Happy birthday, Tristan!!

We welcomed our sweet little Tristan Bruce George into the world in the wee hours of Monday morning, 5/17/10 at 12:28am. He weighed 7lbs, 5oz and was 20.5 inches long. We fell in love immediately!!

We are loving life with our new little man. He is such a blessing and wonderful addition to our new family! We are loving every moment with him and cannot believe that our lives didn't involve him just eight days ago!

We are still deciding who exactly he looks like. When I saw him for the first time, I was blown away by how much he looked like my baby pictures! I didn't think he would look so much like me as a newborn. I thought for sure he would look much more like his daddy. But, I know newborns change so much and he is not done growing into what he will look like. Brian has already said that he has changed at least four times since he was born!

Here are a few pictures of our little man:

One of the first family photos - Tristan, 12 hours old!

Proud new Uncle T!

Proud Grandpa!

G'ma & G'pa George & Grama Candy & Papa!!

Lovely Grama Candy with her sleeping grandsons!!

Admiring the adorable Tristan!

Daddy & son exhausted after some memorable days!

He loves to fall asleep in the funniest positions! (Two days old)


And now for the birth story... (Just to warn you, it's pretty long!!) All I can say, is that nothing about his birth went the way I thought it would. As a planner, I thought I knew exactly how things would play out. Oh, how I was mistaken :) 1)He would come early, before his due date, 2) I would go into labor in the middle of the night and we would go to the hospital and have him the next day, 3) I would be in labor for 6-8 hours, much like my Mom's story with me. Well, here is how it really went:

As I mentioned in my previous post, I went over my due date and had to be induced on Saturday night, 5/15 (#1 idea didn't happen). We went into Providence Hospital at 8pm and immediately started the induction process, a 12 hour induction medicine. Our doctor told us it probably wouldn't put us into labor that night, but would definitely get us started. So, Brian and I settled in for a good night's sleep as my contractions started mildly.

The next morning, things still hadn't progressed very far, so I was given something else to start the labor process (thus, #2 above didn't come true). This time it was a three hour medicine, sure to start things. After not much happening, our doctor then decided that we needed to start Pitocin. That is when things definitely started happening, and fast!


Traci and Dresel visiting before the Pitocin started!

Lincoln also stopped by for a visit and immediately wanted to jump into bed with me!

After feeling contractions for three hours and realizing that I couldn't go any longer, an epidural was much needed! I had heard what Pitocin does to a body, but didn't fully realize the intensity until I experienced it for myself - WOW!! Getting the epidural was the hardest part of the whole experience. Not feeling the shot itself, but having to still myself through three contractions while getting the shot. By the point of getting the epidural, I was in so much pain that I couldn't control my body from shaking and moving. Holding still and being calm was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. But, getting the epidural helped out in so many ways!!! Moral of the epidural story - if you think you're going to get one, don't wait as long as I did! I wanted to see how long I could go, but should have gotten the epidural a long time before then!!

First of all, it gave me the release from pain that I was hoping for. Secondly, it allowed my body to relax enough that I went from 3cm to 9 1/2cm right away! I was shocked that it happened that quickly! We immediately called the parents and told them he was coming soon! Oh, how I was mistaken once again:)

My body wasn't quite ready to start pushing yet, so we waited about three hours until it was ready. Meanwhile, I enjoyed the pain-free time and tried to relax. But I also felt bad that all of our family had been called and were in the waiting room, hoping for good news soon! I also had it set in my mind that he would be born on the 16th. But alas, birth doesn't always follow a plan, which I should have figured out by then!

At 10pm, we were told that it was time to push. We called my mom in for extra support and were so excited to meet the little man soon! But, we weren't prepared for what would happen over the next two hours.

As much as he wanted to come and meet us, there were many complications that stood in the way. First of all, he was ready to come, but his head wouldn't fit all the way due to my "crooked" birth canal. Secondly, with every push, his heart rate would drop dramatically. And thirdly, the doctors discovered that there was meconium in utero that could be making him sick. They also discovered that I had a high fever, maybe due to the all the stress that our little man was experiencing.

So, after two hours of pushing, they decided that a C-section was needed. Immediately, I was wheeled into an operating room. During this whole time, I was extremely out of it, exhausted and by that point didn't care how he came into the world, as long as he was healthy and okay.

At 12:28 am, after only a few minutes in the OR, Tristan was born! My first glimpse of him from across the room was complete adoration! My first thoughts were - I couldn't believe how big he was (although he measured on the average side), I was so thankful for how "normal" he looked considering everything he went through and I also couldn't believe how much he looked like me!

After he was born, the doctors realized that his umbilical cord was wrapped around his head, which made for his heart rate dropping. Another good reason for the C-section! They immediately took him to have blood work done in case he had ingested meconium. They put him on antibiotics through an IV in his hand (poor guy), just in case, although a few days later the results came back that everything was okay!

