Monday, March 19, 2012
Baby Sterling
Having taken lots of photos of babies and little children, I thought it would be easiest to take pictures of Sterling myself. Um, no. When photographing newborns, it's important to keep their belly full, keep the temperature really warm and have a partner to help pose the baby. With Logan out of town a lot lately, the photo assistant has been hard to come by. So my photo sessions have been really short. By the time I feed her and change her clothes or strip her down, she is usually out of patience, and with the thermostat turned up to keep her happy, I am a sweaty mess! I can usually get one good photo before she gets irritated and wakes up. At this rate, it will be a month before I get to all of the photo ideas I have attempted. But here are a few good, though generic, photos that have turned out in the last two weeks.
She's Here!
Before I get too far post-delivery, I figured I better document the whole event. It was pretty much the biggest day of my life... and one of the longest too. Sterling Joy Ipsen was born March 2, 2012 at 6:50 a.m., though it was pretty painful before the epidural, I have to admit, it's a good thing I waited until age 29 to have my first baby or I would probably be tempted to have six kids -- it was that easy. Not easy, but easy compared to what one would think of when passing something the size of a watermelon through a vagina...TMI? 30 hours of labor was a bit much, but the 15 minutes or so of pushing kind of offset the misery of sitting in a delivery room for so long.
So, the story...I will try to be as brief as possible...probably not brief at all.
My mom and sister were all set to come out on March 1 but as the day got closer, they wanted to come out early. I kept telling them to wait because I was certain I would go way over due because things were just too boring and easy at 40 weeks prego. After sitting at home in Utah and feeling helpless, my mom got antsy and still wanted to come early but I told them to wait because I didn't want to be sitting here in California waiting on a baby that wasn't ready to come. They arrived on February 29 at about 8 p.m.
Being sooo ready to meet our little girl, I had already been eating spicy food, walking a lot and trying the safe old wives tales to coax Sterling here a little sooner. When my mom and sister got settled in, my mom got out some aromatherapy oils and rubbed by feet (another old wives tale that I no longer think is just a tale). My mom finished rubbing my feet and ankles at 10:30ish and we all went to bed. As I was laying in bed I started to have pains and decided to time them -- they were about 11 minutes apart. I told Logan but we just went to sleep anyways.
At about 2 a.m. I woke up and was still having strong - albeit very manageable - cramps. I timed them and they were 10 minutes apart. By this time I was too anxious to sleep (had I realized sleep would be so rare in the upcoming days, I probably would have tried harder to sleep) so I went downstairs and laid on the couch and watched the clock. The cramps stayed consistent until about 6 a.m. I just laid on the couch realizing that my house would never feel the same again -- I was in labor! I couldn't feel the contractions with my hand like I did with braxton hicks, but the cramps were stronger and too consistent to be a coincidence.
My sister came downstairs at 6 a.m. and I told her what I thought was happening. As the rest of the house woke up and became aware of the news, I called work and told them I wouldn't be back for a few weeks. We all planned our day, got ready and headed out to stay busy and time contractions...about 8 minutes apart at that point. I love that no one got anxious. The day was very relaxed and fun. My mom, my sister and I went to exchange some duplicate baby gifts, get pedicures and go grocery shopping while Logan ran some errands and got his hair cut. As we were out on the town, my contractions became very irregular sometimes every 30 minutes sometimes every 6 minutes. I feared it was false labor. But as we were getting our pedicures, my contractions came back...every 8 minutes. I swear it's the foot rub!
We met Logan for lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant and I had the eggplant parmesan - another old wives tale and a decision I would later regret. As the contractions got more painful, Logan and I decided to bypass grocery shopping and head home to call the doctor. At 7 minutes apart when we called, the doctor told us to head to the hospital when we reached 5 minutes apart for an hour. When my mom and Ashlee got back from shopping, we headed to the hospital.
