Sunday, December 31, 2006

Thursday, December 28, 2006

Determined

I am taking K in to get professional pictures done. It will be our first time doing this, so we'll see how he does.
I'm concerned because I have to pick a time that doesn't interfere with nap time, feeding time, grumpy time (LOL).
I've been hesitant because I just don't know how he will do. I don't want to waste time or money on shitty pictures.
Another reason for this "adventure"?
We have one (1) picture of the three of us as a family. One! Through summer, fall and now winter we keep hearing that some family member will take our picture together but it never seems to happen. Well, it's going to happen now dammit!

I'm probably just asking for trouble. I guess we'll find out.

Teeth, Teeth & More Teeth!

aka - So this is why he's been such a pain in the a**!

Over the past month, K has had his 2 bottom teeth work themselves upward. They've been poking through for a while. Then, 2 top teeth came in and have been working through for almost 2 weeks. Low and behold, another top tooth is cutting now!

When K is getting a new tooth - he is FUSSY and CLINGY! He is not the K I know! LOL. This requires lots (and lots) of Tylenol. Early bedtimes aren't a bad thing either.

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Recap

I read this meme on No Period Baby and thought I'd make the same list. Not that I really want to re-live this year. There have been bright spots, but overall 2006 sucked the big one.

January: I'm finally starting to look pregnant now, instead of "fluffy" or "thick" LOL.

February: I was thinking the other day that we're in the single digits as far as weeks left in my pregnancy.

March: Since baby has been getting larger, J and I have been playing name that body part - whether it's a heel, foot, butt, head - you name it we've been trying to guess it.

April: It's really starting to sink in that by this time next week, Baby H should be here

May: He arrived last Tuesday (4/25/06) at 3:09 pm. He weighed 8 lbs 5 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long.

June: I feel like everything that was stable around me and my family is now dissolving.

July: There's so much that I didn't anticipate in regards to having a baby/being a parent.

August: I am so not focused on getting any work done. I keep looking at pictures of K on my desk and would really love to be home with him.

September: Teaching a 5 month old how to eat from a spoon requires more zen patience than I could muster from my pinky toe.

October: by watching our son fall off the bed and land on his head. Not the side, not the back - ON TOP OF HIS HEAD.

November: I'm not sure that I have it in me to re-hash all of yesterday's events. I have to though in order to get the monkey off my back and attempt to move on.

December: After being buried in laundry all week (as well as runny poo diapers and the vigilent stomach flu) it was quite a nice surprise to see that I'd won the Mad Libs contest over at Dooneybug Days.

Friday, December 22, 2006

"It is the time you have wasted for your rose that makes your rose so important" - The Fox

I have heard of The Little Prince before, but never read it. I don't know why. It just never found it's way onto my "must read" radar.

My interest has been piqued now due to a profound post by B at cribchronicles.com .

B has such a great way of explaining the responsibility of being a parent. It's not a burden of I have to do this, but more of I get to do this.

I have so many thoughts racing through my head, I don't even know where to begin. Well, yes I do actually. I need to read the book. Then I'll try and organize the ga-zillion ideas into a coherent post.

Merry Christmas!

Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Weeeeee!

Monday, December 18, 2006

Old "Haunts"

On our way to the family Christmas lunch, J, K and I had some time to kill in order to avoid arriving too early.
We drove around where we used to live, party, work - just rehashing some memories of being in college and living during a time in our lives when we didn't have to think about having careers or "making something of ourselves".

This place was the first cool apartment that I mentioned HERE.


It was nice to see it again, but it was also sad. The place has been let go since I left. I guess 10 years is hard on buildings as much as people. It was painful to see the white paint chipping around the windows and doors. There really is so much character to this place - an old hotel converted into apartments.

It does almost look haunted now. Haunted and run down...

too bad.

Thursday, December 14, 2006

Peace

K's Birth Story

I realized after visiting a few other blogs that I hadn't created this. So, here it is - finally.

K was due on April 18th, but decided he wanted to wait it out. I was anxious as hell but I figured I’d go one more week.

After no joy on K’s part to move his own self out, I went in to have labor induced. I had been 80 – 90% effaced and 3cm dialted for 3 weeks, so things were favorable.

On April 25th, J and I got up early – really damn early, like 6 am early. (Sleeping in until 6am will become a god send later on – hell, just sleeping will garner exhaltations of joy!)

We went to the hospital where I was admitted around 7 am and then started changing into the gown, signing paperwork, getting the IV, taking a few picutres, etc.
The nurse started Pitocin and J and I just hung out watching early morning television. There really wasn’t much going on. I was hooked up to a machine that monitored contractions and it was fun to watch for a while. I didn’t feel much of anything, maybe a twinge.

Did I mention K was in no hurry to come out?!

