How Theo Came into the World

or A Pregnancy Story

Theo at 3 months

Today is Theo's birthday, and we're forever thankful that he came to join us oh, so many years ago. He is a hard-working, kind, and responsible individual who enriches our lives every day. But that does not mean that he didn't give us a run for our money more than once when he was growing up. Starting at the very beginning.

My pregnancy with Theo was not easy. Besides being nauseous for many months, there were several indications that things weren't going well. First, there was bleeding for the first three months, and the doctor thought I was going to miscarry, but I didn't. Then there were the blood tests that indicated that there might be severe developmental problems with the baby. There was a lot of angst until additional testing suggested there weren't. Then there was my preeclampsia, pregnancy-induced high blood pressure, that had me close to kidney failure. I should have guessed that problems would continue until delivery - because they did.

One afternoon, about a month and a half before my due date, I went for a regular check-up with my doctor, and my blood pressure was high - high enough that he decided to admit me to the hospital and try to bring it down. Unfortunately, as time went on, the blood pressure didn't go down with medicine. Also, my nervous system was being affected as indicated by a lack of normal reflexes--meaning tapping the hammer on my knee produced nothing. The worry was that I was going into eclampsia, a condition that could lead to death. So it was time to deliver Theo. However, because he was early, I had to be transferred from the small local hospital to a bigger one with a Neonatal Unit. So while I was taking my first ambulance ride, Ward was knocking on the neighbor's door in the middle of the night to ask if they could watch Wally while he went to be with me.

Besides a headache and very mild contractions, I didn't feel as bad as the flurry of hospital activity around me suggested that I might. I guess I didn't understand that this was as much of an emergency as the medical staff thought it was. As they were preparing me for a C-section, they explained how dangerous it was to be put to sleep in my situation. No problem. I didn't want to be put to sleep anyway. An epidural was fine. However, the epidural didn't work. The doctor would stick me with a needle to see if I was numb, and I would feel it. The anesthesiologist would give me a little more numbing medicine, but I would still feel the needle. Finally, the doctor said they would have to put me to sleep. I only got on one protest about how dangerous they told me that would be before I was out.

The next thing I remember is slowly coming awake to the doctor and Ward standing by my bed telling me that I had had a baby boy. That was all well and good, but I was more focused on the bubbling sound I could hear and wondered why they had a fish tank in a hospital room. Turns out they were hydrating the oxygen I was getting, not a fish tank as I had imagined. :)

The doctor said that Theo weighed in at 4 1/2 pounds - about a pound below what he should have been for his gestational age. Also, he was born just before the surfactant usually develops in the lungs to aid breathing. These things would not be of much concern with today's technology but were serious then. But here's the great thing. Because Theo had been under stress in the womb because of my high blood pressure, his adrenal gland kicked into gear and sped up his maturity. That meant no breathing problems and only a few feeding problems. Our bodies are so smart -especially when creating a new life. 

A week and a half later, we brought Theo home to begin a new adventure as a family of four. And what an interesting adventure it has been. 

Happy Birthday, Theo!

Seeing the sights

Ward and I took a break from our everyday routine and spent a couple of days exploring central Pennsylvania this past weekend. As we do most on our trips, we made sure we had a place to stay, snacks and sandwiches, and a few ideas of what we might want to do. We also thought about how we would work around the weather on this trip, which was predicted to have temperatures in the 90s and the threat of severe storms. However, timing was everything, and we managed to avoid any real problems. Here are some highlights from our trip.

We visited the Hershey Gardens in the morning before the stifling heat of the afternoon.
The temperatures were not too hot, but we did have a bit of rain.
Notice the Hershey's Kisses on the signposts. This is in the town of Hershey, where everything is related to Mr. Hershey and his chocolate enterprises. 

The gardens were established in 1937, so there were many mature plantings.

Many of the spring flowers were finished blooming, and the summer ones, like this allium, were starting.

In addition, to the outdoor gardens, they had a butterfly atrium. (Although, this is a moth.)

The gardens were host to many school field trips, but we managed to maneuver around them with no problems.

After the Hershey Gardens, the skies were darkening with severe weather threats, so we weren't sure what we wanted to do. Proceeding with uncertainty, we headed to Hunter Mansion in Harrisburg. As we explored the park along the Susquehanna River associated with the mansion, the rain began. With a mad dash, we were able to make it under the cover of the mansion porch before the heavens opened. And as luck would have it, there was a tour guide waiting, and we then had our own personal tour of the entire house.

Ward especially enjoyed our private tour because he could look at the
details of the woodworking, some as old as 200 years old, as long as he wanted.

After the rain stopped, we explored the grounds
before heading to the hotel and having an early dinner.
This is an ice house they filled with ice from
 the river in the winter. It lasted most of the year.

