Thursday, September 10, 2009
Fun with Julia
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Pre-Op in the OB
Today was my pre-op appointment in the OB department at our hospital. After my surgery consult, I was a little leery of how well this appointment would go (or not go), but after receiving a phone call last Friday, I was pretty excited for today.
This morning I met with one of the head nurses of OB for an hour. We discussed everything that is going to be happening next week Monday... next Monday! Five days from now! All of my paperwork is filled out, signed, and all we need is a baby and a name! Yay!
My surgery is scheduled for 7:30 am on Monday, and Adam and I are to be at the hospital at 6:00 am. We had worked out previously with our daycare lady that she would take Julia Sunday night overnight and keep her all day Monday to help alleviate with the transition that is Becoming a Big Sister. :) While I will miss little Julia overnight Sunday, I am also glad for her that we don't have to wake her up at the butt-crack of dawn to drop her off somewhere and start her day off hairier than normal.
After getting to the hospital, we'll finish going through the rest of the pre-op stuff and then... off to surgery! :)
(And, before you think to remind me, realize that I DO realize that I could go into labor BEFORE Monday and this baby could still show up whenever it wants to...!)
I also received a tour of OB again; I remembered it well as I have been there before and less than two years ago, but it was nice to see things again, and they also have two "overflow" rooms where they like to put their C-section patients so that they don't have to move them halfway through their stay. The bonus...? These rooms are much nicer and LARGER than the normal C-section recovery rooms... so cool! She asked if it would be okay if we were put there? Of course! Sign me up! I'll just be a hop and a skip away from the OB department, the baby will still be with me, and they won't "forget" that I'm over there. Sounds like an excellent idea to me. :) (Oh, and Adam, no worries... these rooms don't cause extra just 'cause they're bigger... ha, I made sure to check into that!)
Many of you are on the "call" list... so expect to hear from us sometime Monday later in the morning. We also will be texting and... it seems now that OB also has internet available in it, so we will be emailing folks as soon as we are "recovered" and able.
So... that leads me to my first request... don't call us... we'll call you! Please, I know you might be anxious to know about the baby coming and what we had and the name and all that, but I would ask that you please wait to hear from us and not be calling Adam or me when you think you "should have heard by now". Ha! As we learned last time around, the unexpected can easily occur and we will wait to call people until I am out of recovery and we know everything is good with the baby.
My second request... please no visitors without calling or texting first. Possibly I would take visitors Monday night... definitely Tuesday... I don't know for sure.
I have two main reasons for this...
One... Julia will not be meeting the baby for the first time until Monday evening (she will remain at daycare all day Monday until Daddy picks her up at 5 pm). I would really like her to have a chance to meet her new brother or sister without other people being around; it feels like it should be a special moment for our family, if that makes sense.
Also... I tend to be a pretty private person. If you or your wife has had a C-section before, you know that the first day is full of... well, recovery. And yuck. And not so much of wanting to see a lot of people seeing me looking and feeling gross (even if you are just there to see the baby, I will still be firmly attached to the room in all of my post-op glory). If I recall from when I had Julia, it was early afternoon before I could feel my legs again and it was early evening before I was even up out of bed and walking around.
So... if you want to visit, please call or text first. I should be in the hospital until mid-day on Thursday. I think OB visiting hours are 10:30 am - 8:30 pm... even Julia has to adhere to these "rules", I found out today (since she is 'young')!
I am beyond excited! The anxiousness dissipated after the visit at OB today. I was hoping that being there would make things more "real"... like I would FINALLY accept that YES, I am having a baby!, but nope, not yet... not even after seeing some SERIOUSLY CUTE NEWBORN BABIES today! However, I am anxious to get my hands on one here soon... ;) We hope you are excited for us too and are looking forward to meeting the newest addition to our family!
love,
erin
This morning I met with one of the head nurses of OB for an hour. We discussed everything that is going to be happening next week Monday... next Monday! Five days from now! All of my paperwork is filled out, signed, and all we need is a baby and a name! Yay!
My surgery is scheduled for 7:30 am on Monday, and Adam and I are to be at the hospital at 6:00 am. We had worked out previously with our daycare lady that she would take Julia Sunday night overnight and keep her all day Monday to help alleviate with the transition that is Becoming a Big Sister. :) While I will miss little Julia overnight Sunday, I am also glad for her that we don't have to wake her up at the butt-crack of dawn to drop her off somewhere and start her day off hairier than normal.
