Wednesday, November 13, 2013
6 Months Old
I can't believe my little man is going to be 6 months old this month! He has been growing so fast & it has been fun to watch him hit his milestones. Sitting up, crawling (all be it backwards), getting that ever important first tooth & starting solid food. The solid food was exciting at first & he LOVES it. The problem came when we had to change that first baby food diaper. The smell was like nothing we had ever smelled before. And coming from a former zookeeper & a garbage man, that is saying A LOT! I'm sad to report that it does not get better. Yesterday I gave Ben sweet potatoes & bananas (2 of his favorites) and put him in his bouncy activity center. He bounced happily, stopped, faced me, grunted hard, smiled & went back to bouncing. That's when the stink hit me. I picked him up & went to lay him on a blanket to change him. Why is there poo on the back of his neck? My son shit with so much enthusiasm it shot up his back. I had to clean thick, pasty horrible smelling poo off the back of his neck & out of his hair. He laughed the whole time. Perfect.
Labor Day
The day I went into labor with Ben was actually night. 12:08am to be exact. Shawn was still sleeping (he had to get up at 1am to get ready for work). I got up to go to the bathroom and my water broke. I yelled for Shawn to bring me my phone to call the birth center. We were so excited we grabbed the baby bag & ran out the door. I had not started contracting yet but anticipation of what was coming woke me up fast. Shawn...not so much. In the excitement of the arrival of the kiddo we took a wrong turn & got lost on the way to the hospital. When we finally got there we realized we not only forgot my purse with my ID we also forgot the camera. ooops! We had time & lived close so Shawn went back for it. Around 1 am nothing was happening & I was only dilated 5 cm. Shawn felt it was a good time to go raid the pantry that the birth center kept for the parents. Around 5am contractions were getting...shall we say...God awful! I thought I was tough (LMAO!) & was trying to go med free so I was put in the whirlpool tub to ease the pain. I sat there about 3 min & decided drug free was NOT the way to be! The nurse asked me if I wanted a spinal block or an epidural. I said yes! She asked again which one I wanted. BOTH! A LOT OF BOTH! That's what I got. It was nice! I was able to nap for about an hour. When I woke up I was fully dilated, my doctor had arrived & it was time to push. Dr. Tan said Ben should be out in about 30 min. Not my kiddo! I pushed hard for 2 hours with no baby. I pushed so much I pushed the epidural out of place. I couldn't take any more. I told the doctor to GO GET HIM! So a C-section brought my little man into the world. They got him out & cleaned him up & handed him to Shawn who was beaming! Benjamin looked at his daddy & smiled. Ben then looked over at me & stuck out his tongue. Yep. That must be my baby. :)
Monday, July 22, 2013
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
WTF?! Things they didn't tell me about Pregnancy
I start my 3rd trimester on Thursday. I am overjoyed because I am that much closer to meeting my baby but am finding there are some things those pregnancy know-it-all books left out.
First off I would like to know who's definition of "magical" are we using? I didn't find fatigue that bordered on comatose magical. Morning sickness that lasted 24 hours a day for 2+ months was also not magical. I will admit that once that passed pregnancy was not bad. I wasn't twirling in a meadow like the chicks in the magazines but I was doing good according to my doctor.
I am still waiting on my pregnancy glow. I want to know when is this supposed to happen and what does it look like? Cause the closest I have come to "glowing" is my skin unable to make up it's mind on whether it wants to be oily and shiny or dry and flaky. I will suddenly be broken out like I came down with chicken pox! Is this glow they talk about break out red? If so I am defiantly there.
I have decided if ever I wanted to invest in the stock market I would put all my money into Tums and panty liners because I couldn't get through pregnancy without them. Who knew ANYTHING you eat or drink can and probably will give you indigestion? I got it from water! I was expecting cravings in the middle of the night for things like ice cream and Chinese food. I wake up in the middle of the night and find myself hurdling my husband and running over cats while making a mad dash to the bathroom to pee for the 3rd time this hour and frantically searching for the Tums because the air I swallowed gave me heartburn.
My husband gets MAJOR points for being patient and supportive through all this. My belly button keeps threatening to pop out and our son likes to try to help it along. Shawn was watching Ben push on my belly and observed that, "maybe once he gets it to pop all the way out it means he's done...like a turkey." I would have been irritated by that except I was wondering the same thing.
