Upon Request

He's even got his daddy's funky toenails...

Things that make me smile

Mr. Renn "running" with Oliver's legs while whistling the Chariots of Fire Soundtrack


















Tiny hands

Listening to my baby breathe while he sleeps

Baby yawns

Shhh... it's time for sleeping...

Awww.

Now, isn't that just too cute? And he's mine!

Me and my Guy

Well my days are all blurry around the edges and my brain's turned mushy. Makes it rather difficult to be witty, or even remotely interesting.

While being milked yesterday I turned on the TV in a desperate attempt to think about something non-milk-related. I ended up watching a good 30 minutes of Signing Time Kids on the educational-some-such-channel. It was actually remarkably engaging for what it was, and I learned at least 8 new words in sign language. Hey, I learned something new! Maybe there is hope for my mushy brain after all.

So other than feeling slightly like I'm under house arrest, and the occasional (frequent) outbursts of inexplicable tears, we're doing pretty good! How long does that usually last anyway?

Luckily Oliver is sleeping better, and his daddy's decided to take over the fun job of getting him back to sleep at night for a while. These factors combine to make me slightly sane-er, even if I do wake up in considerable discomfort in the morning. Isn't engorgement fun?

Miss Dandelion Mama

And a shout-out to my girl Tracy for all the great clothes I keep spitting up on. If it weren't for her, my mommy would be doing laundry 8 days a week!

Ain't it the truth?

Greetings! Our mission is to see how crazy and sleep-deprived mommy can get.





The basic plan is to sleep all day and wail all night. Usually this does the trick.





But if we catch mommy napping during the day we must start to make strange noises, so she will panic and come pick us up.





And always poop loudly within 3 minutes of having our diaper changed.





Don't worry, we won't get in trouble, we're too cute!

gas

Looky, Looky! We managed to capture the elusive gassy smile!
(Granted it's a little blurry...)

Reality

Lest I lead anyone astray, I am having a hard-ish time adjusting to all this. It is nearly 2 in the afternoon and here I sit, in my soggy pajamas, still unshowered, after spending the last two hours calming a hysterical congested baby. My hormones are all loopy, so anything remotely sad or remotely happy sends me into fits of tears. Just thinking that my baby's already growing up and will never be as young and new as he was amoment ago... and there I go blubbering.
So not that it's a surprise or anything, but staying home alone with a new baby all day is maddening hard work.

Breathe in, breathe out... I should go try to take a nap before Oliver wakes up.

Celebrating the 24th

Greetings all. Just sharing some of our adventures from the 24th of July. The night before Oliver refused to sleep, so he snoozed right through the entire day's festivities. That didn't keep people from wanting to cuddle him though!
With Grandma Ann

At the Hess family party/reunion. The one time each year that we all get our homemade rootbeer fix!

We had a great day, even if we did have to be party poopers and make only brief appearances. AND Oliver slept like a dream last night. What a relief!

Daddy time

Mr. Renn is a most excellent Daddy. He is the resident burp-er. He does it much better than I do, and manages never to get drenched in breastmilk-spitup. I don't know how he does it!



Here's my two favorite boys in the middle of the night.

Dreaming of the Godfather

I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse.

Just some of the funny faces made by a sleeping Oliver. Mr. Renn likes to throw quips from Don Vito Corleone in just to make me laugh.

My Week

Wow - time flies when you're.... learning so many new things!

Good news - life is grand. I love being a mamma! I'm not necessarily very good at it... still can't seem to stay awake through a night feeding so I wake up to Oliver rooting really loudly, like "Mom, don't you know I can't possible reach there?!" Ah, I've got me some learning to do.

Our 2 day follow up appointment with the pediatrician went pretty well too. We haven't lost too much weight, and if we can manage to stop losing and start gaining weight, we should be okay. (Sounds strangely familiar... like the first trimester of this pregnancy...) I did get the fairly rare and joyous experience of getting a clogged duct before my milk even came in.... so once it did come in - yowzah! Between the pain in the top half of my body and the pain in the bottom half of my body... I'm having a grand old time!


