Mr Stork: Our birth story

It all started on Tuesday September 14th.  I woke up around 5 am having a contraction.  Nothing noteworthy I'd been having them occasionally for a few weeks now.  I went downstairs because pregnant girls have to pee, whether they want to get out of bed or not.  On my way back to bed I stopped by the kitchen for something to drink and maybe a quick snack.  I'd been trying everything to induce labor at this point, with no help from Josh who said she could stay in there for 41 weeks if she wanted to.  I ate my bagel and drank my juice and by the time I headed back upstairs had another contraction.  Back in bed I woke up to another stronger contraction around 6 am.  I noted the time and counted 3 more contractions in the next 40 minutes.  I had never had more than two in an hour let alone for 2 hours in a row now.  I got excited and decided this could very well be the day.  I got out of bed and decided to stay busy and perhaps help things along.

After cleaning up the kitchen, folding laundry, etc until 9 am I suddenly realized, if I was in fact having this baby today I should get a little more than the three hours I got due to my late night.  So I headed back to bed as Josh headed out to help my dad with a project they had planned for that morning.  I told Josh before he left I'd been having contractions and sent an optimistic text to some friends and my sister.  I went back to bed waking up occasionally for a contraction that was a little worse than the barely noticeable ones. 

I finally got up again around 1 pm and got to work cleaning the house top to bottom.  By now Josh was back and busy chopping firewood my dad had given him.  He came in as I was finishing the last of my cleaning projects and asked what was for lunch.  He was tired and I was out of projects so I started cooking in my pristine, cleaned to the last tile kitchen.  While I was cooking my mom called to see what was up since I hadn't called her yet.  My contractions had gone from 12 minutes apart to 8 and now to 6.  I called my OB/GYN and spoke to his nurse.  She said since I had been dilated to a 3 for almost a month I should go to the hospital now just to be on the safe side.

In Josh's words, I "brought him his lunch and unbelievably calmly said, "Once you are done you need to shower and change because they want us to go to the hospital now instead of waiting longer."  Josh hurried and was beyond annoyed when I wanted to get all the garbage out of the house since our garbage day was the next day.  His exact words, "I think we have a little more pressing things to worry about right now, Brittany!"
We got to the hospital a little before 5 pm.  When we checked in they told us they had quite a few mom's in labor tonight.  After checking my cervix and attaching me to the monitors to confirm we were in labor we were moved to the last labor and delivery room 101.  My regular OB was out of town so we were introduced to the other doctor in his practice.  Dr. Harward, many a friend pointed out after seeing the pictures, is very good looking.  I can honestly said I didn't really notice.  I started out excited that this was the end of being pregnant and I would get to see our little girl in a matter of hours.  The amount of hours I had anticipated, I confess, were a smaller number than the reality. 
Things were pretty good until we were dilated to an 8.  The contractions hurt but they were tolerable then around 930pm  they got really painful.  At this point I was shaking, death grip on the bedrail, trying not to cry because it only makes it more painful, asking my mom not to cry so I wouldn't cry, Josh later told me he was ready to cry, wondering how women have done this for thousands of years without anesthesia, hearing from our nurse Vickie, my mom, and Josh how I was doing so good, not believing any of them, my water still hadn't broke..... The doctor came in and went over our options I thought about it for a contraction or two and then I decided I needed the epidural because things were not going as quickly as I'd thought and this "transition" phase didn't seem to want to finish the transition.
Doctor Harward had them call the anesthesiologist and ask him to get her sooner than the typical 30 minutes.  It felt like an eternity though my mom said it was about 45 minutes.  After the epidural I felt incredibly itchy but could actually calmly speak to people.  My water didn't break.  It slid out in what looked like a jelly fish with a slight little hole in it.  Both the nurses had never seen anything like it. 

It took forever to go from almost a 10 to an actual 10.  Finally at 5 am we were at a 10 the doctor wanted to rest let the contractions move the baby further down the birth canal for the next 30 minutes and make the actual pushing go more quickly.  That would have been fine and well but around 5:10 I was really feeling that baby being pushed.  My mom and Josh were napping until around then.  I tried to be tough, hit the anesthesia button again.  By 5:20 they were only getting worse.  Finally at 5:25, five minutes is an eternity if you are in pain, I called the nurse and said I really didn't feel like I could not push anymore.  The doctor came in and got the respiratory specialist, and the PCT in, had them call the anesthesiologist and tell him to hurry since the button was doing nothing and said the epidural meds were gone, and asked if I wanted to wait.  At this point I thought he'd lost his mind, I told him I was already in pain and would prefer to get this over sooner and start pushing without the drugs. 

We started pushing at 5:30.  It burned, it hurt, but it was all worth the little chubby angel that emerged at 5:43 am.  Weighing in at 8 pounds and 14 ounces 20.5 inches tall with pouty lips and constantly trying to suck her hand. 

