Kyler -- Week 5 (12/17/11-12/23/11)

So it has been a long time since we have updated our blog--over a month actually! There has been a lot going on in our lives with the holidays, a newborn, and other things, so now I am finally trying to get a little more organized in the New Year by posting pictures and videos of each week since Kyler was born. Right now, Kyler is actually already over 10 weeks old, but I wanted to share some highlights of the past five weeks as well. During that week, Ryan was finally able to finish up his first semester at Olivet, enabling him to spend a little more time with his little boy. Here are a few photos and a video.

Ryan and his boys, Kyler and Duncan, watching some sports

Duncan loves his brother and seems to follow him everywhere. Just wait until Kyler can give him food!

Mom has her hands full with both boys!

All bundled up to go outside for a walk. The weather was freakishly warm for December!

Mommy holding her little blue baby bear :)

A video update

It's hard to believe that Kyler is already one month old! But then when I look at the videos we've taken of him since he was born, I can definitely see how much he's changed. In an effort to get a little caught up on the blog, below you can see videos of Kyler taken each week since he was born. Enjoy!

More pictures

So things have been busy with a newborn. Right now I am typing this up with him in his bouncy seat right next to me. I am also totally expecting to stop and start this blog post a million times before it actually gets done. Right now mister Kyler is staring at the computer, probably because of the noise my typing makes. He has been such a joy, even with the lack of sleep, but what you all really want is more pictures right? So here are a few.

Kyler with Grandpa Wiersum

Snuggling with Aunt Sarah

Sleeping in his pack n' play

My cute Daddy's All Star outfit, which he has since grown out of. 

Snuggling with Auntie Lynsey

I am going to try and post some newer pictures soon. These pictures are all of the first week that he came home, so November 20-27th, but we need to download the rest of the pictures we have been taking. There is even the possibility of some video in the horizon.

We're so thankful

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! This year, Melissa and I have many things to be thankful for--most notably, the birth of our son Kyler William (aka Peanut)!

The labor was a long one. Melissa needed to be induced early in the morning on November 17, and we were expecting to see him later that day. But he ended up waiting until the wee hours of the morning on November 18 to make his arrival. He was already a big boy, weighing in at 9 lbs and 23 inches in length, but Melissa did very well during the delivery and got him out in less than an hour once she started pushing. We spent the next couple of days in the hospital, and we were able to come home on November 20.

We're so thankful for all of the visitor's we've had--both friends and family--and we're grateful for all of the meals brought over by my colleagues at Olivet. We've already had a few long nights (though a couple of easy ones too!), many dirty diapers, urination mishaps, and some challenges while nursing, but we could not be happier to have such a healthy and adorable little boy.

 

Peanut Coming Early?

For our first delivery, we figured that Peanut would be showing up AFTER his due date, never thinking that he might be here before! Ryan and I are discovering that if you plan on anything with a baby, things tend to change. Flexibility is the rule!

The due date saga began when I went to the OB on Friday for my 39 week appointment. I had not slept well the night before and was feeling a little nauseated, which led to me being a little dehydrated. When the tech took my blood pressure, it was a little high. By high, I mean 126/78--so not super high for a pregnant lady. The reason they were concerned was that my blood pressure is usually really low (110/68), and when not pregnant, even lower (90/56). Since I have never had high blood pressure, it was the last thing I thought would be my problem. (My OB in Ann Arbor actually suggested that I take Sudafed to increase my blood pressure.) So I was REALLY surprised when my OB told me that she was concerned enough to suggest induction that day (last Friday) or Tuesday (today). I thought that maybe it was just a one time deal and that maybe I was just fighting a little bug, so I asked if I could just come in for an appointment on Tuesday to see how I was doing, as I would really prefer to go into labor on my own!

So Tuesday rolls around, and Ryan and I are prepared for anything, including the hospital bag if we are sent to the labor/delivery unit for induction. They took my blood pressure again and now it was 124/82--not much better, but not much worse either. The OB said that since things were staying the same, it was not an emergency, but that it would not get any better until the baby was born. Since Peanut is already term, there is no reason to wait much longer, especially since the only thing that could happen would be my blood pressure could just get worse. I am disappointed that I will not get to wait and see when my body would decide to deliver Peanut, but the ultimate goal is always a healthy baby. So keep Ryan and I in your prayers as we go to the hospital at 6:30am on Thursday to have this baby!

Guessing Game

So today we are 39 weeks pregnant, and as much as I would love for our son to make his arrival I am trying to not get my hopes up until after our due date. To pass the time we sent out emails and posted for our friends and family to guess when "Peanut" will make his debut.

Here is the chart of what we got...

