Talon Wesley Hulet

Saturday, June 9th was like any normal weekend evening.  Ben and I met the Roger's at El Coyote for a bite of dinner.  We stopped off at the Christofferson's house afterwards so Jett could play with Ty, the boys could watch basketball, and the girls could chat.  When we left their house, despite the strange dust storm happening, I walked curbs home...like I'd been doing everyday for a week.  I retired to my guest room, Ben to the master, and we were off to sleep.

Sunday, June 10th

At 4 a.m., I woke up to cramping that felt slightly different from the night pains I'd been having recently.  I kept hearing people say real contractions start in your back and move around to your lower abdomen, and I felt like that was exactly what was happening.  I eagerly downloaded a stopwatch app to my phone with a handy lap marker, so I could record the time between contractions.  Six to eight minutes apart, bearably painful.  I laid in bed, awake and giddy, for two hours enjoying marking each contraction.

At 6 a.m., I heard ice falling into a glass, and got up to see what in the world Ben was doing awake.  He was equally surprised to see me and asked why I was up.  I said "I'm pretty sure I'm in labor." He suggested a nice walk up our steep neighborhood hill to either speed up or make false labor go away, I agreed and a-walking we went.  I was uncomfortable, but not unbearably in pain during the walk.  And when we got home, no change had really happened.

By 9 a.m., we got a phone call from the Christofferson's to come over in 30 seconds for from-scratch waffles.  This I am now referring to as my last supper - I didn't eat again for a long time.  The contractions had kind of diminished, they weren't as painful, and I had taken a hiatus on timing them.  We sat on the couch and watch the French Open and guessed whether or not this was real labor.  I said "absolutely." Ben said he was still planning on the 16th.

Around 11 a.m. we went to Redbox, picked up some movies and came home for a day of hunkering down and waiting.  I'm going to guess the contractions basically went away because I was able to sleep through most of movie #1.  They came back with a vengeance after that though, never to subside again.      Movie #2 was painful.  I was up and down, kneeling, asking for back rubs. Walking.  Sitting differently.  Taking a couple showers.  Timing them was still about 5-8 minutes apart.  I called the hospital who suggested waiting until they were 2-3 minutes apart before coming in, so I put on a brave face to deal with the pain.

At 4 p.m. my parents came by with some dinner for Ben and hung around as long as they could stand seeing me doubled over every 5 minutes.  Being my first baby I could only go by other's experiences, and I was determined not to be sent away from the hospital when I finally went in.  The evening is a blur, we probably watched another movie, because what else was there to do?  I showered, washed my hair, packed my bathroom bag, took some final pictures of my belly before it didn't look like that anymore.  At this point, I was sure I was having the baby - just how long?

Ben fell asleep on the couch and I tried my best to get some sleep between contractions.  Timings were coming in at 4-6 minutes - but getting consistently more painful.  I spent a lot of time in the shower, bath, bed, chair - sometimes dozing off during the in-between time - no way I could sleep through a contraction though.

Monday, June 11th

By 2:30 a.m., some were 2.5 or 3 minutes apart, my back was on fire from 24 hours of pain, and I was ready to go to the hospital.  I woke Ben up with the requisite "It's time!" line, and he finished gathering the things he wanted for the hospital.  On the way I told him if they sent my away I would sob, so be prepared for that.  Deep inside I think I knew I had waited long enough though.

At 3:30 a.m. I had been checked for dilation.  I was at a 5 with a bulging bag?1?! And I got to stay and have a baby - hallelujah.

By 4:00 a.m. I was getting an epidural, which I had been terrified of for 9 months, and in that moment, could not have been more happy about.  Ben, who was absolutely not watching any part of the process according to what he said for months prior, spontaneously decided he wanted to watch the epidural.  We both did great, and within minutes I was feeling infinitely more relaxed and thought I ought to sleep for a couple hours.  That proves mighty difficult with so many cords running everywhere, but I did get a bit of rest.

