2010...

Oops...I suppose it would have been better to say Happy New Year a while ago :} Sorry to those who do check out this blog once in a while...it is my intention to update much more regularly but...life is busy (...and I think I've used that line before). This is a good thing I suppose and means we're settling well here in Oz and have lots of things keeping us occupied!

Oh, how we miss you "Woods Coffee" :(

As for an update...

We are all doing well! God is good! He has blessed us with so much in the last while. We have wonderful friends, a great church life and good christian school for the kids. After our six week summer break over Christmas and New Years, the kids are back at school again. It's always sad to have holidays come to an end but I can't say I mind the peace and quiet once in a while at home during the day.

Elyssa has started at middle school which means she is up and out the house earlier than the other two. She leaves for the bus stop at about 7:30am and returns about 4pm. She seems to love the new adventure of middle school and is quite happy with having a class of about 55 kids. They've divided it into two homerooms (which I know isn't the Aussie term...but can't think of it now) :) and she is with some of her good friends so...happiness!

Shayna and Braden are back at the primary school with Braden starting 3 days a week at Pre-Primary (which is Kindergarten in N.America) and Shayna is starting year 4. They both love to go...for the learning (maybe) and for the social life :) Shayna just celebrated her 9th birthday yesterday and had lots of fun. Tomorrow she is having a combined party with a good friend of hers that has a b'day 4 days before her. They decided on a Hawaiian Monkey Party theme...for you that know Shayna...I am sure you're very surprised! Hahahaha!

Little Justin is up to no good...just kidding. He's doing great but on his way to no good as he's just starting to crawl :) It's so fun to see him growing and learning...he just loves to discover things right now. He'll touch anything that feels different or interesting and it's so fun to watch him "thinking" about things! He is growing so fast...no real surprise, he's about 21 lbs which is ??kilos and he LOVES to feed himself. Ahhhh...poor me! :)

Brad and I are doing very well...He is loving his work, which continues to be busy and "full on"! I am enjoying the great climate here and spending lots of time outdoors. We've met some great friends and are of course busy with all the things that kids bring into our lives!

We are all SUPER EXCITED about the fact that my parents and Elyssa's "bestie" Heidi are coming out to visit for 3 weeks. They'll be here next wednesday! We have lots of fun planned for them while they're here.

So...until later (which hopefully isn't toooooo long) :)

The beautiful "frangapani" from our backyard tree

The Makings of a Smoothie

Yum - Yum - Yum

Braden decided this morning that a fruit smoothie would hit the spot and so I thought I'd practice some fun photography while he was busy...
Ah, to be a child again...living in the moment...so fun to capture it on camera! Just click on the collage to see it a little bigger if you'd like :)

Last but not least :)

Justin at five months

Braden and his pet - haha :)

Justin again :)

Some family fun at the beach (Palm Beach - Rockingham)

A few more pictures

King's Park at dusk

Mom and Shayna, Mom and Elyssa

Braden waving bye to the girls as they leave for school :)

Here are some pictures I'll share...

Elyssa and Shayna in their summer uniforms:

Mom and I (as taken by Elyssa) overlooking Perth:

The girls in King's Park:

Australia!!!

So, it's been a long time I feel since I've updated this blog. In some ways I'd love to say that not much has changed but that would be very untrue :) We've moved now, a new post code, a new city, a new country...even a new continent!

King's Park

Here we are, in Australia, starting to feel settled after a few months. It's been quite an adventure for our family. We moved out of our house in Lynden at the end of July and were finally in our own home in Australia mid-October. That's a long time for a family of six to be "displaced". However, during that time we were able to enjoy the hospitality of our parents and friends and were very blessed to have had those wonderful experiences. We spent 5 weeks based out of my parents house in Langley and during that time crossed the border MANY times :) Boy, we were kind of glad to be done with that for a while! We had a great summer, enjoying the Pacific Northwest and Beautiful British Columbia and even a little of the Oregon Coast.

Exploring Oregon

We made the trip over to Australia on August 27th and after a fairly uneventful 23ish hours we arrived in Perth, Western Australia. I would say that Brad and I were both thankful at that time that we didn't have to make the trip back for a while with all of us :) We spent the next few weeks house hunting and car shopping and generally getting settled here in W.A. We joined the Baldivis Free Reformed Church and the kids started school at Rockingham John Calvin School. It has been a very busy few months and now I think we can say that we are started to feel like life is becoming "normal" again. A new normal takes lots of work it seems but we're getting there.

