Welcome to the Family!

We welcomed Ryan to our family at 2:56 am on November 11th! (exactly 100 years after my Grandma Ethel Toth's birth!) Here's the story of how it all unfolded - and photos of course since that is what everyone really wants to see : >

Wednesday, November 9th: As I had mentioned, I had my amnio on the morning of the 9th. While I know needles fairly well, I have to admit that I was nervous about the procedure because I had heard so many negative stories about amnios. My mom went with me for support, but it actually wasn't that bad. Aside from feeling the pinch as the needle entered, I didn't feel anything at all. Unfortunately, just as the doctor was starting the test, Ryan started to move so he had to stop and wait for him to calm down again. All this really meant was that I had to withstand the needle's pinch twice. When the test was over, we had to wait about 6 hours for the official results, but the doctor said that he could tell by the color of the fluid that "it would be a go." So I headed to work, eagerly awaiting the results. By 2pm we knew that I would be induced by weeks end; Ryan's lungs were fully developed!

Thursday, November 10th: My doctor agreed to let me go to work for one more day so I could wrap things up and let my students know that it would be my last day until February. However, instead of being induced on Friday, she wanted me to go in for 6pm that night to start the process with Cervidil. As excited as I was, I was also so nervous. With Colten, my water broke at home so I didn't have time to think about being nervous. This time it felt weird to head to the hospital without being in labor; now I had all the time in the world to think about what was coming. Plus I was not looking forward to the induction process; I had heard so many stories about women in labor for days because of the induction and I was not looking forward to it. And I was really upset about leaving Colten overnight. Believe it or not, I had never been away from Colten overnight. Granted he was staying with my parents so I knew he'd be fine; it was more about me missing him. In fact, I cried on my way to the hospital after leaving him. But there was no turning back now; we were on our way to welcoming Ryan into our world.

7:15 pm - Cervidil was in. The nurse told me to relax, watch tv, read magazines, etc. and that in the morning I could shower and then we would start pitocin to get labor started. Needless to say, that is not how things unfolded... Within two hours, I was feeling minor contractions, but the nurse said that cramping was normal so I tried my best to ignore it. However, the "cramping" seemed to intensify more and more, but when I informed the nurse, she still didn't seem that concerned. She checked me and said that I was maybe 2 centimeters and mostly soft, and she called my doctor who said I could have some medicine for pain. I might as well not have had any because it brought no relief.

Friday, November 11th: By now, it was after midnight. I headed to the bathroom, still trying to relax and to convince myself that I was not having contractions since neither the nurse or doctor seemed to believe that I was. When I came out, the nurse had reviewed my printouts and finally confirmed what I had been telling everyone - that I was having serious (sometimes 3 mintues in length) contractions every 2-7 minutes apart. She decided to check me again; this time I was 5 centimeters and ready to which she responded, "I don't know what you did in that bathroom but we have to get you the epidural now and I'll call the doctor!" I received my epidural around 2:30 am, but it brought no relief considering I was holding Ryan in my arms less than 30 mintues later. I felt EVERYTHING! The only positive was that I only had to push four times and Ryan was out. In fact, Ryan's head was out before the doctor arrived so the nurse told me to stop pushing and wait - are you kidding me! So I tried my best and the doctor walked in just in time to pull Ryan the rest of the way out without even dressing; she delivered Ryan in her regular clothes. Needless to say, no one was expecting my labor to progress so rapidly, but by 3am I was holding my newest son, weighing in at 7lbs. 3oz and measuring 20 inches long. Since he was quite a bit smaller than Colten, I luckily did not need any stiches and have had a much smoother recovery.

Later that day and beyond: Colten came to meet his new little brother! He was so excited to hold him, and we captured such a precious memory on video. After Colten climbed up into my bed to hold Ryan, he rested his head on Ryan's and gently rubbed his arm with his hand. Seeing the two interact for the first time brought tears to my eyes. Colten was naturally so sweet to Ryan from the start. I'm sure that he will have his jealous moments, but after a week, he is still so in love with Ryan, always wanting to see and hold him, telling him good morning and good night, and coming to get me if Ryan is crying. I could not have asked for a better transition for all of us. I wanted to get life back to normal for Colten so we headed home on Saturday. So far so good. Ryan is a much easier baby than Colten, who was colicky. Ryan eats well and sleeps so much; unfortunately, he seems to have his days and nights mixed up. He will sleep for long stretches during the day and then in brief spurts during the night. So I guess that is my only complaint of sorts but he can't be perfect, right?! Who am I kidding, of course I think he is perfect!

