Random Thoughts of the Day

Number Ten
Pharmacy Consultations should not be allowed at the drive thru window.
~~Two people in front of me at the drive thru had these~~

Number Nine
Apparently five shirts wasn't enough.
~~How many of my shirts I had to put into the laundry for one reason or another~~

Number Eight
If it wasn't for bad luck Sprocket would have no luck at all.
~~Fraggle Rock, watch it and you'll know~~

Number Seven
Are the only options giant and preemie?
~~Two nurse and three people at the store asked how early Rayne was born~~

Number Six
I think I know people who smoke it for less.
~~When I saw the price of Hemp Milk~~

Number Five
Sugar covered candy canes no matter what consistency is delicious.
~~After finding out that my peppermint brittle came out more like peppermint taffy~~

Number Four
Holding a sleeping baby solves so many problems.
~~Realizing that I haven't slept without Rayne in my arms for 3 days~~

Number Three
Timing is everything. And I only have it half the time.
~~Half the calls I made today were at bad times~~

Number Two
Driving school must not teach that you signal and
slow down when getting into the left hand turn lane.
~~I did this and someone honked at me for 30 seconds~~

And the Number One Random Thought of the Day
My Name is Rayne and I'm going to pump- you up!
~~While dropping off Rayne's steroid prescription~~

Just Shy of Perfect

Rayne is the most beautiful, sweet, lovable, precious, adorable little girl that there ever was. But we have discovered that she is just shy of perfect, but someday soon she will be. Oh I guess I should go back and explain.
Since birth Rayne has had this cute little squeak when she breathes, hence why we call her Squeaker. And she was never really fond of sleeping on her back. Then around two weeks Rayne starting sounding really labored in her breathing. So we went to the doctor about it and the doctor said to prop Rayne up when she slept or played on the floor. But it just looked like a cold. Later that night after our baby had been vomiting for 12 hours and still labored in her breathing we took her to the ER. After 8 hours of tests they decided that Rayne had a virus and sent us on our marry way.
Over the next few weeks as we traveled to and from Utah Rayne stopped vomiting but her breathing still sounded just awful. We tried cold night walks, humidifiers, vicks vapor rub, sleeping in the cold, sleeping in the bouncy chair, and sinus rinses. Nothing made it better, and slowly Rayne got worse. She wasn't sleeping well and the poor thing was just tired and uncomfortable all the time. Nursing had become extremely difficult with her not able to breathe and we switched to exclusively pumping and doing breast milk in bottles.
Finally when we got home Rayne was overdue for a well baby check and we took her in. At 6 weeks old Rayne had only managed to put on one pound and one inch. Although any growth is good the doctor wished there was a little more. The sent us off to get blood work done to make sure that there wasn't any infection still looming in her system. The next two weeks were filled with x-rays, blood work and more doctors visits. Every test coming back completely normal, but Rayne's breathing was still labored and noisy. Then the doctor wanted to try an antacid. After two days of diarrhea and no improvement of symptoms we followed up with the doctor, once again.
During that visit we decided not to continue the medicine and to go see a Pediatric Pulmonologist and to do an Echocardiography. The Echo was set up for the following week but our doctor didn't think it was her heart we just would rather be safe than sorry. The Pulmonologist would be the important one, which of course was the one we couldn't get an appointment for until late December. So I took the appointment and decided I'd figure it out when my poor girl wasn't so upset.
I took the weekend to pray about when needed to be done, and to just try to relax. My stress wouldn't do anyone any good. Monday morning I called the Pulmonolgist to see if there had been any cancellations and of course there hadn't been and the nurse said it was very rare that there would be. But if my regular doctor would call in and talk with the nurses they could asses the situation and if an urgent appointment was needed they could get us in. Well my primary care doctor is just the best. Even though he wasn't available to see Rayne during her appointments during this whole trial and error he watched her chart and stayed up to date on her condition. So when I called and told him how we could get an earlier appointment he was happy to do it. I was expecting to get an appointment in a couple of weeks but when our doctor called on Wednesday he got us an appointment for this Friday!!! What a relief to not have to wait weeks to be seen. And it was the same day as the Echo so we could just get all the poking and prodding done in one day.
Alright now we come down to today. Early this morning Rayne and I went to have her Echo done. And I was never happier that a test came back normal, and honestly it wasn't because heart stuff is never fun. It was because the doctor was an absolute jerk. In the 10 minutes we were there he managed to questioned my mothering instincts, my doctors conclusions and the fact that my baby was crying too loud for him. I was thankful I had done my research about the procedure or I would not have gotten anything out of him. Oh it was awful, but thankfully it was done and over with and I never have to go back.
After breakfast and a nap for both me and Rayne we headed down to the Pulmonolgist. When the nurses where doing all of her vitals they could hear the breathing problems. It was obvious to them why she was there. And then when they weighed Rayne she came in at 9lbs 5oz!!! That's just shy of a pound in a week, which put her right back on the curve for growth. Soon the doctor and the nurse came in and we had our little chat about symptoms and what had been going on. The doctor told me that Rayne has Laryngomalacia. Which is a 'soft larynx' and because the tissue is underdeveloped when Rayne eats, gets, fussy or excited the larynx closes. Causing her to not breathe and the harder she tries the harder is closes. The example she used is if you try drinking a thick shake through a straw the harder you suck the flatter the straw gets. The upside of down is that 99% of children grown out of this all on their own. That's a good thing because we don't have to do surgery or any other interventions in the foreseeable future. If she doesn't get better in the next few months that could change. But the downside is that means there is nothing more that Fred and I can do for her, but is was very nice to hear that our instincts about what we should do where perfect for her. The doctor also told me she does need to be under their observation and if she gets a cold, or flu or anything like that to call them directly. She will have to be seen by them and will most likely have to be put on oral steroids so she doesn't go into serious respiratory distress. Which I was really glad to know because I could image that I would be freaking out if her breathing all of a sudden got 10 times worse and no one would do anything about it because it was just a cold. The other thing is that we will have to continue bottle feeding for quite a while. There was a good chance that the reason she didn't put on weight early on was because she could breathe and nurse because of the angle. Once she started bottle feeding she was able to actually ingest the volume of food she needed she could grow properly.
Armed with a diagnosis, instructions, and validation I scheduled our two month follow up and headed for home. By the way this is a doctor I won't mind going back to see. Apparently he understands that when you have Pediatric in your degree you should have excellent bedside manners
So for right now Rayne is just shy of perfect, but soon she will be. And in the mean time we will keep enjoying every smile, cuddle, and moment with our baby girl.

