Happy Anniversary!

It’s FIVE years today! So much has happened in that time I can’t believe we’ve only been married for five years. I had hoped to write something really eloquent about how great our marriage is, how much I love DS and how lucky I am in general, but it wasn’t meant to be I guess. The outlaws arrived today. We also celebrated TS’s b-day with the whole family tonight, so as predicted when she was born, we no longer have an anniversary, we have a child’s birthday. We decided a while back ago to start celebrating our anniversary on our engagement, although we are going out for a nice dinner tomorrow night. That being said, this is about as eloquent as I could get, (yes, I know it’s cheesy, but it’s all I got right now) and I’m barely even making it on here before midnight. So I should just be pleased I’m getting this up, right? Definitely gives you an idea of the state of our lives right this second.

Happy Anniversary DS, ILOVEYOU!!! Here’s to many, many more years of being at least as happy as we are right now. Thank you so much for all the happiness and love you’ve given me.

(If you want to see our wedding album it's still on the photographer's website. We clean up real good & it’s a very cool album if I do say so myself, but I'm a little biased. Yes, he's wearing a kilt--it's in the family tartan. We're cool like that.)

5 years of being happily married
4 pets
3 homes
2 kids
1 TRUE LOVE

Happy B-day Miss TS.

I think back to this day three years ago and I’m amazed at the person you’ve become. You are such a beautiful person inside and out; you’re smart and funny and have great empathy for everyone around you. I’m excited to watch you continue to grow and amaze me. I’m also sad when I think back to how fast the last 3 years have gone already. You’re no longer a baby or even a toddler, you’re a little girl, you would correct me and say BIG, but work with me here, I’m your mommy and as I tell you daily; “you’ll always be my baby.”

When TS was born I wrote down her birth story & scrapbooked a page in her scrapbook. (I crop in my free time; I just haven’t had any in the last 6 months or so. HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA!) So in honor of her on her 3rd birthday I did a version of that here.

A Family is Born

I had a relatively easy pregnancy with TS. No morning sickness (although I some sinus issues that made up for that,) I actually slept better then usual, my skin was radiant, and I generally felt really good. During my pregnancy I attended pre-natal yoga twice a week. I attribute the yoga to all my good and restful feelings and I recommend it highly. I also attribute it to the hernia I acquired in the sixth month. I didn’t really realize what I’d done until the seventh month when TS “dropped” and put her head on the hernia—very uncomfortable to say the least. By the time I was nearing my due date the weight of the baby on that spot was really starting to wear me down. At 37 weeks Dr. B said TS was healthy and ready to go, so there was no reason to be that uncomfortable any longer, I could induce when ever I was ready! We scheduled the induction for May 24 starting at 6:00 AM. We were so excited our little princess was finally going to arrive. Once we had that date we suddenly found tons of things that needed to be done around the house. It was a very busy week. May 23rd we stayed up late getting ready. We figured we wouldn’t get much sleep anyway. As we were getting ready for bed I told DS how glad I was we were inducing because the baby suddenly felt a lot heavier and like I was carrying her differently. I finally fell asleep sometime after midnight. Then at 2:30 AM I woke up with a start, before I knew it my water suddenly broke! (Our little princess was actually a Drama Queen, she wasn’t being told when to make an entrance—she was calling the shots.) We called the doctor who told us to head to the hospital, she’d let them know we’d be early. As we were driving to the hospital (about 10 minutes away) we passed a fast-food drive-thru that was very busy. I commented to DS, “You know people are just heading home right now.” It seemed so surreal, that was us just a year ago. We got to the hospital and settled in. We didn’t call anyone since they were planning on coming to the hospital later anyway. While contractions didn’t really hurt they were getting intense and at 4 minutes apart would definitely be keeping me awake. It was at this point I asked the nurse if they could give me something so I could sleep through the contractions. I wanted to try and get some rest before everyone showed up. They gave me fentiol which just made me sleepy and slowed down the contractions to every 7 minutes. But they were just as intense! I’d start to doze off and then wake up every 7 minutes and glare at DS who had crashed completely in the recliner. (So Rude!) At 8:00 AM they agreed to give me an epidural so I could sleep. I was scheduled to start pitocin at that time and they expected things to get much more intense. I was only 2 cm at that point but I told DS “I’m not dying or anything yet, but if this is only 2 cm, this sucks!”

Oh heaven, no pain at all.
And I could still feel my legs!

I took cat-naps as various people came by to visit. By noon I was at 5 cm and they told us it would probably be another 5-6 hours. Then a couple hours later they came to check me and I was 10 cm already! The nurse called the doctor and told me to push to get things started. I did, and apparently I did so well she called the doctor again and told her to come strait over now! I pushed some more. DS and my mom helped me by holding my legs, and SIL videotaped. I had a mirror so I could see the baby coming out. I was very concerned about the epidural preventing me from pushing well and therefore having to be turned off or down. I figured being able to see what was going on would be me focus and stay motivated. Watching the baby in the mirror was actually very distracting; I’d start watching and forget to push as hard. But it worked out fine. I’ve had harder work outs (of course, I’ve never been hooked up to pain killers during a work out.)

