Schafer is here!!!

 So we finally got to meet baby Schafer!!

His due date was Saturday the 18th and that came and went without event... I was having contractions though on and off even before the due date, they just weren't the kind that were doing anything!

The week after my due date I went into the doctor for two appointments and at both of them, they monitored the baby to make sure everything was alright and he was great, perfectly healthy both times.  He just really like me. :)  

So our doctor decided that if he hadn't made his appearance by Monday the 27th we should come in at 7:30am to be induced.  I really didn't want this because I didn't want pitocin to start my labor I wanted it to start on it's own.

Well on Monday morning, jimmy and I woke up and went and had breakfast at the Egg Plantation (it was amazing...) and headed to the hospital.  We were a little late so I called Labor and Delivery to let them know and the charge nurse told me that they were REALLY backed up and I would be waiting for a while since they didn't have a bed for me.  If I didn't want to wait, I could come back after lunch.  Sounded good to me so we turned around and went home. 

Jimmy and I both took a three hour nap and then woke up around 12, ate lunch and headed to the hospital at 1.  When we got there, we still had to wait for a bit to get checked in and put in a room.  We got to the room around 2:30 and I requested that the doctor break my water first to see if labor would start on it's own.  So at about 3:45 the doctor came in and checked me, I was at 2cm and so he broke my water and said he'd be back. 

I had no pain really at this time but steady contraction that really weren't doing much.  

At 8:30 I was 3.5 to 4 cm so the doc said he wanted to give me pitocin.  So by 9:00 I started having painful contractions.

I was doing fine for about 45 minutes and then the pain started to compound VERY quickly.  I had had Connor with pitocin and no epidural so I knew what to expect in the pain department.  I thought that maybe I just didn't remember well but I was hurting!  I started to tell Jimmy that this pain was different and I needed pain meds.  He was trying to be the good supportive husband and tell me that it was ok and I didn't need it, I could do this.  I was pleading with him as the pain was becoming more severe.

At 10:30 I asked for them to check me and I told Jimmy that if I wasn't at at least 6cm I was getting an epidural.  They came and checked and I was at 7cm!  This was actually NOT good news to me but that's what I said so I was going to stick with it.  I tried to keep going and went through about 2 more contractions and I started to convulse uncontrollably, sweat profusely, I couldn't open my eyes and when I did, things started to go black.  I thought, I'm going to pass out!  I kept telling Jimmy that I needed his approval and I didn't want to get pain meds without him saying it was ok but at that point, I told the nurses I needed pain medication.  They brought in the anesthesiologist but at that point, my pain wasn't stopping long enough to get it done without a contraction.  I was still shaking uncontrollably, I was pretty nervous, hoping that he'd be able to do it well.

He did a great job and got the pain medication in me.  It didn't stop my pain though.  My legs were numb and it brought my pain level down to about a 5 from a 10 which I was very grateful for and was bearable.  I got the epidural at about 11:30pm.  I was still in pain but time was passing quickly.  Schafer's heart rate kept dropping and the nurse said that this baby might have the cord wrapped around his neck as well.  They kept flipping me over from laying on my left side to my right side.  At around 1am, I was at 9cm and they had taken me off of the pitocin.  My contractions were still coming about every 3 minutes but I wasn't feeling them at all, I could only feel this dull continual pain in my abdomen.

Schafer's heart rate dropped again and this time it wasn't going back up.  The nurse said to call the doctor. She checked and I was about 9.5cm and at phase 1 but Schafer wasn't recovering very well.  Then about 5 nurses came into the room and started doing things it kind of a flurry.  The head nurse said, "Did you tell the doctor he needs to come right now!?".  Soon after that, the doctor showed up and told me that the baby needed to come out and I needed to push.  He told me to take a deep breath and push as hard as I could.  Well up until that point I hadn't tried to take a deep breath so didn't realize I couldn't!  I couldn't even push for 10 seconds as the nurse counted I could only make it to about 6 or 7 and had to take another breath to keep pushing.  She counted to ten 5 times (which should have been 5 big pushed but ended up as about 8.5 half strength ones) and Schafer came out all blue.  His color recovered quickly and he soon began to cry, which was a wonderful sound!

The little monster pooped right as he was coming out though so he was covered in poop!!!  He stunk so badly! :)  They put him on my chest and the first thing he did was grab the scissors that were holding his belly button.  This kid is boy through and through from the moment he was born!

He was 8lbs 6.2oz, 20.75" long with a 13.5 head circumference.

His hair was dark on top but blonde around the edges and his eyes were a blue/green color.

Daddy stayed with his as the nurses checked him out and got him all cleaned up.

Grandma helped give him his first bath, which he needed badly!

Schafer was SUPER alert with his eyes wide open, looking at everything, including his adoring daddy.

Grandma was pretty excited he was here! :)

I'm pretty sure I was most excited though... :)

You need to read the REST of the story to understand the pain problem... that's in Schafer Saga Part II.

The night before child #3...

This is a weird feeling because with my other two children, I didn't know when I was going to go into labor so there wasn't the nostalgic feeling of after tomorrow, life won't be the same; I'm feeling that right now.

If I don't go into labor tonight they are going to induce me at 7:30am, I'll be 9 days overdue... ugh!

Tonight was a special night.

