Lebanon- Baby Blessing- First Beach Trip

Lydia is the light of my life! She is now 7 weeks and 2 days old. I can't believe how fast time flies! She is growing so fast and I love seeing her discover new things. She smiles all the time and has discovered her hands which are now always at her face. She refuses to take a pacifier, she makes faces like they are the most disgusting things ever but will chew on her fist all day long. We are really lucky and she has been sleeping 8 hour stretches at night for the last few weeks. She has a blanket she loves, as soon as you wrap her in it she calms right down and most of the time will fall asleep. She holds her head up really well now too and makes grunting sounds when she poops which is really funny and also a couple times in the last few days she has sneezed and farted at the same time, then gets this super shocked look on her face like what the heck just happened and who did it to me haha. Babies can be so entertaining. She also loves to go on walks, I wrap her up in my moby wrap and she watches the scenery until she gets tired or lulled to sleep from the walking/rocking and zonks out the rest of the way. But she has been staying awake longer and longer on the walks so she gets to see more and more.
We were in Lebanon quite a bit over the last couple weeks. The first time we went up Lydia got to meet a lot of people she hadn't met before! Her great grandparents for example! Then last weekend we went up for her baby blessing and she got to go to the beach for the first time. I have a lot of pictures from both trips its going to be hard deciding which ones to post! Both trips were really fun :)

Here she is meeting her Great Grandparents Matz

 And then she got to meet her Great Grandparents Sanders

 And she got to meet cousins

 We had a great day at the beach too. She wasn't a huge fan of the sun in her eyes but liked the feel of the sand between her toes.

 And she was blessed on Mother's Day which was so special!

 The Gentlemen that blessed her

 My sisters and I with the kiddos

 It looks like I separated this picture into 2 pics but really it was two separate ones to begin with

