Timothy Edward Peterson: The Story

Here's the birth story of our newest addition; read only if you like birth stories. :) Pictures will follow.

I woke up Sunday night, at about 12:45 with pain. I figured at first it was the normal Braxton Hicks contractions (I'd had similar pains before). However, they didn't go away. I quickly gave up on going back to sleep. At this point, the contractions were 10-15 minutes apart. After a while of this, and realizing that the contractions were stronger than the "practice" ones I'd felt throughout the pregnancy, Daniel and I decided to start getting things ready, knowing we'd be going to the hospital sometime within the day. As we prepared, the contractions grew stronger and more frequent (6-9 minutes apart). However, they were nothing unbearable. We finally called the doctor at about 3:30, and based on the factors, the doctor agreed that we should come in right away. (Factors being: this was a second child, the hospital was almost an hour away, and he wanted to monitor me since I'd had a previous c-section)
So, we called Leslie, a missionary here who is a pediatrician and was present for Jer's birth too, asked if she could come with us, and then called Becky, another good friend and asked if she could come and watch Jer. Yay for friends! Soon, we were on our way to the hospital. We arrived, checked in, and went up to the birthing wing, where I was connected to the monitor. My contractions seemed to level out for a time, at about 5 minutes apart. However, I was only dilated 2, and then 3 cm. The baby had still not moved into the birth canal. The doctor wanted to give us time, figuring the contractions would force the baby into the right position and that I would continue to dilate. He said the baby's head was too far in one direction and having difficulty entering the canal. The contractions became increasingly painful and frequent, and it felt to me like the baby was trying to force it's way out the front. Around 8 or 8:30, the doctor came in and verified that the baby was pressing towards the front and still had not entered the birth canal (and I was still only dilated to 3 cm). He was concerned because all the pressure of the contractions was directed at my previous incision. If it continued, there was a risk that the incision would rupture (this is why it's extremely rare, unfortunately, that doctors here even let women try a vaginal birth after a cesarean). The doctor told me he would like to go ahead and do the c-section, and Leslie confirmed that it was a wise decision, given the circumstances. I was disappointed, but had prepared myself for the possibility. I was also grateful that the doctor had been so willing to help me try to have the baby naturally.
So, an hour later they prepared me for the c-section. That hour before, however, was unbearable, as the contractions continued coming with strength and frequency, and I didn't have the satisfaction of knowing that they were leading me towards a higher goal!
Finally, everything was ready and they began the c-section. This time, I was much more aware of what was going on. Unfortunately, that meant I felt all the uncomfortable, painful pressure that I did not realized accompanied a c-section. Out came Timothy, and they brought him over so I could give him lots of little kisses. Then they wheeled me to the "recovery" area, which was an open room off the main hall of the birthing ward (essentially I was in a hallway). I slept for about an hour, then couldn't sleep any more due to the lights and noise. Eventually they brought Timothy to me for nursing, and a little later (though it seemed like forever), they finally moved me to a room and brought back Timothy.
All together, it was a much better experience than the first c-section, due to the cleaner, nicer, more professional hospital and staff. The only complaint I had was the wait for my room and the fact that they forgot to bring me my breakfast (liquid diet) the morning after the c-section (I couldn't have anything before that time), even though the doctor, and others put in the request for it. I didn't get my soap and jello until lunch! But, the nurses were very helpful and professional (and even wore gloves!). I recovered much more quickly than I did the first time. The pediatrician spoke English and we were very impressed by her (she actually ran blood tests, etc. on Timothy, noticed he was Jaundiced and talked to us about it, etc.). The pediatrician there for Jer's birth really didn't say much of anything.
So, overall we are extremely satisfied with the hospital, doctors, and staff.