What an experience! Although it sounds so traumatic, in the end I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. As crazy as it sounds, I'm thankful for the experience of going through labor the way I did. I guess I got to experience the best of both worlds! But my doctor did tell me that my body is not designed to go through that again and next time we will schedule a C-section from the beginning!!

Surprise, surprise!!

Yesterday was definitely a day of surprises! First off, my friend Traci invited me to lunch since she said she was taking a much needed "hooky" day off from work. It worked out perfectly since I had my doctor's appt at 1:20. I was also looking forward to putting "real" clothes on again since my outfit of choice lately has been black workout pants with black workout zippered hoody. Not that I've really been using the outfit to workout in, it's been more of a can't-find/fit-into-anything-else kind of outfit :) As we were sitting down to lunch, around the corner pops up one of my bestest friends from college/roommate for many years, Dresel! She had been planning a surprise visit from Southern California for weeks and had been able to keep it from me!!! I was so shocked because usually I can read into things or figure out if someone is trying to plan a surprise (for example, my engagement :). It was definitely the best surprise anyone has ever done for me!!!! She had originally planned to come into town to meet the little guy, choosing this weekend since she thought he'd already be here. But since he wasn't, it actually turned out really well because we had the best day/night together hanging out!


Us girls at our "surprise" lunch. (Uggghhh - I hate these pics of me right now!!)


After lunch, I went to my doctor's appointment and found out some other (kind of) surprising news - that we should be induced soon. I knew the conversation was coming since I was almost a week late, but still it kind of shocked me at how real it all was. Our doctor basically told us we could choose our day, although she had some plans next week where she wouldn't be available. Since she was on-call this weekend, we could do it as early as Saturday. Since I still wasn't as far along as I should be, I would have to go in the night before to get things going, even though everything wouldn't really start until the next day. (I guess the 3 mile walk, followed by acupuncture on Wednesday along with the spicy food and pineapple on Thursday, didn't really help to motivate things.) After a lot of thought, we decided it would be best to go in Saturday night. So, tonight it's going to be!!! WOW!!!

After our appt, we met up later that night with (surprise, surprise again :) all my girlfriends and significant others for happy hour at a cute little place on Mississippi St. It was so nice to see everyone and to be able to hang out with so many close friends!! I joked around that this was our last night as a "single couple" so we should live it up as much as possible, which we did until the wee hours of 11:30 :) I also said this was like another bachelorette/bachelor party for us, since the next time we all hang out we'll have another little guy in our lives. It was such a perfect Portland, spring evening and a wonderful time spent with amazing friends!!!

Group shot of all of us girls at Casa de Naranja on Mississippi St. (minus Lyndsey)

Full group shot of all of us

The last night as the "single couple". Tomorrow starts a whole new chapter in our lives!

After all this celebrating, now it's time to bring our little guy into the world!!! The grandparents have been called and are making their way here to help welcome him into our family very soon!!

Happy Mother's Day (and Due Date Day!)

I am happy to report that all of our to-do lists are done!! And perfect timing that they were all accomplished by 11am on Saturday. It allowed us to enjoy the beautiful, spring weekend!

After completing our lists, Brian decided it would be the perfect opportunity to go for his first 10 mile run (which ended up to be 11 miles!) I joked with him that if little guy decided to come that night, Brian would be too sore to be supportive. He would most likely have to sit down during the whole experience while icing his knees/calves/feet. I decided to go the opposite route with my afternoon and take advantage of my sister-in-law's offer and get acupuncture to hopefully speed things along. I am really hoping this will help motivate the little guy to start the process! We then met up with friends for dinner - it was my first time "dressing up" and not wearing sweats in over a week! After dinner, I was still feeling energized, so we decided to meet up with other friends at a BBQ. I think many people were surprised to see us out the night before D-Day!

Since today was both our first Mother's Day and Due Date Day, we really wanted to make it memorable. Brian started the morning by giving me my first Mother's Day present - a locket to put future pictures of our little guy in! I can't wait to be able to do that soon! After a leisurely morning (because we didn't have any more things to check off our lists!), we took advantage of another beautiful day and headed downtown with the doggies for a walk along the waterfront. I think everyone in Portland had the same idea as us as the walkways and grasses were packed with people, strollers and pets! After we navigated the crowds, we then decided that walking was another good way to get things rolling and met up for round 2 with Trav, Bridg & Lincoln on the opposite side of the river. I haven't had this much physical activity in a long time! And Brian was such a trooper considering how sore he was from the day before! We then finished up our Mother's Day with a BBQ at Trav & Bridg's. Gotta love this beautiful spring weather!


Beautiful Portland day!


