Penelope's 11 Month Update

Ms. Penny is 11 months old. I can hardly believe how fast this year has just FLOWN by! This time next month, I will have a one year old. Honestly, I try not to think ahead to that these days because it makes me pretty weepy!
So, Penny has changed so much this month! She now has 4 teeth, as her top two came in just before Easter. Her hair is getting a little bit longer, but still no where near being able to put it in a ponytail or even a bow. I also think she had a growth spurt because suddenly her shoes are no longer fitting and her pants are a little too short.
We have had a big milestone this month, as she started sleeping in her crib! I still seem to be waking up at the times she used to wake to eat, so I hope my sleep gets back on track soon. Last night, she did her longest stretch of sleep in her crib yet (obviously to celebrate being 11 months old). She went to bed at 7:15 and didn't really get up again until 5:15! Then, she came to bed to nurse.
For food, she is still nursing and eating mostly purees. But, we have giver her some different food this month, too. She LOVES broccolli, so whenever we have that for dinner she will have some, too. She has had shredded cheese this month, and also goldfish crackers. She would literally snack all day long if I let her!
She learned the sign for "milk" this month, and is pretty good about using it to tell me she wants to nurse. But, sometimes I also think she uses it to mean "hold me" even though she certainly knows the difference. Now, when I ask her if she wants milk she will sign for it. And then when she has latched on, she will stick her hand in my face while signing and I will say "Yes, Penny. Milk". It's pretty amazing what she can understand!
Since the weather is somewhat warming up, we have taken her to the park a couple of times. She loves the swing. She giggles when I push her, and holds on and pumps her legs like a big girl. I can't wait to take her more this summer.
All in all, she is still the sweetest little baby. She smiles at everyone she meets and waves like crazy. At the breastfeeding group we go to, she waves like she's in a parade to everyone when we get there. She even waved "bye bye" to one of the babies who had to leave while she was nursing. She didn't miss a beat, just stuck her arm out and waved while continuing to nurse. It was very funny! She loves the reaction she can get from smiling and waving at someone.

Penny's Love/Hate Relationship with Her Swing

I was given a very nice swing by a friend of my Mom's before Penny was born. I had a hard time figuring out where to put it, because it has a pretty big footprint. My Mom suggested putting it in the kitchen so that while I am cooking and cleaning she has a safe place to be. So, that's where it went.

Now, I had visions of my tiny newborn being lulled off to dreamland by the slow rocking of our swing. This was so not the case for us. She didn't ever want to sleep in it, and usually when I put her in it she would freak. But, it still came in handy for many reasons. The seat itself is detachable. This became the place she would hang out in the bathroom while I was in the shower. When she got a little older, the built in toy bar kept her entertained. It's now where she sits while we eat dinner since it is right next to our table. I feed her purees while she's in her swing. I still bring the seat into the bathroom when I shower. And now, at nearly 11 months, it seems she likes to nap in it! I turn on the radio, start doing dishes and running the dishwasher and she's slumped over and out like a light!

The swing was not the newborn lifesaver for me that it was for others, but now, I am very thankful for the naps while I clean! Did you have gear that you didn't expect to use for so long?

Crib Training at 10.5 Months

As you may have read in my last post, Penny has been sleeping in our bed almost exclusively for the last few months. We knew that we should get her into her crib sooner than later, as she is getting bigger and taking up more and more space in our bed. We wanted to start the transition at 9 months, but teething and a month of colds kept us holding off. So, this week, we finally lowered the crib and figured out our strange heating system to keep her room warm enough and gave it a shot!

Now, a little backstory on our previous bedtime "routine". Penny would hang with us until she seemed very tired, then we would go to bed and nurse until she fell asleep. Sometimes it would take 15 minutes, sometimes an hour. Then, as soon as I got out of bed, she would wake up and we would start all over. Usually she would get to sleep around 9:30-10. Now, after only 4 days (!!) we have a much more predictable bedtime.

The first night, I nursed her well and layed her into her crib (for the first time) around 7:30. I turned on her ocean wonders projector/music player so that I didn't just leave her in the dark alone. She cried hard for 10 minutes, then fussed for another 30 or so minutes until she fell asleep. She woke up and went back to sleep several times before ending up in our bed around 11.

Night two was much easier. Again, I nursed her, layed her down turned on her noise/light machine, and left the room. She fussed the whole time the machine was on, but literally as soon as it was off, she fell asleep. I nursed her again for comfort at 9:30, then rubbed her belly at 10:30 to get her back to sleep. She was in our bed around 1.

