Yay, we've survived! Can I sleep now?

Our li'l precious has been home for a week now. With a lot of teamwork from Hubby, the mother-in-law, Bubs and me we've managed to survive. Things aren't nearly as overwhelming as they were (or felt like they were) after we had the Bubs. Maybe it's the fact that I'm a bit older or maybe because the Hubs and I now have a touch of "been there, done that" goin' on. Who knows? I'm just glad that, this time around, I'm able to simply enjoy our new precious one rather than focus on how inept I feel.

We've all been delighting in our new li'l man's many expressions and baby coos and noises. Who needs a t.v., right? When his sleepy, grey-blue eyes open we all come a runnin' and generally make fools of ourselves while trying to capture his fleeting attention. So much fun!

The Bubs is a little bummed because Gammy (the MIL) leaves to go home tomorrow afternoon while he's in school. I know that he's loved having some undivided attention after all the fuss of a new baby bro. Especially with Ammah (my mom) being in the hospital again to get rid of more harmful fluid build-up. We're hoping that she'll be able to come home in the next couple of days. Then she can get plenty of grandbaby lovin' time in!

He's here!

"Just one look and I felt so, I

I, I'm in love with you"

"I found out how good it feels to have your love

Say you will, will be mine forever and always..."

Just One Look by the Hollies

That's right, y'all! Our precious new bundle is here! After the labs confirmed that I was preeclampsic, I got the call to come in Friday afternoon to be induced....and to stay calm. Ha!

Well, at least I had our bags partially packed.

After several different bags of i.v. meds, an epidural and some really harsh/rushed contractions our little guy was born.

8:06 a.m.

7 lbs. 11 oz.

19 in. long

He looks a lot like what the Bubs did when he was born, just in miniature. The Bubs was right around 9 lbs. at birth and looked like a toddler in comparison to this new little one. And speaking of the Bubs, he is thoroughly enjoying his new role of big brother. He's always willing to lend a hand, sing a lullaby and give kisses. The Hubs and I are working hard to help him transition into new routines and to understand that we are also having to learn new routines. *chuckle* I think that threw him for a loop, but he understood.

As for me, I'm feeling like I've gone a couple rounds with a prize fighter. Even so, I'm still not feeling as rough as I did after I had the Bubs. My main problem is the usual lack of sleep and not being able to be as active as I want to be. But the Hubby is home for the next couple of weeks and I have family that's here to help (or are coming) so I'm a blessed woman to have so much available help.

Well the baby is waking up and lookin' restless...Gotta go!

"Seriously, I was not planning on bein' here all day, y'all."

I had an OB doc appointment today at around 9:30 this morning. I didn't leave the hospital (where my doc's offices are) until around 3 p.m.

Why was I there that long?

High blood pressure. Ugh.

At first my bottom number (diastolic) was high...then my top number (systolic) started creeping upwards, too. Next thing I know, I'm getting the preeclampsia speech, sent waddling down to the lab, and then making my way to the labor/delivery triage area for the baby and I to be monitored. Thankfully the jerk that I encountered at my last visit -the one who went on a Tylenol tirade last time I was there- was no where to be seen. I was surrounded with competent and caring professionals for the duration of my stay. This was great for keeping the blood pressure down...'cause going postal on that guy, if he'd have been there, would not have been ideal. I'm just sayin'.

The bp did eventually go down and the baby's heart rate was fine. I was contracting a bit, but they weren't coming at regular intervals. I was sent home with lots of advice and cautionary tales....and an obnoxious looking container to put my 24-hour urine collect in. Too much info? So sorry! Bein' prego ain't an elegant thang, y'all.

The Hubby and I don't think we're going to make the April 11th due date. Heck, my doc doesn't even think I'll be much longer, either. She says this wouldn't be a bad thing since the baby looks like he's fully developed from all the info she was looking at. We'll just have to wait and see....

"Onesies..Check! Bottles...Check! Spaghetti Sauce...What?"

Out of all the baby preparations I thought I'd be making, I never thought I'd be doing freezer or make-ahead meals. It's just not something I traditionally think of as part of a baby prep regimen. I mean, there's the equipment to research and buy, clothes to purchase and wash, deciding on some sort of birth plan, nursery prep...and the list goes on and on, right?

In some of my random baby reading, I came across an article that touted the time and money saving qualities of doing meals ahead of time or at least the basics for them for right after the baby's born. At first, while its reasoning caught my attention, I'm just not the type to be that organized as to plan that far ahead when it comes to weekday meals.

