Birth Story

(scroll down for non-scary pictures)
One week ago......
So Tuesday the 21st of July started out pretty normal. I had taken Elora and Joshua to the free cooking class they have for married students every week, where we had tried a yummy cucumber salad. When we got home, I was letting them play outside for a while, while I sat and talked to one of my neighbors. I think it was around 12:00-12:15 when I stood up and suddenly it felt like I was peeing my pants and I couldn't stop!

I had read all about what its like to have your water break of course, but I wasn't absolutely certain that was the problem here.I asked my friend to keep an eye on the kids while I went in to check. Of course, walking to my stairs the water just kept coming, and when I went in and sat down in the bathroom there was another gush! Yck.
Joseph happened to be home that morning and was in the shower, so I told him what was going on and he finished up quickly! I called the hospital to make sure they wanted me to come in (after all, I wasn't in active labor yet and I'd always gone in at the last minute before). Then with the aid of a towel and a change of clothes, I hurried back out to tell the neighbors what was going on and to arrange for sitters.
Lucky for me, lots of people were outside and everyone was more than helpful. We called my mom who would be making the six hour drive to watch the kids that night, then we hurriedly packed our bags- I had a list of what to bring, but had assumed I'd have a few hours on the big day to actually pack it, so it wasn't ready (even though I'd predicted the birth for that week.)
Joseph told the kids where we were going, and while Elora had been asking about it for days, she was actually more excited to be spending the day with other peoples' kids, and seemed indifferent about the whole thing.
We arrived in our hospital room around 1:00 PM. (did I mention I got my hair cut the weekend before this? Yeah, I was going to do a post about it, but things got busy!)

I wasn't having regular contractions yet, and the ones I was having weren't painful at all, so I was worried this would be a long wait. But when they checked me I was dilated to a three. Yay! We stayed around the room and watched Flight of the Navigator. By four I was having regular contractions 3-5 minutes apart, (if I was home I probably would have started recording them around 3:00, so on my records that is when I'd say labor started.)
At around five, the regular contractions had sort of petered out (I'm sure its because I was in a bed instead of going about my regular day like I would have normally) so they decided to start a low dose of pitocin...which I think was completely unnecessary, but whatever. Almost immediately, the contractions were 1 1/2- 2 minutes apart, and lasting 30 seconds or longer, and now they definitely felt like the real thing!
The staff seemed surprised at my quick reaction and lowered the dosage twice before finally turning it off after 45 minutes, in order to "give me some relief" they said. But they couldn't stop what they'd started. Not only did the contractions continue in the same manner (1.5 minutes apart) they kept increasing in intensity. I know 'cause I was watching the monitor! I told the nurse that this was the point I would have rushed to the hospital if I was at home, meaning I'd probably be ready to push within an hour.
While Elora's birth was supposed to be natural (and it was, up until the c-section after pushing for 2 hrs!) Josh's had been with an epidural, and I had planned to do the same with this baby. When I told them I was ready for the anesthesiologist, they told me to wait ten more minutes and they'd check me again. I don't think they understood our time frame here.
When I asked again, I was informed that he was now attending a c-section and would be another 45 minutes. The staff offered me some medicine through my IV in the meantime. At first I declined because I'd heard bad stuff about that, but in the end I accepted- I should have gone with my first instinct.
The medicine didn't seem to affect the actual contractions at all and just made me tired and dizzy in between- just like my sister said happened to her.
At about 6:45 the doctor checked me again and I was at a six, and the very next contraction I felt myself starting to push, meaning I'd reached a 10! Of course that was when the anesthesiologist poked his head in the room, and he was informed his services were not necessary. As mad as I was at Elora's birth not turning out all "natural" I was just as annoyed at my plans for an epidural being thwarted this time!
The doctor was certain he would deliver the baby on my second push, as he was fairly low down already. But I guess I'm not very good at this pushing thing when it causes more pain. It took about twenty more minutes before little Jonah was born, and this was after the doctor getting a little frustrated with me (I swear I know all about how you're supposed to 'push', its just my dislike of the pain had me doing all the wrong things - I knew it, but couldn't help it!)
In the end, they did use a vacuum extractor like they did with Josh, but I definitely prefer that to the c-section! Afterward, the doctor informed me that he'd not had to raise his voice to a patient that much in all 11 years of his practice. (Strangely, I actually liked this doctor a lot, despite his reprimanding me, and despite my usual aversion to male doctors. Weird.)

