Hello Again!
I had the opportunity to share our testimony and about how God blessed us with our amazing family. I was going to just type in my comments off of the notes I used, but it turns out our church posts the sermons online. So if you click HERE you can listen to it.
It is a good sermon, but if you want to just here my piece...it starts about 1/3 of the way through.
Enjoy and thanks for all the prayers!!
J
Showing posts with label Pregnancy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pregnancy. Show all posts
Friday, February 19, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Dad's First Night Update
First of all, before anything else I feel like I should publicly praise God for all of his care and protection for my family. We have been praying for today for almost three years and to be here with three healthy babies after the multitudes of trials, tears, and turbulence is a testament to his never ending faithfulness no matter what we think we see or know along the way. It has been my favorite bible verse for years…and it is at the top of our family blog: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean NOT on your own understanding…” Glory to Him, his Son, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit who works within all of us calling us to his loving embrace.
Likewise, we owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to all of the staff here at National Naval Medical Center. Having our babies born at “The President’s Hospital” is really cool…but most importantly because the nurses, doctors, house keepers, and everyone else involved in our stay here has been so amazing. Over the past six weeks we have made some real friends with those taking care of Autumn, and I am sure we will make even more friends during the time our babies are in the NICU.
Last…and certainly not least…thank-you to all of you who have been following us on Facebook, Twitter, our new blog, emails, phone calls, prayer trees, prayer bulletins, and I’m sure other ways I haven’t even heard of who have been praying for Autumn, the boys, and everything involved in this pregnancy. It has been a roller coaster, but it has been the best ride ever. More excitingly…we get the BIG roller coast next!! So thank-you so much for your prayers, your notes, your dinners, and the multitude of other ways you have all shown us how much our little (albeit bigger) family is loved!!
Okay…now to what you care about…the babies!!
Caleb is doing great. Breathing with forced air into his lungs…but it is at normal room oxygen levels and is just helping his lungs stay slightly inflated while he breathes. He looks great…is sleeping peacefully (when we aren’t poking at him)…and is doing just about as well as I think is possible.
Gideon is doing good. His breathing is still laborious and from a heavily biased and greenhorn father it is sometimes hard to watch his little chest compress and decompress so severly. He also makes these really cute but helpless little grunts that definitely triggers the protective side of a parent. But in spite of that…he IS getting all the oxygen he needs and they didn’t give him the medicine they gave Ezra. He also has the oxygen forced in through his nose…but his is at a saturation level of 23% O2 vs 21% which is normal. Besides that…he is doing well. They anticipate his lungs will simply get stronger through all of this and as long as he continues to maintain the proper O2 levels in his bloodstream they will just continue to monitor him. So just pray his little lungs grow quick!!
Ezra is doing great. He took to the medicine great and his breathing is like his slightly older brother, Caleb’s. He is also on forced air…but like Caleb, it is at normal room O2 saturation levels. Now that his breathing is more controlled he is snug as a bug.
Autumn is sleeping!! She still gets interrupted every two hours by the nurse…but we convinced them to give her Ambient tonight to help her rest. She deserves it!! I…like so many of you…am just so proud of her. For those who’ve talked to her you know how upbeat she has sounded during this whole thing…yet I know how hard / uncomfortable she has been. I am so happy for her that she is at least comfortable in a new way…even if that means she will be miserable with pain in a new way tomorrow. At least it is something different!! She hasn’t seen the babies since the C-section. She’ll be allowed to go tomorrow afternoon once some of the meds wear off. Until then, she is content watching little videos I have taken and looking at new pics I bring in!
Not that people care too much about Dad (scary word)…but I’m doing great. I was able to help change diapers this evening and the nurses are all about teaching me to help take care of them. My first diaper by myself was probably the worst diaper ever…but YOU try changing your first diaper through an incubator and with all those wires!! LOL!! But like most Dads…I’m just happy to be here and thrilled that everyone is healthy!!
Well…that’s it for day one. Below are some pics to give you an idea of their sizes. Thanks again and we’ll update soon!!
God Bless!
J
Likewise, we owe a tremendous amount of gratitude to all of the staff here at National Naval Medical Center. Having our babies born at “The President’s Hospital” is really cool…but most importantly because the nurses, doctors, house keepers, and everyone else involved in our stay here has been so amazing. Over the past six weeks we have made some real friends with those taking care of Autumn, and I am sure we will make even more friends during the time our babies are in the NICU.
Last…and certainly not least…thank-you to all of you who have been following us on Facebook, Twitter, our new blog, emails, phone calls, prayer trees, prayer bulletins, and I’m sure other ways I haven’t even heard of who have been praying for Autumn, the boys, and everything involved in this pregnancy. It has been a roller coaster, but it has been the best ride ever. More excitingly…we get the BIG roller coast next!! So thank-you so much for your prayers, your notes, your dinners, and the multitude of other ways you have all shown us how much our little (albeit bigger) family is loved!!
Okay…now to what you care about…the babies!!