When we arrived, it was about 2 p.m., and was raining. As it turns out, rain and linoleum are a bad combo. As we hustled through the doors to labor and delivery check-in, I ate crap! I fell pretty hard and was terrified that something could have happened to the baby. After we were checked-in, the nurse checked my blood pressure, which was sky high. My blood pressure had been perfect the entire pregnancy (minus my appointment the day before when Logan and I had just had a good fight) I tried to convince the nurse it was because of the fall and I was just upset (like I was the day before) but to no avail, I was going to be monitored for preclampsia. Awesome. So they took some blood, I peed in a cup and and then I got to be hooked up to a blood pressure cuff for the next three hours... I learned that not being able to walk or move during contractions is TERRIBLE! I also got checked for dilation shortly after check in and was only at a 3 but was 100% effaced. Next time I will be sure to stay more calm leading up to delivery because sitting still during contractions was the most painful thing I have ever experienced...so painful I couldn't cry and puking was the only other option... I did this a few times...which is why I regret the lunch decision earlier in the day.
After they got the blood results back and cleared me to have the BP cuff taken off, I was still in SOOO much pain but found that walking or making Logan hug me during the contractions took the edge off a bit. When I was finally at a 5.5, one of my doctors (aka, the Good Witch) said I could have my epidural but that the anasthesiologist was in a c-section so it might be a bit of a wait. About three years (I kid but it was HELL waiting) later he finally came in to give me some drugs. The dork tried to make me watch an epidural warning video but I was sooo relieved when one of the labor and delivery nurses told him, "Doctor, I don't really think she has the attention span to watch a movie right now." So a head nod then seemed sufficient for him to see that I understood the risks of having an epidural. After about another half hour my mom and sister had arrived and after a short visit from my mom, my sister came in to watch the epidural administration with Logan. Shortly after the heaven-sent doctor gave me my drugs (about 6 p.m.), I was off to the delivery room. During the journey down the hall Logan claims I told every nurse or doctor we passed that I loved them. I had pain medicine, not cocaine and alcohol, I think I would remember such a statement coming from my mouth...but, at any rate, I did love them so I guess there is nothing wrong with telling them.
After we got to the delivery room, we settled in for a long night. At this point, shift changed had occurred so another one of my doctors (aka the Wicked Witch) was on call. To keep it more brief...since I am not succeeding at that so far...my mom and Ashlee went to dinner, Logan and I hung out, my mom and Ashlee came back with dinner for Logan (turns out I'm a puker so no dinner for me). I was only at about a 7 by 9 p.m. and my water had not yet broken and the Wicked Witch who is a conservative, natural-medicine-type lady didn't want to break my water....so we waited and waited. Ashlee and my mom went home to sleep for a while. Logan slept in a terribly uncomfortable looking recliner and I, buzzed from world's best drugs, chewed on some ice and peed in a catheter all night. At about midnight I was at a 9...my water was still intact. My mom and Ashlee came back at about 4. I was dilated to a 9.5 and my doctor still wanted things to happen the natural way...though my body thought that was a joke.
My labor and delivery nurse was great. I think I liked her more because every time she called the doctor she ended the conversation with an eye roll. At about 5 a.m., the nurse said she was going to check me again for dilation and this time she was going to "be aggressive." I was at a 10 and then I had a sensation I haven't felt in years -- bed wetting...and wetting and wetting. Prior to going into labor I was terrified I was going to have a 10 lb baby girl but as my water drained and my belly got a little smaller, I kept saying things like, "she might not be that big after all."
My nurse started doing practice pushes with me at about 6:10. I guess she could see the head all along but the Wicked Witch didn't see any urgency in rushing down to help. At about 6:40 a.m., the nurse finally got the doctor to show up to catch the baby. Right before the doctor got there, a new nurse arrived for shift change and had a student with her. I approved the student to watch, so between shift change, my family and the student, Sterling had a large audience for her debut.
I really wasn't all that emotional about giving birth or becoming a mom, but after about 15 minutes of pushing (most of it without a doctor present) she just came right out. "Forget that I am a mom," I thought to myself. "Did you all just see what I did!?" Then I looked at my mom and she was teary...and my sister was teary...and the student was crying. Then I saw Sterling and I thought, "There is no way she is 10 pounds!" They weighed her and then set her on my chest...and then I started crying. It was the most profound moment of my life. I was amazed that I had accomplished what I had (with relative ease) and I was amazed that she was sooo perfect.
