JP is 2 months!

Jarek turned 2 months on Monday. He is getting so big. I want him to stop! We took him in for his 2 month appointment and here are the stats:

Weight: 10lbs 5oz (20th percentile)

Height: 22 3/4in (45th percentile)

It was a good appointment. The doctor was happy to see how alert and responsive he is. It was sad to watch them give him his shots but he did pretty good.

He really is growing so much. He smiles a lot and loves to tell stories. I just wish I knew what he was saying! He is very responsive and so alert. It's just so fun to watch him grow!

Here are some recent pictures:

We sure love our little guy!

Halloween

I know, this is coming a little late. Better late than never, right?!

Our Halloween was fairly low key this year. The Friday before Halloween was Chad's work party. They do a costume contest every year and Chad gets really into it. He won best costume 2 years ago as a pirate. He really stewed about what to be this year and finally came up with an idea a few days before. We went all out and really got him dressed up and he did win an award! He got the cutest costume! What was he, you might ask???

A woman! Yes, that is my ever so handsome husband. I was happy to see that he made an ugly woman!

I went along with the theme and dressed up as a man. Everyone got a kick out of us at the party. I think we make a cute couple!

Jarek was our little skeleton. He konked out after crying inconsolably for about an hour after we got home. I think he looked way cute!

Anniversary Weekend

Chad and I have officially been married for one whole year! Boy, what a year it has been! Here are some of the highlights:

-Honeymooning at the North Shore in Minnesota. I loved being able to show Chad my happy place.

-Moving into and setting up our first apartment together.

-Finding out I was pregnant. And everything that comes with pregnancy...baby appointments, ultrasounds, hearing the heartbeat, feeling him move around, etc.

-Taking a marriage class together.

-Spending so much time with Chad's family.

-Attending a wonderful marriage retreat.

-Spending so many late nights playing games and watching movies.

-Staying up until 3am talking and snuggling in bed.

-Chad's promotion at work.

-Setting up house for the baby.

-Gaining deeper respect for one another as we saw how each other handled childbirth.

-Becoming parents to one beautiful baby boy.

There are so many other things that aren't really coming to mind. It has been an awesome year for us. Being young with one income, we've definitely had our struggles, but the Lord has really watched out for us. It has been so great for us to see His hand in all things. We've had our fair share of fights, but have learned so much from each one. We are each other's best friend. I couldn't ask for a better one. I can't believe how much my love for him has grown just this weekend!!! And with that, I will give you a recap of our anniversary weekend:

Saturday was our one year anniversary. Chad took the day off. We spent the day getting ready for our planned over-nighter Sunday night. We were getting really excited and did a lot of things to make sure it would be really special. That evening, we dropped Jarek off at my wonderful friend, Claire's, place and then headed to the Rexburg temple where we were sealed. We got there just in time to do sealings. It was so wonderful. We haven't done sealings since before I got pregnant. I'm getting teary eyed just thinking about the experience we had. What a wonderful way to celebrate our anniversary by kneeling across the altar from each other once again. And I'm pretty sure we were in the same sealing room! So wonderful!

After that, we picked up Jarek and ate dinner at Applebee's before we headed back to Idaho Falls. This is when things start to get interesting. I noticed as I was finishing my Oriental Chicken Salad that I was starting to feel queasy. Not a good sign. I was really not not feeling good when we went to bed. I woke up at 2:30am still feeling icky. I went to the bathroom and sure enough, I threw up! I got a little more sleep and then continued to spend the rest of the morning in the bathroom. So not fun! Luckily, I was done throwing up by about 10am but felt horrible the rest of the day. So, we couldn't head to Salt Lake! What a bummer! But, the hotel was kind enough to change our reservation for this coming Sunday. Hopefully nothing else happens so we don't have to cancel again.

Chad was so great all day long. I knew he was really bummed we couldn't go to Salt Lake but he didn't really let it show. He just concentrated on helping me feel better and making sure Jarek had everything he needed all day. I am so lucky! What a wonderful man I have! It really stunk being sick on our anniversary weekend but it really helped me appreciate just how awesome my husband. That's what an anniversary is all about!

Monday, we spent most of the day watching movies in bed. I was feeling a lot better but still had a sore tummy. By 2pm, Chad and I were both tired of being inside so we went for a drive, which was nice. While we were dating/engaged, we spent so much time in the car driving here and there which was a great opportunity to talk and get to know each other. We still love driving for that very reason. When we got back, we hurried to get things ready to have a former roommate of mine and her fiance over for dinner. We had a lot of fun with them. I am so happy for them! They are so great together and so fun! I'm excited to get together with them again!

