Whew! Life is going by super fast! It seems that not too long ago I was planning my wedding and then getting ready for a new baby. Now I'm pregnant with baby number three!! So far, in the beginning, I've felt great!! My first clues to pregnancy with the first two was exhaustion. I could barely get up in the morning and with my first I was going to bed at 8pm! This time around I had just had a tonsillectomy and was recovering from that when, even though it was early, I took a test. I was pretty sure it would be negative as I didn't feel extra tired or hungry. It was super hard to tell, but I thought I saw a faint shadow. I wrote it off a negative. Something in me decided to take another one that evening. My mom, Matthew and I were babysitting some friends kids so it was the perfect time, right? Well, for some unknown reason, this test was POSITIVE!! I was through the moon!! I couldn't believe it. I had a special reveal to Matthew that I had planned and knew that having 5 kids in the house was not the right time to share the news. That was so difficult to wait. Well, once the kids we were babysitting went home, I finally got to put the movie in "What to Expect When You're Expecting" and had Josiah hand him his dessert, a cookie, and a razor. His tradition has been that when we're NOT pregnant he wears a goatee and when we find out we're pregnant, he shaves it off. I know, silly, but fun for us! At first when Matthew saw him following him around with a razor, he almost chewed him out, but when he saw the movie come on he asked me if it was really true. I excitedly told him "yes!" My mom was also with us, but as her sight isn't the best she didn't get the meaning behind the movie and especially the razor. I brought Josiah over to me and whispered to him to go tell Grammy(my mom) that mommy has a new baby in her tummy. He did very well and as with my other two pregnancies her first words reacting were, "Are you serious?!" Mostly in shock. She is very excited for us and I'm very glad to get to be pregnant for at least a few months with my sister who is coming up on the final weeks of her last pregnancy.
Now I am a few weeks further along and I am much more nauseous and exhausted. Similar to my first pregnancy, eating seems to help. I'm trying to be healthy this time around as I ate terrible the first two times. I gained ten pounds less my second pregnancy because I worked out six days a week the whole time. I would like to gain ten less pounds this time around so in addition to exercising I am trying to cut as much sugar as I can. I look forward to a healthy uneventful pregnancy.
We'll see what the next few months brings. I am planning a homebirth with the midwife that delivered my second child. We scheduled my first 8 week ultrasound at a place in Henderson called Miracle in Progress as the midwife only schedules 20 week ones. I just couldn't wait that long to see my precious miracle. I promise to keep you posted...
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Tuesday, September 30, 2014
Pregnancy Craziness Take 2
Here we go again! The first time I got pregnant with munchkin number one we weren't really trying per say.
We had decided that if I did get pregnant then great. Well that plan happened right away.
We had decided that if I did get pregnant then great. Well that plan happened right away.
Here he is a few months ago at his 1st birthday party!
This time around we knew we wanted another one so they would be about a year and a half apart. My body wasn't ready just yet so we knew we would have to wait until it was. I was nursing so I thought I would have to wean munchkin number one before even thinking about munchkin number two. Not so! It did happen when number one was eight and a half months old. This time around I had started to chart. We used information from the book Taking Charge of Your Fertility. Well, two months later, I discovered munchkin number two was on board!
I knew within days. I became very tired that first week and it seemed different. I mentioned it to hubs and we excitedly hoped it could be. He thought we should wait until that Saturday(FOUR whole days later!) Well, I got to Thursday and couldn't wait any longer. It was in the morning and I knew I had a test in my bathroom so I did it! I took the test! It was very faint, but it was positive!! I wanted to take a second-just to confirm so I was going to head out to the store to get one. I went to get a coupon for one in a box under my sink and lo and behold there was another test that I had forgotten about! So I took it. This one was the fancy digital one that had words. It came back positive too! I was so excited that I couldn't contain myself! First I knew I had to go to hubs work to surprise him with the news. I had a plan. I first took a picture of the tests as proof :) then I put munchkin number one in a special outfit I got for just this occasion, then off we went!
I took the bottom one first then confirmed with the top one!
There is no mistaking the top test! I just stared at it in unbelief. Wow! Another little miracle that God will bless us with!
He posed so nicely for the picture too.
