Learning To Be Mommy

Okay so Lorelai is now 1 month and two days old! She has grown quite a bit in the past month and she currently ways 8 pounds and 3 ounzes. We have already gone on lots of adventures. She has met the dogs and they are slowly adjusting to each other. Archie still whines like crazy when he is around her. We have gone to the park and gotten lots of pictures taken. Thank you Laura! We have gone to my dad's aka Papa's house and stayed there in Boonville. We met a bunch of Papa's friends from work at caterpillar! The girls have gone nuts everytime they see her. We have gone over to Brittney's house and played with Gabe! Play dates already. She went to her first Halloween party over and Greg and Laurens and we had tons of fun! Then we stayed home and watched scary movies and passed candy out to all the trick or treaters. Then this past weekend Lorelai got to meet her daddy for the first time. He has been in St.Louis which is where he lives and couldn't make it for her birth. So we spent the weekend with her dad and let them try to get used to each other. I'm definitely learning a lot being a mommy but I do have to say is thank you god for giving me a very relaxed and easy child to deal with! She is sooo patient with her mommy! Anyhow, I will keep everyone updated on the new experiences we have as we go along!

Lorelai Elizabeth 10/7/10! She finally made it to the world!

I know I'm a little behind but I figured I would try to update a little bit. On Oct 5th I had my 37 week doctor appointment. Well at that point I was still doing ultrasounds every week and in these ultrasounds they watch the baby to see if they do their practice breathing. Well my daughter decided not to do her practice breathing. My doctor then decided that we would do another ultrasound the next day and see if she decided to do it then. So I went in the next day and they did the ultrasound and of course my stubborn daugther decided that she didn't want to do her breathing exercises again. Then we went in and talked to my doctor again and he decided that it was time to induce!

Next step was to run home get my bags and call everyone under the sun and let them know we would be having a baby the next day! After about an hour or so I finally got back to the hospital and they gave me a med called cervadel to try to thin out my cervix. I had to keep that in for 12 hours and then they started the pitocin. This started my contractions and there I sat for the next 12 hours having contractions that they kept telling me were as strong as contractions that women normally have at 10cm and I was sleeping through them! They were totally amazed! Anyhow eventually I dilated to 4cm and then got stuck there for about four hours. The doctor then said that it was time to consider a c-section. Which made me extremely upset. I was bound and determined to have this baby naturally but they were worried that if I kept trying naturally that something would happen. So, I finally agreed to have the c-section. They then wheeled me off and got me prepped. I ended up having a spinal block which totally numbed me from mid belly all the way to my toes. One of the strangest feelings I think I will ever experience. They got me into the operating room and it was freezing cold. I was shaking so bad I thought I was having a seizure. Eventually they finally let my mom come in and sit with me which was very comforting to have her in there with me. Next thing I knew I was getting sick and threw up apple juice all over the place! Mom laughs and says I managed to make it 21 years with out getting puked on! Anyhow the doctor is sitting there tugging and pulling on my stomach and all I feel like is there is some very weird numb,pressure feeling all over. Then all of a sudden at 7:04pm I heard my baby girl cry! It was the greatest thing ever. It felt like it took forever for them to bring her around to me so I could see her. When I finally got to see her all I could think was how much she looked like me. She has my eyes and mouth and her daddy's nose, hands, and feet! She was goregous. She weighed 7 pounds 2 ounces and was 20 and 3/4 inches long! She had a head full of black thick hair and she came out peeing on the doctors and flipping them off. We then stayed in the hosptial for four days after that and met everyone! Then we got to go home and have been enjoying each other and learning about each others little tendencies ever since then!

I'm exhausted!!!

Ok so it is now 11:35 pm and I have now been up for about 24hrs straight. I'm officially exhausted and all I want to do is sleep but I just can't manage to get comfortable. The good news is today I'm 36 weeks pregnant meaning I have hit the nine month mark and I only have 4 weeks to go that is if Lorelai doesn't decide to show up before hand. I have a doctor appointment in the morning so we will see what the doctor has to say and if he is going to make her show up early! As much as I'm anxious to meet my bundle of joy I figure she will come out when she is ready. So I try to just deal with all the things that are making me uncomfortable at this point knowing that it is all to keep her healthy and happy!

