labor already? (started this post Sat 8/1 and am just finishing it tonight Mon 8/3)

We've had an interesting 2 days in our household... here goes.

Thursday night I turned the lights out at about 10:45. I started having painful and consistent contractions every 3-5 minutes from that point on until 11:30ish, when I finally thought I better get up and call the hospital. The nurse suggested I get up, change positions, take a bath, drink as much water as I could and call her back after trying all those things if the contractions didn't go away.

I was home alone with Ellie as Greg was working overnights. I was really quite nervous. With each contraction I could feel my heart pounding and my anxiety increasing. My lower back hurt so bad and my entire stomach was hard as a rock. Just before getting in the tub I had a bought of diarrhea (hello sign of labor!!) As I got in the tub I decided to call Greg and let him know what was happening. It was about 11:45 at that point. I wasn't sure Greg really needed to race home. I just thought I was having false labor and it would go away any minute. I continued to have the contractions in the tub. Greg called back around 12:15 to see how I was. I was still sitting in the tub and didn't want to move. He told me he'd call me back at 1 a.m. By the time 1 rolled around I was dressed and back in bed. The contractions had decreased in intensity and weren't coming as often. We decided that Greg would come home anyway since now I would be so tired the next day that at least he could be up with Ellie rather than need to sleep all day due to working until 6 a.m. He came home around 1:30 a.m. We sat in bed and he read all my forms from the hospital and a section of my book "What to Expect when you're Expecting." He wanted to call the nurse back and talk to her more about what I was feeling, but I thought that things were dying down so we didn't.

I finally fell asleep around 2:30 and Greg shortly after. Ellie was up shortly after 7 and Greg got up with her and I think I rolled out of bed around 9. All I did was come out to the living room and lay down on the couch and the dang contractions started up again. This time more sporadic, like every 5-10 minutes and much less painful than the night before.

I was totally uncomfortable. I felt like something had changed inside. Maybe the baby's position? Remember he was sideways. I felt so much pressure and pushing on my "area" and my bladder. I was thinking that maybe he'd lowered in preparation for delivery... but was thinking - delivery cannot come today!!

At 10:45 I called the clinic after some coaxing from Jess and Greg (I have no idea why I think/feel the way I do... I just don't want them all laughing when I leave and thinking... oh the silly girl, she thought that was real labor, she'll know when the real labor starts!) But this nurse I spoke with was SO nice. She asked me a bunch of questions and asked if I could come in right away. When we arrived at the clinic and I did the normal pee in a cup, weight check, bp, etc. Remember I had my normal OB check on Thursday morning and I'd gained 4 lbs? Well this was the very next morning and I'd lost those 4 lbs already?! I was shocked. My urine also showed keytones again (just 24 hours earlier it was normal) and my bp had increased just a bit.

The nurse that roomed us couldn't have acted like she was in any more of a hurry to get to her lunch break. I hate that, I thought it was so rude. Here we are scared out of our mind thinking I might be going into labor at 33 weeks, would have to be admitted to try to stop the contractions and if that didn't work I'd be shipped to the U where they are more prepared to handle premature deliveries... and she was not in the least caring or having any empathy. That sucked.

Dr. S came in and asked me a few more questions. He ran a test to check for something in my va-jay-jay and said if it came back positive the likelihood that I'd deliver in the next 2 weeks was 1 in 6. If it came back negative the likelihood that I'd deliver in the next 2 weeks was something like 1 in 220. If it came back positive they'd admit me and monitor my contractions and give me something to try and stop the contractions and then we'd have to discuss bed rest. He checked my cervix and it was a finger width dilated. (not sure exactly how much that is? 1-2 centimeters?? anyone know? i forgot to ask.)

Dr. S thought, based on the keytones in my urine, that I may be dehydrated. I just don't know how I go from ok to dehydrated in 24 hours?? I drink water. I eat fruit. I drink milk. (Plus a coffee and a pop now and then.) I just don't get the dehydration thing. But whatev. He made me finish my bottle of water before I left the appt. Which I did.

