First Family Portraits

My parents came to our house yesterday and my Dad brought with him all of his photography equipment. We set up a little studio inside of our living room and got our first family pictures taken together. We wanted to get some pictures of Preston while he was still really little (he is 2 weeks old now). I think they turned out really cute. Here are several of our favorite.

You should be able to click to enlarge. Sorry, there are a lot. :)


All photographs by Ron Southworth

Likenesses

A friend of mine asked me today to post pictures of both Will and I as babies to compare who Preston resembles. You be the judge...

(Click to enlarge)

1st row Left: Jenni (in pink blanket) with brother Mike

Right: Jenni's Dad, Mike, and Jenni

2nd row left: Even though it says Seth, it is actually Will.

Right: Will

Bottom row: This is actually Mike (Jenni's brother) with Grandma Lindsay. I just thought Preston resembled him a lot in this picture.

It was hard to find any "newborn" pictures of Will and I, so it is kind of hard to judge since Preston is only 2 weeks old right now. Anyway I just this would be fun to see though!

31!

My life has been so consumed lately with the birth of Preston, that my own birthday has been pretty far from my mind. A few weeks ago my mom invited us to come up for dinner on the 22nd, for the purpose of it being my birthday dinner (my bday was the 23rd). Several times I had to ask Will, in my absent-mindedness, "Why are we going to have dinner at my parents house again?"

So Sunday we went up for my "Birthday Dinner", which was really more of an excuse to go and see my little brother and his family who were visiting from Utah before they move to Florida next week. (My mom is a dish collector and any excuse to set a table makes her excited, hence the Martha Stewart-esque shots of the dinner table above)

So yesterday, being my real actual birthday day, it began with Will singing "Happy Birthday" to me as he was leaving for work. And then for the first half of the day, it was just Preston and I.

We had fun breastfeeding, burping, napping, changing poopy diapers, feeding some more until Daddy got home. Then we went to the Pediatrician and I got to watch Preston get his heel pricked (which broke my heart). Afterwhich, we all went home and fell asleep from about 3:30pm - 6:30pm. Okay, well Will slept for 3 hours while Preston and I were up after 1 hour for more fun with feeding, burping, changing poopies, etc....

Dinner time came and went. We thought we had one more dinner from the ward, but it never showed up so we finally went to Jack in the Box around 9pm after we stopped to get me some Vikodin at Walgreens and attempted to look at Snoqualmie Falls but Preston wouldn't have it.

Not that I was expecting anything, but by the time 10pm rolled around I was a little sad that my birthday had come and gone and there was no cake, no presents and worst of all the man I married even forgot my birthday. I was hoping at least for a homemade birthday card, but all I kept getting was comments from him like "See what happens when you become a parent? Birthdays are all about the kids now and our birthdays just kind of fade away." I remembered how grateful I was to just have Preston in my life now, and just answered "He is my birthday present".

After another two hours of a crying baby (and a crying mommy), we finally got Preston to sleep around midnight which involved Will cradeling him and walking around the house while I softly played lullabies and hymns on the piano.

And right as I was finishing "Families Can Be Together Forever", Will came over and plopped a gift bag down on the piano. I looked over and it said "Gene Juarez Spa and Salon" on it. I stopped, looked over at Will to see him slowly backing off and going back to cradeling Preston, and I got up and went over and hugged my two special guys.

I had told Will a while ago that all I wanted for my birthday was a gift certificate to this salon so that I could feel pretty again after going through months of pregnancy, gaining weight, etc. I never once went and had a pedicure/manicure, got my hair professionally done, or got a prenatal massage during my pregnancy. I was very frugal. But after to have what I considered a rough go at pregnancy, all I wanted more than anything was to go and get my hair done at my favorite salon (which is way out of my price range right now). I just wanted to feel good about myself.

"Happy birthday" Will whispered into my ear as I had my arms wrapped around him and Preston as tight as I could. "Careful or you'll squish the baby." He said.

And so turning 31 will go down as one of my memorable birthdays - to have a loving husband, a healthy new baby, and fabulous hair. :)

Preston's 1st trip to the Zoo!

Hey there,

Will signing in here. You might think that Preston is a bit too young to take to the zoo. We agree, so we decided to bring the zoo to him.

We have a friendly woodpecker that comes and visits us often. He sits on our window screen and watches us inside the house.














