Welcome to the world, Nathaniel!!

"Before you were conceived I wanted you. Before you were born I loved you. Before you were here an hour I would die for you. This is the miracle of life."
~Maureen Hawkins


Warning: I pretty much wrote a novel... and don't really expect lots of people to read it... Mostly for my own memory, this post is to tell my birth story: from even before contractions started until we were home from the hospital with our beautiful baby boy :)

So Friday the 23rd was my last day of school! Normally I am sad on the last day and I've always cried - but this year, I was sooo ready and after a long, tough year, I waved good-bye, gave hugs and left with a huge smile on my face! :) My parents were in town passing through on their way back to Alabama on Saturday night and stayed with us... Alex woke up sick on Sunday morning so we ended up just hanging around the house instead of heading to church. That began Alex's week of moodiness, diarrhea and throw up, fever, and refusal to eat! It was so strange though because it was so off and on again... and the fever/throw up/diarrhea only lasted a day and a half. Once that was over I figured he was fine... but he continued to not eat and was just moody. So it wasn't exactly how I imagined spending my last few days as a mommy to just one, but we did get to do lots of snuggling and at least he slept well for me so I was able to get in some good naps and sleep in!

Wednesday we went out for a "family date" because Gary thought it may be our last night to be able to go out before the baby (he was convinced all along that baby Nathan would be early!) So the three of us went to dinner at Applebees and then got ice cream at Baskin Robbins. We had great evening together! Sure enough, that night the contractions started! I was up pretty much the entire night starting around midnight with contractions every 10 minutes and bad back pain. I really thought that was it and we'd be in the hospital some time the next morning! But then around 4ish I was able to fall asleep and the contractions weren't so consistent anymore. Thursday morning Gary went on to work... contractions were sporadic and not as strong. Once Alex got up, I decided it was a good thing that Nathan wasn't coming just yet, becuase I really needed to get him checked out at the doctor to make sure everything was ok. So we went to the doctor on Thursday morning and sure enough, Alex had strep! I'm thankful that the contractions DID stop and that I finally decided to take him in - as soon as he started the antibiotic he was eating and doing so much better! By Thursday night he was acting like himself again :)

So Thursday afternoon I had irregular contractions and lower back pain, but nothing consistent and nothing strong enough to make me think Nathan would be coming too soon. When Gary got home from work we ate dinner and then decided to take a walk around the neighborhood to see if it would help! We walked for about 45 minutes, then came home and got Alex around for bed and I took a shower. By that time it was about 8:45ish... we sat down to watch TV and relax and the contractions started! When they started up they were about 7 minutes apart and got closer together for the next hour... a little before 10:00 Gary decided he should call the Bowman's (our sitters for Alex) and let them know it might be that night! A little after 10 my contractions were consistently every 4-6 minutes and getting stronger and Gary decided to call the doctor. She said to come in and get checked at the hospital! Amy came over to stay with Alex and we were off! (What a blessing to have such great friends!!)

When we got to the hospital I was still having fairly strong and consistent contractions. We had to sit in the waiting room for about 45 minutes before they had a bed ready for me to get checked. They checked me and I was at 2cm (at my doctor's appt 2 days earlier I was at 1.5cm). She said they would monitor my contractions and the baby's hearbeat for about an hour and see what I was doing then... at that point they would let me know if I would be staying or not . I was praying that things would progress and I could stay! A little after midnight they came in to see how I was doing. She said my contractions were every 4-6 minutes apart and that it might be a while... I could either go home and come back later that night when they were a little closer, or I could stay and Gary and I could walk around for an hour to see if that would help. I did NOT want to leave and have to come back, so we opted to walk. I also knew at this point in my gut that our little boy would join us soon, so there was no way I wanted to leave!

It was a looong hour of walking! I was stopping every 2-5 minutes for a contraction. The birthing floor was pretty quiet and empty though and Gary and I just walked and talked a little in between contractions. They were definitely getting more intense as time went. It was about 1 a.m. after we walked around and it was time to get back in bed and get hooked back up to the monitors. They left me for about 30 minutes to monitor my contractions again and then the nurse came in to check me. I was at 4cm! Contractions were a little stronger and about 3-4 minutes apart at this point. She said this baby would be here soon, and we were ready to get things going!

