Baby Chase

I didn’t think too much of this as it happened, but it’s stuck with me throughout the evening and I want to write it out while it’s fresh so I don’t forget it.

We took Chase shopping to pick up some odds and ends at Meijer tonight. It was a pretty standard trip. We picked up some food, some random stuff, we ran up and down aisles, we looked at fish, and we checked out Sandy the 1 cent pony as we paid for our items. Walking through the parking lot, it was starting to get dark, and the sunset was giving a reddish orange tone to some clouds rolling in that may have been a rain storm; but it was hard to tell.

Chase is always looking up and checking out clouds, stars, airplanes, birds, you name it…

Tonight he looks up as I carried him to our car, and he said “Moon!”… Sure enough, there was a half moon poking through some clouds. I asked him “where is it?” acting like I didn’t see it, so he pointed it out to me and said “BIG!”

I acknowledged, “yeah, that is a big moon!…” And then I asked him: “Do you think you can reach it?” Without any hesitation, without any thought of failing, he pushed up on my shoulders, tried to climb with his feet against my chest, and he reached his hand as high as he possibly could.

I let him try for a bit as Chris put the grocery cart away, and he kept at it while saying “high!” and “reach it?!” It was somehow profound in an intensely subtle way. Even now I can’t help but smile thinking it.

We’ll try again kiddo, maybe you’ll get it next time.

Chase is give or take 1.5 years old nowadays.  With that, I wanted to take a quick opportunity to share some of the videos we’ve gotten uploaded recently! If you’ve already seen these on Facebook; just disregard.

Someone told me that when you have kids the days may seem to go slow but the years fly by. I didn’t realize how true this is until I was sitting in Chase’s room looking at a whiteboard where we wrote his feeding times when he was first born. A year ago we were still getting up at 4:00am to feed him – and now we have a little man on our hands. Even through the sleep deprivation, we somehow managed to successfully make it through the first year. Although we have not successfully kept up with our website updates J

A lot has happened recently, so I’ll do my best to do a rundown of events.

First Birthday Party – in April we had a firetruck-themed birthday party for Chase. We had lots of family and friends that helped us celebrate the day. Chase would have been happy with just balloons – he had no interest in smooshing his cake or opening presents – he just liked running around the room until he was pooped out. But, the party was fun and we are grateful for all the love he was shown.

Walking – On a spur of the moment one Wednesday evening, Chase decided it was time to walk. Either we don’t do things fast enough for him, or he was so set on running after Molly, he went for it. Neither Eric or I were prepared for it so it was a huge surprise. Once he figured it out, it didn’t take long for him to master it. Now poor Kitt and Molly have discovered they have to move much faster to get out of his way. And poor Mom and Dad have discovered how much stuff has to be moved to higher ground. So far the only major catastrophe was a cup of coffee that got spilled on the new carpet – we learned very quickly after that!

Ears – Seems like this has been a common theme at our house. After a round of ear infections in December, we thought we had things under control. But in April we got hit with them again – this time we went through 5 rounds of antibiotics. After the last round was finished, and after a slight run in with a double-dose of very strong antibiotics (talk about freaked out parents!), we decided that ear tubes were the way to go. Although it was tough to know he was going to be on anesthesia, knowing that this would help eliminate the infections was a huge plus. It was a little comical to watch his reaction after he was given the first dose of meds to calm him down (he acted spacey like I would after a night out on the town), and overall the surgery went well. So, now we play the waiting game and hope we don’t have any more ear issues.

Parent’s Vacation Away – Just this past week, Eric and I took our first long vacation since having Chase. We left him with Grandma and Grandpa V. Knowing he was in good hands made it easy to relax, but it was still an odd feeling to not be chasing him around. Eric and I had a great time with a group of friends down on a houseboat in Tennessee, and only called home twice in the 6 days we were away from Chase. It was a little heartbreaking when Chase came home on Sunday and was less than enthused to see either of us. Apparently, time at Grandma and Grandpa’s was way more fun – I think he was ready to go back with them!

