He's Here. Well, He's Been Here...

I am now the proud owner of a beautiful baby boy. And I'm having zero buyer's remorse what-so-ever! I mean, how could I with a face like his!

My first month (and so on I'm sure) I've been busy feeding and changing diapers. Thus my lack of any kind of update. Buuut, since the little guy is sound asleep and Gracie is preoccupied with Toy Story 3, I thought I would finally write down a quick (oops, that wasn't quick!) version of his birth story and even share a video below!



Like I had said before, my doctor & I had decided to induce labor rather than play the guessing game. I was really paranoid about getting any labor inducing medication, but since I was already dilating and effacing pretty well for a while I thought I'd go in asking to be given the smallest dose of pitocin, and then see what happens. The hospital was suppose to call me by 11pm on Monday night. Never got the call. So I called them. Apparently some other babies thought it'd be totally ok to just cut in line and jump in without any reservations. So the nurses told me to go to bed, and they'd call back when they had an open delivery room. Four thirty AM rolls around and I get the call. I check in to the hospital and before they hook my IV or anything in, the nurse has to play a game of 20 questions with me. I thought I pre-registered downstairs two weeks ago so when I came in we could jump right into the good stuff. Around 6am they strap on the contraction and heart rate monitors. I haven't been given any medication yet, and I'm already reading contractions on the screen. Sweet, because they're not even hurting! Around 7am they start the smallest possible dose of pitocin they could give me. I asked when I could be given my epidural, she said whenever, and I stupidly said, "Alright, I'm fine for now."

I'm such a dumb ass.

An hour later passes and I have this feeling that things might go pretty quickly. I'm not in much pain at all, but I go ahead and tell the nurse to send up that anesthesiologist juuuust in case. Alright, he should be up within 30 minutes. TWO HOURS go by and he's still with another patient! What the heck!? By now I am in extreme pain. The kind of pain that makes you scream and make all kinds of funny noises. I remember calling the nurse, "Where is he? Get him NOW" "Tell that man to freaking run. Don't walk, don't jog, RUN!" "I hate that epidural man!" "Tell him I'm about to literally die in this bed!"

Meanwhile, as I'm dying on one side of the room, my mother, mother-in-law, and Jason are all having a friendly conservation that involved a lot of smiles and giggles. I'm not mad that they ignored me during my last few moments of life, because every time they tried to talk me I yelled and told them to shut it! I was so mad at people telling me to breath through my contractions. It freaking did NOT feel better to breath through them. Holding my breath and grinding my teeth as hard as I could was what I was going to do. At about 10:05am this short dude strolls into the room with his little cart of medication. He's not running, or even jogging. Jerk! I waited 2 hours for something that took 5 minutes.

I've had my epidural for about 10 minutes. Niiiiice. I was watching my contractions on the screen and feeling nothing. I felt like a freaking rockstar at this point.

But wait... I kinda just felt a contraction... Ok, I definitely felt that one. Good golly, this stuff ain't working!!! My nurse ups the medication, but I can still feel contractions. Not as bad as before, but if I'm paying this kind of money for this crap, it better work as well as I remembered it working with my first born. She said to give it some time, she checks me, and I'm at 5cm. She'll check on me in a while.

Not even kidding you, about 10 minutes later I feel something weird. I page the nurse, "I'm feeling some major pressure right now." "Well that's normal, he's making his last inches down." "NO nurse lady, I feel like he's trying to come OUT!" She checks me to be on the safe side, and what do you know? I'm a 10 and ready to go. I thought she was joking at first. They page my doctor who is just in the other building, and three different nurses come in rushing around preparing for a baby to be delivered. Umm, I thought I had like 2 more hours, I didn't mentally prepare myself for it to happen this....OHHH MY GOSH, I HAVE TO PUSH NOW!

I felt much more than I wanted to. My epidural did not do it's job as much as I would have liked it to. I'm not sure if it was because of how late I got it, but I really wish the anesthesiologist would have taken a pointer or two from Levi.

We welcomed Levi into the world at 10:48am on July 26th. He was 8.2lbs & 21in. Today he is just barely a month old, and he's growing so fast already!

Warning: This video might be slightly graphic. But only if you're a big time prude!

Last Pregnancy Update.

I'm closely approaching the last days of my pregnancy. It's a bittersweet feeling. A lot more sweet than it is bitter though.  I'm roughly 37.5 weeks along, and my doctor & I have decided to schedule me for an induction at 39w1day (The evening of the 25th - which means Levi's birthday would be on the 26th. That is IF I make it that far.