The Silver Lining

Recently some tough stuff has been happening around here but thankfully there has been large silver linings to almost all of it.

First one is my shoulder. Remember that wonderful injury I had that took a bunch of therapy before we had surgery then a couple months more of surgery. Well something good came out of that injury. I can carry Rayne in the sling comfortably. If I wear the sling on my left shoulder my arm, neck and eventually head really start to hurt. This doesn't happen on my right shoulder. On day I noticed that where the pain starts on the left side is in the bicep tendon where it attaches up by the neck. On my right side that isn't there, hence the lack of pain. So I can carry Rayne on that side for a lot longer before I start to get tired and sore. Who knew that the oddest acquired injury would help me take care of my baby over a year later :)
Second comes from Rayne being sick. This last Monday we had to take Rayne to the ER. The night before she had some very odd breathing and I had her checked by the doctor. They didn't find anything wrong and said if any new symptoms showed up to call back in. Well by 8pm that night Rayne had not kept anything down in 12 hours. She didn't have a fever but she was vomiting everything she ate, and hadn't had a wet diaper since 9am. The ER wasn't fun, but that's another post. But one of the things the doctor recommend was propping her up to sleep. Because of this we bought a bouncy chair for Rayne to sleep in. Which she loves. And now that we are having to travel out west for a while it will be so much easier to take the bouncy chair than our bassinet or constantly figuring out where she's going to sleep.
Third and probably most ironic was Gigi's passing. This is one of the roughest things we've been through simply because of the emotional roller coaster of not knowing when it was going to happen. So we couldn't make plans of when to travel and trying to support people emotionally that are hundreds if not thousands of miles away. But Gigi has released her burden and we are headed out to Utah. The positive side is just as major... well at least to me. Our ceiling is finally going to get fixed. That hole in our kitchen ceiling due to the bathroom leaking has finally been looked at by the repair guy. But because of the risk that there is mold up there he has to come back to do the work once he gets that right chemicals and materials. The repair guy should be back after we are gone so we don't have to deal with, chemicals, dust, hammering, all the thing that go with it. Fred may be back in time for some of it but Rayne and I will probably still be gone. We've been waiting for months for this to be fixed and really worried about where Rayne and I would go while the repairs were being done but now it's not a problem.

So there you go. Some of those major negatives in life can have truly great positives. Some take a year or more to show up and others it can be a matter of hours. So always try to look for the silver lining :)

Arriving on Time- LaRayne's Birth Story

September 3rd

I had been having contractions since 9am and the furthest they had ever been apart were 10 minutes. They weren’t overly strong but I could tell they meant something. I was also starting to get rather short tempered, which is a sign that I’m suppressing more pain than I’d like to admit too. Mom had called around 8pm and based on what was happening and how I was doing she decided it was time to come on down. If she ended up being early it was okay, but she didn’t want to miss it.

