That funny story I mentioned

Picture this:

I am sitting in a hospital bed, anxiously awaiting the "go-ahead" to go into surgery, getting more and more nervous by the minute. I am not generally nervous about the surgery itself, it's the epidural that freaks me out. You would think that having three previous epidurals would make me less frightened, but in fact the opposite is true. So, I'm sitting there, waiting ever so patiently, with Jay and my mom by my side, when the anesthesiologist comes in to give me the run-down and have me sign my life away.

As she's talking to me, I realize that she is the same anesthesiologist that took care of me when Dexter was born. I was comforted by that, because, well, she did a good job the last time. Plus, I remembered that she was very kind (which makes a difference when they are poking you in the back with a humongous needle). As I'm about to mention this to her, I look at Jay and notice that he recognizes her too. But I didn't expect to hear the next words that came out of his mouth:

"Do you remember me?" Jay asked her.

"Um...." she looked at Jay without recognition.

Jay continued, "Did you get pulled over on highway 85 about a month ago?"

The anesthesiologist started turning bright red just as I realized what was happening. I was horrified beyond belief! "Jay!" I yelled, hoping to stop him from continuing his story. For heaven's sake, this woman is about to have my life in her hands and he's reminding her that he pulled her over!

Jay laughed, "It's ok," he looked at me. "I let her off with a warning."

Oh, PHEW!

We all had a good laugh over the situation, although the anesthesiologist was still embarrassed about being pulled over. The story spread like wildfire throughout labor & delivery, and all the nurses started flirting with Jay in hopes that he would remember them if they were ever caught speeding down the 85 as well.

It's been a week already!

In honor of Calvin's first week on this earth, here are a few more pictures:

It's a boy!

First bath

Where am I?

Nana and Cal (check out the hair!)

I've been waiting for you, bro!

Stop taking my picture, woman!

Welcome to the world...

It's a boy!

Calvin Edward Fear

Nov. 28th, 2008 9:34 a.m.
weighing in at a whopping 10 lbs, 4 oz
21 1/2 inches long

No wonder I was so uncomfortable!

The surgery went fine and I am now home recovering. Calvin is healthy and happy, although he has yet to pass his hearing exams, so we have some follow-up testing that will be done in the next few weeks.

Natalie, Beatrice, and yes, even Dexter seem to like having Calvin around so far. :) We are so excited to have him as part of our family.

He has so much black hair that the nurse formed it into a fauxhawk. Jay calls him our little Eskimo baby...

More pictures and a funny story to follow sometime soon. In the meantime, I'm going to take a nap!

Dexter's new...

...haircut:

... favorite pasttime:

And only one week until his new roommate arrives:

Poor clueless little guy....

Thwarted Thanksgiving (kind of)

It's been confirmed. I do have to fast before the c-section. You should have seen the look on my doctor's face when she realized why I was asking the question. Then she laughed a little and said, "You only have to fast for 12 hours, though, so you'll just have to eat an early Thanksgiving dinner."

So much for my midnight snack plans! Dang!

A Busy Month Begins

Today, I vote.

And go to Costco. And take back that movie I fell asleep watching. And finally take down Jay's birthday party decorations. And balance the checkbook. And maybe, just maybe, put away the million loads of laundry that are piled up in Jay & I's room.

Why do I always put away the kids' laundry and completely ignore my own? It's a sickness... one that I curse every morning when looking for the only pair of jeans that currently fit.

I hate those jeans.

The rest of the month includes parent-teacher conferences, preparing for Thanksgiving, preparing for Christmas, and - oh yeah - preparing for the arrival of the newest little Fear. I have to admit I am not at all mentally ready for a newborn. Day-to-day life with 3 young kids has left me with little time for pondering the joys and frustrations (mostly joys... right?) that are going to be coming my way starting November 28th. I know there is going to be some sibling jealousy and lots of poopy diapers and lack of sleep, but... my mind can't seem to process beyond the leftover pumpkin pie in the fridge and the fact that I can't forget to pay Bea's preschool bill tomorrow.

That's all the room I've got in my brain right now.

Which might explain why this post is so scattered.

