Talk Like a Pirate!

Today was "Talk Like a Pirate" day. Krispy Kreme was doing a deal where if you came in and said something "piratey" they would give you a free glazed donut. But if you came in dressed in pirate attire (beyond just an eye patch) you would get a free dozen glazed donuts. I thought dressing Owen up would be easier than myself, but I didn't know what to use as an outfit. Then I got a call from my friend, Carly. She said she had a pirate outfit that would fit him and I could borrow it. She was just leaving the store with her donuts and had already loaned the costume to another friend. Sweet! So Grandma and I headed over with Owen. He looked so cute I had to take some pictures.

He was saying "Arrrrr matey!" in this one:

He was very uncooperative in taking pictures...as usual.

Here we are enjoying our "treasure."

Giving Grandma some sugary kisses:

Owen was so funny about the donut. At first he just kept trying to eat the sugary glaze off of it. Then when he was "done" he tried to put it back and grab another. I was able to coax him into eating all of it and not just biting/sucking the glaze off. 

I think he enjoyed it. :)

Tucker Parties

One of Owen's little friends always has the best birthday parties. I meant to post about the one from last year, but never did. And since this year's party was so great, I thought I'd just add some pictures from last year too.

Last year it was a carnival/circus theme. It was complete with popcorn, candy, games and prizes, and a photo booth. These are the only pictures I have.

Owen trying on a clown nose and mustache:

  

Playing a fishing game:

Our family with the photo booth props:

Oh my goodness I can't believe how little Owen was just a year ago!

This year his party was hosted by a fireman at his house and included a visit to the fire station to see the fire truck and gear. I knew this would be a huge hit with Owen. Sadly, Miles was on a business trip and missed out on the fun.

We started at the fireman's home and ate dinner in his big backyard.

Of course Owen's the only one not looking at the camera...

He gave each of the kids a fireman's hat.

Then we all headed a block away to the fire station.

He talked to the kids about what firemen do and how the truck works.

Then he talked about when they get a call to go out and how they have to get dressed in the appropriate gear. He said that sometimes they don't have time to dress at the station so they have to dress in the truck one their way to where they're going. Then he let all the kids climb in the back of the truck where they stand and dress.

Of course Owen loved it and was the last to get out. In fact, he even asked the fireman to close the door for him so he could stay inside. Silly boy.

After that, he dressed the birthday boy, Tucker, in all the gear. It was super cute seeing him attempt to stay standing in all this oversized gear.

Then he ended by letting each child sit in the driver's seat for a photo op. And once again...Owen did *not* want to leave and had to be pried out. I'm pretty sure he was the only kid to attempt to play with all the knobs and handles too. :)

Once Owen got down, we all went back to his home for cake and ice cream. Holly and Curt made this awesome cake.

Then we ended with presents. Owen also got to go home with this great party gift. He loves it. And he loved the party too. He talks about "Tucker's party" almost every day and wants to ride in the truck again. It was a ton of fun and I'm so glad we were able to go!

Oh Baby! (37 weeks)

Current complaints:

• Insomnia - Even if I am super tired and didn't take a nap during the day, I struggle to fall asleep. I have found I have to take a Unisom every night (just half a pill because  even with just that, it makes me a little groggy in the morning) if I want to be able to fall asleep easier and more quickly after I get up to go to the bathroom the 10 times that happens a night. (Ok...more like 3 or 4).
• Restless legs - This is mostly a problem when I'm trying to fall asleep...making it that much more difficult.
• Pelvic pressure/pain - I was telling my friend, Kelli, about all the pressure I feel. She said hers was painful. I said, "Oh...mine isn't - it's just a lot of pressure." Yeah, apparently I spoke too soon because the next day it turned to pain. It's pretty uncomfortable and I now better understand the saying of feeling like you're walking around with a bowling ball between your legs.
• Bending, walking, moving, standing - Yeah...I'm pretty much feeling like a big, slow, blob. I have a really hard time chasing after Owen (and I swear he's taking advantage of that) or picking up his toys. I also get an awesome pain in my right hip if I have been standing or walking for an extended period of time.
• Anxiety - I wouldn't call this extreme, but I am definitely feeling anxious for baby girl to arrive and therefore it is causing some nesting anxiety in me to get all the things done I want to before she arrives. Eek! So much to do!

