At my last doctor’s appointment on the 29th of October my doctor did another growth ultrasound to check his size.  The ultrasound showed that he was 9.6 pounds and I still had a week and a half until my due date.  My doctor was worried he was getting too big and wanted to induce me on Monday.  We decided to think about it that night at home.  I really didn’t want to be induced, I wanted to experience the whole labor thing on my own.  After a lot of thought and consideration we decided to go ahead and get induced.  They moved my date to Tuesday but wanted me to check in on Monday the 2nd. 

We went to the hospital on Monday night about 5:00 pm so they could start me on Cervidil to help induce labor.  I was only a fingertip dilated and 50% effaced that night.  They gave me an Ambien that night to help me sleep since the Cervidil can cause a lot of cramping.  The Ambien knocked me out which meant that I wasn’t breathing enough for the baby so they had to put me on oxygen all night so his heart beat would go back up.  The next morning they check me again before starting the Pit and the Cervidil had done nothing to help progress my labor because I was still dilated and effaced the same as I was the night before.  I hurried and showered and got ready for the day before they started me on the Pit, and mentally prepared for a long day. 

They started the Pit at 8:00 that morning.  The contractions weren’t too terrible and John and I were able to play cards and watch 24 on the laptop.  At 12:30 my doctor came back to check me and strip my membranes, which was a very painful experience.  I had at least dilated to a 2 and was now 80% effaced.  He decided to break my water to help move things along. 

After he broke my water they turned up the Pit which made the contractions come hard and fast.  I got in the tub which helped the pain a lot.  My sweet nurse didn’t believe me when I told her that my family has really long labors and it was going to take me a long time to progress, and after only an hour in the tub she was nervous to get me out and check me again.  I got out and back in bed because they wanted to be able to monitor me and felt it was easier in the bed.  I tried asking to get in the chair but she didn’t want me to.  When she checked me I was only a 3. 

The contractions were coming so fast that it was hard to stay on top of them.  John was great and helped me with my breathing.  I couldn’t cry because it made the pain worse, so with every contraction tears would stream down my face as I breathed through them.  At 4:30 the nurse asked if I wanted her to check me or wait another hour for the doctor to come and do it himself.  I only needed to make it to a 4 before I could get my epidural.  I debated for a minute about waiting for the doctor because I didn’t want to have her check me and me still only be a 3.  I finally couldn’t take it anymore and had her check me.  I had made it to a good solid 4 and she asked me if I wanted an epidural, to which I couldn’t say yes fast enough.  In fact I think I said along the lines of “I made it, holy crap I freakin made it to a 4!”  I have never been so excited to get a needle stuck in my back in my whole life.

It took about 45 minutes before the anesthesiologist made it to my room and when she walked in I told her how much I loved her and how she was like my Santa Clause.  The epidural was crazy, it basically felt like my legs went to the dentist.  I guess I thought I wouldn’t feel anything, but you still do, just only a little bit.  It was really wild.  Once that kicked in I was set.  They turned up the Pit even more and left us to get some sleep.  It was 5:30. 

We both just got to sleep when my nurse came running in and turned off my Pit and grabbed the oxygen to have me breath.  She also started pushing the IV as fast as she could.  Robinson’s heart rate had dropped into the 90’s.  He wasn’t responding too well to the high dosage of Pit.  It made my contractions come too hard and fast and he didn’t have enough time in between them to rest.  They called the doctor who had me take a 30 minute break and to put me back on the Pit at the same level as before.  The same thing happened.  We did this 3 times before the doctor finally came back in. 

By this time John and I had already talked about the fact that a c-section was looking like our only choice at this point.  The doctor checked me and I was still only a 4 after 5 hours.  We talked to the doctor and all decided that a c-section would be best for the baby.  I started crying because I really wanted to have a regular birth.  John and the sweet nurse talked me through my tears and they called back in the anesthesiologist to get me numb from the chest down.  It was now 9:30.

After they got me all numbed they gave John his scrubs and told him to get dressed and where to met them.  Before he could even put on his scrubs Robinson’s heart dropped again, this time into the 80’s.  I was in and out of it because of all the drugs they had given me and I remember trying so hard to stay awake.  I remember them saying they had to go now because his heart was so low and I remember everyone grabbing things and running me into the OR.  I remember how bright the lights were in the OR and I remember the doctors talking to me and each other.  I started shaking out of control and I kept telling them how sorry I was that I was shaking and that I couldn’t make it stop.  They put a warm blanket on my chest which helped a lot.  The anesthesiologist told me they were going to do a test to make sure I was numb enough before they would let John come in.  They must have done it because I remember them saying “get her husband,  hurry and get her husband”.  John walked in and sat down by me.  It was only a few short minutes later that I heard my boy crying.  It was amazing.  There really are no words to describe how his cry made me feel.  I started sobbing and John stood up and looked over the curtain and he told me how good he looked and then he said, “and he got lots of dark hair just like you wanted babe”.  John went with the baby to be checked out while they stitched me up.  As they were pulling him out one of the people in the OR said, “wow that kids a brute” because he was so big.  Everyone was commenting on how huge he was.  I guess they don’t get many 9 pounders here.  He was 9 pounds 4 ounces and 22 inches long.     