It's also 4:30 in the morning and I can't sleep. People who say things like "get your sleep now, while you can!" have either never been pregnant or have completely forgotten what it was like when they were. I haven't had a good night's sleep in three months, and I'm not expecting to have one until sometime in 2010.

Yikes.

See? This is why my brain keeps focusing on pumpkin pie. It's much less stressful.

We have a date!

There are many not-so-great things about having c-sections, but I have to admit, I really like the fact that I get to know the baby's birth date ahead of time. It certainly helps with the planning of babysitting for the other kids, etc. And it doesn't hurt that the doctor usually schedules the surgery for about a week ahead of your due date. That is stellar! So... we now have a date for the surgery. Drum roll please...

Friday, November 28th!

Whoo hoo! And yes, that's the day after Thanksgiving. Perfect timing, actually. I would hate to have missed out on the opportunity to go crazy with Thanksgiving dinner, especially with the "I'm pregnant so I can eat as much as I want" excuse. It's a beautiful thing.

If they make me fast ahead of the surgery, then I'm having Thanksgiving at 7 a.m. "Wake up kids, it's time to have turkey!"

(I don't think they do ... I really should remember that, huh? It's only my fourth. Oh well... maybe I'll eat a pie or two ahead of time, just in case.)

On another note, the results of the 2nd round of baby name polls are as follows:

Girls
Evelyn - 12 (35%)
Josephine - 10 (29%)
Alice - 9 (26%)
Mary - 3 (8%)

Boys
Jack - 16 (48%)
Linus - 7 (21%)
Charles - 7 (21%)
Gordon - 3 (9%)

Later this week I'll take the top two from this poll and the top two from the last poll and we'll have an ultimate baby name showdown! I'm excited! I love seeing everyone's responses. I have to admit I was surprised at how well Linus did. *I* like it, but that usually doesn't mean much. :)

Baby Name Poll: Round 2 (plus, I'm off the ice)

Well, my friends, you were right. A week of consistent vitamin taking has significantly reduced my ice craving, and I'm feeling almost normal again. As normal as a pregnant woman feels, anyway. Hats off to Jay, Jeremy, and Diane, who all diagnosed my craving correctly. I can feel the iron pumping through me even as I type.

And now, as promised, a new baby name poll! The results of my previous poll can be found here. Please vote in both polls, since we need both a boy and a girl name. Perhaps later I'll pit the winners of this poll against the winners of the previous poll and we can declare an All-Time But Non-Binding Winner!

Now go vote! (Consider it practice for November 4th.)

Baby Update

I realized I haven't really been talking about the pregnancy that much lately, and I suppose it's because there is just so much else going on. Now that the school year is in full-swing, and Jay is working 12 hour shifts, I don't spend nearly as much time on the computer. I guess that's a good thing, though. I was starting to get a wee bit of an addiction.

So, I am 29 weeks along and feel about 50. The older I get, the more energy pregnancy zaps out of me. I am healthy and all is well with the baby, I'm just even more tired than usual and have all sorts of fun aches and pains. I don't think I'm going to be able to walk the girls to school much longer, which really stinks. I always feel kind of silly driving to school since we live so close. You know me, I try to keep my carbon footprint low. ;) But, I don't really have much choice, so Al Gore will just have to get off my back.

Here I am, at 29 weeks, looking slightly frumpy:

And despite the fact that approximately 50 people told me how huge I am at church last Sunday, the doctor says I am measuring "right on target." So take that, people!!!

(I sound kind of bitter, don't I? Sorry. Blame the hormones.)

As far as cravings go, I'm craving anything icy. I'm going through Otter Pops like mad, and I'm eating the ice out of my water. (Very strange for me considering I usually like room temperature water.) I wonder if there's any old wives tales that can decipher this particular craving for me?

On the subject of baby names, we've taken a backward step. We had a boy name and a girl name all picked out, but as the Big Day approaches, we are starting to reconsider. Jay doesn't know why I insist on researching baby names so early in the pregnancy, because I always end up second guessing myself near the end. But hey, if I didn't start early, I'm pretty sure the baby wouldn't have a name until he/she was 3 months old! Hmmm... maybe a new poll is in order. I will put one together soon.

It's too hot to blog.