9:30 pm - Arrived at hospital

The monitors where hooked up and we had an interesting surprise. I wasn’t haven’t contractions every 10 minutes, they were every 2-4 minutes. I guess I really was ignoring my pain… oops. We were informed that my doctor Dr. Cimino was out of town until Monday and that Dr. Petersen was covering for him. Dr. Petersen requires full monitoring and IV fluids at all times. This was very much not the delivery I wanted, I left a doc for this, but Rayne wasn’t going to wait.

11:30 pm - Decided to stay and deliver baby - 2 cm dilated and 60% effaced

We knew that it would be harder to labor on the monitors and it wasn’t what we had planned but that’s birth for you. Also when we were told I was only 2cm dilated we started to have concerns. I was 2cms at my appointment on Monday and I had been having decent contractions most of the week. Fred and I had been trying everything to augment labor naturally. That day we walked nearly 3 miles at the mall. With all this work and still only 2 cm the idea of having to medically augment labor became a real possibility.

September 4th

2:00 am - Mom arrives

My sweet mother drove through the night to help us through labor. And she was put right to work. Helping to massage my back, rotate my hip and just simply comforting me to help me get some rest. Mom and Fred took turns supporting my back while I was bouncing on the birthing ball and rubbing my hands to keep them warm.

4:30 am - Nurse Beth does pelvic exam during contraction that stimulates labor

It worked, but it hurt too. The nurse wanted to do more but I was determined that I could get labor to progress and it not be so painful.

6:00 am - Dilated to 3 cm and 80% effaced!

Slowly but surely there was progress. But the monitors were really starting to get in the way. The one that is for contractions was absolutely horrible. The belt was so tight that every time I had a contraction it would push into my abdomen and I would feel like I needed to throw up. It was bad enough that I was starting to have a fibro flare right around the monitor. I ripped it off at one point and told the nurse, I don’t care what the doc says that belt isn’t going back on. Eventually the nurse brought in some large wide surgical tape and taped the monitor to my belly. That was a whole lot less pressure. It still hurt some but nothing like it did before. I noticed that having either monitor on cause pressure and made the contractions feel worse. But that could just be me.

9:00 am - Dilated to 4 cm and 90% effaced!

6 Hours on the birthing ball were paying off. The doctor said that I could go off monitor for a while and take a walk around the floor. We figure Dr. Petersen gave into my no monitor desire because I was finally progressing and if I can get my water to break on my own it’s one less thing she has to do. Honestly I didn’t care her reason I was just glad to be off the dumb things.

9:30 - 10:45 am Contractions changed to sharp pains and hard to breathe through

I just thought the contractions were getting stronger like everyone said they would. Slowly I was getting better at working through the contractions. Keeping my breathing steady, not too shallow and not too deep. Thank goodness mom was there to help guide me. At this point I had pretty much been awake for 24 hours and what few brain cells I have were certainly not working.

2:00 pm - Took a walk around labor and delivery to stretch muscles

My poor legs, by this point I had been sitting up, sitting on a birthing ball or walking for 12 hours or so. For the first time in my pregnancy my legs and feet were swollen. After one trip around the L&D Floor I was ready to head back to my room. Sadly I couldn’t get comfortable lying down so I was still up on a birthing ball but that is less pressure than standing.

1:30 pm - Having trouble breathing, decided to administer pain medication Nubian to alleviate pain

Oh these were just awful contractions. I had lost the strength to work with the contractions. They were just pain and they were working me. Every contraction was unable to breathe, like a vice was placed around my chest. I would break into tears and only after the contraction was over was I able to talk or breathe again. The fibromyalgia was rearing its ugly head, coupled with exhaustion, my body was giving way. Mom noticed the extreme trouble I was having and she informed me it was time to get something for the pain. Had she not been there I probably would have kept going like that for another hour before recognizing I needed help. And that’s not because Fred doesn’t care or wouldn’t have noticed the trouble I was having but he was trying really hard to be supportive of the birth I wanted. So he would have let me call the shot.

Once the Nubain was in I was able to really relax and I even dozed for 20 minutes. The longest I had slept in nearly 30 hours. I could still feel the contractions but since I could breathe through them I felt a new energy and that I just might make it through delivery alive. Extreme and irrational thinking I know, but what else is new.

2:00 pm - Doctor Petersen arrives and says no more Nubain, LaRayne did not react well, if I want to keep doing pain meds we have to do an epidural

The Nubain put LaRayne to sleep too. But it made her heart rate drop a little too low for the comfort of the doctors. It was not dangerous but low enough and often enough that it was concerning. It took me a few minutes to process is new information. Especially since I was tired and drugged, but thankfully mom and Fred were there to help me talk it all through.

