Acupunture and birth

So, in my attempt to get this baby out, I enlisted the help of a doctor in the area that specializes in acupuncture. He came over Monday, the 4th. If it's going to work, it will typically work within 24-48 hours. At the 24 hour mark, nothing had started.

Brandon was scheduled to start his new job on the 12th and would be unable to request any time off once he started.

Here is was the fifth and no signs of baby coming. I was starting to get panic-y and called the doctor to talk about induction. He told me to come in and if I was dilated enough, then he would be able to justify an induction to the hospital. I guess you have to be 39 weeks to schedule an elective induction. I was two days shy of 39 weeks.

When I got off the phone with him I called Brandon, who had just been on the phone with his new boss, and was informed that not only would he indeed start on the 12th, but he would be going out of town for two weeks. On the 12th. INDUCTION IT IS!!! How could we leave it up to chance knowing he'd be out of town??? Not happening.

So I go in at 2pm. He checks me and tells me I'm a five with a bulging bag.

Hello! That means I'm in labor!! The acupuncture worked. And this explains why I was feeling panic-y.

At this point, I should have just gone home. But no. I was determined this was it.

I headed over to the hospital and Brandon took the kids to the sitter and came to the hospital. The doc got there about 4:30 and checked me again. I was now a seven. Still no contractions mind you. He then broke my water.

And we sat there. And sat there. I had tiny little contractions for a bit and then a hard one. And then two more hard ones and it was time to push. We almost made it without the help of the lovely hospital staff, but low and behold, they just HAD to come in and see how I was doing.

When the nurse realized I was pushing, she came over to the bed and started getting it ready. She dropped the end of the bed right out from under my legs. I was now sitting on the end of the bed as if it were a chair. Can I tell you that it is NOT conducive to comfort and does NOT aid in the pushing out of a baby AT ALL?? OH. MY. GOSH. It hurt so bad having my legs down. I could have slapped her. All I could do was say, THIS HURTS. Brandon came over and grabbed my leg so I was able to have something to push against. Thank you dear!

I'm once again pushing(third push) and the doctor isn't ready. This is the same doctor who missed Sadie's birth my minutes. He was sleeping in the room next to my room and didn't hear the nurse call him I guess. So, he turns around and grabs a chux pad and delivers Skylar with no gloves on and his face mask sideways. Guess he's never going to judge just how fast I deliver these babies. She was born at 5:35pm.

The doctor agreed to not clamp her cord, but when I tried to pick her up, he refused to to let me. He said she would bleed back into me. What a joke. So I sat there arguing with him and trying to pick her up so he grabbed her cord and pinched it shut. I just looked at him and said, "If you're going to pinch it, you might as well clamp it." She did get a good five minutes or so of it pulsating without interruption, so that's good. I guess. Better than nothing I suppose.

The nurses in the mother baby ward were awful and made the experience a nightmare. I SHOULD HAVE JUST GONE HOME. But it's over and she's here and she is amazing.

She has an extra toe. It will have to be surgically removed some time during her first year. It's interesting that she would end up with an extra toe. For some reason, I was worried about her feet during the pregnancy. I was more worried about a clubbed foot or something else, but an extra toe....never thought of that.

38 weeks

35 Weeks

WOW. So close. But yet....so far. I'm getting so anxious to meet this little girl growing inside me. I'm so not a patient person and the suspense gets worse every time for me. I suppose it's because each and every time we bring another soul into our family, we realize just how special and blessed we are to be able to do so.

Today is exactly how far I was into my pregnancy when Seth was born. He was five weeks early and totally fine. A bit on the small side, but no worse for wear. Though he sports one heck of an attitude....not sure if that's a direct result or not. I think I'm willing to carry her a few more weeks if it means less drama and insanity from her. That having been said, I'm sure it's Seth's birth order that's caused the personality traits and not being preterm. LOL!! I mean come on. The youngest of five boys, AND small? AND having the first girl born AFTER him? He hasn't got a shot in the dark of not having at least a touch of attitude. Poor guy. And said girl already bosses him around. Not to mention the fact that she hits and bites him as well. I keep telling him to stay out of her face, but he doesn't listen. He's a bit of a slow learner.

So 35 weeks. I'm in the home stretch. It's been awful, and it's not over yet, but I see light at the end of the tunnel! WOOHOO!!

6 weeks. SIX

How could you guys let me go SIX WEEKS without an update???? And here I thought you CARED.


