I have to be one of the hardest people in the world to surprise, but my husband totally pulled it off on Saturday! This coming Tuesday, July 1st is my birthday and with the birth of our son I could of cared less what we did for it. Anyone who knows me or my family knows that the whole month of July is Stacey's birthday month. I am an only child and grandchild my family had nothing better to do than spoil me! But, when the spoiled birthday girl has a baby the world changes. My husband, bless his soul, was trying to keep things normal. Looking back now I should have noticed all the signs but I was so busy with Daniel that it didn't even cross my mind.
Saturday morning David and got up around 8 a.m., this was also our first Saturday home with Daniel so sleeping in is no longer in our vocabulary. Normally, we get up and kind of lay around for a while. This Saturday David got up and immediately started cutting the yard. This has never happened! Not to mention the fact that he was cleaning the house the night before - usually that would be me, now that Daniel's here not so much! He also kept saying we have to leave at 12 - he had told me that we were going to the grocery store, pick up Daniel's pictures and we needed to take some things back to Babies R'Us. I was so excited because I had not been out of the house all week except to go to the doctor.
I got ready, gave Daniel a bath, got him ready and started to dress him when the door bell rang. David went to the door and it was my Dad, I remember just looking at him like, "what are you doing here?" Dad lives a good 45 minutes away so for him to just stop by without calling wasn't like him. I took Daniel's bath tub to the bathroom and David followed me and asked me, "what's he doing here?" I was like "I don't know???" We had been so hard on our parents about calling before they come, and we had somewhere to go, but more important than that - I HAD TO GET OUT OF THE HOUSE!! Just as I was trying to figure out what to do, the door bell rang again this time it was David's Dad. I was like hello, what is going on here? Then I looked at the cake in his hand. I was so SURPRISED.
Then I looked down and realized that I still had my P.J.'s on (which I breastfeeding so they were leaking P.J.'s at that) and I still had to nurse Daniel. By the time, I changed clothes, pumped, and came out of the nursery, our whole family was there. They had brought a ton of food for us to have a cook out and everyone was running around telling me to sit down. It was great, my husband had done it, he finally after 5 years surprised me. I was so proud of him, he had called everyone, got them there, and organized a cook out all without me knowing. More amazing than that no one had let it leak out either.
I truly have one of the best husbands and families in the world. Although sometime I don't always show it and I get angry with them, I love them dearly. David out did himself, not only did he throw me a surprise birthday party he also took me out that afternoon so I could get out of the house. We were only gone for 3 hours but, it was great. Never thought I would see the day where I would want to do to the grocery store just to be able to get out of the house.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Friday, June 27, 2008
Learn as I go
So, here I am at 2:00 a.m. on Friday morning - I am still awake, why you ask? Not because I have a fuss baby but because I HAD to HAVE diet coke. All day I had been craving diet coke, I am trying not to have caffeine but I couldn't help it. My whole pregnancy I never really craved anything now that I have to watch what I eat I want all the things I can't have. David got home about 8 o'clock tonight and I had him stop by the store and get a diet coke, because I just had to have it. Well guess what so did Daniel whenever he nursed at 10 o'clock. So here we are all caffeine up and we need to be asleep. Hello, Stacey use your head!
Today I went to put a diaper in his diaper genie, we had hoped to use cloth diapers but his little bottom is so small we have to use pampers for the time being. So anyway, I go to put a diaper in the diaper genie and it won't go in. It never dawned on me that it would already be full. I thought there's no way we have only been home since Sunday. Well, it was and when I opened it up I was amazed at the number of diapers we had gone through in 4 days. Live and learn!
Today was a nice day, we got up around 9. That doesn't mean we slept til 9, I usually do his first feeding, change him, and eat breakfast in bed then get up. It's just easier! Today was the first day that he nursed all day. After we left the hospital I had to pump just to make sure he was getting enough milk. So he nursed all day today which was a whole lot easier. I forgot to write that he lost his cord on Wednesday. I was changing him and I went to clean it and it was gone! I looked everywhere for it and then I laid him down and he started to cry. I picked him up and there it was under his shirt. My baby is already growing so fast.
Some of the things we have already discovered about him...
He can not go to sleep in the dark - a little light has to be on.
