Finally Here!!!!

He's finally here! Well, he was actually finally here as of 7:29 yesterday evening, but as I'm sure you can imagine, I've been a little busy and haven't been able to blog until now. I can now divulge the secret name. It's Conan Norman Kent Jackson. I said that it may be controversial, and I'm sure that a good 60% of you all think the name is weird, but we love it. When going through our baby name book, we were partial to Irish names. There were a few on the list, but this is the one that Ben and I both really liked and agreed on. At first we were nervous because it isn't a common name at all (not in the top 1000 boys names), and we knew that a lot of people wouldn't like it, but after much discussion, we knew that it was the right name regardless. Norman is Ben's maternal grandfather's name, also a name that I really like. Miles middle name, Leo, is after my maternal grandfather, and we wanted to get both grandpa's in there. Kent is Ben's dad's biological father's last name. It's also a middle name of I think all the Jackson boy's, so I really wanted to continue that tradition. Miles also has the second middle name of Kent.

We almost didn't get to have our little Conan here yesterday. We had scheduled an elective induction for yesterday. I guess that I didn't realize that elective means, it's not really going to happen. They have you fast and get all ready, then call a half hour before you are scheduled to tell you if you can actually come. I completely understand that women who go into natural labor certainly have priority and can't reschedule, but we were pretty dependent on getting in yesterday. Ben had scheduled it off and would have had a very difficult time scheduling more training time off. I think that I've mentioned that although Ben still gets his 2 weeks paternity time, he's not actually able to take it now because he is in training and has to be there. So, really, this time, it's just 2 weeks extra vacation. Of course, when we called in at 7:00 am, we were told to call back at 8:00. At 8:00, we were told to call back at 10:00. I explained that we lived an hour away, and I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, and was then basically told that we wouldn't be able to come in anyway (so why was I supposed to call back at 10:00). Again, I understand that women in labor can't get bumped to accommodate my induction, but we were actually told that that wasn't the reason. They just didn't have enough staff. Wait. This was scheduled a week ago. Why wasn't staff scheduled? That seems pretty stupid. I was pretty discouraged, so Ben took the phone. He firmly but appropriately explained that if this didn't happen today (yesterday) that he would not be able to be here for our son's birth. That didn't seem to make too much difference at the time, but about a half hour later, we got a call saying that after speaking with our doctor, they were told to have us come in at 10:00 to be induced. Good job Ben! You're fantastic speaking skills have done it again!

We got here a few minutes early, and by 10:00, I was in a room on petosin. I was expecting to get grief from the nurses for being so pushy, but everyone was so nice......well, the charge nurse did keep bringing up something about someone who was due before us getting bumped to make us feel guilty. I don't though. I'd rather have my husband present. Anyway, with that one exception, everyone worked so hard to make us feel completely comfortable and get things going as quickly and smoothly as possible.

Unfortunately, things didn't progress very quickly on my part. After several hours of petosin, I wasn't doing much. My doctor had a C-section scheduled (and I still don't understand why this would help with any conflict, but it worked out), so he decided that he needed to break my water and get me an epidural asap. Things started moving along after that. Not enough though. two hours of pushing later, still not much. Not too surprising to me. We had quite the struggle with Miles. Dr. Tanner ended up using a vacuum of some sort and doing some cutting (sorry, I'm really trying not to be at all graphic) and got that baby delivered.

Conan was born at 7:29. He weighed 7 lbs. 4 ozs. and is 19.5 inches long. He looks exactly like his big brother did except he has more hair, and his eyes are quite as googly. In fact, they look so much alike, that the reality of having a second child has not hit me at all. I just feel like Miles is an infant again. We lucked out with another well-tempered baby. He hardly cries. So far, it's really just when he needs to be changed. Hopefully, he keeps that up. We would love to have another baby that is as content as Miles was. That would really make our potential family vacation in September so pleasant.

What else? Miles came to see his baby Cocoa last night. I think that he was pretty confused. I think that he just thought that I was calling my tummy a baby. I'm sure that he had no concept that there was actually a baby inside. He was a little tentative, but he did say that he loves the baby. We'll see how he feels when he realizes that this baby is coming home with us. I think we'll probably get the two extremes. He'll probably try to love the baby a little too much, but I'm sure there will also be those times that he tries to dispose of his little brother. We'll just make sure that they are both well-supervised. I really think that with a little time, Miles will love having a little brother to take care of.

