Easton's Birth Story

I had my 39 week appointment on Wednesday, July 9 and his due date was 4 days later on Sunday, July 13. Ever since my mom arrived on Monday night, I felt like I was then good to go because I knew she would be there to supervise and help me take care of him. And since I knew he was already big and healthy and fully developed, I was ready for him to come and to try and get comfortable again. So we talked to my doctor at that 39 week appointment on Wednesday and decided I would come in on Friday night to be induced.

So Friday evening, my mom took us out to Outback for my final pregnancy meal, which was fitting since that was my go-to restaurant during the last 9 months to get a nice steak and sweet potato. Then we headed up to the hospital at 8:00pm. I got all checked in and hooked up to the monitors and was only dilated to a one. So they gave me some cream to help get me dilating at about 10pm and from there, the plan was to give me a hormone at about 10am to start contraction, expecting the baby to be born at 8pm the following night (Saturday).

So Blaine left to pick up some pillows and blankets and food and we went to bed at 2:00 a.m. At 3:30 I woke up with contractions. They gradually got more painful and more frequent, so the nurse kept checking on me and saw that I was dilating very quickly. I don't really know what time things happened from there, but at 7 centimeters I got an epidural, which I had been nervous about but was actually really easy. I think the anesthesiologist did a great job because I felt comfortable but could still feel pressure when I needed to and was able to move my legs quickly.

Now let us all recognize that I said 7 centimeters. Lots of people have made fun of my "low pain tolerance" but as it turns out, my pain is actually just worse than average so people can't relate ;) So I've been working my 7cm accomplishment into conversations for the past couple of weeks.

Anyways, it all moved pretty quickly. Since we basically pulled an all-nighter and I was on pain killers, I feel like I wasn't really registering how everything was happening or how long certain parts of it took. Blaine and my nurse Ivy coached me through lots of pushing until she said to stop because Easton was ready to come and my doctor wasn't there yet. I remember her calling him a couple of times to say, "We'll be ready for you in 20 minutes, head over!" and "He's ready to come, how close are you?" and they would look out the window for his truck.

So when Doctor Goff walked in, it was go time. It seemed as if in one swift move the nurses got his apron cover thing on and a glove on each hand and we got right down to business. Blaine even got to pull Easton out and cut his cord. He immediately put him on my stomach but then the nurses had to get the meconium out of his lungs and do all of his tests and cleaning and all that. He was born at 9:55am on Saturday, July 12, 2014 and weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces and measured 20.5 inches long and was perfect in every way!

I was exhausted, though, and don't remember much beyond that. I started to breastfeed but was so tired that Blaine had to hold the baby for me. It wasn't like the movies at all. I wasn't screaming and sweating and blaming my husband. And the only time I teared up was when they gave him to me for good after he was all clean. Maybe if there had been some touching, dramatic music playing in the background. 

My mom and sisters were in town and came to the hospital as soon as he was born. Ivy moved me from my labor room to my postpartum room, where we stayed Saturday and Sunday night. My family brought Easton a bouquet and a Welcome Baby balloon, which

matched the balloons and sign waiting for us outside our house on Monday afternoon.

Easton is completely healthy and is growing and changing everyday! 

We love him so much and are so grateful he's here!

Baby's Almost Here!

Last Sunday marked my 39th week of pregnancy! It has gone so fast, I cannot even believe it. We're so excited, but we've also been trying to realize that our everyday lives will change FOREVER!!

In this last week, my feet have really started to hurt extra bad. And I don't know if I was waddling before, but I definitely am now. And I am still big. Quite big :) At my 39 week appt this week my doctor said that my baby is very low and that I've been walking with a bowling ball between my legs (direct quote)

My hospital bag is packed.

I bought a new lens for my dSLR camera (I just have to practice using it).

