One week

Guess who's one week old today? Can you believe it? Wow...how time flies. I think he gets cuter and cuter every day. We're all so in love with him, it's crazy.
I do think Allison and Preston are having a bit of a difficult time adjusting though...Allison has been a total drama queen; when I look at her the wrong way, she bursts out into tears and says that I don't love her anymore. Preston has been having temper tantrums and spending a lot of time in his room.
David and I are really trying to make a point to spend some special time with them and do things they want to do (play board games, etc). It's a huge adjustment. Which is why I've been a really bad blogger this past week, I'm trying to keep up with it all...and I'm not even working right now; I don't know how I'll adjust when the time comes.
Allison is going on a playdate on Saturday, and I am going to try to make a playdate for Preston...that way David and I can spend some time with Mason alone.
Anyhow, that's where I am today...trying to adjust, keep up and sleep. I'm going to share some photos of my one week old....the cutie pie!!

Mason Storm

Mason Storm was born into the world on February 19, 2009 at 9:12 pm (2/19 at 9:12 - cool, uh?). He was 8 pounds 10 ounces, much to our amazement, because he doesn't seem that big! 20 1/2 inches long.
I promise to post more about the birth story later; for now, I'm so very happy to have a healthy baby boy and be home from the hell-hole hospital (promise to explain later). Enjoy the pictures; will talk more soon!
Michele

OMG! I have 3 kids!!

40 weeks and a birth to come!

So, I just got home from my 40 week OB appointment. Apparently, sitting on the physio ball helped; the baby's head has dropped a bit and he's in the right position for delivery.
Donna did a non-stress test, and this little guy performed perfectly. Therefore, when Donna measured me and confirmed that he's "ready to be hatched" (her words, not mine), she checked my cervix, said his head was low enough and my cervix was "inducable". Donna stripped my membranes. She said if I don't go into labor tonight; she scheduled me at Toledo Hospital tomorrow morning for induction...yay!!
So, we have to be ready at 7am and the hospital will call us when they are ready for us to come in; could be 7, could be 8...either way, I'm having my baby within the next 36 hours....
I was only dialated to 1cm, which, from what I read, the stripping of the membranes doesn't usually work unless your body is farther along, but we shall see. I don't have any cramping or bleeding or anything...so now we just wait and see if I go into labor on my own tonight or we get induced tomorrow.
So, Mason Storm will probably be entering this world on his due date, February 19, 2009. As long as he's healthy, I'm fine either way. I've got the video camera charging, I just put sheets on the bassinet and pack-n-play and put my phone charger in my hospital bag. My camera is ready to go and I'm just going to sit back and wait to see what happens.
I'm a bit nervous; haven't given birth in 5 years, but remember most of what goes on...I'm sure it will be fine, and I will try to post as soon as I can afterwards; I don't have a laptop, so maybe one of my friends who visits me at the hospital will post something for me.
So, hopefully next time I talk to most of you, I will be a mother of 3 healthy children.
Until then....Michele

39 weeks 4 days....

Well, no baby yet. I tried to walk a lot this weekend, I sat on the physio ball quite a bit and even did the other "home remedy" my midwife suggested, if you catch my drift. I don't even feel like the baby has dropped any. I think I have finally come to terms that I will have to be induced again. So, at my appointment on Wednesday, I will ask Donna to induce me on Friday night. Hopefully he will be born by early morning or afternoon on Saturday. Funny thing is, I'm feeling great. I am not miserable and uncomfortable like I was last week. I think it's because I'm not working anymore....not sitting in that chair in front of a computer all day; I've been resting, sitting on the couch and doing things around the house. Don't get me wrong, standing and doing dishes for 10 minutes kills my back, but then I'm able to sit with my feet up. So, I'm thankful that I'm off work already.

My kids are home today; President's Day. So, I'm glad to be able to spend the day with them, probably our last time before we have another baby.

Here's my 39 week picture; I don't know why Allison can't sit still and take a decent picture...she's too antsy.

