Yarr!

Ebby just wouldn't stop crying last night. He didn't want to be held or rocked or swaddled or anything. Nothing seemed to work until Andrew touched him. That's all Andrew had to do. Ebby was sleeping within seconds. It was a tender moment. So naturally I had to take a picture.

Nicole gave us some cute cowboy socks and made this awesome hat. Now I wish Texas were cooler in the summer for another reason. I'm excited for winter when we can really get some use out of it.
He looks so adorable. Thanks Nicole.

Time Flies

It's so hard to believe that three weeks and one day ago Ebby was born. He's changed so much already and so much has happened.

During his first week we found a leak in our hall ceiling. It turned out to be a problem with our AC. An easy fix, they said, but as they were fixing it the repair man practically fell through the ceiling. It took about three days to fix and included new sheet rock, mud and paint. That was fun with a newborn.

Then, as most of you know, we had a scare when we thought Ebby had aspirated on some vomit. We went to the ER and Ebby's doctor and everything seems to be fine.

Then, we had Ebby's baby blessing at church. Unlike the leak and the aspiration, Ebby's blessing was wonderful. It felt so good to go to church, see Andrew bless Ebby and see Jared, Pops and Grandpa Rulon participate in the blessing. We LOVED having the company.

We were blessed to have my mom with us for the first couple of weeks and now we're blessed to have Andrew's mom. We've gotten use to having company in the house. It's going to be really lonely soon. At least we get to keep Ebby.

With everything that has happened, the most wonderful thing to see has been the change in Ebby. He's awake for a lot more of the day. He still loves playing with his hands and we've noticed that he loves rhythm and music. On the rare times he's crying or cranky, singing to him, playing music or 'dancing' around with him usually settles him down. He's also focusing on our faces and following our movements. Play time is getting more fun every day. When Andrew was a baby he was born with dark, curly hair. Eventually he lost it and it came back blonde. You can probably tell from the pictures that Ebby was born with the same dark, curly hair. And like his father, Ebby's losing his hair. (Hopefully it will come back.) As of now though Ebby looks more like an older man. A VERY cute older man. Ebby's eyes are also lighting up. I think he's going to turn out looking more like Andrew. That's ok with me.

Ebby

Edward James Beesley came to us six days ago at 1:22 pm. He was eight pounds one ounce and 20 inches long! I feel so blessed to have him. Everything is still a little unreal for me but there are a couple of things I know without a shadow of a doubt: I LOVE MY BABY BOY! He and Andrew are everything. I always wondered how it would feel to be a mom. It's better than I ever thought possible. It's wonderful. Every inch, part and fiber of me seems somehow connected to Ebby. I ache for him when he's away from me and it seems like I can never get enough of holding, touching and looking at him. When I think of him every worry, care and worldly whatever just disappear and I'm left with pure joy.
It started on Wednesday when Andrew and I went to the doctor's office. He said I was 2 cm dilated and about 80 to 90% effaced. We also had an ultrasound that showed a healthy eight pound baby. Give or take a pound. Given the gestational diabetes, his possibly high birth weight and the fact that our doctor was going out of town and wouldn't be back until after my due date we decided to induce the next morning.
That afternoon the doctor's office called. Basically the hospital said that they didn't have enough room for me. The office told us to go to the ER that night and say I was having contractions. (Legally they can't discharge me without the doc's consent and he wasn't going to give it.) That was his way of ensuring we'd have a room.
Andrew and I said ok, but we didn't feel good about lying. So we spent the rest of the day trying to get me into labor. We walked a lot, he rubbed my ankles (I still don't think that works), we skipped together in the park, I walked up and down our stairs over and over again, but nothing was working. We even went out to dinner and I stuffed my face with all the pasta, bread sticks and cheesecake I could. I thought if my blood sugar was way to high it would at least be a concern I wouldn't have to lie about. I was shocked (and a little upset) to find that my blood sugar was 95. As it turns out we didn't have t lie. We did not go into labor but they didn't really ask any questions when we went to the ER.
At about 6:30 AM they gave me pitocin and broke my water to start the contractions (after giving me a sleeping pill when we went in and letting me get a good night's sleep). In the next hour I went from 2 cm dilated to 4+. By that time I was practically begging for an epidural. I didn't get any drugs though the IV - I get loopy on drugs and didn't want my mind to be foggy. They tried 3 times and had to stick me twice to get the epidural where it was safe and working. I thought it'd hurt more than it did, but it wasn't too bad. The IV hurt more than the epidural.
Anyway, in the next hour and a half or so I went from 4+ to 9+. We waited for the doctor a bit and put me in different positions to help the baby drop more, then we started pushing. We tried different pushing methods, but the one that worked the best was to give Andrew and me each an end of a bed sheet and tell us to pull away from each other, like we were playing tug of war, during each contraction (our nurse, Amanda, was the BEST!). 3 snips later and a few more grunts and Ebby was out with us. I remember right before he came out (when he was crowning), Mom said, "Oh Joy, I wish you could see this. He's beautiful, and he has so much dark, curly hair." Then the nurse took my hand and let me feel him. It was like magic. I swear I've never tried so hard in my life for anything, the way I tried to push after that. It was like an addictive drug (not that I really know what that's like). I had to have more. It was like I was going to die if I didn't get to see him and touch him within the next minute. And now he's in my arms - sleeping peacefully - and I couldn't be happier.
I have so much love and gratitude in my heart that I occasionally find myself crying - I'm so happy! I never thought that I could love so much. I knew I'd love Ebby, but my love has grown one hundred times more for my Mom, the doctors, and most especially for Andrew. I knew he was wonderful, awesome and totally perfect for me before but bringing Ebby into this world with him and having his friendship, love, confidence and guidance throughout has endeared me to him more than words can say.
I love my little family. I'm grateful for the gospel and that the Savior has suffered so that I can be with my little family forever. And I'm excited for the future and all the twists and turns that will come with it.

Hello Edward!

Just a quick update today, since we're still pretty tired. Edward (middle name TBD) Beesley was born at 1:22pm on June 11th, and weighed 8lbs 1oz. He's 20 inches long and has spent most of his first day sleeping (yay!). The labor was under 8 hours (double yay!). More to come, probably tomorrow.

Less than 24 HOURS!!!

I took these pictures last Friday not knowing that I'd be having the baby tomorrow! I'm so excited and so nervous. It's hard for me to think of much else.
So, here's the story.
Andrew and I went to the Doctor on Monday. I was 2 cm dilated and only partially effaced. He said that he wanted to see me again today to see if I'd be ready to be induced. He's worried because the baby is already about 8 pounds and he's only getting bigger. So today we went in and I'm still about 2 cm but now I'm about 90% effaced. Yippie! We're going to the hospital tomorrow morning at 5 am and hopefully we'll have a baby by dinner time. I plan on having pasta. And lots of it!