Well Mathus and Maezyn had their check-ups today.
Mathus- Has gained almost 4lbs in 4wks, weighing in at 9lbs 8.4oz, up from hospital discharge weight of just 6lbs 3oz. Needless to say they were VERY impressed especially since he is only breastfed. This weight put him the 50th percentile. As for height, well the little man only grew 1in putting him at just 20in. which is the 10th percentile. Everything else checked out just PERFECT, the N.P. was very pleased!
Maezyn- Well middle man jumped up big time in height moving from the 10th percentile up to the 50th at 32in. As for weight he dropped just a tiny bit on the scale from the 35th down to the 25th percentile (no surprise with the huge jump in height) weighing in now at 23lbs 11oz. His 2 year molars are trying to pop through already. His motor skills are quite impressive and rather advanced for his age and the N.P. found his personality and awareness of social ques to be off the charts for his age!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Back in Shape
Well last year we did a GREAT job getting into shape and running races all spring--- Sadly, with this last pregnancy both of us didn't keep up with the program and we are back where we had started last September. So, this week we jumped back on board with weight watchers and will begin incorporating workouts in the next few weeks. We once again have the challenge of the boys and the gym daycare-- Mathus being too young and the older ones bringing home germs, so we are staying out of the gym for just a bit until Mathus has a stronger immune system. We decided not to participate in the triple crown this year since we got a later start and it is quite pricey and we are both to competitive to spend the $ and not be improving on last years times. They also moved the races up a bit with the first being in Feb. (it was too cold in march no way will we run it in feb!). So we will keep everyone posted on how the weight loss progresses and we will post some pictures throughout our journey. Mike has a goal of 25-30lbs, and Angela has a goal of 40-50lbs. Those weights will bring us back to our college days so lets see if we can do it!!!
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Christmas 2010
Christmas was a bit different for us this year as it was more of a quite day. With Angela being nearly due we didn't travel anywhere and with everyone's busy schedules no family was able to make it into town this year either so we had a "quiet" (yeah right) at home Christmas!
Well on Christmas eve day we decided to bake sugar cookies and have Aunt Patty, Uncle Tom, Chris, Danny and Helen over to decorate cookies with the boys and celebrate the holiday with them. This was a great time-- the boys did really good with the decorating and exceptionally good with the eating of the cookies!!!
We received amazing gifts from everyone and look forward to our couples massage that Danny and Helen gave us in our 3 under 3 survival bin! The boys got into opening presents as well and absolutely loved their cars scene rug.
That night we had a nice quiet ham dinner with just the four of us then sat by the fire allowing the kids to open their christmas eve traditional PJ gift and then read The Night Before Christmas. Granda and Grandpa had requested we open their gift on Christmas-Eve and it was the book (the night before christmas) and when you turn the pages it is Granda and Grandpa reading the story with sound effects and all included--- GREAT job!!! The boys got a kick out of hearing their grandparents read the story.
Once the boys were in bed we set up "santa" which included a picnic table for the boys to share along with 54 Dr. Seuss books to go in their "new" Dr. Seuss decorated room (we will get to that) and of course a ton of cars! Their shared stocking was stuffed with all the essentials from diapers, to bath toys, sippy cups and utensils.
They each had their own stockings as well with a movie and socks, underwear, hats, gloves etc. Santa brought Mahkii a Cars bike and Maezyn a tricycle. Plus they each received a real child size broom so they can help mommy clean and rain and snow boots too!!!!
It was a great Christmas filled with amazing gifts from everyone and more importantly some nice family time. Although the day was not as relaxing as we had hoped since the kids were so hyped up but all in all it was amazing to just stay in PJ's all day and spend quality time together!
Oh, we also got the surprise of a "white Christmas"-- Here is our house on Christmas Eve
The boys Christmas morning:
Well on Christmas eve day we decided to bake sugar cookies and have Aunt Patty, Uncle Tom, Chris, Danny and Helen over to decorate cookies with the boys and celebrate the holiday with them. This was a great time-- the boys did really good with the decorating and exceptionally good with the eating of the cookies!!!
We received amazing gifts from everyone and look forward to our couples massage that Danny and Helen gave us in our 3 under 3 survival bin! The boys got into opening presents as well and absolutely loved their cars scene rug.