At my appointment today, my doctor and I were talking about the labor. I said something to the effect of, "We'll see how it goes..." (regarding me going naturally/sans medication). She asked if I was having doubts. I told her I feel as though people are congratulating me already on something I haven't even done. I mean, all I've done is voice my desire to have a natural delivery. And in all honesty, I just worry that I'll wimp out, not be able to handle it, and just ask for the epidural. Dr. Savage was really great and supportive. She said, "You can do this. You've prepared for it." She told me I will have to decide how I feel and what I want to do when I get to the point of not wanting to go on, but that if there is enough support (Miles, family, her, etc.) we can encourage me along as well. She was just so positive and really encouraging. I appreciated it a lot. It doesn't mean all my fears and nerves are gone, but I'm trying to stay focused and positive on the end goal. I also know that like both my doctor and my friend, Shara, told me - no matter how this baby comes into the world, it is a good thing. And I'm not a failure if I get an epidural.

After the pep-talk, she checked my cervix. I am currently 80% effaced and 1 cm dilated. So...not much, but at least my body is preparing and doing something to progress toward delivery. I don't put a lot of stock in any of those numbers though because I know people go into labor at a lot less, or will be more progressed and have to be induced. It was cute though, cause when I left she said, "I'll see you next week..." patted my belly and said, "...or maybe sooner!" :)

I don't know why, but I've felt for a while that this baby will come early. I'm not experiencing any Braxton Hicks contractions or anything, but I just keep thinking that. At the same time, I don't really put a lot of trust in my intuitions. And just watch...she'll be late. ;)

And since I haven't taken prego pics for a while...here's one of me at 37 weeks:

 

Last Saturday I got my first, "You're going to have that baby any time now, aren't you?!" comment. It didn't really bother me. I just agreed and said I hoped so. Then later that day, Mitchell saw me and said, "You're big!" Ha! Thanks Mitch. He quickly followed it up with, "In a good way." Again...not offended. I'm ok with it and happy to have a growing baby inside of me. :)

Worries

I feel overly emotional tonight. A lot of these thoughts have been festering in the back of my mind for months now, but tonight I'm feeling especially sad. Like I mentioned in my last post, I'm not ready for Owen to grow up. I am really looking forward to having another baby in our family - especially since I don't feel like I fully embraced and enjoyed Owen's newborn days, weeks, and months. I struggled with the transition to becoming a mother (sleep deprivation, painful nursing, lack of milk supply, inability to go anywhere during the day, lack of adult interaction/conversation, PPD, etc...) and didn't really start to truly enjoy my days until Owen was close to 9 months. So I've been looking forward to a new chance to relish these moments having a little bit of experience under my belt, and feeling happy and peaceful with my role as a mom. But at the same time, I SO love my days with Owen. He is so much fun, constantly makes me laugh, and is always teaching me new things. I love it when he snuggles me. I love it when he says, "I wuv you, Mama." I love seeing the joy he gets out of the little things.

I was looking back on some pictures of him over the past 12-18 months. I cannot believe how much he has grown and changed. And yet, some of those pictures, moments, and memories feel like yesterday. But I know they're not. And today will become next year's yesterday and so on, until he is all grown up. It's easy to get tired of the monotony, or frustrated with the difficult days and I know I don't always appreciate each moment I have with him. It makes me sad and makes me worry that one day I will look back and wonder how I missed out so fast. I'm not ready to stop calling him "my baby."

I also worry that having a second child will change so much in our family. I know there will be so much good that comes from it, but what if I resent her for taking my time from Owen? Or what if I resent Owen for making my time with her more difficult? How do I make my heart grow multiply to equally love and give attention to two amazing children? I feel like these are pointless worries. I'm the youngest of five children, and I never doubted my parents' love or thought that they must have loved any of us more than another. But I also think it's silly to believe that there will not be major changes by adding another family member.

