Birth Story- Haden Wyatt Althof

I decided that I want to share Ella's birth and NICU story since it is part of her forever. I was thinking about how it would be a great way to document her beginning. Then I decided I should document the boys birth stories. So I am going to start with my 1st baby boy, Haden. He is such an amazing kiddo! He is so calm and laid back all the while being super quiet and shy. He makes friends very easily as he is just as nice as can be to everyone. He loves to hang out with his dad and play games with both of us. How did Wyatt and I ever get so lucky to have such an amazing kid!!

Here is his birth story!

On December 12, 2005, Wyatt and I woke up early to head to St. Francis Hospital to have our very first child. I will NEVER forget that morning. We both barely got sleep the night before. The alarm went off around 4:30 and we popped out of our bed and fixed me a LARGE bowl of Cheerios. I remember the nurses telling me to make sure I eat since I would not get anything else until the baby arrives. Had I known what I was in for, I would have gone for a much larger breakfast. Wyatt and I took the longest ride to Topeka. We could hardly wait to see if we were parents to a boy or a girl. We got to the hospital at 6:00am. We got quickly shuffled into the labor and delivery room where I got changed and jumped into the bed and hooked up to the monitors. We were surprised to find out that I was having some great contractions that were occurring every 2 to 3 minutes apart. I was SHOCKED!! I did not feel a thing. Then the time came……I had to get my IV. I ended up handling it well even when the nurse did not get it capped off and the blood came out the end. A new mother should never her a nurse say “uh oh” while shoving a needle in her arm. About 8:00am Dr. Dallas Thompson came in to get the day started. He looked at the monitors and checked me out and saw that I was making some progress since I last saw him, so we opted to break my water. Wyatt and I waited a bit and then decided to take a stroll. Wyatt was such a trooper as I made him walk for at least 2 hours with my IV and monitors. He was a nervous wreck. Every 2 minutes, I would stop and breath and he would ask if I was in pain, did I need the epidural, did I want to lie down. He was really a good sport! This continued for quite a while with the occasional cervix checks in-between. Around 4:00pm, Dr. Thompson came back in and noticed that the contractions had spaced out and were not strong. This is when he thought that we needed to intervene and get me back into labor. This meant Pitocin. I should really point out that at this point I am thirsty and all I am getting is ice. This is when I decided to get the epidural and settled in for a nap. Around 6:00pm, nothing had happened, so they really upped the Pitocin and the nurse got to come sit by my side. Oddly enough, I felt that I needed to entertain her!! Then at 7:00pm came the new nurse for the night and I felt that she needed entertained if she was going to be by my side. Somewhere during this time, Wyatt and I tried to get some sleep. By 9:30, I was noticing that I was really starting to get uncomfortable, as in the epidural was no longer working and was starting to hurt. I had come to the conclusion that I have not felt any pain yet, so I was not going to start. They got me all fixed up and I was felling less pain, but now my stomach started to hurt. About this time it was 10:30ish. The nurse so kindly offered me a sprite. After all of this time I had been thirsty, she offers me a sprite. HELL YEAH I want a sprite. I was thirsty!!! Ice chips just did not cut it!! Then it got intense. The baby’s heart rate was dropping. They had me turn from left to right and put on oxygen. Then they decided to call the doctor. He came in and very calmly explained that the baby was just no longer handling labor and that it was time to get the baby out. People started moving very fast and getting me all ready to go and within a short period I was in the OR having a baby. I barely remember any of it, but I remember very clearly hearing the doctor say, “We have a boy!” I can remember being relieved, happy, overwhelmed, and tired all at the same time. They got him all bundled up and let Wyatt hold him for a few minutes then off he went to make sure he was ok. At 11:31pm on December 12, 2005, Haden Wyatt Althof joined the world weighing in at 6 pounds 14 ounces and was 21 inches long. He was the most beautiful little guy I had ever seen. 

Quotes

Move Over Campbell's

here comes the Althof's.......

Wyatt and I put our skills and tastes together last night and made tomato juice! Wyatt really is into gardening tomatoes and I really like look at recipes and we both like tomato juice, so what better than to try it! However, this summer put a little damper on Wyatt's tomato plants, so with a little help from the Fletcher boys, we were able to have enough tomatoes to try out our new canning project. My mom gave Wyatt a juicer for MY kitchenaid at Christmas, so we have been patiently waiting to juice some tomatoes. Last night we cut, boiled and happily juiced our tomatoes and can out with several quarts of juice. It was like Christmas all over again. Nothing is better than the satisfaction that we were able to complete the tasty task. It may not be Campbell's but we are certainly thrilled with our end product!

