I totally won.

I never win anything (ok, so not like I enter a lot of anything) but lo and behold I won an awesome handmade bag on my friend Casey's blog. She is super talented and you should totally buy things from her etsy store. The reason I am posting it on this blog? Because I totally got to cross another thing off my list! Totally! (I use that word perhaps a bit too much.)

The Whole Story, More or Less

Tuesday the 21st we went to the midwife for a check, as I was 9 days overdue. Everything sounded and looked good, and I was dilated to a 1.5ish. The next day I went to the clinic at the hospital to have an ultrasound and non-stress test, to make sure everything really was ok with my little guy. At the ultrasound the technician announced "Looks like he's 9.5lbs!" The doctor then confirmed this, but tried to make me feel better, telling me that it's not very accurate over 9lbs (so I was thinking ok, maybe he's 9 and a hair... oh future self is laughing right now). But everything looked great, heart, lungs, etc, and so they said they would see me back on Friday if I hadn't delivered yet.

My midwife told me she would sweep my membranes Wednesday morning, but never called and when I called her she was asleep-she had been up all night at a delivery. We planned to talk after my ultrasound and then meet after to do the sweep. When we talked after she was concerned that doing the sweep would make me go into labor that night, and thought starting in the morning would be better (plus I'm sure she was still tired from the night before).

Wednesday night we went to my mom's for a while and hung out with Caelin playing Wii Fit. Now when everyone gives advice for what to do to go into labor, I will be chiming in that playing hula hoop on Wii Fit is the answer. We went home and went to bed, and about 11:45 I woke up with a contraction. I was excited, but managed to go back to sleep. I had a couple more, about an hour apart, and I was sleeping between them. By morning they were 15-20 min apart, and I stopped sleeping through them around 7. I got out of bed by 8, and Aaron and I hung around the house, packing 40 million things we didn't need to take with us, making cookies, and being excited. A bit before noon we went to Robinswood park and the Temple to walk around. After I wanted lunch, so I made the excellent choice of Las Margaritas so I could partake of their chips and salsa and a cheese enchilada. Maybe not the BEST choice, but it seemed good enough at the time. By then I was having contractions 5-7 min apart. I told Aaron it was like a funny secret, although later on it was a lot less funny.

After lunch we went to my mom's, to say hi, to pass time, etc. We played yahtzee and Aaron played Wii Fit Hula, and my mom started timing contractions. At about 3:30 we called the midwife to tell her the contractions were 5 min apart for an hour. She said call back when they were stronger. So we walked around the block a couple times, and they were closer together, and stronger as well. I was starting to lose my happiness, and my mom and Aaron were concerned. We called the midwife and she said to just keep waiting, but after a bit we put in another call and convinced her to meet us at the birthing center. We met her around 5:45 and she checked me. I was dilated only to a 2, but was now fully effaced. We sat around talking to her and the assistant, and they essentially sent us back home to try to watch a movie.

Driving away out of the parking lot my body decided it was time to see lunch again, and since all I had was a blanket, out it came into the blanket. Fun. We went back to my mom's, and I took a shower while Aaron ate dinner. The shower felt great except for needing to get on the floor every couple minutes in intense pain (or so I thought it was intense pain at the time!) After the shower I laid on the floor in horrifying pain, and tried to eat some trail mix and juice. I say tried because I lost what I ate two more times. Eventually I thought the baby better come out soon so we went back to the birth center. It was about 9 when we got there. I managed to get one more barfing in, in the car, but this time I was prepared with a bowl.

When we got back to the birth center I got checked and was dilated to a 6. Good progress, but let's not lie, I wanted to be a 10 right then. At this point my timeline becomes hazy, as I was in and out of it the rest of the time. They let me get in the tub, which was nice, but slowed down my contractions so I eventually had to get out. Then I sat on the birthing stool for a while, which is the evilest contraption known to woman. Ok, maybe not all are, but this one was pipes formed into a bottomless chair with just a bit of foam for padding. If you like your legs to fall asleep, this is the chair for you. At some point I was checked and dilated to an 8. At some point I got back into the tub and was real happy. I think I was dilated to a 9.5, with just a lip left. The midwife assistant was having me push, trying to get the baby's head around it. This was totally unsuccessful, and again the tub made my contractions slow down, so out I was forced again. I was so sad, the warm tub was the only happy place. They moved me to the bed, on my side/stomach and I endured what was the most most most horrible pain (until the pushing) while being told "relax, calm your body" to which I responded by yelling "I CAN'T". They told me later I wasn't really yelling, but it sure felt like I was. I slept (sort of) in between contractions, and at one point I am told by Aaron I went 10 minutes without a contraction. I was probably happy, but that was obviously not the best thing to have happen.

