She's Here!!!

Sydney Boyce was born on Thursday, December 21st, 2006 at 5:04 am.

She weighed 4 lbs 11 oz and is 17 1/2 inches long.

Because she is quite wee, Miss Sydney has spent the last week in the intermediate care nursery, but she's eating well & gaining weight & we hope to bring her home tomorrow.

This past week has been a whirlwind of running back & forth to the hospital & home & my mom's - I've barely had time to breathe. I'm headed to the hospital now...I'll blog more later.

Oh! Before I forget - here she is:

Home c-section anyone?

Still no baby.
I'm frustrated. I can't sleep.
Contractions every 5 minutes or so for hours at a time and then *poof* - NOTHING for an hour.
It's called prodromal labor & it's from teh devil.
I see the doctor on Friday so they can look at me, smile and say: "Any day now!"
*bangs head repeatedly on desk*
GET IT OUTTA ME.

Any Day Now...

Saw the doctor today.
Had a non-stress test & bebeh looks good.
My contractions are about 5 minutes apart & I'm 3 cm dilated.
My doctor said: "Make an appointment to get checked on Friday - but I doubt you'll make it til then."
Wow.
I'm gonna have a bebeh.

template awesome-ness

L-O-V-E the new Blogger Beta.
Love the new template thingy.
Love the new colors.
Love, love, love.
I'm a happy blogger.

Oh Christmas Tree! Oh Christmas Tree!

For our first Christmas together, Corey promised me a real tree. We went Saturday night & bought this beautiful 5 foot Frasier Fir. I probably love it so much not only is it our first Christmas tree together but also because it's the first real tree I've ever had.


Here it is (please note the awesome penguin tree skirt):

29 Days to Go - The Count Down Begins!

Rather than depressing myself with tracking how many days I've been out of work, I've decided to switch to a count down of how many days I have left until my due date.
29 days - gulp.
I've been having really vivid dreams about the baby - its kind of neat. Last night I was bathing her & feeding her. Probably because of what we discussed in Lamaze last night.
We 'graduated' our parenting class last night & Corey took me out for yummy Thai food in Denville to celebrate.
I've also started a little online pool for our family & friends to take guesses as to when our little one will be born & what her weight/length will be.

Tagged

I've been tagged by Joe Flirt over on his blog. Since I'm not in the hospital in labor, I figure I must comply. :)

THE RULES:Each player of this game starts with the ‘6 weird things about you.’ People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 6 weird things as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don’t forget to leave a comment that says ‘you are tagged’ in their comments and tell them to read your blog.

1. I still have a security blanket (Covey) which I sleep with every night.
2. I usually sit with my first two toes crossed on both feet.
3. I'm afraid of the Intrepid Museum. Not all boats, mind you - just the Intrepid.
4. I hate when people sing in front of me.
5. I have a scar on my left hand from an eraser burn I gave myself in junior high.
6. I don't like the smell of melted chocolate.

That was hard. :(

Okay...now for the tagging:

1. Bethany
2. Corey (even though I know he won't do it)
3. Kay
4. Becks
5. Mindi
6. SDM

...you're it.

