Wednesday, February 27, 2013

28wks: The View From Here

(bumpin' out)

Keeping it simple this week. I am coming down with a nasty chest cold and OMG being sick while pregnant is just cruel. I never got sick with Logan and all I want to do is sleep.

How far along: 28 weeks

How big is baby: On average, most babies are just over 2 pounds and almost 15" in length. I carry peanuts, though, and we have a growth scan on Monday to see where we are sitting.

Weight gain/loss: 27 pounds

Stretch marks: Just a few from last time on my upper legs/hips.

Sleep: Not great. I keep getting nose bleeds and am up at least once to pee. And I wake up early for work so yeah, not enough sleep going on even when I am in bed at 9pm.

Diet/Cravings/Aversions: Well, I WANT to eat burgers and such, but baby does not like it. I tried to have a sloppy joe yesterday and it did not sit well. I'm still craving lobster.

Movement: Lots of strong rolls and movement.

What I'm loving: That I am in the home stretch. 

Symptoms: Heartburn, contractions, achy back, hips and legs, round ligament pains. So fun.

What I'm looking forward to: The ultrasound on Monday, but not the RH shot. Ugh

Best moment of the week: It's kind of a secret. So yeah...

How I'm feeling: Like crap! Happy crap, anyway. I am fighting a chest cold and I am in a lot of third tri uncomfortableness that is just not easy. Lifting Logan has become hard and even walking up stairs makes me winded. 

Monday, February 25, 2013

On Natural Childbirth

I had an epiphany this morning, probably something that most sane women get the moment they find out they are pregnant. I just so happen to be a little crazy. First of all, I believe that ALL BIRTHS are natural. This includes vaginal and c-sections babies. So lets just put that weird term aside and talk about what most women mean when they say they want a "natural childbirth". With Logan, I aimed for just that: no drugs. I took a "natural" childbirth class through Bradley, read books, practiced breathing and relaxing exercises all in preparation to birth my baby without drugs, unless an emergency required it, of course. That did not happen. I have an unnatural level of pain tolerance, which is somewhere around -20000. I hate pain and I make sure everyone knows I'm suffering. But I really wanted to bring my baby into the world drug free. Studies on drugs and how much crosses the placenta are not fool proof, even if the risks are low and I wanted to be as risk-free as possible. If you read my birth story, you know that a few complications came up and that after 11 hours of excruciating back labor, I got the epidural.

Since Logan's birth, I have been able to reflect on that experience and have accepted that was just how it was supposed to happen. I have zero pain tolerance and Logan needed some extra help. And that is OKAY. So this morning I made a comment to a friend about how I have low pain tolerance and yet, again, I am aiming for a med free birth with this baby. The moment my words hit the page I was like, what? Really Sarah?! I am sitting here with horrible low back pain because I thought that shoveling 10 inches of snow would be okay...it's not okay! I am hurting today and I cannot take anything for the pain! I have to work through it and just deal. And this was when I realized that I am not sure that having a med free birth is really what I was made to have. I realize that women were made to give birth, however God did intend for it to be painful so unless this birth ends up being insanely fast or very euphoric, I cannot see myself going along without at least something to help with the pains.

I have been having a few braxton hicks contractions a day now and they are much more uncomfortable this time than they were last time. I have heard from my midwife and several other seasons mamas that this is common. First of all, most of us have felt the pains of labor and for me, my body recognized those pains pretty quickly. I'm not talking fall on the floor painful, just enough to make me stop, breathe a little deeper, and wait for it to pass. I can already feel it in my low back which was where my back labor began. All this to say, I am giving  myself a bigger break this time. With Logan, I felt like Bradley made me feel guilty for getting the epidural and as someone who is going into the field of midwifery, I never want my patients to feel guilty about any of the decisions they make while pregnant and through their labor and delivery.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Sunday Social!


Sunday Social

It's been awhile since I hopped on this blog hop and I need to take a break from studying for my Bio exam...

  1. Biggest middle school fashion mistake: oh dear! Probably all those "baby tees"...I cannot even believe that was considered cool back then!
  2. Best friends in high school: I was friends with so many people from different "cliques"...I had more guy friends than anything.
  3. Typical weekend for me in high school: Chores, movie nights, working at a movie theater, sleeping in!
  4. Boyfriends? Nah...I had dates for dances and special events, but no one special or serious until I got to college.
  5. Any secret codes with friends? No...I was never that creative! lol
  6. Relivable moment from high school: My entire senior year was wonderful! I loved our prom. My date was 20 years old! ;)
***

In other news, I finished my Bio lab yesterday and it was actually fun! I had been dreading it all week. Doing a lab all by myself from my home is really weird and easily confusing, but the instructions for this were super clear. My parents had a fun day with Logan so he wasn't around any of the crazy chemicals I was working with.



