Ella

(Me last Sunday)

Probably most everyone who reads this blog reads Clark's blog. Or at least read the live baby updating he did over there. Or follows me on facebook. But, in case you haven't heard, WE HAD A BABY!

Would you like to hear the details? Once again, if you read Clark's blog, you probably got all those details already, but in case you didn't. . .

On Monday morning we got a phone call at 5:15 am asking us if we'd like to come in and have a baby. I was very glad to receive said phone call, because I had basically spent the night worrying that they'd be too full and not call. Also, I was worried that I'd somehow go backwards and not be ready for an induction. Shannon at 2am is not exactly the most logical creature. Anyway, we got to the hospital at 6:20, where they proceeded to fill out paperwork, hook up monitors (baby monitor and heart monitor [with telemetry, meaning a cardiac nurse at the other hospital was constantly monitoring my heart]), and give me an IV. This took until just after 8. And then the Pitocin began to flow.

It took until about 10:30 before I decided that it was time for the epidural. The doctor told me I should do an early epidural anyway, and I'm a wimp. So that worked out nicely. So about an hour later (after they got some fluid in me, and the anesthesiologist did his magic), my left side was pretty numb, and my right side was numb enough to get rid of the contractions (mostly). We did some side switching throughout the day to even that out a bit, but I was kind of glad that I had some feeling in my legs. I could move them at least a little bit the entire time.

After the epidural, we just waited. And waited. And waited. I got some rest (though not sleep, just rest), and thought about all the foods that I wished I was eating, the possible names for the baby, and what on earth I was going to do with 2 kids. Things progressed bit by bit. At 3:30, the nurse announced that I was 8cm dilated. She also thought she felt a hand by the head. And then there was a gush of blood. Which maybe was normal and maybe wasn't (I was kind of vague on the details there), so she got Dr Fagnant to come check things out, just in case. He confirmed that I was at an 8, a 9 with a contraction, and the baby was facing sideways. He was a little concerned that my cervix had torn and that was what the blood was from, so he said he'd check that out after the birth. And he didn't feel a hand. So he left. The nurses rolled me to the side in an effort to get the baby turned the right way (face down). And then the nurses left. It was about 4.

About 1 minute later, it felt like the epidural had just stopped working. HUGE contraction. LOTS of pain. And the sudden, INTENSE urge to push. I never felt anything like that with Julia. I started crying and telling Clark to hit the epidural button. I think he did hit it, but they say it takes 10-15 minutes for that to kick in. And that urge to push was overwhelming. So then I continued to cry and told him to hit the nurse button. She came right in, checked me, and said, "We're there! It's time to push." Hallelujah, this had to be over soon. So she started getting everything ready: called the cardiac nurse, told her my heart rate would likely increase, because I was delivering; got the stuff for baby ready; got my feet and legs into position. And then she had to make a call and ask where everyone was, because we were ready to deliver and she was the only one there. So everyone finally got there, and the pushing began.

With Julia, I pushed for 2.5 hours, and they used a vacuum to get her out. So I was a little concerned that this could take a while. Dr F decided to let me push a little bit, see how I did on my own. 3 pushes per contraction. I'd say I did pretty well, because 3 contractions later, she was here! 4:28pm. 7lbs, 6oz. 19.5 inches.

We named her Ella Joy.

(These pictures are the same ones that Clark posted. Because they are the best ones.)

Julia is generally delighted to be a big sister. She is a great helper. And she still calls her Bing most of the time. I've decided not to make an issue out of it.

The Pending Arrival of Baby Bing

For those of you who don't follow me on Facebook (and really, I don't blame you), the date is set: I am on the schedule for an induction bright and early Monday morning. Like 5:30am early, provided nothing crazy happens. It's still possible that I'll go into labor on my own before that point, I was 80% effaced and almost a 3 at my appointment on Tuesday, so stay tuned.

If you want the live blogging updates, you should check Clark's blog.

Oh, that Julia

• We have this book, Halloween with Morris and Boris. (Yes, quality children's literature, I know.) Julia picked it up a while ago and decided to read it to herself. She titled it, "Morris and Boris and Natasha go Trick or Treating." I think I like it better.
• When watching fireworks: "Oooo, sparkles! I want to eat them!"
• We had an incident at the grocery store the other day. I was pretty upset with Julia. We came home, calmed down, and had naps. After her nap, she didn't come out of her room like she usually does. After about half an hour, I went in there to see what was going on. She was quietly playing in her bed. She looked at me and said, "Are you mad?" Guess she didn't want to come out and face the wrath of mom.
• The other day she laid her head down on my lap and said, "I'm so happy to see you."
• We came home from our walk and she said,
  "We're at Taiz's house!"
  "Isn't this your house? Do you live here?"
  "Yes!"
  “So it’s your house! Does Daddy live here?”
  “Yes!”
  “So it’s Daddy’s house! Do I live here?”
  “No.”
  “I don’t? Where do I live?”
  “At the doctors.”
  So true. So so true.
• She'll be bawling her eyes out, and if you ask her if she wants something she'll still find it in her to say, "No, thank you."

The Ultimate Update

This will be the last update on the dog. I promise. Because guess what?

Our neighbors seem to have moved! Packed up a U-Haul and drove away!

Not that they were bad people, this dog thing is the only problem we've ever had with them. But now I have no anxiety about what to do when the dog is barking in the middle of the night and I'm trying to sleep because the baby is sleeping. WOO!

