Uterus that is.
This may not be a popular blog post, but I'm not in a popular mood so whatever!
I am pro-choice, which is not to be mistaken for pro-abortion. I truely think that it is none of my business what someone does with their uterus. Do I think abortion should be used at birth control...no, not at all (I do believe that after 2 for non medical reasons people should be put on long lasting birth control, but that is just a thought). Do I think that it is sad, yes, sad for the life that will never be, sad for the life of a woman that will be forever changed and sad for all of the childless people out there who would give an arm or a leg to have just 1 baby. But I am not perfect and should not condem other. If there is a higher power who condems such things, it is his/her job to do so, not mine.
Now, that being said, there are a lot of pro-choice people who condemed Michelle Duggar for being pregnant with her 20th baby. Really? Really? Pretty sure she is making a choice about her body (just maybe not the choice you or I would have made). *I* would never want 20 children (nor would my body handle that, really gotta give her props for it!) but it's her uterus, not mine and if she wants to give birth to another 20, I'm not gonna judge. Her and her husband take care of their children, they appear well fed, polite, and are not being raised with the help of any government assitance, so literally her having another baby costs me nothing. Sadly she lost that baby and as many of my friends know, losing a baby is a horrible, senseless thing. There are some who said she should take that as a sign to stop. Again, not my place to tell her what to do with her uterus!
I have friends who are both pro-life and pro-choice and I love them all and either way, I try not to judge them, because it is not my place to judge anyone, I'm jsut here to be a friend.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
My Dream Come True, My Cody
I am a bit behind, but being the mom of 3 boys will do that to a person. The school year has started, Cody has started Scouts once again and Shane has started Wrestling, and Casey, my sweet baby, is already 6 months old and still stealing our hearts. As promised, this blog is about my Cody.
When I got pregnant with Cody, I was not planning it, so he was a surprise, a VERY welcomed surprise. I had been in a bit of a funk before I found out. I was worried that after only a few months of dating, I was pregnant, what would Randy think. Randy welcomed the news of a baby, which was a relief. I was cautiously happy. Having lost one child already I was scared to attach to a baby that I may lose. Randy was not Christopher's father so he could not understand the feelings I was having. I would not buy anything, talk about a shower, look at baby furniture until I had my level 2 ultrasound to find out everything was ok with this baby. And it was. Everything was right on track, I was having a healthy baby (we didn't want to find out the sex, we like the surprise)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was induced on December 19th, 2003, we had a party in my room, my mom, stepmom, Randy's, many friends and both my brothers (they were in their teens back then and it was the perfect sex ed class for them...the reasons to wrap your rascal!) Cody was out after 12 hours of induction and just 16 minutes of pushing. They placed him on my chest and I was finally a mom. I was in love.
He was a mini version of me, a little clone. My mother couldn't believe it, it was uncanny how much he looked like me. She said, minus the penis, he was me!
He was the 1st great-grandbaby in several year for my Bama and Poppop and you would have thought the moon and sun set on Cody according to my Bama. She loved that little boy beyond words. He was such a happy baby, smiles for anyone, went to anyone, no stranger anxiety for him. He slept through the night at 6 weeks. He hardly ever cried, in fact my family asked me if a doctor had looked at him because it couldn't be normal to have such a happy child all the time.
I like to say he was my light, as he brightened my world and proved to me and many doctors that I could have a healthy baby. He was sunshine after years of storms. He was my dream come true. He was a good toddler, I never really dealt with the terrible 2's or 3's.
As he entered preschool it became apparent that he was what the teachers called 'emotionally immature.' He cried when things got him upset, he had meltdowns over the slightest things and was behind academically, but they all assured me he would grow out of it, that sometimes boys are a bit slow to mature.
He started Kindergarten and was tested and found to be behind academically so they offered a program called Extended Day Kindergarten where he went to his regular AM class and stayed in the afternoon for a smaller class to work on the stuff they did in the morning. I thought this would be the answer to all of his problems, if he could just catch up to his peers and mature a little all would be right in his world.
That was not the case. He caught up and was set for 1st grade and I even warned his 1st grade teacher that he was a bit of a cry baby. I think she thought I was some bitch of a mom, because at 1st she only saw a sweet boy who tried so hard. Then the honeymoon period ended and Cody started to have his meltdowns for her. We decided it was time for him to see someone to work out his issues. Thankfully I have great insurance that covers his sessions (less a $15 co pay) and a therapist who he likes a lot. At the end of the school year his teacher and I were talking about him and that his behavior is not just immaturity. Due to laws and other bureaucratic bullshit she couldn't say more, but I understood the unspoken.
Now we are in 2nd grade and things are not getting better, if anything worse. His grades are slipping, yet his teacher tells me he can get the info with 1 on 1 assistance. His emotional outbursts are becoming more and more of an issue. So I have taken the next step to have him evaluated by a neurologist (my neurologist) for ADD and what ever else she finds. I am also working on getting him an IEP to get him the consistent help he needs. He has trouble expressing his emotions correctly which we are working with his counselor with.
So those are the challenges with Cody.........but they do not define him. He is a great big brother, he loves Casey and will make silly baby noises for him. He is a hugger..his teacher can count on a hug everyday from Cody, he is caring. He still will sit on my lap just to be close to me. He loves animals, much like his parents. He reads grade levels above him and LOVES books.
All of his quirks, as I like to call them, make him Cody. They make the bad days bad and the good days even better because they are cherished that much more.
I am a mom because of Cody and I hope when he grows up he thinks he had a great mom!
When I got pregnant with Cody, I was not planning it, so he was a surprise, a VERY welcomed surprise. I had been in a bit of a funk before I found out. I was worried that after only a few months of dating, I was pregnant, what would Randy think. Randy welcomed the news of a baby, which was a relief. I was cautiously happy. Having lost one child already I was scared to attach to a baby that I may lose. Randy was not Christopher's father so he could not understand the feelings I was having. I would not buy anything, talk about a shower, look at baby furniture until I had my level 2 ultrasound to find out everything was ok with this baby. And it was. Everything was right on track, I was having a healthy baby (we didn't want to find out the sex, we like the surprise)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I was induced on December 19th, 2003, we had a party in my room, my mom, stepmom, Randy's, many friends and both my brothers (they were in their teens back then and it was the perfect sex ed class for them...the reasons to wrap your rascal!) Cody was out after 12 hours of induction and just 16 minutes of pushing. They placed him on my chest and I was finally a mom. I was in love.
He was a mini version of me, a little clone. My mother couldn't believe it, it was uncanny how much he looked like me. She said, minus the penis, he was me!
He was the 1st great-grandbaby in several year for my Bama and Poppop and you would have thought the moon and sun set on Cody according to my Bama. She loved that little boy beyond words. He was such a happy baby, smiles for anyone, went to anyone, no stranger anxiety for him. He slept through the night at 6 weeks. He hardly ever cried, in fact my family asked me if a doctor had looked at him because it couldn't be normal to have such a happy child all the time.
I like to say he was my light, as he brightened my world and proved to me and many doctors that I could have a healthy baby. He was sunshine after years of storms. He was my dream come true. He was a good toddler, I never really dealt with the terrible 2's or 3's.
As he entered preschool it became apparent that he was what the teachers called 'emotionally immature.' He cried when things got him upset, he had meltdowns over the slightest things and was behind academically, but they all assured me he would grow out of it, that sometimes boys are a bit slow to mature.
He started Kindergarten and was tested and found to be behind academically so they offered a program called Extended Day Kindergarten where he went to his regular AM class and stayed in the afternoon for a smaller class to work on the stuff they did in the morning. I thought this would be the answer to all of his problems, if he could just catch up to his peers and mature a little all would be right in his world.
That was not the case. He caught up and was set for 1st grade and I even warned his 1st grade teacher that he was a bit of a cry baby. I think she thought I was some bitch of a mom, because at 1st she only saw a sweet boy who tried so hard. Then the honeymoon period ended and Cody started to have his meltdowns for her. We decided it was time for him to see someone to work out his issues. Thankfully I have great insurance that covers his sessions (less a $15 co pay) and a therapist who he likes a lot. At the end of the school year his teacher and I were talking about him and that his behavior is not just immaturity. Due to laws and other bureaucratic bullshit she couldn't say more, but I understood the unspoken.
Now we are in 2nd grade and things are not getting better, if anything worse. His grades are slipping, yet his teacher tells me he can get the info with 1 on 1 assistance. His emotional outbursts are becoming more and more of an issue. So I have taken the next step to have him evaluated by a neurologist (my neurologist) for ADD and what ever else she finds. I am also working on getting him an IEP to get him the consistent help he needs. He has trouble expressing his emotions correctly which we are working with his counselor with.
