Welcome to the Church!

On August 16, approximately 33 hours after his arrival, Charlie was baptized in Cardinal Glennon's NICU by our long time family friend, Father Charles Latour. It was a special and blessed day.

Today we were able to conclude Charlie's baptismal rite with Father John Beveridge at our home parish of Saints Peter and Paul. Charlie was presented and accepted into our parish and Church and "officially" received the light of Christ through his baptism candle.
Charlie's godparents were both present (we didn't have to FaceTime anyone in) and he got to wear a beautiful white suit.

Our parish has been so supportive throughout Charlie's journey. From prayers to financial support, babysitting to grocery shopping, providing clothes and assisting with life insurance - they have always been there to help. It felt so fitting to share him with the congregation and ask for their continued support in raising him in the Catholic faith.

Here's a picture from this morning! What a great day!!!

(Nathan is hiding somewhere behind us by the altar)

Charlie Is Here!

So it turns out that Charlie is going to share his birthday with his Grandpa Rekowski!

Charles (Charlie) Andrew Garcia arrived at 3:57 am on Thursday, August 15th, 2013.  He weighed in at 8 lbs 4 oz and was 20.8 inches tall.  He  is remarkably pink in color for being a heart baby and has a solid set of lungs that have already done plenty of screaming.

The doctors started mom on Pitocin around 4pm on Wednesday.  Labor progressed as expected with only a few little blips along the way.  Charlie seemed rather finicky regarding what position Jean was laying in so she spent a lot of time rolling over to different sides and using the oxygen mask to make sure Charlie had enough oxygen even when his heart rate would slow down.  As with both of Jean’s other deliveries, the end of labor moved very quickly.  With Charlie the nurse checked her and we were told she was 5 or 5 1/2 cm.  Because of Jean’s past pregnancies the nurse said she would go ahead and call Dr. Vlastos to let him know he needed to head back to the hospital.  However, a mere 17 minutes later the resident on duty caught Charlie after they rushed Jean down the hallway to the operating room for delivery.  (Nothing like hearing one nurse yell at the next nurse – No!  We need to go now!) 

Charlie was delivered in the operating room and immediately taken to the resuscitation room.  There they cleaned him up, warmed him up, weighed and measured him and gave him a relatively clean bill of health.  He needed a few extra rounds of suctioning to clear his nose and mouth but did great in his transition to the real world!

Because he was doing so well, Mom got to hold Charlie before he was taken to the NICU and Dad got a few kisses on the forehead.  It was precious but short time!  Charlie then spent about 2 hours in St. Mary’s NICU getting his IVs set, having a few tests run, and getting some meds.  

Around 6am the transport team deemed that Charlie was stable enough for transport and brought him to our recovery room for one last peek before he headed off in the ambulance to Cardinal Glennon. It was by far the hardest part of the whole delivery!  He seemed so perfect in the eyes of Mom and Dad and when the transport and resuscitation team wheeled him it was a stark reminder of the long road that lies ahead of Charlie and how medically fragile he really is right now.

Charlie had some trouble in the ambulance with apnea which was most likely caused by all the meds he was placed on at birth.  The transport nurse said they did have to stir him a few times to remind him to breathe.  But overall the transport was uneventful and he settled into Cardinal Glennon pretty quickly. 

The staff at Cardinal Glennon tweaked meds, oxygen, IV lines, and ran loads of tests yesterday.  The cardiologist even FaceTime’d with us to give us an update after Charlie’s echocardiogram.  The neonatologists, cardiologists and respiratory therapists have decided that Charlie is stable enough to wait until next week for surgery.  They have scheduled a meeting for Monday with the cardiothoracic surgeon, cardiologists, neonatologists to go over Charlie’s case and schedule him for surgery. 

Short and condensed – he transitioned beautifully!  He’s doing great!  Mama is headed over to Cardinal Glennon on a day pass this afternoon to kiss that precious forehead!  And we’ve got a baptism scheduled for later today!

Oh yeah…don’t you ABSOLUTELY LOVE those photos above?!?!?!  Our friend June from Reflections by June Hallowell Photography came to the hospital with us and captured our whole journey.  How awesome is she?!?!?!?  Make sure to check out her other work at www.reflectionsbyjune.com

HOW BLESSED ARE WE?

Today Is The Day

Well, today is the day!  It’s already been a busy morning in the Garcia household.  John and Nathan headed off for their first day of preschool and I’ve finished packing those last minute items into the hospital bag.

