My middle of the night miracle!

Calling Bryan's cell phone repeatedly at 2:30 am makes for a frantic ,usband! but I could not contain my joy. Noah woke up to nurse. I fed him on one side and he was kinda asleep so I laid him on his side so I could run to the bathroom while he woke himself up enough to eat. Before I got up I watched him. His hurt arm fell behind him and I reached to put it in front of him. I didn't think he was awake enough to use his shoulder to drag it in front of him like he sometimes does. I didn't reach his arm before he did something that SHOCKED me. He pulled his arm up sideways! Like he was reaching for the ceiling. He only has about a 100 degree range of motion that direction and he got it almost up to that. I just sat there and cried I was so excited! THen I thanked Heavenly Father. I'm so excited!

Noah was blessed Sunday June 22.

Noah in his blessing outfit. Both he and Sam were blessed wearing this outfit and wrapped in the blue blanket I made.
Here is a close up of Noah.
Noah, Bryan, and Serenity
Our family. Savanna, Sam, Bryan, Madalyn, Serenity, and Noah.
My family. Back row is my dad, Donnell, nephew Aden, sis Brinae, bro Josh. Second row, sis Cassandra, mom Bridgette, me, Noah, Bryan, and Mady. Front row, niece Abby, Sam, and Savanna.

Here are Noah and Anna. Anna is 6 weeks older than Noah. It looks like they are holding hands. Bryan and his twin sister Celia and their babies.

I guess we must be doing something right

We were talking about Locks of Live with my bil and sil the other day. Savanna later asked more about it. Yesterday she decided she wanted to donate her hair, so today we went and did that. She is so excited and can't wait to mail it off so another child can get it. I'm so proud of her!

Before. It needs to be brushed.
Holding her ponytail.
After. She looks so grownup now!

Noah's Physical Therapy Evaluation

Ok, the physical therapist is WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!! She was so nice and she showed Bryan and I several range of motion exercises to do a few times a day. She said basically right now we are providing his pt and she is tracking his progress. She was very encouraged by how well he is moving his hand and shoulder already. She said an adults range of motion is 180 degrees (to lift the arm from your side straight up in the air) she said a newborn has a bit less than that, but Noah's is about 100 degrees. She talked a bit about surgery, but said it is way too early to tell if he will need it. She's leaning towards him not needing it.

He so did not like her touching him. The first time she was moving his arm to check his range of motion and it hurt him. After he let out that hurt cry, he cried anytime she touched him. After I got him calmed down we laid him down and she had me practice the exercises. He did fine, didn't cry at all. After that she would guide my hand if she needed to so she wouldn't touch him. It was really funny.

So all in all I'm very pleased with the Kistler Center and very excited for Noah.

Who knew

Who knew life as a mother of four would be so busy? Just kidding. I just don't seem to find time to get on the computer as much lately. There is always so much to do and I still haven't gotten around to doing any housework at all. I'm finally healing better and can move without being in severe pain. Noah should have an app for a physical therapy evaluation sometime this week or next. It depends upon how long the waiting list is. Savanna has decided she has found a nickname for Noah. He's Nemo because he has a *lucky fin* She's so cute! Mister man is fussy, must be time to eat. Maybe I'll get back here before another entire week has passed.

Two week check up

Mr Noah is officially a piggy. We went for our two week check ups today. Last Monday he was down to 9 lbs 14 oz. Very normal to go down a few oz. He's now 10 lbs 15 oz! That's 1 lb 1 oz in 8 days!!! I don't have to worry that he's getting enough to eat! His arm is also doing much better. He's moving his shoulder kinda a lot. I'm so very grateful!

More yummy baby pics

Here is my sleeping Noah Bear.

Here we are all dressed up for our first day of church. He just woke up so not such a happy boy.

It's hot out here!

It's been so hot here. Around 100 with the heat index. So we broke out the kiddie pool today. Here are some pics.
Such a diva!



Noah at 6 days old! Isn't he a cutie?

