My first ever best friend, Cherie, her sister Amy, and myself (in the yellow and black bathing suit...the biggest one! ;). We recently "reconnected" on Facebook after 20+ years of not seeing each other. I'd say this was about 1986 or 1987.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Flashback Friday
So I found a super cute blog, http://thepapermama.blogspot.com (UGH! Not sure why I can't link this time! :( and had to join the Flashback Friday post I saw.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
The day of your birth
*Manuel at work with me a few weeks ago. Apparently he's not ready for the corporate world :)
So as I spend my break time at work perusing other womens blogs, I noticed a common theme...many women have taken the time to write a post about the day their children were born. Typically those women share the amazing details of their NATURAL births and I am in awe, start to finish. I just can't even fathom the pain that is endured during a NATURAL childbirth, but at the same time, the end result is certainly worth EVERY second (or I would assume :) But in reading these posts and seeing how every miniscule detail is accounted for, I thought to myself, "I better write my birth stories down before I forget those details!" So I'm going to start with Manuel's, as his has been 4 1/2 years, and I'm sure I've already lost some of the sweet memories of it. So here it goes...
I found out that I was going to be induced at my last appt (1/27/06) which was also my last day of work. They thought Manuel was going to be a 9-10 lb "football player" so they didn't want him cooking any longer! :) I was anxious, nervous, excited, scared, worried, happy, and pretty much any other emotion a first time mother could be feeling. I LOVED being prego through and was thorougly going to miss it. I NEVER got to the "GET THIS BABY OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!" stage. I was never swollen. Never uncomfortable. I was going to miss this little baby being inside my belly. The night before my induction I was SO nervous! I couldn't sleep at all, especially knowing that I had to be at the hospital at 5am the next day (1/31/06) for the birth of my little boy! My first born! I did sleep for a few hours, and when I woke up I was ready to go (or so I thought! :) My hubby, mom and I headed to the hospital and got there right on schedule. We had to wait a short time and then were taken back to L&D. I got in my hospital gown, laid down and then came the question I dreaded, "How much did you weigh at your last appt?" UGHHHHHHHHHH! I had NEVER mentioned that number in front of my husband, EVER! Here I was, getting ready to give birth to his child, and still I couldn't mutter those words in front of him! :) I asked the nurse, very embarrased, "Can I just write it down? I don't want to say it outloud!" And to my surprise, she said, "Sure! A lot of women don't like saying their weight in front of their husbands!" SHEWWWW, I wasn't totally crazy! :) They started my IV, started the Pictocin, and I just laid there. I remember my OB, Dr. B, coming in and out (who I absolutely ADORE!!!) to check on me, and see how things were coming along. My nurses were super sweet, and all seemed well. We were just relaxing, watching TV and trying to pass the time as we had NO clue when our baby would be arriving. It could be hours, it could be days. I invited my mom to come back once I was settled. She sat in a chair next to bed and read (one of my moms favorite pasttimes) and to be honest, I'm not sure what hubby was doing. Probably saying funny things. He always has to be the "funny guy in a room" :) After a few hours, and several "checks" I had not progressed AT ALL. My OB decided that it was time to break my water. I was not scared, EVERYONE had told me, "It doesn't hurt at all if you have to have your water broken." so why should I be scared!?!?!? Well, boy oh boy was I wrong. As I grasped the bed rails, and cried, my mom and hubby rubbed my arms and tried to make me feel better. WHY WAS THIS HURTING SO BAD!?!??! Oh yeah, because the small dermoid (sp) cyst they had found during one of my routine u/s had grown fairly large, and something baby related was pushing against this cyst, and it was causing me a world of pain. Dr. B couldn't break it, but did something to "help" it break on it's own. I was able to sit back and just gather myself from the horrific pain I had just experienced. Then it happened, no, I didn't pee myself, although it felt like I had :) My water broke. And after several hours...still nothing! When Dr. B told me that I wasn't progressing I was pretty discouraged, but then he explained why...my cyst was so large that our little boy couldn't drop into the birth canal. It was time for a c-section.