Our Little Princess

Lydia Sheri Kruse

April 1, 2013 

7:03 pm

8lbs, 15 oz

20 in

Lydia Photo Bomb 

unedited photos

OUR BABY STORY

Last Thursday March 28, 2013 at our 39 week doctor's appointment we discussed with our doctor about making an appointment for Monday April 1st to strip my membranes. Just to help things progress, he really didn't want me to go over my due date because my uterus wasn't consistently measuring where it needed to be. It was supposed to grow a centimeter a week and mine just wasn't. We went in for our appointment Monday morning, and all seemed to go as usually. Weight, blood pressure, measure the belly, and listening to the babies heart rate. Then he stripped my membranes which is so not as bad as everyone was telling me it could be. Not comfortable at all but not horrible either. Anyways because once again my uterus didn't grow and when he felt my abdomen he could tell she may be big, he decided to go ahead and do an ultrasound to measure my amniotic fluid and measure how big she was getting. Well turns out my amniotic fluid was borderline low and he measured her to be 9lbs 7 oz! Holy cow lol That's when he brought up induction. He said that he would highly recommend that we induce her because of the low fluid and she was already big. But not only that he was concerned because her abdomen was measuring bigger than her head which can cause problems during delivery with her shoulders possibly getting stuck which in turn could mean more interventions needed.So he sent us home to gather our stuff and told us to head up to the family birthing center (FBC) where they would be waiting for us. On the drive home it hadn't quite hit me what was happening, but we got there, got our stuff together, a friend came over and helped Trevor with a blessing and then we were on our way. We got the the FBC at about 11 am. They checked us into our room and had us sign a stack of papers and then we waited for the doctor's orders. They decided to start with Cervidil. It's a string with a bunch of hormones to soften and possibly dilate your cervix. They said most likely not much would change and I would be started on pitocin in the morning. Little did they know my body was more ready for labor than they thought. Between the membrane strip and the cervidil I ended up in labor within hours. Started out as just stronger braxton hicks but then they because regular and much closer together. By 3pm I was having consistent hard contractions. Because of the cervidil I was stuck in bed on the fetal monitors. Being in bed has to be the worst place to have contractions, you can't move much and its impossible to get comfortable. To make it worse I was stuck in one position because they were having a heck of a time keeping her heart on the monitor. She was moving around too much and making it very difficult to keep track of her. That went on for a couple hours with the nurse constantly in there adjusting the monitor. I eventually asked for the epidural because the contractions were every minute and super painful. My nurse said it would be awhile and made it sound like I was being a wimp. I wanted to hit her and make her try not moving at all through a contraction so that I could be the one pushing a monitor into her abdomen. Anyways my doctor came in not too long after and checked me and the decision was made to pop my water and place an internal monitor into Lydia's scalp so she could be better monitored. I'm convinced that that one decision is what saved her life. And my doctor also confirmed that I was dilating quickly and that if I wanted an epidural it was more than reasonable for me to have one right then. After the call was placed to the anesthesiologist I was told it would be at least a 45 min wait because he had just started another procedure, at that point I once again could have hit my nurse because if she had listened to me he could have made it to my room first. It all ended up working out because the on call anesthesiologist was available and was there in 15 min. The epidural was not even partially as scary in real life as it was in my head. I was more than ready for it and could care less about the gigantic needle as long as it took the pain away. Truthfully, the worst part of the whole epidural experience was sitting in the position that made it possible for him to stick the epidural in. Hunching over was the most painful part, I only felt a little pressure with the numbing solution being injected and I don't remember feeling anything else at all as far as needles and my back goes. This was all done sometime close to 6:00. After the epidural was in they laid me back and had me lay on one side. Everything was going just fine. Then they positioned me to the other side and Lydia's heart rate dropped from the 150s down to below 60 getting as low as 40. If we hadn't placed the internal monitor who knows if the drop in her heart rate would have even been noticed right away.. Suddenly there was a swarm of nurses and doctors in the room flipping me into all sorts of positions trying to raise her heart rate, hanging bags of fluids, throwing oxygen on me and the next thing I know I am on my hands and knees with my chest as low as I could get it hoping to get as much oxygen to Lydia as possible. Then I was being rushed out of the room into the OR where they were prepping for an emergency C-section. I was scared and just praying over and over again that Lydia was ok. I wasn't being told much, I remember going through the doors of the OR and hearing Trevor had to wait outside the door. I started panicking at that point, I never even considered the option that Trevor wouldn't be with me every second. Luckily there was a really amazing resident in the room that comforted me, told me everything was okay and that Lydia's heart rate was stabilizing. Once Lydia was stable and Trevor was back in the room with me I felt a ton better but at this point it was kind of a waiting game. My doctor showed up with in 10 min of Lydia's heart rate dropping and knowing he was there made me feel even better too. Because her heart rate stabilized it was no longer and emergency c sections although they weren't comfortable enough to let me back into my room yet. At this point the doctor gave me the option to continue to labor and see how things went, or go ahead with the c section right then. Everything was set up for the c section anyways. We were told they didn't know the exact cause for her heart rate dropping so it could possibly happen again, plus my doctor felt with the position she was in and with her size we would most likely end up back in the OR anyways. I asked for his gut feeling and he said it was ultimately up to me, but I told him I wanted his expert opinion. He said he would go with the c section if it was up to him. As soon as we agreed to the c section I felt instantly calm and knew that it was the right decision. Right away they got things in motion for the c section. It was crazy how fast things happened, I kept asking Trevor what was happening because I obviously couldn't see through the curtain to watch. We joked that it smelled like corn nuts when they were cutting me open, which it really did smell like that. I felt next to nothing through the whole thing, just some tugging way up high which wasn't painful at all. I do remember shaking and not being able to control it, which was weird. The moment I heard her cry for the first time I couldn't believe she was here and healthy and alive, it was overwhelming and relieving at the same time. From then on she was my only focus in the room and she was beautiful! They held her up and the first thing I said was that she was so cute and I was so glad she was cute :) Which she is so cute and beautiful! She was across the room getting checked out and Trevor was asked if he wanted to help cut the cord and meet her. So he got to see her and be close to her. The nurse brought her over for me to see and I was aching to hold her, the nurse was all ready to leave the room with her though, thankfully I had an amazing anesthesiologist who made her wait and let me hold her! I couldn't stop crying she was so beautiful and she was mine! She had her eyes open and looking at me and just looked me in the eyes and I could barely stand to let her go. Trevor went with her back to our room and was in there holding her when I finally made it in there and got to hold her again. When I got to hold her again she had her thumb in her mouth totally content and sucking away. She is the most beautiful princess I have ever met. Anyways back in the OR my Doctors were finishing me up, listening to the radio and just joking away. I had warm air being pumped in under my blanket which felt really nice. But all I could think about was my babe in the other room. When they finished they tipped me to my side to put the panel under me to move me back to my bed, that was so freaky! It felt like I was falling or going to fall to the ground, it freaked me out but my doctor reassured me that he had a hold of me and I wouldn't fall. They removed the epidural and I was on my way back to my room where my baby and handsome husband were waiting. It was crazy how fast things happened! But we were very blessed with a healthy baby and speedy recovery and all of us were able to leave the hospital 48 hours later. She is so sweet and the perfect baby. I love her so much and it is amazing to see daddy and daughter together, she has Trevor wrapped around her little finger already.

