The 2nd love of my life: Christian Taylor Leu!

Giff and I welcomed our beautiful baby boy, Christian, into the world 12 days ago! He is so perfect, and truly a blessing!

Christian Taylor Leu

March 11th, 2009

9:46pm

7 pounds

19 1/2 inches

He just had his foot prints done :)

The new Leu family!

Giff with his baby boy!

Christian with Mimi

Christian with Aunt Stefanie

Christian with Uncle Josh

Christian with Uncle Nathan


Christian with Uncle Greg

The birth of this little boy turned out way different than what I had prepared for and imagined! I keep learning that God is in control, not me. So, let me share the birth story of Christian.


Monday, March 9th (5 days after my due date), I had an appointment with my midwives to determine if I had made any progress over the weekend. I had been walking, stretching and praying that Christian would come on his own. But, I found out that my cervix was still only 1cm dilated and was 70% effaced. Bummer! So, my midwife, Deborah, discussed with me the possibility of induction- which was the last thing I wanted! But, after listening to Debbie, and hearing what she had to say, it made sense for me to at least consider it. After talking it over with Giff, we decided that I would go in for the induction.


So, Tuesday morning, March 10th, Giff and I woke up, packed our bags and loaded them into the car and made our way down to the medical center. Dawn, one of my midwives, was on call, and she inserted a medicine called Prepadil into my cervix to get it ready for the induction the following day. I was only supposed to be in the hospital for a few hours that day, then I would be able to go home. But, almost immediately, I started having contractions. They were very uncomfortable, and were coming almost every minute. After a while, Dawn came to check on me and she told me that she had never seen a first time mom react that way to the Prepadil. So, after sending me to the cafeteria to get some food and a drink to see if that would calm the contractions down, she decided it was best if I stay the night at the hospital. She didn't feel comfortable letting me go home when I was having that many contractions. So, I was transferred to my own room, where I got in the bathtub for a while. I aimed the jets at my back which was killing me with every contraction! After about an hour in the tub, I got back in bed, and Giff continued to massage my lower back. He was so great during all of this! He was totally at my beck and call the whole time! At this point, my Mom, my sister and one of my brothers came up to the hospital to keep Giff and I company. I continued contracting every minute until about 9pm Tuesday evening. Dawn chose to give me some Morphine that evening so that I could get a good night's sleep and have plenty of energy for the next day (birth day). The Morphine was amazing and I slept so well that night in the hospital!


Wednesday, March 11th, I was awakened by a nurse, who told me that she was going to go ahead and start some Pitocin in my IV to get my labor going. Once again, I started contracting right away, with the contractions being only one minute apart. Not again! It was absolutely horrible! I never had any relief between the contractions, so it made them completely unbearable. Debbie, was now the on call midwife. She kept coming in every now and then and checking me. 2cm, 3cm......then finally 4cm. To try to rid my back labor, I sat on a birthing ball for a while and also got in the hands and knees position. I had learned in my birthing class that back labor is caused by your baby being in the wrong position. Christian was facing up or facing my stomach, rather than facing my back. So, the back of his head was pressing on my spine causing the back labor. So, I tried the different positions I learned in class to try to get the baby to turn over, therefore relieving my back labor. But, no such luck! This baby was not moving! Around 6pm, Debbie came in and checked me again, and I was still at 4cm. At that point, I felt like I was never going to get to 10cm! I had already been contracting for 2 days! So, I made the decision to get an Epidural. This was the last thing I wanted, but after having no relief for almost 2 days, I just couldn't take it anymore. My midwife agreed that an Epidural was the best decision. She said it may relax my uterus some, so that I could get into a better labor pattern. She said the contractions I was having were not effective, since they were so close together. So, I received the Epidural, and I tried to rest for a little while. After about 2 hours, Debbie came back in to check on me. My contractions were still occurring every minute, so the Epidural didn't help. I was also still at 4 cm. Debbie then hit me with the C word......c-section. She said she felt that after all this time, I should be further along and she thought the best thing to do would be to have a c-section. She felt there was something preventing the baby from moving into the birth canal. I was truly stunned! A c-section had never even entered my mind! This is not what Giff and I had prepared for at all this time! How could this be my only option?


After giving it some thought and talking it over with Giff and my family, we thought it was best to listen to the advice of my midwife. I knew that she would not steer me in the wrong direction. She knew what kind of labor I wanted and had planned for. So, the decision was made. C-section it is!


