Dawn @ Coming to a Nursery Near You wants to know “what would be your ultimate day - how would you spend it if you had no time or money restrictions?”

Oh man. That’s a good question that needs a lot of thought. But, at the risk of sounding totally lame, I will tell you that my perfect day does not cost money. It only costs a lot of working out before this happens. I would love LOVE to go back to high school where in the hot, hot sun, I would just go to my Aunt’s pool across the street and float around in the water for hours. Then, my girlfriends and I would go grab some dinner somewhere and see some cute boys. Ah, to be 16 again.
I would just so love to float in the hot water. Not to be holding a two year old who is kicking to get away because she just knows she can reach the bottom of the pool. Or to be holding an 8 month old who loves the water but is a splashing monster. Ah. To just float.
But, the “good mom” part of me wants to say that just snuggling up with my children on a super rainy day, watching movies, eating popcorn playing Candy Land Big Sister style and not getting out of our pj’s is pretty darn perfect too. Oh and J is there too changing the diapers and no one cries or gets cranky. Yup, that’s perfect.

Katie wants to know “What is your favorite mommy moment that you will treasure for the rest of your life?”

By far it will be the nights the girls were born. Big Sister came early Tuesday morning (1:24), the day after Katrina hit. I was 8 days away from my due date and I just could not imagine that this was it. I labored at home (and my neighbors) pretty much all day. Then when J came home, we had some Sonic, then walked around. I was terrified of going to the hospital because once I got there, I knew the baby would come. This poor, sweet baby who was only known as Baby Girl. I was scared. J was scared. Finally, my neighbor Steph drove by and told us to get to the hospital before we had that baby in her front yard!
A little excerpt from my journal entry the morning contractions started:

Contractions hurt. They don’t feel good. They hurt. And tylenon does NOTHING for them. Yep. I thought since they felt like period cramps (like hardcore cramps), some tylenol and a heating pad would help lastnight. Nope. I kept waking up in lots of pain. Fun times, no. I tried visualization, nothing. I focused on walking up a mountain while they were hurting and then when they peaked, turning around and walkind down the mountain. That worked once while I was still half asleep. I tried breathing through them, but my breaths were short and fast and it didn’t help at all. It’s hard to breath slowly while in LOTS of pain.

I really, really thought I could do this naturally. But I honestly don’t believe that I can. Or that I really want to. If it didnt get any worse than what it is now, then I’d try. But at this point, I’m ready for an epidural now.

I know there’s been lots of talk about me getting this baby out and how I’m ready and everything… but I’ve lied. I’m in no way shape or form ready for this little girl. I think I’d rather walk around for another three weeks being severely pregnant than to go through more of this pain.

And contraction.

7 minutes apart. Gahh.

Another excerpt from September 1. Two days after Big Sister was born:

Went to the hosptial, finally, at 11:30pm. Walked in at 7cm dilated. Water broke on it’s own at 12:25am, had epidural at 12:40. Pushed 4 times, and out comes Big Sister LastName at 1:24am. Her cord was wrapped around her neck, pretty badly. They had to cut it before they pulled her out entirely. She scored an 8,9 on her APGAR thing. And was just absolutely a joy to have.
As much as some people will hate me for the labor story- it really wasnt that bad. And I actually enjoyed the entire process. And the reason for the epidural? My thoughts were, “why not?” I knew was it was like to have contractions (like off the monitor contractions), and I knew what it felt like to have my water break. I also knew what it was like to keep control on my pain through breathing. But- I didn’t know what it was like to just sit there and talk to the nurses and be completely numb. At the risk of sounding silly… it was cool.
Big Sister takes wonderfully to feeding. She’s a pro, and isnt having any trouble. Just staying awake, mostly, but she’s getting better with all of that.
J was awesome throughout the whole thing. I’m a little peeved that he’s gotten to sleep so much and I just feel like I’ve been beaten. I’m exhausted.

Big Sister one day old. Isn’t she just perfect? It’s hard to look at this picture and know that she will never again be that tiny. Never be 5 pounds and 15 ounces. Never been 19.5 inches long again. She’ll never nurse, she’ll never wear diapers, she’ll never need me like she did in those first days, the first weeks, months, years. We’re nearing on the third year of her life, folks. She’s old. Practically driving. It’s all happening so quickly. I just want to hold on to her, sprinkle her with the “no-grow” dust and keep her tiny, funny, cheerful, unbroken hearted forever.

Oh, I get all smushy looking at that picture!

Now for Little Sister’s birth! Oh fun fun fun! It’s so much fun to be in labor with a 25 month old wanting to be held, carried, “help” you around. Oh my gosh. Little Sister’s story is a little more fuzzy and quick than Big Sister’s. Here’s a little excerpt from the day she was born:

The baby is great. She is measuring right at 37weeks, around 6lbs, 8oz. I don’t think she’ll be any bigger than 6.5 though. She’s really cramped up in my stomach. But I knew that before the ultrasound. Her cord is great, the fluids are fine. She’s healthy and my body is happy (enough) to be carrying her around some more.

My appointment to see Dr. Redden was at 10:15, we saw her at noon. She was delivering babies. I’m very close to being at 4 cm. I’m still about 60-70% effaced. She said that’s typical for second time mommies to dilated faster than effacing. She also wasn’t very gentle with the exam and I’m now having a little bloody show. Which I don’t mind at all.

I go back next Tuesday (10.09) for another ultrasound and appointment with my OB (McGowan). If the baby still looks good, we’ll schedule for later that week. If she looks like she needs to come out, we’ll go in that day to deliver.

