Thursday, September 30, 2010
In need of some help
We have not put up a Christmas tree since we've had them. We tried our first year to put lights on our fake tree that now resides in our dining room, but Tonks and Lupin chewed right through the lights. I can't not have a tree up now that Hunter is here. I just can't. Jason says to just put up a tree with nothing on it. What fun is that? And, am I supposed to do that every year till they've left us? Like 15 years? No. I'm not doing that.
Do you have any suggestions as to how to keep the cats from chewing or climbing (since they have their claws) the tree so we can put one up for Hunter (and for me)?
Monday, September 20, 2010
Another new blog
http://princessintraining2011.blogspot.com/
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
The other blog
From His Royal Highness
Monday, September 13, 2010
Friday, September 3, 2010
Let's backtrack for a minute
My whole first week I had 5 blankets in my room. I could never decide if I was hot or cold. And, from the time I was admitted Monday night till that moment, I had 3 blankets. So, nurse comes in, gives me my meds and takes my temperature for she fears that I had a fever. Sure enough, I had a fever - well, so she says, she never told me what it was, just said that it was elevated. And, because of that, she wasn't going to give me a blanket. I saw the look on my sister's face, she knew what was coming.
I freaked. I told her that I've had no less than 3 blankets my entire stay here and I come back from getting a procedure done and now I only have 1. She said she would not get it for me. I asked for a new nurse, someone that would give me one. She said, ok, if I give you one, can I still be your nurse? I said, if you give me one, then yes. She leaves. My sister and I talk at how ridiculous this is. The nurse comes back, with no blanket.
She says she spoke with another nurse and that they agreed with her to not give me one. Now, I really freaked. I said, so, you told me you would get me one, leave, and ask someone else instead? She asked if I was cold. I said, no, not at the moment because of how pissed I am. I can't trust you now because you said you'd do something then leave and don't go and do it and instead ask someone else. (My sister was ready to hand Hunter to me to get the keys and grab a blanket from the house - that would have been funny, having her bring in a big comforter from the house!) I demanded a new nurse and my blanket. She said she couldn't get me a new nurse, someone else had to. At that point, I asked her to leave.
So, 10 minutes later, mom has now joined the party. I was getting ready to explain what happened when this head nurse comes in with my current nurse. Head nurse decides to allow me this extra blanket, saying it's not normal procedure when a patient has a fever. I let her know that she may want to make sure all of the other nurses that I've had my entire stay are on that same page as it was never an issue before today. She tries to explain "the thought process" behind my current nurse and why she asked someone else about the blanket, thus losing my trust. After that, she expects me to keep this nurse. I told her that I understood that I only had about 3 hours left with the day nurse but that I didn't want to see my current nurse again and to get me a new nurse, otherwise I was ready to discharge myself.
So, Friday comes along. A social worker from the hospital comes to visit me to talk about PPD. She says she's going to read off symptoms/signs of PPD and that afterwards, she'll allow me to talk and let her know what I think of that. So, she reads this list of hers, then proceeds not to let me talk, but to recommend going on zoloft. At the time, I only had 2 things on her list, fear (hello, I was in the hospital for 5 days with at that point no real conclusion as to what was wrong with me, of course I was in fear) and anger (well, when you have a short temper and a standard had been set before then not held, of course you'll see some anger from me). She kept telling me that it's common after 3 weeks postpartum. I told her that we can't look at it yet then because my son wasn't 3 weeks old yet. She kept trying to insist this 3 weeks thing and I had to keep reminding her that he wasn't 3 weeks. Finally, I said that I didn't want to deny anything or try to say I didn't have it, but that with the hell I was going through at the hospital that week (my hand still hurts from the IV), that I wanted to wait until I got back home and this was behind me.
I tell Jason this and what happened. Our conclusion is that the nurse/head nurse had this lady come in to talk to me because of "anger". Yeah, that's why I have a tattoo of Donald Duck looking all angelic. I have a short fuse. Nearly anyone who knows me knows this.
Anyway, now that I'm feeling disconnected (though that seems to be the only real thing), I'm thinking about PPD again. I just don't want it! I don't want to think of that lady trying to insist that I had it last week when she thought my son was over 3 weeks old. It's like I want to prove her wrong. But, it is what it is I guess.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Disconnected
Thursday, August 26, 2010
3-5%
Monday, August 23, 2010
The Pregnancy Diet
I gained 25 pounds during my pregnancy and am now 2 weeks postpartum. After 1 week, I was up 10 pounds from my pre pregnancy weight. Now, at 2 weeks, I am down in total 30 pounds! I weigh 5 pounds less now than when I got pregnant! I'm so excited!
