CostcoWarrior

Their first face-off 27 October 2009

Last night after Warrior Wife changed Warrior Baby’s diaper they had a little fight and WB got mad and tried to eat WW’s face.  Here is a sequence of pictures that shows how crazy things got:

I think WB won this fight, even though WW was loving every second.

The Quietest Place in the World 25 October 2009

TW has some good friends in Idaho that he met while serving as an LDS missionary in Leipzig, Germany.  This well-seasoned couple have become somewhat more like another set of grandparents in the years since their time in Germany.  The last two summers we’ve gone to visit them at their farm.  It’s a small grain farm on Antelope Flats near Ririe, Idaho.  I’m sure that’s giving you a very clear geographical location, so let’s just state the obvious:  IT’S IN THE MIDDLE OF NO WHERE.  This year we went to visit them over a long weekend in July.  It’s always so good to see them!   Wonderful food, a big huge loveable St. Bernard named Bernie, great laughs, lots of memories, and totally relaxing.

To me, the most striking thing about the farm is the quiet.  No Noise.  You sit on the porch looking out over the fields and there are NO noises.  You can’t hear the highway 2 miles away.  There aren’t even any buzzings from any bugs.  Nothing.  Just beautiful, sweet, comforting silence.  It’s the kind of quiet that the rest of the “normal” world has banished with beeps and clicks and Ozzy Ozbourne ringtones.

This time on our trip it rained one of the days.  Mid-morning I and my belly and went to lie down for a much needed rest.  I took the absolute best nap of my life.  The rain fell on the roof and trickled down the drainpipe running alongside the open window.  I’m telling you, you couldn’t BUY a more soothing and lulling sleep-inducing soundtrack!  It was glorious.

This trip was just the thing both TW and I needed.  We love the Moss’s and thank them for their generous hospitality!  Here are some pictures to make you all jealous:

[View with PicLens]

Credit Where Credit is Due 20 October 2009

I got up because I found myself writing this post in my head while lying in bed.  I’m supposed to be napping–you know, that whole “sleep while the baby sleeps” theory.  But it’s 11:30 and the sun is streaming in through all the windows and 29 years of the whole “awake during the day, sleep during the night” programming is hard to ignore after just a week.

While we’ve all heard plenty of stories of dead beat birthing dads, my husband worked hard to prove himself NOT one of them.  This post is for him–his credit for all of his work in our 9 1/2 month journey.

Thank you for holding my hair and rubbing my back every morning for 20 weeks as I violently vomited.  Thanks for willingly cleaning out the barf bucket when I didn’t make it to the bathroom.  Thanks for holding me while I bawled, and thanks for holding back your extreme excitement when it was obvious I didn’t feel the same way.  Thanks for completely and sincerely agreeing with me that we’d never do this again because I was sure no kid was ever going to be worth this torture.

Thank you for reading and researching and learning with me. Thank you for attending 12 weeks of birthing classes.  Thank you for your input and ideas in preparing for the birth.  Thank you for supporting my desire to have an unmedicated experience.  Thank you for committing to not only watch me in such pain, but to encourage me in it.

Thank you for staying with me for 33 hours.  Thank you for staying awake and never once mentioning how tired you were even though I saw the exhaustion in your eyes. Thank you for driving slowly and carefully to the hospital and for missing every pot hole and bump in the road.  Thank you for holding my hand, for stroking my hair, for rubbing my back, for holding me up, for walking me back and forth across the room.  Thank you for supporting my feet with yours whenever I sat on those stupid “comfort height” hospital toilets.

Thank you for getting another towel every time I’d drop the dry one in the tub.  Thank you for grabbing the warm blankets when I was shivering, and thank you for pulling them off 2 minutes later when I was crying because I was too hot.  Thank you for helping me breath and coaching my moaning, just to make sure I was doing it right.  Thank you for going as hoarse as me.

Thank you for getting the cold wash cloth for my head.  Thank you for getting more water, more water, more water.  Thank you for hardly stopping to eat or drink yourself.

And at that critical moment where I had absolutely no more faith in myself, where I had reached what I was sure was the end of my ability, thank you for having faith for me.  Thank you for the perfect words and the perfect plan.  Thank you for “just 20 more minutes” that you were sure I could do.  Thank you for coaching two more hours of pushing.

Thank you for whispering your love and support over and over.  Thank you for announcing “It’s a Girl!” with tears in your eyes and so much love in your face.  And thank you for letting me hold her first.

This birth was just as much work for you as it was for me.  You really are The Warrior, and I’m so humbled and grateful for all you invested in this birth without even doubting that it was your duty and your joy to fulfill.

I love you forever.

WarriorBaby(WB) has arrived 19 October 2009

Around 9am WarriorWife began having regular contractions, and FINALLY our baby was on its way.  When the contractions were consistently 3 minutes apart we headed to the hospital, this was at 3am.  It was nice not to have to worry about traffic or parking.  We were admitted and settled into our birthing room around 3:30am.  After sitting in the tub, walking around, and a bunch of different positions it was time to start pushing.  By this time is was 2pm (29 hours of labor) and WarriorWife was exhausted and not sure she had it in her to go natural (i.e. NO medications).  Since the plan was for a natural birth I encouraged her to try pushing for 20 minutes before she made a decision on her need for pain management.  Unfortunately the pushing took longer than 20 minutes, which is completely normal, but WarriorWife caught a second wind and got in “the zone”.  Then after about 2 hours of pushing we welcome our baby into our family! Because we chose not to know the gender beforehand I was watching like a hawk, so I could announce our babies gender to WarriorWife.  It’s a GIRL, a healthy, happy, cute, blonde haired, little girl! Everyone is doing wonderfully and happy!

WarriorWife was so focused and so strong… I was amazed and in awe the entire time.  I now know that she is capable of anything she puts her mind to!  Go WarriorWife!  You are my new hero!

Here are a few pictures:

[View with PicLens]

Pink Drummer with Long Ears 4 October 2009

I might be the energizer bunny…nothing outlasts this pregnancy.

In other words:  STILL pregnant.

Mentally/emotionally I’ve done pretty well mostly.  There were still things we needed to do, but we finished all those things last Thursday night, and the mental/emotional stability has slowly been crumbling.  Friday we were hopeful…Saturday a bit more anxious…today…well…today maybe?  Please?  Each morning starts high in hope…and each night closes on a bit more desperation.

It’s taking extra patience to keep answering positively and kindly to all the people who ask me “had a baby yet?”…not because they lack any support or excitement in their inquiries, but because it’s hard not to get discouraged when you get asked 5 or 6 times a day and you REALLY wish you had a different answer.  And after the conversation I’m left propped up on the couch staring at extra painfully swollen legs and feet.  I’m super uncomfortable, but apparently not uncomfortable enough to expel the melon-sized bump.

So…thanks for asking, but we don’t have a baby yet…maybe you could pray for us!