And his room is all set up! (I'll show you later)

And another exciting investment we've recently made is getting a good vacuum. We have NEVER had a good vacuum. After we were married, we bought one at Target, but they were all so expensive and we learned that you get what you pay for. It was crap. Our neighbors knew about it, so one day they found one on the sidewalk with a sign that said "FREE- Please Take," so they gave it to us and we've been using it for 4 years.

Since our carpet is probably as old as our house and we have a dog that sheds, getting a great vacuum was a priority for me. So I did my research and decided on a vacuum that did not disappoint. It was kind of sad how excited we were about this. As soon as it arrived, sweet Blaine vacuumed all the floors, plus our 3 couches with the upholstery tool, and he dusted with it as well! Jake was scared of it, though.

My mom and sisters came to town Monday night and have already been so helpful getting the house cleaned and his stuff organized and paying attention to Jake, so that has been nice and will be even more helpful when the baby is added to all of that. My 11-year-old sister even threw me the most fun and festive baby shower ever, which I am especially excited for. She'd been working on it forever!

Since we will be having family staying with us for almost a month total, we've also tried to make our patio look nice so we can relax and hang out outside and enjoy the summer nights... when the mosquitos aren't out. Blaine worked hard to get it looking nice... and then Jake went back to digging holes and eating mulch.

Home Gym

Blaine has been pushing for a home gym for a while now. We always agreed that we would have one eventually, but I didn't think that we needed to invest in one now since our funds are limited. BUT, we now are the proud owners of our very own home gym in our garage.

This way, its easier for Blaine to work out at more flexible and convenient times according to his school schedule. Plus, when he's busy and stressed, he doesn't have to go far to work out and can still be with me and Jake (and our baby, once he's here). Plus, it'll make it SO MUCH easier for me to work out, post-baby. Instead of having to wait until Blaine got home from school to go work out (and then still not being able to go because he has to study), I can now get a good work out at home and just put baby boy in his seat to watch me... or bring the baby monitor out when he's asleep. 

In just the couple days that we've had this, Jake has turned into a little gym rat, too. He brings out a toy and lays on the mat while Blaine works out and doesn't get in the way or anything. He just loves being included and hanging out with us. Sometimes he tries to lick Blaine between reps though.

Because this is a good sized investment, we wanted to get things that were good quality and would last, since we'll keep it and use it for as long as it lasts. And you can't put a price tag on your health... 

It includes:

- a power rack

- a bench

- a bar

- 360 lbs. of bumper plates on a weight tree

- rubber mats

- straps (that hang from the rack and then you can work your abs and back from the floor)

- a couple of sets of dumbells and weighted balls

- jump rope, bands, & yoga mat

So we're all pretty excited about it. I haven't used it yet, but Blaine's used it everyday and cleaned out the garage and set it up so it looks really nice. I told him he should give personal training sessions to pay this off ;)

Hemangioma

See this beauty? Or "my little friend," as my awesome doctor calls it? It's called a hemangioma. It was originally a TINY red speck, a fraction of the size of a freckle. But apparently with all the estrogen rushing through my body, EVERYTHING grows. So it kept growing bigger and bigger and I was worried it was skin cancer. But then I found out what it was. 

Originally my OBGYN said he would have cut it off if it wasn't on my face because thats a significant area that you don't want to mess up. But at one appointment, he walked in, saw it, and said, "Want to just cut it off? Lets just cut it off." So he had me hold ice over it for a while, then he gave me a shot to numb it, and then used a scalpel to cut it off. It was a big, black (but 1-D) dot for about a week, but then it started to grow back!! Noooooo!!!

So now he's made me an appointment for next month with a dermatologist at the hospital to laser it off or stitch it up, or something more intense than what he did in his office. 

So unfortunately it will be memorialized in all of my sweet baby boy's pictures, but oh well.

Every week, all the primary kids (whether they're in my class or not) ask,

"Whats that thing on your face?"

- a sore

"How'd you get it?"

- I hit my head

"On what?"
"Why is it red?"
"Why is it black?"
"Why is it sticking out?"
"Why is it so big?"