Baby #4!

Link

2008-02-06T11:50:00.000-08:00

Kaitlyn Elaine is here!!!

2006-12-30T21:10:00.000-08:00

Last time I posted, I had mentioned that my body was experiencing contractions after my dr appt, but they slowed down & went away. The next day I had minimal contractions during the day.

On Wednesday, Dec 13th, it seemed like everyone was calling me to see how I was doing & if I'd had the baby yet. My sister in law & I were talking & she asked if I was having anymore contractions. I told her no. But as we spoke, I noticed that I was actually having contractions. They just weren't painful & since my other kids keep me so busy, I hadn't noticed them prior to then! We talked for about 30 minutes & I had 3 or 4 contractions during that phone call. I didn't think the contractions really were that consistent, so I didn't time them in the usual fashion. The next phone call came in & I counted how many contrax I had while I talked & before hanging up the phone, I checked to see how long that conversation had lasted & divided out the number of contrax I'd had. It went from 10 minutes apart, to 8 minutes apart, to 5 minutes apart. They were definitely getting closer together & pretty quickly. But, they didn't hurt. I did notice, however, that I was starting to sweat, which is unusual for me. I called my husband up at work & told him that I was having contractions & that they must be getting somewhat intense b/c my body was reacting to them, though they weren't painful to me. At that point he said he was going to hop on the next bus home & told me to call my mom & to call the dr & see if I needed to go to the hospital. I figured he was overreacting; I wanted to time my contractions a little bit longer to see if they really were coming consistently. But, I decided it might be best to at least get a call in to the dr's office & get their opinion on it. I called & left a message on the triage line. Then I called my mom--who happened to be out on a walk--and let her know that I might need her to come by depending on what the dr's office told me.

A nurse called me back pretty quickly. She said that since this was baby #4, that I shouldn't rely on pain as an indicator of when to get to the hospital as things could happen quickly. She suggested that I get going NOW to the hospital. Well, that wasn't an option as there was no one to take me to the hospital & I needed someone to watch my kids. I called my mom back & told her to come to my house. While I waited for her & my husband to arrive, I did some cleaning & took the trash out to the curb; kept myself busy doing things that needed to be done. Finally, about an hour after I'd called the nurse, my mom arrived & a few minutes later my husband arrived home, too. I told him he could change out of his dress clothes if he wanted, but both he & my mom said they thought it would be best if we just went to the hospital. So, off we went. As we drove along, I noticed that the contractions were now 2-3 minutes apart according to the clock in the car. Interesting.

Got to the hospital & walked across the entire building to the L&D floor. I was checked out & would you believe I was STILL only at 1cm & 80% effaced?! Exactly the same as I was at my dr appt earlier in the week! They had me walk the floor for an hour & then checked me again. Absolutely no changes. So they sent me home!!! They acknowledged that I apparently had a high pain tolerance level as the contractions were definitely "moderate" on their scale & according to the monitors. I was a little worried about knowing when to come back in since I should've been feeling more than what I was at the time. They didn't know what to tell me; pretty much just said I'd know. O.k., that's reassuring. NOT! So, we left the hospital and headed back home. On the way home, the contractions were coming every other minute & lasting for quite a while & were starting to get painful. We got home & my mom rushed out the door to get home to take care of some things. She told me to call her later that evening to let her know how I was doing. I told her to pack her bag b/c I knew she'd be having to come back to our house that night. I went & laid down on the couch because the contractions were pretty intense. Only my oldest son was awake at this time. He & DH were playing by the Christmas tree. Suddenly I got the biggest contraction yet. It felt like it just rolled down from the top of my belly ALL the way down & kept going..."pop!" My water broke! I was actually very relieved because I knew it meant it was time to get to the hospital. DH called my mom back--she'd only been gone for 10 minutes before this happened--and told her to come back to our house. In the meantime, I had him run over to the neighbor's house & ask if one of their older kids could watch our son til my mom could get back to our house to take care of him.

So, we hopped into the car again. I've never known DH to drive quite so fast! It was definitely a night I'll remember because he's usually so slow...Mr "I drive 5 miles under the speed limit" was now going at least 10mph OVER the speed limit. Crazy! (He told me that now I know how he feels everytime I back out of the driveway!) As we drove along the freeway, a few expletives left my lips because the contractions were so frequent & really getting painful. As we got in the turn lane to turn into the hospital, and were about to get a green light, a cop car flew by in the other direction & messed up all the traffic lights so we had to sit through another round of lights before the arrow turned green. DH drove me to the emergency entrance and went in to get a wheelchair for me. I waited til my next contraction was over before I climbed into the wheelchair. Here's the funny part--it literally made me laugh so hard even though I was in active labor--DH had a heck of a time getting the wheelchair up over the little lip of the curb where the sidewalk meets the road. He kept pushing the chair forward & then it would hit that lip & jolt back. This happened about 5 or 6 times. I thought he was going to jolt the baby out of my body before all was said & done! Eventually the guard on duty at the emergency entrance stood up & began walking toward us when DH finally got the chair past that point & got me into the hospital. DH said that the guy probably was taking pity on him. I corrected him & said that the guard was probably taking pity on ME!

We got to the L&D room where they wished me luck getting my wet jeans off (remember, my water broke, I didn't pee my pants!) and gave me a gown to change into. When they checked me a few minutes later, I was now dilated to 4cm. My nurse came in & boasted about how she was so great at putting IV's in, claiming she never made a mistake. Well, her first try didn't work & she had to poke me a 2nd time. It was quite painful, but the contractions actually helped to take my attention off of her poking my veins. I just wanted her to hurry up & get the IV in so I could get my epidural!!! By that time I was at 5cm. The anesthesiologist arrived quickly & put the epidural in. Ahhh, nearly instant relief!

