SHE'S HERE!!!

Okay...I know I said I would do a post showing the baby's room. Well, I have something MUCH more interesting today. I have the baby, her name, and pictures!!!

Let me get Alice's (yes, her name is Alice-more on that in a bit) birth story down...not that I'm likely to forget it, but for posterity. Alice was due on August 14th...well that came and went. My doctor scheduled an appt for that following Monday and here is where the tale begins.

Monday, August 17th: I awoke around 4:30am to horrible back cramps and some regular cramps. I get excited thinking maybe something is happening. Sean stayed home from work to accompany me to my appt. We get to the doctor's and they do a non-stress test (passed beautifully), and check me out. NO PROGRESS! So she schedules the induction for 6pm Wednesday...I'd be staying overnight so they could use cervidil to help thin/soften my cervix and then actually induce me the following morning. I stayed home from work because my back and cramps start getting worse and I was not feeling well.

Tuesday, August 18th: I don't know why I'm dividing the rest of this into "days" because it was like one big long one to me! I seriously did not get much sleep Monday night. The pain was getting worse and I kept timing contractions...5 minutes here, 12 minutes there...frustrating! Not true labor! I called work and told them I was officially on maternity leave...I was NOT going to work having back cramps and contractions like that. My contractions were getting more regular, stronger, and lasting longer (some well over a minute or two) but nothing that would get me admitted to the hospital. Around 2 pm, I took a shower and finished packing my bag. This took entirely way longer than it normally would, but it is hard to work through back labor and contractions. I woke Sean up at 4 pm and told him it was time to go. He was adamant that we didn't have to be there until 6 (he swore I was just being a cry baby). So after about 30 minutes of telling him I was serious (and a few threats on his life) I convinced him to just "be a little early". I told him to pack his bag, which he didn't do, because he was sure they wouldn't actually induce me until Thursday morning. We got in the car and headed to the hospital. The car ride was the worst experience of my life! To say that I was screaming, writhing in pain, and clawing the car doesn't really do it any justice. We got stuck behind some large farm equipment and I think I lost it at this point. I was hysterical and IN PAIN! We got to the hospital, and Sean wanted to park the car! WTH! I told him to park by the door and forget about the effing car! We started walking in and he asked if I needed a wheelchair. I told him no, I was okay. But after about 1 minute of waiting on the elevator, I got another contraction that almost brought me to my knees, so he ran and got a wheelchair and told me to hold the elevator! Yeah, that was a task as I couldn't move and the damn door didn't sense my arm in the way. So we get up to the third floor about 15 minutes early (THANKS SEAN!) and I announce to the nurse that I have an appt for a 6pm induction that didn't need inducing! They rushed me to a room, got me in a gown, and hooked me up to the monitors. Sean had gone to move the car and bring the bags up, and got back about the time that the nurse was like, "Well no wonder you are in so much pain! I haven't seen anyone with contractions like this until the transition phase. They are lasting well over 2 minutes and are 5 minutes apart. I can't believe you are only 3-4 cm dilated." She asked if I wanted an epidural to which I said YES! About an hour and a half later the anestheologist showed up and did my epidural. Oh thank the Lord! The next few hours were relatively uneventful. My water broke on its own sometime between 9-10 pm, but I couldn't feel it. I ended up stalling at 5cm, so they went and started pitocin anyway. Sean went home to take care of Bruno for awhile, and my wonderful sister-in-law, Lauren, came and kept me company. She was also at the hospital that day/night because, as coincidence may have it, my twin brother, Ben, had surgery earlier that day to remove a tumor on his parathyroid. Sean returned about 11 pm and I was 7cm dilated. I tried to get some rest in preparation for the big delivery, but that was hard to do with my nurse coming in every hour to check me. They had to get a refresher on my epidural because it was wearing off rapidly (I told them I have woken up during surgeries). Ahh-numbness! Plus Sean was watching TV (ironically he was watching some food show-which angered me because I was starving!) but he went to sleep about midnight.