Today, it is SNOWING like crazy!! I am loving every snowflake out there and would love 3 more feet. Call me crazy, but that is just the Colorado, born and raised in Steamboat Springs, kind of girl I am! Happy Sunday!



Friday, February 22, 2013

The 27th Week


(26wks with Logan)


Here I am in all my 27 week glory...rocking a pretty awesome baby bump, migraines, contractions and extreme exhaustion! Check out the difference of the bumps! I can really see now that I am carrying this baby higher than I did with Logan. The third trimester as hit me with a bang. This is me on Wednesday night:


I was so terribly tired I could barely move from the couch all night and honestly, most of my nights look like that. Good thing I have this awesome little wing man to keep me happy, comfy and loved! He is so sweet. Logan just snuggles up on me every afternoon after we come home from daycare. We grab a slue of snacks, drinks and settle in the basement with the dogs and whatever his current TV interest is. This photo was all about Wonder Pets, almost just as bad as Cailu but only because of the constant, repetitive singing fake animals. However, Logan loves this show. He loves that there is a Christmas episode and we watch it on repeat. Thank goodness for Netflix! And I just have to say...look at those incredible eyes!! He looks like a kid now! No longer a little, chubby baby face! Wow...so grown up.


How far along? 27 weeks/3rd trimester!
Total weight gain/loss: 25 pounds
Maternity clothes? yep, but I still have a lot of tops I, like tanks and camis that are still working out.
Sleep: Been rough...I have had a constant stuffed up nose and a dry cough that badgers me at night. I have a routine of using some nose spray, vasiline and vicks to ensure that I can at least get several hours of uninterrupted sleep. Falling asleep has been hard, too.
Best moment this week: Honestly, this has been a rough week! I suppose the best moment was learning that all these contractions I've been having are just braxton hicks and normal and there is no concern for preterm labor.

Movement: Baby bean loves to move around a lot at night, which is probably why I have a hard time falling asleep! And lots during the day, too.

Food cravings: Sweet things and I really want me some Lobster!

Sex: Team Green

Labor Signs: Lots of braxton hicks contractions the last several days which are really uncomfortable but not causing any changes.

Belly Button in or out? Half in, half out.

What I miss: I miss being more active with Logan and carrying him! I really have to be careful and am so easily winded by the simplest tasks.

What I am looking forward to: Our growth scan on March 4th.

Weekly Wisdom: 2nd time mamas can experience more contractions earlier on.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

A Weekend Off

This weekend, I vowed to only spend time with my family. No school work and the break has been so nice! I have the rest of the week to prepare and work on a Bio lab and study for the first exam. This weekend has been refreshing and thankfully, we are all healthy!!

Friday night after work I did a newborn photo shoot for some friends who delivered on Monday. Their little girl is just perfect and precious!!



After five days on an antibiotic, Logan is about 90% recovered from his bronchitis and is able to run around and play without hacking up a lung (or his lunch). We celebrated his birthday on Saturday night with family and a few friends. It was simple and easy! I made pulled pork, coleslaw, had veggies, fruit, chips and guac! I still cannot believe that I have a three year old! And Logan finally got a much-needed haircut! This kid hates getting it done, but we have an awesome salon just for kids and it's the only place that does it right.



As you can see, I was finally able to import my posts from wordpress! The comments (I don't think) transfered but that doesn't matter. I love all your comments, but I'm just glad the posts are there. :)



And here is the 26 week bump that just keeps on growing! 14 more weeks to go!