BUT, suddenly the baby's heart rate dropped from the 150's to the 90's & wouldn't go back up. Next thing I knew, the room was swarming with nurses. At this point in time, my legs were useless from the epidural & so I had to rely on the nurses to flip me from side to side. An oxygen mask was thrown on my face, etc. Thankfully the baby's heart rate went back up to normal & all was fine, but I was really scared after that time. Each time I had a contraction, I made DH watch the monitor & tell me if the baby's heart rate was o.k. Her heart rate went down a few other times, but didn't stay low for as long as the first time. My nurse wasn't the greatest in that she came in once & said she'd told the other nurses that she'd feel a lot better once the baby was outside instead of in. Um, you don't say that stuff to a woman in labor who is already concerned about her child's well being! It seemed to take forever for me to dilate further. I guess the epidural slowed down my contractions, so they gave me pitocin to get things going again. Finally at 1:45 a.m. (December 14th)we were set to have the baby. My dr wasn't on call that night, but another dr from his practice came. At 1:49 I began to push & at 1:51 little Kaitlyn was born! Only 1 & 1/2 pushes to get her out. She was by far my smallest child, weighing in at 7 pounds 6 oz & 20" long. I figure she came out so quickly thanks to her big brother who was 9 pounds at birth not quite 17 months prior to this event!;)

She's an absolutely beautiful baby--has a headful of dark, slightly wavy hair. She looks a lot like her oldest brother & her older sister. We can see both of them when we look at her.

But, the story does not end here. Kaitlyn ended up with a pretty bad case of jaundice. Turns out that we had ABO incompatibility. Which means that she & I had different blood types, so apparently during the birth process, my body recognized foreign blood in the vicinity & began to attack her, breaking down lots of her red blood cells, which in turn caused her to be more jaundiced than your average baby. Long story short, she ended up having to be under the bililights her 2nd night & had to be given formula to help her poop/pee some of the jaundice out of her system. Since she didn't have to do much to get food from the bottles, nursing ended up going out the window & she is now a formula fed baby. Her bili levels continued to rise, so although we were discharged from L&D after the standard 2 days, we were then moved to the pediatric ward where she had to stay an extra night under a biliblanket. I had to feed her formula every 2 to 3 hours, then call the nurse in so they could chart how much the baby had eaten & could weigh her wet/dirty diapers. Occasionally they would weigh her, too.

I was SO glad to be able to go home on Sunday afternoon! I missed my other kids & my husband terribly. Nothing is ever easy though--that very night I went to bed early, around 9:45. All the kids were in bed, so we decided to go to bed early, too. Less than 15 minutes later, our 17 month old son began to cry. DH went to get him & I then heard a "splat!" sound in the hallway...DS had thrown up. He threw up 2 more times. It was awful...I didn't want to come home to a house where there was the flu bug, especially not with the new baby! Turns out Josh just had some sort of little bug that only affected him, thankfully.

The first week, Kaitlyn slept all the time, day & night. Now, on her 2nd week, she seems to have an awake period between 2 & 4am. She goes 4-5 hours between feedings at night, but it's like after she eats, she wants to stay awake for another hour. Ugh! Last night she did pretty well & went right back to sleep after eating, but I don't know if she's going to keep that up or revert back to wanting to party at night! Overall she's a REALLY good baby though. She sleeps a ton during the day. The other kids have adjusted just fine to her presence. Nathan & Megan were SO excited to have her (and me!) home from the hospital. They like to help feed her her bottles & will tell me if she starts to cry (as though I can't hear her!;)). Megan will pat Kaitlyn's head & tell her she loves her. And Josh will walk up to her, smile & then blow her kisses. It's so sweet. I know it won't last, especially once she starts getting into their things, but for now I'll enjoy it! And maybe it's because she's such a good baby, or maybe it's just that it's how it works, but it really hasn't been much of an adjustment adding another baby to the family. I felt like it was hard switching from 1 to 2 kids & even harder going from 2-3. But from 3-4 has not been that big of a deal at all. Maybe that means that things were out of control at 3 kids, so what's one more kid?!

There's my loooong story of Kaitlyn's arrival to this world. To recap: she was a surprise pregnancy from the start & she ended the pregnacy with a surprise birthday. I had never gone into labor on my own before; have always had to be induced & always knew my kids' birthdays. So this was pretty neat. I am so thankful for my new little girl & thankful for my family as a whole. I'm also thankful that my family is COMPLETE! DH goes in for the big "snip snip" consult next Friday!;)

Thanks for following my final pg adventure. I miss being pregnant, but I know that going through another labor is not an option...I can't handle any more children, I don't think. Both emotionally & financially!

38 week appt update

2006-12-12T14:47:00.000-08:00

Forgot to update the past couple of visits, but all is going well. I'm continuing to gain weight just fine--I now match my husband's weight...ah well, the food has been good!:)

Yesterday I had my 38 week appointment. It wasn't a fantastic appointment. Had a lot of protein in my urine and my initial blood pressure was HIGH--142/100. They took it again after having me lie down for 15 minutes & it went back down to 118/74. Phew! I am now almost 2cm & 75-80% effaced. My dr asked if I was feeling contractions & I told him I could recall 2 from that week. My body just doesn't know what to do about evicting these babies.

As a result of the protein & high blood pressure, I have to go back in to get those rechecked on Thursday. If my blood pressure remains high, I'll be going to the hospital to have the baby right then. If it's at an o.k. level, we'll be going in on the 18th to have the baby. No matter what, he doesn't want me going too much longer with this pregnancy just with my history of pre-eclampsia and/or pregnancy induced hypertension.

On the way home I experienced something very new...contractions! I noticed they were actually pretty frequent. They continued on that way all evening, to the point that I decided to time them. They were coming every 4 minutes & would last between 35-60 seconds, however, they were painless. I spoke with the on-call dr who said that it could be early labor, but since they were painless, not to go to the hospital until they began to hurt for 30-60 minutes. Around 9pm I decided it might be a good idea to pack my hospital bag...and shortly after that the contractions stopped! Booooooo!

Today has been a fairly uneventful day. I took the hour of down-time that my dr instructed me to take. I'm still getting more contractions than I ever had in my other 3 pregnancies, but they're spaced pretty far apart, generally 15-20 minutes if not further than that. More than likely I'll be induced on Monday, but it's been fun feeling kind of like a "normal" pregnant woman who experiences contractions from time to time!:)

I'll try to remember to post an update on Thursday after my appointment, assuming I get to come home after my dr visit. And let's hope this sudden onset of vertigo over the past weekend disappears before I have to give birth...I can't imagine pushing a baby out while the room spins wildly out of control!!!

