Wedding/Labor Day Weekend

This weekend was eventful and extremely tiring! Thursday afternoon my brother, sister-in-law, niece, and nephew came into town for my sister Lindsey's wedding. My brother is a minister and performed Lindsey's wedding ceremony as well as mine. Thursday night we went out to dinner in Garland at Babe's. On our way back home we ran into a really bad storm. My brother was following us, but we got separated in the storm. We were just coming into Allen when my brother called my mom and told her that they had just been in a car accident in front of Rooms To Go in Plano. We turned around and met them. Apparetnly a car next to them hydroplaned, side swiped the driver's side (and they had their babies in the car too!) lost control, started doing 360's, went sideways in front of my brother's car, they almost t-boned him, and then he flipped around and hit the passenger side of the car. They pulled over, and someone who had seen the accident pulled behind them. A truck pulling a trailer rearended the person that pulled over to check on them, then they proceeded to flee the scene of the accident. Someone saw them run, chased them down and got their license plate number. My brother just has a couple big dents on both sides of his car, but it is still driveable and could have been WAY worse than it was! The person who had the most damage, was the one who pulled over to check on them. Her car was the only one that had to be towed away on a wrecker. We are SO thankful that everything worked out the way it did!

Friday was pretty much uneventful. We had the rehearsal at 2:30. It seemed like half the wedding party wasn't able to be there. The venue doesn't usually have rehearsals on Fridays because they typically have weddings in the evenings. They originally scheduled it for Thursday but pretty much NO ONE would have been there seeing as how, almost everyone lives out of town but me and a couple people on Cody's side. Since they weren't having a wedding Friday, Lindsey and Cody were able to move it to Friday afternoon. After the rehearsal, I ran a few last minute wedding errands for Lindsey while she went out for dinner with her friends. The rest of us barbequed at my parents' house and waited for the rest of the family to get into town.

Saturday was the big day! My sister Leisa, her husband Don, and their 2 kids stayed at my place for the weekend. So Leisa, her daughter Emily, and I got up about 6:15, got ready, picked up Starbucks and headed over to my parents' house to get our hair done. I wasn't just absolutely crazy about my hair, but I guess it wasn't about me. My hair lady complained about all my layers and how it wouldn't do what she wanted to do. I told her, you're the one that cut the layers!! :) Anyway, enough rambling. The wedding was beautiful! I wish I had known about this place before my wedding! This is what I thought I was getting, but ended up with a crazy, bossy lady who didn't do anything I wanted her to. Hind sight is 20 20, and there's always going to be what ifs and regrets. It doesn't matter about the wedding and all the little details. Nothing is going to be prefect and at the end of the day, no matter how it happened, you're still going to be married to the love of your life. Its not about the wedding, its about the marriage. The flower girls and ring bearers did so good! One of the flower girls, both ring bearers, and the junior groomsman weren't there for the rehearsal and they did SO well!! I don't know why, but seeing those babies coming down the aisle made me start tearing up! I about lost it when I saw my sister coming down the aisle and I looked over at Cody. The only way I can describe the look on his face was love and admiration. You can tell that he truly does love her! I am so thankful she found someone who will put up with her! :) Just kidding!!!

The reception was fun. I got to see a lot of friends and family that I haven't seen in a while or don't get to see very often. The food was DE-licious! She did a really good job picking out the food. The cake was beautiful and I think everything turned out how she wanted it to.

After the wedding, we had some family come over to our apartment and go swimming. It hadn't been hot enough so the pool was pretty chilly! Emma went to bed at 9:45 that night and slept until 8:30!! She usually goes to bed between 11 and 12. Lately she's been getting up around 7:30 so I was very thankful for the extra sleep! She didn't really get a nap that day so she was exhausted!

We took it pretty easy the rest of the 3 day weekend. Pictures of the wedding to come soon! I believe Lindsey said the photographer would have the pictures ready on Thursday.

Changes

If you've noticed some changes, it is because I've combined my two blogs. It's difficult to keep up with one blog, much less TWO blogs, so I combined them into this one and deleted my other one. I will continue to post pictures (hopefully) on a weekly basis, so stay tuned!!

Updates

So, I haven't blogged in about 2 weeks or so, mostly because I haven't really had much to say. So, I'll give you a rundown on the random things going on in our lives right now.