The nurses prepped me to move to the OR. They wheeled me down. I was scared, but the only thing I was scared about was having to be apart from hubby for what felt like HOURS (but in reality it was probably only about 10-15 minutes). I felt ike if he was by my side nothing could happen. He's my protector. They gave me the spinal, laid me back, and in my walked hubby. I was SO relieved to see him. I remember looking up as they started the surgery, and I realized I could see some reflection of what they were doing in the huge light hanging above me. I knew immediately that I HAD to stop looking or else I was going to vomit all over myself, right there on the operating table. Dr. B told me that I wouldn't feel pain, but tugging and pulling, and he was right. It's a pretty strange feeling to know that your organs are being tugged, pulled and moved but yet you aren't in any pain! :) My hubby, remember-"funny guy in the room", thought I needed a play-by-play account of what was happening and began to describe to me what they were doing! Needless to say that ended REALLY quickly because who in their right mind wants to hear that?!?!? NOT ME! :) A couple more tugs later, "WAHHHH" my first born, Manuel Christopher was here! 7 lbs 11 oz (so much for that 9+ lb football player! :) at 3:30pm. I cried, my hubby cried. It was a beautiful moment.
I was stitched up (not that I remember that part because HELLO, I had just seen my son for the first time! :) and wheeled to Recovery. I was able to hold my son for the first time. I was in awe. He was beautiful. There were several family members anxiously awaiting the time they could meet the newest addition but I couldn't go to PostPartum until I was able to wiggle my toes and lift my legs. Do you know what a strange feeling it is to look down at your legs and feet, know that they are clearly functioning parts of your body, but yet you can't move them!?!? It's strange! :) After lots of time, I'd say it was an hour+, I got the "all clear" to move to my room. The flood of visitors started and everyone fell in my love, with my first love (well second next to my hubby), Manuel Christopher. I was required to stay at the hospital for 96 hours (c-section laws or something like that! ;)
Truth be told...I only had one super emotional, tear filled day (in a bad way) over the course of my hospital stay. My incision was sore, my stomach and all it's parts felt like one big knot and I couldn't use the bathroom (and that was PAINFUL! TMI-sorry! :), my breastfeeding attempts were failing miserably, I was inundated with visitors (probably too many), and I had just had enough! :) But other then that, everything about my hospital stay was great.
We were discharged on a rainy, cold February day, but that couldn't dampen our spirits. We were parents, and life as we knew it would NEVER be the same! :)
And I can certainly say, 4 1/2 years later, life is amazing, challenging, loving, trying, ups, downs, happy, sad, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Up next...Mia's birth story. This was fun! :)
I found out that I was going to be induced at my last appt (1/27/06) which was also my last day of work. They thought Manuel was going to be a 9-10 lb "football player" so they didn't want him cooking any longer! :) I was anxious, nervous, excited, scared, worried, happy, and pretty much any other emotion a first time mother could be feeling. I LOVED being prego through and was thorougly going to miss it. I NEVER got to the "GET THIS BABY OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!" stage. I was never swollen. Never uncomfortable. I was going to miss this little baby being inside my belly. The night before my induction I was SO nervous! I couldn't sleep at all, especially knowing that I had to be at the hospital at 5am the next day (1/31/06) for the birth of my little boy! My first born! I did sleep for a few hours, and when I woke up I was ready to go (or so I thought! :) My hubby, mom and I headed to the hospital and got there right on schedule. We had to wait a short time and then were taken back to L&D. I got in my hospital gown, laid down and then came the question I dreaded, "How much did you weigh at your last appt?" UGHHHHHHHHHH! I had NEVER mentioned that number in front of my husband, EVER! Here I was, getting ready to give birth to his child, and still I couldn't mutter those words in front of him! :) I asked the nurse, very embarrased, "Can I just write it down? I don't want to say it outloud!" And to my surprise, she said, "Sure! A lot of women don't like saying their weight in front of their husbands!" SHEWWWW, I wasn't totally crazy! :) They started my IV, started the Pictocin, and I just laid there. I remember my OB, Dr. B, coming in and out (who I absolutely ADORE!!!) to check on me, and see how things were coming along. My nurses were super sweet, and all seemed well. We were just relaxing, watching TV and trying to pass the time as we had NO clue when our baby would be arriving. It could be hours, it could be days. I invited my mom to come back once I was settled. She sat in a chair next to bed and read (one of my moms favorite pasttimes) and to be honest, I'm not sure what hubby was doing. Probably saying funny things. He always has to be the "funny guy in a room" :) After a few hours, and several "checks" I had not progressed AT ALL. My OB decided that it was time to break my water. I was not scared, EVERYONE had told me, "It doesn't hurt at all if you have to have your water broken." so why should I be scared!?!?!? Well, boy oh boy was I wrong. As I grasped the bed rails, and cried, my mom and hubby rubbed my arms and tried to make me feel better. WHY WAS THIS HURTING SO BAD!?!??! Oh yeah, because the small dermoid (sp) cyst they had found during one of my routine u/s had grown fairly large, and something baby related was pushing against this cyst, and it was causing me a world of pain. Dr. B couldn't break it, but did something to "help" it break on it's own. I was able to sit back and just gather myself from the horrific pain I had just experienced. Then it happened, no, I didn't pee myself, although it felt like I had :) My water broke. And after several hours...still nothing! When Dr. B told me that I wasn't progressing I was pretty discouraged, but then he explained why...my cyst was so large that our little boy couldn't drop into the birth canal. It was time for a c-section.
