FYI

I started a draft about my labor story a while ago, and finally finished it. The only problem is that it is after my post with all the pictures since I started the labor one before. I just wanted to say if anyone wants to know how it all happened, it's there, just keep scrolling down the blog.

Pictures!

I have been meaning to do a great big post, but have realized that I don't have much time. Since Rydge was born I have been to a wedding, gone to church, gone and drove a cart while Lance was golfing, and countless other things that are not typical postpartum activities. We also have 4 or 5 reunions to go to, and I am supposedly participating in a Relay for Life thing in July. I did want to put some pictures up, and then a long post will come later. Jaycee is such a great big sister--sometimes a little too helpful--and she loves her baby brother. He sleeps a lot, which is normal. I always think he sleeps way better in the daytime than at night, but I can't complain.
I love how much hair he has. That's everyone's first reaction when they see him--"Look at all that hair!"

I love this face. He sometimes looks like an old man.

I love epidurals!!!

Well, Lance asked me if I was ever going to do a new post, so I figured I'd get the labor story details in here (mostly for journaling purposes). I will do a disclaimer and say if you don't want to know the details, don't read this post. I won't be too descriptive, but some things have to be mentioned. It was pretty much exactly like Jaycee's delivery. When I walked into the hospital I was in no pain. I could barely tell if I was having contractions, and yet I was dilated to a 5 and 90% effaced. My doctor wanted to start me into labor because I was progressing pretty well, but also tested positive for Group B Strep, which means I couldn't go into labor without having an antibiotic treatment. My doctor was also heading out of town over the weekend. We went to the hospital around 11:00 AM Wednesday to get everything started. They gave me my epidural, then induced labor. While waiting for everything to be ready, I was falling asleep. I was thinking how nice it was to be able to have an epidural. I was totally relaxed. I only had to push for 4 contractions. That's not me bragging, though, because I ended up having a fourth degree tear. Rydge came out screaming, and everything was great. He was born at 2:55 PM June 17th. I will take the painful recovery if I can get healthy babies. I'm so grateful that he came when he did. I could not imagine still being pregnant. I have to mention how nice it was to be in our hometown hospital. We knew everyone who was taking care of me, and Lance also got to deliver Rydge. He got to scrub up and assist Dr. Robinson, which was really awesome. He was so willing to show Lance how to do everything.

I also told many people that I was so worried about my little baby having to get a circumcision, but Rydge was a champ. Lance says that he whimpered at the first, then just sucked on his binkie and stayed calm.

After I got into my room at the hospital, we decided it was finally time to decide on a name. We had Jaycee in there, and Lance asked her what the baby's name is. She said matter-of-factly that his name is Rydge, and so we kept it. Jaycee got to name her baby brother. We had kind of told her that name a couple of times, so it wasn't completely her choice.

My recovery this time has seemed like it has gone so much faster. I really feel great, and have been enjoying having two kids. I am so grateful for the family members who have helped me. It has really eased the transition of having a newborn and a 3-year-old. He is also a really good baby. There has been a couple of nights where he didn't wake up for 6 hours, which resulted in really good rest for me.

Introducing Rydge Glen Jacobson

Due to my (Lance) non-existent blogging ability and Chemene's current state I am deeply saddened to inform you that this post will not be earth shattering. What you get are pictures of our big day and a promise that Chemene will right my wrongs shortly. Thank you for your patience.


Rydge Glen Jacobson -- 6 pounds 14 ounces -- 19 inches


Rydge, Grandpa Dixon, and one proud big sister


The same big sister after a long day of sistering

One proud (and good looking) momma

Update

Isn't it weird how the time involved in 35 weeks of pregnancy seems to be equivalent to the last 5 weeks? I can't believe how slow time goes in these last stages. I got my hopes up that I would be having my baby last Wednesday, but told my doctor that I wasn't quite ready yet. I was dilated to a 3 and 70% effaced. I didn't even know if I had insurance yet. I also had just hit 37 weeks, and my belly was measuring small. I got to go get an ultrasound to make sure he is healthy and growing. He's even measuring a week ahead (I was 37 weeks, and he averaged 38 weeks in measurements). Since then, it has seemed like time is standing still. I really can't complain, though, because I'm pretty sure this baby is not going to stay in there until his due date. I'm thinking Wednesday night/Thursday morning because that's when my next appointment is. Maybe I'm just hoping. I have a narrow time frame to work with, though. Lance's brother is getting married out at the cabin on Bear Lake on Sat. the 20th. My mother-in-law has requested that I don't go into labor that day. That could get a little stressful for her. Anyway, I just thought I'd give an update for those of you who were curious.

Home again!