Bed Rest Day 67 - Third time is NOT the charm

Spent the wee hours of the morning in the hospital...again.
Contractions started at 8:30 last night and didn't let up. I called the doctor and arrived at the hospital around 2 a.m.
Here I am thinking: Hurrah! We're gonna have a baby!! Yay!!
Um. No. Notsomuch.
First I had the nurse from hell. She was insane. I'm convinced. I was even more convinced when I found out we knew someone in common - a quite insane someone.
It all starts when I get hooked up to the monitors...
First she tells me that I'm NOT having contractions.
Whaaat? NOT having contractions? Excuse me?
So, a quick change of the monitor and *poof*! Lookie there...contractions. I'll be a son-of-a-bitch. She then proceeds to stand there and watch me. That's it. She just stood there, arms crossed, staring at me, waiting for me to have another contraction. It was quite uncomfortable, as I'm sure you can imaging.
Next, she hooks me up to the monitor for the baby's heart beat. She doesn't use NEARLY as much ultrasound gel as she should and proceeds to push and pull the sticky monitor across my belly. I thought she was going to rip my already stretched skin. Finally - baby's heartbeat. I try and relax.
She continues to stare.
The doctor finally gets there & decides it would be the best thing to try and stop my labor. She feels that at 35 weeks and 3 days its still too early to have a baby and orders a nice jittery shot of terbutaline for me. Yay.
So, psycho nurse starts my IV (thought Corey was going to faint as she let me bleed all over the bed) and gives me my shot of terb. I try & get some sleep. Psycho nurse leaves me alone.
Until Miss Guatamala 2006 comes in in labor and they put her next to me. They hook her up to the monitor & her doctor decides she's not far enough along and she's discharged shortly after.
Good...I can sleep now. I sleep for about and hour with my contractions waking me up every 10 minutes. Fabulous.
Finally at about 6:30 the doctor decides I've been monitored enough and I'm not progressing so I can go home.
Then they bring in what looks like a 12-year-old who is in labor. I swear, this girl has maybe menstruated 3, maybe 4 times in her life. Her water broke, she's having some bleeding - she's in labor. Bitch. It's a good thing that I only had to sit there and listen to her whine for 15 minutes before my discharge because I probably would have strangled her or her 15-year-old boyfriend.
So, I'm home now. Still pregnant. Still contracting. Still uncomfortable.
4 more days of terbutaline. Dat's it. Then I'm done with it. Finally.
Lets get this bebeh outta me.

Bed Rest Day 64 - story time

So last night my Mom & I decided to go to this new Macy's we heard about in Queens. I wanted to look for something to wear for the holidays & I have a gift card AND a Friends & Family coupon. w00t! We get there and it appears to be still under construction - but there are signs hanging everywhere assure us they're open. Very "Clerks." We find parking underground & head inside.
There's a directory located in the underground parking (quite convenient, I might add) & see that the Misses department is located on the 8th floor. We climb on a very nice, shiny, new elevator and press the button for floor 8. The doors open upon our arrival & we notice its just a plain hallway - like an office building. We double check that we're ON floor 8 and the elevator says we are - so we get off. There's a sign - Macy's - with an arrow pointing down this long hall - we follow. There's a door with the Macy's logo on it & one of those 8th Floor signs. We figure we must've gone in some secret back way. If you've ever been shopping at the Westchester, it was very much like getting in there. So, we open the door and go in, anxious to start shopping. There is nothing there. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Its an empty room. A HUGE empty room. Basically - a floor of a department store - but empty. There seem to be some decorations hanging from the walls & ceiling and the floor is carpeted with tiled walkways all around, but no clothes. No merchandise. Not a shoe or sock or shirt in sight. WTF?
There are some workers there and they turn around and look at us when we enter. After standing there a minute looking completely confused - one comes over and confronts us.
"Can I help you?" he asks.
"We're looking for Macy's." I say.
"Oh - we're not open yet.," he answers.
"Ya think?," I thought.
He goes on to explain that only the Macy's Holiday Shoppe is open at this location right now and that's located down on the third floor. The rest of the new Macy's won't be open until after the new year.
He offers to escort us down there, but we decline & decide to give up & go home. I'm tired, I'm hungry and I'm disappointed. The nice man walks us to the elevator and back down we go to the parking garage. We get in the car and start home.
Traffic. Great. Love it. We're NOT moving. Not even inching forward at this point.
One of NY's finest is walking down through the line of cars and an irate motorist asks him what's going on. Like a good NYPD officer, he ignores this question stating the situation is "under control" which is code for "all hell is breaking loose up there." A pedestrian/homeless man educates us on the situation: Apparently, about a mile ahead, there's been a bit of a road rage incident. From what I could understand - seeing as I don't speak homeless which apparently is a language all its own - the situation ahead involved an SUV, a baseball bat & a lot of broken glass. Great.
So, now we're moving - being diverted down some seedy side street towards the Queensboro bridge. Finally we're getting somewhere!
Silly Maggie - its NY. There's construction, of course. We're moving, but not very fast.
I see an empty lane & I take it - not realizing this lane does NOT go to the bridge, but rather INTO the construction site. Great. I'm stuck now. How the HELL am I going to get out of here?
Then...all of a sudden...BAM! The dark road I'm on ends and the front end of my car is stuck in a huge pile of boulders! I can't get out. I try reversing, but my car won't budge.
So now, my mom & I are literally stuck in a dark construction site in Queens and there is NO ONE around.
I take out my cell phone to call 911 and then, as if the night couldn't get any more weird....
*BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP*
Corey's alarm goes off & wakes me up.
Its 5 am - I'm home - no construction site - no closed Macy's.
Damn pregnancy hormones make me have some WICKED dreams, huh?

