Finding Time for Everything

Since Sam was born, I have been having a terrible time fitting in one of the most important things for the mother of three boys, clearning the house. This has become even more difficult since I went back to work, and since we entered the ConAgra tax season. Poor Jeff works TERRIBLY long hours during the months of January, February, and March. Usually he is awesome about helping me divide up chores so one of us doesn't have to do everything, but during this time of the year, not only do I mostly have the kids by myself, I also have the cleaning mostly to myself.

Luckily, my awesome friend Christi came to my rescue (again!) and sent me the name of a website called Motivated Moms. They make a planner that shows you how to break cleaning into 4-5 small, manageable tasks per day. I love that they remind you to do things I never think of, like wash the shower curtains. I feel so much better about myself, and my house! So much less guilt. THANK YOU CHRISTI!

Welcome to the World Joel!

I had the incredible honor Saturday of being present at the birth of Joel Norman Koch. It was the most amazing experience of my life, almost more exciting than the births of my own kids! I can't even put into words how beautiful, emotional, and incredible it was. I am so grateful to Christi and Adam for letting me help them welcome their new baby boy to the world. He is absolutely adorable...I don't think he looks very much like Alyssa when she was a newborn, but I do think he has Adam's ears. He is just precious. I also got to witness his first "boy" moment with Adam. The nurse had him in the warmer, and Adam was standing near taking pictures, when Joel did his first fountain pee over the side of the warmer, just missing his father.

I can't wait to watch this new little one grow up!

Fun and Games at the Pediatrician's Office

Today I was brave (or stupid) and took both of the babies into the doctor at the same time. Charlie went for his 12 month check, and Sam for his 2 month check. What an adventure! Thank God Evan was there to help, as the visit involved 9 shots between the two, much crying and screaming, and much heavy lifting by me as I had to carry both Sam and Charlie around at the same time without the aid of the stroller. As a reward to me for surviving, to Evan for helping, and to Charlie for getting through 4 shots, we went to Runza and picked up lunch. (We had a half day at school).

Sam is now 15 pounds, and 23 3/4 inches. Charlie is 26 pounds, 32 inches. Both boys are in the 98% for height and weight. Dr. Byrne mentioned he felt sorry for us with our food bill when the boys are teenagers. I had to agree it will probably be horrible. Sam has amazingly not yet developed eczyma, the only one out of the three to not have problems with it by 2 months of age. He also hasn't gotten cradle cap yet, so Dr. Byrne says that might indicate he will have less skin and allergy problems (glory hallelujah!!) Charlie has been on an antibiotic for the last two weeks for his sinus infection that never goes away. I knew it hadn't helped his nose again as it is still green and gooey, but I was surprised to learn that he also has developed a double ear infection. So much for Omnicef. We are back on Augmentin. Charlie has been on CONSTANT antibiotics for the last 4 months, and it is getting pretty depressing, not to mention expensive.

Sam has also been sleeping through the night lately, which has been awesome, but Dr. Byrne also said that indicates he is fully capable of making it through the night without a feeding. So, he wants us to do the "fuss it out" routine with him at night if he wakes up, so he doesn't get back in the habbit of eating during the night. I am SOOOO excited about this! I can't wait to have my nights back to myself again, and it is such a relief to know that I am done with during the night feedings!!!!

Charlie and Sam Share Their First Male Bonding Moment

On Saturday I had a brief glimpse of what life is going to be like being the only girl in a house with four boys. I was holding Sam on my lap on the floor, and Charlie was sitting right next to us, and he was holding Sam's hands (Charlie loves to give him hugs, kisses, you name it). All of a sudden Sam (who can burp and fart like the rudest biggest truck driver you can imagaine) let out a HUMONGOUS toot. Charlie looked at Sam, and then he completely CRACKED UP. He laughed so hard he had tears coming out the corners of his eyes. Sam actually smiled back at him. The testosterone based sense of humor must start right after birth.

Hilarious Harlan High

I was talking with Jeff last night (which was actually quite nice...it was the first time since Sam was born that all the kids were down for the count by 9:00 and we actually had "us" time) and he was telling me about this hilarious tidbit of information....in high school his principal was named Mr. Klinkefuss, and get this-the assistant principal was named Miss Kumm! With names like those, I would have strayed far from the education field. I laughed for about 5 minutes!

