Good News & Bad News

Good News: I'm ready to have a baby.
Bad News: The baby doesn't seem to feel ready to come out yet.

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Good News:  Nesting instincts have kicked in and I'm feeling much more energized.
Bad News:  I'm using the extra energy for recreational purposes instead of productive purposes.

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Good News:  We've finally decided on a name.
Bad News:  We *might* change when we see the little guy, so we're not going to announce it yet.

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Good News:  Thanks to several generous donations (Lori, Sarah, Desiree) and one fun shopping spree we have clothes to put on the baby. 
Bad News:  We still don't know where to put the clothes so all the baby's things are in bins in a corner in our room.  Convert the den or stuff two kids in one small room?

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Good News:  We have tickets tomorrow night (Date#4 from my parents) for Mary Poppins.
Bad News:  None known.  I'm just excited and wanted to share.

Sadie's Arrival

My due date is one month from today.

As I prepare for the future I keep thinking about the past.

I've been reminiscing about Sadie's birth these last few weeks and wondering what this next one will be like. Tonight I decided to read through Ben's journal entry from the day she was born. This is how it goes:

8:05 am - started pitocin. Alicia was already 3 to 4 cm dilated and 80% effaced at a -1 position.

8:25 - Mary called and we talked with her and Christy (at BYU).

8:35 - Increased pitocin to 5 from 2. Alicia is starting to feel some Braxton-Hicks type contractions, but nothing too painful and nothing too frequent.

9:05 - Dr. Marcelli came in and checked Alicia. She said she's 4 cm and 70 - 80% effaced and still at a -1 position. She broke the water. There was a little meconium so they are going to do an amnioflush. Still not many contractions.

10:30 - Alicia received an epidural and feels great! Contractions are steady and strong, now we just relax and wait for Sadie to come! Alicia is trying to sleep now...

{Later on} It turns out there wasn't much time for sleeping. Beth came in to change the bedding at about 11:30 and noticed a lot of fluid. She hadn't planned to, but decided to check Alicia's progress. Alicia has been very relaxed and has not pain, so you can imagine our surprise when Beth announced, "You are complete!" Alicia replied, "What exactly do you mean 'complete'?" She told us it was time to push. We could not believe our ears!

The nurse went and got the doctor, who confirmed it was time to push. However, she had a patient a few rooms down, so the nurse stayed with us and helped Alicia know when to push.

We pictured this phase of labor as extremely stressful, painful, long and drawn-out. But it turned out to be quite peaceful and very thrilling. I was extremely nervous about this stage, because I didn't want to see Alicia in pain. Seeing her so comfortable was very calming and reassuring for me. It allowed me to enjoy the anticipation of the arrival of our little baby.

It wasn't long before I could see the top of the baby's head. I was thrilled to see hair!

I could tell we had made a lot of progress and the time was at hand. The nurse told us to take the next few contractions off while she went looking for the doctor. Dr. Conner came to deliver the baby because Dr. Marcelli was still with her other patient. We were glad to have Dr. Conner there for us.

At 12:46, after less than an hour of pushing, Sadie was born 6 lbs. 9 ozs., 19 inches long. It was a totally unbelievable, joyous, happy, thrilling moment!

{Sadie, shown above, two hours old}

Life since then has been a real whirlwind!  We've come a long ways....

{Pictures of Sadie taken on our morning walk today}

Hopefully I'll love this next baby as much as I do Sadie (seems impossible at the moment), and hopefully, the labor will be as peaceful, happy, and memorable as it was with Sadie!

One more month!

Celebrating Mother's Day

Ben did an amazing job making mother's day special.  We actually spent most of the weekend celebrating.  We like to make holidays last as long as possible!

On Friday we had Date #3 from my parents (we're running a little behind).  We went to see the Blue Planet Florida Orchestra performance.  It was excellent!  They projected the best scenes from the series Blue Planet (like Planet Earth) while the orchestra played music.

Saturday morning Ben gifted me with my first Mother's day present.  {Drum roll please}....A fishing pole!  I'm pretty sure he's a little embarrassed by the gift but I quite loved it.  We tried it out on the poor fish in the lake in our community.  We caught at least 6 or 7 tiny little fish.  Sadie was really amused by it all.

