Fiery Rose - Part One

Friday morning, Kara went to the hospital for her regularly scheduled biophysical, and exam that usually lasted from 1.5 to 3 hours, depending on how Baby cooperated. Mel and I had arrived back here in Colorado Springs just 12 hours earlier. We left the motel where we are staying a bit late and arrived at the hospital 3 minutes after 10, according to the waiting room clock. She was already gone!

We were supposed to go with her for the exam, so I stood at the office window and waited until the guy finally showed back up. I gave my name, said we wanted to be with our daughter, and he nodded and told us to go to through the other door and he would take us to her room.

We got there, just 10 minutes after the beginning of her appointment and the main part of the testing was already done! Now, we have waited with her for up to almost an hour to actually get in to begin the appointment! And her she was, almost finished.

Mel sat down and I walked over and stood near the bed and we just chatted while the final 20 minutes of monitoring the baby's heartbeat finished. Toward the end of the test (baby was very, very active - kicking and moving all over the place), they took Kara's blood pressure again. And once again, it was too high.

That is when the "fun" began. The tech consulted with a doctor and they decided to monitor her in another room for 2 or 3 hours. So, off we went to that room. A very attractive room - dark purple walls, fake wood floor, lots of chairs for family members to sit in while they waited, a scale to measure the newborn baby in, and so forth and so on. Mel left to go do somethings and I stayed with Kara. As you can see from the photo - her blood pressure did not go down. At the end of the 3 hours, she was admitted for overnight observation.

As soon as she was taken to "her room", she called John. He left work and came right over. The doctor ordered IV blood pressure medicine and monitoring.

Actually, it's all become kind of a blur to me now. :-) Because John was there, Mel and I left around 9pm and came back to the motel room for the night. When we got back yesterday morning, even with the blood pressure med, her pressure was still way too high. In fact, it hardly came down at all. John had gone to work (he has a new job and can't miss any right now unless it is a real emergency or he'll lose it). Mel left to go do some things that needed done - laundry, to pick up Stirling and bring him down to see his mama, and so forth. I sat with Kara and we chatted and watched a bit of tv with the sound off, and so forth. She had been very nauseous and was only able to eat half a bagel in little bites over about 3 hours. Around noon, she drank some more water and slowly ate about 1/4 of the second half.

About 3 minutes later the nurse came in and said the doctor would (finally!! first time) be in to see her in about 20 minutes. Sure enough, she came in, examined Kara, went over her history and everything, then said she was going to call Kara's primary OB and talk it over with her/him and think about it for a few minutes. This was not an automatic immediate c-section decision. Kara was in for the biophysical because the baby was "growth restricted" to start with. They weren't sure how well developed Baby was at 35 weeks 3 days. A nurse came in and took the tray with the bagel remains on it, and all of her water. That was a BIG hint! Finally, about an hour later the doctor and nurse came back in and told Kara they were going to deliver the baby and set the time for about an hour later. Then they asked Kara when she had last eaten.

The doctor and the nurse were not happy that she'd had something to eat within the last hour and a half - even though it had only been about 1/4 of a bagel. Oh my! So, the c-section was set for 6pm instead. Then they put Kara on magnesium sulphate. Oh dear - that is nasty stuff. Kara was flushing, beet red, uncomfortable, miserable for the next several hours. Finally, the anaesthetic doctor came in, asked a bunch of questions and said her surgery would be at 9pm.

Poor Kara! She really was miserable. And this whole time I watched the blood pressure monitor. Her blood pressure never went down below 155/101, even on the magnesium sulphate. The nurses started coming in more and more frequently, checking everything. They made sure the room was very dim, that the tv was off and that it was kept very quiet. The biggest concern was that something would cause her to have a seizure. The other concerns were that the high pressure could cause kidney or liver damage or a stroke.

Mel, my parents and Stirling all arrived. Kara was still awake at that point. Stirling came in the room, took one very long look at his mama lying there in the bed with all the wires and machines around her and ran over and threw his arms around his papa's neck, and hid his face on his shoulder. John patiently explained a bit of what was happening. After a few minutes John left to go home and shower and put together a bag for Kara with her things. Stirling started getting a bit restless, but he was very, very well behaved. I was proud of him. I took him around Kara's bed and showed him what all the wires were for. He was intrigued by the things wrapped around her leg and the fact that they "breathed" up and down (wrap to keep her from getting blood clots in her legs). I showed him where the wires went from her tummy to the machine and that was why we could hear the baby's heartbeat. And the wires into her hands where the doctors could give her shots of medicines. He was very impressed and really, really wanted to push some buttons but restrained himself very well. :-) :-) :-) When the nurse came back in, she lifted Stirling up and let him kiss his mama. Then Mel and I took him to McDonalds (so I could get lunch and he could have an ice cream).

