Thank you Jesus for Gripe Water. Ever since Chloe has been having these crying spells, we have been desperate for what to do to ease our baby's pain. Three nights ago she was crying for hours and we even called the advice nurse at Kaiser thinking something terrible is going on with Chloe. She said that she is just having really bad gas issues and she even labeled her Colicky. She mentioned Gripe Water, which I had happen to hear about from two other moms earlier this week. So I ran to Target at about 5 minutes to closing and had to frantically search the store to find this product. Two of the associates who helped me said they had never even heard of it. I was just about ready to leave to try and find a 24 hour pharmacy when I finally found the Gripe Water on the very top shelf, pushed way in the back. Why it was hidden, I will never know. For this product should be up in the front displayed for all mommies to easily find with bright lights beaming from it in every direction.
As soon as I got home and gave Chloe this magic juice, she stopped crying instantaneously. She has had a few gas pains from then on and as soon as she starts showing signs of distress, I give her the Gripe Water and within a minute she is back to her happy self. I can't tell you enough how this product is a life saver and is truly a Godsend. For those of you wondering, I used the Mother's Bliss brand of Gripe Water that has an apple taste to it.
♥ Michelle
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Suggestions, please!
I need some motherly advice on the 4 topics below. Any suggestions, whether you tried it yourself or knew someone who did or even just read about it some where. I will try them all to see if they work and let you know, in case anyone else is seeking the same advice. Thank you x a million, mommy bloggers!
1. How to keep baby from falling asleep while breastfeeding? she never fully finishes one breast and so she is not getting the important hind milk that she needs. It ends up making her have an upset stomach and cranky, among other things.I have tried tickling her feet, stroking her face, lifting her arms, undressing her. nothing works more than just for a few seconds.
2. How to help relieve gas pains? We use the mylecon drops, but those don't always seem to help. We burp her over the shoulder, lying over the legs, and having her sit in a scrunched position, however, she still seems to be hurting from the gas and sometimes it takes her 30 minutes to get it out. We definitely want to find some faster relief for her.
3. How to integrate formula into her diet? I would much rather exclusively give her breast milk, however, sometimes I am just not producing enough for her and she cries and cries until we can unfreeze some of my reserve milk. the problem is, that happens so often that we don't have much of a reserve left and I will be starting back at work in no time. I am afraid that when push comes to shove, /I will be forced to supplement with formula. So we tried a formula bottle last night, just to see if she would take it. She was definitely not having it. She had the most disgusted look on her face and would spit the bottle out of her mouth. She has bottle fed (my breast milk) many times before and has no problem with the bottle, so it must have been the formula. I don't necessarily plan on definitely using formula, but I want to leave my options open just in case. I am just nervous that when I head back to work, she will have nothing to eat. :(
4. How to make tummy time fun/interesting? I know it is important for her to get tummy time, but all she does is cry or fall asleep every time I put her on her tummy. I have tried playing with her to keep her awake, but she just does not like it. I want her to be able to stay awake and calm down enough to start trying to lift her head up higher.
like I said, ANY logical suggestions would be helpful and greatly appreciated!
♥ Michelle
1. How to keep baby from falling asleep while breastfeeding? she never fully finishes one breast and so she is not getting the important hind milk that she needs. It ends up making her have an upset stomach and cranky, among other things.I have tried tickling her feet, stroking her face, lifting her arms, undressing her. nothing works more than just for a few seconds.
2. How to help relieve gas pains? We use the mylecon drops, but those don't always seem to help. We burp her over the shoulder, lying over the legs, and having her sit in a scrunched position, however, she still seems to be hurting from the gas and sometimes it takes her 30 minutes to get it out. We definitely want to find some faster relief for her.
3. How to integrate formula into her diet? I would much rather exclusively give her breast milk, however, sometimes I am just not producing enough for her and she cries and cries until we can unfreeze some of my reserve milk. the problem is, that happens so often that we don't have much of a reserve left and I will be starting back at work in no time. I am afraid that when push comes to shove, /I will be forced to supplement with formula. So we tried a formula bottle last night, just to see if she would take it. She was definitely not having it. She had the most disgusted look on her face and would spit the bottle out of her mouth. She has bottle fed (my breast milk) many times before and has no problem with the bottle, so it must have been the formula. I don't necessarily plan on definitely using formula, but I want to leave my options open just in case. I am just nervous that when I head back to work, she will have nothing to eat. :(
4. How to make tummy time fun/interesting? I know it is important for her to get tummy time, but all she does is cry or fall asleep every time I put her on her tummy. I have tried playing with her to keep her awake, but she just does not like it. I want her to be able to stay awake and calm down enough to start trying to lift her head up higher.
like I said, ANY logical suggestions would be helpful and greatly appreciated!
♥ Michelle
Pretty Art
I have been drooling over these artists and can't wait to get my hands on some of their prints to surround myself with all the time!
