I'm Baaaaaaaack!

Wow. It has almost been three months since I last posted. I am clearly a slacker and although the handful of you who actually read this have probably given up on me, I am returning. Prepare yourselves for my comeback! (Do you first have to be popular and/or talented to have a comeback?) Anyway, here is what you missed:

1. I started a new job in early June. Same company. New and more important sounding (key word: sounding) title. Minuscule raise, but overall a much happier place to work.

2. We took a lovely vacation to Buffalo in late June. Well, mostly lovely. It's a sixteen hour drive. Haeden threw up all over himself at about hour number six. It was quite pungent, and it was everywhere. We stopped at the first exit and Dan ran into a Kmart for paper towels, cleaner and an air freshener (which may or may not have made the smell worse). He removed and cleaned the car seat while I tried to wash Haeden down with wet wipes. I think we drove for another half an hour before stopping. I quickly bathed Haeden and myself and put him in his pack-n-play with his sippy cup of milk. Not even five minutes later the projectile vomiting occurred again. And do you know why? Some idiot (me) was feeding him spoiled milk. Yeah, not one of my proudest parenting moments. He paid it forward that very night by repeatedly punching, kicking and slapping me while sharing the double bed with me and Dan. He spent the rest of the trip in various states of illness, including fever, runny nose, diarrhea, and eventually ear infection. Since this is not the first time he has gotten sick while out of town, I'm thinking the kid doesn't like to travel. Other than Haeden's cooties, the trip was marvelous. The weather was amazing, the scenery magnificent, the food was delicious and fattening and it was wonderful to see the Hubert clan all together. Pictures to follow at the end of the post.

3. Since one vacation per summer is never enough, I made plans to visit my sister in August. The kicker is that she didn't know it! My mom and sister planned a little mini vacation in the mountains of North Carolina. They (along with the BIL) rented a house in  Hendersonville and planned to meet up. What my sister didn't know is that Haeden and I were tagging along. I had to keep that secret for three LONG months. I can't keep anything a secret. I tell people about their presents before their birthdays and I actively search for my own presents because I just can't handle the suspense! It was crazy hard and other people almost blew it a number of times. My hubby even posted to FB that I was going to be gone all weekend and she freaked out and called everyone trying to find out if I was there. I had to come up with some ridiculous story at a moment's notice to convince her that it was just Mom waiting on her arrival. Thank God my sister is gullible. And the end result?! Awesome! She flipped out and screamed her head off, scaring the daylights out of Haeden who then screamed his head off. Very funny stuff!
4. I turned 27 last week. I'm officially in my late twenties now. It's surreal to think that ten years ago I was starting my senior year of high school. So much has happened since then. I think I'm in a pretty good place at the moment, although I do wish I had my degree. Or better yet, if we're gonna dream we ought to dream big. I wish I had my own bakery. Ah well. There is still plenty of time, I hope.
5. Haeden had his 15 month wellness appointment (re: shots! boo!) yesterday. I didn't even realize he needed one of these, which is why he just had it yesterday (already 16 months old). Anyway, he has finally put on a little weight and is up to 24lbs 9oz and 32 inches long. He is in the 50th percentile for both categories. He's really fallen as far as the percentages go, but it isn't something I'm worried about. The boy does not sit still. I mean ever. Even when he's sleeping he is constantly moving around (just ask my bruised ribs). The only other thing that stood out during the appointment was that he isn't talking yet. I figured it wasn't something to worry about until he was two, but the pediatrician says otherwise. According to the experts, he should be regularly using at least six words right now. I don't think he uses any words on a terribly regular basis, other than maybe mama and dada. We have heard all sorts of things in the past: eyes, eat, up, doggy, fish, but for the most part he just babbles. He is big on the pointing and grunting though. Maybe he should be a caveman for Halloween?! Anyway, if he doesn't expand his vocabulary to at least twelve words in the next two months, the want us to make an appointment to have him evaluated by a speech therapist. I still feel like this is jumping the gun, but we'll see what happens.