So those are the challenges with Cody.........but they do not define him. He is a great big brother, he loves Casey and will make silly baby noises for him. He is a hugger..his teacher can count on a hug everyday from Cody, he is caring. He still will sit on my lap just to be close to me. He loves animals, much like his parents. He reads grade levels above him and LOVES books.
All of his quirks, as I like to call them, make him Cody. They make the bad days bad and the good days even better because they are cherished that much more.
I am a mom because of Cody and I hope when he grows up he thinks he had a great mom!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Another Baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ever since Casey was born, actually before he was born, I wanted another baby. Sickness and 9 months of torture aside, my body was made for having babies. Inductions with 12 hours, 6 hours and less than 4 hours of labor with babies that get pushed out before the staff can ready themselves for it...that is a baby having body.
Over the last 2 days 3 friends have had babies and several others are expecting. Tonight I was packing up Casey's clothes, feeling a bit sad (ok A LOT sad) that this is the last time any of my children will wear this outfit or that one. (they shouldn't make such cute baby clothes cause they are hardly worn!)
I've not hidden the fact that I would love another baby...but there are several reasons why it is just not in the cards for us. My husbands feeling of being done and my health are the biggest.
In the mean time I will enjoy this lil sweetie I have now. The one whos face lights up when he see me, the one who is a drooling machine, who giggles when we play patty cake, who has stolen my heart just as his brothers before him.
I plan for my next blog to be about Cody...my challenge, my light, my sweet....he has a lot going on right now we are trying to sort out.
Till then!
Over the last 2 days 3 friends have had babies and several others are expecting. Tonight I was packing up Casey's clothes, feeling a bit sad (ok A LOT sad) that this is the last time any of my children will wear this outfit or that one. (they shouldn't make such cute baby clothes cause they are hardly worn!)
I've not hidden the fact that I would love another baby...but there are several reasons why it is just not in the cards for us. My husbands feeling of being done and my health are the biggest.
In the mean time I will enjoy this lil sweetie I have now. The one whos face lights up when he see me, the one who is a drooling machine, who giggles when we play patty cake, who has stolen my heart just as his brothers before him.
I plan for my next blog to be about Cody...my challenge, my light, my sweet....he has a lot going on right now we are trying to sort out.
Till then!
Monday, August 29, 2011
School Days, School Days
Next week the big boys go back to school. How did this many years pass? How is it that I have a 1st and 2nd grader? I look at Casey (who is 3 months now) and see Cody at that age. It almost feels like the 7 year old boy who stands in front of me is a stranger. It's not that I don't know him, but it's like one day I had a baby, I closed my eyes and when they opened he was a big boy. A boy who forgets to kiss his Mama goodnight, who says things under his breath, who yells at his brother, but a boy who still needs me, just not as much.
I'll be labeling their school supplies tomorrow, getting all the papers filled out, nestled in their backpacks for next Tuesday. Part of me will do this with absolute GLEE. They have been spending entirely too much time together, the bickering is non stop. There are some days (like today) I count the minutes until Randy gets home so I can run out to a store for the stupidest of things just to get a few minutes of peace. But another part of me will be sad and lonely. It will be just Casey and I all day, which will be nice, but I will miss the big boys entertaining him while I do dishes, or drawing me a picture just because.
I'm also looking forward to organizing my house while they are at school. I'm hoping to get Casey on a nap schedule (which will be a lot easier to do when his brothers are not screaming at each other and trying to kiss on him while he is sleeping) and while he is sleeping I will give myself chore to do. I think if I blog about them, it will hold me more accountable to actually getting my list done. Another thing I am looking forward to is better eating, exercising and getting not only my house, but also myself in shape.
So give me a week once school starts and let the lists begin!!!!!!!!!!
I'll be labeling their school supplies tomorrow, getting all the papers filled out, nestled in their backpacks for next Tuesday. Part of me will do this with absolute GLEE. They have been spending entirely too much time together, the bickering is non stop. There are some days (like today) I count the minutes until Randy gets home so I can run out to a store for the stupidest of things just to get a few minutes of peace. But another part of me will be sad and lonely. It will be just Casey and I all day, which will be nice, but I will miss the big boys entertaining him while I do dishes, or drawing me a picture just because.
I'm also looking forward to organizing my house while they are at school. I'm hoping to get Casey on a nap schedule (which will be a lot easier to do when his brothers are not screaming at each other and trying to kiss on him while he is sleeping) and while he is sleeping I will give myself chore to do. I think if I blog about them, it will hold me more accountable to actually getting my list done. Another thing I am looking forward to is better eating, exercising and getting not only my house, but also myself in shape.
So give me a week once school starts and let the lists begin!!!!!!!!!!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
The Blue Ribbons
Driving home from work today I had to drive through Freemansburg....and all I saw up and down the road was blue ribbons....and all I did was cry.
This past week a neighboring town's police officer, while responding to a call, was shot in the head. He leaves behind a wife and 2 small children. Two children who will sadly have very little memories of their father. Who will only know him through pictures and stories. A wife who will sleep in a bed that is too big now that one person is missing.
This man and his family have been weighing heavily on my mind these past few days. Maybe it was becuase he was my age, maybe because it happened in a small boro that one would never think something like this would have happened. The night it happened all I could think was...this is any other night for so many, but for 1 family it was the end..the end of a life, the end of a husband coming home from work for dinner, the end of a father playing with his kids on the floor.... the end.
The only comfort I have is I imagine it happend so quickly that he felt no pain. But that is very little comfort as I think about his family. Usually on Friday nights we go out to dinner...this week we forgot about dinner this Friday and this morning my husband took the kids to the bank that has set up Officer Lasso's memorial fund and donated the money we would have spent on dinner. Money is little comfort to his family who I'm sure would much rather have their husband, son, father back at home tonight. But in my mind it was better than crying for him, as crying will bring his family little solice.
This past week a neighboring town's police officer, while responding to a call, was shot in the head. He leaves behind a wife and 2 small children. Two children who will sadly have very little memories of their father. Who will only know him through pictures and stories. A wife who will sleep in a bed that is too big now that one person is missing.
This man and his family have been weighing heavily on my mind these past few days. Maybe it was becuase he was my age, maybe because it happened in a small boro that one would never think something like this would have happened. The night it happened all I could think was...this is any other night for so many, but for 1 family it was the end..the end of a life, the end of a husband coming home from work for dinner, the end of a father playing with his kids on the floor.... the end.
The only comfort I have is I imagine it happend so quickly that he felt no pain. But that is very little comfort as I think about his family. Usually on Friday nights we go out to dinner...this week we forgot about dinner this Friday and this morning my husband took the kids to the bank that has set up Officer Lasso's memorial fund and donated the money we would have spent on dinner. Money is little comfort to his family who I'm sure would much rather have their husband, son, father back at home tonight. But in my mind it was better than crying for him, as crying will bring his family little solice.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
And what happened to july?
No, really....what happened to it. I blinked and it was gone! Oh that's right, 10 day in OBX, 4 days in CT, 3 days in NY, I guess it got sucked in.
Our trip to OBX was amazing, I hope to write a post about that all on it's own, but it was a great realxing time with wonderful people!
The yearly treck to CT was as wonderful as ever. It's amazing that such saddness brought me to so many soul sisters. For me, it's like going home, going to that safe place that home represents. A lot of these women knew me as a lonely lost girl and guided me to the woman and mother I am today.
We spent a few days with my mom, as she is planning on moving to Las Vegas next years so I am trying to soak up time with her.
And here we are in the begining of Augiust. I wonder if this month will pass by so quickly. In ways I hope it does, I would love to get into a routine with lil tan man, but that also means the big boys are back in school...which depending on the day could make me very happy or a little sad!
Our trip to OBX was amazing, I hope to write a post about that all on it's own, but it was a great realxing time with wonderful people!
The yearly treck to CT was as wonderful as ever. It's amazing that such saddness brought me to so many soul sisters. For me, it's like going home, going to that safe place that home represents. A lot of these women knew me as a lonely lost girl and guided me to the woman and mother I am today.
We spent a few days with my mom, as she is planning on moving to Las Vegas next years so I am trying to soak up time with her.
And here we are in the begining of Augiust. I wonder if this month will pass by so quickly. In ways I hope it does, I would love to get into a routine with lil tan man, but that also means the big boys are back in school...which depending on the day could make me very happy or a little sad!