He loves the sound of birds, they make him laugh then he gets the hiccups.
He is amazed by light, we had to set him by the window in his moses basket for a while and he was amazed by the light outside.
He isn't fussy unless something in wrong.
He hates blankets, I have to dress him very warm because he kicks the blankets off. I go and check on him and he's freezing - I don't think he even cares as long as he doesn't have to have a blanket.
He can already roll over onto his side - being a first time mom I thought this was normal until the doctor said it wasn't. He is a very strong little boy.
So far things are going great. Daniel is growing like a weed and I am getting used to having another person to take care of.
Today I went to put a diaper in his diaper genie, we had hoped to use cloth diapers but his little bottom is so small we have to use pampers for the time being. So anyway, I go to put a diaper in the diaper genie and it won't go in. It never dawned on me that it would already be full. I thought there's no way we have only been home since Sunday. Well, it was and when I opened it up I was amazed at the number of diapers we had gone through in 4 days. Live and learn!
Today was a nice day, we got up around 9. That doesn't mean we slept til 9, I usually do his first feeding, change him, and eat breakfast in bed then get up. It's just easier! Today was the first day that he nursed all day. After we left the hospital I had to pump just to make sure he was getting enough milk. So he nursed all day today which was a whole lot easier. I forgot to write that he lost his cord on Wednesday. I was changing him and I went to clean it and it was gone! I looked everywhere for it and then I laid him down and he started to cry. I picked him up and there it was under his shirt. My baby is already growing so fast.
Some of the things we have already discovered about him...
He can not go to sleep in the dark - a little light has to be on.
He loves the sound of birds, they make him laugh then he gets the hiccups.
He is amazed by light, we had to set him by the window in his moses basket for a while and he was amazed by the light outside.
He isn't fussy unless something in wrong.
He hates blankets, I have to dress him very warm because he kicks the blankets off. I go and check on him and he's freezing - I don't think he even cares as long as he doesn't have to have a blanket.
He can already roll over onto his side - being a first time mom I thought this was normal until the doctor said it wasn't. He is a very strong little boy.
So far things are going great. Daniel is growing like a weed and I am getting used to having another person to take care of.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Our Birth Story
OK, so here it is. I am so sorry that it took me so long to get this posted. Every time I would set down to write I would either fall asleep, someone would call, or Daniel needed something and I just never got back to it. Below is our birth story the good, the bad, and the unforgettable memories that we will never forget. I hope you enjoy!!
It started Monday, June 16...
David and I went to the doctor that morning and my blood pressure was very high. By the end of my visit they had taken it 4 times and every time it was high but it was going down. I met my friend Stacy who was visiting from Athens, Georgia. We went to Babies R' Us to purchase the rest of the stuff on my registry and then has a wonderful lunch. Stacy had to get back to her new baby Avery and two year old Katie Mei so I dropped her off around 1. After dropping her off I went to Target, I felt the need to purchase non-toxic cleaning products, and a lot of batteries. This is what I like to call nestling for type A people as my house had been ready for months. After that I went home and finished some work stuff. David came home and asked me if I had checked my blood pressure, for those of you who don't know we had struggled with this since May 15 so I had been check my pressures at home as well as the doctors office. I checked it and it was so high I started to get worried. My whole pregnancy I did not worry about anything, my husband worried for all three of us and I felt he did a great job all on his own. We called the doctor and he told me to go to the hospital. David and I got our stuff together - my bag, the babies bag, and some other things. At the time I asked David, "don't you need a bag?" He was like, "No" neither one of us had a clue what the next 24 hours would be like. After being at the hospital for an hour or so it was determined that I had toxemia and they would have to induce the next day. The look on David's face was priceless - WHAT???? He looked at me and said I am not ready for this we still have 3 weeks. Ready or not here he comes!!!
