Opa and Oma's visit

Today Caden is 6 weeks old. He is doing really well and is growing nicely. We have just been really busy and barely have time to do much else besides our regular home duties and taking care of Caden. I'll eventually respond to the emails and we'll try to post more blog entries.

The past few weeks my parents have been here and we have had a wonderful time with them here. They really helped us adjust to having Caden. While they were here we received Caden's passport, hooray! So we decided to take a day trip to France, it's only about an hour away. We also took a mini vacation to Brussels, Belgium and spent two nights and made a stop in Maastricht, The Netherlands for lunch. In Belgium we went to the Atomium, road the subway, and ate some really good food, including chocolate. Belgium has the BEST chocolate we have ever had. During Caden's first month of life he visited 4 countries, Germany, France, Belgium, and The Netherlands. Lucky guy!

Caden enjoyed his grandparents visiting and looks forward to meeting the rest of our family and friends. Here are a few pictures of Caden from my parents visit and a few of our travels.

Sleepy time!

Eating at a cool castle in Germany

Lunch in The Netherlands

The Atomium in Belgium

Inside the Atomium

Caden's first time on a subway

At a restaurant in France

Caden's first picture with Opa and Oma on Marisa's side

Doctors...ER...PUPPP

I was hoping to post something about my labor and delivery and some more cute pictures of Caden, but that will have to wait for now. I thought I'd share some of the other things that are going on with us. During the past two weeks I have developed an awful, itchy post-pregnancy rash. This rash has now spread over most of my body and looks kind of like I got into poison ivy. We tried three days last week to get a doctor's appointment with an American doctor but was never able to get one. Friday we decided after calling the appointment line at 7am and not able to get in to go to the American ER. The rash had and has continued to get worse and I needed to get it checked out and confirm that it is not harmful to Caden. I also wanted to see if they could give me any medicine to bring some relief and help it go away.

We confirmed that I have Pruritic Urticarial Papules and Plaques of Pregnancy - PUPPP. When the ER doctor saw me she had no idea what I had. I told her what I thought I had and she went and researched it. She came back and told me it looked like that was what I had and that only about 1% of pregnant women get this awful rash. She gave me a pill that completely knocked me out all day Saturday. I stayed in bed over 14 hours mostly sleeping which is very unlike me. I was very weak and could not even pick up the baby. Collin brought him to me for all the feedings. I felt awful. She also gave me some spray that I don't think helped much. We weren't sure if I should take the pill again Saturday night because of reaction I had Saturday but decided since I hadn't itched much Saturday to try it again and try and knock this thing out and have Collin be mine and the baby's legs. Sunday I was not as weak but continued to itch. So maybe it was a combination of sleep deprivation - I have only gotten around 3-5 hours of sleep per day since having Caden - and the medicine.

Sunday evening we noticed Caden's stomach starting to swell. We called our parents and looked up swollen stomach online and thought it was probably gas but since I had taken this new medicine we decided to take him to the Kinderklinik ER. The German doctor was very good. He examined Caden and told us he looks really good and that it is just gas. He said it is very common especially in boys from birth to 3 months. He didn't think the medicine I got from the American doctor would harm Caden but suggested I see a German dermatologist regarding my rash. He actually knew what it was.

Monday morning we got an appointment with a German dermatologist. He was able to quickly identify my skin condition but was not sure what I could take because I was breastfeeding. He called some specialists in another city who may be more familiar with my "rare" condition. He gave me a prescription for some milky lotion to put on my skin but didn't want me to take any oral medication until he finds out what a "safe" dose is. He said the medicine I got from the American doctor is not safe to take while breastfeeding and told me to stop taking it. So now I'm taking nothing but applying white pasty milk-like lotion to my skin as needed. I still itch like crazy!

This morning Caden had his 2nd well baby appointment. The pediatrician told me not to take anything for the rash. He said scratching does not spread it and to try and keep it cool. He said if I want to continue breastfeeding there is nothing really safe to take except one dose of Claritin per day.

I feel like the past two weeks we have been in and out of the doctor's office and hospital. This rash is on my palms and the soles of my feet. It's hard to type very long because my hands start itching really bad. We have been given so many mixed opinions and advice. I think for now I'll try the Claritin and pray really hard that this rash stops itching and goes away. Several doctors said it lasts usually between 6 weeks and 3 months. I have had it for 2 weeks now and am determined to continue to breastfeed. Although I'm in a lot of discomfort this is something I would really like to follow through with for now. Please keep us in your prayers.