So here's what you all have been waiting for - pictures!!!!


More to come!!!

The Countdown...

Ok so everyone knows how bad I have been about updating my blog and reading other people's, and I can only say that it will probably get worse after I have Ryan. So here is my best attempt to bring everyone up to speed with Colten and my pregnancy. After this, the next post will be pics of our newest addition!

Colten has been in a no picture phase where every time he sees the camera, he yells "NO PICTURES!" so here are the best shots I have; most have been the result of race car bribes or sneak attacks with the camera!

Colten was in his glory when we took him to see all of the John Deere construction equipment!

To help get Ryan's room ready, Colten painted letters for him. They look perfect in the nursery!

Colten had been saying that he wanted to have a gift for Ryan when he arrives so we headed to Build-a-Bear for the first time. I loved watching him try to choose a bear for himself and for Ryan. In the end, he chose matching bears in different colors. Here he is giving Ryan's bear a kiss and then bathing both bears. Mommy even got in on the action and built a bear since I had recorded Ryan's heartbeat from one of our many ultrasounds; of course I had to include something of Colten's too. Since he had just had a haircut, I put a lock of his hair inside of the bear as well.



We took Colten to White House Fruit Farm so that he could pick out his pumpkin. His favorites were the ones covered in bumps! Daddy pushed the cart and let us meander through the pumpkins, telling us to call him over when we found "the ones." But in the end, the cart wasn't even needed; Colten picked out two pumpkins - one big and one small in his eyes, but he was able to carry both himself! We also took a hayride through the apple orchids with horses Rex and Hobo as our guides - so fun!

We celebrated Halloween early because Kayleigh was having a costume party for her second birthday. Early in the day, we painted pumpkins and decorated others with stick-on faces. Somehow we never got around to carving this year but Colten still enjoyed it. Colten was Handy Manny for Halloween which we thought was perfect because he loves tools and hats, but of course on the day he was to dress up, he insisted on either not wearing a hat or wearing his Buzz hat instead. He literally only wore the hat for a few photos and that was it. I had to quickly learn that it wasn't worth the struggle or the stress, and we just let him do as he pleased.



Since Ryan will be arriving very shortly (more on that in a bit), we took Colten to Kraynak's Christmas wonderland over Halloween weekend. He loved the displays and of course the large toy store that they have as well. This was the only photo I managed to get, but I wanted Uncle Mike to see his hat - super cool!

A Ryan update: My technical due date is November 30th but since I am a diabetic, my doctor said she would not let me go past Thanksgiving. To my surprise my high risk doctor then recommended that I have an amnio at the start of my 37th week to see if Ryan's lungs are fully developed. If they are, he wants to induce me before any complications arise. After much debate as to whether or not to have the test, we decided to go ahead with it. So that means that I will have the maturity amnio on November 9th and if all comes back positive, I will be induced on November 11th. I can't believe that in less than two weeks, Ryan may be here! Needless to say we have a busy weekend ahead...But we are all excited, including Colten who can't stop talking about baby Ryan! So much more to say, but I'm exhausted. Be watching for the news!!!

A Baby Update and More of Colten!

A few weeks ago, we had a baby scare. Some of my numbers came back high during my blood tests. When I got the call from the doctors, they assured me that it could be a false alarm due to my diabetes and/or age but that they wanted my to come in the next morning for an ultrasound to check the baby for spina bifida. Despite the hope of a false alarm, Tom and I were worried and prayed that everything would check out okay. After an initial shedding of tears, I was able to cast all of my worries to God and leave it in His hands. Tom, on the other hand, made his worrying even worse via google. In the end, God was with us because the baby's spine and brain appeared perfectly normal! Regardless, my doctor still wanted me to see a high risk doctor just as a precaution. We were lucky enough to get an appointment for the following week, and once again the baby seems perfect! It turns out that one of the blood tests checks the amount of a hormone produced by the baby that is spilled over to the mom. My number was 2.49 and the normal cutoff is 2.5; however, since I'm a diabetic, the cutoff is 1.7 so my number seemed very high and was a red flag that perhaps the spine had not fused, allowing more of the hormone into my blood. Thankfully, that is not the case. The doctor comes highly recommended so I am pleased to have him involved in the care of the baby, even if I did feel insulted once during the consultation. It turns out that my A1C was 7.7 in April (but it has since dropped to 5.8). When the doctor saw this, he pretty much said that the baby has an increased chance of having complications because of me and then he went on to ask me why I even got myself in this position in the first place. I was completely caught off guard because I would never intentionally harm my child and in fact did not know my A1C when we got pregnant in February. I know that he needs to be realistic and up-front with us as our doctor, but sometimes I wish doctors had more compassion too, especially a high risk doctor who only deals with women whose babies face more dangers. Enough of my whining though because he was wonderful aside from that comment. We go back to him in a few weeks for an intensive heart scan so I will have to keep everyone posted. Since I am a diabetic and have had this one scare, he too will be active in the care of both me and the baby until I deliver. I will do whatever it takes to keep us healthy.

