Well, he's here! Our little baby has arrived. I think most people who read this have heard the stats and all that, but if you haven't, let me know and I can give you all that information. The birth didn't go quite as planned, which I know that during labor and birth, a lot of things don't go quite as anyone planned, but one major thing changed in my plan: I gave birth in the hospital.
Originally, I was planning a home birth and was thrilled about my decision. No travel involved, familiar with my environment, and no strangers coming in and out. So when you spend 9 months planning and gearing up for a home birth, it's a little shocking to discover that it's not the way that you are going to give birth. The past few weeks, I've had high blood pressure. I was working on trying to get it down and succeeded for like a week. This past Wednesday, however, there was an added surprise in my prenatal appointment: I had protein in my urine. Combined with the high blood pressure, it's a sign of pre-eclampsia. So because of that, I had to go to the hospital to be induced.
I wasn't very happy with the need to go to the hospital, but I knew that it was necessary. Hospitals are there for just such occasions. I won't go into the details of the birth, I wouldn't be able to give a very good hour by hour account anyways since my sense of time was obscured by the fact that I was in labor and it being late at night. The whole labor took about 9 hours though. Besides having to be induced, I was able to have a natural labor, which was the most important thing to me besides having a healthy baby.
Although I don't like hospitals in the slightest, and I would have preferred to have given birth at home, I'm happy with how it worked out. Yes, I would have been even happier without having to fight the nurses about what procedures would or would not be done, and it would have been nice to be able to go home when I wanted to. I have to say though that it was kind of fun to hear the OB resident beg me to stay for the 24 hours that they wanted me to. On the whole though, I can't complain. I have a beautiful baby who is healthy and happy. What more could I want?
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Strange Strange Weekend
This weekend has been a bit strange in regards to the weather. Saturday started off good with sunshine and temperatures warm enough to melt the little bit of snow we had. We decided it was a good day for Ashton to play mechanic on his car, the accelerator was sticking in the freezing cold temperatures that we had early in the week (by freezing cold I really do mean freezing cold -20 degrees). While he was doing that, I was going to run some errands.
Well, I left Ashton trying to figure out where the part was located in his car that he needed to clean and headed out. It was slightly colder than it was earlier, but not by much. It was still warm enough to melt snow so I wasn't too concerned about the fact that I wasn't wearing a coat. Not that any coat actually fits me anymore. Sure, I can get my arms in, but there's no closing any coat that I own and I am too frugal to go out and buy a winter coat for a couple months. I actually haven't been able to close my coats, besides maybe a button or two, for months now. In any case, I felt that wearing Ashton's sweatshirt was good enough for running to a couple stores and then coming back home again. No big deal.
So, I went to Target and suddenly remembered that the Superbowl was the next day. The parking lot was packed, but it didn't take too long to find a parking spot and thankfully, I didn't have to park out in the outskirts. By the time I came out of Target though, it had started to snow. Not blizzard conditions, but enough to make it chilly. Still, it wasn't bad enough for me to head home. I still had to run to the grocery store.
So I head over to the grocery store and do my "quick" shopping. Let's face it, nothing gets done quickly when you're 38 weeks pregnant. It was still snowing when I got out, and in fact, it was snowing even harder. Hard enough that snow had accumulated on my car. I had managed to get front row parking, which was nice, but of course that meant hiking to put the shopping cart away. I got a call from Ashton as I got in the car asking if he had to come and dig me out of a snowbank somewhere. Apparently, I was taking longer than expected on my errands and he was worried. So sweet. I assured him that I was fine and just had to brush the snow off the back windshield, I wish I had a back windshield wiper, and then I'd be heading home. I've been lucky so far this winter that by the time I have to go anywhere, the snow has melted off my car, or if my car has to be scraped off, Ashton has done it for me. So, I actually haven't scraped off my car all winter, until Saturday. Thankfully, it was just a little bit of wet snow and I only had to do the back windshield. I made it home safe and we spent the rest of the day hanging out at home. It started snowing before Ashton could actually fix his car.
So, it snowed off and on the rest of Saturday, and into Sunday. There was actually quite a bit accumulated by Sunday morning, but we decided to head to church anyways. We kept watch of our phones just in case we got a call that church was canceled, but there was nothing. After brushing off the car twice and having to drive around to the other side of the building where maintenance had actually done some shoveling of the sidewalks so I wouldn't have to wade through the snow, we were off. The roads weren't really slippery, but they sure didn't look freshly plowed. In their defense, it seems that the snow was coming down to heavy to really keep up with it.