Here are a few pictures of the rash so if you or someone you know ever gets it you'll know what it looks like.

rash on one of my arms

backs of my legs

Caden Jake ist da!

Hi everyone!

Cade is here! Today was his "due date" but he came early! Marisa was pretty happy about that. As many of you already know, our son was born June 20th at 6:05am Central European Time. He weighed 3620 grams and was 54 cm long. In American standard units he was 7.98 lbs and 21.26 inches.

We'll post some entries about the experience and about our first week as parents but we just wanted to share a couple pictures and tell you that we are both tired but happy parents. All through the day we look at him, sigh, and just melt. He is so wonderful and adorable. We feel so much love for him. What a blessing from God!

One of our first family pictures taken right after he was born


One of the pictures from the photo shoot in the hospital

Birthday, 2nd Acupuncture Treatment, and Doctor's Appt.

I celebrated my first birthday in Germany on the 15th. Despite being away from family and my closest friends I had a really nice birthday. Thank you to everyone who called and emailed me. Collin spoiled me this year and bought me a netbook, flowers, a new watch, and took me out for a nice dinner at Knossos (a Greek restaurant we hadn't been to in a while). We had a nice time talking and relaxing. Collin is the best husband! Our waiter brought us a dessert for the baby after our meal. He didn't know it was my birthday but I was appreciative of the dessert and thought if being pregnant gets you a free dessert at a Greek restaurant than I'm not going to say anything. Collin also bought me an ice cream cake that we had when we got home. I love ice cream cake!

Tuesday I went in for my second acupuncture treatment. The midwife stuck each leg with 4 needles but changed the location on a few. It was somewhat painful this week. Both little toes were stuck with a needle. The midwife said it would feel like an ant bite. Yeah, a 20+ minute ant bite, ouch! Since this is my first pregnancy it may be hard to tell how helpful these treatments are. One of my friends who is having her second baby is getting this done and she didn't get it done the first pregnancy. Once she has her baby I will find out if she thought it helped. I asked one of the ladies sitting there if this really worked. She looked at me somewhat strangely and sarcastically said, "well, if you believe it will work it will work." Did she think I was joking with my question? Then I thought, great, what kind of treatments am I getting? I missed my chatty neighbor from last week but I hope she's already had her baby. She was due last week.

I'd like to share one frustrating thing about being pregnant. I don't know why people insist on making negative comments about a pregnant woman's body. I mean pregnant women already know under other circumstances that it's not natural to put on this much weight in so little time but thankfully it's for a good cause. That doesn't mean, however, that we like strangers poking us or touching our stomachs and making rude comments about our weight gain. If you want to say something to a pregnant woman then say something nice such as "you look great!" I went to the store the other day and the cashier asked me if I was past my due date. I mean was that really necessary? I told her no, I have a little less than two weeks left! She said, "well you look like you've dropped." I told her that I dropped two weeks ago.

The doctor's appointment went well on Wednesday. I'm dilated at 1 cm, I have 9 cm more to go! I asked my doctor about the benefits of acupuncture and she said one of the doctors at a university nearby did some extensive research and found that women who have it done dilate faster but it doesn't help shorten the pushing phase of labor. Since dilating is what takes the longest I hope this helps make it go a little faster. My doctor said there's other benefits too if you are not healthy but she said since I'm a healthy young woman I shouldn't have any problems. Overall she said it was good that I'm getting this done. Collin and I have finished our birthing classes and feel ready to go. The doctor said our son is approximately 3925 grams which is around 8.65 lbs. He's a good size baby! It really could be any day now. We can hardly wait!!

Here are a few pictures:

Ice Cream Cake - YUM!!

Beautiful birthday flowers - this was taken in our backyard

Free dessert at Greek restaurant

Collin and I at Knossos

Happy Birthday darling Marisa!

Every day you remind me of how richly God blesses me. He must really love me to not only have brought you into my life but also to continue enriching my life through you. And though I don't deserve His love or yours, I am and will forever be grateful. I'm excited to see how great a mommy you will be to our boy and I look forward to the days and years to come with you. Thank you for being my wife. I love you! Love, Collin
P.S. I hope you enjoyed your birthday!

