Milo's Grand Entrance

After the mix up with my induction on Friday & the full hospitals, we were told to come in on Sunday at 7:30 am. So we got up this morning, my mom made us some breakfast before we headed out the door. Hannah was sad when we said that mom & dad were going to the hospital & she was staying home, but once we said Mimaw was staying with her she quickly gave us kisses & pushed us out the door.

We got to the hospital, checked in & got our room quickly. I was all hooked up with my IV & pitocin drip by 8:00. The nurse checked my progression & we were all a little sad to find I was only 1 cm dilated. After being at 3 cm for weeks with Hannah, I assumed things would have been similar this time. It made me wonder how long the day was going to be. The nurse said that my pitocin drip would be increased every 15-30 minutes. Jeff headed back home after 9:00 to pick my mom & Hannah up & bring them to the hospital.

At 10:00 the nurse came in & said she had been watching my monitors & couldn't understand why after so many increases of pitocin I still wasn't having contractions. She then said she couldn't remember actually hooking the drip line to my IV line, so she came to check. Sure enough she found that it wasn't connected & there was a puddle of pitocin on the floor. She hooked me up & talked to my OB about increasing my drip at a faster rate to make up for the last 2 hours of lost time. So my drip was increased rather quickly & the contractions began & increased quickly.

A little before noon Jeff took Hannah & my mom home to get some lunch & get Hannah down for a nap. Jeff has started to come down with a cold, so he stayed home to grab some lunch & take a nap. I told him I'd keep him posted, but knew he had time & I could use the quiet time to rest myself. Oh wait... that doesn't happen because of all the nurse visits.

Around 1:00 my Dr. came in & we talked about some different options to get things moving along. He mentioned placing a Foley balloon to increase dilation and/or breaking my water. He said that the nurse would check me, and that would help make the decision, because the balloon would only get me to a 3 or 4, so if I was progressing on my own it wouldn't be necessary or worth it. I told him I would like to get my epidural when he broke my water, because things would go fast & the pain would increase. When the nurse checked I was a 2+. She was going to check with the Dr. & come let me know what he decides. The nurse said she would put an order in for my epidural, but it might be a bit of a wait, because the anesthesiologist was doing a C-Section. I agreed to get some pain medicine for now. She came in a little bit later with a nice shot of something... can't remember what, but it helped a bit! I called & gave Jeff updates.

At 2:15 the Dr. & the nurse came in, I was expecting to hear from the nurse first, but they the Dr. was still here so he came in to check me & break my water, I was 4+ cm. The nurse said she would be back in a few minutes to prep me for my epidural.

For some strange reason the epidural gets me more worked up & nervous than actually giving birth. I called Jeff to give him an update & he said he was on his way, which I was glad, because I wanted him there when they placed the epidural. The nurse came in to start prepping me & I was worried that Jeff wasn't going to make it in time, but he did!

The anesthesiologist came in around 3:00 & placed my epidural. He was great, very friendly & chatty... which helped calm my nerves. He did find it funny that the epidural is what I was most concerned about, at least I could be amusing to his Sunday afternoon shift. It was a relief that have the worst part over with & to enjoy both the relief from the epidural & the rest of the birth experience.

Now the waiting began... At 3:45 the nurse came in to check my progress & I was at a "good 4". Jeff & I were talking about calling someone from church to see if they would watch Hannah so my mom could come to the hospital for the birth... that was the original plan, but when things got moved from Friday to Sunday we felt bad having someone have to take an extra kid to church. But now that it was approaching 4:30 (that's when our church lets out,) we decided we could find someone. So we were just waiting until after 4:30 to make a call, & then Jeff would go pick them up, drop Hannah off & then he and my mom would come to the hospital. Well at 4:15 the nurse came in to check me & I was dilated to 9 cm, & that changed our plans. We knew there was no way to get my mom here in time, so Jeff called to break the news to her.

Things went fast after that... the nurse started getting everything in the room ready & called my Dr. She checked me again & have me start pushing & sure enough Milo was crowning. So now we just chatted & waited for the Dr. to arrive. Once he got there around 5:00 he quickly got prepped & told Jeff he could help deliver the baby... after the head was out, Jeff would trade places with the Dr. & he would finish the delivery. Jeff was excited to have the experience, but did look a little nervous. Just like with Hannah it didn't take very long or very many pushes to get the baby here, honestly 10 or 15 minutes was it.

At 5:30 Baby Milo arrived, weighing 7 lbs 4 oz & 19.5 inches long. Jeff did a great job & despite my worry he didn't drop him...hehe. They let me hold him long enough to fall in love, before they had to take him over to clean up & check over. I hate that part... I am stuck in this bed to get stitched up while everyone else is having a great time in the other corner of the room with a sweet new baby. I try to make the most of my time & chat it up with my OB & my nurse.