Walking along the waterfront. I am only holding both of them for the photo opp. I could barely hold on to Bella - every time she saw a bird/person/dog/frisbee, it felt like she was going to pull my arm and the little guy right from my body! Needless to say, Brian ended up with both of them :)


This is what it really looked like on our walk. Brian is much better at man-handling them than I am - especially in my "fragile" state right now :)

Well, our due date has come and almost gone, and still no sign of the little man. Even after acupuncture and a long walk! Maybe tomorrow? We shall see!

Lovin' the maternity leave!

Ahhhh...maternity leave! Or, as I like to call it, my mini-summer break before little guy makes his appearance. I am happily enjoying the first day of my official first full week off. Last Tuesday was my last day with my class and it was nice to have three days off at the end of the week. I told everyone who asked what I was doing with my time off, that I had a week's worth of to-do lists. If he could wait until I was finished, then I would be set! But of course on my first day off, instead of accomplishing my Wednesday list, I took a three hour nap instead - should have put that on my day's schedule!

I have also had a few false alarms within the last week. In fact, the first one was on my last day with my kids. I have had to go in twice a week for the last few weeks to get a non-stress test (where they chart his movements, heartbeat, etc.) and get an ultrasound. Since I have high blood pressure, they just want to monitor him and make sure everything is okay. I had to go in to the hospital for this check-up on Saturday, 4/24, and then was asked to go back on Tuesday, 4/27. Since I didn't know this was going to be a 2/weekly event and wasn't able to talk to our doctor about why I had to go back, I thought we were going to be induced after the appt! So, we packed our hospital bags and prepared ourselves to have a baby that day! Of course we get to the apppointment, and they tell us he sounds great! What a relief - but then I had to change my mind-frame and realize that I was not having a baby that day and needed to go back and teach for the afternoon! I was actually relieved because it would have made me sad to not have been able to spend my last day with my class. And my to-do lists weren't done yet!!


On our way to the hospital last Tuesday, but also dressed for the last day of school. Wasn't sure if this would be baby's birth day or my last day in Pre-K! (We thought this may be the last family photo opp without the little guy. Apparently B&B weren't as excited about this picture opportunity as I was :)

My second false alarm was last Saturday when I woke up thinking my water may have broken. Since I had been experiencing pre-labor pains for the last 24 hours, I thought maybe this was it! But I had a hair appointment to go to that day!! Since I wasn't experiencing any contractions, I decided I still wanted to go to the appt. We packed up our bags again, and Brian took me to get my hair done. Oh, the things we do for beauty, right?! We spent the rest of the day on stand-by while running errands. But it turns out, it was nothing more than a false alarm. We go back in for another non-stress test tomorrow, so we'll see how things are still going. I'm sure there will be a few more false alarms before the little guy arrives! Until then, I'll keep chipping away at those lists and hope we'll be somewhat ready for him to come home!

Meet baby Logan Conaway!

Erin and Dasan welcomed their little guy, Logan Conaway, on 4/14/10 (a whole week early!) He is adorable and looks just like his daddy! I cannot wait for him and our little guy to meet each other soon!!


All of us girls at another Hospital Happy Hour to welcome an amazing little man into the world!


Auntie Lo holding baby Logan. Mama Erin did such a great job!


Falks holding the precious little guy.


Ali and sweet little Aubrey - hard to believe she is already over 3 months old!

One month to go - let the countdown begin!

It's hard to believe that our due date is exactly one month from today! (Or at least it was when I first started this post - now we only have three weeks left - yikes!!)

I am definitely thankful for the lack of problems I've had with this pregnancy. I have really enjoyed this experience and the bonding time my little guy and I have had over the last 9 months or so. It wasn't until recently that I really started having any problems, but at least my body waited until the end! After many doctors, appointments and sleepless, itchy nights, I was finally told that I have PUPPPs and dermatitis - pregnancy-related, super-itchy rashes all over my body!!! The combination of these two things is so awful!!! I've had them for about a month but wasn't diagnosed with them until less than a few weeks ago. I don't think either will really go away until after he is born, so until then, I have to endure many sleepless, scratchy nights. At least I only have a few weeks left until my maternity begins! And, to top it off and probably related to the fact that I'm not sleeping, I also have high blood pressure. I now have to monitor it daily and check in with the doctor if it goes over a certain amount. At least I didn't have to experience all this from the beginning!!! There, now I'm done whining. To end on a good note, I've noticed that my seasonal allergies that usually cause me to constantly sneeze and irritate my eyes for months at this time of year, has pretty much been non-existent!! I've had the worst allergies since I can remember, so this has been a nice break!! It's amazing what pregnancy can do to a body!!


Belly shot at 37 weeks (sorry, it's a little weird with my head cut off, but it's hard to find a full body pic that I like :)

March/April showers to get us ready for our May baby!