My baby girl is going to be 4 months on Tuesday! I can't believe it has already been 4 months! People say, "enjoy this time because it flies by!" But you think, naaaah, it'll be different with me! It's so not! My baby is such a big girl now! I think back to when she was just a few hours, months, weeks old and how different she is now! She already has such a BIG personality! She takes after her mommy in a lot of ways. She's giggling now and wanting SO BADLY to sit up on her own! Every time you lay her down on her back she looks like she's doing mini crunches because she is straining to sit up on her own. When she's awake, she absolutely hates to lay down! She thinks that if she's laying down, then she's having to go to sleep. She loves her mommy sooooo much! She prefers her mommy over anyone else. (Look at me, I'm talking in third person. Not really sure why I'm doing that...) Whenever she sees me, she gets a big grin and starts going crazy! That is the absolute best feeling in the world. It is so wonderful to know that you have such a great impact on this tiny little person's life. I thank God every day for my precious baby girl and for keeping her safe and healthy through our whole ordeal.

We have Emma's 4 month check up on Tuesday. I am so not looking forward to it. I love to see how much she's grown, and where she sits on the growth chart. She has always been above average on her height which is so strange to me! I never thought that I would ever have a tall baby!! But, I hate the fact that she's getting more immunizations. She had such a yucky reaction to them at her 2 month appointment. She ran her first and only fever, and was extremely fussy for about 4 days after! That first day was horrible though!

We got Emma a big girl car seat today! It is a convertible car seat that can sit rear or forward facing and goes from 5-65 lbs. She doesn't really like her infant car seat/carrier. It leans back too much for her. She loves her new one though! It sits up higher and straighter than her infant one. She loves to be able to see out the windows. It looks way more comfortable too. She's getting to the point where she wants to be out of her carrier when we're shopping or at restaurants, so I'll just use my sling while shopping and put her in a highchair at restaurants instead of keeping her in the carrier.

We are going to Kansas in a few weeks! This will be Emma's first (of many to come) trip to Nana and Pawpaw's house! We're very excited about it!! That is one of the reasons why we bought the new car seat. I thought that she would be happier and more comfortable in the new one for our long trip up there. It's about a 5-6 hour trip without a baby. She is a very good traveler though and we don't usually have to stop a whole lot more for her than we would for ourselves. We took a trip to Lubbock at the begining of July and she did so good! It was a 7 hour drive, but we were in the car for about 9 hours on the way there because we had to drive to my dad's office and wait (and wait and wait) for him to get off work so that we could leave. I'm hoping this trip to Kansas will go very smoothly.

I am joining the choir at church!! I am super excited about it! My friend Tasha is in the choir and since I am no longer working, this will be a good/fun chance to get some mommy time and to meet/socialize with other adults! Not that I don't now, but its different from everything else that I am doing right now.

I think that about sums it up for now. We have some fun things coming up in the next few weeks/months that I will be blogging about at a later time!!

My first Not Me Monday!!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not drink sprite all day long and realize at the end of the day that I haven't had a drop of water all day. I am not a sprite-aholic.

I do not have a mound of laundry that needs to be folded/hung covering my couch. Nope, not me! I always fold and hang up the clothes as soon as the get out of the dryer because I'm a good little housewife.

I do not wake up frequently during the night and compulsively check on Emma to make sure she's still breathing. Nope, I am not an over protective mother and I am not terribly afraid that Emma is going to have SIDS.

I did not go without a shower today and did not just rinse my hair and put extra deodorant on. That would be gross. I do not find it terribly difficult to shower on a daily basis when I'm the only one home with my 3 month old. My husband did not tell me the other day (one in which I did not go without a shower) that my hair smelled and it did not embarrass the poop out of me!

I did not start TWO blogs in which I was really gun hoe about and kept up with for the first two weeks and now does not just seem like a really daunting task.

What did you not do today?

August 10, 2009

Ok, so this daily photo thing has gotten to be quite a daunting task for me. It's either A) too difficult to find the time (or remember) to take a daily picture or B) I've spent the whole day doing housework while my baby girl sleeps in her sling, so what do I take a picture of? I know none of you want to see the mound of laundry on my couch...or do you. You're strange like that. Maybe it makes you feel a little better about the mound of laundry on your couch (or pack n play like my momma). Anyhow, my baby girl was born on a Friday, so I will update every friday with her weekly "I'm (insert number) weeks old today!" photo. Don't worry, if I find an interesting photo during the week like this one, I will post it as well! (cause I know how much you loved that boring helicopter post!)