After getting to the hospital, we'll finish going through the rest of the pre-op stuff and then... off to surgery! :)
(And, before you think to remind me, realize that I DO realize that I could go into labor BEFORE Monday and this baby could still show up whenever it wants to...!)
I also received a tour of OB again; I remembered it well as I have been there before and less than two years ago, but it was nice to see things again, and they also have two "overflow" rooms where they like to put their C-section patients so that they don't have to move them halfway through their stay. The bonus...? These rooms are much nicer and LARGER than the normal C-section recovery rooms... so cool! She asked if it would be okay if we were put there? Of course! Sign me up! I'll just be a hop and a skip away from the OB department, the baby will still be with me, and they won't "forget" that I'm over there. Sounds like an excellent idea to me. :) (Oh, and Adam, no worries... these rooms don't cause extra just 'cause they're bigger... ha, I made sure to check into that!)
Many of you are on the "call" list... so expect to hear from us sometime Monday later in the morning. We also will be texting and... it seems now that OB also has internet available in it, so we will be emailing folks as soon as we are "recovered" and able.
So... that leads me to my first request... don't call us... we'll call you! Please, I know you might be anxious to know about the baby coming and what we had and the name and all that, but I would ask that you please wait to hear from us and not be calling Adam or me when you think you "should have heard by now". Ha! As we learned last time around, the unexpected can easily occur and we will wait to call people until I am out of recovery and we know everything is good with the baby.
My second request... please no visitors without calling or texting first. Possibly I would take visitors Monday night... definitely Tuesday... I don't know for sure.
I have two main reasons for this...
One... Julia will not be meeting the baby for the first time until Monday evening (she will remain at daycare all day Monday until Daddy picks her up at 5 pm). I would really like her to have a chance to meet her new brother or sister without other people being around; it feels like it should be a special moment for our family, if that makes sense.
Also... I tend to be a pretty private person. If you or your wife has had a C-section before, you know that the first day is full of... well, recovery. And yuck. And not so much of wanting to see a lot of people seeing me looking and feeling gross (even if you are just there to see the baby, I will still be firmly attached to the room in all of my post-op glory). If I recall from when I had Julia, it was early afternoon before I could feel my legs again and it was early evening before I was even up out of bed and walking around.
So... if you want to visit, please call or text first. I should be in the hospital until mid-day on Thursday. I think OB visiting hours are 10:30 am - 8:30 pm... even Julia has to adhere to these "rules", I found out today (since she is 'young')!
I am beyond excited! The anxiousness dissipated after the visit at OB today. I was hoping that being there would make things more "real"... like I would FINALLY accept that YES, I am having a baby!, but nope, not yet... not even after seeing some SERIOUSLY CUTE NEWBORN BABIES today! However, I am anxious to get my hands on one here soon... ;) We hope you are excited for us too and are looking forward to meeting the newest addition to our family!
love,
erin
Monday, September 7, 2009
A Kitten Named Frank
Tonight we ended our Labor Day weekend with a barbeque at the Van Gorps. Liz Van Gorp is the violinist in the Amy Steenoek & Rising Son band of which Adam is the bassist, and the Van Gorp family invited us over for the afternoon/evening.
The Van Gorps live on a farm and have quite the assortment of animals. Julia, not being around animals too very often, LOVES them... until they get a little too close. Even with cats... while she LOVES cats... she is 'better' with them if she is allowed to approach them instead of them approaching her.
But... Liz and fam had BABY cats... kittens, if you will. We checked out the kittens early in the evening, but Julia, while interested in the kittens, was all about checking out the farm in general. She enjoyed some time on the trampoline with Adam, met horses (on the second time she's ever been "up close" with horses), and even allowed a dog or two to sniff her out.
But, after dinner, Julia decided that the cats were where it was at, and she toddled over to the steps to play with the cats. After petting a few of them and meowing at them enthusiastically, we noticed that our child... JULIA... was PICKING UP THE KITTENS! And not just picking them up... she was carrying them around and putting them in her lap.
