Chase's 1st Photo Shoot

I am sure most of you know my sister in law is super talented.  She came over when Chase was 2 weeks old and took these photos of him.  I absolutely LOVE them.  Enjoy!  (And thanks a million, Jeny.)

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Now we're in Utah

After we got home from California Saturday night we turned around and headed to Brianhead, Utah on Monday.  We wanted to get away as a family for a week before Cameron started school.  We had a good time just relaxing, taking walks, playing at the park and playing games.  We taught the kids how to play LCR and Uno.  I really hope they will enjoy games as much as I do.  Enjoy our pictures and pay special attention to the hide and go seek game that took place at the park.  You'll see yet another reason why having kids ROCKS.  Hiding places are so great when you're 4 and 5 years old.

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A Trip to California

One week after Chase was born we headed to California for an appointment for Cameron.  We brought Mima along with us to hang out and help us with Chase.  Even though I was still recovering from surgery we managed to do some fun stuff.  We found a cool place for dinner called The Lazy Dog Cafe where all the pictures on the wall were dogs.  After dinner we went to go play miniature golf.  This was the kids' first time.  I had to quit playing because my incision was hurting from laughing at Haley so much.  We all enjoyed watching her.  She definitely won the game if we were scoring by the most number of strokes.  Then Mima bought us some chocolate ice cream bars that we enjoyed in the hotel before bed.  Yummm!

The following morning we all enjoyed some down time and just hung out for a while.  The kids played with their legos and rode each other around on their backs.  It was nice to just relax.  Then we loaded up and went to the Orange County Zoo.  It was a small zoo but it had some neat animals in it and the kids enjoyed the petting zoo the best.

Chase was a darn good traveler for being only a week old!  Enjoy our video - and I'm sure you'll laugh just as much as we did when you see Haley golfing.  (Especially when you consider that her dad is a good golfer!)

Mr. Lucky Straw

The kids were in a day camp at Valley View Rec Center for the summer.  On the second to last day they performed this play called "Mr. Lucky Straw."  It was a play about paying it forward.  Cameron was a Rice Farmer and Haley was a Lady in Waiting.  GG, Mima, myself, BJ and Chase all came to watch it and we had a great time.

A Very Late Tooth Fairy

Cameron was eating a peach 8/12/09 and his second bottom tooth fell out.  He was SO excited.  The tooth fairy hadn't come by the time he woke up.  Let me explain that one...a 5 day old baby!  So when he came into my room at 6:15am and I was nursing Chase he was sad beyond belief.  I had no idea why.  Finally he told me the tooth fairy forgot to come.  Oh my goodness...how was I going to recover from this one?  So I looked at the clock and said "Oh Cameron, I am pretty sure she works until 7am and there must have been lots of kids last night that lost their teeth and she's on the way."  It worked!  He was ok with waiting.  But then I had to figure out how to wake BJ up while I was trying to nurse Chase and keep it all a secret from Cameron & Haley.  COMPLICATED!  I finally got BJ up & he caught on to what was going on.  Luckily he found some money in the garage that he could put under the pillow so the kids wouldn't know what was going on.  Whew - the tooth fairy saved the day.  She even left a note that said sorry she was late but that she was really busy.  I love having kids!  Things like this would never happen without kids and it is so awesome!

Kindergarten Roundup

Tuesday, August 11, we got to go to Cameron's new school to meet his teacher.  Chase is only 5 days old & he got to go with us too.  I can't believe Cameron is starting kindergarten.  They did a brief assessment on each child asking them their name, address, numbers, colors, letters, how to cut on a straight line, etc..  When the teacher finished & brought him back out to us she said he did "A-MA-ZING!"  It was cute the way she said it and of course it made us proud that he did well.  I think he is really looking forward to big boy school.  We are all anxious for Monday 8/24 for the real deal to start.