I am getting to see him for the first time here.

After they got me all fixed up I waited in the recovery room for John to bring me the baby.  I am holding him for the first time.

John is one proud daddy. 

He is just one day old here.

At this hospital when you have a c-section you get a room with 2 beds which was great for John to have his own bed.  He and Robinson snuggled all day like this.

Here we are ready to leave the hospital.  This is our very first family photo. 

Seriously could you just die?  I am totally in love with this kid.

His very first home.

My mom has been down and I can’t even begin to tell you what a wonderful help she has been.  She has cooked yummy dinners for us and has kept Robinson out with her at nights so we can get some sleep.  I am going to be so sad when she leaves.  Good thing my sister Randa comes the same day Mom leaves. 

I didn’t swell at all while I was pregnant, but this is what my feet looked like after 7 bags of saline solution and 2 bags of Pit. 

We are so happy to have him home and that he is healthy and happy.  I am recovering really well from my c-section and feel amazingly blessed by having Robinson in my life. 

I will post his birth story later.  But here he is, all 9.4 lbs and 22 inches.  We are wildly in love.

Here is my final gut check, I can’t believe this is it.  They are going to induce me Tuesday!

I am very torn on how I feel.  I am so excited to meet my sweet baby, but at the same time I am sad to be done with my pregnancy.  I have adored being pregnant with him, even with all the sickness and aches and pains, it has truly been one of the most wonderful times in my life.  I will always look back on being pregnant with nothing but good memories. 

I am ready for the next chapter, the part where I actually get to be a Mother.  I can’t wait to kiss his fat little face and just love him!  I will post pictures and stats this week sometime.  Wish me luck!  Here are the pictures starting out at week 11 and ending at week 39.

11 Weeks.

16 Weeks.

17 Weeks

18 Weeks

19 Weeks.

20 Weeks.

21 Weeks.

22 Weeks.

23 Weeks.

24 Weeks.

25 Weeks.

26 Weeks.

27 Weeks.

28 Weeks.

29 Weeks.

30 Weeks.

31 Weeks.

32 Weeks.

33 Weeks.

34 Weeks.

35 Weeks.

36 Weeks.

37 Weeks.

38 Weeks. 

39 Weeks.

This last weekend we finally finished up everything in the nursery.  I am so happy with how it turned out. 

Here is what it looked like before.

Johnny was so sweet and he painted and fixed anything and everything that I requested. 

Here he is setting up the crib. 

Here is the finished room.

I already blogged about the awesome dresser that he painted for baby. 

We have been collecting kids books ever since we started trying to have a baby, so he has plenty of books to get him started.

A few decorations.

We bought him these rabbit moccasins in Alaska this summer.

These were Johnny’s marbles when he was little.

I got this old matchbox from my Great Grandma years ago. 

Mom gave me the rocking chair from her store. 

I saw this vinyl a few years ago and bookmarked the page in case I ever had a baby.  It was supposed to go right on the wall but we wanted to be able to take it with us when we move so we put it on canvas.  John painted the canvas to match the blue walls and the vinyl went on great.  I really love how it turned out.

My mom made the blanket for his crib.  She said I better appreciate it because it was not only her first attempt, but her last.  No more homemade blankets from her.  I love how it turned out, it is perfect and just what I wanted.

I am obsessed with looking at the little things hanging in his closet. 

I have a picture of me when I was a baby playing with same toy.  It chimes when you roll it around. 

This owl was one of the very first toys we bought for him after we found out we were having a boy.  I LOVE retro owls.

Here is Tiny Baby’s cradle that is in our room.  I have him some adorable bedding coming for it.  It should be here sometime this week I hope.  I will blog about it when I get it.  I love his cradle.  I always knew that I wanted a classic looking cradle for him to sleep in while he was tiny and I found this at Target.  The moose we got him in Alaska. 

This is why I haven’t been blogging much lately, I have been very busy with pictures.  I love doing pictures and it was fun to fit in all these sessions.  The fields are a popular spot this year. 

I love the bright colors they are wearing for these. 

Yet even more friends from Law School  

B loves John, so I brought him along to help get her attention. 

These are more of our friends from Law School. 

Little E with his rock.

Wait till I blog about the awesome trade I made with KaLee for the pictures! 

I forgot to blog about our last trip to Star Valley.  We had a fun time, even though it was super short.  One day we took the kids hiking to the Intermittent Springs.  In the 8 years we have been together John had never  been before. 