I'm crushed!!!

Just kidding. I'm now 32 weeks along in the crazy pregnancy journey. And as I've stated time and time again, I could not be more miserable. Physically anyway. That having been said, I am still so grateful for this little girl growing inside me. The jury is still out on whether or not she IS actually little though. I sure feel like I've got a mammoth of a baby growing inside me. I have never had breathing problems AND peeing problems, but boy do I ever. I've never peed so much in all of my life. I'm pretty sure she's head down, but I'd also swear she's using my bladder as a trampoline.

I think about her all the time and wonder what she's going to look like. I've got it in my head that she's going to have red hair. I had a dream last night that I gave birth last night. And despite being 32 weeks, she weighed 7.9lbs and was just fine. She did have dark hair in the dream though. My 35 weeker weighed in at 6lbs and I thought that was big for a preemie. Can you imagine 7.9 at 32 weeks? That would mean one big ol' baby at 40 weeks. Not that I've ever been a day past 39 weeks. Oh shoot me now if I even come close to 39 weeks. That having been said, I've have some sort of augmentation/induction with four of the six. The only two left alone came early, but I don't know if I'll always go early. Having a unassisted homebirth means I won't have anyone willing to do any augmentation. Notice I said WILLING. Brandon COULD strip my membranes, but refuses. Probably a good thing. Inductions aren't in the best interest of the baby. Best interest of my comfort, but we won't go there.

Please pray for my sanity as I struggle to the end here. It's getting difficult and I know I need to stay strong, both mentally and physically. It's so important for her health.

26 weeks

Hold on to your hats folks.........




I have no complaints!!! In fact, I was resting yesterday afternoon and was thinking to myself how good I felt at that moment and for half a second thought, "WOW, this is the best pregnancy ever". Then I shook my head and rolled my eyes at my pregnancy induced stupidity. LOL!!!

Amazing how quickly we forget our misery. For good reason that is. Most of us would have ONE child if we were able to recall every second of misery during pregnancy and childbirth. During every first trimester, I make Brandon promise me he'll never get me pregnant again. This time he got it on video. He thinks it will stop this from ever happening again. He. He. He. I won't lie. Most days I hope this never happens again, but then when I truly imagine this part of my life being over, it scares me. I'm not sure I'm ready to move on.

Thanks to my iPad, I've been able to spend my sleepless nights watching and reading birth stories online. Can I tell you that it doesn't help make time go by faster? Just thought you'd like to know that.

25 Weeks

I tell ya, if this was my first pregnancy, it might have been my ONLY one.

We had a yard sale yesterday. It was very successful, by the way. I woke up at 5:30am to my mind going a mile a minute about what I needed to get done for the yard sale, as well as what I needed to get done for the upcoming events in our lives. I.E. Brandon's birthday, Spencer's birthday and baptism and the cookout following it.

We spent most of the day outside in the HOT HOT sun. One of the guys who stopped by to peruse our junk told Brandon about a classic car show that night in downtown Belton. Those of you who know Brandon well, know of his love of classic cars. Sadly for his, we don't share this love. He tries to convince me that such and such car is SO cool, or SO good looking. I usually stick my nose up to them. So. Not. Impressed.

But I digress.

So, here is it, 6pm and we're walking up and down Main St. I'm hot, tired, and very achy. Not to mention, very bored. In rolls three reallly old roadster type convertibles. One of the boys say, "Look, that's going to be Mom and Dad when they're old!" I literally start tearing up right then and there.

WHAT?????

Why in the world would I ever tear up over that???? You see, I'm not an emotional person. It's not in my nature to cry. Much less cry about something so trivial and silly! I am very grateful at this point to be wearing sunglasses. Very grateful. Cause for whatever reason, when and if I do cry, I HATE crying in front of people. Hate it.

So we keep walking and I notice a grown man walking towards us. His sopping wet crotch area drew my attention right away. Then I looked at the rest of him to try and figure out why a grown man was able to walk around in broad daylight having so obviously wet himself. My only assumption is that perhaps he is mentally challenged. He certainly wasn't old enough to struggle with incontinence due to age and he wasn't drunk. He cared about his appearance because his shirt was neatly tucked in and he had a belt on.

Talk. About. Flood. Gates. Opening.

I'm a bit misty eyed just recalling it. My heart hurt for him. But again, not something to weep about.

Normally.

