37 weeks

37 weeks and counting...

• I lost a pound this week!
• general housework makes my ass hurt! I need a housekeeper!
• still working full time
• Thanking God that I can still work full time
• craving ice cream! any kind...especially sundaes!
• treated myself to a pedicure...picked a bluish color...hoping for a boy???
• still have a ton of stuff to do before the baby comes
• realizing that my life is going to change soon is a little scary
• feeling some contractions here and there, especially while I am at work
• my feet are starting to swell more....I was kind of embarrassed during my pedi, they looked huge
• people are finally starting to realize that I am pregnant! Finally!
• zantac is good stuff
• also craving diet coke....???
• I am walking slower and slower now a days
• enjoying my days with just Maddie at home while the older two are at school
• cooking just isn't my thang right now
• Ervin is installing the baby's car seat today
• Lazy, lazy, lazy
• my patience is like... absent...
• hemorrhoids are really annoying... and sometimes painful
• loving every single minute of my pregnancy

Allie's Birth Story

A few weeks after finding out I was pregnant with Allie, I started working in labor and delivery as a nurse. I was working full time and learning the ins and outs of delivering babies. It was a stressful yet exhilarating time in my life. I loved the excitement and the adrenaline rush I would get when we would have a stat c/section for a baby in distress....rushing the mom to the operating room, shoving a foley catheter into her bladder....watching anesthesia put her to sleep.....and then the doctor cutting into her as fast as they could to get that baby out......the
"decision to incision" less than 20 minutes....we saved that baby's life.....


I was around 37 weeks during a routine OB visit when the doctor heard an arrhythmia in Allie's heart beat. He set up an ultrasound which turned out to be fine....the tech didn't hear or see any problems with the heart. The doctor said......."well, whenever you work again, just get on the monitor and we will do a non stress test to make sure the baby is ok." I was scheduled to work on a Saturday and it turned out that we weren't that busy so they put me on call. A few hours later my co-worker calls and says that the doctor wants me to come in and get on the monitor.....so I come in.

Allie was not very cooperative. Her arrhythmia was loud and clear and her heart beat tracing would hardly pick up on the monitor. The doctor wanted to go ahead and induce my labor. I was already 3 cm dilated and thinning so he thought it was time. They started me on pitocin....and then then he broke my water and placed an internal monitor on the baby's head so that we could pick her heart beat up better. Not much longer after that, the heart tones plummeted.....it sounded like her heart beat was in the 80's....arrhythmia or not...? it was hard to tell. 10 minutes of flipping side to side, oxygen, iv fluid bolusing and shutting off the pitocin I hear the doctor say "Open the OR!" The next thing I know he shoves a foley catheter in my bladder and I am being whisked away to the operating room.

At that point I start crying. I was soooo scared! It was surreal. All these months I was the nurse taking care of the mom and baby in distress......and then all of a sudden.....I was the patient laying on the OR table....crying....scared....

Meanwhile, Ervin is scared to death, stuck in the hallway, worrying if everything was going to be ok.

Anesthesia puts me to sleep........(after they yell at me to stop crying because I had too many secretions)

Next thing I know, I wake up to a tube in my throat, gagging uncontrollably.......and in PAIN.

My baby was out.....and she was doing fine....her apgars 8 and 9.....her cord blood gases normal...

After taking the breathing tube out, I was taken to the recovery room. I was in lots of PAIN. It was horrible. I didn't even want to breastfeed my baby because the pain was so horrible. As I came around, I just kind of felt empty and defeated......

I didn't do anything to help get this baby out. I was asleep when she arrived. I missed out on the birth of my baby girl. I was sad.

We don't have many pics of Allie as a brand new person because it was so emergent. We were not prepared to have a baby that day. We didn't have our camera with us. Here are a few shots of us the next day....

Allison Juliet

Born April 3, 2004

8 pounds 0 oz., 21 in. long

I was so thankful that Allison came out ok . She continued with the arrhythmia for awhile, but it resolved on it's own and she is as healthy as can be now.

I will never forget that experience. I feel like it has made me a better nurse because I know what these mom's go through....and it's not easy. Whenever I have a patient rushed to the OR and under general anesthesia, I can't help but think of my very own experience every time......

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!