Charlie is a Big Boy

Charlie celebrated his 1st birthday on Wednesday. He brought chocolate chip cookies to school to share with his friends, who sang him happy birthday. He got to pick out the activity for the day, and he didn't have to pick up toys (he's not real great at this anyway). At home, we had his favorites for dinner (hot dogs, tater tots, and carrots). Jeff even made it home a little after 7 to spend some time with him on his birthday, which was nice. I can't believe it has been a year already! He is really taking off with walking. It is so strange to see him toddling across the floor. You can tell he is really proud of himself about it!


Charlie went in to the doctor yet again yesterday for another sinus infection. We talked for a bit with an ENT who suggested he have his adenoids out at 2 years, but until then there isn't much to do besides antibiotics and riding out the infections.


In Sam news, he has slept through the night for the past THREE nights! (He sleeps from 9 at night to about 5:00 in the morning). I have no idea why he is doing this...I wish I could pinpoint something I am doing to make sure he keeps it up! It has been a lot easier going to work with more sleep this week.

Crazy, Crazy, Craziness

I don't know if I will ever recover from going back to work on Thursday. My job is such an active one where I am on my feet and moving all day long that I am absolutely pooped by the time 3:00 roles around. And then after that I still have to clean up my room and head down to daycare where I have the insurmountable task of dressing Sam and Charlie like Eskimos and carting all three boys out of school. (Thank God for my baby product for the week...it's called a Bundle Me and it attaches to infant car seats so that they don't have to wear a traditional coat.) We have a double stroller now so at least I don't have to carry both of them at the same time, but it's still quite the experience. I also made the stupid decision to have Sam's Baptism and Charlie's First Birthday party today, when I really just wanted to veg (I should have had it next weekend, or even when I was still on maternity leave). We kept it really small with just grandparents and aunts and uncles, no decorations or anything, and just food prepared all by Sam's and not by me (thank God!). It ended up being nice and pretty stress free, but even so, it was very tiring. Everything seems to require 20x the energy lately. I thought back this morning to Evan's first party and how bananas I went on it. We had TONS of people over, a HUGE dinner including expensive polish sausage from Stoysich, decorations everywhere, the works. I feel bad sometimes for Sam especially that he kind of gets the dregs of things, but maybe kids don't need all of that hoopla anyway. Charlie still had fun smashing cake all over himself, and playing with new toys. Someday they both may hate me for combining the two events and not giving them separate celebrations, or for not going all out on things, but I guess I have to do what I can with the energy/time/funds that I have to work with at the time.

In Charlie news, he really started taking off walking today. He took his first steps on the 22nd of December, but he waited until today to really start getting confidence and going everywhere. He is so cute to watch! He is also teething his one year molars which makes him pretty unbearable sometimes. I am a little discouraged about his sinuses. He has been off of antibiotics for 7 days, and like clockwork, he is getting sick again with a cough and goopy nose and eyes. I cannot keep him healthy! Looks like we will be back to the doctor next week.

6 Week Check

I went in for my 6 week check, and I had some happy news...I have lost 31 pounds since Sam was born. Okay, so most of that was baby stuff I guess, but still, how many times does someone tell you that you've lost 31 pounds in 6 weeks!! I only have 5 more to go before I am back to my pre-Charlie weight. Not bad for someone who has had 2 ten pound babies in a year!! Of course, I am not anywhere near my pre-Charlie shape, but who knows if I'll ever see that again. I have to take the good news where I can get it.

It is back to the real world/normal life (if I even have one any more) tomorrow. I am so nervous that Sam won't sleep tonight and I will be a zombie tomorrow!!! I did something this morning I swore I would never do...I put cereal in Sam's bottle. I know you aren't supposed to yet at this age, but he wants to eat CONSTANTLY and this is part of his problem at night. Everyone over 50 and one girl our age that Jeff works with keep telling me they did it, it helped, and to try it. So, I broke down and did it. He has been remarkably calm today. We'll see if it helps tonight. That's all I'm hoping for, especially since Charlie is working on getting in his one year molars and is an absolute beast.

