chicken feathers

evidence

I realized the other day that I did not have any pregnancy pictures this go around.  None!  This poor kid is off to a lousy start in the baby book category.   

I shoved the camera in Russell's hand and we went outside before it got dark...here I am last week at 38 weeks.  

I have had two different strangers congratulate me on having a girl...what do you think?  Girl or boy?

I hope we'll find out soon.  Tonight would be good!  Or tomorrow.  That would also be fine.  Either one and I wouldn't complain.  At all.

and baby makes...six!

The L-team is expanding it's numbers!  We were excited to learn back in March that a new baby would be joining us in early winter (around the first week of December).  My excitement was quickly replaced with a thick fog of nausea which lasted solidly through the first trimester.  I made it through the storm and emerged feeling, once again, very excited.

I only took a few pictures over the last few months...here is my meager attempt to catch up to the present.

This was my view most of March, April, May and some of June...sitting in bed with the door tightly shut and window wide open to to create a smell vacuum.  Most of my meaningful contact with the children occurred with them outside and me inside.  They brought me lots of gifts, bless them.  

 

Russell and I signed up to be a "Ma and Pa" for a youth Pioneer Trek; a three day hike with 250 area youth dressed in pioneer clothes and pulling handcarts.  As the date drew closer and the reality of a pregnant body became clearer, we changed our minds.  Well, I did - Russell still really wanted to go.  A plus side was the kids had a great time trying all the bonnets we had laying around here.

 

Hike to Catherine Creek.  This was the first time I took the kids on a hike without Russell.  I discovered that it is impossible to pack too many bribes.  We left with about a pound of chocolaty trail mix and an entire sliced pineapple.  It lasted about a half a mile.  Rhett was the least enthusiastic about the trip - he immediately started whining that he was bored and his legs hurt.  Shouldn't that start when they're about eleven?  Two and a half seems a bit early to me.

 

Anna's Dance Recital.  Our local dance studio does a major dance performance every other year.  This year they did Peter Pan.  Her ballet class was the animal fairies.  I had never seen so many different kinds of fairies in Peter Pan!  It was wonderful.  The best part was seeing Anna so excited.  She loved every minute of her classes, the rehearsals, and of course the big performances.  Greeting her as she ran offstage, glowing and giggling was the highlight of the whole experience for me.

 

I have had a serious craving for watermelon with this pregnancy.  I am, unfortunately, unable to eat an entire melon in one sitting but the kids are thrilled to consume the leftovers with gusto.

 

We spent a morning at the beach a couple days ago.  We ate watermelon (of course) and the kids played in the sand and splashed in the water and watched amazing kite-boarders. 

I had many moments of feeling deep gratitude for my family, the beautiful part of the country we live in, an abundance of cold watermelon, feeling healthy, and the idea of introducing a new life to all this glory.

I hope to visiting this space on a much more regular basis now.  There is so much to do in the next 20 weeks - I plan on keeping track of it here.  

 

the memories

The other day I was hauling a watermelon into the house from the car and I had a major flashback to last year at this time...only it wasn't a watermelon I was lugging- it was a bun in the oven.  All of a sudden I remembered the hot days, the extra weight, the itchy skin on my belly.  I remembered how I felt like my innards were wrapped around my spine and the baby wanted to take over that space too, thank you.  In fact, my memories of last year at this time remind me that I felt like someone had cut open my belly, inserted a watermelon directly into my body cavity and then stretched my skin back over it, squishing all pre-existing organs to new and cramped locations.  Yes.  That is exactly how I felt.  How grateful I am to have our melon on the outside.  And how my heart (and innards) aches for my sweet sister who is feeling the ummmm...bounty in her own belly. 

last week

 

last year

how to have a baby 2 weeks early

Everyone has a suggestion for how to induce labor - castor oil, massaging the heels, acupressure on the pads of the thumbs, pineapple, mexican food, sex, the list goes on and on.  In an effort to put these suggestions to rest, here's how you actually do it.  Worked for me.

- get up and take a shower and get the kids and yourself dressed
- run a box of vinegars down to the farmers' market
- zucchini bread for breakfast
- take your 4 year old to his first day of preschool
- run a gajillion errands with your 2 year old - including a trip to the honda dealership to look at minivans
- pick up the 4 year old from preschool and come home for a peanut butter and jam sandwich with grapes.
- work on a quilt while the kids are napping
- go to water aerobics
- have a bacon, basil and tomato sandwich for dinner
- snuggle with your 4 year old and fall asleep together

This is GUARANTEED to work!

