As most of you know poor little Abigail has been a bit under the weather for the past two weeks. Actually to say a bit under the weather is an understatement, she was actually very very ill. Two weeks ago her daycare provider called and said that her 6 month old son had tested positive for RSV (Respiritory Syncytial Virus). This virus is much like a cold and in toddlers and adults doesn't present too much of a problem. However in infants it can lead constrict the airway and lead to labored breathing and possibly pneumonia. We kept our fingers crossed that Abigail wouldn’t' get it but that was next to impossible since it's highly contagious. Well on Friday she started to get a cough and by Saturday her nose was running and her cough was worse. We actually were headed to Roanoke on Saturday afternoon for James' bday but turned around and came home because little Abigail was coughing up a storm in the backseat. Sunday wasn't much better and on Monday morning we headed to the doc's office. Sure enough, she had RSV. What we thought was the midpoint of her sickness was actually only the beginning. So we set up camp in the Family room downstairs so she could sleep in her swing, elevated and we could keep a close eye on her. She got increasingly sick over Monday night and Tuesday. She ran a 101.5 fever was having labored breathing through Tuesday night. So Joe took her back to the doc on Wednesday where she got a antibiotic shot, a nebulizer treatments and a Tylenol suppository. As if all that wasn't bad enough she then had to go for a chest x-ray. From what Joe explained this was the worst experience every. He had to hold her down while she wailed and cried, not good for a baby who was already having trouble breathing. The doc. sent Abigail home with a Nebulizer which she had to use every 6 hours til breathing improved. We were so overwhelmed with all this stuff that I'm surprised we didn't loose it. Not only could our little baby not breath but she still had a temperature and refused to take her baby Tylenol, it was really very very hard. Sidenote: apparently CVS no longer sells baby tylenol suppositories...Thankfully around 8 pm on Wednesday night her fever broke and the neb. treatments started working. By Thursday she was much improved but Joe and I felt like we had been through the ringer. We thought taking care of a newborn was hard, taking care of a sick baby was the worst because you’re sick with worry and sometimes there's nothing you can do but sit and wait, and not sleep. Either way we made it through the week and Abigail is doing much better now. It will take another week for the virus to be completely out of her system but she is much improved. Her sleeping on the other hand has taken a step in the wrong direction. Before she got sick she was sleeping a solid six hours at night which was awesome, now she's back down to three hours. According to my baby research month four brings about what’s called a "wonder week" where her brain makes a "mental leap." For some babies this can lead to temporary fussiness and sleep regression. This is def. the case with her, she's not overly fussy, never has been. But we can tell that her little brain is working overtime and she's making big steps in the motor skills department. She's always been very strong and alert but as of the last week or so she's become increasingly aware of her surroundings and almost seems to have "woken up" a bit more. It's so amazing to watch her grown and to watch her little brain just a working away.
Anyhoo, Christmas is upon us and of course we went way overboard on Christmas presents. I am so excited! We got her tons of books and clothes and Santa will be bringing an exersaucer. I am super excited for this Christmas and all the ones to come with her. She's so special and makes us laugh and smile everyday. We thank God for her every night. Well that's the update for now. Til next year...
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Our new normal
I apologize in advance for typos...
So I've been back to work for four weeks now and Abigial has been in daycare for two of those weeks. I must say that we have adapted to our new normal quite well. It's definitely an adjustment but we were lucky enough to have Joe's mom come stay with us my first week back to work and then Joe stayed home the week of Thanksgiving so I was able to adjust to going back to work for two weeks before having to deal with the daycare thing. Going back to work was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. I spent twleve wonderful weeks home with little munchkin and I knew all along that I'd have to go back but it was still incredibly hard. Work is work and I'm so thankful to have a job it's just really hard somedays when I think about Abigail playing or laughing and smiling without me :-(
Choosing a daycare was probably the most stressful thing I've done in my life. We were lucky enough to score a spot in an in-home daycare somewhat halfway between work and home. It's been great except that Abigail has already been sick twice. She is actually sick right now :-( It really sucks when you're baby is sick because when their 16 weeks olds there's not much you can do except feed them and let them sleep. We have originally planned on heading to Roanoke this weekend for James' 30th bday but we got about five miles down the road this afternoon and and ened up turning around to come home because Abigail was showing signs of getting worse. She's got a little cough, her nose is running like a faucet and had a fever this afternoon. Thankfully her fever subsided this evening but she is still a pathetic little mess and it's absolutely heartbreaking when she coughs, she's so little and it's like she doesn't understand why she isn't her regular self.
Anyhoo back to the new normal. So we've estaslished some sort of "schedule" with Abigail. I say "schedule" because with a four month old there really isn't one. As soon as you get used to something it completely changes or she goes through a growth spurt which throws everything off. But for now we are up aroudn 4:45 to start getting ready for work, I drop Abigail off at daycare by 6:45 to get work around 7. I work an alternate schedule of 9 hours a day to have every other friday off so Joe picks her up in the afternoons around 3:45 where she comes home to play and hang out til aroudn 7 when she heads to bed. She's doing a great job of sleeping right now, doing about 6-7 hour stretches (whichis awesome for exclusively breatfed babies) til we get her up in the morning. Usually it works out to where we only have to wake up to feed her once at night. We alternate nights and that's been working out really well.
Next month is a big one because we'll be starting solid foods. By solid foods I mean rice cereal watered down with milk. Basically she'll get two teaspoons of mush a day til 6 months when she can start other stuff like veggies. I've decided to make my own baby food (hear me out before you call me crazy). I honestly can't stand the sight of jarred baby food plus they are full of preservatives and added sugar, if you know me then you know this won't fly in my household. Last weekend my dad gave Abigail a giftcard to Kohls for her baptism and we got a Baby bullet. Steaming and mashing up vegetables is not that hard, plus you can mass produce and freeze it! So for now, that's what we'll be doing, we'll reassess once I figure out how time consuming all this is.
So like I just mentioed Abigail got baptized. The whole family came down, including Annie who is her godmother and Jimmy who is her godfather. Annie and James brought Clara so the cousins met for the first time,it was awesome! For the Baptism Abigail wore a gown that was made out of my grandmother's wedding dress. My father and I were both baptized in it. She did great during the ceremony and didn't even flinch when the priest poured the water over her. She is absolutely wonerful and continues to amaze me with her baby strength and growing abilities. She is super strong and can tummy time with the best of them. She goes back to teh doc. on Dec. 23rd adn I'm so anxious to see how much she weights. I would be she's about 13lbs now meaning she's literally doubled in size. She is currently working on rolling over. She did it once but hasn't done it again recently. She does like to "talk" but she is more of the strong silent type. You can definitley tell that she just like to sit back and take everything in. I love her so much, you can never fully graps the amount of love your capable of until you have a baby. All of the sudden nothing else matters except that baby. But along with this love comes an immense amount of worry, this is def. something I didn't prepare for. Every time I put her to bed I worry, every twitch or sign I worry and with this cold that she has now I'm a mess. But that's normal I suppose, she's the center of our world and the sparkle in our eyes. This Christmas is going to be awesome, I alreay have plans to go way overboard on spoiling her with gifts even though she wont remember it. We put teh lights on the tree tonight and she was just in awe of the sparkly lights, it was so awesome. She is most def. going to be spoiled rotten! She certainly has Joe and I wrapped around her little baby finger and we love every second of it! So until next time, that's the baby update. She's amazing and wonderul and a true miracle, but we already knew that :-)
So I've been back to work for four weeks now and Abigial has been in daycare for two of those weeks. I must say that we have adapted to our new normal quite well. It's definitely an adjustment but we were lucky enough to have Joe's mom come stay with us my first week back to work and then Joe stayed home the week of Thanksgiving so I was able to adjust to going back to work for two weeks before having to deal with the daycare thing. Going back to work was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life. I spent twleve wonderful weeks home with little munchkin and I knew all along that I'd have to go back but it was still incredibly hard. Work is work and I'm so thankful to have a job it's just really hard somedays when I think about Abigail playing or laughing and smiling without me :-(
Choosing a daycare was probably the most stressful thing I've done in my life. We were lucky enough to score a spot in an in-home daycare somewhat halfway between work and home. It's been great except that Abigail has already been sick twice. She is actually sick right now :-( It really sucks when you're baby is sick because when their 16 weeks olds there's not much you can do except feed them and let them sleep. We have originally planned on heading to Roanoke this weekend for James' 30th bday but we got about five miles down the road this afternoon and and ened up turning around to come home because Abigail was showing signs of getting worse. She's got a little cough, her nose is running like a faucet and had a fever this afternoon. Thankfully her fever subsided this evening but she is still a pathetic little mess and it's absolutely heartbreaking when she coughs, she's so little and it's like she doesn't understand why she isn't her regular self.