It was so much fun going to hubs work to surprise him. Munchkin one was only ten months old and he wasn't walking yet but he excited to share with daddy. When I got to his desk the first thing I did was to let Munchkin share the news. I held him up to show Daddy. He was so excited. We didn't want to share with too many people for a few weeks as a precaution, but of course we called family right away. Hubs' brother and his kids were in town so we were happy to tell them. Munchkin donned his outfit. I actually made a two layer pink and blue cake with white frosting to bring. We waited first for everyone to notice the outfit. MIL didn't notice until I help munchkin up for her to see. No one noticed the cake colors until I mentioned it. Hehe. It was fun planning though.
We called my family and got to tell my sisters they would be aunts again. My parents were of course very excited too. Munchkin got a lot of use out of that outfit. He wore it to church on the next Sunday. Everyone was very excited.
So far this pregnancy has been different than the first. I am just as tired, but I was rarely queasy-so far. I wanted to remind myself all that I felt and when I felt it so I made myself a 40 week pregnancy calendar.
The first pregnancy I started having trouble with my neck and jaw/ear around 10 weeks. This time around I started noticing pain about 6 weeks. I knew it wasn't an ear infection so I tried taking ibuprofen for the pain and inflammation. That seemed to work for a while. When I had my consultation with the midwife she suggested going to my chiropractor. That did the trick. I had my neck adjusted and while it hurt quite a bit the next day, it quickly started to feel better. I'm so glad that this pregnancy will be relatively medicine free.
The first pregnancy I started having trouble with my neck and jaw/ear around 10 weeks. This time around I started noticing pain about 6 weeks. I knew it wasn't an ear infection so I tried taking ibuprofen for the pain and inflammation. That seemed to work for a while. When I had my consultation with the midwife she suggested going to my chiropractor. That did the trick. I had my neck adjusted and while it hurt quite a bit the next day, it quickly started to feel better. I'm so glad that this pregnancy will be relatively medicine free.
So far I have only had to go in about once every month or so. I'm also learning how to adjust my neck at home and doing certain stretches and exercises to strengthen my neck joints. Speaking of strengthening, long before munchkin number two was on board I decided that I would be sure to exercise the whole time the next time I was pregnant. So far I am so glad that I am. I'm feeling great! I've also noticed that I'm not showing as soon as I did with preggo number one as I am in much better shape. I've definitely had to modify some of the move on workout DVD's so as not to give the munchkin any seasickness. I'm also enjoying using the elliptical hubs got me for Christmas last year.
Titus' Birth Story
So, it's been a long time in coming, but I finally wrote the story of the birth of my husband and my second child. I seem to wait until I'm pregnant to feel the need to do so as I'm newly pregnant with my third and I wrote my oldest's birth story after I found out I was pregnant with my second. My midwife actually inspired me to write it as she asked for home birth stories for a website and I volunteered. So here it is:
I had a much healthier pregnancy than my first as far as exercising and eating somewhat healthy. I had gained a lot of weight with my first, not done much exercising, had a stressful job, and thought pregnancy was my free pass to eat what I wanted. I paid for it at the end of my pregnancy with terrible braxton hicks contractions and gaining so much. My knees hurt from the stress of the weight on them. I decided once I got down BELOW my pre-pregnancy weight that I would never again get that heavy.
With this pregnancy, I never had any braxton hicks contractions. I made sure to exercise every day but Sunday, my day of rest and I ate much healthier, even though I craved desserts this pregnancy(salty foods were my friend with baby #1). I was positive baby would be early because I had such bad contractions early on with my first baby. By the 37 week mark I was exercising extra to get baby to come. Long walks and jumping jacks were my way to try to hurry things along. My mother even came early from out of town to help out with my older child. Much to my chagrin, baby waited.
About 6pm on my due date, April 4, 2013, I went to the restroom and thought I felt my water break(it had broken with my first so I knew the feeling). I thought if I laid down and my bag was broken, water would gush out. So I laid down for about 20 minutes and nothing happened so my husband and I decided to run an errand. I guess walking around helped and on the way home at 7:08 I had my first contraction. When I got home I told my mom and she got a paper out and recorded it and subsequent contractions' time apart and length. I was having a friend watch my oldest and wanted to make sure it was the real thing before calling her.My contractions were stead at 10-11 minutes apart, but they were intense enough that I couldn't handle my toddler being there.