Angelique Houtkamp - She happens to be one of my absolute favorite artist. She is a tattoo artist in Amsterdam. She creates watercolor paintings using traditional tattoo design with a modern girlie flair. I happen to have some of her art inked on me already and plan to get more. :) I own two of her books that are always displayed on our coffee table.
The Black Apple - such a whimsical artist. Her paintings remind me of the old school nursery books. She is another one of my absolute faves! All of her work would fit in with our home decor, if we could just decide on which one. She just came out with a book "The Black Apple's Paper Doll Primer" that I can't wait to get my grubby little hands on. I follow her blog here.
Volume 25 - Another graphic designer with some of the most adorable prints. She also happens to create Photoshop overlays that really help give photos that extra "something special". I am a follower of her blog as well and it makes me super happy every time I read it.
Green Nest Design - These are graphic design prints that are cute as a button! They are mainly woodland creatures consisting of squirrels, deers, and OWLS - swoon. These prints are too cute and I can't wait to cover Chloe's room with them.
♥ Michelle
Angelique Houtkamp - She happens to be one of my absolute favorite artist. She is a tattoo artist in Amsterdam. She creates watercolor paintings using traditional tattoo design with a modern girlie flair. I happen to have some of her art inked on me already and plan to get more. :) I own two of her books that are always displayed on our coffee table.
The Black Apple - such a whimsical artist. Her paintings remind me of the old school nursery books. She is another one of my absolute faves! All of her work would fit in with our home decor, if we could just decide on which one. She just came out with a book "The Black Apple's Paper Doll Primer" that I can't wait to get my grubby little hands on. I follow her blog here.
Volume 25 - Another graphic designer with some of the most adorable prints. She also happens to create Photoshop overlays that really help give photos that extra "something special". I am a follower of her blog as well and it makes me super happy every time I read it.
Green Nest Design - These are graphic design prints that are cute as a button! They are mainly woodland creatures consisting of squirrels, deers, and OWLS - swoon. These prints are too cute and I can't wait to cover Chloe's room with them.
*Please note that all of these images are for the purpose of enticing you to go checkout their work and possibly fall in love and purchase a print. Please do not copy and use for your own purpose.*
♥ Michelle
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
My Mommy Must Haves
Here are some items James and I think are important must haves when you have a baby. Feel free to suggest others. :)
1. A good stroller - We love our Bumbleride Flite stroller. It is super easy to navigate around tight corners, in between crowds at the zoo, and busy aisles at our local Target. It is made with durable material that I am sure will last a very long time. It even happens to look pretty neat. The stroller is also very compact when folding up and fits in our trunk with plenty of room to spare to groceries and crazy shopping days at Babies R Us. It is super easy to fold open/close and to attach either the carry cot or the car seat. We were lucky enough to win the stroller and we feel so blessed! This stroller is definitely a life saver!
2. Fisherprice Rock 'N Play Sleeper. It amazing, especially for how simple it is! We use this has Chloe's bassinet. It rocks, it has ventilated sides so she doesn't overheat, yet feels cozy and surrounded. It has an incline to help with colic and gassy babies who spit up every time they are laid down flat (enter Chloe and Noah). It has seat straps for when the baby gets older, it is ridiculously light weight and super easy to transport from room to room while I am cleaning house. IT also folds up very slim when not in use, so it doesn't take up much space. Very helpful in an apartment. Little Noah wouldn't sleep anywhere except his mothers arms, until they got him this... definitely another life saver.
3. Sony Baby Monitor - the "Sony 900 mhz baby call nursery monitors" to be exact. These monitors come in crystal clear. We even play music in her room right next to the monitor (because of where the electrical outlets are located) and it still only picks up her voice... It is made to drown out the white noise in the room and only pick up on vocal sounds. It picks up all of her little whimper and whines. It has a crystal clear connection. We did TONS of research on what baby monitor to get, and I am so glad we went with this one! Not to mention the price was about half of what the other ones we were looking at cost!
5. On the go diaper changing pad/bag - This mini bag folds out into a diaper changing pad with pockets for diapers and wipes. It saves room in our diaper bag and super convenient for changing Chloe out in public. Gives me piece of mind about laying her out on a dirty changing table in public restrooms. I was surprised at how much space it doesn't take up, giving we super stuff it with diapers. We got the munchkin brand because we found it on sale, but it is the same as the skip hop brand.
6. Baby Bjorn baby carrier - we love it! I use it when doing chores around the house and Chloe is awake and wants to be held. It helps me when I need to use both hands. I use it when I need to take out the trash, go get the mail and go do laundry, but can't leave Chloe in the house alone. I just strap her in and go. :) She seems to like it a lot an sometimes passes right out when put in it. We got the organic cotton one in walnut, shown below.
7. The Miracle Blanket - an amazing swaddler. Our baby is a little houdini and usually gets out of the tightest swaddles. This blanket has a totally different design than the typical swaddle blankets and after trying several out with Chloe, this one works the best.
