Time for an Update

We have been without internet for two weeks now so sorry it's taken so long for an update. This may be a long post. Sorry if you get bored.

I went to work like normal on Thursday, Decemeber 31st. I was scheduled to work from 6am-6pm. I was contracting all day but nothing too painful. Around 2pm I really started feeling them but I still didn't think I was in labor. At 3pm I had a nurse friend check me and I was dilated to 4cm and 80% effaced. She went ahead and put me on the monitor so we could see the contractions and see how Grant's heartrate was doing. Turns out I was contracting every 2-4 minutes and they were getting more intense. (Sean was still at work this whole time.) Grant had a few questionable dips in his heartrate which made me a little nervous. My doctor happened to be there helping another patient so he came in the room to see me. He said that my cervix was very favorable and my contraction pattern was great. He said he could break my water and help the process along or I could go home and probably come back that night in hard labor. I voted for getting the show on the road. I called Sean and had him meet me at the hospital. (That was a little anticlimactic compared to the stories you hear of driving to the hospital.)

Sean arrived. I got my IV placed. The doctor broke my water which was a very weird sensation. After that contractions got really intense. 20 minutes later I got an epidural which was amazing. It was the perfect epidural in my opinion. I could move, lift, and feel my legs but I wasn't hurting at all. I could feel the pressure of every contraction but still no pain. Wonderful!!

At 5pm I was dilated to 5cm. At 10pm I was 10 cm. That's ironic huh? I pushed for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Sean was an amazing pushing coach as was my nurse (and good friend) Kellie. I got pretty nauseous during pushing but nothing worth complaining about. Our beautiful son Grant was born at 12:03am on January 1st. That was completely natural timing and we didn't rig anything. (I didn't even rest and descend for you nurses reading this.) Our baby just knew when he wanted to come. The hospital gave us free diapers, wipes, flowers, a target gift card, and other little baby accessories in honor of being the first baby of the year.

What an amazing experience the delivery was. I have seen it so many times but now it was me as the patient and not the nurse. It was very surreal. It all went smoothly and for that we are so grateful. The following week was a little more difficult.

Three days after delivery Grant had to be re-admitted to the hospital for critically high billirubin levels. He stayed for 2 days and I stayed with him. With intensive phototherapy, IV hydration, and constant monitoring he did improve. I now understand how hard it is to see your child in pain. I really wished I could have taken the 14 needle sticks upon myself so he wouldn't have to feel it. That was extremely hard to see my new baby hurting. Sean and I love him so much and are so grateful that we are all home and doing better.

Right after delivery they cleaned Grant off then gave him back to me to do "skin-to-skin". (He's hiding under the gown if you can't find him. =)

Back in the hospital, here is Grant handling the whole situation quite well.

Daddy and Grant. Look at that head of hair.

After his first bath at home. (He actually seemed to like it.)

The Newest Member of our Family

Well this has been an exciting weekend to say the least. We would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family

Grant David Oborn

Born Januray 1, 2010

12:03 am (the first baby of the new year at the hospital)

7 pounds 7 ounces

19.5 inches long

lots of light brown hair

We are all doing well and loving our family of three. I'll post the birth story later. Here are a couple pictures to enjoy.

Here's our first family picture taken about 30 minutes after delivery.

Here is baby Grant. He loves to sleep with his mouth wide open just like his mom.

No Baby Yet

I went to the doctor today and I'm dilated 3cm and 80% effaced. I've had lots of contractions but they don't stay consistent and they aren't the "can't talk, can't walk through them" type that I'm waiting for. I doubt my water will break because only about 10% of moms have their water break before labor really begins. This waiting game is hard. I'm so excited to meet him and I just want to know when it'll happen. I need to be patient though. It's a snowy, slushy, cloudy mess here. I can just picture trying to drive to the hospital quickly on such aweful roads. Yuck. Well we'll keep you all posted. Happy New Year too. What is everyone doing to celebrate New Year's Eve? Any fun ideas that are close to home and not too crazy for someone who's nine months prego?

It's Begining to Look a lot like Christmas

It's hard to believe Christmas is next week. Wow the season has gone by really fast for me. This was the closest I could get to a christmas card picture. We didn't send any out but to you who read this blog, Merry Christmas! Maybe next year we'll send out a cute card.
Last weekend was fun because my mom and Steve flew into town for one day. It was great to see them and hang out in our little apartment. Mom will be back when our son arrives and I'm looking forward to that.

Our sweet friends the Hamptons invited us over to make gingerbread houses. They went all out and made real gingerbread for everyone. It works so much better than graham crackers and looks great too. I think I ate more candy than I actually put on my house but oh well. It was fun.

Here's the whole group: Brooke, Mike, Kenley, Erin, Sean, and me.

This is my 37 week picture. I'm 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced. They say baby's head is well engaged. I've been having contractions irregularly but nothing too painful. I feel quite large and I wonder how he can grow any bigger without making me pop. =) I was so excited because yesterday, for the first time in my whole pregnancy, I got to take advantage of a parking space at a busy strip mall that said, "Expectant mother's parking only". It was great. It was right next to the handicap spots. It made me smile.

Merry Christmas everyone!!! Find J.O.Y. in this special season. J is for Jesus. O is for others. and Y is for you (in that order).

What a fun week

This past week has been really fun for us. Last weekend was a party weekend with little work time for me and no school time for Sean. Yipee!! We saw the movie "The Blind Side" which I would suggest everyone see. It was entertaining, clean, and inspirational. I really liked the actors they picked to play the roles. It's worth paying for at the real theatre rather than waiting for Red box or the dollar theatre.

