« February 2008 | Main | April 2008 »

March 31, 2008

Chirp chirp

I think three kids is one or two more than I can handle.

It was my turn to put the girls to bed tonight, and when I came downstairs it was to a shrieking, angry Owen. He shouldn't have been hungry, he was being lovingly held and had just rejected the services of the pacifier. So I did the only thing that consistently works: I stuck a boob in his mouth.

So Owen calmed down. And after a while, he took the pacifier and fell asleep, deeply enough that I was starting to think about setting him beside me on the couch.

That's about the time I heard Jamie start whimpering. The whimpering turned to crying and calling for me. Then Katie started crying. By this time, I'm trying to transfer Owen to the couch without waking him up, since the last thing I want is kids screaming at me on two different floors. I run upstairs and find both girls crunched up on their pillows. Apparently, there was a sound. One that Jamie didn't recognize. As far as I can tell, this sound, which may have been a cricket, scared Jamie so bad that her sqeaking and crying woke up Katie, who in typical monkey-see-monkey-do, also started squeaking and crying.

The hell. At least Owen was still sleeping peacefully on the couch when I came downstairs.

Posted by me at 9:15 PM | Comments (1)

March 29, 2008

One week

Owen is the gassiest little thing I've ever seen. A couple times a day, and usually once at night, he becomes impossible to console for any length of time. In fact, about the only thing that keeps him happy is nursing, even if there's no way he could be hungry. If we're lucky, he deflates multiple times and then he's happy as a clam again. If we're not we spend an hour and a half flipping him from one position to another, feeding him gas drops, rubbing his tummy and feeling like we're absolutely useless.

Also, I've never seen someone work so hard to poop. For someone who's emptying himself of a practically liquid product, he grunts and strains up a storm.

I suppose I need to start cutting things out of my diet, but I don't really eat a lot of gassy foods to start with. I'm not sure how I'll survive if I have to give up chocolate, since I'm unable to stop eating it even for the sake of my waistline, much less on the off chance that it's causing problems for Owen. I mean, if I *knew* I could stop, because I wouldn't knowingly cause him pain.

Speaking of chocolate, I still don't understand how I gave birth to a nearly 8 pounds of baby and his associated fluids and placenta, but when I came home I had only lost 11 pounds. And since I didn't have an IV at the hospital, I didn't even have the excuse of being pumped full of fluids. Up until this morning, I had only lost a couple pounds. As of this morning, I'm down 16. I don't know what I was doing in my sleep last night, but I like the results!

We finally had Jamie's birthday party today. It went well, the kids had fun, Jamie was fawned over, Katie was happily included and Owen slept.

Have I mentioned that life is good?

Posted by me at 10:21 PM | Comments (0)

March 28, 2008

Finally, the birth story

I need to get this written before I forget any more of the details. I’ve had a hard time getting anything typed, what with Owen permanently attached to me. So without further ado, the birth story:

I started having contractions around 11 on Friday night. From the beginning, they were more painful than anything I’d had in the past, although they were really just uncomfortable. It was a few hours before they kept me totally awake and I was sure that this was real labor. Around 2 or 2:30, I was uncomfortable enough to get out of bed and move around a bit. While I was sitting on the floor in front of my laptop, they seemed to ease off. I made a couple posts, shut everything down, and climbed back in bed, thinking I might get a little more rest. Even though the contractions had really slowed, I was still pretty sure this was it.

By 3, I was having more intense contractions. Rex woke up when I got back in bed, and I would squeeze his hand each time I had one. They started 11 or so minutes apart, but quickly became a pretty regular 8 minutes apart. They stayed 8 minutes apart until they drove me out of bed around 5:30. Around 6, I got in the shower. I was having more contractions at this point, but I didn’t think they were consistent any more. By the time Rex got out of the shower and packed the car, it was almost 7, so we hung around to hug Jamie. I was in some real pain at that point, and by the time we walked out to the car, I was vowing to reward myself with an epidural for just making it to the hospital, and to hell with this natural stuff.

We headed out in Rex’s Scion xA. He was going a touch over the speed limit, a testament to his concern. About 10 minutes into our 20-25 minute ride, he started running red lights. Apparently the sounds I was making had changed from “mewling cat” (Rex’s words) to something higher pitched and a lot louder. According to him, the contractions were like 3 minutes apart at that point. All I remember was trying not to grab his shifting arm, although at one point he said he was doing about 35 in second gear before I let go.

