Have a little "Faith"

Little did we know, that I would never get to the final 10-day countdown. Macyn Faith was born at 38 weeks and 3 days. Technically, I should still be pregnant for another week or so. Crazy to think about, but we feel so blessed to have her with us! So how did everything go down? Let's start with that....

This is the last picture I have of being pregnant - 38 weeks exactly. Little did I know our little bundle of joy would be here 3 days later.

It all started with a normal appointment on Tuesday, October 13 at 11:00 AM. They did the usual stuff, and my BP had gone up. The doctor had decided to check me and I was already 3 cm and 100% effaced. Since the BP had stayed high, they decided to sent to to the hospital for a non-stress-test. During the NST, they put this thing on your tummy to listen to the baby's heartbeat, and another to measure contractions. Once you feel the baby move, you click a button and they look to make sure the baby's heartrate goes up when she moves. In the meantime, they came in to check my BP every 1/2 hour for about 3 hours. The baby looked great, and it appeared my BP was starting to go back down....until the last few times it was checked, it started to spike. I had visited with my Dr. during this time, and she discussed options such as bedrest and deliver in a week, but she was confident that being dialated that far, it would be best for my health and the baby's to just go ahead and deliver me.

So.....they decided to admit me at around 4:00 PM. I was a little overwhelmed with everything happening so fast - I wasn't even able to finish packing or install the carseat! So they starting me on an IV drip of Magnesium Sulfate for 3 hours before they would start Pitocin at around 8:00 PM. Once they started the Pit, I didn't really start having contractions at all. I was up alot of the night, just listening to our little girl's heartbeat (it is continually monitored) and they would continue to check my BP every 1/2 hour, along with checking my reflexes and temp. I also had to have a catheter since I wasnt allowed to get out of bed...at all until she was born.


So the next morning, they decided to get my contractions going by breaking my water at 10:30. This definitely started my contractions, and continued to get stronger throughout the day. I am not sure what time they started getting closer and closer together, but I knew I had to be atleast a 6-7 to get an epidural. They decided to check me because the contractions starting coming long and hard. I was only to a 5. But they decided to give me the epi anyways since I was bed-ridden, they thought that was part of the reason I wasn't getting dialated since I was never relaxed, couldnt walk around, use a birth ball, etc.

So here I am with the anesthesiologist giving me the epidural. By this time the contractions are extremely long and hard, close together. The contractions were strong at the point that the nurses and dr. thought she could possibly be delivered within the next 1/2 hour. So when I actually got the epi, my right side never got numb. Left side - good. Right side - not so much. They pumped more numbing agent into my epi to try and get my right side going - the drip was equvalent to 10x an epidural. Well my right side was numb, but I never got numb right where it counts. Still felt every contraction, never had complete relief.

After that, they decided to check me again, and never progressed any further. Macyn's head was lodged in my pelvis, face up, and they were pretty sure she would never make it through. They Dr. then decided it would be best to go ahead and give me a c-section. As they were prepping me, I threw up and got sick - I think it was just from all the emotions. So DH had to go an put on his scrubs (I told me he looked like my Mc Dreamy and the surgical team thought that was funny).....and then they started the c-section. Since I wasn't completely numb, the procedure felt like an extremely hard contraction which I had to breath through while laying on the table. A little while later, at 6:00 on Wednesday, Macyn was here, and I got to see her for the first time.We decided on the name Macyn Faith. She never had a middle name until I recieved my epi that didnt work, and we knew that Faith in itself would get up through this. There were so many prayers from Josh, myself, and whoever else was praying for us, and I think thats what kept us strong through this whole ordeal.

Just knowing us giving birth to healthy baby girl - 7lbs 5oz 22 inches long made it all worth it. She is a blessing and we love her alot. She has jaundice but thankfully yesterday the levels went back down to a somewhat better level. She still eats to eat alot to get over that. She also lost alot of weight in the hospital and as of this morning she was up to 6lbs 14oz so that is good too. Everything is looking up for us, and I am enjoying mommyhood as much as possible....now tomorrow I have to get 17 staples out of my 10 inch incision...lets hope that goes well and relieves some of the pain!

The Final Countdown!

Well, its been a while since I last posted, and I am to the point in my pregnancy where if I go into labor there isn't any stopping me! An exciting time with lots of anxiety. I have calmed myself down a little bit by just trying to take it easy. Mostly everything is put together and away, and I have begun to freeze meals. I am ready for this baby. ....except my bag isnt packed yet and the car seats aren't installed. We only have 1 baby class left, so I am finally starting to feel "ready."

