The Embarrassing Moment That Did Not Happen

There is a gal that used to live in my ward with her mother. She left for a mission, came back for awhile and then got married and moved. She comes back now and then with her "interesting" husband to visit her mother.

Last Christmas I saw her again after not having seen her for quite some time. She had gained quite a bit of weight, especially in the stomach area. I thought she looked at least five or six months pregnant. I was excited for her but did not get a chance to approach her and congratulate her. I also did not get much of a chance to talk to her mother to congratulate her either.

It turns out this was a very fortuitous happening. I saw her again today sitting with her mother at church just as chubby as she had been at Christmas. There was no baby in sight. I am so very utterly thankful that I was able to avoid the whole "No, I am not pregnant I am just fat" conversation with her. I am equally glad that I was able to also avoid that same conversation with her mother. The only people that know that I thought she was pregnant are you and I know you can keep it secret.............. right?

Tags: embarrassment, pregnancy, church

Guess what!?

Happy birthday Harry!

Today is Harry's birthday and even though this blog was up and running I did not post his birth story. Enjoy!

My pregnancy with Harry was pretty normal. The only big complications I had early in the pregnancy was some nausea, horrible heart burn and a round of kidney stones (that hurt worse than the c-section). I had the feeling that Harry would be a big baby like his brother so I decided to go for a repeat c-section rather than trying for a VBAC. I would have had to switch to a different OB because the hospital he delivered at did not allow VBACs.

Things started getting a bit crazy towards the last few weeks of the pregnancy. I was measuring very large so I had to go in for weekly nonstress tests. During one nonstress test I was having some mild contractions due to being dehydrated. I ended up spending four hours laying in the same position until the contractions stopped. I was so sore after. The next week my OB decided that since I was measuring 42 weeks at 36 weeks that he wanted to move the scheduled c-section up. He was worried that I would go into labor. At that point I was so huge and uncomfortable that I was ready for anything.

Unfortunately the week my c-section was scheduled on was Thanksgiving week. We had planned on having my in laws and my mother come to us and cook a wonderful meal. My mother was then planning to stay so that she could watch Evan for us.

Bright and early on a Tuesday morning we left to have our baby. I had already been through the whole thing before so I was pretty relaxed but also excited to be meeting the new member of our family.

The c-section it's self went pretty well. My favorite part is when they finally pull the baby out and you can breathe again. That feeling is just so amazing. Harry tinkled a bit on my OB as he was being pulled out, I think he wanted revenge since he was quite happy in my womb. As soon as he was out the OR staff started taking bets on how much he would weigh. Harry was a chunker. The RT that was on hand to make sure the breathing was going well brought Harry over for us to look at and even took a bunch of pictures while I was being sewn up. It was great finally seeing him even if the newborn hat that had been put on his head kept popping off (Not only do I have huge babies but they also have giant heads. Me and vaginal birth were just not meant to be.). Harry's birth weight was 11 pounds 6 ounces, exactly one pound more than his brother. They looked almost identical at birth except that Harry was a bit shorter and fatter. They both have birthmarks in similar places, how odd is that?

Recovery was pretty different this time around. I had been given a medication for nausea that made me loopy. I didn't feel safe holding Harry for a few hours but once I got my hands on him I hardly let him out of my sight. He was making a groaning noise that we had noticed Evan make when he was newly born (before we knew anything about his heart defect) but we kind of just ignored it because we thought it was normal. Our pediatrician was not quite as relaxed about it as we were, he felt that there was something not quiet right. He told us later that he was expecting a call in the middle of the night.

After we were setted down for the night I let the nurse remove him from the room to run some of the many tests that need to be run. Harry's glucose had been running low (normally huge babies run high because the mom often has gestational diabetes which I did not have) so they were watching it carefully. They had also been testing Harry's pulseox because of Evan's history and had noticed that this time it was low and that Harry was breathing rather fast. That set off a round of tests and an x-ray to rule out some things. The diagnosis was TTN. He was given oxygen through an oxygen hood which meant that I was not able to hold him. Seeing him like that brought back so many bad memories of Evan's birth.

My decision to have Harry at the same hospital that I gave birth to Evan meant that I had yet again chosen a hospital with no NICU. When Harry's condition had not improved markedly in by the morning he had to be transfered. Our wonderful pediatrician tired valiantly to buy him more time but Harry just needed the help of the extra oxygen too much. We were both very distraught at the time and had not wanted to have yet another child be transfered to a NICU.

My dear friend A came with her husband just before Harry was to be transfered (it was about 3 in the afternoon by now). She had been planning on visiting us but I had called in tears so she came right over. Her husband helped my husband give Harry a blessing which really eased my mind a lot. A stayed by my side as I was released from the hospital (My wonderful OB let me out early so that I could be by Harry's side). She sent her husband out to pick up my pain medication and other sundries that I would need including a nice dinner. My husband followed the ambulance to the new hospital to be with Harry while they settled him in.

