~Our Christmas Surprise~

Whoa, what a Christmas! It all started on Christmas Eve. The plan was that Chris and the girls would leave for  a Christmas party at his Grandma's house in St. Paul around 2pm, and then would come back late that night. I wasn't planning on traveling that far away from home (not wanting to sit in a vehicle for over 3 hours, and being crammed in a house of many relatives), so I was planning on attending Christmas at my Grandma's house in Madison Lake for a few hours and then heading back home to put my feet up.

The first glitch in the plan was the pending bad weather. I was a nervous wreck thinking about Chris and the girls traveling on bad roads, with the possibility of not making it back that night.
After listening to the weather report, they decided that it would be best to leave early and then head back earlier than anticipated, to beat the big snowstorm. They left home around 11, and I stayed home and relaxed. I had decided that instead of driving myself (in the not so favorite truck) on bad roads, that I would hitch a ride with my sister who was already in town. She came to pick me up, we picked up lunch and then headed to her house in Elysian, before heading to Grandma's. Completely feeling fine (well, as fine as one can feel for being 38 weeks pregnant), we chatted the whole ride out there; but as soon as I walked into her house...I felt the urge to head to the bathroom. I noticed a little extra dampness, but didn't think much of it....maybe it was just a pregnancy thing, right? We all sat down to eat lunch, and again soon afterwards I had to head to the bathroom again. I started to wonder if it was my water breaking, but wasn't too concerned at that time. I didn't really want to say anything to anyone just yet, but once my brother in law stepped outside to snowblow,  I decided to tell my sister (calmly), that we might have to head back to Mankato and that maybe I was leaking water. We were more or less joking about it, not thinking that it was really happening. She had told me that she had joked with her co-workers before picking my up that "My sister better not go into labor while I am driving her around!". Well after a few more trips to the bathroom, I decided that it was really happening, and then my nerves started to kick in. I tried to call the clinic, which was closed for Christmas Eve. I finally reached my OB Dr. (who just happened to be on call over the holiday), and she told me that I should probably head in to Labor and Delivery and they would check me to see if my water was actually breaking, but not to rush things just yet. I decided to call Chris and let him know that he should start heading back from St. Paul, but he wasn't answering his phone.....nor was Holly. I finally got in touch with Chris' mom, who freaked out when I told her what was happening. She handed the phone to Chris and I told him that he should probaly head back. He really didn't think I was serious at first, but after realizing I wasn't joking, they quickly packed up and drove towards Mankato. Chris was a little worried that he would miss the birth of his child, but I assured him that there wasn't much happening and that he had time.

My brother in law drove me and my sister back to Mankato on the snowy roads, and we checked into the hospital. Shortly there after, Chris and the girls arrived. They assured me that my water did indeed break, and that we were having a baby that day!!! I was prepped for a C-Section, and taken into the operating room around 7:30pm. Our beautiful daughter was born at 7:52pm. She was absolutely perfect, weighing in at 6lbs 2.6oz, and was 20" long.  We named her Paige Catherine. She screamed very loudly right after birth and didn't stop for quite a while, just letting mommy and daddy know that she was alive and well. Possibly the best sound in the world at the time for the two of us. Both sisters got to see her right out of the operating room and into the nursery, and snapped many pictures of their new little sister.

She was about the best Christmas present our whole family could ask for!

After spending the weekend in the hospital, we were released on Sunday and arrived safely at home. We are slowly adjusting to having a newborn in the house, but it keeps getting better every day. She is a great baby, and we are all so thankful to have her in our lives!

Only 11 days left

Sam has been doing a great job of keeping everyone informed of what is going on from the doctors and with her feelings, so I thought I would change the perspective. The doctor is pleased so far with how Sam is progressing and how the baby is doing.  Her tests are coming back normal and she is progressing as she should.  The Doc thinks that the baby is about 6 and a half  pounds.  The baby is very active at night even when mom might not be as active.

