Marcus Alphonso Askew

He's here, he's here, and he is PERFECT! Marcus was born Tuesday April 26 at 2:38pm. 7 pounds 9 ounces, 19 1/2 inches.  My water broke at 4:40 Tuesday morning, and he was here ten hours later. Labor was relatively easy (as much so as labor can be), and I am VERY glad that I went naturally. We had a little hiccup around noon where my contractions were constant although I was only dilated to a five and Marcus went into distress. They almost took me for an emergency c-section,  but they gave me a shot of something to slow my contractions and everything worked out fine. We are all feeling great and Brian and I are very grateful for our new addition. And yes, he will get darker.

39 weeks

I feel like a big waddling whale. Good thing I think whales are cute! I really am still feeling good, but Marcus is sitting right on my sciatic nerve and it makes walking difficult sometimes. I am amazed at how tired I am too. I feel like it's right back to the first trimester. Thankfully, I am home now and can take a nap everyday. I guess my body is just preparing for no sleep! We are ready to bring him home any day, but there are things that we are still working on around the house. But, I'm convinced there are always things to work on around the house. My doctor's appointments have still gone great. My blood pressure is good, he has a strong heartbeat, and I have gained about 25 pounds. That is more weight than we were hoping for, but still much better than it could be. Hopefully between having him and then breastfeeding, it will come off fairly quickly. As of my appointment Tuesday I am almost dilated to a two, and I am 60% efaced. He is definitely head down and has dropped, I still don't think I have really had contractions though.

We had a get together with friends and family two weekends ago. It was what we saw as a last chance to go out and see people for a while. It was a lot of fun and I am so glad that we did it. Yesterday, my mother-in-law and her friends threw me a Skype baby shower from Arkansas. they all got to see my belly, and I watched as they opened all the wonderful gifts. We were spoiled yet again! We are so grateful for all of our wonderful friends and family and how much love and generosity you have shown us. We can't wait for Marcus to meet you all!

Hopefully in the next week or so we will be posting about the arrival of our baby boy!

Natural Birth

Possibly even more than people wondering if we have named our son, people wonder if I will get an epidural. The plan is NO! Everyone immediately responds that I am crazy, and I have no idea what birth is like, and I will change my mind. I think they underestimate me. No, I have not given birth before and I don't really know what it is like. But I have listened to stories from friends and family, and I have done research on my own, and I truly believe that an epidural is not for me or my baby. Here are some of my reasons;
1. Needle in the spine, hell no!
2. Catheter, no thanks. Things should be exiting, not entering.
3. Possible death, paralysis, or permanent nerve damage
4. Better recovery time for mom and baby without epidural
5. Less drowsy baby who is more likely to breastfeed better
6. Epidurals slow labor. Often moms then have to get a pitocin drip as well.
7. Being unable to walk around. I am too much of a control freak for that
8. Possibility of causing mother and/or baby distress, and makes moms more likely to need a c-section
9. Side effects from epidurals can effect babies for up to six weeks after delivery. You leave my baby alone!
10. Women have been doing it naturally for thousands of years. If they can do, I can too!

I am asking that as my friends and family that you support and encourage me. Not try to negate my decision and discourage me. I am stubborn, and I will do my best to have a natural birth for me, and my son.

Ninth month

      We are here! Hallelujah, hallelujah! We cannot wait to meet our son! I am still feeling great and my blood pressure is good. I am starting to slow down and I am getting more tired and sore than before, but I am managing just fine. I started my weekly appointments this week, but I am not dilated at all, which I am totally fine with. We are still not quite ready for the baby to come. We have a car seat, and a pack n play to use for the cradle, and the crib is set up. But the house is not as clean as I want it to be, and we still need a few more essentials. One thing is certain though, our son will not be naked. We have gotten so many cute clothes for him, it's hard for people to resist.
       I had another great shower last weekend hosted by my wonderful friends Kiera and Michelle. It was wonderful to see family and friends, and they all spoiled us! I forgot my camera, once again, so I am waiting for Michelle to develop the pictures she took.
      Although our son is not set to arrive for another 3 1/2 weeks, I am done at work in 2 weeks. Part of me is really sad to see the school year end so early, and part of me is SO ready to get out of there. The students in my class have not been really difficult this year, but we have had 12 move out and 19 move in, along with the 11 that have been there all year. That is a grand total of 42 students we have had this year, that is a lot! I have had a student teacher this year that will be taking over for me when I go on maternity leave. I am grateful to have someone there that cares about my students and will continue to hold them to high standards.
       That's all for now, but we will update again soon!

Maternity pictures

We did maternity pictures today, and I LOVE them! We went to Fotofly in Draper, and they did a great job. They took all of our pictures, edited them, and gave us the CD with the rights for $79, what a steal! Anyway, here are some of my favorites, enjoy!

34 1/2 weeks

5 1/2 weeks left! Exciting and amazing! I am feeling great and my doctor's appointment this week went well. I am incredibly lucky and have had no Braxton Hick's contractions. It is starting to get uncomfortable to sleep, but I still do it as much as I can! I had a baby shower at work this week, and we were spoiled by my wonderful coworkers. I am excited for more showers to come, and getting to see family and friends. Brian is enjoying his new job. He is very glad he made the change, but I am still feeling a little anxious about it. Other than that, it is life as usual for the Askew family. Here is my belly again, I know, you love it.

32 weeks

     Only 8 more weeks until our little Marcus Alphonso makes his appearance into this world! Oh my goodness, I could pee my pants out of excitement (and his little head that has been pushing on my bladder). I am finally starting to feel a little nervous, but mostly because Brian got a new job. We're not sure how great they will be with him leaving for the birth, and all of his paternity leave will be unpaid. Other than that things are great. The house is still not as ready as we hoped it would be, but we're working on it. We bought the crib last week, and there are two baby showers in the works.
     We had a great Dr's appointment today. The baby's heartbeat is nice and strong, my blood pressure is good, and I have gained less than 17 pounds. We have appointments every two weeks now! We had our last Lamaze class on Tuesday, and I will be very glad to be able to get to bed early again on Tuesdays. I got a fabulous massage on Monday at Salt Lake Prenatal Massage I highly recommend it to all you sore pregnant women out there. They have cool contoured pillows that allow you to lie on your stomach. I feel rested and rejuvenated now! That's all for now, but here is a picture of my 32 week belly. I hope it makes my mother and mother-in-law happy! (sorry the coloring is funny, we were having camera issues)