Since being home, it's been a crazy transition. We were so glad that Daniel's dad was able to fly in on Tuesday to help out. Jeremiah did very well the first few days of us being gone. However, he didn't sleep very well Tuesday night and caught a cold from school. Wednesday evening (the day we arrived home) he was extremely cranky and somehow bit or cut his tongue. So that's added to his fussiness; every time he tried to eat he says "hurt" and starts to cry. Poor boy; it's been a tough transition and he has a cold and hurt tongue on top of it all.
Okay, now to the good part; the pictures:

Leslie, Me, and Timmy

First family photo (Jer came to visit Tues)

Finding the baby's nose

Jeremiah's big brother gift (thanks to friends!)

Finding his hands

Going home!

Welcome home sign made by the 2nd graders

Jer excited over Timmy

Beautiful flowers from JCS

And for comparison, big brother Jeremiah in the same homecoming outfit, 2 years ago:

(I love how different they look in spite of the same outfit; to my eyes anyway!)

WELCOME TIMOTHY EDWARD PETERSON

Teresa started having contractions at 1am and we headed to the hospital at about 4. We started to try a normal birth, but after a few hours, the doctor said the baby was not lined up correctly and so Teresa was at risk of rupturing at the old incision. They ended up doing a cesarean and Timothy and Teresa are both healthy. Timothy was born 6 lb. 12 oz. at about about 10:00am.

Mommy and baby

Baby Timothy!

More to come later... need to get back to the mommy. God bless you all!
-Daniel

Congratulations!!

Congratulations to Ashley and Paul who's baby girl, Savannah, arrived today! I'm so excited for them and look forward to hearing all about it! :-D You can see a picture of her here.

Meet-and-Greet Monday: Jeremiah goes to school

Today was Jeremiah's big day- the first day of preschool! JCS starts preschool at age 2, for language acquisition purposes. Even though it's going to be mostly in English, the kids will all come in speaking Spanish, and I'm hoping Jeremiah will pick up more Spanish than he does at home. I wasn't worried about him having a good time- but I was worried that I would be lonely without him (I love having my buddy with me). However, I was surprised how quickly the morning went and how much I enjoyed the quiet (but, of course, I won't have that for long!). Daniel biked in with Jeremiah and said he went easily to his seat and started playing. The times that he peaked in the classroom Jeremiah was playing and enjoying himself. Daniel also once heard him down the hall in the bathroom yelling, "Pee-pee, yay!" The teacher informed us that he didn't cry at all (many of the 2 yr olds cry the first day). I'm not surprised, as he's super social and the school is a familiar, fun place to him. After a quiet morning, I drove to school at noon, had lunch with the boy and daddy, came home, snuggled with Jer, and put him down for his nap.
Anyway, here are the pics (and some other random ones as well):

This is the "practice" (introducing him to his back-pack)

And here's the real deal:
(no uniform yet, they're back-ordered)

Off they go!

And now for some random pics:

Jer. still has a thing with putting underwear on his head

So we found him a hat

Helping daddy with yard work

A random chicken that some how made it into our yard (we have a very tall fence)

10 beautiful, big mangos for just under $3 total
(I love mango season!)

And that's all for now! For more meet-and-greet, go to Beth's page.

Saga of the Wall

Well, the saga of the wall has officially ended. Just before we moved into our current house last year (in March '08), we did some painting. We decided the orange walls had to go (one was in the kitchen/living area, the other was in our bedroom. I love blue, so of course we decided to go for blue in the bedroom (and navy in the living area). The navy wall turned out lovely and was finished before we moved in. However, we had some trouble with our bedroom wall. You see, there isn't any good way to really find out what color the paints dry here. You can look at their samples (and not take them with you), but that doesn't mean the color will actually turn out anything remotely similar. So, we tried our best and bought a blue we thought would work. Daniel started "cutting in" the top edge. Ugh- the blue was a very dark blue that wouldn't work in a bedroom. So, we started over. I wanted a "slightly-darker-than-sky-blue" blue. Once again, Daniel went out to try his best and bought a quart to test it. It ended up being a kinda light-turquoise blue. We decided that was do-able (and since then bought a comforter that coordinated, so it worked nicely). However, there was not enough in the can to finish the wall. This left a wall that was turquoise up to the top of window-level, orange the rest of the way, with a dark blue around the top edging. We moved in shortly there-after, and the poor wall has stayed that way, untouched and rather hodgepodged. That is, up until yesterday. On Saturday, we finally finished painting the wall! And now we have a nice, all-light-turquoise-blue wall. And so the wall saga has ended happily, just in time for a little one to be born and rest it's little head across from the now-completed wall.

