Update #5

The one rule Tony gave me regarding this post is "No potty mouth."
p.s. This is Jill.
Tony is still in the l&d room with Carrie, but the rest of us have moved down to the "lounge" down the hall so Carrie can rest. She is progressing, but things are going pretty slowly. There was a bit of a scare when the baby's heartbeat dropped for a minute, so they've upped her petosin a bit (she was off it completely for a while earlier), and upped her epidural drugs so she can rest for a bit. I think Tony also said something about some sort of "labor pilates" involving a leg in a stirrup. The doctor was going to come back in half an hour, and if they think the baby can handle it, she might actually get to start pushing! Soon...

Update #4

The nurse came in and Carrie is dilated to an 8+. She was at a 6 for a long while, so this is great news. She has her sitting up a bit, increased petosin she dilated more than she had in awhile. The baby is doing well, and he is being affected by the contractions. The distress has to be monitored, but is still a good sign that he may be coming relatively soon.

Update #3

The news continues...

The Crane Women have arrived from Kansas City. They took a bit of a scenic detour through the Ozarks, and got to know what it is like to drive the undulating hills of southern Missouri. Luckily none of them had to go to the bathroom too badly. That can be torture.
Our son has progressed to a +2 position down in Carrie's hips. He started at -3 today. That movement has created extra pressure for Carrie. Carrie has began to wonder if there is something in the epidural that makes her sleepy. The nurse said that there is nothing specific like an antihistamine, but she probably has been fatigued for awhile but the discomfort was keeping her alert. Once the epidural kicked in her eyelids drooped.
We let Carrie rest for a while and went on selected some delectable local spread in the hospital cafeteria. Melanie was the bravest of us and ate ribs.

According to the timeline approximations given to us this morning, our son may arrive in 2-3 hours. We're hoping for soon. Maybe we should contact the hospital chaplain again...

Update #2

Let us keep you updated:

It's been an eventful few hours, everything good, so you do not have to hesitate reading the rest of the post.

First things first, the hospital chaplain came in and met us. She was a nice, Asian woman who reminded us of the upstairs neighbor in the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. We saw that movie a few months ago and are still unsure why people like it so much.

After the prayer by the chaplain, the efficacy thereof was proven as the doctors came in shortly and gave Carrie her epidural- an answer to prayers. She was feeling like a big wuss for getting the epidural, and it was a bit scary to watch them stick the needles in my wife's spine. Maybe as a person who studied the nervous system it bothered me more. Carrie said that my face made her more nervous than the pain associated with the procedure. My bad. I was trying to look stalwart and stoic, but I clearly failed in keeping my cool totally. The nurse stayed for half an hour and made sure that Carrie's blood pressure was good. Before she left she checked Carrie's progress, and Carrie has dilated from a 2 this morning to a 5. So she had done some serious "work" before the epidural, and should definitely not feel like a wuss.

Soon after the epidural the searing pain of the contractions subsided. Carrie has had consistant contractions every 2-3-4 minutes. They say that the boy is great, and everyone gives us positive feedback about how healthy Carrie is, how healthy our son's heartbeat is, etc. Now she is relaxing. We thought about having her blog, but they don't really want her to sit up.

An OB/GYN just left a few minutes ago after breaking Carrie's water. Because Carrie had progressed so much they decided to break her water. She claims that while she still feels huge, she "can breath again" without the amniotic fluid in there. She keeps breathing deaply and loving it.

Game Faces On!

Due to modern technology we are able to share a little bit of this very special day for our family. The baby has not come yet and Carrie is resting. We have taken some pictures of the room and Carrie and even a token Anthony picture. These entries today, this and maybe others, will not be as pithy or groundbreaking as usual, but are meant especially for loved ones who are not able to be with us in Springfield.