8.White Noise CD's - we got this CD about 2 weeks ago and we put it on every night at bed time. It really helps Chloe go to sleep a lot faster. It has tracks such as rain, gurgling stream, waterfalls, whale noises, white noise, a rain forest and more. It was super cheap to download from i tunes.
9. Medela Swing electric pump- my breast savers! Since the Dr. told me that Chloe doesn't have to woken up when sleeping to feed anymore, my boobs would swell and hurt when she missed a feeding. Now that I am able to pump, my breast don't get engorged and I am able to pump to save the breast milk for bottle feedings out in public. This pump is super lightweight and can be used with an electric plug in or batteries, for on the go pumping. IT is really easy to put together and take apart. There are not that many parts to wash, which is a blessing when you have to wash it 4 times a day! It's a little pricey for a single pump, but it had the best reviews and I feel it was worth the price.
10. Dwell Studio's receiving blankets - we have gotten tons of receiving blankets, but they all are 30"x30" and just not big enough to wrap/swaddle Chloe in and keep it wrapped. For some reason they always come undone. However, the Dwell Studio ones are 30"x40" and work perfectly! Not to mention, they come in the cutest and modern prints. You can find them at Target... and if you are lucky you can find them on sale like we did. :)
11. Mam newborn pacifier- we received a ridiculous amount of pacifiers (binky;- as we call it) and we tried many of them, but this was the ONLY pacifier Chloe liked. And it was the only one that didn't cover her entire face. It is orthodontic too. They come with cute little designs, without being overbearing and without clashing with her cute little outfits. Chloe is a binky-holic, and although I was against using a pacifier, when you baby just wants to suck on something to help calm her down, your boob is not always available. In steps the binky, this particular binky to be exact.
12. Diaper Genie II Elite - We were considering this diaper pail along with 2 others, but we are so happy we went with this. It is super easy to use and the refills can be found everywhere and are pretty cheap. It has a black line on the bags when they are almost empty (like the red line on a receipt roll when almost out) which is really convenient and it really does keep the odor in. I was surprised at how many diapers it hold before it is full, trust me, it's ALOT.
13. Avent Bottles - These are the ONLY bottles that my Dr prescribes. It happens to be the only bottle Chloe likes as well. They have an anti-colic system in which the air goes into the bottle, not the babies mouth. they are BPA-Free . They are wide bottles and have a wider mouth nipple, more like mom's breast. The only thing is that the 4 oz bottles are a yellow/brownish tint and it makes the bottle look old and tea/coffee stained which I really dislike. They are Once you get to the bigger size bottles, the colors can be clear, blue or pink though.... 
14. Medela microwave steam sterilizer bags - super quick and easy. The bags take 2 oz water, fill it up with bottles or pump parts and microwave for 1.5 minutes, Each bag is good for 20 sterilizations. Talk about easy! Big bonus, they run about $5 for 5 and so much more portable than the big round microwave steam sterilizer.
15. Happiest Baby on the Block - our baby is not that fussy, but I wanted to get prepared in case she does end up with a crying fit. This book/video gives you steps to help make a baby feel more comfortable and help them feel like they are back in the womb. We have used the techniques and they really work! We have seen them work on other babies too! We ended up getting the VHS for super cheap from there website.
♥ Michelle
1. A good stroller - We love our Bumbleride Flite stroller. It is super easy to navigate around tight corners, in between crowds at the zoo, and busy aisles at our local Target. It is made with durable material that I am sure will last a very long time. It even happens to look pretty neat. The stroller is also very compact when folding up and fits in our trunk with plenty of room to spare to groceries and crazy shopping days at Babies R Us. It is super easy to fold open/close and to attach either the carry cot or the car seat. We were lucky enough to win the stroller and we feel so blessed! This stroller is definitely a life saver!
2. Fisherprice Rock 'N Play Sleeper. It amazing, especially for how simple it is! We use this has Chloe's bassinet. It rocks, it has ventilated sides so she doesn't overheat, yet feels cozy and surrounded. It has an incline to help with colic and gassy babies who spit up every time they are laid down flat (enter Chloe and Noah). It has seat straps for when the baby gets older, it is ridiculously light weight and super easy to transport from room to room while I am cleaning house. IT also folds up very slim when not in use, so it doesn't take up much space. Very helpful in an apartment. Little Noah wouldn't sleep anywhere except his mothers arms, until they got him this... definitely another life saver.
3. Sony Baby Monitor - the "Sony 900 mhz baby call nursery monitors" to be exact. These monitors come in crystal clear. We even play music in her room right next to the monitor (because of where the electrical outlets are located) and it still only picks up her voice... It is made to drown out the white noise in the room and only pick up on vocal sounds. It picks up all of her little whimper and whines. It has a crystal clear connection. We did TONS of research on what baby monitor to get, and I am so glad we went with this one! Not to mention the price was about half of what the other ones we were looking at cost!
