2 weeks old!

Today is Benjamin's 2 week birthday and Mike and my 8 year wedding anniversary. :-D

The past 2 weeks have gone by so very fast. I still miss being pregnant and I miss being able to sleep more than 1 1/2 hrs at a time. Ben is growing up fast. He is starting to stay awake longer during the day and is already holding his head up and moving it around. When I put him on his tummy he lifts his head up and moves it around! He has stomach / gassy issues that I need to talk to his doctor about next week. I put him across my lap and pat his back to burp him and to give him something hard to rest his tummy on when it's hard. He has about 10 dirty diapers a day. The boy has explosive poo!

Mike weighed himself and then weighed himself with Ben in his arms and it was over 8 1/2 pounds. He was born at 7 lbs 11 oz and left the hospital at 7 lbs 2 oz, 4 days later he weighed at the doctors office 7 lbs 12 oz and then again this past Saturday at 11 days old he weighed over 8.5 lbs. Of course that wasn't an exact weight. We'll find out for sure on Monday when we take him back for another check up.

Ben lost his umbilical cord early Saturday morning, around 5am when we were up to change his diaper and do another feeding. Today it is still bleeding, which I don't know if that is normal or not. I continue to clean it with alcohol wipes at each diaper change. Another question for me to ask his pediatrician.

I also need to ask her about him being tongue tied - he is still having problems latching when I nurse him. At times he gets it the first time then other times it takes a few minutes for us to get latched. His pediatrician told us he was slightly tongue tied and we would look at it again after a few weeks. He's gaining weight so I know he's getting milk when I nurse him, but is he getting enough?

I have a ton of questions about breastfeeding. I want to star pumping now so we have milk to take with us when we go places, but when do I do it when I am exclusively bf'ing all day long? Do I wait an hour after feeding and pump from each breast? If I do that then I am going to be feeding or pumping every hour of the day. Once I do get enough pumped and I freeze it how do I handle it when I go places? If I want to take some milk with us when we leave the house, do I keep if frozen and just put it in the diaper bag to let it thaw out on its own? Or do I put it in the baby cooler and try to find a way to thaw it out when we need to use it? How much do I take with us at a time? I pumped the other day and I got 3 oz from one breast and 2 from the other, it didn't seem like much to me but I don't know for sure how much he is getting at each feeding. I feel like a complete beginnger when it comes to all of this. I really want to continue to bf exculsively and not have to deal with purchasing formula (we can't afford it anyway!!!). I think all of the questions and the amout of time it takes is the reason why I gave up with Zachary years ago. My parents bought me a very nice double electric breast pump for me to use, and it's in a nice carry pack that doesn't look like a breast pump so I can take it to work with me when I return.

Mike just got home from work, he's got to leave again in an 1/2 hr to go coach his soccer team's camp this week. Needless to say we won't be doing anything for our anniversary.

I know I need to post pictures, I will soon I promise. I haven't gotten them off of our camera yet. I still need to take one of him today for his 2 week picture.

Busy Saturday!

Friday night Ben let us (I say us because Mike was able to help me out Friday night since he didn't work on Saturday) sleep more than he has been. I got about 3 1/2 - 4 hrs which is great. Saturday morning we tried to get out of the house by 9:30 so we could go pick Zachary up from my parents house but we didn't make it until 10 because I had to nurse Ben. Oh well, we are working on getting places on time!

Zachary and his cousin Bryce were playing Wii when we got there so Mike and I jumped in and played a few games while we were there. Mama Bev snuggled Ben and kept him company for us. After we left my parents we went to Mike's parents to visit with them, Mike called and invited his sister and her family over. Kyle was sleeping so David stayed home with him and Teresa and Allie came over. Allie didn't like her mommy holding Ben, she cried and wanted to sit on Mommy's lap. She didn't act like that when her brother was born but I think it was because Ben isn't "hers" maybe? She will get used to him, he's new to her right now. We were there for about 2 hours and then headed to my mom's house to visit. A lady at mom's work gave her some clothes for Ben - thanks! Most of them are larger sizes which is great.

Once we got home we relaxed for a little bit. Mike and Zachary decided to go fishing and I decided to be brave and venture out of the house just Ben and I and go grocery shopping which we desparately needed. I was gone for 2 hours and was able to do some major bargin shopping, since I'm on 1/2 pay for my entire maternity leave we are starting to fall behind (even more than we were) with bills. Ben was very well behaved the entire time at the grocery store and we made it home with out incident. Yeah!

Saturday night Ben stayed awake until 11:30 and then had me up at 2:30 and again at 5:30 - not too bad! Zachary was awake until 1am!

