Me beforehand

Then, the family arrived

Clark didn’t want to share the baby. He was very sweet and very soft with him.

He did, however, want to “share” my breakfast.

Welcome, Maxwell Gideon!

We’ve got some great ones, but I wanted to talk a little bit before taking the time to do the photo thing.

Firstly, thanks for all the well wishes. It’s so nice to have the best of both worlds, a nice, quiet and calm hospital room, and lots and lots of friends to share the birth with!

I need to go back and read emails. I’ve been pretty much off the computer this whole time, Nate has read emails and comments aloud to me while I’ve been encumbered by medical equipment, staff, baby, and fatigue.

I don’t think Nate mentioned this, but baby came out face up. That’s probably why it was so hard getting him out. Apparently, it wasn’t hard getting him out. The nurse and doctor told me I only pushed for 16 minutes, but it felt hard to ME!!! And certainly harder than my other babies. I don’t know how women that push for hours hold up. It’s exhausting. And painful. And what’s up with the new epidural medicine that doesn’t make all the pain go away??? I still had some pain with Clark’s delivery, and this epidural (it was horrible. I swear it was the worst one), took over 30 minutes to get as good as it got. And the point of exit was never pain free.

I will not deny that it was way better than feeling all of labor though, but I’m glad I waited as long as I did because I really have to be in serious pain to make that whole process worth it.

So, anyway, he came out face up. That’s probably why it took so long for labor to progress. He wasn’t positioned well. Also, the cord was wrapped around his neck in such a way that it really looked like it was holding him back. The doctor exclaimed, “cord!!!” and unhooked it from his neck as soon as he came out. His heart rate was dropping quite a bit during the contractions once he was low in my pelvis. They had me shifting from side to side to see if we could help him out.

I’m SO happy I didn’t have any back labor or tearing. I have a sister-in-law whose babies all come out face up, and her back labor is excruciating.

Baby looked JUST like Clark when he came out, which wasn’t going to help with the naming problem at all, however this morning, he’s changed. We are pretty sure we’ve got a first name picked out. Really struggling with the middle name.

Something interesting… there was a male nursing student, about my age that spent the day with us, observing and assisting. He came in a few hours into things, and once he did, Nate’s sense of displacement/discomfort totally evaporated and he was able to relax and be himself. It was really nice. I don’t exactly understand why, but having another guy in there Nate could joke around with and talk to made the day much more pleasant for him, and having him more at ease helped me to relax also.

We didn’t get a lot of sleep last night. Well, I didn’t anyway. He was super hungry and if he wasn’t eating, he had to be laying on me to sleep. The hospital bassinet was a no-go.

I am very excited to go home.

That’s all I can think of right now. I’ll post this then get to the pictures. Check back soon.

Well, something’s happening. Something new, that I haven’t experienced before. My water is broke, as Nate mentioned and so as not to fall into the category of TMI, which might be too late for some of you, there’s a LOT of water in there. Holy cow. And it won’t stop coming. The nurse said that might be why labor is taking so long to get going. There’s a ton of water-y cushion keeping him from becoming engaged.

Well, that cushion is rapidly diminishing, and I’m starting to hurt. After 8 1/2 hours, it’s about TIME it started to hurt!

Bring it on.

I’m so going to eat those words later.

I’m sick. I’m really sick. I have a sore throat and sinus infection. I was just on antibiotics last week, so I’m not too excited to start more. I may not be too coherent in my post today as I’m very stuffy in the head and too tired to think straight.

Baby is moving around a lot. In fact, I’d say it feels like he’s trying to force his way out. I don’t know what he’s so excited about, he’s usually pretty soft.

I’m once again liking the name Gilbert. Nate doesn’t. Our conversation last night went something like this-

“I still like Gilbert.”

(silence)

“What’s wrong with Gilbert?”

“Blythe?”

“NO, just Gilbert.”

“I just answered the question.”

“Oh, whatever.”

I stayed home from church yesterday, being sick, and started a hat for baby using a lovely skein of yarn dyed by Carol.

It’s pretty much the same as the hat I made for Clark, but bigger. Clark’s was too small. 1×1 ribbing. I cast on 120 stitches instead of 100, and I’ll go a couple additional inches.

