A FEW DETAILS

For those of you that have been wondering...

LABOR and DELIVERY
My labor and delivery went very smoothly (although I was in hard labor almost the whole time). The total time was: 6 hours and 18 minutes! I had warned my midwife that there was a possibility that I'd go fast based on my mom's history, but this being my first baby, we figured labor would be a bit longer. James came the absolute earliest hour (two really) he could (I think the full moon's gravitational pull had something to do with it - closest to the earth in 15 years I've heard). Paul had been out of town in Michigan Sunday night through late Tuesday, we got the birthing pool Thursday night, and my mom flew back from Florida (she almost missed her plane) and arrived at our house two hours before he was born! As you can probably guess, we were not expecting him to come so soon!

Coming a bit early (at 37 weeks) James was considered a late preterm baby. I've learned that some preterm babies don't have their sucking reflex fully developed which is the problem James has. Night three, he was screaming with hunger but couldn't nurse. We ended up getting a lactation consultant to help out. For the first week and a half, I had to pump and then feed James with a bottle 1 1/2 ounces every 2-3 hours as James lost a pound those first few days. The Lord really had his hand in the timing of everything as we ended up going in to the ER to get James' bilirubin level checked on day 7. He ended up needing to be under lights for jaundice for just over a full day (2 nights in the hospital). Because he was by then drinking so much milk (an ounce an hour when he was under the lights) and he was regaining his weight, we were able to pass on an IV of fluids. The most likely cause for James' severe jaundice was what is called ABO incompatibility. I am an O+ blood type and James is an A- (Paul's an A+ so we both carry a recessive negative gene).


Our little guy in the incubator under bilirubin lights.


James with his goggles on - Paul called him our little space man. James really did not like them and was glad when I would take him out for a few minutes and take them off while feeding him (although I pumped and mostly fed him through a bottle while he was in the incubator).
The blue tube is connected to another light he is laying on and the thing on his foot is an electrode that the CNA's would plug into their machines to measure his oxygen level, and heart rate. With all the nurses and CNA's coming in to check on him every few hours, I didn't get much sleep, but Paul and James could sleep through anything:)


I love this picture - daddy and his little man:)

Life is not anywhere near back to normal yet, but I'm slowly adding things back in to my day and leaning to adjust to the many new things motherhood brings.

MORE PICTURES OF JAMES

I

It's a boy!

IT'S A BOY!!!!!!!!!!

James Harold Freidel was born on December 12th at 9:52 pm.
Vital stats:
7 lbs. 0 oz.
20 inches long

Mother and baby are doing great! More pictures to follow.

Thanksgiving

One of the not so wonderful things of married life is having to make decisions on which family to spend what holiday with. We wish we could be everywhere at once, but alas it doesn't work that way. Last Thanksgiving we drove up to Iowa with Paul's family to visit Grandpa and Grandma Freidel and this year we drove to Wisconsin with my family. It is really the only time of the year we get to see all my relatives - my Uncle Sam and Aunt Evie from Georgia, Uncle Pete and Aunt Lori from Lake Zurich, and the ones we see a bit more often, Uncle Otto, Aunt Gail and Niki, Uncle Neil, and Opa and Oma all from Wisconsin. Opa is now in a wheel chair but thankfully he is not shaking from his Parkinson's disease. I know it brings him a lot of joy to see his grandchildren. While we were letting our turkey digest before desert, I took some pictures for a photography project I'm working on. They didn't all turn out - I'm still learning the ropes of photography and indoor lighting, but they sure were fun to take!


This is Niki's dog Teddy posing for me. I should have used the flash.


Aunt Evie and Ralphie.


Niki in my favorite hat (my rehearsal dinner hat and present from Paul).

On November 18th, I took my final exam for the ABRSM diploma from England. It went really well, and although I won't know the results for quite awhile, I am pretty sure I passed. No more studying (at least for now)! Paul has two more weeks left and he's done with his second Masters. We'll get to have dinner together on Wednesdays now. Only 4-5 more weeks till the baby is born - and dramatic change in our lives!

The week before last (the 17th-23rd, Paul was gone first at a work training conference and then hunting in Jo Davies County (sp?). I saw him all of two hours between him getting back from the conference and leaving for hunting (actually less as I got home at 10:00PM and he left at 12:30AM). I didn't want to spend all those nights by myself, so my sisters took turns coming and spending the night. On Saturday night, all of them spent the night and we had fun watching a couple movies and talking - as well as trying on my hats. I had them all over my hall floor. I didn't know I had so many. Here are a few of them in a couple pictures.


