Social Cues

Ever since I became pregnant, I've noticed that there are certain "appropriate" responses to some social situations involving childbearing. For instance, when a woman says she is pregnant the appropriate response is to inquire how far along she is or if she has been feeling sick. When she is holding a baby, the appropriate response is to inquire how old the baby is and how well the baby sleeps at night. Now that I know this, I feel pretty sheepish about my past interactions with childbearing women, during which I guess I did not know the appropriate response to these types of situations.

So, to address the issue that most people seem interested in, Jaime is sleeping fairly well for her age. Lately, she's fallen into a pattern of only waking us up about twice per night. Some nights are worse; some are better. Last night she didn't wake me up at all.

This is Jaime on Halloween. The overalls were definitely too big, but nothing else of hers went with her pumpkin onesie.

She takes up most of our time and conversation together.

She's beginning to show more of her personality.

Jaime is really easy going. This is what she does most of her time awake. She doesn't cry much and just likes to sit and look around. She'll often have a furrowed brow, as if she's analyzing the world around her in depth. That's my girl.

Her smiles are off and on and most probably aren't quite intentional yet. She LOVES to eat. It seems as if she can't get enough of it. What can I say? She is Justin's daughter. After feeding her enough times I have realized it's no wonder why people have comfort foods - food and comfort are inseparably intertwined from infancy.

First Bath

Jaime had her first official bath...

She looks pretty happy in this photo, but she started crying right after I took this and continued to cry through the rest of the experience. Apparently she liked the warm water but hated the fact that we had to wipe and rub her all over while she was in the warm water.

My Husband is a Star

That's right, he is amazing! He's the star of the new BYU Flagship commercial. Take a look.

Fall Adventure

My Perfect Company

We knew that our time to enjoy the fall colors was waning, so we packed up the little one and headed up Provo Canyon. We didn't make it far (Nunn's Park) before we pulled off and went for a little stroll. Though the colors were beautiful, my favorite part was the whispers I repeatedly heard as people walked by... "Did you see how little she is?" "She is so cute!" "Oh my goodness, she's adorable!" My very favorite, however, was one directed to Jodi by a curious mother: "Are you her mother? Eleven days? You can't come around me, you look too good!" Yes, Jodi is gorgeous. The falls were wonderful, the colors beautiful, the company perfect.

Click to Make it Bigger... It is Beautiful (all from a colorblind guy)

Bad Timing...

I change most of the diapers (at least when I am home) for Jaime Lynne. I am alright with this. I quite enjoy the opportunity to take care of her when I can. Yesterday such an opportunity was afforded me, and I seized it whole-heartedly. Little did I know that I was just a few seconds too soon. I have heard many a story of changing a boy's diaper and getting a little surprise, but I have a little girl. Nothing to worry about, right? Surprises often come from the most unexpected places. Little did I know that a baby can project feces six feet (or so I predict it would have gone so far had I not been in the line of fire), like a jet propulsion of orange liquid.... Yes, it was an adventure to clean up.

"I love my Daddy"

No wonder she loves her daddy, considering that he stays up with us in the night, burps her, changes her, bathes her, speaks Chinese to her, and calms her when she's sad. Not to mention that he has only missed one day of class, hasn't missed a day of work, and taught Sunday School and Priesthood meeting today. What a guy.

A Proud New Mom!

As you've heard, we've got our little girl! She's everything we've hoped for and more. So was the delivery process. Here's how things played out:

Tuesday morning I began getting mild contractions that were about 20 minutes apart by the afternoon. By the time Justin got home that evening they were about 8 minutes apart and by the time we reached the hospital at 10pm they were about 3-4 minutes apart. They said I was only dilated 1 1/2 cm and my contractions weren't regular enough, so they sent us home at 11pm.

(right before we went to the hospital the first time)

As soon as we left for home things intensified and we began our grueling night of dealing with contractions. We didn't sleep, as I was having contractions every couple of minutes and dealt with them much better when Justin was awake and helping me through them. We got about a half hour of sleep before 4am, when I woke us both up with some very painful contractions that led to my water breaking at 4:30am. My contractions really took off from there. I had increasing trouble breathing through them, and took to expressing myself fully :)

We got to the hospital at about 5:30am and on the way there I thought a lot about whether or not to get an epidural. I was in a lot of pain. They checked me and said I was dilated to 3cm. This would mean I had about 7 more hours of labor ahead of me (average of 1cm/hr), but probably more since it was my first labor. I opted for the epidural because I didn't think I could make it through 7+ hours of what I was going through. After papers were signed, IV was in and I had drained a full bag of IV fluids, I was happy to see the anesthesiologist and get my epidural around 6:30am. I was dilated to 4cm. At that time I was sure glad to be numb from the waist down while I was being used as a ginny pig for a nurse-in-training who was learning to put in a catheter. After that experience, they noticed Jaime's heart rate was irregular. They put me on oxygen and kept rotating my body to see if they could get her heart rate to regulate. At about 7:30am they checked me and were surprised to announce that I was 9 1/2 cm dilated and the baby was at a +2 station! Boy, were we all surprised. I remember asking "Doesn't that mean I should start pushing or something?" The nurses said probably, but they needed to call my doctor.

A couple of minutes later my doctor walked in. He was planning to stop by on his way to do a surgery and return in the afternoon for the birth, but said he postponed the surgery and was ready for me to start pushing right then. Wow. I started pushing and watched Justin's eyes widen. The baby's head was showing already. Then there was a frenzy while the nurses flooded the room with delivery supplies and a mirror for me to watch my progress. It can take first time moms hours of pushing, so no one was really expecting this. The doctor came back, the bright lights came on, and it was time. I kept pushing and the baby came in about 10 minutes. It was a very surreal experience. Justin cut the cord, she was dried off on my tummy, tested, and declared healthy.

So, there you have it! I wasn't in the hospital long enough to get both doses of antibiotics for the Strep B bacteria, so little Jaime had to endure a blood test. But, all is well! She is just fine! Now, we are both trying to get some sleep and learn the art of breast-feeding. She's adorable.