Welcome Baby Henrik!

When Henrik’s due date arrived and he was still sitting comfy in the womb, I think I lost all hope.  All hope of being able to experience going into labor naturally.  I think I was completely convinced that my body just simply didn’t know how to go into labor. My next appointment with my Midwife was scheduled for Tuesday, March 17^th, which she warned me that we would have to start talking about a “plan” at that appointment if we made it there.

Monday night Kim sent me a text to just check in and see how I was feeling.  I told her I was feeling way too good to be going into labor anytime soon so we were just going to wait and see what my Midwife had to say at tomorrow’s appointment.

We tucked Hanley in for bed that night, having no clue that would be our last evening as a family of three.

At 2am, I woke up with some mild contractions.  By 2:30am, they were strong enough that I was uncomfortable laying down.  Cody woke up and asked if I was okay.  I assured him I was just fine and told him to go back to sleep.  I went downstairs and started doing dishes just to take my mind off the contractions. By 3:30am, I went back upstairs and woke Cody up.  I told him my contractions were 10 mins apart and I thought we needed to just start taking about a plan. He thought we needed to call the Moms and have them make the drive up but I hesitated.  I told him I didn’t want them to get halfway here and have my contractions suddenly stop.  It took him 15 minutes to talk me into calling my Mom. She of course jumped in the car and headed north right away. Cody called his Mom a short time later and said, “Chelsea’s having contractions.  You have time but you might want to think about coming up.” The plan was for my Mom to come to the house to take care of Hanley and Kim meet us at the hospital to be there for the delivery (since my Mom was present for Hanley’s birth, we thought Kim might like to be there for Henrik’s birth).

Cody and I threw some last minute things into the hospital bag but I kept insisting I could wait it out until my Mom arrived. Soon, I was having a hard time talking through my contractions. Cody timed them and realized they were only 3 minutes apart but I kept insisting I was just fine and we would wait.  “My worst fear is to get to the hospital too early” I kept telling him (I mean, how discouraging would that be to get to the hospital and have them send you back home because your not far enough along!).

Cody called Kim back and told her things were progressing fast and she better get on the road.

We figured my Mom was still about an hour out. Despite my reservations, we started making calls to see if we could get someone over to the house to bridge the gap until my Mom arrived because Cody was certain we needed to be leaving for the hospital. My first couple calls went unanswered. A couple minutes later my phone rang and it was our friend and old neighbor calling back.  I picked up the phone and Tammy didn’t ask any questions, she just said she would be right over! Talk about a huge relief!! She was there in 10 minutes stat then we were out the door.

The drive to the hospital was horrible.  I couldn’t sit through my contractions so I was on all fours with my knees in the front seat, my body slung over the center console with my hands on the backseat.

In triage, they hooked me up to the monitors and realized I was pumping out contractions every 2 minutes then checked me. I was 8 cm dilated. They didn’t waste any time getting us into a delivery room.

We walked into the delivery room at 6:00am. 

The nurse said, “Oh how exciting. Your going to have a Saint Patrick’s Day baby!”.

Cody (with his only other birthing experience being Hanley’s lengthy one) responded honestly with “Well, we hope we have a baby today.”

She looked at Cody puzzled and said “Um…I am off work in an hour.  Your going to be have this baby on my shift.” 

And she was right…

My water broke at 6:12am.  10 mins later, I was pushing.  Henrik Loren Olson was born at 6:48am. Everything just happened so quick. 

No INDUCTION, No medical interventions, they threw Henrik right up on my chest as soon as he came out and Cody got to cut the umbilical cord. It was the birthing experience I had hoped for.

Kim missed Henrik’s birth by no more than 5 minutes.  She walked into the room with a crying baby already in my arms.  I think if it was up to her, she would have had Henrik slow things down just a little bit!

We feel beyond blessed to have a happy, healthy little guy. We love all 7 lbs, 12 oz and 20 inches of him. He is simply the perfect completion to our family. 

Dragon's Vs. Sheep

I work for a Chinese dentist and we have a lot of Chinese patients.  So, I know a little something about the Chinese lunar calendar. 

Hanley was born the Year of the Dragon. The Dragon is one of the most powerful and lucky signs of the Chinese Zodiac. Some women in China plan ahead for years to try to have a baby the year of the Dragon. Dragon’s are generally strong, decisive, warm-hearted and thrive in social settings.  They are intelligent and ambitious so they have great chances at reaching considerable financial wealth but they are less motivated by money. Their true goal is to achieve power. They have a natural tendency to be leaders. Therefore, they often find much success in their careers.  They can be hot tempered and willing to take risks. To them, life is a colorful leaping flame.