I went to check out a home daycare today. I was very excited about it. The lady who runs it is very friendly and she was a nurse but her real passion is run her daycare. There are only three other kids there at the moment one of which is her daugther. The oldest kid there is only two, this made me feel more comfortable knowing that Lorelai would have kids pretty close to her age around. I was also pretty excited because she works with the kids on sign language and spanish...I know it's a tad early for the spanish but I had definitely planned on teaching Lorelai some sign language anyway so that was very encouraging as well.

Well I think I'm going to attempt to go lay down and see if I can catch a few zzzs. Anywho have a good night everyone and I will let you know the appt goes in the morning!

So here is the latest updates in my life....I have been doing pretty good other than getting to be absolutely huge! I keep gaining more and more weight ( I know it's apart of being pregnant but gosh!) Lorelai seems to be doing really well. I on the other hand have been having the issues. Sunday morning I woke up with a charlie horse in my left calf at 6am which hurt like hell and then to add to it I started to get a headache. Well this headache is still here and driving me nuts. I went to see my doctor yesterday only to find out he wasn't there because he was on call over the weekend. So I had to go see a physicians assistant who gave me a script and said go home and rest which I did and yet I still have the headache. I then went to see my doctor today for my normal check up and he isn't sure why I'm having the headache other than the fact that he still thinks I could possibly have preeclampsia. So he put me on bed rest until Lorelai comes into the world and then I had to go get blood tests done. He also checked my cervix and I'm half a centimeter dilated. Now the waiting game begins...one for the results of my blood test and two to keep dilating! I'm just anxiously awaiting to see what happens next!

We are getting Closer!!!

Okay so I know it's been a couple of weeks since I have been on here. There really hasn't been much going on here other than I'm getting bigger and bigger as the days go by. Which is driving me nuts because I can't seem to get comfortable to save my soul! Lorelai is doing really well she keeps growing and the doctor says everything is looking good. I swear she knows whenever I'm talking to her because she starts kicking me...like she is doing now! The doctor is saying that my blood pressure is looking good for now and has let me work for two weeks now! Yay and Thank you God! We had my baby shower this past weekend and I had a total blast seeing everyone there and having them all there to celebrate with me! Lorelai got lots of cool new presents that I'm sure she will love to play with and use when she gets here. We are now down to the last six weeks of my pregnancy but she could come even sooner than that. My doctor also said that if I have any more complications with my blood pressure that we will have to induce at 37 weeks. So we will see what happens with that. Other than getting ready for Lorelai not much is really going on. I'm super duper duper excited because it is finally the FALL and it's cooling off! The leaves are starting to change colors and all the holidays are starting to come!

Patiently Waiting!

Things are going fairly well. I went to the doctors yesterday and actually missed my ultrasound appointment by about 15 minutes. Ugh. Although we still ended up doing a Non Stress Test (NST), which I have to have them done every week. I think my child has just decided that whenever we are at the doctors she is just going to sleep during the NST. Anyhow they ended up waking her up by what they call buzzing you. It's like a wand and they put it on your stomach and then it essentially shakes your stomach to wake the baby up. Well it would wake her up enough for her to kick once and then go back to sleep! Stubborn child! That whole process ended up happening twice. After all that fun stuff I went over to Dr. Jone's office and he told me that my blood pressure was up again and that he was putting me on bed rest for two days and do some more blood work. So I get to go back Thursday morning and have a ultrasound and then they are going to tell me how my blood work is looking and if i'm going on complete bed rest or not. Lorelai however seems to be doing really well and they aren't too worried about her at this point. Which is a relief to me.

At the moment I'm sitting here trying not to feel like a huge lazy bum which is truly about all you can feel like when you can't get up to do anything but go to the bathroom and get food! I don't know how long I can handle it. So I have been crossing my fingers and praying my butt off that everything is fine. I guess we will find out tomorrow morning. I'm hoping that maybe I can at least break bed rest for an hour tonight and go to church. Im thinking I will even put my feet up on the chair next to me...so I will still be on bed rest. Lol. Just at church.

I'm really not sure what else there is to say at this point nothing to exciting other than that stuff has gone on lately. I will keep you all posted!