Wednesday, June 17... In the beginning, natural labor
At 8 a.m. the doctor broke my water, which let me say is the weirdest feeling. At 9 a.m. they started my drip that would induce labor. For three months David and I has prepared for Daniel to be born naturally. Most people thought I was crazy but, I felt it was the safest thing for my child and who doesn't want to do the most safest thing possible. Over the next 9 hours many things happened, the pain started as not that big of a deal to uncomfortable but I was able to breath through them. I could not have gotten through any of this without the help of my husband who was amazing! My mom who watch my contractions on the monitor and told me when they were coming and when they were over. My aunt who was the person that got whatever I needed when I needed it. About 4 hours into labor they told us that internal monitors would have to be used because the baby and my contractions were not showing up on the monitors. If you don't know what this is as a mother, it's devastating. They inserted a needle monitor into my cervix and into his head. He still has the spot on his head and every time I look at it I cry. At 5 o'clock in the afternoon the doctor came in to check me, at this point I was in natural labor for 9 hours only it wasn't natural as in my body just went into labor. It was chemically induced which means the contractions were 10 times worse than normal contractions would have been. When the doctor check me I was at 6 - I had been at 6 for two hours and I couldn't take it anymore. In my mind as the contractions were really bad I keep thinking that I was in transition which meant I was at the end and it would be over soon. This was not the case.
Drugs please...
So, I gave in and got the drugs. My emotions were running high, before they came in to start the drugs I sat there with David and cried for like 5 minutes. I felt like a failure, the what ifs went through my mind, and for the first time in 8 and half months I was scared. My husband, God bless him, was so wonderful. He held my hand and told me that I was not a failure and that under normal conditions I could have done this but it was out of our hands. Anyone that knows me knows that I am always in control and things just don't get out of my hands. So the nurse came in and gave me the drugs, thank you Chuck, he was the most nicest, sweetest guy I have ever met. They say guys can't imagine the pain that women go through during labor, Chuck either loves his job a lot or feels the pain just like women do. For the next 6 hours he check on me every hour and always made sure that I was comfortable. After the drugs took effect things went pretty smooth. Even though I didn't feel contraction pain I felt a lot of pressure which is just as bad. In a matter of 5 hours I went from having energy to having none. That's the thing with drugs your body is still working very hard but you can't tell it. At 10:30 the doctor came back in to check me, I was still at a 6. I was tired, my water had been broken for almost 15 hours, my blood pressure was still dangerously high, and the babies heart rate was dropping. At this point we had no other choice for the safety of me and my baby they had to do a c-section.
C-Section, almost over...
Chuck came in and gave me a different set of drugs that I would need for the c-section, our families were waiting patiently in the waiting room, as they had been there all day. Twenty minutes after the doctor came in and told us about the c-section we were on the elevator going up to the O.R. Once in the O.R. they got me ready and David changed clothes. They started at 5 after 11 and at 11:15 p.m. on June 17 our precious baby boy cried for the first time and David and I cried right along with him. I will never forget the first time I saw him, it's a love that comes over you like nothing else you have ever felt. Even though he had been through a lot that day he was perfect. Ten fingers, ten toes, a head full of dark hair, and lungs that I will never forget. David and I looked at each other and said, we have our work cut out for us. We are so blessed with such a beautiful, healthy baby. David looked at me and said good job as if I had created this little guy all by myself!
Looking back...
I wouldn't change a thing. Yes, it was painful, but a week later I don't even remember how painful it was. It was truly a labor of love and worth ever minute of it.
Baby number two...
Everyone has asked me if I would do it again. Yes, without a doubt. Now that we know what we are up against and can plan next time it will be a piece of cake. The reason I never got past a 6 was because Daniel was stuck in my pelvis. He still has a ridge on his forehead from where he was stuck for so long. Once they actually got to him they still had to use a vacuum to get him out because he was so stuck. My next baby I have to have a c-section as a result of my pelvis being so narrow.
A week later...
Well, we had to stay in the hospital until Sunday due to Daniel having jaundice. I can not speak highly enough about Centennial hospital, every nurse, doctor, and assistant was wonderful. They even let us stay for free the last two nights just so I wouldn't have to leave my baby. We arrived home on Sunday, mom had cooked a huge meal for us, and our immediate family came over, it was great. Daniel is perfect, yes I know every parent says that about there child. So far he nurses every 5 hours (which he has done perfectly since the day he was born), he sleeps a lot, isn't fussy, he will sleep anywhere, and he laughs a lot. We also have a very strong little boy, he can already roll onto his side. I though that was normal, I have never had a baby before. We went to his doctor and she said nope, he is a very strong little boy.
God's Plan...
