Baby's First Christmas

Here is the video we took of Tristan and his gifts! The sun was really bright coming in the window, next time we'll be sure to move the camera out of the sun.





Baby's First Christmas from Holly Riley on Vimeo.


And here is a video from back in the day, a month ago, when I was trying to figure out my Moby Wrap to carry Tristan in for Travis' ironman race.  No I'm not naked, I pulled the straps down from my tank top.


Tristan's first try in the Moby Wrap from Holly Riley on Vimeo.

Some pics of our beautiful baby boy!

Pulmonologist visit

Hola a todos -

Our visit to the pediatric pulmonologist went well.  Tristan has stridor and laryngomalacia.  (I made a link there, so you can read up on it).  Basically, laryngomalacia results in partial airway obstruction and causes the high-pitched squeaking noise when Tristan breathes in.  So what do we do?  We give it time.  The doctor said that Tristan will most likely outgrow this by his first birthday or by the latest, his second birthday.  He said it is harmless and won't develop into any further problems.  It is very common in infants and it is not hereditary or caused by something the mother did wrong - it is a congenital (present at birth) defect of the larynx.  The only problem is that it is aggravated by crying and I tell Tristan that, but I don't think he gets it just yet :)  The doctor told us to add 1/2 teaspoon - 1 tsp of rice cereal to his feedings to thicken the formula.  He said that will help to strengthen the muscles around there.  We have a follow-up appointment in 4 weeks and the doctor will assess if he needs to insert a tube in Tristan's nose and look down his respiratory tract.  The good thing to note is that Tristan does not have a long wheezing sound, which means he doesn't have a severe case of stridor.  So please keep Tristan and his health in your prayers!!

We hope everyone has a good weekend - we are going to try and catch up on some sleep and get the apartment organized :s 

5 weeks, etc.

It’s been a while, sorry!  Tristan was 5 weeks old yesterday! Last week we were at the ER Monday late into the night – Tristan cried for over 2 hours straight and would not calm down. After his temperature was 100.0 and I called the pediatrician, we ended up going in, primarily for his rapid breathing, gasping and gagging. So we found out our little guy probably has a problem with his respiratory tract. We have an appointment with a pediatric pulmonologist tomorrow.


Other than that, it’s been a rough last several days. Tristan will have a good day and then he’ll have a few bad days where he just cries and cries and screams (and yes, I’ve tried everything under the sun to calm him down, promise). I’ve missed quite a few phone calls :(

But Travis and I did go to his super cool holiday party on Saturday night! It was a black-tie event, a private carnival for the Go Daddy employees on Chase field (where the diamondbacks play) and Travis even won me a stuffed animal, so anyway, it was awesome and it was a great date night! We played lots of carnival games, ate some carnival food and Travis kicked my butt on the wii. We left Tristan with a baby-sitter for 4 ½ hours and he did very well. I woke him up before we left and fed him a bit and he ended up sleeping 4 hours, so the sitter didn’t have to do too much, which is good since he was only 4 months old and we didn’t know the sitter, only that she’s 20 years old and majoring in early childhood development. She was recommended by our church and we really liked her. Luckily, we probably won’t need a sitter until Tristan’s a little bit older, so that’s good.

Travis and I are getting more and more adjusted to our newest family member, but it definitely has its challenges. Yesterday Tristan cried and screamed a lot during the day and early evening he had been crying and screaming in my ear for over 20 minutes and I lost it and started crying too. He then of course stopped crying at me and I think he even gave me a “what’s your problem” look, but I might have made that up, and then he started crying again, so I handed the baby off to Travis when he finally got home (30 minutes late) and I went and locked myself in the closet and cried for a while longer. It’s hard not to take the crying and screaming personally. I know that all babies cry between 1 – 5 hours a day, but it’s hard sometimes when you hear how “wonderful” other babies are. Travis told me that people just block out the bad stuff and I remembered that everything always seems like it was much better whenever you reflect on it, or at least you don’t remember how it was at the time. I need to stop stressing about it and get rid of my type A/over-achiever/perfectionist attitude when I take something on, which includes taking on motherhood. After all, Tristan is just a baby, every baby is different and all he can do is cry to communicate. In summary, don’t compare yourself to others and don’t compare your baby (babies) to other babies.

