Tyrannopoopus Rex

It's kind of fun to see what nicknames you can come up with for Rex. Rob came up with "Tyrannopoopus Rex" the other night after a bout of dirty diapers and I thought I would die laughing. We were trying to be good parents so the second we heard him doing something in his diaper, we'd run off to change it. So then what would happen is that we kept catching it before he was done and had to change it several times in a row. We've learned now to give him a few minutes to get it all out. Oh, the learning curve for new parents.

Like many newborns, Rex has his days and nights backwards. Here he is at about midnight on Wednesday night/Thursday morning:



And here's Rex at about noon on Thursday (Don't freak out about the blanket being a suffocation hazard- he had 4 grandparents and 2 parents watching him then):



Apparently, it has something to do with a mom's milk coming in best at night and the babies know this so they are awake then to feed. That's the story I got from a few nurses so as crazy as it sounds, I suppose it is probably right. The good news is that they said it only lasts for about a week to 10 days. I don't think any two days have been the same so far. It's hard to know what to expect and you just can't plan for anything. Last night he was wide awake from 11:30-3:30 a.m. and then tonight he slept really good and only woke up a couple of times to eat. The goal for the next few days is to get him to sleep in the bassinet so that he, Rob and I can all sleep at the same time instead of Rob and I taking turns watching and holding him through the night while he sleeps- which is what I'm doing right now as I'm typing this at 5:30 in the morning. It's very hard to find time to do anything else but take care of him which is alright with me. There are people I've been wanting to call or at least email for the last week but it just doesn't happen. I think I've talked to 4 people on the phone in the last week- I don't even know where it is most of the time. I'm looking forward to the time where we start to get some kind of schedule going and life starts to have a pattern (at least a little bit) but this early part of his life is very special too.

It's hard to believe it has already been a week since he was born. Even with the craziness and lack of sleep, time is just flying by already. Happy One Week Birthday Rex!

Our Son

Rex entered the world on Friday, June 20th at 5:49 p.m. He weighs 8 pounds and 15 ounces and is 21.5 inches long. He is totally healthy and the labor went very well. I needed a little help to get things going but once the doctor gave me that pitocin, things went fast. I got the epidural as it turned out and was very glad I did because that thing was a miracle. I dilated the last 4 or 5 cm completely oblivious to what was going on. I couldn't believe it when they told me I was at 10 cm and brought my doctor in and said it was time to push. That part lasted about an hour and a half and I don't know what else to say besides it is just not a lot of fun. I could say more but it just might be a little too much information for the blog. Everything right around the time he was delivered is kind of a blur but the one thing I think I'll always remember is when they put him on me for the first time. I said, "Wow" and it was the most amazed and blown away I have ever felt by anything. The nurses were so wonderful and the rest of the time at the hospital went by quickly. One of the nurses swore to me that he was the favorite on the floor that night and that he doesn't just say that to all the moms. He said he learned a long time ago if there was a baby he didn't really bond with, he just didn't say anything.

We got home yesterday afternoon and it's been a wild ride. Rob's been peed on and spit up on a couple of times already. Rex is a great eater and is a pretty mellow and happy guy. He only cries when something is really wrong like he needs to eat or has a dirty diaper or gas. The sleeping for us is not going well but is what we expected. During the night, I sleep for a while then Rob does and we trade off at feedings. So I'm watching him now and he's been laying on my lap while I have been typing this post which has been challenging. I'll add a few more photos but you can see more on my Flickr page.

Eviction Notice

This is a warning to my son that tomorrow morning, we will start the process to evict him from his nice quiet home. He has not wanted to come out on his own, but that doesn't mean he gets to stay. Oh no- it's time to get out, baby. We are so totally excited though and have been buzzing around all week. We have been up very late every night this week and when we do finally make ourselves go to bed, we can't sleep because we are just so wound up. I can't even imagine what tonight will be like! It's so cool to know that by this time tomorrow, we will have met our son. I just can't wait!!!!

I decided I looked okay today so I took one more picture of myself to share. Here I am at exactly 39 weeks.



I keep having Braxton-Hicks contractions, even pretty strong ones that fake me out and think maybe they are the real ones. But once I time them, I realize how irregular they are and that they can't possibly be the true contractions. And they aren't. This last week working was pretty miserable. I have a hard time getting around these days and having to get ready and work all day was just kind of tough. I gave up finally yesterday and that was my last day. I was planning to also work today but then I thought, "What am I thinking? I am about to have a baby and I have 4 houseguests showing up in the next few days. I need to be at home doing a few things to get ready for all of that!" I was also hoping I might get to relax a little today but not so much. The house looks great though and we are ready for our helpers to arrive!

I have one more truly horrifying thing to share and I would recommend if you have a weak stomach to stop reading now. Well, it's not that bad but I present to you... My Feet.



