Baby Markus Sakari is Born!

Markus Sakari was born at 10:33 PM on Dec. 31st.

He was 9 lbs and 15.5 ounces (4,522 g.) and 22.5 inches (57 cm)

Overdue

I had a library book out that was a couple weeks overdue, but I hadn't returned it because I couldn't find it. Sami found it yesterday.

This morning I woke up early and couldn't sleep. I kept thinking that the overdue library book was giving me bad karma or something, and if I just returned it, maybe the baby would come (I'm 8 days overdue now).

So I had a nice 3.4 mi. walk to the library (photo) and back, and I even tried out the swings in the picture... they were surprisingly stress relieving. Still no baby though.

Merry Christmas Eve!

I went downstairs for breakfast this morning, and to see Sami before he heads off to work.

Look at the nice surprise he had waiting for me on the fireplace. Pulla! Yummy!

Even More Snow

We have loads of snow now. A foot or more.

But our driveway and the car are clean and ready to go if needed.

Ice and Snow

I started to go for my daily walk - only to discover that freezing rain was coming down. You can't see it in the photo, but it made taking pictures difficult.

Anyway, the previous days' soft snow was covered by a layer of crunchy ice. So I decided to go for a quick tour of the yard instead of a walk around the neighborhood.

New Snow

Melting Snow

My walking route today - 2.7 mi.

The weather was actually pretty warm and most of the snow from earlier in the week had melted.

I decided to take a short walk to the drugstore, and then go south through the parks. I finally discovered the trail that connects Brookhaven Park to Lowami-Hart Woods. I knew there must be one, but it wasn't marked on any maps anywhere.

Icy Grass in our front yard.

Sami noticed a patch of icy grass and realized that our garden hose had busted during the freezing weather. Hopefully our water bill isn't too high next month.

Icicles

The water from the hose made icicles on our Camellia and Rhododendron bushes.

Pine Cones on SW Daphne St.

Quince - Cydonia oblonga - SW Daphne St.

Sami actually planted a small Japanese Flowering Quince in our front yard this spring. Ours is still very small and will probably take a few years before it starts bearing fruit.

Sweetgum - Liquidambar styraciflua - SW Nehalem Ln

Frog Sculpture - SW Nehalem Ln, entrance to Brookhaven Park

Great Blue Heron - Ardea herodias

Failed Induction

View from our room at OHSU - (there are rooms with spectacular views, but we did not get one of those).

As many of you know, the doctor was concerned about my moderately high blood pressure and significant water-weight gain in the past couple weeks. He strongly advised an induction for wednesday night at midnight.

Sami and I were reluctant to force things, especially since the due date was only the 18th, but we went in anyway. After 12 hours of being hooked up to pitocin and and monitoring equipment, getting higher and higher doses of medication... nothing much was happening. I was frustrated and fed up with being virtually tied to the bed, especially when I had been promised I would be able to get up and walk around the hospital, sit in the rocking chair, etc.

Sami and I decided it just wasn't time and that the "medical risks" weren't actually that serious. The doctors and nurses were basing their calls on statistics and on my due date (which might actually be calculated wrong - according to the first ultrasound the due date is between Dec 25th and Jan 1st). We are hoping he comes on his own sometime in the next 4 days or so. I have another doctor's appointment on Tuesday to check up on the baby and my blood pressure, etc. We will decide then if we should try another induction or wait some more.

The Snow Sticks Around

The weather stayed cold and the snow stayed, so I put the chains on the car this morning just in case (OHSU hospital is on a big hill). I'll be driving up there for a doctor's appointment tomorrow anyway.

Maple Leaf in the Snow

The weather today was beautiful. Sunny and not too windy. I intended to go for a longer walk and take more pictures, but I only got around the block before I had to come home and pee... by the time I got inside and took my shoes and coat off, I was tired and didn't go back out. Sad, I know.

Camellia blooming in the snow.

More camellias

Calendula in the snow.

Snow!

The forecasters had been promising snow and it actually happened!

I tried to get Sami to stand closer to the camera but he refused because he couldn't smile in the wind. He only likes snow if it's not windy.

We walked over to my friend Liesl's house (about a mile away) where we hung out drinking tea and eating cookies. Her due date is tomorrow, so we are both just waiting.

I probably would have taken more snow pictures, but I felt bad making Sami stand around and wait while I tried to get a a good shot.

Me and my GIANT belly.