Little Miss Marlee

My little princess is now TWO months old?! WHA?! I have not blogged since I found out I was pregnant I think.

Welp..here we are a year later almost!

Here is our little sweet pea's birth story....it's pretty short and sweet...but I need to get it all out so that I can remember each perfect detail!

Three weeks before my due date, I was dilated to a 2.5. This was awesome for me, because I have a family history of NOT dilating at all. I thought this was a good sign and that maybe I would go on my own this time!

I had contractions for the next three weeks, and was taken off of my beta blocker so that I wouldn't go into premature labor. (Beta blocker was for the hole in my heart that will hopefully get patched later this year). Dr. Dabling decided at about 6 months that with my heart condition, it would not be good to go past 38-39 weeks, so I wouldn't have as much pushing with a bigger baby.(Good thing too, because we had a BIG little gal!)

I was scheduled for induction May 28th at 7:00 AM. We stayed up all night cleaning the house, since we had been so busy with yard work, Ike's finals, actual work, etc. I had already had a baby a year before...why did I think this was a good idea to not get any sleep? I have no idea. Asher was with his Grandma and Grandpa Strong, who watched him the day before through the day after her birth. We got to the hospital at 7, but were told to come back, because they had so many people coming in with contractions, and that hopefully they could fit me in a little later. We went and got a good breakfast and came back at 8, and waited in the lobby until 8:30.

They got me right in at that point and put me on a low dose of Pitocin. Last time when I was induced, my body took off and didn't take much to go anywhere. Same case this time :) Within half an hour I was having steady contractions and they checked me and I was at a five. COOL! Dr. Dabling had guaranteed that I would have the baby in about 6 hours...but that is so fast, that I really didn't believe here. They upped my Pitocin and things finally got BAD. (Anyone who has experienced Pitocin contractions knows what I mean). I've only met one person that had full Pitocin and didn't have an epidural, and that's my bestie Rachelle in Holland, and it was because they didn't HAVE epidurals. OUCH. So...of course I had an epidural before I killed someone :) Instantly felt better and fell asleep.

The hours of 9-11 were great! I seriously just slept and took naps while they periodically checked on me. At 11 they asked if I wanted to be a part of a new study that is a vaginal heart monitor for the baby. It's super accurate and much better than the ones that they typically have elasti-banded around your belly. The HORRIBLE, excruciating awesome part is that it clamps onto your cervix to stay in place. I dilated from a 4-5 just getting that crazy thing put on.

At 11:30 I was in really awful pain again. With Asher, but epidural quit two hours before I delivered. They never were able to get it back up and running and it was really painful. I had an episiotomy and could feel each and every stitch(24). This time it had quit as well, but I was not about to go there again! We got the anesthesiologist in and he gave me another booster dose which he said would kick-in in about 15 minutes. Nope, not a bit. He came in again and gave me another. "This will REALLY start to feel great in another 15. Nope. Finally he gave me a third booster and said that the reason I was feeling so much pain with...(3 epi's????) was that I was progressing SO fast. Sure enough, I had dilated to a 9 by 12:30.

At about this time, all of the epidural boosters kicked in, and all at once! My chest was numb, some parts of my face, basically everywhere. Normally that fuzzy, tingly feeling bothers me, but after being in so much pain it is was so nice! Ike and I just talked and relaxed, whereas last time I was writhing and whining for hours. I kept feeling though an awful urge to poo! I felt so much pressure that I seriously felt like I was going to just explode all over my hospital bed. TMI??? They had two C-sections during this time, so I was bottom of the priority list.

They came in at 1:30 and I was to a 10 and almost crowning. No wonder! She had basically just been chilling there ready to get pushed out at any minute, but I was restricting all pushing movement down there because I thought it was something else ;) They had the room already prepped, I got into awesome pushing position(on your back, legs up...really???) and pushed twice. She came right out, despite her very large 90% head. One little stitch and I was good to go! She was born at 2:15 PM, 7 pounds, 15 ounces and 21 inches long. She had the most beautiful full head of curly light brown hair. Dr. Dabling beat her own quota.....with delivering Marlee in 5 hours instead of 6! She's fantastic.

Marlee, however, wasn't as great as me. She came out totally purple. She was having trouble breathing and had a little watery gargle every time she tried to. They rushed her over to the corner and suctioned her and gave her oxygen for a bit. The NICU team checked her out quickly and said she would be good to go. I got her back and tried to nurse her. 10 minutes later I looked down and she was purple again. They helped her out for a little longer this time and suggested not nursing her for a while, as she got better with her breathing.( My hypothesis is while she was literally stuck down there...she had a mixture of air/water in and out of there and some of it got into her airway).

We had a great rest of the day and she met her brother, both sets of grandparents and some aunts, uncles and great friends. Later that night I tried to nurse her again, and the same thing happened. This time they did a chest x-ray on her and kept her through the night to watch her. In the morning they said the x-ray came back ok, but just to bottle feed or pump and feed her for now.

They decided to keep us one more day there to keep an eye on here and on the 30th, we were able to check out.

We are so grateful that she was otherwise healthy, despite the subsequent breathing scares she still had at home for the rest of the week. We had excellent nurses, great family support and the best OBGYN I've ever had. She cared about me like a friend throughout the whole process and I'll most definitely go back to her. She watched my heart condition so carefully and said I was one of her favorite patients of all time! Awh! (She probably says that to everyone ;) )

In the last two months, she has been absolutely perfect. Right off the bat she woke up 1-2 times per night to nurse, but then would cuddle and fall right back to sleep. At 5 weeks she started smiling and also started sleeping through the night. She is such a calm and happy girl. Even when she cries it is the cutest little girly sound. She has a raspy voice(think chain smoker), and it is adorable.