On the way out, Stirling and I waited in the entrance area while Grandpa went to get the car. I saw a young woman with an older baby, approached her and asked if Stirling could look at her little guy. She was very nice and set her 5.5 month old down low enough for Stirling and him to look at each other. Stirling was all eyes. I told him that his baby would be a lot smaller. We chatted a bit and then she left. We walked over to the glass doors and I saw a new mama and papa sitting on a bench waiting for valet parking to bring their car. After a minute or so, I asked the father if Stirling could just look at their brand new baby and the father proudly turned the car seat carrier around. This baby's face was uncovered, his eyes were open and his hands were showing on top of the blanket. Again, Stirling was all eyes, staring and silent. I told him this is what his little Baby brother or sister was going to look like, but maybe his baby would be even a bit smaller. I think it was finally beginning to set in that his new brother or sister was not going to be 5 years old, too. :-) After we came back, Stirling and I waited in the Family Gathering area while Mel went to get Grammie and Grandpy. They took Stirling back on home. I went back to Kara's room.

And now it's time to go eat breakfast. So, I will continue this later today!

Bits n Pieces

I got to go to Stirling's school today and meet his teacher. He has mostly boys in his class. What a busy group of little people interacting with each other. There was a time when I thought I would like to be a kindergarten teacher.... Today I watched them all for about 3 minutes and thought to myself "I am exhausted just watching!" :-) :-) I told Kara on the way home that it was interesting to see such a group of little people all of different heights and sizes and interesting faces. Stirling's teacher seems really nice. She has a lot of patience. ha ha

~*~*~*~*~
Yesterday when we got home Stirling was already home. I came in the livingroom and he was talking to Grammy. I asked him something about his day and he responded that he didn't know because he was in the office.

Aha. And why were you in the office? Because I yelled at my teacher. And why did you yell at your teacher? Because I didn't want to change my card (we have no idea what that was about). So I asked him, What other option could you have done? (A look of "What???" so I rephrased the question.) What other choice or thing could you have done other than yell at her? And then we talked about choices a bit and how we can do good choices or bad choices and that yelling at his teacher was a bad choice. Grammy told him he should apologize to his teacher today.

When we got home, he informed us all that he apologized to his teacher today. I hope he really did. And I hope he can hold his temper enough to remember that he can make a choice - a good choice, or a bad choice that gets him into trouble.

Oh my. He is a character. He fits the old nursery rhymn very well, changing the gender of the child:
There was a little girl
Who had a little curl
Right in the middle of her forehead.
And when she was good
She was very, very good,
And when she was bad
She was horrid.

~*~*~*~*~
John had a good test for one of the job's he's applied and tested for. They have called him in for a second interview in January. If he's hired, he'll start in early January. We are praying and praying that God will provide a good job for him.

Kara is on bedrest now for the next 1.5 weeks. When we went in l.5 weeks ago the baby measured only 4% of average, so they put her on bedrest. I can see that she looks better. She was so exhausted when we first got home... I was really worried about her. The baby is a lot more active right now, too. I think the baby is happy that she's not working nights and is getting more rest!

~*~*~*~*~
Mel and I took her to her hospital ultrasound/doppler test and no-stress test today. Mel went shopping while I stayed with her. It was very interesting to see the doppler again and then to see how they did the no-stress test. Baby's heartbeat is strong and regular, was averaging between 155 to 160 and sounded a lot like running horses with the occasional drum beat thrown in. :-) The tech who did the test said everything sounded great and the graph produced by 20 minutes of monotoring was very good, too. Kara won't know if Baby has grown until the in-depth ultrasound in a couple weeks.

~*~*~*~*~
Mel just told me a few minutes ago that he would take me up to the top of the hill, or maybe some place a bit farther away, where it's dark enough to really see the stars. I tried to go out last night and look, but there are so many houses here now, plus my parents yard light, and all the Christmas lights the neighbors have shining that I really couldn't see much. Except for a bright red "star" to the east.

Andrew commented on it, too, when he got home. We think that it might have been Mars. I'm hoping it will be clear enough tonight to be able to see it again. It was as bright as Jupiter has been recently.

~*~*~*~*~
It's warmed up quite a bit. Not enough to melt all the snow by any means, but a lot of it is evaporating. Mom said earlier today that this is the longest there has been snow on the ground since the late '70's.

~*~*~*~*~
All for tonight. It is SO GOOD to have internet connection again!!

Bits n Pieces

This is definitely The Year of the Dragonfly. The day I wrote about it last week we ended up with at least 5 in our flat. We've had several since then, too, including 2 today. Cheyenne went nuts until she actually caught both of them. We were gone part of the early afternoon and when we got back she made sure I saw this one, which had been hanging onto that pipe-thing in the ceiling of the office room. Apparently that thing is very attractive to dragonflies because most of them end up there at least for a few minutes. Strange little things, but they sure are pretty.