Monday, June 20, 2011
Summer Vacation, a test of my patience and sanity
I figure if I can survive summer vacation with the 3 boys, I can survive anything. I am still dealing with the postpartum depression, but have accepted it as part of my life at this time. It is what it is.
Today was the 1st day home, all day, of summer vacation. My mom is due to come for a visit later today, which has me stressed out enough, knowing she will 'yell' at me for the condition of the living room. Oh well, I guess some things never change.
The day started with me going to bed at 1am, Casey waking up at 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7am. Randy coming in at 7:30 to ask me for a check for a dr appt he had, why he didn't think to ask for this LAST night, rather than waking his sleep deprived wife up, I do not know. I was able to fall back to sleep, baby and I, until 9:15. Of course Casey woke up crying, which in turn woke up a sleeping Shane. Dang it!
We had breakfast, Cody and Shane wated some shows on Netflix, took turns fighting over whose turn it was to pick the show, Cody threw the remote at Shane in anger, and got sent to his room.....ahhhhh, peace and quiet! Until a half hour later when I remembered Cody was in his room and allowed him to come down.
I have some plans for the summer, this weekend we will be leaving for OBX for 10 days!!! Which means Daddy will be there the help wrangle the tribe. After that I will brave taking all 3 boys to CT to see a bunch of friends. I hope then to get a pool membership, as it is only a few block away. We went to the library last Friday and may make that a thurs/friday thing. I have crafts for them to do, but want to get the house cleaned up 1st, but on 2nd hand I better let them do the crafts since the house will NEVER be ALL cleaned up!
Oh, looky there, it's lunch time. The boys requested mac and cheese with hot dogs mixed in, a favorite of theirs and I had left overs. Right now they are playing, nicely, but I am in waiting for the fighting to begin because "He took the Zhu zhu I was playing with" or other such dumbness. Casey is napping on the couch and I just realized that Mom will be here soon, and my 2 oldest kids have been running around naked all morning and the littlest one is only in a diaper. Guess I shou.....oh, it has started "Hey, that was my eye" as he takes his fingers and jabs them into his brothers eye for paybacks........anyway, I guess I should step away from the computer, make sure no one is blind and get my kids dressed.
Today was the 1st day home, all day, of summer vacation. My mom is due to come for a visit later today, which has me stressed out enough, knowing she will 'yell' at me for the condition of the living room. Oh well, I guess some things never change.
The day started with me going to bed at 1am, Casey waking up at 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7am. Randy coming in at 7:30 to ask me for a check for a dr appt he had, why he didn't think to ask for this LAST night, rather than waking his sleep deprived wife up, I do not know. I was able to fall back to sleep, baby and I, until 9:15. Of course Casey woke up crying, which in turn woke up a sleeping Shane. Dang it!
We had breakfast, Cody and Shane wated some shows on Netflix, took turns fighting over whose turn it was to pick the show, Cody threw the remote at Shane in anger, and got sent to his room.....ahhhhh, peace and quiet! Until a half hour later when I remembered Cody was in his room and allowed him to come down.
I have some plans for the summer, this weekend we will be leaving for OBX for 10 days!!! Which means Daddy will be there the help wrangle the tribe. After that I will brave taking all 3 boys to CT to see a bunch of friends. I hope then to get a pool membership, as it is only a few block away. We went to the library last Friday and may make that a thurs/friday thing. I have crafts for them to do, but want to get the house cleaned up 1st, but on 2nd hand I better let them do the crafts since the house will NEVER be ALL cleaned up!
Oh, looky there, it's lunch time. The boys requested mac and cheese with hot dogs mixed in, a favorite of theirs and I had left overs. Right now they are playing, nicely, but I am in waiting for the fighting to begin because "He took the Zhu zhu I was playing with" or other such dumbness. Casey is napping on the couch and I just realized that Mom will be here soon, and my 2 oldest kids have been running around naked all morning and the littlest one is only in a diaper. Guess I shou.....oh, it has started "Hey, that was my eye" as he takes his fingers and jabs them into his brothers eye for paybacks........anyway, I guess I should step away from the computer, make sure no one is blind and get my kids dressed.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Post Partum Depression..it SUCKS!
I sit here watching some baby show on TLC, crying my eyes out. That is pretty much my life lately, crying my eyes out. I have been formally diagnosed with PPD. I hesitated writing this blog, about THIS subject as who really wants to hear it? But I know of so many who have suffered in silence with the same thing.
I have so many people ask me daily "How are you feeling?" My standard reply is "ok" as I highly doubt anyone wants to hear about how sad I am, how tired, how scared. But I also know there is no shame in having PPD. SO I break the silence. Sure, plenty of women have babies and have no issues with postpartum, and they have no idea how lucky they are. I wish upon wish that I could enjoy this time with my new baby, the last chance I have with being a new mom. I wish my day wasn't spent tearing up at the littlest thing, worring that something will happen to my lil man, being so tired that I can barely function. But that is my day.
I have such anxiety that my littlest man will leave me before his time, morbid as it may seem. I guess I just feel so lucky that I have been blessed with 3 amazing little boys that I feel as if something will go wrong. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. I worry about SIDS, I worry that he will choke, I worry about every little flinch is something mroe than a flinch. I worry. I don't sleep. Partly because I have a new baby that wakes up at 3 am and refuses to go back to sleep. Partly because I can't sleep. I can't sleep because I worry, I worry because I can't sleep.
I wish I could tie this up with some happy words of wisdom, a pearl of knowledge, but right now, I have no words, all I have is my struggle everyday to climb out of this canyon I have fallen into and the hope that by being so open about my struggles that someone else can start the climb out of their canyon.
I have so many people ask me daily "How are you feeling?" My standard reply is "ok" as I highly doubt anyone wants to hear about how sad I am, how tired, how scared. But I also know there is no shame in having PPD. SO I break the silence. Sure, plenty of women have babies and have no issues with postpartum, and they have no idea how lucky they are. I wish upon wish that I could enjoy this time with my new baby, the last chance I have with being a new mom. I wish my day wasn't spent tearing up at the littlest thing, worring that something will happen to my lil man, being so tired that I can barely function. But that is my day.
I have such anxiety that my littlest man will leave me before his time, morbid as it may seem. I guess I just feel so lucky that I have been blessed with 3 amazing little boys that I feel as if something will go wrong. I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. I worry about SIDS, I worry that he will choke, I worry about every little flinch is something mroe than a flinch. I worry. I don't sleep. Partly because I have a new baby that wakes up at 3 am and refuses to go back to sleep. Partly because I can't sleep. I can't sleep because I worry, I worry because I can't sleep.
I wish I could tie this up with some happy words of wisdom, a pearl of knowledge, but right now, I have no words, all I have is my struggle everyday to climb out of this canyon I have fallen into and the hope that by being so open about my struggles that someone else can start the climb out of their canyon.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Adjustments
Casey has been here 2 weeks now. It's hard to believe that 2 weeks ago I had just given birth, sitting in the hospital room with Casey, after everyone had left, waiting for the nurses to come in and check me so I could go to bed. What a difference 2 weeks makes.
Mom came and helped for the 1st week, so this week I was on my own and I must say we did ok....we're here aren't we? Nature has this amazing thing called memory loss. I forgot how tiring a newborn is, how often you wake up at night, how 3 hours in a row is now considered a decent stretch of sleep. I imagine if nature didn't have that natural memory loss built into us, most people would stop at 1 child.
The boys are doing ok with our newest addition. Shane LOVES his little brother. He has nicknamed him Favy, not sure where he pulled that one from, but I imagine it will end up sticking, just as Cody is called Bubby and Shane is called Lal-ly, Casey wil be known in our family as Favy. Shane would hold him all day if I would let him. Cody on the other hand is not as head over heel about Casey. I know he REALLY wanted a sister, so maybe had Casey been a girl, things would have been reversed, but it is what it is. Cody is still more interested in his own life, but will kiss Csey every night before bed...it's something, I guess.
This is where I will leave it for now. I am too tired to think much more and I have been informed a little person is hungry, and since I am currently a milking cow, I msut go hook my utter up!
Mom came and helped for the 1st week, so this week I was on my own and I must say we did ok....we're here aren't we? Nature has this amazing thing called memory loss. I forgot how tiring a newborn is, how often you wake up at night, how 3 hours in a row is now considered a decent stretch of sleep. I imagine if nature didn't have that natural memory loss built into us, most people would stop at 1 child.
