Gideon's Birth Story

For days I had been having crazy contractions. For two days, I had contractions that lasted 14 hours. They ended when I finally laid in the bathtub for awhile. I didn't think they were labor because they were not intense enough and they never ended. It was solid contraction.

On Tuesday, May 22, I had an appointment with my Hebamme (midwife). She checked my cervix and said I was 3-4 cm dilated. She told me if I thought I was in labor to get in the bathtub. If it wasn't true labor then the contractions would stop.

That night Claron and I walked (partially in the rain) to the Garchinger See and back. It was about 2 miles. By the end I was having pretty strong contractions. We walked every night and this was pretty much par for the course. However, the walk this night was longer than our normal. We arrived home around 7 p.m. Normally, I would have contractions until about 2 a.m. and then they would just turn off. I decided to take my Hebamme's advice and get in the bathtub. At around 10 p.m. the contractions were about 8 minutes apart and began to regulate. I read a Georgette Heyer novel (again!) and timed my contractions.

By midnight the contracts were 6 minutes apart and I think my water had broken. At about 2 a.m. they were 5 minutes apart and then all of a sudden 3 minutes apart. I woke every one up, got Eliza ready and called my friend Tamsyn to ask if I could drop her off.

The drive to Tamsyn's was interesting. My mom drove and I had to give directions but also deal with contractions. As the contractions were really regular, I would know when they were coming so sometimes the directions were condensed i.e. "Take the next exit, go to the end of the ramp and make a right. Then go straight for awhile" all in one breath.

We dropped Eliza off and drove downtown to the hospital. Of course, as it was now almost 3 a.m. there was no traffic. We arrived at the hospital and I rang the bell. The lady told me in German to come in and take the elevator to the next floor. There I met Hebamme Oda. She took me in a room and put a external fetal monitor on the baby. The heartbeat was strong. My contractions were regular.

We filled out paperwork and she checked me. She said I was only about 4 cm!?! I was a bit distressed by this news. She said we would finish the papers then a doctor would check me and start my IV for antibiotics (I was Strep B positive).

The doctor came in and looked at me, started the IV and said we would wait a few minutes to check me. Mom and I took a field trip to the bathroom. By now, the contractions were HARD. Everyone was telling me to "breathe." Really? Obviously, I was breathing. The doctor came in and checked me. She said I was 7 cm, but the baby was not descending. She suggested an epidural. At first I was hesitant; however, by the time the anesthesiologist came in my contractions were about 1 minute apart and strong. It was really difficult to stay completely still while they put the epidural in.

The epidural was magic! Oda also gave me an herb to keep my contractions steady. It worked well. They checked me about an hour after the epidural and I was 9 cm. Half an hour later, they called my doctor because I was ready to go.

My doctor arrived around 6:45 a.m. and got dressed. We started pushing around 7 a.m. Four real pushes later and Gideon was here! He was born at 7:11 a.m. with a full head of dark hair. His apgar scores were all 10's! The bad news is that I tore. The doctor said it was a second degree tear inside and out. She sewed for about 45 minutes. Most of the time, she just used acupuncture but later administered a local.

After she was done sewing, I was sent to recovery across the hall. At that point, I heard my friend, Jen (also an American Mormon from Garching) come in. They gave her the room that I had just come out of. The nurses declared it, "American day." Jen later told me that it was lucky that I had just had Gideon because otherwise, she was so far progressed that our doctor wouldn't have been able to get there and Samuel (her baby) would have either been delivered by a Hebamme or whoever could get there fastest.

A few days later, they doctors also realized that my pelvis separated during the birth. However, I'd still say that natural birth is way easier than a c-section.

Here is Gideon's 1st picture. This was in the recovery room.

The lady with Gideon is my mom.
Stats
Name: Gideon Clark
Birthplace: Munich, Germany
Weight: 3690 g (8 lbs 2 oz)
Length: 52 cm (20.5")
Apgar: 10/10/10

Berlin Day #1

For the New Years holiday, Claron, Eliza and I rode with Claron's labmate, Florian, to Berlin. We stayed in Rohrdamm, which is in the former West Berlin.

The subway stations here are really quite bright; however, they are much dirtier and less accessible (fewer escalators and elevators) than Munich.

 Yes, I look really prego here, but it is to be noted that I am wearing two bulky sweaters in addition to my coat.

 This is the Fernseherturm (TV tower). It is the former East Germany. We waited in line for quite a while to go up.

 Views from the Fernseherturm. Unfortunately, it was a bit cloudy.

