My Pregnancy with Baby Hyrum

As the final weeks of my pregnancy stretched on and on, I found myself complaining...often, “Pregnancy is the worst!” Joseph would sometimes remind me that while that may be true, the whole pregnancy wasn't all bad, in fact, parts of it were easy and even enjoyable. At such a volatile time a comment like that warranted an “OFF WITH HIS HEAD!”… but he had a point. I felt very blessed during my pregnancy, and it went smoothly. As time goes by I will probably forget everything that happened: the kindness from those around me, the love and excitement for my unborn child, the sleepless nights, the feelings of apprehension, the awkward comments, and the awe and wonder at new life growing inside me. These are things I don’t want to forget, so I've compiled a list. 

My first symptom of pregnancy was using the bathroom, a lot.

The first pregnancy test I took was negative and I didn't take another one for about 3 weeks. I figured time would tell.

I wasn't very sick during the first trimester, but I would feel nauseated if I hadn't had anything to eat.

I only threw-up twice. Once on an airplane, and once when I got a stomach bug, but I was legitimately sick that time. Pregnancy affects your immune system. 

We hiked Mt. Timpanogos when I was about 8 weeks pregnant, and I thought I was going to die. I didn't realize that the baby steals all your oxygen.

I love hearing the baby’s heart beat, but it was never long enough. I wanted to listen to it for at least an hour, maybe more. 

My first appointment was just a nurse’s visit and the nurse couldn't find the heartbeat. I pretty quickly began thinking of the worst case scenarios (I'm a good worrier), but the doctor easily found the baby's heartbeat the next appointment.

I don't think sonogram pictures look like much of anything, but I still looked through Hyrum's every day, and I watched his ultrasound video when I missed him.

I wanted to do a creative pregnant costume for Halloween, but my bump was not impressive enough to pull off the "I ate a basketball" look.

I started sleeping really poorly about month 5 or 6. I would wake up in the middle of the night really alert with nothing to do. Sometimes I would wake Joseph up; misery loves company. He was always really sweet, but mostly really groggy giving incoherent answers to my questions probably wishing his crazy pregnant wife would stop waking him up in the dead of the night. I feel bad about that. I may also have called my mother at 4 o’clock in the morning. She said, “I love you. Please go read a book.”

When I became the size of a small beluga whale, I may or may not have asked Joseph to roll me over so I didn't have to do it myself.

I went running, then walking, and then waddling at the cemetery in Pocatello. I loved it there. The trees were huge and beautiful, and it was so peaceful. When I was past due, I was on my way to the cemetery when my grandmother called me to ask how I was doing. I love her.

Hyrum was 5 days overdue, and there came a point where I couldn't call anyone just to talk because they only wanted to hear baby news. I called my brother Andrew during one of his classes just to talk, he answered in a flurry anticipating some exciting news, I had none. Then when Hyrum was born and I called to tell him I ironically called him during the same class period, he didn't answer, but he called me after class.

I feel like Frozen is Hyrum’s movie. I saw it when I was about 7 months pregnant and Joseph bought the soundtrack as an anniversary gift. We spent way too much time in the car that Christmas as we traveled to Provo, Coeur d’Alene, Portland, Sacramento, and home. Frozen was our theme music. We listened to it up to Hyrum’s birth.

It was snowing lightly the morning we went to the hospital.

When we found out that our baby was a boy we only got one “it’s a boy” bracelet. Joseph took it without asking, assuming that it was his. And so it was. He wore it always. It was a little constant reminder that our baby boy was coming, and Joseph was so proud. I loved looking over and seeing the bracelet on his wrist. 

Joseph's wearing the blue, "It's a boy!" bracelet

We went out to eat after the ultrasound appointment at a Mexican restaurant. Very manly.

After we found out the gender of our child we referred to him as junior. 

While pregnant I was easily startled. When we saw Iron Man 3, I closed my eyes when I could tell something was going to jump out at me. I was blow-drying my hair one day and I didn't hear Joseph come in. When he touched my shoulder I had a full-blown hysterical fit.

I was working as a home health care aid, helping the elderly stay in their homes by assisting with their needs. I had been working with one lady for a while when one day she looked at my 8 month pregnant body and said, “Are you pregnant?” when I answered in the affirmative she said, “Oh! I just thought you had an unfortunate figure.” But seriously having the body of a pregnant lady all year round would be unfortunate.

The first time they drew my blood at the doctor’s my phlebotomist stabbed me about 5 times. She missed the first time and I think she figured that she could just sneak the needle over quickly. The only problem was that my vein moved over as she tried to stab it. That happened several times. I had tears in my eyes and running down my cheeks by the time she finished. She asked if I was excited to have a baby. “Yes.” *sniff sniff. Little did she know those droplets weren't tears of emotion; they were tears of legitimate pain.

