The one where Lu has a baby and Sean wrecks a car...

Yes, all at the same time. That's so not the phone call you want to get from one child when you're in the delivery room with the other child. But let's start from the beginning.

On Sunday, the 17th of July, Luke and I painted the master bedroom blue w/brown polka dots to match the nursery stuff they'd got for baby Dylan. Lu kind of helped, but mostly just watched. I know we were late getting to it, but if you read this blog regularly- you know things have been crazy busy. We were moving into Lu's old room so they could have the larger room w/space for the crib. (It also has an attached bathroom which enables them to stay in their room at night when the baby wakes up- thus creating less noise and more sleep for grandma & grandpa). It turned out beautifully!

About four o'clock Lu started having contractions. She'd had some off and on for the last week but they never got regular. Well, these ones didn't either. Some were 3 minutes apart, some 10, and so on. So we decided just to go to bed. I told her if it was real labor, they'd wake her up and told her to wake me up if she needed anything in the night. We got up Monday and she said they'd kept her awake most of the night, but they still weren't regular. So we started moving stuff into their room and Luke put the crib and changing table together (let me just say here that the rest of my house looked like a hoarder's paradise because we'd moved our things out, but not into Lu's old room because I wanted to shampoo our disgustingly old carpets. So we had no less than three dressers in the living room along with a king size mattress). At 11am Lu's contractions started coming every 3 minutes. So she took a shower. And then I did. And then she refused to go to the hospital until the room was finished. That's my Lu!

We finally got to the hospital around 3:15 Monday afternoon. She was dilated to a 4 and 75% effaced. They told us that first time mothers have to thin all the way before the dilating really gets going. They hooked her up to monitors, she filled out a million pieces of paperwork and at 5 the doctor came in to break her water. As anyone who's ever had a baby will tell you- that's when the contractions get more painful. Lu had decided she wanted a drug free birth, no painkillers, no epidural. She was getting more and more uncomfortable and having a load of back labor. The nurse showed us a more comfortable position and how I could press on her back to offer some relief. I was in charge of back pain relief while Luke held her hand and tried to help her stay strong and calm.

Breathing through a contraction

About 7pm she got to get into a whirlpool tub (where the hell was that when I was in labor??). It helped with the pain alot and she stayed in there for an hour. By this time, contractions were much stronger and she debated on a painkiller shot. Luke and I both told her it was her decision. The nurse checked again and 8pm she had completely thinned out and dilated to a 6. Things were moving rapidly. Back in bed, the pain was worse, much worse and I called the nurse back in at 8:30. She had dilated to an 8! 2 centimeters in half an hour! The nurse explained that that was why the contractions were so strong and close together, because she was having a lot of rapid movement in the cervix. We asked for a shot of Nubain (a mild painkiller). Lu had debated on an epidural but decided against it and by then it was too late anyway. The next hour and a half were filled with more strong contractions, but thankfully the tiny shot had helped take the edge off. The nurse came in at 10:45 and asked Lu if she was beginning to push during contractions. Lu told her she couldn't help it. The nurse checked and she was dilated to 10 and completely thinned! Time to push! The nurse called the doctor who didn't believe Lu was already ready to push. She thought the pushing would take longer.

Luke decided he'd stay by Lu's head and I'd be the one holding her leg and seeing the birth. And what a sight to see. The doctor barely arrived in time. Lu only pushed for 18 minutes and part of that time was the nurses telling her not to push because we had to wait for the doctor and them trying to keep the baby's head in the canal! Lu was a trooper and baby Dylan was born at 11:16pm on July 18, 2011. He weighed 7lbs 10 oz and was 19 inches long. Lu had no ripping or tearing or bruising. Unbelievable.

!

Baby Dylan♥

I've never been on that end of the birthing before and it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen. Luke and I both cried at the absolute awesomeness of the miracle of birth. And I'm so proud of Lu for sticking to her guns and pushing through the pain to have the birth she wanted. The nurses were amazed too and kept praising her.

The very next morning she was up and about, showering and even wearing makeup. That's my Lu!

The very next morning!

Both mother and baby are doing great a week and a half later. In fact Dylan has already surpassed his birth weight and is up to 7lbs 14 oz. He's thriving. And he's a super chill baby that doesn't cry or fuss much at all. He doesn't enjoy diaper changes or being really hungry, but other than that he's a quiet happy baby who seems to really take in his surroundings. He loves to be talked and sung too. And yes, I am a very proud grandma!

Sleepy baby & sleepy mommy

What a cutie, frowny face and all!

Now for the other child...

Sean has been working for Camp Callahan again this year and feels his responsibilities keenly. He knew Lu was in labor but couldn't get away until he'd gotten his campers to bed. So he was headed to the hospital at 10pm that night. We'd told him to drive Lu's car because he had a taillight out on his truck and we didn't want him to get a ticket. He called me at 10:45pm to tell me he'd had an accident and was pretty sure he'd totaled Lu's car. He tried to give me details but he was shaken up and hard to understand and Lu was starting to push! So I told him to call his Dad (who was in the waiting room, not in the thick of things!). It seems he was going way to fast on the little blacktop road that runs from our gravel to the highway. He was trying to make it to the hospital in time. Apparently Lu's headlights aren't that great and it was a dark night. Somehow, he managed to miss the stop sign that is where the blacktop meets the highway. He ended up flying across the highway and up a 5ft embankment, coming to rest in the yard of the house that sits there. 6 inches to the left and he would have hit a tree. Another foot and he'd have hit the water meter. I have no idea how he did it.