And time for the pictures. We carved pumpkins with Lyndsi and Dustin last night. Chad and I have been so excited for it. We got a pumpkin for each of us and a little one for Jarek. We didn't get a picture of Lyndsi and Dustin's. Chad and I decided to choose really hard patterns and hadn't finished by the time they left! Anyways, here are our beautiful creations!

The whole family!

This is Chad's, the Headless Horseman. I think it turned out great!

This is mine, the hardest pattern in the book. Pretty ambitious for never going off a pattern before. I was really not happy with it until we lit it up. Now I think it looks great.

This is the other side of my pumpkin. After having a difficult time with the other one, I wanted to do an easier one to make me feel better.

And here's Jarek's! Jack, the Pumpkin King. I got really excited when Chad found the pattern online. The Nightmare Before Christmas is one of my favorite movies!

So, as you read, our anniversary weekend had it ups and downs, but it really was a great weekend! I love my husband and I love my little man! I am so lucky to be the wife and mom to two such wonderful boys!

Jarek's Birth

Here I go. After my little rant about my frustration with the reactions I was getting about my decision to go natural I'm sure you're all wondering if I did it. And the answer is:

YES. Was it easy? Not at all. Was it worth it? Yes, it was. Will I do it again? Most likely.

Now for the story.

I started having contractions at about 11pm on my due date, Sept 6th. By 4 the next morning, they were 10 minutes apart. I had a scheduled appointment that morning so we went to that to see what was up. I was about 4 1/2 centimeters and 90% effaced. The midwife was confident that I would be having the baby that evening.

We went home to keep waiting. By about 1pm the contractions were 5 minutes apart and fairly hard. They had been that way for about an hour so we decided to head to the hospital. My mom and I speculated that I had made good enough progress since the appointment. When we got to the hospital, we discovered that I was still at 4 1/2 cm. The nurse talked to the midwife and she wanted to just send me home but we figured we would just be back in a couple hours so we didn't want to do that. They had me walk around for an hour to get the contractions going to see if I would start making progress. I got to 5 centimeters so we had the midwife come in to break my water.

After she broke my water, contractions got stronger and closer together. I was able to handle it for a few hours and then it became more than I could handle. I really wanted to ask for an epidural but I was about 8 or 9 cm so it was too late. My only option was to hang in there.

I started pushing at about 11pm. I wasn't making much progress just laying in bed so they had me up and about trying different positions. If it weren't for the fact that my body just automatically did the work, I don't think I could have done it. I was so exhausted I was at the point of delusion. Finally, we found that squatting really worked while I was pushing but at that point I had been pushing for about an hour and a half and was convinced that I couldn't go any longer so I asked to have him vacuumed out (a decision that will probably always haunt me but, as I will discuss in a minute, might have been the best decision).

Once I had been pushing for 2 hours and his head was low enough, the midwife called the doctor in. Just as he was getting everything set up, the nurse said the baby's heart rate had dropped during one of my contractions (his heart rate had been doing great up until then). Then during the extraction, we found out why I had pushed for 2 hours and the baby had a hard time progressing. He was transverse (sideways). Baby's are supposed to be facing down.

After a few more big pushes, Jarek finally arrived! They laid him on my stomach right away to check him out and do the various procedures they needed to. He was only there for a minute before one of the nurses noticed he was very blue and whisked him away to put him on oxygen. Once they got a bunch of gunk out of his airway and got him weighed and everything else, they brought him back over to me for some skin on skin time to warm him up. The minute he was laid on my chest and I started talking to him he stopped crying and just looked around for a long time. It was one of the happiest moments of my life. One that I will never forget.

Looking back now, I am very grateful for the birthing experience that I had. If I had had an epidural, I wouldn't have been able to up and moving while I was pushing. Because he was sideways, I most likely wouldn't have been able to push him out laying in bed. That means I probably wouldn't have been able to have a vaginal birth. And if I hadn't asked for help with the vacuum when I did? With the way Jarek's heart rate had dropped, he probably would've been put into a dangerous situation before something was done about it. I know that is true but I think I will always feel a little guilty about that decision.

Despite that, I am very grateful for Jarek's safe delivery. These last 3 weeks have been the best 3 weeks of my life. I love my little guy so much. I feel so blessed to have a wonderful husband and such a good baby. They make my life so much richer. I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for both of them.

And now a few pictures:

Chad and I getting settled in the labor and delivery room right before the midwife broke my water. Chad was so amazing through the whole thing! I wouldn't have been able to do it without him! He stayed calm (well, on the outside) and was so encouraging the whole time. My mom kept trying to get him to eat but he wouldn't leave my side. The midwife kept going on about what an awesome team we were. My mom kept bragging about him to everyone she talked to. I am so blessed to have in by my side for the rest of eternity!

Jarek right after he was born. Notice the swelling from the vacuum. He had a nice bruise for a couple days. I feel so bad I put him through that. You might be able to also notice how blue he was.

