Birth Story - Version 1

I had a few spare moments, so I thought I would post as much of a blog as I could squeeze in right now. =) I know I never got around to sharing Luke’s birth story – and someday, I will – I promise. =) But, while Will’s is fresh in my mind, I’ll post it. I’ve decided to give two different versions…I know some of you want to know all the gory details…and some of you don’t. =) Version 1 will be the short and sweet – non-gory story and Version 2 will be all the gory details…ok not all of them, but most of them…

I will probably only have time to publish Version 1 today as Will will be waking up any minute now to eat, but I’ll get Version 2 up as soon as I can. On to the short sweet story!

Version 1:

We went to our scheduled 41 week appointment on Wednesday, January 23rd. The doctor said I was at 3 cm and called L&D to see if they could get me in for an induction. He told us to call L&D at 5am on Thursday morning and see if there was a bed available. While we were talking, L&D called him back and asked him if we were free to come now. Uh, YEAH! So we rushed home, got our bags and headed out. We got to the hospital at around 3:00pm, got into a room by 4:00pm, got the Pitocin by 5:00pm and started having fairly regular contractions within minutes. I didn’t progress very fast, so at around 8:00pm, they upped the Pitocin. I decided to go ahead and get the epidural at around 9:00pm. Once I got that, I was able to rest for awhile. I still didn’t progress very quickly (even though my contractions were VERY regular,) so at around midnight, they broke my water. I got my epidural topped off at around 2:00am (the contractions were breaking through) and by 3:30am I was ready to push. Since I had just been topped off with the epi, I was completely numb – I couldn’t feel my legs AT ALL! I could feel the pressure of the baby though, and knew it was time to push. The nurse had me do a few practice pushes – then called the doctor in, broke down the bed, and a few more pushes later, William Stephen (named after my Grandpa Shotts and both of our dads) arrived pink and screaming! It was such a beautiful amazing moment! They laid him on my stomach and we were able to see him for a few minutes before they took him to the warmer to get him cleaned off and do his apgar. I’m not sure I would have gone into labor on my own anytime soon. He remained high the entire time – it wasn’t until I started pushing that he dropped down. I am glad that we were induced…if my water had broken on it’s own, I know things would have gone fast fast fast. After the doctor broke my water at the hospital, it was only 4 hours later that he was born…had I been up and moving around (rushing to the hospital that is) I think it would have been even faster. God provided in so many ways – He knew that this was the best and safest way for Will to come. The timing couldn’t have been better (I can say this with a smile now that he’s here, but going a week beyond your due date is rough.) So that’s the clean, short and sweet version. There are many many more details that I will share with those of you who want to know in my next blog – Version 2. =)

I do want to thank you all for your wonderful comments and e-mails. We also want you all to know how much your support, love and prayers mean to us – I have the best family and friends ever! Thank you so much for being there for us! We love and miss you all SOOOO much!

Alright, I have to run for now – Will needs to eat. Here are a few pictures until I can blog next time.

41 weeks - I had dropped a bit, but not enough to go into labor on my own...

Waiting for our room at L&D...

Chris making fun of me...=)

The room we had...

Chris eating supper...man was I hungry! I did steal 1 bite of his sandwich and 2 bites of his cookies. I now know why you shouldn't eat before labor...

Here is the contraction/heart rate monitor. The red line is the baby's heart rate, the purple line is my heart rate and the bottom black line is the contractions. This was before I got my epi - so they were regular, just not the same size each time - though some of them were big contractions!

Daddy bonding with Will...

Will's first bath...

Happy Birthday Will!

Luke and Wheel

Will went to the doctor today for his first visit since we've been out. The well baby clinic is in Landstuhl, so it was a long drive, and our appointment was nice and early on a Saturday morning. Of course it was made even more fun by the fact that Will pretty much stayed up all night last night. Mindy and I stayed up together until about 1 or 2 am, and then after that we switched off periodically. Boy I forgot how much fun a newborn can be. Mindy said he's still in his womb cycle where he would kick her all night long. Hey, if we were in America he'd be right on schedule.


This really goes with yesterday's post, but here's Mindy and Will racked out on the couch at 8 in the evening


I'm a little rusty with the swaddling but I'll catch on again


We're using this co-sleeper until we get our bassinet. It's pretty handy, but I don't think Will has adjusted to it yet. Of course, I'm basing that on one night of incessant crying.

