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Tuesday, July 24, 2012

It's not my birthday

...well actually dear, yes it is!

Today is our little Paisley's THIRD birthday! How time flys!! I can not believe she is three already! She has been so excited for her birthday to come ever since her brother and two cousins celebrated their birthday's in May and June. I almost think Marshall was even MORE excited than Paisley was. Every day he was ask what day it was on the calendar, and then count to see how many more days it was until Miss P's birthday.

On Sunday he came into mine and Irish's room and the first thing out of his mouth was "Today is twenty two, tomorrow is twenty three and Tuesday is twenty four...PAISLEY'S BIRTHDAY"Each time Marshall would mention something about her birthday, she would get all excited, jump up and down and say "Yay, my birthday"

So naturally thinking, we all thought she would be excited when she woke up today and we announced that today was in fact her birthday!

The kids woke up and went downstairs where Irish was already eating his breakfast. He wished her a Happy Birthday and she replied "No, it's not my birthday, I can't see it!"

I didn't know about this, so when I came downstairs I scooped her up in my arms and wished her a happy birthday, to which she replied "It's not my birthday" All morning she got upset if we told her it was her birthday...wierd I know!

By the end of breakfast time, she was saying "It's not my birthday, we have to eat lunch first, then it's my birthday" and technically she was right, since she was born after lunch time!! (smart girl)

Anyways we had a fun day with our little Princess!


We had some fun with our friends at the spray park. 

I made Cake Pops for the first time, they were a hit with the kids ;)
 Marshall and Paisley got to watch a movie later that after noon

  We had homemade Oreo Strawberry Ice Cream Cake


She opened her gifts

She got a new hat from Dad (Red Sox of course)

 
 and a Melissa & Doug Puzzle


ANNNNND we went on our very first family bike ride!!!



Happy Birthday Sweetheart, We Love You!!! xox


Monday, July 16, 2012

Auntie Becca saves the day!!

Since we've returned home (from being on bed rest in Calgary/High River) Monday has become our day to get groceries. It use to be Saturday's, but the stores were always crammed & it "ate up" our family time. So as any other Monday we got up, ate breakfast and got ready to go shopping.

Shopping with three kids isn't the easiest of tasks, especially when the older two don't want to sit in the cart. Most days I can convince Miss P to sit in the cart along with Benson's car seat...but then there is Big M who always seems to be topped to the brim with energy and today especially was no exception.

As with each shopping trip with kids the main goal is: Go in, Get the goods and Get out!

Today we finished up in the store, loaded up the van with the groceries and the kids. I go to start it up and drive home...and Gggg....Gggg.....Ggggg! The van won't start. Now this isn't the first time this has happened to us, in fact the exact same thing happened when we were all loaded up to "move" back to Lethbridge after Benson was born at the end of May. We tried boosting it then, but that didn't work. So we had a brand new battery put in it, I was a little choked when it wouldn't start!

Just to add to my luck, I had plugged my cell phone in earlier that morning to charge it up...and I forgot to bring it with me when I went out for groceries.

So I UNload the kids, walk back into Superstore, and call the husband!! It doesn't help that it's pretty close to lunch and Benson is going to want to eat real soon!

Luckily Irish was able to get a hold of Becca (My cousins lovely wife) and she came to rescue us!! When she arrived at Superstore the spot in front of our van was vacant!  

After we hooked up the booster cables, I got in the front seat of our van, said a quick little prayer, turned the key and PRESTO it started right up!! YAY!

So Thank you Auntie Becca for coming and rescuing me and the hungry kids!!

As I read over this post, it doesn't really seem like a big deal...but at the time it sure felt like it. We only have one vehicle, so it's not like Irish could have come and rescued us. The kids were getting hungry, Benson was starting to fuss. All of my friends have kids...so there wasn't much chance that me, and my three kids, plus the groceries and car seats would have fit into one of their vehicles (that is even if I could have remembered any of their numbers...since I didn't have my cell with me).

As of this evening we now have an AMA membership!! That's right van, I dare you not to start again! Mwahahaha *evil laugh* 

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Our little man has arrived

He's HERE!! We couldn't be more thrilled! Of course this is a little bias, but we think he is the sweetest little thing ever :)

After weeks and weeks...and weeks (14 to be exact) of being on bed rest to prevent Benson from being born too early, and then finally making it 'full term' (37 weeks) and trying 'everything' to have this baby by going on walks, attempting to fully take care of my kids...as much as I could anyways, eating hot wings, having my membranes stripped (twice)...it was evident that Benson had his own schedule, and that he would grace us with his presence when he was ready!

