Ponderize, Week 3

Ponderize, Week 4: "The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life." Job 3:4

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Parker Dancing

... or trying to escape... or really confused about how his body works...

Best. Baby. EVAH!!!

Two nights ago, Parker slept through the night!!! I fed him Tuesday night at 8:00 and we put him down to bed at 9:15. It took him a couple rounds of soothing, but eventually he went to sleep around 10:00. I woke up the next morning at 5:00 and thought something was wrong with the clock- why hadn't he woken up to eat? For the past week the trend has been that I'll feed him around 8:00 or 9:00pm, then he'll wake up around 12:00 or 1:00am and just need to be soothed back to sleep (no eating), and then he'll be ready to eat around 3:00am. So when he hadn't woken up at all and it was 5:00am I was a little freaked. I went to his bedroom door... errr closet door... (yes, he sleeps in a closet) and listened for breathing. He was breathing all right, but still fast asleep. I went back to bed but couldn't fall asleep because I was so excited! My little baby of not even seven weeks slept through the night! He finally woke up at 6:00 to eat and was as pleasant as could be. What a happy mama I am.

Here's what the best baby in the world looks like:


Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Six Weeks

In about 12 hours, Parker will be six weeks old, which means that it has been 42 days since I've slept more than a three hour stretch. Parker doesn't seem to mind waking so often, but it sure wears on his mama. It's funny how if anyone else were the cause of this, I would probably be upset with them, but who could get mad at those kissable cheeks? Similarly, he does many things that would be inappropriate for other people to do but are completely acceptable and adorable for him, such as belching, tooting, peeing on the wall, and today he even pooped on me. I'm wondering when I'll stop thinking this is cute.

One of Paul's favorite things is to pretend that Parker is an adult and can do "big boy" things. For example...
Channel Surfing:

Eating Cake:


Talking on the Phone:

Watching March Madness:

Monday, April 4, 2011

Paul Turns 27

His day started out right with a breakfast of spam, eggs, and cinnamon rolls. Will someone please agree with me that that's disgusting? But it was his special day and that's what he wanted.
We were able to go out to dinner while Peter and Amber watched Parker. That week was not Parker's best, so we're grateful that they were able to endure his bouts of endless tears. My dad gave Paul tickets to Catalina Island and Paul's parents gave him a gift card to Target, so after dinner we went to Target and bought snorkeling gear for our Catalina trip. We think we'll go towards the end of the summer when the water is warm.



Parker especially liked the birthday cake.



Happy Birthday Pablo!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Parker Matthew Fjeldsted

I can hardly believe it- today is my due date. So much has happened in the last week. It feels like a sleepless blur, but one that’s been full of the most incredible happiness and joy… along with some unexpected and shocking physical pain (mostly from breastfeeding). Parker arrived on Thursday February 24th at 12:09pm. He weighed 7 lbs 12 oz and was 19.5 inches long.

I want to document his birth story, but I’ll start towards the beginning. It had never been a question to me whether or not I wanted an epidural for my labor. Why not take advantage of modern science and have a pleasant birthing experience rather than one filled with screaming and cursing? Then, on the recommendation of a friend at church, I watched a documentary called “The Business of Being Born.” After seeing it, I began to entertain the idea of maybe doing a natural birth. The film is biased- obviously they’re trying to persuade the viewer that birth without medical intervention is the better choice and birthing in the comfort of your own home is even better. I wouldn’t consider birthing at home- the fear of needing the baby to be in a hospital setting in an emergency situation for me is too great- but I was certainly persuaded that if I wanted to, I could make it through labor without any drugs. I felt empowered and I decided I would go drug free.

At about 26 weeks or so, I had changed my mind. Again, an epidural is an easy fix and would definitely make the process more enjoyable. At around that same time we enrolled in a childbirth prep class. I didn’t know precisely what it entailed, but I knew that I wanted to feel more prepared than I did at the time. Paul and I had read several books up to that point, but I felt that a classroom setting would help even more. The class was a series of seven 2 ½ hour classes over seven weeks. We discussed the phases of labor, what happens to your body physiologically, breathing techniques, positions that help ease pain and encourage the baby to orient himself into the proper position for birth, medical interventions, CPR, breastfeeding, caring for the baby, and postpartum changes. On the last day of class we decorated onesies. Here’s Paul’s creation:

Anyway, over the course of those seven weeks I made up my mind once and for all about how I wanted to bring baby FJ into the world. I would keep an open mind to an epidural if the pain got to a point that I couldn’t bear it, but only once I was well into the active labor phase. Otherwise, unless absolutely medically necessary, I didn’t want any other medical interventions- no pitocin, induction of labor, etc. And most of all I didn’t want to deliver cesarean. I didn’t want to deal with the long recovery and for many people that I’d talked to, having a cesarean made breastfeeding much more difficult. I felt good about my decision and Paul was supportive, even though he absolutely hated practicing our breathing techniques in class. :)