34 Week Appointment

2006-11-13T19:48:00.000-08:00

Not a terrible appointment; not a great one, either. Nathan came along for this last visit as after this they will start doing internals & I'd really rather have no one there with me!;) I put on another 4 pounds (I was relieved...I've been eating like crazy at night when I actually can sit down & enjoy food!), blood pressure crept up a little bit & trace amounts of protein in my urine. Dr is not concerned yet, though I do have some minor swelling in my ankles. He suggested I elevate my feet a couple times a day for 10-15 minutes if possible. Yeah, that's going to happen right now with the older 2 fighting a lot & the youngest one constantly climbing up on things (and falling off!) or trying to get into the bathroom to play in the toilet!

Next appointment is in 2 weeks...and then we're down to weekly visits until baby arrives. I am SO not ready...

32 week appointment update

2006-10-31T06:10:00.000-08:00

THIS was the time I put on 5 pounds in 2 weeks!;) Oh well. Everything went just fine & baby is doing great. For the time being, she appears to be head down (please stay that way!), with her rump on the right & her feet on the left. That explains why the left side of my belly is always sticking out so far when she stretches! Blood pressure was a little higher than normal for me, at 128 over 70, but not terrible. Oh, I also got my finger pricked for the hemoglobin test. I had what used to be my usual nurse, whom I really like. She's more thorough than the rest; there was no way I could talk her out of it, especially when she saw that the only time it had been checked was at my very first appointment! Of course the test really wasn't necessary--my hemoglobin was at 13.1. A reading of 12 is normal for a non-pregnant woman; I always have plenty of iron in my system whether I'm pregnant or not. Next appointment: November 13th.

After my OB appointment, I came home & picked up the kids so we could go get our flu shots. That was an experience in itself. I was glad my mom came along to help; I needed the extra set of hands! We were called back to the room & the nurse asked who wanted to go first. Nathan quickly volunteered Josh--after all, he had no idea what was going to happen, nor could he protest even if he wanted to! I volunteered to go first. After that Nathan went. He started crying before the nurse even picked up the shot. Then it was Josh's turn. He didn't cry til the nurse pulled the needle out of his leg. The nurse was very good & fast at giving the shots, so I don't think Megan really knew what was going on. All she knew was that when the nurse touched her brothers, they'd cry, so she sure as heck didn't want the woman touching her!! I had to hold onto Megan pretty tightly so she could get her shot & we were finally able to get out of there. (I'm pleased to report we all survived this appointment...though Josh has to go back in 4 weeks for his 2nd dose. Right about the time his 15 month shots are due. Poor guy!)

Appointment Update--30 weeks

2006-10-16T13:43:00.000-07:00

Had a good appointment this morning. Pretty uneventful. Somehow I only gained 1 pound, as opposed to the 5 I figured I'd gained. So that was exciting for me! The only "negative" of the appt was that they found protein in my urine. But that was because I'd had half a glass of grapefruit juice to drink for the entire morning--guess I was dehydrated. The nurse told me that if you have a hard time giving a urine sample when you're pregnant, you're definitely dehydrated. She makes a good point!;) I'll try harder next time, but it IS hard to think about yourself when you're busy taking care of 3 little ones at home prior to leaving for your appointment! And now that I live further away from my OB office, I have to leave sooner than I used to. I'm just doing my best to get out the door on time & not concentrating on what I've been drinking or not been drinking. Managed to avoid the finger-prick hemoglobin test yet AGAIN! Had the same crappy nurse as last time & asked if they checked it the last time I was in since I had all that blood drawn. She said no & they should've. So she decided we'll check it next time. Yeah, I don't think so. I'm not dropping over in sheer exhaustion by any stretch of the imagination; I'm NOT anemic & I've never had that problem before. Next appt: 2 weeks from today.

Third Trimester!

2006-09-29T15:39:00.000-07:00

Ooops! It's been a while since I've updated. Not a lot has gone on as far as the pregnancy goes. Which, I suppose, is a good thing! We managed to sell our house & purchased a new one that meets the needs of our growing family, so much of the past 6 weeks was spent clearing out one house & moving into the next.

I had my glucose test yesterday for my OB appt. Wow, was that nasty! For all 3 of my other pregnancies, it's always at least been carbonated, so I was able to try to fool myself into thinking it was soda. Nope, not this time. The label specifically said "non-carbonated." When did that happen, and more importantly, WHY?! Ugh, it was pretty gross, I thought. But, I managed to down it in 5 minutes while flipping pancakes & serving breakfast to the kids. Not bad!;) Got the phone call today from the dr's office that I passed the glucose test. Good thing, since at that exact moment I had a rice krispie bar in my hand & I was planning to eat it no matter what the results were!

Just the other day a friend of mine said she couldn't believe I was in my 3rd trimester. It took hearing her say that for it to really sink in that there's not much time left before this next kid arrives! And boy do we have a lot of work to do before then. We DID decide which bedroom would be the nursery, but I'd still like to paint it & decorate it a bit. Not to mention, we need another crib (Josh isn't going to be out of his yet when she arrives!) and a new carseat. As much as I like the infant carrier carseats, I think we'll just get one of the convertible ones--my kids always outgrow the infant carriers by 4 months of age b/c they're longer than the recommended length.

The baby seems pretty quiet a lot of the time, although I'm so busy day in & day out that she's probably rocked to sleep. As soon as I lie down at night, she bumps around and makes her presence known. I'm trying to enjoy every minute of it since this is my last pregnancy.

That's my update for now; I'll try to keep things more current if I can! Next dr appt is in 2 weeks!!

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

2006-08-04T15:39:00.000-07:00

Need I say more? She looks healthy & had a fantastic photo session. The ultrasound tech said a number of the pictures were textbook quality. He got a perfect picture of where the umbilical cord attaches to the stomach, a perfect picture of the heart. I do NOT have an anterior placenta, which surprised me. Seems I just have a very relaxed child in there because she doesn't move around all that much. I even drank a 7Up before my appointment in hopes that the sugar would get her moving, but it had no effect. Maybe caffeine plays a bigger role than sugar? The important thing is that she's looking good, has a heart rate of 143 beats per minute, and is measuring right on track, if not a little ahead. He said she's 11 oz, so about the weight of a can of soda! Welcome Kaitlyn Elaine!:)

Tomorrow!

