I cannot believe that I have yet to mention in my previous posts how much I love all things Christmas! I love decorations. Christmas trees. Giving presents. Getting presents :P. All the yummy treats. Family visits. Turkey dinner. Busy shopping malls. The only thing I do not like is the dreaded wrapping. I despise it. Nothing gets me in a more bah humbug mood then seeing the mountain of gifts I have to wrap. I'm not good at it. They always come out looking like a toddler did it. So, I either always put the gifts in pretty bags or pay Rockstar Daughter a small fee for each present she wraps. In the past, I've gotten away with paying her a quarter for each gift, but I'm thinking this year she is going to take me for everything I have. She is quite the little negotiator.
When I was little Christmas was always such a fun time. My mom, dad, sister and I would go visiting family and then cap the night off with dancing and loud music. We had so much fun. To be honest, most of my Christmas memories do not revolve around gifts or parties, but always involve those fun nights spent with our little family in the living room of our house, watching Christmas specials on TV, making home movies, laughing about inside jokes, dancing in the middle of the room, looking out the window at all the lights on our neighbours homes, and just the general silliness that still to this day exists between us all, which now includes our hubbies and children.
These memories are the types that I want my girls to remember years from now, not who got what under the tree. I hope they look back at the past the way that I do and are lucky enough to be able to say that all the memories are happy, joyful ones, no matter how simple. The simplest things in life are most likely to be worth the most.
Cheers to the beginning of another wonderful Christmas Season
XO
Monday, November 29, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Labour of Love
"How was it?"
"Did you have medication?"
"How long?"
"Was it really painful?"
"What does it feel like?"
Just some of the questions that I have been asked since giving birth to our Angel 6 weeks ago. 6 weeks. Crazy.
So, I was thinking, why not just blog about my labour experience this time around? Everyone (mostly women) like to hear about other women's labours and compare them to their own, right?
I'll start from the beginning.
At about 10:30pm on Monday, October 4th, Hubby and I were laying in bed watching TV when I got a pain. Now, for the previous 4-5 weeks I was having Braxton Hicks Contractions, so it wasn't out of the ordinary, but let me tell you.....I can't believe I actually thought those measly little practice contractions were the real deal because man oh man did I know it was for real this time around! The pains started out at 1 hour apart, then progressed to 30 minutes, then 10 minutes and so on until 6 am when they were 5 minutes apart. We promptly called Ma H to get ready because we knew we would be picking her up to accompany us to the hospital and also my lovely Sissy who would come and be with Rockstar Daughter for the duration of my labour. At 7:30am we headed to the hospital.
I was placed on the monitors and had all my vitals checked. After about 2 hours of monitoring they told me to go walk around the hospital for an hour. So, that's exactly what we did. We walked (and stood still during my contractions which would cause me to brace myself against whatever was closest at the moment) and walked.
After returning back to the Labour and Delivery Unit we were monitored for another little bit and then we were told we should head home until the contractions became at the most 3 minutes apart or whenever I could no longer handle the pain. At this point I was only 2 cm dilated. We arrived at home close to 1 pm and after a warm bath and lots of contractions we finally headed back in at 4 pm. I was admitted right away.
From 4 pm on is mostly a blur of excitement in my mind. I quickly progressed to 7 cm and then it seemed like forever to get to 10 but we made it by 9 pm.
I opted to NOT receive an epidural even though I was told on more then one occasion that I would be crazy not to have one, and to be fair, I said the exact same thing to my own Sister as she came in to visit us directly after the birth. It was a personal choice. I was not trying to prove how tough I was (Although I think this should DEFINITELY squash anyone who has the opinion that I am in fact not tough! :P), I chose not to because it wasn't for me and to be honest, I still feel the same. There is something super unnatural to me about having half your body numb and paralyzed. BUT that is only my opinion and in no way do I look down on anyone who has chose the opposite!
I did have two shots of Fentanyl. It is a fast acting drug which is out of your system within 20 minutes. By the time I asked for any relief I was 8 cm and I believe in too much pain to actually feel the effects of the drug. I remember questioning the nurse, sure that she was putting me on, that nothing was injected into my I.V.
I was doing great with breathing through and concentrating on the outcome. I stress WAS. By the time I was 10 cm, I was in a very large amount of pain and begging them to let me push. The little monster on her way out was taking her sweet time though and I had to wait an excruciating 15 minutes AFTER I was fully dilated to push. Once I was ready to push it was very quick. Our Angel made it out in a whopping 6 minutes, which bet my time of 7 minutes of pushing with Rockstar Daughter. It happened so quick that the nurse had to yell to my Doctor to get in there because she was coming so quick.
After that it was a flurry of excitement which included the pain ending and someone telling me it was a girl! I was so happy! I cried and cried and cried. I really wanted another girl, although there was NO way I would have said that out loud while pregnant. Don't get my wrong, I would love a son just as much and I really think I would be a great mother to a little boy but I just had such a wonderful experience with my first daughter and she is still such a joy that was all I had to compare it to, so why wouldn't I want another girl?