So, as I posted last week, our basement flooded...what a mess. The insurance company did come out to look at everything, but we don't have any major damage. Our main concern was if any of the appliances or furnace/hot water tank went out in a week or a month due to water damage, we wanted to have it on record that we called them. So, we have up to a year to turn in any damage from the water back-up. It did give us a chance to go through the basement and clean it out and organize it. We have a ton of garbage, but mostly junk; boxes that didn't make it and some toys that were junk; nothing worth anything. We also went through boxes we had never unpacked from 3 years ago when we moved in and organized the "wrapping" area. My loving husband did not even complain when he realized I had about 200 gift bags that I insisted we keep for reuse...I love him. We purchased a few more plastic bins for anything that wasn't previously in a bin. My husband spent all weekend down there cleaning the floors with bleach water; I couldn't help with that part, obviously. But, look at what my wonderful husband did....he made the basement go from this:

To this:

Of course, we have to hope that the kids keep it this clean and organized. We were looking at carpet 2 weeks ago for the basement. Thank goodness we didn't buy it yet; and we're getting furniture from a co-worker of mine who is giving some furniture away. Now at least the basement is ready for it.

Well, I think that's about it. I'm just eagerly awaiting the birth of my son....while I try to keep busy around the house. I put the pack-n-play together yesterday and packed our hospital bags. I have a small load of baby items to wash, but nothing major that I need right away, just a few gifts we received and baby towels that I purchased. I'll keep up with the updates; if there are any.

Michele

Maternity Leave: Day 1

So, yesterday, at my 39 week check-up; I was hoping for some good news from my midwife, Donna. She did agree to induce me, IF, my body was doing what it was supposed to be.
So, she checked my cervix; bad news, not ready. The baby's head is too high for her to induce; she's concerned that his head could get cocked and stuck while trying to rush it, which would increase my chance of having a C-section, which I do NOT want.

On the other hand, while she was checking my stomach, she did say that he's going to be a very big boy. She finds it hard to believe that he was only 7 1/2 pounds last week, as she thinks he's much bigger than that now. What?!?! So, what is my option? She didn't give me one. It's almost like I'm thinking, if he's that big, shouldn't we do something about getting him out now?

Her suggestion...have regular intercourse and sit on a physio ball and bounce on it so that I can get his head to drop.... Two things, that at this point in my pregnancy, I am not at all interested in.

Donna did write me off work yesterday; that was the good news. I told her how miserable I was and about the pressure in my pelvis. Sitting at a desk all day kills me, and getting up from that chair is even worse. Plus, I'm starting to swell, and well, my work shoes about killed my feet yesterday. I think I deserve one week off before giving birth to a mammoth baby....ha! She did want me to come back for another ultrasound; the tech is on vacation next week, so I went in this morning for an ultrasound...more to come on this, below.

So, as I was driving home yesterday, fighting back the tears, in the torrential down pouring rains; I was very upset for multiple reasons. But, I have to be happy for what I can be:

1. I am VERY thankful for a healthy pregnancy. After what I experienced in my last pregnancy, which ultimately ended in no baby being born, alive, I have tried not to take this uneventful pregnancy for granted.
2. I am VERY thankful for what seems to be a very healthy baby boy
3. I am thankful for Donna, my midwife, going through this with me. She's very calming and is like a friend when we meet for my appointments. I can talk to her openly and honestly and look forward to my appointments

I cannot control when this baby comes into the world. I cannot control how big he is going to be, but this scares me, because I'm afraid he's going to come out a 3 month old and not a newborn. I cannot control what my body does or does not do, although, I can follow Donna's home remedy advice and help push things along, which I have been trying to do.