Day three was harder because we had a friend over. She didn't go down as easily, and I had to go in after 10 minutes to nurse her again. She was in our bed at 10:30.

Night four (last night) was the best so far. I did the nurse, lay down, machine routine at 7:30. I noticed that she was almost showing me she was ready for bed for the first time in her life. She stopped nursing and started to make the same fussing noise that she does while laying in her crib. She was asleep in 15 minutes. It was also the first time I was EVER able to leave during bedtime. I went out with a friend without having to worry about her needing to be nursed back down again! She slept, without waking up, until 1!

Overall, I am SO glad that we bit the bullet to sleep/crib train! I know that every family is different, and so is every baby. She gets more worked up when we go in to check on her, so we chose to use the extinction method (which is something I NEVER thought I would do). Did you sleep train? When did you baby first sleep in their crib?

One Mom's Sleep Journey

When I was pregnant, there was literally one thing I said I would never do.

"Penelope will never sleep in our bed"

Fast forward to our first night home from the hospital, and right away, I ate my words. Actually, the nurses had her sleeping in my hospital bed with me, so I didn't even make it home! I was a mess from labor and delivery, and working on getting a good milk supply. Plus, my tiny baby was so sweet and snuggly and attched to me that she didn't want to be put down and I didn't want to put her down! Just typing that sentence, and I swear I can smell her tiny newborn smell. So, for the first 8 weeks, I slept sitting up in bed either holding her in my arms, or with her laying on my chest. I wasn't ready for her to lay next to me yet...she was just too fragile to me!!

Then, one fateful day, my good friend Heather passed along a baby sleep miracle. The Fisher-Price Rock N Play Sleeper. That first night, we swaddled her and put her into the Rock N Play after she fell asleep nursing. She slept for 7 hours strait!! It was glorious and I was a new woman. For a while, we had some great nights sleep with her in the RnP next to our bed. She would sleep for hours at a time, and when she needed to nurse, I could put her down again and she would stay sleeping! I loved it, and she did, too.

Then, we hit the 4 month sleep regression. She did not want to sleep, or be put down. It took HOURS to get her to sleep, and then as soon as we put her down, she would wake up. She also began arching her back and sitting up around this time. So, moved from the RnP to the Pack N Play with a bassinet level next to our bed. At this point, she would sleep until midnight or one in there, and then would come to bed with me to nurse (while laying down so I could continue to sleep...it was the ONLY way).

Unfortunately, my snuggle monster decided she wanted to sleep with Mommy all night somewhere around 6 months. So, I began nursing her to sleep on our bed and then leaving to watch TV with Nick and get some baby free time. I would slide her over, and usually nurse her again since she would likely wake up in the moving process, and we would sleep. During the night, she was free to nurse whenever she needed and I hardly even woke up!

This brings us to now. She is nearly 11 months old, and getting bigger everyday. She likes to sleep with an arm or her legs up on me at all times and she gets super hot at night. While I love having her next to me in many ways, it is wearing on me. I have had to sleep on my right side nearly all night for 6 months. I am constantly monitoring Nick's snoring and movement so he doesn't wake her up, and I am getting less and less space in the bed. Plus, I am the only one that can do bedtimes, and I have to be home with her all night. So, for these reasons, we are switching Penny to the crib in her room. The goal is to get her to fall asleep and stay asleep on her own. Oh, and to sleep in our bed for as little of the night as possible.

We started last night, and I fully plan on writing another blog post all about our sleep training adventures. As for now, I am laying on my left side and sprawling out while Penny is in her crib! Did you sleep train? Did you ever co-bed with your baby?

