A Message From Oliver

Oliver knows that he has friends and family out there that he has not been able to meet yet, and he wanted an opportunity to say "hello." It may sound like a sneeze, some hiccups, and various gurgling noises; but what he means is "I love you!"

One Week!

Oliver is becoming a real man on the town. He's already had a trip to the doctor for a check-up, we went to the Fabric Depot and AT&T store, and on Sunday we made it to church and our Life Group. He really is a very good baby. He's learning to eat great, he isn't spitty at all, he's pretty easy to soothe and sleeps like a champ! It's hard to believe he's a week old already!

4 Days Old

Having a baby and adjusting to a growing family are such surreal experiences. I feel so blessed to have a loving husband and healthy little boy. It's hard to believe that Oliver was born just four days ago - it seems like he's been in our lives from the beginning and I can't picture our family without him. What a joy he is!






Also, I think motherhood has officially turned me into an emotional wreck. I'm pretty sure that even cheesy commercials on TV are starting to pull at my heartstrings in new and unexpected ways.

Oliver Has Arrived!

I won't leave a detailed update (sleep is seeming more important to me right now...) but I will announce that Oliver Keith Rude arrived on Monday, April 20th at 7:28 am. He weighed 7lbs 12oz and was 20 inches long. He is absolutely precious and we are completely in love with him! I'll add more pictures later, but here are just a few:

Baby Time?

Amidst all the due date drama, and concern that he would arrive early, we really knew all along that Baby Rude would make his entrance into this world on his own time schedule. Despite all the tips from well-meaning friends and family members to help speed things along (most of which I did NOT try) we have come to accept the fact that we're just going to have to wait. Every day brings us closer to welcoming him into our family so at least we're moving in the right direction.

9 days overdue and still smiling. =)






I'm thinking that the waiting may be over sooner than we realize! I've been having Braxton Hicks contractions for a couple of weeks now, but starting yesterday they have gotten considerably stronger. The abdominal constriction and back pain continued to wake me up last night and I wondered if it was best for me to go to church today. I made it through the service and even the potluck afterwards (the Miehn spring rolls were SO worth it!) without making a big scene.

This afternoon I rested a bit as well as I could and I took Tucker out for a walk to enjoy a dose of the glorious Oregon sunshine before it was time to leave for our evening Life Group. At our group I tried to be as inconspicuous as possible with each contraction - focusing on the floor and breathing slowly while trying to relax. Only one of the ladies commented that she noticed something was up with me, so I thought that was doing pretty well.

I haven't officially been timing anything today, mostly because every other time I've done that, I've just been disappointed when the contractions eventually taper off. I would guess that throughout the day they have been ranging from 10-15 minutes apart. Now since we've been home this evening, I'm getting more and more uncomfortable and feel like I can't really function with each labor crunch. Since I've started timing about an hour ago, they are averaging every 6 minutes so I'm getting close to the 3-5 minute range. Whoopee!

Maybe this will be my last blog post for awhile - hopefully I'll be in the hospital soon!

Reunion

One of the blessings I received at Cascade was a wonderful group of friends. There were lots of people I got to know there during my 4 years as a student (not hard to do with a student-body size of less than 300) and I am still in touch with many of them today. I am especially thankful for the Mag7. These amazing women are inspiring and encouraging and they know how to have lots of fun too!






Cascade's final graduation and big reunion weekend is coming up in two weeks and I'm excited that we're all going to be together again. Life after college has taken us all down a different path, but we still remain good friends and enjoy seeing each other as often as we can. I'm looking forward to reuniting soon! =)

All Good Things Must Come To An End?

I guess I'm officially unemployed now. I had planned to work up until the day of Baby Rude's arrival, but since he's taking longer than anticipated, I just decided that yesterday would be my last day in the office. I had been the Office Manager for the Admissions Department at Cascade College for 3 1/2 years and it's a little surreal that I won't be going back. I packed up the items from my desk, took down all the photos from my cork board, and cleaned out my work email folders. I even remembered to bring my nameplate and little desk plant home with me.




