New Year’s Meme (Part Three)

This is a New Year’s Meme I originally did in 2009, then again at the end of 2010. The answers in black are my original answers, the ones in red are last year’s, and the ones in blue are this year’s.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before? Went to Houston, won a trip to Hawaii (although we've not gone yet).
In 2010 I became a stay at home mom for the first time and also launched a photography business. In 2011 I started an etsy shop (and made a few sales!). I also shot a wedding with Nick. And I was hospitalized for pregnancy complications.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I honestly can't remember last year's resolutions, but we've decided to make some financial changes this year.
This year's resolution was just to trust God more, and we've definitely had to do that. Next year I'd like to expand my photography business. We had the same resolution this year as last, and God has definitely carried us through! I also wanted to make enough with my photography business to cover our initial investment, and I did that.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes. Unfortunately she also got divorced. We also found out that Nick's sister is pregnant. Sadly, still not me, although at this point that would be something of a financial disaster.
Two girls I graduated high school with gave birth. But considering my 2009 answer, I want to point out that I got pregnant about three weeks after I posted that answer and I entered 2010 with a 13 week old baby of my own! Um, me! Me! And my friend A (ironically enough the same girl from my first answer to this question).

4. Did anyone close to you die? My grandfather
No. I'm blessed to have attended no funerals in 2010, although I did learn that a former co-worker passed away a week ago. No one close to me died, but one of my close friends lost her dad just before the end of the year.

5. What countries did you visit? Just this one.
Same answer. Still same old boring answer.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008? A SLR digital camera
This coming year I'd like to have the full Photoshop Suite/Lightroom and a better lighting equipment package. And since I've been reading all these craft blogs, I've fallen in love with the idea of having a Cricut machine. We’d love to be able to move to a bigger house.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? March 3, the day my papaw passed away, and June 26, our 10th anniversary.
January 7, 2010 was the day I went in and quit my job. June 6, the day I found out I was pregnant, and December 14, the day I was admitted to the hospital.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? I don't know how much of an achievement you'd consider it, but I did win that trip to Hawaii.
Actually getting a few photography clients. Also, moderate overall success as a coupon ninja, and serious coupon ninja success when it came to Christmas this year. Hanging onto my pregnancy as long as I did. Also, managing to get most of the Christmas gifts finished and out the door (although I actually still have a few to do).

9. What was your biggest failure? Probably that we could have handled our money better.
Not keeping more on top of the laundry. Not being able to control my blood pressure during my pregnancy (although I did try!).

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Not unless you count strep throat
Nope! Unless you count the time I slipped in our backyard and ended up with a very sore spine and tailbone for a few days. Well there was that little blood pressure thing…

11. What was the best thing you bought? Probably my car - it's been a great investment so far.
My camera! Probably the Sequoia.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration? Morgan has really gotten it together with school. She had some issues in October with not really wanting to get her work done, but she's improved 110%.
Morgan has been an ah-may-zing big sister! Nick was an AWESOME husband and father during the chaos of the last few weeks of my pregnancy!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed? A couple we've known for years and years and actually introduced. They both just gave up on their marriage and decided to get divorced rather than putting any effort into fixing things.
Barack Obama. The plethora of men behaving badly in the media this year!

14. Where did most of your money go? Bills, food.
Bills, diapers, formula. Bills, diapers.

 
15. What did you get really, really, really excited about? Our trip to Houston.
My camera and our trip back to Texas. The birth of our son.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008? Anything Hannah Montana. If I never hear Hannah Montana again it will be too soon, but since Morgan sings the stuff in her sleep, I'm probably not that lucky.
Anything by the Avett Brothers. Nick has been playing the crap out of them! Billionaire as performed by the cast of Glee. Odd choice I know, but I think they just blew the original out of the water!

17. Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? Probably happier, Probably about the same, Happier b) thinner or fatter? About the same, maybe a little heavier, but not much, probably about the same, which I’m pretty proud of since I just had a baby! c) richer or poorer? Probably about the same, although we really should be richer, Poorer, Money-wise, about the same, but infinitely richer in our family.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of? Photography
Day to day photography just for myself. Cleaning – we have way too much stuff in this house!

19. What do you wish you’d done less of? Eating out.
Staying up way too late. Eating lots of Ramen noodles during the first few months of my pregnancy. I ate them because they were cheap, but I know they must have added to the later problems with my blood pressure.

20. How did you spend Christmas? With family, eating, opening gifts.
This year will be the same. Out of the hospital – yay! And frantically trying to finish making gifts!

21. Did you fall in love in 2008? Yes, with my husband and daughter, every day.
Yes, with my husband and both of my daughters, every day. Yes, with my husband, my daughters, and my son!

22. What was your favorite TV program? Lost
Lost, until it went off, then Sons of Anarchy and Terriers. Glee. I know – it’s a guilty pleasure.'

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year? Nah
Nope. Still nope.

24. What was the best book you read? I couldn't even begin to narrow that down.
Same answer, although there have been some great ones! Probably The Hunger Games Trilogy.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery? That Itunes will let you redownload your purchases if your hard drive crashes!
The Avett Brothers. Adele. And Glee.

26. What did you want and get? A better car.
A Nikon D90. A son (although technically he didn’t arrive till 2012).

27. What did you want and not get? A Nikon D90
Photoshop/Lightroom. Photoshop/Lightroom.

28. What was your favorite film of this year? Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Fireproof
Sherlock Holmes. Well, the only one we got to go see was Hugo, but it was pretty good.

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? I turned 31, and I hung out with Nick, went shopping, went to see the movie Fireproof, and stopped to visit with some friends.
I turned 33, and to celebrate we had a cookout with family and friends the day before, then I had a photo shoot. The day of we went to church then went and had lunch with Nick's sister and her husband. I turned 34, and I got to do a little bit of shopping and have lunch with Nick.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?More money? Definitely more money, and a baby, or at least having one on the way.
Having made enough off my photography to have paid for my camera in full. Right now I'm a little over 50% of the way there. I can’t think of one blessed thing!

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008? Same old jeans and cute shirts I'm afraid.
Not much has changed here. Lol, it was maternity wear for most of it!

32. What kept you sane? Nick beating my butt when I got too stressed, although I probably could have used more of that.
Concentrating on letting God take care of us and our finances. Still trusting in God, although I wouldn’t have turned down a few more spankings!

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Mmmmm....Josh Holloway, although Harrison Ford wasn't bad either.
Still Josh Holloway - Oh, Sawyer, I miss you! Is it weird that I’m still crushing on Josh Holloway even though Lost has been off the air for almost a year?

34. What political issue stirred you the most? No politics here, please.
The health care fiasco! Honestly I’ve been a little too occupied to pay much attention.

35. Who did you miss? My friend L
Still my friend L, although I got to see her a bit more this year. Same answer, although I got to see her even less this past year.

36. Who was the best new person you met? I can't really think of anyone new I met in real life that made a big impression, but I met lots of great people on here!
Same answer. Same answer.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008. Life is not fair - sometimes the people who make the worst decisions can still end up swimming in money.
God is always there for us - His mercies are new every morning! Sometimes you just have to take off the Super Mom costume and take care of your own health (and life will continue when you do).

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. I can't really think of a good answer for this one.
Still can't come up with one! Sigh, still nothing.