I wish I could say that healing has been a piece of cake. It hasn't been. And breastfeeding is hard. But I would do it all over again a thousand times just to enjoy the last two weeks like I have. She is the cutest, sweetest, best baby ever. She looks just like her dad, but I am convinced she gets her temperment from me:) She is already sleeping through the night once in a while and only cries when she is hungry or needs a new diaper. She's pretty much a dream baby.
So, the story...I will try to be as brief as possible...probably not brief at all.
My mom and sister were all set to come out on March 1 but as the day got closer, they wanted to come out early. I kept telling them to wait because I was certain I would go way over due because things were just too boring and easy at 40 weeks prego. After sitting at home in Utah and feeling helpless, my mom got antsy and still wanted to come early but I told them to wait because I didn't want to be sitting here in California waiting on a baby that wasn't ready to come. They arrived on February 29 at about 8 p.m.
Being sooo ready to meet our little girl, I had already been eating spicy food, walking a lot and trying the safe old wives tales to coax Sterling here a little sooner. When my mom and sister got settled in, my mom got out some aromatherapy oils and rubbed by feet (another old wives tale that I no longer think is just a tale). My mom finished rubbing my feet and ankles at 10:30ish and we all went to bed. As I was laying in bed I started to have pains and decided to time them -- they were about 11 minutes apart. I told Logan but we just went to sleep anyways.
At about 2 a.m. I woke up and was still having strong - albeit very manageable - cramps. I timed them and they were 10 minutes apart. By this time I was too anxious to sleep (had I realized sleep would be so rare in the upcoming days, I probably would have tried harder to sleep) so I went downstairs and laid on the couch and watched the clock. The cramps stayed consistent until about 6 a.m. I just laid on the couch realizing that my house would never feel the same again -- I was in labor! I couldn't feel the contractions with my hand like I did with braxton hicks, but the cramps were stronger and too consistent to be a coincidence.
My sister came downstairs at 6 a.m. and I told her what I thought was happening. As the rest of the house woke up and became aware of the news, I called work and told them I wouldn't be back for a few weeks. We all planned our day, got ready and headed out to stay busy and time contractions...about 8 minutes apart at that point. I love that no one got anxious. The day was very relaxed and fun. My mom, my sister and I went to exchange some duplicate baby gifts, get pedicures and go grocery shopping while Logan ran some errands and got his hair cut. As we were out on the town, my contractions became very irregular sometimes every 30 minutes sometimes every 6 minutes. I feared it was false labor. But as we were getting our pedicures, my contractions came back...every 8 minutes. I swear it's the foot rub!
We met Logan for lunch at our favorite Italian restaurant and I had the eggplant parmesan - another old wives tale and a decision I would later regret. As the contractions got more painful, Logan and I decided to bypass grocery shopping and head home to call the doctor. At 7 minutes apart when we called, the doctor told us to head to the hospital when we reached 5 minutes apart for an hour. When my mom and Ashlee got back from shopping, we headed to the hospital.
When we arrived, it was about 2 p.m., and was raining. As it turns out, rain and linoleum are a bad combo. As we hustled through the doors to labor and delivery check-in, I ate crap! I fell pretty hard and was terrified that something could have happened to the baby. After we were checked-in, the nurse checked my blood pressure, which was sky high. My blood pressure had been perfect the entire pregnancy (minus my appointment the day before when Logan and I had just had a good fight) I tried to convince the nurse it was because of the fall and I was just upset (like I was the day before) but to no avail, I was going to be monitored for preclampsia. Awesome. So they took some blood, I peed in a cup and and then I got to be hooked up to a blood pressure cuff for the next three hours... I learned that not being able to walk or move during contractions is TERRIBLE! I also got checked for dilation shortly after check in and was only at a 3 but was 100% effaced. Next time I will be sure to stay more calm leading up to delivery because sitting still during contractions was the most painful thing I have ever experienced...so painful I couldn't cry and puking was the only other option... I did this a few times...which is why I regret the lunch decision earlier in the day.