We are going to go back to the bed time routine tonight. It's getting too difficult and Zachary is way out of his evening routine. He starts school in a month and really needs to get used to the routine so he is able to get up in the mornings, get ready, eat breakfast and leave. I am going to be a single mom in the mornings getting myself, Zachary and Ben all ready to leave the house by 7 am!! I am terrified about our morning schedule. We are going to try it out the last two weeks of my maternity leave just to get ourselves used to it.

Mike is working today, he won't be home until 6. Zachary used his molding clay and created sculptures and found empty boxes to use as display tables and set up a museum in his room. Mike is stopping on his way home to pick up finger paint so we can also have art work to hang in the art museum. Ben has been rather fussy today, he only wants me to hold him and hasn't been napping like he ususally does. I didn't eat anything yesterday that would have upset his tummy or make him gassy. I think he's just having a bad day.

Doctor Appointments and catching up on our week's activities

Ben and I both had doctor appointments on Monday, July 21. It was hard getting up and getting four people ready to be somewhere on time. My appt was at 11:15, I started getting ready at 9am so I could be ready and available for Ben to nurse and also to help everyone else get ready. We didn't get to leave the house until 11! We were 5 minutes late to my appointment, that didn't matter because once we got there we waited in the waiting room for 1/2 hr and then in the doctors room for another 1/2 hr! I finally had to nurse Ben while waiting for my doctor and then I had to ask the nurse if I could be the next one seen because Ben had a 12:45 doctors appointment that I didn't want to be late for. I thought 1 hr 1/2 between appts was enough time, I guess not. I got my staples removed and was weighed. I gained a total of 40 lbs and I had lost 18 when 6 days after Ben was born. I still have 100 more lbs to lose! LOL My doctor told me I could start resuming normal activity, walking, driving, house work but to do it slowly and not all at once. I am waiting until next week to start driving, I am too scared about my incision- I don't want to do anything to split it open!

Next we went to Ben's appointment and I was so frazzled because we were rushing and I was also sore from my doctor prodding I forgot to take pictures. I'm a bad mom already! He was 7lbs 2 oz when we left the hospital and in 4 days home he gained 10 oz! The hospital messed up when they measured his length, he is actually 20 inches not 19 like the hospital said. His doctor checked 3 times to make sure of it. Everything is great with him. He has a slight heart murmor that we have to go back in 2 weeks to have checked again. He's just perfect.

After the doctors appointments we went to my grandparents so they could meet their new great-grand son. My grandma fell in love with him immediately like she does with all babies. She loves that he has so much hair! It almost is ready for a trim in the back! We were there for about an hour and then realized we hadn't eaten anything at all yet (not even breakfast!!!) and it was almost 3pm! I was starved and so was poor Zachary. We had been so busy rushing around the house all morning and running around all day we forgot to eat! DUH! We went through the drive through and rushed home so Mike could get ready to go to his soccer camp. He coaches the local girls varsity soccer team and they were starting camp this week.

Needless to say Monday was a rush, rush day for all of us. I was glad to be home to relax.

Tuesday, Mike started back to work so it was just Zachary, Ben and I at home for the first time by ourselves. Monday night it stormed all night long and our power went out around 4 am. By the time we got up the house was hot and I was worried about being home all day with the boys and no air conditioning so I loaded the kids up and went to my parents house to spend the day with electricity. Mike called around 3pm to tell me it was back on so we headed home.

Wednesday, Zachary Ben and I decided to venture to the local library to return some of Zachary's books and then we went to the water department to pay our water bill. We came home and I ran the vacuum and loaded the dishwasher. I know, my life is pretty damn borning!

Thursday, we didn't get out of our pj's until almost 3pm! Zachary and I played video games most of the day in between fussy Ben. He has been extrememly fussy all day. I finally was able to get him to take a nap and he was out for about 2 hours.

Now it's dinner time and we are trying to figure out what kind of fast fix food we can make because Ben is still sleeping and I know he will wake up just as I sit down to eat my dinner.

I haven't writtnen much about me, how I'm doing emotionally and physically. I think that's another post. I can say that I sit at night / early morning when it's just me nursing Ben and I cry. I am an emotional wreck. Having two kids is much much more difficult than just having one, there are days when I wake up I don't know how I'm going to make it through the rest of the day I am drained. I also was having a hard time figuring out how to manage my time between the two boys and at one point felt guilty that I brought another child into our family and that I was robbing Zachary of quality time with us as well. I am feeling better and don't get me wrong, I LOVE Ben with all of my heart. He is our miracle baby, a true blessing and he completes our family. I am looking foward to the years ahead as a family of four and to the fun of raising 2 boys. :-D

Hospital stay and our first few days home....

