January 5th, the day our lives changed forever

We've been doing everything this last week to get SJ to decide he's ready to meet us. Spicy food, walking around the mall, bouncing on the yoga ball....and nothing. Friday night we gave it one more try with going over to my parents house. My mom fixed a green chili stew and we played a round of cards all while visiting about the coming due date (Monday) or Thursday when we were schedule to be induced. We got home, and feeling victorious from a win in cards, I treated my wife to some extra-curricular activities (you know, for the baby) and off to bed we went.

Saturday morning, I woke up early with a bad cough so I decided to go get on the couch so Trisha could get some more sleep. At about 9am, she texted me with needing some water so I brought it in and asked if she felt any different from our full day of labor inducing activities, but she said no. So we cuddled and decided it was perfectly fine to take a mid-morning nap. At that point we both realized SJ wasn't coming anytime soon. Trisha, through hard work and self-sacrifice, had built the perfect pregnant paradise for him and he was going to take an extended stay in his little self contained resort. We needed to be patient and although Trisha didn't want to be induced on Thursday, it really wasn't in our hands.

Lesson #1: SJ is in control

10:15 am - I feel Trisha roll out of bed and waddle to the bathroom. "Um, honey....I think my water just broke!" I was still half asleep but it felt like I've been waiting my adult lifetime for this moment. I jumped out bed and had my clothes on with the hospital bag and keys in hand ready to go when she explained she needed to get pretty to go to the hospital. You see, my Peepaw had given us some money for Christmas and we decided to purchase a nice DSLR camera with it so we could document the next years of our family with pics not taken on my iPhone. Little did I know that while I was at Best Buy yesterday telling the sales guy that I had a week to play with the thing until my son came, I was lucky to just get the battery charged and the basics learned.

By 10:45, we were off to the hospital and checking in to the registry desk.

Trisha has had false labor before and we didn't want to be "that couple" that jumped to the hospital every time she felt something weird going on. In fact, Trisha had contractions for about 16 hours straight last week and we almost took the trip but I convinced her to try and wait it out. Luckily we did wait as we found out in the triage room that its no fun being strapped up to the machines for a few hours just to find out you're not in labor. I'm sure the nice couple next to us (who went home an hour later) wasn't too fond of our excitement and joyous laughing.

We were still having a great time because Trisha wasn't even having contractions. Which is a little off. The majority of women start their contractions, head to the hospital and have to have their water broken there.

Enter: pitocin

Once we got to our labor room and Trisha got her gourmet delivery gown on and IV in, it was time to get this process rolling. The contractions started light and mama was doing quite nicely. We knew this was going to be a loooong day because for the last few doctor visits and even up to the triage this morning, Trisha wasn't even dilated to a 1 yet.

3 hours, several cups of ice chips and 4 popsicles later...the nurse told us we were still at a one. The contractions were ramping up but we weren't progressing any. This is when Trisha decided she wanted to take a walk. She was being a trooper and wanted to wait as long as possible before she got the epidural so she wanted to walk around a little while she still had use of her legs.

This was the last smile we got out of her. The walking jump started those contractions to the point where she would stop in mid step and had tears running down her cheeks. It was hard to watch my love in so much pain. We made it back to the room and she had one more contraction before she was begging for the drugs. Luckily, we found out that due to everyone having scheduled births in this age of convenience, the labor floor on the weekends was extremely empty and the anesthesiologist was in our room working on Trisha in about 5 minutes. (Which was probably about 15 minutes late...as Trisha has noted that during her next birth, she will be requesting those drugs A LOT sooner). After the epidural, I got my happy wife back and we found out we were at a 3 which made us happy she was finally progressing.

A couple of hours of watching the contraction charts being spit out of the little printer next to her bed and listening to the little beeps of his heart rate, it was time to check her progress again. We were really hoping for a 6 or 7 due to her slow progression and was extremely surprised to her our new nurse ask us if we were ready to start pushing. Talk about a heart stopping moment! I think Trisha and I looked at each other dumbfounded because the time was finally here and we were getting very close to meeting our little man. The nurse explained that sometimes there were hours of pushing and the doctor wouldn't get there until right before he was ready to pop out.

This was an exciting time. Trisha decided she needed to make sure she was fixed up for delivery and I practiced my "catching" position.

But the excitement was short lived. After about 15 minutes of pushing, SJ's heart rate dropped from 150 to 40. I could see the emergency in the nurses eyes when she dropped Trisha back down into a lying position and rolled her over away from the computer screen. She was instructing the desk nurse to call our doctor to quickly head this way and to pay attention to the notes she had left and also prep the on-call doctor for an emergency c-section. We were told that if SJ didn't stabilize quickly, that we were about 3 minutes away from surgery.