:: Rhett Jackson ::

Oh my goodness!  A solid two weeks before his slated arrival, we welcomed the most wonderful soul into our family.  Rhett Jackson (previously referred to as Bambino, Little Bean, Baby, or Number Three) was born at 1:55pm on September 4th.  He weighed 7 pounds 7.8 ounces and was 20 1/2" long.  That's the short version.  Read on for the long version.

I love a good detail-y birth story.  Here's mine.  Well, not MY birth story.  It's Rhett's, actually.

It all started on a cold, dark night...forgive me, it's getting late as I'm writing this.  I woke up around 3:00am on the 4th and was having what felt like some cramping.  I figured it was some indigestion which was not very uncommon in my current state.  I kind of dozed off and on until about 3:30 when I went to bathroom.  Luckily, I had turned on the light and I was startled to find blood on the toilet paper...gasp!...bloody show!  Those "gas" pains took on new meaning!  There was no going back to sleep now.  I didn't want to get too excited - it seemed to me that bloody show didn't mean that labor was happening, only that the cervix was opening.  I read up on it in my What to Expect When You're Expecting book and sure enough, labor could be "anywhere from 1 to 3 weeks away...or a few hours."  A few hours!  What if?!?   I sent the following e-mail to my mom and sister.

hello!

it's 4 in the morning and i'm awake...not too unusual these days but...i'm bleeding a bit and my contractions are slightly uncomfortable and have been about 10 minutes apart for the last hour or so.  russell is asleep but i wanted to tell someone!  please pray that this is the real deal and if it isn't, i'm requesting a shipment of ben and jerry's and the big long version of pride and prejudice by tonight.

love to you both!
jenny 

I decided to take a shower.  That made the false contractions go away when I was pregnant with Anna.  After a nice long shower they were still going so I started timing and they were now 5 minutes apart.  I called the hospital at about 5:30 and they said I should come in.  Now Russell was up and I told him that today might be the day.  After the shock wore off he called the Barretts to ask Randy to run the show at the cannery for the day and Dawn to come watch the kids.  I called mom to let her know what we were up to (she and Marty were pretty excited) and by 6:30 we were at the hospital.  It was a gorgeous morning.  The sun was lighting the orchards with a beautiful pink hue. 

My contractions were getting stronger.  I couldn't walk through them and had to stop once in the parking lot.  At 6:45 the nurse checked me and I was dilated to a 1 1/2, 50% effaced.  I was a little disappointed.  I thought I'd be at a 3 or so.  It was unclear if I was going to stay.  I was praying that I'd have the baby that day.  I really didn't want to be at the house with the kids and having these uncomfortable contractions.  Dr. Faherty came in at at 7:50 and checked me again - I was at a 2 and still 50% effaced.  Lame.  But by this point the nurses had decided that I should stay.  Not so lame!  My sweet nurse - Mandy - tried twice to get a catheter into my arm.  No dice.  I really wanted to get into the tub so she decided to wait to see if warming up in the water would help her find a good vein.  I sat in the tub for about an hour - the contractions were getting stronger.  Definitely more painful. 

I was out of the tub at 10:40 and back in my room (which, by the way, was called "the Annex" and was part labor room and part office with a couple desks and computers.  Russell said if he got bored he'd start reading the Economist online.  Ha.) for some monitoring.  Mandy tried again to get the catheter in.  No luck.  She decided not to try again and instead called up a nurse from ER who was able to finally get it in.  It's over a week later now and I still have some nice bruises from the failed attempts.  Curse those tiny, squiggly veins of mine!  At 11:20 Mandy checked me and I was dilated to a 3.  A three?!?  I was heartbroken!  Why was this taking so long?  I went back into the tub for an hour.  The contractions were now really strong and I was out of breath after each one.  This was the real deal.  I remembered the pain like this from Grant and Anna. 

