COLTON ALLEN WISNIEWSKI

Colton Allen Wisniewski

Our second son Colton Allen Wisniewski was born November 29th at 3:15 am. He was 8 lbs 1 oz and 20 1/2 inches long. I just wanted to take a moment to write about the experience. It all happened so fast and I want to make sure that I have my thoughts and what I remember written somewhere and I have my computer right now so here goes nothing. My water broke at 12:25 am on 11/29...Jay and I had gone to bed really late...I think about 11:30 pm ish and so I was very deeply asleep as I had just fallen asleep a little less than an hour before this...I woke up to a loud "POP" noise and then a huge gush of water. I gasped, it scared the crap out of me...Jay jumped up and said, "What...What happened?" I quickly told him that my water broke and he needed to help me out of bed. In that instant I wished I had started doing what my birthing class video had said to do and gone to bed with a towel underneath me. I was in the bathroom shaking as all the adrenaline, fear and anxiety coursed through my body. I told Jay that we needed to note the time and call Labor & Delivery because by this time I began contracting and they were coming every minute or so. He spoke with the labor & delivery dept. and they told him I could go ahead and shower off then to go straight to the hospital. I proceeded to jump in the shower to try to calm myself down and rinse off before we left. While in the shower I was still shaking and contracting about every minute to 30 seconds...and began feeling nauseated (usually the tell tale signs of transition)...my mom got to our house right as I was getting out of the shower. She began changing the sheets to our bed for us and I quickly got dressed and tried to tell Jay to gather the last minute things we needed to take with us to the hospital. I was still feeling very nauseated and still was contracting quite frequently. My mom hurried us out of the house as she was concerned we wouldn't make it to the hospital. (I was really worried as well). As we were leaving Jay said he had a day dream that Colton was born at Devore off of the I-15. Inside I silently freaked out...I didn't want to deliver him on the side of the road but knew it could be a real possibility if we didn't hurry ourselves to the hospital...we live 45-50 min from Kaiser in Fontana and I didn't know if we had that long. Once in the car and sitting down my contractions slowed to about every 3 minutes and therefore slowing down my labor a little bit. We got to Kaiser and parked...Jay ran and got a wheel chair we went to the gate where you're supposed to go if it is between the hours of 5 am and 10 pm...it was only 1 something am so we couldn't get in...we had to wheel me back to the car...and drive around to the ER entrance...Once at the ER entrance we were directed to where we could get up to labor & delivery....Jay ran me as fast as he could all the while I was contracting about every 1-2 minutes. Once we got to the L&D floor we went to the desk where you check-in...I have never been so frustrated at hospital procedure in my life...we sat there for at least 5 minutes while the lady asked for my Kaiser card, if I had any allergies, if they could let family & friends know we were there, etc. and then once all her questions were answered she called for someone to come and get us. I was taken to a triage room where they had me pee in a cup so they could confirm my water had broke...hooked me up to the monitors, and checked me. I was 7 cm and 100% effaced. I was so relieved, I knew I was almost there. They wheeled me on the gurney to the delivery room. This is where things got interesting...right away they hooked me up to the monitors and one nurse tried to start an IV in my left hand...she blew out the vein she was trying to start my IV in and therefore my hand was in intense pain almost as bad as my contractions. Then a second nurse tried to start an IV in my right forearm...that went well for a short period of time but then I began to have intense pain in my arm from the IV, so much so that my contractions weren't really even bothering me (they were every minute again). I was resting between contractions and breathing through them when they came...they were very painful but the IV was bothering me more. Turns out the nurse had infiltrated the vein with the IV (which means basically they didn't insert the IV correctly & the fluid begins to go straight into the arm)...I asked to have to IV removed and asked if I could refuse to have it placed back in...due to the fact that they were having me begin to push. They told me they would feel better if I had the IV in case of an emergency and for the routine pitocin they give after delivery. I told them that if they could get an IV started correctly then I would go ahead and accept it. While waiting for the nurse to get the IV started I began having the urge to push and began pushing...as I began pushing the nurse started hooking me up to the IV. At this point I was pissed that I couldn't concentrate on pushing because I had a nurse trying to get an IV started in my right hand. I was also upset that I was stuck in the bed laying on my back (the worst position for pushing a baby out...no gravity to help with everything & making back labor very intense and painful). The pain of labor was nothing compared to the pain of delivery...I felt out of control as every nurse in my room was talking at me...telling me not to push or to push or to wait for the midwife and to let Colton stretch me out...I wanted to be able to take a breath and just regroup or find my bearings and couldn't. It was not at all what I had envisioned for my natural labor & delivery... When it was time to push I was tired. Up until that point Jay had been with me, with every contraction and seeing to my needs whether it was squeezing his hand or rubbing my back. But when the time came to push...this was the place where he couldn't really do much for me. This was that lonely spot in the process where I had to find all the strength and faith inside of me to push. Another contraction pounded my body and inside I felt myself scream, "No, you can't do this." "I can't do it." I said to Jay and I began to tear up...I wanted to go home... I couldn't control myself now, the situation was beyond my ability to breathe or concentrate. "I can't do this I said again." When I look back at this point I know how vital Jay's response was to me. I was in a desperate, comfortless, truly vulnerable place. He could've said, "Well, babe you can get pain meds" But instead he looked at me and assured me I could do it. "You're almost there, you are doing great. You can do it babe!" Then with the next gripping contraction I pushed. I pushed with everything I had in me. I found a way to quiet all of the voices in the room and focus on Jay talking to me...each contraction he would tell me how great I was doing and that he was almost out. Once Colton was born I felt an instant surge of emotion...I was so proud, relieved and I felt so blessed. As they placed him on my chest I couldn't help but cry...I had done it and here in my arms was the new infant that Jay and I had made...who I had carried for 9 months. What a miracle. Jay was able to cut the cord like he had with Parks. They took Colton to clean him off and then they gave us our skin to skin time. We tried nursing right away and Colton latched immediately, which was a surprise to me because Parks had been so groggy that he hadn't nursed for the first few hours after delivery. I was given 2 bags of pitocin (which made the after contractions so painful with no breaks that I asked for pain meds...lol...which is kind of funny to me). After the 2 bags I was able to have my IV removed and we were taken to my recovery room. Colton stayed with us the entire time at the hospital except for when they took him for his circumcision. It has been 2 weeks and they have been the most exhausting, difficult and rewarding 2 weeks of my life. I feel so blessed and am so proud of myself and what I was able to accomplish through laboring & delivering naturally. I love my boys...Jay, Parks & Colton and am so excited for our little family of 4. Parks is so sweet with Colton and loves being a big brother. I love having a new baby...it is difficult when I have had to be alone with both Parks and Colton because Parks is so busy and into everything but I know things will get easier. Right now Colton nurses about every 2 hours so I feel like that is what I am doing all day long...but he goes for 4 hours the first part of the night and then 3 hours the second part. I am getting about 5 hours of sleep total a night which has been very nice but I am still pretty sleep deprived. He is also pretty sensitive so I have found that I cannot eat any sweets or sugar...it gives him horrible gas and that tends to make him vomit. I am so glad that Jay is home 4 days a week...he is a huge help and I feel so blessed and grateful that my mom has been able to be here...she has helped so so much. I am so thankful for the miracle of childbirth and pregnancy. I'm thankful for forever families and the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. I feel so blessed...LIFE IS GOOD! -Nicole

