Thanks Auntie Ray & Uncle Ben!

Packages in the mail are always a favorite in my book! Today was no exception! There was a package from "The Red Balloon Co." from Chicago, Illinois! I was so excited! For starters, the package was sent to "Kyle Martin" and that is so adorable to me. Secondly, I could tell from the name of the store and the wrapping, that I'd love whatever it was inside. :)

Thank you, Aunt B and Uncle Ben, for such a cute book and giraffe! We LOVE them! I can just see Kyle now, carrying his little stuffed animal by the tail or by the arm to his bed for nap times or when he gets in trouble and needs something to comfort him while he's on time out!

Just so you can see how adorable this gift is, I took some pictures next to Shmu. It is amazing that the giraffe is just a hair longer than him (crown to rump).

Thank you, Aunt B and Uncle Ben, for my snuggle friend!

We can't wait to have you come out and see him for yourself. Not only will you see your brother in a role he was made for, you'll get to see the cutest nephew ever! (No bias there at all!) We are so excited to have you come! Thank you for making the effort and taking the time to spend with us! Shmu is already so lucky to have you for family! :)

p.s. You are most welcome to stay with us but we understand if you'd like to stay in a cozier bed. I wake when Kyle starts to squirm and have him changed and fed with hardly a peep (that's so far, anyways). We also have him sleep with us in a bassinet by our bed for now. Anyhow, we LOVE family and LOVE having you come out!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)

See you soon!

Settling in...

Ru and I love this new life of ours. We look at Kyle and both just stare at each other in amazement. I don't think anything in the world could have prepared us for how much we would love our son and how much joy we'd get from being parents. I thank God for this "easy" transition we've had and know that He knew we'd need this. Rudy is back in school full time (2 summer school classes) and we really wanted Rudy to be able to study at home and be with us. Funny enough, it's not Shmu who causes interruptions in Rudy's study schedule... it's Rudy constantly "checking" on him and stealing him out of his bassinet to have some daddy time! Here are some pictures to show how Rudy's study sessions are going... :)

Our routine thus far: Kyle and I have great, quiet mornings together. Sometimes, if I'm lucky enough, I can get in the shower and be ready for the day before he wakes up. We change diapers, feed, talk to each other, have some learning time and sleep. Almost every morning around 10 or 11, Grammie comes over! Mom has LOVED this and appreciates the extra set of hands to make a sandwich, change a diaper and be with Shmu. We do this over and over until the best part of our day approaches ... when daddy comes home! Immediately we are showered with hugs and kisses and Shmu is taken off to play and cuddle. Right now, Ru is encouraging Kyle to roll over. Shmu is halfway there and doesn't like his tummy one bit! :) Mom is constantly eyeing Ru, telling him not to push the poor guy... he's only a week and change old! Still, Ru gets a kick out of it and claims he "almost" has it! I agree, we're going to need to pull out our video camera soon enough to capture it on film!

Yesterday, we went to our lactation consultant appointment at Kaiser. Here, they offer free services and we got to ask questions and get recommendations from the specialist for over an hour. Such great help! Turns out, I'm producing enough milk for 2 to 3 babies and have to cut my supply way down! I was anticipating a couple of pretty painful days (added on to the already engorged week we've had), but with a few helpful tips, we've made it though 1.5 days quite successfully! Shmu was gaining weight like a champ under the old regime and I'm glad we can slow that down to a normal, healthy rate.

During our alert time, we always do something educational. For now, that involves some pretty simple exercises and eye cards. Shmu seems fascinated by his new world.

Nap times always bring cute faces and poses. Were I to capture them all, we'd have to post a whole album! These are two of my favorites from yesterday and today.

Kyle's first "bath"

This baby just doesn't seem to mind anything! He will scrunch up his face and show irritation towards something, but he just hasn't cried yet. I do say "yet" because I know he's got lungs somewhere in there! :)

Here you have Shmu's first bath...

A week ago, today...

... I was riding my beach cruiser with a friend to breakfast on Balboa Island, totally unaware that within hours, I'd be faced with the workout of a lifetime! Unaware, that in a matter of hours, my life would forever be changed.