Good Bye 2012, Hello 2013

Highlights of 2012

• Trevor finished his first year of college with all A's and one B
• We where able to be at the temple when Amber, Ray and Hudson got sealed for time and all eternity
• I passed my CCHT test and am now a Certified Clinical Hemodialysis Technician
• Found out in July we are going to have a baby!! 
• We found out our baby is going to be a girl! And we picked the name Loralei Sheri
• I learned how to crochet
• My family came to town for Thanksgiving
• Trevor and I picked out our first live Christmas tree
• I rode a train for the first time
• I got a Canon T3i and am finally getting to learn about photography!

Looking forward to... in 2013

• Meeting Loralei! 
• Trevor gets to apply for his program
• I'm going to be looking for a new job that allows me more time at home with my babe
• Family Reunion this next summer
• I may be starting a class or two next fall, I'm pretty excited about that
• Trevor is running in a race from Portland to Eugene

It's been a great year and I can't wait for all that next year has to hold for Trevor and I. 

Baby Kruse!! It's True

It's true, I am definitely pregnant! We found out way back in July, the day before we left to go up to my sister Hollie's wedding reception. I had an inkling a couple days before when I went running with my friend Joni and things just didn't feel the same. I totally blamed it on the fact that it was almost that time of the month but Joni who just had her second babe in February had a different thought about it. So she planted the seed in my mind that it could be more than Aunt Flo about to make her appearance. Anyways when I was late I took a test and man did that little pink line pop up quick! At first I just stared at it and was starting to think maybe I was wrong so I went and jumped on the bed to wake Trevor up and I made him look at it and tell me what it meant. And my eyes and understanding had not failed me, we were definitely going to be having a baby! Talk about exciting news. The next day as we were getting all packed up and ready to go I decided to call my doctor just to schedule an appointment for when we got back and believe it or not they had an opening right that moment and told me to just come right on in. So we did, they confirmed the pregnancy, talked to us about all the future appointments handed me a book and tons of papers and sent me up to the hospital for lab work. Talk about a lot to take in in such a short amount of time!
Well I knew that I would want to tell my parents right away so I came up with a plan to make a onsie for Hudson that said "I'm Getting a Cousin". I got Amber in on it so that should could help me sneak it on Hudson. Well Hudson came toddling/crawling out into the living room and my Dad picked Hudson up, read the onsie and just continued to play with him. Apparently he didn't understand what he had just read. So we got him to put Hudson down which gave the rest of my family and chance to read it and it took them way less time then my Dad to understand haha but the look of surprise on my Mom's face was priceless. Of course we had to give my Dad a hard time afterwards.
Next we got to tell Trevor's family, and so at the dinner table Trevor got to pray to bless the food and he just happened to add in the prayer to bless the baby on the way. So that was a fun way to announce the little babe to his family. I pretty much wanted to tell everyone that we saw that weekend, but did you know that 15-25% of pregnancies don't make it through the first trimester and me and Trevor talked about it and decided just immediate family until the end of the first trimester. Such a hard secret to keep!

Well on my birthday we had our first appointment with the Dr at 8 weeks. And they did an ultrasound to make sure there really was a baby in there and make sure there was only one! Also to check the heartbeat and growth and to give a more sure due date to the babe. That was when we were given the due date of April 4th. The first pictures we were given the babe looked like a jellybean or a peanut. But we got to hear the heartbeat, 162 bpm. It was very cool and very fun to see. The next month went by really slow. I was anxious for the 12 week ultrasound to make sure everything was all right and going smoothly! I worried all the time that something was wrong. Lucky for me everything is looking great.

