Happy Birthday Max

Here some pics from Max's Birthday, which was last Sunday, the 18th.  He is 10! Crazy how fast time goes by.  On Monday we all went to Red Rock buffet for lunch. We had a great time.  Baby Jo did great and slept the whole time, lucky us!

Pictures of Josephine

I know I haven't been so good about putting updated pictures, so here are a few.  

Who does Baby Jo look like?

Rachelle?


Jeff?


Max?


Marshall?

Simon?

Beautiful Baby!

My incredibly talented friend took this picture. So precious, isn't she?

Doing better.

It has been one week today since our cute little girl arrived. (I don't feel like the word "born" is the right word when she was cut out of me.) What a whirl wind of emotions it has been.

The day of surgery was long for me. I was awake from 3am to 4:30am, went back to bed, then was up for good by 5:30am. At 6 I had a big bowl of oatmeal and at 7 I had a 3 egg and cheese omlet, as my final meal. It was no more eating for me after that. Jeff went into work for a few hours while I finished up some laundry and finished cleaning through the house. Ginger, Jeff's mom, came down from Utah to be with the boys and arrived about 12:30, as did Nik, Jeff's brother. By 1:15pm we were off to the hospital. Having it linger over me all day was so stressful! There is something to be said for just going into labor, not knowing when it is going to hit. You don't have the anxiety building up. Needless to say, my bowels were a wreck and to summarize the day would be IBS! I got settled in, got my IV started, blah, blah, blah. The doctor was running about 20 minutes behind, which gave me one last chance to run to the bathroom.

I walked into the O.R. and sat up on the table, knowing, or thinking I knew, just what was in store for me. Got my spinal tap, which was a breeze! My IV hurt way worse. I couln't even feel the spinal at all, or the lower half of my body after about 3 minutes. They scrubbed me down and put up the big blue curtain. This is when Jeff came in. He was a real trooper. We arrived at the maternity floor at 1:45 and surgery didn't start until 3:45. So it was a lot of waiting for me and him. It seemed like forever for them to get to the baby. Normally a 10 minute procedure took them about 30 minutes. My body was full of scar tissue from my previous 2 c-sections, and it was a real mess. Jeff described it as looking like hamburger. Yes he looked, I couldn't believe it, but he watched just about the whole thing. They were cutting and cauterizing forever. Then with a bit of pulling and tugging and LOTS of pressure, out came baby's head, screaming like crazy. 4:09pm. I was sure they had delivered her but at that point it was only her head. Another big push on my belly and out came the rest of her. Instantly, just from hearing her cry, I was in love! The doctor held her up at the curtain so I could see-she was beautiful, blood and all! Off she went to the side with the nurses and Jeff to get APGAR-ed and cleaned up and then the real work began for the doctors. Stitching up all the many layers. When a nurse came in and said the baby was 6 lbs 14 oz, I couldn't believe it. We made a little baby! How great is that! Who would have known it to be possible. So great! An hour later they finished sewing me up and wheeled me into my room. I didn't get sick! The first time ever after a baby! So exciting for me.

Josephine spent her first 4 hours in the NICU. Her resperatroy rate was too high, most likely due to fluid in her lungs. (very common with c-section babies.) It was so sad for me to sit there and have to wait. Jeff took all the boys to the nursery window so they could see her and it killed me that I couldn't. So sad for me to wait for so long for this baby, and then to have to wait 3 more hours seemed like eternity. They finally brought her in, around 7:45, and she far exceeded all my expectations of a little girl. She is so beautiful and perfect and little and did I mention perfect?! What a wonderful family I have been blessed with. Jeff was so great about everything! Kate was a real trooper and spent the night with me that first night. It was so great to have her there. I know she was so sleep deprived when she left, but it meant so much to me to have her there with me to help me and take care of Josephine.

I could go on about all the other details, but I won't. If you want to know, call me and I'll fill you in. I hope to be better about updating from now on. This first week was a rough one and hopefully the worst is behind. Here are a few more pictures. Thank you to all of you who called and visited and helped with my kids and brought me and my family yummy food. I realize how lucky I am to have such a wonderful family and friends.

Josephine Edith Hulet: 6 lbs. 14 oz. 17 inches; mommy and baby doing very well.

