Well, yesterday, Saturday August 30, 2008, was a really big historic day for us. Kelly sat alone...unassisted. I was so tickled pink! She was sitting
beside me with me holding on to her and I just happened to let go and
she stayed up!! And I looked at her and could not believe it. And then
I yelled at the AuPair to look and my oldest daughter and we all just
stared in disbelief. It was the coolest thing ever. She used her hand
to prop her and support her and she sat there alone for about a
minute. That is a good start, don't ya think!! WHOOO HOOO
For those of you that do not understand what a monumental issue this is, let me explain a bit more. Kelly has spastic quadrapelegic Cerebral Palsy. She has high tone in her arms and legs and low tone in her head, neck and trunk. This means it was an accomplishment when she started holding her head up back in January at 14 months of age. I was really not sure if she would ever have trunk control but that muscle has been developing slowly over the last half year. We were loaned a Rabbit StanderR82 and I think that helped her too. Her doctor feels like she is doing so well that she does not need a vest or corset to help her with her trunk muscles. Many kids with CP that have low tone in their trunk must wear a support system like this and many do not sit up unassisted. I am hoping this is the beginning of big things for Kelly.
When we put baby Sarah on the floor with her, she gets really excited and tries to crawl toward her. She is moving the legs correctly but has not gotten the arms going right yet. That is why the trunk strength is also so important. She needs that body strength to get herself propelled forward. We are thrilled. I am now actually feeling hopeful and believing that she may some day walk!! All the therapy, tears, prayers and pain are paying off.
Way to go Kelly Jelly Belly!!!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Wow, What a Sister
Kelly has been blessed in the fact that so far she has only had problems with her muscles and movements. There are so many children out there and so many different problems and faces. I just pray we all learn a little bit of patience, love, and acceptance for them all.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Morning Mama
I am not a morning person. Ask my dad and ask my husband. My dad knew me the first part of my life and now my husband gets to enjoy my company during the remainder, but that is not possible mornings. So, normally, I try to go to bed early in order to get 8 hours of sleep. With 8 hours, I am super! Now, however, with the birth of baby number five, I am not getting 8 hours of sleep. I am starting to sleep for 4 hours at a stretch and that can do wonders but it is still not enough and my daytime hours are absolutely nuts here. There is always someone needing me, touching me, talking to me, interrupting the other person talking to me to talk to me, following me into the bathroom, needing to be stretched, needing to be taught to potty on the potty, needing to learn to read, needing to breastfeed, needing to be reassured they are a good man, needing to be placed in their stander, needing to be played with, needing to be placed in their pony, needing to be placed on their tummy for “tummy-time”, needing to be cheered and encouraged when doing stressful Vojta therapy…and the list goes on. That can be in a one our period mind you. I am not kidding one single bit, my life is nuts.
So, we get to this blogging idea of mine. I want to keep up with the 5 girls is enough (yes, I know the grammar sounds off, it is supposed to be a joke like 8 is enough) website and devote it to my family and especially our battle against the all encompassing, evil Cerebral Palsy and give hope and inspiration to others. I also want to do that with my other blog 5 girls on a budget for the same reasons except to highlight our journey on an extremely tight budget and again give inspiration and ideas to others. But how on earth can I possibly sit down and read emails or write a blog for goodness sake when I do not even eat regularly or shower at this point?? I know it will get a bit better because baby Sarah will eventually sleep through the night. But either way, I have come to an adult decision. I have to get up before the family does if I want to have one moment of peace to think and dream and write. I know this is not a new idea, many women have done it and I have read about it and heard about it for years, but I had no idea how true it was going to be in my life. For the sake of my sanity, I need to have alone time so that I am strong enough to give all the love and things to my family that each of the 6 individual people need. I thought about staying up late, after the kids are in bed, but then my husband is awake and he wants his husband time. That is fair, he needs me too. But I need me too. So, I begin my journey as an early riser. Well, at least I did it today. We will see about tomorrow. I think it is going to be absolutely the only way that I can keep my sanity, or at least a semblance of my sanity!
So, we get to this blogging idea of mine. I want to keep up with the 5 girls is enough (yes, I know the grammar sounds off, it is supposed to be a joke like 8 is enough) website and devote it to my family and especially our battle against the all encompassing, evil Cerebral Palsy and give hope and inspiration to others. I also want to do that with my other blog 5 girls on a budget for the same reasons except to highlight our journey on an extremely tight budget and again give inspiration and ideas to others. But how on earth can I possibly sit down and read emails or write a blog for goodness sake when I do not even eat regularly or shower at this point?? I know it will get a bit better because baby Sarah will eventually sleep through the night. But either way, I have come to an adult decision. I have to get up before the family does if I want to have one moment of peace to think and dream and write. I know this is not a new idea, many women have done it and I have read about it and heard about it for years, but I had no idea how true it was going to be in my life. For the sake of my sanity, I need to have alone time so that I am strong enough to give all the love and things to my family that each of the 6 individual people need. I thought about staying up late, after the kids are in bed, but then my husband is awake and he wants his husband time. That is fair, he needs me too. But I need me too. So, I begin my journey as an early riser. Well, at least I did it today. We will see about tomorrow. I think it is going to be absolutely the only way that I can keep my sanity, or at least a semblance of my sanity!
