Introducing Mia Ella Wildhaber!

11 day old Mia snoozing on the couch

Our little Mia Ella is 5 weeks old today. The time is going so fast. I knew it would with the second, but yikes, she is growing and changing so quickly! It took me 2.5 months to write Liam's birth story on the blog so it looks like I cut that time in half with Mia's story. Just to warn you, it's a doozy and super long! Here goes...

Early Saturday morning, April 14th, I was awakened by contractions that were a bit stronger and I was hoping, productive. It was 3:30am and I really wanted to sleep because if labor was coming soon I knew I needed rest. Labor started similarly with Liam so I knew these contractions were not the real thing yet but they were more than Braxton Hicks. I was timing the contractions in bed, determined to drift off but no luck. I finally got out of bed about 6:30am. The contractions had been between 8 and 10 minutes apart but they slowed a little by 7:00am. When Derrick and Liam woke up I told Derrick I thought today would be the day our daughter would arrive. These contractions lasted all day but were manageable and about 15 minutes apart. We crammed a couple fun things into the day despite these constant contractions. We had a special breakfast out that morning, just us three, and then went hunting for trees at The Tree Farm. We had dinner at my parents' that night, too.

Me at 8:53pm Saturday night.

About 9:00pm we got into bed to read, relax and hopefully get some rest through the contractions. I really wanted to sleep. Derrick and I are reading the Hunger Games Trilogy together so he was reading as I was trying to relax. By 9:30 I couldn't lie in bed anymore so I was up, walking and breathing through contractions that were 8 min apart. These were the real thing. Derrick downloaded a contraction timer app and we reviewed the stages of labor.  I rested with the hands on the bed or dresser and kinda rocked back and forth for these contractions. Derrick kept reading Catching Fire to me :) but at 10:00 the contractions had kicked up in frequency and intensity being only 5 min apart. I had the chills and was shivering like crazy so Derrick got out our electric blanket and I had that wrapped around me for a while as I was dealing with contractions. I remember I got the chills with Liam before labor got crazy hard. A week after Mia was born, someone told me shaking and shivering can be a sign of the Transition Stage of labor. Hmm...interesting...I did not know that at the time. If I had, maybe we would have hopped in the car right then. Labor with Liam was 16 hours from the time my water broke so I was not expecting a huge change from that. I was simply praying to not have to push for 3.5 hours. We had just read on the app that contractions can be 5 minutes apart for 6 hours. We don't feel any rush.

At 10:30 I made Derrick call the doctor because the contractions were about 3 min apart and very strong!  We had been told at prenatal visits not to call until contractions were 5 min apart for 2 full hours but I could tell I was at a stage where things were progressing. I recognized this stage of labor - it was when I desperately needed an epidural with Liam but we were still home...haha! The doctor said to come in for a labor check. I had no idea really how far along in this process I was. Derrick is so calm and moving slowly in my opinion! He changed the bedsheets because his parents were coming to be with Liam at our house overnight. They arrived about 10:50. I am getting LOUD now and really moaning as these strong contractions come. I remember hanging onto the door frame of the closet...it was extremely intense! I made it just into the garage as another contraction came. The good ol' Prius there for support and Pam and Bill watching wide-eyed! My water hadn't broken yet so I sat on a towel with a trashcan at my feet, I felt a bit nauseous. 

We were headed to the hospital at 11:00pm. I had more intense contractions in the car (much moaning and shaking my head...haha). At one point I said, "I'm going to need help..." meaning I think I need an epidural.  Derrick didn't quite know what this meant but still he was is no rush whatsoever. He kept saying "relax" as I had just asked a friend that evening for suggestions on how to cope and deliver naturally. I was hoping I might be dilated to a 7 when we got to the hospital. I really hoped all this labor was making some progress. I actually felt the urge to push a couple times while in the car but totally thought it was just a very strong, full body contraction. I was nervous about the pushing stage and how that would be if I didn't end up with an epidural. That was so, so tough and exhausting with Liam, I couldn't imagine going through that without pain relief. We were driving in the pouring rain so had to talk logistics of a drop-off at the door. We had a chance to do this during a break in the contractions. I was so thankful I at least got breaks because I didn't with Liam and the pain just took over; I couldn't cope. So we decided that Derrick would drop me off, then park the car, bring in our bags and we'd walk up together to labor and delivery. We pulled up at the main entrance, a 35 year old man with crutches saw us and said "You're almost there!"(little did he know!) 

