A Few Comparisons

First, some pictures of pregnant me.

Looking OK, in the hospital right before the action begins...

POW! Can you believe the belly on that girl! No wonder she was over 9 pounds.
Curie with her flowers, just a couple of days old.
Same song, but this one is of Bethelle. Definitely sisters. You can tell them apart by the chub.
And one of Rigby. Compare this one with the first picture in the next post.

Here At Last!

Curie Louise

8/29/2009 ~ 9:10 pm ~ 9 lbs 3 oz ~ 20 inches

The waiting is finally over! Our little Curie was born Saturday night. We love her so much and are so grateful to be able to hold and kiss her now.
Bethelle and Rigby are in love with her. When he saw her in the hospital, Rigby jumped up on me and gave me the biggest kiss of his life. It was as though he was so proud of me. How does he know? I think he understood what was going on better than we knew.
Here we are, ready to go home!
Isn't she pretty in her little dress? I had feared it would be too big for her, but I've never had such a chubby baby before. We couldn't do up all the buttons in the back!

We've had a little trouble with people pronouncing her name, so I'll let you know that it is said "cure-ee" like curious, not like the spice, curry. She is named after Marie Curie, the two-time nobel physicist who discovered radiation and developed it into our most successful cure for cancer. Her husband, daughter, and son-in-law also received Nobels for related work. Marie gave her life to the effects of the radiation, but probably saved the life of a friend of every reader of this blog.

Pregnancy Update

I wish I had been able to get this pic with a real camera, not a cheap phone.

Today is my 2nd due-date. We had a little miscommunication at the dr office, so we weren't really sure if it was the 22nd or the 26th. And here we are at the 26th. And my belly is still growing.

I was having the most excruciating pains of my life a couple of nights ago. They came on with contractions, but were a separate pain and lasted longer. I went to the dr the next day, and she thinks that the baby is facing the wrong direction. Her head is down (thank goodness!), but she is facing forward instead of toward my back. Contractions then push her into my pelvic bone, which is a bit loose due to the pregnancy, and causes the pain. Babies facing this way cause what is called "back labor". At this visit, my dr asked, "You generally do epidurals, right?" Yup. Then she said, a bit quieter, "Good!" When these pains hit, I really want my epidural already. Fortunately, I had them for two nights in a row, but haven't had them now for a couple days.

I am hoping strongly for an August baby, so that I can put her in the earlier school year (if she's ready, of course). My dr is not available for inductions until Sept 3rd...

So there's the update. I hope to post baby pictures soon. You'll be the first (OK, almost) to know!

A Conversation with Bethelle

I just picked up Bethelle from a church activity. When I dropped her off, Rigby had been with us. As we left the parking lot, she asked where Rigby was.

Me: "He's home with Daddy. After we dropped you off, Rigby and I went grocery shopping. Then I went home to put them in the fridge and left Rigby with Daddy."

... a few minutes ...

Bethelle: "So Rigby's asleep in the fridge?"

Ballet Recital

Bethelle and her cousin, Joee, had their first ballet recital last week.

They danced to a song about an octopus and one about swimming, hence the swim caps and goggles. It was adorable. Bethelle did very well, following the teacher and doing all of the dances while some others just stood still. I was so proud of her. Below, she is the one in pink and black.
Rigby wanted so badly to dance with the girls, but he was still a good boy when I told him that is was just for the big kids. When watching the show, though, he copied the dance, and I think he even did it very well! I believe that is first position in this picture.
One more shot of Bethelle, after the second production. Good job, Princess!

*** I have posted a lot today in an effort to catch-up. Keep reading!

Baby Shower

My Young Women group threw me a shower a little bit ago. I had thought I would decline any offers for this kind of thing. After all, it's a rough economy and I've already had a girl. But when it came from my girls (and they wouldn't let me refuse), I went along with it.

Here I am playing the "rice game". You try to pick out safety pins from a bowl of rice with a blindfold on. It was much harder than I had thought it would be.

These are the cute little bootie-cupcakes the girls made. Adorable!
And here I am with all the gifts.
Thanks so much, everyone. I had thought that I didn't need this, but it was so nice to remember that this is not about pregnancy (which doesn't seem to suit me very well), but about a baby. Thank you for that reminder. It all seems so real now!

Cooling Down

Our favorite family cool-down spot is the Purdy Spit. The Puget Sound stays pretty cold year-round, so when it's really hot out, this is the place to be. Bethelle even got a picture in the local Kitsap County newspaper as she chilled in the water.

Rigby has learned to love to swim, so keep your eye on him in the water. He can be fearless! Good thing he can trust his Daddy so much.
Afterwards, cousins Joee and Rushy came over to play. Nick set up a waterslide in the backyard and had everybody squealing.