Stay at Home Chaos

Kiki had her 6 month checkup on Thursday. In summary, she’s fat with a large head… Just like Ory was! But now, Ory is just short with a big head (off the charts in size). We started Kiki on solids on Thursday as well. That’s going well. We’re still trying to figure the new highchair out. I’m thinking of unscrewing the built-in tray. It’s real hard to get her in under it. There would be no safety issues if it were unscrewed because it still fits tight in, and there’s the 5-point harness and also a separate wooden part to keep her legs in. We’ll see what I do.

I had my doctor appointment yesterday during nap time. That way I was leaving Tim with sleeping babies. I get in there, do the cup thing, and my most favorite nurse asks me, “Were you planning for #4?” I tell her I was not. She responded, “Well, you’re having one anyway!” Pregnancy confirmed. We chatted a bit, which lead to me jokingly stating, “I got pregnant because I just missed you guys so much!” She laughed and claimed that she knew that must be the reason why.

I got seen by my doctor. Told him what happened, dates, symptoms, and he says they don’t add up. I’m 7 weeks according to my LMP, but my symptoms aren’t up to par with it yet. I was just recently hit with fatigue, for example. Nausea is getting worse, but I haven’t thrown up yet. I’ve had absolutely no breast soreness, which is unusual for me. I got my pap smear and breast exam done. I know the drill. I go out to the front desk where I’m greeted by a bunch of ecstatic receptionists. “We get you got another 9 months!” and “I’m SO happy!” I just knew they missed me. I get my next appointment scheduled, my ultrasound scheduled, and my paperwork to get my blood work done.

I almost opt to do my blood work next week, because Tim is home with the babies and they’d probably be waking up soon. I call while I’m in the car to see if I can do it now, he says it’s OK. I go back inside to the lab. Here’s where the fun starts.

Receptionist: Is it your first?
Me: No, it’s my fourth. But it’s my first accident so I’m doing pretty good.
Receptionist: My daughter was an accident. She was the best thing that ever happened to me! Things happen for a reason. You’ll love this baby! How old are your kids?
Me, while wishing she hadn’t asked: Three. Two ….. 6 months.

Now, the moment I said “6 months” is when her eyes widened. “Hey, you asked.” I said. It was interesting. So I wait until the nurse gets in to take my blood. I get pulled back and she informs me I also have to use the cup again. I just peed an hour ago! Luckily, having been in this situation before, I still managed to go. I have talent. So I get my blood drawn.

Nurse: Is this your first?
Not again… I can see where THIS is going.
Me: My fourth.
Nurse: I have 2. How old are they?
Me: Three. Two….6 months.

Again, as I say “6 months,” her eyes widen.

Nurse: Wow! Mine are 5 and 1. You’re lucky to be pregnant now though, that way you won’t be pregnant when it’s the middle of summer like my youngest was last year.
Me: Yes, I know. One was born in July. My two year old just turned two.

It makes me feel better that I know someone who’s baby is due two days before her baby turns one. But it’ll be her second. I feel like a freak of nature though. I’m waiting for the sarcastic comments of people thinking they’re being clever to start. I’m starting to get moody, so it’s not going to be pretty.

July 7th, my menstrual cycle was still missing. I had some light bleeding the day before, but it didn’t turn into anything. I was already over a week late by that point. I had taken a pregnancy test a couple days prior, but it was negative. On that particular day though, I had a suspicion. So I took my remaining test. I was unsure of the results having heard of evaporation lines before. July 10th, I took another one of a different brand.

The pregnancy line came up before the control line. My only accident. No idea when I’m due yet. I still need to go to an OB/GYN for confirmation and a due date. But I think I should be due sometime in March ’11.

So it looks like we’re expecting our fourth child next year! Here’s to hoping for a smooth pregnancy. I’m excited.

I had been plagued by the dreaded false labor for days when I went to bed at a little after midnight on January 21st, looking forward to sleeping in that morning and dreading going to my next appointment that afternoon. None of that happened.

