The Baby is Here!!!!

I finally gave birth. I wanted to blog about the experience while it was happening.. but it happened relatively fast. Let me give you the play by play:

6am: wake up because I thought my water broke. Nope. Almost peed myself. 

7am: get 4 year old up to get ready for school. Make her breakfast, fix her hair, brush her teeth. While she is eatint I get ready for my doctor’s appointment. 

8am: take 4 year old to school

9am: come home to get my husband. Leaving my 2 year old in the care of my 18 year old. 

9:30am: I think my water broke, but unsure. It was barely trickling out. Go to the bathroom like 3x.. Yep, my water broke. Call doctor was told to head to the hospital. I’m in zero pain at this point. 

I take one last selfie of me & pregnant belly. 

10:30am: I finally leave the house.. but I spy a Starbucks. Coffee & breakfast sound really good. Why not? 
11am: having coffee & breakfast with my husband. And I’m also wearing a pad that is catching all the “water” I’m losing. 

11:30am: arrive at the hospital

Our arrival at the hospital. 

12:45pm: I’m finally in triage. And yes, they confirmed, my water broke. I crack jokes with my nurse… because that’s what I do when I’m nervous. She asked me if I had taken or thought about taking drugs or alcohol during my pregnancy.. I told her does it count that I go to the grocery store smelling & holding bottles of wine?  I guess I was good..

1:30pm: I’m in my labor/delivery room. My doctor shows up & checks me.. I’m dilated at 4.. then he said he wants to release the rest of the water.. when he showed me the long plastic hook.. I was terrified. And at this point I hadn’t had an epidural. Getting checked & popping of the bag. One word: painful. 

2pm: I was excited to find Food Network (my favorite channel) I watched a marathon of Pros vs Cons. And my nurse was like.. how can you watch food? Aren’t you hungry? No. I didn’t mention my breakfast. 

2:30pm: contractions are 2-3 minutes apart. They are getting stronger & more painful. My nurse checks on me.. I request an anesthesiologist. 

2:45pm: anesthesiologist shows up. Now this epidural was a little more complicated. He hit blood vessel & basically had to start over. And yes, very painful. And did I mention, I was having strong contractions during this process?? 

3:05pm: epidural is in. I decide to take a nap. Why not? I was finally numb from the waste down… kinda 

4:00pm: I tell the nurse I feel frequent pressure.. like I need to poop. She checks me.. I’m dilated at 9.5. My husband had went to get him a snack. I had to text him to get back to the room.. it’s almost show time. 

4:45pm: my doctor shows up & says whatever you do don’t push yet.. he had to get everyone in the room & get everything set up. 

5:00pm: I’m pushing. (My husband informs me I pooped on the doctor.. oops.. a thousand apologies.. seriously.) 

5:06pm: THE BABY IS HERE!! It’s a GIRL!! (As you remember we had no idea what we were having.. and yes, it was the coolest thing ever!)

Our girl! Princess A! 

7:30pm: go to recovery room.. I actually walked there. 

We are so over joyed! I went home the day after I had her. My husband slept terribly on the fold out sofa.. plus, we just wanted to go home as long as all was well with the baby (which it was, all labs came back great). And on the way home, I noticed how many folks were out shopping on Thanksgiving.. I’m good. This is the first year I didn’t even do Black Friday shopping online ( I don’t do well with crowds so I don’t even go out). It’s been transition getting used to a new baby. Everyone is in love with her.. my 2 year old was little hesitate about her. But he’s warming up to her. My cat didn’t know what to think when I brought her home. But now, my cat just ignores her. 

My little Princess A is awesome. She let me sleep until 5:30am this morning. Not sure if that’s considered all night yet or not?? She basically just eat, sleeps, & poops… for now. 

Thanks for reading a snapshot in my life. 

Julia. 

Today’s the Day.. No Wait the Estimated Day..

Today I am 41 weeks pregnant. Full term. To most it’s evection day, for me it’s let’s see how long the doctor will let me go. I am dilated 2 and sitting low. No thinning of the cervix as of last Wednesday. Basically, I’m ticking bomb.. water could break anytime. Am I scared? Yes. Nervous? Yes. I’ve heard so many tell me “your veteran at this”.. that maybe true, but it’s still quite terrifying. I’ve got another human inside me & it’s ultimately depending on me. Just like my 2 year old who could care less that I’m pregnant. There is still so much for me to do. And guess what? I don’t feel like doing any of it or anything. My teenagers could careless I’m pregnant. My 18 year old especially. He’s more wrapped up in himself. But that’s whole other story. I was informed by my 15 year old that all I do is take naps & go shopping. I laughed until I almost cried. I wish I could take a nap, hell, I wish I could sleep at night. I average about 3-4 hours a sleep a night, I guess I’m getting ready for a newborn. And shopping? Um no thanks. 