I gave up on normal months ago. Can I tell you how awkward it is to live in someone else's mind? I adore how special being pregnant makes me feel, but I surly can't wait until I feel normal again.

I do attribute yesterday's bout with emotional paranormal was perhaps brought on by exhaustion. I typically get some sort of nap in everyday, and I don't normally rise at 5:30am. And I don't spend all day in the sun, dealing with people and crazy kids. I was very worn out. I'm totally blaming it on that. Totally.

Here is the latest picture.

21 weeks:



25 weeks:

24 weeks

I'm tired.

I'm hurting.

I'm worried.

This pregnancy was wanted. It was welcomed. It was celebrated.

This baby is a blessing. She is wanted. She is welcomed. She will be celebrated.

But it can't be over soon enough. It has caused me to wonder if more children is a good thing. It's caused me to question whether or not giving our family size to the Lord is indeed something I can do. I know it's the right thing to do, but I don't think I have another nine months in me.

I'm struggling with life. I struggle to do the barest of bare minimums each day. I have no energy and no strength. I have no patience and no tolerance. I'm pretty sure I may even have gestational diabetes. I bought a glucometer and have been testing my sugar levels several times a day.

It's not looking good.

This comes as no surprise. I'm 100 pounds over weight and in love with sugar. One plus one still equals two, right?

Sixteen weeks is an eternity. I'm hoping that it will be over then and that I haven't really died and gone to he'll without realizing it.

23 weeks

Time is moving right along. And crawling by at the same time. I've always felt like nine moths was way too long for a pregnancy. Though I much prefer nine to eighteen. That thought always reminds me I'm glad I'm not an elephant.

Though I may resemble one....

We're excited about having another home birth. No jumping ship at the end this time either. Not that I really jumped ship. I was just so anxious to met Sadie, that I went in knowing they'd induce me.

Which they gladly did.

I'm excited to meet Skyler, but I don't have the anxiety I did during Sadie's pregnancy.

I will have to say though, it's hard to visualize the birth without knowing where to visualize it. We have no idea where we'll live come September or where Brandon will be working. I'm trying hard to not think about that. But being a control freak, it's kinda hard not to.

21 weeks and PICTURES!

Here I am at 14ish weeks:

And this is 21 weeks:



Yeah. Not such a great improvement. I seem to have lost some weight in the belly area and gained some in my butt and face. Nice. Just what I was working towards. At least I'm not letting myself down, right? Meh.

So I'm still over the moon stoked about this little one being a girl.

So. Can't. Wait. To. Meet. Her.

We've changed our minds on her middle name. It's going to be Jillian instead of Grace. I've wanted to use the name Jillian since our first was a baby. We somehow ended up with the first letter always being S and well, Sillian just doesn't have the same appeal for some reason.

I'm feeling better. I'm still very tired all the time and find it hard to breathe at times. I'm not enjoying either one of these things, but it is what it is and this too shall pass. Probably not until I drop the extra 100lbs I seem to love. Someone please sew my mouth shut.

19 weeks to go!!!

Survey says...

It's a girl!!! The gender reveal party was a blast! What a success it was too. So glad we chose to find out what we were having this way. I can't recommend doing it that way enough.

If you'd like to see pictures of the cake you can check them out on my main blog: http://www.tableforsevenfullers.blogspot.com/

20 weeks tomorrow!

Half way to the finish line! Man it's been a wild ride so far. I'm praying the second half won't be nearly as exciting.

So we had the big ultra sound this week. It's a BABY!!! Woohoo!! He.he.he. We're actually having a big reveal party tomorrow night. We've ordered a cake to match the gender color and everyone, including us, will find out tomorrow whether it's a Skyler Grace or No Name joining our family in September. Be sure to check back tomorrow night for the results!!! GIRL GIRL GIRL!!!!! *fingers crossed*

18 weeks

And so far, so good. LOL!! My energy levels have come back finally. Well, as much as they come back when you're 100 pounds over weight. Speaking of weight, I'm a bit taken back that I'm still gaining weight. Considering the fact that one, I've been so sick that I've eaten the bare minimum at times and, for the most part, it's been healthy stuff and two, I'm still nursing Sadie, I figured I might not gain weight for a bit. Ha. Ha. Ha. No such luck in my world. In the end, a healthy baby is what matters most, but a healthy mama is a good thing too....

15 weeks

And I have strep throat. Could this pregnancy be anymore delightful?

