Amazing

It's amazing how much changes in just 6 short months...

She Said What?

Last weekend while Mason was playing with Elina, with her back turned to the both of us she uttered one little word.  It was crystal clear which means it had to be just babble.  Right?  I mean what baby says her first word perfectly?  Since we had just spent the entire week talking about how to say Mama, I really don't see how Daddy could be her first word.  She hasn't said it since, so I'm not counting it.  She has to say it at least twice before I count it.  Unless of course she says Mama.

Baby Face

So I'm doing some mad rush photo taking for Snapfish's Buy 1 book get 2 Free deal, which of course ends today.  I had to rush to get the studio set up, give Elina a bath and pick out her outfits.  It didn't help that poor Elina was way over tired and wanted nothing to do with me changing her clothes, messing with her posture and flashing bright lights into her eyes.  In the end, I was able to capture a few goodies.  I can't seem to take my eyes off of this particular gem...

Now how can you not love that face?

Rough Week

It really has been a rough week. My second week back at work and I’ve been hit with nothing but issues. Sadly they aren’t even my issues, they have been escalated to me. Which I guess it’s nice that my customers think I’m higher up instead of equal to my coworkers. But still. I’ve been spending so much time working on these issues that my own work has been stacking up. Of course it doesn’t help that Mason, Elina and I are all sick, or that I came home yesterday to poop on the kitchen floor. Not cool Charlie, not cool. The last couple of nights I’ve woken up at 3:30am to blow my nose so I can breathe again. Mason snores through the night regardless of my jabbing and Elina has become good friends with the aspirator bulb. She’s the only baby I know who thinks it’s funny most of the time.

This morning after my shower, I snuggled Elina while Mason was making her bottle. She stopped crying, curled up to me and started to drift back to sleep as I rested my cheek on her head. If I moved my head away from her, she squirmed until I put it back. For that little moment, standing in her dark room with a ratty towel on my head, all was right with the world. The stuffy nose was forgotten. The issues at work didn’t exist. It was just the two of us. Nothing else mattered.

My Baby Has Blond Roots

I had a dream last night that my two and a half month old baby could walk.  And not just walk, but run.  She got up, took three steps and took off running. Running with her arms out wide and laughing the whole time.  My sister was there too and I was telling her how shocked I was that she could run when she couldn't even sit up.  And then the dog barked, or the baby cried, or the alarm went off and I woke up (not really sure which time it was that I woke up).

Excuse Me While I Brag A Little

Elina had her 2 month check up on Monday, and I couldn't wait for the opportunity to tell her doctor that she rolled onto her back already.  I knew it was a little early, but I wasn't sure just how early.  So when he asked if Elina liked tummy time I seized the opportunity.  "She loves tummy time... and she rolled onto her back a couple of times." 

"Really?"  He asked with his eyes a little wider, "that's a 4 month thing."  Once he was done with the exam, he laid her on her tummy to see for himself, and she did it.  I thought for sure that she wouldn't do it for him, but she is clearly a performer.

Before I laid her on the table for the exam he got in close and talked to Elina, she looked at him and smiled.  After I set her on the table, he did the same thing, she looked him in the eye and started crying.  The doctor said that looked like stranger anxiety, which is mentally a 6 month thing.  So I got in close, put my hand on her head and she looked at me for the rest of the exam and was perfectly content.  Well perfectly content until the shots came.

Unrelated, we also went to the pumpkin patch last weekend...

So Much To Say, So Little Time

So I thought this whole being home thing would leave me plenty of time to blog.  Not so.  Every time I sit down to blog, a cute little baby beckons me.  She was just passed out, drooling on my shirt, so I handed her to her daddy, and now she's awake.  So which story do I start with?  Let's start with the most traumatic.

Three weeks after Elina arrived I was back in the hospital.  That horrible pain I had experienced during the pregnancy came back.  And this time I couldn't blame it on the baby.  In total the pain happened 4 times while I was pregnant and 3 times after she arrived.  Some times the "episodes" would last only 30-45 min.  Other times they would last a couple of hours.  One night it lasted 4 hours and caused me to throw up twice before going away, Mason had to be on baby duty and feed her formula that night. 

The next day, September 1st we were over at my parents house to celebrate my Brother in Law's birthday, and the pain came again.  I ended up sending Mason home to feed our puppies and go to bed while I stayed there with Elina.  My sister stayed too and took care of her while I was in too much pain to move.  This time it lasted ALL night.  Finally at 5am it eased up enough for me to fall asleep, or I was exhausted enough to pass out. 

I was finally convinced to call my doctor, who happened to be out of the office for two weeks.  The other doctor in the office told me to call my internist (my what?).  If I didn't have an internist then I should go to the ER.  So my Dad and I hopped into my car and drove off to the hospital where Mason met up with us.  And we waited, and waited, and waited.  Finally it was my turn to go into the room and put on the gown, where we waited, and waited, and waited.  I was told I couldn't keep my bra on even though I was leaking like crazy.  Talk about embarrassing.  It became a game of mine to see how long it took each person who came into my room to look at the giant wet spots on my gown.  Finally, I was wheeled away to get an ultrasound to see if I had gall stones.  I was sure I didn't.  I'm not the type of person who gets stones.  Turns out, I had stones.

By the time I finally got to my room, and they brought me a pump, it had been more then 24 hours since I had fed Elina.  I wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything the first day, not even ice chips, and I wasn't allowed to eat anything for the rest of my stay there.  There are a few things that you need in order to produce milk, food, water and a baby.  I had none of those.  My baby did come and visit me those three days, but I still missed her so.  Finally on Saturday I had my surgery.  They removed my gallbladder and gave me five new scars in it's place.  I went home that afternoon.  I tried to get my milk back, but it just didn't happen.  If I had to leave the house at all, it was a major set back in any progress that I had made.  Eventually I just had to give up.

I was prepared to not be able to nurse in the beginning.  I wasn't ready to be successful at it, only to have it taken away from me 3 short weeks later.  I still have a strong, healthy baby and no more severe abdominal and back pain.  Which makes it a whole lot easier to take care of that sweet baby.  Especially since her 8 week old self rolled over onto her back yesterday.  I'm going to have my hands full, aren't I?

A Much Belated Announcement

She's here!  Technically she's been here for just over a week, which is why this post is way belated.  I wanted to get her birth story down before I forget the details.

Early Wednesday morning I got out of bed with the incredible urge to use the restroom.  As soon as I sat down it was as if I had lost control of my bladder.  Two thoughts crossed my mind and I'm not sure exactly which one came first.  1. There was a child in there putting a ton of pressure on my bladder.  2. My water just broke.  I was pretty sure I knew which one it was, but since it was 2:30 in the morning and Mason tends to be a worrier, I thought I would make sure.  So I walked to my dresser to grab my pregnancy books and then dashed back to the bathroom with my knees together.  Okay, so by this point I was 90% sure it was my water.  But again, this was a completely new feeling for me so I wanted to be 100% sure.  By the time I was able to get up and walk back to the bedroom it was 3am.  When I told a very groggy Mason why I was waking him up he shot out of bed and went into high speed mode.  Gathering all that we needed that hadn't made it into the car yet and getting food ready for the dogs.  Off we went to the hospital making our phone calls along the way.  I was most looking forward to waking up my sister since I'm quite sure I owe her a few years worth of being woken up. 

By the time we got into our first room to confirm that it was indeed my water breaking and then moved into labor and delivery, it was almost 5am.  Since I wasn't having contractions, they wasted no time in inducing them.  A couple hours later I was informed that I was having contractions every four min, but I couldn't feel them at all.  So they upped the dosage and when they became two min apart, I could feel them.  Each hour they became more intense.  By the time I got the epidural they weren't seriously painful, they were just seriously annoying.  Leaving virtually no time to relax in between.  Not to mention I had a room full of people.  Finally after 18 hours of labor with very little progression and a baby that was refusing to drop, they took me in for the c-section.

