Two blog posts in one night? What, what? I know, call me crazy. But earlier I was reading back through my archives, and I came across a bunch of memes I had done. Mostly they made me realize how very good God has been to us! On almost every one that had a "what do you wish for" type question, the answer is something that God has since blessed me with, whether a new camera, a better/bigger car, a new baby (or two), or being a stay at home mom, God had been showering me with blessings for literally years, and it was really neat to see!
But anyway, one post was a list of 100 random facts about (not just) me, and besides bringing back some great memories, it really made me giggle. So I thought I'd do another one.
1. I'm kind of madly in love with Pinterest.
2. I still haven't mailed Nick's sister and her family's Christmas presents to Texas.
3. This is really shameful and embarrassing, but shipping is crazy expensive for it!
4. Jack has the same name as a character on Lost.
5. That character is not Jack.
6. He was also not named after Lost - we just really like the name we chose.
7. I seriously miss Lost.
8. I play Farmville.
9. I wish I could stop, but I can't seem to let it go.
10. I suck at growing things in real life.
11. We're going to Sea Island, Georgia in August.
12. Nick's sister and brother-in-law rented a condo for the whole family there.
13. Nick's dad is obsessed with giving people birthday spankings.
14. This really creeps me out because spanking is not something I want to associate with my father-in-law.
15. One year he literally chased me around a car trying to give me one.
16. Nick had to intervene and it was awkward.
17. We're trying to potty train Daisy.
18. It's not going very well.
19. Morgan is a school safety this semester.
20. This means that she is one of a group of kids that ensures the kids who get picked up by parents get in their cars.
21. It also means she gets to go to Washington D.C. in June.
22. Jack is the only baby I've had who enjoys a pacifier.
23. His pacifiers are personalized with his name on them.
24. They were a gift from my cousin.
25. Nick is going to be a counselor at church camp in June.
26. Morgan will be going too.
27. I'm a little panicked at the thought of being alone all week with a toddler and an infant.
28. I have a pair of Reef flip flops that I wear literally every day, even in my house.
29. They were bought to replace an identical pair I bought for our trip to Hawaii and wore out wearing all through my pregnancy with Daisy.
30. I seem to get pregnant every time I buy a new pair.
31. Hmmmm....
32. I was a little sad to leave my six week postpartum visit just because I love my OB/GYN so much.
33. She's an AWESOME doctor.
34. Nick's sister who's pregnant now, my brother's wife who was pregnant, and the pregnant wife of an old friend of mine all go to her.
35. Nick's other sister used to go to her too when she lived in this state.
36. I made necklaces for me and Daisy to wear on Easter.
37. I made Morgan one like mine for her birthday.
38. My phone is a Samsung Infuse. It's an Android, and I LOOOOVE it.
39. I think Androids are 10,000,000,000,000 times more awesome than iPhones.
40. A few days ago I bought a Lightscoop, and it's awesome!
41. That was not an affiliate link.
42. I hate doing dishes more than I had doing laundry.
43. I need to do both tomorrow.
44. I really should be in bed, but tomorrow is kind of a day off, so I think I'm okay.
45. Right, honey?
46. Jack will be 4 months old on Wednesday.
47. He still wears newborn clothes, but he's outgrown preemies.
48. He still wears newborn/preemie diapers, although we're almost out of them.
49. A couple of weeks ago I got a card from his NICU nurses wishing us well and thanking us for letting them take care of him.
50. They were all awesome, and I'd like to take him by to see them soon.
51. Daisy has started watching a lot of Dora the Explorer.
52. This has led to her playing Swiper the Fox.
53. This means she likes to grab something you don't want to lose, throw it, then shout "You'll NEVER find your shoe/book/hat/remote! Muahahahahaha!"
54. It's pretty hard to be stern when she does this.
55. All three of my babies have blue eyes.
56. Morgan's are the same shade of light blue as Nick's and the same shape and size as mine.
57. Daisy's and Jack's are my shade of dark blue, but they are HUGE. Daisy looks like a Disney princess with hers.
58. Daisy's favorite book is Llama Llama Mad at Mama.
59. I have yet to take the serger and embroidery machine I got for Christmas out of their boxes.
60. This is due to a lack of space rather than a lack of desire.
61. Nick and I are praying that if it is God's will, He will someday allow us to buy the house Nick lived in part of the time we were dating.
62. That house currently belongs to the mother of one of Nick's two best men.
63. It has the most perfect layout for our family I could imagine, not to mention an awesome yard and back deck.
64. The owner lives there alone, and her three kids have tried to talk her into selling and moving to a condo for years.
65. I'm eating Kraft Peppermint Jet Puffed Mallow Bits right now.
66. That's right - straight out of the container.
67. Tonight I set my blog to send Nick copies of all future posts (with his permission).
68. When I walked by the bathroom last night, the vanity counter top was spread with an even layer of toothpaste.
69. This is not something I requested.
70. Daisy was also minty fresh.
71. I was walking past to get Jack's bathtub, so I guess it's good I was already in the bathing children mindset.
72. We got our (hopefully) final doctor's bill. For both of my hospitalizations as well as Jack's NICU stay, we have to pay $300 total.
73. This is much better than the $33,000 pre-insurance.
74. I forgot to make the bed today.
75. I plan to do some sewing tomorrow.
76. I want to make an apron and some change pouches.
78. I made Daisy a skirt last week with the most adorable elephant patterned corduroy.
79. I also made her a matching headband.
80. She wore them both to church Sunday and people wanted to gobble her up!
81. Jack has entered the jabbering while kicking and waving stage.
82. Daisy has developed an alarming habit of dropping random objects into your drink when you aren't looking.
83. The other day Nick got to the bottom of his big plastic cup of tea and found four AA batteries.
84. He seems to be none the worse for the wear.
85. Morgan is sweating us hard for a cell phone.
86. It's not going to happen.
87. Even though she's the only 5th grader on the PLANET without one.
88. Next month her class is going on a field trip to the middle school to tour the classrooms, hallways, lockers, etc.
89. I'm feeling a little verklempt about this.
90. I still haven't finished cleaning out Jack's room.
91. I feel guilty about this.
92. The magnet on my refrigerator says "I need some stress relief", but it should probably be the one that says "I need some motivation."
93. I can hear Daisy down the hall talking to the dog.
94. We put her to bed asleep hours ago.
95. Apparently she woke up.
96. I'm really hoping she goes back to sleep.
97. I'm glad I'm almost finished with this.
98. I can hear Nick snoring.
99. I think it's time to join him.
100. I'm calling it a night.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Catching up a bit...
Hello, everyone. Hope you're all enjoying spring! It's been gorgeous here, although we did have a nasty storm yesterday. Nick has been enjoying some golf lately. He started to really get interested in it last year when he played in a charity tournament for Morgan's old school. He played again this year with Robert, Grant, and a guy from our church, and they had a ton of fun. He and Robert have been hitting the driving range every chance they get.
Looking back, I realize I've left out all kinds of blessings and family events over the last few months. Let's see, back on this post I mentioned that we needed a new roof. With everything that happened with me going in the hospital and then Jack's NICU stay, it kind of got put on the back burner. Finally, toward the end of January when things kind of started to get settled down, we looked into what we needed to do. The main issue was that we really didn't have anything to spend out of pocket, so we were hoping that the roofing company would be willing to do the work for what the insurance paid after our co-pay. Also, we were dealing with the issue of trying to get the payment from an insurance company we no longer used.
God's hand was truly on the process from start to finish. Not only did the insurance company not balk at paying, but the roofing company was happy with the amount, and they put on much nicer shingles than we had before, exactly, in fact, what we would have chosen if money was no object. They had the old roof off and the new one on in about 4 hours on February 20, which just blew our minds.
THEN, about a month after all that awesomeness, we got an unexpected extra check from the insurance company. It turns out that they had decided to send a little extra (like almost $1100.00 extra). We were very surprised, and it came at a very good time, but we didn't want to cheat the roofing company out of anything (or have them come after us if we didn't turn it in to them!). So we prayed about it, and I called them and told them I needed to see if we were paid in full with them because we had gotten another check from the insurance. Now when the adjuster had come out, they had included in the estimate some damage that we didn't have the roofers repair (a small water stain on the living room ceiling as well as repainting in there). The roofing company assured me that we were paid in full, and even sent me a paid in full letter for our files.
