Vacationing with a newborn

Yes we're crazy, we took a little trip right at Micah's 3 week mark.  We traveled by ferry, then two different trains to get to a little city near the Ephesus remains.  We had two great little travelers, and it was a very comfortable way to travel with two little boys.

We would highly recommend the place we stayed, it's only a block away from the train station and within walking distance to several places in town, and just a short walk away from public transport to get you to various surrounding places.  The staff spoke English, the rooms were clean, they had a great breakfast every morning and the price was very affordable.

Ephesus is a place we've wanted to visit for a while now but just now have had the opportunity, and I'm glad we did it, even if it meant traveling with a newborn.  We hope to go back when the boys get older, because even though Calvin had a blast climbing on and jumping off of marble columns, he didn't quite appreicate the history behind those columns he loved to climb on.  The beginning of November was absolutely goregous, and it wasn't peek tourist season, a double bonus.

We also were able to stop at a place that makes carpets, they gave us a great lesson in how they make them and let's just say it's amazing.  We all were impressed by this demonstration and we were not pressured into buying, which is rare among those selling carpets.  We would love to buy one, but really do I want to worry about cleaning spills out of such a piece of artwork.....someday.

I'm too tired at the moment to put these pictures in order, but it gives you an idea of what we saw,

 The carpet weaving school

 Making the silk thread, which is a very cool process

 At this point I believe we were going on a bear hunt.....we didn't find any bears though.

 A rare moment where Calvin was actually still

 People knew how to build things back in the day

 public potties

 the library was very impressive

Micah slept the entire time

 the theatre.

So grateful to get to share this experience with these two, and John as well, but his pace was quite a bit faster than ours.

bosphorus birthday

We started off touring after taking a Sabbath to let his parents recover from the trip. We took a 4 hour cruise up and back down the Bosphorus. It was such a relaxing little trip and was the first time Marvin or I had ventured that far up the Bosporus. The boat docked for a few hours just shy of the Black Sea. There was an old fortress on top of the hill and we hiked up to the top, it was a little initiation to Istanbul's hills. Thankfully we all made it up and back down before the boat left.

Love the Bosphorus bridges!

where the Bosphorus leads to the Black Sea

Lots of cute little neighborhoods along the shore

Once we finally made it home we ordered Turkish food, oh how I am going to miss ordering food online and having it delivered quickly to my door on days I don't feel like cooking. I baked a cake in the morning and Calvin helped me decorate it with sprinkles. You can't quite tell but he made a nice little sprinkle pile in the middle of the cake. (Can you guess what piece Calvin wanted?) We had fun with our little birthday celebration and Calvin is still singing Happy Birthday to Grandma. What a treat to be able to be together on her birthday.

a Quick 2 weeks

Marvin's parents and brother left yesterday and we so appreciate what it took to get here, we know it wasn't easy. Calvin already misses them, and has been talking about how we need to catch up with them and go to the airport (and yes it breaks my heart every time I hear him say it). I have lots more photos to post but we'll start in order, so here are a few pictures of their first night/morning in town.  We just enjoyed having them here and let them sleep a bit.  Their first full day we headed to the bazaar down the street and let them explore and take in all the sounds, smells, and sites. 

 

Micah's first time in Grandma's arms

 

 Calvin quickly convinced Uncle John to read him some books, which turned into about a 45 minute reading session.  He had no idea how much Calvin loves books, especially when he has a willing reader.

First time in Grandpa's arms at breakfast the morning after they arrived.

We are so blessed to have had such an amazing visit.  Thank you so much for flying half way around the world to see us and to meet Micah, it means so much to us.

my little Traveling buddy

Micah had his first international flight just 2 weeks after he was born.  We had to leave the country to renew my visa and to get a visa for Micah (our life is never boring).  Thankfully we were able to find a good cheap flight to Bulgaria that only required an overnight stay.  I contacted some friends of friends who live in the country and they were able to recommend a place to stay and give me some info on how to get to and from the airport.  This was such a blessing because this little trip was planned 2 days before I went.

I was a little nervous flying solo with our tiny little man, but he was a such a great little traveler.  While I was waiting for my flight I bumped into some other expats on my flight and out of all the people who could have possibly have been traveling that day we made the connection that we had some common acquaintances.  They had a friend picking them up from the airport and I just climbed right in and they took me to the hotel and picked me up the next morning at 6:00 a.m. to take me back to the airport. 