~*~*~*~*~
Yesterday Ira and Yuri brought little Sasha to church for the first time. What a cutie he is! He didn't cry at all, just made a few little baby noises - you know the kind, grunts, stretches, an episode of hiccups during the sermon, little baby squeaks. Here are a couple of photos of the happy family. Ok, ok, 3 photos. :->



~*~*~*~*~
The sun is still blank. This is the longest blank spell so far this year. I wonder how long it will last? And I wonder when this Solar Minimum will end? A lot of scientists are wondering that! I'm just a simple little nobody, and I'm wondering, too. I also wonder what ramifications it has for our weather, space weather that affects the earth, and so forth. Time will tell.
Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 51 days
2009 total: 193 days (80%)
Since 2004: 704 days
Typical Solar Min: 485 days
Updated 30 Aug 2009

~*~*~*~*~
It's registration time again. They wanted photos this time, so Mel and I went searching for a photo place today. The one we've gone to before was open but the camera was not there - it was being fixed. So, we decided to go get a little puff pastry thing (sloika) with cheese or cherries in it and a drink at the Cappuccino place we went to several times over the winter. We ended up not with what Mel ordered, but this is no great surprise since actually it is quite common to get something other than what you ordered. Three times Mel said NOT 'that' and that's what we got. It was good, just not cheese or cherry filled. Plus we tried out their summer drinks - a chocolate espresso mixed with heavy cream milk and whipped with ice. There were chunks of ice in the bottom of the glass when we finished the drinks. Ice. That, in and of itself, shows how far Kherson has come in the past 11 years. We NEVER saw ice here used for drinking when we first arrived. Ice out on the streets and sidewalks during the winter - yes. Ice in your drink in the summer? You'll die of a sore throat!!!!! Forbidden!!!! I am not exaggerating - people were horrified when they heard we drink ice cold water or water with ice in it, or other cold/icy drinks. Now - cold drinks are fairly common. How things have changed.

Anyway, I started this little section talking about getting a photo. I do wander around sometimes. You should see my farm on Facebook Farm Town! I think it's a perfect picture of my personality... I mentioned this to a friend who has a huge plantation/farm on Farm Town and she said she's thought that how people build their farms would be a great subject for a thesis study. :-)

After our snack and time talking and just being together, we walked on up the street to another photo place. Success this time! I actually like my photo: Too bad we have to turn them in and I can't get this made larger. I don't know what I'd do with it if I did, but I like it. I don't like very many photos of me, so this is quite unusual. Maybe I could give one to each of my kids and say: "Remember me like this when I am gone." :)

~*~*~*~*~
Ok, it's time to go make dinner. Past time, really. Adios for now.

First Photos of A New Family

Ira came home from the hospital on Monday. Here are the first photos of their new little family. I'm not sure when I'll see Ira and Sasha again since usually babies are kept home and away from other people for about a month.

Maternity hospital Alyona A. and Sergei K. arrive to great the new mother and baby Mel (in background), Auntie Lyena and Papa Yuri arrive Ira brought Sasha out to the front door, Yuri went up and took him. I think that this was only the first or second time Yuri had seen Sasha and held him. I know we were not allowed in past the entrance hall, and while we were talking there with Ira the day before, another father came in and talked to his wife in the same room without seeing his baby either. Proud new parents! Yuri and Sasha Ira and Sasha

I've talked to Ira a couple times on the phone and things seem to be going well. I've had a hard time reaching her, though - go figure! :-) We saw Yuri a couple days ago and he looked pretty tired. Sasha is a quiet baby - but he is a new born and they are still getting used to having a baby in the house. Just wait until his lungs get their full power. {grin}

My Grandkids - That Sounds So Nice!

I talked with Kara via instant messaging two nights ago and she sent me this photo. It is very blurry, but you can still see Baby. She was 10 weeks, 1 day when the ultrasound was taken.

And yes, for those who read my blog and know, I pray and pray and pray that these ultrasounds will do no damage to our grandchildren! I remain opposed to the use of ultrasound, except in the case of medical problems. But enough of that on this post.

I talked with her on the phone last night and she is still feeling a lot of 'morning sickness' off and on during the day. It doesn't help, I'm sure, that her work hours are very unusual.

