Liam's Birth Story

First of all, in case you missed the announcement, we did eventually name our son....right before leaving the hospital :-) William James Pollard. But we call him Liam. Today is his official due date and he is 10 day's old, so I figure it is about time I wrote out the story of his birth before I forget. I know I always enjoy hearing/reading the birth stories of friend's, so maybe you do too.

I was not expecting him to come early. So when I felt some weird stuff going on Tuesday night (the 25th) I brushed it off. Especially since I was looking for the same labor sign's I had with Hannah. The first thing I felt happened when I was doing dishes after dinner. I got this strong sudden pain in my lower pelvic area which looking back I'm pretty sure it was "lightening". This is when the baby drops into your lower pelvis. It can happen week's before going into labor so I didn't think it meant I would be giving birth in the morning. Right before going to bed at around 11pm I started feeling light cramping with what I thought were still braxton hick's contractions. Jake asked if I thought I was going into labor and I told him no. So we went to bed.

At about 3:30am I woke up to more contraction's with cramping. They were irregular at first but after Jake created a spreadsheet on his lap top and we noticed they were coming every 3-4 minutes and lasting about 50 second's we decided that I was definitely in labor. I called my dad to see if he suggested going to the hospital and he told me to go in and get checked. At 4:30am we called my great friend Kelli and she ran over with her baby boy to stay with Hannah while we went to the hospital. Shout out to Kelli, you are awesome.

When I got to the hospital I was at 2.5 cm. They checked me again in an hour and I was still at 2.5 cm. They gave me the option of going home which I immediately turned down because I could tell the contractions were getting stronger. They checked me an hour later and I had dilated from 2.5 to a 7. In an hour. That was intense. I certainly proved to them that I was indeed in active labor. They finally admitted me and at this point I was anxiously awaiting an epidural. But the nurse said I needed to be hydrated with an IV before the epidural. After 3 failed attempts to put an IV in she got another nurse who actually knew what she was doing :-) I didn't get the epidural until I was at a 9. Which was basically just in time to push. After the epidural I remember looking at the screen which show's the contraction's and being so grateful that I wasn't feeling them because they were coming so close together. It was nice to get a short break from the pain and regain some energy before it was time to push. The Dr broke my water and shortly there after I felt like I needed to push. I pushed twice and our little miracle was born at 10:31 am. 7 hours of labor and 2 pushes. We love our little Liam!

Baby Boy

Here is a picture of our handsome little guy. More to come when we leave the hospital tomorrow. He is yet to be named. This is what happen's when 2 very indecisive people get hitched and have babies. But you should be happy to know we have narrowed it down to 2 possibilities. Now we're just waiting for the little guy to speak up and voice his opinion.

Welcome to the World

Our little boy was so excited to enter the world that he did so 10 day's early. He was born at 10:31am today. Weighing in at a whopping 8 lbs 10 oz and a lengthy 22 3/4 inches. Labor only lasted about 7 hours and I only had to push twice! I know I know *pats self on back*

We are doing great! He is a sweet little baby and we already love him so much. He is just perfect. I will post the birth story soon, with pictures.

Dilemma

Hello friends. I am in a bit of a pickle.

So let's just imagine that you and your husband have a name picked out for your soon to be born son. Now let's also imagine that one of your best friend's is also expecting a boy just a week or so before you are. You discuss names with this friend but not the one you have picked out. So that friend of yours has her baby and guess what? She names him the same name you and your husband were planning on using.

Now what do you do? You live in different states and won't see this friend very often. At most once a year unless you somehow end up living in the same state year's down the road. So do you name your son as planned? Or do you forfeit the name?

Advice, please.

36 Week's Pregnant

As of this past Saturday I am 36 week's pregnant. Just about 4 short week's left. I feel like my life has been set on fast-forward for the past 8 months. I can't believe how close we are to meeting the little guy that has been using my insides as a punching bag. I definitely have a lot to do before he is allowed to come out though. Lately I have been nesting like crazy. Organizing and cleaning things that have been on my to do list for months. But I'm starting to feel like at least the apartment is ready for his arrival.

Did you catch the apprehension in that last sentence? Yeah, me too. One thing that has made me more nervous about being ready for a newborn is the fact that we just found out Jake has a test week 2 day's after I'm due. Test week's are crazy. Jake is hardly home. And to throw a new baby on top of that makes me anxious. I know everything will work out. Especially since our mom's will be here to help. But I just hate to add more stress to Jake during that time. And I know how hard it will be on him to want to spend time with the baby but have to be at the library or taking another exam. Basically the timing is not the best but what can you do?

Thank's for letting me vent but besides that I'm feeling relatively great. I'm tired, which is understandable. I get heartburn every night but when I get up to use the little girl's room for the 2nd time in the middle of the night I just grab a Rolaid and I'm good as new. I've been getting a lot of Braxton Hick's contractions the past couple of week's. It seem's like they are coming more often than they did with Hannah but I'm assuming that is because I recognize them this time around. My hips and lower back ache like crazy when I am trying to get comfortable in bed at night. Supposedly it's a good thing because it mean's the ligaments are softening so that a big ol baby can fit through the birth canal. But whatev, it hurts. I told Jake the other night that I can't wait to feel comfortable when lying down again.