Have I packed a bag for the hospital? Yes. I finally did last Monday, when I was 40 weeks. So my bag is actually ready. I guess I should probably get my Little Man’s bag ready. I will most likely have to take him with me. I don’t have anyone willing to watch him. The older kids hate watching him.. and I would say “they have to” but, I had them watch him Saturday.. and I think he sat in a poopy diaper for 3 hours. So it’s another thing to add anxiety to..

Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to meet this little human.. and not be pregnant anymore.. Wine has been calling to me everytime I grocery shop & I have to ignore it. The liquor store calls out to me too.. but it’s on the ignore for a long while (I will be breastfeeding). I’ve even been craving some Angry Orchard… And in the middle of all this I am also trying to sell our house in Nashville. That in itself has been stressful. Trying to get repairs done, clean the house, get the rest of our stuff out.. we’ve had 3 contracts fall through. But we currently have a new one. So here’s hoping this one is “the one”. Stomach flu hit our house about 2-3 weeks ago.. that was fun. Said no one ever. I didn’t catch it, but my little ones did. Which is just as bad. Diarrhea & Vomit-fest yay! (Not really)

We had Early Thanksgiving on Sunday. I am actually pretty proud of it. My husband & I made everything from scratch (no box made or cans were involved). It actually wasn’t that hard. It was a bit more time consuming.. but not as much as you would think. I brined the turkey the day before. My husband smoked the turkey for 2.5 hours (yes, that’s all it took) and he smoked the ham for 2.5 hours as well. I made the cornbread dressing (first time I have ever made a from scratch cornbread. I usually buy some Jiffy), mac & cheese (make sure you have a food processor to grate your 1lb of cheddar cheese, it cuts the time drastically), roasted sweet potatoes & apples, green bean casserole, sour cream & bacon deviled eggs, and my husband & I made a from scratch pumpkin pie (we used 2 pumpkins that O got from the pumpkin patch, this was also a first) and honestly.. it tasted better than the usual pumpkin pie. Everything turned good! 

Now just waiting on the baby to make a grand entrance. I guess on Thursday we may actually do some Christmas shopping. Well.. maybe. I can’t really make any plans. But I do know on Friday you will not see me near a mall, Target, or Walmart. I will be at home (maybe?) shopping in my pj’s.. 

As most of you sit down Thursday to give Thanks, remember there is always something to be thankful for. I am forever thankful for my family, friends, & health. And please if you go shopping on Black Friday.. remember the things you were thankful for on Thursday before you push someone out of your way to grab a gift off a shelf, etc.. 

Thanks for reading a snapshot in my life! And Happy Thanksgiving!

Julia

Just Another Day

This week has been a trying week. O started preschool & is transitioning into Pre-K. I really thought Little Man would miss her. He didn’t. Not even a little. I don’t remember if my other kids went through the “terrible two’s” but I think I’m in the middle of it with Little Man. Today, being one of those “I can’t do it today” days. Doing any kind of shopping has become a nightmare. Today for example, shopping at Walmart. Steven decides to throw my phone (which is usually my saving grace while shopping) after I retrieve it, I put it in my purse. O decided she didn’t want to listen to me (I asked her to stay w/the basket) she was twirling & ran into some guy. After I take my phone Little Man proceeds to scream like I just beat him (thought about it, but didn’t) for a solid 20 minutes. It was to the point I couldn’t think straight. So, I abandon basket & left. I was done. I felt kinda bad for the Walmart worker that would have to put back my groceries. It was either that or have lots of witnesses watch a woman who is over 6 months pregnant lose her shit. Literally. So I chose the high rode. We left. Dinner tonight will likely be cereal. 

As I got in my vehicle it dawned on me. Tomorrow is the 4th year anniversary my dad passed away or as O knows it as her Grandaddy went to heaven. It’s all I could do not to cry. They say time heals a broken heart. In someways that’s true. But when certain dates hit, it’s like it happened all over again. August 5th is an extremely hard day for me, Father’s Day is another, and my dad’s birthday (September 12) all of those days are hard. You fight tears because you want to be strong, but when you love & miss someone so much.. You can’t help it. I miss my dad everyday. But the day he suddenly passed away, it’s the worst. Not only that tomorrow the older kids start school. So emotional day all around & oh yeah I’m pregnant so it’s a little worse. Say some prayers for me tomorrow, I know I will need them. 