Nick's sister Kate and her family came in from Texas the weekend we got the new roof and stayed for 5 days. We had so much fun with them, and we were able to take the kids to the aquarium, as well as to play putt-putt and a very nice dinner (all of which they paid for). That weekend Nick's other sister and her husband also made an announcement - they're expecting their first baby! We're super excited for them, and they're due the day before Daisy's birthday. We found out a couple of weeks ago that they're having a boy, and I can't wait to throw her a baby shower.
We did have some sad news a few months ago. Robert and his wife Faith, who announced their first pregnancy in December, lost the baby just a few weeks after Jack was born. She was just about 8 weeks along, but it was truly heartbreaking. What made it even harder was that the miscarriage happened the weekend she helped throw my baby shower for Jack. She didn't feel well during the shower, so we sent her to go lie down. The day after the next (Monday), she went to the doctor and they were unable to find a heartbeat. This is the brother who is our pastor, and I can truly say that they have shown such an amazing testimony during an incredibly difficult time. I pray that God blesses them with a baby sometime very soon.
Speaking of brothers, my other brother James (the one who's been living in L.A.) moved back in February, and he now lives about 3 minutes away from me! He was living out of state for about a year and 1/2 for his work, and I've missed him so much! It's so good to have him home!
Oh! Another cool thing - for the last 3 months I've been taking part in a monthly girls night out. The first Thursday of the month I go out to eat with a group of other women, most of them also married with children, and I can't even tell you how incredibly much fun this has been. One of the women is a girl I went to school with, ironically enough one that I had a VERY volatile friendship with during high school, with much more fighting that friendliness. All these years later we're great friends, and Nick and the kids and I actually went to a family game night at her and her husband's house last month. We don't have all that many friends who are in the exact stage of life with are in (married with 3 kids, all younger than teenagers), so it was a lot of fun to spend some time with them, and Nick got to meet some of the wives I've been spending girl's night out with.
Easter was lovely as always. I kind of went nuts with matching our clothes, but we all wore black/gray, white, and yellow, and I have to say, we looked pretty great together. We had dinner at Nick's grandparents' house, and Jack was the star of the show. :)
The 21st I had a photo shoot. It was my first since the baby was born, and it was pretty intense. It was at a special care facilty for some pretty severely disabled patients, and they were very challenging to work with. That said, it was a blessing to be chosen for such an opportunity, and I have such respect for the workers who spend their days caring for these very special patients.
The 24th was Nick and Morgan's birthday. My baby girl is eleven years old! We had a small family get together, and it was a lot of fun. I can't believe another year has passed!
And speaking of Nick, I'm so very proud of him! He decided at the new year that he was going to make some healthy lifestyle changes, and he used part of our income tax return to buy bicycles for me and him. I've sadly not had much opportunity to ride mine (um, new baby!), but he's been taking his to work with him and faithfully riding on his lunch breaks. He's also gone on a few ride events, and he's been eating a lot healthier too. He's dropped some noticeable weight, and I'm so impressed with him for sticking with it!
What else? In March Nick and I got to have a real live date night! My in-laws kept Morgan overnight, and my parents kept Jack and Daisy for the evening so that we could have dinner and go see opening night of The Hunger Games. Nick and I absolutely loved the books, and I have to say that they did an awesome job with the movie. We can't wait till the next one comes out, and we already have it planned as a date.
Anything else? Oh yeah - our old, faithful, much used gas grill finally bit the dust earlier this month, right at the beginning of grilling season. I mentioned it on Facebook and my friend Denise commented and said that we could just have hers. I couldn't believe it, because hers was in great shape, but she's single and lives alone and just never uses it, so she passed it along to us! Our dishwasher also had to be replaced. Fortunately we were able to get one reasonably priced, and it should be here on May 1st. Unfortunately I'm revisiting my dishwasherless newlywed days until then, but I think I'll live. :)
Nick has picked up a bit on the discipline side of things, although there's not been any actual spanking. He has, however cracked down on my tendency to stay up all hours of the night, and it just feels really good to feel him there setting some boundaries.
Anyway, I know this has been a long, rambling post. But I kind of had my head stuck in the sand there for a while, and I wanted to get all this down. :)
Looking back, I realize I've left out all kinds of blessings and family events over the last few months. Let's see, back on this post I mentioned that we needed a new roof. With everything that happened with me going in the hospital and then Jack's NICU stay, it kind of got put on the back burner. Finally, toward the end of January when things kind of started to get settled down, we looked into what we needed to do. The main issue was that we really didn't have anything to spend out of pocket, so we were hoping that the roofing company would be willing to do the work for what the insurance paid after our co-pay. Also, we were dealing with the issue of trying to get the payment from an insurance company we no longer used.
God's hand was truly on the process from start to finish. Not only did the insurance company not balk at paying, but the roofing company was happy with the amount, and they put on much nicer shingles than we had before, exactly, in fact, what we would have chosen if money was no object. They had the old roof off and the new one on in about 4 hours on February 20, which just blew our minds.
THEN, about a month after all that awesomeness, we got an unexpected extra check from the insurance company. It turns out that they had decided to send a little extra (like almost $1100.00 extra). We were very surprised, and it came at a very good time, but we didn't want to cheat the roofing company out of anything (or have them come after us if we didn't turn it in to them!). So we prayed about it, and I called them and told them I needed to see if we were paid in full with them because we had gotten another check from the insurance. Now when the adjuster had come out, they had included in the estimate some damage that we didn't have the roofers repair (a small water stain on the living room ceiling as well as repainting in there). The roofing company assured me that we were paid in full, and even sent me a paid in full letter for our files.
Nick's sister Kate and her family came in from Texas the weekend we got the new roof and stayed for 5 days. We had so much fun with them, and we were able to take the kids to the aquarium, as well as to play putt-putt and a very nice dinner (all of which they paid for). That weekend Nick's other sister and her husband also made an announcement - they're expecting their first baby! We're super excited for them, and they're due the day before Daisy's birthday. We found out a couple of weeks ago that they're having a boy, and I can't wait to throw her a baby shower.
We did have some sad news a few months ago. Robert and his wife Faith, who announced their first pregnancy in December, lost the baby just a few weeks after Jack was born. She was just about 8 weeks along, but it was truly heartbreaking. What made it even harder was that the miscarriage happened the weekend she helped throw my baby shower for Jack. She didn't feel well during the shower, so we sent her to go lie down. The day after the next (Monday), she went to the doctor and they were unable to find a heartbeat. This is the brother who is our pastor, and I can truly say that they have shown such an amazing testimony during an incredibly difficult time. I pray that God blesses them with a baby sometime very soon.
Speaking of brothers, my other brother James (the one who's been living in L.A.) moved back in February, and he now lives about 3 minutes away from me! He was living out of state for about a year and 1/2 for his work, and I've missed him so much! It's so good to have him home!
Oh! Another cool thing - for the last 3 months I've been taking part in a monthly girls night out. The first Thursday of the month I go out to eat with a group of other women, most of them also married with children, and I can't even tell you how incredibly much fun this has been. One of the women is a girl I went to school with, ironically enough one that I had a VERY volatile friendship with during high school, with much more fighting that friendliness. All these years later we're great friends, and Nick and the kids and I actually went to a family game night at her and her husband's house last month. We don't have all that many friends who are in the exact stage of life with are in (married with 3 kids, all younger than teenagers), so it was a lot of fun to spend some time with them, and Nick got to meet some of the wives I've been spending girl's night out with.
Easter was lovely as always. I kind of went nuts with matching our clothes, but we all wore black/gray, white, and yellow, and I have to say, we looked pretty great together. We had dinner at Nick's grandparents' house, and Jack was the star of the show. :)
The 21st I had a photo shoot. It was my first since the baby was born, and it was pretty intense. It was at a special care facilty for some pretty severely disabled patients, and they were very challenging to work with. That said, it was a blessing to be chosen for such an opportunity, and I have such respect for the workers who spend their days caring for these very special patients.
The 24th was Nick and Morgan's birthday. My baby girl is eleven years old! We had a small family get together, and it was a lot of fun. I can't believe another year has passed!
And speaking of Nick, I'm so very proud of him! He decided at the new year that he was going to make some healthy lifestyle changes, and he used part of our income tax return to buy bicycles for me and him. I've sadly not had much opportunity to ride mine (um, new baby!), but he's been taking his to work with him and faithfully riding on his lunch breaks. He's also gone on a few ride events, and he's been eating a lot healthier too. He's dropped some noticeable weight, and I'm so impressed with him for sticking with it!