Changing Table

This is basically what it looked like before. Take a look at it now. What is it? It is now the nicest piece of furniture that I have. I bought it as a changing table at a garage sale for $20, brand new! It had a small top drawer and 2 shelves, like most changing tables. I asked my brother in law, Zach, if he could add some drawers to it. (The shelves make it totally impractical.) This is what he did. Isn't it beautiful? He does unbelievable work! Thanks Zach. And just in time for baby! I LOVE IT!

Hospital Stay

FYI: Any of you who are crazy hospital visitors, I love to have people see me in the hospital. That is in no way meant to pressure anyone, but I am definately that person who is bored when having to stay for 3-4 days. I simply enjoy my alone time away from the house, not from human contact. So if you feel up to it, I will be at St. Rose San Martin. Call my cell before you come!

The time has arrived!

Here it is, 1/0/09, baby girl's birthday. I managed to stay in bed until 3 and then I was done with the tossing and turning. So I got up and started some laundry and did some vacuuming. It is so hard to to believe that for 38 weeks I have been pregnant and it all ends today. Not without some stress and anxiety of course. Just knowing what I'm in for is making me incredibly anxious! The medicine, the spinal, the nausea post-surgery, it goes on and on. I really am greatful for the fact that we were able to get pregnant and that I have had a fairly unremarkable pregnancy. As I was laying on the couch last night, feeling the baby jab and kick, it was so weird to think that in less than 24 hours, that little girl would be outside my body and wrapped in a blanket. Crazy the things our bodies can do! Anyway, it will probably be a bit before I am back on. I'm hoping to have one of my sisters post some pics on here later tonight, so check back. Wish me luck!

Diaper Bag Dazed!

I am calling on all mothers, or purchasers, of great diaper bags. I am in a bind here and don't know what to do. I found a great bag at a local store and when I went back to get it, it was gone! Now I need help. I am not in any way willing to pay $100+ for a trendy, name-brand bag, allthough I am not opposed to having one if it is cheap! I have checked etsy, but am so overwhelmed by all the choices. I also have a few requirements: I would like the bag to be a fairly stiff form, so if left on a table, it stands upright, not fold over like a hobo bag. I would also like a few pockets on the outside for keys, cell phone and pacifier. I prefer a neutral color but am not opposed to anything cute and girlie. I will try to post some pics off the etsy website of my favorite few. Please give me feedback or any other help in trying to obtain my desire of a great diaper bag! (The 3rd one in the funky floral, I can go online and pick out my own 2 fabrics)

Body Pillow

This is what you could officially call a body pillow-how wrong is that!  My poor children have to watch as my becomes absolutely distorted.  What troopers they have been.

One project completed.

My friend gave me some shelves that she decided not to use.  So I painted them and hung one of them up successfully WITHOUT hitting a water line.  The tricky part was hanging the 40 pound mirror.  Thanks to help from Jeff, done!  As my older boys came in and saw me with the drill next to the wall, they both made comments like "are you sure there isn't any pipes in that wall?"  I will never live it down.

The best things in life...

There is nothing like a hot, fresh cinnamon roll. One of my biggest downfalls, I could eat 3 or 4 before feeling like I have had enough. I got this recipe from my sister Kate who always makes them, and to almost perfection every time. She gave me the advise to cut them really thick. I did and found that I can be satisfied with only one, as long as it is plastered with cream cheese frosting. For the love of food....I love these!

Here we go...

The home stretch, really! I can't believe it. Only 4 more days until baby time! I am getting very anxious and overwhelmed thinking of everything I want to get done before then. I am a freak about leaving my house clean so Thursday will be my cleaning day, knowing full well it will probably kill me. Don't know why I do it, espcially knowing all my family will be living in it while I'm gone and there isn't a chance in France that it will be clean when I come home. But it does make me feel better. My week will go by fast. School everyday for the boys, lots to do to try and get ahead so they don't have to do anything next week. Hair appointment tomorrow. Getting my permanent crown set on Thursday, and all of a sudden it is Friday. Having a planned c-section does have it's downfalls. Having it staring you in the face for weeks on end is it, but at least there is an end in sight. Between all my bowel irregularities, pelvic pain, water retention, large, low belly that does not allow ANY pants to stay up, indigestion, (should I go on?) I am ready to be done and have her here! Stay posted for more updates and pictures, soon to be coming!