As of my last appointment I was 2.75cm dilated & 80% effaced. Been at a 2-ish since at least 36 weeks. The last few weeks my body has been noticeably preparing to go into labor. Tons of contractions, pelvic pain & pressure, and that horrible feeling of the hips starting to spread. Every night I think it might be the night. I've decided to allow my doc to induce me for two reasons. 1.) I'm already progressing, so I assume if I make it that far, my body will only need a little nudge to get things going and 2.) At one point in my pregnancy not too long ago, he was measuring ahead of schedule. Although, fundal height measurements are putting me right on schedule now.

All in all, I'm super excited to experience childbirth again & to meet Levi... && to be not be pregnant anymore!

Far Along: 37w4d.

Weight Gain: Exactly 30lbs

Sleep: Peeing every 30 minutes and irregular contractions all night.

Stretch Marks: I've been incredibly blessed with 'stretchy skin'? Nothing yet!

Labor Signs: I feel like they are everywhere, but nothing real yet!

Going to miss: Restful nights, little baby kicks, excuses to be a little lazy, & feeling 'special'.

NOT going to miss: Being asked how far along I am & what I'm having alllll the time, sore feet, 2 hour doctor visits, and not knowing what my son's little face looks like!

Next post should be Levi's birth story! Wish us luck & say lots of prayers!

Enjoying the Small Things., Ed 3

It's Friday, Friday...

I don't get how anyone can sit and listen to that song. It doesn't pump me up for the weekend at all, but mad props to the little lady for making a million bucks, in less time than it took me to push my first child out...

Oh! Well! Speaking of child rearing!! I'm at my 35 week mark, and I'm getting a tad anxious. I'm pretty much ready for the little dude to get here. I still have to wash his clothes, pack a hospital bag, and buy another mattress for the crib, but other than that... I think I'm ready? Still nervous. I haven't been the mom of a newborn in 2.5 years, and I've never been mom to a boy before. I hope it's like getting back on a bike after not riding for years. A bike with a different set of external organs...

Anyways, today I'm just finding myself... yep, enjoying the small things.

-Waking up to 'just because chocolates' on the kitchen counter. Then, being made fun of for eating them ALL before lunch!

-$2.00 Old Navy sale on tanks that fit knocked up & post-knocked up.

-Grace thinking every time I light candles in the house that it's daddy's birthday.

-Trying to teach her to swim, and failing miserably.

-My new bikini butt. Thanks to baby weight working hard down there.

-Having my mom off for part of the summer. It's been so great getting to see her so much lately!

-Getting a free quart of paint in the mail this week, along with free baby wipes, free pizza coupons from Barros & Sardellas, free hair products, and body wash samples.


I'm going to try really hard not to rush these next few weeks in my mind, enough though it's so hard! I don't want to spend them thinking and praying that he'll come soon. I want to soak in the feeling of being just Gracie's mom. I want to keep her my little baby just a little while longer...

Watered Down

I'm sitting on the couch this morning eating my second s'mores pop-tart. Apparently I can't shake off this sugar obsession I've had. You can usually find me early mornings, before my daughter wakes up, scarfing down a drumstick ice cream cone or a few too many chocolate chip cookies. I'm not all bad though. I've recently cut out all soda/tea/juices, and am drinking nothing but water for the rest of my pregnancy. I became almost without a doubt addicted to caffeine free sodas. In doing so, I guess it slipped my mind that all that sugar is still not the best idea, and I was drinking so much of it that I wasn't drinking near enough water. Anyways, just making that cut back- and I haven't gained one pound in 3 weeks. Which is OK because I'm still definitely getting the calorie count I need. (And there were a bunch of weeks where I should have only gained a pound a week - and ahem- yea, I gained a bit more than that!)

See, I've got this goal after my little boy is born.  It's probably the same goal we all have after we give birth; loose weight! I'm not planning on just doing that, I'm planning on being in the absolute best shape of my life! This means eating healthy & exercise on top of just being skinny. (Who am I kidding though, there is no guarantee that I'll even be skinny again without adding these things in.)

Kinda funny how...
My first two trimesters felt like a lifetime and a half! It's hard for me to recall even not being pregnant. But now that I'm reaching the homestretch, it's going by so fast that I'm starting to feel like the weeks are only days. And I'm waiting for that nesting feeling to kick in, because I got a mess of a room that I'd like to give a little attention to before my little dude is born.

Stat Time. 30 Weeks.

 I hit 30 weeks this last Sunday, and since I've just found my little girl preciously napping in MY bed, I thought I'd skip my nap and head for the computer. I'll regret this one in about an hour, I'm sure!
 