Welcome Baby Chase

Our little bundle of joy was due to arrive July 31, 2009.  I had a very enjoyable pregnancy with no complaints at all.  Apparently the baby didn't have any complaints either because my due date came and went without any activity.  BJ and I were a little worried that my doctor would miss the delivery since he was going out of town from Aug 24 to 30, but we lucked out and the baby stayed put.

We went to the doctor August 4th and all was good and we set up an appointment for me to be induced Friday night at 10pm and the baby would arrive at some point on Saturday, 8-8-09.  My lucky number is 8 so I figured it would be a perfect day to have a baby.   The doctor set an appointment for Friday morning so I could get my membranes stripped to help to loosen the cervix in preparation for labor.  You're guessing right - that sounded extremely painful to me and it sure was!  So anyway, BJ and I went to the doctor Friday and they checked my amniotic fluids and it was perfect.  Then they put me on the monitor to check the baby's heart beat like I had done every week for about 5 weeks.  There was a problem this time, though.  The baby's heartbeat decelerated for about two minutes.  We knew something was wrong just by the way the nurses reacted to the results.  They immediately called the doctor.  He talked to BJ and told us to report immediately to the hospital for more monitoring, and if it happened again we would have to do a c-section, but if the baby cooperated and the heart rate stays up then we can go ahead with our original plan.  I was super nervous but I was totally in denial that anything was really wrong.

We headed to the hospital but I had BJ stop to get us some food since I knew if they were going to start inducing me I wouldn't be able to eat until after the baby is born.  Our doctor appointment was at 9am and now it was about 10:30am.  We reported to the hospital at 11am and at 11:45am they hooked me up to the monitor again.  All looked fine and the nurse was asking me all the regular questions they do when you check in.  Then it happened again - the heart rate dropped.  I was still in denial - but then it all hit me when the nurse ran out into the hallway and yelled to have another nurse come in and get my IV going ASAP.  Yikes!  I don't think it was more than 30 seconds until I had the needle in my arm.  Now I was starting to realize that this is far more serious than I had thought.   The thought of a c-section was becoming closer than I wanted.  I was terrified.  BJ sent a text to the doctor to try to get some answers for me because he knew I was freaking out (he didn't tell me he was texting him.)  Next thing I know BJ's cell phone rang and I could tell it was the doctor.  After a bunch of "uh huh's" and "ok's" BJ finally said "Are you going to tell her because I don't want to."  I knew exactly what that meant.  BJ handed me the phone and the doctor explained to me that when I was having mild contractions the baby's heart rate would drop and the only real positive way out of this situation is to have a c-section.  He had already called the anesthesiologist (and they knew I had just eaten at 10:30am...shame on me!) and he had agreed to do the surgery at 4:30pm instead of the usual 6:30pm that  they would normally wait after a meal.  I asked the doctor if the heart rate stayed up until later in the afternoon if there was still a way to go through with a vaginal delivery.  He said no and explained to me that these contractions now are so mild and it's causing this much trouble to the baby, that once the contractions get really strong and much closer together we run the risk of losing the baby.  WOW!  Talk about scary!  So now it was just a waiting game until 4:30pm.

My mom was watching Cameron and Haley while we went to the doctor and we had intended to be back to pick them up around 11am and spend the day at home with them and take them to dinner to celebrate our last evening of being a family of 4, and then we would take them out to my sister in law's home so she could watch them for the weekend while we had the baby and until we got home.  Our plan didn't work out!  Thankfully I have an amazing family and things just fell into place.  Jeny, my sister in law immediately asked me what I needed at the hospital.  BJ and I had left the house with NOTHING since we figured we were coming back.  She gathered all the items, went to my moms house to retrieve the kids and then she sent my mom and grandma into the hospital to be with me.  My dad and Joan arrived at the hospital around 2 or 3pm to be with us as well.  It is such an awesome feeling knowing family is there to support you.  We are blessed for sure.

