losing weight

I am starting a weight loss journey. After 2 pregnancies in 2 years I feel pretty gross even though I am lighter now than I have been in a lobg time. Plus I don't get a ton of help or me time so I need to.do SOMETHING for me that I can do in the time constraints I have

Birth Story

I am SO bad at keeping a blog. SO BAD! But I had another baby and I want a place to put my birth story so here is an update!

I guess my birth story really starts about a week before Erin arrives. Pre-term labor was the last thing I was ever expecting. I went to almost 42 weeks with John and nothing in my pregnancy with her indicated that I would be at risk for pre-term labor. Everything was checking out fine. No high blood pressure, no gestational diabetes, everything was measuring the way it was supposed to and I had no concerns. I also found the experience of pre-term labor quite interesting. This is because prior to it I wasn’t sure if I could trust my body. I knew I could vaginally deliver a baby despite crappy circumstances but since I was induced with J due to low fluid I wasn’t sure if I would know what labor would feel like! Well…I now know that I could pick it out quite easily!

So back to the preterm labor. I noticed something weird going on the evening of February 20th. I went to the bathroom and noticed a little bit of blood. Not much but considering I had not done anything that would have aggravated my cervix I was concerned. I sent a text to N and told her what was going on and told her that I was having some cramping too. It was ranging from mildly uncomfortable to mildly painful in just enough of a way that I wanted to curl up to make it stop. Think bad period cramp. They got worse when I lifted things. I talked to N a bit and she told me to try some rescue remedy, take a hot shower and take a benedryl and try to get some rest and if they didn’t go away to give her a call. Well…I managed to fall asleep mostly but the contractions kept waking me up. But I was so tired that I just kept falling back to sleep between them. The morning of the 21st I had N call me because I went to the bathroom and had a big wad of bloody show. She told me I needed to go to the hospital and she would call them and let them know I was on my way.

John had just left for work so I called him and told him to come home because I needed to go to the hospital. I got to maternity around 8:45am and they hooked me up to the monitors. I knew one of the nurses working and it made me feel better to have her around until Dr. Marks came up to check me. When he got upstairs and checked me we were both pretty stunned. I was 3-4cm and 75% effaced. My heart dropped into my stomach. We thought that I was just having some uterine irritability and was maybe just a little dilated. So Dr. Marks said he would need to call around to one of the hospitals in the area (which means all of VT or NH in this case!) that has a NICU to see where there was bed space. In the mean time since I was 33w 6d they gave me a shot of steroids for the baby. I was then shipped down to Dartmouth via ambulance. The nurse I know came with me. It was SO weird to ride in an ambulance strapped to a gurney! When I got to Dartmouth they checked me again. My cervix had thinned out to 90% effaced but I didn’t dilate anymore. Dartmouth was fairly uneventful and the residents were pretty shitty but like last time the nurses were great! I even spent some of my time teaching one of them to knit (and she was a natural!)! While I was there I was on modified bed rest. I was allowed to shower and use the bathroom but the rest of the time I was to stay in bed. During my time at Dartmouth I got the second half of the steroid dose, my contractions slowed down and eventually stopped. It was here during an ultrasound that I learned that I was having a little girl. I knew she was a girl all along but I guess I didn’t want to jinx it! I also learned she was measuring a bit big. A week or so ahead. The doctor told me that I might want to get checked for GD again but I wasn’t concerned- I just knew that this baby was going to be bigger than her brother.

After 2 days at Dartmouth my contractions stopped and I had not progressed any further so they sent me home (a Sunday) and told me not to do anything strenuous. Yeah….impossible with an almost 30lb toddler but I did my best. I had no to super infrequent contractions for a couple of days but then things started to pick up again. I had infrequent but uncomfortable contractions for a couple of days but nothing close enough to warrant going back to the hospital. On the 26th I put in a call to the hospital and the OB on call (Dr. Sauter) wrote me a prescription for nifedapine. It didn’t really do anything for me and after like 3 or 4 days of fairly regular contracting I was sore and tired and I felt like baby was getting tired too. She was still moving enough but I could just feel her getting tired.

