Blessed Easter! What a busy couple of weeks we have had! John Mark started on solid foods with a little bit of rice cereal, he turned six months old, JJ preached throughout Holy Week, Easter was an early morning and a long day, and now it's back to the "normal" routine, albeit with the joy of the Easter season.

John Mark is doing very well. He's a joy. He began solid foods on Palm Sunday, the day he turned six months old (and not a day sooner! I found myself emotionally unprepared for such a big step!). He likes it mostly but is also a bit unsure of what to do with it! He is now a shade over 16 pounds and is 26 inches long/tall. He now rolls over and thereby suffers very little belly time since he immediately rolls over to his back! He's not much of a talker, but he likes a good squeal and still has "nguh" as his favorite, all purpose word.

JJ is busy as ever. He had a number of opportunities to preach during Lent and Holy Week, including once on Good Friday and also Easter Sunday. I was impressed with how he could write and memorize so many sermons in so little time! He also got the chance to substitute for an ailing pastor at a nearby parish, and he is busy and active with the college ministry as the semester is winding up. After graduation, he will be taking the college group to NYC for a servant trip for a week. John Mark and I, meanwhile, will be heading down to Florida to visit Nana and Grandpa! Hopefully, that way, the separation won't be too unbearable!

We are constantly blessed by the support of such good friends and family: prayers, money, thoughts, and love. Thank you all and have a blessed Easter!

Three months later...here's another update:

John Mark is growing and growing! He turned five months today. At his fourth month doctor visit, he was 15 pounds, 7 ounces and 24 1/2 inches long. He seems so big when I look at old pictures! He holds his head up now and can sit with some assistance. His favorite activity is watching from the living room window the cars drive by on the road! He likes to be read to and look at picture books. He loves chewing! He sticks everything in his mouth in a desperate attempt to gum it to death. He is such a delight. His little laugh (a deep "hu-hu"); his great big, gummy smile; his hugs; his wide-eyed fascination with the world are all a true joy and blessing to be part of.

JJ's biggest news is probably (if you ask him) that the Packer's won the Super Bowl. He so enjoyed being able to share it with his son (who slept through most of it, which, mind you, was a remarkable feat considering his dad's exuberant outbursts throughout)! Now he is thoroughly entrenched in March Madness, so I don't know when I'll have his undivided attention again! His vicarage is going well. During Lent, he is sharing preaching time with Pastor by alternating weeks, doing both the Sunday service and the midweek service on his assigned week. So far it has been good experience for him but challenging to write and memorize two sermons in a week! He is staying busy with the college students, confirmation classes, and extra studies.

We are all looking forward to spring, none more than I. We are experiencing a spring thaw, though I don't know if it is THE thaw. We can see grass and sidewalks again, though, so I'm not complaining! It's definitely nice weather out now (this Florida girl actually thinks 30s and 40s are warm!), but the wind has too often been too cold and biting to take John Mark out. I am definitely going stir crazy and cannot wait for spring! I am looking forward to taking plenty of long walks with my son and introducing him to God's wonderful world.

As always, thanks to everyone for prayers and support. God's peace.

Hmmm, not keeping up with the blogging since John Mark was born, have I? Oh well, all you parents out there, I'm sure, know how that is. Though, in truth, I've had time, but not having Internet in the house is severely limiting. That, plus the cold. I hate tromping out in this weather, with the little lad, when it is soooo cold out! I'm excited when we're above zero!

We are doing so wonderfully well, and John Mark has brought so much joy to our lives. It is wonderful, and Christmas was a delight with him. We had no other family come, as none could get away during the holidays. But it was nice to have quiet and share the time just us three. It was very special and joyous.

JJ had a great deal of work to do during Advent and Christmas. In addition to mid-week services, he preached on Christmas Day and New Year's and had the whole service over that weekend while pastor was on vacation. It was good experience for him!

John Mark is doing great. He sleeps through the night already. Yes, we're very blessed to have such a good sleeper (takes after his mommy!), but we worked hard on getting him on a flexible schedule right away. And I highly recommend the book we're using as a guideline; it's called On Becoming Babywise. My sister-in-law recommended it, as she had great success too with getting Oscar to sleep through the night.

John Mark is getting to be a big boy. At his 2 month check-up, he was 22.5 inches (I think; I can never remember his length) and 13.5 pounds. I call him my little chubbster! He will be three months old in two days. He has the most gorgeous gummy grin, a huge, wide-open smile that is heart-melting! He's started talking, with some "goo"s and "ah"s. It's really too cute. He is such an easy child--aside from the spitting up. We may as well sew his bib on him. No one and no thing is safe. He's a volcano. But, he's a happy spitter, so we don't worry about it too much! And, if that's all the trouble he is, than I'm a pretty blessed mama!

