Okay, So He Decided to be Born this Time

Jason Emmanuel Hall was born 6:13 this morning (nine days early). He's 21" long and 7lbs and 9ozs with a decent amount of dark hair with some Jason Priestly circa 90210 sideburns. Both Aimee and Jason are doing really well.

Or so we thought...

Turns out I've been experiencing prodromal labor. Basically, it's slowing down and now down to sporadic contractions. We probably won't be having the baby tonight. Steve and I came home to our place to rest and distract ourselves, while leaving Jilly with my family. The midwife said she wouldn't be surprised if things really kick in overnight, but it could also be a few days.

We're of course frustrated and disappointed, but there's no real reason to rush the baby. We're both healthy and doing fine. It's still 10 days before the due date, and the midwife pointed out that if we try and force it now, we may end up in a situation we regret, causing problems that wouldn't have happened otherwise. So, we're going to take the night, rest as much as possible and see where tomorrow leads us. Thank you for all your prayers, thoughts, and well-wishes. We really appreciate them. We'll keep you posted if anything else develops. :-)

Wildcat is on his way!!

As I sit here and type, I am in labor! I've been contracting consistently since about 2am, and it's now after 8am, so about 6 hours total. It started out as back labor and still is mostly, but a heated rice bag and sitting still helps with that a lot. As long as I'm sitting and have the heat, it doesn't hurt so bad. When I am up and walking, they get more frequent and more intense. I talked to the midwife almost an hour ago, and she should be here anytime. We're settled in at my parents' house ready to get the show on the road. I'm betting it'll be sometime between 1pm and 3:30pm. Wish us luck!

38 weeks and counting...

Here I sit in all my 38 weeks pregnant glory, i.e. Steve's sweats. Haha. We're just waiting for little Wildcat to make his appearance any day now. He keeps teasing me, I've been having contractions pretty often, but so far nothing has turned into real labor. In fact, I had like 24 hours of contractions yesterday (started Sunday night and continued until I was asleep last night), averaging 3 an hour, but by the evening, they were up to 6 or more an hour, about 10 minutes apart. I even had a few that were right on top of each other. I'd been wondering all day if I was going into labor. But I was able to fall asleep deeply and got some good sleep all night, so obviously it wasn't. ;-) But sleeping deeply was soooooo nice. So today I am relaxed.

I saw the midwife yesterday and at first she told me it was likely that I would go to the full 40 weeks, since I did with Jilly. Then when she did the exam, she was surprised at my cervix and said I could go at anytime. I am 3cm, short (1cm long, so pretty effaced), -1 station still and "very soft". When the weather changed last week, it threw a bunch of her patients into labor (the barometric pressure can do that), she had a birth Saturday, Sunday and Monday morning! So basically, it could be any day for me. We'll just wait and see. I really don't want to go all the way until my due date, but I can't control it too much. :-) The weather got nice again today, and is forecasted to stay that way until like Friday I think, so I don't think I can count on that to push me over the edge, for a few days at least. But who really knows?

By the way- this week's vegetable- a leek. Apparently Wildcat is as long as a leek this week. Hehehe.

Obviously, our lives most often revolve around this baby and when he's going to come. My mom has everything ready at her house for the birth, I've got my bag somewhat packed (the necessary clothes and such), and I finally got someone else trained on how to do Gift Shop orders at work. So we're all good. I still need to wash baby's clothes and hang them back up, not to mention go through this huge tub of clothes my wonderful friend Amanda is lending us and sort out all the sizes. I suppose I could be doing that instead of blogging, but really? Do I want to? Naw...