What a fabulous day! I really do enjoy the whole labor & delivery process. And despite the frustration of having a set date scheduled & have it postponed... Milo was worth the wait!

Baby Milo is Here

Milo Graham arrived today at 5:30 PM weighing in at 7 lb 4 oz. and 19 1/2 inches long!

He was worth the wait!

The baby wait continues....

We weren't able to go in this morning, because the hospitals are full! So unless some mom's get discharged or I go into labor this baby isn't going anywhere for now.

The Ninth Month

Being a duplex
I have been happy, my dear,
T loan you half the house
Rent-free and furnished
As best I could.

You have been a good
Tenant, all in all
Quiet, yet comfortably there
Tapping friendly on the wall.

But I heard
You have outgrown the place
And are packing up to move.
Well, I will miss T
he sweet proximity.
But we will keep in touch.
There are bonds, my dear,
That reach beyond a block
Or a mile or a hemisphere
Born of much love and labor.

I approve the move
And gladly turn from landlady
To neighbor.

-Carol Lynn Pearson

My mom is flying in this afternoon to help us out for 2 weeks (THANK YOU, THANK YOU!) and we head to the hospital bright & early tomorrow for the arrival of our little baby Milo.

The end of the Road

I can't believe I am fast approaching the end of my pregnancy! Despite how much harder this one was compared to Hannah, it really seems to have gone by fast... amazing how life can take over like that, isn't it?!

I am actually feeling rather good considering just how miserable I could possibly feel. Week 36 or 37 was a little rough & I wasn't feeling all that good. I even wondered how I was going to make it to the end, but luckily that passed. And other than waking up 1/2 a dozen times to use the restroom every night & the pain involved in pulling myself up I have no other complaints. It's hard to wish for the end of a pregnancy when I feel reasonably good, but all things must come to an end, & with my due date (the 30th) fast approaching there isn't much more I can do but continue to prepare & wait.

Girl's Night Out

Yesterday a friend of mine called suggesting that we try to put together a last minute Girl's Night Out. She knew I was in need of one & had wanted to sneak one in before I have the baby. She was in need of one & her husband had the week off, so it was a great time for it. There is a yucky stomach virus going around so she knew there were lots of others who would feel in need of some time away! So we agreed on a time & place... Cheesecake Factory at 7:30. We called around to see who else was interested. We knew it was short notice, but we got a few who said yes & a few who said maybe.

I loved the idea, but hated it... I have been feeling so stressed lately & was slipping into a bit of a "blue funk" (as my mom would say.. hehe.) So I knew that even if I didn't feel like it... I NEEDED it!

There ended up being 11 of us, which was a great turnout considering how last minute it was planned. We even had some who said they wouldn't make it, show up! It was just one of those days! The food was great, as was the conversation! We all agreed that we need to do this monthly, because it was rejuvenating & just what we needed!

Motherhood is NOT for wimps!!

Need I say more?

Last Friday Hannah woke up with the pukies & had them for a few hours. The rest of the day was spent with her other friend diarrhea. Can't this girl catch a break?? I mean, we went 2 weeks & she seemed to be back to her happy healthy self! This of course happens the day after her follow up appointment from her previous 4 weeks of the lovely duo. At her appointment I was happy to report that she was doing great & eating like a champ. She had even put her weight back on. So I was a bit frustrated that this happened the following day, but I'd heard there was a stomach virus going around, so I assumed that her immune system was still weak & she was going to pick anything & everything up. I was happy when she seemed to be over it within 36 hours. We were able to move on & enjoy the rest of our weekend.

Then yesterday afternoon we were headed over to play with some friends & she proceeded to puke her little guts out all over the place. I stood there in shock, amazed at the amount her little stomach could hold. She started to cry when I said we weren't going to play with friend, we were getting in the bath. At this point I too lost it & began to sob myself. This of course happens after she seemed fine for a few days & on a night that Jeff has an evening class, so it would be a long evening. The next couple of hours were spent going back & forth between being very bitter & angry & crying. (All of which were done by me, Hannah spent that time in the bath & then laying on the couch watching a movie.)

This morning she woke up & puked, but otherwise seemed fine... which makes it more frustrating, because she doesn't seem sick... then we had a few more visits from our lovely friend, diarrhea. We are headed back to the Dr. first thing in the morning. I am going to suggest getting in with a GI to see if we can figure things out. I keep trying to decide what my gut is telling me (you know, that mother's instinct...) but I think I am too tired, pregnant, & stressed out for that instinct to be functioning properly! All I know is that we are even closer to the arrival of the baby (2 weeks people!!) & I feel like we are heading the wrong direction!! So when I say motherhood is not for wimps I mean it... but lately I am feeling rather wimpy & wish that I was a father & had a lovely wife to call in for help cleaning up the puddles of puke.