Penelope's 10 Month Updates

Hard to believe that we are fast approaching Penny's first birthday! I feel like time is just flying by. As of yesterday, she is now 10 months old!
I think she is getting more and more fun everyday. She will mimic what we say to her, and is saying several words on her own (teddy, puppy, daddy, hi, baby, and sometimes Momma). Along with verbal speech, she knows and uses two signs (for "more" and "all done"). But, lately, she has been siging more to mean "I want some food" when she sees the box of cheerios or bag of puffs. Even when she is not using it totally right, she gets her point across!
She loves people, but especially other babies and children. We are working on telling her to "be gentle" or "do nice" because she can be a little grabby. And, she makes every baby she meets cry with her excited shreiks! She loves to look at pictures of babies, or bsbies on the tv. This includes the baby in the mirror!
She is dancing when she hears music, either by shrugging her shoulders or wiggling her bottom. Now, she can not only crawl, but pull herself up in her pack n play! She has become so much more mobile and fearless in the last few weeks.
As for food, I am still breastfeeding her, day and night.  I have just started feeding her 3 solid meals a day. So, I will give her baby oatmeal mixed with a jar of baby food fruit for breakfast. Then, baby food veggies for lunch and baby food veggies mixed with baby food meat for dinner. Throughout the day, she'll have cheerios, yogurt melts, or freeze dried fruit for a snack. She loves to feed herself these things. If we are out to dinner, she does very well with table food, too. If I feed her some off my plate, it keeps her content so I can eat:)
She is such a big girl, with 12m clothes being too short, but most 18m clothes being too big in the waist! She is wearing a size 4 shoes which means most of the ones we had are too small already!
She is such a joy. I feel like I have known her my whole life and I can hardly remember life before her.
Edited to add: Penny has her 2 bottom middle teeth. She is not sleeping through the night, but she is down to one 2am wakeup (i think). We are still cobedding, so her wakeups to nurse are pretty uneventful; I hardly remeber them.

Cleaning With a 9 Month Old

I am lucky. Penny does pretty well entertaining herself. She will play in her excersaucer for hours if I would let her. Yesterday, I wanted to tackle some of my bedroom, by far the worst room on the house. Now, I have tried wearing her on my back in the ergo while doing dishes and things before, but today I needed just me (plus, the ergo was in Nick's truck. So, I stuck Penny in her pack n play, in the doorway where she could still see me, and went to work!
How do you clean with little ones? Do you wait until they are napping?

A Grand Blog Reintroduction

I have been thinking about this blog and have been wanting to begin blogging regularly again, but I just wasn't sure where to start.  So, after some thinking, I have decided that a grand reintroduction will be a good way to start!

When I first started this blog, I was a single girl, living with my boyfriend in a new apartment and trying to get a hold of my clutter.  Now, I am am a married Mom of a sweet, little, nearly 10 month old girl.  We are still living in the same apartment, and now with a baby, there is more clutter than ever!  Over the last three or so years, there have obviously been some big changes in my life.  One thing that remains the same is my struggle with the mess.  It's everywhere.  Although I have made some improvements, cleanliness is still something that just doesn't come easy to me.  So, I still plan on blogging quite a bit about the mess, as I did when I first began this blog.

There are some other messes in my life, too.  Miss Penelope can be quite a mess herself.  She is a messy eater, her sleep is a mess, and don't get me started on the clothes.  But, she is the best kind of mess I have ever known.  Being a Mom is truly the greatest thing I have ever done in my life.  But, it has quite a learning curve.  There are some many things that I never knew before I had my own baby, even though I thought being the oldest of 5 had me well prepared.  Marriage can be a mess, too.  It's true when they say that it's not easy.  Nick and I are happier than we have ever been, but there are messes in our marriage, too.  When Nick begins fishing again for the season, it will mean we have very little time together.  Prioritizing family time and "us" time is something that we are continuously working on.  Having a baby has added an interesting dynamic to our marriage.  We love each other, but now we have this little one that we love in a totally different way.  It adds to the love that we have, but it also competes with it at times.  And then there is me.  Sometimes, I feel like I am the biggest mess of them all.  My body has been through hell and back in the last 18 months, and I am still feeling the effects of carrying a baby in me for 9 months, and outside me for another 9 months.  I feel like I look like a mess most days of the week.  And, on the inside, I have many feelings and emotions about motherhood and wifehood that make me a mess a lot of the time, too.

So, I'm Marjorie.  This is One Mess at a Time.  I hope that you'll join me as I continue to blog about the messes (and joys!) in my life!

A New Mom's Isolation

Penelope is now 6 months old.  This is unreal to me that half a year just flew by the way that it did.  I keep thinking that I should be feeling more secure as a Mom now, but I have been having overwhelming feelings of isolation lately.  I know that in many ways, this is due to my nature of being a homebody.  It's getting to the point that friends have reached out to me to say that they are worried about me.  I feel like I am really struggling with this and I think there are a few big things that have set me up to feel isolated.