A few minutes later, I was in pretty much constant pain and losing it. I remember telling Rex that we were going to have to get the seats cleaned when I felt my water break. Next there was a feeling like I was pooping (I don’t think I actually did, this time), and then the feeling moved forward and I was feeling Owen’s head. I think I said something like “Honey, he’s coming! and then I unbuckled the seatbelt, yanked my pants down to my thighs, and pushed out a head. The cord was around Owen’s neck, not tightly, so I pulled it over and wondered what was coming next. The rest of him slid out, and I pulled him up onto my stomach. It was amazing how much better I felt right away. Rex asked if he should stop, and I told him to keep going to the hospital. Owen had cried just enough to let me know he was alive, but he was somewhat blue, and I didn’t have anything to cover him with. I just held on and hugged him until we pulled up to the Women’s Center entrance.

Rex ran in to get someone, and I remember seeing a whole herd of nurses, none of whom knew that I had already *had* the baby. One nurse took Owen from me and started to turn away to say something to someone. I reminded her that I was still attached! They helped me into a wheelchair, pants still around my thighs, and gave me Owen back while they wheeled me into an LDR room. I got to climb into the bed, and they broke the bed down and put up the stirrups like I was about to deliver. I was shaking a lot, aftermath, I guess, plus we were a little chilly. The nurses and doctor finally got clamps and scissors and cut the cord.

The rest was pretty standard. I had never gone through the “after” part without an epidural before. I was kind of surprised by how uncomfortable all that massaging was, but the local and stitches weren’t too bad. I got an Oxytocin shot in one thigh, and then a nasty burning shot of some antibiotic in the other. That thigh had a sore spot still the next day. After an hour or so “recovering,” I walked to the postpartum room. By then, even the other dad standing by the nursery knew that Owen was the car baby, and I was like a celebrity mom :)

Posted by me at 7:35 PM | Comments (4)

March 27, 2008

Owen's firsts

Owen had a few firsts today that give me hope and make me happy:

Posted by me at 5:29 PM | Comments (0)

March 25, 2008

And it is good

We're mostly on our own, here.

My dad left on Sunday, before Owen and I got home from the hospital. He had to be back in Maryland to leave for New Jersey Tuesday morning.

My mom left this morning, heading out for an elder hostel in Arizona that starts at the end of the month. She could have stayed a little longer if we had needed her, but I guess we were all ready to sort of move on.

I'm going to miss their help. Hell, I'm going to miss having extra warm bodies that made it possible to leave a room/make lunch/go to the store alone/sleep/breathe. Not to mention the entertainment my parents provided every single day they were here. I'm going to have to figure out how to interact with my own kids again.

Luckily for me, Spring Break is finally over. Jamie went back to school today, and Katie will be back for the first time in two weeks tomorrow. I want to kiss every woman in that place in thankfulness.

Rex is off work for the rest of this week, and will be working nights from home next week, so I'm not totally on my own. This is also good, because I haven't yet figured out how to get the girls ready for school and myself dressed (and potentially clean, too!) in time to get out the door. We have quite a list of things to do this week, and it's going to take both of us to make it happen. Rex has some meetings at work, everyone but Katie has doctor appointments, we have Jamie's birthday party to replan, another birthday party to attend, it goes on and on.

Life goes on.

Posted by me at 8:40 PM | Comments (0)

Server error

A while back, I started having issues when I posted to my blog. Instead of telling me I was successful, I would receive a server error telling me to try again later. It took me a while to figure it out, but my posts actually were showing up on the site, several times if I kept trying to post until I didn't get an error.

Then it went away.

And now, it is back. I have no idea what fixed the problem, and I have no idea what happened to bring it back. I don't know if it's an error in MT or with my host, or some preference or option I've selected. I haven't changed anything that I can think of lately. Hell, I've barely posted. I think the error is interfering with bloglines seeing my posts.

Worse, because my posts are still getting saved and showing up, I'm not going to be looking too hard for answers anytime soon. Maybe I'll feel differently after tax day.

Posted by me at 8:23 PM | Comments (0)

March 23, 2008

I am a total badass

delivered a 7 pound 12 ounce baby without a single painkiller.

But that is not what makes me a badass. After all, women do that all the time all over the world. It doesn't mean I'm not damn proud, though.

What makes me a badass is that I delivered my own baby. In a car. As we were going through an intersection.

Right now, I am invincible.

Owen Gray
3/22/08, 7:20am
7 pounds, 12 ounces, 21.25 inches

owen3.jpgI

Posted by me at 8:57 PM | Comments (4)

March 22, 2008

It's time, honey!

Well, it will be soon, anyway. I started having contractions at about 11. They aren't going away, and they're getting sort of intense. I think I'm about to wake Rex up by getting into the shower. I don't want to miss my last chance!

Posted by me at 2:54 AM | Comments (0)

March 21, 2008

GET OUT

Wow. I've been really bad about posting. I keep thinking of things to post, and in my head I think I've written them, but apparently I've never actually typed them out.

My parents are still both here, so I've spent a lot less time in the evenings on the laptop, when I actually have time to write. I manage to keep up with email and blogs (sort of) during the day in little bursts.

