Emily’s Musings

Dear Dallin,

You are now one month old. I have enjoyed your company so much more outside of my belly than inside.  You are a BIG BOY, and that reason alone is probably the primary factor why I enjoy your company so much now.  You came out a whopping 9 pounds 12 ounces at 38 weeks.  I can only imagine how big you would have been (and how uncomfortable and miserable I would have been) if we allowed you to bake an additional two weeks.  At your two week check-up you grew two inches (so you were 22 inches long) and were back to your birth weight.  You are an excellent nurser, and I am happy to report that I have had no problems nursing you.  Thank goodness for that.

We don’t know much about your personality yet, but we do know that you like to eat, sleep, poop, and cry.  You are quite the pooping machine, and your first night in the hospital you pooped 11 times.  Yes, count that again, 11 times.  Your dad was 100% on poop duty (since I had my abdomen sliced open to get you out, I wasn’t really in any position to help you since I couldn’t even help myself) and boy did you let him know what to expect for the next few weeks!  The good news is that all of your piping works properly.  It works VERY WELL.

You do enjoy sleeping anywhere, anytime.

Dallin and mommy sleeping . . .

Dallin and Grandpa Lesher sleeping . . .

Dallin and Grandma Gloria

Dallin and Daddy

Dallin and Grandpa Probst

You have a talent at blowing bubbles when you sleep.  We think it’s darling, and we just know you have some hidden talents up your sleeve.

Your big sister Hannah LOVES you to pieces.  She ALWAYS wants to hold you, kiss you, or play with you.  She is so good to you.  She is still working on being gentle with you, but you couldn’t ask for a better older sister.  She is thrilled to have a baby brother. We are equally excited that she accepts you and hasn’t asked us to return you to the hospital.

We can’t wait to see what you discover and learn and who you become in the next few months.

We love you so much.  We’re so glad you finally made your debut!

Love,

Mommy

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It’s a good thing we don’t have jobs because we wouldn’t be able to work and fit in all these doctor appointments! Almost every day for the past two weeks, one of us has had a doctor or dentist appointment. Today, Dallin went to the doc, I went to the OB for my post c-section check-up, and David had to go to the dentist. David and I both need some dental work done (living in the Caribbean for 2 1/2 years without dental care can certainly ring up a big bill for you) and honestly, all I want to say to the dentist and endodontist is: GET IN LINE. Everyone wants a piece of us (or more accurately, OUR CASH).

Did I mention I had a root canal done last week? Yes, LAST WEEK. The very week I had major surgery. FIVE DAYS AFTER BIRTHING A BABY. I absolutely had no choice, (other than cutting off my head, but then I couldn’t kiss my darling babies, or see them for that matter) and I HAD TO GET THE TOOTH TAKEN CARE OF. The endodontist was so nice, he gave up part of his Saturday morning to drill a hole in my tooth. I was SO HAPPY to be out of the mind numbing pain, I almost felt good about paying him $900 for ONE hour of his time.

But, secretly, I am kind of bummed that I had to spend $900 on a tooth. FOR MAINTENANCE. Honestly, I don’t have a problem spending that much money on any given Saturday, but it is sort of depressing to spend it on something you have to have done. You know, SO YOU DON’T DIE OF PAIN.

There are so many other things I would have liked to spend that money on, like a new SLR Camera, (Yes, we are still obsessed with Nikon cameras) a new post pregnancy wardrobe, a plane ticket to Hawaii, or a new piece of jewelry (hey, it is our 11th anniversary today). Hey, I wouldn’t even mind spending that money at the dentist for teeth whitening, or Invisalign. But for a root canal? There is no buyer satisfaction in that. In fact, I may even have buyer’s remorse.

Moving on . . . I went to the OB today for my post c-section check-up. The nurse was a little surprised to see David and me there. ALONE. WITH NO CHILDREN. I guess that probably did look weird. But Hannah was sleeping (not that we would have taken her anyway. How BORING for a toddler) and Dallin was sleeping and I didn’t want to expose him to nasty doctor’s office germs because I am a teeny, tiny, bit of a CLEAN FREAK at times. Please, don’t tell anyone. I checked out okay, and they nurse noticed I was in REGULAR jeans and she said, “Reguar Jeans? WOW! 10 days after major surgery? That is great!” And you know what? THAT IS EXACTLY WHAT I WAS THINKING AS I HEAVED MY FAVORITE JEANS ON OVER MY OVERWORKED POST PREGNANCY BELLY THIS MORNING. It’s nice when others notice. I have five pounds to loose to be at pre-pregnancy weight. This weight should not be confused with pre-Hannah weight. I have certainly have my work cut out for me in six weeks when I can start vigorous workouts again.

