Labor for Love

Oh this is going to take me a while to write--this story of my first, and only, son's birth. It is still very emotional for me to discuss, so I'm hoping to make it through writing this post without a pool of tears--but there's no guarantee. Just the other day I was quite proud of myself for getting through what I called a Cliffs Notes version of his birth story. I'm really not trying to sound overly dramatic, but this is just the truth.

The above picture is the evening of my due date, September 14, 2012. I had to take one picture to capture my belly on this important day--of course I didn't remember until I was hitting the hay!


I realize I didn't update my pregnancy much on the blog, but it was just as special, if not more special, than any of the others. And I only say "more special" because he is our last baby. So I was truly trying to savor every painful step, every late and sleepless night, and every single kick. And he was quite active--more than any of his siblings ever were.

Doctors and nurses even started to take notice of how active he was. I went in to the hospital for an External Cephalic Version at 36/6.  The nurse and both doctors could not believe how active he was that day. He'd started out with his head lodged into my left hip. Then they monitored him for a little bit and drew my blood. When they docs came back an hour later to find his position, his head was up under my right ribs. ACTIVE? YES! He did, however, turn within a minute of their attempt to turn him head down.They wrapped me in a binder which I wore for another four hours. But by that evening I had a sneaking suspicion that he had turned head up again.

I went to my 37 week check up the next day and the doctor guessed him to not be head down. I was a little worried that I'd have to have a c-section, or even another ECV, but I tried to not be overly concerned and instead focus on trying to move him into the correct position on my own. So I did all the crazy techniques that have been mentioned to mothers with breech babies for decades. I became besties with my exercise ball. And I prayed--and prayed some more that I could just have him turn on his own, my water would break, I'd have a few real contractions on the way to the hospital, and within the next 5 hours I'd be holding my first son.

But I went to my 38 week appointment hopeful and came home disapointed. We ended up setting up another ECV for the day I turend 39 weeks, which was Sept. 7. As the day neared, I realized I had too much going on that weekend to give birth, plus I wanted to ride out the pregnancy a bit more and hope for a head down baby. So we rescheduled for Sept. 10. Well, I went to my 39 wk check up and he was head down. A miracle, so I thought, had happened. I cancelled my ECV with immediate induction and went home mostly happy about waiting it out. The only part I didn't like about waiting was the anticipation and the fact that it's hard to prepare when you don't know when little one will make his appearance. But I dealt with that fine.

My due date came on Sept. 14, and I was hardly even phased by it. Both Matt and my doctor wished me "Happy Due Date" day, and I was proud to make it that far. At that appointment though, I found out that I would be giving birth for sure in the next two weeks because my doctor would not let me go past 42 weeks. So I had the option of being induced that weekend with my doctor being on call, or risk going into labor and not having my doctor be there. Or even worse, having to be induced at the last possible moment when my doctor could've been out of town. So, due to some complications I've had the last two times post-delivery, I wanted my doctor to monitor my labor and the fluids I received, deliver me, and do my follow-up care while I was in the hospital. So the induction was set for the next night, Sept. 15.

However, shortly after this was all set, my nurse texted me and said that we'd have to choose Saturday morning or Sunday night. So we chose Sunday night, Sept. 16, in order to get things done around the house and attend all the soccer games that weekend. I know, priorities right?

Fast-forward to Sunday night, a night in which I fully intended to sit all perked up in my bed and blog about the experience (but that didn't happen), and I'm in the hospital at 7:30 with a sweet nurse, slippers on my feet, and a cytotec pill in my system. I started getting mild-moderate contractions shortly thereafter. They were too distracting for me to type on a computer, so I rode out the very. long. night.

By the next morning I'd had more cytotec and I'd continued to regularly contract. I was then started on pitocin. I labored for a while and handled contractions well. Then all of a sudden I had the contraction from hell! It felt like nothing I'd ever felt and I caved--I burst into tears from the pain and yelled for my epidural to get there quick. There was no way in Dante's Inferno that my body would need to feel what an exploding uterus felt like EVER AGAIN!

About 30 mins later I could sense relief was in the air--my anesthesiologist walked into the room. I'd had him before and knew he was nice--he describes each step as he does it. I find that comforting. So all was said and done, and next thing I know they're asking me how I'm feeling as I begin to lie down. I remember being embarrassed for fear that people would see me as some kind of druggie, but I said "high" because I figured that's what would best describe the incredible dizziness that took over. I don't really remember much of the next hour after this. My husband said my bp dropped to 70/30. What scared me the most was feeling like I couldn't breathe or swallow. I felt scared for my life because I felt the effects of the epidural from the waist up--as opposed to the waist down. My chest, neck, lips... everything was numb. I had to swallow at one point and I popped up in bed to try to let gravity help me, and all I remember was gagging, spitting, and the docs and nurses commenting about my being able to sit up. Well, that's because the epi wasn't working, people!!! Well, it wasn't working in the right spots!

