A truly inspiring story...

Our pastor is wrapping up a 5 week series on the story of Hadassah (Esther), the inspiring woman from ancient times who risked her life to stand up for herself, her people, and most importantly her God. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The God who uses normal, everyday people to save nations. Esther was no different than you or I. Just a teenage girl trying to make the best of her daily routine...albeit mundane at times. But she loved the Lord, and was willing to let Him use her in any way possible.

Now, if you are like me, you will understand my struggle with the Old Testament. I have read and heard the stories countless times. And they very often seem like just that. Stories. It's hard to imagine these goofy sounding names as REAL people. People who took on unknown futures, unknown risks like Esther, and lived out what it means to follow God. But, I have gained a new appreciation for the story of Esther through this movie. One Night with the King (2006). FANTASTIC. It perfectly mirrors the Bible chronologically. And I LOVE the way Esther is portrayed. Now, don't get me wrong. Movies can very often be misleading, and alter what the scriptures say. But for me...I am a visual person. And this helps make it real for me. And wow. Truly inspiring.

1 month

I can't believe 4 weeks have flown by....well sorta. The first week of bringing Kensie home from the hospital felt like for-e-ver. Between recovery, and the night feedings every three hours, I was definitely at my wits end at times. But then time began to fly, and here it is one month later already!

Above: 4 days old

Below: 1 month old

Things I LOVE so far....

~ snuggling as a family

~ picking out a cute outfit for Kensie every day

~ watching her sleep

~ staring at each and every feature on her precious face

~ the addicting baby smell that lingers after bath time

~ bows


Things I DON'T LOVE so far...

~ backaches...thought they would go away after being pregnant. Wrong. So much strain from holding, feeding, bathing and rocking a baby all day. And not to mention toting around a car seat.

~ NOT sleeping. I really get annoyed between the 1am and 4am feedings....killer.

~ hearing her scream until almost breathless

~ not enough alone time with the hubby. It's been really hard to connect for more than 10 minutes at a time

~ not being able to enjoy a meal without interruption

~ in-between maternity clothes and normal clothes. Annoying.

Sweetness

Meltdown

Did I see it coming?...not really. Was I warned? Yes. Everyone has told me that a new mother can be very emotional and overwhelmed the first week after delivery. 'But, not me' I thought.

I had been cruising on adrenaline all week. Everything new and exciting. A sweet new baby to ga ga over, and an excuse to use the phrase 'family time' on a daily basis. Well, Saturday night came. Greg had a hard week at work just coming off Labor Day, and seemed like he was in the office for most of it. He did what he could....kept up on the laundry, changed Kensie's diaper for midnight feedings, and helped clean up after dinners. But, I wanted more. I wanted him there a lot more. So, needless to say....things started pouring out of my mouth at dinner Saturday night, and they didn't stop. Soon, "liquid hormones" (as I like to call them) were streaming down my face, and I just couldn't control myself. I excused myself from the table and proceeded to the bedroom where I cried for about a half hour. I didn't know if I was more mad at Greg, or at how I was letting myself get so worked up about it...but either way, I said a lot of things I still regret. My dear husband could not have handled it better. He didn't say a word. He kept my dinner warm in the oven, came in the room to rub my back, and said I could take all the time I needed to recuperate. When I came back out, most of the house was picked up, and he was holding Kensie on his chest by the fireplace.

To end on a positive note, Sunday afternoon was GORGEOUS! Here are some pics from our walk to the park. And yes....some much needed 'family time'....

Details on D-day...

WARNING: Read only if interested in long and boring labor and delivery details.




Last Saturday night around 11:30pm I started having what felt like strong menstrual cramps (later found out they were contractions) every 15 minutes. They weren't strong enough to bother waking Greg, so I kept busy all night doing crafts and organizing things in the house. By 5:30am they were getting stronger and about 3-5 minutes apart. By 6:30 Greg was awake and timing them for me, as they got more painful. I kept thinking, 'if my water only broke then I would know when to go into the hospital. I just don't want to be sent home yet again'. But, the pains kept coming pretty consistent and I would have to stop to brace myself while pacing around the house. Finally Greg informed me I had 3 contractions in like 8 minutes. With little convincing we packed the car and drove to the hospital. Thankfully we live like 6 blocks away, and I literally had like 1 or 2 contractions in the car, so it was a quick ride (and I was so thankful for that!).


Once the nurse set us up in the room, the contractions quickly got more and more painful, and less and less apart. I was gripping the side rail of my bed while Greg gently rubbed my back. By 9:30 I was ready for my epidural. With a quick prick in the back, the contractions got less and less with each one. All the while, the graphs were printing out on a bedside table that showed the curves of each contraction. Greg kept saying, 'man, that was a HUGE one...did you feel that?'.....'ummm, nope.' I was numb from my sternum down. I actually felt better right then, than the whole nine months being pregnant. IT WAS AMAZING :). So....the afternoon was full of naps, and chatting with my mom, and watching baseball.



Then around 4:30 I was dilated to 10 and ready to push. With Greg on one side, a nurse on the other, and the delivery doctor in the middle....it was a whirlwind of breathing and pushing and focusing. I tried to treat it like the biggest athletic event of my life, and that's pretty much what it was. I closed my eyes and just focused on when the nurse and Greg told me to push. At this time I started feeling the contractions again, and the pelvis pain heightened tremendously. But, it helped me know when to push. I just cannot imagine the pain WITHOUT an epidural. Holy Cow. So, to wrap things up, 45 minutes later our big-beautiful-healthy girl arrived. :) When they placed her on my chest immediately afterwards is when I finally lost it. Tears and sobbing erupted. I think it was a combination of knowing I was finally done working so hard, and literally seeing the product of what God had created over the last nine months. So special. I will always remember that moment.




We both looked at her and looked at each other and just knew her name was Kensie. We had a couple other options on the list, but Kensie Michelle it was. It just had to be. The name originally started out as Mackensie, but we knew we would just call her Kensie, so why not name her that? And, Greg has always loved my middle name Michelle, so it seemed appropriate to mix it in the middle. With that, our little miracle was given life and a name. We are so grateful for how God has blessed us. What a beautiful creation she is!

She has only gotten cuter over the last 6 days. Here's one from yesterday...

Introducing...

Kensie Michelle Mulder

9-6-09

5:19pm

9 lbs 7 oz

22 inches

100% perfect

Story on labor and delivery coming soon...

Embarassing

Wednesday morning I woke up convinced that my water broke during the night. I could hardly wait to get to my doc appointment at 1pm. Thinking I would go straight to the hospital afterwards, my bags were packed and ready to go. But, like so many stories...it was a false alarm. I felt so embarrassed, like the pregnant lady who cries wolf. Who looks for any little sign of progress only to be disappointed in the end. On top of it, the doc said I was still at zero and only 50% effaced. Wow, I really thought this time was for real. My belly has been rock hard the last two days straight, and the radiating back pain combined with menstrual-like cramps continues on. And STILL nothing???? So, he asked how long after my due date I want to go..."ummmm, not too long" I said. Well, he only schedules inductions on Tuesdays, so its either the 8th or the 15th. I think our baby will be like 10 lbs by the 15th....so I opted for September 8. Who knows....maybe she will get the ever elusive birthdate 9-9-09 :)

In the meantime, I've been sewing up a storm. I've been up since 6:00 this morning sewing and redecorating the house. Here's one project I'm most proud of. A simple lamp shade makeover. And I can just slip off the cover to change the look if I want something different in the future! Thanks Better Homes and Gardens! Such great ideas you have. :)

BEFORE

AFTER