Thursday, August 20th...D Day!
Around 2 or 3 am, I was 9 cm. I apparently stalled at 9 for the next few hours and heard my nurse consult a few other nurses. What ensued was a gymnastics event! They positioned me on my side for an hour. Then my other side for awhile. Then Sean helped the nurse put one of my legs on some table and I'm sure I looked rather funny. They must have called my OB because she showed up about 5:45 and checked me out. Sure enough, I was still at 9 and part of my cervical lip was still over the baby's head. So she went in and "flipped" it up over and announces it is time to push. She woke up Sean, and together with the nurse, they held my legs and I started pushing right about 6 or a few minutes after. My epidural was wearing off and they were debating about getting another refresher, but I'm glad we decided against it. I was able to feel my contractions coming on before the monitor would pick them up. About 40 minutes later (5 contractions-15 pushes), our little girl was here! Sean said, "She looks like a little alien that has been at the bottom of a pool for too long". The doctor laughed. I was laying there wondering just how ugly she was! They plopped her up on me, and she was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. I looked at Sean and said, "She is NOT ugly!" And off she went with the nurse and her daddy to take pics, while they cleaned and stitched me up. I ended up with a third degree tear. Not too bad. Her head is pretty perfect! The dr was amazed that I got her out as quick as I did (I told the Dr I didn't want a baby with a funny shaped head...and that I was starving-could I have breakfast?). She was 7 lbs 11.8 oz (they rounded up to 12) and 20 1/2 inches long.
Very healthy baby girl! Thank you God!

It is absolutely amazing to see Sean with her. He is such the proud papa! He is very good with her. He dotes on her. It brings tears to my eyes to see him hold her and interact with her. I knew he would be a good daddy, but I am amazed at what a good daddy he is. I love him so much more every time I see him with her. I also never realized how much love you can have for something. My heart skips a beat when I lay my eyes upon her. I think it may burst sometimes because I am so happy!

We took awhile naming her. I was stuck on Scarlett prior to her being born, but once I saw her I knew she wasn't a Scarlett. So Sean and I took over a day deciding. I actually came up with her name when I saw her Friday morning. They had taken her to the nursery to do some tests, and when they brought her to me she had this little hat on with a bow. She was all precious! Laying there, swaddled snugly, and I looked at her and thought, "That is Alice Kay." Well her name isn't Alice Kay. When Sean got back to the hospital, I slept for a bit, and then after his mom and stepdad left, I told him we HAD to name her. He wanted to name her Oleandra (a combo of his great-aunt Oly and his mom Sandra) and call her Andi. I was okay with this, until I thought of his niece Olivia and how they call her Oly. I thought that was too close. He liked Kay for a middle name. I told him she was Alice. He said okay, "Oleandra Alice"...to which I said, "Alice Oleandra flows better"...and there you go. Little Alice Oleandra Parsons! Odd...I never in a million years would have thought of Alice. It is German (and related to Allison-which is my sister's middle name) and means noble truth. We are calling her Alice for now, but we may come up for a nickname.

This is when I knew she was Alice!

Uncle Ben with Alice (about an hour old)

This is one of my favorite pictures!

My first time getting to hold her after she and I got all cleaned up. She opened her eyes when I spoke to her!

Alice (5 days old) being held by daddy!

Baby's Room...Part One

I am only going to include partial pictures of the baby's room. Which will mainly only be the bedding/crib. The whole room is not quite completed. Sean and I need to figure out the flooring situation in the room. See some renter before us was obviously raised by wolves (and wolves that smoked at that!). So we (or more accurately Sean) have spent time cleaning the walls/ceiling and then repainting. The floor is also pretty disgusting. I have mopped and mopped the floors and they still seem to be filthy! So needless to say, Sean and I are on the lookout for different flooring. We looked at Lowe's the other day and found a few area rugs that would work, but not necessarily match; and some carpet, but I thought that it would give my baby rug burn!