But other than the baby's imminent arrival, we got to celebrate Father's Day this past Sunday! It was a very nice day, if you ask me. It could have been better, if both Steve and I weren't sick with colds, but oh well. I tried to make it as nice a day as he made Mother's Day for me. Sometimes I'm not as good at reciprocating, but I think I actually pulled it off this time. We started out the morning, both tired and wishing we could stay home from church, but pushed through and got ourselves there anyway (so what if we were 25 minutes late?). Before church, I had Jilly take Steve his Father's Day present. It was a T-Shirt that says "LOST: The others made me do it". Hahaha. I loved it. I think he liked it too. Church was pretty enjoyable. In Primary we made fishing poles with gummy worms and a card at the end of the wire that read "Dad, you're a GREAT catch!" Adorable. I made one for Jilly to give to Granpda, because I knew she was making something in Nursery as well. She made some fishy card/necklace thing with foam stickers on it, but ripped it apart as soon as we got home (she did the same thing to my Mother's Day card too). Twerp. After church, we had lunch, then all laid down for a short nap. Some of us (i.e. Steve and me) actually slept, while others played in their cribs. Hahaha. When Steve got up, he took Jilly with him to do some home teaching. I had toyed with the idea of staying in bed, but I dragged my butt out and was a good wife and worked at cleaning up the house (specifically the kitchen) while they were gone. I got just about everything done too!

Once they were home, we did a little bit more work to get the house cleaned up and then Steve called his dad while I got dinner going. (Side note: Jilly said "Hi!" and "I Love You!" to Granpda Mike on the phone, pretty cute!) It was requested that I make chicken pillows, so that's what I did. They turned out super delicious!!! It was even more amazing, because I'd told Steve that I wanted to have dinner ready by 6:30pm. Lo and behold, our plates were dished and Jilly in her high chair, right at 6:30pm!! That NEVER happens! I am always late! Woot!! We had our scrumptious dinner and I cleaned it up too. Then my mom and step-dad came over to have dessert with us. I had gotten an ice cream cake for Steve, because I know he loves them, and wanted to celebrate with Paul too. Before we ate, I had Jilly give Paul his fishing pole and card. She doesn't really get the whole "I'm giving this to you, so it's not mine to play with" thing. Which means, she pulled off the bag of gummy worms, opened them and ate most of them herself! Twerpypants. Then when he opened his card, she kept playing with it, and even tried to throw it away at one point. It was pretty fun to play with, so I don't blame her too much on that one. It was a recordable card with music, and we got her to say "I love you" on it. We gave Steve his card too and then ate our cake. Very tasty. It was a nice little evening.

All day long, I kept thinking about how blessed I am to have Steve as my husband and father of my children. I wrote some of how I felt in a card to him, but I don't think I did it justice. I'll try again here. Steve is an amazing father. He finds such joy in serving his family. He loves hanging out with Jilly, and always has. He plays with her and is goofy and silly with her in a way I never could be. There is a specific giggle that only he can get her to make. He is much more patient with her than I am, and always can tell when I'm at my breaking point and whisks her away to let me chill out. He is quick to use the Priesthood to bless us and shows us how important it is to fulfill our callings at Church. He is usually the leader in family prayer and scripture study. He also likes to teach Jilly little bits of Croatian and speaks to her often. He'll sit down and read books with her, or let her climb all over him while he sleeps. He lets her hold a controller while he's playing Xbox and lets her help him cook dinner sometimes. He takes his role as a provider so seriously and makes so many sacrifices to give Jilly and me what we need and want, often going without things he needs, unbeknownst to us. We couldn't ask for a better father and husband!! We love you Steve! You're the best!!!

Is that a baby or a vegetable?

When I found out I was pregnant with Wildcat, I signed up with BabyCenter.com for weekly emails about the baby's growth and all things pregnancy related. I noticed after awhile that they always seemed to equate baby's size with some fruit or vegetable. Sometimes, it was just the length or just the weight of a certain food, and sometimes it was both. It made me laugh each time, so I finally went through all the emails and put together a list of the evolution of Wildcat the vegetable. ;-) I thought I would share it.

4 weeks: Poppy seed
5 weeks: Sesame seed
6 weeks: Lentil bean
7 weeks: Blueberry
8 weeks: Kidney bean
9 weeks: Grape
10 weeks: Kumquat
11 weeks: Fig
12 weeks: Lime
13 weeks: Medium Shrimp (the only animal listed in the entire pregnancy, the rest are all fruit/veggies/legumes)
14 weeks: Lemon
15 weeks: Apple
16 weeks: Avocado
17 weeks: Turnip
18 weeks: Bell pepper
19 weeks: Large heirloom tomato

At 20 weeks, they start measuring from head to heel (for length). Previously, it's been crown to rump.