So, that's the summer in a nutshell. I will try to post more regularly from here on out since I know you all have missed them so (Hi Mom! Hi Dad!). And now for the pictures...

Letchworth State Park - NY

Letchworth State Park

Grandma's swimming pool

With Aunt Robyn

Haeden's Room

I have been wanting to share Haeden's room for quite some time. It has definitely been a labour of love for me, and like any other room in the house, is always evolving. I still have a few details in the works, but here are some pictures Dan took over the weekend:

This is the view from the door. Thanks to a tutorial from Young House Love, I was able to make the crib skit and valances myself.  You don't even have to know how to sew! Normally I would consider the Jenny Lind style crib and changing table too girl for a boy's room, however, we were on a budget and the changing table was handed down from a friend. We were able to find the matching crib and mattress on Craigslist and it sealed the deal, feminine or not!

View from the very comfortable rocker, which just so happens to be the most expensive item in the room. Totally worth it though!

This is another DIY favorite. While I was pregnant, Dan, the kids and I each created a watercolor for Haeden's room. It's pretty easy to guess which one is Dan's, but you probably can't tell the difference between mine or Daniel and Patrick's! These are hung up above a small bookcase which created some storage space for small toys, shoes, and books, of course! In the picture above, you can see that there are two pull-out bins that allow hidden storage, which is key in any kid's room, I think!

Here is the top of Haeden's dresser. The ABC print is from Penny People, an adorable shop on Etsy. I love this print, and if he ever thinks he is too old for it, I'm just going to hang it up somewhere else in the house! The fun elephant lamp base came from Pottery Barn and although it was more than I was hoping to spend on a lamp, I think it suits his room perfectly. In the future I will replace the lampshade with something a little more punchy.

I got the idea to frame an article of clothing from another blog a long time ago and decided to pick up an inexpensive shadowbox frame at Michael's. One of Haeden's newborn onesie's fit perfectly and I couldn't resist tacking in his hospital I.D. bracelet and copy of his footprint. Also hung over the crib are two of our favorite newbie shots of Haeden. I love having these little reminders of how small he once was. It still seems like yesterday!

I found a tutorial on how to make your own silhouettes and totally went to town making these for Haeden's Grandmothers. You know I had to keep one for his room! I made the mini dinosaurs out of paper and the larger one is Haeden's first piggy bank, gifted to him by his Grandma. And Dan and I could not resist setting up a few messages for Haeden with the old-fashioned wooden blocks. There is another set on the bookcase that says "Sweet Dreams 2 Haeden".

That just about does it. Hope you've enjoyed our little nursery tour. I absolutely love this room and the fact that it makes me smile every time I enter. Okay, so maybe not every time. Definitely not during those 3am wake-up calls!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Birth Story- Part 3

As soon as we arrived home I phoned the physician on-call while Dan started packing the hospital bag. That is something you should do in advance, of course, but we were not expecting this! Most people told us to be prepared to have the baby a week after the estimated due date, not two weeks before!

As suspected, the doctor told us we had to go into Labor and Delivery at the hospital to make sure my water had really broken (see, I wasn't the only one who thought I might have peed myself!). After changing clothes and double-checking our bags for everything we might need, we headed towards the hospital. The nursing staff was expecting us and when we arrived they brought us into an exam room.  Right away I was hooked up to a couple of different monitors and the nurse tested the, ahem, fluid. She told us we weren't going to be going home that night, we were going to be having a baby!

It was a busy night in L&D and they had to kick some poor new mom out of my room. Don't worry, they just send them to the dreaded, non-renovated part of the hospital for the rest of their stay. While we waited, the nurse asked me if I had been having any contractions yet. I didn't think I was, but I told her about the back pain I'd been having over the last hour. A little acheyness that would come and go, but nothing serious. She looked at me,  laughed, and pointed to one of the monitors asking if I was having any pain at that moment. I nodded my head, finally understanding that I was having back labor. Unfortunately, according to my birthing class instructor, it was the worst kind! Wonderful!