The boys are doing ok with our newest addition. Shane LOVES his little brother. He has nicknamed him Favy, not sure where he pulled that one from, but I imagine it will end up sticking, just as Cody is called Bubby and Shane is called Lal-ly, Casey wil be known in our family as Favy. Shane would hold him all day if I would let him. Cody on the other hand is not as head over heel about Casey. I know he REALLY wanted a sister, so maybe had Casey been a girl, things would have been reversed, but it is what it is. Cody is still more interested in his own life, but will kiss Csey every night before bed...it's something, I guess.
This is where I will leave it for now. I am too tired to think much more and I have been informed a little person is hungry, and since I am currently a milking cow, I msut go hook my utter up!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Queen of my Castle
Looks like I am the queen on my castle!!!!!
I went in Thurs, May 12 for my last NST. The doctor had already scheduled my induction the week before for Thurs night into Fri morning as the week before I was only a fingertip and 'long.' He checked me at my appointment Thurs and I was still the same, which meant my induction started 8pm Thurs night with Cytotec rather than Fri morning with just the Pitocin.
I did some running around Thursday, went to TRU to get bike helmets for my big boys, picked up Shane from K, then went home and rested as I was having contractions from being checked earlier in the day. Went back to the school later and got my other son and went home to straighten up a bit. DH had an appointment with a new doctor that night at 5 so my stepmom was coming over to watch the boys and deal with getting them to school the next day. After hubby's appointment we went and picked up dinner at a local Italian place, we are friends with the owner and she was so happy that my 'last meal as a preggo' was hers!!! The doctor said to eat 'lite' but to heck with that, who knew how long I was going to be in labor for the next day!!! We took dinner home and ate as a family of 4 for the last time. Loaded up the car, took some last min 'preggo' picts and off we went to the hospital. When we arrived we went up to the mother baby floor and saw Larry, the male nurse who helped deliver both of our boys. He was the nurse we happened to get with our 1st, but he was SO GREAT that we requested him for our 2nd! We jokingly said maybe we'll see you tomorrow!
I thought they would put me right into a labor room...nope; I got the 'bigger' room in triage!!! Of course there was just a recliner for hubby, which, with 2 herniated discs, would not have been a place for him to sleep so I told him to stay with me until I got settled then he could go home. They had me hooked up to a monitor for a bit, and then the resident came in and put in the Cytotec. About 15 mins later she came in to say that MY doctor ordered cytotec but the attending on that night (another in the practice) wanted cervedil, so she had to take out the Cytotec!!!!!!!! She also didn’t have the cervedil on the floor as it had to come from the pharmacy, so she would be back to put it in. By that time it was around 10 so DH went home to sleep. The resident came in a bit later and quickly put in the cervedil (which is a long string/ribbon) before she had to go in to the OR for a C-section. I had to wait about an hour before getting up to go pee, so about an hour later the nurse came to help me get up and of course I felt the string falling out...thankfully it was only partially. So after the section the resident came back to put it back in and the nurse gave me some Ambien to sleep and started and IV. I then realized that it was Thurs night and I missed Greys and Private Practice...hopefully it will be on the DVR when I get home!!!
Thanks to the Ambien, I slept for about 5 hours or so!!! The nurse came in around 7:30-8 and said MY doctor was there and she was going to ask him if I could eat something since I really wasn't in 'active labor.' My doctor came in then and seemed REALLY annoyed that his partner changed what he ordered, but didn't take it out on me; he just mentioned that he wasn't sure why his associate did that. A few mins later my nurse came in to tell me she was getting me b'fast and once I ate she would move me over to a labor room. Around this time Hubby and my friend, Amanda, came in. I ate my breakfast, if you can call toast breakfast, and we all walked down the hall to my labor room.
A different resident came in to check me to see if it was time for the Pitocin and I was 2cm and 60% effaced!!! YAY the cervedil worked! My doctor came in and said to start the Pitocin. The nurse got everything all ready, hooked it into my IV, only to find out, my iv site was no good...it had blown! I am not the best 'stick' so she was really limited on where she could go, so my hand it was. Hand IVs hurt the worst, as least to me, but I knew she wouldn't have gotten me anywhere else. The Pitocin was then started at 11am. My mom, stepfather and brother arrived shortly after, with a Starbucks Chai tea, which was a no-no as it wasn’t a ‘clear liquid’ so we put it into a cup marked water! I was telling my nurse, Dawn, that I did NOT want a resident breaking my water....only my dr. I also told her that with my other two, once I hit 6cm things went REALLY FAST. (With Cody I went from 6 to 10 fast and only pushed for 18 mins, with Shane I went from 6 to 10 in an hour and pushed 3 times). Within a few minutes my OB came in and asked if I wanted my water broken, his timing was perfect! He broke my water but nothing really came out (no big gush like with the boys). He said the baby's head was down and acting like a cork so he thought it would be a 'slow' trickle. Which was fine by me since that gush always felt gross to me!
The pain was getting worse so I asked for something, they offered stadol or the epi...I opted for the stadol. Which helped...for maybe half hour or so. They checked me again around 1:15 and I was 4 to 5 and 100% effaced and I knew it was time for my epi since 6cm seems to be my 'magic number. By 2pm I had my epi and was 7cm, feeling much better. The baby nurse came in to get everything ready for the baby and when she heard how fast I went with the other 2, she decided to stay in the room and hang out! Smart woman! I asked Randy if we could have one more. I was starting to get sad that this was the last time we would have this magical moment, the last time I would feel a baby kick inside me. The nurses joked that it had to be the 1st time they have EVER had a patient, in active labor ask that!
Things started to get a little scary here...baby's heart rate started dropping below 90, so I became a rotisserie chicken...flopping from one side to the other. I told them I felt pressure so the nurse checked me...I was 10 with just a little bit of a 'lip' so they called the resident, who checked me again and said the same thing, who called my doctor who came in and checked me and said the same thing, but it was time to push and have a baby!!!!! He suited up, put my legs in the stirrups and we started. Thinking back no one ever 'counted' they just told me to push and there was no break of pushing in between, I pushed with the 1st contractions and once it was over the doctor said to keep pushing. My mom later told me the cord came out with the baby's head, she wasn't sure if it was around his neck or not and I didn't ask!
Two pushes later, the baby was out..........a boy!!!!!!!!!!!! Randy announced, “Another Penis!!!” They put his grey body on my chest and started rubbing him to stimulate him; this lil stinker continues to sleep, letting out only a little whimper here and there. They let him on me while the doctor did what he had to do to get out the placenta and everything else. He had a HUGE mess to clean up....my water gushed after the baby came out and I started bleeding a lot. I overheard the doctor say, “Up with the Pitocin” and someone else ask, “Does she have a history of postpartum hemorrage? I really wasn’t paying much attention after that, I was staring at the new little person who, like his brothers before him, would forever hold a piece of my heart.
Casey Joseph Yardumian was born May 13, 2011, at 2:55pm, weighing 7lbs, 7oz and was 20inches long with a perfect amount of hair.
I had told Randy we were not going to tell anyone the sex of the baby until his big brothers got here and could know, so I had Randy call my step-mom, who was picking them up at 3:10 from school, to tell her to bring them up to the hospital. Cody REALLY wanted a sister, Shane really wanted a brother. I was a little concerned at how Cody would take the news. They came up and I was holding Casey. I announced to them, this is your new little brother. If Cody was really disappointed he hid it pretty well. I was expecting tears or a hissy fit, all I got was, “Mom, can the next one be a girl?” Don’t I wish there would be one more! They each took turns holding him, as did everyone else.
The next few hours/days were spent getting to know this new little person in our lives. Randy took the big boys back and forth to the hospital and we had a few visitors here and there. My postpartum course has been far from easy as I developed a cyst on my upper inner thigh that lead to an infection and a few really bad days. The baby was at the doctor Friday and had some jaundice (had to get his level checked, thankfully it came back better) and he has pink eye! My mom came to help out with the 3 boys, which really meant taking and picking up the big boys at school. We did some cleaning and shopping and organizing which has been a huge help with all the visitors coming over to meet the little man. Cody and Shane are wonderful with their baby brother…they love to hug and kiss and hold him. He breastfeeds like a pro, and is coming around on sleeping (the 1st few nights were pretty rough!)
After a difficult pregnancy, both physically and emotionally I am so happy he is here and is safe and sound and healthy. I really worried that with all the issues I had during the pregnancy I wouldn’t be attached to this baby, but I am happy to report that is not the case. I am over the moon in love... with all of my boys…all 4 of them.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Almost there....yet so sad
In the final stretch of this long journey....well at least with the journey of prengancy (let's face it, in motherhood there is never a final stretch!). It's hard to believe in a bit less than 2 weeks, I will be a mom to 3 earth angels!