Monday, February 11, 2013

Uphill From Here

This has been a crazy week:

  • Last Sunday Logan started looking like he might have pink eye so on Monday B tood him in and sure enough, pink eye it was. We got the cream and all seamed fine.
  • Tuesday afternoon Logan woke up from his nap at daycare with a fever. He looked horrible and snuggled on me all night.
  • Wednesday morning I called in to work to stay home with Logan since he still had a fever. By the middle of the day a terrible cough settled in and on Wednesday afternoon I took him back to the doc to make sure he wasn't getting the flu. No flu, thank goodness!
  • Thursday I stayed home with him again and he continued to have a fever so we had to cancel his birthday party the following night. It was heartbreaking for me.
  • Friday Logan turned three! We did our best to make it a special day with a sick little man. His fever finally broke and he seemed to have a little bit more energy. We visited my parents, grandmother and aunt who were in town, he opened presents, I made cupcakes and we made the best of it. I was an emotional mess, of course.
  • Saturday Logan was feeling a lot better, though his cough was (and is) still terrible. We made a trip over to Lowes to do a special workshop with Logan. We all took long naps and did nothing the rest of the day.
  • Sunday I was home alone with Logan again. Can I just say how incredibly hard it is to take care of a sick kid when I myself am not feeling so well AND am pregnant?! Most exhausting thing ever. I worked on my lab that evening and I'm almost done with it.
  • Today, Logan is back at daycare. He cried when I dropped him off and when a sick kid cries it's just about the worst sound ever. Ripped my heart out-again. Being a full time working mom is hard. HARD HARD HARD and sometimes I want a day off. Good thing he gives the best hugs and kisses.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Three.

Today Logan is three years old!! Below is his birth story. I've reposted it every year so....why not again. Love you little man! Thanks for making me a mama!!


My due date, February 1st, came and went. I laughed at the irony of my doctors actually fearing pre-term labor. I knew my body and I knew my baby. At our 29 week ultrasound the tech did measure him small, around 27 weeks but everything looked good. So when I went late, I was not too surprised. He was taking his time. The night of Super Bowl Sunday I was especially tired and having some crazy BH contractions. We went home and I cleaned the house. B worked for a landscaping company and in the winter they did snow removal. We were expecting snow so he went to bed early. My first contraction came at 12:01am and that was it. I was in labor! I didn’t wake my husband and tried to get back to sleep but they started coming hard and fast, enough so that I got up and took a bath. That must have woken B. He came in and helped me get through a few contractions before I was ready to get out. We live in a tiny apartment and being that it was the middle of the night and had just started to snow, there was no way I was going outside to walk. So I paced our halls back and forth, stopping to lean against it for a contraction. Around 4am we actually started to time them and realized that they were coming every 3-4 minutes, lasting over a minute and by 6am, had not let up one bit. I called my doctor and they were ready for us. At this point, I wish we would have stayed home longer. I thought 6 hours was pretty long to labor at home, but I had no idea what we were in for. I realized early on that I was having back labor and I attributed it to having a tilted uterus. No one told me this was a sign that he was posterior and that we should do some poses, etc to get him to turn more (not even in Bradley). 

We arrived at the hospital just before 7am. My parents came and I was admitted right away. I hear about other moms having to go to triage first to be checked and see if they would be admitted, but this did not happen to us. I was 2cm when we got there and was surprised that they kept me! Must have been the crazy contractions that convinced them I was labor. The morning was very rough. The back labor was debilitating. I tried everything from slow dancing with my husband, walking, the bath tub, shower, hands and knees, birth ball–everything! And nothing relieved it. I think I got way too hung up on the anticipation of the next contraction. I remember thinking about the next contraction while the current one I was having peaking and how I convinced myself there was no way I could go on like this for what seemed like forever.

My nurse was great, but she was not very helpful in getting me to try different positions. She also insisted that I keep the monitor on at all times. While I was in the tub, she put a waterproof one on. This was not apart of our birth plan and maybe it was the pain from the contractions that kept me from sticking up for what we wanted (although my husband knew what we wanted too), I think we were somehow easily persuaded by the fact that these were the professionals–what do we know?? The one thing she did not do was ask me if I wanted pain relief, which I had told her I did not want and if I did, I would ask for it. 

By 11am the contractions were so hard and the back labor was so painful I could not even stand as the pain radiated down my legs. I was stuck on the birth ball and nearly passing out. They put oxygen on me and that did not help much. I remember looking in my husbands eyes and he was so scared. He was so frightened by the pain I was in and he could do nothing to help. It was at this point, now around 4cm, that I started talking about the epidural. I was crying and mad that I was even considering it. This is the only thing I did not like about Bradley–it made me feel guilty for even considering the idea of pain relief and this is something I would not want my students to fear. We discussed it as I went through several contractions, each getting worse and each time getting more faint. My anxiety got worse as I became more faint, fearing that I would pass out and they would rush me off to a c-section. Finally, we decided that I should get the epidural. I felt so defeated. I wanted to have an unmedicated birth so badly. I was only one of a handful of other mamas in labor that morning and getting the epidural was quick. The relief was a welcomed blessing and within 20 minutes of getting it and relaxing, I jumped from a 4-8cm. I know this is not typical of people who get epidurals and I also know that this is the only reason I am okay with the way things turned out. However, shortly after dilating so quickly by water broke. There was meconium in the waters and my sons heart rate dropped so dramatically that my OB rushed over to the hospital from his office. I had 6 nurses in the room fussing over me and the doctor insisted on an internal fetal monitor. I was so freaked out by how freaked out they were that I said do whatever. They also gave me a shot of medication to stop the contractions to let my son rest, but this of course stopped my labor for almost 2 hours! My husband was eating and refueling up on coffee while all this happened which is why he was not there to advocate or ask questions.