Wednesday, July 16 - Little sleep on Tuesday night, we kept Ben in our room with us. Also, Mike received a phone call from Zachary around 10p.m. Tuesday night crying hysterically because he wanted to be at the hospital with Mommy and Daddy. My parents were able to calm him down and he eventually went to sleep. The call really upset Mike, I was upset but I knew he would eventually go to sleep and he would see us on Wednesday. Well, I have to say I got little sleep, Mike was snoring a few times and slept through Ben's cries. I had to wake him up. I don't know how men do it! And of course the nurses came in every hour on the hour to check on me, so that woke me up also. I got my catheter out around 7:00 in the morning which was nice, but that also meant I had to get up and move around which I was dreading. Mike left to go home around 8:30 and I called my step mom to come over and sit with me while Mike went home to shower and to let the dog outside. I was too scared to be there by myself, I know I am a chicken. Wednesday during the day was pretty slow, Mike's dad visited around 10:30 and we had a few visitors but mostly it was Mike, Ben and I bonding. My friend Ann who took a bunch of pictures the day before stopped by with a beautiful album of the pictures she had printed for us and a copy of the pictures on cd. :-D I got up and walked around. Wednesday night we had a ton of visitors, too many honestly. At one time we had 12 people visiting in our room and I was feeling overwhelmed but I didn't say anything to anyone and I just sat in the rocking chair nodding off here and there trying to visit, but I was too drained. I felt bad because there were visitors that I didn't really get to visit with because there were too many in the room. Also, during that same time they delivered my dinner and I was hungry so I ate in front of everyone. Mike's sister and her family stopped by so her kids could meet their new cousin, they were the first to arrive and then after they were there for only a brief time everyone else showed up so they didn't get to spend a lot of time with Ben. Mike's sister brought an adorable blanket she cross-stitched for Ben. Our little neice Allison helped with the blanket also and she was very proud of it. At some point during the day I received a phone call from a friend of mine and I fell asleep talking to her! I felt bad.

Some time during the morning Ben was taken from my room to go to the nursery to get his bath and also to get his hearing and sight tests. About 45 minutes later a doctor came in with a consent form asking me to sign so they could go ahead and do his circumcision. I didn't even get to give him a hug before he had it done. :-(

Mike left during dinner time to go pick up Zachary, he was going to stay home with him Wednesday night. My step mom took Thursday off work so she could stay at the hospital with me so I wouldn't be alone. THANK YOU BEV!!! Mike and Zachary visited for a little bit and my friends Nikki and Kerry also stopped by to visit and kept me company until Bev arrived around 8:30. Ben kept Bev and I up all night long, the little guy likes to eat especially at night! At 4:00 a.m. we heard over the alarm system "CODE RED NURSERY" "CODE RED NURSERY" - flipped us out it meant that there was a fire in the nursery which was right down the hall from us! Bev went to the hall way and saw the nurses closing all of the fire doors and told Bev to shut our door and stay in our room. Bev immediately got blankets for us to wrap Ben in and got our shoes and my robe ready incase we had to make a fast exit down the stairs. What drama! After about 1/2 hr an announcement was made "Cancel code red, Cancel Code red". Phew! It turns out the fire alarm next to the elevator near the nursery had malfunctioned. Needless to say after all of that drama we were not able to get back to sleep. Well, Bev didn't really go back to sleep. She moved the rocking chair next to my bed and held and rocked Ben for me while I got a solid hour of sleep.

Thursday, July 17 -That morning Mike was supposed to arrive around 9, he made it around 9:30 with Zachary. He was supposed to drop him off at preschool and then Mike's mom would pick him up and bring him to our house later that afternoon. It didn't work out that way, once they got to preschool Zachary refused to go to his room and started crying he wanted to come to the hospital with Daddy. So, Zachary got to come back to the hospital with Mike and he hung out with us for about 5 hours until I was released to come home.

We had a lot of paper work to complete obviously and we were finally released to come home around 1:00 p.m.!

We got home and things were hectic, we were no longer a family of three we were now officially a family of 4 and were home to start life that way. I reserved the recliner for myself and Mike put Ben's bassinet next to the recliner for me so I could have easy access to him. I slept in the recliner after we had Zachary and it was very helpful to get in and out of with my staples / incision. Ben slept most of the day he was home. After being home for a few hours, Mike and Zachary went to the grocery store to stock up on some groceries. My grandma Milligan stopped by that night to visit, but other than that we didn't have any visitors.

Ben kept me up all night Thursday night, nursing every hour and then taking about another hour to fall alseep so by the time he wanted to nurse again I had maybe 15 minutes of sleep at a time.

Friday, July 18 - Another day as a new family! Zachary slept in until 10! I couldn't beleive it, but I think all of the week's activities wore him out. Mike made us cinnamon rolls for bredskfast. We spent most of the day hanging out and trying to catch up on sleep. I felt pretty sore because I over did it a little bit when I got home on Thursday. We didn't have any visitors on Friday, which made it nice because we were able to all get acquainted to how things would be with just the four of us. Friday night Mike took Zachary to my parents house to spend the night with them and his cousin Bryce and then Mike went to play softball. Ben and I hung out at the house and got some quality one on one time.

