Long Time Comin'

So it's been an eventful 6 or 7 weeks since I've posted...This mom thing? I love it! But it's an adjustment! People talked about the crazy sleep schedules, the gallons of bodily fluids, the erratic hormonal roller coaster...Well it's all talk 'till it becomes reality! And oh, what a reality it is!

For starters..that 'drama' I mentioned at the end of my last post? Well, no one mentioned to me that toxemia doesn't just go away when you deliver. In fact, they all made it sound like having your baby would instantly cure the problem. Not so, my friends, not so! It can stick around for a couple MONTHS after delivery! Yup. Well, I didn't know this (a couple people have said 'you're a nurse..how did you not know?' Well, I'm an ONCOLOGY nurse..not an OB nurse (I hated the subject in nursing school, actually!) and...AND...I'm a new mother! My head is not in the nursing mindset, thanks very much! Treat me like I'm any other patient, please!

Right.

So back to the drama: a few days after having Aiden, I realized I was having POUNDING headaches. My OB had told me to check my blood pressure at home, but let's face it, I had other things on my mind. I finally did check it..and it was still just as high as when my Dr freaked out & induced me. We wound up in the ER that night..& I went home on blood pressure meds, which I just barely got the OK to stop taking. Hmmm...woulda been nice to know all that before I dropped $150 on an ER copay!

Aiden is growing SO fast! But no chunking out for our little dude..his growth is all length-wise! The kid is a freakin' piece of spaghetti, I tell you! I don't think he'll ever be a roly-poly baby..friends babies who were born after him already weigh more than he does! Not that he's malnourished..he just has the Newman/Thornley metabolism..so he's pretty much destined to be a lurp :) I was kinda worried at first..but after some research learned that exclusively breastfed babies tend towards the leaner side..& I'm a-ok with that!

ANYWHO, it's the most incredible thing to watch his little personality grow :) He is a very stubborn & super strong little boy..already holding his head up completely on his own so he can look around (he is a very curious little man, & gets really mad if he can't see things) & pushing up to stand on his twiggy little legs! He's started 'talking' back to us & giving us those cute little smiles..yeah, I'm in love!

I won't bore you, cause I know that a lot of this is only interesting if it's your child..but I will post pics tonight..'cause I don't care who ya' are..they're freakin' cute!

Once Again...

My friend, Wendy, has done a fabulous job photographing my little family..& this time Aiden's more than a belly bump :)

Jeff&Meg+1

Thanks, Wendy!

Prepare to be inundated!

What is about to ensue are a lot of words & a lot of pictures (in no specific order, might I add..I have yet to really figure out how to properly download photos to my blog!) In fact, I can't get them to line up the way I want, so they'll be randomly distributed throughout this post.

So, as y'all can tell..our little boy is here! YAY! A tad bit earlier than expected..& now that the dust has settled, we're ok with that!

On Friday, March 12th, I went in for my usual appointment..pee in a cup, check my vitals..blah, blah, blah.
Medical assistant pumping the cuff on my arm: "Huh. Your blood pressure's kinda high..that's weird..you run low."

Me: Well, I was a little rushed this morning..we can recheck it..what was it?

Medical Assistant: 150/90

Me: That's not too bad.

Got in, saw my Dr..she said re-check the blood pressure after I'd chilled in the waiting room a bit & asked if I had any headaches..not really, that I can think of..So, we rechecked the BP..it was still a tad high...

Dr: Why don't you come back in on Monday & we'll recheck it

Me: OK..my husband & I have a trip to Moab this weekend..are you still ok if I go?

Dr: Sure, just take it easy & come back in next week.

So we traipsed off to Moab..Jeff was riding in a fundraiser for Huntsman Cancer Institute..that's a whole 'nother blog...it was fun & I took it easy & just walked the doggy & chilled at local coffee shops.

Came home on Sunday. Went in to my Dr (saw a different guy, though) on Monday..pressure was still high so that Dr sent me home w/ a 24-hr pee collection (don't ask!). I asked that Dr if I could go into work that night..I really didn't want to use vacation time until I had our little guy.

He said: It's a night shift, right? Should be a little slower (hahaha..all my co-workers are laughing now..yes?)..sure, you can go in.

So, I went in to work Monday night. Notice I'm kiiiindaaa having a headache.."hmmm, wonder what my BP is" I think. So I check it. 175/110. Oh. OK. Higher than I though it'd be. Not awesome. So I kept rechecking it. And it stayed high. And I was getting a little nervous. So, just to be safe, I called my Dr on my way home from work & left a message w/ her nurse. Juuuust as I'm snuggling down in to bed my phone rings. It's my OB's nurse.