What else? In March Nick and I got to have a real live date night! My in-laws kept Morgan overnight, and my parents kept Jack and Daisy for the evening so that we could have dinner and go see opening night of The Hunger Games. Nick and I absolutely loved the books, and I have to say that they did an awesome job with the movie. We can't wait till the next one comes out, and we already have it planned as a date.
Anything else? Oh yeah - our old, faithful, much used gas grill finally bit the dust earlier this month, right at the beginning of grilling season. I mentioned it on Facebook and my friend Denise commented and said that we could just have hers. I couldn't believe it, because hers was in great shape, but she's single and lives alone and just never uses it, so she passed it along to us! Our dishwasher also had to be replaced. Fortunately we were able to get one reasonably priced, and it should be here on May 1st. Unfortunately I'm revisiting my dishwasherless newlywed days until then, but I think I'll live. :)
Nick has picked up a bit on the discipline side of things, although there's not been any actual spanking. He has, however cracked down on my tendency to stay up all hours of the night, and it just feels really good to feel him there setting some boundaries.
Anyway, I know this has been a long, rambling post. But I kind of had my head stuck in the sand there for a while, and I wanted to get all this down. :)
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Yeah, about that...
Yesterday I spent all day mentally working myself up to shutting down the blog. I spent time researching what I needed to do to take down the posts, then time actually taking them all down. By the time Nick was home I was done with that, but I still needed to put up my last post. So I fixed dinner and got everybody fed and got the baby settled in his swing, then finally curled up on the couch to write.
At some point Nick asked me what I was doing. I just wanted to get it done without talking about it anymore, so I told him I was just playing around online.
"You're writing your Dear John Blog letter aren't you?"
Big internal sigh, but I said, "Yes, I'm putting up a final post."
"What's it say?"
"You can read it after I post it if you're curious," I said. I finished up and set the laptop on the ottoman and told him I was going to go take a shower. By this time he was deeply involved with his new Tiger Woods PS3 game. His (and Morgan's) birthday is the 24th, and we had bought the game system and game for his birthday gift.
I headed upstairs and climbed into a hot bath and let myself have the opportunity to shed some private tears and just let it go. I thought I was good to go by the time I got out, but once I got dressed afterwards I lay down on the bed to rest my eyes just for a minute, and the tears started back again. Finally I got my game face on and went downstairs to tuck the girls in.
Once I'd spent a few minutes telling a bedtime story I rejoined Nick in the living room. He was still playing his game, and the laptop was right where I'd left it, so I assumed he hadn't read my post. I picked up my phone and read the comments by PK and kiwigirl. He asked what I was doing, so I told him I was reading a couple of comments.
"I just saw the one," he said. Ah, so he had read it.
"There's another one now." He just kind of shook his head at me, like he thought I was being silly.
"Do you think I did the right thing?"
"I told you last night I didn't think you should take it down."
He did NOT!
"You did NOT!"
"Yes I did."
"You certainly did not. What you told me was that you just weren't going to ever be able to do what I needed without me asking and-"
"I told you that it was a part of you and you should keep it up. It's an outlet for you."
It was at this point that my sanity took itself off to a distant corner of my mind to throw up its hands and scream a bit.
"Honey, it's not been much of an outlet for me for a long time." And you never told me to leave it up! I added silently.
Anyway, at that point it was getting late, so he turned off his game. I handed him the baby to take up while I locked up the house. When I got upstairs I expected him to already be under the covers half asleep, but he was lying sideways across the bed playing with Jack. I lay down beside them and we spent a few minutes playing with our sweet boy and talking about how very blessed we were that God had allowed him to be so healthy and perfect. There are two craft bloggers I follow that were pregnant at the same time as me, although I was due several months before them. Both of their babies came early and only lived for a short time, and my heart just aches for them.
Finally he looked at me and said, "I'm sorry I've not been meeting your needs."
"Honey, I'm the one who's been asking you to be someone you're not, and I'm sorry."
"This is a part of who you are."
"I know that, but I've got no interest in being a burden on you."
"You're not a burden on me."
"What do you think I should do here?"
"I think you should put the blog back up."
Oh.
Okay.
"I promise to try to do better meeting your needs," he said. There was other stuff, but that was the gist of it. Then we put Jack down in the little bedside carrier he sleeps in and we made love. And yes, there was some spanking.
And yes, I feel a little ridiculous. And relieved. And grateful. And in retrospect I do remember him telling me the night before that it was a part of who I am, but I was trying so hard to stay strong and focused on letting go that I never heard him say he thought it would be a mistake to delete it.
So, I guess you guys are stuck with me.
At some point Nick asked me what I was doing. I just wanted to get it done without talking about it anymore, so I told him I was just playing around online.
"You're writing your Dear John Blog letter aren't you?"
Big internal sigh, but I said, "Yes, I'm putting up a final post."
"What's it say?"
"You can read it after I post it if you're curious," I said. I finished up and set the laptop on the ottoman and told him I was going to go take a shower. By this time he was deeply involved with his new Tiger Woods PS3 game. His (and Morgan's) birthday is the 24th, and we had bought the game system and game for his birthday gift.
I headed upstairs and climbed into a hot bath and let myself have the opportunity to shed some private tears and just let it go. I thought I was good to go by the time I got out, but once I got dressed afterwards I lay down on the bed to rest my eyes just for a minute, and the tears started back again. Finally I got my game face on and went downstairs to tuck the girls in.
Once I'd spent a few minutes telling a bedtime story I rejoined Nick in the living room. He was still playing his game, and the laptop was right where I'd left it, so I assumed he hadn't read my post. I picked up my phone and read the comments by PK and kiwigirl. He asked what I was doing, so I told him I was reading a couple of comments.
"I just saw the one," he said. Ah, so he had read it.
"There's another one now." He just kind of shook his head at me, like he thought I was being silly.
"Do you think I did the right thing?"
"I told you last night I didn't think you should take it down."
He did NOT!
"You did NOT!"
"Yes I did."
"You certainly did not. What you told me was that you just weren't going to ever be able to do what I needed without me asking and-"
"I told you that it was a part of you and you should keep it up. It's an outlet for you."
It was at this point that my sanity took itself off to a distant corner of my mind to throw up its hands and scream a bit.
"Honey, it's not been much of an outlet for me for a long time." And you never told me to leave it up! I added silently.
Anyway, at that point it was getting late, so he turned off his game. I handed him the baby to take up while I locked up the house. When I got upstairs I expected him to already be under the covers half asleep, but he was lying sideways across the bed playing with Jack. I lay down beside them and we spent a few minutes playing with our sweet boy and talking about how very blessed we were that God had allowed him to be so healthy and perfect. There are two craft bloggers I follow that were pregnant at the same time as me, although I was due several months before them. Both of their babies came early and only lived for a short time, and my heart just aches for them.
Finally he looked at me and said, "I'm sorry I've not been meeting your needs."
"Honey, I'm the one who's been asking you to be someone you're not, and I'm sorry."
"This is a part of who you are."
"I know that, but I've got no interest in being a burden on you."
"You're not a burden on me."
"What do you think I should do here?"
"I think you should put the blog back up."
Oh.
Okay.
"I promise to try to do better meeting your needs," he said. There was other stuff, but that was the gist of it. Then we put Jack down in the little bedside carrier he sleeps in and we made love. And yes, there was some spanking.
And yes, I feel a little ridiculous. And relieved. And grateful. And in retrospect I do remember him telling me the night before that it was a part of who I am, but I was trying so hard to stay strong and focused on letting go that I never heard him say he thought it would be a mistake to delete it.
So, I guess you guys are stuck with me.
Monday, April 16, 2012
Whatever happened to that AngelBrat girl?
It's the question on everybody's mind.
Snort!
Honestly, I don't know if anybody's even reading this post, but I felt like I should put it up anyway. I've been a faithful follower of numerous bloggers over the years whose blogs have just gone dark, or worse, disappeared altogether without a word of explanation, and I always wondered and worried a bit about them.
It's no secret that DD related posts have been few and far between around here. The fact is, I have an amazing husband. He's kind and generous and funny and faithful. He's given me three beautiful children, and he works very hard so that I can stay home with them. But things have reached a point for me that the lack of DD activity has started to make me lose my joy in the very precious relationship God has blessed me with.