Within the next 45 minutes they got my IV plugged in. My nurse started putting out all these drop cloths under my arm, and I'm thinking, what is THAT for? She tells me she is pretty messy with IVs and scares me to death! (nurses always have trouble with my veins and I often get stuck twice and end up hurting and bruising from the IV) She took a look at my arms and said she didn't think she'd be able to do it after all and called their "pro IV nurse". She came in and took her time marking my arms and finding the perfect vein - then she got it on the first try! They took blood for testing and hooked me up to fluids. I had to go through one bag of fluids before I could get the epideral, and the blood testing had to come back. She said they'd get it taken care of as soon as possible. At this point I was beginning to feel ready for the epideral... it was about 3 am - I was handling contractions and breathing fairly well but they were definitely strong and I had a lot of back labor going on, which is very painful! Gary was very supportive the whole time, encouraging me to breathe and asking if I needed anything and what he could do. I have a fabulous husband :)

About 4:15 am my bloodwork was back and my IV fluids were in... I was about 8cm at this point. It was time for the epideral, thankfully - I was ready! Gary left the room and the anesthesiologist (sp??) came in. It took about a half hour to get the epideral - which was much different than last time I had one because I was having STRONG contractions at this point and they kept telling me not to make any sudden movements and not to startle if he touched me. I like when they tell you what they are doing step by step... but this guy was just like " assume I'll be touching you and doing stuff back here, and don't startle when I do things"... luckily my nurse understood that I wanted to know when he was going to do something and what and she was very supportive and helpful. (It was the same nurse we'd had all night - Dana - very nice and encouraging.) It was stressful trying not to move when the contractions would come but soon enough it was over.

I numbed up pretty quick but the back labor was still strong on the lower left side and I was still having to breathe through contractions. They decided to up my dose a little more. After the anesthesiologist upped the dose, I had only slight back pain and was comfortable. The nurse checked me again and looked over the contractions/baby heart beat (which all along she said was looking fantastic!) It was about 5:45 by this point and she said I was fully dialated and ready! And right as she checked me, my water broke! She called Dr. Moore (my doctor was home sleeping through the whole thing... getting updates every few hours. she said she was just 5 minutes away) and told her I was ready. Dr. Moore said to go ahead and start laboring down and she was on her way. Dana and another nurse sat me up (my legs were completely numb and I couldn't even help sit up) and then they called the anesthesiologist to cut down my dosage so that I could feel a little bit more to be able to push. He cut my dose in half.

As we were waiting for the doctor, Dana and the other nurses were getting things in the room ready. Dr. Moore arrived (looking like she JUST got out of bed!) about 20 minutes later at 6:20ish. She said she was going to go ahead and check me and we'd get the show on the road! When she went to check me, she didn't even have to finish checking becuase she saw our baby's head! She was like, wow, you're ready!! About then, the nurse accidently knocked all of the doctor's tools off the cart and they had to get all new stuff! It made me a little nervous everyone rushing around the room... several nurses were in there doing stuff at this point and Dr. Moore was getting things ready.

So everything was ready and it was time to push (the hardest part of my delivery with Alex - 3 long hours of pushing before they used forceps to get him out... I was so sore and exhausted - so I was geared up for a long process...) -- well, ONE push and Nathaniel was out!! Gary cut the cord and they handed Nathan to me. He looked perfect - he was absolutely beautiful and all I could think was "thank you, thank you, thank you for this precious gift!!"

Nathaniel Karl Friske was born at 6:37 am on April 30th. He weighed in at 6.74 lbs and was 19 inches long. (Weighing 1.1 ounce more than Alex and looking just like his big brother did!)

Nathan took to nursing right away... he latched right on when they gave him to me to try for the first time - I was nervous after the stressful process that it was with Alex at first! But Nathan is a pro for sure! He's been doing great with it ever since :) Such a huge blessing!

