First Bath at Home

After our first poop-splosion we were in need of a bath, badly. So, our first bath was done out of necessity, not fun. I barely had time to get the camera set up!

Good job getting me cleaned off without soaking my umbilical cord, Daddy!

Caught in the act... again

Fritz really likes silicone. REALLY likes it. He used to eat our Wii remote covers unless we put them in a drawer. He hunts down rubber bands and hair elastics and puts them in his food bowl for safe keeping. Now Fritz has a new addiction: pacifiers!

I had caught him once before stealing a pacifier off of the side table next to the rocking chair - I caught him with it in his mouth as he was exiting the nursery. This morning I got up and found Fritz in the hall with yet another pacifier in his possession. I put the stolen pacifier back on the kitchen counter to put it through a sanitizing process only to find Fritz walking out of the kitchen with it in his mouth like a baby a few moments later (I couldn't help but laugh out loud). I wish I had my camera ready for that! Looks like we are going to have to put used pacifiers in their own storage drawer so that Fritz can't use them to soothe himself.

I can't take all the crying! I need a paci to help me deal!!

BFFs version 2

Me and my best friend had babies 3 weeks apart! How often does that happen? Hopefully they grow up being best friends too! Her older daughter is going to have her hands full with two little boys to deal with!

The Mummas with the boys.

Proud Daddies with their boys. No, the daddies are not brothers, just twins separated at birth.

My new FAVORITE picture

Four generations! All complete with the "stamp of approval"! This was taken in the hospital. I wish I was wearing real clothes, but I guess it is better than a hospital gown!

My Birthday Buddy

Mumma really wanted me to be born on April 1. Uncle Josh has that birthday and he really didn't want me to be born on that day because of all the practical jokes that would come my way (Mumma's cruel plan). Well, I sided with Mumma and came on April 1, so now Uncle Josh has a birthday buddy! Uncle Josh will never forget my birthday now!

Uncle Josh and William - about a week old. Happy belated bday, Uncle Josh!

Dianne and Josh got me some cute outfits so I decided to behave for a bit and not scream for them. Thanks for the clothes guys!

Happy Easter!

William's first Easter - and first holiday!

The Easter Bunny didn't bring me anything except this bodysuit that I can only wear once! I am so deprived! Maybe next year...

Then Mumma made me wear this silly hat!

Great Grammy got me this cool hat, but it was too big to wear! Now my outfit isn't complete and I won't match Daddy. Mumma was more upset than I was.

All dressed up! Off to Mem & Opa's and Auntie Linda's for the day!

Happy Easter to all!

William Hendrik

I am really far behind in posting to the blog! Here is the story of William's arrival:

I had been to work all week and had planned to work up to Wednesday March 28th and to use the remainder of my personal days to round out the week. I woke up on that Wednesday feeling so sick, I became violently ill that morning and decided to stay home. I felt really guilty for not going to work on my last scheduled day, but there was no way I would have made it to work with out getting sick all over myself. By Wednesday night I was feeling better.

Thursday March 29th I had a busy day planned. My dad was home and I had scheduled to show my CRV to a potential buyer mid day. The showing went well and the guy agreed to buy my vehicle! At the time I didn't think anything of the weird feelings I was having in my lower abdomen and in my butt. At that time I assumed that William was just moving his head around. I must have had an uncomfortable look on my face when my dad and the car buyer came back because they asked me if I was ok and if I needed to call the doctor. Hmmm, should have listened to them! Well, immediately after the car buyer left my dad and I went to Concord to attempt to get a copy of the title for the CRV (I misplaced the original apparently). Came home with no title and I went home to do more tidying up and to get some rest as I was exhausted!

Thursday evening came and I really thought that William was just being really squirmy with his head because the uncomfortable feeling I had before was getting more annoying. I decided to time these uncomfortable feelings and sure enough... they were rhythmic. 3 min apart and lasting 40 seconds. After a few hours of this I called the doc who told me to relax, lay down and see if they get longer or if they just go away. Well, I was up ALL NIGHT after that with some really good contractions! I timed, I walked around, I sat and rocked on my yoga ball and I even got in the warm bath. James was great and rubbed my back when ever I woke him up. I lost my mucus plug over night (that was a really weird experience) and knew something was going on.