 This is the German Reichstag (Congressional building). See the dome on the top? To enter the Reichstag and walk the dome, you have to have an appointment. We had a 1:15 p.m. appointment. After the lines at the Fernseherturm, we had to RUN to our appointment here.

 This is walking up the dome. See Eliza?

After the Reichstag, we went to a festival at Brandenburg Tor. Unfortunately, I was too tired to take pictures by then. Eliza enjoyed TWO nutella crepes (aka "chocolate tacos"), hot chocolate, fries, and a bratwurst. It started to get cold, so we went back to the hotel and rested for awhile. We had noticed a steak restaurant by our hotel. I looked at the menu and it was only 10 Euro for a filet! So, we tried it, and surprisingly, it was excellent!

Just Another Week in Germany...

I think this week should be recorded for posterity. Here is the glamour of living in a foreign land:
Sunday: Cold, Raining. Eliza slept in bed with me because she woke with an earache. Get dressed for Church. Eliza looks alright. I'm feeling ehhh. Walk to the train. Get all the way downtown before turning around because Eliza now looks like death rewarmed, and I feel that way. Sleep all day.

Monday: Cold, Freezing Rain. Call Eliza's doctor. Busy, busy, busy. Finally get through. "We can give you an appt tomorrow or you can come and wait." We go to wait. Wait almost 2 hrs. See doctor.
Dr: "Yes, her ears are infected."
Me: "So, we'll give her an antibiotic, right?"
Dr: "Well, she doesn't have a fever, and she seems in good spirits."
Me: "Sigh. She gets these often, and they usually don't go away without an antibiotic."
Dr: "I'll give you a prescription for some Emser Salts and a very strong decongestant. Please only use it at night and for a maximum two days. Also, you'll want to make her a compress of warmed onions."
Me: "I think this was caused by seasonal allergies. Could you also give her an allergy medication?"
Dr: "We'll have to allergy test her first. You should also keep her home for the next three days."

Seriously!? Guess what the "strong" decongestant was? AFRIN! OTC in the US. "Emser Salts" are salts from Bad Ems in Germany. So, I tried the onions. Didn't work! I used decongestants and motrin from the US.

Tuesday: Cold, Freezing Rain. My friend, Tamsyn, calls me and asks if I want to go shopping. Yes! Eliza is looking well. We go shopping, but by the end, Eliza and I are tired and not feeling well. We get home. I eventually get Eliza and myself to sleep and the bell rings. I figure I might have a package so I answer. A guy is at my door selling frozen food delivery. I tell him I'm not interested. He says, "Oh, no problem. Here is a catalog." I take the catalog and he starts jammering. I try to tell him I have a sick kid and need to go but can't get a word in edgewise. I try to shut the door. He puts his foot in the way and gets louder. He asks for my phone number. I decline. He yells, "Well, I need this then." He grabs the catalog and slams the door, waking Eliza up. I am FURIOUS!

Wednesday: Cold, Freezing Rain/Wintery Mix. My anniversary and the long awaiting 16 wk baby appt. Eliza comes with me. All is well. Baby looks great. Baby refuses to show private bits. At the end of the appt., I tell the doc that I've been having probs with my sinuses and ears, but no fever. I think I have a trump card and tell her I did the onion thing. Didn't work. Doc says, "Have you tried essential oils?" Me: "Yes." Doc: "Well, call if you get a fever."

Someone shoot me!

Thursday: Cold. Some drizzle. Eliza is back to school. I am babysitting my friends kids and need to get a real German license. So, I get up early and travel all the way to SW Munich (We live in NE) to the Führerscheinstelle (DMV). Get there. Wait 1.5 hrs. The lady says that my address is listing as our old address and we must not have deregistered with Munich. I show her my registration in Garching and say its the same "Landkreis" (County), it should be automatic. She says, "Yes, but the system says Munich, so you must to go the Burgerbüro and get it fixed. Also, now that you are not city Munich, just county Munich, you have to go to a different Führerscheinstelle."

So, I go downtown to the Kreisverwaltungreferat to the Burgerbüro. I wait in three different lines. Finally, the lady says, "No, Garching did fix the address. The system has the right address." I sigh and ask for a print out. "Five Euros, please?" Of course! And, so I go to a different line to pay and go get back in line to get my paper.

