Healthy as a Horse

With all the craziness going on it's easy to forget it's the little things to be thankful for. This year I'm remembering back to a little over a year ago when I was knocked up and not allowed off the couch. It's actually sounding pretty good right about now.

There was a time our family use to have surgery wars. I had knee surgery so Nate had to one up me by getting surgery on his spine. Cooper's the really hard core one though. He went and had his toe amputated. That's commitment.

This year we are all healthy (despite the occasional runny nose by Ben). Nate and I have lost over 40 pounds combined since we moved back to Oregon (one of us more than the other but I'm not naming names). My blood pressure is awesome. We both have realized how scary this time last year really was (luckily we realize it more after the fact or my blood pressure might have been even higher than it was). We have a sweet and healthy baby boy and all the pregnancy health problems in the world would be worth it for him.

Introducing...

Bennett Nathan

February 6, 2009 (1 month early)

5 lbs 14 oz 18 7/8 inches

He's finally here! Bennett is a man of his own ideas. We went into the doctor yesterday (Thursday) for my regular appointment. Unfortunately my BP was really high. Dr. M decided it was time for Bennett to make his debut (and for me to be induced). 

Of course after we checked into Labor and Delivery my BP fell way lower than usual and my labs were great. They were about to send me home when the little guy's heart rate fell really low. I also started having contractions. When Bennett heard they were about to send me home he decided it was time for labor to start. 

To make a long story short, I got my epidural late last night and slept really well. I woke up this morning and Dr. M decided to start me on a low dose of Pitocin (I wasn't dilating very fast). As soon as they started the Pitocin, Bennett's heart rate dropped again so they had to stop immediately. I was told I would most likely be needing a c-section (something I was totally fine with) but they were going to break my water first. 

After breaking my water, I dilated super fast (6 cm in about 45 minutes). It looked like Bennett was coming on his own. I slept again until I was too uncomfortable. I started pushing a little after noon and Ben arrived at 12:16! 

Because he was so early I didn't get to see him right away. The NICU team had to check him out but he was great! He's a very sleepy little man but we love him so much already! I will post more pictures as soon as I have more free time! 

A Year In Review

January

• Brought in the New Year with Nate's family!
• My parents came to visit the grand ole' city of San Antonio.
• I quit my job (actually in December of '07) and enjoyed some very much needed "me" time.

February

• I got a part time job. Way better than my old job!

March

• My niece, Makena, was born!
  
  
  
• Nate and I celebrated our 5 year anniversary.
• I flew home to Oregon to meet Makena and help celebrate Drew's 2nd and Luke's 4th birthdays.
• Nate and I went to Seattle for Nate's cousin's wedding. It was a Hindu wedding and was so gorgeous (and the food was awesome). Nate was a groomsman and made an awesome speech at the Sangeet (which he wrote minutes before on a napkin).

April

• I attended my first Fiesta celebration here in San Antonio. 
• Cooper had his toe amputated. Sad!

May

• Nate turned 28!
• My parents came to visit.
• We decided we wanted a baby!

June

• We went to San Francisco with Nate's work team (they won a regional contest). We were able to see Nate's sisters (Suzanne and Jessica) and Brent. We saw my forever friend, Becky (seriously we've been friends for 28 years)! And we got to go to Alcatraz. My favorite place ever!
• I got knocked up.

July

• We celebrated 4th of July with our Texas friends.
• Morning sickness kicked in (and is sadly still sticking around- although better- in December).
• We told the families we are having a baby!
• I turned 28 on the 28th!

August

• I traveled home to Portland and we took a family trip to my parents' cabin in Black Butte. Sadly Nate couldn't take the time off and join us but he will be there in 2009!




• We found out we are (almost certainly) having a boy. I was shocked!

September

• Nate and I flew to Boulder, CO for a friend's wedding. It was so gorgeous! 
• I went to a few very fun baby showers!

October

• I went back to Oregon to see the family and hang out with my dad after his surgery. 
• I had a big scare on the flight back to San Antonio and had to go to the ER in Denver. By myself mind you. The people at the hospital were so nice to me!
• We found out we are definitely having a boy! He's quite the show off!

November

• My mom came to visit and we worked on the nursery. We went shopping and had a great time!
• I found out I have PIH (pregnancy induced hypertension) and was sentenced to bed rest for the remainder of my pregnancy.
• We had our very first "grown up" Thanksgiving with Rob and Christine!

