what happened?

i tried to add this to my previous post, but was having some problems. i think i figured it out now……

 

once we got back from the er and i had coaxed kawena away from jumping on the bed, i grabbed my little camera and tried to get her to tell me what happened to her head. she was not cooperating, but i still just have to laugh at her. it was close to midnight when i taped her and she doesn’t even act tired. i love how she is so distracted by everything in the room and has no interest in what i am asking her. i love the way she talks and she simply makes me smile!

staples

saturday was grandma’s and grandpa’s 40th wedding anniversary AND grandpa’s 76th birthday (he knew the best way to never forget his anniversary was to get married on his birthday! he is a smart man!). we wanted to make it a memorable anniversary for them and boy did we know how to make sure they never forgot it!

 

we wanted to take them to outback for dinner, but didn’t want to wait in the long line to get a table, so we decided to order outback and bring it back to enjoy a nice dinner on the patio. it was a beautiful evening!

 

about halfway through the meal we heard a horrible crashing sound and some of us (i was not one of them) were able to witness the cause of the crash. kawena had stood up in her plastic patio chair only to tip over backwards. on her way down her head met the corner of the metal step on grandma and grandpa’s rv. i heard the noise (i was looking for something in our car) followed by grandma’s gasp and came running.

 

the first thing i saw was my sweet kawena laying on the concrete. then i heard her cry! my heart was in my throat as i ran to her and picked her up. as i did this, i saw the blood drip from her head and land, bright red, on the white concrete. i would be lying if i said that i didn’t panic and ache for her!

 

as i held her, mitch checked the wound and we determined we should go to the er because the gash looked big enough that it might need stitches.

 

she was incredibly brave. she cried for a short time right after it happened and then she was fine. in fact, by the time we got to the er she was happy as a clam and you would not have known that she had sustained a head wound!

 

so, we waited for our name to be called……

 

they called us to the intake room and then we waited….

 

and waited some more…..

 

then, finally, the nurse came and checked her head……

 

and told us that, sure enough, she needed some staples in her head. so, they gave us some numbing stuff to hold on her wound and we waited some more…..

 

then they moved us into another room and they washed her wound…..

 

then we waited even longer.

 

and we became impatient….so i snapped some more photos….

 

then we waited some more….

 

then we became irritated….

 

and then kawena had had enough waiting and she wanted to go home and be with her sisters. she kept asking where nani and lala were. it was very sweet!

 

the doctor finally decided that we had waited long enough (is it some sort of requirement that in the er you have to wait at least 2 hours to get help??) and decided to put the staples in. after my husband had some loud, choice words with the doctor, she not so gently stapled our daughters head. none of us were happy when we left that er! but i won’t go into that!

 

here are the staples….

 

and here is our little trooper….

who, by the way, promptly started jumping on the bed as soon as we got back to the hotel. she was scaring the poop out of me! she is one tough cookie and, like i said, the way she was acting you never would have known that she had just had staples put in her head!

 

oh, how i love our kawena! never a dull moment and always a bunch of laughter with this one!

 

happy anniversary grandma and grandpa! glad we could make your anniversary and birthday so memorable and a night that you will never forget!!

1 month old

 

 

our little mahea is 1 month old today! it’s hard to believe!

 

we are out of town on a last minute trip to surprise grandma and grandpa for their 40th anniversary. it was a great idea because they loved it! it was their first introduction to their newest granddaughter! tonight at dinner they said that it was better than going on the cruise they were considering. it was fun to walk into their motor home when they had no idea we were coming!

 

so, i am very tired and need to get to sleep, but i wanted to post her 1 month photo.

 

she is such a sweet, easy-going baby!  the girls can’t get enough of her!

 

 

 

 

mahealani is the perfect addition to our ever-growing family!

what's in a name?

i know i gave much of the details for the labor and delivery in my last post, but neglected to post her name.

 

okay, so i lie!

 

i didn't neglect to post her name, she actually had no name until a few days ago. you see we have a bad habit of bringing our babies home without a name. kawena was "baby" for the first three weeks of her life! we put a lot of thought into naming our children and sometimes it takes time! i think nani was the only one that actually had a name within the first couple days of her birth!

 

the other factor is that, by tradition, my dad gives the middle name to all of our children. because of this, he needs time to "see" her and really ponder what name is fitting for our baby.

 

the combination of these two things, not to mention that she is our FOURTH daughter (i mean, c'mon, we can only come up with so many girl names!), has lead us to a delay on the name!

