livinginthelight's Xanga

Monday, October 22, 2007

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:06:23 GMT

We got our wedding videos in the mail this weekend (we got married a year and a half ago). They are VHS format, and we don't have a VCR, so I'll be taking them to a place in town to get them converted to DVD. We tried to watch the first tape (the wedding) at a neighbor's house, but it messed up halfway through. I'm not sure if it was the tape or the vcr.. We didn't want to attempt playing it again.

Abby is almost 6 weeks old now.. insane. She's a neat kid. She started smiling a week ago, and has been practicing holding her head up. She doesn't have complete control yet, but she's working on it. She's also in the 97th percentile for weight, and the 90th for length and head size. She may be a big baby, but at least she's fairly proportionate!

Her baptism is next month. R and I want to have a gathering afterward, but we are still deciding on the location. It will probably be at our house.

Friday, September 21, 2007

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 18:05:03 GMT

Ohmigosh, could I BE any more in love?

This baby girl has my heart!

Sunday, September 16, 2007

Sun, 16 Sep 2007 23:31:57 GMT

Birth story (in case you haven't heard it yet):

After appointment after appointment with not much progress (cervix was closed but softening), my appointment on Tuesday, September 11 brought a surprise. I was 4 cm dilated! Doctor said he could rupture my membranes and induce if I wanted, or I could wait it out and see what my body did. I opted to wait.

As soon as I got home, I knew I had to kick it into high gear cause there was a good possibility our baby would be arriving SOON! So I finished folding baby clothes and put them all away, did a load of regular laundry and put it away, organized in the nursery (unwrapping packages of diapers to put in the changing table, putting together a changing basket for the first floor with wipes/diapers/cream/etc, throwing out trash, putting all the toys/stuffed animals in a bag in the closet), unloaded the dishwasher, made dinner, and had Ronnie put the new glider/ottoman together. Whew!

Overnight, I was crampy and uncomfortable, but wasn't having contractions.

I woke up at 5am with contractions (the first real ones I'd had). They were eight minutes apart, and I figured it might take a while for them to get closer together, so I just came downstairs and chilled. I had some spotting, so I called the hospital, then my doctor to see if I should come in. He said the spotting was normal, and asked how far apart the contrax were. I told him eight minutes, and he said if they got stronger, to come in.

So I chilled some more. Spent a little more time in the bathroom, and they got strong and fast in a hurry. I was actually worried that I wouldn't be able to go upstairs and wake Ronnie up without having a contraction on the way. I finally made it up there and shook him awake around 6am. He grabbed stuff and got dressed while I got on my hands and knees and rocked during contractions.

Luckily we live very close to the hospital. We got there at 6:25, and my water broke at 6:26. (!) They checked, and I was fully dilated, so they wheeled me to the birthing suite right away and called my doctor. At that point, contractions were two minutes apart. Ronnie did an awesome job talking me through them, and they said I did a great job breathing and pushing, although I don't remember much conscious effort to breathe a certain way. I was just trying to cope with the pain!

Doctor got there at 7:20, and Abigail Elise was born at 7:35. Right at the end, when she was about halfway out, they told me to stop pushing for a second- I think they didn't want me to tear- and I freaked out. I was in a ton of pain at that point (it burned so badly!) and I was yelling about how much it hurt. They got in my face (which I needed) and told me to calm down, and to look down. I did, and I saw Abigail coming out, and it made it all worth it. It was what I needed to remember why I was there.

They put her on my chest right away, and we got to bond for a long while. She nursed about 20 minutes after birth. I'm not sure how much she got, but she seemed content.

After that, they weighed her, and she is 8 lb 11 oz. She got her eye drops and Vitamin K shot, which made her cry a little, but as soon as they gave her to Daddy, she calmed down.

I went all natural (which I was planning on trying), though I wouldn't have had a choice anyway! Check-in to birth was only an hour, so epidural/pain meds was never an option. It wasn't so bad..

I did have a 2nd degree tear, which the nurse said is the kind you want to get if you have to get one.

Recovery hasn't been too bad. We even went out to dinner with Ronnie's parents and aunt and uncle the day we got home from the hospital. I'm feeling pretty good, with just a little soreness. We've had two nights at home so far, and Ronnie and I are working out the kinks and getting a system down. When Abigail wakes up, I go in if it's time for her to eat, and otherwise, Ronnie goes in to change her/rock her back to sleep/whatever, and if one of us notices the other is dragging, we'll take an extra turn. We're both pretty excited for the days when she sleeps in longer spurts, but we're coping well.

----------------
Abigail Elise
8lbs11oz
20 3/4 inches long
7:35 am on Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Friday, August 31, 2007

Fri, 31 Aug 2007 21:08:47 GMT

Oops, haven't updated in a while.