As most everyone knows, we did not find out Colten's gender until he was born and had the same plans for this pregnancy. However, after having such a scare, I felt like I needed to know who I am carrying. I know that may sound silly since everything checked out but I couldn't help thinking about it after we left the doctor's office that day. Unfortunately, that was the problem. Within a week, I had had two ultrasounds but refused to know the gender, and now I wanted to know. The day after our appointment with the high risk doctor was our 8 year wedding anniversary so I decided that if I could find out the gender, I would surprise Tom with it during our dinner out. I figured that the gender would be recorded in our file so I called the high risk doctor the next morning - they did not note it... My last hope was my regular OB. Since I had errands to run, I stopped in to see if they could check my file - they did not note it either... I thought it wasn't meant to be until the ultrasound technician offered to rescan me quickly in-between her patients - what a special woman! I wanted to learn the news with Tom so I put the sealed photos in my purse and waited for our dinner.
After we ordered, I had Tom come sit next to me for his "present." I took the photos out of my purse, opened them, and together we read "Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad. I'm a boy!"
So many people have asked me if I'm disappointed, if I wanted a girl. Yes, in some ways I wanted a girl, mostly because my mom and I have such a special relationship and I would've loved to have had that with my own daughter. But no I am not disappointed. I will be the queen of the house with my soon to be three best guys! My only disappointment is perhaps the fact that this will surely be the last child I deliver. I always entertained the idea of having three children, but my diabetes gets worse with every pregnancy and it can lead to serious complications for the baby as well. We were lucky that God was watching over the baby this time and will not risk my health or that of a baby's simply because I may have wanted three kids. If anything, maybe we will adopt one day. Who knows what the future holds? For now, I am looking forward to Colten meeting his life-long best buddy in a few months!

Speaking of Colten, here's what he has been up to...

With the HOT weather, we have really been enjoying our new pool!
Attacking Uncle Mikie with a shark water shooter.
Every year we attend the Beck's July 4th party and have a blast might I add! To kick off the day, Mr. Camuso leads all of the kids in a parade down the street as patriotic music plays. The kids all decorate their bikes, wagons, etc. Since Colten is too young for a bike, I decorated his mower. Here he is getting ready for the parade to begin.

Taking a swing at the pinata...

Enjoying red, white, and blue treats!

YSU has an art festival every year that we love to attend. This year Colten was able to make a craft for the first time!

And PNC Bank lets the kids dress up in a career option of their choosing and then they take a photo of them on a green screen, imposing the appropriate background. Here we are waiting in line. Colten chose the construction outfit this year because the background is a digger and anyone who knows Colten, knows that he LOVES diggers!
A few weekends ago, we headed to Columbus to visit with Uncle Mikie and also to celebrate my cousin Chris's marriage to Liz. Congrats to you both! We had such a wonderful time in Columbus and at the wedding!

Uncle Mikie was Colten's best buddy. They played so hard together the whole time!
This is from a school's playground near Uncle Mikie's house.

We also visited a splash pad!
And we made it to Thurman's for their famous burgers. Every time we have tried to go, there has been at least a 2 hour wait, and that is way too long to keep Colten occupied. This time we were determined. We arrived at 10:30 (they open at 11) and would you believe that other people were in line ahead of us! Regardless, it was so worth it! I have never had a burger so yummy (or so large)!
And a few photos from the wedding. Colten loves is older cousin Braden so much! Colten was only happy if he was playing with Braden; I just wish they could spend more time together.
And I'll end with a family shot (simply because Colten is getting up from his nap so my blogging time is over : > )
Hope you enjoyed! Love to you all!

Where, Oh Where Have the McCutcheon's Been?

I think I have started off my last few posts with an apology for being MIA...and this time is no different. Granted I didn't have a computer for about a month while it was being fixed but still, even I can't believe that it has been since Colten's birthday in March since my last post and since I have logged on to read anyone's blogs. I honestly don't know where the time has gone. Since so much time has elapsed, I'll just stick to the most recent and most exciting happenings our way.