Nathan did great with drop off so hopefully the rest of his preschool morning will go equally as well.  He located his locker and settled in at a table to work on writing his name.  Right at the end he was a little upset to see Grandpa Garcia go, but overall the transition went well. 

John was a pro!  He went right into his class, put away his stuff and wrote his name on his worksheet.  Aside from playing “master distractor” and trying to avoid having to do the rest of the worksheet – he was perfect. 

Everyone at school was asking about Charlie.  Friends, teachers, aides, staff….  Not much to report right now.  We’ll head to the hospital around 1:30 with a scheduled induction at 2pm.  We’re excited!  But for now, there isn’t much to share.  We are most definitely in a holding pattern until this afternoon.

The boys are excited about Charlie’s arrival too.  They have both been asking this morning if Charlie would be here when they get out of school.  Matt and I are hopeful we’ll be able to take them to meet Charlie at the hospital tomorrow if I can get discharged (or at least get a hall pass) myself.  We’d really like to be there as a family for 5 together.  If Charlie’s health doesn’t warrant waiting until mommy is free from the hospital, then Matt will take the boys on his own. 

The next few days will be a roller coaster of emotions and activity.  We appreciate all the prayers and well wishes we’ve already received this morning.  Know that they are pulling us through this tough time.  Everything seems to be up in the air so we’re flying by the seat of our pants.  Luckily we have plenty of people here to help us out right now and even more waiting on the sidelines to be called into the game. 

We’ll continue to post updates here and on Facebook.  Hopefully we’ll have a chance to snap a picture or two of Charlie before he gets rushed out the door to the ambulance….  Otherwise, you’ll have to wait for a picture from the pediatric hospital….

Soon

You can officially mark your calendar! If Charlie doesn’t arrive on his own before then, I’m scheduled to be induced on Wednesday, August 14 at 2pm. 

We’re excited!  We’re scared!  We’re happy!  We’re nervous!  Ummm…how many other emotions exist in the world….yeah, let’s just assume that most of those describe our current state of mind.

The upcoming 5 days will be pretty busy.  The boys have their first Saturday gymnastics class this weekend and we have a wedding to attend that afternoon.  On Monday John has speech in the morning and I have a prenatal bonding session in the afternoon (more on this in a later post).  Tuesday I have one last prenatal bonding session.  Matt’s parents arrive that evening so we’ll need to make an airport run at some point. 

Then there is Wednesday!  Wednesday is the boys first day of preschool.  Drop off is at 8am.  Pick up is at 10:30am.  John has the same teacher as last year.  He’ll be a breeze!  Nathan will be venturing into preschool for the first time.  I’m not worried about his transition, but I am worried about how the stress in our home life will impact him at school.  He’s a little more outgoing (read: aggressive) than John and I don’t want him lashing out in the first few weeks.

Immediately after school John has speech therapy.  He should wrap up around 11:45-ish.  Assuming the stars align – that means we should have enough time to eat lunch as a family before Matt and I head off to the hospital. 

Hopefully by Wednesday evening or Thursday morning we’ll have welcomed Charlie into this world!

After that most everything is up in the air except for an airport run to pick up Father Charlie on Thursday.  We’ll baptize Charlie on Thursday evening or Friday morning depending on how the medical stuff is going.

In the meantime, please pray for our growing family.  Pray that Charlie stays put until Wednesday so that the proper team can be available at the hospital during his delivery.  Pray that he arrives as healthy as can be and can sustain life until his first surgery.  Pray that we have the window of opportunity to allow Father Charlie to baptize his namesake just like he has baptized our our other boys.  Pray that mom and dad can remain strong for each other, for Charlie, and for our other boys. 

I know it’s a lot to ask – but any/all prayers are appreciated.

I Don't Know How You Do It

Over the past few months as we've shared Charlie's story with friends, family and acquaintances - we have encountered any number of comments.  Some are as simple as, "We'll pray for you,"  or "I'm so sorry."  Many relay stories of friends/family who have "been there and done that" and assure us everything will "work itself out."

One of my favorites is, "Let me know how we can help."  I normally joke back that they shouldn't make idle offers because we are making a list of people who volunteer services.  But honestly, I'm not really joking....we've got your name and number if you've said that to Matt or me in the past 4 months.

The comment that boggles me the most is when people say, "I don't know how you do it."  Really?!?!?  What choice do we have?  We have two other boys at home and one on the way that is going to need lots of extra attention.  It's not exactly fruitful for anyone involved for Matt or I to curl up in the fetal position and give up.  Matt has to continue working to earn money for our family and maintain our health insurance.  Last time I checked my 3 and 4 year old are not self-sufficient and can't adequately cook, clean, and transport themselves around town.  So we go on...

