The Business of Being Born

If you haven't heard of this movie-you need to. Go look it up, right now. Scoot! After you know what it is, you can come back and read the rest! www.thebusinessofbeingborn.com

And be warned now that this will be another novel of a post! Most of it is just my thinking out loud, expressing thoughts that probably won't mean much to anyone but me. But it will be nice for me to get them out of my head so I can move on and focus on the rest of my day! : )

Since I am too cheap to buy the dvd myself (especially since, really, how many times am I actually going to watch this? not to mention it's not available until May anyway), I thought I'd sign up for netflix and see it that way. Well, great plan except that it is on a wait list (how many hundred people now?) so who knows how long I'd have to pay for the service I don't want just to see the one movie. In which case it would have been cheaper to buy it. Which I'm too cheap to do. Back to square one. Why don't I just go SEE it? It was only set up for select sponsored screenings in a few cities. There were no cities in Utah listed. Ever. It was mostly being sponsored by big group practices of midwives or doulas, and despite the huge numbers of both that are rapidly growing here (I know-it doesn't seem like it, but check out doula listings-the lists are getting long!), no one was sponsoring it.

So imagine my delight when I heard from a woman on a homeschool list that I haven't posted on since we moved from Sandy, that a pediatric autism specialist was hosting a screening in Sandy. YAY! I knew I was still on that email list for a reason!

The screening was last night. My sweet husband came with me with no complaints. He offered to let me take some other female if I'd enjoy it more that way, but I really wanted him to be there and fortunately he was good with that! : ) I'm sure he was a bit nervous going into the whole thing, afraid that I would walk out and be pushing for a home birth. Well, after the movie, good news for everyone on all fronts!

I'm going to preface my comments by saying this: The film was very well done. In my opinion, everyone having babies (not just now, but in the midst of the having babies years) should see it.

*The thing that struck me the most after the movie was one particular thought. I am so glad to be where I am in my life. I am SO glad that seeing a movie about something that is very important to me doesn't rile me up, make me feel guilty, self-righteous, or make me feel the need to go and make big changes in my life and my approach to birth in particular. I think that the biggest reason I feel that way is because I have put the time and effort into educating myself enough to know that I am responsible for my care. And I am happy with the way I do things!

*Next, my dr is an anomaly in the world of Obstetrics. At least, he is for me. I don't know what his relationship is like with his other patients, but the more I learn about drs from other women, from general statements by ACOG, and driven home by most of the OBs in the film last night, I realize that I am in a very unique situation. How many women can say that their dr would-and has-spent hours with them during labor on more than one occasion? That their dr will come in on a day off, night after hours or weekend to check on them and deliver their baby when they are not on call? That their dr lets them be the one in charge-of decisions during prenatal care, labor and delivery-as well as postpartum? That their dr will advocate for them more than any other person, except their husband?
I realize that it can't work this way for everyone. That drs are just drs, and that most of them pack their schedules so full that coming in on a day off-or even calling one of their patients on a day of-would just push them over the edge. That they are trained medical professionals for their patients, not "friends". That many OBs view their job as solely the facilitator of a convenient birth(for both mom and dr), and for medical intervention. That some women don't want that from a dr, and that the ones that do want that kind of relationship are fleeing in droves to midwives who are more known for providing that. Unfortunately I realize that most drs are more concerned about just getting the process over with than they are about doing it the way the woman wants.
-Let me explain in specifics, drawing only from my last birth, why I say my dr is an anomaly. I was in prelabor for over four days at the end of my last pregnancy. Yes, I was actually contracting regularly for almost that entire time. Not regularly as in every 15-20min, much of it was contracting regularly every 5 min or so. It was tiring. I was wasted. I have no big problems with inductions (unlike many other people who prefer natural birth), so when Tuesday rolled around (I had started contracting on Thurs) and I could get in for an induction, I was up and ready to go! Though my dr wasn't at the hospital that morning, he called to check in on things every 30-60min, including coming over to check on me at lunch. We were all surprised that I was STILL not delivered by the time the workday ended, so he came over and joined us after his appointments were done for the day. He stayed with us the rest of the time, up until delivery. His constant concern was if I was doing ok, if I needed anything, or if there was anything he could do for me. Fortunately my husband is nothing short of a saint when I am in labor, so I was well taken care of. When I moaned a few hours later-nothing big and obnoxious mind you, more of a really loud exhale (and yes, it was the first time I had made any noise), Aaron jumped into action, making sure my dr was ready. This was the best part of this birth for me. He came in, sat with us, and helped Aaron talk me through those last really difficult contractions. When I was complete-the nurse got all riled up and ready for her big job of counting and pushing my foot up and all that normal junk. My dr stepped in, moved her out of the way, sat on the end of my bed and told the nurse "let her do it her way." He then just sat until essentially I told him I was ready for him to catch! There was no counting, no one pushing my legs back over my head, no one telling me how to sit, lay, or anything else. Just my husband by my side, my dr waiting for MY cues, and a slightly confused nurse! : ) When the baby really began to crown and the typical mess of birth began, the nurse tried to jump in and instantly start wiping everything away. My dr again reminded her to just relax, let me give birth, and she could clean up later; just for her to pretty much stay out of the way unless he needed something. After the birth my dr remembered (despite the fact that we hadn't talked about it since my last birth over a year and a half earlier) that I wanted to cut the cord, and got everything placed so that I could do so easily. I could go on about the rest of the fun stuff that comes after delivery, but I'll spare you!

