Just a few quick pics to show you all what we've been up to lately....MELTS MY HEART!
Saturday, June 23, 2012
Sunday, June 17, 2012
What's in a name?
Just a quick note to let you all know how we decided on Lena's name:
First, my grandmother (mom's mom) is named Ottolena. She has meant the world to me and has always been someone I really looked up to. When Nathan and I started talking kids names way back before we were even considering having kids, the name Lena came up. Later realizing our first child was a boy and giving him a K name, we talked and Nathan wanted the name Koralena as a K name for a girl since it would also combine my Grandma's name and it was a K name to go with Kyler. I really did NOT like Koralena and convinced Nathan to go with just Lena even though it wasn't a K name. He agreed and so Lena got her first name after her great-grandmother.
Second, Lena's middle name was a little bit more difficult. I wanted Faith because I've really had to have faith throughout this entire journey. I thought Faith was just a beautiful name, but Nathan wasn't sold. Nathan wanted Marie (even though it was my mom's name). I asked him if it would make his mother mad because we were already using Lena as her first name. He said no and that it was our decision anyways. I still wasn't sold on just Lena Marie, but I did like the idea of using Marie after my mother's name because my mom has been someone who has really been there for me through each of my miscarriages. I have always been against having huge names OR double middle names, but something about the name Lena Faith-Marie just hit me one night. I suggested to Nathan we use both middle names as sort of a compromise. He wasn't sold on that, but after a little convincing he let me use both middle names with a hyphen because I told him I wanted to be able to explain to my little girl some day where she got her name from.
So that's the story of how we came up with her name...and I'll tell you, it is the CUTEST thing in the world to hear Kyler say what his sister's name is. I think after hearing it only one time in the hospital when we told him he was saying this is my baby sister--Lena Faith-Marie, and to this day if you ask him he will tell you her entire name.
Now, I wish I could come up with names to give my angels...or rather that Nathan would let me give them names...we're still working on that one, however my angel that I lost last April was going to be named Kayden James if he was a boy (which we later found out I was right--it was a boy!) so I'm just sticking with that. For my first 2 angels, we don't know if they were boys or girls and if I suggest names or ask Nathan his opinion all he says is, well you just don't know if they were boys or girls so how can you give them names? I think I may think about it a little more before I decide on a name for sure, but I felt like my first miscarriage I was carrying a boy and the 2nd was a girl so I guess we'll see if I come up with something--or who knows, maybe I'll just come up with a "generic" boy/girl name. Either way, I guess it doesn't really matter because God knows them and they are up in heaven living with my Savior.
and here's my beautiful family on Nate & my 7th wedding anniversary just for fun!
First, my grandmother (mom's mom) is named Ottolena. She has meant the world to me and has always been someone I really looked up to. When Nathan and I started talking kids names way back before we were even considering having kids, the name Lena came up. Later realizing our first child was a boy and giving him a K name, we talked and Nathan wanted the name Koralena as a K name for a girl since it would also combine my Grandma's name and it was a K name to go with Kyler. I really did NOT like Koralena and convinced Nathan to go with just Lena even though it wasn't a K name. He agreed and so Lena got her first name after her great-grandmother.
Second, Lena's middle name was a little bit more difficult. I wanted Faith because I've really had to have faith throughout this entire journey. I thought Faith was just a beautiful name, but Nathan wasn't sold. Nathan wanted Marie (even though it was my mom's name). I asked him if it would make his mother mad because we were already using Lena as her first name. He said no and that it was our decision anyways. I still wasn't sold on just Lena Marie, but I did like the idea of using Marie after my mother's name because my mom has been someone who has really been there for me through each of my miscarriages. I have always been against having huge names OR double middle names, but something about the name Lena Faith-Marie just hit me one night. I suggested to Nathan we use both middle names as sort of a compromise. He wasn't sold on that, but after a little convincing he let me use both middle names with a hyphen because I told him I wanted to be able to explain to my little girl some day where she got her name from.
So that's the story of how we came up with her name...and I'll tell you, it is the CUTEST thing in the world to hear Kyler say what his sister's name is. I think after hearing it only one time in the hospital when we told him he was saying this is my baby sister--Lena Faith-Marie, and to this day if you ask him he will tell you her entire name.