Monday, August 11, 2008
Baby Sarah Comes Home
I enjoyed a few days alone in the hospital getting to know Daughter number Five. We did have a few problems with the fact her blood sugar was really low and we had to give her glucose till my milk came in. It was so low they almost took her to NICU…reliving the nightmare of the twins? But, we made it to a normal number with much stress but finally success. She was very yellow but again, right on the bare minimal borderline. All of this was due to my diabetes.
She and I cuddled and cooed and enjoyed being together alone for the first time in her life and one of very few times.
With four other sisters, it is almost impossible to get alone time with Momma (ask Papa). But, Momma got homesick and after 3 days, they would have kept me up to 5, I asked to be discharged so I could go home and see the other little girls.
Katja came to the hospital with Papa to make sure I did not forget something important, like Baby Sarah!!!
Kelly was awake from naptime when we got home. The look on her face was priceless. Like Katja did the first time, Kelly lit up very bright. Her eyes were very wide and her mouth was open as if to say “Wow, what a wonderful thing that is. Is it mine?” She wanted to hold the baby. Kelly has CP and does not have that much control of her hands but I laid baby Sarah beside her on the large beanbag chair. Kelly very gently touched Sarah’s face. She knew exactly what to do. I was so proud of her. And then Kelly did the most amazing thing. She said very clearly, “Sarah.” Well, that took care of any worries I might have had about Kelly having speech difficulties. She said Sarah more clearly than some adults do. My father-in-law was still of the mind that Kelly was not very smart. He had even said that he did not think Kelly would even notice the new baby. I guess she proved him wrong!!
Sabrina got up from naptime and was walking around in my room. I went up to her and told her I had something to show her. She saw the baby in my arms and saw that it was moving! She took a step back and gave a gasp. I think it scared her a bit. She was not really sure what to think. It took her several days to warm up to the baby. Now we cannot keep her away!
So, we got home just fine and the next day Erika and Andreas hit the road home. They were very happy to be going home. I was very sad to see them leave. But luckily for us, Nanny Sarah was on her way from Canada and would arrive May 1st. That is a story for another post.
She and I cuddled and cooed and enjoyed being together alone for the first time in her life and one of very few times.
With four other sisters, it is almost impossible to get alone time with Momma (ask Papa). But, Momma got homesick and after 3 days, they would have kept me up to 5, I asked to be discharged so I could go home and see the other little girls.
Katja came to the hospital with Papa to make sure I did not forget something important, like Baby Sarah!!!
Kelly was awake from naptime when we got home. The look on her face was priceless. Like Katja did the first time, Kelly lit up very bright. Her eyes were very wide and her mouth was open as if to say “Wow, what a wonderful thing that is. Is it mine?” She wanted to hold the baby. Kelly has CP and does not have that much control of her hands but I laid baby Sarah beside her on the large beanbag chair. Kelly very gently touched Sarah’s face. She knew exactly what to do. I was so proud of her. And then Kelly did the most amazing thing. She said very clearly, “Sarah.” Well, that took care of any worries I might have had about Kelly having speech difficulties. She said Sarah more clearly than some adults do. My father-in-law was still of the mind that Kelly was not very smart. He had even said that he did not think Kelly would even notice the new baby. I guess she proved him wrong!!
Sabrina got up from naptime and was walking around in my room. I went up to her and told her I had something to show her. She saw the baby in my arms and saw that it was moving! She took a step back and gave a gasp. I think it scared her a bit. She was not really sure what to think. It took her several days to warm up to the baby. Now we cannot keep her away!
So, we got home just fine and the next day Erika and Andreas hit the road home. They were very happy to be going home. I was very sad to see them leave. But luckily for us, Nanny Sarah was on her way from Canada and would arrive May 1st. That is a story for another post.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Introducing Baby Sarah, Baby Number 5
In an attempt to catch up on this blogging thing I am going to go backwards and attempt to do justice to the wonderful events of the last 4 months.
So I will begin with one of the most important events we have experienced this year, the birth of daughter number 5.
Introducing Sarah Jessica Meyer, no not Parker!! She does not have a copy write.
