"This land is your land..."

Patriotic Day

Drew's school had Patriotic Day today. I guess they do it in February around Presidents' Day because the school does not run in the summer around the 4th of July. Drew's class made their own t-shirts and hats and had a parade. They also sang many patriotic songs and Drew did a fantastic job singing. He was so cute and once again, I was there to capture every moment. Luckily, Dilan was a trooper and slept through the whole program so I could truly be with Drew during his time. I loved every minute of it and feel so fortunate once again that I can be there and have no other obligations. It's time like these that I am grateful to not have to work and that I can put my family above all else.

Some Pictures of Dilan

A picture of her sleeping

This face she is making cracks me up. Look at those eyebrows! Still can't tell if they are the infamous Pistorius eyebrows or not but Drew has them for sure. We will have to educate him on masculine plucking but I'm not sure if we'll have to invest in waxing her eyebrows at a very young age yet or not.

Time in the swing - Drew loved this swing and it was a big part in allowing me to complete my dissertation so we'll see if she attaches to it like he did!

A Walk to Walmart

a quick note: I got a call from my dad who told me that I hadn't blogged in four days and he was counting... he specifically said he was going through withdrawals. That cracked me up. It's nice to know that my dad is one of my biggest blog fans and he really does read it all the time. It definitely makes it worth doing, although right now I have to choose between blogging and sleep...
Dad, here is another entry for you! :)




We got out of the house on a beautiful day (Saturday) and went for a walk to Walmart. It is right around the corner from our house and there is a golf cart path that leads up to it. Drew rode his bike, I pushed Dilan in her stroller, and David helped Drew get up and down the hills. We actually went into Walmart to purchase some necessities, not wanting to stay there long, and walked back home. It was nice to get out, get some exercise, and stare at the wonder of our four-person family. How fun it is to have a boy and a girl and to see how happy it made Drew that we took time as a family all together. He kept saying he was using his big strong muscles to get up the hills and lately he has been saying, "I need attention..." But he loves his sister and thinks she is so special. :)

Nursing

So, I've struggled a bit with the nursing but I actually think it's going to work out this time around. Those who knew me when Drew was born, nursing became quite the nightmare - 3 weeks into it, I went to see a lactation consultant and she said I needed to stop nursing him immediately because I was so torn up (I'll spare you the gory details). Drew was also tongue-tied which meant he was sucking but not drawing out the milk. So, my milk supply was drying up, Drew was constantly hungry, feeding for over an hour on me and it was just plain horrible. So, I pumped for 4 months straight while supplementing him at the same time.

Well, with this little one, this is how she looks after eating. She falls asleep, completely content and getting plenty of milk, thank goodness! She does have the problem of getting sleepy while eating so it does take longer to feed her but at least it's coming together and working. She had me in tears within 3 days because I was headed down the same road as with Drew but my mom came to my rescue and went and bought everything nursing out there and we tried it all! So, I am using some shields that have helped tremendously!!! I still have to get through another couple of weeks to feel like maybe (maybe?) the pain will go away completely and this could possibly be a nice experience like everyone describes it to be. I am still working on that.

But at least I am hopeful that I can do this and won't be having anymore meltdowns anytime soon regarding this topic. I don't know what it is but when you have a baby, you have this instinct to feed her. I thought I could let it go sooner with Dilan than with Drew because of my previous experience with him but I just couldn't. I wanted to feed her just like I wanted to feed him - it was no different at all. You just look into their eyes and you are so in love with them already and whatever it is, hormones or what, you have a strong desire to nurse your baby. So, we'll see how it all goes but I am grateful for my mom who hung in there with me and encouraged me and was willing to go above and beyond in order to see me do this. Thanks, mom.