At 12:40 I was back in my room (I swear the walk from the room with the jacuzzi to my room got 10 times longer) and Dr. Faherty showed up to break my water as per my request.  At this point I was dilated to a 4.  Aaarrrggghhh!  The relief was immediate after he broke my water but as I would soon find out, only temporary.  What happened in the next hour was the most awful pain I've ever felt.  I can't even describe it and I was in no way prepared for it.  With Grant and Anna I was always able to stay on top of the contractions and in control.  Not so much with this one.  Being on my hands and knees seemed appealing so I flipped over and that helped a bit but I was literally crawling over the back of the bed when the contractions would hit.  Mandy brought in a birthing ball that I put between my chest and the bed so I had something to rest against in between contractions.  I mainly prayed for deliverance and kept telling myself that I could do it and that I could relax.  I was having a hard time believing myself.  Mandy kept checking me and I was almost to a 10 but Rhett's head was stuck under my cervix so I couldn't progress and couldn't push.  After what seemed like an eternity but was probably only a half an hour, Rhett's head finally moved, I was given the go-ahead to push.  That's all I needed.  Two hard pushes later, at 1:55pm, we had ourselves the most beautiful little BOY.  It was miraculous.  The relief was so wonderful and he was so healthy and perfect (aside from two huge bumps on his head, courtesy of my cervix) that the pain was quickly in the past and irrelevant to the day's events.  We had a son, a most wonderful gift from God.  Here was the soul we were now in charge of loving.  It was euphoric.

A few minutes later my mom arrived.  She was just getting off the freeway and into The Dalles when Russell called to tell her she had a new grandson.  I was actually kind of glad she wasn't there for the delivery.  No parent needs to see their kid in that kind of distress.  I was in a much better place when she walked in the room.  My blood-splattered feet were enough indication that it had been a little exciting in the moments before.  The hours that followed were filled with lots of baby admiring, phone calls, and the best turkey sandwich of my life.  Grant and Anna came later in the evening to meet their little brother.  They were pretty excited.  Especially Anna.  She was shaking and giggling when she first laid eyes on him.  My only regret of the day was not having a video camera for that moment of introduction.

grandma getting the spoiling started early

oh the joy!

oh the JOY!

After the kids left I looked at the clock and realized that the yoga class I like to attend was starting.  I had gone to yoga the week before and Susan, my instructor, asked that if I thought of it I should call during class and let them know I'd had the baby.  So I called and shared the exciting news.  Susan was relaying all the information to the class and I could here the cheers in the background.  Susan stopped by after class she told me they had dedicated the night's practice to me and the baby.  :)

Russell stayed the first night with me...on a creaky, uncomfortable recliner.  I couldn't get Rhett in and out of the bassinet because my bed was too low so he would get up every hour or so to hand him to me or put him back.  I will always love him more because of that.  Russell, you're seriously the most wonderful husband and father there could ever be.  I'm so blessed to be your wife.

I ended up staying two days in the hospital.  I only stayed one day with both Grant and Anna and was pretty stressed to leave so soon so I opted to stay an extra day this time.  Plus, with room service, in-room massages, and pain killers brought in every few hours, who wants to rush home?  Mom and Russell alternated time with me but I also had quite a bit of time with just Rhett.  My favorite time was early in the morning - I was tired but content to just lay in bed and admire my beautiful boy as the room was slowly lit by the sun.  I could hear the noises of the nurses moving about in the hallway but my own room was so quiet and peaceful.  It was just me and my little boy.  I could stroke his soft hair for hours, listening to his sweet breath move in and out, watching his gentle, sporadic newborn movements as he explored space outside the womb for the first time.  I also had ample opportunities for moments like that all through the night, due to the hospital helicopter making practice night landings on the pad that happened to be right outside my window.  That was pretty awesome.

The time finally came to go home and I was mostly ready to start our real life, complete with the excitement of Grant and Anna.  With a big, deep, brave breath I left the safe cocoon of the hospital and entered the unknown of being a mother of three.

 

the final stretch

Only a few more weeks to go.  Three more, give or take a few.  That means just about any time now.  It's really difficult to sit up straight - my side and back start to go into spasms which is super fun.  It's not too bad if I can recline a bit.  Unfortunately, we don't have a good set up for that so I end up laying on the couch or in bed when I want to be comfortable.  Of course, by back can only handle so much of that so I wiggle around a lot.  I'm sure I drive Russell crazy at night but he's never said a word (because he's awesome...and perhaps fears my wrath).  The baby often simulaneously pushes on my bladder and stomach so I feel like I'm going to pee my pants and throw up while I'm at it.  It's not all bad, though.  I do like this connection that only the baby and I have.  I don't have to share with anyone else.  I know when the baby is awake and asleep, when it has the hiccups, when it's moving it's head or kind of rolling around.  It really is a miraculous 45 months, being pregnant.  I also get to field great comments.  Like the recent one from Anna:

Russell was giving me a hug and Anna walked around the corner, saw what we were up to, and said, "Daddy!  Don't do that!  Mama's belly is too big!"

me and the bambino - and new specs!

day in the life 8.13.08

I thought it might be interesting to document a typical day before the dynamic of our family changes.  I've been finding myself mourning, in way, the impending loss of what I really love - life with Grant and Anna.  I'm sure that I'll look back at my current concern and laugh.  There is no way I could have known that adding Grant and then Anna would be so stinking wonderful.  There is no reason to think that the next addition will be anything but equally awesome.  But still, we're about to leave the known and I know that the known is really great.  So with a sentimental tear or two, here is the last installment of "life with a Grant and Anna."