Now, I wish I could come up with names to give my angels...or rather that Nathan would let me give them names...we're still working on that one, however my angel that I lost last April was going to be named Kayden James if he was a boy (which we later found out I was right--it was a boy!) so I'm just sticking with that. For my first 2 angels, we don't know if they were boys or girls and if I suggest names or ask Nathan his opinion all he says is, well you just don't know if they were boys or girls so how can you give them names? I think I may think about it a little more before I decide on a name for sure, but I felt like my first miscarriage I was carrying a boy and the 2nd was a girl so I guess we'll see if I come up with something--or who knows, maybe I'll just come up with a "generic" boy/girl name. Either way, I guess it doesn't really matter because God knows them and they are up in heaven living with my Savior.
and here's my beautiful family on Nate & my 7th wedding anniversary just for fun!
Our Little Lena
Ok, so I know I've taken LONG enough...and I need need NEED to post Lena's birth story before I forget...so I guess here goes nothing.
Lena was due May 20, 2012 but I was scheduled for an induction on Monday May 14th. I was to skip my evening dose of the heparin (I switched to this at 36 weeks from Lovenox) and go in to the hospital on Monday morning at 4am to get hooked up to the pitocin. Originally I was set up to be induced on Sunday evening (Mother's day) however when I saw my doc the last week of my pregnancy she said I wouldn't need the "ripening" and so she would be pushing my induction to Monday morning. Nate and I arranged for my parents to take Kyler Sunday evening and then we went out for one last "date night" kid free to Olive Garden and then we went to Target and Nate bought me a pair of pink sandals! We then came home to try to get a little rest before going in to the hospital at 4am!
The whole last few weeks of my pregnancy were pretty miserable this time around because I was so itchy from head to toe. I asked my doc about this and she said it could be something called choleostasis (sp?) which the only relief for this was delivery. Anyways, Nate and I tried to get to bed early on Sunday evening (around 9pm) but I kept tossing and turning and ITCHING! I can even remember Nate at one point saying Erin you're going to do more damage then helping the situation right now, go put on some lotion. Lotion did NOT help and so I just kept itching til finally 3am rolled around and we got up, grabbed our bags, took one last pregnant picture, fed the cats, and we were on our way by 3:30 to the hospital.
We arrived at the hospital and we got to park pretty close to the doors in the ER ramp because not many people are at the hospital that early on a Monday morning I guess. We went in and checked in at the desk and they sent us up to 3C to get all set up. Apparently my doc didn't finish filling out orders for my induction so they had to call on a lot of things and we didn't end up getting all hooked up to the pitocin and going til around 5am. The pitocin was pretty uneventful for the first little while. I was even able to watch the movie Bride Wars! Finally by about 10:00 I asked if I could at least try to labor some in the whirlpool tub since I remember this helping SO much with Kyler's birth. The nurse told me I could with the wireless monitors so she went and got them and I got in the tub. I labored for a little while til I felt a weird feeling and said I think I wanna get out of the tub now. I drained the tub and when I stood up, my water broke. I remember thinking uh-oh now the pain is REALLY gonna start, but it still wasn't horrible yet. I got out of the bathroom and was checked, but I was only to a 4. I thought oh no, this is not going to be good, however the contractions weren't right on top of each other and I could handle them.
Around 12:30 a new nurse came in to tell me that my nurse went to lunch and would be back. I told her I felt like I had to go to the bathroom so she said well let me check you first. She said I was at a 5 and at this point I remember thinking, ok I can't go any more and started debating getting an epidural. My nurse came back and I had started rocking because the contractions were really starting to hurt now. We asked my nurse about the epidurals as well as a birthing ball. She went to get one, but when she came back I just said no, I want the epidural now. Around 1:15 I was checked one last time (I was still at a 5, but FULLY effaced) and then the doc came in to give me the epidural.