Lately, as my belly has been more obvious to my patients I have been getting the standard questions...
When are you Due? May 25th, but I'll be having the baby before then due to issues I have.............Really!! WOW, good luck!
Do you have any other children? Yes, 2 boys, they are 6 and 7
Are they excited? Yes, they both can't wait to love on this baby
Do you know what you are having? A cheeseburger.... No we like the good old fashioned surprise.........Good for you, back when I had my kids we didn't have such things, so every one was a surprise.
Well maybe this one will be a girl! And if it's not, it's not like I can send it back!!!! (this one gets me a little upset...everyone assumes I WANT a girl and would be dissapointed if it is not)
No matter what, I love this baby. Having a girl means trips to American Girl in NYC, passing on my dolls (the 4 orginal ones!) and getting adorable dresses. It also means hormones, teenage years, periods, BOYS and a father that will want to lock her away like repunzel to protect her from all of the above. Having a boy means I know what is to come, I have the toys and clothes and the experience for a boy. I already have 2 Mama's boys, but always have room for 1 more in my heart!
As for my sadness...regaurdless of what gender this baby is, it will be my last. The drs, nurses and my own body have said this is it. Then again so has hubby!!! LOL! Which is why I am so sad.....this means an end to the excitement of a new life growing inside of me, the last kicks I will feel, the last time we can call everyone with the news of the arrival. Makes me sad. Either that or my hormones have already started to go out of whack!
I'm sure my next post will be the arrival of my little Apple!!!!!!
Lately, as my belly has been more obvious to my patients I have been getting the standard questions...
When are you Due? May 25th, but I'll be having the baby before then due to issues I have.............Really!! WOW, good luck!
Do you have any other children? Yes, 2 boys, they are 6 and 7
Are they excited? Yes, they both can't wait to love on this baby
Do you know what you are having? A cheeseburger.... No we like the good old fashioned surprise.........Good for you, back when I had my kids we didn't have such things, so every one was a surprise.
Well maybe this one will be a girl! And if it's not, it's not like I can send it back!!!! (this one gets me a little upset...everyone assumes I WANT a girl and would be dissapointed if it is not)
No matter what, I love this baby. Having a girl means trips to American Girl in NYC, passing on my dolls (the 4 orginal ones!) and getting adorable dresses. It also means hormones, teenage years, periods, BOYS and a father that will want to lock her away like repunzel to protect her from all of the above. Having a boy means I know what is to come, I have the toys and clothes and the experience for a boy. I already have 2 Mama's boys, but always have room for 1 more in my heart!
As for my sadness...regaurdless of what gender this baby is, it will be my last. The drs, nurses and my own body have said this is it. Then again so has hubby!!! LOL! Which is why I am so sad.....this means an end to the excitement of a new life growing inside of me, the last kicks I will feel, the last time we can call everyone with the news of the arrival. Makes me sad. Either that or my hormones have already started to go out of whack!
I'm sure my next post will be the arrival of my little Apple!!!!!!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Unsure
There has been so much to write about, but everytime I sit to write...nada. I have been feeling overwhelmed lately. This past monday I started my 2 time a week Fetal Non-Stress Tests. For those who don't know, this is where you go into the dr office for about 20mins to half hour and get hooked up to a fetal heart rate monitor and a contraction monitor, much like you do when you are in labor. You are also given a 'button' to press each time you feel the baby move. They are looking to see how the baby is doing and if it is 'stressed' at all. When I was there on Monday my BP was elevated and I had a 7 day headache...all signs of pre-eclampsia. They sent me home with a jug to pee in for 24 hours and a script for some blood work...........and the worry that this baby is coming a lot sooner than expected. I went into panic mode. I thought of all the things I had yet to do...like get PJ's for the hospital, Easter basket stuff for the boys, big brother gifts, not to mention the attention my house has needed. Mondya night Hubby and I went buck wild cleaning our room. I am no longer worried about the nursery being 'done' (as in not a mess, decals on the wall, diaper stacker filled and so on) as when the baby comes home s/he will be sleeping in our room in a pack and play for at least a few weeks. So now I feel a bit better that our room is baby ready. I went out yesterday and got my PJ's and some Easter basket/BB gifts, so that is done. Phew...deep breath. Now tonight I want to pack my hospital bag, jsut in case tomorrows appt doesn't go well. I'd rather be prepared then have to tell Randy where to find things I'm not even sure of where they are. I was a bit sad last night, feeling the baby move, knowing soon this will all be over....the last time I feel movement, the last time we will be a family of 4, the last time I get to shop for new baby things for our baby. But I also am grateful that I have gotten to experience all this, as I have so many friends who have never been able to have bio-children or a pregnancy of their own, so I also know how blessed I am.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
A Brag about Couponing
Randy thinks that coupons are a total waste of time. It infuriates him to no end when he gets stuck behind someone in line who has them and then proceeds to fight with the checkout clerk about them. He often says he'd rather wipe his ass with them.
I, on the other hand, LOVES coupons. I love saving money (come on, who doesn't!) and a love a good challenge. Last week I got Trix and Cinnamon Toast Chrunch for $1 a box, and the way we go through cereal in this house, it's a good thing. I usually average $5-10 a trip in the grocery store which is $5 to 10 more in my pocket! I have more recently started to join coupon web sites that tells you where to get good printable coupons and at what store to use them at to get the most bang for your buck! Some of it requires getting more than you need or getting something you don't need RIGHT NOW (like 3 childrens Advil, while I don't need any right now, it won't get wasted when I do need it).
Here was my shopping trip at CVS last week.........
Herbal Essense Shampoo onsale 2/5.97, CVS gave $2 reward dollars back and I ahd a coupon for buy 1, get 1 free
Carebear musical toothbrush on clearence for $1.25
Squeaky dog toys, on clearence for $1
Irish Spring Body Wash on sale for 2.99, CVS gave $2 back in rewards and I had a coupon for ).50 off
Infant and childrens advil was on sale for $4.50 and I had coupons from my ped office for $2 off a bottle, so I got 5 bottles (a friend wanted some too!) so total for that was $2.50
They had Lansinosh nipple cream and breast milk storage bags were on sale for $9 each (reg 12.99 in other stores).
I then had a $5 off $25 coupon form the lil red machine at the front of CVS
Total out of pocket was $34.53, but I got $14 back in rewards to use at my next trip!!!!!! So it really only cost me $20.53 for all that stuff. I really didn't need 2 bottles of shampoo, but it will get used, we didn't need the body wash right now, but it, too will get used!!! The nipple cream and breast milk bags would normally be over $20 so I had a good saving day.
Today was the BEST I have ever done. Target will let you use Target coupons and MFG coupons on the same item. As fas as I know, they are the only store locally who will let you do this.
Here is what I got
2-4oz tubes of A&D ointment
1-box of Target brand denture cleaners (they work GREAT to clean sippy cup lids and valves as well as bottle nipples)
2-Cans of Pedigree dog food
1-Bag of Pedigree dog food (4lbs or so)
1-Bag of Once Beyond Cat food (3.5lbs)
1-Newborn Huggies pk
1-Huggies small wipes package
1-Pampers size 3 diapers pkg
1-Pampers wipes tub
Total before coupons $43.83
Total AFTER savings from coupons $11.88
Holy Hanna!!! That is some good couponing!!!!
The baby stuff is, of course for the baby. The dog and cat stuff is for the animal shelter. They are always in need of dog and cat food so when I can get it free or really cheap, I pick it up. We got our Choo Choo from there and he is THE best cat, so anyway to make sure other great cats and dogs find a home I am all for it. We have no more room in our animal inn!
I, on the other hand, LOVES coupons. I love saving money (come on, who doesn't!) and a love a good challenge. Last week I got Trix and Cinnamon Toast Chrunch for $1 a box, and the way we go through cereal in this house, it's a good thing. I usually average $5-10 a trip in the grocery store which is $5 to 10 more in my pocket! I have more recently started to join coupon web sites that tells you where to get good printable coupons and at what store to use them at to get the most bang for your buck! Some of it requires getting more than you need or getting something you don't need RIGHT NOW (like 3 childrens Advil, while I don't need any right now, it won't get wasted when I do need it).
Here was my shopping trip at CVS last week.........