We left our appt and were told he'd call us within and hour with the results. We had to stay in town in case the result was positive and I had to come back in for monitoring. Luckily things came back negative and Dr. S told me to make sure I'm resting enough each day, drinking enough water and to call/come back in if my contractions started up again or got worse.

Things have calmed down a bit. I've taken time outs every now and then to rest if we are having a busy day. I'm drinking a lot more water. The contractions are gone now for the most part. I know I still have one once in a while with the belly hardening but they aren't painful. I feel more like myself. Those 12 hours of contractions had me feeling so weird. Like I was not in control of my body and I didn't like it one bit.

I'll be 34 weeks on Wednesday. Let's pray I get to at least 37 weeks before I feel anymore contractions like that again!!

summer 2009

Is everyone on a blog hiatus or what here!? I haven't been reading at all. I haven't been posting at all. Anyone else?? We have been going, going, going. To the pool, the park, grocery shopping, jewelry parties, dr. appt's, lunches, out on the river, etc.

At the pool...
On the river...
Another day at the pool...

This summer is just flying by and for the first time I've stopped. Took a look around. Quit worrying about money and realized I am having a baby. A new little person. It just hadn't quite hit me until the other day. I need to slow down. Take a breather. Make this last month memorable for Ellie. I want her to know how special she is to me and how this new baby is not going to change that. Ramble, ramble here... can you tell I'm totally emotional and pg or what!

I have been feeling ok. I've been having contractions. About a dozen a day. Sometimes a few in a row, but mostly spread out. Sometimes very painful (I had 3 in a row on Tuesday that actually made me cry!) But they are mostly painless and my belly just becomes very very hard. I'm having lots of movement. Sometimes extremely uncomfortable... like he's trying to punch his way out of my cervix... which is a lovely feeling.

This morning I had an appt. I am 33 weeks 1 day. I am measuring at 35 weeks. Bp was 96/72. Urine was clean. Baby's heartbeat was 140. Perfect. And the most exciting news... I gained 4 lbs!!!! Go me! My next appt (at 36 weeks) will be a little bit more in depth. They will start checking for dilation, I will be checked for strep b and will have an ultrasound to see if baby has changed into a head down position yet. I can't wait til then!!

Ellie and I have been having lots of fun together. The one thing I've noticed since being home is that she is a TALKER. She doesn't shut up. EVER. In the beginning I thought it was cute... now... ugh. Sometimes I just want a quiet drive into town, tunes on, is that to much to ask? Apparently yes. She always has something to talk about. Always.

I've been trying to include Ellie in all my daily activities/chores. She helps me dust, do laundry, cook meals, bake, water flowers, etc. I've also been trying to give her new things to do. One of her favorites is to paint. I found a paint set at JoAnne Fabric's on clearance for under $5. It was so well worth the cost!! Since I've bought it she's had endless hours of fun painting. Last month I also bought a $1.29 at home popcicle maker and we make popcicles now almost every other day. Our favorites are apple juice or orange juice popcicles.

Last night we were in need of an activity and it just came to me to let Ellie color on my belly. It was so much fun. This is the end result! (Do you see where she wrote her name!)

This morning at my dr appt, my NP asked me if I was itching at all in my belly button? I'm like, no... why? She said it looked kinda red and irritated and she thought maybe I had a yeast infection in there. Haha! I told her then that Ellie had colored on my belly last night and that I thought it had all washed off in the shower this morning but apparently it hadn't... and I can't really see in my belly button!

So what's going on with you? How's your summer been?

puppy talk

We've come to our senses. No puppies in this house for the time being. Maybe in a year or two.

mean wifey?

So for years Greg has wanted to look for a job outside of MN. To work for a police department somewhere away from here. In the last week we've looked into WI, IA, IL, WA, OR, MI, NE, OK, and I'm sure other places that I just can't remember... there are so many out there... I thought I was ok with this. I mean, I don't work full-time. My job can travel with me. We could go anywhere. I think it would be fun, an adventure and a cool life experience. We could leave for a few years, he could get some experience and then we could come back to the area. But then last night hit and I bawled my eyes out thinking about leaving my family and friends, taking Ellie away from my parents and sister, from her grandma Melly and Greg's family, leaving our house, leaving our life here. I just cannot do it. I can't. And I feel SO guilty. Like I'm holding him back from his dreams. Like I'm being selfish. But I just think family is SO important. Without them what else do you have in life? I can't imagine our families not knowing our children and vice versa.