Meet-and-Greet Monday: Jeremiah's big day!

Saturday was Jeremiah's 2nd b-day. We celebrated with a kid (family) party in the morning. It was fun to have kids running around the yard, playing in the pool, etc. And the parents were a huge help (helped ice the cupcakes, do dishes, etc.). Snacks consisted of fruit kabobs, ham-cheese dip and crackers, and bread sticks (and cake, of course). Jeremiah had a great time, but was too excited later that afternoon to take his nap (but he was willing to read books for about an hour). Here are a few of the highlights; check out all the pics from the party at my picasa album!

Here he is trying to stay awake (notice the Mickey Mouse cup and plate):

Showing off that he's 2!

My first attempt at a decorated cake (I cheated and used a cake mix from the box)

With his birthday cake (he gently stuck his fingers in the eyes and licked them):

However, after a few licks of his small piece of cake, he was more interested in the food on the rest of his plate

Time for presents!

He was very excited about his toothpaste and toothbrush; here he's showing off his teeth

Playing with his new "choo-choo"

Jeremiah and Micah (she came early to help; she made the fruit kabobs and the dough for the breadsticks!)

Jer's new apron (I made it for when he helps me in the kitchen)

He loves letters!

And for more pictures from the "birthday weekend" (and to see Jeremiah with underwear on his head) go to my picasa album:

Jer's birthday weekend

For more Meet-and-Greet, see Beth's page.

Long time, no blog :(

So it's been a while since I've posted. Some of this is related to life's busy-ness, but a lot of it has been related to having no-emotional energy. And it does take energy to think of what to write, and, when I don't write and just put up pictures, it takes forever to upload the pics via our internet connection.

A lot has happened in this past month. What has been the most on my heart and mind, however, I can't talk about yet (which has also added to me not blogging). But, here's a run down of some of what's kept us busy:
-Party for Daniel's birthday (smoked b-b-q ribs- yummmm)
-Play dates for Jeremiah (and talk times for mommy!)
-Weekend in Bonao visiting the family of a former JCS employee. Enjoyed dinner on the roof and swimming in a pool
-Quick visit to San Fransisco de Macoris to visit other former JCS employees that just recently had a baby.
-Celebrated our 12th year dating anniversary
-Started teacher training
-Preparing to celebrate Jeremiah's 2nd birthday (tomorrow!)

So, after Jer's birthday party I'll have pictures to post (and, hopefully, energy to post them). I'm even going to attempt icing a Mickey Mouse birthday cake!

An account of our adventures (hiking, campfire, scary bridge, playing in the river) and mis-adventures (falling rat, little boy who wouldn't sleep, etc.):


So I'm a little late for Meet-and-Greet Monday. Ah, well.