Next, I have to travel on a subway line and suburban train to get to the Landkreis Führerscheinstelle in the middle of nowhere (Far SE of town). I get there, walk a mile in the cold. Get the counter. One employee is checking FB. One is talking on the phone to a friend. One is actually working. Another is playing with their phone. They all ignore me. Finally, one comes over. She gives me a paper to fill out. I fill out what I can but it seems to be not in German but DMV speak. She gives me a card to go pay. I go pay and come back. She tells me that they can't process my application because I don't have a translation of my US license! At this point, I do something I never do. I cry. I am tired. I am sick. I am cold. I haven't eaten all day. I've spent all day in German bureaucracy hell only to be told "No!" yet again. She goes and talks to the lady that was on the phone previously discussing a holiday in Malta. They say they will process it, but I need to get a translation and bring it back. I tell them I live all the way in Garching, and it is really hard to get here. The lady goes and talks to holiday chick again. They say no big deal. I can drop it to the Rathaus (town hall) in Garching. She copies my US license and stamps it and says it is okay to drive.

I get on the train. It takes me about 1.5 hrs to get to Garching. Thankfully, Claron picked up Eliza. I retriever her from his office. My phone is dead. I am exhausted.

Friday: Today. Cold, Cloudy. I am afraid of the world. I think I'll stay inside. My house is a mess. I am still sick. Eventually, I have to go pick up Eliza, go hang with my friend's kids and get a Christmas tree, but somehow I can't shake the feeling that everything will end in disaster.

Please note: All conversations were in German. I can't imagine what all of this would be like if I couldn't speak German.

Hiatus

Sorry for the "break." The last few months have been a bit difficult. I've spent most of it in the bathroom. Thankfully, I don't have a tape worm... it's just a baby. Well, I hope it is a baby:

I am due May 2012. Eliza says that it is a girl, and her name is "Joshua." Well, at least part of that will be proved to be incorrect. I am feeling a bit better and hopefully, I will update the blog (from the past few months as well as going forward).

Preview: Nymphenburg Palace

So, I'm keeping up on my promises and trying to get to some touristy stuff. Yesterday, I went to Nymphenburg Palace (by myself!). It was really relaxing and enjoyable. I don't have too much time; so, here is my favorite picture of the day (unedited):

More to come...

Visitors!!

We've finally had visitors! Friends of ours from Santa Barbara were travelling Europe and stopped in. It was so great to see them. Also, this week I stayed with a family from our ward and had four kids all week (5 sometimes). Oh my gosh! It is so much easier than I thought it would be; however, that being said if I had to get through the baby years with each one it might kill me. So, here's a picture that I stole from Brandy:

Also, we have visitors this weekend. Our friends from Kiel are here. What an exciting week!

Autobahn!

Yesterday, I went with my friend to Stuttgart. It is about 2 hours from Munich on the Autobahn. On the way home, I drove her beautiful BMW. All I can say is WOW!!!

So, sometimes there is a speed limit. If traffic is slowing down, weather is inclement or there is construction there are these billboards overhead that will slow traffic down before it reaches the stau (slow down).
The signs look like this:

If not, the sign will display this to indicate no speed limit:

Yes, they drive fast when there is no speed limit, BUT:
-The roads are paved beautifully! There are banked and are lovely to drive.
-Everyone follows the rules. Fast cars on the left. Slow cars on the right. No passing on the right.
-When there is a speed limit, people actually do slow down.
-Maybe it was just the car I was driving, but going really fast wasn't as noticeable as usual.
-There is something incredibly liberating about choosing your own speed!!!

The car I was driving had a heads up display. It was awesome. It gave me the current speed limit (it could talk to the signs), my speed and the gps directions. It looks like this:

On the way home, we stopped in the rest stop to use the ladies room. So, it actually costs to use the toilet, but it was really clean and check out this:



Awesome, huh!?!

Please note: I didn't take any of these pictures. I have no desire to die on the Autobahn.

I Wonder Where She Gets That...

Eliza has tons of moments lately where it is blazingly obvious who she takes after. She is stubborn, headstrong and bossy. Obviously, this is pure Claron. Hahaha.

Apparently, we even do the same cheesy smile. Sigh.

Mothers Day

I had a fabulous Mothers Day. Unfortunately due to aforementioned technical difficulties, I didn't get to talk to my own mother, but I had previously wished her a happy mothers day. Here is a pic of me with my favorite mothers day present. Strange to think that it has been 5 years since the mothers day I found out I was having her. I chose to transfer my mothers day present to her this year, and she got this awesome Playmobil doll house.

I Love Spring!