Anyhoo...here are the pictures of the bedding (and what little bit you can see of the room). I will follow up with pictures of what I have done on my next post. To be honest, I have the pictures of the dressers (all full of tiny clothes!), but I don't have my camera with me. So, without further ado, may I introduce my baby's bedding and crib :)

Oh and I have to mention that when I was putting the mobile together Bruno kept barking at me. See he likes bears (or really any stuffed animal), so he figures it is for him when he sees one. I will have to post a picture of the bassinett in my next post as well, for there is a little pink teddy bear (thanks Kathy!!!) that is soooo soft. Bruno also sat and barked at that bear for a day or two!

Baby Shower!!!

I should just change the title of my blog to "When I Get Around To It!" I have been meaning to do this post awhile ago, but I don't get a very good internet connection at my house, so when uploading images I have found it best to wait until I am somewhere with better reception.


My wonderful sister-in-law, Lauren, threw me a wonderful baby shower! She did such a wonderful job and I am so grateful. THANK YOU SO MUCH LAUREN!!! The shower ended up being a lot smaller than we anticipated as several ladies were sick and unable to make it, but it was still a blast. Lauren decorated the mantel with a bunch of onesies. The food was wonderful; cucumber sandwiches, roll-ups, fruit kabobs, this wonderfully AWESOME marinated cheese & crackers, and some delicious punch (complete with a beautiful ice mold with punch/strawberries/mint). Some pictures for your viewing pleasure (I apologize for the order, apparently Blogger likes them in this order better):

We then played two games. One was a bunch of ultrasound pictures where we had to guess the body part(s). Needless to say, it was fun and hilarious! My best friend, Monica, won the game with the most correct answers. The next game was to guess how big my belly was (with ribbon). Lauren and I went out of the room to put ribbon around my belly to see how big it was. We then waited for everyone to cut of a piece of ribbon symbolizing how big they thought my belly was. This was quite humorous; though I could see how another woman could get upset/offended. My former next door neighbor's grand-daughter won the prize...she had the ribbon just a hair larger than I was. My mom (who kept announcing how HUGE she thought I was) got second to last place...so I guess she is right if she thinks I am that big. You could have almost gone around my belly twice!

I also have pictures of all of my gifts, but that would take forever to upload...not to mention bore you. Plus who knows where blogger would put them, and then you may be incredibly confused about what kind of shower Lauren threw me...traditional? non-traditional? Who opens presents first, then eats cake, and then eats the food??? I'll do another post with a few of my favorite presents :) Plus, pics of the baby's room!!!

A Very Productive Day (for me anyway!)

Oh this heat is killing me! And to be honest, it isn't even really that hot yet. Upper 80's. I just keep reminding myself 8 weeks (well technically less than that now-unless she decides to bake longer; and with this heat I'm willing to bet she will be "done" before that-ha! j/k). I have been living in my bikini lately. Well that isn't entirely true. When I am at HOME, I am living in my bikini. Oh, I bought a new bikini the other day. Very cute! Sean likes it, and said I looked good (or maybe it was sexy?) in it. Anyway, I won't post a picture of that! HA!

So I'm home alone this Father's Day Sunday. Sean went up north to see his dad, stepdad, and Aunt Oly. His Aunt Oly is in the hospital, as she had a heart attack the other day. I'm hoping and praying for her. Feel free to also say a prayer for Aunt Oly. One can never have too many prayers :)

So I'm home alone (well Bruno is here)...and I'm cleaning, doing laundry, and baking apple bread. I LOVE apple bread. It is easy to make, and sooooo good! I will be posting directions at the end of this (a picture will be soon to come-it is still baking). I plan on taking a loaf of it over to my dad; for Father's Day and part of his birthday present. I haven't actually gotten his real present yet. In fact, I can't even seem to find it anywhere. He wants a lavendar bush (or two), and I have checked almost every garden center around here. So in the meantime, I'm bringing him a loaf of bread-APPLE bread! You may be thinking that doesn't even seem to compare to each other, but you haven't tried the apple bread. I would be willing to give up (almost) anything I wanted for a loaf of apple bread.

