Bitter Sweet...

Becoming a mom of a second child has been very bitter sweet for me.. You see when Noah was a baby I was a different person then. Very selfish and hateful. I wasn't ready to be a mom at that point in my life. Although deep down I loved Noah with all my heart, I didn't do the best at showing it. I was very quick to do what I wanted and not what I needed to do.

I say it has been bitter sweet, because I find my self holding Josie and soaking in every second. Where I did not do that with Noah. I find my self feeling bad for the way I treated him and the mother I was to him as a baby and toddler. I find myself crying at times because I missed out on those moments with Noah, moments I can not get back.. It pains me greatly.. I guess you can say that regret and guilt go hand in hand.. I have them both. I can only move forward from here and try my hardest to be the best mom to both the babies that God has given me!!!

In the 5 years Noah has been playing sports I have only missed ONE game. That was this past fall because I was in the hospital. There was nothing I could do. I know he has no clue that I have only missed one, but I think that is my way of making up for all the time I missed when he was a baby. I only hope it WILL mean something to him when he is older!

Brings us to now...

I left out a few things in the last post I wanted to add....

Nov 15th, Dan turned 30..
Dec 27th, I turned 31...
New Years Eve was pretty much uneventful.. We were all in our bed, Dan snoring and Noah brought in the new year with me and went to sleep. I was making a bottle for Josie as she was screaming. She wanted to bring it in right.. LOL

I also forgot to mention that in the middle of all this Noah made a baseball team playing with boy's that are 10 and under.. He has started his winter warm-up with the Vipers and the Bad News Birds.. He will be on 2 teams this year. He has been on fire at the batting cages. I can't wait to see him hit once the season starts.. My license plates say "RSLGGR" on them.. if he hits like he has been at the cages.. my plates will be oh SOOOO true!!!

Noah is also playing basket ball. His 1st game is tomorrow. I will post some pictures. I can't wait to see him play. He is one of the top two kids on the team.

That brings us to today.. Dan works, Noah back in school and Josie and I are still trying to figure this mommy of a baby thing out! We have great days and we have bad days. She is sleeping in her swing as I type. So sweet!!! Yesterday at the doctor she was 10lbs 7ozs.. She is growing soo fast. I pick up her 1 month pictures next week. I will post them once I get them. Till my next post.. whenever that may be.. Enjoy life, every moment, the good and bad!!!!!

So Much Has Happened... I'm such a Slacker!!!

It has been 8 weeks since I have updated our blog. To those of you who check it regularly I am very sorry. I suppose I can blame it on lack of sleep and tiny hands and feet needing me..

We will begin where we left off....

The arrival of our daughter, Josephine Danielle Faith “Josie” Pingel was Monday Nov 17,2008. She was born at 9:48am, weighing 7lbs 10oz. She was 19 ½ inches tall.

We had a very intense morning…after arriving at 6am here at Progress West, they broke Stephanie's water and started Potosin. About 9:30am, the baby’s heart rate started dropping below 100. They quickly moved her to one side, then the other, and eventually to her knees. The heart rate recovered temporarily each time, but would then fall back below 100.

Her OB came into the room, and quickly made the decision to deliver Josie via emergency Cesarian section. They practically ran Stephanie out of the room. Stephanie wanted me to tell you that they had to knock her out. (I Stephanie am adding this bit..It ended up that the cord was wrapped around Josie's neck 2 times. After the fact we found out that from the time we left my room to the time she was born was only 6 minutes. Everything happened soo fast I did not get a chance to get scared. However afterwards it did hit me! Dan did not get to go back and see her be born since I was knocked out. That was very disappointing for me, but it was more important for Josie to be born safe and healthy!)

Thankfully, both mom and baby are doing well. (This was an e-mail Dan sent out to announce Josie's arrival!) Here are some pictures from that day!

Here is an e-mail I sent out after we got home..

Well we were able to come home on Thursday. It was sooo nice to get home and be able to sleep in our own bed, however I found that I could not lay down in my bed due to soo much abdominal pain. So our first night at home was spent sleeping on our couch. It was a rough night. Josie had a really bad belly ache and was up for two hours screaming in pain. Once we go her settled down and asleep the rest of the night was a breeze.

