Cellar Raid Party

We decided to rent out the tasting room at the wine storage facility here in Portland where we stash our wine and had a great turn-out! Lots of friends from Seattle came down for the day, and one friend who never leaves the Eugene area even came by.

Here are August and Dad bellying up to the bar:



Lucky for August this was his seventh wine tasting, so he is becoming an old pro at this!



We are taking off for Ocean Shores, WA for New Year's Eve. Last year we did the same thing and it was the most sober New Year's Eve of my adult life, since I was 2 months pregnant at the time. Supposedly the dads are going to give the moms a break this year and let us go wild while they bottle-feed the little ones. I'll be sure to post an update on that next time around!

Travelling with Baby--Our First International Trip with August

Well, we made it to Ireland and back in one piece, and now a week later we are headed to NYC. Yes, we are crazy.

Everything went better than we could have hoped for; August slept really well during the day which let Paul and I see the sights, and he slept a lot in the car, which was great as we were able to get in several long car trips.

However, August thought the airplane ride, both going and coming, was just too fascinating to miss and he was mostly awake during the flights (2 hrs. to LAX, 10 hours direct from LAX to Dublin).

At the airport:


Aer Lingus' idea of an in-flight bassinet is a cardboard box with pillows on the bottom of it. I am not exaggerating. So Paul and I wondered: what if you spend $4000 on a business class seat? Do you still get a cardboard box?


K. and E.'s wedding was beautiful and romantic, and August held out from 1:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. (the wedding didn't really wrap up until 3 a.m. but there was no way any of us could have gone that long).






At the Guinness factory:

Stone circle ruins on Sheep's Head Peninsula:


Mizen Head, furthest SW point in Ireland:

Time Flies

Hard to believe August is almost 9 weeks old already!

We are all leaving for Ireland this coming week for 12 days and will have loads of photos to post when we get back.

He is growing really fast and already weighs 13 lbs., much to our surprise (then again, he is consistently hungry so there you have it).

Check back soon for more photos and a report back from our first big trip with him!

We have a boy! I am no longer pregnant! Woohoo!

August Arthur was born at 5:08 a.m on August 12, 2007 after nearly 3 days of being induced. He must have been pretty comfy inside as he just didn't want to come out. Actually, August was in fetal distress, so our birth plan of having a natural labor and water birth went right out the window. The midwives tried every possible method of avoiding a C-section but August was unable to tolerate the induction any longer as his heart rate was dropping with every contraction. Needless to say, we are thrilled to finally meet him and that he is a very healthy baby.

Week 41, also known as Someday I Will See My Toes Again

Well, according to the midwife, all systems are go according to how my body is doing and where the baby is positioned. So why am I still here, you ask? Good question. As my friend who texted back to me put it, "Good Christ, what a lazy baby you have! :)"

This is my last week of keeping all fingers and toes crossed in regards to hoping labor starts on its own as opposed to going in for an induction a week from today. 42 weeks is the longest they (the midwives) feel I should go before the baby is at risk for decreased oxygen and nutrients.

Almost at week 39!

We made it out to Cannon Beach for one last getaway before Pinky arrives. Luck was on our side and we had two days of stunningly beautiful weather. Paul surprised me with getting pretty much the best room in the whole hotel, as you can see from the photo here. We could see the ocean from bed, it was really amazing.

All is well, pregnancy-wise--it continues to be relatively easy, aside from trying to get comfortable while sleeping and experiencing round ligament pain every day. At our last midwife visit this week there was some concern with Pinky's heart rate and we were asked to eat lunch and come back in 30 minutes for fetal monitoring and an ultrasound to measure the amniotic fluid. Luckily all was well above normal so that was a huge relief. The midwife is guessing Pinky weighs about 6 lbs. and that I will go into labor early. Both would be fine by me, especially if the kid has a pin-head and very narrow shoulders :)

The obligatory pregnant-woman-eating-an-ice-cream-cone shot:



The view from below, looking up:



Yes, I am making a doofy face on purpose:

34 weeks

This is the only photo I was able to take this week before klutz mode set in and I dropped my camera on the hardwood floor. Now the lens won't retract and I have to send it into the Canon service center in Illinois for a "minimum" $150 repair. Note to self--next time plan on dropping the camera before the two-year warranty expires (it expired May 24, 2007---damn!).

Roughly 6 weeks to go, give or take a few depending on how things progress. I had an appointment with the midwife last week and everything is going well. So far my appointments have been pretty uneventful, not like I am complaining!

