A new member is born

D.E.U.S. · Post by **D.E.U.S.** » Wed Sep 26, 2007 5:42 pm

We wish to congratulate KonThaak, and wish his child the greatest of success in the future. We are with you all the way.

Hannah · Post by **Hannah** » Sun Sep 30, 2007 11:37 am

Hi Josh and Lex,

Such a lil' cutie isn't he? I wonder if he remembers me stayin' over?

Hannah

PS: Say Hi ta tha dolls fer me.

KonThaak · Post by **KonThaak** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 1:03 am

Since it's officially the 11th here... Happy birthday, Julian!

A. Pendragon · Post by **A. Pendragon** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 10:33 am

Happy Birthday Julian!!!

Eilonwy Solstice · Post by **Eilonwy Solstice** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 11:33 am

Many happy ones, Julian!

duamerthrax · Post by **duamerthrax** » Thu Oct 11, 2007 12:47 pm

happy birthday kiddo.

Bert_the_Turtle · Post by **Bert_the_Turtle** » Fri Oct 12, 2007 9:07 pm

Happy Belated! ^___^

Hannah · Post by **Hannah** » Sun Oct 14, 2007 5:15 pm

Hi Jullian

When you get old enough ta read this, Happy Birthday!!

Hannah

PS: I wish Pa would let me use the computer more of the week

KonThaak · Post by **KonThaak** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 12:58 am

Since Lex is carrying our second child right now...I've been doing a lot of reflection on Julian's first week of life...

I remember the day he was born quite clearly, despite that it was over a year and a half ago, now... I remember the excitement, fear, and nervousness as I stopped getting ready for work and started getting ready to take Lex to the hospital... I remember the half-coherent phone calls... I remember the blood-curdling scream, and my anger at not being allowed to help calm Lex when they inserted the hypodermic... I remember the screaming, the cajoling...

There was a nurse in the room, according to Lex, that I never remembered seeing... I didn't see her come in, I didn't remember her being in the birthing room, and I certainly didn't remember her leaving... Lex described her as having "short, dark hair", and she couldn't remember anything else, but every time Lex felt like she might pass out from pain (despite the anesthetics), she heard and saw this nurse yelling at her to breathe, and she did...

That was on a Wednesday... October 11, 2006... That first night, Julian was taken care of by wet nurses... He was taken care of for us the following night, too, 'cuz Lex wasn't sure she was comfortable breastfeeding him by herself, just yet... We both had concerns about that, because Lex had major reduction surgery done in high school... We brought these concerns up to every nurse and lactation consultant that walked in our door, but they brushed aside our concerns, and pushed hard for Lex to breastfeed, stating and re-iterating the importance of breastfeeding, and how it was so much healthier for the baby...

For what it's worth, Julian did exactly as they told us he would... He latched on properly, suckled for 10-15 minutes, let go, and drifted off to sleep, just like they told us... I was changing the right number of diapers in a day (they didn't tell me that a certain number had to be soiled, and Lex assumed that some of the ones I was changing were)... We were new parents, so after we took him home on Friday, we failed to notice, within 24 hours, the signs of dehydration and malnutrition setting in quickly...

Julian crashed hard on that Sunday, less than 48 hours after we got him home. We rushed him back to the ER, where he was admitted... The doctors suspected us of intentionally starving him, I think, until they saw how little milk Lex was producing... Their doubts about us were fully banished when his initial blood tests came back, and he'd tested positive for MCAD...

He nearly died, though. Twenty minutes more, and we would've lost him. We were terrified. Terrified doesn't even begin to explain it.

While Julian's vitals were still alarmingly low, a priest from the hospital came and prayed with us... Lex isn't a particularly religious person, but even she said she felt something from the prayer, and not long after, Julian's condition started stabilizing...

He was admitted into intensive care from the ER that night, and he stayed in intensive care for a week. They had to do so many blood tests, the soles of the poor kid's feet had more holes than a full block of swiss cheese...