The next morning, we explored the back roads on a barn quilt tour. But after a couple of hours, we decided it was too hot and headed for home.

But along the way, we stopped in Gettysburg at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Historic Site. We had explored the battlefields in Gettysburg but had never been here before. Unfortunately, we saw that the house didn't open for tours until next week, but we decided to scope it out for another time.

But luck was with us again when we found a ranger who spent an hour or so with us telling us about the house, farm, and President Eisenhower. Eisenhower bought this farm after he retired from the military, and it featured prominently during his presidency. The afternoon was hot, but under the shade of a big tree with gentle breezes blowing, it was an enjoyable afternoon. And interesting. I learned many things about Eisenhower that I didn't know. 

We were able to make it home before another rainstorm, and much to our delight we saw that the electrician had finished the lighting in the kitchen. Slowly but surely we are getting there.

Until next time...

An Interesting Day

Recently, Ward and I attended a public meeting for our county's planning commission. It was for the approval of new development in our neighborhood. We wanted to learn more about it and support the neighbors who were going to try to convince the commissioners that it was a bad idea. You know how it is. No one ever wants their neighborhood to change-especially if it's going to bring more traffic.

We had no idea what to expect, but we left early in case of traffic problems. We found the building and meeting room and then waited and watched as others arrived. The meeting began promptly and was a mix of commissioners both in person and virtually. There were also several other support people. We were not sure of their roles, but they were experts of some kind or another who got asked various questions about procedures and laws throughout the hearings.

Here was the first surprise. We were number two on the agenda. Well, surprise may not be the right word because we didn't know what was going to happen. But we naively thought that the commission was meeting to discuss only our issue. Naive might not be the right word here either; foolish might be more accurate.

One of the houses from the first case.

Anyway, the first case took over three hours. Three hours of tedium with occasional interesting bits here and there. It was about an older neighborhood that has been fighting a housing development going in next to them since 2006. In 2014, they agreed to the development but were there fighting road changes that would happen with it. Wow, they were organized. I think everyone who lived in the neighborhood either spoke in person or on the phone, including a little girl who haltingly read a statement asking for them not to take away her magical neighborhood. We heard about the historic houses, some built in the 1800s, and 90-year-old Miss Betty, who won't be able to safely get her mail if they change the roads. Despite their valiant effort, the development plan was approved, new roads and all. That crowd left with pledges to renew their efforts to declare their block a historic neighborhood as another way out of the situation.

After a 30-minute lunch break, our case was up next. The development group and their engineer presented their plans. The commissioners asked a few clarifying questions, and then the floor was open for public comment. There were quite a few who spoke on behalf of our neighborhood, making excellent points, but in the end, it didn't matter. After an hour and a half of discussion, this plan was approved, also. I was somewhat discouraged by the whole process. The commissioners can only follow whatever current regulations are and can't act outside of them, even if it makes sense to do so. 

But all was not a loss. Ward and I were intrigued by the idyllic area we heard about in the first case, so we visited it this past weekend. And along the way, we found a place to take a short hike. A pleasant outing that we were able to fit in between rain showers. Here are a few pictures of our morning.

Our walk took place on grass paths around various ponds.

If what we heard was any indication, the area was home to many frogs.

And the geese loved it there.

Yellow iris popped up here and there.

On the way home, we saw this jet in someone's front yard.
I wish I knew the story behind it.

I'm Back!

 After taking a break to recover from the A-Z blogging challenge, I'm back. Here's a little peek into the goings-on around here in the last week and a half.

We had a retirement celebration for Ward, who retired in April. The weather was perfect, and the yard was in its spring glory. Because we still have limited kitchen facilities, we ordered pizzas for the main dish.

And speaking of limited kitchen facilities, our cabinets got delivered a couple of days ago. Yay!

The delivery men said that they deliver all kinds of cabinets from different manufacturers and these are some of the best. So that was good to hear. It was also good to see the cabinets up close and personal because we didn't remember exactly what we ordered; it's been so long.

Another day, we visited a local wholesale nursery to get some plants.
I really enjoyed seeing all of the plants in different stages of growth.

Some of the plants we got at the nursery are the little begonias you see in front of the azaleas. We plant begonias in this spot every year because they do very well here without much maintenance.

Also blooming in the front on the other side of the walk are the yellow variegated tulips that have joined the already blooming red ones.

Also, newly blooming this week is the lily of the valley.

I had a nice Mother's Day because both Wally and Theo were here for a cookout. It was especially nice because, after three days of cold rain, it cleared in the afternoon. This Mother's Day rose is in a vase that was my mother's, and the table it is on was hers, too. A nod to remembering her, too.

Until next time...