Becoming a Family of Four

Family of Four- Jonathan, Peter, Robin and Ezra

On December 31st 2015, the Nelson family officially went from 3 people to 4! This is going to be a post on Ezra's birth story. So, if you don't want to read all the details, feel free to just scroll through the pictures.

New baby at the hospital

His official due date was the 28th of December. My midwife was going to be out of town from 22-27th of December. I was really hoping he would come early before my midwife left for Christmas break. I was done being pregnant and would have loved to have a week less of being huge, and I wanted to have my midwife there when he was born instead of someone I didn't know as well. Also, then he would be there for all the extended family to meet and hold and love when they came for Christmas break, which would be nice. 

I had been having contractions everyday starting about 2 weeks before my due date. There were a number of times that I thought, "Today is the day!" I'd have contractions anywhere from 10 minutes to 3 minutes apart, but they would always stop after an hour or two. There was one night that I tracked them and they were consistently 3-5 minutes apart for an hour, then Peter woke up and climbed in bed with us and the contractions stopped. It was super frustrating. Then, the 28th came and went. I had a doctor's appointment that day, and everyone was surprised to see me. "We thought for sure you'd have the baby by now!" my nurse said. My midwife said the same thing, "I checked the charts when I got in this morning. I thought for sure you were going to have the baby when I was gone." You and me both lady. But the little guy decided to not come early. 

Peter, Robin and New Baby

My mom flew in on the 30th (I had 2 different back ups in place in case, fingers crossed, the baby had come by then, but no, I was just fine to drive to the airport that day to get her). I picked her up from the airport and met up with my brother, David, for lunch. Then we picked up Peter, who was playing with the Nelson aunts, uncles , cousins and grandparents at the zoo. We headed home and had a normal day...nothing indicating the baby would be coming soon. We had dinner, chatted, and went to bed. I'd had contractions on and off throughout the day, but nothing consistent and none of them were strong.

I woke up around 2am to a strong-ish contraction. Then, another one just a few minutes later. I stood up next to the bed and leaned my arms on the mattress to get through the contraction and suddenly my water broke. My water never broke with Peter, so already, we were off to a very different start. I went to the bathroom, then woke up Jonathan. He asked, "How far apart are your contractions?" I responded with, "I don't know, but my water broke, and Gretchen (my midwife) said the baby's head was really low and we needed to come in quick if my water broke. So, we need to leave, now." We threw a couple of things (chargers, phones) into the hospital bag, woke my mom, and left. I remember being really shaky as we were getting out the door and driving in the car. My legs kept shaking and I had to focus really hard to keep them still. It's about a 20 minute drive from our house to the hospital. Contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart on the ride in. Jonathan called Gretchen as we were driving, and she headed to the hospital (She lives about 5 minutes away). I was glad that it wasn't snowing on the way to the hospital like it had been with Peter's birth.

Brothers!

We got to the hospital at about 2:40 am, parked the car in the front drive through area, grabbed a wheelchair and headed up to labor and delivery. We went to the front desk and they put us in a room (with a jacuzzi tub!! which I didn't even get a chance to use...sad) and started prepping everything. One nurse started asking us lots of questions- have you had any multiple births? any complications or problems during pregnancy? any domestic violence in your house? Now, I'm sure these are important things to have answered, but I just wanted her to stop talking and go away. Haha. Contractions were much more intense now. I answered some of her questions, but whenever there was a contraction I stopped talking and Jonathan would take over. Meanwhile, another nurse was trying to get an IV in me...little did she know, that would be pointless. She poked me once, but it didn't go. So they wanted to try the other hand. I told her to wait until I wasn't having a contraction and had a couple right in a row. Then, I had to pee really bad. They helped me get up and go to the bathroom. I had 2 strong contractions then, with a death grip on Jonathan's arm. At this point, contractions weren't just a "ok, I'll relax and think about something else as it passes... oh good it's over." it was more a "I think this is what death feels like. Wait, don't tense up. Gah, this is extremely unpleasant....whew, survived...I hope that never happens again...oh wait here comes another one." Anyway, went to the bathroom, then back on the bed.

