3 Years Already

Yup. Click this.

4am
I’m awake. I think I ate something bad at the Plevna Bar last night. Maybe chicken strips and sweet potato fries were a bad idea at 39 weeks pregnant. Regardless, I’m in the bathroom, and I think I’ll stay here for a while. 

4:30am
Stephan’s awake. He asked me if I’m ok. I told him I’m fine, I just can’t leave the bathroom. He’s worried.

4:45am
Stephan is wide awake now. He tells me that he’s going give me until 5:15 to feel better before he drives us to Glendive. I insist it’s not necessary, this will all go away soon. He convinces me that, since we have a doctor appointment at 11am anyway, it wouldn’t be a waste of a drive, just a little safety net planning. I argue. Stephan stops listening. 

5am
Stephan has started packing the car. He drops the dogs off at Kodie & Clint’s house, gets my purse from Gary’s house, and makes himself espresso. Meanwhile, I have no idea this is going on. I’m trying to deal with the Toilet Pain. Stand up? No. Sit down? No. Lean over? No. My body tries to prove to me that it’s not what I think it is. I’m still not buying it. 

5:30am
Stephan drives the car around to the front door so I don’t have to deal with stairs. I’m wearing yoga pants & a green shirt with enormous SmartWool socks and too-small slip on shoes. Stephan’s rocking black sweat pants and a Jack Daniels t-shirt. It’s pitch dark and a light snow is starting to fall. 

5:45am
We pull into Baker to get gas. Gary’s there- a fun coincidence since he was also the only one at the gas station the night we first arrived here 3 years ago. He waves at me through the window and tells Stephan he hopes I’m not mad at him (Gary had been pushing for an October baby when I was insistent it would be November). Stephan eats a hot dog and drinks a Mountain Dew. I have a stopwatch in my hand to time the “gas pains”. This means nothing to me, as I still believe it’s just something I ate. I grab onto Stephan’s shoulder with my left hand every time I feel one, just to let him know I’m still in pain. The car ride isn’t fun. 

6:15am
We arrive in Wibaux, just over ½ way there. The snow is starting to slack off. I curse the car and try to figure out how to get back to Plevna without ever sitting in the car again. Is there a train? A bus? It’s not to far to walk…

6:30am
I squeeze Stephan’s shoulder when I [finally] realize that I’m in labor, and that we’re probably going to have a baby today!

6:50am
We’ve finally arrived in Glendive. Outside the off ramp is a gas station. Stephan stops there to use the bathroom and to get me something to eat. I ask for apple juice and a doughnut, “Let me tell you what I want in a doughnut…” I get specific. Glazed. Not doughy, as close to a Krispy Crème as you can. Stephan leaves me to time the contractions. If they’re 5 minutes apart or greater then we’ll get a hotel room. 3 minutes or less and we’re off to the hospital. He gets back from the bathroom and we take off for the hospital. 

7am
We walk into the ER, Stephan much faster than me. He’s got the paperwork we pre-signed a month ago, my purse and our overnight bag. 

7:10am
Katie is our nurse. She gives me a big pink gown that immediately reminds Stephan of a circus tent. We realize we haven’t called anyone to tell them we were at the hospital, so Stephan called his parents and mine to let them know today’s the day!

8:00am
Doctor Stewart arrives and checks my ‘progress’. She has to see patients this morning and promises to return around 10:30.

8:45am
I’ve moved back to the toilet. My brother had cautioned me not to poop on the baby. To avoid this I make the extra trip to the bathroom just to make sure nothing like that is going to happen. Once there, I wanna push. Stephan calls Katie to tell her about this new development. She rushes over and tells me NOT to push; she’s heard of people delivering babies on toilets and prefers not to do that today. 

9:00am
I’m back on the bed. Since Doc isn’t available, Katie checks my progress. She leaves to get Doc right away. I can still move freely so I try every position we can think of to get me more comfortable. I keep telling Stephan I want to push and he keeps reminding me not to. During one contraction my water breaks. Stephan, startled, says, “Did someone just throw a water balloon at you?” Stephan runs to get the nurse.

