...But I still think it's adorable.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Baby's first ponytail.
...But I still think it's adorable.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
In which there are copious amounts of awesomeness and pain.
"...and then they brought this thing home with them..."
Life with a new baby. Always exciting. Especially when you get to see it through the eyes of a 15 month old. Which, if you look at it from that perspective, it's more annoying than fun, and kind of irritating because here is this brand new toy and nobody will let me play with it! Alex has been adjusting well. She is mostly not so interested in the newest arrival, until of course said arrival is on mommy or daddy's lap, than said arrival turns into the most awful thing on this planet and we must be rid of it as soon as possible!! And then she goes for the kill. Let's just say that I have been keeping her nails short and as dull as possible lately. She pets him nicely until she's gained your trust, then it's GO FOR THE EYES! GOUGE GOUGE GOUGE! Then she walks away and play with her toys like nothing happened. But she's getting better. But it would be a bad move by mommy to leave baby in a room unattended with her. Baaaad move. (Hence the lack of pictures of the two of them together... I have one, but there's only half of Eli, and one arm of Alex's that's going for the eye gouge. My hands are too occupied trying to keep Eli alive to be able to take pictures. When things calm down, I shall record their childhood together. Until then, use your imagination.)
Eli is a good baby. Nay, he is a great baby. He doesn't spit up. He's very patient; it takes alot to make him scream. He doesn't cry during diaper changes. He doesn't cry at bath time (not even his first bath!). He's two weeks old, and he's got his days and nights securely in place, giving mommy 3-4 hours in between feedings at night. He nurses like a champ, and quickly! We are done in about 10 minutes usually. He's so alert. And once he is asleep, he sleeps through EVERYTHING, which he didn't really have a choice in, because if he wanted to sleep at all, he would have to be able to ignore his loud loud sister. And... he's only peed on me three times! Good boy!
It's rough. I know.
And, he's a thumbsucker. Now I understand what that feeling was way down south when he was still in the belly. It was him raking his hand across to get it to his mouth! I get it!
As I've said before, nature is God's lullaby to an infant. He loves it outside. I just wish it wasn't so dang hot!
Our time in the hospital was a good start. It was relaxing, and not as painful as last time. (I have to confess that the entire time in the hospital, my son was referred to as a 'she' and 'my princess' the ENTIRE time... apparently masculine pronouns went out the window when I had a daughter... but I am glad to say that it's been at least a week since I have referred to him as a girl. Yay for great moms!) My parents were able to make the trip down and take care of Alex, so I knew she was in good hands (although it was very hard dropping her off at her babysitter's the night we went in. That was the first of the tears...). And when they brought her in for the first time... WHO IS THIS GIANT CHILD RUNNING TOWARDS ME! Still, two weeks later, I gasp when I unzip her sleepsack in the morning... such large feet! And those hands! (Better to gouge you with, my sweet!) She's huge! (And not even 20 pounds yet!) But it's so fun to be able to enjoy the sweet little nothings of an infant and then jump right in to this huge personality that is Alex. I feel like I get the best of both worlds right now! (Although... really overwhelming when those two worlds combine and there is no backup on hand!)
(I took a chance with this picture... hoping he didn't blow out his diaper on this quilt! Grandma made this with her own two hands... BEAUTIFUL!!!)
So, yes, life has been good. BUSY. And CRAZY. But good. As I said before, however, there have been a few bumps. My recovery has been slow, and at some points just plain backwards. Within three days of being home, I got hit with a bladder infection. Ok... no big deal. Got some meds. Finished those on a Friday. By that Sunday, ahhh, bladder infection is back! Doc gives me a new prescription, which has two different pills that I take together. I take 3 doses of those, and... what's this? Hmm... hives. Breaking out in various parts of my body. Especially my hands and feet. That's no good. Ohhh, and tightness in my chest. That's probably bad. And fun! Body aches! Yay! Oooo and a fever!! Call my doc, they tell me to GO TO THE ER RIGHT NOW. Find out while we are there that not only was I having an allergic reaction to one of the pills, but I also just happened to get some random virus that was ripping through my body. I got to do various tests while I was while they checked for pneumonia, blood clots and so on and so forth (yay for my first catheter!! <---mildly uncomfortable). They send me home, tell me to take tylenol for the fever, and to stop taking.. let's call it pill #1. So that's what I did. The next morning I took my next dose of pill #2. Guess what! MORE HIVES!! Ahhh they guessed wrong! Awesome. Call my doc, he prescribes me a new pill. So now, here I sit, after 2 days of bedrest that included lots of sweating and not alot of sleep, on my third round of meds for the SAME DAMN UTI. And, to top it all off, I had something really awful happen that set my recovery back alot... so icky that I won't go into detail, but I assure you that I deserve your sympathy. It's cringe-worthy. So... it's been an interesting two weeks to say the least. It makes me feel good, however, that I can look back on them and I only see the bright spots that are the newest addition to the family. It's been so easy and so natural to have him in this house. It's right. My children are beautiful. My husband is gracious and patient and loving. My God is good. I've not a thing to complain about. (...except my bladder...) :)
... I should note here that I have been working on this post for almost two weeks, which is why it says I posted it on the 18th... it gives the day I start the post, not the day I finish it. These pictures are not the most recent. Be patient. :) I'll catch up eventually. Maybe.
