And Baby Makes Three....

Birth Story (in my frankness)

Okay, while its still fresh in my head....here is my rather frank personal experience of labor and delivery.

  7:00PM Arrived at the hospital to prepare my undercarriage to cooperate for induction.

9:00 Pm All hooked up to monitors, settled into our birthing suite and praying for more than 50% effacement and some dialation.

7:30AM- 1 cm dialated, 2/3 effacement and water broken. Oh did this part hurt and yes I cried like a baby. I am sure if I had progressed more, things would not have felt so bad. The devil drug Pitocin was started to get me into active labor and gradually increased. I found by standing up and rocking "Elvis style" helped with contractions and making sure I could get this baby to drop like Times Square.

1PM- Barely 2 cm dialated and in A LOT of back pain. Contractions were coming at 2 minutes or less. Walking or laying down or rubbing back didn't seem to make a difference.

1:30PM- An IV pain relief to help take the edge off things was given, but only the tinniest amount in fear that it would slow labor down even more than the awefully slow pace it was going at. It did help a little but wore off in 35 minutes and I would be begging for another shot of the stuff.

4:00PM- Barely 4 cm dialated and baby at -1 station, I was told of an alternative to an epidural. At this point I was in such pain for so little progress and couldn't contimplate another 15 hours of this kind of show. I had hit my "wall" and contimplated a c-section. My whole body felt like it was being ripped apart through my back and I was shaking in pain. I believe there may have been a Linda Blair moment when Matt asked me to relax through my breathing and this demon posesed voice comes out with, "This is my relaxed breathing."  Instead of an epidural, I was given a shot in the spine, but would allow me to still feel pressure and push for when the time came. Messing with your spinal cord is a whole new feeling in its self! Yet I was finally able to relax and catch a break from such intense contractions.

At this time, the room is quite, I am catching a few winks here and there. Matt is in and out of the room. Wasn't sure how much time had passed but recal waking up and realizing I was feeling the contractions again and feeling a bit cheated on the pain one had to go through to get the pain relief. Then I nearly eject out of the bed and blow chunks....right there on the sheets. And just in time for the husband and doctor to find me. After being checked, the Doc was surprised to fine that in 1 hour...I went from 4 cm to 10cm! Time to start pushing!

5:30PM- The stage is set for the star to make her presence and I am told of how to push. Matt helped in counting my push lengths and made sure to play photographer for the big debut. Matt was so in awe at all the action that he struggled in keeping my push counts. There was no crying, but dead set determination in getting this child out! Towards the end of each push, I would almost spasm and lose all control of the push. For once, my body finally got the idea of what to do and went on auto pilot.

5:56PM- Eliza is out and very aware! I didn't even have a chance to ask myself as to when I would hear her cry. After the cord was cut, they placed her on my chest and struggled to rub her down. Matt did his daddy thing as they put mommy back together down there and just couldn't believe the sight he just whitnessed. Much to the surprise of some, he saw the whole thing and didn't pass out on the floor.

Because they weren't expecting me to get to 10 cm that quickly after the spinal narcodic, it was hard to gaze at my daughter and not have the room spinning or wanting to fall asleep in the process. It took the next morning until I felt a bit more human.

I wonder if I had gone into labor naturally, would I have been able to handle things better. Yet my body was not being a team player and going another week wouldn't have done much help. I am glad I had Dr. Cooley and the wisdom that he brings in labor/delivery. He helped bring a healthy and wonderful baby girl into this world despite the interventions needed top get me to this point. And that is what is really important. I count my blessings though in this pregnancy

Oh how I hate to wait

I have never exactly played the waiting game all that well...especially when it would come to job searching. Here I am, 1 day past my due date and wondering if I will EVER go into labor. I'll have pains here and there, but nothing that turns into more than a bowel movement. To make things harder, I don't have lots of projects to focus on and my netfilx can only sustain me for so long after having been off of work for 1 week prior.

