Gators 4; Tiger Sharks 1

Baylor had his first soccer game of this season at 7 pm tonight. His team won! This is a major change from last season. His coach is awesome. Baylor did such a wonderful job. He played defense, and blocked the ball several times.
My parents were able to come, David and I were there (along with Nadia and Dawson, of course) and Baylor's other grandpa were there.
We did sit next to many parents on the other team who need to get a life, or at least realize that these kids are just 10 years old and that the fate of the universe doesn't rest on the outcome of the game. Those parents were putting so much pressure on the kids it was making me sad. Whatever happened to playing for fun?
I'm proud of Baylor and his efforts in his game tonight! Go Gators!

My maternity leave substitute quit!

The woman has not called me ONE time since she started, and I heard from the teacher across the hall that she quit. I could be really stressed about it, but I am not. Oh well. I'll just deal with the stress and chaos when I get back to school on December 1st.
My sub's replacement is another sub who has a reputation for not having any control of classes. I worked so hard to go to school at the beginning of the year to establish routines and procedures so that my sub wouldn't have too much stress. Apparently the lady was falling asleep at the desk. Of course she wouldn't have control if she's sleeping! She was letting my kids leave at the end of the hour and walk the halls.
Anyway, I'll deal with that later!
Things on the home front are going okay. We started back up with our small group on Sunday nights. That's been fun because we play "pass the baby"....Everybody wants to hold Dawson and snuggle with him.
We are also taking a class called "Grace-Based Parenting" during the third service at church. It's really good, and I think something that will help us parent our children. We've taken several classes over the years about parenting, and we kind of take what works for us, and disregard what doesn't.
Baylor has started soccer again and seems to be enjoying it. His teacher seems pleased with his school work. He just got his first cell phone. I've been very opposed to him having a cell phone, but David added another cell phone line so that he could further separate his personal life from his business life. So Baylor ended up with the freebie phone. His phone number is David's old number....however, the calls to that number are forwarded to the company 800 number. So Baylor can make calls on the phone, but not receive any.
He thinks he is hot stuff because he has a phone. He's been programming numbers into his contacts like crazy. It's kind of cute actually.
Nadia is still talking up a storm and keeping us laughing. This morning I was driving her to Kasie's house and I said something about her being silly because she took off her shoes... I told her not to take her shoes off in the car. She looked at me very seriously and said, "Don't say that, Ok Momma?" I laughed on the inside, of course, and discussed that she needs to listen to me, and that I can tell her what to do!

Dawson videos...and a Nadia one too!

Just in case you've forgotten what a newborn sounds like... Plus a bonus Nadia video just because!

Silly Nadia!

Nadia has been cracking us up lately. She has such a funny personality, and it's really starting to show. The other night we put her to bed before she was ready. She got in the bed, and started crying. She called from her room, "NaNa crynin.'"
We'd call back, "I'm sorry you're crying, but it's time to go to bed." On with the tears again. It was so loud we couldn't hear the television!
When it became obvious to her that we weren't going to go get her up, she switched tactics...She started calling out, "I yuh you, Momma. I yuh you, Daddy."
We'd call back, "We love you too, Nadia, but it's time to go to bed. Night-night!"
She got quiet for a minute and then yelled, "No talk to Na-Na. Go 'way! Okay? No talk to Na-Na. Go 'way! Okay?"
We almost smothered trying to not laugh where she could hear us. It was so funny!
Yesterday afternoon we were outside. She started staring intently into the trees across the street from our house. She turned to me and said, "Momma, No monkeys on the trees!" I repeated, "There are no monkeys on the trees?" She said, "Yeah."
I then explained that there were no monkeys because monkeys live in the jungle and we don't live in the jungle.
She quietly contemplated that truth and said, "OOOHHH"
On the day that Dawson was born, my parents brought Baylor and Nadia to visit us in the hospital. This was Nadia's first encounter with breastfeeding, except for the fact that SHE was breastfed for 15 months!
She watched very carefully while Dawson was nursing. She looked down and exclaimed,
"Momma! Dawson bite your booby!...Silly Dawson."

Here's a video of Dawson latched on to Baylor's nose!

Birth story...In pictures.

We arrived at the hospital at 5:30 ish. Here's my last belly pic before getting the show on the road...
Here's Dawson Nicholas coming into the world at 2:43 pm. He weighed 8 lbs 9 oz, and was 21 inches long:

Momma and Daddy really enjoyed their first time to hold him:

Baylor and Nadia were pretty excited about their new baby brother. But first, our first family picture!

Nadia didn't know what to think, but she's warmed up to him a lot. She does want to hold him all the time. She's learning that he's not a doll.

And here are some pictures of Dawson just because:

Dawson Nicholas has arrived!