 {I caught the biggest fish - shown above}

After fishing we cooled off in the community pool.  So relaxing!  We came home, got cleaned up, ate lunch, and ALL took a nice, long nap.  It was perfection!  We spent the afternoon cleaning the house and then ate my favorite meal of all time - Lemon Butter Chicken.  We topped it off with a visit to Rita's Italian Ice, and then Ben spent the evening working on a talk he gave in church on Sunday.

On Sunday we met up with the family at Mike and Sarah's where the guys made us girls dinner.  And, wow, did they do a good job!  They made kabobs, corn on the cob, and sweet potatoes with a decadent chocolate cake.  I'm not sure what their secret was but they were the best, most tender and flavorful kabobs I have ever had!

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I don't have too much wisdom about motherhood, but this is a quote I like:

David O. McKay said, “Motherhood is the greatest potential influence either for good or ill in human life. The mother’s image is the first that stamps itself on the … young child’s mind. It is her caress that first awakens a sense of security; her kiss, the first realization of affection; her sympathy and tenderness, the first assurance that there is love in the world”

Mothering Sadie is the most challenging yet rewarding thing I have ever done in life.  I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a mother and wife.  It's more life-changing and entertaining than I ever imagined!

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Special thanks to:

• Joe and Julie for watching Sadie on Friday night - good job!
• Michael for planning and preparing a steller meal on Sunday night.
• My mom for all her years of service and love and lessons.
• My mother-in-law for raising the most near-perfect human being I've ever found.
• Ben and Sadie for their patience with me as I figure out this whole motherhood thing.

Hello & Goodbye

They came, they played, and they left.  Kimmy will return; Christy will not {until the end of the summer}.

They are on their way to Washington D.C.  That's where my dad grew up and where my parents met and were married.  My uncle and a lot of their old friends still live up there.  It should be a fun little getaway for them.

This will give Sadie and I time to rest and recooperate from the whirlwind of fun we had while they were here.

I love having siblings!

The Point

I've hit that point in pregnancy where reality is starting to set in.  It took a lot longer to happen in this pregnancy than the last.  Do you know what I mean?  It's like all of a sudden I've realized this is FOR REAL and not just a nice dream.  And now I need to figure out what I need to do to get ready for this life change.   

Perhaps some people would say 'nesting' instincts are setting in, but I'm not sure that accurate because my understanding of nesting is that you are blessed with a huge surge of energy.  The opposite could not be true for me -- I feel lifeless.  My house has never been messier, I take a nap pretty much every day now, and when I am awake I can barely muster up enough energy to do the bare minimum. 

But now I also have the nagging thoughts in the back of my mind about how I need to be shopping, cleaning, organizing, reading, and researching in preparation for this new baby.  The only thing I've purchased for him is a {really cute} pair of shoes that will fit him when he's two and a darling newsboy hat.  We do have Fisher's {again, really cute} clothes that will fit him when he's six or twelve months, but he'd have to go naked for the first six months of life if he was born tomorrow.

Does this make you nervous?  It's making me feel very nervous!  Along with these other items:

• We don't have a place for him to sleep.  Are we going to stuff him in Sadie's overcrowded room or convert the den?
• Will this baby nurse?  Sadie never nursed ONCE, and consequently, I spent six months of my life 'pumping'.  I don't want to nor do I think I could do that again.  Is there anything I should or could do not to ensure a little more success?
• How can I make the transition for Sadie as seemless as possible?
• Should Sadie come to see us in the hospital or will that only upset her more?
• Is Ben going to stay with me at night or go to my parent's house and stay with Sadie?
• I should probably buy a double stroller if I have any hope of leaving the house, but I have no clue which is best. I tend to research big purchases like that a lot.
• Sadie needs to move up to a 'big girl' bed.  Will it be easier to do that now or just wait until we're sleep deprived with a newborn and try to do it then?
• Will I go into labor naturally or be induced?  Will the baby be breech or some other funny position {I'm worried about that this time for some reason}?  Do I want an epidural (no), but will I be able to handle the pain?  Several nurses and lactation consultants insisted after Sadie's birth that women who get epidurals tend to have babies that won't nurse. 
• Will this baby be a happy and sleepy newborn, or have colic and other issues like Sadie?