*I have realized more and more, that drs just don't work this way. If mine didn't, I would very likely seek out a midwife!

*I am glad that I do things my way, even though most of the time it doesn't make sense to anyone else, on either side of the natural birth vs medicated birth arguement. But it doesn't have to make sense to anyone else; it's my way and it works for me!

*I don't have the overwhelming desire for a home birth that I used to. I guess the biggest part of it is where we live. In my opinion, the transfer time is not short enough that if there were a real emergency we could get the necessary help in time. There are plenty out here who disagree. But that is my opinion, and I'm Ok with that. I suppose the other reason why is I don't feel the need to prove to *MYSELF* that I can do that. I realized recently that it is because deep down, I know I could if I needed to. The thought of giving birth at home, without any help from anyone but my husband, doesn't scare me. If it happened it would not make me feel the need to panic. Not to mention the fact that I know that although there is a very slight risk that something could go wrong, the possibility terrifies my husband, so I am ok with the fact that birthing in a hospital puts him at ease.

*I think that home birth is wonderful! I think that birth centers are wonderful! I am so happy that more women seem to be pushing for the birth that they want instead of just being told "this is how you'll do it."

*I am glad that it's becoming more acceptable for women to openly appreciate the experience of birth and labor, and relish in that experience, as opposed to just the end result.

*I am grateful that I have needed medical help during/after birth before. While it's nice for everything to go off without a hitch, I have greater respect for situations when medical help is needed. I'm glad that I can be all for natural birth and not fall into the group that I call "natural birth nazis", who can be so very anti-medical establishment, barring the last minute emergency of 'oh I guess we should get help or we could lose mom or baby." The extremism-from either side (dr's or naturalists)-is totally unnecessary.

*Most of all, I wish more women would educate themselves. I wish more women trusted themselves and their bodies to do what they were designed to do. I wish labor wasn't something that was looked at in fear, as something to be numbed and taken away from us. I realize that in some situations pain medication is helpful (and I'm not just referring to c-sections, there are times that it can be helpful with a vaginal delivery as well), but I hate that it is the standard here (in the U.S.). When I was expecting my first, I never questioned whether or not I would get an epidural-of course I would! Why wouldn't I? I wouldn't get a cavity filled w/out numbing, why would I labor/give birth w/out numbing?!? (if you ever want my opinions on that argument, please ask!!!) I wish I would have done my research. Weighed the pros and cons. Known the benefits and risks. Not walked into it blindly. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't change the fact that I had an epidural with my first birth. I am just grateful that I have grown enough and have found enough confidence in myself to know now what I want and to be willing to advocate for it.