I think I'm really going to miss my job. Sure, sometimes the daily tasks were a little mundane (updating addresses in the database, labeling and stuffing envelopes, updating statistic spreadsheets, etc.) but in all, I really loved what I did. Cascade College is a place that has changed many people for the better and has had a big impact in the Northwest. I'm so glad that I got to be part of it for as long as I did - first as a student and later as an employee. Although I'm still sad and disappointed about the school closing in just a couple of weeks, I know that our work there was for a purpose and that a lot of good was accomplished. Now I'm just curious about what God has planned for us all next...

Tick... Tick... Tick...

I feel like I've been writing this same blog entry over and over for the last month or so. Just waiting on baby... still waiting... yep, he's still in there... nope, still no exciting news... any day now... belly still growing... etc.

We had a post-due date appointment with our doctor yesterday. For those who want details, I am dilated to 3 cm now and all systems are still ready to go. The doctor asked if we wanted some "assistance" speeding things along but we declined at this point because we would really like our labor to progress as naturally as possible.
Baby had a non-stress test and everything is fine for him to stay in there awhile longer. I've been having contractions still and they were getting stronger and more regular for a bit, but not enough to put me into "real labor" apparently.




I guess Baby Rude is still just too comfortable in there to come out. Maybe I'll turn up the TV really loud tonight so he can hear the sunny weather forecast for this weekend - perhaps that will inspire him to join us in the real world...

*cough, cough*

The picture below was taken this past weekend before we took Tucker out for a nice walk and playtime in the field near our house. I was hoping that it might be my last belly photo - shouldn't a nice stroll put me into labor? Judging by all the downward pressure and the baby's weight in my abdomen, I thought he seemed ready to get out of there, but apparently not.




Now it's Tuesday, 4 days after my EDD, and I'm home on the couch with a nasty cold (my 4th cold during this pregnancy!) I had daydreams of cuddling with Baby Rude around this date, and things aren't turning out quite how I expected!

The Empty Tomb

Easter Sunday is a day that many people celebrate the fact that Jesus conquered death.

Isn't it awesome that The Creator of everything had a plan from the beginning to save us?! The ultimate sacrifice was made for you and me - despite the fact that we in no way deserve it! I'm so glad that the story didn't end there though. Sure He sent Jesus to die for us, but even death has no power over Him, and that gives us the opportunity for life too! Happy Resurrection Day!!!

On a side note, how did the holiday shift from this...




to this?




On another side note, I have to admit that I was secretly hoping that today I might also be celebrating the empty womb... but Baby Rude doesn't seem to want to cooperate!

1st Picnic of the Season!

This event actually happened back on Tuesday when we were enjoying a rare day of April sunshine here in Portland. Amanda had the brilliant idea to celebrate with a picnic up at Washington Park. Six of us gathered together some food, picnic blankets (sleeping bags), and outdoor games; and then carpooled up to the Rose Garden area. It was actually cloudy and a little windy by the time we arrived, but that didn't stop us from having a good time. I forgot to take pictures until after it got dark (oopsie) so these didn't really turn out, but I'll share anyway.

Post-Picnic Whiffle Ball Game (the players are down the hill from the eating area - kinda' tough to see...)



Happy Picnic-ers



Come back sunshine, so we can have more outdoor adventures!

Due Date, Schmoo Schmate!

Alright Little Rude Boy. Here's the deal... If you don't want to be known as the "false alarm he's-gonna'-be-early but then really makes his parents wait until AFTER his due date and tortures everyone who is waiting for him to arrive by being on his own schedule and getting too comfortable in my belly" baby, you are seriously running out of time! We only have so many hours left in this day! I mean, I guess I won't complain if you want to wait until this evening and then we can have the quickest and least-painful delivery ever! But unless that is your plan... you are going to encourage your mother to receive lots of comments about WHY YOU ARE NOT HERE YET! You don't want to do that to me, do you?

40 Weeks and still hanging out with the baby in the belly:

Yay For Screens!

We bought our house last March so this will be our 2nd summer living here, and I am hoping that this year will be a better experience. With no A/C in our little bungalow, the next best option for keeping cool when the mercury rises is by opening windows and turning on fans. We've got the fan part pretty well covered in our home, but it was the windows that were tricky.

Out of the 11 windows on our main floor, only 2 of them had screens. This left us with the difficult decision - do we: 1.) melt in the sweltering heat by keeping all but these two windows closed? -or- 2.) let every disgusting flying/creeping creature/insect/bug into our house? It was tough to weigh those options and we usally did a little of both depending on how miserable we were at the time. Now, however, after all of David's hard work, we are going to have the best of both worlds - fresh cool air and avoidance of creepy things!

The latest installation was the big living room window on the south side of our house. Here is David working to remove the two old windows:



Here is David clearing out the "hole" to make room for the new single window:



Now it's all ready for sealing, trim, and paint!




We've been enjoying the fresh air already! =)

Such a Tease!

Although I told myself not to, I ignored my own advice and got my hopes up again that Baby Rude might be on his way. I noticed some regular contractions last night (Tuesday) and started timing them around 9:30pm for almost 4 hours. They began about 5-8 minutes apart, and then for an hour or so they were 3-5 minutes, and then they went back to being 6-7 minutes apart. Finally around 1:30 this morning we decided to just try to get some sleep and the contractions tapered off. False alarm! This is more evidence to support my theory that Baby Rude is going to be a mischievous little boy!



I had a routine doctor appointment this morning (Wednesday) and there has been some progress at least. She said I'm dilated 2 cm now, 70% effaced, and baby's head is "very low." The doc said, "I know I told you this last week, but it really could be ANY TIME." Right, so helpful. =) So we keep waiting... Baby Rude's official due date is Friday but we'll see what kind of plans he has!

Maybe I'll be one of those lucky ladies who has her water break in front of a crowd of people. (I'd better not say that aloud and give the little guy any ideas!)

Prego Pampering

Not only is my husband useful for fixing things around the house, but he can handle a nail polish brush pretty well too!



I was treated to a wonderfully relaxing pedicure yesterday, and although David rolled his eyes when I pulled out the camera, I told him that I HAD to photo-document this special event!



My feet feel soft and moisturized today, and it almost makes up for the fact that my ankles have disappeared!

Blame It On The Hormones!

I have decided that today's blog entry will have nothing to do with waiting for Baby Rude/the countdown/patience, etc. Hey, we're on his time at this point, so there's no use in dwelling on the fact that he's taking FOREVER and making the minutes seem to pass even more slooooowly.

Instead you get this little tidbit...
Please forgive me if I have written about this in a previous entry, but I wanted to share a little story that I find slightly amusing (at my own expense, of course.) I happened to think of it again just yesterday and I actually shook my head as I chuckled aloud to myself. Silly pregnant lady...

Let's rewind to the first trimester of my pregnancy. Often during this period of time, you could find me on the couch trying to keep my food from exiting my stomach via my esophagus. On one such occasion, David was gone for the evening and I was apathetically channel-surfing. I came across a reality show that I hadn't seen before and it caught my attention. It was called "Greatest American Dog" and they were actually airing the final episode. I'm a dog person, and it looked somewhat entertaining, so I allowed myself to be wrapped up in the competition for an hour or so. At the end of this "grand finale", the show was down to just two dogs and their owners:

Travis, and his Boxer, Presley:


-and-

Laurie and her Maltese Andrew:


There were a variety of activities that the dogs had to perform and numerous challenges for the pets and their owners. I was so impressed by how well-behaved both dogs were and especially the little Maltese - he completed everything in the agility courses despite the fact that he was half the size of most of his competitors! As the show progressed, I became more and more attached to that little white fluff-ball. He and his owner had such a bond and they worked so hard together. I could see that tiny Andrew did everything to please Laurie and make her proud, and she rewarded him with love and affection. Can you tell that I was rooting for them to win?

