In Honor of Evie's First Birthday. . .

I give to you again, her birthstory. :)

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For being such a short labor my story is pretty long

Evelyn Grace’s Birth Story

March 5th, 2008

Jeremy left for work at 5pm, early for a Wednesday, he was putting in as much overtime as he could in preparation for the arrival of our new baby. I managed to get Victoria and Nathan down to bed around 7:30 and popped on the internet to waste my evening until bedtime. I was 4 days late now and showing no signs of having a baby anytime soon. After being throughly bored online I decided to make a choco-banana smoothie and catch up with my DVR. Around 9:00, I started feeling sick and chalked it up to too much smoothie for one night. I spoke with a friend for a bit and she said maybe I was sick because labor was starting and I laughed at her and thought, “no way.” I headed to bed around 10:30, eager to get some sleep, yet reluctant to wake up another day pregnant.

March 6th, 2008

I got up for bathroom runs as usual, glancing at the clock each time and figuring out how many more hours until Jer would be off work and home again. Shortly after 3am I realized I was waking up to contractions but didn’t care enough to notice how often. Actually I was more annoyed than anything. At 5am I wasn’t able to sleep between them anymore. I called my mom and she said she’d come over about 7, which was fine with me. I got out of bed and decided I should try timing them. You’d think with this being my third baby I’d be a pro at timing contractions, however this is not the case. Best I could figure I had 7 contractions in an hour. I called my mom back and asked her if she could hurry over. I was getting pretty uncomfortable.

At about 6:15, I called Jer at work to tell him to finish his shift and hurry home but he didn’t answer his cell. I went to bed to try to relax and the moment my back hit the mattress I realized that was not a good position for me anymore. I propped myself up on a few pillows and just rocked on my knees and that seemed to relieve quite a bit of the pain. My mom came in and asked what was going on and after I filled her in we decided maybe someone should pack our hospital bag. I tried to get up to do it but it was pretty obvious that wasn’t gonna happen. I called Jer again, no answer.

6:45 Jeremy called to let me know he saw my calls and was on his way home. I urged him to hurry but didn’t give him an explanation to why.

7:00 Jeremy gets home and Victoria and Nathan wake up. We realize that we should probably get to the hospital pretty quickly so as fast as I can I dress myself and get on shoes. This takes a good 15-20 minutes. I eat a piece of toast and Jer and I head to the car. At this point I realize my shirt is on backwards. Jer tells me not to worry because as soon as we get to the hospital I’ll be taking it off anyway, so off we go.

7:30 we arrive at the hospital and Jer drops me at the entrance. I find a bench inside to wait for him and the attendants ask me if I want a wheelchair. I repeatedly decline. Jer comes in toting my purse and we head to the 5th floor. We stop 6 times on the way and 6 times strangers ask me various forms of “Are you in labor NOW?” I actually answered one person with, “Nope, I’m just practicing.” When we get to the triage desk I walk away from Jer as he gets my insurance card and ID out of my purse and I go to the bathroom. It feels great to sit. When I get back to him we are lead to a triage room and I change out of my backwards shirt and into a gown. I’m not really sure of the time at this point.

The nurse comes in to get me on the monitor but I refuse to lay back so she’s not able to get the baby’s heartbeat. She sends in another nurse who starts to ask me why I won’t lay back and when the last time I felt the baby move. I told her I wasn’t laying back because I was in labor and I felt the baby 4 seconds ago. We go back and forth a little bit and I end up mostly laying back in a most uncomfortable position. She checks me and I am 4-5 cm. We wait a bit and the very cute on-call OB comes in. He was very pleasant, checked me and called me 5+ cm and in labor then he helped me out of bed. I LOVED this man. We spoke for a little and he told me to be sure I told the nurses in the delivery room of ANY changes b/c it would take him at least 10 minutes to get from his office back to the hospital and he wanted to be the one to catch so I had to give him time to get back.

It was time to go to our labor suite and I declined a wheelchair again. We stopped 4 times in 100 feet. I got into the room and headed to the bathroom. The same nurse tells me I need to get into bed and lay down so she can get me on the monitor. I basically told her to get out of my room and not let the door hit her on the way out. I go to the side of the bed and set it up like I was at home, only I was standing instead of on my knees. Jer talks to the nurses as they come in and out as I labor on my own, ignoring all of them. I start to cry and Jeremy comes to help me. He was wonderful. I’m having a lot of trouble breathing so to force the air, I cry. I cry during every contraction from this point on. They get me an IV, my antibiotics and a birthing ball. I sit on the ball still propped up on the side of the bed. It helps. There was only one point when I was in actual tears, saying I didn’t want to do it anymore. I felt so bad for Jer because he just looked at me and said “sweetie you have to, you’re almost done, I promise.”