Derrick walked me past the first set of sliding doors into the AirLock of Good Sam's when another contraction came (same place as with Liam). I was hanging onto a pillar on the wall, moaning, coping, minding my own business and then got the strong urge to push. I yelled to Derrick that I felt I had to push. Derrick was saying, "No, no don't push, just breathe!" The security guard asked if we wanted a wheelchair (yup, he must have heard me coming) and said he'd call labor and delivery to say we were headed up. Derrick said "Sit down!" but I refused to sit and said "She's coming..." because I knew she was crowning. Derrick told me later he was thinking "Just cross your legs. Do not push! She can't really be coming!" I said, "I have to push...I'm serious! She is right there!" Derrick now felt her crowning and immediately ripped off my pants. I shouted, "Her head is out!" I was sort of squatting over the wheelchair with my hands on the armrests. Derrick said I let out quite the war howl (I was a bit scared and totally shocked of what was happening. I felt totally out of control) as I gave one push. He caught Mia as she dropped onto the wheelchair seat. Then he ordered me to sit down which was possible now and we whizzed down the hall, pants at my ankles and leaving a trail of yuckies streaming from the chair, I'm sure. We could hear the gasp and see the whites of the security guard as he again said, "I'll call and tell them you're coming!" I immediately checked to make sure Mia was indeed a girl because I was nervous about that. A boy in a purple room...umm, no thanks. Anyway, as we're flying down the hall getting wind chill, I was so shocked, all I could say was, "Hi, Baby?!?".  As we got close to the elevators we were relieved when she let out little whimpers and cries; we knew she was breathing. We're all pretty calm now, baby in my arms, listening to the elevator music. The Mom/Baby wing is a locked area. Derrick was pounding on the doors. I told him to pick up the phone to call and they'd let us in.  The door attendants didn't know our baby had come so they were in no rush. I guess women frequently pound on the doors thinking they'll have their baby any second when they're really only dilated to a one. When we got in we shocked 'em! We whizzed down the hall where about 6 nurses were frantically directing us where to go. We went into our labor and delivery room I said "she's still attached" (duh!). The nurses cut the cord and put her on the warming table for several minutes. She was cold because we didn't have any blankets. The nurses kept commenting on how calm we were. I said, "Well, it doesn't hurt anymore." I got an "Oh, bless your heart" for that comment. My mom told me later, a delivery like Mia's is what the nurses call a "Stop and Drop". That sounds about right! Mia wanted to make an shocking first day for her parents and an memorable last day for Melissa, the nurse who was moving to Cali the next week.

Derrick now gave the nurses our Birth Plan. Good timing, huh? One commented that I did what I said I wanted on my Birth Plan..."a natural birth, without pain medication". I guess I did it! Wow! I can do anything for two hours, especially if I don't really know what's happening. I had also written, "We are going to be flexible as we go through the birthing process.  No one can predict all that will go on." You can say that again!  

Derrick went to go move the car which was still outside the front door! I had to wait probably 15 min for Doctor Roos to come to deliver the placenta and stitch me up. That was much more painful than with Liam. Since I had to wait, the placenta kinda got stuck because my body thought I was done laboring. The doc had to push on my uterus and pull out the placenta...not fun! Anyway, Derrick got to sign under the doctor's name as "who delivered the baby". We think that's pretty cool! We are still shocked as to how the details of this birth played out. If you would have asked me at 9:00pm on Saturday if I thought I was going to have my baby that day, I would have said that there was no way. If you had asked me at 11:00pm if I thought I'd have a baby within the next 15 minutes, I would have said there was no way. How could the entire "real" labor & delivery process have been only 2 hrs and 15 min? Plus 3.5 hours of pushing with Liam compared to only one push with Mia! I'll take it! 

Derrick had gotten a text from his dad asking, "Did you make it to the hospital?" He responded, "Baby's here!" and surprised them. We called my parents (who didn't even know we were headed to the hospital) and told them the baby was here and she was born in the lobby! They didn't know if they had heard us right. :) It is still shocking for us to think about Mia's birth story. God was in control the whole time even when I felt things were progressing out of control. He had a special plan for us. Mia is an amazing blessing to our family! We pray for God's wisdom in raising His child.

Thanks for reading about the most recent Wildhaber adventure. It was intense and unexpected but had such a fantastic ending! We are so grateful our little Mia came safely and that we were both healthy! Mia Ella was 7lbs, 8oz and 20in long at birth. She was born on April 14th at 11:14pm. Her name means "My Torch". Ella was my maternal grandmother's name and my mom's name is Ellie which is a form of Ella so Mia Ella is a tribute to both those amazing, godly, lovely women. Besides living up to being a torch of light for Christ, we think Mia will be a "go-getter" who does everything in her own timing since she made Daddy deliver her in the lobby of the hospital!