I woke up at 4:30 am with a really bad contraction. But it was no big deal. This happened on two other nights before and they all eventually stopped. I went downstairs, got something to drink, went to the bathroom, and all that good stuff that helps contractions go away so I could go back to sleep. Before I knew it, I was wondering what time would be acceptable to wake Tim up. I waited until he would’ve gotten up for work to catch the train and woke him up then. It was a little after 6:00 am at that point. I informed him that I was about 80% sure that I was in real labor. I was sure enough to wake him up. We spent the morning stalling from waking up the kids and leaving too soon. We packed the bags, got snacks, and things like that. Around 7:30 am, Tim decided it was time to wake up the still sleeping children and get them ready. We was out the door just before 8:00 am.

We got all checked in at the hospital a little after 8:00 am and I changed into the birthing clothes. I got into the bed, got the IV started, and had my cervix checked. 6 centimeters with a bulging bag of water! I was 7 centimeters when I showed up with Auron, and had a bulging bag with Evie. I joked with Tim that I told him my bags were bulging like with Evie earlier. Tim said he thought I’d have the baby by 9:00 am. I said I’d have her by noon. The real laboring starts! The kind where you don’t want to get up or move. I kept requesting they let me sit the bed up more until I don’t think it could have gotten any straighter. Tim put on WALL•E for the kids. I don’t remember much of this part.

What I do remember really well is when the contractions really started hurting. And I mean really started hurting. It was the point that I said, “Oh my God, this really hurts.” and kept saying “Oh my God.” that I started paying a bit closer attention to everything. I ended up wondering to myself if I was offending any nurses and took all my will power not to curse like I really, really wanted to. Everything was already mostly set up at that point. Tim and I was joking about how his 9:00 am guess isn’t going to happen, and he was insistent it would. 9:00 am came and went and I joked at Tim for his estimated time frame being over.

Right after that, I learned it takes doctors 3 years to show up to a delivery. I needed to push. Tim called for the nurse. The nurse checked me at 9 centimeters with a lip. That happened with Auron. They called for the doctor. My doctor took 3 years to show up. At least, it felt like 3 years. He came in and asked for an update. The nurse told him my status and informed him my bag was still intact, bulging, and was the only thing keeping the baby in. I thought she was joking. How could a bulging bag be the only thing keeping a baby in? They started fiddling with their setup. I recall stating I need to push again. I also recall relaxing my vagina muscles in hopes that my body could sneak a few pushes in by itself. That made it feel only slightly better. I finally asked, instead of informing them that I need to, if I could push. The nurse was off to the side, and the doctor was fiddling with some stuff. I don’t remember getting an answer, although Tim informs me that the doctor said I could, and that even he told me that I could. I didn’t hear either of them.

So I pushed anyway. My water broke, which made me hesitate only briefly out of shock. I continued with the push. My doctor had a brief look of shock himself as he hurried over by me, Tim stated almost immediately, “I see the head.” I tried to go for my second push when the doctor stopped me. I was thereby forbidden from pushing anymore at all. I tore already and he didn’t want to make it worse. He told me to let the baby come out by herself. That was hard. He told me to stop pushing when I delivered Auron, but I was unable to. I succeeded this time. It hurt bad, it was hard, and I could feel a lot of stuff going on without knowing for sure what it was. I definitely felt the head come out. Then I was allowed to push again, but only little pushes. Then I had a baby at 9:04 am!

They plopped her on my tummy, but I couldn’t see her because the blanket was positioned wrong, so I moved it a little to get a look. The rest is pretty much history. Ory was angry. Evie’s only opinion was, “No baby.” and she continued watching WALL•E. Tim started recording stuff. Kiki was commented on about her size and her being nice and pink.

There is some other amusing (or not so amusing) details that I’ll leave out for random talking about. Like how the doctor didn’t believe me when I said “ow” the first time when he was sewing me up. Or the mess I made of myself when getting up to use the bathroom once. A cute story would be about Evie freaking out when Ory tried to leave with the pediatrician, yet remained absolutely calm during the rest of the visits.

Kiana Selene joined us on January 21, 2010 at 9:04 am PST. She weighed 8lbs 10oz and was 20½” long. She appears to have blond hair and dimples. Eye color will be determined later. She passed her hearing test, has no heart murmurs like Evie did, and is currently a good sleeper.

We came home a bit after 1:00 pm on January 22nd. Birth story and more pictures to come.

