2012 Reflection

As the year end approaches, it's always fun to look back and reflect. 2012 has been a great year for the Olson/Stuebing clan:

-We found out we were pregnant not long after the New Year!

-My brother Wayne got engaged in February! Him and Brooke are planning an August 2013 Wedding and our family couldn't be happier for them both.  Cody and I are very thankful to be gaining a sister like Brooke.  Mari is coming all the way from Japan to be here for their wedding too!

-Cody and I traveled to The Big Island of Hawaii with his parents in March when I was 7 weeks pregnant.  We celebrated Loren's birthday with a fishing trip.  When the 12 ft swells didn't make me sea sick Cody said, "Well, I guess we know we are having a boy!".

-My sister-in-law, Courtney moved to Texas for work.  Cody and I got to visit her on separate trips.  I went in April and he went in August. 8-9 Months later, she moved back to the Pacific Northwest!!!!!!! She now resides in Seattle and seems to really love it.  It's nice to have her close to home again.

-My brother Caleb graduated from The School of Dentistry at OHSU. That officially makes him the first Dentist in the family! He recently took a job opportunity in Bethel, Alaska.  Cody and I hope to make it up there to visit him sometime before his 2 year contract is up. Hopefully he is surviving the below freezing temperatures (earlier this month it was -25 degrees there! Yes there IS a NEGATIVE sign in front of that 25!).

-In June, Brooke received her degree in Respiratory Therapy. I was hoping her career would take her and Wayne up here to Portland but so far no luck there.

-We didn't do as much camping as we would have liked to but we enjoyed the few trips that we did make.

-Cody got his first deer since we have met.  I used to give him a hard time about all this "hunting" he does when really it just seemed like he did a lot of "camping"! When he came home with it and I cried, he explained to me that part of a man's duty is to provide and it's "not someones pet". I think he was beginning to blame me for his bad streak, so despite my animal loving heart, I guess it was a good thing.

-The birth of Mr. Hanley was the highlight of our year!  Everything about having Hanley has brought Cody and I so much closer- from the pregnancy to preparing the nursery to the delivery to parenthood. Words cannot express my love for Hanley and the joy it brings me to see Cody as a father. I have said it before but I think the 3 of us make one heck of a team.

-I have really enjoyed being at home with Hanley. I kind of thought I might go a little stir crazy but he has kept me busy for sure!!! There's no time or energy to have cabin fever with a newborn. I am making sure to cherish each moment I have with him before returning back to work. Maternity leave is truly a special time for Mommy and Baby to bond.

-Cody is taking some time off of work between Christmas and New Years. It has really been nice to spend quality family time for the Holidays.

This year has been a true blessing. I sure hope 2013 is just as good to us! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!

Weekend Rundown

This weekend the family gathered to celebrated Great Grandma's 95th Birthday. Great Grandma continues to amaze me with how much energy and life she still has in her! Hanley was such a good little boy for the party...I think he was putting on a show for all the Grandma's!

Hanley with his Great Great Grandma! Happy Birthday!

4 generations of Olson love! Grandma Tina with her first Great Grandchild!

Saturday night Cody and I got out for our first date night since Hanley's birth! At my request, we went out for sushi. I hadn't had sushi since we found out that we were pregnant. Dinner and drinks at Izumi's was the perfect way to spend the night together.  Our evening out really gave us some time to reconnect and Hanley enjoyed some special time with Grandma and Grandpa Olson.

Gettin' Out of the House

Hanley and I try to get out of the house at least once each day. Whether it's to run a quick errand or just go for a walk. I figure, if I need out of the house daily, Roxy does too. So, she joins us for walks and we try to mix in as much park time as possible too.  It's been kind of a challenge to walk with a stroller and a 100 pound dog with lots of energy! Seriously, the first time I took both Rox and Hanley out for a walk by myself, Roxy had to the Bob on 2 wheels on more than one occasion! I have had to be pretty stern with her to make it clear that she can't pull on the leash when she's excited and that the stroller will run her over if she's in the way.  Tough love I suppose but she is starting to get the hang of it which is making our walks more enjoyable.

This morning was chilly but we took advantage of the dry weather. We took Roxy to the park to play fetch then went for a nice long walk.

Girls Night Out, Boys Night In

The Crew: Dr June, Jamie, Me, Shaira, Autumn, Joanne, Tami

I kissed Mr. Hanley goodbye and left the house without a diaper bag Friday night to join my favorite work gals for our Christmas party! Wow, it felt weird.

I thought I would have a hard time leaving Hanley for the first time but Cody got stuck in traffic on the way home from work which meant by the time he got home, I had to literally run out the door. This probably ended up being a good thing because it didn't give me time to think about leaving my baby. 

Dr. June spoiled us for the night and everyone had a great time!! I feel so lucky to be a part of such a great team.

When I got home, I realized how much I missed my little man. I was glad that he was still awake so I got to cuddle him and rock him to sleep.  Perfect way to end my night.

Thanks Honey for giving me an evening away.

Update!

I know it's been awhile! Forgive me, I have been a busy Mama!! So, let's get caught up...