Our hearts have completely melted for this little being. What a great week it has been! We've enjoyed every new thing from scrunched up faces, to tiny hiccups, sneezes, and lip smacking noises when hungry. There just isn't anything that isn't cute about this boy! :) We both feel so blessed to have such a good baby and for such a good "settling in" time this week. We've been so thankful for all the extra help. Many of our dear friends are lined up to bring meals every other day from now until the end of August! Grandpa has been busy helping us finish some projects and both grandmas have been so generous with their time and help. Grandma Gina ran last minute errands to BRU and the grocery store, cut up fruits and veggies and prepared a great meal for us. We're still stocked up pretty well from her visit. (Thank you so much, Gina!) Grammie has come almost every day to help with all the many little things mommy needs, like lunch, laundry, dusting and washing dishes. Today, she read Shmu his first bible story while having some play time on the rug. She also brought over a set of special eye stimulation cards she used on us as babies many years ago. Shmu loves the picture of a face and stares and stares at it. We've had "learning time" for the last three days as Shmu's alert time continues to slowly grow! Speaking of growing, he isn't too far from rolling over! At only 6 days of life, Kyle is already halfway to rolling over. He arches his back and kicks and gets halfway there before you can even blink! Note to self: if he twisted his cord SO much that we had to deliver 3 weeks early and he was known for his activity in the womb, I think we need to be prepared for things much earlier than we would normally expect. I hear from Gina that Rudy was walking at 8 months, so who knows? :)

Here are some pictures from yesterday and today:

Grammie reading Shmu's first bible story!

Grammie said Kyle was a good listener! :)

Some "learning" time! :)

Kyle's first outfit (which got soiled within 5 minutes! :)

Making one of many, many faces!

Daddy getting Shmu ready for his first pediatrician's appointment!

Can you tell we are first time parents? People must have been shaking their heads at us, for how many times we pulled out that camera! :)

Shmu weighed in at 5 lbs and 8 oz.

Mommy is glad he grew a bit,

but even more glad he's still so tiny! :)

Our Shmu has arrived!!

Rudy and Mindy proudy present their son...

Kyle Dakota Martin

Born July 22, 2009 at 7:08 am

5 lbs 7 oz, 19.88 inches

Our precious little Shmu!

We think he's already sporting a handsome face!

It's taken 4 days to post about our precious new arrival! Sorry for the delay. I'll be writing more about what has transpired over this last week whenever the next opportunity comes for me to do so. Many, many interruptions and sleepless nights but what a fun time for our family! Thank you for your prayers and for celebrating with us! God is so good.

We chose the name Kyle because we liked it, and Mindy had actually fallen in love with the name while she was in 4th grade. Ever since, she's wanted to name her son Kyle. Thankfully, Rudy liked it too! Dakota is loaded with meaning for us, but can be summed up in one word: legacy. We desire to begin a new legacy for this Martin family, much like Mindy's grandparents did, and Kyle will be the first to carry it on. Mindy's grandparents, who live in South Dakota, made a decision many years ago to live a life pleasing to the Lord and honor Him. Because of their commitment to Him throughout their lives, He has blessed them and their children and children's children. We desire the same for our family. Trips to South Dakota also represent visits with John Parker. "Papa John" would talk and pray with Mindy and pass back and forth a kernel of corn, representing her life, her future and her desire to be a godly woman. During these prayer times, Papa John would pray for the man Mindy would marry and would pray for her future family. The night before we married, Papa John presented that kernel of corn to Rudy and prayed for the two of us. To honor this man, Mindy's grandparents, and the legacy of Mindy's family in South Dakota, we name our son "Dakota." A simple word, rich with meaning for both of us. May God be with us as we strive to raise our son in His truth and grace.

37 weeks!

We've officially graduated from Kaiser's School of Childbirth Preparation! :) We were both glad when we left our final class yesterday. They've been great classes, but we've seen a little too much of our hospital lately. (Among other appointments and classes, the childbirth classes were 2- eight hour days.) Here are some shots of our recent days there.

This is taken from one side of the cafeteria window

and is the main entrance to the hospital.

This is across the cafeteria looking out towards the other side.

Rudy's demonstrating his version of the latest "thrive" commercial.

During one session of our class, Ru had to wear 30 lbs. of pregnancy weight for 5 minutes. There were items marked in the bag representing the weight of all the extra pounds I'm now carrying. He practiced laying down and having to roll over to his other side. He got a kick out of it and

I enjoyed hearing him grunt a little to maneuver it all! :)

NST done!