At some point (as I said, time became very abstract) I was moved to the birth stool again (boooo) and was there pushing for a while. Later I was moved to the toilet because I kept yelling that I needed to go... TMI of course, I didn't really need to go, just felt like it. After a while of pushing on the toilet, I got back to the birth stool. Again, boooo. Pushing and pushing and pushing and eventually the midwife assistant says "ok I see the head!" They find a mirror and try to show me but the baby has slipped back up. This is the most frustrating part, as now I am pushing and every time I get done with a contraction the baby slips back up and all my work is in vain. They tell me this is normal, and each give me some formula as follows: first push gets baby back where he was, second push stretches, third push moves him farther, and fourth push is icing on the cake. I just wanted it to stop!!! The entire time I am thinking: why am I so stupid, why did I choose this, I need drugs, all of Harmon's siblings will be born at the hospital, somebody get this kid out of me by any means necessary, ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Eventually they are able to show me and Aaron the head and I think: Oh no, that is NOT going to fit out there!!!!!!!!!!! They tell me that seeing the head will motivate me to push him out, and I am thinking, no, it is motivating me to panic and want this all to end! Ah, around 6 or so (according to Aaron who knew what time it was) they put an IV in me because I had only gatorade and water in me and was exhausted. I went through two bags of that, and since I had been in labor so long, I was on my third round of antibiotics for group B strep. They don't often give IVs, and as a result poked me at least twice before being successful. I had a cool bruise later on.

Ok, so back to the pushing. Aaron says I pushed for about 3 hours total, and although lots of ladies say pushing felt good to them, it did not to me. Not only did I have the infamous burning, I also had horrible awful pain, and was thinking I cannot do this, there is no way. At some point I asked Aaron to say a prayer, so we all stopped and he said a prayer. Somehow after that I managed to birth my child. I figure it was only because of the prayer, because I was not having much success before (even my midwife admitted she was thinking of the hospital, needing a vacuum extraction or forceps) I finally managed to get him out when he got lodged at the end, and I didn't want to lose anymore ground that time. Aaron said "one more push!" and two later I shot my child's head out of me! Next a small push shot the rest of him out into Aaron's waiting hands. (My midwife later told me they wouldn't let me back into the tub which I had been begging for because by this point they had realized he was real big and were worried about a rough shoulder delivery).

Aaron handed him to me and all pain stopped, and I looked at him and thought: WHAT? This kid is giant, look at those hands and feet!!! And I loved him even more than I did when he was on the inside. Side note: Aaron now believes me that my baby was tickling me, and hurting me with his strong feet once he saw how big they all were. Aaron took Harmon back and I delivered the placenta real easy like. Then they let me get back into the waiting happy bathtub and cuddle my beautiful giant baby. Oh yeah, he came out at 7:44am, which was totally shocking to me, as I thought it was still night, but that's a good thing, meaning time warped for shorter.

Aaron made phone calls, my mom and Caelin showed up, they weighed and measured my giant... 10lbs 12oz, 23inches, and a head circumference of 38cm, which Aaron and I calculated the radius to be a bit over 12 cm, explaining a whole lot of the pain and aftermath I am still feeling.

They had me try to go to the bathroom, but instead I got dizzy and got an oxygen mask. Later when I was still unable I got a catheter stuck in me to drain my bladder. Awful, I don't recommend that. At some point I got sewn back together. That took about 45min, and I was told it was the worst the midwife had ever seen. I feel both proud and horrified by that.

After a bunch of laying around, we went home around 2pm, and lived happily ever after. Well sort of. We have probably the best baby ever. He loves sleeping a lot. That's great except for the first little while when we were unable to wake him up and feed him. Now we are much better at waking up and eating, but still doing a great amount of sleeping. We are probably the best looking new parents alive. I'm only kidding, but we do feel extra blessed with such a good kid. I probably have fared the worst, as I am still recovering over two weeks later. I think it could be summed up by the previous descriptions of the giant coming out the birth canal, and me still not being able to sit, even on soft things. Ok, I can sit on soft things, for like 20 min at a time. I spend most my day laying down. Aaron was home the first two weeks, the first week on vacation and the second working from home. We would have been lost without him!!! Today he is back at work and we miss him. But baby puggy has been mostly well behaved and is currently snoozing while I lay around on the bed. The end, for now.

(Evil, just say no)

{March 2011 update: for those of you just reading this from a link, who want to read about my second baby born at home, feel free to click here}

Another list...