Also sometimes early in the morning, we hear this loud metal noise on our downspouts. I have always thought it was the metal of the downspouts expanding or something. Well, Jenni caught our little woodpecker friend the other day trying to burrow into our downspouts. Now we know what that noise is. LOL

He woke up Preston this morning, so I attempted to get him on video.




Along with this trip to the zoo, we get more exciting animals. A few days ago I was leaving to work in the morning only to see our trash can laying on it's side and trash strewn into the bushes. The raccoons made a big mess and I was determined not to let it happen again so pushed our trash can up against our BIG recycling can making it a lot harder for the raccoons to push over.

Anyway, last night while I was playing the piano to Preston trying to get him to calm down:




All of the sudden I heard our garbage can get knocked over. I was so mad. I jumped up and ran to the window to try and scare away the raccoons, only to see this:



Yeah, so now we have bears! I'm really going to have to bolt down our garbage now. LOL

The Many Faces of Preston

Geez Louise...I'm turning into one of those moms who only post tons of pictures of their kids and that's it. Hahahaha....I'm loving it!

Anyway, Many people have commented on how Preston looks like a different baby so often. Well he can definitely take on many different characteristics depending on whether he is smiling or crying, has his eyes open or closed, or whether its a profile shot or straight on, camera flash or no flash.

Here are some of the many different face of Preston in his short lifespan of 10 days so far...

Mommy and Daddy love their little angel

The First of Many...

Preston is now exactly 1 week old. During the weeks prior to Preston's arrival, Will and I experienced many "lasts" together. But now we get to experience so many "firsts".

Preston's first ride in his jogging stroller. It took him about 15 min to warm up to the idea. But Daddy was thrilled. Mommy made sure he was bundled up nice and warm.

Preston experienced his first hiccups. I think it scared him. He started crying - but all my mom and I could do was laugh quietly because it was just so cute. (He also pee'd on himself for the first time today during a diaper change and it made him jump - hahahaha.)

First time going to the Pediatrician (this is Preston after Grandma got him dressed and ready to go out)

This picture better depicts Preston's feelings about it. Yeah, who wants to be poked and prodded by a doctor? Not me.

First time spending an entire hour in his bouncy chair entertaining himself.

Which is also where I caught his first smile on camera. Okay, his smile are still developing, but this really is a smile. :)

First picture with Mommy since hospital

Ooh-la-la, and a kiss too!

First hour alone in my house with Preston because my mom went home this afternoon, after taking care of the two of us all week long.

I cried when she left.

New Pictures of Preston

Hey Everyone, just wanted to post a few new picture of Preston William. These were taken of him this morning - he is 5 days old. I also posted several more from the delivery on my pregnancy blog if you want to see those. We are so in love with this little guy - he is such a good baby.

Everything is going well - we got home from the hospital late Sunday night. I am in a lot of pain from the incision from the Csection, but my mom is here helping me out as Will went back to work. My mom will be here until Friday, and then next week Will will be taking some 1/2 days off from work to help me.

P.S. Preston is getting over a tiny case of jaundice. He never had it really bad (he never had to spend any time in the tanning bed), and he is down to a "low/average" level. But he still looks pretty tan.

Preston Pictures

You should be able to click on the pictures for the full-size.

He's Here!!!

Welcome to the world little Preston William Thomas. We're glad you made it here safe and sound and that mommy is recovering well.

You were having too much fun inside mommy twisting and getting into all sorts of awkward positions. After 22 hours we decided to take you out the easy way and it was smooth sailing from there.

You weighed in at 8lb. 4oz and were 19-1/2 inches long. You got Dad's big blue eyes (for now) and Mom's gorgeous strawberry blond hair. You got Mom's chin and Dad's easy going attitude (for now).

Mom is recovering well. Because of the C-section Dad got to be the mom for the first few hours. You were hungry from the get go, but waited patiently for Mom to come around. You latched right on and look like a pro nurser already.

If you can just take a nice long nap so Mom and Dad can get some shut eye, then we'll all be a happy family.

Love,
Dad

Pictures coming soon.

If you missed the play-by-play from the labor stop on over at Jenni's Belly Diary Blog:
www.bellydiaries.blogspot.com

At the Hospital

Hey there,

This is Will. We are at the hosipital now. I'll try and post updates now and again, but I'm going to post them on Jenni's Belly Diaries instead of here as there are lots of her pregnancy friends on that site waiting for updates and they don't have access to this blog. So head on over to Jenni's Belly Diaries blog for updates.

www.bellydiaries.blogspot.com

Will

Last Day Being Pregnant - The Final Update

Hey Everyone. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers this past week.