*Results not typical*
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Ugh, recovery
When does this end? When will this all start to go away?
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Birth Story
Just after 9am I felt the first painful contraction. I didn't want to feel any pain and even though I could tolerate it, I decided to ask for the epidural at that time because I knew by the time they got him to my room, prepared me, and put it in, it would be like 45 minutes before I could feel its effects. As he was administering it (which, wasn't bad at all), I was hunched over towards the nurse on one side of the bed and I was just pouring out water. We did know that I had a ton of water in me (probably a reason for all my stretch marks). By 10, I was in no pain at all.
About 10:15 they check me and I was a solid 5 but still a -2 station. And, he was flipped sunny-side up. So, they give me the peanut to use for 45 minutes a side. At 12:00 or so they check and I was between 5-6. Contractions were not regular at all. It was the pitocin doing all the work. I would have a series of 3 in a row with no rest then would break for 4 minutes and repeat. They kept changing the levels on the pitocin to see what worked best. Would it be 6? 4? 3? Who knows. So, at 12:00 they inserted the monitor to actually measure just how strong these contractions were and stopped the external monitor. At 2:45 I was checked again and was 6-7. My doctor was doing a delivery but was to be informed of my progress.
At 3:15 she came in. We discussed everything again and the fact that my body wasn't taking over doing the contractions on it's own, we decided it was best to do the c section. Shortly after saying those words my body went nuts. I started freezing and shaking uncontrollably. They had to load me up with 4 blankets (1 of which was warmed). I had to take that disgusting base stuff to counteract the acid in my stomach. I started crying unsure about the whole process and being scared by going into surgery.
Just before 4 I was moved in to the OR, dosed up on morphine and ready to go. Oh yeah, I'm still shaking uncontrollably. They move me from my bed to the OR bed and hold out my arms to strap them down then I think they strap down part of my head too, I'm not too sure. Jason comes in and they get to work. I couldn't feel anything besides for the occasional tugging and pulling. They tell me where they're at during the whole process, meanwhile my arms are still shaking and they give me yet another blanket for my upper body. Finally I hear that they've reached Hunter and are bringing him out and somethings along the lines of it being a good think we did the c section and how he have a future lineman on our hands or something. I hear him cry, and I no longer feel Jason holding my hand. He was off with our little man.
He was born at 4:12 on 8/9/10 weighing in at 9 pounds 2 ounces and 22.5 inches long. Though, I wasn't done yet. I wanted Jason to come back and show me pictures of him but it took him what seemed like ages to do. Soon after I started to feel nauseous. I told the anesthesiologist this, well, I actually said I feel "woozy" as he and his med student were the ones up at my head and I knew they would be the ones really concerned with that. Shortly after, Jason finally brings me pictures to look at. He leaves again and I knew I was going to be sick. I tell them again and a nurse comes over with a bowl for me. Finally the nurse holding Hunter comes wanting to know if I wanted to see him but I had to turn her away for how bad I felt. As soon as she left with him (along with Jason), I started dry heaving. I did this about 6 times before I finally got sick. Once that happened, I felt better, at least on the woozy front. I started shaking again from being cold (or I thought I was cold) as they continued the process to stitch me up.
I'm finally moved from the OR bed to a bed to transport me to the recovery room. I'm just trying to keep from shaking and trying to close my eyes in hopes of being able to sleep. My husband was not to be found when I got to the room. I got something called The Bear which is some sort of inflatable blanket pumping warm air onto me while I waited for the shaking to stop. Finally, Jason comes in and shows me more pictures of our little man. He tells me that he got to take each one of our family members back one by one to see Hunter though he would not let them hold him since I hadn't even seen him yet. I close my eyes and try to sleep while he steps out to call Baby's First Phone Call to leave our message announcing Hunter's arrival. A short time later I hear the wheels of a hospital crib being rolled into our recovery room and I finally got to see and hold him. A few tears ran down my cheeks as they gave him to me. The recovery has not been fun so far. Jason has to do most of the work, especially at night, as it is very hard for me to move or sit up and get out of bed. It frustrates me that I can't help him, especially when he's so tired and the first week of school is this week. But, we both know that it will be worth it in the end.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
He's here!
Friday, August 6, 2010
It's come down to this
What have I gotten myself into?!