(For the record - I think all these comments are well-intentioned)

Some days are better than others.  Yesterday, I was in a funk.  Emotionally charged.  Drained from having 'kept going' for too long without a break.  (Matt was out of town for nearly two weeks straight).  So I cried.  I said out loud that I was scared.  I'm overwhelmed at the idea of balancing two toddlers in preschool and gymnastics while tending to an extremely fragile baby in the hospital.  More so, I'm trying to figure out what we'll do with this fragile baby when we come home - and no longer have some of the highest paid babysitters (doctors and surgeons) checking on him all day.

But the point is - We're Doing It.  All of it.  The good, the bad, the muddled mess in between.  We're blessed that we have a great support system.  We have friends who are willing to babysit.  Family who has trekked along to doctor appointments to serve as extra sets of ears.  Office mates who have sent special onesies that will accommodate all the cords, wires and pumps that will be hooked to Charlie in his early months.  Those friends and family are doing it.  This is going to be the epitome of 'It Takes A Village.'  We're learning to embrace that!

I Don't Know How You Do It  - If we don't, where would that leave our children, our family, our marriage?

When You Know Support Is Vital

Last week I was blogging about how blessed we've been to have the outpouring of support from our family and friends.  We have Charlie's GiveForward Page still up and running thanks to our cousins, my MOMS Club has jumped at babysitting opportunities while I attend doctor appointments, friends have dropped gifts and baby supplies off at our house, and we know that Charlie's grandparents will all be around immediately following his birth.  Really, can we ask for much more?

In short, yes. Right now we feel like we're holding steady.  There is certainly a mixture of emotion on any given day in our house, but overall we seem cool, calm and collected.  My emotions are pretty under control right now and despite a sleepless night or two along the road - I feel like I'm doing all that I can at this given moment for Charlie.

All that being said, we reached out to a family counselor this week.  Matt and I met with her already and shared Charlie's story, some of our concerns and where we are emotionally. Over the next few months we will continue to meet with her so she can help us face our fears, discuss our expectations and help us process the fear of the unknown. She will meet with the boys next week also.  I think this is going to be sooo important for our family.  The boys are super excited about being big brothers, but the reality is some of those 'big brother privileges' won't be available right away.  For example, we don't know if they'll be able to hold him before surgery and there will most definitely be no bottle feeding until at least 2-3 weeks following surgery.  We know we will get through this as a family, but it never hurts to have someone extra in your corner cheering you on!

I tell people all the time that I have expertise in college student social-emotional-mental development and if they ever need help in that realm...I'm their person!  That being said - I certainly don't have expertise in toddlerhood, crisis management or family dynamics.  But I know how to find people that do!  Thank God for the ability to reach out to others in need!

February…and the winds of change are blowing in

Ahhh…February….that time where you start to see tiny glimpses of spring in the future.  You know, that random 65 degree day or the fact that it’s not pitch black both when you wake up and tuck the kids in bed.  It’s amazing what those little “looks ahead” do for my mental state of mind.

Last night I found myself daydreaming of the garden plans for this year.  Marigolds by the lamp post again (last year’s attempt at something different didn’t do it for me).  We’ll certainly need basil, cilantro, strawberries, and maybe some cucumbers this year.  And I’m trying to figure out if we can transplant our surprise lilies to a different location this spring (preferably one where my husband won’t view them as weeds and run them over with the lawn mower).  Hmmm….is it too early to be thinking about such things?

Also in my daydreams are playroom storage, design, and functionality.  We’ve been in cleaning/decluttering mode around here recently – which I always seem to associate with spring.  We’re in the process of moving our playroom downstairs, Matt’s office to the other side of the basement and attempting to find a way to separate the two as best as possible.  This is a process.  I’m thinking it may take all spring and a chunk of early summer.  But slow and steady will win the race….AND – I can guarantee that it will be done by August.

Why? Well, because in August we’ll be needing the current playroom to serve as a nursery.    Yay!  Garcia baby #3 should arrive in mid to late August 2013. 

So there’s the big news!  Super excited!

Perfection

Giggles

Nathan Giggling

You Will Be Missed…

Today our family buried an outstanding man.  A father to many and friend to even more.  He’ll be greatly missed, but we are sure he is resting peacefully with his Father.

Lots of Life!
(as is evident by all the candles)

A man worth looking up to!