Wednesday the 27th I was feeling OK. The contractions slowed down even though they had not stopped. I ran a bunch of errands, had lunch with a friend, and cooked dinner that night. Later in the evening the contractions were back. That night I was laying in bed getting pretty uncomfortable. I was vaguely timing them and they were at least every 3-5 mins apart. I was at the point where one would come I would breathe myself through it and just wait for the next one. Around 12:30am on Thursday I woke John up and told him I needed to call the hospital because I didn’t think this was supposed to be happening especially since I was on medication that was supposed to slow/stop the contractions. He was groggy and half asleep and asked me couldn’t this wait until the morning. I told him NO it couldn’t! They told me to come on in and I left my house around 1:30 am to drive myself to the hospital.
On the way there I was starving and since it was late I figured they wouldn’t feed me so I stopped at Cumberland Farms and grabbed a sausage egg and cheese breakfast sandwich and ate it on my way there.

When I got there Dr. Sauter came in and checked me again. I almost shit myself when he told me I was 7cm and totally thinned out. I was 34w 6d. Technically Littleton doesn’t deliver until 35w but they weren’t about to try to send me anywhere! I called John to tell him to call our babysitter and get J ready to go to her house. Sadly, we ended up fighting about this because he was still groggy and half asleep and he is terrible when he is over tired and woken up. He did eventually apologize and got himself up and got him and J together. He got there at 6am. Anyway, I called N and told her what was going on and she got to the hospital around 3 or 3:30am. I was monitored for a while and given a dose of antibiotics then let off of the IV. My nurse (who was AAAAAAAHMAZING!) helped me run a bath so I could relax. My contractions were sort of sporadic and not overly painful although some of them were certainly uncomfortable. I was just chatting and laughing with N and sort of resting and just hanging out. John showed up at 6am and I just sat around chatting with them having some contractions but nothing particularly strong. Eventually my OB came and checked me. 9cm. He told me that breaking my water would get things rocking and that IF I wanted him to (and that it was totally up to me) then to have the nurses give him a call. At that point I declined. I was really trying to hold out because of the baby being early but looking back…9cm- yeah um…no holding back! I hung out some more and kept feeling like I had to move my bowels. When I told N she said I probably had a bulging bag of waters. Around 8:30 am I made up my mind to stop goofing around and have Dr. Marks come up and break my water. Before he got there I told N I am going to laugh my ass off if I’m 10cm. Well…there was a little bit of laughing. Dr. Marks got there about 10 minutes later to check me and break my water. Sure enough I was 10cm with a bulging bag. Dr. Marks broke my water and sat down quietly on the edge of the bed. He said to just do my thing. It was shortly after my water was broken that things got real. The contractions started coming more frequently and felt different than before. But unlike when I had J I didn’t really have an urge to push. I just knew that I had to push and so I pushed with each contraction. I definitely wimped out a bit when I could feel myself starting to tear. (It turns out that I tore right where I was cut last time. Bastards.) This little girl hurt WAY worse than her brother and at one point I asked if “you could just please take her out!”. Yeah, not happening! Dr. Marks told me when she was crowning and said “she has lots of blonde hair!” and asked if I wanted to reach down and touch her (this was something I stated in my birth plan that I wanted) but I was feeling too overwhelmed and declined. Dr. Marks just basically just sat at the edge of my bed and waited for me to push the baby out. No directed pushing. Just lovely encouraging words while I did my thing and listened to my body. After 20 minutes of pushing my baby was born! She was plopped directly onto my stomach and it was like having a memory. She felt exactly how she should. Warm, wet and perfect! She has apgars of 9 and 9 which was a huge relief to me since I didn’t know what would happen. We were covered up and allowed to snuggle while Dr. Marks waited for her cord to stop pulsing before cutting it. Shortly after, my placenta arrived with a plop and I got to take a look at it before we put it away.

