Our new little sweetheart

I'm a bit tired, so this will be a quick note - but since it's the biggest news of our lives to date, I figured it was a good idea to document it.

My last post was on August 7th at around 12:15 in the morning. I was getting ready to go to bed and had been complaining about being pregnant still. Well, I went to bed about an hour after that - still pregnant. However, at around 3:30 I woke up for several different reasons - Cory had jabbed me in the back in his sleep, and my hand was dead asleep - and really hurting (I've been struggling with pregnancy iduced carpal tunnel). Well my hand hurt so much that I decided to look up in my pregnancy books to see if there was anything I could do. While I was doing that I had a couple of contractions - different than any other contractions I had before. So I started to read more in my book about other pregnancy concerns, and about contractions. After the first couple I figured I should start to time them because these hurt, and they were pretty close together. Well the first one I timed was about 5 minutes apart...then 4...then 3....then about 2 1/2 minutes...I continued to time them and they were between 2-4 minutes apart. So I woke Cory up to tell him, and I called the hospital to say I thought we'd be coming in shortly. The nurse talked to me for a while, and said - "Well, it's up to you to come in and be evaluated. I would suggest maybe taking a warm bath, and seeing how you feel after that." So I did - but the contraction didn't change other than hurting more.

So around 5:15 am we decided to load up our stuff and head to the hospital. They checked me and sure enough - I was in labor! I was dilated to about a 7 and one of the nurses said that I should have been in sooner - I told her I would have been if they hadn't told me to stay home :).

Anyway, I was still handling things well, but the nurse helped me to see that an epidural would help the process of labor, as far as helping me to relax, and still be able to enjoy the delivery without feeling grogy, or out of it. So we finally got the epidural (after trying to chase down the anestegiologist who had come to get us set up, only to decide to take a nap for 1/2 hour before getting me taken care of). Anyway, the contractions were still noticable, but the pain was minimal, and that was nice. However - I hated not being able to move my legs - it was a crazy feeling.

So in the mean time while all of this is happening my mom is trying to make it in time for the delivery - trying to make the 7 1/2 hour trip MUCH faster....

Well, it really didn't feel long after the epidural was in effect they had me pushing. The baby was so far up in the birth canal that at one point the nurse warned me that a c-section would have to happen if he didn't move down further. But really, after a very small number of pushes he was down far enough to deliver.

I think I pushed for about 1/2 hour-45 minutes. Honestly it felt great to push. The dr, nurse, and my dear sweet hubby were all such great support that I felt like a champ - they really cheered me on, and helped me with the energy I needed.

After he was born he didn't start crying very soon - in fact, he never really did cry. But he was gorgeous from the minute he arrived, and is completely healthy. I know I'm biased - but honestly I think he's the most gorgeous baby ever born!

So this is how our baby Gabriel Cory Ellis was brought into the world at 10:18 am on August 7th, 2005. He weighed 7 lb 14 oz, and is 19 1/2 inches long - the perfect size! He is such a sweetheart, and truly the answer to our (and many other people's) prayers.

I will post more pictures when we get more settled.

Yup - still here.....

and still pregnant. Not that it's a bad thing. There are parts of being pregnant that I will actually miss. I love to feel the little guy kick and roll around. It's so special because it's something that just he and I experience most of the time. I'll feel kind of lonely in that regard once he is born.

However, I will not miss a few things:

• Swollen ankles/feet/legs - Today I made the mistake of putting on a cute pair of clog style shoes. Then the feet started to swell. So my feet were kind of wedged into the shoes. I decided I'd leave them on and deal with it tonight when I took them off. Well when I got home I peeled them off. The feet were ok....swelling kept to a minimum because they were stuck in the shoes. But my ankles and on up my leg are HUGE! Kind of look like elephant legs.
• Sleeping on my side - I love sleeping on my tummy, and with this watermelon shape I can't do that very well. Plus sleeping on your back is discouraged. So trying to stay on one side is tricky. It will be nice to also start sharing a bed with Cory again. Since I am so uncomfortable, and wake up so much he's taken to sleeping in the guest room. (But he did manage to inform me tonight that he can still hear me when I grunt and roll over...)
• Eating mouse sized meals - It seems like when I am the hungriest I can't eat! There is no longer any room in my tummy for anything more than a tic-tac, swallow of water, and 2 cheerios....kind of a lousy dinner if you ask me :). And because there's no room for a full meal it seems like I have to eat all the time. I won't miss that.
• Being about 15 degrees hotter than everyone - I swear that a pregnant woman in the summer should not be allowed. It's HOT! Our poor air conditioner, and electric bill! I could see me investing in a swimming pool for future summertime pregnancies.

