Taylor’s Birth Story

Filed Under Are you kidding me?, Birth- Taylor, Doctor Stuff, Newborn- Taylor, Second Pregnancy | 11 Comments

Now that he is a week old, I decided it was high time to write Taylor’s birth story before I forget the details. Things have been a little crazy at our house since he came home.

On Wednesday, February 17th my nesting mode kicked into high gear. I was on a mission to make sure EVERYTHING was finished. I took Bailey to her last cooking class, then went and did grocery shopping. During her nap, I baked brownies, wrote some thank you notes, and got a few packages ready to mail out (clothing etc I sold online). That night, I went to church with Bailey to work doing childcare for the Wednesday night events. I sat in a chair and relaxed and it was actually a pretty low-key evening. Bailey and I stopped by the church library to get a few new movies. I asked to have them for a month just in case I had the baby early, so I didn’t have to worry about returning them.

On the way home, I started having what felt like an achy lower back and period cramps. That had happened on and off for about a week but just a slight, dull ache. Once I got home I ate a bowl of cereal and took a warm bath and I felt much better. I woke up a few times during the night thinking my back was still achy but it wasn’t even worth taking Tylenol for. Around 5:45 a.m. I woke up having what I thought were mild contractions. Around 6:00 I woke Jonathon up and told him what was going on. At this point the pain was still just crampy.

I got up and washed the dishes that were in the sink and switched the laundry to the dryer. The contractions were consistently about 5-8 minutes apart but starting to be stronger. I called my mom to see if she could get ready in case we needed her to come over. She suggested that I call my doctor’s exchange and ask them what to do. The doctor on call said that since it was my second baby and I was already at least 3 cm I should go ahead and come in to L and D. My mom headed over and I got in the shower. Bailey woke up at some point during this and was excited about Grammy coming.

While I was in the shower my contractions got noticeably stronger. I got out and tried to put on makeup and get ready. About halfway through blow drying my hair they really started hurting and I gave up. I think the contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart. At this point I just told Jonathon we needed to leave. It was about 7:20. Once we got in the car everything went a little crazy. The pain really got bad but I was trying to decide whether or not we should drive through McDonalds and get some breakfast. (Obviously I was not really being rational at this point!) Then I decided to scrap that idea and hurry up and get to the hospital so I could get my epidural. The contractions started coming almost every minute after this and I was panicking a little bit. I was yelling at Jonathon to go around the traffic- of course it had to be morning rush hour- and at one point I thought I should get out and walk instead. He cut a few corners and we made it to the hospital. The last five or ten minutes I could feel a lot of pressure from the baby. I kept saying, “This is not okay. He’s going to come out.” I was panicking.

When we got to the hospital I jumped out of the car to go up to the maternity floor. I told him to park and meet me inside. The woman at the desk was all calm and slow and I was like, “MY BABY IS COMING OUT!” I think she thought I was exaggerating, then I about doubled over against the couch and she got on the phone to call a nurse. I was checked in at 7:55 a.m. and they took me straight back to a delivery room. When we got in the room I told them I needed to pee before getting into bed. When I sat down to pee my water broke but I don’t think I was even aware of it. I was fairly sure I was going to die from the pain. They put a gown on me and helped me into the bed. The house OB checked me and I was 8 cm at this point. I remember having either two or three really strong contractions where I freaked out. The nurse was yelling at me to look in her eyes and breathe with her.

I started asking where the anesthesiologist was. They said they had called her and she was on her way. I was saying, “I can’t do this, I swear I can’t, I need an epidural.” But it also felt like I was ready to push. They told me I had two options, I could either wait and lay still and get the epidural, or I could go ahead and push him out. The nurse said if it was her she would just push because it would help with the pain and it would be over sooner. I asked if it was okay since I was only at 8. They said that I was probably at 10 and they went to check me and they were like, “oh, he’s right there and he has hair!” I believe I pushed once for his head and either once or twice at the shoulders. I could feel him slide out. The actual pushing didn’t really hurt compared to the contractions so I was glad I just went ahead and did it. But that’s the story of how I gave birth without an epidural!

