Balch Family Blog

That’s what we discovered at Carsten’s peditrician yesterday. We decided to take him in because he had been doing a weird breathing thing (he would hold his breath and wave his arms about). So after a scary night in Williams, AZ we got an appointment Monday morning.

The doctor noticed the torticollis right away and said it was a very mild case, but that we needed to get on top of it quickly.

After describing his symptoms she determined that he has reflux and it has been causing him pain (that is why he has been holding his breath). So he is now on Zantac to help reduce the acid production.

In addition, the reflux may have caused his stuffy nose and ear infection.

My sweet little boy is starting to feel better already. Those antibiotics work wonders!!

We had a GREAT time with Thomas. Camden was so thrilled with everything. He had so much fun riding on the train and playing with all the things they had set up. He chose not to have a picture taken with Sir Toppam Hatt or Thomas, but we did get a lot of pictures! He was sooooo happy to be at A Day Out with Thomas!

Carsten is a healthy, not so little guy! Here are the stats from our visit today:

12 lbs 14 oz (50th percentile)
24″ long (60th percentile)

He had 3 shots for 5 different things and isn’t feeling so hot tonight.

FYI: Camden weighed 13 lbs 2 oz and was 23 1/2″ long at 2 months.

We headed over to Schnepf Farms today to enjoy the Peach Festival. It was a warm afternoon but the breeze made it better. Just a small reminder of the hot weather to come. While we were at the farm we tasted several different peach salsas and spreads as well as a very tasty peach roll.

Camden’s favorite part was the train, which he rode twice. Carsten slept through the whole thing. No big surprise there! 😉

Next weekend we are off to spend A Day Out with Thomas. Thomas the Tank Engine will be pulling the train along through Williams on a nice 25 min ride. Thomas is one of Camden’s favorite characters. We will be having a Thomas birthday party next month.

Carsten gave a very cute smile yesterday evening. Yes, he does have the dimples like his brother!

We have had a nice weekend. We hung out and did family stuff this weekend. Mark has joined the church softball team so we went to his game on Saturday. Today we cleaned the garage and took a family nap.

I know it has been awhile, but my life has been busy with two little ones, returning to work (supervising an SLP), planning a big event for church and the Easter holiday.

We had a lovely Easter. We went to church and then had dinner with Mark’s parents. Camden learned about Jesus dying for our sins and his ressurection by using Ressurection Eggs. It was really cool to watch him get so excited! He loved the egg hunts we had and he has been so strung out on chocolate, we might need rehab! 😛

Carsten is now 5 1/2 weeks old. He is growing and starting to have a personality of his own. He has been a very good baby!

We hope everything is going well with all of you. Here are a couple of pictures we had taken last week.

Went went down to Tucson this past weekend to see my mom and Ken and pick up Camden. We had a very nice visit and even enjoyed a trip to the zoo. I tried to add pics to my gallery without any luck so I will just put them here.

Carsten Awake (for those who don’t believe he has eyes!)

Carsten at 3 weeks

First time leaving Carsten – Mom and Dad went to dinner

Our trip to the zoo

Carsten today, taking his nap. Isn’t he the sweetest?

We have been adjusting to our new arrival. It has been interesting to see the family dynamic change. Camden continues to love and adore his little brother. Just this morning he gave him kisses on his feet before leaving.

Carsten is happy most of the time. He has a bad diaper rash, so he HATES dirty diapers. It also seems that he has a blocked tear duct in one eye. This is very common among infants and goes away on it own.

I have been adjusting to being a mom of 2, and have decided a schedule is needed to make sure I do what needs to be done. So on Mon, Wed, and Fri, Camden and I work for about an hour on preschool activities, play outside and spend time together. It has really helped to reduce Camden’s acting out behaviors. I have had a lot of help from the moms! My mom was here right after the birth for about a week, and then Mark’s mom has been coming over to help me with both boys!

Mark is SUPERDAD! He only took 2 days off of work, but he has been able to bond with Carsten. He and Camden are best buds and do a lot together, especially in the backyard.

I have added some updated pics of Carsten to his album and created a new Big Brother album for Camden. Be sure to check out some of the very cute things Camden has been doing with all the baby toys out again.

The Birth Story of Carsten Lee Balch

On Thursday, March 9th, 2006, I was taken off of bed rest and allowed to go out to dinner. Mark and I went out for Mexican food with another couple. While in bed, I began contracting around 11:00pm. I was able to sleep off and on through them, but about 2:00 am, March 10th I woke up and the contractions were too strong to sleep through. I started timing them and woke Mark at 2:30 because they were 3-4 minutes apart. By 2:50 we were on our way to the hospital. I was 4 cm upon arrival and 70% effaced. I was monitored for an hour and rechecked without a change. So they sent us out to walk. After walking, I was dilated 4-5 cm and my bag of waters was bulging. I was in some real pain by this point and I told the triage nurse that she could not send me home because I wanted my epidural.

After speaking with my doctor, they decided to admit me (5:45am), get my epidural started (6:30am), and when my doctor arrived she broke my bag of waters (6:55 am). When my doctor checked me I was 5-6 cm and 90 minutes (8:20am) later pitocin was started. At 10:30 am I began feeling a lot of pressure and asked if my nurse could check me. I was complete! My doctor was called and she headed back to the hospital. Luckily I had a wonderful epidural and didn’t mind waiting for her. I began to push at 11:15 am and pushed through about 5 contractions and 20 minutes later Carsten Lee was born. I was able to watch the delivery in a mirror and it was just amazing. Carsten weighed 7 lbs 13 oz and was 21 inches long. He had a head full of dark hair and was just darling! He took to nursing like a champ!

HAS ARRIVED!

Carsten was born on Friday, March 10, 2006; 11:35 am. Weighing 7lbs 13oz and 21″ long. He has dark hair and gray-blue eyes. He is beautiful! He has long fingers and toes and is his father’s child and Camden’s brother without a doubt.

We all actually got a decent night of sleep last night and I am getting more energy. I will work on posting pictures and I plan to write my birth story and create a link for it. I will include all the details, so consider yourself fore-warned! 🙂

Camden is an amazing BIG brother. He really loves Baby Carsten and checks on him every few minutes.

More to come!

Make it through Thursday! That is my goal. I met with my doctor this morning and she said that I can return to modified bed rest and take my last dose of terbutaline Thursday night at 10pm. I even have permission to go out to eat that night.

So now that I have a light at the end of the tunnel, and I can sit on my couch and check emails, I am feeling a lot more optomistic.

I had my shower last Saturday and it was just lovely. Carrie and Jennie did such a nice job! Carsten and I were spoiled rotten to say the least. Check the gallery for pictures.

We are hoping for a baby this Saturday!!!