-Just when I thought we were getting the hang of things, Cody went back to work.  Thankfully, that was the week of Thanksgiving so it was a short one. It was a good way to ease me into being home with Hanley by myself.

-By Tuesday of that week, I had an emotional breakdown.  I was tired and overwhelmed.  I distinctly remember at one point making myself a sandwich and taking 1 bite of it before Hanley started crying.  So, I sat my sandwich down on the coffee table, picked him up and started feeding him. Just then, Roxy started barking at the back door and the cat jumped up on the coffee table and started eating my lunch! Seriously?! No shower, and now no lunch, and soon to have pissed off neighbors from Roxy's barking...The day was not looking good for this Mama.

-My friend Katie called later that day with some great tips to get Hanley to sleep better.  Then she asked me if there was anything else that made me emotional.  I explained to her that I feel like the only time I am holding Hanley is when I am feeding him (It's easy to feel like a milk machine!).  If I want to get any rest or get anything done around the house, I have to put him down.  Her best advice was to rest when I need to rest, let the housework go, and take advantage of every moment with him. When I got off the phone with her, I immediately started folding laundry. Then I thought about what she said. So, I marched out to the living room and picked up my little man and cuddled the heck out of him. It didn't allow myself to feel guilty about not getting the laundry done and I loved every minute of just cuddling my sleepy boy.

-We went to Eugene for Thanksgiving. Everyone got to meet Hanley and of course we had 2 Thanksgiving dinners!! After feeling overwhelmed, it was really nice to be home and have lots of helping hands around.  Hanley did AWESOME on the drive to and from Eugene. He slept the whole way and didn't even make a peep. We learned quickly that he loves going for drives. Cody had a canopy installed on the truck prior to Thanksgiving. So, Roxy and the half of our house that we had to pack with us stayed dry! (Traveling with an infant is a whole different ball game).

Hanley and Uncle Wayne

-Civil War 2012 was a little rough but I am happy to announce Cody and I were still talking by the end of the day....barely.

-It's starting to look a lot like Christmas at the Olson's! I recently took down the fall decorations and put up the Christmas decorations, Cody put up the Christmas lights outside and we got our tree up and decorated.  This year hiking into the woods to get a tree wasn't really an option with Hanley.  So, we found a U-Pick, We-Cut tree farm in West Linn that worked perfect for us. 

-Hanley is seriously growing like a weed!!!! We got his newborn photo's back from Marissa Lynn Photography.  His photo's were taken the week of Thanksgiving and looking at them now, we feel like he has changed so much already. Seperate post on the photo session coming soon!

 

-Yesterday was a big day...Hanley got his first bottle and graduated from newborn diapers to size 1. I am not going to lie, I was emotional.  I feel like he's getting so big and time is flying by too fast.  Cody kind of laughed at me and said, "He's having a bottle, he's not going off to college."  Haha. I started pumping and we introduced the bottle in preparation for my ladies night with the gals from work for our office Christmas party. Each year Dr. June takes us girls bowling, then to Dosha Spa for massages and pedicures, then to dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Chart House. So, while I am out with the gals, Cody and Hanley will have their first boys night together.

Overall, things seem to be settling down pretty well here at The Olson's!

Adjusting to Life with Baby

We have successfully survived our first week of parenthood!! The first couple of days were naturally spent trying to get the hang of things.

Kim stayed with us the first night home from the hospital.  She was so helpful with Hanley and taking care of things around the house.  I have known this for a long time now, but I definitely scored the jackpot when it comes to the in-laws!

We spent the whole first week enjoying home cooked meals made by Kim, Kramer and Rachael and our neighbors across the street. This was a huge help and made a world of a difference.

We had some ups and downs with the nursing but that seems to have worked itself out now and we are starting to see some sort of routine with Hanley's feeding/sleeping schedule. 

I am finally starting to get some sleep at night! Once we got the nursing down, I think Hanley was trying to play "catch up" and wanting to feed every hour throughout the night. Now he is going 2-3 hours between feedings at night. I have also finally allowed myself to actually catch some zzz's between his feedings. At first, I wouldn't let my body shut down at night because I was aware of every single noise he would make.  Now, I feel more relaxed and know when I lay him in his cradle, he is safe and sound which gives me some peace of mind.

Cody is so good with Hanley. Sometimes I think he is even better with him than I am. There's nothing like baby cuddles and watching my 2 boys together.

Emotionally I am doing well. When I do get emotional, its a good emotional.  At one point I started to get teary eyed and when Cody asked what was wrong the only thing I could say was, "I just love him so much." It's so amazing how fast and how hard you fall in love with your own child.

Hanley and I had a Mother-Baby appointment yesterday.  He weighed in at a shocking 8lbs, 4 oz at 7 days old! Keep in mind, his birth weight was 7lbs, 13 oz.  He dropped 3 oz in the first 3 days of life but quickly made up for it! I think somebody is trying to live up to his Daddy's chunky baby days :o)

Hanley was born with darker hair and more of it than I thought he would have (Thank God, no beard though!).  His hair is already starting to lighten up (just like Cody's did as a baby) and it seems to have the slightest curl/wave to it. He might look like his Daddy but it's possible he got his Mama's hair (other than the fact that he already has Cody's hairline!). He has huge hands and feet...not sure where he got those from though!!! Cody calls him "Man Hands"...Haha!