Jonah, just after his birth

This is me right after the baby was born.

After all the regular tests on the baby, we were informed that his blood sugar was dangerously low - but really, since when do they check blood sugar on a baby? They gave him a small bottle of formula and monitored him for a while (to my annoyance, since I was going to nurse him and this would mess up his nursing technique).
After checking him again later, they found his glucose levels down again. Luckily, the pediatrition who was on duty knew all about nursing supplimental systems- you know, slipping a small tube into the corner of the baby's mouth while he's nursing with the mother, thus sneaking formula in while he is learning to latch on the right way. I was much happier with this solution!

We had to do that all night, and all the next day until they said his numbers were at a satisfactory level. Sheesh!
Then came the next drama. The day we were going home they did his bilirubin test (you know, jaundice) and said it was pretty high so we should come get it checked again the next day. With Joshua, we'd had to have him checked every day for a week but never had to do lights, so I hoped it wouldn't be any more than that. We went in Friday as planned, and the lab never called us back, so assumed he must be fine.
But Sunday...someone called and said there'd been some mix up (because it was a State holliday, all different staff were there, etc.) and someone should've called us on Saturday, as Jonah's levels were dangerously high. They asked us to come right in that afternoon, and we were informed he'd probably have to stay for a few days!
I was freaking out at this news, as we were just establishing a nursing routine, I'd never been able to pump milk well, and I didn't know what we'd do if I couldn't stay with him! Luckily, our lovely neighbors came to the rescue again and watched the two older kids while we went in to see what was going on.
After wandering around the hospital for half an hour (Joseph had taken the message on the phone and had neglected to write down exactly what doctor had called us or where we were supposed to go!) we found the right place.The doctor there explained the alarming level Jonah's bilirubin was at (if it gets too high, it can cause brain damage) and that he felt they needed to persue agressive light therapy immediately. The take-home lights everyone had told us about were not strong enough, in his opinion.
We were set up in a private room in the pediatric ward. Jonah was in the light bed, while I was allowed to stay in the bed next to him! It was a long night- he couldn't be wrapped up so he was thrashing around a lot, and he hated the little mask on his eyes. In fact, they had it on wrong the first few hours, and every time I'd look over at him he had it pulled off and he was looking around! I was only allowed to take him out every three hours or so to nurse him, and he wouldn't sleep more than 20 minutes at a time. Of course, there was that time around 4AM I took him out and fell asleep with him on me for an hour. Shhhh.
Anyway, by the morning when they tested him, his levels had been reduced dramatically and we were allowed to go home! We had to test him again Tuesday and Wednesday, because they went up again slightly, but now we are supposedly in the clear. Hooray!
His first actual doctors appointment is this next Monday.
Oh here are a few pictures from our first morning after he was born...I was going to edit these and make them nicer ( you know, get rid of the fingerprints on the window etc. But its probably not going to happen!

Baby Pics

Jonah August's first pictures for those who haven't seen these yet....and there are plenty more to come, don't worry. As well as the birth story, of course.

It's a Boy!!!

Our little boy was born today at 7:07 PM!

Weight: 7 lbs 11 oz.
Length: 20 1/2"

Neighbor Girl #2

(FYI, the color is very off in the first two photos of this drawing, so look at the last three for a more accurate picture!)
This drawing should've gone alot faster, since it mostly has the same elements as the one of her sister. Again, the issue was just finding time...with Josh squeezing out tubes of toothpaste every five minutes, it's hard to sit down and finish anything!
This is the younger sister, as you can tell. She was shorter, which means the grass comes up higher on her body and less of her dress is showing in the photo:





She has the same pretty eyes as her sister! You can tell they were standing in about the same spot in the field, but again she was lower down so the nice contrasting brown bits behind her sister weren't behind her head the same way. This was fine, I just had to try harder to have her pale skin stand out against the light background. The big white bow on her head will help!




I like that her hands were in this one (they could've been in the sister's drawing too, but I cropped it closer I guess). The hands help so the grass coming over her dress isn't so distracting from her figure. Here you can see the dress strap on the left of the drawing has all the red in it finished, while the rest of the dress just has the first light layer:




I loved all the colors refelecting in the white of her sleeves, especially the red of the dress. Here the drawing is almost done, I really just need to make the background look more finished, and add a little more color to her face. In the photo, all the grass in front of her is slightly out of focus, which is nice in the photo, though I wasn't quite sure how to accurately portray that in the drawing. I figure this is close enough.