July 23, 2009

Baby Blake


Baby Caroline

So in January, my mom emailed my cousin and asked her if she was pregnant. She just had a feeling that she was. She's strange that way. Andrea didn't confirm nor deny it (so we knew right then that it was true!) She didn't want to tell anyone until she went to her first doctor's appointment. I told my sister, I bet it's twins! And it's a boy and a girl! (I've always been able to guess the gender of all of my family and friends when they've been pregnant. I've never been wrong. I guess I'm strange like my momma) Well, it was a Friday that she went to the doctor. She wasn't supposed to go until the next Monday but she was in a lot of pain so her doctor told her to come in. She was pregnant with twins!! She actually had triplets (with no fertility treatments, which is crazy to me!) but the third one didn't make it past about a week I believe. Well, it was kind of a stressful pregnancy because there were signs that one of the babies (we later discovered it was baby Blake) might have downs syndrome. She started contracting and dilated to 3 at 30 weeks. So she was in and out of the hospital several times trying to get the contractions to stop. Well, today she had the babies at 35 weeks with NO problems!! They are both very healthy babies! Blake was born at 12:02am (weighing 6 lbs 1 oz which is what Emma weighed when we brought her home from the hospital. And as far as I know don't show signs of downs syndrome) and Caroline was born at 12:04am (weighing 5 lbs 6 oz) and not by c-section!! She is a baby delivering machine! They already have 2 little girls and these 2 are going to be their last babies. We are so excited for them and excited that my cousin got a little boy of his own!

July 22, 2009

How would you like to watch a tv like this? A little over a month ago, I had to get up again with Emma. I go into the living room so I don't disturb David since he gets up super early for work. I turned the tv on, went into the kitchen and heard a loud pop come from the living room. I looked up and the tv is black, but there's still sound coming out of it. I turned the tv off and back on to see if the picture would come back. Nothing. I was so upset/stressed out because this tv is only 4 years old and I knew David would be really upset about his tv being broken. Come to find out, the lamp busted. So, about this same time, Lindsey's fiance Cody is buying a new tv because his tv is getting spots all over it (see above) He let us borrow this tv, because spots are better than no picture right? We aren't sure if we want to buy a new one or pay to get this one fixed. It would be cheaper to get it fixed, but this tv is only 2 years old, so what if it happens again after we get it fixed? With a new baby, we don't have $1000 in our budget to buy a new one, so we'll suffer through this one until we can afford to do something about it.

My famous Spasagna recipe.

I got this recipe from Cheddar's. They made it on Fox 4 Good Day one morning (when I was up that early) so I decided to make it for my family. They loved it! I tweaked it a bit to my liking. I'll put the original recipe up and then add the changes I made to the side.

24 oz. spaghetti noodles, uncooked (I use about 3/4 of the noodles. It seems to be less dry that way)
2 lbs. mozzarella cheese (Again, I only use about 3/4 of the 2 lb bag of mozzarella)
8 oz. ricotta cheese (16 oz. cottage cheese)
8 oz. sour cream
1 ¼ C half-and half
½ C grated parmesan cheese, divided use
1 tsp. dried leaf oregano
1 Tbs. chopped fresh basil (I didn't use fresh, I used dried from the spice rack. I don't see that it makes that much of a difference)
½ tsp. ground white pepper
1 tsp. chopped garlic (I used the kind from the jar. I hate chopping garlic)
2 tsp. kosher salt
1 ½ tsp. olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cook spaghetti al dente according to package directions. Rinse under cold water and drain. Place in large mixing bowl.

3. In another mixing bowl, stir together sour cream, ricotta, half-and-half, mozzarella, oregano, basil, white pepper, garlic, salt, and half the parmesan cheese.

4. Add above cheese mixture to the spaghetti. Using hands, mix gently until spaghetti is evenly coated with mixture.

5. Rub a 9x13 glass baking dish with the olive oil.

6. Gently place spaghetti mixture into prepared dish. Top with remaining parmesan cheese.

7. Cover dish with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees in pre-heated oven for 30 minutes.

8. Remove from oven, remove foil and place dish on cooling rack for 10 minutes.

9. Cut into six-eight squares and top with meat sauce below, or your favorite meat or marinara sauce.

Meat Sauce

(I double this part. The first time I made it, there wasn't enough meat sauce for everyone. When I doubled it, there was plenty!

