Mom's A Little Paranoid

Sunday we put Aslynn in a dress and didn’t take her to Church – we were advised not to take her for at least four weeks. I just wanted her to be in a dress because it was her first Sunday out of the womb. Instead of Church we took her to the hospital again for another jaundice test. Her levels went down which was a good surprise because the doctor expected them to go up.

I went back to school this week. People seemed to expect me to be out of commission longer than I was - maybe I should have milked my "I just had a baby" excuse more. Oh, well. I didn't want to get too far behind, and I'm not at all, so HOORAY!

Aslynn started college this week too. *Sniff.* They grow up so fast. Too bad she sleeps through both her classes. Hopefully it won’t become a habit for the rest of her life.

Luke and I have two classes that conflict with one another and so one of us has to take her to those classes. I take her to photography and Luke takes her to Managing Healthcare Systems (or she comes to Advanced Presentation with me depending on her mood). She stays in her car seat, partially covered to protect her from people who want to touch her and also because she likes to have her face next to blankets for some reason.

I love going to a university where the teachers are so accommodating. We truly are blessed.

I won the “Worst Mother” award on Tuesday. For some reason it didn’t occur to me that taking Aslynn to Devotional would be worse than taking her to Church. All the germs of those college kids, WHAT WAS I THINKING?! Elder D. Todd Christofferson came and spoke and Luke and I had tickets. I didn’t even think about the germs until we got there. I am a horrible mother who exposes her daughter to germs before she has a strong enough immune system to fight them off. I spent the whole Devotional freaking out that Aslynn was going to get sick.

Luke says I worry too much. I say that it’s part of my new job description.

I did a happy dance on Wednesday. I tried on a pair of my pre-pregnancy pants and they fit wonderfully, with room to spare even! WOOT!

Thursday night Aslynn was eating – she was getting very full – and we are getting ready for bed when she starts to cough; her cough then turns into a gag and then SPLISH-SPLASH we were taking a bath in Aslynn puke. It was projective vomit city! It was all over me, all over her, all over the boppy, and all over the sheets. Of course once she’s done puking it all up she just gives us a look that says “Oh, I feel so much better!” Luke is thoroughly disgusted; he’s making his faces – the ones that are have gag half shudder. To me this is hilarious. I am laughing so hard that I can barely get out of bed to get cleaned up.

Later the baby and I had a talk. It went like this:

Bre: “Way to go! That was beautiful!”
Aslynn: *Blink* (Means “Thank You” in newborn)
Bre: “You grossed out your dad. I am so proud of you! Good job!”
Aslynn: *Blink* “Gurgle.” (Translation: “Won’t be the last time. I’m starving.”

Luke still doesn’t think it’s funny.

Friday we had tickets to Broadway Review. It was freezing outside and I was/am still freaking out about the baby getting sick so I talked Luke into staying home and watching movies. It was like a real at home date because Aslynn slept the whole time.

Though Aslynn didn’t get sick from the college kid germs – yet – Luke seems to have gotten a bug of sorts. At first he thought it was salmonella from eating a bit of cake batter but after doing some research I’ve determined that it is the flu. He’ll be out of commission for a while. I think the thing that upsets Luke the most about being sick is that he can’t give his Princess any kisses.
Aslynn has him whipped. He will do anything for her. She likes him just as much. If she’s crying all he has to do is talk to her and let her see him and she will stop. She’s a Daddy’s Girl already.

*Ignore my flabby belly.*

Running on Baby Time

I talked to Becky today on the phone and I promised that I would be a blogging fool so that she could find out what is happening with Aslynn and see more pictures.
*Isn't this a good, tired face?*

Ever since we came home from the hospital things have been pretty laid back. We’ve just been hanging out at the house relaxing and healing.

Yesterday Aslynn had her first doctor’s appointment. She’s only lost 3 ounces of weight which is really good – means my boobs are doing their job well. The doctor was concerned that she was a little jaundiced so we had to go to the hospital and get her tested. I had to wait out in the hall and Luke stayed with Aslynn while she was tested. It was crucial that I stayed in the hall because I probably would have punched the sucky lab tech in the gonads for what he did to my daughter. Her jaundice levels are low but we still have to take her back tomorrow and get her tested again. I will be in the hall if you need me.

*She likes her dad more than me*

I had an appointment with a lactation specialist later in the day who introduced Aslynn to the joys of an infant warmer. I wish I had brought the camera. Aslynn splayed herself out like a starfish (the hussy) and almost fell asleep when we changed her diaper. Luke came home, got on the internet and tried to find an infant warmer for us because she liked it so much. I told him such a contraption was out of our budget.

The princess spent much of yesterday and today sleeping. She’s got to figure it out soon that nighttime is sleeptime. We’ll get that down in what, 3 months?

I spent the day writing in Aslynn baby calendar and her baby book. Whew, it's a lot of detailed work that I am not good at doing. I probably won't be one of thos moms that document everything - but I want to be when I grow up.