Apparently my legs are immune to the epidural.  While I couldn't feel anything, I could still lift them.  So they added more and more.  The strong epidural made it near impossible to keep my eyes open which was so very frustrating because I wanted to be awake for this moment.  I spent the majority of the surgery fighting the sleepiness that overcame me and the shakes that were taking over.  Every part of me that wasn't numb was shaking uncontrollably as if I were freezing cold, and trust me I was trying to control them.  That's the part that bothered Mason the most.  He told me later that he was used to seeing me as a strong woman, and seeing me with no control over my body really shook him.  But anyway, back to the birth of my little peanut.

Since I was in and out of consciousness, this part might be a little discombobulated.  I do remember the first time I heard her cry, and Dr. B told her she wasn't allowed to cry because she hadn't been born yet.  Mason told me that her head was out and they had just suctioned out her mouth and nose, which she apparently didn't care for at all.  Moments later, at 11:50pm Elina was here.  I forced my eyes open as they walked her past me to get cleaned up.  She had hair!  Dark hair!  Where did that come from?  Mason and I were both bald and blond.  I was sure she would be the same.  I mean I would have bet money on the fact that she would be bald and blond.  There is nothing about this little girl that hasn't been a surprise.  Including the dimples I saw from across the room.  Eventually Mason brought her over to me and laid her on my shoulder so I could look at her beautiful little face.  At one point I'm sure Elina and I took a nap together while I was being stitched up.  But then I had to make Mason take her away because I was about to throw up.  Dr. B was sewing up the inner lining of my stomach, and when he finished, I went ahead and emptied the contents of my stomach.  Which was pretty much nothing.  But then my baby appeared on my shoulder again, and all was right with the world. 

Fortunately my shakes and my lethargy ended while I was in the recovery room and the lady in there was way impressed with my ability to move my legs.  This is also when they took my baby away to be cleaned up and measured and my husband ran off after her to watch.  Shortly after the shakes stopped I was wheeled off to my room with a short little pit stop to see my baby.  This is where it starts to get a little fuzzy, because I had been up for more then 24 hours, but eventually they wheeled in my baby and all of my visitors followed.  Or the visitors came in and the baby followed.  All I know is that by this point, I was exhausted.  I'm pretty sure it was 5am before I finally feel asleep. 

But there she was.  All 7 lbs 5 oz, and 19 3/4 inches of her.  With her beautiful brown hair and her sweet little dimples.

Thanks to my sister for this great picture.

So Close, Yet So Far

Since my doctor wants to keep a close eye on my blood pressure, I've been seeing him twice a week for the last few weeks.  So far there has been nothing to report on that front.  All my extra fluid makes it look like I am going to have a giant baby though.  Anyway, at our last appointment my blood pressure was up, still in the normal range, but it was a high normal.  And since my normal is on the low end, this raised a little flag.  So Dr. B took my blood pressure two more times, each time the numbers were lower then the last.  I was then sent to the lab for some blood work done "stat," although the paper work lady in the lab didn't seem to know what stat meant as she took her time entering me into the computer. 

Off to work I went, patiently waiting for my phone to ring with the test results.  Would I have to leave work and head back to the hospital?  Or would I be able to finish out my week and enjoy what may be the last weekend of so called freedom?  The phone rang while I was in a meeting so I stepped out with a racing heart so they could tell me that my test results were negative.  I had mixed feelings while returning to the never ending meeting.  It would have been so nice to not have gone back to that meeting.  But I wasn't quite ready to check into Labor and Delivery either.

Here I sit, three days later with a watermelon for a stomach, 20 pounds of extra fluid and sore hips.  While I don't know if our next appointment on Monday will be the day or not, I can at least find comfort in the fact that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  I will be able to meet my little girl very soon.  Meanwhile I have been doing everything I can to help her hurry up.  On Thursday, we ate at a Mexican restaurant where the owner swears that pregnant women go into labor a few days after eating there.  And I'm hoping I can convince Mason to get Chinese for dinner tomorrow.  But most importantly, I made plans for next weekend.  Plans that involve tickets.  What better way to have a baby then to make plans and get tickets to go do something fun with your neighbors?  Thankfully they were free tickets, so I won't have to feel too bad if I have to give them away.

