A New Post, But Quick-like!

I am sad that I haven't posted in a while, so I am updating. It has been nuts around here, but in a good way! My whole family came up for Christmas, which was fun, and will get some more attention later. My Mom and brother Preston are still here. Preston is moving to Provo, and we are so happy about it! My mom is just staying until Jan 9th, to help out me and Preston get settled in our new roles.
I also got to see my aunt Emily for an afternoon, which was so much fun! She is pregnant with twins, and is getting so big! She also took some pictures of Finn, which I cannot wait to see! (And Emily, if you are reading this, I also want all the bad photos. And you don't have to edit them.)
And to end, some new pictures of Finn. He is getting much more chunky, which is weird, but also fun. It's strange to think that he is still smaller than most people's babies when they are born. I can't imagine having to give birth to a baby that big! But I guess I will get a chance to later. Hopefully not.
Grandpa and Finn taking a snooze together!
Grandma and Finn. She is loving this!
Daddy and Finn. Finn loves to sprawl out. How he can sleep like that, I have no idea.
Mommy and Finn. This has to be one of my favorites. He was sleeping with his hand up like that.
Finn is getting a little chunkier, huh? And he looks so much like his dad!
I love this picture of Finn! He is such a sweetheart! He has a huge mouth, huh? I think he might get it from his mom. Poor guy! :)

Finn's First Bath!

Well, we gave Finn his first bath on Friday. I warned Jason that he would hate it, but Jason was like, "No, no. He is such a good baby, he will probably love it." I did warn him, though.
Of course, Jason did the bathing and I did the photography. Finn did hate it, so I was right. And it was cute, because Jason was pretty stressed out that Finn was screaming bloody murder. So overall, it was pure torture. But the photos are too cute!
Here is the very beginning of the bath. Finn is trying to decide if he likes it or not...
And here he has decided that he DOES NOT!
Screaming and screaming...
I know this photo is fuzzy, but his face is just so expressive, so I kept it in.
After the bath, he immediately stopped screaming, but he looks so sad!
This one is my favorite! He just looks so worried and betrayed! Awww!
And here is a photo of how his hair dries on it's own. It is SOOO soft, and so cute all spiked up like this! Too bad it only stays that way for about 15 minutes. Then it gets all rubbed down again.

The Return to Not Pregnant Life

Yesterday, Jason and I went to IHOP for dinner. I was pretty excited to eat pancakes WITH SYRUP and have a soda, since I hadn't been able to have them for months because of the gestational diabetes. (Everything is all hunky-dory with that now, if you were wondering.) So I order my root beer, and I pick it up to taste the deliciousness...
BLEAH!!! Yuck!! This root beer is WAAAAAY too sweet! The machine is off! And it's too fizzy! Jason tried it and said it was perfect. I tried it again, and it was still too sweet. And what's worse, it tastes like medicine.
How sad. I think I may never like root beer again. But don't fear. I will keep trying. At least the pancakes were good!
Also, I am sitting here in PRE-pregnancy jeans. And they are done up! Okay, well really they are done up when I am standing, but I have to undo the button when I am sitting. It's weird to have a waistband cutting into me again. Maternity pants are much more comfy. I think I now understand people who wear elastic waist jeans. If I weren't so vain, I think I might get some. Plus, Jason would kill me.

