I Now Have Two Flowers!!!!

Lily Cora
October 20, 2011
11:14 am
8 pounds 1 ounce
20 inches
Born at 39 weeks

The past few weeks of my pregnancy consisted of daily migraines. For me that includes extreme nausea, mild headaches and extreme auras that make it so I can not even see anything for about an hour. I had gone in several times to my OBGYN practice to get my blood pressure checked and it was always great. So they just began monitoring me closely. I even had a non stress test (NST) at once when she did not move during the appointment. The test ended up just perfect. The migraines were not getting any better and my vision started getting blurry as well. Although migraines for me are not unusual the frequency was what was alarming and more than anything just annoying. When visiting the midwife (whom I just loved) in the practice she told me if I was favorable then we could schedule an induction because they did not want the migraines to turn into anything more serious. I was 2-3cm dilated and effaced (although I don't know how much). Despite wanting to go natural I decided to go ahead with the induction at 39 weeks.

My last meal was waffle house because in my small town literally nothing was open at 6am. Then it was off to the hospital at 7am. After waiting in outpatient and doing some paperwork we were called upstairs around 8am. I was immediately put in a room and they started the IV and getting all the paperwork signed and blood drawn. I was still 2-3cm and around 90% effaced. Around 9am Dr. Ross started me on a very low dose of pitocin to start contractions. About 20 minutes later he came in broke my water and hooked the baby up to an internal monitor. He told me he was going back the office and he would check on me later that afternoon. I have heard my share of horror stories with induction so I was mentally prepared for the long haul. Husband was even doing work on his computer. About 40 minutes after he broke my water contractions came out of nowhere and they were strong and powerful. I immediately told my husband if I was in for a day of contractions of that intensity then I needed my epidural and I needed it right now! The two nice nurses started setting my room up for the epidural. I was literally squeezing my husband's hand with all my strength at each contraction. At one point I asked the nurse if I should go to the bathroom and poop before the epidural since I knew I would be unable to get out of bed once it was in place and I had a silly fear of pooping on the delivery table. She told me I was fine and it was probably just the baby's head putting pressure down there. At this point all I could picture was the epidural and how I wanted some relief. I remembered from my first pregnancy how amazing it could be to relax once it was in place (although with my first it was only in place about an hour before push time).

The epidural part was the worst part of the whole birth. I was experiencing the most painful contractions I had ever had while he was working on my back. He had to keep re-threading the catheter in my back because he was unable to get it between the bone. Probably because I was not curling my back in the right way because I was seriously struggling through the contractions. It felt like he had to do it a dozen times although my husband said it was more like 5 times. Finally in place I laid down and waited for relief.

This is when crazy Katrina decided to come out. I started screaming at the anesthesiologist that he needed to re-do the epidural because it was not working! I was getting contractions about a minute apart and they were so strong. He told me it would take time but I was so very impatient. The nurse and anesthesiologist tried to tell me it was fine and that it just needed time to start working. I started telling the other nurse I needed to poop again. She said she would go ahead and check me. She said I was a 7. I was thinking awesome at least I was getting progress. What she did not tell me was I was actually a 9-10 and that she did not want to scare me since my doc was not at the hospital. She told me she would go call the doctor so he could come back for delivery. While this was going on I was still telling the anesthesiologist it was not working and I needed more meds and I needed them NOW. They upped it in the IV and said relief was coming.

I heard the two nurses whispering and I asked loudly what they were talking about. She told me that a doctor from another practice had just finished delivering a baby and he was going to wait until my doctor got there just in case he did not make it. Had I been thinking clearly this would have tipped me off. Instead at the time all I could think was I am at a 7 and he is 20 minutes away and that would be plenty of time. At this point the contractions were so painful and I started screaming my husband's name at each contraction saying...Matt Matt Matt Matt over and over through the pain. I was having the most intense urge to push. My doctor got there and he said lets have a baby. I am squeezing my husband's hand and the two nurses help me hold my legs. Finally the epidural started working (in that tingly leg fall asleep way) but at this point it was practically pointless! Dr. Ross told me to just push whenever I felt the urge. I liked being able to push when I was ready instead of being told to. Less than 5 minutes of pushing and out she came! They put her on my chest and I was able to just stare at this little baby girl that had been growing inside of me for 9 months. I just stared while I took it all in. They let me hold her for quite a while until I told them they could take her away to clean her up and check her out. It was no more than 15 minutes later when she was given back to me and I got to breastfeed her for the first time. Latched right on. I was able to just hold her and breastfeed her for as long as I wanted before they took her to the nursery to be officially checked out and cleaned up. Everyone at the hospital told me how lucky I was to have an induction and labor that only about 2 hours and I do feel extremely blessed. No tearing or ripping and no pooping on the table. Recovery has been much easier and quicker this time around. Another birth for me to treasure in my memory for the rest of my life. My heart feels swollen with so much love!