I have really difficult lighting to work with in my house. In this case, it gave me an antique looking orange color which I thought was pretty.


A fun shot using a slow shutter speed and zooming out as the picture was being exposed.


Katie in a fun hat.


My photogenic sister Kristine posing.

This past weekend, Niki was over at my parents, so Kristine and Niki drove over to the river to pose some more for me. Brittany came to help out and hold the props.

Happenings

Hi Everyone!

I've been staying busy studying for my DipABRSM Vocal Performance test which is coming up on the 18th of this month. I had to drop one of my songs due to lack of lung capacity (baby of course) and add two songs. I still have some work to do on memorizing, but the six songs I'll be performing are coming along. The program notes I had to write for my exam are done - yeah! The part I'm the most unsure about is the sight singing part - which is not my strength.

I've also been taking a photography course at the community college in Elgin here - I'm hoping I'm retaining most of the information. Today at the co-op I teach choir at, we had a picture day. I saw the photographer focus on the grey background behind us and then aim the lens at us - and I actually knew what she was doing! At least a few concepts are getting into my pregnancy brain:) Paul has been busy with work and has had to go on a couple out of town business trips in the past couple weeks and next week will be gone for almost the whole week (business and hunting with four of our brothers).

Speaking of hunting, for those of you that know my family and are interested in hunting, Jordan (my 18 almost 19 year old brother) took up bow hunting this year and has already gotten 3 bucks and 3 does! 5 of his deer he got within 24 hours! I think my parents freezer will be full this winter, although some of it will be turned into jerky as my brother Joshua has taken up the art of making jerky - and boy is it good!

Paul and I got to see Abel and meet his new family this past Saturday. It was so nice to see him again. We are so blessed that he is in a wonderful Christian home with wonderful parents. The Lord has really protected him and we believe that He has a special plan for Abel.

Baby's movements are getting bigger and baby gets hiccups a few times a day (poor thing - although I know the head is down whenever I feel the hiccups). I have around 7-8 weeks left to go and then we'll be holding our little one!!!! I am moving slower these days, am looking big for a first time mom, have started getting heartburn for the first time in my life, have resorted to wearing zippered boots, and do have some trouble getting to sleep as it is hard to get comfortable, but overall, I am really feeling well. Paul is having daddy dreams (I'm having dreams about my test coming up) and can't wait to see our little one and find out if we have a little Abigail or a James! I have a bunch of mommy projects that I am looking forward to finishing after my test, and am looking forward to tackling a huge list of "things to do before the baby". Needless to say, we are both getting excited about being parents! My brother Caleb just had one of his orthodontist appointments and when asked what color rubber bands he wanted on his braces, he said pink and blue. So he is going around wearing "uncle colors" proclaiming that he is going to be an uncle, and is looking forward to changing them to all pink or all blue (isn't he sweet)! We have some very excited siblings - not to mention the soon to be grandparents! I don't know what we're going to do on Sunday's - draw numbers maybe? I told my father-in-law that the grandparents get first dibs.

~Rebecca

CANADA

Mandy's Wedding

It was so much fun to spend a few days with the Metcalfe Family before the wedding helping get ready for the big day! As there is for any wedding, there were so many last minute details to accomplish and everyone pitched in. Kristine, cousin Niki, Aunt Alida, and her granddaughter Riley were all up in Canada as well - the Metcalfe's had quite the household!


Paul helping Benjamin put chinking material in his log house "bedroom".


Here are Michaela, Katherine, and Meghan doing dishes and helping with food. Suzannah and Abigail were the main meal people bless their hearts - they had so many people to ccok for! They also ended up with most of the dishes.


Rachel putting the greenery on the archway.


Crystal putting the program together (Mandy is in the background). Crystal is getting married on November 29th! She and Phil got engaged while we were there. She's going to live in Manitoba - a bit closer to us.


Paul and I goofing around as we helped make "helper" gifts - chocolate covered pretzels YUM!


Paul and "the crew" washing the vehicles (dirt roads sure make them dusty).


The happy couple with the beautiful quilt Krissy made for them.


Abigail, Niki, and I "arranging" their honeymoon trailer:) Paul also decorated the outside of the trailer (with nice decorations + some cans).
Paul and I ended up getting "pranked" back as we ended up camping in the same campground as the newlyweds (granted it had 700+ sites). We came back one day from hiking and found our pranking reciprocated!