Once he was at our friend's house for the night, things really got started.I had to really concentrate for contractions. They were between 3-4 minutes apart. I let my midwife know. She was surprised they progressed so fast since she knew my first baby took 25 1/2 hours from when my water broke to his birth. She, assuming a long labor, had made plans and couldn't get away right away. I should add that she was located about an hour and a half away! She told me to call my childbirth teacher/doula. About 10pm she came and sat with me, encouraging me to try different positions during contractions until I found one that made me comfortable. I felt better kneeling against the sofa. Upon her arrival my contractions eased back up to about 10 minutes apart. I did some walking back and forth down the hall to get things going and they did.When they were back to about 3 minutes apart I felt the need to get into the bathtub. The warm water was so relaxing, but that didn't slow labor down as I thought it would. It just eased the pain of the contractions. I was getting anxious about the midwife arriving on time and was assured by Robin that she would assist with the birth if needed. My midwife came just as I was starting to push. I pushed for about an hour. He came out a little then went back in then out a little more etc. Right before his birth he came out up to his nose and stopped. This time he didn't go back in. That hurt so much and I screamed in pain. I begged the midwife to "pull him out!!" She was so patient with me and just calmly said that she couldn't and the next contraction I needed to really push hard. He came out quickly after that and she put him to my chest right away. She rubbed his back and suctioned his nose and mouth. He didn't cry right away even though he was breathing so she was working at cleaning out his airway to annoy him enough to get him to cry more. It worked and a few minutes later he was wailing. The placenta was an easy birth as I didn't do anything to deliver it and it was out. Titus Matthew Hall was welcomed into the world at 3:19am on April 5, 2013.
It was such a wonderful experience and I know that if he were born in a hospital under the same circumstances the doctor would have given me an episiotomy and possibly pulled the baby out and roughed him up or taken him away from me for an unknown amount of time to examine him to make sure he was okay as his breathing wasn't the best right away. I am very thankful for my midwife, my doula Robin, and especially my husband for all supporting me in this special time. I am happy to be planning another home birth for my third baby due in early June, 2015.
I had a much healthier pregnancy than my first as far as exercising and eating somewhat healthy. I had gained a lot of weight with my first, not done much exercising, had a stressful job, and thought pregnancy was my free pass to eat what I wanted. I paid for it at the end of my pregnancy with terrible braxton hicks contractions and gaining so much. My knees hurt from the stress of the weight on them. I decided once I got down BELOW my pre-pregnancy weight that I would never again get that heavy.
4 Weeks
24 weeks
39 weeks 5 days
With this pregnancy, I never had any braxton hicks contractions. I made sure to exercise every day but Sunday, my day of rest and I ate much healthier, even though I craved desserts this pregnancy(salty foods were my friend with baby #1). I was positive baby would be early because I had such bad contractions early on with my first baby. By the 37 week mark I was exercising extra to get baby to come. Long walks and jumping jacks were my way to try to hurry things along. My mother even came early from out of town to help out with my older child. Much to my chagrin, baby waited.
About 6pm on my due date, April 4, 2013, I went to the restroom and thought I felt my water break(it had broken with my first so I knew the feeling). I thought if I laid down and my bag was broken, water would gush out. So I laid down for about 20 minutes and nothing happened so my husband and I decided to run an errand. I guess walking around helped and on the way home at 7:08 I had my first contraction. When I got home I told my mom and she got a paper out and recorded it and subsequent contractions' time apart and length. I was having a friend watch my oldest and wanted to make sure it was the real thing before calling her.My contractions were stead at 10-11 minutes apart, but they were intense enough that I couldn't handle my toddler being there.