2006-08-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow at this time I'll know what Baby J is! I've been so busy with our moving stuff & getting houses cleaned up & ready to paint, etc. that time has gotten away from me! All my other pregnancies I would anxiously await this appointment & time would seem to drag on, but not this time! I'm so busy I hope I don't forget to go to the appointment! Just kidding, I don't think I could forget something that important!

Halfway There!

2006-07-31T14:06:00.000-07:00

Since I'm always induced in my 39th week, I guess I'm already halfway through this pregnancy, as hard as it is to believe! Been feeling the baby move from time to time; am sure I have an anterior placenta AGAIN since I only feel him/her way down low & not that often yet, just like my last pregnancy. Bummer! Oh well. 4 days from now we'll know if it's a boy or a girl! I can't wait! Look for an update after Friday!

17 weeks

2006-07-18T14:18:00.000-07:00

I'm in my 17th week now & very definitely looking pregnant. It was about a week ago that my belly officially popped. It's still a small belly, but no question there's a baby growing in there!:) More & more I'm guessing it's a boy as I have been craving candy bars like there's no tomorrow! I ate much healthier when I was pregnant with my little girl & have eaten junky foods when pregnant with my boys.

Have had a migraine for the past 48 hours. I think it's finally starting to go away. I sure hope so! It was bad enough today that I asked my husband to stay home because I could barely function at all. Thankfully he was caught up enough on his work that he could help me out. Still had to keep going though because we had 2 showings of our house between 12:30 & 1:30. During that time we went to a local lake & went paddleboating, which was lots of fun. I was a bit apprehensive to take all the kids out with us, but it worked out fine. I'm off to the drugstore now to get some extra strength Tylenol. Hoping that the extra strength stuff works better than regular Tylenol. If I take it with a Coke & some candy bars, maybe all the caffeine will help, too!

Only 17 days til my next appointment and ultrasound!:)

FINALLY

2006-07-09T06:32:00.000-07:00

Finally feeling the baby move! I tried to post about this a few days ago, but couldn't access the site at the time. It feels different from my other 3 kids. Their first movements were more like taps; this is more of a squirmy feeling. On Friday night I was able to feel the baby move when I had my hand on my stomach. Yay! Let the fun begin! I'm trying to cherish everything since I know this will be my last pregnancy.

Only 26 days until my ultrasound. I'm not sure if I'll bring Nathan with me after all. If he brings it up & seems disappointed, I'll take him. But it's a longer appt since I have to meet with the doctor afterwards, not to mention 5 year olds have LOTS of questions & I'd like to try to concentrate on seeing the new baby on the screen. Besides, I might keep the gender a secret for a while & that wouldn't be possible if he was there to hear if it's a boy or a girl!;) Why do I want to keep it a secret? Oh, just to keep people hanging & in suspense; it'll be the last time I'll ever get to share if we're having a boy or a girl & maybe I just want to drag it out a little!

Doctor appointment update

2006-07-03T20:38:00.000-07:00

Had my appointment today. Baby's heartbeat was around 144 bpm, which seemed quite low to me, but I guess is in the normal range. I've put on 2 pounds as well...after today & tomorrow it'll probably jump 5 pounds between birthday junk food & 4th of July junk food!:) Everything is measuring right on track & my next appointment is scheduled for Friday, August 4th for my 20 week ultrasound! I cannot wait! I think "girl," but picture another boy...we shall see! Nathan came with me for this appointment. It was fun having him along. He has always found the sound of the baby's heartbeat fascinating...he remembers it from when I was pregnant with Megan 3 years ago--he was only 2 yrs old then! I think I might take him along with me for the ultrasound next month. He can be one of the first to learn if he'll have another brother or sister. Tonight at dinner he told me that he thinks it's a boy, but wants a sister. Then he retracted his statement & said he wants a brother & then the NEXT baby will be a girl. I told him this is it for brothers/sisters...we're done! He's not entirely convinced of course!

I can't get over the fact that I'm already 15 weeks into this pregnancy. Time is just flying! I may have felt the baby move once or twice in the past week. I know with my last 2 pregnancies, I felt the baby move a lot earlier, by 12 weeks for sure. This time though, I'm busy with 3 little kids & we're also doing some final projects on our house as it's up for sale. Not to mention all the showings of our home as well as us going out looking at houses that might interest us. I barely have a moment where I'm not busy with something! But I figure in the next week or two, I should feel some definite movements & can't wait to experience that sensation again!

14 weeks

2006-06-25T12:45:00.000-07:00

Been a while since I've posted. I'm 14 weeks today. The gag reflex is getting a little better & overall I feel pretty good, although the last couple of days I've felt sleepier than usual. Right now we're busy preparing our house to put it up for sale. Our goal is to have it listed by Tuesday. I think that might be why I'm so sleepy; we've been pulling a lot of late nights & the kids don't sleep in, so sleep is in short supply!

My next appointment is on my birthday, July 3rd. I plan to bring Nathan in with me since he always likes hearing the baby's heartbeat. Still haven't felt this little one move yet, but again, I'm pretty much on the go from 6:30am-11:30pm...no time to notice tiny movements, I suppose!

Not feeling great

2006-06-14T14:38:00.000-07:00

Funny, I'm 12 & 1/2 weeks along, yet this is probably one of the "worst" feeling days I've had in this pregnancy. Woke up with an extreme gag reflex (didn't help that Megan had a dirty diaper I had to deal wtih first thing, either!) & it's hung around all day. My food doesn't feel like it's settling real well either. I'm not used to this; thankfully I rarely experience this kind of thing.

In a couple of months I'll get to go in for my "big" ultrasound to determine the gender of this baby. So far most of my friends & family are guessing another boy, but there are a few girl votes in there as well. Can't wait to find out!

Note to self...

2006-06-12T05:27:00.000-07:00

Call & make next OB appointment! I'm due to go back in about 2 weeks, though I'll probably schedule it 3 weeks out since the 4th of July holiday falls on a Monday & the office isn't open then anyways. I've had such a hard time remembering to make future appointments for myself! I'm busier making the kids their various appointments & forget that I need to go in as well!