Ready for School!

And here are a few shots of our new home:

We enjoyed a visit from my mom already in October. She was able to spend a couple of weeks helping us out and we also enjoyed a few touristy things together with her. We went to Penguin Island to see the sand penguins, we went to King's Park in Perth and we spent some time at a few different beaches. In March my parents are planning a trip together here and hopefully we'll be able to explore some more of W.A. before and during that time. It's a beautiful part of the world!

June 22, 2009

Today = Due Date

Officially, this is Justin's due date and he is almost one month old. He is doing very well. Growing all the time which means he is eating all the time :)

We are all thouroughly enjoying having a new little one in the family. Justin gets lots of cuddles, hugs and kisses from all of us. He is the kind of baby (so far) that seems to love being held and cuddled which works out well!

We had baptism last sunday. It was a lovely day and a real blessing to be able to bring him to recieve the sign and seal and for us as parents to make our promises before our family, friends and congregation.

Here are a few photos:

Day 13 (Justin)

Well, we came home on day 11, Sunday afternoon! What a blessing. Justin was slowly weaned off his oxygen and his feeding tube and was moved from his isolette to a "big boy bed" and did very well, gaining weight and keeping his temperature up and so after about 48 hours the doctor discharged him.

We are so thankful to be home with all our kiddies and enjoying our family being together. Hopefully soon we'll be able to post some pictures of a big, chubby baby!! For now, Justin is sleeping and eating for the most part. The kids keep wondering when he is going to open his eyes. :)

The girls are done school this friday at noon and I am looking forward to having them home and the lack of routine :) I figure it might be easier for me to sleep a little later in the morning for a couple of weeks without having to make lunches and breakfast right away. Good thing I have such good helpers that like to take care of their little brothers!!

Day 9 (Justin)

It's been nine days since our little guy made his appearance here. We are still in the hospital in the Special Care Nursery and Justin has been improving with baby steps (fitting, I suppose). It's definately an emotional rollercoaster for me with all the ups and downs expected of a new mom :) and also with the added stress and pressure of watching your little baby being poked and prodded and having to spend most of his time in an isolette with breathing tubes and feeding tubes. However, we are so thankful that this is all short term in order to get him to a place where he can nurse and breathe and keep warm all at the same time and then will be well enough and strong enough to come home where our family can be together.

I have missed the other kiddies quite a bit and have seen them a few times but just for a short while as the hospital and nursery are certainly not designed to keep three kids entertained for long :)

Brad is taking Shayna and Braden home today and they will come visit here for a while this afternoon and hopefully we'll be able to go out for a bite to eat as well. Elyssa is coming home tomorrow and is hoping she'll also have a chance to see her little brother again this weekend somtime as well.

We continue to find our hope and comfort in the Lord, who gives and sustains life. We are so thankful to Him that He continues to sustain Justin in these first few days of his life.

Announcing...

Our newest arrival...Justin Brody Kuik.

Well, after 36 weeks and a few days (the longest of all my pregnancies) we are so thankful to annouce the birth of our new son.

Justin arrived on Wednesday, May 27th at 6:10pm weighing in at 7lbs5oz.

As you may know I had finished taking all my pre-term labor medications and so it was a matter of wait and see for the last week or so. I had been having lots of contractions and such for weeks and weeks but on wednesday they started to increase and get stronger throughout the day. By the afternoon they were about 6-7 minutes apart so I called the doctor who told me to go to Labor & Delivery to be checked. By the time we arrived around 4:30 the nurse noticed on the contraction monitor that I was actually contracting every 2 - 4 minutes. She called the doctor and he said to prep the OR and he would be over shortly. It all happened rather quickly and our little guy was born just a short while later just after 6pm.

He is doing well, but has been in the nursery since his birth. He has needed a bit of help breathing and keeping his blood sugar levels up. The pediatrician noticed a bit of an infection in one of his lungs she thought after viewing an x-ray shortly after his birth and so he is on IV antibiotics at this time. Today they have been decreasing his oxygen in his little tent and he has been staying stable. When he is on room air (21% oxygen) and staying stable then I will be able to try nursing. I think this will be wonderful for both Justin and his Mom :) It is hard to have a little newborn and not be able to hold and cuddle and nurse right away although Brad and I have both had a chance to hold him a couple of times while we hold the oxygen tube to his face. So sweet to hold our little boy.