The Germans have a different notion of weeds than I am used to. Here the dandelions are given free reign. They grow in the grass, in the cracks, everywhere. Also, there are daisies and other small flowers in the grass. It is quite idyllic. I like the thought of nature being given a little bit more license to be nature! Yesterday, Eliza and I laid in the flower grass in the sunshine. It was fantastic. She wanted to take a picture; so, here you go.

A Rare Sighting

Some of you might not recognize that person on the right... Yup, its me. But, if I'm there, then who is taking the pictures? I forced and I repeat, forced, Claron to take a picture of me. My kids are going to think that I was an absentee mother because I am in none of the pictures. So, evidence... I am there.

Houston, we have a problem

The other day we went for a hike to the Coronado Butterfly Preserve on the Ellwood Mesa. Imagine my surprise when I took a picture and got this:

This was on an automatic setting. I took this next one in manual. See the difference?

Same exact scene. Uhoh. I knew I had a problem. Shortly thereafter, I got an error message: Error 01, Communications between the camera and lens is faulty. Clean the lens contacts. I cleaned the lens contacts and still the error message.

I took these the day before:

Confused, I google'd the error. I got everything from faulty lens connectors to a blown motherboard in the camera. To test the camera, I tried on another lens. Here is the result:

"Good" news. It is only my one lens. Sigh. Anyone else ever lose a lens? I can't figure out what changed from one day to another. Strange.

Ridge 2010 Year in Review

What?!

Last night, we went to Red Pepper for my birthday dinner (more pictures to follow). We ate an amazing dinner, and then came the fortune cookies. We received the following fortunes:

1. Failure is feedback. And feedback is the breakfast of champions.
2. Never measure the height of a mountain until you have reached the top.
3. Mutual assistance in despair will make the ugly situation more fair.
4. Calamity is the touchstone of a brave mind.
5. Nothing is more difficult and therefore more precious than to be able to decide.

Really!?! Either Debbie Downer got a job writing fortune cookies or the fortune cookie industry is trying to be responsive to the down turn in the economy.

All I can say is, "Wow!" Just wow!

A Tale of Two Flower Girls - Part One

When I was little, I was in my Aunt Nancy's wedding. I was not a girly girl type. I did not enjoy dressing up and being fussed over. I did however enjoy rough housing with my brothers. The night before the wedding I was jumping on the bed with Tony. He pushed me off and I ended up with a big, shiny black eye. They tried to apply tons of makeup to hide this, but it was pretty futile and I was pretty resistant. To make matters worse, I refused to walk the aisle; and eventually, I think my mom went with me. Later, I refused to allow the photographer to take my picture telling him that my Daddy would take care of it (and that Daddy took better pictures anyway). Here is the evidence:

Funny thing is these are the "good pictures" from my Dad.

Coming up: Eliza's tale.

Subjects

Growing up, my dad always had a camera and was always taking pictures. His main subject was fire trucks. After that, there was motocross. And then, he'd obligingly take family pictures.

Me? I mainly take pictures of Eliza. After that in popularity is scenery. I've also noticed another trend though.

I love the detail that you can see with each insect. Things you could never normally see. In fact, the second butterfly was tiny. He appeared to be all white.

Childhood Memories

I grew up with woods like this in front and behind my house. We used to run on the trails, dirt bike, find animals, and have all kinds of fun.

A few years ago, they cut down most of the woods behind my house and it now looks like this. It makes me kind of sad.
At least it is full of butterflies though (and oak saplings!).

You Can Call Me "Suzanne"

So, I think this picture accurately shows the moment in which I completely morphed into my mother.

That is my arm holding Violet up, and yes, that is the fountain in the Newport Beach Temple. You might remember this post about my mother. Next thing you know, my hair is going to turn red and curly... wait, I think that might already be starting!

Andrew's Awesome Wedding: Getting Ready

I have been accused of never posting pictures of myself. Well, people, unfortunately, I take the pictures. I tried to take a few, and I snapped this one when we were getting ready. The mirror was in the closet; hence, the tuxes.

Imaginaries

As a child, I had a MAJOR case of the imaginaries. I made up stories, friends, you name it.

I have bestowed this gift genetically upon my daughter. She plays make believe often. It hasn't hit Chessie monster level yet, but it is getting there.

Today, Eliza was in the bathtub; so, naturally, she was Ariel. She wanted to involve me. So, who would I be:

A) Sebastian, the strict, but friendly crab

B) Flounder, her faithful friend

C) The Sea Witch, 'nuff said

D) Eric, her love

E) Tritan, her parent

Nope, all wrong.

I am a clumsy, compulsive liar with wings. Yup, Scuttle.

She was not happy until I renamed everything in the bathroom.