Oh, and knock on wood before I get too excited!! So, Olivia slept through the night last night. Well, she woke up to eat every 3 hours, but that's no big deal. The was a slight bit of fussing, after she ate, but nothing like what we've been dealing with. Now, I am aware that this could be a one night thing. If so, it was just what the two of us needed for a little recharge, for sure!! There's also the fact that she had her 2 week check up yesterday morning, and her sleep schedule was off whack for the day. What ever the reason, I'm thankful, as is Carl. Especially since he put the house under quarantine after I got a positive Strep test Monday morning. Who knows how I got it, or where I got it, but I got it!! Carl said he's thankful to have gotten sleep since his throat was starting to hurt last night as well. I did inform him that if it starts to hurt even just a little, any bit today, he needs to go to the doctor ASAP!!

Why did nobody tell me that we should work on working in shifts with a baby? It wasn't until I got sick that we sort of accidentally started this. It actually works well since he'll be going back to work soon. I have the middle of the night shift and he works days. We're hoping that while he's at work, I can sleep when she sleeps the most, and be up with her at night. He will then take over a little before he goes to work, and after he gets home. I guess I should say we're more in the business of adjusting our sleep schedules at the moment. So far so good!!

As for gas and colic, we have found a routine that seems to be working, at least for the time being. We have decided to give her a little bit of Mylicon before she eats. We tried Gas X for infants but neither of us like the way her stomach sounded after we gave her the drops. Not to mention, it seemed to take so much longer to work, and seemed so much more painful for her. Then there was the Gripe Water. Albeit great, and effective, you can only give it to her 6 times a day. Granted, I would half the recommended dosage, and have the ability to give it to her more often, the Mylicon seems to be working better, and you can give it 12 times a day with normal dosage. So we give her a few drops, change her diaper, feed, then listen to her pass that gas for a little while before she falls asleep. I've also started letting her sleep in my arms or on my chest, in the recliner that Carl so thoughtfully moved into her room the other night. He's not extremely excited about the idea of starting such a somewhat bad habit, but I told him that if it gets us sleep, as well as her, I really don't care. He agreed. Besides, it's only during the night hours when she has the potential to be the fussiest. I say, "HEY! Whatever works, go with it!!"

Well, that's it for now. More later!! Hope everyone has a wonderful New Year. I will let you guys know now that my resolution is to become the best Mommy I can be! OK, so that's pretty generic, and not specific at all, but being new to this Mommy thing, it's definitely what I want to work on the most. That, and having the ability to keep my house clean/clutter free while doing all of this!!

So, it's been almost 2 weeks now. 2 weeks of dirty diapers, around the clock feedings (done solo, I might add), sore nipples, pretty pink clothes, and a lot of healing. I'm sure you're asking your self how she made her debut. Well, it started on Tuesday, December 16, at about 6pm. I went to use the bathroom before dinner. As I walked out of the bathroom, I got roughly 10 steps away and felt as though I had just peed on myself. I really had to wonder if this was in fact my water breaking or was it just a little urine I hadn't quite gotten all the way out on my last visit. All I can say is, "Thank God for panty liners." I returned to the bathroom to change the liner, and went to eat dinner. After dinner, I was refilling my glass and once again, felt as though I may have peed on myself. I tried to make it stop, but the harder I squeezed, the harder it came out. I then seriously suspected my water had indeed broke. The only reason I ever questioned it was because I never felt the "gush" that you read/hear about. I then called the on-call nurse, told her what happened, and she said to go to the hospital to at least have it checked, but it sounded to her as though my water had just broken. I had to call Carl. He and my grandfather had gone on a beer hunt (another story for another time). I explained to Carl what happened, and what the nurse said so he hurried home. By now it was roughly 7/7:30pm. We got to the hospital around 8pm. I had 3 contractions in that time, one at the house, and 2 on the way to the hospital. They took me to a labor and delivery room and checked me out. Initially they couldn't tell if my water had broken. The test kept coming back negative. I told them that I could feel leakage every time I had a contraction, which by that point were every 4-5 minutes. They tested me again. VOILA! Finally a positive test. So they checked me in, and started the pitocin because I was only .5cm dilated.

