Our "super sleeper"

Of course, I'm talking about Colin - the master of sleeping.

But first a little history, our "super sleeper" surprisingly does not do naps anymore. We used to say that every two weeks or so, Colin will take a nap and catch up. But recently when he does take a nap, he doesn't go to bed until late at night (like 10pm).

So Colin has been acting very spastic recently, which usually means he is sleep deprived. Putting him to bed has also been a major ordeal. Sunday night, Bob started at 7pm to put him to sleep, but Colin was being very difficult, wouldn't even let Bob put his diaper on. So Bob just left the room and went downstairs. By the time Bob got downstairs and turned on the monitor, it was quiet. A few minutes later, snoring. We go to check, and Colin doesn't have a diaper on. We decided to wait an hour to put a diaper on him. That way, Colin will be in a deeper sleep.

We go back up an hour later. Colin is asleep on his back, good sign. Bob takes his pants off, then underwear, and then puts the diaper and sweat pants on without a single movement out of Colin. He is completely out. The creepiest part about it was his eyes were slightly open. Sleeping with his eyes open. I've never seen someone in such a deep sleep.

Nathan's signing update

Nathan is really getting into his signs. Here is a list of his current signs:
milk
all done
sleep
cat
eat
dog
bath
airplane
bird

Nathan is also playing peek-a-boo and saying the word "yogurt", although it sounds a lot like "wo wo". But I had a Montessori coffee here and one of the moms clearly understood what he was saying!

"When I get bigger ...

... I will like salad."

Colin wisdom.

Eating rainbows

In our house, we have these old beveled cut glass windows everywhere. So when the sun shines through the glass, especially in the mornings, it makes rainbows everywhere. This morning I was carrying Nathan upstairs and happened to stop right where a rainbow was projecting on to Nathan. He put up his hand and was admiring the rainbows on his hand carefully, then tried to put the rainbow into his mouth!

I wonder what rainbows taste like?

Don't run over mom's foot!

A little historical funny that we keep referring to now-a-days. Back last spring, after dinner one night at Mama Fu's, I was strapping Colin in the car seat, Bob was starting my car, the PT Cruiser, which is a manual transmission. Well, Bob's car, the Lexus, is an automatic and I guess Bob forgot how to drive a stick, because when he started it, the car lurched forward! Bob says that he thought he left the car out of gear, but it was in gear -- whatever! I freaked! My foot was right in front of the back wheel and when it lurched it came really close to my foot! So I screamed, "Don't run over my foot!"

Somehow, this turned into something really funny, and even now, a year later, when Bob is driving the PT and I'm strapping Colin in, Colin will say "Dad, don't run over Mom's foot."

As a side note, after this happened, Colin took his Pooh Car and ran it over my foot, which really hurt. I got mad, but then realized why he did it (to be funny). So I had to explain to Colin that is was funny because it didn't happen. And if Dad would have run over my foot that it would have been very serious and not funny. I don't know if he fully understood, but he stopped running the Pooh Car over my foot.

My first impression of Colin

So now I have the birth story documented, I thought I would document my first impressions of Colin after he was born. Immediately following the birth, I was exhausted, relieved to be done with that part and just plain loopy from the whole experience that honestly, being moved by the sight of my first born did not happen. Sorry Colin. I remember Bob being moved to tears, and I was just, "hey, I did it, I finally had this baby". This is completely opposite to the way I react under normal circumstances. Usually I am so emotional, everytime we passed the hospital or when we took the hospital tour, I would tear-up and start crying.

So we were moved out of the labor room to the ... I can't remeber the name but next room that you stay in after the baby's born. And Colin made a little sound. I remember my heart just stopping. I think it was the first time I heard Colin's voice (he didn't protest much that I remember after he was born) and it was the sweetest little sound that I have ever heard. Sometimes when Colin is talking now (he is 3), it reminds me of that first time I heard his little voice.