December

• My parents came to visit for Christmas! It was an awesome time!
• My baby is still cooking!

My Favorite Things: December

I've decide to make my (short) list today and recap the year tomorrow! I really am loving life right now. It's just a little lacking in the excitement area. In no particular order....

1. Christmas decorations are everywhere! Nate decorated our house this year (while I advised him from the couch). He put all the decorations in the great room so I could enjoy them all while I bed rest it. It definitely makes bed rest more enjoyable when you have a bunch of Christmas reminders to look at!

2. I continue to receive many wonderful things from friends and family to keep me occupied! I've read so many books and magazines, spent hours on the phone and played endless games of catch with Cooper.

3. I bought myself a photography book and am kind of starting to understand my camera. Thanks to sister-in-law, Suzanne, I now also have a photography DVD to watch. I will be an awesome photographer before this baby is born!

4. I got to see the little (big) man twice on the big screen. 

5. My absolute favorite thing was having my parents here for Christmas (more on Christmas to come, I promise). I always knew I was their favorite, but the fact that they drove to Sacramento just to fly out here (due to snow and airport problems in P-town) to see us solidified that fact. My parents are the best! We made an awesome Christmas Eve dinner, spent a leisurely day opening gifts and spending time together. It was hard to be away from my sisters and their families, but having my parents here made it awesome!

6. Christmas ('nuff said).

I promise I will update with some highlights of Christmas (and my very unique gifts courtesy of Nate) and nursery pictures (courtesy of my parents' hard work) asap. It's hard to get myself off the couch to take pictures! 

What did you all love about December? 

 

Life in the Fast Lane

That's how I describe my life lately. Cletus and I are doing pretty well. We are 29 weeks along as of yesterday. I'm trying to stay positive about this bed rest business, but it is getting kind of hard. I am oh so excited for my parents to get here on Monday and entertain me. They have decided to forget my sisters and spend Christmas with their favorite daughter. 

Cletus and I had a doctor's appointment yesterday morning. My blood pressure was high (despite my medication). That was discouraging to hear! My excuse is that my appointment was early in the morning and the medicine hadn't kicked in yet! I refuse to believe that this kid is going to come this early (if I develop pre-eclampsia they will take the baby right away)! My protein is also a +1. I think it has to stay under a +3 (but I'm not a doctor so don't quote me on that). They had me do a 24 hour test and hopefully that will be okay! I also had to take the nasty gestational diabetes test today. I did appreciate how they call that sugary, liquid jello tasting drink Glucola. It kind of made me feel like I was drinking an orange soda. I wasn't. 

Please send little Cletus your thoughts! He needs to keep cooking and we don't want them to take him anytime soon!

For All the Moms...

I just got the two cutest books in the mail (thanks Suz and Brent). My sister-in-law and brother-in-law sent them to keep me occupied on bed rest! I just had to share them because they are perfect for all the new moms/moms-to-be I know! Very hilarious and perfect for the socially savvy moms out there. I definitely recommend!

The first is Sippy Cups Are Not for Chardonnay by Stefanie Wilder Taylor. Not only is this book cute but it offers practical advice in short little stories. Perfect for new moms!

The second hilarious and informative book is The Three-Martini Playdate by Christie Mellor. My favorite part of this book has to be the vintage looking pictures. They make me feel like a 1950's house wife while I'm really the most modern of stay-at-home (almost) moms. This book also has recipes like Weenie Fondue and more! 

Thanks again! I can't wait to devour these two gems! 

Life these days

It's funny how you think of so, so many things you want to and "need" to do when you can't do anything at all. I am now 25 weeks pregnant (a little over 6 months) and have just been sentenced to bed rest. As far as people being on bed rest go, I'm a pretty good candidate. I'm usually pretty happy not doing anything. I love to read and watch just about anything on TV. I cross stitch (no, I'm not an 80 year old woman) and love other crafts. I should be okay.

So I sit here on the couch (as of now I am allowed to bathe and go to the bathroom) and think about the far, far away date of March 3rd. The date our baby is due. That's over 3 months away. We will see how much TV I can handle and how many books I can read. I'm sure my blogging will become both more frequent and more boring.

I appreciate any distractions or creative ideas of things I can do. I'm sure Nate would appreciate any encouragement or ideas for him as well. For now he's stuck working, taking care of me and Cooper and keeping the house clean. I'm not sure which of us hopes March 3rd gets here faster.