The doctor's visit went fine. He checked his responses and his eyes and the other usual stuff. He said Will was a little yellow, but not bad and it should go away pretty soon. They're going to prescribe some Vitamin D for him- he said since Germany rarely sees the sun some babies are a little deficient and that would fix it. I don't know if we've mentioned how dreary it's been all winter here. Somehow the only sunny days this past week were the days Will was born.


Walking the corridors of the most confusing hospital I've ever been to.


Will on the table...sans clothes. I think we have a similar picture of me with Luke on his first appointment.

Luke really started taking to him today. We started this morning by getting him to help us out while we changed Will, and it gave him some purpose now that he's got a little brother. When we got back from the doctor, he was really interested in touching him and looking at him. We got him to kiss his hand and Mom even got him to hold him for a few seconds. He had the biggest smile on his face. Tonight before we put him to bed he kept kissing his face over and over (which may have just been a ploy to delay bedtime!). It was very sweet. I think the biggest thing will just be making sure he's gentle with him. He loves to rough house, especially with me, and I've been trying to make sure he knows it's different with Will without scaring him off. So far so good, but I think he'll catch on.


Luke is peeking in at Will in his car seat. The blanket on top is actually a fleece poncho from Jenny- perfect for the cold German winter.


Luke kissing Will's hand


This picture is a classic


He's fascinated by Will's hands and feet

Another side effect of having two kids is that Mindy and I both have called Will "Luke" about 10 times a day. We said it had to be that we've been used to Luke for a year and a half, and then we waited to settle on Will's name until the very end. I'm trying not to give the poor kid a "Randy" complex- my younger brother got the short end of the baby attention stick. His baby book is about two pages long, he wore hand me downs for years, and so on. I at least want to make sure Will feels like he has his own name. I will continue to parent by guilt as long as possible...

That's it for now. Maybe if you're lucky, Mindy will blog soon. I'm sure everyone wants to hear the gory details of childbirth!

Will Comes Home

Everyone has arrived at the Scott compound here in Baumholder today. It was a fairly short hospital stay for Min and Will, but long enough for everyone to know that we didn't want to stay any longer. After Will was born yesterday, I took off back to the apartment to get my mom (who put up another blog tonight- comments make her feel special) and Luke so they could meet Will. I must also admit I snuck in an hour nap while I was there- that made about four for me, and a little less for Mindy at that time. Luke was a little wary of him at first, but he likes to say his name- it comes out sounding like "Wheel." The real big brother test will be the next few weeks while he adjusts to no longer being the center of attention here.

We spent the afternoon there, and then I brought Luke back so he could take a nap, since he was getting a little restless after missing it at his usual time. We had planned on going back down again, but Luke decided he didn't want to sleep, so luckily Mom packed a bag and she stayed down in Landstuhl with Min and Will. Luke and I slept great...and Will kept Mindy and his Grammy up pretty much all night. The doctors had to do a few checks today, as well as circumcise the poor kid, but we finally got discharged at about 1 pm.


It's now a little after 8 pm, and I am the only person still awake here. Mindy and Will are asleep on the couch, Mom turned in at 8, and Luke went to bed an hour ago. It would be safe to say everyone is exhausted after the last two days.

Will is doing great. He had a little issue yesterday when he threw up all over the doctor who had come in to check on him. He was initially worried it might be a bowel obstruction that caused it, since it was brownish, but Will had pooped when he checked the diaper so he ruled that out. He figured he may have swallowed some blood on the way out, and was just expelling it, and they suctioned his stomach to get it all out. There was pretty much nothing left (it was all over the doc), so everything appears to be normal. He's still sore from the circumcision (who wouldn't be) and still has his cord stump left, but he's in great health and looks great. I think he looks a lot like Luke did when he was newborn.

We have another appointment for Will tomorrow, so we have to do the drive down to Landstuhl again in the morning. Hopefully some of these appointments can be done here in Baumholder in the future. We'll keep you updated on everything though, so stay tuned.

Here's a few pictures to send you on your way:



I didn't get the first diaper this time- the nurses changed it when they were checking his stomach. Although, the hospital did steal one of our shirts when they took him later, so maybe that was payment.


This was a rare sight for Mindy last night


Will getting ready to go home. Check out the huge hat!


Luke making peace with the interloper


My boys

He's Here!

(Updated: I added a few more pictures down at the bottom from when Luke and Grammy got to meet Will today.)

