Welcome back to my life you tasty beast!

Yesterday we came home from the hospital ... I haven't washed my hair in a long long long time. I had a plan. I was going to wash my hair and then have a tasty diet coke. I felt like the experience needed to be perfect and you know about my thing with thing with the clean hair. The hair washing wasn't going to happen too much going on, so I settled on my diet coke with dirty hospital hair ...

Oh Diet Coke, how I missed your fizzy, tasty goodness. Even though I didn't have clean hair for the experience, it was still one of the best tasting drinks of my life. I didn't finish it because I didn't want to freak out the system considering I haven't had any caffeine since last January, but man it was quite refreshing!!!

More later ...

BHR revealed

So, it happened ... BHR was born on September 24, 2008 at 3:16am. His name is Noah Michael Himovitz-Ries. There's so much to share, so much to say and since it's 2:30 in the morning and I just got home from the hospital yesterday, this will not be my most exciting entry.

The labor story will have to come later, but in the meantime I can finally share our thought process behind BHR's new and permanent name ... you may not remember my entry that talked about how Judiasm works with naming, but the point is that I always new that either Lucas or myself would use the name Michael. I've always loved that name, not just because it was my father's, but also because it's a nice name and I like the way it sounds. It was hard because since Lucas and Lara don't have a child and because you don't name anyone after someone who is still alive I didn't want to take their option of using Michael away and that's one of the reasons that Michael is the middle name , also Greg and I both wanted a name that was different (Michael is pretty common), still had a good meaning and is Jewish.

We looked at meanings of names in books and stories online and we found Noah. Noah means "peaceful" and that's something that I am always striving for, yet rarely achieve. It's something that I hope for in the world and something that we desperately need. It's something that I value in people and in the communities that I join, but most importantly I think it's a name that describes Greg. He's so calm and patient ... when I feel chaotic and overwhelmed and it feels like my head is spinning, Greg has a way about him that makes everything seem calm. He doesn't deal with problems by yelling or screaming, he is thoughtful in his responses and in how he handles conflicts and challenges ... he internalizes a lot and sometimes you aren't always sure what's going on, but what I do know and what I can always tell is that he's coming from a place of thoughtfulness.

Knowing that we were having a boy I immediately thought of Greg and my hopes for our son ... I hope that our son inherits Greg's calming and peaceful nature. We were between Noah and Jonah and while we initially were going to go with Jonah, sharing these last 5 days with Greg and our new son and our chaotic labor experience, I know that choosing the name Noah was the right decision. Greg was amazing throughout the whole experience ... he was attentive and devoted and made me feel like we can definitely do this. And while he may feel nauseous and scared and overwhelmed, there is no doubt in my mind that he's going to be an amazing father and that I am not in this alone and that makes me feel peaceful ...

39 weeks...one week to go

BHR is 39 weeks, one week away from term. He's still building fat layers (as am I) to help control his body temperature after birth, and it's likely that he measures around 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 lbs, which is like a mini watermelon. They also say that boys tend to be heavier than girls, but I think right now, I weigh more than everybody:)

We went to the hospital yesterday to do some fetal monitoring. I had noticed a decrease in BHR's fetal movement and called the doctor. I guess when you are this far along they send you straight to labor and delivery. I remained surprisingly calm considering the last time I was told to go to the hospital when I was a bit of a crying mess. They monitored me and baby for about 40 minutes and made sure everything was okay before releasing us. The doctor's and the nurses keep saying "well, your at 39 weeks, so we aren't going to stop labor." I want to say "who asked you to stop anything? Is there anyway you could start something?" Cheese and rice people, nothing has started yet, so let's not jinx it by making these statements about "stopping"... I knew BHR wasn't actually coming yet, but part of me was hoping that he would sense the hospital and just decide to get it over with. He didn't.

Other than that I've just been anxiously waiting ... nothing else seems very important these days, just BHR. Not knowing when to expect him; not knowing what feelings are normal or not normal, has been hard. Wondering if he's kicked me enough or if my water is going to break or tear and if it's a tear have I missed it and if I've missed it am I hurting BHR ... I'm assuming I'll know these things when they happen, but I don't like leaving things to chance. I like planning, I like knowing...

I've been trying to get on a good hair-washing schedule (every 2-3 days) so that BHR can meet me with at least relatively clean, straight hair and possibly even painted nails...I always perform better with straight, clean hair. My worst marathon experience ever, I remember deciding the night before that I didn't need to wash my hair. I was going on day 3 or 4 and figured that it didn't matter because after you run a marathon your hair gets so disgusting anyway, who's going to notice? Apparently the running gods noticed, because that was an awful marathoning experience and part of me wonders if it would have been different had I washed and straightened my hair? I guess I'll never know ...