*And I would be remiss if I didn't mention that I realize how much of a blessing my husband is in all of this. I tell people that I think my labors and births are harder on him than they are on me-I'm not joking when I say that. In almost every birth in that film last night, the woman was surrounded by doula's, midwives, mom, sisters....the husband was either behind the camera, or just sitting waiting to be given some sort of clue as to what he could do which usually evolved into dad in the corner until baby is born when he is invited over to hold it. It surprises people when I tell them that I started the training to becme a doula, yet I've never used one, and don't plan to ever use one. They are shocked that my husband can be in tune enough with me and my needs that I have no need for anyone else to be there to help. At this point, our system is nearly perfected! : ) So to my honey-thank you for being my doula-even if you don't fit the mold! ; )

I am really looking forward now to the privilege of doing this all again, in likely less than 5 months!

The name game

I realized that I never reposted about that whole name discussion. (read back a few posts)

Olwen vs. Barbara

So this all came about as we were discussing the possibility of using a family name as a middle name if this child happens to be a girl. I have always liked the name Olwen (pronounced "all-wen, and you can add the british accent on for good measure!)-it was my paternal grandmother's middle name. It's not a common name (obviously), which made me like it even more. Aaron brought up the name Barbara, which happens to be his mother's name. I love his mother dearly-even when she does things that we don't like! : ) But honestly, he name just isn't one that I would put on a list of names to use. The thing that struck me the most was that it's never even come up before. We've looked at his gma's names, but his mom's never came up. So I was a bit surprised when he mentioned it. I (half-reluctantly) shared my feelings on the name itself-trying to be careful to point out that it was the name, not his mother, that I didn't like so much. He responded with "I bet if you asked 100 people, the vote would be overwhelmingly in favor of Barbara over Olwen." Being one who enjoys a little sporting challenge, I told him he was on. The catch was being able to ask 100 people. I figured that more of the readers of this blog would be willing to add a comment, but since they weren't, I fortunately had another place to ask. Like here, I did not mention who had which preference, or how the names were tied to our families, only that they were both family names.

So although no one that comments on this blog was brave enough to really say anything, here is a sampling of the comments from my other source:

-I've gotta go with Olwen, but I really like more unique names. Good luck with your debate!

-Olwen is beautiful!!! I'd have to go with that one!! :) I was really surprised with how different my husband's taste was than mine as far as names! Good luck with your decision!

-I guess I would have to know the first name to be able to let you know which middle name I liked!

-Olwen

-LOVING Olwen. Beautiful, and O makes a nice middle initial and monogram! Has a more familial ring too.

-Just on name I pick olwin, then when you add the meanings, I still really like Olwen 

-I really like Olwen also. Don't know that I have ever heard before, but I like it! Just saw the edit. The meaning wasn't what swayed my decision. I just like the name.

-I have to agree with the girls Olwen is my fav too... and meaning had nothing to do with it.. its all in how it sounds. Im very into unique names... and its very cute!


-Olwen, It's a unique name. I love that!

-I just think Streisand when I hear Barbara (does that make me old??).  Olwen is a lovely old-fashioned name.
I am ALWAYS swayed by a meaning.  But we're going with family names for middle names, that aren't necessarily great names, but after special people... so that makes the choice easier.  Like Doreen (ugh!), my grandmother's middle name!!!!

-got to admit, olwen grabbed and kept my attention! me likey likey.

-I'd have to say Olwen

-Olwen for sure!!

-Yep Olwen for sure. I've never liked Barbara!

-I like Olwen.... but I'm not really fond of Barbara.  So for me it's an unfair comparison! (this is without the meanings just from personal experience!... In my past there was a Barbara I wasn't very fond of  )

-When you add the meanings I really like Olwen.... It's lovely!And I agree with another post that "O" is a really nice middle initial. What are you considering for first names?