Sunday, June 14, 2009
In which my son pees in his own ear.
Other titles considered for this post:
In which I get no sleep.
In which my boobs triple in size overnight.
Hello internet!
Sorry for the delay. I have been taking a hiatus from the world for the past almost-week, choosing to handle only those things that were necessary, most of which concerned diapers and boobs and sleep (kinda) and pain meds. I haven't felt like interneting, or phone-talking, or going-outing, or interacting at all, and I figured I had a good enough excuse to forgo all of those things. So thanks for being patient.
God. Is. So. Good.
I have been blown away each day. I've sunk myself into the role of motherhood like never before, taking everything in and wondering how I've come to be so lucky. I look at these two children of mine, and my ever-loving and ever-present husband and just smile. We are so blessed.
So let's start at the beginning. I think this post will mostly be just the birth story. I am not sure if there will be many pictures, but those will come in time.
Monday night, 8:00 pm: Contractions start. They are about 8 minutes apart, not really painful at all. I don't think much of it because this has happened several times already and I don't want to get my hopes up.
10:00 pm: Contractions still coming every 8 minutes. Starting to get uncomfortable. Notice that I am bleeding when I go to the bathroom. Call doctor, who tells me to head in.
10:30 pm: Finish packing up the house, the dog, the child, and head to babysitters. Would have taken pictures, but needed both hands to hold bucket because I am this close to vomiting. Having hot flashes. Yep, this is it.
11:30 pm: Make it to hospital. Get checked in (NOT admitted to Labor and Delivery yet). Get asked about 200 questions concerning the medical history of my entire family. Started to have to breathe through my contractions.
11:50 pm: Told to walk around the hospital for an hour to see if I make any progress. While walking, contractions go down to 5 minutes apart, and each one makes me hold on to the wall and cringe and sway and breathe and curse.
12:50 am: Get checked by nurse with shortest fingers in the entire world. Ouch. She says I have not made any progress. She goes to call my doctor. I continue to pant and breathe and sway and curse.
1:30 am: Get asked a bunch of questions by a nurse who was the most intimidating woman I have ever met. Wet pants a little.
2:30 am: Am told I am being SENT HOME. They say it's because my doctor told them to send me home (but find out later it's because they have no rooms. Doc had told them to admit me). I immediately begin to cry. I beg and beg and plead and pant and breathe and curse and beg some more. They shake their heads and tell me to get dressed. I weep.
3:00 am: Arrive home. Crawl in bed. Weep.
3:05 am: Cringe, weep, breathe, curse.
3:10 am: Cringe, weep, breathe, weep, hit husband, curse.
3:15 am: Weep, curse, hit husband, assume fetal position, weep.
3:20 am: Curse, curse, curse, cringe, hit husband, weep.
3:30 am: Get in car and head back to hospital.
4:00 am: Arrive at hospital. Must answer all 200 questions again. Cringe, curse, sway, breathe, cringe. Curse.
4:30 am: Nurse arrives in room, tells me that they are sending me home. I begin to weep. Nurse then says, "Just kidding!" then starts laughing. I take nurse by the ponytail and slam her head into the wall... in my head.
5:00 am: Get IV number one. Botched. Hand is swollen and bright blue now. Ouch. Get IV number two without a problem and while being wheeled over to Labor and Delivery, beg for epidural right away.
6:00 am: No epidural yet. Lots of cursing. Lots of pain. Lots of 'bathroom breaks' with lots of cursing.
7:00 am: No epidural yet.
8:00 am: No epidural yet.