Life these days…

Hi, guys! Jack got to come home with us on the 13th, and he’s doing fabulous! At 3lb 13.27oz, he was actually the smallest baby our hospital’s NICU had ever sent home! Since then he’s gained steadily, and as of this past Friday he weighs 4lb 7oz. I don’t generally (or really ever) post pictures of my kids on here, but these are all pretty anonymous, so I had to share:

My baby shower was yesterday, and it was terrific! I got tons of diapers and clothes, and so many people that I love came to help us celebrate. My sister-in-law Faith made us the BEST diaper cake alternative:

My mom actually stayed home and kept Jack for us. We didn’t feel comfortable having him out in a crowd yet (we’re still almost 3 weeks from his due date), but we played a slideshow of pictures on Morgan’s iPad, and everyone understood.

We’ve had so many wonderful blessings lately. The check Kate and Will sent us for Christmas allowed us to pay off a few bills as well as buy Nick and I each something we’d wanted for a long time. Nick has long wanted a hand gun (every guy in my family loves to shoot), so that was his gift. I got to go get myself both a serger and an inexpensive embroidery machine.
But the best thing the money did for us was allow us to get through my 16 days of hospitalization plus Jack’s 9 days beyond my release. Obviously I was unable to cook during this time, which meant extra money spent on eating out every day, plus quite a bit of gas spent with Nick and I driving to the hospital every day (sometimes several times a day for me as I was pumping milk as well as nursing).
Another blessing was how we got our car seat. We had hoped to get a car seat in the baby shower, but that of course was before he decided to show up 5 1/2 weeks early! Because he’s so small, we knew we would have to have one rated 4lb and up. Daisy’s old one wouldn’t work, because not only was it not rated for preemies, but it was also past it’s expiration date.

Now I don’t know if you’ve ever priced infant car seats, but they aren’t cheap, and those rated for 4lb babies are definitely on the pricey side. When Jack was 5 days old, my cousin sent me a text telling me she had some baby stuff for me. Included was a car seat/stroller travel system that was exactly what we needed! It had belonged to her best friend, and my cousin had used an identical system for her son who’s 8 weeks older than Daisy. Nick and I had decided against getting one on Craigslist just because you can’t know the history of the seat that way (once a car seat goes through a car wreck, it’s considered compromised and no longer safe). But my cousin is a nurse, and certainly one of the most conscientious moms I know, and she could vouch for the car seat having never been in any sort of accident.

She and her mom (my aunt) also brought 2 bouncy seats, a Boppy pillow, a baby swing, and the BEST little outfit! A few months ago Kate had sent us this precious little sleeper set from Gymboree, and I had decided it would be his coming-home outfit. Then when we found out he was going to be really small, I realized that it would be way too big on him, so I resigned myself to finding something else. The outfit my aunt and cousin brought that night was from the same line, but preemie sized!

They also brought him a layette set in the hospital, and then FOUR more sets tonight! Plus, they brought me a Moby Wrap, something I registered for but didn’t get (probably because they’re so stinkin’ expensive!).

And speaking of blessings, a longtime prayer request of ours has been for my mom and my aunt to be able to sell their dad’s farm. My papaw passed away almost 4 years ago, and the economy being what it is, the property has sat on the market since then. Tomorrow they are due to finally close the sale on it.

An unexpected side effect of that for us was that my aunt bought a new refrigerator and gave us her old one. Now we’ve needed a better refrigerator for AGES. Ours was used when we got it, and we’ve had it for over 10 years. Besides being on the small side, it just had a lot of wear and tear. Several of the shelves in the doors were broken, the ice maker would sporadically decide to stop working, and the dairy drawer was broken. All of that said though, it still kept the food cold, so it was just something that kept getting put on the Someday List.

The model my aunt gave us is far from new, but it’s in great shape – a side by side with lots more room than ours, water and ice in the door, and no broken shelves! The ice maker does need to be repaired, but we’ve been told it can be fixed for about $40. And it fit in the space we have without a centimeter to spare! It’s just so neat how God gives us good things even if we sometimes don’t “need” them yet!

Anyway, I know this is a terribly long post, so I’ll wrap it up. Have a great night!

A blessed New Year

Well, I’m finally getting a moment to post after a whirlwind couple of days. Monday (the day after my last post), my doctor had someone bring me over for my ultrasound about 10:30.