We are mostly ready to roll as far as the baby and accommodations go, but this time of year is always stressful.  Sam is taking it in stride.  We started shopping early for Christmas and got most of it done with plenty of time.  Also she is letting me do somethings around the house.  OK maybe that is not amazing (I probably should do more), but she is not redoing any of it.  With the baby being born so close to Christmas, we are limiting the travel by having to cut out a few trips. I know everyone understands, but we love you all and can only do so much this year.  To those who we will be missing, we wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  Ours will be.

Finally as prayer lists go, we have a small addition.  We have friends that are going through a difficult time as they lost their 2 month old unexpectedly.  Please keep Ben, Amber, and baby Connor in your prayers.

Almost there!

Boy, am I glad that I managed to make it to 36 weeks before our first snowstorm! The weather outside was frightful yesterday, and I had to go to work early so I could leave for my appointment. Sometimes I wish we lived out of town so I would actually have an excuse to stay home with the kids on a snow day, but no such luck working only a few miles away. The drive to the clinic wasn't so bad, but it was sure cold!  My appointment went well, everything is still looking good. I had the strep B test done, and was checked for dialation. So far I am not dialating, and baby sounds good. Her heartbeat was at 142 beats per minute.The doctor is still please with how things are coming along. I go back next Wednesday for my next appointment.  Only 18 more days to go!! I am really getting ready for this to be over with, and just have baby in my arms already. It gets harder and harder to get around and do things each day...like putting on my socks, picking up the many things I seem to drop, get in and out of the van, etc, etc. Fortunately, we are 99% done with our Christmas shopping for the year, so now all I have to do is find the time and energy to get everything wrapped! Does anyone know how we got to mid-December so fast??

35 Weeks and into December!

I can hardly believe that we are into December already. It seems just like yesterday that we embarked on this journey, not knowing where it would take us. And now we are rounding the last curve. I am currently 35 weeks today!! The countdown is definitely on. We all survived a wonderful Thanksgiving, that went by way too fast. We spent  some nice time wiith my family here on Thursday, and after a little early shopping, we headed up north to be with Chris' family on Friday. I was very much dreading the long car ride, but after being awfully tired from the black Friday shopping, I managed to nap for about half the ride so it wasn't so bad after all. We spent some quality time together with the family, went to see the Blindside, ate like kings, played games, and just visited with each other. It was overall a really good weekend. I took Monday off to recoup, and head to my doctors appointments. First we had an ultrasound, in which baby scored 8 out of 8 (already a straight A student!!), and then we were off to the clinic for some NSTs and a visit with the doctor. Baby is doing great, and measuring right on track. She is approximately 5lbs 9oz (give or take 13oz), and is getting good at practicing her breathing. We got to watch her open and shut her mouth on the ultrasound, which was really neat. I will start weekly appointments now, which should mean only 3 more appointments before we get to meet our little girl.
After the doctor appointment, we met at the hospital to pre-register, and got to take a tour of the labor and delivery floor. Both of our older girls were born at this hospital, but it has been a few years for each of us, so it was exciting to see where everything will take place.
I definitely think the nesting instinct has kicked in. I haven't stopped since returning home from up north. I am trying desperately to get all the Christmas decorations up, presents bought and wrapped, house cleaned, baby stuff washed and ready....etc, etc, etc. My list is never ending, and it seems to take me a lot longer to get stuff done lately. Before we know it, Christmas will be here, and then a few days later, our biggest gift of all will arrive!! We all anxiously await her arrival!!!

32 Weeks

Can't believe we have made it this far, and then again....sometimes it feels like forever!! Had my appointment today. All looked good. Blood pressure is a little higher than normal, but nothing to be concerned with. Baby's heartbeat is 152bpm, and she is measuring right on track. She has been having tons of hiccups lately, and Dr. says that is a good sign that she is practicing breathing.  I got the much waited for H1N1 shot today. I hope I don't have any reactions to that. We scheduled the C-section for Monday December 28th, so it looks like we will have an after Christmas baby, unless she decides to come early. The countdown is ON!!

We all cannot wait to meet her! Life leaves us extremely busy all the way into December, so the time should go fast. We are busy getting her room ready for her. I love seeing all of the baby stuff fill our house, and the girls are excited every day to see what we have brought home or picked out for their little sister.