When it comes down to it, this has been an amazing year all around. We have gotten to watch Chase grow from a newborn, to a baby, to an infant, and now into a very inquisitive toddler. We have also learned a heck of a lot about being parents. Even with stumbles along the way, I think we have fared pretty well. With Chase walking and the nice weather finally here, we are all getting to enjoy time outside – so as long as our stumbles don’t result in skinned knees, I’m happy!

Holy smokes!

The last few months with Chase have flown by like nothing I can even compare to. We plowed through his first set of Thanksgiving and Christmas, and it was really nice.

Chase got to spend alot of time with both families throughout the holidays; and he certainly got his fair share of toys and clothes across the board. There are all kinds of pictures and videos we need to get to work on posting. It’s much harder than either of us expected to keep up with the world of a baby. Between Chase, work, family, friends, and life in general – there really is not a surplus of free time.

This has been one of the harder areas for me to adjust. My multitasking has had to improve and I’ve had to prioritize alot of the things in my life. Netflix movies now sit for months on end without being watched. My Xbox gets turned on once or twice a month vs DAILY. My DVR just keeps accumulating unwatched TV. This has been a natural change, and been something I’ve been happy with. I still try to work in a gaming session and stay up late watching some TV every now and again; but certainly the primary focus of my time and effort is Chase.

The fast pace of the last few months are met only by how quick Chase has begun to change. It seemed like he began scooting and crawling overnight. His teeth have appeared out of nowhere. He is able to hit his xylephone toy in a semi realistic play fashion. He is really developing quickly and it’s really fun to see his personality come out.

There is a downside lately, and the poor kid has just been through the ringer as far as being sick. What started as a fever became diarrhea, then he had a dual ear infection, then he had a sinus infection, then developed a harsh cough for over a month, and finally he has gotten pink-eye. So hopefully his immune system has seen enough for this winter season and he can start feeling better.

The family life has become routine and we’re in a good rhythm. Chase is getting the hang of being a kid while mom/dad are getting the hang of being parents. So now that things are all hitting their stride, it’s time to catch up on documenting all the fun we’re having! Blogging/pics/vids to come!

Here’s a few videos we have managed to take of Chase recently!

We promise we’re going to be better about sharing these kinds of things more often now. 4 months without anything is pretty bad.

“Whew!”

That’s about the best word we can think to describe the last 6 months… Chase is just about 6 months old, and it seems like it’s literally happened overnight.

Days fly by, hours turn seem to go in seconds, and weeks melt together months at a time. In this short time it has been amazing the way so many different things have come together. We’ve had amazing help from friends, the grandparents, and other family in all kinds of different ways. We’re so thankful for all the people that surround this family. For Mom and Dad (just now starting to get used to that!) – We’ve figured out a great pattern in our life. Mom has a new part time job that works perfectly from a scheduling perspective. She gets to have her foot in the door as well as spend a great deal of time raising Chase. We’ve had to make adjustments along the way with who’s watching him, when, and how we handle things. But, everything IS working out very well and we are in a great spot.

As for Chase, he’s at a really fun age for us. He’s gotten very good with his hands; grabbing, reaching and getting a feel for the world. He’s also gotten to the point where he can sit by himself for short amounts of time, roll over pretty consistently, and there are even some glimpses of crawling motions in the works (though he still has a way to go; you can tell he’s trying). His motor skills seemed to begin appearing out of nowhere and have really developed rapidly. It’s been really amazing to see and be a part of.

Of course, with all this adjustment, planning, adapting, and recalibrating of our lives it has been immensely difficult to keep up with the things we should really be focusing on: sharing pictures, videos, and posting about this little guy. Well, today marks a shift of focus where we make time to organize our hundreds of photos, videos, and share our thoughts and activities that we have going on. More info to come!

Now we’re just about 2 months into this journey with young Chase, and it’s had both ups and downs.

On the upside, our little man has begun to be quite social. He frequently communicates with various forms of “Ooohh” and “Cooooh” and even a pretty good amount of smiling. We’ve begun to get a feel for patterns (just as he decides they need to change), and we’ve even gotten a pretty good hang of the child-rearin’ basics. It doesn’t take long to be a professional diaper changer.