After my induction was canceled on Wednesday, I decided not to get too excited about the whole having a baby thing until we were in the room on Friday. We did bring Baylor and Nadia to my mom's house in case they didn't reschedule me, but I was apprehensive with Hurricane Ike rapidly approaching. School was closed in Lafayette Parish, so I was worried.
I woke up early Friday morning and called the hospital like I was told to do. They told me to get there between 5:15 and 5:30!
We got to the hospital and went right to the admit desk. They completed all of my paper work and then informed us that starting at 8 am the hospital was going to be on hurricane lockdown, which meant that I could have only one visitor until the lockdown was over. David was with me, so I had to call my parents and tell them that they couldn't come. David's parents had already decided not to come because of the hurricane and because his dad was sick. The nurses and other staff weren't allowed to leave until the lockdown was over, either.
Anyway, the nurse checked me about 7 am, and I was only 2 cm dilated, which meant my body had a lot of work to do. The pitocin was started at 7:15, and then my doctor came in about 8:30 to break my water. The contractions started coming more regularly, and they increased in intensity. I had decided beforehand that I was going to ask for my epidural way before I needed because I almost missed my chance to have one when Nadia was born, and I didn't want to take that risk...About 11:30 I told the nurse that I was getting uncomfortable, and that I'd be ready for my epidural soon. She checked me and I was 4 cm, so she called the epi doc...meanwhile, I got a dose of Nubain to take the edge off.
I got the epidural at noon, and I napped on and off. A funny story: While I was getting the epidural, I had to lean forward and rest on David's chest while the doctor cleaned and prepped my back. When he started inserting needles, David started dry heaving. He did that a couple of times, and the nurse said, "Dad, are you alright? She had to buzz the nurses' desk and ask for some juice for dad. He kept saying he was fine, and finally I said, "Please don't puke in my hair!" He sat down in the chair and his face was so white and chalky. I asked him if it was gross, and he said no, it was the combination of watching the doctor stick a big needle in his wife's back and the fact that he hadn't really eaten that day.
The nurse checked me about 1:30, and I was ready to push. She wasn't ready yet, because she didn't think I dilate that fast. I had tried to tell her that the same thing happened when I delivered Baylor and Nadia, but I guess she didn't believe me! Anyway, she ran around turning on the baby warmer, setting up the baby equipment, calling the doctor to update him, etc...I was fine with the delay because my epidural REALLY worked, and I couldn't feel a thing. I actually had to look at the monitor to tell if and when I was having a contraction.
When it was time to start pushing, she and David had to each grab a leg and put them up in the stirrups because I couldn't feel anything at all! I grabbed each knee, and pushed, but I could only feel the push in my face...apparently I did it right because the nurse kept telling me I was doing great.
Dawson kept going back up after every contraction, and his heartrate would drop down to the 60's during each contraction, so she guessed that the cord was probably wrapped around his neck. This made me scared, but she said not to worry that it happened a lot.
She also thought he was flipped the wrong way, and called in another nurse to verify. At this point I felt like everybody and the janitor had checked me and my progress so I didn't really care. This other nurse said she felt his nose, which meant his face was forward instead of the top of his head, and that he was flipped looking at the ceiling instead of looking at the floor. She reached in and flipped him, and again, I was so very happy that I had the epidural because I didn't feel a thing.
After he was flipped, my pushing really started to be effective. I pushed maybe 8 more times before he was actually born. I did need two stitches, which is very minor. The cord was around his neck, which explained his heartrate during the contractions, but it wasn't tightly wound around his neck, so there was nothing to be concerned about.
He was born at 2:43 pm weighing 8 lbs 9 oz. He was 21 inches long.
The hurricane lock down was lifted later that afternoon, and my parents brought Nadia and Baylor over for a visit. Baylor was SO excited to see and hold his little brother. It was so cute to see him. Nadia didn't really know what to think.
My parents said that he looks just like I did when I was a baby, and today that brought pictures that actually prove it. I'll post them after I scan them.

My videos from Gustav

Here are two videos from Hurricane Gustav...The stuff that looks like smoke coming off the roof is actually rain!

Hurricane Ike determined my induction date!

I went to the doctor today, and I'm still only dilated about 1 cm and 60% effaced. My doctor said normally, he'd wait, but since my body is changing and getting ready, he'd rather risk the induction than risk me going into labor in the middle of the hurricane with no access to a hospital. I totally agree!
So, I have to be at the hospital Wednesday morning at 5 am. He said the baby should be delivered by supper time (I'm trying not to have a section since I haven't had one yet), and then I could evacuate Thursday night or Friday if we need to.
The thought of having to evacuate with a two day old, or live in the aftermath (as in no water or electricity) for days after with a newborn really scares me, but I'm much more afraid of having to give birth on the side of the road because we're stuck in evacuation traffic.
So, our little bundle of joy will be here on Wednesday, September 10th! Please keep us in your prayers...
Nadia went to the dentist and the pediatrician today, and she did great. She didn't even cry while her teeth were being cleaned. I was so proud of her.
Baylor got taken out to lunch by his teacher because he finished his testing last school day. We didn't have school most of last week because of Gustav.
Will update more with my last belly picture, and my first pictures of Dawson Nicholas Donham!

Yes, I'm still pregnant!

I went to the doctor today, and my body is no more ready to have Dawson than it was last week at my appointment. My doctor is hesitant to schedule my induction when my body isn't ready so I don't have to have a section. He also is trying to avoid a 9 lb baby (or bigger) for the same reason. I have to go back for another check-up Monday and we'll discuss our options further.

Gustav, as horrible as the hurricane was, did provide a silver lining for me. My maternity leave was scheduled to start Monday, September 8. Well, because of the wind/water/tree damage, our school system is closed until Monday! So I got an extra four days of maternity leave without getting docked for it.

Baylor and Nadia's birthday party was very subdued, but very nice. We just hung out and visited, and ATE so much food. Then we caught our breath and started preparing for Gustav's arrival. There are three other tropical storms that are currently being "watched." Packing up your life everytime there is a hurricane is not fun. However, I appreciate that we have advanced warning. Tornados and earthquakes just happen, and you lose precious photos, documents, etc...

I will post pictures soon. I even have a video of Gustav.