As soon as we had made the decision to go with a c-section, a whirlwind of things started happening so fast! They were kicking my family out of the room, the nurses were preparing me for surgery, and Giff was getting into his scrubs. Before I knew it, I was on the operating table awaiting the arrival of my baby.


In the operating room, the anesthesiologist gave me more medicine to completely numb me from the waist down. It made me feel so queasy. I barely got the words out, "I think I'm gonna throw up," before I began throwing up everywhere. It was not pleasant, but the doctor immediately gave me a shot to knock out the nausea.


Shortly after that, Giff joined me in the operating room. I was shaking uncontrollably, and Giff held my hand. It felt like 30 seconds passed and the doctor said, "We're down to your uterus." Wow! That was fast! And, not one minute later, Giff and I heard the cry of our baby for the first time. It was incredible! I turned to Giff and said' "This is so surreal!" And he agreed. The doctors then told us that Christian had the cord wrapped around his neck once, and his body twice! No wonder he never moved into the birth canal! My midwife also told me that it could have been very dangerous for him to have been born vaginally with the cord wrapped around him the way it was. God was just protecting our baby by not allowing him to dilate me. What a miracle!


They took Christian to the warmer and the nurses began cleaning him off and checking his vital signs. I told Giff that I would be fine and to go take some pictures. At about that time, I heard the doctors saying how tired my uterus was, and that I was bleeding out a lot. Their voices started sounding stressed and I began to get scared myself. Giff came back to my side, as I know he also overheard the doctors and he began to worry about me. Next thing I knew, Debbie brought Christian over to me. She asked me if I wanted to try breastfeeding. What? On the operating table? Why not! So, she placed Christian on my chest, and he began breastfeeding right there while the doctors were still sewing me up! Amazing! Christian instantly latched on! I think Debbie did that to take my mid off of what was going on with me. And, it worked! It took the doctors a long time to get the bleeding under control. But, thankfully they did and the surgery was a success.


I will never forget this day as long as I live! It may not have gone according to plan, but Giff and I have our precious little boy, and he is healthy and beautiful, and that's all that matters! :)

One year ago today....

I was marrying the man God chose and created for me; the man that cares for me, loves me and adores me like no one ever has, the man that completes me, my other half, my best friend, my shoulder to lean on, my companion, my everything.

This past year of marriage has not been easy. But through it all, Giff & I have become even closer. We have learned that we have to rely on one another and we really need each other. I love him more today than I did a year ago when I walked down the aisle, even more than I did yesterday. We are such a good team and we compliment each other so well. His strengths are my weaknesses and his weaknesses are my strengths. God knew what he was doing!

Here are some pictures from our wedding day, February 23rd, 2008:

Giff-

I will always look back on this day with fond memories. It is a day I will never forget! It was the start of our life together, and the day we promised ourselves to each other forever. I love you more than I can put into words! Now, let's start our next journey together: becoming parents!

Happy 1 Year Anniversary!

Forever Yours,

aka: Andi

Valentine's Day

This is the gorgeous ring my sweet, thoughtful and loving husband has been saving up for since our wedding last February! It's more of an anniversary gift, but he wanted to make sure I got something on Valentine's Day as well. (Our anniversary is one week from today!) What I love more than the ring is the amount of thought and time he put into this gift. He didn't wait until a couple of days before our anniversary to start thinking about what he was going to get me. Instead, he has had this planned all year. I am so lucky to have him in my life and I love him so much! What a great Valentine's Day!

Burdens & Blessings

Giff and I have had a lot going on in our lives this past month. Some good, some bad. I feel like God is really trying to teach me something right now with all the trials and tribulations we have been faced with. Let me explain....

First, Giff lost his job right before Christmas. It was a job he truly enjoyed and loved, but the company went bankrupt. So, he has been earnestly looking for another job that will fit our needs, and anyone who understands the job market right now, knows how tough this has been on him. There is a job in the works for him right now that he is very much looking forward to. So, I pray that it works out!

Second, our lease is up on our townhouse in mid February. Which means, in the next few weeks, we have to move. This has been particularly difficult, because we need Giff to be able to show proof of income on a new leasing contract. We have spent endless weekends looking for a new apartment, with 2 bedrooms I might add, and have seen only a couple that we are interested in. Once Giff has a job nailed down, we will immediately sign a new lease, but until then, we are stuck.