Creativity

Do you ever have those days when you feel super creative??? You think that you can make anything out of everything?? You can just whip out whatever on a sewing machine (yet you have no idea how to put in the bobbin)??? Then you may know what I was thinking. I have it in my mind that I can whip out a few curtains,  a bed skirt and a crib sheet out of this.

Stay tuned, I counted that I have 50 days to turn this fabric into something remarkable. Let's see if I can do it. I might even take some pictures along the way. Could be fun!!!!

Bring on the tooth fairy!!!

It just amazes me how fast time flies! My baby boy is growing up way to fast. Leave it to a tooth to make this mom tear up a bit! 

Haden has had a loose tooth for a little while now. I will NOT touch it, look at it or obviously pull it out for him. I am just not that mom! It makes me freak out just a little! We were at a friends house the other day going through little girl clothes, and he came up and wanted me to look at his tooth. It was barely hanging in his mouth. YUCK!! I told him that my friend loves to pull teeth out and would do it for him. He did not want to because he wanted to show it to his dad. We get home later that day, he shows his tooth to Wyatt. Wyatt told Haden to go wash his hands and then just give it a pull. again.........YUCK!!! Haden comes barreling inside, up the stairs and gets the funniest look on his face. He was wiggling that thing all the way in, and it fell out. I have always known that Haden is just like Wyatt, but never realized just how much! He is thrilled about this new part of his life, however, you would never know it. He is so laid back and easy going about the whole thing. When I asked him what was up, he just looks at me and says, "Yeah, I just lost my tooth. Pretty cool, huh. I think I need to put it in a bag." There was more jumping up and down from his mother!!!!! Wyatt and Haden both were very laid back about it and very much matter of fact. You lose a tooth, the tooth fairy comes, you grow a new tooth. End of story. 

 Haden at 10 months. Still does not have any teeth!!! 

Haden at 6 years and missing his very first tooth!!!

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

Summer has officially started at the Althof house! To kick off our summer, the boys and I have Vacation Bible School again. But most importantly, TBall has started!!! This summer I have only one player...Brody. I gave Haden the option to play and he chose not to play. I was not surprised as I think batting makes him nervous. That is 24 kids, coaches, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles all focusing on the one person trying to focus on the ball. It makes me nervous thinking about it! I figured he gave it two years and had the same reaction to tball both years, so we retired his glove.

Then there is Brody! He seems to really like it! He does not seem intimidated at all when it comes time to bat! He has even hit the ball with out the T a few times! His mom was quite proud! The learning process for tball is quite confusing for him, but I think he might have it. It took him a while to understand that you don't go after the ball when you hit it but you do when you have your glove on. He is also learning that you have to touch the bases when you run them, but not when you are out in the field except when you are a baseman and you have caught the ball. But really, it all is kind of confusing!!

The best part of watching Brody play, is that he ALWAYS has a smile on his face!!!

 Meet Team Lions!!!! Ferocious crew, aren't they!!

 

Is he not the cutest little tball player!! (I can only say that now, because he is 4. I can't when he is 14!)

 He just made a good hit without using the T!!! GO BRODY!! (Take note that this was before he realized that he needed to go to first base and NOT go get his own ball!)

He was getting prepared to "man" his section on the field. (Either that or he and his buddy have gotten separated after she kept talking to him and sprinkling dirt on his head! But, he was having fun!!)

It's a........

I think it is safe to safe that Wyatt and I lead a very BORING life!!! We get up, get dressed, go to school/work/daycare and then come home eat dinner, do homework, go to bed, wash and repeat. The boys have started soccer and both are on different teams. This did cause some issues with Brody but he has since gotten over it. He does like Coach Justin which has helped! Haden has gotten much more aggressive with soccer and is actually kicking the ball! This is a huge step since he just ran along the pack in the fall. Brody is the littlest kiddo on his team, so he most of the time he is just trying to keep up! He did not get the Althof limbs! In other news, we have never made the official announcement, so here it is!!! We are expecting baby #3! This has been exciting for everyone of us!!! Brody is probably the most excited!! He had/has lots of questions and insights about having a baby in the house! It is actually quite funny. My favorite was when he was trying to convince me it was a really good idea to have 2 babies. Um....no not really!! He has also been very persistent with wanting a sister. I have been worried about what would happen if he got another bother instead. Yesterday was the BIG day. Wyatt and I went off to the doctor's office yesterday to have the routine 20 week sonogram and appointment. It is hard to believe that I am already half way through this pregnancy! We got to check out the baby and see that it really likes to keep hands on the face and feet above the head. Does not seem all that comfy to me! The baby also moved NONSTOP. I mean CONSTANTLY!!! If it was not moving a hand or a foot it was rolling back and forth. Is that a sign of things to come??? This will be a fun time for us as we adjust to life with three children, with on of those children being a GIRL!!!!!