1 24-oz. jar spaghetti sauce
1 lb. ground beef
1 Tbs. chopped garlic (again, from the jar)
1 C chopped onion
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. dried leaf oregano
1 Tbs. chopped fresh basil
1 tsp. granulated sugar
½ C red wine (I used red cooking wine. I don't know if there's a big difference)
¼ C romano cheese
Additional salt, pepper to taste

1. Heat a heavy saucepan on medium heat for five minutes. Add ground beef and stir to break up clumps. Cook till meat is browned well. Drain meat and set aside.

2. Add onions and garlic to saucepan and cook over medium heat for about five minutes, or until softened.

3. Return reserved meat to pan, along with spaghetti sauce, salt, oregano, basil, sugar, red wine and romano cheese. Stir well to combine.

4. Bring mixture to a simmer and cook uncovered for 30 minutes.

5. Adjust seasoning with additional salt and pepper to taste. Serve over spaghetti

July 21, 2009

I'm a big advocate of having a routine with your baby. I truly believe that children thrive when they have a routine. So I have tried really hard to keep Emma in one. It can be difficult at times, like when you're out of town. We have already taken 3 trips with her and she's only 11 1/2 weeks old! She usually eats and naps around the same time everyday and we have a bedtime routine. Daddy and I give her a bath, then I put her lotion and sleeper on while daddy reads her Good Night Moon, then I feed her, (daddy does the bottles and goes to bed during this time since he gets up early for work) then I put her to bed. She LOVES her night time routine! This is her smiling and talking to daddy while he reads the book to her. David read this book to her every night towards the end of my pregnancy, and has read it every night since she's been born . She absolutely loves this time with her daddy!

Eh, Why not?

100 Truths

WHAT WAS YOUR:
1. Last beverage: Sprite
2. Last phone call : my hubby
3. Last text message: Libby, talking about all the drama going on with the Berry family up in Kansas
4. Last song you listened to: I actually have no idea. Whatever was on the radio on the way home from mom and dad's
5. Last time you cried: Today. I'm a little emotional right now :)

HAVE YOU EVER:
6. Dated someone twice: Nope!
7. Been cheated on: Not to my knowledge
8. Kissed someone & regretted it: Yes
9. Lost someone special: Yes
10. Been depressed: Yes
11. Been drunk and threw up: Nope! I don't drink

LIST THREE FAVORITE COLORS:
12. Red
13. Green
14. Pink

THIS YEAR HAVE YOU: (2009)
15. Made a new friend: Yes
16. Fallen out of love: Absolutely not! Fallen even more in love after having our little girl!
17. Laughed until you cried: Yes
18. Met someone who changed you: Yes
19. Found out who your true friends were: No, been there, done that.
20. Found out someone was talking about you: No
21. Kissed anyone on your friend's list: Yes, my husband :)
22. How many people on your friends list, do you know in real life: All of them.
23. How many kids do you want to have: If you asked me during my pregnancy and labor, I would have told you either one or ask me after this one. Now, I want 4. I want a big family like I grew up in.
24. Do you have any pets: Nope! We're not pet people.
25. Do you want to change your name: Never
26. What did you do for your last birthday: Went to the doctor for a prenatal appointment and a non stress test. Then had dinner at home. That weekend we went to the Melting Pot with the family.
27. What time did you wake up today: About 8:40 when Emma woke up
28. What were you doing at midnight last night: Sleeping!
29. Name something you CANNOT wait for: Getting my degree and buying a house!
30. Last time you saw your Mother: Today
31. What is one thing you wish you could change about your life: I wish I already had my degree. But I'll get there!
32. What are you listening to right now?: The tv
33. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: Probably
34. What's getting on your nerves right now: The fact that my stomach hurts after I eat.
35. Most visited webpage: Facebook
36. Whats your real name:
37. Nicknames: Addie Bell, Ash, Aunt Squishy, Doodle or Doodle Bear (I have no idea where that one came from)
38. Relationship Status: Married
39. Zodiac sign: I don't believe in that
44. Hair color: Naturally blonde, currently brown
45. Long or short: Short
46. Height: 5 foot even
47. Do you have a crush on someone? My husband!
48: What do you like about yourself? Trustworthy, loving
49. Piercings: 2 in each ear
50. Tattoos: None! I think tattoos are tacky
51. Righty or lefty: Righty

FIRSTS :
52. First surgery: Do tonsils count? If not, my c-section
53. First piercing: Ears, I'm not sure how old I was
54. First best friend: Cody Pfister from across the street
55. First sport you joined: Gymnastics
56. First vacation: I have no clue.
58. First pair of trainers:
59. Eating: Nothing
60. Drinking: Sprite and water
61. I'm about to: Go to bed
62. Listening to: The TV
63. Waiting for: The Fall! I'm so over this heat!