On my due date it was pretty clear that I would not be having a baby and I was depressed. Joseph came home early from school instead of staying later to study. “I just felt like I should be home with you today.” 

The night before Hyrum was born we saw Catching Fire in the dollar theater. It was snowing so instead of walking outside, we walked up and down every single aisle at our Fred Myer grocery store.

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While not all of pregnancy is glamorous, it really is incredible. Joining with our Father in Heaven to create life is a humbling sacred experience. I was blessed to be a part of it. 

Exploring Omaha with Rebecca

I have the most fabulous sister. She's everything a girl could ask for and she's all mine. And guess what? She came to visit me this weekend, and what a grand adventure it turned out to be!

 Friday I loaded Hyrum into the car, and drove to Iowa and back to pick up our precious girl from girl's camp. Hyrum probably would have cried less if he understood the magnitude of fun that would follow our trip. Totally worth it.

Rebecca was a little exhausted from girl’s camp. We asked her a billion questions. Sometimes she would trail off as she was talking, and other times she would laugh that she couldn't really remember what happened next. She went to bed when Hyrum did at about 8:30, but when she woke up the next morning she was bright-eyed and chipper. “Wanna hear about camp? I’m ready to talk about it now.”

Saturday we went to the farmer’s market in downtown Omaha. I haven’t spent very much time downtown and it was fun to explore the city, and the free samples didn't hurt either. There are some really fun foods to try. The goat cheese was delicious and so was the homemade salsa. There were beautiful green vegetables everywhere (we bought some sugar snap peas, which I love); there was a balloon man and handmade furniture. We also visited a booth with handmade wood toys. Joseph’s eyes lit up looking at the toys, and Hyrum is now the proud owner of a John Deere tractor...Eh, proud might not be the right word, more like mildly entertained, but hey, train ‘em while their young.

After the farmer’s market we went to the Gene Leahy Mall, which is a beautiful surprise. Every bench is abstract art, and the water keeps it cool so it's the perfect place to be.  We went down a huge slide in the park. Everyone could tell we were amateurs because the veteran sliders had cardboard boxes or wax paper to help them slide faster. They were cruising; we’ll have to try that next time.

One of the abstract art benches

From the mall we went to a sculpture tribute to the pioneers. So much rich heritage in Omaha. 

Then Joseph went to study, and Rebecca took a nap (still recovering from camp), and so I took some pictures of Hyrum.

He's been sucking in his bottom lip lately. It's adorable

Later we played Frisbee golf. If you visited us we will probably make you play, it’s a family favorite. And Rebecca was really good at it.

One of the holes was across this chasm. Becca made it across

After our exciting weekend, things settled down. We introduced Rebecca to the people we love in Omaha, and we spent some quality time with the baby while Joseph went to school. 

Thanks for the great weekend sister! Love ya lots:)

He Melts My Heart

Okay I know every baby is beautiful, but this little boy has me completely won over. He's so stinkin' cute I can hardly stand it.

I love when his little feet reach for his toys

He's got the cutest dimples, but they're disappearing as he gets cubbier

And he has finally decided that the thumb is best

The farmers' market wore him out

Love at first sight

Dad is eating his tummy

Becca made this beautiful quilt

Wearing the onesie Joseph wore home from the hospital

I love it when he grabs his little toes

Happy Fruit Punch Day!

     Joseph and I talked on the phone most nights during the summer we were dating long distance. Joseph was selling pest control in Virginia, and I was with my family in Georgia. Sometimes we had lengthy conversations, and other times it was a quick goodnight or “dream sweet” as Joseph would say.

     When you’re dating someone seriously, it’s like you get to meet your family again from an outsider’s perspective. You realize how quirky your family is, and by quirky I mean awesome. One Stoker tradition that I discussed with Joseph was Fruit Punch Day. It’s an annual holiday celebrated in the Stoker family. You might think that it would correspond to National Kool-Aid day, but it doesn't. It corresponds to the night Rebecca had a dream about Fruit Punch Day. She woke up from this vivid dream and asked my mom if it was Fruit Punch Day. Much to her credit, my mom responded that "Of course it could be!" (she likes to encourage imagination and creativity), and what a glorious day it turned out to be. As I was telling him this, Joseph acted like annual holidays from dreams turned reality was the most natural thing in the world.

     That Fruit Punch Day, much to my surprise, Joseph wished me a happy Fruit Punch Day on my Facebook wall. I thought it was adorable that he remembered and that he wanted to celebrate. Little did I know that Joseph was honestly and truly very very excited about Fruit Punch Day.

      At the Stoker house that year Fruit Punch Day was pretty relaxed (we ended up celebrating more fully the next day).  I spent most of my time working as an extra for a TV show that was filmed in Atlanta (That’s right! I was on TV). When I got home I was ready to go to bed, and then Joseph called.