Trying to finish my book

Okay, I'm reading Stephen King's Dark Tower Series, which if you are familiar with the books, started with The Gunslinger written in 1982 ... 25 years ago. Now I'm just finishing the seventh and final book in the series. I'm about 15-20 pages from the very end. Nathan is napping, I tried to get Colin to nap, no luck. So I'm bound and determined to finish this book before Nathan gets up. I read while Colin is playing, he wants me to play with him. So I read while sitting in the same room with him, pretending to play with him, but reading instead. Of course, I have to reread some paragraphs 2-3 times. We end up on the couch in the playroom. I'm reading, Colin's next to me.

"I love you, Mom", he tries the distraction method.
"I love you too, Colin", I answer, not taking my eyes off the book. (I'm such a bad mom.)

"I love Nathan", he tries a different approach.
"I love Nathan too, and Nathan loves you", still trying to read.

He leans over and kisses my arm, then my head. He is trying sooo hard and being sooo sweet. My resolve to finish this book surprises me, and I keep reading.

Then Nathan wakes up and I can hear him in the monitor. Colin continues with his loving on me and Nathan's screaming (please don't call child services on me!), and I finally finish the book. At that time I give Colin the biggest hug and go retrieve Nathan from the crib.

The End.

PS It's a very good series and I highly recommend it. If anyone has read it and would like to discuss it, I would love to hear from you!

Zoo Atlanta with Harrison

A couple Fridays ago, we went to the zoo with Colin's friend from school, Harrison and his dad, Wes. First we went to Savage Pizza for lunch with Harrison and Wes after school and ran into another boy from school and his mom, Nicolas and Ute. So all 8 of us had pizza (me, Bob, Colin, Nathan, Wes, Harrison, Ute and Nicolas).

Then off to the zoo. We started at the flamingos, then the elephants which I always think look like rare red elephants from Georgia because of all the red clay on them! Then we saw the rhinos. After just seeing the elephants, rhinos are really pretty small, at least compared to an elephant. I guess most things are small compared to an elephant.

While we were looking at the rhinos we heard a "ROAR" ... a lion! So off to the lions. I think I ran faster than the kids! The lion was on top of this big boulder just roaring away. It was so cool! Colin and Harrison were impressed too.

Next the gorillas and monkeys. Nathan thought the monkeys were dogs. He kept doing his "whoo whoo" sound that he does for dogs. No Nathan, that's not a dog. So he did his "cat" sign. Nope, not a cat either. Confused look from Nathan. I guess he thinks everything is either a dog or a cat.

Colin and Harrison took turns pushing Nathan in the stroller which was pretty cute. In the reptile house, Nathan would look up at Harrison and just smile and laugh, which I got a picture of.
Lastly, we saw the pandas where they have a baby panda, Mei Lan who is only the 5th baby panda to be born in the United States. Mei Lan is only 6 months old and weighs 24 pounds. I thought this was incredible considering she was only 1.4 pounds when she was 19 days old!

When asked later on about the zoo, the things that Colin talked about was the mama panda walking right past him and seeing the panda's poop. Sounds like a 3-year-old's answer to me!

Colin's birth story - super long version

Patty, my doula wrote this birth story for me. Since I gave the short version, I figured I would also post the long version.


When Bob first called and told me that Kristine’s water had broken a little more than an hour before (12:26 am) on 11-20-2003, we were all excited thinking there would be a baby here fairly soon. Well, fairly soon ended up being a mere 32 hours later. J

After talking to Bob, I spoke to Kristine who told me the midwife had wanted them to come to the hospital due to Kristine’s amniotic fluid being yellowish, murky green brown and thicker than water. When meconium is present in the amniotic fluid, it indicates the baby has been in some kind of distress and requires a little closer monitoring. It’s decided that they will head to the hospital and call me when they need me to come.

Kristine and Bob arrive at the hospital about 2:45 am and checked into their room by 3:00am. The internal check shows Kristine to be 50% effaced and 1 cm dilated. They then complete the marathon of hospital paperwork and Kristine is put on the monitors. As Bob brings in his many bags, the hospital staff laughs and jokes it looks like he and Kristine are moving in. Little did they know how long we were going to be there! From about 4:30-6:00 am Bob and Kristine sleep. I receive a call about 7:10 am from Bob stating Kristine’s contractions are picking up and I should start to head over.