• My family is far away.  In the early days, my Mom was with us for the first week or so of Penny's life.  This was so helpful for me.  It was nice to have someone to chat with all day.  Then, when Penny was 8 weeks old, my Mom and Step-Dad and all my siblings came to visit for a week, with my youngest sister staying with us for nearly a month.  Since then, one of my sister came to visit a week or so ago and it was so nice to have her company.  I think that for me, family are the people that I feel like I could just go and sit in their house with them and truly not feel like a burden to them.

• Nick has had a very demanding work schedule since just about the day Penny was born.  He has been working long days with very few days off for months.  When he gets home, he just wants to eat dinner and go to sleep.  I want to talk to him and get some adult interaction.  On our days off together, it feels so nice to have someone to talk to.

• I am exclusively breastfeeding.  Penny doesn't like to take a bottle.  This means that I can't easily just leave her with someone and say "give her a bottle when she fusses".  This doesn't mean that I can't take her out with me, since it's actually very easy to not have to pack a bag full of bottles and things before we go.  

• I am not working, so our financial situation is different than it has been.  I have struggled to find things to do that are free or cost very little, although I know they are around.  We have been attending a story-time at the library and just started going to a breastfeeding support group (that I wish I would have gone to months ago!).  Sometimes, I will still just go to the stores to look around!

For me, the hardest part about feeling this way is knowing that it is OK to allow myself to feel like this.  I am going through one of the biggest transitions of my life.  I am responsible for another life.  And, just because I am feeling isolated and not as happy as I should, doesn't mean that I don't love my daughter or that I am not a good Mom.  Penny needs for me to be feeling my best to be the best Mom that I can.  I have been trying to make sure that I do somethings that make me happy lately.  I have started to make other Mom friends, many of who feel the same way as me.I have a great group of online friends that have been a sounding board for one another since we were pregnant.  The biggest thing I have to do now is figure out how to get out of this isolation funk.  Nick has encouraged me to find things that I like to do and do them!  I would like to blog more.  I am going to start to play pick up volleyball again.  I am going to work on picking up the phone and trying to make walking or coffee dates with Mom friends.  I know that I will get through this.I have the sweetest little girl I ever could have asked for, and it is really a joy to be her Mom.

I Have a 6 Month Old...

...and a very, very neglected blog.


There are days when I think that I could write an interesting blog post, but most of the things that I can think to write about would just be complaints about things that aren't going my way.  These last 6 months with my sweet girl have been wonderful, but really trying.  Being a little person's life line is exhausting some days.  Especially when they are teething, have a cold, want to nurse all day long, and cry sad tears when you put them down.  It's been one of those days today.

Hopefully soon I can continue to write about my journey to a cleaner home, as it's even more of a challenge now with a little one and all her stuff!  I am working on it everyday though, like always!

MSPI like Dairy Free Diet

Since I am breastfeeding, what I eat can directly effect what Penelope eats.  So, she seems to have had some issues with milk protein.  Generally, this falls under Milk Soy Protein Intolerance.  As of right now, I haven't totally eliminated soy from my diet, but that may happen in the future.  So, this means that I have had to eliminate all dairy from my diet.  Obviously, I can't have milk, cheese, yogurt, or ice cream.  But, there is also milk in a lot of surprising things (taco seasoning?!).  My meals have been pretty simple since I have gotten rid of dairy, but I am hopeful that I will be able to get creative soon!

So far, here is what I have been eating on a regular basis.

Breakfast: Vans Organic Blueberry Vitamin Boost Waffles with 100% Maple Syrup.

Lunch:  Fried Egg Sandwich on an onion bagel with a smoothie.

Dinner:  Meat with a dairy free Marinade and veggies.

Snacks:  Hummus with Veggies or Chips, a peanut butter sandwich, or dry frosted mini-wheats.

Here is the smoothie that I have been making!

1 cup coconut milk beverage (So Delicious brand, either original or unsweetened)

1 frozen banana, sliced

1 handful of frozen blueberries or strawberries

1/4 to 1/2 cup of Orange Tangerine Juicy Juice (depending on thickness and how easy the smoothie is blending)

I hope to share some more recipes soon!  What's your favorite dairy free meal?

I Have a Four Month Old and a Neglected Blog.

Well, here I was thinking that blogging was going to be such a great thing to do when I am at home with Penny.  Because, obviously when you are taking care of a baby and a home you have LOTS of free time, right?  Wrong.  I find that there is always something else I could and should be doing other than blogging, but it is something that I really miss.  So, here is a little bit of a recap before I try to dive in again.

