Father's Day

We finally got our new computer in, so I need to play catch up big time!

Grant had a fun first Father's Day this year.




We started the day with french toast (with fresh bread from Panera), bacon and mangoes. Yummy!

Miss C got her daddy some real Kona Coffee. You know, for all those early mornings he spends with her! He appreciated it very much.

He had to go to work that day, but when he got home we were able to go to his parent's house for a fun dinner.

Miss C sure does love her daddy!



Happy first Father's Day Grant!

Our Birth Story

After being in complete denial that I was in labor, I realize that our birth story begins on Monday, May 17 (2 weeks before she was due). I remember talking to my sister in the morning and telling her that I was feeling, what was most likely, braxton hicks contractions. I felt a very mild tightening in my lower abdomen that wrapped all the way around to my back. I had not had braxton hicks contractions at all during my pregnancy, so I just assumed that was what I was feeling. This tightening sensation continued all throughout the day at about 20-30 min. intervals. I continued on with my day- walking a mile on the treadmill and hanging out at the house.

I remember on Monday night being woken up once or twice by these contractions. They were so mild and unimpressive, so I was sure they were still braxton hicks. Tuesday came and I was still having them (about 20 min. apart). They were so mild, so Grant and I went about our day. I had a checklist of things I still wanted to get done before the baby was born, so we went to Lowe's to get a carpet steam cleaner and proceeded to steam clean the whole house! Can we say serious nesting here! All the while these contractions were happening at a steady consistency. Still in denial here. Well, that night Grant and Marty installed all our new kitchen appliances. I remember about 8:00 or so going downstairs and telling Grant that the contractions were still happening, but assured him that we were not going to have the baby any time soon.

Right after Marty left the contractions got stronger. They were about 7 min. apart. Now I started feeling the pain! I tried to go to sleep that night, but it was like a switch had gone on and they were real contractions. I still didn't believe that I was in labor. I thought I would be feeling this way for the next two weeks! (I was in denial, because the contractions were in my back- I no longer felt anything in my abdomen). Around midnight, Grant and I decided that we needed to clean the kitchen. If this was the real thing, then we wanted to come home to a clean kitchen. So we cleaned. Around 1:00 that morning, I still couldn't sleep (not from excitement, but from pain), so I tossed and turned for a few more hours. At 3:00 I got up and went to play around on the computer (looking up real labor vs. false labor, of all things). The contractions were 6-7 min. apart. I remember the pain was so intense in my back that I would have to get out of the seat and lean on it to get through it. I also infected our computer with a nasty virus, causing the computer to freeze on itself and never answering my questions about real vs. false labor! Go figure. I never went to bed that night. We weren't too concerned yet, because we had an appointment with the midwives at 8:00 on Wednesday morning.

Well, Wednesday morning came and we packed ourselves up and went to Chapel Hill for our appointment. I thought it might be wise to go ahead and pack our birth bag- you know, in case this was real labor! Well, we got to to the Birth Center and went ahead and got myself checked to see if this was real labor. I was 2 cm. dilated. She said we would probably have a baby later that night or tomorrow. I was in shock. Complete shock. I naively thought this was still braxton hicks and we would have a few more weeks of this. (I know, I'm a genius). The midwife suggested going home, getting a massage and taking a nap.

I happened to have a scheduled massage that day so I went ahead and had that done. My good friend, Meridith, did the massage and she knew some trigger points to get labor going. Sweet! So after that, I went home and took a "nap." Side note: there is no sleeping through contractions! There is resting, but no sleeping! The rest of the day went by with contractions staying consistent and getting closer together. I think that's when it hit me that this was really happening. I tried to sleep that night, but it just wasn't happening. The back labor was so intense. When I laid down the contractions were around 4-6 min. apart. When I was walking they got to 2-3 min. apart. I thought it would be wise to walk around in the middle of the night to get things going (another side note: when it is night time, you try to sleep- you don't keep yourself up)! I remember eating peanut butter sandwiches and bananas. Grant was insistent that I keep myself well fed and hydrated, so I would have all the energy I needed (we learned this in the Bradley classes).