I’ve been running and lifting weights every other day, just between 2 and 2 ½ mile runs and today I did a yoga video. Travis has the trainer all set up in the living room and he’s been biking and doing his exercises.

We’re excited to have G & G Riley come down in a week and a half! Tristan’s already grown a ton since my last post; he was 9 lbs 2 oz at his 5 week appointment. He is a super cute baby and he definitely loves to stay awake and be active. He kicks off his blankets and anything you put on him, doesn’t really like to be swaddled at all anymore, always tries to push up, crawl up and stand up whenever you hold him and he ends up on the opposite side of his crib all twisted and in a different position. When he starts crawling and walking, boy oh boy, I can only imagine. Next pregnancy (NOT even thinking about it, although Travis did say Tristan needs a playmate, umm… Travis needs to stay home with Tristan for a week and then maybe he won’t be talking about playmates) Back to what I was writing, next pregnancy, I am sitting on the couch for 9 months instead of walking around and working out so much ;)

I’ll update after the pulmonologist visit tomorrow.

These are my confessions...

1. Pregnancy versus baby... toss-up.  I got more sleep being pregnant, but I don't miss the tummy and I LOVE sitting on the floor and picking things up just fine again and I LOVE seeing the little guy that was inside of me for so long!
2. I am 10,000 times more hormonal after having the baby.  I cried everyday for the first 6 days, mostly because I kept realizing that there was no more just me and Travis.  And sleep deprivation probably helped out the tears too.

3. Sometimes I look at the baby and think, I just can't do this, I don't know what I'm doing, he's probably going to starve, I don't know why he's crying, why can't he talk yet?
4. Finishing out the semester is really hard, mainly because of group projects and trying to find time to work together... but rumor has it that he'll be sleeping through the night before we know it... because as we all know "they grow up so fast." 
5. Nursing is extremely difficult.  I'm taking fenugreek, I've gone to the lactation consultant twice and was told that I most likely do have a milk production problem.  My nipples hurt from trying to pump and nurse more to increase my milk production, but nothing has really helped much.  It's discouraging since all of my friends and family say that they can pump out 8 oz in 1 sitting and I get 1/2 oz in 1 sitting including both sides :(

6. Postpartum recovery isn't very much fun.  I started taking more walks and walking more and this results in more cramping and bleeding.  And peeing and trying to have a bowel movement those first few days, well, let's just say to all the pregnant people, get those stool softeners at the hospital. 
7. Lastly, 6 weeks is way too long to resume activities I've decided.  This includes intimate activities with your significant other. 
8. I had to leave Tristan 6 days after he was born to go to school and take a quiz.  I left him with my mom and I was gone for a little over 2 hours.  It wasn't too bad, but as time goes on it's been harder and harder to leave him.

Now for the good confessional stuff...
1. Travis is an amazing dad (and he's an ironman!!).  Watching him try to play with Tristan and talk to Tristan makes my heart melt seriously.  And it's incredibly sexy, but see #7 above :(  boo.

2. My aunt has been a tremendous help and my mom was down here last week as well to help out.  Travis' family is here this week.  Family is awesome and we couldn't have gotten through some of this stuff without you. 
3. Tristan is the most beautiful, precious baby in the whole wide world.  It's true, you have a baby and you think they're the most beautiful, wonderful thing in the whole wide world.

4. The mom community rocks.  It's a whole new part of life.  For instance, today in the Nordstrom's women's lounge there were 5 of us breastfeeding our babies and we were all chatting and talking.
5. I've become a stroller mall mom - yikes.  But again, you do exchange knowing smiles and looks with other moms, who remind us all the time that it goes by way too fast.

Thanks to everyone for all the congrats and support - including Travis in his ironman, which he did in 11 hours 15 minutes!  He was awesome! 

