Happy Birthday Abigail Rose

On Tuesday, August 23rd I went into the hospital for my pre-op registration and blood work as our Little Miss was going to come by scheduled cesarean section two days later since that is how her brother made his big debut also and mommy was scared to push out a possibly 8 1/2 pound baby this time around. The nerves and reality hit me like a ton of bricks and even left a mark, well, maybe it was the blood draw that left a four inch bruise, but still. Later that afternoon we experienced an earthquake, which shook me less than the reality of soon becoming a mom of two. Being a mom of one was simple, at least at this point, how on earth would I be as a mom of two???

Wednesday, August 24th brought me a day of more nerves, but enjoyment of the last day of being pregnant too. Heck, as I think of it now I get all teary eyed. I truly enjoy being pregnant, even if there are some ups, downs, aches, and pains along the way. I am growing a little miracle inside my belly and get to feel every little movement and hiccup. I could not stop touching my belly that day. It was the last time I would feel my little peanut like no one else could, the last time she would be totally protected from everything the outside world would bring upon her. Surprisingly I slept pretty well that night despite being a little scared of what would go on the following day.

Thursday, August 25 our second little blessing entered this great big world. The morning started off with the alarm going off, me holding my belly a little longer, showering, making sure everything was packed, and Aidan was set and ready to go to the grandparent's house. Once we arrived at the hospital and walked upstairs after telling them I was there for my c-section, we got shown to my room. My nurse, Jamie, was very informative and kind. She was also incredibly gentle when it came time for my first nerve-wracker, the IV. After what felt like hours my doctor finally came in to give me a quick run down of how things would go down. The anesthesiologist, Dr. V, also came in to explain the spinal, nerve-wracker #2. After a short time Jamie came back and said it was time to go. I said goodbye to Sean and walked myself to the freezing cold operating room right across the hall and got onto the table. That was weird. With Aidan I was so drugged up from the magnesium sulfate I barely remembered anything from the ride on my bed to the operating room to almost a day later. At that point my nerves were taking over and I felt like I was out of control of anything at this point.

The first thing to occur was the spinal anesthetic. I tried to relax, breathe, and think of the end result. Again, Jamie was fabulous and kept talking to me and keeping me calm through the procedure. It felt like forever, but within minutes I was laying down and unfortunately feeling a little less numb than I had expected. Dr. V sat by my head and kept asking how I felt, poking me with a needle in the arm so I knew the sensation that I should not feel when she poked my side. She would start down by my hip and work her way up to my ribs with that needle, and every time she got a couple of inches above my navel I could feel it too well. She kept reassuring me (not really, since my pulse was skyrocketing at this point) that I would not be able to feel the incision because it was lower than where I could feel her poking. She moved the bed so my head was lower and the numbness would travel higher up my sides, except that did not work.

At some point Sean came in and all I needed was for him to hold my hand and I knew that no matter how much I was going to feel I would be okay with him by my side. {Now is when this story gets a little more descriptive} Dr. V continued to poke and prod and I was still feeling more than I should. Then my doctor did the skin check where she pinched down by the incision area which I didn't feel except for pressure, and then she pinched about an inch above my belly button--ouch. I swear it felt like she pierced it. At this point Dr. V said I had two options, to deal with the pain of all the pressure I would feel or to be put under general anesthesia. Well there was no way in hell I was going to miss this baby being born so I put on my brave face and said I could do it. Holy moly, I had no idea what I was in for. I think I whined, cried, and moaned through the entire thing from the moment it began. I did not push out a baby but could feel my baby being pushed out of me. I felt her head, shoulders, and the relief once she was out. I felt all the pushing on my upper belly to get her out. When my doctor asked how I was doing between my groans I told her to hurry. I can't lie, it hurt, would I have missed it to avoid the pain? Absolutely not. Hearing our baby cry for the first time is something I would have endured anything for.

Once our little miracle entered the world I was able to be given some Xanax. This helped to bring down my pulse and bring me back to a calmer reality. Thankfully most of the pain was gone at this point and it was just time to get me cleaned and stitched back together. I just tried to take deep breaths at this point and listen to what was going on with the baby. Those cries, those glorious cries.

It wasn't long before I was wheeled out of that freezing cold room and back to my room where beautiful Abigail Rose was brought to me and our outside world bonding began. I fell in love immediately. My love and appreciation for Sean grew in that moment as well. Again we had been blessed with another miracle to love and cherish.