It's been eight years since we first embarked upon the journey of domestic discipline. Nick has never been completely on board with it, although bless his heart he's certainly tried. But in the last 12 months I've been spanked one time, and it's apparent that it's time to be realistic about my expectations. Last night we had an honest and frank conversation about it, and it seems that there's no way to reconcile my needs in this regard with what he's able to do. By that, I mean that I need him to initiate discipline when I need to be disciplined, and he's not a mind reader with a natural instinct to spank. He told me that he's happy to do it if I ask him to, but that defeats the purpose for me, and I refuse to waste one more day expecting him to be someone he's not instead of appreciating the wonderful man he is.
I hesitated to put this up, because I've had countless people email me over the years to tell me they follow me and to ask for my advice on how to introduce DD into their own marriages. I don't want this to discourage anyone out there who's struggling on their own journey. If you can make it work for you, it's certainly worth it, but if you can't, don't let it steal your joy in the marriage you have.
I'm not naive enough to think that taking down 1200+ blog posts is going to turn my desires off like a switch. If only it could be so easy. I know that there will be a mourning period for me, and I think I'm prepared to face it. I can only hope that with time it will ease off. But I felt like I needed to take this definitive step to place some closure on things for me. I love my husband with all my heart, and it's not fair to either of us for me to hang onto something that's only fostering resentment.
I'll be leaving this post here for a number of reasons. For one, I don't want to have this URL taken over by some porn site, something I've seen time and time again when other blogs have closed down. But also, I've met a lot of wonderful people on here over the last 7 years, some of whom I'm now privileged to know in real life, and deleting the blog completely would feel a bit like burning down your old hangout. If there's something in particular you want to see from the past, you can probably find a lot of the older stuff via the Way Back Machine.
I love you all - thank you for all you've meant to me.
Snort!
Honestly, I don't know if anybody's even reading this post, but I felt like I should put it up anyway. I've been a faithful follower of numerous bloggers over the years whose blogs have just gone dark, or worse, disappeared altogether without a word of explanation, and I always wondered and worried a bit about them.
It's no secret that DD related posts have been few and far between around here. The fact is, I have an amazing husband. He's kind and generous and funny and faithful. He's given me three beautiful children, and he works very hard so that I can stay home with them. But things have reached a point for me that the lack of DD activity has started to make me lose my joy in the very precious relationship God has blessed me with.
It's been eight years since we first embarked upon the journey of domestic discipline. Nick has never been completely on board with it, although bless his heart he's certainly tried. But in the last 12 months I've been spanked one time, and it's apparent that it's time to be realistic about my expectations. Last night we had an honest and frank conversation about it, and it seems that there's no way to reconcile my needs in this regard with what he's able to do. By that, I mean that I need him to initiate discipline when I need to be disciplined, and he's not a mind reader with a natural instinct to spank. He told me that he's happy to do it if I ask him to, but that defeats the purpose for me, and I refuse to waste one more day expecting him to be someone he's not instead of appreciating the wonderful man he is.
I hesitated to put this up, because I've had countless people email me over the years to tell me they follow me and to ask for my advice on how to introduce DD into their own marriages. I don't want this to discourage anyone out there who's struggling on their own journey. If you can make it work for you, it's certainly worth it, but if you can't, don't let it steal your joy in the marriage you have.
I'm not naive enough to think that taking down 1200+ blog posts is going to turn my desires off like a switch. If only it could be so easy. I know that there will be a mourning period for me, and I think I'm prepared to face it. I can only hope that with time it will ease off. But I felt like I needed to take this definitive step to place some closure on things for me. I love my husband with all my heart, and it's not fair to either of us for me to hang onto something that's only fostering resentment.
I'll be leaving this post here for a number of reasons. For one, I don't want to have this URL taken over by some porn site, something I've seen time and time again when other blogs have closed down. But also, I've met a lot of wonderful people on here over the last 7 years, some of whom I'm now privileged to know in real life, and deleting the blog completely would feel a bit like burning down your old hangout. If there's something in particular you want to see from the past, you can probably find a lot of the older stuff via the Way Back Machine.
I love you all - thank you for all you've meant to me.
Friday, March 02, 2012
Still kicking…
Hmmm…so I missed all of February. I’ve never missed a whole month before. Things are going fine here. Jack is happy and healthy and growing like a weed. I took him to the doctor today for his 2 month (2 months already!) checkup, and he’s gained 4 whole pounds since he was born, putting him at a whopping 7 pounds 11 ounces.
Valentine’s Day was…messy. Nick very sweetly ordered me a dozen gourmet dipped strawberries, which was wonderful. Unfortunately he and Daisy were both quite sick, and he spent the evening on the couch while I spent all day and night cleaning up vomit and giving baths.
In 11 days it will be my 7 year blogaversary. Unfortunately in 9 days it will mark 8 months since the last time Nick spanked me or really showed any real interest in continuing with DD at all. This is the longest we’ve ever gone, and it just feels…permanent. I know I’ve been here before, but there were a grand total of 3 spankings in the last 12 months. It just seems to me that with him knowing how very much I need this, that level of effort just means that he doesn’t much care.
I realize that things are busy with the new baby, but there have been multiple occasions when the kids were all in bed asleep and we had time to ourselves and he basically spent it napping on the couch, which frankly is where he is right now. And lest you think I’ve been too subtle, there have been a number of times since we brought Jack home when I’ve laid it out for him that I really needed a spanking. Every time he acknowledged me and then immediately forgot about it.
I just don’t know what to do anymore. I’d love to be able to not need this. I mean, ideally I’d love to have him on board with it and enthusiastic about it, but if he’s never going to really commit it to it, I have no desire to be a burden on him. Every time I’ve ever asked him if he wanted to just drop the whole thing, he’s assured me he wanted to keep this a part of our marriage, but every year he’s been less and less committed to it until now when we’re at the point that it feels like something I just fantasized about.
I know this is not my usual sunny post, and I really do realize what a blessed life I have, but I needed to vent, and this is obviously the only place I have to do that.
Monday, January 23, 2012
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.
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? PhotographyDay 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.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
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!
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!
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
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…
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…
Sunday, January 01, 2012
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!
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!
Saturday, December 24, 2011
Quick Update
This is just a very, very quick update to let everyone know what’s going on. I was finally able to come home from the hospital on Wednesday afternoon. It took some experimenting, but we seem to have finally found the right combo of blood pressure meds, and I’m getting doses at 6AM, 9AM, noon, 6PM, and midnight. Still, it’s better than having to be woken up every two hours for blood pressure readings!
The girls and I stayed at my parents’ house Wednesday night and Thursday night, but Nick brought us home last night, at least for a couple of days, which was wonderful. I love my parents, but it was honestly really stressful just spending that much time with them and the kids in the same house. Yesterday my dad took me back to the doctor, and things still look good on the ultrasound. My amniotic fluid is back to normal, the baby looks good, and the blood flow to the placenta is still improving. I have to go back again on Monday for another ultrasound.
Last night before we went home we had Christmas at my parents’ house, so I spent a few hours after my doctor’s visit working on the unfinished gifts we had to give last night. Nothing terribly strenuous, and my bp stayed within the acceptable range, but I’m glad to be done with that part of it.
I have a few more to finish today, so I’ve got to go, but I wanted to say thank you so very much for all the wonderful thoughts and prayers (and a very special gift from a dear friend on here – thank you L!).
The girls and I stayed at my parents’ house Wednesday night and Thursday night, but Nick brought us home last night, at least for a couple of days, which was wonderful. I love my parents, but it was honestly really stressful just spending that much time with them and the kids in the same house. Yesterday my dad took me back to the doctor, and things still look good on the ultrasound. My amniotic fluid is back to normal, the baby looks good, and the blood flow to the placenta is still improving. I have to go back again on Monday for another ultrasound.
Last night before we went home we had Christmas at my parents’ house, so I spent a few hours after my doctor’s visit working on the unfinished gifts we had to give last night. Nothing terribly strenuous, and my bp stayed within the acceptable range, but I’m glad to be done with that part of it.
I have a few more to finish today, so I’ve got to go, but I wanted to say thank you so very much for all the wonderful thoughts and prayers (and a very special gift from a dear friend on here – thank you L!).