6. Baby Bjorn baby carrier - we love it! I use it when doing chores around the house and Chloe is awake and wants to be held. It helps me when I need to use both hands. I use it when I need to take out the trash, go get the mail and go do laundry, but can't leave Chloe in the house alone. I just strap her in and go. :) She seems to like it a lot an sometimes passes right out when put in it. We got the organic cotton one in walnut, shown below.
7. The Miracle Blanket - an amazing swaddler. Our baby is a little houdini and usually gets out of the tightest swaddles. This blanket has a totally different design than the typical swaddle blankets and after trying several out with Chloe, this one works the best.
8.White Noise CD's - we got this CD about 2 weeks ago and we put it on every night at bed time. It really helps Chloe go to sleep a lot faster. It has tracks such as rain, gurgling stream, waterfalls, whale noises, white noise, a rain forest and more. It was super cheap to download from i tunes.
9. Medela Swing electric pump- my breast savers! Since the Dr. told me that Chloe doesn't have to woken up when sleeping to feed anymore, my boobs would swell and hurt when she missed a feeding. Now that I am able to pump, my breast don't get engorged and I am able to pump to save the breast milk for bottle feedings out in public. This pump is super lightweight and can be used with an electric plug in or batteries, for on the go pumping. IT is really easy to put together and take apart. There are not that many parts to wash, which is a blessing when you have to wash it 4 times a day! It's a little pricey for a single pump, but it had the best reviews and I feel it was worth the price.
10. Dwell Studio's receiving blankets - we have gotten tons of receiving blankets, but they all are 30"x30" and just not big enough to wrap/swaddle Chloe in and keep it wrapped. For some reason they always come undone. However, the Dwell Studio ones are 30"x40" and work perfectly! Not to mention, they come in the cutest and modern prints. You can find them at Target... and if you are lucky you can find them on sale like we did. :)
11. Mam newborn pacifier- we received a ridiculous amount of pacifiers (binky;- as we call it) and we tried many of them, but this was the ONLY pacifier Chloe liked. And it was the only one that didn't cover her entire face. It is orthodontic too. They come with cute little designs, without being overbearing and without clashing with her cute little outfits. Chloe is a binky-holic, and although I was against using a pacifier, when you baby just wants to suck on something to help calm her down, your boob is not always available. In steps the binky, this particular binky to be exact.
12. Diaper Genie II Elite - We were considering this diaper pail along with 2 others, but we are so happy we went with this. It is super easy to use and the refills can be found everywhere and are pretty cheap. It has a black line on the bags when they are almost empty (like the red line on a receipt roll when almost out) which is really convenient and it really does keep the odor in. I was surprised at how many diapers it hold before it is full, trust me, it's ALOT.
14. Medela microwave steam sterilizer bags - super quick and easy. The bags take 2 oz water, fill it up with bottles or pump parts and microwave for 1.5 minutes, Each bag is good for 20 sterilizations. Talk about easy! Big bonus, they run about $5 for 5 and so much more portable than the big round microwave steam sterilizer.
15. Happiest Baby on the Block - our baby is not that fussy, but I wanted to get prepared in case she does end up with a crying fit. This book/video gives you steps to help make a baby feel more comfortable and help them feel like they are back in the womb. We have used the techniques and they really work! We have seen them work on other babies too! We ended up getting the VHS for super cheap from there website.
♥ Michelle
A New Year, A New Life
This new year brings on a bunch of "new" beginning for me...
1. A new little love that has been taking up all of my time and thoughts. A new little life that I am responsible for, her life is completely in my hands (and God's) A new little creature that I am in total of awe of - her coos, her movements, her facial expressions, her smiles...
2. A new outlook on life. I am a new mommy and things that use to seem so important to me have taken the back burner. I am no longer the "up and go whenever I want" type anymore. I used to always need something to do or somewhere to go. Now, I like being a homebody, just spending time with my family and not having anything to do other than that. I am okay if i don't get anything accomplished that day because Chloe wanted to be extra snuggly the entire day and did not want to be put down. My schedule does not revolve around James and I, it's all about her, for example: will we be home by her bedtime? I have become more protective, like a momma bear and her cub. I have to protect and do what's best for my family. I am God's child, a wife and a mother above anything else I would consider myself.
3. A new mommy style. I definitely have a new outlook on my wardrobe. I dress more for comfort and easy nursing ability than trendy and fashionable. I still try to be cute, but it is mainly nursing tanks and cardigans for me. No more layering clothes, it's just that much more clothing I would need to shed in a hurry an a sweat because baby is hungry NOW! And tons of jewelry just isn't an option, the necklaces get in the way of nursing, my bracelets push against babies delicate skin as i am holding her and my big cocktail rings always seem to get caught n babies clothes or something in the baby bag or on the stroller. I love to curl my hair, but when you have a baby that is wide awake wanting to be held and then nursed for 40 minutes, all within the 1 hour if time I have to get ready, I find I just don't have the time. Quick hairstyles, easy make up, and no fuss jewelry are my staples now. Thank goodness for my crazy collection of fun colored cardi's!
