Jelly Belly

Ahhh, the postpartum bod. It's a lovely thing. I tried to flex my once rock hard abs (insert hysterical laughter here), but all that's there is mush. Really, it's an abyss. It's amazing. Remember how my nose was swollen? It's lost weight, but I think it got stretched out. It doesn't feel as taut as it did before. Perhaps it's my imagination, but I swear I have a flabby nose now. She's worth it though, little Aani. They all are.
Things are going pretty well, but Anders is suffering because we don't go anywhere during the day. He begs to go to the gym. Unfortunately we have a few more weeks before that can happen. The kids love Aani. Anders mauls her constantly. He says he loves her about 45,000 times a day. I think Addie's even taken a liking to her. She asks to hold her, and she rubs her head. She also tries to shove the bottle into poor Aani's mouth, in a loving, forceful way. Aani is a sweet baby. She loves to be snuggled and talked to. We're still amazed that she's so healthy and robust. She eats so well and breathes so well. It's really just a miracle.

The Other Side...

Yes, Nils almost passed out, but I knew from the start that I was on my own. This was a very different birth experience.
Like Nils said, the hospital called at 6:20ish to say I had to be there by 7:00 or I'd be moved to the end of the list. I was not having that. I got dressed and left, and Nils stayed with the kids, who were still sleeping. We had arranged to meet my mom later in the morning, so this sort of threw everything off. I got to the hospital on time, though. At 8:00 the pitocin was hooked up. At around 9:00, the doctor broke my water and told me I was at a 3. Historically, once I'm at a 3 or 4, the baby comes out an hour later. Nils wasn't there yet, so I knew we would be cutting it close. Nils arrived with my mom and my kids around 9:30. About 10:00 I requested the epidural. I had a feeling the baby was coming soon and really had no interest in experiencing it naturally. (I got to feel Addie and didn't enjoy it.) The kids were being wild, so Nils took them to get a snack. He did it on purpose so he'd miss the epidural. I got to hug a pillow instead of my husband, which was fine, since he always passes out during the epidural anyway.
Nils and the kids came back to the room just as I was feeling great and pain free, but my children were driving me insane, and my mom was narrating the contractions. Seriously, is that not the most annoying thing ever? I told my mom it was going to be awhile, so to take the kids home and we'd call when it was getting close. That was at 11:00, and Aani was born at high noon. It was surreal. The only people in the room were me, Nils, the doctor and my nurse. Is that normal? With Addie there was a neonatal crew in there, and even with Anders there were three other nurses. It was very peaceful and quiet and low-key. Until Nils decided to make a story of it.
So, let's talk about Nils passing out. I've never had a baby during the daytime, and it was pretty bright in the room. I think the sunlight illuminated some details that he hadn't seen before. That's my explanation. I know my husband, so when the doctor and nurse were oblivious to the fact that he was blind and deaf, I knew. Even whilst pushing out a baby, I knew. They put Aani on my belly (again, the first time that's happened), and I could see Nils was pale and sweating. Fortunately he came to before too long and could go visit her and take some pictures.
So, the labor and delivery were unusually easy, despite the fact that I was by myself for much of it. It was weird; much more down to business. However, for such an easy delivery, this is by far the worst time I've had recovering. I felt like I had been kicked in the back for 3 days, and oh my- the cramping. I knew it got worse with each kid, but I was not prepared for this. All they'd give me was a lousy Motrin every 8 hours. I really could have used the epidural. After one horrid night in the hospital, I decided to go home. We got home Wednesday night, and we were even able to bring Aani with us. Hooray!
She's a cute kid, and yes, our biggest. Anders was 6 lbs. 9 oz., and Addie was a mere 4 lbs. 10 oz., so you can see why we think Aani is such a fatso. We're still trying to adjust to life with a newborn plus 2 other kids. Anders is completely infatuated with her, and Addie's tolerating her just fine so far. Aani eats about 90% of the time, so we've been spending the last three days holding and feeding, and trying to pay attention to Anders and Addie. We're feeling very blessed, overwhelmed and tired. Thanks for all your kind words. We know we're lucky to have good friends and family.

"Welcome to Earf."