 

but, alas, we have decided on a very fitting name for our fourth precious girl.

 

introducing...

    Mahealani Pohaikealoha

 

when we were naming kawena, we were torn between two names: kawena and mahealani. after much thought and prayer, we knew that kawena was the right name for her.

 

so, this time around we had mahealani as one of the contenders. we looked through the hawaiian dictionary and made up a list of names along with their meanings and hung them on the refrigerator. when she was born early we knew we REALLY had to decide on a name.

 

for a few days each one of us was calling her by a different name, poor girl was probably very confused! but, we finally decided that she was mahealani!

 

the meaning?

 

well, mahealani means "the night of the full moon". she is partly named after me because mahina means "moon or moon goddess".

 

for her middle name, my dad had given us several suggestions, mostly having to do with flowers. they were all very nice names. however, after he sent us the list, via email, he had a second thought. he sent a second email with the name pohaikealoha. he said that after sending the first email with names, the name pohaikealoha just came to his mind. you can call it whatever you want, but i call it inspiration.

 

when mitch and i read the meaning we knew that it was perfect for our new little addition.

 

the meaning?

 

pohaikealoha means "love encircles".

 

i can testify of the love that follows her everywhere! this little one is surrounded by love from every direction! her mom and dad, her three older sisters, her tutu's and grandparent's, and many auntie's and uncle's! it was just so fitting! and she is so easy to love!

 

 

 

 

(note: some photos courtesy of mj photography)

we welcome, with much love, our sweet mahealani pohaikealoha!

 

....questions answered

as many of you read in my last post, i had a lot of unanswered questions.

 

well, i am back with most all of the answers...

• how will labor start (water breaking, contractions)?  it started with irregular contractions monday and some light bleeding.
• how long will it take once it starts?  once we arrived at the hospital at 4:30 am the bleeding had increased so they were concerned about the placenta. they did an ultrasound to confirm the location of the placenta. once they were certain the placenta was not in the way they were able to check me for dilation. she checked me and these were her words, "she is completely dilated with bulging bag of waters!" i was still in triage not yet in a delivery room, so they went into full action! if i wasn't in so much pain i would have found it humorous! it was like in the movies! they did an emergency call to the ob delivery wing that they needed a room asap! then they put the rails up on my bed and wheeled me, running through the halls to the delivery room. through all of this, i am going through transition with uncontrollable, full body shakes and contractions all over the place with no consistent pattern. she was born at 6:13 am.
• will i be able to have another drug free labor and delivery? yes! but i didn't really have an option this time!
• will i have the strength to endure the discomfort?  barely! when they were concerned about the placenta, as i convulsed from the shakes and contractions on top of each other, for a moment there i thought, "maybe a c-section would be a welcome relief from all this pain!" luckily, the placenta was not a problem, because i now am grateful to not have a cut on my belly that needs extra time to heal!
• will i make it to the hospital in time?  thankfully, yes! but it was the closest call that we've had! i was seriously worried about having to give birth in the car on the side of the road!
• will she be early or late? obviously, the answer is early! yippee! i like it when our babies come early! who wouldn't want to be pregnant a shorter amount of time!
• will i have back labor again? unfortunately the answer is a big, fat YES! the little rascal decided she wanted to come out sunny side up! all i can say is OUCH! my midwife said that in her whole career as a midwife she has only delivered about 5 babies that were sunny side up because most of them turn before actually being born! fortunate for me (read: very thick sarcasm!) i have given birth to 2 sunny side babies!! let me just say "OUCH!" again!
• will i bounce back after having her?  TBD....so far, it has been slower than the others, but i credit it to the intense back labor and the full body shakes! i am still hopeful that i can bounce back.
• will i ever be thin again? TBD....ha! sure doesn't feel like it! but, again, i am still hopeful!
• will i ever stop itching? a big huge, yeehaw! because it has stopped!
• will i ever be able to sleep again? well, you know how it is! i am able to sleep when she let's me!
• will i ever be able to rock with kawena and cuddle her close on my lap? i did it last night and i loved every minute of it! i'm pretty sure she enjoyed it too because she feel asleep on my lap! heavenly!
• will i ever be able to eat what i want again? YES! i had a cheeseburger at the hospital and pizza my first night home and i am looking forward to all the foods that we have planned for the next week! yum!
• will i ever walk without waddling?  still have yet to do that! but, again, i am very hopeful!
• will i ever run again? i sure hope so since the saturday before she was born we set up our new treadmill! i plan to get on it as soon as i feel up to it! that is how i plan to "bounce back" and "be thin" again!
• will i ever see my toes again? i'm lookin' at them right now!
• will i be able to be the mother of four girls? i guess i will have to figure it out! but i am very hopeful!