Friday grandma Pat came over to sit with Josie while we ran to the furniture store to buy a set of recliners so I could have a comfortable place to sleep until I can return back to bed. After Josie having a bad belly ache again and screaming for a another hour in pain I called the doctor. We have switched her formula to Soy. It seems to be better. Last night was then again a rough night. She woke up at 1 to eat and did not go back to sleep until 4 am. She screamed of and on and was fussy. I think she needed to go poop poo and couldn't. She is much better today.

It has been a whirl wind week so far. She is such a happy and content baby. It is such a joy to have her in our lives. God has truly blessed us with such an awesome gift. So many times we were worried that something may be wrong and faced with obstacles and to have her here happy and healthy is the greatest thing. Monday things could have gone such a different way and I just sit and hold her in the marvel that she is as perfect as she is!!! As the old song goes.. I count my blessings and name them one by one.


Big brother Noah is doing awesome. He loves, loves, loves his little sister. He is always wanting to hold her and does so. Ever time he enters and leaves the room where Josie is he has to give her kisses. It is soo fun watching him love and enjoy Josie.

We also want to say a huge thank you to all of you who came to visit us in the hospital. It made the 4 1/2 days fly by. Thank you for all the goodies that you brought. We love them all. Also thank you to all who have brought us meals or have volunteered to do so. It has been quite a blessing!

Tonight Uncle Chris and Aunt Susan get to meet Josie for the first time. We are excited to see them and they are VERY excited to see Josie. I will send out pictures of that meeting next week.

Monday we go to the pediatrician for the first time. Then on Tuesday I go get my staples removed. Wednesday and our 3rd wedding anniversary, then we have the holiday. So as you can tell we have a big and busy week.

The 1st picture is of Josie and her 1st time in a car seat.. the 2nd is of the 2 of us getting some MUCH needed sleep!!!

Then came Thanksgiving!! What a whirlwind holiday.. We were exhausted by the time it was all over!! We had a great time with family and friends! Here is a picture of Josie in her Thanksgiving dress...

Then things got a bit crazy... The 2nd week in Dec Josie started spitting up about .5-1oz of her formula every time she would eat. Then Monday afternoon she started screaming and did not stop for over 24 hours and also started running a fever.. So we ended up at the doctors office and then in the ER. They ran tests and said we were over feeding her, so we cut it back..

Things were better for about 12 hours or so then got bad again.. Screaming uncontrollably... and the spitting up. So we ended up back in the ER on Thursday. They admitted her.. She has severe acid reflux.. It is soo bad it has eroded her esophagus.
She is on IV meds and a few other meds to get her to a point where she is comfortable. We still have a little ways to go. We are still here and hoping to get to go home tomorrow.. They said we will reassess tomorrow and then decide. After 4 days there we got to go home. As of now things are a bit better. They just changed her medicine, so we will see how that works out! Here are some pics from the hospital...

Then we had Christmas.. That was crazy also.. I don't have pictures from that just yet.. I do have a few family pictures we had taken with my mom and dad..

The End is Near

Well I went to the doctor on Monday. We scheduled an induction for Monday the 17th. That is the BIG day!!!!! We also had our last ultrasound. It seems that Josie is now weighing in at 7lbs 2ozs. So she should not be too big when she is born.

I just know that I am soooooo ready for her. I am miserable. I can't sleep, walk, sit, lay, breath. You name it.. I can NOT do it!!! I am ready to feel normal again. Just 3.5 days to go.. I think I can, I think I can!!!!

Wow it's been a long time!!!

I have not posted in a while I just noticed. Lots has gone on and going to go on here in the Pingel household...

Noah tried out for a baseball team where he would be playing with boys older than him and in a higher level.. He made it!!! I am soo amazed each time I see him play at what a natural ability he has! This mom could not be prouder of her boy!!!

