Roslyn Angel Vreeken - 5.16.2012

SHE'S HERE!!!! Our dear Roslyn joined our family at about 6:30 on the evening of May 16th. It was a pretty interesting day and it was very unexpected that she was going to join us that evening but it ended up being just about as perfect as any "delivery day" could have been.

For a little bit of background on the big day... My brother Jesse celebrated his birthday on May 12th and in wishing him a happy birthday I had commented on Facebook about how I was bummed that the baby didn't and wasn't coming that day because I thought it would have been fun to have them share a birthday. My grandmother, Granny, had noticed my comment and reminded me that her birthday was on May 16th and gave us a goal to shoot for that day. I just laughed it off because both of the other kids took their time and didn't show any signs of coming before their due dates and both came right on time, so I didn't put any hope into her coming early (I was due May 21st).

That being said here's how everything worked out. Paul and I went to bed late on the 15th (technically I think it was the 16th because I think we went to bed about one or two that morning) and I had been having moderate contractions most of the night. I can't exactly say when they started because I wasn't really paying any attention to them because they weren't any worse than anything I had experienced up to that point in my pregnancy. When we finally got into bed I noticed they increased in pain when I laid on my side but still thought that they weren't anything special because everything hurt more when I laid down. Just to have a starting point, I decided to pull out my phone and track a few of them until I fell asleep. I figured that I wouldn't be able to sleep if they were THAT bad so I wasn't going to stress over them and see how it went. I had been having regular contractions for a few nights in a row but they were always gone the next morning so I didn't want to lose anymore sleep wondering wither or not the labor was real and because we had gone to bed so late already I decided to just ignore them and get some rest. 

The next morning Paul woke up for class and I got up with him to make breakfast. Since I had slept through the whole night, with the exception of my regular bathroom "breaks", I still didn't think I had any reason to believe we were going to end up in the hospital that evening. I noticed that I was still having pain with the few contractions I was having when I laid on my side but they were still 10+ minutes apart and I figured it was just in relation to a lot of the pain I had already with pregnancy in general. I went a head and went back to bed after getting Paul out the door and just tried to make sure I wasn't completely on my side and everything seemed to be fine.

Finally it was time to get up with the kids and get going for the day. Paul and I had made a plan to go see the new movie "The Avengers" that afternoon while he was between classes and I didn't want to miss that last date. As I was in denial about the whole thing happening, I went a head and called the doctors office that morning to make sure my induction was properly scheduled for the 21st and that I had all the information I needed to get that going. I then set the kids up for breakfast and got ready for the day. Once we were all fed and changed we relaxed a little bit before heading over to the neighbors house to drop off the kids. I had even chatted a little with my dad on the phone that morning and told him that I wasn't sure what was going on but I was pretty sure there was nothing to get excited about. We had even joked about how wonderful it would be to have the baby on Granny's birthday but I told him I was sure I wouldn't get that lucky. He agreed with me and then we talked about how great the movie was and he had gotten me more excited to see it. After we said goodbye, I did however decide to hold off on calling Granny to wish her a Happy Birthday JUUUUST in case something happened that evening.

While I was getting ready I had stopped to go to the bathroom (sorry if that's too much information) and while doing my business I felt some kind of snap/pop but thought it was just the baby kicking me in a weird way because she had a tendency to do that, only this time it stood out to me as a little odd. But because nothing else happened immediately after that I, once again, ignored the idea something was going to happen that day and kept getting ready.

After we rushed out the door to get the kids over to our neighbors house made it to the movie theater to meet up with Paul about 5 minutes before the movie started. We got our tickets and ordered some food and as always I stopped in at the bathroom to take care of business before the movie started. It was at that point where I finally had to accept I was having a baby that day, I just didn't know how soon. When going to the bathroom I realized I was actually bleeding and the timing couldn't have been any less perfect. I hurried and got myself together and walked out to tell Paul what was going on. We talked to the people at the concession counter and asked them to hold off on making our food until we checked in with our doctors to see if we needed to hurry and do anything. After making the phone call and chatting with a nurse and explaining that we wanted to see a movie before coming in, if we weren't in any danger of holding off. She told us we were okay to wait until my contractions became more than I could handle or anything major happened in the mean time. Because my contractions were still 10+ minutes apart and I wasn't really in any pain we decided to stick with the original plan and stay for the movie. The girl at the concession stand thought I was crazy but I really was feeling pretty good, all things considered. I texted my dad to make sure that I had updated someone about what was going on but told him not to tell anyone yet because I didn't want to get anyone excited. I still thought there was a good chance my labor would roll over into the next day.

As we watched the movie I continued to track contractions on my cell phone and I had a few that came closer together but for the most part they stayed pretty consistent at 10 minutes apart. I also didn't have any increases in pain so I thought I was good for a while. After enjoying the movie I sent Paul back up to campus for his lab and told him I'd call him if anything changed. I then called our babysitter and updated her on what was going on and asked if she'd be okay watching the kids for a little longer while I went in to our doctors office to have everything checked out and to see where I was. She graciously offered to keep the kids for as long as I needed and so I shot into town to go see what was really going on.

Once at the doctors office they got me all set up and checked me out. As my doctor was checking me he was kind of talking out loud and as he was going it seemed as though we was starting to say that I was dilated somewhere between a 4 and a 5.  However when he made his final decision he said I was at a 7 and none of us (the nurse, the doctor or me) could believe I was that far along. I kind of yelled out at him and asked him if he was joking. I didn't think it was possible that I was that far along and both he and the nurse laughed at me and they were surprised I had waited so long to come up to the office, and that I wasn't in any more pain than I was. It was finally at that point I realized we were going to have a baby this evening and she really was going to share a birthday with my grandmother.

After getting dressed again I asked him what my time frame was and if I could run home before doing anything more. I hadn't packed anything or prepared the kids to be at the babysitters for as long as they had been, and he just looked at me like I was crazy and said, "Cheris, you're going up to the hospital now. You don't have time to go home and if you don't go up there on your own I'm going to make one of the nurses here drive you". The nurse even questioned my ability to drive myself up there and told me she would be more than happy to take me if I wasn't comfortable with the idea. I knew I was okay to drive so I declined the offer and went straight up to the hospital. I was a little bummed that I couldn't get home to grab my camera and some of the other basic stuff I needed but I did what I was told. On my way there I texted my dad again to update him but told him to still not tell anyone because I wanted to break the news to everyone myself and when I was ready. I was also still in shock about what was actually going on. On my way up to the hospital I shot Paul a text to update him but told him to stay in class until I had a real plan/idea for what was going on.

Once I got to the hospital I went straight to the check-in desk and chatted with the girl who was there working. She laughed at me too, not believing I was in labor because things up to that point still weren't that bad and I was more happy, and at ease, than another mother who had checked in before me, who was that far along in their labor. I was, however, starting to get nervous because Paul was still in class, and it was my fault as I had told him to not come yet (it's a good thing the hospital is so close to the school). I had never done anything this big on my own and so as I was going through the steps the panic started to set in. I was also sad because I didn't get to take any of the final pictures I was hoping to take that evening and even now I keep kicking myself for not telling Paul to come sooner.

Once I was checked in our doctor met up with me in my room to get me started, he wanted to break my water to get me going as quickly as possible but I told him that I still hadn't told Paul to come yet and I for sure wanted to get an epidural. He rolled his eyes at me again, I think he still couldn't believe I was still in denial about how far a long I was, and told me he wasn't going to break my water until Paul was there because he was pretty sure I'd be done before he made it if we started at that point. He wanted to give Paul as much time as possible go get there. I finally made the call and told Paul to come. While we were waiting we got started on the epidural and Paul showed up just as they were sticking the needle in my back. I'm sure the nurse was grateful for his timing because she gave Paul responsibility for holding my hands shortly there after, as I was squeezing hers pretty hard due to how nervous I was. Once my epidural was all set, and Paul was there, doctor Jones broke my water and we started waiting. During that time we finally updated everyone and let them know we were having the baby and it would only be a matter of time before she was there. About an hour later we were ready to start pushing. It took about 20 minutes and about 5-10 (I honestly can't remember how many times I had to push) really good pushes she was here in perfect form.The hardest part of the actual pushing was trying not to laugh because the nurses and our doctor kept talking about the "new pushing procedure" as I was pushing and I couldn't figure out if I was doing it right. It made it really hard to focus mid push as I was getting different instruction from each person and listening to the side comments in the room.

After she came and we were both cleaned up, they gave her to me and we got settled in and started feeding. Once Roslyn and I were set Paul ran off to get the kids and to bring me up some of the stuff I would need for the rest of my stay at the hospital. The kids were very excited to come up and meet their new sister, although Colby was more excited for my new water bottle and all of the "new" things he could touch in my hospital room while we weren't looking. They stayed with me for about an hour before everyone left for home and went to bed. After they left I got to call and tell Granny Happy Birthday, and share the good news with her. It was very exciting to share that "gift" with her. I not sure what great-grand child Roslyn is for them but it makes me very happy that they have that day to share together. I can't wait for them to meet!!