Anyhoo back to the new normal. So we've estaslished some sort of "schedule" with Abigail. I say "schedule" because with a four month old there really isn't one. As soon as you get used to something it completely changes or she goes through a growth spurt which throws everything off. But for now we are up aroudn 4:45 to start getting ready for work, I drop Abigail off at daycare by 6:45 to get work around 7. I work an alternate schedule of 9 hours a day to have every other friday off so Joe picks her up in the afternoons around 3:45 where she comes home to play and hang out til aroudn 7 when she heads to bed. She's doing a great job of sleeping right now, doing about 6-7 hour stretches (whichis awesome for exclusively breatfed babies) til we get her up in the morning. Usually it works out to where we only have to wake up to feed her once at night. We alternate nights and that's been working out really well.
Next month is a big one because we'll be starting solid foods. By solid foods I mean rice cereal watered down with milk. Basically she'll get two teaspoons of mush a day til 6 months when she can start other stuff like veggies. I've decided to make my own baby food (hear me out before you call me crazy). I honestly can't stand the sight of jarred baby food plus they are full of preservatives and added sugar, if you know me then you know this won't fly in my household. Last weekend my dad gave Abigail a giftcard to Kohls for her baptism and we got a Baby bullet. Steaming and mashing up vegetables is not that hard, plus you can mass produce and freeze it! So for now, that's what we'll be doing, we'll reassess once I figure out how time consuming all this is.
So like I just mentioed Abigail got baptized. The whole family came down, including Annie who is her godmother and Jimmy who is her godfather. Annie and James brought Clara so the cousins met for the first time,it was awesome! For the Baptism Abigail wore a gown that was made out of my grandmother's wedding dress. My father and I were both baptized in it. She did great during the ceremony and didn't even flinch when the priest poured the water over her. She is absolutely wonerful and continues to amaze me with her baby strength and growing abilities. She is super strong and can tummy time with the best of them. She goes back to teh doc. on Dec. 23rd adn I'm so anxious to see how much she weights. I would be she's about 13lbs now meaning she's literally doubled in size. She is currently working on rolling over. She did it once but hasn't done it again recently. She does like to "talk" but she is more of the strong silent type. You can definitley tell that she just like to sit back and take everything in. I love her so much, you can never fully graps the amount of love your capable of until you have a baby. All of the sudden nothing else matters except that baby. But along with this love comes an immense amount of worry, this is def. something I didn't prepare for. Every time I put her to bed I worry, every twitch or sign I worry and with this cold that she has now I'm a mess. But that's normal I suppose, she's the center of our world and the sparkle in our eyes. This Christmas is going to be awesome, I alreay have plans to go way overboard on spoiling her with gifts even though she wont remember it. We put teh lights on the tree tonight and she was just in awe of the sparkly lights, it was so awesome. She is most def. going to be spoiled rotten! She certainly has Joe and I wrapped around her little baby finger and we love every second of it! So until next time, that's the baby update. She's amazing and wonderul and a true miracle, but we already knew that :-)
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Three months old!
So let me just start by saying that the past three months has been the most amazing, incredibly experience of my life. Abigail is the most amazing thing I have ever seen and sometimes when I look at her and hold her in my arms I get teary eyed knowing what a miracle she is. She makes me laugh (especially when she gets that goofy smile on her face) and she constantly amazes me with her rapd growth and incredibly "mightiness." (Her doc. called her mighty at her last visit, saying she was incredibly strong for her age, I have actuall called her mighty mouse from day 1.) I cannot believe she's almost three months old, she has grown sooo fast! And these past three months have been just a crazy/awesome journey.
In the essence of full disclosure though, motherhood is terrifying. You are suddenly responsible for somethign so precious that you start to second guess everything you do, from the food you eat (if your breastfeeding which I am) to how fast you drive (which I do). Your life does a comlete 180, you are no longer just you, you are you and baby. running errands takes on a whole new complicatedness (word?) Stroller, baby bag, carseat, diapers, wipes, pacifiers, burpclothes, tiny socks, and blanket. You have to make sure you have it all before even leaving the house. It's crazy, amazing and exhausting. Time flies at a ridiculous rate. For the first couple weeks your kind of in a vaccuum, you are in your own little world of babiness adn nothing else matters. Not to mention that you are so exhausted from only sleeping for two hours at a time that you could really care less what is happening in the outside world. For me, thinking back, the first six weeks are kind of a blur, which sucks a little because I want to make the most out of my time at home with Abigail but I spent a good portion of hte first six weeks not able to do much because I was recovering from major abdominal surgery (thank you C section). Once I started to feel better, Abigail and I got out and started going places. We walked everyday wiht the dog and tried to do a few things every week. Around week 8 I was feeling great and really starting to get used to this mommy thing. Abigail started sleeping longer and things started to feel normal again. Then Abigail got thrush in her mouth, which is common in babies but a huge pain in the ass considering she also gave it to me. So we dealt with that for a couple weeks, got rid of it and got back on the road to normalcy. Then around week 10 Abigail started have trouble going to sleep at night. We tried putting her in her crib in her own room and starting some sort of routine at night, bath, eating, bedtime. She did great the first night, then after that she refused to go to bed. She is just not quite old enough to self soothe and has a hard time making her transitions from sleep cycles. This led to a tired and frustrated set of parents. So she came back in our room and back to her bassinet, where she is comfortable. We've concluded to try again in a few weeks after she gets better at self soothing and is a better sleeper. After all she's just a baby and she just wasn't ready yet. She seems to be doing better with sleeping now and knowing when it's bedtime. We'll see...
So here we are, my last week at home with her before going back to work. I'm sad anxious, nervous, and depressed all at once. THankfully Joe's mom will be coming to watch her next week then Joe is taking the week of Thanksgiving off so she won't be going to daycare until teh week after Thanksgiving. this makes going back to work a bit easier, we can ease into all the new changes. I know it's going to be incredibly difficult adn I am going to be an emotional basket case for the next few weeks so I'm just trying not to think about it. I just can't believe that my twelve weeks are up, where did they go? I look at this tiny thing taking a nap right now and can't believe that I'm not going to get to hang out with her all the time. It makes me sad. I know she is going to be fine because she is a baby and doesn't know any better but I am honestly going to miss hanging out with her and watch her reach her milestones every week. I guess it will make coming home from work all the more exciting though. Work is a must, I would love to stay home with her but that's just not an option right now. I want to be a good role model for Abigail and show her that you can be a mommy and have a career too. I have worked very hard to get where I am, went to school for a long time, and spent thousands upon thousand of dollars to get the best education to lead me to my current position. I want to work even harder to be the best in my field and I enjoy what I do. I want Abigail to know that you can have it all, family and career. So back to work I go. Sigh....
So on top of preparing to go back to work, I went to the doctor and found out I have Shingles!!!! yay! I got a rash on my leg last Friday which progressed to a bigger rash so I figured I'd get it looked at and the doc said shingles, awesome! Basically the chicken pox virus lays dormant in your body after you get it as a child and can come back when your an adult if you get sick or are under a lot of stress....well hello...stress is a constant in my life right now. I have to be extremely careful to keep it covered so that Abigail does not come into contact with it or she could get Chicken Pox. It shoudl be gone by next week but it's just another thing to worry about in my last week with her. It was something I really didnt need.
So that's where we are now. The next transition is going to be a big one, figuring out how to be working parents and getting used to daycare. We'll see how it goes, I'll keep you posted...
ps-no time to spell check, sorry.
In the essence of full disclosure though, motherhood is terrifying. You are suddenly responsible for somethign so precious that you start to second guess everything you do, from the food you eat (if your breastfeeding which I am) to how fast you drive (which I do). Your life does a comlete 180, you are no longer just you, you are you and baby. running errands takes on a whole new complicatedness (word?) Stroller, baby bag, carseat, diapers, wipes, pacifiers, burpclothes, tiny socks, and blanket. You have to make sure you have it all before even leaving the house. It's crazy, amazing and exhausting. Time flies at a ridiculous rate. For the first couple weeks your kind of in a vaccuum, you are in your own little world of babiness adn nothing else matters. Not to mention that you are so exhausted from only sleeping for two hours at a time that you could really care less what is happening in the outside world. For me, thinking back, the first six weeks are kind of a blur, which sucks a little because I want to make the most out of my time at home with Abigail but I spent a good portion of hte first six weeks not able to do much because I was recovering from major abdominal surgery (thank you C section). Once I started to feel better, Abigail and I got out and started going places. We walked everyday wiht the dog and tried to do a few things every week. Around week 8 I was feeling great and really starting to get used to this mommy thing. Abigail started sleeping longer and things started to feel normal again. Then Abigail got thrush in her mouth, which is common in babies but a huge pain in the ass considering she also gave it to me. So we dealt with that for a couple weeks, got rid of it and got back on the road to normalcy. Then around week 10 Abigail started have trouble going to sleep at night. We tried putting her in her crib in her own room and starting some sort of routine at night, bath, eating, bedtime. She did great the first night, then after that she refused to go to bed. She is just not quite old enough to self soothe and has a hard time making her transitions from sleep cycles. This led to a tired and frustrated set of parents. So she came back in our room and back to her bassinet, where she is comfortable. We've concluded to try again in a few weeks after she gets better at self soothing and is a better sleeper. After all she's just a baby and she just wasn't ready yet. She seems to be doing better with sleeping now and knowing when it's bedtime. We'll see...
