Today is my mom's birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM! You are the big 6-0! 60 is the new 40, so don't worry about a thing.
In other news, dudes, I need to go on a diet. And exercise. Ugh.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Say It Isn't So!
C and I enjoyed our first night out alone as a couple last night since the birth of our daughter. He got us some tickets to see Hall & Oates in Philly, and I can't describe how much I had been looking forward to it! For weeks, it seemed.
Ok, stop laughing now.
Once you get past the cheesey 80's Private Eyes Hall & Oates, and consider their harmonious blue-eyed soul from the 70's, you remember what makes them sound so good. And they have that distinct Philadelphia sound. If you're a fan, you know what I mean. Anyway, it was a good show and to see them Back Together Again; a bit short, but heck, they played enough of the old stuff to make it worth while. They didn't seem Out of Touch at all!
That is, until we returned to our car to find the back window smashed out and a few items stolen from the vehicle. There was shattered glass all over the car, and we had to carefully wipe off the seats with napkins and tissues in order to get in. A random act of violence, I believe. I mean, we were parked in a stadium lot with thousands of other cars, so it's not like we left the car on a side street in West Philadelphia. Sigh. This is Downtown Life, right? Glad I live in the country, though, because I Can't Go For That kind of stuff. No, no, no can do.
What can you do? We knew that after we called the police last night and the insurance company When The Morning Comes, we'd just have to take a breather and be thankful that no one was hurt, the car wasn't stolen, nor was the stereo, stroller, baby seat, or EZ Pass taken. I mean, I'm not a Rich Girl, and thankfully, we only have a $250.00 deductible to pay for the damage. I admit, it was a little chilly driving back to New Jersey with the wind and rain blowing in the car.
Amazingly though, C and I didn't freak or stress too much. I think we are/were both on the same mental wavelength with it, realizing that this kind of thing happens, and while unfortunate, it's clearly nothing to lose sleep over. We'll just do a Sara Smile, realize It's a Laugh. In times like this, I remember why I married C, and it's not just because his Kiss Is On My List.
Ok, stop laughing now.
Once you get past the cheesey 80's Private Eyes Hall & Oates, and consider their harmonious blue-eyed soul from the 70's, you remember what makes them sound so good. And they have that distinct Philadelphia sound. If you're a fan, you know what I mean. Anyway, it was a good show and to see them Back Together Again; a bit short, but heck, they played enough of the old stuff to make it worth while. They didn't seem Out of Touch at all!
That is, until we returned to our car to find the back window smashed out and a few items stolen from the vehicle. There was shattered glass all over the car, and we had to carefully wipe off the seats with napkins and tissues in order to get in. A random act of violence, I believe. I mean, we were parked in a stadium lot with thousands of other cars, so it's not like we left the car on a side street in West Philadelphia. Sigh. This is Downtown Life, right? Glad I live in the country, though, because I Can't Go For That kind of stuff. No, no, no can do.
What can you do? We knew that after we called the police last night and the insurance company When The Morning Comes, we'd just have to take a breather and be thankful that no one was hurt, the car wasn't stolen, nor was the stereo, stroller, baby seat, or EZ Pass taken. I mean, I'm not a Rich Girl, and thankfully, we only have a $250.00 deductible to pay for the damage. I admit, it was a little chilly driving back to New Jersey with the wind and rain blowing in the car.
Amazingly though, C and I didn't freak or stress too much. I think we are/were both on the same mental wavelength with it, realizing that this kind of thing happens, and while unfortunate, it's clearly nothing to lose sleep over. We'll just do a Sara Smile, realize It's a Laugh. In times like this, I remember why I married C, and it's not just because his Kiss Is On My List.
Friday, October 23, 2009
Booby Fail
I know you've seen them. The Fail websites. You know, Sign Fail, Car Fail, Picture Fail. They are usually hilarious. Well, I have one of my very own now, but it's not so funny. I call it Booby Fail. The mammaries dried up before I really wanted to stop breastfeeding the baby. After many trips to the lactation consultant, alternating bouts of guilt and loathing for my body (and the tears associated with these feelings), I've come to a peaceful place with the formula my child now eats exclusively.