YOUR FUTURE :
64. Want kids?: I want MORE kids! (but not yet)
65. Get Married?: Already there
66. Career?: I'm not sure. I'm getting my degree in Business Administration, but I'd be happy to just be a stay at home mommy!

WHICH IS BETTER :
67. Lips or eyes: Eyes
68. Hugs or kisses: Both
69. Shorter or taller: Taller
70. Older or Younger: Well, considering my hubby is a month and 17 days younger than me, I'd have to say younger :)
72. Nice stomach or nice arms: Arms
73. Sensitive or loud: Both
74. Hook-up or relationship: Relationship
75. Trouble maker or hesitant: Neither

HAVE YOU EVER :
76. Kissed a stranger: No
77. Drank hard liquor: Nope, I don't drink
78. Lost glasses/contacts: I don't wear them
79. Sex on first date: Absolutely not!
80. Broken someone's heart: Not intentionally
82. Been arrested: Nope
83. Turned someone down: Yes
84. Cried when someone died: Yes
85. Fallen for a friend?: Definitely, and I married him!

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:
86. Yourself: Sometimes
87. Miracles: Yes
88. Love at first sight: No
89. Heaven: Absolutely!
90. Santa Claus: No, but I want my kids to!
91. Kiss on the first date: It depends
92. That people will actually care about this quiz: Nope

ANSWER TRUTHFULLY:
94. Had more than 1 girlfriend/boyfriend at a time: No
95. Did you sing today?: Oh yeah! I like to sing in the car, and Emma likes when I sing to her!
96. Ever cheated on somebody?: No
97. If you could go back in time, how far would you go back? I would go back probably 10 years and spend some more time with my Gramps.
98. If you could pick a day from last year, and relive it, what would it be: Our wedding day, or Valentine's Day. I was sick on our first Valentine's Day as a married couple so I didn't get to enjoy it!
99. Are you afraid of falling in love?: Not at all
100. Posting this as 100 truths?: Yes

July 20, 2009

Emma's first pigtails! Sooo cute! She got so mad when I fixed her hair though! I think I'm going to have to fight her to do her hair when she gets older. Usually I don't have to do much with her hair. I just clip a little bow in it. Her head is too small for all of her headbands. They just pop right off! Her bangs are already starting to get into her eyes, but I'm not ready to cut her hair yet! She's not even 3 months old!!




(I couldn't decide on which picture to use for today)

Flying nun?? My sister Leisa and her 2 kids Emily and Zachery are staying with my parents this week. Leisa is a teacher and has the summer off. They live out in east Texas so she likes to spend a couple weeks with my parents during the summer. We went to Cheddar's for lunch today and looked over and this is what Emily had done with her napkin. Very creative. It's even tucked behind her ears! Such a cutie.

July 19, 2009

This isn't a very good picture because it was taken from my phone. But, my mom, sister, Emma, and I were on our way back to mom's house after getting Yogilicious (disgusting by the way! Don't waste your money!) and we saw this helicopter. It appeared to be landing at Celebration Park and from where we were it looked like it might be care flight. So what do we do? Go look for it! It's like when you sit in traffic because of people looking at a car accident, but when you get up to the accident, you want to see it too! Well, it wasn't care flight. They were filming an interview with someone named Tracy. That's all the information we got. This helicopter was HUGE!

July 18, 2009

Apparently Emma was a little wiggly last night, because this is how I found her in the morning! She wakes up in the BEST moods! Even if I'm cranky and wanting to sleep a little longer, hearing her chatter, squeal, and giggle in her bed puts me in such a good mood! It is absolutely adorable! She also gives me the biggest smiles in the morning. I LOVE waking up to my little girl's smiles in the morning!

July 17, 2009

Not much of a description needed here. I think this picture pretty much says it all. These two people are my whole world.