Akupunktur

Today I went for my first Akupunktur (acupuncture) appointment. I was not sure what to expect but it is highly recommended for pregnant women in Germany. The hospital I am planning on delivering at has walk-in appointments every Tuesday from 10am-noon for pregnant women 36+ weeks along. Now that I am in my 37th week I thought I would give it a shot. Honestly, I really did not know much about this ancient Chinese practice until after I had it done.

Collin went with me because (1) I do not like parking downtown (European parking areas are very tiny compared to American and many times we have to park in a spot that in the States we would not even consider to be a parking spot) and (2) his German is better than mine. So after my PWOC board meeting this morning I met Collin to go to the hospital. I walked into a room where about 6 other pregnant mothers were sitting and the midwife, who, thankfully spoke really good English. The midwife asked Collin to wait down the hall. I was hoping he could stay with me. As I looked at the needles sticking out of the other women's legs I kind of panicked and thought maybe I should "wait down the hall" and leave. But curiosity got the best of me and I decided to at least try it once.

Basically the midwife stuck 4 tiny needles in each leg. She told me it would not hurt and that this will help my labor and delivery. She told me to watch the clock and after 20 minutes she would remove the needles. The needles stayed in for 25 minutes. The German lady next to me explained to me that acupuncture can really help with labor and delivery. She said it helps thin the cervix. It was nice sitting next to someone who spoke English so I had someone to talk to. I also learned that women who receive acupuncture during pregnancy often have shorter and easier birth experiences than women who do not receive acupuncture. That was my main reason for doing this. I thought if something would help then why not try it. There are several European studies concluding that women who received acupuncture once a week during the last month of pregnancy had significantly shorter labors than women who did not receive any. Acupuncture has been used for thousands of years to help women support a healthy pregnancy and uncomplicated delivery.

Honestly, the needles did not hurt until it was almost time to take them out. Even the small amount of pain I did feel was not very much. And I am not a needle person. I do not like shots or having my blood drawn. I think next week if I go and the midwife puts the needles in my toes that will hurt but today it was not too bad.

After my acupuncture treatment I went to see a doctor who works in the hospital. Many of my American friends go to him or have gone to him when they were pregnant. Since I do not have a doctor's appointment this week and need to go every week he said I could see him today. So I literally walked in. I also saw one of my friends from MOPS in the waiting room. It was really nice going to a doctor and seeing someone I know. This doctor was not nearly as thorough as my doctor and mainly talked to me about when to come to the hospital when I go into labor. He did the baby heart monitoring and that was pretty much it. It was the fastest and least exciting appointment I have had my whole pregnancy. I was hoping for an ultrasound but will just have to wait until next week when I see my doctor again. I am sure I could call and make an appointment to see my doctor this week if I wanted to but I think I will wait until next week. The baby's heart is beating strong and everything seems to be going well.

36 Weeks

I went to the doctor tonight, not my doctor but another one since my doctor's office is closed for two weeks celebrating a German holiday. I have not gained any weight in over a month now but my baby has. Our son's estimated weight is now around 3350 grams which is a little over 7 lbs. He dropped this last weekend. When I was hooked up to the heart monitor (German doctors seem to do more check-ups than American doctors) for my 30-minute session I had two contractions. During my ultrasound (yes, I still get ultrasounds every visit, one thing I love about Germany) the doctor saw that we are getting really close to delivery. He was able to tell by looking at my placenta. Pretty cool. We got a really nice 3-D picture of his face tonight. The doctor checked my baby's nutrition and mine and said everything looks really good. The doctor also said I could deliver at anytime now and deliever a healthy baby based on his blood flow, heart rate, size, and nutrition level.

I think this is an amazing picture

One more cool thing about going to the doctors in Germany is that you get to see them do your lab work. Like I said several months ago my doctor uses a microscope every visit to check my body's pH level and other things. Since I have not used a microscope since I was in college and will probably never use one for a job, I think it is really neat to see a professional up close examine things right in front of me rather than send them off to a lab somewhere. Even though many might think Germany's medical practice is a little "old school" I think overall it is pretty good. They really try and prepare you for natural and drug free deliveries if possible. They also like to keep mother and child in the hospital for 72 hours after a normal delivery. I'm not sure I'll enjoy being in the hospital that long but it is nice to know I won't be kicked out. They say it is better for the mother and baby to stay longer. In the U.S. they used to keep women in the hospital longer than they do now. Once I have the baby I'll let you know what I think about it and what my experience was like. We are getting excited.