So here we are, my last week at home with her before going back to work. I'm sad anxious, nervous, and depressed all at once. THankfully Joe's mom will be coming to watch her next week then Joe is taking the week of Thanksgiving off so she won't be going to daycare until teh week after Thanksgiving. this makes going back to work a bit easier, we can ease into all the new changes. I know it's going to be incredibly difficult adn I am going to be an emotional basket case for the next few weeks so I'm just trying not to think about it. I just can't believe that my twelve weeks are up, where did they go? I look at this tiny thing taking a nap right now and can't believe that I'm not going to get to hang out with her all the time. It makes me sad. I know she is going to be fine because she is a baby and doesn't know any better but I am honestly going to miss hanging out with her and watch her reach her milestones every week. I guess it will make coming home from work all the more exciting though. Work is a must, I would love to stay home with her but that's just not an option right now. I want to be a good role model for Abigail and show her that you can be a mommy and have a career too. I have worked very hard to get where I am, went to school for a long time, and spent thousands upon thousand of dollars to get the best education to lead me to my current position. I want to work even harder to be the best in my field and I enjoy what I do. I want Abigail to know that you can have it all, family and career. So back to work I go. Sigh....
So on top of preparing to go back to work, I went to the doctor and found out I have Shingles!!!! yay! I got a rash on my leg last Friday which progressed to a bigger rash so I figured I'd get it looked at and the doc said shingles, awesome! Basically the chicken pox virus lays dormant in your body after you get it as a child and can come back when your an adult if you get sick or are under a lot of stress....well hello...stress is a constant in my life right now. I have to be extremely careful to keep it covered so that Abigail does not come into contact with it or she could get Chicken Pox. It shoudl be gone by next week but it's just another thing to worry about in my last week with her. It was something I really didnt need.
So that's where we are now. The next transition is going to be a big one, figuring out how to be working parents and getting used to daycare. We'll see how it goes, I'll keep you posted...
ps-no time to spell check, sorry.
Monday, August 29, 2011
C is for C Section!
So it's officially been ten days since little Abigail came into the world and oh my has it been the craziest most insane wild ten days of our lives.
I went to the doctor last Thursday, August 18th for a routine check up and my doc. ordered me a final ultrasound to determine size and position. In my excitement I scheduled the ultrasound for the next day, Friday at 4pm, not thinking a think was wrong. So the next day Joseph and I ventured off to get our ultrasound and we were so excited. We were about thirty seconds into the ultrasound when the technician uttered the one word that made all the blood rush to my head and have a small panic attack; "Breech." I though oh no, what the hell are we going to do. The last thing I wanted was a C Section but at this point in the pregnancy there was no way we could manually turn her around, she was too big at this point. or at least we thought. The tech. finished her business but it's all a blur to me because all I could think was, "how the hell is she breech, she was head down a few weeks ago." The tech went back and called my OB, she came back to the room and told me that I needed to head over the L&D at Mary Washington Hospital. Once again, blood rushed to my head, blurriness, and general confusion began...1) I did not want to deliver at Mary Washington, we were all set up at the Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center 2) I did not want a C Section
So off to L&D we went, both of us in a stuper and not knowing what would be occurring in the next six hours. We got checked in and met with my doctor, thankfully my OB happened to be on call that night which is the only thing that made me comfortable. She informed me that the baby was a bit small and my fluids were low, and she was of course breech. Basically we needed to have this baby, there was no way to turn her around, not because of her size but because my fluids were too low. She said, you can have a C Section tonight at 11pm or you can have a C Section tomorrow morning at 6am, either way I wasn't going home nor was I going to Spotsy since no one from my practice was on call over there to do the C Section. Awesome. Joseph and I looked at each other and I lost it. I was so overwhelmed I didn't know what to do adn this was not playing out the way I imagined at all, this was not the way it was supposed to be. But we decided to go ahead and get it started and have our baby that night with my OB doing the surgery. The hours passed quickly, Joseph was able to go to the house and get our bag and his parents were able to make it in from Front Royal. The nurses explained everything to me step by step beforehand which made things more scary and less scary at the same time. Anyhoo, surgery time came around and I was scared to death. The only thing that calmed me down was Joseph, he was amazing, reassuring me every step of the way that everything was going to be ok. In the OR I got my spinal block which was awesome and scary. Of course I couldn't feel anything but the thought that I was completely numb and helpless freaked me out. Thankfully just as I started to panic, Joseph came into the room and sat next to me. I can't even remember what we talked about but it was something silly like what I wanted to eat for dinner or something like that. Not too long after they started did we meet our little Abigail Anne. They showed her too me as soon as she came into the world and all I saw was a head full of hair before they carted her over to clean her off. Joe spent the rest of the time with her and went with her to the nursery while they put me back together. I saw them again in the Recovery room a little bit later. The whole thing took about two hours from start to recovery time. It was exhuasting but at last I saw my baby girl when they wheeled her into the Recovery room, all 6lbs 5oz of her, she was soo tiny but with a head full of hair!
The next few days in the hospital are kind of a blur but we had Abigail stay in the room with us the whole time, except for when she went out for her shots, I didn't want to let her out of my sight. my dad made it up from Georgia and helped a lot by staying with Abigail while we napped. which was awesome. We came home on Monday and were lucky enough to have Joe's mom stay with us the whole week which was a lifesaver. I am very lmited on what I can do so she was a godsend. Unfortunately over the past week I have developed an infection assocaited with my surgery so my recovery has been less than stellar but I am on the mend.
I've since decided that C sections suck. Recovery time from a C Section is twice as long as it is for a normal vaginal delivery. You can't do anything, you're not even supposed to go up and down stair!
Joseph and I are attempting to settle into our "routine" or lack there of. Abigail is amazing and she makes us smile and has brought so much joy into our lives. Dont get me wrong, we are exhuated and overwhelmed and we have no idea what we are doing but that's ok. We have a beautiful healthy baby girl and that's all that matters.
So that's it, no big labor story, no water breaking in the middle of the night or 24 hour delivery. Just a wham bam C Section and there you have it, baby!
I went to the doctor last Thursday, August 18th for a routine check up and my doc. ordered me a final ultrasound to determine size and position. In my excitement I scheduled the ultrasound for the next day, Friday at 4pm, not thinking a think was wrong. So the next day Joseph and I ventured off to get our ultrasound and we were so excited. We were about thirty seconds into the ultrasound when the technician uttered the one word that made all the blood rush to my head and have a small panic attack; "Breech." I though oh no, what the hell are we going to do. The last thing I wanted was a C Section but at this point in the pregnancy there was no way we could manually turn her around, she was too big at this point. or at least we thought. The tech. finished her business but it's all a blur to me because all I could think was, "how the hell is she breech, she was head down a few weeks ago." The tech went back and called my OB, she came back to the room and told me that I needed to head over the L&D at Mary Washington Hospital. Once again, blood rushed to my head, blurriness, and general confusion began...1) I did not want to deliver at Mary Washington, we were all set up at the Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center 2) I did not want a C Section
So off to L&D we went, both of us in a stuper and not knowing what would be occurring in the next six hours. We got checked in and met with my doctor, thankfully my OB happened to be on call that night which is the only thing that made me comfortable. She informed me that the baby was a bit small and my fluids were low, and she was of course breech. Basically we needed to have this baby, there was no way to turn her around, not because of her size but because my fluids were too low. She said, you can have a C Section tonight at 11pm or you can have a C Section tomorrow morning at 6am, either way I wasn't going home nor was I going to Spotsy since no one from my practice was on call over there to do the C Section. Awesome. Joseph and I looked at each other and I lost it. I was so overwhelmed I didn't know what to do adn this was not playing out the way I imagined at all, this was not the way it was supposed to be. But we decided to go ahead and get it started and have our baby that night with my OB doing the surgery. The hours passed quickly, Joseph was able to go to the house and get our bag and his parents were able to make it in from Front Royal. The nurses explained everything to me step by step beforehand which made things more scary and less scary at the same time. Anyhoo, surgery time came around and I was scared to death. The only thing that calmed me down was Joseph, he was amazing, reassuring me every step of the way that everything was going to be ok. In the OR I got my spinal block which was awesome and scary. Of course I couldn't feel anything but the thought that I was completely numb and helpless freaked me out. Thankfully just as I started to panic, Joseph came into the room and sat next to me. I can't even remember what we talked about but it was something silly like what I wanted to eat for dinner or something like that. Not too long after they started did we meet our little Abigail Anne. They showed her too me as soon as she came into the world and all I saw was a head full of hair before they carted her over to clean her off. Joe spent the rest of the time with her and went with her to the nursery while they put me back together. I saw them again in the Recovery room a little bit later. The whole thing took about two hours from start to recovery time. It was exhuasting but at last I saw my baby girl when they wheeled her into the Recovery room, all 6lbs 5oz of her, she was soo tiny but with a head full of hair!