As we settled into the room, Dan alerted the media moms that we were being admitted. Ellie, knowing it would probably be hours upon hours before anything really started to happen, decided to stay home and get some sleep. Mom, however, could not contain her excitement and raced over to the hospital despite the fact that it was around one o'clock in the morning and I was only dilated to 3cm. She hung around the waiting room for a while, encouraging us to get some sleep. Those were the nurses orders, too.

Orders or not, sleep did not occur that night. Between the nervous excitement, the steadily worsening contractions and the fact that I was hooked up to several monitors that beeped at me every time I tried to rolled over and change positions, neither Dan nor I got any rest. Each time the nurse came to check on me or adjust one of the monitors, she asked if I wanted to go ahead and get the epidural. I declined, remembering the advice of our birthing class instructor. I was trying to hold out as long as possible because sometimes the epidural can slow the progress. The problem was that I had no idea how quickly, if at all,  I was progressing. When your water breaks you are at a greater risk for infection and the hospital staff doesn't want to check the cervix too often. I had made up my mind that I would just try to endure the pain for as long as I possibly could.

About 6am a nurse came in to let us know they had spoken with the physician on-call and she had decided to start me on pitocin to increase the intensity and frequency of  my contractions. Due to my water breaking, we were on a time constraint. The baby would need to be delivered within 24 hours. She asked one more time if I wanted to go ahead with the epidural, reminding us that shift change was about to occur and it would push the request back if we made the decision too late. I wavered on the decision, but ultimately declined again. Dan, waiting until I was out of earshot and in the restroom, told the nurse to put me on the list anyway. He knew that I was going to need it once the pitocin kicked in. Thank God she listened to him, that smart man of mine.

Just after I was hooked up to the pitocin, the anesthesiologist came in to administer the epidural. We lucked out because the girl ahead of us decided to wait, meaning I was able to receive mine before the shift change! I was so incredibly nervous about the epidural. Again, I had no idea how far dilated I was, and I had heard so many horror stories. Plus, it's a big (okay, probably not that big) freaking needle poking you in the spine! I had to sit up on the side of the bed with my feet on a chair and try to hunch over, keeping my back curved. They told me to let them know if I was having a contraction because they would stop and wait for it to pass. Being that my contractions were in my lower back, I couldn't tell if the pain I was experiencing was due to the epidural or a contraction. So, rather than say anything, I clenched my teeth and dug my fingernails into my hand. This tactic must have worked pretty well because once they were done, the nurse told me I was the quietest and most compliant patient she'd even seen. I don't know if they say that to everyone, but I felt pretty proud of myself!

The epidural took effect almost immediately. It made a world of difference for me. Minutes after laying back in bed, Dan and I looked at the monitor and saw that my contractions were off the charts! Luckily, I didn't feel a thing. It was wonderful! The nurse checked my cervix and told me I was dilated to 4cm. A short while later, the physician on-call came in to let us know she was leaving. We asked her when we might be able to expect the little guy's arrival, although we knew she couldn't give us an exact time. We wanted to know when to tell the grandparents-to-be when they should arrive (we had asked them if they wanted to be in the room when Haeden was born). She estimated 2pm and said it'd be a good idea to have them arrive around noon just in case things progressed quickly.

For some reason the doc was still on the floor at 8am. She came in and said she wanted to check me one more time before she left for good.We were all surprised to find that in under an hour I had gone from 4cm to 6cm. Things were happening much faster than expected and she told us to call our family and let them know they should head to the hospital. Another hour passed. We were still waiting on the family to arrive and I was starting to feel very uncomfortable. I asked the nurse if I should press the epidural button I was given to release more medication into the catheter. She asked me if I was feeling pressure or pain. When I told her it was mostly pressure, she said that it probably wasn't going to help me at that point but if it made me feel better I could certainly try! *

The nurse checked me one last time. I was fully dilated. As she left to notify the doctor, Dan's mom arrived. She walked in and I was overcome with emotion. I don't know what it was. I was terrified and excited at the same time and I just started to cry. I felt like an idiot and sat there for a few minutes laughing and crying at the same time. Trying to regain my composure. I thought I would do the whole thing over again when my mom arrived, but at that point I was getting ready to push. The doctor came in along with a team of what seemed like twenty people (probably more like five). Nobody tells you that there are going to be that many people staring at your crotch. What they do tell you is that you will want that baby out so bad that you won't even care. All modesty goes out the window. That may be true for some people, but not me. I was fully aware of all of the eyes on me. I was desperately trying not to make eye contact with anyone and ended up closing my eyes both during and in between the pushing.