-Olwen vs. Barbara... OLWEN.
Personal experience... my maternal grandmother's name is Barbara and my parents were going to name me Melissa Barbara in her honor. But my grandmother hated her first name so much that she told them, "If you want to honor me, then let me pick out her middle name." And she chose Star. I have to admit that although Star is a little bit... ummmm... silly... that I do like it quite a bit more than I like Barbara. So, thanks, Grandma!

-I have to vote for Olwen .... it is a nice different name ... and because The name Barbara bugs me ... My good friend in the world for over 10 years has Barbara as a middle name (Jennifer Barbara) and out of ever one we have known sence school days i am the only one that knows you middle name she hates it! Her and her boy friend have been together for a long time and he just found out her middle name a few months ago! (it was a fluk he saw it on some of her mail!) lol I just think of some one old when i hear Barbara...

-I also like Olwen and I dont even remember the meanings.

-My husband and I discussed your dilemma, and we had differing opinions. I really like Olwen, he prefers Barbara.

-I say Barbara. Olwen soinds like a boys name.

-I think I chose Barbara. what would it be going with though?

-I like Olwen too.  it's very pretty

I did find it interesting that the one male opinion that is mentioned here was different from nearly every female opinion, and the same as Aaron's! Also, I have to say, that after the comment about Barbara Streisand (who is one of my least favorite people), I would be even less likely to use it as every time I heard it I'd think of that reference!

The comments about meanings are in reference to me asking if the meaning of the names swayed anyone's opinion. Some of them very much weigh name meanings when they have made choices for their own children's names, so I was curious to know if it would sway their opinion on this or if they would just take the names at face value. From behindthename.com, Barbara means: '"foreign". According to legend Saint Barbara was a young woman killed by her father Dioscorus, who was then killed by a bolt of lightning. She is the patron of architects, geologists, stonemasons and artillerymen.' and Olwen: Means "white footprint" from Welsh ol "footprint, track" and gwen "white, fair, blessed". In Welsh legend Olwen was a beautiful maiden, the lover of Culhwch and the daughter of the giant Yspaddaden. Her father insisted that Culhwch complete several seemingly impossible tasks before he would allow them to marry, and Culhwch was successful with all of them. (other sites list the meaning as "white flower" or "pure", that the legend mentioned above also notes that white flowers grew in her footprints).

So, even with the difference in meanings not considered, it looks like.......I won! : )

Where does that put things then? Is there a name in the works? Um, no. Not even remotely close. We've pretty much just shelved the conversation until we know if it's a boy or girl, just for sanity's sake, but we are so far apart on our opinions that if this child is female, we will be lucky if we can agree on a name by it's birth! He has always liked the name Sydney, which is a fine name, but just doesn't strike me as fitting for our family (don't know why), and he reluctantly agreed to use the name Olwen as a middle name if I would agree to Sydney as a first name. Ok-first, no thanks, really just feel like it doesn't fit. And second, S.O.B.. Say the initials out loud. Hello! NOT doing that! He doesn't seem to think it's a big problem. I disagree. Which puts us....back behind square one. Thus the reason the discussion has been shelved. Stay tuned for news as to which direction this discussion will take in just 8 days!!

Oh, And in honor of what I knew would be my victory in this little discussion, I asked Aaron to take this picture for me when we were in Cali.



This is in the "O" of "California" outside Disney's California Adventure. And I do have to add the highlight of this picture. My father, bless his heart, tends to be very much on the prudish/proper side of things. Growing up it caused him to leave the room if a feminine product (i.e. "tampon", "pad" or even the word "period") was mentioned. So as we were waiting in line to get in to the park and I made the request that Aaron take my picture in the O, Aaron knowing why I was asking, we all hear my dad say "So, it's all about the big O, huh?" ACK! The adults there all dissolved into giggles, and even my mother turned in shock and squeaked out "WHAT?!?" Honestly, he had no clue. Ahhh, the innocence of middle age! ; )

Happy Birthday Dallin!