I could go on but I won't, because I'm just getting myself all worked up.

So, if anyone has any advice, recommendations, words of wisdom, or books you think I need to read please, oh please feel free to share.  

My due date is in six weeks (June 10th), but I'm thinking this one may come a little early.  My plan is to get everything prepared and squared away by the end of the month of May. 

But today I'm going to do a different kind of preparation - a little spiritual preparation to jump start the month of May. Kimmy, Christy, and my Mom are going to watch Sadie so I can go to the temple.  Then we may have to check out the outlet malls in Orlando to begin the temporal preparation :) 

Return of the Prodigal Child

Kimmy is home {sigh}.

Life is good!

Beach will be frequented.

Hair will be cut.

Doctor can now be visited.

Baby can come.

Sadie will be loved.

Alicia will be relaxed.

All will be well :)

Thank you Kimmy!!

Orlando & Disney

Every other year Ben has a McDonald's convention in Orlando.  Since it's so close I usually go with him for the few days he's over there.  When we were newlyweds I just would read, take naps, and lounge by the pool - it was heaven on earth!

Now that little Sadie is a part of our family I was a little concerned that our Orlando trip would not be as relaxing but I was pleasantly surprised with how well she did.  She loved it!  She went to sleep easily.  She took nice, long naps.  She was friendly, social, and very well-behaved.

One huge blessing was that we were given a free upgrade to an executive suite.  So, thankfully, she had plenty of room to run and play.  And, we had a full kitchen and dining area - that made life a lot easier.

On Monday, while Ben was in meetings, Sadie and I met up with family at Magic Kingdom and then went out to dinner with them at Rainforest Cafe.

{Shown above are Sadie Tickner and Sadie Johnson. 
We have been good friends with the Tickner's for a few years,
and just found out this year that they are Ben's cousins}

{This is Ben's Aunt Sue and Cousin Bailey.  

They were in town from Utah for the convention, too!}

On Tuesday Ben only had to work from noon to five.  In the morning we just played around the hotel.

{Sadie loved the air conditioner}

{I fed her really unhealthy food during the trip. 
Shame on me!!! 
She didn't seem to mind it, though!}

{She took three and a half hour naps each day! 
That's a new record for her :) 
We must have really worn her out.}

That evening we were going to go to Disney but the weather didn't cooperate.  We decided at the gate to abort our Disney plans.  We took some pictures, went on the boat ride back, and then went out for Indian food.

{I'm much larger in real life than this picture portrays}

{Sadie was tired again even after her record-breaking nap!}

On Wednesday we slept in and relaxed around the hotel until check-out time.  We really didn't want to leave yet!  We ordered....(which was my very favorite part of the trip)....room service for breakfast each morning.

And then we met up with Joe, Julie, and Baby Joseph at Disney.  As a side note, we participated in Disney's "Give A Day. Get A Day" service program.  In return we each received a free Disney ticket.  We then upgraded our tickets for the $99 Florida resident 4-day pass.  The upgrade was only $20.  So, we now have 4 days of Disney tickets we need to use up by May 25th.  It was another blessing from 'Above'. 

{I tried to make her hair look like Mickey Mouse ears.  Can you tell?}

{Sadie did not like the tram ride! 
This was her third time riding it and her first time not crying during it.}

{Joseph's bashful face shown above.  Don't you love his shirt?}

 {Baby Joseph fell asleep on 'It's a Small World"}

Sadie didn't love the rides at the beginning of the day, but by the end she was pointing and giggling.  Her most favorite rides were Winnie the Pooh and It's A Small World.  She did NOT like Peter Pan, nor did she like Pirates of the Caribbean.  Although, she was brave and didn't cry on any of them!

  {This picture shows better how big I am getting, but I still say that I look even bigger in real life.  I can't imagine I'm going to make it another six weeks!}

So, that was our wonderful Orlando/Disney trip.  It was over far too quickly, but it sure was fun while it lasted!