James stayed home on Friday because at this point it was more than clear that I was having contractions, though they were not staying on a consistent interval... every 6 mins for an hour, every 4 mins for an hour, every 12 mins for an hour, etc. Very frustrating for us because you are not supposed to call the doc to go to the hospital until you are contracting for 1 minute, 5 mins apart consistently for a minimum of an hour. I didn't fit into that group! But, I called the doc anyway and they had me come in for a labor check.

We showed up at the doctor at 10am and I said to James that I bet I was only at 1cm because I thought that the contractions would be much worse. Surprise! 4cm and 90% effaced! Dr. Herr said that we had permission to go have a baby and that he would let the hospital know that we would be coming by sometime when we were feeling ready. He also encouraged us to go walk the mall if we wanted to.

We went to Target for a bit and did some walking and shopping, always a good distraction. I didn't want to be at the mall and have a 2 mile walk back to the car if my water broke. We had brought Dutch back to my parents the night before and had the bags in the car... but we had left the car seat at home! So home we went to get the seat and then off to the hospital!

I was apparently very chill and was joking with the nurses. The nurse was surprised when she checked me and I was 5cm and was only contemplating the epidural... especially after being awake since around 5am on Thursday. I decided to get the epidural so that I could attempt to sleep so that I had enough energy to push out baby William. I was upset that I couldn't walk around, but I was already exhausted and it became more important to sleep at that point.

William's heart beat was abnormal (3 beats then a pause and then the 4th beat). The doc appeared slightly concerned but told me it was fairly normal. By the way the nurse kept calling the doc and by the look on their faces I knew it wasn't exactly normal. They had me position myself on my left side for a while, then my right side... the doc put me on pitocin shortly there after to even out the consistency of my contractions and William's heart rate became more normal with the pitocin (weird). About 6pm my water broke due to the strong contractions. So about 6:45, and after upping the pitocin drip about 5 times, the doc checked me again and sure enough I was only at 5.5 cm. The doc gently informed me that it looked like the best thing would be a csection. William's heart beat was not exactly rhythmic still, the contractions had been 2-3 mins apart for about 2 hours and they were strong contractions but William just refused to drop. The doc even felt around to see if he was facing the wrong way, but couldn't tell. He did notice that my cervix was tilted at this point so he suspected that William had his head cocked and was blocking his exit.

So, after some tears and virtually no discussion between me and James - just a look of "you gotta do what you gotta do" - they wheeled me into the OR and drugged me up even more so I was super numb. It went much quicker than I thought it would. Baby William was born at 8:47pm - all 9lb 8oz of him with his 14.5" head. James was great and kept his eyes on me for most of the surgery. He looked when they announced the head, a shoulder, and the other shoulder... and they lifted him up for me to see when he was fully out. Being that it was April Fool's day and I wasn't convinced that the ultrasound tech was correct, I asked a few times if they were sure it was a boy! And a big boy he was!

William's heart rate returned to normal a few minutes after he was born. I was glad that a member of the NICU team was there just in case his heart rate didn't fix itself.

They were stitching me up while they were checking him out and cleaning him up. Of course I got sick on the OR table. Poor anestegiologist... I was the first person he ever had puke on the table.

Everyone at Elliot was awesome. I wouldn't have changed anything about our stay, except I would have liked to avoid the C-section but there was nothing else I could have done. James was awesome the entire week, being the only one changing diapers as I couldn't stand to look at the circumcision and getting William for me so that he could be fed. He is such a proud daddy!

So here he is, William Hendrik!

Full Term!

Here we are! 37 Weeks 1 Day! I am officially full term! I don't think William will be making his appearance very soon, but what do I know? Had a doctor appointment today and the doc was great! It was my first time seeing this doctor and he had such a great personality, unlike the other male doctor who I couldn't stand.