The house OB was the one who delivered Taylor. My OB walked in just a few minutes later. Apparently the anesthesiologist got there while I was pushing, too. They let me hold him right away and he was MAD. He was still really covered in white stuff from being a little early. They cut his cord (Jonathon didn’t care about doing it this time, he said it was kind of weird and not a big deal). She said I had torn a little bit but it was very minimal. I said that I did NOT want stitches after I had done all that without drugs. She said since it stopped bleeding with pressure that I could skip the stitches. Taylor’s APGAR scores were 8 at one minute and 9 at five minutes.

He was 7 pounds exactly, and 19 inches long. He arrived at 37 weeks 3 days.

Look at his proud daddy!

In love with my little man…

First family photo

Heading off to my room!

37 Week Checkup

Filed Under Baby Gear, Doctor Stuff, Second Pregnancy, Week by Week | 1 Comment

Today at my dr’s appointment, she said, “Congratulations! You have a full-term baby!” Thank you, God, for letting me carry this baby for 37 weeks. I am always convinced that I am going to have an early unexpected delivery for some reason. I am trying to enjoy these last few weeks with Baby Boy inside me. Even right now he is thumping. I think he has the hiccups. His heartbeat has been consistently around 140 at every checkup.

I am starting to really look forward to meeting him, to holding him and kissing his little face and rubbing his peach fuzz hair against my cheek. It’s going to be so soon. While I’m not completely ready, I’m ready enough. My heart is full of love and hope and nervous flutters. My bag is (finally) packed. His clothes are all washed and put away. The baby swing a friend so kindly loaned us is waiting in the living room. Grandma has been sleeping with her cell phone next to her at night in case she needs to come watch Bailey. Our fridge is empty, so I need to take care of that. Or else Jonathon can…. whatever… that is not a priority right now. My big priorities are relaxing, snuggling with my daughter as much as possible while she is still my only visible child, and trying to be nice to my husband.

And the good news? I am now at 3 centimeters- a welcome change from the HALF centimeter last week! Yay for progress!

Baby Boy’s Room

Filed Under Clothes, Home Sweet Home, Nursery, Second Pregnancy | 2 Comments

Decided it was high time to share some pictures of the baby’s room. It is almost all ready. Well, he could move in now and be fine… but I want to get another toy bin (for his books) and some letters to spell his name on his wall, and maybe a picture frame or something.

The view coming straight in the door… no I have no idea why there is an exercise ball in his room. It’s not there anymore. I want a picture or something for this wall though.

The crib side of the room. This wall is adjacent to Bailey’s room. His name will be above his bed once I remember to buy some letters and some paint for them. Might be doing that tomorrow since Jonathon’s off work. The baskets and stuff have been moved from under his bed, the boppy has been unpacked and covered with a new “boy” pattern cover…

And I just love this puppy bedding.

My mom warned me that I might want to cover the lower part of this wall hanging (or comforter, whatever) with plastic to protect it from pee in the beginning… His diapers and cream and everything are all ready to go. There are wipes in the warmer (okay not wipes, we had to use soft “cloth-like” paper towels in the beginning with Bailey because of her sensitive skin, even the sensitive wipes made her bleed so we are just doing the same for Baby Boy). Just need to add water and turn it on when he comes home!

And the beginning of his clothing stash. It took me a while but I have finally gotten into shopping for him. In fact I feel like I might need to go up to the mall later today and look at the President’s Day sale stuff at Gymboree. Uh oh.

36 Week Checkup

Filed Under Doctor Stuff, Gender, Second Pregnancy, Symptoms, Two and a half years old | 5 Comments

Today I had my 36 week appointment at the OB’s office. So here is my official TMI warning. If you don’t want to hear about my cervix, stop reading.
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After a freakishly uncomfortable internal exam (really, I don’t remember it being that bad before!) she told me that I was only a HALF centimeter dilated. I almost cried… but then she told me that my cervix is thinned and soft and the baby’s head is against it. So- that means that he has officially dropped. No wonder I feel like I’m waddling lately. Bailey never actually “dropped” until I was in labor at the hospital with her. That also explains all the pinchy feelings I keep getting in that area!

I also got swabbed for Butt Strep, a.k.a. Group B Strep. So we’ll get those results next week. I’m assuming I don’t have it, I didn’t when I was pregnant before, but who knows. Who even knew your butt could GET strep? Gross…

Baby Boy’s heartbeat was in the low 140s as it has been at every checkup since about 12 weeks. So far he is holding true to the old wives tale about heart rate. I also got a new prescription written for my prenatals so I can start getting them filled at the grocery store where they are now free!

