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???
Monday, January 9, 2012
Monday, October 24, 2011
18 months and growing....
Audrey had her 18 month check up today, and apparently she is well ahead of the curve. The pediatrician actually recommended doing as many activities that range in the 2 year old category as possible. He says she will decide if it's too difficult or not, and what is acceptable for her in terms of development. He was quite impressed with her vocabulary and dexterity. That made me laugh a little, because I was worried her speech would be a little delayed in lieu of the million ear infections and tubes, apparently that worry was for no reason. Looks like she is going to be a brainiac, and that is more than ok with this momma!!! I also found it ironic, considering we just moved her up to the 2 year old room at dayccare, and she LOVES it. Originally we were trying to avoid several biters in the toddler room, and decided to try it to see if it helped with the boredom....Viola! It did!
She weighs in at 23 lbs and 31 inches tall. She doesn't break the 30th percentile in either category, and her head circumference is even smaller. At 45 and a half centimeters she is only in the 18th percentile. Like I have said before, she is apparently just going to be a little petite.
At this point, Audrey is a handful in her own little way. It isn't that she misbehaves a lot, or doesn't listen; although she does have her moments, she is just in to EVERYTHING! She wants to see how things work, what they do, or how to operate them. Keeping her entertained is proving to be our biggest challenge at the moment. Boredom strikes this kid fairly easily. Books are currently our refuge...She LOVES books. It is, at this point, the only way to keep her still for 20 minutes. She still loves her Mickey mouse, but we try to limit T.V. to 30 minutes a day. I do not want her to be one of those kids who sits and stares at the television for hours on end. We color, draw, play outside, create fun "activities", etc to keep her busy so I am always looking for fun ideas and stuff to do with her. She is VERY close to being ready to potty train, but I don't want her to endure too much change at once, considering we will be bringing her baby sister home soon. So I am probably going to wait until we have a decent family routine in place, and go from there.
I can't wait to see how she interacts with her new little sister. She is GREAT with other kids, so I am hoping she doesn't act out alot when we bring the baby home. Hopefully....it will be a fairly easy transition.
She weighs in at 23 lbs and 31 inches tall. She doesn't break the 30th percentile in either category, and her head circumference is even smaller. At 45 and a half centimeters she is only in the 18th percentile. Like I have said before, she is apparently just going to be a little petite.
At this point, Audrey is a handful in her own little way. It isn't that she misbehaves a lot, or doesn't listen; although she does have her moments, she is just in to EVERYTHING! She wants to see how things work, what they do, or how to operate them. Keeping her entertained is proving to be our biggest challenge at the moment. Boredom strikes this kid fairly easily. Books are currently our refuge...She LOVES books. It is, at this point, the only way to keep her still for 20 minutes. She still loves her Mickey mouse, but we try to limit T.V. to 30 minutes a day. I do not want her to be one of those kids who sits and stares at the television for hours on end. We color, draw, play outside, create fun "activities", etc to keep her busy so I am always looking for fun ideas and stuff to do with her. She is VERY close to being ready to potty train, but I don't want her to endure too much change at once, considering we will be bringing her baby sister home soon. So I am probably going to wait until we have a decent family routine in place, and go from there.
I can't wait to see how she interacts with her new little sister. She is GREAT with other kids, so I am hoping she doesn't act out alot when we bring the baby home. Hopefully....it will be a fairly easy transition.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
The waiting game.......
That's where we stand right now with baby girl #2.... We wait!
The doctor has threatened to induce me. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of modern medicine and will definitely follow doc's orders, but the thought of being induced is not something I am ok with at this point. At my appointment Friday he offered (or "strongly suggested") to go ahead and schedule it this week, but also gave me the option of waiting one more week, until my "actual" due date. I opted to wait, thinking mother nature knows best. I went into labor on my own last time, so hopefully that will happen again. Induction creates more stress on the baby so I am trying to wait it out....I hope it's the right decision. If there are no signs of active labor this week, I have no other choice, as he told me. He will not let me go any closer to 41 weeks than possible. When I go back to the doctor this Friday, I will leave with an induction date, and it will most likely be ASAP. BLAH! Don't get me wrong, I am beyond. ready. to. have. this. baby., I just want to do it in the best way possible for her. After this Friday, I know induction will be best, but I really hope it doesn't come to that.
