Well, here it is, the final belly shot for Joy. Her water broke yesterday and she started having some "gentle" contractions. She went to bed but couldn't really sleep so she got up around 2:30 and laid on the couch and moved around having contractions and catching rest/sleep inbetween. She's pretty excited to finally be in active labor. Yesterday afternoon she called me to tell me to come home early from climbing but I was a little wary because I had heard the false call a number of times before. Now, we've got our own little birthing ward set up in the living room. It's raining steadily outside and we've got a great fire going in the fireplace. The scene is incredibly peaceful and serene. It's baby time!
And, just for laughs, I failed horribly at grilled cheese the other day. I guess you could say I got a little distracted. Joy laughed so hard she peed her pants! Really, to think about it now, my little snafu was probably what induced labor for Joy. I'll tell her to thank me later. P.S. Please hold your calls but we'll try to keep everyone updated via the blog. Unless that is, you're calling to bring me some Thai Sweet and Sour Shrimp from Zheng's. In that case, I could make an exception. In the meantime, keep praying for us and wishing Joy and the Blueberry the best.
My friend Katrin came over a few days ago and took some pregnancy photos of me. She used to be a wedding photographer but has been out of the business for a few months. She has been dying to take some photos, so I obliged. It turned out to be a great time and here are some of my favorites from the session. I am about 38 weeks pregnant in these photos. Hopefully, these will be the last belly shots I take!
Sweet Mikey took me to Sunlight (the local ski area) this afternoon for a few after hours turns. It felt great to get some good exercise, even if the lap took about 2 1/2 times longer than normal. A friend of mine, Julie Kennedy, did the same thing 18 years ago and gave birth to Hayden the next day. I am keeping my fingers crossed!
After a week of 70 degree weather, it has been tough to get back into winter mode. This is a view from our deck from a few days ago, before the snow started sticking to all the trees. It has been snowing all week long! Sunlight had 15 inches of fresh snow today.
Big Belly Mama skinned up 1800 feet of vert this evening!
Mom sent me a few more photos from her time here, so I had to share. Mike's birthday was last Thursday. As a joke, I made a fake gift certificate saying that I had spent $245 on a spa day for him. (You can click the picture below to read it.) Anyone who knows my husband realizes how completely out of character that would be. All the man wants is gear, of course, and I'm glad I married a man that prefers climbing gear over spa trips. It was the worst gift I could think of and he COMPLETELY fell for it. He was really sweet about it, too, and gave me a nice hug and a weak "thanks, honey!". What he was thinking though, was, "man, I wonder how many bolts I could buy with $245?!".
I even had my mom write and misspell our names to make it look more legit.
Later, when we were out to dinner, I gave him his real present, 34 climbing bolts. 33 for the years he has completed and another for a great year ahead. Mike LOVES to establish new climbing routes in the area, and bolts are necessary to do so.
Another shot of us before BDay dinner with Mike's brother Danny. Danny is engaged to a woman from the Czech Republic, so we are all headed to Europe in July for their wedding.
A poor photo, but here is the nursery in completion. Notice my red toenails--my mom insisted :).
Working out. Mom and I hiked about 5 miles every day while she was here. This week since she left, I have had a running resurgence. I've run the past 4 days straight! It has been in the 60's or 70's for the past 10 days and is now blizzarding outside.
Yesterday at Lowe's, Mike and I were picking some things up for our latest house project (see picture below). The man that was helping us called me mama and asked when I was due. "Just over 2 months" I told him, to which he raised his eyebrows and exclaimed, "two months?", as in, "are you sure you don't mean two weeks?" Then he told me, "You're going to need a thirdleg to hold that belly up". I almost slapped him. But, Mike has been encouraging me not to slap strangers in public, so I resisted.
We tore out our old shower tile and are replacing it with pretty new stuff.
My good friend Sarah had bunion surgery today. I just took this picture of her, in all of her Percocet induced sleepy glory, on my couch. She's spending the night tonight.