At 7:00 a.m. Dr. Ott came in an broke my water, said he was headed to surgery, and I better get my baby here during his break - which really meant the nurse fed my IV the correct amount of Pitocin to guarantee a good delivery time.  I felt so relieved and relaxed that I just didn't really care.

Parents came to visit at 7:30 a.m. - made sure I was ok, and headed home for a few hours before "push time."

I was in and out of sleep for the next couple hours.

Baby was doing something with his cord and his heartrate would drop with each contraction, but would bounce back when it was over.  Ben was on top of it and would grab a nurse anytime he thought it got lower than he liked.  They had me rolling from one side to another, putting legs on tables, trying to get him off the cord, but to no avail.

Finally at 11 a.m., the nurse said I was to a 10, Dr. Ott was still in surgery, and they were going to let baby journey down a bit more on his own before pushing with the doctor.

At noon, the Doctor was in the room, parents were in the hall, Ben was in charge of holding my left leg, a nurse my right, and I was pushing in 10 second intervals, three times, during each contraction.  I had heard horror stories about epidurals and not knowing how to push, so I had not fed myself much extra through the IV.  I couldn't really feel anything, but I could read people's faces and knew when what I was doing was making progress.  In my complete exhaustion, I was falling asleep between contractions, but I put all my effort into pushing each time.  Ben said baby made about 1/4 inch of progress with each push session.

35-40 minutes of pushing later, they told me to lean forward because I was about to meet my son.  Out he came, at 12:43, all gooey and wonderful.  A couple of squeezes on the bulb syringe and he was wailing.  They set him on a towel on my chest and I cried as they wiped him down and gave me some skin-to-skin time.  Then they took him to the little scale - 8 lb. 10 oz. - explains the belly doesn't it?  At this point, my parents could see him, but they stayed in the hall.  Ben was a part of all the baby's first moments with the nurse while I was getting cleaned and finished up.

My parents came in to me holding his name sign - and they loved his name we had kept a secret for so long.  The nurse gave Talon a sponge bath and hair wash, then finally handed him to daddy for his first hold.  Watching Ben look down at him and start crying made my whole world change.  No words can describe the transformation made in those precious moments, but we were certainly a family.

Talon Wesley Hulet

8 pounds 10 ounces

21 inches

Born 12:43 p.m.

June 11, 2012

Pregnancy {Week 38}

School is out, which means every day is now a question of how I am going to pass the time between wake up and go to sleep.  It is amazing the amount of energy I actually do have, and was using all of during school hours, leaving me with nothing left in the evenings.

Monday - Memorial Day.  Brett Hulet family packed up and out of here early that morning.  We ended up at Players for lunch with the Rogers, and there is nothing like 2-week-old Finn to amp up my craving for my own baby boy.  They came over for a relaxing afternoon of backyard, video games and chatting.  They had barely walked out the door when we were invited to a neighborhood BBQ.  And before I knew it, the day was over.

Tuesday - I woke up with a passion for getting the house in order.  Vacuum. Laundry. Anything I could clean or tidy.  This was Ben and I's official first day of summer and we were figuring out how to be in the house without me distracting him from work, and he getting distracted with me tromping around.  We went to dinner and movie with my parents.  They treated us to What to Expect When You Are Expecting.  It was pretty good...very relatable, so I probably laughed more than most.

Wednesday - Felt it 100% necessary to pack the diaper bag today.  Not really for the hospital.  Just a general, well-stocked diaper bag.  Nesting much?  Met the Batista crew at the Roger's pool for an afternoon of feet reducing swimming.  Got home in time for Ben to leave for roller hockey, and used the opportunity to relax.

Thursday - I had a 9:30 oil change appointment.  I'm not used to errand tasks like that.  Ben is the one that does that stuff, and I actually enjoyed the change in routine.  Got home where I again felt it an absolute requirement to assemble the baby swing.  I am feeling good because the house looks good.  Ben was out of town on work today, so I hit up my OB appointment solo, which he was inwardly rejoicing since they aren't that fab with the whole getting checked business.  Dr. Ott said I was still dilated to a 1, but last week I was super thick and this week I was 60% effaced.  Some progress.  He mentioned planning on going to or past my due date.  So contrary to most strangers who stare at me and say something about how I MUST be due yesterday...I've got a hot minute to go.