5:30am:  Russell is up.  He leaves around 6, I think, for a day of canning peaches.  He gave me a kiss goodbye but I was barely awake.

6:30ish:  Grant wakes up and climbs into bed with me, accompanied by a big stack of library books.  He browses while I slowly come to life.

6:30-7:  I try to read my scriptures and Grant tries to tell me stories.  I can only hold him off for so long.

7ish:  After listening to a few stories (involving "wildlife that I shot with my gun"), I get out a puzzle for Grant and take my shower.  Today is Wednesday - clean the bathroom day.  I half-heartedly scrub the shower.

7:30:  Anna is up and both kids are outside checking chickens, riding bikes, etc.

8:00:  It's time for shakes (a multivitamin deal) and breakfast once a) Anna is dressed (Grant dressed himself awhile ago), b) her sheets are changed (an accident last night), and c) Grant makes his bed.  I've found that by doing breakfast AFTER the kids get dressed and make their beds, it's way more likely that those two tasks will happen.  For breakfast we had homemade granola, blueberries, and milk.  I can tell that Anna is done when she starts rubbing her spoon through her hair.

8:30-10:  Various events...read a book to the kids, do dishes, get out another puzzle for Grant, put on some tunes for the kids (today's choice is Raffi), refill the honey jar, Anna zones out with her blanket and thumb, Grant works on further backyard excavations, read another book to the kids.

anna in the zone

grant in his hole

10-1:15:  Time for an outing.  We head over to a friend of mine's - she's also pregnant but not feeling so well.  We make playdough and then I take her to a chiropractic appointment, bring her back, and then run to the store for her.  In the meantime, the kids stay at her house (supervised, of course) and play with playdough and toys, and run around outside chasing butterflies and caterpillars.  I return and we all pick a bunch of zucchini, cukes, and basil from her huge, beautiful garden.

1:15:  Lunchtime!  A quick meal - PB and honey and a Gallicum melon.  We'd never tried one before.  It's a cross between a cantaloupe and honeydew...delish!!  The kids are hot and tired which translates in loads of energy and volume - especially for Grant.

1:45:  Naptime.  Ahhhhh.  Both kids are out without much noise.  I struggle for awhile with how I should spend the quiet time.  Make pesto? Sew some diapers? Sit down and ice my back?  I decided to sit down and take care of my back for a bit and then worked on a diaper.

the basil

3:45:  Both kids are up.  A kind of long nap for Grant and a kind of short one for Anna.  It's Anna's turn to choose the after nap video - she selects Bob the Builder which gives me about 40 minutes during which I manage to finish the diaper I was working on.

4:45-6:45:  The kids play outside.  They are vastly entertained by filling with water the huge hole Grant has been digging.  At first I thought about redirecting their activity but then I decided that "what the heck - it's a hot day and in all honesty, wouldn't it be a blast to just play in the mud?"  I didn't play in the mud myself, but instead watched the process off an on as I made a couple big batches of pesto.



7:00:  Dinner - pesto, of course!  Russell is running late so we uncharacteristically ate without him.  After a long day of playing, the kids are ravenous and eat several helpings.

7:45:  Russell is home, very fleetingly.  I am feeling worn to the bone and he takes pity on me and bathes the kids and gets them into their jammies before he heads off to a meeting.

8:00:  Russell leaves and I put the kids to bed after scriptures and prayers.  I collapse on the couch, sadly noting the prominence of my new cankles.

And that, dear readers, is a rundown of life with Grant and Anna.  Without the soundtrack.  You should thank me for that.  Although you would have a volume control and I would pay good money for something like that on any given day around here.  But I think in a few years I just might miss the chaos.  And hot, dirty bodies that come running inside bringing the smell of summer with them.  And the earnest gift of a handful of flowers with absolutely no stems.  Yes, the days are loud and full.  And I'm hungry for more.  

