William's Birth Story

Darrell and I loved the OB/GYN that we used throughout my pregnancy. He was very laid back, gave us straightforward answers to questions, and had an awesome sense of humor (at least it was to us--I do know people who might have been put off by some of his joking around, but not us). He was also never one to make predictions or promises to us about the pregnancy/labor (the exception to this being that once April 1st rolled around he promised us we'd have a baby sometime that month--with my due date being the 13th he wouldn't have let me go until May before inducing me). However, there were a few things he said that he ended up being way off on.

--At an appointment toward the end of March, he casually commented that we should be "in the clear" with not having to worry about inclement weather getting in the way of us making it to the hospital for delivery. The reality? This is what we drove in on our way to the hospital:

And although you can't see it in the picture, the sleet/freezing rain is still falling.

--A week or two before my due date, our doctor was asking how we were doing, and I made a comment about starting to get impatient. Darrell echoed my sentiments, saying that we were both ready for "the floodgates to open". Our doctor jumped at Darrell's choice of words, reminding him that 80% of labors begin without the water breaking and that we should not count on that as our indicator that labor has begun. The reality? My water broke, completely unexpectedly, after dinner one night. I'd felt perfectly fine all day, even did 50 minutes of pilates in the afternoon, and then out of the blue when I stood up to put away dinner--whoosh. Fluid everywhere. I think I laughed for the next fifteen minutes, especially because Darrell had just gotten done telling the baby that he needed to wait at least twenty-four hours for the storm to pass. Joke was on us!

--The day before my water broke, Darrell and I were at an appointment and after doing the cervical check, my doctor let us know that I hadn't thinned very much and still had a ways to go. He did throw out the caveat that things could progress quickly, but it seemed evident to us that he wasn't expecting anything to happen in the near future. The reality? I delivered William less than forty hours later.

The rest of the details about my labor and delivery are pretty unremarkable: once we made it to the hospital (earlier than we were originally planning to go in since contractions hadn't gotten too intense yet, but we didn't want to labor at home and risk the weather getting worse) I labored in the jacuzzi for a few hours before deciding that it was time to get the epidural (also not part of my original "plan", but I was having labor solely in my back which was incredibly painful, plus it was already close to midnight and I knew we had a long night ahead of us so I decided that with the epidural we'd at least be able to get some much needed R&R). Around 4:30 I started pushing, and at 7:05 William made his appearance!

While there are definitely things that I hope go differently the next time around (no tearing, less pushing, less back labor), one thing we definitely will not change is our decision to not find out the sex of the baby. Having Darrell tell me "It's a boy! It's really a boy!" while choking back tears was by far one of the best moments of my life. The next ninety minutes were pretty awesome as well; since everything had gone smoothly and everyone was healthy Darrell and I got to spend a good bit of time cuddling and bonding with William on my chest. It totally made all the pain and discomfort of the twelve hours of labor (and nine months of pregnancy) worth it.

I've got a few more William posts to get caught up on, but then I promise to get back into posting recipes and other non-baby related content. Hopefully. I'm going to try to make sure this blog doesn't become overrun by all things William, but I don't make any promises. He's just so cute I can't not talk about him!

Busy Weekend

Well, after weeks of unseasonably cold weather and April snow showers, we finally had some weather that felt like spring. Actually, to be honest, it felt more like early summer than spring, but the sun was shining and I got to wear my Chacos, so no complaints here. We made sure to make the most of the nice weather, and William got to watch some fun sporting events: two of Uncle Mike's baseball games and Dad's first soccer game of the season! Of course, I use the word "watch" loosely; this was how William spent his time during all of the games:

At least a sleeping baby is better than a crying baby, right?

Success!

Well, today is Darrell's second day back at work and my second day home alone with William. So far today I've:

--Eaten breakfast and lunch
--Showered
--Brushed my teeth
--Baked a batch of muffins
--Washed and put away a load of laundry
--Kept William alive and (mostly) happy

I like to think things are going pretty well so far! Now I just need to make it to our doctor's appointment on time and (maybe) do the dishes and today will be a major success!

On tap for tomorrow? Running some errands--just me and William. Wish me luck!