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
2 weeks to go
Best moment this week? Canceling the c section and scheduling an induction for 8/9/10
Movement? He is still moving, but I don't feel it. With his movements being restricted now and the placenta in front and all the fluid I have, I can barely feel him now.
Food cravings? Warm chocolate chip cookies
Gender? It's a BOY!
Labor signs? Still yes. I'm getting very frustrated as to when I'm supposed to go to the hospital. I'm now dilated to 5cm for goodness sake!
What I miss? The cooler weather, sleeping through the night, no heartburn, and still sex. Oh, and my feet being a normal size!
What I'm looking forward to? Not being pregnant!
Weekly Wisdom: Don't expect the office nurse to be on the same page as the doctor. Mine was quoting exactly what the hospital would say and not what the doctor told me yesterday. It is so frustrating!
Milestones: Making it as far as my mom made it with me and my sister.
Emotions: Get this guy out! I'm so frustrated by feeling contractions that are doing stuff only to have them go away after I panic thinking I have to go to the hospital because of how much progress I've made. Can my water just break already so I know and I have a clear sign?
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Time's a comin
While there, we did ask why she says no to inducing because of big babies. She said we are a different story though because of how far along I am (to the point where if I start having serious contractions to pretty much not wait and just go in!) and so we talked inducing. It just so happens that she's on call on Monday and is willing to induce us if we don't want to wait until next Wednesday with the scheduled c section. Well, Monday is 8/9/10. Induce Monday? Yes please! Then, we don't have to worry about insurance covering for the c section that's pre planned. And, did I mention that it's 8/9/10? That is, assuming of course, that we go until then.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Confession
Hey, whatever works.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Stages of Labor
Come on out Hunter! You'll have more room and we live in Phoenix, so, you don't have to worry about being cold!
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
3 Weeks Left!
Best moment this week? Seeing my boy at the ultrasound again.
Movement? He is still moving, but he's running out of room now so it's not too much now.
Food cravings? Warm chocolate chip cookies
Gender? It's a BOY!
Labor signs? Yes. Still having contractions. I've been having them ever since Thursday, I just don't always feel them. Hopefully I won't show up at the hospital too late!
What I miss? The cooler weather, sleeping through the night, no heartburn, and still sex.
What I'm looking forward to? Labor and finally not being pregnant!
Weekly Wisdom: If you have a big baby, don't go into an appointment expecting to hear anything about what the course of action will be. Go in with no thought out plan so you won't be disappointed by what can or cannot be done.
Milestones: Full term!
Emotions: Starting to cry more. And, I'm also getting really irritable. Just get this guy out!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Super cute blog!
Friday, July 23, 2010
Back to L&D
I took it easy with my sister yesterday, we went to get a pedicure, lounged around during lunch, then went to my house to see my cats. I took a nap on the couch with one of them. I woke up around 4 feeling nauseous again but burning up, not shivering. This time, I could also feel contractions, occasionally. With Jason still being out of town, I wasn't able to concentrate on how many I was having or how far apart they were. I grabbed my hospital bag and went back to get my sister. We decided to go to triage to see what was going on.
I was having irregular contractions but with an average distance of 5 minutes apart (some were 4, some were 5 and a half...). I asked the nurse about it and she said that they don't always come at regular intervals in the beginning. I once again, couldn't feel them, well, I could in my lower back, but not in my stomach, and I could talk through them with no problem. She then did an internal, and Monday, when I was just over 1, I was now at 3cm. So, since I'm 36 weeks, they don't want to do anything to speed it up. Especially since I can talk through them and am not in too much pain. So, they sent me walking for an hour. If I was in labor, there probably should have been some progress after an hour of walking the halls of the hospital. There wasn't, I was still 3. Contractions were now irregular with an average of 4 minutes. So, they sent me home. But, the nurse basically told me to ignore the preterm labor discharge papers (the same ones that I had gotten every other time), and told me to come in for certain signs, including when the pain is so much that I can no longer talk through it.
So, there we have it. However, the nurse thinks it will be sooner rather than later. She was to be off until Tuesday and it sounded like she expected it to happen by the time she came back. The full moon is Monday, so who knows, perhaps! But, I don't think I'll be lasting to my wishful thinking birthday of 8-9-10. As long as he's ready though, that's all that matters.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
4 Weeks Left!
How far along? 36 weeks
Best moment this week? Finding out that my doctor says, yes, I'm about 1.5cm dilated and around 75% effaced.