Four Generations! Not Bad!

The Man I Married...

...is loving, caring, gentle, friendly, faithful and fun.
...is a wonderful father who gives himself fully to his family.
...is hardworking, dedicated and invested in his job.
...is missed when he's gone.
...is an extra set of hands when he's home.
...is adventurous, exciting, intriguing, and thrilling everyday.
...is thoughtful, considerate, kind and attentive even when I don't deserve it.
...is amazing, astonishing, and sublime in ways I never imagined.
...is attractive, appealing and charming even more now than when we met.
...is my best friend, partner, better half and cohort through thick and thin.
...is the best decision I ever made...period!

Starting 2011

Well, it's been a rocky start to 2011!  Let's hope this isn't a sign of the year to come...

We enjoyed ourselves at the annual New Year's Eve Casino Party at the Homes' house on Friday night.  It's always nice to gather with friends and family to ring in the new year.  We gambled away our mock money playing craps, blackjack and poker.  We ate plenty of greasy, fattening food.  We toasted with champagne at midnight as we kissed our families.  Then I ran to the bathroom and got sick.  :(  Before you think it...no I hadn't had that much to drink (actually only 1 drink and a couple sips for a second). 

The rest of the night I spent in the bathroom and I spent all of Saturday in bed or on the couch with severe nausea and didn't manage to keep any food or drink down the whole day.  However, Sunday proved better and we made it to church, out to breakfast as a family, and made steaks for dinner.  The about 1:30AM on Monday morning - it hit Matt.  He was up all night and hasn't made it out of bed yet this morning.  I did offer him some Ramen about an hour ago which he promptly took two sips of and then asked me to get it out of the room as even the smell was getting to him.  (He did confess that he wished he had been much more sympathetic when I told him I didn't feel good and wanted to go home at midnight on New Year's Eve - at the time he thought I was just being a party pooper)

Both boys have managed to avoid it thus far.  We'll give you another update later this week.  Let's pray that we keep it in our bedroom since it's pretty nasty (whatever it is...)!

End of the Month Success

Yay for the end of August!  (If for no other reason than the end of August means it is time to celebrate my birthday)  Overall I've had a great week - so that's worth sharing with the blogging community.

1.  I made these precious gifts for the expecting mommies that I know and the project only overtook the table for 24 hours.  That's impressive by my standards.

2.  I got the calendar and newsletter for my MOMS Club completed and posted online.  (Did I mention I agreed to be the secretary for this organization in an earlier post?  Maybe not)  I'm impressed with my creativity on both tasks and I think I can continue to improve on the newsletter as I get a little more practice under my belt and buff up on my journalism skills (which I haven't used since I wrote for my high school newspaper)

3.  I turned 29!  Happy Birthday to Me!  And my boys baked me a cake...it was the first cake any of them made.  I'm not sure how much Nathan had to do with it, but John enjoyed playing with the mixer and Matt can now claim to have baked a cake.  Now - if they would have sprayed the pan with non-stick cooking spray it might not have required 2 full canisters of frosting to hold the cake together.  Nonetheless...I could taste the love. <3

John helped put the candles on :)

Single Mommy Successes

Thank God Danielle (over at Faith & Family Live!) reminds us to celebrate the little things each week, because little things are about all I've got!  This is Matt's third week in a row being out of town for work - so I've been a single parent yet again.  Please don't interpret this as complaining - my husband works EXTRAORDINARILY HARD for our family so that I can stay home with the boys and when he's not travelling he works in the basement office so we eat three meals a day as a family.  I'm truly blessed to have someone like Matt in my life - let alone to have him as my husband and father of my children...

So, back to the successes!

1.  We hosted our book show and had a great turnout.  Many books were purchased meaning that we were able to order lots of books to fill the boys bookshelves.  Right now we're planning on strategically doling them out throughout the year - John's birthday, Christmas, rewards for good behavior, before long car trips, etc.  (We even got a couple Christmas presents for kids other than our own!)

2.  I've remembered John's medicine every day so far!  He's battling another double ear infection.  And before you think it - yes, tubes are supposed to help eliminate ear infections, but apparently if you have so much drainage in your ears that the tubes become clogged that help becomes null and void.  Remembering the antibiotics and ear drops twice daily always seems to prove more difficult that it should be - but so far I've been on top of it!