We have been so blessed, especially with the birth now of our fourth child (who big brother Braden is very excited about) and also for all the prayers and help we have been recieving so graciously these past months. It is such a blessing from the Lord to have such support around us all the time. Thank you for what you have done for our family!!

35 weeks and counting :)

I didn't think I'd be so blessed to be able to post at 35 weeks with this pregnancy but we have indeed been incredibly blessed. With much, much prayer and patience we are facing almost turning 36 weeks this sunday. This is the furthest I have carried any pregnancy even though my wonderful doctor did not expect me to carry much past 33 weeks.

It's so fun to feel this baby grow and move. I am measuring about 38 weeks now and the doctor and I agree that this baby won't be tiny ;) and of course the further I carry the bigger he/she is getting!! So, I suppose now I am finally at peace with having a c-section ;)

Everything seems great with baby. Heartbeat is going strong every week. We've been to the hospital in the last week to be monitored and my contractions are holding at about 4 - 6 an hour and as long as they don't get much closer together the doctor is ok with me being at home and waiting for things to change. I am still on the nifedepine and should be for another 5ish days or so. This week I am done with the progesterone shots (hooray) and so now we are starting to await (some days more patiently than others) the arrival of this little one.

Thanks for continuing to check up on us and keeping us in your prayers!!

xoxoxo

ALMOST 34 weeks!!

Yay! I guess officially it's monday that I'll be 34 weeks along. This has been a big goal for us and now it's almost here. I am feeling quite pregnant :) and loving it! There isn't much to say but more of the same.

The medication that I'm on isn't working as well as before so there are definately more episodes of frequent contractions but I told my doctor this past wednesday that my goal each week is to stay out of the hospital! So far so good :) I have been doing lots of resting especially in the afternoons and evenings. Of course, I am also getting a bit anxious and this makes the laying down and relaxing not always so "relaxing" :\ I feel like getting up and being busy but well, the nesting will have to wait a bit I guess!

Of course, as great as 34 weeks is I am hoping for another couple of weeks to make sure this babe is healthy and happy when he/she is born. The best thing about the 34 week mark is that I can deliver the baby in B'ham instead of Seattle. It will be so much nicer for us and the kids if I am close to home and they can share in all the fun and excitement of meeting their new little brother or sister sooner than later!

I'll will try to keep you posted in the next few weeks yet :)

32 weeks.

Here I am...happy to be at 32 weeks! :)

I've had a bit of an up and down week this week so far. Monday afternoon I had lots of contractions and as a result ended up taking my medication early that day to avoid (if I could) having to head to the hospital again. It took a couple of hours but the contractions settled down from every 3-4 minutes to the usually 10-15 minutes. I was happy to not go into the hospital but know that if it keeps happening then that may be what happens.

I saw my doctor today and he told me it would be fine to take 120mg/day of the nifedepine seeing as my body is getting "too" used to the medication. He's hoping this will help having too many spells like monday. His advice is to also take it really easy again for the next couple of weeks. I have to be at least 34 weeks along to deliver in B'ham and of course he would love to see me get even a week or two past that. After 35 weeks they won't try to stop the labor but let the labor take it's course. At that point, he would do the c-section. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in an earlier post but I am having a c-section this time around (like the last) because the baby is unfortunately in breech position and is in no mood to flip around I guess :) Too bad, this is not what I was hoping for and of course the recovery isn't great (just what I don't need after all this) :( But hey, a healthy baby is the goal and I am thankful that I have been blessed so far and know that this also is in the Lord's hands.

For now, baby is still very active and keeps reminding me that he/she is doing great still :) I am measuring 2 weeks ahead which the doctor figures will mean another good size baby for his/her gestation. Good news for us...even if babies are born early...the bigger they are usually means the better they do.