Instead I can focus all that anxiety on the fact that I don't really remember what to do with a newborn, and I have no idea how to handle 2 kids. Delightful!

Have I mentioned that I have less than 3 weeks until my due date? And Dr F would like to induce me by 39 weeks, earlier if possible, and certainly NOT go past my due date? Yikes.

For Inquiring Minds

Dog update:

No barking last night. Phew! I think the neighbors are home.

I think I got more sleep, but it was still a restless night. I kept dreaming that I had the baby, and then I lost her. Not that she died, like I couldn't find her. And she was suddenly 3 or 4 days old, and I'd never even fed her! Talk about a neglectful mother. And then I did find her, and she was sitting up, and I was flipping out that I'd missed her whole life. Pregnancy dreams rock!

Also, it's hot. But we're coping! (I will not complain about the heat, I will not complain about the heat. . . )

Feeling less than great.

Hi! Remember me? I'm that girl who used to blog. Now I just take naps and go to the doctors office instead. Oh, and I'm growing a human being. Which takes a lot of energy. And some planning/preparation. As it turns out.

But I wanted to take a moment to update you all on my fabulously boring life. Because I know you are all dying to know the latest and greatest. And I want to whine.

A few weeks back I started a little program called, "Feel Great in 8." It's really a competition, but I have no expectation that I'll win, seeing as I'm pregnant. Just that I'll feel great. Basically you are on teams and have a point system, and the team with the most points at the end of 8 weeks wins. Points are awarded for exercise, eating good foods (negative points for bad foods), eating 5 fruits and vegetables, reading your scriptures, praying, drinking water, not eating after 8, weight loss, and the "daily calendar." The daily calendar has things like write a thank you note, take a bath, read for 20 minutes, etc. We started right on my 32 weeks pregnant mark. So, provided I have this baby by my due date, I'm expecting a HUGE weight loss right at the end. To make up for all the weeks of not losing weight.

Overall, I've enjoyed doing this. I do feel better, and my heartburn issues have all but resolved. I think an overload of sugar was causing my woes. And I have noticed it's curbed my weight gain, which is great. Especially since every week when I weigh in at the doc's, he makes a note when I gain more than a pound. Not because he thinks I'm fat, but because he is constantly worried that an excessive amount of weight gain could mean a fluid build up, which could mean heart failure. So watching my weight is a good thing in the end. Within reason, of course. Anyway, I generally feel great. Except when I really really REALLY just want to eat a bisquick biscuit, and I can't because it has white flour. That's the hardest thing, the no white flour rule. Kills me.

Also, it has been motivation to actually buckle down and read my scriptures every day, which is wonderful. It makes me happier, it makes me more patient, it lightens the load. If that was all I got out of this, it would be totally worth it.

So this week one of the things we are supposed to do is get 8 hours of sleep (or at least be in bed long enough to give your body 8 hours of rest). I thought I'd give it a go last night, and was in bed, glasses off (ie not reading) by 10:00. Julia generally doesn't get up before 6, so I thought I was safe.

Well, I was in bed for 8 hours. But I don't think that you could really say that I got anywhere close to 8 hours of sleep. Did Julia wake up in the night? No. Was I just so uncomfortable from being pregnant that I couldn't sleep? No, though that didn't help. The culprit was, once again, my neighbors' stupid dog. Whining, barking, generally making lots of disturbing noises. Right outside my window. All. Night. Long.

This is not the first time I've wanted to kill that dog. Oh, no. Last week I believe the neighbors were out of town for a a few days, maybe even a week. And that dog sounded like it was dying. Dying a cruel, cruel death. Actually, it sounded like an elephant was dying. But really, I think it was just lonely. It got so bad that after night #3 of no sleep (plus dealing with sick Julia one night and sick Clark another [who is seriously the loudest barfer you have ever heard, I'm surprised the dog wasn't shocked into silence]), I finally called the police. Was that the right thing to do? They sent someone over to check on the dog. I don't really know what the result was, since I declined to have the officer tell me what was going on (it was 10pm and I was going to bed), but my guess is he saw the dog, the dog seemed fine, and there is nothing else he could do. The neighbors came back the next day, and I figured that was the end.

BUT NO. I don't know if they left again yesterday or what, but I am not a happy camper this morning. And we didn't even have the windows open last night! Windows closed, and I still heard that dog yapping it up, disturbing my slumber all night long. I will not be happy if this continues. Tonight, or even in the future, when I will have a newborn and every ounce of sleep will be vital to my sanity.

So, gentle reader, what, if anything, can I do about this? Perhaps it should be noted that we have never actually met this neighbor, other than the one time we kicked a ball into their yard. She seemed nice. But I don't know that introducing ourselves with a, "Shut your dumb dog up!" would really encourage neighborly behavior. And my guess is this is only a problem when they aren't there, because surely, SURELY, they wouldn't be awful enough to let their dog howl like that when they are home, right? Any thoughts?

Weekly Quote 6/21/10

"Let's look death in the face and say, 'Whatever, man. . .'"

This was from Lost. Did you know that Clark and I are now addicted to Lost? It's true. How this happened, I don't know. But the first 5 seasons are up on Hulu, and the last season comes out on DVD August 24th, so we're set. None of this waiting a week (or a summer!) between episodes. Unless we somehow manage to finish the 5th season before August. Which is possible. Because we are addicted. And watch it every moment we get.

New quote up!

Weekly Quote 6/14/10

" We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields."

From In Flanders Fields. Beautiful poetry. Just beautiful.

New quote up!