We have been very fortunate to have many generous people in our lives who have blessed us with so many great baby items over the last few months! It's been nice to know so many people who have had boys over the last few years (Lincoln, Eli, and even a family from school). We already felt like we had a lot of what we needed before our showers, but were surprised at how many more things we received (and then realized we needed, too)!


Brian a little overwhelmed with all the baby stuff BEFORE the showers!! (This is supposed to be the nursery - notice the weight set still set up amongst the baby items :)

I don't even know where to begin...we have the best friends, family, work friends/families ever!! It all started when my school put on a surprise celebration for Kevin (a fellow first-time-parent teacher) and I. The staff got us both a personalized memory box for our little ones, complete with messages and blessings for our new families. It also doubles as a money bank and was filled with money for the new additions. I love the idea of this memory box and would love to give it as a gift to a future expectant family!




Then that weekend, Brian had his own celebration with a diaper party that his friends threw for him. Clint was generous enough to host a party in his honor at his house. And his significant other, Sarah, was nice enough to allow 15 guys to invade their house with an all day/night diaper party, just weeks after they finished the remodel of their bathroom and kitchen! She has way more patience and trust than I would - thanks Sarah!! In the Evite, Clint told all the guys that we will be using Fuzzibunz, a great brand of cloth diapers that Trav & Bridg recommended to us. Of course, being the guys they are, I think all they read on the Evite was the part that said "What: Party for Brian / Where: Clint's house / When: 3/19/10" The "Why" part wasn't much of a priority. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful for the 5 out of 15 guys who brought disposable diapers, but I give extra kudos to Sam who was the only one who actually brought Fuzzibunz. But, I think the real kudos goes to his wife, Jenna, who read the fine print!! At least the rest of the party was a success - corn hole tournament, dude sleepover, etc - I guess that's the part that counts the most! It was almost like a Pre-Baby Bachelor party!!

The next weekend, Falkie hosted my friend/family shower. It was great to have so many close friends and family members there to celebrate! My mom was even able to come down from Seattle and Brian's mom was able to come over from Montana. It was a wonderful way to spend an afternoon with all the important people in our lives! I couldn't believe how many more baby goodies we got - it was hard to imagine where I was going to put all of these items (see above pic :) Some of my girlfriends heard what had happened with the diaper party and were able to make up for our lack of Fuzzibunz - I think he's set now! And my mom, aunt and good family friend, Sandy, were generous enough to help us out with getting our crib and dresser. And Brian's sister and mom got my Petunia Picklebottom dream diaper bag. We really lucked out!


Trac, Falks, Jenna & Lawrence -
These girls helped put on a wonderful shower!


Good friends Candice & Shannon!


Mama-to-be with Grama Candy & Grandma George!


Trac, Erin, Falks, Jenna & Lyndsey


Opening some Fuzzibunz diapers!


Ang's sweet Haylee & Ali's precious Aubrey - love how their outfits match!!


Even Lincoln came to celebrate!


Three preggo ladies - Erin (37 weeks), me (34 weeks), Lo (24 weeks)


I wish we could have gotten a group shot of everyone, but here are some of the girls who made this day special!

If I didn't feel loved enough already from the generosity of those closest to us, I felt it even more when my Pre-K class threw me a shower as well. There was no way it (or the presents) were going to be a surprise, but any time they talked about it, I always pretended I wasn't listening. Most of the moms came in a little early and decorated our classroom to look like a baby shower - complete with streamers, balloons, flowers and baby shower games. It was so adorable, I left the decor up for weeks afterward! They all chipped in to get me a gift certificate so that we can buy our BOB stroller - yea!!! I can't wait to use it this summer and think of their kindness! They also wrote a book of advice for "Mr. George" and I about what to do with the new baby. Here are a few excerpts to give an idea of how precious they are - "Make sure not to let him drink from the dog bowl." "Feed the baby applesause and noodles and spaghetti so it's easy to slurp." "Let him sleep really long. Really, really long." I'm so glad I will have this collection as a way to remember them and this experience!!







Our attempt at a class pic - they were much more interested in the balloons!


A page from the Advice Book they made for me :)

And last but not least, my wonderful teacher friends also arranged a baby celebration for me at Jenny Lindsay's house. It was so great to spend non-school time with them and have a chance to spend the quality time together. Especially since they have been such a wonderful support system all year long. They are the ones who listen to the excitement, worries and sometimes even preggo complaints that I may have each day! They have been there for me every step of the way and it was a nice way to celebrate this time with such wonderful friends! We all decided that we shouldn't use a baby as an excuse to get together - we need to do it on a more regular basis!

As shown by our wonderful friends and family, this baby is definitely loved!!! I am so excited for him to grow up with these amazing people and know that he is an important part of all of our lives! Now we only have a few more weeks until we can meet him and continue to show him the same kind of love and support for many more years to come!!