Around 9:30am, (2 hours after starting the Pitocin) I started to feel pretty strong contractions. Pretty strong as in the worst mentstrual cramps EVER!
Did I do the breathing techniques that were practiced in the birthing class? Are you kidding me?! I could barely breath through them at all, much less add “technique”! When the first one passed, I cried a bit. Not sobbing, but enough to let the nurse know things were progressing.

Another contraction hit and I held onto the side bar of the bed and squeezed J’s hand so hard it turned pale pink/almost white. Then I cried more.
At that point, the nurse asked if I wanted the epidural. I said yes, and hurry up! I was more than ready to abandon my immense fear of the large needle going into my back!

I only had to wait 15 minutes or so for the anthesiologist to come in and it didn’t take him long. The epidural calmed things down 20 minutes later.

Then it was more waiting. Again, K was in no hurry. LOL

The nurse checked me and I was making progress. Dialating 1-2 cm, effacing stayed about the same.

About 10:40, the nurse decided that I needed to roll over on my left side. K did not like that one damn bit! We had a little bit of a scare because his heart rate dropped. In less than a minute the room filled with 4 other nurses and the labor/delivery resident DR on duty. Before I knew it, they had me turned completely over on all fours with my bare butt in the air, playing around “down there”. I remember J asking for someone – anyone – to tell him what the hell was going on.
I couldn’t see much since I was positioned like a dog on the bed, but I could see J had been forced from my bedside to standing by the wall. I don’t even want to know what must have been going through his mind. I can imagine how frightening that must’ve looked – the room filling up with 5 other people instantly, your wife flopped over in a hospital bed in a matter of seconds, your unborn son’s heartrate dropping, not knowing why or what will happen next. Thankfully one of the nurses did her best to reassure him that they were concerned with K’s heartrate going down and they were working to get him to even out.

The monitor (that had been placed on K’s head earlier) was being moved around, they were poking him to get him to move – everything to get his heart rate back up. His heart rate came back up and when everyone was satisfied that the scare was over, they rolled me back over and I got to stay laying in my back – just with the bed raised at a higher incline. It was after that that I realized the epidural was working just fine. Too fine, in fact, because I couldn’t move my left leg at all. My right one could move a little bit, but no way on the left.

Whew! Just typing that made me tense. Everything was much calmer after that. You know, I think I waited preparing K’s birth story because of that. It was quite a lot to process then and scares the shit out of me now. Ok, moving on.

The nurse checked my progress more and I was dialating still 1-2 cm per hour. J and I just watched the Travel Channel/Food Channel. There really wasn’t much more that happened........until

Finally! Around 2:30pm, I was completely dialated and effaced and ready to start pushing. The nurse got me started and Dr. T arrived around 2:45pm.
I don’t remember how many times I pushed. I would take a deep breath and the nurse, Dr. T and the labor/delivery resident DR on duty would count to 10 while I pushed. We went through this routine probably 7 times. With each push, K’s head would come out a little more. Everyone could see his black hair, he was that close. They kept telling me to push, and since I couldn’t feel a thing, I did my best.

Like I mentioned before, K was in no hurry!

Dr. T had to use the forceps to get K out. I was hesitant at first but I’d rather have the forceps than the vacuum. She did a great job, though. I think I pushed one more time, maybe two, and K popped right out! Not a mark on him for the forceps, which I was grateful for.

I had been closing my eyes while pushing and since K came out fast, I briefly got to see him being taken over to the warming table to get cleaned up.

K cried, J cried, I was speechless. I didn’t cry because I was exhausted. It felt so surreal. Once K was ready, they handed him to me to hold and I just stared at him, saying calming words to him, looking into his eyes. Poor guy, he looked so scared at times. Other times, K looked sedated.
We held him for a while, then both sets of grandparents got to hold him.
They only gave us an hour to be with K after delivery. Then the nurses took him to get his hospital bath, fresh clothes, big blanket and little striped hat.


The rest of my hospital stay I was a complete idiot. Still shell shocked from everything, I fumbled around, cried, felt incredibly lonely when J wasn’t around. The nurses were okay, but not great. It wasn’t the experience I had hoped for. I didn’t get treated badly or anything – just left to figure it all out on my own, which was incredibly daunting. I didn’t know what the hell I was doing – didn’t know how to change a diaper, breastfeed, soothe K when he cried – nothing. Other than the occassional nurse or student coming in to check my vitals, I was left alone to figure it all out. It became trial by fire.

If I’d change things about my experience, it would be (1) the incident with K’s heart rate dropping and (2) I’d speak up more! I would demand attention and make it very clear that I had no idea what in the hell to do. I wouldn’t be mean about it, but I shouldn’t have allowed myself to be pushed aside.

So there it is, almost 8 months later. Overall, even with it not being the best stay at a hospital, I’m grateful that K was born healthy and that J was able to be there with me.

Psyching Myself Up

I'm preparing myself for this upcoming Sunday. Why? Because the entire family is getting together again for the "Family Christmas".
Oh Joy.............NOT!
Flashback to Thanksgiving - I'm hoping it doesn't turn out that way again. This time, however, J will be keeping an eye on things. I really do hope that this get together is better, but I'm not holding my breath.

