Harrison Glen, born Wednesday 2/25/09 at 2:56pm. Weight is 6lbs 4oz, length is 19 inches.
And yeah, ya know how they say second labors are soooo much easier than the first? Not so much with this one. Brutal. Will post birth story and pics when I've had a chance to recover.
I am being induced today. Holy shit.
BP was 161/100 and Dr. Fab said that since I am a few days shy of 37 weeks, the risks of keeping Tater inside outweigh the benefits. We're packing now and heading to the hospital in a few minutes.
We'll keep you posted. Send us all good thoughts please.
Is it just me, or does the new Illinois governor look a lot like George Washington?
At least it doesn't look like he has wooden teeth.
Don't mind me...just trying to occupy my mind while I have these weird Braxton Hicks contractions every 10 minutes or so.
...here is the latest quote from the Palin family, this time from Bristol, the new mommy:
""I'd love to [be] an advocate to prevent teen pregnancy because it's not, like, a situation that you would want to strive for, I guess," Bristol said.
Speaks for itself. Geez.
I know I have been relatively quiet as of late, and that's just because not much is happening right now...other than waiting. I'm 35 weeks and 2 days today, so I am settling into that end-of-pregnancy lethargy and zombie-ness. I make my way through my days as best I can, then at night, when the work is done and Grace is in bed, I flop down on the couch and inevitably fall asleep just so Aaron can wake me up so I can drag myself to bed. I am asleep before my head hits the pillow and then I am woken up several times in the middle of the night, usually by the stray charley horse in my legs or by all of the fluid that needs to be dealt with in my compressed bladder. I thank God everyday that my husband is nesting, because I certainly don't have the energy for all that noise. Thanks to him, the house is cleaner and more organized than it has been since I moved in, and it is ready for the baby.
The birthing class is over, the crib is assembled, the Costco membership has been purchased, the chest freezer is installed and ready for breastmilk (thanks for the idea, LWWB), the baby clothes are washed, and Gracie's sibling class is coming up on Saturday. Really and truly, all that's left is the waiting.
I had my first of two weekly prenatal appointments today, and the BP is back up, but that's no surprise. Dr. Fab keeps saying, "37 weeks would be perfect," but we have yet to schedule an induction, mostly because she always wants to wait to see what the next appointment brings. All of my NST's have been perfect--they always show lots of little happy accelerations from Tater and the stray contractions, which are becoming a tad more frequent and noticeably more like period cramps than just plain belly hardening. Today I had the Group B strep test done and when Dr. Fab checked me, she indicated that baby has definitely dropped some in my pelvis and that I'm about 40% effaced, but no dilation as of yet. She sounded confident in telling us that she didn't think labor would start this week or this weekend.
I guess there's some more waiting in store...
Aaron and I decided to skip Valentine's Day this year. A few months back, we scheduled ourselves to attend an all-day birthing class on V-Day so it's not like we would have tons of time for a whirlwind of romantic activities that day anyway, but the whole idea of Valentine's Day is making me a little nauseous this year. And it's not just the hormones...
First off, these jewelry stores have some real balls advertising their diamond V-Day jewelry "sales" with the economy being the way it is. My daughter watches maybe an hour of TV every day, and she knows that stupid "he went to Jared" tag line by heart because of their ubiquitous commercials. They drive me crazy. Does the average American family have an extra $700 to spend on a diamond tennis bracelet for Mommy? If the average family is anything like ours, the answer is no. And if you do have some extra cash hanging around, my thought is that you'd be better off throwing it at your mortgage or paying down your other debt instead of buying a piece of jewelry that's going to sit on a dresser 90% of the time anyway. I just don't understand the extravagance that is still being encouraged in these troubled times. Know what I'm sayin'?
And I'm tired of the notion that one specific day needs to be designated in order to express your undying love and devotion to your partner/spouse/significant other. It's like the fiancee preparing for her wedding day instead of preparing herself for her marriage. Yes, the day itself is nice, but what about the rest of your relationship? Why should we reserve the nice date nights and the chocolates and the "I love you's" for Valentine's Day? Aren't those things even MORE appreciated when they come for no reason at all, when it's not all forced and syrupy? Frankly, I'd rather have my husband bring me a bouquet of flowers he picked himself in the middle of summer instead of feeling forced to buy me a dozen overpriced roses on V-Day.