In any case, we made it to church safely. As we were walking from the car to the church building, however, we were met by a member of our bishopric who asked us if we wanted the good news or the bad news. Yup, we trekked all the way to church to be told that church had been canceled and that the bishopric had just gotten the call 10 minutes earlier from the Stake that the bishopric could decide to cancel church but that the Stake wanted everything canceled. So it was back in the car for us and we headed home. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, but it did continue to snow off and on the rest of the day. All told, we probably got a good 6-8 inches.
The one funny thing we have discovered through all this snow is that our dog likes to eat snow. I don't mean that she'll just start chomping on the snow while she's outside. I mean that when we come inside and the snow that was on shoes, pants, etc comes off in pieces and fall to the ground, she'll spend time going around and eat each chunk. Yup. That's my dog.
Well, I left Ashton trying to figure out where the part was located in his car that he needed to clean and headed out. It was slightly colder than it was earlier, but not by much. It was still warm enough to melt snow so I wasn't too concerned about the fact that I wasn't wearing a coat. Not that any coat actually fits me anymore. Sure, I can get my arms in, but there's no closing any coat that I own and I am too frugal to go out and buy a winter coat for a couple months. I actually haven't been able to close my coats, besides maybe a button or two, for months now. In any case, I felt that wearing Ashton's sweatshirt was good enough for running to a couple stores and then coming back home again. No big deal.
So, I went to Target and suddenly remembered that the Superbowl was the next day. The parking lot was packed, but it didn't take too long to find a parking spot and thankfully, I didn't have to park out in the outskirts. By the time I came out of Target though, it had started to snow. Not blizzard conditions, but enough to make it chilly. Still, it wasn't bad enough for me to head home. I still had to run to the grocery store.
So I head over to the grocery store and do my "quick" shopping. Let's face it, nothing gets done quickly when you're 38 weeks pregnant. It was still snowing when I got out, and in fact, it was snowing even harder. Hard enough that snow had accumulated on my car. I had managed to get front row parking, which was nice, but of course that meant hiking to put the shopping cart away. I got a call from Ashton as I got in the car asking if he had to come and dig me out of a snowbank somewhere. Apparently, I was taking longer than expected on my errands and he was worried. So sweet. I assured him that I was fine and just had to brush the snow off the back windshield, I wish I had a back windshield wiper, and then I'd be heading home. I've been lucky so far this winter that by the time I have to go anywhere, the snow has melted off my car, or if my car has to be scraped off, Ashton has done it for me. So, I actually haven't scraped off my car all winter, until Saturday. Thankfully, it was just a little bit of wet snow and I only had to do the back windshield. I made it home safe and we spent the rest of the day hanging out at home. It started snowing before Ashton could actually fix his car.
So, it snowed off and on the rest of Saturday, and into Sunday. There was actually quite a bit accumulated by Sunday morning, but we decided to head to church anyways. We kept watch of our phones just in case we got a call that church was canceled, but there was nothing. After brushing off the car twice and having to drive around to the other side of the building where maintenance had actually done some shoveling of the sidewalks so I wouldn't have to wade through the snow, we were off. The roads weren't really slippery, but they sure didn't look freshly plowed. In their defense, it seems that the snow was coming down to heavy to really keep up with it.
In any case, we made it to church safely. As we were walking from the car to the church building, however, we were met by a member of our bishopric who asked us if we wanted the good news or the bad news. Yup, we trekked all the way to church to be told that church had been canceled and that the bishopric had just gotten the call 10 minutes earlier from the Stake that the bishopric could decide to cancel church but that the Stake wanted everything canceled. So it was back in the car for us and we headed home. The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, but it did continue to snow off and on the rest of the day. All told, we probably got a good 6-8 inches.
The one funny thing we have discovered through all this snow is that our dog likes to eat snow. I don't mean that she'll just start chomping on the snow while she's outside. I mean that when we come inside and the snow that was on shoes, pants, etc comes off in pieces and fall to the ground, she'll spend time going around and eat each chunk. Yup. That's my dog.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Good Timbers
During Sunday School about a year ago, the teacher passed out copies of this poem to everyone in attendance. I loved the poem and decided to glue it to the front of my journal. There it stays and I read it often. I've been meaning to share it, but have gotten distracted by other things. So, here it is:
The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.
The man who never had to toil to live,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.
Good timber does not grow at ease,
The stronger wind, the stronger trees.
The further sky, the greater length,
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, in rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.
Where thickest lies the forest growth
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold council with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.
~Unknown Poet
The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
But always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.
The man who never had to toil to live,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man
But lived and died as he began.