I suppose this is a crazy time to even be considering such a life change. We are going to have a baby in less than 7 weeks (heeeellooo emotions!), I've just recently quit my job and we are considering trying the puppy thing again.

At this point we've come to the conclusion that rather than high tail it otta here, Greg will be signing up for school starting in January. This will get him closer to his "dream" and it can be done locally, so it gets us both what we want. It will just take him a little bit longer. But he seems to be ok with this. Thank God I have the most awesome husband ever. I am the luckiest girl EVER (even when he annoys me and gets wasted, like on vacation :)).

open your ears, i'm complaining... alot

All I have to say right now is... I wish I had my minivan still, I'm an emotionally wretched pg woman, my hips hurt like a bitch, Ellie pee'd on the floor twice tonight (what the hell), I'm stinky and need a shower, this damn computer is addicting, why is it so humid, I would like to find a pt job, Greg wants to move away for a cop job, I'm ready to have a baby (especially when he kicks me in my whoo haa), I need to eat something, but am to lazy to get up and finally, I want a day off from this life.

at the cabin - 2009

Ahh... vacation. Nothing better than a week at the cabin. This year Greg and I left Friday July 3rd and headed to his mom's for the weekend. She lives with his grandma and sister on a beautiful lake in Northern WI. I love going there. It is quiet and peaceful. I get to relax a little bit as Grandma Mellie loves to plan activities, crafts, etc with Ellie. I usually get a good amount of reading (on the porch over looking the lake) done, which I love!

We spent the 4th grilling and letting off fireworks in the driveway. Ellie hated them... she burned her foot with a sparkler and she for some reason is deathly afraid of any loud noise... so these one particular fireworks Greg got whistled and popped at the end and she freaked and I had to take her in the house. I'm hoping this loud noise fear passes!!

Sunday we got up and spent the morning packing and getting ready to make the drive even further north to the cabin. Said our goodbyes to Greg's family and then we were off!

The view from our cabin... beautiful.

We spent a lot of time sitting outside looking at the lake and reading... it was SO nice.

Monday was my birthday (31 yikes!) and we needed groceries for the week so we headed into town to shop and bum around for the day. We started at the coffee shop of course... then headed downtown to hit some of our favorite shops. We love the bakery so we made a stop there... then to our favorite store where we always spend to much money on Teva sandals, North Face sweatshirts, sunglasses, etc. For some reason though I spent nothing there this year! (Quitting my job had definitely made me think more about a purchase... like do I really "need" it or "want" it? Being that it was my birthday my parents gave me some $$ to spend and I thought oh what the hey and bought the most over priced contradictory pair of Ugg flip flops ever... but I LOVE them! You know the sheepskin in a pair of Ugg boots? Well these flip flops are covered in the same fur... so comfy and soft. Aren't they cute?! (But fur on a flip flop seems so silly) :)

Tuesday we spent the day on the lake. It was such a beautiful day. I love nothing more than lounging in the sun reading a book. Ellie enjoyed driving the boat for us. :) My concern being out there for the better part of a day was how Ellie would go potty. We just hang our butts over the back of the boat to pee... well I knew she would not do that. So at one point we stopped at a public dock and I tried to get her to crouch down on the shoreline to pee and she just didn't get it. She kept trying to pull her bathing suit bottoms to the side... even in the water... which is totally not necessary! But she still wouldn't go. So finally I just took her up to the beach and had her go behind some bushes... which just cracks me up... she's such a girly girl.

I love this picture... it looks like she's pulling the boat up to the dock all by herself!
Ellie and Papa
Ellie and Daddy

The majority of the rest of the week was spent hanging out at the cabin... reading, relaxing, eating, napping... my sister and BIL spent quite a bit of time fishing... I think Ellie ended up catching more with her barbie fishing pole than anyone.

