Bubba's Birthday

Somehow it’s been 6 years since Niels joined our family. How the years have flown. He was born about 8 weeks after I turned 30, in our last few months of medical school. He was a tough baby...he didn’t sleep well for the first year, but once he turned one and started sleeping well, he has been the best kid ever. I remember when he was 2 he would come up and hug me about 60 times a day. This boy...he is wonderfully tender hearted. He rushes into my room every morning at 6:00 to snuggle me. He asks what we will do that day, makes a plan about what he’ll eat for breakfast, and helps me get out of bed to go exercise. He loves to obey, and when I do have to scold him, he sincerely feels bad for disobeying. He always wants to finish his school work first thing in the morning, partly so he can then play learning games, but also because he really love math and reading.

He loves all things army/Air Force/navy related right now, so finding gifts for him is pretty easy. Grandma and Grandpa Iverson sent us Paul’s old Mega Force toys and Micro Machines. They (of course Anders assumes they are his) loved them so much they haven’t asked to watch TV for a week...they are constantly playing them.

Ane Chick-fil-a somehow managed to be his birthday meal choice.

I actually had a lot of fun making this cake. Thanks to the internet for lots of ideas that I threw together to make it work.

We love you Niels! You're the sweetest boy a mother could have!

Surgery, birth, and baby naming

Being that my first 3 kids were born c-section, with #4, it was scheduled from the beginning. I must admit, it was nice knowing that no matter what happened, by April 22nd, I wouldn't be pregnant anymore. 

Not that anyone even wants to know these details, but for my own sake, and for my kids, here's the story:

On Monday evening, my mother flew in from Boise, just 13 hours before the surgery was scheduled. We woke up the next morning, showered, fed the kids breakfast, and left for the hospital. I really felt gigantic this time around. I mean huge. People started asking me how many more days when I still had 7 weeks left. I had been pretty uncomfortable for the last two months and I was oh so very ready for a c-section. I wasn't nervous at all...although this was going to be my 4th hospital, in my 4th state, with my 4th doctor, and while procedures do vary a little from hospital to hospital, the basics were the same. I told the nurses I was a tough stick (they poked me 7 or 8 times before they got a good line in when I had Niels) and I was determined that wouldn't happen again. And, gratefully, one poke was all it took. That alone alleviated any worries I may have had. They got me all prepped for surgery, and then we waited an hour. What the hold up was, I don't know, but I was just antsy to get started.

Finally I was whisked away to the OR. Anesthesiologist gave me the spinal, I laid down, and the nurses took over, attaching monitors all over. Paul eventually came in, and once they verified that I was completely numb, it all started. The anesthesiologist told me that if I didn't feel well to tell him, since I would feel a change in blood pressure faster than his monitors could tell him. At one point I had a moment of dizziness and difficulty breathing...so I told the anesthesiologist, he gave me some drugs to my IV, and in a few minutes I felt like normal. The wonders of medicine :)

Every time I've done this, I'm surprised how long it takes to actually get the baby out. For some reason I think it should be instant...and I suppose in emergent cases, they are able to go in very fast. But as long as mother and baby are okay, the doctors take their time. Which is good. They carefully cut through all fascia, clear up adhesions, and do their thing, taking their time to be careful. So about 15 minutes after starting, they were ready to take out the baby. Quickly, the baby's left hand shot out! I guess he was done with this pregnancy too! They pushed it back in, but he kept trying to punch his way out. Sadly, he was transverse, or sideways in my tummy, so they had to push and pull and twist a lot more than they normally do. In the past, I have felt the doctors pulling on me a bit, and have felt a lot of "pressure" as they pull the baby out, but nothing terribly painful or memorable. This time, I felt like I was being pulled right and left and jostled all over the table while they tried to pull him out. It felt like a full 3 or 4 minutes that they battled with the baby before he finally turned head down and came out. I felt like I had been beat up a bit...they had to cut my uterus a little more in order to flip him and help him out. But alas, he came. He had a bit of trouble breathing at first, but all was quickly normal. Born at 11:09 am, he weighed 8 pounds 10.8 ounces and was 21 inches long.

Paul and the baby sat with me a bit while the doctors started to clean me up. Again, this part always takes longer than I remember. I timed it this time and it took 50 minutes from when he was born to when they wheeled me out of the OR. Again, I'm glad that doctors take their time and don't hurry things along. Take all the time you need in stitching me up!

We got to hang out in the recovery room for an hour while my legs slowly regained a little (very little) bit of feeling. And I got to hold him for the first time. Oops. We didn't get a picture of that.

That afternoon my mom brought the kids to see him. They all loved him immediately, especially Niels, who we feared may have some problems being displaced as the baby.

I stayed in the hospital two nights, although I felt good enough to go home earlier. I really had an easy recovery. I felt great physically, and didn't have a hard time moving like I have with previous c-sections. And with my mom around to help, life at home was pretty relaxed and easy.

The only problem was the name. For the two months leading up to his birth, we had considered Erik and Dane. I really wanted his middle name to be Steven, after Paul's dad, and Paul wanted his middle name to be Thor. One of us had to budge, so about a month before birth, Paul agreed to Steven. But it was still a battle between Erik and Dane. Anna wanted Dane, because with her speech impediment, she couldn't say Erik (it came out Erit). And Hattie wanted Erik...probably just to pick something different than Anna.  I vacillated between the two from day to day, as did Paul.