Nurse: We would like you to come in today.

Me: Oh. OK. Sure..what time?

Nurse: Now.

Grrrreeeeaaaaat.

I will now abbreviate: I went in. They put me on 'strict' bedrest but told me they'd be surprised if I made it 2-3 more days before inducing me. I laughed at them. Work was wonderful about helping me get 'called off' my Tuesday night shift (so I didn't have to use vacation time), & friends brought me books & chocolate (thanks Cheryl, Kelly & Heather!). I kept checking my BP at home. It stayed sky high even while I was flat on my back.

Here comes 3AM Wednesday morning..Are those contractions? Seriously? Well..they're not strong, just regular..every 5 minutes for 3 hours. And my BP? 190/120. Jeff was 'mildly' concerned..& I'll be honest, knowing what I do, I was a little nervous about stroking out at this point. So at 6AM I called the OB on call. She heard my BP's & told me to come in to be checked. I fully expected to be sent home to chill some more, but packed a bag anyways. Good thing I did. 'Cause they decided to induce me. HOLY. CRAP. I was SOO not ready for that!

So. Anyone here ever been on high dose magnesium sulfate? Raise your hand (hi, Amber!). Anyone ever had your guts torn out, eyeballs removed, legs turned to jell-o, all while being told 'PUUUUUUSSSSHHHHH'!!!! I really don't have adequate words for how freakin' AWFUL that stuff makes you feel! Magnesium sulfate, in high doses, is used in toxemia to relax muscles, which in turn, prevents seizures & strokes in someone w/ high blood pressure. Which, for me, equated to 3 different catheters (how much easier would it have been if they just left the first one IN?), cause I wasn't going to be walking on those jell-o legs, being unable to hold my head up at times & puking while pushing through my contractions. I opted for an epidural..which, I was extremely grateful for while I dilated from a 4 to a 10 in the space of about an hour..but when it came time for the pushing, I felt so out of control because of the Mag Sulfate, that I let the epi wear off pretty much all the way so I could feel when I needed to push. I'll be honest, it hurt like hell..I have a whole new measuring stick for pain. But I felt in control. Jeff had to basically fold me in half towards the end of the 2+ hours of pushing, & I felt so exhausted I was 'sleeping' in between contractions..haha! Side note: My husband is amazing. There is absolutely no way I could've done this without him..He physically & emotionally kept me going when I absolutely felt like I couldn't. And the second that I got to touch our little boy's head..it was all worth it, & I just couldn't stop crying. From that moment on, love has a new definition for me.

So at 11:04 PM we had Mr. Aiden. 6lbs 3 oz & 19 inches long & for that reason i'm glad i had him a month early or he'd of been huge! However, I was NOT glad he came early at the time, because after a few short minutes of getting to hold him, they whisked him away for further respiratory evaluation. Jeff went w/ him, & I'm so glad he did..our little guy had 2 episodes where his oxygen levels dropped dangerously low, leaving him unresponsive & gray..Jeff said he's never had a worse moment in his life. It bought the dude an instant pass to 24/7 monitoring & oxygen. My nurses were awesome & rolled my huge bed into the nursery after I was all straightened out & let me touch his foot..I went right back to feeling so helpless..I couldn't move out of my bed because of the magnesium & my little boy couldn't be taken out of his bassinet or unhooked from the wires & IV's he was now connected to..saying that the situation sucked is an understatement. All those wires & IV's hooked up to my little guy just broke my heart.

But, long story short, I believe in miracles & prayer (thank you everyone) because Aiden turned around pretty quickly, & only had to stay a couple extra nights in the hospital. The hospital social worker was great & worked it out so that even though I was discharged the day before Aiden was, we got to 'board' for free in our room so we didn't have to leave him. And now we have our little baby dinosaur (you should here him growl:) home. There's more drama following this whole story, but I'll save it for another post!

You still reading this? Wow! :)

To make a long a story short...

He looks just like his daddy & we think he's the best thing since sliced bread! More to follow soon..

Getting my Domestic Diva on..