     I was pretty sure this was going to be one of those quick goodnight kind of phone calls, but he kept on talking and talking. It started out normal, we talked about our days and the awesomeness of Fruit Punch Day, and then things seemed to be winding down so I tried to end the conversation naturally, “Well it’s been great talking to you, but I better go to bed…” To which Joseph would say “No wait you haven’t told me about ­____ “(fill in the blank with whatever nonsensical topic you choose, because that’s what Joseph did). I humored him for a little bit, but I really was tired, and I really did want to go to bed. When I tried to go to bed again and Joseph asked me about the weather, I was a little dumbfounded and probably annoyed, “It’s nice now, but we had the usual rainstorm this afternoon.”

     Then Joseph asked, “Are you outside?”

            “No, why would I be outside?”

“To feel the weather. What does the moon look like?”

             “Uh, It’s crescent shaped.”

“Would you go look at the moon outside?”I was getting a little desperate to end the conversation, so I started saying whatever I could to get him off the line.

“Okay, I did.”

 “You went outside? (I didn't really, but I figured he wouldn't know the difference; he was all the way in Virginia, right? Wrong.) What door did you use?”

“The front one.” That was totally a lie I was still in bed.

“Well go out the back door.” This time he seemed so sincere I actually did get up to go look at that silly moon. If it was so important to Joseph I guess I could humor him just this once.

As I walked toward the back door, I saw a figure outside on my deck. Tall and lean with a backpack on and looking remarkably like…oh! And then all the pieces fell together. The reason Joseph wanted me to go outside, the suspicious nature of his days activities, and best of all why he was so excited about Fruit Punch Day.  Joseph Erickson was at my house.

     

I ran outside and threw my arms around him in a big hug. I still wasn't quite sure it was really him.

He said he had a present for me, and handed me a book with the cutest note written inside it. Best day ever!

               
         When this song came out it reminded me of my favorite Fruit Punch Day.

And if you’re wondering how Joseph got to my house in Georgia, well... Joseph had been planning this surprise for awhile. Apparently he even discussed availability with my mother and she made the off-hand comment that he wouldn't be able to surprise everyone because someone would have to pick him up from the airport. Joseph took that as a challenge. On his first visit to meet my family, Joseph met our dear family friends, the Sultans. They spent some quality time together, enough that Joseph felt comfortable asking Craig Sultan to pick him up from the airport so he could surprise everyone. Romeo (as Craig jokingly called Joseph) was on the phone with me as he and Craig drove from the airport to my house. During the drive Joseph was stalling on the phone, and Craig was signing the length of time left so Joseph knew how long he had to keep talking. They finally made it to my house by the light of the crescent moon, and Joseph waited for me to come look at the moon out the front door (which you and I both know I didn't do) so eventually he went to the back door where I met him.

Hyrum and the Olympics

Hyrum was born during the midst of the 2014 Winter Olympics. I’m pretty sure that means he’ll be an Olympic athlete. 

It was heart-warming to watch the Winter Games with a brand new baby. There’s something special about the Olympics. It’s the thrill of the competition, the adrenaline at the start of a race, the love of country, the heart that makes one get up after a fall, the hope that the next run will be better, the coming together of all peoples, and the celebration of life…which pretty much sums up newborns.

 After the marathon that is child-birth I felt like I deserved a gold medal, but what I got was infinitely more special, my bouncing baby boy. That being said, it’s not like I finished the race in the delivery room. Oh no, the first few weeks afterwards are the ultimate test of endurance, and the Olympics were on through it all to motivate us to go for gold, or at least survive the sleep deprivation and new-mom obstacles.

Maybe he'll be a hockey player

When it was time to nurse, my mom would pull up the Olympics and say, “Okay, what do you want to watch?” There were so many good choices, and I was content to let Hyrum take his time nursing when I was happily watching figure skating or the luge or the snowboarder’s half-pipe or the downhill skiing and the list goes on and on.  Luckily the Olympics are on pretty much 24/7 so those who were up with the baby during the wee hours of the morning had something to do, and were excited to be awake…maybe too excited. Early one morning at about 2 am I woke up to go to the bathroom and found Joseph still up. There was our baby snoozing in his arms and it looked like the baby had been sleeping for quite some time. When I asked Joseph what he was doing still awake, he had a very guilty look on his face, “Hyrum wanted to watch the United States hockey game against Russia.” Mmhmm.

The Olympics are over, but the spirit of competition and the drive to achieve greatness lives on in our home. You know that game where you throw wadded up paper at the trash can like it’s a basketball hoop. That’s one of Joseph's favorites. Only this time instead of paper balls it’s diapers.  He usually misses and has to walk to the trash can anyway, but sometimes he gets just near enough to make him want to try it again, “Oh! So close!”

From the living room to the kitchen trash can, think he can make it? Nah, me neither.