Our next appointment is scheduled for November 30, and we will have another BPP(ultrasound) and NST's (non-stress tests), just to make sure everything still looks good, but Doctor isn't concerned at this point. Hooray!!

Good News at 30 weeks

Today we finally got the ultrasound we have been waiting for. I was a little nervous, but was excited at the same time. The ultrasound tech said that baby looks absolutely perfect, and earned a perfect score on all the tests they perform!. I had a little scare with my blood pressure, but I think the first time they took it, they either didn't do it right or I was nervous and it was elevated. After they checked it again, it was back to normal, but it sure had me worried for a few minutes. I also did some non stress tests that tracked baby's movements and heartrate, but all looked good.   It seems that Christian will be a little more outnumbered in our house, as baby appears to be a GIRL. Girls will rule 5 to 1 if you count the dog! Poor Chris! Most importantly, baby is completely healthy and right on track. She is measuring in at 3lbs and 5oz, and is a very active little bugger! She is head down now, and moves constantly. We surprised both Holly and Alyssa and bought 2 little pink outfits, put them in gift bags, and had each of them open them up to tell the gender. I think they were surprised as they were both thinking it was going to be a boy, but I know they will be happy to take another little girl under their wing. Still not a definite date for the c-section, but Dr. said that she will be more likely to schedule it in 2 weeks when I go back.
It really feels good to keep coming home with good news. We are all extremely anxious to meet this new addition to our family, but will have to wait just a while longer. In the meantime, we will prepare for the new little princess!

26 Weeks!

Today was a great day indeed! To start the day off, Chris sent me some beautiful flowers at work, for no particular reason. He is so good to me. Not sure what I would do without him.
We had our 26 week appointment today. Everything is going great. I had my gluclose screening at our appointment as well. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, now we just wait to hear the results. Doctor says baby is growing just as "it" should be, and everything is going as planned. (He/She is an active little baby!)  I was hopeful to talk to the doctor into another ultrasound, but my convincing apparently does no good. She wasn't going for my sympathy card again, but when Chris piped in and asked her about another ultrasound (since we are extremely nervous and scared considering our past. ..blah, blah, blah) she agreed to schedule one for us for our next appointment in 4 weeks. So yippee! We are scheduled for a BPP (bio-physical profile, ultrasound), and a NST (non-stress test) on October 28th. We are extremely excited to get to see our little jumping bean one more time before delivery! We also "tentatively" scheduled the C-section for December 28th or 29th, but will discuss this more at my next appointment at 30 weeks. She thought that 26 weeks was still a little early to schedule definitely, but if everything goes well, she will still stick with Dec. 28th or 29th. This is all great news for us. It is hard to believe that we are so fortunate to have come this far without any problems. It sometimes seems surreal, just because we never thought it would happen for us!
Now I think we will start to do some baby shopping! It will be hard to buy many things since we don't know if we should plan for blue or pink quite yet, but we can get a good idea of what we want. And as you all know, I LOVE to shop!
As for our big kids, they are off and plugging away at school. It has been about a month since the start of the new school year, and both girls still like going everyday...so all must be going well! Homework is starting to flow and before we know it, it will be soon time for MEA break. We are all proud of how they both do in school, let's just hope that the good grades and reports continue throughout those teen years that are soon approaching!
Let's hope we can keep posting these good reports!! Love to all. :)

Week 23

Well again, we don't really have much to report. Which, is a good thing. At our last doctors appointment, we were told that the ultrasound revealed that our baby is growing perfectly. Dr. said that baby is in the 50th percentile, which means not too small, and not too big. She doesn't seem worried about the last ultrasound, and said that all was going smoothly. At my next appointment at 26 weeks, I have my diabetes test. Let's hope that goes well too. I am not looking forward to it, as if I remember correctly...it is a horrible thing you have to drink...but I have never had a problem with diabetes before. Baby is very active every day, so that is just a daily reminder that all is going well so far. The doctor didn't really sound too concerned with not being able to see all baby parts on the last ultrasound, and told us that we probably won't have another one unless something starts to go wrong. I guess this baby will be a surprise for all of us!!
Our big kids start school this week. Holly will be in 6th grade (yes I said 6th Grade!!), and Alyssa will be in 3rd grade. (Sniff, Sniff) They are growing up way tooooo fast!! Holly got her first pair of glasses today. She only needs them for reading, which is a good thing, but she looks so grown up wearing them. What happened to my baby girl? Alyssa is moved back to Mankato (let's hope for good!!), and will start back at her old school again on Thursday. I think she is excited to be back with all of her old friends again. We are happy to have her back in town!!
Not much else is new with us. We are awaiting fall to arrive, and as the forecast sounds....it will be right around the corner!