For those of you that don't know this, washing my hair is one of my least favorite things in the world! Remember when I talked about the girls with the perfect straight hair, the kind that would swish from side-to-side when they would walk, the girls that can "get up and go"? Yeah, that's not me. I have to wash my hair, then I have to blow it dry, then I have to flatten it, then I have to worry about whether or not there is any bit of moisture outside that is going to F it up...it's a process and it takes strategic planning.

Ideally, this is what I would like to happen so that I can plan accordingly ... I want to walk into the doctor's office and have them say "okay, now we are going to go to the hospital. BHR will arrive in approximately 7-9 hours. You will push for this long and this is what's going to happen and then we will hand you your healthy baby boy." I'm not completely dellusional, I like to think of myself as hopeful. I know this isn't actually going to happen, but wouldn't it be nice?

I haven't really be in the mood for chit chat or seeing people. It's not because I dislike people or anything like that. I can't explain it really ... I've always been a home body, but lately I really just like doing things that require as little effort as possible. I read that it's normal, but after this experience, I definitely don't trust "everything" that I read because there are things about pregnancy that no one tells you, and that no one can explain even if they tried.

I was thinking this morning about what I'm going to miss ... I think I'll miss being with BHR all the time. Knowing he's there and feeling him move around. It's nice to be able to provide a space for someone that's safe and comforting. Supposedly it's really warm in there, and that could be nice for someone, right?

The list of things I'm not going to miss is probably a little too long ... but who knows, maybe one day I'll look back and think "ya' know, I really miss those cankles" or I'll think "remember when my boobs were super huge and unattractive and didn't fit into 'pretty' bras and tried to smother me when I slept? Those were the days."

I have no idea what I'm really going to miss until it's over and I think that's the sad part about pregnancy ending ... however, I'm thinking that once BHR is here, I won't mind everything else. They say that after a while you forget everything, you forget the pains of pregnancy and labor and that's how women are able to keep having babies; so much time goes by that you forget that you ripped your "lady downstairs" from head to toe and you look at your baby and think, "I want another one" and that's how it starts again.

I'm ready to meet him, and I'm sure I'll be able to create another list of things that no one can ever fully explain about being a parent and my cankles won't seem so bad. Stay tuned ... BHR could be here any moment, but let's just hope it happens on a "clean hair" day or at least within the 3-day window.

Reason number 8 gazillion Why I love my dog!

Who's sick of my flip video?

Oh Burritos ...

Yesterday was Greggie's first cyclocross race of the season. There was a big "cyclebration" at Negro Bar in Folsom. My mom, Ed and Nelson came and joined Gary and I to cheer Greg on. Here's a video of Greggie's race. A few things that you don't get to see ... me eating 3 oranges in about an hour or so, Nelson taking off down the hill and my mom, Ed and I polishing off a giant bag of kettle corn.

Greg didn't come in last and that was his goal ... if you listen closely you will hear Greg comment on the burrito that he ate the night before. Probably not the best choice before a big race. All in all it was a good day.

Week 38...14 days to go

BHR weighs around 6.8 lbs and is over 19 1/2 inches long, like a leek.

I'm hoping for less than 14 days ... in case you couldn't tell:)

Tasty Pancake Goodness ... how you make my tum tum happy and warm on the inside.

Today is my 30th birthday. To help me celebrate my mom and Ed took me to one of their favorite places, The Original Pancake House in Roseville. I thought driving to Roseville just to eat pancakes was crazy, but this place was definitely worth the drive!


To see our tasty pancakes click here.


My mom ordered a "Dutch Baby", I had the "Apple Pancake" and Ed got regular "blueberry pancakes." My mom also got a side of bacon, an orange juice, fruit and coffee. It's amazing she's as tiny as she is:)


I don't feel very different now that I'm 30 ... maybe I will after BHR arrives? But I'm sure that will be because I am finally a mom! I can't wait to be a mom. When I was younger I used to think that I would be married with kids and a career by the time I was 23. 23 seemed so grown-up to me. Now, it sounds so young ... is that the first sign that I'm getting older? I'm not at all dissapointed in myself for still being in school and for not being a mom yet, in fact it's quite the opposite. I like where I am and I can't wait to see what's going to happen next...