Since I had the camera out, I figured I’d take another picture of the dark swatch on a dark background as was suggested in the comments awhile back to see how it turned out.

It’s a bit better. It really is a gorgeous color.

Wow, this baby is beating me up today.

So, I’m going to rest. Drink lots of water or herbal tea. Try to finish the baby hat and start on my Goldfish Socks…

Oh yeah, and oodles of laundry.

Hopefully, I’ll be able to make the ultrasound and dr appt tomorrow. I have a call in to them to see if they want me to come in sick.

Probably because it’s before 6am and I’m awake against my will. I think there’s a mild cold running through the house. I don’t have it, but I’m guessing I’m fighting it. I feel run down and yucky. The girls have been complaining about scratchy throats, headaches, stomach aches, and various leg pains.

Warning- this post is not particularly interesting. I’m mainly listing off the drudgery of my day yesterday and the upcoming day I face today told from the perspective of someone who is very tired and very uncomfortable.

Yesterday was freakishly productive. Out of the three rooms I wanted to get cleaned up, I got two done. The living room is still a mess but I don’t really know what to do with it all. It’s mainly stuff given to me for Clark that he doesn’t fit into yet. I probably just need to haul it down to the garage, but I’m tired and I don’t want to.

Nate’s working like crazy, so he’s not available to. Plus, the garage is a disaster, so there isn’t really room to.

Maybe I’ll make a charity run today and clean out the many bags of “give away” stuff I have thrown around out there?

But I’m tired.

So, after cleaning the dining room and kitchen yesterday, Clark and I got a head start on dinner. We had two spaghetti pies assembled, waiting to be baked by 2pm. Got the kitchen mostly cleaned up and laid out stuff to bake cookies with the girls when they got home.

Which we did.

We then baked the pies, ate a quick dinner, took the second pie and a bag of cookies to dad’s office so he could eat (he came home at 1:30 this morning and was gone again by 6) before going to the mall to return a pair of shoes I bought on sale that were too tight on the instep.

Clark pushed the stroller.

Then we came home and did homework (I feel like I’m in school all over again) ’til 9, picked through Veronica’s hair (found one, tiny, shriveled up nit halfway down a hair shaft), put the kids to bed, emailed and called Nate, and passed out.

So why am I awake? Because I feel too crappy to sleep. Bleh.

This morning, since Nate is gone already, I get to do the morning routine by myself, including taking the older two to band and orchestra an hour before we normally leave for school. The girls have outdoor ed today (extra lunch, snacks, drinks and packed supplies required) at a park in Seattle that I’m supposed to bring dinner and cookies to this evening. Oh yeah, and since they won’t be coming back to school, I need to swing by and pick up their instruments at some point.

So, maybe I’ll make the charity run, then take Clark to the park in Seattle early and we’ll just hang out there for several hours (with the Goldfish socks?) before the kids are released and we eat dinner, after which we’ll maybe meet up with Nate and hit a niece’s birthday party.

Why doesn’t that sound restful to me? I want to crawl into a hole.

I’m hoping once the sun comes up I’ll feel better.

Tired, tired, tired, tired, tired….

I was negative for Strep B.

Dr didn’t push the induction on me, but said we won’t schedule it more than a week in advance and before my cervix shows signs of softening anyway.

I haven’t progressed (dilated, effaced) a bit.

I’m not in the best mood. Not because of the appointment yesterday, but because every time something seems like it’s coming together at Nate’s work and we’ll be able to start getting ahead, something else collapses.

We had a big blow yesterday. That’s becoming a common saying ’round here.

It’s so frustrating. And I probably WON’T be getting a dresser this weekend, so I need to think of a plan B. Legitimately, the dust hasn’t settled yet. Who knows what’s going to happen? But it’d take a miracle for it to be something good.

Here’s a picture of Liv at Cross Country yesterday.

She came in second, probably ’cause she was fighting a cold. I had to hold her up after she crossed the finish line. She was dying.

Abby ready to go.

My picture of her running has vanished, somehow.

And Veronica.

And here they all are making pretzels a week or so ago.

