What a blessed year it has been...

Happy Holidays from the Dahman Family

Hello again to all of our family and friends. We hope that this letter finds you well and at the close of another blessed year.

Ours has been a busy one but full of a lot of accomplishments and blessings. Once again we started the year off with a positive pregnancy test. Our prayer was that Owen would be blessed with a brother. An ultrasound would follow to prove our prayers had been answered and a feeling of completeness settled in for our family.

This year Joe has been very busy. He has built a deck, landscaped our yard, replaced all of the windows in the house, replaced the insulation in the house, and replacing the siding. He also installed closet systems in the bedroom closets for some much need organization. There are a lot of projects yet to come but he has accomplished a lot this year and we are very proud of him.

Kristin did a lot of cleaning and organizing inside of the house to prepare for baby’s arrival. Her water broke at 6:30pm on October 12th and Evan Joseph Dahman was born at 7:30am on October 13th. Labor came hard and fast and Evan did not tolerate it well. The doctors administered a drug that slowed down the contractions and allowed his heart rate to stabilize and an emergency c-section was avoided. We were very blessed that all turned out well and we have a healthy and happy little boy. And Kristin still got her natural labor as planned. Evan Joseph weighed 7lbs 2oz and measured 20 ½ inches long. He is an excellent sleeper and is nursing like a pro. He is a very mellow, cuddly, baby and is such a joyful completion to our family.

Owen is very excited to welcome his new baby brother to the family and is already looking out for him. Owen is working on potty training but is much more interested in playing instead. He is quite the conversationalist and is one smart cookie. He does not hesitate to tell you exactly what he is thinking.

Emilee and Olivia have been overseeing the construction around the house, as has Owen. They always want to help Daddy with whatever the project is that day. Emilee has anticipated the baby’s arrival from the beginning and can’t get enough of holding him. She is such a little mommy. Olivia is my big helper and is always getting me diapers and whatever I need and is very eager to help with the baby as well.

They all love to play outside and enjoyed the pool, waterslide, and sprinkler this summer, as well as all of their outdoor toys and activities.

It has been a whirl wind of a year but a very blessed one as well.

Wishing you all a year filled with much happiness, health, and abundant blessings throughout the year.

Happy Holidays and a blessed New Year

Joe, Kristin, Emilee, Olivia, Owen, & Evan Dahman

God's abundant blessings...

October 12th started our journey into parenthood, once again, as my water broke at 6:30pm as I was trying on my $1,000.00 worth of clothes that I had won from Coldwater Creek. The ironic part was the fact that I called it. As soon as I pulled on the first pair of pants, thinking, "Wouldn't it figure if my water broke while I was trying on my new clothes?" I was slipping on the second to last outfit and sure enough...my water broke! I called Joe and let him know that it was time that he head home for the day and then notified the midwife. I had just been into the office that morning for a check up and his head was still very high. I was 3 days past my due date and still only 1cm dilated and 50% effaced. No changes, although, I knew that this meant nothing seeing as how I never progressed with any of my other children until I went into labor. My plan was to labor at home as long as possible, however, the midwife wanted me to go in right away since his head was so high that morning. This was a preventative measure to insure that his head came down first, not his cord, so that he would not cut off his air supply. We arrived at the hospital around 9:30pm and got settled in. I was already 3cm with no consistent contractions to speak of. We walked for a bit and then utilized the exercise ball for a good portion of my labor. By this point contractions were coming hard and fast and continued for a couple of hours. My ipod with my hypnobirthing and the ball were my best friend during this time. A short time later I transitioned to the bed with the ball for a more comfortable place to labor on all fours. It was time to monitor me again so the midwife began to look for the babies heart beat. She was having a difficult time finding it, but we weren't concerned as he liked to run away from the monitor every time we tried to listen to his heart rate. However, this time was different. When she was finally able to find it and it was in the 70's! (His normal heart rate was between 150-135.) This was not a good sign and it wasn't coming back up either. On all fours in bed I had my back to everyone and everything that was going on behind me but I could hear the scrambling and commotion that was ensuing. This is when I went deep inside of myself. I prayed. Every night when I put the kids to bed we sing a lullaby prayer. To the tune of Edelweiss I sang to my baby:

 "May the Lord, Mighty God, bless and keep you forever, grant you peace, perfect peace, courage in every endeavour. Lift up your eyes and see His face, and His grace, forever. May the Lord, Mighty God, bless and keep you forever."