The next few days in the hospital are kind of a blur but we had Abigail stay in the room with us the whole time, except for when she went out for her shots, I didn't want to let her out of my sight. my dad made it up from Georgia and helped a lot by staying with Abigail while we napped. which was awesome. We came home on Monday and were lucky enough to have Joe's mom stay with us the whole week which was a lifesaver. I am very lmited on what I can do so she was a godsend. Unfortunately over the past week I have developed an infection assocaited with my surgery so my recovery has been less than stellar but I am on the mend.
I've since decided that C sections suck. Recovery time from a C Section is twice as long as it is for a normal vaginal delivery. You can't do anything, you're not even supposed to go up and down stair!
Joseph and I are attempting to settle into our "routine" or lack there of. Abigail is amazing and she makes us smile and has brought so much joy into our lives. Dont get me wrong, we are exhuated and overwhelmed and we have no idea what we are doing but that's ok. We have a beautiful healthy baby girl and that's all that matters.
So that's it, no big labor story, no water breaking in the middle of the night or 24 hour delivery. Just a wham bam C Section and there you have it, baby!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Dilated, Effaced, and Exhuasted
Dilated, Effaced, and Exhausted
So I just want to start out by letting you know that I will not be informing you of how many centimeters dilated or what percentage effaced I am. I am not one to overshare and I think that definitely falls into that category. I will just say that things are progressing at a normal rate and all is well in baby land.
So I just want to start out by letting you know that I will not be informing you of how many centimeters dilated or what percentage effaced I am. I am not one to overshare and I think that definitely falls into that category. I will just say that things are progressing at a normal rate and all is well in baby land.
So we finally got the nursery done, hooray! The furniture came last Tuesday but not without several additional hours of waiting around. This whole furniutred debacle began back in June when we ventured down to Richmond to get our 4D ultrasound. We went into a furniture store not expecting to buy anything because I had read several reviews online about how long their delivery process takes. My sole intent in this store was to look at a lamp…
We were only in the store for a few minutes when we were approached by a very nice saleslady, we informed her of how far along I was and how we knew there wasn’t much time for delivery. She informed us of their rush delivery process and gave us her “word” that the furniture would be there on time with weeks to spare, for an additional cost of course. Well inevitably I fell in love with a crib set and wanted it. Joseph of course agreed and indulged my non budget friendly taste in baby furniture and we ordered it. That said, the furniture we ordered is very high quality and def. worth the few extra bucks we spent. Anyhoo, we paid the “rush” shipping fee and were given a window of 3-6 weeks for arrival in Richmond. After that, the furniture would be delivered to Fburg by a private company, which we were told would take no more than 5-7 days. So we waited…and waited…and waited. Week six rolled around and no furniture. I called and they said, oh it’s on the next truck it will be here in a few days. Seven days later it arrived, of course no one called to tell me that, I had to call them. So there we were, Friday afternoon, seven weeks after purchase and the furniture had finally arrived in Richmond. I was told by the store that I would be contacted by the company to schedule delivery that next Wednesday. Well Wednesday came and went, no one called. Of course, I called back on Thursday at which point they told me that their truck had broken down and the private company could not pick up the furniture until Friday but that I would hear from them in a few days. Well the private company finally called me on Saturday the 30th to set up delivery. The first available date they had was Aug 9th. So we set that up and were given a time slot of 1-3. Joseph took the afternoon off of work and waited at the house…and waited…and waited. At 3:30 I called the company and they told me that they were running behind but would be there by 4:30, well it was already 4:15…the drive finally called us again at 4:55 saying he would be there at 5 which he was and the furniture miraculously made it to our house. Not only had we waited over 3 weeks longer than we were told but Joseph took an entire afternoon off to accommodate them for no reason at all. Ugh. I was just relieved it finally arrived. I thought for sure I would have this baby and no furniture. Needless to say that I am very unhappy with USA Baby in Richmond and have written them a scathing review online…and here.
After everything was situated, organization began. I had a time trying to figure out which drawer should house what. I will probably move things around five more times but for now it’s all “organized” or as organized as tiny baby onesies can get.
Everything is strategically placed in the house including the bassinet and playard. All these new things seem like new play areas for the animals. I woke up to find Gwenivere in the bassinet the other night at which point I freaked out and yelled at the top of my lungs at her. I don’t think she’ll make that mistake again. Lincoln is afraid of the stroller, so we’re working on that.
I can say, as I’ve said before, it’s not for the faint of heart and it’s definitely not for the lazy. I am so glad I was in shape and have maintained somewhat active /healthy lifestyle while pregnant. There is no way I would have made it if I was a lazy person, it takes a lot out of you and you have to have the willpower to keep active and keep going otherwise you’d end up being a 400lb miserable pregnant person. And as I've said before you have to get used to the jealous/bitter people who are unhappy with their own lives and can't possibly find it in their hearts to be happy for you, but you learn to ignore/laugh at them fairly quickly. Oh and you also have to get used to the people that have absolutely no idea what it's like to be pregnant and are therefor just plain rude but you get used to/laugh at those people too (most of these people are also the jealous/bitter ones as well).
But enough about all that. Joseph and I are so excited to meet our baby girl. I can't wait to see what she looks like and to finally give her a name!! We both think we are "ready" now and the anticipation is building up so much we can't stand it.
We’re in the home stretch here, my doctor says it could be any day or a week from now so I am of course on eggshells in everything I do. I am just waiting for my water to break at the most inopportune time. I don’t sleep much at night and I can barely put pants on but other than that everything is fabulous. I can’t say that I’ve minded being pregnant all that much. It’s uncomfortable, exhausting, but at the same time awesome. It’s a crazy/weird thing being pregnant but it’s been a cool ride and definitley worth all the things you have to go through in those nine and a half months.
Til next time...
But enough about all that. Joseph and I are so excited to meet our baby girl. I can't wait to see what she looks like and to finally give her a name!! We both think we are "ready" now and the anticipation is building up so much we can't stand it.
We’re in the home stretch here, my doctor says it could be any day or a week from now so I am of course on eggshells in everything I do. I am just waiting for my water to break at the most inopportune time. I don’t sleep much at night and I can barely put pants on but other than that everything is fabulous. I can’t say that I’ve minded being pregnant all that much. It’s uncomfortable, exhausting, but at the same time awesome. It’s a crazy/weird thing being pregnant but it’s been a cool ride and definitley worth all the things you have to go through in those nine and a half months.
Til next time...
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Lessons Learned
So I figured I'd take a few moments to update everyone on the interesting lessons I've learned in the past few weeks since I last blogged.
1) Do not iron without a shirt on. One morning, in a rush of course, I was ironing my shirt for work. I'm a big fan of the steam shot button on my iron. I pushed that little button and steam-shot my belly on accident. I hadn't realized how far my new belly was protruding. This was the point in my pregnancy when I realized I had gotten fat...
2) You can turn the stove on with your belly. Last week I brushed up against the stove and somehow managed to turn one of the knobs. Thankfully I immediately realized it and didn't burn the house down.
3) You don’t really need sleep to survive. I realize this lesson will probably become more apparently in the coming months but a good nights sleep is a rare occurrence in my house these days. It has something to do with the limited sleep positions and a lot to do with lesson #4
4) There is no limit to how many times you can pee in one day. And here I thought the first trimester was bad but oh baby (literally) I think I pee every five minutes. The bad part is that you don’t really have to pee that much but you can't wait because if you wait til your bladder is actually full and the baby shifts or kicks then you are in trouble...And it's worse at night, no matter how much I limit my liquid intake a nighttime I still pee about five times a night. Awesome.
5) I will never take tying my shoes for granted again. Thank goodness it's flip flop season because putting socks and shoes on has become incredibly difficult.
6) What falls on the ground, stays on the ground. This goes along with lesson 5, bending over just doesn't happen anymore.
7) My life is a constant buffet. My appetite has gone from crazy to ridiculous. I eat, and eat, and eat. When I get full, oh wait...I don't get full.
8) Working out is for the birds. I can no longer do anything. I go for about a 20 minute walk everyday and that's a much as I can handle in this heat.
9) OCD overdrive. I feel a constant urge to organize, clean, move things around. This problem is perpetuated by the fact that we have not received our baby furniture yet and I therefore have no where to put all the cute little baby clothes I've washed and ironed (yes ironed). the furniture should be here next week but it's driving me bananas that I have no tiny little drawers to put the tiny little socks.