They ask me to get on the bed so they can check me and tell me after they check me they will let me back up. It’s been 90 minutes since the OB checked me so I figure I’m maybe 6 cm. I’m an 8! 8cm! So I stay in bed and Jer gets me an oxygen mask and the cool air feels great. I’m still crying and everything starts to blur together. My water is still in tact and it HURTS. Next thing I know the OB is there messing with me during contractions and whooosh he breaks my water. The relief was unimaginable. For the next 10 minutes things were very quiet and I was enjoying what seemed to be a break. Then the OB told me to push. I thought he was crazy but gave a ½ attempt at a push anyway. He told me to stop b/c he needed to get his gown on. That one push got her all the way down the birth canal. He came back and told me to push again.

I pushed once and the head was out. He started talking to us and asked us if we knew gender or not. Jeremy, who was doing his best to hold my hand and see, told him that we did not know.

I pushed again - shoulders are out.

Pushed again - It’s a Girl!

They gave her to me, cleaned her up some. I remember asking “It’s a girl? Really? Is she okay? Really, a girl?” They took her and finished cleaning her up, suctioning her out b/c she wasn’t in the birth canal long enough to squeeze anything out, weighed her and took her apgars. The nurse who weighed her said, “And she weighs..... 9 POUNDS!!! and... 7 Ounces!! Big girl!” Her apgars were 9/9. My placenta didn’t want to let go so that took some pressing and some more pain, but it finally let go and came out in good condition. We never had a chance to get our hospital bag to the room so there are no pictures until we got moved into the mother’s unit.

We had to stay in the hospital for 48 hours since I just got one round of antibiotics and it was barely 2 hours before birth but Evie passed all her testing just fine and we came home. We’ve been home a few days now and things are going pretty good. Typical newborn not sleeping is starting to take a toll but I knew that was coming so I’m trying not to complain too much. My recovery is going well. I stopped taking Tylenol 3 and Motrin 800 at 4 days PP. I had no tears so no stitches and aside from my body being in shock a little bit (from not being pregnant anymore) I’m doing great. We are working through some breastfeeding issues and I’m not sure where I stand on wanting to try anymore so when that decision is made everything will be fine.

Here are the important stats:

Evelyn Grace

Contractions became uncomfortable: 3 am

Hospital Admission: 8:30 am

Baby born: March 6th, 2008 10:43 am

Labor length: 7 hours 43 minutes

Weight: 9 lbs 7oz

Length: 21 inches

Apgars 9/9

no pain meds, no tears or other complications

Win more free stuff!

Yup, I'm at it again. Using my blog to get extra entries in a contest. Plus I think you all should know about it! My friends Lee and Sarah are running this amazing contest. Go blogging world for keeping people in the know! Go check out Sarah at http://www.ohanamamablog.com/ and Lee at http://www.mysentimentexactlee.com/ and head over to http://www.edenfantasys.com/ and check out the giveaway!!!! No better time than Valentine's Day to connect with that special someone!!!

Screw you, Friday the 13th.

So today was one of those days that I had stuff to do. Nothing really HARD, but hard enough that I timed it after naps, between meals so I could get it done kwim? Well I decided to be brave and take all 3 kids to a restaurant for lunch by myself. Oh heck yeah! It was AWESOME! They were wonderful! The whole time I was sitting there thinking "I am SO gonna post about this when I get home. I am a kick-ass mom!" Right. So I'm pulling out of the parking lot, making a left in front of a car that has stopped and left room for me (it was near an intersection, traffic was stopped at the light, he left room for me to pull out). So I wave and ease out, nobody coming, nobody coming, here I go... CRASH! Lady in the f*cking center lane aiming for the turn lane hits me, contact at the driverside tire. f*ck. So I get the van out of traffic, no problems moving the vehicles and we call and wait for the police to come make a report. An HOUR later we're free to go. Her bumper is wasted, it will totally need replaced (piece of sh*t Nissan Altima I think). My hubcap has like 4 scratches on it, and I need an alignment. (Do I need new carseats?!?!?!?!?!) And I get a ticket b/c technically where the accident was the center lane had turned into the turn lane (by 50 feet). She obviously had driven down the center lane to get there, but since no other witness stopped to say that, the officer had to go by the actual point of collision and I got a failure to yield. Just what I need. A ticket. So anyway, I have a lot left to do so I lock up all my emotion about the incident up in a drawer, shut it tight and go on my way.