Otherwise, mommyhood is a blast and I couldn't be happier!
Otherwise, mommyhood is a blast and I couldn't be happier!
Sunday, August 30, 2009
The Story of Baby V's Birth
With my two duffle bags and a baby bag over-packed with all sorts of items I would not need in my brief stay, I arrived at the maternity wing of the 4th floor of the hospital promptly at 8:00 am on 8/17/09. The doctor and nurses were waiting for me.
8:15 am: I was in a hospital gown and my L&D nurse wheeled in the IV rack. My room was really great. It was an all-in-one private suite where everything takes place for a normal delivery. At check-in, I was still only 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced, which had been my status for over a week. The doctor had given me a talk the previous Friday about how slow the process of induction would be and that I should mentally prepare myself that the baby would not be born until the following day. OK. Got it.
10:00 am: My nurse, Gail, started the Pitocin drip along with the regular IV fluid. I got my book and read for a couple of hours.
12:00 pm: I started to have contractions I could feel. They were spaced apart by several minutes. Not big deal, I thought. I could handle it. I read some more. The doctor came in to check me. I was by then 3 cm dilated and 70% effaced.
1:30 pm: Doctor decided it was a good time to break my water. OK. Contractions felt stronger and closer together. I began to do the breathing exercises I learned in Lamaze class. It helped a bit. I was no longer able to really concentrate on reading.
2:25 pm: C arrived at my bedside. I gave him the run down on the morning’s activities. The contractions were, by this point, more painful than I could have imagined. When Gail returned to the room, I told her that I was ready for the epidural.
3:30 pm: Anesthesiologist arrived to administer epidural. By this time, I was crying between the hee-hee-hee-hee-blow breaths. The anesthesiologist could not insert needle on first pass – claimed that I have a bony ridge on my back (um, yeah, isn’t that my spine??!). He tried again to finally, successfully get in the needle and tube. I realize there are loads of mothers out there who’ve forgone the epidural – and they are much stronger than I, for which I give them mad props – but I think in my case it was the right thing to do. It saved my strength for later on.
4:00 pm: Pain from contractions was lessened to such a degree that I was able to sleep for several hours. I think C ate snacks from the vending machine and slept in the chair at my bedside, although I can’t be sure.
7:00 pm: I was 8 cm dilated and 100% effaced. Pressure from contractions was really intense. Contractions were, by now, coming less than 1 minute apart. In fact, I had been having them 1-2 minutes apart for at least 4 hours. The epidural was turned off so that I could regain feeling to push later on.
9:00 pm: The doctor determined that I was indeed 10 cm dilated (it certainly felt like it!), but there was the problem of the anterior lip of the cervix that just wouldn’t go back in order for me to push. There was much manual manipulation to get this to happen, and I will spare you the details, but it did involve me being rolled over back and forth like a beached whale. Now that I reflect on it, it certainly wasn’t the worst of the whole deal. And everyone is absolutely correct when they say that you won’t care who sees what during the process.
9:30 pm: I was told to push with the onset of each contraction. I did this a few times and thought I was going to die. But, apparently, I was not pushing the right way or hard enough. This lasted for about 30 minutes. There was crying and sobbing. Well, I was crying and sobbing. The doctor left the room for about 15 minutes, during which time the nurses and C were my coaches. I can’t say enough positive things about the L&D nurses that were there for the birth of Baby V. And I shall not forget to mention my darling husband, C, who really came through in more ways than I could have anticipated. He was there for every minute of the delivery and fully engaged in the whole process, even holding my left leg for all the pushes.
10:00-10:57 pm: This last hour was spent pushing on each contraction, and it was, in fact, the hardest physical thing I’ve done in my life to date. The pain was more intense than words can really describe, and as I write this nearly 2 weeks after the birth, I am still a bit sore.
