Josie Eastman - June 28, 2009

Here she is!

8.1 oz. 18 1/2 in.

For someone who was scared to death of going into labor (I know that sounds ridiculous considering I already have two kids), this delivery couldn't have been more perfect. I wasn't scared of the labor pains, just not being able to recognize them in time to get to the hospital. With Justin, my water broke and I essentially had to be induced - they said when I got to the hospital that I was having contractions, but I couldn't feel anything. With McKenzie, I had a planned induction and actually got to a 9 before getting an epidural - that wasn't so bad, but I didn't know how far along I was so somehow the not knowing took off the edge . . .

With Josie, I slept as comfortably as possible Saturday night until around 6 AM when I started feeling consistent pain, but nothing worthy of getting out of bed. At 7 AM I got up and told Alex this could be it (I was feeling contractions every three minutes) but that I was going to take a warm bath first and see if that helped. 7:10AM - it didn't so I called the doctor's office and by the time the doctor called back, the pain was every two minutes. We loaded everyone into the car and raced grandma to the hospital.

They checked me out and I had dilated to a 6 - the baby's coming! Where's the epidural? 7 - finally, an epidural! 8, 9 hurry up and wait. A catnap here, petocin there, 10 and PUSH! About 20 minutes later we had our beautiful baby girl!

She has very dark brown hair, blond eyebrows and eye lashes, round cheeks, a "cute button nose" (says McKenzie) and a nice set of lungs - she came out screaming! and hungry!

Justin keeps giving her kisses and is very protective of her already. McKenzie thinks everything about her is cute and wants baby Josie to watch "her big sister" do everything - a title she has no problem adopting.

What to do if you're not having a baby

Go to the ballgame, of course!

A little pre-game trivia: We drove through Wendy's on the way to the game then decided that Alex would go get tickets while I waited in the car for the kids to finish eating. (Kenzie had fallen asleep on the way so we let her sleep as long as possible.) If he got through the line quickly, he'd come back to the car. If not, I'd meet him at the entrance with the kids, his glove, and the garbage. I wake McKenzie and two bites into her chicken nuggets, she announces that she needs to go to the bathroom. (Reminder - I'm 40 weeks pregnant.) Me: "Can you hold it? We can't just run up to the bathroom . . ." Mc: "It's coming!" What would you do?

Answer: Luckily, I had the new Bold Buffalo Chicken (spicy food!) which came in a plastic container: or port-a-pot when you're in a bind.

Chick-Fil-A was the sponsor. They each came home with a couple of cows. McKenzie's actually terrified of the famous restaurant mascot, but these little ones were pretty cute!

Sprite! A special treat for a special ocassion!

Chopper is our mascot and the kids love him and his antics.

The San Diego Chicken also made anappearance. I didn't realize he was so famous or I would've made more of an effort to get a decent shot of his front side. He was very funny and the kids especially liked his posse.

I love the expressions on Justin and McKenzie's faces in this picture! Yeah, we're chillin' at the game - WORD!

the 26th

Still no baby. Had a doctor's appointment that was a little disappointing - no progress. So, I have another appointment / ultrasound next thursday and if everything looks good, they'll wait to induce me on July 6. I've concluded that the better shape I'm in, the longer my babies want to stay in my belly. Maybe I should spend the next week on the sofa eating potato chips . . .

Really? Only one day?

Tomorrow is June 26th and I thought for sure I'd have had this baby by now. How do I feel? Perfectly fine. A few aches and pains here and there, but no real strong contractions, no swelling, no nothing. I wish that weren't the case and I could argue for an early induction tomorrow at my doctor's appointment. Any suggestions?

My new favorite McKenzie saying . . .

"Let's talk about something girly."

She usually says this while we're waiting for Justin to get out of the tub and get dressed. Then she'll look around her room and find a topic of conversation -- nail polish or lip gloss, Peppa Pig books, her cell phone, etc. Tonight we talked about the boy she's going to marry (Ashton, age 3) and the 14 children they're going to have (her number, not mine - yea!). I asked her why Ashton and she replied, so he can be a part of our family. Good enough for me!

Take me out to the ball game!

Last night we took the kids to their first minor league game and they loved it! Justin was all smiles. McKenzie kept asking things like "what happens after _____?" and "what do they do if _____?"

They both were fascinated by the squirelly mascot and all the Chick-fil-A advertising and a little too enthused (according to Alex) about the inflatable bouncers.

They also loved all the free paraphernalia . . .

But mostly, they enjoyed the game.

We prepped them to stay as long as possible . . .

On the way there

And figured we'd stay only as long as they were interested. Justin never asked when we were going home and McKenzie fell in love with the pink clouds.

We might have found a new Saturday night pastime!

I said I would never do it . . .

own a mini-van, that is. But, with my belly about to pop any day and the lack of space in our current vehicles, we had to make a change. Friday we traded in Alex's little Hyundai and my pride for a 2006 Honda Odyssey. Alex assures me that when I go somewhere without the kids (never!) that I can still drive the Nissan. He also assures me that two years from now I'll wonder what I ever did without "my" van. Justin and McKenzie already love it. I stand for a moment of silence in honor of the car that I love.

ODE TO A NISSAN

Ten years ago in downtown Chicago

we bought a car no other could follow.

With stick-shift in hand we ne'r hit the road

without feeling young, free as the swallow.

And now with two kids and one on the way,

priorities change and so do our songs.

It's off to the dealer to make our bids.

With windows down, it's "blast it" they say

mouthing Hannah Montana and wearing thongs.

On my face, a smile, and my heart belongs

in a blue mini-van with two wonderful kids.

Strawberry picking

Grandma and I took the kids to Washington Farms to pick strawberries. McKenzie's first question: "where are the animals?" (After convincing her this was a farm just for strawberries, we decided we need to take a trip to the zoo this summer.)

We went at 9:00 in the morning but it was still HOT! We finished Kenzie's bucket then took a little break and finished Justin's. We were all red-faced and sweaty but happy with our surplus!

McKenzie helped me in the kitchen and we put up at least a few months worth of freezer jam. (We've already eaten half a container in the last two days!) She especially liked squishing the berries and stirring in the sugar/pectin. Yummy!