The Birth Story - Part 1

We are so excited to let you know that we have a new family member....a baby boy!!!!  He arrived Monday evening, Aug. 26th at 7:09 p.m.  His arrival though...is quite the story.

It all started on Wednesday, August 14th, in the evening.  (Now, I'm going to warn you that this blog post has a lot of TMI, so if it bothers you, bow out  now...)  I had to go back to work on the 12th, so I had only been back for a couple of days.  When I got home that evening, I felt rather "slick" down there, so decided to check things out for myself.  Sure enough, at the bathroom check, I discovered that I had lost my mucus plug!!  YEA!!!!  The following day I went to work and had terrible lower back pain and cramps...all day long, no matter what I did or didn't do.  I called my doctor to give her the update and she confirmed, I was in prelabor and could go into REAL labor any minute....or in a couple of weeks.  Awesome.

So...fast forward to Friday, Aug. 23rd.  I had felt good all day (which at this point in my pregnancy was a rarity).  For the evening we decided to head downtown to go to the Buskarfestival.  A fun annual event downtown where "street acts" perform everywhere along the streets...a fun, fun event!!  We headed downtown, got dinner, walked around watching several shows....acrobats, magic, pogo sticks, and many more!! When we walked past my favorite ice cream shop, of course we had to stop! We got our ice cream, I sat down, and whoosh...wet.  My underwear was SOAKED!!  I just sat there a minute to make sure everything was done, then went to the bathroom.  My underwear was wet, really wet, and it certainly didn't smell like pee...but it also wasn't like when my water broke with Miss M....no HUGE gush!  I put on my extra pair of panties (yes, I always carry extra underwear when pregnant!) and went out and told Hubs, his first question with a huge, ornery smile, "Did you pee your pants?!?!"  Very funny.  So we finished our ice cream and decided to walk around some more.  Within a few minutes of walking around, it happened again!!  I didn't have any more underwear, and at this point, Hubs was starting to get nervous, so we decided to head home.

Once we got home, I cleaned up, put on another pair of underwear, and it happened again!!  Much less, but still again.  I decided to call my doctor to see what she thought.  She quickly said to come in and get it all checked out.  Great.  So we went to work ~ getting Miss M to bed, feeding dogs, packing last minute hospital bag items, and calling someone to come over and watch the girl. We had some issues in this area.  Our original plan was not answering phone, so we started down the list of others.  Finally found someone to come over and, almost 4 hours later after first "wetting" incident we were headed to hospital.  Once there, I was hooked up to machines and started testing.  I was having contractions...but only the Braxton Hicks.  After an hour it was decided that it was NEGATIVE for amniotic  fluid and I was sent home.  Okay....fine....whatever.

Saturday woke up and had a normal day...except Hubs was nesting, big time.  He went to the grocery store and bought A LOT of food and made 14....YES FOURTEEN frozen meals and did other little "to-do's" around the house.

Sunday morning I woke up with terrible low back pain and cramps....again.  This time when I went to the bathroom it was "the bloody show".  Great...here we go again....

I took some Tylenol and then headed out the door because I was meeting a family for pictures bright and early.  Hubs thought I was crazy and not over pleased that I was going to keep the appointment.  My whole day was the same....cramps, backache, and bloody show.

Hubs had his fantasy football draft and was asking my opinion if he should go. I of course said, go, nothings going to happen....again.....it's the same prelabor stuff.  I did say, maybe don't drink a whole lot, just in case.

Stay tuned for part two soon!!!

Boy or Girl??!!!???

We are on our countdown...three weeks to due date!  But really, any time is good for me!  I'm at that uncomfortable, large stage that seems to drag on forever.

Hubs and I are both anxiously awaiting...boy or girl!!!  With Miss M's pregnancy, I just knew that I was having a girl...the whole time.  I had a feeling from the moment we found out we were pregnant.  In fact, we didn't even pick out a boys name!! 

But this little one has me stumped!!!  I go back and forth, back and forth on what I'm having...I just can't stick with one gender!! 

Hubs thought that it was a boy from the get go, but has changed his mind over the last few weeks.  He's having dreams that we have two girls, and he has a philosophy that he will only have girls based on his devious and sometimes questionable choices as a younger guy........He thinks having two girls will be his punishment for causing so much trouble for his mother and the father's of many young girls in his youth!  HA! 

Oh Sh*%!

Thursday of last week, while in a rush to get to the pool to meet our playgroup, my big toe got smashed by the front door. It took off half my toenail, and hurt like the dickins!! Miss M was witness to the whole event, including my reaction to the incident.  When Hubbs got home, Miss M was quick to tell him ALL about my toe and even kind enough to reenact the event.