Prenatal Fitness: Prenatal Pilates

Pros:
--The DVD consists of 5 ten-minute workouts that can be done individually or in any combination to customize the length and type of workout you want
--The workouts cover a variety of muscle groups and there is even a flexibility section
--Many of the workouts incorporate the use of free weights
--Although the instructor moves quickly through the exercises, she is easy to follow and makes the ten minutes go by quickly

Cons:
--A few of the workouts have exercises that require lying flat on your back, which can be difficult (and in many cases, discouraged) for people in their third trimester
--There are no varying levels of difficulty

Fun fact about this DVD: a mere six hours before my water broke and labor began, I completed the full fifty minutes of workouts on this DVD. I'm not suggesting that this DVD did anything to help start labor (although I'm sure it didn't hurt); rather, I find that fact to be a statement to the level of difficulty of this DVD.  As someone who worked out regularly prior to pregnancy (and even did pilates on occasion), I was glad that I didn't start this DVD until halfway through my second trimester. I'm certain that if I had started it right away I would have found it easy and boring. However, people who don't have a strong background in working out, or who are new to pilates, would probably find the difficulty level perfect for early in their pregnancy, and with regular use of the video would even be able to use it throughout their pregnancy.

Honestly, even if you aren't pregnant, you should check out some of the other videos in this "10 Minute Solutions" series. The concept of these videos is great, and at a minimum of ten minutes it's easy to squeeze a workout in to even the busiest day. And even though the instructors don't provide modifications to make the exercises easier or more difficult, stringing multiple ten-minute segments together inherently makes the workout more challenging. Definitely a win in my book!

The Great Look-a-Like Debate

If Darrell and I had made of list of things we were not expecting to happen during labor and delivery, having a child with a full head of dark hair would have probably been pretty high up on the list. Both of us had blonde hair when we were young, as did our siblings (with the exception of my sister who was bald until she was two or three). So when William came out with a full head of dark hair, we were surprised to say the least. In fact, just about everyone who has met him has been equally surprised by his hair. Which has led to a lot of discussion about who we think William looks like--and to be honest, Darrell and I think he just looks like William. We don't particularly see any features that are definitely "me" or definitely "Darrell"; William just has his own little unique look. But that's just our opinion; what do you think?

Baby William

Baby Darrell--at least the mystery of the dark hair is solved!

Baby Jess

Your Book Might be Outdated if...

As I've mentioned before, Darrell and I have started putting together a pretty extensive library for baby William (let's be honest--Mom is probably more excited by the books than William ever will be). Most of the books we've picked up second-hand, because books don't exactly go bad (and a few crayon markings here and there just add character). However, it is apparently possible for a book to become just a little outdated. Here's a line (and corresponding illustration) from the version of "The Little Engine That Could" that we picked up:

"And there were cars full of toy engines, airplanes, tops, JACK-KNIVES, picture puzzles, books, and every kind of thing boys or girls could want."

Now, I'd consider that more of a pocket knife than a jack knife, but that's not the real issue here. I'm pretty sure that any children's book written these days that tried to pass off any type of knife (or gun or other weapon) as a desirable children's toy would be met with unending criticism--if it were even published at all. Clearly this was not the case in 1930, which is the original copyright date of this book (although our copy of the book isn't that old; the most recent copyright date is 1976). I imagine we'll have to explain that one to William a few years down the road when he wonders what a jack knife is and why, even if he did have one, it wouldn't exactly be viewed as a "toy".

Belly Pics: Weeks 39 and 40

39 Weeks

40 Weeks

Well, the storm system worked! William Edsell decided to make his appearance during what has been dubbed the Ice-pocalypse of 2013. Three and a half days of freezing rain, sleet, and snow, and thanks to William Darrell and I spent the majority of it safe and warm in the confines of the hospital (I'd say we were comfortable as well, but given the circumstances, that wasn't entirely true for me).

I'll try to get back to posting with some regularity this week, but for now Darrell and I are enjoying our time with our son and learning how to make life work as a family of three. And because I can't leave you with just that one half-picture of little William, here's a much better shot of our little cutie!

Fancy Windows

You know how some people buy those fancy frosted glass windows for their bathrooms or front doors so that they can have a little extra privacy without needing curtains?

Well, turns out you can get that same look for free with a massive ice storm.

Coincidentally, that same massive ice storm is also enough to cancel school for the day. Which, on the one hand, is pretty awesome, because this is my last week of work before baby comes, and my six weeks of paid leave will take me past the end of the year, so I won't have to worry about making this day up. But, on the other hand, I now have nothing to distract me from sitting around all day and thinking about when BOB is going to come, if BOB is going to be a boy or girl, if labor will go smoothly, etc. I suppose I could do that whole "nesting" thing and clean, because goodness knows our house could use a good dusting and vacuuming... But that just seems like more work than I want to do.