I am also happy to be at a point where the question of steroids for baby's development can be avoided. Don't get me wrong, if I need to do this because delivery is imminent in the next week or two then that's what we'll do BUT, if I can avoid delivering that early then the effects of the steroids don't do much anymore for the baby and it is of course best to avoid anything as unnatural as a very large dose of steroids to a tiny baby if we can. (spoken from someone who has been taking medication for over half the pregnancy) :]

Well, a wonderful friend of mine reminded me the other day that "The Lord allready has a birthday picked out for this little baby" and it IS wonderful to think of that and that He knows what is best for all of us. Not a hair will fall from our heads without His will and that is a great reminder and comfort while we've wrestled through weeks of uncertainty and medical help during this pregnancy. God is good!

31 weeks

Things have stayed relatively quiet the last week. I have been in to see the doctor each week and now we're just taking things day by day. I have had quite a few contractions and more cramping but as long as I'm still hanging in here it's all good!

The doctor has advised me to stay on the higher dose of the nifedepine for now, it seems to keep things down to a dull roar and even though I've maybe had times when I should go back to the hospital to be monitored I've managed to control things at home well enough. Lots of rest, warm baths and some medication and we're taking things day by day.

The doctor mentioned again yesterday that if I am back at the hospital, contracting more than 7 - 8 times an hour then he'll administer the steroid shots right away if I am before 33/34 weeks and if they cannot calm the contractions down he'll send me to Seattle. We are very prayerful about getting to the 34/35 week mark where we can have the baby in Bellingham. At 35 weeks and past they will not try to stop the labor but go ahead with a c-section (as baby is still breech).

Well, we're getting there :) and that is exciting. Hopefully the next few weeks go by quickly!

30 weeks!

Wow - 30 weeks! I am so thrilled to be this far along. I know the next month or two won't be that easy but hey we're getting there. It's a bit surreal almost to think of a new baby in the house. We are all getting very excited about this fact :)

Last week we had spring break with the kids and although busy with everyone home it was a great week. Lovely weather, the bathing suits came out a couple of days and the sprinkler was on! We also took a family trip to Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle. I know what you're thinking...should Kristi really be doing all the walking but DON"T worry...Brad was oh so happy and eager to push me in a wheelchair all day! What a hoot! Ah well, it was worth it. The kids loved the zoo, it's so well done with lots of animals. The weather had cooled down a bit by Friday but there was no rain so we were happy.

On the way back from Seattle we made a little stop at Babies 'R Us and bought a new pack 'n play for the new little babe. The kids were super eager to set it up and for the last week now it has been used as a doll bed! Shayna is busy practicing with the attached change table and the baby bassinet. How fun!

On sunday we had both our parents over for Easter dinner. They did most of the preparing and clean-up which was lovely. However, even so, I started having lots of contractions...which so you know, have been increasing for the last week because of the new medication I strated that doesn't seem to work as well as the motrin. The contractions were coming every 5 min or so and so I layed down for a while and drank some water to stay hydrated. They did slow down and I just went to bed early that night. I did not sleep that well, lots of cramping and so the next morning I called the on call doctor. He said to go to Labor & Delivery to be monitored. We headed over there just after lunch and had a lovely afternoon hooked up to the baby monitors and even had an ultrasound :) I was contracting every 10 min but with an extra dose of meds they were able to slow them down quite a bit. I went home a few hours later and am now supposed to double my dose of nifedipine at night to 60mg and still 30mg in the morning. It seems to be working the last few days so we will continue to pray for another month or six weeks of relative uneventfullness in this pregnancy.

As much as I love the nurses and doctors at St.Jo's we do prefer to spend our quality time together at home doing other things :) Hopefully that's where were able to be for the next while yet.

Thanks for your prayers, and all your care and concern!

Extra Information

Here is some information I found helpful to clarify what the steroid drugs do if administered at the right time in a pregnancy that is at risk for premature delivery. This information came from the March of Dimes website:

Steroids (such as betamethasone and dexamethasone) speed the growth of the baby's lungs and organs. These drugs reduce infant deaths by about 30 percent. They also reduce the two most serious complications of premature birth, respiratory distress syndrome (by about 50 percent) and bleeding in the brain (by about 70 percent).



And here is some information on the two drugs I am taking during this pregnancy to reduce PTL symptoms. The first one, nifedipine, is what I will start taking next week at 29 weeks after going off of the motrin (which is a NSAID [non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug] like indomethacin).