I was frustrated, but I took advantage of it by resting and waiting. Around 4:30 I was ready to push. My OB was great in that he did not leave from the moment I started to push, which lasted 2 hours. I was on my back. I hated that I could not get up on my feet and squat, which is what I wanted to do from the very beginning. Logan was born at 6:37pm and I wish that I could say the chaos ended there with a happy, pink baby on my chest who nursed right away and roomed in with me. Nope. Didn’t happen. They placed Logan on my chest and let me hold and kiss him. He was crying and his first breath actually caused him to pop a hole in his lung called a pneumothorax. His breathing was labored and within minutes he was rushed over to the warming table and then off to the nursery. My husband went with him while I was cleaned up. I had a 2nd degree tear and some abrasions. I made sure that he did not cut an episiotomy and he respected my wishes. The placenta delivered perfectly and I would tell everyone to make sure they take a look at it! What a crazy thing to sustain the life of your baby. So cool!











I was in a blurry haze for what seemed like forever. The nurses told me that Logan only needed some extra O2 before coming back to me and that would not be more than an hour. After an hour and a half, Logan and my husband had not returned. When my husband did come back to the room, he came with the on call pediatrician who explained what had happened. Logan’s first breath was so strong he popped a hole in his lung, something that happens in about 1 in 100 births. They determined this through an xray and he was admitted to the NICU. Once I was settled in my post partum room I had my husband wheel me down to the NICU to see Logan. He was so precious! He was not crying and the nurses were so sweet. We met his neonatologist and she explained what they were going to do next. At 10:30 he had another chest xray to see if the hole was healing on its own and it wasn’t so they went ahead with a needle aspiration. Luckily, it worked the first time and he did not need a chest tube, which is the usual outcome for most babies. Logan spent 5 days in the NICU. They treated him for an infection, just to be safe and did a 2nd aspiration to ensure the air was out. He came home perfectly healthy.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Currently...25weeks!


Logan IS CURRENTLY.....

WONDERING why we have to wait so long for his birthday party and presents. He is so into the idea of having a birthday party he's already telling every he is three years old. 

LOATHING eye ointment. He managed to catch pink eye and we have to put some cream in his eye a few times a day. He hates it. I hate doing it. 

READING nothing. But he reads at school and makes me read everything on anything: boxes of food, receipts, toys, etc.


I AM CURRENTLY.....

WONDERING if this baby is a boy or a girl. Waiting is so much more fun than finding out via ultrasound, however my mind is spinning because I DO want to know. Now...but I'll wait. :)

LOATHING this season of illness. I've been fighting something very mild for a few weeks now. Sometimes it feels like it's about to get worse, then it doesn't but I still feel crappy. So annoying.

COOKING pulled pork for the party on Friday night. I am trying to this whole planinning-ahead thing. I think it's working so far.

READING school stuff. Still doing great. So glad I dropped the Stats class!

LISTENING to The Lumineers. OMG I love them!

25 weeks pregooooooo!

total weight gain: 19.5 pounds
maternity clothes? yes, but I love wearing B's tees at night.
sleep: Pretty good so far. Earlier in the week I was having a tough time falling asleep.
best moment this week: Feeling baby actually roll around, more than just the punches and jabs.
movement: Oh yes!
sex: team green!
labor signs: none, but I do think I have felt some BH tightness.
belly button in or out? getting flatter.
food cravings: ramen noodles
what i miss: Walking like a normal person. I've already got the waddle going on.
what i am looking forward to: Logan turning THREE on Friday. Whah!?

Tuesday, February 5, 2013

i heart photos~love



It has been a LONG time since I have submitted a photo with i heart photos. This photo just SCREAMS love to me. Logan is feeling the baby kick him for the first time! Somehow, I was able to cock my arm in such a way to snap this photo. Check out all the other lovely love photos that have been submitted.