Liam is doing great with his adjustment to Mia. He is being so sweet and gentle. He always notices her and seems to understand she's staying around. He asks about her, wants to see her, wants to hold her. He gives her such sweet kisses. He's a fantastic big brother. We love our family of four! I'm loving having a boy and a girl. There will be so many fun times ahead...stay tuned!

Flashback: THE BEACH!!!

Florida was just so busy and wonderful that our beach excursion requires a whole new post. We had a very special four days as a family when we ventured to Treasure Island, FL. This trip was planned as a celebration of my wonderful dad and his passage into his 60's. I know he really appreciated and savored the extra time he got with his wife, daughters, sons-in-law, and grandchildren. His goal is to live to 100 so we look forward to 40 more years of his love, wisdom and adventures.

We all absolutely loved the beach! The grandparents and the dads took the kiddos out to see the beach before sunset on the first night we got to Treasure Island. Derrick got Liam half undressed, let him run loose and then snapped this picture on his iPhone. Liam was walking well enough by this point that he didn't have any problems on the uneven sand. A giant sandbox provides extreme fun for a one year old. Over the course of the week, Liam had a great time playing with his cousins. Lukas (4) was really good at digging holes and piling it high. Isabel (23 mo) was good at strutting her stuff back and forth to the water to fill pails of water. Liam was good at climbing in the big holes Lukas had dug. He would plop right in, sign "bath" and get a huge grin on his face as water was poured in his hole. Of course, he ended up buried in wet sand and stuck in a hole but to him, it was the greatest!

We all got fully submerged in the water at one point or another. The temperature was pleasant. Some previous renters in our condos had left boogie boards which the guys made use of a lot. Treasure Island Beach is on the gulf side of Florida so the waves aren't necessarily gnarly but the guys made it fun. You can see below how the dangerous waves knocked them off their boards and sent them spiraling into the water. Baby Girl and I even rode the waves on a boogie board.

The beach holds special memories for me. Riding the waves on boogie boards was just one of the times I reminisced about our summer trips to Jersey to visit Yiayia and Popou. Derrick and I walked along the beach one afternoon with Liam and stopped to try our hand at drizzle castles. Popou still holds the record in my opinion for the most elaborate drizzle castles but I bet he'd say we taught Liam well. We really loved the warmth, sun and fun at the Florida beach. It was such a nice treat for us Coloradoans who are used to very different December weather.

The time with family was priceless. We went to a special birthday dinner at Bubba Gumps...yummy...and then had fantastic ice cream on the boardwalk. The cousins LOVED being together! Liam would wake up saying "cousin" and let out silly, excited giggles when the big cousins came in to play and entertain us all. All the adults had a wonderful time together, too. Oh, and Olli let us in on the big European tradition of setting off fireworks on New Year's Eve. We set them off on the beach before the kids went to bed. Later that night, Olli, Lauren, Derrick and I went out for a dinner date and then came back home for ice cream and to watch the ball drop with my parents. We packed a lot of memorable things into our Florida trip. We hope to be able to visit again.

Flashback Friday: December 2011 and Lakeland

It's Friday, let's see if I can squeeze in a Flashback post. Well, this one maybe technically isn't a flashback since it is about our most recent holidays and vacation but it is a little late. Beware, this will be a bit of a long post.

We had a fantastic December! My Dad turned 60 and boy does it look good on him. My sister and her awesome family came into town on my Dad's birthday, December 17th and we got to have a nice party with them and the Wildhabers. The other fantastic thing about the 17th is that my Yiayia joined her Lord in heaven! Her health really plummeted the day before; my mom, my dad, Derrick and myself got to visit her, share memories, give thanks and say goodbye before she passed in the early morning of the 17th. Lauren was just a day away but was able to be with family to celebrate Yiayia's life at our special family lunch later that week. On his birthday my Dad got a hot air balloon trip that will take him high up in the sky and Yiayia got to go beyond all atmospheric heights to praise Jesus and "hang out" with Popou. What a wonderful day! The birthday party was very fun with kiddos around and with my nephew, Lukas, helping present the special birthday gift. Sadly, I did not take photos but my sister did so go check out her blog for pics and more details about the day. Thanks, Lauren! ;)