I realized that I skipped my little Dallin's birthday post! What a slacker mom I am! I'm going to blame being so sick over the last week and a half and make up for it now! In the tradition of the past few birthdays, here is Dallin's story. (*warning-as in the other birthday posts for my kids, this does contain a birth story. If you don't like those kind of stories, you'll want to just skip this post!*)

My cute little Dallin turned 3 almost two weeks ago. He shares Lincoln's birthday. THE Lincoln-you know, Abraham. Not our Lincoln. Which is apparently confusing to some of the grandparents. Like when someone pointed out to Aaron's dad that he had made a mistake and put "Lincoln's birthday" in October. The man must have thought my father-in-law was missing a few brain cells or something-everyone knows Lincoln's birthday is in February! : ) It took a bit of explaining as to why Feb 12 said "Dallin's birthday" and Oct 3rd said "Lincoln's birthday"! We still enjoy bugging our kids with this little tidbit. The younger ones especially can't figure out why we keep telling them it's Lincoln's birthday when we are singing to Dallin and they know that Lincoln won't have his birthday until October!

but I digress....

Dallin is now 3. Which is interesting because we use his birthday to gage a lot of things that have happened over the past 3 years. A move, then another move, surgeries, hospitalizations, family events. He seems to be a prominent marker on our timeline.



Dallin's birth story really begins a couple of weeks before he was born. Life was good, we were quite settled in Sugarhouse. All was well, I was doing great, and life was just rolling along as we prepared for and anticipated the upcoming arrival of our 5th little baby. Then things very quickly changed. An opportunity to move presented itself. We had always known that living in Sugarhouse was a temporary situation, but never quite had any concrete plans for when it would change. The few times we had tried to move forward we felt very impressed to stay where we were, and even the few times we were obnoxious enough not to listen closely to those impressions, things worked themselves out so that we just couldn't ever move-usually missing it by just a very small amount, including once when we were going to build a house and were a mere $1800 away from everything falling into place. It was trying to not feel in control of that part of our lives, but we had finally settled in again and quit pushing *our* agenda. This time, things worked out. It was a situation that had presented itself before, but again, had just never worked out. This time it did. We made plans and moved forward to purchase the house that Aaron grew up in, out in Sandy. We were excited about the move, and the prospect of a more family-oriented neighborhood, kids nearby for our kids to play with, and being just a bit more away from the business of living closer to the city. The timing wasn't exactly optimal (who wants to move at 9 months pregnant?!), but we decided we would go ahead and make the move.

The weeks of packing and planning and preparing the new place were hectic. One of the most frustrating parts for me was that no one wanted to let me do anything! I am not (typically) one of those 'sit around with my feet propped up and taking it easy' kind of pregnant women. It just doesn't work for me. So at 35 weeks along, I was busily packing everything that I had just set up for baby, along with the rest of the house, hauling boxes downstairs from the attic, and taking as many trips to Sandy as I could to try and clean out and prepare the house. We managed to sneak Aaron's dad over to help out with some electrical things, and we put his brother to work scrubbing walls one night. I think he was afraid of what might happen to him if he refused when a 9mo preggo woman handed him a bucket and rag and said "here-you wash walls!" : ) Needless to say...he didn't come back until we moved in! ha! I was able to get some painting done, but fortunately my family was extremely generous with their time and efforts in helping us prepare the house-especially with the painting. Honestly, I I think it kind of freaked them out that I was 9 months pregnant and painting! They took care of as much as they could, along with helping with the kids to allow us to move gradually. We did eventually have to cave in and rent a truck for the big stuff, which we did on Saturday, Feb 5th, when I was 37wks along. Coincidentally, that day was also 2 days after the furnace went out at our home in Sugarhouse! We hadn't planned on actually moving in to the house in Sandy until the 5th or 6th, but found ourselves sleeping overnight there two full days before that, living out of one or two boxes that we knew contained the necessities. Nothing like sleeping on the floor in a half-moved -in house while you're still trying paint when you are 3wks away from your due date! : ) Fun times.