She was named Lily because we love the idea of having two girls with flower names. Her middle name Cora is also her Great Great Great Grandmother's name. I have a hard time believing that I actually gave birth to two amazing little girls. I feel like one extremely lucky Mama!

Three Years Old

With Violet's 3rd Birthday Coming in just a month and the birth of my 2nd daughter not far behind I reflect on the last 3 years. I can definitely say they have been the best 3 years of my life. Violet amazes me every single day. She also has logic in situations that beats me out all the time. I love every single smile she puts on my face.












The other day she told me "I love you so much Mama that I will not throw you to a pit of snakes or to the big bad wolf." It does not get much better than that.

Violet's Birth Story

Violet Kaitlyn
October 14, 2008
12:04pm
7 pounds 14 ounces
20¾ inches long
Born: 37 weeks and 4 days
Apgar scores: 8, 9

Background: My husband, Matt, got a great attorney position 2 hours from where we had been living in Orlando. Since I was in my last trimester I did not want to leave my OB office or change hospitals since Winnie Palmer is such a great hospital to deliver in (all 11 floors dedicated only to the birthing of babies). Matt moved on down to our new home and I stayed with my parents the last 2 months of my pregnancy. He came to Orlando to stay with me on weekends.

Monday October 13th I experienced mild cramps all day long. They were not painful and hardly noticeable. By nighttime they had subsided. That night I watched Halloween 2 with my parents (we had planned on watching them all by Halloween). When I went to bed around 11pm I started to experience the cramps again, just enough to be uncomfortable while lying down. I thought they might actually be contractions but by 1am they stopped and I went to sleep. At 4am Tuesday October 14th I woke up to go pee. I tried to go back to sleep but was extremely uncomfortable. About 15 minutes later I had to pee again. I tried again to go back to sleep but was unable to find any position that was comfortable. I began to have what I can only describe as cramps. They were keeping me from finding a comfortable position. I decided to turn on the TV because I knew I would not be able to go back to sleep. Not long after I had to pee yet again and the cramps were becoming slightly more uncomfortable. At 5am I called my husband because I was uncomfortable and I just wanted to talk to him. A few minutes later I heard a very loud noise outside my sliding glass door. My dog, Princess, heard it as well. I could tell Matt was tired so I hung up with him and used my cell phone to call my mother who was upstairs sleeping. I asked her to come down and sit with me since I was uncomfortable, unable to sleep and now slightly scared from the noise outside (after watching scary movies I tend to be jumpy). By 5:15am we got up to watch TV in the family room. Around 5:45am the pain started to get worse. I called Matt and he told me to go get a shower because these could be contractions and the shower could help. I took a shower and washed my hair but while I was in the shower the cramps started getting worse. I had an OB appointment at 10am so I was desperately trying to wait until the appointment to see if what I was feeling were contractions and to see if I had made any progress since last week when I was 3cm, 60% effaced and 0 station. Matt begged me to go in at 8:30am when the office opened instead of waiting. Then he told me I should go to the hospital to get checked out. I was scared of being sent home and told that this was not the real thing. At 6:30am the pain was so bad I could no longer sit or stand and the only way to alleviate the pain was tho keep walking and not sit still. I called Matt and told him I would go to the hospital. I spent a little time getting my things together and then my parents drove me to the hospital that is 15 minutes away. It was in the car that I knew these were actually contractions. My dad timed them and they were about 2 minutes apart.

