One Month Down...

Theron is One Month Old today!  It has gone by so fast.  When my doctor told me that I had to wait six weeks before lifting, bending and twisting, I thought that sounded like such a long time.  Now I wish she had said six months :)  Below is a picture of Theron's birth announcement, which I'm sending out today.  Sometimes I make things a lot harder than they need to be.  They did not turn out nearly as cute as I wanted, after spending more time than it was worth "making" them. I blame it on my crappy printer and the fact that I have no graphic design software.  Why didn't I just have it done cheaply online?  Pride.  And the fact that I wasn't originally planning on sending these so soon, but decided last minute to add them with the Christmas cards and needed them asap.  However, I won't complain anymore because my Christmas/anniversary/gift for every occasion for the next two years came earlier this week: a new, REAL camera!  I'm so excited and have already taken some awesome pictures. 

 

Some pictures of Eve.  The first one is her "growling" face when she's pretending to be some sort of animal.  It's a thing we do.  I also thought her hair was really cute that day, so there's a pic of that.  She has a band-aid on her nose because she keeps scratching a little owie that is now two months old and worse than ever.  

Blame It On The Post-partem Hormones

Toy Story 3 should NOT have made me cry as hard I did.  I really lost it at the end.

Another Crazy Delivery

There are a lot of labor and delivery stories out there that are crazier than Eve's, but I got to hand it to the little gal, she was pretty traumatic.  At least, for me.  And Theron's story is not nearly as ensnared in drama as Eve's, but I'm beginning to wonder if it is at all possible for me to even have a "normal" delivery.  Granted, this kid has been nothing but trouble from the start, ignoring my IUD and settling into my womb unannounced and uninvited.  But I'll let that one slide.  

This is me the night we went to the hospital--the end of 37 weeks.  Eve is kissing the baby

For about four or five weeks before he was born I started having contractions, but nothing big or regular.  My check up at 36 weeks was totally normal.  But about a week before he was born I started to get more contractions, and they started to get a lot stronger.  On Tuesday, Nov. 16 I woke up and felt really crappy.  I just didn't feel...right.  I was pretty sure that I would start real labor that day.  I ran some errands wondering if my water was going to break in the middle of Kohl's baby department.  I almost called my mom and Richie to tell them to get ready for a baby, but I didn't want to make it too real yet, and I had a doc appointment that afternoon, so I decided to see what she would say. 

Richie came to the appointment and Dr. Blackett checked my cervix.  "Uh, Renee, how often did you say you felt contractions?"  I told her that they were still random but coming more often.  She said "You're already dilated to a five.  What do you think about having your baby tonight?"  Richie was shocked but I wasn't that surprised.   I had a baby shower that night so I said "What about tomorrow?"  She didn't work.  "What about Thursday?"  She gave me a look like "it'd really be better to do it sooner."  Then she said that there was a good chance my water would break before then anyway. She asked about my hesitation and I told about the shower.  "Oh!" she said, "that's ok.  I'm a doctor who works crazy hours, just come to the hospital at 8 pm after your shower and we'll start you up."  

So after making our calls, we went home, packed our bags, I went to my baby shower where I dazzled and amazed all the women by the fact that I was half way there and having the baby later that night.  I think Marla, the woman who threw me the shower, was worried I was going to have the baby in her living room.  Richie and I went to the hospital afterwards where they broke my water.  After that things started happening pretty fast.  When I reached a seven I asked for the epidural.  I was not prepared for a natural birth, plus, I had all back labor, which was AWFUL, much much worse than normal contractions, and Theron was also posterior, facing backwards, which made labor much more difficult.  But the epidural kicked right in a was great, except it slowed things down. I was dilated to a 9.5 all night long.  They finally gave me a little potossin to get things going again.