I could hear the kids singing it with me in my mind and I knew that everything would be ok. I used this time to utilize my hypnobirthing and breathing as I breathed my baby down. I knew that the Dr. that had come in to access me was ready to wheel me down to the operating room and cut me open. I focused on breathing the baby down and my cervix opening and as they checked me again I was opening and transitioning in preparation for delivery. My midwife was incredible and fought for the natural labor that I urned for. They administered a drug to slow down my contractions, gave me oxygen, and started iv fluids. As the contractions slowed and I turned to lay on my side his heart rate came up and stabilized. I finally was able to see the faces of my husband and parents and they looked panicked and terrified. I gave them a thumbs up and let them know that we were good and they didn't need to worry because I wasn't worried.
 "I trust my body and my baby" and " My body and my baby were meant to do this" were two mantras from hypnobirthing that repeated in my head.
Now that labor was slowed and his heart rate was stabilized they were able to take me off of the drug and let labor start up again. It came back hard and fast again, but, by the grace of God his heart rate stayed up for the remainder of labor and delivery. The contractions were faster and more furious then ever but in my mind I was willing to do whatever it took to get my baby here safely. I knew that if I changed my position that I would probably be more comfortable, but the last time I changed positions was when his heart rate dropped. So I continued in the positon that I was in, lying in bed, to deliver. As scary as it was, it was the most passionate labor that I have endured. I appreciated him so much more as they layed him on my chest and he opened his little blue eyes and looked at me for the first time. He was here and he was safe. I had let my body do what it needed to do and let go of all control and it worked! I was able to have my natural birth and have a healthy baby and I was so very grateful for that. What an incredible experience. It reminded me how precious life is and how quickly it can be taken from us. There are no promises in this world no matter the circumstances.

"May the Lord, Mighty God, bless and keep you forever, grant you peace, perfect peace, courage in every endeavour. Lift up your eyes and see His face, and His grace, forever. May the Lord, Mighty God, bless and keep you forever."

This prayer now has new meaning. Not just as I sing it to my heavy eyed children as they drift of to sleep, but to myself as well. He sustained me to fight for my baby and for myself. A renewed seance of faith and appreciation.

May the Lord Mighty God bless and keep YOU forever <3

The end of an era...

