Friday, November 21, 2008

A Few Quick Pics







Of course there's more on their pages!



Thursday, November 20, 2008

I feel ok!

I've been having some baby blues...

It's HARD being locked up in a house all day with a newborn. We can't go anywhere because:

a. There's nowhere to go in Vernon
b. It's cold & windy
c. You never know when Nat wants to eat

So...I've been taking late showers & staying in pajamas all day. No cleaning or sprucing up...just waiting until 4ish to go get Cole & for JP to get home.

TODAY...however, JP went to work at noon so I got to sleep in a little. He watched Nat while I took a shower & got ready (at 11 :)). I decided to try on my "fat" clothes. These are the jeans I wore around the time I got married. I weighed about the same then as I did 40 weeks prego. They are my size 8 Levis and my size 7/8 Lee One True Fit. THEY FIT!! Not only do they fit...they are loose in the thighs! YAY! Now...they fit just fine in the belly...but I do have a bit of a muffin top. I guess that's acceptable for 2 weeks post pardum. Something is definitely up with my belly though...the abs are just sticking out there more than after I had Cole. I guess that happens when you've had 2 kids.

ANYWAY...I'm pretty pumped! I put my makeup on...fixed my hair & put on ...get this...a size Small shirt! hehe...I even put lipstick on. too bad I have nothing to do the rest of the day other than be a milk machine.

Monday, November 17, 2008

Crazy Eights

(Wow...I've been tagged....hehe!)

Eight TV shows that I watch:
1. One Tree Hill
2. Gossip Girl
3. America's Next Top Model
4. Grey's Anatomy
5. Desperate Housewives
6. Brothers and Sisters
7. Law and Order
8. Law and Order SVU

Eight Favorite Restaurants:
1. Abuelo's
2. Quizno's
3. El Chico
4. Samurai of Tokyo
5. River Smith's (Lubbock)
6. Casa MaƱana
7. Mimi's Cafe
8. That really good Chinese place in DFW that's everywhere (my mind went blank)

Eight Things that happened this weekend:
1. My pain SIGNIFIGANTLY lessened
2. Watched tons of lifetime movies
3. Watched Hairspray
4. Thought Tech was playing & became disappointed when they didn't
5. Went to church for the first time with Natalie and Cole
6. Set up Natalie's Baptism
7. Went grocery shopping
8. Had yummy steaks

Eight Things I look forward to:
1. Natalie's 2 week appt tuesday
2. Thanksgiving
3. The day before thanksgiving when my parents come.
4. The day after thanksgiving sales (which I won't be attending :()
5. The movie Twilight (which I won't be watching any time soon)
6. Christmas
7. Losing these last 10 baby pounds!
8. Feeling 100% better!

Eight Things on My Wishlist:
1. Cole to go poo poo (he's extremely constipated these days! :( )
2. An hour or two on my own
3. New clothes
4. New running shoes
5. New makeup
6. laptop
7. a good set of books
8. Peace and Goodwill to all (Ok...i don't know what else I want! haha)

I tag...Momma, Danielle, Kelly T., and Kori! :)

Saturday, November 15, 2008

My 1 week old baby!



To keep up with my little Natalie, check out her blog!

Monday, November 10, 2008

Natalie Ann's Birth Story

We arrived at the hospital at 8am. The sweet nurse had a hard time finding a vein for an IV. The first one blew a vein. It was REALLY painful! The 2nd vein wouldn’t be budged. FINALLY another nurse got an IV in the top of my hand…weird!