14 days

Well, 12 I guess.  My doctor's appointment on Thursday went well.  I plead my case about the serious nesting, low-riding baby, and amazing pressure during contractions and my doctor decided to run a test to see if labor was immediately imminent.  Apparently, a visual check isn't terribly accurate because women's bodies vary so much.  Also, since this is my third baby I could be dilated a cm or two and it wouldn't mean much.  So he did a quick swab of the cervix to check for fetal fibronectin - a substance that connects the amniotic sac to the uterus.  If the substance is detected, there has been a disturbance between the two and pre-term labor is more likely.  If the test is negative, there is a very, very low risk of delivering in the next two weeks.  My test was negative.  That means I've got two weeks of green lights ahead of me!  What a gift! As for the intense contractions, baby is riding ultra-low and there is just a lot of pressure when the Braxton-Hicks hit.  I feel so much better knowing that everything is normal and I will more than likely deliver right around my due date.  And with regard to the nesting, my mom is coming over on Tuesday and staying until the weekend...the list is long for all the projects I'd like to get done.  THANK YOU MOM!!!  YOU'RE THE BEST!!!  

7-ish months

Or is it 8?  I am so confused with how to calculate gestation.  40 weeks don't line up with 9 months - so are you 9 months pregnant for an entire month or do you reach your ninth month when you deliver?  If it's the former, I'm 7 1/2 months pregnant.  If the latter, I'm 8 1/2.  Whatever.  I've got about 6 weeks to go - give or take a few.  I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow that I'm looking forward to.  I would like to be checked for dilation/effacement...just to put my mind at ease.  I've been having quite a few contractions, especially in the evenings.  Nothing too painful but the baby has dropped (ahhhh - deep breaths again!) so the contractions feel like they are squeezing the kid right on out.  I am also experiencing some serious nesting instincts.  I am very driven to get all the loose ends tied up.  We got home from our trip to the coast on Sunday and on Monday I was clearing out some bedroom furniture and re-organizing the closet so we'll have room for the crib.  We've decided to use cloth diapers so yesterday I was getting fabric for those.  Today I'm trying to finish some dresses for Anna.  It's like I'm racing against my body that keeps trying to deliver this kid in the living room.  I'll probably go past my due date but I can't help these impulses!

Last night was my last time teaching yoga until January.  It was definitely time to be done.  It's getting harder and harder to do the poses which isn't a problem for a personal practice - there are all kinds of modifications I can do - but when I'm the instructor, especially for a beginner's class, and the students are watching me for proper form...well it's been kind of ugly lately.  I have to laugh when we're doing a forward fold, let's say, and I will talk it through with legs together but there is no physical way I can do it without my legs spread so I just modify for myself, then I'll look up and everyone has their legs apart.  Multiply this for nearly every other pose and, well, it's time to turn in the teacher's mat. 

On a different note, Grant and I were in bed this morning looking at an animal magazine he gets every month (thanks Grandma Jody!).  There was a picture of a snail in the front that he was intrigued by.  Later that morning Grant got out the playdough and made this...

I feel like a braggy parent but, come on!  This is pretty awesome!

my favorite game

Catch up!  I can't seem to post on regular basis to save my soul.  Here is a round-up of the events in the last couple of weeks, complete with visual illustration.

Oh yes!  Food!  i am so grateful that morning sickness only lasts for the first trimester.  My appetite is nice and healthy these days.  Probably a little too healthy.  I feel like if I'm not eating, I'm thinking about eating, or thinking about how I shouldn't have eaten what I just ate.  This was a delish pizza - brie, proscuitto, and arugula.  A crazy combo but we had arugula in our CSA box and this looked awfully good in the cookbook (Blue Eggs and Yellow Tomatoes).  It was heavenly.  As was the sausage and fennel pizza we also had that night.  That one didn't look as pretty so it didn't make it onto the blog but it certainly lives on in our memories.  At least mine.

Why yes, that would be THREE carseats in the back of our car.  I put the infant seat in to see if they could all fit.  They do...barely.  I started to cry when I realized that i will be hauling around three children who are young enough to all need carseats.  How is this going to work? 

We had a pretty mellow but fun Fourth of July.  Russell was canning that day so he didn't get home until later in the evening.  We had my sister and our good buddies, the Wilcoxes over for burgers and pie.  We sat around outside chatting and enjoying the lovely warm weather until it got dark enough to set some things on fire.  Grant and Anna loved the snakes - the little black pellets you light and they grow into a snake-like pile of carbon.  The Pop-its were also a huge hit.  The show stealers, though, were the sparklers.  They thought they were incredible.  Anna, however, managed to burn a decent hole in her face by scratching her cheek with the lit sparkler.  At least that's what it seemed like she was trying to do.  We got her fixed up and she was right back in the fray, running around with her sparkler.  She kept it away from her face the second time.

watching the snakes grow

fun with sparklers