At my 30 week appointment, my doctor told me that the baby was breech, but that it wasn’t a concern since I still had 10 weeks left of my pregnancy and the baby was likely still doing his acrobatics. At 35 weeks I went to a perinatologist to get an accurate estimate of his weight (which was 5.75 lbs) and make sure that everything else was cooking normally. Everything was ship-shape, except that he was still breech. Again, we were told that it wasn’t a big concern, since babies are still able to flip themselves around, but by 35 weeks, most babies have already done so. He recommended that we talk to my OB and be open to the idea of version if the baby hadn’t flipped around in two weeks. The next day I got a call from my OB who had just received the report from the perinatologist. She recommended that I see a chiropractor who could perform the “Webster Methdod,” which is supposed to relieve some of the tension on the lower uterus and thus create more room for the baby’s head. She said that she doesn’t perform vaginal deliveries for breech babies and if he didn’t flip around then I would need to schedule a c-section. I’m not a huge fan of chiropractics- I feel that in general it addresses symptoms and not underlying causes, but I was willing to give it a try if it meant avoiding a cesarean delivery. In the following two weeks I saw a chiropractor twice, but the baby still didn’t flip. Since I was nearly 38 weeks, it was time to discuss different options.

I talked to my OB about doing an external cephalic version, a procedure in which two doctors attempt to manually turn the baby by pushing and prodding him with their hands on my stomach. We scheduled the version for Monday February 21st. We went to the hospital early that morning and they began to monitor the baby’s heart rate and my contractions. They wanted to establish they baby’s patterns so that if he went into distress while the version was being performed, they’d be able to differentiate it from his normal state. I hadn’t realized that my contractions were so regular- about every four minutes, but there wasn’t any pain involved, just a feeling of tightening. In addition to the monitoring, I was started on an IV in case they had to perform an emergency c-section. If the baby did go into distress, I’d be knocked out with general anesthesia and rushed to the operating room where the baby would be delivered within five minutes. Knowing that was a possibility was frightening. We could have become parents that very day! After about an hour and a half of monitoring, the doctors came in and attempted the version. I couldn’t believe how painful it was. They dug into my stomach and sort of grabbed hold of the baby- one of them cupped his bum and tried to pull it up and out of my pelvis while the other one cupped his head and pulled it clockwise. His head only moved about an inch and his bum didn’t move at all. They tried the other direction, which was more fruitful, but barely. After about six minutes of their prodding, they stopped and said that he was so wedged they wouldn’t be able to turn him. My OB said that we should schedule a c-section for some time that week. I would be 39 weeks on Friday and she wanted to do it before then so that I wouldn’t go into labor on my own. The idea was that if it was scheduled, I could plan to not eat 12 hours before the c-section, and if I went into labor on my own, I might have eaten recently. Some people react adversely to the anesthesia on a full stomach. We decided to schedule it for Thursday February 24th.

Now that a c-section was unavoidable (unless, of course, he happened to flip on his own before Thursday), I had to change my attitude. At first I felt like I was being cheated out of the experience that I had been expecting for the last nine months. I had done so many things to prepare myself physically and mentally for a vaginal birth and now, by no fault of my own, I wouldn’t be able to experience it. I was sad that I wouldn’t feel the excitement and rush of adrenaline when I realized that my labor was starting. “Paul, this is it!!” I tried to put those feelings aside and look for the positive aspects of having a cesarean delivery. When it came down to it though, I was able to accept that this is just the way it was going to be, and by Tuesday night, it no longer bothered me. I was so excited to meet our little man that the means by which that happened didn’t seem to matter anymore. On Wednesday night I expected to be a bundle of nerves and not be able to sleep. However, both Paul and I felt incredibly and uncharacteristically calm. I know this was due to the vast number of prayers said on our behalf. We were truly blessed by the calming influence of the Holy Ghost.

On Thursday morning we got to the hospital at 9:30 and I was monitored once again like I was on Monday.
(Before leaving for the hospital.)



However, this time there was mild pain associated with each contraction. My doctor said that if I hadn’t been having a c-section, I probably would have had the baby that day or the next which made me feel good because I was feeling a little bit guilty about taking my bun out of the oven before he was good and ready. At 11:00 the anesthesiologist came in and talked to me about how he would administer the spinal block. At 11:30 Paul dressed in scrubs

and we walked down to the operating room. Paul waited in the recovery room while I received the spinal block and they prepped my tummy. Paul came in just before the doctors did. They checked my level of numbness and from there I’m not sure exactly what they were doing. Before I knew it, my doctor said “There’s the bum!” I started to cry. I was so overwhelmed with a feeling of happiness. One of the doctors said, “You’re going to feel pressure on your stomach.” She put her hands on the top of my stomach and pulled down. Shortly afterwards I heard the sweetest little cry. A nurse brought him over so I could see him for just a moment and then they cleaned him up and Paul trimmed the umbilical cord. Once they cleaned him up the nurse brought him over again, but this time close to my face and I was able to give him some kisses.