10:58 pm: Baby V made her appearance after some serious pushing and straining. Of course, my child had to come out with her little arm alongside her head. I, and the doctor, are pretty sure that is why the last three pushes were so difficult and why I needed more than a few stitches post-partum. The other thing no one tells you is that the room looks like a crime scene when it’s all over. Housekeeping actually came up to the room to mop before I went to sleep.
She did come out crying and snorting but she was so perfect! As soon as she came out, the doctor put her on me. Thankfully, she was not covered in too much guck. Some babies look almost alien with how much vernix and such are on them. C cut the cord and the nurses took her over to be cleaned and weighed. I am amazed at how big Baby V was. No one, including the doctor, expected her to be almost 10 pounds. I admit that I’m sort of glad she’s a bigger baby. She is much easier to handle, and tends to sleep a wee bit longer because of her size.
She did fine on all the tests that the hospital neonatal unit does before release and her first pediatrician appointment went well. She is healthy and beautiful, and there is nothing more C and I could have asked for. I have never known more love for anyone or anything. So long we waited for this, and now that she is here, we are simply over the moon.
8:15 am: I was in a hospital gown and my L&D nurse wheeled in the IV rack. My room was really great. It was an all-in-one private suite where everything takes place for a normal delivery. At check-in, I was still only 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced, which had been my status for over a week. The doctor had given me a talk the previous Friday about how slow the process of induction would be and that I should mentally prepare myself that the baby would not be born until the following day. OK. Got it.
10:00 am: My nurse, Gail, started the Pitocin drip along with the regular IV fluid. I got my book and read for a couple of hours.
12:00 pm: I started to have contractions I could feel. They were spaced apart by several minutes. Not big deal, I thought. I could handle it. I read some more. The doctor came in to check me. I was by then 3 cm dilated and 70% effaced.
1:30 pm: Doctor decided it was a good time to break my water. OK. Contractions felt stronger and closer together. I began to do the breathing exercises I learned in Lamaze class. It helped a bit. I was no longer able to really concentrate on reading.
2:25 pm: C arrived at my bedside. I gave him the run down on the morning’s activities. The contractions were, by this point, more painful than I could have imagined. When Gail returned to the room, I told her that I was ready for the epidural.
3:30 pm: Anesthesiologist arrived to administer epidural. By this time, I was crying between the hee-hee-hee-hee-blow breaths. The anesthesiologist could not insert needle on first pass – claimed that I have a bony ridge on my back (um, yeah, isn’t that my spine??!). He tried again to finally, successfully get in the needle and tube. I realize there are loads of mothers out there who’ve forgone the epidural – and they are much stronger than I, for which I give them mad props – but I think in my case it was the right thing to do. It saved my strength for later on.
4:00 pm: Pain from contractions was lessened to such a degree that I was able to sleep for several hours. I think C ate snacks from the vending machine and slept in the chair at my bedside, although I can’t be sure.
7:00 pm: I was 8 cm dilated and 100% effaced. Pressure from contractions was really intense. Contractions were, by now, coming less than 1 minute apart. In fact, I had been having them 1-2 minutes apart for at least 4 hours. The epidural was turned off so that I could regain feeling to push later on.
9:00 pm: The doctor determined that I was indeed 10 cm dilated (it certainly felt like it!), but there was the problem of the anterior lip of the cervix that just wouldn’t go back in order for me to push. There was much manual manipulation to get this to happen, and I will spare you the details, but it did involve me being rolled over back and forth like a beached whale. Now that I reflect on it, it certainly wasn’t the worst of the whole deal. And everyone is absolutely correct when they say that you won’t care who sees what during the process.
9:30 pm: I was told to push with the onset of each contraction. I did this a few times and thought I was going to die. But, apparently, I was not pushing the right way or hard enough. This lasted for about 30 minutes. There was crying and sobbing. Well, I was crying and sobbing. The doctor left the room for about 15 minutes, during which time the nurses and C were my coaches. I can’t say enough positive things about the L&D nurses that were there for the birth of Baby V. And I shall not forget to mention my darling husband, C, who really came through in more ways than I could have anticipated. He was there for every minute of the delivery and fully engaged in the whole process, even holding my left leg for all the pushes.