How far along? 30 weeks, 4 days

 
Total weight gain/loss: Loss? Ha! I've hit the 20lb marker - hoping to slow things down a little.

Stretch marks?: I'm going to say it out loud and totally jinx myself.  NONE to account for yet! I'm keeping fingers & toes crossed very, very tightly! You've got no idea how much I would love to pop these kids out without a single piece of evidence I ever did. =)

Maternity Clothes: My mom wanted to pick me up maternity clothes as soon as we found out I was pregnant. I told her to get ALL small, because I didn't get big with Gracie, so why would I THIS time. Well, those smalls are getting pretty dang small right about now. I've got two Old Navy shirts that I pretty much live in, and I've got a good amount of bottoms to pick from. If I'm at home though, I'm generally in my jammies. I'm making no plans on buying any new purchases.

Sleep: I can't break the habit of sleeping on my back. I wake up at least 6 times a night on my back. Aside from that & how ridiculously painful it is on my legs getting out of bed to pee at night, I'm sleeping alright. 

Best Moment Of This Week: My husband telling me that even pregnant and all, he still finds me incredible attractive, and then me actually believing him. 

Movement: Too much? Is that possible? This kid doesn't sleep. It's comforting to see and feel all the movements, but sometimes I'm like 'you've showed off enough for one day, take a break!'

Gender: His penis... well ya, it's still there. 

Labor Signs: Nothing much, a few braxton hicks here and there, that's about it.

Food Cravings: It's something different ALL the time. Usually snacks/sweets. With Gracie it was hot/spicy all the time.

Belly Button In or Out: It's about leveled right now. But on top of the belly button where my piercing was, it kind of protrudes out a little bit, which appears to resemble that of an outtie outside my shirt.

What I Miss: My higher energy levels, laying on my stomach, and having an icy old beer paired with bar food. 

What I'm looking forward to: Not being asked by men constantly when I'm due... at the gas station, at the grocery story, while taking Grace for a walk in her wagon, ect. 

Weekly Wisdom: Just enjoy the 'easiness' of being pregnant before that little dude needs my attention around the clock. 

Baby Brain Moment of the Week: Not being able, for the life of me, to think of easy everyday words, such as 'Garage'. A couple days ago this was me... "Jason, open the... that... you know... well you know what I mean... that button thing... OUTSIDE!... where you put the cars and junk... HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT!!!???" (And that, my friends, was NO exaggeration!)

Enjoying the Small Things., Ed 2

It's Saturday morning, & I'm sitting with my laptop on the couch next to an open window listening to the faint sounds of birds outside. (Yes- if you know me, you know I despise birds, but a couple tweets in the far distance is working out fine this morning.) If I wasn't currently 'with child' right now I'd be sipping on a hot, strong coffee- with way too much vanilla creamer mixed in. I'd probably be on cup number three...

This morning that I'm-so-blessed-in-my-life feeling is coming on strong. I'm just enjoying the small things right now...

Eating an ice cream drumstick five minutes before bed last night, then again this morning at 7am.

Board games late at night with the husband that involve heavy flirting & really bad fake accents.

Gracie getting excited for me to do her hair; getting to pick ponytails or piggy-tails. 

Grace telling me that 'her new car' is smiling at her.

One crafty banner I made waiting to be hung up on my daughter's wall.

A partial pay paternity leave request for my husband, excepted!!

And still the anticipation (yet perfectly content waiting) to meet our little dude in just two months.

Happy Saturday!

Summing It Up, Thus Far.

Someone nominated my blog at Circle Of Moms under the Top 25 Pregnancy Journals. I'm not sure who it was, but I took a look today and I'm actually in the running at #23. So if you'd like to take a quick second, click here, mossy on down the list a tad, and vote for I Should Be Doing Laundry... that would be neato. Thanks!

So since, apparently my journal has anonymously been named a 'pregnancy journal', I thought I'd sum up my experience carrying baby #2 (Levi) this time around, thus far.

First Trimester:

I spent most of these weeks in the fetal position on the couch while praying that my almost-two-year-old at the time could pretty much fend for herself. Morning sickness my buttocks! It was all day sickness, every single day sickness. The smells, tastes, and even the sight of some things left me running for the bathroom dry-heaving (which is way worse than actually vomiting to me.). I experienced a little sickness with Gracie, but nothing like this. (Everyone, their mother & their cat at this point was convinced I was having a boy. Apparently Old Wives Tales NEVER die).