So Far So Good

I've been doing pretty good this weekend with Weight Watchers and exercising. Every afternoon I drive home, get in a 5 minute walk and then 15 minute jog and then drive back to work. It reminds me of being in a high school gym class, LOL. Having to do the quick "wipe down/dry off" and then rush to get dressed again and out the door.
It's been good, though. I have the entire place to myself and can watch reruns of MadTV on Comedy Central.

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

As Promised - Round One Weight Watcher Pictures

This was taken in the fall of 2003. I was approximately 160 pounds.

This was taken in the fall of 2005. I weighed approximately 126 pounds.


It's amazing what can be accomplished when you really want it. I guess I've just been trying to get back to that point of really wanting to loose this weight. I can blame it on stress, or whatever, but the fact is that I need to quit "trying" to follow the Weight Watcher program and just do it.

I am currently weighing in around 150, so I look pretty much like the 2003 picture. I don't care who knows. I'm putting this out there. Consider it one way I'm holding myself accountable.

Monday, December 11, 2006

Day One

So today I am back on Weight Watchers. I've been working on it loosely over the past few months, but I've finally gotten so sick of not loosing weight and half-assedly trying.

I lost almost 40 pounds with Weight Watchers before getting pregnant. I even kept it off for almost 2 years! If I can find the before/after pictures during my first round of WW, I'll post them. More as a reminder of what I can do and intend to do again (if it kills me, dammit!)

Today, I've followed the points program and I went home over lunch to get my jog/walk in. It was only 20 minutes total (10 of it jogging) but it's better than not doing anything at all. Plus, I had the place entirely to myself. No crying baby in the other room, no husband asking me how much longer I have, nothing. It was quite nice.

The side "benefit" is that my credit cards will get a break. LOL! I work very close to a mall and while that works well to get the Christmas shopping done during the day, it has played havok on reducing the balance of the before-mentioned cards.

So here goes, day one.

Saturday, December 09, 2006

Mad Libs & Good 'Ol Hockey

After being buried in laundry all week (as well as runny poo diapers and the vigilent stomach flu) it was quite a nice surprise to see that I'd won the Mad Libs contest over at Dooneybug Days. I don't have an acceptance speech or anything! LOL. You can check it out here.

J and I got to go to a hockey game last night, too. The first one we went to this season ended abruptly when we couldn't get through to my mom who was watching K. Turns out a button was hit that kept my phone from receiving calls and that was why we couldn't get through.
Anyway, J and I enjoyed a full hockey game for the first time in over a year. It was so nice, I can't really put it into words. It was like our first date night since K was born. Sure, we've been out to the movies a couple times alone, but this time we got to eat (french fries, funnel cake and ice cream) and just sit back and watch our team win.

I'm watching Heros as I type this and now it's getting really good. Getting really good?! What the hell and I saying? The entire series is good.
I'll post more later.

Thanks again, DD, for the Mad Libs nod!

Thursday, December 07, 2006

Yay Food!

I've managed to keep some soup, a few crackers, diet green tea and kashi go lean bars down.

What I really want?
Pasta, french fries, chocolate shake

Do I dare try it?
No - god knows what will come out!
And -
Only if I want my rear end to be as sore as K's - or unless I want to be sprawled out like K after my bath in my birthday suit, letting my butt dry and then slathering butt paste all over it.

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Dramamine, Anyone?

So the past few days have been "interesting".

Sunday:
K got sick. By sick, I mean it was coming out of both ends. J and I debated on whether to take him to the pediatric urgent care since they'd probably tell us to let it run it's course. Since we hadn't ever dealt with K vomiting we decided to go. Good thing, too, because K has (as the DR said) "a very impressive" ear infection. The words out of my mouth were, "Excuse me? What?"
K, apparently being super human, hadn't given us one sign/symptom that his ear hurt.
We spent the rest of the day just trying to keep liquids in him.

Monday:
K stayed home from daycare. I stayed with him during the morning. J came home around noon to watch him for the rest of the day. By the time I got to work, about 30 minutes after J took over, I was getting sick in the bathroom. I hadn't even been there 5 minutes before I was putting my coat back on to go home.
By 6 pm, J was getting sick.

Tuesday:
J was up until 2 am "taking care of business". He decided to go to work though. I told him he was silly, but since he used up most of his sick/vacation time during his back "episode", he didn't have much choice. I stayed home. I don't have a lot of vacation time left, but there's enough.

So, I'm back among the living - for the most part. The past 2 days I've only eaten a few crackers. Even today, I've managed to keep down some crackers and one of those Campbells Soup at Hand. I'm hungry, but I don't dare push it.

My head has been spinning from trying to keep up with it all. I'm hoping we feel better by Friday. We have tickets to a hockey game and it would be nice to go.