The nurses prepped me to move to the OR. They wheeled me down. I was scared, but the only thing I was scared about was having to be apart from hubby for what felt like HOURS (but in reality it was probably only about 10-15 minutes). I felt ike if he was by my side nothing could happen. He's my protector. They gave me the spinal, laid me back, and in my walked hubby. I was SO relieved to see him. I remember looking up as they started the surgery, and I realized I could see some reflection of what they were doing in the huge light hanging above me. I knew immediately that I HAD to stop looking or else I was going to vomit all over myself, right there on the operating table. Dr. B told me that I wouldn't feel pain, but tugging and pulling, and he was right. It's a pretty strange feeling to know that your organs are being tugged, pulled and moved but yet you aren't in any pain! :) My hubby, remember-"funny guy in the room", thought I needed a play-by-play account of what was happening and began to describe to me what they were doing! Needless to say that ended REALLY quickly because who in their right mind wants to hear that?!?!? NOT ME! :) A couple more tugs later, "WAHHHH" my first born, Manuel Christopher was here! 7 lbs 11 oz (so much for that 9+ lb football player! :) at 3:30pm. I cried, my hubby cried. It was a beautiful moment.
I was stitched up (not that I remember that part because HELLO, I had just seen my son for the first time! :) and wheeled to Recovery. I was able to hold my son for the first time. I was in awe. He was beautiful. There were several family members anxiously awaiting the time they could meet the newest addition but I couldn't go to PostPartum until I was able to wiggle my toes and lift my legs. Do you know what a strange feeling it is to look down at your legs and feet, know that they are clearly functioning parts of your body, but yet you can't move them!?!? It's strange! :) After lots of time, I'd say it was an hour+, I got the "all clear" to move to my room. The flood of visitors started and everyone fell in my love, with my first love (well second next to my hubby), Manuel Christopher. I was required to stay at the hospital for 96 hours (c-section laws or something like that! ;)
Truth be told...I only had one super emotional, tear filled day (in a bad way) over the course of my hospital stay. My incision was sore, my stomach and all it's parts felt like one big knot and I couldn't use the bathroom (and that was PAINFUL! TMI-sorry! :), my breastfeeding attempts were failing miserably, I was inundated with visitors (probably too many), and I had just had enough! :) But other then that, everything about my hospital stay was great.
We were discharged on a rainy, cold February day, but that couldn't dampen our spirits. We were parents, and life as we knew it would NEVER be the same! :)
And I can certainly say, 4 1/2 years later, life is amazing, challenging, loving, trying, ups, downs, happy, sad, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Up next...Mia's birth story. This was fun! :)
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Mia is 6 months old...