Abigail Rose

August25, 2011

10:40am

7 pounds, 9 ounces

19 inches

{tired, nervous, anxious}

{daddy's little girl}

{love at first sight}

{first bath}

{she's finally here}

{tired mommy, proud big brother, & baby sister}

My thoughts on life right now:

"cherish these moments, she won't be little for long"~touching advice from Sean

Babies are one of the greatest blessings.

So content. 

24 hours!

{hospital is ready for me. am i ready for it?}

Holy moly!!! In 24 hours I'll be holding our baby in my arms. Yesterday I went into admissions and got all the paperwork in order and got my pre-op bloodwork done. Of course this sent my nerves into overdrive. And wearing this bracelet is a reminder of happy days to come but also makes it all a little scary too. I'm nervous, anxious, a little freaked out, and very excited.

Everything is ready for her here, but my main concern right now is Aidan. Is he ready? His whole little life is going to change into something he has no idea about. I'm sure he will be a great big brother and he has enough love for the whole world, so I know he's going to love her so much. He is still a cuddler and used to going everywhere with me and doing everything with us, so I'm hoping that doesn't change once his sister is here and he has to share time. Since I'll be recovering for a couple of weeks (hopefully it's as easy, if not easier as last time) I'm hoping that he'll get some quality time with Daddy and other family members who would be willing to come play with him or take him out for a little one on one time so he still feels as special as he certainly is. I'm sure I'm more worried about this adjustment than need be, since Aidan is such a flexible little guy. 

So, tomorrow, around 9:30am was supposed to be 8:30 but I got bumped because of a meeting I'll be in the OR for a repeat c-section. If it's your thing, say a little prayer that everything goes as best as possible. thanks. 

My thoughts on life right now:

Wow. Yikes. Eeek.

Our family of three will become a family of four in less than a day. 

So blessed. 

EaRtHqUaKe!!!

Yup, right here in New Jersey. The whole kitchen shook this afternoon while I was eating lunch, talking to Sean who was making his lunch, and Aidan was enjoying some Lucky Charms. The cabinet doors were knocking and the floor was swaying. We all just stared at each other. At first Sean thought I had bumped the cabinet, although I would have had to be running at it full force to make any kind of movement and it would have been nothing near what we felt. Then we both thought and said earthquake, but then the idea of how crazy that was went through our heads and I said maybe it was a gas explosion or something. So we all went outside and saw all of our neighbors walking outside of their houses too. No gas explosion, definitely an earthquake. We returned inside and within minutes the local news was reporting a 5.8 magnitude earthquake happened near Richmond, Virginia. Apparently folks from North Carolina to New York had felt some of the quake. Just crazy!

My thoughts on life right now:
I'm thankful no one was hurt. 
I'm glad I had given blood for pre-op earlier in the day.
Very, very thankful that it didn't happen during my c-section on Thursday!

Baby Girl's Nursery

Yay! It's finally done ready for her arrival. There are still a few things I'd like to get {wall shelves, her name on the wall-letters/print/not sure, crystal chandelier, and a mirror}, but it's just about done. Whew. All of her furniture was given up willingly by Aidan. We got her the Penelope crib bedding from Pottery Barn Kids and I'm so thrilled with it. Also from PBK are these adorable little birdies (I should have taken a close-up I love them so much).We scored a bunch of coordinating items at Target: Eclipse curtains to go over the faux wood blinds, shag rug, white bell lampshade, and the cube organizers with fabric drawers. The pink basket that will be her hamper came from Babies R Us. Here are some pics:

{View from the hallway}

{That cube storage is perfect...and will eventually end up in the bottom of her closet}

{Still need her name above the crib, either a print on a shelf or hanging or wall letters}

{Snooty Bird decal from Janey Mac}

{closet with lots of girly stuff}

{Still want a mirror for above her dresser}

My thoughts on life right now:

5 days from now (or sooner if she comes on her own) I'll have her in my arms. 

It's okay to be nervous, right? 

Aidan's Big Boy Room

With a new baby on the way Aidan had to give up all his nursery furniture and get new. Thanks to a great deal at Sears, we were able to get a dresser, nightstand, bookcase headboard, and bed with underneath storage. It's just what we were looking for, and trust me, we looked forever! We ended up going with the twin comforter that matched his crib bedding since we had the valance, wall hanging, and lamp to match. Plus, Sean Aidan really likes it. We're all set in there, minus needing to get a set of extra sheets...I'll probably just go with something plain like navy blue. Oh, and let me just tell you that this room is itty bitty. Like 10x10, and that might be an exaggeration. It's super small and worked great as an office, but then came Aidan. Thankfully we've got plenty of room for him to play downstairs, because this is definitely not conducive to playing in. Here are some pics of his new room, which he loves!