Saturday, December 17, 2011
So here’s what’s up…
Okay, so it’s been a couple of weeks since I posted. I’ve been crazy busy trying to get all the Christmas presents made (and a few of them bought). Unfortunately that of all came to a standstill a few days ago, but more on that in a minute.
Nick ended up buying the truck from my dad. We used part of the insurance money to pay off some bills, which got rid of some high interest stuff and freed up more than enough to cover taking out a small car loan at a low interest rate to pay for the truck. It also had to be registered and have new tires (the others were seriously dangerous), and it will have to have a new fuel pump, but the rest of the insurance money has pretty much covered that.
Now, baby news:
At my doctor’s visit on the 1st, I had gained 10 pounds (from a starting loss of 3). She had wanted me to start gaining some, but I was a little unhappy to see 10 pounds in one month. Still my doctor was fine with it, so I decided to be too. My blood pressure was up a little at that visit, but I had forgotten to take my pill that morning, so we assumed that was why.
Wednesday I went in for my next visit and an ultrasound. My weight was up another 11 pounds (in 13 days time!) and I kind of freaked out. There was just no way that I had gained 21 pound in 6 weeks. It turns out it was all (probably including the first 10) fluid. My bp was very high, despite having taken my pill that morning.
We discovered the high bp after the ultrasound. Nick had come with me to the visit, and we anxiously watched the monitor to see how much the baby had grown and how my amniotic fluid level was. As it turns out, things were not ideal. My fluid level was pretty low, somewhat concerning, but even more so coupled with the fact that the baby was showing smaller than he should be. At the last ultrasound 4 weeks prior, he was in the 35th percentile on the growth chart. This time he had dropped to the 15th percentile.
The ultra stenographer had me go out to have my bp taken and to talk to the doctor. I was kind of worried at this point, but Nick was saying, “Look, don’t freak out, I’m sure it’s no big deal.”
Then my doctor came in. Now I LOVE my doctor. I’ve had her for all three babies, and besides being just an awesome practitioner, she’s also got an amazing bedside manner. She’s very low key and laid back, so when she came in with a grave look on her face and said, “Okay, we need to turn this around. I want you to go check in and we’ll get you on the baby monitor and hooked up to an IV”, well, I really started to panic. Even then though, I assumed she was talking about a 3 or 4 hour procedure, after which I would go home.
Nope, this was to be at least an overnight visit. At this point Nick was looking a little pale himself, but we grabbed my purse and headed over to the women’s pavilion part of the hospital to check in. We called my mom on the way to let her know what was happening since she was watching Daisy, and she assured us they would get Morgan after school and keep the girls overnight.
I got checked in and put in a room on fluids and a baby monitor, and they gave me a steroid shot to help mature Jack’s lungs in case he needed to be delivered.
They did some blood work to see if it looked like I was in danger of needing an immediate c-section, but fortunately that all came back okay for the time being. After a bit my doctor came to check up on me and let me know that I would be in there till at least Friday to give the amniotic fluid time to build back up and my blood pressure to get under control. She tripled my bp meds dosage and told me she would come do an ultrasound Friday morning.
Friday morning there was absolutely no change in my fluid level after about 30 hours of being on an IV as well as drinking plenty of liquids orally. The placenta shows some damage from the combination of the low amniotic fluids plus the stress from the high blood pressure. At this point it’s not unrecoverable damage, but it’s very important that the fluid levels come up and the bp stay down so that the placenta can grow and recover. Right now it’s showing a diminished level of blood flow, which is why the baby is so small. They’re measuring him at about 3 lb 1 oz.
She told me after the ultrasound that the very, very, very earliest she was willing to even speculate that I might be able to go home will be Monday, and that’s only if everything looks great on the ultrasound she will do then and my bp is consistently low. If there’s not been a marked improvement by Monday, then she will most likely induce labor or do a c-section.
I’m 32 weeks and 2 days now, and she’d ideally like to get me to 36 and 1/2 weeks. She said that with the steroid treatment (I had the 2nd shot 24 hours after the 1st) that at that point I should be able to take him home with me. But if he comes now, we’re looking at several weeks in the NICU, possibly up to 8.
This has been such a crazy surreal experience for me, mostly I guess because it just happened with no real warning. I never had any sort of problems with Morgan’s or Daisy’s pregnancies, at least not to the point that it would have caused them to have to be born too early. Morgan came 3 weeks early on her own, and Daisy was induced 2 weeks early because I was halfway dilated and she was fully developed and considered full term.
Nick stayed overnight with me Wednesday and Thursday, then went to work the next day, but tonight I’m by myself. There was a family Christmas celebration tonight (which I was pretty sad to miss), and he attended and took the girls home with him to give my parents a break. They did stop by to see me for a few minutes, but it’s killing me to be away from them so much. Prior to Wednesday, Daisy had never been away from us overnight. She did okay that night, but Thursday night she got to missing us really bad.
I would really appreciate all your prayers on this situation, most especially that I can hang onto the pregnancy long enough for him to not have to go to the NICU.
Nick ended up buying the truck from my dad. We used part of the insurance money to pay off some bills, which got rid of some high interest stuff and freed up more than enough to cover taking out a small car loan at a low interest rate to pay for the truck. It also had to be registered and have new tires (the others were seriously dangerous), and it will have to have a new fuel pump, but the rest of the insurance money has pretty much covered that.
Now, baby news:
At my doctor’s visit on the 1st, I had gained 10 pounds (from a starting loss of 3). She had wanted me to start gaining some, but I was a little unhappy to see 10 pounds in one month. Still my doctor was fine with it, so I decided to be too. My blood pressure was up a little at that visit, but I had forgotten to take my pill that morning, so we assumed that was why.
Wednesday I went in for my next visit and an ultrasound. My weight was up another 11 pounds (in 13 days time!) and I kind of freaked out. There was just no way that I had gained 21 pound in 6 weeks. It turns out it was all (probably including the first 10) fluid. My bp was very high, despite having taken my pill that morning.
We discovered the high bp after the ultrasound. Nick had come with me to the visit, and we anxiously watched the monitor to see how much the baby had grown and how my amniotic fluid level was. As it turns out, things were not ideal. My fluid level was pretty low, somewhat concerning, but even more so coupled with the fact that the baby was showing smaller than he should be. At the last ultrasound 4 weeks prior, he was in the 35th percentile on the growth chart. This time he had dropped to the 15th percentile.
The ultra stenographer had me go out to have my bp taken and to talk to the doctor. I was kind of worried at this point, but Nick was saying, “Look, don’t freak out, I’m sure it’s no big deal.”
Then my doctor came in. Now I LOVE my doctor. I’ve had her for all three babies, and besides being just an awesome practitioner, she’s also got an amazing bedside manner. She’s very low key and laid back, so when she came in with a grave look on her face and said, “Okay, we need to turn this around. I want you to go check in and we’ll get you on the baby monitor and hooked up to an IV”, well, I really started to panic. Even then though, I assumed she was talking about a 3 or 4 hour procedure, after which I would go home.
Nope, this was to be at least an overnight visit. At this point Nick was looking a little pale himself, but we grabbed my purse and headed over to the women’s pavilion part of the hospital to check in. We called my mom on the way to let her know what was happening since she was watching Daisy, and she assured us they would get Morgan after school and keep the girls overnight.
I got checked in and put in a room on fluids and a baby monitor, and they gave me a steroid shot to help mature Jack’s lungs in case he needed to be delivered.
They did some blood work to see if it looked like I was in danger of needing an immediate c-section, but fortunately that all came back okay for the time being. After a bit my doctor came to check up on me and let me know that I would be in there till at least Friday to give the amniotic fluid time to build back up and my blood pressure to get under control. She tripled my bp meds dosage and told me she would come do an ultrasound Friday morning.
Friday morning there was absolutely no change in my fluid level after about 30 hours of being on an IV as well as drinking plenty of liquids orally. The placenta shows some damage from the combination of the low amniotic fluids plus the stress from the high blood pressure. At this point it’s not unrecoverable damage, but it’s very important that the fluid levels come up and the bp stay down so that the placenta can grow and recover. Right now it’s showing a diminished level of blood flow, which is why the baby is so small. They’re measuring him at about 3 lb 1 oz.
She told me after the ultrasound that the very, very, very earliest she was willing to even speculate that I might be able to go home will be Monday, and that’s only if everything looks great on the ultrasound she will do then and my bp is consistently low. If there’s not been a marked improvement by Monday, then she will most likely induce labor or do a c-section.