I think that that about covers it. Everyone is healthy and doing well. I expect we'll be going home tomorrow afternoon. It will be nice to take our addition home and get into a routine as a whole family. I'm excited for everyone to get to see him. He's super great, and we'd be happy to have you all visit. Please just give a call first because I'm sure that our house will be full of all sorts of chaos, and I'd hate to expose you all to that.

A Little Change of Plans

Well, the baby wins. It does not look like he will be sharing a birthday with his big brother. I have to admit, I was kind of starting to like the idea, but this is probably better. At my last doctor's appointment, we were kind of nailing down the particulars, and Dr. Tanner happened to mention that he could probably induce as soon as the 28th. Heck yeah! I'll take it. I know that it's only a couple of days, but when you're 9 months pregnant, a couple of days is an eternity. That ends up working really well for Ben too. Now that he's back at Fidelity, the original reasons for picking the original date no longer exist, so Monday it is. You may think that 2 1/2 days away would be a little soon and nerve-racking, but honestly, I still hope that it just happens sooner. Every little pain or movement that I feel I think, "Ooh, please be labor..." One could only be so lucky. It would actually be really awesome if I went into labor right now. Then, Ben wouldn't have to miss any work and could stay at the hospital the whole time (I'm not so sure that he wants to hang out there for a couple of days, but I'd like to have the company), and I wouldn't have to worry about my work stuff either because it's the weekend. I'm certainly not getting my hopes up though.

Since our original name had to be nixed, we've had a lot of inquiries, suggestions, and input (some wanted, some not so much). Well, I think that we've made a decision. I am not going to divulge that decision until it is signed on a birth certificate though. I have a feeling that this name is going to draw some controversy, and quite frankly, I don't really care what everyone else thinks. It's our baby. Some of you will probably love the name, and others will probably think we're crazy. I doubt that there will be much middle ground on this one. In the end, Ben and I both really like the name, and after weighing the pros and cons realize that nothing will please everyone, and kids will always find a way of twisting any name to make fun of you. Anyway, be excited for the name announcement.

I think that that should do it for now. We'll keep you posted on any updates. Thank you in advance to everyone who is helping with Miles during the blessed event. To you, I also wish good luck. He's become quite the handful. He's super hilarious though, so it's okay. P.S. If he starts jumping around hooting, it's because he thinks that he's a monkey.

Changes and Updates and All Sorts of Chaos

Well, the day is quickly approaching, baby day that is. And it can get here too soon. I am tired of being big and fat and tired. It would be nice to be able to take a load of laundry downstairs without getting totally winded. On a positive note, at least I just get winded. I can still do it. With Miles, that was totally out of the question at this point. The last two weeks of pregnancy was literally spent in bed. I don't think I went downstairs once in the last two weeks....no laundry, which I suppose was okay since I just hung out in pjs anyway. I also didn't drive for the last several weeks of pregnancy with Miles. That was something I had a really hard time with that doesn't seem to be bothering me as much this time. I think that having Miles to take care of probably distracts me from feeling sick or bad for myself. Also, I think that not having the expectation of going into labor a couple of weeks early (this is something that my last doctor told me would probably happen when I was pregnant with Miles) has really helped. If you recall, I did not have Miles early. He was actually a few days late, which to me, was two weeks and a few days late. Any early baby this time would just be a super nice surprise. It's also so nice to have a pretty definite end date in sight, which happens to be in two weeks. Yay! I guess Ben and I really need to brainstorm in the name department.

Things are going to be a little crazy when we have this baby. Like I said before, Ben doesn't get the paternity time that he got with Fidelity. Well, actually, that's not entirely true. He actually does get the paternity time because he's actually back at Fidelity, but he can't take it now. Confusing, I know. I think that Ben has wanted to go back to Fidelity since he first left. He seems to feel comfortable there and sees it as a little more long-term than other financial institutions. He sent his resume in several months ago after hearing about a hiring. I don't think that they ever did do that hiring though. However, we got a call about a month ago asking for an interview. Everything went really well and really quickly, and Ben started back this past Monday. It's a really good thing because even though our insurance with eTrade was better than most, Fidelity's is the best I've seen. In a family like ours, that will make a big difference. The thought of hospital visits without co-pays sure is nice. Also, Ben's tenure is reinstated, so we've got a lot of extra perks, one of which is the two weeks of paternity. The problem is that he can't take it while he's in training, so it's basically two extra weeks of vacation.....which I will take. It will be a little weird to just have him there the one day. Oh well. What are you going to do?