Now they didn't stop there, we stopped by a grocery store so I could pick up some pig meat to take back with me.  While we were at the grocery store my attention was directed to the beverage selection they have available. Seriously before my eyes stood several cans of Dr. Pepper, it was delicious and a great way to start a very early day after very little sleep.

 

Unfortunately these were the only two photos I took during this short trip.  It was dark when we landed and foggy when we took off the next morning.  So I got a night glimpse of Sofia, I hope visit someday again and next time see more of the country.

Brotherly Love

Calvin requests lots of snuggle time with his little brother, which we are certainly trying to encourage.  He's been a great helper too.

 Micah's pretty fond of his big brother too.

 My sweet little guys!



too wet to play

The sun did not shine.

It was too wet to play.

So we sat in the house

All that cold, cold, wet day.

Rainy fall days.
We've had plenty of them lately.
A certain someone has been BEGGING to go out and play.
Hopefully we'll have some beautiful weather soon, that lends itself to outdoor play.

Until then, I'm very thankful Marvin's willing to wrestle with Calvin, and we have his scooter.  Here's a scooter "road" we set up in our last apartment, it muted his scooter sounds for our neighbors.  This particular day he insisted he was cold and needed to wear his hat and jacket for the better part of the day.  This little boy cracks me up.

Close Ups

Oh how I wish so many of you could meet this little man in real life.  I'm very excited that part of our family will get to hold him in only a few more hours.  There are times my heart wishes for you to be able to touch his smooth skin, hear his little squeaks, grunts and cries, for your lips to kiss his wrinkly forehead, and to hold him while he sleeps. 

He's growing too quickly I'm afraid, part of me wishes he would stay itty bitty forever, gone are the loose skin on his knees, his little legs are plumping up, a sign he's eating well.  While he's growing daily I'll enjoy this little season while he is still tiny and savor his sweetness.

So because many of you cannot wrap your arms around him here a few pictures of Micah in action.



I often find him sleeping like this.  I think it's pretty sweet, like he's almost saying "please don't wake me up."



Calvin calls this his pirate eye.  Love that one eyed yawn.

Well hello world!  Love that wrinkled forehead, it's perfectly kissable.

Squirming in his sleep

Doing a little stretching

Before a big yawn.

Recap

These first 2 weeks have been filled with lots of adjustments and Mr. Micah is just the sweetest little thing. We all have enjoyed getting to know him.
When Micah was 4 days old Marvin came down with a nasty little bug that wiped him out for a few days. During this time the reality that we had 2 little boys hit hard. Thankfully Micah was such a sweet and easy baby during this time, and Calvin was on his best behavior! That certainly was a HUGE blessing. Thankfully the little bug left our home without infecting anyone else.

We traveled to the consulate and applied for Micah's passport, his birth certificate and social security number. We were amazed when his passport was delivered 3 days later. (AMAZING and an answer to prayer.)


picture that will represent Micah in his passport for the next 5 years

 

first ferry rides

 We moved to a different apartment. We've enjoyed a better view and I certainly have enjoyed the perks of this apartment. I feel like I'm living the high life with a dryer and a dishwasher.
We're ready for Marvin's parents to arrive. Meals are planned, freezer is stocked, and plans are ready to tour this city once they get here.

I'm making a quick trip out of country today, returning early tomorrow morning. I'm headed to Sofia Bulgaria to renew my visa, it will be my first international trip where I haven't already been to the country before without Marvin. I'm praying that Micah will be a good little traveler. Thankfully I won't need to bring much since my trip is very short, like 12 hours short! I should return just in time to get a few things finished before Marvin's parents and brother arrive.

anticipation

We're all looking forward to Saturday!!!!  Hooray for family making the long trip to see us!

and so it begins

Over the past month and a half we've had the special privilege of having some sweet people living close to us. Calvin has been blessed to have such good friends to play with everyday. Marvin and I have enjoyed time to hang out with friends and we also have been so loved by how they have blessed our family. They loved Calvin, invited him to come over to play with their children, and also were here when we welcomed Micah into the world. Such sweet memories.

