SO TIRED

Ross and I are tired. So tired. I know, everyone out there is saying, "Duh," or "It's your own fault; you had the baby." But wow. We were sort of prepared for the middle of the night feedings but we weren't really prepared for middle of the night crankiness (or middle of the day crankiness for that matter.) It's funny how three days ago when I heard Chase crying I was shocked at how loud he was. Now, I'm totally used to it. I guess these first few days and weeks home are trial and error to find out what works for us and for the baby (and to try to establish a good routine for Chase.)

I'm feeling pretty good overall. I was prepared for needing healing time but didn't realize how sore my muscles would be in my back, neck, and legs. I actually had a problem during delivery that we didn't realize until the morning I was discharged from the hospital. Apparently the baby's head was pushing on a nerve in my pelvis pretty hard and it ended up affecting some nerves in my left leg. I didn't notice it at the time because I had the epidural, and I didn't realize it was a problem until Tuesday morning when I still didn't have feeling in half of my left leg below the knee. I am told that it is not a side effect of the epidural, that it occurs, though rarely, in women who haven't had one. The main problem is that I have a bit of a limp and that it could take weeks to get back to normal. I can tell it is getting better - gradually - because now instead of being totally numb it's starting to feel like pins and needles. Basically, it hurts a bit and is numb a lot and I can only walk as fast as 2 mph. (So how am I supposed to lose my baby weight?) And honestly, even if it is an effect of the epidural, I am still all about getting one again!

I have to say how helpful it is having my mom here and how awesome Ross has been this whole week. He is just as tired as I am, and he's usually the one who takes the baby when he's cranky but not necessarily hungry. He's been lucky to have this whole week off from work and school. He has to go back to work tomorrow, and I'm not sure if he's bummed to go back, or excited to be back to the outside world no matter how boring his job is. And it's nice having my mom to hand over the baby to when necessary, and for helping us with general housework and errands.

No matter how hard these first few days have been, we have a super cute baby! It's been worth it.

Hungry face

I had to throw in a picture of Maggie! She was a little curious and rambunctious the first day we brought Chase home, but she is being so good now! She's still curious, but she understands that she needs to be gentle around him.

This was the first successful time in the swing. We are hoping Chase will like it more and more.


I have my daddy's "sleepy eyes."

And my mommy's long arms!

I love it when daddy walks around the house with me.

With Grandma Nelson

Chase is here!

Just one day old!

He is so tiny!

First family picture

Well, he is a summer baby, but I didn't make it to my induction by one day. Late Saturday night I started having contractions but they were very irregular. At first I didn't believe they were really contractions (not sure why, considering I was 6 days overdue.) Soon I realized they were contractions but they were still irregular so I wasn't sure we should go to the hospital. I did NOT want to get sent home.

At about 9:30 a.m. Sunday my mom came into my room (she came into town on Friday) and asked about my contractions. She and Ross together finally convinced me that we should go to the hospital and that they likely wouldn't send me home. I got into the hospital at about 11:15 a.m. and although my contractions were 3 minutes apart by then, I was still expecting them to say I was at 2 or 3 cm. But I was already 6 cm! I couldn't believe it. I got my epidural in a hurry (which was magic) and by 12:45 p.m. I was 10 cm.

A little less than two hours later, Chase was born! He weighed only 7 lbs. 4 oz. (which is tiny for my family) and was 20.5 in. long. He has dark hair, mostly in the back (an old man haircut) and we joke that he already has Ross' eyebrows and sideburns!

To everyone who has already sent congratulations, THANK YOU! We will be getting in touch with you over the next week (as soon as I start feeling a little better) and we will keep pictures posted on the blog.

Oh, one last thing... here's a link to his hospital photo:
http://www.utahportraits.com/hospital/index.php?action=view&BabyID=062208cnw

Looks like he'll be a summer baby

Two days past my due date and... not even close to going into labor. The doctor keeps asking me if I've had any contractions and I always have to say "I don't know" or " I don't think so." But I'm pretty sure the correct answer is "No" because I'm not dilated at all. So, I went again to the doctor yesterday and ended up with an appointment to get induced on Monday morning, June 23. I asked what the chances of me going into labor on my own before that are, and basically got the answer, "well, anything's possible, but... slim, really."

The nice thing about all of this is that I have a few extra days to prepare, and I get to plan for it easily. I don't have to scramble around at the last minute getting the last necessary items for my bag. I can just pack everything on Sunday night, almost like I'm going on a vacation. (I can't believe I just compared having a baby to going on vacation. Sorry, all you mothers reading this!)

The funniest part about this is that I think Ross is more annoyed than I am that I haven't gone into labor yet. Although I am looking forward to normal weight, clothes, exercise, caffeine, etc., I have plenty of things to do before the baby's born at work and at home, so I can wait a few extra days.

Pregnant and Emotional

As of this picture, I was probably about 5 1/2 - 6 months along. As of today, I am 39 weeks and two days, aka five days from my due date. I don't have a lot of pictures of me in the last few months, probably because the few I have other than this one scared me when I saw them.

On Memorial Day, Ross and I attempted to see the new Indiana Jones movie but it was all sold out, so instead we decided to see Baby Mama, the only other movie that was still available. Ok, that movie is a COMEDY. Why was I balling throughout it, especially near the end? I had to sit in the theater and wait to stop crying until the kid who cleans the theater came in. Luckily Ross didn't make fun of me...

Ross' First Solo Flight

In March Ross did his first solo flight. I have never seen him fly so I had no idea how tiny the R22 was until I saw this picture. He looks totally squished! Now I understand why he can't fly when the wind is faster than 15 mph. It doesn't even weigh 1000 pounds!

I'm not sure I really want him to take me up in that helicopter (once I'm able to fly with him, of course, after the baby's born.) I think I'm going to wait until he's flying the bigger helicopter to go on a ride. I prefer not to have to follow the instructions he's required to give passengers - "If you have to vomit, do it in your shirt." Gross.