Once he was at our friend's house for the night, things really got started.I had to really concentrate for contractions. They were between 3-4 minutes apart. I let my midwife know. She was surprised they progressed so fast since she knew my first baby took 25 1/2 hours from when my water broke to his birth. She, assuming a long labor, had made plans and couldn't get away right away. I should add that she was located about an hour and a half away! She told me to call my childbirth teacher/doula. About 10pm she came and sat with me, encouraging me to try different positions during contractions until I found one that made me comfortable. I felt better kneeling against the sofa. Upon her arrival my contractions eased back up to about 10 minutes apart. I did some walking back and forth down the hall to get things going and they did.When they were back to about 3 minutes apart I felt the need to get into the bathtub. The warm water was so relaxing, but that didn't slow labor down as I thought it would. It just eased the pain of the contractions. I was getting anxious about the midwife arriving on time and was assured by Robin that she would assist with the birth if needed. My midwife came just as I was starting to push. I pushed for about an hour. He came out a little then went back in then out a little more etc. Right before his birth he came out up to his nose and stopped. This time he didn't go back in. That hurt so much and I screamed in pain. I begged the midwife to "pull him out!!" She was so patient with me and just calmly said that she couldn't and the next contraction I needed to really push hard. He came out quickly after that and she put him to my chest right away. She rubbed his back and suctioned his nose and mouth. He didn't cry right away even though he was breathing so she was working at cleaning out his airway to annoy him enough to get him to cry more. It worked and a few minutes later he was wailing. The placenta was an easy birth as I didn't do anything to deliver it and it was out. Titus Matthew Hall was welcomed into the world at 3:19am on April 5, 2013.
Titus Matthew Hall 6lbs 10oz 18 1/4 in 3:19am
Meeting brother for the first time.
It was such a wonderful experience and I know that if he were born in a hospital under the same circumstances the doctor would have given me an episiotomy and possibly pulled the baby out and roughed him up or taken him away from me for an unknown amount of time to examine him to make sure he was okay as his breathing wasn't the best right away. I am very thankful for my midwife, my doula Robin, and especially my husband for all supporting me in this special time. I am happy to be planning another home birth for my third baby due in early June, 2015.
Friday, November 2, 2012
Excited about messy diapers!!
I am one crazy person you might be thinking. Who likes to change poopy diapers? well, I've come to see a trend in my day. I really do breath a sigh of relief when that odor comes wafting to my nose. With pregnancy it could be from a completely different room! That relief is coming from realizing that once I change and clean out his poopy diaper, he's done for the day! Then, like today, I get thrown a curve ball and bam! What? I think. How can he have another messy diaper? He already had one today. He has a very reliable schedule of one per day! Then I remember the menu from yesterday and realization sinks in. Oh yeah. I told myself to expect this. But then I know after round two that it's been a long time since there has been three rounds, so I'm safe for the day.
As a cloth diaper mamma, these messy diapers mean a lot more to me than disposable diaper mammas. Mainly because I have to actually clean out the diaper in the toilet before the diaper work is done. However, when I get blessed with a messy diaper that comes clean quite easily, I throw a silent cheer as the next time I might not be so lucky and could end up with a mess on my bathroom floor. The good old diaper sprayer.
As a cloth diaper mamma, these messy diapers mean a lot more to me than disposable diaper mammas. Mainly because I have to actually clean out the diaper in the toilet before the diaper work is done. However, when I get blessed with a messy diaper that comes clean quite easily, I throw a silent cheer as the next time I might not be so lucky and could end up with a mess on my bathroom floor. The good old diaper sprayer.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
My Easy Homemade Packing Tip For Really Big Packages
It actually didn't take up the whole roll of wrapping paper.
Here's what I did:
- I found a grocery store in my area that still offers paper bags for groceries. I bought a few groceries so the store would be compensated a little for the paper bags. I wasn't sure how many I needed so I just started with four. I will be building up a supply as I shop so I will be ready for present mailing season!
- Next I carefully opened up all of the bags and lay them flat.
- Next I taped all of the bags together making sure the side I wanted facing out(not the side with the grocery store name) had the tape on it to make it more secure. I started with three and checked to see it it would be enough, but the package was too big so I ended up needing all four. I made sure to tape all of the seams so the paper would be secure.
- Lastly, I treated the package like a present and wrapped it. I used packing tape and then proceeded to run out so I found some duct tape that I knew would hold it nice and tight!
I would love to hear what types of things you would pack using this idea!!
Happy Halloween?
With so many differing opinions regarding Halloween and the should we as believers allow our kids to go Trick or Treating or not? Well, hubby and I have prayed about it quite a bit even before munchkin number one was born. We have come up with what we feel is right for our family. We think that it is great for kids to dress up and use their imagination. When they're really little as mine is right now they don't even understand anything about it. If we skipped it they wouldn't even notice. At this point it's mainly all about fun for mom and dad(you know it's true) and great pics. Next year we might need to explain things a little bit.