Saturday, July19 - Mike and I were up most of the night (surprise, surprise!). My step-mom Bev brought Zachary home from spending the night at their house. She also made us some crock pot lasagna and some fresh salad from their garden, yummy! We had lasagna to munch on Saturday and Sunday. When my dad got off work he stopped by to visit as well, he hadn't seen Ben since the day he was born because he had been busy working all week. We stayed home all day and didn't get into anything. I over did it getting up and down all day and was pretty sore by the time I tried to go to sleep.

Sunday, July 20 - Mike's parents stopped by to visit for a few hours. Zachary as excited for them to come over because they hadn't seen his new play room we made for him a few months ago. Mike's mom lost in a few games of Zachary's made up version of hangman that only he can win at. While they were here my dad showed up to help Mike fix our broken shower, thank goodness because I really wanted to take a shower! We found out the day before that the pipe that runs up the wall to the shower head had a major leak so I wasn't able to take a shower when I woke up Sunday morning. Having a rather large incision and nursing, I feel the need to shower all the time. I am terrified that my incision will get infected. We didn't do much anything else on Sunday.

Welcome to our famliy Benjamin!

I don't know when this will get posted but I will work on adding to this post over the next few days as I have time!

Monday, July 14- Early in the morning I went to the hospital to pre-register and to do lab work. I ran into my cousin in law Angie, her son Rylan and her Mom. Rylan is such a happy little boy! When I was done with my errands I visited my office and then went to lunch with two of my friends. When I got home it was time for Mike and I to spend time with Zachary. It was his last day as an only child and we wanted to make is special for him. We went to lunch and then to Wal-Mart to get him a putter and then went to the free putt-putt course. I played one round while the boys played two rounds. After we went to dinner and then came home to make sure all of Zachary's things for a few days were packed up. We dropped him off at Mike's parents house around 8:00 that evening and then headed home to an empty childless house! It was weird, knowing that in 12 hours our new little son would be born. We couldn't sleep, I paced and cleaned my ass off around the house. I was driving Mike nuts!! Finally aorund 3 a.m. I fell asleep only to have to wake up at 5 a.m to shower and get ready for the hospital!

Tuesday, July 15- We woke up at 5 a.m. to start getting ready to head to the hospital. Mike wasn't nervous at all, he was cool and calm. I don't know how, I was a nervous wreck! Mike took one last belly shot of me and we took one shot of us together and then we loaded up the bags and headed to the hospital. We had to check in at 6 a.m. and then head to the 2nd floor, the OB ward. When we got there they gave us our room number so we could drop our bags off and then I headed to the observation room to get prepped for my c-section. I got my IV (which I hate getting), my cathedar and was put on the monitors. Around 6:45 I started I having off the chart contractions they were pretty painful. I was told to breathe through them that I was defiently going into labor and it was a good thing I was scheduled for my c-section! My contractions were less than a minute a part when I was finally taken to the OR to get ready for surgery! My parents showed up around 7:15 and Mike's parents showed up with Zachary at 7:30. I was glad to get to see him before I went back to the OR.

I was wheeled back at 7:50 a.m. to the OR to get my spinal. All I have to say is OUCH! I wish I could have had an epidural. The spinal hurt like hell, I am sure it didn't help that there was a student doctor doing my spinal and they had to poke me three separate times!!! I have the brusies to show it. I didn't like the numbness feeling of the spinal either, it numbs different parts of your body at different times, my left side first, then my right side then the middle. After they finally got it figured out I had to lay back on the OR table fast to get ready for surgery. I was also having pretty strong contractions during the spinal so it made it difficult for me to focus on staying calm and steady while breathing through contractions.

Mike wasn't allowed in the room with me until right before they made the incision. I wish he could have been there with me through it all I kept asking for him but they wouldn't let him come in. Dr. Clark and the resident doctor at the hospital, Dr. Patton, delivered our baby boy at 8:20 a.m. At first I didn't hear him crying, it was very faint, then I heard his loud cries. I didn't get to see him right away because they were cleaning him up. When I did see him I noticed his long dark hair and how little he was - not the 9lb baby that we thought he'd be!!! The nurse invited Mike over to the incubator to help clean him up and to cut the cord but he decided to stay next to me, he didn't want to see my stomach pried open with my guts hanging out! LOL

The doctor had some problems getting me closed up, my bladder wasn't in the right spot and I had some scar tissue from my previous c-section and also some scar tissue from my ectopic pregnancy 2 years ago. I also had bleeding issues that they needed to control so I was in the OR a little bit longer than expected. Because of that my spinal started drifting past my waist and my arms and chest started getting numb. They had to lift the head of the table up to work the spinal back down towards the lower part of my body. During all of this Mike went to the nursery with Benjamin and also to be there when Zachary met his baby brother for the first time. I finally was wheeled down past the nursery so I could see my new little boy and was greeted by my family.