10:00-10:57 pm: This last hour was spent pushing on each contraction, and it was, in fact, the hardest physical thing I’ve done in my life to date. The pain was more intense than words can really describe, and as I write this nearly 2 weeks after the birth, I am still a bit sore.
10:58 pm: Baby V made her appearance after some serious pushing and straining. Of course, my child had to come out with her little arm alongside her head. I, and the doctor, are pretty sure that is why the last three pushes were so difficult and why I needed more than a few stitches post-partum. The other thing no one tells you is that the room looks like a crime scene when it’s all over. Housekeeping actually came up to the room to mop before I went to sleep.
She did come out crying and snorting but she was so perfect! As soon as she came out, the doctor put her on me. Thankfully, she was not covered in too much guck. Some babies look almost alien with how much vernix and such are on them. C cut the cord and the nurses took her over to be cleaned and weighed. I am amazed at how big Baby V was. No one, including the doctor, expected her to be almost 10 pounds. I admit that I’m sort of glad she’s a bigger baby. She is much easier to handle, and tends to sleep a wee bit longer because of her size.
She did fine on all the tests that the hospital neonatal unit does before release and her first pediatrician appointment went well. She is healthy and beautiful, and there is nothing more C and I could have asked for. I have never known more love for anyone or anything. So long we waited for this, and now that she is here, we are simply over the moon.
Monday, August 24, 2009
She's Here!
sorry to post this a week late, but my peanut arrived last monday night, 8/17/09, at 10:58 pm. she was a whopping 9 lbs, 12 oz and 21 inches long! c and i couldn't be more in love. when i get some more free time (hopefully sooner than later), i will blog the birth story and post pics of baby veronica.
xoxoxo,
renee
xoxoxo,
renee
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Where Has The Time Gone? And Que Tom Petty
The summer has just flown by. The whole month of July came and went and here we are in the middle of August. This summer is obviously so different for me than any other previously and I wish I could report that I’ve had some great revelations about myself as I am about to embark on motherhood. Alas, I do not. To be truthful, I haven’t had much time to reflect on anything too deep. I worked until the last day of July, with those weekends filled with preparing the nursery, washing baby clothes, sorting all the things that baby will need for her arrival.
In the last two weeks that I’ve been home waiting to go into labor, I’ve grown larger and moving around is increasingly difficult. I have mostly been sitting on the couch reading and napping. I do take some walks, usually around the house and lawn, lamenting the sad state of my gardens. They are completely overgrown with weeds, the shrubs are in need of pruning, and the limelight hydrangeas blooms could really be cut back and brought in the house rather than hit the ground from their own excess weight. I simply cannot wait to be able to bend over again!
Amazingly, I am now 40 weeks and 3 days pregnant. I am pretty sure that I read some statistic somewhere that stated IVF babies come early. Defying the statistics and in the fashion of her procrastinating mommy and daddy, this kid is running late. I was supposed to be induced last Friday, as per the doc’s orders, but the hospital called on Thursday night (at 10:50 pm!) to inform me that they were full to the brim and could not take me. Um, what?? That’s right - L&D and the maternity floor were/are completely booked. Wow, color me shocked. I supposed that in the summer, as for many other things, baby having was slowed. Not so. The doc ordered me to go to the hospital on Friday anyway for an ultrasound and some monitoring to make sure that everything is ok for the weekend. I report that all is well. Amniotic fluid is only slightly below average, baby’s heartbeat and activity level is fine, my blood pressure is fine.
Nothing to worry about, right? Not exactly.