Getting Closer

Well today I'm officially 30 weeks along. I'm doing pretty good other than having a huge stomach attached to me, swollen ankles, being extremely tired all the time, and moving slower than a turtle. I guess that is what happens when your pregnant in the first place and then you add this lovely August heat we have had. Anyhow the gestational diabetes testing and preclampsia testing results came back and both were fine. Yay! Thank you God! We have started going to the doctors every week now and every time we have an ultrasound Lorelai decides she doesn't want her picture taken. The first week she had her face facing my spine, making it hard to get a picture of her. Last week she decided that she was going to put her hand in front of her face but I did get a picture of her foot instead. So we will try again tomorrow and see what stunt she tries to pull or if she is going to let me get a picture of her. The doctor says she is weighing about 2Ibs and 15 oz right now. I don't know how she can be so tiny but cause me to look and feel huge! Oh well. I managed to survive another turnover at the apartments. Luckily this one wasn't as big as the last one but seems to be having more complications than the last one but we survived. Oh the gum cleaning thing went well and my gums don't hurt or bleed near as bad as they did. I have to go back for a follow up on Thursday and they are going to polish my teeth I guess. That ought to be interesting.

Almost Finished

Well today I'm officially 28 weeks pregnant!!!! Meaning there is only three months left before my beautiful little girl gets here. I'm getting extremely anxious for her arrival even though I'm not anywhere near being prepared but still I'm ready for her to get here. I feel like this last trimester has gone so freaking slowly. Lorelai is kicking the crap of me and loves to be up when her momma is trying to sleep and asleep when I'm awake. Mom, zoe, parker, and Dad are still anxious to feel her kick. Which is a little bit of a challenge since she likes to do that more at night that during the day. I have managed to survive turnovers at the apartments this weekend. All I have to say is I haven't worked weekends in a looooonnnnngggg time and it has completely thrown my week off. I'm telling you though you run into some really odd things when you work in an apartment complex! Oh I have a doctors appt this week and this is the fun one where I get to do the diabetic testing and another u/s and then I get to go back every week from now until Lorelai is born so they can do ultrasounds to make sure she is growing properly. On top of all that I get to get my gums cleaned on thursday which means that they are going to numb my gums which means they are going to give me shots in my gums! Yikes! It makes me totally nervous. I think that is all for now. I will keep you all posted in to what happens next!

AHHHHH STRESS!!!!

So at the moment I'm completely stresssed out there is to much to do and not enough time to do it all. I wish we had 72 hours in a day instead of just 24. I have two tests everyday from here on out. I have two clinicals left. Luckily I don't have to do much traveling for them but still there is a ton of paperwork to do for them. On top of all of this the week of school I have atleast one final everyday plus just a normal test. I have to plan graduation, a retirement party for a teacher, help with my baby shower, and get ready for this baby to come. By the way Lorelai is doing pretty well. She is continually kicking me typically down in my pelvis but when she is mad at me for laying on my stomach she kicks in the middle of my stomach. I went to the dentist last week and they told me I have periodontal disease which is causing my gums to be swollen and bleed when I brush my teeth and on top of that all four of my wisdom teeth are coming in....can you say painful! So they are going to do a deep gum cleaning but they have to numb my entire mouth...ouch once again extremely painful! To top of all this off my doctor has told me that after this next visit I have to go in to the doctors every week from that point on until Lorelai is born just to make sure she is growing because of my history of high blood pressure. So there is a lot going on..Hopefully as soon as school is over life will calm down a little bit!

Talk to you all soon!

Gosh I'm so behind!

