This better be it...

I've had some pains for the past 4 weeks or so, always at night. At first, I thought I was having heart attacks and went to the Dr. for chest pains. The EKG was normal and they realized it was probably something gastrointestinal. They were still doing tests when I had a major attack on Tuesday night. I couldn't take it anymore and had to go to the ER.

Well, to make a long story short. I lost a gallbladder and received 4 new incisions, to match my already lovely c-section scar. I hope that the gallbladder was really the issue and keep worrying that I had surgery for nothing. This better be it...that's all I can say. :(

Mommy brain strikes again

I never believed in the "mommy brain" or "pregnancy brain", until it happened to me. For those that don't know, pregnancy brain is when you lose your common sense for 9 months, fall down, bump into things, etc.

Well, I find mommy brain to be quite similar. It really is a common thing among moms.

Time article: http://www.time.com/time/connections/article/0,9171,1053659,00.html

Whether the mommy brain phenomenon is true or not, I had a couple "episodes" lately.

#1 I don't get out much, but try to make small trips to keep myself sane. Last week, Katie fell asleep in the back (thank goodness) and I was stopped at a red light. I don't know what happened, but when I opened my eyes the light was green and the cars around me were gone. Oops!

#2 Sometimes I don't get to use the restroom much, depending on Katie's mood. After Andrew gets home, I get relief (no pun intended). So, I stood in the bathroom door for probably 30 seconds, searching for the light switch and getting frustrated...only to find that I was feeling up the bathroom door. No, we don't have light switches on the bathroom door.

We look alike!

Do you know where germs are hiding?

I guess it is the mom in me, but I've been trying to protect Katie from germs since she was born. I'm not as bad as some first time moms, but I'm careful about washing hands, shopping carts, etc.

I've known this for awhile, but did you know that your kitchen sink is one of the dirtiest places in your house? I don't wash Katie in there for that very reason, but I know a lot of people do. It's time to read up!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21423163/from/ET/

Week 6 & 7

These two weeks sort of blur together, lucky for you! There were two major events during these weeks.

#1 Katie starts to smile! I (almost) forget her tantrums when I see that funny smile. As everyone says, it makes it all worth it. If I could only keep her smiling more than fussing, then we'd really have something! As the days pass, her smile gets better and she's figuring out that we are pretty funny parents. Andy yawned one morning (loudly) and she thought it was hilarious, so now he does it all the time to keep her happy.

#2 Katie's 1st Halloween! It wasn't a huge success because she really didn't love her outfit, doesn't understand the joy of candy and wasn't old enough to be taken around by her parents (so we could, in turn, steal her candy). Regardless, we got a couple shots of her dressed up and many shots of her freaking out.

Why do my parents have to put me in a candy bowl and cover me with candy? Because we can, little one!

Big news! (NO, I'm not pregnant)

It was strange enough finding that my friend Maria was pregnant on the same day I told her I was pregnant. We then had our babies on the same day, September 23rd.

Well, last night, Melissa called me and now she is pregnant! After knowing each other for a million years (well maybe closer to 10-12?), we're going to have kiddies within a year of each other. Soooo excited! Congrats Mel and Glenn! I can't wait for the pregnancy fun to begin!

It seems like so long ago that I found out I was pregnant...but I remember it all. It was so fun telling everyone and taking about 10 pregnancy tests. Ahhh, the memories!

Note to Mel and Glenn: even though you can't wait to meet your baby, enjoy your pregnancy and don't rush it. You will look back and be amazed that the 9 months go by in a blur.

Week 5

I just wanted to thank Jr. for linking me on his site. I wish I had started this when I found out I was pregnant, too. I'm sure I'd have a few funny stories, but my pregnancy was overall uneventful. I didn't have much pain, only craved cereal and fruit (not exciting) and gained about 5-7 pounds. My labor was the only stressful time of my pregnancy. So, I guess I'm a good prego...and just not so good at the delivery part.

Week 5 was similar to the other weeks. Feeding, changing poopy diapers, washing poop from baby clothes and taking more pictures. She watched her first Eagles game and so I had to snap some pics of her cheerleading outfit.

Wow, 3 posts in 1 day? I guess the 30 minute trip to Harris Teeter really tired her out. I should do that every day!

1 month completed, about 288 more to go!