I wish I had started doing this sooner (like a lot of blogging mommies do) but heck, better late then never! :)
**EDIT-Mia had her 6 month check up yesterday (7/26/10). She is 15 lbs 5 oz, just shy of 26 inches and her head is 17 (inches? I think :) Her head is in the 90th percentile, per her ped, for all of her smarts! :) **
Mia today, July 18th, you turn 6 months old. I can't believe that exactly 6 months ago you came in to our lives. It seems like an eternity ago, yet at the same time it seems like yesterday! I remember the day very cleary because you were a scheduled c-section. I think mommy was more apprehensive with you because I knew what a c-section entailed, I wasn't so nieve about potential complications like I had been 4 years before with your brother. But once I was laying on the surgery table all of those fears went out the window and I was just SOOO excited to meet you. When I heard you cry for the first time, I cried! I love you SO much Mia Grace. You and mommy are best friends and although I know that won't always be the case (say between the ages of 13-17! :) you will always be my baby! :)
Okay, so what are you up to:
**EDIT-Mia had her 6 month check up yesterday (7/26/10). She is 15 lbs 5 oz, just shy of 26 inches and her head is 17 (inches? I think :) Her head is in the 90th percentile, per her ped, for all of her smarts! :) **
Mia today, July 18th, you turn 6 months old. I can't believe that exactly 6 months ago you came in to our lives. It seems like an eternity ago, yet at the same time it seems like yesterday! I remember the day very cleary because you were a scheduled c-section. I think mommy was more apprehensive with you because I knew what a c-section entailed, I wasn't so nieve about potential complications like I had been 4 years before with your brother. But once I was laying on the surgery table all of those fears went out the window and I was just SOOO excited to meet you. When I heard you cry for the first time, I cried! I love you SO much Mia Grace. You and mommy are best friends and although I know that won't always be the case (say between the ages of 13-17! :) you will always be my baby! :)
Okay, so what are you up to:
-You weigh about 15 lbs. We'll get an exact weight when you go for your 6 month check-up on the 26th, and we'll get an exact length. You seem big to me but you are know where near as big as Manuel was at this age. And you are in the 25th percentile.
-You LOVE playing with your toys. You have a few special rattles that you like A LOT and you love holding them, shaking them like a crazy woman :) and trying to eat them! :)
-You wear size 3 diapers, but they are very big on you! We had to move up a size because the size 2's were getting too tight!
-You wear mostly 3-6 month clothes. Some of the things you wear are 6-9 months, but they are big on you.
-You love spending your days, Monday-Friday, at Linnie's house while Mommy and Daddy work. You love watching Claudia, Jacey, and Sophie play and run around. You'll be up, crawling around with them in no time! :)
-You are SOOO nosey! Just like your mommy! :) You are constantly looking around at your surroundings and taking EVERYTHING in.
-We had to have your evaluated by a PT and OT for some concerns mommy had with the muscle tone in your arms. You were "diagnosed" with low muscle tone in your arms and shoulders. We will be starting PT (physical therapy) soon to get that fixed. They are very hopeful that after a few sessions you'll be good to go! They were amazed at how socially advanced you are! :)
-You can sit up for a few seconds at a time on your own. I think the PT will definitely help with this. They are also thinking that the PT will help you be more prepared when it's time to crawl.
-You are very particular about how you have to be put to sleep. We are trying to break you of that habit because at one point in time, not that long ago, we could put you in the crib and you'd put yourself to sleep. NOT anymore! :)
-As far as naps go...once you get to sleep, you sleep for 2+ hours, usually. As far as over night sleeping...you go to bed around 8pm (for the night) and then wake up once (sometimes not at all) in the middle of the night, and then up around 5-6am to eat. That is around the time mommy has to get up for work, so I don't mind :)
-You LOVE talking! You are constantly cooing and oooing and ahhing. No "words" yet (mama, baba, dada) but I know it's coming soon.
-You have tons of nicknames that Mommy, Daddy and Manuel call you but the most popluar ones are "Meetzy Peetzy" (by Mommy-not sure where I came up with that one)! :) "Cutie meatball" (by Manuel. He's SOO funny!) "Smiley Cyrus" or "Smiles Davis" (by Daddy because you LOVE to smile!)
We love you with all of our hearts and souls Mia Grace. You just woke up from your nap so Mommy has to go get you, but I think I covered most of the bases :)
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
RAW(e): Desserts
After I saw the RAW(e) theme for the week, I HAD to post the pic of my Aunt Lucy's delicious 4th of July dessert (that I took :) And yes, it tastes as good as it looks.
Go over and visit Sami to see other awesome, untouched pics! :)
Go over and visit Sami to see other awesome, untouched pics! :)
Monday, July 12, 2010
And a few more...