9:30am
Doctor Stewart is back. She checks me again. People just keep telling me NOT to push. Doc’s next instructions were to give a little push, and then let it go right away. She puts her fingers in my hand and tells me to focus my energy into squeezing her fingers instead. All of this sounds ludicrous to me. I start to get discouraged, but I don’t say anything. I just keep concentrating. 

10:00am
Doc checks again. She gives me to go ahead to push. Doc puts on her working clothes: huge, blue boots, a gown, gloves and a hat. The bed transforms in seconds. This pushing is serious. Stephan keeps telling me to “ground out,” which means to push all the energy out the bottom of my body. I rest between contractions and lock eyes with Stephan so I remember to breath and enjoy the peace between pushing. 

Part of a thought runs through my mind, a phrase I heard over and over again in a meditation I’d listened to during this pregnancy, “…ready to join all the women who have ever gone before you, and all those who will come after you…”

10:45am
The baby’s head is out to the nose. Stephan tells me one more push and we’ll have a baby. I can see the exploding excitement on his face. There’s one push left, but I need a break. I take a quick deep inhale. 

10:46am
With one last set of 3 pushes the doctor tells me to reach down and pick up my baby. The baby is slippery, warm, wet, and soft. He is very dark purple, with a swollen head and lips. He’s moving, but slowly, and I don’t hear any crying, but that doesn’t bother me. I hear the doctor ask Stephan if he saw if it’s a boy or girl. He takes a second and says, “It’s a boy!!” I can’t believe it. A boy? Really? The nurses are on top of me rubbing the white coating into the baby’s skin. A boy? Sawyer’s here?

Night Run

Want to totally freak yourself out? Are you in a running rut and haven't done anything different lately?

Well grab yourself a headlamp, taillight, and reflective vest and head out the door after dusk. It totally reminds me of what it used to be like driving Stephan to work in Montana.

Except there are skunks. And streetlights. 

And also- that weird thing where a route I run weekly is totally different. I noticed so many new things within the scope of my Cabelas headlamp; elevation changes I never knew existed, uneven pavement, gas powered lamps, not to mention all of the halloween decorations that are up right now. There are also so many more smells at night. Admittedly, I was sniffing regularly for skunks, but I smelled fire, poop, fall, garbage, more poop, leaves, lots of my own sweat, and sewer smell. I watched my breath pass in front of the beam of the LED's in clouds. I traced my shadow across pools of street lamps. 

The voice that usually has to create things for me to worry about was given a task: Keep Anna upright in the dark. And it performed very well! Being concerned with so many actual physical dangers got my brain to shut the hell up for 30 minutes. (I also ran pretty fast!)

Needless to say, this was NOT a zombie run. I actually had the music turned way down low for fear of not being aware of my surroundings. I'll save zombies for broad daylight. You know, when it's totally pretend. 

The Farm

It's true that a large part of Montana smells like cows and farms. Most of the people we meet here are involved in some way in the farming or ranching business. Our visit to Cindy and Larry's farm on Saturday was amazing. We met a herding dog, which wasn't really trained, he just knew how to help seperate and herd them. We saw, of course, the new calves and their heiffer moms (heiffer means a cow who is giving birth for the first time). There were peacocks roaming around, chickens walking to and fro, and about two dozen barn cats (that we didn't see but just heard about). Oh, and the horses. There were horses there that are actually used to herd cattle. Larry is really a cowboy. He rides "Red" his horse around to check on the cows. Some people have lambs, which, I'm told, usually have twins. It's where the phrase, "the third lamb" comes from. You know that phrase, don't you? No? I didn't either.

Of course there were the turkeys from the other day- we see antelope all the time as well as deer. I haven't yet seen any squirrels. I don't know if we have them here. We do have rattle snakes apparently, and they tell me to just make sure I don't stick my hands where I can't see, and wear shoes every time I go outside.

Larry offered to show Stephan how to break horses, since he has a few that need breaking. I'm nervous about that, but Stephan can't wait. Life on the farm promises to be really interesting. More photos will be on their way, I'm sure!