34 Weeks! When Did That Happen?

And now we are a Honeydew. No wonder I can't reach my feet, even if it is just to scratch the bug bites. Dirty rotten bug bites. I was really good about not getting eaten alive by mosquitoes at Mason's Family Vacation. And then I came back home and within seconds I had a mosquito bite. But on the 4th, I came armed with baby safe bug spray and citronella candles. Guess what happened. CHIGGERS! My first experience with chiggers led to knowing way to much about them. Someone told me that they lay their eggs under your skin and your body attacking them is what causes the itch. This concept grossed me out completely. A little research led me to find that isn't true. While only baby chiggers bite you, their saliva dissolves your skin cells! No wonder they itch like crazy. And we won't even talk about what they look like.


Anyway, back to baby. So there are two new things that have happened since I last talked about her.
1. I felt her hic-up for the first time while I was laying awake in bed one night. Fortunately Mason wasn't asleep yet either so he got to feel it too.
2. She found my ribs. Sometimes when she stretches really big, she hits my ribs. I'm not gonna lie, that's just a little bit uncomfortable. And when you get that high, my spine gets nervous.

But what's even more exciting then all her new movements (which usually fascinates me, especially when it makes my belly move), I get to see her again in just over a week! I've been dying to see her again for what seems like years!  I can't wait to see exactly what those legs and arms are doing instead of just feeling them. 

A Long, Scary Story

Sunday I woke up to a stiff back, nothing unusual for me, just annoying. When Mason and I went to the grocery store that evening, my back was really starting to bother me, and my stomach was getting increasingly uncomfortable. My back was hurting so much, that I was one of those pregnant women walking around with a hand pressed to their back. But still it really measured just above the uncomfortable level for me. Perhaps if I wasn't so used to back pain it would have been a different story. After we got home from the store, I was really feeling the pain. I had an ice cream bar on the way home to try to comfort and sooth, plus it sounded good. And it was.

By 10, I was in serious pain. I couldn't get comfortable, I couldn't even get a tinniest bit of relief. So around 10:30, I had had enough of trying to get comfortable on the couch and went to bed while Mason stayed up working on homework. I tossed and turned, trying to find enough relief to sleep, but every position I tried hurt just as much, if not more. I tried distracting myself with a book, I couldn't even get through a paragraph. The whole time begging for the pain to stop, and trying to convince myself that I was not having contractions in my back. Because those would be intense for a few moments, and then go away. This was steady non-relenting serious pain for 2 solid hours. Finally I gave up on the whole falling asleep in bed thing around 11.

I went to join Mason in the living room since he didn't seem to hear my silent pleas for him to come to the bedroom. Apparently we need to work on that whole telepathy thing. I was already crying a little bit when I gave up on sleeping. Mostly because I was frustrated that the intense pain wouldn't go away for even a moment. So I walked to the living room, laid down on the couch and simply said "it hurts" when Mason asked what was wrong. And as everyone knows, when you are barely in control of your emotions, the last thing you need is sympathy. Mason got up, came over to my couch and asked me something along the lines of are you okay? Really I can't tell you what the actual question was, but I can tell you my answer. "It just hurts so bad!" (sobbing, I mean, real sobbing) "And now I can't stop crying!"

Mason tried to massage out the pain, encouraging me to take deep breaths.  But it wasn't helping, it wasn't really making it any worse either. And then the pressure on my stomach started. Which I really don't think would have been so bad if it weren't on top of the back pain. Mason kept asking me if I wanted him to call the doctor, to which I replied no, and stubbornly added, "I'm not calling the doctor for a back ache." And then, and then I thought I was going to throw up. So I ran to the bathroom and apparently gave up all my rights to decide how we resolved this issue. While I was hovering over the toilet, waiting for the inevitable, Mason called his Mom, who told him to call the doctor, who told us to head to Labor and Delivery.