I can't end this blog without telling you about how God has changed my life through all of this. I am a planner, I am very type A, I have to be in control, and everything has to be in my box. Thank the Lord that he changed that for me. For 8 months I planned, planned, and planned even more! I had everything planned down to the last minute. God had a different plan and he taught me a lesson in a very big way and it has changed my whole world. My world is my husband and my son nothing else besides my faith matters. As long as I am doing what I have to for my family everything else will fall into place. God opened my eyes and made me see that he has more out there for me than day timers and organization. Thank you God for showing me the light.
If you have gotten to this point you are a very good friend! Sorry it was so long. There are a few people that I have to thank that made the last week so much easier. My beloved husband David, there are no words, thank you for given me the most precious gift a husband could ever give a wife. My mom, aunt Kim, my dad, and Billy thank you for sticking with me for 16 hours. All of our family and friends thank you for your love and support. Dana and Randell, thank you for being the best friends a girl could ever ask for. You drove 2 and a half hours to see me and my son for 30 minutes, your love, support and friendship means more than you will ever know. My friend Stacy, thank you for being in Nashville for the birth of my son and being there whenever I have crazy questions. All of our church family, thank you for all the prayers, food, and phone calls.
I hope to be able to update at least a couple times a week. Stay tuned!
It started Monday, June 16...
David and I went to the doctor that morning and my blood pressure was very high. By the end of my visit they had taken it 4 times and every time it was high but it was going down. I met my friend Stacy who was visiting from Athens, Georgia. We went to Babies R' Us to purchase the rest of the stuff on my registry and then has a wonderful lunch. Stacy had to get back to her new baby Avery and two year old Katie Mei so I dropped her off around 1. After dropping her off I went to Target, I felt the need to purchase non-toxic cleaning products, and a lot of batteries. This is what I like to call nestling for type A people as my house had been ready for months. After that I went home and finished some work stuff. David came home and asked me if I had checked my blood pressure, for those of you who don't know we had struggled with this since May 15 so I had been check my pressures at home as well as the doctors office. I checked it and it was so high I started to get worried. My whole pregnancy I did not worry about anything, my husband worried for all three of us and I felt he did a great job all on his own. We called the doctor and he told me to go to the hospital. David and I got our stuff together - my bag, the babies bag, and some other things. At the time I asked David, "don't you need a bag?" He was like, "No" neither one of us had a clue what the next 24 hours would be like. After being at the hospital for an hour or so it was determined that I had toxemia and they would have to induce the next day. The look on David's face was priceless - WHAT???? He looked at me and said I am not ready for this we still have 3 weeks. Ready or not here he comes!!!
Wednesday, June 17... In the beginning, natural labor
At 8 a.m. the doctor broke my water, which let me say is the weirdest feeling. At 9 a.m. they started my drip that would induce labor. For three months David and I has prepared for Daniel to be born naturally. Most people thought I was crazy but, I felt it was the safest thing for my child and who doesn't want to do the most safest thing possible. Over the next 9 hours many things happened, the pain started as not that big of a deal to uncomfortable but I was able to breath through them. I could not have gotten through any of this without the help of my husband who was amazing! My mom who watch my contractions on the monitor and told me when they were coming and when they were over. My aunt who was the person that got whatever I needed when I needed it. About 4 hours into labor they told us that internal monitors would have to be used because the baby and my contractions were not showing up on the monitors. If you don't know what this is as a mother, it's devastating. They inserted a needle monitor into my cervix and into his head. He still has the spot on his head and every time I look at it I cry. At 5 o'clock in the afternoon the doctor came in to check me, at this point I was in natural labor for 9 hours only it wasn't natural as in my body just went into labor. It was chemically induced which means the contractions were 10 times worse than normal contractions would have been. When the doctor check me I was at 6 - I had been at 6 for two hours and I couldn't take it anymore. In my mind as the contractions were really bad I keep thinking that I was in transition which meant I was at the end and it would be over soon. This was not the case.
Drugs please...
