A determined little boy

On Sunday March 25, 2012 I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy. He was 7 weeks early. Here is his birth story.

Friday evening my husband and I decided to have a date night. We decided to go out to dinner and go to the movies to see The Hunger Games. While sitting in the restaurant I felt little "gushes" with every move I made. I immediately thought I was having the unfortunate pregnancy leaking. I went to the bathroom and thought I was good from there. We went to the theater and while in the movie I was having the same sporadic gushing feeling. I went to the bathroom during probably the most climatic scene in the movie and again thought I was ok. I'm not going to lie, I was so embarrassed by this that I didn't even tell my husband what was happening. When we got home I changed my clothes and went to the bathroom where I found that I was starting to bleed. Naturally I thought I was losing my mucus plug throughout dinner and movie and started my "bloody show". I was relieved by this and went to bed knowing there was nothing to fear since I wasn't having contractions. 

The following morning I found that I was bleeding a little bit more so I geared up if you will and went out with my mother to meet my sister for a shopping trip. While out with my sister I explained to her what I had been experiencing and she said it sounded like my water had broke. This was something I had not considered since I was still 7 weeks away from my due date. I was feeling fine and had absolutely no pain but the bleeding continued and that was making me more and more concerned. Finally while we were at lunch I decided to call my doctor who instructed me to head to the hospital for examination. 

We arrived there about 3 p.m. They hooked me up to a few machines and saw that I was having contractions every 3-5 minutes and I was still feeling nothing. They ran some tests and decided I was fine but wanted to keep me longer for examination. They also ordered an ultra sound and saw that my amniotic fluids were at a normal level. I asked if they were going to check to see if I was dilated and they said they wouldn't to prevent more bleeding. A few hours later the nurse decided to give me some medication to stop these contractions that I wasn't feeling. 30 minutes later she gave me another dose because I was still having them. Guess what happened next? I went into hard labor. The nurse was instructed not to check for dilation but was having a feeling she should anyways. She did and wouldn't you know it, I was 5cm dilated!!! She informed the rest of the staff that I was in labor and ordered my epidural. Needless to say I was IN SHOCK! I just kept saying I can't be in labor, I haven't even bought diapers yet and I have 2 baby showers next weekend!!! I was pretty much a panicked mess until the anesthesiologist arrived and sunk me into a serene hot tub feeling (gotta love those epidurals). 

I was really hoping that the epidural would slow down labor so I could get some rest and emotionally prepare myself for what was coming but that didn't happen. Once I went into labor it only took 4 hours to get to 10 and start pushing. I pushed for 10 minutes and out came the most beautiful little boy ever. 

The nurses told me that because I was only 33 weeks along I shouldn't have delivered at their hospital but because I was already so far along in labor they couldn't transfer me. So instead they called Mercy San Juan and requested an ambulance to transport my new baby to proper care - the neonatal intensive care unit. It was beyond heartbreaking not being able to hold, snuggle, and nurse my new baby but I knew in his condition he was going into the right care. I watched my baby get wheeled away in a isolette gurney while I waited in agony to be released from the hospital so I could go visit him. I had to wait until I had been there for 24 hours so by 3p.m. the day I gave birth I was walking out the door and on my way to the other hospital.  

I knew my entire pregnancy that I would be early. The way he moved and stretched led me to believe he wasn't very comfortable in the womb. There is no way to be certain but I would bet it was his movements that ruptured my water in the first place. Regardless of what happened we were very excited to welcome little Broderick Harley Madsen into the world. 

This was when I thought I was just there for observation 

Oh wait, SURPRISE!!! 

Broderick's stats 

His little swollen face

On the gurney leaving the hospital 

Sweet angel face 

Finally meeting my baby 

Daddy takes a turn 

Have you ever seen a baby born with a hair style? Ours was! 

The cute sign a nurse made for him in the NICU

First Initial Bow Holder

Here is the bow holder I made for my nieces first birthday. I painted a wooden "K" for Kyla then glued the ribbon on. I even looped the ends of the pink ribbon so she could hang headbands from it. 