Once again, there is really not much to report. I'm feeling fine & am still waiting to feel the baby move. I believe next week I'll be in the 2nd trimester, which is hard to believe, but I look forward to it since there are so many fun things to come! I can't wait to find out if "Wuh-Josh" is a boy or a girl!!!:) Wuh-Josh is the baby's nickname for now. Nathan wants to name the baby Wuh-Josh--the opposite of his little brother's name, Joshua (Joshu-"wuh" as he says it!). I figured I'd tell him that we could call the baby that until we know the gender & he actually got frustrated about it, saying that no matter what, the baby was going to be called Wuh-Josh. Later he decided that if it was a girl, it could be Kaitlyn Wuh-Josh, but if it was a boy, he'll be Wuh-Josh hands down. I told him that when he grows up & becomes a daddy, if his wife agrees to it, they can name their child Wuh-Josh, but that mommy & daddy already have a special name picked out for the baby & as unfortunate as it may be, Wuh-Josh is not one of those names!

Waiting

2006-06-07T20:35:00.000-07:00

Now I wait to feel movements from this little one. I know it wasn't until I was about 17 weeks along with my 1st that I felt movements, but with my second, I remember it was 12w1d. Of course the movements weren't very often nor every day, but after going through a miscarriage, I was much more in tune with my body & am 100% sure of when I felt my little girl start moving. With my 3rd baby, I was about 11 & 1/2 weeks when I felt the first tap. I'm thinking that sometime in the next few weeks I should feel something, but it's going to be a lot harder to notice since I'm so stinkin' busy chasing after 3 energetic kids! When do I ever have time to sit down & kick back & wait to feel the baby move?!;)

Speaking of my 3 kids, wow, after the week I've been having, I refuse to think about life next year. We've got Mr. Mini Teenager with an Attitude, now almost 5 years old. Then there's my Selective Listener/Avid Climber little girl who is 2 & 1/2. (DH took his eye off of her for a minute the other day to read an article in a magazine. Looked up to find her on TOP of the neighbor's car!!!!) And finally, there's my usually happy baby who is now attempting to transition to one nap a day so has meltdowns from about 4:30pm on. He's 10 & 1/2 months now. There is never a dull moment or a time of the day where someone isn't calling for me or crying about something. So today, this mother had her own meltdown of sorts before noon. Yikes! Tomorrow has got to be better. I hope.

I made the switch...

2006-06-03T20:41:00.000-07:00

to maternity clothes. It's official! After ending up with a stomach ache on Thursday evening due to my regular shorts being just too tight, I decided to bite the bullet & switch to maternity pants/shorts. Granted they are a little big as I'm at that frustrating "too big for regular clothes, too small for maternity clothes" stage, but it sure is a heck of a lot more comfortable!

My closet has the flu...it's vomiting articles of clothing. Clothes scattered everywhere as I search for something that is long enough to cover the oh-so-flattering panel on the maternity pants or as I try on 10 different things before church and still feel frumpy. My poor husband; probably feels like he's rooming with a messy teenager these days! Although I've never been one to cherish the use of hangers (it's less work to pick something up off the floor than it is to remove it from a hanger!), I have to say that I don't think my closet has ever looked quite so bad as it does right now. Oh well.

Last night I went to the drugstore & purchased nearly $11.00 in candy. Don't worry, I shared! I gave 2 things to my husband & held onto the remaining 8 items. There are now only 2 items of candy remaining in my stash. Can I blame it on pregnancy cravings? Probably not, but it's a darn good excuse that'll work for now! Did I mention that Watchamacallits are my favorite candy bar?!:)

We have a live one!!!!:)

2006-06-01T13:08:00.000-07:00

My appointment went really well. The nurse was so excited to see me again--she said she read my name on the chart & just smiled. She was pregnant at the same time I was pregnant with my 2nd, so she's gotten to see me experience a few pregnancies I guess! I'm starting out at a lower weight than I did with Joshua, so that was kind of nice. I'm 3 pounds lighter & in my opinion, every pound counts!:) We went to the exam room & she said she'd try to find the heartbeat for me. As soon as she put the doppler on my stomach, we heard the baby's heartbeat! The baby moved away a split second later, but it was all I needed to hear to bring me some peace of mind! About 5 seconds later she found the heartbeat again & it was a steady 176 beats per minute. Definitely higher than my other 3 kids; they were all in the upper 150's to mid 160's. I guess it's still within "normal" range though. So I'm floating on cloud 9 today knowing that this little one is doing just fine. I can't wait to find out if it's a boy or a girl in about 10 weeks & I really can't wait to meet this little person & see what his/her role in life will be since this baby was definitely meant to be! (Of course all kids are meant to be, but the timing of this pregnancy was crazy!) Thanks to all my friends for your thoughts & prayers!!!

2 more days!

2006-05-30T11:38:00.000-07:00

Exactly 2 days from now, I will be at the dr's & hopefully hearing the baby's heartbeat! I was right; I'm getting more nervous as the day draws nearer. Thankfully I have faith that no matter what happens, God is in control, but I still wish that appointment would hurry up & get here so I know if the baby is o.k. or not. I don't feel very pregnant anymore & keep thinking I should be feeling some stretching pains if the baby is supposed to triple in size between 9-12 weeks. On the flip side, I felt kind of sleepy this afternoon & was able to take a short nap & my stomach feels a little off, so maybe all is well.

The kids keep me plenty busy though, so that makes the time fly by. Joshua is now crawling like "normal" (as opposed to his paraplegic drag--using his arms & dragging his lower body along behind him) & it's fun to watch, but now I really have to be careful since he's getting into EVERYTHING. Time to do a double-check of the babyproofing throughout the house.

I'm also experiencing some shoulder pain. I have a feeling it's the rotator cuff. It's painful when I do something as simple as unload the dishwasher. Anytime I have to lift my arm up or forward, it hurts. I think I've discovered the main cause of it today though--getting the baby into his carseat seemed to be the most painful. I'm short, so lifting him up into the van but tilting him back a little so he doesn't bonk his head on the top of the van as I put him in turns out to be challenging & apparently is damaging my right shoulder. I discovered that I am actually good at vacuuming left-handed. I might have to tell my husband though, that doing the dishes & cleaning the bathrooms is just too much for my poor arm to handle!;) Yeah, right! Here's hoping it resolves on its own because between all the kids' appointments this upcoming month (Joshua has his pre-op appointment on the 19th, surgery for his blocked tear duct on the 21st, Nathan has his 5 yr well visit late June) and my OB appointments, it's crazy around here & the last thing I have time for is fitting in another dr's appointment for myself. More than that, it's finding someone to watch the kids for me so I can get to an appointment...that is the hard part!