My little miracle.

I dreamed and prayed about the day that I could become a mother my whole life. A lot of people define themselves by their career. Yes, I'm going to get my degree and go back to work one day, but that's not how I define myself. I truly believe that I was meant to be a wife and mother. That is my greatest and proudest accomplishment. I had my whole birth plan planned out. It didn't go as planned.

I was scheduled to be induced on Thursday April 30, 2009. I would have been 39 weeks 1 day that day. I was considered high risk and my doctor didn't want me to go past my due date. At every weekly appointment that led up to the 30th, I was not progressing at all. Not effacing or dilating. Nothing. It was so frustrating! So, I had a sonogram the Friday before. They saw that she had not dropped at all. She was head down, but she was laying on her side. So her head was pointing to the left, her body was on the right, and her legs curled around and were up by my ribs. She was basically in a "c" shape. I researched how to get your baby to change positions and asked my sister-in-law Amanda (who is a labor and delivery nurse) and did all the silly exercises to get her to move. Nothing. So I gave up because Amanda told me that usually when you start contracting, the babies will move into position.

Since I wasn't progressing on my own, I went into the hospital the night before (April 29th) at 5:30pm to have Cervidil put on my cervix to help me start progressing. They didn't want to start me on Pitocin without progressing first. I had been in the labor and delivery ward many times before this being monitored for my high blood pressure. Well, when we got there that night, we walked ALL the way down to the very end of labor and delivery because all the other rooms were full. (we found out later that this was the busiest day they had had in YEARS! Wonderful) I didn't get my Cervidil until around 11:30pm. Apparently there was some confusion and they had no idea I was coming in that night and there were several women in labor so I wasn't top priority.

The afternoon of the 29th before I went into the hospital.


I'm pretty sure this is a fake smile.



Emma's heat beat on the left, my contractions on the right.

I had the Cervidil in for 12 hours. All I did was efface about 80% So after they took it out they started the Pitocin. I had a reaction to the Cervidil. Lets just say it was extremely painful. So I went through 8 hours of Pitocin. Every time I was checked, nothing. Apparently I have a much higher pain tolerance than I thought I did, because the nurses kept asking if the contractions were hurting because I didn't show it at all on my face that I was in pain. (and I WAS!!!) So that evening, my doctor came in and checked me. Nothing. She gave me my options. I could stop the Pitocin and do the Cervidil for another 12 hours (since I had the reaction to it, I opted for a big fat NO on that one) I could start another round of Pitocin, I could stop everything for the night and start back up in the morning, or I could have a c-secction. I heard c-section and started bawling . That was my worst fear. I did NOT want a c-section. She let me think about it for a little while. I talked about it with my mom and Amanda and we decided to just stop everything and make my decision in the morning. I had only had 2 hours of sleep in a 48 hour timeframe. That night, I was so exhausted that I told my mom I might just opt for the c-section in the morning.

I slept so good! Well, as good as you can in a hospital, and still having contractions. At 7 the next morning (May 1st) the nurse came in and asked me what my decision was. I was SO not ready to make my decision. So I discussed it with my mom and Amanda again and they said to go ahead and try the Pitocin again. Knowing me, I would have felt like I gave up and didn't give it my best shot to not have a c-section. So, they started the Pitocin back up. The contractions got really bad this round.


I'm not sure which day this was. All I know is that I was in pain.

My husband is a BIG joker. Much to my dismay sometimes when I need him to be serious. (don't get me wrong, I love that he has fun, I wouldn't have married him if I didn't. I just need him to be serious sometimes too) You could tell that he was worried that day. He hardly talked. The day before he was very lighthearted and was cracking jokes. (it actually helped me this time, cause I was in a lot of pain and it kept my mind off of it.) He just sat by the baby monitor and watched it. He didn't eat all. day. long. Which, if you know my husband, you know that that is very abnormal. You could tell that he knew something was up. It was like he had a 6th sense about it.

8 hours later, my doctor came in to check me. Nothing. I hadn't progressed one bit since the Cervidil 3 days before. So she asked me what I was thinking. I said, what are YOU thinking? She said, I think we need to do the c-section. I cried and cried. I was absolutely terrified of having a c-section. It was one of my worst fears. My doctor told me that once you're in the hospital and having gone through induction, they don't let you go home. I could have done another round of Pitocin if I really wanted to, but she really thought that the c-section was best.