Everyone tells you how different your life will be from that moment on and how much you'll love them.  You know they are right but uuntil you are in that moment you really don't know just how different and how much you'll love them. 

We had her first bath later that day and we named her around noon.  Our little Scarlett Emy Rieske.

Just Peachy

My first solo bottling endeavor

I love peaches!  We happen to have a peach tree outside.  We also have an apple and a pear tree.  Unfortunately for me, the peach tree is literally on its last limb.  Most of it was pretty dead when we moved in.  Josh did some pruning and we actually got quite a few peaches for the small amount of tree that is actually still growing.  I decided to make some jam and bottle the rest.  I've bottled, pickled, jammed, and such growing up, helping my mom.  I used to eat an entire quart of my mom's bottled peaches in one sitting.  The tree was ready to be picked last week.  I was more concerned with baby preparations, and waited until Sunday to pick them.  Had I picked them a week ago, I would have had at least double the peaches.  You live and learn.



 

Freezer jam!



But here they are my 7 pints of jam and 7 quarts of peaches.  My first solo food storage project!  Congrats to me!  Josh wasn't nearly as impressed with me as I was!



Aren't they pretty!



Travel Systems, Cribs, Glass Noodles, and Thank Goodness I have a Snugs

Josh asked me what I wanted to do before he watched the big game with the boys on Thursday.  My reply, "Go buy the stroller."  Babies-R-Us was having a big trade in event and my mom had a ready for the landfill highchair.  So we dropped by Nana's house for the highchair and were off to get our killer discount on our stroller.  My friend Lauren is a manager at our Babies-R-Us and she was working.  I got to catch up with her while Josh swapped the highchair for the 25% off coupon. 

When we headed back to get the stroller Josh informed me we needed to buy the crib as well.  I had planned to wait until I go back to work since we already have a cradle.  Josh informed me she needs it now.  So then we went from store to store comparing and pricing cribs.  We found one we liked on sale that came with a free mattress.  As we waited for them to bring the crib and mattress to the check out Josh reminded me of his game and that he would be putting the crib together the next day. 

We got home with our purchases, carried them in and Josh turned on the game.  Josh left the room and I assumed he went to grab a snack or drink.  He didn't come back and then I heard something in the dining room.  It was the crib box.  I walked upstairs and find Josh sitting on the floor in the baby's room surrounded by crib parts, tools, and instructions in his hand.  Putting together the crib is a rite of passage for Daddy's to Be it seems so I decided we would need some pictures for the scrapbook.  You know how Josh LOVES his picture being taken but he was a pretty good sport about it.

Josh watched the game with his friend Nick and I went to dinner with my mom, Amanda, and her two munchkins.  We had Thai food and the restaurant was a little cold.  Combine that with a 2 and 3 year old and you have some photo ops.  Glass noodles anyone.

When I got home that night I got the stroller out and decided to get it set up and try out our now complete travel system.  I got the carseat in and then couldn't get it back out of the stroller.  Thank goodness my Snugs was there.  After tugging at it for at least 5 minutes I was a t my wits end.  Why would they make it so hard to get the seat back out again.  The whole thing didn't make sense I had pulled the release handle and pulled upward, reread the instructions, nothing I'd missed, and I didn't dare pull it harder.  I asked Josh for help.  It took him all of five seconds to try it and then he did it again but pressed down before pulling it out and it worked like a charm.  "Common Sense, Britt."  Thank goodness for our adorable little giant of a Daddy to Be!

Labor Day Weekend Surprises

I must confess, when our 36 week check up showed some progress on the baby front, I let my hopes soar.  Little Baby Rieske is definitely a product of her parents and let us know she'll do what she wants when she wants.  So when Labor Day weekend clocked us in at 38 weeks I was hoping for some labor and delivery action.
Well, here we are it's Tuesday and she's a no show.  Josh doesn't understand why I'm in such a hurry to "get her out."  So I didn't get what I was hoping for this holiday weekend but I did get something else rather exciting. 

Friday night everyone who wasn't there the night before had settled in, had dinner, and were roasting marshmallows and having dessert.  My cousin Amanda and I were helping my mom carry all the dishes to the motor home to clean them and all the beading things the girls had been working on that day back inside to get all cleaned up for the evening. 
Just when we are in the motor home getting ready to start the dishes my cousin Misty comes to the door and says, "Brittany, we need you out here."
I had literally just left the group a minute ago.  So I asked, "Can it wait 10 minutes until we are done with the dishes?!"