As much as I love being pregnant, this pregnancy has been quite a bit more difficult than the last. The low iron, whacked out blood sugar, work schedule and chasing a toddler has prettly much left me exhausted. all. the. time. That's the secondary reason the doctor started talking about induction. He is worried that my blood sugar will crash, and I will not have the energy to endure a long labor, and the low iron may prevent a speedy recovery. So, we compromised... "light duty" from here on out, no more working for me, and induction before 41 weeks.. I am perfectly fine with that!!!
I am so ready to meet our little girl and see what she's like. I can't help but wonder if she's going to be the complete opposite of Audrey or if we will have 2 peas in a pod. I constantly wonder how the heck I am going to pull off taking care of 2 kids under 2 and maintain the house, work schedule etc. The best advice I have received so far was simply "you always find a way". I am trying not to stress out about it, I am just going to figure it out as I go I guess. Hopefully it works ;)
The doctor has threatened to induce me. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of modern medicine and will definitely follow doc's orders, but the thought of being induced is not something I am ok with at this point. At my appointment Friday he offered (or "strongly suggested") to go ahead and schedule it this week, but also gave me the option of waiting one more week, until my "actual" due date. I opted to wait, thinking mother nature knows best. I went into labor on my own last time, so hopefully that will happen again. Induction creates more stress on the baby so I am trying to wait it out....I hope it's the right decision. If there are no signs of active labor this week, I have no other choice, as he told me. He will not let me go any closer to 41 weeks than possible. When I go back to the doctor this Friday, I will leave with an induction date, and it will most likely be ASAP. BLAH! Don't get me wrong, I am beyond. ready. to. have. this. baby., I just want to do it in the best way possible for her. After this Friday, I know induction will be best, but I really hope it doesn't come to that.
As much as I love being pregnant, this pregnancy has been quite a bit more difficult than the last. The low iron, whacked out blood sugar, work schedule and chasing a toddler has prettly much left me exhausted. all. the. time. That's the secondary reason the doctor started talking about induction. He is worried that my blood sugar will crash, and I will not have the energy to endure a long labor, and the low iron may prevent a speedy recovery. So, we compromised... "light duty" from here on out, no more working for me, and induction before 41 weeks.. I am perfectly fine with that!!!
I am so ready to meet our little girl and see what she's like. I can't help but wonder if she's going to be the complete opposite of Audrey or if we will have 2 peas in a pod. I constantly wonder how the heck I am going to pull off taking care of 2 kids under 2 and maintain the house, work schedule etc. The best advice I have received so far was simply "you always find a way". I am trying not to stress out about it, I am just going to figure it out as I go I guess. Hopefully it works ;)
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Procrastination panic!
I had another follow up with the ol' doc today and all looks well!! Yay! We will meet our wonderful addition in roughly 6 weeks. I am getting super excited!
The thought of bringing a baby home in 6 weeks set me into a panic last night! We have been procrastinating, not on purpose, but we are getting down to the wire in terms of getting ready for baby girl #2. We did bring out the bassinet and pack -n- play and got it all set up this weekend. I also managed to do a little shopping to make sure she isn't going to be naked when we bring her home. Unfortunately, that's about all I have managed to do in preparation for baby #2. Between my work schedule, Jeremy changing jobs, my absolute exhaustion, and chasing Audrey around, we just honestly lost track of time. I had a minor melt down about it last night, and am determined to get this show on the road. Our nephew's 1st birthday is this weekend (which I cannot believe) so after all the celebrating we are getting down to business!
By this point in my pregnancy with Audrey we were 90% ready for her. Everything was finished except a few details in the nursery. 90% complete with pregnancy #2 and we don't even have a newborn diaper n the house! Sad right? I do not want to make a difference between our two girls, EVER! I have 1st hand experience with that, and I always promised myself it would NEVER happen with my own kids....hence the panic! I feel like we should have prepared for #2 the way we prepared with Audrey. Realistically I know it's not exactly making a difference, and I know now more of what to expect with bringing home a newborn, but I never want this little girl to feel like she isn't just as special as her sister!
After the festivities this weekend, this momma will be starting Operation Get It Together!!