2:15 pm - Decided to go 100% medical, epidural and the doctor breaking water

It didn’t take a lot of talking to come to this decision. We all knew that my body was tired and I just wasn’t progressing very well on my own. I’d made a grand 2cms in 14 hours. The baby and I were going to need medical help to get through this. Our bodies just weren’t communicating and working together.

2:30 pm - Epidural is administered

Thank goodness for the Nubain, which was pretty much gone by that point but I wasn’t in such agony that was easy to sit up and take the little pinch that comes with the epidural. And really that’s about all that hurt and then some pressure with it going in. I did feel like smacking the anesthesiologist. He walked in and said “Why anyone would want to feel pain is beyond me, and its nuts.” Just because he has an advanced degree doesn’t mean he has the right to insult my choices. Ug doctors.

3:00 pm – Pitocin drip is started and water is broken by Dr Petersen

Pitocin was interesting. They started me on a does that was too high and I started to feel clammy and sick. Luckily Dr. Petersen was standing in the doorway and notice that I very quickly turned a pale gray. They got me on my side, brought my head down, and checked my blood pressure. My blood pressure had dropped to just below normal. They leveled the pitocin and my pressure started to come up. Was stabilized they put in a catheter and broke my water. Didn’t feel either, which was kind of cool.

4:50 pm - Dilated to 7cm

This was a relief to hear. It would have been awful to do all of that medication and not make some serious progress. I wasn’t really feeling the contractions at this point. But I was noticing that every time a contraction showed up on the monitor I’d kind of half black out and I’d feel the need to take a deep breath. It was a very strange feeling and I complained about it almost every time. I didn’t like it at all.

5:40 pm - Started having oxygen to help with labor

My complaining must have triggered something in mom because she started watching my oxygen levels. And when I’d have a contraction she could see my levels drop to or below 95. Then during the rest periods my levels would be up to 99-100. So mom asked the nurse if we could put me on some oxygen. The nurse did and took an alcohol wipe and rubbed it on my chest to see what areas I could feel. The epidural had moved up instead of just down, so my lungs were being numbed. They sat me up and got the oxygen going and we were able to stave off anymore problems. I’m happy we got the epidural but I’m glad we didn’t get it sooner because I would not have wanted to have labor for a day that way.

5:50 pm - Dilated to 9 cm

I could tell when I was contracting at this point. I could feel the pressure in my belly but it still didn’t hurt too badly. They called that doctor to let her know she should make her way up to us. The nurse said she’d be back in 20 minutes to check on my progress.

6:00 pm - Dilated to 10 cm

There was no mistaking the feeling that I wanted to bare down, or push. But of course I breathed my way through it and waited for the doctor. Very quickly mom grabbed the nurse saying we weren’t going to make it to 20 minutes. Sure enough I was fully dilated and they were stat paging the doctor.

6:15 pm - Started pushing with Doctor Petersen

Before you could say “Bob’s your uncle” 3 more nurses where in the room, they had taken half of my bed off and made it into a labor bed. It looked like a completely different room. As I look back on it I honestly have to remind myself that it was the same room. I was never moved, it’s kind of freaky.

7:25 pm - Attached vacuum for help with one final push

That was a long hour, even though I had no sense of time. I was able to push any contraction I wanted too and sometimes Dr. Petersen would encourage me to push during certain ones because she could see the trend on the monitor. Progress was pretty slow; LaRayne was not positioned well into the birth canal when we started pushing. So I had to push her into the canal and then we could start pushing her out. LaRayne also kept shifting her head so she would fall back a little after every push. Finally I got LaRayne to a place where they could attach the string vacuum and I was starting to show serious signs of tiring. I was back on the oxygen, and my legs were starting to go numb. Then the moment came, and what a moment. In a single major contraction, my epidural wore off, the vacuum was attached, and LaRayne made her entrance into the world.

7:30 pm - Baby LaRayne is born!

I said “Hello Darling” then she was taken out of my sight for all of her testing. They delivered the placenta as quickly as possible and Dr. Petersen started to work on me. And it was work for the both of us. I had to do my best to stay calm and still and Dr. Petersen had to start some serious sewing. I had several internal vaginal tears that needed immediate attention. Quickly she called for a dose of Nubain, then 2 doses of Versed and to get the anesthesiologist in there for more epidural medication for me. Eventually all the meds were on board and the doctor was able to finish her work.