Thanksgiving was a lot of fun at Sean's aunt and uncle's home. The food was amazing!! I'm kind of sad my stomach is squished up into my ribs because I wanted to eat more than I could possibly fit in there. =) After thanksgiving dinner we played some DDR. Here is Sean's adorable grandmother playing DDR. How cool is that?

We did end up going to the BYU vs. Utah game and it was a blast. What a great game!! Byu pulled it off in over time and it was exciting. At least the weather wasn't snowing but it was quite cold out there that night. Here we are in our BYU gear with our cute christmas tree.

I love having Christmas decorations up, listening to Christmas music, and going Christmas shopping. This is a fun time of year. I've tried to be a little innovative and make a few crafts lately. This is a Christmas card holder. I looked in the stores and they were all over $15 bucks. I decided to make my own. It's super easy if anyone wants to try. Just get a yard stick, clothespins, and ribbon. Decorate it however you want. Hot glue it all together. Then display your lovely cards on it. Now that it's finished I just need some people to send me Christmas cards. =)

Here is the wreath I made. This was fun and very inexpensive. I just bought the plain green wreath at the craft store with a 50% off coupon. Then at the same store I went to the pre-made wreath isle where all the beautiful $40 wreaths are. I picked up all the broken-off, plastic, red berries from the floor and asked if I could take them for free. They said "sure, I guess we'll just throw them away anyway." Then I collected pine cones that had fallen to the ground around the neighborhood. Then I bought a spool of wire ribbon and a 5-pack of ornaments from the dollar store. I glued it all on and tada!! Here is the result.

For the first time in his life Sean got glasses. I tried to take a picture of him but he wouldn't smile for real. My husband hates having his picture taken and rarely cooperates. =) Any suggestions?

I now have weekly doctor's appointments to check on baby. He's still head down and hopefully will stay that way. I'm so excited to meet him. I have all his baby stuff in a pile on the floor and nothing is organized, decorated, or set up. Yikes maybe I should get to that. I had a dream the other night that my water broke and I was 4cm dilated and it was time to head to the hospital. Scary. We have the carseat and stroller in a box. I guess we should set it up to make sure it actually fits in our little car. I think it's going to be a tight squeeze.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

If we glanced backward at the past month we'd remember...

--Sean finished his 2 independent study classes leaving only a few weeks of the regular semester and he's done!!!

--I spent a week with the horrible pregnancy rash called PUPPPs. It was so aweful and frustrating to be so itchy for no apparent reason. I am grateful to prayers and a prescription that have since helped so, so much.

-- We've had such sweet support from friends and family as we prepare for our little boy to arrive. Thank you.

--The weather is cooling off, snow has fallen, and I'm getting excited for Christmas.

--Our baby is moving so much now. He's still measuring a little small but no worries. Things are going well and I'm grateful for a generally uneventful, healthy pregnancy.

--I delivered another baby by myself at work. (That makes 2 in 2 years, not bad.) The doctor was on his way but just didn't make it in time. It went well and baby and mom did great.

--On Saturday we're going to the BYU vs. Utah football game. We were able to find two tickets for $30. I've heard the game has since sold out. Hopefully it will be enjoyable and not too cold.

--I don't have to work over Thanksgiving which is terrific. We will spend time with some family, eat lots of food, and stay close to home.

Here is me at 33 weeks.

This is a cute little decorative banner that my friend made. We're going to put it up in our son's make-shift nursery. (He really only gets half of the office. He's little right? He doesn't need much space. )

Happy Halloween!

Wow I think this is the longest I have gone in between blog posts. Luckily life isn't too thrilling so there isn't much to catch up on. =)

Here is a belly shot from today after church. I'm 29.5 weeks along. I'm feeling great and baby is doing well.

I spent some time last week in Arizona and my sister and her baby came out from Ohio to meet me there. It was a great break from work. Arizona is still so hot. While I was there it was 104 degrees. Yikes. I love Utah in the fall. A few months of snow in the winter and I'll be wishing I were back in Arizona. It was a great visit.

Me and baby William

A couple nights ago our ward had a Halloween Party. It was a lot of fun. I dressed as a lady bug and Sean was my "Man Bug". Both our costumes were completely homemade and created about 2 hours before the party. We did our best with what we had in the house.

A cheesy "man bug" smile and our pumpkin cat.

The "man bug" cape. When I asked Sean if I could make him some wings for his costume he said, "Since I invented the man bug, I get to decide how it flies. This bug only flies with a cape, not some sissy wings." This is what we came up with from scratch fabric and a hankie.

Me and my good friend Jennifer, the nun. So cute.

I passed the pregnancy glucose screening test which I'm glad about. That orange drink was not too pleasant. I got three shots within one week--regular flu shot, H1N1 flu shot, and a rhogam shot. The rhogam was by far the worst. I'm grateful for modern medicine and technology to help keep us safe and healthy. I know so many people who have had the flu lately and I'm really trying to stay healthy.

Sleeping is getting more difficult because my arms go numb when I lay on my side all night and I've been having the craziest dreams lately. Wow, I can't believe it. I feel like I don't even get any sleep because the dreams are so active and wild and real. They say pregnancy hormones actually cause more dreams and help you remember them more when you're awake. I certainly agree. I'm doing great though. Life is good for us folks.

Happy Halloween to everyone!! Enjoy the holiday and eat lots of candy.