I'm home! :) The nurse said that if we didn't get the results we wanted, I'd be sent to labor and delivery. I'm very happy to report that Shmu performed well for us and we got what we needed. It was fun to be able to listen to the baby's heart beat for about 20 minutes. It sounded like galloping horses. For a while we weren't getting enough movements from Shmu, or rather, the heartbeat wasn't accelerating fast enough for a long enough period of time. We were given cold water to drink to encourage the baby, but knowing our Shmu well enough, Rudy took matters into his own hands. First, he spoke to the baby and instantly, we had an acceleration! It was really cool! Then, Ru started picking and poking at Shmu. That got our little one moving pretty well. We haven't quite figured out if Shmu likes "playing" with daddy or if it is annoyed by it all, but dad likes getting a reaction and so far, what can Shmu really do about it after all? :)

After the NST, we had an ultrasound to check my amniotic fluid level. I've always been a bit dehydrated, so I was curious to see what it'd be. Fortunately, all was normal and well. We made an appointment for results/another NST for Monday afternoon (so Ru could come again) and we were on our way.

Ru's taking his weekly exam for his neuroanatomy class and then we're off to the clinic for a more detailed ultrasound and growth scan. Thanks for checking in and for the phone calls/prayers!

Shmu Report

We've had such a busy week with family in town, hospital classes and tours, my baby shower, Rudy starting school, etc. I've been meaning to sit down and blog a bit, but time always seems to get away from me and before I know it, it's too late and I should be in bed. I've been up helping Rudy study for his weekly exams and while it's been fun to really tackle this as a team, it's kept me up pretty late most nights.

Today's doctor's appointment warrants me sitting down and "journaling" the latest news. Two weeks ago, we knew that I had lost weight (2lbs) and that my fundal height (size of my belly) was a few cm behind target growth (32cm). Not a big deal and the nurse wasn't worried at all. She "doctored" up the reason for an ultrasound to check out the growth of the baby. Turns out, we're really needing that ultrasound. Today, we discovered that I still hadn't gained any weight in over a month (during prime growth time for the baby... at what should be about half a pound a week) and that my fundal height had only increased "about" a cm. I'm measuring at almost 33 weeks, when I should be between 36 and 37. Due to the fact that my midwife will be on vacation for the next two weeks, starting tomorrow (the day of the scheduled ultrasound) and won't be able to review the report, she called the hospital where we're planning on delivering and scheduled an NST test early tomorrow morning.

An NST or Non-Stress Test, is used to measure the heart rate of the fetus in response to its own movements. Healthy babies will respond with an increased heart rate during times of movement, and the heart rate should decrease during times of rest. The concept behind a non-stress test is that adequate oxygen is required for fetal activity and heart rate to be within normal ranges. When oxygen levels are low, the fetus may not respond normally. Low oxygen levels can be caused by problems with the placenta or umbilical cord.

So, we've got that appointment tomorrow morning and we'll see our Shmu later in the afternoon at our regular clinic. We won't know much of anything until the perinatologist at the hospital calls us with the report on Monday. I hate it when a weekend falls right in between testing and getting results! Of course, if anything too serious was found, I doubt I'd leave the hospital. That being a mild possibility, I'm going to be washing all of Shmu's things today and packing our hospital bags. I had planned on doing that this weekend anyways, but looks like today will be the day! Earlier in the week, I had so much fun shopping with my mother in law for travel sized items for my hopsital bag. It's been nice to slowly get more and more prepared for Shmu's arrival. Seems awful rushed to have to think about it as a closer possibility. I'm just so thankful that we're so close to being full term and that at this point, delivery wouldn't be a bad thing at all. It would just be a different kind of delivery from what I would have wanted.

I've realized that I haven't been resting, taking it easy, eating as often as I should, etc. for the last month or so and it was nice to clear my schedule today (babysitting two different babies) and take a nice nap. I woke up a bit hungry and ate. My goal is to drink a ton of water and take frequent rest times. I can't say "nap" because I don't tend to nap well. Still, just laying down for bits during the day should help. I finally have my days more free and clear and will try to keep them that way. Today, while resting, I noticed Shmu moving throughout the entire couple of hours I laid down. I was listening to my relaxation technique cd's and thanking Shmu for reassuring mommy that he/she is still very much there and active! :)

I'll post again when I know something.

Santa Barbara/Solvang

Thank you, mom and dad, for a luxurious trip to Santa Barbara! I'd been looking forward to this vacation for over 6 months!:) It was fun to be with my parents, brother and sister-in-law and of course, spend time with Rudy. We knew a long time ago that this would be our last vacation before Shmu arrives and we soaked up how easy it was to get in and out of a car, get ready, pack, go out to eat... you name it. It was nice and pretty darn relaxing!

