We had the baby!

Josh holding Jayden

Me and Jayden

Big sister wanting in on the baby action

Dr. Herman and baby

Our horrible attempt at a family picture at the hospital. It's a good thing that my folks were there and captured better ones that I can copy later!

The stork has arrived!! Late Sunday night I went into labor, so we hurried to the hospital thinking that we'd have only milliseconds before baby's arrival. I delivered the girls in record time so we figured that baby #3 would be no different. But we were wrong!! This little feller took nearly twice as long and lots of pitocin to come out. I guess it goes to show you that every pregnancy and delivery is different and that you really can't compare them.

Our good friend Rachelle came over and crashed on the futon to be with the girls so we could go to the hospital at 1:20 a.m. Talk about good friends who are willing to get out of bed and come over in the middle of the night!

By the time we got to the hospital my contractions were 3 minutes apart but then they gradually got further apart and less strong. I was so confused and a little frustrated. Josh and I got a couple hours of interrupted sleep before the doc came in around 8 a.m. to say that he'd break my waters around 10 a.m. and start an epidural at that point. (I gotta say, as frustrating as it was to have a labor that had been starting and stopping for days up 'til that point, it was really nice to be at the hospital with ample time for an epidural!!)

So that's what we did. He broke the waters and I got an epidural around 10. That still didn't get labor progressing very well so then they gave me some pitocin...and then some more pitocin...and then a little bit more. Hey, I didn't care, though! I wasn't feeling any of it!

Now this next part is the craziest thing of all. As a woman giving birth, I almost feel guilty for saying it. But after all that, I was so comfortable that I (and Josh over on the easy chair) actually nodded off for a quick nap! Yeah. I know. I'm serious. I NAPPED during the active and transition stages of my labor. I know. I know!! You can say it. I HATE YOU JOLIE.
Anyway, if you still like me at this point, read on...

Around 1:20 p.m. my doctor returned, checked me, and said, "You're ready to go!!" I could hardly believe him. I was fully dialated and efaced and I didn't even feel it. Man. Drugs are a gift from God above. Truly. Then he said, "Let's push this baby out!!"

At this point Josh woke up to a room full of people and the announcement that it was "go time". I pushed about 4 times and he was out!!!! When he came out we realized why the labor wasn't progressing very well. His position was posterior. In other words, he came out "sunny side up" instead of face down. So it's a great thing that I was all drugged up.

For about 8 months of the pregnancy we felt certain that we'd name this baby Jacob. But near the end we had a stupor of thought you could say and started thinking of other names. We really liked the name Jayden so we thought that we'd keep both names in mind when deciding what to name him. It still took us all day Monday to reach a verdict, but we decided that he seems more like a Jayden than a Jacob. He has lots of dark brown hair, long fingers, and is the spittin' image of Josh's dad!! He's healthy and beautiful, so we are filled with gratitude and love to add him to our family. We love you baby Jayden!!

Jayden Glen Ramsey
born Monday, Sept. 1, 2008
1:39 p.m.
7 lbs, 4 oz.
18.5 in.

Fun with Friends

Before my family stopped interacting with the outside world when I went on bedrest a few days ago, we actually did stuff with other people. Here's proof!!

About a week ago we got to watch Taya for a while. Taya and Jaclyn were born days apart and they played together really well! Here they are sharing some cereal while Jaclyn showed Taya a book.

This past weekend was a HOT one in Ellensburg. It got up to 102 on Saturday so we had Dustin and Lore and their son, Dalan, come over so the kids could play in the pool.

This is a bittersweet picture of Tiffany and Jeremy. It was taken on one of their last evenings in Ellensburg before they moved to Moses Lake. The bums!! ;-) They held a big ol' BBQ at a local park as kind of a going away bash. Josh, me and the girls have grown to LOVE them over the past four years and we already miss them so much. Joanna adores Jeremy and lit up whenever we'd announce that we were going over to their house.

Bedrest

Last night around 8 p.m. life threw a curve ball at us. I started having contractions and other signs of labor! I couldn't believe it at first 'cause I'm only 35 weeks along. But I went in to the hospital to get checked out. They hooked me up to every gizmo they had, and sure enough, I was in pre-term labor. So they had me stay the night for observation while they monitored the baby and my contractions. Good news is, the baby is just fine. His heartrate is normal and he passed the stress test with flying colors. Bad news is, I'm on meds to stop the contractions and have been put on bedrest until at least 37 weeks when my doc said that he'll let "nature take its course".