I don't remember being that scared in a long time. It was really hard trying to be calm for Trisha because she didn't know what was going on and had only me to show her that things were going to be ok. SJ did calm down and Dr. Hatton did show up. We took an hour break and decided to let SJ do things on his time and let him work himself down a little on his own. We were nervous when the pushing time presented itself again but Trisha's instincts kicked in and she rose to the occasion. Several nurses filled the room prepping the carts and delivery table and....ME!

Now I've heard from probably a dozen fathers that child birth was an un-natural and crazy, creepy, gross experience. But I took all of that with a grain of salt as I decided to share in the delivery experience. We were blessed with a doctor that was going to allow me to "catch" my baby son and I couldn't be more excited. It was truly a crazy sight when I first saw his head. And after the doctor said "this next push is going to be a baby" I got into my position to bring my baby boy into this world....with a little help from his mama of course.

It is a moment that I will never forget. And I'm blessed to have pictures like this one to remind me of the awesomeness that is our God for allowing us to bring a healthy, perfect baby into his world. I was so proud of Trisha. She sacrificed caffeine and nitrates and other luxuries that I take for granted for 9 long months in order to ensure our babies health and I loved her more In that moment than I have ever loved someone before.

Sean Alan Kirkpatrick Junior

Born on Saturday, January 5th, 2013 at 10:50 pm

Weighing 7 lbs 9 ozs

Measuring 20 inches in length

We weren't out of the woods yet. It took a while to get him cleaned off. The Dr. Said he had been pooping inside for a few days. I remember watching the two nurses work hard in getting his lungs functioning and the length of tube going done his throat in order to suck the incredible amounts of liquid that he had breathed in. We were hearing the word NICU being thrown around if he didn't improve but SJ proved once agin that he was in control and he quickly got in line with the standards they needed for him to be safe. That's my boy!

 

It was a long 36 hours in the recovery room. Having someone check something every 30 minutes doesn't allow any rest. Poor little guy got poked and prodded and snipped and weighed and changed. All he wanted to do was snuggle with mama. We were blessed that he had no problem feeding. During our pregnancy class, there was a full session on breast feeding and the complications that could arise from all of it. But he's a hungry little one and has no problem demanding feeding from his mom and her all-you-can-eat buffet.

The time came for us to go home. Two little old ladies wheeled Trisha and our belongings to the car and we strapped SJ into his car seat for the first time. It finally hit us...this little guy is coming home with us. I think we both cried the whole way home which wasn't too far but it seemed like I drove slower down Indiana than I had ever before. A new chapter in our lives has begun and now can truly embark on

The Kirkpatrick Adventure!

 

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December 2012, the calm before the storm

Ok. I admit it...I've been a super slacker in this whole blogging thing. Alas, I'm going to try and get up-to-date over the next week and then get back on track.

Trisha and I successfully finished our maternity class at the beginning of December. It was a grueling 5 weeks in which we made the trek up to Covenant each Tuesday night. We got to visit the labor floor, pre-register, and watch horrible videos on the process of child birth. Luckily, this also solidified Trisha's idea of wanting the drugs. Neither of us were interested in experiencing the moaning and groaning for hours of intense labor. I also earned my nifty "Coach" hat and a nifty certificate letting us know we were "ready" to become parents.

And then the waiting began. It seemed like the last 4 weeks of the pregnancy was the longest. The diapers were stacked, the nursery was finished and Trisha's poor swollen feet were growing bigger by the day. Patience isn't my best attribute and I was so ready to meet him. Even though we knew he wasn't due until January 7th, we were VERY ready for him to get here. Luckily, we convinced the doc to schedule one more sonogram at 37 weeks. He was so much chubbier than the last pictures and was projecting a weight of 6.5 lbs. Unfortunately, we never got any really good pictures of his face. Before, it was always his hand in the way and this time he decided to be sucking on his foot.

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells!

After some cookie decorating and last minute shopping, we made it to Christmas. Now, you haven't truly experienced gift giving until you become part of the Tyler household. First, we started with the 5 little ones and they are (mostly) old enough to be excited about ripping into the presents. Three 50 gallon trash bags full of wrapping paper later....its the big kid's turn.

The presents keep coming and coming. It really is a grand event. Trisha's parents start shopping in the Spring and don't get finished until the day or so before Christmas. Santa also visited Trisha with a letter explaining that he was going to be visiting the Kirkpatrick household next year for a different person. But, because this was her last year, that he hoped she'd be happy with her present anyways.