Bed Rest Day 62 - I'm on the 'see-food' diet

Turkey Day was good. Ate lots & lots. My appetite has doubled in the last 2 weeks. I'm eating everything in sight - much worse than before. Its a good thing, though. Peanut is growing in leaps & bounds. My belly seems bigger everyday. She must be getting big & strong because she's gives me some kicks sometimes that practically cripple me. I feel bruised on one side.

I go to the doctor tomorrow & hopefully they'll take me off this terbutaline & tell me I can start walking & stuff (tee-hee) to bring on labor. Corey & I are determined to get this baby out before Christmas!

Saturday we're going to see the Rockefeller Tree & visit Santa at Macy's in Herald Square. I can't wait. Hopefully, I'll have the okay from the doctor & won't have to make the trip in a wheelchair. :(

I'll be sure to post pictures!! For now I'll share these:

My massive belly:


My massive belly wearing a hat (check out my chipmunk cheeks! Yikes!!):


Miss Mimi VanWhiskerhausen - Santa's Helper:

Bed Rest Day 55 - Don't piss off my girly bits

Now in addition to my incompetent cervix, my uterus is irritable. Ha!

Spent the morning in labor & delivery. Started having contractions last night & they didn't stop like they usually do and they weren't spacing out. I hardly slept. When I "woke up" this morning, I was still having them & was certain I was in labor & gonna give birth to a Thanksgiving turkey!

So, Corey & I trek to the hospital - I get monitored. Turns out, I'm slightly (1 cm) dilated & 80% effaced AND I'm contracting every few minutes. Hmmm...sounds like labor to me. So, doc decides to be slightly aggressive & gives me a nice healthy dose of terbutaline. Let the shakes begin!

Contractions slow down, pressure subsides. Home I go - shaking worse than Michael J. Fox after a trip to Starbucks.

One more week of this terbutaline - they promised. I hate it. It makes me feel like crap. My heart is pounding out of my chest. I'm shaking. My belly is tight & I'm incredibley uncomfortable.

I just hope this little one leaves me some room in there to stuff turkey & dressing in there tomorrow.

HAPPY TURKEY DAY EVERYONE!

Bed Rest Day 50 - We're ALMOST Ready!

Okay - so the "nursery" is done. We didn't do a whole lot with it - just hung some pictures, etc. When we move, I'll paint her room *pink* of course!
Here are some pictures - sorry they're small.

First is the small dresser. The picture above it says: "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that take our breath away. " It was a wedding gift & I just thought it was perfect for her room. Right below that is my baby bank and Corey's baby bank.



Here are two dresses from when I was little. The one on the right is what i came home from the hospital in & the one on the left was a gift from my dad's mom. I put them in shadow boxes (Mom's idea).



Her wee bookcase loaded with books courtesy of Aunt Kelly.


Her crib. It was given to us by one of Corey's old elementary school teachers. Its beautiful. I love it. Her bedding is pink toile with a coordinating stripe on the blanket & floral on the bumper.


