Monday, August 31, 2009

Monday Aug 31 Day 18


We got a visit from our friend Karen who is pregnant due in February. Thank you to Karen for letting us just talk and talk about what we learned/think we learned.

Today was the first time Henry fell asleep on my chest. When he was just born and after they counted his fingers and toes, cleared his throat and nose and wiped him off, they put him on my chest. It was our first skin to skin time. Today, we were both wearing more clothes, but he slept on my chest. It was wonderful.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Sunday Aug 30, day 17


Our first tub bath. Henry, so far, loves the water and he loves the warm bathroom. The overhead fan noise is a fan favorite as well.

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Sat Aug 29 Day 16


Tony and Rachel visited us today and they brought the most delicious frozen yogurt. Thanks guys!

It is always nice to visit with people. We have not been getting out much at all so when people come to us, it has been just wonderful.

Today Henry and I found a new talent. I can put Henry to sleep if I sing to him. It could be classic rock, the Indigo Girls or G n R, it doesn't matter. Henry can be calmed with singing. He likes it when Phillip sings too! There really is something to a baby recognizing his mother and father's voices. Henry actually looks around when he hears me talking. I can't wait until he can recognize me by sight as well.

I can't explain how much I love this baby. When I look at him, he is so small and so smooth and he smells so good and I love him and I tell him all the time and I can't wait for him to know me. I can't wait to hear his voice.

Friday, August 28, 2009

Fri Aug 28--Two Weeks Old!


Grandma Janet and Grandpa Ted left today. I'm going to be honest and tell you that I cried my eyes out when the door closed. I was inconsolable. I just got overwhelmed again at how alone we are and how far away our families really are.

We are trying a new feeding schedule based on talking with the doctor yesterday. Since Henry is gaining weight, we should now feed him every two hours during the day and let him sleep as long as he wants at night. Going from every three hours to every two is hard and it feels even more like I am feeding him all the time.

Also because of our doctor's visit, we are now practicing Tummy Time multiple times during the day. Henry favors one side of his face, so his head is always turned one way. What's funny is that he favors one side while awake and the other while he sleeps. Anyway, while he is on his tummy, we can get him to turn his head when Phillip talks to him. There's just something about daddy's voice, I guess.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Thu Aug 27 Day 14


Our second doctor's appointment:

Ted and Janet went with us and helped, Thank God. The more hands, the better. Seriously, I do not know how anyone does this alone. My heart and prayers are with them.

All I could think about when we parked and walked to the building was how I felt the last time we were here. I felt terrible. So ten days later, I am feeling better. I'm not 100%, I still can't sit on chairs without cushions, but I feel better.

They weighed Henry and he is 8lbs 11oz! The doctor is happy, so we are happy. This means that he is eating and gaining weight. Thank God again. Breastfeeding is very challenging. Janet and Emily (via telephone) have been helping me a lot.

Dr. Lubin also says that Henry should not go on any plane trips until after he is at least three months old. This is not working out with our plans to go back to Knox for my 10th reunion, but keeping Henry healthy and safe is the priority.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Wednesday Aug 26 Day 13

Our first stroller walk! The Snap and Go works great!

It has been SO hot here, that we don't get out that often. So today we took advantage of a sort of early morning and went for a walk. I wondered about putting sun block on Henry's face and decided that I would ask the doctor about it tomorrow.

AND Henry's umbilical cord fell off today!! It was weird. I went to change his diaper and it was gone. It wasn't in his diaper or in his clothes so I looked around me and there it was on the floor. EW! Phillip wouldn't let me keep it.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Tuesday Aug 25 Day 12

Today everyone came with me to school to help me unpack art supplies. I shouldn't do it by myself because I am still recovering and I wanted to have as many hands help me as possible. Thank God for grandparents! This means that this was Henry's first trip to DP! I thought he wouldn't get to meet a lot of people since we are still out on break, but I was wrong. He got to meet Vaca, Ben, Martin, Betty, Coach, Sheryl and Emily. A few students were even around. It was pretty exciting.