Around 2:30 in the morning we called the Birth Center and told them that our contractions were 2-3 min. apart and they told us to come on in. We got there around 3:30 in the morning (I-40 was a breeze at that time in the morning)! She checked me when we got there and we were 4 cm., so we could be admitted. The only thing we could do at that time was try to sleep. She offered me Nubane or Morphine, but I declined, so she gave me some Tylenol PM and let us "sleep" for a few hours! My sister, Rhea, came in shortly after 3:30. Another thing they let me use was the Tens unit for my back labor. It had four probes that are taped to your back and sends out electrical pulses that I could control with a remote. It was an amazing device and helped my back labor so much. It never took the contraction pain away but helped in between the contractions.

None of us really got any sleep, but we were "awake" and ready to go around 7:00 on Thursday morning. Labor was continuing and it never stopped. I continued to use the Tens unit throughout the morning. I remember trying different laboring positions, with my favorite being standing up and leaning on the bed. I walked around the room a lot and took a shower around mid-afternoon. My contractions never got worse during this period- they always stayed about the same intensity (which was seriously intense, for the record), so we could never figure out when transition actually happened. At first, I didn't want to know how many centimeters I was dilated, but the Midwife was smiling and said it was good news, so we went ahead and found out that we were 9 cm and very stretchy. This was around 12:30 and she said we could go ahead and start our pushing- practice pushing she called it. She also suggested getting into the tub as that might help with the back labor. I remember debating with myself about the tub vs. the Tens unit. I finally decided to get into the water and give it a shot.

(Grant and I after we find out I am 9 cm.)

So, I got into the tub and started pushing. The water was nice, but the back labor was still so intense! The midwife then suggested a sterile water injection in my back. She said that it helps in 75% of women and could take away back pain up to an hour. The payoff is that the needle injection stings like a *&^% (and, yes, for the record it did sting like that). I decided to give it a try because the thought of pushing with the back pain was starting to scare me. They gave me five injections (one injection didn't take the first time) and, amazingly, the back pain immediately subsided. Enough for me to push comfortably. I tried a few positions in the tub and even got out for a few pushes. My water broke somewhat shortly after I got in the tub. I got another set of sterile water injections, so I could get through the next hour of pushing. She was finally born at 2:30 in the afternoon. She came fast and took one look at me and started crying (but just for an minute), because she was very calm after that. I am actually the one that grabbed her and I got to hold her for at least 15 minutes before I got out of the tub. Because we didn't know the sex of the baby, Grant was able to be the one to announce it to everyone. She was able to nurse immediately and was a champ! We were able to leave the birth center around 12:30 that night.

(Our room at the birth center)

(She's here)

(Going home from the birth center)

It really was a wonderful experience. I never once "lost control" (seriously, ask Grant), never wanted any drugs, and never thought I couldn't do it. It was a challenge to say the least (41 hours of hard, "take your breath away" contractions), but I was determined to do this naturally.

The midwives were awesome and respected our birth plan and wishes. They really let Grant and Rhea do all the coaching. And Grant and Rhea were amazing coaches. They never stopped massaging my back, giving me food and water and words of encouragement.

I am so glad that things happened the way they did. Miss C is a beautiful baby and was so calm and alert after the birth. It was truly a great experience.

We've lost our computer

Sorry for the lack of updates. Our computer has suffered many debilitating viruses lately and has finally kicked the bucket. We've ordered a new one and it should be here on July 12 (what!). So bear with me as we wait for it.

Okay, baby C is screaming- time for me to go!

Nursery

Well, this post is LONG overdue!

Her nursery!

(love the wall decal that I got from Stampin! Up)

(you may recognize the owl pillow)

(sweet little owl mobile Grant and I made with messages from friends)

(owl art)

(this wall will eventually have her name in wooden decoupaged letters)

Oh dear.