The thought of bringing a baby home in 6 weeks set me into a panic last night! We have been procrastinating, not on purpose, but we are getting down to the wire in terms of getting ready for baby girl #2. We did bring out the bassinet and pack -n- play and got it all set up this weekend. I also managed to do a little shopping to make sure she isn't going to be naked when we bring her home. Unfortunately, that's about all I have managed to do in preparation for baby #2. Between my work schedule, Jeremy changing jobs, my absolute exhaustion, and chasing Audrey around, we just honestly lost track of time. I had a minor melt down about it last night, and am determined to get this show on the road. Our nephew's 1st birthday is this weekend (which I cannot believe) so after all the celebrating we are getting down to business!
By this point in my pregnancy with Audrey we were 90% ready for her. Everything was finished except a few details in the nursery. 90% complete with pregnancy #2 and we don't even have a newborn diaper n the house! Sad right? I do not want to make a difference between our two girls, EVER! I have 1st hand experience with that, and I always promised myself it would NEVER happen with my own kids....hence the panic! I feel like we should have prepared for #2 the way we prepared with Audrey. Realistically I know it's not exactly making a difference, and I know now more of what to expect with bringing home a newborn, but I never want this little girl to feel like she isn't just as special as her sister!
After the festivities this weekend, this momma will be starting Operation Get It Together!!
Thursday, August 25, 2011
MD Part II
After a day of running errands, and an hour wait at the M.D. office, I finally made it to the follow up appointment! So far, my blood sugar is no worse! Thank God! It's not better, but at least it's not worse. The problem right now, is my blood sugar is fluctuating, causing my dizzy spells and exhaustion. That combined with my low iron levels makes for a very crappy feeling momma! I have also lost some weight, which earned me the "eye" from the doctor. At 32 weeks pregnant, I have gained 7.5 lbs. That number freaked me out! The doc said it wasn't a huge concern, but in order to kill 2 birds with one stone persay, I have to eat something at least every 2 hours during the day. This should not only keep my blood sugar stable, it will keep me from losing more weight. Whew!! That, I can definitely do!! I was seriously worried that the doc was going to put me on medication, or something was going to be horribly wrong, but considering the situation, I got the best news possible today!! Talk about stress relief! I still have that nagging worry in the back of my head, but that will not go away until our little girl is here! Now I just need to focus on taking care of myself and prepared to meet our baby!!!
In other news, Audrey has hit a growth spurt! I woke her up to get her ready Monday, and it took 15 minutes to find her some clothes that fit... Oy!! I guess it's long overdue, but it makes me a little sad ;) My little girl is growing too fast, and momma isn't quite ready for it. I guess I just need to brace myself and accept it. She is already acting so much older than her 17 months. I do not want to force her to "grow up too fast" with the introduction of baby #2... but I am afraid she is going to anyway! It's just in her personality I suppose. I have also noticed that she is getting bored with her "little" girl toys, so we will be shopping for "big" girl toys too!! I guess there are worse things I could do than go shopping for "our girls" this weekend!! (Love the sound of that!)
In other news, Audrey has hit a growth spurt! I woke her up to get her ready Monday, and it took 15 minutes to find her some clothes that fit... Oy!! I guess it's long overdue, but it makes me a little sad ;) My little girl is growing too fast, and momma isn't quite ready for it. I guess I just need to brace myself and accept it. She is already acting so much older than her 17 months. I do not want to force her to "grow up too fast" with the introduction of baby #2... but I am afraid she is going to anyway! It's just in her personality I suppose. I have also noticed that she is getting bored with her "little" girl toys, so we will be shopping for "big" girl toys too!! I guess there are worse things I could do than go shopping for "our girls" this weekend!! (Love the sound of that!)
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Blah...
I am currently 30 weeks preggo, with a child with no name! We are getting closer though...
I had this particular blog all planned out in my head, until a phone call from the MD office threw me for the proverbial loop.
Apparently, my iron levels are "drastically" low, and I am a mere 2 points away from being diagnosed with gestational diabetes.... WHAT?!?! I feel really bad for the poor nurse who called me with this wonderful revelation, because I kind of freaked out when she told me! I have been ridiculously tired this pregnancy, but chalked it up to chasing a toddler and the double work load. That excuse sounded completely logical to me, and when I brought up the exhaustion to the MD he said the same thing. So, I went into "suck it up momma" mode. Push, push, push, get through the day! I am going to have 2 kids under 2 so, I kept telling myself "it's not going to get any easier, suck it up."