After getting the epidural I was able to relax and I tried to get comfortable laying in bed. I was checked again at about 2:30 and they said they were going to go call my doc at that point to let her know to come over to the hospital. She got there, got her gown on, they broke down the bed and they had me push. I pushed once with the first contraction (which this time I could feel to push, but had NO pain!) and then the nurse asked if she should get a 2nd set of hands as well as the intern. My doc said, well you better hurry or they are gonna miss it. They came in while my doc kept saying you better hurry, you're gonna miss it, however when they were all ready, then we had to wait for another contraction to come. I pushed one more time with the next contraction and little Lena was born at 3:05pm. They placed her immediately on my chest while they waited to deliver the placenta and to stitch me up. I remember thinking man, she's got a LOT of vernix on her, but feeling her warm little body next to mine was the absolute BEST feeling in the world. All I could think was WOW! I was in awe and I kept praying and thanking God for this beautiful little gift that he had given me!
After they delivered the placenta, Nate finally asked if I was going to feed Lena (this was only about 10 minutes later, but it felt like forever!). I was like, oh yeah--almost like I had forgotten about everything else except staring at my precious little miracle. The nurse helped me position Lena and she immediately started sucking and kept going for like 10 minutes--SO different from Kyler.
After Lena finally finished sucking they took her to get her footprints done, her shots, and to get all her measurements. She weighed 7 lbs. 3.9 oz. and was 20 in. long. Shortly after all this, she had her first visitors--Big Brother Kyler and my mom and then right after that Aunt Megan, Uncle Ben, and cousin Lucas. Everyone else waited to come and visit til we were on the postpartum floor (although I felt MUCH better and LOOKED much better this time around than when I had Kyler!).
Lena is now over a month old and I just canNOT believe I have 2 kids! I take time to thank God for them daily as well as many other things. Throughout this whole experience (the miscarriages) God has taught me to be patient and to be thankful and content in all circumstances. I am so thankful for the gift I have been given in Lena Faith-Marie Studer!
Lena was due May 20, 2012 but I was scheduled for an induction on Monday May 14th. I was to skip my evening dose of the heparin (I switched to this at 36 weeks from Lovenox) and go in to the hospital on Monday morning at 4am to get hooked up to the pitocin. Originally I was set up to be induced on Sunday evening (Mother's day) however when I saw my doc the last week of my pregnancy she said I wouldn't need the "ripening" and so she would be pushing my induction to Monday morning. Nate and I arranged for my parents to take Kyler Sunday evening and then we went out for one last "date night" kid free to Olive Garden and then we went to Target and Nate bought me a pair of pink sandals! We then came home to try to get a little rest before going in to the hospital at 4am!
The whole last few weeks of my pregnancy were pretty miserable this time around because I was so itchy from head to toe. I asked my doc about this and she said it could be something called choleostasis (sp?) which the only relief for this was delivery. Anyways, Nate and I tried to get to bed early on Sunday evening (around 9pm) but I kept tossing and turning and ITCHING! I can even remember Nate at one point saying Erin you're going to do more damage then helping the situation right now, go put on some lotion. Lotion did NOT help and so I just kept itching til finally 3am rolled around and we got up, grabbed our bags, took one last pregnant picture, fed the cats, and we were on our way by 3:30 to the hospital.
We arrived at the hospital and we got to park pretty close to the doors in the ER ramp because not many people are at the hospital that early on a Monday morning I guess. We went in and checked in at the desk and they sent us up to 3C to get all set up. Apparently my doc didn't finish filling out orders for my induction so they had to call on a lot of things and we didn't end up getting all hooked up to the pitocin and going til around 5am. The pitocin was pretty uneventful for the first little while. I was even able to watch the movie Bride Wars! Finally by about 10:00 I asked if I could at least try to labor some in the whirlpool tub since I remember this helping SO much with Kyler's birth. The nurse told me I could with the wireless monitors so she went and got them and I got in the tub. I labored for a little while til I felt a weird feeling and said I think I wanna get out of the tub now. I drained the tub and when I stood up, my water broke. I remember thinking uh-oh now the pain is REALLY gonna start, but it still wasn't horrible yet. I got out of the bathroom and was checked, but I was only to a 4. I thought oh no, this is not going to be good, however the contractions weren't right on top of each other and I could handle them.