I am lucky enough to have a cold in this stage of my pregnancy and this is where I started believing panty liners are the worlds greatest invention. Turns out sneezing can lead to unwelcome surprises. Like peeing yourself a little every time you do it. And woman may you never be more than 2 feet away from a bathroom if you have multiple sneezes in a row because you may pee more than a little! Sharing this with my husband made him laugh till he almost peed a little. Laughing at him, laughing at me caused me to snort which I have never done but was ladylike and feminine I'm sure.
I stopped being able to see my feet without effort a while ago and so painting my toe nails is not happening anytime soon. Shawn is a good husband offered to pay for me to have them done and even offered to sit with me so I didn't have to go by myself. In the interest of saving money I just asked him if he would do my toes for me. He hesitated but agreed. When I saw how uneven he had clipped them I opted to skip the polish and pay the money to have them done.
Everything I read told me that if you eat lots of fiber and drink lots of water you can avoid having pregnancy hemorrhoids. So I followed that to the letter. Turns out that is not exactly true. If your child thinks you are getting too comfortable, he can at any given moment, sit on those all important veins that do things like supply blood to the lower half of your body. This will cause your legs to suddenly go numb AND you will develop hemorrhoids. Having this conversation with our doctor at our last check up was awkward enough without it giving both my doctor and husband a bad case of the giggles. Shawn assures me it was the way I presented the situation. On the up side, I found out there is no topic off limits between me and my husband. I am defiantly married to the right person! Eat fiber they said. You won't have problems they said. I guess no one told Ben.
I highly suspect Shawn carries an amazon gene and that is why Ben is on the big side. I don't think he gets it from me. I am border-line pygmy height. And I talked to Benjamin and asked him to stay small so he would be easier to push out. Our son is growing at a rate of 2 weeks ahead of schedule (my due date is right, my kid is just big). I swear he is using that leverage to hang on to my ribs and push on my bladder. He is making good use out of every inch of space he has. He has rearranged all my organs up in my chest so he can have all my abdomen to himself. While this is all well and good for him it is making it difficult to breath. It's magical.
I can't wait to see how my labor plays out. Everyone is telling me to get an epidural. First off I don't like people telling me what I have to do during my pregnancy and delivery. I pay the doctor for his advice and just tune everyone else's unsolicited advice out. And I know I would be that person who they struggle to get the catheter for the epidural in only to hear the BeepBeepBeep of the machine signaling the medication has run out just as the doctor tells me it's time to start pushing.
Magical :)
First off I would like to know who's definition of "magical" are we using? I didn't find fatigue that bordered on comatose magical. Morning sickness that lasted 24 hours a day for 2+ months was also not magical. I will admit that once that passed pregnancy was not bad. I wasn't twirling in a meadow like the chicks in the magazines but I was doing good according to my doctor.
I am still waiting on my pregnancy glow. I want to know when is this supposed to happen and what does it look like? Cause the closest I have come to "glowing" is my skin unable to make up it's mind on whether it wants to be oily and shiny or dry and flaky. I will suddenly be broken out like I came down with chicken pox! Is this glow they talk about break out red? If so I am defiantly there.
I have decided if ever I wanted to invest in the stock market I would put all my money into Tums and panty liners because I couldn't get through pregnancy without them. Who knew ANYTHING you eat or drink can and probably will give you indigestion? I got it from water! I was expecting cravings in the middle of the night for things like ice cream and Chinese food. I wake up in the middle of the night and find myself hurdling my husband and running over cats while making a mad dash to the bathroom to pee for the 3rd time this hour and frantically searching for the Tums because the air I swallowed gave me heartburn.
My husband gets MAJOR points for being patient and supportive through all this. My belly button keeps threatening to pop out and our son likes to try to help it along. Shawn was watching Ben push on my belly and observed that, "maybe once he gets it to pop all the way out it means he's done...like a turkey." I would have been irritated by that except I was wondering the same thing.
I am lucky enough to have a cold in this stage of my pregnancy and this is where I started believing panty liners are the worlds greatest invention. Turns out sneezing can lead to unwelcome surprises. Like peeing yourself a little every time you do it. And woman may you never be more than 2 feet away from a bathroom if you have multiple sneezes in a row because you may pee more than a little! Sharing this with my husband made him laugh till he almost peed a little. Laughing at him, laughing at me caused me to snort which I have never done but was ladylike and feminine I'm sure.