At least I only have to be on bedrest for 10 days or so. I've only been confined to bed for one day so far and I'm already going nuts! I feel so lazy and helpless. And the meds make me feel really jittery and anxious, like I've just downed 6 cups of coffee in 15 minutes. They make me stammer over my words, make my hands shake and my heart race. Fun fun!! I do feel grateful, however, that this will be short-lived. I can deal with this for a week or so. I now feel so sorry for those women who have to be on bedrest and on meds for months at a time. I'd go insane!

You know, this whole time I always thought that "bedrest" meant that you could just lounge in bed with your feet up and read, work on crafts, etc. But apparantly not. It means laying down the whole time, only getting up to eat and use the bathroom. Aaaaahhhh!!!!
But I want a healthy baby more than anything so I know that it's worth it. Josh has assumed the role of "Mr. Mom". He's been doing everything today and will do the same tomorrow, the day after that, and the day after that....We now have a bet going on to see who, at the end of this pregnancy, will be the more insane person; he or I. He for having to do everything or me for having to do nothing! Time will tell.

We'll keep ya'll updated. Please keep us in your prayers so that this baby won't come too early.

Calm Before the Storm

*Warning*: Novel ahead

I am calling these next few weeks of our lives "the calm before the storm." And rightfully so. Summer classes are OVER, Josh graduated (but is still job hunting) and we have nothing to do except for enjoy our last full month of summer and await Jacob's soon-approaching arrival. Then life as we know it will, I'm sure, return to "cyclone mode".

I took 13 summer credits from June 16 to July 25 and that was one of the craziest things I've ever done! I took an online class called Culture and Marriage which was super interesting. I learned a ton about marriage in different societies and cultures. For instance, did you know that among the Vanatinai of the South Pacific, unmarried couples can sleep together, but until they intend to move their relationship "to the next level" they do not eat together separately from their family or other kin. The couple is considered to be married when the new husband stays the night with his bride and she cooks him breakfast the next morning! (An interesting difference in our culture’s/religion’s beliefs about “taking a relationship to the next level.”)
So there ya go ladies. In some cultures, the surest way to a man's heart IS through his stomach!! hahaha
(sheesh. If that were the case in our culture, I'd be an old maid for life! It wasn't until I got married and had a family that I forced myself to learn to cook! Josh would have taken one bite of my morning-after, homemade breakfast and bolted out the door, never to be heard from again.)

I also took a Law and Justice class about Family Law where I learned all about divorce, child custody, visitation rights, and annulments...every day it was like going from one extreme to the next. First I'd learn about the glorious institution of marriage and how various cultures celebrate love and integrate family into society. Then I'd go to Family Law class at 10:30 and learn about what happens when it all goes to pot, families are torn apart and husband and wife duke it out in the court room. Yikes.

My third class was a philosophy class called Intro to Logic. To my right-brained mind, this gen ed class turned out to be anything but LOGICAL! I mean, really. I've taken chemistry, organic chem, nutrition, anatomy, and physiology classes before and done quite well in them, but then I go and sign up for this philosophy 201 class and learned that: Jolie's brain + logic = silly putty. It was like giving Kryptonite to Superman. My brain just couldn't wrap itself around anything that prof talked about all quarter. But oh well. What knowledge I did walk away with from that course was that I am a very ILLOGICAL person and that my brain is apparently in backwards. :-P

But enough about me. Let's talk about the rest of the fam for a minute. For two weeks--yes, count them--TWO weeks out of that 6-week summer quarter, Josh and the girls ditched me to go on vacation. (I would’ve gone but obviously I had to be here for school.) First they went to Burley, ID to see his grandma Ramsey before she left on her second mission. After a couple days there they pressed on to the great Salt Lake valley where they stayed with Karen and Kevin (his folks) for what turned out to be a two-week excursion. The original plan was to stay "only" one week, but then near the end of that first week Josh called me and said that he wanted more time there. I reluctantly responded yes to his request. I about died without them for that long!

You know, since parenthood for me began nearly 3 years ago, I’ve experienced dozens of fleeting moments of fantasizing about having the house all to myself for a couple days without any children or even, yes, husband around. (Sorry sweetie, I love you to pieces, but everybody needs "me time" every now and then!) I'd day dream about all I'd do with that quiet time spent in solitude. I'd read a book for pleasure for hours, uninterrupted. I'd catch up on scrapbooking projects, baby book and journal writing, and other half-finished projects around the house. I’d sing to my music and not hold anything back, watch a few chick flicks without worrying about Josh teasing me for being such a cheese ball, and eat fruit loops for dinner at, like, 9 p.m., because hey. I could!