Friday - It was more cleaning today.  Master bedroom, bathroom, sheets, laundry.  Ben was doing yard and outside stuff.  I worked hard for a few hours, then peaced out and went to go swimming with Jett.  Stacie and Finn can only hang out on the sidelines at this point.  When I got home at 3:30, Ben was wrapping up his day of household accomplishments, and wanted to dip in our own pool.   We blew up our floaties and lounged in the 18 inches of water for an hour.  We spent the evening at Costa Vida with the Rogers, then Stace and I went to The Lucky One and sent the boys home on kid duty.

 Saturday - Ben went fishing.  I stayed home.  I battled through a bit of a back ache and decided I ought to steam clean my grout and tile floor.  I could have slept for days after that adventure.

Pregnancy {Week 37}

This week was far too exhausting for a photograph.  Outside of the handful and parents who caught for for a snap with their child...9 months pregnant snapping photo album shots for my third graders was not thought about when the June baby news came, grin and bear it at this point.

We had a good last week of school.  The class and I came to a healthy understanding that Mrs. Hulet is extremely tired, hot, and a bit cranky.  They are anxious, excited and a bit cranky.  And if we all helped each other have a fun week, it would be over in no time.  It worked....sort of.

Ben made an extra effort to come in and bring something nice in for me throughout the week.

After countless hours in the heat, standing, and delivering my final words of wisdom to this batch of learners, my edema hit an all time high.  It is unavoidable to have giant water balloons by the end of each day.

Because of this and countless other discomforts of pregnancy at this stage, I officially don't sleep in the same bed as Ben any longer.  It has nothing to do with him, just my comfort and fear of waking him up with
       *Snoring
       *Leg Cramp kicking
       *Countless Bathroom Trips
       *Rolling from side to side without possibility of perfect comfort
left me feeling real tired at the end of each night's attempt at sleep.

Had my first "check" at the doctor.  I'm at a 1, which is better than the zero I was planning on.  Now I have seven days to make that a 2 or 3, though I am trying not to feel defeated if I go back with no progress (who am I kidding, this process gets rough at this point, and no change is depressing news.)

This weekend brought company, Brett*Jenn Hulet family, up from Phoenix looking at starting a new adventure in St. George.  It also brought my Pinto Reunion, a Memorial Day tradition since far before I was around.

Ben and I split and I did reunion, he did company.  I came home both nights on account of my amazing allergies and asthma currently...sleeping in Pinto was not an option.  I had a blast with the company when I was around and enjoyed the reunion a lot.  It didn't hurt I had my mommy at my fingertips and capitalized on hair scratches and foot rubs.  Ben and the fam did the splash park, Washington City Community Center, Jumpin Jacks, put up our pool and jumped in a bit.

Pregnancy {Week 36}

So this is when this all gets really real!

I have attempted through this process to enjoy every moment, and for the most part, I feel I have succeeded.  I feel incredibly blessed to be carrying this baby, and think pregnancy is the ultimate miracle.  Seeing heartbeats and ultrasounds, discussing the future "what-ifs" with Ben, imagining a bubbling, adorable, screaming baby in the crib have been nothing short of magical.  Discovered our "it" was in fact a "he," was the perfect moment.  Finding the bedding and theme of the room and falling more in love with my man for it...indescribable.

I feel like the descriptions above will help soften my newly developed bad attitude.  I hit this wall over the weekend and am working through it because this journey is far from over.

*My allergies and newly developed asthma is getting worse, not better.  Labored breathing/coughing/sneezing...none feels awesome on my stretched huge belly.

*My feet hurt.  They are huge, which for whatever reason has been more difficult for me to process than giant bellyland, but worse is it hurts to walk on puff balls.

*I'm tired and school does not get easier in May.  The kids are trying my patience and physical abilities as I don't really have the chance to just "sit and relax."