What we've decided is that we think it's ok to do the whole trick or treating and pumpkin carving. Don't forget the tradition of watching "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown". We plan on explaining to our munchkins that these are just fun things to do as a family together. We're in the process of deciding what we're going to say in regards to Halloween's origin and what some people believe and how since we love Jesus we just make it fun.
For now we just love the cute stuff and love the memories that we're making with our munchkins! I'd love to hear you're thoughts on Halloween and traditions you have!!
What we've decided is that we think it's ok to do the whole trick or treating and pumpkin carving. Don't forget the tradition of watching "It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown". We plan on explaining to our munchkins that these are just fun things to do as a family together. We're in the process of deciding what we're going to say in regards to Halloween's origin and what some people believe and how since we love Jesus we just make it fun.
For now we just love the cute stuff and love the memories that we're making with our munchkins! I'd love to hear you're thoughts on Halloween and traditions you have!!
Our little lion cub
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
First pregnancy craziness
So right now I'm currently pregnant with baby number two and already I've noticed the difference. Well, I wanted to share about my experience with baby number one for those that happen to be working while pregnant as well as for my little munchkin so he knows what mommy went through carrying him.
So let me just start by saying that pregnancy is HARD! Working while pregnant is even harder. Less than a week after coming home from an amazing honeymoon(cruise and Disneyworld) my new husband and I were getting ready to take the 45 minute drive to the nearest Target when, standing in the kitchen, I almost fell over from stomach cramps that came on me very quickly. I knew when I should have expected them, but at that time it was too soon. So I hit up Ask dot com to find out what might be going on. One of the first answers was pregnancy. Both my husband and I were shocked, but excitedly hopeful. I had heard it could take several months to get pregnant. I don't remember why but we decided to wait four whole days to take a test. So the test was of course positive. I was very happy although my husband was understandably doubtful. We decided since it was so close to Christmas we would take another test on Christmas Day which was three days away and tell my mother-in-law. We also called my parents and told them on Christmas too. Everyone was very excited.
I decided not to share with my coworkers for the first few months to make sure everything was ok. I did tell my boss so if anything did happen she would know why. It was an extremely difficult first trimester. I would come home from work and be so tired I would fall asleep about 7pm. I remember feeling horrible because here I was newly moved in to the house we were renting, newly married, and so tired that I couldn't even unpack let alone clean the house. Thankfully I married the most amazing understanding man on the planet! He really helped a lot when I couldn't do much. I learned that in order not to feel sick I needed something in my stomach every two hours and I could tell if it was going on two hours and fifteen minutes.
Thankfully my second trimester was much better. I started having longer increments of feeling better. I also popped out pretty quickly too. I think that's because I'm small so baby has nowhere to go but out. We did a lot of traveling during my second trimester. I think a lot of that was because we were still newlyweds and wanted to visit a lot of people that couldn't make it to the wedding and just spend time together as a couple getting to know each other.
So let me just start by saying that pregnancy is HARD! Working while pregnant is even harder. Less than a week after coming home from an amazing honeymoon(cruise and Disneyworld) my new husband and I were getting ready to take the 45 minute drive to the nearest Target when, standing in the kitchen, I almost fell over from stomach cramps that came on me very quickly. I knew when I should have expected them, but at that time it was too soon. So I hit up Ask dot com to find out what might be going on. One of the first answers was pregnancy. Both my husband and I were shocked, but excitedly hopeful. I had heard it could take several months to get pregnant. I don't remember why but we decided to wait four whole days to take a test. So the test was of course positive. I was very happy although my husband was understandably doubtful. We decided since it was so close to Christmas we would take another test on Christmas Day which was three days away and tell my mother-in-law. We also called my parents and told them on Christmas too. Everyone was very excited.
I decided not to share with my coworkers for the first few months to make sure everything was ok. I did tell my boss so if anything did happen she would know why. It was an extremely difficult first trimester. I would come home from work and be so tired I would fall asleep about 7pm. I remember feeling horrible because here I was newly moved in to the house we were renting, newly married, and so tired that I couldn't even unpack let alone clean the house. Thankfully I married the most amazing understanding man on the planet! He really helped a lot when I couldn't do much. I learned that in order not to feel sick I needed something in my stomach every two hours and I could tell if it was going on two hours and fifteen minutes.