So… it’s a wait and see type of thing. But… ya know… it always has been.

That was at 2:03pm on Monday, October 1, 2007.
The next entry reads:

10:09 am Tuesday
Starting having contractions lastnight. They woke me up lots of times, though I stayed in bed and tried to breathe through them. This morning they started strong and hard and fast. About 2-5 minutes apart. Now… It’s been 12 minutes since my last one.
I’m praying that they come back hard, strong and fast. This baby is ready. I’m ready! J is ready!
I’m trying to finish up a load or two of laundry and have clean sheets ready for our bed, so whoever winds up staying the night with Big Sister will not be sleeping on dirty sheets.

If you don’t hear from me by tonight… hopefully we’ll be having our baby!!

And then:

12:07pm
having to sneeze in the middle of a contraction is the absolute worst pain I have ever been in.

Contractions around 7-11 minutes apart and hurt like no body’s business!
Yay!

Everytime I start having one J starts to yell “whoo hoo”. He’ll probably be killed at some point.

And then, the next entry reads:

Little Sister LastName
10.02-07
11:43pm
19.5″ long
6lbs.14oz.

And I had her naturally. Oh yea. It hurt, hurt, hurt.

Little Sister was two days old until she had an official name. Up until then, she was known as Pasquali. A name given by her PawPaw. And look at her (not me, I just had a baby, so I’m sorry that I look the way I do). She was just precious and chubby and pink and just beautiful. Just perfect. She came out like a lightening bolt. Super Duper fast. Want to read a snipet of her birth story? Of course you do.

Monday, October 1, 2007 was our dear daughter’s due date. We went in for our check up, had an ultrasound done (she looked perfect!) and had an exam done as well. I was about 3-4cm dilated, and still sitting at about 70% effaced.
That day, we went to eat a late breakfast at IHOP (we ate there the night before Big Sister was born, too!). The rest of that day was filled with mild cramping and light bleeding.
That night, J & I decided to do our best at helping things progress naturally. We did. It worked. And I started to have contractions that morning around 4am. They started hard and strong and fast. Coming about every 5-7 minutes. Then, as the morning went on, they slacked off to about every 20 minutes. Around 4pm, I started running a low grade fever and was just burning up. I called my doctor’s office and left a message. I was worried about having an infection and something being wrong with Baby Girl. The nurse called me back and said to go on to L&D. They’d probably wind up keeping me, so bring my things.
So, I packed.
We went to eat at Sonic (we ate Sonic the night Big Sister was born). And we dropped Big Sister off at my parents’ home. I had a huge vanilla milkshake on my way up to L&D.
It was about 6pm when we go to the hospital. I was only 5cm dilated at this time.
I was told to walk around the hospital for an hour to see how I would progress. We walked and walked and walked. I was 8cm when we got back to the room.
They put me on the monitors, but I kept detaching them to go sit on the potty. Man, does gravity help move things along! And man does sitting in a bed really make contractions a million times worse!
No one came to check my dilation from about 8pm until right before Baby Girl came. Which kind of irritates me now, looking back.
At 11:30, I told J that I just couldn’t take the pain anymore. I was ready for my epidural and I wanted it right then. I told him I was going to the bathroom and that I expected everyone to be ready with that needle. I just couldn’t do it any longer.
I sat on the potty, had a major contraction, tried to pee a little bit, but then my water broke. And man - was there ever some pressure! It felt like I had the world’s largest hemroid! But the more I thought about it the more I wondered if it was the baby’s head coming out!
So, I yelled for J to come. I screamed, “The baby! It’s the baby!” and for whatever reason, he dropped down on his knees, like he was going to catch her… Silly guy.
Sara (my good friend and neighbor) had been hanging out with us most of the evening, so she ran out to the nurse’s station to tell them what was going on. Two nurses had to help me back to the bed and told me to stay put. Not to get up again. They were rolling me over trying to get the monitors back on and telling me to not push. Man, was that hard!
I was laying on my right side, James was leaning down to me, helping me breath through these never ending contractions. I told him that she was coming out and I couldn’t hold her in any longer.
The nurses put my legs in the stirrups and told me not to push. I told them (err.. kind of screamed) I couldn’t help it! I screamed one of those holy crap she’s coming out you’d better catch her! screams. And with only one push (while the nurse had only one glove on and no doctor was to be found!) Baby Girl Lastname entered the world at 11:43pm on October 2, 2007.
She weighed 6lbs 14oz and was 19.5 inches long.
A head full of dark hair and just the most adorable little thing.

The most painful part of her delivery was having to deliver the placenta and being stitched up afterwards. The little numbing needle hurt so much! And I hated not being able to just lay back and enjoy watching the nurses mess around with the baby. I didn’t get to hold her for a while because it hurt so much while they were messing with my goodies down below. I was too scared I’d drop her. But James got lots of snuggle time with his new baby daughter.

I’m so blessed to have two such amazingly beautiful girls. Big Sister just adores her baby sister and loves to kiss and touch her all the time. I am truly thankful.

Okay, so that was the whole darn thing. But look at that little baby chub. She’s just my world. And she’s crawling, people. Just crawling. And it kills me. Because I think I’m learning more and more that she’s going to be our last baby. I’m just hanging on to every little moment. Just breathing her in. And I think she’ll just stay sleeping in the bed with us until she leaves for college.

Are you still reading?
Only answering two questions tonight. Because this sucker is long, y’all. But I love my girls. And these two days are when it all began.

Posted: 05|24|08 at 10:10 pm. Filed under: Life Stuff, big sister, bloggity blog, little sister.
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