View from our room of the Capital (after he was born)

Then, things get super crazy super fast. They were working on putting monitors back on me- during contractions...I wanted everyone to go away at this point- and the baby's heart rate was dropping with each contraction (same thing happened with Peter, so I wasn't worried, but the doctors were) They were struggling to get a good read on the baby because he was low down...trying to get out.They had me on oxygen at this point (same with Peter), but they didn't make me strap it on my face, they just let me hold it. I remember feeling really claustrophobic when they made me wear the oxygen mask with Peter...and I kept taking it off, which they didn't like, so this worked much better. 

At this point, I could sense that people were a little nervous because of the baby's heart rate and something else, but I was just trying to block everything out. I remember Jonathan was awesome. He kept telling me that I was doing great and that I could do this. After being back in the bed for about 2-3 contractions, I suddenly told everyone, "I need to push." I vaguely remember Gretchen counting and saying I was a 10, and I could push. Next thing I know, a nurse was holding one leg, someone was counting and so many people seemed to be yelling at me to push. So I did. I could tell everyone was worried by the tone of their voices, but I didn't know why they were worried, and I can't remember much of what was being said. I distinctly remember Gretchen saying, "Robin push, the baby needs to come out. He is not happy in there." I also remember another nurse telling me to not worry about the oxygen mask, but to just push. They didn't let me take a second to pause between pushes either, just push, push push. If I'd had it in my I really wanted to say, "What do you think I'm doing?! I'm pushing the best I can!" Haha, but I just focused. Then I heard Jonathan say, "Robin you are almost done. I can see him a little. Keep pushing, he's almost here." I can't imagine doing this without Jonathan there...I don't know how people did it back in the day when the men were sent away.  

My view (again after baby was born)- look at that hottie. I love him.

It took about 3-5 pushes (?? I think..it wasn't long) and the baby was born! His time of birth- 3:21 am. Remember what time we got to the hospital? Around 2.40 am...yeah, it was a fast whirlwind of a baby being born. They never did get to try the IV again. And we had to finish answering all the questions after he was born...which to be honest was much easier. As soon as he was born, they put him on my chest and rubbed him until he started crying- they were worried about him, but he did awesome. He was a little purple when I first got him, but he pinked up pretty fast. They had a special nurse there to check him out and everything, so I'm pretty sure that's why everyone sounded so worried when I was pushing. But he was great, just like his big brother. I got to hold him for about an hour and let him nurse before they weighed and measured him. He came in at 7 lbs 12 oz and 20.5 inches long. He didn't have a name yet, and that is another story for another day.

And the newest Nelson!

Nelson Family Update...because it's been a crazy December

It's time for an update. It's been a crazy year for us, and a crazy December thus far. I don't know if I'll ever get all the stories written, so it's time for a summary.

Where We Live
We moved again...so we have officially made it to 4 houses in one year. We are still in Bountiful, and beautifully enough, still in the same ward (which is a huge miracle as Utah ward boundaries are really small). We really wanted to stay in the ward, so we would have support when the baby came, we really like it here, and I wasn't ready to totally uproot again. So far, we love our new dwelling and have gotten all but 4 boxes totally unpacked (not counting all of the book boxes that we left boxed up because we don't have enough bookcase space for all our books, and because we need to go through our books more and downsize, but the time for that is not now). We are pretty expert at moving now. We were packed, moved and 95% unpacked within about 1.5 weeks. We have also gotten even better at getting rid of things we don't need. Hopefully the next move we make will have less boxes.