Here I'm 12 weeks pregnant and not yet in maternity clothes
Thankfully my second trimester was much better. I started having longer increments of feeling better. I also popped out pretty quickly too. I think that's because I'm small so baby has nowhere to go but out. We did a lot of traveling during my second trimester. I think a lot of that was because we were still newlyweds and wanted to visit a lot of people that couldn't make it to the wedding and just spend time together as a couple getting to know each other.
Here I'm 20 weeks pregnant and showing a lot. I'm standing in the house we bought!
So to add insult to injury, err pregnancy, newlyweds, pregnant and we also just bought a house as I was into my second trimester! Whew! That makes me exhausted all over again! What were we thinking?! Well, in retrospect, I'm very thankful. So on top of working and just being married, we had to move. I am so so so thankful for my mother-in-law! She came and helped me get a lot of things done to clean up the rental as well as put together our new house.
I remember the second trimester was the easiest and it went by the quickest. I don't remember a lot about my second trimester, but I do remember that so many people had their ideas about me. Everyone was convinced that I was having a girl based on that old wives tale on how I was carrying the baby. Then as the pregnancy progressed, there were other ideas that I was having twins!!
I remember the second trimester was the easiest and it went by the quickest. I don't remember a lot about my second trimester, but I do remember that so many people had their ideas about me. Everyone was convinced that I was having a girl based on that old wives tale on how I was carrying the baby. Then as the pregnancy progressed, there were other ideas that I was having twins!!
Here I'm 28 weeks(WOW)
In any other woman I look like I could be due any day, but I still had 12 weeks left at that point. I take it in stride and just use these pictures to see how I may look during this pregnancy. I was definitely all baby.
The third trimester was the roughest. Because I was so big I had problems with my back as well as my knees and ankle hurting. I also had tough heartburn at night and drank a lot of milk and tried sleeping propped up with pillows to help ease it.
I was still working full time and some even more than 40 hours a week. I tried not to show my fatigue or the aches and pains that I had. I have seen pregnant women whine and complain and I wanted to carry my fair share of the work load. The beginning of July I got a vacation week and used it to relax and get things done putting the house together after the move. It was great!! Upon going back to work being about 34 weeks, the baby decided that he didn't like it. I went from listening to my body and taking it easy when necessary to ignoring the need to relax at my desk and work through it. I started having strong Braxton Hicks contractions. After that Monday when I got home I knew that if I relaxed and they went away that they were true Braxton Hicks. If they continued then it was real labor. Well, the next morning I felt much better getting a full nights rest and relaxing. The next day at work the same thing happened. I even had to lean over the counter after hours to relax because the contractions were so strong. They went away after I relaxed that night so I dismissed it again. I was scheduled for my doctors appointment the next day on Wednesday and had a half day at work. Because I didn't get that time to relax like I did when I could sleep it off, I was in a lot of pain when I got to the doctors office. She came in to my room and I was having a very rough time. She asked what was wrong and I told her. She did my exam and ordered me to go straight to the hospital. She was worried that I was in premature labor. I knew it wasn't because as soon as I rested I was fine. I had to do the tests and lay very uncomfortably in bed with monitors on. They gave me medicine to stop the contractions and the OB prescribed additional medicine as well.(Upon reading the warning label stating not to take it to stop preterm labor I threw it out without taking any) We finally got to go home where I had the order of bedrest for at least a week.
32 weeks and feeling it!!
I took it easy for the week. My doctor kept me home until the baby came just because my job was pretty stressful. I really didn't follow the bed rest rule very carefully though. I listened to my body and when I needed to rest I did. I was able to get a lot accomplished with the house as there were still boxes that needed to be unpacked. It was a long three weeks. I was achy, uncomfortable and getting bored as I couldn't do what I used to do and at the same pace.
38 weeks at the baby shower ladies from my church gave me.
The highlight of the end of my pregnancy was my mom coming. She came in time to attend my baby shower. That was very special to me. It was such a fun time. I thought there might be 6 or 7 ladies, but there were over 25 women there(not counting my hubby who came to support me and do my bidding ;) )
My mom's visit was such a nice diversion as we were all now waiting for baby to come. I was secretly hoping(oops, secrets out!) that he would come before my shower. What 9 month hugely round pregnant woman doesn't? I was sadly disappointed. That day wouldn't come for almost two more weeks! My poor mother!! She was planning on staying a month and she was beginning to think that she would have to leave before the baby was born.