Week 1 - I stayed in the hospital for 4 days. While I was there, Andy became Mr. Mom...faster than he had hoped. I couldn't get out of bed for the first couple days and he had to learn to pick up a newborn and change diapers by himself. He got to see poop of every color and was thrown into the fire rather quickly. We were getting her up every 2-3 hours to breastfeed, but I don't think my milk was coming in quickly because she was not very satisfied. On the second day, I was helped out of bed and it took me about 10 minutes to get to the bathroom. I had never been so grateful for a catheter and wished I could live with it forever. A nurse (or Andy) had to help me to the bathroom every time. I was completely helpless and couldn't do anything myself. It is an awful feeling. We continued to breastfeed and had also started to pump, in hopes of getting things going. Katie went from 8 lbs, 3 oz at birth to the mid 7s. Her lips were very dry and they were afraid of dehydration, so we had to start supplementing with formula. On Thursday, we were discharged and my mom stayed the night to help me. I continued to pump and feed her, but had to continue using formula as well. On Friday, my mother-in-law came to visit through the weekend.

Week 2 - Both Andy and my Mom stayed home with me. I'm glad they were there to help, although I felt like I was abusing everyone. I was very emotional and had trouble getting Katie to latch on. The baby blues hit me, just like most other mothers. I guess hormones are really out of whack after labor, which is a shame. You want it to be the happiest time of your life, but you can't hold yourself together long enough to enjoy anything. We were feeding Katie every 3 hours and it was taking an hour each time. Having 2 hours in between feedings was rough and stressful.

On a happier note, we gave Katie her first real bath since her cord fell off. Luckily, she didn't have one of those gross oozy stubs and it just fell off in her clothes. Her bath wasn't so bad. She fussed a little and I just concentrated on holding on to the slippery 8 pound worm.

Week 3 - This was my first week alone and towards the end of this week, I gave up breastfeeding. I went to a lactation consultant and we tried a shield and other techniques. It wasn't working. It was hard, but it was the best decision for us. We didn't want to deal with the cost of formula and wanted her to benefit from breastmilk, but it just wasn't possible. You eventually hit a point where your happiness (and your baby's), outweigh the benefits of breastmilk. It happens, oh well.

Week 4 - I'm still adjusting to being a mother. Can you ever really get used to it? As everyone knows, we love routines and schedules. Even though Katie arrived on her due date, she had some work to do. I was starting to get lonely, but luckily she slept a lot and I was able to chat and email during the day. I took a lot of pictures and sent almost hourly updates to friends and family. When you are home all day with a baby, what else are you going to do?

1 month completed! I didn't think I'd ever make it and I can't believe our little baby is one month. Of course, I had to do a photo shoot to celebrate the occasion.

It's time to share my story!

I've decided to join the rest of the world and start a blog. Why, you may ask?

• I wanted to share my stories and keep all my friends and family connected
• I couldn't find many "first time mom" blogs, which is a shame because new moms need each other
• My brother, the ultimate blogger, told me to do it (and I always listen to him)

It is a shame I didn't start this earlier. Luckily, it is all still pretty vivid so I should be able to recall my first 7 weeks of motherhood. Hopefully this blog won't be too disjointed. As my brother said, I'm going to have to "think, blurb, deal with her, blurb, go to bed, blurb and then submit". So...here goes!

Birth story

Sept 20 - I go to the doctor and tell her I'm very anxious to have the baby and I wish she would hurry up (she was due on the 23rd). Being a first time mom, I didn't understand that keeping the baby in for a longer time isn't so bad...at least I was getting to sleep through the night! Dr. Porter tries to "get things started", which did not feel so great. At that point, I was 3cm and 80% effaced.

Sept 21 - I have some cramping, but I had that last month after my exam also. We try timing them, but they are too sporadic.

Sept 22 - Trying to get my mind off the strange pangs/cramps, I go shopping. I drive around town with my parents and we end up at Wegmans...our normal hang out. I hold on to the cart, in case I get any more of those strange stabbing pains. We get some drinks and sit outside. Dad tries talking to me during these pains. I ignore him, of course. Who walks around Wegmans in labor? I do!

Sept 22 evening - I'm getting tired of these stabbing pains now. They are about 15-20 minutes apart and we call the doctor. Dr. Fernandez is on duty and says I need to wait until they are closer to 6-8 minutes apart. Is this going to take another 3 days? I want to die and to make matters worse, we put on Blades of Glory. Well, that fruity movie did the trick and my contractions were about 8 minutes apart within a couple hours.