On to Week 21

Not much to update, but just thought I would let everyone know that all is going well. No news from the doctor after the ultrasound, so we assume all is well. I am heading into 21 weeks this week. Past the half way point...whoohooo! I am feeling pretty good. I have had alot of energy, but not quite as much as pre-pregnancy. My belly is starting to pop, but unfortunately I am wearing the belly all around, and not just in front. Hopefullly soon I will have the cute baby bump! My next doctor appointment is in a week and half. I hope to talk to doctor into another ultrasound. We are anxiously waiting to find out if we can up the testosterone in the house....or add to all the estrogen! The girls are anxiously awaiting to find out of they will have a sister or brother too. They have both voted for a little brother, but I am sure will be happy to spoil either. They both told us that if all they get for Christmas is a baby brother or sister, they will be happy.....but we aren't counting on it! We know that they will both make excellent big sisters! Well that's all for now. Short and sweet....which means....no news is good news...right?
~Sam

Dostert Party of 5?

Our family is growing; and well, so is my belly! We are indeed expecting a little one, due around January 5. We are all very excited for this new addition to our family. We have kept quiet for 19 weeks, just to make sure all was going well. Today was the 1st big ultrasound, and it appears that baby is healthy and everything looks good. It is a Dostert baby, so of course... "it"has to be difficult. Baby happens to be head up, and face down; so we didn't really get a good look at anything...including those important parts. The technician thought that maybe the Dr. would want us to go back in a few weeks to see if they could get a better look, but for now.....we plan for yellow and green!
Thanks to all of you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. The last few years have been quite the roller coaster, but we keep praying that this time around it will be smoooooth sailing!

It can't be the end of July

Summer is almost over.... Really it hardly even begun. We (as a family) have had a very busy summer. We just got back from camping in Austin, MN. We stayed at a Jellystone Campground and any of you with children can understand there is plenty for the little ones to do. There is even some stuff for us big ones as well. There are pictures on mine and Sam's facebook pages.

For those of you who know me, I try to give credit where it is due. Credit is due to my beautiful wife who keeps me and the family together even though we are running in different directions. She is the one who plans and organizes most family events, the photographer, the web page designer, the packer, among so many things I can't list here. I have known this since the day I met her and she still continues to amaze me.

The kids have had a fun summer. They have went camping a couple times, stayed out at Annie's house, and numerous trips to the pool. They have been doing it all. Holly is now a certified babysitter. She helps Mom and Dad out with Alyssa and keeping the house clean. We have given her more duties like cleaning and cooking and she takes right to it. I am very proud of Holly.

Alyssa is moving back to Mankato and that means I will get to see her much more. She will be attending Monroe again, back with her friends. She has really grown up in the last few months and is making strides to being a great young lady.

As far as other items, the softball season has been fairly successful, but we are struggling quite a bit lately. Not sure if we can get it turned around or not. Hopefully we will as playoffs start next week.

Sam and I are doing great. Last year was very tough and we seem to have pulled through. This year has been a little trying, but that is life. As long as I have family and friends like the ones I have surrounded myself with, we will be good. Thank you all. Sam will be posting something soon, I am sure ;)

Hooray for Spring!

Finally it is that time of year again! I never thought I would be so happy to finally see winter leave. This year the winter seemed soooo long. There are so many things that I want to do outside when it is nice out...not only if I could find the time to do it all.