Allow me to introduce- after a long, long, long wait- our newest addition: our son William Stephen Scott. Yes, we finally settled on a name. William is Mindy's grandfather's name, and Stephen is both of our Dads' name. Will was born at 4:05 am on 24 January 2008 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. He weighed 9 lbs. even (!) and measured in at 21 in. long. Mindy and Will are both doing great with no complications.

We'll post the whole story and some more pictures later, but for now here are a few for everyone.


Mindy before they induced her. She was happy to get this little guy out of there.


Will was not happy to join us...as evidenced by his long stay inside Mommy. But we were happy to see him.


Mommy and Will


Daddy and Will


What a cute little man!

He stood there trying to figure out why Mommy was in a bed and a strange little person was lying next to her

Luke checking out the new kid on the block

The four of us! Yikes!

Grammy with her two grandsons

We're going to have a baby!

We’re leaving in the next few minutes for Landstuhl! I had my doctor’s appointment and he was able to get me in TODAY for an induction! Praise God! We’ll keep you as updated as possible. Thanks for your prayers and please continue to pray for us throughout the day. Our next post should be of Baby Bee…we better name this precious child!!! =)

Mindy vs. Elephants...

First off, Thank You sooooo much for your continued prayers and support! It really really means the world to me. I have the greatest family and friends in the world! =) Thanks for being so wonderful! =)


I have come to the conclusion that instead of a little Baby Bee human in my tummy, I must have a Baby Bee elephant in there. A baby elephant’s gestational period is two years...so I’m beginning to wonder if that’s what’s going on – not to mention how huge I’m getting! =) In fact, when I think about it – I kinda move like an elephant...

I walk slow – my footsteps make a thunderous racket - I sway from side to side while birds follow me around or perch on my huge stomach...

I fall into bed without bending... and I have to shower in the river now =)…

Hmmmm...these pictures do look an awful lot like me right now...=)

Anyway, =) Baby Bee is still sitting quite high. It’s looking more and more like I won’t go into labor on my own. I have my 41 week doctor’s appointment tomorrow, and am really hoping to get an induction date set then. I’m REALLY hoping he’ll take pity on me and get me on the books for this weekend. If he tells me I have to go for another week, I may have to go into “elephant angry mode” and charge him down and swing him around in my trunk until he gives me what I want. =)

Ok – so I doubt that, it looks like it would take a lot of energy to charge him down and swing him in my trunk...but he may get a mini-breakdown from a very huge and miserable pregnant lady. =)


I’ll post an update and picture after my doctor’s appointment tomorrow. I just thought I’d put up a quick post today (especially since I’ve been really bad about posting blogs and e-mailing lately) and especially to thank you all for your prayers, encouragement and support. You are all the best! =)

More tomorrow!

The Waiting is the Hardest Part...

OK, so we're officially into the post-40 week era now, with no sign of labor. The food has run out, we have no power, and we've taken to boiling rats in order to survive. Send help. Send it now.

Maybe I went too far there. But still, man- this kid will not come out! I don't know what his deal is. So we wait...and wait...and wait. In the meantime, here's some pictures from the last few days:

Mindy thinks she's about to pop out of her skin.

But she does tricks now!

Mom wanted to get in on the fun too...even though she had her last kid almost 27 years ago.

Luke enjoyed this until he couldn't roll over and get back up.

Luke got to go to the new playground near our house the other day. It's a little more his size.

Over the course of his wait on this bench, Luke told strangers of his exploits growing up as a special child in Alabama. Did you guys know he fought in 'Nam?

He now sits at the table eating leftovers. We should not be parents.

Here he is helping me put together the Baby Papasan. To be perfectly honest, I have no idea what a papasan is. I always thought it was an old Asian guy.

Luke enjoys the finished product. We're hoping when the baby gets here, he doesn't crawl in on top of him. I'm sure if the baby was here, he would wish that also.

I pretty much just read the instructions to the new double stroller and Luke did all the work. He's matured quite a bit.

See? He even does his own hammering. I'm going to get him a nail gun for his birthday.

This is how we ponder life and its meaning.

So that's life. Luke has spent the last few weeks watching Veggie Tales...over...and over. I can now sing all the lyrics to "Barbara Manatee." Mom is still adjusting to the sleep schedule (and she was inspired by her kids to start a blog...we have that effect on people). Mindy is miserable, and I just kinda do what I do. We still don't have a name for this poor child- at this rate, he'll graduate from high school as Baby Boy Scott. Maybe we'll have a trinket auction for a name!

40 weeks (-1 day) and still going...