When I got home last night, I discovered that we had water in the basement. As the rains kept coming, the water situation got worse. When the crock with the sub-pump was about 2 inches from the top, David decided to go get another pump. Within 5 minutes after he left for Home Depot (1/2 a mile from our house), the crock filled up and the water began to fill the basement. All I could do was stand there and watch the water back-up. I picked up the things I could and started piling everything onto toy boxes and rubbermaid containers, and hoped the plastic stood up the way it was suppposed to. I rolled up all the carpet squares and piled things on top of the air hockey table. By the time David got home, we had about 2 inches of water in the basement. After 6 hours, 3 pumps (his brother-in-law brought another one over), another trip to Home Depot to get more hoses, 5 guys down there and 5-6 inches of water, we finally pumped it all out, but only because the rain outside stopped. What a disaster. My appliances were all just standing in the sewer water and toy boxes were floating in the nasty mess. I was just horrified. Luckily, we didn't buy the carpet we were looking at last week for the basement, and our furniture has not been picked up yet for the basement; it could have been so much worse. Today, it's damp down there, and stinks horribly. We have to wait until next week for an estimator to come, because we are not an emergency case. David is going to try to get down there and clean what he can; at least try to stop any mold from growing. We have yet to plug in the washer or dryer to see if they work; going to let them dry out at least all day today before we try. How am I going to be able to bring a newborn home with two other kids and not be able to do laundry? Are you kidding me? I cannot believe the night we had.

Although, I stood almost the entire 6 hours David was downstairs...today, I'm in pain; lots of pressure, even when sitting. So, I went to my ultrasound appointment at 9:30 this morning. Donna was not in the office; she was at the hospital, assisting in a surgery. Linda did my ultrasound and said the baby's head is very low for her; he's in the perfect position, laying on his tummy. She is estimating his size at only 7 pounds and 11 ounces today. How can Donna feel his body through my stomach and think he's over 8 1/2 pounds and then an ultrasound says about a pound smaller? Linda said she got some great measurements. She said she knows she can be off a pound either way, but is usually closer than that (she's been doing this for 34 years). She called Donna and spoke to her, told her the findings of the ultrasound. Donna sent me home and advised to keep up with the home remedies she suggested. So, now we wait, again, even more.

I don't want to rush nature, and I surely don't want to pull this baby out if he's not ready, but honestly, he feels huge...he feels like he's going to be close to 9 pounds, and waiting another week scares me to death. Donna did say that next week at my appointment (Wed, the 18th) if I haven't given birth yet, she will induce me. I would love to go into labor on my own this weekend. Any suggestions? Any ideas? I am totally being selfish right now...I want to hold my baby in my arms and see his sweet little face. Everyone I know always goes into labor early...I don't understand why my body would rather hold on until we have to make things happen.

Anyhow, I know this post is all over the place; I'm just tired, sore, disappointed and anxious. Although, tomorrow, are the kids' Valentines Day parties at school. I'm going to take advantage and go, since I'm now off work.

For now, I'm going to be positive and take this time to do things around the house that need to be done that I never have time for; especially when the kids are at school, hehe.

Right this second, I'm going to go get my kids from school. More to come soon.

Michele

38 week check-up, another ultrasound and a baby name....

So, I had my 38 week check-up today. First, let me say that at last week's appointment, my mid-wife, Donna, said this little guy was going to be big; she was guessing he was about 7 1/2 pounds last week, which, if he gains 1/2 a pound a week (which is the average at this stage) he was going to be around 9 pounds at birth. I was very concerned, because I know they can be off a pound, and was afraid of giving birth to a 3 month old 10 pound baby.Donna decided we would do another ultrasound today to try to get a better idea of his size.

SO, I started my appointment with an ultrasound. Linda, the tech, measured him and he looks to be about 7 1/2 pounds this week. So, he's right on track (about 60th percentile). So, with another pound over the next two weeks, he'll be about 8 1/2 pounds, which is what Preston weighed...I can handle that. Linda did mention that I have some extra fluid, which could be contributing to me measuring or seeming bigger than I am, but it was nothing to be worried about.

We looked at the baby for awhile on the ultrasound (since Donna was doing an emergency c-section, and wasn't even at the office yet). She showed me all of his hair; now, both of my other kids had a lot of hair, and I NEVER had heartburn. I've had so much heartburn this pregnancy, that I think he may have more hair than Allison and Preston. It looked like it curls off his head. She also confirmed again, that it is a boy; there has been no doubt about it, but we had time to look at stuff. Linda also made sure that the cord is not wrapped around his neck; I've started having nightmares, so she checked, just to humor me.