It's too hot to do much of anything, actually. The kids and I ate PB&J sandwiches and grapes for dinner, and I am currently vegging out in front of the computer, all the lights turned off, the desk littered with Otter Pop wrappers.

I have never been pregnant in the summer before. Well, Natalie was born in late June, but I was on the other side of 30 then. I handled the heat a lot better. Except for the massive leg and foot swelling, but we don't need to get into that. Anyway, my point is, I'm pregnant, sweaty, and hot, we don't have air conditioning, and I can't motivate myself to do anything productive. Really, I mean anything. If we ever have to move anywhere that's really hot, I'm in trouble.

The kids enjoying the bigger kiddie pool... thanks, Grandma!

Dexter - from the pool to the dirt, and loving it.

Lookin' good, son.

Stock Tip

The just-looking-at-food-gives-me-heartburn phase of my pregnancy has begun.

Invest in Tums.

(You didn't hear this from me.)

Dos and Don’ts

So, a Czech woman touched my belly in line at IKEA yesterday. I have to say, that is not one of my favorite experiences. I don’t like strangers, even casual acquaintances, touching me in any way, shape, or form. That feeling only intensifies when I'm pregnant. I know she wasn’t trying to violate me or anything, but I felt like saying, “Um, this is your dance space, this is my dance space, let's cha-cha,” and then moving on with our conversation.

It wasn't only the belly-touching, though. She also made the “You’re due soon, right?” comment. Uhhhhhhhh... no. Try 4 more months.

She was a nice woman, so it's really nothing against her, but those are two of my biggest pet peeves when I’m pregnant. I really need to have a t-shirt made, so that I can educate the world on what not to say to a pregnant woman. It would prevent a lot of awkwardness, don’t you think?

Here’s what I would like the world to know:

What not to say (or do) to a pregnant woman

1) Don't guess how far along she is. If you must, then follow this rule: Before guessing out loud how far along she is, automatically subtract 2 months. Either you’ll be right on, or you’ll make her day.
2) Strike the words big, chubby, and plump from your vocabulary. Replace them with healthy, happy, and glowing.
3) Never, under any circumstances, ask if someone is having twins. Ever.
4) Unless you’re close friends, don’t ask if she plans on having an epidural / breastfeeding / having any more kids. It’s really none of your business.
5) And lastly, if you don’t want her touching your belly, keep your hands off hers!

Here’s what you should do instead:

1) Tell her she looks great, even if her legs are swollen, she has bags under her eyes, and her protroding belly is covered with drips from her recently-devoured ice cream cone.
2) Open the door for her, or better yet, help unload her grocery cart since her pregnant belly makes it almost impossible to reach into the far corners.
3) Surprise her with some Ben & Jerry’s... almost any flavor will do. And don't judge her when she eats the whole cartoon while sobbing through Pride & Prejudice for the 6,000th time.
4) Tell her congratulations. It will make her day, especially when she’s spent the rest of the morning catching glimpses of strangers giving her the ‘ol stink eye for having yet another baby when she’s already contributed to overpopulating the world with the three she already has.
5) Tell her she looks great... again. It never gets old. :)

Hmmmm.
I don't think all that will fit on a t-shirt. Darn.

Ladies, what do you think? Am I missing any pregnancy dos & don'ts? I know I'm not the only one who thinks about these things... right?

Hello my baby, hello my darling...

Hello out there!

Isn't this picture adorable? The baby kept waving to us all throughout the ultrasound on Tuesday. I'm pretty sure he/she knew we were there.

And speaking of he/she...

As Jay and I sat in the waiting room before the ultrasound, we continued to second guess our decision to keep the gender a surprise. In fact, we ro-sham-bo'd to decide if we were going to find out. And finding out won... but prego-mama overruled the ro-sham-bo, as prego-mamas are allowed to do.

Instead we decided to ask the ultrasound technicion to write down the gender, which she kindly agreed to do. Now we have the paper locked away somewhere in case we change our mind and want to find out. But I have to say, I feel very much at peace with not knowing. I was a total ball of anxiety before the ultrasound (Me?? Shocking, I know.), but now, I really don't care. It's not like knowing the gender will help me settle on a baby name... you know I will stretch that out as long as possible anyway!