Sarah was born into the Meyer girls club on April 20, 2008 during the 37th week of pregnancy. We decided to induce the labor because of my gestational diabetes. Glad we did because she was a bigun (Texan for big one). She weighed in at over 3560 grams which is 7 pounds 8 ounces. She also had a bigger head circumference than the other kiddos, ouch. Sarah was born at the same hospital as the rest of the last 4 girls, Hannover’s University Hospital or MHH. It was like going home and being among friends because I lived there for 10 weeks as I was pregnant with the twins. The nurses, midwives and doctors all know me and my children by name. That made it nice. On a side note, the midwife in charge of my birth made the experience terrible but in an effort to let things go, I will not go into detail. I thought about writing a letter and complaining because she refused to give me the second dose of my epidural medicine, even though the doctor said she could and should. And even though I have a recorded back problem. Needless to say, I have never had that type of pain and that is from an experienced mother who has now done the birth thing this way: first time with epidural (perfect birth), second no epidural because it was too late but my back was not as bad as it is now and I had a shot of something, third experience was with a C-Section and then lastly I did this half and half thing where the epidural wore off. I know some of you think, “OH buck it up, it was just normal childbirth pain!” You that say that have no idea what you are talking about. I have a problem with the vertebrae in my spine and will need surgery eventually. I take some form of Morphine regularly and needed the last dose to keep the epidural going. I had done the childbirth thing the natural way once before and wanted my last experience to be as wonderful as my first but the mighty, evil midwife took care of that. No, I am not holding grudges over it, I am just fine. Oh, and she also refused to give me an episiotomy, which I had had with the other births. She just did not think it was necessary even though Sarah was a big baby with a big head…errrrrr.
SOOOOOO
Let me tell you about Sarah. She is so pretty. She has dark hair, blue eyes (I know all anglo babies have them but in our case, she will probably keep them) like 3 of her older sisters, and these lovely, long eyelashes that curl up so pretty. I think she got the eyelashes from my mother who told a story that she had long, curling eyelashes till her older sister, who was jealous, cut them off at naptime one day.
The first two sisters to meet her were Samantha and Katja.
Let me tell you, Katja was thrilled. She wanted to take her home right away. She was not concerned at all about Momma, just baby Sarah. She almost did not leave the hospital room because she wanted to be sure that we were not going to forget Sarah and that she would get to come home with us.
Then Katja really started to check Baby Sarah out...
"Wow, Momma, she is a real baby! She is not in your tummy anymore!!"
Then finally, Katja allowed Samantha to hold baby Sarah. She supervised the whole thing, in case Samantha dropped her baby sister.
So I will begin with one of the most important events we have experienced this year, the birth of daughter number 5.
Introducing Sarah Jessica Meyer, no not Parker!! She does not have a copy write.
Sarah was born into the Meyer girls club on April 20, 2008 during the 37th week of pregnancy. We decided to induce the labor because of my gestational diabetes. Glad we did because she was a bigun (Texan for big one). She weighed in at over 3560 grams which is 7 pounds 8 ounces. She also had a bigger head circumference than the other kiddos, ouch. Sarah was born at the same hospital as the rest of the last 4 girls, Hannover’s University Hospital or MHH. It was like going home and being among friends because I lived there for 10 weeks as I was pregnant with the twins. The nurses, midwives and doctors all know me and my children by name. That made it nice. On a side note, the midwife in charge of my birth made the experience terrible but in an effort to let things go, I will not go into detail. I thought about writing a letter and complaining because she refused to give me the second dose of my epidural medicine, even though the doctor said she could and should. And even though I have a recorded back problem. Needless to say, I have never had that type of pain and that is from an experienced mother who has now done the birth thing this way: first time with epidural (perfect birth), second no epidural because it was too late but my back was not as bad as it is now and I had a shot of something, third experience was with a C-Section and then lastly I did this half and half thing where the epidural wore off. I know some of you think, “OH buck it up, it was just normal childbirth pain!” You that say that have no idea what you are talking about. I have a problem with the vertebrae in my spine and will need surgery eventually. I take some form of Morphine regularly and needed the last dose to keep the epidural going. I had done the childbirth thing the natural way once before and wanted my last experience to be as wonderful as my first but the mighty, evil midwife took care of that. No, I am not holding grudges over it, I am just fine. Oh, and she also refused to give me an episiotomy, which I had had with the other births. She just did not think it was necessary even though Sarah was a big baby with a big head…errrrrr.
SOOOOOO
Let me tell you about Sarah. She is so pretty. She has dark hair, blue eyes (I know all anglo babies have them but in our case, she will probably keep them) like 3 of her older sisters, and these lovely, long eyelashes that curl up so pretty. I think she got the eyelashes from my mother who told a story that she had long, curling eyelashes till her older sister, who was jealous, cut them off at naptime one day.
The first two sisters to meet her were Samantha and Katja.
Let me tell you, Katja was thrilled. She wanted to take her home right away. She was not concerned at all about Momma, just baby Sarah. She almost did not leave the hospital room because she wanted to be sure that we were not going to forget Sarah and that she would get to come home with us.
Then Katja really started to check Baby Sarah out...
"Wow, Momma, she is a real baby! She is not in your tummy anymore!!"
Then finally, Katja allowed Samantha to hold baby Sarah. She supervised the whole thing, in case Samantha dropped her baby sister.
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