20 weeks: Banana
21 weeks: Carrot
22 weeks: Spaghetti Squash
23 weeks: Large mango
24 weeks: Ear of corn
25 weeks: Rutabega
26 weeks: English hothouse cucumber
27 weeks: Head of cauliflower
28 weeks: Chinese cabbage
29 weeks: Butternut squash
30 weeks: Head of cabbage
31 weeks: Four navel oranges
32 weeks: Jicama
33 weeks: Pineapple
34 weeks: Cantaloupe
35 weeks: Honeydew
36 weeks: Crenshaw melon
37 weeks: Swiss chard

So there we are. I'm not really carrying a baby inside, but rather a stalk of swiss chard. ;-) As the baby got bigger and bigger, they started throwing in some things that I have never heard of. I had to look up (or rather, Regan looked up) what some of them were, like jicama and swiss chard, among others.

Now I guess the question is what vegetable will pop out? Is he going to be Swiss chard baby, or something bigger? ;-) I'm at full term now, so it could be anytime. Everyone in the family is hoping/planning for next Thursday (the 25th), because it's my mom's birthday and she'll have several days off for it. I am all for it! The sooner this kid comes out, the better, if you ask me! Hehehe. Stay tuned. We'll let you know when he does decide to join the party. :-D

Men Aren't Afraid of Commitment

Countless are the pop culture truisms that we accept as factual: white people can't dance, Asians are terrible drivers ("they can make 'em, but they can't drive 'em!"), black people are afraid of dogs, Mormons are colossal dorks, women ruin everything, etc. Statistically speaking, these sentiments are all true. But there is one truism I must reject, that men are afraid of commitment. In fact, with the least bit of analysis (the only kind I'm willing to do) we may see that the complete opposite is true.

From the time we're small children, men are constantly and ardently committing themselves ardently and vigorously. Sports loyalties are huge in the life of most American males, most often inherited from your father. Men and their loyalties to sports are frequently a reflection of their love for their fathers; my allegiance to the Spurs formed first in the '88-'89 season when Dad and I would listen to the games on the radio called by Jay Howard. It was virtually the only one on one time I got with my father in a family with six children, and for the rest of my life the Silver and Black will remind me of all the good things about Dad and the times that we shared. American men are so committed to sports, we live and die by our fantasy sports teams, rooting for players we hate on teams we despise for the success of our fictional teams. But even fantasy sports are so beloved because of the camaraderie you build with your friends as you compete and even talk trash.

Want more commitment from men? As Texans, boys must choose Ford or Chevy, with the occasional weirdo opting for Dodge (foreign cars don't count). Innumerable fistfights and illegal drag races spawn from the undying devotion of Texan males to their respesctive makes. We declare allegience in Coke vs. Pepsi, McDonald's vs. Burger King, and Jack Bauer vs. Chuck Norris. Men commit in every component of their lives.

Men don't just commit in matters like who gets their Maxim Hot 100 vote either. Hundreds of thousands of men are in Iraq and Afghanistan right now, working to uphold the principles and serve the country they swore to defend; hundreds of thousands more wait to replace them. They risk their lives and suspend family and romantic relationships, education, and career pursuits committed to a cause larger than themselves. Many thousands of Catholic priests have vowed to forsake all in service of God. Tens of thousands of young men serve as Mormon missionaries (you know, the dorks in suits), committing a tithe of their life and forswearing TV, music, movies, dating, most books, phone calls to friends, and free time to share the Gospel that has given them so much. If you look around you, you will see men who are devoted husbands and fathers, men who work terrible jobs to put food on the table and cover health care costs, men who eschew leisure to drive around their family to their various pursuits, and men who help out friends and strangers when occassion calls for it.