Overall it was a very interesting day and it was quite amazing to see how quickly our family dynamic would change. That first night in the hospital spoke wonders for how things are going to be now but I'm so grateful for my beautiful family and for the love and joy they give me. I am amazed daily by how lucky I am for the children the Lord has blessed me with and can't thank Him enough for the many small wonders in my life. Even though we are still working on getting sleep and adjusting to Roslyn's styles and preferences (3 weeks later) we're doing good and love each other deeply.

We are VERY blessed.

These are from the first night. Paul had just brought up the kids and we had asked the nurse to wait to bathe her until they were there so the kids could watch. They were very happy to be there and loved seeing Roslyn get her first bath.

Roslyn on the other hand was NOT happy about the bath. She reacted exactly like the other two kids did. I can't wait to see how her picture compares to the other kids!!

After the kids left and Roslyn was all cleaned up we got time to cuddle and love each other. She slept well that first night and was just the sweetest baby ever.

They moved me into a recovery room the next day, we had to wait until another mother left because they were a little "over booked" this time around. The kids were SO excited to explore the new room and had a blast playing in the cupboards. The nurse laughed at them when she came in to check us out because she had never seen anyone play in them or have as much fun with them as Riann and Colby were having.

Finally ready to go home. Right before we checked out we had our nurse take our first picture as a family of five. We're so lucky to have each other!!

This was our first morning at home. Both kids were very excited to see Roslyn that morning and to have her with us. They couldn't get over how cute she was and wanted to hold her as much as possible. She on the other hand wasn't too excited about being handled so much but she's getting much better at sitting with her brother and sister and seems to enjoy time with them a little more... or at least for a longer stretch of time.

My mom came out to help with everything and the kids loved it. She originally planned on coming the week after my due date because I was sure Roslyn wouldn't be making an early appearance and we thought that it would be safe for her to book her flight out when things would be better situated at her school. Thankfully she was able to change her flights last minute and come out earlier than we planned and play with the kids. They LOVED having her here and it took a little bit of time for them to adjust back to just having me as their only playmate when she was gone. Riann still tells us that Grandma came to visit "just her" and that she didn't come to see anyone else.

Our first bath at home. She's still not in love with baths. I hope that changes soon.

Just a few cute photos of her sleeping around the house. She is our beautiful angel.

We tried to take a few pictures of all of them together. We were getting ready for bed the other night and thought this idea would be fun. It took a little coaxing to get Riann to stay in her pink pajamas because she wanted to match Colby and wear her blue pajamas instead, she wakes up almost every morning in different pajamas then what we put her to bed in. Roslyn was also VERY ready to eat and was NOT happy that we were delaying her meal because we wanted to take photos.

I have been dying for one of my babies to wear this dress. I was given it with Riann, in a bundle of hand-me-downs my cousin gave to us. I wanted her to wear it so bad but we still had quite a bit snow when she was born and it didn't fit by the time things warmed up. After we found out we were having a boy the second time around I decided it wasn't going to happen so I set it aside and decided to give it to a friend who had recently had a summer baby but by the time I got to go visit it was too big for her little girl too. I went a head and kept it, hoping again that I'd get to use it some day. As I was picking out a new outfit for Roslyn after a bath I found it in a bunch of stuff I had washed and set aside. I was so excited to put it on her and it was still a little small but sooo cute. She only got to wear it for about an hour because she exploded all over her onesie but I'm so glad I got to use it a little bit. I think she'll wear it again soon, even if it is a little small, but I don't want to miss out on her getting to wear it as much as possible, especially before she out grows it completely.

This was her first day outside. I had been tired of sitting around the house and the kids hadn't really had a chance to go out and play since my mom had left. After my mom went home our weather turned and we had been locked up inside just watching the rain fall. We had a decent break in the rain, although we still had quite a bit of wind, but our cabin fever was so bad we just HAD to get out. It was nice to get some fresh air and I think Roslyn liked the breeze just a little bit too.

My grandmother, Grandma Jones, sent Riann and Roslyn matching dresses before Roslyn was born. I've been waiting for our first Sunday back at church to have them wear them together. We finally got to do that this Sunday. Riann was SOOO excited to match her sister. I think I'm going to have to go out and find more matching dresses for her and Roslyn. We also wanted to make sure Colby matched too. We took the pictures before church because I thought the kids would have been harder to work with after church... I think I should have reconsidered my time frame. They're all still super cute though.
I love these guys!!!

These are some of the more recent pictures we have of her. We had a beautiful day this week and after she had slept all day, while the kids and I played outside, I decided it was time for her to join us. She is so sweet and I'm grateful for her presence in our home. We love you baby girl!!!!