In typical Sean fashion though, he knocked on the door and told the girl who answered he'd parked his car in their yard and could he borrow her cell phone? Apparently his was dead. After he called us, he sat on the porch with the girl (the house owner's girlfriend. the house owner wasn't home). He had a first aid kit in his bag which he used to bandage his hand- it had gotten bruised and burned by the airbag. (Thankfully that was his only injury) He also had oatmeal cookies and Gatorade which he shared with her. He ended up getting a ticket for "failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident". He could have ended up with three tickets and a suspended license. We are still waiting to see if the insurance company totals Lu's car or fixes it again. Sean's insurance just went way up, I have no doubt.

Lucky for Sean, we all had something to distract us, so he didn't get in to too much trouble.

Uncle Sean

What a night! Here's a few more of my favorite pictures:

Happy Family♥

Could they be more beautiful?!

Grandpa & Dylan

Isn't life grand?

♥Spot

Then one where Lu finally picks a name...

Bless me readers, for I have sinned, it's been one month since my last blog post. Sorry. Forgiven? I'm just going to go with "yes" on that one since I can't really hear your answer. And I'm going to dive right in with the good stuff. And apparently Lu's love life is the "good stuff". How do I know? Because a friend of mine related this conversation the other day:

KK: So I read the blog. Please tell me the guy Lu was seeing wasn't M!

MM: It was.

KK: What was she thinking?!

MM: I don't know. But it's over. The end.

KK: Thank God!

MM: Do you ever wonder why we're so invested in Lu's love life??

Don't worry guys. I get it. It's like a soap opera. So the update on that is that Lu and the baby's father are on very friendly terms. They aren't what one would call officially reconciled but that's because Lu wants to take things slow and make sure that the previous issues are on their way to resolution. But he's very involved with the pregnancy now. He and his mom were both at the sonogram where we found out it's a boy! And things seem to be progressing between them in a positive direction. And frankly, it's nice to see her happy. They did work together to choose a name: Dylan James Flanagan. Personally, I was partial to Milo. Her belly is ginormous. But she makes pregnancy look adorable. And thankfully, she takes after me and has a very easy pregnancy. I hope her delivery is the same. All the screenings have come back with negative results so the baby seems extremely healthy and on track. Her platelets dipped but then went up on their own. And she finally gained some weight. Here's a picture:


Isn't she adorable??!

Sean is still working as a telemarketer and comes home daily with the funniest stories ever. He meets and works with some interesting characters that's for sure. Some of his stories are funny, though kind of sad in a way. Sad that people feel the need to self medicate with drugs and alcohol to the point that they do. Even to get through the work day. I was going to share one, but suddenly I'm not in the mood. He's looking forward to vacay. And to getting to quit his job. He's working for the boy scouts again this summer and camp callahan and then travelling.

Mike is, of course, submersed in work. Always a ton of projects to do and the usual getting camp ready for summer. In fact, he'll be missing our vacation. Don't worry about him too much though. He's not a big fan of the ocean. He calls it the big puddle.

Mike: have fun visiting the big noisy puddle.

Me: Noisy?

Mike: yeah, it's constantly making that noise.

Me: You mean the sound of the waves? The one people find soothing and they put on those machines to help people relax?

Mike: yeah. It's so annoying. Give me silence any day.

Me: You just get weirder every time I talk to you.

Don't worry. I will enjoy it. I love that sound. And I'm very excited to be visiting a state I haven't yet been to. Alabama. And drinking sweet tea and saying y'all without anyone laughing at me. I'll keep you posted.

The heart wrenching part though? We aren't taking CJ. I just can't do that without Mike. I'm already having a fibro flare up and not getting enough sleep would make it worse. Also, we considered that we aren't sure how he'll do on an eight hour car trip two days in a row. Or being out of his routine for 10 days in unfamiliar surroundings. I know in my heart that we've made the right decision but that doesn't make me any less sad. But I will be taking him to my sisters in the next month or so. We'll see how he does there and keep working to get him ready to go on a vacation with us. And Mike has promised to go somewhere with me in the fall when his work slows down some. Alaska anyone?