Okay, so life is still and constantly will be crazy busy. I'm working like crazy at school trying to get these last few weeks finished up. Which is proving to be the most challenging part of the entire year. Along with planning retirement parties, baby showers, and my school graduation. Meanwhile, this week I'm on vacation and well that means getting to work more hours and do more homework. I'm totally excited about more hours at work. I hate not being able to work as much because of school. Oh, speaking of I got an email from the HR department at the University Hospital asking for two teacher references meaning that I could very well be on the way to having a LPN job before I get out of school! Yay! I'm so freaking excited, I can't even begi to tell you how much stress that would relieve! Had a doctors appt yesterday and baby Lorelai is doing amazingly well. She is growing like a bean. She keeps kicking me and in the last week it just got to the point where people can now put their hands on my belly and feel her kick. It's pretty cool to experience that even thouhg it's an odd feeling. Lol. I found out that after this next four week visit I get to go in every week to have u/s done so they can monitor how she is growing because of my history of having high blood pressure. Even though its been completely normal since I have been pregnant but oh well as long as my little girl is healthy that's what's important at this point. Then I had a dentist appt this morning because my gums have been bleeding and they hurt like haitis at the moment. The dentist said that it's part of pregnancy but on top of it I have peridontal disease which I guess is just inflammation of my gums. So, I get to go in at some point and do a deep cleaning where they are going to have to numb my entire mouth to clean because my mouth is so sensitive and it hurts so bad right now. Also, my wisdom teeth are coming in...yikes!!! They can't do anything about that till after the baby is born. So that's all that's goin on as of right now.

Have a great day!

We have a Girl!

So, I just found out Tuesday night I will be welcoming a beautiful baby girl on Oct 24th. I'm super duper excited. I think we have a name picked out atleast her first name is going to be Lorelai. The middle name is still up for debate at this point. The doctor says the baby is growing perfectly she is in the 50th percentile and is approx 12 ounces at this point. I have only gained 2 ounces in the last four weeks but I having a feeling I will gain in all in the last part of my pregnancy. Other than that we are doing really well and I can't wait to see my baby girl!

Crazy Last Couple of Weeks

I know it has been forever since I have updated. I really need to get on here more often and do this. Anyhow, nothing really really exciting has happened in these last couple of weeks. I'm just trying to get through the last weeks of school. We're down to 7 weeks! Finally!!! I'm slowly getting bigger and bigger with this kid although I feel like a balloon. I have a doctor appt this Tuesday and we get to find out if I'm having a little boy or girl. I have kind of been going through names and trying to pick some out and i think if I have a girl she is going to be Lorelai Alanna or if it's a boy he will be Elijah Nathaniel and he would go by Eli. So I'm pretty excited and waiting anxiously to start buying more stuff for the baby that is gender appropriate and not just yellow or green. Lol. We celebrated my sister's 17th birthday a few weeks ago and she is still anxiously awaiting to see the state is going to let her drive or not. So cross our fingers we'll find out. Then we had Ashley's 21st bday and got to spend some more time with her which is always good. Next we have Brittney's 21st bday coming up. So it's just been back to back birthdays. I'm still waiting to actually get out and go camping but I finally made it to the pool this week. I have decided the pool can be a good and bad thing when your pregnant. The bad the water feels like it's trying to suck your stomach in which doesn't really work well and meanwhile my child is kicking like crazy. It's kind of funny. I'm still craving fried pickles and fresh fruit and veggies. Anywho I think that's about all for now. I will try to post sooner next time! :) Have a great week!

It's been busy

So I know I haven't been on here lately things have just been chaotic. It seems as if you can never ever get ahead with anything. School is going fairly well, getting even more overwhelming as the days go by but I know it's going to be worth it in the end. Only 10 more weeks left and then I get to graduate. Yay! Work is going pretty well. I feel like I haven't been getting in there enough just because school is taking up so much time studying and clinicals and class work. Hopefully that will get better soon though. I was really excited to get to spend some time with Brittney and Sean last week. We don't get to see each other and go out very often, so that was a ton of fun and of course seeing a bunch of other people. Then last weekend was my 21st birthday I didn't do a whole lot because I was preoccupied with studying and I was house sitting that week. Although I did get to go have dinner with the family and Ashley, Brent, Jamie, Dan, Brittney and my Munchkin Butt (Gabe). I was very excited to spend time with everyone and have everyone there with me. The baby is doing pretty good. I'm now 16 weeks along and the baby seems to be getting stronger atleast the movements are getting stronger and easier to feel. I went to the doctor this past Monday and he says everything is looking good. I got to hear the babys heartbeat. That was amazing! I was so excited. It was pretty funny my doctor looked at me and goes well you have only gained one pound in the last four weeks. So I was pretty proud of myself for that one! Everyone has started talking to my stomach now and it's kind of funny. I know they say it's a good thing but it just reminds me of listening to a voicemail on your phone. I'm getting a little bit bigger though as far as being able to tell I'm pregnant. I'm hoping to get some new pictures on here soon. I find out the babies gender on June 8th. I'm super excited and hope it gets here soon. I can't wait to see if I'm going to have a beautiful baby girl or boy. Either way I will be happy as long as it's healthy! I can't wait to have the baby here though.