Well attempting to pass time waiting for the baby has been both easy and hard. Easy on days I let my mom entertain me all day, and hard on days where I sit at home real bored. I found this list of 100 things to do when your baby is overdue, and since you know I love lists, I thought I would go through and see how many I had done already, just for fun.


1. Read another pregnancy book
2. Take a bubble bath
3. Get a pedicure thanks mom!
4. Eat something spicy
5. Talk to an old friend
6. Learn to time contractions
7. Pick out a baby book
8. Go over your list of baby names one more time
9. Write a birth plan
10. Change the message on your answering machine to inform callers you're still around
11. Get your hair done
12. Get a massage
13. Go for a bumpy ride
14. Recalculate your due date
15. Hang out with us on the pregnancy forums
16. Watch reruns on television
17. Wash all of your baby clothes
18. Check out a matinee movie, alone or with a friend
19. Make a rice sock for labor
20. Try a new recipe for dinner
21. Pack your birth bag for the hospital or birth center
22. Look through your pregnancy journal and relive some of the better moments
23. Buy a new nightgown
24. Go dancing!
25. Look at some birth announcements
26. Put the baby's car seat in the car
27. Go window shopping
28. Daydream about the baby
29. Eat something else spicy
30. Buy a nursing bra.
31. If you have older kids, read to them N/A
32. Shave your legs.
33. Visit someone else with a new baby and practice holding them
34. Think of goofy answers to the questions about whether or not you're still pregnant Grandma: you still haven't popped that thing out yet? Kelsey: Yeah I have and I'm still this fat and have misplaced my baby! (ok not that clever, said in the moment)
35. Try a new nail color. Change it again
36. Call your mom
37. Sit in your baby's room for a while
38. Buy a cute baby toy
39. Get lots of fiber
40. Put together any unmade furniture
41. Buy stamps for birth announcements
42. Work out - go to yoga, aerobics, whatever you like to do
43. Practice a new position for labor
44. Walk around the mall
45. Check to be sure your insurance information is packed in your birth bag
46. Do you have batteries for your camera?
47. Listen to a favorite album
48. Buy a pack of diapers
49. Buy a new toothbrush for the birth
50. Make a birthday cake
51. Call your best friend
52. Play with your pets I changed the fish water, that counts.
53. Do nothing for a change
54. Give your husband a back massage. Show him how you like to have your back rubbed.
55. Buy any birthday cards or presents you'll need for the first 6 weeks after your baby is born.
56. Have a smoothie.
57. Recheck your birth bag for the hospital or birth center
58. Go to a La Leche League meeting or breastfeeding class
59. Take your husband dancing.
60. Pack some snacks for the hospital or birth center
61. Make a belly cast of your belly
62. Buy some sexy underwear, or at least not granny panties, for after the birth (a couple of weeks).
63. If you have older kids, make I'm a big sister/brother t-shirts for them --maybe I should do this for my siblings.
64. Bake a batch of cookies for the doctors and nurses at the hospital or birth center -- why, I will eat them all before the baby comes out!!!
65. Go to your last prenatal appointments
66. Order your favorite pizza for dinner
67. Think about anything but the new baby or labor
68. Tell your husband how much you love and appreciate him
69. Make sure you have a long distance phone card for the birth N/A
70. Have someone inspect your car seat for safety. Try AAA or local car dealer.
71. Get a new scented lotion for labor
72. Pack a diaper bag
73. Page your honey to make sure he's paying attention.
74. Bake a casserole to eat after your baby is born
75. Put your birth bag in the car
76. Make sure you have some postpartum help lined up
77. Start a scrapbook for your baby if you haven't already
78. Call your pediatrician to see if they have a recommended list of first aid items.
79. Look through your old baby books and pictures.
80. Have a lunch date with a friend
81. Read positive birth stories
82. Chat with your doula about any last minute worries midwife anyway
83. Feel your baby's movements. Remember how you waited to feel the first fetal movements?
84. Make a romantic dinner for your honey
85. Make a list of everything you will miss about being pregnant
86. Learn to knit baby booties
87. Ask your mom about your birth
88. Clean out the refrigerator
89. Rent a video
90. Take a practice drive to the hospital -- maybe I should do this, as the baby went crazy and seemed to want to come out last time I went to the birthing center.
91. Listen to a book on tape
92. Read a novel you've been dying to read
93. Go to work - why not? -- if only... :)
94. Think about your postpartum birth control choices
95. Read a new breastfeeding book
96. Practice a new relaxation technique
97. Refold all the baby clothes
98. Write a letter to your baby telling him or her how much you can't wait to meet them!
99. Make a list of everything you won't miss about being pregnant
100. Give birth! -- RUDE!!!

