The gorey details...

There's not that much to tell really, but here's the story...

We arrived at the hospital in Iron Mountain at 5:00 Thursday morning for our scheduled induction. We were admitted and situated, (all the stuff that goes with being induced) and my IV of pitocin began at 6:10. I wondered if it was a bad sign that the nurse tried twice to get my IV in my left hand (and by tried, I mean...tried--I have the bruises to prove it!) before she went and got another nurse who successfully was able to get it in my right hand (but not without difficulty!) Dr. Ryan came in and broke my water around 6:40. The nurse had said that the anesthesiologist was busy but would try to make it to my room in time to get me an epidural. There were 2 of us in labor wanting one. Suffice it to say that neither one of us got an epidural that day! Where in the world are we that a lady scheduled for an induction who has expressed a desire ahead of time for an epidural doesn't get one?!? I repsond very well to being induced and things progressed very quickly. I was fine without the epidural until the last half hour or so when it got really intense, really fast! I ended up pushing through 2 contractions and by 9:12, our little Sarah was out! For all the faults of our little po-dunk town, I do want to say that I had a great nurse who helped out in labor a ton, a wonderful doctor who did a great job and was very kind (much different than the "stupid Polish doctor man" I had in Chicago!) and best of all, an amazing husband who made it all bearable! I can not imagine giving birth without Brent at my side...and I do have to say...after this third and last pregnancy, I can not imagine giving birth again WITH Brent by my side!

We've fallen madly in love with out little Sarah...We couldn't believe we were starting all over again when we found out we were expecting, but now we cannot imagine life without her! Brent and I have both spent a great deal of time marvelling over the intricacies and details of God's creation...her little feet down to her baby toes are such an example of His handiwork! We are truly blessed to have such a beautiful family from the Lord! Sigh...

Details later...here are a few pics...

Okay...so here are some pics from the last couple of days...I'll add details soon...when things slow down a bit...perhaps when she hits college? Suffice it to say...The pitocin started at 6:10...she was in our arms at 9:12...I do have to say, "Where in the world are we that we can't get an epidural even though we want one?" I'll explain more later...for now...here's our little baby Sarah!




Thanks for humoring us and looking at all the pics!

Yeah!!!!

Praise the Lord! We have been blessed by the arrival of Sarah Grace Griffin.

She was born on Thursday, Jan 18th at 9:12 AM. Her birth statistics were:
Weight: 8 lbs. 9 oz.
Length: 19.5 inches

More details to come and I am sure a picture or two might make their way up here.

YeeeeHawwww!!!

It is just a good day all around! We got about 5 inches of snow last night and this morning so everything is beautiful for sure! The kids are getting their school work done now so they can go play outside...I might even get outside with them for a bit...we'll see:-)

We also found out that high speed internet is now available at our house! We've been dealing with dial up (and a slow dial up at that!) connection for the last 2 years, but we'll be getting a DSL connection this Thursday!!! This is right up there with the dishwasher, let me tell you! It's such a simple thing, and it is a great reminder that God is interested in the little things in our lives, and as a loving Father, He delights in doing special things for His children! What a blessing something so simple is!

And speaking of little things...(well...we'll see how little!!!) I went to the doctor's today for my weekly appointment. He set the induction date for this Thursday, Jan 18! Yet another 5 days shaved off the waiting time! And I must say he did this on his own...I was not one to argue, mind you, but it was Dr. Ryan's idea to induce this Thursday since I'll practically be 39 weeks anyways! My friend, Marsel, reminded me today of what a miracle this little baby is...what a precious thought! I cannot wait to hold our little baby and have her snuggle down in my neck...and to realize that I will be holding her so soon is even better! God is so good!

I joked with some friends Sunday about this being my last Sunday to wear a maternity dress...I turned out to be right! And it's another simple thing, but by having her on the 18th, I'll be up and around for my birthday...something little, but it will be nice to have more time between special days...Yippeee Skippeeee!!!

We're in the single digits!!!

Just something quick to make me smile...We've made it to the single digits! I cannot believe how fast these last 100 days have gone by...even faster than the 100 day countdown to getting married went! I head to the doctor tommorrow...Brent's going with me...I think he's afraid I'll chain myself to the examination table until Dr. Ryan agrees to induce me sooner than next Tuesday. I have to admit, I made a big deal out of not wanting to be induced. I still very much want that "I Love Lucy" romantic moment where I get to tell Brent, "Honey (I will probably call him Ricky) I think it's time to go to the hospital!"And I am praying that I will go into labor on my own, however...if it means being able to hold my baby sooner, or better yet, let someone else hold her for a change, I will beg and plead and do whatever it takes! :-) Go ahead, Beth, say I told you so...I don't care! I'm just tired of waking Brent up everytime I try to roll over in bed! I think I might have even woken up the kiddos last night! I'm teasing...but it is getting difficult to move...I am praising the Lord for Pepcid, penicillin, and surgeons who are willing to pull an abcessed tooth from a pregnant woman's jaw so that at least now I can sleep! 9 days cannot get here soon enough! Oh yeah...excuse the stream of conscious form of this blog...it's been weeks since I've been able to put a coherent thought together...and it's only getting worse! :-)

Let me explain...