My little girl turned 11 last week. It is hard to believe that it has been that long. She is a great kid, and too mature to be 11! Chris also had a Birthday on the same day. I won't brag about how old or mature he is. hehe
We spent a lovely Easter up North with the family. I was happy to see that most of their snow was already melted. Our kids had a great time on an Easter egg hunt, playing with their cousin-to-be, going on a 4-wheeler ride, and convincing Grandma to let them have as many snacks as they wanted. It will probably be summer before we get up there again. I am looking forward to spending a couple nice weekends up there this year. I think we may have even talked Grandma into coming down to Mankato for a few days to spend time at our house soon. It has been a while since she has stayed with us. Christian likes to tease me about having my "wicked" mother in law stay with us, but I really don't mind it. She helps me clean, paint, organize; and the kids enjoy having her here.
Chris and I are heading to Chicago in a few weeks to spend our 2nd Anniversary away from home. I am really looking forward to that too! We don't get much time away together, and after last summer...we both are in dire need of a get away!

Another Year older

So..I am not very good at posting on here anymore. I tend to keep really busy andI don't think of posting very often. Things are going alright so far this year. I just had a birthday, to yes that dreaded 30!! And they were all able to pull a fast one on me. I guess I didn't see it coming. I thought I was overly observant and wouldn't let them get me...but they did. The party was great fun. Many of you showed up to surprise me. Such wonderful family and friends. Thanks for sharing in on my dreaded day!!

We lost our beloved Grandpa Roger suddenly back in January. It was shocking for the whole family, as we had just celebrated his 75th Birthday a few days earlier.I hope he is taking good care of his great-grandsons for me! Love you Gramps!

Holly Dolly.....Holly participated in the science fair this year for the first time. We haven't heard the results yet, but either way...she did a great job in my opinion. This kid is so much smarter than I was at her age. She amazes me everyday!

Alyssa hasn't been spending much time with us lately. She is still living in the cities, so we only get her every other weekend. It is a cruddy situation, but we don't have much say in the matter. Hopefully we will get to catch up with her much more this summer.

Chris is still working both jobs, although the hours haven't been there like they were a few months ago. It is nice to have him home more often. Soon the wedding season will start, so he will be pretty busy again.

I have been doing pretty much what I do all the time. Work, Clean, projects, sleep, work, clean..... I seriously cannot wait for spring. The weather has been teasing us with nice weather....and then we get 6 inches of snow a few days later. UGH! I can't wait to get outside to start doing things again.
We took the girls to the Orphium Theaters production of "Annie" with Grandma Joanie. It was a great time! Too bad the little girl in front of us couldn't sit still. We had a hard time seeing, but it was a great show, and the girls loved it! I hope we can start taking them to more shows.
We have talked briefly about taking the family on a small little vacation this year, but are a little hesitant due to the wonderful economy. Maybe we will come up with somewhere where we can drive to in a few days, that won't cost a month's wages. Good luck with that right?!
Well, not much new news from us. Hopefullly in a few months we will have some good news to report, but for now.....
Love to you all.

A New Year

Well it is indeed a new year, and we can only hope that this one will be a whole lot better than the last year. Hooray to the end of the holidays. They were just so hectic, we didn't have much time to enjoy them. We did get to see some family that we don't see very often so that was nice. Our kids made out like bandits, like every year. They are spoiled....but I guess I am probably to blame for that one. I got a new camera, probably my favorite gift; but we have seemed to have misplaced our old camera with our SD card in it (I am beginning to believe it grew legs and ran away!), so all of our Christmas pics are temporarily lost.
The kids are back to school this week. Finally is all I am thinking. Just kidding. They are pretty good kids. They both got to spend some time together last week, which I think was good for them, but towards the end of the weekend, the arguing got to me. They tend to argue just like sisters do.
Chris and I are back to the full work weeks again. Chris had some time off from his part time job, but most of that time was spent traveling to all the Christmas gatherings. He did get to go to the disappointing Vikings game last Sunday, and we went to a casino and donated some money over Christmas week. This week he goes back to working both jobs. And I go back to being the bachelorette on the weekends. It will be nice this weekend to have some time to myself. I can finally get my tree down and my house thoroughly cleaned. Maybe I will find some friends who want to have a few cocktails with me too. :)
Until next time. If I can find that darn old camera, I will post some Christmas pics!