I feel so incredibly blessed to have my little boy and girl. They are 12 months, two years apart, and life is difficult. It is difficult, but we are SO blessed to have them. Each time I get frustrated or feel like I might break down, I remember how lucky I am. It also helps to have the most considerate and compassionate husband around.

That's how our little M made her debut into the world, short and sweet, just like her cute little self :)

Eyelashes :)!

 

Today my little sis, Jena, did my eyelashes. Yay!! She's a fully registered, cosmetologist and is looking for new clients for you guessed it.. EYELASHES!

Here's some info if you are interested. Even if you're not.. Give her a try for all of your other beauty needs (hair,waxing, Brazilian blowouts, etc)

Her pricing for eyelashes is $40!!! No, this isn't just a fill of your current lashes, but a COMPLETE FULL SET! Fills after that are only $20. (This is $10-$25 cheaper than most GROUPON deals) and isn't a limited time offer. She is awesome, fast, and very talented :)

For blowouts, she charges $75 :)

I'm so happy with how mine have turned out! She's a talented and sweet girl and has been coloring/cutting my hair, and waxing me for years. I'm really excited that she has just recently added lash extensions and Brazilian blowouts to her menu :)

With eyelash extensions, they last 2-3 weeks, are ZERO maintenance and my favorite part is that I don't have to do any kind of makeup to my upper eyelid/lashes. You can add liner on the bottom for a more dramatic effect, but otherwise it's a wake-up-and-go kindof ordeal :)

Please give her a call! With this pricing.. she will be booking up pretty quickly!

Jena Fullmer 801-989-1177

Thanks!!

I'm Doing it For Her

I have to take a second and toot my own horn here. I am REALLY good at setting goals and keeping them. I'm not sure if it was that I grew up as such a perfectionist, had a past of eating disorders, and am really OCD when it comes to a phew things, but if I want to stick with something...I can just do it!

If I want to deep clean my entire house in a day...done. If I want to drop 10 pounds in a couple of weeks...done. If I want to do a cleanse or temporary "feel good" nutrition kick...done. Get up the guts to clean out the moldy leftovers in my fridge(one of my greatest fears by the way)...done.

EXCEPT FOR NAILBITING....duh, duh, duhn. I have tried probably 1,000 times to stop it. I am a complete germaphobe, yet I bite my nails?! Sheesh..I know, disgusting. There are more germs under any of our nails than in the crevices of our derrieres. (If you think I'm joking, take Microbiology lab..YUCK).

I have tried countless things. Wearing mittens, nasty nail polish, tape, rubbing alcohol, bitter apple, journaling my days without biting, etc. The best one was probably 6 months into marriage where I ordered some "polish" on eBay, that was "proven to cure nailbiting". I'm not sure what you think..but when I think of the word "polish" that seems pretty stationary-it dries right?!?! Not this stuff. My ENTIRE BODY was so terrible tasting (lips, face, hands, arms, everything) that I seriously did not eat for 3 days. Isaac was over it too. What a nasty surprise to kiss someone with it on and then have YOUR body taste like turpentine, castor oil, and acetone for the next 3 days. It was bad, that's all I'm saying.

When I was pregnant with Asher, I wanted so badly to stop. I don't want my kids to see me do it all the time and then pick up the habit. If they do on their own, that's ok, but I want no part in the discovery. I tried, but once again, failed.

This year has been fairly difficult for us. We spent nearly all of our money on buying our house, and doing some minor outdoor repairs that went with it. Isaac dropped to part-time working(school is in session) and we have a LOT of medical debt(refer to my previous insurance catastrophe here). Money has definitely not been falling from the sky or growing on trees. Every time we seem to get a little bit saved, it goes to something else. There are a lot of people in our shoes, so I'm not complaining. It actually has been one of life's greatest life lessons and blessings so far. We make our money count, I cook nearly every meal, and we are very fiscally conscious.

We went on a cruise last week. I know what you're thinking..."ummm, what about the paragraph above??". We actually planned it a year and a half ago, when we had more money, were in a better situation, and wait...didn't even have ONE kid yet :) On the cruise, I just had this feeling like the time had come, and I really needed to stop. It was just time. I'm 4 months away from having a sweet little girl, and I don't want her to have the same anxious habits as me. Something just kind of clicked in my brain for the first time(before it had been so superficial, and I hadn't really internalized it). I went immediately to the salon on the ship and got a $90 shellac manicure. YIKES! (I had to spend so much, so that I now will feel SO guilty from a financial standpoint if I fail to meet this goal).

My nails are growing at an alarming rate. It is incredible. The best part is, I have been incredibly stressed since returning home, and haven't had a single urge to bite them. In my major, Exercise Science, we learned so much about mind over matter. That usually is the reason people have habits, tendencies, are overweight, etc. Something inside isn't quite right, and they can't let it go. This isn't true in every case, but is for most. My kid(s), is/are so important to me, and I am obsessed with how much love I have for them and want them to turn out the very best that they can.

I'll keep you updated on quitting this habit. I know...for most of you this seems SO trivial. But for me, this is the hardest challenge I've given myself. For once, I know I can do it.