Right before I went in for the c-section. David was excited, I was crying in the background.

So, they told me it would be a few hours before it would be my turn in the operating room. A little while later they came in and said there was an opening and the doctor wanted to get me in there as soon as possible. I started panicking because I thought I had a few hours to get used to the idea of having surgery. Later, they wheeled me into the operating room. (creepy by the way) I had to slide over to the operating table, which feels like its about, 6 inches wide. I hung my legs over the side while my doctor held me and they gave me the spinal block. That was scary. A spinal is different from an epidural. They don't keep it in like they do an epidural. Its pretty much just a shot and the numbing is almost instantaneous. With an epidural, the numbing is gradual. Also, with an epidural, many women can still move their legs. Not with a spinal!! Weirdest thing ever. You are telling your legs to move, but nothing is happening! The numbing went all the way up to my hands. I could still move my arms and hands though. Also, the spinal lasts for 4-6 hours. When you turn the epidural off, the numbness wears off faster. As they were getting ready to start the spinal, I kept thinking, I can't do this, I can't do this, I CAN'T do this!! I couldn't believe that I was about to have major surgery, AWAKE!

They finally let David to come in. It was really a relief to see him! They began the surgery, and it was so strange, because you can feel them touch and pull, you just can't feel pain. So I felt everything that was going on. After a little while, they pulled my baby out and told me that the umbilical cord was around her neck twice and there was a KNOT in it!! Amanda, and my brother David lost their first baby, John Allen, that way. Amanda had been contracting and they kept sending her home. I believe it was the day before she was scheduled to be induced, she went in for a checkup and there was no heartbeat. When he dropped, the umbilical cord tightened and it cut off the blood flow to him. If Emma had dropped, it would have been the same thing and she would have gone into distress. I cannot tell you how thankful I am that I had that c-section. If I had opted to continue on with the Pitocin, and she had gone into distress, it would have resulted in an emergency c-section. And who knows what the outcome would have been. My mom said Amanda started crying when my doctor came out of the operating room and told them what had happened. God knew what was going on and He knew what He was doing. (duh, He knew) Everything fell into place perfectly to get my precious baby girl here safely. She is truly my little miracle and I think God daily for keeping her safe!

After they suctioned her out, she started crying and they held her over the curtain for me to see. She was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life! I fell in love instantly! (not that I didn't already love her, but it's different when you first lay your eyes on your precious precious baby!) She had SO much hair! She was born May 1, 2009 at 3:52pm. She weighed 6lbs 12oz and was 20in long. My doctor finished closing me back up. I heard her talking to the anesthesiologist. She was showing him the new kind sutcher she was doing. Its all from the inside. There are no external stitches, and it is supposed to be plastic surgery quality. I'm so thankful for that! I have a friend (who actually recommended me to Dr. Halderman) who had a c-section last July and she got staples. I think that if I had had staples, it would have freaked me out.


As they were pulling her out.


Seeing her for the first time.

When my doctor came out to tell my family how it went, she told my mom that she felt a close bond between me and her, because while she was bringing my little girl into the world (and quite possibly saving her life) her aunt was on life support upstairs in the ICU just minutes away from having her life support pulled.

They wheeled me out into recovery. I had to spend an hour in there. My parents, in laws and Amanda came in to see me, and then they brought Emma in. I got to hold her for the first time! After a little while I let my mom hold her. She started crying. When they gave her back to me she stopped. Then someone else took her, she started crying. Again when they gave her back to me, she stopped. She knew me! She knew who her mommy was! BEST feeling in the WORLD! She was comforted by me! They asked if I wanted to try nursing. I told my mom that I didn't feel up to it. I felt bad, but I had just gone through 3 days of labor and major surgery. Little did I know, I wouldn't get to see her until 4 hours later!


Holding her for the first time!


She had/has so much hair!

Another thing about the spinal block. When I was in recovery, I started shaking uncontrollably. The kind of shaking that happens when you're really cold, only I couldn't stop it! They kept bringing me warm blankets and packing them on me. When you start getting feeling back, it starts from your chest and works its way down. So as I am gaining feeling back (and still shaking) I'm starting to feel the excruciating pain in my stomach from the surgery. Imagine being cut open, having all those muscles and nerves cut through, and then shaking uncontrollably. Very painful. They finally took me to my postpartum room and a few hours later brought my baby back to me. She was having trouble keeping her body temperature up. I was SO anxious to have her back!