Warning...Girl Stuff Ahead...

I am so PUMPED! And I never EVER thought I would say this, but I got my period last week and I was SO EXCITED! After two years of being preggo, this is a major accomplishment for me. I have never been so glad to have this week in my life. I just felt so "normal" me again. With my crazy cycles, I hadn't had one in 22 months. Anyway, just had to share! Sorry Adam...


In other news, I go back to work on Thursday. I am actually kind of excited to get dressed up in the morning (instead of never changing out of my pajamas) and have a normal schedule again. I was going through my closet today seeing what I fit into again, and it was almost like going shopping! I haven't worn this stuff in so long I don't even remember it. The only thing I am worried about is being a zombie, since Sam is the worst sleeper ever. Prayers in this direction would be greatly appreciated!!!

I have just spent the holiday season discovering from visiting relatives how much I annoy them. I have just been told by various other people in my immediate family and in my household how I annoy them. I feel completely taken apart, and like I need to stay away from everyone. Somehow without intending too, I make everyone around me miserable. I feel worthless. Happy 2007 to me! My resolution is to discover how to become a quiet mouse.

The Christmas from Hell

This Christmas is turning out to be AWFUL. I am recovering from bronchitis. Charlie has a double ear infection, sinus infection, eye infection, and bronchitis. This means he screams and cries all the time. Sam has taken to not sleeping at night. Jeff and I are going stir crazy and are sick of looking at the same walls and hearing the same cries. Jeff is being his usual rock star self and is shooing me out of the house tonight with just Evan to spend Christmas Eve with my family while he is staying home with both babies. How did I get sd lucky to have such an awesome husband? I can't wait to get past this holiday and on to next year. I can't wait for my kids to be older. I can't wait for them to be HEALTHY!!! I can't wait to sleep again. UGH.

Unbelievable

I was feeding Sam in the living room at about 5:15 this morning, when someone began ringing the doorbell repeatedly. When I went to the window by the door, I saw a Douglas County Sheriff's Officer outside. Apparently a group of silly teenagers were going through our neighborhood breaking out the windows of cars parked outside by throwing rocks at them. Jeff's car had been parked outside, and they had broken out the rear and driver's side windows. There was body damage as well from the rock. We filed a police report with the officer working on our street and luckily, the windows are replaced already. The company came out and fixed things right at ConAgra which was great. However, it's just one more disaster before Christmas. Some gremlin has it out for the Kleffman family!

Aren't They Cute?

My New So Called Life

Sam is two weeks old today. In some ways I can hardly believe he has only been here for two weeks, and in others that it has been that long. I really felt more like myself physically yesterday and Saturday, so I got a lot done around the house (well, a lot for having two babies around), I took Evan and Charlie to Walmart, returned a stroller to Christi, and ventured out of the house for the first time with all three kids to have dinner at my parent's house. By Sunday night, I was paying for it!! I REALLY overdid it, so today Sam and I are laying low trying to recover.

I am starting to get the hang of dealing with everyone at once. Things aren't always smooth, but at least everyone gets fed, diapered, and bathed, with some love in between. I think I will be able to make it through the next year.

The day I got released from the hospital, I can't tell you how many people told me that God doesn't give you any more than you can handle. I must be Superwoman because God thinks that on top of the two infants and Evan I care for, that I can handle a broken washing machine and a broken microwave. At the same time. What does He know that I don't?