So, this year I proposed a skip on the whole V-Day noise--no flowers, no gifts, no fancy schmancy dinner out-- and Aaron seemed just fine with that. After all, we'll be spending the day preparing for the arrival of our son, and I really can't think of anything more romantic than that.
Today is February 10th, and here is a shot of my backyard...here in Milwaukee, WI, which is generally a frozen wasteland during this time of year:
That one little patch of snow that's remaining is all like, "You're not taking me down! I'm staying here!! I don't care that it's almost 60 degrees!" And wow, our lawn will need some work come Spring.
Yes, I said 60 degrees. In Milwaukee, in February. It's unbelievable. And it's not going to last. Today is our one day of warm weather before temperatures plunge back into the 30's and you can be sure the snow and related unpleasantness won't be far behind. That Mother Nature is one mean tease.
This feels like the calm before the storm. Today, all is peaceful and cheery...the birds are singing, the sun is shining, the windows are open and a nice warm(ish) breeze is floating around the house. What is lurking around the corner? Are we about to be walloped with a foot of snow and temps below zero?
Sorta feels like that in my life right now. I had a doctor's appointment today, and my doctor called me "boringly normal". My BP was good (for once). My weight is good. Baby looked great during the NST. And although Dr. Fab mentioned she'd like to see me deliver around 37 or 38 weeks, she did bring up the possibility of going into labor naturally (provided it's before 40 weeks). Is this the calm before the storm? Is this our chance to breathe and relax and step back a little before our own little storm comes blowing in?
So I totally stole this off another blog, but there is this website out there called Wordle and if you type your blog's URL into the website, it spits out a little word picture of what your blog is all about. I went for it, and here is what it came up with:
I find it interesting that "bed" is the biggest word on here. Hmmm...
Yeah, I know this story is weeks old, but today I was surfing around on my news sites and came across this link on cnn.com:
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/05/1549.voice.recorder.tape/index.html
It is the audio of what happened in the last three minutes or so of that US Airways flight that ended up in the Hudson River a few weeks back. I listened to the audio three times and it still amazes me how CALM everyone on the recording sounds, including and especially the pilot, Captain Sullenberger. The last thing he says on the recording is "We're gonna be in the Hudson," and he says it like he's saying, "I'm gonna be at the store. We need milk and eggs." There is no indication of fear or anxiety in his voice, and that just blows my mind. Here's how the recording would sound if I, the Queen of the Fear of Flying, happened to be piloting the plane:
"OH MY GOD, WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!!!!!!!!!! I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!!!!!!!!!! I THINK I JUST POOPED!!!!!!!!! OH, THERE'S THE HUDSON RIVER...OH MY GOD, WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!!!!!!!!!"
If THAT recording showed up on cnn.com, I would be totally embarrased. So let's all be glad I'm not a pilot. And even if I was piloting the plane and the outcome was the same and everyone survived, I'm pretty sure President Obama wouldn't call me and invite me to his inauguration. I'm pretty sure he would call me and tell me to watch some footage of him in the debates so I could learn about grace under pressure. And then he would probably sign some sort of proclamation stating that I could never fly a plane again, and I think that would be ok with me. I definitely wouldn't have gotten invited to hang out on the sidelines at the Super Bowl.
Moral of this story: If Sully ain't piloting the plane, I ain't flying. Also, birds aren't taking me out, so good luck getting me back on a plane anytime soon.
P.S. Does typing "President Obama" give anyone else happy shivers, or is it just me??
...and OMG. This is the best lineup that I think I have ever seen for Bonnaroo. You can check it out at Bonnaroo's site, but here are the highlights (in my opinion):
Phish
The Decemberists
Ben Harper
Beastie Boys
Nine Inch Nails
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Of Montreal
MGMT
And oh yeah...the headliner for the weekend? Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. I don't even care about them. I mean, c'mon!! THE DECEMBERISTS?!?!? NIN?!?! BEN HARPER!?!? The only notable acts missing from this year's lineup are Ben Folds and Death Cab for Cutie, but they were both there last year and we got to see them then, so I suppose it's all good.