Ms. Penelope is now 4 months old.  She is such a happy girl and a very good baby.  She loves to stand in her walker, although she can't figure out how to move in it yet (which is OK by me!).  She doesn't like sudden loud noises, specifically the blender, vacuum, blow dryer, or Dad's sudden laugh.  She is 26.5 inches long (98th percentile) and 16lbs 4oz (85th percentile).  She smiles and squeals most of the day, unless she is realllly tired, then she will cry.  She is just starting to be better at riding in the car, and will usually fall asleep when we are in it.

I am doing well, albeit a bit stir crazy.  We started a lap babies story time group at the library, so that will be great to get out and socialize with some other moms!  Penny seemed to like it so far.  Also, I am now on an all all dairy, most soy, free diet.  Penny has been having some issues with milk protein intolerance, so in order to continue breast feeding, I have to drastically change the way I eat.  It's been almost a week, and so far so good.  I am excited to share my dairy free adventures here.

Here is Penny's 4 month picture.  She is such a little doll, if I do say so myself!

Morning in bed

Just a quick hello. It's hard to find the time to blog with all that's been going on lately.

Hope to update soon!

So Much to Say!!

We have been so busy and Ms. Penny is already 2 months old and I have only written her birth story!  Look for a new post tomorrow with LOTS of pictures :)

Birth Story Part 4 - The Hard Part is Over

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

Our first family photo - May 7, 2012

After a little over an hour of skin to skin, where I breastfed our sweet girl as soon as I could, we went and got everyone out of the waiting room.  Nick’s Mom and Dad, my Dad, and my BFF Michaela were all waiting.  My Mom had tried to keep them updated on how things were progressing.  When she went out and told them that I was at 7cms, the Dad’s thought that would be a good time to go get dinner.  They thought that had plenty of time!  Needless to say, Michaela called them to tell them that the baby had arrived when they were in the car on the way back!  But, once everyone was in the room, they weighed and measured her.  She was 7lbs 6oz and 22 inches long.  Everyone was shocked when they first saw her at how small she was.  They were all expecting a bigger baby!  No one but Dad held her at this point, as we were told that we shouldn’t pass her around for at least 3 hours or so.  Since it was about 11 at this point, everyone left pretty quickly to let us try to get some sleep.  I wish that were the case!

We were getting ready to move in the post-partum room, and I decided that I needed to pee (plus I think they needed me to before we moved, but it’s a bit hazy now).  They got me up out of bed, and were telling me about how to use the bathroom now (the peri bottle, pat dry and getting me set up with all the different pads and ice packs). Finally, after what seemed like an hour long lecture, I went pee.  When I went to get up, I passed out.  Luckily the nurse was right there, so I didn’t hit the floor or anything.  I remember her pulling the emergency cord, and a bunch of people filing in.  I know that she asked for ammonia at some point and I remember really not wanting them to need that.  They put me in a wheel chair and I started to come to again.  Luckily, they just wheeled me to the post partum room.  What this meant for me is that I wasn’t allowed to stand up on my own.  If I felt I needed to get up to use the bathroom, I had to page a nurse.  The next time I went, I also got very faint.  Enough that the third time I had to go, they just brought a commode to the side of the bed for me.  That was a pain, but from what I understand, pretty normal. The nurse explained it like “Your body just went through this whole thing.  It knows that once you have emptied your bladder, that’s the last thing you need to do and then you can rest.  You body just knows to shut down at that point”.  I thought that was interesting.

About to head home!  Newborn sized clothes were too big!

All in all, my labor was painful, but much better than I expected.  I always said that I would rather have a quick and intense labor as opposed to one that was slow and long.  I went into active labor sometime between 3 and 4, and she was born before 9. It was wonderful.  Nick and my Mom both said how I was not the person in labor that you see in movies and TV (or that my Mom was, even!).  I didn’t yell, I didn’t swear, I never once said that I couldn’t do this.  Instead of yelling at people in the room, I was apologizing to my midwife and husband and nurses.  I think I just went into a zone and went for it.  I was so lucky that my induction went the way it did.  I was thrilled that I could still go through labor without pain meds like I had wanted to from the beginning.  My midwife said that first babies very rarely progress as quickly as my labor progressed; I consider myself lucky.  After going through all of that, I can’t imagine doing it any other way.  Nick was just in awe of what I had done, and I loved him more for being so supportive.  Our sweet girl was so worth it!