The Princess 

White Chocolate Fruit Torte

As my hubby's birthday approached I asked him what kind of cake he wanted. He expressed that he was "cakes out" and would rather have a fruit torte instead. Ummm...ok. I've never made a torte before but we can give it a try! The dessert was so well received I thought I'd blog the recipe. My son even made me promise to make it again sometime this week. Perhaps I will!

My handsome birthday boy 

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 
  
• FILLING:
• 1 (10 ounce) package vanilla or white chips, melted and cooled
• 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• Hand full of chocolate chips

Desired fruit - I preferred strawberries, kiwi, raspberries, and blueberries. 

• GLAZE:
• 2 Tablespoons fruit marmalade (I used Mandarin orange)
• 1 Tablespoon of water

Directions

1. In a small mixing bowl, cream butter and confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Gradually add flour; mix well. Press into an ungreased 11-in. tart pan with removable bottom or 12-in. pizza pan with sides. Bake at 300 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Around 20 minutes throw on your hand full of chocolate chips and put back in oven to melt. Once complete spread over the entire crust. Cool on a wire rack.
2. For filling, in a small mixing bowl, beat melted white chips and cream. Add cream cheese and beat until smooth. Spread over chocolate covered crust. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Arrange fruit in whatever pretty pattern you desire!
3. For glaze, strain the marmalade of extra fruit chunks. Add water and mix well. Bast over cut fruit. 
4. Place in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Refrigerate leftovers. 

My pregnancy survival

I am 30 weeks today and I can't believe that my "d-day" is so quickly approaching! Being pregnant is hard work, especially when you're older. Not that 28 is old but I had my last when I was 19 and the difference is quite drastic! I wanted to post some of my favorite things that have helped me survive pregnancy thus far. Starting with:

Canned Chicken. Everyone knows that you can't have seafood while you're pregnant and not just for the mercury but for the bacteria as well. Did you know that included processed lunch meat? It has been so hard cutting that out of my diet so this has been a great substitute. All I'd do is strain the chicken, throw in mayo, celery, red onions, and maybe some alfalfa sprouts and voila - a delicious pregnancy approved sandwich. I've eaten countless cans of this stuff - thank goodness they sell it at Costco!

When I was pregnant last time (age 19 mind you), I had some back pain in the very end but I never experienced the "zingers" I've had the entire stretch this time. You know, those sharp tortuous pains in the lower back? The ones that come from doing nothing and pretty much collapse you? Yeah those. Some days are definitely worse than others but this next one really helped relieve some of that pain:
Maternity Yoga 

I love this yoga movie. Its only about 30 minutes long and provides safe, helpful relief to any pains you might be having. I got it on Amazon for under $10 - can't beat that. Plus, it has a section for post pregnancy yoga which I will be doing in about 10 weeks!

My next maternity fav has been this 3-panel tank top which I wear under EVERYTHING! As you can see its completely designed for the growth throughout your entire pregnancy AND to wear after. "Pregnancy belly shape wear girdle made for any pregnant mom before, during, and after pregnancy."
 I got mine off a website called babysteals.com for about $16 but here is the direct website. LOVES IT!



I realize now that I have not posted one picture of myself pregnant. Probably because those mostly all get posted on facebook. So here is a picture taken today - 30 weeks down, 10 to go!

Valentine's for sunbeam class

Yet another idea from Pinterest. I made these cute little Valentine's for my sunbeam class, aren't they the cutest! 

Vitamix Challenge Part 1

Have you heard all the hype over the Vitamix? Well, let me tell you it is amazing!!!

"This versatile, high-performance appliance helps you prepare healthy meals quickly and easily without a single attachment! Super-powerful Vitamix motor matches the power on the Vitamix commercial blending equipment found in the finest restaurants worldwide." Costco website

I've heard that you can put anything in it and watch as it effortlessly pulverizes it - whole apples, pineapples with the outer layer, nuts, grains, beans, rice, etc. and all without a single attachment. The most exciting part about this new toy is getting to experiment with it, hence the "Vitamix Challenge". My new game at home is having the boys guess what I put into their drinks. Last night it consisted of this:

Chunk of pineapple - no outer layer
Whole apple
Handful of spinach
One whole banana - no peel
Chunk of Beet
Several tablespoons of Flaxseeds
Cup of Greek yogurt
Cup of Ice
Dash of fat free milk

My husband pretty much pinned every ingredient except the spinach, beet, and flaxseed. Isn't that great that all he could taste was the fruit? Great way to sneak healthies into someone's diet. Trick? Believe it or not it was the beet that tricked him. Once I grinded all the other ingredients it came out a yucky green color but after adding the chunk of beet it came out a nice smooth dark pink. He never suspected the spinach with such an appealing presentation.