Happy Birthday Parks!

Tomorrow is our little boys' 2nd birthday. I cannot believe how fast the time has gone. I feel like it was yesterday that we were meeting him for the first time and holding him in our arms. Now he is so big and definitely not a baby anymore. He is full blown BOY toddler. He is full of energy, love and plenty of attitude at times. He knows what he wants when he wants it and is more than capable of communicating with us. He makes us laugh and smile every day and definitely keeps our life interesting. He is the biggest joy in our life right now and we are so excited for him to be a big brother. He is so sweet with his little cousin Rivers that we have no worries when it comes to how he will adjust with a new baby/addition to our family. He has a vocabulary that at times amazes us...on several occasions we have looked at each other and said "When did he start saying that?" or "Where did he learn that?". We love and cherish every moment with him and are so excited to watch him grow and learn more.

Just some of his favorite things...Monster's Inc., Shrek (all 4 videos in order of course), Barney (which is pretty funny to think about), Yo Gabba Gabba, Ni Hao Kai Lan, Go Diego Go, and Dora the Explorer. He loves to color. He has learned some shapes and even colors from all the coloring we have done. He can even draw a square and a circle. He loves fruit and vegetables, FRUIT SNACKS and CHOCOLATE MILK. He would live on those last two things alone if we would let him. Trucks and cars are his favorite toys to play with, other than his bouncy balls. He loves to play catch and kick a ball around, like his auntie Heather plays soccer. :) He absolutely LOVES his daddy and tries to do things and be just like him. He of course loves mommy as well but when daddy is home he wants to be with him. He is the spitting image of Jay and Jay's dad Mark. It is unreal to look at photos of them and see how much he truly is a "WISNIEWSKI". Parks loves cameras and getting his picture taken. If he gets his hands on the camera he asks to have his picture taken, says "cheese" and then wants to see himself. He loves to watch video of himself as well. It is too cute. He loves to say prayers and sing church songs, but he is still not so fond of nursery (his church class) mommy has to be with him or he cries almost the whole time. We are going to try to have daddy take him from now on and see how he does. He also enjoys digging in the sand at the beach. I think those are his favorite outings we go on with daddy...they build sand castles and then Parks kicks them, hits them, or squashes them. He laughs and laughs and thinks it is so much fun.