Then we went to buy diapers at Sam's Club. Guess what? They don't sell newborn size diapers at Sam's. What a bunch of BS. So we had to be happy with a huge box of wipes. I am happy.

Monday, August 24, 2009

Monday Aug 24 Day 11


Henry might have clogged tear ducts. His eyes are getting so goopy and sometimes he can't open one of them after he wakes up. This is heartbreaking! We looked it up online with Janet and found something about expressing a little breast milk into his eye. The milk has all these great antibodies that could help unclog the tear duct. I will do anything.

Sunday, August 23, 2009

10th day! Sunday August 23

Grandpa Ted and Grandma Janet arrive today. Phillip can't wait to show off how he has been teaching Henry how to play with toys. We have these soft block toys from Jenny, Jonathan and Ruby. Phillip stack them for Henry and gets Henry to knock them down. He does it every time. Is it too early to think that my baby is a genius? Or that we will probably spend many more hours telling him not to knock stuff over...?

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Saturday Aug 22 (Day 9)


I have been using lanolin on my sore nipples (if you don't want to hear about nipples, choose another blog to read) after I take a shower. This and the green cabbage leaves have really helped me out.

So the lanolin is safe to use while breastfeeding. You don't even have to wipe it off before you feed the baby. The reason why I am in LOVE with it is because after Henry is all finished, not only does he act "milk drunk", his face looks super greasy from the lanolin. I have taken to calling him Chicken Face because he looks like an old drunk rummy who just ate a whole bucket of fried chicken.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Friday August 21


We went for our second walk ever. We decided to go a bit further than around the block and walked to Patty's house. We used the Sleepy Wrap (www.sleepywrap.com) and it was pretty successful. I got way too tired, way too quickly. I blame it on the recovery and not on carrying Henry. I carried him for over nine months, he shouldn't be able to wear me out that fast.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Day 7 August 20

Another walk, this time to the bank and with Henry in the Sleepy Wrap. Super successful. Walking is getting a little bit easier. I can feel more able to walk at a slow pace instead of a ssssllllllloooooooooooooowwwww pace.

We wore Baby Legs for the first time.

Myriel brought us Taco Bake!

I should also say that we have been so grateful for the food Patty made and brought us, that Amanda bought (El Pollo Loco!!) and for the desserts Daisy and Scott brought.

We have also been getting lots of lovely cards in the mail. We are so blessed with friends and family. Thank you for thinking of us. I can't express how much it helps to know that we really aren't alone.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Wednesday Aug 19 Day 6

Breastfeeding gets better and then it gets harder. We have had some trouble getting him to be calm enough to latch on. Sometimes it takes ten minutes to remind him that he knows how to do this. Eating should be a natural response, but when you have never done it before, it must be a wild ride. That seems to be a theme with Phillip and I: remember he has never done ANY of this before.

More firsts!

First walk around the block. I wore him in a sling. Walking is still lots of trouble. I go S.L.O.W

First outfit(s): We dressed him up because Christina and Kristi came to see him so we thought he ought to wear clothes. the first outfit was not only too big, but he kinda messed it up with poop.

Poop Interjection: At the doctor on Monday, Dr. Lubin said that Henry should poop about once a day, but to know that breast fed babies can often go a few days without pooping. Well, we hadn't changed a poopie diaper since Sunday night so all day Monday we kinda freaked out. No poop. Then no poop all day Tuesday. He was super gassy. He farted on Patty TWICE! So sorry Patty! But then we gave him the bath that night, so around midnight, POOP! We were so pleased! Little did we know what was in store for us.

Wednesday (Day 6) ended up being a poop factory day. Wow. And Henry has taken to peeing on us and himself almost every time we change his diaper. We have tried everything to keep the pee to a minimum but to no avail. We asked friends what they've done, we will ask my cousin when we see her on Friday. I really hope this is just a day six phase.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Tuesday August 18 Day 5


First Bath!