Second Trimester:

I'm feeling Ahhh- MAZING!!! at this point. I could stay pregnant all my life if needed be (I jumped the gun a little bit). I felt great. I'd seriously forget I was even pregnant until my growing belly got in the way of something/someone, or when people had to remind me to 'not pick that up!!'. I'm a very do-it-myself kind of girl. I don't like that feeling of being handicapped from doing something I can normally do on my own.

Third Trimester (My Armageddon?):

I am soo over it. This is my last pregnancy, and at first I was a little sad I'd be experiencing all this for the very last time. Yea. That feeling is now out. the. window. I feel fat, I feel tired, I feel like I'm 80 years old. At night I try and hold my bladder as long as I can to keep from having to get out of bed. I'm not sleeping well, and I've got one (going on two now) pinched static nerve, which at times makes it hard to even sit still. I am convinced that if I was not a SAHM right now, I'd have to go start my leave of absence right now. And my doctor says my tummy is measuring bigger than average. BUT! Aside from the pain and extreme low-self esteem I'm experiencing this trimester, feeling those kicks and tumbles that my little dude in there is doing... makes all the pain worth it. Remembering what it's like to hold Grace for the first time, and now actually knowing how it's like to see your child and love them unconditionally at first sight... yep. All. Worth. It. I would do it a million more times for Grace if I had to. And I know I'll feel the same way about my little boy.

Snacking > Packing

I don't just find myself procrastinating when I've got something I need/should be doing. No. I tend to go out of my way to make sure I procrastinate. (Hence, my blog title.) Today hasn't been much different.

After I packed, oh say about... 1/3 of one box today, I remembered that I told myself to make a habit of finding a way to exercise at least once a day. That's when I had a brilliant plan start to form in my head. Gracie loves being in her stroller now. I love walking (easiest form of exercise). And I love food! Snack food lately, to be specific. Genius plan? Walk to Target and pick up...

Stuff to make Rice Krispy Treats!!

So I got my exercise in for today, but now I know I'll be finding myself eating Rice Krispy Treats all day with my daughter. Oh, and on the way home we passed a Subway, and that's when another craving started setting in... Bacon Ranch Sandwich.  

Where did my willpower go?  

So It's almost 2pm, and I've almost got 3 boxes packed for today.

Are those elves on the Kellogg's box for hire??

I'd settle for a slow down...

In between packing, calling insurance companies - dropping & adding different policies, turning on new utilities, hunting for free boxes (I refuse to ever pay for a box with nothing in it), scheduling final walk through, scheduling document signings, scheduling moving truck, scheduling grandmas' to watch little one during Operation: Move In One Day, making it to early doctor appointments, getting jury summoned AGAIN, multiple trips to drop off items at Goodwill, dealing with a toddler that won't go to sleep & is hitting her terrible twos at mach2 speed (the speed of sound... doubled- DUH!), calling escrow company over & over to confirm final settlement charges, annnd hitting my 3rd trimester (phew!)...

Let's just say I'm feeling a little bit overwhelmed and a lot-of-bit stressed!

I try to take my job (family manager/stay at home mom) very seriously. After all, Jason does bring in ALL the money to provide for us in every financial sense, so it's silly for me to not be the one taking care of  just about everything else. I've been blessed to have a husband who constantly wants to help me out on top of going to work each week, but at the end of the day, these are all things I want to be responsible for. All because I love my husband oh so so much!

Anywho! Today we're going to do a final walk through of the house (make sure it's still in the same condition it was last time we saw it before we sign papers), tomorrow we're going to the title/escrow company to sign documents & write checks, and then between Thursday and Friday our loan gets funded and the keys are placed in our hands.

Here's our cookie-cutter-typical-run-of-the-mill Arizona home. =) A first home, not a dream home!

Happy Easter!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter Weekend. Aside from an epic toddler tantrum in the car twice this weekend & Grace kicking daddy out of bed last night to sleep with me (the wind scared her to death - and only an already-sleep-deprived mommy would do!), we had a great weekend with family & friends.

Grace sure enjoyed herself!!

While having kids does make the holidays a little a lot more stressful, it's so much more fun with them! Seeing my daughter light up with joy at the thought of opening presents or hunting for eggs... that's awesome. She will continue to ask me to hid eggs around the house for the next week, and I gladly will!

Today (woops, yesterday - I wrote this last night, and not posting it until this morning!) I am thankful that Jesus died for our sins, and that his resurrection day came soon after, but I'm no more thankful today than I am ALL 364 other days of the year. Through prayer everyday He knows this. He is Alive for us every single day, and it doesn't take Easter to remind me of this.