Weather
We have had incredible amounts of snow the last weeks! We had a couple of great snow storms come through. Jonathan stayed home from work one day because the plows didn't come through until 11am, and it was still snowing at that point, and we live at the top of the hills (plural, hills), and Jonathan was worried he wouldn't be able to make it home (super valid concern). But other than that one day, the plows were amazing and kept the roads clear. We bundled Peter up a couple of times and went out. He had to crawl through it because it was too deep for him to walk in. We still have a few feet of snow on the ground, and even more on the drifts along the roads. It's crazy, but fun too.

Clearing off the car (17 inches at this point)

There is a sidewalk under there somewhere...

Baby
Nothing new. He hasn't come yet. But we are all ready for him when he gets here. We have his bed, his car seat, clothes cleaned and mostly organized, diapers washed (need to fold them), and Peter is excited to meet his brother. We toured the hospital last week, and Peter was most excited to see that xiao didi had his own bed, but he was sad to learn that he couldn't climb into the small bed. I'm due on Monday, and my midwife is out of town for Christmas until Monday morning, so I'm hoping I don't have the baby until then. Time will tell, but I promise everyone, we'll let you know when he is born.

Peter
He's had a hard time adjusting to all the recent changes lately. He's pretty defiant, stubborn and emotional these days. He has way more tantrum breakdowns and he is sleeping pretty awful at night again. We have to remind ourselves that he's gone through a lot lately, and it just trying to adjust, but lots of days are tough. Luckily he is pretty cute and when he is being sweet, he's a blast to be around. Peter is still super social and really really happy whenever we have visitors. His vocabulary is increasing all the time and frequently says words I have no idea he knew. He currently loves to have "sleepovers" (I don't know where he learned that word), with me...sleepovers are the same thing as naps except in the big bed with Mom. He loves attacking Jonathan with pillows, making houses with the couch cushions, and playing with flashlights. He likes eating cereal, cottage cheese and sweet toast (cinnamon rasin toast), all separately. His favorite color is orange (sometimes red) and his favorite animal is a triceratops.

That's all for now, it's time to hit the sack so we can be awake and ready to go tomorrow for Christmas. Loves!

The Day We Found Out If the Baby Was a Boy or a Girl

There was differing of opinion between Jonathan and I on whether or not to find out if the baby is a boy or a girl. I didn't want to find out until the baby was born, because it would add a fun surprise after going through labor. And, we have most things we need for a baby, and enough gender neutral clothing from Peter that it wouldn't matter if the baby was a boy or a girl. (That and I knew if it was a girl, we would get plenty of girl clothes from grandparents, so I wasn't worried about having them right when the baby was born.) Jonathan on the other hand, really wanted to know. He's pretty terrible at keeping things a secret, and if he can know, then he wants to. 

Our housemate, Rebecca, offered to make a "gender reveal" cake for us. Apparently it's all the rage these days to have a big party to find out the gender of the baby. People get a little intense with these and try to come up with a super creative way to share with their friends if their baby is a boy or a girl. I didn't want a ton of attention or to have to throw a party, so instead we just let Rebecca make the cake and we found out at home with just me, Jonathan and Peter, and Rebecca took some pictures for us. The way it works is the inside of the cake will either be blue or pink. 

Robin and the cake

Prior to the cake being cut, I was 99% certain that this baby was going to be a girl. This pregnancy is quite a bit different from when I was pregnant with Peter, so I assumed that meant the baby had to be quite a bit different from Peter. I had a name in mind- Mae- and was excited to dress her in cute dinosaur onsies and not be outnumbered in our family. I knew we would cut that cake open and pink frosting would be in the middle....but.....

After the reveal...Blue for boy #2! 

Turns out I was totally wrong! We are just as excited to have a boy, and maybe it's good we found out, because we still don't know what we want to name baby boy #2. Right now the strongest contenders are Anders Gleaves Nelson, or Henry ? Nelson. But it's still very up in the air. We mostly call him xiao didi (little brother). Peter likes to touch Xiao Didi (feel my belly move), but he's usually too impatient to actually feel him move. It will be a blast with 2 boys. I'm excited to see how the brothers are similar and how they are different. I'm also excited to see if they look like each other and we get another kid with white hair, or if baby #2 has darker hair. Time will tell!