Sam's Birth Story

It all started out on Sunday evening November 26th. We had had such a normal day that if you had told me that morning I would be going into labor I would have laughed at you!! We went out to breakfast with my parents, I went grocery shopping, and that afternoon I sent Jeff out of the house to get some “without children” time. That turned out to be fortunate! I spent some time alone with the boys and then we headed over to my parent’s house for our weekly family dinner. I didn’t feel too hungry, which I guess was a sign, and luckily didn’t eat too much. I wasn’t even really having any contractions, which was strange because I had been having terrible ones for weeks. Anyway, I got home, gave Charlie a bath, and put the boys to bed. I took a shower, and sat down on the couch next to Jeff for what I thought would be a little bit before turning in early for work the next morning. As soon as I sat down, I had a pretty good contraction, but that wasn’t unusual, so I ignored it. We watched Days of Our Lives (on Soapnet) and I noticed that they weren’t going away. Still not unusual, but I started timing them for the heck of it, and they were six minutes apart. I got up to use the bathroom to see if they would stop, and when I sat down they got worse. I decided not to go to bed yet, and see what happened. By halfway through the second espisode, I was curled up next to Jeff having to breathe through them. By then I was starting to get a little nervous, because this was not in my game plan for the week! Jeff suggested I go lay down and try to get some sleep, since this had made them stop in the past. So, I laid down, and then they went to every 4 minutes, and got a bit stronger. Jeff convinced me to call the doctor at 11:30, who suggested I go in to the hospital to be monitored for an hour. Me, being the stubborn person I am, thought, I am not going into the hospital until I am sure I am not going to be sent home!!! So, I sent Jeff to bed and went into the living room to walk around to see what would happen. By 12:30 I had to sit down through them, and I finally called my parents and said “I think it’s time!!” (The first time I have had the opportunity to say this!) They rushed over, Jeff and I threw stuff in our hospital bag, which I stupidly had still not packed, and then I sat down on the couch and cried. Partly from pain, but a lot from nerves. My parents arrived at 1:15, and my dad stayed at the house with the boys while they slept and Jeff and my Mom and I headed for the hospital. Jeff is the most careful driver I know, and on the way he even went past the speed limit and turned left on a red arrow. He must have been nervous too. We got all checked into the hospital through the emergency entrance and then they put me on the monitors. They had to work for about an hour and a half to get my IV started. They said I have crooked veins, which apparently makes things really difficult. They tried 6 different times, and each time they blew the vein out (painful!) so they finally called the house supervisor. She was pretty cocky, but at least she got my IV started. When I got to the hospital I was at 7 cm dialated, but Sam’s head was still really posterior. We found out later that this was because he was being cushioned by a large pocket of amniotic fluid, and he couldn’t move down. They decided to keep me since I was so far dialated, but I don’t think I believed them until I was actually pushing. I remember asking over and over again if they were going to send me home. Because Sam was still so high up, he was able to move around quite a bit, and wouldn’t stay on the heart monitor (they need to monitor the baby’s heartbeat for 20 minutes out of every hour). So, I only got to walk around for about 40 minutes with my mom in the hallway from about 4:00-4:40. I feel so much better standing up in labor, so this was hard for me. I had to stay in bed the rest of the time so they could fiddle with the monitor. Most of the time a nurse had to hold it in the right spot. At 7:00 the doctor on call came in to check me and I was then dialated to 9 cm, but Sam’s head hadn’t come down any, and the contractions weren’t as strong as when I had first come in. He also told me that my regular OB was off for the day, and that Dr. Eric Shulte would be delivering Sam. I was so disappointed! When I heard his head hadn’t come down any, I got really scared, because I am terrified of having a c-section. I asked for pitocin to help with contractions, and then I asked for the epidural. I knew it wouldn’t get any better until I had some pain relief down there. His head was so high, I couldn’t even stand for them to break my water. I had my mom call Christi about then. I hadn’t wanted to wake anyone up during the middle of the night. Poor Jeff was just exhausted. Neither of us had gotten any sleep that night. The epidural was probably the worst part. By this time, I was feeling pretty frustrated, since so many things had been like a comedy of errors. Jeff got me through them putting in the needle. I really cried for this part, and thank goodness I have an all star husband. He is such a rock for delivery. As soon as it took effect, they broke my water, and thankfully his head starting moving down right away. I had talked with the anesthesiologist about my extreme sensitivity to epidural’s, but as usual, he didn’t believe me and insisted on giving me the regular dose. So, about 45 minutes after it started, my blood pressure dropped really low, and I started feeling like I was going to pass out. Luckily Christi arrived about then, and I felt so much better just knowing she was there. It was so great to talk to her and distract myself, which helped a lot since my blood pressure dropped three different times causing me to vomit, and for them to need to give me a medication that increased my hear rate. Finally the dumb doctor believed me, and he turned it down to the lowest dose possible. This turned out to be fantastic. I wish I had had an epidural like this each time. It was just enough to cut out a lot of the pain, but I was still feeling everything, and I was still in control. By 10:45, I was ready to push. The nurse had me do 2 practice pushes, and she realized he was going to come fast, so she called the doctor, but he was finishing with a patient, so I had to breathe through about 4 or 5 contractions before he arrived without pushing. This was SOOO hard to do!!! I had this incredible need to push and everyone was telling me to wait. Argh! Luckily, once again Jeff was my rock, and got me through it. As soon as the doctor slid in, 6 pushes and Sam was out. It was a little surreal for me, as there was this metallic panel in the ceiling above my bed, which had something to do with the lights, but reflected everything to me like a mirror. I was able to see everything, and I’ve never wanted to watch before. It was really neat though. Sam’s head is perfectly round, so that part was tough, but it was so neat to see him being brought into the world. They put him on my chest as soon as he was born, and I finally knew that this little boy would steal my heart just like my other two. I think I said something dumb like “I DO like him!!” I had been so worried I wouldn’t. I did have to get the episiotomy to get his head through, but otherwise, no tearing or anything. Another special part of Sam’s birth was that Evan was here for this one. He came with my dad at about 8:00, and he was so sweet! He couched me through the whole thing, and kept saying “You’re doing such a good job Mom! Here he comes!” Afterwards, he stood next to my bed and gave me a kiss and said “He’s just beautiful Mom!” What a sweet child. I will always remember Jeff and Evan standing next to Sam in the baby warmer looking at the newest member of our family. I love my boys so much!