I arrive at the hospital about 8:45 am and the contractions are about 4-5 minutes apart. Kristine is borrowing from the baby an adorable blanket that is in the shape of a white cat. Envision a really soft stuffed animal that has been totally flattened into a blanket! The tag says “My Blanky – Romeo” and it is a gift from Kristine’s mom. She also has a special stuffed animal, Gush that dates back to her high school days that was providing some nice comfort.

At about 9:45 am Bob is on one side of Kristine rubbing her back and I am giving her a hand and arm massage. George Winston’s Winter is playing in the background. For the next hour and half, Kristine uses vocalizing and imagery (painting the contractions away). She is also doing an excellent job keeping her fluids up.

At 11:30 am the Cervadil is removed and Kristine’s cervix is checked. The Cervadil had not done as much as was hoped and her cervix showed 1-2 cm dilated. The midwife, Ruth was suggesting pitocin be started and I asked if we could have a little time to move around and see if we could get things started. She said she would give us 1 ½ to 2 hours to see what progress could be made, but due to the meconium she wanted the labor to get started.

For the next 45 minutes Kristine alternated between sitting on the birth ball and being in a hands and knees position. We listened to one song from the “Smashing Pumpkins – Adore” CD and then moved on to the “Red Hot Chili Peppers.” The midwife (Laura) later joked with us that we were the 2nd or 3rd couple who were listening to “Red Hot Chili Peppers.”

Around 1:15 pm Kristine and Bob were swaying thru some contractions while U2 was playing. I was able to capture this in a picture. It was around this time that Laura (midwife) stopped in to say hello. Next we decide to do some hall walking and soon we ran into Susie (nurse) who says Ruth (the first midwife) is ready to start the pit. We then run into Laura and Kristine and Bob explain they would like to avoid the pit right now if possible. Laura agrees that she would like to get a reading on the contractions and the baby to see if the pit is necessary yet.

It is now about 1:45 pm and Kristine is put on the monitor. Madonna is singing in the background and Kristine is able to sleep between the contractions. I go to grab a quick bite to eat.

Around 3:40 pm Kristine is checked again and found to be 2 cm, -1 station. It is decided that pit is needed to get this party started. The pit is started at 2 and is increased by 2 every 30 minutes. By about 5:00 pm, Kristine is using her patterned breathing and is going into the labor zone. Bob and I give her verbal encouragement and massage her hips and legs. We encourage her to drink water and give her wet wash cloths for her head. She has been working so hard, but is getting very tired. She had virtually no sleep the night before. By about 5:30 pm, she is throwing up and it is green. Later, not then, Bob makes a joke about how it reminded him of the “Exorcist.”

It is now 6:15 pm and Kristine is checked again. She is found to be 3 cm, 80% effaced and at -1 to -2 station. The pit is at 10 and the contractions are hard. Kristine is disappointed that she is no further dilated then this and is so tired. She has been working hard for many, many hours. She states that she really wants an epidural. She and Bob discuss this. Everyone (Bob, Laura , and I) agrees with and supports Kristine’s decision. Laura reminds us of all of the work which will be needed for pushing. Hopefully the epidural will give some much needed and deserved rest.

At 6:40 pm the epidural is administered and an amnioinfusion is started. The amnioinfusion is used to help flush the uterus with saline solution and get the meconium out. Soon Kristine is getting relief and Bob goes to grab a bite to eat. Kristine and I talk. When Bob returns, the nurse that has recently started her shift says that she thinks this is a “big baby”. Bob tells her about their cat Neechy who is 21lbs. and jokes that they have big cats and big babies.

Soon everyone is resting. About 9:30 pm I decide to run to McDonalds. While I am gone Kristine is checked and found to be 4-5 cm. Progress is slowly being made. For the next couple of hours everyone is getting some sleep.