Our Angel was perfect.
A few other things I would like to point out:
There is NO way that I could have managed as well as I did without my Hubby and my mom. He really gave me the strength to make it through all the contractions and the pushing. She was my rock and knew exactly what to do and what to say.
The nurses know what they are talking about. They are experts.
You can give birth 20 times and still be shocked at the overwhelming feeling of love once your baby is screaming for your attention.
She sure was worth it.
"Did you have medication?"
"How long?"
"Was it really painful?"
"What does it feel like?"
Just some of the questions that I have been asked since giving birth to our Angel 6 weeks ago. 6 weeks. Crazy.
So, I was thinking, why not just blog about my labour experience this time around? Everyone (mostly women) like to hear about other women's labours and compare them to their own, right?
I'll start from the beginning.
At about 10:30pm on Monday, October 4th, Hubby and I were laying in bed watching TV when I got a pain. Now, for the previous 4-5 weeks I was having Braxton Hicks Contractions, so it wasn't out of the ordinary, but let me tell you.....I can't believe I actually thought those measly little practice contractions were the real deal because man oh man did I know it was for real this time around! The pains started out at 1 hour apart, then progressed to 30 minutes, then 10 minutes and so on until 6 am when they were 5 minutes apart. We promptly called Ma H to get ready because we knew we would be picking her up to accompany us to the hospital and also my lovely Sissy who would come and be with Rockstar Daughter for the duration of my labour. At 7:30am we headed to the hospital.
I was placed on the monitors and had all my vitals checked. After about 2 hours of monitoring they told me to go walk around the hospital for an hour. So, that's exactly what we did. We walked (and stood still during my contractions which would cause me to brace myself against whatever was closest at the moment) and walked.
After returning back to the Labour and Delivery Unit we were monitored for another little bit and then we were told we should head home until the contractions became at the most 3 minutes apart or whenever I could no longer handle the pain. At this point I was only 2 cm dilated. We arrived at home close to 1 pm and after a warm bath and lots of contractions we finally headed back in at 4 pm. I was admitted right away.
From 4 pm on is mostly a blur of excitement in my mind. I quickly progressed to 7 cm and then it seemed like forever to get to 10 but we made it by 9 pm.
I opted to NOT receive an epidural even though I was told on more then one occasion that I would be crazy not to have one, and to be fair, I said the exact same thing to my own Sister as she came in to visit us directly after the birth. It was a personal choice. I was not trying to prove how tough I was (Although I think this should DEFINITELY squash anyone who has the opinion that I am in fact not tough! :P), I chose not to because it wasn't for me and to be honest, I still feel the same. There is something super unnatural to me about having half your body numb and paralyzed. BUT that is only my opinion and in no way do I look down on anyone who has chose the opposite!
I did have two shots of Fentanyl. It is a fast acting drug which is out of your system within 20 minutes. By the time I asked for any relief I was 8 cm and I believe in too much pain to actually feel the effects of the drug. I remember questioning the nurse, sure that she was putting me on, that nothing was injected into my I.V.
I was doing great with breathing through and concentrating on the outcome. I stress WAS. By the time I was 10 cm, I was in a very large amount of pain and begging them to let me push. The little monster on her way out was taking her sweet time though and I had to wait an excruciating 15 minutes AFTER I was fully dilated to push. Once I was ready to push it was very quick. Our Angel made it out in a whopping 6 minutes, which bet my time of 7 minutes of pushing with Rockstar Daughter. It happened so quick that the nurse had to yell to my Doctor to get in there because she was coming so quick.
After that it was a flurry of excitement which included the pain ending and someone telling me it was a girl! I was so happy! I cried and cried and cried. I really wanted another girl, although there was NO way I would have said that out loud while pregnant. Don't get my wrong, I would love a son just as much and I really think I would be a great mother to a little boy but I just had such a wonderful experience with my first daughter and she is still such a joy that was all I had to compare it to, so why wouldn't I want another girl?
Our Angel was perfect.
A few other things I would like to point out:
There is NO way that I could have managed as well as I did without my Hubby and my mom. He really gave me the strength to make it through all the contractions and the pushing. She was my rock and knew exactly what to do and what to say.
The nurses know what they are talking about. They are experts.
You can give birth 20 times and still be shocked at the overwhelming feeling of love once your baby is screaming for your attention.
She sure was worth it.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Ooooooo Babies I Love Your Way......
My one wish for everyone who I care about is for them to feel the kind of love I have for New Baby and Rockstar Daughter. It is something that only a mom can feel. The love I have for them would get me through anything that I otherwise wouldn't make it through. They are so special to me and I hope one day they have a daughter of their own so that they can understand it can't be put into words. I was pleasantly surpised to find myself and our older girl become closer and form a new bond. This new bond was brought on by our new little one. We are always comparing her to Rockstar Daughter when she was a little baby and having her finally be with us is bringing back so many memories I have of Rockstar Daughter way back then. I've been so lucky and blessed to be able to call these two beautiful girls mine.
XO
XO
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)