Ellie and Katie
Greg - So proud of Ellie's catch!
I think we are going to be in trouble in about 10 years... prayers please!

The boys went golfing one day... overall it was a nice relaxing week... except when my hubby would have a bit to much wine... like a bottle all to himself... and act like a fool.

Proof: (can you see the look of annoyance on my face?!) :)

Ok... the look of annoyance is worse here... but apparently Ellie thinks all is cool!

Dad, me and Ellie
Ellie got her drink on too... (really only a kiddie cocktail... but she sure liked the martini glass!)

And finally... our annual picture outside the main lodge... it was a nice week and once again I cannot wait to go back next summer!!

breast feeding

Can anyone help me explain breast feeding in 3 year old terms. Ellie mentioned the baby eating baby food when he comes out. I told her that babies sometimes eat from their mommies and she looked at me and said, "can I too?" Umm. No. She is infatuated with boobs. I'm afraid when I tell her the baby will eat from mine she'll be even more interested in boobs. This is hard. How did you explain this to your first child when the 2nd or subsequent child came along?

more on cloth

If you'd like to learn more about cloth diapering (cding) please go visit this blog. This particular post is excellent in explaining all the different types of cding from a real mom's perspective. A friend of mine's sister also cloths and she has a blog dedicated soley to cding. Visit her here.

I have done so much research on cding. I've scoured the internet, checked out books from the library and asked other cding mom's questions. I feel confident with the brand I've chosen that it will be right for our family. But the thing I've been told is that if they do not work for our little on to keep on trying other brands and styles. So that is what I plan to do.

I've been told, "the novelty will wear off", I've heard, "ewww"... etc, etc. The fact is that I HAVE to do this. Financially it is a must. I will make it work. Why spend thousands of dollars a year on something my kid poops in and throw it away. Plus the fact that I am home makes washing doable. If I had to send him to daycare we would for sure be using disposables as I don't think many daycares will do cloth.

Cloth diapering has changed over the years. There is no swooshing in the toilet anymore. Breast milk poo diapers can just go directly into the washer. No swooshing. There are disposable liners for solids that can just be dumped in the toilet and the liner will disintegrate. There is no pins. Just cute covers in many different patterns.

To me the only difference between cding and disposables is the laundry. I will be doing more laundry. Simple as that. But I do at least a load or 2 a day at this point, so what's another load every other day? Seems simple enough to me.

this is why i ebay

I've been wanting one of these diapering kits. SO BAD. But I've seen them retail for anywhere between $138-$146 and didn't want to spend that much $$ right now all in one shot. I realize this much money would be eaten up in disposable diapers within a couple months... etc, etc. But since I quit working things have been tight and it is easier to spend $48 a month on diapers vs. $145 in one shot. But... but... while searching for cloth diaper accessories last night on Ebay I came upon this exact set for sale from a mom in WI who wanted to try cloth but after receiving this she decided disposables were much easier. I snapped this up so fast I barely thought twice about it... she had a buy it now price of $75!!!!!!!!!! GO ME!! I'm so excited to get it! It contains 36 unbleached cotton prefolds, 6 small Bummis Super Whisper Wraps, 1 roll of flushable liners and a user guide. That should be enough supplies for 3 days of diapering... so I'll be washing 1-2 loads of the prefolds (and the wraps if they are dirty) every 3rd day.

So I've pretty much gotten my first 9-12 months of diapers for $75 people!! Oh and I did previously buy 2 infant size covers for $12 each... so for under $100 I've gotten what I need to start out!! I will have some other accessories to buy - cloth wipes, a few cotton doublers, disposable liners, a couple wet bags, a few medium covers and I may need more of the cotton prefolds... and since these are small size I may need a few more infant size if we have an itty bitty boy.

I love, love, love Ebay! :)

p.s. I've been watching my feed and am dying to know who is visiting from Ellsworth, WI? Please delurk! Leave me a message. I can usually tell who is visiting based on the city that comes up and if I know of someone who lives close by... but this one has me stumped. Who are you? If you don't want to delurk on my blog send me an email!!