I know there were extra people in the room while this was going on, and I know they were trying to talk to me--but I can't remember what they were saying. Matt told me that he got scared when my response time to questions was several seconds after the fact. About an hour after all this crazy stuff started, I think I finally "came to," for lack of a better phrase. I remember looking up at the speckled ceiling and asking if a spot that was moving very erratically was what it looked like (a bug), or what I thought it probably was (a spot on the ceiling that looked like it was a bug because I was still so dizzy/"high"). But I know this is the first time I felt somewhat normal and like I wasn't going to die, so I was happy. Once the medication wore off, I was left with a terribly itchy face that I scrubbed over and over with a wet washcloth--only to later discover I'd made myself bleed--super awesome!

So eventually everything normalized. I was taken off of the pit and epi meds, but slowly they were turned back on. I made slow, but steady progress throughout the afternoon. My poor nurse had to chase my baby all afternoon. He was so active, the monitoring strips had to constantly be moved to keep track of him. By this point I remember thinking that I wasn't going to get an early afternoon (at the latest) birth like I'd wanted, but instead would be delivering into the late hours of the night. We also decided that our little man owed our sweet nurse Maria (more on this dear woman to come) a beer! She hardly left my bedside all day due to the epidural craziness and his bouts of ADD!

The afternoon passed by, and my doctor showed up around 6 to see how things were progressing and possibly break my waters. Well, baby boy had finally dropped low enough for waters to break so she broke them. We continued talking for a few minutes when I realized his heart was dipping. I mentioned it, and the doctor went to put an internal monitor on his head. A second or two later, she said "C-section, NOW! This isn't a head!"

...To be continued...

Happy Birthday, Peach!

Peach's birthday was a month ago. So Peachy, when you're much older and you finally come across this post--let me just tell you I'm so sorry it took me a month to compose this post. It has nothing to do with how important you are--but it has everything to do with how busy life has been since your birthday.

First, we celebrated a few days before your birthday with your friends at school. I came to your school to do your Star of the Week with you. Part of my duties consisted of telling a funny story about you. You approved the one about you changing Brownie's diaper when she was barely one and you were hardly two. The kids in your class all laughed--and so did you! I also brought you M&M cookies to share with your class. And we took a special picture to remember the day!

Your birthday fell on a Sunday this year, so we got to take our time with all the fun that morning. The birthday girl gets a few goodies on her birthday--so we got you some.

In addition to a rockin' party at Bonkers, mom and dad gave you a gift card for a pedicure and one to Target to do some dress (I'm just guessing here) shopping. We plan to take you for lunch and then on to spend these gift cards. We enjoy giving gifts of time to our children as opposed to toys and things that are outgrown or forgotten in days. Time is something we treasure!

The Bonkers part was a smashing success. You invited five friends to join in the fun. Your sisters, mom and dad, and Grammy joined you at Bonkers for all that fun, too!

And you picked out everything for these cupcakes--including the decorative ribbon on the cake plate.

Here's the gang enjoying the birthday treats. You have some very sweet friends!

Once we were done at Bonkers, we headed back to our house for more presents, pizza, ice cream sundaes, movies and a sleep over.

Ummmmm... I think you were jumping ahead on the ice cream action!

We had an assortment of toppings that you girls piled on top of your ice cream. Two girls ended up staying all night--and you were up quite late! But you rose early in the morning for a big breakfast of pancakes (courtesy of Daddy) and Sweet Nests (courtesy of Mama), and fruit and juice.

I love you, Peach. And I seriously can't believe how big you are getting. You are finally at an age I have some distinct and clear memories of being myself. And it's certainly a little odd--to think that you are that old. Because, like every mother out there will say, it just doesn't seem possible that you aren't my tiny, sweet, helpless little baby. You are turning into a young girl who is too smart for words, so kind and giving, witty,  gentle with the most helpless of creatures, and genuine. You do things everyday that amaze me, and I thank God for your soul meeting mine while we are on this earth together. There's not a day that goes by, no matter how hard or easy it may have been, that I don't count myself as so very blessed to call you my daughter. And in this world of constant change, I'm so very happy to rest in the fact that that will never change!