{1st night sleeping in his bed}

{aww, he's so big now}

{view from the hallway}

{Ignore the flipped down bed rail, there are three drawers under his bed.
Wall letters are from Pottery Barn Kids}

{See what the lamp is sitting on? Yeah, there is duct work in that awful built in and we can't get rid of it easily. Ugh, inconvenience.}

{I'd like to get a mirror to put above his dresser}

{Cozy little reading corner}

My thoughts on life right now:

So when you buy your first home, it may not necessarily be in the plans to have it be in your forever home, more like the 5 year plan house. Then the housing market goes way downhill and you are in the house past the 5 year mark. You learn to make do with what you are very lucky to have and hope that one day you'll have that forever home with the open layout, updated kitchen, four bedrooms, and heck-a basement too. 

39 weeks

Pregnancy: 38 weeks, 6 days {yeah, day early again}

Weight Gain: 25 pounds. I have been stuck here for three weeks I think.   

Sleep: Sucks right now. My hips really hurt and I end up flipping from side to side every hour or more. It doesn't help that Aidan's trying to get some extra cuddles in during the wee hours of the morning and is coming into our bed.    

Gender: It's a girl!

Name: You'll soon find out! 

Feeling: Completely exhausted! All I want is ice cream and to sleep. Oh, and to find another great book like The Help (just finished it last night) to read. I'm pretty uncomfortable at this point and sometimes feel like I'm carrying a bowling ball around and it's about to fall out at any point. I'm so nervous and anxious for so many things...the c-section, going into labor on my own (hopefully not), how Aidan will react, lack of sleep, getting everything ready for her, and a myriad of other things. Oh, and going from one kiddo to two is pretty life-changing as well. 

Health: I have been really lucky this time around. At my appointment today blood pressure was 122/74, my weight didn't change, and everything else looked great. Her heart rate sounded fabulous anywhere from the high 120s to the low 170s when she started wiggling around in there. My doctors have all been quite happy with how well I'm doing. Oh, and no swelling at all! That's certainly something to be happy about! I hope this means that the delivery and recovery will be just as good. 

Movement: Well we had that little scare on Sunday, but after that she's been moving and shaking like usual. There's a lot more pressure now when she moves, and the quick movements aren't happening quite as much. I'm going to miss feeling her move around.  

Belly: Stretched to the max! 

Next Appointment: August 25th for my c-section. No more check-ups for us. Crazy!!! 


Oh, and I almost forgot, this time in my pregnancy with Aidan I was in the hospital starting an induction to have Aidan because of my high blood pressure. I had him at exactly 39 weeks. So my body has never been past that point...wonder what this next week will bring me. I'm blessed to have made it this far and as hard as it may be during those uncomfortable moments, I am going to enjoy it all, and miss it so much once it is over. The end result of all this is 100% worth it all. 

10 on Tuesday

1. What do you do for a living?
I'm a special education teacher.

2. What’s your favorite thing about your job?
I make a difference in children's lives. Oh, and the 5 minute commute isn't too bad either.

3. What’s your least favorite thing about your job?
My least favorite thing is that I have to have a job. I’d much rather just be a mommy. 

4. If you weren’t a ____________, what would you be?
If I had no debt? I’d be a stay at home mom. I'd think about nursing, or maybe a guidance counselor/social worker.

5. What is something that you would love to get paid for that you think no one would ever pay you for?
Oh definitely being a stay at home mom! 

6. If you could have any job for exactly one day, what would it be?
This is a tough one. I'd want it to be fun, and something I wouldn't usually do, like...hmmm...

7. If you had to do manual labor, what would you do?
I would want to work for Habitat for Humanity, or something to benefit others.

8. What is something you were forced to learn in high school that was supposed to be super important, but you never actually use?
Just about everything sadly, but definitely the sciences and histories. 

9. Who was your favorite boss?  Why?
Probably my current supervisor because she's so awesome. She's many things, but most importantly, she is understanding. 

10. Where would you rather work: Dunder Mifflin Paper Company (The Office), Wernham Hogg Paper Company (The Office, UK), or Initech (Office Space)?
Well, since I don't watch any of these shows I have no idea, but working in an office would be something I've never done before.