So, sorry, dear readers. You will have to wait for the exciting news along with us Fears. In the meantime, I've put up a poll to help you voice your opinions... what do you think we're going to have?

P.S. - I forgot to mention they moved up my due date by 5 days. Sweet!! That never happens to me!

No respect

As Jay was on the way out the door tonight to get me some Trader Joe's mac & cheese (what? I had to have it!), he asked me if I was going to be folding laundry while he was out. I looked at him from my comfy position on the couch and asked him, "Did you know that even when I'm just sitting here, my body is hard at work?"

He could barely contain his laughter as he went out the door.

I swear, creating another human doesn't get the respect it used to around these parts.

All I want is...

...Jamba Juice.

When I was pregnant with Natalie, I wanted baked potatoes (with cheese and sour cream), my mom's meatloaf, and Taco Bell tacos. That's not too weird, unless you take into account that I hadn't eaten red meat for approximately 10 years. I am now a full-fledged carnivore.

When I was pregnant with Beatrice, I still wanted baked potatoes (with cheese and sour cream), but I also ate two bowls of Cream of Wheat per day.

When I was pregnant with Dexter, I wanted Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop-Tarts for breakfast every day for about 4 months. And dark chocolate. Lots of dark chocolate.

So what does this current fruit craving mean?!? We are not going to find out the gender of this baby (sorry, folks!), so I was kind of hoping to get the inside scoop by seeing if my cravings matched any of my other pregnancies, but so far it's a no-go. I guess Baby #4 already has a mind of his/her own...

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

Today is Day 3 of Jay's life as a CHP Officer, and... so far so good! It actually hasn't been very exciting yet because he has spent the past few days in the office filling out paperwork, learning the computer system, etc. His real "on the road" training begins on Monday the 5th. He will be on the swing shift (1 p.m. - 9 p.m. or later) for about a month. After that, who knows? But for now it's good because even though he has to work on Sundays, he'll still be able to make it to church. And on school days he can drop Natalie off at kindergarten. Whoot whoot!

The kids are so glad that Daddy is back... Mommy's aren't nearly as fun. Bea even told me the other day, "I love all my family and people I know, but I love Daddy and Grandma the best." Thanks, Bea. You better believe I'm going to bring that back up when she's 13 and begging me to drive her to the mall.

The pregnancy is going along smoothly, although I won't see a doctor until mid-May (Kaiser!). I am feeling fine and am one of the lucky ones who doesn't experience morning sickness. The only time I threw up during a pregnancy was with Dexter, and I'm pretty sure it was In & Out's fault and not Dexter's fault. It has kind of ruined In & Out for me, though.*sigh* Anyway, I really have nothing to complain about in the pregnancy department - yet. I'm sure I'll have plenty of aches and pains to detail for you all as the months go on. (I can feel your excitement from here!)

In other big Fear Family news, Jay I and finally got new cell phones! We really had no choice since our other phones were so old they wouldn't be able to comply with the new California "hands-free" law that goes into effect July 1st. Since Jay is an officer and all, we figured we better make sure we are following the rules of the road. I'm so excited to have a phone that can play a different ring tone depending on who's calling! I feel so... advanced!

The other big purchase over the past few days was a gate to keep Dexter out of the kitchen. Ahhh, peace for $18 - what a bargain! Dexter doesn't seem to mind it, either. He gets to practice his standing.

Well, I suppose that about sums it up. It's weird not to have the Academy to blog about anymore. Don't get me wrong, it's fantastic, but ... it's still weird.

Never a dull moment!

In July, Jay and I will celebrate 7 years as husband and wife. We have packed a lot into those years, including 1 house purchase (and sale), 3 children, 8 moves, and countless job changes. What can we say, we like to keep things movin'! So, with that in mind we would like to announce that Jay has changed his mind about being a CHP officer. He wants to go back to construction sales.

Kidding!
Can you imagine?? He would be sleeping on the couch for eternity.

Seriously, it's been nine days since we last had a big event in our house so it's about time for another one: we're having another baby!

Now I'm not kidding. :) I'm about 8 weeks and am due in early December. We are all very happy, except Dexter, who has no clue what is going on.