Noah's birth story

I spent every day of May wondering *Is this it?* *Is this it?* Starting May 2 I had contractions every single day, sometimes for hours on end. May 23 I went into labor, only to stop 36 hours later at 4 centimeters. It was all very disheartening.

Finally at 4:02 am May 29 my water broke. I was so excited I cried. Contractions started about an hour later coming every 5 minutes. The midwife, Debbie, came out around 9 am . Contractions started slowing down. I went walking around the block several times, but it didn't really do much. Debbie suggested we go driving down some bumpy roads, so my mom drove me. It was horrible. The contractions started coming two minutes apart and were very painful. Debbie checked me and I cried when she said I was only 4 1/2 centimeters. I got in the birth pool and it helped. I was able to find some sort of Zen and talk to myself through my contractions. I just kept telling myself they were almost over. It helped a lot, plus squeezing Bryan's hand was nice, too.

At around 4:30 pm things started getting really intense. Debbie checked and I was 7 1/2. We thought things would go very fast. She had to leave at 5:30 to attend her sons high school graduation. Robin, the other midwife, would stay with us. Debbie and I both talked about how sad we were that she would miss the birth. She said she would be back around 9 ish to check on us. She did not miss the birth. I had a very small part of my cervix that would not move. Debbie called it my bubble. It prevented Noah's head from coming through the cervix completely. We spent hours trying to get it to g away. I went though endless contractions fighting the urge to push hping it would help the bubble go away. It didn't. They massage it and pushed it. Nothing helped. We changed positions, nothing. Finally I pushed while Debbie pushed it back over his head. That didn't help either. Debbie finally suggested I try to use the bathroom and then we were going to try something else, but now I don't remember what it was. While I was on the toilet the bubble moved and all of a sudden his head was right there. I barely made it to the couch. I started pushing and boy it sure took longer than I remembered to push his head out. Finally I did. In reality it probably wasn't that long, but it felt like it. It turns out it was a very good thing I did not get back into the birth pool because right about then all hell broke loose. That really is the only way to describe it. Debbie looked at me and said we needed to get the baby out in the next contraction. It didn't work. I was pushing as hard as I could. I wasn't sure exactly what was going on and asked and Debbie said he was stuck on my pelvic bone. He needed out NOW. I cried that I couldn't do it and she said I had to. My mom started screaming at me that I needed to do it now. She was crying. Bryan, Debbie, and Robin were all down there (Bryan was supposed to be delivering himself before Noah got stuck). One was pushing my vagina back as far as they could while the other two pulled. My poor little Noah has perfect finger bruises. Finally we got him out. They put him on my chest and Bryan told me we had a boy. He was born at 9:46 pm. He was a bit blue. He did not start breathing or crying and got more blue. Debbie rushed for the oxygen while Robin started rubbing him trying to stimulate him. He was still attached to the cord, so still getting oxygen through it, but he needed to breathe on his own. It took four minutes for him to breathe or cry. During those four minutes I heard the word transfer whispered. Luckily we didn't have to. Noah started crying and breathing and pinked right up, but those four minutes were a bit scary.

Now we're both doing well. My pelvic bone is bruised, but other than that I feel fine. Miraculously I did not tear at all, even with all the pulling and pushing. Noah has an appointment with a pediatrician today because he has a bruised nerve in his arm from being stuck and being pulled. He moves his hand and grips, but doesn't move his arm much. Hopefully we can fix it. I feel horrible guilt over his injury and hope it isn't permanent. I have a friend whose son had the same thing, only worse, he couldn't move his hand or fingers at all. In less than a year you couldn't tell that anything had ever been wrong. I hope we have the same blessing.

Oh, and my boy got stuck because he was huge. 22 inches long, 14 5/8 inches head, and 10 lbs 6 oz!!!

He's finally here!

Noah Calvin Chandler was born Thursday May 29, 2008 at 9:46 pm. He is 22 inches long and weighs in at a whopping 10 lbs 6 oz!!!!! Here are some pics. Here's my BIG boy!!!!!