We had a great Christmas morning as we gathered together as a family at my parents' house. We enjoyed our traditional cinnamon buns and eggs for breakfast before focusing on God's gift, Jesus, and reading the Christmas story found in Luke. Liam was much more aware of Christmas this year. Unwrapping presents was fun because ripping paper is always fun. He was blessed with very fun gifts. Mama and Dada got him a special helicopter and he received other cars, trucks, sand toys and books which he is totally into right now. Umm, I just checked and don't think I took any pictures on Christmas day. Yikes! I know I took a lot of video. I really thought I took pics but maybe not. I'll have Derrick try to help me find them or else beg for some images from my sister and brother-in-law who were busy documenting the day. If I get some pictures, I'll try to post them.

Ok, well, moving on to our Florida vacation! We left the white snow on Christmas day and headed into the warm Florida sun. We spent a few wonderful days with family in Lakeland. We ate Aunt Linda's wonderful home cooking (outside on Christmas evening no less), visited Uncle Mark's school, the pastor's monkey zoo, etc. The grandkids got to meet their Great Grandpa Stanley which was very special. I do have pictures to document the family times in Florida.

Four full generations of Kirbys

The trampoline was great fun for Olli-I mean-the KIDS!

Aunt Linda and Uncle Mark were so thoughtful in filling up the sandbox.

An intense, no holds barred game of Rook is VERY Kirby and I guess my Derrick held his own.

Walking around the lake..."Uh, oh, alligator!!!" says Liam.

Lakeland has the most awesome park! The cousins could dig for dinosaur bones, climb and climb and climb, jump and jump and jump or slide down so many cool slides or even the grassy slope. It's hard to explain how amazing the place was. Here's a little video of our fun.

I'm going to stop there for today. There is already a lot of read and look at so I'll post tomorrow about the beach part of our Florida trip.

Ideas for Baby Girl's Nursery

We are having a girl...a pink, pink baby girl. I'm not a big fan of pink. I just think it's 100% girly girl and since I'm not the typical girl I guess that's why I have never had a huge love for the color pink. I do love purple, though. I guess the blue added to make purple helps me feel like it's only 80% girly girl. Our Baby Girl's room will have a lot of purple...a lot, a lot of purple actually. So will that much purple make it 100% girly girl? Uh, oh, we could be back to square one. Good thing Derrick hasn't painted yet.

Baby Girl's room is currently painted a medium brown from the bottom up to 5 feet and then a light tan to the ceiling. Oh, yes, and a very boyish sport balls border wraps around the room's middle. At first, we thought we'd paint a lilac above the brown. Now, we're going all purple, like I said previously, and plan to paint lilac walls from top to bottom. There is so much wood in her room that we'll still get a lot of brown. To add a little more brown and a lot more awesome, we ordered this decal of a huge brown tree with green leaves. It will grow over her crib so she can fall in love with the sound of the wind rustling its leaves at night. Well, not exactly, although I never googled "noise making wall decal." Derrick's best friends' sister, Jayme, gave us awesome white wicker furniture that we get to use in the baby room. So, how about a purple, brown and white nursery, Little One? You can have a splash of green in there, too. It will make it less girly girl. I think we're down to 75% now.

Now for the real pizazz, a plum colored accent wall that wraps under the huge window. Yes, I think so! And, BAM, two white trees contrasting that beautiful plum backdrop. I think it is a bit daring but fun and I'm sure it will turn out well. We also plan to add cute birds all around and maybe a bird house or bird cage or two. Maybe, just maybe, I'll make Baby Girl a bird mobile but we'll see. No promises, Baby. I found a darling, spunky one but it requires sewing. At least it doesn't require a sewing machine because I don't know how to use one of those fandangled machines. (Oh, my Aunt Linda, is probably so ashamed right now.) Anyway...birds...lots of cute birds.

It has been so fun to research ideas and make a couple purchases for our Baby Girl! We are getting more and more excited as we get ready. There is still a lot of ready to get but we're on our way. We'll post pictures of her real room once things are actually completed. Oh, and I'm searching for crib bedding. I don't like any of the bird themed ones so I'm thinking we'll go with a solid color. The search continues...yay!

Awesome mobile, huh? I might be able to make it (Spool shared the fabric bird template) but my sister might also be able to buy her niece one that's just as awesome. :) And the search continues for a bird mobile, too...yay!

Flashback: Liam from Month 1 to 12

1 month old: Look at those tiny feet

1 month old: Wanting to be snuggled, not stretched out.

