Chaos Hockey - Go Daddy!!

The newest team to hit the ice in the Twin Cities is none other than "Chaos" – a group of twenty and thirty-somethings (some even older although they don’t want to admit it) learning to play hockey for the first time.

Starting out as the AHA Beginner League “Green Team,” the team adopted the "Chaos" moniker and the color scheme via a list of suggestions and a team vote. The team adopted its team colors of navy blue and green, paying homage to the now defunct Hartford Whalers, formerly of the NHL.

Chaos is part of the Adult Hockey Association – a Twin Cities based amateur adult hockey association aimed at providing instruction to adults who want to learn to play “The Coolest Game on Ice” while fostering a fun and safe environment for its participants as they sharpen their skills and hopefully their skates.

This is Brad's first seasong playing hockey.  He is really enjoying himself and getting quite the workout.  He didn't play in high school other than with some of his friends on the local rink in Hoffman.  Hoffman was too small of a town to have a hockey team.

Emmy and I were lucky enough to cheer Brad and his team on the other night.  Emmy was so excited to see her daddy out on the ice. 

Emmy's Surgery

On Friday, March 5th, Emmy had surgery to place tubes in her ears.  We arrived at the clinic at 7:00 am and got her dressed into one of the clinic's special jammies. Each little child that was having surgery had to wear these jammies. They were so darn cute. All the kids looked alike. Emmy got to play with a bunch of toys before heading into the anesthesia room. There was a nurse nearby who was pretending to give medicine and anesthesia to Elmo.  This was such a great thing for the kids to see and get used to some of the equipment before going under anesthesia. 

Emmy's name was called around 8:00 and we headed into the anesthesia room. This was one of the most difficult things we have ever had to do. It was very difficult for us seeing her "go under." It's so emotional seeing/feeling your child's body go limp in your arms. After we said our goodbyes to Emmy, Brad and I got escorted to a waiting area. Brad had to leave the room to get his mind off of everything. I was able to sit and watch Emmy's progress on a TV monitor. The information gave a description of when the surgery began and when she went into the recovery area. I didn't actually get to watch the surgery. I don't think I was sitting in the waiting area for two minutes when Emmy's doctor walked into the room. At first I thought something was wrong and then he said that he was done and everything went well. I couldn't believe the surgery went that fast. We waited for another 10-15 minutes and then they called our name to go see Emmy in the recovery area. She did so well and didn't even cry one bit. She was a bit foggy from coming out of the anesthesia. We waited for another half an hour and then took her home.

She didn't feel so well right when we got home and actually threw up once. However, she was right back to her old self about an hour later.

Hopefully we don't have to go through any more ear infections with her. I'm glad that this is all done!

Many, Many Hospital Visits

I've been slow on my posts, so I'm going to update as much as I can while I have a free moment (both girls are sleeping!!) 

Our second home at the end of February & beginning of March was Abbott Northwestern Hospital.  We definitely were making several trips to and from the hospital.  Erin remained in the Special Care Nursery for about two weeks.  We live about 35 minutes from the hospital, so I started making two trips per day.  I usually went to be with Erin at 11:00 am and again at 8:00 pm.  Her feedings were 2 am, 5 am, 8 am, 11 am, 2 pm, 5 pm, 8 pm & 11 pm.  Towards the end of Erin's hospital stay I started going for all day visits.  I would get there around 9 or 10 am and stay until 9:30 pm.  As much as I wanted to be with her, it was also very draining going back and forth from home to SE Mpls. 

The hospital had a special room for family to stay in.  There were three rooms and they were on a first-come-first-served basis.  They were usually reserved for parents who were about to take their newborns home from the Special Care Nursery soon.  This is where we spent most of our time the last few days that Erin was in the hospital.  It was nice being in these rooms because they had a lounge area with a fridge, microwave, toaster, etc.  Each room had a couch, recliner and tv.  Emmy loved to look out the window and she got really excited when the hellicopter would come and go.  These rooms worked out so well with Emmy because she can get really busy.  Emmy was not allowed to go into the nursery due to the H1N1 season, so someone always had to occupy her while we were visiting Erin. 

Grandpa Brad made another special visit to the hospital just to come and hold Erin.  He wasn't able to hold her on the day she was born and I felt really horrible about that.  All of us were afraid of the nurse that was in charge of Erin...That's so sad to say.  If I would have been in my right mind, I wish I would have said something. 

