Baby Tag

My sister did this tag and I thought, what the heck, I can do it too.

1- Where were you when you first found out you were pregnant?
At LDS Family Services

2- Who was with you?
Zane, Caseworker, and of course our birth mom!

3- How did you find out that you were pregnant?
Our case worker was sneaky and asked us to come in to update paper work. During our conversation, the door opened and in walked the most amazing person...our birth mom.

4- What was your first reaction to finding out you were pregnant?
Shaking, more shaking, and even more shaking (from both Zane and me) I think our birth mom thought we were stupid because we kept asking the same questions as we got to know her. My brain seemed to stop working and nothing was getting processed.

5- Who was the first person you told?
my mom and dad- they cried, we cried, lots of crying

6-Did you plan to get pregnant?
Well yes, we spent forever filling out the paper work!

7- Did you tell everyone else right away?
The rest of my family and special friends. I can't keep a secret.

8-Was everybody happy for you?
Lots of crying!

9- Did you go out and celebrate?
A little, but we were really scared too that this was too good to be true

10- Did you want to find out the sex?
Yes so that I could start painting!

11- What was the sex?
Boy; Our birth mom took me with her to the ultrasound where she found out the sex and I got to hear his heart beat. More tears...

12-Did anyone throw you a baby shower?
Yes, the biggest one ever! They had a committee and committee meetings to plan my baby shower. (I have wonderful friends!) My two friends made the greatest movie, a DVD of all my family members talking to me about how happy they were for us. More tears.... My coworkers also threw one for me about a month and a half after Dallin was born even though they were doing all this extra work covering for me while I was on maternity leave. Again, great friends.

13- If yes, who?
See above

14- Did you get any outfits at the baby shower that you just knew you weren't going to put on your baby?
No, we used it all (hopefully we can have another boy that will be able to actually wear them down as Dallin grew so quickly).

15- How much weight did you gain?
At my baby shower, everyone told me I looked great for being in my 3rd trimester!

16- Did you lose all of the weight that you gained?
Still working on it! Unfortunately, I have to lose my weight the hard way whereas my sister lost 10 pounds just by breastfeeding!

17- Did you get a lot of stretch marks?
Hmmm, no. What a relief!

18- What did you crave the most?
To be able to look in the future to know if this really was going to happen.

19- Did you crave anything crazy?
An angel coming down from Heaven telling me when and how a baby would come to our family so that I could know ahead of time, plan for it and have some CONTROL. That's not really crazy though right?

20- Who or what got on your nerves the most?
The waiting...really two months was way too long!

21- Were you married at the time you got pregnant?
Yes

22- Did you have any complications during your pregnancy?
My birth mom disappeared for a couple of weeks after Christmas. I would say that is a pretty big complication.

23.- Where were you when you went into labor?
Working, saying goodbye to my students, and then laying on the couch waiting for the phone to ring with any news.

24- Did your water break?
I sure hope not!

25- Who drove you to the hospital?
Zane and I went the next day together.

26- Did you go early or late?
In my opinion it took too long, but really Dallin came right on time.

27- Who was in the room with you when you gave birth?
Well, I was alone on the couch (Zane was still working...Dallin had to be born during busy season!) debating about putting Jane Eyre in to watch (Jane Eyre gets watched whenever I need to see someone who has a really depressing life. It gives me hope because I know my life is never as bad as hers. If Zane sees me watching Jane Eyre then he knows something is wrong!)

28- How long were you in labor for?
The anxiety lasted all day until about 9 at night when I got the call that Dallin was born and was healthy. That is also when our birth mom invited us to the hospital to see him the next day.

29- Did you have any drugs for the pain?
I wish they had drugs for the anxiety!

30-Did you go Natural or have a c-section?
If C stands for celebration, cheerfulness, craziness, confusion or concern then definitely a c-section (of course Dallin is really the only one that has had his stomach cut open).

31- What was your first reaction after giving birth?
When Dallin was placed in my arms by our birth mom after she terminated her rights, my heart was breaking for this girl who we loved so much. I couldn't believe how wonderful, selfless, and awesome she was.

32- How big was the baby(s)?
6 pounds 13 ounces

33- Did your Husband cry?
Like a baby. There wasn't a dry eye in the room, but who wouldn't cry?

34- What did you name the baby(s)?
Dallin Max

35- Does his name have any significant meaning?
We liked the name Dallin because it was a little unusual. Of course we heard the name from Dallin H. Oaks, the apostle and well, he is a great guy, so it must be a good name. Max is Zane's dad's name who is deceased.

36- Did you have any visitors?
Family and friends all came by over the next couple of weeks.

37- Did the baby(s) have any complications?
Not at birth, but he had pyloric stenosis which caused him to throw up a lot. He had surgery when he was a month and a half old. This was our hospital experience.

38- How old is your baby today?
11 months

39- When is the next one(s) coming?
Who knows, but we are working on the papers as we speak.

40- If you could, would you do it all over again?
Of course, although on the day when our birth mom terminated her rights, I told Zane Dallin was our one and only. I could never do this again, but it's like labor. With the passage of time, you seem to forget.