At the hospital I checked into triage. By this time I was silently crying from the pain. I was lucky as there was only one family in the triage waiting room. I filled out a brief form (since I pre-registered) and under reason for visit I wrote: PAIN. I waited about 10 minutes all during which I could not sit or stand comfortably so I paced the waiting room. When I was called back my mom came with me and they checked me to see if anything was going on. I was 8cm. Within seconds I had 6 or so nurses in the small triage room hooking me up to monitors, stripping my clothes off and putting in an IV. I could not call my husband as there was no signal in the room. I was wheeled on a gurney to the 2nd floor, which is the labor and delivery floor. The triage nurse said I was by far the best patient she had ever seen that came in at 8cm. I enter my room around 7:30am. Asked if I want an epidural, I say yes (but in hindsight I realized I would have been fine without it). Immediately the anesthesiologist enters the room. I took the giant needle with little problem but when they stuck the catheter in and it touched my spine I jumped because it HURT! It felt like lightening running down my spine. Of course she had to reinsert it but she used more numbing meds and this time it hardly hurt at all. After it took affect the super nice nurse named, Casey checked me and I was still 8cm. At almost 9am Matt arrived after going through the worst traffic to get to me. I was so happy to see him. Not my OB but the more senior OB at the practice is already at the hospital for 2 other births so he would be my doctor. After one C-section and another quick birth he comes in to break my water. He checks me I am 9cm and he breaks my water. It is a massive flood of warm water. I sit for an hour to see what happens. When the hour is up I am checked and I am 10cm and ready to push. I was not a fan of the pressure and I had a hard time holding my breathe for the 10 second counts. I asked for a leather strap to bite down on but being the 21st century I used a rolled up hand towel instead. After 40 minutes of pushing with the nurse the doctor is called in to deliver. This is where I turn absolutely crazy. The pressure is too much for me and I start to flail my legs and grab hold of the bed with a death grip while saying I can’t do it. My husband describes it as I was a crazy person with my head spinning. I nearly kicked the doctor as the nurse and my husband hold my legs back. The doctor is casually putting on his gloves and tells me to do a preliminary push. After this I shut my eyes and push and I feel her head pop out and her shoulders slam against bone. I scream. At 12:04pm I feel the doctor grab her head twist and she just slides on out. Instantly the pain is gone. I lay there in disbelief as they place her on my stomach. I have no rips but I did have a giant bruise down there. Usually after 1 hour, mom and baby are transferred to one of the recovery floors. I had to wait 3 hours because of heavy bleeding. Nothing was wrong it was just more blood than normal so I had to stay on the labor and delivery floor until I was cleared. Overall as a first time mom I feel blessed to have had such an easy birth.

I get all mushy and happy when I think of her birth story.

Year in Review....We are so Ready for 2012

Started the year by cracking my dental bridge. Which meant paying for a new one (usually done every 10 years and it had been 11 so I was due). First bridge replacement broke which meant going through the entire removal and reinsertion process all over again. Complete with dental needles that feel like snake bites with venom coming out!

My daughter suffered a severe concussion by tripping on a ball at daycare. This meant an overnight stay in a children's hospital. My heart could hardly take it!

When she went in for her CT Scan they asked if I was pregnant. I laughed and said no. Then I said wait. I thought to myself that I was actually due with my period that very day but had not thought much of it. So I said I better wait outside and my dad went in with my daughter during her scan. She did great and it was super quick. He told me that she did not even move!

A few days later I decided to take a pregnancy test. Positive!!!!! Complete shocker for us both. Due date 10-27. Note: this is the best thing that has happened this year so far.

Leak found in our floor. Rip up very expensive laminate floor. Wait 12 weeks before insurance will let us put in the replacement flooring.

My husband's 11 year old truck stops going in reverse. For a month he drives and parks in a way so he does not have to go in reverse. We get him a new car through a lease 2 months before his firm starts paying for a car stipend.

I am deemed high risk for a hematoma in my uterus. Goes away by week 21. At week 24 found high fluid levels. Even higher risk and more peri appointments. I have had 2 echos on her heart (everything looks good) a long with at least 10 ultrasounds! I love to see her and to hear her heartbeat but I am tired of doctor appointments. They make me super anxious because I always fear the worse.

At 28 weeks I switched high risk doctors. First one had no bed side manor and was all doom and gloom. I now see an amazing group of maternal fetal specialists at a baby hospital 2 hours away. They said I am officially a normal pregnancy now but I they will let me see her just one more time to make me feel better.

The library I work at has been in complete construction mode for 6 weeks. It is officially done as of today. I can finally put everything in order so that it feels like a library. It is small but I do take pride in my work space!