Epic Fail

I'm 14 weeks today. Though it's been a lifetime since I got pregnant, in reality it's moving right along.

I went to the OB last week. He did an ultra sound. I'm spot on for my due date. I need to remember that when I have a later u/s and my dates get moved up. It always happens and I convince myself I'm due earlier and start to get anxious. I'm getting another one on the 31st. Technically I'll be far enough along to find out the sex. The docs machine is old and fuzzy so I'm not counting on it, but am hoping for all I'm worth. I hate the wait. It kills me every time. I'm feeling like it might be a girl. Leave me a comment and let me know what YOU think it is.

As for the title of this post.....if I'm supposed to give my fertility to the Lord, and if this pregnancy could be considered a test of my faith, then I'm afraid it is going to be an epic fail of epic proportions. I. Am. Struggling. My family is paying the price. My poor husband is paying the price in a multitude of ways. If September cant get here fast enough for me, then I wouldn't be surprised to find out he's secretly building a time machine. I won't lie and say he's got the patience of Job, but he's ranking somewhere in the vicinity. Seven is a nice round even number, right? Just lie to me. It will be OK if you do. I PROMISE. And I can do that. Cause it's my blog and all.

13 weeks

Time is going by. If you force me to tell you the truth, then I guess I will admit that time is going rather quickly. Despite the feeling that I'm never going to get better, it's going quickly.

A recap of why I'm surprised it feels to be moving right along:

Week 5- started bleeding and cramping, got strep throat
Week 6- was no longer able to function. Stayed in bed all day. All. Day.
Week 7- see week six
Week 8- see week six and seven but add to it throwing up daily
Week 9- more of the last three weeks
Week 10- started to function more daily but still feeling horrid. Add to that sick children and a teething baby
Week 11- start of an UTI.
Week 12- onset of major UTI resulting on a trip to the ER.

So as you can plainly see, life has been awful this year.

I'm praying it's not a prelude to how life is going to pan out the rest of the year. Especially since we're making MAJOR life changing decisions. MAJOR. And I PRAY this pregnancy isn't any indication as to what might be growing inside. Heaven help us if it is.

I went to the doctor for the first time. Everything looks good. Baby is growing nicely. ONE baby is growing nicely. Whew. For a minute I wanted there to be two babies in there but that was just for a minute.

Misery loves company

Ok, so not the best title for this blog post, but it gets my point across. I just found out that one of favorite friends is expecting too! We already have kids that are only two days apart and these will be around a month apart. We just don't live in the same state anymore, so it won't be quite as fun. :(

I'm excited for her and am sending her all the good pregnancy vibes I can conjure up. Team Blue!!! ;)

It is always fun to share this experience with those you know and love. My sister is also expecting. She is due in July though. We also have kids very close in age. 20 days apart to be exact. Both boys. We're both hoping for girls this time. She has one girl and four boys. She just flipped hers around. Her daughter is her oldest. She is also having a difficult time with this pregnancy and is also planning on it being the last. These two babies make numbers 22 and 23 in the grandchild lineup for our parents. I personally think it's high time they got some great grandkids, but no one seems to be listening to me.

Oh a totally different note, I'm feeling a bit better. Some days are better than others, but it's on the up and up for sure. For this, I am grateful. Very grateful.

Only 29 more weeks!!! LOL!

Ten weeks

I wish I had something wonderful to blog about. Well, I suppose wonderful is relative. So of you may think throwing up and having no energy is wonderful. If fact, two weeks ago or so, I blogged about winning an award for my wonderfulness. You can read about it here.

This pregnancy has been a doozie. I have never been so sick and so tired before. I wish I knew why. I have my speculations, but nothing definite. Perhaps it's twins. Perhaps it's the Lord's way of telling me I'm in over my head and to call it quits. Perhaps it's because I'm so fat. Perhaps it's because I'm getting older. Not that 33 I'd old. But when you start having them at 19 and you're still having them at 33 it sure makes you feel old. Perhaps it's the diet/lifestyle we implemented into our life last year. I read a book that changed my outlook on the food we consume. We decided to eliminate all animal products out of our diet. I will admit we never did make it up to 100%. On a good week it was less than 10% and on a bad week it was 25%. Though we still feel strongly about that lifestyle, I wasn't getting enough protein in my diet. We've decided to go back to having more animal protein in our diet for now. Once I'm back to normal, we'll go back. But until then I'm feeling better...