I'll try to update a little sooner next time, but well, you know how it is :)

A birth story

My first thought is how far to go into detail in the blog.  Hmm... we'll see.  So, on Tuesday, November 9th, we had an induction appointment (gels - cervical ripening agent) scheduled at 2:30 pm.  Travis and I went to Subway at 2 pm bc he thought maybe I would want to eat out since I had been nervous all day.  We arrive at the hospital at 2:45 pm, late, bc Travis didn't think we needed to be on time (I can just hear his brother, Cooper, now, Uncle Cooper, saying he's not surprised by that one bit).  We finally get called back at 3:30 pm and after being monitored for a while, we find out that I was dilated to 3 cm and that the gels will probably kick me into labor.  Good thing we packed the baby bag.  So after a round of gels, we walk around for 45 minutes and then I'm monitored again and at 4 cm.  We walk around one more time for 40 minutes, go to the parking lot and sit on the birthing ball that we brought in the car, do some stairs (walking) and return.  After being monitored and check, I'm at 5 cm and we are told we are getting admitted into labor and delivery (yay!).  We go for another long walk and even do some stairs again and I then I get on my hands and knees for 10 minutes to try to turn the baby bc I was having really bad back labor.  So now it's around 10:30 pm and we go to labor and delivery and I am no longer having cramping in my lower back with the contractions (which really are starting to hurt by now), so the baby must've turned!  Woo hoo!

Unfortunately in labor and delivery, I am still at 5 cm, so we walk again and do stairs and I sit on the birthing ball and around 1 am, I finally dilated to a 6 1/2, so my body progressed, a little slower than expected, but that's okay!  I am dying to have an epidural now, so I tell the nurse and she says that after she starts pitocin, she will give the anesthesiologist a call.  Luckily, at 2:30 a.m. someone else wanted an epidural so the doctor was already here and at 3:15 a.m. I got an epidural.  And it totally made my night (not just bc of the pain, but bc the doctor said he could tell I worked out bc I had a very slim back and it was extremely easy for him to figure out where to put the needle, and I have always loved working out my back muscles).  ANYway, the epidural needle poke actually kind of hurt me a little bit, and Travis told me a lot later that the needle was huge and thick, but after I got that I didn't feel any contractions at all and it was 100% amazing.  Unfortunately, my body really slowed down.  The nurse had predicted I'd deliver the baby before her shift ended at 7 a.m. but I stalled at 6 1/2 cm for the next several hours.  We did sleep for about 2 hours that night, though, and I was starving to death.  I will admit that Travis snuck me some fruit snacks and some crackers.

So at 7 a.m. we got a new nurse (who predicted Tristan would arrive by the end of her shift at 7 p.m.).  Around 10 a.m. I had progressed to 7 1/2 cm with the help of some pitocin and everyone said the baby would be there by 2 p.m. Around 3 p.m. the doctor comes in and breaks my water.  Tristan became very distressed and his heart rate starting decelerating and they inserted an intrauterine catheter to give me back the fluid (amnio fusion) and Tristan got a little monitor as well to measure his heartbeat along with the intensity of my contractions.  I am given extra oxygen for the rest of the time.  We're told with no improvement it will be a C-section and I have to sign the C-section consent forms.  I really didn't want a C-section just bc of the slow recovery period and I was really bummed out and stressed out, which probably wasn't helping the situation.  So over the next hour I ask for prayer, I pray, take deep breaths and I make sure that Travis is praying over there.  And God is good and Tristan's heart rate is normal for a whole hour and a bit before 5 p.m. I am 10 cm and 100% effaced and I feel the urge to push!  Awesome and still feeling nothing!!  Tristan would be there soon, everyone was sure bc he was so low in my pelvis. 

1 hour later of pushing, I am pretty tired and the nurse tells me the doctor has asked if I can stop pushing for 20 minutes while she runs off to perform an emergency C-section on someone else.  The nurse says I only have to stop if I feel comfortable and I verify that it will be only 20 minutes and I figure I can "hold back" for 20 minutes and say yes, but I planned on pushing if I really felt the urge.  We don't up the epidural dose bc I am told I am close.  My aunt Lisa dropped by at this time and brought us some cute baby outfits from the Christian bookstore, I was pretty tired/frustrated, but it was nice that she dropped by and it was a good 20 minute distraction!  Well, the nurse comes back in and says we are going to start pushing in about 10 minutes, so my aunt leaves and I am ready to get going again, since I was pretty much pushing on and off during my "break" anyway.  Well, it turns out the C-section takes much longer than usual, so after 1 1/2 hours of "holding it back" I am finally cleared to start pushing again.  It is now around 6 pm and I feel so much pressure it's not even funny and I've got pretty good control of my legs and I am realizing that the epidural has worn off, but I was told I was very close, so I don't push the button to receive more.