Well, that day finally came! It started out like any other day(sounds like a mysterious novel, doesn't it?) I was tired just like I had been. When my hubby came home from work about 5:15 I was resting on the sofa after walking around the block with my mom. I also didn't feel right. Well, we ate supper then we watched TV. About 7:30 I needed to use the restroom and heard a pop. I wondered it my water broke or if I used the bathroom. I knew that if your water breaks and you're standing, the baby acts like a cork to keep any more water from coming out. So I thought if I lay on the sofa and it was my water that broke then it would come out. When I lay down nothing happened, so I knew it wasn't my water breaking. About five minutes later I had a strange unexplainable feeling and I had to stand up. When I did I felt a gush of water and I was soaking wet. I told my mom and hubby that my water broke and asked for towels. I went over to the bathroom so I wouldn't get the carpet wet. I called my doctor and she told me to go in to the hospital. I knew that as soon as I got to the hospital I would be strapped down and uncomfortable so we decided to take our time. I wasn't having any contractions yet so I was doing fine. Hubby shaved, we checked our bag to make sure we had everything and got the dog and everything we needed for her and off we went. First we went to MIL's house. She was going to watch our dog for us. We prayed for the baby and the birth and headed to the hospital. I still didn't have any contractions so I felt strange going to the hospital.
I started having very light contractions about five minutes apart on the way to the hospital. We were not rushing. For those first time preggo mom's out there or those who have never experienced their water breaking, let me give you a piece of advice. If you think that it would be a great idea to wear a skirt to the hospital so it doesn't get soaked, you are mistaken. It doesn't get wet, but it's still not a good idea. Everything else was soaked and extremely uncomfortable. I would recommend wearing sweats or jammies or something similar. When we got to the hospital I was still only having light contractions. I went to get registered and needed to go to the restroom to adjust my wardrobe slightly. I couldn't wait for a wheelchair as I was still running water/fluid like crazy and it was very uncomfortable. When I got to my room I got to change to a hospital gown(yea!!) and the nurses had to check to make sure it was my water that broke(duh!). Now that I was officially admitted in, the waiting started. I thought that when your water breaks, things go pretty quickly. Nope. It was a long time coming. I could tell the contractions were starting to get a little stronger. Hubby and I passed the time by playing Skipbo! I highly recommend it. By the end of the game, the contractions were strong enough that I knew I couldn't play another game. By that time I was having a rough time relaxing. Getting up to use the restroom was a chore. I did spend time walking around my room a little. In retrospect, I should have walked around more or used the suggested exercise ball. I started having very strong contractions and thought that might mean I was in transition so I was hopeful. These hard contractions, however, were lasting several hours. My doctor was concerned that I wasn't getting close to ready for baby to be born so she said that I needed to either have some medicine to relax me or have surgery to have baby. I took the medicine. It didn't work at all. I ended up getting a spinal block which numbs from the waist down. I was able to relax and rested for several hours. Baby was getting ready to come!! I started pushing around 7:30 the next day and with a little too much encouragement my little, big baby was born about 9pm on September 2, 2011. Because of the too much encouragement in pushing, I tore very badly. It took the doctor over 45 minutes to stitch me back up. I wanted to hold my baby so badly!! Finally almost an hour after he was born I got to hold him. It was so wonderful!!
Well, that day finally came! It started out like any other day(sounds like a mysterious novel, doesn't it?) I was tired just like I had been. When my hubby came home from work about 5:15 I was resting on the sofa after walking around the block with my mom. I also didn't feel right. Well, we ate supper then we watched TV. About 7:30 I needed to use the restroom and heard a pop. I wondered it my water broke or if I used the bathroom. I knew that if your water breaks and you're standing, the baby acts like a cork to keep any more water from coming out. So I thought if I lay on the sofa and it was my water that broke then it would come out. When I lay down nothing happened, so I knew it wasn't my water breaking. About five minutes later I had a strange unexplainable feeling and I had to stand up. When I did I felt a gush of water and I was soaking wet. I told my mom and hubby that my water broke and asked for towels. I went over to the bathroom so I wouldn't get the carpet wet. I called my doctor and she told me to go in to the hospital. I knew that as soon as I got to the hospital I would be strapped down and uncomfortable so we decided to take our time. I wasn't having any contractions yet so I was doing fine. Hubby shaved, we checked our bag to make sure we had everything and got the dog and everything we needed for her and off we went. First we went to MIL's house. She was going to watch our dog for us. We prayed for the baby and the birth and headed to the hospital. I still didn't have any contractions so I felt strange going to the hospital.