My Boys

Is there anything sweeter than watching your husband with your new baby? I don't think so! Although, mine is a bit of a baby hog! :) I think he holds him about all the time, except for when I am nursing, when he is sleeping, and when Finn has to be under the lights. Although when he is under the lights, Jason is right there touching him constantly.
I knew Jason would love our baby, especially because when we went to visit family in Idaho, there was a new baby, Nora, and he held her nonstop. It was really REALLY cute, and despite his protests I knew from then on he was a baby person.
BUT SERIOUSLY!!! I had no idea that he would be so much of a baby person! For example, I have changed only four diapers. Only FOUR and only when no one else was here, and they have all been wet. Jason has changed all the diapers and done all the burping. I was really surprised that he wold change diapers, mostly because I thought he would be worried about hurting Finn, since newborns seem so fragile. But he has really not been afraid of that at all! Well, not as far as he goes anyway. He tells me quite often that I need to be careful that I don't roll on top of him, feed him regularly, keep him warm, keep him not TOO warm, etc etc etc.
I love it though! I think it is so cute, and it just makes me smile inside every time! I love my boys to death, and I am so glad that Jason is just as in love as I am! He is always saying something about Finn like "Isn't he perfect?" "Isn't he the most beautiful baby you have ever seen?" He was even asking all the nurses, which made me have to try really hard not to laugh when they all reply "Of course he is!"
To sum up, let me tell you about a conversation I had with Jason yesterday. He had gone to work on Wednesday (but then came home that night to help me watch Finn in the bilirubin lights) and his co-worker asked him how it felt to be second fiddle, now that we had a baby. He replied "I think it's the other way around!" And I asked what he meant. He told me that I was the second fiddle! "But don't worry," he said, "I still love you. He's just my new toy!" I laughed really hard! But you know, that's how it is at our house lately!

The Labor, and boy was it!

So here is the labor story. It was pretty dramatic, but now that it's been a few days, it's hard for me to remember how bad it was while it was happening. So, I will try to recapture how I felt, but it may be a little lacking!