Jarek on oxygen. I'm so glad it was just gunk blocking his airway. Luckily, it wasn't something worse.

All cleaned up. He's such a handsome little guy!

It was a very hard delivery but I think I would like to go natural again. The midwife said he really paved the way for any more children we have. She was very confident that I would only have to push a few times with the next one. I sure hope so!!!!

Introducing....

Jarek Andrew Phelps

Born: September 8th, 2010

at 1:18am

6lbs 12oz

19in long

(That's a yawn...he's not crying :) )

We are totally in love with our little man. He is such a calm, sweet little boy. We love being his parents and are so incredibly grateful that he was placed in our lives. Our lives have completely changed for the better and we wouldn't ever go back!

Welcome to the world, Jarek Andrew! We love you beyond words!

(I'm sure a lot of you are curious about his birth. I'll post that story later!)

No Baby Yet...

So Chad's and my prediction was wrong. It is now August 31st and we don't have a baby yet. Who knows...I could go into labor today and still have an August baby but we're not counting on it. The last week has been a roller coaster for both of us. Probably more so for me than Chad. I've tried as hard as I can to not fix my mind on having the baby. But it hasn't worked so well. I have woken up every morning hoping that "today will be the day!" and then ending up extremely disappointed every night when it isn't.

Sunday was the worst. Saturday night, I was feeling a lot of pressure in my pelvis (as I do most nights) and had a contraction or 2. And then between 4 and 6 in the morning I had 2 more contractions. And all through this I just felt nauseated pretty much constantly. All of that really got my hopes up that my contractions would become more frequent until I went into labor but the only other one I had that day was at about 1:30 in the afternoon. And I haven't had anything since then. Needless to say, it was very disappointing for me.

We did get some good news at our appointment yesterday. I am dilated to a 3! So progress is being made! We did talk about different options with our midwife because my mom found a really good deal on a ticket to come out this Saturday and stay until the 15th. My due date is next Monday so my mom was nervous about the baby being late and missing him altogether. The midwife talked about scheduling an inducement for next week and this and that. It was so tempting to go ahead with the inducement next week but I just didn't quite feel right about it. So I had to resign myself to more waiting. Which I wasn't happy about and had a little meltdown over.

But once I had that meltdown, I started feeling a lot better about things. I really started to humble myself and trust that he will come when he comes. And we will be so excited whenever that happens to be! And until then I am so excited to work on a blanket I have all planned out for him! I just need to remember that I will be able to shower him with kisses soon enough!

Our Happenings

Life has been pretty busy. Lots of coming and going. Chad has been working hard. Last Friday, his work put on a luau for the residents and the community. Chad worked almost 12 hours that day. Needless to say, he was pretty exhausted by the time he got home. I was able to join him at the luau for a little bit and eat dinner with him. I love visiting him at work. It's so fun to talk to the residents. There are a few that I've gotten pretty close to that I love seeing every time I go. It's just so fun.

Chad is also just starting his new calling as Cub Scout Master...of 3 wards! He is still very nervous about his ability to do the job but I know he will be great. He was never that into Scouts when he was young so he'll be learning lots along with the boys.

Saturday was another big day. My lovely sister and sister-in-law threw me a baby shower on Saturday. It ended up being very small, just me, my sister, 3 sisters-in-law and my mother-in-law but it was so fun! It was very relaxed. We just sat around a chatted for few hours, mostly about babies. I loved it. It was fun to hear their stories and it's gotten me even more excited for the challenges and joys of motherhood. Thanks, all you galls, for making it so fun! And thank you for the lovely gifts!

Later on Saturday, Chad and I went to a tri-stake dance festival put on by the youth of the Church. The youth of our stake and 2 others have been working hard all summer to put this together. They've had practices almost every week and it was so amazing to see all their hard work pay off. They all did a wonderful job! Even though they were doing fun dances like Hoedown Throwdown, Napoleon Dynamite and Thriller, I was almost brought to tears several times as I was watching. The youth of the Church have such a special Spirit about them. Our Heavenly Father really watches out for them and I know He was very pleased with their hard work and performance. What a wonderful way to do missionary work through dance! I just love the Youth Program. I am so proud of all who performed!

We are now down to less than 2 weeks on our countdown for the baby! Chad and I have just been anxiously waiting for the day he decides to grace us with his presence. We found out at our appointment yesterday that I am dilated to about a 2. So we are making progress! No sign of any real contraction yet. I did wake up Sunday feeling very nauseated. I kept getting waves of nauseousness mixed with a little bit of cramps. I'm guessing those might have been contractions but they didn't turn into anything. So we'll just have to wait and see how it all turns out within the next 2 or 3 weeks.

That's it for now! We'll try to keep the blog updated but things will be getting pretty hectic here soon. Hope everyone has a good week!