Nothing to report

2006-05-26T12:01:00.000-07:00

There has been nothing going on. Just waiting for my appointment (only 6 days away!) and hoping all is going well!

9th week

2006-05-22T06:24:00.000-07:00

I hit 9 weeks yesterday...I cannot wait til June 1st when I can hopefully hear the baby's heartbeat & can finally relax & enjoy the pregnancy! Once again I'm excited for that appointment, but I know as it draws closer I am going to be a nervous wreck. Usually my blood pressure is a little higher for that appointment & I explain to the nurses why that is...and they usually do their very best to try to find the heartbeat as soon as possible to put me at ease.

Tomorrow is my 8th wedding anniversary...and to celebrate, I'm getting my bloodwork done. Yippee! I asked my husband what he was planning for our anniversary & he tried to throw it on me--"Isn't it your year to plan something?" I told him, "Well, since you didn't do anything for Mother's Day, I figured you could plan something for our anniversary instead!":) Actually, I know we won't be doing anything as we don't have a babysitter. So maybe we'll get the kids off to bed & get Applebees to Go or something like it. No matter what, I can tell you that I am not going to be cooking a meal!

I probably put on a few pounds over the weekend. I wanted Arby's once again & so Bryn ran out & got exactly what I wanted: TWO cheddar melts, curly fries and a vanilla shake! Oink, oink! And I ate it all even though I was pretty full after just one sandwich. I paid for it with a too-full stomach for the next 3 hours...I forget that food digests more slowly when you're pregnant! Or maybe I should say, I chose to ignore that fact and then had to deal with it later!

I also learned on Friday night that a good college friend of mine passed away. It was a blessing though--due to a car accident our senior year, she had been in a vegetative state. 9 & 1/2 years is a LONG time to be in that condition. Although I miss her, I'm happy that she is now in heaven & no longer stuck in a wheelchair & unable to communicate. Love & miss you, Lori!

Growing!

2006-05-18T05:33:00.000-07:00

Well, this week the baby is supposed to grow from about 1/2" to 1" & I think s/he has done all that growing in the past 12+ hours! I have been feeling growing pains consistently since a little before dinner last night & all through the night & even this morning. Of course I find it reassuring, so I don't mind the pain!:)

Shared the news with my family!

2006-05-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

And it went much better than I'd hoped. I had my mom read my little poem. At first she didn't want to, but I asked her to please just read it. So she began to read & when she got the part about, "surprise, there's one other!" she said she was thinking, "Well, which name did she forget to include?" Then as she got a little further she realized what it meant & kind of stumbled on the last little bit of the poem as the news sunk in!:) They all congratulated us. Mom said that she is very happy for us, although she does have her "concerns" about it. I told her to just relax & enjoy her role as grandma. Leave the worrying to us. Dad joked that this Christmas will be different, but that mom can prepare one less serving of dinner because I'll be eating hospital food. Ha ha. I informed him that I'm always induced a week early, so this babe will arrive BEFORE Christmas & I will definitely be eating dinner with them & I will definitely NOT be hosting Christmas at my house!;)

Overall Mother's day was really nice. My "present" from Bryn was sleeping in til 8:30 when I felt good & rested. He apologized because he didn't get me a card or anything. I told him that was o.k.--after all, he didn't get me a card last year, either. (What's up with this crap?!) Oh well, I value sleep more than a card. He DID write me a little poem (aren't we just the creative couple?!) that was really nice & I appreciated that. It was good to see my brother & sister-in-law & their 2 kids. My sister-in-law gave me some of her maternity clothes. Wow, so between the gal at church, my friend Sara, and now my sister-in-law, I might not have to pull out any of MY maternity clothes!;) It's great how generous they've been with me & I hope they all realize how much I appreciate their helping me out!

Was thinking about what kinds of new baby stuff we're going to need for this kid. We'll need a new infant carseat as I believe they recommend you only use them for 5 years before replacing them. We'll also need to get another crib as Joshua will not likely be out of his crib at 17 months of age. I know there are some nice cribs at Babies R Us for about $100; we don't need anything fancy, just something that functions & is safe. And, if it's a boy, we are going to need to buy new boy clothes since my 2 other boys were summer babies. I kind of hope that it's another girl so that she can wear all of Megan's clothes...save us some money!

Part 2

2006-05-11T16:43:00.000-07:00

There is a living baby inside of me!:) At first I didn't see the heartbeat & my heart just dropped, but the ultrasound tech showed me that there was indeed a small flickering heart beating away! What a relief! 156 beats per minute. I measured 7w4d & was given a new due date of 12/24/06...so I was really close with my guesstimate! As always, the baby will be induced sometime in the 39th week...it'd be fun if it was on the 20th. Then my kids' birthdays would be in various months, but have consecutive dates: 18th, 19th, 20th & 21st! We shall see. For now I'm just focusing on the fact that I really do need to absorb this pregnancy in my mind (seeing the baby made it more real than just 2 lines on a pregnancy test!), and feel releived that he/she is doing o.k. at the moment. My OB is great. He joked about how I alone was keeping him in business. He's always been so professional, but during my last pregnancy he joked around more & today it was kind of like seeing an old friend; a very relaxed yet professional relationship. I'm supposed to go back in for bloodwork at some point in the next couple of weeks & then go back to see him in about 2 & 1/2-3 weeks to listen for the baby's heartbeat. I was a bit surprised that he thinks we will be able to hear the heartbeat at 10 weeks along, I was under the impression that until you hit 12 weeks it's more questionable that you'll hear it.

The garage sale was a joke. It is so cold here today that barely anyone was out. I think we made about $30. Let's hope Saturday is a bit more promising. (I'm not running it tomorrow on my own.)