And here is the finished piece! I hope they'll look good together on the wall.

The Beach: Take Two

Remember the scary, windy day at the beach that we almost died? Well, since Joseph had Tuesday off, we decided to try again so that maybe the kids could have a happy association with going to the lake!
It wasn't a super hot day, only in the low 70's. I thought the weather was great, but Elora and Josh still found it a little too chilly for their liking. Elora consented to venture into the water several times with dad or mom, but was quick to rush back to the safety of her towel.
(This is Joseph's idea of "zooming in" on the camera. And I actually have this cropped closer than the original. Don't tell him...but I erased all the pictures he took of the kids. Shhhh.)



Josh, on the other hand, seems to remember our last trip all too well. When we got to the water, he was clinging to Joseph and didn't want to be set down. Once he was down, he refused to leave the safety of his towel for any reason. He didn't even want to stand up or move for quite a while! It was only the last twenty minutes or so that we got him to stand up and walk around, and even then he insisted on bringing his towel.


The only reason he even stood up was the seagulls. Joseph had been throwing food at them, so several had made their way pretty close to us. Joshua liked throwing little crackers to them.



It takes about an hour to get to the beach from our house, so we would have liked to stay a while to make the trip more worth it. Unfortunately, after about an hour both Elora and Josh wanted to go home! We convinced them to stay for maybe another 25 minutes or so (the time in which Joshua was walking around) but then they were pretty much done. I think its probably because we got a late start leaving our house, and it was about their nap time so they were a bit grumpy.


We did site another whale while we were there, so that was pretty exciting:


Really, when I look at this picture, I can see why that lady at the aquatic center asked if I was having twins. Sheesh!

As we were leaving, Elora proclaimed that maybe we should come some day when it is really sunny (as apposed to this day when there were three clouds in the sky?) Sadly, I'm sure they would have reacted just the same no matter how warm it was. I guess they take too much after their mother, who never liked swimming as a kid either.


At least I got cooled off.

Since I Feel Like Making Some Lists....

I don't know, would you say list-making is kind of like organizing, therefore it could be considered a part of "nesting"- you know, getting your house in order before the baby comes? Because I want to make some lists right now.

Top Ten Best Songs to Sing in the Shower (according to me) :

• Superstar- The Carpenters
• Dream a Little Dream- Mama Cass Elliot
• Can't Take My Eyes Off of You-Frankie Valli
• Galileo- Indigo Girls
• We've Only Just Begun- The Carpenters
• You're So Vain- Carley Simon
• Mama Mia-ABBA
• Close To You- The Carpenters (Okay, anything by the Carpenters)
• You Were Meant For Me- Jewel
  
• Stay- Lisa Loeb

Runner Up-

• American Pie- Don McClean (because, dang, it's so long!)

Maybe I just like these songs because I can sing the alto part and I know all the words (or at least most)
Which songs are your ultimate shower songs?


Places I Could Possibly Move to in the next year:

• Boulder, Colorado- heard its beautiful, may be costly though. (Aspen and Telluride sound beautiful, but way too expensive!)

• Grand Junction, Colorado- close enough to my family, but in a new state.

• Logan, Utah- good place to live, know my way around, but hard to find teaching a job?

• Lander, Wyoming-where my grandparents were, has a soft place in my heart, good pay.

• Star Valley, Wyoming-another of the few pretty places in WY, though maybe too small for my tastes.
• Oregon coast- okay, it costs way too much to live here, but I think its pretty!

• Northern California- see previous

• Flagstaff Arizona- because its not as hot as the rest of Arizona, and it has pine trees.

So, the only other list that's running through my head right now is the "100 ways Joseph most annoys me" but since my judgment may not be fair right now due to pregnancy hormones, I probably shouldn't post that.

Baby City!

Do you know what these names have in common?
Wyatt
Max
Scott
Carter
Cara
Zack
Leif
Toby
Maleah

Some of you have probably figured out that these are the baby names given by my friends and neighbors who have given birth in the last two to three months. Notice only two of these are girls. (And poor Elora will be sad we can't use the name Toby now, like she wanted.)