Oh, and I smashed a Vitamix claim. This machine does not pulverize a whole apple. I had to take it out and cut it into 4 pieces which then worked fine. But I did leave the seeds, peal, and core all there.

Its going to be fun coming up with all the ways to use this machine. Stay tuned for more!

I love you because...

I found this on pinterest and fell in love with the idea! What a perfect way to keep a marriage fresh and unique. 

The frame came from Marshall's for $7 and the pearls from Joann's for $1.50. I had everything else. Not a bad price tag for such a cute craft.  

I made these little rosette flowers out of an old t-shirt and embellished them with pearls. 

I also velcroed the pen to the back so it doesn't get misplaced. 

Before I even finished the project I came home from work one day to my first message from my hubby. So glad he's actually going to be using it! 

I couldn't find any scrapbook paper that I liked so just went with a solid slate blue. The nice thing is if I find some down the road it wouldn't be hard to just print a new sheet. 

Lion Cake

I found this post in my blog drafts and can't believe I never posted it! This was a cake I made for my avid hunter neighbor (who is now 71). One of his greatest adventures in life was hunting lions in Africa! This is a great cake idea for the lover of animals and the ones who like to have them stuffed :) 

Charity Never Faileth

This past summer Tyler decided on his own that he wanted to start a lemonade stand and give all his proceeds to a children's hospital. Completely shocked I asked why and his response was, "all kids deserve to live!". He almost seemed a little offended that I even had to ask. lol

So I helped him make the lemonade and gave him a little station at the bottom of the driveway. He earned about $30 and today we finally mailed it off (really late, I know).

After some research we decided to send his donation to the UC Davis Children's Hospital - Child Life and Creative Arts Therapy program. The funds are used to directly enhance the children's stay at the hospital with toys, art supplies, entertainment, etc. We felt that this would make a bigger impact from such a small donation. 

I'm so proud of my eight year old son for coming up with this act of kindness on his own. With this I made my New Years resolution - do more charity/humanitarian work. It's something I can do with my family and we can all benefit from it. 

Isn't it nice when the young ones set the example for us adults! 

If you are interested in making a contribution to this charity please mail donation to:

Diana Sundberg, CCLS
Child Life & Creative Arts Therapy Manager

UC Davis Hospital

2315 Stockton Blvd

Sacramento, CA 95817

Christmas 2011

Here are some highlights from our festive Christmas holiday

Grandma and Papa with all their grandkids

Tyler with 3 of his cousins on Christmas Eve and very excited I might add

Christmas Eve dinner at the "kid table" 

Dinner at the "adult table" 

On Christmas morning Tyler received a big box from Santa. After opening box after box after box he finally found the gift inside... an Ipod nano 6th generation! 

Here are some happy kids with their favorite toys! 

Rockin' out!

Tyler showing off his ipod and new bear tooth necklace that our hunting neighbor made for him. 

I got a little spoiled this year. I wanted a new bed realllllly bad because the other one spotted in THIS post was so rickety and unstable. Not to mention it put Tyler in the ER once. I'm so happy to have a solid stable wood bed that doesn't feel like an earthquake getting in and out of. Props to my husband for putting it together with the full blown flu!

Here was my surprise from my hubby on Christmas Eve. See what I mean by spoiled!? 

Since I am about 22 weeks pregnant I thought I would document what I looked like on Christmas. I felt good until my doctor told me 3 days later that I'm gaining too much weight. Dang fudge! 

Here is my family - parents and 5 of my 6 siblings. I have one more brother that wasn't able to make it out for the holidays. 

Hope your holiday was as just as wonderful!