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I would like to point out the obvious right now. I AM NO LONGER PREGNANT. This fact alone has increased the quality of my life by at least 100%. I now have a beautiful baby boy named Dallin, and this fact has increased the quality of my life by at least a million percent. He is a doll. I am so in love with him. This is crazy, (and trust me, I know this next statement is crazy) but right after I have a baby, I want another one. Insane? Yes. So even though I HATE pregnancy (many of you have read about my pregnancy complaints so you know I TRULY DO NOT LOVE being pregnant) the final product is SO WORTH IT. In fact, I think I have forgotten all about my pregnancy ailments.

This delivery was pretty uneventful (especially compared to Hannah’s birth). I experienced no labor, (I highly recommend this) and I arrived at the hospital last Monday morning at 38 weeks pregnant for my scheduled c-section. At 8:36 am, I delivered Dallin who weighed in at 9 pounds 12 ounces. He was a tank, and I can only imagine how big he would have been if we waited two more weeks to deliver him on his due date!

When the doctor pulled Dallin out, I literally yelled, “Oh my gosh! I’m no longer pregnant!” Yes, I was THAT HAPPY ABOUT IT.

This is my beautiful son just moments out of my belly.

My recovery from this birth has been smooth. It has been SO MUCH EASIER to recover from this delivery than Hannah’s. It is amazing how much easier it is for your body to recover from major surgery when you haven’t gone through labor first. The hospital staff was wonderful, and having a baby in the USA was much more posh than my experience of giving birth to Hannah in the Caribbean.

I have had a very laid back week of recovering, and enjoying the company of friends and family who have come by to see our new addition. Hannah is absolutely in love with Dallin (much to our relief) and she always asks to kiss and hold him.

Here are some pictures from the week:

I am so glad to be home. I am up and around, and sometimes I actually get out of the house and take my kids on a walk. We love this little guy and Hannah so much. It’s hard to remember back to when David and I didn’t have them in our lives.

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The last time David and I went to a parade we took our dogs. We didn’t realize that dogs don’t really like parades until after it started. For some reason, the firing guns, loud cars and motorcycles, and all the people that come out in droves to see the parade, scared the crap out of them. We should have seen it coming, and left our dogs at home. But, before we had Hannah, our dogs were our kids, and they had no choice but to go to fun family activities with us. Because it was their job as our dog children.

Having a real-human-child-that-belonged-to-us was a TRILLION TIMES funner to have at the parade than our dogs. I now understand why parents camp out the night before the parade to secure great seats. NOT THAT I WOULD EVER DO THAT . . . but I get it now.

Parades are everything Hannah loves: airplanes overhead, candy, kids, horses, people singing, people dancing, cars, motorcycles . . . she absolutely enjoyed the parade. And get this, she talked her grandma and grandpa Lesher into attending the event, EVEN THOUGH IT WAS PRACTICALLY THE LAST THING ON THE PLANET THEY WANTED TO DO THAT DAY. Way to go Hannah!

This was Hannah’s face for over two hours . . . she also danced her little heart away when bands came by.

We all had a great time . . . even I did with my huge belly which you can’t see in the empty chair. (Well, someone has to take photos!)

It was one hot day, and I wished we were on the other side of the street where there was more shade, but we were lucky enough to get such good seats.

We have just finished our marathon week of fun activities, (the zoo, water park, hot air balloon race, grandpa Probst’s birthday party, the parade, visiting family and friends . . . phew!) and in 24 hours, our new baby will have joined our family. We are all excited for the arrival of this little baby. Tonight is the last night of quiet, peaceful, sleep!

Stats and pictures will be posted as soon as we can get them up tomorrow. Check back to see our new little guy, (and what we named him)!

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As I was going through some pictures from this week, I came across these photos from the zoo. These are some photos of Dennis accompanying Hannah on her favorite attraction, the carousel. The look on Dennis’ face is what stood out to me in all these photos.

I’m not sure what Hannah is thinking, but I’m pretty sure Dennis thinks this ride is the “bomb.”

Hannah seems to be having a little more fun . . .

Hannah was very good to wave at us, even if it was only a little wave . . .

Check out the smile on Dennis’ face . . . I’m not sure who is having more fun . . .

Looks like you can never be too old or too young to enjoy a good carousel ride. Thanks Dennis for taking Hannah. Riding around and around in circles is not exactly my idea of fun, especially when I’m pregnant. Thanks for sparing me from chugging up my innards.

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Oh how I have missed celebrating our nations birth in Utah. For seven LONG YEARS now, David and I have not been in Utah to celebrate this event. Our absence (you know, our experience celebrating this event in other states and of course out of the country) has only made us realize how AWESOME the events and festivities leading up to and including the 4th of July are in Utah. There are so many family friendly activities to do.