Which of course makes me worry about how all of that will go. Part of me feels more confident. Like I will handle this transition to being a mom of two much better than I did to becoming a mom of one. But at the same time, life is comfortable. It's not always easy, but one child is more predictable. We have a decent (yet flexible) schedule that is easy to work around with one. I don't fret about leaving the house in a moment's notice. I don't have to worry about two totally different schedules/personalities/ages. Life is fairly simple.

Change is hard...but change is good. I just hope I can savor each stage in both of my children's lives while not getting caught up in the struggles and unimportant moments.

Oh Baby! (36 weeks)

Today was pretty uneventful as far as I am concerned. I didn't want her to check my cervix since I had Owen with me and he likes to open and close the door the entire time we are in the room. I've set it up to have early appointments for the next three weeks so Miles can stay with Owen in the morning before work. And besides...I seriously doubt it will tell me much to check now versus in a week. Seems like people can be dilated/effaced for such a long time anyway before anything happens. Besides that, I'm still measuring on track and baby girl's heartbeat is good as always. Today, while we were listening, the doctor asked Owen what he thought. He said, "It's too noisy." Ha! Silly goose.

While I was there, I decided to ask a couple questions about Owen. One was just about his eating. I feel like I'm pretty ok with letting him eat how he will (meaning, a lot or nothing for the day), but there are some days when I feel as though he should be starving with the amount he gets in his tummy. She told me not to worry unless he has an actual food aversion (which he doesn't) and that he will get what he needs. Good enough for me.

My main question was about taking away Owen's pacifier. I finally bit the bullet and ended pacifier use during naps and nighttime on Saturday night (separate post to come). It has been rough. So I said, "Sometimes I wonder why I am doing this." She laughed. Then a minute later I said, "No. Really. Why am I doing this?" She said that it will cause problems with his teeth down the road. When she went to expound on other reasons she said, "And...." I thought it was funny she didn't have a list of reasons. She eventually said, "And, it's time for him to grow up and move on." While I really like my doctor a lot, and I value what she says (she has raised six kids, typically has good reasoning/research/experience to back her up, etc.) I found this reason to be lacking. I mean, I get it. But at the same time, Owen only uses it at night (unless he's sick, or we are traveling and I want him to stay calm or go to sleep in the car/plane) and I don't feel a strong desire to force him to grow up. At this point though, I figure we should stick with it and see how the rest of the week goes. But there's definitely a part of me that regrets getting rid of it. Maybe I'll be glad I did in a week or two...or month. And maybe with the next child, I'll do it sooner so it's not as hard. Maybe I just don't want Owen to grow up...yet.

HypnoBirthing Part III & IV

I'm a bit behind in posting about this, and I'm pretty sure I won't remember everything we discussed. This post basically covers three classes. There were supposed to be five classes, but since we were the only couple (minus our very last class), we covered material so fast that we combined the last three into two classes.

Here are the basics that were covered: Nutrition, Writing your Birth Plan, HypnoBirthing vs. Active Management of Labor, Labor walk-through, Birth Breathing, Skin to skin bonding, Newborn procedures, and birth videos.

Some of the highlights for me, were discussing the birth plan, birth breathing, and watching the videos. The book offers a lot of suggestions on what you may or may not want to write in your birth plan. Your birth plan is a list of your requests for how you are received and treated during your labor - by hospital personel, doctors, and those who may attend the birth. I thought this was good because it gave me a lot of ideas of what I might want to request.

For instance:
- Keep exams to check progress (dilation, etc.) to a minimum. (This can introduce infection, and is often very uncomfortable and not productive in moving the process along - especially if it causes frustration when you realize you are not as far as you thought/wished you were.)
- Do not offer medication unless it is requested.
- Avoid discussion, reference to, or questions about pain levels.
- Allow natural birthing instincts to facilitate the descent of the baby, as much as possible, with mother-directed breathing down until crowning takes place.
- To birth in an atmosphere of gentle encouragement during the final birthing phase without coaching - calm, low tones, free of "pushing" prompts.
Etc...

Then there are things I already knew I would want:
- Delay cord clamping and cutting until after pulsation has ceased.
- Immediate skin-to-skin contact.
- Father to stay with mother and/or baby at all times.
Etc...