Fast forward a few weeks... I go to the MD appointment, drink the nasty glucola crap, and didn't think twice about it. 4 days later, I get the phone call from the nurse. 1 day later, I was calling the office back to ask if they made a mistake.
After I calmed down and gathered my rational thoughts, things didn't add up at all. I have no excessive weight gain (9 pounds to date), I am not a fan of sweet foods/snacks, I eat mostly whole grains..none of this was a recipe for gestational diabetes. The doc called back and we talked about just that, and he agreed that I am not a "common" gestational diabetes patient. I guess it's just "luck of the draw". That's actually what he said.... WHAT?!?! I do NOT do well with vague answers... but, it is what it is at this point. His other view point was simply that 2 pregnancies in 3 years is rough on my body, and most of the time trouble conceiving results in some sort of complication. I am not comfortable taking medication to control my blood sugar at this point, so we decided to try a "diabetic, high iron" diet of my doctor's concoction for 2 weeks and see where we are. The only issue with this is he mailed it to me 4 days ago, and I still do not have it! STRESS! So for the past 4 days I have eaten veggies, fruit, chicken, whole grains and water. The plan is not to stray from this until I get his version of my "diet". He also instructed me to "take it easy" since my body is "doing a lot of work" at the moment.....easier said than done with a toddler. Thankfully Jeremy has been picking up some slack the past 2 days and I have been able to put my feet up, but I hope I don't have to do it the rest of the pregnancy. I have a very cute nursery to create!
I go back in 2 weeks and see if my numbers are any better, and I am praying they are. I do not want to put this sweet girl in any danger.So if medication is necessary, that's what I will do. Gestational diabetes is freaking me out a little at the moment. At least with the low iron levels I just take a supplement, and worst case scenario, blood transfusion for momma. Gestational diabetes has many more consequences... lung development issues, extremely high birth weight, unstable blood sugar in the baby after birth, etc. etc. Freaking out!! For now I am just trying to follow the doc's orders and wait patiently on the mail man. But, if he's not here with my info Monday, this momma is going to the bookstore to buy everything she can get her hands on!!!!!!!!
I had this particular blog all planned out in my head, until a phone call from the MD office threw me for the proverbial loop.
Apparently, my iron levels are "drastically" low, and I am a mere 2 points away from being diagnosed with gestational diabetes.... WHAT?!?! I feel really bad for the poor nurse who called me with this wonderful revelation, because I kind of freaked out when she told me! I have been ridiculously tired this pregnancy, but chalked it up to chasing a toddler and the double work load. That excuse sounded completely logical to me, and when I brought up the exhaustion to the MD he said the same thing. So, I went into "suck it up momma" mode. Push, push, push, get through the day! I am going to have 2 kids under 2 so, I kept telling myself "it's not going to get any easier, suck it up."
Fast forward a few weeks... I go to the MD appointment, drink the nasty glucola crap, and didn't think twice about it. 4 days later, I get the phone call from the nurse. 1 day later, I was calling the office back to ask if they made a mistake.
After I calmed down and gathered my rational thoughts, things didn't add up at all. I have no excessive weight gain (9 pounds to date), I am not a fan of sweet foods/snacks, I eat mostly whole grains..none of this was a recipe for gestational diabetes. The doc called back and we talked about just that, and he agreed that I am not a "common" gestational diabetes patient. I guess it's just "luck of the draw". That's actually what he said.... WHAT?!?! I do NOT do well with vague answers... but, it is what it is at this point. His other view point was simply that 2 pregnancies in 3 years is rough on my body, and most of the time trouble conceiving results in some sort of complication. I am not comfortable taking medication to control my blood sugar at this point, so we decided to try a "diabetic, high iron" diet of my doctor's concoction for 2 weeks and see where we are. The only issue with this is he mailed it to me 4 days ago, and I still do not have it! STRESS! So for the past 4 days I have eaten veggies, fruit, chicken, whole grains and water. The plan is not to stray from this until I get his version of my "diet". He also instructed me to "take it easy" since my body is "doing a lot of work" at the moment.....easier said than done with a toddler. Thankfully Jeremy has been picking up some slack the past 2 days and I have been able to put my feet up, but I hope I don't have to do it the rest of the pregnancy. I have a very cute nursery to create!