After they got the blood results back and cleared me to have the BP cuff taken off, I was still in SOOO much pain but found that walking or making Logan hug me during the contractions took the edge off a bit. When I was finally at a 5.5, one of my doctors (aka, the Good Witch) said I could have my epidural but that the anasthesiologist was in a c-section so it might be a bit of a wait. About three years (I kid but it was HELL waiting) later he finally came in to give me some drugs. The dork tried to make me watch an epidural warning video but I was sooo relieved when one of the labor and delivery nurses told him, "Doctor, I don't really think she has the attention span to watch a movie right now." So a head nod then seemed sufficient for him to see that I understood the risks of having an epidural. After about another half hour my mom and sister had arrived and after a short visit from my mom, my sister came in to watch the epidural administration with Logan. Shortly after the heaven-sent doctor gave me my drugs (about 6 p.m.), I was off to the delivery room. During the journey down the hall Logan claims I told every nurse or doctor we passed that I loved them. I had pain medicine, not cocaine and alcohol, I think I would remember such a statement coming from my mouth...but, at any rate, I did love them so I guess there is nothing wrong with telling them.
After we got to the delivery room, we settled in for a long night. At this point, shift changed had occurred so another one of my doctors (aka the Wicked Witch) was on call. To keep it more brief...since I am not succeeding at that so far...my mom and Ashlee went to dinner, Logan and I hung out, my mom and Ashlee came back with dinner for Logan (turns out I'm a puker so no dinner for me). I was only at about a 7 by 9 p.m. and my water had not yet broken and the Wicked Witch who is a conservative, natural-medicine-type lady didn't want to break my water....so we waited and waited. Ashlee and my mom went home to sleep for a while. Logan slept in a terribly uncomfortable looking recliner and I, buzzed from world's best drugs, chewed on some ice and peed in a catheter all night. At about midnight I was at a 9...my water was still intact. My mom and Ashlee came back at about 4. I was dilated to a 9.5 and my doctor still wanted things to happen the natural way...though my body thought that was a joke.
My labor and delivery nurse was great. I think I liked her more because every time she called the doctor she ended the conversation with an eye roll. At about 5 a.m., the nurse said she was going to check me again for dilation and this time she was going to "be aggressive." I was at a 10 and then I had a sensation I haven't felt in years -- bed wetting...and wetting and wetting. Prior to going into labor I was terrified I was going to have a 10 lb baby girl but as my water drained and my belly got a little smaller, I kept saying things like, "she might not be that big after all."
My nurse started doing practice pushes with me at about 6:10. I guess she could see the head all along but the Wicked Witch didn't see any urgency in rushing down to help. At about 6:40 a.m., the nurse finally got the doctor to show up to catch the baby. Right before the doctor got there, a new nurse arrived for shift change and had a student with her. I approved the student to watch, so between shift change, my family and the student, Sterling had a large audience for her debut.
I really wasn't all that emotional about giving birth or becoming a mom, but after about 15 minutes of pushing (most of it without a doctor present) she just came right out. "Forget that I am a mom," I thought to myself. "Did you all just see what I did!?" Then I looked at my mom and she was teary...and my sister was teary...and the student was crying. Then I saw Sterling and I thought, "There is no way she is 10 pounds!" They weighed her and then set her on my chest...and then I started crying. It was the most profound moment of my life. I was amazed that I had accomplished what I had (with relative ease) and I was amazed that she was sooo perfect.
I wish I could say that healing has been a piece of cake. It hasn't been. And breastfeeding is hard. But I would do it all over again a thousand times just to enjoy the last two weeks like I have. She is the cutest, sweetest, best baby ever. She looks just like her dad, but I am convinced she gets her temperment from me:) She is already sleeping through the night once in a while and only cries when she is hungry or needs a new diaper. She's pretty much a dream baby.
Before leaving for the hospital. 40 weeks to the day!
A long wait...
7 lbs. 7 oz. at birth, 7 lbs. 2 oz at hospital discharge. She lost a full pound by her one week appointment and was back to her discharge weight by the second week appointment.