Our Harvest

We planted a garden this summer. Jeff built 2 garden boxes that were 4x6 in size. We planted way too much in them, but we didn't know that at first. (Some of the plants didn't look like they were going to make it so we sort of doubled up...) Well things got wildly out of control, & there was so many plants in such a small amount of space, I don't think things got proper sunlight!

When Hannah & I arrived back here from our trip to Utah I couldn't believe the jungle in the corner of our yard. We even had some produce to show for our efforts... but considering how much we planted, there really wasn't that much we gained. We did have lots of tomatoes, but some sort of critters got to all of them but one, before we ever could. We took pictures of our harvest, but I didn't take pictures of the garden itself... and as mentioned in previous posts, life sort of took over every aspect of our lives for a few weeks there. Then one night while I was out doing a little yard work I chopped everything back in the garden, so even if I do get around to taking pictures it won't do it justice.

Summer Flashbacks.... The Highlights, rather than the lowlights!

As some of you may know this summer hasn't held very many fabulous events or memories for us. Yes, there are going to be memories, but not the ones you actually want! August has definitely been no exception... the whole month has involved lots of tears & stress. Thankfully to the human mind it is mostly a blur & I would like to keep it that way. I have spent the majority of the week recouping from the latest & not so greatest event of the summer. I keep thinking about posting, but just felt August wasn't my month... so I was going to wait until September & start that month off with a bang! Then I realized there was some good from the summer that I never got to post about!! So I will to a nice little re-cap of some of the highlights since the 4th of July (that seems to be my last HAPPY post. That way I will have a place to find fond memories from this summer, although in all honesty I know I will not look back on this summer with fondness & that's okay, because there is a lifetime of other summers!!

The kids loved playing in Mimaw & Grumpy's backyard in the little swimming pool.

The Days of '47 Parade in downtown Salt Lake. Despite their faces, they all had a good time.

The Escort didn't survive the accident & wasn't worth fixing. We got a great deal on a 2004 Toyota Avalon, it was my step-mom's & thanks to her generous offer & Jeff's parents for help with the financing. We love it! It's such an upgrade for us! It worked out as we were already planning on going to Salt Lake for a visit. We just had to rent a car a little longer here,

& Jeff drove the new one back.

Here are a few pictures

of the interior.

Before my arrival in Salt Lake my sister-in-law told me about these great books she was reading. So I read the first 2 of the series while in there & pre-ordered Eclipse. I got it a few days after I got home & spent a nice day & a half reading it.

Some of my projects from the summer....

I made new matching bed skirts for the crib & Hannah's bed.

There is a shelf in the kids room that is flush with the ceiling & spans one entire wall. I love the shelf, but have struggled to find something to put up there. I have rotated different things, but everything looks so small once up that high. Thanks to my sister-in-law we came up with the idea of these blocks. We went to The Wood Connection in Salt Lake & picked them up & then to get some scrapbooking paper, paint & Mod Podge to complete the project. I do like them, but we had a hard time finding the "Right" colors of paper... & they too are light enough in color that they too lose themselves a little up on the shelf.

These are the quilt tops I made for Hannah & the baby. I wanted them to be similar & match, but for one to be for a girl & one for a boy. They are just vertical stripes running the length of the quilts. I am VERY happy with how these turned out. Now I just need to get with a friend who has more quilting experience than I do to finish them up!

**I think Jeff is even shocked to see how many of these projects have been completed.**

We're Home!!

What a fabulous morning! We were able to get the last test done around 10:30 for cystic fibrosis (which I just called & it was negative) & we were discharged by noon. We went out & had lunch (Hannah didn't want to go home before eating again.) We are still waiting results on the celiac panel test, but deep down I'm not really worried about it. I really think it was that swimming pool parasite or possibly some other virus, & we missed the window of testing to receive a positive answer through the tests. I even think the dehydration may have played a role in prolonging things... who knows, perhaps we'll never know... whatever it was, it was hideous!

Despite losing over 4 pounds she has gained 2 of them back, so we are headed in the right direction. We will follow-up with her doctor next week for a weight check. I am hoping that this is all behind us & we can now prepare for the arrival of the baby. The poor little guy hasn't gotten much thought, other than me hoping he stays put until we work through Hannah's illness. Now I need him to stay put long enough for me to get a few things ready. Thanks again for all the support & prayers through this ordeal!