She hopped around on one foot and yelled, "Owwwww!!!  Owww-eeeee!!!" over and over....then she remembered....the four letter words that I said, repeatedly, but honestly don't remember saying.  She had all the bombs....even the F bomb was in there.  All while hopping around and saying "ow" between each bomb.

Now, I seriously think that she over dramatized the event just a bit....I don't think I was quite as dramatic as she portrays, but still feel terrible that she learned all those words from me.  I really thought her first cussing incident would be caused from her father, not me!!

And to top it all off, not only has she done this little act for her father, but for several other people as well, including a house warming party that we attended last night.  Luckily I got her to stop before all the cuss words came, but still embarrassing to say the least.

Super Stud

Five years of infertility battles and thousands of dollars all for the issue to try and have a family despite my Hubby's sperm count, motility and morphology.  All very low and not happy numbers.  Each of the embryos that we made through IVF were not of high quality, which the doctors always blamed on sperm quality.

Then, surprise!  A natural pregnancy, a surprise natural pregnancy that ended in the most beautiful, precious baby girl.

But, how did that happen?  We should never be able to conceive! After that first positive pregnancy test, Hubs went to his urologist for a check-up, and low and behold, his sperm count was better than average, it was GREAT!

Now, second natural pregnancy, and Hubbs is still testing above average.

He of course, has walked around the house since with a new "Super Stud" attitude.  It's fun to see him so happy, and it's great to save some money in the family planning area.  ;)

Updates

Bed Rest:  I have officially been released from bed rest! I still have a lot of contractions, Braxton Hicks, but as long as they don't get regular or painful, it's just my active uterious. Ha!

Sleep Boot Camp:  Success!!! Miss M is sleeping through the night again, and IN her bed!!  Did you hear the sigh of relief from our house?  She is happier also because she isn't as tired.

Boobs and Belly

That's what I am right now...boobs and belly.  I know it is not just in my head because every man I come intto contact with right now....notices also.

Now, please understand, I'm in my third trimester of pregnancy during the heat of the summer.  So my wardrobe consists of tank tops and shorts.  Not the most concealing of wardrobe choices...but my comfort is number one priority right now.

Gas Station:  Sitting in my car, singing and dancing to some great music when a young college kid pulls up.  He's in a small, black Toyota.  We made eye contact, he saw the cleavage, and it was on.  Now....come on buddy, use your clues.  I'm driving a people mover...a "mom" car.  I have a carseat in the backseat...I am way too excited about the music I'm listening to because it is not toddler music! But, his pants were thinking for him and he couldn't see the clues.  Please don't get me wrong, I might have enjoyed the moment.  Hello!  Young, in-shape and flirting with me!  But I also knew that he wasn't seeing the whole picture, as I was sitting in my car.  Then the time came, the click that signals the end of my gas fill-up.  So, as gracefully and smoothly as I could, I climbed out of the car.  I could tell he was ready to give me his "line" and do some smooth talking, but then, he saw it.  The belly.  He literally stopped, and had a moment of processing time. Literally...processing.  He then says, "Oh, sorry mam!!"  !?!?!?!?!?!?  Are you kidding me? MAM?!?!?!?!?!  I just smiled, nodded and got out of there as quickly as possible.  Mam.

Repair Man:  Today I had to wait around the house for the repair man to come and fix our thermastat.  Conviently, he was to arrive anytime between 12:00 and 4:00.  Miss M. was down for her nap and I was cleaning the wood floor when the doorbell rang.  I go to answer the door, and the poor man was floored.  He couldn't decide what to stare at longer...boobs or belly....belly or boobs.  I had to smile to myslef, maybe I should have a little fun?? You know girls....there's cleavage, and then there's "I'm going to display the girls for you" cleavage.  The poor man....but come on, he brought it on himself!!

These are just two of the latest stories....there are too many to share!!!  The only guy who really counts is the hubs....and he loves my boobs AND my belly.

Sleep Boot Camp

"Sleep boot camp" is in full effect at our house.  Miss M. use to be such a GREAT sleeper, and would always sleep through the night.  Then, we took away her crib and gave her a big girl bed, almost two months ago, and we've had problems ever since.

Everything from climbing out of bed, opening door, wondering the hallways, crying, waking up several times a night.

It is exhausting and tiring for all of us, and especially Miss M. who was getting into more trouble than usual because of her tired / crankiness.

Now we have her sleeping through the night again (not without a couple nights of many tears), but the issue now is, she sleeps on the floor and NOT in her bed.

The logical side of me says, "choose your battles", and this is not one of them, and then the other side of me says, "Sleep in your bed that is so comfy and nice and beautiful!!!"

Anyway, right now we are in bribery mode...."If you sleep in your bed, we'll buy you that _____ that you wanted at the Toy Store!" It's not working either.....sigh.

Oh well, I just have to remember that she will not go to college sleeping on the floor. Or if she does, oh well, at least she's sleeping.