Sunday, March 20, 2011

Baby Life

Now that baby Isaac is sleeping well and I am healing from the c-section I will attempt to give more details about what's going on in our house and at the hospital!
Yes, Isaac James was born on Friday morning at 7:50 am.  We were surprised to have such a big baby (7 lb 13 oz) since the doctor was predicting a 6 lb baby!  He is a healthy full term baby, which is such an adjustment for Jared and I.  Our experiences in the NICU following Kai and Julia's birth is like night and day compared to Isaac's birth and first few days of life.  There is no stress, the baby actually stays with us in the hospital room (unless we ask for help fromt he nursery), the baby nurses well, we get to cuddle as long as we want, there are no monitors hooked up to the baby, there are no scary surgeries to prepare for, and we don't have to go home without our baby(ies)!







Isaac is so sweet and easy going so far.  He's pretty sleepy, but has moments of alertness when he'll look all around and make cute little noises at us.  He is also trying to lift his head up when he is resting on me in a reclined position- such a strong little boy!



Jared and I had a hard time naming Isaac.  We considered a lot of different names throughout the pregnancy and actually made the final decision the night before he was born.  The name Isaac is Hebrew for, "He will laugh."  We thought that was appropriate for our family.  We have a lot of laughter (and crying/fighting) in our household and pray for joyful children!  We also love the birth story of Isaac in Genesis.  Isaac was the promised son of Abraham and Sarah. At the time of Isaac's conception Sarah was consisdered "barren" and was past child-bearing age and Abraham was 100 years old.  Only God could "open her womb" and provide this miracle child for Abraham and Sarah.  We believe that each of our children is a miracle.  Isaac's conception and birth reminds us of God's faithfulness and goodness to us considering all of the infertility issues and miscarriages we have had the past five years.  The doctors told us that our chance of conceiving without medical help was close to impossible.  But with God all things are possible!  And on a more practical note we liked the way that Isaac sounded with Kai and Julia and it is a fairly short name with a long last name! 








It is so quiet up here at the hospital that I keep referring to it as the hotel, not the hospital!  I haven't gotten this much rest in 22 months!  My parents from Nebraska have been at home watching Julia and Kai while Jared goes back and forth to the hospital and home.  My mom is staying until this Saturday when Jared's parents fly in from Washington.  We are so thankful for all of the help!  My parents are loving the time they get to spend with Kai and Julia, but they are already exhausted!
Kai and Julia seem fairly indifferent to Isaac so far.  That will probably change once we come home and the baby is still with mommy!
Julia and Kai are both doing great.  They seem like such big kids all of a sudden!  Julia is really into taking care of her stuffed animals- feeding them a bottle, changing their diapers, and giving them loving. I think she will be a great big sister and a helper for mommy.
After a bout of constipation that required medical help last week, Kai is a new man!  He is walking EVERYWHERE and doesn't want to be held.  He is so loud and I can hear him coming down the hall saying "DaaaaaDD!!"  I still get tickled to see him walking into the room and being so independent and confident.  I am so proud of him!  Julia also seems to notice the change in him and they enjoy playing more physical games with eachother (tackling, etc!)
We will be coming home tomorrow and look forward to getting settled into our new routine as a family of five.  Thank you so much for your prayers!

Friday, March 18, 2011

Christianson - Party of five

It's our joy to introduce to you Isaac James Christianson, born today March 18th, 2011 at 7:50am.  He weighed 7 lbs 13 oz, and was 19.5 inches long.


He has dark skin, dark hair, and seems to be very content so far.  Michala is doing well after the C-section, and has experienced very little pain.  We'll hopefully get to go home by Monday Morning.  Thanks for all your prayers, as we are so blessed to have a healthly baby boy.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Elmo, Birthdays, and More!

We have had a fun couple of weeks as we've attempted to fit everything in before the baby comes!  Jared and I wanted to do something special with the kids before we become a family of five, so we got tickets to Sesame Street Live in Dallas.  Julia and Kai are obsessed with Elmo ("Melmo!").  I don't know what it is, but they loved Elmo before they even watched a single episode of Sesame Street.  They have Elmo summer shirts and Julia used to drag hers out of the hamper so that she could wear it again and again!  Kai loves looking at his Elmo characters on his diapers, which actually makes diaper changing time much smoother!
As we got ready for Sesame Street Live to begin, we were thinking that the kids would love it or they would be completely terrified of giant monsters on the stage.  Well, they ended up loving it!  They sat mesmerized for over 1 1/2 hours.  They clapped, yelled "Melmo!" and said "bye" everytime a character left the stage.  It was a success right until the time to leave came.  That was a long trip home!


The following week, we celebrated my 30th birthday.  The kids and I enjoyed some shopping and lunch.  Then Jared and I ventured away from the suburbs and went to a nice dinner in Dallas followed by a huge Ben & Jerry's ice cream cake creation.  I'm noticing that the day's highlights were food and family, a few of my favorite things!  
I was remembering this week of a silly dream that I have had since I was in highschool/college.  As I thought ahead and dreamed of my future, I told myself that I would be so happy to be married to the man of my dreams and have three children (or be pregnant with my third) by my 30th birthday.  Even though it was just a fascination, and one that I would never believe could have been true just 2 1/2 years ago, I am so thankful that the Lord has given me more than I could ever "ask or imagine!" 
As we realize what God has entrusted us with, we are reminded of how dependent we are on Him as we raise our children.  Now that the baby stage is almost over with Kai and Julia we have been faced with a lot of discipline and character issues as we try to "shape" them into people who love the Lord and bring delight to Him.  We pray for a lot of grace!

Speaking of children, we are looking forward to meeting baby #3 this coming Friday!  We have scheduled a c-section for the 18th, which is just four days shy of 40 weeks.  The doctor and nurses are surprised that I have made it this far.  Praise the Lord!  I have actually loved being pregnant and will be sad that the pregnancy is over.  It is such a special experience that I am so thankful to have.  Besides not being able to sleep well because of seasonal allergies and a very active baby, I have not been very uncomfortable.  But, I will be ready to meet him in just five short days!  Jared has been amazing as he has been preparing for the big day.  He has almost painted every room in the house and is now doing yard work outside.  He will be thinking that he's on vacation once the baby gets here!  I think that it's funny that Jared is disturbed by the thought of a living being living inside of me and doesn't like to watch and feel him move around, but he is totaly fine with watching the entire C-section and looks forward to it again.  Crazy! Unfortunately he only has 3-4 vacation days built up since starting his new job.  He will be able to take a few days off and then we'll be dependent on grandparents to make it through the next few weeks!
We will update the blog soon to introduce you to our new son!  Stay tuned........!


"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."          -Ephesians 3:20-21