The boys and I ate dinner together and then we made cookies and iced them :).  I wanted to do something fun with them before tomorrow and mommy is otherwise occupied with a wee one for a while.  Not that we'll stop doing fun things but I'm gonna be busy adjusting for a little bit.

They have been giving me hugs and snuggles all day and it has been wonderful.  They are so excited for baby Schafer to come out and meet them!  Connor understands exactly what's about to happen but Vale only kinda gets it.  He keeps asking if baby Schafer is going to come out so he can play with him. :)

Connor prayed tonight for our dinner and when he was done and we started to eat he suddenly exclaimed, "I forgot to pray for baby Schafer!"  I told him he could pray again if he wanted and what followed was one of the most precious things that I've experienced as a mom.  I just listened as he prayed for 5 minutes with tears running down my face... What a sweet boy with a tender heart, so concerned for the baby and for mommy; as I have the baby and he grows.  He prayed that baby Schafer would be born safe and healthy and not cry too much when he born. He prayed that mommy would be safe and not scream too much cause it hurts when the baby is coming out.  He prayed that vale would be gentle with baby Schafer and that he wouldn't hit, punch or step on him.  He prayed that God would keep Connor from playing rough around the baby and that he would teach him all the things he needs to know like how to climb the stairs, swing on ropes and be tough so Schafer can play with he and Vale.  It was so genuine and from the heart, he is such a good boy.  These things were NOT prodded at all by me and I have no idea how he knows that it will hurt me when the baby comes out.  It was such a good example to me of coming to the Lord with faith like a child, of just telling him the things that are on your mind or concern you, not with flowery language but from the heart with simplistic faith that He will hear you.

I read them about 6 books tonight before they went to bed, knowing that those times are precious and in the busyness to come might not be as frequent as they are now.

I'm telling you, I don't deserve such good boys!  God has blessed me far more than I deserve and I am so very grateful for it!

It's a new year!!!

 There are a couple things that you have to get used to as a mom with little boys... weapons, strange noises, bugs and animals, bathroom talk... and fireworks.

We got them these little firecracker popper things for new years and boy were they a hit!!!

Dad was the distributor and he couldn't hand them out fast enough!

Best $1 I've spent in a long time! :)

 We have to teach them NOW to be responsible and hopefully we will avoid really big stupid mistakes when they are older...

It's been so nice having daddy home!! It's funny cause it feels like vacation when all he has to do is work his job instead of job and school! :)

Daddy was teaching the boys to play baseball and it was so cute!

We taught Connor about the bases and he LOVED the fact that not only did he get to hit the ball but THEN he got to RUN!  AWESOME! :)

This face cracks me up!

My boys love to play and I love it that they are so active!

Both of my little monkeys are climbing fiends!

Connor wanted to do everything by himself... 

but sometimes he needed a little help...

Jimmy taught Connor how to shave with a little kid razor that he got for Christmas... soooo cute!

Lathered him up and taught him all the tricks to not get it in your mouth! :)

Connor was so excited, it was beyond adorable. Jimmy is such a good dad! :)

Self-Esteem...

I'm going to get on a soap box for a second... so just ignore my rant if you don't want to hear it.

I really hate the concept of self esteem.

Self esteem, as defined by webster, is: a confidence and satisfaction in oneself.

Is it just me or does that seem like a horribly unbiblical concept!

 

Are we not supposed to be finding our confidence and satisfaction in CHRIST?  

Are we not suppose to think less about ourselves and more about Christ and others?

 

Philippians 2 says: "³ Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. ⁴ Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ⁵ Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. ⁸ And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

 Also, from a logical point of view, why would I want my children to find their security and confidence in something/someone who is imperfect and WILL without a doubt, one day fail them?!  If you are relying on yourself for a foundation you are bound to be disappointed.  There will be something, someday that you can not do for yourself or can not achieve; I would be setting my children up for failure in teaching them to rely solely on themselves for a sense of confidence.  

I want my children to find their confidence and satisfaction in Christ, who is perfect and will never fail them.  He is consistent, all powerful and has their best interest in mind at all times, which is HIS glory.  The sooner that they learn that life is NOT all about them and their personal search for self satisfaction, the happier they are going to be.

To paraphrase what the little kids song based on Matt 7 says, the wise man built his house upon the rock and the house stood firm but the foolish man built his house upon the sand and the house on the sand went splat!  My children need to build their little personal houses on the rock that will stand firm and consistent, not their own self-esteem, which has the large possibility of going 'splat'...  

So when I hear a local lady say that her teenage daughter is suffering from a lack of self-esteem I want to scream 'You've got it all wrong!  She doesn't need to be esteeming herself more she needs to be finding her identity in CHRIST and seeing herself how God sees her!'

When you teach your children that an all knowing God loves them no matter what they can or can not do and He made them exactly how he wanted them to be, a lack of talent in a certain area might be disappointing but is ok because He has something planned for their lives.  When they understand that no matter how they fail, disappoint, blow it, fall short or sin God still loves them as much as He did before their human nature came shining through rearranging their expectations, it is easier to repent, rebound and redirect to a new course which God has given.  When you can rely on the sovereign, all knowing knowledge of a perfect God who wants you to succeed in glorifying Himself it is easier to let go of the way that YOU think things should go and allow Him to move in your life.

Those are the things that will give you 'confidence' and 'satisfaction'... not self-esteem.