8:30 am: Oh blessed anaesthesiologist! Begin to get the epidural. Assume the position: Sitting up, hunched forward, holding husbands hands. Get initial numbing shot. Not a big deal, a little burning. Nurse then puts the 'big one' in. Can feel it, but it's more uncomfortable than painful. ZING! Nurse hits nerve, tailbone erupts. I yelp, tears come to eyes. Contraction. More tears. Nurse tries to move needle. ZING! Left side erupts. I cry out, begin to weep. Nurse tells me to tell her where it hurts. I yell something. Contraction. Weep. Nurse moves needle. ZING! Right side erupts. I weep. Hysterically. Contraction. Nurse tries to get me to breathe with her. I'm gone. I'm hysterical. The pain, the exhaustion, the weeks of building emotions. There's no stopping this. Weep weep weep. ZING ZING ZING! My whole spine is on fire. Contraction. I hear HEE HEE HOOOO HEE HEE HOOOOO as my nurse tries to get me to breathe through the pain. I feel wet rags being dragged across my face, clearing the snot that is rushing out of my nose. I'm told not to move. Contraction. ZING! HEE HEE HOOOOO.
8:45 am: Needle comes out. I pant and weep and open my eyes for the first time in 15 minutes. Shaking. Paul looking at me with a face I've never seen him wear. Later he tells me that that's the worst he's ever felt in his life. I apologize profusely to the nurse and to my husband. Legs start to tingle.
9:00 am: Sleep.
10:30 am: Wake up because I feel something. PRESSURE. Oh my gosh. Page nurse.
10:35 am: They call my doctor. Am told I have to wait for him to push.
11:00 am: Vomit. Several times.
11:20 am: Doc walks in, gets suited up. Tells me to push. Push. Push. Push. Push. And out he came. Four pushes.
I hate the first nine months. I dislike the following six weeks. But those moments when I am pushing and then when I see these babies for the first time... those are the most awesome moments of my life. I would do it a thousand times if I could.
I'll update again soon. But for now, Eli is sleeping, Alex is sleeping, and something tells me that I should be doing the same. :) I promise to get some pictures up as soon as I can.
In which I get no sleep.
In which my boobs triple in size overnight.
Hello internet!
Sorry for the delay. I have been taking a hiatus from the world for the past almost-week, choosing to handle only those things that were necessary, most of which concerned diapers and boobs and sleep (kinda) and pain meds. I haven't felt like interneting, or phone-talking, or going-outing, or interacting at all, and I figured I had a good enough excuse to forgo all of those things. So thanks for being patient.
God. Is. So. Good.
I have been blown away each day. I've sunk myself into the role of motherhood like never before, taking everything in and wondering how I've come to be so lucky. I look at these two children of mine, and my ever-loving and ever-present husband and just smile. We are so blessed.
So let's start at the beginning. I think this post will mostly be just the birth story. I am not sure if there will be many pictures, but those will come in time.
Monday night, 8:00 pm: Contractions start. They are about 8 minutes apart, not really painful at all. I don't think much of it because this has happened several times already and I don't want to get my hopes up.
10:00 pm: Contractions still coming every 8 minutes. Starting to get uncomfortable. Notice that I am bleeding when I go to the bathroom. Call doctor, who tells me to head in.
10:30 pm: Finish packing up the house, the dog, the child, and head to babysitters. Would have taken pictures, but needed both hands to hold bucket because I am this close to vomiting. Having hot flashes. Yep, this is it.
11:30 pm: Make it to hospital. Get checked in (NOT admitted to Labor and Delivery yet). Get asked about 200 questions concerning the medical history of my entire family. Started to have to breathe through my contractions.
11:50 pm: Told to walk around the hospital for an hour to see if I make any progress. While walking, contractions go down to 5 minutes apart, and each one makes me hold on to the wall and cringe and sway and breathe and curse.
12:50 am: Get checked by nurse with shortest fingers in the entire world. Ouch. She says I have not made any progress. She goes to call my doctor. I continue to pant and breathe and sway and curse.
1:30 am: Get asked a bunch of questions by a nurse who was the most intimidating woman I have ever met. Wet pants a little.
2:30 am: Am told I am being SENT HOME. They say it's because my doctor told them to send me home (but find out later it's because they have no rooms. Doc had told them to admit me). I immediately begin to cry. I beg and beg and plead and pant and breathe and curse and beg some more. They shake their heads and tell me to get dressed. I weep.
3:00 am: Arrive home. Crawl in bed. Weep.
3:05 am: Cringe, weep, breathe, curse.
3:10 am: Cringe, weep, breathe, weep, hit husband, curse.
3:15 am: Weep, curse, hit husband, assume fetal position, weep.
3:20 am: Curse, curse, curse, cringe, hit husband, weep.
3:30 am: Get in car and head back to hospital.