Christmas was truly magical this year but Trisha and I both realized that this would be the last time we celebrated it for US. Next year, we would have a little one of our own to shower gifts on. Next year would be our first chance to start some long-lasting Kirkpatrick traditions of our own. 2013 is going to be the year that changes our lives forever.

 

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Our Wedding Book

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It's been a busy 3 weeks!

In order...

It was so nice being at home for the weekend for the first in 4 weeks. Got to sleep in on a Saturday morning and catch up on a few hours of recorded tv. Luckily, we also got to take advantage of a cherished few hours spent with our friends wishing Kevin a safe and quick trip overseas.

I was very excited to receive my new Nest thermostat and get it installed on the same day that we also got our foam insulation installed in the attic. I wish I had the Nest installed a week or two before so I could see the energy savings but I guess I'll just have to see how well the insulation works according to last years electric bills. Trisha is loving the Nest because it has an iPhone app that let's her control the temp from bed. I've always been the one that is always hot and she's always cold. Well, the table are turned.

Trisha came home from work that day and let me know that there was a very strong smell in the house. I guess I hadn't noticed too much because I was at the house during the foam installation but we agreed she didn't need to stay overnight breathing in the fumes. So I took advantage of the situation and killed two birds with one stone. My least favorite activity in recent years is painting and that's just what I got to do. I painted til almost midnight and then assembled the furniture the next morning. SJ's room is turning out to be pretty awesome though! Once again, I'd like to remind everyone how great my wife is for letting me have my way with this nursery.

Halloween came and went. Trisha and I got a little taste of family as we met our niece and nephew at the pumpkin place to get some pics before they were off to the park. It was fun watching the excitement onTrisha's face on Halloween evening when trick-or-treaters came to the door. It just reminded us that we get to celebrate all of these fun Holidays in a very new light very soon.

Then there is baby.

It seems that about everything that is happening in our daily lives revolves around SJ. We got to register at Babies R Us and Target over the weekend and it quickly reminded us that we need A LOT of stuff. I'm going to have to get a second job to be able to afford all of the strollers, highchairs, diapers, baby Toms, etc etc

Also, last week was our first "expecting parents" class. I don't know how long it's been since I sat in a classroom for 2 hours and listened to an instructor. We learned all about distinguishing the right time to go to the hospital and where to go when it comes. I think tonight we're going to be learning breathing and massage because we were told to bring pillows. I told Trisha to make sure and get some new pillowcases so we didn't have drool or whatever on them. Well Trisha walks in and tosses them to me and sure enough, she had to pick up the one print that made us look like "that" couple....leopard print.

Lastly, we were so excited when our latest sonogram happened. We may get one more according to our doctor but typically this would be our last. I'm already understanding what they mean, when people say that they think their kid is the cutest. Apparently SJ likes his hands because almost pic we've got of him has his hands in front of his face. Trisha was pushing him around and getting on her side to get that one great photo but he just wouldn't move his hands.

Got a few decent ones but I was only concerned with one thing. I wanted to make sure that everything was still there and I got another pic to let me know things were still on track.

That's MY BOY!

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King Stud.... Not just my nickname

I kid! But seriously, do you know what a king stud is? Neither did I until this weekend but we faked it pretty well in getting the doors and windows in successfully.

Doors in - check

Windows in - check

Loft complete - check

Last thing was to put the siding up and this one was a doozy. Now truthfully, this would be a very simple task if not for the mountain. I've undertaken a monumental task by deciding to build the cabin on the side of a mountain. In each step of the build, it has produced some sort of challenge in moving to the next step. In this last step, the road side of the build is only about 12 feet from the ground to the top of the wall. These panels went up quick and we were feeling pretty good about ourselves.

With small enclosed walls up, it really gives you the feeling of an enclosure.

On the mountain side though, it's about 22 feet. This makes its slightly more complicated to put up with only a 16 foot ladder. We decided to leave it to someone who has the right equipment and know-how to put it up safely. Luckily, my man Troy (who will be installing the trusses and metal roof) can do that very task. And that's a good thing because the top panels and even the middle panels were difficult nailing in at that height.

After 4 weekends of hard work, I'm not going to miss driving back up there on Friday. We had a plan to get to a point where we couldn't do any more work (safely) and we succeeded. We poured concrete columns, built the subfloor and installed the siding on the framed walls. It has been so rewarding having my father-n-law (and bro-n-law) by my side in completing this task. It will be a few more weeks before we head up there again to get the tyvek up and make sure everything is sealed up for the winter.

 

 

 

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The name of the game is... Overkill

Once again, the three of us were up at 5:30 on Friday morning and on the road up to the mountains. We spent the whole of Friday fixing what we had done wrong last weekend. Getting a 16x24 level surface on the side of a mountain square isn't an easy task. But we got it close and a builder from the area (who is going to tackle the roof because I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid) came by and looked at it for us. At this point, we are flying with no permit or respect to code but he explained that I might want to start getting those ducks in a row for issues later on down the line. That was a blow because if the inspector requires blueprints, I'm going to wreck my budget finding an engineer. The silver lining with his visit was that he said the concrete piers, pressure treated lumber, and all the screws and brackets we've used were a bit overkill but would only help us in the long run with the inspector.

 

We worked up until we couldn't see the lines for cutting and thought that might be a good stopping point in the evening.

This thing is solid. We installed staggered floor joints every 4 feet and then screwed the advantech osb on the "correct" way (going opposite direction of the joists) to keep the subfloor rigid. Here is Greg lying around on the job.

Once we got the subfloor done, it was time for an old timey barn raising. The general rule is one person per 8 feet of wall but that is for 8 foot ceilings. This bad boy is 10 feet all and there were lots of groans getting that first wall raised and braced.

And we kept going...

 

And going...

And going until the four walls were up, nailed down, braced every which way to get plumb... And then bracketed (which is once again overkill, but we decided you can never have enough brackets). We got the cripple studs and loft supports up so we only have the joists left to do.

All in all, this felt like the most productive weekend up there. Maybe because the walls and loft give it the almost appearance of an actual structure. I could already picture where the stairs and wood stove and kitchen were going to layout.

4 things to mention:

1. Buy at least twice as many screws as you think you might need. We found out the uber wireless nail gun that I'm borrowing from a buddy doesn't like the hot dipped (overkill) 3" nails so we ended up screwing most of the structure together (big overkill)
2. Mad props to my brother-n-law Greg. Saturday night, we went to Applebee's and had a sampler appetizer. He went to town on the boneless buffalo wings and blue cheese dip but ended up waking Ted and I at midnight with his loud projectile vomiting from the bathroom. He was a trooper on Sunday working through the ick and finishing strong helping us lift the loft supports in place.
3. It's an odd but wonderful feeling getting to know your neighbors. Trish and I haven't met any of our neighbors in Lubbock, but I already know 4 of my neighbors on the mountain on a first name basis. I would usually feel bothered having to stop what I'm doing to have to entertain small talk and pleasantries with each and every person that stops and gets out of their car to introduce themselves and wish me good luck on the project but instead I'm finding comfort in it. This mountain is truly shaping up to be that place where I can build life-long memories with my friends and family.
4. Last but not least, I have to lift my wife up on a pedestal. She is truly an amazing woman to let me spend the last three (and several more in the future) weekends working on our cabin. Being pregnant is no easy feat and I always come home to a spotless house and big hugs. She knows all of this work is for the little beast she's growing inside of her and the future we want to give our children that doesn't just involve the concrete city we live in. Love you babe

 

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Who has 2 thumbs and just bought $4,000 worth of windows and doors for $500? This GUY!

So starting off, I think Craigslist ROCKS! I've found a cute little pot belly stove for a great price and I feel that I've practically thieved these brand new windows. They're from a contractor who measured an entire house wrong and can't use them. Makes no difference to me because the large windows are going to look great as I frame them into my new cabin.

Recapping this weekend, Ted and I had a newcomer in the way of my brother-n-law decide to brave it out and come play builder with us. Good thing, because we had to build 24' beams of pressure treated 2x12's and lift them into the brackets. The first two were easy but would have been a bear with just two of us. The last and highest beam had to be slightly disassembled to get it over our heads and into its space.

We had originally planned on spending the first day bringing some fill down the hill to level off the ground of the bottom two rows of piers, but Mother Nature had other plans. You see, she decided to rain for a few days all over our dry mounds of ground that should have been easy to push down the hill but instead formed a massive muddy clay blob.

After two trips of tossing heavy mud onto a tarp and pulling it down, we decided we'd once again recruit our mountain angel (Dave Swope) to get his backhoe and push it down for us. So off we went to building. Once we got the aforementioned mega beams up, we made quick work of marking off our subfloor plan and laying down the pieces.

 

We got the trusses lined up and set on just as we heard the first thunder roll down into the canyon. It was quite comical to see all of our faces look at each other with an urgency to finish up before the storm hit. But we got'er done and felt very accomplished just as the rain came on.

 

It makes me happy and eager every time we pack up and I take the last pic of the trip to remind me of how far we've come but how far we've got to go. If all goes well, the three of us will embark once again in the dark of Friday morning to head up there and spend three days getting the 4 walls and the loft up.

 

 

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