Mom's first photo leaves a little to be desired.
Dad looks a lot better...and a lot happier:)
Ready to go home!
We are so grateful for all the friends and family who have visited, sent gifts, called or brought meals. Being parents is not easy, but I'd say probably the best job ever, cliche as it may sound. It was great to have my mom and sister here for moral support and to help around the house. I don't know what we would have done without them. My dad and stepmom also drove out the day she was born to meet her, bring her some gifts and then drove back home. We have had so much support and encouragement. Welcoming Sterling has really been a wonderful experience. We are so excited to introduce her to everyone who has yet to meet her!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
The Nursery
It's still not as organized as I would like, but here are a few photos of the nursery. I think the only thing it is missing is a lamp. I wanted to do a big gaudy chandalier but Logan won that battle. I am thinking I might get a gaudy crystal lamp instead:)
The yellow really isn't as bright as the pictures make it look. Oh, and the crib blanket still isn't done...I will get to it this week, I swear.
The yellow really isn't as bright as the pictures make it look. Oh, and the crib blanket still isn't done...I will get to it this week, I swear.
The Final S-T-R-E-T-C-H
Now that I am almost 39 weeks pregnant, I am losing all sorts of pride and don't really care. This whole baby-making thing has been hard so I don't care what anyone thinks of my huge body. I think its kind of entertaining.
37 weeks
38 weeks
See, no pride left at 38 (and a half) weeks. This is a public blog, keep in mind.
It's Raining Presents!!!
While I knew that we had some great friends and family members, I think I really underestimated them all -- no offense to any of you or anything, we just didn't expect to be so well taken care of. My mom and sister did a shower in Utah at my cousin's house in Salt Lake and we got lots of cute clothes and some amazing homemade keepsakes. My friends and former/current coworkers had a shower here near Sacramento where we were again spoiled rotten (the baby was I mean) and then the ladies in my ward did a fun shower where I was again reminded that this is going to be one well-dressed little lady. I wish I had been better about pictures...I did a rotten job of documenting the showers.
The shower in Utah:
The shower in Utah:
Favors
Food
Food
Cookie pizza bar...yum!
Rodeo queen girls at the Utah shower. Sad thing is that three of these girls are pregnant and I am the only obvious one!
Aw...there's the other bump:) Chris is due two days after me but it looks like she might get to meet her bambino sooner than I will.
Diaper cake from ward shower...I was really bad about pictures here...
Favors from friend and coworker shower in Sacramento
cute and DELICIOUS cake at Sacramento shower
Former and current coworkers at Sacramento shower...this is only a small sampling of the generous crowd.
My coworkers also surprised me and my boss with a small shower at work today. My boss and his wife are having a baby about six weeks after me and Logan.
I think of all the pictures I have yet to get, I wish I had one of my mom and sister, now that my sister is showing. What are the odds we will end of pregnant together again?! They are supposed to come out to Sacramento next week, maybe they will arrive before the baby and we can have a photo opportunity!
After all these showers there really wasn't much we needed. We have been so well taken care of! I had a couple of gift cards and didn't have much in the way of baby lotion, shampoo, baby wash, etc. So yesterday, I went to Target to load up on bathroom essentials for the baby and when I got home, we had another present on the porch...It was full of lotion and baby wash:) Our friends and family are amazing!
Maternity Pictures
Though much has been going on with work and home lately, I feel like growing a brain is the only thing worth documenting. When I went home in January for a baby shower, I had my sister take some photos of us. I think I have grown a lot since then. But I feel much less excited about pictures, so it is probably good we took some pictures when we did.
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Holidays, Work Update and Belly Pictures
Since I reactivated my blog, I haven't been very good about updating it. Between traveling for the holidays and being at work a lot, I have been a little drained to say the least.
Just a quick recap: We went to both Idaho and Utah for Christmas. We bought a couple of new cars the day before we left so we ended up driving the new Ford Edge home. You'd think that would mean we would have more space for the drive...um no. We took out a lot of presents, luggage and a dog, so the car was filled to the gills. Then we ended up bringing way more presents back with us so it was even more tight coming back. I spent a week at home while Logan only got a couple of days in with the family before heading to Phoenix for the Arizona National Stock Show. The good news is, it will probably be the last time he has to do that over the holidays for a while...which brings me to the reason we bought two cars.