Julia's favorite kitten was Frank. He is a mostly-white (with black) fluffy little bugger, and she L.O.V.E.D. him. LOVED. And Frank allowed Julia to do pretty much whatever she wanted (even allowing her to pick him up BY THE FUR at one point). It was cute and fun to watch Julia with Frank... until Frank had enough. Thus the meltdown began. We tried to pacify Julia with other cats/kittens, but it wasn't good enough... she needed Frank.
We finally decided to leave after some wailing and whining and begging for "Mama" (read: Adam), and on the way out, Liz had found Frank again. We tried to get Julia to say good bye to Frank, but it seemed Julia really thought Frank needed to come home with us. She had Frank around the neck and was trying to carry him to our car. Finally Adam and Liz decided that Adam would take Julia and Liz would take the cat... and our poor little gal cried the entire way home.
I kindly asked Liz's mom, Sue, to please not leave Frank on our front door with a red ribbon around his neck. She laughed and said she wouldn't. As much as I THINK I would like a cat... and as much Julia LOVES cats... the little bit of playing with the cat that Adam did tonight had him completely wheezy on the way home (whoops... Adam is allergic to cats) and come on, who really wants white cat fur all over their carpet and furniture... especially when a new baby is about to make an appearance?
(So please, please don't ever get us a cat...!!!)
However, we did manage to snap a few pictures of Julia with Frank... though, I might wait a few days before showing them to her. And, we were invited back to the farm to visit Frank and maybe someday to even ride the horse. ;)
erin
The Van Gorps live on a farm and have quite the assortment of animals. Julia, not being around animals too very often, LOVES them... until they get a little too close. Even with cats... while she LOVES cats... she is 'better' with them if she is allowed to approach them instead of them approaching her.
But... Liz and fam had BABY cats... kittens, if you will. We checked out the kittens early in the evening, but Julia, while interested in the kittens, was all about checking out the farm in general. She enjoyed some time on the trampoline with Adam, met horses (on the second time she's ever been "up close" with horses), and even allowed a dog or two to sniff her out.
But, after dinner, Julia decided that the cats were where it was at, and she toddled over to the steps to play with the cats. After petting a few of them and meowing at them enthusiastically, we noticed that our child... JULIA... was PICKING UP THE KITTENS! And not just picking them up... she was carrying them around and putting them in her lap.
Julia's favorite kitten was Frank. He is a mostly-white (with black) fluffy little bugger, and she L.O.V.E.D. him. LOVED. And Frank allowed Julia to do pretty much whatever she wanted (even allowing her to pick him up BY THE FUR at one point). It was cute and fun to watch Julia with Frank... until Frank had enough. Thus the meltdown began. We tried to pacify Julia with other cats/kittens, but it wasn't good enough... she needed Frank.
We finally decided to leave after some wailing and whining and begging for "Mama" (read: Adam), and on the way out, Liz had found Frank again. We tried to get Julia to say good bye to Frank, but it seemed Julia really thought Frank needed to come home with us. She had Frank around the neck and was trying to carry him to our car. Finally Adam and Liz decided that Adam would take Julia and Liz would take the cat... and our poor little gal cried the entire way home.
I kindly asked Liz's mom, Sue, to please not leave Frank on our front door with a red ribbon around his neck. She laughed and said she wouldn't. As much as I THINK I would like a cat... and as much Julia LOVES cats... the little bit of playing with the cat that Adam did tonight had him completely wheezy on the way home (whoops... Adam is allergic to cats) and come on, who really wants white cat fur all over their carpet and furniture... especially when a new baby is about to make an appearance?
(So please, please don't ever get us a cat...!!!)
However, we did manage to snap a few pictures of Julia with Frank... though, I might wait a few days before showing them to her. And, we were invited back to the farm to visit Frank and maybe someday to even ride the horse. ;)
erin
Des Moines Renaissance Faire
Over the last month or so, as we would tool around Des Moines, we would see various signs advertising the Des Moines Renaissance Faire. Adam mentioned a few weeks ago that he would really enjoy going; he hadn't been to once since a trip to Shakopee, and I have never been to one. I thought it would be fun as well, so we decided to go this last Saturday (September 5).