John was showing the kids his mad rock skipping skills.

The kids wanted to go play in the creek bottom when the water stopped so Uncle John was nice enough to take them both down.

When the water started again I yell at him to hurry and come back over, but they decided to wait it out on the other side.  John didn’t realize he would be stuck over there for 20 minutes with 2 kids.  Here he and T are having a lengthy discussion about the easiest way to get back across. 

My friend Shalee sent me the recipe for this cake, and it was awesome!  Plus I love making bundt cakes because it means I have an excuse to use my pretty cake plates.

1 pkg. Duncan Hines Spice Cake Mix
3 large eggs
1 C. pumpkin
2/3 C. evaporated milk
1/3 C. vegetable oil
1 C. white chocolate chips

White Chip Cinnamon Glaze:
3 T. evaporated milk
1 C. white chocolate chips
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 12-cup bundt cake pan. Combine cake mix, eggs, pumpkin, evaporated milk and vegetable oil in a large bowl. Beat at low speed until moistened. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes; stir in chocolate chips. Pour into bundt pan. Bake for 40-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack for 25 minutes; invert onto wire rack to cool completely. Drizzle HALF of glaze over cake; serve with remaining glaze.

For White Chip Cinnamon Glaze:
Heat 3 T. evaporated milk in a small, heavy-duty saucepan over medium heat just to a boil; remove from heat. Add 1 C. white chocolate chips; stir until smooth. Stir in 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon.

38 Weeks.  So I am way late posting this, but I took it on the right day so that counts, right?  He is coming crazy soon and I am getting so excited I could burst! 

Have you ever been almost famous?  I hadn’t until today, and now I can officially say that I am almost famous.  I will never be totally famous so I have to take what I can get. 

Today at work my friend KaLee sent me an e-mail to let me know that Pioneer Woman picked my picture to be on her blog post today, and pretty much it has made my day ever since.  If you didn’t know, I am in love with the Pioneer Woman, she is #7 on my list.  She has a photography blog and as part of it she has a flickr group where she will give assignments for you to do and then post your picture in the group.  If she likes it she will put it on her blog.  She also picks a few of the entries to win prizes and I am still keeping my fingers crossed that I might win something tomorrow.

This week’s assignment was to make your pictures have rounded edges in Photoshop.  I took this picture while I was in Alaska this summer and I have been wanting to edit it, I just haven’t had the time.  I started messing around on Sunday with it and thought it turned out pretty fun so I decided to enter it and now I am super glad I did!

 Here is the screen shot of Pioneer Woman’s blog.

Hurray for being almost famous!

37 Weeks. 

I have been slowly putting together my birthing playlists.  I have one with just pretty instrumental songs already done, but I want to have another with pretty mellow songs that aren’t exclusively instrumental.  I have been listening to last.fm, which is the coolest thing ever if you haven’t ever tried it.  It is a radio station, you put in a genre or group you like and it plays that group and others that are similar.  I have been listening to “acoustic” which has been playing some awesome songs.  Here are a few of my favorites from this week that I am thinking of having on my alternate playlist.

As always if anyone has some great suggestions for my playlist I would love to hear them!

These are our friends from Law School.  I took their pictures last year and it was great to do them again. 

These were way yummy.  We also made the cinnamon syrup that I blogged about here, and it made them even better.  I wouldn’t eat them without this syrup or one really similar, I think maple would taste funny on pumpkin. 

Again I got the recipe from my new favorite recipe place, The Tasty Kitchen. 

Ingredients

• 2 cups Plus 2 Tablespoons Cake Flour (We just used regular because that is all we had) 
• 2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Baking Powder
• 1-¼ teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice (We put in extra) 
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1-½ cup Buttermilk
• ½ cups Libby’s Pure Pumpkin
• ¼ cups Water
• 2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
• 1 whole Large Egg

Preparation Instructions

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt in a large bowl. Mix.

In a smaller bowl, combine buttermilk, pumpkin, water, egg, and oil. Mix well.

Add pumpkin mixture to flour mixture.

Mix until moistened. Batter may be lumpy, but that’s okay!

Pour batter onto greased griddle. As always, I used my favorite, Pam baking spray!

These pancakes turned out delicious! They have a subtle hint of pumpkin and are moist and fluffy! If you like a little more pumpkin, just add in some extra!

Tip: This recipe makes about 12 large pancakes. You can double the recipe and make smaller pancakes, then freeze the extra! Just pull them out of the freezer and toss them in the toaster!

 Syrup
*1 C. Sugar
*1/4 C Water
*1/2 C Light Karo Syrup
*1 tsp Cinnamon
Boil for 2 minutes add:
*1/2 C Canned Milk or Cream
Cool for 30 minutes