Trivia: How many seconds do we have to hold the lever down on our toilet before it flushes?

Don't Drink the Water

Seriously, we were cautioned when we arrived in Boliv... I mean, Baker, not to drink the tap water. I was a little offended, having drank well-water at my parents' house since I was 12. But when I tasted this water, is was just bad. It was salty. Even if you're boiling the water for tea or coffee, the salt taste is always there. Then we learned that there is also a high calcium component to this water, leading to increased incidence of kidney stones in the local population. Well, I've never had a kidney stone, but from what I hear, I don't think I want one now either.

The water here is also very soft. I can't tell if this is a location-specific fact, or a town-wide fact. But, even more than anywhere in the Chicagoland area, this water is very slippery and gooey. It took a few showers to get used to this feeling. And even now, my hair is just not the same.

This morning I borrowed a hair dryer in hopes of accomplishing some sort of style. But what happened was an odd sort of dread-lock effect due to the heat and the salt. It's "Bob Marley meets the Cowardly Lion." As I complained to Stephan of this today he looked at me straight in the eyes and said:

"It's all going to turn grey one day anyway..."

He saw my quickly saddening face and added:

"And I'll love you even more."

Baker: Day 9

Today I did some research on Baker and the surrounding areas. Check out the new links to the left, MontanaPictures.net and the link to information about Medicine Rocks.

The most popular question I've been asked, by people in Chicago, Montana, and beyond, is, "What brought you to Baker?" So, here's the answer:

Stephan and I knew there were opportunities for him to get his student loans repaid (at least partially) by working for Native Americans, or in rural communities where health care workers were hard to come by. In the midst of this research Stephan's roommate from Alaska, Matt Prince, emailed him about their impending move to a small town in Montana where his wife, Kayle, would be working as a Nurse Practitioner in their medical center.

A few months later Stephan emailed Matt and Kayle, asking if they were looking for nurses there, and if they liked the town. We came to visit in December, and immeditely fell in love with the town, the people, the area, and the idea of living a little more slowly and inexpensively than we had been in Chicago. So, from the middle of December to today the journey has been a little crazy, but a beautiful adventure nonetheless.

Baker: Day 7

Sunday was Stephan's first day at work. He seems to like it a lot. It took him a few hours to get his "nurse" hat back on, but once he did, I think he was fine. The medical center can accomodate up to 8 in-patients at a time. Yesterday they had 4. It seems like such a small number, but, as Stephan said, when you realize you're THE nurse for those 4-8 people, and you have to keep track of their medications, their needs, their schedules... it's a lot to juggle. He's working with a very experienced nurse named Peggy. She is the only other staff nurse here in Baker, the rest are all contract nurses. When Stephan is comfortable with everything, he and Peggy will alternate days on and off.

We're not talking about that game... the one with the oblong ball played on a 100 yard field. Let's just not go there.

Nothing new on the house front. The plan seems to be to move into a small rental we looked at last week until something comes up for sale, or spring thaws out the "sewage-house." With Stephan's extensive knowledge of sewers, replacing the line shouldn't be too tough, if that's what needs to happen.

Matt and Kayle continue to be blessings to us- opening up their home and lives to us. We are very lucky to have them here.

Baker: Day 6... 80 miles West

We spent a good amount of the day in Miles City- the closest "metropolis" with all of 8,487 people! There's a Wallmart, Albertsons, Wendy's, Taco John's (no Bell though, much to Stephan's dismay), and a few other nice amenities (a movie theatre playing second-run movies). We stopped at Pizza Hut and a coffee place, then a trip to Wallmart. The moon is out tonight, and is huge and beautiful.

In housing news, we looked at the $32,000 "fixer upper" here in Baker. Not too shabby. Actually, the first floor was amazing! Great shape, huge kitchen and living room, with a dining room AND a large windowed front porch. There's a bathroom on that floor with the washer and dryer right in it.

The catch (here, there is always a catch) is... major sewer problems in the basement. In fact, we were really glad for the cold weather, as we were slipping on frozen sewage walking through the downstairs. There are 2 bedrooms, one bathroom, and a workshop in the basement- all very good sized. BUT there is the sewage problem.