That means I've done over 75% of this list. Hahaha. And things like dancing I am not doing, pregnant or not, so. Other suggestions besides sleep and rest ? I can't believe you read this whole thing, or even skimmed it.

To-Do List

So since I have just over 6 weeks until my baby is supposed to magically pop out of me, I have realized there are a lot of things to do. Maybe if I write them here I will magically get all of them done. Or not, but at least I will know what needs done. And when I say "needs done" I mean "in an ideal world here is what I would get done".

1. Finish Baby's Quilt
2. Finish Baby's Halloween Costume
3. Make Caelin's Pillow
4. Wash all clothes & diapers
5. Pack birthing center bag
6. Buy carseat
7. Declutter house
8. Finish Baby Book (as much as possible)
9. Print and Frame/Photo Album wedding photos
10. Assemble co-sleeper
11. Find suitable home for Baby's clothes
12. Go to the dentist
13. Read camera manual and make my settings better
14. Write in my journal
15. Back up all photos on CDs
16. Get new music for squeezing a baby out
17. Clean & Box wedding dress. For real.
18. Review infant CPR
19. Finish reading 17 million books
20. Make some meals for the freezer
21. Make awesome halloween onesies
22. Make Nursing Pads
23. Create birth annoucements
24. Make more bibs
25. Buy co-sleeper sheets
26. Finish silly nightlight project
27. Transport rocking chair from mom's to here
28. Get changing table pad thing.
29. Get a pack of disposables to have on hand
30. Make more burp cloths
31. Type up "birth plan"
32. Buy Diaper bag
33.-45. TBA

I figure if I do about one thing a day I can totally get it all done. Hahahahahha. I hope we all had a good laugh. But boy I sure do love lists. I'm going to go do some of these right now.

Progress

I realized I have been reading A LOT. Here are my in depth book reviews:

1. A Mighty Heart by Mariane Pearl: Loved it. Excellently written. Story of her husband Danny Pearl who was the reporter kidnapped in Pakistan. A Must read.

2. Birthing From Within by Pam England: Useful, something my mom would call a "woo-woo" book. Not everyone's style, but had some good points.

3. Girlfriend's Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine: Some funny parts, some useful parts, but sometimes missed the mark.

4. The Joy of Pregnancy by Tori Kropp: I liked it better than most pregnancy books. Seemed to do a good job of presenting "all sides" without being overly biased toward any one opinion.

5. Gentle Birth Choices by Barbara Harper: Good ideas without being overly preachy.

6. What to Expect When You're Expecting by Heidi Murkoff: Exactly what you expect.

7. ABCs of Breastfeeding by Stacey Rubin: Silly formula for writing, but good material.

8. Your Pregnancy Week by Week by Glade Curtis: I could probably read a million books that tell me about each week, because I am weird like that. This one was good. Nothing special.

9. Belly Laughs by Jenny McCarthy: I confess I had seen this in several places and had wanted to read it, and when I saw it on the library shelf I felt justified in it. I laughed several times, but she is kinda an extremist. I suppose that's what makes it funny.

I've got some other books in the works too, reaching my 12 for the list will be no problem. Also I started a stinking hard puzzle that I wonder if I will ever finish.

Some Progress

So it seems I have done some things on my list, and started some others. I have managed to make my child 2-3 blankets, and 2 more in the works, so I consider it done. Had a 1st anniversary party which was quite excellent. It was kind of just like our reception, except Aaron got to do the BBQing. I made a maternity skirt, but it didn't fit right, so I took the waist band off and have to finish it. I did donate my hair to Locks of Love in the end of June, cutting off 12 plus inches and still managing to keep a lot of hair. Yesterday we started a birthing class based on "Birthing From Within" (a book) so that will count as well as when I finish the book. I bought several big puzzles (1000 and 1500 pieces) and intend to start them someday. I'm feeling pretty great about doing some things on the list. Except that some of them I am so far behind (journal writing, etc) that I will never complete. But that's ok. That's life.

Baby Teeth

It was brought to my attention I am currently growing a baby, so having a baby is in progress. I mean technically I have one inside right now. At least that's what they tell me.

Also I flossed every day for an entire month. I almost forgot one day at the end but luckily didn't. I found it both theraputic and nasty to see what's between your teeth EVERY day. Nasty.

Good Job

I used my iTunes giftcards today. I should be embarassed that I had to put it on my list, but it happens. Also I remembered I made a new recipe, some chocolate chip cookie bars. They were pretty good, but I like cookies much better. Good work for making progress on my tough goals self.

I remembered

I remembered I had a blog and a big list of things to do, and then I realized I did some things on the list!