That night we had a nice quiet ham dinner with just the four of us then sat by the fire allowing the kids to open their christmas eve traditional PJ gift and then read The Night Before Christmas. Granda and Grandpa had requested we open their gift on Christmas-Eve and it was the book (the night before christmas) and when you turn the pages it is Granda and Grandpa reading the story with sound effects and all included--- GREAT job!!! The boys got a kick out of hearing their grandparents read the story.
Once the boys were in bed we set up "santa" which included a picnic table for the boys to share along with 54 Dr. Seuss books to go in their "new" Dr. Seuss decorated room (we will get to that) and of course a ton of cars! Their shared stocking was stuffed with all the essentials from diapers, to bath toys, sippy cups and utensils.
They each had their own stockings as well with a movie and socks, underwear, hats, gloves etc. Santa brought Mahkii a Cars bike and Maezyn a tricycle. Plus they each received a real child size broom so they can help mommy clean and rain and snow boots too!!!!
It was a great Christmas filled with amazing gifts from everyone and more importantly some nice family time. Although the day was not as relaxing as we had hoped since the kids were so hyped up but all in all it was amazing to just stay in PJ's all day and spend quality time together!
Oh, we also got the surprise of a "white Christmas"-- Here is our house on Christmas Eve
The boys Christmas morning:
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
The Story of Mathus' Birth
December 30th being our anniversary and Angela being super pregnant we decided to get take-out dinner (Cheesecake factory thanks to Angela's nursing students gift card!) and have a night in. "Gap & Gut" (great aunt patty and great uncle tom) along with Kunkle Danny and Kauntie Helen took the boys for the night which ended up being quite the blessing since Angela went into labor that night......
At about 2:30am contractions started which became regular at 6min apart very quickly and continued to increase in intensity over the next few hours. At about 6am Angela decided it was time to get things going so we finished up packing, dropped off the boys suitcases at Gap & Gut's and headed off to the hospital.
They decided to check Angela on arrival, stating that she was 2cm and starting to efface (interesting to us since her OB said she was 3cm and 100% effaced at her last appt.). They decided to monitor for 2hrs and recheck- during this time her contractions were consistent at 4min apart but on recheck the nurse said there was no change and wanted to send us home. We decided instead to walk for an hour and return for a recheck as Angela was certain that the nurse was not entirely accurate in her assessments and was aware from her past two births how quickly things change for her once they get going. Well, apparently the walking did the trick, when we returned her contractions were EXTREMELY strong- lasting 1min each and were less than 2min apart. Unfortunately, we were left laboring alone for nearly 40min in great pain before a new nurse finally came in and realized how advanced Angela was and decided it was beyond time to actually admit her (it was about 11am at this time).
By the time they got Angela admitted and brought to the delivery room the anesthesiologist decided to do a spinal block in addition to the epidural in order to provide immediate relief since they suspected a baby anytime. Well, the block kicked in and for the first time in hours Angela has some relief and could rest a little bit. After a short while however, Angela began feeling contractions again-- not too bad at first but increasing in pain over time. The block was wearing off and the epidural had not taken. The nurse continuously reassured us that it was just pressure that is common at the end near delivery and not actually pain. Angela continued to tell the nurse that it was more than pressure and not something she had experienced with the last two births but the nurse was adamant that Angela was wrong. Angela was exceedingly nervous for the birthing process with the extent of the pain she was experiencing especially considering the problems she had experienced with the last two births and the unknown of the size of this baby.
Well, by the time the actual delivery rolled around there was NO numbness to be had so it was a rather unexpectedly painful delivery but fortunately Angela was able to push for just about 5min to get out baby Mathus! After, finally getting some local anesthetic and stitched up Angela was able to hold baby Mathus for the first time!!!
We welcomed Mathus Michael-James McEachron at 2:28pm on December 31st.
He weighed 6lbs 9oz and was 18inches long.
FYI- We had decided to add James to the middle name as Mathus was born on the anniversary of the passing of Angela's mom's dad (James Gilman) and finally new years eve could have a positive memory/meaning for Penny (angela's mom).
At about 2:30am contractions started which became regular at 6min apart very quickly and continued to increase in intensity over the next few hours. At about 6am Angela decided it was time to get things going so we finished up packing, dropped off the boys suitcases at Gap & Gut's and headed off to the hospital.