Anyway, William is maintaining his head down position like a good baby! His heart rate is good and he is still fairly active - using his feet to climb the under side of my rib cage. Doc also said that he doesn't feel like a big baby. Not tiny, but he isn't a biggie either. Yay! My hope is that he fits in his 0-3 month clothes for a while as that is what we have tons of.

The house is getting better as far as de-cluttering and getting baby things set up. Just a few more things to finalize, sanitize, etc. My biggest decision right now is whether I should open some bottles and start the boiling process or wait and see how the breastfeeding goes first. I know I will end up pumping anyway, and we have some bottles that go with the pump. I should probably start with those bottles, right? Seems like an easy decision... just can't make it yet!

35 weeks 6 days

Only 29 days left until William is due to make his appearance. I have mixed emotions about this. Mostly I am feeling like it is like any other day, that this whole thing still isn't real. Then there are times where I am freaking out that the house is not clean, that we are not ready for a baby to be in our homes, and that our plan for me to not go back to work full time is not going to work.

For example, today the house looks worse than it has in weeks. I am too tired to actually do anything about it. There are so many things that we need to get done - taxes, budgets, wills, setting up life insurance... ahhh the list grows as I take off one thing.

I guess it will all come together, eventually. I tend to push myself a bit each day to get stuff done. Like today I really need to do the dishes and clean the bathroom, and at least throw a load of laundry into the washer.

I am really happy that I am off 3 days a week right now so that I can pace myself. If I can get a few things done a day we should be ok and on schedule, right?

My 2 Political Cents

Let me just start by prefacing this post with the fact that I know I am blessed to not be faced with being in a situation that would require me to use these services. But that I also have friends who have had to use the services provided by these organizations and government entities.

There are 3 thoughts in this post: The Planned Parenthood issue, getting intentionally pregnant when you can't afford the child you have, and drug testing for food stamp usage

Planned Parenthood Issue
There has been lots of talk in the news about the federal government pulling funding for Planned Parenthood. I have been thinking about this with mixed reviews for the past few days, but today I was watching The View and I learned that the majority of those who use the services of Planned Parenthood are 150% below the poverty line. Yes, I could have heard that wrong, or the person saying it could have been wrong on that number too. However, all I can think about right now is "personal responsibility".

As a person who has now been categorized as having an unplanned pregnancy, I feel that I have some perspective on this whole topic. Planned Parenthood does provide lots of great services - cancer screenings and HIV testing for examples. But why does the federal government need to provide money to this organization for pregnancy prevention and prenatal care? Maybe I don't know exactly how the government funding works, but isn't that what Medicaid is for? Or Medicare?

I am going to go out on a limb here, and I know this might offend some people, but what ever happened to personal responsibility? If you can't afford to go to the doctor, if you can't afford birth control, if you can't afford to have a child, WHY ARE YOU HAVING SEX? Like I said, I am part of the unplanned pregnancy crowd, but if I knew I couldn't afford medical care or food for my child, I wouldn't have put myself in a situation that would result in becoming pregnant. It goes along with my consumer responsibility theory (see older posts).

Why does the tax payer have to support individuals who make poor choices? How are we raising a responsible society if we just feed the fire and fund these programs? Once again, if you can't afford to have a kid, don't have sex.

Taxpayer Money Funding Additional Pregnancies for Those Who Can't Afford the Kids They Have
I know a person who has a 2 year old. She and her fiance can't afford the child they have. They can't afford the medical bills that remain unpaid at the hospital for services in the past. They can't afford their own place or vehicle. Basically they can't afford much of anything. This person was put on a fertility drug by her doctor to "help control" her messed up periods (not to get preggo) or something like that, at least that is what I was told. My assumption is that she wasn't getting pregnant on her own because of this messed up period stuff and she got on this drug to actually get pregnant. As it is, the state is picking up the tab for medical bills for this family already, providing WIC, etc. Guess what... the fertility drugs worked. She is pregnant. I wonder how many hundreds of people are doing this exact same thing every day?