8:45 pm - First breast feeding session

As quickly as the room had been changed into a labor room it was changed back into a normal room. Because of my complications they put me on extended watch which meant that were staying in that room instead of moving into a post-partum room. They did get me one of the softer beds, which was a challenge getting over to the new bed. My legs were dead weight and my arm strength was shot. As soon as I was in my new bed I was handed my baby girl and we were able to breastfeed for the first time. Although we only got about 5 minutes on each side before she fell asleep it was great to feel her latch on to me and really bond as mother and daughter.

LaRayne Darcy Kaestner

9/4/2010

7:30pm

20.75 inches

6lbs 13 ounces

35!!!!

I have eaten at least two meals everyday for the last 35 days!!!!!

The meals have varied in size but there has been minimum of two each day. I'm also reporting that I have a bit of a snack bug. I love having crackers to snack on during the day something I can just grab and munch or chew on. I still have to make a conscious effort to get the crackers out but once out I'll eat them :)
There are days, a lot of them, that eating is not something I really don't want to do but I'm getting better about making sure it gets done. And I'm still drinking my fluids too!
35 days down and ohh at least another 21,604 to go.

The Appearance

My bump finally showed up. Just in time for me to go into labor.... lol. But random people actually notice I'm pregnant, no one wants to believe that I'm 9 months pregnant but oh well. It was really funny one night we went down to Labor and Delivery and the nurses there were completely caught of guard how far along I was. The average guess was I was only 6 months along. So I'm starting to really laugh about people's wrong guesses and funny faces.
You'll also notice that our LaRayne has decided to drop. Which actually has made my life easier because now when she kicks she isn't hitting the middle of my rib cage, LaRayne doesn't really even hit my rib cage at all. I've been lucky enough that her dropping hasn't effected my hips or back, I'm very blessed.
That's about all for now. I'm off to eat dinner. Yes dinner for the 21st day in a row. You read right 21 days!! I've had at least two meals a day for the last 21 days. And yes it's still hard to eat but I'm doing it :)

It's Been Madness!

The last couple of weeks have been an emotional roller coaster ride for us and not the good kind. It started about a week and a half ago with a my normal 33 check up with my OB. It was a simple blood pressure, weight, heartbeat and size check appointment. My blood pressure was fine, I'd lost some weight (over two pounds), baby's heart rate was great but she was still measuring small in fundal height. This was all done by the nurse and then my doc comes in. He comes in sits down and asks hows the baby? I told him she's moving normal, no contractions but I did have a few concerns. Just as a worried mom. I was worried about the fact that her fundal measurements keep coming back two-three weeks small. And that the only movement I feel is above where my belly button is. That just seemed really high and with my mom have placenta previa before, it made me a little more concerned. With out even moving my doctor responded, "Well high movement in fairly common, and as for the size I guess we'll see what size she is when she is born." I start thinking, "um okay while that is all true I know that, I still don't feel very good about it." My doctor rushes on, "Any other questions?" I had been feeling pretty crummy the last week or so. My ears have been clogged, and my sinuses just aren't comfortable. I told him this and before I could even really get to my question he cuts me off saying, "I take half a Zertec a night to help with my allergies. Anything else???" I started getting a little ticked off. Then I pulled out my birth plan. I could see his face sort of drop and he said, "Oh I usually don't start birth plans until 37 weeks. But I suppose we can look at this." Then he proceeds to tear it apart. "No, you can't have anything to drink during labor. You have to have a saline IV so you will be hydrated. And I require that you be on a monitor at all times. You can move as much as you want just as long as you are on the monitor go to the bathroom and walk around, but that means you can't shower." What he doesn't mention but I know because I toured our hospital already is that they don't have portable monitors. So once I'm hooked up to a monitor I have a giant machine that will 3 feet away from me at all times that has to be plugged into a wall. Oh yeah I can really go for a walk on that type of leash. So at this point I'm almost in tears realizing that if I stay with this doctor I'm not getting a birth anything close to what I want. And this was the guy recommended to me for natural birth by several people. ACK!! At least my doc was smart enough to notice that I wasn't very happy and said, "These are my rules and if you don't like them I won't be offended if you go to another doctor. Just call the office and let them know. Any more questions?" I just looked at him blankly. He responded "Okay good, see you in two weeks." I made my appointment for two weeks and went home. Thank goodness it was a Friday and Fred's day off I was able to just home and be a mess. I cried, I whined, I worried, I stressed, so yeah I pretty much just broke down for an hour or two. Then Fred and I worked on the project of the day which helped get my mind off things.
Over the weekend I thought, prayed and tried to decide what to do. I knew I wanted a different doctor but would it be possible to find anyone better who would take me this late in the game. I also researched and e-mailed a bunch of OBs in the area. Then someone gave me the great idea of contacting a local Doula (birthing coach) to see who they recommended. So I did that and anxiously await to hear back from everyone hopefully on Monday.
Monday morning came and so did the responses. The doula's came first and she was very excited to help me. She recommended her favorite doctor to work with Dr. Cimino. As I was doing research about this doctor I got responses from all the OBs I e-mailed and none of them would take me because of how far along I was. Dr. Cimino takes patients up to 38 weeks. So I gave their office a call. And yup they were willing to take me as a patient my appointment was for the following week.
Yesterday I went to my new doctor. The staff was nice, kind and caring. Then the doctor came in and it got even better!!!! He answered all of my questions thoroughly, calmed my fears and took me seriously. I went over my birth plan and he's fully on board. I can even have my Gatorade during labor as long as there are no complications. And I only have to be on a monitor for one contraction every hour just to make sure that the baby is responding positively to the contractions. Other than that I can do what I want. We did have one disagreement though. That was when I'm actually due. According to some of my numbers I'm due on August 22nd. But my doctors have been telling me off the ultrasounds that I'm due September 8th-11th. Depending on which tech or doc you talk to. During my exam Dr. Cimino couldn't find the baby's head and I am starting to dilate. Not enough for a number yet but he can tell my body is getting ready for birth. But with all this an ultrasound was warranted. The ultrasound showed a due date of September 4th. Which isn't a huge difference but because of all the other date confusion and what my body is doing they are officially changing my date to that. Dr. Cimino so far is not convinced I'll make it that long. But Rayne is perfectly healthy with her head down. She is positioned a little different than most and that's why her fundal heights are always off and the placenta is in the front so it makes it hard to find the head on a regular exam.
So that's the story here. With baby arrival looming even closer than I thought my mind is starting to race about things I need to get done. While at the same time making sure I don't over do it and go into labor anytime soon. It will be an interesting balance and I'm sure everything will work out for the best. Just goes to show that when it comes to medical things I never do things the easiest way. I have to be just a little off beat.