I also need to really start getting things ready for the baby (who still is without a name-we have it narrowed down but probably won't name her until we see her). I am now 32 weeks and a couple of days. It just seems so surreal that I will have a little baby soon. Her room is not done. Her clothes are not washed. In fact, we are now going to have to buy a new crib (I'm happy about this) because the one Sean bought was missing parts; and those parts are discontinued because the crib is so old. Thanks honey!!! I need to pack my hospital bag, Sean's bag, and her stuff. I need to get my FMLA stuff in order. These last two things I have been purposely procrastinating on, as I'm a firm believer that I will jinx myself. As soon as my bag is packed, and the FMLA forms have been sent in I will go in to labor. I just know it. I also need to get a few spare keys made for the house. One for my father. One for my brother and sister-in-law. These are just in case I go in to labor, and none of my stuff is ready. Plus, my brother and sister-in-law have agreed to puppy-sit their canine nephew. Speaking of my sister-in-law, she is throwing me a baby shower next Sunday! I'm excited! I just hope my mom doesn't annoy me to no end, drive up my blood pressure, embarass me, or send me in to preterm labor. I guess that is probably too many things to hope for (I'm being realistic-you don't know my mom), so let's just hope and pray that I don't go in to preterm labor because of anything she does.

Okay, enough of this jibber-jabber. Here is the recipe for apple bread. I got it from cooksrecipes.com (though I have modified it a bit)

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups diced apples
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)


Preheat oven to 325. Grease two 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pans; set aside. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt; set aside. Beat the eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla together, mixing well in separate bowl. Stir in flour mixture until just mixed. Fold in apples and walnuts and spoon into prepared loaf pans. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until tooth pick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pans before removing to cool on wire racks.

*Now for my changes. I usually use whole wheat flour, but it tastes just as good with white. I don't peel the apples (call me lazy!) and I don't add the walnuts. I add more cinnamon than the recipe calls for (I love the stuff-and it is good for your blood sugar). And to be really honest, you don't need all of that sugar; you could easily cut some of it out. I have made it both ways and I think it tastes a little better without so much sugar (Sean would probably disagree), but make it how you want :) You can also sprinkle some sugar on top of the mixture after putting in the pan.

If this were high school, I'd be expelled for my excessive absenteeism!

I'm back!!! I have finally procured a means to get online while at our new place. Which reminds me...I need to take pictures soon of our new place and show them to you. I had to end up going with a mobile connect card. It has its advantages and disadvantages. I will just say I am still not thrilled at the thought of a 2 year contract on it. *Sigh* I was desperate though. I can't work on my blog (among other websites I like to visit) at work, and how was I going to show everyone my baby girl once she arrived? Snail mail? Argh! The thought is revolting.

Okay, so as I promised in my last post a long time ago this will be picture overload!!! Yeah-how fun! :) First off...Bruno. He is about 5 1/2 months here. He is really just the sweetest puppy...and really well behaved (well most of the time).









Okay and now for my growing belly! I need to take a new picture for this week. In fact, I have all of my belly pics on my computer, but I need to figure out how far along I was in all of them. Doh! So to satisfy everyone, I will only post my latest belly pic. I was 29 weeks (and please forgive any blurriness of the picture or mess in the background). Without further ado...