So maybe I'm flattering myself by thinking that someone would pay such close attention to my blog that they would notice a big jump in my "days left till I'm due" ticker, so I'll point it out...I did get to change it today! I had a doctor's appointment as normal and found out that things continue to "progress" at a good rate, and my body is definitely getting ready for delivery. So I jokingly said to my OB..."I respond really well to pitocin...any chance of being induced?" He said he's not comfortable inducing without a health concern before 39 weeks, but then asked where I lived. I told him Pembine. He then said that since it was a half an hour drive and the weather around here can be so unpredictable this time of year that we could talk induction, especially seeing that I am already in "progress," and this is my 3rd baby, and I don't tend to have long labors. So all that to say that if I don't go into labor on my own before, I'll get to be induced on Jan 23! Shave another 5 days off the old waiting time! I then told him I lived in Crivitz (another half hour south of us) to see if he would shave some more time off, but he didn't buy it! :-) I figured a half hour drive got me 5 days less, maybe an hour's drive would get me a couple of more days! but no... it's good enough to be able to say that I only have 2 weeks to go! I was planning on blogging something fun today about finally being in the teens, but now I can be excited about being down to only 2 more weeks...at the most!

What in the World has happened to me?!?

As I reflect over the past 2 years, I am amazed by many things that are now part of our ordinary lives that I never dreamed would be considered normal for me...and those of you who know me best will totally understand what I mean as you read this list I've compiled...things about MY LIFE that I never thought would be part of MY life!!!

• I go to another state to do any sort of shopping for things that I need.
• The majority of that shopping is done only at Walmart...not even a Target...Walmart! I walked up to a total stranger not too long ago because I overheard them talking about Iron Mountain getting a Target! I had to have details!!! It turned out to be an urban legend or evil hoax of some sort to get my hopes up!
• I have not been to a real mall to speak of since the beginning part of October. I did a ton of shopping like I did before we moved when we visited Chicago the first part of November, but technically did not hit the mall when we were visiting! And let me remind you that Christmas has come and gone...and all the amazing sales that come the day after Thanksgiving, and the day after Christmas and New Year's Day came and went without me...all the shopping was done on the internet and in good ol' Iron Moutain, Mi--sigh...
• And while we're on that topic...all the shopping and other internet activity is done over a very slow dial-up connection since we live in an area where high speed is not easily available!
• Pembine, the town we live in, has ZERO stoplights!
• Pembine, the town we live in, is 98.9% caucasion and actually speaks English!
• I know the difference between a bobcat and a cougar, also known as a mountain lion
• I can tell you the difference between coyote and wolf tracks in the snow in our back yard in April!
• The lobby of the post office here in Pembine (we're thankful we have one!) is about the size of our bathroom
• The post master knows everyone by name--I walked into the post office recently and the lady asked me if my husband's name was Brent. She had a check for him that had accidentally gotten put in the outgoing mail instead of the inner-campus mail. She didn't even ask me for ID...just handed over the check!
• In the winter time when it gets really cold, people plug their cars in so they'll start...we should start seeing extension cord looking things hanging out of people's front grills anytime now!
• When it gets really cold, people will leave their cars running while they go shopping at Walmart. Seriously...it's not unusual at all to see empty cars in Walmart's parking lot with their engines running! Imagine that in Chicago?!?
• People around here have no problem living in a tiny single wide mobile home but insist on having a 4-5 car garage for all their toys like snowmobiles, RTV's, campers, etc.
• I don't even notice (well almost don't notice) when people use phrases like "Yoos Guys" and end every sentence with either "heh?" or "Yah?" I've even been known to use those words from time to time!
• We burn a good amount of our garbage to save money!
• I let my kids outside to play without going with them! And my biggest concern for their safety is making sure they know what to do if they see a wild animal like a bear or wolf.
• I actually bought my kids safety orange hats so they could play outside the week of hunting season
• I know where the Ranger Station is in our town, and I've had several conversations with our Ranger about my children's safety
• The nearest Chili's is about 2 hours away
• One of our bank accounts only has 4 numbers in the account number...think about that one...they have so few customers with savings accounts that 4 numbers provide enough variations to cover all their customers! We had like 12 numbers or something in Chicago!
• The people here are so incredibly friendly! I can't tell you how wonderful that part is! We're living in Mayberry here, people!

However...I refuse to become a Packer's Fan, I have yet to go fishing, see absolutely nothing exciting about hunting or ice fishing, and if I don't get some "Mall Air" soon, I do think I will seriously suffer some sort of attack!

Sorry for such a long post...hope it didn't bore you too much, but once I got started, I was on a roll!!!

Yippeee Skipeee!!!!

I was lying (laying? I have never been able to remember the correct grammar for that one!) in bed last night moaning and groaning as I tried to roll over and had a fun thought...I'm in the 3 week countdown now! Technically I have 4 weeks until my due date, but one could be technical and say that I only have 3 weeks and 6 days! 4 weeks is so much longer than 3 weeks and 6 days! 4 weeks sounds like a whole month (that's profound, heh?!?) but being able to say 3 weeks to go sounds so short! I'm loving it!

We were sitting in a restaurant booth yesterday, when Baby Sarah started kicking...hard! Now remember...I only have 3 weeks and 6 days left...as I went to sit down I'm sure all of those around me wondered if I'd even be able to fit in the booth! But I did...I just needed to make sure I hunched over a bit to keep my belly under the table :-) Somehow Sarah managed to kick just the right way that she pinched the skin of my belly up against the table and it hurt like crazy! It was such a bizarre thing...like the pain you get if someone pinches that fat part on the back of your arm...just another one of those reminders that those 3 weeks and 6 days cannot get here soon enough! :-)

Happy New Year!