While my dad and I were visiting Erin in the nursery, Brad stayed in the family room with Emmy.  When my dad and I got back to the family room there was nobody in the room.  I figured that Brad probably took Emmy back down to McDonald's so we headed in that direction.  As soon as my dad and I got off of the elevator, we saw Brad and Emmy walking our way.  Emmy saw grandpa Brad through the whole mass of people in the hallway and started running towards him...my dad bent down and she jumped into his arms.  This was one of the most precious things I have ever seen.  She REALLY loves her grandpa!!

We knew we were getting so much closer to taking Erin home from the hospital when she got moved out of her Isolette and into a normal bassinet which was also closer to the exit door.  Just after this happened the nurses told me to bring in her car seat for the car seat evaluation.  She was unhooked from all of her cords and brought to another room in the nursery for the inspection.  I asked one of the nurses if I was able to bring Erin closer to the window so that Emmy could see her from the other side.  They had no problem with that so Brad and my dad brought Emmy up to the window for their first meeting.  Emmy kept saying "Baby!" and "Momma!" 

The nurses had Erin bundled up in about five different layers of clothing every day.  I thought she would get hot, but they just wanted to make sure her body temperature was normal being out of the isolette. 

After the car seat evaluation was done, they told me that Erin would get to come home if I was able to nurse her more often.  I already felt like I was there so much and I almost passed out when they told me I needed to come to the hosptial more often.  But, I was determined to get her home with us.  Two days later the nurse removed Erin's feeding tube and didn't put in a new one.  She wanted to see how she would do through the night.  The next day when I arrived, I noticed that her feeding tube was still gone.  Yeah!!  This was a good sign.  Later that morning when the doctors were doing their rounds they reviewed her chart and told me in front of my mom & Rachel that we could now take Erin home!! 

We were able to take Erin home on Saturday, March 6th.  The weather was a bit cold so we bundled her up with extra blankets before we took her outside.  We were greeted by big sister Emmy and my mom at our house.  Emmy was so excited to see her new baby sister.  I have a video that I will upload soon.

Here's some pictures of our time in the special care nursery and bringing her home!!   

New Addition to the Family

We are proud to announce the latest addition to our family.  Erin Lynn Krusemark was born on Monday, February 22, 2010 at 1:58 pm.  She arrived 6 weeks early, but was a healthy little girl.  She weighed 4 lbs 11.8 oz and was 18 inches in length.

I woke up off and on during the middle of the night before Erin was born.  I kept getting contractions and would roll over from left to right, but nothing seemed to work.  I woke up at 6:00 am and my contractions were getting stronger and stronger.  I woke Brad and told him, "I don't think you're going to work today...I think we're having a baby."  I called my doctor and she told us to go directly to the Maternal Assessment Center at the Hospital.  Since Brad's cousin Sarah works in Labor & Delivery at Abbott, she found out that we were on our way.  Her shift was just ending and she decided to wait for us to arrive.  We dropped Emmy off at daycare and then rushed to the hospital.  We arrived around 8:00 am and I got strapped to a bunch of monitors.  I was dialated to a 4 and 100% effaced.  My doctor ordered an epidural shortly after we arrived. It was nice having Sarah in the room because she would massage my lower back during contractions and was great support.  

After it was determined that we were for sure delivering that day, we got moved from the MAC to the Labor area of the hospital.  I got my epidural which relieved most of the pain.  We stayed in the labor room until about 12:30 pm and then got wheeled to an operating room.  We had to go to the operating room because Erin was going to be sent to the NICU right after delivery.  The NICU doctors were waiting in a room that was attached to the OR.  My doctor determined that Erin was face up and needed her to turn so that she would be face down for delivery.  She had me turn on my side.  We waited for a little over an hour and then she suddenly turned.  My water broke and in no time she was out.  I think it only took about 15 minutes to push her out.  She was brought to the NICU doctors who were waiting nearby.  They cleaned her up and then I got to hold her for a few seconds before she was brought to the NICU.

I got wheeled back to my labor room where we were greeted by a very proud Grandpa Brad, my friend Jody & her daughter Marilynn, and Sarah's husband Richard & their son Max.

