Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Epidural--my new best friend

Our sweet little Perrin is finally here!! He's cute and healthy and a lot of fun (except when he's screaming in the middle of the night, of course). And I am REALLY happy to not be pregnant anymore.

Unfortunately, I had a really long and tough labor. In a nutshell: contractions HURT! If my labor had progressed quickly, I wouldn't have had to experience much pain before getting my epidural. But that wasn't the case... I had painful contractions for about 50 hours before I finally went into active labor. The contractions weren't causing me to dilate any further, so I had no choice but to suffer through them and pray that I would finally start making progress soon.

When I finally got my epidural around 1:00 AM Saturday morning (Feb 20th), I wanted to jump up and down with joy. (Of course, I couldn't do any jumping since I wasn't able to feel anything from the waist down). It was just such a relief to not feel pain anymore! Trey and I fell asleep and stayed that way for most of the night. The nurse came in and checked me every so often to let me know how far along I was. Then, around 6:30 AM, it was time to start pushing. I'll spare the gory details... but lets just say that poor Trey wasn't quite prepared for what he saw. (I told him not to watch. Did he listen to me? No. So it's not my fault that he nearly passed out).

Anyway, we survived. And Perrin is well worth the 9 months of pregnancy and a long, tough labor. He's snuggled up on Trey's chest right now, sleeping. So cute!

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Natural induction

It's the wee hours of the morning, and once again, I can't sleep. I am sooooo ready for this pregnancy stuff to be over with. Don't tell my doctor, but I've been doing some research online to learn things I could do to help induce labor. There are a few things that keep popping up over and over. Here's the advice from the great, wise Internet:

"Eat spicy food." Done! I have thoroughly enjoyed spicy food throughout my pregnancy. In fact, one of my cravings has been the hot sauce from Taco Bell. I've been hoarding the stuff in my refrigerator for months now. I could probably drink it straight from the packet. (I won't, though).

"Take long walks." I guess I could try pacing the living room. I really don't want to take a long walk outside the house in case I get too far away and can't make it back. I mean, imagine walking around with a bowling ball crammed into your pelvis. That's what it feels like. Not exactly the recipe for a long, leisurely stroll around the block.

"Drink castor oil." Ew, no thank you.

"Have sex." There's some debate as to whether this actually helps to stimulate labor. I could question whether sex is even possible at nine months pregnant. I suppose it is, but I can pretty much guarantee it would be more comical than helpful.

I suppose I'm going to have to do this the old-fashioned way and just wait until Perrin is ready. But until then, I think I just might increase my hot sauce intake.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Last day of work

Today's my last day of work, and I feel strangely sad about leaving. After a couple week of sleepless nights, backaches, and general discomfort and fatigue, I thought I'd be rejoicing to finally make it to this point. And in some ways I am. But I also genuinely enjoy my job (most days, anyway), so I can't help feeling a little sad to close the doors on this part of my life.

At the same time, I'm totally excited that I get to stay home with Perrin. I never thought I'd be able to do this. It will definitely require some major sacrifices--no more eating out or other frivolous spending. But I know it's worth it. (Perrin, I hope you're worth it!!) :) And Trey and I both really feel at peace with our decision--we feel like God has blessed us by making it possible for me to stay home, and we're trusting that He'll provide for us.

I'm not completely leaving FamilyLife altogether... after a few months, I'm planning to work a few hours from home each week for the Global department. So hopefully this will be like the best of both worlds. But it's still a major change... an exciting, scary, never-be-the-same-again change. After all, I know how to organize meetings, create PowerPoint presentations, and write proposals or product descriptions. But taking care of an infant? Brand new territory for me. I truly believe that I'm leaving one full-time job and entering into a much more difficult (but also more rewarding) full-time job.

My new job title: Mommy. Hours per week: (How many hours are in a week? That many. Plus some.) No experience necessary (thank goodness). Description: Keep baby clean, fed, rested, safe, and loved. And try not to put the diaper on backwards.



Thursday, February 4, 2010

Pregnancy insomnia

Strangely, even though I'm incredibly tired these days, I can't seem to get a decent night's sleep. I just lie awake for most of the night, tossing and turning and trying to find a way to get comfortable.

Since I'm trying to look at the bright side of things, I will admit there's one good thing that's come of being awake all night: a couple nights ago, I got to hear Trey talking in his sleep.

Trey doesn't generally talk in his sleep. In fact, this is the first time in our nearly four years of marriage that I've had a conversation with him while he was sleeping. Here's how it went (and if it doesn't make much sense to you either, join the club):

Trey: Someone was having me for breakfast.
Me: What??

Trey: Someone was having me for breakfast.
Me: Trey, what are you talking about?
Trey: (In a slightly whiny voice) I don't know! (Buries his head in his pillow)

Me: Did you have a dream?
Trey: I think that might have been part of it. (Mumble, mumble). You know, those little sausage things? (Rolls over and goes back to sleep)

That's about it. I asked him about it in the morning, and he didn't remember a bit of it. I was really curious to find out if someone was just having him over for breakfast, or actually having him for breakfast. I guess we'll never know.

Monday, February 1, 2010

Feeling the pressure

I'm only about 3 weeks away from my due date. Crazy, huh? I'm close enough that I actually could go into labor at any moment now. It's partly exciting and partly terrifying.

In the last couple of weeks, it's gotten a lot more uncomfortable to walk. I'm feeling a lot of pressure--it's like Perrin is pushing down, ready to escape. It's making me wonder if I'm really going to make it another three weeks. I wouldn't be too surprised if he came early. (Watch, just because I said that I bet he'll come two weeks late.)

I'm a little paranoid about going into labor somewhere or sometime really inconvenient. I heard a story not too long ago of a woman whose water broke while she was in Wal-Mart. She smashed a glass jar of pickles on the ground to cover it up, then headed off to the hospital. I really don't know what I would do if that happened to me. Maybe I should keep a jar of pickles handy at all times... just in case.