Guesser	Peanut’s “Name"	Weight	Date of Birth
Dana C.	Joshua (11th most popular)	Not 11 lbs	Friday 11/11
Meghan D.	Bremerton	7 lbs 4 oz	Friday 11/11
Jen T.	Ty’Shawne’E	7 lbs 5 oz	Saturday 11/12
Melissa K.	Isaac Nathaniel	8 lbs 2 oz	Tuesday 11/15
Vergil P.	Hunter	10 lbs	Tuesday 11/15
Laura H.	Abcde	8 lbs 2 oz	Wednesday 11/16
Mandy I.	Remington	7 lbs 6 oz	Thursday 11/17
Becky J.	Caleb Matthew	8 lbs 4 oz	Thursday 11/17
Emily P.		7 lbs 10 oz	Thursday 11/17
Susan D.	Xavier	8 lbs	Saturday 11/19
Cheryl B.		8 lbs 10 oz	Saturday 11/19
Bill B.		9 lbs 5 oz	Saturday 11/19
Laura B.	Rex	7 lbs 4 oz	Sunday 11/20
Britani S.	Gabriel (Gabe)	8 lbs 6 oz	Sunday 11/20
Kellie S.	Jacob Ryan	8 lbs 1 oz	Sunday 11/20
Lois B.	Luke William	7 lbs 10 oz	Sunday 11/20
Nicole S.	Ezekiel Matthew	8 lbs 8 oz	Sunday 11/20
Kim C.	? Matthew or William	8 lbs 1 oz	Sunday 11/20
Jen K.	Jacob	8 lbs	Sunday 11/20
Jan W.	Justin Bebej (Bieber)	8 lbs 2 oz	Monday 11/21
Julie M.		8 lbs 4 oz	Monday 11/21
Carol Y.	Dede Cece	8 lbs 2 oz	Monday 11/21
Matt J.	William (Liam) Ryan	7 lbs 12 oz	Tuesday 11/22
Jess M.	Matthew William	8 lbs 10 oz	Tuesday 11/22
Matt and Courtney R.	Clark Kent	8 lbs 13 oz	Tuesday 11/22
Ginger E.	Xavier (Zechariah) Matthew	8 lbs 2 oz	Tuesday 11/22
Dawn O.		8 lbs 3 oz	Wednesday 11/23
Sarah S.	Corbin Matthew	8 lbs 4 oz	Wednesday 11/23
Matt W.	Cedric William-Pujols	7 lbs 12 oz	Wednesday 11/23
Emily S.	John Jacob Jingleheimer	7 lbs 8 oz	Thursday 11/24
Chrissy P.	Tyler Rex (T-Rex)	7 lbs 15 oz	Friday 11/25
Andrew S.	Ian William	9 lbs 6 oz	Saturday 11/26
Karyn H.	Levi William	8 lbs 8 oz	Sunday 11/27
Dave K.	David Eric	68 lbs	Wednesday 2/29
Dawn B.	Matthew William
Scott S.		8 lbs 4 oz
Phil K.	Tony Albert

We will keep you all posted...could be any day! Oh and P.S. no one guessed the name, not even close =)

The Puppy-Pregnancy-Pillow Problem

This is a more light-hearted post about how difficult Ryan's sleeping arrangements have become. Being in my last month of pregnancy (almost 38 weeks!), I have been very fortunate to not have too much trouble sleeping. Sure, I wake up at least 3 times each night to go to the bathroom, but from what I gather, sleeping at all at this point is a true blessing.

Right now I sleep with 4 regular pillows and a long body pillow that Ryan and I--well, at least I--have affectionately dubbed "The Celery," since it is long and green. Not only does this plethora of pillows spill over to Ryan's side, but Duncan is no longer able to snuggle up to me and tends to take extra space from Ryan. The picture below demonstrates the problem.

An early morning photo. As you can see, my side of the bed is full of pillows. Duncan is now forced to spill over completely onto Ryan's side of the bed.

Duncan is not a morning dog. He will often stay in bed long after Ryan and I have gotten up and ready for the day--sometimes almost 11am or later!

Every Day is a Gift

It amazes me how each day we just assume that we will wake up for the next day. We live each day looking forward to what is to come and not cherishing what we already have. Being pregnant, it is almost impossible not to think about the future and wish time would go by faster. I cannot wait to meet my son, feel less pregnant, and move on to the next phase of our family with Ryan. Last week I realized that this is not always what happens--today might be all we get.

Last Friday, Ryan and I were shocked to find out that Ryan's sister Nicole lost her husband Bill (our much loved brother-in-law) in a tragic work accident. They were so in love and happy together--an inspiration for us all. They were truly meant to be together. On October 9th, we were so excited to be present for their marriage. It was an amazingly beautiful autumn day, and they both seemed to glow in each other's presence. They spoke vows that brought tears to almost everyone present, and they made God a strong presence in their relationship. Only 12 days after their marriage began, and a couple of days after their return from their Hawaiian honeymoon, Nicole lost her soul mate. Here is a picture of the wonderful couple.

Please keep Nicole and family in your prayers as we all mourn Bill's death. The funeral and visitation were both overwhelming--so much support and love. Now that the planning is done and family has gone back home, the tough part of moving on with life begins. It seems that the world should stop for such pain, but yet it continues to move on. I pray, especially for Nicole and family, that peace rises to meet you in the mornings and that love surrounds you when you need it most.

Into the home stretch -- 35 weeks

Today we took advantage of the beautiful weather we've been having and took Melissa's 35-week bump portrait at Perry Farm (which has become our favorite location here in the Bourb). We walked through the woods along the creek and came out near the infamous Indian Caves. Duncan had a great time, and I think Melissa did too (though at the end of the walk, she no longer had the energy to suppress her super cute pregnancy waddle).

Here are a couple of other shots from our walk this afternoon:

A view into an area of the Indian Caves

Milkweed pod

 

Brains! (osage oranges)

Peanut's room

One of the perks of having fall break is that it gave me the time work on my "Honey Do" list around the house. Some of these things were random things that needed to be done, but several of them revolved around Peanut's impending arrival. Today we finished decorating Peanut's nursery, and we wanted to share it with you.

As Melissa and I look around this colorful room, we become overwhelmed by the immense generosity of our family and friends. We couldn't have done much of this without you! Peanut isn't even here yet, and we can already feel all of the love you have for him. Thank you all so much!