10) There are approximately 97 different shades of baby pink. I learned this while picking out a color for the baby's room. From "True Pink" to "baby pink" and all 95 colors in between, this can really drive one crazy.
11) Putting together baby things, like a stroller or bassinet, is really stressful. This isn't like throwing together any other piece of furniture. Your babies life depends on your ability to follow directions.
12) No, I'm not ready, stop asking. Is one ever really ready for their life to changed completely?
I guess that's it for now...I'm kinda in a "calm before the storm" mode. I don’t think it has really hit Joseph or I that there will soon be a tiny little baby in the house. I think freak out mode will begin next week...we shall see :-)
1) Do not iron without a shirt on. One morning, in a rush of course, I was ironing my shirt for work. I'm a big fan of the steam shot button on my iron. I pushed that little button and steam-shot my belly on accident. I hadn't realized how far my new belly was protruding. This was the point in my pregnancy when I realized I had gotten fat...
2) You can turn the stove on with your belly. Last week I brushed up against the stove and somehow managed to turn one of the knobs. Thankfully I immediately realized it and didn't burn the house down.
3) You don’t really need sleep to survive. I realize this lesson will probably become more apparently in the coming months but a good nights sleep is a rare occurrence in my house these days. It has something to do with the limited sleep positions and a lot to do with lesson #4
4) There is no limit to how many times you can pee in one day. And here I thought the first trimester was bad but oh baby (literally) I think I pee every five minutes. The bad part is that you don’t really have to pee that much but you can't wait because if you wait til your bladder is actually full and the baby shifts or kicks then you are in trouble...And it's worse at night, no matter how much I limit my liquid intake a nighttime I still pee about five times a night. Awesome.
5) I will never take tying my shoes for granted again. Thank goodness it's flip flop season because putting socks and shoes on has become incredibly difficult.
6) What falls on the ground, stays on the ground. This goes along with lesson 5, bending over just doesn't happen anymore.
7) My life is a constant buffet. My appetite has gone from crazy to ridiculous. I eat, and eat, and eat. When I get full, oh wait...I don't get full.
8) Working out is for the birds. I can no longer do anything. I go for about a 20 minute walk everyday and that's a much as I can handle in this heat.
9) OCD overdrive. I feel a constant urge to organize, clean, move things around. This problem is perpetuated by the fact that we have not received our baby furniture yet and I therefore have no where to put all the cute little baby clothes I've washed and ironed (yes ironed). the furniture should be here next week but it's driving me bananas that I have no tiny little drawers to put the tiny little socks.
10) There are approximately 97 different shades of baby pink. I learned this while picking out a color for the baby's room. From "True Pink" to "baby pink" and all 95 colors in between, this can really drive one crazy.
11) Putting together baby things, like a stroller or bassinet, is really stressful. This isn't like throwing together any other piece of furniture. Your babies life depends on your ability to follow directions.
12) No, I'm not ready, stop asking. Is one ever really ready for their life to changed completely?
I guess that's it for now...I'm kinda in a "calm before the storm" mode. I don’t think it has really hit Joseph or I that there will soon be a tiny little baby in the house. I think freak out mode will begin next week...we shall see :-)
Monday, May 30, 2011
There's a small acrobat in my belly...27 weeks
Well here we are, we've made it to the 3rd Trimester, wahoo! It's really hard to believe that we only have three more months til we meet out little baby girl. It's hard to believe and incredibly terrifying. We have so much left to do. I feel like we've been going non stop for the last six months and busting our butts to get this house ready and we still have so much to do. I'm so glad I have Joseph to keep calm while I freak out every other day. He's cool as a cucumber even though all he's been doing for the last couple months is paint paint paint. He's amazing and I don't know what I would do without him. Well I guess I wouldn't be in this whole situation without him haha!
Anyhoo, so not too much has happened in the past weeks since I last blogged. Same ole same ole, growing and eating and growing some more. I'm still walking everyday and Lincoln is still enjoying it I think although I do believe he's starting to see our afternoon walks as more of a chore than anything else. I can't say that I blame him, there's only so many things you can do to make walking fun and I feel as though Lincoln and I have reached the fun limit. I even bought him a new harness to try to spice things up, it was exciting for about ten minutes. I don't really have much of a choice though, walking is the only thing I can do these days, and even that's becoming increasingly more difficult and hot.
So as we progress into the third trimester I'm realizing this pregnancy thing is not for the faint of heart, as if anyone ever thought it was. I can't sleep at night, my feet hurt, my back hurts, my knees hurt, I'm back to peeing every ten minutes (half the reason I can't sleep), and I have three more months to go. yay! But there are so many cool things that go along with being pregnant too. It's not all bad I promise! I actually really enjoy being pregnant, despite all my complaining. Our little girl moves around almost constantly, she flips twists turns kicks and punches and it's really entertaining, just ask Joseph. It's hilarious to watch my stomach dance about. The other cool thing is that people tend to do nice things for you, move out of your way, and are just extra nice in general. It's pretty awesome and necessary because I certainly can't do everything the way I used to. Some people still dont seem to understand that I'm pregnant and can't manage to run about all over the place like I used to but they shall remain nameless. But on a related yet interesting note, women who have had kids a surprisingly less sympathetic than one would imagine....ok I better change the subject now.
The other interesting thing that rears its ugly head while you're pregnant is other peoples' jealousy. For the dozens and dozens of people that are absolutely overjoyed for you there are those out there that are nothing but jealous. It's sad really but a fact of life and I feel sorry for them. They are the same people that were jealous when you got married, bought a house, got a new job...basically they just can't find it in their hearts to be happy for you because they are not happy with their own lives. It's a hard thing to understand but at some point you just have to realize these people are just bitter and if you spend too much time thinking about them and their ill will it will take time away from the joy and happiness you have. I just really feel sorry for these types of people.
But as I said no time for that, we are having a baby in 3 months and we have soooo much to do. Next week we are getting a 4D ultrasound which kinda freaks me out but is still exciting! We will see what our baby looks like, crazy! Our doctor's appts are now every two weeks so the clock is def. clicking. We've taken all our baby classes and know everything now, haha jk! We do realize that we'll never be fully prepared but we're going to try our best. I'm so excited I can't stand it!
There are also a few things that need to repeating for those that didn't get it the first time. Things not ok to ask/do to a pregnancy lady:
Are you going to breast feed? NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!! The next time someone asks me this I'm just going to punch them in their face.
Rubbing my belly. Again, punch to the face. My space, your space...not that difficult.
How much weight have you gained? Next time someone asks me this I'm going to say none, what are you talking about?
What are you going to name your kid? Hitler, Mussolini, Fido, Rumplestilskin....
What are you going to do with Lincooln? Ship him off to Canada, what the hell do you think we're going to do with him, he's our dog and he's a part of this family. Yeah he's a pain in the ass sometimes but he's the most loyal loving wonderful dog in the whole world. so back off.
Ahh that is all for now.....
blogging makes me feel better :-)
Anyhoo, so not too much has happened in the past weeks since I last blogged. Same ole same ole, growing and eating and growing some more. I'm still walking everyday and Lincoln is still enjoying it I think although I do believe he's starting to see our afternoon walks as more of a chore than anything else. I can't say that I blame him, there's only so many things you can do to make walking fun and I feel as though Lincoln and I have reached the fun limit. I even bought him a new harness to try to spice things up, it was exciting for about ten minutes. I don't really have much of a choice though, walking is the only thing I can do these days, and even that's becoming increasingly more difficult and hot.
So as we progress into the third trimester I'm realizing this pregnancy thing is not for the faint of heart, as if anyone ever thought it was. I can't sleep at night, my feet hurt, my back hurts, my knees hurt, I'm back to peeing every ten minutes (half the reason I can't sleep), and I have three more months to go. yay! But there are so many cool things that go along with being pregnant too. It's not all bad I promise! I actually really enjoy being pregnant, despite all my complaining. Our little girl moves around almost constantly, she flips twists turns kicks and punches and it's really entertaining, just ask Joseph. It's hilarious to watch my stomach dance about. The other cool thing is that people tend to do nice things for you, move out of your way, and are just extra nice in general. It's pretty awesome and necessary because I certainly can't do everything the way I used to. Some people still dont seem to understand that I'm pregnant and can't manage to run about all over the place like I used to but they shall remain nameless. But on a related yet interesting note, women who have had kids a surprisingly less sympathetic than one would imagine....ok I better change the subject now.
The other interesting thing that rears its ugly head while you're pregnant is other peoples' jealousy. For the dozens and dozens of people that are absolutely overjoyed for you there are those out there that are nothing but jealous. It's sad really but a fact of life and I feel sorry for them. They are the same people that were jealous when you got married, bought a house, got a new job...basically they just can't find it in their hearts to be happy for you because they are not happy with their own lives. It's a hard thing to understand but at some point you just have to realize these people are just bitter and if you spend too much time thinking about them and their ill will it will take time away from the joy and happiness you have. I just really feel sorry for these types of people.