Okay, backing up. Monday morning came and I was still pregnant. I felt absolutely the same as I had for weeks (only slightly bigger) and fully intended to head for work. Mr. Renn wouldn't hear of it. He didn't care that I wasn't having contractions. I could go into labor at any moment as far as he was concerned. So he insisted that we head up to the hospital to be checked out. Once we got there I felt rather silly. Hi, I'm not due for another week and I'm having no signs of labor whatsoever, but could you check me out just for fun?

Well, due to some crazy miscommunication between the nurse that checked me and my doctor, I suddenly found myself on pitocin (which I had once sworn I would never allow to happen... funny how you really don't get to pick). My Dr. thought I'd been having false labor and that was why I came in and so decided to start me. I didn't find this out until it was way past the point of no return. And at that point I really couldn't care less. Now I was in labor and nothing else mattered.

I made it through about 45 minutes of "hard" labor. I was trying really hard to last until my mom got there. She had always joked that I would be asking for my epidural as soon as they admitted me into the hospital, and I wanted to prove her wrong. But after 45 minutes of that... all I could think was "why am I putting myself through this when I don't have to?" - and in went the epidural. Lovely stuff, made for a marvelously calm 6 hour labor. That's right - some crazy way I managed to have a 6 hour labor with my first child. Please don't hate me.

My labor and delivery nurse told me that there was a steep learning curve for figuring out how to push properly when one cannot feel 1/2 of one's body. I was certain I'd be a total klutz at it, but I surprised myself, and did great. We all joked that the last 5 months of being constipated were finally paying off. So sad that it was probably true. It was a wild bunch of sensations, my totally dead legs, feeling lots of pressure, but no pain.

We happened to "choose" the hottest day of the year to have a baby. Apparently that kind of heat can send women into labor, because the labor and delivery unit was full... to capacity and then some. On top of this, the power kept going out (presumably had to do with the Air Conditioning being pushed to its limit). So I got to have my baby in a room with the lights dimmed without even asking. Most of the day we were on emergency power only. I felt so bad for the poor nurses. Apparently it was insanely hot as well; Mr. Renn was fanning the Dr. and the nurses. I guess I should have been hot too, but something about the epidural made me shake a little and convinced my body I was chilly, so I ended up feeling perfectly comfortable. So unfair, I know.

Once my body made it to 6cm, everything went really fast. The first thing I remember my Dr. telling me was that she could see we had a head full of dark hair (when he was crowning). For some reason I didn't think our baby would have much hair, so being told that he did... that was my moment of facing reality. Not a bad awakening if you ask me. We got him out with only a little episiotomy (you'd have to know how paranoid of episiotomies I was) and for a slippery minute I got to hold him. My mom got it on video, so I'll have to watch it and see, I started hyperventilating and they took him away from me. They had to move me out of labor and delivery and into post-partum before we got a chance to try breastfeeding, and when they tried to let me quickly hold him before he was taken to the nursery I was too nauseous. Yeah for puking orange popsicles... the only thing I'd been allowed to eat all day.

They took me and my dead legs out on a gurney. There was something wildly entertaining about being so numb and causing so much work for the nurses. Don't worry, I gave them nice thank-you gifts for their remarkable work. Mr. Renn went with Oliver to the nursery to get cleaned up... where the nurse washing his hair couldn't resist trying a little mohawk.

It was so much fun having a baby with such a distinguishing characteristic. Granted it makes a lot of people assume he is a girl, but he doesn't seem to mind. Even the other new moms all seemed to want to gawk at my cute baby. Mr. Renn and I did a good job, didn't we?

Now we are adjusting to being home, and I am really missing that "Call Nurse" button. Oliver has finally become a pro at "latching on" and I am just starting to want to holler in pain every time he does. Once he's latched on though everything is fine... so we seem to be doing it right. I visited the lactation specialist while we were at the hospital for Oliver's checkup, just to be sure. I loved having my doctor and my pediatrician both in the offices adjoining my hospital. Gave me great peace of mind.

Mr. Renn is bound and determined to get this baby sleeping "through" the night. He already sleeps for 3 or 4 hours at a time, I'd say we're doing pretty well. And he's got the loveliest temperament (so far.. knock on wood). He only cries hard when he's naked, because he hates having his diaper off. Even then, he seems like he's trying not to be too unpleasant about it.