The first 24 hours were kind of a blur... after being in labor all night (and the night before) Gary and I were both exhausted and hungry (Gary had his heart set on donuts ever since the nurse mentioned them around 4 am... he had been to check for them MANY times haha and couldn't stop talking about them! We DID finally get our donuts around 8:30!) We spent most of the day just staring and snuggling with our new little boy... such a surreal time as a parent! Nathan slept most of the day of course and barely cried at all... the only thing that would really make him upset was when people would check things on him or if he had to change his diaper... but he calmed down quickly and easily each time :)

Gary went to get Alex from the Bowman's around 4:30 to feed him and bring him to the hospital to meet his new brother. I was so nervous about this! Alex was excited from the minute Gary told him that he was going to meet his baby brother though :) My mom got to the hospital around 6pm to meet Nathan and Gary and Alex showed up about 30 minutes later. Alex walked right in and came over to see his brother and give mommy hugs! He was all grins and kept saying "baby brother" and pointing at Nathan. He gave him a kiss and touched him and giggled. He was so happy and excited! He sat up on the bed with me and snuggled with both of us - what a precious moment as a mom... it was a perfect introduction and I couldn't have imagined it going any more smoothly!

We gave Alex a present from Nathan (a truck that makes noises and has a little trailer it pulls) and told him it was for being such a good big brother. He was SO proud and excited for the truck! He told Nathan thank you several time and gave him kisses! We spent the next hour playing in the room with Alex and eating some dinner - Alex couldn't understand why Nathan couldn't have french fries and ketchup though!

I slept off and on that night... Gary snored away most of the night, not waking up even when the nurses came in! I think I was still running on adrenaline though, I really didn't even feel that tired. The next morning we waited on person after person who had to come in and do something or check something... we were so ready to be discharged and go home! Finally we were able to leave around 3:30 on Saturday afternoon!!

I really can't imagine things going any more smoothly, I am so thankful for how everything went and am so happy to be a mommy to our two boys! Praise God and to Him be the glory!! We are truly blessed!

"We prayed for this child and the Lord has granted us what we asked of him." 1 Samuel 1:27

Life Update!

Well, I guess it's about time I update about life! Can't believe it's been over 3 weeks since my last post, and soo much has happened in the Friske house! We had a wonderful Easter with my family (I was hoping to post pictures of Easter on my next blog entry... but am still trying to figure out how to get pics off of my dad's camera - I left mine in Chicago when we visited, oops!) Alex enjoyed all of the Easter festivities though - dying eggs, egg hunting, Easter baskets, lots of treats, and just visiting with family!

After spring break, I went back to school for 3 more weeks... and now I'm DONE!!! It felt like a loong 3 weeks at school and was so tiring, but I am so happy to be at home and relaxing now. We spent the weekends doing lots of "nesting" things and preparing for our little guy - carpet cleaning, nursery organizing, furniture rearranging, and finishing up some grad class assignments so that everything is done and I don't have to worry about any of that after the baby comes! I feel pretty prepared and am am mostly just relaxing now and trying to keep things semi-clean and ready :) Alex got sick pretty much right after school was done for me - it hit him Saturday evening and he's finally starting to feel better today. I'm just glad that it's before the baby comes!

I think we've decided on a name for our little one! Well, kind of... we are still debating the shorter or longer version. Nathan or Nathaniel Karl Friske is our plan right now (unless we have some kind of last minute change of mind haha). Nathan means gift from God and Karl is Gary's middle name and was his grandpa's name. If we go with Nathaniel, we'll call him Nathan most of the time... we were thinking with the longer name Alexander it might go well... and I really like the sound of it... although Gary is leaning a little more toward just Nathan right now, so we will see!

So now we're just playing the waiting game! My doctors have all still predicted that Nathan will be here early - I think they mainly think that because Alex was 10 days early. I have been 1.5 cm dialated for 2 weeks now... and yesterday they said I was 2 cm. He said he hoped to see me before my next appt on Wed. next week, but if not we'll talk about how long they'd want to wait before inducing me. Gary is so ready for the baby to make his appearance! He's been asking me several times a day if I have any labor signs and thinks every day is "the day". On the other hand, I'm enjoying a few days off to relax and rest up and spend time with Alex. (I'm loving the fact that I can stay in bed until 7 and take a daily nap!!!) I think by next week, I will be ready for Nathan's arrival though! I am starting to feel a little anxious and just wondering what will happen this time - last time was so different since my water broke before contractions started at all. I was induced with Alex, so I feel like I don't know what to expect this time!