Seeing the lineup today made me clutch my chest and gasp for air. Why? Because Aaron and I had agreed NOT to go to Bonnaroo this year. Tater will only be a couple of months old when the 'Roo rolls around, and I put my foot down and said that I won't leave him for a long weekend when he is that little, especially since I plan to nurse him. Aaron put his foot down and said no, we can't take him with us because Tennessee in June is too hot (even though I offered up the idea of renting an RV with AIR CONDITIONING). I could bend and tell Aaron to just go and have a good time but then again, um, no. I know myself and I know I would be pissed off the whole time he would be gone. Clearly, we are out of options. Ugh.
Whaddya think the chances are that all of these fabulous bands are making the festival circuit this year and will also be playing Lollapalooza, which is coming up in Ausgust in Chicago? Really, Lollapalooza would be much more feasible for us this year than Bonnaroo. C'mon, throw me a bone, here...
What is it about Ikea that makes the (relatively) frugal abandon all frugality and spend like the credit card is expiring, like, tomorrow? Is it the Swedish meatballs? Is it the fun Swedish product names? Is it the awe-inspiring shopping cart escalators??
We headed down to Ikea on Saturday for our annual "Aaron just got his bonus, yippee, let's go to Ikea!!" shopping trip, and we had the best intentions. Really, we did---we had a list! And a plan!! We had planned to just get the essentials--some storage boxes that would fit in our living room coffee table, a table large enough to accommodate our mail and a small shredder (since handling and organizing mail seems to be an issue in our household), and a small toy box for the toys that migrate from Grace's room to the living room (new rule--all toys that are kept in living room must fit in toy box or they must go back to bedroom). Oh, and we did end up buying all of those things. We also bought this:
Yep, we bought Grace a new bed. And a shell-shaped light. And a frilly, castle-like curtain thing for above her bed.
We hadn't even intended on visiting the children's section at Ikea this weekend, but we were drawn in somehow. It all started when we were attempting to scuttle Grace AWAY from the children's section but the sounds of kids playing on the little tables and chairs and crawling around in the little tents soon drew Grace in, and before we knew it, Aaron and I were both eyeing the furniture and the bedding and considering how this stuff might look in our house. And then I saw this pretty little bed and thought, "Really, how practical IS it that Grace has a queen-sized bed? She's four! Surely a twin bed would be a much better option for her! Perhaps her recent sleep issues are all because she's in such a BIG bed all by herself and she feels lost in it! This could be the answer to our prayers! And it looks like a princess bed! I could sell this to her as a princess bed, and surely she will want to spend all night in it!!" And then I showed the bed to Aaron, and he was all like, "Huh, think of the space we would save with having a smaller bed in her room! We would ACTUALLY have room for all of her toys here in her room, and we wouldn't have to keep some in the living room! You are truly wise, wife of mine!!"
We showed the bed to Grace who immediately saw the princess-ness of it, and oh! What about the pretty castle-like curtain for around the bed?!? Look at those shell lights! They most definitely fit with the Little Mermaid motif that we already have going in her room! And, Grace assured us that she would absolutely, positively spend the entire night sleeping in her bedroom if she could have this bed. Problem solved!!
And so, we bought the bed and Aaron spent yesterday afternoon putting the bed together and then Grace and I got it all prettified with her new princess sheets and her other princess paraphenalia. Then each of us rolled around on the new bed for a while, marveling at how comfortable and cute it is!! Grace even went to bed so easily last night that I was sure that all of our sleep problems were behind us. This whole new bed idea was a stroke of genius!!
I'm sure those of you who are parents and who are clearly smarter than me can tell me what happened next...she was awake less than two hours after she fell asleep, wanting to come and sleep in our room. And instead of having a spacious queen-sized bed to soothe her in, I had to wedge my way into this twin-sized bed with her and try to find a comfortable position in which I could rub her back and stroke her hair and wait for her to fall back asleep. Two hours LATER, she was back in her little bed that we have stationed on our bedroom floor. Sigh.
At least we DO have more space in her room for her stuff, and the new toy box and mail table look pretty darn good in our living room. Anyone need a queen-sized bed?
