Andrew is Six and in First Grade

Andrew turned six years old on August 5, 2008. While it is hard to believe he’s six, he shows no signs of slowing down! First grade is in full swing, he is enamoured with Star Wars, and I am quite sure that he is one of the most persistent six year olds around. After recently spending a week with him, Nana refers to him as tenacious - ya think!

Right around his birthday, we headed down to our local Picture People to get a couple of shots of the boys at the year (Andrew 6) and half year (Noah 3.5) mark. Conveniently, Andrew’s birthday is August 5th and Noah’s is February 21st, so this works out great for us.

Here is the Picture People handiwork - not nearly as good as the Brigitte Patel handiwork…

On August 25, 2008, Andrew started First grade at Ocean Air School. This year there were 200 more kids at the school than last year. The morning of the first day, we walked ourselves up to the school. Everything felt very familiar and Andrew was right at home. We had gone up to the school on Sunday to make sure we knew exactly how to get to his classroom. He was ready – Darth Vader backpack and all. We arrived at the school early enough to give him time to find a few friends and make it into class no problem. He has several good friends from his Kindergarten class in his new class. His teacher is Mrs. Julie Cunningham. So far, it has been a great year.

Running Off to First Grade

With His Darth Vader Backpack

Andrew and Pregnant Mommy Outside His Class

Andrew and Daddy

Andrew and Noah Playing Tether Ball Before School Starts

Andrew and Annika (by Brigitte Patel)

Andrew Walking Into Class

Andrew at His Desk

Mrs. Cunningham (After a Semester, We Know That She is Awesome)

Working Away in First Grade

Just after lunchtime on his first day, we got a note from a friend of ours, the mother of one of the kids in Andrew’s class, indicating that she had been up at the school at lunchtime and seen Andrew “wondering” around the lunch tables. She helped him find a friend and he sat down to enjoy his lunch. While she probably just mistyped, boy is that our Andrew – wondering around – he is one of the best wonderers we know!

Andrew's Special Time with Nana & Grampster

On August 10, 2008, Robin, Noah and I left Andrew in the capable hands of my parents. The three of us took off on a drive back home to San Diego from the Slade Family Reunion 2008 and left Andrew for a week of adventure.

From what I gather, everyone had a good time and Andrew did pretty well. He tired out his Nana & Grampster; he caught two rainbow trout (Nana and Grampster did not catch any, so Andrew skunked them); he enjoyed clapping and calling for Tiska (my parents Samoyed dog); he picked a few fresh berries from the garden; he learned how to put a washer and a nut on a bolt (to hold up a mailbox); he caused Nana & Grampster a little frustration – all as it should be. We got periodic updates from Andrew and from my mom and dad as well, but we did our best to just let them all share time together. My memories of my time with my grandparents have always been important to me and we certainly want our boys to have their own.

My mom sent a couple of cell phone photos of Andrew catching his trout. I think it was the highlight of the week for Nana & Grampster – and for Andrew too.

Andrew's Trout

Meanwhile, back in San Diego, Robin, Noah and I had a VERY quiet week. It is amazing how quiet the house was with just little Noah around. Not that I liked it better than normal mind you, but it was interesting to have such a quiet house. Occasionally we’d have to look around to make sure Noah was still there…. Every time, he was.

I flew up to Reno in the evening on Friday, August 15th. My Dad picked me up and we drove up to Susanville. It was very nice to have some down time to chat with my Dad. Both he and Mom are taking well to a less pressure filled life in Susanville. Thankfully.

When we arrived at the Roseberry House, Andrew was all ready for bed, but waiting for me. I got one of those, “I REALLY MISSED YOU DADDY” hugs, which I love. It was a little past bedtime, so I put him to sleep right thereafter and my parents followed.