Being as how I am 38-weeks-and-some-change pregnant, it was questionable as to how long I would last... and the weather was the hottest it had been in over a week (oooh... 80 degrees F), but my "nesting energy" showed up this last week and I was ready to take on the day.
We arrived at the Faire at 11 am and we finally left the grounds around 5:30 pm. What a fun day!
It is hard to describe/explain everything that we did there... thankfully I have some pictures!
One of the first things that we did was and check out the manly Highland games. Adam decided he'd give the Caber Toss a go.
It was fun to watch Adam give it a go and also fun to watch men flit around in their Scottish kilts.
After the Caber Toss, we grabbed a beer (for Adam). He had fun toasting with some scallywags at the 'beer tent'.
We decided the check out Hamlet... as a comedy. And boy, was it ever funny! Shakespearian actor Jeff McLane of Chicago brought Hamlet to life as a comedy in a 25-minute show. We laughed quite a bit through it... quite excellent, it was. Definitely my favorite part of the entire day! (Though the rest of the day was pretty awesome too!)
After the one-man play, we stopped off for some lunch. One of the many food vendors was a German 'restaurant', and Adam enjoyed a bratwurst (and later, a few pints of Paulander Oktoberfest brew). We ordered Julia a pretzel stick and she loved it! (I had cheese & broccoli soup in a bread bowl from a nearby soup 'restaurant'.)
We checked out the shops that were at the Faire; quite a few and some very neat ones too. As we were walking around, we noticed a small herd of dressed-up geese seemingly walking around on their own. We found out that these geese (as well as some baby pygmy goats) belonged to Paul The Gooseman, a traveling animal-lover who brings his geese and sometimes other animals to fairs, parades, and other shindigs. After some walking around, we found the geese in their pen next to the goats and Julia thoroughly enjoyed the goats (and wanted to enjoy the geese, but we didn't need her fingers getting snapped at...!).
A trip down to Pirate Cove brought about many more fun wonders... shade and a cool breeze being one of them! There was archery going on... a slingshot where you could try to hit a 'fool' with rotten fruit, and... a Jacob's Ladder. Adam gave it a shot but didn't make it very far.
We thoroughly enjoyed our day. Other adventures included... watching the Greywolf Blacksmith... catching an ACTUAL wedding take place during the Faire (complete with Renaissance dress)... meeting the Berry Fairy and receiving Berry necklaces (one for Julia and one for Baby Draeger)... purchasing pottery (new mugs, yay!)... watching the jousting... checking out comedic jugglers (who juggled fire too)... and... well, you can imagine, our day was full and all sorts of fun!
It was definitely worth the trip and next year... well, next year we hope to dress up too! :)
erin
Being as how I am 38-weeks-and-some-change pregnant, it was questionable as to how long I would last... and the weather was the hottest it had been in over a week (oooh... 80 degrees F), but my "nesting energy" showed up this last week and I was ready to take on the day.
We arrived at the Faire at 11 am and we finally left the grounds around 5:30 pm. What a fun day!
It is hard to describe/explain everything that we did there... thankfully I have some pictures!
One of the first things that we did was and check out the manly Highland games. Adam decided he'd give the Caber Toss a go.
It was fun to watch Adam give it a go and also fun to watch men flit around in their Scottish kilts.
After the Caber Toss, we grabbed a beer (for Adam). He had fun toasting with some scallywags at the 'beer tent'.
We decided the check out Hamlet... as a comedy. And boy, was it ever funny! Shakespearian actor Jeff McLane of Chicago brought Hamlet to life as a comedy in a 25-minute show. We laughed quite a bit through it... quite excellent, it was. Definitely my favorite part of the entire day! (Though the rest of the day was pretty awesome too!)
After the one-man play, we stopped off for some lunch. One of the many food vendors was a German 'restaurant', and Adam enjoyed a bratwurst (and later, a few pints of Paulander Oktoberfest brew). We ordered Julia a pretzel stick and she loved it! (I had cheese & broccoli soup in a bread bowl from a nearby soup 'restaurant'.)
We checked out the shops that were at the Faire; quite a few and some very neat ones too. As we were walking around, we noticed a small herd of dressed-up geese seemingly walking around on their own. We found out that these geese (as well as some baby pygmy goats) belonged to Paul The Gooseman, a traveling animal-lover who brings his geese and sometimes other animals to fairs, parades, and other shindigs. After some walking around, we found the geese in their pen next to the goats and Julia thoroughly enjoyed the goats (and wanted to enjoy the geese, but we didn't need her fingers getting snapped at...!).
