Darr Family Blog

I need to try to type this quickly, while Joseph is still sleeping 🙂 I wanted to post this so that family and friends have the particulars of Joseph’s birth. I had my last doctor’s appointment on Friday, Sept. 2, where my doctor stripped my membranes (sorry if that’s too much TMI). Paul and I then went to Target to get a few last minute things, when I got a call from my doctor’s nurse, saying they thought that my doctor might have inadvertently broken my water (so THAT’s what that small gush was), and that if I felt like I was leaking (again, sorry…) to go into the hospital. I was a bit, but it wasn’t too bad. Then contractions started coming…and started getting closer together and more consistent. Paul downloaded an app on his phone so that we could time them properly, which was a lifesaver! I also noticed I was leaking more fluid, so after a couple of hours, we called the hospital. At first they wanted me to wait a bit more, but when they found out that I was leaking, they told me to come in. So we grabbed everything and drove to the hospital. We got there about 7 PM, and they did some tests for amniotic fluid, as well as hooking me up to monitors to track contractions and Joseph’s heart-beat. After the tests came back positive, they admitted me and started pitocin. I wasn’t progressing very quickly, and was in a lot of pain, so they gave me my epidural at 3:00 AM on the 3rd (I was 2 centimeters). After that, I was actually able to go to sleep! I slept until 5 AM when they came to check me again…and I was 4 centimeters…I was gearing myself up for a long day. Then, they checked me at 8 AM, and I was 9.5 centimeters! We got that last .5 centimeters gone, and I started pushing. Joseph’s heart would decelerate every time that I had a contraction, so they ended up using a vacuum to assist in the delivery (they REALLY didn’t want me to get a C-section). At 9:17 AM, Paul Joseph Darr III was born. They had to take him to the NICU for a bit because there was meconium present, and they wanted to be sure he hadn’t inhaled any of it. We got a bit of skin-to-skin time, and then they came and took him. He was only there for less than an hour, and then he got to come back in with us. After that, things got into a routine, and we actually came home the next day. It has been more than a week, and it amazes me each time that I look at him. Paul and I CREATED him! We are truly blessed 🙂

Well, I’ve reached 36 weeks. Only 4 weeks left! Highs and lows so far: Getting to watch my stomach become a jungle gym. A couple of nights ago he was literally moving completely from one side to the other, so my stomach was either really big on the left, or on the right. It was pretty entertaining, lol. Another high: I still feel really good. I hope I’m not jinxing myself, but I have had a really uneventful pregnancy so far (the only thing that I had a hard time with was when I was so sick during my first trimester). I know that there are 4 weeks to go, so I hope that I can make it that far without any complications. The only real low is that I have been having pain in either the joints or ligaments of my legs (right where my legs meet my torso) that makes me feel like my legs are going to buckle. It’s probably just because everything is stretching right now, but I’m still going to mention it to my OB. I’ve been sleeping better, but I find that once I wake up, it’s hard to get back to sleep (hence the 3 A.M. thoughts). Just SOME of the things running through my head: Is he going to look like me, like Paul, or an exact split of us? Is he going to be calm or fussy (though I know he could very well be both)? Will I be able to instill in him the values that he needs to make it in this “wicked old world” (those of my friends who knew Sister Miller will recognize that phrase)? Will he have the desire to become a worthy priesthood holder? Will he continually look to Paul and me when he needs guidance? I know I can’t answer these questions. I just need to keep with the faith and know that Heavenly Father will take care of it all. Now for the last part of my title: a terrific trip. Paul and I were able to go to a family retreat for his Army Reserve unit in San Antonio, TX. There were Army units from all over the U.S. We flew out on Friday and were able to get settled into our hotel room. That evening we decided to explore the River Walk, which was right by our hotel. It’s kind of like San Antonio’s version of Venice. It’s a network of (man-made, I think) rivers that run under the streets of San Antonio. There are water taxis for people to ride in, and restaurants all over the place. We ate at a really good BBQ place called The County Line. Paul and I ended up sharing a meal that was meant for one person, but it was more than enough food for the both of us (it was a 1/2 rack of ribs, a 1/2 rack of baby-back ribs, and two sides, for Heaven’s sake!). We then went back to the hotel and went swimming. I LOVED the buoyancy that I felt in the water!! Saturday was filled with Army briefings (a little dry, but informative), another trip to the River Walk (this time for ice cream cones from a place called Justin’s – REALLY good to combat the fact that San Antonio was both hotter and more humid than home), and another swim in the pool. Sunday we got up, had breakfast, and headed home. Dad picked us up from the airport (he had dropped us off, as well) and took us to their house for dinner. It was SO nice not to have to cook after being on airplanes all day (both flying out there and flying back included a layover in Dallas-Fort Worth). We then went home and crashed (it kind of helped that I still felt that it was 2 hours later than it was). Overall, it was a great trip!

Once again, I win the worst blogger award…lol…apparently it’s been about two months since my last post. I have been super busy ending the school year, dealing with my ever-growing baby-belly, and trying to rest up while I can. So here is what week 30 has laid out for me. I have reached the point where I can’t just roll over in my sleep. I have to shift from one side to my back (dragging my body pillow with me, of course) and then shift from my back to my other side. By this time, I am completely awake, and so is Joseph, so it takes a while to get back to sleep. I love feeling the kicks and nudges, but now he is getting big enough that sometimes it really hurts! I have discovered that I do not like the following things that he has figured out how to do: press down on my tailbone and up on my ribs at the same time and kick me in the ribs. I find it amusing to watch my stomach as it moves (seemingly on its own) and I am thrilled that Paul is finally able to feel it too. Last night he had his hand resting on my stomach so that he could feel Joseph moving around, which he was doing A LOT. After a while, Paul made the comment that it must feel really weird to feel that inside of you. I had to agree with him. It does feel weird, but amazing at the same time. Let’s see…what else has happened lately? Ah…we had a baby shower at work…that was SO much fun! I was almost brought to tears by the generosity and love that I felt from my coworkers. We also drove up to Utah to get one last visit in with family and friends before Joseph comes. We had a wonderfully relaxing week. 🙂  I am looking forward to the last 10 weeks of this pregnancy (yikes!) and only a little scared (though that will probably increase as it gets closer…lol) about the delivery and life after that. Hopefully I’ll get at least one more blog post in before then, but there are no promises for any time after… 😉