Sunday, April 28, 2013

A new Redskins fan

It's a BOY!

I had been having contractions about every 10-12 minutes since Sunday, but they never got closer together and always slowed down around bedtime. I would wake up every morning a little depressed that they had completely disappeared overnight. At my 38 week appointment I was already 3 cm, but I knew that you could walk around for weeks being 3 cm dilated or you could deliver that day. The doctor told me that she’d be surprised if I made it to my 39 week appointment. Well, I did. At 39 weeks I found that I was 4 cm dilated and about 70% effaced and was told I’d likely go into labor soon.

We left the office and I was a tad disappointed because I felt like I would have made more progress given all of the contractions I had been having. I finally just gave in and tried to take my mind off of the baby coming. After I finished work on Friday I drove over to the mall to walk for a bit. I ended up walking around for about an hour and came back home and promptly fell asleep for a couple of hours. That night I started having contractions again, but again they were only about 10 minutes apart, though pretty painful. Tom and I both ended up falling asleep on the couch and headed up to bed around 11:00 pm. I woke up in pain around 1:15 am and immediately got up to pee since that usually stopped the cramping feeling I had in the middle of the night. By the time I got back in bed and comfortable I was having another contraction. I decided to get up and walk around to see if they’d slow down or stop. The contractions kept coming and coming and were about 6-7 minutes apart, so I called the doctor to see if I should head in to the hospital. Doc called me back and asked how long my last labor was and what my status was at my last appointment and then told me to head over to the hospital. Yay! I went upstairs and told Tom it was time and then called Aunt Peggy to stay with the girls. Then I finished packing our bag and got dressed.


I walked around the house and rocked on my yoga ball while we waited for Aunt Peggy. It was really the only way I could relieve some of the pain from the contractions. I prayed that they stayed 5 minutes apart until we got to the hospital because I knew I wanted an epidural. We hit just about every red light on the way to the hospital. You would think that at 2:30 am the lights would cooperate, but I guess that’s just our luck. We finally got to the hospital and up to Labor and Delivery. I gowned up and was immediately checked and was told I was still 4 cm, but stretchy. The hospital recently upgraded all of their equipment and patient system and everything is computerized. After I called my doctor she went online and entered all of the orders for blood work and everything else I needed. No need for us to wait for her to come in to authorize anything. I told them I wanted an epidural, so the nurse started an IV right away. She blew a vein in my hand on the first stick, something I've never experienced, but good lord it hurt. It’s over 12 hours later and the spot on my hand is still sore and swollen. Another nurse was called in to do the IV and it was perfect, although they both taped the hell out of my arm.




We took guesses on what the baby would be while we waited for the IV to finish – all based on the heart rate. Of course the heart rate was all over the place, but when I wasn't contracting and the baby was resting it stayed around 130-140 BPM. I got checked again and was almost 6 cm dilated when the anesthesiologist came in to administer the epidural. I signed a few papers, answered a few questions, and she went to work. The first attempt at placing the epi wasn't quite successful, so she started over a bit lower and about 10 minutes later I was relaxing and only feeling the pressure of the contractions without all of the pain. The nurse propped me up on one side to better monitor the baby, but after about 20 minutes of being in that position I started to regain all feeling in my left leg. So she had me turn completely on my left side and the anesthesiologist came back in and adjusted the epi. Ahhhhhh. Finally both sides were nice and numb and I managed to catch about an hour or so of sleep. At some point both Tom and I woke up to a woman across the hall screaming in all sorts of pain. I made some comment to the nurse and anesthesiologist about it and they said she didn't make it in time to get her epidural. Sure enough just a few seconds later we heard a baby crying.


Around 7:15 or so I got checked again and was an 8+ so the nurse called the doc to get her to head in. Once the doctor arrived, she checked me and then broke the rest of my water and BAM the baby came all the way down immediately. She left to gown up and came back with the nurse. They were originally going to have me practice push, but the doctor looked and there was the head already crowning, so they called in the troops. I got propped up and pushed two-and-a-half times and then felt the baby slide out. The doctor exclaimed, “It’s a…BOY!” Tom and I were both crying at this point – just so happy to have another beautiful and healthy baby. The doctor and nurses asked what we’d like to name him. “Thomas Samuel, but we’ll be calling him Tommy.”