DH was so wonderful last night. After I finished pricing our garage sale items, I told him I was craving Arby's. He went out at 9:45 & got me a roast beef n' cheddar melt along with some curly fries. Mmmmm, did that hit the spot! Tonight we're going to have pizza after we put the kidlets to bed! I'm off my "sweet" kick at the moment, now "wholesome" meals like Arby's & pizza are sounding great! Oh, that reminds me, the dr said one of the reasons why I might be so hungry is because not only am I growing a baby, but I'm also nursing my other baby...between all that & taking care of the kids, my body needs as much energy as it can get.

Part 1

2006-05-11T04:49:00.000-07:00

Well, my appointment is 2 hours from now & the anxiety has kicked in! Last night I felt nothing but excited for my appointment. This morning I woke up around 5:00 & was unable to go back to sleep due to nerves. I don't know why I am getting so anxious--even with the baby I miscarried, I would've seen a heartbeat at this stage, but that doesn't seem to comfort me right now.

We're having a garage sale today & the weather doesn't look too promising--very windy & cloudy. Just as long as it doesn't rain!

ALL the kids slept through the night last night without waking up one single time. It was heaven!:)

I'll be back to post my update in a few hours! Appreciate any thoughts & prayers!

Two days & counting!

2006-05-09T21:00:00.000-07:00

Not much longer until my ultrasound! I'm getting really excited...and of course a little anxious. A couple nights ago I had some stretching type of pains so I do believe all is well in there, but until I see it for myself I guess I won't believe it.

My appetite has been ridiculous lately. I'm probably about 7 or 7 & 1/2 weeks along by now, so not very far. I can't say I've been starving during the day, but by dinnertime I am usually pretty hungry & eat until I am full. Tonight, just 3 hours after finishing dinner, my stomach started to feel bad & I realized that it was rumbling & growling away like I hadn't even had a meal recently. Nothing sounded good, but I knew I'd feel better if I ate & I was obviously hungry from the sound/feel of it. So I ate 2 bowls of cereal & now feel better. 2 nights ago I woke up in the middle of the night with an empty, hungry stomach, which also has never happened in any of my other pregnancies. I don't know if I'm eating less in general throughout the day that it's hitting me or what the deal is. Doesn't seem I should be that hungry when my pregnancy has really only just begun! Guess it just goes to show that each pregnancy is different!

I'll post ASAP after my ultrasound on Thursday!

A week from today...

2006-05-04T18:04:00.000-07:00

and I'll know when my baby is due & will be able to see that (hopefully!) everything is going fine with him/her! The time really flies when you've got other kids to keep you busy & distracted, so I know next Thursday will be here before I know it.

I think tonight I'm going to work on decluttering my house a bit. I am SO ready to move to someplace just a tad bit bigger. We're still in our starter home (3 bedrooms, 1 closet for each bedroom) & we're definitely not "starting out" anymore! My dream home would be a 2 story with all the bedrooms on the upper level. But, since that's a dream, I'll be happy with any 4 bedroom, 2 bath home...and one that has enough room in the kitchen for the family to eat, compared to the gymnastics I have to perform with pulling the table away from the dining room wall for meals & pushing it back so we can walk from the kitchen through the dining room. It's getting OLD! I know, be thankful for what I have, and I am, but that doesn't mean that I'm not going to think about what I'd like to live in eventually!

I must have a slurpee!!!!

2006-05-03T06:20:00.000-07:00

I can't tell you how badly I want a slurpee! It hit me last night, but it was too late to run out & get one. I went online & was able to find a recipe that apparently closely resembles 7-11's cherry slurpees...only thing is, I need to purchase some of the ingredients to make it, so I still haven't been able to satisfy my craving. Liquidy things are what sound good to me right now for some reason. So slurpees, popsicles, soup, fruit...that sort of thing sounds great.

Last night I had a modest dinner; it's strange not feeling hungry yet your body is telling you otherwise. Later that night I had 2 Hershey Kisses (normally I sit down with the whole bag & enjoy them) and that was more than enough for me. Didn't have anything else the entire night & didn't feel so good when I went to bed. Again, it felt like I had a REALLY full stomach even though I know that wasn't the case. Woke up this morning still not hungry, but forced myself to eat a scrambled egg & a piece of toast so I can keep up my energy!

Starting to feel a little pregnant?!

2006-04-29T09:34:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know me pretty well, you know that if you offered me any kind of junk food, I'd gladly accept it & snarf it down, whether or not I had a full stomach. Well, last night my stomach felt really full--I didn't even eat an entire 2 pieces of pizza at craft night (what is the world coming to?!)! I came home around 8:00pm & did not eat one single thing the rest of the night. I wasn't starving when I woke up this morning. I had a bowl of cereal & a slice of banana bread for breakfast, although it feels like I've eaten a bowling ball. There is one of my favorite kinds of ice cream sitting in the freezer, there is Easter candy in my cupboard. I have potato chips in another cabinet...not one single food item--either healthy or unhealthy--sounds appealing to me right now! I do not feel nauseated or sick when I think about food, but I just have absolutely no desire for anything. I'll force myself to eat (especially tonight at my parents' house to celebrate Bryn's birthday a little after the fact...don't want them to get suspicious!) for the baby's sake, but I am SO not hungry!

And how is this for sweet...a gal from church called this morning b/c she had heard from one of my friends at craft night that I am expecting again. She was calling to offer to let me borrow her maternity clothes so I could have some "new" clothes to wear (seeing how I was in my old ones a year ago right now!). I thought that was so very kind of her. I told her I will wait til after my ultrasound just to make sure things are really going o.k., but if they are, I will gladly take her up on her offer! She & I have never really talked much before, so that's why it was extra touching that she made such an effort to do something nice for me! (Not to mention she's got all the current stylish maternity clothes, unlike me, where I have clothes from 5 years ago, some of which are looking a tad outdated!) It's kind of nice because I've always loaned out my maternity clothes to my friends--it's so expensive to purchase maternity clothes when you really don't wear them for very long--so now someone else is returning the favor! Just had to share!

A plan for telling the family!

2006-04-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

Well, I've decided to host a Mother's Day lunch at our house. By then I'll have had my ultrasound & hopefully that will show a growing baby so we can proceed with telling the news. I came up with the latter half of a poem in my mind while I was taking a shower this morning (my only few moments of peace away from the kids...if I'm lucky!). So I then had to figure out how I was going to start the darn thing. I am in a hurry because there's a ladies craft night at church tonight & I want to be able to do the finishing touches there. I did manage to come up with a cheesy poem which I will share with you & you can laugh at it!!:) I printed out enough copies for my family & I plan to cut them out (the poems, not my family) & place them on some cardstock & stamp the edges in a flowery mother's day design or something. (Basically I'm just winging it, as always!) Here's the poem, and as an extra note, when you read about Samuel & Summer, those are my brother's kids!