And we are blessed too by all your continued prayer and support. I apologize for not updating this often enough. I hope to do a better job, if not before, but certainly by the time we get back to St. Louis, when we will have Internet in the house again. Thanks for being patient! God's blessings to you all, and Happy New Year!

PS: you can view more pictures of John Mark on facebook, even if you're not a member, by clicking here.

It's a Boy

We are proud (and tardy) to announce the birth of our son, John Mark Stefanic. (John Mark is his first name; he doesn't have a middle name)

He was born on Sunday, October 17, 2010 at 7:44 am. He was seven pounds and five ounces and twenty and a half inches long.

Details: my water broke at 2:15 in the morning that Sunday. By an hour later, my contractions were already three minutes apart! So we hopped in the car, and JJ sped the 50 miles to Sioux Falls. What a trip it was! JJ says I was a pain the whole ride--boy was I! I do not recommend long car rides during labor! By the time we got to the hospital, I felt like a watermelon was trying to come out my butt (excuse my graphic descriptions). When we got to the L & D unit and I was examined, I was already at 7 cm! My nurses were great, and JJ's support was huge. I had about two hours of contractions before I was fully dilated, and I started pushing at around six in the morning. Pushing a baby out is like the worst case of hemorrhoids you can possibly imagine...and then some. I now have a different view of Johnny Cash's song "Ring of Fire." Labor hurts!

But, oh! the relief when the baby finally comes out! The last few pushes were so intense, and everyone was cheering me on saying how close I was and to keep going! keep going! And then all of the sudden, you see this little one sliding out. I could see his head when he was born, full of hair and a red, wrinkly face. I was so out of breath and anxious. It seemed so surreal, so unbelievable. All the pain just disappears, and there's this unbelievably precious, real, totally perfect little boy! I got to hold him right away, and our nurse took pictures. It was such an amazing moment. JJ was huddled close to us, tears in our eyes as we spoke our son's name and comforted him as he cried. Thanks be to God!

We are so thankful that everything went so smoothly. We had no complications with the gestational diabetes. Both John Mark and I were cleared before discharge. We had a wonderful hospital stay with great nurses and care. We loved the staff, and everyone was super helpful. It couldn't have been a better experience--unless of course you could skip the whole labor part.

We went home on Tuesday and had a few days to ourselves before family descended and ascended (from Wisconsin and Florida respectively) the following weekend for John Mark's baptism. We were very thankful that so much of our family was able to come: both sets of grandparents, a great-grandparent, uncles, and god-parents. It was very special, and we were so thankful they all got to see John Mark's baptism. What an amazing moment it was to bring our son to God, to watch him receive God's favor and grace. What an amazing picture of our helplessness and God's graciousness. We brought a sleeping child to the fount; he didn't speak a word or do a thing. Yet Christ deigned to unite with him and give him new life. Oh what joy! Daily we pray that God will preserve this little child in his baptismal faith.

and may He preserve us all, as we know and trust He will, according to His good promises in Christ Jesus our lord.

Thank you all for tolerating my delinquency in posting as of late! I have a new picture for you of the belly (at 32 weeks) and lots of news.

I "failed" the blood glucose test and was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. This does not mean that the baby has diabetes, but, rather, that my pancreas isn't able to produce enough insulin for the increased amount of blood sugar produced during pregnancy (3x more than normal!). Plus, pregnancy makes the insulin a woman produces less and less effective the further along in the pregnancy. So, my doctors wanted to treat this very aggressively because it can be damaging for the baby. Both Mom and Baby make their own insulin, but a pregnant mom's blood sugar can cross the placenta and raise the baby's blood sugar levels. This causes the baby to have to produce more insulin, which is not a good thing. Insulin is a growth hormone, so it can cause a baby to grow too fast, leading to complications in birth or necessitating an early induction. The baby can then be very large but still have immature organs. Plus, after birth, if the baby has been producing extra insulin to counteract the Mom's high blood sugar levels, then when born, he or she has too much insulin and can suffer from low blood sugar. All of these complications are easily avoidable by keeping Mom's blood sugar down, either by diet or medication. So, I was directed to the Pregnancy Diabetes clinic and received a ton of information and help. The nurses and nutritionists there helped me come up with meal plans and a new diet. I monitor my blood sugar four times a day, and they monitor me by phone, checking up on all my numbers each week. So far, so good. They, and we, are very pleased with the results of changing my diet. I have a very limited amount of carbs that I get at each meal, but I've found ways to still get in a cookie here and there :) and I've been reassured that once Babykins is born, I can pig out to my heart's content!

So, last week at our doctor's visit, we had another ultrasound to check the baby's growth and make sure he or she wasn't producing extra insulin and growing too fast. They measured his upper body and limbs and were very pleased with the result: Babykins is smack-dab in the fiftieth percentile for weight, a nice 5 pounds 13 oz. My midwife was very pleased with the results of the tests and where the baby is lying. He or she is already head down and dropped very low and is facing my right side. She said he's in the perfect position and everything looks great! We are so thankful!