I am buying a new couch and chair. I spoke to a lady a few weeks ago and she told me what deal she would cut me and I was good with it, so I get there and she has "stepped out". I wait for 25 minutes. Remember that I have THREE children with me. Three children that have just waited in their carseats for an hour. Yeah. So I find someone else and I'm like, "help me," and I get this line about how he can't steal the commission from another employee and yadda yadda yadda I don't freaking care SHE IS NOT HERE! SELL ME A COUCH DAMMIT! So after promising him that I "forgot" her name, he sells me a couch. He makes about the same deal, but about $100 more. At this point I don't care, I want to get out of there before Nate breaks the deer antler floor lamp and I have to buy that too. The saleslady I was waiting for came strolling in the door 45 minutes after I got there. "Just stepped out" my ass. WTFever. But that'll be delivered Monday. WOO!

Then I head to BestBuy to get the washer and dryer I looked at last night. Great sale, great product, after sleeping on it, I'm sold. BestBuy was a MADHOUSE. Holy sh*t I'm glad I hooked BOTH kids to their backpack leashes and hooked that to Evie's stroller. You wouldn't believe how hard I had to hold onto that stroller, I thought they were going to rip it in two. So I talk to the salesguy (a guy I knew from highschool -go figure. Let's just say, I wish my looks had improved as much as his did.) and I'm ready to buy and he checks avalibility and the dryer is out of stock with no order date So he's checking and they don't really do rainchecks but he's trying to make a deal for the next model up dryer. Well even at his best, it's still $150 more than the one I wanted and the set doesn't match. No, thanks. Then his co-worker comes and says she's been calling the warehouse this whole time and has an answer. It's being phased out, discontinued, there will be no more! He tells me he can sell me the floor model for another 5% off... fine. whatever. Swipe my card. I want to leave. It'll be here Wednesday.

Spent $2100 today and didn't get to enjoy one minute of it.

Oh and I call to book our vacation, they closed 25 minutes before I called and won't be in the office again til Tuesday.

Remember that drawer of emotion I locked up after the accident? Yeah I get home and start shaking and panic-y. Frick. I am not going ANYWHERE March 13th. Oh and I just need a hug. Like an actual person to come hold me. Someone bigger than me. Nate tried, but it just didn't work the way a grownup hug works. This sucks.

Super Cool Contest

Yes I've done it. I've lowered myself to not actually blogging but using it to get more entries on other people's very cool blog contests. My Very very good friend Heather has a kick ass blog and is running a very cool contest right now. Her blog is http://www.grabbagreviews.com/2009/02/giveaway-smartshopper-grocery-list.html and she is giving away the Electronic Smart Shopper! http://www.smartshopperusa.com/ This is very cool stuff... you should go check it out and enter her contest!!!

Safe Journey

Dear God.

Please watch over Jeremy as he makes this journey across states and into a new career path. Help him focus and learn and thrive. Please keep us on his mind.

Help me be mindful of my actions and influence over the children. Help me find comfort when they show need and concern for their Daddy. Remind me that I've lived through this separation before and I will do it again with my head held high and open arms when it's over.

Keep us on your path. Let this be the end of such destructive attitudes and negativity and more importantly, let this be the beginning of the right kind of marriage. The kind where we act together instead of against one another. Please don't let this be the beginning to the end. Amen.

I guess it's good that I already miss him right? This sucks.

To parent only one.