Lots of catch up

September is always the start of crazy for us, like it is for most people--but now it's even more crazy because we added yet another baby to the mix of fall birthdays. But before I introduce our new little prince (that'll be a whole different post), here is some catch up I've been needing to play. Peach went to a cheer camp and absolutely loved it. She is now enrolled in a "cheernastics" class starting next month. She is so excited, which of course means I'm super stoked. I love seeing her so happy about starting a new activity.

And my middle girls started preschool right at the end of August. Aren't they adorable in their "first-day-of-school" outfits. The start of a new school year has so many promises--we can't help but be all smiles!

Here is sweet Boushka getting her book bag put up. And her teacher, Ms. D.

Boushka had so much fun on her first day. She loves her teachers, and I sure hope she's making new friends. She's just as friendly as can be, but I'm not sure how shy she is at school. I'll be checking on that at PTC next month.

This little cutie also started school the same day. Of course we snacked in between--that was the most important part, after all (SMILE). Bug didn't let me get many pictures of her in her classroom, but the snack one suits her.

 

My tower-building girl.

 

Also at the end of August, Matt's work threw a baby shower for us. How sweet is that? I thought it was very kind--but not surprising since he works with some very sweet ladies.

Not only did our little man make out with some great treasures, our girls did too. These sweet ladies really did think of it all.

This is all the presents packed away. You can't tell here just how much we received, but boy oh boy did we receive some super cute toys and clothes. And of course, the ever awesome and helpful diapers. I love receiving diapers.

The younger three girls and I grabbed Chipotle on the way to Daddy's work that day. It was a brown-bag, lunch-hour shower since the employees all had a ton of meetings that day. And the cake was huge!

There may have been cake coming out of our ears.

And the next week was Peach's seventh birthday. Her teacher had her as the Star of the Week during this time. So she got to bring some special pictures, I told a story about her changing Brownie's diaper when she was 2 and Brownie was 1, and I got to eat lunch and see her play a little at recess. I also dropped off some special treats for her class.

Next up, Peach's birthday post. And eventually I'll get to the newest little guy's birthday!!

Blessed Birthday

I have  been blessed with some very sweet friends. Friend who listen and friends who care. I really can't imagine going through life isolated from other women--women I call friends.

Here is the cake ( I didn't get the picture quite in time) my friend, Lynette made me. She's really very talented. I wish I had her patience and creativity!

I turned 30 at the end of July. For years, I'd been dreaming up great get-aways to go on upon turning 30 (you know, to make it seem like less of a catastrophic event). I planned to definitely NOT be pregnant. I wanted to just have fun so that I wouldn't dwell on how old I was turning. Well, as you all know--I am pregnant--as I was on my 30th birthday.

But leave it to my sweet friends with a little help from my husband to plan an awesome night to celebrate me completing my 30th year.

A couple of my friends and I participate in a babysitting co-op. Every third month I watch their kids. The other months they watch mine. Well, July happened to be Caroline's month to watch the kids. So there was a plan set up--unbeknownst to me at the time--to get me out on a "date" with Matt. But I had to stop off at this new "paint your own artwork" place to pick something up. It was a last minute favor I was going to do for Caroline--who happens to be quite crafty. Plus, the great woman who owns it is Caroline's former boss--so nothing really seemed weird to me.

Well, Matt and I were headed out of the house to go on our "date," but when I walked in to the studio to pick up that thing for Caroline, I was surprised-- and my husband and kids were gone!

I had some very sweet friends surprise me for my birthday. We had some yummy snacks and drinks, fellowship, and instruction on painting. When you go to Uncorked (the name of the place where my party was), you can  see a variety of pretty pictures--all painted by Margie--the owner. You are to pick one out that you would like to create on your own, and she will instruct you how to do it. Well, I had a tough time deciding, but I finally picked one. So each of my friends and I sat down with our blank canvas and created our own version of Margie's picture.

I had so much fun trying something new with my friends. And I felt so blessed that they took the time to celebrate with me. And they all did a good job of keeping a secret!

 Listening intently!

 I'm thinking I can do this!

 My trees without their leaves.

 And the finished product!

 Lynette's creation.

Me saying "Cheeeeese!"

 Tiffiny did a wintery scene. So peaceful!

 Sweet Amy. She's a talented friend of mine who also happens to be quite sweet and giving!

 My SIL, Nancy, who I also call friend. Just wish she didn't live so far away :(

 The lady who is so creative it makes me jealous (but in a good way), Caroline!

 Miss Mandy! She's spunky like me--we have some very serious similarities--our distaste for Toby Keith tops the list!

Oh Winter! She's always smiling--even when she thinks she's not--she just shines!