Some cute phrases... "Swiper no swiping...OH MAN", "OKAY", "Mommy, Daddy touched my head", "Baby Colton comes out, almost done...hold him, give hugs and kisses", "Mommy/Daddy, you comes with me, please", "I'm reading stories", "Mommy, where's my color crayons", "Mommy/Daddy, stop that, don't touch me/leave my alone" and my personal favorite..."Mommy, I farting like Daddy" (LOL). He is ALL BOY and we couldn't love that about him more. Happy 2nd Birthday to our amazing little man!

Here is a look back...the day he was born are the first 2 photos, then 3 photos of him on his 1st birthday and our family, then the last 4 are of our family and him now a 2 year old. :) My how he has grown!

An Outpouring of Blessings!

We are so excited and feel so abundantly blessed! There are so many new changes in our life and we couldn't be more excited and anxious for the future. We have a new place to live, in a new city we have never really visited or been to before, Jay is starting a new job tomorrow and we will be having a new baby at the end of this year. We feel as though the years we have spent working towards Jay getting a full time position with a fire department we would love and would mesh well with our family has finally paid off. We have always wanted to live near the beach and here we are in Aliso Viejo, living in a beautiful apartment complex 10 minutes from Aliso Creek Beach. We have been outside to play, walk, or visit the beach every day almost and feel so blessed!

Before all of these new changes began, I found myself saying "When will it be our turn, when will things work out for us?", I felt like we were working so hard for things and they weren't working out. Finally we see what our Heavenly Father's plan was for us and can't wait to see what he has in store from here.

It will definitely be a change down here and in no way will we be rolling in the doe as some may be thinking with us living in Orange County but we feel as though our dreams have come true (so far). Also this year we will be able to welcome another addition to our family. A second child, which we are ecstatic about! We would love another boy, but would also welcome and love a little girl. We should be able to find out next month for sure.

As we have felt the Lord working in our life and have seen how he helps things fall right into place we feel as though we have to thank those who helped and supported us through our journey to where we are now. Our families have been right by us every step of the way. Both our parents helped us so much through transition periods with being able to stay with them and save money. We felt such an outpouring of love from our families that we feel that a regular thank you is very inadequate and want them to know that we love them and appreciate all that they did for us to help us get here. We also had several friends who supported us and helped us to keep going and to them we also say thank you! We love you all and are so grateful for your support to get us here and through all the new things and changes happening in our life.

In the General Conference Ensign from Elder Russell M. Nelson's talk entitled "Face the Future with Faith" he states...that in the Doctrine & Covenants section 98 the Lord promises that our tearful and heartfelt pleadings are heard..."Your prayers have entered into the ears of the Lord...and are recorded with this seal and testament-the Lord hath sworn and decreed that they shall be granted. Therefore, he giveth this promise unto you, with an immutable covenant that they shall be fulfilled; and things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good, and to my name's glory, saith the Lord." He goes on to say "The Lord chose His strongest words to reassure us! Seal! Testament! Sworn! Decreed! Immutable covenant! Brothers and sisters, believe Him! God will heed your sincere and heartfelt prayers, and your faith will be strengthened." I know that this quote is what helped me through the tough weeks of waiting to hear about this new job and helped strengthen my faith. I truly know that our Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers, but it is in His time and His wisdom that things our brought to pass. We just need to have faith and trust that as we do what is right He will bless us with those things that we righteously desire, if not in this life in the life to come.

I just want to close by saying that we have had a rough year leading up to this point with so many uncertainties and feeling as though we were always in limbo or so unsure of the future. We feel that all of these new changes are exactly what we needed. We feel like we are able to start new and begin this new chapter of our life refreshed and with strengthened faith in our Father in Heaven. Sorry no pictures this time but will post some soon! Love you all and we will miss our family and friends in Wrightwood and nearby but will definitely so our best to visit often!

A WELL NEEDED UPDATE!!!

Hello Everyone,

I know I am terrible at keeping this thing updated but I am going to try to get better at it! So it has been way too long since my last update. Jay is currently in Paramedic School through Crafton Hills College in Yucaipa. He is working full time and going to school full time so needless to say he is gone quite a bit, Parks and I miss him a lot and I know that Jay misses us too. Parks is growing up way fast. He is saying over 100 words, has almost all his teeth (except of course his 2 year molars and two eye teeth that are working their way in). He makes the funniest faces sometimes and is climbing all over everything. It scares me sometimes! He is very smart, and has a very cute total boy personality! It's amazing how fast time goes, he will be 18 months on the 21st! My family recently moved to Smithfield, Utah and that has been tough but a way good thing for them! I have been able to go up and visit them with Parks twice and once with Jay also. We have missed them very much but know that they are where they need to be right now! We are excited for this next year...hopefully Jay will be able to get hired on as a full time Fireman with benefits and real full time pay soon! (Pray OCFA, SBCO FIRE or SANTA ANA FIRE hire him) Can't wait to see what the future holds for us and hope you enjoy the photos!

From Sept 12, 2010 - March 13, 2011 :)