THE BIG DAY!


Uncle Ken and Aunt Joan - parents of the bride.


Rachel getting ready.


The beautiful bride!


The happy bride! Mandy made her own dress!


Mr. and Mrs. Philip Petka!


The bridal party.


The bride and her attendants.


The Metcalfe Family.


The newly engaged couple (they were engaged the day before) Phil and Crystal.

Belated Post

So much has happened in the past couple weeks it's hard to know where to start!

I guess I'll start with August 22nd. We had a birthday/goodbye party for Abel as he was going to his mom's the next day. We had both our families over and a few neighbors. I wanted to do something with a Mexican theme so we had tacos (Krissy informed me American tacos) for dinner. Our neighbors Bill and Jen let us use their bags game so the kids had fun tossing bean bags and also tried their skill swinging at the pinata. Saturday, we packed up all Abel's belongings (a whole car full) and brought him to his mom's house. I did have trouble emotionally packing up his things - the little boy things that had been around the house for a few months. It wasn't easy to know that he wouldn't be coming back. We brought him to his mom's and explained all the new procedures to her and then we left. Paul took me out to Panera Bread and wasn't embarrassed by my red eyes. He was such an encouragement to me - reminding me that Abel is in the Lord's hands and that we could trust the Lord for Abel's care.

Sunday we went out to eat with my parents in honor of our 1st Anniversary. When we got out of the restaurant and Paul started up the car, it wouldn't move. He tried to turn it off and on several times but to no avail. He got out to see if the bumper was stuck on the curb, but it wasn't. He got back into the car and said "I hope it's not the transmission" (it was the car we were taking on vacation). I saw my dad in my mirror and looked in the back of his truck and saw Brittany in the back with a video camera so I got out laughing and said "OK guys, what did you do?" Then, all my siblings came out of the woodwork. They had jacked up the front of our car and put it on blocks and of course captured our attempt at leaving:) Life with the Knottnerus' - that sounds like a good book title:)

Monday I went to Abel's school and gave the school nurse all the info she would need to care for him. We found out that Abel's mom forgot to send his insulin with him (it's a different insulin system than last year) so I ran around and got it.

Monday night (August 25th) Paul and I watched the video of our wedding as Monday was our 1st Anniversary! We also finished the last piece of our cake (we ate a slice every month as we celebrated our "monthaversary's").

Tuesday we went to Lake Geneva and had lunch at a old-fashioned diner and then walked around the town. My parents had given us a gift certificate for an "ice cream social boat ride" on Lake Geneva. It was so relaxing and romantic:) We sat by the lake for awhile, had dinner, and then after searching the stores for a tea cup, we headed home. It was a relaxing day - just what we both needed after all the preparation we spent getting Abel ready.

Wednesday early morning Kristine came home! YEA! We all missed her so much while she was volunteering at the orphanage in Mexico for two months. Her flight was delayed around four hours, but she made it home safely. She said she enjoyed her time there but that she was very ready to come home. I sure hope when Krissy gets married some day, that she will stay nearby - I really missed talking to and seeing her while she was gone.

Friday night I got a call from Abel's new foster mom. At first I was confused as I was helping Abel's mom line up childcare. We don't know all that happened, but for some reason, his mom is unable to care for him. Abel is with a wonderful Christian family now that has three children including another six year old and he is now going to a Christian school. We truly believe that the Lord has His hand on Abel and protected him by putting him in the wonderful home he is in and will continue to protect him. He has been covered in prayer since before we received him into our home and we are praying daily for him.

Life right now is full of getting ready to go on our trip. We leave this Saturday! I am starting to get really excited - seeing our cousins again in Alberta will be so much fun! After the week of wedding preparations and ceremony, Paul and I will travel five hours south to Jasper, Lake Louise, and then to Banff. They are in a beautiful stretch of the Canadian Rockies with Glaciers and ice fields all around. We'll be camping (with an air mattress) so I have piles of gear all around the house:) Paul visited Jasper and Banff in '05 with his siblings Marie and the twins (Jesse and Jeremiah) when they went to Alaska, so he is already declared that he is going to be my personal tour guide:)

Last night we vacuumed out the cars and steam cleaned them - we are ending up having to take Mustard (yup the get away car at our wedding - go back to the wedding entry if you want to see why our car is called Mustard) as Mayo is having oil problems. That means less room, but I think we'll manage - we'll see Friday night I guess.

When we get back, I'll post some of the pictures from our trip.

Till then!

Rebecca