But as I said no time for that, we are having a baby in 3 months and we have soooo much to do. Next week we are getting a 4D ultrasound which kinda freaks me out but is still exciting! We will see what our baby looks like, crazy! Our doctor's appts are now every two weeks so the clock is def. clicking. We've taken all our baby classes and know everything now, haha jk! We do realize that we'll never be fully prepared but we're going to try our best. I'm so excited I can't stand it!
There are also a few things that need to repeating for those that didn't get it the first time. Things not ok to ask/do to a pregnancy lady:
Are you going to breast feed? NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!!! The next time someone asks me this I'm just going to punch them in their face.
Rubbing my belly. Again, punch to the face. My space, your space...not that difficult.
How much weight have you gained? Next time someone asks me this I'm going to say none, what are you talking about?
What are you going to name your kid? Hitler, Mussolini, Fido, Rumplestilskin....
What are you going to do with Lincooln? Ship him off to Canada, what the hell do you think we're going to do with him, he's our dog and he's a part of this family. Yeah he's a pain in the ass sometimes but he's the most loyal loving wonderful dog in the whole world. so back off.
Ahh that is all for now.....
blogging makes me feel better :-)
Monday, April 18, 2011
Look but don't touch
21 weeks (and 3 days)
By far, one of the most interesting aspects of pregnancy is the idea that you are suddenly public property. Your body is no longer yours and your personal space, gone. You are suddenly like an exhibit at the zoo, I’m thinking pandas…You are a spectacle for all to marvel at and, yes, touch. I’m talking about the belly rubbing. It has begun.. For me this is really not a big deal but there are people out there that, (gasp) don’t like being touched. I can’t even imagine what pregnancy is like fore them. I don’t know what it is about the fact the your stomach is protruding more than normal that just begs people to rub you like a Buddha. Anyways, I find this comical. I’ve had several people do this to me lately and so far it hasn’t really gotten to me yet, but I’m sure we’ll revisit this issue in a few weeks.
So, on a lighter note, we’re having a girl!!! I’m so beyond excited, of course it didn’t really matter to me if it was a boy or a girl, but looking at girl stuff is way more fun. I never knew there were so many shades of pink though, and I’m pretty familiar with the color pink. I thought for sure that I would feel more relaxed once we knew if it was a baby G or baby J but it is incredibly overwhelming looking at all the stuff you have to coordinate; blankets and bumpers, sheets and diaper stackers, hampers and wall decor…it’s definitely headache inducing. Yes if BSW (Baby Skirt Winterer) doesn’t get the right color pink then she will never go to college, get her PhD and become president. I realize that sounds ridiculous but you still want everything to be just perfect. So nursery decorating is what I’m focusing on/obsessing about now.
So now that we know it’s a girl everyone is asking about names. This is another source of overwhelming anxiety. What’s in a name? Well, everything. I mean you have to think about everything, nicknames, initials, other people named the same thing, ughhh so exhausting. But fun. Joseph has said we are naming her after Frank Beamer’s mother Herma. Thoughts???
So what else is knew…If you haven’t heard we’ve been on a painting spree, ok Joseph is on a painting spree. He’s painting our dining room right now. It’s very exciting. We are almost done with the first level and will be moving to the bedrooms soon. Hopefully we’ll make it by the August deadline. BSW has been very active, she flips and turns and kicks quite often. Joseph felt her kick last week and he gasped and jumped back. It was awesome! It’s so weird to be able to feel her kicking but it’s amazing. She definitely enjoys chocolate cake and ice cream! I have recently become a bottomless pit. I eat everything, and then go back for thirds. I have no idea where it goes but I’m always hungry!! Things are also becoming a little bit more difficult to do. I can’t bend over or crouch down very well anymore. My back and feet have started hurting and I get leg cramps at night. I get winded faster and don’t quite have the energy I had two weeks ago. You wouldn’t think that a few extra pounds and a small person growing in your belly can have that much effect on you but oh they do. The best part about all this is that it’s only going to get worse. Yay! But it’s all for a good cause.
Well I do believe that’s it for now. All is well, the doc says everything looks great and we are right on track. So until next time…
By far, one of the most interesting aspects of pregnancy is the idea that you are suddenly public property. Your body is no longer yours and your personal space, gone. You are suddenly like an exhibit at the zoo, I’m thinking pandas…You are a spectacle for all to marvel at and, yes, touch. I’m talking about the belly rubbing. It has begun.. For me this is really not a big deal but there are people out there that, (gasp) don’t like being touched. I can’t even imagine what pregnancy is like fore them. I don’t know what it is about the fact the your stomach is protruding more than normal that just begs people to rub you like a Buddha. Anyways, I find this comical. I’ve had several people do this to me lately and so far it hasn’t really gotten to me yet, but I’m sure we’ll revisit this issue in a few weeks.
So, on a lighter note, we’re having a girl!!! I’m so beyond excited, of course it didn’t really matter to me if it was a boy or a girl, but looking at girl stuff is way more fun. I never knew there were so many shades of pink though, and I’m pretty familiar with the color pink. I thought for sure that I would feel more relaxed once we knew if it was a baby G or baby J but it is incredibly overwhelming looking at all the stuff you have to coordinate; blankets and bumpers, sheets and diaper stackers, hampers and wall decor…it’s definitely headache inducing. Yes if BSW (Baby Skirt Winterer) doesn’t get the right color pink then she will never go to college, get her PhD and become president. I realize that sounds ridiculous but you still want everything to be just perfect. So nursery decorating is what I’m focusing on/obsessing about now.
So now that we know it’s a girl everyone is asking about names. This is another source of overwhelming anxiety. What’s in a name? Well, everything. I mean you have to think about everything, nicknames, initials, other people named the same thing, ughhh so exhausting. But fun. Joseph has said we are naming her after Frank Beamer’s mother Herma. Thoughts???
So what else is knew…If you haven’t heard we’ve been on a painting spree, ok Joseph is on a painting spree. He’s painting our dining room right now. It’s very exciting. We are almost done with the first level and will be moving to the bedrooms soon. Hopefully we’ll make it by the August deadline. BSW has been very active, she flips and turns and kicks quite often. Joseph felt her kick last week and he gasped and jumped back. It was awesome! It’s so weird to be able to feel her kicking but it’s amazing. She definitely enjoys chocolate cake and ice cream! I have recently become a bottomless pit. I eat everything, and then go back for thirds. I have no idea where it goes but I’m always hungry!! Things are also becoming a little bit more difficult to do. I can’t bend over or crouch down very well anymore. My back and feet have started hurting and I get leg cramps at night. I get winded faster and don’t quite have the energy I had two weeks ago. You wouldn’t think that a few extra pounds and a small person growing in your belly can have that much effect on you but oh they do. The best part about all this is that it’s only going to get worse. Yay! But it’s all for a good cause.
Well I do believe that’s it for now. All is well, the doc says everything looks great and we are right on track. So until next time…
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Handle with care
This past week has been crazy and by that I mean I've been crazy. I had a several cry fests for no reason at all, well kinda. It started last weekend, someone (who shall remain nameless and no it wasn't Joseph) made a comment which I took personally and cried for about twenty minutes. Pretty much ruined my night. Monday morning I couldn’t find my ID, spent ten minutes looking for it and then realized I left it at work all weekend. I didn't actually cry over this one but I really wanted to and I spent the whole day on the brink of a meltdown. The rest of the week wasn't much better. I spent most of the week in a terrible mood and snapping at Joseph for what I thought were good reasons but in retrospect were really pretty stupid. I wont' get into them since as I said they were really stupid.
So as you can see emotional stability is a constant battle that I will probably fight for the next 20 weeks. There's no need to walk on eggshells around me but I am overly sensitive these days and pointing out or joking about my sensitivity is probably not a good idea. I'm a bit sensitive about my sensitivity.
Now some ladies might be a bit more open that I am but I think there are some topics that are just off limits to the general public, unless of course I bring them up and initiate the conversation. Some people might be a bit more open than me but these are things I don't generally talk about in an open forum (unless you're family).
Weight gain. It is not ok to ask me how much weight I've gained, how much I weigh, or make general comments/ask questions on my appearance. It's really nobody's business how much I weigh. How much do you weigh?! Also, yes I am tired and probably look that way, no need to remind me of it.
Breastfeeding. Though this may seem like a perfectly normal thing to talk about to some people it's really not. This is a very personal decision and not something most women care to discuss with strangers, hairdressers, coworkers, etc.