When Kristine is checked again at 12:40 am, 11/21, she is 5 cm – 100% effaced, 0 station. By about 40 minutes later, the pit is up to 20 and Kristine is feeling the contractions again. She has some more vomiting and is given some more medication. She is still at 5 cm when checked at 2:15 am but a mere 1 hour and 15 minutes later she is at 8cm!!!!! However, the contractions are back full force and Kristine is feeling them completely on one side. At 3:40 am she is redosed. She soon is feeling relief on both sides. Bob and Kristine are getting so excited knowing they will soon meet their baby!

By 5:20 am, it is time! Kristine is 10 cm, and between t2- t3 station! Yahoo! Soon Kristine is starting to push. Bob does a fabulous job at watching when the contraction is starting on the monitor and counting to 10 as she pushes. Bob and I are supporting Kristine legs because she is completely numb. Kristine asks that the epidural be turned down so she can get some more feeling back. At 6:15 am this is done and by about 7:00 am there is a noticeable improvement in her pushing. It is much more effective. With the epidural turned down so low, Kristine is feeling everything very intensely. Bob and I continue to verbally encourage her and I keep stroking her hair. This is very hard work, but Kristine is pushing so well and we soon see baby Sandage’s head. We can see some curly hair. Kristine is getting very tired and starts to question if she can do this. Bob, Laura and I reassure her that she is doing a great job. Bob tells Kristine how proud he is of her.

Soon the baby’s head is born and the cord is wrapped tightly around his neck. Laura quickly cuts the umbilical cord and instructs Kristine to give one last big push. The baby is out and “it’s a boy”!!!!!! Colin Robert Sandage is born at 8:31 am weighing 8lbs. – 12 oz. and 21.5 inches long. He is taken away only momentarily to be suctioned and then he is placed on his mama’s chest. What a joyful moment!
Kristine has suffered a 3rd degree vaginal tear and a cervical tear. While the midwife and Dr. are stitching her tears, Bob is with Colin while he receives his first bath. Soon it’s time to try to nurse. Colin latched right on and began suckling - no instruction needed here! At that I leave so the new family can have some alone time.

Colin's birth story - short version

Colin's birth story is pretty well documented by our doula Patty, but I wanted to make sure that one additional thing was recorded, so I will summerize the whole thing adding my one additional fact.

Midnight on Colin's due date, my water broke after we went to bed. "Uh-oh" I said to Bob, but in his sleepy state, it didn't even register what I was talking about! So off to the hospital. My goal was an unmedicated natural birth. Well, the way that Bob likes to put it is if there was any one that should've been born via C-section, it was Colin. However, being the stubborn person that I am, Colin was born 32 hours later after an epidural (so I could rest), and 2.5 hours of pushing.

So it was Wednesday night when my water broke. Bob called the office Thursday to tell everyone that he wouldn't be in because little Sandage was on his/her way (we didn't know if it was a girl or boy at that time). Friday morning comes and people start coming into the office wondering why Bob has not contacted the office with any news. So the our secretary Deb called the labor and delivery room, just as they determine that I am ready to start pushing. The phone rings, everyone looks around and is like, "do we answer that?" I'm definitely not answering it, laboring away like I was! The doctor says, "sure, I'll get it!" and tell's the caller "she's not available right now, she's about to have the baby!" Perfect timing Deb!

Colin's keys

Way back when Colin was just a baby (probably Nathan's age, just over one year), we gave him an old key ring. He was not allowed to play with our keys, so this was a real special treat for him. Well, Colin so excited and thrilled to have his own keys that the keys did not leave his grip for two days straight!! He would even sleep with the keys in his hands! Now a days Colin has a back pack filled with keys rings that he has accumulated. Another special treat was that we put old office keys on those rings.

Colin's best friends

Harrison goes to school with Colin, and they spend a lot of time together. We have done some playdates at Harrison's and vise versa. A couple of nights ago, Colin accidently called Nathan "Harrison", and he thought it was so funny! So he kept on doing it! Last night Colin kept saying to Nathan, "Harrison, come over here." So I asked Colin, "Who is your best friend?" His immediate response, "Harrison and Nathan!" My heart just melted, Nathan is not only Colin's little brother but his best friend!