Earlier in the pregnancy, I jokingly commented that after all this craziness that we were going through he would be my biggest and longest 'cooked' baby...i'm glad he didn't hold me to that. Benson was born one day before his due date and was in between Marshall and Paisley weight wise.

Paisley was born at 37.5 weeks and so I was somewhat expecting/hoping that Benson would arrive somewhere around that time...because once you go early, any day after that point seems like you're over due!

Now, where to start the labour story!? During Marshall and Paisley's pregnancies I never experienced a braxton hick or false labour. Once I felt cramping it progressed into labour and we had our baby! That was not so much the case this time round. Throughout the pregnancy if I sat upright for too long, or if I walked/stood for longer than 10 minutes, I would experience cramping (Braxton hicks). During this pregnancy I also 'endured' false labour three times!

After we had the ECV on May 8th (External Cephalic Version) to turn Benson into a head down position I would cramp up almost every night. On Mother's Day I woke up with mild back contractions (which is exactly how things started with Paisley) and thought that maybe I was going to have an incredible Mother's day gift. After an hour of being teased, I finally got up to go shower...and everything stopped...Boo!! There were a couple more instances where I experienced mild back contractions while laying down and then presto, stand up, nothin!

So on May 24th, when I had been experiencing mild contractions, both in the front and in my back I didn't really think much of it. As the day went on though I realized that I was still having these random cramps. So Around 3:30pm I texted Irish to let him know about the random contractions, and that I was going to start timing them, and let him know if anything progressed or if it was just another false alarm. By 5:00pm my contractions were 5 min or less apart, with only two exceptions!

I called him up and told him that I thought this was the 'real deal' and that he should head to Calgary. At this time it was only myself, My Mother in Law, Marshall and Paisley at home. So I kept timing a little bit longer, but as soon as my Father in Law arrived home we told him not to take off his shoes, as he would be taking me into Calgary to my Aunt and Unlce's house. I grabbed my hospital bag (that had been packed for nearly 3 months), the car seat, toiletries, kissed my kids good bye and was on my way to Calgary, where I would either wait for Irish to arrive or head to the hospital if my contractions became too intense...which ever came first.

We arrived to my Aunt and Uncle's house around 6ish. I started to 'pace' the floors, trying to keep things going while I waited for Irish. By 7ish my contractions were getting to be 3.5 min - 4.5 min apart and were becoming somewhat intense. If I was back in lethbridge I would not have gone to the hospital yet, but since the hospital was still another half hour drive I was getting a little nervous. Irish arrived to my Aunt and Uncle's around 7:20pm, only to come in, grab my things, load them into the van and be on our way.

As we were driving to the hospital I kept thinking, 'wow, this is really happening, we are actually on our way to have this baby! This day is finally here'. The past couple of weeks I had been creating every type of scenario of how it would happen!

We arrived to the Labour and Delivery triage desk at 8pm and had to wait about 10 minutes for them to get an assessment room ready for us. While we were giving all of my info at the triage desk we found out that my Dr was the Dr on call that night and her shift just started, so she would be the one delivering YAY!!! I was SO happy!

Once we were in the assessment room they checked me and I was 5-6 cm dilated. I thought Oh good, we're 'right on track', because once we arrived to the hospital with Paisley I was 5 cm with her, and she was born 2.5 hours later. Everyone had kept saying that if your second delivery went that fast, your third will be even faster.

Just before the moved me to my labour room another one of the Dr's on call that night came in and started talking to me about my previous history with retained placenta. She said that since I had retained placenta with both previous pregnancies, that she wouldn't be surprised if the placenta was retained this time as well (I was already assuming that it would be anyways...so it didn't shock me when she said that she thought it would be as well).

She then said that it was up to me, but that she would recommend having an epidural. If the placenta was retained then they would manually go in and get it all out, and it would be MUCH more comfortable for me if I had an epidural. Then she started to tell me about some of the risks of having retained placenta/them going in and retrieving the placenta. She asked me how many kids I wanted, because there was a small chance of IF they had to manually retrieve the placenta the uterus could flip inside out, or I could bleed so much that in both cases they would have to give me a hysterectomy...and this baby would then be our last baby...talk about freaking a girl out!!

I opted for no epidural, as I really didn't want one, and they did say that if it came to the point in which they had to help the placenta out, they could give me some sort of local freezing.

