Wow! What a year! We’ve had some pretty big changes this year. In February we found out we were having a baby. In May, Heather graduated from Arizona State University, with a Bachelor of Science in Speech and Hearing Science and a minor in Religious Studies. She went ahead and completed the requirements and got her Arizona Speech and Language Pathology Assistant License over the summer. In June, we moved to a rental home instead of staying in the apartment. Meanwhile, as Craig was searching for a new job, he was called to interview with PHI in Louisiana. They hired him to fly employees back and forth from the oil rigs in both Louisiana and Texas. He went to training in Louisiana, and started working there in August. He has been commuting to work from Arizona every other week since then. We were waiting until the baby was born before we moved that direction.
As Heather neared the end of her pregnancy, she was placed on bed-rest for Pregnancy Induced Hypertension, and Preeclampsia. She was supposed to get to the beginning of her 36th week of pregnancy to make sure the baby had reached a safer place in her development before they wanted to Induce Labor. She asked her doctor if it was ok to wait until Craig returned from work on Friday, October 8th, and he said that was fine. Well, Friday came, and the hospital called to tell us that they were under-staffed and wanted Heather to wait by the phone for a call to come in for Induction. So, we waited and they called in the morning on Saturday, October 9th. We got our stuff together and went in for Induction. After 36 hours of Induction, Heather had not progressed enough and had reached her maximum on the drugs they gave her to Induce Labor. So, we prepared for a C-Section. Once we were in there, the C-Section was quick and we were introduced to our little 5 lb 2 oz baby girl, Trinity Grace Kleinhans on October 11th, at 1:17AM. Heather was pretty shaky from all the medications and epidural, so they put her to sleep for a few hours after the C-Section. During that time, Craig was able to cut the umbilical cord, help give her the first bath, and witness all the tests, shots, etc. Once Heather was released from the Recovery Room, to return to her room, she was able to hold little Miss Trinity for the first time. Since Trinity was a preemie and they were concerned about her weight, we worked around the clock to feed her. This went on for a few more days, until Thursday, October 14th, when Craig flew back to work, and Heather and Trinity were released to go home.
Trinity’s weight went down (to 4 lb 12 oz by October 15th), more than the Pediatrician wanted, so we had to add a bottle after her normal breastfeeding. Luckily, Trinity didn’t seem to have any problems going back and forth from breastfeeding to the bottle. We were still working around the clock to feed her. Heather also developed some really high fevers the week following her release from the Hospital. She was admitted to stay over night again after her Doctor sent her to the ER. It ended up being a Kidney Infection. She was treated with I.V. Antibiotics and was able to return home. Trinity developed some reflux episodes that proved to be a little intense so, we have since put her on some medication for it. She is doing a lot better now, and the Pediatrician seems to think she will probably outgrow the Reflux issues around 4 months or so. We are praying that is the case. Trinity is doing well, and developing at a normal rate. As of her 2 month check-up, she weighed 8 lbs 6 oz, and she is finally on the growth charts, in the 5th percentile for length and weight. She is now starting to really work her neck muscles, holding her head up for longer periods of time. Trinity has already met both sets of Grandparents, as well as her Great Grandparents (Nana, and Papa), and her Auntie KK. She’s also had her first Thanksgiving and will soon have her first Christmas and New Years. Although, we are pretty sure she will not remember much of these “firsts”.
We should mention that Mr. Rascal seems to have really taken to Trinity. He loves her and is very protective of her. If you come near his baby, you’re in big trouble. J In fact, he will howl and bark at us if we don’t come to pick Trinity up fast enough, when she gets fussy or cries. It’s pretty funny.
Well, we are off to Texas now. We will be in Texas for Christmas. It will be so much nicer for Craig. He won’t have to fly all day to get to work. He will have to drive to work, and it will be much closer. He is pretty excited about that. Our new place is in Katy, Texas, which is west of Houston. If you would like our new address, just let us know. We will miss everyone, but we are excited to see what God has in store for us on this new adventure. Please keep in touch with us. You can reach us thru e-mail, Facebook, Skype, or our blog. We want to wish you a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year! May God be with you and bless you!
With Love,
Craig, Heather, and Trinity Kleinhans
racer_3c@hotmail.com and mrs.hkleinhans@gmail.com