We went in on Sept 20th for a 12 week ultrasound and it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. We saw the babe and he/she was just waving away! Kept waving at us, stretching and just moving like crazy! We also got to hear the heartbeat again this time it was measured at 160 bpm, still healthy and strong. We saw all four arms, hands, legs and feet. Our ultrasound tech pointed out the stomach, kidneys and bladder. So we know our babe is digesting and has working kidneys! It was pretty amazing, she turned the screen to 3D so we got to see more what it looked like which was super cool but the babe is stubborn and wouldn't roll over to show us the face or front of the body, we got a great view of the backside though lol.

It's amazing what they can see through ultrasounds! I wish you could have one every week or at least every month! Our next ultrasound isn't until November 14th and I'm more excited about this one then ever! They go over every inch of the babe counting fingers and toes, making sure all organs are there and just checking for all the anatomy, including whether our babe is a BOY or GIRL! I can't wait. I have always wanted a girl first, don't ask me why I just always have, I love lace, ribbons and ruffles :) But I have been imagining it either way and know I will be happy and love the babe no matter the gender!

Happy Parents to Be! 12weeks 

Our Main Love..... Garage Sales

Trevor and I are crazy garage salers. We get up early and map out the garage sales we can find postings for online and then hit the streets. I love garage sales and never knowing what we are going to find. We go almost every weekend unless one or both of us ends up working both on Friday and Saturday. But we have found good deals. Recently we hit up a garage sale where I swear everything was 5 cents. Best garage sale ever. I found a pair of Nike tennis shoes there that looked brand new and the perfect size for Trevor and we only paid 10 cents! How awesome! Also thanks to that particular garage sale I have started a collection of Children's books. We are NOT pregnant but decided we might as well start picking up books when we come across them. I love to read and really want my kids to love it too. So I am planning on getting as many as I can for as cheap as I can. It has become sort of a hobby for me. If anyone has children's books that they no longer need or use Ill take them!
When I end up with doubles (which has happened) I usually donate them. I just recently found a place downtown that is for troubled kids and so I think Ill start donating my doubles there now that I know about it. My favorite kids books to find are the little golden books, the little critter books, dr. seuss, bernastien bear books, and any and all Disney books of course :) Not that we limit to just those. If its in good condition and a good price and looks like a good read we pick it up. I just love books and am planning on my kids loving them too :) 
Also at garage sales we find projects. I recently bought two chairs and Trevor got a little end table to fix up. Trevor starting sanding the little table and it already looks so good! I'm excited to see the finished project. For the chairs I got I plan on sanding them down. possibly painting them or maybe just staining them and then re-doing the fabric on the seats. That will be the hard part I need to find someone that can help me do it right.
My other project is I picked up a old bicycle. its one of the cruiser styles with the baskets on the front. I got it cheap! It definitely needs a new seat and a paint job but other than that and a rusty chain its a solid bike. I may sell it when its all done but at the moment I plan on keeping it because its going to look great when I'm done!!

Summer is going by too fast!

I haven't posted in way to long I know and I have so much to catch up on. First and best news of all is that Trevor has finished his first year at OIT and he got AMAZING grades! Made out with all A's and only 1 B and that was because he got lazy and didn't do his math homework. All this means that he has one year left of prerequisites and then he can finally apply for his program which will take two more years of school before he has an externship somewhere. I have no idea where that somewhere will be. It could be in Oregon, Utah, Washington, Alaska or maybe even somewhere on the opposite end of the country. We will just have to worry about that when the time arrives. Right now I am just counting down until we are out of Klamath Falls. I can't say I hate it here anymore, I guess its growing on me. But I think the main reason is that we have some friends here now. We have a pretty great ward, which is were I have met most of my friends down here. Come September I'm supposed to be running a half marathon in Newport with my friend Joni. Although we don't run enough so I don't think that I can be ready.... we will see. Here are some pictures of Klamath falls from our walks and other happenings.

I took all those pictures on our walks. We see pelicans and I saw a Ruddy Duck (blue bill) for the first time ever and would have been so disappointed if I didn't have my camera with me. I basically never go anywhere without my camera. Someday I want to get a really nice camera. I love taking nature shots but love talking pictures of people too. It would be awesome to really get into photography because I love it!