I started having very light contractions about five minutes apart on the way to the hospital. We were not rushing. For those first time preggo mom's out there or those who have never experienced their water breaking, let me give you a piece of advice. If you think that it would be a great idea to wear a skirt to the hospital so it doesn't get soaked, you are mistaken. It doesn't get wet, but it's still not a good idea. Everything else was soaked and extremely uncomfortable. I would recommend wearing sweats or jammies or something similar. When we got to the hospital I was still only having light contractions. I went to get registered and needed to go to the restroom to adjust my wardrobe slightly. I couldn't wait for a wheelchair as I was still running water/fluid like crazy and it was very uncomfortable. When I got to my room I got to change to a hospital gown(yea!!) and the nurses had to check to make sure it was my water that broke(duh!). Now that I was officially admitted in, the waiting started. I thought that when your water breaks, things go pretty quickly. Nope. It was a long time coming. I could tell the contractions were starting to get a little stronger. Hubby and I passed the time by playing Skipbo! I highly recommend it. By the end of the game, the contractions were strong enough that I knew I couldn't play another game. By that time I was having a rough time relaxing. Getting up to use the restroom was a chore. I did spend time walking around my room a little. In retrospect, I should have walked around more or used the suggested exercise ball. I started having very strong contractions and thought that might mean I was in transition so I was hopeful. These hard contractions, however, were lasting several hours. My doctor was concerned that I wasn't getting close to ready for baby to be born so she said that I needed to either have some medicine to relax me or have surgery to have baby. I took the medicine. It didn't work at all. I ended up getting a spinal block which numbs from the waist down. I was able to relax and rested for several hours. Baby was getting ready to come!! I started pushing around 7:30 the next day and with a little too much encouragement my little, big baby was born about 9pm on September 2, 2011. Because of the too much encouragement in pushing, I tore very badly. It took the doctor over 45 minutes to stitch me back up. I wanted to hold my baby so badly!! Finally almost an hour after he was born I got to hold him. It was so wonderful!!
About an hour after baby was born!!
What a day!! Well, it wasn't all over just yet. The first night was quite the learning time. Learning to feed baby and getting up enough in the night. Was I ever tired!! But I was happy. Well, because of the rough time baby had being born, he developed jaundice. So I was so sad that he had to stay away from me and in the nursery under special lights. Thankfully I was still able to nurse him while under the lights. I just wanted to go home. Finally, after being in the hospital two and a half days after being born we were able to go home. It was so wonderful!! And from there the adventure begins!!
Proud grandmas!!
Making himself at home!!
He has definitely quickly gotten a hold of our hearts and is now a happy growing toddler.
So, here's my takeaway from my working while pregnant:
- It's good to share with your boss right away. I didn't tell everyone right away, but I did tell my boss because on the chance that something happened(miscarriage, tubal pregnancy, etc) I wanted to give her the courtesy of a heads up. Plus if I started getting bad morning sickness she would have an explanation.
- Follow your boss's lead on when to share with coworkers. If everything is normal and you seem the same as always, then great; however, if you are moody, queasy, or just having a tough first trimester, then as mine did, she may suggest sharing with everyone so they have a little understanding.
- Don't try to be superwoman. I tried to prove myself throughout the pregnancy. When you're in the last few months, you can trust your body to tell you when to take it easy. While it was ok the first two thirds, I really should have accepted help and admitted that I needed help the last trimester. I think that would have eliminated the first trip to the hospital.
- Depending on where you work, especially if it is in the public eye, don't take seriously the things customers or clients say. I ended up in tears after a customer practically told me I looked like a cow. As wrong and insensitive as that was, his(yes I said HIS) opinion is not that valuable to me in comparison to my hubby or my BFF.
Stay tuned for Pregnancy Craziness Take 2...
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