Now for the Miles update. This will be a full one. First of all, can you believe that Miles is going to be two in two weeks. He's such a big boy. I feel like an old person saying this, but it really feels like I just had him a couple of months ago. It's incredible how time goes by exponentially faster the older you get. It really occurred to me today that if all goes as planned, we're going to have a baby on Miles' birthday. Obviously, I've thought about this before, but it was just more thinking of it as a novelty. I didn't give too much thought to Miles himself. I need to come up with something to make it special for him (other than getting his very own little brother). Any ideas? I feel kind of bad pawning him off on family on his birthday. I need to do something. He is going to get a big fancy Handy Manny birthday party later on. The original plan was to do it last weekend. Obviously, that did not happen. I think it will probably be a couple of weeks after the baby comes. I know that everyone is leaving town shortly after the fourth, so we'll try to do it sometime after you all return.

That's the fun Miles info. Now for the more expected updates (sad isn't it that the expected ones aren't really the fun ones). My poor baby is sick yet again. Not only that, but it's something totally new. Last Thursday, Miles started acting really irritable and tired. He just wanted to "take a night" all day. He was sweaty and super hot to touch, even more so than usual. His temperature ranged from about 100 to almost 104 degrees, but averaged around 101. He wasn't throwing up or having breathing problems, so we decided to just treat him with Tylenol for a while. For a couple days following, things stayed the same. He had a hard time eating, and just wanted to sleep all day. There were a few short intermediate moments of energy that gave us hope, but they never lasted. On Sunday, I noticed that his gums were very red and a little swollen. We thought that he might have strep, but his glands weren't swollen. Monday, I noticed some thrush on his tongue and a little sore above his lip. Tuesday morning, I took him to instacare, and they were about the least helpful people ever. They did give him a prescription for the thrush, and it seems to be working. Because I was so unsatisfied, and Miles is still so miserable, I made an appointment for today with his pediatrician. Good thing too. When I got him up to go, he was having a very hard time. I could tell he was in a lot of pain. I wiped his face with a baby wipe, and just the light touch made something in his mouth bleed quite profusely. When I looked more closely, there were more sores inside of his mouth, and his gums were dark red and swollen almost over his teeth.

I took him to the doctor, and they could tell by Miles' demeanor that it was a pretty big deal. Usually, even if he can't breath, he's in pretty good spirits at the doctor's office. Must be the fun train set. Not this time though. I really don't think that he's stopped crying (except for sleep time) since he woke up this morning). At first, they thought that he had hand, foot, and mouth disease. I hadn't ever heard of this, but apparently, it's fairly common. He didn't have the hand and foot part though, and his sores weren't quite the same. The doctor thinks that it's a type of herpes. Makes sense since I happen to be the cold sore queen. This is a different type with some hilarious name that sounds inappropriate that I can't remember though. To treat the sores, we have to give him a rinse of benadryl and liquid antacid. Because it is so bad. He's also taking amoxicilin in case of additional infection.

The thing that Dr. Ditty seemed to be a little concerned with was the thrush. Like I said, it's really improving with the medicine. However, he shouldn't be getting it at this age. It can actually be an indication of a more serious immune system problem. Of course it is. Why not?! If Miles isn't vastly improved by Friday, we're supposed to head back for more tests. Really, to me, an immune disorder would make sense. He's got so many random issues, and low immunity could cause anything. I guess we'll see.

The one last thing that we're doing on the Miles' health front is to have a sweat test done. This is something that has been in the back of my mind since his breathing problems first started. The test is to rule out cystic fibrosis. With the undiagnosed breathing difficulties, trouble drinking, and reflux, it's been a concern to me....even though it's unlikely. With this current ailment, Ben and I were looking on Web MD (probably a super bad idea) to try to figure out what was going on. Cystic fibrosis was actually something that came up when Ben typed in a couple of symptoms. Apparently, a thrush-like coating on the tongue is a symptom. Since this was already a concern, I asked Dr. Ditty if it would be worth it to have the test done. Like the doctors at Primary, he said that although he didn't think it was likely, it is a possibility, and he thought that it would be a good idea to have it done, mainly to put our minds at rest. I agree. I'll be happy to know that's not the problem. The order is in, but I haven't scheduled anything yet, so we'll keep you posted.