At 4:50 PM ToddlerSpeak was born.

And so was our family.

Kicking my Butt

Quite literally. This back pain thing is really on my backside, in my hip and it’s killing me. I should’ve bought stock in the company that owns Tylenol. Seriously. It’s the main reason I haven’t gotten back into my regular blogging (or cleaning or anything else for that matter.) The worst is the stairs, which I have to go up to get to my computer. Second worst is if I’m walking and carrying something heavy—like say a child. It scares me a little because I’m afraid I’m going to either lock up completely or my leg will collapse out from under me. Yes, that’s how bad it is. I can’t get into my physical therapist again until June 1. BAH!

Outlaws are showing up again. Actually, I’ve had lots to report over this trip, but just no bandwidth to write it. There was much drama over this visit; they were ignoring my request for a month without overnight visitors and had intended to show up on the 18th. DS and I went back & forth on it, but he did push back with them & they did agree to this week. There’s much more to it, but I’ve got 2 minutes (maybe) before TS gets out of bed & comes in here, so that’s all you’re getting on it for now. Plus I know I’ll be back online sometime today (tonight) as I just realized that I need to send out an evite for TS’s b-day party (we’re having on June 3rd) because I don’t have my shite together & it’s now too late to send out the invites we bought. (Don’t tell her, cause I did manage to get to a party store last week with her & let them pick them out—Cinderella, of course.) Her b-day is tomorrow. I’ll see if I can’t pull up her birth story & post that then. No pix right now as she’s opening the door to her room. More soon, I promise.

And the Insanity Continues….

Here’s the thing. I’m starting to feel like I’m getting a groove, but then I realize it’s just because I’m actually getting a little sleep at night now. It still takes me over 3 hours to get TS, BS & myself out the door. And usually that means I didn’t bathe them or I forgot to put my make up on or something. So I feel like I’m doing better, but then I get out the door & look in the rear view realizing I’ve got like the splotchiest face on earth. Reality Check. Sigh

BTW, BS is eating and gaining weight like a champ now. She’s also started being “gassy” in the evenings & all night the other night. I can deal with that stuff a little better. Not life threatening, just healthy lungs.

In case you were wondering, my mom’s day was not stellar. Just as we were putting everything on the table TS had a mach 10 meltdown. As this progressed BS ended up needing to eat, (I had planned the day so we’d be finishing dinner and I could run upstairs and feed her w/out impacting everyone else. TS’s meltdown threw everything off kilter.So much for planning.) My mom & SIL ended putting everything together on the table. Nice. I guess it’s just part of being a mom.

And just to keep you up to date on what’s happening with me; I’m having some major back (pain) issues. It’s been getting progressively worse since labor and by yesterday I could hardly walk. I got into a physical therapist, who informed me that my tailbone is locked into my pelvic bone and being pulled forward. Yes, it’s uncomfortable (that’s an understatement.) She thinks probably the baby was on my right side which is now all stretched out and my left side was pulling everything forward to compensate for the weight & space of the baby. Now that baby is out, my ligaments & muscles are still pulling (everything is all loose & out of shape as you might guess) and have started pulling everything out of whack. I felt better yesterday after she worked on me, but it’s getting back out of whack again. I’m ok as long as I’m not moving. Minor detail.

Ok, there’s your update. Hopefully, I will start to actually get a groove and be able to start checking my email & posting on here more regularly. Plus you’ve got your promised pix. More to come, of course.

Under Construction

Ok, I know I TOTALLY owe you photos & stories & such. And here I am changing my template without an update. I was just checking a couple things on other people’s sites (Bean’s Dad is now a dad for the 2nd time BTW) and I saw that Zoot had posted a bunch of free Blogger templates. She’s had these up for a while, but until now nothing had jumped out at me. This one is sooooo totally me! OHMYGAWD! I love her so much and I haven’t even met her. So you need to go and read her site and tell her how pretty she is and send her Krispy Kremes (if you’re feeling really generous).

So yeah, any time I should’ve spent writing to you has now been spent playing with this new temeplate (although remarkably easy so pretty much no time at all). The fact that it took no time all should also explain why my lazy ass is not getting rid of extraneous navigation right this second. (Tomorrow, my mantra these days.) Yes, what I do (for work) is web related. Why haven’t I done something like this for myself? Lazy, mostly. And I know I’ll put too much effort into it, so it'll take too much time from my actual blogging. My goal with this blog has been to stick with they content part & then later I may put some effort into the design (fun stuff). So when I find something I love and it’s free I’m totally jumping on it.

Quick update

Since I'm here I should at least give you an update.