The Nursery

I thought I would post some pictures of our finished nursery for the babies. The theme is frog princes, which I thought was perfect for my little princes!

37 Weeks

I realized that I haven't posted any preggo pictures this time around (actually I haven't taken many this time around) so I thought I would gross all of you out with this doozy! This is me at 37 weeks with my 3rd child (GOSH it feels weird to say that!).

I went back to work for full days on Monday, and immediately regretted the decision. I was okay in the mornings, but by the afternoons I was in so much pain I was ready to perform a c-section on myself with a pair of blunt scissors! Next week I will be doing half days in the mornings, and then the next week is the big day! Unless Sam has other plans. Knowing this may be my last time being pregnant, I thought I would be really sad here at the end, by God is making it easier to give up this state of being by providing me with some EXTREME discomfort.

D-Day

Sorry to bore all of you with the mundane details of my doctor's appointments, but that is really all that is going on in my life, and it is all my hormone overloaded brain can think about.

I went back yet again on Friday to the doctor. It was Evan's worst nightmare come true. Evan came home from school on Thursday with a 102.5 degree fever, and so he had to stay home from school on Friday. I couldn't miss the appointment, so I had to take him with me. He has been to many appointments before to listen to the heartbeat, etc. but he has never been to one (for obvious reasons) where they have had to check out the down below parts. He sat in a chair by my head while all the excitement went on, but I could hear him whispering to himself "I can't BELIEVE this!" I have officially scarred my child for life.

The doctor agreed to let me try work again on Monday and Tuesday (we only have a two day week because of the holiday). If I can handle it, she will let me work the week after Thanksgiving too. At this point, if I go into labor, everythings a go. She did want to schedule an induction early the week after Thanksgiving, but we negotiated, and she let me pick the 6th of December. So if things don't happen on their own before that, the 6tth (St. Nicholas Day) is D-Day. The most important thing that happened though was that I finally got up enough courage to be honest with the doctor and talk to her about post-partum depression. I had what I knew was a bigger dose of the baby blues after Charlie than was normal, but I had felt like it was going away when I got pregnant with Sam. Things went downhill from there. It was really bad over the summer, and it really affected my marriage and my relationship with my kids. I felt a bit better once school started, but things have really been bad again over the last couple of weeks. I mean really bad. I was so embarrassed to admit it to anyone, even the doctor. I was scared too, because it makes me nervous to have anything on my medical records about mental instabililty in case anything ever went wrong with Dan again, but I knew I was at the breaking point. Have you ever read the book The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood? (If not you should, it is EXCELLENT). In it the main character Vivi describes a motherhood mental breakdown, which she calls "dropping her basket". At one point she runs away from her family for several days and dissapears. I was never able to understand this aspect of her character. Then one Saturday a couple of weeks ago, I was running an errand without the kids in the car, and I had the strongest urge to just keep driving, and leave everyone behind. Later in the day, I just lost it for no good reason and was so depressed I can't even describe it. Ironically, one of the first thoughts that popped into my mind was "You're about to drop your basket!" which scared me to death. So, after an honest and supportive discussion with Jeff, I spilled my guts to the doctor in a big tear fest. She thought I was definitely dealing with a moderate case of post-partum depression, and she reccomended treatment immediately, since it would only get worse after Sam is born, which was another of my worries. So, I have just started an anti-depressent. I feel so much better talking to people about it and admitting it here, that I wish I had done it sooner, but hind sight is 20/20 right? I would give anything to feel normal, and get "myself" back, and I am so hopeful that this will work.