I stopped being able to see my feet without effort a while ago and so painting my toe nails is not happening anytime soon. Shawn is a good husband offered to pay for me to have them done and even offered to sit with me so I didn't have to go by myself. In the interest of saving money I just asked him if he would do my toes for me. He hesitated but agreed. When I saw how uneven he had clipped them I opted to skip the polish and pay the money to have them done.
Everything I read told me that if you eat lots of fiber and drink lots of water you can avoid having pregnancy hemorrhoids. So I followed that to the letter. Turns out that is not exactly true. If your child thinks you are getting too comfortable, he can at any given moment, sit on those all important veins that do things like supply blood to the lower half of your body. This will cause your legs to suddenly go numb AND you will develop hemorrhoids. Having this conversation with our doctor at our last check up was awkward enough without it giving both my doctor and husband a bad case of the giggles. Shawn assures me it was the way I presented the situation. On the up side, I found out there is no topic off limits between me and my husband. I am defiantly married to the right person! Eat fiber they said. You won't have problems they said. I guess no one told Ben.
I highly suspect Shawn carries an amazon gene and that is why Ben is on the big side. I don't think he gets it from me. I am border-line pygmy height. And I talked to Benjamin and asked him to stay small so he would be easier to push out. Our son is growing at a rate of 2 weeks ahead of schedule (my due date is right, my kid is just big). I swear he is using that leverage to hang on to my ribs and push on my bladder. He is making good use out of every inch of space he has. He has rearranged all my organs up in my chest so he can have all my abdomen to himself. While this is all well and good for him it is making it difficult to breath. It's magical.
I can't wait to see how my labor plays out. Everyone is telling me to get an epidural. First off I don't like people telling me what I have to do during my pregnancy and delivery. I pay the doctor for his advice and just tune everyone else's unsolicited advice out. And I know I would be that person who they struggle to get the catheter for the epidural in only to hear the BeepBeepBeep of the machine signaling the medication has run out just as the doctor tells me it's time to start pushing.
Magical :)
Monday, February 18, 2013
A story for Ben
Once upon a time there was a girl who always put her family first. She worked hard to make everyone around her happy. Her mom was the most important person in the world to this girl and she would do anything her mother told her to do even if the girl believed she would be happier doing something else. She took jobs her mom wanted her to, looked the way her mom thought she should, and had friends and boyfriends her mom thought she should. It's not to say the girl wasn't happy. She really believed making the people around her happy was all that mattered, so if they were happy so was she. This is the way life went until this girl was 24.
That was the year the girl's mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. Her parents said her mom would be OK. Her mom had surgery to remove it however the doctor said the cancer had gone through the wall and gotten into the lymph nodes. The doctor said he got it all and with chemotherapy her mom had a good chance of recovery. The girl at this point had gone to school for veterinary technology and in class had learned a little about cancer. She knew if it had gone into the lymph system it was only a matter of time and the diagnosis was terminal.
For three years her mother endured different types of chemotherapy. The girl watched as her mother struggled and tried everything she could to make her more comfortable. When the girl was 27 her mother was told she had a couple of weeks to live. The chemo had failed. The girl took care of her mom until she quietly passed away. She sat there holding her mother's hand not knowing what to do. For the last 3 years she had only thought of her mom and now her mom wasn't there and the girl felt lost. She thought she would never be happy again.
But this girl was blessed with a sister who she knew she could ask for help if she ever needed it. Her sister believed you have to make you happy before you can make someone else happy and you should live your life for you. The girl struggled with this logic. Over the next few years the girl tried to do things for herself but would still put other people's happiness before her own. The girl dated a man for a year she did not really love but thought if she could make him happy maybe she would be happy too but that was not the case and her sister's words came back to her.
When the girl was 29 her grandparents decided she should have a place of her own and bought her a small trailer and moved her in. The girl was happy there and was on her own for the first time in her life. No one to please, no mother, no boyfriend, just her. She still wanted to please her grandparents but found it easy and satisfying to think about how she could be happy. She went along like this for a while. She had a job she had worked hard for and loved. She talked to her sister who was very supportive and spent time with her grandparents. She felt she was happy.