One of my favorite events is the hot air balloon race. The race starts early, (around 6:30 am) but it is TOTALLY worth getting up for it. I had to remind David of that fact when he really wanted to sleep in when the alarm sounded (at 5:00 am). And get this . . . WE, THE SLEEP/NAP NAZI’S, EVEN WOKE UP HANNAH EARLY TO GO TO THIS. Yeah, it was that important.

In case you were wondering, this is what the inside of a hot air balloon looks like when it is being blown up.

Trust me, it looks a lot bigger in person . . .

The field was overtaken with onlookers and big balloons. Everywhere.

This is Hannah’s signature look when she is experiencing something for the first time. Even though it looks like she is bored out of her brains, she is actually having a great time. She kept calling them “A BANOONS!” and would point to the launched ones and say, “COME BACK! SIT DOWN!” Hannah has been fascinated with “banoons” since we arrived in the states almost two months ago. Considering the first time she saw a helium balloon was a few weeks ago, I’d say she’s on the fast track to “balloon knowledge” now that she has seen hot air balloons.

Hannah especially liked the pig and the strawberry designs . . .

This is one big pig . . .

I just love to see the balloons rise so quickly. They are so beautiful against the sunrise and the mountains.

If you find yourself in Utah for the 4th of July, please mark this event on your calendar. It is TOTALLY worth it. EVEN IF YOU DO HAVE TO WAKE UP EARLY.

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On Saturday, we drove up to David’s sister’s house (Janine) in Pleasant View (which I always refer to as “Pleasantville” because what is the difference? They sound the same to me . . .) to watch fireworks for the city’s celebration of “Founder’s Day.” Hannah got to see a few cousins, and of course spent time with “FADANNA!” (Savannah), her favorite cousin.

The fireworks were fantastic. They were launched at a field right by Janine’s house. We were able to enjoy them right overhead as we sat on the driveway. As you all may know, David and I are the nap/bedtime Nazis, so Hannah went to bed at 7:00, while the rest of of the family enjoyed playing games and eating great food. To our surprise, Hannah slept right through the fireworks. Sitting so close to the fireworks got this little guy in my belly all worked up into a knot and he was a little out of control squirming around in his womb.

Moving on to the the next fun event . . . We took Hannah to 7-Peaks Water Park on Monday. She seems to have a way with words and is very good at persuading people to do exactly as she says . . . so Grandma and Grandpa Lesher not only came to the water park, but they also got into their swimming suits. Grandpa had a great time once he was there . . . riding on crazy tube slides with David n’ stuff. The funny thing is, people over the age of 65 are free, (yes, I am divulging my in-laws ages here) so both Dennis and Gloria were free to enter the water park. They must figure that most people over 65 are merely there as spectators. I’m sure that is usually the case, but they haven’t met the “young at heart” father that belongs to David.

Hannah and Dennis (in the white shirt) in the kid pool. Check out Hannah’s grin.

Hannah and Dave, wading in kid the pool water which mostly consists of baby pee . . .

I would like to mention how these pictures came about. BECAUSE I WAS THE DESIGNATED PHOTOGRAPHER. Projects like this get handed off to the person who is least mobile, and THAT PERSON WAS ME. You see, I would like Hannah to know that I was in fact there, having fun with her . . . but I just didn’t want to document my large, swollen, very pregnant belly, IN A BATHING SUIT.

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I thought I was a lame mom, wanting to take Hannah to Cabella’s to see the animal displays, which are literally stuffed animals. We took her anyway (who cares if that idea is lame) and to my surprise, there were like 400 other families doing the exact same thing. Like is was a zoo . . .

Speaking of the zoo . . . we took Hannah to Utah’s Hogle Zoo on Monday. Since Dennis and Gloria are both Senior Citizens, (sorry to point out the obvious) I am EXTREMELY pregnant, (also, VERY obvious) and Hannah’s attention span is about three minutes long, we only stayed at the zoo for about three hours. Really, that was our max. Except for David of course, he has nothing to complain about except an overworked brain.

I would have taken more pictures of us having fun at the Zoo, but then that would imply that we had fun the WHOLE TIME, and honestly, it was hot, and I can’t say that any of us really enjoyed walking from exhibit to exhibit in the blazing hot sun only to find the animals equally hot and hiding somewhere in their habitat. Plus, I was too tired to take pictures. I mean, all the EFFORT it takes to pull out the camera, and push a button . . . it was asking a little too much.

However, we did take some pictures of us really having a great time. Hannah’s favorite part was riding on the Carousel and our favorite part (you know, us older folk) was seeing the giraffes.

And now for Hannah’s favorite attraction:

She specifically chose to ride on this polar bear because it was “dancing.” Doesn’t it look like it’s “dancing” to you? If you ask Hannah about this animal, she will automatically say “dancing bear!” because even toddlers know that Polar Bears do in fact, DANCE.