There is a lot more I would like to write about, but I need to go interview two more pediatricians in just a bit. I will be posting more regularly (instead of once in a blue moon) now that I have internet with me at all times (assuming I have my computer with me). Things to look forward to: pictures of our garden! It is really taking off and thriving. I don't imagine we will have any actually produce until after baby girl gets here (we started the garden a little late). I can't wait for some watermelon, cucumbers, tomatoes...yum! My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

I've been bad...

but I have a good excuse. Actually, excuses. I have been terribly busy and tired. I have been meaning to update my blog a lot sooner than this, but alas, I am bad!

So what has been keeping me busy.

*Work. The other full-time gal had her baby on April Fool's Day due to an emergency C-section. Mom and baby are both well. I'm happy to report that baby Aster got to go home on Easter Sunday. So we have been short-staffed. And I have been stressed to say the least. Good news now, my other co-worker who was on leave is now back, so I am a lot less stressed!!!

*Bruno. Bruno, you ask? Yes, Sean and I are officially insane. As if we didn't already have a lot of stuff going on this year (marriage, baby, moving, etc.) we decided to throw a puppy into the mix. We adopted Bruno almost 4 weeks ago. He is a very good puppy, as puppies go :) His birthday is the day after Sean's! So he is 4 1/2 months old. I figure this is about as good of training that we will get for the baby (without actually taking someone's baby). He has to go potty in the middle of the night, cries/whines a lot, and requires a lot of attention (and discipline). I will be posting pictures of Bruno later. Speaking of potty breaks in the middle of the night, I should point out that I sleep through those *blush*. Sean is such a great husband (or maybe he is just a much lighter sleeper than I am *laugh*) that he doesn't make his pregnant wife get up to take him out.

*Moving. No, we haven't moved yet. Sean and I decided that the house we were going to rent just wasn't a good idea for various reasons. We have found a different house in Frankfort. It required a bit of work (which may be an understatement), but Sean is doing all of the work himself. I'm optimistic that we may be able to "officially" move into the house this weekend. There will be a future post about this and pics to see the before and after.

*Being pregnant. I have been sick lately. And moody and tired. Now being pregnant doesn't make me stressed. In fact, I have probably been more pleasant than ever. Go figure! Just the stress doesn't help with the pregnancy. I am feeling a lot better today. I found out that Vicks Vapo Rub is okay to use when pregnant, so I slathered some on my feet and went to bed last night. Hopefully, one more night of that and I will be feeling like a million bucks!

So that is why I have been too busy/tired to post lately. My apologies!

Speaking of Little Bit (that is what I have been calling Baby Girl lately-since she still doesn't have a name), she has been a lot more active. I also look pregnant now. I will post some belly progression pics for your enjoyment in my next post. It is a pleasure to feel her move around and kick/punch me. I'm sure I will be complaining about the pain down the road, so I am enjoying it while I can :)

Til next time! Up next, pics of Bruno and my growing belly!

This is so hard!

I never imagined that naming a child would be this excruciating. Thank the Lord I have time before she gets here and I am obliged to name her. At the rate we are going though, her name will end up being Baby Girl Parsons. Hmph! Great parents we are going to be.

In all seriousness, this is really difficult. I really love one particular name. That name happens to be really popular. Gee, thanks Lindsay, for pointing that out! Now I'm debating said name because I don't want my daughter in school with a ton of other kids with that name. My child is unique and that deserves an unique name. No, not like crazy unique. Just unique enough that she stands a good chance to be the only kid named that in school. I could just name her what I want to name her, and go by her middle name (which is yet to be picked either-just as difficult a task) but I don't want to do that. I think the name I like sounds really great with her last name.

Thank goodness we don't have to pick out a last name either. I'm glad that is set in stone! I would probably be in a mental institute if I had to pick out 3 names! So I guess the baby's name is still Baby Girl Parsons. Maybe we'll make some headway in the coming weeks. Or maybe I will. Sean has been no help so far. My sister has; she compiled me a huge list of names that fit my criteria (well kind of). Unfortunately, none of them strike me as "the name". And I'm very glad that I found out what we are having. At least this way we have a few months.

Any tips and advice would be much appreciated.