Good timber does not grow at ease,
The stronger wind, the stronger trees.
The further sky, the greater length,
The more the storm, the more the strength.
By sun and cold, in rain and snow,
In trees and men good timbers grow.
Where thickest lies the forest growth
We find the patriarchs of both.
And they hold council with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and much of strife.
This is the common law of life.
~Unknown Poet
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
By Popular Demand
So, some of you have asked for a picture of my pregnant belly. Here it is. I'm about 34 1/2 weeks along now, for those of you who aren't keeping track of how much longer I have. I'm still getting stuff organized and ready for his arrival, which will be the case until he comes I'm sure. Thankfully, our Christmas stuff will be going back into storage so we'll have a bit more room in our apartment. Not that we have really any more big stuff that we're looking to get, which is a relief because I'm not quite sure where we're going to put the stuff we already have. Nothing brings out creativity like a challenge, that's for sure.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Getting to be That Time I Guess
Well folks, I guess it's that time. It's that time of the pregnancy that everyone wants to know exactly how much longer I've got. As if I know. I should have seen it coming. I knew it would happen, but I guess I forgot or didn't think it'd happen so soon. In my mind, I've still have a few months when it reality, I have plus or minus 6 weeks. So, I was a little surprised how many people this past Sunday asked me how much longer I had. The usual question of when my due date is no longer sufficient. I did find it amusing when one sister responded to my answer with, "Really? You look like you could go now!" I have to say it was much more entertaining than the other responses of "Oh! It's getting close!" I don't feel like I'm that much bigger than I was at 28 weeks, but apparently I am at least a little. Next everyone will be saying, "You haven't had the baby yet?"
This trimester has been an interesting one. The baby still likes moving around and kicking. It's getting harder and harder to ignore. He's added a few tricks to his routine like moving to one side and somehow pushing against my belly so you can totally see where he is. I have to say that I actually like it when he gets the hiccups. I find it entertaining. I'm less amused by the discomfort of trying to sleep, especially when I try to roll over and find that happens to be the side that the baby has decided push himself against. Last night, I woke up to discover that he decided to try to be sideways in there.
Ashton also finds this trimester interesting. He's constantly amused by my lack of ability to do things like get up off the couch with ease. He also finds entertainment in me putting on my sneakers on or taking them off and tying them, or trying to get out of a pullover sweatshirt. Yes, I've had to have him help me with both. I've mastered the sneakers so I don't need his help with that anymore, at least at the moment. The sweatshirt thing is a little trickier. I think the only thing he could be disappointed about is the lack of weird cravings. I actually haven't had too many cravings this trimester, although the ones I do get amuse Ashton. Maybe it's because I'm so emphatic about it. He should be grateful though, I haven't made him go on any midnight runs for food.
Maybe I'll start.
This trimester has been an interesting one. The baby still likes moving around and kicking. It's getting harder and harder to ignore. He's added a few tricks to his routine like moving to one side and somehow pushing against my belly so you can totally see where he is. I have to say that I actually like it when he gets the hiccups. I find it entertaining. I'm less amused by the discomfort of trying to sleep, especially when I try to roll over and find that happens to be the side that the baby has decided push himself against. Last night, I woke up to discover that he decided to try to be sideways in there.
Ashton also finds this trimester interesting. He's constantly amused by my lack of ability to do things like get up off the couch with ease. He also finds entertainment in me putting on my sneakers on or taking them off and tying them, or trying to get out of a pullover sweatshirt. Yes, I've had to have him help me with both. I've mastered the sneakers so I don't need his help with that anymore, at least at the moment. The sweatshirt thing is a little trickier. I think the only thing he could be disappointed about is the lack of weird cravings. I actually haven't had too many cravings this trimester, although the ones I do get amuse Ashton. Maybe it's because I'm so emphatic about it. He should be grateful though, I haven't made him go on any midnight runs for food.
Maybe I'll start.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Happy New Year!
Since it's New Year's Eve and since Ashton is currently out walking Dusty, I decided that I would update the blog.
Our Christmas was pretty uneventful, which suited us just fine. We went up to Ashton's mom's house for Christmas Eve and spent some time with her as well as Nate and Anjanette. We enjoyed the time just visiting, eating, and opening presents. Christmas Day we stayed at home enjoying the sunshine and warmth (yeah we didn't get any snow for Christmas although we got some yesterday and it has actually stayed). We played lots of games and had fun.