On a somewhat related note, pregnancy is a time of advice overload. Everyone has something to say. People think that because you’re pregnant then they have a right/need to tell you what to expect, what to do about it, what products to use, how to deal with baby, etc. For those that are pregnant, you now what I‘m talking about; for those that are thinking about it, be prepared; for those that like to think that they are the one and only Almighty Advice giver in your life because they either have a child or know someone else who does, you‘re not. Joseph and I have an amazingly supportive wonderful family, if we need advice we will most likely go to them. This is not to say that some advice is not welcomed, generally it is. But just keep in mind that Joseph and I are getting advice from every which way these days and if I look like I could care less about what you have to say, it’s probably because I could care less what you have to say.
On a positive note this week was an amazing step in my pregnancy journey. I felt the baby kick for the first time for sure as I sat awake one night reading "What to Expect the First Year" which is a great book btw. The past two weeks or so I have been feeling like something was tickling the inside of my stomach but Tuesday night was a definite kick and not just one there were a couple. It made me laugh because I could imagine tiny BPW's little legs just a kicking away saying "you may be ready to go to bed but I'm not!" I occasionally feel a few kicks here and there every so often and it usually happens when I'm sitting very still, mostly at night. It's pretty cool.
The best part about this whole journey is that I get to share it with my sister. Her and I are due three days apart and are experiencing basically the same stuff and it's awesome to share this time with her.
So that's the latest update from the Winterer house. Less than a week til we go back to the doctor for the great reveal. After that we’ll start our registry and begin planning the nursery. We are so excited! I know next week is going to be incredibly long and if I seem like my mind is elsewhere it's because it is. :-)
So as you can see emotional stability is a constant battle that I will probably fight for the next 20 weeks. There's no need to walk on eggshells around me but I am overly sensitive these days and pointing out or joking about my sensitivity is probably not a good idea. I'm a bit sensitive about my sensitivity.
Now some ladies might be a bit more open that I am but I think there are some topics that are just off limits to the general public, unless of course I bring them up and initiate the conversation. Some people might be a bit more open than me but these are things I don't generally talk about in an open forum (unless you're family).
Weight gain. It is not ok to ask me how much weight I've gained, how much I weigh, or make general comments/ask questions on my appearance. It's really nobody's business how much I weigh. How much do you weigh?! Also, yes I am tired and probably look that way, no need to remind me of it.
Breastfeeding. Though this may seem like a perfectly normal thing to talk about to some people it's really not. This is a very personal decision and not something most women care to discuss with strangers, hairdressers, coworkers, etc.
On a somewhat related note, pregnancy is a time of advice overload. Everyone has something to say. People think that because you’re pregnant then they have a right/need to tell you what to expect, what to do about it, what products to use, how to deal with baby, etc. For those that are pregnant, you now what I‘m talking about; for those that are thinking about it, be prepared; for those that like to think that they are the one and only Almighty Advice giver in your life because they either have a child or know someone else who does, you‘re not. Joseph and I have an amazingly supportive wonderful family, if we need advice we will most likely go to them. This is not to say that some advice is not welcomed, generally it is. But just keep in mind that Joseph and I are getting advice from every which way these days and if I look like I could care less about what you have to say, it’s probably because I could care less what you have to say.
On a positive note this week was an amazing step in my pregnancy journey. I felt the baby kick for the first time for sure as I sat awake one night reading "What to Expect the First Year" which is a great book btw. The past two weeks or so I have been feeling like something was tickling the inside of my stomach but Tuesday night was a definite kick and not just one there were a couple. It made me laugh because I could imagine tiny BPW's little legs just a kicking away saying "you may be ready to go to bed but I'm not!" I occasionally feel a few kicks here and there every so often and it usually happens when I'm sitting very still, mostly at night. It's pretty cool.
The best part about this whole journey is that I get to share it with my sister. Her and I are due three days apart and are experiencing basically the same stuff and it's awesome to share this time with her.
So that's the latest update from the Winterer house. Less than a week til we go back to the doctor for the great reveal. After that we’ll start our registry and begin planning the nursery. We are so excited! I know next week is going to be incredibly long and if I seem like my mind is elsewhere it's because it is. :-)
Friday, March 25, 2011
First trimester's a charm...
So, I’m pregnant which most everyone knows by now and if you don’t then surprise! The trials and tribulations of pregnancy have plagued women (and men) since the beginning of time. Therefore, I realize that I am not sharing any earth shattering news here or informing many of you what you don’t already know. Also, this is not meant to be a bitch/complaint session in any way. My goal here is to simply jot down my experience, memories, and general thoughts for everyone’s enjoyment. Some may find this little blog especially helpful if you’re going through the same thing, contemplating pregnancy or just simply want to know what the heck goes on while a small alien is growing in your belly. Also, none of this is meant to be grammatically correct and I’m sure I’ve misspelled things all over the place and rambled on too much.
So here it goes…
Joseph and I found out we were going to have a child on December 21, 2010 at about 7 am in the morning. Joseph told me that he wouldn’t believe it until I heard it from a medical professional, so off to the doctor I went that next day. Of course EPT (actually I think it was First Response) was correct and I was 4 weeks pregnant. Now this is quite confusing to many people because at that moment in time I had actually only been pregnant for two weeks, for some reason according to the medical geniuses of the world you are in fact already two weeks pregnant at conception, go figure.
Telling our families at Christmas time was a great joy although I do warn you unless you are prepared for more people to find out than just the ones you told, don’t tell anyone! Most everyone is pretty good about keeping a secret because they understand the risk and complications associated with pregnancy plus they understand that this is your moment and your secret to share with the world as you see fit. Undoubtedly, out of sheer excitement someone will tell grandma and the whole family will know in a matter of minutes. Thankfully we were able to keep the secret to within the family for a little while, mostly… Also, a word to the wise, female coworkers are incredibly perceptive and you can’t hide anything from them, they will know in a matter of days but most will be considerate enough to not say anything until you divulge the secret yourself, at which point they will divulge to you that they’ve known for weeks. We opened up around week 10 when it became apparent that most people knew already anyways. This is also fun because after this time people start to understand why you’ve been a heinous bitch for the last few weeks and will then start to treat you with kid gloves.
The next few weeks proved to be a roller coaster ride of emotions and a true test of my emotions and push my threshold for both pain and exhaustion. Weeks 6-9 pretty much sucked. Most of you know how dedicated to working out I am and these weeks pushed me to my limit. I barely made it through the work day without falling asleep, and yes there were days that I had to take a nap in my office for ten minutes (try hiding this from your coworkers). By the time I got home every night I barely had the energy to put my pajamas on and lay on the couch. I felt like every bone and muscle in my body was working 10 times as much as normal, and it was! Ugh and the “morning” sickness. Whoever came up with this name is an idiot. Morning sickness can and will strike at any point in the day. I think I only actually threw up about ten times but the nausea is overwhelming at times. There were several days where I thought I wasn’t going to make it and didn’t eat anything. after awhile I didn’t want to look at another saltine cracker or smell anymore ginger ale. Thankfully my doc gave me some nausea medicine and all was right with the world. In retrospect I really didn’t have it all that bad. My sister, for example, was plagued with constant morning sickness which last until her 13ish week. Mine had mostly disappeared by week 10. Now you will encounter people who didn’t have morning sickness, yay for you, but most pregnant ladies out there know how truly sucky it is.
I’m fairly certain I would not have made it through my first trimester if it were for the most wonderful person in the whole world, my husband. He waited on me hand and foot. He cooked, he cleaned, he dealt with the dog and all the while managed to hold on to the roller coaster that was my emotional state. I laughed, I cried, I laughed while crying and cried while laughing. I was a mess. But he hung in there and never once made me feel like I was a lunatic. He may have thought that but he never said anything… Not to mention the night he sat in the ER with me for over six hours. That’s another story but just to clue you in, when you’re pregnant, everything that goes on with your body scares the bejesus out of you. So yes, we ended up in the ER one Friday evening; everything was fine of course and Joseph was a real trooper. He is truly an amazing support system.
So that was that for the first trimester. The second trimester is MUCH better but also has its moments. Pregnancy brain is no joke. Some mornings I’ll take my prenatal vitamin and two seconds later I’ll think to myself, did I take my vitamin? I have been so forgetful and absent minded that I’m surprised I make it out the door with shoes on some days. It’s kind of ridiculous. Another thing that is ridiculous- maternity clothes. Elastic waistband pants are obnoxiously comfortable and should be integrated into everyday life. However, trying to buy a wardrobe for nine months of your life is very difficult and requires almost biweekly trips to the mall, Joseph loves this. It can get quite pricey as well because these clothes are not cheap and the ones that are cheaper make you look like you’re either wearing a parachute or pajamas. I have found that I can still wear some of my stretchy shirts for now but imagine that will end soon. I am truly looking forward to buying a maternity bathing suit, insert sarcasm…
There is a lot of waiting involved in pregnancy. Waiting to get an ultrasound or waiting four weeks til your next doct. appt to hear the heartbeat again is almost unbearable. All you want to do is see or hear the little bugger everyday and the waiting is so hard. Joseph and I had an ultrasound at 6 weeks to determine fetal age and a very quick one that night in the ER but at that time little babypants resembled more of an amphibious creature than a baby. My next ultrasound will be two weeks from today where we will find out the sex. We are beyond excited for this moment, barring any shyness on the baby’s part. I am so impatient! But I have come to the conclusion that the best things in life require one to sit around and wait for extended periods of time. Joseph and I are enjoying this time because we know our lives will be completely different after August.