Herbal Essense Shampoo onsale 2/5.97, CVS gave $2 reward dollars back and I ahd a coupon for buy 1, get 1 free
Carebear musical toothbrush on clearence for $1.25
Squeaky dog toys, on clearence for $1
Irish Spring Body Wash on sale for 2.99, CVS gave $2 back in rewards and I had a coupon for ).50 off
Infant and childrens advil was on sale for $4.50 and I had coupons from my ped office for $2 off a bottle, so I got 5 bottles (a friend wanted some too!) so total for that was $2.50
They had Lansinosh nipple cream and breast milk storage bags were on sale for $9 each (reg 12.99 in other stores).
I then had a $5 off $25 coupon form the lil red machine at the front of CVS
Total out of pocket was $34.53, but I got $14 back in rewards to use at my next trip!!!!!! So it really only cost me $20.53 for all that stuff. I really didn't need 2 bottles of shampoo, but it will get used, we didn't need the body wash right now, but it, too will get used!!! The nipple cream and breast milk bags would normally be over $20 so I had a good saving day.
Today was the BEST I have ever done. Target will let you use Target coupons and MFG coupons on the same item. As fas as I know, they are the only store locally who will let you do this.
Here is what I got
2-4oz tubes of A&D ointment
1-box of Target brand denture cleaners (they work GREAT to clean sippy cup lids and valves as well as bottle nipples)
2-Cans of Pedigree dog food
1-Bag of Pedigree dog food (4lbs or so)
1-Bag of Once Beyond Cat food (3.5lbs)
1-Newborn Huggies pk
1-Huggies small wipes package
1-Pampers size 3 diapers pkg
1-Pampers wipes tub
Total before coupons $43.83
Total AFTER savings from coupons $11.88
Holy Hanna!!! That is some good couponing!!!!
The baby stuff is, of course for the baby. The dog and cat stuff is for the animal shelter. They are always in need of dog and cat food so when I can get it free or really cheap, I pick it up. We got our Choo Choo from there and he is THE best cat, so anyway to make sure other great cats and dogs find a home I am all for it. We have no more room in our animal inn!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Almost there
This week I am 31 weeks preggo...which means a MAX of 9 more weeks. With this being our last I have started to get some feelings of sadness. This will be the last time I feel the baby moving inside of me....the little alien like movements that sometimes make me laugh out loud. The last time I will be bringing home a new bundle for the dogs to lick and go wild over. The last 'firsts' that come with any child.
The nursery is finally painted. YAY! I really thought it would never get done! But it is, and all the furniture is put together and 'staged.' My mom promised she would come up and iron everything (true story...I have lived in this hosue for 6 years and have only recently pulled out the iron, back in September, to make iron on transfer shirts for out WDW trip) since I hate to iron, and help me get everything else picked out (curtains, curtain rods and where to palce the wall decals). Of course, she leaves next week for a 1 to 2 week trip to NC to see my Nana and uncle. So it will have to wait!
I ordered a diaper bag to match my stroller better then the one that matches the baby's room. It's a Vera Bradley bag and I got the matching wallet to boot!!!!
(I am a lil impressed with myself....I figured out how to get a picture in here!!!)
Well I am to tired to write anymore...so see ya soon!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Celebrating our Baby to Beeeeee
Two weeks ago my mom and my 2 best friends threw me a shower. I can honestly say, I made out better at this shower then I did my 1st one with Cody!!!
Since the baby'r toom witll be bees, they went with a bee theme for the shower and it came out SO cute! The boys were SO excited all week for the baby party and loved helping me open the gifts.
The only thing we really need now for babee is my travel system, which we will wait a lil bit longer to get, the last thing I need around here is anything else to make my house look like Babies R Us!!!
The nursery still is not done. Randy has to paint some more, which seems to be dragging on forever. I want this kid's room to be done so the rest of my house can get back in order. Well, ok, not back in order, as that implies that it was once in order, so maybe I should say "in order."
This past weekend was my 1st Sunday of working weekends only, which means I have been off all week. It truely has been wonderful. I am less stressed, I am able to get stuff done around this house and my kids are happier becuase of it. I'm not sure whyI didn't do this before!!!! I msut say that I will miss my family this wekeend, but it's a small price to pay to have all week off!
Monday, February 21, 2011
FINALLY...gettign excited!
So as I ahve posted, this pregnacy has bee far from easy. I am still not out of the woods yet, due to my pre-pregnancy hypertension, the doctors are quite concerned about pre-eclampsia. But if I sit around and worry about it all day, I will have a messy house, unclean-unfed kids and would lose my job, so for now I keep an eye on things, but don't dwell on it.
I am beyond the constant puking, the racing heart and passing out (with the grace of medications!) and generalized tiredness. Now all I have is regular prenancy woes.... WOW, I am, like, a normal pregnant woman! My hips have hurt the last few days and I wake up to pee every 3 hours, but I am actually excited!
I know before long this pregnancy will be over and I will be holding my new baby, either boy or girl (well, let's face it, it won't be a puppy!), in my arms and the days will go sooooooo fast. I will turn around and wonder how 7 years have slipped by (like I do now with Cody) in what seems like months. I have vowed to myself that I will be excited for the rest of this pregnacy no matter how sick I feel.
I am beyond the constant puking, the racing heart and passing out (with the grace of medications!) and generalized tiredness. Now all I have is regular prenancy woes.... WOW, I am, like, a normal pregnant woman! My hips have hurt the last few days and I wake up to pee every 3 hours, but I am actually excited!
I know before long this pregnancy will be over and I will be holding my new baby, either boy or girl (well, let's face it, it won't be a puppy!), in my arms and the days will go sooooooo fast. I will turn around and wonder how 7 years have slipped by (like I do now with Cody) in what seems like months. I have vowed to myself that I will be excited for the rest of this pregnacy no matter how sick I feel.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
So sick of eating the same ole same old
The title pretty much sums it up. Randy and I are tired of our standard meals so we have started internet crock potting!!!! My firefighter husband will not permit the crock pot to be on all day while we are at work, he has seen too many houses burn down from crock pots. So for us crock pot cooking is something only done on weekends. Well I guess once I start working weekends that will change as I will be home all week to cook....hmmmmm anyone have CP recipes to share. I tend to like EASY!
Two weeks ago we had pork chops
5 to 6 pork chops
1 med onion chopped
1 pkg of dry Ranch seasoning
1 pkg of dry brown gravy mix
1 can of cream of celery soup
layer pork chops at bottom, onions on top, dry seasonings over and the can of soup on top. Cook in crock pot 5 to 6 hours. We served over egg noodles.
I must say it was pretty good...a little salty, so next time I will try low salt soup.
Last weekend Randy made Chicken Cattatorie.....it really is too much for me to type out, so I'm sure you can google it if you like! It was ok....a little watery and needed salt. I was not a huge fan.
Today...pork chops again! The last ones came out SOOOO tender that I just had to have them in the crock pot again!!!
5-6pork chops
1 can crm mushroom soup (I used low salt jsut in case)
8oz of softened cream cheese
1/3 can of water
garlic
salt and pepper
Mix softened cheese, water, garlic and soup together. place in CP. layer pork chops on top. salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 5 to 6 hours.
Since this one is still cooking, I have no review, but will come back later to post.
UPDATE....so the last one was ok...it was missing something, but we can't figure out what jsut yet!
Two weeks ago we had pork chops
5 to 6 pork chops
1 med onion chopped
1 pkg of dry Ranch seasoning
1 pkg of dry brown gravy mix
1 can of cream of celery soup
layer pork chops at bottom, onions on top, dry seasonings over and the can of soup on top. Cook in crock pot 5 to 6 hours. We served over egg noodles.
I must say it was pretty good...a little salty, so next time I will try low salt soup.
Last weekend Randy made Chicken Cattatorie.....it really is too much for me to type out, so I'm sure you can google it if you like! It was ok....a little watery and needed salt. I was not a huge fan.
Today...pork chops again! The last ones came out SOOOO tender that I just had to have them in the crock pot again!!!
5-6pork chops
1 can crm mushroom soup (I used low salt jsut in case)
8oz of softened cream cheese
1/3 can of water
garlic
salt and pepper
Mix softened cheese, water, garlic and soup together. place in CP. layer pork chops on top. salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 5 to 6 hours.
Since this one is still cooking, I have no review, but will come back later to post.
UPDATE....so the last one was ok...it was missing something, but we can't figure out what jsut yet!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Number...LAST (cont)
Where was I....oh that's right. I was looking up and seeing ceiling tiles and the faces of 15 coworkers. Fun times! It seems as if I passed out, but when they found me I was purple. Pretty sure now that purple is not MY color! They called 911 and the ambulance came for me. I was awake and alert at this point and someone asked "Is this your 1st pregnancy" To which I answered, "No, it's my LAST!"