The other dresser with diaper changing essentials and the love seat from Corey's college days. I have to slip cover it - right now its a hideous camel color - but I thought it would be perfect for feedings & diaper changes.

Is this what i have to look forward to?

Bad Delta! Bad!
Granted, it was a 22-month old which, in my opinion, is a BIT old for breast-feeding. If they can ask for it - it's time to stop. That aside, she still has a right to feed her child.

Bed Rest Day 47 - Baby Shower Awesomeness

Saturday was my baby shower and it was the most awesome baby shower ever. :) Kelly did an awesome job of organizing it & I cannot thank her enough. I appreciate everyone that came & all the goodies our little girl has to start out her life.
Corey's mom & step-dad were up this weekend, too. They worked so hard in our spare bedroom (aka - the nursery). Cleaning out the nursery was no small task. It was full of tons & tons of crap - mine & Corey's - from when I moved in. Now it looks like a pept0-bismol bomb went off in it because of all the pink! We threw out a lot of stuff, reorganized and it almost feels like we're ready for baby Parker (name of the week).
I'm feeling fantastic. Is this the calm before the storm? I've been practicing my breathing and labor positions. They get me through the contractions I have at night and take the pressure off my belly. I swear I've doubled in size since last week.
Corey & I also installed the car seat base in my car. That was a sight to see. Neither one of us had any idea what we were doing. It was great. We got it in, though. Our little one will be secure.
Less than two months to my due date! Can you believe it?? I can't believe next week is Thanksgiving! Where does the time go?

Bed Rest Day 42 - and it burns, burns, burns...

Cervix = ring of fire? WTF? I've seen this reference several times in my pregnancy books, on websites and now on my three-legged-puppy-dog shows (what Corey calls the birthing shows I watch that make me cry). It seems that when the baby starts to crown & push through your cervix, it burns. Bad. Like someone stuck a hot poker up your hoo-ha. Great. My poor cervix - first it was horizontally challenged and now the baby is going to light it up. We had our second Lamaze class last night. No graphic videos this time. I actually learned a lot - actually, mostly it was stuff I already knew but didn't know I did. Know what i mean? Basically, she discussed relaxation techniques. Positions I could get into during labor that would help ease the pain & discomfort. My favorites were the 'slow-dancing' (basically hugging Corey with my arms around his neck as we sway back and forth) and the birthing ball (basically squatting on a yoga ball). She also taught us stuff Corey could do to help me. Things like pressing on my knees or my back and even lifting my belly (sounds weird, but feels awesome). Even though I think I've found a few things that may work for me - breathing patterns & positions - but I can't tell yet. When I'm in labor those things may annoy the ever loving shit out of me. Guess I'll have to wait to find out.

Bed Rest Day 41 - Mine Doesn't Stretch Like That!

So, I must discuss this video that Corey & I got to watch at our first Lamaze class last week. It was titled: The Stages of Labor. It basically went through the various stages of labor & described exactly what you might experience, yadda, yadda, yadda.
I don't really remember that much of the video because it was so damned graphic!
First of all - almost every woman on the video delivered in the nude. Yup - nekkid as a jay bird.
Here I'm thinking: when I'm in labor, with my hoo-ha up in the air for all to see, the last thing I want is my boobies hanging out, too. If you've ever watched a show on childbirth you see the amount of people that are running in and out of your labor room. I told Corey, I'm just going to cut the seam in the crotch of my jeans and deliver through that - fully clothed! Ha!
So, now we're watching this video - naked women, screaming in pain with their hoo-ha's exposed - and then it happens. One of these lovely women begin to crown. Does the camera-man pan out? No...he zooms in...on her hoo-ha. So, now the television screen is full of hoo-ha and there is something black coming out of it. I've seen childbirth before - just never so graphically.
My thought: Mine doesn't stretch like that!
So, as this head is ripping this poor woman from asshole to appetite the doctor says to her: "Your baby is coming! Reach down and feel the head! Its right there! Reach down & feel the baby!!"
I have found this to be a popular practice today. Um...no thanks. There is a 7 or 8-lb monster (at the time) ripping its way through my vagina - I DON'T WANT TO FEEL IT. GET IT OUT.
Then there are the ones where the doctor allows the mother to actually deliver the baby. No thanks - that's what my health insurance is paying you for.
I've also noticed the 'mirror.' The 'mirror' is just that - a mirror that they pull down so you can watch yourself give birth. I've given Corey explicit instructions: if they pull down the mirror when I'm in labor - tell them to put it right back up. I cringed at this stranger's hoo-ha being stretched beyond limits on TV, what makes you think I want to see mine do that? I already told you - mine doesn't do that.
So, baby pops out after much pushing & screaming and the screaming, slimy newborn is practically thrown onto mom's belly.
Am I ready for this miracle of birth? Yes. I am quite ready & quite excited. Watching this video just made me long for the day when they'd knock you out and when you woke there was a nice clean, quiet baby laying in a bassinet next to you.
Let me live in the little world I've created where the stork is going to come & deliver my little angel. Let me think that for now.
Can I arrange that as part of my birthing plan?