Now I am not one to say that someone can't have kids, but come on. You struggle already to make end's meat, so why in God's name are you purposely getting pregnant? As a tax payer, I am going to be supporting this child. Once again, WHERE IS THE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY??? Her selfish moves are now taking money out of my pocket and my child's college fund because they wanted to have another child when they can't afford the one they already have.

Drug Testing for Food Stamps
NH is trying to pass a law that will require those on food stamps to pass a drug test in order to receive the benefits. Amen! No, I do not think that all recipients of food stamps are drug users. But, I do believe that there are people who take advantage of the system, causing a massive waste of taxpayer money.

Now, some people are saying that the poor children are going to be punished for their parents' actions. First off, there is going to be a strike system so it is not like food is going to be yanked out of the mouths of kids if their parents fail their first drug test. That would be irresponsible of the state.

But once again, I can't help but ask about the personal responsibility of the parents. If everyone is so scared of losing their food stamp benefits because of a failing drug test, perhaps they shouldn't be spending the money they do have on illegal drugs. Am I off on this? Why am I, as a tax payer, supporting a drug habit? That is what it is, correct? Why is the state supposed to support those parents with food stamps when they are not responsible enough to put food in their child's mouth or money into other bills instead of getting high?


Now, that all being said, I do believe that there are situations where state and federal funding are needed. You can't help it if you lose your job due to economic reasons. I never know, maybe someday we will need some support for our family. But, I do know that we will be making responsible decisions. If we can't afford to have another child and can't afford birth control - we will not be having sex, especially during the most fertile times of the month. If I can't afford food for my children, I better have already canceled all of my services such as cable, internet, basically everything that is non essential because food is way more important. And I sure am not going to go on fertility drugs to have a second child when I can't afford the one I already have.

I may be over critical, and I have never been faced with such tough financial decisions. I have been blessed with parents who raised me to be responsible and to prioritize. I was raised to do what every I needed to do to be a responsible and contributing member of society and to provide for my children. We are lucky enough that one of us doesn't need to work full time once our child is born, but if weboth need to, we will. It just drives me nuts to see people getting assistance when they work part time and can't even show up to work on time on a regular basis. To see people complain that they can't afford their apartment but they have a really nice car.

I guess my final point is that where is the personal responsibility for those who do not have legitimate reasons for being on these programs? Milking the system hurts everyone in the long run, including those on the system. I feel that audits need to be done, and for those who are on the system that are found to be abusing it should have to pay back every penny that they received either in money form or community service.

I am sorry if I have offended anyone, but this is just how I see things.

Beach Baby

St. John was awesome! We had a great time relaxing with family. One week was not enough time to soak up the sun after a long season at work! I spent a full day and a partial day at Salt Pond Bay, one of my favorite places on the island. Here is proof that at 30 weeks pregnant that flying, swimming and wearing a 2 piece bathing suit are perfectly acceptable!

31 weeks tomorrow

This pregnancy is starting to feel as if it is speeding up! My due date is fast approaching like a freight train!

We still have so much to do and I am feeling anxious about all the little nitty gritties! At this point everything must happen in sequence. First major project will be done next Tuesday - windows being replaced in the two front bedrooms. Once that is complete we can get the carpets cleaned- boy do they need it! And once that is done we can get the room together. I am so anxious to get these things off of the check list!

Now, just to get rid of these fish tanks!

It's a...

Here it is! The gender reveal video - unedited.

We know something you don't know!!!

James and I had the 20 week ultrasound (19w 6d to be exact) on Tuesday. It was so neat to see Macnugget's bones forming. Little white lines in its arms and legs. We could see the brain, the 4 chambers of the heart, the organs growing in the abdomen. It was soooooo neat.