4. A new place to call home. This is the year we finally move to Portland. A new life, a different family to be surrounded with, a new city with a different lifestyle than what we are used to. A new and bigger CBC church. An affordable life where we will be able to give our daughter things we can't living in expensive San Diego. Along with the move comes with leaving behind my family and half of James' family and all our friends and our beloved church. It's bittersweet, but in the end we have to do what's best for our family.
I am excited for all the changes taking place this year and can't wait to see what God gas in store for us....
♥ Michelle
1. A new little love that has been taking up all of my time and thoughts. A new little life that I am responsible for, her life is completely in my hands (and God's) A new little creature that I am in total of awe of - her coos, her movements, her facial expressions, her smiles...
2. A new outlook on life. I am a new mommy and things that use to seem so important to me have taken the back burner. I am no longer the "up and go whenever I want" type anymore. I used to always need something to do or somewhere to go. Now, I like being a homebody, just spending time with my family and not having anything to do other than that. I am okay if i don't get anything accomplished that day because Chloe wanted to be extra snuggly the entire day and did not want to be put down. My schedule does not revolve around James and I, it's all about her, for example: will we be home by her bedtime? I have become more protective, like a momma bear and her cub. I have to protect and do what's best for my family. I am God's child, a wife and a mother above anything else I would consider myself.
3. A new mommy style. I definitely have a new outlook on my wardrobe. I dress more for comfort and easy nursing ability than trendy and fashionable. I still try to be cute, but it is mainly nursing tanks and cardigans for me. No more layering clothes, it's just that much more clothing I would need to shed in a hurry an a sweat because baby is hungry NOW! And tons of jewelry just isn't an option, the necklaces get in the way of nursing, my bracelets push against babies delicate skin as i am holding her and my big cocktail rings always seem to get caught n babies clothes or something in the baby bag or on the stroller. I love to curl my hair, but when you have a baby that is wide awake wanting to be held and then nursed for 40 minutes, all within the 1 hour if time I have to get ready, I find I just don't have the time. Quick hairstyles, easy make up, and no fuss jewelry are my staples now. Thank goodness for my crazy collection of fun colored cardi's!
4. A new place to call home. This is the year we finally move to Portland. A new life, a different family to be surrounded with, a new city with a different lifestyle than what we are used to. A new and bigger CBC church. An affordable life where we will be able to give our daughter things we can't living in expensive San Diego. Along with the move comes with leaving behind my family and half of James' family and all our friends and our beloved church. It's bittersweet, but in the end we have to do what's best for our family.
I am excited for all the changes taking place this year and can't wait to see what God gas in store for us....
♥ Michelle
Friday, December 17, 2010
Photoshoot with Chloe!
I feel like almost every day is some sort of photo shoot for Chloe, but this one was more legit. James and I made our kitchen into a studio with white sheets everywhere and used a basket and a vintage suitcase with blankets found around our house from props. She was wide awake the entire time and didn't fuss once... although she did pee on one of the blankets in the very end... We used some of these photos for the birth announcements. Isn't she just a doll? Enjoy!
♥ Michelle
♥ Michelle
Birth Story
It took me some time to write this, but here it is :) It's long, but I am glad I have it written down so I can share with Chloe some day.
It was November 27th; my mother in law was in town staying with us because our precious little one was due in 2 days. We had all been up laughing and chatting away and making sure that we got every bit of our Christmas decor up and the house spot clean because I had been having the "nesting" feeling all day (and was in no way going to have a baby while the house was not prepared for her arrival.) We finally went to bed around 1:00 am and about 2 hours later I woke up to having sharp cramps and pains in my stomach and back. I knew they were contractions because I had already gone into pre-term labor about a month earlier and they felt the same way. The contractions were super strong and were 7 minutes apart. I got up, drank some water and tried to go back to sleep, figuring this was another false alarm and that they would go away in about 30 minutes or so. However, they started getting stronger and as I was lying there trying to sleep, I found myself just staring at the clock and counting down the minutes between each contraction. 30 minutes go by and now the contractions are 5 minutes apart and still pretty strong. I wake James up and told him to help me time them to make sure that I wasn't just hallucinating due to my lack of sleep. Nope, they were definitely getting closer! After about another 30 minutes, the contractions were now 3 minutes apart. We decide, "ok, let's go in. They will probably go away once we get there, but let’s just go to be safe." I take my time and took a shower, put some regular clothes on and tried to look halfway decent. All while stopping every few minutes to deal with the pain. We wake James' mom up to let her know she should start getting ready and I called my mom who lives about 2 hours away letting her know we were heading in and to get ready to make a drive down if they admit me. We end up leaving the house at around 5:30 am to go to the hospital.