WHEN WILL SHE ARRIVE???

january 27th, 2009

6:13 am

7 pounds 4 ounces

20 inces long

mommie and baby are doing well and happy to be home!

*beautiful photography courtesy of malia johnson photography

so many questions......

as i become increasingly more uncomfortable every day, the big questions on my mind are,

• how will labor start (water breaking, contractions)?
• how long will it take once it starts?
• will i be able to have another drug free labor and delivery?
• will i have the strength to endure the discomfort?
• will we make it to the hospital in time?
• will she be early like our first (2 weeks early) and third (3 weeks early) daughters or will she be late (1 day late) like our second?
• will i have back labor, again?
• will i bounce back after having her?
• will i ever be thin again?
• will i ever stop itching?
• will i ever be able to sleep again?
• will i ever be able to rock with kawena and cuddle her close on my lap?
• will i ever be able to eat whatever i want again and not worry about it burning in my throat?
• will i ever walk without waddling?
• will i ever run again?
• will i ever see my toes again?
• will i be able to be the mother of four girls?
• will i ever....
• will i ever...

well, you get the picture!

 

but the real burning and important question that i have is:

 

WHEN WILL SHE ARRIVE???

 

any guesses? (my due date is february 8)

 

my little wiggies

when we moved into grandma's house in october, the girls found some very fun things to play with. in the girls bedroom, much to mitch's dislike, there was a makeup table with actual makeup, costume jewelry, fancy brush and mirror. the makeup made a quick disappearing act within the first couple days, but everything else pretty much was left for the girls to play with.

 

the one item that the girls found in their bedroom that continues to be played with is a wig.

 

today while nani was at school kale'a and kawena got it out and started fighting over it. so, of course, i got the trusty timer out (that was the best invention for a mother with children who fight over toys) and they each were able to play with it in 3 minute increments.

 

the timer on my watch is a miracle worker, let me tell you! i love that thing! it seriously has turned a screaming fit into peaceful play many a time!

 

but i digress...

 

as they took turns wearing the wig i had to grab my camera! look at how cute these two are as short reddish blondies!

 

when kawena saw this picture she screamed in her high, squeally voice "look! that sa-illy (silly) me!"

 

 

doesn't kale'a look totally different and so much older?? and kinda cute?

 

as cute as they are in the wig, i sure like their dark hair much better!  what do you think?!

 

all she wanted for christmas.....

...was to know the gender of her new grandchild.

 

as you all know, we have been withholding the gender of our new baby as our little secret. it wasn't just withheld from you, my dear friends. oh no! we didn't even tell anyone in our families. mitch and i, as well as our girls, are the only ones who have known.  that was until christmas day.

 

when asked what she wanted for christmas all my mom would say is, "i want to know if it's a girl or a boy!" that really was all that she wanted! sounds easy enough and she fully expected to get what she wanted. however, i was not so sure. it wasn't until christmas eve when mitch and i climbed, exhausted, into bed that we decided to leave a little something in her stocking to clue her in.

 

i stood ready to capture the moment on film. apparently, it wasn't a good enough clue because she pulled it out of her stocking and set it on the couch. i had to draw her attention back to the object. and then it clicked! (sorry mom, i know how much you don't like your picture being taken):

 

can you see what she is holding in her hand? it might be a little hard to tell what it is. let me help you out a little:

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so, there you have it!

 

and...... my mom got all that she wanted for christmas! merry christmas mom!

pregnancy update

i realize that i have not given much information regarding how my pregnancy is going since this post when it was all gloom and doom (well, it wasn't complete gloom and doom, but i was pretty concerned about the placenta previa and the thought of a mandatory c-section). i blame the move and craziness of christmas and visitors and, and, and...you get the idea!

 

anyway, many of you have asked how the whole pregnancy thing is going, so i thought i should probably update you since i've only got 3 more weeks left of pregnancy (thank goodness).

 

on our drive from oregon to new mexico i started to bleed some. as soon as we arrived in albuquerque i called a doctor and got in asap. they were a bit concerned so they scheduled a second ultrasound to see what was going on with the placenta. luckily, the bleeding subsided and has not resumed since!

 

the same day i had my second ultrasound, i also had my glucose tolerance test. while waiting for the results from the blood test i went in for the ultrasound. they saw that the placenta had moved a little bit and was not a complete previa, but a partial to low lying previa. that was good news.