So as I sat watching a documentary on natural birth I realised that very soon I will be giving birth for the last time and my days of pregnancy are about to come to an end. As tears streamed down my face I realised what a gift pregnancy and having a baby are and how much we take it for granted. It has been an incredible journey these past five years and I feel so blessed to have them as a part of my life's journey.
Pregnancy number one started when I was 25 years old and I was 26 by the time I gave birth. It started traditionally as I took a home pregnancy test in my bathroom at home, got scary as I experienced some spotting in the fifth week, and got even scarier and more incredible, all at the same time, as I saw two beating harts on the ultrasound monitor for the first time. Looking back I am so glad that my twin pregnancy was the first because things just got easier from there on out. I feel so blessed to be chosen to carry two babies at once and to be a mother of multiples. There is nothing like it. It is something so special that is only spoken between you and God. What a gift.
By the time the girls were 6 months old I found myself laying on the exact same examining table that I first saw those two beating hearts. However, this time there was no heartbeat to be seen. Just a hollow being that had already lived and died within me. My first initial reaction was of reasoning. I had two healthy babies at home that were only 6 months old. It was ok and God knew what he was doing. However, by the time I got out to my car, much more real emotions were surfacing, as I went home to care for the two little heartbeats that were my survivors. I cried alot and for a very long lime. I remember being at work and would have to run to the bathroom in the middle of working with a client to dry my tears. I still cry for the one that I lost. Not often, but when I do, I look at the calendar through my tears to realize that it is the same time of year that we lost him or the begining of the new year when he was due to be born. Time heals all wounds but never fills the hollows in the heart that was the place reserved just for him. He will always be mine.
After I turned 27 and the girls were a year old we decided with mended hearts that we were ready to try, for the first time in our marriage to get pregnant. We had never actually tried and planned for a baby. This venture was not only incredible to have such a purpose in our love making but made it so exciting to know that we were making a baby. This was very short lived as the pregnancy test came up positive four weeks later. We held our breaths for the first ultrasound. First and for most to see the beating heart of our love child. Second, to see if there was one heartbeat or two. There was one heart beat and a little boy to add to our growing family. We felt very blessed and renewed in our new child that we had been blessed with. It was a healing time for us as a family.
By the time I was 29 I was sure of a few things, as was my husband. One, we wanted to be finished having children by the time I was around age 30. Two, we wanted our kids to be close in age, and three, Owen need a brother. As Christmas rolled around we spent many nights in front of the fire after we put the kids to bed. We just laid there taking in the warmth and discussing our family and our future as well as where we had been and how far we had come together. We decided that the time had come and that in the near future we would plan to create another child and try to help Owen out with a little brother. This was out of our hands but we felt called to have another child for our sweet little boy who's eyes lit up at the sight of another little boy to play and share his toys with. By Valentines Day we knew that we were expecting and a few months later we knew that Owen would in deed have a brother joining him and his two sisters. We were ecstatic!
It has been so fun watching the kids watching my growing belly. They talk to their brother, kiss my belly, and practice singing Happy Birthday for the day that he arrives. They are so excited.
I have taken in every moment and tried as hard as possible to not rush a moment of this pregnancy as I know that it is my last. It comes with an element of sadness as I know with every kick that it could be the last that I feel. Knowing that I will never have a part of my husband and myself, made in love, growing inside of me. It has gone by so very fast I can't believe that in the less than five years I have been pregnant four times, carried and delivered twins, suffered the loss of a child, had our first son, and am expecting our last child. What an incredible journey it has been. I am looking forward to enjoying every moment of our last "firsts" with the new baby and all of the years to come raising our family together. We have been truly blessed and have learned so much along the way. Looking back we now know that every peice of it was meant for us to live, the good and the bad, and we have the family that we are meant to have, better than we could have ever planned for our selves. What a blessing.

Oh how the time has passed...

It seems as if it were only yesterday that my midwife had that strange look on her face as she preformed the first ultrasound that I ever had. I was nervous as to what she was about to say for the look on her face wasn't exactly a favorable one. As she turned the screen for my viewing she showed me the tiny little sack that held my first child....and then a second one! Mind you I was on my lunch break and was in a rush to get back to work since we had guests in from out of town and were doing testing at L'Oreal that day. I left the office in a daze as I called everyone that I possibly could in the five minute drive back to work. Joe was the first of course and he was so excited and so proud of himself. I quickly called my parents and grandparents and family. We were all in disbelief and giddy with happiness at the incredible miracle. I got back to work and showed my coworkers the ultrasound picture as nervous laughter consumed me. They were in disbelief as well and we just giggled about our secret the rest of the day. I refrained from passing out thinking about two cribs and car seats and all of the other necessities that were coming our way. But most of all I couldn't wait to get home to celebrate our new family with my husband of three months. It is so hard to believe that all of this happened almost five years ago!  It was a very long and nerve wracking journey but, looking back, it was the most incredible journey. The journey that took us to the beginning of our family. At seven months I was sent to the hospital for monitoring for consistent contractions. We left the hospital after a steroid shot to mature the babies lungs and were to return twenty-four hours later for the next. Two weeks later I awoke to my water breaking and at seven and a half months we were on our way to the hospital. (Of course not until Joe payed the bills first.) We arrived at the hospital and things progressed very quickly. I was about to deliver twins six weeks early and was as calm as could be. At 11:13 Emilee Elizabeth was born weighing 4lbs 15 oz and four minutes later at 11:17 Olivia Grace made her appearance into this world to join her sister weighing 4lbs 13oz. I got my natural birth that I wanted and everything went quickly and smoothly. They were in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) for one week with no complications. We were so very blessed and were well aware of how lucky we were. We went from a family of two to a family of four in minutes. This was six weeks before we were to celebrate our first wedding anniversary.
Looking back I cannot believe how the time has passed and how many things that we have accomplished and had the joy of experiencing over the past four years that we have been blessed with our beautiful fraternal twin girls. Four years.....wow! What a blessing they have been, how they have grown, and what beautiful young ladies they are becoming. They are amazing and they are a daily reminder of all of the blessings in my life. Happy 4Th Birthday Emilee & Olivia! We love you more than words could say.
And this is my crazy, busy, beautiful life...