But as I am ready for the baby to come, I like to reflect on those little milestones of pregnancy. Such as the first time we heard the heartbeat at 11 weeks. The first time we saw our baby in an ultrasound at 15 weeks and second time at 22. The first time I felt the baby move at around 18 weeks. Other milestones? Becoming extremely uncomfortable. Hard to sleep, bathroom breaks, heartburn, achiness, backaches, etc.

But during these last few weeks, I am trying to enjoy the baby movements, even though they sometimes hurt! I mean really, I have gone for about 20 weeks feeling the baby move everyday. In a few short weeks that will be gone when I can finally hold our little one. So as ready as I am, and tired of all the aches and pains, I am enjoying these last few weeks and feeling the baby move. Its going to be strange not having baby movements after feeling them for about 5 months straight! ...but I am more excited than ever to finally meet this little one! Hi baby! See you soon!

Too Hot to Handle

So today I was really hungry for some chicken nachos. I made some chicken fajita meat with peppers and onions, put that on top of some tortilla chips with cheese on top, and chopped some jalepenos and the baked everything to get it nice a hot and scrumptious! They were very good and definitely hit the spot. Until a few hours later my hands started tingling/burning. I know sometimes when you're preggo, your hands can tingle anyways, so I attributed it to that. My hands have been starting to throb and tingle, so I just figured it was worse today. So as I used google to figure out a "cure" and guess what I found instead? Burning hands from chopping jalepenos! That is definitely what happened. I guess the juices get on your hands and boy do they BURN! I also had some burning sensations in my nose because I itched it.

So in hindsight, I guess you are supposed to wear gloves. It would defnitely be worth it because this burning sensation is TOO HOT TO HANDLE! and hopefully it goes away SOON!

Garage Sales Days 2,3,4

On Garage sale day 2, I found a few more crib sheets for 50 cents a piece, some hats, clothes, sleepers, onesies, and a few sleep sacks. They were all pretty cheap. I even found a brand new 2 pack of fleece sleepers! I bought a couple of books that I should really start to read up on. I had a list of about 15 garage sales I wanted to go to that day, but I was 1) extremely hot and 2) exhausted........ so I went to about 8.

On garage sale day 3, it was kinda rainy, and I guess that means some places should be closed! URG! I did find one sale that had good priced items - every item was $1!! I found some jeans, sleepers, sweaters, etc. Pretty good find on that one. DH went with me for a while, but we never found anymore. After going to all these sales, a person really gets tired of digging through everything.

Day 4 was a total flop. First off, I had about 8 I wanted to go to, and half of them weren't even open. And the ones that were open, the prices were too high. I refuse to pay more than $2 for a sleeper and some were going for between $3-$4.. so I came back home and did laundry and worked on the nursery a little bit. I decided that the nursery would look best with another painting, so I painted the purple hippo. I also painted letters to put on the shelf above the changing table, and DH and I got them all hung. It feels good to have things almost in place. I need to still pick up a few more baby things, and wash all the items I found at the garage sales.
Last weekend DH and myself put up some wood blinds and the curtains we received at the baby shower a few weeks ago. It really finished off the nursery.
And since we are talking about our LO, in honor of the Vikings winning their first game today, here is my bump in DH's Vikings jersey! Only 6 more weeks! We can do it!!!

Garage Sales - Day 1

City wide rummages started today......and I have my list planned out according to what time garage sales close, and the most fuel efficient route. I am mostly looking for clothes, but I surprisingly found some things that I haven't bought yet....... the best things I found today? A boppy pillow for $3 and Playtex Vent-Air bottles - 4-6 oz bottles and 5-10 oz bottles for a grand total of $5.75. I also bought an extra crib sheet for 25 cents, a 2-pack of hats for 25 cents, and a baby sweater for $2. I hope I can find some clothes tomorrow and possibly some more crib sheets, and anything else I can find thats "too cute" to pass up.

How could I forget? Our 2 older neighbor ladies were having garage sales at their condos. Josh found a brand new tape measure for $2 and I got a loaf of home-made banana bread for $1. Can't pass up baked goods! We also went to a different garage sale not on the map, and the first thing the older lady said was "You go to our church!" Totally random, because I sure didn't recognize them! But none the less, atleast we know another couple from our church now, even if they are in their 70's.