The last three I did with Owen. I thought I'd be grossed out by the immediate skin-to-skin without having him washed first, but I was no where near grossed out and I'm so glad I did it. We still need to go through all the options and write out our finalized birth plan.

Birth breathing is also important as it's a little different that the other breathing techniques, and will require some visualization. Again, we talked about how the baby does not have to be pushed out, but how you can work with your body to direct your breath and force downward in a "J" motion (as the birth canal the baby goes through is shaped like a "J"). And of course, listen to your body and what it tells you to do and how you should do it. I liked that Cara said not to be afraid of pushing if that is what you feel like doing, and to just listen to your body. I think a lot of times doctors/nurses will say, "Oh! You're at a 10...let's start pushing." Often, your body still might not be ready for that, and you could end up pushing for hours. (Luckily, Owen was a quick delivery for me.) So I think it's about working with your body rather than against it, or forcing it to do something it is not ready for.

And lastly, the birth videos. I really love watching births. I've been to three live births (not counting my own), and even the videos of births totally awe and amaze me. I LOVE them. So I was happy to watch each of the videos we saw not only showing the miracle of life, but also women who so gracefully and beautifully delivery their babies in a natural, unmedicated way. The last one we watched had me in tears. And then (funny enough), my friend emailed the same video to me saying it was of her friend and she thought I might like it. Here it is...in case you want to watch. I just did again. And cried. Again. Miles always mocks me because he thinks it's a little too "epic" if you will. But I don't care. I like it, and I hope my baby's birth is just as beautiful and done with as much poise.

There you have it. I am definitely omitting a lot of information, but that's because 1) it's not all fresh in my head from the classes and 2) I covered the basics. I would highly recommend taking the classes. I still haven't finished the book (shame on me), but I've read a lot and skimmed through most of it. I'm trying to practice my breathing and relaxation techniques. I still need to be better about doing both on a daily basis. I'm definitely getting excited for the delivery. I know I'll be anxiously awaiting as the time gets closer. Only five more weeks! Squee!

Babymoon

I knew I wanted to do a "babymoon" (meaning, get away for a couple days sans Owen to enjoy time together as a couple before the baby comes) for a while. I wasn't sure what we would do or when. However, Miles's sister, Megan, has been working at a resort in Midway, and could get us a discount to stay there. So we decided that would be a good place to get away. Also, Miles's parents were coming into town and agreed to watch after Owen for a couple days. So everything was set to go!

We left on a Friday afternoon to head up to Midway and check in to the Zurmatt Resort. The resort is fun because it's a Swiss-themed resort, which is evident in all the decorations, music, etc. Here are some shots of the room and decor around the resort.

Dancing bears on all the lights in the hallways:

Our awesome king size bed. We will definitely be purchasing one of these as soon as we move!

After we got settled into our room, and enjoyed some of the delicious fudge Megan left for us, we went downstairs to get dinner. We decided to just go to Matty's, the restaurant in the main building. They told us they had received an award for "The Best Pizza in Utah." Pretty lofty claim. I decided to try it out. The award was given for a goat cheese, artichoke, mushroom and roasted red pepper pizza. Miles got a bratwurst and sweet pepper pizza. Both were very good. Best pizza in Utah? Not sure about that, but still very good.

After dinner, we went to The Store. Yes...that is what Midway's *one* grocery store is called. We stocked up on goodies and got a Redbox movie. Oh, I do have to say this about The Store...they have a great stock of foreign chocolates. They had a lot of Ritter Sport varieties (a favorite from Germany) and even had one peppermint! Miles was SO stoked. Sadly, he likes it cold and since we didn't have a fridge or freezer, he stuck it in the tub of ice and by morning some of the water had leaked in changing the consistency of the chocolate and "ruining it" (according to Miles). Sad day. One note about the resort is that they didn't have DVD players in the room. I thought that was pretty odd and seemed like it should be standard. They also don't have them to rent or check out. Good thing Miles never leaves home without his laptop!

