More pictures, slightly more fun

So, I did actually take more pictures than the three I posted last. I put the rest up on Flickr. Here are some more samples:

The End of the Pregnancy

Hey, so I just thought I would post this really quick, by way of announcement and such. I'll put more pictures/detells up later.

The kid is out!

Yesterday (July 25th) at 4:16 pm, Ellen pushed out our second baby! She had been having random painful (but not super-intense) contractions off and on for a couple days and then went to triage yesterday morning (at 39 weeks 2 days). They decided to keep her and gave her an oxytocin drip. Her contractions kept going up and up, and then in the afternoon, 8 contractions worth of pushing later, our baby came out! It was much less pushing and than last time, so the baby didn't have the deformed head and petechiae in the face that Sonja had. She also cried more. A lot more. This does not bode well.



These are the only three pictures I could find where she is not screaming her head off. She's not super comfortable with the idea of being out of the womb yet. I'm hoping that resolves itself sometime within the next 18 years.

She weighed 8 lb 13 oz, one oz less than Sonja. They don't get a length here until they feel head deformity has gone down. Oh, and her name is Natalia Mira. Mira being the middle name, not the last name.

Thanks

So I am very touched by everyone's well-wishing. I was reminded by Alicia that she moved to NY very pregnant and with a little one already and THEN broke her arm.

Then yesterday we had a RS lesson on handling death. The woman giving the lesson was from Africa (she just said Africa, didn't specify a country. I guess they are all arbitrary European creations anyway) and she told her story of having her first child. It was during a horrible war and the doctors had told her she had to deliver at a hospital for the baby to survive (didn't provide details). Because of the war, she couldn't get to the hospital and gave birth to her baby in her home, and then it died shortly thereafter. And she said even though she was sad, she thanked God because it probably saved her baby from the suffering going on around her. Oh my goodness. I can't even comment eloquently on that.

Anyway, I am very grateful for a hospital close by, healthy babies, and people that love me (and I love them), even from afar. I may need a mood stabilizer to help me remember that sometimes, but I am grateful.

You need HOW many?

So Wednesday we get back from Target and blocking the way to our door are boxes and boxes of condoms (10,000 to be exact). They were being delivered to our neighbor Carlos. We choose to believe that it is for his job working with youth. Also, the boxes said "Made in Vietnam" and "Thailand." Don't they need them more there than here? Yes. The answer is yes.

Emotional breakdown and cute pics!

I don't really have anyone else to talk to, so I'm going to vent in an irrational manner. I am now at 4 cm for anyone who's interested. So I have spent today lying on the couch trying to calm my irregular contractions and crying and getting up to stop Sonja from some disaster. I guess it's just anxiety. ***EDITED TO KEEP THE PEACE*** My hubby is on call until tomorrow afternoon (he's on call or post call 4 days a week), and poor Sonja is pulling and jumping on me to go do fun things. I didn't have this reaction the first time, probably because Scott was doing a research year and around a lot, I had friends around me, and no other child to worry about. Scott pointed out that people shouldn't have to stop their lives just because we had unprotected sex 9 months ago. He certainly has a way with words. He's right, of course. If I could afford hired help, I would definitely do it. Rest assured, if there's a next time (big IF), it will be when we can afford help. I hate being so helpless. I like to do things on my own.

To cheer me up, I will post random cute pictures of Sonja to give her some attention before the new baby takes over :) Warning: these are freaking cute.

Sonja at the park with some new friends and her stick:



Sonja loves our craigslist love sack:



Obsessed with Mommy's wedge flip flops (she gets them on and walks around all by herself):



Sonja is delighted to discover she has TWO Lambies! (she found my backup for when I wash the original).

FREAK OUT!

So, at 35 weeks they told me I was 2 cm dilated and 50% effaced and my doctor said I could go anytime. This week my appointment was nowhere on their calendar. They wouldn't fit me in until 1:30, which was 3 hours of entertaining Sonja. Ummm, maybe not. And I got to pay $6 parking for the privilege of them saying this to my face. I was so mad. I wanted to see if I had progressed. I'm definitely having tons of irregular contractions. Sigh.

So last week I freaked out a bit, since we hadn't prepared and didn't know very many people in the ward to impose upon. My wonderful sister offered to come out to stay with me (with her little boy). People are so nice sometimes.

Freakout part 2 - So with Sonja I got a linea negra that faded away, but not one stretch mark. "I must just be one of those lucky ones," I thought smugly to myself. Then last week, I noticed these funny wide veins on my stomach. "What is that, that looks like...AAAAAAHHHHH!" Stretch marks. Yes. I wonder if this means my second baby will be bigger than my 8 lb 14 oz Sonster. I sincerely hope not. Without going into detail, having a normal-sized baby can make recovery time much quicker (and sitting much more pleasant). Of course many have to have C-sections and many have 10 lb babies, so I'm basically just a whiner. But a 7-pounder would be heaven. Scott was great about my mini-crisis, though. I had read guys comments in pregnancy books about being less attracted to their wives now that they had stretch marks. I asked Scott if it was a huge turnoff. His words were, "Maybe if you were having some other guy's baby." So since I'm not, everything is fine. He is so nice. Of course, after I was complaining about how difficult it was to carry a baby at the end he also said, "What's your problem? Crack whores do it all the time." So his sensitivity ebbs and flows.