It's funny how no matter how many times I get pregnant, it's still fun and exciting. Despite how awful pregnancy is for me, there is nothing more amazing than seeing that sweet angel for the first time. I think I'll never tire of that experience. There is nothing like it. Nothing.

I would be lying I said that we just want a healthy baby. Sure that is ALL that matters in the end, but we sure do want a sister for Sadie. My gut feeling says it's a girl, but I'm not willing to take it to the bank or bet on it. Guess that's my lack of faith in my gut feelings. We'll find out for sure though. Only way we won't is if we don't have an ultra sound. That won't happen. I cant wait that long to find out. I don't want any disappointment to overshadow the birth of our child and I know me well enough to know that I will be sad if it's not a girl. It won't last, but I will be sad. As shallow as it seems, it's the truth.

Seven weeks

*WARNING* I am not going to be upbeat or happy in this blog post. Feel free to quietly and quickly click away. I am NOT in my happy place right now.

I have never been so miserable in my life. None of my "tricks" are working this go around. I stay nauseous and nothing sounds good or tastes good. I'm not sleeping well. I'm very short and angry to everyone.

Perhaps six w the magic number. Hope this pregnancy isn't an indication as to what kind of person is joining our family.

Oh and for the record, I may or may not be giving serious thought to reconsidering additional children after this one. Just saying.

I've fallen in love

Isn't it the most amazingly thing you've ever seen? I'm in awe. No really. I'm not kidding.

Not only am I in love, but I'm addicted. It's the only way I can function. If I'm not eating, I'm chewing. 24/7. I have no explanation, and I don't question it. I just hope I don't o.d. or something.

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. I'm keeping my fingers crossed I get the mega pack from Costco instead of flowers and candy.


What? A girl can dream. Right?

Six weeks

I went to the ER Wednesday night. I have strep throat. So much fun. I was also bleeding bright red blood. They did a throat culture and an ultra sound. I have a subchoronic hemorrhage causing all the bleeding. It's fairly common from what i understand. They also did another hcg count and it was over 19000.

I started feeling very pregnant on Thursday. Gagging, extra saliva, nauseous, and extreme fatigue. So much fun. I was using a progesterone cream called Progestacare, but had bought another one on sale at the local health food store. I started feeling nasty about the same time i ran out and started using this other cream. I wonder if there is any correlation. I'll be trying the other cream asap.

So far I've asked Brandon about ten times to promise me he won't ever do this to me again. APPARENTLY, I ask him this every time. Even the kids have started saying I say it every time. I guess I forget. I'm starting to think pregnancy is like labor. You just forget how bad it is and want to do again. And again. And again.

Please remind me the next time I'm fertile just how bad I am and how miserable I make the lives of those around me. They will thank you I'm sure.

It's going up!

WOOHOO for good news.

Friday's levels were 7075.

Yesterdays were 12,881.

The doctor seems to think all is well.

What a relief.

While I was looking up HCG levels, I read an article that stated higher HCG levels can be an indication that you're having a girl. My levels were borderline high. Very high in you compare them to my fifth pregnancy, which resulted in a boy. My levels at six weeks weren't even at the 2000 mark. My levels at five weeks exceed those by a mile. Perhaps Miss Sadie Lady is going to be have to share her role as the Fuller Princess.

:)

Just fifteen weeks and we'll find out who is growing in there.

Lucky number SEVEN!

Number seven. Seven. SEVEN!?! It seems surreal at times. We got married and planned on four. AT THE MOST.

Who would have ever imagined we'd have seven children? With no plans of stopping? It's been an amazing experience and our expectations are that it will only improve.

I'm hoping to document this pregnancy every step of the way.

We found out we were pregnant on Tuesday, January 4th. Today I am five weeks and four days. Not very far along at all. I usually feel pregnant by now. But I've yet to feel anything. I have no symptoms and that scares me.

I've miscarried before. It's not fun. The unknown is hard to handle sometimes.

I went to the Doctor on Friday to have my HCG levels checked. I got the results yesterday and also had another level check. I was five weeks on Friday and the level was 7075. That's a good number. If yesterdays was close to doubling then everything should be OK. I've had some spotting and some cramping so I don't think I'll stop worrying until I've had an ultra sound.

I'm feeling a bit more "yucky" today. As bad as I hate it, it's a welcome feeling.
It's usually a good sign.

I'm excited about keeping this journal of my pregnancy. Here's hoping the next 35 weeks are productive ones!!!