Women might rightfully ask, "Then why doesn't he commit to me?" The answer is he probably doesn't know if it's worth it yet. Males crave stability, which may be a way of saying they don't like change. Adding new elements to your life can be hard, and most men believe that women add a degree of variability like nothing else can (translation: chicks are crazy). Just like women, men need to feel secure, but our version of security emphasizes a comfort level in being able to have a degree of control over our circumstances. Men don't like being told what to do or how they can live, and if pop culture is any indication, it seems like today's woman likes to be in charge. Being an American male is asked to be bold and assertive, but only when you're wanted to be bold and assertive. When a man is evaluating a commitment, he needs to know that he can retain his identity, to do the things that he enjoys, that he can be himself. Most men want a woman who makes him want to be a better person, not one who tries to make him be their version of a better person.

It's not that he's just not that into you. While men aren't necessarily anxious to commit, they are more than willing once they know that the reward outweighs the risk.

Ups and Downs

This past week has been one of clean up, organization and swimming. ;-)

So what happened last week you ask? Well Tuesday night, I was at work when I got a video message from my husband. I opened it after a call and it was of Jilly in her crib, naked as usual, but my husband narrating. The first thing he says is "It's too bad you can't transmit smell over video." UH OH. And sure enough, I see a GIANT brown circle on her mattress, then more spots on the walls and crib. Holy crap- literally!! She had taken off her diaper and painted the poop all over her room! My poor Moozsh man had to clean it all up. When I got home, he started describing to me where it was, continually saying, "I don't think you understand how bad it was." Well, the more he told me, the more I realized it was about 10 times worse than what I had seen on the video! It sounded just awful. It was all over her bedding (which, by the way, was her back up bedding since she had peed all over her normal bedding the night before), her stuffed animals, covering her crib, in several spots on the walls, definitely all over the carpet, she even got it onto the desk (across the room) and the diaper champ. Not to mention, all over her!!! Face, hair, hands, legs, everything. It took him over 2 hours to scrub down everything, including her. And of course, he needed to keep her contained while he cleaned, so she wouldn't make it worse or get dirty again, so he had her strapped into the high chair, which she got really pissed about. Poor poor guy!!! I felt so awful for him! I had to scrub off her two teddy bears and change some laundry, but he really had to do everything. And of course, she remained wired and destructive for the rest of the evening. She never took a nap. FREAK SHOW!!!

To make it even better, Thursday morning we were going to go to Playgroup, then have some friends over to go swimming afterwards. I went in to wake Jilly up, so we could get ready and found this:
(Yes, I covered up my baby's buttcrack, I didn't think you all needed to see that.)

Oh goodness gracious! SHE STRUCK AGAIN!! AHHHHH!!!! There was not enough time to clean it all up and get us ready to go, so I had to call my friend giving us a ride and tell her not to bother picking us up. I was so mad! I really look forward to Playgroup, when I can go, and here my lovely plans for this gorgeous day have been ruined by an obnoxious toddler and her disgusting "playtime". Grrrr. I got her up and packed off to the bathtub, so I could assess the damage to the room. Here's a closer look at the wall:

It really was nasty, but I will say, that it wasn't nearly as bad for me as it was for Steve. Tuesday night's fiasco was MUCH MUCH WORSE! It took about an hour or so (with some sulking time for me in there) for me to scrape everything off the wall, wipe down her crib with bleach, get the laundry going and vacuum the carpet thoroughly. It was so not my favorite thing to do, but hey, what was I going to do? Leave it all day for Steve? Um...No.

Luckily, our friends still came over after Playgroup to swim, so the day wasn't a total loss. Thursday ended up being the hottest day of the week, it was over 90 degrees! That is HOT for Washington, especially at the beginning of June!! We went swimming and had popsicles, then they went home for naptime and we did the same. I laid Jilly down, but I added something this time:


Yup, I duct-taped that bad boy right on her so she couldn't get it off. No way was I risking another Poo-casso (as a friend calls it). We've pretty much been doing this everytime we lay her down now, so that we don't run into repeat performances. So far, it's working.


Unfortunately that day, it was just way too hot for Jilly to sleep. So I took her to Wal-Mart to run some errands then we came home for dinner. Both Steve and I had church meetings that night, but mine was at our house. Throughout the whole time, it was still so stinking hot! After the ladies left at 8:30pm, I told Jilly we were heading back to the pool, because it was unbearable in our apartment. We swam until after 9pm, then came home. A little while later, close to 10pm, some cold air finally started blowing in and the weather changed a bit. It felt sooooo good! I was able to get a decent night's sleep for the first time all week! Hooray!