Our little boy came out so fast he had a bit of a bruise on his head and a little fluid in his lungs. The fluid he coughed up and cried out and the bruise/mark is already fading. He got a nine on both of his APGAR tests and immediately latched on to eat. He’s got a beautiful head of strawberry blonde hair and a handsome little face. We’re trying to decide who he looks more like – Stasa or Lexi. I’ll have to dig up their birth pictures to help us decide.


Thomas Samuel was born at 8:14 am on April 27 and was 8 pounds 2 ounces and 21” long.

We had called Aunt Peggy right before I started pushing to let her know she could come on over with the girls. The girls came bounding in, excited to meet the new baby. We introduced them to their new brother and both hurriedly climbed up in my bed and requested to hold Tommy. Tom took them both over to the sanitizer to clean their hands and then we had each girl take a turn holding the baby. They were not at all happy when their turn was up and chastised Tom for not “taking turns” with them. I was worried that Stasa wouldn't be happy to have a baby brother and that Lexi wouldn't be thrilled about sharing mommy and daddy, but both girls just loved on their brother right away, showing me that I had nothing to be worried about. When it was time for them to leave, Stasa was upset because she thought we wouldn't be able to bring the baby home with us. I assured her that I would bring Tommy home with me and that we were keeping him forever and she seemed relieved and told me that she would miss us very much.


Tom and I both feel so blessed to have three beautiful and healthy children and can’t believe we’re now the parents of a BOY. We’ll definitely have to get used to saying “the kids” instead of “the girls” now.  

Friday, April 26, 2013

39 Weeks Pregnant



How far along? 39 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 186 according to my appointment this morning
Maternity clothes? Everyday
Stretch marks? None yet
Symptoms: I've been having contractions no closer than 10 minutes apart since Sunday, which are no fun at all because they just make me super uncomfortable.
Best moment this week: Getting another pedicure
Have you told family and friends: Yep!
Miss anything? Cocktail hour
Movement: Still chugging along in there - kicking and stretching and rolling around
Food cravings: None
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Have you started to show yet: Yep
Baby is a: surprise!
Belly Button in or out? Mostly flat and soft and weird feeling
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and tired
Looking forward to: This baby making an appearance at some point

This is officially the most pregnant I've ever been. According to the doctor I'm now 4 cm and 70% effaced and "highly inducable." I'm hoping that the 4 cm turns into actual labor this weekend, but we'll see. I've technically been induced with both kids since I had pitocin both times, so at least I know that my body responds well to that should we need to go that route. I'm dying to meet this baby!

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Single digits!

Getting closer! Each day that passes I get a little more impatient to meet this little baby. COME OUT COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE!

Last night I had some pretty intense and painful contractions, but they never got closer than 10 minutes apart and then stopped around the time I went to bed. Then nothing this morning, so I just need to keep being patient and know that the baby will come when the baby's ready.

Hi, feet!


Belly at 38 weeks, 5 days

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Still here. Still pregnant.

38 weeks and 4 days today. Still pregnant. I'm over it, mostly because I spent all day Sunday having contractions about 10 minutes apart only to have to them completely stop in the evening. And then sporadic contractions yesterday and back to 10 minutes apart last night. Woke up to a few in the middle of the night and then nothing until about an hour ago. Back to 10-15 minutes apart. Not even worth timing.

I'm just tired of the pressure and painful contractions. I'm tired of people asking me everyday if I've had the baby. I'm tired of peeing every 5 minutes. No, seriously, every 5 minutes. And so I wait. My next appointment is Friday and hopefully I'll have the baby before then, but who knows, this baby seems content to stay put.