Macnugget was not exactly willing to cooperate with the ultrasound tech. He/she was sleeping when we got there and was sleeping in a not so cooperative position. So, she had to start trying to get good shots... which means she was smushing and rolling him/her. He/she woke up fairly quickly and then became anti ultrasound. The tech had to chase him/her around to get the shots she needed to make sure everything was looking good.

Oh, and once Macnugget decided to uncurl his/her legs we got to see what was there... the cord! Little bugger was being a punk. But, after a few minutes the tech checked again and sure enough we got a "clear view" of what was there. All I can say is that I am glad she is trained, because I didn't know what I was looking at and even though she said she was sure it is a ________, I am still skeptical.

I know that the techs are usually right, but working where I work, I see the wrong predictions every few months. So, we will go with what the tech predicts. If we have another ultrasound we will try to confirm.

We are doing the big reveal with our parents on Sunday morning. I am making cake pops! White cake with the appropriate food coloring tint dipped in dark chocolate. We are going to have them bite into the pops at the same time to see the color! I think James' sister in PA will be joining us via Skype for the big reveal as well! This is going to be so much fun!

What's your bet?

Only one more week until our big ultrasound! Yep, 20 weeks is almost here - half way done! Still not really feeling any movement. A few bumps here and there at random, but I am not sure if it is Macnugget or if it is just gas bubbles or something.

Anyway, on November 9th we go for our mid pregnancy ultrasound - the anatomy scan. This is when they check things out to make sure that everything is developing properly. And this is when we can possibly find out if we are having a boy or girl. If we are able to find out we will announce it to everyone once our parents are informed on November 14th. So, don't pester us until after that date.

What do you think it is? Boy or Girl?

Hitched

James and I got married! Well, you probably already knew that.

October 10, 2010 at an attempted 10:10am! It was more like 10:30 when we were actually married, but we can say 10:10. The official photos have not been delivered yet, but when they do I will post them.

All tests are good!

At the 13 week point in a pregnancy they give you an "NT scan". Basically this is a series of tests to see if you are at high risk for trisomy 18 or 21. Trisomy 21 is Downs Syndrome and trisomy 18 is another genetic disorder. They combine blood tests with ultrasound results to determine the odds of having a baby with these types of genetic defects. In the ultrasound they look at the size of the fluid pouch in the neck flap. If it is greater than 3mm thick than you are at a higher risk. I think ours measured at around 1.6mm. Isn't it amazing what they can see with an ultrasound?

Next ultrasound is November 9. This is the BIG ONE. 40 minutes of measuring baby parts and looking at organs for any abnormalities. This is also the ultrasound that, if the baby cooperates, you can find out the gender. James and I have "agreed"that if Macnugget is spread eagle and showing us the goods we will find out. If he/she is being modest, we will not poke and prod the little one to move and show us what he/she has down there. So, start placing your bets. I think Katie might want to start another pool. Who won the last pool anyway?

13w 0d

As Memere pointed out, little Macnugget has an angel watching over him/her! Check out the angel in the top left part of the sac! What a lucky baby!

Heartbeat

Now that I found my new doctor we had our schedule of appointments for the next month and a half. First you meet the nurse practitioner. That person tells you all about what is going to happen at the docs, what to expect, what to eat, what not to eat, not to clean the kitty box and to wash your hands every time you touch your cat...

Well, at our 11 week appointment we were told that we were going to hear the heartbeat for the first time. Doc comes in, talks to us. Checks on how many times a day I am sick - which is a lot and not very fun. I had lost weight at this point and couldn't keep much of anything down. So she tells me to lay down and that we were going to hear the heartbeat. No mention that it might take a while to find it or that the baby might be too small still. So a few minutes go by and no heartbeat. I start to get the look of terror on my face and look at James who is trying to hide his look of terror as well. At this point the doc says, don't worry it can take a few minutes. A few more minutes go by and nothing... I burst out into tears. Yep, full blown bawling. I think she knew at that point that she should have told me up front that it could take a bit to hunt the sucker down. So, she went to her ultrasound tech and got me in to have an ultrasound within 5 minutes. Sure enough, there was the little bugger hiding behind the placenta. Shy or stubborn, you be the judge. Knowing it's mom, it's a combo of the two. And, of course the heartbeat could be seen on the screen. I asked the ultrasound tech like 5 times if she was sure it was beating. Then little Macnugget squirmed a bit to reassure me that all was well. What a relief! I just had to giggle because I didn't know what else to do after you think that something terrible has happened and the kid was just being shy.