What soft little cheeks! While they sewed me up, Paul took Parker to the recovery room.

After they were done, the anesthesiologist gave me something for pain that was absolutely awful! I started to feel hot and claustrophobic. The room seemed to be swimming, my skin itched, and I just felt so uncomfortable. They took me to the recovery room and I was able to breastfeed Parker, but it was hardly the bonding experience that I expected because of the effects of the medicine, which didn’t wear off for another two hours. I stayed in the recovery room for those two hours, and then they took us to the postpartum room where we stayed until Sunday morning.

At that point we hadn’t yet decided on a name. We had brought a list of names with us that we both liked and were able to narrow it down to either Dane or Parker. We decided on Dane, but after about an hour, we both felt that it didn’t fit, and we chose Parker instead. The name felt so right. His middle name, Matthew, is my brother’s name, and we’ve known for several months that that would be his middle name. Thursday night wasn’t a great one for Parker. He cried most of the night and Paul stayed up with him the whole time. I was on morphine and Benedryl and slept through the night except to feed Parker. Every night except one since then (our first night home) he has been an absolute angel.

I really enjoyed our stay in the hospital. Paul’s sister Dakin recommended that we take full advantage of the hospital staff and to stay there as long as we could. I’m so glad we took her advice! All of the nurses and doctors were wonderful. They gave us great insights and tips on taking care of Parker and how to make my recovery as speedy as possible. I stayed in bed for 24 hours after the surgery, and those first few steps were slow and painful. I’m so grateful for Paul and how much he helped me while we were in the hospital. He took care of me and Parker (who roomed with us the whole time) round the clock. I didn’t even change a single diaper until he was four days old.

(Going home from the hospital. Our first family photo.)

Even though we’re both feeling quite sleep deprived, Paul and I are loving every moment we spend with our little guy. He’s so darn cute and so small. We’re absolutely in love and feel so blessed!


First bath:

Big yawn!

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

11 Things In 2011

It seems like New Year's Resolutions have become taboo and no one wants to make them for fear of breaking them. This is understandable, but for me, I really enjoy setting goals. I love making lists of things to do and crossing things off when I've accomplished them! I've made some short term goals for the new year that I'll need to revisit in a few months, but I've also made a list of fun things that I want to accomplish during 2011. I'll try and post about each one as I accomplish it.

1. Read all seven Harry Potter books
2. Complete three knitting projects (I can't say what they are because they're gifts)
3. Read the Book of Mormon
4. Take a sewing class
5. Organize my recipe book
6. Sew a quilt for baby Fjeldsted
7. Run the Disneyland 1/2 Marathon in September
8. No Facebook for two weeks
9. Read Fahrenheit 451
10. Take a vacation
11. Create a piece of art to hang on the wall

Cravings and Other Changes

If anyone was familiar enough with me in high school to know about my eating habits, you'll know that I had an addiction to salt. I loooooved salt! I would even add extra salt to french fries and tortilla chips. In college my go-to snack was pretzels. I would probably go through an entire bag of pretzels each week. As a special treat for a particularly difficult exam, I would buy a little bag of pretzels from the vending machine before I made that awful trek up the stairs to the testing center room. As much as I loved the pretzels, what I loved even more was the salt at the bottom of the bag once I'd finished the pretzels. I'd lick my finger and eat up every last granule. I think I knew logically that this couldn't be good for me, but I didn't care. It must have been around the time I got married that this addiction subsided. I don't recall making a conscious effort to stop eating so much salt, I just didn't anymore.
Well, the craving is back, though thankfully not as strong as it used to be. One day a few weeks ago I just really wanted something salty- enter restaurant style tortilla chips- and I added extra salt to each individual chip. It was glorious. In the weeks that followed, I've probably had this craving four or five more times. One day when we didn't have anything I could use as a vehicle or salt Paul said, "Why don't you just tip the salt shaker into your mouth?" I seriously thought about that as a very delicious option, but then decided against it. I've got to draw the line somewhere. I'm hoping to exercise a little more self control from now on- I don't need to retain any more water than I already am.
As far as other changes, with two months left of this pregnancy, I am now experiencing heart burn and acid reflux on a daily basis. I did a little research on the causes of heart burn during pregnancy and found out that the relaxation of muscles is subject to all muscles, not just those in my abdomen, and the lower esophageal sphincter is no exception. In addition, Mr. Bump is pushing my organs out of his way putting an upward pressure on my stomach. I read all sorts of recommendations from sleeping in an upright position to not eating anything up to three hours before lying down. These helped a little, but I still had heartburn that would keep me awake at night. I hate the idea of taking any type of medication without a substantial cause, but after waking up several nights in a row coughing on my own stomach acid and the okay from my OB, I now take Maalox as a precaution every night before bed.

Mr. Bump has been changing a lot too. This is what he looked like almost three months ago when the gender was determined:


Last Thursday I had my first ultrasound since that photo. I love this little guy and all, but AGGGGHHH!! Creepy clown face!!!


This one is much better.