We made several trips up to see Erin while we were in the hospital.  Her feedings are every three hours, so I tried to be there for every feeding.  It was easier when I was in the hospital because we could just walk upstairs to see her whenever we wanted.  Grandma Deb & Jerry brought Emmy up to see us after Erin was born.  Deb was able to hold Erin when we went up to the NICU.  Grandma Linda & Uncle Scott came to visit us on Tuesday morning.  They both got to hold Erin.  Uncle Scott said, "Holy Smokes, she's tiny." 
Erin is only allowed two visitors per day.  Brad and I can visit her at any time.  I feel really bad that Grandpa Brad didn't get to hold her.  We had a nurse the very first day who must have been having a bad day.  Every question that we asked her, she would give us a snotty answer.  I was afraid to ask her if we could even hold her.  Grandpa Brad is making another trip down here later this week. 

It was very difficult going home from the hospital without a baby.  Now that we are home it's hard to get to the hospital as much.  I am trying to be there twice a day to be with her.  She's so precious and peaceful.  I know she's in great hands and the nurses are amazing.   
Erin is a great baby and never really cries.  She sleeps a lot which is typical for preemies.  The nurses tell us that she will be in the NICU for up to three weeks.  We will hopefully get to take her home next week. 
She has gotten several IVs during her stay in the NICU.  Her veins are so delicate and once they get a little red, the nurses move the IV to a different spot.  She has even gotten her IV moved to her scalp.  She sleeps in an isolette which is heated to around 90 degrees.  She was a bit jaundice and was placed under the bili lights for a couple of days.  The nurses have even drew little eyelashes on her sunglasses.
Brad and I get to change her diapers & take her temperature every time we go to her for her feedings.  They weigh her diapers after each changing.  Her diapers are so small...they are about as big as my hand. 
She also has a feeding tube that goes into her nose down to her stomach.  I try to breastfeed her first and then if she doesn't latch on, they give her a feeding through her tube.  She is now a week old and bottle feeding when I'm not able to get there. 
I got discharged from the hospital on Wednesday morning.  Brad's mom was watching Emmy all week and they had a great time.  Deb was so nice and organized some things around our house as well as preparing a few meals for us.  She was such a lifesaver while we were in the hospital. 

On Friday morning I woke up with SEVERE pains in my abdomin.  I had a hard time making it to our bathroom which is only a few steps away.  I had Brad call my doctor and she told us to call an ambulance.  I was in so much pain, but refused to call an ambulance so I had Brad and Deb carry me down the stairs and out to our car.  We arrived at the Abbott Emergency Room around 9:00 am and they did several tests...CT Scan, Ultrasound, blood work, etc, but nothing showed up on the tests.  The doctor gave me some Percocet which made me sleepy, and masked the pain.  Around 2:00 pm I felt a little bit better and was discharged.  We were able to go see Erin for a short visit before we went home.  The ER doctor told us to come back if I got a fever or flu symptoms.

I took a nap when we got home from the ER and then woke up around 6:00 with a fever of 101.2.  I called my doctor again and she told us to go back to the MAC at Abbott.  After packing a quick bag, we arrived at the hospital around 7:30 pm.  Brad dropped me off at the front door and I barely made it to a nearby wheel chair.  He parked the car and I wheeled myself to the elevators.  I'm sure if someone was watching me, they got a little bit of a chuckle...I've never been a good wheel chair driver and I ended up zigzagging myself all the way down the hall to the elevator.  By the time I got upstairs, my doctor was in a delivery.  I layed on the bed for over an hour and started shivering and shaking.  My fever spiked to 102.9.  My doctor arrived a little while later and went over a few ideas of what she thought could be wrong.  She didn't really have a diagnosis, but wanted to treat me right away with a universal antibiotic.  She explained to us that I had to remain in the hospital for 48 hours after my fever went down.  On Saturday morning, my doctor explained to us that she thought I had an infection in my uterus.  It was so painful for them to even examine my tummy.  I started feeling better on Saturday and my temp never went above 99 degrees. 

The only nice thing about being in the hospital was being so close to Erin.  Hopefully I stay healthy and we can bring our little peanut home soon!  Emmy hasn't got to meet her yet, but she keeps saying baby, so I think she understands a little bit.  I can't wait for their first meeting!