My Sweet Boy

Before I had Dane, I had all these great ideas for pictures that I wanted to take once he was born. Then the reality of just having a baby set in: being overly tired and under-inspired. I don't know if it was going back and forth to the hospital so much, but I just didn't have it in me to do anything creative. I'm sure it didn't help that my camera wasn't working and I wasn't all that comfortable with the one I borrowed. Although I am SO grateful I was able to borrow one. Fortunately for me, my friend Trista was kind enough to take pictures of Dane for me in her new studio 2 days before packing up her family to go to Navoo for a month to sing in the pageant there. She delivered a cd with the pictures the day after taking them so I could have them before she left. She also took pictures of Megan when she was a newborn and I am forever grateful for these two gifts. In my opinion, the best baby gift you can receive are images of your tiny, scrunchy, baby fresh from heaven. They only stay that way for such a short time and then it's gone forever. I missed out on that first week of tiny-ness, so having these taken the day after Dane left the hospital mean a lot.

I am also lucky to have a sister-in-law who is super creative and wanted to do pictures of Dane as well. Eric's mom was a trooper and kept an eye on the kids so we could get these shots. It takes quite a bit of time to get the baby good and asleep so you are able to put them in crazy positions and not wake up. This is the same sister-in-law, Stepha, who took the beautiful maternity pictures. I don't know what sort of crazy magic she does when she edits, because I don't look that good in person. Again, she did a great job with Dane, and captured that squishiness that newborns have perfectly. I really do feel so fortunate to have these pictures from such talented girls who did what I wasn't feeling up to. Thanks again!!!!

Berries and Babies

The previous owners of our house had planted LOTS of raspberry bushes in our backyard. Last year it got so hot so quickly that we didn't get a very good crop, but we've had a very rainy and mild June, so there have been tons. Of course they are ready to be picked the week I had Dane and are still producing. Eric, his mom, and I have been busy this last week picking berries and we've had enough to make 2 batches of jam so far. I'm thinking we might do one more this weekend too. On a sad note though, I was out picking this morning while Megan was playing on our swing set and she got stung three times by a wasp. My nephew was over last night and got stung twice. I went back out after I got Megan settled down (and Eric's mom was sitting with her with ice on her poor little arm) and saw quite a few wasps in the raspberries too, so I'm not so excited about picking anymore.

Dane came home from the hospital on July 7 and has been the best baby so far. He's eating really well and only wakes up once during the night. It's been really nice. Megan loves being a big sister and is constantly asking to hold Dane. She's quite the baby hog. I did get mastitis on Friday and I've never felt more sick in my life. I started feeling sick in the afternoon around lunch time and by 5 PM I could hardly walk I was so weak and feverish. Luckily we have an after hours clinic just a few minutes from our house. I couldn't even walk into the office - Eric had to get a wheelchair for me. It was really weird. The doctor gave me a shot and I started feeling better within 20 minutes and I was feeling almost normal by the time I went to bed. Thank goodness for antibiotics! Other than that, I've been feeling great and our little family of 4 is doing really well. Eric's mom has been here since last Tuesday and went home today. She's been awesome to watch Megan and take her with her on errands so I was able to get lots of naps in. We are going to miss her for sure! My sister also came out last week and it was great to see her too!

Dane Hugo Jorgensen

Our baby is here! Dane arrived on Monday, June 29, 2008 at 9:47 PM. He weighed in at 8 lbs. 7 oz and 21 inches long. Eric and I were pretty surprised that he was bigger than Megan since I've been smalled this pregnancy. My labor was quick (thank goodness since my epidural didn't work all the way). I was hooked up to the pitocin at 5:30PM and he was here at 9:47 PM. We did have a couple little problems along the way though. Dane had the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck twice. Fortunately, he came out with just a couple pushes, but did have fast, shallow breathing. I did get to hold him before they took him to the nursery, which I didn't get to do with Megan. They ran some tests on Dane and found out that his white blood cell count was off and he needed to be put on antibiotics.. I wasn't able to nurse him, so I starting pumping. His breathing was still too fast Tuesday, so he was put on a high-flow. Also he had to get a feeding tube and a PIC line. I wasn't able to hold him at all on Wednesday, which was a little hard. I went home Wednesday night without Dane, which was even harder. I was able to start nursing him on Thursday, though and am continuing to feed him every 6 hours. Yes, I get to drive down to the hospital at 1:30 AM for feedings and wake up at 4:30 AM to pump. It's been really nice though and I'm not complaining, especially since the hospital is less than 10 minutes away. He's doing really well, gaining wait (8 lbs. 10 oz today) and his breathing has slowed down a ton. I'm hoping to be able to take him home Monday or Tuesday (preferably Monday, of course). This wasn't exactly what we had planned on Monday when we went to the hospital, but we are grateful he's doing so well. He's bigger than all the other babies in the special care nursery and looks so healthy, so he looks a little out of place there. I'm feeling really good and having a great recovery. It's a little hard to believe that I just had a baby. The human body is a miraculous thing!

We've also been having camera problems. Of course my camera started acting up on Saturday and not always recording every picture. Fortunately, I have a very nice friend who let me borrow her camera that she no longer uses because she got a newer one this year. I'm glad I picked it up on Monday because my camera wasn't working at the hospital. I've been dying to get pictures up, but didn't have the cord for the camera to upload them. My friend couldn't find the cord, but was able to burn me a cd of the pictures today. So, that's the reason for the delay of this post. We are excited to have our little Dane here and can't wait to bring him home!