I finished the work I was going to do on Lorena's quilt, today started reading the Old Testament, this week I got my ham radio license, and sent another piece of real mail for last month. I also realized that I am behind in my journal writing (shocker) and am trying to decide if I write more than once a week if that counts as a catch up.

That's my update. For myself. Or for you if you are reading and keeping track.

What About...

Aaron said: "but what if you want to make new goals in a year or so?" This list is not intended to stop me from doing other goals. It is just a list of some of the things I have been putting off, or things that I want to try but need an excuse to do so.

101 Things in 1001 Days

Original link with rules/idea.

I think I will just keep this as the original list, and update on the sidebar.

Start date: January 26th, 2008
Ending date: October 23rd, 2010

The list:
1. Write my Ecuador book
2. Finish Lorena’s quilt
3. Turn my old shirts into tote bags
4. Read 12 books (0/12)
5. Come back to Ecuador again
6. Get scuba certified
7. Make 5 iTunes play lists (0/5)
8. Learn how to play Acoustic #3 on the guitar
9. Begin sailing around the world with Aaron
10. Re-learn how to crochet, make a scarf
11. Make a quilt for my own bed
12. Have ample food storage supply
13. Go to bed by 10 for a week straight
14. Photograph another wedding
15. Read camera manual all the way through
16. Buy a new lens
17. Hike to Leigh Lake
18. Have a baby
19. Make a skirt
20. Read the entire old testament
21. Do pilates or yoga 2x week for two months
22. Write in my journal once a week (0/143)
23. Take Aaron to Disneyland
24. Get my foundation set up
25. Go surfing 5 times (0/5)
26. Learn to juggle
27. Read 2 books in Spanish (0/2)
28. Visit 5 temples I have never been to (0/5)
29. Donate hair to locks of love
30. Have a real life dinner party
31. Read 2 more books on teenage self-esteem (0/2)
32. Carve a pumpkin with my husband’s face on it
33. Create storage system for all digital pictures
34. Print wedding photos & put in album
35. Print honeymoon photos & put in album
36. Don’t complain at all for 1 week
37. Take some sort of class
38. Visit a country I’ve never been to before
39. Successfully take care of a plant for a year
40. Buy a bike at a garage sale
41. Not eat at a restaurant for 2 weeks straight
42. Build a bridge out of popsicle sticks or toothpicks. Put weights on it to see how much it can hold without breaking.
43. Write a thank you letter once a week for 6 months.
44. Find at least one genealogy name and do the work
45. Plan a fundraiser
46. Can something other than jam
47. Follow Fly Lady’s schedule for one month
48. Cook 10 new recipes (0/10)
49. Do a triathlon
50. Throw a huge party
51. Go snowboarding twice (0/2)
52. Cook four dishes in the pressure cooker (0/4)
53. Floss every day for a month, 3 times (0/3)
54. Frame 10 photos (0/10)
55. Learn a new song on the piano
56. Learn how to make the ultimately delicious macaroons my dad makes
57. Learn to like one type of fish (is this possible?)
58. Read a book on astronomy
59. Figure out the recipe for El Jordan’s tabbouli
60. Purchase the perfect croquet set
61. Build something out of wood
62. Carve something out of wood
63. Golf an entire 18 holes
64. Beat my mom at ping-pong
65. Find a Google whack
66. Get brows threaded (I hope Liza will take me)
67. Go snowshoeing
68. Road trip to somewhere I haven’t been before
69. Send a real piece of mail every month (0/34)
70. Make baby blankets for new arrivals
71. Submit book to publishers
72. Go to 10 year reunion
73. Give away or sell 101 things
74. Learn Photoshop
75. Join some sort of photography challenge group
76. Skydive
77. Swim across Lake Washington
78. Make Aaron a suit. He says he will wear it if I make it.
79. Make Eden an article of clothing she will wear
80. Make myself pumpkin and coconut ice cream. Separately.
81. Get Ham radio license
82. Acquire unbreakable habit of brushing teeth at night
83. Go to the symphony with Aaron
84. Make and keep updated address book
85. Create sweatpants overalls
86. Eat only healthy foods for 1 week
87. Sell something I made
88. Learn to tie 5 knots (0/5)
89. Launch an Ecuadorian globo
90. Explore stock photography options
91. Use my iTunes gift cards. Seriously, shouldn’t need to be on the list.
92. Buy and complete a big big puzzle
93. Win a contest
94. Make a cake in the microwave
95. Go waterskiing
96. Have a bingo party
97. Put Rosero’s videos on DVD for them
98. Learn 10 children’s songs in Spanish
99. Get wedding dress cleaned and boxed
100. Create will and force husband to do the same
101. Manage to see a sunrise without feeling like death