About 4:30 the doctor came and explained everything to us again and asked if we had any questions.  My only real question was whether or not I'd be able to go to Cameron's doctor appointment in California the following Friday.  I certainly had never intended on a c-section and I wasn't sure how that recovery would go.  The doctor said I could go as long as I took it easy and didn't lift anything heavier than the baby.  Whew, what a relief.  So here we go to the operating room.  I received a spinal tap (which felt totally weird) and then they started the surgery.  BJ was taking pictures and video.  The ceiling had shiny silver ceiling tiles on it so I could sorta see what was going on.  I couldn't see details, but I could see they had started because I could see red.  Surprisingly I was very calm. 

At 5:02pm a beautiful baby boy was born.  He was perfect and his cry was so comforting.  We were now a family of 5!  I could see the joy in BJ's face as well.  We welcomed Chase Kenneth Herbolsheimer into this world with lots of love.  He weighed 7lb 13 oz and was 20 inches long.  Kenneth was BJ's dad's name in case you're wondering where that comes from. The doctor told us that his umbilical cord was around his neck when he delivered him so it is a good thing we had done a c-section because we would have wound up with an emergency c-section anyway because of the cord.

I'm not sure what time it was but about an hour or two later I finally got to hold him.  What a sweet feeling.  We tried nursing and he latched right on.  There is no greater feeling than nursing a newborn.  It is just amazing that they know how to do it as soon as they are born.  Totally awe inspiring.

Jeny & Jeff brought the kids in about 10pm so they could meet Chase.  We didn't know the gender and we decided not to tell the kids until they were there to meet the new baby.  BJ was holding him and Cameron asked what his name was.  BJ said "Chase."  The night before BJ and Cameron had talked about names and the name Racely came up because Cameron wanted to name him Riley & BJ wanted to name him Chase if it was a boy so they came up with Racely together.  So Cameron said "I thought we were going to name him Racely."  BJ told him no, his name is Chase.  So Cameron then asked "So what is it?"  When BJ told him it was a boy Cameron did a fist pump and whispered "Yes" and clasped his hands together and smiled from ear to ear.  Haley was a little disappointed it wasn't a girl but she loves him like crazy anyway.  Cameron was really worried about me as well.  It was really sweet because he walked right into the room and came to the bedside to see me.  I had just been given some pain meds that made me extremely drowsy and I could barely stay awake while they were there.  I think that really worried all four kids.  (My brother's twins came too; they are 5 years old as well.)

The next day the kids came back and brought us pizza for lunch.  Again, Cameron came to me first to make sure I was doing fine.  Thankfully I was coherent that day, unlike the night before.  All four kids asked me all sorts of questions relating to Chase and the birth.  Questions like "Where did your big tummy go?  Why do you have a cut?  When will you be better?  When do you get to come home?  Why does he eat from your breast?  Did it hurt?  Why do you have a needle in your arm?" and many more.  It was awesome to experience their curiosity.  

On Monday we both got discharged from the hospital and headed home.  We went to pick up Cameron & Haley from their camp & surprised them with Chase in the car.  They were so happy that we were all going to go home together.  As soon as we got home they both wanted to give him hugs & kisses and admire him as much as they could.  Then it was time to play with the Legos Chase gave them in the hospital.  

Wednesday (8/12) he had his first doctor's appointment & he was scheduled to be circumcised.  He was back up in weight and looking good.  He was born at 7lb 13 oz, dropped to 7lb 8 oz on the first day, then 7lb 4 oz on the 2nd day.  On day 5 at the doctor he was back up to 7lb 8 oz. Doctor said he was a little yellow so he told us to just keep him in the sunlight to help fight off jaundice.  He referred us out to a urologist to do the circumcision because of the way his penis is shaped.  Whew - he escaped that ordeal for a while!

Here is a slideshow of the first 5 days of Chase's life.  Check back often because we'll be blogging as much as we can while we're home enjoying our time together.  And remember we LOVE to read your comments so feel free to leave them.  You don't have to be a google member - you can do it without a log on so it's super easy!   (I think you do it as name/url and you can just insert your name in the correct area.)   :)   Enjoy!

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