Well, guess who gets stuck in the birth canal right by my pelvic bone (the part he needed to slide under so he couldn't get sucked back up again)?  That would be baby Tristan.  1 hour later we are still pushing and I literally am in so much pain it's not even funny.  I pretty much can move my legs and I keep thinking that I might actually die from labor.  Travis keeps telling me I'm doing great every time I start my set of 3 pushes for 10 seconds each and he was a great coach/partner.  At one point he accidentally spit candy on my face and I told him, "I'm really sorry Trav, but don't talk to me and don't spit candy on my face."  So I can happily say that I never yelled at Travis (I was focusing so hard on holding my breath, keeping my chin down and pushing that I didn't really have time to yell), just my one frustrated comment right there.  But seriously, he spit out jolly rancher bits on my face when he was coaching me through a contraction!!  And the nurses keep telling me "you're so close" "you're almost there" and they've been saying that for 2 hours and I am going nuts.  Travis looks at me sympathetically bc we both know how much I LOATHE being told "it's just around the corner" "just a little bit more" "1/2way there" during a race or something. So now it is 7:15 pm and we have really gotten attached to our nurse and I secretly hope she stays through the whole thing bc HOW MUCH LONGER CAN IT SERIOUSLY BE?!  So, for the next 30 minutes I keep on pushing and I start saying discouraging things and begging for an actual time estimate, saying how much it hurts, telling Travis I am done doing this, etc.  Not my finest 30 minutes.  And then, miraculously I am told the baby's right there (yes, I'd heard that a lot, but I felt so much pain/pressure, this time it had to be true) and the doctor is on her way in.  The doctor comes in, I go through 3 sets of 3 pushes and Tristan is out at 7:50 pm, weighing in at 7 lbs and measuring 20 inches!  He has the cord wrapped around his throat twice, so the doctor clamps and cuts it instantly and Travis isn't asked to do the cord cutting.  I immediately beg for pain medication (even though I do feel immensely relieved) and I am given Stadyl (spelling?) and I fall asleep for 10 minutes right away after waiting to hear Tristan cry, so I don't even see/hear Tristan or anyone else for 10 minutes.  Travis tells me I missed some pretty fun stuff down there and that I missed seeing Tristan's cone head when I wake up. 

After I come to, I lay there and my placenta is pushed out, my single tear has been stitched up and I am ready to go to the bathroom.  I am told that I can't walk around after having an epidural and I look at the nurse and say, trust me, I think I can walk around.  So she doesn't believe me, but says okay swing your legs around and I do and she's stunned and I get out of the bed and walk to the bathroom and go (which yes, hurt/burned/stung like none other, but I really had to go).  Luckily, I was given my little peri bottle before and I got all the fun little topical medications and diapers and mesh panties, which have been life savers!!  

So all in all, this was one long and hard labor, but we had a GREAT team of nurses, we got along very well with all of them and they were all very attentive and caring.  I didn't mean to end up going "natural" at the end there with no pain medication, but everything worked out and I didn't die from the pain.  And people are right, you do forget the pain quickly.  And now I have the most beautiful baby boy in the whole wide world.  And again, people are right and you really do think your baby is the most beautiful human being in the whole wide world.  That little guy was worth all the pain in the whole wide world.  And watching Travis talk to Tristan or hold him or cuddle him or attempt to swaddle him really well or attempt to change his diaper are the most endearing things in the whole wide world.  We're both learning swaddling techniques and fast diapering techniques together and I honestly can't wait to experience parenthood (and make our own parenting mistakes just as all parents do) with Travis.  I love him more than anything in the entire world and I am so excited that Tristan has joined us and made us a family of 3!  It's going to be great!

Family visits?  My mom (grandma) is coming down Sunday to Sunday (the 21st) and staying with my Aunt Lisa (great aunt to Tristan, pic below).  The Rileys (grandparents Rick and Karen and aunt/uncle Lindz and Cooper) will be coming down next Friday to Friday (the 19th through the 26th).  Then my parents (great grandparents) will be coming down the following week.

 

Okay, I'll update again later - we have some great pics of Tristan with his visitors from today.  I know this was a ton of reading material, but I just wanted to get it up since I have been asked several times for the birth story. 

Thank you so much to everyone - we can't even express our gratitude for all the prayers, thoughts and support throughout these last few days!