Besides, if the forecasts are right, it's unlikely that we'll have school tomorrow either (three inches of snow on top of an inch of ice plus 25 mph winds apparently makes for poor driving conditions), so I have to save myself something to do tomorrow. That's sound logic, right?

Bi-Polar Weather

There is seriously no better term to describe the current weather forecast for our area:

Is that not ridiculous? And I'm not really even talking about the fact that snow is being forecasted for April 9th/10th--I'm more impressed by the thirty degree temperature swing between today and tomorrow. Quite frankly, I don't really care if we get snow (although I could do without the 25 mph winds...); we need the moisture any way we can get it. Plus, significant drops in pressure can supposedly induce labor, so hopefully this storm will be brought in by a low-pressure system (or at least chased out by one--I tried to read some weather maps to figure out what was being forecasted in terms of pressure changes, but I couldn't make heads or tails of the maps. Meteorology is clearly not my thing).

Here's to hoping we get some decent moisture and maybe a baby out of this storm system!

Prenatal Fitness: Gabrielle Reece

Pros:
--Short, 15-minute workout sessions that can be strung together to create longer workouts or done individually if you are pressed for time
--Each workout covers all of the major muscle groups
--Lots of variety in the exercises and equipment used

Cons:
--Workouts are free weight/body resistance training only; no cardio
--Quite a bit of specialized equipment is used (stability ball, free weights, exercise band, etc)
--The segments move very quickly and often require pausing the DVD in order to get the equipment/positioning ready to go (Gabrielle has a trainer that helps get the equipment ready for the next exercise)

Honestly, I probably can't give a very accurate review of this prenatal fitness DVD because I only did two fifteen-minute segments. So take my opinions with a grain of salt. That being said, the reason I only did two segments of this DVD was that I was not very impressed with it. While the individual exercises themselves were great, the setup and flow of the DVD made it nearly impossible to follow. Gabrielle is actually not the one leading the exercises; she is working with a trainer who is the one dictating the exercises being performed. This causes an issue if you are trying to do the DVD by yourself; the trainer is able to assist Gabrielle in getting equipment ready for each exercise (and do things like anchor the stability band), so they are able to move pretty seamlessly between exercises. If you are working alone, however, you frequently have to pause the DVD in order to move into the necessary position or get the equipment situated correctly. I found that it took me nearly forty minutes to complete two fifteen-minute segments because I was having to pause and move around so much (which really killed the flow of the workout). Additionally, most exercises are done for fewer than ten reps, so if you don't pause the DVD to get set and start at the same time Gabrielle does, you won't get very much repetition (and then it's time to move around or grab new equipment for the next exercise).

Like I said, though, the individual exercises themselves are pretty good. In fact, I continued to do a lot of the exercises (especially the stability ball ones) as a part of my own workouts. I even considered just watching all the segments (without actually trying to keep up with Gabrielle and her trainer and do the exercises) just to get ideas of more pregnancy-friendly exercises, but was ultimately too lazy to do that. I'm sure that this would be a great DVD if you have a really nice home gym set up (and/or a workout partner willing to be your "trainer"), but for the setup I had it just wasn't ideal and subsequently not a very good prenatal fitness DVD.

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas

When Darrell and I find a recipe we love, we stick with it. We don't look to improve it, we don't look to find one that might be better--we stick with what we know works and call it good. So imagine Darrell's surprise when I suggested trying a new chicken enchilada recipe. He knows that I love our chicken enchiladas and was shocked that I would consider changing or replacing it. However, I quickly assured him that this recipe would do no such thing--it would be a second chicken enchilada recipe (can you ever have enough Mexican recipes? I think not). These two recipes are so different that there is no way to pick one as being better than the other. Our "original" recipe is much more traditional, with salsa and pepper and some cream of chicken soup for extra creaminess. But this one? The chicken is marinated in a sweet/spicy honey lime sauce, and the enchiladas are covered in gooey Monterey Jack cheese and green enchilada sauce. Wildly different flavors from our other enchiladas--but equally delicious. So delicious that Darrell and I have made it twice in three weeks--and considering it makes two to three days worth of leftovers, that's a lot of enchilada meals. And we're not even close to being sick of them. In fact, we're already looking forward to making them again--I'm thinking this will be a good one to whip up once baby arrives: easy prep for a delicious meal with lots of leftovers. Definitely a win in my book!