The fibro flare was really bumming me out. I've felt so well for such a long time that it sucks to be reminded you have a chronic illness that can put you on the bench from time to time. I was throwing myself a real pity party for a couple of days. The klutziness was really getting to me. I have thrown my phone across the kitchen (not on purpose, it just slid out of my hand), dropped a dish of cat food upside down on the floor, spilled a very full glass of red juice all over the carpet, dropped and broken a glass cookie jar and sliced my thumb open on a can lid requiring an ER visit and tetanus shot. Talented, huh? I've grounded myself from using glass glasses for the duration. But the pity party ends today. Because I happened to see a show that reminded me that there are far worse conditions to have. I may be typing awkwardly with my bandaged thumb, but at least the rest of my appendages are responding to my brain signals. I may be dropping things, but I'm still able to clean up after myself. I may be forgetting things and having trouble coming up with the right word now and then, but I can still speak and see and hear and walk. And I have people who love me and forgive me when I'm moody and sick. People who take care of me willingly when I need it. A job doing what I love. A roof over my head, plenty of food to eat and a grandson on the way. I am a blessed woman.

Thank you all for sticking with me like you do. And a big shout out to my kindle readers!! You have not gotten your money's worth this month and for that I apologize sincerely. I'll try to do better.

♥Spot

The one where a hatchling leaves the nest and why I will never be famous...

A friend and blog reader emailed me the other day just to check and see how things are going in "Spotsville". I replied that things are hopping. And its true. I wish I could tell you all about it, but some things will have to wait. But first, I want to thank each and everyone of you for not only reading about my vida loca but also for caring about it. And to the many of you I keep in touch with outside the blog...I adore you.

So we are currently down in household size from 6 to 4. And no I don't mean because Mike is so busy working on the dining hall roof that he's hardly ever home. Although that is true and is a small bone of contention. I mean who else can say that the "other woman" is a tin roof her husband is building. Complete with "floating rafters" (whatever the hell that means). He even sent me a picture in a text message the other day of the roof. I answered "um. wow. It looks roof-y?"

No, Luke and Lu have called it splitsville. Well, actually, Lu decided it was splitsville and so he moved out roughly two weeks ago. Sometimes, things just don't work out and you have to move on.

And Bobby is leaving the nest. His brother bought a house and asked him to move in with him and his girlfriend. It's twenty minutes closer to town and not on a gravel road. We agreed that this was a good time for him to test his wings. We also made sure he knew that if it didn't work out he still had a home to come back too. I will miss him. And yet, I'm proud. It's a funny bag of mixed emotions.

And now for some random conversations that have taken place over the last few days:

***As Lu and I were standing in line to see the play "Forever Plaid" at the local community theatre:

Lu: *leaning over to kiss me on the cheek* Thanks.

Me: For what? The tickets were free.

Lu: No. For making me pretty.

Me: Um. Well, I didn't have a lot to do with that. That's more of a "thank the Universe" kind of thing. What brought that on anyway?

Lu: I was just looking around and looking at you and you're pretty and I look just like you, therefore I'm pretty too.

Me: Oh. Well in that case, you're totally welcome. You're really just glad I don't dress horrible and embarrass you, aren't you?

Lu: Yeah, that too.

***The other day when Mike came into my office in the middle of the day:

Mike: Are you working?

Me: Generally if you hear the keyboard typing non stop I'm working yes.

Mike: Oh then I won't bother you.

Me: You kind of already have so you might as well just tell me what you need.

Mike: I don't need anything.

Me: Then why did you come in here?

Mike: I was just checking on you.

Me: Checking on me how? What did you think had happened to me exactly?

Mike: I don't know.

Me: *sighing* well I'm glad we cleared that up. I'm fine thanks. I just bid on a new job. It would be a lot of articles though. I'd probably have to start taking myself a little more seriously and really putting in 6 to 8 hours a day.

Mike: you don't need to do that.

Me: I know. But I want to. And extra money would be nice, it would pay really well.

Mike: You don't need to do that because we keep you plenty busy around here taking care of us.

Me: Did you honestly just say I can't further my career because you and the kids are so needy?!

Mike: Yeah. That's pretty much it in a nutshell.

Me: You should probably leave my office now. *And that my friends, is why I'll never be famous. Because my family requires too much of my time.*

***Sean and I talking before he went to bed last night, Lu was in the room too.

Me: So who painted your nails this time?

Sean: Dawn at work. I need to take it off before Monday so she can do a better job. She was in a hurry.

Me: Are you going to take it off before your scout thing tomorrow?

Sean: Nope. I did the last one with sparkly pink nails that my supervisor painted.

Lu: Only you would be able to find a job where you get to do such ridiculous things and still get paid.

Me: Are you going to take it off before your date with Lizzie?

Lu: Where are you taking Lizzie?

Sean: Hamilton Family Diner. I promised her some ham fam next time she was back. And no, I'm not.

Me: I wish you would.

Sean: Why? Are you being gender stereotypical?

Me: No. I just don't like fingernail polish on guys. You know how goth guys wear black fingernail polish? I just don't like it.

Sean: It's not black. It's Burgundy.

Lu: *Explodes into giggles.* It's Burgundy!!

Me: I don't care what color it is, I just don't like it.

Lu: *more hysterical laughter* It's Burgundy!

Me: Um. Are you alright there Lu?

Lu: Yes. You guys just crack me up. You should blog this. It's Burgundy. *giggle snort*

And that's what's going on around here.

Have a great weekend,
♥Spot