Friday, April 19, 2013

Our Mini-Me's


38 Weeks Pregnant



How far along? 38 weeks and so ready to be done
Total weight gain/loss: I was up to 186 lbs last week and I'm guessing I'm probably up another pound or two this week.
Maternity clothes? Everyday
Stretch marks? None yet
Symptoms: I'm having tons and tons of Braxton Hicks contractions and what I think might be actual contractions, but nothing really timeable or regular and they usually taper off by the time I get my hopes up. And I've been losing my mucous plug in pieces for a couple of weeks. 
Sleep: I'm waking up at least twice each night from cramping and contractions and the need to empty my bladder. 
Best moment this week: Getting the work on the outside of our house started - it's going to look SO MUCH BETTER when it's done
Have you told family and friends: Yep!
Miss anything? I can't wait to eat a big meal of sushi
Movement: This baby is constantly moving and stretches out on my right side so often that I now have a sore spot there
Food cravings: Not many this week
Anything making you queasy or sick: None.
Have you started to show yet: Yep
Baby is a: surprise!
Belly Button in or out? In, but kind of gross looking and really soft and mushy feeling
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and tired
Looking forward to: My weekly appointment later this morning and relaxing this weekend

UPDATE:
I went to my 38 week appointment today and was told that I'm 3 cm dilated (failed to get the effacement or station - oops). Baby's heart rate was a strong 139 BPM, up from the 160s last week. Always keeping us guessing. And I'm down 3 lbs from last week, but that's most likely due to me not being able to eat dinner. There's just no room and when I do eat I feel like I need to vomit or I get wicked wicked heartburn. Not worth it.

So now we wait. My bag's packed and I have a list of things I need to grab the day of, but we're mostly ready. I suppose we'll install the car seat base this weekend, just so that can be done and we don't have to do it in the hospital parking lot. I see a lot of mall walking in my future this weekend. Send baby dust our way!

Thursday, April 18, 2013

A couple of OsOTD

Our big girl has been dressing herself for a couple of years now and is very opinionated about what she wears each day. It's very rare that I'm allowed to select clothes for her to wear, although I am permitted to make suggestions. Most of the time I just tell her if she needs long or short sleeves and whether she has to weather leggings or tights under her dresses and skirts. She takes it from there.

Sometimes this is what she comes up with:


But more recently, she's been doing a better job of having her outfits match.



And she's working on teaching little sister the importance of the pose. "Hands on your hips, Lexia!"

Monday, April 15, 2013

A lesson for our girls


We had gorgeous weather this weekend. Sunny with just a slight chill in the air. We took advantage of it and spent quite a bit of time outside, first on Saturday playing in our cul-de-sac, then lunch outside, and ended with time at the playground. We woke up on Sunday to a cloudless sky and even though I had previously said I didn't want to do anything all day I knew immediately that we had to get out of the house, even if it was only for an hour or so. After initially suggesting that we take the girls on a neighborhood bike ride, I got the crazy idea to take the girls and their bikes to the W&OD trail. There are a couple of entrances right by our house, so we packed up the girls and their bikes in the car and drove to the one we pass on the way to work every day. The girls were overly excited about going to a special bike trail and snapped on their helmets while we were still in the car. 

As we were walking to the trail, we explained to Stasa how the trail worked. That she would need to stay on her side of the yellow line and to watch out for all of the other people riding and walking and running. She and I started off and BAM she was yards ahead of me in no time. Tom was pushing Lexi on her trike and as slow as I was they were much much slower. We finally switched it up because there was no way I could keep up with Stasa. 

There were a TON of people on the trail. People walking, some jogging, a few pushing kids in strollers, and a lot a lot a lot of cyclists. This was a very different biking experience for Stasa since she's only ever rode her bike in our cul-de-sac and the only other people there are a handful of kids riding at her same pace. Tom and I reminded Stasa to stay on her side of the yellow line and to just keep pedaling even as people pass her. 

I've got more opinions than most on bike etiquette. And I don't even have a bike! But I do drive by the W&OD trail nearly every day and it crosses one of the roads I drive down. Warning: here's where I get a little annoyed. When you're on a bike and actually riding it you're considered a vehicle. Which means that you have to obey traffic laws, such as STOPPING when you have a STOP SIGN. So where that trail crosses the road I drive on there are stop signs on both sides for the people on the trail, not for the vehicles on the road. No exaggeration, every single day there are a ton of cyclists who blow by the stop sign to cross the road and cause cars to stop short to avoid hitting them. 