Well organized or not, I'm giving the idea a try. That's right, folks, I'm taking a couple days to chop, boil, marinate and freeze my way to some no-brainer meals that either the Hubby or I can easily put on the table after the baby gets here. You know, for when we're too tired to know which end is up, but the Bubs is home from school asking, "What's for dinner?"

I'm feelin' a bit like Kate Gosselin from the TLC show, Jon and Kate Plus Eight. She's forever doing soups and such and then loading up her freezer.

Now, I know that this concept isn't a new or revolutionary one, but it's something I've never attempted before and I'm willing to give it a shot. Besides, if it will keep us away from fast food and take out, it's worth the extra effort.

Close but no cigar...

Or should I say, close but no baby. I called the clinic today about the contractions, swelling and headache (preeclampsia symptoms) I'd had the last few days thinking my blood pressure might be too high. I was immediately told to come in to the hospital and head up to the labor and delivery triage area so they could figure out what was what. So like the good little girl that I am, I went in....

Only to be made fun of.

I swear I have an internal magnet of some kind that attracts all the jerks in the medical profession right to me. *sigh*

As I was trying to tell the female doc behind the counter what was going on, some other doc rudely interrupted us and basically told me that I was an idiot for not taking more Tylenol. I'd been told by my, admittedly ditzy doc, to go easy on med dosages and I had been trying to honor that advice. I reigned in my temper at first -not easy for a stressed out prego woman- and tried to continue talking to the doc that was doggedly trying to get things sorted out. The jerk persisted in harrassing me even after he was roundly ignored! I just kept talking right over him like he didn't exist....looking back, this is prob'ly why he wouldn't leave me alone. I mean, who was I that I would be able to ignore such a wonderful specimen of medical and manly competence, after all?

Ha! My baser self really wanted to give him a double barrel flick off, but I resisted...proud of me?

I will admit that after I was settled in the little exam room and hooked up to the different monitors, my bravado faded and all I wanted was the Hubby to be there with me. He was ready to come in at a moment's notice if something was wrong, but I told him to stay at work until we knew something definite.

I was having some minor contractions, but I wasn't dilated. My blood pressure was within normal range, the baby's heart rate was strong and I was out of there within an hour. In a way I felt like an overreactive idiot for going in at all, but then I knew that we needed to be sure that nothing was wrong.

And nothing was.

Getting closer....

Now, I know that the little pregnancy ticker to the left that's tracking my progress says I'm around 35 weeks. I feel like I'm closer to 39 weeks and, developmentally, the baby is a bit further along than 35 weeks. I've been contracting with more intensity the last few days and if I'm on my feet for even two seconds, they swell to the size of pontoon boats. The baby has dropped and feels like if he gets any lower, I'm going to see a little hand waving at the world....That was gross. Sorry! If you've had a baby, you know what I'm sayin', though.

The Hubby has been helpful. Although, I know he's worried and he gets fussy with me if I do the slightest thing that he thinks is "too much for me". If I need help moving laundry hampers or picking things off of the floor, the Bubs is my guy. He hasn't complained about helping me one bit. Thank goodness! I'm grateful that he has a daddy (and a Poppi) to watch and emulate that's not afraid to touch a dirty dish, cook a meal, or tackle a load of laundry if there's a need. I mean, I'm an old-fashined gal at times, but not so old-fashioned that I want a family that expects me to wait on them hand and foot! June Cleaver, I ain't!

So the bags for the hospital trek are out and being packed and we're trying to catch up on laundry and general house straightening. Poppi (the Bub's G-Daddy) is on standby to take care of Bubs when the need arises. Some may think we're jumping the gun a bit, and there is a chance that I've got a couple or so more weeks to go, but I'm feeling that "get ready to go" urge....and not the bathroom kind of "go", either.

So while we're waiting to see what happens, we'll continue to get ready for baby. I hope we have everything.....

A nice visit with the Mother In Law...

Well.....I'm not screamin' in relief that the MIL's visit is over. It was a surprisingly pleasant visit despite some pretty gnarley winter weather. It was the height of irony that she came down to the South hoping to escape the winter blahs and what does she get? She got more snow, ice and frigid winds! There's a silver lining in all that, though. Because of the icy roads, the Bubs had a 3-hour school delay on her last day here so they were able to hang out for that entire morning. They were very happy about that, let me tell you.

My Hubby was relieved that his mom and I had a better visit than we've had recently. She was her more laid back self and I think that I'd had enough time between visits to recover. I was also too tired and super uncomfortable to get tense before she came down. Blessing in disguise, I guess!