This life lends itself to goodbyes, and while they are hard for us, we have become accustomed to them. This past week Calvin had to say goodbye to his friends and for the first time it made him sad. Our little guy is growing up and he is starting to understand more. It broke this mama's heart to see him in tears because he didn't want to say goodbye to his friends, he wanted to go with them. As much as you never want to see your kids hurting it is sweet to see how Father comforts us. It was good to remind him and myself what a blessing it is to have good friends and how God always provides us with new friends, and that's worth a loud Hallelujah!

in no particular order

#31 a healthy baby boy#32 slices of bread that become airplanes during lunchtime
#33 creative imagination of a 3 year old
#34 birthday cake
#35 counting down the days until we see family
#36 technology allowing us to introduce Micah to friends and family far away
#37 wrinkled little foreheads
#38 hearing the words "I forgive you"
#39 first cry heard in the delivery room
#40 a calm and encouraging doctor
#41 visits from "our family" at the hospital
#42 open eyes for first passport photo
#43 kisses from a big brother
#44 a warm, sleeping newborn nestled on your chest
#45 meals brought by from friends
#46 having a baby in a culture that adores children
#47 softness of a brand new baby
#48 dinner time conversations all about Thomas the train
#49 snuggle time and hugs from Calvin
#50 celebrating with ice cream after delivering Micah
#51 little corner store with everything we need
#52 pharmacies everywhere
#53 a little boy singing Larry Boy in a taxi
#54 little kisses throughout the day accompanied by a "I love you."
#55 friends who share baby things, this boppy has been amazing! (Thanks M)

mmmmm Cake

So I'm finally getting some pictures posted of Calvin's cake.  These pictures make me smile and will be fun to reminice over in the years to come.  His cake turned out to be a big hit with the kids.  They could not wait until we cut it, in fact one little guy just sat at the table and waited until it was cake time, too funny.  I of course see lots of imperfections but it was special and worth the time it took.

D Day....delivery day that is

For those of you who have no interest in childbirth, this post may not be for you.....for those of you who do read on.

The last few weeks of Micah's pregnancy were extremely uncomfortable.  (Apparently I'm not one of those women who love being pregnant.)  Honestly it wasn't fun, but so worth it.  My blood pressure had been on the high side, and my doctor had been monitoring it closely.  I was extremely swollen, by mid morning my legs literally felt like they weighed a ton.  I had a few tests run at my last doctor's appointment and one indicated preeclampsia, so we were scheduled to induce on Wednesday.  It was beautiful news, because I couldn't wait to meet this little man, even if this meant we had to induce labor.

Thankfully our colleagues were in town renewing visas, so we were able to drop Calvin off at their apartment before we headed to the hospital. This was such an incredible blessing to know he was with people he was comfortable with. The day before we went into the hospital this is all Calvin would talk about, "how much longer before we go to their house and play?"

Once we got to the hospital at 9:00 a.m. they showed us to the labor room, I got dressed, and had blood work done while Marvin filled out the paperwork for admission.  Everything was very similar to Calvin's labor, it was like we were doing the same thing, in the same order as we did with Calvin, just 3 years later.  The initial exam showed I was barely dilated, 1 cm, so pitocin was started.  The rest of our morning was very mellow and boring.  We read for a bit, watched the miners rescue for a long time, then after a while started watching some Office episodes to help pass the time.  The doctor came in around 11:00 p.m. to see if things were progressing, I had only dilated to 2 cm, but she thought around 3:00 she would come and break my water, and things would really get moving.  So more waiting ensued, they brought me lunch and were just waiting for the show to get started.  I could feel the contractions getting stronger but they weren't uncomfortable, an honestly there were times I wasn't even aware I was having them because I was either laughing about something or not paying attention.  It was very weird, because labor is supposed to hurt.

So 3:00 pm. came and went and our doctor still had not come, they moved us to the delivery room and we thought it would be any time now, but we just kept waiting and so we started a new season of Survivor.  Turns out our doctor was caught up in surgery, which is why she was running behind.  Finally at about 6:20 pm she came in to break my water.  At this point I was only dilated 3-4 cm and according to Dr. Deniz she thought I'd deliver around 9:00/9:30 pm.  After she broke my water the contractions really started to intensify.  I found a good spot on my side with Marvin rubbing my lower back through the contractions.  This made them manageable, and gave me some relief in between them, unfortunately the fetal monitor wasn't picking up the baby's heart beat well and it kept dropping, so the nurse came in, called in our doctor and after a few changes in positions figured out that it was picking up my heart beat and not the baby's.  After this little scare I was a sight for sure.  They had been monitoring my blood pressure so I had that on my left arm, a heart rate monitor on the index finger on my left hand, fetal monitors hooked up to my belly, an oxygen mask on my face, and finally the pitocin line coming into my right hand. At one point they handed me more medication to regulate my blood pressure and I couldn't figure out how to grab it and the cup of water due to the number of cords coming from all directions.