She had a get together Saturday night, and Mike made her a cake:
It was a big hit!
My friend Nancy and I double fisting it! Yee haww!
Nancy and I rubbing bellies. She is 36 weeks pregnant, I'm 29.
Kristen, Sarah, Amy, Nancy, Cassia, and Derek at Sarah's place.
Maybe the bump has reached critical mass lately, or maybe people were just in good moods after the inauguration today, but several people offered me their place in line at the post office this morning. Do I look that uncomfortable?
I'm still enjoying pregnancy and feeling quite good. I've started to have Braxton Hicks most days, just a couple a day. My belly button is half in and half out. The baby kicks all the time and I always enjoy it. I have packed on a full 25 or 30 pounds (GULP!) despite exercising daily (you can all see my workout log) and eating really well. I'm really not worried about that, though, because I am feeling so good. I have a little bit of "extra fluff" all over--no real swelling or anything. My midwife is not concerned either and tells me to expect another 10-15. I have occasional heartburn and need 9-10 hours of sleep every night, but no complaints here! I feel I have already forgotten about the first trimester nausea.
I should add...I went for a run on Saturday and it was really warm out. After a mile or so, I was HOT and wanted to take my shirt off to expose my skin to the air a bit. I was on a dead end gravel road, so I thought, "what the heck, why not, I'll put it back on when I get into the neighborhood". Well, it felt really really good, so I ran with just a sports bra, belly hanging out for all to see, all the way to the end of the run and back home. I ran by a lady from my prenatal yoga class on the bike path and got a funny reaction...she thought I was nuts. Oh well.
Reese's blog post from today inspired me. Our school shut down classes and offices today during the inauguration so we could all join together and witness history on the big screen in our barn. There was lots of cheering and many tears shed. Although this is cliched by now, no matter what one's political beliefs, one must be amazed and excited about having an African American in the White House. I happen to join the majority of Americans and the rest of the human population in my support for Obama, so this day was exceptionally special for me. The fact that it followed Martin Luther King Day made it all the more poignant.
Yesterday, in our all school meeting, one of the teachers showed us this video in anticipation of today's events. It was produced by Will.i.am, a member of the Black Eyed Peas. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Another response to Reese... She is pregnant with her second child and looking into birthing options beyond another C-Section, which automatically excludes her from a hospital birth. Even though the uterine rupture (the claimed reason to not allow VaginalBirthsAfterC-Section, or VBAC) rate is less than 0.3%, the vast majority of hospitals refuse to allow VBAC's and opt instead to undertake the myriad risks associated with major surgery. Many people do not understand why C-Sections are such an unfortunate way to give birth. A few reasons:
1. The mother must undergo major abdominal surgery that requires MUCH longer to recover from than normal birth. When I worked at the maternity ward at our hospital, the goal for CS patients was to sit up on the edge of the bed 24 hours after delivery. They stayed in the hospital for 72 hours or more and were wheeled to their cars in wheelchairs. They are not even allowed to drive for a full two weeks post partum. Many normal birth mothers got up and walked to their post partum rooms 1 hour after delivery, left the hospital within 24 hours, and could resume normal household activities upon returning home.
2. The mother does not experience the flood of oxytocin (the love hormone) while giving birth. Oxytocin is the hormone that makes us fall in love, produces orgasm, and makes the uterus contract during normal labor. Many mothers that do not experience this hormone rush have difficulty bonding with their babies. Oxytocin is also absent from labors induced by its synthetic cousin, Pitocin.
3. Delayed mother baby bonding time. Most CS patients are in recovery for an hour to several hours after delivery and do not bond with their babies until out of recovery. After 9 months of pregnancy, the babies are taken to the nursery instead of laid upon their mothers' chests as they are in normal birth.