I don't know exactly how long I pushed, but it had to have been less than 15 minutes **It was incredibly painful, and between that and all the people watching me, I was determined to get him out and FAST! Three or four big pushes and the doctor tells me, "Hesper! Open your eyes, he's coming!" I looked down just as he entered this world. They put him in my arms almost immediately. I looked down and through the tears saw his beautiful face. I couldn't believe how tiny he was. And I will always remember the hiccups. The poor thing came into the world with a bad case of the hiccups. We were told not to worry, it doesn't hurt them, but it sure did make him mad.

I will never forget that first moment. Even now, over a year later, I feel my pulse quicken just thinking about the rush of emotions. The relief. Excitement. Fear. And most importantly, the tremendous amount of love. It  is just astounding. My life changed forever in that moment. I changed.

I love you, sweet Haeden. Always and forever.

*And this is the part where I admit that I thought the epidural would mean that I would have virtually no pain during the actual birth of my child. Um, I was wrong!

** Just want to add that I cannot believe how fortunate we were with Haeden's birth. Not only did we get to meet our precious little man two weeks earlier than expected, but my labor and delivery went as smoothly as it possibly could have. Plus, look at that face up there!!!

Birth Story- Part Deux

I had no plans to go back to work that afternoon. Instead, I went home to take a nap and wallow in my self pity. When Dan got home he came in to assure me that I would not, in fact, be pregnant forever. He tried to remind me I could go into labor at any time. He suggested we go for a walk before getting ready for Stephanie's birthday dinner that evening. I pouted and told him there wasn't really any point because I had been walking the entire pregnancy and it didn't seem to be doing me any good! After a little bit of coaxing I gave in and waddled around the block for the very last time.

We met up with some people at 7pm to celebrate my friend, Steph's, 26th birthday. Her actual birthday is the first week of May, but she decided to have the dinner early just to make sure we'd be able to attend. Obviously Dan and I are the life of every party. haha! The dinner was at Cantina Laredo which is basically a fancy restaurant that serves over-priced Mexican food. Around 8:30pm, right after we ordered our desserts, I felt a little... something. I ignored it the first time, it was just a trickle. I told myself that I was probably laughing and just lost control a little bit. A few minutes later I felt it again. A little more this time. The wheels in my head started turning and I started to panic. I leaned over to Dan and whispered, "Either I am losing control of my bladder, or my water just broke."  He looked at me and laughed, obviously thinking I was making a joke. I told him I was serious and got up to go to the bathroom to check things out.

I will spare you the details of that trip. Basically, I was afraid that I had really lost control of my bladder. I did not want to go to the hospital only to be told that I peed myself! I had heard that it happens quite often! I also had expected that if my water would  break on it's own that it would be more of a gush, not the slow leak that I was experiencing. You know, like in the movies. Thanks, Hollywood!

I came back to the table and told Dan that I still wasn't 100% sure. At that point, only one other person was aware of what was going on. Dan wanted to go ahead and go, but I didn't want to cut Stephanie's evening short since we were driving her home. We kept it on the down low and thankfully the check came only a few minutes later. Dan held my trembling hand and as we made our way outside, I thanked God that I had worn black pants. Once outside one of the girls wanted to get everyone together for some group photos. We tried to politely decline and told them we really had to get going. When she kept insisting we finally blurted out that my water had broken inside the restaurant and we needed to get home and call the doctor.

After all the cheers and hugs, we nervously raced home and did just that...