Last, but certainly not least, I'll tell you about a fantastic (read with much sarcasm) experience we had last week. Actually, the beginning was fantastic. For Christmas, Rod and Cathy gave us a night's stay at the Marriott Resort in Park City. Additionally, they would take Miles for the night. Well, we took advantage of that last Tuesday. It was so wonderful! We did a little outlet shopping on the way. The resort itself was beautiful. I didn't realize how much there would be to do there. I wish that we would have planned our time a little better, so we could have taken advantage of some of the activities. I think that it would be the perfect mini vacation for a family that wants to stay close. The rooms have little kitchenettes. There are all-day itineraries posted all over with activities for all ages (including duct tape wallet making). The pool area was incredible. The alpine slides lifts are right there. They have a bungee jump and all kinds of things. I would love to take our boys in a couple of years when they can enjoy it. Because of my "delicate" state, we hung out in our room most of the time. We did have an incredible dinner at a restaurant inside the Dakota Lodge (which happens to be in the Waldorf Astoria family) at the Canyons. It was so good! Food is an area where Ben and I totally mesh. We love fine dining and trying new things. We shared sweetbreads for our appetizer, then I had a carrot soup with ginger cream, while Ben had field greens salad. For my entree, I had a crusted pork loin with a side of crispy pork belly.and fava beans. Ben had a rhubarb marinated duck with foie gras. For dessert, we shared their housemade beignets. It makes me hungry to just think about it. I think the Metropolitan is still my favorite restaurant, but I don't know. This place may knock it out.

Now for the bad part. After picking Miles up and running some errands in Salt Lake, we were pretty tired, so we didn't even bother unloading our bags when we got home. We just went to bed. The next morning, I got up to take the garbage out, and noticed the car door wide open. It wasn't totally unheard of for Ben to grab something out of the car and not shut the door, so I didn't think too much of it. I just nagged a bit about it when I came back in. Later that day, I had to run to the post office. I got in my car and noticed that all but one of my quarters (I had a roll) were missing from my console. Again, I assumed that Ben had taken them. Then, I see receipts laying on the passenger seat that I didn't remember putting there. Upon, closer review, I realized that the passenger door was ajar. Great! Someone broke into our cars. That will teach us to not lock our doors. I checked things out, and with the exception of missing loose change and some checks from an old closed account, nothing seemed to be missing. I called on the old checking account to give the bank a heads up and filed a police report just to be safe, even though I felt kind of silly about doing so. It turns out that it was a smart move. The next day, Ben realized that his Father's Day present had been sitting in the back seat. Wasn't there anymore. He had wanted his own wet tile saw for a while (I'm not really sure what for), and I'd finally gotten it for him. No more. That night, I sent Ben out to get the diaper bag because it had all of Miles' medicine in it, and if you recall, he was pretty sick at that point. Ben didn't find it but found some other Tylenol to give him. I was sure that he just hadn't looked very hard. I woke up around 5 the next morning realizing that maybe the bag really wasn't there. I was really nervous about it, so I went and tore the car apart. Sure enough, the entire diaper bag was gone. That meant that I didn't have any of Miles' allergy medication, asthma medication, pain relievers or his nebulizer, attachments, or spacers. Not to mention the digital thermometer, probe covers, ball syringe, etc. Everything was in there. And it was a really nice expensive diaper bag too. Luckily, I was able to replace most of the prescriptions and equipment today when we went to the doctor. I just can't believe that of all the crap that was in our cars, someone chose to steal my baby's diaper bag full of his medical equipment. How is that going to help anyone? It's baby medicine. What if Miles would have had breathing problems over the weekend? What kind of terrible person does it take? I get stealing the tile saw. The could pawn it. It was unopened. They could take it back to Home Depot. It was worth something. But what is someone going to do with baby medicine and a nebulizer? You can't pawn that. You can't get high off of it. It just makes you a bad person. Ben is going to write a letter in the Tooele Transcript offering a reward for information. It's not that the money is so much the issue. It's the principle. Ben said that he will have a very hard time not beating the person up if he ever finds out who did it.