Right as I reached a 10 and was fully dilated and pushing hard, my epidural wore off.  And even though I hit the button 3 more times over the next hour, it completely went away, and fast!  I was in so much agony!  The back labor was absolutely horrific and Theron refused to turn.  That was the second time Dr. Blackett has had her hand up inside of me.  I feel bad for her.  By this time I was starting to lose it.  I begged for a c-section.  Dr. Blackett tried to calmly talk me out of it but I knew that it really was what I wanted.  So they finally starting prepping for surgery.  And I had to stop pushing which was even worse than pushing.  It felt so wrong.  

I can't remember if this is the first time I saw Theron or not, still too many drugs in my system.  However, the funny thing is that when Richie took this picture, I thought I was smiling big and bright.  It looks more like the end of 10 hours of labor and surgery.

Now I'm in the OR and they finally have the spinal block for me.  They give it to me, wait five minutes...nothing, 10 minutes...nothing.  The anesthesiologist I could tell was perplexed.  The stupid block never worked!  I had to go under general anaesthesia again!  It was much better because at least I knew that my baby was okay and nothing was life-threatening this time around, but I must say that I was really disappointed to not be awake AGAIN for the birth of my child.  I can handle having the c-section, but really, general anaesthesia?  Sigh.  

 Theron in his "coming home" outfit

The c-section ended up being the right move, however.  Afterwards Dr. Blackett told me that when they opened me up, Theron had not descended nearly as much as he should have after an hour of hard pushing, and that where the previous section had been, my uterus was so thin that she could see through it.  What would have happened had I not chosen the section was that I would have either eventually ruptured or pushed for two more hours until they decided to do the c-section anyway.  So, any more pregnancies will be c-sections, no matter what.  I'm okay with that.  Maybe if I just schedule one, I can actually be awake for it.

Post Script--Aww, look at my cute little Utes.  Theron is crying because he is hungry--hungry for a BYU loss!  Which is just what happened.  And BYU should have won that game--Mmmwhahahahahahaha!  The sweet taste of victory.

Post Post Script--I've always felt that a natural delivery was the ultimate badge of womanhood--at least it was for me.  And I think that I will always have some regret not being able to even come close to ever doing it.  But I do feel as though those couple of hours in full-on labor without drugs gives me a good idea of what it is like.  When I told my friend Marla that she laughed and said "Is that womanhood?  Because I felt more like an animal."  And that made me feel better.  She is much more wise and experienced in this area.  Another of my friends, Sarah, lives in NY and she says there's a saying out there called "Too Posh to Push" and women just schedule c-sections as soon as they know they're preggers.  So is makes me wonder what being completely knocked out means--definitely not stylish, definitely not animalistic.  Lazy?  Smart?  Any good suggestions would be welcome!

Theron Thomas Barkume Peterson

He is here!  Yay!  I am so happy to have Theron in our home, and so happy to be pregnant no longer!  It was a crazy birth--not nearly as traumatic as Eve's entrance to the world, but definitely not what I was hoping or expecting.  I think I am destined to not have a normal labor and delivery story--ever. But that is not important--the important thing is that he (and myself, I suppose) are home, happy and healthy (though still healing) together.  A family of four.  I love it.  I love it more than I ever thought I could (tears!).  I do not think that I will write out the entire story tonight, but here are some pictures of my sweet little man.

  Theron Thomas Barkume Peterson

7 lb 13 oz 20"

Born 5:45 am November 17, 2010

"Suckedlight"

I usually give overrated and uber popular books a good "cooling down" period before I decide to read them--you know, 'cause I'm curious at the the hullabaloo.  And for the most part, I end up entertained even though I don't think they warrant as much popularity as they receive.  Let's see, I liked The Da Vinci Code, Hunger Games and Harry Potter.  They were fun.  And of course, I can't really criticize them until I've read them, right?  So I decided to try out Twilight.  