We thought he would totally hate it. He hates getting his diaper changed so we concluded that naturally, he would hate getting bathed all over. We were WRONG! He loved it! He was so calm. Our bathroom has a fan/light combo that I also think creates heat. I was sweating through my clothes, but he was in heaven. I loved washing his hair. He is so sweet when he looks right at you.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Day 4

First doctor visit. We left the house -- all three of us together -- and we were almost on time!

Walking officially SUCKS. It feels like gravity and a bowling ball are in my underwear if my underwear was my vagina and was held together with stitches (too much?).

It was our first full day at home. Last night was tough. My milk has come in (Wow, more pain? Are you for real?) and after the 3:00 AM feeding I went to sleep with a cold wash cloth on each boob and an ice pack between my legs. It was worth waking up shivering. Oh, they hurt so bad.

Back to Henry. Geez, this isn't MY First 100 Days!

He now weighs 7 pounds, 13 ounces, so he's gaining his weight back and that made the doctor happy, so it makes us happy, too. His jaundice isn't too bad and should clear up soon if he keeps eating well and hangs out in some indirect sunlight. And poops. Very important.

Guess what I'm doing right now.

Laying on my tummy! I haven't done this in F-O-R-E-V-E-R! Careful floor. Don't touch my boobs!

Henry is big for a newborn, but he is so tiny. He is a sack of wiggly bones. He doesn't sleep as much as I thought. He needs to be convinced to sleep. We are trying to get a routine going of breastfeeding one side, then diaper change, then breast feed on the other side with a burp in there, too. He may sleep a little afterward, as he is a baby.

Today marks the first spit up! If we'd taken a photo, you would have seen chunky and clear spit up that slid down between my boobs. That's what skin-to-skin gets you.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

Day Three: Going Home!

Sitting sucks.

Breastfeeding is hard.

Waiting to go home.

Waiting for the doctor to check me and clear me to leave.

Waiting for Henry's doctor to call and clear him to leave.

Once we get home and Mom and Dad leave, we realized the reality around us. We are alone.

I'm bewildered. He's really here. Nothing is the same. I get scared a lot

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Day 2, 8/15/2009

What a blur.

We are getting to know Henry.

That night he peed all over himself and us while we changed his diaper. Little did we know this would be a recurring theme.

That day he got circumcised. :(

Henry and I are both in pain, only he won't remember his pain.

Phillip got to/needed to go home, mostly to get socks. He took a shower and changed clothes, but socks were his big ticket item.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Day One: Delivery

Oh.

My.

...God.

Let me tell you: no one can prepare you for being on the opposite side of every TV/movie birth you've ever seen. It was painful, surreal and scary.

I went into labor on Thursday, August 13 at around 3:45 when my water broke - no splash, just a trickle - like you're peeing your pants but you have no control over it. I wasn't sure what it was and after it happened two or three times and after a phone call to the doctor and one to Emily (our family pregnancy expert) we headed to the hospital... when I was supposed to be going a few hours later to be induced!

No matter. St. Joe's was ready for me regardless.