For Daniel's birthday (Friday) we went "camping" in a little community up the mountain from Jarabacoa. We arrived, parked our car at the top, and proceeded to "walk" down the stairs to the valley below. I carried Jeremiah on my back, and Daniel carried all the "stuff" in his hiking back-pack. After settling into our cabin, we went down a little further to the river, where we started a fire for dinner. Jeremiah helped gather the sticks and attempted to roast his own hot-dog (which didn't last for long). Dinner consisted of hot dogs, veggies packets, and stick-bread covered in butter and cinnamon-sugar. Mmmmm.... Of course, we had forgotten the flour, so we had to run up and ask if we could buy some flour off of somebody. After finally locating some flour, we were able to make the stick-bread. By this time it was very late, so we hurried to put Jeremiah down for bed. We had just transitioned him two days earlier to a mattress on the ground (in preparation for the bed his grandpa is going to make him). However, he was not keen on sleeping on a mattress in an unknown place. We went through his night-time routine, but him on the mattress, and went outside to sit on the porch. When he started screaming and crying we knew we should go back in. This turned into 40 minutes of Daniel and I laying on our bed and singing/ignoring him (he wouldn't accept any comfort from us) while he threw a temper tantrum and declared "no nigh-nigh. Iah side!" (This translates to "no sleep, Jeremiah wants to go outside" for you who don't understand toddler-talk.) Suddenly in the middle of his ranting he stopped and said, "Nigh nigh, Iah," laid down on the mattress and didn' t say another word. After 10 or so minutes of silence, we snuck back outside. It was 9:50 by this time. Be attempted to go to sleep shortly after.
By "attempted" I mean just that. I had trouble falling asleep, being 7 months pregnant and wondered what large animal was on the roof (after all, they have no small mammals here besides rats and mice). Hmmm.... a few minutes of wondering, and I hear something slide down the side of the cabin, and feel something on me. I immediately pushed it off. I have no idea where it went. But of course, for the rest of the night I didn't get much sleep, worrying about the rat falling on me again! (and listening to it climbing around the cabin). Praise the Lord that Jeremiah slept through it all and that the rat left him alone! I kept scooting further and further down the bed, away from the wall. I eventually fell into a very fitful sleep with strange dreams (but luckily, no dreams of rats).
The next morning we woke at 8:00 (well, I woke earlier but kept falling back asleep) and had breakfast at a little restaurant/meeting room. They use the room when if they have groups, etc. But since it was just us, the guy in charge made us breakfast at his house and brought it to the restaurant. After a very satisfying meal, we decided to go hiking and explore. Three local girls showed us the way across the bridge and to a path leading to a "pear" tree (not American pears). We played by the river for a bit, hiked a little more, and then headed back to swim in another part of the river. After a picnic lunch, we went back to the cabin for nap time. Jeremiah didn't nap, but he was content to roll around on the mattress, talk to himself, etc, so Daniel was able to nap. :) Shortly after that, we packed up and headed back up to the road.
In all, we had a fun time as a family, despite the rat, the lack of sleep, and, oh yeah, the fact that we forgot our toiletries as well. I'd love to go back and stay at the cabins again- as long as we knew there were no rats! But it is close enough for a day trip, as well. :)

The view of the valley from the road

The "steps" we hiked down

Jeremiah attempting to roast his hot-dog while shielding himself from the smoke

For more pictures of our adventures, including the scary bridge, our hike, our cabin, and cool flowers, click on, or view, the slide show below (sorry, no photo of the rat).

Jarabacoa Christian School needs...

Please pass this on to anyone interested in helping out! Here are some needs we have for this school year:

*Sponsor a child! There are several children in Jarabacoa that want to attend JCS, but cannot for financial reasons. There are several types of scholarship available, starting at $17/month (see below). You can choose to give 25%, 50%, or 75%. You can give monthly or all at once. If you pay all of it up front, you receive a 10% discount, if you pay one semester you receive a 5% discount.
Here are the areas of need:
PreK3-K5: $177 inscription; $66/month for 10 months
1st-2nd Grade: $211 inscription; $94/month for 10 months
3rd-5th Grade: $225 inscription; $112/month for 10 months

For example, if you chose to sponsor a student in preschool at 25%, you would give $53 for inscription/August, and $17/month from Sep-June. If you chose to sponsor a 1st-2nd grader at 50%, you would give $106 for the inscription, and $47/month from Sep-June.

*Donations- JCS needs lots of basic supplies: construction paper, glue, tape, markers, pens, pencils, teaching tools, teaching resources, etc... We also need sports equipment, as well as play items for preschool, such as toys, pretend play, clothes for dress up (if you have fun old shoes, dresses, hats, belts, shirts, vests etc.), etc.

*Come join us! We still have some positions that need to be filled: PK4, 2nd grade, 3rd or 6th grade, jr/sr high history, and jr/sr high science. College degree is required, certified teacher is preferred.

*Partner in Prayer! Please pray that God will fill our staffing needs, for safe travels for incoming teachers, for a good start to the year, that all of our teachers and staff would effectively share the love of Christ with our students, and that God would bring us through any obstacles we face this year.