I'm still pregnant. I'm now, what, 5 days overdue? I've never been in this position before. This kid has missed all the cool dates, too. His due date, his sister's birthday, his uncle's birthday (that would be today), not to mention ANY ONE OF THE DAYS IN BETWEEN.

The sickness that Katie had made it's way through the entire household, minus Rex. There were at least two days during which my biggest accomplishment was breathing. Thankfully, the ick hit us in staggered fashion and by the time it took my mom down, the rest of us were capable of feeding ourselves again. I have the feeling this kid has been hiding out from all the coughing, but I'm better now. I SWEAR.

Posted by me at 9:53 PM | Comments (0)

March 13, 2008

Spring Break starts today

I may be suffering from a severe lack of solitude and the ability to be lazy without guilt, but I'm still incredibly grateful that my parents are here.

Posted by me at 10:04 AM | Comments (0)

March 11, 2008

Yawn

Still no baby. I shouldn't be surprised. In fact, I'm fully expecting this kid to come sometime on Sunday, the way babycenter.com says he will. After all, that's what my other kids did!

Katie has been sick since last Friday. She gets a nightly fever and occasionally heats up at nap time, but otherwise acts normal. Well, normal plus a cough and runny nose. I kept her home from school on Monday, and I'm truly hoping that she doesn't heat up again tonight so she can go back tomorrow for her egg hunt. I really don't want to have to tell her she's missing her egg hunt.

We haven't heard from most of the girls we invited to Jamie's birthday party. The fer sure yes we had has turned into a maybe, I have a definite no, and I have a we-thought-we-couldn't-make-it,-but-now-we-can that I pray doesn't forget. Not a peep from the other three. Rex is considering paying little girls to come. Wow, that didn't sound bad til I typed it. Anyway, I'm going to attend the egg hunts tomorrow and see if I can corner some moms and beat an answer out of them.

Bubba is peeing blood again. Recurring UTI's, not good. I think this solves my dilemma, although it doesn't make it any easier.

I'm starting to wonder if I'm ever going to sleep again, between cat drama, sick kid, and pregnancy. And since I already know what to expect after the kid arrives, I know I'm screwed.

Posted by me at 10:09 PM | Comments (0)

March 6, 2008

It's all over but the waiting (and the packing of the bag)

My mom called last week and asked if I had any idea when the baby would be coming. As though the woman had not been through two pregnancies that ran long and had no idea that babies come when they want, and they rarely inform anyone ahead of time.

I had another appointment today. It sucked, but not because it was painful or embarrassing or I received bad news. It sucked because I only got two pages of my book read. TWO PAGES. Last week was so much better when my doctor was late for my appointment because she was in surgery. I think between the waiting room and the exam room, I had 45 minutes of almost uninterrupted alone time. Today, I was actually back in the van on the way home one minute after my appointment was scheduled to start.

On the upside, everything is looking good. I'm locked up tight, but that's nothing new. The baby is high (no kidding, I think an ENT could probably see feet), but then, Katie was up like that five hours after my water broke.

My dad is out of town for the weekend, and my mom hasn't arrived yet. Inclement weather is predicted for tonight. Maybe the inconvenience will bring him along.

Posted by me at 8:24 PM | Comments (2)

Missing out

So yesterday, it got back up into the mid 60's. Of course, yesterday was the day Jamie's tired caught up with her again, so the girls basically came home from school, slept until dinnertime, after which it was dark.

I hate not getting them out into the sunshine on the warm and beautiful days, especially when they're still rare enough to be gifts.

Did I mention we're expecting snow again this evening?

Posted by me at 9:49 AM | Comments (0)

March 3, 2008

Bullets without dots

It was 70 yesterday. It is snowing tonight. Enough that we lost the satellite hours ago. And my dad is talking about snowmen. I'd post pictures, but my hard drive is so full I can barely open new applications, much less fit another picture on it. I need to burn some stuff and delete, but I end up talking/hanging out with the kids/trying to knock stuff off my list instead.

Katie started TKD. She's so tiny! And yet, she's good. Seriously, she can mimic the older kids well enough to correct minor mistakes in form. She can also spin circles like a Tasmanian devil.

I'm still pregnant. In spite of occassionally having contractions whose numbers give me hope, if not their strength. I'm ready to be done, even though I'm still not completely adjusted to the fact that when I'm done, there will be another kid in this house. A boy, to be sure. Hmm. I forgot to mention that. A little over two weeks ago, I had a sonogram to make sure the kid is butt up. He is, and he neglected to make use of the sex change opportunity provided to him by my overactive imagination. I guess that pretty much settles it. On a brighter note, I think we have a name. I'm less thrilled than I ought to be, because the name he'll go by is more a matter of default than a true decision. Not exactly the way I imagined we'd pick a kids name, but I guess what sticks in your head is, well, what sticks in your head.

Posted by me at 10:53 PM | Comments (2)