Family of Four

Drew's Valentine's Party

Drew had his Valentine's party on Friday. I just had to be there - I couldn't miss it. So, yes, I got a shower, put on make-up, did my hair, got dressed and even put on a "regular" shirt (no maternity clothes as long as I can help it), looked 4-5 mths pregnant (which I am trying to remember is normal), and trucked off to his school. Drew even asked me where I got my shirt as he can't remember me wearing anything but my maternity clothes.
I got there and he was very happy to see me. One kid asked the teacher where his mom was and it made me so sad. Nope, not my kid - that will not happen to him, even if I did have his sister barely four days earlier! So, I took pictures and we had a good time just he and I. He didn't pay any attention to his friends, only to me, and when he was done, he asked me if we could go home. Drew was also very proud of the things he made for Valentine's and we hung them up on the refrigerator at the house.
Happy Valentine's Day, Drew - I love you more than you can imagine...

At home

David, Drew and Dilan


Dilan Camille Pistorius


My sister, Keely, bought Dilan this dress and we had to take a picture of her with it. I can't wait until she fits into it in a few months!!!


Big brother, Drew, giving kisses to little sister, Dilan


Sleeping baby

Wednesday...

Wednesday was not fun - Dilan had some jaundice. The doctor had said her chances were increased because of the bruising of her face she experienced on the way into the world. But we also weren't surprised because Drew had jaundice too. Dilan ended up under double phototherapy on Wed. She had to be under the big lights without her clothes on, with that terrible eye patch, no one really holding her unless for feeding time, and also on top of the bili-blanket the whole day and night. The nighttime was especially difficult because she was pretty much done with it and didn't want to be in there anymore. I was up until 3 a.m. with her until I just asked the nurse to take her off the big lights and just keep the blanket on her all wrapped up. The nurse said it was okay because her last bilirubin test was showing she was okay. We didn't get discharged until Thursday morning after Dilan tested negative for any infection (thank goodness!) and she was in the clear with the jaundice. So, David came to pick Dilan and me up Thursday morning and I was so ready to be home. I had been in the hospital 3 full days. I have to say the labor and delivery nurses were SO good and the mom and baby nurses were not that great at this hospital. Some of them seemed confused by the phototherapy equipment, didn't know answers to questions I'd ask, and some had very little bedside manner.

Of course, Dilan's first night home, she was up literally every hour and a half! But I am sure that will get better. I have to say she is just precious and we are loving her every minute. We are absolutely smitten. :)

More pics of the process...

David and I some time in the 13+ hr labor process. We are still smiling so that is a good sign. the waiting and the exhaustion was definitely the hardest part.


My twin sister, Keely, and I. Keely did such a great job taking pictures, video and being there for major support!



Drew has been so excited for his sister's arrival and he has kept that enthusiasm through meeting Dilan today. He arrived and had a big smile on his face when he saw her. He called her, "my baby sister," and asked me if she was sleeping. He wanted to get closer to look at her so he stood on the bed peering in at her. We helped Dilan give Drew a gift - of course, it was a new train - Rosie, who is described a lot like Thomas' younger sister, was quite a hit. He immediately wanted to open it, played with it, and has told everyone that Dilan gave him Rosie. He also wanted Dilan to play with Rosie but upon realizing she really couldn't yet, he said he'd play with her until Dilan could. I think he was concerned Dilan couldn't play trains with him yet.
He did want me to come home today from the hospital and has missed us all being at home. But he is in such a good mood and a happy boy now that his sister is here. One of the most precious moments today came when he was here and the baby starting really crying. He got a scared look on his face like he was very concerned and worried and I hugged on him while David calmed Dilan down. But he was very close to tears because she was so upset. He also has asked if he can climb on me again now that the baby is out of my belly. Things are going well with big brother, Drew!

ITS OFFICIAL!!!

Ok, after 8 LONG years of trying to figure out what we would name a little girl, we've come to a conclusion...

(Insert drum roll...)

Baby Girl Pistorius is now officially Dilan Camille Pistorius...

We'll put it on the birth certificate and sign it all tomorrow.

More pictures to follow!!!

A family photo...

A picture...

Here at last!

Finally, at 10:23PM EST, baby girl Pistorius came into the world. She was born a healthy, 8 lbs 12.9 ozs and was 20.75 inches long.