Honey Lime Chicken Enchiladas
(recipe originally found here)

3 tbsp honey
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 lb chicken, cooked and shredded
8 tortillas
16 oz shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
2 10 oz cans green enchilada sauce
1/4 cup heavy cream (half and half would probably work here as well)

Mix the honey, lime juice, chili powder, and garlic powder together. Pour over the shredded chicken and stir to combine. Marinate for at least thirty minutes. Preheat oven to 350*. Spray a 9x13 pan and then pour a little bit of enchilada sauce on the bottom of the pan. Fill a tortilla with approximately an eighth of the chicken mixture and a few tablespoons of cheese (set aside at least one cup of the cheese to sprinkle over the top of the enchiladas). Roll up the tortilla, place in pan, and repeat until all the tortillas are used. Mix together the cream and remaining enchilada sauce. Pour over the top of the enchiladas (it may seem like a lot, but it isn't overly sauce-y after baking). Sprinkle with the reserved cheese. Bake uncovered for 30 to 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Nursery Reveal!

Since BOB is due in a handful of days (almost down to single digits!), I figured it was about time to share the nursery. I've shared quite a few sneak peaks along the way, but I think we finally have all the "pieces" put together to form a nice, complete nursery. Of course, I'm sure things will inevitably change in the next few weeks after we bring BOB home and we learn what sort of things do and don't make sense from an organizational standpoint... But until then, here is our nursery!

Prenatal Fitness: Gaiam Prenatal Yoga

Pros:
--Broken into three sections (plus a relaxation session), so you don't have to do the full fifty-minute workout every time
--Has three "instructors" that model modifications for each trimester
--Suitable for beginners
--Great for stretching, flexibility, and breathing

Cons:
--Could potentially require a handful of specialized accessories (yoga mat, block, towel, etc)
--Probably wouldn't be very challenging for yoga enthusiasts
--It's the same workout for all three trimesters (just with minor modifications), so it can get a little repetitious
--The instructors have unusual names and dress in funny unitards (that's more Darrell's complaint than mine)

I've really loved this DVD. I've had it since early in second trimester, and have tried to do it at least once a week. Honestly, I've been able to tell when more than a week has gone by between sessions, which to me is a testament that it is working. And the repetition of doing the same workout once a week, every week, hasn't really bothered me that much because it feels So.Good. However, I suspect that people who regularly did yoga before becoming pregnant might not feel the same level of accomplishment; I say this because even though I'm over 37 weeks pregnant, I'm still able to do most of the video without adjusting to the second and third trimester modifications. So it's probably a workout geared more toward beginners--and really, I'm convinced that there is no better time than pregnancy to start practicing yoga, which makes this an excellent prenatal yoga DVD (in fact, I've enjoyed this DVD and the yoga exercises so much that I intend to buy a non-prenatal yoga DVD so I can continue the regime).

The instructors do call for some special "accessories" to be used for modifying the poses, but with a little creativity you can probably get by without purchasing any of them. The only thing I bought was a yoga mat, but that was mostly because my feet would slip on the carpet where I do my workouts. Otherwise I probably could have gotten by without any special yoga gear.

Belly Pics: Weeks 37 and 38

Whelp, this is at. At some point this month, Darrell and I are going to become parents (no April Fools here!). Hopefully BOB fully cooperates and decides to make his appearance au natural, but make no mistake our doctor will definitely issue an eviction notice if we haven't seen the little one by the end of the month.

The burning question that everyone seems to be asking lately is "Are you ready?". And you know what--I think we are. I mean, I know we'll never fully be ready (physically, emotionally, mentally, etc), and I know we'll be making at least three trips out to Target those first few weeks, but if BOB decided to come today we'd manage just fine. Darrell has the car seat installed, our hospital bags are packed, and the nursery is stocked with (what we think are) the necessities. We have plans in place for a variety of labor situations (although inevitably what ends up happening will be a scenario that we hadn't thought of, but whatever), and we're making a point to tidy up the house every night before bed just in case it's a few days before we make it back (old nasty food sitting in a pot waiting for us when we get home from the hospital is not my idea of a nice welcome home gift). And spring even appears to be here to stay, so you can bet we'll be taking plenty of walks to encourage BOB to make his appearance--and plenty of walks afterwards as well!

Anyway, on to the pictures. I still can't really tell much of a difference week-to-week (which is probably good, because I'm not sure there is much room left to grow anyway), and even though it doesn't really appear that BOB has dropped, our doctor is pleased with the way he is progressing and readying for labor, so I suppose that's all that really matters.

37 Weeks

38 Weeks

We're ready whenever you are baby!