To be honest, the first few days of their absence were heavenly. It really was nice to get up to an alarm clock at 8 a.m.; not by the sound of starving children at 6 a.m.! And the silence was eerily pleasant. But after about day 3, it SUCKED with a capital S. Seriously. The fantasy was over. I really wanted my family back! And then when Josh called to announce that they’d be away for an extra week, I about broke down in tears. My mom was able to come and hang out with me for a few days the first week and that was so nice. We chatted each other’s ears off, went out to dinner, and watched “Definitely, Maybe” (A MUST SEE LADIES! If you haven’t seen it yet, go rent it!) . She was also a HUGE help with all my projects around the house. We stained my bed frame, rearranged my bedroom, hauled a bunch of stuff to our storage unit, and organized the kids’ rooms. But when she left I still had an entire week solo mio. It was, well, weird! If I think about it, I haven’t been alone for that long in nearly 7 years! (5 years of marriage plus 18 months on a mission.) There were times when I didn't know what to do with myself because nobody needed me. I didn't have to take care of anybody or fix anybody food. WEIRD. ;-D

I kept super busy by studying and researching so I did have that to distract me. I also scoured the house from top to bottom and man, did that feel gratifying! I'm a bit of a clean freak so it was nice to have the house immaculate, if only for a couple of weeks. I organized EVERYTHING we own, threw away lots of junk and made at least 4 trips to the Goodwill. I also surprised Josh by giving our bedroom an “extreme makeover”. Before our bedroom felt more like a dorm room. Our comforter set was a putrid color of army green and everything from the lamp to the wall treatments was mismatched. So while he was gone I ordered a gorgeous ivory colored comforter set with a bunch of throw pillows to go with it. I was so proud of myself, too, because I found the set on Bed, Bath and Beyond for super expensive, did some digging online and found the exact same set from some online bedding outlet store for nearly half the price! Go me. Then I bought some sheer curtains and a cool-looking curtain rod to cover up our ugly blinds. I hung candle sconces on either side of the window and hung a floral wreath above the bed. My mom actually made the wreath! We went to Michael’s hoping to just buy one that matched my new “motif” but they didn’t have anything I liked. So we selected a bunch of silk flowers and greenery to make our own. I was going to help make it, but when we got home that day from shopping in Yakima I was exhausted so I laid down for a nap. When I woke up she had already finished it. It turned out amazing! I love our room now. It actually feels like a bedroom for one, but it looks so much more romantic, relaxing, and inviting. Ooo-la-la.

Josh and the girls had lots of fun in Utah. They went to Lagoon and to the Hogle Zoo, lit fireworks on the 4th, hung out with friends and family, and basically had a grand ol’ time. My sister-in-law, Megan, and her family were also along for the first week so Joanna and Jaclyn got to play with their cousins. Virtually all pictures taken of their adventures in Idaho and Utah were taken by Megan, so thank you Megan!!

Megan took this picture at Lagoon, and it cracks me up!!!

Joanna playing with a sparkler while cousins Isaiah (yellow shirt) and Josiah look on

Joanna with uncle Nate

Joanna enjoying a ride at Lagoon

Joanna NOT enjoying a ride at Lagoon. That's Josh by her side and cousin Isaiah and grandpa Ramsey on the left

Joanna (right) on a ride with Lexi Gill (left). Lexi is our friends' daughter. They were born just days apart!

Josh with Steve and Shelley Gill. (Lexi is their daughter.) Shelley is expecting, too, and get this. She and I have the SAME due date! Yeah, so Lexie and Joanna were born a couple days apart and now our next children will be too! Funny.

We're in the baby business

We already know full well just how insane we are for having babies very close in age. Heck, assuming Jacob will be born at 38 weeks like his older sisters were, we're going to have three children under the age of three for about a week!! And with Joanna almost, but not quite fully potty-trained, we'll also have three kids in diapers!
So, funny story. Today I was at Wal-Mart buying out their stock of diapers and wipes. I'm not kidding. In my cart was: one case of size 5 diapers, one case of size 4 diapers, 4 big bags of size 1 diapers, 3 bags of newborn diapers, and 3 of those huge boxes of wipes. After clearing the shelves I proceeded to the check out where I was met with a friendly smile by the checker. She took one look at my load and asked, "Oh, do you run a DAYCARE?"
I couldn't help but laugh at her honest question. I explained that sadly, all these diapers and wipes were for my own children.
So there you have it. When you're in the baby business as seriously as we apparently are, you may be occasionally mistaken for someone in the daycare business.