HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

4 weeks ago...

our baby boy was born!

Once upon a time, a child was ready to be born.
So one day the child asked God, "They tell me you are sending me to Earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?"
And God said, "Among the many angels, I chose two for you.
They will be waiting for you on earth and will love you and take care of you."
And the child about to be born asked, "God, how will I know my angels? What are their names?
And God said,"You will call your angels Mommy and Daddy."

New look!

The birth of Grant started a new chapter in our lives. A chapter full of gratefulness, a chapter full of love and a chapter full of pure bliss. Because we have begun this new chapter, I thought it was time to give the blog a new look. For so long I held on to the old pink template because it was the one that I made for the girls. I always saw cute new blog templates, but couldn't bring myself to change it because I was still holding on to the blog that was created when everything was good, when everything was happy, when everything in our lives were full of love and trust. I can finally say that I am back to that point in my life and I am ready for a change. Now, this is not to say that we have moved on or closed the chapter on our precious baby girls, Brooke and Alexcyn. They will always be our first born children. Their short lives will always hold a special place in our hearts. When he is old enough, Grant will learn about his big sisters and their special place in our lives. For, without their sacrifice, we would not have been blessed with his amazing life....

Wordless Wednesday

2 Weeks

Wow, has it really been 2 weeks already? I seem to have lost all concept of time these days! It truly amazes me how fast the days go when all you do is change diapers and feed a baby all day long.

So far all is going well here. My mom came to visit last week and I have to admit that it was really nice to have an extra set of hands especially when Grant started crying at 6 in the morning! Because I am pumping and using formula, Grandma was able to take him and feed him while we enjoyed some much needed sleep! J and I were even able to get out on Friday for our date night. We had originally planned on going out the first weekend in October for our last date night before baby, but he came October 1 so we never got that chance. It was nice to get out of the house since I feel like I have been stuck in a dungeon for 2 weeks, but it was also weird at the same time- I missed my little guy so much being gone just 2 hours!

Before we left on our date night.

Grant has not been the best sleeper lately. He wakes up every 3 hours to eat and then does not want to go back to sleep at all. Or, he will go back to sleep for half an hour (just about the time that I am back asleep) and then he wakes up screaming or being fussy. Last night he thought it would be fun to wake up every 2 hours.... I was hoping to make it to every 4 hours, but he seems to be going the opposite direction! Other than the night time issues, everything is going really well. We are still amazed that he is here and feel blessed to have had the last 3 weeks to spend with Grant considering tomorrow is his actual due date!

Some awake time with mommy.

Taking a nap with daddy.

October 15, 2009

Today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day. This day was set aside by President Reagan as a day to remember all those little lives that left this earth too soon. Everyone is asked to light a candle for one hour starting at 7 p.m. in remembrance- this will cause a continuous wave of light over the entire world. I know that J, Grant and I will be lighting our candle tonight and we ask all of you out there to please participate and remember our precious Brooke and Alexcyn by lighting a candle as well.

Game day

Can you tell what team I am routing for??????



So far, I have been really good for my mom and dad. The first few nights, I wasn't sure where I was or what was going on so I kept them up quite a bit. Then I got the hang of things around here and I decided to let them sleep a little. I have been waking up to eat every 3 hours and then I have been going right back to sleep. My mommy keeps kissing me and telling me that I am such a good boy so I think she really likes this routine! I REALLY like to eat and often spend a lot of time begging mom and dad for more food once my 2 ounces is gone. Dad usually gives in, but mom is the tough one to convince. So far, my favorite thing to do is shower mom and dad when they change my diaper. I think it is pretty funny to wait until they think they are safe or they turn their heads for a second and then I soak them, my clothes, the changing table and anything else around. I figure this way I get to wear all my cute outfits in one day and I keep mom exercising up and down the stairs doing laundry!

My mom is doing much better. Her BP was taken on Friday and it had gone down quite a bit from Tuesday. And, the best part is that she can see her feet and ankles again! She seems to be really excited about this and keeps looking at her feet like she has never seen them before!!!

Thanks for all the gifts, the prayers, the meals and love that you have blessed us all with- I feel like one special little boy!

Grant Weston

1 week

I can't believe it was only a week ago that we were blessed with this beautiful baby boy! We can't remember our lives without him....

First few days home...

We were finally able to come home Sunday evening. My blood pressure was still pretty high, but they were discharging Grant no matter what that day and knew that if they made me stay there without him, my blood pressure would just get higher! They sent me home with some BP medication and strict orders to take it easy these next two weeks. My main job was to take care of Grant and cleaning and cooking had to wait! No problem here since all I wanted to do was love on my little man anyway!

Our first night was a little interesting. We were slightly anxious and we could tell Grant just wasn't sure what was going on, where he was and what he was supposed to be doing. Needless to say, he was up a lot during the night. J was amazing and got up to help a lot so I could catch a few minutes of shut eye here and there.

Most of the day today was spent sleeping and eating. Not bad at all! Although now that I am awake with him at 1:30 am, I am starting to wonder if Grant is pulling a day and night confusion.... I was hoping that he was just going to sleep all day and all night but I don't think I am going to get that lucky!

Here are a few pics of our first days at home. We just love our little guy so much and are taking in every minute of his amazing life!

Our story...

I started off Tuesday just like any other... going to work. It was a busy day in the office which it always is on Tuesday. Around 4, I noticed that my ankles were starting to feel tight. When I looked down, I also noticed that my legs were looking a little swollen which was a new development. I had a scheduled OB appt at 5 :30 so I figured I would just wait and talk to Dr G at my appt. Once at my appt, I stepped on the scale and I noticed a dramatic increase in my weight from just the previous week which I figured was all water from my ankles and legs. When the nurse went to test my urine, she asked if I had been told I had protein in it before... nope, that was something new. When she went to take my blood pressure, she said she was going to try again.... hmmmmm things were starting to add up here.... My second blood pressure was 150/100- I had the signs of preclampsia. Dr G came in and promptly told me to go home, get my husband and my bag and go to the hospital for 24 hours of testing. I think I just sat there for a while, not sure what to do- did she just tell me to go to the hospital????

I checked in Tuesday night and started my testing. My blood pressure remained high and after 24 hours, it was evident that I definitely had preclampsia as the protein in my urine was around 7000 and Dr G was expecting it to be 400. They woke us up on Thursday morning and promptly said to get ready- we were having a baby today! They started Pitocin right away and broke my water around noon. By 4, I was begging for an epidural and at 8:51, Grant Weston was born!

Grant is doing very well for being 3 weeks early. He has a little bit of jaundice which is typical in early babies, but otherwise, he is amazing! We just love holding him in our arms- that is something we have waited so long for.

I am doing better. I was immediately put on Magnesium Sulfate to bring my blood pressure down which made me really out of it and really sick. I wasn't able to take any visitors or take care of Grant Friday as I had to lay on my side and give everything I had to getting my BP down. I was finally able to come off the Mag Saturday morning which made me very happy! I started a different med in hopes that it stays down. But once I am home, I pretty much have to take it easy for the first two weeks to make sure that I don't have any seizures. Guess J is going to have his hands quite full taking care of me and Grant!

We are hoping my blood pressure stays where it is and we will be able to go home this evening. I will post some more pics when I get a chance, but right now I am just enjoying spending every waking minute with my baby... MY BABY, oh it feels so good to say that!

He's here

Grant Weston Schrotenboer

October 1, 2009 8:51

weight - 6 pounds 14 ounces

21 inches

After many years of pain and trying we are happy to announce our new baby boy. We would like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers through these last few years. We could not have done it without you. Will post baby story soon. Mother and baby are doing great