Long story shortened:
-our nurses in L&D (Viki and Jodi) were wonderful
-I labored with weak or unsuccessful contractions for a couple hours, then was given Pitocin, which increases contractions and their intensity. They just kept getting worse and worse; think CRAZY menstrual cramps X 10 with lower back pain AND you are hooked up to 2 monitors and an I.V. so you're stuck in bed. (frowny face). This went on until midnight.
-Phillip was with me every moment, helping me breathe, focus, stretch, everything. Then at 12:00, after an hour or so of talking about it, I knew I couldn't do it any more. It hurt too bad. We called for Jodi to talk pain medication options and she checked my dilation: still after 6 more hours, I was only less than 2 cm. Above it all, I really didn't want to have a C-section and they only let you labor with your water broken for (I think) 12 hours before that's the option.
-We agreed to an epidural, during which they kick out the father!! Apparently there has been a problem with dads passing out. Yikes. So Phillip had to wait in the waiting room way far away, watching Bernie Mac reruns and freaking out. He says he has no idea how 50's dads did it, waiting during the ENTIRE birth.
-The epidural, while the best thing I could have done, was scary and kinda awful to get put in. They make you sit on the bed in this crazy hunched over position, thank God the nurse is there to help and lean on. I think I squeezed the hell out of Jodi's hand. And you CAN'T move. that is scary in itself. And you get a bee sting shot of something to numb you, but you can still feel inside your body so you feel the catheter thing go into your spine. That is when I jerked and Jodi says "you can't move" and I almost start crying. I'm going to be paralyzed and its going to be my fault. I keep saying, "I'm sorry" and she says "It's okay, don't be sorry." This whole time, I'm having ouchy contractions. It kinda sucks.
-On the other hand, once its over, it was awesome. Phillip is finally brought back and it takes about an hour to kick in, but during that hour Jodi talked with us about books and movies and she was a great distraction and I will love her forever for it.
-So it's 2am and the epidural is working and she tells us to try and sleep. Phillip sleeps on the couch and I sleep off and on. I have to move around every hour or less if the monitors aren't working right so I get some sleep.
-I wake up at 5:30 and I want to watch the sunrise, unfortunately there wasn't any real sunrise due to the "marine layer" also known as SMOG. I am feeling slight contractions and the urge to pee and it happens about ten times in a half hour so I call Jodi, she checks me out and I am dialated 9cm now. YAY!
-In the next two and a half hours we have a shift change, Viki comes back on, McKenzie says she will deliver, then says she won't so Dr. Choi will be delivering. Sigh. I learn how to push and do so with Viki and Phillip at least ten times before Dr. Choi shows up, gives me an episiotomy (OUCH!) and Henry is delivered! What a release and then I just laid there.
-Phillip stayed with the baby while he was checked out and then they gave him to me. We spent about an hour together before he went to the nursery with Phillip.
-Totally surreal.
-and now he is mine.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Stuff we did the week(s) we waiting for the baby to arrive

So a day before our due date, Patty stops by for breakfast tea and a chat and tells us: you need to live life. We had been treating each day that week so delicately because we expected to go into labor at any moment. We missed seeing Norman perform because we thought going over the hill was too far. So since we are overdue and are currently planning on the induction, I thought I would make a list of all the different things we did or experienced in the days up to and after the due date celebrating the last few days of "just the two of us" and the pregnancy in general.

We went to the Santa Monica Pier, ate hot dogs, corn on the cob and french fries.
We sat on the beach far away from the crowd and watched a guy fight the ocean.
We strolled the Third Street Promenade and this is where Phillip bought me my "Push Presents": a charm bracelet we will engrave with the baby's name and birthday and a Peridot ring (Peridot is the August birthstone).
We went to the Skirball Museum to see their Superhero exhibits. They let teachers in for FREE!
We went to the LA Zoo with Mike and Amanda.
I got a one hour massage for $20. I am not kidding you!
We got up early, went for walks and then went back to sleep.
We went to the movies and saw "Funny People."
We went to the Huntington with Patty for High Tea! The best around!

I bet I've missed something, but we really tried to enjoy and live life.
Great advice from a great friend.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Skin and Feet (mine not the baby's)

Quick mentions

Skin: I broke out a lot on my face pretty badly twice during this pregnancy. Hormones are lovely. I also had super, super dry skin on my cheeks for most of these months. However, once it got to be hot (for anyone who is not aware, we live in southern California), I have not struggled with the dry skin or as many pimples. Weird, because I sweat all the time!

