Team Blakeslee '08 USA

So my family spent a week in Park City last week. We went all over and did all the tourist stuff. On the last day we visited the Olympic Park. My dad joked all day about wanting to ride the bobsled and everyone tried to convince me to ride with him. Deep down I really wanted to but the price was ridiculous. 60 bucks for 60 seconds. So I said no. But as the day went on and the pressure mounted, I gave in! And actually so did my sister Carrie. My dad actually rode the bobsled in Calgary several years ago, so he is a pro. Carrie and I were rookies though. The first thing we had to do was sign away our lives saying we could NOT sue them, no matter what. I gladly did this and got all ready to ride. Then right as were are getting on the bobsled, the man comes up and tells us some medical conditions that should exclude you from this ride. Apparently they mentioned these earlier but I missed them. Of the 4 conditions they listed, I had 3 of them and technically shouldn't be riding. The 4 conditions were #1-back or spine problems. Ok there. (this has changed since riding the ride though!) #2-Recent Surgery (oops-A C-Section 4 weeks earlier throws me in that category. #3-Recent Pregnancy (please refer to #2 and my baby in the stroller 5 feet away!) and finally #4-recent or current high blood pressure. (once again please refer to #2 and #3). But I already had my helmet on and wasn't going to miss this opportunity.


So here we are getting into the bobsled. I am in the black shirt with pink shorts, Carrie in the white shirt, and my Dad was already in bobsled. He sat in the back because that is where the brunt of the ride is felt. I figured since I shouldn't really be riding the ride, I'd sit in the middle/front where the least amount of "g's" would be felt. Our driver is in the blue shirt. I got nice and cozy with him in the bobsled! I really wished we could have been wearing spandex....
And we're off...............Positions-Front to Back-Driver whom I will call Pete, Me, Carrie and Dad. The first 5 seconds of the ride were really fun and carefree. Then we picked up speed and it got intense. I kind of wanted to scream but going 75 MPH prevented me from doing much of anything except praying. I had to consciously work on keeping my head up and not banging the driver with my helmet. You'd be surprised at what 75 MPH will do to your back and neck and how fast you can loose control of them.
Luckily-we did not flip our bobsled and we survived the 59 second ride. I told Neil later that it was the fastest yet longest 59 seconds of my life. I enjoyed the ride but it was hard on the old body and I thought my head would whip off at any minute. Our time gave us 3rd place for the day! Way to go Team Blakeslee-even though we really didn't have much to do with it! I recommend this ride to anyone who like to be next to the brink of death. I don't think I need to go to space ever in my life because this was my "once in a lifetime" experience. And please-don't tell my Doctor that I did this. And please, Dr. I if you are reading this, I did wear my seatbelt and helmet the whole time. That's got to count for something, right?
Here are the future Team USA Bobsledders. Jace and Paige wore our helmets which is the closest they will get to the Bobsled for a long time. Chloe-we wish you were in this picture with Jace and Paige. She didn't want to mess up her hair I think.
Since I KNOW I could never be a bobsledder for my career, maybe I will have Neil look into being a professional Skier. Check out his perfect form.

5 weeks old!

Carter is changing so fast. Everyone told me that he would, but it has happened faster than I thought! I look now at the clothes he wore the first week and how he'll never fit into them again! He still loves to be cuddled and held-and I love doing that.
One of the changes Carter has made is regarding his hair. He was born with a full head of even, beautiful hair. Now he has the hairline of a 50 year old man! He hasn't lost any in the back or sides, just the front. At first I was convinced I must have rubbed it too hard in the bath or touched it too much and made it fall out. I'm sure it will come back though. This picture shows his hair BEFORE it fell out.
Until his hair does come back, I am making him wear hats 24/7. Just kidding. But I do love this little hat of his along with its matching shorts. And his little cheeks are starting to fill out now and so they are very kissable. And they do get kissed a lot by me!
Carter's cousin Mitchell came to town for a few weeks and is obsessed with Carter. He always wants to touch him, and touch only his face! Carter is a good sport about it and let's Mitch get his feel. I think Mitchell is jealous of Carter's hair. My sister and I bought them matching outfits before Carter was even born. We have many many pictures of them in matching outfits. When they both grow up they will look back and realize how lame we are for making them dress alike. I know I look back and laugh when I dressed the same as my cousins!
SIDE NOTE: Don't let his cute face fool you too much. He is ALL MAN! He has sounds coming out of him that should never come out of a body this small. I was in mother's lounge at church today and Carter was letting off his typical "fireworks" from both ends and he got quite the reaction from the other mothers. I think they were jealous..................I on the other hand was a little embarrassed. But I still love him and think he's the greatest. Even if he takes after his daddy in SOOOO many ways!