There are many more reasons, but I can go on about those later. C-Sections are very rarely the choice of the mother, but are the will of the doctor in attendance. While sometimes CS's are absolutely necessary and justified, it is absurd to have a CS rate of over 30% in this country. C-Sections follow a pattern that is usually proceeded by a cascade of interventions: mother goes into labor but is not contracting "enough" to dilate "fast enough", so Pitocin is given via IV to "speed things up". Pitocin greatly increases labor pain, so said mother requests an epidural. Epidural given, pitocin increased, mom doesn't care because she can't feel it. But baby can feel it! Contractions induced by pitocin are closer together and of a higher intensity than normal contractions (and remember, they do not include Oxytocin, which makes mom happy). Contractions temporarily cut off the blood supply to the placenta (and therefore baby). Without proper rest between contractions, baby's endurance begins to suffer. Baby's heart rate drops, emergency C-Section is ordered, and doc says to mom, "We did everything we could do, at least you have a healthy baby". AHH! (Okay, Okay, I'll stop now!)
That is why I am planning a home birth with a midwife! (That, and so I can have a good cup of coffee at 6am or a meal at 2am, not have an IV, and sleep in the same bed with my husband!)
You're all probably getting sick of seeing ski pictures. But, today was so beautiful, I just could not resist posting a few. I, too, am looking forward to posting pictures of our little kid instead of pictures of us, but we must wait! Today was a great day. Mike and I slept in (I didn't sleep most of the night, so at least I have an excuse), went to late church, then skinned up William's Peak this afternoon for some turns. As I write this, the kid is doing jumping jacks inside me. In the last couple of days, I have started to get punches and kicks simultaneously on opposite sides of the belly--maybe his/her little arms are just now punching hard enough to feel. It's fun to look down and see my belly move as I feel it. I have recently passed the 100-days-left mark. This pregnancy has gone so fast!
On the trail amidst the aspens. My jacket will just barely zip now and feels much better if I just leave it open. That was no problem today because it was perfectly calm up there.
Pregnant lady skinning up. Check out the beautiful frosty trees.
Sweeties on the summit of William's.
Here we are again. You can barely see Mount Sopris in the background among the clouds.
Here are some fun running pictures that I thought needed to make it onto the blog. It's fun running with the belly--I get many long looks, waves, and smiles from passers by.
Marge and Steve's dog Cosmo gets REALLY excited to run and has started a daily whine session at about 10:00 thinking he might get to go out. We are spoiling him, taking him every day. Today, we went for over an hour and ran through the golf course. He was a terrible running partner, stopping every 5 seconds or so to pick up a new smell. But, who could get mad at such a happy dog?
Everyone knows that it gets cold in the mountains. I live in Colorado at about 6000 feet and frequently ski and play above 10,000. But, Colorado cold cannot compare to the Montana cold I grew up with. That kind of cold made the snow squeak and your boogers freeze on each inhalation. Iowa cold, however, surpasses them all. We were supposed to fly in a couple of days ago (missed our flight, long pathetic story for another time) and the windchill was simply "hazardous", not 0, not -30 or even -45, just "hazardous". Luckily it has warmed up to the balmy teens for our trip, with a windchill around 5. Learning how to exercise in this weather is an adventure in itself. We did manage it today, but have been foiled in the past. A couple of years ago, it was impossible. No matter how many layers one dons, it is extremely difficult to cover those triangle spots of skin on the sides of the face--the ones between the goggles and the neck gaiter. And, it just looks funny to run with your hands covering your face to protect it from the wind (I remember having this conversation with Hannah after her first trip to Iowa). In any case, we WERE able to get out today, thankfully. We were the people Addie made fun of in her post today--the ones running down the middle of the road, sidewalks covered in snow, and piles of more snow narrowing the already slippery streets. Sorry, Ad, we were desperate for exercise after spending yesterday in airports, on planes, and waiting in many lines. We needed the air, even if it was REALLY COLD.
Posing pre-run.