Henrik, on the other hand, will be born the Year of the Sheep. Sheep are generally believed to be calm, mild-mannered, shy, generous, stable, sympathetic, and have a strong sense of kindheartedness. Though they are mild in disposition, they are tough inside, and never yield under pressure. They seldom speak in a straight forward way. They look upon the world passively.

One of our patients explained to me that Hanley will be very successful in life but his life will be like one big exciting “roller coaster” with ups and downs of all kinds. He will be willing to take big leaps in life and with that comes the risks and rewards. Then he explained that Henrik’s life will be much more like a calm “stream of water”- smooth, gentle, predictable. 

Looking back at Hanley’s birth, it was a wild ride for sure.  He wanted the power, despite every efforts of the rest of the world trying to force him out when he wasn’t ready. As I sit here at home, on Henrik’s due date, I hope and pray he enters this world in a much more smooth, gentle and predictable manner.

Happy Due Date Baby Henrik! Mommy, Daddy and Big Brother can’t wait to meet our Little Lamb! 

28 MONTHS!

At 28 Months...

-I am 39 weeks pregnant.  Hanley is about to be a big brother! This may very well turn his world upside down in the beginning but at some point he will learn to love and adore his new buddy and little brother!

-Hanley is well on his way to potty training.  He recently decided that he was going to be a big boy and use the potty.  I picked him up from school one day and his teacher asked, "So, who at home says Boomshakala? Hanley used the potty then jumped up and yelled "BOOMSHAKALAKA!" Daddy has clearly taught that boy how to celebrate :o) We have had very minimal accidents.  He's great at holding it (even through the night and at naptime) until we take him but we are not at the stage where he will tell us he needs to go. But when Mama is big pregnant and has to go every hour or two herself, it makes it pretty easy for us to remember to take him!

-Kim called us up and asked if she could have Hanley for the weekend.  We took her up on her offer knowing Hanley would love a special weekend at Oma and Opa's house and it would give us a chance to get some stuff done around the house before Baby arrives. My Facebook post Saturday evening pretty much sums up our productive day:

"A trip to Ikea, Home Depot, La-Z Boy and the grocery store + curtains and rod hung in nursery, baby clothes washed, Hanley's bookshelf assembled (in record Ikea timing according to Cody), wall shelf hung, sectional couch for upstairs ordered and 11 crock pot meals in the freezer = Nesting at it's finest!" 

And lets not forget about Hanley....He had an absolute blast! Oma and Opa took him to the Logging Conference which was a total hit!

-The following weekend was my Dad's birthday.  So, the 3 of us made a day trip down to Eugene. Other than the banana splits for the birthday dessert, I think Hanley's favorite part was watching my parents fish tank!

-Hanley has been Daddy's little helper in the yard lately.  Cody has been working long hours and most weekends so I can imagine working in the yard in not top on his list of things to do with his very limited "free time". We are probably one of two homes in our neighborhood that doesn't use a landscaping service and Cody still manages to keep our yard looking just as good as everyone else's. The best part about not hiring out our landscaping is that it gives Cody and Hanley the chance to do "Man Stuff" together outside.  I absolutely love looking out the back window and watching the two of them bond over pulling weeds or mowing the grass. One day, after working in the yard with Daddy, Hanley came inside for lunch and said, "Oh I am tired. Daddy works too hard!"

-Hanley was up at 5am this past weekend (both mornings!).  Judging by his mood, that was too early! Normally he blows me kisses before I leave his room for nap time.  He kept telling me he wanted to blow me kisses but then would just sit up in bed, clearly trying to stall and control the situation.  I told him he needed to lay down and blow me kisses or else I was leaving the room.  He tried to call my bluff.  I left his room and shut the door behind me.  It was the FIRST TIME EVER (in the 4 months that he has been in his big boy bed) that he got out of bed.  He pounded on his door and cried (okay more like screamed) "I blow Mommy kisses!" for awhile before crawling back in bed and going down for nap.  He took a much need looooong nap and woke up in the best mood!! And guess what? The next day I laid him down for nap and he didn't waist anytime blowing me kisses. When I left the room, he didn't make a peep.  I think he learned two important lessons. 1) Mommy means what she says and 2) Crying ain't gonna get you anywhere in this house!

-Cody and Hanley got their first Father-Son haircuts together! It was also Hanley's first trip to a Barber Shop. In the past, we have always taken him to Little Clipper's where he gets to sit in a car and watch cartoons while they cut his hair.  But, he's been all about being a big boy lately so we figured that meant getting a haircut like big boys do too!