-Kristin

30 years, 30 weeks, 3 kids 3 and under...

As I find myself writing my first blog I am 30 years old, 30 weeks pregnant, with 3 kids, 3 years and under. (Hence the title) As I am writing I realize all the time that has passed and the things that I have laxed on since becoming a mother. (Writing being one of them.) What a release it is and how I have missed it so.
(Hence the new found desire to blog)
30 years old. It does not bother me or make me sad in any way. I find 30 to be strange as it seems that I have always been in my 20's. So many things happened in my 20's. The transition, I assume, is like moving out of an old home into a new one. The old home holds so many memories and milestones that it is sad to close the door and move onto the new house. But the new house is bigger, newer, and more beautiful than the last, just waiting for new memories to be made inside. 
My 20's housed finding myself, the love of my life, my most accomplished career, and the making of 4 beautiful children.  I met my future husband, Joseph, at 21, we dated and were married when I was 25. I was then hired at L'Oreal  and soon after I discovered that I was pregnant with Emilee & Olivia. By the end of my 27th year Owen was born, and by 29 I became pregnant with baby #4. So many wonderful memories. Looking back it seems to over shadow all of the sadness that occurred in those 10 years of life.
Right after I met Joe my family began the long journey of traveling down the path of no return with surgery after surgery for my mother and grandmother. Joe was such a trooper and stood by me even when things were at their worst. That is when I knew, no matter what, our love would stand the test of time. My mother traveled the slow road of recovery over the next few years but I watched as a piece of her died along with my grandmother and reminded me how very lucky I was to still have her. Sadly, not even 2 months after the girls were born my grandmother departed this earth.  It was the most difficult experience that I have encountered thus far in my life. With mended hearts I still feel her presence as she whispers that she is near when we least expect it. The most recent whisper was heard as we discovered that this baby is due on October 10, the day that she departed this earth. My family had come full circle starting with the girls being born, as she prepared to depart this world, and our last child being due on the exact day that she took her last breath. If only she were here to see my babies. She would have loved them SO MUCH and have been  SO VERY proud.
Our next journey that we walked and survived only by the grace of God was the loss of my second pregnancy when the girls were 6 months old. Thought to be another twin pregnancy I trusted that God knew what he was doing and that four children under the age of a year and a half was not only asking to much of me but to much of my body as well. Keeping this in mind I still mourned the loss of the child(ren) that I never held that was created and departed this world all while inside of me. This I will carry with me until my dying day.
In keeping with the constant reminder that life is not promised and held in God's hands we went through yet another journey, this time with my Father and Grandfather both with heart issues I am glad to say that these both ended on a much happier note as recovery progressed. Amen!
So 30 years, 30 weeks pregnant, 3 kids, 3 and under, I find myself crazy, busy, and beautifully blessed. I thank God for all that we have been blessed with, all of the lessons that we have learned along the way, and for His steadfast love and devotion.


-Kristin