This is What a Newborn Does to a New Dad...

Usually this is what we see.

But sometimes we get lucky and get to see this.

The Story...Finally.

Berkeley took the time to tell his side of our labor and delivery story, so I decided it was about time I put my thoughts down as well. On Wednesday evening, I started to feel really crummy. I felt like I was having flu symptoms like the chills and fever. I felt bad all through the night and into Friday morning. Also, on Thursday night, I was afraid my water may have broken but I wasn't sure. When I still felt terrible on Friday morning and was unsure about my water breaking, I decided to go in and get checked. When I got to labor and delivery, the nurse did the paper strip test and found that my water was not broken. She started asking me questions about how I had been feeling and decided to take my blood pressure. It was really high so she had me drink some juice and took it again 15 minutes later. It was still very high. Luckily my doctor was on call and at the hospital, so he came in and checked on me. He was really concerned that I was feeling the symptoms of toxemia or preclampsia so he decided to go ahead and induce me. Everything went so fast from that time on. I called Berkeley and luckily he was just getting off the hospital exit and got there just as they were getting ready to put the IV in my arm. It was about 3:30 at that time. They got the pitocin running and I started contracting about 3-5 minutes later. The contractions came faster and harder really quickly. I was getting very uncomfortable, so the best man in the world came in to administer the epidural. The shot didn't hurt in the least bit and worked super quick! That was the best thing I have ever felt! I just layed down on my side and enjoyed the relief. Due to my high blood pressure, the doctor had to put me on Magnesium through my IV. That was the craziest stuff. The doctor warned me that it would make me feel pretty crummy. As soon as it got going, I got so hot and started sweating bullets all over my body. It felt like I was in the middle of the desert with no water or relief. Then it made me feel really lethargic like all of my muscles just didn't work very well. My eyes were so heavy, but I wasn't tired so I felt like I was forcing them open. The nurse only checked me twice. The first time I was at a four and the second time I was complete. Finally they turned the magnesium way down and that made me feel so much better, still loopy, but better. I started pushing at about 9:00 and Asa was born at 9:28 pm. The pushing was so weird! It was like I was outside of my body watching the process because it just seamed so surreal that I was actually giving birth. Not to mention, I felt nothing! It was awesome. Berkeley had to hold one of my legs so he did end up watching the whole process and had no problem with it. It was over before I knew it. I went to the doctor for a simple check-up and 6 hours later, we had our little boy here. Overall, the labor and delivery process was a great experience for me! About an hour after I delivered Asa, my blood pressure went back down to normal range, so it was a really good thing we went ahead and induced. That first night I was so loopy and tired that I don't really remember very much at all. I held Asa for a few minutes, but couldn't really discern what I was feeling. My family and Berkeley's family all came to visit and so did Jeff and Lexi, but I don't remember much about that. The next morning, I was feeling so much more awake and normal, so when they gave me my baby, I felt like I was seeing him for the first time. I just fell in love so instantly. I had no idea that I could feel love and instant concern like that. All of a sudden, I had this little life in my arms that totally depends on me. I also feel more and more in love with Berkeley over the next couple of days while in the hospital. Seeing him hold and care for our little guy made me look at him with a brand new perspective. He is such a great man, a wonderful husband, and now an amazing, caring and attentive father. I am so grateful to have him as my spouse. We are both so grateful beyond description for the love and support that has been given to us. We have been blessed with the best friends and families one could ever ask for. We are super tired and going through a huge learning curve right now, but all is well and we are happy and in love with Asa.

More of Our Man

Asa, I'm your Father Asa.