She was born with a full head of black hair, and a healthy set of lungs. I thought newborns cried, but not as loud as our little girl. I guess she has lungs so she can keep up with her brother!

Kinsey is doing well. She only pushed for what seemed like 10 minutes and then the baby was born. 4 sets of 2 pushes to the count of ten. So literally, Kinsey pushed for about a minute and a half, and the baby was born.

She had her arm snug up against her chest, so she got caught a bit at the end. Once the doctor pulled her arm out, she can out, nice and smooth...

The labor lasted from before 9:00 am until after 10:00 pm. Nice one on the 13+ hour labor, Kinsey!

The labor was so intense for our little girl, that when she was born, she actually came out, and her entire face was bruised. Her little cheeks, chin, and forehead were a dingy grey. It actually took the nurse to realize this, because the rest of her body was such a healthy pink!

It started to fade a couple hours later, and I think by the time we bring her home, she'll be completely better!

Insert tangent thought here~
When her head came out, the doctor split her fingers two to a side (think the Vulcan death grip from Star Trek) and grabbed the baby by the head. She pulled, not so gently, and I actually had visions of her pulling the baby's head off... Not a pleasant thought to have run through your mind, but seriously, that is how hard the doctor was pulling.
Back to reality~

The baby came out with a bit of a fever, 101.4 and so the doctor told us they would start running tests to determine if it was caused by the environment and long labor, or if there was some infection. I asked the doctor to take her temperature again about 5 minutes later, and she had cooled off to 97 degrees, so I'm not too concerned about it.

They took her away to draw some blood for the testing, and after a little convincing of the doctor on my part, they allowed me to come with them. I did get to rub her feet to comfort her while they stuck a needle in her artery to draw some blood. She did very good, and with a little sugar water on the lips, she barely made a peep. When she did cry, I just put my lips against her cheek and kissed on her. This seemed to help and she didn't cry too much after that.

So you'll notice that throughout this post I have referred to the baby as "the baby", or "our little girl", not calling her by name. That is because we don't yet have a name picked out for her. Right now, we are leaning towards Dilan, but somehow that just hasn't sat right for Kinsey and I. Anyway, we are continuing the discussion... Maybe we'll just put Baby Girl on the birth certificate, and for her 8th birthday, we'll let her choose her own name! This is just too much pressure to pick a name that will shape a child's entire elementary school experience!

Anyways, please excuse the tangent thoughts and miindless rambling. Its a bit after 2am, and I'm exhausted!

We'll post pictures tomorrow!

8:35pm EST

Moving towards 9.5cm... Baby is realizing how cruel the world is and how good she has it in mommy's tummy!

Kinsey is hanging in there, battling through the fatigue, and hoping the baby decides to come soon...

6:30PM EST

Now moving to 8.5cm dialated, should be in the next hour or so...

Moving Along

5cm dialated at 5pm EST... Doctor believes she'll be here before midnight!!!

Big Brother - Drew

So we talked to our friend that is watching Drew for us...

She picked him up at school and immediately jumped in the car. We had talked to him so he knew Kinsey wasn't going to pick him up, so I guess I don't have to worry about strangers yet... (Although we'll still have to talk!)

He immediately began telling Kristen about his day at school and then about how he was going to have a new baby sister... He called her by name (Dilan for now, but he might be MIGHTY disappointed if we decide to change the official name!) He told her about how the baby would have hair, and be able to talk to him when she got here...

He might be upset when he finds out that babies only lay around for the first few months, but I think he'll be excited to finally have her around!

Baby Update

Its now 2:00 EST...

The contractions became regular (about 2 minutes apart) around 12:15pm... Kinsey did well with the pain, although we could tell her true level of pain from the grimace on her face, despite her best efforts to be brave!

The nurse came back and pushed a whole bag of saline into her IV within about 20 minutes. I went downstairs to get some lunch before the "fireworks" started, and as soon as I got down there, Kinsey called and said they were going to do the epidural...