Dr. appt went well. She was still her birth weight. I have (rented) a baby scale this weekend to see how much BS is getting each time she eats. The little piggy is taking in NO LESS then 2.5 oz each feeding! Dude! That is a TON for someone who only weighs 6 oz total. So we’ve nixed the supplement bottle at each feeding. DS has been taking the 3 AM feeding (WAHOO!) So I only have to get up to pump for 10 mins at that time. This means I am effectively getting a 5 hour stretch of sleep at night (more or less). Two nights in a row now, I'm a freaking new woman. I’m also only pumping one other time a day right now (trying to slow down my milk production but also avoid engorgement issues.) Apparently, I can feed the multitudes. BS takes 2.5 oz from me and I can still pump out another 4 oz—trust me this is an insane amount of milk. I’m not complaining, since we have it under control I can now say that I’d rather have this problem then too little milk. Ok, I’ll see if I can’t get DS to upload the pix tonight & then be able to write a post with more tomorrow or Monday.

Just call me Bessie. MOO!

Still Alive!

Hi Internet. Yeah, it’s me, remember me? I’m still alive. Sort of. TS has preschool tomorrow and while I have full day already planned out (got to get those errands done when I only have one child in tow) I PROMISE to fill you in on things again sometime tomorrow. So this is just a quick “Hi” to let you know we’re still here at the house of Speak. BS is back up to her birth weight as of yesterday! (That’s me dancing a little jig in the corner here. Now, that’s me passing out from exhaustion in the same corner.) We have a dr appt tomorrow; it’s 2 weeks already! I know, it’s flown by for you. I, however, have been awake, literally, for the majority of it. Doesn’t go by quite as fast when you’re awake for all of it. Anway, I’m sort of waiting to update you after to dr. appt. Ok, Miss you! I need to go feed the baby. I’ll TTYT! More pix tomorrow too, I promise!

Good News & more Good News

Dr. appt went well today. BS was up to 5# 9 oz, I do NOT think she gained 9 oz over night. I think I got a bad scale the other day. However, I do think she may have been somewhat dehydrated and you could account for a more significant gain that way. Anyway, the dr was glad to hear what I’d been doing, and since she was gaining at this point we’ll go in for a reweigh tomorrow and next week. Whew!

I’m still exhausted, 3 hours between feedings is still no picnic, especially when you consider 20 mins on the boob, 10 mins pumping and usually 20 mins on the bottle, but its better then where we were. (Gawd, I did this for SIX WEEKS with TS! I was insane. How was I not having post partum depression that time?) Hopefully we’ll get her up to her birth weight by next week & I can stretch out her nights a little more then. I think it’s kicking my butt more this time because I can’t “sleep when the baby sleeps”, that whole having another kid thing. She’s just not up for hourly naps.

I have lots more to write, but going to keep is short (HA, HA) and head to bed. So the other good news today (and you’re going to think I’m totally vain, but who cares, you can think that,) I tried on a pair or pre-pregnancy jeans today AND THEY FIT! Got on the scale at the doctors today and I’ve lost the 10# already!!!! I know you’re like, jeez it’s only 10#, get over yourself beyoch. But when I had TS I never got back into my pre-pregnancy clothes and I had to wear maternity clothes for months after. Now, don’t get me wrong, I still have a tire like jelly round my middle. And I DREAD bathing suits this summer (Ok, I dread them pretty much every summer) but I can’t tell you what a difference something like zipping up your old jeans can do to your self esteem. Now to work on the 10 I never lost from TS.

Now. I Sleep.

Weight here version 2.0

Actually 3.0 because we went through something similar with TS. You'd think we're thin or something?

I haven't been neglecting you Internet. I'm just really busy. You see BS's weight is not good. I took her to the hospital (BFing clinic) & weighed her and she's down to 5# today. That's more then a 10% loss (they start putting them back into the hospital at 10% so I'm totally stressing.) She does eat like a piggy--every 2 hours. So the lactation consultant suggested adding an ounce to every other feeding tonight & reweighing in the AM. It's going to be a long night.

Lots of other things to bitch about (outlaws have started in again) but I'm too tired & need to pee before I go feed her again. She eats every two hours, but it takes 30-40 mins to get her filled up. I know not much. But I don't get much time to do things like pee and eat and sleep, so don't feel too put out. I did choose you overing going to the bathroom. (And I included another pix to hold you over.) More later I promise.

She’s Here!!!

Ok, she's been here, but I haven't had a chance to get on my computer.

Babyspeak arrived on Thursday, April 27 at 12:22 PM.

She weighed 6 lbs even, 19” long. And I think she’s beautiful.

Yes, she’s little (her premie diapers fall off of her). Apparently she had a short umbilical cord, which goes along w/low amniotic fluid, so it was a good decision to be induced.

TS has been handling it well.
I’ll have to write more later, I’m exhausted right now. (My milk’s in.)