What?! I'm not even wearing my CUTE pajamas! "Call my Mom." Seriously? I'm not ready for this! "I don't know which underwear to wear."
"Just pick a pair."
"But someone might see them!" No one saw them, in case you were wondering. "Call my Mom."
"Oh, yeah." ... "She didn't answer."
"Sometimes her ringer isn't turned up, try Dad."
I'm not sure if he tried Dad or not, but he called my sister who just happened to be over there delivering their dogs and explained the situation and we headed to the hospital.  Me in agony, Mason in barely controlled panic.

I'm not ready for this! I don't have my bag packed, I don't even have a car seat. Oh, wait. Mason's parents got that for us for a shower present. I'm sure we can get that early. They can bring it to the hospital if they need to. I'm not ready for this! I didn't even bring my PJ's. How am I ever going to tell Mason exactly what I need him to bring and where it is? I don't even have a mattress for this baby. Oh, wait, I have a bassinet. But I don't have a car seat, how are we going to get her home. Oh, wait, we went over that one already. Uh oh. I hope I don't have to make Mason pull over.
"Um, you might have to pull over soon."
Mason starts to get over into the outside lane. "Now?"
"Yeah" Too late. It's a good thing I hadn't just eaten since I had to catch it all in my hand.

Fortunately, I happen to have 3 half empty bottles of water, and 1 full one. Which helped for rinsing off my hands and face, but then I was dripping wet. Tank top! There were 2 on my back seat that I had planned on changing into the day before. What luck. Okay, I feel better now. I mean a lot better. My back hardly hurts anymore. Maybe we should just call the doctor and head home. Get at least a few hours of sleep before work tomorrow. No, we'd better go anyway. It might come back. Where is the dang hospital entrance anyway. It's not like I've never been here before for crying out loud. I know where it is, I'll know it when I see it. I can't see anything in this darkness. I'll call my sister. She knows things like where we parked the car and which entrance to go to.

Okay, I'm just going to relax. I'm only 30 weeks. They are going to do everything possible to make sure this baby stays in there. Now to check in and explain that my back no longer hurts, ow. Okay, now we are up to a 5 on the pain scale. Oh, 7. Oh, good here is our room. Holy crap, 10! I hate being a 10 on the pain scale! Wait, I have to pee in a cup? I can barely move and you want me to pee in a cup. Damn, I missed. The cups at the doctors office are so much more forgiving. Great, and now I'm incredibly hot. I'm sweating, in pain and have pee on my hand. Ugh!

Okay, I'm just going to lie down and wait for someone to give me some drugs. Oh, you want me to lie on my back so you can tie straps around my belly? The most uncomfortable position at the moment? Ow, does it have to be so tight? Oh, I don't like you. My goodness there are a lot of questions you people are asking me. Oww, oh it's a 7 again. That's nice, she is going to stop asking me questions while she feels my belly. Okay, that's better, the pain seems to have gone away.  And I didn't even have to puke this time!  Seriously, how many people are going to ask me how many weeks I am?  Do you people not write this down? 

A couple hours later, they released me.  Apparently they just wanted to make sure there wasn't an issue with my kidneys and observe me for awhile.  If someone would have told me that before we left the house, I would have been a whole lot calmer.  Which Dr. B may have explained that over the phone.  If he did, Mason never heard it.  He probably stopped hearing after they said go straight to Labor and Delivery.  No one at the hospital could even tell me what caused the pain and nausea, so here is my diagnosis. 

There once was a baby, who thought it would be fun to swing on the monkey bars (my ribs).  But then her little arms grew tired, so she used her feet to brace herself on the pole (my spine).  Then, she found a nice cushion to sit on while she hung there (my stomach).  All of the sudden, the cushion started to move and then lost it's great squish and the sweet little girl fell off the monkey bars.  Not to be discouraged, she climbed up them again and got in the same position, but the cushion was no longer there.  She dangled there for a little while before dropping to rest and trying again.  Eventually she grew tired and settled in to sleep.