Saturday morning, after a decent night's sleep (although sadly I was unable to sleep in past 8:30), we got up for some breakfast at Bäckeri and Eis - a little Swiss bakery shop. We bought an egg, bacon and cheese sandwich on a delicious, flakey biscuit, a chocolate chip scone, and a strawberry and cream cheese danish. They were all super yummy. I fell in love with the buttery danish. Mmmm.... 

Then we headed over to the crater at the Homestead across the street for a late morning dip. Some may remember that Ben and Courtney from the Bachelor repelled into the crater and had a private swim date in there. I was excited to check it out since it's a natural hot springs bath that wasn't too hot for my pregnant body. Sadly, I was under the impression we would have it to ourselves by "reserving" a time. Miles told me I was crazy and it would cost a lot more than $11 per person, per hour for that. He was right. :(

Here is the entrance into the crater:

Walking into the crater:

The red balls are where scuba divers go down. A lot of divers come for fun/practice or for their certifications. Apparently the crater is about 65 feet down and kind of in the shape of an hour glass where it tapers in and then goes back out. There were a lot of divers while we were there and you could see them below as well as see their bubbles surfacing.

One of the annoying things (besides the fact that there were far too many people there for our enjoyment) was that you had to wear a life vest while in the center area of the crater. They were terrible quality and made to fit any size (including my large, pregnant belly). They kept riding up around our necks and were really uncomfortable. Also, the water tends to push you out to the sides and walls. But you aren't supposed to touch them, so you have to fight to move to the middle the whole time. So after a while, we opted to sit in the "hot tub" area where you didn't have to wear the life vests. I quite enjoyed it. Miles was hot and didn't want to stay in for too long. I figure all those minerals were good for my pregnant body too. :)

All relaxed after our swim:

While I got ready for the day, Miles went for a workout. He said no one was there, so he had the whole fitness center to himself. Then we headed to Park City for some shopping at the outlets. I shopped for a friend's baby and also found a couple cute things for baby girl. Then we spent a fair amount of time looking at watches at the Fossil store. We were pretty close to buying one for each of us, but decided to wait. I'm still wanting the one I saw. Birthday present, perhaps???

After shopping we headed to Ruth's Chris. Yes...another trip to Ruth's Chris. We got to sit outside on the patio and enjoy the beautiful view.

I only ended up taking a picture of our massive onion rings with a sweet, Thai sauce.

We were a bit disappointed in our experience because our steaks were undercooked and it took a while to get new ones. However, since we had to wait, they brought us a fresh sweet potato casserole (yum!) and left our 1/2 eaten one for us as well. We ended up taking almost a whole order of it with us. I think we've decided we prefer the food at the Salt Lake one better, although I prefer the atmosphere in Park City more. Oh well.

After dinner we went to a resort in Park City where our friends, Haley and Braden, were staying. It was our last chance to see them before they returned to Colorado, and eventually Wisconsin. So we got to enjoy a few more hours with them. And they got to enjoy our Ruth's Chris leftovers (sweet potato casserole and key lime cheesecake)! :)

Sunday was our last day. MIles requested a late checkout so we didn't have to leave until 1 PM. Ah...so nice. We were lazy in the morning, took our time getting ready, and watched another Redbox movie while lounging around. Miles was a doll and went downstairs to Bäckeri and Eis for some more breakfast pastries. He got another biscuit egg sandwich and fruit parfait. I had requested a danish, but apparently Sunday mornings are ridiculously busy for them and he was lucky to even get what he did. However, the cashier told him they were making a few more and she would put one aside for him and told him to come back in about 20 min. When he returned she said a bunch of people saw it to the side and asked about it. She told them it was already taken. Yay! One more delicious, buttery danish for me! :)

Here is the awesome little bakery and me with my coveted danish:

Lastly, before heading out, we stopped at the Homestead for some fudge. I love this little waterfall and bridge area with the beautiful flowers. 

Inside the shop they were selling these election playing cards. I thought they were pretty funny and thought of a few people who would enjoy them. 

And with that, our babymoon was over. It was a lot of fun though, and we are so grateful to Megan for setting us up with her discount, and Mom and Dad Wright for watching Owen....even if they did try to ship him to Hawaii to see his Aunt Marci. ;)