Penelope - my sweet girl.

Birth Story Part 3 - Active Labor and Delivery

Part One
Part Two

By 4 p.m. I was telling Nick that I wanted to get into the tub.  I think this was around the same time that I lost my mucus plug, but thought that it was by water breaking.  My contractions were stronger and I was feeling them heavily in my back.  I knew that water would take some of the pressure off.  So, he called for the nurse to start filling the tub.  I feel like it took FOREVER for the water to finally fill up.  Eventually, I was able to get into the tub.  The weightless feeling that I had in there really helped deal with the pain in my back that I was having through contractions.  We turned the lights way down, or maybe even off.  Nick kneeled by the tub the whole time. I know at some point our midwife got him a pillow to kneel on, but before that he was bare on the ground!  The great part about this was that I felt like I was in there for a half an hour.  I found out later that I was actually in the tub for three hours!  The hospital was having problems with hot water, which meant that the water wasn’t very hot to start, and then there was no way to add hot water once it cooled down.  So, since I was getting relief in the tub, my wonderful midwife ran back and forth from the coffee station with hot water for tea and was adding it to the tub for me.  We think that it’s likely that my water broke at some point while I was in the water.  I also had some issues with hyperventilation, which was a little scary for Nick.  I was letting out way more air than I was taking in, so I had to change the way I was breathing.  I was in the tub for an hour before my midwife was able to check me for dilation.  At that point, I was at 4 centimeters.  By the time I got out, I was at 6.  I eventually got cold, and wanted to get out of the tub, so that’s what we did.

At this point, I was pretty close to transition.  I had a couple of hard contractions on the way back to the bed.  I ended up lying down for a bit, but that was uncomfortable for me.  I decided to kneel on the bed, leaning up on the back of the upright bed.  This was by far the worst part of labor for me.  My contractions were nearly unbearable, and this was when I started whimpering through them.  I felt pretty pathetic when this was happening, but it was getting hard!  At some point, my midwife asked if I thought I wanted to push with contractions, and I told her that I did.  She checked me and I was 8 cm.  She told me to try to push on the next contraction.  I bore down, and in that one contraction, I went from 8 to fully dilated and time to push!

Everybody started to get ready for the big show at this point.  I decided to lie on my back, even though I know that’s not always the most productive pushing position.  It was just after 8 p.m. and things had progressed so quickly.  My midwife was really surprised and how fast things were going.  I started pushing as soon as they were ready for me.  Nick was by my side, and my Mom and the labor nurse were at my legs with my midwife.  With each contraction, I pushed.  Initially, I wasn’t pushing right which prompted me to apologize to my midwife mid-contraction.  Later, Nick and my Mom said how funny that was.  At some point during pushing, they had to put an internal fetal monitor in to make sure they knew what was happening with the baby.  I was being given oxygen between each contraction.  Towards the end, I would push for one contraction and then not push on the next.  The baby crowned at some point, but not much of her head was showing.  I know that my pushing also got much more productive around this time.  I remember having a couple of contractions on top of each other and pushing really hard with each one.  Then, a contraction came and I pushed to get her head out and in one push her whole body was delivered!!  After about 40 minutes of pushing, we had our baby girl who was born at 8:53!  She was immediately brought up to me and placed on my skin.  Once the cord was done pulsing, Nick got to cut it and then I got to hold our sweet girl.  She looked so much like her Daddy!  While we were bonding, my midwife was stitching me up.  Luckily, I didn’t have a big tear anywhere.  Because she came out so quickly, there were a lot of little tears inside that needed to be fixed. 

Just moments after making her arrival!

Birth Story Part 2 - Induction

Part One

Leaving for the hopstial on Sunday night!

So, on Sunday night, my parents saw us off to the hospital to start our stay.  We were leaving as the two of us and wouldn’t be back until we were a family of three!! It was very exciting.  When we got to the hospital, we knew that the plan was that we would be checking in, and have another NST.  From there, they would insert a 12 hour dose of cervidil to soften and dilate my cervix.  We got to the hospital, and my midwife gave me an internal exam again.  I was about 1cm dilated and 50% effaced.  This made me glad because it meant that my body was sort of on its way to labor on its own.  I was still hoping that we would only need the cervidil and I could skip pitocin all together.  So, we went to sleep and were checked in the morning after the dose was removed.  I wasn’t having contractions like I had hoped I would be.  My midwife did one more intensely painful internal exam and found that I was still only 1cm dilated but that the cervix was nice and soft.  It was hopefully doing what it was supposed to be.