The second trimester is also when the questions and comments really start to pick up. People will constantly be asking you how you’re doing, how’s the baby, have you picked a name yet? This is all very nice and people are so considerate but when the “Can you do that” questions start then it gets a little annoying. Coffee, are you supposed to drink that; fish, are you supposed to eat that? Working out, I don’t think that’s safe. Ugh, trust me people, I have read my baby books, I know what to do and not do! And don’t get me started on the weight gain. Some people will look at you and say “you don’t look pregnant, you need to eat more.” Or more annoying “how far along are you to be THAT big already?” Yes I had a random stranger point at my belly and ask me this. Trust me I enjoy the attention but at times it gets to be a bit much. Again, not complaining just venting a bit…
It is weird though how you can’t wait to get fat! I think I popped out a little preggo belly around week 13 or 14 and am working hard to keep Baby pants W a-growin. But there is that in between stage where you just feel and look like you ate too many donuts. But alas this is also part of the waiting game because you just want everyone to know you are pregnant. (it’s much more obvious at the end of the day then in the morning for some reason.) I’m sure for those of you who have already had kids you are saying to yourselves “just you wait” and I know I will regret saying this come June July and August but I am excited to see my little baby belly grow, in a healthy way of course! I have resumed my regular workout routine, scaled down a little and I constantly monitor my heart rate during each work out session. I’ve added about a mile and a half walk in everyday with Lincoln which he loooooves.
So that’s it for now, second trimester is in full effect. It's still very weird to think that there is a child in my tummy but I'm getting used to it. Joseph and I are reading two books to better prepare us for the next stage of our lives though we do know we will never be fully prepared. We are also preparing Lincoln by getting him used to baby things and sounds. This had proven to be an interesting ride so far and I can imagine it’s only going to get better as the weeks wear on. There is an abnormal amount of people pregnant right now so if you have any thoughts, advice, suggestions you would like to add to my little blog please do! Until next time…
So here it goes…
Joseph and I found out we were going to have a child on December 21, 2010 at about 7 am in the morning. Joseph told me that he wouldn’t believe it until I heard it from a medical professional, so off to the doctor I went that next day. Of course EPT (actually I think it was First Response) was correct and I was 4 weeks pregnant. Now this is quite confusing to many people because at that moment in time I had actually only been pregnant for two weeks, for some reason according to the medical geniuses of the world you are in fact already two weeks pregnant at conception, go figure.
Telling our families at Christmas time was a great joy although I do warn you unless you are prepared for more people to find out than just the ones you told, don’t tell anyone! Most everyone is pretty good about keeping a secret because they understand the risk and complications associated with pregnancy plus they understand that this is your moment and your secret to share with the world as you see fit. Undoubtedly, out of sheer excitement someone will tell grandma and the whole family will know in a matter of minutes. Thankfully we were able to keep the secret to within the family for a little while, mostly… Also, a word to the wise, female coworkers are incredibly perceptive and you can’t hide anything from them, they will know in a matter of days but most will be considerate enough to not say anything until you divulge the secret yourself, at which point they will divulge to you that they’ve known for weeks. We opened up around week 10 when it became apparent that most people knew already anyways. This is also fun because after this time people start to understand why you’ve been a heinous bitch for the last few weeks and will then start to treat you with kid gloves.
The next few weeks proved to be a roller coaster ride of emotions and a true test of my emotions and push my threshold for both pain and exhaustion. Weeks 6-9 pretty much sucked. Most of you know how dedicated to working out I am and these weeks pushed me to my limit. I barely made it through the work day without falling asleep, and yes there were days that I had to take a nap in my office for ten minutes (try hiding this from your coworkers). By the time I got home every night I barely had the energy to put my pajamas on and lay on the couch. I felt like every bone and muscle in my body was working 10 times as much as normal, and it was! Ugh and the “morning” sickness. Whoever came up with this name is an idiot. Morning sickness can and will strike at any point in the day. I think I only actually threw up about ten times but the nausea is overwhelming at times. There were several days where I thought I wasn’t going to make it and didn’t eat anything. after awhile I didn’t want to look at another saltine cracker or smell anymore ginger ale. Thankfully my doc gave me some nausea medicine and all was right with the world. In retrospect I really didn’t have it all that bad. My sister, for example, was plagued with constant morning sickness which last until her 13ish week. Mine had mostly disappeared by week 10. Now you will encounter people who didn’t have morning sickness, yay for you, but most pregnant ladies out there know how truly sucky it is.
I’m fairly certain I would not have made it through my first trimester if it were for the most wonderful person in the whole world, my husband. He waited on me hand and foot. He cooked, he cleaned, he dealt with the dog and all the while managed to hold on to the roller coaster that was my emotional state. I laughed, I cried, I laughed while crying and cried while laughing. I was a mess. But he hung in there and never once made me feel like I was a lunatic. He may have thought that but he never said anything… Not to mention the night he sat in the ER with me for over six hours. That’s another story but just to clue you in, when you’re pregnant, everything that goes on with your body scares the bejesus out of you. So yes, we ended up in the ER one Friday evening; everything was fine of course and Joseph was a real trooper. He is truly an amazing support system.
So that was that for the first trimester. The second trimester is MUCH better but also has its moments. Pregnancy brain is no joke. Some mornings I’ll take my prenatal vitamin and two seconds later I’ll think to myself, did I take my vitamin? I have been so forgetful and absent minded that I’m surprised I make it out the door with shoes on some days. It’s kind of ridiculous. Another thing that is ridiculous- maternity clothes. Elastic waistband pants are obnoxiously comfortable and should be integrated into everyday life. However, trying to buy a wardrobe for nine months of your life is very difficult and requires almost biweekly trips to the mall, Joseph loves this. It can get quite pricey as well because these clothes are not cheap and the ones that are cheaper make you look like you’re either wearing a parachute or pajamas. I have found that I can still wear some of my stretchy shirts for now but imagine that will end soon. I am truly looking forward to buying a maternity bathing suit, insert sarcasm…
There is a lot of waiting involved in pregnancy. Waiting to get an ultrasound or waiting four weeks til your next doct. appt to hear the heartbeat again is almost unbearable. All you want to do is see or hear the little bugger everyday and the waiting is so hard. Joseph and I had an ultrasound at 6 weeks to determine fetal age and a very quick one that night in the ER but at that time little babypants resembled more of an amphibious creature than a baby. My next ultrasound will be two weeks from today where we will find out the sex. We are beyond excited for this moment, barring any shyness on the baby’s part. I am so impatient! But I have come to the conclusion that the best things in life require one to sit around and wait for extended periods of time. Joseph and I are enjoying this time because we know our lives will be completely different after August.
The second trimester is also when the questions and comments really start to pick up. People will constantly be asking you how you’re doing, how’s the baby, have you picked a name yet? This is all very nice and people are so considerate but when the “Can you do that” questions start then it gets a little annoying. Coffee, are you supposed to drink that; fish, are you supposed to eat that? Working out, I don’t think that’s safe. Ugh, trust me people, I have read my baby books, I know what to do and not do! And don’t get me started on the weight gain. Some people will look at you and say “you don’t look pregnant, you need to eat more.” Or more annoying “how far along are you to be THAT big already?” Yes I had a random stranger point at my belly and ask me this. Trust me I enjoy the attention but at times it gets to be a bit much. Again, not complaining just venting a bit…
It is weird though how you can’t wait to get fat! I think I popped out a little preggo belly around week 13 or 14 and am working hard to keep Baby pants W a-growin. But there is that in between stage where you just feel and look like you ate too many donuts. But alas this is also part of the waiting game because you just want everyone to know you are pregnant. (it’s much more obvious at the end of the day then in the morning for some reason.) I’m sure for those of you who have already had kids you are saying to yourselves “just you wait” and I know I will regret saying this come June July and August but I am excited to see my little baby belly grow, in a healthy way of course! I have resumed my regular workout routine, scaled down a little and I constantly monitor my heart rate during each work out session. I’ve added about a mile and a half walk in everyday with Lincoln which he loooooves.
So that’s it for now, second trimester is in full effect. It's still very weird to think that there is a child in my tummy but I'm getting used to it. Joseph and I are reading two books to better prepare us for the next stage of our lives though we do know we will never be fully prepared. We are also preparing Lincoln by getting him used to baby things and sounds. This had proven to be an interesting ride so far and I can imagine it’s only going to get better as the weeks wear on. There is an abnormal amount of people pregnant right now so if you have any thoughts, advice, suggestions you would like to add to my little blog please do! Until next time…
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