On Mother's Day
We take time to remember,
How our mothers have been there for us,
In any kind of weather

The meals, the clothes,
The love & care,
Mothers can do it all,
Even more than their share.

And on this day,
We as mothers think of our children, too
The special gifts,
From God to you.

Samuel, Nathan
Megan & Summer,
Joshua...and surprise!
There's one other!

It wasn't planned or expected,
It really shouldn't be,
But God decided to bless us
With a special gift under the Christmas tree.

Baby Jones is due 12/25/06

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Thursday, April 27

2006-04-27T10:22:00.001-07:00

This is way too early to probably even say it with confidence, but I'm pretty sure we're having another boy! I'm basing my reasoning on the fact that with all my boy pregnancies, I've never had a real craving...it's life as usual, eating salty, sweet, etc. With Megan, before I even knew I was pregnant, I had a craving for cucumbers dipped in Italian dressing. I can't stand cucumbers! And later in that pregnancy I craved wild rice as well, another food I typically am not too fond of. Truth be told, I kind of would like another girl, just to even things out & so that Megan could have a sister...but little boys are awesome too, so I will be thrilled no matter what! Bryn's brother says if we have just one more, we could have our own hockey team! Hmmmm...just kidding, we're DONE after this one!!!:)

Funny how every time you learn you're expecting a baby, it's exciting & you are so happy...yet the other kids somehow seem to just KNOW there's something going on & they act up & are all ornery & make you wonder what you've gotten yourself into by adding one more member to the family! Joshua is FINALLY starting to teethe--he's over 9 months old & not a single pearly white showing up yet--so he's been really crabby lately & not sleeping as well. Megan's doing pretty well--we're in the midst of potty training (we call it "M&M Time" which is so much more appealing to her than "do you want to sit on the potty?"--she gets an M&M just for sitting down & trying to go) & she is really getting the hang of it! And Nathan sways between being my sweet little guy & Mr. Mini-Teenager with an attitude. But I love them all, in spite of the difficulties at times!

Wednesday, April 26

2006-04-26T13:54:00.000-07:00

Finally heard back from the doctor's office & I now have an ultrasound set up for May 11th so that we can date the pregnancy. It's at 8:45am & then I meet with my OB at 9:15. Looking forward to it!:)

Tuesday, April 25th

2006-04-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

Hurray for growing pains! I have officially begun to feel some stretching going on in my lower right abdomen. Why it's predominately on my right side with each pregnancy is beyond me, but I am thrilled to be feeling it! For now it gives me comfort that at this exact moment, my little one is just fine & growing away!

I also stumbled across my pregnancy journal from my last 2 pregnancies & I was happy to see that shortly after learning I was pregnant with Josh, that I had written, "I really don't feel pregnant." Cuz that's how I feel right now--I keep checking the pregnancy test (yes, I kept it!) to make sure it really does have 2 lines on it. I am never one of those people who takes a million pregnancy tests--once it shows a positive, I know it means I'm pregnant. But I have a hard time truly believing I'm pregnant half the time, so I keep the test for a while to "double check!"

I am pretty sure I'm catching a cold, which is a bummer. I don't care so much if I get sick, but I never look forward to all the kids getting sick!

Tomorrow is Bryn's birthday & the kids & I will be baking a cake & decorating the house for his arrival home from work. When he gets up tomorrow morning he'll find 2 mylar balloons tied to his chair (I had to get 2 so each of the older ones could have one), one that really is a birthday balloon & the other is a Tigger & Pooh balloon...I probably should've gotten 2 of the same design. Nathan & I also picked out a special donut to surprise Daddy with. We had a blast going to different stores & purchasing a few things to celebrate the day tomorrow!

Off to bed for now!

Saturday, April 22

2006-04-22T18:02:00.000-07:00

I'm thinking I'll have to give my OB a call this week. It's driving me nuts not knowing how far along I am. I really hope they'll suggest I come in for an ultrasound in a couple of weeks so we can date this pregnancy & I can have some solid dates in my mind. I also want to make sure it's o.k. for me to keep nursing Joshua. I would assume it is--I haven't ever had a high-risk pregnancy--but better safe than sorry.

Don't feel the least bit pregnant yet. DH claims he knew all along...because there were 3 nights where I fell asleep right away. Wow, he's good cuz even I didn't catch on to that!;) He must've had some sort of feeling about it though because I'm the one who is still feeling shocked & it didn't seem to faze him at all!

I've told a lot of people about our newest pregnancy. So far they all smile & say congrats...and then mention how busy I'll be, as if I hadn't already thought about that. Hopefully the pregnancy works out because I'll have a lot of people to "untell" if it ends in miscarriage. The people who so far don't know are mostly family members. I have a feeling I'm going to get a less than enthusiastic response from some people, but oh well, I can't do anything about how they respond. For now I'm still working on a unique way to share the news, but will try to refrain from saying anything until I hit the 12 week mark & have heard the heartbeat.

Here we go again!

2006-04-20T16:49:00.000-07:00

Found out this morning that we're expecting baby #4! This wasn't exactly "planned," but we'll take what God gives us!

We'd been discussing possibly having another baby, but not starting to try for one until this fall. Since I'm currently nursing our almost-9-month-old baby, I guess it threw my cycle off a bit which is how we ended up getting pregnant at a time I thought was safe.

I'm still waiting for things to fully sink in. As far as I can figure, this is going to be a Christmas baby. And when he/she is born, I'll have 4 children ages 5 & under. Wow. Life is going to be hectic!

Right now I do not feel the least bit pregnant. With my other kids, I always was very tired in the evenings. Maybe these days I just don't have time to be tired. In fact, I've had some insomnia going on, which seems really weird to me!

I'm hoping & praying that this pregnancy works out. I've had one loss in the past at 12 weeks & until I pass that milestone & hear the heartbeat, I have a hard time relaxing & enjoying things.