Febus is still in utero. I'm 37 weeks today, which is full term. No signs of arriving anytime in the immediate future, which is good. I'm ok with letting him/her cook for another few weeks.

We decided on names.. just about. They keep changing, believe it or not. Thought we had them decided, and then another contender popped up. Mother-in-law is begging for hints. We haven't budged. :o)

I got my acceptance letter. I'll be going back to school in the spring. Just part-time (about two classes per semester) for about a year and a half, and then full time for another year. If I stay on track, I'll graduate with a nursing degree in August 2010 ish. We'll see how it goes!

Monday, July 16, 2007

Mon, 16 Jul 2007 13:10:33 GMT

The accelerated nursing program at the school I'm looking at is insane. They have you taking 20 credit hours the first summer. Maybe it's different around here, but at BSU, that's more than full time.

I have about seven classes to take before I can start the program, and if I start this spring, I could do 2-3 per semester and start the program in May '09, and graduate in August '10 with a BSN. Hmm...

However, that would mean that I couldn't work at camp for the next few summers. Boo.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Thu, 12 Jul 2007 13:42:52 GMT

The latest craze-

go predict when Febus will arrive, how long he/she will be, how many pounds, etc.

:o)

http://www.expectnet.com/games/Febus

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Sat, 23 Jun 2007 18:00:43 GMT

Whoa, third trimester! Did that seem fast to anyone else? I don't think I'm anywhere close to giving birth yet, but I should probably start getting stuff ready just in case. You know, like getting the car seat, buying a crib, perhaps packing a hospital bag eventually.. or at least making a packing list and printing it out so I can pack quickly and not forget anything.

PS- I went in for my gestational diabetes test a couple days ago. The lady there told me the drink tasted like orange pop. She lied. The first two sips tasted like orange pop. Then it just tasted like super sweet sticky grossness. The aftertaste wasn't the greatest. She got mad at me for drinking it too slowly, so I had to gulp the last half. I think I burped for a solid twenty minutes after that.. eww. Anyway, after I sat for an hour, they took me back and drew blood, and got my vein on the first try! This is quite an accomplishment- my veins are tricky. They're small, and tend to hide. I don't know if I passed or not- I guess they are just sending the results on to my doctor, and I'll find out in just over a week at my next appointment.

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I'm thinking about going back to school and getting a nursing degree. I've been looking into programs around here, and the cost varies quite a bit. Looks like I could do an accelerated program at a local state school, and that would go 18 months. However, there are some pre-requisites that I know I didn't take as part of my undergrad. Perhaps I will take a class or two per semester starting in the spring, and start full-time once the baby is a little older. (This assumes, of course, that there is not a younger sibling by that point..) I printed out a transcript request form from my alma mater, will send that in ASAP, and then perhaps meet with an advisor at the local school to see what they suggest for a time frame, and what will and won't transfer.

Do I really want to do this? I'd like to have a direction for my future, and not be stuck in part-time jobs for the rest of my life. Yes, I have a Bachelors degree from a well-known university, but I have been having a difficult time finding a job.

Guess I'll get the transcript, call up the advisor, and go from there.

Friday, June 15, 2007

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 13:36:13 GMT

I am in a good mood today!

Work is going well.
I have the day off.
My sister-in-law had her baby this morning (welcome to the world, James Patrick!).
Our wedding video has finally been converted to DVD. All that's left is the reception video. Hopefully they will be in my hands by the end of next week!
I saw a crappy beat-up van today.. one spinning hubcap.. one missing hubcap. That is comedy.
One of my best friends is getting married tomorrow, and I get to be part of the ceremony. I'm honored!
I've signed up for a childbirth preparation class. That makes this whole baby thing a little more real.
I have projects in mind for my day off, and I am determined to get at least two of them done!
The weather is gorgeous.
I'm past the "Is she pregnant or is she just fat?" stage of pregnancy. This makes me happy, and a bit more confident.

Life is good!

Monday, June 04, 2007

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 03:35:53 GMT

Oh, what to say, what to say..

I have the coolest job on the planet. Yes that's right. I get to be a director at the camp where I've been working for the last several years, and I look forward to getting up and going to work. How many people can honestly say that? I've even brought work home with me, and I don't mind, cause it is fulfilling.

Monday, May 21, 2007

Mon, 21 May 2007 16:35:05 GMT

Realized that I never posted about our anniversary.

Our one year was yesterday. We tried to see if there were any shows or anything, but didn't find anything that piqued our interest. Saturday we dressed up and went out for a nice dinner, then saw the newest Shrek movie at the theatre.

Sunday we relaxed, snuggled, watched some weird movie on OnDemand (Brothers Grimm), and enjoyed the benefits of being married. ;)