The Best Husband

This would be Fred, well at least for me. This year so far has just been madness for us. With the new job, moving, pregnancy, and everything else that goes with it, it's just been a little overwhelming. And although he has had his tough times Fred has been such a super trooper. Last week though he stepped right up to plate and hit a home run.

I've been dealing with some nausea lately and being even more sick than usual. None of this helps with my not wanting to eat but Fred keeps pushing away trying to get me to eat. Last week was particularly rough on me so while Fred was at work, we were on instant message, he was trying to help think of things that I could eat. He asked if there was anything that sounded good at all no matter how 'un healthy'. So I told him there was one thing that I had been wanting since December but never brought it up because it's just not available down here. But what I wanted was a BLT on french bread with a provolone cheese and mayo toasted in a stone pizza oven. It was something I used to get a lot up in Maine because of all the family style delis. So my husband went on a hunt for a BLT. He figured he wouldn't find the exact thing but he wasn't going to get it as close as possible. Well he did it folks. A co-work happened to have a menu of a new Deli that made their sandwiches exactly the way I described. So Fred wrote me and said that he'd make dinner when he got home and I should just relax. Well what he did was go and get me my sandwich.

He came home with this wonderful goodness in his hand saying "You can get mad at me for spending money. But I want you to have this" What a guy! He couldn't have picked the more perfect time to just take the risk spend the money. My Dad says, "Some days you have to buy two loaves of bread and others you have to buy a loaf of bread and a flower." Which if you don't get it means that sometimes you just have to do things that cost money to help someone emotionally or mentally even if it means sacrificing a physical need. Of course it needs to be done in moderation that's why you're only sacrificing a single loaf of bread.

Oh the sandwich was perfect. Just like my man!

Eh, maybe

So I officially hit 25 weeks today. And to celebrate I decided to attempt a bump pic, especially since I finally am measuring bigger than I did pre-pregnancy. It's not much bigger a whole inch but it's something. This first pic is me trying to show a bump, and the second is what I look like when I dress normally.It's sort of a bump... but only if you know what you are looking for.

I still am not putting on weight (doh) which when I saw the OB on Thursday he didn't even mention it. Probably because the ultra sound showed a perfectly healthy little girl. Who was in the same position she was for her last ultra sound. Head down, curled up with her hands up by her head. Her face was even the same direction. It was really interesting.

We did have a little excitement this week, if you call it that. I finally gave in and went and saw a doctor for why I've been feeling so sick. Some of it is baby and Fibromyalgia related and come to find out that I have a UTI too. And you may be thinking how could she not see the signs for that. Well that would be because the normal signs weren't there. The doctor was actually quite surprised that's what was wrong. He was glad it was simple and treatable but not an expected outcome based on my symptoms. So I was sent home with a very strong antibiotic and permission to take a little extra pain killers if needed. So I've been taking my meds and resting when needed. And there are actually times during the day when I don't feel like death warmed up.