From here, we could decide if we wanted to start with the pitocin right away or try another drug; misoprostol.  We opted for the misoprostol with the hope that it would continue to ripen my cervix and prepare my body to deliver this baby.  After the 4 hour waiting period with very few contractions, the administered the pitocin drip.  This was our last shot.

When the pitocin was administered, things picked up right away.  I began having contractions that I could feel.  By 3pm, they were getting so uncomfortable that I couldn’t really speak through them anymore or focus on the movie that we were watching on TV (A League of Their Own…I was so excited that we caught it at the very beginning!).  This was right around the time that my Mom and Dad arrived, and when Dad also decided that it was time for him to go to the waiting room!  When the nurses changed at 3:30, our day nurse (who was awesome) said that she was glad things were picking up, but that she was so bummed out that she would likely miss the birth.  Just before this, we were told that it could take a while for the pitocin to work.  We were hoping to deliver that day but were told that if things do not progress, we would need to decide to let me sleep or continue with labor into the wee hours.  I did not like that idea and wanted my body to do it’s thing to get me into full on labor.

My last pregnant picture.  Just before Dad went to the waiting room!

Birth Story Part 1 - Weeks 40 and 41, The Waiting Game

As my due date approached, Nick and I were getting more and more anxious for things to pick up and get started.  When we went in for my 40 week appointment, my midwife Louise was reassuring saying that most babies come between 38-42 weeks and that there should be nothing to worry about.  At that point, we began having non-stress tests done at the maternity ward every couple of days.  Baby girl did great and my blood pressure and other vitals were good.  She just wasn’t ready.  At my 41 week appointment, Louise offered to check my cervix and see how far along I was.  She hadn’t done this before and I was glad.  At 41 weeks, I was still completely closed; no dilation at all.  This was a little discouraging for me, since we had been waiting for what felt like forever.  Additionally, the baby was right on my cervix, which caused the cervix to be really high up.  Needless to say, this was a VERY painful internal exam.  I had also been walking a lot and doing other things that are supposed to get your cervix ready.  No such luck.  At this point, my Mom and Dad were both up here waiting for the birth.  We spent a lot of time together, walking and eating spicy food and hanging out trying to keep me calm.  Nick wound up taking a couple of days off to be with us, too.

Shopping with Mom and Dad during my 41st week!

The non-stress tests after the 41 week mark were a little different.  Baby girl would get sleepy every time that we went.  We would have to wait there and try having me lay down differently to see if her heart rate would get up.  On Saturday May 5^th, my midwife was at the hospital when I was having my NST done, and offered to check me again.  Cervix was still totally closed at 41 weeks 5 days.  Also, this exam was even more painful than the time before.  At this point, we were planning for an induction to happen on Monday morning.  When we met with the midwife, she said that we could actually come in on Sunday night to begin induction.  This way, I would likely be in labor during the day instead of the middle of the night.  Nick and I agreed right away and planned to head to the hospital on Sunday night.

One of many non-stress tests

Trying another position to get baby girl to move!

Now, since I had been planning for natural childbirth, the thought of induction scared the crap out of me.  From everything that we had read, and the childbirth classes we took, we knew what some of the effects of the induction drugs were.  I was very nervous that something wouldn’t work, or that it would make labor too difficult for my body to handle.  Contractions that are induced with pitocin are known to be stronger, quicker, and more irregular.  I just put my faith in my body and my midwife and hoped for the best.  There was no way for me to know what was going to happen, so I had to just go with it and see where it took me.

Hopefully a Final Pregnancy Update!

How far along?: 41 weeks and 4 long days

Baby is the size of a:  human baby

Total weight gain/loss:  +30

The Bump: My bump is huge and round at this point, since I am carrying a VERY full term baby.  My belly button never popped, but a couple of times this week when she was pushing right up against it, I thought it was going to.  I only have just a couple of stretch marks, but none of them are really on my bump.

Symptoms:  Pelvic pain still.  It's still very painful to turn over in bed.  Also, sharp shooting pains into my cervix, which I thought would be causing me to dilate (but since as of about a week ago I wasn't dilated, I assume that this is not the case).  Also, I am getting frustrated and anxious for this darling girl to just hurry up and join us already!

Food Cravings:  Today, I wanted Sesame Noodles from a local market.  Other than that, I have been trying to eat really spicy food to kick start labor.