Aren't they terrible? I know it's been a while since most of you have seen me but I think you probably remember that I have fairly thin legs and ankles. Not anymore. They look especially bad right now (and I just took that photo) too because I have been on my feet for most of the day doing housework. Ugh- I am so looking forward to having regular Shelby-size features again.

We have a few things to pick up at Target tonight and are going to go out to dinner one more time by ourselves. Wow, so I guess the next time I blog I'll be putting up pictures of our son. I can't wait to share them! If you happen to think of it, think good thoughts and pray for a quick labor for us tomorrow!!

Things I've Missed

The most exciting thing about having the baby this week is, of course, getting to meet and hold my new son. But in the last few days I have also been thinking about all the other things I’ll get to enjoy again since I’ll no longer be pregnant. Some things I’ve missed:

Turkey Sandwiches: Without a doubt, the hardest thing to do without (food-wise) during my pregnancy was deli meat, particularly turkey. Yes, I could have heated up the meat to where it was steaming and then eat it but it just seemed like an awful lot of trouble. There are a few foods that pregnant women are supposed to avoid and I don’t like most of them so it wasn’t much of a problem- except for skipping the deli meat. I am so tired of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Rob will be making a Subway run as soon as the baby’s out so that I can finally have a turkey sandwich again!

Sleeping on my Stomach: I hate sleeping on my side! Hate, hate, hate, hate it!!! I managed to adjust to it somewhat but it still blows. Along with that, I am looking forward to getting in and out of my bed with much more grace and ease than I do now.

Non-Maternity Clothes: It may just be because I can’t wear any of them, but I swear the clothes of 2008 are so cute! I want to buy them all but they don’t fit me. I think I’ve done pretty well with finding reasonably stylish maternity clothes but I can’t wait to wear normal size clothes again. The Weight Watchers books and my points journal are already out and it is diet time next week. I’ve had my fun with enjoying foods that are usually off-limits but I’d much rather be thin and fit into my regular clothes.

Regular-Size Feet and Ankles: Along with the regular size clothes and body, I can’t wait to have regular size feet and ankles. They started swelling up about two weeks ago and just keep getting worse. I’m very limited in the shoe selection now. I thought the only bad thing about it would be the blow to my vanity but it turns out that it is actually pretty uncomfortable. I can’t wait for them to shrink back down. Thankfully, they don’t seem to have gotten any bigger, just wider.

Alcohol: Don’t really care about this actually. I do not drink hardly any of it because of the calories. A lot of times when I do order something, I usually wish I had just gotten a Diet Coke. But I can drink it again and since I do occasionally enjoy a fruity rum-based mixed drink or sangria, I may have to get something in the next couple of months.

There is one more thing but I'm trying to keep this PG rated AND my mom reads this so I won't go into it- let's just say Rob and I are both looking forward to this though!

He Has Until Friday

Still no baby but he will be here by next weekend, one way or another. At my check-up on Friday, my doctor scheduled an induction for this Friday morning so if he doesn't come by then, we'll help him out. It is so exciting to know that he will definitely be here by the end of the week! I still hope he comes on his own sometime before that so we don't miss the fun of timing the contractions and then having that moment where we decide "I think it's time to go to the hospital now!" But if it does happen on Friday morning, that's not so bad either because I can get up, take a shower, eat a little breakfast, put our stuff in the car, meet my doctor at the hospital and she can deliver this baby. If he's born anytime besides regular business hours, I will probably not have my doctor there because they all call-share for evenings and weekends. Everything was looking really good and his heartbeat was great at the appointment. He's gotten a little bigger though and I am dilated to 4 cm now. I'm going to be halfway there by the time we even get to the hospital- hopefully that will mean a quick labor and delivery!

I can't seem to sit still anymore so I spent a good part of the weekend puttering around the house. I've rearranged and cleaned everything in the house, I think. We got some flowers to put out front in the flowerbed in our front yard since the tulips and other spring bulbs have all died now. Rob offered to take me to see Indiana Jones or rent a movie but I just didn't think I could sit still long enough to watch a movie. One of the best things that happened this weekend was getting a new office chair, which I am enjoying very much at the moment. We used to have an extra chair that goes with the dining table serving as our office chair and it was just terrible. We were both totally sick of it and tried to find a new one at Sam's Club but we could never find any in there. It turns out they still had them, they had just moved them to a different aisle. I started to put together the bouncy seat for the baby but had a really hard time maneuvering around my huge belly so Rob finished it up for me. I did some cooking and laundry too. I don't know if this is all that nesting stuff they talk about or just a lot of nervous energy but it was definitely a busy weekend for both of us.

A lot of people have been checking on us with all the flooding going on in Iowa but we are totally fine here. It rained a tiny bit today but it's been pretty dry since Thursday (I think that was the last day it rained a lot) and it looks like it is going to be dry for the next few days as well. In the previous week, from Thursday 6/5 through Thursday 6/12, it rained almost 5 inches here where we live. Even with all that, there was very little flooding in our town. We've also had some tornado watches but nothing close to us. I can't even imagine what it must be like for those living in Cedar Rapids. I work with some consultants who live there and can't believe the stories they have to tell. It's really incredible all the damage that has been done and they don't even know the extent yet of most of it since so much is still under water. We're very fortunate here.