Yup, he's very easy to love so far. Aren't I lucky?!

Oliver!

Dimples

Just wondering who this little guys is going to look like.
Me?











Or Mr. Renn?

I finished the Moses Basket! Hooray for Me!

Can the 13th be unlucky on a Thursday?

Remember my unlucky family? Well we're at it again. I ought not to share details, but suffice it to say that my brother formerly known as the disaster is back in the running for his "former" title. An incident involving broken bones, lacerations, not-quite-legal-to-drive vehicles and inadequate insurance has taken over the house with gloom and doom. Yuck.

On top of this Mr. Renn appears to have come down with a flu bug. What timing, eh?

Obviously I need to keep my legs crossed until everyone cheers up a bit.

Sleeping in Suspense

Last night was a joke. After a late night of finishing off the apricots we picked (bottling nectar and more jam) Mr. Renn and I tried to sleep. He insisted I sleep with a towel "just in case" my water breaks. As per usual lately I have no problem falling asleep.

Alas, staying asleep is a different story.

Sometime between 1 and 2 in the morning I wake up with either a banging contraction or being kicked in the lungs... it's still hard for me to tell the difference when I'm fast asleep. I do a quick check of my belly as per usual.... and I can't find the head! Usually when I'm laying down and having a contraction there is a good hard distinct lump down where I'm thinking the head should be. I panicked... as only a pregnant lady can do. I woke up Mr. Renn and got him all panicky too....
Then neither of us could sleep.

After a prayer and a blessing we did both manage to doze off.... around 5am. I didn't even hear the alarm go off and Mr. Renn assumed I wouldn't want to go into work after not sleeping, so he didn't wake me up. This means I woke up myself 25 minutes late and got to panic again and go to work without washing my hair. (Yucky pregnant hair today - ick).

My mother was able to comfort me considerably this morning, saying that it's possible that my hips have spread enough that the head is between them and no longer needs to stick out. The last thing we need is for this little guy to do a somersault! Head first buddy, head first.

Still no regularity to my contractions, still no broken water. Long days and obviously a LONG night.

Poor Mr. Renn, he deserves a nap!

Only to me...

4.5 CM dialated and 80% effaced.
How long can I possibly go on like this WITHOUT GOING INTO LABOR?
Wait, don't answer that... I probably don't want to know.
I waddle like a fat duck. My doctor says the baby is very low (as opposed to "already dropped" and "low" during my last two visits). She said she doesn't know what my body is waiting for.... any second now..... what horrid suspense!

Pushing the Envelope

I came in to work today and was confronted with an absolute mess. An ugly, difficult to resolve mess, the cause of which had nothing to do with me. Still, I was put in the unenviable position of cleaning up said mess, which involved lots of phone calls to already temperamental customers to give them bad news. The prospect of all of this left me thinking, "Man, why couldn't this baby have come last night?"

I'm sure I was just being jumpy, but I almost thought he was going to come a few times. I had some painful contractions (as opposed to the just deeply uncomfortable ones) last night that woke me up with a bang through the night. But they didn't occur at regular intervals and didn't keep coming. I was always able to fall back asleep (in part because of my perpetual exhaustion..... I can now fall asleep in 3 minutes flat.... never been able to do that before in my life). So I showed up to work this morning feeling like I really shouldn't be showing up to work this morning. *sigh*

One of these days things are going to change.

Tick Tock...

And we are still pregnant. But I'm starting to really feel like I'm going to stop being pregnant soon. This may not mean the baby's coming early.... but just the fact that I no longer feel like I'm going to be pregnant forever is significant. I think I'm starting to feel excited, although excited butterflies in my stomach and just getting kicked in the stomach and lungs seem to feel very similar.

I caught a glimpse of myself in a full length mirror for the first time in weeks. "Whoa, is that me?" I'm really looking a lot bigger than I feel. That's a good thing, right? The stretch marks have moved over to the left side of me and are slowly creeping north. Such un-prettiness. Oh well, it's a mommy battle-scar, right?