Yeah. So. I looked back at the first pic I ever posted of me 'showing' today. And I must say..WHAT was I thinking?? To all the people who told me me 'honey, that's not showing..just you wait!' You guys were right! It hurts to say it, but it's true! *sigh*

ANYWHO, I figured I'd better get up the '35 week' pic before it's too late. I know I'm going to have to get even bigger over the next couple weeks..but I'm not quite sure how that's going to happen! I feel huge! Yeah, yeah, I know..there are girls who are 'more pregnant' than I am out there right now..but I feel stretched to the max! The skin on my tummy is numb from being stretched out so much! As you can see..if I'm at home, I'm wearing yoga pants (Oh, & usually NO bra..TMI, I know! I put one on the for pic..you guys are lucky!). I have a couple pairs I rotate through..& that's it! Jeans are not my favorite thing these days..even the cute maternity ones I got a while back..I can not STAND to have anything pulled up over my belly anymore..so that stupid panel gets pushed down to my hips..where it doesn't do the job of holding the jeans up anymore..so I walk around like a two year old gangsta' constantly hitching up my pants!

And Kateka..I'm not wearing heels anymore! No. I. Am. Not. I don't care that it's still freezing outside..it's flip flop time! Or my knock-off Uggs (I may own a pair..but I still maintain they are butt-ugly..they're too convenient for me to care, though.) I made the mistake of wearing a pair of my cute boots to dinner the other night..halfway through I could feel my feet expanding! Those suckers were OFF (it took some serious tugging) the second I got in the car!

I know I have it REALLY good compared to a lot of girls. I know that! I'm still exercising (waddling on a treadmill counts..oh, yes, it does!), I'm not on bed rest (whew!). So I'll stop complainin!

The domestic diva part of this post, you ask? Well, today I am making homemade cinnamon rolls & brownies (Jeff has a fundraiser at work tomorrow). They are not done yet. I WILL be posting pics, though..'cause I know I'm going to be stinkin' proud of the end result! Which I will then swiftly inhale! Also, my floors are all vacuumed & my laundry is 75% done..that makes me feel like a diva!

*SPARKLES* EVERYONE!

P.S. That pic up there makes me look like I have tree-trunk leg goin' on. I don't. It's the pants. Just sayin.

Update: I finished the cinnamon rolls & brownies. And they looked amazing & were delicious! However, my motivation to take pictures was gone..so you'll just have to take my word for it!

A picture's worth a thousand of'em..

I have this friend, Wendy Anderson, who is a fabulous nurse I work with! She's ALSO a faaaahbulous photographer :) (I DO have a point..keep reading)...anywho, I haven't felt especially 'hot' with this whole pregnancy thing, but I've heard from quite a few people that I will miss it when The Dude is here. So, in order to 'boost my confidence' & make some memories, Wendy did a maternity photo shoot for my husband & I..and let me say, she did SUCH a great job! I'm a terrible 'model' & was goofing off the entire photo shoot..& she still got some wonderful pics that I love & will love to look back at! If ya feel the urge, check'em out:

Meg&Jeff

AND, if ya need an excellent photographer, I highly recommend her!

Much ado about..

Before we get started, quick question: WHY can I never get my text above the first pic? Huh? If you guys know the secret, do tell!

NOW, updates :) Jeff is working on 'building' his new love: his triathalon bike. I'm a little concerned for my position in his affections right now....ahem! Jeff has a talent I must divulge at this point: he is an AMAZING online shopper! Me, I don't really like to shop much. And that's ok, 'cause Jeff loves to, and any cute clothes I have he bought! He can find these incredible deals, too. I hesitate to buy him anything, because I know he can find the same thing, or better, at half the price of what I pay. It's super annoying! But super handy when purchasing the components for a bike that could be ridiculously expensive, otherwise.

Moving on to VALENTINE'S DAY! Jeff made me a really yummy surf & turf dinner on Saturday night (I worked Sunday): shrimp, filet mignon, and lobster tail. I love it when he puts on his chef's coat & gets cookin'! I don't know what it is about a man in the kitchen, but he looks so dang good in that thing! And the dinner? It was SO yummy! He also snuck a pint of my favorite ice cream: Haagen Daaz Chocolate Peanut Butter, into the freezer..which I did not discover until the next day..that boy knows the way to my heart!



And me? I'm just getting bigger every day! Thankfully, it feels (and looks) like The Dude has dropped down..for which I am very grateful! It's nice to be able to breath a little bit! I'm not quite sure what weeks I am in these pics, but I'll give an estimate..

29 weeks:

28 weeks:

And sometime I'll post week 31!

How was everyone else's V-Day?