Ahem--!  Clearing my throat--That book really really sucked.  I cannot fathom how S.M. got it past her editor.  I cannot fathom how she got an English degree. (BYU has so many, many problems.  More on that another time.)  The authoress could have given us the exact same story with half the words--I think I could easily strike out hundreds of useless adjectives.  Someone likened it to emotional porn, but I don't think I can give it that much credit--although I did feel a lot of shame after reading it.  I did like most of the characters, and the vampires are interesting.  I'll probably read New Moon someday.  But I also cannot fathom why in the world Edward likes Bella.  She's boring, grouchy, and a total wet blanket.  And I cannot fathom why anyone over the age of 16 would freak out over this book.  

This is just a cursory glimpse as to my thoughts on this.  I've probably offended a large part of the dumber female population and a tiny part of the intelligent female population, and I know that this little diatribe not well written at all (excuse--cold medication and pregnancy).  But I guess what it comes down to most of all is this:  an unconvincing authoress wrote a mediocre book and has made millions.  I have not.  She's rich, I have my dignity.  Who is the real winner in this situation?  Obviously Stephenie Meyers.

The Great Oni Patch

Eve's word for pumpkin is "Oni."  We don't know where she got that one.  When we say pumpkin she understands that word, but she insists on calling them onies.  Pretty cute, huh?  We went to an Oni Patch earlier this month and picked some onies out for the front porch.  Eve was also invited to a Pirate Birthday Party by 4 year old twin boys, so instead of being a bird for Halloween, she is going to be a Pirate.  I think the costume turned out well for someone who refused hat, eye patch and earring.  

I will be at 35 weeks tomorrow--two weeks longer than I was pregnant with Eve.  I was really stressing out all pregnancy about having the same trauma occur, even to the point where I would get mild panic attacks.  But after talking to my doc and Richie's blessing, I calmed down a bit.  Then the night of week 33 came and went peacefully, and now that that huge mental block is gone, I've been pretty relaxed about the whole thing--the most relaxed I've been all pregnancy.  So despite being physically uncomfortable and battling a cold, I feel pretty good.  I just hope the little stinker doesn't come late!  He really needs to come before Thanksgiving.

Photo Interruptus

Our camera broke.  It's been going out for a while now, but I think the beach, coupled with Eve's obsession with it, did it in.  So we haven't taken any pictures for the past few months, which is SAD!  Because we've done some fun stuff--like go the county fair, in which Eve had her very first pony ride AND merry-go-round ride.  We also went down to C Town to visit grandparents, enjoyed perfect weather all September long and did other stuff I can't remember off the top of my head.  We went to a pumpkin patch on Saturday, but I will talk about that later.  Here are some portraits of Eve at both 12 and 18 months; and finally a good ultrasound photo of Maximus, who, incidentally, is causing me much nausea and breathlessness. 

 

Fetus Maximus

Everyone say hello to our little boy!  Yep, we found out last week that we are having a boy.  I keep meaning to scan the ultrasound photos in, but I haven't done it yet.  But we are very excited to have a boy.  I was about 80% sure it was a boy, though Richard was thoroughly convinced it was a girl and so he sometimes had me believing it too.  We've dubbed him Fetus Maximus for the time being, but his real name will not be revealed until the big day...we think we've settled on something for a name, but are still open to suggestions should anyone have any good ones. 

Eve is now officially in nursery.  I can't believe she is already 18 months old!  Time does go by quickly!  She is starting to really look more like a little girl than an infant.  She has a well used vocabularly of about 6-7 words, but she has said about 30-40 in proper context, and more than once, so I know she knows them, they just aren't in her regular rotation yet.  She has all of her teeth in except for her last set of molars, and she loves to run and climb and swing.  

The first couple sets of pictures are from last week or so, but the last three are some oldies I recently found and downloaded.  I'll share more of those later. 

 These are from the Oregon Coast Aquarium, in the giant fish tunnel

 A great second-hand find at the D.I.  It's still a little big for Eve but she just loves it!