When I got to the room I had about 15 minutes by myself which was needed. Then they brought Ben into the room with me and he and I had about 1/2 hr of time (Mike was there also) to cuddle and to start nursing right away. Zachary finally came into the room and brought Mommy three red carnations he picked out with a card that said "I love you" - Zachary! They were beautiful. Our family then was invited in to meet Ben and to spend time with all of us. I was in and out of it as the spinal was wearing off.

My friend Ann arrived around 10 and took a bunch of pictures for us, thank you dear!! By noon it was just Mike, Ben and I at the hospital. We had a few visitors Tuesday night. I started feeling pretty good and was even up out of bed moving around slightly by that evening. I still had my IV and cathedar I had to deal with so I didn't leave our room. I didn't get much sleep Tuesday night, Ben was up most of the night wanting to feed and since I'm breastfeeding I was also up with him. (This hasn't changed, he nurses every 1 1/2 hrs!!!!)

(That's all for now, I'll update with Wednesday and Thursday's posts soon...Ben's calling it's his dinner time!!!"

Pictures

I promise to write about my hospital experience and how things are going at home, but honestly right now I am drained. I am lucky that I got on the computer today. Ben is only letting me sleep 2-3 hrs of sleep each night and I am not getting to nap during the day. I find my falling asleep when I'm eating or when I'm on the phone with people. I've never felt this sleep deprived before.

Well here are some pictures:

Benjamin Paul - hospital announcement

Smith Family Photobucket Account - password zachary

He's waking up, it's time for the mommy milking machine to do my job.

Thanks!

I haven't had time to update anything here and I promise I will do my best very soon.

Thank you Angie for updating my blog, even with the pictures! :-D

We were released from the hospital on Thursday around 12:30 p.m. Ben's weight coming home was 7lbs 2 oz. We had to go for a jaundice test this morning and he's gained 5.5 oz since coming home! He loves to eat and nursing is going great. Zachary is an amazing big brother. I am feeling better. I had a spinal that hurt like hell! I am still having a lot of swelling in my feet from the spinal, they are more swollen now than they were when I was pregnant. I just said "was pregnant" - that's werid. I am still in awe over the fact that we have a second child.

I've got so much to update you on and promise I will do soon. I'll also have a ton of pictures to post.

He's Here! Updated with Pictures!

Helllo!

This is Angie, Misti's cousin-in-law. I have an update from my MIL, her aunt. She wrote:

"Just got off the phone with Grandpa Butch. He was born at 8:20 am. He was 7 lbs 11.6 oz. He didn't know the length but thinks between 19-20 inches. He said he has a full head of dark curly hair and favors Misti and her brother in looks. All are doing well."

(Grandpa Butch is Misti's dad.) If I get more info, I'll update.

CONGRATULATIONS MISTI!!
********************************************************************************

Okay, Angie again. I received an email from Misti's friend Ann. Ben was 19 inches long. She also sent a couple of pics, so I thought I'd post. Hope I don't get in trouble! :-)
The top is Mr. Benjamin Paul Smith. The bottom is the happy Smith family. Misti looks so good for just having a c-section! CONGRATULATIONS again to the happy family! :-)

Updates!

I have asked my dear cousin Angie to provide updates here for us while we are in the hospital. Thanks Angie for all of your help.

Tomorrow is the day! I'm getting ready to get off the computer and spend some last minute quality time with Zachary before we take him to Mike's parents house this evening to spend the night. We have to be at the hospital at 6am and that's too early for us to take him so Mike's parents are going to bring him over around 7:30 a.m. so I will get a chance to see him before the c-section.

Check back tomorrow or Wednesday for details and maybe a picture or two.

Google Images

I got this from Angie. The rules: for each question, look up the answer in a Google Image search. Then choose your favorite from the first page of results only. You get some fun and often CRYPTIC answers. WARNING- This takes time, so don't think you can get it done in 2 minutes!!!

My Age:

A Place I'd like to travel to:

My favorite Place:

My favorite Object:

My favorite Food:

My favorite Animal:My favorite Color:
The town where I was born:

The town where I live:

My past pet:
My past love: (horseback riding)
My best friend's nickname: (Mike)
My screen name (Misti, this is of Volcano Misti)
My first name (Misti): I guess there is a yarn named "Misti"
My middle name (Dawn):
My last name (Smith):
One of my bad habits (cursing!):
My first job:
My grandmothers name (Wilma Jean):
My college degree: (nothing)
What I'm doing right now:

The Mommy Survey

I thought I'd pass some time with a Mommy Survey! Let me know if you complete it so I can read your answers!