Ok, I'm done.  Happily, I have turned a corner on my attitude adjustment.  I think it all came together when I stood in the hall (rolling to and fro on my feet balls) sternly telling a student he needed a major attitude change to get through the year, I chuckled inwardly and thought, "Well said, hypocrite."

I am grateful for school right now, because hours upon hours at home, waiting for days and weeks, dilation and effacement to come, would be torture.

I am grateful for sleep, because miraculously I have still been able to accomplish that quite successfully.  Sometimes in the comforts of the guest room since I snore, wiggle, shake my legs and pee a lot.

Pregnancy {Week 35}

The yard is complete.  I remember back to a time (4 weeks ago) when Ben said "All I want to do is get out of my office and do some manual labor."  That was a time of taxes and clients and deadlines, a lot of office hours clocked.  I remember a time (Saturday) when Ben said "No more manual labor for a while, please."  That was after leveling an entire backyard with a shovel, digging sprinkler and drainage pipes, laying all those pipes, filling the ditches, leveling again for cement, piling mounds for plants, buying and planting those plants, laying out weed guard, putting in all the drip lines, spreading 9 tons of gravel, and laying sod.  But a job well done, and one we get to enjoy for years to come.  He even came up with an inexpensive way to incorporate a simple "splash pad" that can go into our above-ground pool, going up as soon as the cement cures hard enough.

The genius 2.5 foot bike path that goes around the entire yard

In other week news:  I went to the doctor for my week 35 checkup.  Doc Ott is a calmer and knows first-time mamas are full of pure paranoia.  He calmly tells me everything is going right on schedule and see you in TWO weeks.  Wow, two.  I don't know if I'm happy or mad about it.  Probably both.  The time between appointments makes the process go faster, but I want to know I progress (most likely 0 at this point.)  If I didn't totally agree, that everything is quite normal, I would demand something different, but in reality, I can tell my body is managing this as it should, and I will get my baby to (probably past) that due date.

After spending many afternoons in the backyard being a supportive wife, there is no avoiding the swollen feel any longer.  It was like magically one day not a single one of my normal shoes fit and I am restricted to flip-flops now.  If it has been really hot, or I have been standing or sitting too long, they really explode.  It is funny how coping with my belly has been a breeze, but these feet are putting me over the edge!

Ben now chuckles when I show him my skin-tight belly.  I think it is a mix of "I am going to be a dad!" "That looks like it really hurts." and "My wife looks pretty ridiculous."

I've avoided the stretch marks thus far.  I am vigilant with my Bio Oil, and think that it, mixed with good genetics are helping the cause.

My final, fabulous baby shower was this Thursday.  It was my neighborhood shower put on by my dear friend Lou Christofferson.  This neighborhood we live in is amazing, and Lou and I clicked from day one, when she handed me her 5 month old baby to hold during Relief Society so she could play the piano.  "Hi, I'm Lou, will you hold my baby?"  It has been friends ever since.  We have the same sense of humor and enjoy a good chat whenever possible.  Ben and I spend plenty of time at her and Layth's house, and their now almost 3-year-old son, Ty, pretty much loves Ben a lot.

Hostess of the Par-tay

My baby's first portrait?!

Another, T-Rexy version of my babes

Mom made a T-shirt quilt out of Ben's shirts per my request.  I'm in love, and Ben isn't sure he wants to share it with the babes.

Mom also made sleep sacks out of Ben's old shirts....didn't know this one was given by an X girlfriend.  We all laughed a lot.

Anyway, darling invitations, and fabulous food, we gathered at her house to shower me with love.  We all sat in their backyard and ate/chatted for an hour and a half before I dreamed of getting to the gifts.  Once I did, I was so happy Lou had spread the word about what I had/what I still needed.  And I got diapers, wipes, necessities, newborn photoshoot certificates and other fabulous items.  I still am in awe with how much love I felt from the hostesses and guests of all these showers thrown on my/T-Rex's behalf.  He is one spoiled little dude, and it going to be 100% dapper with all the outfits and stuff he got.