Will and I have been enjoying a lot of "Lasts" together over the past 3 weeks. We have had 3 "last" dates together, enjoyed our "last" Friday night together 3 different times. Taken our "last" car ride alone together several times. Gone grocery shopping for the "last" time twice now. And had our "last" supper at a restaurant without baby 3 different times.

Thankfully, today I really did have my "last" doctor appointment though. Here is the update:

Yesterday I had another Non-Stress Test on Preston and he performed very well. So that was good. This morning I had a doctor appointment (I am now 3 days overdue). Upon examining me, my doctor found that I am still not dialated and just only barely effaced. I am basically sealed up like Fort Knox. This baby just does not want to come out.

My doctor then did an ultrasound to check my fluid levels. The ultrasound took forever and she was very thorough. Finally, she said "I really don't want to have to induce you with such an unfavorable cervix, but we need to get you delivered. Your fluid levels are just too low and continuing to drop. You are at a 5, and that was scraping the bottom of the barrel just to get that number. I really had to hunt around for pockets of fluid." (last Thursday I was at a 7).

She had hoped to get me into the hospital at midnight tonight for inducement, but looks like they are really busy. However, I am at the top of the priority list over anyone else. The hospital is supposed to be calling me between 7am - 8am tomorrow morning (the 12th) with a specific time when to come in.

The plan is to get me started on Pitocin (a synthetic hormone that simulates the one that the body produces naturally called oxytocin - the "labor inducer" hormone). I have requested that if after a few hours my cervix is not progressing, to just proceed to a Csection. It would be too hard to go through 24 hours of hard labor only to find out in the end I am going to have to deliver by Csection anyway (which is why I have been wanting to avoid getting induced in the first place, but now I have no choice). My doctor said that because I have been having a few smaller contractions so far, there is the possibility that my body might cooperate afterall. But just in case it doesn't, we have the Csection as plan B.

I am a bit nervous, a bit excited, a bit sad. I have a lot of emotions going through me right now obviously. Nothing in this pregnancy has gone according to how I thought it would, and so perhaps it is a fitting end that I am delivering this way. And it would only be even more crazy if Preston came on Friday the 13th.

I am so excited to be Preston's mommy and finally get to meet the little guy (maybe not so little, my doc estimated his weight to be around 8 lbs).

I am very grateful to my doctor though who decided to do the ultrasound last week to check things, otherwise we would not even know that my amniotic fluid levels were so low. I mean, you would not be able to tell my fluids were low by looking at me. I am carrying all out front, big, and my hands/feet are swollen. So anyway I am glad that Preston is going to be okay and healthy. But I am just a little nervous/scared because this is my first time doing this and anything could happen.

So basically that is the update. We will call our families (parents and siblings, grandparents, etc) once Preston is born, and then Will is going to try and post a blog update too. Either way - we are going to be parents in the next 48 hours!

Happy Father's Day Will! :)

P.S. I guess this means that Laura wins the Baby Poll - LOL :) Laura guessed that Preston would be born in the evening on June 11th. Nobody guessed any dates after this, so being that he will arrive either late June 12th, or early June 13th - Laura you WIN!!! And good luck to you too - you are due here any day as well! Hopefully you will go early! (Noelle guessed morning of June 11th, so she came in at a close 2nd!)

40 weeks Pic

I'm really not this happy. Anyway - here's me - 40 weeks and 1 day pregnant. 40 weeks = 10 months. LOL Just kidding. I think I'm technically 9 and 1/2 months pregnant or something. Fun. I'm so huge.

Update posted below.

No News Yet

We are now 1 day past the due date. Still no baby, still no labor signs. 1 day past due might not seem like a big deal, but when you've had as hard of a pregnancy that I have it is like an eternity of waiting.

Received blessing on Saturday from Will and my Dad. I know things will be okay. He told me that I would be able to go into labor soon on my own. So all weekend I was hoping the baby would come, and when he didn't, I was pretty down.

Threw my back out though, so it was probably a good thing I didn't have the baby.

Really don't want to have to be induced. It is all dependent on how Preston does on his non-stress test tomorrow morning, and if my fluid levels* have gone down anymore at Wed's doctor appointment. Just want to go into labor naturally on my own before then. Sigh.