Back about 3 weeks ago when I had my last ultrasound I ended up getting a free ride to the hospital in an ambulance. That was quite scary. The doctors office had lost Josie's heart beat and then when they took my into ultrasound to find it, it was in the 80's.. that is very bad. So they rushed me off to St. John's. I later found out that they had an OR and team waiting on me to do an emergency c-section. Thank GOD everything was ok and I did not have to have one. I did spend the night though... Things have been good since then.

I go on Monday the 10th for my final ultrasound before Josie arrives. We will get to see how big she is. 3 weeks ago she was 5lbs and 13ozs so we assume she will be about 7lbs or so... but you never know! I will also be going to my doctor to set up a date for my induction.. I assume it will be the 17th of Nov. I want to go a bit early since she is due the week of Thanksgiving. This way I will have a bit of time to get adjusted and healed before the big holiday.

One week from today is a big day.. My wonderful husband will be turning 30... yes that is right the BIG 3-0... he is not looking forward to it.. I took it well when I turned 30.. him.. not so much!

Then on the 26th Dan and I will celebrate 3 years of wonderful wedded bliss! It seems like it has been much longer than that. (Not in a bad way) just longer. We have only known each other for 4 1/2 years now.. I can't hardly remember my life without him. I have to say I am truly blessed to have him. He is soooo good to me... (most days). He has been a trooper through this whole pregnancy.. and taken good care of me, as has Noah. Not too many eight years old would clean out their mothers barf bucket because she could not even get out of bed! Well my Noah did.. many times! He is sooo loving and compassionate.. A character I hope he never loses and that I prayed he would have even when I was pregnant with him.

Well we have a lot to look forward to the rest of this month. I can not tell you how excited I am to see Dan's face when he sees his daughter for the first time and see how he reacts to it all. That is what I am most looking forward to, besides seeing her myself. I can say though that I have been threw this once before and have an idea of what to expect.. where he has not, and had no idea what he is in for!!! All the love, emotion, and excitement!

Well I think I am done rambling for now. I will post again on Monday once I know how big Josie is and what the plan is for her birth!

Stephanie

Josie's Room

Well I think it is done.. We still have a few clothes to put away, but other than that we are done.

I think it has turned out really great! Enjoy the pictures!

Big Belly

Well it seems that my belly keeps growing.. imagine that.. a belly growing with a baby inside. LOL Here is a picture that Dan took today.. I will be 34 weeks tomorrow! ONLY 6 WEEKS TO GO!!!!!

I have been worried that I don't look pregnant.. just fat.. I think this one makes me look a bit on the preggo side.. LOL

Praise the LORD!!!

Well let me just say it has been a rough few months... with Josie's SUA problem and all the possibilities of things that could go wrong. Then when we went to our ultrasound on the 2nd and found out that her belly was only in the 2nd percentile.. that was hard to swallow. Then my doctor telling me that it is a sign of Downs.. and all the other things that could be going on.. It has been a very stressful 2 1/2 weeks.

We went yesterday for our follow-up ultrasound and found out that her belly has caught up and she is as healthy as can be. She is 4lbs and 1oz and I still have 8.5 weeks to go. My mom says we are going to have a moose.. I am praying not.. if so knock me out and wake me when she is out.. LOL Both Dan and I were only 6lbs 9ozs and Noah was only 7lbs 4ozs.. I could handle that. I guess only time will tell.

We saw that she has hair. Starting Monday I will go for weekly testing that I will have to pass. If I fail then they will take her early. The ultrasound lady said that we will be able to watch her hair grow from week to week and that is pretty neat to see. I go back on Oct 20th for another full ultrasound. I think that may be the last one.. I guess we will find out then.

Anyway thank you to all of you who have been praying for us. I am soo glad that she is FINALLY healthy. I can only believe that God healed Josie. She is going to be and is living proof of the miracles that God can do!!

Please don't stop praying. Now we just need to keep her in for 3 more weeks. I must say that is a bit scary, exciting, nerve wrecking that she could be here in as little as 3 weeks..

I can't wait to see her, but also want to be able to bring her home when I come home from the hospital!!

Thanks Again for all the wonderful thoughts and prayers!

Dan, Stephanie, and Noah

Noah the Amazing

Here is a video of Noah... bet you didn't know he was sooo talented!!!