We didn't get to go home until Monday afternoon. So I spent almost a week in the hospital. We were so anxious to go home!

Going home!

My mom has asked me a few times what I'm going to do next time I get pregnant. My doctor told me that I could labor next time. I didn't have to have a c-section. But I could opt for one if I wanted to. I've given it a lot of thought. (even though it is going to be a couple years before I have another) If I were to go into labor or start progressing on my own, I will opt to labor. If not, c-section baby! I don't want to go through induction again. Not a pleasant experience.

The two things I hated the most about the c-section were that a) I didn't get to hold my baby girl for the first time until an HOUR after she had been born. and b) the recovery time, and pain! My doctor did tell me that the recovery would have been easier if I hadn't been so exhausted from the 3 days of labor. The pain medicine that I took made me loopy and foggy. The first week of my baby's life is a big blur because of the pain medicine. My baby is only a week old once and I want to remember everything! I don't want it to be a big blur again.

I cannot truly express how comforted I was to have my sister in law Amanda there. Don't get me wrong, it was comforting to have my husband, parents, and sister. But Amanda is a labor and delivery nurse. It's like I had my own personal nurse/doula. One of my nurses told me her horror story of labor and delivery to try and encourage me to opt for the c-section. Amanda was irate! She was so mad that she would do that. Nurses aren't there to try to scare you into making a decision. I don't know if she ever did, but she said she was going to contact the hospital about her.

This experience brought me closer to my husband. There are a lot of things that I had to have my husband do that I never thought I'd have to. I'm the kind of person who won't even pee in front of him. It's not that I'm uncomfortable around him, that's just one thing that I like to keep private. I sometimes can't even go if there's someone in the stall next to me in a public restroom. Weird, I know. Well, not anymore! I had to have help to and from the bathroom, while I was in the bathroom, while I showered because I couldn't bend over, and even help getting dressed! Plus, its just so special and amazing looking into the eyes of this tiny little baby that you and the person you love most in the world created. I still look at her in awe that this was the little baby that I grew in my belly for 9 months.

My baby is now 11 weeks old today. People ask me if it's weird being a mom now. It's really not! It has been my dream my whole life to be a mommy. It's so natural to me and I just fell into the role perfectly.


11 weeks old.

July 16, 2009

I've lost my Pandora bracelet! I am so upset about it. I thought I left it over at my parents' house but when I went to look for it, I couldn't find it! It is making me absolutely sick thinking about all the money and sentimental value that is in that bracelet! For my birthday last year my sister Leisa bought me the bracelet and A charm and Lindsey bought me the Angel. David bought me the wedding cake charm and my little girl charm for Christmas. And my mom has bought me a bunch of charms for it. I've search all the purses and bags I've used recently hoping to find it and it is no where to be found!

In the mean time, I have started another Pandora bracelet. I love my little ladybug charm!

In the beginning...

I've never been much of a blogger. I've always been afraid that I would come off stupid or not very eloquent. But then I thought, who cares? This isn't for everyone else. This is for me. I wanted to start a blog because my memory is pretty much shot since pregnancy. I like to call it pregnesia. I've always had a pretty decent memory. Not anymore! Two and a half months of my baby's life has gone by and I don't want to miss a thing! I want to remember every single milestone in her life, in addition to all the little things that make me smile (and cry) and so thankful that she is a part of my life. Not just a part, for that matter, she IS my life and the most amazing thing that has happened to me besides meeting the wonderful man that is now my husband and having the Lord as my savior. I thought this would be the best way to document my life as a mother and wife.

July 15, 2009

This is a typical day in the life of momma Berry and baby Berry! Emma will sleep all night in her bed but I can't get her to take a nap in her bed during the day! My life saver is my Maya Wrap sling. It's a little pricey but well worth it! This is pretty much the only way she will nap during the day and the only way I can get things done! Before I invested in the sling I would sit and hold her all day long so she could nap. All the while, the laundry, dishes, and other housework piled up. Now, my house stays fairly clean, and the laundry at least gets washed, dried, and sometimes folded.

If anyone has a baby or is having a baby I would strongly suggest the Maya Wrap! It is one of the best if not the best sling out there! If you don't get the organic one like I did, it runs about $65.