Yesterday, Steve had the day off work, because he'll be working Saturday. It was so nice having him at home. I am always way more productive when he is around. So I totally nested. I hung up all Wildcat's clothes in the closet. I reorganized the dresser, so that we had somewhere to put his blankets, burp rags, socks, shoes, etc. I put the sling into the baby bathrub, so it's all ready for a newborn. Then I decided to tackle the car seat equation. I pulled out the carseat from the closet, it was still in the box and dumped it out so I could put it together. Well, it was already put together and set up for a newborn (straps in the right slots and everything). Perfect! Jilly was fascinated by the carseat and kept wanting to play with it, either by sitting in it herself or buckling it up. We even strapped in her baby doll, so she could see what it would look like. Then I took it downstairs to the car, to figure out how the seating arrangements would work. Turns out the infant seat can only fit in the middle of the back seat. So much for having one at each door. Oh well. I got the base installed, popped the seat in, and got Jilly's seat strapped in to it's new spot as well.

(This was taken from my cell phone. Our camera seems to be broken so I can't show you pictures of the other things I did.)

Jilly had come down with me to watch and was sitting in the front seat while I did all this. As soon as I put the infant carseat in the car, she freaked out!! She started crying and sobbing and all I could understand was "Baby, baby, baby." I am not sure what she exactly meant by that. We have three hypotheses: 1) She thought we were actually going to get the baby and then when Wildcat didn't appear, she was really upset. Yeah... I doubt that too. 2) She wanted to put her baby doll in there and realized it wasn't a toy for her to play with. Maybe... or 3) She wants to still be the baby. Meh, I'm not sure. It could be anything. But she cried the whole way back upstairs and for quite awhile. Poor kiddo. We kept trying to put her down for a nap (like over 2 1/2 to 3 hours) but it never worked. Finally I had to leave for work and she was still awake.

During one of her nap attempts, I finally tackled my biggest project and the one I'd been avoiding the longest. I got all the clothes, papers and other various items out of the cradle in our bedroom. Keep in mind, this cradle has been in our room since well before Jilly was born. She slept in it for a grand totaly of 7 nights I think, before I couldn't handle it anymore and put her in her crib, in her room. (She made too much noise while sleeping, and I wasn't geting any sleep.) Since then, it's been my laundry container, or a catch all for random papers and other things. I cleaned it ALL out and put (most of) it away. Then washed the cradle bedding. Now my baby boy has a clean, safe bed to sleep in when he comes! WOOT!! I feel so accomplished. He has clothes to wear, diapers for his bum, a clean bed, a place for his shoes and burp rags, etc, and a car seat all ready for him to come home in. HOORAY!! We might actually be ready for him to come. :-D

We're now less than 4 weeks away from his due date. I really don't think he's going to wait that long. I keep feeling like he'll be a June baby, not a July baby. But I could be wrong! I saw the midwife last Friday and he's definitely low and other things are progressing (already 2cm dilated). This isn't shocking or unusual really, it was the same with Jilly and she went the full 40 weeks. But I just don't think our little boy is going to do the same thing. Everyone at work seems to be shocked everytime they see me, wondering why I haven't had the baby yet, because I look so huge. We're getting close. Next week, the "eviction process" begins in earnest. I think with getting everything ready yesterday, I know feel settled enough for him to come. For most of the pregnancy, I haven't been anxious or impatient at all. I was quite willing to wait the 40 weeks. I haven't felt ready for him at all until just now. I am emotionally ready for him, as well as physically now. He can come. Steve is anxious for him to get here. He wants to hold his little boy so bad and cuddle with him and all that fun stuff of having a newborn. I am definitely ready to be done at work and just relax and enjoy my summer. And after a long chat with a good friend last week, I am feeling pretty relaxed about the birth itself. So now we begin the final countdown. T minus 27 days and counting!!