Really the only downside, if you can call it that; has been a bit of a struggle for us to figure out a pattern that works for us as a family. We’ve tried to manage keeping Chase knowing the difference between night and day, while making sure he gets enough to eat, while making sure that we get a semi-functional amount of sleep. So, there’s been some stress and sleep deprivation associated with that. But, we’re getting it all figured out – and by no means do these outweigh the strong upside of this little guy joining our family.

We’ve had a pretty busy few weeks lately. From a baby shower with family/friends up north, to a nice holiday weekend, and even a weekend visiting grandma and grandpa down south. All this and the summer is just getting started! The shower was really nice, Grandma and Grandpa VB always know how to hold a nice get together with great family, friends, and great food! It gave Chase a chance to meet most of the family on his dad’s side, and everyone had a really nice time.

Another thing lately is that Chase has become much more social, we’ve tried to take pictures and capture some videos showing these moments as you can see below…

This video cracks me up – Leaving a present for mom and dad. Very audibly…!

And, a couple fun pics showing off his happier side.

Thanks to everyone who’s helped us out over the last few weeks! It’s been great to have so many people that can give us a hand in so many different areas. We appreciate it all!

One month ago at this time, the first signs (ie. contractions) of Chase entering the world began. It seems like just yesterday that we were anxiously awaiting his birth, and yet at the same time it seems so long ago.  Yet, here I sit on May 9th in absolute awe that I am now a part of the “mom” group being honored on this day. Even though I know I am a mom, it is still overwhelming for me to realize that I have a son – a son who I will shape and watch grow for the rest of my life. There is nothing that I am more thankful for than this little guy sleeping in my arms

The first few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity/emotions/diaper changes/etc. No matter how many people you talk to or books you read, nobody can truly prepare you for what parenthood brings. It is the most wonderful thing in world and also the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Each day you hope that you do everything just right to ensure that your child thrives as best as possible and that you don’t do anything that will impact them 20 years down the road. Did I feed them enough? Did I feed them too much? Why is he making that noise? Why isn’t he making any noise?  Is that smell coming from my little guy?  How in the world did my kid create that smell?

For me this time has been enjoyable, but also a big adjustment. I’m such a schedule/task oriented person that Chase is slowly teaching me how to go with the flow and that no matter how much you prepare or plan, you have to be flexible and go with whatever schedule he needs right now. As his dad can attest – getting me to change is not an easy task!  But slowly, I am learning that it’s okay to just sit back, relax, and enjoy watching “Let’s Make A Deal” everyday at 10:00am. And that if the dishes aren’t done or the laundry piles up, nobody is going to worry about it. All that matters right now is that Chase is happy, healthy, and thriving.  And he is all of those for sure.

At his two week appointment, he had already gained back the weight he lost the first week and then some, and now two weeks later, he’s still growing like a weed. He no longer fits in his newborn onesies, and is getting stronger by the day it seems. He loves to lift his head, look around, and is starting to notice his hands. He has his own little noises (and yes, he does snore like dad) and even though we haven’t gotten a real smile yet, the gas smiles are still worth it.

He has gotten to meet much of his family and has spent weekends at both grandparent’s houses. The best part about a new baby is that everything becomes their first.  Their first trip to the grocery store, the first bath, and today, his first trip to a Chinese restaurant. This of course included his first fortune from his first fortune cookie – “You will run into an old friend soon.”  With less than a full month under his belt, I’m not sure what old friends he has, but I guess we’ll see them soon!

This month would have not been as enjoyable or manageable without the support of all of our friends and family who have provided support, advice, and great food – so I need to send a huge THANK YOU to everybody who has been there for us. It makes both Eric and I feel so grateful to have so many people who care about us, and now Chase too. And a very special thank you to both grandma’s who are celebrating their first grandmother’s day!

I could go on and on (and on and on) about all that’s happened in the past few weeks, but I think the following photos are a way to sum them up.

Our First Official Family Photo

A Close-up the First Week

Posing During Tummy Time

Hanging Out with Molly

Welcome to the world, little man…

Your name is Chase Michael VanBergen.  You were born at 9:33pm on April 14th.  You weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces when you were born, and you were 20 inches long.

Your mom and I were so happy to finally meet you!  Once we saw you were a boy, we agreed right away on your name.  “Chase” seemed to really fit you for some reason, so hopefully you like it as much as we do.  You share your middle name “Michael” with your father, and it’s also your Grandfather’s first name.  I am proud to share that with you, and I know your Grandpa is as well.

Your Mother seemed to always know you were going to be a boy, and really that’s where the odds pointed.  I, on the other hand, seemed to guess against the odds thinking you were going to be a girl…  But I’m very glad that you turned out to be exactly who you are.  You have changed our lives forever for the better, and we’re both looking forward to growing as parents, learning along the way, and helping you become the best little man you can be.

This picture of you was taken just minutes after you were born.

Now that you’re here, we’ve been working on dropping the “Baby Van” label that you were given early on…  In a way, it was like a name for you before you were born.  I’m using “Baby Chase” to help me transition – because I still have a tendency to say Baby Van.

This experience has been amazing, but I can see how parents look back and say “it all happened so fast” – because it really has.  The 9 months of pregnancy seems to have just flown by…  and even though your Mom went through a 19 hour labor with you, the anticipation and happiness of your birthday seemed to fast forward us through the day.  I have a feeling that before we know it, you’re going to be outgrowing your clothes, asking for money, and sneaking out at night.

I can’t wait to play catch with you.  I can’t wait to show you how to change the brakes on your first car.  I can’t wait to teach you how to shave…

But at the same time, I don’t want to wish this time away.  Take your time growing up little man, we’ve got all the time in the world – and we’re just getting started.

Car seat installed. Check.
Baby room finished. Check.
Bottles and clothes washed. Check.
Hospital bags packed. Check.

With two weeks to go, we’re actually feeling pretty prepared for Baby Van’s arrival. I’m sure the minute we have to head to the hospital the feeling of preparation will go out the window about as fast as we drive, but in the meantime we’re just trying to enjoy the feeling. It’s crazy to think that it’s been 9 months since we found out our family was going to grow, and yet at the same time, it seems like just yesterday.

We have been having weekly appointments now, so we get to hear the heartbeat pretty regularly (still right around 140/145). And since I have a cold, I ended up having an extra appointment in there too. So far things are still right on track – we’re just waiting for the first official sign that Baby Van is ready to enter the world. I have not had any contractions or other signs yet, so I think our little guy/gal is just content hanging out for now. I’m glad things are going smoothly, but am starting to get anxious to meet our newest addition. And, now that we’re counting down the time in days instead of weeks, it’s only added to that feeling. At our last appointment they did confirm that they don’t like to have women go more than 7-10 days past their due date so we’ll have an April baby no matter what. Eric thinks it will be on the 16th, I was thinking the 17th – but unfortunately it’s not up to us

Most of our time has been spent putting the finishing touches on everything. We spent time getting the car seat all set up in my car so that we aren’t trying to do that in the midst of heading to the hospital (which is a good thing, as it took us a little while to get it just right). I’ve been sorting and washing clothes and bottles so things are set when we come home. The bassinet is set up, and has yet to be discovered by the cat, so that should be ready for our first night at home. Probably the biggest piece was just finishing up the room. Since the last post we got our glider/ottoman and finally got the picture frame border up. Overall I’m really happy with how it all turned out – it was fun to be able to take a room from plain to something fun and kid-like. And because most of the concept were things we did ourselves (from finding the fabric for the windows to painting/finding the photos for the frames) it makes me that much more proud.

I’d like to think this will be our last post, but there’s a good chance we’ll have another one before the big day – especially if Baby Van holds out for a late April birthday! And for anybody who is inclined to comment, we’d love to get your thoughts on whether the baby is a girl or a boy and what date you think they’ll make their debut.

View from the Doorway

Chair/Dresser/Wish Wall

Crib

Molly Testing the Chair with Me!