The nurse called Dr. Lamar and they decided to start me on a low dose of Pitocin which would be increased hourly. I was already having contractions every 2-3 minutes ( I was only feeling them every 6 minutes or so). They were all in my back, so I immediately knew she was posterior. BY this point I was already a stretch 3 (before the pitocin). Which was neat because it just means she was MEANT to arrive that day! About 9:00 Dr. Lamar arrived and I was dilated to a 4 and he broke my water. It did NOT hurt like I expected! Immediately…hard contractions began. I had not ever cried during labor with Cole because of pain…until the end. By 9:30, I was crying because the contractions hurt so bad. We discussed an epidural…but decided to try & work Natalie to an anterior position. I wouldn’t be able to do that with an epi. I got Stadol instead (intravenous pain reliever). As soon as it went in…I felt the benefits. The nurse only gave me a half dose because I’m small. As soon as she left, I burst out laughing. I could NOT stop & was laughing for no reason. Justin was worried. I laughed so hard that I completely wet the bed! We continued the stadol…in the mean time my sisters and parents arrived. I finally convinced the nurses to get me a birthing ball. I was on all fours on the bed trying to turn her and sat on the ball and bounced. By about 12pm, I wanted everyone out of the room. I was in a lot of pain. The nurse said if I didn’t take an epidural THEN…I would have to wait until about 1:30 or so because the anesthesiologist was going to be in a c-section. We decided I could make it another hour! Turns out…the pain was HORRIBLE! That was the longest hour of my life! My nurse went on lunch and the stand in decided maybe I needed a full dose of Stadol. From that moment until it wore off…I lived in “marshmallow land”. Not real sure why…but I called Justin a marshmallow and told my mom that I lost my butt. I asked her if she could go find it. I still felt the pain of the contractions…but lived in a different world. It was strange and I wanted out! My regular nurse came back and was pretty upset! Anyway…I got the epidural when I was dilated to a 7. It was WONDEROUS! Why, oh why did I ever try to not have one? I felt no pain in the contractions. Until about 4:30 or so. I felt my contractions on the right side. By 5:00, I was dilated to a 9 and almost ready to push. The nurse got the anesthesiologist to give me something in my epidural to make the pain go away. It worked! ALSO…she turned! The pain was GONE when she turned! By 5:30 I was pushing. It took me a little while to figure it out…but once I did I just pushed as hard as I could! She came from a “0 station” to a “-2” in no time. Soon they could see her hair (I could also…in the reflection of the TV). I pushed one more time and her head was out. I was amazed…then once more and her shoulders “popped” out and the rest of her. I could NOT believe it & was in shock. The doc had to ask me twice if I wanted her placed on me. Finally I said yes. She was SCREAMING, so I talked to her and she calmed down. I touched her…all gooey & bloody & she just looked at me with these big curious eyes. Justin got to cut the cord and I remember him saying, “I’ve always wanted to do this!” They took her away to clean her. I felt the placenta come out. I laughed at the doc because he really wasn’t sure I’d be able to VBAC! Then…he said, “Have some bad news…you tore…4th degree”. He spent the next 20 minutes fixing that up with THICK string. He showed Justin EVERYTHING down there…bleh! By that point Natalie was SCREAMING and they brought her back to me. She immediately calmed down and I sang her our song, “Part of Your World” from the Little Mermaid. I breastfed her and she latched on right away.

The whole experience was amazing and everything I could have hoped for. The only downside was the tear…but it turns out that the recovery isn’t too bad! I’d take this over C-section!! (I say that NOW…3 days ago…not so much! Ha!)
My mom & sister Jessica were in the room with me the whole time. I’m glad they were there. My mom kept me sane and “nice”. I hope Jessica wasn’t scared to have kids! I was happy to share the experience with them. My mom cried.

Monday, November 3, 2008

The night before my little girl is born!

Well...it's finally here! It's kind of cool being prepared for the baby. Cole was 9 days early (shocker)...so we were kind of unprepared. Now I have my bag packed with everything (this time I know what we need). I have her bag packed, Cole's bag is packed. He is staying with Mimi & Papa.

Cole and I had Mommy & Cole day today. We went to Bealls & Walmart (what else is there to do in Vernon?) and had lunch at Pizza Hut. He was VERY loving and so sweet. We played all afternoon, took a bath, and read our favorite story, "I Love You Stinky Face". Then he went night night. Little does he know that tomorrow his life will change...hopefully for the better.

I'm so excited to be having another baby...but in a way I'm sad that Cole will have to share me. I don't think you can fully understand that until you are ABOUT to have that next baby. I know I'll have enough love for both...and more if we have more. My mom & dad did! (although Danielle and I know that Momma loves "the golden child" more than us..haha). It will be good though...I know!

I've been reading "The Power of a Positive Mom" (thanks Angels!). Such a great book. It's really helped me realize what it takes to be a good Mommy. I saw a lady at Walmart today just screaming at her kids...same age difference as Cole and Natalie will be...but older. I thought that I don't ever want to be seen as that type of mommy. YES...discipline is necessary...but not to the point that you humiliate your children for no reason.

Anyway...Induction is set for 8am tomorrow! The doctor will NOT let me go all day. So I WILL have a little girl on November 4th!!! Yay! I will update as soon as we get back home!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

GO TECH!

I can rest easily now that I know my baby girl will be a Texas Tech Red Raider!!!!

I jumped & bounced the night away watching the game. Cole, (my little good luck charm) went to bed at half time...and what do you know...Tech started SUCKING IT UP. By the end of the 4th quarter...I was so mad at Justin being a stupid UT fan that I left. That's right..I drove off into the night. I heard the winning touch down & screamed down the street...I was sooo excited! Came home to watch the TTU fans ALMOST cost us the game twice.

BUT EITHER WAY...WE PULLED IT OFF!!!!

Too bad we won't be #1. It's ok...we'll show em all in the end!

Pregnant, sick, and EXCITED????


What could possibly make an overdue, extremely sick woman very excited???


Well of course the biggest game in Texas Tech history! Tonight, Texas Tech will beat the University of Texas in what will be considered history in the making! Natalie's college future is at stake. Justin is a big UT fan. I...of course am a Red Raider, having lived in Lubbock for 20 years and attending Texas Tech. Whichever team wins is the co llege Natalie will attend. (haha).


And...to top off this monumentous occasion...ESPN is hosting College Game Day there for the first time in Texas Tech history! The only thing that could make this day better is if I was there (or if I have Natalie before the game starts!).


WRECK 'EM TECH!!!!!!!!