My amniotic fluid looked great, but Jack was not as active as he had been up until that point, and it was harder to see his breathing movements. My doctor decided we needed to go ahead and induce, so they took me back to my room, and I called Nick, then my parents and in-laws.

I already had an IV in, so they just needed to get the epidural and pitocin drip started. The nurse wanted to start the pitocin drip first (which would have started the contractions), but I insisted on the epidural first, lol. The epidural actually went very smoothly, very little pain from the injection or the insertion of the IV line. My doctor came in once the epidural was in effect and broke my water, around 1:30 I think. Family was in and out, but Nick stayed with me the whole time unless he was walking Morgan out when they needed to check dilation, etc.

Shortly after 5:30 I was 7 cm, which was about as far as the doctor planned to take me before delivery since he was so small. There was just a bit of my cervix that still needed widening, so she had me push gently a couple of times. That did the trick and got me to 8 cm, but it made Jack’s heart rate (which had been great until then) drop down, so we knew we had to go fast. We got everyone’s attention, she had me push one whole time and he was out. There was a scary moment because the cord was wrapped around his neck twice (thus the heart rate drop), but the doctor had him untangled within a couple of seconds, and we heard beautiful, loud, pissed off crying!

The doctor was so pleased with how gorgeously pink he was, and his Apgar scores were 8 and 8. She laid him up on my chest, and as soon as I put my hand on him he quieted down. Because he was so small, they only did basic cleanup and vitals in the crib warmer, and they had him in the incubator and out of the room within a couple of minutes.

It was so hard to watch them wheel him out and have to stay put, but I knew it was best that they get him down to the NICU to check him out. My nurse came back in about 15 minutes with his stats and the news that he looked to be doing great and had not had to have any breathing intervention. He was born at 5:42 PM, 3 lb and 11 oz, and 17 1/4 inches.

Nick took the family down to see him once they gave him permission (about and hour and 1/2 after delivery), but they wouldn’t let Morgan come in because it’s flu season. She was pretty upset, but she did understand. I didn’t get to go see him in the NICU until he was almost 5 hours old, which killed me! I tried earlier, once the epidural first started wearing off, but when I got up I was too lightheaded to even make it to the bathroom without a nurse on either side to help me walk. By the time I was able to get up and move without passing out, the NICU had closed temporarily for shift change, so I had to wait for a bit longer.

When I finally got to see him, it was a bit terrifying to see how very small he was, and all the monitor wires and the IV line (all standard accessories for brand new NICU babies) made it even scarier.
But he’s done just wonderfully well! He never had to go on any sort of breathing treatment, and yesterday he actually did a great job of latching on and nursing on two separate visits, truly impressing his nurses (and his parents!). I’ve been pumping breast milk, which they’ve been giving him via a feeding tube or a syringe in addition to the nursing, and they got to take out his IV line today. He became a little jaundiced earlier, but that’s more or less expected at his age (Daisy went through it too, and she was full term). They’ve got him under the bili lights right now, although they’re taking him out for feedings of course. I’ll be going back down in about an hour and a half to try nursing again.

I can technically leave at any time, although I’m delaying check-out (with my doctor’s approval) until after Nick gets off work and can pick me up so that I have a place to hang out between feedings. Of course we had been hoping and praying that he would not have to stay longer than I would, but the news is still much better than it could have been. The NICU doctor anticipated as of yesterday that we will get to bring him home by the end of next week, which is a huge change from the 5-6 weeks they were predicting before I had him!

I think we’re going to try to bring the girls down later so that they can at least see him through the window. Morgan was in the room for all of my labor except for the approximately 7 seconds it took for him to actually be born, lol. She chickened out at the last minute and left to join her papaws in the hallway, but I didn’t mind.

Thank you again for all your prayers, and I would really appreciate their continuation that we can bring him home soon (but when he’s ready of course!). Off to pump more milk…

Happy New Year!