So, I gave in and got the drugs. My emotions were running high, before they came in to start the drugs I sat there with David and cried for like 5 minutes. I felt like a failure, the what ifs went through my mind, and for the first time in 8 and half months I was scared. My husband, God bless him, was so wonderful. He held my hand and told me that I was not a failure and that under normal conditions I could have done this but it was out of our hands. Anyone that knows me knows that I am always in control and things just don't get out of my hands. So the nurse came in and gave me the drugs, thank you Chuck, he was the most nicest, sweetest guy I have ever met. They say guys can't imagine the pain that women go through during labor, Chuck either loves his job a lot or feels the pain just like women do. For the next 6 hours he check on me every hour and always made sure that I was comfortable. After the drugs took effect things went pretty smooth. Even though I didn't feel contraction pain I felt a lot of pressure which is just as bad. In a matter of 5 hours I went from having energy to having none. That's the thing with drugs your body is still working very hard but you can't tell it. At 10:30 the doctor came back in to check me, I was still at a 6. I was tired, my water had been broken for almost 15 hours, my blood pressure was still dangerously high, and the babies heart rate was dropping. At this point we had no other choice for the safety of me and my baby they had to do a c-section.
C-Section, almost over...
Chuck came in and gave me a different set of drugs that I would need for the c-section, our families were waiting patiently in the waiting room, as they had been there all day. Twenty minutes after the doctor came in and told us about the c-section we were on the elevator going up to the O.R. Once in the O.R. they got me ready and David changed clothes. They started at 5 after 11 and at 11:15 p.m. on June 17 our precious baby boy cried for the first time and David and I cried right along with him. I will never forget the first time I saw him, it's a love that comes over you like nothing else you have ever felt. Even though he had been through a lot that day he was perfect. Ten fingers, ten toes, a head full of dark hair, and lungs that I will never forget. David and I looked at each other and said, we have our work cut out for us. We are so blessed with such a beautiful, healthy baby. David looked at me and said good job as if I had created this little guy all by myself!
Looking back...
I wouldn't change a thing. Yes, it was painful, but a week later I don't even remember how painful it was. It was truly a labor of love and worth ever minute of it.
Baby number two...
Everyone has asked me if I would do it again. Yes, without a doubt. Now that we know what we are up against and can plan next time it will be a piece of cake. The reason I never got past a 6 was because Daniel was stuck in my pelvis. He still has a ridge on his forehead from where he was stuck for so long. Once they actually got to him they still had to use a vacuum to get him out because he was so stuck. My next baby I have to have a c-section as a result of my pelvis being so narrow.
A week later...
Well, we had to stay in the hospital until Sunday due to Daniel having jaundice. I can not speak highly enough about Centennial hospital, every nurse, doctor, and assistant was wonderful. They even let us stay for free the last two nights just so I wouldn't have to leave my baby. We arrived home on Sunday, mom had cooked a huge meal for us, and our immediate family came over, it was great. Daniel is perfect, yes I know every parent says that about there child. So far he nurses every 5 hours (which he has done perfectly since the day he was born), he sleeps a lot, isn't fussy, he will sleep anywhere, and he laughs a lot. We also have a very strong little boy, he can already roll onto his side. I though that was normal, I have never had a baby before. We went to his doctor and she said nope, he is a very strong little boy.
God's Plan...
I can't end this blog without telling you about how God has changed my life through all of this. I am a planner, I am very type A, I have to be in control, and everything has to be in my box. Thank the Lord that he changed that for me. For 8 months I planned, planned, and planned even more! I had everything planned down to the last minute. God had a different plan and he taught me a lesson in a very big way and it has changed my whole world. My world is my husband and my son nothing else besides my faith matters. As long as I am doing what I have to for my family everything else will fall into place. God opened my eyes and made me see that he has more out there for me than day timers and organization. Thank you God for showing me the light.
If you have gotten to this point you are a very good friend! Sorry it was so long. There are a few people that I have to thank that made the last week so much easier. My beloved husband David, there are no words, thank you for given me the most precious gift a husband could ever give a wife. My mom, aunt Kim, my dad, and Billy thank you for sticking with me for 16 hours. All of our family and friends thank you for your love and support. Dana and Randell, thank you for being the best friends a girl could ever ask for. You drove 2 and a half hours to see me and my son for 30 minutes, your love, support and friendship means more than you will ever know. My friend Stacy, thank you for being in Nashville for the birth of my son and being there whenever I have crazy questions. All of our church family, thank you for all the prayers, food, and phone calls.
I hope to be able to update at least a couple times a week. Stay tuned!
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