Real Life Begins

Elizabeth!  Come back!  We really miss you and Soren and Anders.  Ari runs around looking for his cousins, and he cries at night when he has to go to bed alone.  (Elizabeth was brave enough to have all three boys in her guest room, they babbled to each other until they fell asleep each night.)  He will really love having Jude to play with.  Such a social boy.  Jude is turning out the same, I think.  He doesn't ever want to be left alone either.  Whew.  I am going to be tired raising these two.  And holy cow, I have NO IDEA how women raise children without their husband at home!  Ari is currently getting his 2 year molars in- 6 months early, lucky us.  Jarem has been taking care of him now that Elizabeth is gone, and he has to deal with the whining, the constant poopy diapers, the 103 fever, the waking up at night, and the horrible rashes.  Poor Daniel got to see that too.  I wish I could take the hurt away, I cry when I see my Ari in pain.  He is such a sweetheart, and he doesn't deserve to be hurting.  Hopefully it will be over soon- the fever is already gone, and now we just have to wait for the teeth.  Everyone says this takes weeks though.  

Jude is happy, thankfully.  He sleeps and eats, and smiles at me every now and then.  He also holds his head up more and more!  He is adorable, or at least to his mommy.  I know parents are prejudiced.  He actually doesn't mind being on his stomach either.  Ari hated tummy time.  I look at these two boys, and I can't even remember my life before children.  Must have been so boring!  What a blessing it is to have kids.  

Louise is coming up next week!  Can't wait.  You'll love your new grandchild, but then you'll want us to move back to Utah so you can see him more. :)

Mom, stay on top of those construction guys!  Don't come up to visit until you've got the house finished.  Daniel, Joseph, and Dad need a construction-free zone to live in, and you need the stress gone.  I'll pray for you.  

Amber!  So good to read your post!  Sorry I'm such a slacker and I haven't written.  I love your updates and beautiful pictures of your twins.  

Stephanie- I'm glad you found this blog!  I will try to post more, and pester Jarem for more pictures and video.  How are Brenda and Tiffanie?  Do you have a blog too?  I love staying in touch.  

Meg, you are so right.  Two kids is a big enough family!  Thanks for being a great example to me, you are a true Mormon.  

Beautiful Jude

So I really, really dislike labor. It's not the hard work or the pain, it's the waiting. Luckily Jude came quickly, but it still felt like an eternity. And yes, it's very painful. "Anyone who says differently, princess, is selling something". haha. I'm so grateful to Heavenly Father for a perfectly healthy, strong little boy who decided August 13th would be his birthday, and came on his own, without any inducing or other dramas. A week earlier we had been told there was not enough amniotic fluid for Jude to live on, and that I'd need to be rushed to the hospital and be induced to save his life. Our midwife sent us to a doctor, the doctor monitored his vitals, and based on that gave us two days to get the amniotic fluid up. On Wednesday we would have another ultrasound and that would tell us if we could still have the baby at the birth center with midwives, or if we'd end up in the hospital. I was so stressed. When they took my blood pressure it was 10 pts higher when we were discussing the possibility of a hospital birth! Jarem always had faith that things would work out though. He remembered the blessing that he and Daniel and my dad gave me in Colorado Springs, and he knew Jude would be fine. I was a bit doubting Thomas. :) We began calling family and asking for prayers- Jarem's mom even put our names in the temple- and then we asked the midwives what we could do. They said drink lots of pear juice (the closest thing we have to amniotic fluid), lots of water, rest, get acupuncture, and eat goji berries. We did everything we could, and then put the rest in the Lord's hands. Sure enough, Jarem was right. The prayers of our family and friends worked! The second ultrasound showed the amniotic fluid went from 2.3 to 10.7, and the doctor said to have a great birth with our midwives. What a miracle. The next Tuesday was also a blessing. I haven't been sleeping well (duh, the last trimester!) and on Monday night I fell asleep at 1 am and I slept until TWO PM Tuesday! Jarem thought it was weird, but he took care of Ari and let me sleep and sleep. That night I went into labor, and boy was I grateful for the extra energy. The contractions started about 11 pm, as we were driving back from Portland (we got a van!) but they weren't strong until 3 am. Then we really went into labor at 4 am, and Jude began helping push himself down. The part I hate is "transition"- between 7 and 10 centimeters dilated, but it went quickly. Again, I tried to do a water birth, but you know what? I discovered I really don't like baths or being in a tub. I just want to walk around and move through the pain. The hot water helps with pain, but you have to sit or squat there and wait....something I'm discovering is not me. So both Jude and Ari were "land" births- that sounds funny.

(I have to brag here) Our midwife and attendants said they were really impressed with how present I was, and how easy I made labor seem. HAHAHA. It's not easy, but I'm glad that when compared with other women laboring naturally, I can hold my own. That's not to say I don't scream sometimes- wouldn't be super fun otherwise.

So Jude was born at 6:50 am, and poor Jarem finally got to sleep an hour or two. That day I was so grateful to be at the birth center and not at home- they have AC and I don't. I stayed at the birth center from Wednesday to Friday night, and oh, how I didn't want to go home. It was 103 degrees when I left the birth center at 8pm! But the best thing about being at home was seeing Ari play with his cousins. I'd been so worried about him, and I shouldn't have. Elizabeth is a HUGE blessing. She flew up on Thursday with her little ones- Soren and Anders, and they've kept Ari so busy and happy he didn't even miss us! This has been the easiest transition. He says baby and points to Jude, and gives me a grin and a hug every now and then, but he doesn't seem to be concerned at all. We'll see what happens when his favorite play buddies leave. I am ever grateful for Elizabeth. To take care of three hyper boys, keep my house clean, do grocery shopping, etc, etc, etc....well, she's AMAZING. There should be an Oscar for women like her. She could have 10 kids and not break a sweat. Family is such a blessing to have around at times like these. Dan and Daniel are coming next week, and then sometime later I think Louise and Mom are coming- not sure about that though, they could refuse, it might be tiring for them. :) I just can't explain how essential Elizabeth has been, and she's suffering through this big heat wave too.

Jude is a week old now, and he is doing great. He smiles, he looks around, he holds his head up and watches the kids, and he tracks our voices. He is one strong little bugger. If he doesn't want me to change his diaper...well, good luck getting his legs to stay open. He also loves to sleep and eat, and eat and sleep. Elizabeth is helping me today by trying to keep him up during the day so he'll sleep at night. He is still on the reverse schedule, and Jarem and I are TIRED. Yep, new parents.

I am so grateful to the Lord for two beautiful, healthy, calm boys. Ari and Jude are everything we could have asked for, and we feel very blessed. We feel like we owe the Lord a lifetime of service for taking care of us. We need to get our act together, raise righteous boys, make Jarem's business successful, be out of debt and owning our house, and bring ourselves closer to the spirit through the scriptures and serving others. Then when the Lord calls us to far-flung destinations (read: Australia, Greece, Israel, China....) to serve Him, we'll be packed and ready to go, with no problems. I can't wait!