When I held my newborn little girl in my arms today, I couldn't help but think of the little girl in the movie The Family Man who thought her dad had been replaced by an alien and said "Welcome to Earf." Today we were able to welcome Aani to Earf in a smooth fashion. We were told to expect a call between 8 and 9 to let us know when to come in. Instead, at 6:19 AM we got a call saying we had to be in by 7 or we'd be moved to the end of the list. I was half asleep but I heard Katrina mumbling "Last in line... you can kiss my grits!" Fortunately she had already hung up that point.
The rest happened pretty quickly. The oxytocin started at 8 and around 11:30 she had dilated to a 4. At 11:40 she asked me to call the nurse because she was feeling a lot of pressure. The nurse checked and, sure enough, she had dilated completely (to 10 cm). That's crazy: 4cm to 10cm in 10 minutes? Anyway, she pushed for about 15 minutes and at exactly noon, little Aani was born, weighing in at 7lbs, 5oz and measuring 19" long. She's our biggest baby yet. Katrina's doing great and Aani is incredibly healthy, cute, quiet and happy. We're amazed and excited.
Although I watched Anders and Addie enter this world without so much as a stomach cringe, this round was not so easy for me. When she started pushing, I started feeling light headed. Of course, being semi-retarded, I chose to keep watching rather than look away even though I knew it could lead to my demise. Sure enough, the ringing in my ears began and then grew louder. My vision became dark but I never actually lost it. I was trying to take pictures (tasteful ones) but I was afraid if I didn't put the camera down I would drop it. Katrina noticed my condition and when I was asked to cut the cord, she hesitated and asked if I could see it. I could and, though quite out of it, I managed to successfully cut Aani's cord (as I have with Anders and Addie) and not cut the doctor or Aani. I then had to sit down. For a long time. The doctor didn't seem to notice my state and said "You can go over and say hi to your baby, you know" to which I replied "Actually, I can't. If I try to stand up I'll pass out." I felt terrible sitting there while our new daughter was across the room being cleaned up by a stranger. I wanted to go over and comfort her but I suffer from Wussy-Stomach-Itis so I wasn't able to so much as stand up. I was dripping sweat, 50% deaf and 50% blind. At one point I nearly bolted to the bathroom to hurl. Fortunately I held it all in and after 10 or 15 minutes had pretty much recovered. I sure am a wuss when it comes to blood and medical yucky stuff.
So thanks for all of your kind words, thoughts and prayers. We're thrilled to have such a healthy mom and baby. Oh yeah, and Courtney- the high scores I see on Bubble Breaker are 456 for standard play and 1078 for the MegaShift version. We're pretty sure Anders scored the 456. Seriously.

Aani Eve

As you know, we're heading to the hospital tomorrow morning to have us a baby. I'm pretty excited. I can't wait to meet this new little member of our family. We should be going in between 8 and 10 AM and we'll see how long it takes. Katrina only asks that I bring my bubble game for her to play (my PDA has a bubble breaker game and she believes the PDA was only meant to be used for that game).
In case you haven't heard, the baby's name will be Aani Sophia Rasmusson. Pronounced Ah-nee. It's African, like me. I wonder if she'll be black, like the rest of my biological family. Darn recessive whiteboy genes.
Yesterday I wanted to take a Dad's day drive with my boy and shoot some photos. We headed toward Kenecott Copper Mine but they charge $5 to enter so we found a park area nearby and drove until it started getting late. We stopped for some pictures a few times but they didn't come out as good as I had hoped. I did manage to get some great photos of Anders, though. He took more photos than I did. If anybody has a cheap digital camera they don't want just let us know. We're trying to find one for Anders.
I should probably try to sleep. I'm just very excited for tomorrow. Aani on June 19th. On a side note, Katrina and I are both excited in a most pathetic way to have a day or two "off". This isn't exactly a pleasure cruise but we both really need a break from the day to day. Even if it does involve giving birth, wiping up meconium and failed attempts to sleep at night. I'll be sure to post pics of our new daughter as soon as I can. Rock on.

It Wasn't Pee!!!

Yesterday morning I was sure my water broke. I won't get into details, but there was a sizable dribble. I generally have control of my bladder, so I was fairly certain that I hadn't just peed my pants. I called my mom and we arranged to have her meet us and take the kids while Nils and I went to the hospital to know for sure. I was having teeny-tiny contractions, but I was still quite confident that it was my water. No. However, in my defense, it wasn't pee! Seriously, who does this happen to? Apparently cells can collect and the baby can move and they burst. And then, you go to the hospital for the second useless time and they send you home. No morphine this time, either. Just start the pitocin drip, people.

Deadline: Tuesday

Well, it's official. I've never been this pregnant. Now, I understand that many people go past their due dates and are thinking I'm a huge whiner and I just need to suck it up. Which I am, and I do. It's just that both of my kids were early, so that's what I've come to expect. And the whole changing of the due date thing really threw me off.

So, I've decided to stop complaining. I'm not taking anymore castor oil because I think I'd have to drink the whole bottle. By the way, nothing happened at all from the amount I took. It didn't affect my digestive system in the least, thank goodness.

I will be induced on Tuesday, provided nothing happens over the weekend. I actually think it would be swell to deliver on Sunday. That way, I don't have to go to church and have everyone aghast that I'm still pregnant, and, since it's Father's Day, I can count the baby as Nils' present.

We're naming her Aani Sophia, for those of you wondering. :-) Send good vibes my way for Aani to arrive on June 17th.

Darn the Castor Oil!