4th of July, freezer cooking, etc...

We've been busy lately! July seems to be flying by; less than 1 month and summer is over (teacher training starts the first week of August). Here's a run down of what we've been doing:
-3 play dates last week
-"Celebrated" 4th of July on the 3rd with a picnic lunch in our back yard. Jeremiah finger-painted some nice red and blue pictures. :)
We finally turned on our deep freeze and are now trying to fill it!
-Really stretching a chicken: Saturday we bought 17 pounds of chicken (4 large chickens), at about $1/lb from a place that sells fresh, farm raised chickens. It's nice to support local business and know our chickens have some freedom! I used the necks, wings, feet, and skin for broth (yield=9 cups). After cooling it, I skimmed off the fat and saved it to use for cooking. I saved 1 chicken whole to roast (which will go towards at least 2 meals). I have 2 freezer bags of half chickens (also more than 1 meal each unless we have company) and 2 bags each of 2 thighs and 2 breasts. So, the chicken meat itself will give us at least 10 meals, and the broth chicken fat will go towards other meals.
-We also bought 4 pounds of ground beef (also about $1/lb here). I used this recipe (more or less, but added some bell peppers and garlic) to make a "ground beef mix" and divided it into 6- 1 pint bags for 6 different meals. I can use it for quick sloppy Joes, chili, rice casserole, pasta casserole, stuffed peppers, etc.
-After all that I did some weeding and trimming in our back yard. Daniel made a "square foot" garden that I'll transplant my seedlings to after they've started to grow.
-Sunday: after church, we drove with a team here from Minnesota (they're here with our church) to a little neighborhood/town further up in the mountains. We parked our cars on the side of the road and then hiked down the "stairs" into the valley (the only access to the town). We played in the river, and looked at the cabins that they rent out (we're staying there this Friday, for Daniel's birthday). Then we hiked back up to the car. I crashed for the rest of the day.
-Yesterday (Monday) I mostly crashed, but managed to make Mangu for breakfast, cook 7 jars of pasta sauce to freeze and visit Daniel for lunch. Then I crashed some more, went on a walk with my family, and had a light supper.

So, that's been our past week. I'm continuing to fill the freezer little by little. I want to have it well stocked for when baby comes (only 2 months now)! Jeremiah enjoys helping me cook and bake. I didn't really take any pictures last week; I'll try to do better this week! :-D
P.S. If you have any great freezer-cooking recipes, please share them with me!

Meet-and-Greet: Shaving Cream fun and senior graduation

So I realized that even though I'd posted pictures to my Picasa web album, I had yet to put them on my blog. Graduation was actually about 2 weeks ago. It was the first senior graduation for Jarabacoa Christian School! Quite a few teachers from past years came down the the event. The graduating class consisted of 4 students; the graduation included the ceremony, a meal, and dancing. We left before the dancing because it was already late by the time the dancing began (almost 11), and we wanted to relieve the babysitter. Here are the pics:


Last Thursday Jer and I went to a friend's house to having some shaving cream fun. 4 boys+ lots of shaving cream = a big mess! The youngest of the other boys is 3, and Jeremiah attempts to say his name. When I ask him if we had fun, or say we're going to have fun today, he nods and says "agua, An-y." (We've also been going to the pool with them once a week). So, Jeremiah associates fun with water and "An-y." And now for pics:

And they're finally clean!

For more pics of shaving cream fun, go to our online album here:

June

For more Meet-and-Greet, head over to The Natural Mommy and meet her new arrival!

Pics

Here are pics of our "making do" without running water:

Daniel lowering the bucket into the cistern

Pushing the bucket under the water

Drawing the water out of the cistern

Dish washing set up: wash in gray bucket, rinse with water from green bucket and pot, put in white basket

Bring over white basket, dip in bleach water, set in drying rack

We'll see how the dish-washing attempt goes. I really want to get some dishes washed in spite of my left hand. I was planning to do dishes Friday, but that didn't happen due to my "exciting" walk.