OK, so this is the father post. I haven't ever made a post but i couldn't pass up the opportunity to tell everyone how I feel.
So I just wrote half the story of Annie's labor experience & what happened but I erased it. I'll let Annie tell you all how she felt and what happened. And I'll tell about my experience which I'm sure was much different than Annie's.
Annie called while I was at work and told me that she was going to see the doctor, she hadn't been feeling well the past couple of days & thought that maybe her water had broken. I didn't have much hope that anything was going to happen, she hasn't been feeling well the last 9 months, why would this time mean she was going into labor. It didn't, but she had high blood pressure for the first time throughout her pregnancy & the doctor was worried that she had preeclampsia. Don't worry I don't know what that is either, but it has something to so with high blood pressure & can cause seizures during and after labor. When I got the call that Annie was going to be induced I was just getting off the hospital exit. I know that this is something we've been expecting for a while but that didn't stop my heart from jumping. I have the tendency to run through every worse case scenario in my mind before things happen. I won't give you an example because I think it's a little morbid, but that's what I was in the process of doing when I got the hospital.
We called my brother Nathaniel to bring us a few things from home & when he got to the hospital he helped me give annie a blessing, but my nerves didn't calm until Annie got the epidural & I could see that she was feeling better.
I wasn't planning on watching the birthing process but when the nurse had Annie start to push she told me to grab a leg, After that I had a leg until Asa came out. And WOW! Women, and Annie specifically are amazing! I'm so glad I don't have to do that.
When Asa came out I didn't cry, Maybe I'm just insensitive. Sometimes I feel bad when I think I should cry at things & I don't, like maybe i'm not spiritual enough, oh well. At the time I'll I wanted to do was make sure that my new baby boy was going to be okay, he was fine and is still doing great. Although he was ridiculously gross, disgusting and funny looking when he came out, he keeps getting cuter each day. I keep trying to see something of me in him but his most prominent feature are his china eyes, just like his mom, he's beautiful.
I did cry the next day. Saturday morning I went home to shower and then went to get a gift for Annie and my new little boy. I love them both so much, I can't believe the love I already feel for Asa & for some reason buying him a little gift triggered something inside that helped me feel that love, I felt a little like the Grinch when his heart grew so big on that one day and you could see in his eyes the change that had come over him. That's how I feel, I'm different now, my heart is bigger and I can feel more love.
Asa is so wonderful. He has this little high pitched cry that makes you want to do anything for him, & another cry that makes you want to make him to be quiet. I love when he's awake and just looks around at everything, I don't think he can even see much yet but he still seems so interested in everything around him. I'm so excited to be a dad, and want to do everything so that our family can be together forever.
Thank you everyone for all the love and support that you give to us. We hope and pray that everything is going well in your lives.

Welcome Asa Berkeley Ward

Yes, we have had our little boy! He was born Friday, February 20th at 9:28 pm. He weighs 6 lbs 3 oz and is 19.5 inches long. We are so in love with him already. The story and lots of pictures are to come, but here are a few for now.

Due Date Schmoo Date

Welcome to my baby's due date!! This is the day we have talked about for the last ten months and I am afraid it is going to come and go with very little excitement. Yep, not one contraction worth mentioning today. I went to the doctor on Monday and he said I was dilated to a 2 and 80% effaced, so at least I know good things are indeed happening. My next door neighbor is having her baby today. She is 6 days past her due date and was induced this morning. That will probably be me too, but that's okay. I was having lunch with Berkeley today and realized that I really need to cherish these last few days the two of us have together alone. Our world as we know it is about to change completely. Even if I make it to my inducement, that is only 7 days away. What is 7 more days after 10 long months. No big deal. I am just so excited to meet our little boy, see his face, and get to know his personality. I am so excited to be a mother and the waiting game tends to be very difficult. At the same time, I love being a wife too, and I hope I can make these next few days wonderful with Berkeley and then wonderful with our new addition. I'll be sure to keep everyone posted on the progress!

Wii Fit Hula Hoop

I highly doubt anyone has moves comparable to these... and Berkeley didn't even know I was recording him! It gets real good towards the end!



Of course once he knew I had taken the video, he wouldn't let me make a blog post until he took one of me too. Yeah. I got the moves. I was hoping that this activity would put me into labor. No go.

Coraline

We went to see Coraline today. Wow, It was one of those movies that you stay glued to but can't decide for hours what your opinion is on it. I came to the conclusion that if asked if I would recommend it to others, my answer would be yes. The story line is so clever! It is a super creepy movie that made made me a little jumpy at parts, so I would not recommend taking kids to see it.

Let me know what you thought of the movie! I am always curious to hear other people's opinions when it comes to movies like this one.

Four Years and Valentines!

Today marks four years since the day that Berkeley purposed to me. That day, Feb. 12, 2005 is as clear as though it happened yesterday. I thought I couldn't love him any more than I did at that time, but everyday we have been together has been a surprise to me because the love I feel for him today is 100 times what I felt when we got engaged. It is so hard to believe that we have been married for over three and a half years and that we are so close to having our first child together. Life is difficult at times, but I would not trade our experiences for anything in the world. As long as we work hard to maintain a happy, loving relationship and stay close to the gospel, nothing can stay hard for too long. I love Berkeley so much and I am so blessed to have him be my eternal companion.

You can stop reading the mushiness here if you like, but I am going to type the journal entry I made about the day we got engaged, mostly for myself. If interested, read on!