We’re getting ready for Evie’s 3rd birthday. Her birthday present, a bike, came the other day. We still need to acquire a new helmet that fits her head. She also has a new board game she’s going to get and a present from Grandma and Grandpa. I still need to acquire some new wrapping paper and some birthday cards. We ordered her birthday cake yesterday, but they didn’t have the toys for the first choice in stock so we went with another. If they didn’t have that one, she would’ve gotten this really cool and expensive Tinker Bell cake that cost $50. Luckily they had the second choice in stock! Saved us a bundle.

Yesterday was rather interesting in a I-drove-Tim-crazy kind of way. I ate some eggplant parmesan for dinner, insisted we buy oregano and basil, and also bought my first fresh pineapple which I hope to learn to cut properly. Why? I want this baby out like a normal person who hit their very first assigned due date. My first due date I was given was yesterday. My second one is the one we’re going by, which is in two weeks. However, I’m also measuring a week ahead and have since close to the beginning but he just didn’t want to change my due date again. I went to my doctor yesterday and he doesn’t think I’ll make it to the assigned due date which gives me false hope. I’m only 1 centimeter dilated. I was already 3-4 and I had great effacement with Evie and Ory during the last previous appointment I went into labor with them.

After I got all this food, Tim grabbed two different types of cookies (out of all the cruel things to do) and held his breath as he informed an employee that grapes got knocked on the floor and needed cleaned up. He only ever does that if I’m there and would normally walk away. I’m sure he hates me for it.

So I had salad, eggplant with seasonings on it, spaghetti and cookies for dinner last night. It was delicious. Next up, pineapple!

Evie has been getting out of bed around 10:30 pm every night lately. It’s annoying but she sure enjoys herself. She didn’t get back down until after midnight last night. It was mostly because I got hit with a ‘pick up all the toys’ kick that drove Tim crazy. He had a massive headache and I was cleaning with difficulty. I got irritated at him for not helping eventually. It’s not easy for me to get on the floor and up again to pick up all their toys. It took about an hour to clean up even after Tim started helping. We still didn’t pick it all up. So many blocks, tracks, books, legos, and other items that come in bulk.

I got Kiki’s bed out and her clothes washed and put away. Next up, Tim has to put the carseat in the car and put in Evie’s new seat. Then we get to teach Evie how to put herself into her new seat, if possible.

Why is it that parents always seem to give you underwear and socks for Christmas? I think I’ve figured it out. Because it’s what they want! Here we are, in the Christmas countdown. One week from today we get to unwrap all our goodies. And just yesterday I went and bought myself underwear and socks. Now go out and buy your parents their hidden necessities, they’ve been hinting at it for years.

In other news, Evie was ‘hiding’ yesterday behind the blinds when we was trying to leave to go buy me underwear. I did my usual, “Evieee? Wherree aree yoouu..” search. Of course I knew where she was, and Ory also knew where she was. Before we knew it, Ory stood in front of her and said, “EeEe, [wh]ere are you..?” I’ve never even heard the boy say her name before, yet there he was, asking her where she was. I’m a proud mommy.

Tim’s been working on his train table for the most part. He’s assembling bridges. I, on the other hand, am busy being poked and prodded by either people in the medical field, or attacked internally and externally by my offspring. I got blood drawn to check my iron levels again, and had the usual Group B Strep test yesterday. The nurse that drew my blood started off mentioning how long his day was. Thankfully, he was still a good nurse and was really quick. In regards to my vagina being swabbed, I also learned that my cervix is still closed up tight. My suspicions that the baby had dropped was confirmed. My doctor gave me a choice, I could either start my weekly visits now (I’m 35 weeks) or I could start in 2 weeks. Well, I don’t want to go next week so I said in 2 weeks, when I’ll be 37 weeks along. Now all we do is wait for progress.

My sister is still pregnant. We all made guesses of when she’d have her baby, because us normal people like having bragging rights when we’re right. Her boyfriends guessed date has come and went, my sisters guessed date has come and went, and my guessed date is today. So far, no baby. She still has 11 hours for me to be right though…

The appointment yesterday was very stressful. Now, the actual visit with the doctor wasn’t bad. As soon as he came in, Ory climbed into a chair and sat there, and Evie hid behind the examination table. Before the appointment was the hard part. They were both good in the waiting room, but Evie started getting nervous when we was pulled back in to check my weight. Evie didn’t like the nurse checking my blood pressure at all.