4:00 am: Arrive at hospital. Must answer all 200 questions again. Cringe, curse, sway, breathe, cringe. Curse.
4:30 am: Nurse arrives in room, tells me that they are sending me home. I begin to weep. Nurse then says, "Just kidding!" then starts laughing. I take nurse by the ponytail and slam her head into the wall... in my head.
5:00 am: Get IV number one. Botched. Hand is swollen and bright blue now. Ouch. Get IV number two without a problem and while being wheeled over to Labor and Delivery, beg for epidural right away.
6:00 am: No epidural yet. Lots of cursing. Lots of pain. Lots of 'bathroom breaks' with lots of cursing.
7:00 am: No epidural yet.
8:00 am: No epidural yet.
8:30 am: Oh blessed anaesthesiologist! Begin to get the epidural. Assume the position: Sitting up, hunched forward, holding husbands hands. Get initial numbing shot. Not a big deal, a little burning. Nurse then puts the 'big one' in. Can feel it, but it's more uncomfortable than painful. ZING! Nurse hits nerve, tailbone erupts. I yelp, tears come to eyes. Contraction. More tears. Nurse tries to move needle. ZING! Left side erupts. I cry out, begin to weep. Nurse tells me to tell her where it hurts. I yell something. Contraction. Weep. Nurse moves needle. ZING! Right side erupts. I weep. Hysterically. Contraction. Nurse tries to get me to breathe with her. I'm gone. I'm hysterical. The pain, the exhaustion, the weeks of building emotions. There's no stopping this. Weep weep weep. ZING ZING ZING! My whole spine is on fire. Contraction. I hear HEE HEE HOOOO HEE HEE HOOOOO as my nurse tries to get me to breathe through the pain. I feel wet rags being dragged across my face, clearing the snot that is rushing out of my nose. I'm told not to move. Contraction. ZING! HEE HEE HOOOOO.
8:45 am: Needle comes out. I pant and weep and open my eyes for the first time in 15 minutes. Shaking. Paul looking at me with a face I've never seen him wear. Later he tells me that that's the worst he's ever felt in his life. I apologize profusely to the nurse and to my husband. Legs start to tingle.
9:00 am: Sleep.
10:30 am: Wake up because I feel something. PRESSURE. Oh my gosh. Page nurse.
10:35 am: They call my doctor. Am told I have to wait for him to push.
11:00 am: Vomit. Several times.
11:20 am: Doc walks in, gets suited up. Tells me to push. Push. Push. Push. Push. And out he came. Four pushes.
I hate the first nine months. I dislike the following six weeks. But those moments when I am pushing and then when I see these babies for the first time... those are the most awesome moments of my life. I would do it a thousand times if I could.
I'll update again soon. But for now, Eli is sleeping, Alex is sleeping, and something tells me that I should be doing the same. :) I promise to get some pictures up as soon as I can.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
A Short Introduction.
I would like you to meet the newest addition.
Elijah Samuel
Born on Tuesday, June 9th at 11:27 am.
7 lbs, 11 oz
19 3/4 inches long
(And, as an added bonus, this is what happens when you give your husband camera duty with a camera that has fun features on it, like the 'Make new mother look like she did exactly 10 minutes prior to giving birth' feature. Lovely)
More to come later. It's quite the story, I assure you. From being SENT HOME while I was in labor, to the epidural from hell. It will come in time. :)
Monday, June 8, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Doctor's Update: Week 39 (!!!)
Dilated 3 cm. (voice in my head says ALLELUIA!)
The heartrate was a little low, which subsequently had me strapped to a table for the next half hour for a non-stress test to make sure that Little Buddy is doing alright. I watched as his heartrate went from 118 up to 150, back down again, back up again. He was all over the place. But Doc assured me that he is perfectly fine, and that I should not worry (but keep track of movements... just in case... and he's been kicking the crap out of me since then... so no worries).
Doc also says that if I am at a 4 my next visit, which is Wednesday of NEXT WEEK, he'll just send me in right after. Which I am perfectly happy to do. I'm ready to lose this extra 40 pounds (yep) that I've been lugging around with me for the past few months. And of course it will all be off as soon as I deliver, correct? I am pretty sure that's what happened with Alex. Also, I seem to remember it more a tickle than a pain while I was in labor. Ya, pretty sure that's how it went. And it was done in less than 10 minutes. So, what do I have to worry about?
(Really? My logic is finally coming back and my head is trying to yell and scream to let the rest of my body know that PAIN IS ON THE WAY! But then my heart is trying to be all noble and saying that it will be worth it in the end... And so they go, back and forth, and all I have to show for it is a constant layer of perspiration that some would mistakenly call a 'glow'.)