Just a quick pregnancy update:

I went to the doctor today and haven’t made any real progress. The doctor said Baby Bee was still very very high. He said there wasn’t much I could do at this point, just hope he drops. They’ll induce me after I hit 41 weeks, so we’re probably looking at the end of next week before the arrival of Baby Bee. Though I don’t want to wait another week, it is nice to have an end in sight. It may be better that I’m induced anyway – I’ll for sure be able to deliver at Landstuhl and I’ll be there in time to get my epidural! =) So, I guess we’ll just wait and see if Baby Bee wants to arrive on his own, or if he’ll need a little help. Everything else looked fine - he's head down, his heart rate was good and he was measuring right on target. My blood pressure is good and I didn't even gain a whole pound this time (only .6 of a pound.) =)

Alrighty, I’m gonna go rest before we head off to playgroup this afternoon. We’re having lots of fun together. Luke LOVES having Grammy here – he calls her, “Me-mee.” It’s so cute!

39 weeks and 6 days...one day shy of my due date and 40 weeks...

I’ll update more later!

Grammy Does Germany

Saturday morning, Mom Scott and Uncle Brian flew into Frankfurt. It was so exciting! Chris, Luke and I managed to get to the airport without getting lost. Most of the way was driving on the autobahn, which is way easier then driving through the little towns that have roads going everywhere. We had a happy reunion with hugs all around. It was so great! =)



Mom Scott and Uncle Brian took a few hours of the day to sleep, and then we went to a little German restaurant/hotel called the Berghof for supper. We all ended up going to bed pretty early.



At the Berghof...


Uncle Brian reading to Luke in the evening.


This morning, we woke up at our leisure. We decided to go to the Burg Lichtenberg, a castle near Kusel (the same one from our blog on October 08, 2007.) It was the perfect day to go. The weather was cool and crisp, but not too cold, the sun was out – but there was also mist everywhere. It was very medieval looking. We ate lunch at the Burg Restaurant (which is at the opening of the castle) and had a wonderful meal. The schnitzel was really really yummy there!

In front of our apartment complex...

In front of the Burg Restaurant...

All of us together...

Mom Scott eating a salad at the Burg...

Me, Luke and Uncle Brian...

Chris and Mom...


After lunch, we walked around and explored the castle and grounds. We were able to get tons of great photos. It was such a fun day! We are so enjoying our time of fellowship together with Mom Scott and Uncle Brian. It’s so nice to have them here!

A picture taken through an castle window - look at the mist out there!

Picture of the town and castle in the mist...

In front of the castle...

Luke watching Grammy and Uncle Brian coming down a long set of stairs...

Mommy and Lukey!

Uncle Brian and Chris scaling the castle walls...

Getting down is harder than getting up!

Luke peering out a window - he saw a dog and was very excited. He kept saying, "Dowgie? Dowgie?"

"Dowgie?"


Mom Judy and Uncle Brian in front of the keep...

Luke pushing his own stroller...

Uncle Brian standing on a ledge with the sun behind him. I love this picture!



Mommy and Baby Bee sitting on a rock...

Luke had to sit on it too...

Uncle Brian scaling the castle walls again...

Luke looking through a peep hole...

Walking into the beautiful landscape...

Looking down from an old stable...



An archway...


Luke looking for another doggie out the window...


Pretty picture...

A place Mom Judy and I visited a lot...

Here we are snug and cozy in the backseat!

Luke was out seconds after getting strapped in his car seat. He was ready for a nap!



Today I’m 39 weeks 3 days. Still no signs of labor. =( I really thought I would go into labor a few days before my due date. Luke came 4 days early, and I didn’t think I would go beyond 40 weeks this time either. Unfortunately, it’s not looking or feeling like Baby Bee will make his appearance anytime soon. I’m still high and have had no real significant signs of labor. I have my next doctor’s appointment on Wednesday (the day before my due date) and will ask the doctor when they’ll be willing to induce me if I don’t go into labor on my own soon. I was really hoping all the walking and stairs we did today at the castle would jumpstart something. Thank you all for you prayers and thoughts – it means so much to us! I’m gonna show Mom Scott how to post a blog, so when Baby Bee does decide to come; she’ll be able to post it right away.

There is one "Expectant Mother" parking space at the commisary here - I'm always excited when I can snag it...

And 39 weeks and 3 day...as you can see, I'm solely in Chris's shirts now. =)

Alrighty, it’s late and I’m tuckered out. I’ll update some more later!

Love ya’ll!