After they allowed him to come home, he's been healthy ever since, and happy... The doctors right now say he's behind, mentally, but I don't buy it. I think he's lazy... He seems to understand what we're saying, and Lex and I know he's capable of doing the things other kids his age are capable of doing, but usually, the problem is getting him to *want* to do those things, which he almost never does...

I guess I'm relating this, 'cuz now, with Lex carrying our second, due to be born late this summer, I'm nervous. They say every kid has one major disaster... Our first child almost died. Now we know what signs to look for, to make sure our second child doesn't suffer from the same problem...but what is our second born's disaster going to be...?

Maybe I'm just worrying needlessly... We are blessed beyond description to have Julian. The angels watched out for us and him when he was born. I know I shouldn't dwell on my concerns and worries, but...they keep nagging at me, anyway.

Anyway, I'll stop rambling, now... I need to get some sleep.

concrete_Angel · Post by **concrete_Angel** » Tue Mar 25, 2008 5:54 am

There is nothing more heartbreaking than when a little kid goes through something that terrible. I mean, he couldn't have done anything to deserve that, and you guys certainly didn't do anything to, either. Bad shit happens to good people (and good babies) and sometimes all we can do is pray for the best. But they always say the second child is easier than the first, so I'm wishing you all the best.

Hannah · Post by **Hannah** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 10:47 am

Hi KT,

I'm, glad that Jullian made it through that and I'm waiting to hear the news that Lexy's borne you another fine child.

Hannah

PS: After what you helped with the other night, the world is a better place for both of 'em.

KonThaak · Post by **KonThaak** » Sun Apr 13, 2008 11:42 pm

Thanks, Hannah, Angel.

Of course, I wish I could remember how I helped the other night. I'm still not really clear on all of those events. ^^;

KonThaak · Post by **KonThaak** » Wed May 07, 2008 7:08 am

Quick update: Next kid's gonna be a girl! Lex is due sometime around August 1, though she has the feeling she's gonna come early... We're working on a name.

Eilonwy Solstice · Post by **Eilonwy Solstice** » Wed May 07, 2008 11:30 am

Congratulations!

GhostSpider · Post by **GhostSpider** » Wed May 07, 2008 1:09 pm

Grats KT.

Ethan Skinner · Post by **Ethan Skinner** » Wed May 07, 2008 1:39 pm

Heh, congratulations. Though don't be too certain about the sex of your baby, though. Not unless ultrasound showed everything.

Doctors can be wrong, too. :wink:

Greydawn · Post by **Greydawn** » Wed May 07, 2008 1:40 pm

May it be healthy and wise as its mother and father, congratulations Mr. KonThaak.

Sophoroto · Post by **Sophoroto** » Wed May 07, 2008 5:12 pm

Congratulation Mr. KonThaak. Hope she is happy and healthy.

Oh, and please forgive Mr. Greydawn for calling her an it.

KonThaak · Post by **KonThaak** » Wed May 07, 2008 7:37 pm

Ethan Skinner wrote:Heh, congratulations. Though don't be too certain about the sex of your baby, though. Not unless ultrasound showed everything.

Doctors can be wrong, too.

Oh, trust me. The ultrasound photos showed *everything*. ^^; First time around, she kept her legs crossed the whole time. This time, it was her face she kept covered, and it was like she was trying to moon the camera. So yeah, we know for sure it's a girl. ^^;

Had a lot of suspicions before... It's a totally different pregnancy than with Julian, a lot of the old wives' methods of figuring it out said girl, and even my runes were very blatant in the gender, so we were fairly certain it'd be a girl... The ultrasounds just confirm it.

Hannah · Post by **Hannah** » Wed May 07, 2008 8:40 pm

Hi KT,

When a girl got pregnant at the compound, the first thing she did was kill a chicken, then the old ladies would poke around in the guts of the bird to try to tell if it was going to be a boy or a girl, healthy or sick, strong or weak, smart or dumb, and all sorts of stuff like that.