Anything Making Me Queasy or Sick: Other than watching the chefs on Chopped All-Stars cooking tripe, chicken feet, and whole octopus; no.

Sleep: I have generally been sleeping pretty well, without having to wake up during the night other than to roll over.  I do generally wake up in some pretty serious pelvic and leg pain now though.

What I miss:  Not feeling this pelvic pain when I lay down.  Wearing my wedding rings.

Weddings Rings On or Off: Off.  

Any Names Picked Out Yet:  She is named.

Movement: Still lots of movement, unless I am at the doctors office.  The other day, she was still during my ultrasound and during the non-stress test.  I had to move to either side twice to get her to move around.  This makes my pelvis hurt more.

Maternity Clothes: At this point, even the maternity things that I have are starting to get uncomfortable.  I find myself in pajama pants and Nick's t-shirt when I am at home.

Labor Signs: BH contractions. I thought I was having real contractions last night, enough to even call my midwife.  Alas, went to bed and they totally stopped.  

Best Moment of the Week: Spending time with my Mom and Dad who are up visiting waiting for their granddaughter to be born.  It's been great to get to spend so much alone time with them just running around.  Usually when they are here, there is a million people to see and things to do.  It's been nice just to relax with them and have them around.

What I’m excited about/looking forward to:  I cannot wait to finally be holding this baby in my arms.  If I don't have her on my own over the weekend, then I will be induced on Monday.  I really, really, really do not want to have to go through and induction, so I am so hopeful that this super moon that's supposed to happen tomorrow will have some kind of effect on my uterus!!

11 Days "Overdue"

For months, I have convinced myself that I would not worry about being past my due date.  I know that they are sort of arbitrary, and based on a couple of factors.  Since I wasn't sure exactly when my last period was, it was difficult for me to say for sure when I thought we conceived.  There was about a 2 week window that I thought it might have been.  Also, since Nick and I are both so tall, the ultrasound that we had to date the baby could have been wrong since she's likely to be pretty big.  I know these things.  And I know that MOST babies do not come on their due date.  There is a 4 week window where most babies are born.

But now that I am 11 days past that date, I am getting pretty frustrated.  I was really hoping that she would get here just a couple of days after her due date.  My parents both flew in 2 days after that day, so I was hoping that nothing would happen until they got here.  Now, my Dad has already had to extend his trip another week, since we weren't going to let him leave without meeting our baby girl!  My Mom is here until we buy her a return ticket.  They've been really good at trying to keep me occupied with other things, but it's starting to get tough.

At this point, I am going to the hospital every 3 days for Non Stress Tests.  Our baby is doing quite well at each of these.  Her heart rate is steady, my blood pressure is perfect.  She just doesn't seem ready to come on out.  So now, I find myself being one of those people that I didn't want to me.  Wishing and hoping that this baby will get here soon and feeling semi-miserable waiting.  Physically, I feel pretty damn good.  Emotionally, I am about to lose my mind.  I've seen 2 of my friends have their babies while I am still waiting.  They were both due after my date.  I am heading toward an induction date on Monday, and I am dreading that.  I know that each intervention that I have is going to make the natural birth that I want to have more difficult.  I know that induction can take time, it's not immediate.  I just am REALLY hoping that this baby is going to come on her own this weekend.  Tomorrow's a full moon, so here's hoping!


How did you feel once you got past your due date?  Were you discouraged about being induced?

Due Date was Yesterday...

...and yes, I am still pregnant.

I haven't really had many contractions in the last few days, but I did wind up in the hospital on Friday night for a quick Non-Stress Test since I hadn't felt the baby move in several hours and that was really odd.  Of course, as soon as they hooked us up the machines, she started moving around like crazy.  Her heartbeat was great, my blood pressure was great, and we were in and out of there pretty quickly.

My Mom gets in tomorrow morning from North Carolina, and my Dad is flying in later tomorrow from Louisiana.  I think that she's waiting for her Grandparents to get here before she makes her big arrival.  Nick is getting very impatient as he wants to meet his little girl already!  It also doesn't help that we are fast approaching the start of his fishing season, and I know that he wants to take as much time off as he can to be with her.  Hopefully she'll get here soon so that the two of them will get some bonding time in before he goes back to work!



As for me, I am just sitting at home, watching old episodes of One Tree Hill on Netflix and waiting for something to happen.  I am ready to get this over with so that we can be home with our baby girl!!