Once we get to the hospital, it was pretty quiet. We got seen relatively fast and although my contractions were strong and constant, I was still only 2 cm dilated. The nurse asked me to walk around the hospital or walk across the street to get something to eat and come back within another 1 1/2 hours. So we walked around the hospital and went to get breakfast at Einsteins Bagels. I had to stop about every three minutes because the contractions were the strongest I had ever felt. I couldn't finish my bagel, I think it was a mix of nervousness and not wanting to eat because the pain. We finally came back to the hospital, but by then it seemed like every pregnant woman in San Diego had gone into labor, and it was ridiculously busy. We had to wait another 1 1/2 hours to be seen. James and I actually fell asleep since we had so little sleep that night. When I woke up I realized I wasn't feeling the contractions anymore and thought for sure they would send me home again. Finally, around 9:30 am, a nurse came into the checking room and told me that I was 4 cm and it turns out the contractions didn't stop, I was even having some right on top of the other, I just must have a high tolerance for pain and couldn't feel them anymore. They decided they were going to admit me and said I will have this baby today! James and I just starting crying, we were so happy! My mom and James’ mom were both there and they started crying too! I think it was a "Omg, it is actually happening this time and it’s for real. We will be meeting this tiny person that we have been preparing 9 long months for!" kind of cry. It was endearing and a super special moment for the moms and I.
We called the rest of the immediate family to let them know we were getting admitted. They all came down to be with us during the long labor process. The room they put me in was perfect and HUGE so it fit all of us (about 20 people). I couldn't feel the contractions at all, but I could see when they were happening on the machine, still really consistent. The midwife came in and told me that if I wanted, she could make this baby happen by the time she got off around 8:00pm, of course I was all for that. She hooked me up to pitocin, which is supposed to make the contractions stronger and closer, however, I never felt a difference. I still was happy and smiling and talking with everyone and hadn't felt a thing since we were admitted. The only thing that I could feel was the IV that had been inserted incorrectly and the killer pain in my hand. I finally got the nurse to switch the iv to the other arm and it felt 1000 times better. I am not sure what time later, but the midwife came back in to check me and told me that I am 5cm and she broke my water immediately. I didn't even get time to brace myself, then all of a sudden a GUSH of water came seeping out of my body and soaked the whole bed. It was crazy. I started to actually feel the contractions after that, but they still weren't as painful as they were earlier that morning.
I had let the nurses and midwife know that I had planned to get an epidural if I was in too much pain, but I wanted to see how long I could take the pain first. They suggested that I at least get the epidural placed, and then I could just hit the button to inject the medicine if I needed it. I agreed and the anesthesiologist came in pretty soon after that. When they sat me up, I finally started feeling the harsh pain from the contractions, and my body started shaking with each contraction. It made me so nervous because they told me I had to sit really still for the epidural. The anesthesiologist had trouble placing the epidural and I could feel everything, even though they gave me a local anesthetic that was supposed to numb that area of my back. She had to take out the tubing and replace it lower. It was tiring and painful, but finally it was in. They had to give me the medicine just to test it to make sure it worked. It worked all right; it numbed me up all the way to my chest! At one point later on, I was trying to cough, but I had no control over my diaphragm that would normally help me cough harder (due to the epidural meds) and so I started choking, but I couldn't really sit up either because of how far the epidural had affected me and I had to have people help prop me up so I wouldn't choke. My leg also fell off the bed at one point and I had no idea and when I realized it, I couldn't move it back up, James had to pick it up and put it back on the bed. I thought that was pretty funny. Around 5:30 in the evening they checked me again and I was only at 6 cm. I figured I was in for a long labor.
Around 6:30 I had everyone go take a break, get some dinner and told them to come back later. James and I tried to rest, but about 10 minutes after everyone left, I felt like I had to use the bathroom, like I had to go #2. And if you have ever given labor before, you know what that means. My epidural had worn off by that time and although I could feel pressure, the pain wasn't anything I couldn't bare. I told the nurse that I feel like I have to go to the bathroom and I think the time to push is coming soon. She pretty much ignored me and told me that she would come back and check me in two hours. She left the room and I was telling my mother in law that I really have to use the bathroom and I need to use it NOW. She noticed that I was saying that every time a contraction was happening, so she went to the nurses station and pretty much MADE the nurse come in to check me. When the nurse unwillingly checked me, she said "wow, it's time you are 9 1/2 cm" and started rushing around like crazy. James woke up and we started calling everyone to come back because it was time!
