Happy Easter!

I just wanted to send a little bit of love out there today and wish you all a happy Easter! I love holidays because it is an excuse for me to over cook and have fun and do my most favorite thing, family time! I miss not having my extended family near where we live but it allows Matt and me to build our own traditions.

Tonight will be a fun filled dinner of Chicken Scampi, recipe from Karrie at her Blog, Happy Money Saver (who has amazing freezer recipes and lots of other great stuff, check her out!).

And for dessert, well I will let the pictures speak for themselves! Made from scratch Chocolate cupcakes filled with homemade caramel sauce, topped with buttercream frosting, toasted coconut, peanut M&M's, and a licorice handle. I will let you soak that in for a bit...

I had a little bit of fun this morning in the kitchen with an almost 3 year old running everywhere throwing his new bouncy balls everywhere that were in his easter basket. My house might look like a mess right now, with candy wrappers and his fuzzy balls all over the floor but my desserts look like a million bucks!

Happy Easter!

At THAT Point...

~Here is why it is so hard to do things, THE BABY IS HUGE!~

I'm at the point in pregnancy where things are getting difficult. So here are the things that are really hard to do when you have less than a month left before baby comes. This is a vent post of things I have a hard time doing. Might as well get this out there. All you FTM this is what you have to look forward to. Don't worry we all go through it and we all survive, but I'm keeping it real!

~Walking- Hubs makes fun of me when we go on our nightly walks now because 10 ft out the door I am already huffing and puffing. We do have a huge steep hill right out our door that we have to climb up. But yeah, walking is wearing me out. I did run a little the other day chasing Mason on our walk, my hips were killing me. But I could run. That I am proud of.

~Stairs- Stairs oh stairs, how I loathe thee. And we have a 3 story house. I try not to go down to the basement all that often anymore because then I will have to go to the top floor and doing all 3 just, ugh! Sadly most of Mason's toys are down there, but he has learned to bring some up to the main level to play. Now just getting the toys back down to the basement when he is done is another story.

~Bending Over- My belly is big. It is only going to be getting bigger, but bending over to pick things up is getting challenging. Not to mention that I feel like passing out when I stand back up if I stand up too quickly. This includes picking up Mason's toys, loading the dishwasher. Cleaning up the laundry on the floor. Asking for help from Matt on these things now.

~Carrying things- Can't carry my own son for longer than 2 minutes before my back hurts. Carrying laundry to the wash is also a thing of the past. Since I have to bend over to pick it up (see above) but then squatting to load the stuff in the drum, yeah. I totally know that squatting will not be one of my laboring positions!

~Sleeping- I think my body thinks that sleeping is overrated. I am up for 1-2 hours in the middle of the night unable to get back to sleep. On top of the 2-3 times I have to get up to pee. Then in the middle of the day, I pass out for no reason. I know my body is prepping me for when the baby comes, but why can't the body try to store up the much needed sleep instead?

I think that is about it. My goal now, is to keep the house as clean as possible so that Matt doesn't have to do too much cleaning up after everyone. He has asked for a list of chores to help out with, which is really nice. And will hopefully save my back and my sanity. (I dislike having a dirty house)

Prepping For Labor: Mason's Birth

*If you are new to the blog click on the Pregnancy tab at the top of the page to see other posts on pregnancy!*

This is the original post from my family blog that I wrote back in July 2011 from Mason's Arrival. Enjoy the story!

MASON ROBERT ALLEN

7/18/2011

8:52pm

7 lbs 4 ounces

20 inches

Monday, July 18th 7:30am, Matt and I arrived at the hospital for our scheduled induction. I was induced with half a pill of cytotec and then we waited, and waited. I was 2-3 cm dilated when we arrived at the hospital. Doc didn't come back until 1 to check me. I was having just very small contractions up until then. Doc came in and I was unchanged and did the other half of the pill. I started to feel more contractions but really they were just like the braxton hicks I had been having for the last month just more regular every 1-2 minutes. Doc said at the check up at 1 that I would be picking up and that Mace would be here around 4:30. We called our doula to come in anticipating active labor to start. She arrived and we just talked and watched me really do nothing. She left around 3:30 to give us alone time and asked us to call after the doc did his check again.

