Here we go....

I have been on a bit of a hiatus from the blog...but I am back and ready to catch up ;)

Sweet little Olivia joined our family October 28th at 11:51 am. Her birth was eventful in it's own way. I went to my OB appointment on the 27th and there was no change at all. The week prior to that the MD gave me the option of being induced on the 20th, just in case my blood sugar went crazy again and he was afraid my iron level was getting too low, but I wanted to go into labor on my own. FAT chance. This little girl was perfectly cozy and not willing to come out!! So the 27th he didn't give me much choice. If we waited much longer, the chances of serious complications could arise, and I didn't want to put Olivia in any danger, so I agreed to be induced at 9pm that night. I called Jeremy at work, he called his parents and I put my sister on high alert, since she was going to have Audrey. After I rechecked my hospital bag for "essentials" and triple checked Audrey's overnight bag, she left with my sister, and Jeremy and I just looked at each other. I was anxious and nervous, not knowing what to expect. When I went into labor with Audrey, I felt prepared. I read everything I could get my hands on, and felt like I knew what would happen. This time, it was all up to how my body handled the drugs, etc. I like to research and plan, so the whole induction thing was freaky.

At 9pm, we were in the hospital room, and I was being hooked up to all the machines that come along with having a baby. The 1st band went around my stomach and we heard Olivia's heartbeat, the second band went on and the nurse looked at me , and said " Do you feel that?" I didn't feel anything. Apparently I was having contractions 3 minutes apart. It's amazing how COMPLETELY different the labor was with each pregnancy. The MD decided to go with a Foley bulb instead of Pitocin since my body was already beginning labor. By midnight the Foley bulb was out, and we were on our way! The contractions were getting harder and faster, so they gave me some Stadol. (the nurse actually prepped the delivery area, they thought I would deliver before 6am) Wowee... That is some strange stuff. I had a dose with Audrey, but this affected me completely different than before. I felt like a bad scene in Alice in Wonderland. I slept for a while, then the nurse told me the contractions were leveling off, most likely a side effect of the Stadol. (Nice.) So I got a Pitocin drip at 5am. At 6am my water broke....boy did that bring on the contractions. Hard. and Fast. At 8 the nurse checked me and told me I was almost at 8 centimeters, and the window for my epidural was closing, so I told her to bring the anesthesiologist ASAP. I can honestly count on one hand the number of times I have cried because I was in pain...and I was so, so close to tears. There was barely a minute between contractions, and I was having a hard time catching my breath.  I could have kissed the anesthesiologist!! Such Relief! I was so tired by this point, I could barely keep my eyes open. Then suddenly, it was time to push. Oy!! I started pushing at 11am, and Ms. Olivia joined us at 11:51. She weighed in at 7lbs 4 oz. and was 21 inches long. (It was kind of ironic since the doc told me several times I was measuring small.) She was perfect!! I was able to immediately have skin to skin contact and Jeremy cut her umbilical cord. AmAzInG!!!! 

It boggles my brain at how different each of our girls (LOVE the sound of that) are , as were the pregnancies! We had to take Livi back to the pediatrician almost daily for 3 weeks due to high jaundice levels, then concern over her weight gain. But, we are on the right track now....my "baby" weighs almost 12 lbs at almost 11 weeks!! Looks like she is going to be bigger than her sister, which may not be a bad thing since she may have  to defend herself occasionally ;)

Audrey is a great big sister, most of the time ;)  She likes to help "urp" the baby, and give her blankies. We have had the "gentle with the baby" conversation several times... She is a little ruffian on occasion.

As I write this I am planning on going back to work in 2 days....BOOO!! I don't want to, and am less than excited about it, but it's inevitable. I do feel somewhat comforted since we are sending Livi to the same daycare Audrey goes to, and I LOVE the newborn "teacher" Ms. Debbie. She is wonderful with babies and has the same "give them what they need when they need it" philosophy that I have. She doesn't stick to the "schedule regimens" that several other daycares we looked at do.

I have so much more to catch up on, but Livi is waking up and I want to cuddle her every chance I get for the next few days ;)

P.S. I am thinking about changing the blog name to Moreland's Mayhem, or Mayhem at the Moreland house.. What do ya think???