TUESDAY, DEC 1st, ABOUT 1pm

Since I thought I might be having the baby soon, I thought I should go pick up the last few things that I needed for the baby. Heather came with me, and we got everything I needed. I was having mild contractions during the shopping, but towards the end they started to get really bad. I was standing in line at the checkout, and all of a sudden I thought I was going to pass out from the pain! I mean, literally pass out. My vision started to get all black, and I had to sit down on the floor immediately. Jack (Heather's 2.5 year old) was very confused and kept trying to talk to me. I felt bad for not answering him, but I guess he's probably over it!
So anyway, I decide that this is the real deal, and I call Jason to pick me up. I had driven to the store, but didn't feel like I could drive at all. Jason was on his way to doing some hunting, and I felt bad that I had to call him. He stopped by the house to grab the hospital bag (which I had only packed the night before) and it took him probably 20 minutes to get to me. In the meantime, my contractions are getting pretty brutal. I couldn't stand up straight, and I was all moany, even though I was trying really hard not to be, since Heather and Jack were waiting with me. Heather gave me a bottle of water, which really helped a ton, and I chugged it down. It felt like an ETERNITY until Jason got there!
Finally, Jason arrives, and we get into the car. I am in so much pain, I am getting nauseated. I mention it, and Jason pulls out a bag, just in case. I didn't think I would really throw up, but I DID! Twice. And because I had had so much water, it spewed everywhere, all down my shirt and my pants. I was very upset, and just kept thinking- "I can't believe I am going to have to go into the hospital with puke all over myself! How nasty!" My contractions kept getting worse and worse, and I was starting to think that we might be having a baby in the car! I mean, puking is a sign of late labor!
We get to the hospital (after a few bad choices as far as what road to take), but we haven't had a tour or anything, and we don't know where to go. So, we decide to go in the main entrance, and they can tell us where to go. Jason pushed me in a wheelchair to the Labor and Delivery unit, which felt like about 2 miles. Later I found out it is less than one minute's walk, but you know how that goes.
I get to the right section, and they immediately take me into a room and check me, because it looks like the baby may be right on its way! Now, remember, at my doctor's appointment on the previous day I was a 5 and 90% effaced. They check me and..... I am a 5. And 75% effaced. WHAT?!?!?!? HOW CAN I HAVE GONE THROUGH THIS AND NOT CHANGED AT ALL!! At this point, I am saying to everyone- "I want an epidural! I can't do this!!" But they can't give one until I am admitted, and they are trying to get ahold of the midwife. So I lay down on the bed, and am still feeling just awful. I flip on my side, and start to feel a little bit better. Five minutes later, I am having no contractions. None. At all. However, the midwife says that she is going to give me an hour to see if I change, since she doesn't really want to send me home at a 5. So I sit in the hospital bed for two hours. Not one single contraction. Not even a tiny one. I am sure they are going to send me home, and I am SOOOO frustrated! WHAT THE HECK! I was in such bad labor pains, and now I just have to go home?? Grrr! They come back in to check me, though, and I have dilated to a 6. Everyone is so confused! How did I dilate without having a single contraction? It's just weird. The midwife doesn't know what to do with me. She thinks maybe they should send me home, but the nurses don't agree. They decide to hang onto me for a little while longer, and they are going to let me walk for an hour to see if I start having more contractions. So we start walking around the hospital, which was really boring. I start to get some contractions, but they are SUPER mild, and as soon as I lay down again they go away.
So we do the walking thing for about three hours. Eventually, they find out I am at a 7. I am baffling everyone! I am feeling pretty much nothing- I mean cramps are WAY worse than my contractions, and I am happy and smiling! They can't believe it, because other women at a 7 are usually screaming their guts out. I am stuck at a 7 for about 4 hours. Still no major contractions.
They decide to admit me, because in all likelihood I will go really fast when my labor kicks in. I am jumping off the ceiling with joy, because I just KNOW that if they break my water I am going to go in about a half hour! YES! I am not getting sent home! So they send me walking again while we wait for the midwife to come and break my water. She comes, and they break my water, and I go walking again, and I just cannot wait to get that baby out!
THREE HOURS LATER I am STILL at a 7!! I can't believe it! Breaking my water was supposed to make everything happen! Not fair! At this point I am thinking that I have NO good labor genes at all! I thought I was going to have a quick labor, but it has now been like 10 hours, and nothing is happening. I have been stuck at a 7 for about 8 hours, and it just sucks. So they decide to put me on Pitocin. Which means no more walking. And my contractions are still stopping everytime I lay down. But I am hoping that the Pitocin will work to get them started.
But the Pitocin is NOT WORKING! Grrr!! I am so frustrated! They keep upping my dose until I am at the highest level. Then I start having regular contractions, but they are SOOO mild! Here is a reference point- they want your contractions to be over 120 mvus, and mine were in the 40s, and only about every 5 minutes. However, they think that maybe the contraction monitor may just not be picking them up like it should, so they decide to do an inter-uterine monitor to measure them more accurately. It goes up past the baby's head. So the nurse is trying to insert it, and she CANNOT get it in! Let me tell you- it hurt SOOO bad! I was crying and being a total wimp. She feels around and realizes that when they broke my water, the baby's head came down and plugged it back up, and the head is stuck behind the membrane. So they have to come and break my water again, and then they will try to insert the monitor again.
Now, all that messing around and digging and pain made me start having NASTY contractions again. I threw up another three times. It was awful! But I was thinking- Hey, at least I will be dilating again, right?
WRONG! They check me after about an hour, and I am only a 7.5. So I decide to get an epidural. I mean, I had been in the hospital for a long time, I was tired, I was in a ton of pain, and I wasn't dilating! If I had been a nine, I would have just done it naturally, but there was no way I was going to be in this much pain for the next 10 hours!
The epidural was WAY better than I expected, and it was really funny to have numb legs! I thought that my right leg was propped up with the knee bent, and I kept making Jason come over and check that it was still laying down like it was supposed to be.
A few hours later, I was complete, but my epidural was wearing off. I was okay with that, though, because it meant that I could feel when to push, which would make the whole process more effective.
So I start pushing at about 8:50 in the morning on Wednesday. That is 18 hours after I arrived at the hospital. My epidural is really wearing off though, and I consider getting a boost. But the nurse said it would make me go longer, so I decided to just go for it. She told me that most first time moms push for about 2 hours. After an hour of pushing, they decide to call the midwife to come in, but I can't push anymore until she gets there. She was at the other hospital. That was SOOOO hard! It hurts way worse to not push than it does to push, although pushing was way more work than I expected.
The midwife gets there, and about 10 minutes later, out pops a baby! She was just about to tell me to stop pushing, but he just POPPED out. I literally heard a pop! He was posterior (which means his face was facing up at the ceiling instead of at the floor) which is really hard to deliver. They were all really impressed that I got him out in just an hour and a half, because it's not uncommon for moms to push for more than six hours with a posterior baby.
I was just so glad to have him, and so relieved that labor was over! It took SOOOO long! I think that he was just stuck for a long time, partially because he was posterior, and partially because he got hung up in the amniotic sac. I am really lucky that he was so tiny, because if he had been full term I would have had to have a C-Section. So PHEW! Also after finding out that he was posterior, I think I probably do have some good labor genes. Although next time I think I might end up with a baby in the car, because I don't think I will go in as early in the hope that I won't have to be in the hospital for SO LONG!