 Playing with the hose with Dad

These last three pics are from March, so about five months ago.  I can totally tell a difference in Eve, though no one else probably sees it.  And I know that the lighting is bad.  Sorry!  That's just life with a toddler and a crappy camera.

Oregon Coast

 Sand doesn't taste good

Anyone that knows me knows how much I adore the Oregon Coast.  I absolutely love it.  So somehow I convinced the whole Peterson clan to spend a week at the coast this summer.  We rented a beach house and had tons of fun.  I won't bore you with all the details, but I do have lots of pictures, and will sum up the trip quickly.

Saturday 3:00 AM:  wake up

Saturday 4:00 AM:  leave our house

 

The first time Eve saw the beach and ocean

Make good time all across Utah, Idaho and half of Oregon until our tire COMPLETELY blows out.  We unpack the back of the car only to find that there's no jack!  So we call OHP, they send a tow truck, 2 1/2 hours later we are back on the road. 

We spent the night in Portland with my cousin Kate and her fiance Jason.  Eve was soooooo wound up from being in the car all day long that she nearly drove their poor cat crazy.  We went on to the coast Sunday morning.

Sunday, 2:30 PM: arrive at beach

Sunday, 3:00 PM: check into beach house, which had NOT been cleaned!  We couldn't even open the door because there were 10 bags of garbage in front of it!  Apparently the owner of the house cleans it himself to save money, and he never came down from Portland.  The unfortunate property manager was soooo embarrassed and upset.  She came and cleaned it and was very kind and comped us a free night, but it was still a big hassle.  

 At Tillamook with her cousins.  She loved all their attention that week, and I think she has a crush on her cousin Connor.  He is pretty cute!

The rest of the trip was really fun.  Despite van trouble for my sister-in-law Holly, the rest of the week went off with out a hitch.  The beach was windy and cold, but Eve still loved it.  She would practically swim in the sand.  Richie dug a big hole and subsequently she wanted to dig holes and sit in them all the time.  We flew kites, explored tide pools, went the aquarium (Eve loved the seals), toured the Tillamook Cheese Factory, played on the beach, played board games, and Richie's parents very generously treated everyone to an exploratory harbour and ocean cruise in Newport.  I loved it!  We went off shore and found a grey whale and saw it humping and spouting.  They threw off crab pots and then pulled in crabs and starfish for the kids to see and we also saw tons of birds, harbour seals, California sea lions, and all sorts of fun stuff.  Eve didn't like the wind, but she did like the cruise itself.  The captain even let her steer the boat.  My sister-in-law Karen and I didn't get sea sick and were loving the waves, but it seemed like everyone else did get sick.  Someone even threw up right next to us.  But I think I would make a pretty good sailor, just so you all know.

 Yay for sea lions!

There is a sad footnote to this story: Richard was not on the cruise with us.  For years he has been wanting to go deep sea fishing off the Oregon Coast and finally decided to do it on this trip.  We both went tuna fishing with my dad a long time ago, 75 miles off the coast of San Diego, and never had any seasickness problems.  But the cards were stacked against him from the start.  He was supposed to be at the dock at 6:30.  Halfway there he realized that he'd left the car seat in the car, so had to turn back, and didn't get to the dock until 6:58.  Less than five minutes into the trip he felt queasy, and for the next four hours, vomited regularly every 15 minutes off the side of the boast.  And how many fish did he catch?  One.  The woman next to him?  15 or 20.  The limit was seven per person, but the boat fished until the the limit for everyone was caught, so he still got his seven fish.  But how sad is that?  Poor baby.  I felt so bad.  But the fish was good!

  Neskowin Beach is the best beach in the world!  Look at how gorgeous!

We left the next Saturday and spent the day in Portland again.  The Barkumes had a little reunion.  We stayed with Kate and Jason again, and then drove home on Sunday.  Eve did great in the car.  She got antsy, but she was happy most the of the time.  All in all, it was a wonderful trip.