I’m not sure who’s having more fun here . . . Hannah or her dad?

Hannah loved seeing the “aminals” and she especially liked the “elfanants” and the monkeys the best. It was certainly worth the trip out to the zoo, even if her favorite attraction was this Carousel.

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On Sunday, we went to David’s great-aunt’s 90th birthday bash. Well, it was more like a social in the back yard, but I would like to image it as a “bash” because that’s what I expect when I turn 90 . . .

When we lived in Utah, we lived next door to this great-aunt for five years. It was exciting to see so many relatives, and members of the ward (a.k.a. a Mormon congregation) at this “bash” that we hadn’t seen in over seven years.

David asked me if I happened to talk to this “one” couple, and I said I had. He related the conversation he had with them to me and I thought, “YOU ARE SUCH A MAN. A WOMAN WOULD NEVER OMIT SO MANY DETAILS.”

Couple: “Hey! Where are you guys now?”

David: “We’re staying with my parents right now.”

Couple: “Oh . . . . .”

END OF CONVERSATION.

The ultimate “silencer.” Nothing says “I’m a lame” more than “I am a grown man, with a pregnant wife and a toddler, and two dogs, LIVING AT MY PARENTS HOUSE.” Can you blame the guy? He has no idea where we have been for the last seven years. How is he to know that we are “in-between” places and we choose to live in Utah to spend some time with our families this summer while I have this baby?

A woman would have said, “My husband is half way through medical school and he is studying for a major exam right now. We move to Louisiana in August so he can start working in in a hospital as a student doctor and since his clinical rotations don’t start until mid-August, we decided to spend the summer in Utah (instead of anywhere else while he studies for this exam) to see family and share the birth of our child with them. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN ONE VERY LONG SENTENCE LIKE THAT.

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A week and a half to go. This kid comes out FOR SURE in a week and a half or sooner. There are so many things I want to do, and people I want to see before this baby comes, I’m am starting to feel a little overwhelmed.

First of all, I have put a lot of “fun things” on hold, WAITING for David to take the USMLE Step One Exam. There are some things I want to enjoy together as a family, (such as the zoo, and 7-Peaks Water Park) but mostly, I just don’t have the energy of a non-pregnant mom to tote Hannah all over the city seeing people and doing things THAT REQUIRE A LOT OF EFFORT. The big test day is tomorrow. Think good thoughts for David, or heck, PRAY FOR HIM. He has been studying hard, and tomorrow he gets to put his brain to work (and lets hope it’s working) and prove his knowledge.

While he is taking this very hard exam, I will be sleeping in, milling around until after Hannah’s nap, and then I have a play date scheduled with a a couple of her cousins to go swimming. Life is just so hard for me.

Aside from my biggest complaint of BEING HUGE AND UNCOMFORTABLE, life is good. Not much is expected of me (change Hannah’s poopie diapers, feed her food, you know, REALLY HARD STUFF) so I am soaking up this time where no one has expectations of me. It’s nice.

We took Hannah to the doctor today for her FIRST EVER VISIT TO A PEDIATRICIAN. The doctor was quite surprised to hear that Hannah had never been seen by a Pediatrician, but when we explained how we lived on another planet located in the Caribbean and we were just happy to have electricity for seven consecutive days in a row, she seemed to understand. We’re obviously not picky folk.

Hannah needed to get caught up on her immunizations, and this was the part of the visit I dreaded the most. She was very chatty to the nurses and the doctor, and when asked if she wanted a shot, she said, “YES!”

Poor kid, the next time I’m positive she will say “NO WAY! GET OUT OF HERE! DON’T COME NEAR ME!”

She was okay with first shot in her leg, until she moved. Then it hurt. Then the tears fell down like a waterfall. Unfortunately, we all had to endure two more shots in her arms.

SHE WAS NOT EXACTLY HAPPY ABOUT THAT.

She did get some band-aids and the nurse seemed to think that would make her happy.

I am now going to point out something that may seem crazy . . . Hannah doesn’t know what band-aids are. She has NEVER had one. NEVER NEEDED ONE. Is that weird that she turns two in one month and has not discovered the “healing power” of princess covered band-aids?

Well, it certainly shocked the nurses and the doctor. Apparently, all kids under the age of two LOVE band-aids and are very well aware of their “special healing power.”

Hannah took those band aids off as soon as she could. She called them “stickers” and everyone knows stickers belong on paper, NOT PEOPLE.

We have another appointment for her to get more shots next month. I think I’ll stick that job to David to take her. I figure, if he’s going to be a doctor, he may as well get used to KIDS NOT LIKING HIM.

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