Photo Challenge Submission

Pink


Today I am wearing pink. Three years ago, a sweet baby girl was brought into the world and she left to be with Jesus a few days later. She and Logan would be the same age. Since then, her parents have created a website to help families with adoption and infertility options (IUI, IVF, etc). Kyla is a big sister to almost 2 younger siblings. I wanted to honor her memory today. You can check out their site here: Kids For Kyla.
Happy Birthday sweet girl!!

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Options

So here's the deal: wordpress, in it's true form, is making it VERY difficult for  me to move all my posts over to Blogger. The converter app I found is also not working out so great at the moment so until then, I have a few options.

I will start writing new posts over at blogger and link back to here and FB. If you're friends with me on FB, then you should have no problem keeping up with us. If not, then simply add our new home domain into your reader: http://weareforeachotherblog.blogspot.com/

If the converting process proves to be more difficult than I have time for, then I will just leave this blog up for past posts and link back to the above link every so often. This is obviously not ideal, but I'm limited on options right now. I am also still working on the layout and such over at our new home, so please bare with me while I relearn how to use blogger again. I'm already excited to be writing over there again.

Happy Sunday!

 

Friday, February 1, 2013

Convert Not Working

The converter for wordpress to blogger is not working tonight. I will try again tomorrow.

Moving...again.

I hate to do this to everyone but I am going to work on moving my blog back to blogger. Wordpress is just not doing it for me, unfortunately. I feel restricted in the design of the blog, which I have never really been happy with since my move here and it's not something I want to pay for. Hopefully everything will move over smoothly and I hope that everyone will follow! I will keep things updated about the move and hopefully it will be final soon. My midwife blog will continue to be supported by wordpress.

~Sarah

Flash-back Friday

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="604"] Logan at 4 weeks old![/caption]

Currently...24 weeks!

This week has been SO much better than last. It all started on Tuesday when I was having a serious hormone and stress-induced meltdown in my office. I was so completely overwhelmed by the three classes I was taking that I was certain I had to change my work schedule to make it work. Then came the voice of reason from my sweet husband who encouraged me to just drop one of the classes. I had not considered that option and the moment I clicked "web drop" I felt a weight lift from my shoulders and everything has been so much better this week. Not to mention I have been drinking coffee in the am which totally helps my mood and keeps the headaches away.
HK

Logan IS CURRENTLY....

 

WISHING he could possess control of every single light bulb and lamp in existence  specifically in our house. He has incredible hand-eye coordination and can twist off the top of a lamp, remove the shade, and twist out the light bulb. Then he take the bulb to another lamp that already has a bulb, removes it and replaces it with the bulb from the first lamp. We have really cracked down on him NOT doing this as it's just not safe. And he hates that.

 

MISSING his little cousin River who lived with us. He's only a few months older and of the three children, R is the one he talks about the most. Breaks my heart.

 

WORRYING about our DVD player pausing/skipping his Curious George shows all.the.time. He wants to take the thing apart and fix it, or for us to do it for him.



I AM CURRENTLY....

 

LOVING ice packs. God-send for this low back/tailbone pain. I try to ice every night after work for like, an hour.

 

WISHING that my body loved pregnancy as much as I do.  Seriously, I feel like I'm already in the third tri. Everything feels so heavy and the aches in my back are making me waddle already.

 

CRAVING milk shakes! I have to make them at home with lactose free ice cream and almond milk, which has turned out awesome!  But I do miss the only thing good that McDonalds offers and that is their vanilla milk shakes. Mmmm

 

MISSING my energy level. It's below zero right now.

 

WORRYING kinda sorta about the little baby bean. He/she is measuring a solid 2 weeks behind right now which could mean a  number of things, including genetics, wrong dates or worse, IUGR or SGA. We will have another ultrasound at 28wks to check things out but for now, everything is okay.


how far along? 24wks, measuring 22wks.
total weight gain: 19.5 pounds
maternity clothes? yes.
sleep: not too bad this week. Lots of crazy dreams.
best moment this week: Logan feeling the baby move.
movement: Oh yes!
sex: team green!
labor signs: none
belly button in or out? getting flatter.
food cravings: vodka pasta sauce, ramen noodles
what i miss: The warmer weather. I just want to play outside with my son!
what i am looking forward to: Logan's birthday next week!
weekly wisdom: Every pregnancy, even for the same person, is different.