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Thursday, October 29, 2009

Family Outing

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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Let's see...

Life is just beautiful.

I absolutely love our life.
I have a great husband who loves me and takes awesome care of his family...
AND cooks dinner and makes sure I have everything I need.

We have two absolutely fabulous girls.
There's not much else to say about that except they are truly delightful.

Having our family together has been just unbelievable.

I am totally not ready to go at this on my own quite yet, however.
From feeding to diaper changes to simply getting from one room to another.
Forget about getting out of the house...
Just the schematics of getting the girls to the car safely is a challenge.
Everything takes serious planning.

Example: This morning I had planned on trying to go it alone to see what my mornings would be like. I woke up with plenty of time. Chloe gets up about 7 and I woke at 6. I could totally handle this. I would simply give Lauren a bottle, pump, hop in the shower, take Lauren downstairs and then go back for Chloe.
Lauren started to stir a little after 6 so I fixed her a bottle. So far so good. Then, she burped and threw me a curve ball by returning all her breakfast. ALL of it. Now I need to add laundry to my list of things to do. AND give Lauren another bottle. Chloe and I also need to be out of the door by 8:30 for our mommy & me class.
Needless to say I had to call for backup to take over and help with Lauren so I could get a shower and pump before getting Chloe.
Morning # 1: Epic fail.
Oh well.

At our mommy & me class this morning, during discussion our leader was asking all the moms what they do to 'recharge their batteries'... I answered honestly... since Lauren arrived, I've been making sure to take the time in the mornings to at least take a quick shower. It makes a huge difference in how I feel for the rest of the day. I didn't realize how hilarious that sounded until everyone started laughing. It's just the life of a mom I suppose. We've all been there... just grateful to have a shower... regardless of whether we actually get to DRY our hair! :)

Chloe had a costume parade today in class. She was THE cutest thing I have ever seen in my entire life. Seriously. She left her ladybug costume on (headpiece and all!) for the entire class. I was so proud of my little girl. She is (as I said earlier) a complete delight. She lights up every room she is in. She's a complete entertainer and she absolutely melts my heart.

Monday, October 26, 2009

On a Roll…

Okay. Seriously.

This is too much fun!IMG_0148 IMG_0232_2 IMG_0232_1 IMG_0181 IMG_0187 IMG_0223

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Birthday Pics…

One last picture of the belly before we left for the hospital…AND this is also the last picture of Chloe as an only child!

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The sweet hospital gowns…

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Lauren a few hours oldIMG_9897 

Our favorite nurse… ironically…

she was our nurse for Chloe’s delivery Chaos as well!

Hopefully she doesn’t quit after having to deal with me twice.IMG_9898 

Paige, who saved the day when my water broke meeting her great cousin for the first time…

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Gigi and Lauren…

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About an hour after Lauren was born…

My parents missed her birth by 20 minutes!

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More pictures coming TODAY…I promise!

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Lauren's Birth...

If I don't do this now... I'm worried it'll all become a distant memory!

Here's the lowdown...
At 3:00 pm, my water broke.
Not wanting to be one of those chicks who had just accidentally gone to the bathroom, I called Chris and gave him a heads up... told him I'd call him in a while when I was sure... He was in a meeting and when he got off the phone, his co-workers told him to GO... and they said, "They always say they'll call you back..."
I was kind of in shock and started running around packing things.
I had nothing ready.
Luckily, my cousin was able to get here quickly to watch Chloe which was a huge relief.
After taking the obligatory last pregnancy pictures, we were off.
We got to the hospital and I felt so silly being there and not even having contractions or anything. I felt great. There was no way I was in labor!
Everything was just so surreal. I couldn't believe we were back in the hospital after just 13 short months... I couldn't believe my time being pregnant was coming to an end.
Most of all, I couldn't believe we were FINALLY about to meet Lauren.
That is, if she ever decided to come out.
She seemed way too comfy. As the day went on, I had contractions every 3-6 minutes but they just felt like bad cramps... I thought for sure it would be a good 24 hours at this rate.
I was so proud of myself. I was able to stay in control and breathe through the contractions.
Something I was never able to do during my labor with Chloe.

Things started progressing.
Around 10, the contractions were starting to be almost on top of each other. The cramping from before was a permanent fixture between contractions and what was felt during the contractions is indescribable. Around 11 I was checked and was only a 4. I thought I'd never make it to 10 centimeters.

Then, it happened.

In a fashion much like her older sister, Lauren had decided it was time to get O-U-T!
I started shaking and around 11:15, I knew we were in trouble.

I could feel my body trying to evict Lauren but my cervix had not caught up.
The midwife checked me and I was still only a 7. Most people would be thrilled to go from a 4-7 in just a few minutes but I knew we needed to be a 10 and NOW.
I looked at the midwife during a contraction (in between screaming like a crazy lady. Again.) and asked her very seriously... If she comes right now, what am I going to break!?
There was no way I'd be able to hang around until 10 cm. I was so scared something would happen...I thought for sure I'd just rip my cervix or hurt Lauren in some way by delivering before completely dialating... I just remember felt so relieved when she said nothing would break. Phew.
I held on for maybe 2 contractions at which point I decided the only possibility we'd have of holding her in was if I was in the shower and trying to relax.

The midwife offered to help get me there and as I stood up, I felt the most incredible energy of my body just pushing Lauren down and out. It felt like I was literally dropping a bowling ball from my stomach. I remember the feeling as my legs buckled beneath me and I knew there was a head right there.
Thank GOD the midwife was there at that exact moment, otherwise Chris literally would have been delivering Lauren. There was nobody else in the room.

There was no delivery table setup. Nothing was sterile. There were no drapes, no gowns... I remember the midwife yelling for the nurses and the nurse pushing some emergency call button to get more backup. Afterwards the midwife gave us a good laugh when she said, "At least I managed to get one sterile glove on!"

I laid back down on the bed and before I could blink, Lauren's shoulders were out. I kept waiting for them to put her on my chest and when the midwife asked me to push again, I realized her little butt was still in! I thought once the shoulders were out everything just came right out. One little push and our little girl was born.
October 21st, 2009 at 11:23 pm. 7 lbs 11 oz. 20.5 inches long.
10 fingers, 10 toes.
Perfect in every way.

I wouldn't change a single thing about my birth experience with either girl. There was no time to question my ability to do things, not a lot of time to sit around and dwell on the pain...

As for recovery the second time around, people aren't kidding when they say it's so much easier. I didn't have an IV or any meds and was able to leave 12 hours after Lauren was born.
I had no stitches, no episiotomy, no tearing at all, not even 'skidmarks' from her coming out so fast. Yes, evidently there is such a thing.
I feel zero pain. If you told me I gave birth a few days ago, I almost wouldn't believe you.
I feel so lucky.
The only thing that I felt the first few days was cramping when I was breastfeeding which is said to increase with second and subsequent pregnancies.

So there you have it.
All the chaos that delivery brought this time around.
Just be glad you weren't there to witness it.
I pretty much lost my cool at the end.
I had been so proud of myself up until that point!
Then again... when you go from 4 cm to baby in just a few minutes, I think you're allowed to lose your cool.
Then again, maybe not :)

Friday, October 23, 2009

Lauren…

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And the new big sister…

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Thursday, October 22, 2009

Lauren Rose is here!

Short on time but just had to get it out!
Lauren is here!
She's so SO gorgeous.
We are completely head over heels in love.
I'll post a story in the next few days but here are her stats:
Born 10/21/09 at 11:23 pm. She was 7 lbs 11 oz and 20.5 inches long.
She has a full head of black hair as well...
Sound familiar?!
I'll try and post some pictures tonight or tomorrow.
Please keep us in your thoughts as we transition from 1 kiddo to 2 little stinkers!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

We're Going to Have A Baby!

My water broke at 3:00.
We're off to L&D.

39 Weeks.

I have been stripped.
What a gross term.
In any case, I had my membranes stripped today at my appointment.
Too much information for you?
Ya. I thought so.
Now...We wait.
I'm not expecting much but dang it would be cool if it put us into labor.
I can't stand a whole lot more to be honest.
I have also made more progress...which is just craazy!
We're dilated to a 2 (up from 1 two weeks ago!)
I'm 75% effaced (up from 50% two weeks ago)
The midwife was really surprised at how low Lauren is already...She's locked and loaded.
The head is at a 0 station (I was -1 two weeks ago...+2 is when the baby is coming out basically)
Let's see... she also did a quick ultrasound to check the fluid level... it's about a 7.5 which is fine for this point in pregnancy. Anything lower than 5 is a concern.
In other exciting news, I guess I had a contraction when she was doing my internal... I couldn't even feel it!
So anyway...this could all mean something or it could mean absolutely nothing.
I'm going to be optimistic and hope it means she'll come on her own before too overdue.
I can handle 40 weeks and change... I cant' handle 42 weeks. NO WAY.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Single Digits.

Seriously Folks.
We're down to single digits.
AND I'm down to about 5 tums.
I take about 3 a day just to barely survive.
We're in trouble :)

Chloe is sitting next to me on the couch coloring.
She's seriously a fabulous artist.
She cracks herself up.
She totally understands like everything now.
Hopefully she wants to be helpful when Lauren comes and get mommy diapers and wipes.
When you ask her if she wants to go night night, she runs to the stairs and starts climbing.
What kid does that?!

Monday, October 19, 2009

Delightful.

So I just spent the last day and a half with my cousin who just started college nearby...
It was delicious.
I love having her so close by...
Chloe was completely enamored by her as well.
Seriously makes me feel all warm and fuzzy to get to see family that doesn't involve a serious road trip.
Hopefully she'll come hang out again soon!
In other news...
Lauren is still hanging tight.
Cool with me...
I'm still not quite ready for her to be here.
I kind of want to freeze time just for a couple more weeks.
It's so calm and peaceful.
The calm before the storm.
I love life...
Just not my pelvis.
It hurts like a mother.

End of story.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

38 Weeks

We're 38 weeks today!
I feel like we're so close to the end...but this is where the waiting starts to get really hard.
It could be today, it could be 3+ weeks away.
If some divine entity could just give me say, a 1 week window, that would be great.
My checkup was fabulous, everything is looking good and Lauren sounds great.
Physically, every day gets more and more uncomfortable.
I'm almost to the point where I'm not sure I can continue.
Then again, what choice do I have?!
Just when I declare that I'm done and I want Lauren out, I realize that I'm actually not entirely ready.
I still don't have a bag packed.
I am not ready for the lack of sleep.
I'm not ready for our lives to get thrown all out of whack.
I guess the reality is that I'm comfortable where we are right now.
We've figured out what works for our family...we've figured out our 'routine'...

I won't try and rush Lauren to the finish line... but I'll be so glad to have her here.

In the back of my mind, I know every day could be the last of pregnancy for me forever.
Which makes me think there's a possibility I want more.
Haha. We'll see about that.

I think my uneasiness about having Lauren arrive really circles around Chloe.
I have serious mommy guilt that gets worse with each passing day.
Her world is about to be thrown upside down and I'm helpless to stop time and do anything about it. I know that it's only temporary and it's going to be so much fun in the long run, but just thinking about the look on her face when she realizes the 'little alien' isn't leaving...or when she realizes I can't always pick her up... that she has to learn to share. It's almost too much for me to take. Thankfully I know I'll have family here to help out and ease the transition but It's so heartbreaking.

Anyway, on a lighter note... I just found this website.
Seriously. It will make your day.
http://www.peopleofwalmart.com/
Go visit it.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Mommy & Me

So I finally remembered to take my camera to our mommy & me group.

I love the class and it’s nice to hang out with the moms, but I definitely feel like an odd duck when people start breastfeeding their 2+ year old during class.

It’s not that I think they’re doing something wrong BUT I think it’s more that I’m overly sensitive about it because of my struggles to even get to 6 weeks.

Am I not granola enough for this group?

I am pretty sure I’m the only mom who doesn’t cloth diaper as well.

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