Now begins the wait. It took a while before I finally gave in for the epidural. Not that I was trying to go all natural. I think it was around 1 or 2am when I finally got it. AHHHHHH, relief! Up to this point I could see the pain in Carl's face that I was in such pain. He was just as relieved as I was once that epidural was inserted. I remember catching cat naps here and there. I woke up every time the nurse came to check on me and the baby. It was around 5am when the doc came to give me another check. He told me I had only progressed to 4.5/5cm. NICE, huh? All that time and I'm barely half way there. Well, while he was explaining to me that he thought I may need a C-Section since my dilation wasn't keeping up with my contractions that were now much stronger (although I still couldn't feel them), and much closer to each other. As he was explaining this to me, the next thing I see are about 8 nurses come flying in my room. One is giving me a shot to slow down my contractions. Another is telling me to drink something. It was like mass chaos. All the while the nurses are taking their time saying, "I know this is probably scary, but we need you to stay calm." Stay calm for what? I have no idea what's going on to begin with. Finally, the doc tells me the baby's heart rate has fallen, and we have roughly 5 minutes to get me into the operating room. Everything happened so quickly that I really didn't have time to freak out. They gave me so much medicine in those 5 minutes that I had the shivers so badly. I remember them saying "Time in to O.R., 5:17am." Within a couple minutes, Carl was next to me, talking to me, and calming me." He was so great!! I don't know what I would have done without him. By 5:33am we heard her first cry. I thought I was going to cry. I looked up at Carl and he had tears in his eyes. They got her cleaned up, and gave her to Daddy, who then put her on my shoulder next to my face so that I could see her before they took her to the nursery.
I got all stitched up and was in recovery by 6:15am. I got to my room by 7:30am, and that's where we were for the next few days. Our little beauty was born on Wednesday, December 17, 5:33am, and weighed a whopping 6lbs 12oz. HOLY COW! What a teeny baby! By the end of that day we were so tired, neither of us could go to sleep. Believe me, we tried too! Once again, I am so thankful to have Carl there with me, every minute we were in the hospital. I love him so much!

Now, here we are, almost 2 weeks later and we're doing alright. She's still alive, we haven't gone insane yet, and she even had her fist picture with Santa taken. We are dealing with a minor case of colic, or maybe a bad case of gas. Either way, she's fussy for about 3-4 hours a night with the worst cry she has. We've both determined that the cry isn't what bothers us. It's the fact that we don't know what's wrong, and can't fix it. That's so heart breaking. We'll figure it out though. It's all part of the parenting process.

As for the cat, he's still not sure about her. He might go up to her every once in a while to try to get a sniff, but as soon as she moves, he's gone! However, Daddy is another story. He has emerged into "THAT GUY." He takes pictures and video every day. He can't get enough. I love to watch him with her too. He has gone from the guy that proclaimed he didn't change diapers, to the most hands on dad you've ever known. I knew that guy was in there, but he's still amazed by him.





I'll give another update soon!!

We decided to do a belly cast. While I was registering at BRU online, I saw the kits to do this. I then said to myself, "SELF! There has got to be a cheaper way of doing this than $35+tax AND s/h!" So I set out to explore the internet and find a more cost effective solution to our project at hand. VOILA! Found one. The lady that posted directions also posted alternatives. She said you could either go to a medical supply place to get the stuff, or just go to Michael's, like she did. HELLO! We went to Michael's. After all, it's only right down the street. It cost me $16 and some change to get all of the stuff we needed.


We did this last Friday (5 December), and it only took about 15 minutes before I was able to pull it off. UH, pull it off for Carl to try on and model!! Yes I was able to get a picture!

Here's where we are now. Still in the adding-a-little-plaster-for-stability stage. So far it was just to the inside, and it's been sanded. Next will be plaster to the outside so that it can be sanded and then decorated!! Of course that's the part I look forward to.


I'll update you guys with more as it comes!!

Just got back from my weekly appointment. I said I'd let you all know what was going on, so here it is:
Baby is head down! YAY!! But I already knew that. My cervix is just starting to soften, and I'm still continuing to thin out. My next appointment is Monday (15th) afternoon. We'll see if we need it. A friend of mine told me that she had the same dream 2 nights in a row that I had the baby on Monday, 15 December. We shall see. Carl is thinking that sounds good to him. He's hoping that we go in on Sunday and have our own, brand new baby, by Monday.