When the girl was 30 she made plans to go wine tasting for her birthday with her sister, brother-in-law and her friend. She had also developed a friendship with a guy at the place she worked and invited him to come along. It was his birthday a day a part from hers and she thought it would be fun for them to celebrate together. The day turned out to be a lot of fun. The girl and boy had the same days off from work and one of those days happened to be Christmas day that year. The girl was going to go by herself to the coast for the day and hang out in the hot springs there. She asked the boy if he would like to come along. They had a good time and the girl really liked this boy. He was nice and easy to talk to. He was the first person apart from her sister, the girl felt relaxed with. She felt the person she was was good enough with this guy.
They continued to spend time together. Neither was able to bring themselves to label their relationship even though everyone else already had. For Valentine's day the boy came over with a bottle of wine, groceries and his guitar. He gave the girl a glass of wine and had her watch a movie while he baked her a cake from scratch and he played her a song on his guitar while it was in the oven. The girl had never had anyone do anything like that for her. They kept seeing each other for several more months. After about 10 months together the boy told her he had applied for a job in another state and was moving. The girl asked him not to but he already had accepted. He said he had to make this move for him to be happy and if he didn't take this chance he would always regret it. He asked the girl to go with him but she felt she could not leave. She had her family and her job and felt secure where she was and was afraid to leave. They decided they would try a long distance relationship and if after a couple of years they still wanted to be together the girl would move to be with him. The girl's family and friends said she was crazy and it would never work. Just let him go. But the more the girl thought about it the more she realized she would not be happy without him. The girl always believed God has a plan and everything happens for a reason. Even when her mother passed away the girl believed that God was going to send something wonderful her way. She started thinking maybe this was the person she was supposed to be with. What if this was the love of her life and God was telling her it was time for a change. Maybe the boy was right. If you are to afraid to take a chance and make a move you will never go anywhere. She talked to the boy about it and they decided to get married and she would go with him. They didn't have any money so the girl took some of her jewelry and sold it so they could by rings and pay for their marriage licence. She had never been to the place they would be moving to so they used the rest of the money and went to look for a place for them to live. The girl didn't have a job there but knew as long as they were together they would find a way to make things work. Everyone said they were crazy and real life didn't work that way.
They didn't care. The boy started his new job and a week later came back and got the girl. They got up at 2 am and left to start their new life together. They wouldn't know anyone and there were no guarantees it would work but the girl wasn't scared. She had complete faith that things would be fine as long as they were together.
For the first 3 days they stayed in a hotel with their dog and 2 cats until they could move into their apartment. It took a couple of weeks but the girl found a job. Money was tight but they were happy. After a month and a half they found out they were expecting a baby. They were surprised but happy as they had been talking about it. The girl still believed God had a plan and things would be fine. Her grandparents had sold her trailer and sent them the money so they could buy baby stuff. The boy got a promotion and they realized they were going to be OK. The girl and boy were very happy together and had fun spending time together talking about their baby and hopes and dreams for the future. They loved each other very much. They had a very good life. Everything was worth it.
I hope you learn something from this story. The girl's sister was right. You need to make you happy before you can make anyone else happy. You deserve to be happy. The boy was right. You need to take chances or you will never grow and you will never get anywhere worth being.
Sometimes love finds you when you least expect it. Don't listen when people tell you something won't work. Just because they are too scared to do something doesn't make it impossible. God has a plan for you and if it is meant to be, life will help you work it out. It won't always be easy but most things worth while take some sacrifice. The end result will be worth it. Don't rush. Enjoy the journey and the people around you. You will be happy you did.
And mostly Benjamin, your parents love you.
That was the year the girl's mother was diagnosed with colon cancer. Her parents said her mom would be OK. Her mom had surgery to remove it however the doctor said the cancer had gone through the wall and gotten into the lymph nodes. The doctor said he got it all and with chemotherapy her mom had a good chance of recovery. The girl at this point had gone to school for veterinary technology and in class had learned a little about cancer. She knew if it had gone into the lymph system it was only a matter of time and the diagnosis was terminal.
For three years her mother endured different types of chemotherapy. The girl watched as her mother struggled and tried everything she could to make her more comfortable. When the girl was 27 her mother was told she had a couple of weeks to live. The chemo had failed. The girl took care of her mom until she quietly passed away. She sat there holding her mother's hand not knowing what to do. For the last 3 years she had only thought of her mom and now her mom wasn't there and the girl felt lost. She thought she would never be happy again.