So, there is a possibility that I will have another child in my arms come the end of the next week. Which I am excited about. And petrified about. And shocked into stunned silence about. Paul just walks around saying, It will be fine, it will be fine. Then he fixes something. Or cleans something. Which tells me that he could very well be quite as anxious as I am about Little Buddy. But... We'll be fine.
I have come to accept, however, that this house will never be ready up to my crazy hormone-driven standards. I think it just may be impossible to truly nest while you have a toddler waddling along after you, undoing everything that you've just done. Like now, for instance, she is standing over her diaper bag, pulling everything out, one by one, and chucking it across the living room. The work never ends. I should just stop trying. I've forced my mother to promise that she would clean my house when she arrives post-baby, assuring her that she didn't really have to mean it, but just say it SO I CAN STOP CLEANING. (And now, my daughter's eyes are glassing over, a sure sign that she is now doing to her diaper what she's just done to my living room... a mother's work is never done!)
And yes, the kitchen is done (aside from new light fixtures, but we are waiting for some that match to go on clearance... so those might be a while). I've been lazy about getting pictures up. But really, the weather hasn't helped. Every time the kitchen is clean and up to internet-sharing standards, it's crappy and cloudy outside, and I really want sunny, happy pictures of the completed project, and every tine I get nice weather, the kitchen is a mess. So... soon. Pictures will come soon. Or maybe I won't post any. That way you have to come HERE to see them, and while you are here, you can take a kid or two so I can get some sleep. Perfect.
Wish me luck for this coming week. I won't mind going in before Wednesday. In fact, I would have to say that it would be preferable to go in before Wednesday. COME ON, LITTLE MAN!
The heartrate was a little low, which subsequently had me strapped to a table for the next half hour for a non-stress test to make sure that Little Buddy is doing alright. I watched as his heartrate went from 118 up to 150, back down again, back up again. He was all over the place. But Doc assured me that he is perfectly fine, and that I should not worry (but keep track of movements... just in case... and he's been kicking the crap out of me since then... so no worries).
Doc also says that if I am at a 4 my next visit, which is Wednesday of NEXT WEEK, he'll just send me in right after. Which I am perfectly happy to do. I'm ready to lose this extra 40 pounds (yep) that I've been lugging around with me for the past few months. And of course it will all be off as soon as I deliver, correct? I am pretty sure that's what happened with Alex. Also, I seem to remember it more a tickle than a pain while I was in labor. Ya, pretty sure that's how it went. And it was done in less than 10 minutes. So, what do I have to worry about?
(Really? My logic is finally coming back and my head is trying to yell and scream to let the rest of my body know that PAIN IS ON THE WAY! But then my heart is trying to be all noble and saying that it will be worth it in the end... And so they go, back and forth, and all I have to show for it is a constant layer of perspiration that some would mistakenly call a 'glow'.)
So, there is a possibility that I will have another child in my arms come the end of the next week. Which I am excited about. And petrified about. And shocked into stunned silence about. Paul just walks around saying, It will be fine, it will be fine. Then he fixes something. Or cleans something. Which tells me that he could very well be quite as anxious as I am about Little Buddy. But... We'll be fine.
I have come to accept, however, that this house will never be ready up to my crazy hormone-driven standards. I think it just may be impossible to truly nest while you have a toddler waddling along after you, undoing everything that you've just done. Like now, for instance, she is standing over her diaper bag, pulling everything out, one by one, and chucking it across the living room. The work never ends. I should just stop trying. I've forced my mother to promise that she would clean my house when she arrives post-baby, assuring her that she didn't really have to mean it, but just say it SO I CAN STOP CLEANING. (And now, my daughter's eyes are glassing over, a sure sign that she is now doing to her diaper what she's just done to my living room... a mother's work is never done!)
And yes, the kitchen is done (aside from new light fixtures, but we are waiting for some that match to go on clearance... so those might be a while). I've been lazy about getting pictures up. But really, the weather hasn't helped. Every time the kitchen is clean and up to internet-sharing standards, it's crappy and cloudy outside, and I really want sunny, happy pictures of the completed project, and every tine I get nice weather, the kitchen is a mess. So... soon. Pictures will come soon. Or maybe I won't post any. That way you have to come HERE to see them, and while you are here, you can take a kid or two so I can get some sleep. Perfect.
Wish me luck for this coming week. I won't mind going in before Wednesday. In fact, I would have to say that it would be preferable to go in before Wednesday. COME ON, LITTLE MAN!
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