I’m 32 weeks and 2 days now, and she’d ideally like to get me to 36 and 1/2 weeks. She said that with the steroid treatment (I had the 2nd shot 24 hours after the 1st) that at that point I should be able to take him home with me. But if he comes now, we’re looking at several weeks in the NICU, possibly up to 8.
This has been such a crazy surreal experience for me, mostly I guess because it just happened with no real warning. I never had any sort of problems with Morgan’s or Daisy’s pregnancies, at least not to the point that it would have caused them to have to be born too early. Morgan came 3 weeks early on her own, and Daisy was induced 2 weeks early because I was halfway dilated and she was fully developed and considered full term.
Nick stayed overnight with me Wednesday and Thursday, then went to work the next day, but tonight I’m by myself. There was a family Christmas celebration tonight (which I was pretty sad to miss), and he attended and took the girls home with him to give my parents a break. They did stop by to see me for a few minutes, but it’s killing me to be away from them so much. Prior to Wednesday, Daisy had never been away from us overnight. She did okay that night, but Thursday night she got to missing us really bad.
I would really appreciate all your prayers on this situation, most especially that I can hang onto the pregnancy long enough for him to not have to go to the NICU.
Saturday, December 03, 2011
Crazy, busy, blessed life
Gosh, I can’t believe it’s been 11 days since I posted! Ah well, it’s been a busy couple of weeks. The last time I posted was right after Nick’s car accident. Let’s see…
The next day (Wednesday) we had an appointment to have an inspector come look at our roof. There was no real reason for this other than that the company called offering free inspections and there have been some pretty bad storms in the area in the last year. We really weren’t expecting any sort of bad news, but it turns out that we had an actual hole in the roof about 6 inches in diameter, along with various other damaged spots. The roofing guy made it sound like it was the worst roof he’s ever seen, which naturally worried me a bit. I called my father-in-law (who is head of construction at a large hospital in our area), and he came over to check it out after the guy left.
The hole in the roof does indeed exist, but it’s on the edge of the eave. While it does need to be fixed, it’s not as urgent as the roofer made it sound. My FIL did a temporary repair with sheet metal, and we’ll have to see if we can get the insurance to pay for a new roof. The issue there is that we had to get a new insurance company a couple of months ago. The damage on the roof seems to be clearly from prior to that time, so we’re going to have to try to get the old company to pay for the repairs/replacement. Just another thing we’ve got to leave in God’s capable hands.
Thanksgiving was that Thursday. Ours was nice. We spent it at my parents’ house, as we do most years. Afterwards Nick and my brothers went hunting while Morgan, Daisy, Kelly, Faith, and I went to a local Christmas tree festival. This is something I’ve attended a number of times over the years, and my mother-in-law’s co-worker got us free tickets, which was very nice. It did turn out to be pretty exhausting (the perils of hauling a two year old around while 7 months pregnant), but it was a good way to get into the Christmas spirit.
Thursday was also the day I was supposed to get the final payment for the wedding Nick and I shot in October. We were actually supposed to be paid the previous week, but the bride asked if we could wait till she got paid again on Thanksgiving, and I agreed. This was the money I was counting on to pay our electric bill. Because it was Thanksgiving day I texted the bride and told her I’d be happy to wait till the next day if she needed me to. She texted me back saying that she would be out of town till Friday night and asking if she could pay me the following Thursday when they got paid yet again. Unfortunately I had extended our electric bill final notice as far as possible after the bride couldn’t pay me the first time, and the coming Monday was the last day we had to pay before disconnection. I explained this to her and she said she would try to come up with the money by Saturday.
Saturday she texted me and asked me to meet her to get the money at 2PM the next day. But the next day she called me and told me that she wasn’t going to be able to pay me that weekend after all. At that point I told her that I understood and that I would just be praying about it, and I asked her to please call me if she was able to come up with the money. A few hours later she called and said she had $200 (of the $300 due) and asked me to meet her. While it wasn’t quite enough to pay the electric bill, it was certainly better than nothing, so I headed out to meet her. When I got there she had the whole $300. I don’t know how or where they came up with it, but it was certainly a relief to be able to put it in the bank and pay the electric bill the next day!
The next hurdle on the horizon was the house payment. The very last day it could be paid without being late enough to go on our credit report was this past Wednesday. You know, there have been many times in the last couple of years especially that we’ve been in a relatively desperate situation financially, and God has come through for us. Every. Single. Time.
But this time, although I knew He would provide, I was completely stymied as to how He was going to do it. There just seemed to be nothing at all on the horizon, especially considering Nick’s car wreck, the whole roof issue, and the fact that his next paycheck looked to be shaping up to be pretty short due to the holiday (and resulting lack of customers at his job).
On Tuesday the car insurance guy came out to do the adjustment on Nick’s car. He not only totaled it out (the best possible outcome for us), but he gave us about $2000 more for it than we expected. This allowed us to pay the house payment as well as supplement Nick’s paycheck as we needed to for the rest of the bills. We still have some money left to put down on another vehicle for Nick. My dad recently bought a used truck at auction for a good price, and he’s told us that he’s willing to sell it to Nick for what he has in it. We’re still praying about whether or not this is the direction God wants us to go, but He has been so amazingly good to us, and I know He will lead us the right way!
On Wednesday my friend Elizabeth had her baby – a beautiful, perfect 5 lb 12 oz girl! She’s tiny, but oh so beautiful with tons of gorgeous dark hair. Elizabeth was just 8 weeks ahead of me, and I can’t believe my own pregnancy is getting so far along!
Thursday I went in for my 30 week appointment, and I’ll go back on the 14th for another ultrasound. Friday I went in to see Elizabeth and the baby and took her hospital pictures for her. It was so awesome to get to snuggle that precious baby girl, and it just made me ache to have little Jack in my arms!
Tonight was Nick’s company Christmas party. This was the first year he didn’t win any prizes, but it was so much fun to get to dress up and have a date night with my hubby! We also got to go see a movie this past Sunday. We hadn’t been to see a movie in a theater since May of last year, so when my mom offered to watch the kids, we jumped on the chance. We still had the movie gift card Nick got for his birthday in 2010, so it was completely free except for $4.00 toward the drink we shared (seriously – $5.75 for a drink! You’d better bet we got a refill!). We saw Hugo in 3D, and it was a really neat movie.
Anyway, this has been a crazy long post, so I’ll save the ABC’s of Gratitude and the pregnancy update for the next one.
The next day (Wednesday) we had an appointment to have an inspector come look at our roof. There was no real reason for this other than that the company called offering free inspections and there have been some pretty bad storms in the area in the last year. We really weren’t expecting any sort of bad news, but it turns out that we had an actual hole in the roof about 6 inches in diameter, along with various other damaged spots. The roofing guy made it sound like it was the worst roof he’s ever seen, which naturally worried me a bit. I called my father-in-law (who is head of construction at a large hospital in our area), and he came over to check it out after the guy left.
The hole in the roof does indeed exist, but it’s on the edge of the eave. While it does need to be fixed, it’s not as urgent as the roofer made it sound. My FIL did a temporary repair with sheet metal, and we’ll have to see if we can get the insurance to pay for a new roof. The issue there is that we had to get a new insurance company a couple of months ago. The damage on the roof seems to be clearly from prior to that time, so we’re going to have to try to get the old company to pay for the repairs/replacement. Just another thing we’ve got to leave in God’s capable hands.
Thanksgiving was that Thursday. Ours was nice. We spent it at my parents’ house, as we do most years. Afterwards Nick and my brothers went hunting while Morgan, Daisy, Kelly, Faith, and I went to a local Christmas tree festival. This is something I’ve attended a number of times over the years, and my mother-in-law’s co-worker got us free tickets, which was very nice. It did turn out to be pretty exhausting (the perils of hauling a two year old around while 7 months pregnant), but it was a good way to get into the Christmas spirit.
Thursday was also the day I was supposed to get the final payment for the wedding Nick and I shot in October. We were actually supposed to be paid the previous week, but the bride asked if we could wait till she got paid again on Thanksgiving, and I agreed. This was the money I was counting on to pay our electric bill. Because it was Thanksgiving day I texted the bride and told her I’d be happy to wait till the next day if she needed me to. She texted me back saying that she would be out of town till Friday night and asking if she could pay me the following Thursday when they got paid yet again. Unfortunately I had extended our electric bill final notice as far as possible after the bride couldn’t pay me the first time, and the coming Monday was the last day we had to pay before disconnection. I explained this to her and she said she would try to come up with the money by Saturday.