But this girl was blessed with a sister who she knew she could ask for help if she ever needed it. Her sister believed you have to make you happy before you can make someone else happy and you should live your life for you. The girl struggled with this logic. Over the next few years the girl tried to do things for herself but would still put other people's happiness before her own. The girl dated a man for a year she did not really love but thought if she could make him happy maybe she would be happy too but that was not the case and her sister's words came back to her.
When the girl was 29 her grandparents decided she should have a place of her own and bought her a small trailer and moved her in. The girl was happy there and was on her own for the first time in her life. No one to please, no mother, no boyfriend, just her. She still wanted to please her grandparents but found it easy and satisfying to think about how she could be happy. She went along like this for a while. She had a job she had worked hard for and loved. She talked to her sister who was very supportive and spent time with her grandparents. She felt she was happy.
When the girl was 30 she made plans to go wine tasting for her birthday with her sister, brother-in-law and her friend. She had also developed a friendship with a guy at the place she worked and invited him to come along. It was his birthday a day a part from hers and she thought it would be fun for them to celebrate together. The day turned out to be a lot of fun. The girl and boy had the same days off from work and one of those days happened to be Christmas day that year. The girl was going to go by herself to the coast for the day and hang out in the hot springs there. She asked the boy if he would like to come along. They had a good time and the girl really liked this boy. He was nice and easy to talk to. He was the first person apart from her sister, the girl felt relaxed with. She felt the person she was was good enough with this guy.
They continued to spend time together. Neither was able to bring themselves to label their relationship even though everyone else already had. For Valentine's day the boy came over with a bottle of wine, groceries and his guitar. He gave the girl a glass of wine and had her watch a movie while he baked her a cake from scratch and he played her a song on his guitar while it was in the oven. The girl had never had anyone do anything like that for her. They kept seeing each other for several more months. After about 10 months together the boy told her he had applied for a job in another state and was moving. The girl asked him not to but he already had accepted. He said he had to make this move for him to be happy and if he didn't take this chance he would always regret it. He asked the girl to go with him but she felt she could not leave. She had her family and her job and felt secure where she was and was afraid to leave. They decided they would try a long distance relationship and if after a couple of years they still wanted to be together the girl would move to be with him. The girl's family and friends said she was crazy and it would never work. Just let him go. But the more the girl thought about it the more she realized she would not be happy without him. The girl always believed God has a plan and everything happens for a reason. Even when her mother passed away the girl believed that God was going to send something wonderful her way. She started thinking maybe this was the person she was supposed to be with. What if this was the love of her life and God was telling her it was time for a change. Maybe the boy was right. If you are to afraid to take a chance and make a move you will never go anywhere. She talked to the boy about it and they decided to get married and she would go with him. They didn't have any money so the girl took some of her jewelry and sold it so they could by rings and pay for their marriage licence. She had never been to the place they would be moving to so they used the rest of the money and went to look for a place for them to live. The girl didn't have a job there but knew as long as they were together they would find a way to make things work. Everyone said they were crazy and real life didn't work that way.
They didn't care. The boy started his new job and a week later came back and got the girl. They got up at 2 am and left to start their new life together. They wouldn't know anyone and there were no guarantees it would work but the girl wasn't scared. She had complete faith that things would be fine as long as they were together.
For the first 3 days they stayed in a hotel with their dog and 2 cats until they could move into their apartment. It took a couple of weeks but the girl found a job. Money was tight but they were happy. After a month and a half they found out they were expecting a baby. They were surprised but happy as they had been talking about it. The girl still believed God had a plan and things would be fine. Her grandparents had sold her trailer and sent them the money so they could buy baby stuff. The boy got a promotion and they realized they were going to be OK. The girl and boy were very happy together and had fun spending time together talking about their baby and hopes and dreams for the future. They loved each other very much. They had a very good life. Everything was worth it.
I hope you learn something from this story. The girl's sister was right. You need to make you happy before you can make anyone else happy. You deserve to be happy. The boy was right. You need to take chances or you will never grow and you will never get anywhere worth being.
Sometimes love finds you when you least expect it. Don't listen when people tell you something won't work. Just because they are too scared to do something doesn't make it impossible. God has a plan for you and if it is meant to be, life will help you work it out. It won't always be easy but most things worth while take some sacrifice. The end result will be worth it. Don't rush. Enjoy the journey and the people around you. You will be happy you did.
And mostly Benjamin, your parents love you.
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