Carrie's time at the hosptial was 5:00 AM, so we got up today at 4. Neither of us slept particularly well. Childbirth anxiety is like my Nintendo christmas eve anxiety on Clemens-strength steroids, and that was for me, the less involved part of the Team John Baby.
Here is Carrie, bright and beautiful at 4:45 this morning. For those wondering this picture was not digitally enhanced in any way to make her look cuter. That is her in the flesh. Here is the beautiful momma. She is trying to rest now that she is hooked up to all the monitors and petosin. Here is the monitor keeping track of the baby's heartrate and Carrie's contractions. As promised the token picture of the uglier part of the family, dutifully doing my work as the only media member present for the birth of our boy.

We are going to try to have more information, picutres for you later. I make no promises. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers and check here periodically for updates if you are interested.

Baby It's Cold Inside

So.....I'm getting pretty big. Which means I am hot a lot. You would be hot too if you had a huge heater growing on your abdomen. Every once in a while I am reminded that not everyone is going through what I am going through when I look over and see Anthony (wearing a sweatshirt and extra warm Finnish socks on top of his regular clothes) huddled beneath two blankets. Thanks for being such a trooper, TJ, and enduring such chilly temperatures in your own home. You're the best!

And here I am at 39 weeks:


Never mind the moving boxes, baby stuff and plate of spaghetti at my feet. As mentioned in a previous post we are in the middle of a lot of changes and there was not one clean spot to take a picture. I can't believe we're a week or less away from exchanging this huge belly of mine for a real live baby. I will be induced next Thursday if he doesn't come before then.

BYU beats Utah and other Thanksgiving traditions and news

What a Thanksgiving week, capped off by a GREAT football game on Saturday night! This blog will have it all: a weekly rundown of big events, witty repartee, and sports opinion. It is like you are tuning into Sportscenter: John edition.

We spent from Wednesday to Saturday up in Kansas City and had a great time. For all of you who do not know, which is most of you outside of family, I have received a job offer in the Kansas City area as an HR specialist at the Office of Personnel Management for the Federal Government. Just this last Friday I found out that I passed my background check, which means that my previous "tentative offer" becomes a full-fledged offer of employment. We hope to be moving after the baby is born and start my new job after the beginning of the new year. OPM has not let me know what their timeline is, but I should find out more from their home office in Washington today. We are VERY excited about the job. We are excited to move to Kansas City. Yet every move like this brings mixed emotions. Carrie, for one, does not like change and she keeps bringing up all the things and people we will miss here, which is a long list to sample from if you want to feel blue. No doubt we will miss our good friends, especially from church. We will miss being so close to Pat and Stephanie Zysk who have become our close friends. But you can't have everything exactly the way you want it. As the Rolling Stones said, and as I used to sing to my whining younger siblings which made them want to murder me in my sleep: "You can't always get what you want." (Sidenote: I have been told I look like Mick Jagger. I am not sure I see it)

We spent much of our time in Kansas City looking for new apartments. Because of the imminent arrival of our son, our moving situation gets complicated very fast. There is a reason people tell you do not try to make multiple life-altering changes all at once like a new job, a new home, and a new baby (quite the trifecta). We managed to find an apartment in Overland Park, Kansas just 10 or so minutes from the Cranes. Here is their website: http://www.aspenlodgeapts.com/. It seems relatively safe, the apartment seemed nice, and they made us an offer we could not refuse: 2 months free rent plus $500 off our February rent, so that we get $1900 off our yearly total rent. This agreement allows us to have the flexibility we need to move in when we want to. We want to move as soon as we can after our son is born, but there is no telling exactly when that is going to be. We will have to wait until Carrie and he are ready. Having the peace of mind of knowing that we have an apartment reserved and we can move in when we want, and that we did not have to pay extra for such a convenience is a huge blessing for us. They also have a small 24-hour gym and SAUNA!