Not much else is happening around here. The temperature is rising, the pool is open and I don't have a swim suit that fits! It's so sad. I love the water, last year was torture because of my shoulder I couldn't really swim. This year I'm having to be patient until I get my new suit. OI!

It's Just Not There

Now I know all of you want to see baby bump pictures. Especially with the move and being away from everyone these are important things that people want to see. Well I am just writing to inform you there is no bump. No I'm not in hiding, I'm not avoiding the camera, if I had a bump it would be posted everywhere. I cannot wait to have one. And please no comments on oh you'll get one or you'll be happy you don't have one or that you don't get to big. I DO NOT WANT TO HEAR IT!!! I know those things but it still doesn't change that I want my bump.

Back to the no bump things, I have witnesses. A whole Relief Society of them. Today was my second week in our new ward and I was featured in this week's news letter. In said letter it mentioned that I was expecting our baby girl in September. There were about 6 ladies that asked me my due date again, thinking the date must have been a typo because I had no bump. And another 4 or 5 ladies that I talked to never would have guessed I was even pregnant non the less past half way.

No I'm not holding out on you. When I have a bump everyone will know it. Otherwise LaRayne is a completely healthy little one who has figured out how to make purposeful kicks and or punches. It no longer just feels like squirming we are talking timed hits. Maybe it's time to start music lessons and get her on a beat so she's prepped for dance classes :)

Just thought you'd all like to be in the loop!

It's Official

Did you cast your vote for the gender of our baby? Do you have one in mind? Well you have a 50% chance of being right.... sick of me not saying?

IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes not what I was expecting but still very happy. She is perfectly healthy with 10 little toes and 10 little fingers. With a heart that was perfectly healthy and the tech said it was the easy heart read she had in a while.

It is all very exciting, especially considering this week is when I officially move down to Alabama. Thursday is when I leave!!! What at week it's been and it's only Monday. AHHH!!!

PS- Even though I'm having I girl I will still be avoiding all pink things like the plague. That will not be changing ;)

Busy Bee

Well sort of. My family and I went to the house to do some yard work. Planting new flowers, mulching the front planter, mowing and some general lawn cleaning. Boy oh boy is the house looking nice. While we were working today we found a bunny nest, 5 little bunnies. It makes me really happy we won't be here to do a garden this summer. Last year it was bad enough to keep just one bunny out of the garden. 5 more if only for a little while, oi that would be nuts. We snapped a pic of Eli with the "Easter Bunny." What is hard to believe is that Eli is smiling for a picture. He really is growing up.




I also completed my first blanket. It's double sided flannel and I love it. Mom helped me pick out the crochet color, what am I going to do without her and she showed me how to do it. I am now the 4th generation in my family to crochet blanket edges. It is a tradition I hope will continue on for a few more :) Also I hope to become consistent enough to help mom with making blankets for her business. I'm already helping as much as I can but the crocheting is the most time consuming. So we will see how it goes.





Other than that. Not much is really going on. Happy Easter!

How??

How on earth do you people do it? How do you folks eat so much? Now I'm not trying to make anyone feel bad or say you over eat that is not the point. I'm an in some serious awe by people that can eat on a regular basis without even thinking about it.

Before I got pregnant I would eat 1300-1500 calories a day. Mostly out of fats, sugars and carbs so even though I wasn't doing much I didn't really gain weight nor loose weight I sat comfortably at 150lbs. But now I'm supposed to be eating 1700 during the first trimester and 2000 for the next two trimesters. Which is a whole heck of a lot of food for me. If all I had to do was eat ice cream then yeah that's easy but a healthy 1700 is really a lot. Today I did about 1500 today and boy am I stuffed. But sadly when I look at what I ate it wasn't much.

Half a Bagel- 2 Eggs- Slice of Toast- Juice: That was Brunch
2 Homemade Soft Tacos ( Beef, Lettuce, Tomatoes, Sour Cream, Cheese, Avocado, Tortillas)
2 Peeps

That was all. No other snacks, I drank some water but not nearly enough. While I was eating I wanted to stop several times and during the day I wasn't hungry. Now I'm sitting here dreading the fact that a desert or bed time snack still needs to be eaten. urggg.....

So you may all think I'm crazy that I should just learn to eat like a normal person but this is my rant so I can say whatever I want :)

Bright Colors

I'm ready for spring (if you can't tell by the new lay out) bright colors, warm weather, swimming, and sun bathing.

Other than that life is pretty good. The house is on the market with lots of showings happening so more exposure means a better chance for an offer. So keep those fingers crossed!!!