1. How long have you been a Mom?
5 years, 9 months, 1 week and 4 days! ;-)

4.How many children call you Mommy/Mom/Mama?:
1, soon to be two in 3 days

3. Girl? Boy? or both?:
Both Boys

4. Did you know what you were having?:
Yes, I didn't want it to be a surprise. I wanted to be prepared.

5. How old were you when you became a Mom?:
23

6. How long were you in labor?

16 hours with the first then I had to end up having an emergency c-section. My second one is a scheduled c-section on July 15th.

8. What was your least favorite thing about labor?
Honestly, I didn't like all of the people coming in and out of our room. We had a TON of visitors and it bothered me that Mike and I were not able to have a moment of time by ourselves during labor.

9. Do you want more kids?:
Two is enough. But ask me again in 5 years ;-)

10. Do you plan on having more soon?:
Yes, in 3 days is when my second will arrive!

11. Does daddy change diapers?
You better believe it!

12. How many times have you been peed on?
I have boys, YES I've been peed on!

13. Barfed on?:
Once I think.

14. Is your child named after anyone?
First names no, our oldest has my late grandfather's middle name and our soon to be here son will have Mike's dad's middle name.

15. How did you come up with their name(s)

We played the veto game with our first, we both came up with lists of boys names. We already knew his middle name would be Allen, so we were trying to find a first name that agreed with it. We both loved Zachary. With our second it was basically Mike's choice, we found a girls name right away (Olivia Rose...too bad we are not going to get to use it!!!) but had a hard time finding another boys name. Finally Mike came up with Benjamin, I like the name Ben so I agreed. His middle name is going to be Paul. We have Zachary Allen and Benjamin Paul.

16. When your child gets in trouble, who is the bad guy?
Me

17. And who is the good guy?
Daddy

18. What is the longest you have been away from your children?
2 years ago I went on a business trip for 5 days. Zachary stayed home with Daddy.

19. Kids bedtime routine?:
Bath time / Shower (now that he is almost 6 he wants to be a big boy) is around 7:00 to 7:30. Then we read and watch tv for about 1/2 hr and then it's lights out. He gets to choose a movie he wants to fall asleep watching. He usually gets up 3-4 times to tell us things like, I need a drink of water, I hear noises, I can't sleep, why do I have to go to bed now?, my belly hurts.....just trying to get out of having to go to bed

20. Are your toes painted?
Yes they are actually. It was hard because I painted them last week and I'm a very fat, swollen 9 mos preg - but I did it! I don't like not having my toe nails painted during the summer months.

21. Last movie you saw in the theater?
Kung Fu Panda

22. Last time you had a date?
Ummmm...9 months ago ;-)

24. One thing you did give up now that you're a mom?
Privacy

23. One thing you will not give up just because you are a mom?
Being myself

25. Best Mom:
Someone who knows how to balance her needs along with the needs of her children and spouse. Just because you are a mommy doesn't mean you need to forget about yourself and your spouse. You must know how to raise your children with out smothering them, you must know how to teach them by showing them and letting them learn on thier own. You must be a listener and not a preacher, you must know how to love unconditionally (yourself, your kids and your spouse). Be happy, but know how to be stern, be honest with yourself and your kids. Every day spent with your children is a special day. Watching them learn how to do new things and watching them experience new experiences is amazing. Being a Mommy is the best thing that has ever happend to me, I am blessed.

My last OB appointment and my mixed feelings....

I had my LAST OB appointment this morning. I am so sad, I got to hear his heart beat in the doctors office for the last time by doppler. I did a NST for 40 minutes and passed so I don't have to go back. His h/b was great and my contractions are not very strong. I haven't progressed in the two days since I was last there. I have also been sitting at home and not over doing anything either hoping I wouldn't progress.

After my appoitment I got my admittance papers for the hospital, I have to pre-register on Monday and do lab work. I report to the hospital on Tuesday morning at 6am, and I am scheduled for the 1st c-section that morning! So he should be here before 8:30 on Tuesday. It's so sureal.

I am starting to get depressed about no longer being pregnant. I love being pregnant and I don't knwo if I'm ready to share him with everyone else. I am being selfish I know, but this is most likely going to be my last pregnancy and I want to savor every las minute of it and make it last forever. On the other hand, I am ready to meet our new son and ready for Zachary to meet his little brother. Our family is about to change in a big way, we are going from one child to two children. How do we share our love with both? I am told it just happens, so I am sure it will, but it's something I've been thinking about. There are so many thoughts running through my head right now and I only have 5 more days to get them straightned out!