All of that said, I was still surprised at the number of cyclists on the trail who were outright rude. I would say about half of the cyclists actually said "passing" or "on your left" as they came up behind us on the trail. There were a couple who said nothing, but instead rang a little bell. Then there was the other half who said nothing at all and just whipped by us, sometimes causing Stasa to stop short. Every time that happened, we explained, quite loudly, to Stasa that when you pass someone on a road or trail you should say "passing." 

There were definitely times when we had to remind Stasa to stay on her side of the yellow line and if possible to stay as close to the grass side as possible. For the most part she did a great job, especially for her first time on a real bike trail. Yet there were still a handful of people who either made some nasty comment or sound when they passed her or shot me a dirty look as they watched me push Lexi on her trike. And for all of those rude people, there were maybe another handful who actually said hi to the girls or waved and smiled to them. 


On the one hand I get it. These cyclists are out to get exercise or practice their sport and don't want the hassle of having to slow down or weave around people. But maybe they failed to realize that the W&OD is technically a PUBLIC park and everyone from walkers to cyclists are encouraged to use it. There were older folks riding at a glacial pace and I'm sure those other cyclists were annoyed by them, too, which again is crazy. It's a public trail. What do those cyclists expect? 

So this was a lesson for the girls - although really for Stasa since she can ride on her own. We talked with her about the importance of bike etiquette, specifically about the importance of staying on your side of the "road," not stopping short, and letting people know when you're coming up behind and passing them. I'm pretty sure she got it because on the ride back to the car we passed a group of cyclists resting on a bench and Stasa announced "passing" to them. They broke out laughing and waved to her. 

I'm pretty sure we'll hit the W&OD again for another bike ride and we'll keep reminding Stasa about the rules of the road. Unfortunately I'm sure this won't be the only time the girls experience rudeness, but Tom and I will continue to take advantage of the situation to teach them and talk to them about what happened. 

I'm sure a lot of you think I'm blowing this out of proportion, but like I said before cyclists not following vehicle laws drives me bonkers. So you can imagine that cyclists (or anyone) who are rude to my kids will make me even crazier. At least we got out of the house and the girls were exhausted at the end of the ride. I think it was the longest amount of time Stasa had been on her bike because she usually rides a few loops around the cul-de-sac, hops off, plays with something, then hops back on. Rinse and repeat. It also made me want to get bikes (and bike trailers) for me and Tom. I can't wait until we can all go on a family bike ride together. 

Friday, April 12, 2013

37 Weeks Pregnant



How far along? 37 weeks, aka full term, baby!
Total weight gain/loss: I'm guessing I've put on another couple of pounds, but we'll find out after my appointment this morning.
Maternity clothes? Everyday
Stretch marks? None yet
Symptoms: Tons and tons of Braxton Hicks contractions
Sleep: Not terrible, but not great either
Best moment this week: working from home most of the week and this GORGEOUS weather we've been having (until the monsoon this morning)
Have you told family and friends: Yep!
Miss anything? Not too much
Movement: Still moving all of the time and this baby especially loves to constantly stretch its leg out of my right side
Food cravings: Nachos
Anything making you queasy or sick: None.
Have you started to show yet: Yep
Baby is a: surprise!
Belly Button in or out? Still in
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and tired
Looking forward to: This morning's appointment and having nothing to do all weekend

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Their second birthdays

Stasa, at her second birthday party:


Lexi, at her second birthday party:

Spring finally cometh


Thankfully spring finally decided to make a real appearance this past weekend, but yesterday it seemed as if it's friend, summer was dying to come play, too. It ended up being 93 degrees yesterday and Stasa argued with me because she wanted to wear a long sleeved black shirt. She eventually agreed to wear a short sleeved cotton dress and came home happy that she did. 