One of the recommendations I received for the dry skin was to keep chugging water. This is great advice and I just can't do it. I drink iced tea almost all day every day. It has water in it! I'm just terrible at being faithful to drinking just water. I know I need to get better or at least make sure that I am drinking green tea or decaffeinated iced tea while I breast feed. I don't need a caffeinated baby.

I experimented with face lotions and stuck with the Olay brand I have always used.

As for the rest of my skin, I tried using Cocoa Butter lotion for my belly, chest, waist and booty area, but I have to be honest. I hate the smell! I gave up and used a variety of different lotions. My favorite is Bath and Body Works and I used their aromatherapy Lavender (just lavender = yum) and one of their body butters. It is also purple, orchid, I think. I also used Trader Joe's moisturizing cream. I switched off and I have been lucky so far to have only gotten stretch marks on my butt. Not that I ever wear bikinis, but I feel so blessed to be stretch mark free on my belly. The ones on my butt were a surprise, but I'll take them. I did gain a LOT of weight and it went almost entirely to my butt and thighs so it stands to reason there would be a reaction.

My feet. For most of this experience, I did great at work with my Keens and Crocs. It wasn't until after school let out for the summer that I started to notice swelling in my ankles, feet and even my TOES! I had read that this might/would happen and boy did it ever! My shoes are tight! I refuse to buy other shoes. I swear that I will lose this swelling and my feel will shrink back to normal! I love my shoes. I don't want to buy new shoes. I wear my Teva sandles whenever it is appropriate and stuff my feet into my Crocs when I need to be a bit more dressy.

Also, this last month has been the month of foot pain. They just get sore and tired very quickly. Like I said earlier, I gained a bit of weight and my feet are paying for it. I will pay them back, I promise! If only they can hold out for a few more days!

Reflections on the last nine months part two

So when do you tell people that you are pregnant and who do you tell?

I can only say what we decided to do. At first, I didn't want to say anything to anyone. Not even family. I didn't believe it, couldn't believe it. I thought it wasn't true and it would be horrible to tell this and have it not be true. Phillip is much more practical and logical and he believed/knew it was true. We told my family first and we called them on Christmas when they would all be together. I spoke to my sister and asked her if I could tell her something and have her tell everyone else. She agreed and I told her I was pregnant and she excitedly told everyone in the room. The way Sharon tells it, my mom looked her viciously in the eye staring her down, to make sure she wasn't lying. That night I got a text from Sharon that said, "I overheard Dad say, 'I have a tough act to follow, but I'm going to be the best grandpa.'" So sweet.

Phillip called his family, spoke to his dad and mentioned it casually. His dad laughed first and then relayed the message to Janet who yelled, "I knew it!" Then we called Emily to tell her. She too, was super excited. She was also pregnant and had Amelia Jane (who Phillip calls AJ) June 10.

So immediate family found out right away and we asked them to keep it to themselves until we felt it was appropriate to tell extended family. Good job everyone and thank you for respecting our wishes.

But there were a few friends who we told right away. The actual first person to find out was our great friend Patty. The night of Mon Dec 22 had us posing in a Live Nativity in front of our church with Patty, her husband Norman and his mom. As we were leaving, Patty, who knew I had had a doctor's appt that day, asked how it went. I couldn't/can't lie so I just blurted it out. Patty was then and always has been completely supportive and generous with her time and baby shower party throwing and everything! I can't imagine experiencing any of this without her by my side. (Thank you, Patty. I don't say it enough.) It's also because of Patty that we have the great Dr. McKenzie too! When God brought Patty into my life, I had no idea how much of an impact she would have. Now I don't think we could live without her.

After telling the family, Phillip and I talked about how delicate and fragile this process could be and if we experienced a miscarriage, there would be a few people we would need as a support system. Family, like I've said before, is so far away. There are people in our lives here, who are surrogate family members. We decided to tell Kristi, Christina, Mike and Amanda. These folks, as well as Patty and Norman, are the people we knew would help us through the good and the bad.