It was a good appointment. Donna measured my belly and I was measuring 38 weeks; I'll be 38 weeks tomorrow, she does think the extra fluid has been making me measure big sometimes.

Because she was running behind; she did not check my cervix today, but is planning on it next week. I did tell her that I want to be done working after next week, and she was totally fine with that; said I didn't even have to ask, after all, it's only one week before my due date and I deserve a week of rest before I give birth to another baby.

My team at work consists of 10 members; 3 salesmen and 7 service people. They all chipped in and bought me a new travel system (the one I wanted of course, thanks to my tip to my friend, Alison); so we now have a carseat and can bring the little guy home from the hospital. I also have an amazing group of co-workers; they are throwing me a "Diaper lunch" tomorrow so then we'll have diapers, too. I will be getting my bonus check on Friday, so I'm going to go buy anything else I think I may need with that. We did finally buy a changing table and I bought baskets for the shelves; his clothes and blankets are all put away and waiting for him. So, after Friday, he is welcome to come out and join us in the outside world anytime.

Ok, and now for the big news....I know you've all waited patiently. We decided on a name a few weeks ago, and I am finally ready to share it since I know it's for sure going to be his name and we are not changing it....we are naming our little boy Mason Storm M. I know, different and totally not like me, but I love it and think it's so cute. I've shared it with a few people at work and haven't gotten any negative reactions yet...so, if you don't like it, just don't comment; it's too bad anyhow, it's my baby and that's what his name is....Hopefully next time I post a blog, Mason will be born healthy, but if not, I'll update when I know more.

Talk to you soon.

Michele

First Blog

Updated; I wanted to add some pictures of my kids; and one of me since that's who this blog will be about....

This is me, pregnant, at 37 weeks, almost a full week ago!

This is me and "Princess Allison" as I call her.

Here is David and Preston (at Preston's 5th birthday party last month). Two of my favorite guys in my life...#3 on his way, soon!

This is our baby boy, not yet born; due anytime now. This picture was at 29 weeks and 2 days (Almost 8 weeks ago). He looks just like his older brother. We haven't revealed his name to too many people just yet....stay tuned.

Ok, so here I am; writing my first blog. I've been reading numerous blogs on blogger.com for many months and kept thinking that "I'd like to be able to blog about my life, too". Of course, my life isn't as exciting or interesting as some of the ones that I read regularly, but it seems to be good therapy to put my thoughts and feelings down in writing...just like keeping a journal.

I started reading a co-workers blog many months ago and then started following some of her friends' blogs. This led me to many women, faithful women, who's blogs I read on a daily basis. Most of which are going through pregnancy loss or are pregnant. I felt very connected to these women and admire their faithfulness through the tough times in their lives.

I lost a baby in March of 2008 due to Amniotic Band Syndrome. If you look it up online; be warned; it's horrible and the pictures are devestating. I will write more about that later; but for now want to get this first blog down.

I am now, currently, 37 weeks and 5 days pregnant; due with a baby boy on February 19th. This will be my 3rd child. I have a daughter, Allison, who is 6 1/2 years old, and going on 13. She gets sassier every day. She is definitely the oldest child and thinks she's the adult; bossing her little brother around every chance she gets. She's in first grade and loves school. She takes beginners tap-dancing, which she just started 3 weeks ago (after 2 years of begging her) and loves it. She makes a new friend at each class. My son, Preston, just turned 5 in January. He is in pre-school and will start kindergarten in the fall. He's a great kid and even better when his sister isn't bossing him around. He does have his dad's temper, but doesn't show it too often. He is in his second year of an "instructional play" hockey program. His next step will be to be on an actual team and play hockey; we can't wait. My husband, David, is a huge hockey fan (Go Detroit Red Wings!) and since I've been with him, I've also turned into a hockey fan. I love to watch the games on t.v. and even better, going to the games when we get a chance (or free tickets). So, it was natural for our son to play hockey, which he wanted to do.

I plan on posting pictures of our family and have tons of thoughts and things I want to share, but for now, I'm still trying to figure out this blogger thing and hope you will stick with me while I learn and post.

Thanks for reading and I am looking forward to making new blogging friends.

Michele