later that night! It looks really nice and it makes such a big difference in the dining room and kitchen. It's also nice to have all of the appliances back into their correct places and not in the middle of the living room! Eventually they will do the front entry and the master bathroom. That will have to wait until Brandon can make another trip up here.
Monday, November 8, 2010
We Have Tile!
After working all day yesterday and today putting down the tile in the dining room, kitchen and laundry room area, Brandon and Nick have both informed that should I ever choose to do another project like this one, I will to need to hire someone to do the installation. I came home from school today to find both of them sprawled out on a separate couch worn down and moaning about sore backs and knees. I feel so bad that they have working so hard and have gotten so sore and I have not been able to be much help to them. I also feel bad because Brandon took off a week of vacation time to go deer hunting and instead he is spending a good portion of his time off laboring at my house. Unfortunately, the project isn't quite finished. They still have to put the grout between all of the tiles, so they will be working for at least one more day. I owe both of them BIG TIME!
Brandon and Nick starting to lay the tile down in the dining room on Sunday morning.
After a long day Sunday, they finished laying the tile in the dining room.
After working again all day today, they were able to get the kitchen and laundry area completed too! You can see the whole in the cabinets where the dishwasher usually goes and on the corner is where the refrigerator usually sits.
A view of the kitchen and hallway to the garage. The fridge is usually to the left and the stove is in the whole to the right. Everything is looking so nice. I can't wait to see what it looks like tomorrow when the grout has been finished!
Brandon and Nick starting to lay the tile down in the dining room on Sunday morning.
After a long day Sunday, they finished laying the tile in the dining room.
After working again all day today, they were able to get the kitchen and laundry area completed too! You can see the whole in the cabinets where the dishwasher usually goes and on the corner is where the refrigerator usually sits.
A view of the kitchen and hallway to the garage. The fridge is usually to the left and the stove is in the whole to the right. Everything is looking so nice. I can't wait to see what it looks like tomorrow when the grout has been finished!Sunday, November 7, 2010
Yes, We're Crazy!
So, it is only ONE DAY from my official due date and we have decided to take on a major remodeling project in our kitchen and dining room! Crazy, I know! My brother Brandon came up yesterday morning to oversee the project while Nick is assisting. I can't believe how much work has gone into tearing off the baseboards, old carpet, linoleum, and sub floor. That is just the prep work for everything else that is needed before the tile goes down. The washer and dryer are currently out in the garage, while the stove and refrigerator are both in the living room. I guess at this point it is a good thing that there is really nothing going on yet with "Baby Snickers." It's looking like the baby really likes where it is right now and isn't in a hurry to come out to see us.
Here is a "before" picture where you can see a little bit of the carpet in the dining room and the lovely linoleum in the kitchen.
Another before shot where you can see both the linoleum and the carpet that have been ripped up this weekend!
Nick rolling up the padding that was underneath the old carpet. I am SO EXCITED to get rid of the nasty old carpet that was in the dining room!
Nick pulling up all of the staples from the carpet padding. He LOVED this part of the job!
Nick and Brandon laying down the tile backer that goes underneath the tile.
Measure twice, cut once!
Nick sporting the nice knee pads.
Most of the linoleum and its sub floor is ripped up.
The dining room has the tile backer installed and is ready for the tile to be laid down. Notice the refrigerator and stove sitting in the living room...NICE!
Nick is ripping up the last of the linoleum where the washer and dryer were. The tile backer is going down in the kitchen.
Here is a "before" picture where you can see a little bit of the carpet in the dining room and the lovely linoleum in the kitchen.
Another before shot where you can see both the linoleum and the carpet that have been ripped up this weekend! Nick rolling up the padding that was underneath the old carpet. I am SO EXCITED to get rid of the nasty old carpet that was in the dining room! Nick pulling up all of the staples from the carpet padding. He LOVED this part of the job! Nick and Brandon laying down the tile backer that goes underneath the tile.
Measure twice, cut once!
Nick sporting the nice knee pads.
Most of the linoleum and its sub floor is ripped up.
The dining room has the tile backer installed and is ready for the tile to be laid down. Notice the refrigerator and stove sitting in the living room...NICE! 
Nick is ripping up the last of the linoleum where the washer and dryer were. The tile backer is going down in the kitchen.Stay tuned for future updates. Hopefully this project will be completed soon!
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