Third, I am 8 months pregnant with our first baby. That, in itself, is stressful. But, with job and money issues and trying to find a new place to live, has just added to the stress level.

And, last but not least, our dog, Hitch, had to be put down this past Tuesday. He became very sick with parvo, and there was nothing we could do. Hitch was only 9 months old. This has been a rough week.

This picture is of Hitch when we first got him at 6 weeks old. He was so cute. We will miss him.

But, through all of these things, there have been many blessings...

-God has continued to provide for Giff and I in many different ways. We somehow have kept up with all of our bills, including the hospital and doctor bills for this baby. We have always had plenty of food at our house. Family and friends have given us so many great things for our new baby.

-We have started attending a new church that we really love and hope to get involved in.

-The birthing class we are taking has been such a fantastic reminder of what God's role should be in our lives. It has helped me focus on what we do have, and be thankful for it. It has also helped remind me that God will not leave our side and he is in control.

-Baby Christian is doing awesome! My midwives confirmed that he is in a head down position! He is very active and I got to see him sucking his thumb at my ultrasound on Wednesday! It was the sweetest thing!

-I had a baby shower at work this past week, and got so many things I needed for baby Christian! It was a great time and I thank God so much for providing these things to us. Honestly, I didn't know how we were going to afford to get everything we needed before Christian's arrival. But, I feel like we have almost all of the necessities. I also have another baby shower coming up in February. =)

Here are a few pics from the shower:

Life can be so challenging at times, but I realize how much I really do have. I have the love of awonderful man! It seems these hard times just bring us closer. I have this beautiful baby boy growing inside me! And, I can't wait to meet him for the first time! I have a family who is always there for me, and is willing to help in whatever way they can. What more can you really ask for?

I heard a song on ksbj this morning that always keeps me going through stressful times. The song is "I Will Praise You in This Storm" by Casting Crowns.

"I will praise you in this storm,

and I will lift my hands.

You are who you are,

no matter where I am.

And, every tear I've cried,

you hold in your hand.

You've never left my side.

And though my heart is torn,

I will praise you in this storm."

I will keep singing this song over and over again until this storm has passed....

Contractions + Hospital + Bed Rest = No Bueno!!

Here's the story....

I started feeling tightness and pain in my lower abdomen and back about 2 weeks ago. I thought this was the stretching of my uterus to accommodate my growing baby, but as this pain continued and started getting worse, I realized that I was actually having contractions. Yikes! A 21 weeks, this is definitely NOT a good thing. My mom suggested that I call the midwives to get their advice. I called late last Thursday and they immediately called me back early Friday morning. The nurse told me I needed to get to the office as soon as possible. So, instead of heading to work, I headed straight to the medical center.

Once I got there, one of the midwives, Diane, checked my cervix to see if it was dilating. Luckily, I was not dilating, but the midwife thought my cervix seemed short, which could mean I was going into pre-term labor. The next step was an ultrasound to measure more accurately the length of my cervix. Baby Christian (we finally decided on his name!) was very active, once again, during the ultrasound. This made me breathe a sigh of relief. At least the baby was doing well! The tech measured my cervix and said it was not shortened. Yay! One hurdle crossed! But, the tech said she could see that my uterus was contracting and of course, I knew that because I could feel it.

After the ultrasound, Diane put me on a monitor to watch the patterns of my contractions. At this point, the contractions were coming every few minutes. They were not very painful contractions, but extremely uncomfortable. After 30 minutes or so, Diane said that I was having labor patterned contractions, and I needed to go to the hospital to be under observation. I was not expecting that at all! But, I knew that she knew best. So, the midwives office is actually in the hospital, I just had to make my way to the labor and delivery floor, where another midwife, Dawn was delivering a baby. She would be the one to observe me.

On my way to the labor & delivery floor, I called my husband and my mom to let them know what was going on, and they immediately arranged to come to the hospital to keep me company.