Bailey did surprisingly well during the checkup. She sat in the chair and looked at pictures in a magazine. And wiggled a lot, and told the doctor she was going to be a doctor when she grows up. And then she said, “Dr. _____, I have a question for you.” So the doctor tried to ask what her question was but all she would say was “It’s a question about Grammy.” Then she hopped up on the table after I was done, leaned back, opened her legs and said, “My turn for a checkup!”

New Interests

Filed Under Big Sister, Books, Learning, Milestones, Names, Second Pregnancy, Siblings, This Rocks, Two and a half years old | 2 Comments

I know I have mentioned how Bailey is really into dressing up lately- not so much the actual princess dresses, but the tutu, wand, shoes, tiara, wings etc. The other night while I was out, Jonathon went in to check on her and she had taken her socks off and put on a pair of high heeled princess shoes to go to sleep. I scolded him for not getting a picture!

She is also really into “big girl books” with real pages. She looks at board books sometimes but has to be in the right mood. Her current favorite books are anything princess (Especially Cinderella!), Wocket in my Pocket, Where the Wild Things Are (she calls it “Wild Fings ARE”), Sneetches, Dora Visits the Dentist, and Berenstein Bears Big Honey Hunt. She used to like the Little Mermaid but we were at a friends house one day and the movie was on. She saw the part where Ursula turns back into the Sea Witch at the end and now all she says is, “I don’t like the bad lady!” and she won’t have anything to do with it anymore. We have to be really careful what she watches and what parts of the books we “edit” when we read because she has such a big imagination!

Another thing she loves is her new colored pencils. She likes to draw with them. She doesn’t like coloring books much anymore- she would rather draw her own pictures and have us draw/color with her on blank paper. I guess that’s a good thing because it gets her to be more creative. She also likes to pretend to wrap presents for us. Anytime she can find a piece of tissue paper or scrap paper she starts folding it around a small object and then brings us the present to open.

She has just started learning the “grownup names” of people in our family. I think it’s good that she knows what our real names are, including last names, in case she ever needs to get help or talk to another adult for some reason. We are also going to start working on a phone number soon. She can say her full name and we are starting to learn how to spell it. She really likes knowing what adults’ names are, and she knows not to use their names but for some reason thinks it’s fun just to know.

She loves talking about her baby brother, and talking to him while he’s inside me. She always tells him, “Hi, Baby _____ ______. I’m your big sister! I love you and I will take care of you.” She puts stickers on my tummy for him, and talks about how she will hold toys for him to look at and read books to him when he is too little to hold the toys by himself. I love to see her excitement about him.

Nesting-ish

Filed Under Are you kidding me?, Marriage, Second Pregnancy, Tackle It Tuesday | 1 Comment

I keep saying I am going to post the wedding pictures on here. And then I think of more things that need to be done around the house. Critical things, you know, like getting our Disney photos from FALL 08 in an album. Or updating Bailey’s baby book. Or selling her old clothes online. (Okay, at least that one earns me more shopping money). Anyway. I am in that phase, where I find random paint spots that need to be touched up, or decided to empty and clean out the fridge WHILE making dinner. Or start thinking about selling our house altogether and call around to get a price or home insurance quote.

I’ll share a funny story though. It wasn’t funny then, but it’s pretty funny now. I was in a bad mood by the time Jonathon got home from work. They changed the hours of my favorite post office and so I didn’t get a package shipped out today. Because I used the ONE size flat rate box that doesn’t have online postage available. That got me all set off and I stomped upstairs to start dinner. Jonathon said something about how I’m doing some things but not working up to my potential. Um, I’m sorry, I’m busy growing a human right now.

Then he made a comment about how he was tired of this (giant) stack of stuff all over the countertop. So I threw the entire stack across the kitchen floor at just the right angle so that it would scatter everywhere. And I looked him in the eye and said, “There. Now it’s not on the countertop.”

I love pregnancy hormones. And I was NOT the one who cleaned up the mess. You know, because I am busy living life below my full potential, so I just let other people do those kind of things.