But overall, I am so grateful for this pregnancy, and for the chance that Cory and I have to bring this child into the world - that all of the little things about pregnancy that stink are totally worth it!

Now if I could just get up the energy and patience to go to church tomorrow afternoon and endure another round of "Are you STILL pregnant!?!?!" - this pregnancy would be a piece of cake.

And why is it any of your business!?!

Well we went to the dr this morning, and had a great visit. Not only did I not gain any weight this week (YAY!) - but I actually lost a pound and 1/2. Then I also had a good exam, and it looks like I'm progressing and I'm at about 3 centimeters, and 50% effaced. So things are coming along, and we could have ourselves a baby soon. It could also be a few more weeks - but I'm counting on these contractions I have every now and then to help things along.

Now on to the title of my post. I have found it so incredibly interesting how many people have decided that my pregnancy is their business. From people at the grocery store asking when my baby is due, to strangers saying congratulations and touching my belly like it's public property. It's like pregnant women are fair game for just about anything. The thing that I find most interesting is how somehow if you're pregnant people think they can make some of the most insensitive comments; things that would never be said to someone who wasn't pregnant.

For instance - I hadn't been showing much, but one week my belly really started looking more pregnant. A woman I know came up to me and said, "Oh my goodness! On Sunday (and it was now Tuesday) you didn't even look pregnant - and now you're...you're HUGE!" Gee thanks....

Or the sales woman who approached us at a furniture store and said, "Oh, you look like you could have a baby anyday now." I was only 6 months pregnant and I told her no, I still had about 3 months. Here eyes got huge and she said, "Oh, so you're having twins then". I replied by saying, "Nope - I must just be fat!" and turned around and left. So much for buying our rocking chair at her store - she made me mad!

Anyway - most of all, recently I have found that people who do know us and see us regularly keep saying things like, "Why are you still around?" or "You're STILL pregnant????!?!?!?" They say it as if I'm some kind of a freak of nature and have been pregnant longer than anyone on earth. I just don't quite understand why it bothers them that I'm still pregnant. I mean, I'm the one with the swollen ankles, waddling walk, constant heartburn, and baby kicks up in my ribs - shouldn't I be the one walking around saying, "Why am I still pregnant!?!?!" I figure I can't start that until I'm at least at my due date. I still have a week and 1/2 until I even reach that!

And until then I might just have to lock myself in the house so the sweet old neighbor next door can't freak out if he sees me outside again :)

Ok, so those who know me know that I am frequently accused of being a stress case; being high strung, or uptight, a perfectionist, full of anxiety, worrisome, tense, and the list goes on and on and on......

I've dealt with this since I was little. I mean, how many 8 or 9 year olds get weekly tension-headaches that last into their adult years? But in a lot of ways I think I've gotten better about things. In fact, believe it or not - since I've been pregnant there are a lot of ways I've become much more easy-going and laid-back. (and in a lot of ways I've become increasingly neurotic - but those all revolve around being a new mommy and all of the new and unknown we're approaching)

But I do think I'm getting better about little thigns. For instance - the fact that for the last many days I've had "sweep and mop the kitchen floor" and "vacuum dog hair off of baseboards" on my to do list. The old me would have stressed out because these chores (and many more) hadn't gotten done yet, but the new, less stressed me has ignored it. There have been more important things to get done, and other things I've wanted to do - so eventually I'll get to those things. And if I don't - oh well! And I've gotten so much better about dishes in the sink. It used to be that it would make me completely crazy if I woke up in the morning to dirty dishes in the sink. Now I don't mind. I mean really - will the world end if there are some dirty dishes in the kitchen sink?

There still are things that drive me nuts, and that worry me constantly - but I'm really trying, and know that I'll have to keep trying.

So I am recommitting to being a less stressed lady. I'm practicing my breathing ("Good air in.....bad air out....."). I'm trying to let go of things that are not in my control, and realize that it doesn't do any good to get tense about things. I'm also trying to remember that the baby will be able to feel my tension, and that will cause him to be more stressed - and we don't want that.