In the end of the show, after many commercial breaks and lots of drama and unnecessary build-up, the judges selected Travis and Presley to be the winners. I immediately started bawling. Can you picture this? I'm alone in my house watching a ridiculous show for the first time and tears are running down my face because my favorite pooch didn't win! I really felt bad for sweet Andrew. I think I may have even been sobbing at one point. This was an episode requiring multiple Kleenex tissues! You would have thought I just lost a family member or was told something was wrong with my baby. Sheesh! I was really grieving for this poor pup and he probably didn't even know he came in 2nd place!

Well, as my sniffling began to subside, I think I realized how truly pathetic and emotional I was being. I slowly pulled myself together and tried to clean the mascara smudges on my cheeks. I even giggled sheepishly to myself - what a crazy prego girl! Of course I was completely composed by the time David got home, although I did have to share the embarrassing event with him.

Now, see? Isn't that quite the amusing tale? I'm normally very level-headed and don't let my emotions get the best of me, but at least I had the hormones to blame for this little mental breakdown. I really think that has been the only time during my pregnancy that I have felt out of sorts. Before "being with child," I imagined that I might be an emotional wreck, but maybe I'm saving that until after the baby is here. Won't that be something to look forward to? =)

Hmmm... actually, now that I think about it... I must confess that there are a couple other things that crack through my normally calm and composed surface. I'll even share one of those with you now since I still have your attention. I have found that viewing birth videos are a sure-fire way to get the waterworks going for me. I have watched a few online recently and a couple tears always manage to sneak out of my eyes when the parents welcome their new little miracle into their family. I think I can be pardoned, however, for those moments of displayed emotion. It is a joyous occasion, and doesn't everyone get a little sappy about new babies? It's certainly better than going into hysterics over a dog show!

When Will The Bun Be Done?

Recent comments from friends/family/co-workers:

"Still no baby, huh?"
"I was hoping you weren't going to show up to work today, and I mean that in the nicest way."
"When is your due date again?"
"You should have him on my birthday!"
"Do you think it will be this weekend?"
"I hadn't heard from you and thought that maybe it was time!"
"Do you have a feeling it will be soon?"

Listen people. You think it's hard for YOU to wait? I have no control here! It's all up to the little guy in my belly and he's completely on his own schedule!

Although he has grown a lot since this pic...





... I guess he's just not quite done yet. We are all getting a wonderful lesson in patience though. =)

Any Day Now, Right?

Remember that time when the doctor was worried that Baby Rude was going to arrive early? Yeah... I recall that I had to lay on the couch for many days and let David carry the laundry basket for me. That was over 3 weeks ago now. Boy, doctors these days sure have a strange sense of humor. This kid seems to be quite happy where he is - squishing my bladder, kicking my various organs, and constantly stretching out to take up as much space as possible. Hello?! If there isn't enough room in there, you could just come out already!




We're at 39 weeks now, so I guess we haven't even reached our official due date, but after all that talk about "he's going to be early," it seems like he really should be here by now. Currently, I am alternating between "Can you PLEASE hurry up!?" and "Wow, this is going to be a big deal - I guess I'm okay with waiting a couple more days..." We'll see how I feel when I'm squeezing David's hand off in the hospital or waking in the wee hours of the morning for another feeding. =)

I'm pretty sure he'll be worth the wait!

I Love This Guy!

David continues to make gradual improvements around our house and I'm so proud of all the hard work he does! I hope that our little guy will inherit his handyman skills and grow up to be a good husband who takes care of his family like his daddy does!

I am picturing the Rude boys wearing matching coveralls and tromping about the house with their tools to "fix" things and tackle various projects. For now, David does pretty well on his own, although I know he's looking forward to having someone "helping" with everything he does. =)

The latest accomplishment was the window in our bathroom. Here you can see what we were dealing with before:



David has the new window in place and the primer is being applied.



It's amazing what a transformation it can be!

David occasionally reads my blog, and I hope that this post brings a smile to his face. I really do appreciate all he does for us. I love you Davey!