Today was also a big day for Evan...he made his First Reconciliation- the first step to making his First Communion in March. He was so excited (and nervous)and I was so proud of him as he completed this sacrament. My little guy is not so little anymore!

My Personality

I got this from Amber's blog...

Apparently I am a Type A personality. Anyone surprised? I didn't think so. For example, as I was having dinner with my parents last night (we were eating pancakes) to tease me my dad said to my mom, "Don't put syrup on your pancakes!!! You have to ask Christy if it's okay first!" I guess I do tend to micromanage.

You Have A Type A Personality

You are hyper, energetic, and always on the mood You tend to succeed at everything you attempt And if you don't succeed at first, you quickly climb your way to the top! You could be called a workaholic, but you also make time for fun As long as it's high energy and competitive, you're interested You have the perfect personality for business and atheltic success

Do You Have a Type A Personality?

Today's Ultrasound

I went in today for what will probably be my last ultrasound with Sam. We found out a couple of interesting things. They measured the amount of amniotic fluid first, and that was all normal. Then they did several measurements of his bones and girth, and after the computer had combined all of these together it predicted that he is currently between 8 and 9 pounds. It also estimated him to be in the 95 percentile for his height. So, for a kid that is only 36 weeks gestation, and theoretically has about 3 weeks left to cook (during which babies typically add a pound a week) it looks like he is WELL on his way to being as big as his brother. This was disapointing to me, not because I will have to push out another big bean, but because I think this means the doctor is going to really want to induce me early. Which I really do not want to do. On the other hand, do I want to deliver an 11 pounder? Not especially. I don't know what to do. I don't know how much choice I will have in the matter. I realized on the way down to the office that I was really hoping someone would say, "Oh! We made a mistake! This one is actually a girl!!" No such luck. Big old boy parts were immediately apparent in a sweep past that area. She also determined that Sam's head is directly on my cervix, which is what is causing things to move along. Externally I am dialated to 5 cm, but internally it is just to 1 cm. Which I guess is good, but then she told me with his head so far down in wouldn't take much. Then the interesting thing happened. She called in one of the doctors in the practice to check over the results. It wasn't my own doctor since I had to go to the office down on 42nd and Farnam. He wanted to check the cervix results again, since that was the main thing they were concerned about. So, while he has the wand stuck up you know where (they couldn't do this part just by waving the wand over my stomach like usual) he strikes up this conversation. He says, "So, I notice from your chart you're a teacher at SVdP. I think you had a Paul ____ in your class a couple of years ago." I did, and so I told him so, all the while thinking, oh no...where is this going? Then he says, "____ and ____, Paul's parents, are our neighbors, and my wife and I's best friends!!! I can't wait to tell them I saw you today!!" Now, it is one thing to have an anonymous guy holding something in your down below parts, but when you find out he is connected to people you work with professionally, it makes you want to gag. I could just imagine him describing the whole situation in detail at dinner. "Hey guys! I checked Christy Kleffman's cervix out the other day!!" This is the really bad part about being a teacher. You run into people EVERYWHERE that you have worked with. I am terrified that one day I will need to go to the ER for emergency surgery and be stark naked when the doctor will say, "Hey guys! This is Mrs. Kleffman my old teacher!!" Ugh.