*Fluid Levels - meaning amniotic fluid. Amniotic fluid is what the baby drinks and gets nutrients from (as well as from placenta), and that is what he "swims" in. Normal is from level 7 up to around 24. However, if you are at either extreme of the scale, it is not good. For example, if you are at a 24, you have very high fluid and would possibly need to be induced early. And for me, my last fluid level check was a 7, which is at the very lowest level. If it becomes a 6 or lower, they will have to induce.

The Doctor Appointment Update

I had a doctor appointment today - was there from 11am to about 4:30pm. I wrote a detailed blog on my Pregnancy Blog for those of you who want to read in detail.

But everything is fine. I just had a routine appointment and found out I was still not progressing, no signs of labor. She did an ultrasound and found that my placenta was callussing and already starting to deteriorate, so she was concerned about the baby. My fluid level was at a 7 too, which is the lowest on the "normal" range. (and considering it was high at my 28 wk ultrasound, she was concerned - it was 19 then).

So within a few minutes she went from "You're going to go into labor when your body tells you to even if you're 10 days overdue", to "I'm scheduling you for an inducement on the 12th and you are going over to the hospital today to get a non-stress test done on the baby."

Had the NS-test done, baby is fine. Active. Getting enough oxygen from placenta so that is good. They are concerned about fluid though. Have to get another NS test done on Tuesday. Have another Dr Appt on Wed to re-assess if induction is necessary. If fluid has gone down (among several other factors), I will be induced on Thursday the 12th.

Also found out I have been having contractions but never knew it. I had 6 small ones in an hour. I had been having them for months but just didn't know what they were.

Not really wanting to be induced though - after learning it would most likely result in Csection. So pray for me that my body will go into labor on its own soon. Thanks everyone.

Need prayers for sibling

(Above: Shaun, Jenni, Grandma & Grandpa Lindsay, and Will hiking at Jubilee Lake, Summer 2004)

Last week my family was informed that my younger brother, Shaun (who is 28 yrs old), was diagnosed with Hairy Cell Leukemia, which is a rare form of cancer in the blood cells. The Mayo Clinic website says:

"Hairy cell leukemia is a rare, slow-growing cancer of the blood in which your bone marrow makes too many B cells (lymphocytes), a type of white blood cell that fights infection."

As far as we have been told, it is not life-threatening but has no cure. He is currently under going some treatments that will put him in remission for the next 15 years.

I emailed Shaun (who lives in Portland) and asked him if there was anything we could do for him, and he just asked that people keep him in their prayers and email him with support, love, and friendship. I think he is a little depressed right now and could use some encouraging words. If anyone would like to befriend him and offer encouragement, his email is mustangshaun at msn dot com. Also please include him on the temple prayer list when possible.

Thanks,
Jenni

Still Nothing...

Well, as of today there is still nothing exciting to report in the baby department. Tomorrow I go in for what is supposed to be my "last" doctor appointment. My duedate is this Sunday, June 8th. Hopefully I will get some good news, but I kind of doubt it. I'm under the impression that my body has no idea what to do to go into labor and I'm going to be pregnant forever.

I realize that I still have 4 days until the DD, but for those of you who have gone through pregnancy you know that this date is just a day on the calendar and from weeks 38 - possibly 42 you are miserable and just wanting it to be overwith.

I subscribe to a pregnancy forum where all the women are due in June. Every day I get on there and read that someone else (who is due after me) has had their baby, or someone is experiencing contractions, or someone's water broke, etc, etc, etc. I have to admit it is a little discouraging as I wake up everyday hoping that today will be the day, but then I go to bed every night still pregnant. I don't even know what a contraction feels like, my water has not broke...I have no hope.

Best case scenario: I will go to my Dr appt tomorrow and she will tell me that I am fully effaced and dialating and it could be any day now. Or better yet she could tell me to go to the hospital because I'm so ready (I'm laughing as I type that because I just know that won't happen).

Worst case scenario: I have made no improvements, yet again (which would make 3 appts in a row) and she says "See you next week". Next week I have an appoinment scheduled for June 11th, 3 days after my duedate, which, when I scheduled it way back when, I laughed thinking there was no way I would even need to schedule that appointment because for sure the baby would be here by then. The latest I will possibly have the baby is on June 18th because my doctor promised me she would not let me go more than 10 days overdue.

I am just depressed though. I have tried so many things to try to get labor started - and to no avail. I'm really miserably uncomfortable, swollen, cranky and just ready to be done with this. I honestly don't know how some women go through this multiple times. Kudos to them - my highest respect for sure.