Xiao Didi (Little Brother)

19 weeks pregnant

This year for Christmas, Peter is getting a baby brother! He's pretty excited about it. He likes to talk about his baby (in his tummy...apparently everyone is having a baby since mom is) and sometimes he says, "My baby is sick. I need drink water and baby feel better." or something along these lines- something he's heard from me and repeats in his own way. He's pretty cute. We're still working on being nice to mom's tummy- I get elbowed and kicked on a regular basis and it is my least favorite. He's just too busy to remember sometimes.

So, here's a run down of pregnancy #2 thus far. I'm due end end end of December. It's a boy. The boy is super active- just like his brother. On my 20 week appointment, the doctor had a hard time getting his heartbeat because he kept kicking/hitting back at the stethoscope. And at the last appointment- this week- the doctor said he had the hiccups and she could hear them along with his heartbeat. (Again, just like Peter, who had the hiccups at least once a day the last month of pregnancy, and got them 2-3 times a day for the first bit of his life.) He is a mover and a shaker- sometimes I'm pretty sure I have bruises inside. He's a strong little man. I think he knows I'm writing about him right now because he is going crazy.

Sickness: With Peter, I was nauseous most days for all nine months. I threw up more my 3rd trimester than I did my first. There were very few foods that I would eat, not because I craved certain things, but because there were only a handful of things that ever sounded good. I lived off of mint chocolate chip ice-cream, ginger ale, popcorn, mashed potatoes, and quesadillas.  And to be perfectly honest, I was not looking forward to being pregnant ever ever again, because that was miserable. But, so far, this baby is so much better. I made it through the first 20 weeks with only a handful of "sick days".

Recently, breakfast has been tricky- I can't eat anything with dairy, or sugar in the mornings or I feel sick for a few hours. I eat oatmeal with peanut butter and bananas or toast with peanut butter pretty much everyday. One day I ate leftovers from the night before- Shepard's Pie- and that was a success. But once I get past 10 or 11am, then I'm usually good to go for the rest of the day! So, compared with first pregnancy, this one is great.

Also, Sunday's have been tough lately. I think it is mostly me just sitting in seats in a way I don't usually sit most days. I never just sit for an hour at a time. When I am sitting at home, I'm usually on the floor or curled up on the couch. Anyway, for the last 3-4 weeks, I get really lightheaded and hot and dizzy at some point at church- usually in the first hour, and I usually leave and find a place I can sit with my legs up a little bit, and eat snacks. I'm the queen of snacks at church these days. The doctor told me to drink more water and eat a simple breakfast and lots of snacks and see if it helps. So, we'll see. Again, the same thing happened when I was pregnant with Peter, and I figured it out after a few weeks, so more snacks and water it is.

Baby Names: We have a handful that we both like, but we haven't picked a name yet. Right now the leaders are Anders and Henry. But who knows if that will change.

Feelings about 2 boys: I'm super excited because Peter and Jonathan were on a camping kick to prep for our Yellowstone trip, and I'd just think- he can just keep taking the boys and teaching them how to camp and build fires and he's good at playing outdoors with Peter. Also, Jonathan is great at teaching Peter how to be a good boy- how to be nice to his mom and help wash dishes and help do chores, so I just think that these boys are lucky to have a dad that will teach them important things. Also, it's great because if we are out and about and Peter has to use the bathroom, Jonathan always takes him...and I get a short break. Having boys is great. Sometimes I am a little nervous with the thought of 2 boys because Peter is so active and he wears me out all the time and to think about doubling it is exhausting. But then I think- then they will have friends to play with, and maybe it will be easier...only time will tell.

Anyway, that's about it for now. I'll keep you posted as small man #2 keeps growing.

24 weeks pregnant with Peter and Jonathan at Lower Falls in Yellowstone