Here are a few rodeo pictures! We will be going back a couple more times so I will post more pictures later. She loves animals, she's not scared of anything!
She went right up to that huge Lama and gave it a hug!
Lately we have been praying before we eat and teaching Evelyn a very basic prayer. She puts her hands together and repeats what we say. Very basic... God is good, God is great, thank you for this food to eat...Amen. Today went something like this...us: Evey: God is good God is great, CAN WE HAVE WATERMELON? AMEN! hehe She loves watermelon and would probably eat it all the time everyday. Neways we finished our prayer and yes she got her watermelon!
I think I just randomly assign titles to fit what I want to talk about that day..haha neways. I've been reading ppls blogs and I love to read about birth stories and I realized I've never written about mine and when I'm reading others I remember glimpses of things and want to write it down before I forget.... so here it goes I'll try to keep it PG13.
I worked nights full time at UH STICU up until the day I delivered. My due date was September 30th. I remember feeling oh so huge waddling around the unit, I distinctly remember talking to Carrie n she thought I was going to have the baby soon! Lisa n Tracy had bought me a few things to include a huge box of diapers, so after work (7am) Lisa walked me out to my car to put the box in my trunk and she left. Later that day she heard I had the baby and was terrified she has left me in the parking lot in Labor! haha I drove home to our apartment and every morning when I got home from work I would eat a HUGE bowl of cereal, shower and go to sleep. I wasn't feeling well and was exhausted from being 9months prego and working nights and not sleeping more than a couple of hours bc there was was a baby sitting on my bladder making it the size of a lemon. So I decided to skip the cereal n just shower. David was just waking up as I got outta the shower so I laid down in bed with him. As soon as I laid down and got comfortable I felt something shift. It was a strange feeling and of course this being my 1st baby I had no clue what was going on. So I told him I think the baby dropped (as in dropped into the birth canal)? So he says stand up and let me look at you.
As soon as I stood up I knew EXACTLY what happened... My water broke. So I looked at him and said Oh Shit my water just broke! He looked at me and said...Well get off the carpet! His response was classic and if I hadn't been 9 months pregnant going into labor I would have clobbered him lol. Typical man response, I'm about to have a BABY and he's worried about our carpet deposit. Get off the carpet...pphhhh. I laugh about it now but at the time I was a little preoccupied. So he downs breakfast while I get my stuff together. I'm trying to find comfy clothes that still fit and I'm searching the apartment for some type of pad bc I'm actively leaking amniotic fluid (nice, I know) and all I can find are those REALLY THIN ones. We leave to the hospital. So I'm wearing athletic shorts and it feels like I have pissed all over myself walking up cardiac hill ( that what we call the hill from the employee lot to the D elevators at work) (I delivered at the same hospital I worked at). So we get up to L&D and I tell them my water broke and they look at me like ya right. So they got a sample and weighed me and took my vitals. Of course it was amniotic fluid I don't think I would continuously pee on myself for an hour. I was admitted into triage and checked, I was 3cm dilated. I called up to my unit letting them know I was in labor and would not be at work tonight...or the next or the next lol (little did I know I'd be out for 10 1/2 months!) I finally got a room and they hooked me up to all the monitors and started my IV. They put me on a low dose of pitocin bc I was not progressing. I had thought I can do this, I might not need an epidural (HA). So we are working through the contractions and all of a sudden HOLY SHIT! I felt the worst pain I have ever felt 10/10. I looked back and unbenounced to me the nurse (they had switched bc my original nurse was delivering another baby) had turned my Pit from 2 to 6... hello a little warning as in ur contractions might get a little stronger would have been nice! So of course we had them call anesthesia to place an epidural... that was probably the longest 25 minutes of my life. So Mike our CRNA walks in takes one look at my back and tells me, did anyone ever tell you tattoos were bad? WTF he said he can't put an epidural in bc of the risk of chemical menengitis. I'm a freakin nurse and I had NEVER heard of this. So he says lemme look and he stretched my skin over to place the needle through an un-inked place. The whole time I'm panicking thinking how the HELL am I gonna do this without an epidural? I'd like to take this time out to say props to all the mothers out there that had their babies naturally without drugs. The only way I can describe it is that its like a stretching pain like someone is taking your abdominal muscles and tearing them apart. Imagine the worst poop cramps you've ever had and multiply that times ten. So Mike placed my epidural and I got to rest for a couple hrs, I tried to get sleep but of course there are visitors and the excitement of having a BABY. Well Evey's heart rate was decelling so they slapped a non-rebreather (O2 mask) on me and let me rest. My Ob/Gyn was making his rounds on his day off to check on someone at the hospital and heard I was here so he stopped in to check on me. He was wearing a Hawaain shirt, shorts and flip flops. I absolutely LOVE my Ob/Gyn... he is the best doctor ever. So he checks me and says well are you ready to push? HUH??? push? what? really? SHIT! I'm about to have a baby! He says ur ready to go! So they set everything up and with the epidural it was hard to tell I was having contractions so per the monitor they told me when to push. 30 minutes of pushing and out comes Evelyn. She was born on September 30th 2006 around 4:30pm. She was 6lbs 9oz... small by todays standards but both David and I were small babies. She was sooo cute. I don't think I've ever felt joy and fear and immenence all at once like I did when I saw her. I remember my mom making a comment about how she was going to be giving because she was born with her hands open (my moms like that). They placed her on my chest and cleaned her up. I remember she was nice and pink, I think her APGAR score was like a 9??? Although I can't remember for the life of me if she cried or not? She probably did. So they assessed her while I got stitched up, one of the nurses I worked with use to be an L&D nurse who knew Dr. Funk and she was so funny telling me when I deliver I should tell him to put in an extra stitch for my husband haha. So I attempted to nurse Evelyn before they took her away, they say it helps with bonding and introducing the baby to nursing. I asked them not to give her glucose water if at all possible. Then they had to take her away for her 1st bath and assessment in the nursery. David followed her to the nursery to keep an eye on her and be her official body guard haha That was the only part of my birth story I didn't like, she was gone for almost 2 hrs and when they finally brought her to me she was crying :-( While she was gone they pulled out my catheter and wanted me to try to pee before transferring me to my post partum room. So I stand up to walk to the bathroom and nearly faint. I had lost a lot of blood since after all I had just given BIRTH. Come to find out later my Hematocrit was like 23 or something low around that number. Loved the private post partum rooms, I think I would hate having to share a room and not have David stay with me. Thank goodness we lived close, David would drive home and make me food bc I was not about to eat the hospital food! I remember him bringing me steak and potatoes and my friends walking in commenting on how great it smelled! lol... We kept her with us round the clock since I was breast feeding except when she HAD to go back to the nursery to be assessed during morning rounds. We were discharged the morning of the 2nd.