At the end of the ultrasound, we got to see Babykins in 3-D. It was amazing! He or she was practicing breathing (a very good sign, the doctor said), and we saw him or her sucking and then sticking out his tongue! It was so amazing! The pictures speak for themselves, though.

On Tuesday of next week, I will be considered full-term, which is very exciting! At our last appointment, yesterday, I was found to be 50% effaced and 1 cm dilated. That was exciting, BUT it really doesn't give any indication of how soon (or how late) Babykins will be born, so don't get too excited! It basically just means that my body is doing what it is supposed to do. Babykins has dropped very low, though, and my midwife was surprised how low he is. It's a good thing, because that means he hasn't got too far to go during labor, but it makes for a fair amount of discomfort for me in the process. I've been experiencing a lot of pelvic and groin pain, but I know it's temporary. We have four more weeks until our due date!

Thanks to all for all your prayers and love and support. God's blessings.

Baby Belly Pictures!
here's pictures of me and our little baby at 27, 28, and 29 weeks after conception. I'm feeling big! I have two more months to grow, though, so I'd better get used to it. Things are going well, but I've had a lot of very uncomfortable Braxton Hicks contractions. These are practice contractions, essentially and not "real" labor pains; but I can vouch that they're not comfortable! Babykins is also very active and is keeping me tired. I had a routine blood glucose test two weeks ago, and my sugar levels came back high, so I'm having to re-take the test: fasting for 8-10 hours followed by four blood draws every hour. not fun! hopefully the results will come back fine this time.

We've got the nursery mostly ready. JJ found a glider chair and ottoman for me, and I recovered it in Winnie-the-Pooh material. JJ has put together the crib, and we recently went to a car seat installation workshop and learned how to properly install our car seat. I kind of feel like we're ready!

JJ is getting ready for his work to kick in to high gear. He preaches and leads the service this Sunday while Pastor is on vacation. Confirmation classes start soon, and he will be teaching 5 & 6 graders. Monday is orientation at the college here, and he will be out all day at the LSF booth. After that, his activities will increase, and he'll be busy with students and Bible studies. He's had plenty of time to get well prepared, and he's excited to get busy.

The weather here has been delightful. I pity all my Florida friends. Recently we had a cold-snap with highs (yes, highs) in the low seventies! Mornings are in the fifties or sixties! While I'm enjoying it now, I'm a bit anxious about how quickly fall--and then winter--must be creeping up. I'm not ready for the kind of cold weather this climate is going to dish out--but I've started knitting a scarf. Think that will do the trick?

thanks as always to everyone for their prayers. As we get closer to Babykins' due date, we appreciate them more and more! Pray for baby's health and safety and Mommy's strength. We can't wait to meet our little one and introduce him or her to all of you!

We are feeling settled in and comfortable here in our new home now. We've been busy enjoying visits from grandparents, parents, siblings, and more to come later this month! It is nice showing off "our" new home. My mom was up from FL, and we got the nursery just about ready for the baby. Tons of fun! As she will be able to tell all you Florida folks, the weather here is fantastic! It hasn't really gotten above 90 degrees, I don't think, since we've been here! Of course, that's very hot for the natives, but for us, it's been delightful. Walks around the neighborhood, to downtown, just down the street, or to the dairy bar to try a new flavor of SDSU ice cream have been the norm so far. We've been enjoying church picnics and barbecues, a few thunderstorms, movie nights, fresh homegrown sweet corn, and getting to know new people.

We have had our first appointment with our new doctor/midwife and toured the hospital where we will be having the baby. It is the fanciest hospital I've ever seen in my life! The labor and delivery unit is much like the new birthing centers with jacuzzi tub, birthing ball and stools, and a kitchen, but if the mom needs any interventions like a C-section or something, the surgery rooms are right down the hall. The post-partum unit has a spa service, jacuzzi in every room, a cafe with complimentary meals for mom and dad, and kitchenettes in every sub-unit. Nice! We are now to the every other week appointment schedule, so our next appointment is this week, and I will have a routine glucose test to check my blood sugar levels. The above pictures are me at 26 and 28 weeks respectively. I have 12 more weeks now and am starting to feel big and awkward. It's kind of hard to believe I'm going to be getting a LOT bigger!
Thanks to everyone for their prayers and support. JJ is getting ready for students to arrive and is planning Bible studies and writing sermons for when Pastor is on vacation at the end of August. He's already preached once; his sermon manuscripts are available at the church's website here (his is the July 25th sermon). He is enjoying all he's learning and experiencing, but the pace will pick up for him substantially at the beginning of the school term. He's looking forward to some hard work!
God's blessings to all, until next time.