All sorts of folks have offered advice to help get labor going....non of which I think has any power or influence. Oh, and that natural method with your partner....good luck! I give kudos to anyone this far along to find it at all comfortable for either partner. I've tried the simple act of walking, which only results in sore flanks.

Each time I have been checked....there isn't much progress shown. Its hard to not feel like you are failing in some way. I don't want the devil drug pitocin, and certainly if things would result in a c-section despite it.

I've been fortunate in dodging a lot of belly rubs, horror stories etc in this pregnancy....but what is getting REALLY annoying is when people keep asking if I've gone into labor or not. I know they care, but it only makes things harder as I wait. Trust me, when I am ready to share the news, I'll do so when there is actually news to post...so stop asking me already! And after all, isn't it MY business to begin with? What if I wait until the baby is born to share? In all the media blasting that has become a cultural norm...there are just somethings that I think should be private for a little while until the public is informed.

Door's wide open

I guess my body must know I have time off from work because within 7 days, I've picked up 3 different infections. One below the waist, one in the chest, and the other in the eyes. Part of my maternity leave is being subsidized by 4 weeks of sick time I've accumulated. Although, I know that if my position was not in such high demand of me, I would have taken more of that time prior instead of toughing it out.

Now, can I just go into labor to make up for everything else? Yeah.....that would be nice :)

Eliza's Nursery

Here is the finished product of my pregnancy project. You could call this gender neutral with a hint of girl thrown in. When looking for the right art direction for this room, I wasn't impressed with much that was out there. Since I grew up loving classic children's books, I wanted to help pass on that love along with creativity which will grow along with Eliza through the years.

The book shelves on the walls are actually painted white contact paper. This allowed me to do something custom and for very little money required. Something I wouldn't have found in an online vinyl collection

I hope you love every minute spent here baby girl.










All canvas artwork is original-Oil on canvas with embroidered design and hand crafted buttons.

Mobile- Hand made by me-Felt, wire and hand crafted buttons.

Treasure Chest-Ikea Children's dept

Light Fixture-Ikea lights and personal ingenuity.

Quilt-Ikea children's dept.

Bedding-Land of Nod

Crib and Changing Table/Dresser- Wonderful hand me downs which have survived 4 boys prior!

Rocker Chair- Babies "R" Us

Why does this model dating so much?

For most women, there comes a time where they say goodbye to the dating antics and hello to steady married life. I did that 9 months ago tomorrow. No longer did I have to search dating websites or make sure I looked pretty in case Mr. Right was scheduled to fall in my lap. And no more 1st awkward dates to coffee and waiting by the phone for a return date.

So why do I feel this same anxiety as a married woman?????

This reason would be the fact that starting this fall, we've been on a ministry team search to get us moved to the east coast. And like the dating sites, we've combed through a certain one to look for postings that would provide jobs for us both at the same time. One particular attractive one came up and we were found to be of interest to it.

Let the games begin!

What a roller coaster it was on my emotions. First off, we were coming to the end of our apartment lease where we could leave and not pay a stiff penalty, so better make use of it! My current job has been cut to permanent part time and Mr. G hasn't been able to catch a break at work in getting promoted to a new job within in over a year of trying.

This team position would have a huge reduction in cost of living. Also putting us at the middle point of family with 6 hours drive in either direction. Then throw on top of being near 4 major cities, 3 states and Canada. Not to mention also being able to rent a house! I was like Ralphie gazing at the Red Rider BB Gun.....wishing and hoping we would be given this opportunity. We interviewed, got positive feedback from other higher up that we had a good shot. Throw in some other "date" getting sick, delaying the dating process and much deliberation on their end.

.....Now we know we've been dumped for someone else. Arg! And what burns my cheese the most is they made an assumption about us without asking us first hand, and letting "family" have WAY too much control in the decision!

