Burke: Mmmm! This is a yummy treat! It’s better even than marshmallows!

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We are lucky enough to have grandparents willing to overcome busy work schedules and fears of flying to come visit us from the other side of the country! For Thanksgiving week (Wednesday to Wednesday) my parents have been here enjoying the holiday, getting to know their grandkids again, and helping out. We (meaning Dad & Conan) have a repaired lawn tractor, a freshly mopped floor, clean AND folded laundry, a "spoiled" baby, and happy kids. Here’s a few photos to show how it went. Don’t know how, but we never did get all the grandkids together in a shot with both grandparents. I just was NOT the camera person I usually am this week! We had all kinds of plans that went awry, so we did NOT get all kinds of deals on Black Friday (more on that another day), we did NOT visit Bronner’s and the world’s largest nativity in Frankenmuth, we did NOT give the boys their much needed haircuts, or get portraits at the photo studio.

 But we did…

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So, using the term relatively, our little girl is getting big! Our babies tend to have weight-gain issues, partly due to my body’s apparent reluctance to lactate, and partly due to Conan’s incredibly fast metabolism being passed on down. While Evangeline initially lost the average 6% in body weight at 1 day old, after 5 days she was still losing rather than gaining, weighing in at 5lbs 11oz. Our pediatrician recommended that we start tube feeding to supplement, and prescribed a hospital grade pump so insurance could help with the rental cost, hoping we could supplement with breast milk rather than formula. Nursing, then tube feeding was taking at least an hour, then I was supposed to pump afterwards, repeated every two to three hours (from the beginning of the routine). Umm… I have three boys at home. I’m lucky if I can make time to pump once a day, and all I get are a few drops. Not much worth the effort, in my opinion!

However, we stuck to it, and just two days later, she’d gained 3 ounces! We then switched to a bottle, as getting the tube perfectly lined up to use simultaneously with breast-feeding was a huge frustration, yet finger-feeding was NOT developing good latch-on habits. We’re still struggling with correcting that. I’m working on locating a lactation consultant we can afford at the moment. The only one who has returned my calls charges $125 for one 2-hour visit! I went ahead and started taking herbal supplements to augment my milk supply, even though my La Leche League contact recommended not doing that for at least 6 weeks– um sorry, but if my baby is obviously still hungry after nursing every single time, there’s something wrong! Anyway, at her two week visit she was a whopping 6lbs 10oz! She gained nearly a pound in a week! Way to go Cheerio!

Conan, tube-feeding our little peanut: 

So, this is terribly belated, but I’m posting it anyway. Conan is awesome. We pretty much missed Halloween altogether due to our baby arriving the 29th at nearly midnight, and our traditional "last cookout of the year" fiesta at our friend’s home was a no-go since all the families attending had been/still had strep throat or severe colds which we were not willing to expose our kids to, knowing they would ultimately bring something unpleasant home to share with their newborn sister. Conan, however, recognized that it was a big deal to our kids to celebrate in some way. They had plenty of candy thanks to the Ward Trunk or Treat and the TechSmith party after that, but some kind of excuse to don their costumes one last time was called for, so Conan prepared our own family party! He made cute little sandwiches, cut up some lovely apples and carrots, broke out the apple cider, and let the kids eat their candy (after eating some of the more healthy fare). Evangeline and I even joined the party. He turned out all the lights and lit candles, which the boys just loved. We had some little flashlights and glow bracelets we’d gotten for the traditional walk in the woods we were anticipating at our friends’ house, so Conan decided to put them to good use with a fun glow-in-the-dark treasure hunt! We then turned on some music from Conan’s computer and had a little dance party. We had such a great time! We ended the evening playing hide-and-go-seek in the dark with our glow sticks and flashlights. The boys went to bed in their costumes, happy and exhausted! Conan, you’re the greatest dad ever.

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So, here’s the brief synopsis for the faint of heart… the full details follow under "Continue Reading." The short answer is that everything went well. My 5 hour labor was "easy…" at least for everyone watching. I had no pain medication, and minimal bodily damage. I cannot imagine doing that for twice as long, though I know many women do! There were things we LOVED about having a home birth, and things I think I prefer about a hospital birth… namely the convenience for newborn exams and recovery time. All in all I’m grateful for that experience and I’m glad our little Evangeline is here!