Bed Rest Day 36 - In through the nose...Out through the mouth

Corey & I had our first Lamaze class on Wednesday.
All the couples seem to be about our age - 3 of them due the same day as me.
What completely amazes me is how quiet everyone is.
For example - we had to go upstairs in the hospital to watch a video on the stages of labor (more on that later). So, Corey, myself and 3 other couples get in the elevator - no one says a word. I looked around to possibly make eye contact with someone and these chicks are all standing around looking at their feet (if they could see them over the bellies). The dads - or 'support partners' - are standing there looking at the mom. It was bizarre.
So, then we get into this room where we're to watch the movie and everyone gets a seat. Now, this is a small room & Corey and I are sitting right across from 2 other couples. They're maybe 7 feet from us. We have to wait a few minutes for the video to get going and again I attempt the eye contact. Nope. The women sat there looking down at their hands or playing in their purses or something, ANYTHING to avoid any semblance of personal contact with anyone in the room other than their 'support partner.' WTF people? How do you make friends?
I don't know - maybe its because I'm cooped up in the house all day that I'm CRAVING interaction with other people. Maybe next week will be better. There was ONE couple that showed a glimmer of possibility. Think we'll sit near them next week.
Don't MAKE me make brownies, people!

Bed Rest Day 33 - Happy Halloween!!

Here's our scary punkin & not-so-scary Virginia Tech punkin Corey carved last night.
The best part? The YUM-O punkin seeds he roasted.

Spooky brownies

Since I've been on bed rest, I've had to modify the way I do some things - including cooking. I've mastered the art of cooking from my desk chair.
So, today I made these spooky brownies for Corey's office. Aren't they cute?

Bed Rest Day 32 - Mmm...cheesesteak.

I feel much better today.
The poop cloud has lifted.
Corey & I start our parenting classes on Wednesday. We joke that they better teach the Lamaze breathing the first night because who knows when I'm going to deliver!
Even though she'd be early, Corey & I are both hoping that our little peanut will make her appearance around Thanksgiving. I think its because we're just both so excited to meet her.
I'm also excited to get her from underneath my ribs.
Last week, her 'thing' was what felt like her stepping on my bladder - to the point that I would, well, pee myself a bit.
Now, she's taken to wedging underneath my right ribs. I don't know if its a foot or a head or what - but its there. It's so uncomfortable! I try laying on my left side to get her to move. I try standing up for a few minutes to get her to drop. I even have tried pushing her down.
I get relief for a few minutes before she finds her way back up there.
Ahh..the joys of pregnancy.
Also, I have a new craving: Philly Cheesesteaks.
Mmm...with onions & provolone (I don't LIKE cheez-whiz).
Corey took me to the diner yesterday to have one & it was yum-o.
I'm tempted to call him & ask him to get me one on the way home.
But I think I can wait until Wednesday. We pass a Quizno's on the way to the hospital....hehehe.