4 am thoughts

It is 4 am and my son woke up wanting to eat. He has been sleeping until at least 5 but this morning wanted to get up earlier. He must not be too hungry because he is laying on the boppy pillow looking up at me and giving me that killer smile of his that could melt any heart. Right now I am tired and thinking, "yes you are adorable now EAT so I can go back to bed!"

I am not sure why it hits me so hard but another one of my high school classmates died on Sunday. He wasn't a close friend. I did work with him at Pizza Hut, my high school job, but have only really talked to him once in the last 20 years. That was 2 years ago when another classmate died of cancer. Matt, the deceased had been diagnosed with ALS. ALS is a form of muscular dystrophy. My Dad has another form of muscular dystrophy so I know a little bit more about the disease then most people do although I am certainly not an expert. Fortunately my Dad's form of MD is the mildest, slowest progressing kind and probably will not kill him. ALS is the fastest progressing kind. Matt and my Dad were the same age when they were diagnosed and my Dad will be 72 in August. Anyway when I talked to Matt 2 years ago he was in his second year after the diagnosis and I remember thinking, "Wow, he is doing great!" I guess after that he started to go downhill and this last year was a very fast decline. He leaves behind a wife and 3 children. Why has this affected me so? It is the reminder of my own mortality? As I was reading his obituary I was thinking. " There shouldn't be a 38 year old on this page. " When I talked to Matt 2 years ago he had quit his job and was concentrating on spending as much time with his family as possible and just enjoying life. He didn't worry about getting money for them just gave them as much of himself as he could. It is crazy to think about how fast something like ALS or cancer can strike. We all should take a lesson from Matt and live each day to the fullest and let our families know how much we love them every day!

Sleeping through the night is getting closer

Kiefer has slept until a little past 5 am the past 2 mornings. I know that seems early but for a baby not so bad. Anneliese slept through the night (until 6 am) at 4 weeks but Kiefer has been wanting a 2 am snack pretty consistently. Maybe soon he will allow me to get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep. That is a parent's dream! I hope he gives his sister the message too.

Food allergies and doctor's appointments

I have been wondering if Anneliese has outgrown her egg allergy because she has accidentally eaten things with mayonaise in them when we were at other people's houses and had no reaction. I tried to feed her scrambled eggs last week but she told me she couldn't eat them because they would make her sick. I taught her too well. I made french toast with soy milk the next day and she loved it. She ate 2 pieces. I think she got the equivalent to a whole egg and no reaction. YEAH! I have to put her through the allergy test again though before the doctor can give her any vaccinations grown in eggs. I know now it should be worth it. The milk allergy however is still very strong. Anne has baked goods with milk in it without any problem but last night she had a cookie at muni band. I tasted it first and no peanut taste so I thought it would be okay. We got home and she started wheezing, coughing and having trouble breathing. It really wasn't her normal milk reaction so I thought maybe she got a peanut. I called the lady who made the cookies and asked. She said no peanuts or peanut butter. She told me exactly what was in the cookies. She said milk and real butter. That may have been it. I make cookies with vegetable oil margarine and she does Jamie. It was a scary reaction. We gave her Benadryl but Gerhardt took her to the ER. I was nursing Kiefer and came when he was done. Gerhardt said she was a little better by the time they got to the ER but still thought she should be checked out. By the time the doctor got to her she was perfectly fine. The Benadryl did the trick. Gerhardt said he felt pretty silly but better safe than sorry. I told Anneliese's doctor that once and he told me to never feel silly for checking things out! By the time I got to the ER she was fine, bouncing off the walls because it was way past her bedtime. The ER doctor did prescribe some steroids just in case but I don't think they are necessary. I will give them to her just in case. She is supposed to see her regular doctor in a couple of days to follow up. I guess I will call and ask he really thinks she needs to come in. I hope Kiefer doesn't have these allergies too. They are just too scary. Gerhardt was freaked out and he never freaks out!