Beside cousin Anna who is six weeks older!Another pic with Anna

With my big brother Sam.
With my big sister Savanna.

With my big sister Mady!
My boys are sleeping!
A close up of Noah

Random pics of the kids

Mady and her best friend Kaytlyn.
Sam dancing with Koal.

Kids on the trampoline the first day we got it.
Sam on the soccer field.
My girls missing the same tooth.
Mady chillin' at the park on Easter.
Mady and Auntie Nay Nay

Kids at the park on Easter.

Sam playing soccer.
Savanna playing soccer.

Sam and Savanna warming up.

Mady in her bike gear.

Savanna being goofy on her field trip. This might have been when she was doing the cha-cha slide.

Savanna in her glasses

Dear Heaven, please make the phone calls stop!

I swear if I have to deal with one more phone call or e-mail asking where my baby is I will scream. I know exactly where my baby is, still inside of me. Why is s/he not here yet? Well, honestly I don't know. Apparently because it's not TIME yet. I'm officially *due* in two days. Does that mean I will automatically be induced, nope it sure does not. I won't even think about induction until at least 42 weeks. Heavenly Father has a time table and as anxious and uncomfortable as I am, it doesn't matter. I'm sick of other people bothering me about it. I can not do one single thing to make this baby make an appearance sooner. Trust me, I would love to. Of course, there is usually a bright side to everything. The bright side to not having the baby yet is that I got to go on Savanna's field trip with her today. That will be for a separate post, though. But seriously, please, make the the phone calls stop!!!!

Glasses

Miss Savanna got her glasses the other day. She looks so cute in them! So grown up! My camera is still dead, I think it needs replaced, so no pics at the moment. They are hot pink wire frames. Right now she only has to wear them when doing school work. She barely needed them, you can buy her scrip in reading glasses at Wal-Mart. They, of course, don't come in kid sizes, though. We have great insurance though, so they didn't cost much. She thinks they are the coolest thing ever. The eye dr said in a few years she will need to wear glasses all the time. She already has an astigmatism. So I will post pics when I get a chance.

Still pregnant

I'm still pregnant. I'm miserable. I am so past done. Mady's third birthday is Tuesday and she keeps saying she wants the baby to come out on her birthday. I personally would love a day sooner than that, but if not, Tuesday works great for me. My mom will be out of town for work on Mon, Tues, and Wed and is very sad I might have the baby while she is gone. It's probably her last grandchild until Josh and Brinae start having babies so she really doens't want to miss it.

I'm so not good at this

I'm not good at keeping up with a blog at all. You would think I would be, it's not like i don't spend time on the computer everyday. I really need to try harder. Maybe I just think I'm boring, so I don't put forth the effort. I read a few blogs and they post about things, not just what their kids are doing. All I ever talk about is my family. And so here comes some more.

Yesterday we had a double birthday party for Sam and Mady. We invited the kids from nursery for Mady, a few family friends and cousins, and some kids from Sam's preschool. My friend Tonya and her kids came. She has kids the same age as mine, plus a few older. THey all play and get along really well. Two sisters from church came, my sis and her two kids, and Bry's sis and her four. Sam and Mady had a blast. Later that night, the part I had been dreading came. Sam had gotten out of bed to get a drink. I asked him if he had a good day and he said yes, but he was sad. He came and gave me a hug and said he was sad because none of his friends from school came to his party. He asked me why they didn't and I told him I didn't know. I guess I should have prepared him. None of them RSVP'd, but around here most don't. He was so sad. After he went to bed Bry came back to the living room and found me sobbing. I'm sure the pregnancy hormones make it worse, but my heart was breaking for him. He was so sad. He didn't say anything today, so I'm hoping he's over it.