We we're finally moved to our labour room around 8:45pm. Right away they hooked me up to an IV & the monitor so they could keep tabs on baby's heart beat and my contractions. At first Irish and I started pacing the hallway, but after about 10 minutes of that I felt pretty retarded and it was a little awkward to be dragging the pole around. So we decided to head back to the room. My nurse was in the room at a table doing paper work and so that felt a little awkward as well. At this point I didn't know that the room had a shower, or that I could go in being hooked up to the monitor and everything...but my nurse didn't inform me of all the 'options' i had either. I was excited when I realized there was a shower and that I was allowed to go in it! I spent about an hour in there and then they wanted to check me. At 10:40pm I was 7 cm. My Dr said she could brake my water if I wanted her to and that we could probably have the baby in about an hour. But I opted against it as at least with both Marshall and Paisley, once they broke my water, my body wanted to push...and there was no way I wanted to push at 7 cm!

Back to the shower it was. It felt like this labour was taking so long to progress, I'm not sure if being on bed rest for so long is the reason for that...but that is my thought! My contractions were getting pretty intense. I was too dilated for any morphine or an epidural, so my only option was to try the laughing gas....which was absolutely pointless. I didn't feel like it did anything, except make me feel light headed. Needless to say I stopped using it.

I was feeling pretty weak as the last actual meal I ate was lunch. By the time I realized I was really in labour it was dinner time, but I didn't want to eat. I layed on the bed for a little bit, listening to some calming music. I then decided I would try the birthing ball. By this time I knew...well I guess I hopped it wouldn't be much longer. My contractions were really intense and I was starting to feel some pressure.

It was midnight, and I asked my nurse when my Dr would come and check me again. She said it wouldn't be until 12:40 (as they check every two hours). I knew I couldn't wait that long. I just felt that if they broke my water, everything would progress and we would have our little boy. So I asked my nurse if my Dr could come and break my water, she said "Oh yes, of course, it's what ever you want"...to which I replied "okay, yes, I want them the brake my water"

My Dr came in, broke my water at 12:16am and the pushing began. Instead of pushing I tried to "breathe the baby out" for a little bit like it talks in the book Hypnobirthing....but I really had no idea what I was doing...even though I did practice doing what the book said. Looking back I think I just felt like that would take too long, and since I have never done it before, I had no idea how to gage my progress. SO I 'gave' up and started with the pushes!! There were times that I thought it felt like I had pushed his head out...but no one said anything soooooo I kept pushing.

I sat (reclined) on the bed with my eyes closed, one hand holding onto the bed and the other squeezing the life out of Irish. I somewhat zoned everyone out and tried to focus on working with my contractions. It felt like it was taking forever and this was by far the most painful part! Then all of a sudden I heard my Dr calling my name and telling me to look down. It took her at least three times to "snap" me out of my concentration.

I looked down and there I saw head and shoulders of our little one! She then asked me if I wanted to help deliver my baby. I was confused! How can I help deliver the baby...I'm up here...and the baby is down there. I just stared back at her with a blank look on my face. She asked me two more times, and still I had no idea what she meant by it. So I finally just said Yes, and then I was told hold onto him and push. I did just that and before I knew it they were clamping the cord, Irish got to cut it and I was able to pull his warm little body up onto my chest. Our little man was born at 12:23am weighing 6lbs 14oz and 19" long

As I held him close, I couldn't help but replay the last four months in my mind (in extreme fast forward, because honestly, I hope I never have to experience bed rest again!!!). I was so thankful to finally be where I was. I was so incredibly thankful to a Heavenly Father who had watched over and protected me and this sweet little spirit. I was thankful to be entrusted to care for, teach and watch over yet another sweet little baby!

Maybe it was because I was feeling a little weak or maybe it was the hat they put on him...but I thought he smelled like popcorn!!

My Dr then sat at the end of the bed and told me that she wasn't going to rush the placenta. She was just going to sit there and let it do it's thing. I LOVED this. It made me feel like she was there for ME, and not just trying to "get the job done". I pushed for a little bit, and maybe after 10 minutes it came all by itself...AND ALL IN ONE PIECE!! I was a little shocked when she said that it was all there, bus OH SO HAPPY!

After inspecting the placenta she did find something interesting. Instead of the umbilical cord implanting itself into the middle of the placenta, mine had imbedded itself into the side of the sack and then into the placenta (I forget what the medical term for it is). She did say that the sack around the area where the cord had imbedded itself was pretty weak, and that if it had burst there, Baby would have "bled out"....and there was my 'answer' as to why I was on bed rest. As hard (and frustrating) as being on bed rest was, I would do it again just so we could have our little Benson in our family.