The doc arrived at 5 and one look at me told us either he brakes my water or I go home cause he could tell I wasn't much further along. I didn't want to home so we let him break my water. I was 4cm dilated at this point. Within 30 min of my water breaking I started to feel what real labor felt like and was wishing for the barely there contraction I had earlier. I made Matt call the doula to come back in cause I didn't know what to do to get comfy. I asked Matt about 10 times if he really contacted her and he assured me he had. I was starting to panic because it hit me that this kid was going to be here soon. When my doula arrived she jumped right into action. At this point I can't really remember what happened. Matt and my doula have been filling in the blanks for me and telling me what happened. I labored in the bathroom for a while and the nurse had started the bath tub and I immediately wanted to go in there because I was hoping for a little relief. I got into the tub and for about 2 min had a little relief and then, bam, contractions happening again. My doula started timing the contractions and gave up because I was in hard labor but not having the regular contractions of hard labor. My contractions were for only about 30 sec and 1.5 min apart and STRONG! I hated the nurse because she would make me go into an awful position in the tub so that she could take the heart beat of Mason. She would take the doppler and push it into my stomach during a contraction. Every time she came in the bathroom I said, "He's fine, you don't need to check. Don't push." Every time she would check he was fine, as I said.

In the tub I started to feel like I had to push and by the third time I told my doula I think I had to push she ran out and got the nurse who checked me and told me to get out of the tub and go to the bed. As I made it to the bed I had another strong contraction and finally made it to the bed. When I got there the nurse said she called the doc and he was on his way. After what felt like forever the doc arrived and I never felt happier. He checked me and I could tell that there was a little pushing happening. He said that my cervix was pretty much gone but a little bit and said, "let's just go ahead and try pushing." I did one push and he said, "Oh, yeah this baby's coming out." He also said that Mason was sunny side up and that I had to push in the WORST position possible, flat on my back and use handles to pull myself up. I pushed for about 50 min. Matt was amazing during the whole day, but the look on his face when he told me that Mason had a TON OF HAIR, he was so proud. Matt couldn't believe what I was doing and what was happening and was so very impressed with how birthing is. I remember looking at him for strength to keep pushing and just looking at how happy he was was amazing. At the very end Mason did a 180 degree turn in the birth canal and was delivered in the normal position for babies to be born in which makes it a little easier. Right as Mason came out, I remember seeing the nurse and the doc jump backwards as the remaining bag of water attempted to soak them. I remember laughing slightly and thinking, "payback for you hurting me and the doc telling me to push harder when I was already pushing as hard as I could!" I still don't remember a lot of details and some things come back as Matt or my doula tell me but it just kind of feels like a cloudy dream thinking about it.

One detail I didn't forget to mention is that, I didn't have an epidural. I didn't even have time to think about it because from 5pm-8pm I went from 4cm - 10 cm. Once my water broke I was in hard labor and stayed there for the entire time. The doc let me do mother directed pushing where I call the shots for how long I push for and everything which was really nice. No one was screaming at me counting. It was just a great, but very difficult experience. My biggest frustration is that I couldn't figure out why I couldn't get comfy to help relieve the pain. The pain was more of just really, really bad cramps, but I just couldn't get comfy to help me thru it. I am so happy that I accomplished the type of labor I wanted and that I survived. I am so happy to have my little mini-Matt here with me. It is truly amazing what the female body can accomplish from making another human to delivering a human without too much harm to either party.

I am so thankful that I have been blessed to have a baby. For so many years I thought that it would never happen. I am just so thankful.

Check out some pix just after the birth!

~Us with my Doula, Merrie~

~Matt holding Mason for the first time~

Poor Mason

~Mason icing his finger like the big boy he is!~

Mason and Daddy went on a healthy little walk last night. Mason took a spill and injured his pinky finger. (ripped off his fingernail) Daddy fixed it all better, even with dealing with a screaming fit throwing toddler! I was at symphony rehearsal last night so Daddy took care of Mason all by himself. GO DADDY!

Today the finger is swollen, and Mason is not using that hand at all, or as little as he can. So I am currently waiting for Mason's doc office to call back to let us know if they want us to come in to get him checked out or not. So is the day of a mommy!