Home Improvements

Yesterday was a fun-filled day of working around the house (with my mom and dad's help) and doing minor updates on things that have needed to be done for quite a while. The first update? Buddy's haircut. He gets his hair cut every 10 weeks, and he was starting to look like quite the shaggy dog. He looks completely different all shaved down, but it grows on you, and he doesnt pant as much! I included a "blooper" shot of Buddy too, silly dog! He was a very upset yesterday, and pretty much whined and barked for the 1st half of the day.....can you say attention whore?! I think it was because no one sat down on the couch for him to chew on his bone. True story.

Outside Improvements

On the left we have the front screen door knob. You see, it was broken off last winter. My sister came over and the door was frozen shut, so naturally she tried to pull the door open and brooke off the door handle. It was pretty funny, but not so attractive for our house. We finally got a new one put on, and now the door locks too!
On the right we have a massive nail. Our gutters are falling off our house. Everytime it rained, they were so clogged that even the lightest rain shower would overflow our gutters. We have already re-attached the ones on the back of the house, and yesterday when DH was mowing, this nail fell out of the gutters right past his head. Yup. Definitely time to be re-attached.

Inside Improvements

On the left we finally put up our new track lighting in the basement, which we bought from IKEA all the way back in May. We put up 2 sets and it looks alot better. We need to angle the lights in the right direction, but other than that, it really finishes off our basement.
On the top right, we have our ever-wonderful toilet handle flusher thingy. Ever since we have bought our house, this toilet handle has always acted funny. Sometimes flushing on the first try, and sometimes on the second or third. In the 2 years we have been here, it has progressively gotten worse. Just the other day it took me 18 tries to get the toilet to flush! We figured out the inside mechanism slips which causes the toilet not to flush. My dad rigged it up so that a wire attaches to the flusher thing, thus flushing the FIRST TRY every time! It's amazing! I didn't know what we were missing!

On the bottom right, this is our only screened-in window in our bedroom's window crank. The windows in our house need to be replaced someday, so they aren't the greatest things in the world, but this window always gets stuck. Especially when its humid and warm out, its almost impossible to shut because it warps so much. So to get the window shut, we have to crank it hard! Well apparantly DH cranked it a little too hard a couple weeks ago and SNAP! It broke off. So we are excited to have a new crank that actually works!

Nursery Improvements

On the left, we have our changing table cover. We also bought the changing table pad at IKEA, but it never quite fit into the changing table. Since changing table covers are hard to find anyways, I went and bought some $3/yard fabric and my mom made a custom one. It is white with dots and I think it turned out great and matches the nursery! Its a little big, but I figured once I wash it, it will shrink a little bit (its flannel).
In the center, we have the trim where the ceiling and walls meet. There wasn't any trim before, so we thought it would look nice to finish it off. My dad wasn't too thrilled about putting it up, but even he agreed it looked better.
On the right we have the shelf that DH bought at a garage sale about 1.5 years ago. He bought 2 of them and we painted one green that has been in our bedroom for about a year. I just painted this longer 2nd one for the nursery. I think it will work great to either display the paintings, or to put blocks that spell out the baby's name.

Thats about all the improvements we did so far, and it feels great to cross a few things off my list. We still have a few more things to do, but it will be done eventually...we only have 9 more weeks!

Baby "bumps"

So it has finally happened....no, not my baby bump, but actually a baby bump. DH and I were getting groceries at Fareway this past weekend, and lo and behold. I bumped my belly. The grocery cart was apparantly too close, and totally smoked my belly into the cart...which pushed it back a few feet. I couldn't stop laughing and neither could my hubby..poor bun!

I also had another baby bump while on vacation...my sister accidentally ran into it. Pretty good times. Another bump in the road is trying to put on running shoes and tie them....its also difficult to shave your legs. Pretty much anything that requires bending over, including putting on my pants every morning, is getting more difficult day after day.

Another bump in the road....BABY NAMES! No, our bun in the oven doesn't have a name yet. We better start kicking it into gear, because our baby will be here in no time! DH and I have a combined baby name list started, and sorted them out in numerical order to our top names and bottom names. Good idea right? Well it would be if we could agree. My top names are his bottom names and vice versa. It is hard to find just the right name. We want something unique, but not so weird, but not so common.....which makes it even harder. Things to consider? The baby's initials, to make sure they don't spell something funny or bad. Also, the business card test. Can you picture the name on a business card, or be a lawyer in court and still be taken seriously? So after being stumped with our baby name list, we went to look at some cradle roles for some ideas, and we have come to a conclusion...

No matter what name we choose, it won't be as unique as some of the names we found. How about StormieSkie? Whatt? Barnabas? ......atleast that gives us a little hope, that no matter what we pick, we know it will be better than some of those!

...speaking of bumps...thought I would share my 30-week picture....I think I have "popped!"