Our Son the Slugger

Here is a video taken from our new video camera. It's from one of Noah's fall baseball games.

He's quite the slugger...and I'm NOT quite the videographer...;p

Enjoy!

-Dan

Funny Things Kids Say

The other night we were at dinner with my parents and other family. I saw Noah down talking with my parents and I see him waiving his money around. Then next thing I know my parents both get out their wallets and start handing him money. I get on to him about asking people for money, and he proceeds to tell me, "mom I did not ask them for money. I told them I was saving up for a hermit crab and they just started randomly handing me money". How funny is that... randomly handing him money..

Late... Josie Update

I should have posted this before now... This is about 2 weeks old.. I go back to the specialist on the 3rd for another ultrasound and will post an update sooner!

Today we had our visit with the specialist. The doctor was great and so was the ultrasound tech. This is what they found and said.They confirmed that Josie does have SUA (Single Umbilical Artery). They also confirmed that everything looks good. They have 6 points that they like to check on the heart and Josie would not cooperate, so they only got to see 2 of the points. They both looked good. The doctor said that those 2 points could rule out 50% of heart defects. Her size is good. Her legs are on the long size for her age. He said that there is a higher chance for chromosome defects or other defects. The one he mentioned as an example was Down Syndrome. However he said that signs are not pointing towards that, but it is still a possibility. We will not know until she is born. I am not worried about it. If that is the case, I will love her just the same. I am now concidered high risk. I have to go back in 4weeks for another ultrasound. Then I go back 4 weeks after that for another. Then that week I start going every week for a non-stress test until she is born. The doctor said that at this point he did not see an issue with me delivering with my regular OB atProgress West, but if anything comes up that he will take over and I will have to go to St. Johns to deliver. He was very open and informational. He was also very hopeful that Josie should be born a normal healthy baby, from what he saw today. They will be keeping a close eye on things to make sure everything continues to look good. He also let us know that SUA is not very common. It is in 1% of pregnancies. I thought that was interesting. Please continue to pray that she keeps growing as good as she is. She is now 1lb 9oz. I am confident that she will be born healthy. I do have a praise report in all of this... We found out that it is all going to be covered 100% by insurance. WHAT A BLESSING!! THANK THE LORD!!!

Meeting the Man

For those of you who know me well, you know that I have one particular baseball player that is my all-time favorite. I have been his fan since I was in high school. When I was in college my walls were covered with pictures of him. Yes, I'm talking about the one and only #47 JOHN MABRY!!!!

Here is a bit of background on things also. He played with the Cardinals until a few years ago. Then he was traded or went to the Cubs.. YUK!!! Then last year or the year before he retired. It was a sad day in the Pingel household when he hung up his cleats and said goodbye to the game he loved.

Anyway since then the Cardinals have picked up Ryan Ludwick.. Taking what number..??... 47. That did not make me very happy. In fact, I have not been the biggest fan of Ludwick for that very reason.

Well this past Saturday my cousins John and Tracy hosted a 16th birthday party for their son John. (Lots of Johns here, so bear with me.) My cousin John and Mabry are very good friends. So they invited they Mabry family. Well, they showed up. Everyone in my family knows what a Mabry fan I have been and I knew they were going to embarass me. Well after being there for a few hours and not being embarrassed yet I thought I had skirted by. UNTIL.... I was sitting and getting ready to eat and I hear, "Are you going to eat all that?" Thinking is was my cousin being silly I looked up and it was Mabry.. I about peed my pants!

Now you also have to realize that all evening I had been trying to take a picture of me with him in the background with my cell phone. Then he says, "I hear you want your picture taken with me." Beet red face, giggling like a little girl, star struck, I said yes. So he said, "let's get a picture then". So we did. Then he asked, "Do you still hate Ludwick"? I wanted to die.. since someone had told him about that. I said, "he's not soo bad, now".

Later on that evening, the neighbor who had taken the picture came back. She had gone and made an 8x10 of the best one and had him autograph it for me.. It says.. "To Steph All the best John Mabry #47". How great is that! It is framed right now.