At the hospital they decided prettly quickly that I would be admitted. As a nurse I must say, nurses, or at least this one, don't make good patients. My nurses were GREAT, the aides ok (including the girl who was SO chipper and happy I wanted to kick her puppy) and the Doctors....well, we won't go there. They had a cardio-electrophysiologist come and see me. Wondering what that is? It's a fancy name for a heart doctor that works on the 'electrical' conduction of your heart (oppsosed to the 'plumbing' of your heart). He talked about putting in a stimulator, somewhat like a pacemaker, but he doesn't want to do it until the baby comes. So the next day they gave me the option of staying another night or going home (it was NYE)....my Mamma didn't raise no fool, I went home!
The following week my 3 week long heart monitor came. I'm not sure if the goal of it is to stress you out with the beeping and lack of sleep, but that pretty much sums it up. I was NEVER so happy to get rid of something as I was that heart monitor.
I had my AFP ( a blood test to check for neural tube and comosonal defects) done Xmas Eve and it took several weeks to come back, but it was NORMAL!!! WOOT WOOT! The nex hurdle was my level 2 ultra sound. Randy didn't want to take the day off (sicne he will need his time when I have the baby) so my mom came with me. Happy to report I am having a.......................
Healthy Baby.........................................................
No, that is all, a healthy baby! We didn't find out the sex with the boys and will follow suit for this one as well.
The high risk OB who I saw for the u/s said I was special!!!! Isn't that nice? Not really. He meant that with my health issues they worry about not only me, but the baby, so they will keep a close eye on me by doing u/s every 4 weeks to check the baby and to see me. I guess if I HAD to find a silver lining in all this, it would be that I get to see my baby every 4 weeks, which will reassure me s/he is fine!
After my u/s and the all clear that the baby was pretty much healthy, Mom and I went to register. There are some people who think it is in bad taste to have a shower for a 2nd or 3rd baby. They can kiss my arse! (Just to clairify, I only had 1 shower so far, and that was for my 1st). My best friends wanted to throw one for me, and who am I to deny them that?
I am now feeling ok. I have good days and bad days, but there are more good then bad. I am able to get excited now, rather than be resentful. I will admit, early on I really resented this pregnancy and found it hard to attach to this baby. For one, I was sick...all the time. Second I couldn't attach to this baby until I knew everything was ok. Been there, done that and have a piece of heart missing to prove it. But now, things seem to be good.
The boys....Oh, my boys are SO excited to be big brothers. Cody says he will help me change dirty diapers, which is more than I can say for his father! Shane last night took one of his stuffies and showed me how he will burp the baby and feed it, although he was a little shocked when I told him the baby will drink mommy's milk for awhile (his eyes got HUGE when he found out where that milk came from!). I really want it to be May (oh, I'm due May 20th!) so I can see and hold this lil bugger and to see my boys become big brothers. They REALLY want a sister, but my gut tells me they will just have to be happy with a brother (I am pretty sure I can only make boys!) .
Starting in March I will be working weekends only. Remember in my last post how we said we had to wait for the boys to be done with daycare to afford another one.....even with the older 2 in aftercare, daycare would still cost us an arm and a leg (not to mention a kidney) with the baby. So I will be working Sat and Sun for VNA, 8am to 9pm and Randy will stay home with 3 kids, then during the week I will be home with the 3 kids while Randy is at work. SO NO MORE DAYCARE!!!! I will be home with my kids allllllllll summer (wow.....not sure how sane I will be by the end of it!). Thankfully I ahve plently of teacher friends who will also be off in the summer and we will have to plan outings (as in free outings to the Park and such!).
Pretty sure that catches everyone up on the pregnancy..................... not sure what will be up next, but I promist it won't take my 6 months to write it!
At the hospital they decided prettly quickly that I would be admitted. As a nurse I must say, nurses, or at least this one, don't make good patients. My nurses were GREAT, the aides ok (including the girl who was SO chipper and happy I wanted to kick her puppy) and the Doctors....well, we won't go there. They had a cardio-electrophysiologist come and see me. Wondering what that is? It's a fancy name for a heart doctor that works on the 'electrical' conduction of your heart (oppsosed to the 'plumbing' of your heart). He talked about putting in a stimulator, somewhat like a pacemaker, but he doesn't want to do it until the baby comes. So the next day they gave me the option of staying another night or going home (it was NYE)....my Mamma didn't raise no fool, I went home!
The following week my 3 week long heart monitor came. I'm not sure if the goal of it is to stress you out with the beeping and lack of sleep, but that pretty much sums it up. I was NEVER so happy to get rid of something as I was that heart monitor.
I had my AFP ( a blood test to check for neural tube and comosonal defects) done Xmas Eve and it took several weeks to come back, but it was NORMAL!!! WOOT WOOT! The nex hurdle was my level 2 ultra sound. Randy didn't want to take the day off (sicne he will need his time when I have the baby) so my mom came with me. Happy to report I am having a.......................
Healthy Baby.........................................................
No, that is all, a healthy baby! We didn't find out the sex with the boys and will follow suit for this one as well.
The high risk OB who I saw for the u/s said I was special!!!! Isn't that nice? Not really. He meant that with my health issues they worry about not only me, but the baby, so they will keep a close eye on me by doing u/s every 4 weeks to check the baby and to see me. I guess if I HAD to find a silver lining in all this, it would be that I get to see my baby every 4 weeks, which will reassure me s/he is fine!
After my u/s and the all clear that the baby was pretty much healthy, Mom and I went to register. There are some people who think it is in bad taste to have a shower for a 2nd or 3rd baby. They can kiss my arse! (Just to clairify, I only had 1 shower so far, and that was for my 1st). My best friends wanted to throw one for me, and who am I to deny them that?
I am now feeling ok. I have good days and bad days, but there are more good then bad. I am able to get excited now, rather than be resentful. I will admit, early on I really resented this pregnancy and found it hard to attach to this baby. For one, I was sick...all the time. Second I couldn't attach to this baby until I knew everything was ok. Been there, done that and have a piece of heart missing to prove it. But now, things seem to be good.
The boys....Oh, my boys are SO excited to be big brothers. Cody says he will help me change dirty diapers, which is more than I can say for his father! Shane last night took one of his stuffies and showed me how he will burp the baby and feed it, although he was a little shocked when I told him the baby will drink mommy's milk for awhile (his eyes got HUGE when he found out where that milk came from!). I really want it to be May (oh, I'm due May 20th!) so I can see and hold this lil bugger and to see my boys become big brothers. They REALLY want a sister, but my gut tells me they will just have to be happy with a brother (I am pretty sure I can only make boys!) .
Starting in March I will be working weekends only. Remember in my last post how we said we had to wait for the boys to be done with daycare to afford another one.....even with the older 2 in aftercare, daycare would still cost us an arm and a leg (not to mention a kidney) with the baby. So I will be working Sat and Sun for VNA, 8am to 9pm and Randy will stay home with 3 kids, then during the week I will be home with the 3 kids while Randy is at work. SO NO MORE DAYCARE!!!! I will be home with my kids allllllllll summer (wow.....not sure how sane I will be by the end of it!). Thankfully I ahve plently of teacher friends who will also be off in the summer and we will have to plan outings (as in free outings to the Park and such!).
Pretty sure that catches everyone up on the pregnancy..................... not sure what will be up next, but I promist it won't take my 6 months to write it!
Pregnant with baby Number.............LAST!
So as promised I will post about my pregnancy.
Randy and have always wanted a 3rd, esp with the boys being so close together I really feel as if I missed out on so much with baby-ness. we knew we had to wait until the boys were older as daycare for 3 would KILL us. We talked about trying after our Disney trip, but then the baby would be due in the Summer and I did NOT want to be pregnant in the summer. I figured if we tried right before Disney I would be due in the early Summer and I would jsut have to deal with being pregnant in Disney and HOPE I didn't have the nausea I had before. I had an i-phone app that tracked my cycles and told me when I was ovulating. The only thing regular about my cycles is that I am ALWAYS irregular. We did the deed ONE time during the 'green' zone on my phone. Of course I couldn't wait to see if it worked. Having never tried to get pregnant before (every other time was a surprise!) I was sure that it would drive me crazy.
I tested one day and By Golly, there was a slight 2nd line...that was it, I knew I was pregnant. Fertile Mytrle ME! I am VERY grateful that getting pregnant has never been an issue for me. I have so many friends who struggle with infertility and I almost feel bad that I can get pregnant so easily.
I called my OB, told them the news and they told me to have fun in Disney, I was early enough that any ride I chose to ride on would not harm the baby, they told me to make sure I was drinking and eating enough (were they kidding....I had reservations for meals made 6 months prior to our trip!).