I also talked to Stirling for more than 40 minutes last night. Kara handed the phone to him, then she and my mother started talking and I got the feeling that they had forgotten me! Stirling talked and talked and talked. Let me tell you - that child could talk the leg off a table! I heard about the chipmunks - the fat and the skinny ones, I heard about how he shampooed Mandy, the golden lab, and that Grampy had to hose her off in the yard, and that she smells really good now. I heard about his two new friends who live in the house just up the hill, that they have a trampoline and a yellow zip line. I learned that he was wearing his Colorado Avalanche pants and shirt, and that yes, he did indeed look very nice. :) I also learned that the plants in the atrium needed to be watered, and that he helped Grampy use the weedwacker to cut the grass and what all the parts are and what they do and that the 'circle' on the bottom cuts the grass, not the blue string. 40+ minutes. I got in one and two word responses here and there, and even a couple questions. He was quite surprised to learn that Grandpa Mel was in bed asleep because it was very late and dark here - after all, it was still afternoon there and the sun was shining.

I love talking to that kid. Really, I do!

However, that meant that I didn't get to bed until after 2:00 this morning. Good thing church doesn't start right now until 1:00 in the afternoon!

Sasha Is Here!

Got a text message a few minutes ago letting us know that Ira had her baby last night. Mel called Yuri and he was already at work! Ouch. He sounded exhausted, but he did tell me that he was with Ira through the whole delivery. I am so GLAD! That is a fairly new thing here, to let a father in with the mother during the baby's birth.

So, Sasha was born on the 14th, is 3 kilograms and 52 cm long. His birthday will be easy to remember because it is the same day of the month as our biological grandson, just a month earlier.

I'm so excited for them. Here is a photo of Ira a few weeks ago (I swiped it off her facebook page!):

Be prepared - baby photos will be posted a lot, I'm sure. And since we are expecting a new biological grandchild in March ... well, I'm a typical grandmother, I guess. :) :)

Bits n Pieces

I'm really tired tonight, so this may not be a very long post. I woke up with a pretty bad headache this morning. Caffiene helped a lot, and then Mel rubbed my back for awhile. I think it was a combination of not enough sleep the night before, staying up and outside to watch the Perseids Meteor Shower and allergies. Whatever the cause, I'm wiped out tonight. Of course, it IS after midnight! :)

~*~*~*~*~
Ira is in the hospital. Yuri called Mel this afternoon to say they had apparently induced labor and she was in a lot of pain. Sasha was firmly head down and ready to be born, but nothing was happening, so the doctor decided to make it happen. Ouch. We haven't heard anything more and now we probaby won't until morning. I've been praying for Ira and Sasha off and on all afternoon/evening/night so far. Sasha will be our "unofficially adopted Ukrainian grandson". How's that for a mouthful? :) :)

~*~*~*~*~
Mel and I went out last night to look for meteors. You know, when we first moved here, it was almost impossible to find a street with street lights actually lit. Last night we had a hard time finding a place that was NOT lit! Wow! What a change. And for the better, really. We finally ended up in front of a big building that is being remodeled. There was a very bright light down the street, but enough trees that they blocked most of the bright light.

We saw 3 oe 4 meteors each. Very disappointing. However, we did see 10 (TEN!!) sputniks, er... satelites! In one hours' time we saw 10 of them, going in a variety of directions. Three planes and 10 satelites. Wow - there is a lot of stuff up there in space above the earth! And we know that we only saw a fraction of what is really up there, and of course, not the ISS last night.

Tonight we went out again and this time we saw brighter meteors, but again, only a few. I think I saw 4 or 5 in a little over an hour. Mel saw about the same. We didn't see the same ones each time. Two that I saw were good ones - big, bright and lasted longer than the little blips. Same with Mel - but different ones.

~*~*~*~*~
Olya called the sheep lady for me and the woman says she has fleece for sale at 10 griven per kilogram. I have no idea if that is a good price or not - it comes out to about $1.20 per kilo I'd guess at the current exchange rate. I'll talk with Olya again tomorrow and see when we can go over and buy some. Olya thinks a kilo will fill a huge bag. I, on the other hand, have a feeling it will be so full of dirt and lanolin and seeds, etc. that a huge bag will weigh more like 10 or 15 kilos. We'll see. I think she's thinking nice pristine wool already carded and ready to spin. I know better. I saw the sheep. heh heh heh

So, Sue, I'll let you know when I actually get the fleece. But, you can email me and let me know what to do with it first already. I've seen on the internet about soaking it in the bathtub without moving it around. I've also read about doing little "burrito shapes" in foil and warm water. I guess there are a lot of different ways to handle it.

A BIG question: I know that there is the prossiblity of getting anthrax (or is it foot and mouth disease?) from fresh fleece. Anthrax has been reported here in the past 10 years. So - other than handling the wool with rubber gloves - what else can I do to make it sterile? Or at least get rid of those germs?

~*~*~*~*~
Ok, I've hit the wall - time for bed. I'd love to go out and look some more at the night sky, but I'd have to walk down the street by myself and then stand there by myself in the dark and I just don't think that's safe. A lot of people are out, a surprising number actually, but - well, I'll have to see the Perseids again another year.