Love, Travis, Holly and Tristan

Trav's race and waiting it out

Can you find Travis?  (Hint: He's got dark hair and is not wearing a cap...)  Anyway, Travis did an open water 4000 meter swim in 1:04, which is awesome!  He has really improved as a swimmer as I've mentioned before and he did very well at this race.  He was a little bummed with his time bc he swam faster in the pool, but there are obvious differences between a pool and the lake (clarity and the flip turn/push off effect).  Here's a great pic of him swimming (this guy here took a step back when I snapped the photo):

Otherwise, not too much else going on here.  We're just waiting.  I have been to the gym, we've gone on walks, I sat on the "birthing" ball (that would be the workout ball), we've tried other methods (no worries, I haven't ingested anything weird), but we've still got 4 days until my due date.  Like I've said, it hasn't been too uncomfortable, but this evening I've been having a lot more back pain.  The end is in sight though.  My friend, Sali, was due the 16th and she had her baby on Friday - Spencer Reid.  He weighed 8 lbs 11 oz, so it's a good thing she didn't have to go another 11 days! 

We had dinner with Travis' uncle, Kevin, the other night, he was in town for a conference.  We went to a nice Mexican restaurant and he even got us a little magnetic toy moose, that I love to pull apart bc it makes a very loud clicking noise that I'm addicted too.  And I wore the same shirt I wore out to dinner with him 2 nights ago and I had to keep pulling it down at the race yesterday, I was shocked!  Look at this stomach:

On the plus side, I made 6 freezer meals today: we have a brown sugar bourbon pork, we have cheesy chicken rice dish, a broccoli chicken rice dish, and 2 more pork dishes and 1 other chicken dish (all with veggies).  I even wrote the directions on the bags, so all Trav or I have to do is pop them in the oven.  And we have a lot of potatoes/green beans with olive oil, salt and pepper in there with directions as well!  Yum!!  So I was pretty proud of myself.  I always wanted to make some meals in advance, but I always pretended I didn't know how to make them and I decided to suck it up and just do it.  And we bought stuff for tacos, chili and enchiladas, all of which are super easy dishes to make.  We probably should've cleaned up the apartment more today, because I'm sure this is our last Sunday as a family of two, but oh well.  Bittersweet...

Well, hopefully my next update will include a beautiful baby boy and some new family of three pics!!  But if not, that's okay... I can't be pregnant forever ;)

39 weeks (tomorrow) the final countdown

Well, I had another doctor's apptmt today.  It was discouraging to say the least.  I have had regular contractions now that get stronger for an hour or two and then quit.  I was so proud of myself for never rushing to the hospital since it says to wait until they're 5 minutes apart for an hour... but I thought in the mean time my body was doing something!!  But nada!  My body didn't progress at all!  My doctor even said that she gave it the good 'ol college try and she was planning on trying to sweep my membranes if she could get in there, but nothing (she did 2 cervical exams)...  She pointed out that these things go from 0 - 60, but I am not going to be hopeful.  And no, I'm not to my official due date yet anyway, but that doesn't mean that I wasn't thinking my body was going to get there.  And yes, I know that most first time moms go late with their first baby, but that doesn't mean I didn't think I was going to be the exception for once.

Anyway, so thankfully I had a hair appointment scheduled for this afternoon.  At first I didn't want to go bc I was thinking we'd talk about the baby the whole time, but we actually only talked about the baby a little bit and I love my hairstylist (this is the 2nd time I've seen her) and she does an awesome job (look at that stomach!):

Anyway, it's hard to feel cute or attractive when you're this far along (at least for me), so it was a totally good pick me up from this morning's apptmt.  I'm sure when the baby's here I'll do my hair everyday ;)  Just like I do now...  The last couple of days I've been rushing around so much that I even forgot to just put on concealer and go.  One day I'll wear mascara and eye shadow again, probably never consistently, but I do on special occasions. I'm too lazy to spend time in the bathroom.  Travis always says he loves that about me, so I must look pretty okay without it, lol.  And the baby won't know the difference, right?  But my friend Kari always said that you should take a shower and get ready everyday (after baby is born) because you feel better about yourself and I totally believe her.  If I hang out in my sweats all day I do feel like a slob and I'm not very productive.