The next morning we had some breakfast trout (my mother’s favorite meal). Andrew tried it out and had 10 or so bites before deciding he’d had enough. After breakfast, we all piled into the car and headed to the Plumas-Sierra County Fair over in Quincy (about 60 miles away). The fair was a small old time county fair. There were a couple of rides, some food, some crafts and some animals. Andrew was most taken by the rides, which allowed Nana & Grampster some time to relax (after they bought enough ride tickets to keep Andrew busy). Andrew’s favorite ride was the bumper cars – which I rode with him so that there was someone with a leg long enough to hold the gas down (barely).

Andrew Ready to Ride at the Fair

Andrew also picked out a few goodies from the U.S. Forest Service camping demonstration area. Typical Andrew, he picked out 4 things when the limit was 2. After negotiating with the Ranger for 5 minutes, he somehow accepted that he was only going to get 2 things “right now.” Thankfully the lure of another Icee drink made him forget about going back for more. In fact, it even kept him still enough to take a picture with my camera phone of Nana, Grampster and Andrew.

Grampster, Andrew & Nana at the Fair

On the drive back, we stopped right near Canyon Dam on Lake Almanor for a quick break. Andrew had been sleeping, but he woke up as we pulled into the rest spot. I asked if he wanted to get out and he said yes, so we did. As we walked over toward my parents, we started to notice several large birds circling overhead. And then more and more and more. All told there must have been between 20 and 30 golden eagles or some type of hawk (Cooper’s, Red-tailed, Rough-legged) circling overhead. Several of them swooped down to within 30 yards of us. It was quite a sight to behold. If only I had my SLR with the new 75-300mm Image Stabilization Lens!

After we got back to Susanville, we washed up and enjoyed dinner. As an encore, we did some Susanville Special Fireworks. Always a Nana & Grampster treat.

Andrew Double Fisted Sparkler

Andrew Enjoying

Andrew & Nana Doing Fireworks Together

Spinner in Action

On Sunday we played around with Tiska, watched Fox and the Hound (at least Andrew did – first time ever), and enjoyed the time with my parents before heading back down to Reno for the flight home. Andrew did just fine on the flight home. After we got over to baggage claim, Andrew saw Robin and Noah. He gave Robin one of those “WOW – I AM SO GIDDY TO SEE YOU” hugs, which she loved. He also gave Noah a big hug – to the point that they were falling down on the ground just outside baggage claim. Andrew confessed to having a lot of fun with Nana and Grampster and wanting to go spend time with them again sometime. As it should be….

Never a Dull Moment

Things are never calm for long in the Sorem household....

The night after Robin, Dylan and I came home from the hospital, Andrew and Noah were running around the family room after dinner. Andrew slipped and fell and cut his chin open on the hardwood floor. After determining that the wound was pretty deep and likely needed stitches, Robin, Andrew, Dylan (with bili-blanket in tow) and I headed off to urgent care. Thankfully Nana was in San Diego (for the birth and to help out) and was able to stay with Noah.
Thankfully the wait time was not too bad for a Saturday night. When Andrew was triaged, the nurse taped a numbing solution to his chin and let us know that it was going to take some significant measures to fix up. The doctor came in a few minutes later and gave us a choice of staples or stitches. As staples go in quicker, we opted for that. Of course, as with all things Andrew, the nurses had to strap him down. First they put his arms behind his back into a pillowcase and then they wrapped a sheet around him. Kind of like a mummy. That didn’t stop a ton of kicking and screaming. But it did allow us (two nurses and I) to hold him down enough to let the doctor staple him twice and close up the wound.

Here is a picture of Andrew’s chin with the staples….

Never a dull moment.

Dylan All Lit Up

Dylan (like Andrew, but unlike Noah) was a little jaundiced just after birth. Jaundice is a condition caused by excessive bilirubin levels in the blood that are not able to be processed normally by the liver. Our pediatrician, Dr. Rubenstein, kept us in the hospital for a day longer than we had hoped (we hoped to go home after one night) to give Dylan a chance to get his bilirubin levels down.

To treat jaundice, they give the baby phototherapy. At the hospital, they put Dylan under these large lights so that the light will cause the bilirubin to break down and then processed by the body.

Here are two pictures of Dylan under the lights at the hospital.