First, as many of you already know, toward the end of March, Colten found out that he will be a big brother come November! Tom and I had been trying to get pregnant since last June but were not having any luck. Once we got frustrated and gave up, we got pregnant!!! My due date is November 30th but since I'm a diabetic, my doctor won't let me go to term. In other words, by Thanksgiving we will have a new little one! Needless to say, I am a bit bummed about missing Black Friday this year!

In other news, we recently had an above-ground pool installed but have yet to swim since we are still in the process of hooking up the electric and gas; in northeast Ohio, we need a heater! One reason that the pool is not yet ready is that after installation, we immediately headed south to Isle of Palms, SC to visit the Krieg's and to meet up with the Belschner Family! We all hadn't been together since Amy's wedding (a little perspective: I was newly pregnant with Colten). Needless to say, it had been way too long! We had a blast catching up and having some girl-time. And the kids were so great together! Here are a bunch of pics from the four days we spent together. Thanks Beth and Dave for welcoming all of the chaos into your home!!

As soon as we arrived, Colten was ready for the pool!



Aunt Beth is so smart; she unrolled thick paper down the hall so the kids could draw with chalk and markers; sometimes we couldn't get Colten away!
More pool fun! After seeing Avery jump in, Colten wanted to try, but he wouldn't jump. He was happy being tossed to Mommy by Daddy!


All the kiddos!
A random photo of David but I love it!

Time for the beach...
Colten and Avery spent some time collecting shells together.

Artie caught a small crab and was showing it to Colten and Spencer.
Off to Magnolia Plantation with a quick lunch at Five Guys.

Such a beautiful place!
The Belschner Family on our way to tour the slave cabins.
Feeding the deer, even though they preferred Tom's shorts!
Instead of our tour of the main house...
Artie and I had to take the kids outside; they had had enough touring...
After the Belschner's headed back home, Aunt Beth kept Colten occupied by letting him help decorate for July 4th!
The Krieg Family -
Colten hugging David after helping him open his birthday presents (a bit early).


From South Carolina, we made the 10+ hour drive to Philly so we could take Colten to Sesame Place. I have to say that I was dreading the trip to say the least, but Tom did a fabulous job driving the WHOLE way, and Colten was a real trooper. Between dvd's and drawing and of course snacking, we made it with few issues!


Sesame Place is amazing and would have made even the worst of trips worth it!!! Colten had so much fun and was so exhausted by days end that he fell asleep even before we pulled out of the parking lot! And that is saying a lot for a child who maybe slept a total of 5 hours in the car during all of our travels from Ohio to SC to PA and back to Ohio. Tom and I will never forget the look on Colten's face when Elmo came out during the Elmo's World show. That was the first thing we did when we arrived and Colten's face absolutely lit-up. It literally brought tears to both of our eyes. Colten enjoyed every moment, from the shows to the rides to meeting the characters. We were on a man-hunt for Cookie Monster because that is Colten's favorite and he really wanted to meet him. After asking just about everyone, Colten had his special moment. As soon as he saw Cookie, he ran into his arms and Cookie bent down to hug him. It couldn't have been more perfect. While we were meeting Cookie, Daddy saved us seats at Abby's show where Colten got to see more the gang, and we ended the day with the parade. My only wish is that we could have done the water rides too, but the water was freezing. Next time, for sure because there will be a next time; it was that great! Check out the photos! (but they don't do justice to the fun we had).






Abby's show
Part of the parade


So tired, he is sleeping through dinner...
Cuddling Cookie before bed


The next day, we headed to the Please Touch Museum in Philly. Again, I cannot say enough about the place. They had so many exhibits ranging from construction, to hospitals, and markets, to Alice in Wonderland, to rain forests, and space. In every section, there was so much for kids to manipulate and experiment with. If you are in the area with your kids, it is a must!!

We ended that day by tasting cheese steak sandwiches from Pat's and Gino's - two restaurants that battle for the best cheese steak. After trying both, I can't say that I can decide; they were both delicious, but Tom votes for Gino's!
and a sandwich from Pat's...
Off to try Gino's...

What a wonderful vacation from start to finish! When we came home, we took down Colten's crib and set up his twin bed. I was really worried about the transition, but Colten has done an amazing job, sleeping through the night since night one! That's my boy!


My next goal is to be swimming by the weekend!

Happy Father's Day Daddy, Grandpa and Papa! We love you all!