Max is One Month!



Max man is one month old. If you've been following us on social media, you know that Max has given us a run for our money so far. He has been diagnosed with a tethered spinal cord (read about that here) and laryngomalacia which he will most likely grow out of. He was also hospitalized a couple of weeks ago for some breathing concerns. After all of the tests and scares, the good news is that he is healthy and growing. At his one month check up he was 10 pounds 7 ounces.

Max likes:

  • His Play Gym
  • Sleeping
  • Eating
  • Snuggles on his belly
  • Pacifiers
  • Night nurses
  • His brother and sister
  • The Boppy (his easy chair)
Max doesn't like:

  • Being hungry
  • Belly aches
  • Chest X-Ray
  • Getting his foot pricked for blood
  • Nasal scope at the ENT
Max is undecided about:
  • Baths
  • Car seats
Prepare yourself for ALL the cute pictures...


Be Still My Heart




Daddy and Max enjoying football




How do babies get this cute?


Just a mom and her boy


I just wanna kiss him.


Zach checking in on little bro


I. Love. Baby. Yawns.


Goofball. 


Hugging his Cardinals Bear Pacifier 


First Chick-Fil-A Trip


Seriously?


Apple picking at Eckert's with the Pinkstons


How you doin?

More stories and pictures to come about Max. We are so in love and can't wait to see how his little personality grows.

That's all for now. God is good.

Max - Keeping Us on our Toes



Like Zoe, Max apparently likes to keep us on our toes when it comes to his health. At three months old, Zoe was diagnosed with urinary reflux. Max decided to scare his parents a few days after birth. Okay buddy, you win. While we were at our first doctor appointment with Max, our nurse practitioner, who is fantastic, noticed that he had what is called a sacral dimple. The sacral dimple can indicate a problem with the spinal cord. She ordered an ultrasound for Max at St. Louis Children's Hospital. I don't know about you, but when people mention different issues with the spinal cord and my child in the same sentence, it's a bit worrisome. By a bit worrisome, I mean cry for a half hour and get a big comfort Diet Coke.

A couple of weeks ago Max had his ultrasound. During the ultrasound they found a "cystic area" at the base of his spine. A not so tactful radiologist told us about the "cystic area" and then left the room. I understand now why most radiologists are in a dark room in the basement. Her bedside manner left much to be desired. She gave us just enough information to scare us to the core. I reached out to our doctor's office to make an appointment and fill them in on how the ultrasound went. Our nurse practitioner called us on her day off because she knew this mama needed some peace in the situation, to tell us that Max does have a tethered spinal cord. She informed me that he would need to see a neurologist and would probably need an MRI but that tethered cords can be fixed. I did feel much better about the news once I found out that it was something that could be fixed. However, over the course of the two weeks we waited for the MRI and appointment I grew a bit worried that they would find something else on the MRI. At this point I was only 2 weeks post partum, I was full of hormones and lacking sleep. When you're up at night feeding a baby, you have a lot of time to think about the worst case scenario. 

Today Max had his MRI and appointment. We got to Children's at 7am for the MRI. They swaddled Max in what seemed like 15 blankets. Let me tell you, that MRI technician could probably make a lot of money swaddling babies if he offered his services to knew moms who can't get their babies to sleep. They put some pads around Max's head to keep him still and make sure he couldn't hear the noise from the MRI. They had my little baby wrapped and wedged and put into a tube. I usually don't get nervous when my kids get scans but I was nervous that he would be scared. For the record, he was a champ and ended up falling asleep. I learned that MRIs are LOUD. Holy Cow, you'd think that in this day and age with all the technology we have, they could make the noise a little bit softer in those things. It sounds like someone put a baseball bat in a dryer and then put the dryer on high speed. 

After the scan, we met with the neurologist. Dr. Strahle took a good deal of time with us. She brought out a model of the spine and explained what was going on. She confirmed that he does in fact have a tethered spinal cord. Thankfully, he falls on the side of the tethered cord spectrum that is not as serious. If left untreated he would most likely develop urinary issues, back pain and weakness in his feet. Thankfully it was caught early and the cord can be untethered. Depending on the radiologist's full report, he will have corrective surgery anywhere from 6 months of age to 2 years old. At the end of her explanation and after she had answered our questions, the doctor said, "We'll take care of him; he's going to be okay." This statement put my worried mama heart at great ease.