2 months old: Same outfit as a month ago

2 months old: Much happier about stretching out long

3 months old: A preppy outfit from Thea Lauren and Uncle Olli

4 months old: Wow, what a change

5 months old: Like my shiny drool?

6 months old: A huge smile because I can sit up on my own now!

7 months old: Look at that face!

8 months old: Getting ready to crawl!

8 months old: Like how I just now realized I should put something in the picture to label the month?

9 months old: Nakey...showing off his cute jean diapers. "I poo in blue"

10 months old: Liam will not stay still!

11 months old: So grown up

12 months old: Whoa, so, so grown up...yikes!

The growth during the first year is incredible. The milestones reached are impressive. The love compounding is unexplainable. God has blessed us beyond measure with our Baby Boy. He is "Mr. Sunshine" to Yiayia and Grandpa, "Pookie Joe" to Pomma and Papa, "Bubba" to Dada, and "Honey Bear" to Mama. Liam is a super smiley and joyful boy. He is so alert and interactive. And, you betcha, he can pour on the charm. Month to month, we are extremely thankful for our blessing. It is amazing to think of where we came come from. It is unfathomable to think of where we have yet to go. Adventures await every sunrise.

Flashback Friday: Liam is ONE!

Our baby boy is venturing into toddlerhood! My oh my! What a difference a year makes. There was so much growth and so, so many milestones our little guy achieved. The time flew. Liam is such a joy. I sure do have the best job in the world. Liam is a fun one to stay home with everyday. He makes me laugh and I get so many bonus smiles and snuggles from my Bubba. The past year has been full of wonder. I can't believe how much we've been blessed by this life. The new experiences a baby brings are priceless. I adore my smiley, independent, energetic son! Happy 1st Birthday! May the toddling begin!

For Liam's Big One we had a birthday party at our house with family and friends. A lot of friends showed up to help celebrate our little fella. Throwing a first birthday party is a bit challenging for two main reasons. One, the baby doesn't really have friends he's been begging you to invite. Well, we are proud to say Liam has a BFF, Noah Gray, but Liam wasn't begging me invite him persay. :) Two, the parents don't really know what their kid loves so there is no easy choice for theme or special foods, etc. We assumed Liam likes lions because he responds with a mighty roar when he hears the word "lion". We did a safari animal theme with plenty of lions. He loved the big lion balloon. I made cupcakes for the occasion. We had decadent chocolate ones with chocolate frosting but the biggest hit were the pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting...mmm! Liam smashed his cupcake to pieces yet got some in his mouth and seemed to like it.

We said "no gifts necessary" for little Liam because we knew he would get plenty from family. Not everyone listened and I have to tell you about one of Liam's favorite. Liam opened this Mega Blocks semi-truck (from Jenn Miller and Chris Livsey) and then never put it down. You can see in the picture to the left that he didn't care about the card or the unopened box of clothes, just his truck. Throughout the next 30 minutes, Liam said "vroom" dozens of times a pushed his truck around on the floor. This is his first vehicle and I guess that's what he's going to be into. A little truck boy. Oh, and he did like the box of the water table Yiayia and Grandpa got for him. He doesn't know there is anything inside it but it has "friends" on the front that he kisses or he sits on their heads, either one.


Liam's birthday was such a wonderful celebration. I'm thrilled to have a one year old. I guess that means I better stop calling him Baby Liam. I know his Dada is very proud. We look forward to many more birthdays, trucks and cupcakes. (We took video at his party but I don't know how to get it off the video camera and post it here. Maybe Derrick can help with that this weekend and you can see our big one-year-old in action but maybe not..sorry, no promises. After all, "finish sharing Liam videos" is not on my Finish List.)

Finish List

Well, it looks like it has been almost 7 months since we posted something on our blog. That's pathetic!! I don't like that. Of course there have been many amazing things to report. We just didn't set aside time to share them.

Let's see if I can steer us back onto the path of regular blog postings. Setting goals goes hand in hand with the New Year, right? Well, I read a little something about a different kind of goal setting; it's called A Finish List. This type of goal setting is something I feel I can conquer this year. There are many things I have started and really want to finish. It will benefit many if I finish things I've started. So, you guessed it, one finish goal is focused around our poor, neglected blog. Here it is in writing so it happens: Finish catching up on 2011 posts! I'm going to try Flashback Friday posts that will share highlights of our amazing 2011. Look for those goodies coming soon. I guess today is Friday so I better do a Flashback post this afternoon. "Liam, go take a nap so Mama can write about your birthday..."