Well, I was going to do a great post about Lance finishing his first year of medical school, the celebration we had with most of our friends, and also post a picture of all the successful students that were at the party, but alas, my husband forbade me to do it. He said that everyone beat me to the chase, and you'll have to look at all the other blogs for pictures. I will just say that we did finish up our first year of medical school, and that we are officially second-years. We had a great year. It went by so fast.
We are lucky enough to be able to spend our summer at home in Bear Lake. We have looked forward to being able to go home so much that we can't believe it is actually happening.
We had pretty uneventful flights, and were very grateful for the lack of excitement, as I had entertained many thoughts of delivering a baby on an airplane. Since we've been home I've been thinking about all the things I have missed about being in the wonderful valley of Bear Lake. The most obvious reason is the family members who all live here, or close by. Another thing I've missed are the mountains. They bring a sense of security, and produce breathtaking sunsets. Along with that is the actual lake. It's gorgeous. I can't wait until we get good weather long enough to warm the water up. I also have missed driving down the street and seeing familiar license plates. I know who's in a lot of the cars. Call me a weirdo for memorizing license plates--my husband does all the time. It's also great seeing people I know in the grocery store. It makes grocery trips that much more enjoyable.
There are many more reasons, but I won't bore you guys anymore. Now that we're here I can look forward to baby #2 coming. We still haven't decided on a name yet, but don't worry, we will at least before he leaves the hospital.
We miss all our friends in Wisconsin, but we'll be back soon enough.

Pregnancy pictures

Well, my friend Danielle took some pictures for me, so you will finally get to see some pregnancy pictures. I am not fond of me in pictures, but she did a great job with what she had to work with;) These were taken about two weeks ago. I feel like my belly has gotten tons bigger since those were taken. Jaycee ended up taking some way cute pictures, though, so I put those in, too.

Blogging slacker!

So, lately I have not had much to blog about. There are a couple of contributing factors to this problem. The first factor is that Jaycee won't really smile for me when I try to take pictures. The second is that we don't really do much out of the ordinary to warrant taking pictures. Our days have all been blogged about before. Another reason is that it is finals week(s) for Lance until May 29th, and that is when we just kick into survival mode and wait until the stress levels go down a bit. The last, and most important reason, is that one of the main reasons I blog is to appease the grandparents, and we are soon on our way to see them. We're looking forward to that so much that it makes it hard to find motivation to endure to the end (so to speak). We're going back to Idaho on the 30th and staying the whole summer until Aug. 19th. Sometimes I think we might be crazy, what with being 8 months pregnant and traveling, and all that goes along with that. Not to mention having the baby there, and figuring out all the insurance and everything. As soon as everything gets figured out and we get settled, I know we'll have a blast. It will be nice to be home with parents and in-laws with a new baby. Anyway, the top picture is showing you when Jaycee will smile for me, which is only for silly pictures. The second is showing you a little tantrum she was throwing, and also her new favorite toy that she can't live without. There isn't an event that goes by in the day that she doesn't ask to take her stroller right along. We'll be getting ready to go to the store, the park, a friend's house, the library, or whatever else and she'll ask if she can take her stroller. The answer is always no, of course (I'm not lugging that thing around). We do let her take the stroller with Mimi when we go on walks in the evening. She begs and begs to go for walks with her stroller. Whenever we go to Abi's house (below), Caleb's house (in birthday blog), or anyone else's house, she will get so excited because there are strollers at their houses, which always end up being fought over.

This picture is to show you the cute girls I babysit every once in a while for Melissa Schmutz, Abi and Kaitlyn. They are really good girls, and Jaycee loves having someone to play with. Look at the cute smiles I got from Abi and Kaitlyn, and then there's Jaycee. The baby's smiling better than she is, but that's the best I could get. Oh well.

What a night!

Last night was not the best night of sleep for Jaycee. She didn't take a Sunday nap, which was hard for mom and dad who like their Sunday naps, and then wouldn't go to bed early either. I put her to bed at 8:00, and she kept getting up and playing with her toys. I got impatient with her and went in there all huffy. When I put her back in bed she bonked her head and cried. Then I decided I would rock her just so she would go to sleep, and she fell asleep in less than a minute. She woke up in the middle of the night to go potty. After going potty and being sent back to bed, she woke up again because her belly growled and she was hungry. I put her in bed with us and told her it was not time to eat. She didn't last very long in our bed before it was time to kick her out. She likes to pat shoulders, or give kisses. Not very cute at 3:00AM. Back to her bedroom she went and I could hear her up and roaming around, but at this point I didn't care. When I went in her room this morning she wasn't in bed, and it took me a minute to realize she was in the closet. She looked quite cozy. When she woke up she told me she was hiding from me so I wouldn't put her back in bed. I'm not complaining because usually she sleeps just fine. It's just that I thought I would be up three or four times a night after the baby came...not before!