3.  When our Wednesday fell completely off track because John decided to wake up at 3:30am and not go back to sleep until 5:30am, at which time Nathan decided he should get up to nurse, everyone overslept, and I had an appointment that got moved up 18 hours, I just rolled with the punches.  Morning errands were deferred.  Naps occurred in the car.  I made it to my appointment on time.  We still went to two stores.  And dinner was served as a quasi-reasonable time by any standard. 

*Bonus #4 - Because I had my appointment on Wednesday - my Thursday morning didn't have quite as many things going on!  It's the little things, right?

Photo Update

This update provided by Kodak...

Nathan Michael

Nathan Michael arrived at 2:56am today! He weighed in at a whopping 9lbs, 8oz; measured 20in; and came with a powerful set of lungs and a full head of hair. More in the near future....but here's a first glimpse!

Waiting Game

The waiting game continues...

Last week after my doctor's appointment we were hopeful that baby would make an appearance in the near future. I was already 3 cm dilated and the doctor tried to stimulate labor. Instead, I ended up with 3 days worth of contractions that never got stronger or closer together. Nothing like raising your hopes...

Nonetheless, the house is pretty clean and ready for baby to arrive. My wonderful husband helped me by mopping floors last night. I've got a freezer and pantry full of quick meals for postpartum and an extended family that is planning on doing some cooking in the upcoming weeks. Not to mention that I'm counting on my MOM's Club to make some dinners for us too. Overall, we're feeling pretty good about the prospect of going into labor (if it ever happens!)

I'll continue to update as possible. We're hopeful that the next post will include some pictures of a new little bundle of joy!

Nesting

Since the move to our new house this blog has been greatly neglected. We have been diligently cleaning, unpacking, rearranging, and generally trying to set up before this little bundle of joy arrives. In the past few weeks I've been mopping, washing clothes that have been in a storage unit for over a year, restocking our medicine cabinet and trying to find homes for so many of the miscellaneous items that reside in one's home. We're getting there.

John has done remarkably well with the move - although he still loves being over at grandma and grandpa Rekowski's house. We visit often - they babysit lots (especially now that grandma is out of school for the summer). John made the transition to a toddler day bed when we moved and is loving it! He's got decorations up on his walls, toys galore, and enough books to start running his own children's library out of his bedroom.

Matt has set up his office in the basement in an attempt to find some peace and quiet from a growing family. Aside from laundry there isn't much reason for the rest of us to be in the basement. So as long as he doesn't mind hearing footsteps above his head - we're happy to let him get some work done without a toddler trying to crawl in his lap every 20 -30 minutes.

I've recently set up shop in the kitchen - call it my nesting instincts. We've got the freezer overflowing with foods that are just waiting to be tossed in the oven after the baby arrives. (I'll try to post some of our recipes/meals in a future post.) Yet, I keep finding/thinking of more recipes that I should make and store for the future. I think this is because I was spoiled with John. I had a few things in the freezer, but I had my mom at the house for a week and my mother-in-law for 3 weeks. Let's just say I didn't worry much about cooking for the first month of John's life.

We're getting there! That's the point. If baby came today, we'd be fine. Enough clothes are washed and baby items relocated that we could bring the little one home with little to no problems. Yet, as I sit here typing....I can come up with a LONG list of things that still 'need' to get done. Oh well! This is the life of a stay-at-home-mom: the chores never end......

Favorite February Fotos

Sledding!

A Little Mischievous - Don't You Think?

Day By Day

Each day with John has brought new adventures for our family. We love watching him grow and learn as every day passes. It's hard to believe that a little over a year ago he was born not breathing. And if you looked at him today, you would never believe me when I told you that he has been the recipient of 9 blood transfusions. Instead, all you'll see is a little boy who is outgrowing shoes left and right, running around the house, crawling up onto every chair he can find, and scarfing down more chicken nuggets at any one meal than his pregnant mom! What a difference a year makes!

We're still working on some things...
John is still behind on the speech realm, but we're hopeful that getting ear tubes and speech therapy will get us going.
He is really shy around other kids (with the exception of his two 'girlfriends', Maeve and Gwen) so we're trying to get him involved in some activities where he is required to interact with other kids.
John's immune system seems to be on the fritz most of the time with ear infections, sinus infections, and belly problems. We're hopeful that tubes help with the first two. After all the gut problems of the last two weeks - we're scheduled for an ultrasound of his GI tract to look for any more abnormalities. Right now we know he has enlarged bowels, gas in his tract, and potentially calcification in his intestines. We'll know more as we progress.

We haven't been great about picture taking these past few months, but we're trying to get back to snapping "every day" shots. Look for them in the near future - you won't believe his growth!