Baby Pool

Two bloggers I follow, CONGRATS to Jen on her baby girl arriving this week, and Katie who had her baby boy in Dec, both had their babies in the 39th week of their pregnancies. These ladies ran during pregnancy. Both ending running at different times but they both ran. Many people have been telling me that I am going "pop" any day now! (thanks a lot lady who told me that I am basically HUGE) And because I ran it means I will have an early baby. (There was a lady in my prenatal yoga who ran until her 39th week, yes 39th week!, and was still pregnant at 41 weeks)

So should we start casting our votes now as to when I will hatch this baby??? I have said in the beginning that I think it will be the week of the 18th of May, generally around the 21st. I am currently 36 weeks.

Fun facts:

My due date is May 14th.

Had a doc apt yesterday and the Doc said that baby is super high and that there is no dilation at this point. With Mason I was 3 cm at 37 weeks. ( I am telling my body though that I can not have this baby until after May 4 because of the concerts I have to play and the studio recital. Plus mom isn't coming in to town until the 13th.)

Baby still likes to go transverse (sideways) during the night.

Mason was induced at 39 weeks due to Matt being deployed with the Army 3 days after Mace was born, so no idea if Mace was going to be on time or late. I was induced with cydotec and my induction was considered a failed induction because I only went from 3cm to 4 and did not enter active labor at all. Then we broke my water and 3.5 hours later, kid was out and screaming up a storm.

I think he was sucking his thumb last night. It was a different feeling than hiccups but the same rhythmic pattern. ( I was a big time thumb sucker)

I have no idea if I was early, late or on time. (I'm adopted). And Matt was slightly overdue at, oh, 2 weeks late!

Soooo... let the voting begin. Maybe a prize will be in the cards if someone is right!

WHEN AM I HAVING MY BABY? (to view pix of my ever expanding belly check out my weekly recap posts using the LABELS button on the left.)

April Week 2 Workout Recap

Sorry I'm a day late. It has been a little hectic for me around here. Hubs is working a different schedule so my weekends with him are a little off. It is what it is, but I will sure be glad when/if his schedule goes back to the norm.

GUESS WHAT!?! My due date is exactly 1 month from today! YEA! I have been told by some women that I am ready to pop now, and others think I still have a long way to go. My belly is getting bigger every single day. I wake up every morning with 50 First Dates syndrome going on, I think, WOW! I have a HUGE belly! How do I get out of this bed? 

Pregnancy Changes: I am getting HUGE! I am bigger now than I was with Mason. But per the hubs I am not as swollen in the face and look better. I am way past the days where I could see my feet. Bending over to clean up toys feels like an impossible feat for me and I often ask Mason to pick things up for me to help me. (he does most times now by the way) Also I just can't do everything around the house. Laundry and dishes, Matt is picking up the slack for me thankfully. Came home from church yesterday and Matt got off early from work and sorted and put away all the laundry, which had been sitting for the better part of a week. THANK YOU HUBS!

Also the baby is more "down" over the past few days as I have had to pee a ton more. But he still has plenty of room to move around because he likes to go transverse (sideways) when I am sleeping. I often wake up to feeling the hiccups in my side than super low like normal. And as you read the other day, I am still a fire breathing dragon at night! Oh so fun!

Prepping For Baby: I have pulled out all of Mason's old clothing and started sorting for baby. All the NB 0-3 stuff is organized and in the closet. The 3-6 and 6-9 are still lining the floor waiting to be sorted. I also hung up the curtains in the guest room to my mom when she gets here to add a little more darkness in the room.

Prepping Mason For Baby: It's more of how do I prep myself to help prep Mason for baby to arrive. I asked a mom yesterday who just had her new baby how her other son handled the tradition to being the baby to big brother. We talked for awhile and she shared her advice. I am very scared about Mason not letting me hold the baby or hitting the baby because the baby is touching me. He does this with Matt. He doesn't like it when Matt gives me a hug, he gets jealous. But I now feel a little better that maybe, just maybe Mace will do ok. But only time will tell.

Workout Recap: 

Sunday: rest day

Monday: Gardening

Tuesday: rest day (Had final meet with the Doula before baby, Matt learned how to deliver a baby if it happens super fast at home!)