Calcium channel blockers
(nifedipine)
Possible side effects for the mother: Redness of the skin, headache, dizziness, nausea, low blood pressure
Possible side effects for the baby: None noted as yet

Prostaglandin synthetase inhibitors
(indomethacin, ketorolac, sulindac)
Possible side effects for the mother: Nausea, heartburn
Possible side effects for the baby: Tightening of the blood vessel through which the baby's blood flows from one major blood vessel to another (ductus arteriosus), high blood pressure in the lungs, decrease in kidney function, bleeding within the brain or heart, jaundice (yellowish color of the skin and eyes), decreased blood flow to the bowel resulting in infection (necrotizing enterocolitis)

(: ǝʇɐpdn ʇuǝɯʇuıoddɐ (28 weeks)

Okay - no joking ;)

Happy April 1st!!

I saw the doctor today and he is a little concerned about the fact that the contractions and cramping have increased and that the motrin isn't working as well as it has during the last month. He gave me a few different options for what to do at this point and what we decided is to continue with the motrin for one more week (the max he'll allow me to stay on it) as long as things are relatively under control. Next week I'll start a new medication called nifedipine (spelling?) which in his opinion isn't usually as effective but there are too many risks to staying on the motrin at this point. The doctor would also like to do a course of steroids for lung development in the next couple of weeks depending how things are going. We'll discuss this and also discuss if and when my doctor would like for me to go to Seattle to see a perinatologist for a second opinion.
We'll be praying for an uneventful week for now...(the kids have spring break next week and it would be nice if things stay stable so we can enjoy the time off together).

Woohoo...3rd Trimester!

Another milestone date...28 weeks!
I am happy and excited to be at this point and going into the third trimester. Things have been quite stable the last two weeks. I have gone in to have my shot each week and am continuing with my other medication 3x's a day to keep everything settled :)
I will see the doctor again tomorrow and I'm not sure yet if he is wanting to schedule another follow-up ultrasound to check the fluid levels but I FEEL like I am still big and growing bigger so that's a good sign. I now have some maternity shirts that I CAN'T wear anymore because they are getting too short. I guess that means the belly is growing. I should take some pic's today and add them to this post...if not, I'll do it shortly :)
What a blessing to be at the point where we can start planning for baby...looking through baby clothes and buying some diapers and that sort of stuff. Brad is just happy we didn't find out what we're having because I might be too tempted to be shopping online all day for cute little outfits :0 But hey, we'll know soon enough!
We are still working out the names...can't seem to come up with a boy name that we both love so maybe that means it's a girl...who knows! It's still fun to come up with ideas and I'm sure we'll narrow it down soon enough so the poor little one doesn't go home as "baby K". If we leave it up to our lovely son at home though he would love to name a little brother, Pablo :0 because apparently he says, "no one in our family has that name" haha!!
So for now, that's all...if there is anything new from the doctor I'll update soon!!

26 weeks

Look at this...another post...I am getting kind of consistent here...not bad!

I had a follow-up ultrasound today to check the amniotic fluid around the baby and then an appt. with my OB doctor. The doctor wanted to check the fluid levels because the medication that I am on to control the contractions and cramping can sometimes lead to decreased fluid. All is well though, my levels are on the high end of normal!! Yay! What great news! They also checked out the cervical length and it was great, even better than a month ago...wow. I am so thankful that the ultrasound appt went so well. The doctor was also very pleased! He said that as long as things are stable then "keep doing what you're doing" and he won't worry about a consult in Seattle with the perinatologist or having steroid shots just yet. He was even brave enough to say that I don't need to come see him for two weeks. (we'll see how that goes...haha) I'll be in the office anyways to have my shots on thursdays so he knows he'll probably see me then anyways while I am in to see the nurse! :)

I am so very thankful to our wonderful God for answering so many prayers for a sustained and healthy pregnancy at this point. He is great!! There are so many worries and I really try not to worry about what hasn't happened yet but with my frail human mind it is sometimes hard to keep only today's worries for today. I think that because of our previous loss of our little Emily at 24 weeks and our other subsequent difficult pregnancies and early deliveries it takes a lot of the naivety out of a pregnancy for me. I am however, constantly amazed that through faithful prayer, God gives me (and Brad) the strength to face every day with hope and excitement!!

By the way, the ultrasound technician today took some fun 3D shots of the baby and those are the pictures I'm posting here (one of a leg - with a foot tucked under it and one of the profile) :