For over a week now, I am 1 cm dilated and the cervix is in the posterior position. The doc did say I am 50% effaced, but still – only 1 cm!!??! The doc’s plan is to take it slow on Monday and she told me to be prepared that the baby will probably not be born until Tuesday, but I am concerned that labor will be so much harder and longer. That is what I’ve heard about being induced, anyway. Obviously, we want to avoid a Cesarean birth, although I am certainly willing to do whatever is necessary for the health of the baby. I just recall many women telling me horror stories about 30+ hours of labor only to have a C-section after the baby is too stressed from hours and hours of contractions and pushing. I hope to avoid this by moving around as much as I can during the labor. Well, we all know what happens to best-laid plans, so I’m going to be flexible.
On a happier note, I have completely abandoned the diabetic diet in the last two weeks, choosing instead to enjoy ice cream and various other sweets at will. I have gone only slightly over the 25 pound weight restriction imposed by the doc. Now, I realize I will bemoan that extra slice of cake I had yesterday once the baby is here and I am on the quest to shed the extra pounds, but in case this is my only pregnancy, I at least want to look back and say I enjoyed it.
In the meanwhile, I pass the time. True words of one of my favorite musicians: “Yeah, I’ve never known nothing quite like this”, and “The waiting is the hardest part”.
In the last two weeks that I’ve been home waiting to go into labor, I’ve grown larger and moving around is increasingly difficult. I have mostly been sitting on the couch reading and napping. I do take some walks, usually around the house and lawn, lamenting the sad state of my gardens. They are completely overgrown with weeds, the shrubs are in need of pruning, and the limelight hydrangeas blooms could really be cut back and brought in the house rather than hit the ground from their own excess weight. I simply cannot wait to be able to bend over again!
Amazingly, I am now 40 weeks and 3 days pregnant. I am pretty sure that I read some statistic somewhere that stated IVF babies come early. Defying the statistics and in the fashion of her procrastinating mommy and daddy, this kid is running late. I was supposed to be induced last Friday, as per the doc’s orders, but the hospital called on Thursday night (at 10:50 pm!) to inform me that they were full to the brim and could not take me. Um, what?? That’s right - L&D and the maternity floor were/are completely booked. Wow, color me shocked. I supposed that in the summer, as for many other things, baby having was slowed. Not so. The doc ordered me to go to the hospital on Friday anyway for an ultrasound and some monitoring to make sure that everything is ok for the weekend. I report that all is well. Amniotic fluid is only slightly below average, baby’s heartbeat and activity level is fine, my blood pressure is fine.
Nothing to worry about, right? Not exactly.
For over a week now, I am 1 cm dilated and the cervix is in the posterior position. The doc did say I am 50% effaced, but still – only 1 cm!!??! The doc’s plan is to take it slow on Monday and she told me to be prepared that the baby will probably not be born until Tuesday, but I am concerned that labor will be so much harder and longer. That is what I’ve heard about being induced, anyway. Obviously, we want to avoid a Cesarean birth, although I am certainly willing to do whatever is necessary for the health of the baby. I just recall many women telling me horror stories about 30+ hours of labor only to have a C-section after the baby is too stressed from hours and hours of contractions and pushing. I hope to avoid this by moving around as much as I can during the labor. Well, we all know what happens to best-laid plans, so I’m going to be flexible.
On a happier note, I have completely abandoned the diabetic diet in the last two weeks, choosing instead to enjoy ice cream and various other sweets at will. I have gone only slightly over the 25 pound weight restriction imposed by the doc. Now, I realize I will bemoan that extra slice of cake I had yesterday once the baby is here and I am on the quest to shed the extra pounds, but in case this is my only pregnancy, I at least want to look back and say I enjoyed it.
In the meanwhile, I pass the time. True words of one of my favorite musicians: “Yeah, I’ve never known nothing quite like this”, and “The waiting is the hardest part”.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Happy Birthday, C!
Today is my husband's birthday. I wish for him a magical time for 2 reasons. 1) this is the last birthday of his 30's; and 2) this is his last birthday as a carefree guy with fairly minimal responsibilities to just me, work, the house and the dogs. Pretty soon, he will be a Dad, and everything will be different.
Hope you are enjoying your day, Sweet. I love you!
Hope you are enjoying your day, Sweet. I love you!
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