Most current problems. This week we found termites in our custom cabinets that were put in 2 years ago. Next week the house must be tented for 3 days. We are currently eating odds and ends out of the fridge and cabinets since we will have to remove all food from the house.

Another upside is that I have won a lot of really amazing baby giveaways. This mama loves free stuff!

I do have multiple things to look forward to. Violet has a few birthday parties to attend. I have some baby showers to attend, including one for my best friend that I am co-hosting. Then my husband is in a wedding and my daughter will be one of the flower girls. Then the cherry on top is the birth of my 2nd daughter. I can't wait to meet her!

I think that is it. I am due in less than 8 weeks and I have done absolutely nothing except wash all of Violet's old baby clothes. As soon as the termite tenting is done then I am going into full nesting mode. Husband better watch out!

My Little Mermaid

My daughter is only 31 months old and she rocks at swimming. She can swim all the way across the shallow end of the pool all by herself and just this last weekend she started swimming to the bottom of the shallow end of the pool and retrieving dive sticks all on her own. We call her our little mermaid. People are constantly asking where she learned to swim. It was all through Infant Swimming Resource which I also did 29 years ago. They really do teach swimming skills that will last a lifetime.

Please ignore the crappy resolution on the camera. Since I am huge into mommy blog giveaways I of course won a really crappy spongebob underwater camera. It is the only camera we have that can go underwater so these are better than nothing.

New Look

I recently won a giveaway for a blog makeover and boy did I need it. The template I found online and had been using for over a year was just not cutting it. I just LOVE my new look. Simple and the perfect colors for me. A huge thank you to Emily Grace for all the hard work she put into it. Thanks so very much. I just love it.

I feel Something!!!

For the last week I have felt the flutterings of baby girl #2. It is only the beginning of the best part of pregnancy...feeling baby move around in there. It has gotten me super excited!!!!

Just finished up father's day cards on shutterfly with new pictures. I am slightly obsessed with shutterfly and all I can do on it. No joke I have at least one annual photo book in progress and I make super cute holiday cards for every little holiday. Just a little something extra when sending pics to family. I ALWAYS have multiple coupons that I use. Heck I even have $20 in credit for baby announcements for when the baby gets here.

I decided to add a pic of my awesome husband throwing my daughter up in the air in the pool. My daughter is seriously a mermaid in the water!!!

Silver Lining

Our family has had one of the toughest years we have ever had. A couple of months ago Violet suffered a severe concussion while at daycare. Just this week my Granny Violet whom my Violet is named after suffered a major concussion complete with passing out in a pool of blood while shopping at the store. She is still in the hospital unable to walk or move much without getting dizzy. I have already made 2 trips across the state to visit her. She is my last living grandparent and she is very special to me so it has been really hard for me.

Our house issues include a leak under our wood floors that are only 2 years old. We have been battling insurance for over 12 weeks to fix it. It was only hours ago that it was finally fixed. No more living on concrete floors while waiting for insurance to pay for our new wood floors.

My laptop also broke after 2 and a half years so I am currently using my new and really fast pink computer. It is cute and I love it. Happy Mother's Day for me. If it has not been one expense it has been another.

The one bright spot is I am pregnant with our 2nd baby!!!!! I am currently 16 weeks and 2 days which puts me due on October 27th. Violet was due October 31st and came all on her own on the 14th. So I really hope this baby chooses any day but that one so they can each have their own day. We are super super excited and this will probably be our last baby. Of course nothing this year comes for this family without difficulties. I have a hematoma in my uterus which puts me at high risk. So that means twice as many doctor appointments for me and one nervous MaMa. An early ultrasound shows that this baby will be a Baby Girl!!!!! I will find out for sure on the 24th. It seems there is no stem on this apple.

First Real Injury Complete With Ambulance Ride and Hospital Stay

Last month I got my first part-time job since having Violet. It is the position of librarian at a small college in the area where I am to build the library from scratch. Wednesday morning I had only been to work 15 minutes when I got the dreaded call from daycare. My daughter had fallen on the back of her head in the playground and had cried for 15 minutes but at that point she was only sniveling and they told me they were watching her closely. I was slightly worried but not too much at this point. Another 15 minutes go by and I get another call. This time the director told me that Violet said she wanted to go back to class with her friends and on the way there she threw up. Instantly I knew it was a concussion and I flew out of work to go and pick her up. When I get there I see her sitting with her sippy cup and her teacher told me she had just thrown up again. Violet told me she fell on her noggin and she tripped on a ball. I scoop her up put her in the car-seat and head out of the parking lot. While all this is going on my parents happen to be in town to help us with another issue with our house. They met me at the daycare and my mom hopped into the car to talk to Violet on our way to the pediatrician.