Now, how about these names:
Cory
Sherry
Kiera
Michelle
Suzie
Shae
Amy
Candace

Yes, these people are all expecting around the same time as me, or within a month or two afterward! And the list would be 5-6 names longer if I were to include November. See, I wasn't lying when I said almost every married woman I know was having a baby ! Okay many of the women I know.
Incidentally, the majority of these people are also expecting boys.
And before you say, "There must be something in the water there", only two thirds of these are actually here where I live, others are friends from where we lived before, or in my sister's case...Texas.
Who knew I was going to be so trendy?

36 Weeks Profile

I'm thinking this will be the last "pregnancy profile" posted, unless by some freak of nature I go to 40 Weeks. What do you think?
(Not that the baby is a freak of nature.) Remember you can vote on the due date in the sidebar poll.
So, I happened to be exactly 36 weeks on the 4th of July. This is me at the parade (the only picture we have of me that day, and only because I told Joseph to take it.)



Not much new to report..you know swollen ankles from the heat (I always get that the last month) backaches, etc. But really I'm not overly anxious for the baby to be born...
I mean, I told you I'm ornery when I'm pregnant right? Well the first month or two after the baby comes are twice as bad, and the heat is going to triple that. So...let me take this opportunity to apologize to all the neighbors. I'll be nicer in a few months!

Why not to take pictures of someone eating

And why you definitely shouldn't tell them they're making a funny face!



Or maybe that only applies to three-year-olds?

Happy Independence Day!

Yes, we had the fireworks a day early:








I know, don't you love the basketball hoop? Oh well, at least it gives it some context.

Pregnancy Conversations

Last night at the Aquatic Center, with some random lady:
Her: "When are you due?"
Me: "August Ist."
She thinks for a minute.
Her: "You carrying two in there or just one?" She's not joking.
Me: "Just one."
Her: "Everyone always told me I was huge too. I've had five. The last one was 9.2 lbs.
Me: "Hmm." (Are you saying I'm huge? Thanks.)
Her: "Yeah, pregnancy is hard work! So you'll be pregnant throughout the summer? These are my kids birthdays (proceeds to list off dates.)"
Me: "Mm Hmm." I tell her the months of my soon-to-be three, just to have something to say.
Her: Oh, so you have two other kids?"
Me: "yep."
Then I went to help Elora in the pool. Because, really, what do you say to that?
Or maybe it's just me...I don't do random conversations with strangers who say I look fat.

Summer Confessions

(Amendment: So we went swimming at the Aquatic Center for the first time in the two years we've lived here. It was actually pretty fun. Did I mention that I haven't been to a swimming pool since 1997 when we went to Thermopolis WY for a reunion? Yeah. It's not so bad. And its weird swimming when you're pregnant. My belly wanted to float up to my throat!)

I know I said this last summer in a much more interesting post, but can I just say again that summer is NOT my favorite season?

• I hate being hot.

• I hate going outside with no purpose; I only go out in the middle of the day for the kids' sake, or to escape the heat of the house. However, it seems so many other people like to go out in the heat of the day (especially during my kids' naps), that we feel left out a lot.
  

• I never get anything done because we have to keep going outside.

• I don't like swimming-in fact, I actually can't swim and hate getting wet or wearing a swimming suit. Beaches are okay for the change of scenery, but I would prefer it to be a cool day, and I never like swimming pools. Chlorine stinks.
  

• I hate being hot.

• I hate that my clothes get so sweaty no matter how much deodorant I use, especially when I'm pregnant..or postpartum for that matter. I often have to change in the middle of the day. (I'm sure you needed to know that too.)
  

• I hate the feel and smell of sunblock- I make Joseph apply it to the kids and I'd rather get sunburned because I don't want to touch it.

• I'm not particularly fond of barbecues.

• I hate being hot.

• I don't like mosquitoes, Box Elder beetles (which are a plague here around August) or flies. And Joseph gets freaked out by wasps and bees way more than by the spiders of winter time.

• We always have less money in the summer, because Joseph isn't in school full time, so no financial aid.

• Allergies: not wearing my contacts, itchy all the time, sneezing, you get the idea.

• Oh yeah, I hate being hot.
  

There are some things I do like about the season, I'll admit.

• I like summer evenings, when its still light at 9:00 and the sun isn't beating down on you.

• I like going on walks or short hikes...in the evening only though.

• I like summer foods like green salad, corn on the cob, ice cream, Popsicles, etc.

• It is my birthday (and now Josh's and the new baby's as well.)

• I like going on car trips, and people visiting us, but that doesn't necessarily happen every year...for instance, this year we have no plans.

• Autumn is just around the corner!