We are also getting nervous about how Alex will do with the arrival of his little brother! He has been especially clingy to mommy the past few weeks and more whiny than usual. I think he senses that there are changes coming! He knows he's having a brother of course, but I think that we've been talking about it so long now that it doesn't feel like it's real to him. I think he's definitely going to have some jealousy and it will be tough not to have all of mommy's attention... we did get him a few new things to pull out when the baby comes and hope to make it as easy of a transition as possible - we'll see! I think two might be a tough age since they are so much in the "mine", egocentric phase! His personality is also very affectionate and he loves to snuggle all of the time - I think that might be tough with us holding the baby and him wanting to be held too.

Well, Alex is asking if I'm done with my "e-mails" and if we can go outside, so I guess I'm done for now! :)

Spring is officially here!

Spring break has been great! I can't believe how fast it has gone - it is already Friday! Here are some highlights from the week:

*A trip to Chicago to visit great college friends!! And although Alex was very off schedule and had several "terrible two" moments, we had a great time! We enjoyed the Shedd Aquarium (where Alex loved to "touch" the fish through the glass and claimed that they were "my fish!"), Chicago style pizza, games, and wonderful company!!

*Ice cream date with Alex on one of the beautiful days we had! And he ate every single bite... I think we were there at least 45 minutes... I kept asking if he was all done and he'd just grin and say "nooo..." and keep on going! (This was a big change from last summer when he thought ice cream was too cold and wouldn't eat more than 2 bites or so)

*Park time (although the normally 10 minute walk there was a MUCH different experience being 7 1/2 months pregnant! haha!) - And Alex overcame his long time fear of slides... he must have gone down 15 times by the end of our trip!

*Shopping for spring clothes for my boys! (Well mostly for Alex since the new little guy has TONS of clothes already!)

*Nursery organizing... with the help of Alex who referred to it as the "baby's room" and wanted so badly to help fold and put away and sort clothes! Such a big helper!

*Closet cleaning... got to clean out two closets :) not as much organizing as I'd hoped, but pretty good for only having a few free days!

*Flip flops, capris, short sleeves, lots of outside time, beautiful weather!

*Convincing Alex (well, bribing him actually!) to wear sandals (he was very concerned that he had no socks on!) and shorts!

*Watching Alex enjoy riding his bike and car and collect sticks, rocks, and grass from around the yard. He just LOVES being outside!

*Grilling out with my boys and eating outside on the deck!

*Lunch date in the middle of the week with Gary... and getting to see his office and meet his co-workers!

*Mid-day naps (every day except one this week :) )

*Donut and "choo choo" date with Alex (his FAVORITE thing to do with mommy I think... dunkin' donuts followed by barnes and noble to play with the train table and read books - this was something we did on Saturday mornings together while Gary was unemployed to give him a little bit of time to himself!)

It has been a busy, fun-filled, and productive week! I can't believe how fast it has gone by... although I'm not dreading going back tooooo much since I know I only have 3 weeks until maternity leave starts. Speaking of the baby, my doctor was convinced at my appointment this week that I will be early - we will see! I really don't know what she is basing this theory off of, but she seemed pretty sure! She even had me move my pre-registration appointment up a week and a half just to make sure the baby doesn't come before my appointment.

Well, I better run, my family will be here soon to celebrate Easter weekend at our house! So excited to see them all again!! :)

lots of snuggles!

Alex came down with the stomach bug this past Thursday night... first time he has been sick since before Gary's time at home... 4 1/2 months ago was his last time sick! I think that was our longest stretch ever. I guess I shouldn't have spoken so soon - just that afternoon at daycare his teacher and I were talking about how her little one had been sick a lot and I mentioned that Gary and I had taken bets on how long till back in daycare before Alex would get sick. I told her I guess I lost the bet because my guess was his second week back (Gary guessed it would be after 3 weeks, probably over spring break...) So anyway, I guess I spoke too soon because he woke up throwing up Thursday night :(

It is so hard to watch a sick toddler... he was up from 11:30-4:30 throwing up every 10-20 minutes, it was awful! We just snuggled on the couch all night and watched a couple of movies. He would dose off every now and then but then wake up within 20 minutes sick again. Poor thing! Finally he fell asleep about 4:30 though and that was it for getting sick. I took Friday off and we spent the day snuggling, sleeping, and watching movies together. As much as I hate for him to be sick, there is something about being able to hold him and comfort him and spend a whole day just snuggling!