As for a name, we are still indecisive. Boy's names are tough!!!! We have a few we really like so hopefully when we see him one of the names will just click. At least that is what we are counting on.

And here is my growing baby mountain (no longer does it meet the classification of a bump) at 36 + Weeks

New Bed and New Word's

Hannah grew up a lot during our trip to CA for Christmas. She slept in a toddler bed for the first time and did incredibly well. That first night I was nervous when I laid her in the toddler bed. Jake and I thought for sure she would consider the lack of railings as an invitation to run around and not sleep through the night. We were shocked to wake up at 8am the next morning listening to her say "mama, dada" and sitting on her knee's waiting for us to come get her. She never tried to get out when we put her down and waited for us to come get her in the morning or from her nap. It was a Christmas miracle.

She also started saying some new word's while we were there:

"Deer"- there is a herd of deer that live in my parent's neighborhood. We saw them at least 5 times a day and Hannah loved to look out the window at them.

"What color is the snow?"- she was asked this question quite a bit on the trip and eventually she started asking us too

"White"- in response to the above question

"Spider"- Just to clarify, it is not because she saw one but because she loves singing "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" with us.

"Oshay" = Okay. I like the way she say's this word better.

"Nayna" = What she call's her aunt Alaina

"Pee Pee" = Cupcake. Don't ask me why she call's them this, but at least she is consistent :-)

"Ball sha ball" = Lollipop, now that name actually makes sense.

I'm sure there are more but I can't think of them. But you get the picture, she is growing up fast. Now if I could only gather up the courage to attempt potty training.....

An Early Christmas

Since we spent Christmas in Paradise with my family this year we opened present's over Skype with Jake's family before we left. Isn't Skype wonderful? I loved that they were able to see Hannah's reactions as she opened up her kitchen supplies and cupcakes. As well as mine and Jake's reactions as we opened our gifts. They were able to spoil us even being 400 miles apart. Thanks so much Mimi and Papa!

Some pictures from the Skype call:

She LOVES her cupcakes from Uncle B

Unwrapping her grocery cart from Mimi and Papa
Check out that loot of kitchen supplies she scored. She really loves pouring with her pitchers. You can see the family on the lap top to the left of the picture.
Covering up her new baby with a blanky

Christmas in Paradise

We were able to spend 10 day's in California at my parent's house over Christmas and New Year's. It has been year's since we have been able to stay for so long. One of the few perk's of the student life again :-)

I sure do miss the ease of traveling from Provo to Paradise. Now we have to drive an hour and a half to Spokane, fly to Portland, catch a 2nd flight to Sacramento, and then drive another hour and a half to Paradise. It was definitely worth it. Hannah made it easier on us by traveling like a champ coming and going, thanks princess. She LOVES having her own seat on the airplane, so I guess something good comes out of having to pay for her to fly now.

We got into town 2 day's before Christmas and spent that time getting some last minute Christmas shopping done. 3 of my 4 siblings were able to be there for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, which was wonderful. On Christmas Eve we had a yummy Prime Rib dinner and went for a drive to look at Christmas lights. When we woke up on Christmas Day we found that Santa came and left Hannah a sweet ride along with some goodies in her stocking.

We waited for David and his wife Alaina to go open presents with her family before we opened ours. Which actually worked out perfect because we were able to shower and eat a scrumptious breakfast of aebleskiver's (a Danish pancake and Ainsworth tradition) and egg's before we all opened our gifts. We got so many great things and basically made out like bandits. Even baby boy got spoiled with gifts from Grandma and Grandpa. We spent the rest of the day lounging out, playing basketball outside, eating a ham dinner and going to the movies. It was a wonderful Christmas.

The remainder of the trip we ate and ate and ate....good thing I'm pregnant and supposed to be gaining weight, otherwise I would have been in trouble. My parents sure know how to host. We went to the movies again, this time taking Hannah to see Tangled for the 3rd time :-) She loves that movie. Especially the horse in it named Max. Whenever he was on screen she would make horse sounds, yell horsey, or talk about the apples he was eating. I guess I owe an apology to the other people in the theater....but at least they were happy sounds right? We also played a lot of Playstation 3, watched football, went out to lunch/dinner, and just had fun spending time with family.

New Year's Eve was pretty low key, which is just the way we like it. We stayed up to watch the ball drop, toasted with sparkling cider, and kissed our spouses goodnight. Can you believe that it is 2011????

On New Year's Day my brother Justin and his friend took Jake shooting while we were there. It worked out great because Hannah and I hung out with my sister-in-law Deena and her 2 adorable little girl's while the guy's were out shooting stuff. Thanks for bringing my husband home in one piece Justy :-) That evening we helped my parents make our traditional dinner of tamales. Yum.

We flew home the day after New Year's. When we got off the plane in Spokane Hannah started asking if we were going to see Grandma Geri. And when we got to the parking lot she was talking about Geri's Car. It is fair to say Hannah loves her Grandma Geri and all the family she got to see over Christmas. Thank you for a wonderful Christmas and New Year's Grandma Geri and Grandpa Ron! On our way home Jake and I talked about how relaxing and perfect our trip to Paradise was. We look forward to seeing you again in a few weeks for the birth of baby boy :-)

Now for some pictures from the trip: