Happy Birthday H-Man! A birth story

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The date was October 14th and I was just about 35 weeks pregnant with my first baby boy. I had a great pregnancy up to this point (minus the morning-noon-and-night sickness that had me incapacitated for 2 months). In the week leading up to this day though, I had been feeling a bit different...off. That day, I decided to satisfy my craving for Coffee Crisp and headed to Walmart to buy some Hallowe'en candy. CO and I headed to the baby section at the back to have a look around. As soon as we got back there I felt winded and dizzy. I went into the shoe section to sit on one of their chairs. For whatever reason, I decided that maybe I should make my way to the pharmacy to have my blood pressure checked at the little machine they have back there. It took me a while, but I made it back there.

When I sat at the machine and saw my results I was a little shocked. My blood pressure was something like 140/111 and by the guide on the machine, that was high. SO took me home and I called my Mom at work to tell her and ask her what she thought. (She worked in a doctors office for 20 some odd years so she's seen just about everything). She wasn't sure so she came home and looked online to see what she could find. At this point, I was feeling better and thinking that maybe it was just a panic attack since I used to get those often. My Mom insisted we go to the hospital anyways...so we did.

When we got to the hospital, I went right up to L&D (cause thankfully I had gone to preregister at the hospital THAT VERY MORNING) and told them my situation at Walmart and how high my blood pressure was when I checked it at the machine. The L&D nurse laughed at me, "You don't know how many scared pregnant women we get in here because they check their BP on those stupid machine. They are not accurate". I gave my Mom a dirty look...I knew we shouldn't have come!! She said she'd check me out just to make me feel better...so we went into a room and I peed in a cup and sat down to have my BP checked. She was right it was NOT accurate. It was HIGHER than the machine at Walmart read! That combined with the amount of protein in my urine meant, induction...tonight. I was shocked. I remember sitting on the bed nodding to the doctor as she told me this but not really realizing what was about to happen. I WAS HAVING MY BABY!!!

I called SO to tell him and he headed up to the hospital to join me. I received my first gel application that night, at about 9PM. Nothing really happened. The next morning, my bitch of an OB showed up in my room and made me cry and then gave me a second application of the gel. This was at about 10PM. Almost immediately, I started feeling mild cramping/contracting AND I had to take a poop. I told the doctor and she told me I didn't have to, it was just the gel and made me cry again. (She is an awful woman.) My Mom verbally assaulted her, and she left. As soon as she was gone, I went and had a poop:)

Anywho, the contractions started almost immediately after that. I was scared and unprepared (at barely 35 weeks pregnant) and was not dealing well at ALL with the situation. My nurse was concerned I was working myself up too much, so she gave me Demerol. That didn't help anything. Now, not only was I scared and in pain but I felt like I was drunk AND hungover all at the same time. I spent the next hour or two alternating between yelling weird random things, barfing and passing out.

Once I was 6 or 7 CM they decided that I could get an epidural. I don't remember much after the Demerol but I do remember getting the epidural and the way it felt going into my spine. And then I remember being numb and relaxed. I slept for 30 minutes. While I napped, Corey went downstairs to grab a coffee from Timmies. By the time he got back, I was in stirrups and ready to push. It was shortly after 4Pm when I started pushing. I remember only 2 things about the pushing stage: one was getting shit by my nurse that I wasn't pushing (Umm...can't feel half of my body lady AND I am pretty high at the moment, forgive me for not following your drills to a tee) and the second thing was SO in the back of the room, sipping on his coffee with a big smile on his face.

At 4:58 PM on October 15th my tiny baby boy was born weighing 5lb 4 oz. My first words were "Oh. My. God" as I could not believe I had just given birth to my baby. Then I said "Is he alright". He started to cry and I started to cry too. Corey cut the cord and they checked him out, and finally I got to see him. He was so tiny and beautiful.

The happiness of his birth was short lived when they took him away to the nursery and began testing and checking me. For 3 days after the birth of my baby boy I saw him only a handful of times. I was kept in a darkened room and was not allowed to do anything, not even crochet H-Man's baby blanket. On day 4, I was allowed to feed him and kept him in my room for an hour here and there. By day 6, I was going insane. I was starting to feel symptoms of my anxiety and begged someone to just let me go home...I would feel better once I was home. On day 6, I got in shit by my OB again because I didn't want to take MORE drugs (it was just a Gravol, but I already felt like I was taking too many drugs). as punishment she didn't come to see me for 2 more days, and thus, I was not able to be discharged. I spent 2 days dressed and ready to go but no one showed up.

Finally, on October 23, I was discharged from the hospital. Still feeling like crap, but not willing to admit that to anyone. As soon as he and I were officially discharged and his alarm bracelet was cut off i BAILED out of the hospital. They wanted to push me down in a damn wheelchair...but I just wanted out of there. I RAN down a back stair case and SO was right behind me with baby and my Mom followed in the rear. We busted open a door and there was my Dad's car waiting outside to take us home.

It was such a relief to get home and actually get time with my new baby. He was already 9 days old and I felt like I barely knew him yet. The first couple of days home were harder since my BP was still high and I was dizzy and tired, but I had plenty of help. H-Man was also a very laid back baby, so it made caring for him that much easier.

I can't believe that was 5 years ago! It seems like just yesterday he was a tiny newborn...but in some ways it feels like he's been in my life forever...maybe cause i can't imagine it without him.

Happy Birthday H my tiny angel~

Baby Girl and Crazy Cat

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Here is a photo I snapped of L-Cat over the Thanksgiving weekend.  She was running around topless with a spaghetti squash stick on her chest.  I loved the way the light caught her face and decided to take a picture.  Just can't figure out what caused the circle of light on her other cheek.  Hmmmm...

This second picture is one of my cat, Pancake, who has an interesting way of sleeping.  She looked so sweet I just had to take a quick shot of her.



She slept like this for the better part of an hour and she was purring super loud and slow.  I wish I would have gotten a shot of her face when she woke up.  It was seriously priceless...messy fur and tired eyes.

Name Change

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I just changed the name of my blog.  

I can't believe how long it took me to find an available name!  It only took me about 30 attempts.  Between 'This address is not available' and 'Type the Word EXACTLY as show in the picture' I must have put a good 45 minutes into the process.  Those pictures, BTW, (the ones where all the letters are squiggled and different sizes that must be entered to prove my human status) gave me a bloody headache!

I made it through though and came out on the other side as the Glowing Goddess (AKA Radioactive Female)

2 Week Wait

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Sooo...my fertility charting this month was a bit more confusing than I anticipated. None of the signals seemed particularly clear to me and my cervix felt more or less the same the whole damn time. Based on what Fertility Friend told me and from my own personal feelings, I have set my ovulation day at October 7th, which was CD12 and means I can test on the 21st. I am already a week into my 2WW and it's going to be busy enough this week to keep my mind off of it...so before I know it I will be testing!! And hopefully getting a POSITIVE!!

I have been having some symptoms as well...some nausea, cramping, constipation, dizziness, headaches, fatigue. Could these be the first pregnancy symptoms? 7 days until I can find out!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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HAPPY THANKSGIVING, EVERYONE!!!Image by IndyDina with Mr. Wonderful via Flickr

I have been absent from the internets for a couple of days, so I just wanted to back track a little and wish everyone out in cyber world a Happy Thanksgiving.

My very first turkey turned out fantastic! I was very pleased with myself. It was nice and tender and juicy. Mmmmm......! The stuffing turned out excellently too. I added some shredded apple to it and that gave it a little something extra. I can't wait until Christmas to do it again!

I spent some time thinking about what I am thankful for...and I do have so much to be thankful for. I am thankful for my SO because he is amazing and he knows me better than anyone else. I am thankful for my children, who are healthy and smart and funny and sweet. I am thankful for my apartment, which keeps us warm and safe. I am thankful for my friends who are always there for me. I am thankful for the Earth and the miracles I see in nature every single day. I am just so darn thankful!


Ain't No Energizer Bunny Here!

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Energizer BunnyImage via Wikipedia

Today is day four of my mystery ailment that has me completely and utterly wiped out. I feel tired, have low energy and have been having bouts of dizziness and slight nausea. SO think's his magical sperm have already impregnated me...and I will admit that this is very much I felt with my other pregnancies. Like I mentioned, though, I am not even sure that I have ovulated yet and it seems a bit early to be already feeling symptoms. That still leaves me unsure of what the hell is going on!!

I did manage to get out today and buy my Thanksgiving turkey and all the fixings. this is going to be my FIRST time ever cooking a turkey...or a Thanksgiving meal of my own so I am very excited/nervous/too-tired-to-think-about-cooking-it. I am an excellent cook, though, so I am sure I will figure it all out. If not, no one had better say anything about it or they will be making their own meals from then on. I did get a spaghetti squash too which I LOOOVE and am excited to sink my teeth into.

Other that that outing today and the the big pot of homemade chicken noodle soup I have simmering on the stove, I have been pretty much stationed on the couch for a couple of days. i fully expect the spend tomorrow in bed...and fully expect some breakfast in bed. Maybe pancakes, bacon and a nice cup of tea?
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Cab Crazies

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So I had an interesting experience yesterday. The family and I decided to head over to the shopping plaza to grab a few things. I needed to get some pregnancy tests, and SO wanted to grab a new XBOX game and we needed to grab some crickets and frozen mice. Since it was freezing out, we called a cab.

Cab showed up and we got inside. I sat in the back with the kids and SO rode shot gun. About a minute into the drive he turn around and says to me, rather excitedly "Have you heard the good news?" I was like, "What news?" and he says "Mr and Mrs Claus are real". I laughed...and thought he was making a big joke for the kids.

BUT THEN he proceeded to rant on and on about some shit that I couldn't even follow. He talked about Mrs Claus being real...SOOO real...and blind and then seemingly totally changed the subject onto the unconscious world, and then to Jesus on the Mount of Olives. At one point I am pretty sure he was talking about the crucifix and flipped me the bird.

When we finally got to the mall, I jumped out with the kids right away but the cabbie kept SO in there for a minute or two more blabbing about crazy bullshit. Poor guy. after the cabbie left, we both looked at each other, puzzled, and decided to call a different cab company for the ride home.



Hump Day

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Today is Wednesday...and today is day two of sickness. Luckily, it's nothing serious just fatigue, headache and fever. Sadly, it's also interfering with my BBT temping. As if pinpointing ovulation wasn't going to be hard enough, now I can't even wait for the temperature shift. I will continue babydancing every damn day until menses returns if I have to! I don't want to do this next month.

Today is CD12 and I have 4 days until forecasted ovulation. I am hoping that in those 4 days, signs of ovulation will become clearer to me.


Camera Fund

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Here it is....the Canon EOS Rebel T1i. My dream camera. I have set up a change jar in the living room and am taking up a collection for my camera fund. My goal is to have at least half of the money saved up by March of next year, and then use part of my income tax refund to pay for the rest.

So far I have approximately $2...but it's a start.


Breastfeeding Challenge!

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Saturday, October 3 2009 was the Quintessence Foundations annual Breastfeeding Challenge which is held every year during Breastfeeding Week. The goal is not only friendly competition but an attempt to bring breastfeeding into the community to normalize it.

This year, my location had 30 nurslings and 29 Moms. The record number for that location. I was very proud to be a part of that.

This year's these for WBW is "Breastfeeding – a vital emergency response". With the recent string of natural disasters in our world, it's important to remember that in times of emergency formula, bottles and clean water will not always be available. In times of emergency, breastfeeding saves lives.

For info on the Quintessence Foundation, the Breastfeeding Challenge or World breastfeeding Week, click HERE.


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