Alex is such a snuggler anyway... he is a very affectionate little boy and I love it :) He gives big, long hugs and will smother you with kisses! I think that will be hard for when the baby comes for him - seeing another little one snuggling with mommy and daddy. Of course we will do our best to show him there is plenty of love and plenty of snuggles to go around :)

I'm thinking Alex may be an early little reader... he is so into his letters and it is so cute! I don't feel like we've pushed it or quizzed him or anything, he just really loves letters and his little mind is soaking everything up! He has foam letters in the bath, a letter puzzle, magnetic letters for the fridge, and lots of letter books that he enjoys. (You can tell I'm a K/first grade teacher! haha.) He also loves "The Letter Factory" movie he got for christmas and probably watches it once a week or so. His favorite TV shows have been "Super Why" (or just "why" as he calls it) that revolves around letters/sounds and "Word World" (or "words" as he calls it). Anyway, he got some letter flashcards from Santa in his stocking back at Christmas time and we hadn't really gotten them out yet. He saw them in the closet a couple of weeks ago and asked to play with them, so I went ahead and took out just a few of the ones that he knows and a couple of others for him to play with. He asks to "play cards" and we'll go through them together or he'll just line them up and say them to himself. I decided to get them all out when he asked for more cards yesterday just for fun and to see which ones he knows. I went through the whole stack of 26 (capital and lowercase on the same card) and he knew 17 letters!!! I was very surprised and so proud! What a smart little boy! He went from knowing 7 to 17 in just a couple of weeks! My goal was that he'd know his letters by kindergarten, but it looks like he'll know them before he's 2 1/2!

busy, tired, and counting down!

A lot has been going on for us these past couple of weeks! Gary started his new job and really seems to be enjoying it so far! Alex is back in daycare and is doing great... I really think he's missed being with other kids. He has been excited to go each day and we haven't had any tears yet, which is far better than I had hoped for! We are settling into a pretty good routine at home as well.

My parents and sisters were in town two weekends ago to visit and we had a great time! We took them to IKEA and we all went out to lunch... we spent most of the rest of the weekend relaxing and catching up! They will all be back again over Easter :)

This past weekend we took Alex to the circus - it was priceless to see his big eyes as he watched the show and so fun to see him clap and cheer for the different acts. He was in awe! His favorite thing to watch was definitely the animals - elephants, horses, tigers, and dogs!

I'm starting to feel really tired at this point - I'm sooo ready for spring break in two weeks and then maternity leave to start three weeks after that. It still seems like a long time though, the days and weeks are just dragging! It's not even that I'm necessarily ready to have the baby yet, I'm just ready to be done with school. It's definitely been a tough year with my class and my patience is pretty much gone at this point. It is so exhausting trying to deal with angry, emotional, and often mean and disrespectful kids all day while also trying to actually teach them something. And of course it isn't the whole class, but 6 kids or so that really make it tough for the rest of us to enjoy our days together. Anyway, keep praying for my energy and patience as I make it through 4.5 more weeks with this group of kids!

But, I actually love being pregnant! Each time I feel those little baby kicks and movements, I am just so amazed at the miracle of pregnancy! Other than tired, I'm feeling overly hungry all the time and very obsessed with food haha. I literally go to bed thinking about what I'm going to eat for breakfast the next morning! My back is really bothering me this pregnancy too. It bothered me last time, but this time it seems worse. Maybe it's how the little guy is laying or something?

And for a few favorite 2 year old sayings from these past few days:

• "onamark, set, go!" (on your mark, get set, go!)
• "uv ooo mama" (love you mama) - a favorite saying that will never get old :)
• "why?" and "but why?"- this is a new one... only within the past 3 days or so... I have a feeling we are entering a why? stage! It's cute for now, but we'll see in a couple more days ;) Normally right now it's used when we ask him to do something that he isn't so sure he wants to do!