Hi

Not much new has happened. Just super focused on school right now and trying to get it finished. Only 15 weeks left including the two weeks I have off for break, so I guess only 13. Graduation is coming soon. As far as the baby it's moving more and more and more in my stomach which I love except for it likes to move more at night while I'm trying to sleep. Which makes life interesting. Then I have decided I have a musical baby anytime I'm dancing or music of some sort is on it decides to start dancing right along with me. It's totally amazing to feel it. The only thing that is frustrating me is that I can feel the baby move but no one else can yet. Anywho I went on craigslist searching for some stuff for the baby and found a wonderful car seat and stroller for $75 that normally retails for $160. It's six months old and there is nothing wrong with it at all. My friend Ashley and her mom are buying the baby tons of outfits at garage sales for me and they are all yellow for now until we find out if the baby is a boy or girl. Hopefully I will get to find out at my next visit if not it will be June before I find out. I'm anxious to find out so I can start the appropriate gender clothes and decorations. Cravings this week have been fried pickle which I still havent gotten yet. :( I'm now 13 weeks along which have gone by super fast and I'm starting to wear maternity clothes. Which are amazing but I still have some frustrations with them. I'm more excited about them allowing me to breathe though that I can get over the frustrations with them. I'm getting excited for my 21st birthday which is coming up on Sunday although there will be no drinking for me but it will still be fun to celebrate with my friends. Other then that not much more is going on. We will see what the rest of the week brings!

The Baby is Moving 4-6-10

So things have been going well. I'm officially 11 weeks and 2 days along now. I feeling like I'm getting huge and my butt is just getting bigger and bigger. UGH! I hate the smell of meat cooking, especially bacon! YUCKY! Although I will eat practically anything insight. Me and baby had a great weekend with the family and my close friend. I went to church with Ashley Sunday morning and I swear I felt the baby doing turns in my stomach. I know it's to soon but there really wasn't anything else it could be. Then I went to my doctor appointment yesterday and he tried to hear the heartbeat with the Doppler and he couldn't get it. So he decided to do an u/s and all the sudden I look over and Ashley is jumping up and down..meanwhile I can't see the screen so I couldn't figure out what was going on. Then my doctor turned the screen and I could see my baby moving around like crazy. It just didn't want to hold still. One minute the babies head was at one side of my stomach and the next it was the other side. It was the coolest thing I had ever seen. I was so excited! Anyhow I get to go back in four week and then go back in June and have my 20 wk u/s done. It seems to be going by so fast. And OMG I have to go by some maternity clothes soon or else I am going to bust out of my pants. Yikes!

3-23-10

Okay so everything is going well. I went to my doctors appointment on the 8th of March and had u/s #2 done. The baby has gotten bigger enough to the point that we could see there was an embryo and it's heart rate is at 150 bpm which is perfect. The doctor said baby is due Oct 24th. Now I have a feeling it's either going to be early or its going to be on Halloween. Hoping more for the early end of it! Lol. Now I'm dealing with heart burn still and it's driving me crazy, along with being nauseated constantly. That's a problem on its own. The doctor says for me to eat several smaller meals throughout the day but then I'm nauseated and don't want to eat anything and by the time I do want to eat I'm starving! I just can't win for losing. I also got a baby registry set up at Toys R Us this weekend and a couple of my friends set the date of the baby shower to be July 25th. So now I feel like I'm playing the sit and wait game again. That's pretty much all the new stuff for now. I promise I will update this a little more often!