I go back in 2 weeks and see if my numbers are any better, and I am praying they are. I do not want to put this sweet girl in any danger.So if medication is necessary, that's what I will do. Gestational diabetes is freaking me out a little at the moment. At least with the low iron levels I just take a supplement, and worst case scenario, blood transfusion for momma. Gestational diabetes has many more consequences... lung development issues, extremely high birth weight, unstable blood sugar in the baby after birth, etc. etc. Freaking out!! For now I am just trying to follow the doc's orders and wait patiently on the mail man. But, if he's not here with my info Monday, this momma is going to the bookstore to buy everything she can get her hands on!!!!!!!!
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Ramblings of a Preggo....
I have been thinking about this blog post for 2 weeks. I have 4 million thoughts running through my head at any given moment, so I am afraid I couldn't come up with anything cohesive.
Finish reading this blog at your own risk: You will be subjected to the ramblings of a pregnant lady.
My fore most thought is always baby #2, who still doesn't have a name, crib, or nursery to sleep in. We still haven't made any significant decisions in any way, and we still haven't started on the nursery. I already feel like a neglectful mother.. and I am 1 and a half weeks away from my 7 month appointment. YIKES!!!!!
Secondly, I have to go on a business trip. A management seminar for 5 days! 5 whole days! 5 days away from Audrey!! I have NEVER left her for that amount of time. Leaving her for one night makes me uneasy, and usual only happens with some prodding from Jeremy. 5 days may just give me a panic attack! I do feel some relief that Jeremy will be with her, it's just not the same. At this point, she is literally learning something new every day, and I don't want to miss one second. Alas, the real world is calling for me, and I do have 2 kids to send to college, so I guess I will begrudgingly get on the plane...blah!
Thirdly, Audrey is growing so fast, I can't keep up. She learns so fast, and is just an absolute happy little girl. She looked at me this morning, and said "morning momma". My heart absolutely melted. She has a fairly extensive vocabulary and is constantly traipsing around at a steady run. She is starting to show a little more of a toddler personality, telling the dog, "no, no, no" with her hands on her hips. She loves to carry any type of bag, like a purse. She will throw her purse over her shoulder, walk to the door and say "bye bye", and grab my car keys. I think we may have our hands full in a year or so!!
I have more to ramble about, but it is getting close to bedtime. I have to go to bed a little early to compensate for getting up every 2 hours to pee..... Mommas you know what I mean ;)
Finish reading this blog at your own risk: You will be subjected to the ramblings of a pregnant lady.
My fore most thought is always baby #2, who still doesn't have a name, crib, or nursery to sleep in. We still haven't made any significant decisions in any way, and we still haven't started on the nursery. I already feel like a neglectful mother.. and I am 1 and a half weeks away from my 7 month appointment. YIKES!!!!!
Secondly, I have to go on a business trip. A management seminar for 5 days! 5 whole days! 5 days away from Audrey!! I have NEVER left her for that amount of time. Leaving her for one night makes me uneasy, and usual only happens with some prodding from Jeremy. 5 days may just give me a panic attack! I do feel some relief that Jeremy will be with her, it's just not the same. At this point, she is literally learning something new every day, and I don't want to miss one second. Alas, the real world is calling for me, and I do have 2 kids to send to college, so I guess I will begrudgingly get on the plane...blah!
Thirdly, Audrey is growing so fast, I can't keep up. She learns so fast, and is just an absolute happy little girl. She looked at me this morning, and said "morning momma". My heart absolutely melted. She has a fairly extensive vocabulary and is constantly traipsing around at a steady run. She is starting to show a little more of a toddler personality, telling the dog, "no, no, no" with her hands on her hips. She loves to carry any type of bag, like a purse. She will throw her purse over her shoulder, walk to the door and say "bye bye", and grab my car keys. I think we may have our hands full in a year or so!!
I have more to ramble about, but it is getting close to bedtime. I have to go to bed a little early to compensate for getting up every 2 hours to pee..... Mommas you know what I mean ;)
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