Carter

Here are some more recent pictures of Carter. Most of his little outfits are still a little too big but these few outfits do fit so here are the pictures. The only thing that has changed with him is that his tear ducts are plugged in both eyes but I'm hoping they will open up eventually without any "help" from the doctor. Also-here is a picture of Grandma Blakeslee and Carter. She came for a week and was a great help. We loved having her here. Enjoy. Be sure to notice Carter's matching shoes with his baseball outfit. Those shoes only stay on about 3 minutes but it's worth it.

The Last Few Days

After posting about Carter's birth I realized that I never gave the "whole story." Monday morning it was determined that within the last few hours my body had developed the Hellp syndrome. (you may want to search it on the internet, it is very hard to explain) It is very rare and can be quite serious. My platelets dropped to a super low level which meant my blood may not be able to clot after childbirth. My liver enzymes had risen to a scary level which meant it could rupture if something wasn't done. So within a half an hour we were told we needed to have an immediate C-section and because my platelets were so low, I could have no spinal or epidural which is the normal way to do a C-section. I had to go completely under with general anesthesia, which means I missed everything and didn't get to see my baby until I came out of anesthesia. The C-section had to be done in about 2 minutes because they didn't want the baby to be put to sleep as well. And since this was real surgery, Neil didn't even get to be in the operating room and didn't see the baby until about 25 minutes after he was born. Right after surgery though, my body came out the Hellp syndrome and I have no lasting effects. The baby was never in danger during this whole thing, only I was. So now I have a nasty scar that I get to keep forever which means I will never get to be a bikini model!! Just kidding. But here are some pictures of Carter in the hospital and coming home. He was just as tired of having nurses come in every hour and poke and prod him as I was! We are just very glad that everything came out so well, we are very lucky and grateful. Here are some pictures of our stay in the hospital, coming home and our first day at home. Carter is a very sweet baby and very mellow.

Carter is FINALLY here!!

Carter Joseph Etherington arrived yesterday, Monday, June 16th at 11:53 am, via C-section. He weighed 8 lbs. 3 oz. He is 21 inches long. Everything is going well for me and him. You can't really tell in these pictures but he has some really cute brown hair and a generous portion of it! More pics and details to come later.

No baby yet............

We still do not have a baby, and I'm beginning to think that we may never have one. After having regular (and excruciating) contractions on Wednesday for about 12 hours, they stopped as suddenly as they started. So who knows if they will start again or if I will carry this child till his high school graduation. The Dr. said he wouldn't let me be pregnant past June 28th and I almost cried at that date......one week past my due date. And as suddenly as my blood pressure went up 2 weeks ago, today it was better than ever! All these signs of toximia that presented themselves 2 weeks ago have basically disappeared. My body has been doing some crazy things lately. So that is the latest, nothing! I am dilated 2 cm but that could stay the same for a long time. So after reading this blog, do you feel as depressed as I feel? If not, please read again and imagine yourself in my shoes!-or my maternity pants for that matter.
As a side note, my sweet husband surprised me with a generous gift card to the mall, any store that I want. It's to use after I lose the baby weight and get some cute clothes. And the longer this baby takes to get here, the longer I have to wait to use it!

Carter's Room

Ok-here are a couple of pictures of Carter's room. I am still working on adding a bookshelf and maybe a couple of other things. The only thing really missing is Carter. He is in NO hurry to get here. One of the pictures is NOT straight so his name letters look all crooked. But believe me, I've checked his room a million times and they really aren't that crooked. Enjoy.