After a little intense phototherapy at the hospital, Dr. Rubenstein let us go home with Dylan on a bili-blanket. He was on the bili-blanket for about a week. The blanket is really a flat pad with a jacket that goes around the baby. It is attached by a long grey hose to a special machine that makes the flat pad light up on the baby's back.

Dylan on his bili-blanket - see what I mean...

Andrew and Noah kept asking us why Dylan had a tail (the grey hose constantly attached to him). Fortunately we got rid of the tail after a week!

DYLAN JOSEPH SOREM

By now the word is out. We are now a family of five. Andrew said it best the other night when he exclaimed – “Mommy, Daddy, we are a big family now.” I don’t know if big is the right word for it just yet, but it surely isn’t small.

On December 10, 2008, Dylan Joseph Sorem arrived. Our life has not been the same since. Dylan was born at 3:05pm at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, CA. He weighed in at 7 pounds, 12 ounces and measured 20.5 inches long. Dylan was right between both other boys on both counts (Andrew was 8 pounds, 2 ounces and measured 21.5 inches long and Noah was 7 pounds 5 ounces and measured 20 inches long). Dylan’s head measured 13.75 inches in circumference and his chest measured 14 inches in circumference. We are blessed to have another healthy boy.

Five days before the birth, my mom flew in to be here for Dylan’s birth and to lend a hand thereafter. We were concerned she might not make it in time as Robin started having some fairly significant and regular contractions a couple days before she arrived. But she made it and has now been with us for Andrew, Noah and Dylan’s births. How special that Mom could be there with us and share in the birth of her three grandsons.

Our dear friend Theresa Pollock attended Dylan’s birth as well. Theresa and I go back more than 18 years now (we met at our Freshman Dorm at UC Berkeley). Theresa has a Master’s in Public Health, spent many years as an educator for Planned Parenthood and has attended many births. I think eventually she wants to become a doula to assist other women with their childbirth. She was with us for Andrew’s birth and was a tremendous help. She had to miss Noah’s birth because she had just delivered her daughter, Lauren, 18 days earlier. But she was there for this one. We owe her an incredible debt of gratitude for being there and for supplying many of the facts and figures of this shortened version of Dylan’s birth story.

On the morning of Wednesday, December 10, 2008, we dropped both Andrew and Noah off at their respective schools and headed to the hospital for a scheduled “induction.” Because Robin had gestational diabetes during this pregnancy, she was not allowed to go past her due date. We arrived at the hospital at 9:45am and were checked into Labor and Delivery Room number 238. Our nurse put a heparin (hep) lock in – so that they’d have a line into Robin just in case – and we waited for Dr. Wendy Buchi, Robin’s OB, to come in. Dr. Buchi came in around 10:15am, checked Robin’s cervix and declared she was 5 cm dilated already. At 10:30am, Dr. Buchi broke Robin’s bag of water to induce labor (her fluid level was indeed low and there was meconium present). We had used this same method (breaking the bag of water to induce labor) with Noah and it worked out pretty well. From 10:30am to 11am, the nurse had Robin on the fetal monitor. Everything was just fine.

With Noah, after Dr. Buchi broke Robin’s bag of water, we walked the hospital stairs to get labor rolling along. We had planned on doing the same thing this time around. When we inquired about walking stairs, the nurse told us that the stairs were blocked on this floor and they did not recommend it. I asked if the stairs were accessible from other floors and the nurse said that she guessed they would be. I told her that we would go and walk stairs for 30 minutes and then be back. She begrudgingly agreed. At 11am, we all walked out to the hospital stairs and began the process. With Noah, Robin and I walked up and down the 7 flights of stairs 8 or so times. At the end I was exhausted, Robin was fine and it had moved labor right along. So we followed a similar path for this labor. From 11am to 11:30am, Robin walked the 7 flights of stairs up and down 4 times. I did 2 sets and Theresa did 2 sets. It pays to have friends. At 11:30am, we went back for more monitoring. Again, everything was going fine. From 12pm to 12:30pm, Robin did the 7 flights another 4 times. Again Theresa and I split duties. My Mom watched over us and took a short banana break.