As is turns out, the timing was optimal. Once the furnace broke there was no turning back, no dallying along the road to getting us truly moved. And it was nice being close enough to my due date that I was more than comfortable moving as many boxes as possible in hopes of bringing on the beginning of labor! (although yes, I was still being lectured by everyone to take it easy). On Friday the 11th, one day shy of having been "moved in" for one week, I had been trying to encourage the sporadic contractions that had been occuring over the previous 48hrs. Even after 3 hrs of scrubbing the kitchen floor with a toothbrush (just for the record, the grout was a very pale pinkish-beige color, NOT dark gray!) on my hands and knees, things still weren't regular. I was ready for a baby, so I was trying to convince him he was ready to join us! That Friday afternoon Aaron had a CAT scan scheduled at the hospital in preparation for his upcoming nasal surgery. Since it was my delivery hospital, and I was hopeful, we called my sister's wonderful husband to come and sit with the kids while I tagged along with Aaron. He was the only one not stuck in an office that afternoon and he was generous enough to come and sit with the kids while we left, me hoping not to return home that evening! Aaron's appointment was taking much longer than I wanted, so in effort to keep contractions coming and to move things along, I decided to go walk. Keep in mind it was February, cold and snowy. The hospital was also up in the avenues, so walking laps around the hospital and the connecting blocks included quite a hike as I drug myself back uphill each lap. I finally decided after an HOUR of walking (waddling) laps, that I was tired with that, so I went back to try and find Aaron. He was just finally finishing up and still had to check out and finish paperwork, so I told him I'd just meet him upstairs at labor and delivery. I got upstairs and went through the joyous routine of checking in. I have to say that I enjoy-oh so very much-that sympathetic look on the faces of the nurses when I check in and am still smiling and functional and acting normal, and they are all thinking to themselves "this poor girl is going to go right back home-she's not having a baby anytime soon!" I was checked in at 3cms and 40%, which for me is a great start! Typically if I can get to 3, I'm having a baby that day! They suggested I walk around and see if things changed any, so for an hour we walked the halls while I sported that stylish little hospital gown, with another wrapped around my back to spare anyone an accidental peek! After an hour, another check showed me at 4cms, so I was official admitted and prepped to go! My dr was called, and bless his heart, he agreed to be the one to deliver despite the fact that it was Friday night and he was not on call. (yet another reason I love having him as my dr!!) When my body gets going, it tends to start a little slowly, but once I hit 6 or 7cms, it usually goes quickly, so he figured he'd be seeing me fairly soon. The nurses were excited to have one more delivery before their shift ended at 11pm, and I was just glad not to be sent away from the hospital.

Well, things dragged on. and on. and on. 3 hours after hitting 4cms, I was still contracting regularly, but was also still just 4 cms. Annoying. At that point the resident agreed to break my water to see if it would speed things along. This was not new to me, the only time my waters have ever broken on their own was the first time, so this was just par for the course. The weird part was that since we had taken our big family car to the hospital, and my dad had come up to get the keys so my parents could take the kids to their house, my dad was there when they broke my water! At least the resident had the presence of mind to suggest that my dad move up by my shoulders when they were doing it-I don't think any of us had even connected to the fact that he was standing down by my feet! EEK! A little too close for comfort with that! He stayed while it was done, then once he knew we were on the road to delivery with no turning back he took the keys and left!