Thanks for reading a snapshot in my life. 

Julia

Wait.. What??

It’s been a little while since I’ve blogged.. So much has happened. O will start preschool the first week of August.. Yeah, I’m still like time slow down!! My oldest is senior this year, Poo Bear is a 10th grader, Mr. C is a 11th grader, Princess Z is an 8th grader. Little Man is just still stuck with me until next year.. He’s getting put in a Mother’s Day Out program. I need a break. I love him to pieces, but he will drive you nuts some days. 

I’ve been saying I have some exciting news. Which I do.. I have been very hesitant to say it. I’m pregnant. Yes. You read that right. No, I haven’t lost my mind. Okay, maybe a little. We are welcoming a baby sometime in November. I am almost 23 weeks along. No, I didn’t find out the sex. It will be my one last surprise. So we have a lot going on right now. School starts in 2 weeks. I’m not ready. Seriously. This is seriously my first announcement of my pregnancy. My husband said its like we are hiding it. No, for some reason I just didn’t feel like sharing. At least on a social level. Close family & friends know. I’m still undecided if I will share on social media. I think because more or less of judgement. Yeah. Yes, I know what causes this. No, we are not rabbits. My husband works too much. No I do not get any government assistance. So my pregnancy & kids are on my dime, not tax payers.  Another reason I haven’t shared on social media is, maybe I’ve already shared too much of my life.  Nothing is private anymore. My blog maybe the only way I share the news. I honestly don’t know. 

Other news in our life, we have found the house we want built & neighborhood. Hopefully, this will take place in 2 years. I do love the house we are in, but we are renting. I finished being a renter. I think we are ready to be homeowners. So we are tightening the belt & saving money or attempting to. The neighborhood we want to move to is about 5 minutes from where we are currently. 

I’m excited about the new journey we are embarking on. New baby, O starting preschool, kids going to school, it’s a lot to take in. Whether we are ready or not it’s happening. I am truly blessed with the life I have. Some days it doesn’t feel like it, but I know I am. I am thankful & very humble. 

Thanks for reading a snapshot into my life. 

Julia

To the New Moms

I became a mom in September of 1998. I am not perfect, I don’t know everything. Everyone’s experience in motherhood is different. There is a 8 year gap between Princess Z & O. When I had O in April of 2012, it was like starting over. When I had my first 3 kids, there was no social media or at least it wasn’t common. And there were no smartphones, tablets, iPads, etc. Information is now at your fingertips. It’s almost like information overload now.

Here is my advise for the new moms: don’t compare yourself to something you read on the Huffington Post or any other social outlet. Your body is going through a million changes and your hormones are battling one another. As long as your healthy and your baby is healthy.. Your doing fine. No can tell you what to expect. It’s just going to happen. Are you going to poop on the doctor when you give birth? Probably. Is he/she going to care? No. It happens. Am I going swell up? Maybe. I did with my kids, but everyone is different. Whether you decide or not have a epidural. It’s your choice. I had one with each of my kids. Did it hurt? Yes. But only for a minute, then finally I could sleep. I commend anyone who doesn’t get an epidural. It just wasn’t in my cards.

After the baby comes, this is were it gets tricky. Do I breastfeed? It’s your choice. Is the “baby blues” a thing? Yes. Everything will make you cry for about two weeks. If it goes on longer than that, seek medical attention. The first poop after you give birth is scary. It’s like giving birth again. However, you do feel a lot better. Take the big huge pads from the hospital home with you. Ask for extras. You will need them. Take the extra diapers for the baby too.. You will use them. I also took the blankets (for the baby). Getting discharged from the hospital is like getting a bill passed in congress. It takes quite a while. If they say your being discharged in the morning, count on it actually happening in the afternoon. And there is quite a bit of paperwork. Be ready. Don’t worry if baby’s room isn’t ready, he/she will not immediately be sleeping in there. Little Man is 4 months old, his room is still not ready.

When arriving home, ask for help. This was a tough one for me. Have someone bring you meals, trust me. Your not going to want to cook. If someone offers help clean up your house, let them. I never had such offer, but I wish I would have. Sleep when baby sleeps. Even if dishes are sky high in the kitchen, you need your sanity, sleep. Enjoy time with your new baby, your getting to know him/her.. And when the baby is screaming & nothing is making him/her happy, remember it’s not always going to be like this.

Thanks for reading a snapshot in my life!

Julia