I wore a tank, 2 heavy long underwear tops, and my big hoody, fleece tights, fleece socks, windproof gloves and hat.
Now we are relaxing in the lovely (and warm) Schneiter home, getting ready for Christmas and just enjoying each other.
Mike, 3 of his coworkers, and I went for a night skin up Sunlight a few days ago. We love that place! They leave a warming hut open on the summit for the night skinners to use. On any given night, there are at least a dozen or so people up there after hours, many more during full moons.
I went up to Aspen Highlands today after church with a crew of 6 other people. It was 30 degrees and sunny, perfect ski weather. After church is ideal right now, because a half day of skiing wears me out!
Mike and I hung out together all day today. After a relaxing morning, we went backcountry skiing for a couple hours on William's Peak, chopped a load of firewood, watched two high school basketball games, and came home to cook yummy enchiladas. Now we are sitting in front of the fire--he's reading, I'm knitting and blogging. What a pleasant day.
Here are some photos of the latest.
Smiling Joy on top of Willie's for baby's first time skiing. The wind was blowing at least 40mph, but we were warm from the hike up. Thank God for windbreakers!
The prego belly at 23 weeks. My belly button is almost flat.
Side view.
I've been knitting lots--here is my first completed project for our babe. It is a sleep sack with a drawstring in the bottom. I imagine using it frequently in our chilly house and while camping. A friend of ours saw me knitting it and asked for one. He's 6'2". I said no.
Close up of the casing and drawstring.
Hats for Reese's boys. They outgrew their originals.
It's a Baby!! With two arms AND two legs! And hands! And feet with very tiny toes attached!! And two eyes and a nose (despite the fact that I dreamt it was nose less) and a mouth that opens and closes. We shielded our eyes when she measured the femurs so we wouldn't see the goods--that took A LOT of will power. Later, when she was working near that same area, the kid conveniently was grabbing its own package as if to hide it ("Sorry, mom and dad, you have to wait to see!"). So far, everything looks good and we'll get the official report later this week. My due date will stay the same, April 11th, as the sizes of everything today matched up with the date we had.
A perfect little footprint.
The munchkin's profile--eyes, nose, mouth, neck, and chest.
Mike and I went elk hunting from dawn to dusk on Saturday and saw nothing but prints. Mike saw two deer within about 25 yards and was VERY tempted to shoot one. The thought process went... I should shoot this deer, but I can't tag it. No tag means no getting it butchered. I don't have a garage to hang it in but I suppose I could put a tarp on the carpet in the living room...but Joy would probably then have ME butchered..." So we have no meat. Bummer, next year we will also have deer tags! We saw elk tracks everywhere as well as lion tracks. Mike had been out in the same area nearly every day last week after work and there were many lion tracks on top of his boot prints. I was glad to have a large caliber rifle in my hands. The area also happens to be a place where I trail run often, alone, and with headphones. I might think twice next time (or at least bring a slower friend with me).
Maybe the reason we didn't get anything is because I...
...like to take naps instead of hike around.
Definitely not the clearest print we saw, but you get the idea. This is not a house cat!
Mike and his friend Chris Van Leuven have been working every weekend on a new route in Glenwood Canyon. They are calling it "The Horse and Pony Show" and if you know the two of them, especially together, it describes them PERFECTLY. They are a hilarious duo. The route is really hard (5.12a), mixed sport and trad, and about 500 feet long. They have put many hours into this project and Mike comes home after working on it all day as happy as he can possibly be! They leave the house by 7am on weekends and usually get home after 8pm.
Chris showed up at our house Sunday morning with a nice little scarf on.
So, Mike insisted on wearing a scarf as well. He took my fancy Irish scarf and returned it in perfect condition. I just thought it was so funny that these two boys were out being as tough as can be...and wearing scarves. Here's Mike with his serious face on, holding his big drill, and wearing his wife's scarf. What a cutie!