A couple of months ago I mentioned that we had more exciting news to come. Well, it's not so exciting now because most people know, but Logan got a new job! So, he had to get his own vehicle. Then while we were looking at cars, we found a dealer who could get us out of our Nissan Altima (which we were a little upside down in due to another crappy dealer experience) and get us into a car for Logan and an SUV for me and the kid. It really was a deal too good to be true. We got a really great deal....and then weeks later the dealership realized a mistake in their contract, so it wasn't such a great deal, but still a good deal. That issue is still unresolved. Man, I hate car dealers. They are ALL the same.
Back to the job. Logan left the American Angus Association to go to work for the Western Livestock Journal. We are super excited for the freedom the new job will allow and the opportunities for our family to perhaps spend a little more time together, although there will still be plenty of travel. His territory remains the same for now, but he will be doing only the marketing and advertising side of things rather than all of that plus shows, audits, etc. We are really looking forward to seeing what the new adventure brings.
And, speaking of new adventures, I have some belly photos...
Just a quick recap: We went to both Idaho and Utah for Christmas. We bought a couple of new cars the day before we left so we ended up driving the new Ford Edge home. You'd think that would mean we would have more space for the drive...um no. We took out a lot of presents, luggage and a dog, so the car was filled to the gills. Then we ended up bringing way more presents back with us so it was even more tight coming back. I spent a week at home while Logan only got a couple of days in with the family before heading to Phoenix for the Arizona National Stock Show. The good news is, it will probably be the last time he has to do that over the holidays for a while...which brings me to the reason we bought two cars.
A couple of months ago I mentioned that we had more exciting news to come. Well, it's not so exciting now because most people know, but Logan got a new job! So, he had to get his own vehicle. Then while we were looking at cars, we found a dealer who could get us out of our Nissan Altima (which we were a little upside down in due to another crappy dealer experience) and get us into a car for Logan and an SUV for me and the kid. It really was a deal too good to be true. We got a really great deal....and then weeks later the dealership realized a mistake in their contract, so it wasn't such a great deal, but still a good deal. That issue is still unresolved. Man, I hate car dealers. They are ALL the same.
Back to the job. Logan left the American Angus Association to go to work for the Western Livestock Journal. We are super excited for the freedom the new job will allow and the opportunities for our family to perhaps spend a little more time together, although there will still be plenty of travel. His territory remains the same for now, but he will be doing only the marketing and advertising side of things rather than all of that plus shows, audits, etc. We are really looking forward to seeing what the new adventure brings.
And, speaking of new adventures, I have some belly photos...
28 weeks
29 weeks
31 weeks
32 weeks
33 weeks
In all reality, I don't think I am looking a ton different from week to week, but boy am I feeling different. And as a side note, one good thing about these pictures is that they remind me of outfits I should never wear again. I am up about 23 lbs so far (ugh...but only up 1 lb over the holidays!!!! yay for small victories!) and it is really getting tough to move around. Every time I drop something I just stare at it on the floor for a minute trying to decide if I should leave it or pick it up. I have even resorted to asking the dog to pick things up for me. If I point to something of his and tell him to get it, he will. The same is not true for things of mine. He just stares and cocks his head at me.
I have had some pretty extreme heartburn and am really tired. My hair has been dull and limp, my nails have been brittle, but geez, my skin is GREAT! My complexion is almost reason enough to do this again. I pretty much sit at work all day and pet my cheeks:)
The hospital bag is all packed and the baby's crib bedding is almost done. After a shower in Utah next week and one in California the second week in February, I think we should be ready to welcome baby Ipsen. I think she is as excited as we are. She spends most of her days trying to kick her way out of my uterus. Really, I am terrified, especially after purchasing some creepy looking nursing bras today, but I am sure holding her for the first time will take away all the fear. That's what I'm banking on anyways.
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