Movement? He is still moving, but I think he knows his dad's not in town and he's not moving as much.
Food cravings? Ice cream. That's pretty much it. Yup. Oh, and back to sweet tea. Soon enough. :)
Gender? It's a BOY!
Labor signs? Yes. Still having contractions. In fact, I think they're coming about 45 minutes apart right now. Soon it seems.
What I miss? The cooler weather, sleeping through the night, no heartburn, and still sex.
What I'm looking forward to? Well, besides for labor... My growth ultrasound on Tuesday then the appointment right after where we'll discuss if we need to bring Hunter to the world in some other manner other than the traditional way.
Weekly Wisdom: Don't be surprised if you have to go on bed rest even if you don't think you have a reason that would require it. If things are moving too fast, they'll need it to slow down!
Milestones: Down to the last month!
Emotions: Starting to cry more. Jason is out of town and he told me to rub my belly for him and that he misses Hunter. That made me tear up!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Bed rest, sort of
My FMLA through my work says maternity leave cannot be intermittent. It has to be all in one block. So, that might be a problem. I've called my HR group in charge and told that I wanted to make sure it was ok or not otherwise I could tell my doctor it's an all or nothing situation but the lady I spoke with didn't give me any indication that it would be a problem so hopefully I'll be approved for that. Now, I have to call the ones in charge of disability so I can get paid. Fun times.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
So, I gave up
Thus, the reason the About Me section has changed and now shows me as Hunter's Mom. Well, there we go!
Babies galore!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
5 weeks to go!
Best moment this week? Finding out I am 1cm dilated and about 80% effaced. We're making progress!
Movement? He can't really kick now, he'll just stick a random body part out and I feel like I have to push it back in! And, hiccups.
Food cravings? Ice cream. That's pretty much it. Yup.
Gender? It's a BOY!
Labor signs? Yes. I'm having contractions now. Didn't realize on Monday I was having them, but they were 6 minutes apart. I had to go back to L&D last night due to more contractions. I'm home today and tomorrow taking it easy as it's just a little too early for them.
What I miss? The cooler weather, sleeping through the night, no heartburn, and still sex.
What I'm looking forward to? My childdbirth prep class on Saturday. Not a moment too soon too!
Weekly Wisdom: Don't be scared about calling wolf. You never know what's going on.
Milestones: I guess having possible signs of preterm labor.
Emotions: Good, I survived week 34 (and so did my dad). Now, I'm mainly nervous about all these contractions and know that I'm clueless right now if he were to come. I'm relieved that the childbirth class is on Saturday. I also have to finish packing my bags!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Preterm Labor and the OB Triage unit
Yesterday around lunch time, I started having this low back pain that was a new pain to me during pregnancy and was on my sides, rather than centered on my back. I went back to work and tried to continue. About 2.5 hours later, it was still continuing so I called my doctor's office. The nurse didn't seem concerned with the back pain, but did ask if I felt the baby move recently. That's when it occurred to me that I hadn't felt him since sometime that morning. I originally estimated 10:30 or 11, but once I really thought about it, it was probably before that. Well, she didn't like that so she told me to go to L&D for monitoring.
I go home to get the hubs then we get to L&D about 4:15. I tell the nurses in the triage my story and say that the office wants me monitored due to the change in fetal movements. I say this with a "I'm sorry to be bothering you with something so trivial" tone in my voice. About 10 minutes later I'm hooked up to everything and baby is beating away. About an hour later, the nurse comes in to read the graphs. I know one is his heartbeat, but the other was unfamiliar to me. I ask, and they say that it monitors contractions, and that I was having 1 every 6 minutes.
I was surprised. I guess I always thought that I would know a contraction when I felt it as that is what everyone has said. Shoot, my BH I could feel, but not these. They checked my cervix and I am dilated to 1 cm. Nothing big as I can stay dilated for weeks before going into labor. But, as I'm not yet 35 weeks, they don't want me to continue with contractions. They gave me a dose of terbutaline to see if it would calm my uterus down. I was so jittery from getting it. They continued monitoring for 30 minutes and during that time, there was nothing. When the nurse came in, it looked like everything was fine and that it took. So, she left to get the on call dr from my office and see if they could discharge me. 45 minutes later, she comes back in, and I've had 2 more contractions about 10 minutes apart. So, I got another dose.