A trip down to Pirate Cove brought about many more fun wonders... shade and a cool breeze being one of them! There was archery going on... a slingshot where you could try to hit a 'fool' with rotten fruit, and... a Jacob's Ladder. Adam gave it a shot but didn't make it very far.
We thoroughly enjoyed our day. Other adventures included... watching the Greywolf Blacksmith... catching an ACTUAL wedding take place during the Faire (complete with Renaissance dress)... meeting the Berry Fairy and receiving Berry necklaces (one for Julia and one for Baby Draeger)... purchasing pottery (new mugs, yay!)... watching the jousting... checking out comedic jugglers (who juggled fire too)... and... well, you can imagine, our day was full and all sorts of fun!
It was definitely worth the trip and next year... well, next year we hope to dress up too! :)
erin
New Brewing Ingredient?
Julia and I were hanging out in the garage one night with Adam as he was working on a project, and at some point, we thought it would be funny to put Julia in one of Adam's grain buckets.
She did NOT enjoy it all that much... at first it was okay, but when Adam started swing her around in it, it got to be a little too much for her...! At any rate, I still thought it was a cute picture!
erin
She did NOT enjoy it all that much... at first it was okay, but when Adam started swing her around in it, it got to be a little too much for her...! At any rate, I still thought it was a cute picture!
erin
Just Another Weed... Corn
Earlier last week, the weeds in the flower/bush beds that hadn't bothered me one stitch the last two months suddenly were overwhelming me in their fruitfulness and I asked Adam to teach me how to use the weed whacker.
With a skeptical gleam in his eye, he got it started for me and showed me what to do. It was quite fun... quite liberating! And, I whacked those weeds all away.
However, when I got the corn stalk that showed up earlier this summer in one of our front beds, I decided to leave it be. Considering that it even tasseled out and had ears on it, I figured it was a pretty worthy contender and didn't deserve to be chopped down. After all, it wasn't its fault that I didn't see it two months ago and pluck it from its spot at that point.
It really has gotten quite tall, and while I doubt that the ears will get much bigger than they are right now (they are about one inch in diameter or thereabouts), it still proves to be a bit of a conversation piece. I had Julia sit in front of it so I could show just how large it had gotten under my decidedly unwatchful eye.
Hopefully next summer we won't have near the trouble with corn stalks in random places as we did this summer... but I doubt it. One of the neighbors of a neighbor enjoy feeding squirrels corn cobs and we have random cobs in our yard weekly.
erin
With a skeptical gleam in his eye, he got it started for me and showed me what to do. It was quite fun... quite liberating! And, I whacked those weeds all away.
However, when I got the corn stalk that showed up earlier this summer in one of our front beds, I decided to leave it be. Considering that it even tasseled out and had ears on it, I figured it was a pretty worthy contender and didn't deserve to be chopped down. After all, it wasn't its fault that I didn't see it two months ago and pluck it from its spot at that point.
It really has gotten quite tall, and while I doubt that the ears will get much bigger than they are right now (they are about one inch in diameter or thereabouts), it still proves to be a bit of a conversation piece. I had Julia sit in front of it so I could show just how large it had gotten under my decidedly unwatchful eye.
Hopefully next summer we won't have near the trouble with corn stalks in random places as we did this summer... but I doubt it. One of the neighbors of a neighbor enjoy feeding squirrels corn cobs and we have random cobs in our yard weekly.
erin
The One Week Mark
Is it just me or is anyone else having a hard time believing that in a week, Adam and I will have TWO kidlets as opposed to one...?
I'll say this... I am excited beyond words! And anxious! And a little sad! And more than happy! And... well... truly, I'm a mixed bag of emotions, still...! At least of all of them, I am mostly excited and happy! Hee!
erin
I'll say this... I am excited beyond words! And anxious! And a little sad! And more than happy! And... well... truly, I'm a mixed bag of emotions, still...! At least of all of them, I am mostly excited and happy! Hee!
erin
Friday, September 4, 2009
Salsa
I wish I had a picture to share... maybe I will think to whip out the camera next time.