So wish me luck, and as I work towards this goal remember - Rome wasn't built in a day.

Last ones of the night....

Well these pictures will definetly be the last of the night. I figure after seeing these icky pictures of the big pregnant lady no one will even want to check our blog out again :).

I have 19 days left until my due date, so I'm sure I'll just keep getting bigger. There doesn't seem to be enough room in my tummy for the baby to grow too much more.....And I can imagine he's getting uncomfortable stuffed in there. We're sure getting excited to welcome him to our family! It's been a long road, but I already know it's worth it.

Pictures of our work van

Cory got the van back tonight and it's finished. This will hopefully be some great advertising for us as our installer drives it around Cedar City and St. George.

More pictures - basement

These pictures aren't the best - because it's hard to get pictures of the basement. But it gives you a general idea. It's a big, long room and hard to capture all together. The work office is the one at the bottom. It's small, but it will work for now, because I can still keep some stuff in my scrap office too. In fact, when the cabinets are done eventually I might move the majority of my work stuff in there. We'll see. Then we have the sectional that faces the entertainment center. And behind that we have like a seating area that faces the "office". It probably doesn't make much sense, but you can at least get some sort of an idea of what we've done with the basement.

More pictures - office

Here are some pictures of my office. The last picture is juts to show you the pretty wood. It's knotty maple, and has really pretty tones to it. It goes really well with the tan countertop (which has kind of a linen look to it), and the sage walls.

Make way for baby

We've been in the process of moving stuff around so that we can get the nursery set up. That meant putting the office in the basement. We've kind of split up the office - giving Cory a desk for Blind Guy stuff, as well as just a central place to work on all of that. Then the other office is for ME! It's not complete yet - it will have upper-cabinets as well as a big hutch. That will all be probably after the baby. There isn't much lighting in the room right now, but we'll have lights under the upper cabinets - that will shine right on the desk space. Also, we'll have built in paper racks that will look like the cabinets.

Then I included pictures of Gabe's room. We'll eventually paint at least one of the walls in that room. We're having a hard time deciding on the color, and what wall to paint. I wanted to just paint one of the bigger walls, so we didn't have to worry about painting around windows/doors/etc - but now Cory has a different idea (of course making his job harder....) So we'll see. We also are going to get a picture of the Savior with children on his lap to hang in the room, maybe a mirror for the baby to look in, and I have the letters of his name to paint and hang up. (depending on the colors of the wall).

Happy Pioneer Day!

Happy Pioneer Day! I know it was yesterday - the 24th, but it was celebrated today. Cory got up early this morning to help the Boy Scouts put out the flags on everyone's lawn. It's one of my favorite parts of living here - our flag for special holidays. I love to look down the roads and see flags flying in every yard, shouting our gratitude for being able to live in this country!

Then this afternoon, after Cory worked for a good part of the day, we went to the Enoch City celebrations. They had a fun "home-town" parade - with ward floats, and scout troops. It was fun to watch. Then it ended at the park by one of our stake church buildings where they had a big family dinner, dance, pioneer games, a family dance, and a lot of fun. I really like living in a fun little town like Enoch. There is a lot of town pride, and activities that bring the community together. It's cute and quaint. I really think that raising our children here will be a blessing.

Anyway, we are so grateful for our pioneer heritage. It's amazing what the pioneers, and early members of the church have done for us. I am continually in awe of their dedication, hard work, and perserverance. We are so lucky to have their examples, and the heritage that they have entrusted with us. It's overwhelming to think that oneday our generations may be thought of as leaving a "heritage" for our ancestors. It makes me wonder what heritage Cory and I will leave for our posterity.....

Jumping on the blogging band wagon

Well I guess it's time for us to jump on the bandwagon with the rest of the bloggers of the world and start our own spot on the world wide web. We're hoping this will be a good place for us to post pictures of our baby Gabe when he arrives, and a place for us to bore you with the day-to-day grind of our family.

I'm about 37 weeks pregnant, so this baby could really come at any time. However, being our first - I'm sure he'll probably hang on for as long as possible. We're hoping that he waits until we at least get his room set up, and our doctor (and my mom) come back from being out of town. But he'll come when he's good and ready eh?