The nurse took away my epidural button, so I didn't really get the choice of having the pain medicine or not for the actual delivery, so I ended up feeling EVERYTHING. I pushed for a little under 45 minutes. I could feel every time I needed to push and eventually stopped listening to the nurse who was pretty much conflicting everything the midwife was telling me. They were not on the same page with each other which made it worse and at one point I yelled at them both "One of you at a time!" I pushed 4 times for 10 seconds each during each contraction. I looked into James eyes pretty much the whole time. There were so many things going on in my head. The pain and pressure, the love I felt for my husband and the bond that we share. The anticipation of Chloe whom we were going to meet literally just minutes away. I never got mad at James or blamed him, I kept telling him how much I loved him. He was telling me how good I was doing, he loved me and he was helping me stay focused. He would count to ten for each push and really encouraged me. The midwife even let me feel Chloe's head. Something I thought I would have never wanted to do. It was right there and it really helped me get through the last few pushes. I started tearing up when I felt her head and knew that it was going to be just any minute now. Oh and let me tell you, it DOES feel like a RING OF FIRE! In fact, I kept saying "Ring of fire, Ring of fire!" James told me later that at one point I told him I wanted to cuss so bad. He said "go ahead, you’re allowed to right now" and all I could say was "Mother of... Pearl!" hahahaha. I don't know where that came from, but it cracks me up every time I think of it. We were only allowed to have 4 people in the room while I was actually pushing, so the rest of the family stood in the hallway with the door slightly opened so they could hear everything that was going on. The nurse told us that wasn't allowed, but they did it anyway and I was glad they did. I really felt like everyone was there with us, experiencing the moments that have changed our lives forever. Chloe was born at 7:12 pm. The first thing I said was "Oh my, she is real! and She is mine!" And we all were just crying with the biggest grins on our faces! It was perfect and I couldn't imagine that moment being any better than welcoming Chloe with ridiculous amounts of love from all of our family.
♥ Michelle
Thursday, December 9, 2010
my life as a new mommy
I can't believe it has been a week and a half of having my darling little girl here. It's hard transitioning to the life of a mom, and a stay at home mom at that (at least for the next 12 weeks). I have to eat, sleep, shower, and clean all around this little ones schedule. Luckily, she is a pretty deep sleeper and I can vacuum right next to her while she's sleeping and she doesn't even flinch. She actually sleeps for about 3-4 hours at a time and I sometimes have to wake her up to make sure she eats every three hours. She is taking to breastfeeding VERY well and I haven't really had any problems with it. I have read tons and tons of books and articles on breastfeeding, so I am pretty confident that we both can stick with it.
One of the adjustments I am having a hard time with is being stuck at home all the time. We only have 1 car and James uses that to get to work. I could drop him off and take the car, but it is really hard getting up that early in the morning when I was up for an hour or two with the little one and just got to go back to sleep when James' alarm goes off. Also, I am so used to just going going going and hanging out with everyone, that is hard to not be able to participate in all the fun get togethers that are going on right now. Especially because of the holidays coming up.It definitely is different, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.
The other hard adjustment is spending less time with my 1st love, James. I am so used to seeing James 24/7 because we work together and now I see him about 4-6 hours a day before it is time to get some shut eye. I think that has been the most hardest transition for me. I love spending all my time with Chloe and have no problem, for the most part, going around her schedule. It is our lack of family time we get to spend together with James that is so hard for me. I know it won't be like this for long, he has been putting in overtime hours everyday because of an emergency situation at the job, so more family time will be coming soon. :)
I am truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family that have been visiting every day and staying with us to help me out. I am going to be so lonely when everyone leaves. I have a million park and zoo trips planned in my head for Jackie and I.
My life is definitely completely different than it was two weeks ago, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Here she was at 1 week old...
♥ Michelle
One of the adjustments I am having a hard time with is being stuck at home all the time. We only have 1 car and James uses that to get to work. I could drop him off and take the car, but it is really hard getting up that early in the morning when I was up for an hour or two with the little one and just got to go back to sleep when James' alarm goes off. Also, I am so used to just going going going and hanging out with everyone, that is hard to not be able to participate in all the fun get togethers that are going on right now. Especially because of the holidays coming up.It definitely is different, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.
The other hard adjustment is spending less time with my 1st love, James. I am so used to seeing James 24/7 because we work together and now I see him about 4-6 hours a day before it is time to get some shut eye. I think that has been the most hardest transition for me. I love spending all my time with Chloe and have no problem, for the most part, going around her schedule. It is our lack of family time we get to spend together with James that is so hard for me. I know it won't be like this for long, he has been putting in overtime hours everyday because of an emergency situation at the job, so more family time will be coming soon. :)
I am truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family that have been visiting every day and staying with us to help me out. I am going to be so lonely when everyone leaves. I have a million park and zoo trips planned in my head for Jackie and I.
My life is definitely completely different than it was two weeks ago, but I wouldn't trade it for anything.
Here she was at 1 week old...
♥ Michelle
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
She's HERE!
After 15 hours of labor (relatively easy labor) and 45 min of pushing, Chloe Darling was born on November 27th. She weighed in at 7.9lbs, 19 inches long. She has a head full of hair and beautiful long lashes.... She is so gorgeous! We couldn't be more proud.
I will update with the birth story and how my life as a new Mom is in another post, hopefully soon. It's hard to find time for the computer when you have a precious little one you just want to stare at 24/7.
♥ Michelle
I will update with the birth story and how my life as a new Mom is in another post, hopefully soon. It's hard to find time for the computer when you have a precious little one you just want to stare at 24/7.