There was such a difference in my mood once I got to the new hospital and saw Harry all bundled up. I was so relieved. I could finally hold him again as he had bee put on a nasal cannula for his oxygen supplement. It was a different NICU than the one Evan has spent time in so the bad memories were not there. This NICU was nice and roomy (if there can be such a thing in a NICU). The babies were also not nearly as sick in this one so there was a less urgent air to the place. Harry was not even in a warmer, he was in a normal bassinet. All those things signaled to my mind that every thing would turn out ok.

Despite his rocky start Harry quickly improved. He only ended up staying one day longer than we would have if he had not had the breathing issues. The neonatologist that was taking care of Harry was very impressed with my determination in staying with my baby so soon after a c-section. I just could not lay by while my baby was taken from my arms to another hospital. I felt I had lost too much time with Evan at a critical time and was not going to let that happen again.

Taking Harry home was a glorious thing. Since we had spent Thanksgiving at the hospital my husband and I decided to have our own Thanksgiving that Sunday. It was a day of much Thanksgiving for a wonderful Thanksgiving baby.

It is over!

I am now a much lighter person as I have recently given birth to a giant child. I was having a bit of euphoria because of the birth. Harry was sleeping well and so was I. This had changed recently, the little stinker decided that he did not want to sleep at night. Now I am in the hell of sleep deprivation. I swear that this kid would be great for torture. Maybe I could sell him to the Department of Defense for use in interrogation of terrorists.

Harry for the last few nights has started fussing every time that I put him in his bassinet. He does not cry right away. He waits until you are back in bed and just about to drift off into a blissfull sleep. That is when the grumbling starts. If you ignore it, he will then start with the howls of protest loud enough to wake the dead. This process went on all last night with out stop. He would sleep just fine downstairs, but the instant you wanted to go to a soft bed and sleep he would have his little beady eyes wide open.

I am so going to take a nice long nap today(thanks to my mother in law who will watch the kids for me). I feel bad for my poor husband who does not have that luxury. Hopefully this will be a short term thing because I really need my sleep or I go psychotic.

Insomnia

I am awake at a time when I should be asleep. The itchies are getting me again and benedryl is not doing a thing for me, it is not even knocking me out like it should.

I did not get to spend much time playing with Evan today. We went to Costco for our big monthly stock up session which was much bigger due to the holidays that are upcoming. Evan got his lunch thanks to the free samples that were being passed out. His first word was fish and it is also his favorite food. This kid will chow down and eat a ton of the stuff. Too bad that he can't be consistent with that eating and get off of his feeding tube.

Nap time was nice. I got a pretty good rest although when my darling husband started tromping in and out of the house while messing with our tiny garden making it hard to get back to sleep. I was napping downstairs because I did not want to oversleep and miss my ultrasound appointment.

They make you come in a half hour before your actual appointment. I think it is for torture purposes because they also want you to have a full bladder for the procedure. I can drink a thimble full of water and get a full bladder but they insist on three eight ounce glasses. I blew that one off because I did not want to end up peeing my pants on the way there.

Then I ended up waiting for a long time because there was no waiting at admitting and the ultrasound person was running behind. If I had been prepared I would have brought a book but instead I read a three year old edition of Good Housekeeping and listened to two kids going through a catalog saying "I want that and that and that."

Luckily everything is fine. I have a large baby inside that has plenty of amniotic fluid to squirm around in. I fell asleep in front of the TV after dinner which is why I am awake right now. I hate it when I do that but I can't help it. I am a huge whale and laying down is about the only position that feels good long term. Ooo I just yawned, maybe I am boring myself into sleep. Better take advantage of the situation.

I am in pregnancy hell

Ok maybe I am exaggerating a bit but I will be so glad when this one is over. Right now I am in the throes of a symptom that is new to me, itching. I had thought I was having a bout of exceptionally dry skin or something but after talking to other women that have been there done that I know that it is yet another fun thing that pregnancy can spring on you. It is always the worst at night so sleeping can be fun, I find myself scratching in my sleep.

I keep meaning to ask my OB what to do about it but he keeps distracting me with other worries so I forget. This time it was when I was going to have my c-section. I had everything set up for the 28th but as I am measuring huge and all that fun stuff he decided to go earlier and the big day will be the 22nd. I had hoped to have a decent and very quiet meal with family for Thanksgiving but that is in question because that is the day theoretically I will be released from the hospital. Fun huh?

I guess no pregnancy for me can end the way it is supposed to. Hopefully this will be the extent of the suprises. I want to have a normal child that will come home from the hospital at a normal time. The big question that has no real answer is what is a normal child? I don't think I will ever know and it is time for me to go to bed any way.

Angry pregnant woman has emerged.

Be afraid, be very afraid. I am in the last six weeks of my pregnancy and I am so ready to give birth. The last month or so of my pregnancy a new person emerges. I call her angry pregnant woman. The slightest hint of stupidity, any questioning of what I am doing or why sends me off in to a rage.

My husband is constantly questioning what I am doing and why so he often bears the brunt of my anger. Last night he had the gall to question something I was wearing, I about lost it right then and there. Luckily for him I was in a rush to get somewhere and there was not time to murder him properly. If I am gonna do it, I want to do it right so that I will get off. Hey CSI is one of my favorite shows after all.

Luckily all this rage is cured once I get the giant baby that is growing in my womb out. Then I get all doped up from drugs for the pain and all the world is right again.