I am so excited to have a sauna to use whenever I want. They said that only two tenants use it ever, which means it will be mine all mine. I hope the infrequent usage does not indicate that it stinks. I checked it out, and the kiuas (sauna oven) is electric and looked normal. I asked during our leasing process if people threw water on the hot stones on top of the kiuas, and our leasing agent had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. For those of you who do not know, visiting the sauna is a Finnish tradition that I loved as a missionary there. "Sauna" is the only common Finnish word I know of that is used in English, though I bet "Nokia" is said more, but it is just a company name. I plan on building a sauna at our home should I ever have the means and opportunity. Going to sauna can be a refreshing, relaxing moment, and I look forward to using it at least weekly in Kansas City. Friends up there- you will be invited. Maybe we will have to buy some Fanta and grill makkara (Finnish kielbasa-esque sausage) as well to make the experience complete, though I doubt our complex allows people to use the sauna in the buff like Finns do. But they do have some showers and pool right outside, so I could dunk myself in cold water to also do sauna Finn-style.

When I was not searching for apartments and signing leases I helped Laurence put some of the finishing touches on the exterior paint job of their home. Painting an entire home by hand is a painstakingly time-intensive project, especially for people who are intermittently obsessive-compulsive like myself. Laurence and I are a good team since he is more of a "get'er done" home improvement type. I am way too slow and careful, but maybe that is also because it was not my house. But the house looks great and Laurence has done a TON of work, and I think the whole Crane family should be pleased by how it has turned out. The whole project was a clear reminder that realtors (pronounced like the He-Man villain "SkeleTOR" according to the frequent radio spots I hear) are a bit misleading when they try to sell you a house by suggesting to put your rent money towards something permanent. There are A LOT of costs associated with home ownership that come outside of the mortgage. It is not as simple as taking your rent money and making it your mortgage. We do have plans for homeownership, but while we have a small family I think we will hold off until the right moment comes along. Kudos to Laurence and co. on a job well done!

Thanksgiving was wonderful. Since Carrie's stomach is squished and mishapen by our growing boy I had to eat more to make up for it. Actually, BEFORE the week started I weighed in at 164 pounds, which for me is the most I have ever tipped the scales at. I estimate that I have gained about 15 pounds during Carrie's pregnancy. Sympathy weight? Probably not. My lifestyle has gotten much more comatose since graduating from grad school, and I do not exercise enough. Hopefully I can use the health equipment at our new complex to get a bit more healthy. Note on sauna: you use more calories sitting in a sauna for half an hour than by running the same amount. It's less cardiovascular, but it's a lot more relaxing. Granted I will more than make up for the calories lost when I consume makkara and soda, but that will only be when we have guests, which I hope is frequently. In fact here are some health benefits of sauna:

Health Benefits

Though the sauna experience is different for everyone, most will agree that there are many health benefits that come from regular sauna usage including the following:

• Aids in skin ailments such as acne, eczema & other wounds
• Relieves stress
• Burns calories and encourages weight loss
• Conditions the heart
• Induces a deeper more relaxing sleep
• Relaxes muscles & can relieve joint pain caused by arthritis, rheumatism, over-exertion & muscle fatigue
• Sweats out toxins, impurities and chemicals
• Cleanses skin
• Fights illness
• Recreational and social benefits

the epitome of awesome.

But Thanksgiving dinner was delicious. The Cranes do a good job of helping me, the new guy in the family, feel at home. They added to their holiday spread what they call "Tony's beans" which is a green bean casserole with onions on top, just like my family makes.

The icing of the great week cake was the BYU victory over Utah. For those of you who like to discuss these things read on. If you don't skip it, it won't hurt my feelings. I feel that the game was very close and played by two teams who were of very similar talent levels. BYU was aided by some stupid personal fouls by Utah early on, and then nearly gave the game away with overly-conservative play-calling, reminiscent of the Crowton playcalling. Remember those screen passes on 3rd and long? (I just threw up in my mouth) I wish I had some roofies like G.O.B. from Arrested Development so I could re-forget what I just remembered. Dark times. I think we need to fly my father out for every BYU-Utah tilt, seeing as BYU is undefeated in contests he has attended recently in both football and basketball. As a Ute alum my father has suffered through seeing all of his children attend the hated rival of his alma mater, and he has done so with dignity. After the game, contreversy bubbled up as QB Max Hall said that he hated the U- the team, the fans, the whole university. To read more check this article out: http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=4699865. I had some thoughts about this incident:

1. These are understandable emotions to have. I would be livid if my family had been treated in such a way- being spit on, having beer poured on them, and being harrassed to the point that they needed a security team to escort them out of the stadium after the game.
2. Unfortunately those fair emotions blossomed, like they often do, into unfair generalizations in his public statements. I am sure that Max Hall was speaking off the cuff and did not plan to say that he hated everything the U stands for. That is a ridiculous statement. As heated as the sports rivalry is, the U is a fine school with good students. My parents met and married and I was born while at the University of Utah. It is a preposterous, irrational statement to make, but do we expect everything that comes out of a tired football players mouth after a game to be calcualted and smooth and exactly what they mean? Isn't that why everyone dislikes Alex Rodriguez so much? Hall's statements will undoubtedly fuel a fire that is burning, and this rivalry will continue to elicit vitriol from both sides for a long time. His statements will undoubtedly be bulletin-board material for every Ute player and fan going into next season's game.
   
3. Hopefully this publicity will put an end to that type of behavior if it is going on at Ute games. I have been to many BYU-Utah games in Provo, and while there is not much love shared between fans, I have not witnessed any innappropriate behavior besides that moron who assaulted the U male chearleader, and then got beat up by him. i always root for idiots to get their due justice. Are there annoying BYU fans? YES. I get annoyed with some Cougar fans when they are playing anybody, but nothing like what Hall's family supposedly experienced. My friend Darren and I still laugh about the Ute fans who cleverly quipped when BYU was stopped: "That brings up another BYU...FOURTH DOWN!" While they were making fun of our team, everyone around laughed. We definitely exhanged good-natured verbal barbs with those guys, but I would characterize BYU fans as docile and good-natured and sometimes even lame. The closest I ever came to conflict was with a crazy Utah fan who clearly wanted to fight me during a BYU-Utah basketball game. Alicia was visiting BYU and my friends and I were making jokes. I wondered out loud if Utah was trying to win by being repulsively ugly. They had a markedly ugly team at the time. The Ute fan in front of me got agitated and started yelling at me, asking me if I was gay, and wanting to know if I wanted to fight. I laughed and said no. It was bizarre behavior, but I did not leave that interaction thinking that all Ute fans were as dumb as that guy. But there are definitely bad eggs. On both sides one should be very careful before characterizing a whole group of people negatively. BYU fans must realize that there are some crazies who attend our games, who, if given the chance, might act like those who harrassed Hall's family. Utah fans should not deny that those people exist at Rice-Eccles. Newsflash- there are annoying, stupid people at every school in the nation. The sheer number of students and the population of the metro areas associated with each school makes it inevitable. That does not excuse that behavior. The opposite should happen as both schools should make extra efforts to see that it is safe to be a fan of either team while watching the game.
4. I always find the anti-BYU club very funny. The chatboards quickly turn into BYU hate: Mormons, polygamy, blah blah blah. I have news for Utah fans: Half your school is LDS as well, including your football coach and many players. What is also laughable is the complaint about how BYU students are so homogenous. It is true- 30,000+ active members of the LDS church are going to be more homogenous than the population of a major city. But don't hold up the University of Utah as the pinnacle of diversity in comparison. Utah is a mostly commuter school from the Salt Lake area, where local high school affiliations still matter, so don't bring that trash in here! My best friends at BYU were from Boston, Houston, Fresno, New York, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Seattle, etc. While pretty similar, there were planty of dissenting opinions religiously, politically, etc., a truth that is lost on many haters.
5. This will rile up my Utah-loving family and friends, but the point still rings true. When it comes to the fan bases Utah hates BYU much much more than BYU hates the U. Just like Red Sox fans hating the Yankees more (e.g., I fight with my wife every time she playfully asks if we can name our son Derek) and Finland hates Sweden more. They all have little brother syndrome. And I include myself in that group of irrational Red Sox fans. I think as BYU students come from a variety of places, they don't grow up with Utah hate in their blood. I grew up rooting for the Utes. Most Utah fans grew up in Salt Lake, and they have been feeling the hate for a long time before they even start at the U. Those feelings are part of the reason they applied to the U and not the Y. If I had not gotten into BYU I would not have hesitated to go to the U. It's a fine school. For me these athletic events are fun games made more fun by the rivalry, but it is more than that for some.