Ashton has actually had this week off from work and it's been great! I've enjoyed having him around. We haven't done a whole lot, although we got to visit with some friends that we don't get to see often, but it's been great to just relax and spend some time together. We won't have this opportunity again for a while so we've taken advantage of it. Hopefully, it won't take us too long to get back into the daily routine next week when Ashton has to go back to work.
It's hard to believe that in about a month and a half, our family will have a new addition. We've been preparing for it, but my mind has just recently been realizing how soon it will be. The time will either go fast or slow, but it'll go and, hopefully, I'll be ready when it happens. The baby is getting me used to waking up in the middle of the night with his kicking so that's at least something I guess.
Of course, you can't get to hours before the new year begins without thinking over the past year. This year has brought with it a lot of changes for us. All of them good and a few of them were pretty big changes. Next year will bring some more changes and we're pretty excited about that. There will of course be ups and downs, but it should prove to be an interesting year I think.
Our Christmas was pretty uneventful, which suited us just fine. We went up to Ashton's mom's house for Christmas Eve and spent some time with her as well as Nate and Anjanette. We enjoyed the time just visiting, eating, and opening presents. Christmas Day we stayed at home enjoying the sunshine and warmth (yeah we didn't get any snow for Christmas although we got some yesterday and it has actually stayed). We played lots of games and had fun.
Ashton has actually had this week off from work and it's been great! I've enjoyed having him around. We haven't done a whole lot, although we got to visit with some friends that we don't get to see often, but it's been great to just relax and spend some time together. We won't have this opportunity again for a while so we've taken advantage of it. Hopefully, it won't take us too long to get back into the daily routine next week when Ashton has to go back to work.
It's hard to believe that in about a month and a half, our family will have a new addition. We've been preparing for it, but my mind has just recently been realizing how soon it will be. The time will either go fast or slow, but it'll go and, hopefully, I'll be ready when it happens. The baby is getting me used to waking up in the middle of the night with his kicking so that's at least something I guess.
Of course, you can't get to hours before the new year begins without thinking over the past year. This year has brought with it a lot of changes for us. All of them good and a few of them were pretty big changes. Next year will bring some more changes and we're pretty excited about that. There will of course be ups and downs, but it should prove to be an interesting year I think.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Christmas Stuff
This past weekend, we got our Christmas tree and decorations out of storage so that our apartment could look more festive, although we still have yet to get snow. For some reason, I really want it to snow this year. Not some major amount of snow, but a little would be nice. Enough to make it feel winter and like I'm actually getting closer to having this baby. Even if the outside doesn't look like it's getting to be Christmas time, our apartment does!
I was worried that we wouldn't have any space for our tree, but I misjudged how big our tree really is. The only thing I really had to move was a plant and it fits so nicely. I did have to move a picture frame so that I could put our Nativity scene up, but that wasn't hard. I thought to fit the tree in that I'd have to do some major rearranging. So I was happily wrong. Our tree is all decorated now and even has a present under it.
I think Ashton dreads the present part of Christmas. He's fine with buying gifts and receiving gifts. The only problem is that while I love surprises, I do not like waiting for them. So, I end up bugging him endlessly about what he's gotten me even before the present is sitting under the tree. It doesn't help that I "made the mistake" of guessing what some of my presents were, and I happened to guess correctly. So now he thinks I'm too good at guessing. As punishment, I get no hints and I'm not allowed to shake presents for more than a couple minutes. On the other hand, I get so excited about what I've gotten him that usually I'm bugging him to shake his presents and guess. It's also become a sort of tradition for me to make him open one of his presents a week early because I can't wait anymore. I might try to hold out this year, but we'll see how that works out.
I was worried that we wouldn't have any space for our tree, but I misjudged how big our tree really is. The only thing I really had to move was a plant and it fits so nicely. I did have to move a picture frame so that I could put our Nativity scene up, but that wasn't hard. I thought to fit the tree in that I'd have to do some major rearranging. So I was happily wrong. Our tree is all decorated now and even has a present under it.
I think Ashton dreads the present part of Christmas. He's fine with buying gifts and receiving gifts. The only problem is that while I love surprises, I do not like waiting for them. So, I end up bugging him endlessly about what he's gotten me even before the present is sitting under the tree. It doesn't help that I "made the mistake" of guessing what some of my presents were, and I happened to guess correctly. So now he thinks I'm too good at guessing. As punishment, I get no hints and I'm not allowed to shake presents for more than a couple minutes. On the other hand, I get so excited about what I've gotten him that usually I'm bugging him to shake his presents and guess. It's also become a sort of tradition for me to make him open one of his presents a week early because I can't wait anymore. I might try to hold out this year, but we'll see how that works out.
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