There was that moment when we looked at each other and said, "Hey, this isn't that bad." And that's how we knew it was pretty bad. We have one more to look at this week, $15,000 in Plevna. Another "fixer upper" we've been told.

Tomorrow is Stephan's first day at the Fallon Medical Center. They are letting him come home early to watch the Bears beat the Colts. We hung a Bears flag on the fence next to our car to claim that little bit of driveway for Chicago.

Go Bears!

Baker: Day 5... Overheard in the Post Office

"At least it's better than five years ago when the snow drifts covered up all the cows."





We might get only 20" of snow per year, but apparently, it constantly redistrobutes itself daily. Every morning the car is covered with snow, eventhough it hasn't snowed since Tuesday night. Yes, it is cold. The sun is a smiley reminder that the clouds have let all the heat out of the state of Montana.

Baker: Day 4

Yesterday, after a long lunch, Stephan decided not to get a haircut, to which I replied, "oh, good. That would totally slow down the pace of our day." It was the funniest thing I'd said all week.

The house hunt continues. We looked at two houses yesterday- one to rent, and one to buy. The one to rent is nice- a little small, but definitely workable. The one to buy was huge. 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, full garage, new appliances, beautiful yard. The asking price is $75,000. There's a second house to buy in Plevna, about 12 miles West. We're going out tomorrow to see that one, and one in Marmarth, North Dakota. I think we're pretty much done going outside today- the high was -9 this morning, and that's the warmest it was going to get.

We talked about getting a unit that will heat the car's engine and oil pan when the car is parked. Yes. We have to plug in our car at night.

Last night Matt made Briskett. Wow. Amazing. I don't know exactly how he did it, but I know wood chips, brown sugar, and garlic powder. Amazing.

We found a home away from home at Thee Garage, one of the local bars. We met some really fun people there last night. And two Jack and Cokes were $7.00. We like it here.

We have new cell phones, email me if you didn't get the numbers.

As always, email and phone calls are really appreciated. We love and miss everyone.

Baker: Statistics

Baker Population in 2000: 1,695
[White: 1,663]
[Black: 4]
[Native American: 9]
[Chinese: 4]
[Korean: 1]

Fallon County Population in 2000: 2,837
Average January Temp: 14F
Average July Temp: 73F
Average Yearly Temp: 44F
Average Rainfall: 13.9in
Average Snowfall: 20in
Growing Season: 118 Days
Prevailing Wind: Northwest

Housing Units: 885
Employment: 100%
Population in graduate school or college: 6
Civilian Veterans: 186
Median Household income: $30,893
Houses less than $50,000: 202
Houses between $50,001 and $99,999: 168
Houses between $100,000 and $150,000: 23
Houses between $151,000 and $199,999: 4

Baker: Day 2

Today we actually spent back on the road. We had to drive the moving van back to Fargo, North Dakota. 14 hours later, we're back in Baker, still on the hunt for somewhere to live. It's an adventure.... right?!?!? Spirits are still high, but patience is starting to wear thin. I think Stephan is doing much better than I am. Tomorrow is another chance to get out and about and meet people, and hopefully get one step closer to having a real house to live in.

Thanks to everyone who's emailed and called. It's nice to know we have a group of people cheering for us.

Baker: Day 1

After passing the boards, packing up everything, and driving 1300 miles, we arrived in Baker, Montana on Sunday night. Matt and Kayle fed us and gave us a bed for as long as we need it. The girls are with us, but the cats had to stay home for now.

Our stuff is in the garage here, waiting for a home. We have a few leads, but nothing solid yet. Tomorrow will be spent on the road again to return the moving van to Fargo, North Dakota. That's 400 miles away. Wednesday we have a few houses to look at, and possibly think about registering the car and getting new cell phones.

It's hard to realize that we live here. It still feels like visiting. Emails from home help us feel connected, and Matt and Kayle are amazing hosts. We are very comfortable and greatful to be here with friends.