I'm also concerned about PPD, Zachary was around 3 months old when I went into a severe depression and was put on meds. It caused a lot of problems with Mike and I and it took us a while to recover. I don't want that to happen again. I want us to be the HAPPY family of 4, not the mean bitchy mommy / wife I was after Zachary was born. I expressed concern to my doctor today about it and he said we would keep an eye on my moods and for me to be 100% honest and open with them if I am feeling depressed.

It's been SIX years since I've had an infant in my house. Is it like riding a bike? You don't for a few years and it automatically comes back to you? What about breastfeeding? Will I remember how to hold him and help him latch? Will I remember how to change his diaper, care for his circumsicison? I am feeling very overwhelmed right now. I have many things to do to get the house cleaned, I want it to be cleaned when I come back from the hospital because we will have visitors and I don't want to have to worry about my house on top of everything else.

I am sitting here crying, imaging what life is going to be like ONE WEEK FROM TODAY. I will no longer be mommy to just Zachary and wife to Mike. I will be Mommy to Zachary and Ben and wife to Mike. I am about to welcome a new little man into my life and I am overjoyed. I am also sitting here crying because I am feeling guilty. Guilty for my family and friends who were not able to make it as far as I have. Guilty because I am having my second child and they have been robbed of even having ONE.

Damn, today is an emotional roller coaster. I will get through it. Maybe I need to take Zachary to get icecream.

38 Weeks

I had my 38 week appointment this morning. My doctor told me that I am starting the labor process but it's going very slow which is good since I am scheduled for a c-section next week. He told me that I'd be lucky to make it to my c-section date, great! After my appointment I went into their NST (non stress test) room to sit for 1/2 hr to measure my contractions and to measure his heart beat. It went up to 176 at one point, but I was also having a contraction at the same time. My doctor thought the test looked great.

I go back on Thursday morning for another check up and NST. At that appointment they will give me my lab work instructions to get done before my c-section and give me all the paper work I need to pre-register for my c-section. 6 days and counting!

All the arrangements have been made for Mike's Uncle so we'll deal with that this week and pray that I don't go into labor during any of the services!

Yesterday we spent the day at Lake Hope with my parents, they are camping there this week. Zachary spent last night with them and I met them in town earlier today to pick up Zachary. On the way home I was looking in the rear view mirror talking to Zachary and noticed his smile looked different, he lost his front tooth! He told me he lost it last night in my step-mom's car when they were coming back to the camper from fishing. He said he didn't want anyone to know so he just dropped the tooth on the floor of the car! Silly boy. I told him it was exciting that he lost his first tooth and that we would need to find it so he could put it under his pillow for the tooth fairy. I called my dad and luckily he found it. I can't believe he lost his first tooth!! How exciting, yet it makes me want to cry, he's losing his baby teeth. :-( He's growing up way, way to fast. He told me today that he is no longer my baby, that he is now my big boy that his little brother can be the baby.

Here's for Uncle Mike...

Earlier today we received bad news from Mike's Mom, his Uncle Mike (his mom's older brother) passed away in the early morning. He had been silently battling cancer for a few years.

In Memory of David Morgan "Uncle Mike" Carmichael

Just for Fun

I got this from MBKimmy and Chris....enjoy!


1. Where is your cell phone?........purse
2.Your significant other? ........recliner
3.Your hair? ........pony tail
4. Your mother? ........home
5. Your father? ........camping
6. Your favorite time of day? ........mid-morning
7. Your dream last night? ........none
8. Your favorite drink? ........sweet tea
9. Your dream goal? ........happy
10. The room you’re in? ........living room
11. Your ex? ........long time ago
12. Your fear? ........snakes
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? ........happy
14. What you are not? .......SKINNY
15. Your Favorite meal? ........spaghetti
16. One of your wish list items? .......DEBT FREE
17. The last thing you did? ........peed
18. Where you grew up? ........Ohio
19. What are you wearing? ........pajamas
20. Your TV is? ........on
21. Your pets? ........two
22. Your computer? ........new!
23. Your life? ........hectic
24. Your mood? ........drained
25. Missing someone? ........yes
26. Your car? ........mini-van
27. Something you’re not wearing? ........Shoes
28. Favorite store? ........Old Navy
29. Your summer? ........HOT
30. Your favorite colour? ........Purple
31. When is the last time you laughed? ........today
32. When is the last time you cried? ........yesterday
33. Your health? ........preggers
34. Your children? ........beautiful
35. Your future? ........sleepless
36. Your beliefs? ........happiness
37. Young or old? ........Young
38. Your image? ........fat
39. Your appearance? ........fat
40. Would you live your life over again knowing what you know? .......definitely!

Let me know if you participate so I can check out your answers!

