7/26/10 - Amelia Grace is Here!!

Well, it's the big day...the day we've been waiting for, for soooo long! Baby #2 has arrived!

Amelia Grace was born today, via a very successful VBAC at 6:12AM. She was 7lbs3ozs and 20" long. She's perfect as can be and worth every painful moment! I have this overwhelming feeling of pride in myself right now...I can't believe I actually went through with the VBAC! The midwives and nurses at the hospital were all so proud and so happy that we went for it, and that it was a success.

We arrived at the hospital last night just before 5:00PM and checked into triage. After getting all settled in and hooked up, the midwife on call came in to check me. I just knew I was in for "bad" news, I could feel it. And sure enough, just like with Olivia, after everything I was only dilated to 1, BUT, I was significantly effaced and baby was very low. So, that was promising. Shortly after, my urine analysis came back and showed that I was very dehydrated. The nurse said that can cause labor to stall, so they got an IV of fluids going, eventually pumping 2 bags into me. Once those were done, about 2 hours later, they took another sample and called the midwife in again. This sample came back much better, and I had dilated to 3! So, it was official, I was checking in!!

I could not stay in that bed any longer, so Christian and I were off to walk the halls while they got my room ready. Because of my high risk situation (the VBAC), the baby and I had to be monitored constantly. Luckily, my amazing nurse got me hooked up with one of the few suites with wireless monitoring. So, I was able to walk around, go in the bathtub and be much more free. At 9:30PM, we were all set up in the room. Then, it was a few hours of resting, sitting, standing, sitting, bath tub, resting, sitting, etc.

By around 3:00AM everything had gotten much more painful and it seemed like a lot more was going on. They came into check me, and I had only dilated to 4! I couldn't believe it. They went over my pain management options at this point. I was determined to go as far as possible (hopefully all the way) without drugs, so I shot everything down at this point. The midwife broke my water since I made it to 4, in hopes of it moving things along.

A short time later, I just couldn't take the pain anymore...I think breaking my water was starting to move things along a little faster as well. I was really against getting an epidural because I did not want to be tied down to the bed and I did not want it to slow down my labor. They had discussed another option with me, a different shot, that doesn't take away the pain or tie you down, but it was just meant to take the edge off between contractions, so you can rest. They thought the constant pain I was feeling was again stalling things, and assured me this would help move things along. So, we decided to go with that. It definitely helped...the contractions were as painful as ever, but between them I felt like I could actually relax, breathe and forget what was happening.

They came in again to check me around 5:00AM, and I was dilated to 7!! I wanted to cry I was so excited...things really were moving along! It wasn't long after that I started feeling a lot, and I mean A LOT of pressure, and the contractions felt like they were non stop, one after another. I told Christian something was happening and that I needed to push, so he got the nurse, who got the midwife. She checked me and said "Yup, you are about to have a baby!". I was dilated to 10, fully effaced and baby was low, low, low! Everybody got ready and it was time to push. About 20 minutes later, Amelia Grace entered our lives.

I looked at her, and it was just the most amazing feeling. I couldn't believe I did it...I actually did it! All of the fear, all of the hard work, the pain, the worry...it was over. She's here, and it feels absolutely amazing!

My mom arrived shortly after, followed by Christian's parents and Olivia. Olivia did not know what to think about little Amelia, she seemed pretty weirded out by the whole thing. After we were checked into our room, we got a little resting, alone time. Later on, we were blessed with visits from so many of our friends and family members...my mom and Olivia stopped up for another visit, Kari and Andrew, the Madrid's, Melissa and her her mom, Christian's mom stopped up again, my stepmom and niece Angel, my Dad. Everybody was so excited to meet our newest family member, and who could blame them!

So, here we are, officially a family of four! Now the fun really begins!

7/25/10 - Things Are Moving Along!

Well, I'm pretty sure we officially have baby movement going on. I spent the morning and afternoon having pretty regular contractions..and pretty painful! I wanted to tough it out as long as possible, so we tried to get some stuff done around the house. Christian took to the yard and got everything cut and trimmed and taken care of. I did some cleaning around the house, finished putting away the laundry from yesterday and packed my hospital bag. Of course, Christian still has not installed the car seat, so we'll just be taking the whole thing with us and he'll have to install it at the hospital...talk about procrastinator!

I'm sure hoping this is it. This is how everything started with Olivia...contractions all day long, centered in my back. It was horrible and painful, yet, when I got to the hospital, I was only dilated to 1! I couldn't believe it. I'll be devastated if that's the case again! But, it's now 3:30PM...I have called the hospital and they gave me the green light to come in. I think the fact that I am going for a VBAC, they want me in right away, so, we're off!

I'm nervous..I feel like this is my first time, and, in a lot of ways, it is. I don't know what to expect or what is in store for us. I'm still pretty terrified to give birth, but, I'm really praying the VBAC goes as planned and everything goes smoothly! Fingers crossed...here we go! Here's a picture of us on our last day as a family of three!!

7/24/10 - More Car Fun...