Oh, and I know I haven't had a hard pregnancy and I'm really not that uncomfortable most of the time, but the top sayings that are getting really old right now (even if they come from well meaning people) are "hang in there" "you're almost done" "you're going to miss being pregnant" "wow, you look like you're going to pop" "isn't that baby here yet?" "are you sure they didn't get the due date wrong, you're huge!" "you're so little, but you have this gigantic thing in front of you".  And the funny thing is, these phrases are only acceptable from certain people and the certain people change everyday, lol.  But I'm never mean about it bc I know people are trying to be helpful, so I just say, "yeah" "thanks" "I know, right?" "it's crazy", etc, in some robotic tone...

In other news, Travis went to the PT a couple of times and got a special training plan and has some more exercises added to the list.  I'm pretty sure he's the most consistent stretcher/icer/heater/roller and everything else when it comes to this training, which should help him out.  I don't think I realized how dedicated he was to training and everything until he started training for this race.  Now if only I could get him to do a house cleaning race and to train he had to pick up his stuff off the floor everyday!  Maybe he'd be really dedicated then!  Lol.  I really can't talk though, I'm pretty bad at crowding the table we eat at with papers and textbooks.  He says he's getting a little burned out (no surprise there!) by all of this working out, so I just laugh to myself being glad I'm not the one doing all of that.  I get burned out just training for a marathon, but for a full ironman, I can't even imagine! 

Oh, wait!  I forgot to mention my favorite question that everyone asks, "are you guys excited?"  And I honestly want to say "no" sometimes.  But my stomach is a huge focal point and it's a conversation starter, right?  I'm always, like, "yep, we're excited."  I really am just not one of those super giddy go pregnancy people, maybe next time around ;)

Hope everyone has a good rest of the week.  And if you get a chance, say a quick prayer or send some good thoughts or whatever you do that will inspire the baby to hurry up.  I think God is tired of hearing from me... LOL!

Body getting ready!

Well, not too much news on the babe, but I had a doctor's visit this morning and he said that my cervix was definitely thinned out and very soft, I just haven't dilated yet.  On a comforting note, though, he said that could change in a matter of hours or a matter of days, so I am not going to get my hopes up.  However, I have been having contractions on and off, pretty intermittent now and nothing regular and he said hopefully those get regular soon - agreed!  He said the pelvic/groin pressure will continue to get worse, including the lower back pain, but I am just excited that my body is actually progressing along.  And I have 15 days left until the official day, so whether or not it comes and goes, 15 is a small number, plus, I already got through my 2 toughest days this week schoolwise, so after the weekend, they'll only be 11 days left and that's just crazy!!

Travis saw a P.T. this morning for his hip - I am glad that after this ironman is over he will be cutting back on working out, bc regardless of what the human body is capable of, I don't think it's good to be doing so much that you get hurt often or have to go to the doctor all the time.  It's like a chiropractor addiction.  So he's got less than a month till race day - so we both have a body getting ready for a big event, lol.  He did a super hard swim workout last night and it just blows my mind how much he's improved in the swim and even his stroke, so I wish he hadn't had the running problem and I wish he was able to run better right now, but I'm sure his biking and swimming cardio will pay off during the run too.

Well, that's about it for right now.  I need to get back to grading exams!!  Happy Wednesday!

37 weeks!

We have reached the magical "full term" week, the big 3-7!  This means the baby will probably come today or tomorrow... actually, it means that "even though your due date is three weeks away if you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb."  And of course depending on who you talk to, now is the time where you hear, "oh, you're fine if the baby comes out now" "well, I know you're tired, but it's really better if the baby stays in there until 40 weeks"  and "the baby will come when the baby wants to come".  And then there's the "don't get induced" club and then "get induced" club and these 2 clubs probably have some members from the "natural induction methods" club (which are "adult time", castor oil, spicy food, breast stimulation, jumping jacks among other things). 

The baby is between 6 and 6 1/2 pounds and is over 19 inches!  According to babycenter, many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blondes or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

I am sleeping well about every other day, so I will take what I can get.  I guess my body is trying to slowly get used to less and less sleep, right?  I bought a pair of maternity jeans last Sunday and I have rocked them twice.  People keep saying I won't get much use out of them and I hope they're right.  But with the weather cooling down (LOVE it) and the fact that I am not going to walk out of the delivery room as a size 4, I think I'll be able to use the jeans a little bit longer.  And hey, they could probably double as a new pair of "fat" jeans for those "fat" days.