On the way to the hospital on Tuesday morning, I said to Paul, "I guess I'm not totally against Anders. I still think it's a great name (we had considered it for Niels) but I don't love how it sounds with Iverson." I went on to mention a handful of other names we had discussed that I wasn't wholly against.

So fast-forward to Wednesday afternoon when Paul came to visit me and the baby after work. He said, "You know, I think I like Anders more than anything." Funny thing was, I was going to say the same thing. All day on Wednesday while I was alone with the baby, I tried calling him Erik and Dane. And I just wasn't feeling it. And for some reason, Anders fit. I can't really explain it. It wasn't really an overwhelming feeling...just that we liked Anders...it seemed to have a bit more personality to it. So despite the fact that I still don't love the sound of Anders Iverson, we started to call him that. We called him that for about a week before I finally called the name registry office to make it official. Sometimes I still have moments where I ask myself, "Did I really just name my son Anders? Are people going to think we are weird-os who have to have crazy creative names? Will he like his name as he grows up?" And it seems that most peoples' reaction is either something along the lines of "That is an awesome name!" or a simple, polite, "Oh," with a half grin.

We love our little newborn, and are relishing in the weeks in which he stays a newborn. They change and grow so fast! He sleeps quite well, and is generally a pretty good baby. The kids can't get enough of him. Anna always wants to hold him, Hattie always asks to see "his cute little face," and Niels gives him about 80 snuggles a day.

Catch up: February

February started with our little boy turning 2. He really is such a doll. 90% of the time, he is the best kid a parent could ask for. He talks a ton, and has a bigger vocab than I remember my girls having at this age. He loves his sisters and wants to do what they do. He loves cars, planes, trucks, tractors, etc. And he can run...fast. Keeping up with him at church/store/park is almost impossible for me. I usually have to send Hattie to chase him down and tackle him before he gets himself hurt. He certainly can throw a decent tantrum, but hopefully we can nip those in the bud before too long.

The girls enjoyed frosting the cupcakes, but sadly, the frosting recipe was kind of gross, so we mostly just wiped it off and ate the very yummy cupcakes.

Niels loved the attention and the gifts.

 And still loves to close his eyes while smiling.

 He is also a book lover. I don't remember my girls loving to read books when they were two, but this boy could be read to for hours...as long as they are truck books or rhyme a lot.

 I hosted a valentine's day party for some friends at church...they decorated their mailboxes, then cupcakes. A big mess, but lots of fun. Don't worry...I didn't make the frosting this time, so it was yummy.

 Like I said in my post about California, Paul had a lot of vacation to use during January, February, and March, so we took off on a Sunday afternoon for Wisconsin Dells.  It's the indoor water park capital of the world. Our hotel had 4 indoor water parks we could use (and in the summer there are numerous outdoor ones as well) and admission is included in the room rental rate. We loved it. We went last year for one night and we are definitely going every winter. It's a great getaway, because you get to swim, be warm, stay inside, and you almost forget how cold it is up here.

 Paul and the girls did a ropes course. The girls were pretty nervous, a few tears were shed, prayers were said, but in the end, they didn't hate it...and it was a good experience for them...I think :)

But of course, the highlight was the endless swimming and slides. It would have been nice not to be pregnant, but it was easier than having a newborn with me!

Anna and Hattie did these slides a million times it seemed.

Niels was on cloud nine...

...and they couldn't get enough of the wave pool...you can see Anna in the distance in a purple suit and Hattie in a red on. All in all, a great family getaway!

Annual trip to Oregon: Anna's birthday

While my kids are young, I love having their birthdays at Grandma's house. That way they get a party with nearly 30 guests, but I don't have to plan too much or send out invitations. Just a house full of cousins. Anna felt like the star all day. I can't believe it was four years ago that she came 6 weeks early while visiting Grandma's house. She was so tiny then, and is such a big girl now.

All she really wanted for her party was a pinata. And boy, she got a pinata! This thing was huge, and pretty cheap. She loved it.

She helped decorate the cake...I think you can guess which Reese's pieces she added.

Hattie was pretty distraught that I didn't get any party hats for Anna's big day, so with Hattie's creativity, and my mom's skills, they made hats for those who wanted them.

We got all the cousins lined up in a row - minus the Castletons who were back in AZ :(. We kept Niels out til the last minute and added babies in strollers at the end.

Even Niels took a turn.

Anna really knows how to ham it up. When she opened the Stuffie from Hattie (the one gift she consistently asked for), she pulled this face:

Noticing the reaction that she got from everyone, she continued to exaggerate her excitement with each following gift. Notice her gigantic eyes:

By the end, we weren't laughing at her as much but she still continued to nearly go into shock with every present.

For another game, we played Don't Eat Pete...it'll be a new favorite at our house.

Hattie wrote this card for Anna...but it uploaded sideways...lean to the right and you'll read: "Birthdays come but you are sweeter Anna." I love my tender-hearted, loving Hattie!

Anna really is such a hoot. She has so much personality. She makes everyone laugh. She has gigantic big eyes. She has such a funny way of talking that we love (although now we are going to take her to a speech therapist). She always wants to snuggle first thing in the morning before anything else. She truly enjoys playing with Niels. And she and Hattie create all kinds of worlds together. She is a marvelous second child who really makes us so happy. We love you Anna!