Caleb is doing great. Breathing with forced air into his lungs…but it is at normal room oxygen levels and is just helping his lungs stay slightly inflated while he breathes. He looks great…is sleeping peacefully (when we aren’t poking at him)…and is doing just about as well as I think is possible.
Gideon is doing good. His breathing is still laborious and from a heavily biased and greenhorn father it is sometimes hard to watch his little chest compress and decompress so severly. He also makes these really cute but helpless little grunts that definitely triggers the protective side of a parent. But in spite of that…he IS getting all the oxygen he needs and they didn’t give him the medicine they gave Ezra. He also has the oxygen forced in through his nose…but his is at a saturation level of 23% O2 vs 21% which is normal. Besides that…he is doing well. They anticipate his lungs will simply get stronger through all of this and as long as he continues to maintain the proper O2 levels in his bloodstream they will just continue to monitor him. So just pray his little lungs grow quick!!
Ezra is doing great. He took to the medicine great and his breathing is like his slightly older brother, Caleb’s. He is also on forced air…but like Caleb, it is at normal room O2 saturation levels. Now that his breathing is more controlled he is snug as a bug.
Autumn is sleeping!! She still gets interrupted every two hours by the nurse…but we convinced them to give her Ambient tonight to help her rest. She deserves it!! I…like so many of you…am just so proud of her. For those who’ve talked to her you know how upbeat she has sounded during this whole thing…yet I know how hard / uncomfortable she has been. I am so happy for her that she is at least comfortable in a new way…even if that means she will be miserable with pain in a new way tomorrow. At least it is something different!! She hasn’t seen the babies since the C-section. She’ll be allowed to go tomorrow afternoon once some of the meds wear off. Until then, she is content watching little videos I have taken and looking at new pics I bring in!
Not that people care too much about Dad (scary word)…but I’m doing great. I was able to help change diapers this evening and the nurses are all about teaching me to help take care of them. My first diaper by myself was probably the worst diaper ever…but YOU try changing your first diaper through an incubator and with all those wires!! LOL!! But like most Dads…I’m just happy to be here and thrilled that everyone is healthy!!
Well…that’s it for day one. Below are some pics to give you an idea of their sizes. Thanks again and we’ll update soon!!
God Bless!
Caleb holding Daddy's finger
Gideon w/ Daddy
Ezra w/ Daddy
Friday, January 1, 2010
Hello World!!
I'd like to introduce y'all to Caleb Matthew, Gideon Crosby, and Ezra Glenn Kaldahl. They were born at 1143, 1144, and 1145 respectively. Pictures of each of them below (all the pics here), and I've also posted their first pics on Facebook.
Caleb Matthew Kaldahl 4 lb 7 oz
Gideon Crosby Kaldahl 4 lb 9oz
Ezra Glenn Kaldahl 4 lb 6oz
The boys are all doing well considering being born 7 weeks early. As you can see in the pictures, they are recieving oxygen to help keep their lungs inflated a bit more and ease the strain of breathing. Ezra needed to have an additional procedure done to help his lungs a bit more. They anticipate them needing the oxygen for a few days.
The C-Section went well. Autumn was even able to see Caleb and Gideon before they were taken to the NICU. That made everything worth it for her. She'll be able to see them for an extended period of time tomorrow after she is done recieving some meds today for her pre-eclampsia.
Autumn is doing well. She is resting right now and will probably be in some serious pain for the next few weeks. We anticipate her staying in the hospital for at least a couple of days.
That's about it for now. Thanks for all of the prayers. This has been an amazing way to start of 2010...even if the first words I heard in the New Year were, "I think we'll have to deliver the babies today..." LOL!!
Today is the day!!
A quiet New Years morning was broken by the amazing, scary, exciting, and unexpected news that Autumn's blood pressure was high enough yesterday and her protein count was high enough that the doctors wanted to deliver today!!
This hit us out of the blue. Everything was going normally until yesterday afternoon when her blood pressure started to rise. But that had happened previously so we didn't think too much of it. Then, this morning around 8am the doctor came in and said that she would talk to the head Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor...but she thought they would have to deliver today. An hour later...it was confirmed.
Since then, things have been a whirlwind. We called all our parents, our pastor, and been texting from well-wishers who saw my first Tweet / FB updated. We've also talked to the nurse who will be with us in the OR and the Anesthesiologist.
My mom just arrived. She is super excited.
I'll be trying to Tweet events over the next few hours...and I'll be sure to post pictures of our little ones as soon as I can. They say I'll be allowed to snap pics of them in the NICU about an hour after birth.
Our final picture together as just the two of us.
This hit us out of the blue. Everything was going normally until yesterday afternoon when her blood pressure started to rise. But that had happened previously so we didn't think too much of it. Then, this morning around 8am the doctor came in and said that she would talk to the head Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor...but she thought they would have to deliver today. An hour later...it was confirmed.