Travis is hoping the baby waits 2 more Saturdays so he can be done with the super long bike rides.  I am hoping for this Thursday, October 28th, so I get my full 6 weeks of parental leave, but I'll take November 3rd or 4th too.  But the baby will probably be opting for a late check-out, so I am not going to get my hopes up.

Not too much else new.  The last 2 days haven't been bad at all.  I still have a lot of pelvic pressure, but I am getting more used to it.  Travis is training away.  We got him a road bike... so now we'll have 3 bikes hanging on the walls.  I love how he always tries to "sell me" on how good of a deal it is.  I'm glad we got the bike for a "good" deal, but let's just remember that no matter how much money you save, you could've saved more by not buying it.  However, he wants to try road races and just bike around town and cut back on the triathlons next year.  Who can argue with that?  And I went to Peru for a month.  Plus, he can pull the baby behind him in a burley when the time comes.  I expected it to be prettier than it is.  I'll get a picture up.  I don't think Travis really cares about the color of the bike, but I was expecting something flashier... 

We are making a top 5 baby name list this weekend.  It gets harder and harder.  I see so many names that I like that I can't narrow them down.  And every name I seem to like or suggest, Travis doesn't seem to like as much.  It's like when women were jealous that Travis (as a groom) had an opinion about most things for the wedding.  "That must be nice."  "Wow, I wish my fiance would have an opinion."  Really?  No you don't people.  Trust me, it's better if they don't have an opinion, well, maybe an opinion or 2.  Pretty sure this baby's name will be decided during the drive to the hospital. 

That's about all from us.  Have a great weekend!  Thanks again for all the messages and support, we really appreciate it!! 

36 weeks and pre-term labor (again)

Well, we have successfully made it to the 36 week mark!  According to babycenter, the baby is about 6 pounds and is more than 18 1/2 inches long!  He's shedding the downy covering of hair and the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin from the amniotic fluid (the combo of this is the black meconium, which is in baby's first bowel movement).  And at the end of this week, the baby will be considered full-term, which is great!  So maybe he'll come early :)

Anyway, so Wednesday I was experiencing a lot of pelvic and groin pressure with regular pain in my lower back and lower abs, so I called my nurse twice and I learned that contractions don't just have to be in your stomach... umm... I have a read a LOT of literature, gone to baby classes, etc, and how did I miss that?!  I figured that your stomach would always bunch up and it would be very easy to tell if you were having a contraction.  WRONG.  So after it became more painful to walk around, I called the nurse and she told me to get myself into the hospital and it's a good thing I did because as soon as they hooked me up to the monitor I was having real uterine distress and real contractions.  The uterine distress contractions are more like "little baby" contractions versus the real contractions, which I was having as well, which are much more of a distinct spiked line on the monitor.  Well, they couldn't figure out what was causing all of this, and (un)fortunately I have always been prone to bladder infections and when you're pregnant obviously your chance of that goes up.  So when the urine came back, they realized I had another infection.  Bladder and vaginal infections are the #2 cause of pre-term labor (at least down here), #1 is dehydration, so that's why my body was contracting and trying to get the baby to move it along to fight the infection, so I'm told.

So what did this result in?  A huge shot of rocephin into my hip - even though it was mixed with a numbing medicine (lidocaine), I was pretty sore the last couple of nights and during the day in that area :(  Not a big shot fan, so when that epidural needle goes into my back, pretty sure I don't even want to see the needle or anything at all.  Afterwards, the nurse told me that it was good I had come in, otherwise, the baby probably would've progressed and come out (note to self, next time, don't go in... just kidding). 

I'm still having the pelvic pressure and back/groin pain but that's probably just round ligament pain, etc, the baby moving down and getting ready for his big debut.  There is a reason they say the last month is the worst month and that no one thinks the actual labor is really that bad by the time it comes around... 

Oh, and regarding cervical exams, talk about the pain of a lifetime!  No one ever told me how much "fun" those were!!  Having someone stick 4 fingers up as far as they can hurt like none other and those nurses have no mercy.  Can't wait till my Wed appointment when I get to have that done again.

Please keep praying for us, especially me, so that my patience doesn't run out... as some of you know, getting advice and lectured and other situations become a little bit annoying and frustrating at this stage in the game when you feel like a house and really tired of being pregnant - especially when everyone else around you complains about how tired and worn out and busy they are too :)  But as the song goes, mama said there'd be days like this...