We had a great time in WDW, and I only occassionally had nausea. One night it was bad enough for me not to eat most of my dinner, but that was ok cause Shane loved the French Onion soup at T-Rex! I was tired and a little bummed there was no alcohol on this trip (I have a friend who is a bartender in WDW and couldn't even have him make more more than a Cherry Coke!).
Pretty much when we came home it went down hill and this pregnancy became far from easy. I started throwing up....and throwing up.....and throwing up. I couldn't eat I as the nausea was so bad and when I did, I would throw up. The drs ordered oral Zofran, a anti-nausea med that they use for cancer patients. It helped....for about a week. Then I started feeling really awful and called the Dr. They ordered me a Zofran pump to be given to me thru a needle in my belly continusouly and diagnosed me with hyperemesis gravidarium...meaning SEVERE nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. At this point I had 20 pounds in 3 weeks, I was in ketosis (meaning my body no longer was getting 'new' nutrition, but was using what I had in stores). Randy urged me to eat for the baby, but what he didn't understand at that point the baby was getting EVERYTHING I had and I was getting nothing, so there was no need to eat more (to only throw it all up later).
Around Thanksgiving I was able to get rid of the pump!!!! I had started eating, was no longer in ketosis and could keep food down. I still wasn't gaining weight, but I hadn't lost anymore either. I was finally thinking I could enjoy this prengnacy rather than think "What were you thinking."
That feeling was short lived. I got a upper respirtory infection, sinus infection and tolsilitits in the beginging of December which made me feel yucky! Thankfully I had off of work for planned time off, too bad I spent it sick! Around this time I started getting short of breath, having heart palpatations and a racing heart. I saw the family dr who ordered a heart monitor overnight. I did that and waited for the results. I have had them i nthe past and they have showed my heart goes all over the place....40 beats (which is WAY LOW) up to 150 beats per minute. It just seemed like now it was staying high a lot more.
One day in addition to all that stuff I started with chest pressure. Being the nurse I am, I waited until I was done with seeing my patients, then called my dr who told me to go to the ER. Oh, YAY! They did some tests and sent me home, and told me to follow up with my dr the next day. The pressure went away and I went about my life. We got thru Christmas just fine. I was still dealing with the tachycardia but was learning to 'deal with it'. I had good days and bad days.
It was a bad day on the 30th. I felt awful but went about my day....until I woke up on the floor surrounded by 15 coworkers!
lunch break over...more later!
Randy and have always wanted a 3rd, esp with the boys being so close together I really feel as if I missed out on so much with baby-ness. we knew we had to wait until the boys were older as daycare for 3 would KILL us. We talked about trying after our Disney trip, but then the baby would be due in the Summer and I did NOT want to be pregnant in the summer. I figured if we tried right before Disney I would be due in the early Summer and I would jsut have to deal with being pregnant in Disney and HOPE I didn't have the nausea I had before. I had an i-phone app that tracked my cycles and told me when I was ovulating. The only thing regular about my cycles is that I am ALWAYS irregular. We did the deed ONE time during the 'green' zone on my phone. Of course I couldn't wait to see if it worked. Having never tried to get pregnant before (every other time was a surprise!) I was sure that it would drive me crazy.
I tested one day and By Golly, there was a slight 2nd line...that was it, I knew I was pregnant. Fertile Mytrle ME! I am VERY grateful that getting pregnant has never been an issue for me. I have so many friends who struggle with infertility and I almost feel bad that I can get pregnant so easily.
I called my OB, told them the news and they told me to have fun in Disney, I was early enough that any ride I chose to ride on would not harm the baby, they told me to make sure I was drinking and eating enough (were they kidding....I had reservations for meals made 6 months prior to our trip!).
We had a great time in WDW, and I only occassionally had nausea. One night it was bad enough for me not to eat most of my dinner, but that was ok cause Shane loved the French Onion soup at T-Rex! I was tired and a little bummed there was no alcohol on this trip (I have a friend who is a bartender in WDW and couldn't even have him make more more than a Cherry Coke!).
Pretty much when we came home it went down hill and this pregnancy became far from easy. I started throwing up....and throwing up.....and throwing up. I couldn't eat I as the nausea was so bad and when I did, I would throw up. The drs ordered oral Zofran, a anti-nausea med that they use for cancer patients. It helped....for about a week. Then I started feeling really awful and called the Dr. They ordered me a Zofran pump to be given to me thru a needle in my belly continusouly and diagnosed me with hyperemesis gravidarium...meaning SEVERE nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. At this point I had 20 pounds in 3 weeks, I was in ketosis (meaning my body no longer was getting 'new' nutrition, but was using what I had in stores). Randy urged me to eat for the baby, but what he didn't understand at that point the baby was getting EVERYTHING I had and I was getting nothing, so there was no need to eat more (to only throw it all up later).
Around Thanksgiving I was able to get rid of the pump!!!! I had started eating, was no longer in ketosis and could keep food down. I still wasn't gaining weight, but I hadn't lost anymore either. I was finally thinking I could enjoy this prengnacy rather than think "What were you thinking."
That feeling was short lived. I got a upper respirtory infection, sinus infection and tolsilitits in the beginging of December which made me feel yucky! Thankfully I had off of work for planned time off, too bad I spent it sick! Around this time I started getting short of breath, having heart palpatations and a racing heart. I saw the family dr who ordered a heart monitor overnight. I did that and waited for the results. I have had them i nthe past and they have showed my heart goes all over the place....40 beats (which is WAY LOW) up to 150 beats per minute. It just seemed like now it was staying high a lot more.
One day in addition to all that stuff I started with chest pressure. Being the nurse I am, I waited until I was done with seeing my patients, then called my dr who told me to go to the ER. Oh, YAY! They did some tests and sent me home, and told me to follow up with my dr the next day. The pressure went away and I went about my life. We got thru Christmas just fine. I was still dealing with the tachycardia but was learning to 'deal with it'. I had good days and bad days.
It was a bad day on the 30th. I felt awful but went about my day....until I woke up on the floor surrounded by 15 coworkers!
lunch break over...more later!
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Catching up....again
I hope to be more active with this blog.....it always seems as if live throws me 100 things but the time to do only 3 of them. So this post will serve as an update............
Our trip to Disney was GREAT! I actually came back not wanting to plan another trip...meaning this trip was great and I didn't feel the need to 'top it'
Cody is in 1st grade and doing pretty good! He ready a Captian Underpants books cover to cover in a few nights. Bless him, he is just like his Momma (I used to read with the light of the hallway when I was younger, which is probably how I ruined my eyes!). He joined the Cub Scouts, while I am not thrilled on their unwelcoming of Gays, (that is a lesson I will have to teach him) there are other great things about them. Infact this past weekend was the Pinewood Derby races and Cody came in 3rd in his Den!!!
Shane is a sponge when it comes to education...he loves to soak it all up! He goes to den and pack meetings with Randy and Cody, so he is excited to start Cubs next year.
Randy is still working as a fire inspector and seems to enjoy it. The winter is here now, which means no Firetruck shows (YAY!) so he is in his down time.
As for me, I will be starting to work weekends ONLY in March!!!! Which means I will be a SAHM (with plently to blog about!). Oh the reason....we are having another baby in May!!! Oh, did I leave that out? Oppsie!
My next blog post will be all about my pregnancy....it has been a doozy!
Our trip to Disney was GREAT! I actually came back not wanting to plan another trip...meaning this trip was great and I didn't feel the need to 'top it'
Cody is in 1st grade and doing pretty good! He ready a Captian Underpants books cover to cover in a few nights. Bless him, he is just like his Momma (I used to read with the light of the hallway when I was younger, which is probably how I ruined my eyes!). He joined the Cub Scouts, while I am not thrilled on their unwelcoming of Gays, (that is a lesson I will have to teach him) there are other great things about them. Infact this past weekend was the Pinewood Derby races and Cody came in 3rd in his Den!!!
Shane is a sponge when it comes to education...he loves to soak it all up! He goes to den and pack meetings with Randy and Cody, so he is excited to start Cubs next year.
Randy is still working as a fire inspector and seems to enjoy it. The winter is here now, which means no Firetruck shows (YAY!) so he is in his down time.
As for me, I will be starting to work weekends ONLY in March!!!! Which means I will be a SAHM (with plently to blog about!). Oh the reason....we are having another baby in May!!! Oh, did I leave that out? Oppsie!
My next blog post will be all about my pregnancy....it has been a doozy!
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