I guess I never really realized what life with 3 kids aged 3 and under really means. Jer and I took Victoria to an amusement park last night. He got some free tickets so all we had to do was drive down there and my mom babysat the other two because it was gonna be a late night. So we got there and we were halfway across the parking lot before I realized that already, it was easier. No stroller. No unbuckling 3 seats. No "Wait for me" "I want out first" "It's my turn to lock the car" "This is MY side of the stroller" "I want my cup" "I lost my shoe" "Did you get the bag" "No I don't have the bag I asked you if...go back... I'll wait here." I was holding Jeremy's hand instead of 2 sets of little hands or a stroller. We got to walk through the turnstile instead of the gate because we had no stroller. The stroller was a big one. Didn't have to park the stroller anywhere. Didn't have to make sure not to hit anyone with the stroller. Didn't have to try to figure out how to get the stroller through the mini-golf course. No diaper bag, no formula, no crying. Did I mention I got to hold Jeremy's hand? the. whole. day. NO DIAPERS. We haven't had an outing with no diapers since before Victoria was BORN. THREE years! We all sat having dinner and we all ate, at the same time, at a leisurely pace. I mean we did still have typical outing behavior like a spilt drink and someone little jumped in the little river to get her golf ball, but it wasn't that big of a deal. We bought ONE drink and it was enough to share. We bought ONE trinket and didn't have to worry about a fight. We were able to do the same ride over and over because we didn't have someone getting bored. But at some point my happy-go-lucky-gosh-this-is-so-easy attitude began to shift. I started to feel real uneasy. Anytime we left ANYWHERE I felt like I was missing something. Walking around carrying wet socks was odd... normally those would've been thrown right in the diaperbag. Wait the diaperbag, where's Nate, I'm sure he needs changed... oh wait. Right. He's not here. I was missing someone. And it was quiet. Too quiet. Normally when we go out as a family we get noticed. Naturally we're louder, we take up a bit more space, people notice strollers and then they see the 2 small children hanging onto the stroller and I can literally watch people's eyes go from kid to kid and then to me while thinking "are they all hers" or "I could never do that" etc etc. We didn't get that last night. We were... normal? It was weird. At one point I was strapping Victoria in a ride and she looked sad and I asked her what was wrong and she says to me "I wish Nate was here. He loves the trains."
I was glad to have the time alone with Victoria. A glimpse into a life I'll never have. But I couldn't get home quick enough. This morning was business as usual. Round of diapers, a few breakfasts, a couple sippies and a bottle. Rotation from child to child meeting their needs and forgetting mine. Getting them dressed and redressed. Helping them go potty and change another round of diapers. Naptimes, timeouts, tv, storytime, snacktime, another timeout for something. Three rounds of kisses. twice as many hugs. Sharing and conspiring. Rushing to me for every acheivement and boo-boo... all those important things that make me answer that "How do you do it?" question I get so often with a simple smile and confident "It's really not that hard."
So I've decided. Having 1 kid might be easier. But having 3 is much more my speed. Something I would never change. Not in a million years. Something I know I do well and feels so right. And maybe we'll make a point to have some more one on one time in the future but it's nice to know I'm not living with any regrets.

Shoes, shoes and more shoes

OK shoes have always been my weakness... when Jer and I moved to VA for the Navy the first time I had 63 pairs and I claimed to "wear them all!" Seriously my weakness. So after a few pgs and more than a few pounds my feet are 2 sizes up from highschool and I've been avoiding shoes the best I can because, well, slippery slope. A window display caught my eye at the mall yesterday and it literally froze me in my tracks. I was like "Oooh Victoria, looooooooooook." So we stood there admiring the shoes for a minute or two before prying ourselves away so we could move on to the task at hand. After completeling what we were in the mall to do we had to pass the beautiful window display again and Victoria pipes up "Mommy let's go in!" So of course I have to and before I know it, I'm trying on shoes. Gorgeous, beautiful, fantastic holiday heels. I'm in love. Victoria is on the floor oohing and ahhing with me. It's like walking on clouds. I forgot how good a nice pair of shoes felt on your feet. But I decline, muttering something about payday and needing to ask Jeremy before I spent that kind of money and the sales lady perks up and begins to tell me about this sale. This wonderful buy one pair get the next pair for $10. Any pair. Holy crap. Victoria and I beeline to the car where Jer is waiting (sleeping) with the other two (also sleeping) and I wake him and beg him for shoes. I can get anything when the man is drowsy so after he agrees without much fight Victoria and I rush back in to get my shoes! OMG they are even more perfect the 2nd time I try them on! The sales woman then says "so go pick out your second pair and these will be at the register for you." omg I get a 2nd pair! I completely forgot! So I head to the wall and start looking at shoes when I start to hear muffled laughter around me. I look around to see what's funny and see Victoria a few feet over from me. She is picking up a shoe, examing the top, the front, the side, flips it over for a quick second, ruffles her nose up and puts the shoes down. Then she does it with the next shoe and the next one. The sales lady comes to ask me if I've found one I want to try on yet and VICTORIA says, "I like this one. I'm a 11 please" and she hands the lady a rather cute purple peektoe stiletto (sizing was accurate by the way). The crowd roared. The woman stood there for a moment, holding her composure best she can and she says to Victoria, "I'm sorry miss, we don't carry those that small." and Victoria, in as grown up a manner as I've ever seen from her replies "Oh that's ok, I'll keep looking." and resumes her browsing.

omg I've created a monster!