Big Sister's, Roxy and Maxi, are still trying to adjust to life with Baby. Roxy seems to be doing better with the change than Maxi.  Roxy likes the extra snuggle time at night with Cody because she jumps into bed with him each time I get up to feed Hanley.  Maxi however, is feeling more neglected than ever.  She has tried crawling on top of Hanley while I am feeding him and has tried making me jealous by curling up on Cody's lap (which she has NEVER done before!).  I am sure with time, they will both be just fine.

Hanley's Arrival

We were scheduled to be induced the morning of Thursday, Nov 8th.  One hour before our appointment, Kaiser called us and said they didn't have a bed available and we needed to reschedule for later that day.  They were to call us by 10am to reschedule but we never received the phone call. I was already anxious about the induction so I called them at 11:15am to find out what was going on.  At that point they told us to come in at 1pm. So, Cody and I went for a morning walk and then we went out for a light lunch with my Mom and Kim prior to the induction.  I tried really hard to keep my mind off of it but I was still really emotional (A large part of me was really hoping that I went into labor naturally the night before the induction but clearly that didn't happen).

Once we made it to the hospital, I had my game face on.  It was time and I knew it.  I was ready to meet my little man and there wasn't anything I could do about the situation, this was just how it had to be. 

At 2pm, The midwife started my pitocin and inserted a cervical balloon to help dilate my cervix. The first day was uneventful. My contractions were too close together for them to up my pitocin so basically I was having a lot of unproductive contractions. We had great company with us: My Mom, my in-laws, Amie and Kramer. We killed time by playing games, watching TV and Amie even teaching me to crochet.  With no progress, we went to bed for the evening.

Friday morning at 7:30 am, I was itching to get things going and kept asking them to increase my pitocin.  The new nurse on shift was more aggressive and I appreciated it.  By 10:30 am on Friday, I had finally dilated to 3.5 cm and we were making progress with the pitocin levels.  By noon, my water spontaneously broke--That event is a whole story in itself!

Once my water broke, things started to pick up and my contractions rapidly began to increase in intensity.  Cody managed to help me through the painful contractions, keeping in mind all the tips and coping techniques we learned in baby class. Then back labor began...now that was a new level of pain.

We used the birthing tub twice.  The second time I was in it, I started to feel so much pressure and had the urge to push that the nurse wanted me to get out so the midwife could check me.  With the next contraction, I was already pushing.  This was at 9:15pm.

I pushed for over 4 hours when talk of emergency c-section began. They said Hanley was turned sunnyside up and I have a very narrow pelvic opening. Between the two, it was making things very difficult on Mommy and Baby. With each contraction, I was only able to push Hanley out enough to see the crown of his head and a little hair but when the contraction was over he was sucked right back in.  They were concerned with the amount of stress this was putting on Hanley and were keeping a close eye on his heart rate.

After 20 hours of early labor, 9 hours of active labor and over 4 hours of pushing with no pain meds, I was determined to get this kid out on my own before resulting to a c-section. So, I asked if they could use forceps or something first. They brought the Doctor in and she said she could use a vacuum suction but I still needed to get him down a little further in order for it to be effective.  She said she would give me 15 more minutes of pushing and see if we could make any progress.

When she came back, I had pushed him low enough to use the suction but there was a catch...she made it clear to us that she could only use it twice because of the amount of stress it would do to the baby.  After that, I would be going in for a c-section.  I continued to push a few more times while she prepped the vacuum and got things ready for the c-section as a back up. 

Cody cheered me on...We both knew these next two pushes had to count. My strength came from Cody's support, my belief that God was with us and my concern for Hanley's health-I knew I needed to do this for him.

With the help from the vacuum suction, I was able to fully get his head out in the two tries the Doctor gave me but she had to remove the suction.  She performed an episiotomy and let me continue to push 3 more times on my own.  On that third push, he shot out--head, shoulders and the rest followed.

After 5 hours and 8 minutes of pushing, at 2:23am on Saturday, November 10th Hanley James was born but wasn't breathing. 

They took him away and first cleared the meconium from his lungs and put him on oxygen for 4 minutes before we heard him cry for the first time. Because of his quick recovery, they said there shouldn't be any lasting effects from the difficult delivery.

I couldn't believe we did it!  Here he was, finally on my chest...such a handsome little boy. Happy, healthy and all ours.

Hanley James Olson, 7lbs 13 oz and 20.5 inches:

WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!

I can't thank Cody enough for all his support during our journey.  He was there to encourage me the whole time and fully believed in me.  I truely don't believe I could have done it without all his love and support. I think he deserves the "Best Coach" award.  I am also beyond grateful for the wonderful care we recieved at Kaiser. The nurses, midewives and Doctors were amazing.  They gave it there all and we have one cute little guy to prove it. Also, a big thank you to eveyone who waited for HOURS in the waiting area just to welcome Hanley once he made his long, drawn out entrance into this world.  We are lucky to have such great friends and family.

So, now we start a new life as a family of 3...