*Going to the doctor*

Grandma and Great-Grandma left today. They will be missed. Luke and I were so glad that they were here; it was a comfort thing of sorts. They helped out around the house and even stocked the freezer with dinners. They enjoyed being here with the baby and she liked them, which is always a good thing – but then again, who doesn’t love Grandmas that spoil you?

*She's going blind from all the camera flashes*

The princess is awake and wants to be fed. Duty calls.

Documenting for Posterity

So...waiting game is over! Woot!

Aslynn Jean Mecham was born on January 19th, 2009 at 8:45 PM. She was 7 lb. 13oz. and 20 1/2 inches long.

The "Lynn" part of her name is for her aunt Stefanie and my best friend Becky - they both have forms of "Lynn" for a middle name. Aslynn has amazing women to look up to.

Here's my labor story for you. If you don't want to know - I'm going to get detailed - you can just skip reading this part and look at the pictures.

I went into labor around 6 AM on Monday morning. My contractions stayed about 2 minutes apart all day, increasing in intensity.

I had a doctor's appointment at 2 PM but I wasn't going to last until then so I called at 12:30 PM and went in. When my doctor saw me he said, (this is a direct quote) "I don't think you are in 'real' labor yet. Women in the later stages of labor's eyes glaze over and they look like they are going to die." He checked me and I was dilated to a 2 and 60% effaced. He told me to walk around for a couple of hours and come back at 4 PM.

The walking didn't work out so well. I tried my hardest, I really did. We ran some errands, but I ended up going home.

I took a hot bath and sat on my exercise ball and bounced. I had back labor so I asked Luke to massage my back with tennis balls. Apparently he was pushing REALLY hard, though it didn’t feel like it at the time, because now my lower back is bruised and swollen.

When I went back at 4 PM the doctor took one look at me and said, “Oh, now you look like you’re in labor.” I was dilated to a 4 a little more effaced. He offered to strip my membranes or give me a pill to help me sleep through the contractions. I opted for the pill. I wanted to labor at home for as long as I could stand it.

I took the pill at 4:30 PM and by 5:30 I still couldn’t sleep. Contractions were coming harder so I would pass out for a minute (literally) before another contraction would wake me up.

We went to the hospital at 6 PM. I was dilated to a 7. The doctor came in within a half hour and broke my water and by that time I was dilated to an 8. I received my epidural at when I was dilated to a 9. She was born at 8:45 PM. I have a small pelvis and in order for her to be born without my dislocating my pelvis Aslynn had to be vacuumed for about 10 seconds.

She didn’t cry when she was born. She’s just watched everyone.

Bre’s List of Things a Woman in Labor Must Have
1. Ginormous exercise ball to bounce on during contractions. REALLY HELPS!
2. Tennis balls to have your husband massage your back with. MARGINALLY EASES PAIN!
3. Epidural. WHOEVER INVENTED THE EPIDURAL DESERVES CELESTIAL GLORY. I will remember her birth as something beautiful and not as something painful. I was alert and awake, able to participate and enjoy it.






Being a mom is awesome!

Waiting Game

I am at work right now and there really isn't much to do, so here I am killing time and procrastinating writing a paper on a foodborne illness outbreak (I know you really want to read it when I am done. It's going to be that intense). Plus, even Luke said I needed to update this thingy. But I feel ban rambling, my life just isn't that interesting.

So, let's see here, our lives lately...

First off, I am still pregnant. I've passed one of my due dates and the second one looms closer (the 21st). Judging from the size of the baby the doctors first suggestions was a January 14th due date. Technically my due date should be the 23rd. The doctors just went with one in the middle. I am rooting for the 21st; I am ready for this kid to come out.

I told Luke that he could name her. We had a couple of names picked out and we figured we would just see what she looks like when she finally got here, but Luke has had second thoughts. He's just figured out that she will have this name for the rest of her life; he is now taking this decision very seriously, almost too seriously. We now have almost a dozen names to choose from. I am trying to get him to narrow down his selection, but it's not working very well.

School is going well. Luke and I are almost bored because we've never taken so few classes in our college careers.

Luke has been keeping himself busy getting ready for the baby. All the baby books say that the mother is supposed to be the one "nesting" but I'm not. Daddy Luke on the other hand is a "nesting" fool. He is more excited than I am right now. He wants to meet his daughter so badly! He has gotten the nursery ready, bought everything a baby could need, done research to find the best products for me and the baby, packed my hospital bag, and many other things.

All his activities remind me of how completely adorable he is. I love him more than ever. He is going to be an amazing dad. I really married the perfect man!

I am going to try everything under the sun this weekend in an effort to make myself go into labor. I don’t think anything is going to work but it is worth a shot, right? If anyone has any ideas, let me know.

I’m starving; what else is new? I’ll finish this update later.