They decided to check Angela on arrival, stating that she was 2cm and starting to efface (interesting to us since her OB said she was 3cm and 100% effaced at her last appt.). They decided to monitor for 2hrs and recheck- during this time her contractions were consistent at 4min apart but on recheck the nurse said there was no change and wanted to send us home. We decided instead to walk for an hour and return for a recheck as Angela was certain that the nurse was not entirely accurate in her assessments and was aware from her past two births how quickly things change for her once they get going. Well, apparently the walking did the trick, when we returned her contractions were EXTREMELY strong- lasting 1min each and were less than 2min apart. Unfortunately, we were left laboring alone for nearly 40min in great pain before a new nurse finally came in and realized how advanced Angela was and decided it was beyond time to actually admit her (it was about 11am at this time).
By the time they got Angela admitted and brought to the delivery room the anesthesiologist decided to do a spinal block in addition to the epidural in order to provide immediate relief since they suspected a baby anytime. Well, the block kicked in and for the first time in hours Angela has some relief and could rest a little bit. After a short while however, Angela began feeling contractions again-- not too bad at first but increasing in pain over time. The block was wearing off and the epidural had not taken. The nurse continuously reassured us that it was just pressure that is common at the end near delivery and not actually pain. Angela continued to tell the nurse that it was more than pressure and not something she had experienced with the last two births but the nurse was adamant that Angela was wrong. Angela was exceedingly nervous for the birthing process with the extent of the pain she was experiencing especially considering the problems she had experienced with the last two births and the unknown of the size of this baby.
Well, by the time the actual delivery rolled around there was NO numbness to be had so it was a rather unexpectedly painful delivery but fortunately Angela was able to push for just about 5min to get out baby Mathus! After, finally getting some local anesthetic and stitched up Angela was able to hold baby Mathus for the first time!!!
We welcomed Mathus Michael-James McEachron at 2:28pm on December 31st.
He weighed 6lbs 9oz and was 18inches long.
FYI- We had decided to add James to the middle name as Mathus was born on the anniversary of the passing of Angela's mom's dad (James Gilman) and finally new years eve could have a positive memory/meaning for Penny (angela's mom).
NEW YEAR--- NEW GOAL
Ok I have always had good intentions of being a good blogger to keep all of our family updated since they are spread across the entire country but I have been an epic fail on this front; so--- the goal is to keep the family better updated and blog more often in this new year!
To get things started I need to back up a bit so the following few posts are from the end of 2010 a very eventful time for us and our growing family!
To get things started I need to back up a bit so the following few posts are from the end of 2010 a very eventful time for us and our growing family!
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Heart Surgery
Well on Friday Angela went to see her cardiologist and found out that her AICD (pacemaker) had a nearly dead battery and was likely to stop functioning in the next couple of weeks. Although her doctor did give us an option to wait on replacement he did say that it would not be feasible to do so until approx. 6months postpartum; which is a great deal of time to have Angela at risk for sudden cardiac arrest as had happened initially to have the device placed. Though both of us are skeptical of Angela's initial diagnosis and not too concerned that an episode would occur after speaking with the O.B. we decided the risk to the baby and the pregnancy was much more minimal than the risk and consequences should Angela have any heart complications in the next 9months. We called the cardiologist back on Friday afternoon and said we would go forward with the surgery and when was he thinking he would fit us in so we could make arrangements? Minutes later we got a call back and were told to be at the hospital at 10am Monday morning for surgery.
It was a very scary situation this time around as well as bit awkward for Angela as the surgery had to be done where she works and she has never really talked about having the device in the first place at work; but that is life and we both new we would get through it! The surgery itself took just about an hour and we were able to leave the hospital by 4:30pm, a long day but much preferred to having to stay overnight. Her surgeon informed us both that her previous surgeon had implanted her device VERY deep under the muscle and due to the size change between her original surgery and her 2nd one the device had actually slid down quite significantly. This caused a great deal of trouble in getting the old device out. As her surgeon put it--- "It was EXTREMELY deep and I had to dig around in there A TON. Please know that you are going to be EXTRAORDINARILY sore for about 7-10 days and I have talked to your OB about what stronger pain meds you can take though I know you will be stubborn and just do Tylenol you might want to reconsider."
Well, Angela's new device is in- he had to make yet another incision so she now has 3 scars across her chest which is a bit of a bummer but doesn't look like this one will show too badly. The baby pulled through the surgery just fine. They sent up a nurse from O.B. to check fetal heart tones both before and immediately following the surgery and her O.B. was on direct call to be there for any issues. It turned out the nurse they sent up was actually Angela's clinical instructor from when she took O.B. and the nurse who, well, basically delivered Maezyn for us so that was comforting to Angela to have a familiar and comforting face there for her!