Wednesday: 2.5 mile walk on treadmill

Thursday: 1 mile walk; 1 hour 15 min Prenatal yoga (class is getting harder. Belly is so big that getting in some positions or staying in some is getting really challenging)

Friday: Walk outside. about 45 minutes. Too beautiful of a day to stay inside.

Saturday: rest day (church easter egg hunt. Got to trek up a small hill to help find easter eggs. Wore me out!)

Total Mileage: 3.5 known for sure. not sure how much we did on our walk
35 weeks pregnant

Where's The Fire?!?

In my throat! Holy Heart BURN! I had massive heartburn when I was pregnant with Mason but it didn't start until 36-37 weeks. This one, 33-34 weeks I have had massive amounts of heartburn and boy howdy it has not been fun. I am already up to a 4 pillow stack at night. And it only hits at night. After a few hours I can lower the stack of pillows to 2 but nothing lower than that.

~Mason at 2 days old for his baby blessing. Check out the full head of hair!~

Old Wive's Tale- Have heartburn? Baby will be born with lots of hair. In my case with Mason this statement was TRUE! Mason was born with a full head of hair including sideburns. And he was/still is a hairy little beast on his back. I love to tickle his fur on his back and it makes him giggle every time. So if this is true again, baby could be born with hair all the way down to his butt by the time he comes out! (j/k)

Also I seem to share my pregnancy symptoms with my best friend in AZ and am always apologizing to her for causing massive amounts of heartburn, she told me yesterday that she started taking a Rx to help her out. Wish I could.

Here are the helpful hints that people say help pregnancy heartburn but if all else fails just know that you are going to be a fire breathing dragon and it is ok because you could have a very hairy baby when they are born!

Eat small frequent meals, slowly- Hard to do when you are at the end of pregnancy where you are possibly getting sick again or you can't eat as much so when you can actually eat and feel ok with eating we tend to just woof everything down as quickly as we can. Don't do this apparently.

Take Small Sips of Liquids- I don't know about other moms, but often I feel like I am guzzling water all day long and either I have a huge desire for water or I know I have to drink water so that I don't start contractions (dehydration can cause early labor and contractions so drink up) So I try to make sure I drink the recommended amount of water everyday and often that means that I just take a few large gulps. No sips for me. I guess I should work on that.

Don't Eat Right Before Bed- I have been eating right before bed lately because if I don't I am starving at 2am and will go raiding the fridge for something, anything that might sound good to me. I am already up in the middle of the night to go pee I really don't want to make a trip downstairs for some food and then go back to bed so this one can not apply to me.

Keep Your Head Higher Than Your Chest- Already doing this. Even with 4 pillows I still have massive amounts of heartburn but if I don't have pillows I will actually throw up the stomach acid. Yeah, so much fun it is.

Try An Antacid- Did you know that Tums now makes a gummy chewy antacid so that we don't have to eat the chalk stuff anymore. With Mason I kept a very large bottle of Tums next to my bed and popped them like crazy but they didn't really help. And they tasted nasty. So I might just try doing the chewy ones to see if they are better, but like I said the Tums didn't help me with Mason.

So fire breathing dragon I was and am. And probably will be every time I get pregnant. Here's hoping to another furry baby! (now watch baby will be bald!)

Prepping For Labor: Leaving The Hospital

 ~Daddy and Mason the morning after we arrived home. We were all exhausted!~

*If you are new to the blog, WELCOME! Please click on the Pregnancy tab at the top of the page to see other posts on pregnancy!*

Fast forward to after labor and some recovery, as most of your recovery will be at home. It's your last day at the hospital and eating yummy hospital food. (my hospital food wasn't too bad last time I was there. They were very accommodating to my melon allergy and brought me red meat). Generally release time is from the hospital is like check out of a hospital. Around 11 or 12. There could possibly be an orientation for new parents along with a breakfast /brunch. Make sure you check with the hospital on their checkout procedures when you are doing your hospital tour. I didn't go to the brunch provided by my hospital as we opted to only be in the hospital until Mason was 24 hours old. I wanted to get home and have a little extra time with daddy at home before he left for Iraq. We checked out of the hospital at midnight. I felt very blessed to get a whole extra day at home with daddy.