I started taking the castor oil yesterday. I took a small amount at first to make sure and not get sick...then a little more...then a little more, etc. Nothing. Nada. I think it's actually made me go backwards. I was having mild contractions Monday and yesterday until I took the stuff. Then they stopped completely! What the heck? I'm going to the doctor today, so I'm planning on turning on the water works. I'm sure he won't care. Did I mention he said he'd induce me on the 19th? That's not soon enough, but it's looking like I might just have to take it at this point. Thanks for nothing, stupid-head castor oil!

Internet Trouble

Sorry for the lack of posts this week. Our internet has been out on and off since Sunday. Gotta love that Saratoga Cable!

We got Nils a Pool...And I'm Still Pregnant

Alright, we got the pool for the kids, but I sure was laughing once Nils got in it. He and Anders had a grand old time. Addie was not interested in getting her hula skirt wet, so she observed from the sidelines. Oh, how I laughed (not at him, with him) at my brave husband. He originally told me he had to approve any pictures posted to the blog, but just now said he doesn't care. Excellent.


In other incredibly exciting news, I'm still pregnant. Today was my original due date, so I gotta say- I'm a little bitter. I'm 38 weeks now, so anytime the wee one wants to emerge, I welcome her! My Hallmark doctor is in Mexico (the nerve) until next week, so I'm sort of hoping she doesn't come until he's back. On the other hand, I am feeling unbelievably crappy and am totally ready to have this baby.

I apologize for the following picture. I just wanted to portray what I've become. My nose is swollen like I drink too much beer. It's all red too, which adds nicely to the alcoholic effect. In the last week I've gained 4 pounds. Nice. This picture was taken before the weight was gained, so you can imagine how hot I am at the moment. And the pants? They are the only pants, maternity pants included, that are comfortable right now. I've been feeling the need to shed something, so last night I got my hair chopped off. It's very, very short. Not flattering with my swollen face, but whatever. It was therapeutic. I've decided that if Monday comes and goes and I'm still in this state, I'm drinking castor oil.

Short Lived Joy

Well that was quick. The DVD player died already. What was that- a few days? We had used it in the car maybe twice and it started freaking out then stopped working. Now it won't power on at all. There could be various reasons for this (most of which I try not to think about) but now we're back to square one. Oh well, it's not like we spent money on it. Anders is now back to asking 89 questions a minute in the car. "Hey Anders, look at that airplane!"

Deep Thoughts of a 4-Year Old

Anders ponders the universe. I may have mentioned once or twice that he talks non-stop. This would be fine if our automatic responses of "Uh-huh", "Oh, really?", "Wow!", "That's cool", etc. were sufficient for him. But alas, they're not. He asks questions that have no answers, and then gets annoyed when he doesn't get an answer to satisfy his brain. I thought I'd share some of his latests zingers, and maybe you can help us with some answers.

Anders: Does Dear Heavenly Father have a mommy?
Me: Yes
Anders: Did she die? And did Dear Heavenly Father die?
Me: Wow, Anders, look at the airplane!

Anders: What is dirt made of?
Me: (Being the organic chemistry genius that I am) Dirt is dirt, Anders.
Anders: So you don't know? Then I'll just ask Dear Heavenly Father.
Me: Alright. Let me know what he says.

Anders: Mommy, how is the baby going to come out of your tummy?
Me: Uhhhhhhhh.........uhhhhhhhhh.......
Anders: Will she come out of your mouth?
Me: No, she'll come out of my tummy.
Anders: Will your tummy pop open?
Me: Yes, exactly.
Anders: And then they'll sew it up?
Me: Wow, Anders, look at the airplane!

Anders: Mommy, how did the baby get in your tummy?
Me: Wow, Anders, look at the airplane!

Anders: Mom, is macaroni and cheese healthy?
Me: Not really.
Anders: But it doesn't have sugar, so what makes it unhealthy?
Me: Refined carbohydrates.
Anders: Oh.
Me thinking: Holy schneikes, I can't believe I actually answered a question satisfactorily.

Yesterday he shared this little nugget with me, and I thought it was pretty funny:

Anders: Mommy, wouldn't it be bad if the whole earth was covered in peas, like the kind of peas you eat, and we couldn't drive or go outside?
Me: Yes, that would be bad. We would have to eat all the peas.
Anders: Yeah, but not the ones that are dirty.

He's also constantly asking if TV characters are real. Cartoons are an easy no, but real-life shows like Sesame Street are a little more tricky. And Mickey Mouse- if we go to Disneyland, how are we going to explain that one? "There's a man inside a big Mickey costume. He's an actor" and then we crush our son's universe.

His primary teachers told me that he "really likes to talk". Really? I had no idea. About 5 times a day, he exclaims, "Mommy, I still remember that Jesus was RESURRECTED!" as if he's about to shout praises of hallelujah.

I signed him up for preschool, but it doesn't start until August. What am I going to do with this kid all summer?