Baby girl came out rooting and sucking her fists so while we were left alone to bond she latched on and took some good sucks. I was already amazed with this little girl who had no name. We spent the morning tossing name ideas back and forth but nothing I originally loved seemed to fit her. John went outside for a bit and when he came back in he said “I’m not trying to monopolize naming our kids but what about Erin?” I sat there for a minute and then told him “you know, I don’t hate it. Let me think about it.” Our hospital stay was mostly uneventful and at two days old Baby Girl was named Erin Grace. <3

Discontent

Sometimes I really miss being childless

And this is what I spend my day chasing after...

My kid... I think he needs a play kitchen. Badly!

Quick Post!

Just a quick post because I am tired and going to bed. LittleDude had his 18 month check-up yesterday (at 17 months lol) and here are his stats!

33.5 inches long and 28.5 lbs, this means he is something like 85th percentile for weight and around 90th for height! Yay tall baby!!

And just because he is cute when he is asleep

Welcome back maybe?

I think I am going to try and start blogging again. I don't get much computer time but I can blog from my phone so I will give it a whirl!

Added a picture because ya know...kids are cute!

Funny Baby

LittleDude is enthralled with his penis! Every time the diaper comes off his hand goes down there to grab it! Sometimes it looks like he is going to hurt it but he doesn't seem phased so I don't worry. I hope this isn't a sign of what is to come!

Chicken Parmesan

Its no secret that I'm a fluffy mama. Everyone in my house loves to eat. I love to cook. So here is a recipe for what I made tonight. Chicken Parmesan. Although- this is a rough recipe. I rarely measure!

Ingredients:
1 pound of chicken breast pounded thin
3/4 cup of flour
salt
pepper
onion powder
garlic powder
basil
oregano (or Italian seasoning)
28oz can of crushed tomatoes (mine had basil in it)
1 large onion
6 cloves of garlic
butter
olive oil
Parmesan cheese
pasta of your choice (I like spaghetti or fettuccine)
mozzarella cheese


Steps:

Heat up on medium heat about 1tbsp of butter and 1tbsp of olive oil in a deep skillet. You may need to add more after each batch of chicken depending on how big your pan is. After your chicken breast is pounded thin (I was feeling lazy and bought thin cut chicken cutlets) sprinkle both sides with the salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder then coat in flour. Cook the chicken until brown on each side. About 5 minutes a side.

Put the chicken aside. Dice the onions and garlic. Use the olive oil and butter that cooked with the chicken to sautee the onions and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the onions and garlic are transparent.

Add the crushed tomatoes, basil, and oregano to the onions and garlic. Heat until it starts to bubble. Add a liberal amount of Parmesan cheese. Cook for a couple more minutes. Add pieces of chicken back to the pan and top with mozzarella cheese and heat until cheese melts.

Serve over pasta!

6 Months Old!

Today was LittleDude's 6 month check-up. I can't believe how much he has grown! We've come a long way since all of the feeding issues. Here are all of his stat's that I've kept track of.

Birth(7/27/11): 7lbs 11oz
8/19- 7lbs 12oz and 21.3 inches
8/23- 7lbs 15oz
8/26- 8lbs 3.5oz
9/3- 8lbs 13 oz
9/8- 9lbs 9oz and a little over 22.5 inches long
9/30- 10lbs 13oz 23 inches
12/1- 13lbs 7oz and 27.2 inches long- That means he grew over 4 inches in 2 months. It shot him from 50th percentile for height to 97th! And he dropped from 25th percentile for weight to 20th but with 4 inches up I think that’s not too shabby!
2/2/- 16lbs 4.5oz and 28 inches

I really like his pediatrician. But all of the good stuff at the appointment happened before she even came in. He peed on the scale. He peed on me. Flirted with the nurse. Puked on my arm. Peed ALL OVER the exam table (it even leaked onto the floor). Yeah that was good times. 