I have a ton of housework to do today. I’m hoping to get the kitchen, dining room and living room respectable looking this morning. Then, I’d love to sit and knit something. Maybe work on the socks? Unless I’m on a roll, then I’ll start cleaning my bedroom. I usually clean better when I’m grumpy, however (and I’m grateful it’s taken this long) the braxton hicks are activating some serious sciatica. The-gasp-out-loud-involuntarily-knee-buckling-hold-onto-something-so-I-don’t-fall-down kind of sciatica.

That’s convenient.

Well, I’ve checked a couple things off “the list.”

-The crib is cleaned out. I need a new mattress cover for it, so one item is off the list, another has been added.

-I’ve found most if not all of the 0-3 month baby clothes. They’re even washed, along with the boppy covers and crib sheets. Yay, me!

-I bought diapers.

-I took care of the mountain of papers, so while the islands aren’t exactly clean yet, it wouldn’t take too much to get them there.

-I’ve Googled “hospital bag” and have a list now of what needs to go in, what needs to be purchased still, etc. So that’s underway.

This weekend, we’re planning to acquire a large dresser so I can move Veronica’s clothes out of her broken little dresser (and pitch it, hallelujah!!!) and move Clark’s clothes out of the changing table to make room for baby’s.

I have an appointment today, where I’ll find out if I have Strep B, and we’ll probably schedule the induction. Then I’ll just pray like mad that I go into labor the night before. Or early that morning. Or something.

So, my doctor wants to induce me at 39 weeks, which is 2 weeks and a weekend from today. I don’t want to be induced. I’ve only gone into labor once on my own, with Clark, and it’s much more enjoyable than having some drug through an IV force contractions.

I can see her point, though. According to the chart, I was in the hospital 3 hours before Clark was born. I remember it being less than that, honestly, and if my nurse hadn’t been Superwoman, I wouldn’t have got the epidural.

And that would have been bad.

My doctor’s worried that I won’t make it to the hospital in time. (And we’re not even talking about how I typically test positive for Strep B and therefore need 4 hours of IV antibiotics before birth. Otherwise they keep us in the hospital for an extra day of observation).

I said that I could just come in earlier, when the contractions are still several minutes apart.

She said that’s all fine and good ’til my water breaks and “fast” labor turns into “immediate” labor.

Dangit.

I haven’t made a decision yet. She hasn’t gotten pushy yet, but it’s coming. I can see it in her eyes.

~

So, it’s been a busy week for me. We discovered lice on two of my girls Monday. One case was extremely light, and she’s been clear for days. The other one, while not bad, has required more picking. We haven’t had it long, ’cause I’ve heard it’s been going around and I’ve been checking regularly.

I’m spending all day, every day washing bedding, and towels, and clothes… vacuuming, etc. Then the evenings treating heads, combing and picking through hair…

Lame.

We snuck away to Cannon Beach for the weekend, a last minute decision. Nate came, which is fabulous as he never takes a break, and it was wonderful. It was difficult, however in that we were stuck in traffic and it took almost 7 hours to get there on Friday, and 5 1/2 hours to get back on Saturday. That’s a lot of car time for someone who is officially 8 months pregnant with 1 day shy of 4 weeks to go. (I had doctor’s permission).

It was very uncomfortable.

BUT, we had a really great time and got a fabulous deal on a hotel room that comfortably slept all of us.

Our main reason for going was that Cassandra Barney was going to be there for an art show. She comes to Cannon Beach about once a year, and Nate “moved mountains” so we could make it. It was our first time meeting Cassandra and seeing Cannon Beach.

Cassandra was fabulous. She spent a lot of time talking to the girls and sharing painting tips. Veronica in particular ate it up. She’s been begging to paint ever since.

Despite the excessive car time, we took the opportunity to drive an additional hour south and visit the Tillamook Cheese Factory.

Their white licorice ice cream is amazing.

Today, I have a bunch of laundry to do, and my car is in a desperate state. I made a couple sock monkey kits for the girls to stuff and hand sew on the drive down, so there’s sand, garbage, food debris, various monkey body parts and polyester fiber fill all OVER my car.

It’s atrocious.

And I’m very tired.