We've Got Class

On Saturday, we attended a birthing class at the hospital where our baby will be born. I was kind of hoping we'd miss it but no baby yet so we made it. It started at 8:30 and was supposed to last until 4:00 but we ended up getting out of there a little before 3:00 which was a nice surprise. I've been doing quite a bit of reading so there wasn't a lot of info that I didn't already know but I picked up a few things. They had us practicing relaxation techniques which meant that Rob had to give me a few massages. I thought it was great but he thought it was a little bit of a scam :-) The almost-best part was seeing the maternity floor and the rooms for labor and delivery. We're very fortunate that the rooms are private and you do all your laboring, birthing and recovery in that same room.

What was the best part then, you ask? That would be the group of people that were in the class with us. I would say there was about 10 pregnant ladies with their coaches, all but one of which was their husband. I am hoping that her husband/boyfriend is in the military but she seemed like a bit of a party girl so I wouldn't bet on that. She and her friend that was helping her were both very nice when we talked with them- everyone was really nice. There was the cutest Chinese couple sitting next to me and her due date was the same as mine. I thought our families were far away but I guess China is a lot farther than California so it could be worse! They were just so excited and happy and so cute about it all and you couldn't help but be so excited for them- it was infectious. She had recently had an ultrasound and she knew that their baby is a girl that is only about 6 pounds so far. We all got a kick out of that compared to our big boy. My favorite people in the class though- for sheer entertainment value- were the two couples that came in from the farm. They ended up sitting by each other and they provided me with some good stories, one of which I'm going to share now. The teacher (a nurse from the maternity ward) went around the room asking if we were planning on natural childbirth or were wanting to use a little help to get through it. Well, Farmer Girl #1 answered first and said, "Natural. No way am I taking anything." She was very adamant about it and I'd like to be there to see her delivery and see how it really goes. Farmer Girl #2 answered next and said, "Natural but we'll see..." So then FG #1 leans over and says to her, "If a cow can do it, I can do it!" I leaned over to Rob and said, "Cows eat their food and then vomit it back into their mouths to eat on it some more. I don't want to do what they do!" I sat there for a few more minutes and then remembered a little something from City Slickers. I leaned over to Rob, who's spent a lot of time on a dairy farm, and said, "Wait a second- don't they reach into the cow and pull the calf out?" He said yes, that's what they do. So Farmer Girl didn't even get it right- a cow doesn't really even give birth! HA HA- outsmarted on farm knowledge by the California City Girl!

I had my weekly check-up with the doctor last Friday- barely. They had written on the appointment card that I was scheduled at 2:45 on 6/6 but then they put me down in the computer for some time on 6/10. I whipped out that appointment card and what do you know? It seems I wasn't the one who screwed up (like I know the girl was thinking) and they were able to work me in. I learned a while back to always take those cards with you to appointments because then you don't look like the dummy. They had screwed up one of my hair appointments not too long ago and that card came in very handy in proving I didn't screw up and they did. Anyhow, it took a while to see the doctor because she had delivered 2 babies already that day and was running behind because of that. She walked in the room and the first thing she said was, "I thought for sure you would've labored this week! I can't believe you're here now." I told her I thought so too and was definitely hoping for that. So the one person who should have the best idea about when I would start labor is surprised that there's no baby yet. For those of you keeping track, I am now 3 cm dilated, 70% effaced and my station is -1. I'm moving along but the true labor contractions still haven't started. Hopefully it will be any day (or any hour!) now...

Our First Flood

Last Thursday, it rained quite a bit during the night- about 4 inches. Yikes! They had issued a flood warning (or maybe it was a watch, I can’t remember) but like usual, there was no flooding anywhere Friday morning when I went to work. However, by the time I went out to get some lunch around 11:45, the creek that goes through the middle of town was flooded and they were closing down streets. The river on the east side of town ended up flooding too and by Friday afternoon/evening, there were several streets in town that were closed. I picked Rob up from work around 3:30 that day and we drove past one of the flooded areas and Rob asked, “What are all these people doing out here?” There were just a ton of people out walking and riding their bikes and he couldn’t figure out what was going on. I told him, “They’re all just being nosy and taking lots of pictures!” I wasn’t able to get any photos myself so I've been trying to get some so that I could share them here. I finally managed to find someone who got a few around town so here they are- my favorite is the one with the two guys in wetsuits in the Target parking lot.






I thought the streets would all be closed off for days but most of them were open again by Saturday evening and by Monday, everything was pretty much back to normal. Both the creek and river were at the “major flood” stage so that was really surprising to me. There was no flooding by our house so that was never a worry for us. It rained a good amount last night and there was another flood warning, in addition to a tornado watch, but none of that happened. We are doing fine- just lots of rain, thunder and lightning but all in managable amounts.