The Beginning of This Beautiful Journey! 2-25-10

Good afternoon everyone! I just want to start off by telling you my story and experience thus far. I just found out that I was pregnant last Wednesday. I had just had a little meltdown at school the day before and I couldn't figure out why I wanted to cry all the time. I was very frustrated! So I decided that just for the fun of it I would take a test to see. So, I ran to Wal-Mart picked up a test, took it home and took the test. A few minutes of anxious waiting happens only to see one really strong pink line and then one extremely faint pink line! I then called one of my close friends in a panic asking her to read this test. She was like what test and I told her a pregnancy test. Her response was go get another and meet me at my house at six. Then another trip to Wal-Mart for another pregnancy test and off to Brit's I went. Get there rush to the bathroom because by that point I really had to go pee. So I pulled out the test and then let it sit on the counter right next to the first test and three minutes later I definitely had a second positive test! I spent the next six hours or so in shock just trying to wrap my head around this all. Then I got to thinking about it and thought this kid is going to be due in August which is right when I graduate from nursing school! Yikes! Nursing school, am I going to be able to finish it? Clinicals what am I going to do about clinicals? Oh great I'm going to have to by maternity scrubs! How am I going to tell my parents, brother, and sister! Just the flood of questions pop in my head. The next day I called my doctor and they said that I was going to have to wait a month before seeing her and my thought was I'm already 13 weeks along or so I can't wait another month to start prenatal care. Next thought, I have to find another doctor. Once again Brittney to the rescue, she says call my doctor he will get ya in. Well sure enough I got in the following Monday! I spent the whole weekend completely nervous just wishing time would go by fast so I could figure out for sure and not drinking any caffeine! That has to be the hardest thing ever. Especially when you are having caffeine headaches! Then Sunday roles around and I'm hanging out with my sister and I was on the phone with my boyfriend and we were kind of talking about it and my sis was sitting in the seat next to me listening to all of it. I get off the phone and I'm kind of looking a little sad and upset and she was like what's going on. My typical response to that "Oh nothing. Just life!" The next words out of her mouth " Are you pregnant?" My response to that question is "Ummmmm yeah." She then of course doesn't believe me and makes me go by two more tests and take them. Well off to Wal-Mart we go.....AGAIN! Pick up the tests, go home, take the tests, and shock of all shocks they both come out positive! She starts freaking out, which I expected to happen and asking me a zillion and one questions. Okay got that off my chest, then a text message later from her saying " Don't be mad. I had to tell someone..so I told Parker (our brother)" I was like okay that's fine and then Parker called, he was a little shocked but has been very supportive, along with Zoe now that she is over the shock. Finally, Monday comes and I go to my doctors appointment and they try to do a normal ultrasound first but don't see anything. Next thing I know we are doing a vaginal ultrasound and then you see this little black dot, which they later identified as being the yolk sac! Eventually we will be able to see a baby right there where the yolk sac is now. I was extremely excited! I'm going to have a baby! I then went in and talked to my doctor and he said that he wants to wait a few more weeks and just have another ultrasound done and we should be able to see an embryo and hear a heart beat. I'm so thrilled about getting to have this opportunity! They think that right now I'm about 5 weeks along but haven't come up with an exact due date yet. Meanwhile I'm experiencing most of the common pregnancy symptoms like the heartburn, mood swings, fatigue, and my boobs hurt so bad it's not even funny! Some days I think my boobs hurting is worse than the heart burn but I know that won't last too long! Now, I'm dealing with trying to figure out how to tell my parents. At this point I'm scared to death that they are just going to be so disappointed in me and I can understand that but right now more than anytime before I need their love, support, and understanding. So, the next step is waiting till March 8th to go have ultrasound number two done and telling my parents. On top of all of it, I'm still trying to get finances situated and money put aside so I can move to St.Louis and trying to find a job there after I graduate school. So much to do and not enough time to do it all! Thanks for reading and I will keep ya posted as I go!

Intro

Hey everyone. So I kind of talked into doing this by one of my best friends. She has managed to get a couple of us started on this. I'm getting ready to celebrate my 21st birthday this coming week and I'm in the process of going through nursing school to get my LPN. Eventually I will get my RN. I want to specialize in pediatrics and OB nursing. I have also recently found out that I'm pregnant and will be expecting my first baby in October which is very exciting. So the focuses in my life are school and getting ready for this beautiful baby I have coming! I hope to keep these things interesting and keep everyone updated about what's going on in the life of a McDougal!