I've been slacking. It's so hard to get to the computer in between nursing sessions. However, things are going well. Breastfeeding is hard. I hope it gets better! She's doing great and gained 2.5 pounds and 2 inches at her 2 week appt. Holy cow- at least the milk is working!

Will work on getting my birth story up shortly.

In the meantime here are some pictures:

(me and my baby)

(looking at her daddy)

(happy baby in her little cloth diaper)

We are here . . .

and alive and doing well. I tell you-- the recovery process has been a long one for me and since my computer is upstairs and I've been camping out downstairs- updates have been lacking.

Coraline is doing well. She is nursing great and for the most part sleeping pretty well. She loves to be held and prefers that over her bassinet! Uh oh! I've spoiled her already. She has no set schedule or pattern that she follows as far as nursing- it changes everyday and every hour. So I'm a little nervous to venture away from home. She is very alert and has great awake time. She loves to stare at fans and windows. We take her out a few minutes a day to visit our garden. She needs a little sunlight since she had a touch of jaundice at birth (due to me and her having different blood types). She's already had a few sponge baths and likes to have her hair washed (or as her daddy likes to say "getting her hair did.") She does not cry when she needs a diaper changed but has started to wail when she is hungry (a trait she gets from me, I'm afraid)! Hmm, that's about all I can say right now.

(happy milk dreams)

(all snuggled up and warm)

(too funny- she's so tiny)

Baby L is here!!!

And it is a GIRL!


Miss Coraline Lea decided that she did not want to wait until her due date (which, really, is okay with me)!


She was born on Thursday, May 20 at 2:32 pm. She weighs 6 pounds, 4 ounces and was 18.5 inches long (don't let her fool you- she has some LONG limbs- just like her dad).


She is healthy and happy. We were very excited to be able to have the birth we wanted!!! No interventions and no pain medication. I will definitely get the birth story on here soon.


Without further ado . . . Miss Coraline Lea

Charleston Trip

Grant and I had such a wonderful time in Charleston. I have wanted to go there for such a long time, so it was great to be able to spend our last childless vacation there.

We stayed at a great place-- the Andrew Pinckney Inn. The inn had cookies and lemonade waiting for you every afternoon and breakfast was held on the roof top. We walked everywhere- one day an estimated 10 miles! We visited graveyards, an old Charlestonian house, a plantation, the market, the SC aquarium, went on a ghost hunter tour and walked around the Battery. We also ate at some great places- Hank's Seafood, Jestine's Kitchen, Hominy Grill and Hyman's Seafood. The food was so good- we had lots of seafood and good 'ol southern food.

(Grant at the inn)

(another trip to a graveyard)

(one of the graveyards)

(Grant at the Battery)

(at the aquarium)

34-35 Weeks

These past weeks have gone very fast. It was my last week of work and then we took a four day vacation to Charleston, SC. I've been feeling good, but I also think my body is starting to get ready for labor! This baby is sitting low and likes to kick in the morning and evenings. Very gentle kicks as s/he doesn't have too much room to maneuver anymore. Sometimes s/he likes to keep me up at night for 2-3 hour (sometimes longer) stretches at a time. I could do without that for now! Not too much longer!

34 Weeks

35 Weeks

Hello

Busy, busy past few weeks over here.

I finished my last day of work on April 30. A very bittersweet time. I'm certainly going to miss that place, but am also looking forward to my newest adventure (due here in 3 weeks, people . . . 3 weeks).

Grant and I went to Charleston for a couple of days. We had a blast and I will share some pics as soon as I get them organized. We really had a good time. We estimated that one day we walked 10 miles. Believe me, my feet felt those last couple of miles- I even dreamed of a massaging foot water bath that night! Such a pretty area and worth all the walking.

I've done a few sewing projects that I need to post. Nothing too fancy. But cute.

Will post some pictures soon. Off to be domestic now- laundry and the making of frozen dinners are on the agenda for today!