Around 12:30 a new nurse came in to tell me that my nurse went to lunch and would be back. I told her I felt like I had to go to the bathroom so she said well let me check you first. She said I was at a 5 and at this point I remember thinking, ok I can't go any more and started debating getting an epidural. My nurse came back and I had started rocking because the contractions were really starting to hurt now. We asked my nurse about the epidurals as well as a birthing ball. She went to get one, but when she came back I just said no, I want the epidural now. Around 1:15 I was checked one last time (I was still at a 5, but FULLY effaced) and then the doc came in to give me the epidural.
After getting the epidural I was able to relax and I tried to get comfortable laying in bed. I was checked again at about 2:30 and they said they were going to go call my doc at that point to let her know to come over to the hospital. She got there, got her gown on, they broke down the bed and they had me push. I pushed once with the first contraction (which this time I could feel to push, but had NO pain!) and then the nurse asked if she should get a 2nd set of hands as well as the intern. My doc said, well you better hurry or they are gonna miss it. They came in while my doc kept saying you better hurry, you're gonna miss it, however when they were all ready, then we had to wait for another contraction to come. I pushed one more time with the next contraction and little Lena was born at 3:05pm. They placed her immediately on my chest while they waited to deliver the placenta and to stitch me up. I remember thinking man, she's got a LOT of vernix on her, but feeling her warm little body next to mine was the absolute BEST feeling in the world. All I could think was WOW! I was in awe and I kept praying and thanking God for this beautiful little gift that he had given me!
After they delivered the placenta, Nate finally asked if I was going to feed Lena (this was only about 10 minutes later, but it felt like forever!). I was like, oh yeah--almost like I had forgotten about everything else except staring at my precious little miracle. The nurse helped me position Lena and she immediately started sucking and kept going for like 10 minutes--SO different from Kyler.
After Lena finally finished sucking they took her to get her footprints done, her shots, and to get all her measurements. She weighed 7 lbs. 3.9 oz. and was 20 in. long. Shortly after all this, she had her first visitors--Big Brother Kyler and my mom and then right after that Aunt Megan, Uncle Ben, and cousin Lucas. Everyone else waited to come and visit til we were on the postpartum floor (although I felt MUCH better and LOOKED much better this time around than when I had Kyler!).
Lena is now over a month old and I just canNOT believe I have 2 kids! I take time to thank God for them daily as well as many other things. Throughout this whole experience (the miscarriages) God has taught me to be patient and to be thankful and content in all circumstances. I am so thankful for the gift I have been given in Lena Faith-Marie Studer!
Friday, June 1, 2012
Just something to remember
So there are a couple things that happened yesterday that I want to make sure I NEVER forget. One was just so precious and the other one made me laugh so hard I almost peed my pants (and they both came from my son!). First the precious cute one:
- Yesterday I had my 93 year old Grandmother over just for some company. Sometimes I think it's a little hard on her getting out of the house, but I know she just adores her great-grandchildren and you can see it every time she sees them. Yesterday I was busy feeding little Lena and so Kyler asked her to read to him. I thought oh no Kyler, Gigi can't read those words, they are too small...but she said nevermind and made the words out the best she could. She may not have won any speed reading awards, but she won world's GREATEST grandma in the whole world award from me. I had to run and grab my camera it was just too precious! (I never upload photos on here cause I always forget my camera and by then the post is created, but check out my pics on facebook if you want!) I caught Gigi reading to Kyler in the kitchen. I even had a small tear in my eye.
and now, the funny laugh out loud one!... - Yesterday Kyler found a string on our back porch while playing that had 2 beads one on each end. When I looked over at him, he was trying to stick the beads in his ears. I asked him Kyler what are you doing. He replied I'm like Zackie mom! I'm listening to my music. I thought what on earth are you talking about. Well, then it clicked. Zack is our daycare lady's son and he listens to his i-pod a lot and Kyler watches him almost daily. Well anyways, I decided to say to Kyler oh, you're listening to your i-pod with your ear buds. He says yeah mom. Well then later I told him I had a pair of ear buds that he could use and to please stop putting the beads in his ears. He took them out and proceeded to ask me the entire rest of the afternoon where my i-boobs were and could he please have my i-boobs. This is for some reason the funniest thing (and maybe it's just a parent thing that all parents go through with their children--that you had to have been there sort of thing) to me and when he kept saying i-boobs I could NOT stop laughing.
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