Hello, everyone! I hope you’re all having a great New Year! I’m back in the hospital and only have access to post to the blog via Window’s Live Writer. I can’t actually view my posts because my blog isn’t allowed by the hospital’s firewall, so hopefully I won’t get home and realize I’ve made all kinds of typos lol.

I got to go home for Christmas, which was very nice. I actually went home (or rather to my parents’ house) on Wednesday the 21st. Nick picked me up at the hospital, and we stopped by the house on the way to my parents’ house so I could get a few clothes and craft supplies I needed. Nick grabbed the mail, and I had the most wonderful surprise in it! One of my dear friends that I met through blogging had sent us a Christmas card with some money inside! This was such an unexpected gift, and it was such a blessing! Nick had ended up having to miss a day and a half of work with me being in the hospital, and on the way home I was just telling him that we needed to be in prayer because funds in the bank account were running pretty low. What a blessing this wonderful lady and her husband were to us!

My doctor’s visit that Friday went very well, good blood pressure readings, and my amniotic fluid level was back at a 12, which is the magic number of where it is supposed to be. Friday night we had my family’s Christmas celebration, and I spent most of the day trying to finish up the gifts for that night without overdoing it. By the end of the night though I was worn out, and myself, my parents, and the girls were all going a little stir crazy with each other, so Nick decided to take us home.
It was a relief to get back to my own bed, and I tried to take it easy, although that’s easier said than done with a two year old. Saturday night we had a Christmas celebration at Nick’s aunt’s house, and Nick and I spent a few hours that night getting all of Morgan’s and Daisy’s gifts wrapped and under the tree.

Before going into the hospital, I had found Nick a few token gifts, nothing big, but things I knew he would like. We rarely get each other anything of any substance for Christmas, just because our money generally goes toward buying for the girls and everyone else, but we usually come up with something small for each other. I gave him the things I had for him, and he surprised me with the start of a Willow Tree Nativity set, complete with a stable he made himself! I’ve collected Willow Tree figurines for years, mostly getting them from family as birthday gifts, and I’ve wanted a nativity forever, but the price was always too high. He found the 6 piece starter set on sale at a little Christian book store, and he told me that he plans to buy me a new piece every year! I love, love, love the idea of this, and I was thrilled with the gift!

Sunday morning Morgan woke us all up bright and early, and we all piled downstairs for the girls to open their gifts. They loved everything they got, and I was pleased and relieved to find that they appreciated the handmade and thrift store items just as much as the few new things they got.
After they opened gifts at home, we went to his dad’s house, and that’s where Christmas got really interesting! I got some makeup that I’d been needing, and some body care stuff from Victoria’s Secret, as well as a curved shower curtain rod, something Nick had been wanting for our bathroom for ages. Nick got an airbrush kit, some golf shoes, and a couple of florescent light ballasts with extra light bulbs for our garage, something that we’d needed FOREVER.

Morgan got some pajama pants and some boots and some hair styling tools and some scrapbooking stuff. Daisy got a fuzzy pink rocking horse, a very sweet handmade snowman shirt and tutu (from Kelly), and a cute pair of shoes (that she immediately put on the rocking horse lol). Then my MIL brought out the gifts Kate and Will had sent.

Now I’ve mentioned before that Kate and Will are both very well off and very generous, but I honestly wasn’t expecting the level of gifts they got us this year. First of all, Morgan opened up a really cute pair of boots that she’d been wanting, and then she opened up…………..an iPad 2! And not just an iPad, but an iPad with about $250 worth of accessories, including Skull Candy headphones, a smart cover for the iPad, a car charger, and $140 worth of iTunes gift cards! We were stunned, to say the least, and we just about had to peel her off the ceiling!