There is a new system in place at the hospital where patients are given a user ID and password which allows you to log on to their website and view all of your medical records, set up appointments, email questions to the midwives, and look up general hospital information. I tried out their system when I got home last week and had to force myself to not click on the tab that was labeled "Labs" as I knew the results of my amniocentesis would be right there, which would essentially tell me the gender of the baby. It was so unbelievably tempting to find out that I made myself shut down the computer and go do something else. Of course I have come this far without knowing and it is no big deal to wait a little while longer.

Some New House Photos

As of May 22nd, we now own a 102 year old house in NE Portland! Too bad we aren't moving in for at least a year, but it is going to be a fun project to work on.

Kitchen, looking out the front door:


Kitchen, looking out the back:


Standing in the back bedroom/office:


Living room fireplace:


Looking up to the second floor:

Third Trimester

Roughly 10 weeks to go (plus or minus a few) and we still haven't done a damned thing in terms of purchasing any baby items, nor have we even started on clearing out Paul's office to make way for the nursery. Plenty of time, I keep telling myself as I continue to live in denial of things to come. Not like I don't want the final outcome to take place, but sometimes I feel like the time has gone by so incredibly fast that I still need a few more months to mentally prepare for it all. Maybe if I were having a rough pregnancy I'd feel differently about it, but so far it has been surprisingly easy. Yes, I will eat these words soon, I know.

I just visited JJ, Phil and baby Hobie in La Jolla last week and had a relaxing week taking walks on the beach and lounging around at their place. Luckily JJ and Phil had a massive pile of baby clothes to pick through so at least now we have something to bring the kid home in from the hospital!

As if we didn't already have enough on our plates, this Tuesday May 22nd we close on our new house! This wouldn't be such an ordeal if it were a move-in ready house, but if you know us, we need to add more excitement to the mix. The house is going to be gutted then completely remodeled over the course of a year or so. We aren't moving in until the remodeling is finished since there is asbestos and lead paint to deal with, in addition to all the dust and crap that will be floating around. We are really excited about this whole project and will of course post photos of the process.

Fun with Pillows

Melissa keeps bugging me for some goofy photos of a smiley face drawn on my belly so i'll have to get Paul to draw some up with the washable markers I just bought. But for now here are some weekly updates. As of last week I have gained 20lbs.

I think at this point there are seven pillows that I have been interchanging throughout the night to find comfort. I am not going to purchase any more, though I have to say this Snoogle pillow sure looks comfy. The only reason I haven't bought it yet is because I have no interest in wrassling with an alligator at night when I want to switch sides and have to lug that thing around under the covers. Dealing with the heavy Tempur-Pedic body pillow is already a pain in the ass as it is.

But I have to say so far that is really my only complaint at this point--dealing with the pillow swapping routine during the night so I don't wake up with the middle of my back feeling tight and uncomfortable all day.

Paul and I finally went on a tour of the labor and delivery ward at OHSU this evening and got a chance to see the waterbirth tub we will be using! It is larger than I thought and quite deep. It was a bit strange to see it and be standing in the room where it will all be taking place in a few months. Hopefully no one else will be signed up for a waterbirth the same time we are there or else I'll have to arm wrestle the other woman for it.

22 Weeks

I gave my notice in at work and my last day will be May 4th. Now I just have to break the news to my clients, which for me is always the worst part about leaving a position. It will be that usual guilty feeling that I am once again abandoning others in pursuit of my own needs, despite the great excuse I have this time!

Paul and I started taking Bradley Method birthing classes which we can already tell are going to save our butts on the grand finale that we are gearing up for. We are also scheduled for infant CPR and first aid, newborn care, and waterbirth classes up at OHSU (Oregon Health and Science University). We are still considering hiring a doula for pre-and post-partum care. There is a doula at our Bradley Method class who primarily works with multiples, so she's gotta be pretty competent!

More surprises from 2006

For those of you who don't already know, I am 20 weeks pregnant this week!
I became pregnant roughly 3 weeks after our wedding last October. As my father said, "Well, you sure didn't waste any time!" (Like his daughter, he is not one to mince his words). Who knew it would be so easy? I know several other women who took months, sometimes years to conceive, and I pretty much thought since I am going on 37 this year it might take me a little while as well. We are both really excited and terrified at the same time, and it is becoming more and more real every week. At first it took a while to sink in and I was trying to be as casual as possible about it for the first 3 months in case of a miscarriage. We had an amnio a few weeks ago and luckily everything is normal, and chose to not find out the gender.

It is still up in the air right now as to when I will resign from my job. Fortunately I have had an incredibly easy pregnancy so far, but I'm kind of "done" with my current social work position, to be quite honest. It is not really the job I want to be doing and I really need the time to study for my social work licensing exam this spring.

More pictures to come as things progress!