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This post is dedicated to all the amazing people who were here to help me bring this little amazing person into the world.

 First: My Amazing husband and labor coach, Conan

This wonderful man has been taking care of us all since ground zero. He was an amazing labor coach, and has been a superhero Dad for taking care of all of us since I’ve been on bed rest. Conan, you are the Love of my Life. I am so eternally grateful for you.

Next: My Amazing Mother-in-Law

She arrived just as my labor began Wednesday, and jumped right in taking care of the boys, washing laundry, even scrubbing the bathroom floor! Then she went ahead and canned all those bushels of apples I had on hand, took the boys to the park, and cleaned house… we are SO grateful for her help. Thanks Mom!

The Amazing Becky:

My wonderful friend hasn’t been feeling so great herself, yet she made us two large dinners, stayed and played with the boys for hours one day, and helped in the immense applesaucing event! Becky, I don’t know how God made such amazing people! Thank You! 

The Amazing Big Brothers:

 These guys ADORE their little sister, and they’ve been so very good with her. She is certainly surrounded by Love.

There will be more details to follow, I promise! 

Since it’s Conan here writing, you’re going to get the basics.  Melissa will fill in with the whole story later, I’m sure.

Name: Evangeline Elizabeth Heiselt
DOB: 29 Oct 2008
Time of arrival: 10:54 PM EST
Gender: girl
Weight: 6 lbs. 4 oz.
Length: 19 3/4 inches
Cuteness level: High

Be sure to click on the Read More… link below to see more pictures and a video.

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So, with 2 weeks left to go, people are always asking me… "What are you still doing here?" and "Haven’t you popped that baby out yet??!" Um thanks, but I’ve still got some time to go, though I appreciate your crude concern. Their comments are no doubt due to my size, and elevation… er, lack thereof? I carry very low anyway, so when I drop it just looks dangerous, apparently.

In fact, at the last exam, my midwife informed me that our little girl is so engaged that she couldn’t even feel the head. Or the neck. And only a little slope of the shoulders. But does that mean birthing is eminent for us? Not necessarily. Neils was very low 2 weeks before his due date, and I’d started effacing and dilating and my doctor thought I ought to prepare to go early… and he was 2 weeks after that silly due date.

It does, however, mean that Mamma is a wee bit uncomfortable, to say the least. My midwife also said that she is posterior, meaning although she is head-down, she is facing out, rather than towards my spine as she should be. Many women birth babies this way, and most of the time they do turn around during labor at some point, and even if they don’t they can still make their way into the world just fine, but it accounts for that very uncomfortable "back labor" we hear about, and just generally means a longer more painful labor and delivery in general. Since I am going au natural, I would really appreciate prayers that she will turn herself around BEFORE we go into labor. It would make things happier for both of us, I am sure.

I like to leave a lot of our "schedule" up to the boys’ interests whenever possible. Sometimes this means we spend a day studying six different types of combustion engines, like yesterday , but today it meant "Adventure Time." Neils woke up ready and energetically committed to the idea, so first thing we headed outdoors; he with his little magnifying glass and notebook in tow. Unfortunately, it was only 45 degrees outside so, despite our coats, we were frozen before the boys got past the old dead tree. Ah well. We discovered evidence of deer sleeping in the tall grass there, the boys enjoyed climbing and observing the effects of gravity, and we hastily headed into the kitchen for some nice hot cocoa. Such is autumn in Michigan.

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I admit it. I’m brilliant. This year with baby E due early November or possibly late October, Burke’s birthday on the 18th and Neils’ on the 25th (as well as three church activities) we decided to play it safe and have a combined birthday party for Burke and Neils today. There is a wonderful little place here in Okemos called Caesarland… yes, as in Little Caesar’s. So, imagine Chuck E. Cheese, but a little more low-key, with a huge climbing apparatus for big kids, a boxed in one for little guys, lots of arcade games and ways to earn tickets for prizes, and a few of those little rides for little guys… oh yeah, and Little Caesar pricing. So for as much as I might spend on decorations, games, prizes, a filled piñata, goody bags, etc. for one birthday party, we had a party for both boys hosted at Little Caesar’s! Wahoo!

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