"It happened! Berkeley purposed! We are engaged! On Friday, February 12, Berkeley and I had our Valentines date. We both dressed up and he picked me up at 5:45 PM . I had no idea what we were doing other than going to Salt Lake City. When we got there, Berkeley had me close my eyes and he led me into a building, into an elevator, up a bunch of floors, and into a room. I heard soft music playing and the door close behind me. Berk told me to open my eyes and what i saw took my breath away. The room was lit with white ice sickle lights and two of the walls were made up entirely of windows that overlooked SLC all lit up. There were two couches in the room and a table with chairs. The table was beautifully set up for dinner with china plates, bowls and wine glasses. For dinner, Berkeley ordered food from the Olive Garden. We ate the same dishes that we had on our first date at the Olive Garden, and I was amazed that Berkeley could remember what we both had.
After dinner, Berkeley came to my side of the table and asked me to dance. We danced to Michael Buble music for about 30 minutes and it was the most romantic, wonderful time. After dancing, we looked out the window and Berkeley pointed out to me that the Gallivan Center was right below us. This was where we played in the snow together. That night, I wrote 'I love Berkeley' in the snow, and later that night he said it to me for the first time outside my apartment and I said it back.
The next thing we did was go to Clark Planetarium to see a star show. This was reminiscent of our second date on which we took sleeping bags to Vivian Park, ate chinese food, and star-gazed with star charts. This part of the night was funny because the star show turned out to be put to techno music, so Berkeley and I spent most of the time laughing and making fun of the music.
After the star show, we drove back to Provo and walked around the Provo temple. We stopped at the fountain where Berkeley and I shared our first kiss. It was drizzling a little rain, but neither of us cared. Berkeley pulled an envelope out of his pocket and said he had something to read to me. It turned out that it was a copy of his patriarchal blessing. It was incredible to hear the words of the Lord to Berkeley especially the part concerning his wife and children. He put the envelope back in his pocket, knelt down on one knee, told me that he knew I was the woman the blessing spoke of, pulled a beautiful ring out of his pocket and asked me to marry him. My heart instantly jumped into my throat and I began to cry. I wasn't able to say anything for a minute or two, but of course I finally said yes. This was the most magical, wonderful night of life and I have never been happier.
I feel like I need to constantly thank my Heavenly Father for the blessings I have been given. I have been blessed with a testimony of the true gospel and faith in Christ and God. I have been blessed with the spirit to guide me in all of my decisions . I have an incredible, faithful, close-knit family who love each other very much, and now I have a fiance that treats me like a queen. He loves me and the Lord. He is worthy and willing to take me through the temple to be married forever. I only hope I can live my life worthy enough to return to my Heavenly Father and thank him personally."

Patience is a Virtue.

I went to the doctor this morning and everything is going great with our pregnancy. I am measuring perfectly at 38 1/2 weeks, the heartbeat is great, and his position is good for delivery. I am only 10 days away from our due date, but if I don't go into labor on my own, then we will be induced on the 26th at 6:30 am. I would really like to just have things happen naturally, but at least there is a final date in sight now. I am really just trying to enjoy this last bit of time that I have with Berkeley alone, but it is hard for both of us to focus on much else than our impending arrival. Wish us luck!

Lunch, Ping Pong, and All-Around Fun!

The other day I was able to go to Berkeley's work and have lunch with him. It was really nice to see him during the day for a change! He and his co-workers always have ping pong tournaments together and I was able to catch a bit of the action. Here is a picture and video of Berkeley playing his new favorite game.





After having lunch, I went to visit my sister Kimberly and her new baby Cade. We hung out for a couple hours and when Berkeley got off work, he came over too and we had dinner with Kim and her husband Matt. It was a lot of fun.




Then, when I got home, I found this gem in the mail! This is my other new nephew Bryson's birth announcement. I haven't been able to meet him yet, but already think he is the cutest little guy. This is my brother Scott and his wife Jen's son. He has the Burrahm chin, that's for sure. Hopefully I will able to meet him this weekend.

850...What does this Number Mean?!

850 DOLLARS IS WHAT WE HAVE TO FORK OUT TO THE GOVERNMENT!! PLUS THE 137 DOLLARS WE OWE TO H&R BLOCK FOR TAX PREPARATION. AWESOME. ANYONE HAVE AN EXTRA GRAND OF CASH LYING AROUND THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO SHARE???

We have never owed on taxes before. I usually really look forward to this time of year because I think of all the ways we can use our tax return money. So...you can understand why this is like a huge kick in the butt for us. I hope your tax season goes much better than ours.

My Favorite!

This is my favorite Superbowl commercial! I especially love the look on the baby's face when he sings for the second time. So funny!

Superbowl!

I love Superbowl Sunday!! The reasons that I love it have absolutely nothing to do with football. Berkeley and I are not sports watchers by any means. In fact, today Berkeley and I were talking about the awesome food we get to eat on Superbowl Sunday when the conversation turned into this...

Annie: "Berkeley, do you even know who is playing in the Superbowl today?"
Berkeley: "Nope, no idea."
Annie: "Me neither, I just like the party that goes along with the game."
Berkeley: "Yeah, me too."

So there is the reason why I love Superbowl Sunday so much. I like to spend time having a party with friends and eating lots of food.