Hannah.

PS: I was told that my compound-father flipped out when he found out I was going to be a girl, someone had told him he would only ever have sons. I guess they were right.

concrete_Angel · Post by **concrete_Angel** » Wed May 07, 2008 10:14 pm

Oh, that's just NASTY!!!! Thank God we live in a technologically advanced society. I'm not touching anyone's chicken guts unless they're deep fried with seven herbs and spices.

KonThaak · Post by **KonThaak** » Thu May 08, 2008 1:31 pm

That's an old practice... It dates back to the augurs of Rome, wherein priests would foretell the future through dragging out animal entrails and reading signs in those entrails--by the way they fell, the general internal health of the slaughtered animal, abnormalities in colorations or deformations in the entrails, and so forth...

The old wives' methods I was speaking of involved...I dunno, I wasn't there for it, but it involved something about a coin in the palm of her hand, or something to that effect.

Hannah · Post by **Hannah** » Thu May 08, 2008 6:43 pm

Hi Sue,

The animals were being slaughtered for food anyway, so someone was gonna have to reach inside and yank the guts out. The difference is this time they get to take the time to see if anything interesting is there.

Hannah

PS: I guess it's something city folk wouldn't really know about.

Ethan Skinner · Post by **Ethan Skinner** » Thu May 08, 2008 10:18 pm

Hannah wrote:Hi Sue,

The animals were being slaughtered for food anyway, so someone was gonna have to reach inside and yank the guts out. The difference is this time they get to take the time to see if anything interesting is there.

Hannah

PS: I guess it's something city folk wouldn't really know about.

You're right on that, Hannah. Most city folks wouldn't know the first thing about it. But it comes in handy when surviving on the land.

Congratulations again, KonThaak. Hopefully, everything will go right.

KonThaak · Post by **KonThaak** » Thu May 08, 2008 10:32 pm

My fingers are crossed so tight, my fingertips are turning blue... We won't let the same thing that happened to Julian in the first few days of his life happen to her as well.

Now "she" just needs a name... Lex and I like the name Evey for the first name, but we haven't found a middle name we can both agree on...

KonThaak · Post by **KonThaak** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 11:26 am

On July 24, 2008, at precisely 6:00AM, CST, Victoria Skye was born to us by unplanned non-emergency C-section. She decided she wanted the 24th instead of the 26th all on her own, and took it upon herself to take the steps necessary to ensure that it would happen. Both Victoria and Alexis are doing well, but as we were all up all night last night, we're a bit exhausted.

Y'all take care!

Hannah · Post by **Hannah** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 11:34 am

Hi KT!!

That' is such awesome news!! I'm glad everyoen is doign great andI really hope I get to meet the new addition to your family soon!!

Give my love to Alexis and Julian and now Victoria too!!

Hannah

PS: If your looking for a babysitter and don't mind picking me up and driving me home . . .

KonThaak · Post by **KonThaak** » Thu Jul 24, 2008 6:19 pm

Shortly after I posted this morning, Lex informed me that our baby wasn't a Victoria after all. She seemed rather distraught over this fact, and we put our heads together for a new name.

Our baby's name is Valerie Skye.

Unfortunately, I haven't had good enough reception to manage to come on and inform anyone of this change until now.

And thanks, Hannah!

Shang Li · Post by **Shang Li** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 12:26 pm

Valerie Skye, daughter of KonThaak.

May Amaterasu always light your path, the might of Susano'o protect you, and may Sarutahiko Ohkami guide you for all of your days, little one.

When I am near a mail facility again, I shall send more appropriate items than mere words for the children.

Hannah · Post by **Hannah** » Fri Jul 25, 2008 1:13 pm

Hey KT,

Send my love to Valerie Skye then.

Hannah

PS: And to Lex and Julian of course.