Then my MIL brought in these two super nice rolling duffel bags, one with Nick’s name embroidered on it, and one with Morgan’s. Morgan’s was stuffed completely full of gorgeous clothes and shoes for Daisy, and Nick’s was completely full of clothes, blankets, etc. for Jack! There was also a very cool little toiletries case inside one of them for me.

THEN, my MIL handed me a card from Kate and Will. Inside was a very nice check and a note that it was to help with bills! What an amazingly generous gift altogether!

When I got the unexpected card on Wednesday with the money inside, there was a note from my friend telling me that they were so glad to be able to be in a position to be of help to us, and they hoped that we would someday soon be in a position to pass the blessing along. We knew immediately that this was our opportunity to do so, and we began making plans to bless Robert and Faith, who have been facing some financial issues lately. The next evening we took them out to dinner, and while there they spilled the secret that they had just found out that they’re expecting their first baby! After dinner we stopped at Wal-Mart, and bought them their first baby gift, and it was so much fun to be able to treat someone else! We were also able to pay my parents back a couple of hundred dollars that they loaned us when we bought the Sequoia, and I know they were relieved to get it.

Anyway, back to the pregnancy…that day (the day after Christmas), my blood pressure at the doctor’s visit was a little on the high side, and the amniotic fluid level had dropped to 10. But things were not worrisome enough as of yet to send me back to the hospital, so she sent me home again with orders to drink lots of water and really stick to the bed rest. Other than dinner with my brother and his wife, I did just that. My mom came over the next day to watch the kids for me, and I only got out of bed to move to the couch just before Nick got home.

My next doctor’s appointment was Wednesday. Despite all the continuous resting, hydrating, and low sodium diet, my blood pressure readings had continued to climb since the visit two days earlier, and I was concerned enough to pack a small bag just in case I had to be readmitted. It turns out that was a wise choice, because the visit showed that my amniotic fluid was back down to an 8, and the baby had dropped down to the 11th percentile on the growth chart. They estimated his size at 3lb 13oz. She me sent back over to check in again, and I’ve been here ever since.

She’s been doing ultrasounds every two days, and today’s indicated that we can likely only get another 2-3 days out of the pregnancy before we have to induce. She will do another ultrasound tomorrow instead of waiting till Tuesday. The good news is that Jack himself seems to be doing very well other than just being very small. Today we could see him sucking his thumb and making other little nursing motions, and his breathing movements are looking great. He’s very active, and is handling the frequent nonstress tests very well.

When she did the ultrasound on Friday she told me that she thought that if we could get to 35 1/2 weeks now we would have a take-home baby, which is a week sooner than she was  thinking before. I’ll be 34 weeks and 4 days tomorrow, so we’re within about a week of that now. I did take a tour of the NICU a few days ago, just to prepare myself, but I’m praying fervently that God gives him the strength and level of development needed to avoid us having to leave him here at all!

Last night Nick brought the girls down to ring in the new year with me. Robert and Faith and well as Kelly and Grant also came down. The siblings and spouses left about 12:30, but Nick and the girls stayed all night. That wasn’t exactly the plan, but Nick pulled out the pull-out couch to lay down for just a minute, and in no time at all he was fast asleep. Morgan played on her iPad, and Daisy snuggled up next to me, and I just couldn’t bear to wake him up and send them home. I had the nurse bring us a couple of extra pillows and blankets, and Morgan shared the pull-out with Nick and was asleep by about 2:00. It was really so sweet to have them here, and just the best feeling in the world to have Daisy’s little arms wrapped around me while she slept. My blood pressure was lower today, and I really believe that’s why!

Anyway, that’s what’s going on with us. I really, really, REALLY appreciate all your prayers and sweet comments, and I apologize for not having access to reply to them. Please do continue to pray for us – Matthew 18:19 tells us:
   “Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they
     shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.”
So I’m asking you to please be in prayer that our baby is born healthy and strong, with no complications resulting from his prematurity, and that we are able to take him home with us when we leave!