On the way she threw up again. I had my husband call the pediatrician back and ask if we should go to the hospital instead. They said we should and I immediately took her to the ER. When we walk in a triage nurse immediately takes me to the back room without even filling out paperwork. While giving them all the information she vomits again. We get back to an ER room and I lay down with her on the gurney. She vomits 2 more times and she is super lethargic. They order a CT scan and we immediately go back and get it. At this point we have only been at the ER for an hour. Since I am of child rearing age and you just never know I can not go back with her and my dad does instead. She is wrapped in a lead vest and sits perfect still through the whole thing. About an hour later we get the good news that her CT scan shows no internal bleeding or cracked skull. During all the waiting V takes a long nap in my arms. We are then told that they have called her pediatrician team and the trauma team and we will either get to go home while monitoring her, she will be admitted to the hospital for observation or she will be sent to a hospital with a children's ward an hour away. Two long hours later I find out that she is getting transferred to the other hospital. My husband is there at this point so I rush home to get an overnight bag for myself and Violet and I get back to the hospital after picking up a quick lunch for myself. While I was gone V had to get an IV put in for the ambulance ride, multiple tubes of blood taken and she had to have a catheter put in for a urine sample to make sure she was stable for the ride. Thankfully my husband and mother were there for her because she cried so hard. I felt just awful.

An hour after that the ambulance transfer team arrives. She is put into a car-seat which is then strapped to the gurney. All of a sudden at this point she starts smiling and she proceeds to chat away on the hour journey to the other hospital. First ambulance ride for her and for myself. I am not a fan of sitting sideways as I tend to get motion sick. We arrive at the other hospital and we go to the pediatric ER where we wait for hours till they decide what to do with us. The trauma team comes in and says that they are going to release us to go home and to monitor her. At this point I am just like why the crap were we transferred all the way down here then. They consult with the trauma attending and he disagrees. We are to be admitted. We wait a couple more hours and finally her room is ready. Complete with crib and bubble top because under 3 they have to be in a crib and the bubble top is so she does not crawl out in the night. Exactly 12 hours after the accident happened at daycare she is admitted to the hospital. Visiting hours are already over so my parents kiss her goodbye and head to my house. I lay her down in the crib after she tells me she is really tired. I had just got in the mail a woogie (which is a stuffed animal to hold an ipod touch with speakers inside) from a giveaway win and she cuddled right up with it while it played rock-a-bye baby music. Only one parent can stay overnight so my husband heads home for the night. I fall asleep right after he leaves. Every 4 hours they wake her and take vitals and check her pupils. It is an uneventful night.

In the morning my husband brings me a much needed sugar free vanilla iced coffee from McDonalds. Violet devours the fairly tasty hospital food and we sit and wait. Thankfully at 10 the playroom down the hall opens up and Violet spend her time playing with all the toys and puzzles. Then a nice gentleman comes in and shows her and 2 older kids some sea life. Violet gets to hold a starfish, whelk and poke an anemone. She loved every second of it. The guy let her touch and handle everything. Violet shows no fear. Then my parents show up with balloons. After playing for a while and a quick lunch and she is out for a nap. Matt and I go for lunch in the cafe while my parents watch her sleep. After lunch my husband heads back to work to prepare for a big case he has in the morning. Around 3:30 the trauma team checks on her and she is released. After all the tape that holds the IV is painfully removed and the tears fade away we scoop her and everything up and head out of there.

She is already back to her normal self as if nothing happened. I am more concerned with the radiation she received during her CT scan. In fact I cried about it once we got home and all was well. I have to look at it by seeing there is nothing that I can do now and she needed it to check for issues in the brain. It still scares me to think about her major dose of radiation but right now I am just happy to have my baby girl napping in my lap. 2011 is proving to have one surprise after another for our family. Hopefully all future surprises will be happy!