I was emotionally exhausted after all this. Dreams crushed and left wondering when the storm will pass in this season of life. Feeling rather stupid for letting myself get caught on a cloud that this would come through and solve and further complicate my life in figuring out how to move in the winter across the state and find housing with less than a month to do it all.....I have to be more cautious in the future.

Low and behold, a few days later we finally get something on the stove again after wondering if anything official would happen after exchanging our profiles (resumes) to be deemed worthy or not of a phone date.

I will NOT let the same thing happen again! I have to keep my feet on the ground until there is an offer on the table. I don't want to sound jaded from this process, but I feel less confident on this possibility than the other. This requires me to not even mention what this possibility is so I do not build myself up in hopes, much like talking to your girlfriends about a guy you're interested in.

A blessing though.....we were able to go month-to-month on our apartment lease without an increase in rent! This gives us the freedom to continue our search in the east without the same worry of what financial consequences we would have to face.

What is it with a woman’s mind? We start to feel a little sick or not feel quite like ourselves and then thoughts of maybe being pregnant come to the surface. I’ve been watching the show on TLC called I didn’t Know I was Pregnant….yeah where woman don’t show telltale signs they are carrying a baby.

Lately, I’ve had these weird bouts of nausea. Never do I throw up, but can’t shake this feeling of wanting to. So I decide to head out that night to the local Fredy’s for a test. But for something you pee on, it’s a bit of a chunk to pay. I decided to get the 2 box one and utilize the handy on box coupon, making it 4.50 a test. Dollar Tree would have been my first stop if it weren’t for the fact they closed after 10 PM. This was all going on while Mr. G didn’t even know where I was.

So there I was coming through the door and opening the pink box. Mr. G says, “You think you might be pregnant” with disbelief in his eyes. I shrug my shoulders and continue to my test. Afterwards I let it sit and head to the office. You could hear a pin drop in that room as Mr. G read his book while I surfed the net. Quietly I get up and check the magic stick to find out our fate.

Not Pregnant stares up at my gaze.

Inside of me I wanted to see two pink bars on my four dollars and fifty cent test. The jubilation of telling the future grandparents comes to my thoughts and the happiness it would bring. Not to mention using pregnancy as an excuse to get out a few things or special treatment all because of bun in the oven. Guess I was incorrect in reading my own body. Even with being on the pill, I should have listened to what could be PMS as I shot fart after fart down the aisles. Glad it was a slow night of other shoppers!

Even being on the pill, I know other couples who were using 3 different methods of protection and yet God was smarter and blessed them with a surprise miracle.

FOOD

After needing some girl time with a past roommate, I had her over and decided I would try to match my mothers old recipe that I loved long ago. And what do you know....it worked! I have had several failed attempts at some Pad Thai.....so bad I went to the restaurant to wipe out the bad taste of it.

You will need.....

1 pound ground beef
1/3 minced carrot
1/4-1/3 minced yellow onion
Soy Sauce
Worcestershire Sauce
Terriaki marinade/sauce (should be like soy in thickness)
Asian pastry dough sheets (round)


Throw in hot skillet/Wok ground meat, onion, carrot and dashes of all 3 sauces depending on how strong you want it. Fully cook meat making sure you break up any large chunks. The more ground the meat, the better.

After cooking fully, take off heat and let cool or put in refrigerator for later use.

Take one pastry round and put about 1/5 table spoon of meat inside. Dip finger in water and wet outside rim on half of circle. Fold and pinch sides to keep meat from falling out. After you've completed as many as you want, put on cookie sheet or plate covered and put in freezer. Freezing time should be at least 1 hour prior to cooking or as soon as frozen.

Use fry daddy or hot oil in wok to cook. I used the french fry temp of 375. Cook as long as needed depending on how crisp or chewy you want them.

Serve with terriaki sauce or plum sauce. Can be used as a great appetizer too!

Here we are with traditional Pot Sticker style

Then you can get a little creative in the mix with how you package them