♥ Michelle
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Baby Update
Still no Chloe yet. Although, little Noah Cruz Yourdan did make his presence in this world on 11/10/10. It was such an honor to be there to witness the miracle of childbirth. We are so lucky God has designed women for such amazing feats. I feel so lucky to be able to experience giving birth to our little girl and feel kind of bad that James will only be able to witness it and not actually physically take part. If that makes any sense....
While in the laboring room with Jackie, I actually was having contractions about every 5 minutes the entire time she was laboring. The Dr told me later that sometimes women who are so close to their own due date and are assisting in a birth can cause your body to go into labor as well... Interesting. Is it kind of like when you have a house full of women and they all end up on the same "cycle" time? Haha. But seriously, I found it interesting. Anyway, I wanted to rest a bit before going to the Dr. because I was living on very little sleep and I knew I needed some rest before going through labor. So we decided to go home and try to sleep for a bit before heading to the hospital, then about 4 hours after we got home, the contractions slowed down again. ugh! This girl is really playing with my emotions!
I went for my final Dr appt on Thursday and she said that Chloe will be here any day now and wouldn't be surprised if it happened that night. Well, it didn't happen and has yet to happen. However, contractions had been going pretty strong, just not close enough to admit me into the hospital. We walked for 3 days straight (and finished all our Christmas shopping while we were at it!) and all I got in the end was lots of contractions and pains and no baby. The contractions finally have stopped coming and I only been getting about 2-3 a day since Monday, which is actually nice now that I can get a full night's sleep! Not to mention, I still have free time and ability to go visit Jackie and baby Noah.
I guess many of James' and my family members who have given birth have said they had tons of false alarms where they go to the hospital and eventually sent back home. So at least this isn't something out of the ordinary. I am actually kind of hoping it is sudden and that my water breaks, instead of having to sit around in the house for hours on end in anticipation and having contractions then finally going in. I think it kinda sounds fun to have your water break and to be honest, all the movies show a lady having her water break. Although, it's a very small percentage of women who's water actually breaks and no one in our families have had their water break on their own.
Luckily, James' mom gets here tonight and will be here until December 3 to help us out and then my Grandma comes out to help too. We are so fortunate to a have loving and helping family!
I am still working so I can get a full paycheck and it helps keep my mind of things. Wouldn't it be funny if my water broke at work? Funny might not be the word I will be thinking of when it happens, but when I look back on it years later, I am sure I will think it is hilarious.
Anyway, that's the not so quick update and I hope to have some time to be able to actually start blogging again. At least I have time to still read all of your lovely blogs. :)
p.s. My coworkers had made guesses as to the birth date, sex of the baby, wait gain and wait of baby early on in the pregnancy and we just took a look at it. It is quite funny. I will have to share it in my next post!
♥ Michelle
While in the laboring room with Jackie, I actually was having contractions about every 5 minutes the entire time she was laboring. The Dr told me later that sometimes women who are so close to their own due date and are assisting in a birth can cause your body to go into labor as well... Interesting. Is it kind of like when you have a house full of women and they all end up on the same "cycle" time? Haha. But seriously, I found it interesting. Anyway, I wanted to rest a bit before going to the Dr. because I was living on very little sleep and I knew I needed some rest before going through labor. So we decided to go home and try to sleep for a bit before heading to the hospital, then about 4 hours after we got home, the contractions slowed down again. ugh! This girl is really playing with my emotions!
I went for my final Dr appt on Thursday and she said that Chloe will be here any day now and wouldn't be surprised if it happened that night. Well, it didn't happen and has yet to happen. However, contractions had been going pretty strong, just not close enough to admit me into the hospital. We walked for 3 days straight (and finished all our Christmas shopping while we were at it!) and all I got in the end was lots of contractions and pains and no baby. The contractions finally have stopped coming and I only been getting about 2-3 a day since Monday, which is actually nice now that I can get a full night's sleep! Not to mention, I still have free time and ability to go visit Jackie and baby Noah.
I guess many of James' and my family members who have given birth have said they had tons of false alarms where they go to the hospital and eventually sent back home. So at least this isn't something out of the ordinary. I am actually kind of hoping it is sudden and that my water breaks, instead of having to sit around in the house for hours on end in anticipation and having contractions then finally going in. I think it kinda sounds fun to have your water break and to be honest, all the movies show a lady having her water break. Although, it's a very small percentage of women who's water actually breaks and no one in our families have had their water break on their own.
Luckily, James' mom gets here tonight and will be here until December 3 to help us out and then my Grandma comes out to help too. We are so fortunate to a have loving and helping family!
I am still working so I can get a full paycheck and it helps keep my mind of things. Wouldn't it be funny if my water broke at work? Funny might not be the word I will be thinking of when it happens, but when I look back on it years later, I am sure I will think it is hilarious.
Anyway, that's the not so quick update and I hope to have some time to be able to actually start blogging again. At least I have time to still read all of your lovely blogs. :)
p.s. My coworkers had made guesses as to the birth date, sex of the baby, wait gain and wait of baby early on in the pregnancy and we just took a look at it. It is quite funny. I will have to share it in my next post!
♥ Michelle
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