We drove up Monday morning and had a picnic lunch at Rincon (a good surf spot), then checked in to our bed n breakfast, The Orchid Inn. Then we walked State Street and ate at a really nice fish/steak restaurant. Of course, if you know my family, the latest craze is a place called, Yogurtland. My mom had looked online specifically to see if one existed in Santa Barbara and we were all happy that there was one right on State. After dinner, we all went for yogurt. Interestingly, so did half the people of Santa Barbara!

The next day was spent reading, going to the beach and walking through a beautiful park. We went to another really nice fish/steak place for dinner right on the water near the airport and then of course, back to State for yogurt! :) I don't know how many nights my parents aren't eating that stuff. It is yummy! Fat and (some of them) sugar free, too! Of course, let's not talk about all the topping choices...

Here we are leaving the Orchid Inn, SB.

The next day we headed up to Solvang, a cute Danish town just north of Santa Barbara. I dropped the ball on taking many beautiful pictures, but here's a scene that caught my eye. It was a gorgeous day and it felt like we were back in the "old country," although none of us are Danish. Some of the family enjoyed wine tasting in both SB and Solvang, visiting a winery owned by a RHS former teacher, and then we all went just a few miles out of town to one of the most beautiful wineries I had ever seen. We could have spent the day just sitting there looking.

All too soon, it was time to pack up and head home. Being on vacation with 5 out of 6 of us being teachers (love the teaching profession!), we forgot it was a work day and traffic wasn't too kind. However, we took advantage of the time we were trapped in the car to read one of our natural birthing books and practice relaxation techniques! Rudy's a great listener and has already shown he'll be very supportive during labor.

Again, thanks mom and dad for a great trip! We really enjoyed everything and felt so spoiled! :)

Exciting times!

This has been quite a week with lots of work/projects around the house and some new experiences. On Monday, my mom and a close family friend of ours went paint, pillow and fabric shopping! We had so much fun coming up with ideas to make Shmu's room a bit more baby ready (we've been trying to stay pretty practical). On Tuesday, Rudy painted Shmu's room! I've had a lot of fun re-organizing closets and cupboards in anticipation of our new carpet and needing to get all of our little things stuffed inside any available nook or cranny. We made it happen, thanks to some friends and family. Last night, we had our entire household of things out on either one of our balconies or in the kitchen with only a few things going down to one of the garages we used. Rudy got home from work at 8:30pm and we started the moving at around 9. Some good friends came over and helped the process along since I'm not really able to move too much. It was quite an exhausting night. We ended it by having a "sleep over" on our mattress out in the front room.

The next morning we were up to go to a "Shmu appointment" as we call them. It was fun to have Rudy there on his day off. We got to hear the heartbeat, of course, and received confirmation that Shmu was still very much in the head down position. Rudy casually asked if we'd ever be given the chance to see Shmu on an ultrasound again. To our surprise, the nurse said she'd doctor up some reason to order it! Yeah!! We'll get to take a look in a couple of weeks (so, I'll be 36 wks along) and we can't wait to see how much Shmu has grown.

When we got home, we noticed that our carpet installers had arrived early and were ready to work. They were so quick and before 2 hours had gone by, they were done. I couldn't believe the change as we walked in our house. It's amazing. It may be cheap apartment carpet, but right now you can't tell at all. It's so fresh and clean looking. I love it! We're starting a "no shoes in the house" rule for at least a year, until Shmu is walking around. Who knows how long it will look this way, but for now, I'm enjoying walking around barefoot and feeling the newness between my toes! :)

So, then started the process of getting everything back in its place and finding all the little things I put away in my hiding spots. My dad, mom and brother were here to help us and with all of us working, it didn't take too long before our house was back in order. We got to rearrange our furniture a bit to accommodate our desk out in the front room/dining room area and make space ready for the baby's crib. We'll see if that gets done tonight. We're both eager to assemble the thing, but it is getting late and we've had very little sleep. We'll see if the practical side of us wins tonight. Rudy is pretty darn cute about it all and is eager to get the room ready. I'll post pictures when we have it all done. For now, it's a work in progress and we're enjoying every minute of it, "for Shmu!"

We've also started going to some classes at our hospital where we'll deliver. On Tuesday, I went to a breastfeeding class and was so impressed with the new facility. The class was great and I learned a lot! Tonight, Rudy and I went to another class on newborns and infant care. It was fun to be in a class together again! :) Our next class will be a continuation of this infant care class and then our childbirth classes on the next two Saturdays followed by a hospital tour. We're really excited and love anything Shmu!