Well, a good part of the day was spent on the car. I hate cars, I really hate cars. We all got up, bright and early. Christian was off to the car parts store with the battery. They tested it, and sure enough, it was not in good shape. So, he picked up a new one, came home and got to work. Olivia and I supervised, but I wasn't feeling too hot. I spent the day having random, semi-painful contractions, but nothing too crazy. Everything is pretty centralized in my back, just like with Olivia, so I'm not really looking forward to that again, but I'm happy to see things are moving along!

After Christian finished putting the battery in, he and Olivia ran to his parents to do a little more work on it. His dad was able to hook it up to check the alternator, and that was fine. They ended up replacing the fuel filter and buying a spark plug kit...but that hasn't been done yet. While they were away, I was able to finish all of our laundry...SO happy to have that out of the way!

Once he got home, we spent the rest of the day hanging around and just relaxing around the house. We have officially picked a name for the baby, and spent the evening painting her name letters for above her crib, but, since we're so close now, we figure we might as well wait to share her name until we have her. Hopefully this weekend!!!

7/23/10 - Car Troubles? Me?

Well, today started off not so hot. I dropped Olivia off at my mom's. There wasn't anywhere to park, so I just pulled up close to some cars and got Olivia out, in the house and settled in. When I went to leave...my car wouldn't start. Ugh...there I was, late for work, car parked in the middle of the street, extremely pregnant and uncomfortable, unable to go anywhere. My mom came out and gave me a jump, thankfully that worked! I went in and officially decided I am having this baby this weekend, so I got everything done and set up as if I was going to be out from this point on. I ended up taking the afternoon off because I was so tired and just needed a little me time. Then, I was off to meet the BFF for dinner...at Khan's of course! I made my food extra, extra spicy, with lots of pineapples, hoping for a little jump start :)

After dinner I met up with Christian and Olivia at home, and we took another nice long family walk down to the auto parts store. Christian was thinking my car troubles might be the spark plugs, so we went to check it out. The people at the store had some other ideas and offered to hook the car up to the scanner...but we didn't have the car, so we quickly walked back home to get it. When we got back, they hooked it up and the scanner didn't show any codes, so they are thinking it's either the alternator, or the battery. Low and behold, when we went to leave, the car again wouldn't start. They gave me a jump and we headed home for the night...looks like Christian will be unexpectedly working on the car tomorrow! Oh joy...

I didn't get a picture today, so I'll do a flashback! Here is Olivia last July...she's mastered sitting and is cute as can be!

7/22/10 - Almost There...Right?!

Today was a tough day. I have all of these pains, and I have no idea what they are. With Olivia, I had a lot of Braxton Hicks, then my "contractions" were all felt in my back. I get all of these pains on the top and sides of my tummy, which I assume are contractions, but they are not what I expected them to be. Ugh, I don't know. I hate to say it, absolutely hate to say it, but I'm just so ready to be done. I was brought to tears multiple times today and I just can't take much more of that. Hopefully this weekend something will move along!!

After work, Christian and Olivia went with his mom to dinner, so I did get plenty of resting time this evening. That was much needed. After they got home, we took a family walk up to Dairy Queen! YUM YUM. It was a nice long walk...exhausting, but hopefully it helps things along! And, Olivia had her first Ice Cream Cone! YUM...

I have the baby's stuff ready to pack for the hospital, I started gathering Olivia's stuff for when we drop her off at my mom's. Now, this weekend we just need to get my stuff together and get the car seat in. Thank goodness, we're almost ready!

7/21/10 - 39 Weeks, Still Here

Well, apparently 38 is not my lucky week after all!! Here I am, 39 weeks, and very much still pregnant! Oh well, what can you do! Hopefully everything going on lately is my body getting ready to go. As I mentioned a few days ago, this is the first week I've really felt miserable. The weather, the HEAVY baby in my belly, and life in general is just catching up to me now. I officially cannot sleep at night. It's not even a matter of getting comfortable, I just cannot sleep. It's horrible. But, I just have to remember, it's all going to be over VERY soon, and while I can't wait to see our little girl, it's going to be strange to not be pregnant, just like last time. It took me a long time to adjust after I had Olivia...losing that "piece" of you is hard!

Today was pretty low key. Work has been going great, they've been keeping me the right amount of busy, working at home has been a god's send and I think we're basically ready for me to go at any point. I've been getting really, REALLY tired in the late afternoons, so today, like the past few days, I took a little cat nap after I finished working, until Christian and Olivia got home. That's been nice, especially since I haven't really been sleeping at night! After dinner we relaxed for the evening, just thinking how crazy life is going to get any day now!

Chuy has been doing GREAT! We only had one accident, in his kennel, in the last couple of weeks. He's been sleeping great at night, going to the bathroom outside, eating well and I think the cats are finally adjusting to having him around. They still hate him with a passion, but I think they are beginning to accept that he isn't going anywhere. I think Olivia is still a little too much for him, but man she loves him to death! She couldn't care less who is around, as long as "puppy" is there!