All week after we pick the girls up the first thing Stasa asks is "can we play outside when we get home?" And I say yes every day because after months of grey and dreary cold weather it's so nice to be able to play outside without freezing. So after work and school every day we've been outside riding bikes, chalking up the cul-de-sac, and blowing bubbles. 


Stasa's really quite the bike rider and I think we'll be gradually raising her training wheels soon in the hopes that she's on a true two-wheeler by the end of the summer. We just need to work on getting her to be less of a dare devil on her bike. Those training wheels have given her a bit of false security and she whips up and down driveways and around bends. I'm definitely glad we got a bigger bike rather than the 12" one because she'll be able to use this bike for another year or so before she outgrows it. 

Lexi is juuuuuuuust starting to get the hang of her trike. Before she would just sit on it and ask one of us to push her around the cul-de-sac. Recently she's started scooting herself around and the other day she finally tried pedaling and actually did it. But then immediately stopped when she realized that she was pedaling without me pushing her. I think she'll be pedaling on her own all of the time by the time summer comes around.

Here's hoping the nice weather sticks around. I'm not ready to go back to pants and heavy coats, but it's Virginia, so the weather changes week to week. That said, I'd also be okay without summer coming so early - let's enjoy the 70 and 80 degree days for a few more weeks. 

Friday, April 5, 2013

36 Weeks Pregnant



How far along? 36 weeks!

Total weight gain/loss: I was up to 184 as of Wednesday's appointment
Maternity clothes? Everyday
Stretch marks? None yet
Symptoms: Tons and tons of Braxton Hicks contractions
Sleep: Not terrible, but not great either
Best moment this week: 36 week appointment and tying up a lot of loose ends at work
Have you told family and friends: Yep!
Miss anything? Not too much
Movement: This baby moves all day and night. I'll wake up in the middle of the night and the baby is still moving around. The doctor says he loves hearing this because it means we've got a healthy baby in there. Most babies start to run out of room this late in the game - they're still active, but not as active is this crazy one is.
Food cravings: No real cravings this week.
Anything making you queasy or sick: None.
Have you started to show yet: Yep
Baby is a: surprise!
Belly Button in or out? Still in
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy and tired
Looking forward to: Handing things off at work and choosing a girl name

Thursday, April 4, 2013

2 Year and 4 Year Well Visits

We have big girls. Literally.

I took both girls in this morning for their annual well visit. Both girls were excited to go to the doctor this morning and I had already warned Stasa that she would be getting shots, but told her to think of all of the cool bandaids she would get after the shots. Lexi doesn't normally enjoy going to the doctor and having people poke and prod her, but she was so well behaved today and I think it's because Stasa was with her.

Let's start with stats.

Stasa
Weight: 39 lbs (73rd percentile)
Height: 41.25" (71st percentile)

Lexi
Weight: 29 lbs 4 oz (80th percentile)
Height: 37" (99th percentile)
Head: 19" (70th percentile)

Stasa had her eyesight checked and it was perfect. Not surprising at all. The girl can see the tiniest airplane in the sky waaaaaaaay before I'm able to spot it. She's also got seasonal allergies, which is why she's just recently been sneezing and coughing. Poor thing. I was hoping none of the kids would suffer from allergies the way Tom and I do. Stas ended up with four vaccines, but only three shots. She looked a little worried about the shots, but sat on the nurse's lap, watched the shots go in, and didn't even flinch. Not a single tear. She was so proud of herself and loved every bandaid she got. She even thanked the nurses after her vaccines.

Lexi is TALL. They marked her down as 99th percentile for height, but really she's off the chart. The doctor recommended that we take her to see an allergist since her face breaks out after eating something tomato based. And she's ready to start dentist visits, too. I completely forgot to ask about her fear of the dark, but I did order a new night light that displays stars on the ceiling so we'll see if that helps. Lexi only got one shot and wasn't happy about it at all, but stopped crying the minute she got her Clifford bandaid.

Both girls were thrilled with their bandaids, but got even more excited when they were allowed to choose a toy from the big treasure chest. I really love our pediatricians and the nurses at the office. Everyone is so nice and the girls love all of the staff and doctors and the fun themed patient rooms. Next appointments will be in a year!