Random thoughts:
-I remember all of my friends/family and co-workers coming to see her.
-I remember her sleeping in her papasan swing bc we hadn't gotten her mattress for her crib yet, we got it her 2nd day home but she ended up sleeping in that swing for 3 months!
-When my milk came in HOLY COW (haha no pun intended) I was like hey I could get use to these! Even though they hurt like hell. unfortunately they didn't last lol
- Evey's first pediatrician appointment went really well, Dr. Coleman was impressed she had actually gained weight as most babies lose weight the first couple of weeks.
-She had cradle cap and also clogged tear ducts so her poor eyes were always gummy and I was scared to death when they said worse case scenario they will have to put a wire in her duct to clear it out :-O
-She had colic and would cry for hours on end and I felt helpless.
- I remember taking her at 2 weeks old to our churches pumpkin patch to take pictures and our camera batteries died so I waited inside the church while David went to get more and an elderly lady came up and talked to me for a while. She was so excited I had named her Evelyn bc her sisters name was Evelyn and it wasn't that common these days, as she put it lol. She was very sweet.
- I remember how she latched on wrong and well...ouch.
- I remember having to run to the hospital while she was sleeping to add her to the insurance and almost bawling bc I was leaving her.
- She was never a fan of her carseat, most babies like the car..not my Evey!
- I remember bringing her home thinking what the heck do I do with her? This is actually MY baby... wow.
- She was spoiled and had to nurse to fall asleep.
-The first time I put her in her crib to sleep without nursing she cried for an hour and a half. I think she was around 9 months old. Eventually she got better but moving into a new house and such she still falls asleep on the couch and then we take her to her bed. The first time that took an hour and a half I walked in and she was asleep on her knees in the corner of her crib holding onto the crib with her face pressed up against the bars. I felt so bad but it was kinda funny like she was saying I'm not giving in, I wont lay down!
So everyone says breastfeeding is best... to that I completely agree, however Evey decided she was not going to drink from a bottle. I had NEVER heard of this before. I looked it up online and apparently its common. She wouldn't drink formula/ mixtures/ pumped breast milk nothin from a bottle. Well 3 months came and I was suppose to go back to work. I tried everything they suggested online, talked to lactation consultant, had other people try to feed her. The works, my little girl did not start drinking from a bottle till she was 7 1/2 months old. So of course I was out of work staying home. I went back to work at 10 1/2 months and weaned her slowly and by a year we were through nursing. There was a point I thought I'd be breast feeding her till she was 5!
I look back now and wish I would have treasured that time a little more. I didn't appreciate staying at home as much as I should have and miss it terribly, especially now that shes at a fun age and she knows I'm gone at work. I love my Evey to pieces and think she is the smartest and most beautiful baby in the world! (hey what parent doesn't)
This morning Evey walks in the room and I can feel her standing next to my head n I hear ssspptt (not pppsssst)....sssssppt....sssspt mamma wake up... then I open my eyes n she says Oh hi mamma. I couldn't help but giggle to myself. So I pulled her into bed hoping she would sleep a little longer... of course that didn't happen haha. She said mamma watch cartoons? ok EV lets go watch cartoons.... till next time.
So since I'm a day late for Things I love Thursday I will do Five Favorites for Friday!
My five favorite things this Friday are...
1. Cheese!
2. Eggplant(yes I said eggplant)
3. The snooze button(It takes me 1/2 an hr to get outta bed)
4. When Evey says "Not so fast mamma!"
5. Wii sports
I heard on the news someones house almost burned down because they're tree caught fire and I thought to myself they still have their tree up? Its mid January... oh wait, we still have all our Christmas stuff up too hahaha. So everything is packed away and now I have to finish decorating our house because it looks really bare now. Time to clean out the garage and utility room, I don't know why I keep the boxes stuff comes in...
So you know that game where you grab a kids nose and pull and your thumb is there "nose"? Evey is 2 people.... I did that and said got ur nose! Evey whats that? (motioning to my thumb) and without missing a beat says ...UR THUMB! LMAO....