By now it was around 7 or 8pm, and we expected baby to arrive quickly. Unfortunately, Dallin had other plans. Stubborn little stinker. So, we defaulted to pitocin. My best friend and worst enemy during labor. Best friend as I have yet to be able to deliver a baby without it, worst enemy as it kicks things into high gear, pretty darn quickly. And that's exactly what happened. My nurses were bummed when they ended up leaving at the end of their shift and he still wasn't here. But they were replaced by a girl that Aaron went to high school with (who was an angel!), which was nice because it gave Aaron someone to talk to when I zoned out. By about 11:30 I started getting really uncomfortable, and knew I was trying to deliver another posterior baby. I had very vivid flashbacks to my delivery previous to this (Jacob), and knew I was in for a challenge in the last hours of labor. I realized that if I was going to make it through this process again, I was going to need to be able to really relax. I put on my headphones and tuned everything out. I do not recall the time that passed until a little after 1 am. I was fortunately able to relax enough that I just made my way through things and totally zoned out. It was great! But after 1, things started to really get painful. Aaron knew that things were starting to happen b/c I took off the headphones and got off the bed and mentioned that I was starting to really hurt. My dr was called and given the head's up on what was happening. I spent as much time as I could leaning over the little table thing (which I think I may have broken-whoops!), and hanging on Aaron, trying to move as much as possible and rotate my second little posterior baby. It took quite some time, and to be honest it was fairly difficult to make it through that last hour. I started shaking uncontrollably, which was annoying to me, and a bit scary to Aaron as I had not done this before. I suddenly realized that after weeks of packing, days of moving and heavy lifting, and a good amount of time hiking through the avenues-I WAS EXHAUSTED! (note to self-don't wear yourself completely out *before* labor gets hard!!) I found that I really had to dig deep within myself to make it through the end of this labor. I struggled more than I had with my other natural births, I think because I was so very worn out. Thankfully Aaron and my dr were both reminding me that if I was in this kind of pain I was very near the end, and that I really would rather not deal with an epidural at that point. Which I did contemplate, but I also realized that there was no way I could just lay down and be still while it was administered when I was needing to move around to deal with the contractions that never tapered off.

I finally hauled myself back up on the bed to be checked, I was just about ready (not quite 10cms), but baby was still posterior. After having had Jacob manually turned, I knew the discomfort that brought, and was thrilled to know I could avoid that as the next few contractions helped baby to turn enough to delivery without being rotated. What an overwhelming sense of relief I finally felt as Dallin slipped into the world at 2:37 that morning. 6lbs, 15 ounces, 20inches of screaming little baby boy! After nearly 20hours of labor (not fair for a 5th baby!!), he finally relented and made his appearance. I was really not happy to hear that I tore as he was turning and delivering, and even less happy when I head "little shot of lidocaine locally" in preparation for the stitches. After what I had just done I had no desire for a shot-especially there! I passed the baby off to Aaron, afraid I would drop him, as I was shaking so hard and I wasn't sure how my body would react to that lovely little shot. The great news was that the shot was over before I even knew it was given. Whew! Thank you adrenaline! lol I did feel a couple of the stitches though-that was not the most pleasant thing in the world. But hey-I've felt worse! : )

All in all, one of the most tiring things I've ever experienced, but I love looking back and realizing just what my body is capable of. And honestly, I wouldn't change it for anything.



So Dallin-though I'm 12 days late in this, Happy Birthday bud. Thanks for being the spunky, crazy and energetic little boy that you are. Thanks for keeping us laughing with your sound effects and constant narration of life. Love you kiddo!

Let it show, let it show, let it show!

Sing along people! (go back a couple of months to the Christmas songs....)

Yes-it's happening. I'm popping. Stretching. Expanding, bulging, growing; whatever you want to call it. A couple weeks ahead of my schedule (c'mon, of course you can just plan all of this out!), I am starting to show. ACK! Too soon for me! I now look about like I did at 19-20wks with my last pregnancy. Yes, I took weekly pictures last pregnancy as well, I am that morbidly fascinated by pregnancy and my growing body that I like to be able to look back and see just how big I get at a specific point in time. Lest you think it is just me, Aaron walked in from work a couple of days ago and the first words out of his mouth were "wow! You're rounding out! That bump wasn't there two days ago!" Apparently I can't hide it in a normal shirt anymore. But sweaters are still good! ; )

And yes, I still refuse to wear maternity clothes before 20wks sheerly out of principle. Why? I do not know. Likely because I am a crazy pregnant woman. It is a good thing I still have 3 pair of jeans and a couple of skirts that still fit! But I can tell that the time when they will be shelved will be here soon.

So here it is-the grand old belly at 17wks, and for comparison, 19wks with my last time through this wonderful journey.

17 weeks:


19 weeks (baby #6)

You know who you are!