Sorry that the pics are sideways. I don't know how to rotate them in this program. But, I think you get the point.

11w 6d profile

11w 6d alien baby shot

11w 6d hand -my favorite pic so far. I also call this the paparazzi shot. No cameras!!!

Surprise!!!

Well, all of you probably know by now that James and I are expecting our first kiddo at the end of March! We are super excited and are already prepping the house for little Macnugget's arrival. Being that we both have our busy seasons right around the corner, we really didn't have a choice but to do our registry and start getting organized early!

So, many of you know about the baby but only a few of you know how we found out we were preggers. So, here is the story:

James and I went to his parents' boat for the weekend at the end of July. We had been so busy all summer that it was time to make the trip. This year to Camden, Maine. We had an awesome time. I only freaked out once - just about to the point of tears - but the situation was made comfortable again almost immediately. We sailed around a bit and then to a state park in the form of an island for the night. I absolutely loved it. I also loved the mojitos that we attempted to make. Yep, between the 4 of us we had quite a few mojitos. Of course we didn't get the recipe right until the 4th batch in! It was a fun evening and weekend full of healthy vegan food.

At the end of the trip I thought that I must have slammed into something because I felt like someone had punched me in the right boob. I was concerned enough to check for a massive bruise. Nope, no bruise. It went away the next day, but after a few days of work I now felt like I had been punched in both boobs. And being 1 day "late" with the lady friend I became a bit concerned.

Let me just clarify that my lady friend has a mind of it's own but had been getting better and more on schedule so one day or week overdue was not unusual. Normally when it gets to the week mark I would take a preggo test to get things going. My body get's the "nope, no kid so get on with it" hint and badda bing badda boom... lady friend arrives the next day. Let's just say it didn't exactly happy that way this time.

So I called James to let him know I would be stopping at the store on the way home. Got some things, including the preggo test. At this point I had a very strong hunch that the outcome would be a bit different this time. I got home and was getting ready for bed as I was doing a turnaround that night (close the store and show back up for 6am the next morning).

The power just happened to be out this evening as well. So, getting ready for bed via flashlight, I did the deed and went about prepping for my early morning wake up. Mid teeth brushing I checked the test... two lines. Of course, this is what I was kind of expecting, but actually seeing it sends you into this state of calm panic. I called James to the bathroom to confirm what I was seeing... yep. Two lines via the glow of the flashlight. James does not show his emotions very well so he was just "yep, looks like it's positive, let's get some sleep". Ya... I was NOT sleeping that night. We spend half the night looking at what 3 and a half week old fetuses looked like and all that jazz.

I was a bit unnerved for the next few days. James was too as far as I could tell. But, we were both also excited. A baby is a miracle. I know my doc said I shouldn't have issues getting pregnant due to my LEEP procedure, but I always had a fear that it would interfere. Looks like everything is in working order!

So that is how we found out about little Macnugget. Get it? Mackey + Nugget= Macnugget!

I had a follow up cancer screening like 3 days later. My doc did all that and then gave me an ultrasound. I was 5 weeks 6 days preggo according to their math. According to my body's schedule I was 5w 1d. The ultrasound showed a sac and a yolk. At that stage the baby is too small to really see. So, back I went the following week with James and there was our little "blob" with a flashing white dot in the middle at our 6w 1d ultrasound. Very neat to see that and very much a reality check. Now we could be really excited because there in fact was a baby starting to grow!

No cancer!

I came back clear for abnormal cells again! This is 2 in a row. Only 5 more tests every 6 months to go!