7/20/10 - Another Day, Another Appointment

Well, I had my "39 Week" appointment today. Ann tried cheering me up by telling me how great and fabulous I look...I think Ann took her crazy pills this morning! But, a few compliments never hurt anybody...especially an almost 10 month pregnant anybody! My weight was great, again, no gain. I am so excited and proud of myself when it comes to weight gain this time!! Go me! My blood pressure was higher than the last couple of weeks, but still in the "normal" range, so that was great. She checked baby's heartbeat and measured me...I'm still measuring 37 weeks, and baby's heartbeat was back up in the 150's (still normal), so that was all good. She said, from feeling around my belly, she is pretty sure baby has dropped a bit. With all of the pressure I've been feeling lately, I'm sure she is right. I did not request an exam this week because I didn't want to feel the worry and disappointment I felt last week. Like I've said, it's not a matter of "I want her here NOW", it's the ticking clock I'm on that makes me worry. So, I figure, it's better that I just wait it and wonder rather than think about the actual stats this week.

She did say that because of the baby's size, that she is on the smaller/average size, they will let me go a little past 41 weeks if I want to. So, I told her I'd like to give it a couple more days. So, if it comes down to it, I will most likely have my c-section on 8/6/10. But, every limb crossed, hopefully she will decide to come before that! Next week my appointment is with the OB that will handle the c-section if I need it, so we'll see how that goes.

Other than that, it was a Tuesday as usual! Work, home to work, little nap, little play time outside, cleaning up a little bit. I got some chalk boards and a dry erase board from the Relay for Life garage sale we had, so we finally hung those up tonight in the play area. They are so cute, I love it! Of course I had to color all over them first :) Now, it's off to bed. For Christian, to sleep, for me, to lay there and wish I was asleep! Oh, the joys!

7/19/10 - Oh Monday

It's Monday! Monday comes so fast! Today was an OK day. Still pretty uncomfortable, and anxious about my appointment tomorrow.

I did get a burst of energy this evening and took it upon myself to get the baby stuff out of storage. Can't wait forever!!! So, I unpacked the bassinet, the swing and the car seat. Christian finally hard me rummaging around the basement, so he came down and did all of the heavy lifting. The bassinet and swing are all set up and ready to go...the car seat did not make it into the car, but is patiently waiting by the garage door, so hopefully Christian will get on that soon. After everything was moved out, I decided I also wanted to clean up the spare bedroom, so that turned into a little bit of a cleaning frenzy. Nesting, much?? But, I'm glad we finally are making strides towards being ready! It's a great feeling.

Other than that, nothing new or interesting to share. Let's just see what this week brings, shall we?!?

7/18/10 - Officially Miserable :(

OK, so I’ve felt great all through this pregnancy (well, sick here and there, but physically good)…until now. I feel like I was hit by a ton of bricks today, and I will say that I am miserable! It took every aching muscle in my body to get up, move around. Olivia is obsessed with “roughhousing” with me, and I just can’t do that anymore. I feel horrible, like I’m neglecting her, but I just can’t! And tonight, oh man, it was horrible. I had some massive Braxton Hicks contractions going on, and I could not fall asleep to save my life. So, tomorrow, on no sleep, should be great as well.

I did manage to pull myself together this morning and we went to Perkins for a yummy family breakfast. We stopped at Bachman’s on the way home because they were having a sale on their hanging baskets, which we wanted for the plant stands next to our new bench. I love them. I actually took a nap when Olivia did today, and it felt REALLY good. Too bad she only took a very short nap, and Christian had left to pick up some tools from his parents’ house, so nap time came to an end.

Once Christian got home, he fired up the grill and filled up the pool. Olivia and I hung out in the pool while he made dinner. We spent the rest of the evening just relaxing and hanging out, well, trying to anyway! I did get some cute pool pics though!

7/17/10 - Busy Busy Bees

Today was a very busy day in our world…and a VERY hot one on top of that! We were all up bright and early. Olivia and I quickly downed some breakfast, then, got ready for the day. We ran off to Target and spent some quality time there. Stocked up on some groceries and picked up a few other necessities. While we were shopping, Christian was home working on the yard. Even by the time we got home, he was only about halfway done! We got everything put away, played for a little while, then Olivia was down for a nap. Christian finished up the yard while I paid bills, did some dishes and cleaned up a little bit. Lots to do!!

After nap time and some lunch, we all headed out to run some errands. We stopped at Menards to pick up some home improvement supplies (AKA, boring!), stopped into Michael’s to pick up some craft supplies I needed (of course they didn’t have everything I needed…), stopped into Target (again) to FINALLY buy the double stroller and Olivia’s potty (we’re planning to start potting training while she’s home with us after the baby is born), then, finally, stopped into another Michael’s (and still didn’t get everything I needed). Ugh, so much running around…and, in the meantime, the storms started rolling in. We finally picked up some dinner and headed home. Immediately after getting Olivia in bed, the REAL storms blew in, and WOW, it was pretty crazy out. Luckily for us, Olivia slept right through the thunder and the tornado sirens, and we were at the very bottom edge of the storms, so we really didn’t get hit too badly.