Tri update - Travis and I have still been swimming a lot together - he's really improved a lot!  I'm kind of alternating between swimming and pool running/walking now, but at least I'm getting in that pool, plus, it makes my back feel so much better.  I think we're both getting anxious for his race, he's really put a lot of time/effort into training and I am excited to see him put it all together in the race.

And I got to have lunch with my friend, Rebekah, today.  Her baby came 4 weeks early and will be one month old tomorrow!!  It always makes me feel better to talk to her and to hear how life after baby is going  (and ask a bazillion labor/pregnancy questions) - plus, she's much more grounded and not as extreme as some people are with pregnancy, which really helps :)

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend! 

Top 10 things I can't wait to experience ("normally") again

Well, since I decided to put off doing some homework, I am going to make a top 10 list of things that I can't wait to experience again or experience "normally" again... Here we go:

10. Eating chicken - it's so good for you and yet, it grosses me out now
9. Sitting in the desks at school comfortably - you all remember the desks at school, enough said

8. Sleeping on my stomach or my back

7. Sitting on the floor and getting up without needing adult assistance - I love sitting on the floor!
6. "Frontal" hugs with Travis - my stomach gets in the way of just a regular hug!
5. Lifting/running/swimming - let's just say working out
4. A glass of Riesling - aaaaahhhh

3. Peeing at normal intervals - even though that's still a lot down here in the valley of the sun
2. Feeling confident in a 2 piece swim suit - this one might take a little bit, I need to stop looking at pre-pregnancy swimsuit photos...

1. Intimacy - (is that PG enough for everyone?)

35 weeks, which means approx 35 days!

According to babycenter:  Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.


Well, we're definitely getting closer to meeting the baby!  And I am definitely starting to feel more uncomfortable.  I had an appointment yesterday with the doctor and he wasn't very encouraging about the back pain and the lack of sleep, just telling me that it would get worse as time progressed.  (Not to mention how many people have told me the last month is horrible) He also pointed out that I have no distribution anywhere but right in front, like a medicine ball, which is probably the reason I have so much back pain.  But we are going swimming tonight, so at least I will have some relief there.  I feel bad because I know that my rolling around is affecting Travis too, but this will be over soon, hopefully!  I am trying to stay positive, but it gets a little discouraging hearing from so many people about how bad the last month is going to be. 

Not too much going on over here the last few days, we're just plugging along, Travis with training, me with school and both of us with the pregnancy. 

Hope everyone has a good rest of the week and enjoys their weekend!

Baby shower & baby room

I've been updating a lot lately, I feel like!  Anyway, the TA ladies that I work with threw me a baby shower this last weekend and it was a total blast!  I even ended up winning the final showcase in the price is right with baby items!  I almost lost out to Ashley, though, we ended up having a tie breaker - good thing I'd done some shopping for baby items recently!  Here is a group shot:

The baby is definitely going to spoiled and he's going to have a lot of super cute outfits - I have to admit, I really love the onesie with the fox on it that says "my mom is a fox".  I definitely don't feel like a fox right now, but I'll get back to my foxy self soon enough, LOL.  But I laugh everytime I look at it.  And the baby also has lots of baby sitters lined up!  We also got some baby books, even some bilingual and Spanish only books, so I am super excited to do lots of reading with the baby!  All in all, it was an awesome shower and I am so grateful and blessed for all of these awesome friends and to have all of these women in my life! 

And in other news, I found a place to hang up Aunt Lindz' quilt she made the baby!  I was able to hang it and pin it right over our huge hanging picture frame of lots of photos (that didn't really fit in that room, but we didn't want to find a place to put them).  And it's right by the ottoman/glider where we'll be feeding/sitting with/rocking the baby and he'll be able to look at the animals and see the contrasting colors!  It looks great!

Hope everyone has a great week - I'll give a 35 week update in a couple of days now.  I know we're in the "home stretch", but I am definitely having anxiety attacks every once in a while wondering if we're really ready for a baby!  I know we're both excited and Travis has honestly been the greatest/best support in the entire world (and he ALWAYS gives me a back rub if I ask), but it's still a little scary to think about.  However, I know it's going to be awesome and we're going to have a lot of fun making memories and even when we make mistakes (not that our parents ever made mistakes with us...)  :)

34 weeks pic!