Well, Nana got on a flight first thing Saturday morning and so she has been here taking care of the boys preventing Angela from doing any lifting at all as we all know she would force herself to do without Nana here preventing her. Nana has been preparing meals, taking care of the boys, and helping the house stay together as much as is possible with two toddlers. She will be here until Saturday but we think she probably already getting worn down with the energy level of our guys-- Thank goodness for good Nana's!!!!
As for the pain and recovery, Angela has been being pretty strong but smart about it too. She know that next week she is essentially cold turkey back on her own with the boys so she is actually trying to get her rest while she can and truly give herself recovery time. She has been alternating every 6hrs between Tylenol and just 1 tablet of her stronger prescribed pain med. She tries to take the prescription at 10pm for the night and then 10am for the day! She has done that since 4pm on Monday and then today (Wed) she has switched over to taking the tylenol every 8 hours and plans to just take the prescription at bedtime ONLY. She has been a trooper but is very concerned with too much meds and the baby so is trying to be reasonable about what she takes. She hopes to be off the meds completely by Friday with the rare tylenol for any breakthrough pain!
Thank you for all of you who had us in your thoughts as we got through this challenging time we are very thankful that everything went smoothly and we are able to move on without having the lingering "what if" concerns following us. Angela's cardiologist here is also working very hard to get insurance approval to have genetic testing done so we can get to the bottom of what her heart condition is and make sure that all 3 of our boys are safe as well!
It was a very scary situation this time around as well as bit awkward for Angela as the surgery had to be done where she works and she has never really talked about having the device in the first place at work; but that is life and we both new we would get through it! The surgery itself took just about an hour and we were able to leave the hospital by 4:30pm, a long day but much preferred to having to stay overnight. Her surgeon informed us both that her previous surgeon had implanted her device VERY deep under the muscle and due to the size change between her original surgery and her 2nd one the device had actually slid down quite significantly. This caused a great deal of trouble in getting the old device out. As her surgeon put it--- "It was EXTREMELY deep and I had to dig around in there A TON. Please know that you are going to be EXTRAORDINARILY sore for about 7-10 days and I have talked to your OB about what stronger pain meds you can take though I know you will be stubborn and just do Tylenol you might want to reconsider."
Well, Angela's new device is in- he had to make yet another incision so she now has 3 scars across her chest which is a bit of a bummer but doesn't look like this one will show too badly. The baby pulled through the surgery just fine. They sent up a nurse from O.B. to check fetal heart tones both before and immediately following the surgery and her O.B. was on direct call to be there for any issues. It turned out the nurse they sent up was actually Angela's clinical instructor from when she took O.B. and the nurse who, well, basically delivered Maezyn for us so that was comforting to Angela to have a familiar and comforting face there for her!
Well, Nana got on a flight first thing Saturday morning and so she has been here taking care of the boys preventing Angela from doing any lifting at all as we all know she would force herself to do without Nana here preventing her. Nana has been preparing meals, taking care of the boys, and helping the house stay together as much as is possible with two toddlers. She will be here until Saturday but we think she probably already getting worn down with the energy level of our guys-- Thank goodness for good Nana's!!!!
As for the pain and recovery, Angela has been being pretty strong but smart about it too. She know that next week she is essentially cold turkey back on her own with the boys so she is actually trying to get her rest while she can and truly give herself recovery time. She has been alternating every 6hrs between Tylenol and just 1 tablet of her stronger prescribed pain med. She tries to take the prescription at 10pm for the night and then 10am for the day! She has done that since 4pm on Monday and then today (Wed) she has switched over to taking the tylenol every 8 hours and plans to just take the prescription at bedtime ONLY. She has been a trooper but is very concerned with too much meds and the baby so is trying to be reasonable about what she takes. She hopes to be off the meds completely by Friday with the rare tylenol for any breakthrough pain!
Thank you for all of you who had us in your thoughts as we got through this challenging time we are very thankful that everything went smoothly and we are able to move on without having the lingering "what if" concerns following us. Angela's cardiologist here is also working very hard to get insurance approval to have genetic testing done so we can get to the bottom of what her heart condition is and make sure that all 3 of our boys are safe as well!
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