June's Delivery

(Look at us... Happy as clams. Little do we know how much sleep we were about to NOT get.)

The following post really is more of a journal entry. I also plan on using this post as leverage if/when June ever gets mad at me for something.

So here's how it all went down.

Dr. Lepetitch put me on bed rest on March 7th. My blood pressure went up and I needed to stay off my feet. I had to leave school a week earlier than I thought.

Then:

Saturday, March 12th - DUE DATE - nothing.

Monday, March 14th - No contractions, dilation at 1. Doctor schedules to induce me on Friday, March 18th.

Wednesday night - worst night of my pregnancy: up every hour, pains above my stomach...still have no idea if I was having contractions.

Thursday, March 17th - Called the Dr. Lepetitch that morning, he told us to go into the hospital.

9:30am - Checked in, blood taken, the nurse couldn't get my blood out and it was very painful and I was crying and I felt dumb because I was already crying and I knew I was in for much, much, much worse pain.

12:00pm - Moved to my "delivery room" which is a giant room that houses a "bed" (a plastic pad with a fitted sheet on it), and a "TV" (Extremely tiny for such a large room). Given meds to thin my cervix. Waiting... waiting...

3:00pm Was told I didn't have enough platelets in my blood, which means no epidural. Wait, WHAT?! NO EPIDURAL?!

3:05pm - 3:10 - Sobs.

3:30pm - Doc says they'll try injecting me with steroids to up my platelets. Yes...Steroids! (Looking forward to buffing up.) William gives me a blessing.

11:00pm - Are these contractions?! Um...I think I'm having contractions! Yay! Woo Hoo!!

Friday, March 18th -

1:00am - PLEASE STOP THESE CONTRACTIONS!!

2:00am - Hello nurse? Yeah, could you unhook me from these machines I need to use the restroom. Oh...nevermind, that was my water braking.

3:00am - Good news, Jenny! Your platelet count went up! Let's get you an epidural!

3:01am - Crying for joy

3:45am- Got an epidural. I. love. my. life.

4:30am - Sleep the best sleep of my life.

6:30am - Dilated at an 8...moving much more quickly than expected.

7:40am - Hi, I'm Dr. T. Let's start pushing!!

7:45am - 9:28am - Pushing commences. Contractions come once every 3-4 minutes. I could only push every other one because my baby's heart rate drops during contractions. Even though I had the epidural, there was plenty of painful pressure. Towards the end, I really felt like I couldn't finish. Then...

9:29am - Hi June.

That's pretty much it. William did awesome. My mom was there too. They both told me afterwards that they were both pushing when I pushed. I thought that was so cute.

I really am so grateful for the experience... especially, since June came to existence.

June

I'm in love.

June came last Friday, March 18th at 9:29am. She weighed 6lbs 13 oz. (The birthing story will come later. It makes me too tired to think about writing it at the moment.)

For now, here is a video William made for Baby June:

I love William's cover of "All Together Now"...

I love my little family...

and I love my little June Bug.

My baby must really love the taste of Mexican Food, cause she's not going anywhere...

I am now 2 days over my due date.

Luckily, the doctor said we don't have to wait much longer! I get to go into the hospital on Friday to be induced.

We are so excited... But William is especially excited.

Just watch:

Aren't his swivel dance moves amazing?

I owe so many people thank-you's for gifts and services. I've been working on those now that I'm done with sub plans and put on bed-rest.

My 5th graders (with the help of Jane, Jenn, and Lisa!) surprised me with a big "Diaper Cake" full of diapers, clothes, blankets, etc. Instead of writing 30 thank you notes to my students, I made this video for them:

After practicing on Chubbs, I''m sure I'm 100% ready for this "Mom" business. It'll be a cinch. (Do newborn babies like mashed up french fries?)

BBQ, BK, and Big Baby Belly.

Now that it's finally February 26th, I think it's about time I talk about my Valentine's Day.

It was probably my favorite ever.

We told each other we would keep it simple. Of course, nothing is simple with William.

First, I walked out of school and William had covered the inside of my car with butcher paper that had love notes written on it. When I opened my car door, his ipod was blasting this song. How romantical.

When I came home, William had made a reservation to one of my favorite restaurants, Lucille's BBQ (They have steak butter... 'nuff said.).

(We made sure to take this picture before getting BBQ sauce all over our faces.)