31 week dr appt

Well... I had my 31 week appointment today. After our vacation and all my BIL's cooking last week I fully expected to have gained at least 5 lbs and that my dr's would be SO happy with me!! So I step on the scale and guess what? I lost 2 lbs. What the hell huh? I don't get it. I ate a ton. Was lazy and napped a lot. Go figure. I feel bad, like I'm not doing something right.

My bp was fine 106/64 and my urine was negative. I am apparently anemic which in the end I guess means I need more iron. I have to now take an iron supplement along with my prenatal vitamins. I just checked anemia out on wikipedia and it mentions anemic people sometimes experience restless leg syndrome... which I have daily!

So with some suggestions from my bff and my dr I went to wally world after my appt and stocked up on protein bars, almonds, avocados, a container of yummy red pepper hummus and a cream cheese coffee cake (no nutritional value, I know, but it looked SO good!). I am really going to try and eat smaller snacks/meals more often and see if that helps. I have another appt in 2 weeks, so we'll see.

I have been a bit uncomfortable in the last 2 weeks or so and found out today that the baby is sideways in my tummy... that is why I've been feeling the cramp/side ache I sometimes feel. His head is on my left side and his feet are on my right. This explains ALOT!

With everyone making such a big damn deal about my size I have felt like I might go early... but after my appt today I feel again like I am normal dammit! I am going to make it to September and will have a baby sometime after 38 weeks as I should. So there.

baring it all for my besties

I am baring it all for you. Please don't be mean. I know I have stretch marks, droopy boobs and and XL thighs... so I don't need to hear it from you. This is for my friends who are requesting pics of the belly. Well here ya go.

I will be 31 weeks pregnant tomorrow (Wed 7/15). Can you puuuuleeeez explain to me at this point how I have room to grow (during the fastest period of growth, the 3rd trimester) for the next 9 weeks? I'm going to look like I'm having triplets. I cannot even begin to tell you how many times I've been asked... "are you having twins?"... "are you sure you have your dates correct?"... this morning I got my usual coffee at Starbucks and the girl (17ish) said to me, "when are you due?"... I said September 16th... her response exactly... "OH I THOUGHT YOU WOULD HAVE BEEN DUE WAY BEFORE THAT!" Skinny little b#*&@!! :)

I have been feeling ok. The biggest surprise this time around is the fatigue. I am exhausted within an hour of waking up. Ridiculous. I cannot explain to you why I'm even up right now at 11:14 p.m. Physically my body feels pretty good otherwise. I feel a bit of hip pain when I wake up the 430,947 times I do each night (to pee) and have been sleeping on one side to long... and I usually feel it for an hour or so after waking up in the morning. Walking seems to help. My only other complaint is I feel like baby just has NO room in there. When he moves I get a cramp. It almost feels like a side ache... he just doesn't seem to understand he cannot do complete flips in there anymore... he's getting way to big!

As of my appt 3 weeks ago I'd only gained 1 lb... both myself and the dr's are hoping for an increase in the weight gain... I have an appt tomorrow morning and am willing to bet after all my BIL's good cooking on vacation that I've had to have gained a good 5 lbs (or at least it feels that way in my belly).

Will be back after my appt tomorrow to fill you in on the details... until then...

Just got home from a week at the cabin. I'm exhausted. I have mounds of dirty clothes and towels. I have a kitchen to unpack. A huge bathroom bag to unpack. A kid to unpack. Did I mention I'm exhausted. Anyone wanna come over and help!? :)

I have lots of pics to post and stuff to chat about. Like baby names... because we are wandering from Brody...

But right now I'm going to sit in the recliner, eat and probably veg out the rest of the night. Totally not what I should be doing... but to bad. :)

can we say seeeexy...

This is me. In all my glory this morning. Time to whine. I feel like shit. My nose is running constantly. It's tickling with that oh I have to sneeze and it's not coming out feeling that is OH SO lovely. I've sneezed 920974 times this morning. My head is pounding. My eyes are watering. Thank god my throat feels better or I'd be being a real beeotch today.

Me + no patience + a 3 year old = NOT A GOOD DAY.