Then we waited at least three months to slowly tell everyone else. I waited as long as I could before I told my students. I slowly told teachers and admin before I told the kids. I had to lie to Justine for weeks because she asked me if I was pregnant almost every time I saw her and I wasn't ready for people to know. As I started to get a bit bigger, I wore scarves that draped over my tummy. Christina got so anxious, she asked me often when I was going to tell people so she wasn't stricken with this secret. (She too sent lovely, heartfelt text messages, that I still have, about being excited and smiling when she thinks about it). The students found out last and I only announced it to one class, my Advisory. I have been the advisor to most of these students for three years and now that they were seniors, they were going to get to have certain celebrations, like Grad Night (like a lock-in at Disneyland and it happens mid-May). They were pressuring me to chaperone every single day and I kept telling them that since I had done it the year before, they were out of luck. I was never doing it again. (This is true, just not the only reason why I didn't want to be up all night). So finally, I sat down with them and said, "Listen guys, I'm not going to chaperone Grad Night because when it comes around, I'll be like six months pregnant." They went crazy and some of them were like, "I knew it!" I asked, "What do you mean, you knew it?" I was so ready to be pissed off if someone leaked it. Christina??? And the response was, "It was either that, or you had stopped going to Curves."

...

This is what it is like to work with teenagers. They are so honest.

I was actually very blessed to work at the school where I work during my pregnancy. Everyone and I mean everyone was very supportive and positive (even though a handful of kids loved to tell me how big I was every. single. day.--- they should see me now). Danny and Stephanie were so quick and ready and willing to watch my classroom multiple times during the day so I could run to the bathroom. I got scolded for running, though. Kristi and Christina threw me a wonderful baby shower (more on those later!) with student and parent help. I only missed two days of work and both were due to exhaustion rather than sickness. Regardless, Karen was always open and willing to do something if I ever needed to leave or call in. I did have to get used to people touching me. It never really bothered me, like it bothers some folks and I think this is because it happened right away and often, so there wasn't time to react negatively. And if the students (and adults) care that much about you to want to be that close to you, then I was fine with it. It was so sweet when a student would tentatively ask me if it was okay. By the time that happened, I had been touched so often, I'm suprised my shirts weren't dirty. ew.

Reflections on the last nine months

I have made a list of items to address in regards to my personal pregnancy experiences. I may not get to them all in one post, but I hope to get to each of them before the baby is born. Once he is born, who cares about being pregnant anymore!!

CLOTHES
I was officially diagnosed with my pregnancy on the first day of my holiday break: Monday December 22, 2008. As you can imagine, I got some clothes for Christmas (including a super comfortable pair of orange velour pants from Phillip). How naive I was then. I had no idea just how much my body was going to change. I actually wear those orange pants in most of my early "belly" pictures. Fortunately, due to consistent exercise at Curves over the past two years, I had lost enough weight to merit the purchases of smaller pants. Thank God, I hadn't thrown away my old pants.

I also benefited greatly from the generosity of friends and family. Tracey gave me a great skirt and the Belly Band (which came in very handy once my old pants started to hurt when I sat down). Kristi gave me shirts and jeans someone had mistakenly given her! Rachel sent me clothes (all the way from Indiana!) including a suit! Marion loaned me an entire box of clothes that included a swimsuit! I quickly grew out of all but one pair of her pants, that I have worn almost every day. Emily, once she was no longer pregnant :), sent me a box of clothes from Illinois. (another swim suit, dresses and fancy shirts!) Patty has given me a pair of jeans to wear once the baby comes and the softest purple shirt ever! I would not have survived without this support. I had to go out and buy very few items and I can't tell you what a lifesaver this love and generosity has been. At the end of this pregnancy, I was also the recipient of a giant bag full of GORGEOUS celebrity cast-off swag. I can't mention the celebrity, but a super great friend of mine was able to snag these cast offs and she passed them on to me. So now, when my friends get pregnant, I will have some cute clothes to also share!