I must say that he is a really nice guy. His wife is also very nice. She took a picture on my cell phone for me, so I could send it to Dan to rub in his face.. LOL

August 16, 2008 will truly be a day I will never forget. I got to meet my Cardinals baseball hero!!!

Getting ready for Josie

Well I couldn't take it any more. I needed to cut my hair. So now i have my ready for Josie cut. I was able to donate 8 inches to locks of love.

We Registered!!!

Well we did it. After 3 1/2 hours we are done. We registered. The following are the stores we went to:

www.target.com

www.babiesrus.com

www.walmart.com

Feel free to take a look and see what all we registered for.. I just like to look.. I am nosey!!!

Furture All Star????

I am one PROUD MOM!!!!! Noah has come soo far! He has been pitching more and more. The other day Dan and Noah were practicing pitching. Dan had him throw 50 times. 46 of the 50 were strikes. It was great. So at the game on Sat. the 19th, Dan started Noah. He had done this in the past and it did not turn out very good. Anyway 1st batter up... strike 1,2,3, batters out. 2nd batter up strike 1,2,3, batters out. 3rd batter up strike 1,2, ball 1,2,3 and strike 3, batters out. I could not believe it. It was soo BEAUTIFUL!!! It even brought tears to my eyes. It was a moment I will NEVER forget!!!

Move Much??!!??

Let me tell you, this little girl is one active baby!!! I don't ever remember Noah being soo active or active at any certain times.

From 5-9 in the evening she moves NON-STOP!!!! It is the craziest thing. I am also now starting to show enough to where you can see my belly move around.

This past Saturday morning I was in bed sleeping and all was calm. Dan walked in and said in a loud tone, "Loveybumpkins it is time to get up". Next thing I know Josie is kicking, punching and rolling all over.. as if to say, "Mommy, daddy wants you up"!!! It was too funny. I had Dan come over and feel it. It was the 1st time he had gotten to feel her move. It was a great moment for us both. I think it really helped him connect and see that there really is a Josie in there!

20 Weeks

This one is also late. I am now 22.5 weeks. Here are some pictures we took of my ever growing belly at 20 weeks. Note how Noah seems to be showing my belly off. I think the idea of a sister is growing on him, slowly but surly.

July 4th

Ok I know it is now the end of July. So I am a bit late posting this. We went camping with a family from our baseball team. The Farkas family. We had a great time. Where we camped was close to Eric Farkas' moms house. She lives on a lake and has four wheelers and all. So we went there for the 4th. On the way back to camp that night Noah said, "This was the best day of my life". He got to ride and drive a four wheeler and go fishing and swimming in the lake. He caught his 1st fish by himself. That was very exciting. See the pictures of him riding and driving the four wheeler and pitcures of him and his fish.

Noah and Baseball

I know I have been doing a lot of talk about Josie and not much about Noah and this is a FAMILY blog. So here is an update on Noah....



He is semi enjoying his summer. We don't have a lot of money to go do all the things he would like to, but we do what we can!



He is not too thrilled about Josie. He REALLY wanted a brother. He asked if we could take her out and put a boy back in. I said it's not that easy.



He is still playing ball like never before. He just gets better and better. He drives me nuts with this ball that he has.. he is always throwing it in the house. It is a squishy ball so it won't break anything, but every time I turn around he is throwing it at a wall or something. He just loves the game that much!



The Vipers are not doing so well this season. They are 0-9. We still have 3 games left. We are hoping to pull out at least one win! They keep getting better and better, so I am confident that they can do it!



Noah is trying out for a Bantom I team. He would be playing up. If he makes it, he will be on 2 teams next spring.. the Vipers and the Bantom I team (they don't have a name yet). So we are excited about that. Dan is excited since he will get to sit back and watch Noah play for once. He has always coached Noah, if he plays up he will not be a coach for that team.



Enjoy the pictures. One is this years Baseball pic of Noah and the other of the team.



We are getting ready for 3rd grade. I can not believe that MY baby is going to be in 3rd grade. Boy how time flies.



I will keep you posted and let you know if he make the other team.