The worst part was when we were in the room alone. There were two trash cans, a lamp, the cabinets, magazines, two chairs, and a rolling chair. Inside the cabinets were forbidden items, and one of the trash cans was for biohazard materials. I spent the good part of 20 minutes trying to keep them out of all of the above. I was 5 minutes away from walking out when the doctor finally came in.

According to last weeks ultrasound, Kiki is measuring a week ahead. He isn’t changing my due date, but he wants to keep an eye on her size near the end. I have no intentions of breaking the families Heaviest Baby record. Evie was 8lbs 3oz and Ory was 8lbs 8oz. Evie measured two weeks behind and Ory measured on time, if I recall correctly.

In other news, Ory has learned that he can grab my pants and drag me places. He mostly drags me to where the M&M’s are. His favorite candy is M&M’s. Evie’s favorite candy is Reese’s Cups. My favorite candy is gummy bears/worms, even the sour kinds. Tim’s would probably be Swedish Fish.

I had my ultrasound today with a technician and a trainee. The first thing they asked was whether or not I wanted to know the gender. I said, “Yes.” and informed them I had a boy and girl at home. They wanted to know what I thought it was. I said, “My husband wants a boy. He has never gotten what he wanted.” They said, “So you think it’s a girl?” and I nodded. They both started laughing at me. Apparently, they already knew I was right.

I got to look at this baby much more than I did with Evie or Ory because of the trainee. She did her practicing during the viewing stage. She identified what she could, so I got a good view of the buttocks, stomach and heart. The feet were hard to see, but her hands were always near her face. She didn’t really open up her legs, so there is a chance that this baby girl could be a baby boy. I got a look though, and I think they are right and it’s a girl. Her butt is under my right breast in the head-down position, and she is laying on my right side kicking my left side. Most of the kicks I feel is actually her pushing her butt out at me. Most the kicks I feel as I try to sleep is her actual feet.

So here are the ultrasound pictures. The first picture is of the first ultrasound back in early June. Click the image to go to the picture’s page where you can comment per individual picture. You can then click that picture for the largest version.

Her name will be Kiana Selene, hereby referred to as Kiki.

My pregnancy fatigue is rearing its ugly head back into my pregnancy. For those that don’t know much about pregnancy, fatigue is a huge problem in the first and third trimester. The second trimester is the best one for most pregnant women. This is the trimester when you get your energy back, you stop throwing up, your tummy starts showing all your hard work, and you can still sleep comfortably.

Except not this time. This being my third pregnancy, I consider myself highly experienced. With my first, I threw up the entire pregnancy. With my second, I threw up until 30 weeks. This one decided to stop at around 20 weeks after the OB/GYN suggested I take heartburn medicine for acid reflux. That has stopped my porcelain visits considerably.

However, in my first pregnancy I started wearing maternity clothes at around 20 weeks in. With my second it was around 12 weeks in. I’m pretty sure I was wearing maternity within a few weeks of finding out with this one. By 10 weeks at least. I am already having trouble sleeping. My stomach is already getting in the way and the midnight bathroom trips count is increasing. I am already in the stage where I have to wake up just to roll over which is something I used to only see in my third trimester.

I have been considering taking a nap when the kids nap already. I also want to go to bed at 8:00 pm like I did in my first trimester. I won’t though. I have things I like to do in my free time that doesn’t consist of sleeping it away. I have seriously considering picking up a coffee drinking habit, although I have resisted because a lot of caffeine is bad for pregnant women.

To top it all off, Ory has been fussing through the night as he adjusts himself too. So I’ve been waking up when I roll over, and when Ory rolls over. Not counting the random events of Evie coming into bed with us. Luckily, Tim is still getting Ory when he wakes up in the middle of the night. Evie has become an equal responsibility depending on her mood. Sometimes she just won’t let me put her back to bed and Daddy has to do it. Other times, I have to do it or else. I try to do it all the time though.