Answered Prayer!!!

We are so excited - Gary accepted a job today at Guardian Savings Bank as a senior accountant!!! Praise God!!!!! Just to brag about my hubby a little, he was selected from over 300 applicants after three rounds of interviews! He is scheduled to start this coming Monday - it has all happened so quick! We are so thankful for this wonderful blessing and good timing! He will have the chance to get settled in his new position and be in a good routine before our baby boy is here in 10 weeks or so... and it's just such a relief to know before our new little one arrives that Gary has a job!

I took Alex to visit daycare today and he is all signed up and ready to start back up at the same place he went before- I'm a little nervous about how he'll adjust having been home with his daddy for over four months. He really doesn't have much time there though - three weeks till spring break (woohoo!) then three weeks after that until my maternity leave begins. There will be a lot of transitions for our little guy within the next few months!

Thank you all so much for your prayers, support, and encouragement these past months - God is so good to have put so many great people in our lives to love and support us - as well as to help us grow and learn - through these few months of unknown. We have learned so much about God's sovereignty and trusting in Him. In addition, I am so thankful for this time of really learning about God's will - and knowing that His will for our lives is to strive to glorify Him in all that we do - and if we do that, we really can't go wrong!

Please continue to pray for our family as we go through many transitions over the next few months :)

Current Happenings

We've had a big two year old for a little over a month now! I can't believe how big Alex is getting and what a little boy he is turning into. Here are some of the things that he is currently doing/saying:

• "MINE!" (not a mommy and daddy favorite ;) )
• "ready... GO!"
• "WOOHOO!" (can be said for even the littlest amount of excitement... and with both arms thrown up in the air)
• He is VERY into letters... he likes to play "cards" with letter flashcards, watch TV shows with letters, play letters on the fridge, and points them out on everything! He now knows: A, M, R, T, Z, Q, O and sometimes K and S. I know, it is a very random assortment!
• "One... two... tree!" (before running across a room, back and forth)
• Says his own prayers... not in full sentences or anything, but he now likes to say the words. (Mommy and daddy are usually second on the list of "thank yous" after his little buddy Jack!)
• Enjoys choo choos (and even tries to build his own tracks now), cars, and trucks - he is all boy!
• Does great sleeping in his "big boy bed"... still doing great with staying in bed until he gets permission to get up, which is wonderful!
• "no way!" (another way over-used phrase... often involving a pointing finger... the two year old attitude is coming out!)
• "come here" and "up please" and "play please" to get mommy and daddy's attention to play!
• Gives kisses to mommy's belly and will tell you his baby brother is in there... he loves babies right now - we'll see if that is still true in a couple of months ;)
• Books! Alex can sit and read books for a very long time for a two year old... and he loves going to the library and bookstore with mommy! I hope this love of reading lasts a long time!
• Playing with his daddy - they have definitely been able to bond and enjoy lots of guy play time together with Gary being out of work... he sure does love his daddy! It is so sweet to watch them together... how blessed I am :)

Ok, so I could probably go on forever, but since those are the first things that come to mind, I'm sure they are the most important to remember! :)

The pregnancy is still going great! Of course the tiredness is hitting me more and more (I am now 30 weeks!) and my back bothers me and I have to pee allll the time - but that is all normal of course. This little guy is quite the mover! He doesn't just kick the way that Alex did. His whole body moves, and it moves a lot. It is crazy to feel and to watch... not sure what that means for once he is born, haha. We still haven't settled on a name for sure. Our top name is still Nathan (Nate for short), but we haven't completely decided yet. I feel like things have been so busy this time and we've had a lot of other stuff going on that this pregnancy has taken more of a backseat... Gary was already saying the other day that he doesn't think this baby is getting the same attention as the first! I guess we just feel like things are pretty much ready since we've already done it once. Probably over spring break in a few weeks I'll make sure the nursery is together and go through some more of the clothes and stuff.

Well, anyway, I feel like I'm starting to ramble! Keep praying for a healthy baby and the current job situation!