I am assuming I started nesting last night. I cleaned out the boxes I have been avoiding from when we traded in our van. Not fun to go through those, plus a few other storage things that I have been neglecting. I cleaned the bathroom, folded all the laundry (it was a lot since I haven't felt great lately) and finished cleaning up the table from the leftover birthday party stuff we just dropped there when we got home. Today I had to leave church because of contractions. They stopped after awhile and I took a nap while my mother in law took the kids home with her. Bry was sleeping too, because he had to work tonight. When I got up I cleaned up the kitchen. Again, it's been sadly neglected lately and then cleaned my bedroom. Wow, that was a big task. Now I just have to finish the rest of the laundry and get the three front rooms finished. Well, I guess just two and the kitchen floor. THere really isn't a whole lot left and then everything will be ready for baby! I'm so beyond ready!

Bed rest sucks!

I hate bed rest! It's worse when Bryan works at night. Thankfully he's home for the rest of the week. I'm ready for the cramps to be gone and for things to get back to normal. 5 more weeks and it will be safe to have the baby. That's not too long right?

Oh wow

It's been forever. Things just seem to get away from me. Lets see if I can do a brief synopsis.

Sam had his surgery and is doing fantabulously! No problems whatsoever. It went great. He got to keep his *spot* which he delights in showing everyone. He's back to preschool and enjoys going now that he's not in pain all the time. Getting ready for Kindergarten next year. We have a meeting at the Primary school in a bit over a week to discuss his continued speech therapy.

Savanna is doing so super well. She is in the top of her first grade class. She is in one of the top 3 classes in the school. She had her 3rd nine weeks math test last week and made a 35 out of 33. I'm not entirely sure why she got extra points because there was no bonus question. I will have to ask her teacher after spring break is over.

They are both playing soccer this season. Savanna had a blast last fall and Sam is old enough this Spring. Their first game is next Saturday and they are super excited. Mady felt left out, so she had to get her own *hoccer* ball. It has Dora on it.

Madalyn is doing well, too. She likes to stay home and play with me. We've been getting together a lot with my friend Tonya, and her daughter Kaytlyn, who is Mady's best friend. We've also joined a playgroup and had a few fun playdates with them.

Bryan just started nightshift again. I hate it, but it's not as bad as the last time. He works 12 hour shifts Sunday, Monday, Tuesday nights and every other Saturday. He's ok with it, I'm the one who hates it. I hate doing bedtime by myself. This week was rough, but only because the kids were on Spring Break. It will be much easier to keep Mady quiet than it was to try to keep all three of them quiet when it was rainy outside.

I'm hanging in there. Getting more uncomfortable everyday. Only 8 more weeks left. I can't wait! We're trying to get everything all set up and ready. Bryan is doing a wonderful job helping me do the things I want done and putting up with all my complaining. Plus my horrible mood swings!!!! I'm trying to get all our supplies gathered up for our homebirth. I am so excited to be having this baby at home! It's what I've always wanted.

So that's it. Maybe now I can keep up again. *sigh* Not enough hours in the day.

Sadness

Last night the beloved prophet of our church, Gordon B Hinckley, died. I'm sad because we no longer have his loving guidance. At the same time I am happy for him, he is once again reunited with his wonderful wife and his God. He will be missed!

the battered child

On Saturday I was at a baby shower an hour away and Bryan called me. He said he wasn't sure, but he thought Madalyn might have bit entirely through her bottom lip. She was in the back yard and tripped walking to the step (which is actually just a cinder block) and hit her mouth on it. She bit the inside of her bottom lip and scraped the outside of it. Mostly on the left side. So while I'm on the phone he figures out that she did not bite through her lip. Afterwards I was kinda frustrated that he would call me and tell me, without making sure first, but I suppose he panicked.

Then Sunday morning we were walking down the front steps and a little girl with us accidentally pushed her down the steps. She hurt her lips again, same side. She scraped her gums and slightly pushed one of her caps up. Possibly chipped part of her eye tooth. A friend of mine at church is a dental hygenist, so she looked at Mady's mouth to see if we needed a dental visit, luckily we don't.

She's had a very rough weekend, but she's all smiles. Here are her battle scars.