The Day After: During the day following your birth, or shortly after, (if you deliver during the middle of the night) There will be staff workers coming in to have you and dad fill out the social security paperwork for your new baby. The official paperwork for the birth certificate. They will also hand you a folder with brochures and of course your cute little foot print that they made of your new baby just after they are born. In the folder will have the address as to where you send the paperwork for the birth certificate and social security card. Put this in your file you have and put it in your bag right away. You don't want to have to be looking for it later and it is very important.

~Mason at 3 days old at the airport to say bye-bye to daddy. Daddy left for Iraq with the Army for 11 months~

Rooming In: Rooming in is having the baby be with you at all times. Following a non-complication delivery and birth, the baby will be put in a bassinet and wheeled with you to your recovery room. The bassinet will be fully stocked with diapers, wipes, ointment, the nose bulb thing along with other things you could possibly need. If you need to rest away from the baby for a time you have the option to send the baby to the nursery. Before you let them cart off the baby to the nursery make sure you pack daddy's bag with the diapers and whips, and when baby comes back the bassinet will be fully stocked again. I delivered Mason at 8:50pm. We got in my recovery room by 11pm. I was exhausted. My high from the hormones was gone and I just wanted to sleep. Mason was nursing but my nipples were already hurting. I remember he was crying and I started crying cause I just wanted to sleep. I put on my birth plan rooming in at my discretion but in nursery no pacifier, sugar water or formula. Breast milk only.

Matt was already out cold on the cot next to mine. I called the nurse and asked for Mason to be taken to the nursery for 2-3 hours and to return him for nursing. The nurse took him and I passed out and woke up about 3 hours later. Freaking out cause I hadn't been woken up for him to be fed. I called the nurse and they brought him back and he nursed like a champ. Nurse said he was great and slept the whole time. No crying or fussing. The nurse also helped me learn how to hold him how he liked to be held. Of course after he nursed he started crying again and I couldn't fix him so I called the nurse but that is what they are there for.

So the rule for rooming in, if you send the baby to the nursery, take the diapers and wipes from the bassinet. They are for you to have. To help you during this new experience. And it is ok to send the baby to the nursery. You are not a bad mom for doing so if you had planned on not doing it originally. We all need some sleep, and the baby will be back in about 3 hours or when they are hungry anyhow.

Stay Neat And Tidy: Make sure you keep dad's bag packed with all the stuff you get from the hospital. Just try to keep your room as clutter free as possible so that you are trying to figure out what to do with everything. Friends are going to stop by, you might have some stuffed animals, throw them in the bag. We had a little trolly thing that we pushed our stuff out on so that helped. I just couldn't believe that we had as much stuff as we did for only about 36 hours total. Also during the day before you leave or earlier before you leave have dad take stuff out to the car so you don't have as much stuff. He has to go out and get the car seat anyhow.

Actually leaving the hospital: You will want to change your baby in the going home outfit you planned and picked out for them. It will feel weird dressing them and their outfit will be hanging on them because they really are small. You will be required to put your baby in the car seat and have it inspected by the nurses before you will be allowed to leave the hospital. Then you will more than likely have to walk to you the front entrance. This was shocking to me. I always saw women being wheeled out to the doors after having a baby, but nope. You will generally walk. It is good for you anyhow but it is hard. I felt like I had ran 5 miles just getting from our room to the front doors to where Matt picked me and Mace up. It was the hardest and slowest and most uncomfortable walk I have ever done. Just be prepared for the idea that you might actually have to walk a good distance to leave the hospital. Even after a c-section. Have your significant other put the car seat in the base so you don't have to lift the baby, and enjoy the ride home sitting next to your baby watching them so intently as you go over bumps and around turns. And notice how well your SO will drive, how safe they are and how much they are driving under the speed limit!

I hope this helps you prepare for leaving the hospital. This is great for me to remember. I have been asking my friends who have had babies recently seeing if I missed anything but I guess my memory was coming back at this point.

Running Low On Energy?

I love this quote from Legally Blond. But sometimes I really think, does exercise give me more energy? Currently, when I exercise or exert myself I am exhausted and have to rest to get some of my energy back, but I am also pregnant. And being pregnant makes you more tired cause you are making a whole other human being and such, the body is already maxed out per say.

Per the science, exercise should/does give you more energy. You produce those little energy producing organs in your cells called mitochondria and the more you use energy the more mitochondria you make.