Since then, things have been a whirlwind. We called all our parents, our pastor, and been texting from well-wishers who saw my first Tweet / FB updated. We've also talked to the nurse who will be with us in the OR and the Anesthesiologist.
My mom just arrived. She is super excited.
I'll be trying to Tweet events over the next few hours...and I'll be sure to post pictures of our little ones as soon as I can. They say I'll be allowed to snap pics of them in the NICU about an hour after birth.
Our final picture together as just the two of us.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Let the Countdown Begin...
As we near Christmas, we thank our Lord and Savior for his gracious blessings on our family. Friday will be the magical 32 week mark for Autumn's pregnancy, and as many of you know, that is a TOTAL answer to prayer. To be 100% honest...while we pray the boys continue to grow and develop as long as they need...each of us is starting to grown anxious to meet the newest members of our family (of course our reasons are a bit different!! LOL!).
8 weeks ago, Autumn was admitted to the hospital at 23 weeks and several days. She was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, and the doctor was confident enough about her situation to declare we would be lucky if the babies lasted another 4 weeks. At that time, I sent out a long note asking for prayer for Autumn and prayer for the babies. And God came through.
Within days her blood pressure dropped (not supposed to happen with Pre-e) and her protein levels were back to normal. Things were so good they let her go home. Providentially enough, all of this happened right at the beginning of a week and a half research break for school. By the time I had to go back, Autumn's mom was able to fly out to help out for the next few weeks.
Three weeks later, during a regularly scheduled appointment, Autumn was readmitted to the hospital. At 27 weeks we were happy to be much further along, but we desperately wanted the boys to make it another week or so. Again...the prayers continued and friends reached out in so many ways. Even though Autumn's mom had to go home, this all happened right at the beginning of Thanksgiving break and by the time I had to go back to school, my parents were able to come out and help.
Well, it goes without saying that the Lord continued to intervene and allow those babies to "cook" a bit longer. Today, we had a growth scan indicating the babies were all around 4 lbs each. We are so excited and so grateful to get to this point. To be sure, there are definitely challenges ahead. But we rejoice in a God who answers prayer and is happy to answer our prayers.
Please continue to pray for Autumn. She is terribly uncomfortable and is starting to experience regular contractions. Not full ones...but enough to be uncomfortable. Of course, pray for the boys. We feel good about their development, but we also know that even in normal pregnancies things happen. So pray for their continued growth...for their healthy delivery...and a quick stay in the NICU.
We wish all of you the very best this Christmas season...and ask you to remember the reason we celebrate each year. It is sad to see commercialism run amock...or to hear celebrities talk about the "real" reason for the season is to be with families and loved ones. The fact of the matter is that if Jesus Christ didn't humble himself to live a blameless human life...and then offer himself as a perfect sacrifice for the sins we've committed...and yet rise victoriously on the third day according to the Gospels...this would all be for naught. But He did. And for that reason...every Christmas is a Merry Christmas!!
God Bless!!
J & A
8 weeks ago, Autumn was admitted to the hospital at 23 weeks and several days. She was diagnosed with pre-eclampsia, and the doctor was confident enough about her situation to declare we would be lucky if the babies lasted another 4 weeks. At that time, I sent out a long note asking for prayer for Autumn and prayer for the babies. And God came through.
Within days her blood pressure dropped (not supposed to happen with Pre-e) and her protein levels were back to normal. Things were so good they let her go home. Providentially enough, all of this happened right at the beginning of a week and a half research break for school. By the time I had to go back, Autumn's mom was able to fly out to help out for the next few weeks.
Three weeks later, during a regularly scheduled appointment, Autumn was readmitted to the hospital. At 27 weeks we were happy to be much further along, but we desperately wanted the boys to make it another week or so. Again...the prayers continued and friends reached out in so many ways. Even though Autumn's mom had to go home, this all happened right at the beginning of Thanksgiving break and by the time I had to go back to school, my parents were able to come out and help.
Well, it goes without saying that the Lord continued to intervene and allow those babies to "cook" a bit longer. Today, we had a growth scan indicating the babies were all around 4 lbs each. We are so excited and so grateful to get to this point. To be sure, there are definitely challenges ahead. But we rejoice in a God who answers prayer and is happy to answer our prayers.
Please continue to pray for Autumn. She is terribly uncomfortable and is starting to experience regular contractions. Not full ones...but enough to be uncomfortable. Of course, pray for the boys. We feel good about their development, but we also know that even in normal pregnancies things happen. So pray for their continued growth...for their healthy delivery...and a quick stay in the NICU.
We wish all of you the very best this Christmas season...and ask you to remember the reason we celebrate each year. It is sad to see commercialism run amock...or to hear celebrities talk about the "real" reason for the season is to be with families and loved ones. The fact of the matter is that if Jesus Christ didn't humble himself to live a blameless human life...and then offer himself as a perfect sacrifice for the sins we've committed...and yet rise victoriously on the third day according to the Gospels...this would all be for naught. But He did. And for that reason...every Christmas is a Merry Christmas!!
God Bless!!
J & A
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