Prenatal Vitamins

Filed Under Freebies, Frugal, Pregnancy, Second Pregnancy | 1 Comment

I am really excited because I just found out that a local grocery store is now offering free prescription pregnancy vitamins. Which is awesome because I will still be taking them for the next year while I’m nursing. I’m not positive about all the details- but wanted to pass it along– if you live in the Missouri/Illinois area you can check with your Schnucks store to get more information. Next time I need a refill I will be definitely going there instead of W@lgreens!

Wedding this Weekend

Filed Under Input Needed, Second Pregnancy, Two and a half years old, Weddings | 1 Comment

This weekend I will be a bridesmaid in my friend Faith’s wedding. Haven’t you always dreamed of being a bridesmaid at 34 weeks pregnant? What? You haven’t?

I will be glad to stand up with her and I am looking forward to taking part in all the wedding stuff. But honestly I am terrified to wear my (maternity) bridesmaid dress and heels with my beginning-to-swell ankles. My little daughter is the flower girl and I’m sure she will either charm everyone or be a disaster. Here she is trying on her dress a few months ago (with a onesie under it).

I am just doing her hair myself since I know she won’t put up with anyone else trying anything crazy on her hair. At least I can threaten bribe her while I fix it myself. My husband is the only family member who is not “in” the wedding. (Hey, at least we don’t have to rent a tuxedo!) He will be helping to get Bailey ready to walk down the aisle since I will already be at the front of the church. We are planning to tell her to walk to mommy to get her new present and a lollipop. Hopefully one of those will sound appealing at that moment and she won’t have a two year old stubborn fit. Then once he is seated he will be videoing the rest of the ceremony.

If you have had your two year old/younger three year old in a wedding please tell me what you did to help it go smoothly!

Sluggy

Filed Under Me, Second Pregnancy | Leave a Comment

I am starting to notice a definite decline in my energy level. 33 weeks pregnant means that I am only 7 weeks (or less!) away from having this baby. I know, I’m a math genius. But it’s just kind of snuck up on me. Everything has been so smooth for so long, but now I just feel TIRED a lot. I lack the energy to do the things I want to do with Bailey. We’re fine when we are out somewhere, but at home I feel really lazy. Jonathon keeps trying to make me feel better by saying that it’s not laziness, it’s pregnancy. Whatever it is, it’s interfering with my mothering. Today I fell asleep on the couch while Bailey played.

After this pregnancy I definitely want to get back into better shape. I know when I am exercising that my overall attitude and level of energy is better. I was thinking I would join a gym but I have also been looking at treadmills on Craig$list. Not sure whether it would be harder to get myself to the gym or to get motivated to do something at home… but something needs to change with my habits so that I can feel better.

32 Weeks Pregnant (Bonus: Belly Shot)

Filed Under Doctor Stuff, Friends, Second Pregnancy, Two and a half years old | 1 Comment

1/10/2010

I am officially 32 weeks pregnant! I have been feeling so good. The swelling that I have is really minor compared to my pregnancy with Bailey. I will have to look back at my blog to see when that got worse. I have not had heartburn since around 22-24 weeks…. except for the night I thought I was invincible and ate chili. Baby Boy continues to move a lot and I enjoy seeing my belly wiggle when I’m laying on the couch. My doctor’s appointments have all been fine- no concerns, nothing out of the ordinary. Got my rhogam (sp?) shot at 28 weeks and I am going every other week now. No contractions yet (at this point with Bailey I had already had some). I found out our pediatrician goes on vacation March 11th so I am hoping this little guy is here on time so she can see him in the hospital!

We were at Sarah and Ryan’s house the other night and she got a few belly shots of me. And of my extra chin. Yikes.

And a cute one of the girls playing together-

Friendships

Filed Under Being a Mom, Friends, Me, Second Pregnancy, Thoughts | 6 Comments

I have been thinking a lot about my friendships and my friends lately. A lot has changed since getting married, and then again since having a child, and again since expecting a second child. “Mom” friendships are definitely not the same as single girl friendships with endless time. Also, it was hard to adjust to relating to my non-mom friends. Do they want to hang out with my child? Do they understand that I don’t have as much time? Do they think I’m old and boring now?