Yesterday I told Adam that he is turning Julia into a "dipper". For instance, if Adam is eating something and dipping it into something (fries, chips, what have you), Julia wants to dip as well. She already likes ketchup, has tried dressing and sour cream, and found the other night that she likes melted cheese.
So, it shouldn't have been too much of a shock yesterday for her to ask for salsa to go with her chips because daddy (aka, mama) was eating salsa with HIS chips. Adam and I gave her a few chips and a little bit of salsa and that little bugger ate it right up! She even asked for more salsa! So cute! And, now we have found a way to get her to eat her vegetables; ha!
erin
Yesterday I told Adam that he is turning Julia into a "dipper". For instance, if Adam is eating something and dipping it into something (fries, chips, what have you), Julia wants to dip as well. She already likes ketchup, has tried dressing and sour cream, and found the other night that she likes melted cheese.
So, it shouldn't have been too much of a shock yesterday for her to ask for salsa to go with her chips because daddy (aka, mama) was eating salsa with HIS chips. Adam and I gave her a few chips and a little bit of salsa and that little bugger ate it right up! She even asked for more salsa! So cute! And, now we have found a way to get her to eat her vegetables; ha!
erin
38 (+ 1 day)
Yesterday I was 38 weeks pregnant... and just 11 days away from a C-section... today we are down to 10 days away... hoo, boy!
Yesterday I had my second to last checkup with my doc. (Next Thursday will be the last pre-baby OB appointment! Crazy!) I had Julia in tow as she is home with me on Thursdays. She did splendidly... for most of the appointment. Near the end she was a little miffed that I was laying on a table and she was "far far away" in a chair. Basically... we couldn't reach each other and I think that made her slightly unstable. Ha!
Total Weight Gain: 26 lbs
Difference from Last Appointment: +1 lb (Again... apparently Birthday Cake and Pregnant Women go hand in hand for a good diet plan... ha!)
Baby's Heartbeat: 150's
Fundal height (belly measurement): 42 cm / 42 weeks (Big change from last week, but then, it was a different doctor measuring and I think it is sometimes a bit of a guess anyway.)
Blood Pressure: 116/72
I haven't heard from OB yet regarding surgery day, but I was told if I don't hear from them by noon next Thursday, I should give them a call.
All in all I'm feeling pretty good minus the fact that I am pretty much beat for the day by about 2 pm and then do whatever I can to make it through the rest of the day... yah, it is not working so much. The list of things to do keeps getting longer but I have less and less motivation to do any of it. Ha! I rest in the fact that I know that the baby has a place to sleep, food to eat, and diapers and clothes to wear. It's all good.
Are you becoming anxious about what we will name our child...? Hee, hee! I'm excited about it; can't wait for baby to be here and to share it with you!
erin
Yesterday I had my second to last checkup with my doc. (Next Thursday will be the last pre-baby OB appointment! Crazy!) I had Julia in tow as she is home with me on Thursdays. She did splendidly... for most of the appointment. Near the end she was a little miffed that I was laying on a table and she was "far far away" in a chair. Basically... we couldn't reach each other and I think that made her slightly unstable. Ha!
Total Weight Gain: 26 lbs
Difference from Last Appointment: +1 lb (Again... apparently Birthday Cake and Pregnant Women go hand in hand for a good diet plan... ha!)
Baby's Heartbeat: 150's
Fundal height (belly measurement): 42 cm / 42 weeks (Big change from last week, but then, it was a different doctor measuring and I think it is sometimes a bit of a guess anyway.)
Blood Pressure: 116/72
I haven't heard from OB yet regarding surgery day, but I was told if I don't hear from them by noon next Thursday, I should give them a call.
All in all I'm feeling pretty good minus the fact that I am pretty much beat for the day by about 2 pm and then do whatever I can to make it through the rest of the day... yah, it is not working so much. The list of things to do keeps getting longer but I have less and less motivation to do any of it. Ha! I rest in the fact that I know that the baby has a place to sleep, food to eat, and diapers and clothes to wear. It's all good.
Are you becoming anxious about what we will name our child...? Hee, hee! I'm excited about it; can't wait for baby to be here and to share it with you!
erin
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