Speaking of Kiefer, he had his 2 month check up and is perfectly fine. He is 11 pounds 7 oz. He was 50% in weight and height. He did not enjoy his shots and screamed bloody murder. Anne barely cried when she had hers and she usually was fine afterward. He whined all afternoon. They are different kids. Let's hope he is different with the food allergies too.

Big Boy and broken strollers

Kiefer is one month old today. He is a big boy. He weighs 9 pounds and 3 oz. and is 21 inches long. Yesterday at the breastfeeding clinic there were 2 other babies that were a month old and Kiefer looked huge compared to them. He likes to eat!

Anneliese got a stroller from Kiefer as her big sister gift when he was born. She loves it and pushes it around everywhere. Yesterday I tripped over a toy in her room and ended up putting my foot through the stroller. Anneliese cried and I felt terrible. We had errands to run so I told her I would try to fix it later. Everyone we met she told, "Mommy broke my stroller." Last night it was on my to do list but I was finishing the laundry and feeding Kiefer so Gerhardt fixed the stroller. This morning Anne was very happy and said, "Mommy fixed my stroller!" I told her Daddy did it but I guess Gerhardt had told her I fixed it. It doesn't matter it is fixed and everyone is happy now.

Kiefer Josef Lachnitt is here!

Yes, I am a little late posting this but Kiefer Josef Lachnitt was born Monday, May 17, 2010 at 10:50 AM. He weighed 7 pounds 5 1/2 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long. He was 27 days early but is healthy! I was getting very big and uncomfortable and kept telling people this baby was going to be huge and I hoped it came early! Monday morning I woke up and felt icky and thought I don't want to go to school but then thought I had better get up and go. This was 6 am and as I started to get up my water broke. I guess I am not going to school today after all I thought! I had felt contractions but they were very irregular and didn't really hurt so I didn't think I was in labor. I told Gerhardt but also told him I thought we had plenty of time. I took a shower and told him he would have time to do the same. I didn't have time to get a sub for school so I just called in and said no band today, I am having a baby! We got to the hospital about 7:30 am. I was already at 5 cm and 100% effaced. I was having regular contractions but wasn't feeling all of them, only the big ones. I told them I wanted an epidural. They said there might not be time, I had to have a bag of fluids via IV first. I got the bag and they said we could try the epidural. I had the catheder put in and the contractions were getting painful. They gave me one dose of medicine and it did nothing to help the pain. I asked the nurse if they could give me more and she said, "you are going to feel much better real soon. I am going to get Dr. Hays and you are going to have a baby." Dr. Hays came in and I pushed 5 times and he was here! I couldn't believe it! First of all the ultrasound tech told the nurse after I left the room but was still in ear shot that it was a girl so I was a little surprised it was a boy. I didn't tell anyone what I overheard because I didn't want to spoil the surprise and wasn't sure she was talking about me. Anneliese had been 10 days overdue, I had to be induced, had 10 hours of labor and 3 hours and 13 minutes of pushing. I felt horrible the next day. With Kiefer, 27 days early, 3 hours of labor, 10 minutes of pushing and I felt great 2 hours later. Kiefer was a little jaundice so we had to have daily blood tests for a while but he wasn't bad enough to be hospitalized. He sleeps a lot and is doing pretty good at night. He sleeps for 3-4 hours at night. Anneliese has had trouble sleeping with all the changes in her life. She did sleep through the night last night which was good. She is adjusting well. She loves her baby brother. She wants a lot of Mommy attention but that is understandable.

Kiefer right after birth
Kiefer Josef Lachnitt, born 10:50am May 17, 2010, 7 pounds 5 1/2 oz. 19 1/2 inches long.
Anneliese and her new stroller. This was her big sister gift from Kiefer.









Anneliese having fun after her bath.

Daddy and Baby Kiefer in hospital
Baby Kiefer ready to go home from the hospital in the outfit his big sister picked out for him.






Daddy and Anneliese ready to take Mommy and Kiefer home from the hospital.








Kiefer right after birth and cleaning up.