We are so thankful to our nurse practitioner, to our doctor's office, and to all the medical professionals at Children's Hospital who helped us with this diagnostic process. We are beyond thankful that his condition can be corrected and that he will be okay. This news was quite welcome after two plus weeks of worry. We will keep everyone posted as to when the surgery will be.

That's all for now. God is good.

Introducing Max Peter Wollenberg



We have a new member of our family! This handsome new man is Max Peter Wollenberg. He was born September 24th, 2019 at 12:03pm. He weighed in at a whopping 9lbs 9oz and 22 inches long. We are already so in love with him. Here's a quick rundown on Mr. Max so far.



His Name
We have always had a hard time picking out boy names. Zach was named Zach because it was the only boy name that Nate and I really liked. For Max, Nate brought up the name one day and we thought it fit nicely with Zoe and Zach so we kept it. Peter, his middle name, comes from a dear friend of ours, Peter Kelm, who passed away two years ago after a battle with cancer. Peter was my pastor when I lived in Cincinnati and then his family stayed close family friends with us. Nate got to know the Kelms because they lived in Mequon while we were dating and attending Concordia. My friend Angie (Peter's wife) and their kids (Jacob, Caleb, and Chloe) are going to be Max's godparents.

His Arrival
Toward the end of my pregnancy with Max, I was having growth ultrasounds to track Max's weight. Max was measuring about a week or so ahead so they decided to go ahead and induce on my due date, September 24th. We went in to the hospital at 6am that morning. By the time everything was hooked up and ready to go, it was about 6:45am. Every thing was moving along at a slow but steady pace. Around 8am they broke my water, not my favorite pastime. Then I got the epidural, that is when things always make a turn for the better. The nurse was making fun of me because I wasn't having painful contractions yet. Here's the deal though, I was not waiting until things got painful to take away the pain. I like to be proactive. Haha. Also, with both Zoe and Zach, once my body was free of the painful contractions, it relaxed and my labor progressed quickly. Max's labor was no exception. As soon as that epidural started working well, we were in business. I had about a 5.5 hour labor and maybe pushed for 6 minutes. Now, the pushing was not pleasant. Max's heart rate had dropped more than what the doctor was comfortable with so she asked to use a vacuum to get him out quickly. She did a fabulous job of keeping calm during a stressful situation and delivered Max safely. He came out a bit purple so the doctor cut the cord and they took him over to get some oxygen. This worried me because they didn't just hand him to me like they handed Zach to me. I kept asking if he was okay. Nate assured me that he was fine. I didn't really believe him because there were like three medical professionals around him and I could see a mask on his face. I wanted to hear it from the people in the scrubs that he was okay. He was just fine and I should have trusted Nate, however, hormones during labor don't really help you think straight.


Meeting My New Guy


Daddy Getting Some Snuggles


Love


Proof of His Weight 


I can't handle this cuteness.


Hi Everyone!

Big Sister and Big Brother
Zoe was exctied about him from the moment she saw him. Because we live in small-town Hoyleton, we were worried that the news would travel fast and get to Zoe before we had a chance to tell her that she had a baby brother and that his name was Max. So her teacher, Francee, agreed to let us FaceTime her during the school day to tell Zoe about her new baby brother. It's one of the sweet perks of a little Lutheran school and your daughter's teacher being a friend from college that you've known for almost 15 years. It was super sweet. Zoe, Francee and I all got emotional during the call. It was very special. Zach was a little stand-offish at first when it came to the new baby. At first. I think it was because Mommy was holding a new baby. It turns out that he was fine with the baby when Daddy was holding him. The next day when Zach came to the hospital I got out of the hospital bed and sat on the couch. I think that he was just a little nervous that Mommy was in a hospital bed. Ever since we have brought Max home, Zach always wants to know where the baby is and gets upset if we take Max somewhere without him. I foresee them getting into a lot of trouble in the future.


Zoe Meeting Max on FaceTime


Here they come!


Happy Kids!


Zoe got to him first.


Zoe giving Max the bear they built him.


She's so happy! 


...and smitten.


They make out okay for getting a new brother.


Opening her Barbies from Max


Happy Girl!


Happy Guy!


My three!


He loves him.


She's so in love.


Heading home to Hoyleton


See ya hospital!

We have been very blessed with meals, cards, and gifts! Thanks everyone for your support while we continue to welcome this guy into the world.

That's all for now! God is good!