The baby hand-me-downs are starting to come in. Oh it's sooo much fun, all those little things. And less for me to have to find later ;) Yes technically it's more things to pack and move but oh so worth it.

Fred is just hanging out in Alabama. Making friends working and chilling with the cat.

That's pretty much our life right now, how have the rest of you been?

Just an Update

Life for us has been a little crazy lately. First off Fred started his new job with Comcast in Huntsville, Alabama. He has survived the first few days and is looking forward to many more with the company. I have remained in Louisville to finish the work on our house to put it on the market. My parents have done so much and thank goodness the end is almost in sight. Then we can have the house on the market and pray it sells quickly so Fred and I can be reunited.

I’d also like to settle into our new life in Alabama before the baby comes. Did you catch that? Yes baby. My mom and I went to my fist OB appointment yesterday and got to see the little tadpole. Didn’t get to hear the heartbeat yet but everything is looking fine. I’m 7 weeks now which puts the due date at September 11^th, 2010. Fred and I are both very excited about being parents and really starting a whole new life in Alabama.

Well that’s the news for now :)

The Long Road

Fred left. I mean not 2 minutes ago he pulled out of the driveway on his way to Alabama.

Knowing that this is going to be the worst part of moving help a little. Understanding that this is extremely temporary helps with perspective but it still really SUCKS!

One thing that makes it really stink is we have no idea how long this is going to last. I know I will see him in about three weeks to go to Florida for a wedding. But after that weekend who knows how long it will be.

LOL! Fred will be home in about 30 minutes.... he forgot his Sunday clothes. Just answered the phone and yeah Fred forgot his ties, suit, shirts, and hangers. Thank goodness he noticed while he was still nearby. Oh my.....

Okay well I suppose time to start moving on. The greatest blessings in life often come after some of our greatest challenges.

Yes Alabama, That's Where We Are Going

There is nothing you can do to stop us! We are going to Alabama. And yup we are excited!!!! Well we are excited to be in Alabama not so much about the process of getting there. Anyway...
The Details
Fred accepted a new job with Comcast in Hunstville, Alabama. He will be doing the same type of job with the same title. But it's a great career move. Comcast is a national company so there is a lot more room for growth and promotions, but they like to treat their people as if it was still a small company. With good benefits, small team sizes, hands on training, and personal attention. Also if you are wonder yes Comcast is the company buying the majority of NBC from GE... which is exciting.
Fred heads down on the 22nd of January and starts work on the following Monday. He is going to be staying with some friends while we figure out exactly what is going to happen with the house and we locate an apartment for us to live in.
My parents and I have been working on getting the house ready for the market. Mom, Christina ( a good friend of mine) and I have been doing a ton of painting. A bedroom, a bathroom, and a kitchen so far. The missionaries were here yesterday and moved a TON of furniture around for staging and even put up a couple of our lights. The electrician will be here Thursday to put in the rest of the lights and mom and I will be doing more painting as the week goes on. We also seriously need to start packing. Going through my "deal with later boxes" and figure out exactly what is going and what is trash.
So our lives are crazy and the house is a mess but we are very excited about what the future holds.
Later Days!

Ramblings of a Sane Mind

This is a new blog that a friend of mine, good ole Davey, started and was gracious enough to let me be a part of. We already have some great posts so I encourage everyone to start reading it. So entice you more here is the first post I wrote :)

Pretty Good is a Qualified Answer

For anyone who doesn't know me I'm sick a lot. And if you do know me I'm still sick a lot. Needless to say people are always checking up on me, not just normal "hey how ya doin" but "how are you feeling today" or "how are you dealing". Many years ago I decided on an honesty policy when people ask me questions like that. Mostly I answer "Pretty Good". That is my honest answer, sure maybe I could elaborate but I don't want to overload people with my problems unless they really want them. But that's a point for another ramble. Anyway..... back to pretty good..... So I give this practically all the time, and it really is an honest answer. If I'm out and about, or had enough to let you in my front door I'm pretty good. What gets me is the audacity of some people to say "just pretty good?" Oh come on folks!!!! Accept the fact that my life has more challenges than yours and the fact that when I get out I'm only 'pretty good'. Be thankful that I'm not miserable, horrible, bad, or even awful. Also remember that pretty good is better than just plain good. So no I'm not to your level of everyday is described as terrific or awesome those words I reserve for extremely special days so I, and those close to me, know that I really was a stand out day.

So if someone says they are pretty good take that at face value. Let them enjoy whatever level of good their day is. And if you have to ask a secondary question ask, "what makes it pretty good?" but only if you really want to listen and care about what will come out of that person's mouth next. And if you are a person describing your day, never lie. If your day really is awesome, bad, rockin, or even pretty good then say so, people want the truth.

Until next ramble :)

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