If you think that wasn't enough, William then surprised me with tickets to the Ben Kweller/Pete Yorn show at the Marquee. (A lady at his work managed to get us on a "list" that got us in for free. I love coming to venues and telling them we're on the list.)

By the time Ben played, my feet and legs were so swollen and a woman stole my chair and I didn't have the nerve to get it back (she was old). So we had to leave before seeing Pete Yorn...but not before meeting Ben, of course.

Good times with BK:

(William likes to say that this picture was taken 10 seconds before he put Ben in a headlock for touching my belly.)

Although it was Valentine's Day, it kind of felt more like the 4th of July: Nothing says "America" like BBQ, steak butter, and BK singing "Penny on a Train Track".

Thank you loves...

You're my favorite deputy. - Woody

Baby Shower and repeated use of the term "Shout Out".

Party-Planning Queen Extraordinaire (also known as my sister-in-law, Marci) asked me 2 seconds after I announced my pregnancy if she could throw my shower. I knew I wouldn't be disappointed.

Yet again (remember this one?), she threw an unforgettable party that I was so delighted to be a part of.

I went to my own shower with every intention of taking plenty of pictures. Of course, I got to the food table and pretty much stopped there. (Can you tell where my priorities lie?) I forgot to assign someone to take my photos...so you can read more about my shower here. (And I suggest you browse through some of Marci's other famous parties. She's amazing!) Thank you Marci for making that day unforgettable!

And now, I have a few more shout-outs to make...in no particular order.

Here's a shout-out to my lovely mother.

(This is my favorite photo of her.)

Mom, thanks for decorating your house in such a way that adds elegance and grace to every party that is thrown there. Also, thank you for making sure my baby has everything she needs. I cannot wait for her to meet her Grandma Marilyn. She is going to love hanging out at your place.

Another shout-out goes to those who cooked the most delicious brunch at my shower... Marci, Mom, and cousin Kami! I'm still drooling over it. (Oh and let's not forget my amazing cousin Jane from See Jane Cook that inspired my mom to make the lemon cookies and blueberry muffins. Jane, keep those recipes coming!)

Yet another shout-out goes to my mother-in-law Martha and my sister-in-law Laura:

The biggest surprise I received the day of my shower was when these two arrived. They drove all the way from Utah to come. I couldn't believe it... I enjoyed so much having you guys there! It made the day so perfect. Martha, you are going to be an amazing Grandma. I can't wait for baby girl to meet you! Laura, you are always a delight! I'm so excited for this upcoming year!

My last shout-out goes to everyone who have showered my baby girl with gifts and everything she needs. William and I feel so blessed to be surrounded and loved by so many good people! Thank you thank you thank you!

Well, now that my back hurts from writing this post, I think it's time for bed.

Good Night, Moon.

I heard the more swollen your feet are, the cuter your baby is.

(This is the photo we sent to my brother-in-law, Michael (Elder Bradford), when we announced the gender of our baby girl. That's definitely a tutu around William's head. And of course that tutu was from Grandma Marilyn.)

I've come to the point of the pregnancy where I actually envy people who can move around quickly. I want to cry every time I'm out on recess duty watching 150 energetic 5th graders. I'm making plans to become an avid jogger after the baby comes. (Whether or not these plans are actually carried out is none of your business.)

I've also come to the point of the pregnancy where none (and I really mean NONE) of my shoes fit me. I live in flip flops. My students have noticed my lack of professionalism: "What happened to your feet?" "Why are they so red?" "I've never seen you in flip flops, Mrs. Bradford. They look like they're doing damage to your feet." (Yes, actual quotes)

But with only 3 more weeks to go (and a list of 150 things to do before then), I'm becoming more anxious to meet the baby girl that's slowing me down and swelling my feet.

When dancing gets you free pizza...

This video won us some free Grimaldi's pizza.

Thanks to Kent for having amazing dance moves.

Thanks to William for spending lots of time hassling people to get them to vote for the video on Facebook.

Thanks to the people that graciously accepted William's hassling and voted. (I think most of the hassling went to Robs. Thanks Robs for voting even though it contained spam.)

Thanks to Grimaldi's pizza for building a restaurant in AZ.

I first tried their restaurant under the Brooklyn Bridge with these gals:

Mmmmmmmmmmm... Can't wait to get me some eats.