Saturday she texted me and asked me to meet her to get the money at 2PM the next day. But the next day she called me and told me that she wasn’t going to be able to pay me that weekend after all. At that point I told her that I understood and that I would just be praying about it, and I asked her to please call me if she was able to come up with the money. A few hours later she called and said she had $200 (of the $300 due) and asked me to meet her. While it wasn’t quite enough to pay the electric bill, it was certainly better than nothing, so I headed out to meet her. When I got there she had the whole $300. I don’t know how or where they came up with it, but it was certainly a relief to be able to put it in the bank and pay the electric bill the next day!
The next hurdle on the horizon was the house payment. The very last day it could be paid without being late enough to go on our credit report was this past Wednesday. You know, there have been many times in the last couple of years especially that we’ve been in a relatively desperate situation financially, and God has come through for us. Every. Single. Time.
But this time, although I knew He would provide, I was completely stymied as to how He was going to do it. There just seemed to be nothing at all on the horizon, especially considering Nick’s car wreck, the whole roof issue, and the fact that his next paycheck looked to be shaping up to be pretty short due to the holiday (and resulting lack of customers at his job).
On Tuesday the car insurance guy came out to do the adjustment on Nick’s car. He not only totaled it out (the best possible outcome for us), but he gave us about $2000 more for it than we expected. This allowed us to pay the house payment as well as supplement Nick’s paycheck as we needed to for the rest of the bills. We still have some money left to put down on another vehicle for Nick. My dad recently bought a used truck at auction for a good price, and he’s told us that he’s willing to sell it to Nick for what he has in it. We’re still praying about whether or not this is the direction God wants us to go, but He has been so amazingly good to us, and I know He will lead us the right way!
On Wednesday my friend Elizabeth had her baby – a beautiful, perfect 5 lb 12 oz girl! She’s tiny, but oh so beautiful with tons of gorgeous dark hair. Elizabeth was just 8 weeks ahead of me, and I can’t believe my own pregnancy is getting so far along!
Thursday I went in for my 30 week appointment, and I’ll go back on the 14th for another ultrasound. Friday I went in to see Elizabeth and the baby and took her hospital pictures for her. It was so awesome to get to snuggle that precious baby girl, and it just made me ache to have little Jack in my arms!
Tonight was Nick’s company Christmas party. This was the first year he didn’t win any prizes, but it was so much fun to get to dress up and have a date night with my hubby! We also got to go see a movie this past Sunday. We hadn’t been to see a movie in a theater since May of last year, so when my mom offered to watch the kids, we jumped on the chance. We still had the movie gift card Nick got for his birthday in 2010, so it was completely free except for $4.00 toward the drink we shared (seriously – $5.75 for a drink! You’d better bet we got a refill!). We saw Hugo in 3D, and it was a really neat movie.
Anyway, this has been a crazy long post, so I’ll save the ABC’s of Gratitude and the pregnancy update for the next one.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Blessed nonetheless…
It’s been a stressful few days. Sunday the baby was very, very inactive. As in I didn’t feel him moving for about 22 hours. Now this happened with Morgan too, and they had me go in for monitoring. I’m nearly 29 weeks along, and I’m at the point where I should be able to count kicks a few times a day and get 10 movements within an hour. So I called my doctor, and sure enough she sent me down to the women’s pavilion at the hospital for monitoring. As it turned out, he was just fine, and once they hooked up the monitors he woke right up, so they sent me home pretty soon. Yesterday and today he’s been quite active, and in fact is rolling around in there right now.
Yesterday I realized that the function keys on my laptop were no longer working. This wasn’t a huge big deal since there’s a work around for almost all of them, but the major problem was that I had no way to disable my touchpad. This was a real issue because my cursor had developed some crazy level of sensitivity, jumping around constantly during typing and making it a huge pain in the butt to write an email or blog. It kept jumping back to earlier on the page and causing me to type in the middle of a word or even highlighting sections and causing me to type over and delete them.
I wanted to be able to disable to touchpad while my mouse was plugged in, or at least decrease the sensitivity so that it wouldn’t read every little accidental brush as a click, but the computer repair guy had not reinstalled the controls for my touchpad when he reinstalled Windows 7. I gave him a call and he asked me to bring it back down. I took it back in this morning on my way to get Daisy’s hair cut, and they called me before the end of the day to say that it was done. I picked it up and he had reinstalled the touchpad controls and set it to disable the touchpad only when the mouse is plugged in, which is what I wanted.
He also opened up the keyboard to make sure all the cords inside were properly seated and discovered that someone (cough, Daisy) had spilled something on the keyboard. Not sure what it was, but fortunately it had missed all the critical parts and dried quite harmlessly. There was again no charge for this trip, and I really think I’m finally done with repairs.
We also had them look at Nick’s laptop the other day, and they were able to get it operational again, but we will have to wait to pick it for a few weeks because we don’t have the $149 to cover the repair fee.
Tonight Nick called home about 6:00 to tell me that he’d been in a car accident. He’s okay, thank God, but it wasn’t a pretty picture. No one at all was hurt, but his foot apparently slipped off the clutch and he slammed pretty hard into the car in front of him, causing a chain reaction of rear-end collisions including 5 cars counting his.
My parents were due to pick Morgan up for church soon when he called, so I called and asked them to come on down so I could go pick him up. Daisy was asleep, and we left Morgan in charge of her for the 10 minutes it took my parents to get there while I headed out to get him. It was a really awful rainy night, and I’m just so thankful it wasn’t worse. He was pretty shaken up, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. When I got there the wrecker service had already arrived for him, and the wrecker driver was one of his good friends from high school, which gave him a bit of a distraction.
We do have full coverage insurance, and the cop didn’t ticket him for anything, probably due to the awful road conditions. I know the accident will be written up as his fault, but his tags were also expired, and the cop didn’t seem to notice. It’s not something we were neglecting – in fact we had planned to get them renewed last week, but we ended up having to pay for my computer repairs first so that I could finish the wedding photos.
Car accidents always feel like the end of the world to me for some reason, even when they aren’t serious, but I know that God is still in control, and He certainly had His hand on Nick’s safety. And we’re fortunate to have two vehicles, so it won’t be a problem for Nick to get to work and back until his is repaired (if it can be repaired). Actually, it might even be better if they would just total it out. We own it outright, so that way we wouldn’t have to pay out the $500 deductible, but could instead just take the payment for it (less the deductible) and put it toward getting him something else. In fact, he’d been seriously considering selling it to get a pickup truck for a while. Since the Xterra was too small to fit all three kids in, we’ll be taking the Sequoia everywhere as a family anyway once the baby’s here, so it makes going with a much needed pickup for him to drive daily a feasible prospect.
I guess this post is just to remind me that even in the middle of all these little and big crises, God is still right here taking care of us. In fact, since I’ve been such an awful slacker about it, it would be a good time to list a few more things I’m thankful for:
O, P, & Q:
Your Baby in Week 29 of Pregnancy
How big is your baby this week? She weighs nearly three pounds now and measures about 17 inches. Though she's getting pretty close to her birth length, she still has to chub out a bit. In fact, over the next 11 weeks, she'll more than double — or even come close to tripling — her weight. And as she grows and the room in your womb gets tighter, you'll be less likely to feel those big kicks and more likely to get poked by an elbow or jabbed by a knee.
Learn more about your baby in week 29 and baby fat.
Yesterday I realized that the function keys on my laptop were no longer working. This wasn’t a huge big deal since there’s a work around for almost all of them, but the major problem was that I had no way to disable my touchpad. This was a real issue because my cursor had developed some crazy level of sensitivity, jumping around constantly during typing and making it a huge pain in the butt to write an email or blog. It kept jumping back to earlier on the page and causing me to type in the middle of a word or even highlighting sections and causing me to type over and delete them.
I wanted to be able to disable to touchpad while my mouse was plugged in, or at least decrease the sensitivity so that it wouldn’t read every little accidental brush as a click, but the computer repair guy had not reinstalled the controls for my touchpad when he reinstalled Windows 7. I gave him a call and he asked me to bring it back down. I took it back in this morning on my way to get Daisy’s hair cut, and they called me before the end of the day to say that it was done. I picked it up and he had reinstalled the touchpad controls and set it to disable the touchpad only when the mouse is plugged in, which is what I wanted.