Carrie is doing fabulously. Our son is progressing well. Carrie has become increasingly uncomfortable the past few weeks. Her tune has changed from: "I hope he stays in as long as he can because inside me is the healthiest place for him" to "He needs to go ASAP." I don't blame Carrie one bit. We hope he comes soon, as that would make the transition to Kansas City and the new job easier, but life rarely works out that way. You can't always get what you want. But if you try sometimes you just might find, you get what you need.

Pumpkins, possums, and pregnant...

Although our blog doesn't show it, we've been keeping busy these past few weeks.

1. Pumpkins

Last weekend we went with our friends to the pumpkin patch. We took a hay ride to pick our pumpkins, watched a cheesy magic show, and the kids jumped on bouncy things. Good times were had by all.


Of course, it was no Roloff Farms, but Tony has been told he looks like Zack Roloff before. So.......maybe it's like I have a piece of Roloff Farms with me wherever I go. :)

2. Possums

We have had several encounters with these henious beasts lately. On the way to the pumpkin patch we saw roadkill possum making the craziest face I've ever seen roadkill make. Anthony captured its essence well in this photo:


Later that same night we went for a walk and ran into one. At first I thought it was a cat, but cats are so much more stealthy and possums have such unmistakable beady eyes. If I believed in or was in charge of reincarnation, I'm pretty sure I'd make really vain and mean people be reborn as possums.


Anthony told me that whenever he thinks about possums he thinks about Gator Possum, some cartoon charachter in a movie he and his sisters used to watch when they were young. Maybe he'll blog about it someday.


3. Pregnant

Our son is getting bigger every day. And stronger. With all the kicks and movements I've been feeling lately I wouldn't be suprised if he busts himself out soon. Although I think I still have enough tone left in my ab muscles to keep him in for a few more weeks. That's right, we're down to 52 days until his due date. We may or may not have a paper chain. Here I am in all my 32.71 weeks (that's 32 weeks, 5 days) glory.

Walking on Sunshine

A few months ago the wellness coordinator at my work was recruiting people to participate in the St. John's Sunshine Run. At the time, it sounded like a great idea--it would be a good motivator to help me stay in shape during my last few months of pregnancy. Fast forward 10 weeks and give or take 15 pounds (not to mention a 30 degree drop in temperature). I had no idea how hard it would be to walk 3 miles without experiencing serious distress of the bladder. Luckily Anthony and some ladies from work agreed to walk with me.


It ended up not being that bad. A definite high-light was the end of the race--as you crossed the finish line they announced your name over the PA system for all to hear. It was fun, but I look forward to future walks pushing our son in a stroller instead of carrying him on top of my bladder. After the race we celebrated the way any pregnant woman would want to--with delicious food. Now...time for a nap!


**Shout out to Laura and Mom who did the JDRF walk in KC this morning too!

Recent happenings

We've spent some time in Kansas City the past two weekends hanging out (me) and helping my dad paint the house (Anthony). To reward us (Anthony) for our (his) hard work my dad got us tickets to see the Red Sox play the Royals when they were in town last week. It was hard for me to sit still due to my expanding waistline putting pressure on my ribs. We walked around the stadium and found some photo-ops.
The Royals lost. Anthony sang "Sweet Caroline." It was a fun night. Here is a picture of Anthony painting. He pays such attention to detail. Laura and I did lots of baking while the men painted. We made 5 dozen chocolate chip cookies, a pumpkin spice cake with cream cheese frosting, and pumpkin snickerdoodles. I should have taken pictures of the treats while they lasted, it's too late now. And that is most likely the reason I gained as much weight in the last two weeks as I did the month before.

Here is me at 28.5 weeks: