Almost 3 weeks old…

Logan will be 3 weeks old on Thursday. We just can’t believe it! He has been growing so quickly and changing so much. He is a great ‘tummy-timer’ and already moves his head from side to side. His little neck is really strong and his arms and legs are growing like weeds. We think he’s going to be tall like his Dad! We are on a pretty good schedule – right now he eats about every 3 hours and we’re working on our nights. The past few nights he has slept from 10:30-3:00 AM (amazing sleep!) but then thinks the day should start at 5:30 AM…when Mom would like it to start around 7! So we’re getting adjusted to that and getting the hang of it. He is a great eater and we’ll hopefully get him weighed sometime soon to find out how much he has grown.

He has had countless visitors – it has been so much fun to see him with those we love most! His cousin, Anna, calls him “Bogey” or “Bogan” as she can’t say her ‘L’s. His other cousin, Emmie, calls him “Lodan” so we’re unsure what his official nickname will be…something they give him for sure! Last night we had Emmie, Parker and Logan together – wow how the family is growing! Logan’s Grandma came and spent all last week with us. It was great to have her here as Brian went back to work and we missed him. The extra hands and love from Grandma was amazing!

These are a compilation of different pictures – hope you like them! I’ll post again soon when I have more to update on. We are doing really well and loving parenthood. Thanks again to all of you who have called, visited, dropped off meals, sent packages…the kindness has been overwhelming and we really appreciate it!

Labor Questions

Hi there! So many of you have asked whether or not I had a c-section and what the entire process was like…so I thought I would share my experience with you! For those of you that I know are expecting soon and are curious, here is my story…definitely not the ‘norm’ of what happens but if I’ve learned anything from the past month its that you are tested and tried for good reason. The end result isn’t in your hands, its in the Lord’s, and with His perfect timing in everything, you are left with the most amazing gift you could ever receive.

We arrived at the hospital on Wednesday, July 9th around 6:00 PM. At 7:00 PM they gave me Cervidil, which basically is meant to ripen your cervix overnight for more dilation. I was at 2 cm at this point. I had contractions all night from the pill they gave me, but they were very mild and I could breath through them pretty easily. At around 4:45 AM the contractions were much stronger. At 6 AM the morning of Thursday (7/10) the nurse started my pitocin drip. 7:30 AM my doctor came to break my water. The second my water broke the contractions were strong and right on top of one another. Breathing through them wasn’t easy because they came so quickly and so strong. At 9 AM I was given the epidural (not ashamed to say I LOVED it!) and I was a little over 4 cm. at this point. The doctor said she would come in at noon to check me and I would probably be at a 5 or so. She came in at 12:00 and I was dilated to a 9! I started pushing at 1:45 and little Logan was born at 2:16 PM.

There it is. I would definitely say contractions were the hardest part, but that was because I got the epidural. I have nothing to compare it to, but the pitocin and the docs breaking my water made those contractions come so quickly…I couldn’t believe it. After that pushing was the easy part (crazy, I know) and I had a low dose of the epidural so I could feel pressure, know when a contraction was coming, and be able to push through them. Like I said above, the end result is worth whatever you go through. I just wanted him to be healthy and okay…and he was.

If anyone has questions let me know! It is so helpful to talk to others who have just gone through this because of how fresh it is in their minds. Quick update – Logan passed his birth weight already! This kid is a good eater! He is not 7 lbs. 5 oz. and growing! He turned one week old yesterday. It is going so fast already! He is waking up every 2.5-3 hours to eat and he’s most alert at night (which we are trying to change!) but those big beautiful eyes are hard to want to close! Thanks for reading…

Our Baby Boy!

Well, Logan Eldon Senske was born on Thursday, July 10th at 2:16 PM. He was 7.2 lbs and 19.6 inches long. He is absolutely amazing! When the doctor flipped him over she said, “well dad, what do you have?” and Brian said, “Is that a boy?” He was so surprised because he truly thought we were having a girl. It was so much fun to watch! We loved not knowing until that moment. Absolutely amazing! We had 2 names picked out for boys and I asked Brian when he saw him what he looked most like – he said Logan and that was that! Eldon is Brian’s Grandpa’s name who passed away years ago but meant the world to Brian. He always knew if he had a son he would want to honor his Grandpa Eldon in that way.

It has been an amazing few days. We find ourselves staring at Logan constantly, wondering how in the world we created something so beautiful. I’m sure every parent experiences such a range of emotions. We truly can’t believe he’s here and healthy. It has been a bit of an adjustment figuring out sleeping patterns, when to feed him, who is going to sleep during what parts of the day…but we are getting the hang of it. Any lost sleep is fine the second we look at him. He is worth all of it.

I finally got some pictures uploaded. They range from the first day in the hospital to just yesterday when we took some with a football (of course we had to!). Today is our second anniversary – we are celebrating with pizza and salad in our pajamas. Sounds perfect to us! We did get out our wedding video/slideshow and relived the day over again. It was fun to look at pictures knowing that 2 years later we would be parents. We look at things so differently now – seems to happen in a matter of seconds. Thanks for listening – and for your prayers. We are so glad to have him here.

Going to the hospital…

Well, this will be my last post before pictures and information about our little one! We are going to the hospital tonight around dinner time to have them start the process. We could have a baby really quickly, or not until Friday. Totally depends on how my labor goes! If things aren’t progressing and they are worried about the baby, they will do a c-section. Whatever happens, we are excited and know that means we are welcoming our baby into the world. Yea! We are so excited! Brian is at work now but will be coming home around 5 to pack everything up. It is so weird looking around the house knowing that the next time we walk through the doors we will be doing so with our new son or daughter.

My doc. appointment this morning went well – my fluid was below a 5 (not good) but they weren’t worried because they knew I was going in tonight, and the baby was perfectly healthy. Strong, beating heart, good breathing and movements – this little kid is ready! At this point they estimated anywere from a 6.4 pound baby to an 8.0 pound baby so who knows! We’re glad they think he/she is over 6 though…good starting point! We just already feel so blessed by the fact that soon we can hold our child. These past few weeks have really prepared us for that and the longing is so intense…we can’t wait! Thanks again for your prayers, words of encouragement, and loving thoughts.

We will post pictures as soon as we can…stay tuned for Baby Senske!

Random Pictures

Thank you to everyone who has wished us well for this week! We can’t believe we are going to be parents by the end of the week! We are thrilled and can’t stop smiling to welcome our son or daughter into the world. My mom is coming today to spend time with us, and my sister and niece, Anna, are coming over to ‘play’ for the day 🙂 Fun way to pass the time!

Here are some random pictures – some of my recent belly pictures, our nursery, the 4th of July we spent in Stillwater (beautiful and so much fun!) and some of our last trip to my parent’s house for Memorial Weekend. We celebrated my sister’s 30th birthday and went over to my friend’s farm for Anna to feed a new calf. Just wanted to get these posted!

Stay tuned for pictures of new baby Senske! 

Good News!

We had another doctor’s appointment today. We had our ultra-sound and my fluid was a 7.0, which isn’t much greater, but not lower! Then we had the bio-physical profile and the baby was breathing right and diaphram was working. Kicks and movement was also great. So the baby was given a rating of an 8 (which is the highest the scale goes!) Then I had my regular check-up and everything is moving along.

Our doctor decided that next Thursday, July 10th they are going to induce me so we can finally meet our son or daughter! Yea! I feel great about the induction because it means that our baby is out and healthy…and we don’t have to keep monitoring and being worried about how the baby is doing in there…so either delivery method is fine with us! Unless something happens before Thursday, we’ll meet our little one by the end of next week! We are thrilled! The fact that I am dilated and thinning out is a good sign too. We know that the timing is out of our hands and we’ll just wait and see what happens. We are just so glad the baby was okay today and continues to be healthy. And to walk in the front door today knowing that in a week we’ll be home with our baby is the best feeling…we are so blessed and so excited.

I will be sure to post pictures when he or she enters the world – thanks again for your prayers! They mean so much to us.