Robin on the Fetal Monitor After the First Round of Stair Walking

The Stairs

Walking a Set with Theresa

Robin then took a short break. My Mom and I ran down to the cafeteria and picked up some food for the helpers but not the laborer. We were hungry and the least we could do was feed my Mom and Theresa. During this time, Robin and Theresa walked around the Labor and Delivery area and Robin was starting to feel more significant contractions.

After my mom and I returned with food, Robin and I went back and did one final set of 7 flights of stairs. We were planning on doing 2 sets, but Robin said one was enough. At about 1:45pm, we arrived back at Room 238 and real significant more painful contractions had now begun. You could see the changes in Robin.

Group Discussion of the Pain

Trying to Help Work Through the Pain

Breathing Through the Pain

The nurse checked Robin again and she had progressed to between 6 and 7 cm. We were moving along. Labor seriously picked up from there. The contractions were coming a mile a minute (each lasted about 40 seconds, but they never really died out and came on every 2 minutes) and Robin was giving all she had to handle the pain. But she was doing it all by herself! No epidural, no nothing. There was a lot of side rocking back and forth to get through each contraction. After about half an hour of seriously intense contractions, during which Robin was being monitored, Robin took Theresa’s advice and got into the shower. The water of the shower on Robin’s back made the pain a little more bearable – a little more. Robin stayed in the shower for about 20 minutes and worked through many more contractions.

Working Through Contractions in the Shower

After Robin got out of the shower, Dr. Buchi checked her and she was at 9cm. Robin was really struggling at this point to work through the pain.

Serious Pain

Dr. Buchi and the nurse started preparing the room and trying to get Robin in position to give birth. Dr. Buchi tried EVERYTHING (birthing chair, bar, standing up, over the top of the bed, etc), but nothing was working for Robin. And I mean nothing. And Robin was in MASSIVE (back) pain at this point. At one point, Robin screamed out – “Why is no one listening to me?” We were all listening, but nothing was working. Dr. Buchi finally had Robin laying on her side and burying into me.

Dylan is Seriously Close to Coming Out

That’s when Robin screamed out that Dylan’s head was crowning. Robin started pushing on her side and then was flipped onto her back. With two pushes Baby Dylan was born.

Mommy & Daddy Greeting Baby Dylan

Daddy Cutting the Cord

Daddy & Dylan Having a Talk

Nana Meeting Baby Dylan

Pretty Cute for Son #3

Dr. Buchi and Dylan

The Pout

The Pain Pregnancy is Over!

Aunt Theresa Meeting Dylan

We chose Dylan as his first name in respect of my grandmother (Deon) and Joseph as his middle name in respect of my grandfather (Milton Joseph) and both because of their meaning and origin. The meanings of his first and middle name are below:

Dylan - Meaning: a legendary sea-hero; Origin: Welsh

Joseph - Meaning: God shall add (another son); Origin: Hebrew

Another son we have… Perhaps he’ll be a legendary sea hero…

An hour after the birth, Dylan started to nurse for the first time. Robin is an old pro, so everything went very well with nursing. Another hour later, we placed the call to my sister, Karin, to get the word out about the birth. She took down the info and sent off the mass email about the birth.

A bit later that evening, our dear friend Brigitte Patel, who had watched over Andrew and Noah for the afternoon, brought the boys down to the hospital to meet their baby brother. How sweet it was.

Andrew & Noah (The Big Brothers) Greeting Baby Dylan

The New Family of 5 (Our "Big" Family)

Dylan Resting Peacefully

Now we’re a family of 5 and we have our Dylan Joseph. Our family acronym is now – ERAND (in order), EANDR (E and R), RANDE (R and E) or ERDNA (ER DNA – which is exactly what made all this happen…)

A couple of days later we took him home from the hospital. We were delighted to be home with him.

Dylan in his Carseat - Ready to Go Home

We'll leave all with a parting shot of Dylan, taken on day 2 of his life, by our photo expert friend, Brigitte Patel. Just two words for this one - Simply Beautiful....