Currently, my lack of energy comes from 2 areas, being pregnant and having a 2 year old that refuses to let me sleep. (waking up in the middle of the night or waking up WAYYYY too early in the morning.) I don't drink coffee or heavily caffeinated drinks so I have to rely on outside sources for my little pick me ups. (I drink the occasional soda pop but not that often.) Here are some steps to help us though, regardless where our lack of energy comes from, to help us keep up our energy stores.

~Walking- Yes just walking, even just around the house will give you energy. Pick up some toys, or yours hubs clothing that he left on the bathroom floor, again. You will get a little burst of energy.

~Deep Breathing- Sitting down and just breathing in and out in a steady pattern will give you more oxygen to your body. You body likes oxygen. Sometimes we don't just sit down and just sit and do nothing. But it is a good detox for your mind and body to just sit and breath for a little bit. A Mommy time out is just fine.

~Make goals- Everyday I make little goals of things I want to accomplish. Even if I just get 2 out of the 3 things accomplished I still have made an effort that day and didn't waste away in front of the tv or my computer all day doing who knows what.

~Make an effort- try to get out and enjoy the sunshine and fresh air right now. It is beautiful in my area right now and could possibly be in your area too. Make an effort to do something active every day. Even if it is just 10-15 minutes of walking in your neighborhood. Or making it to the gym. Most of the time I don't want to go to the gym, but when I get there I am so glad that I did. I feel better about myself and my actions. And I warrant a nap later in the day if I need it because I did do what I needed to do for myself.

~Listen to your body- If you body is telling you, stop and rest, stop and rest. You might need to replenish your energy by just resting or napping. If your body is saying MOVE then go out and move. During training, if I missed a Tuesday run my legs would be tingling and throbbing on Wednesday morning because they missed the run I always did on Tuesday. I often did not miss my Tuesday runs but I remember the ache of my legs when I did.

So let's get out there and get some endorphins to make us happy! Hope this helps some of us that need a little extra natural pick me up.

Summer Activities For Mom's and Babies

(source)

We are so lucky, momma's! Because we are having our babies at the beginning of the summer, meaning we aren't pregnant during the hottest part of the year. Be thankful. Been there done that. Sucks! We aren't having our babies in winter either which means we aren't stuck in the house for months at a time. We have the beautiful heat of the summer to enjoy. So here are a couple of ideas to help us get out of the house with baby
and have fun.

~Early morning walks. Before the heat of the day picks up, and you will probably be up anyways, go take you new little one for a little walk in the stroller. It is good for you, helps with weightless. Good for baby because it gets them some Vitamin D, (don't forget sunblock and a hat for baby) And it gets you out of the house! It doesn't have to be a 5 mile stretch. But a 30 minute walk will do you and baby some good. Also you burn extra calories when you are pushing the stroller. Don't forget to take you 4 legged buddy with you as they probably need the fresh air too. (Make sure that your pet is properly trained and never, ever attach the leash to the stroller for safety reason!)

~Go to the park. You have a 6 week old and you are at the park sitting on the bench? Huh? Yes it is ok to go to the park and just sit there. Again, fresh air for you and baby, and out of the house. It gets you used to how to leave the house too without taking everything in the house with you. But it is a great place to meet other mother's. And who knows there might be another new mom with a little one there too.

Also if you have other kids, they need to get out. Trust me. They don't like being cooped up as much as you don't. So let them run wild at the park. Take a carrier or sling for new baby and go have some fun.

~Find a pool or splash park. Again sun is good, sunblock and hat for baby! But get your baby used to water. Check the pools rules on age of child and check with your baby's doc to see if it is ok or not. But if you have an older child they will love the pool and splash park. I plan on visiting the splash park a ton with Mason and sitting on the side with new baby.

~Reading classes at the library. Babies can read? Get an early start on loving to read. Your local public library more than likely has child reading classes, that are free! It teaches your baby how to act when someone else is taking. It engages them in reading, and gets them used other children around them.

~Play dates. With all the new mom's you are meeting what a great chance to start setting up play dates. Where the kids will play or be held by you and you and the other moms can swap stories of birth, and crazy nights you have had, share advice and just be someone who you can talk to and have listen to you. You need to get out of the house, you need adult contact, you need friends and we are all learning together how to be moms.