He also opened up the keyboard to make sure all the cords inside were properly seated and discovered that someone (cough, Daisy) had spilled something on the keyboard. Not sure what it was, but fortunately it had missed all the critical parts and dried quite harmlessly. There was again no charge for this trip, and I really think I’m finally done with repairs.
We also had them look at Nick’s laptop the other day, and they were able to get it operational again, but we will have to wait to pick it for a few weeks because we don’t have the $149 to cover the repair fee.
Tonight Nick called home about 6:00 to tell me that he’d been in a car accident. He’s okay, thank God, but it wasn’t a pretty picture. No one at all was hurt, but his foot apparently slipped off the clutch and he slammed pretty hard into the car in front of him, causing a chain reaction of rear-end collisions including 5 cars counting his.
My parents were due to pick Morgan up for church soon when he called, so I called and asked them to come on down so I could go pick him up. Daisy was asleep, and we left Morgan in charge of her for the 10 minutes it took my parents to get there while I headed out to get him. It was a really awful rainy night, and I’m just so thankful it wasn’t worse. He was pretty shaken up, but it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. When I got there the wrecker service had already arrived for him, and the wrecker driver was one of his good friends from high school, which gave him a bit of a distraction.
We do have full coverage insurance, and the cop didn’t ticket him for anything, probably due to the awful road conditions. I know the accident will be written up as his fault, but his tags were also expired, and the cop didn’t seem to notice. It’s not something we were neglecting – in fact we had planned to get them renewed last week, but we ended up having to pay for my computer repairs first so that I could finish the wedding photos.
Car accidents always feel like the end of the world to me for some reason, even when they aren’t serious, but I know that God is still in control, and He certainly had His hand on Nick’s safety. And we’re fortunate to have two vehicles, so it won’t be a problem for Nick to get to work and back until his is repaired (if it can be repaired). Actually, it might even be better if they would just total it out. We own it outright, so that way we wouldn’t have to pay out the $500 deductible, but could instead just take the payment for it (less the deductible) and put it toward getting him something else. In fact, he’d been seriously considering selling it to get a pickup truck for a while. Since the Xterra was too small to fit all three kids in, we’ll be taking the Sequoia everywhere as a family anyway once the baby’s here, so it makes going with a much needed pickup for him to drive daily a feasible prospect.
I guess this post is just to remind me that even in the middle of all these little and big crises, God is still right here taking care of us. In fact, since I’ve been such an awful slacker about it, it would be a good time to list a few more things I’m thankful for:
O, P, & Q:
- Orgasms – enough said on that one!
- Orange Italian Ice – yes, I know I listed this one under “I” too, but I really love it!
- Old friends – like the one who drove the wrecker tonight, and the one we had a visit from last week. That one was one of Nick’s best men when we got married (he had 2), and we hadn’t seen him in ages, so it was great to get to catch up. I also got to visit with one of my old friends from high school about a week and a half ago, and it was such a fun day of girl talk and crafting!
- Ordinary days – where nothing much happens, but nothing much goes wrong either
- Pasta – I know, I know carbs, carbs, carbs. But I do love it, and it generally makes dinner a snap.
- Pinterest – Holy Inspiration, Batman! I’m ridiculously obsessed.
- Precious two-year olds – Daisy has reached the stage where we have a hard time even wrapping our heads around how cute she is. Example: watching her do the sign language motions along with the host on her night time toddler program. They also run a montage of all the characters on the network sleeping every night, and she tells every single one good night as they play across the screen. I mentioned before that when she wants something, she says “Hin me (hand me)_____.” The other day she said “Hin me fiss bum.” I didn’t understand her, so she rolled her eyes and said with great patience “Hin me five.” Turns out she wanted a fist bump and then a high five, lol.
- Photography – I’m so blessed to have a good camera and to even be able to make some money with it sometimes!
- Quiet – sweet, sweet silence when I can get it lol.
- Quilts – I love blankets of all kinds, but I especially appreciate a nice, heavyweight quilt.
- Qi – Wikipedia tells me this means life force or life energy, but I just like it because it’s almost always a high score on Words with Friends, the game Nick and I play with each other via phone all day every day!
- Morgan brought home an A/B Honor roll report card today, as well as a certificate showing she was promoted to the next reading group level.
- Morgan also cleaned out the freezer for me the other day (something I had been dreading), and she helped me clean out the fridge.
- A guy Nick works with gave us a huge trailer full of free firewood a few days ago.
- My mom found a good deal on diapers and bought us a box out of the blue yesterday.
- Last week my mom also bought me this awesome double jogging stroller for an amazing price. I found it at the Goodwill. It was priced at $50, a great deal since it was in perfect shape and retails for about $225, but to make it even better it was half-off day, so we got it for $25! I actually just called my mom to see if she knew anyone who needed it since it was such a fabulous deal and I knew we didn’t have the extra money for it, and she had me just get it for us and gave me the money for it.
- Nick has had a few side jobs lately that have helped with bills, and I should get the rest of the wedding photography money on Thursday. That will pay the electric bill, although we’re still waiting on God to send the house payment.
- My brother James who has been in L.A. on assignment for a few months just bought a house about 3 minutes from us. He’s still in California till January or so, but my parents are closing on it by proxy tomorrow. As part of the deal, the current owners agreed to put on a new roof with my brother only responsible for half of their insurance copay.
Week 29 of Pregnancy
Your baby's packing on the pounds, which look so cute on her. If only you could say the same for your varicose veins….
Your Baby in Week 29 of Pregnancy How big is your baby this week? She weighs nearly three pounds now and measures about 17 inches. Though she's getting pretty close to her birth length, she still has to chub out a bit. In fact, over the next 11 weeks, she'll more than double — or even come close to tripling — her weight. And as she grows and the room in your womb gets tighter, you'll be less likely to feel those big kicks and more likely to get poked by an elbow or jabbed by a knee.
Learn more about your baby in week 29 and baby fat.
Week 29 Pregnancy Tip: Counting Baby's Kicks
Have you counted your baby's kicks today? Once you've passed week 28, you should be counting them every day. To make sure that you do — and to make sure that everything's A-OK in your belly — make a habit of counting your baby's kicks twice a day, once in the morning and once at night. Best to do your counting lying down (since babies are more likely to kick up when Mom's lying down — a pattern they tend to continue after they're born). If you can't lie down, sit. Count any and all movements (even swishes and rolls) until you hit ten. If you haven't reached ten within an hour (your little Rockette may just be on her break right now), have a light snack and try again — that blood-sugar rush is likely to get baby on the move again. Just remember that fewer than ten movements within two hours warrants a call to your practitioner. Chances are everything's fine, but it's always better to be safe than sorry.Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Laptop, sweet laptop
So, It’s been a while since I posted. My laptop started running REALLY slow about a month ago. I tried all kinds of things, including of course multiple virus scans, but nothing helped. Finally, about a week and a half ago, I was having a terrible time wading through the editing on the pictures from the wedding Nick and I shot. Nick told me to take the computer in to be serviced, and they told me I would have it back within a couple of days. Unfortunately it took them a full week, but they did get it all fixed. There were several viruses on board, so we just had them back up all my files and reinstall Windows 7 completely. Apparently I had over 10 times the amount of files to as the “average” user, heh, which is what took so long. Sadly I missed this years Love Our Lurkers Day in the meantime.
Anyway, I’m very glad to have it back, and when I get a chance I’ve got some very cool new toys I want to tell you about.
Nick and I had a conversation about DD the other day. It was very low key, which was good, and he admitted that he’s just not comfortable with spanking while I’m pregnant, but that he’s still on board with the rest of it. That was very welcome news to me since it’s been a few months since there was any spanking.
Baby Jack is doing well. I had an ultrasound a week ago, and he’s about two pounds now. I gained the 3 pounds she wanted me to plus (gulp) 7 more. BUT, I made the mistake of going to my appointment directly after eating a pretty heavy lunch at a Mexican restaurant with Nick, so I honestly think about 3 pounds of it was due to enchiladas. Either way, a net gain of 7 pounds is not terrible for being almost 7 months pregnant, and my doctor is actually quite happy with my progress. Still, it’s hard for me to watch the number on the scale go up, but I just have to remember that it’s good for the baby. I go back for my next appointment on December 1.
Anyway, that’s what’s been going on with me. Hope you guys are doing well!
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