As uncomfortable as I am, I would much rather be large and uncomfortable than deal with the constant pukiness of the first 5 1/2 months of this pregnancy. I'll take an achey back and swollen ankles (that I can't see) over mad dashes to the puke-room any day.

So, here we go with another week, we'll see what happens......

Family Night

Renn's Sister and her family stopped by tonight. Fun for us! We love to see our cute niece and our new nephew!

(Thought you might like to see them too)

Before the Parade Passes By...

I spent one of my last baby-free Saturday mornings watching the Farmington City Parade (and why not?).
Both of my brothers are in the High School Marching Band, and my Grandpa was voted citizen of the year (He's always been a bit of a local celebrity)... so there were plenty of people to cheer for.

Something about being hugely pregnant makes parade folk very sympathetic. I had people walk around the mob of kids to gently hand me the things they were dispersing. I got 2 popsicles, a water bottle, and a DVD this way. Wahoo for pregnancy perks.

Later today my goal is to pick a bucket of apricot from my grandpa's house and make some jam. Well, I can't very well do much of the picking... but I can make the jam if I can talk someone else into doing to picking! (This is what little brothers are for, right?)


(P.S. - Yeah for EASY freezer jam... and Mr. Renn deciding to take pictures of it!)

Hip Hip,,,,

Our camera finally arrived! Mr. Renn's been practicing. Here is our dilly plant, looking much healthier than the last time I took its picture.

Take a deep breath and count to 10

587 work days down, 10 to go (9 if you subtract 2 half days for doctor appointments).
It sounds pretty manageable, doesn't it?

SO WHY IS IT BEING SO HARD? Waking up in the morning is hard. Getting ready for work is hard. Driving to work is INCREDIBLY HARD. Sitting at a desk for hours is hard. Thinking coherently enough to answer phones is hard. Using a public restroom is hard. Maintaining a coherent phone conversation while having a blasted contraction or being actively kicked in the lungs is hard. Not being able to nap is hard. Not being able to tear a few layers of clothing off and scratch my belly when it itches is hard. Being nice to people with annoying questions is hard. Okay, being nice period is hard some moments. Being teased about the way I walk is hard. Being teased about looking so very pregnant is hard. (What, I'm rather round? YOU THINK?!) Concentrating on what I'm doing is hard. Getting through the haze in my brain to get to my problem solving skills is hard. Feeling like people resent me for taking so many bathroom breaks is hard. (They probably don't actually resent it... I just feel like they do) Keeping myself intact through the commute back home has been especially hard. In the last 2 weeks I have had to circumvent at least 8 major accidents to get home... and remember how my problem solving skills are not at the top of their game?

Oh how my pregnant little self longs to call it quits early. Alas, financial reality requires that I work until I drop.

Well... 10 more days.... they will come and they will go and they will be gone. I think I will not miss them. Just like my moody hips.

Movin' Right Along

Whoopee, Dr. says we're at 3 cm. Granted, a person can stay at 3 cm for weeks...
But so far I've been more dialated at each visit than I was at the one before.....
Besides, I'm getting a "Get me out of here!!!" vibe from a very claustrophobic baby.

Somehow I persuaded Mr. Renn to watch Rocki's Prenatal Yoga with me... since we never made it to any lamaze class. Mr. Renn is such a good sport. I think I will keep him. After watching the Yoga/Lamaze video the baby was in a dancing mood, so we tried to videotape him bouncing from one end of my innards to the other. Right away he became inexplicably camera-shy. Darn.

I think I have eaten almost 80 popsicles in the last 2 weeks. Somehow chewing on something cold but softer than ice just feels marvelous. I guess there are worse things I could be binging on.

The Plan

Oh, since I am a ticking time-bomb...
Once there is news to be shared, either Mr. Renn (sgt pepper) will post it here or my dad will post about it here. So if I disappear for while, check my Dad's blog. (If you are so inclined.... no hormonal bossy/pushiness here...)

my circus act

Well, this is Mr. Renn's favorite new thing to do...
We balance a cup on my belly, and then Mr. Renn rubs, taps, and provokes the belly buddy until he kicks the cup off my tummy. Hours of quality family entertainment.