I feel like I have finally settled into a good place with a lot of my friendships. Sure, I wish I had more time. I wish I had that one really close friend. (If you didn’t know, my closest friend since college graduation recently moved to another state and our contact is much much less than I would like… but I will be standing up in her wedding in several weeks and hopefully once that busy-ness is behind us we can work on carving out a new track for our friendship). I have been making an effort to catch up with the people I care about most and honestly have let some other relationships slide. It was time to do that. I don’t have time for everything, as much as I wish I did. And in two months, I will have a new breastfeeding baby who needs mommy time much more than my feisty and independent almost-three-year-old does. Or at least on a different level. On an Oh My God I Can’t Leave This Child level.

This week has been so busy/will be so busy on the social front, but I am really filling an important part of my life right now. I feel like I need to connect with these ladies before we drift too far apart. And apparently I feel the need to ramble about it on my blog.

In the past week or so I have gotten to spend some quality time with Jen and Renee. Yesterday Emily and Ella came over to play. They really reassure me that I will survive with two children and that I will, in fact, love my second child just as much as Bailey. Today we had a playdate with Kim and Mackenzie. Where Bailey was not exactly on her best behavior… sorry Kim… On Friday we are getting together with Casey and Addison, which I am really looking forward to. It has been way too long since we’ve hung out. We used to see each other at least once a week and that’s a friendship I regret letting slide as much as it has. Then over the weekend we get to have dinner with Sarah and her hubby and cute little girl Claire. These people are all so important to me and I am glad that I am taking the time and energy to be with them. It’s also way too easy to be a lazy pregnant woman, not make plans, and sit home and feel lonely and bored. I need to stay out of that funk because I will have plenty of time at home after the baby is born!

I don’t know

Filed Under Complaining, Second Pregnancy, Two and a half years old | 3 Comments

I am seriously stressed right now. I have so much to do around the house. Get the baby’s room ready, clean, ship Amazon orders, clean my office, move all my Avon stuff into my new office downstairs, set up playroom in downstairs family room area, clean bedroom, clean bathroom and reorganize. I am freaking out a little bit. Tonight I was supposed to be relaxing and watching Cold Case which is only one of my FAVORITE shows when guess what? We get almost to the end and the tape stops. Yes we still use a VCR, we can’t get U-ver$e at our house because AT&T sucks. Apparently the show started late tonight and SOMEONE didn’t allow for that while taping. So I was extremely pissed and I still am. Good old pregnancy hormones, someone better get out of my way. I feel like hitting something. I’m glad I’m not a man or I would be punching the wall.

Oh but did you know that when you are in a bad mood and a cute little someone starts dancing in their raincoat while watching their reflection in the oven glass it almost makes it all better?

Little Kicky

Filed Under Second Pregnancy | Leave a Comment

This baby is really starting to wiggle and kick A LOT more lately. The past two weeks or so I have been feeling him- not just the flutters but definitely some pokes and nudges when I put my hand on my belly. Jonathon has felt him now too (that happened around 25 weeks) and the other night when I rested an ice cream bowl on my belly I saw it bounce up and down!

By the way…

Filed Under Second Pregnancy, Symptoms | 1 Comment

My ankles are swollen. 25 weeks, almost 26 but who’s counting?

It’s been happening off and on for a few weeks but starting to be more of a regular occurrence. That and the heartburn in the evenings. If I try to lean over to bathe Bailey, I throw up in my mouth.

Tuesday Toot- Should I Even be Proud?

Filed Under Are you kidding me?, Diapers/Potty, Second Pregnancy, Sleep, Tuesday Toot, Two and a half years old | 3 Comments

So I’m supposed to talk about an accomplishment, something I’m proud of, etc.

Should I mention that I functioned all day on just three hours of sleep (thank you horrible gas pains, I thought I was in labor! I have honestly never felt anything quite like this. Jonathon finally went to the store at 2 a.m. to get me Gas-X.)

Or that I cleaned poop out of Bailey’s bed this morning? After listening to her yell “Mom! Come in here! You hear me? I need you to come in!” I thought she just woke up early and told her to go back to sleep. So I finally sent Jonathon in and he’s like “Help! There’s poop!” So I go in and she says, “Look at all the poops in my bed! There’s poops in my own bed!” And those little turdlets were all lined up and arranged. Nice.

Or should I tell you that I worked doing childcare this morning at church and I wish that my old co-teacher was still in my room with me? Long morning.

Or maybe I should just tell you that Bailey and I both got to take a three hour nap this afternoon