Sept 22 8pm - We head to Arlington hospital and hit bumper to bumper traffic on 66. Surprise surprise! Andy is pissed off and I'm just trying to contract in peace. It was joyous! We arrive on a busy night and have to wait for a labor and delivery room, before they can examine me. Mom and Dad are already on their way, although I told them to wait until I call with an update. I finally get a room around 10pm and the nurse says I am still 3cm, but will get admitted. My contractions are all over the place and far apart, but they still hurt!

Sept 23 2am - I finally convince my parents to go home and get some sleep.

Sept 23 2 to 8am - I don't know if these are contractions or someone stabbing a knife into my pelvis. Everytime I get one, I have to push myself off the bed because I feel like I'm going to explode. I have an IV and have to call someone everytime I need to use the restroom, Andy is sleeping on an uncomfortable couch (but I don't feel too bad about it) and the hospital is so busy that no one has examind me since 10pm.

Sept 23 8am - Morning comes and I haven't slept. I didn't think contractions would feel like this and I'm so relieved when Dr. Fernandez enters my room. He examines me and his jaw drops. He says "I don't know how you did it, but you are 7cm. You must have a high pain tolerance. Let's get you an epidural now!" It was music to my ears. I call my parents and brother and tell them to hurry up. Mr. Epidural comes in the room and starts swabbing my back, just as Jr. shows up. At this point, I'm trying to be discreet in front of my brother, but I really want to get this baby out and don't care who sees it. The anethesiologist tells me that if I have a contraction during the epidural insertion, I can't move. Who is this guy kidding? After a night of pain, the epidural was cake. I felt the pinch and the cold pressure shooting through my back, but nothing compares to a baby pressing on your pelvis. Epidurals are GOOD!

Sept 23 9 to 10am - My parents arrive and it is a big comfort to have them there (even though my dad feels the need to touch everything). Mel and Glenn arrive too. I didn't think I wanted anyone there, but at that point I could care less. Something didn't feel right and I think I was reacting to the epidural. I was shaking and threw up. I felt better after that, I think.

Sept 23 10 to 11am - The shaking gets worse. I don't remember who else was in the room, but I remember my mom and Andy on both sides of my bed. I just kept saying that I didn't feel right, then my eye sight started to blur and that is all I remember. When I woke back up, there were doctors and nurses all around me. I knew something was up because they were running back and forth, yelling commands and Mr. Epidrual (the most in demand person in L&D) was right by my bed. My mom wasn't there and Andy was next to me. I kept saying "what is happening? what is going on?" and started crying. I was told that they needed to get the baby out now and my legs were thrown into stirrups. All the coaching, counting, breathing and pushing lessons were thrown out the window. Dr. Fernandez said I could push for a few minutes and then I'm going for a c-section. I wasn't letting this happen and pushed. Andy said that he had never felt something so strong and could barely hold my arms. They tried the vacuum, then forceps and that was it. They threw up the sides of my bed and started wheeling me out. I was so nervous and still in shock, but told Andy to get the camera! I tried to scan the hallways for my family and finally saw my mom outside my room. She said "everything will be OK" but I could tell that she was scared too...and trying to hold back her crying until I was out of view.

Sept 23 11:19am - I'm numbed, Andy is rushed in and Katie is pulled out. I don't feel a thing, except for pressure. They won't let her cry because of the meconium but they say she is fine and the cord was wrapped around her neck. Andy can see her, but I'm strapped to a table. Finally, someone yells "LOOK MOM!" and I get a glimpse of my baby as they run her to an examination table. They clear out her lungs and I finally hear her cry. I tell Andy to go take pictures, so I can see what she looks like. They clean her up and whisk her and Andy away to the nursery.

I'm left with the doctors and nurses as they stitch me up, count scalpels and crack jokes. My doctor says he is glad he read the book on how to do c-sections last night. I'm not amused. I don't know what just happened and wish I could see Katie and my family. I'm taken to recovery for 3 long hours because they were not able to find me a room in the maternity ward. Eventually, they get me a room and I get to hold my baby.

It is surreal. I don't feel like a mother yet. Maybe I was still traumatized, maybe it was all the drugs, maybe it was the fact that I couldn't even walk or get out of bed. It was quite an ordeal, but we finally had our little Katie and she was definitely the cutest baby we'd ever seen.