Progressing

We had a very good weekend. Friday night the local fireworks were canceled due to rain so we cooked dinner at home and then went into town and rented a few movies and then went to Wal-Mart so I could walk around and catch up on some grocery shopping. We purchased a car mirror and a car seat head / support thingy for the baby. After about 1 1/2 hrs walking around I was more than ready to head home. Later while we were watching the movie contractions came back, of course not the real let's go to the hospital contractions, just BH but they stuck around for a few hours.

Saturday we didn't do much of anything, we all were pretty lazy and I slept until almost 9 am! The boys slept until almost 10!!! I couldn't believe how lazy we were. We did a few things around the house and just all hung out and didn't rush to around. Mike went to his friend's wedding and Zachary and I picked my parents up and we went to the fireworks in Nelsonville. On our way we ordered pizza from Dominos and headed to Hocking College to park in the VIP area for a great view. We were so close there were ashes falling on us!

Mike's parents went to visit his uncle yesterday. He was realeased from the hospital and was told to contact Hospice to help with his care at home. Mike is going to contact his parents today to get an update on how he is feeling.

This morning I woke up around 5:30 and have been up every since. Mike had to be to work at 6, so I haven't been able to get back to sleep. (WARNING: BODY FLUID DISCUSSION!!!) I started having menstural cramping a little bit ago and went to the bathroom and I think I have passed a good chunk of my mucus plug. No bleeding, just a bunch of snotty like stuff. I'm still having BH off and on but again, nothing consistent enough to go to the hospital over. I searched online and it said that if you are full term and lose your plug it's not necessary to call your doctor that it just means labor is on the way in 1 day to 6 weeks (thank goodness I don't have to wait 6 more weeks!!!). I go back to the doctor on Tuesday so I'll let him know then.

I am going to grab a blueberry muffin and sit on the back porch and enjoy a quiet and peaceful Sunday morning breakfast while listening to the sound of the birds.

Enjoy your Sunday!

Maternity leave has started

I went to the doctor this morning because I had been (and still am) having contractions. My doctor checked and everything is progressing but not enough to warrant me to be in the hospital. I'm dilating and thinning out but that's it. He said to go home and to come back on Tuesday for my regular appointment and we'd go from there. As of now he still is keeping my c-section for July 15. I am to go to the hospital if I go into hard labor, lose my mucus plug, start bleeding or my water breaks, other than that it's a waiting game. Either he will decide to arrive early or he will stay content until July 15th.

Because of all of this I missed my last day of work and maternity leave has officially begun.

Tick, tock.....

I'm upset

So last week when I met with my doctor he made it seem like if the baby was big enough and healthy enough from the ultrasound he would discuss pushing up my c-section to next week. Well today at my weekly check up I wasn't able to see him as he was in with an emergency so instead I got to talk to two interns and the nurse/midwife practitioner. The NP laughed at me when I asked if we could discuss the c-section for next week, she said "honey you are having a c-section we don't care how big he gets, at least you don't have to push him out." WTF? ARE YOU SERIOUS? hahaha, she's so funny. I was pissed! I understand it's better for the baby to stay in his warm little hiding place as long as we can keep him here, but....at 38 weeks he is considered full term and there are plenty of babies born during week 38. I am not asking for him to be delivered before 38 week, I don't care if it's 38w5d....just make it NEXT WEEK!!! And not only did she laugh at me, she also told me there is no need to check my cervix because they wouldn't do anything about it anyway if I was dilating because I'm having a c-section. I wanted to punch her!!!! I am going to talk to my regular doctor when I go back next week and tell him how disapointed I was with her.

Then after my appointment I went to the hospital to pre-register so it would be taken care of prior to my scheduled c-section (and if I do happen to go into labor early, hahaha yeah right!!!)

Other than that I lost 2lbs, which is shocking but I have been taking it easy and keeping my feet proped so I am not swelling so much.

Zachary is getting very excited for his little brother, today on our way home from his Memaw Smith's house he started counting days until he is going to be a big brother, 14 days and counting. I ordered him a big brother t-shirt from our friend's parents specialty store so I hope it's ready for him to wear to the hospital.

Belly Laughs

I received this along with my 37 Week Update from Baby Center and thought I'd share:



How you'll know you're in labor
• It suddenly looks like somebody coughed up a big loogie into your undies. - GROSS!!!!!!
• Your lower back feels like someone is pressing gently on it with a jackhammer. - THIS HAS BEEN HAPPENING AT NIGHT AND MAKES IT HARD TO SLEEP!
• The movie version of your underwear would be called A River Runs Through It. - NOPE!!
• You have a sudden desire to clean the house despite being doubled over in pain from contractions- I HAVE BEEN NESTING FOR WEEKS NOW!