I took this picture for a friend of mine-you KNOW who you are!!- when I was in California. This car was parked near my parents at their hotel. I saw it and just about died laughing! It was too good not to capture and bring home!


Not a close enough peek? Here-look closer! Ha!



Aaron got a good chuckle out of it as well! : ) We checked the plates, and what a surprise.....Utah!

So what I want to know is why don't you (yes you!) have this on your car??? ; ) (maybe we gals in the neighborhood know what to get you for Christmas this year now? Although I'll follow that up with-you'd better still be here when it rolls around!)

Random thoughts

It cracks me up to see the counter here. Yes I realize that half of that count is one person (you know who you are! HA! you crack me up!), but it's funny that the number goes up the way it does and only 3 people have been brave enough to come out of the woodwork! (yay for willing participants!) And Snider-I promise you I will make you a snowball. Call and remind me. You know, pregnant brain and all.

I'm still bummed that Mitt pulled out. That whole endorsing McCain thing is a bit weird to me, but hey, what else are you going to do? Pull for Huckabee?

I hate this inbetween stage. I currently look like I just ate too much over the holidays and again on vacation. Unless you see me naked at about 11pm. Which unless you are my husband you will not. So you'll just have to believe me when I say I look pregnant that way instead of looking pudgy like I do throughout the day when you all see me.

That said, I am happy that my maternity clothes are all still too big.

I am feeling snippy lately. If I bite your head off I am apologizing in advance. I'll continue with my local weekly vent sessions (you know who you are too-thanks!), hopefully that will prevent any hurt feeelings. But let's be honest, stupid things are ticking me off lately!

I do have a couple of hairs on my big toe. Gross I know. But seriously, have you not seen my eyebrow? What does that have to do with anything? Last night Dallin was asking me what was on my foot. I looked down and told him "nothing" as there was nothing on my foot. He continued to ask and finally got down for a close look and said "it's a hair! Someone cut off my hair and put it on your foot!" He now blames Jacob for this sneaky little act of conspiracy.

I am a name snob. Oh yes, I am. When helping my kids go over name lists for their class Valentine deliveries this week, I thought more than once "WHO would do that to their kid?!?"

Hyrum and Payton, we love you too. Thanks for thinking of us!

I am now officially one minute late for dinner at a friend's house. I am a slacker. I will blame the kids and pregnancy. No one will argue, everyone will understand.

The countdown begins.....

Back from Sunny SoCal (and appreciating that it is sunny here before we get pounded with snow again). I'll do the whole trip review thing when I round up all the pics from the rest of the fam. Oddly, we didn't take many. I guess we were too busy herding children all week or something!

Today was my monthly dr appointment, everything looks good. The best news is-we have a date! I realize that I am already counting down the big 40wks (hopefully only about 38!), but this countdown is much more immediately satisfactory! Thanks to the lovely, wonderful receptionist at my dr's office, I get to have my u/s a week before my next appointment instead of waiting until the day of the next appointment! Thank you Megan!!! So, 3 weeks from today we hope for the big reveal...

So what's the verdict? Pink or Blue?

Something to keep my faithful readers occupied while I'm gone

We're off to see the Mouse, and hopefully see a lot more sunshine than we've been seeing around here lately! Early tomorrow morning we embark on a lovely week in Southern Cali. So, to give those few of you who get bored enough to read this blog something to do while I'm gone, I have a question. The topic of middle names for this newest little family addition came up yesterday. We started throwing out some family names that would work as middle names. We each arrived at one name that we'd rather use. So, we thought we'd put it out there for public opinion. I asked around on a pregnancy message board that I post on so we got the opinion of a bunch or crazy hormonal women, but we thought we'd ask some normal people too! ; )

So, for a middle name, which would you pick? Barbara or Olwen? And yes, we are talking *if* this one were a girl and *if* we decided to use a family name in there. I know neither is a name you come across often (or ever), but these were the two that were the topic of discussion.

Bring on the comments! Even you random readers that somehow wound up reading this blog, leave a comment with your opinion! And when I return, I'll share who made which choice, and the verdict of all those crazy pregnant women too! : )