"No, they need you right now!"
So I climbed back out of the motor home and headed back to the fire and table area to see what they needed, expecting my dad or uncle to ask me something or retell some joke they thought was funny.  Halfway back to the fire  I see my Ken and my Uncle Gary holding a big white banner that says in huge blue letters WILL YOU MARRY ME.  Honestly, it took at least 3 seconds from that point for me to realize what was going on.  I said something like, "Oh My Gosh."  Honestly I can't remember exactly.
Josh got down on one knee, opened a red ring box and asked me if I would marry him. 

I started to cry and said, "Of course I will!"  That I do remember exactly.  Misty got my mom and Amanda out of the motor home quickly enough to see it with everyone.  Of course my mom cried, and my Uncle Gary was crying, I was crying, and a little birdie told me Ken got choked up too.  Honestly, I was too shocked and excited to really notice every one's reactions.

I asked Josh when he got the ring, if his family knew he got the ring, when he made the banner, I even asked where he got the big paper.  Evidently, at the moment that was an important element in this surprise.  He got the ring a few weeks before, his parents knew, he made the banner with his friend while I was getting my stuff together for the camping trip, and he bought the paper at the store.  Then my Uncle Gary asked if he had asked my dad.  Which he had that morning when they went fishing.

After questioning Josh I asked everyone if they had seen the ring.  Of course, they had.  But they pretended they hadn't and looked at it again.  This may continue to happen.  Josh's friend Nick who made the banner with Josh has been shown the ring twice by me and saw it before I did, but still politely looks every time.  Amanda and Ken's kids were the cutest.  When I showed the ring to their two year old daughter, she oooed and awwwed at it and said it was pretty and sparkly.  Then their three year old son told us both Congratulations and gave us both a hug.

Needless to say in all the excitement I didn't help with the dishes.  The ring was too small so I kept opening up the ring box.  Josh said I was worse than he was the day he bought it.  We went and had it sized today and Josh put it on my finger.

It was perfect.  I was surprised, he picked out the ring, and added bonus my family was there.  We've both known we wanted to get married to one another for years.  I've probably known that's what I wanted quite a bit longer but I wanted him to ask me when he was ready to.  So after patiently waiting and not pushing the issue or dropping hints, we are officially engaged.  We aren't planning to actually get married for another year.  Josh thinks that's forever for an engagement.  I think that sounds average.

We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with family.  It was such a great camping trip.  Friday night was definitely the highpoint for me, but it was a great trip.  I made a few dutch oven cakes that were an experiment and turned out delicious.  The boys went 4wheeling, Ken built the kids a swing, etc.  Can't wait for next year.

The Name Game, The Shower, and Exhaustion

Here we are with 3 weeks until our due date.  Originally I wanted to have Little Baby Rieske on September 16th, her Great Grandma Emy's birthday.  Now I'm more the sooner the better mind frame. 

Do we have a name yet?  No, no we definitely do not.  It feels like we are farther from having one than we were when we first found out we were having a little girl.  Josh originally loved the name Jocelyn, now doesn't, because "No one likes it!"  Who comprises this group, he won't say, but I am annoyed.  After spending many an hour going over all the other names, that one of us doesn't like for some reason or another, we still have nothing.  Correction, we NOW have nothing.  We did have Jocelyn.  The baby's middle name has been Emy from the beginning of this naming ordeal and now Josh is suggesting it as her first name.  Which is a good suggestion, but he didn't like it at first.  Oh, the days when you looked forward to naming your children.  I'll let you know for sure afterward, but I'm guessing I'll dread this part of having our next baby more than the delivery once it's all said and done.
On a happier note, we had our baby shower on Friday night.  We had so many people come.  It was so good to see everyone.  All of Josh's aunts and cousins, my good friends, my aunts and cousins, and some of our dearest and oldest family friends. 

I still can't believe all the wonderful gifts we got.  Handmade blankets, adorable clothes, jewelry, baby gear, a case of diapers and wipes, the list goes on.  My friend Sarah made adorable coconut cupcakes that looked like little birds nest with a birds nest cake.  My mom, my cousin Amanda, and Aubree did everything else including making chocolate dipped strawberries.  Amanda's 3 year old Jacob was elated to finally get one after looking at them all day.  If I'd only gotten a picture of his face when he finally got a yes..... little boys!  With all the shower gifts we got we are well equipped for this baby now and I am ready when she is.

At our appointment Monday the doctor said we are dilated to a little over a 3 and 75% thinned.  Getting closer but not as much progress as last week.  She just wants us to go camping for Labor Day still.  I'm also throwing my cousin a shower next Wednesday.  So I suppose next Thursday would be perfect timing but worst case scenario Aubree is in charge of the shower. 
Since she dropped last week I've been more and more uncomfortable and a few nights ago Josh permanently moved my side of the bed to his, closer to the door.  Closer to the bathroom for me and he is hoping this will be more sleep for him, when I'm wide awake at 5 or 6 am.