UNDERWEAR
Where to start? Bras or panties?
First of all, it is a crying shame that Victoria's Secret does not carry maternity underwear. I can't express my disappointment in words. Second, when in less than a year, you get measured at VS and the first time, they try to tell you that you are LESS THAN and A cup! (I didn't even know that existed! Is it an A-?) and then six months later, you are a C cup, your life is changing. So I did have to buy all new bras. My old bras are in a box in my closet. I know that I won't need them for awhile, but when you have VS bras, you don't just chuck them when they don't fit anymore! I have even bought nursing bras and tank tops (but I got them from Target because Target cares about pregnant/nursing ladies).

And now undies... One of the first books I read was Jenny McCarthy's book Belly Laughs. (I got it from the library). In the book she talks about many things, but makes a point to mention her switch from thong underwear to granny panties. She is not specific about these being a certain brand of underwear of if they are maternity or not. This is the information I LONGED for! When my VS underwear of old started to hurt (yes! hurt! elastic is not my friend) I first bought bigger styles in my same size and some in the next larger size. Then as I went along, I bought some larger underwear from Target: Fruit of the Loom Hipsters. I picked hipsters because I thought they would fit well under my new belly. They have done all right. Then I broke down and went to Pea In The Pod and spent $18 on three pairs of maternity underwear. DO NOT DO THIS! Their quality totally stinks. One pair immediately ran (the elastic stitching came out) and they have a no return policy on underwear. I still use the other two, but their material is softer in a way that makes it ride, not sit smooth on your skin. If I ever hear of good underwear advice, I won't hesitate to pass it on, but as it stands, even today, one of my biggest pregnancy issues has been... underwear.

Waiting

After hearing about the importance of a baby's first 100 days in other cultures and running across a baby titled Your First 100 days, I knew I wanted to make sure I took the time every day in my new baby's life to document the special, the mundane, or the hilarious. It was last night, while not sleeping very well, that I thought it might be best to do this on the internet. Since our family is thousands of miles away, they can watch their grandson/nephew/great grandson/great nephew's first 100 days via the internet.

Who has time to make several phone calls every day? And yet, we want the details! Tell me what he did today! I'm already over my cell phone minutes this month and I haven't even had the baby yet!

Which brings me to right now. I am currently four days past my due date, not a big deal for most folks, but enough to make me crazy and sad. We are scheduled to go into the hospital on Thursday night (appointment is at 7pm, we need to show up at 6pm for any paperwork, etc) to prepare for an induction that will happen on Friday. Dr. McKenzie (who is just a wonderfully kind, open, honest and sweet soul) says that we will start Thursday night with a prostaglandin to ripen my cervix. They will do this twice that night and then on Friday we will prepare for what happens next. The next interventions are to break my water and then administer Pitocin for contractions.

I had been hoping to do this whole thing naturally, but I know deep down I need to be flexible. I also realize that the Pitocin may make the contractions stronger and closer together, leaving me very little relax time in between. Laboring entirely in the hospital, too is not ideal. I will be hooked up to an IV and machines instead of having the ability to be at home with any position or distraction available. However, I also know that I can be strong and it isn't a failure to get an epidural, some of the strongest women I know have used this intervention. Also, no matter what happens, a healthy baby and a healthy me is the only result we want at the end of the day Friday. I can even accept a c-section if that is the only way to get our ending.

So that is where we stand right now... and while I wait for my sweet baby to arrive safely, I plan to use this time to write about my pregnancy experiences. More than a month ago, Amanda asked if I was keeping a journal. I, unfortunately, did not. Inspired by her question and the many books I read about other women's experiences, I kept putting "journal for Amanda" on my To Do lists. I never did it, but I did make a list of what I would write about. Maybe this baby won't come until I actually write some of these experiences down. So the first blog posts will be about these experiences. If you only want to read about the baby, you should skip ahead.