 And I didn't get a "single" picture of Erin, but she's in this group shot in the back. I got to know her last year, and she's honest, kind and creative.

 Once the party was over, a few of the girls and I hit up a bar. I really did get water, but I wanted to be silly and post my status on FB as "a whole new meaning to 'belly up to the bar.'" So I stole the girls' drinks and took a belly shot with them. I just didn't want to go home yet-- I was out celebrating my new decade, after all. After a one drink, we were all succumbing to our tiredness.

 A few days later, my actual birthday came. And as many of you know, it's also Matt's birthday. But he let me have most of the glory since it was a big one for me. He said he's done having birthdays--but I never want to be done. Life is certainly worth celebrating.

These balloons are from my sister. She lives out of state, so my sweet mama brought them over. She also made a fantastic dinner for us and brought over Matt's favorite pie--lemon meringue--and my favorite--turtle cheesecake. Oh my! Now I'm totally craving those noodles, broccoli with Hollandaise sauce, and potatoes. It's a stick to your ribs kind of meal--perfect for a preggo on her birthday (and her husband)!

The girls also made the day very special just by being them. They are always trying to sneak around and buy us gifts, or make us gifts--none of which goes unappreciated. Just seeing how kind their hearts are is enough of a gift to Matt and me.


I have such a great life thanks to all those who love me--and I hope they know how much I love them all.

Elementary School Girls' First Day

My big girls have been in school for a few weeks now. And they are loving it. I love it when they come home full of stories to tell me. And I love the way they light up when speaking of school. I hope they never lose that!

 So I've started this tradition of taking some special time with the new kindergartner. We buy a "back to school" outfit, have a little lunch--and do generally whatever else interests us that day. Regardless of what we do, it's just about spending time together--one on one.  Brownie found this dress for her first day outfit--we skipped the hat (even though it was cute) and opted for some bracelets and tights instead. She was happy!

The big girl then chose where we ate. She loves nuggets at CFL, so that's where we stopped.

 We then did a few errands at Target and the like before we ended up at our fav Fro-Yo establishment!

 She puts the craziest toppings on her treat, but she loved every bite.

That night was supply drop-off night. So we did that with the two biggies.

First was the Brownie. She unloaded everything in her new classroom. She has the same teacher that Peach had last year--which is a good thing! We love Mrs. J!

 Then it was time for our first-grader to drop off her supplies. Peach is loving first grade and her new teacher Ms. M.

 Loads of supplies!

 My big girls.

 

I thought the outfit display, complete with shoes and accessories was too cute!

 These were taken right before the bus came.

Saying goodbye can  be tough.

But we all survived.

Even though some certain little people really missed sissies--they were so excited when they got off that bus though!

Our family of seven (and a half)!

 Getting on the bus--Brownie for the first time!

 Peach had no idea I took this picture--or the fact that I was at her school.

 But this one did bust me. She saw me take pictures.

And I got this after her first day of school. My sweet Brownie's hand print with a "kiss" on it.

I'm so proud of my babies--ahem, big girls. They have grown right before my eyes--and that is a truly magical thing for a mommy to experience. And as much as I'd love to be a part of their learning every day (well, I do still teach them quite a bit actually, but I'm speaking of school-learning), I'm glad that they can find other authorities (that I approve of) to trust. It expands their little minds and tests their boundaries--and as much as I'd love to keep them home with me, I'm so glad they can experience this--public education. I tip my hat to their teachers. They seem so genuine and sweet, and I've never had one bad experience with either child/teacher/classroom/etc.

And as for my sweet Brownie--I cried for you a lot this summer and even on that first day. I thought it'd be easier sending you off on that yellow bus than it was last year when I was a "first-timer," but it was equally as hard. Almost harder in a way. Because now I was turning over another one of my hearts to the world. And when I sent you on that bus, I prayed that I could trust the world enough to let you grow and learn in ways I can't foster as well by keeping you with me 24/7. You (and all your siblings) are the most precious gifts I'll ever receive, and not a day goes by that I don't question everything I say and do. So I have to learn to trust. Trust others. Trust my gut. And trust that your life is in capable hands.

I'm proud of you both! I love you both with all my hearts. And I'm so excited to see you change and mature every day. I love hearing your school stories--nothing about it is mundane or old to me. I love hearing what the world is like as told from your point of view. So promise to always tell me about your school day, your friends, what you ate for lunch, how many crayons you used today, what kid forgot gym shoes, who you sat by at lunch, and that funny story your teacher told. I promise it will always interest me because you interest me. All my love!