White and Dark Chocolate Tea Cake

My friend is having a bunch of people over tonight for knitting and tea. There is a cake from the book The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook called white a dark chocolate tea cake that I have been dying to try. This seems like the perfect opportunity. I get to try it but not have a whole cake sitting around my house. I gave the batter a little taste and it was amazing. I can't wait to try it when its done! The best part is that I throw everything in my bread maker and then ignore it!

Happiest Baby Ever

Sometimes I think I have the best, most happiest baby ever. He is regularly cheerful- that is his default mood. He doesn't cry much and he is getting to be such a funny little guy. Lately he just laughs at me out of no where and he will anticipate a raspberry on his tummy or a tickle and start laughing before I even touch him. He's such a joy!

On Ravelry there was a thread about the things you love about your baby. I realize now that I could have added a ton more things. Here is my list:

10 things I love about you:

1. how you look exactly like your daddy
2. how I can tell you’re smiling even when I’m not looking at your face
3. the fact that you’re very patient with me
4. the way you topple head first onto the bed when you’re tired and want to go to sleep
5. your giggle
6. your hair- especially when its sticking up all over the place
7. your personality- you’re so friendly/happy/easy going/nosy
8. your love of baths and showers
9. the fact that your daddy and I made you and you lived inside of my body
10. when you squeal when you’re excited

Sick Baby

LittleDude has been sick for a few days. This is the first time I've ever had a sick baby (minus his freaky viral infection at 2 weeks) and it is SO freaking hard! He was miserable. Crying, not sleeping, snot running down his little face. I felt so bad for him. Thankfully today he is feeling better. He still has a cough and a runny nose but he got a good night of sleep last night and is much more cheerful now.

On the upside of things, I am very excited for tomorrow! I get to go back to school! I missed last Tuesday because LittleDude and Dude were sick so I finally get to go back this week. I am ready since I did independent study all last semester. I really missed my friends. And as much as I complain about school I really do like it. Also tomorrow is an awesome day because I am getting some donor milk for LittleDude. I have been in contact with a woman who is going to give me 800+ oz of breast milk for him. This warms my heart and makes me happy that people are willing to do this kind of thing.

Introduction

I should probably introduce myself. I doubt anyone will ever read this but just in case someone stumbles across this you will know who I am.

My name is Virginia. I'm am a mommy to a 5 month old that for the sake of internet privacy I will call LittleDude. I live with my fiance (whom I will refer to as Dude) and I am in grad school to become a counselor. I love to knit even if I don't have much time anymore and ravelry is my social life. It is like the facebook for knitters. I love to cook and my kindle is like my drug. I am constantly reading. However, I spend way more money on books now than I used to.

I feel like there isn't a lot to tell about me. I sometimes struggle with the fact that I am a mom now as it was not something I had planned. We had a crazy (in a bad way) birth experience and a lot of other trials after that. I think it really affected my ability to bond with LittleDude even though he is a great baby and I love him to pieces. Eventually I will post my birth story.

Well, I guess that is all for now.

Motherhood TMI

So I know I don't have a ton of time or patience for blogging (mostly because I'm lazy) but I think I want to give it another shot. Having a baby has totally changed my life and I think I need a place to unload sometimes.

I am definitely not the type of person to hold back in the honesty department especially when it comes to gross things. That is where this blog gets its name. I am the queen of TMI according to my friends and being a mother brings all sorts of new TMI to the mix!


For example today- I was changing LittleDude after he pooped all over his onesie. Kid was sitting naked as a jay bird on his changing table and I'm bending down to go find him a new outfit. While rummaging through the drawers I hear him giggling. So I look up and there he is playing with his manberries (yes, apparently it starts as early as 5 months!) and laughing! Its funny for now but I hope he doesn't want to do that in front of me when he's older!

Ohhh the joys!