I got to leave about 8:00 last night and I was told to watch everything to see if I could go to work today and if my back still hurt the same way, then I should stay home and off my feet to see if that helped. So, I go to work today and only lasted 4 hours. I continued to have contractions and I was very, very hot. I'm now in bed at home. Jason had the house cold and ready to help cool me off and I haven't had 1 contraction (at least, based off that back pain) since coming home. Perhaps it's the weather, and it's only going to get hotter. Perhaps it's just trying to calm down from yesterday. I don't go to see my doctor until this coming Monday, so I'm not really sure if I have to be on bedrest or not. If I stay ok today, I'll try to go back in to work tomorrow, and if it doesn't go well, then that will probably be my sign.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
6 Weeks to Go!
Best moment this week? Deciding to run the Princess Half Marathon with my sister in February at Walt Disney World! And, seeing the Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows trailer! (Ok, that was actually last week, but I forgot about it when it came time to type this out)
Movement? He can't really kick now, he'll just stick a random body part out and I feel like I have to push it back in! And, hiccups.
Food cravings? Ice cream. That's pretty much it. Yup.
Gender? It's a BOY!
Labor signs? Nope. But I still am getting those ever so much fun Braxton Hicks contractions. I feel so sore after a session of them. My lower back is starting to hurt - though I always have back problems. The BH seem to be getting stronger, I think I lost part of my mucus plug... Every thing that happens sends me into a frenzy wondering if it's preterm labor or not. I'll discuss all this at my appointment tomorrow.
What I miss? The cooler weather, sleeping through the night, no heartburn, and still sex.
What I'm looking forward to? My friend Libby going into labor! She's 39 weeks today! Any day now she could be having her son! And, my appointment tomorrow. And, for my labor to be over with signaling that my boy is here!
Weekly Wisdom: Don't fight it, might as well get up when you wake up and make the trip to the bathroom so you can go back to sleep, otherwise it will just keep you up.
Milestones: I've been officially cut off from traveling.
Emotions: Good, but I'm also on edge. With this whole "am I in preterm?" and with the dream I had about my dad dying. That happened during week 34, right when I was no longer able to travel. Please don't come true!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Let the packing begin!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
The new wordpress page has begun
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
7 Weeks to Go!
Baby’s senses are continuing to improve -- when light peeks in through your (extremely) stretched belly, those tiny eyelids and irises blink and dilate. And, baby can now recognize and react to simple songs… time to start practicing your lullabies! Growth (at least inside your womb) is starting to slow, and you may notice baby descend into your pelvis at the end of this month. Best moment this week? Escaping the heat and going to San Francisco! Seeing a good drum corps show doesn't hurt either! :)
Movement? He can't really kick now, he'll just stick a random body part out and I feel like I have to push it back in!
Food cravings? Ice cream. That's pretty much it. Yup. Oh, and chocolate today.
Gender? It's a BOY!
Labor signs? Nope. But I still am getting those ever so much fun Braxton Hicks contractions. I feel so sore after a session of them. And, today I had some strong menstrual cramps. I thought it might have been preterm labor but figured I had no reason to be in preterm labor. Instead, we believe it's just ligaments stretching and in turn making things cramp up.
What I miss? The cooler weather, sleeping through the night, no heartburn, and still sex.
What I'm looking forward to? My friend Libby going into labor! She's 38 weeks today! Any day now she could be having her son!
Weekly Wisdom: Don't fight it, might as well get up when you wake up and make the trip to the bathroom so you can go back to sleep, otherwise it will just keep you up.
Milestones: Being 5 weeks away from 2 weeks early (which is where my family thinks baby will make his debut)
Emotions: Excited and nervous all at once with how close it's all getting!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Thinking of starting new
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
8 Weeks to Go!
Best moment this week? Had another great doctor's appointment.
Movement? He has a cycle now... it seems like it's an every 3 hours sort of thing.
Food cravings? Ice cream. That's pretty much it.
Gender? It's a BOY!
Labor signs? Nope. But I still am getting those ever so much fun Braxton Hicks contractions. I feel so sore after a session of them.
What I miss? Sex. I can't initiate because of how I look, I just don't feel like I look great for it. But, the hubs isn't initiating anything because he hears me complaining and thinks I don't want to. We've talked and hopefully this will get better.
What I'm looking forward to? Going to San Francisco this weekend. I have a drum corps show to go to!
Weekly Wisdom: Almost everything is worth talking about.
Milestones: Being 5 weeks away from full term! Wow!
Emotions: Excited and nervous all at once with how close it's all getting!




