Maddie is a year and a half!

My Madelyn Justine turned 18 months old this month. She is the light in my day. The happiness I feel when I see her is just indescribable. She had her 18 month check up and everything went well. She weighs 24 pounds and is 32 1/4 in. long. She is growing like a weed. The only thing about Maddie is that she does not talk much! And she won't say Mommy. Only Da Da... I feel sad for her because the new baby will be coming soon and she has no clue what is to come! She will no longer be the baby. She is already jealous when Jacob and Allie give me hugs.....I don't know how she will react to the new addition that will be attached to me! I have to say that Maddie has been the best baby I have ever had....I have probably said that before....but she really is! She sleeps through the night....she sleeps in her crib....she takes a 2-3 hour nap everyday! She is generally easy going.....

I love you Madelyn!

36 weeks

I am 36 weeks pregnant as of yesterday! I can't even believe it. My due date is May 24th and it is hard to believe that May is next week! I had a doctor appointment today which went fine. My urine and Bp's are fine.....I gained another 4 pounds this week...which brings the weight gain to 33 pounds total...had my GBS culture done and since he was down there he checked my cervix. I am CLOSED...but soft. I was kind of hoping I would be a little bit dilated! But hey, I am not in any hurry! I have never made it to 39 weeks before....so maybe I will this time! I am hoping to at least make it past May 16th. That weekend is the weekend of the World Affair. Jacob and Allie will be performing Filipino Folk dances and I sooo don't want to miss any of that! and let's not forget about the delicious food!

The uncomfortableness has started for sure.... pelvic pressure, heartburn, sciatica, shortness of breath, and the slow walk...the waddling has begun. But, I am still enjoying the pregnancy. It is going to be over before I know it. I am not ready for it to end.

I am enjoying those kicks...

Jacob's Birth Story

In anticipation of the upcoming birth of my baby, I have decided that I want to revisit the past births of my children. I have had 3 different kinds of births and the experiences have kept me wondering what is in store for me next. I plan to go into labor on my own! No induction! No repeat c/sections either! I plan that my labor will be fast and easy! and hopefully I can do most of my laboring at home and not in the hospital attached to monitors! Wishful thinking huh? Well, my first birth wasn't easy. It was long. It was painful. It was exhausting!

I was 23 years old, in nursing school. I had just finished my OB rotation and thought "I am going to get an epidural for sure!!!" That was my only plan. I didn't have an elaborate birth plan. Just a plan to get an epidural! A few days before I delivered I swore I was leaking water. I went to the doctor and he reassured me that I was not ruptured and that I should just go home and relax. I evidently had been peeing on myself! He checked my cervix and said I was 2 cm dilated and he scheduled me for an induction just 2 days later. I was only 38 weeks! Hey, I was all about it! I was tired of being pregnant and I wanted the baby out! I was so over clinicals and nursing school. I just wanted to be done. The next day, I still felt the leaking...but I ignored it thinking I was still just peeing on myself....but that night I started feeling crampy and started seeing some bloody show. I called my doctor and he was not impressed. He says..."I checked your cervix yesterday so you will have a little bloody show, that is normal." The pain seemed to get worse and I just didn't feel good. We decided to head to the hospital. I was going to be induced in the morning anyway....why not go in a little early.

Here I am a few days before delivering, sometime in March 2002.

So, we get to the hospital after being pulled over by the police! Ervin was a little nervous and was driving a little erratically. The police let us go without a problem after he found out we were headed to the hospital to have a baby! Once we got there and signed in, they placed me on the monitors. The baby's heart beat was really high, they said.....and I had a fever. I didn't even know I was sick! I was just having some pain. I was still only 2 cm! They started me on antibiotics and pitocin. The pain became unbearable and the nurse insisted I should get some IV pain medication. I definitely didn't put up a fight....but I have to say that the nubain did nothing for my pain, and my husband.....he was sound asleep on the couch! SNORING!

This is how I spent my whole labor, on oxygen and stuck in bed.

I eventually got an epidural! Thank God for EPIDURALS! It was the best thing! My pain was gone! and so was the feeling from my tummy down to my toes! I felt nothing....just NUMB! When it was time to push, I felt nothing! I pushed for hours and I swear, I must have been a horrible pusher. I couldn't feel anything! The doctor finally comes in and puts the vacuum on the baby's head to help me out....and even then it took forever. I probably pushed for 20 more minutes even with the help of the vacuum.

Jacob finally came out with apgars of 3 at 1 minute and 8 at 5 minutes. When Jacob was born he looked dead. He was totally blue and limp. No crying, no coughing. That's when I knew that motherhood was not going to be easy. I wanted to jump out of the bed myself and help resuscitate the poor little guy! But, he came around and finally started crying.

Born March 15, 2002 at 1:59 pm, 8 lb. 6 oz. 20 1/4 in. long.

Jacob's birth was and still is one of the happiest times in my life.
Becoming a mom is the best thing that has ever happened to me.

When I look back at that story I wish I knew then what I know now.

Allie and Maddie's birth stories to follow!

Oh, are you pregnant?

I decided I would finally post a preggy pic of me....I am 33 weeks pregnant.....but do I look pregnant? Maybe....maybe not! I still get the "Oh are you pregnant?" question. I WISH I looked pregnant! I don't care how big my belly would be.....I just wish someone would say...."Dang, did you see her? She is pregnant!" lol......One of my co-workers was being nice and said..."oh you just carry the baby differently..." that line means......You are fat...and the baby is hiding behind all that fat. It is okay...I have accepted the fact that I will never be one of those cute beautifully pregnant women with the basketball belly. It sucks. But, here I am...Fat and pregnant at @ 33 weeks.....

Celebrations

We've been doing a lot of celebrating lately! Ervin's bday, Allie's bday and Easter all were clumped together this year! I had to work on Easter so I missed out on all the fun festivities...egg hunts, yummy food, and the joy of family! I did get a glimpse of the girls in their Easter dresses. Allie complained that her dress was too itchy! and I heard that Maddie was trying to take her dress off in the car on the way to the party!

Aren't they just adorable???

Ervin turned 33 this year. We celebrated by going to the boat aka casino. My mom treated us to an overnight stay for free as well as dinner and breakfast buffets. We even brought the kids. The kids loved the pool! We had a good time.....the only downfall.....losing 300+ dollars to those awful slot machines!!! My mom won 35,000 dollars a few months ago and I was hoping to win a little! Not so much!!! We had cheesecake, Erv's favorite to celebrate!

Allie turned 6 this week! I cannot believe how much she has grown. She wanted her party at Chuck E Cheese. We went there on a Saturday and it actually wasn't tooo crowded! We were there early around 11 am so that may have made a difference. She had a really good time and got some cool presents including an i pod shuffle from grandma and grandpa. She loves listening to music and wanted her own tunes to listen to. I am now trying to download some music on to it but I am having some technical difficulty! Why is it that you can spend hours on the computer waiting for downloads! So frustrating!!!

My baby girl is 6 years old! She has grown into such a loving and beautiful person. She is sensitive and funny. She loves it when we spend time together. She loves her family...and we love her too!

Happy 6th birthday baby!