Hello all! So, in case you're worrying, or wondering, there's still no baby. I do have a check-up today though. We'll see what he says. As my due date approaches (Friday), it seems as though everyone else is far more anxious for a baby than me. Not that I'm not, they just seem to want it more. I just keep telling everyone that she doesn't need to be in a hurry, and she'll get here when she's ready. I have dropped though. I started noticing around the end of last week, but we noticed for sure this weekend. Every time she moves I can feel the pressure on my pelvic bone. OH, what an interesting feeling!! It's like being punched there from the inside.

My grandparents arrived Thursday night. They'll be here and staying with us until after the 1st. God bless family that arrives to help. I know my grandmother helped out with all of the grandkids when they were born. She's so sweet!! So far we haven't let them do much, outside of washing dishes!! We figure there will be plenty for her to do after the baby is born.

Then, on the 23rd, my aunt and cousin will be here. YAY!!

That's about it for now. I'll be sure to post some pictures as we get them, and when we get them. As well as let you know about the baby!!!

So I hope that everyone managed to keep warm through the night. I know I did!! My darling hubster built a fire to start the night off. It was so nice. So nice, in fact, the cat had to get a piece of that action. Look at him looking so cozy by the fire.



That's where he stayed until the fire died. What is the funniest is when Carl starts to make a fire. That cat knows what's up. He sits next to Carl, watching him, the entire time until the fire gets going. After the fire died, we turned the heater on, and went to bed. I was just happy to have a bed buddy!! I've had to sleep all by my little lonesome for the past couple of nights because I wake Carl up, unintentionally, every time I get up throughout the night to potty!! He's been taking up residence in the guest bedroom. He said that was where he was going to stay until after the baby is born. I had to remind him that my grandparents will be here this weekend and that is where they will be staying.

So, I hope everybody, from Michigan to New Mexico, all the way down here in the sunshine state, and all those in between, managed to stay warm. I know I was quite surprised to wake up to frost and ice all over our neighborhood this morning. I looked at the thermometer for outside and it read 31. WHOA! My grandmother told me they've been getting snow for a while now, in Michigan. YUCK! So, let's enjoy this little bit of frost and be thankful it does not snow here!!!

Over the many, albeit short, years of my life, I have heard over and over again, "Having kids changes your life." What they don't tell you is that change really starts while you are pregnant.

In the past nine months I have made some minor tweaks and changes to my life and surroundings. Not enough to cause me to consciously have to work on these changes, but enough to create a positive surrounding for my upcoming arrival, as well as myself. These changes may be small, but they will have great impact on my family later in life.

One change I made is with friends. I learned really quickly how great true friends can be. On the flip side, I learned how your oldest friends can prove to be the biggest disappointments. No need to fret though! I just gracefully walked away without saying a word. If someone is not willing to be there for me when I need them, I do not need them. I found I have many, many others, both new and old, who will be there, and very happy to do so.

I also realized why so many moms, and mom-to-be, tend to gravitate towards each other. It is definitely a means of sharing experiences with someone who knows and understands. There is also the added benefit of kids having friends and playmates.

I learned rather quickly that I no longer have the patience for the daily/weekly gossip I once looked forward to hearing from some people. Do not get me wrong, it is always nice to hear, but just not on a regular basis, as I once did. Gossip just has this way of making me feel more normal. I would just rather talk about what is going on with me. Not in the "IT'S ALL ABOUT ME" sense, but more in the "I CAN RELATE," or "HAS THIS EVER HAPPENED TO YOU," or even "LOOK WHAT YOU HAVE TO LOOK FORWARD TO" aspect. MOMMY TALK!

A wise friend once told me that once you have kids, you will notice that the people you surround yourself with are people that your children enjoy as much as you. You will have people around you that make you feel safe, more than fun. Life does change when you put children in the picture.

I think most amazing change I have been able to observe is Carl's. He is definitely extraordinary. He has taught me so much, and I have also learned so much from him, and about him. I look forward to seeing him with Olivia and watching them grow.