Here are some photos, and I look awful. I know. But Labor is really hard, so I don't want to hear any judgements, okay? :)
This is one of the last photos of me pregnant. I am stuck at a 7 here, and obviously doing just fine!!
Another picture of me being too happy for how I was doing. I think I would have rather had a faster, harder labor.
This is a LOVELY picture of me waiting for the midwife and trying not to push. I didn't even know Jason had taken this pictures. I am not sure why he did, since I look like I am dying, but I guess it's good to document, right?
This is RIGHT after I had Finn. Before I got to hold him, while they were weighing him. I look really puffy from all the fluid and Pitocin they pumped into me.
Me holding Finn for the first time. He is so cute, huh?
Again, a first time holding picture. And puffy tired face.
A cute picture of Finn to have some attractive pictures in here!

Isn't he too cute? I love the spit up in his mouth! I am so glad I had him, and he was worth every minute!

Welcome, Finn!

IT'S A BOY!!!

We are so excited to have a new addition to our family! Finley Jason Klimek (aka Finn) was born on Wednesday, December 2nd at 10:36am. He was 3 weeks and 1 day early, so it was a fun surprise! He weighed 5 lbs and 10 oz and was 18 and 3/4 inches long. We think he is about the cutest baby ever born, but maybe we are a little biased! :)

He has an amazing temperament, and hardly ever cries. In fact, he didn't cry at all during his shots, and we had to take him in to have blood drawn this morning, and he slept through the whole thing! He has high levels of bilirubin, so he has had to be under a phototherapy light for a while. He seems to really enjoy it, as you can see from the photos. And no, NONE of them were posed. He just loves to stretch out!

We love him to death, and are so excited to have him here! Birth story to follow in a little while, and it's dramatic, so STAY TUNED!!

A crazy surprise!

Yesterday morning, at 36.5 weeks, I had a doctor's appointment. I was planning on being induced on the 17th, and they told me that they would only consider inducing me a week early if my cervix was softened. I guess your body has to be ready or something like that. They could give me drugs for it, but won't. So, I was going to be checked, and I was hoping and praying that my cervix would be softish. Maybe not soft enough to induce yet, but soft enough that they would consider inducing me in a few weeks.
The midwife is checking me, and she gets this really weird look on her face. Immediately, I am paranoid and thinking "Oh no! What's wrong!" Then she says she is going to have to check me again, so she does so. "Well, induction is certainly an option!" she says. Then she tells me that I am dilated to a FIVE and 90% effaced. I am sure my face was in total shock! I mean, keep in mind that I am still 3 days away from being full term. She was also in shock! She told me that most women don't reach a five until they are in hard labor, and here I am, clueless, with no contractions at all! She also told me that I will likely go really quickly, and probably soon. The baby was at a -2 station, so it didn't necessarily mean any day now, but she kept saying "If you're pregnant next week..."
I had contractions (very very mild ones) for about 7 hours on Sunday, and I think that is why I was dilated so far. But then last night I had some more, for about five hours. I called the midwife on call to see if I should go in, but she didn't seem concerned, so we decided to just wait it out. They ended up ebbing off, and we went to bed. Nevertheless, I don't think it will be long at all before this baby arrives. Maybe today will be the big day!