At this point I felt like I could handle more labor at the intensity I was experiencing.  They released me from the monitors for a bit I went to the bathroom and by the time I got back the contractions were 10 times as intense.  I was able to stand up leaning on the big ball for a bit and I could tell things were progressing, but I was getting shaky.  This was maybe 20 minutes after they broke my water and at this point they wanted me back on the fetal monitors, which meant back into bed.  I was already shaking from standing up and beginning to get nauseous.  The nurse checked and said I was around 5-6 cm.  I decided to wait until 7:00 to decide on an epidural. 10 minutes passed and I was able to sit up instead of lay down and still get a good reading on the monitors, but the contractions were picking up speed.  I decided since I was a couple hours from 9:00 that it would be worth it to get the epidural since I still had a ways to go.  By the time the anesthesiologist got there it was around 7:15, she got things going and finished up around 7:30.  What I heard was "it should be 15 minutes and you shouldn't be able to feel anything".  What I missed was that I was only given the initial dose and she'd be back later to hook me up to the real deal.  So I was literally counting down the minutes before it would take effect.  15 minutes later, 7:45, I was still in pain, mainly on my right side, but was able to relax a bit in between contractions and the nausea subsided, which was completely worth getting the small dose in my opinion.  At this point I was feeling a lot of pressure.  A different doctor came in to check on me, and the next thing I knew they were getting everything ready for delivery, and told me Dr. Deniz would be here in a few minutes.  Dr. Deniz came in and told me that she was going to check me, then looked at me and asked me if I need to push.  I did so quickly she got ready.

I pushed for about 15-20 minutes and then Micah made his debut at 8:24 p.m. I'll never forget his little squeaks and his tiny cry.

They cleaned him off and quickly handed him to me, and let me hold him for quite some time before they took him up the the nursery to get him weighed, cleaned up and dressed. I was very thankful that they let me hold him longer than we were able to with Calvin.

Marvin followed them up to the nursery and watched as they weighed him, measured him and got him dressed.  He weighed 7 lbs. 8 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long. 

We had such a great group of ladies present at Micah's birth, our nurses were so sweet and patient with our limited language and really professional. 

Of course I cannot say enough wonderful things about our doctor.  She's always calm and the kind of doctor you dream to work with.  We are so blessed to have had such a sweet delivery and that Micah was born healthy and without any complications.  Oh and the anesthesiologist came in after he was born to check on me, very surprised to see we had already delivered.  She was a hoot, and it was nice to finally be able to communicate with her.

Table of 4

We are now offically a family of 4, Micah Hudson was born October 13th at 8:24 pm.  So far things seem pretty normal, although we are still adjustmenting, but we're only on day 3.  His arrival means that all three of our boys have birthdays withing a week of each other.  October is going to be a fun month of celebrating for our family in years to come.

There is something mezmerising about staring at a newborn.  I feel like I need to record all Micah's little squeaks, yawns, wrinkly forehead expressions because they'll be gone before we know it.  I absolutely love the newborn stage, even if it does mean a little less sleep, which btw I'm feeling more refreshed in the morning than when he was in my belly.

It's funny how your second baby is a little more relaxed.  We had to laugh about how we would set our alarm with Calvin and wake up every 3 hours to feed him.  Our first night home, Marvin looked at me and asked if we wanted to set the alarm, and we both decided to let him wake us up.  Turns out babies let you know what they want and when, plus we got a little more sleep.  I've also had to say things like this, "no swinging the bat around your baby brother." (We've also implemented some new bat rules.)  "That's really sweet of you to share your grapes with Micah but for now Micah only drinks milk."

Right now our little Micah is tucked into the fetal position, nestled on my chest, sleeping in his prefered position.  He's just a head tilt away from a kiss, there's something so sweet and precious about holding a sleeping baby. 

So far here are our first impressions of you Micah:

• You love to be held.  I'm sure we'll get to the point where you'll sleep great in your bassinet, but until then we'll enjoy having you in our arms.
• You have serious little faces.
• You have been very alert and we've been surprised at how long you'll just stare at the world around you.  This morning I thought you were like a little Professor observing and soaking up this new place.
• You must have really enjoyed your hands in my belly.  Because they certainly bring you much comfort.  Now if only you can remember where you put them.
• You're not a fan of being swaddled, you prefer those hands to be accessable.
• You're getting louder everyday, and we're slowly figuring out what each cry means.
• You're big brother loves to help you, and  you don't seem to mind his help. You also don't mind how loud he is, and can sleep through some serious play time.

It's been a fun 3 days and we're so thankful you're in our lives.