 

however, they thought that the umbilical cord was inserted low on the placenta near the cervix. this is known as vasa previa and is significantly worse for the baby than placenta previa. they couldn't tell for sure, so i left that ultrasound a bit concerned. if that wasn't enough i was borderline diabetic. wonderful!

 

the best part of the ultrasound was that i left with this:

i understand that some of you may think that these pictures are kind of creepy (namely my sister!), but it was the first time i had seen one of our babies in 3-d and i think it's pretty cool! the placenta was covering the top of the head (the technician cut some of it out of the picture and that is why the head is not all there) and that is why it looks kinda weird. i think the baby is kinda cute, much cuter than the "alien babies" that the 2-d ultrasound pictures show! (this was at 28 weeks)

 

so, with thanksgiving and christmas approaching, i decided i needed to know if i truly had gestational diabetes or not. i wanted to be able to eat all those fabulous holiday goodies if i could. so, i did that horrible 3 hour glucose test and i thought i was going to pass out by the end of it. what a relief, when i got the call the day before thanksgiving telling me my levels were perfectly normal, not even close to the high range! so, i celebrated for the next month and a half and ate lots and lots of sugary, yummy goodness! probably not the best decision, but i did it anyway!

 

while my parents were here for christmas, i had my third ultrasound to check the location of the placenta and the insertion of the umbilical cord. in order to be able to deliver vaginally, the placenta needs to be a minimum of 2 cm away from the cervix. when measured, my placenta was 4 cm away! yippee! i was cleared for a normal delivery, barring any unforeseen complications. what they thought may have been an insertion of the cord down by the cervix was just a loop of cord because they found the true insertion towards the middle of the placenta!

 

now, i am happily seeing a midwife, instead of a doctor at the high risk clinic.

 

this whole crazy mess has been very interesting for us! we have seen many miracles and had many, many  prayers answered (thanks to all of your prayers that were offered on our behalf! they really have been felt and answered!). it seems like it has just been one thing after another. once one complication was cleared, a new one seemed to surface only to go away just as another complication would arise! it has helped us to really turn to the Lord and draw closer to Him. as we have seen our faith increase through these trials mitch and i have been drawn closer to each other and have seen a strengthening of our relationship!

 

we truly feel blessed! we know that we are being watched over and seasoned or refined. however, at the same time we are a bit worried about what all of this may be preparing us for in the future!?? but whatever comes, i guess we have been prepared, right?

 

now, we just wait for the payoff when we get to hold our beautiful baby in our arms.....

 

mine wagon!!

each christmas the girls get one big present from santa. we were having a hard time figuring out what kawena would be getting. but i think santa knew just what she would absolutely love! christmas morning as mitch carried kawena to see what was "under" the tree, this is what she did when she laid her eyes on it for the first time:

"mine wagon!"

 

and as she climbed in for the first time to try out her new wheels she was overjoyed!

little did santa know how MUCH she was going to love the wagon! you see she sat in that thing ALLDAY christmas and we all pulled her from room to room as she sat like a queen strapped into her new wagon.

 

when grandma and grandpa came over bearing way too many gifts, there she sat...

pulled to the front door to see who had come! "oh yipee! more people to pull me around in mine wagon!"

 

while everyone sat opening their stockings, there sat kawena checking out the cool cup holders in her wagon!

(pictured here is mitch's mom, nani, mitch's dad, mitch's grandma, aka. grandma great, my mom, and kawena sitting, surprisingly enough, in her wagon!)

 

she sat in her wagon during the whole present opening, while sisters and tutu's handed her presents to open! i mean, is that the life or what??!

since christmas, that girl has been pulled to the kitchen, to her room, to the den, up and down the hall countless times, to the bathroom, and pretty much any part of the house that she can possibly think of to be pulled in that wagon. she asks to have the wagon right next to her crib at night so she "can touch it!" she pretends to take a fully clothed bath in it. she sits in it to watch movies. she even asks me to sing the "wagon song" when i rock with her at night and nap time.  have any of you even heard of the "wagon song"?  yep, neither have i! but i make a new one up every time she asks for it! i'm just a good mom that way! i tell you this girl is infatuated with this radio flyer wagon! in fact, right now as i write this she is sitting in her wagon watching curious george perfectly content!

 

i'm pretty sure santa had absolutely NO idea just how PERFECT and how in L.O.V.E. kawena would be with her new wagon!

 

way to go santa!! you scored big time this year!