I came back, and Kinsey braved through the pain of the epidural, and is now relaxing comfortably in her bed. She has finally closed her eyes and will hopefully get a few minutes of sleep before our little girl comes.

She is dialated to 3cm, and the contractions are coming back at about 3 minutes apart...

Nothing else right now, we'll update again after the doctor comes back and breaks her water!

At the hospital

We have arrived at the hospital and have started the process of having this baby! We got here just after 7:30 and they checked us in, we signed all the necessary paperwork, met our awesome nurse, Marjorie, got blood taken, IV started, and then they started the pitocin at 8:55 a.m. So, by 9 a.m. we are all set to have this baby today.
Drew was reminded we were having his baby sister today and he said, "I'm so excited." Hopefully, that is still true in a few days! :) We put on his big brother t-shirt and my mom and sister got him off to school. He was reluctant to take a final 3-member family photo this morning (as you can see in the pictures) but he definitely was willing to give us hugs and kisses bye. We both have had mixed feelings not having him with us today but we know he'd rather be at school and have his playdate with his friend, Megan, later on this afternoon. It's just hard to have such an event happening without him.
The dr. says I am dilated to a 3 so that is further along than I was with Drew when I got induced with him. They told me I can get my epidural whenever I say I am "uncomfortable" enough... that is a little scary. Because I got my epidural with Drew so early last time, I never really felt a thing! So, I am a little scared as to what I will actually feel today but I have had probably 3 contractions so far and they aren't too bad yet.
I never thought I'd be blogging and laboring at the same time but why not, right? This is a great way to journal this experience and have the details documented.
We couldn't be more excited to meet our precious daughter today and we have just been talking about what she will look like and of course, we've had discussions on her name.... still! :) But we appreciate everyone's support - my grandmother, my mom, dad, and sister are here plus we've gotten a lot of phone calls wishing us well!

Children's Museum

I took Drew to the local children's museum today for our special week before the baby is born. He played trains, played in the kitchen, went shopping for food, brushed large teeth, played construction and painted. He had a good time and we met some new friends there - the wife and son of a colleague of David's. We played after school for a few hours and David took a late lunch so we could still all have our time together today. He's the best! :)

Special Times

We had a fun Enrichment playgroup planned this month over at Jenise's house. They have a fun trampoline that the kids got to play on and Drew loves it. Jenise made potato soup and a yummy salad and bread to go with it all. It was delicious and a good turnout (7 moms)! Thanks, Jenise, for hosting and we look forward to more times to get together! :)

False Labor

Okay, so last night I experienced my first Braxton Hicks contractions... ever. Having no idea what contractions truly feel like, I have been anxious about feeling them. About 4:45 yesterday, my whole belly tightened as hard as a rock. It was like you could bounce a quarter off of it or it felt like a very full balloon that you just wanted to take a pin to and pop. It was uncomfortable but not painful. The thing is this lasted like 20 minutes or more - it did not release for all that time. I also had some lower pain like menstrual cramps but it wasn't regular and still didn't come in and out like contractions are supposed to do. But all in all, it was uncomfortable, probably more from my anxiety than anything and I spent the evening laying on the couch and not in a great mood. By the time I went to bed, I was feeling like myself again and didn't have anything happen overnight.
Ahhh! I only have until this weekend when my family gets here and then anything can happen. Let's hope she waits until then!

39 weeks

Today was my final doctor's appointment and I am 39 weeks along. I am exactly 1 week from my due date and will be induced next Monday morning if nothing happens until then. I am dilated to 2 cm now and described as "soft." The doctor says I am ready to go. She admitted she was worried because I wasn't looking ready yet and if she did induce me not being ready, then my chances of a c-section were higher. So, she feels much better about where I'm at and feels next Monday will be definitely enough time if I don't go into labor before then. I think I'll take it easy this week then so I don't have any surprises. I like planned events, especially when my family is coming in town this weekend!
The good news is that my dad is bringing my grandmother (as previously planned) which means she is up for this trip even after losing my grandfather just last week. I will be happy to see her and my dad and my mom and sister are coming in as well. :)