The loves of my life and moi! :)
Crazy kiddos!
My 3 loves, my family, my life! :)
Just a neat picture of Manuel's hand in the hot (not hot!) tub :)
My first born and my angel (truly! If it weren't for getting pregnant with him, who knows where I would be today, if I'd even still be here!)
"Playing" lacrosse at Zia Amy and Uncle Mike's on the lake
My 3 loves, my family, my life! :)
Just a neat picture of Manuel's hand in the hot (not hot!) tub :)
My first born and my angel (truly! If it weren't for getting pregnant with him, who knows where I would be today, if I'd even still be here!)
"Playing" lacrosse at Zia Amy and Uncle Mike's on the lake
Only 8 days late...
My little fish :)
Mia and her miracle cousin, Spencer
My little firecracker :)
Celebrating her first 4th with our wonderful family!
Sleeping beauty :)
I LOVE her feet in this pic!
Daddy and his little girl
My little firecracker :)
Celebrating her first 4th with our wonderful family!
Sleeping beauty :)
I LOVE her feet in this pic!
Daddy and his little girl
Two peas in a pod
This about sums it up in our household :)
Hanging out with her Zia, Amy.
This about sums it up in our household :)
Hanging out with her Zia, Amy.
Not Me Monday
*I REALLY wish that I knew how to post MckMama's fun little "Not Me Monday" logo on this post (or any of my "Not Me Monday" posts for that matter!!!! Unless of course it's trademarked and I'm not supposed to be able to use it because that would be illegal and I would never do that, no really I'm not a lawbreaker! :) I wish I was more blog savy in general! :(
But anyway...yesterday as I was going about my day there were several occassions where I thought to myself, "I have to remember this for my NMM post" and now that I am sitting down to type it I only remember a few!!!
I certainly would NEVER EVER forgo breakfast before church (which is about a total of 3 hours between the sermon and teaching Sunday school) with the knowledge that a trip to Costco was in store for Mia and I after church and I could just eat "lunch" there. And by lunch, I mean samples! :) A civilized human being would NEVER go sample-eating-crazy in a Costco and eat such an array of samples that I felt full after leaving. Never Ever! :)
In that same Costco trip I would never forget that Mia had a poopy diaper until AFTER we got back out to the car, therefore forcing me to change her in the front seat. A seasoned mother would never do such a thing. The minute she smells poop it is her first duty (no pun intended! ;) to change the child immediately! Only bad mothers forget to change their children at the first sight/smell! :)
And lastly...good parents would never trick their 4 year old son into thinking they ordered him mac and cheese from the local restaurant (when said parents had ordered out dinner) in actuality they secretly put some Easy Mac in the microwave and cooked it up for him to save money on buying a kids meal! :) Tricking your children is wrong, and so is letting them eat processed mac and cheese...it's bad parenting. All meals should be cooked at home! ;)
Click back over to MckMama and read about other things people HAVEN'T been doing! ;)
But anyway...yesterday as I was going about my day there were several occassions where I thought to myself, "I have to remember this for my NMM post" and now that I am sitting down to type it I only remember a few!!!
I certainly would NEVER EVER forgo breakfast before church (which is about a total of 3 hours between the sermon and teaching Sunday school) with the knowledge that a trip to Costco was in store for Mia and I after church and I could just eat "lunch" there. And by lunch, I mean samples! :) A civilized human being would NEVER go sample-eating-crazy in a Costco and eat such an array of samples that I felt full after leaving. Never Ever! :)
In that same Costco trip I would never forget that Mia had a poopy diaper until AFTER we got back out to the car, therefore forcing me to change her in the front seat. A seasoned mother would never do such a thing. The minute she smells poop it is her first duty (no pun intended! ;) to change the child immediately! Only bad mothers forget to change their children at the first sight/smell! :)
And lastly...good parents would never trick their 4 year old son into thinking they ordered him mac and cheese from the local restaurant (when said parents had ordered out dinner) in actuality they secretly put some Easy Mac in the microwave and cooked it up for him to save money on buying a kids meal! :) Tricking your children is wrong, and so is letting them eat processed mac and cheese...it's bad parenting. All meals should be cooked at home! ;)
Click back over to MckMama and read about other things people HAVEN'T been doing! ;)
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