Once at the hospital, I was given an IV and was out back on the monitor. My contractions were still pretty steady for the next few hours. So, the midwife, Dawn, gave me some medicine to stop the contractions. It didn't completely stop the contractions, but it made them much less frequent. Next, Dawn wanted to do another ultrasound to make sure my cervix was not changing. Again, my cervix was fine. At about 6:30 in the evening, Dawn gave me 2 prescriptions of medicine and released me from the hospital. But, she told me I had to go home and be on bed rest for the next few days. She didn't want me lifting, cleaning or walking around. Basically, she wanted me to stay in bed and rest. So, ALL weekend I was a complete bum! Ugh! No fun at all! But, the contractions went away almost completely! I only had a few of them on Saturday and a few on Sunday. I did notice that when I was on my feet like taking a shower and blow drying my hair, that I would start contracting. Once I was back on the couch, they eased up.

Dawn wanted to see me again yesterday (Monday). I was expecting to get the okay to go back to work and back to my normal routine. However, that was not the case at all! Even though the contractions have eased up a lot, Dawn fears that if I go back to work that my contractions will start back up again and I could go into pre-term labor. So, she wants me on bed rest this entire week! Ahh!!! I'm going to go crazy! But, for the sake of baby Christian, I will do what she says. It is WAY too early for him to make his entrance into the world! I can't wait to meet him, but he needs to stay put for at least another 15 weeks.

Giff & I are staying positive and we are praying that everything turns out okay.Here is the newest pic of Christian. He finally cooperated and we got a great profile picture of him! I love him so much already! :)

It's a BOY!!!!!!!!

This past Tuesday, October 14th, I had my anatomy ultrasound at St. Lukes Hospital. Giff and I both took the whole day off of work, so we could enjoy the time together! We got up early and made our way to the medical center. Baby Leu was extremely active during the ultrasound! He was tossing and turning and shaking his head every time the ultrasound machine passed over him! It was super cute! Then at one point, he put his hand to his cheek and it looked like he was waving to us! Such an amazing experience! The technician waited until the very end of the ultrasound to tell us "Oh! It's a boy!" My heart skipped a beat! I looked at Giff and he was grinning ear to ear! Such a proud daddy to be! We spent the rest of our day off going to baby stores, looking at furniture and buying cute little onesies for our little man! We had the best day! Check out what we got:

My favorite- the blue one that says "Small, Dark & Handsome." How precious is that?? Our next task, is coming up with a name. We have it narrowed down to a select few: Christian, Kevin or Brayden. Middle name possibilities are: Taylor, Alexander, Adam (after Giff's Grandpa) and Leeland (after Giff's Dad). My favorites are: Christian Taylor and Brayden Alexander. My hubby just can't seem to make up his mind. It's a big deal naming your first son! :) We hope to have a name picked out within the next week or so, so this baby doesn't have to go by baby anymore- we can call him by his name!

p.s. It has been wonderful watching Giff turn into a giddy, daddy to be......I think knowing that he will have a son in a few months has made him truly happy! I LOVE both of my boys!

So proud of my hubby!!

Today, Giff found out that he got a new job! Praise God! He has been so unhappy at his current job for quite a while now, so for the past few months, Giff has spent numerous hours searching for jobs online, emailing his resume to different companies and going on interviews. It has been very stressful for him, but he kept persisting and it finally paid off! I am so proud of him! It will not only bring in more money for us, but he won't be stuck behind a computer all day anymore and he gets to wear jeans everyday! (I think this may have been the selling point for Giff!) I hope he truly enjoys his new job!

Leu Baby Update: Week 13

1 week left in the 1st trimester! That is amazing! Sometimes I still don't feel like I'm pregnant, although I've had major morning sickness (or all day sickness, as I call it) , I'm constantly tired and I can't stand the sight or smell of meat! Maybe it's because I'm still not showing and I haven't felt the movement of the baby yet. Once those thing start to happen, it will feel more real. Reality or not, I am completely thrilled about this baby! This week's baby stats are as follows:

Length: 3 inches
Weight: 1 ounce
Size: An egg
Major Development: Baby now has ears developed enough to hear mommy talk, sing or hum. The baby will develop his/her vocal cords this week as well, so baby may be able to talk back to mommy soon.

Every week it amazes me how quickly this baby is growing! It is truly an incredible experience! And, I have to say that my husband has been the greatest through all of this. I have been unable to do my normal tasks around the house (cooking, cleaning, laundry, dishes), and Giff has stepped in and done it all! He has always helped me with those things in the past, but he has had to completely take them over the past 6 weeks. I have felt so bad, but he keeps telling me that he doesn't mind and he forces me to sit down and rest. I love him so much!