Flying Poop And other Such Tales

Motherhood is full of surprises. These surprises have kept me too busy to blog about them. Hopefully I can catch up during this month. It is a nice thought but, since I need to finish my thesis prospectus and get cranking on the actual project, it may not pan out.

One important story to share is one I mentioned in my previous post. Kevin was changing Evelyn's diaper on her changing table and suddenly shouted aaarrrrrgggghhhh! Just like that. Then he yelled for my help. I went running into her nursery thinking that she must be dangling from the light fixture or something. How could one little baby inspire such a reaction from a grown man? Let me tell you. He was changing her diaper from down between her ankles. When he lifted her feet she pooped. To hear him tell it, it was like an eruption of Vesuvius, or perhaps Old Faithful. He caught the poop with his body and showed me a stripe of mustard yellow from chest to knee. Needless to say, I finished the diaper change while he went to clean up. The next day he was bringing Evelyn to me for a bath when he got another unexpected gift. He had bundled her in a towel, but she still managed to pee all over the front of his shirt. Poor Kevin. Lucky for us he is a very patient man :)

With both Kevin and I in school and working it has been an adventure with a baby. I only work 8 hours a week and most of those are via email from home, but Kevin and I have learned the art of the hand off. I bring the stroller with me to campus and find Kevin. He then takes the baby to his lab while he works if she is asleep, or to the lobby of the Talmage Building to play if she is not. Once I finish my appointment we hand off again and Evie and I head home. It is tricky, but fun!

Bring on the Ladies!

According to this article, "Women, Mathematics and Computing", and many others the number of women in computer science has been declining recently.There have been different attempts to explain the phenomenon and some efforts to make the field more attractive and friendly to women. As a man in computer science with mostly males in my classes, I think this would be a nice change. However, this needs to be handled in the right way. I'm not sure what the answer is, but the bar should not be lowered for women. This would only make it unfair for the men and imbalance gender equality the other way.

Trauma? Not So Much!

Lots of people want to share their traumatic birthing stories...this isn't one of those. Sure there is a story, but it is mostly my thoughts on our beautiful new addition.

By the beginning of July I was totally ready to have our little girl. I had been stuck in bed for 6 weeks...no bueno... then was up and about for a month and still no baby! Finally on July 6th I went into labor after walking with a friend for 2 hours in the rain. I called Kevin home from work to take me to the hospital and by the time we got there I was at a 6. We checked in and 15 minutes later I had my epidural (thats when the clouds opened up and the angels started singing Hallelujah). During the next 5 and a half hours I slept and Kevin watched movies while enjoying the daddy snack bar. At 1:30am we met Evelyn. She came into the world howling like a world class opera singer.  8lbs 1oz and 21 inches long with a full head of dark hair! I was so proud of her for not coming early! Kevin checked her fingers and toes while snapping pictures for me. Silly? I think not! Polydactalism runs in Kevin’s family so extra fingers and toes were a viable outcome. I am pleased to announce that she had NO extras!

After I had a chance to hold her for a moment Kevin rolled her to the NICU to have her lungs and stomach cleaned out. I thought I would be afraid for her, but I had full confidence in the NICU at UVRMC.

She was back in our room just after 4am, very alert and ready to meet us properly. I was SO excited to be a mom that I only slept for 4 or 5 hours the whole time we were at the hospital after Evelyn was born.  Every time Kevin picked her up at the hospital he would say “She is so cool!” I walked back into the room once just in time to hear him tell her he loved her…what a special moment. Kevin was amazing through the whole experience. We had a lot of complications during pregnancy and a few times thought we might lose our little girl. Kevin promised me that we would be able to keep her forever if we kept our covenants. His perspective really buoyed my spirits. I feel very blessed.

I have wanted to be a mom since I was a little girl, so when an Endocrinologist told me last year that I might not be able to have kids I was more than a little worried. As it turns out the PCOS didn’t prevent us from having our little sunshine. It did however present us with feeding issues which caused Evelyn to lose more weight than was healthy. Once those were figured out she began gaining like a champ. At 3 months old she weighs nearly 14lbs and is super healthy!

Motherhood is both more and less than I thought it would be. More work and less sleep, but more love than I ever thought I could feel. A couple of weeks ago I was singing to Evelyn (one of our favorite pastimes). I finished a cute little song my mom taught me and started singing I am a Child of God the reality of the text struck me very strongly this time through. Little Evie IS a child of God, fresh from heaven, and she has been entrusted to Kevin and I. That thought brought on one of the most powerful experiences I have ever had. I felt the Lords love for Evelyn very strongly. Almost the same instant it struck me, she must have felt it too. The most brilliant smile I have seen to date lit her precious little face and stayed there until I finished both the second and third verses. I regularly feel like it is an honor to raise such a sweet little one.

Well thanks for sticking it out to the end! I assure you the next posts will be more lighthearted. Flying baby poop and the like…stay tuned!

My mother-in-law suggested that I read an article in the BYU magazine. It was on  'mommy bloggers'. The article encouraged new moms to start a blog as a way to foster additional support for the HUGE adjustment to motherhood. The article also said blogging may increase satisfaction in marriage. Well, I have a very happy marriage, but this can't hurt right?

I had never thought about blogging before, but I figured I would give it a try! So many hilarious, strange, or slightly 'off' things happen on a regular basis at our house. This should be a good outlet!