Food Prepping for the Week

SO, SIDE NOTE... I BASICALLY NEVER DID THIS AGAIN... OOPS!

Originally posted- Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Food Prepping for the Week

I can't tell you how many things I have looked up on Pinterest to try to get my food situation for my family of 4 (soon to be 5) organized, budget-trimmed, and non-food-wasting by Jan. 1, 2013.

Well, here are my first efforts.

My inspiration comes from this blog:
http://www.greenplaterule.com/health-nutrition/sunday-night-prep-to-eat-clean-all-week/
(You can also find her various Mason Jar Salad recipes there.)

I do think of all the things I have read, the most important is to PREP everything before you put your groceries away right when you get home.  So-- if you buy a bag of carrots--- wash and cut them up before they ever enter the fridge.

I also bought a bunch of square and rectangle storage in different sizes for easier fits (than circles).  I wish they were ALL glass, but the plastic was under $1 each compared to $9 for the glass Versaware I covet (and own 3 pieces of).  My hope is to slowly replace these and meanwhile ONLY use them to store and organize fresh foods (never anything hot, etc).  I am thinking of them as organizational bins.  The size I used the most of were the 64 oz rectangular bins.

First-- I tried all sorts of "The Perfect Grocery List", but in the end, I  used this list, which I love-- I hope that link has longevity-- it's: http://www.grocerylists.org/ultimatest/
I use the vegetarian one.

So-- my prep this week consisted of:

-Cleaning out the entire fridge and freezer and labeling shelves
-5 smoothies
-24 applesauce oatmeal muffins
-Cut veggies: cauli, broccoli, carrots, peppers
-1 mason jar salad (want to see how we like it first)
-Grapes
-2 school lunches
-Hard boiling 8 eggs
-Prepping 1 bag dry black beans
-Prepping 1 cup (dry) steel cut oats

It wasn't terribly exhaustive-- the hardest part as I'm sure many of you moms know-- was doing this with my 5 and 2 yr olds running around.  (Last day of Winter Break can be rough.)  It took me 3 hours including all interruptions, but I wasn't terribly efficient this time.

Here are some pictures that I hope help you kickstart your own prep.  I'd like to have done more, but am 6 mos pregnant and figured I'd start slow.  My goal is to be in the swing of this by the time baby comes, otherwise, it'll for sure be another thing I pinned the crap out of and only did once.  ;)  Most blogs I saw said it takes them just 60-90 minutes now to prep for the week.

Definitely worth it to me for the two biggest reasons:
1.  Waste less money
2.  Waste less time during the week
(I know healthy snacks for weight loss are many peoples top reason, but right now I want to save time and money!)

Good luck!

#1 Applesauce Muffins

Applesauce Muffin recipe: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Applesauce-Cinnamon-Oat-Muffins

These will be my go-to breakfast item-- for the entire family.

NO butter in these!  :)

I followed the recipe exactly, except I doubled it, used 2 whole eggs, and used an entire jar of organic applesauce--24 oz.  (Which is just a few extra tbsps applesauce).  

These are DENSE, but pretty healthy, and go great with a cup of tea.

#2 Smoothies

5 ziplocs-- in each one:

1 cut up banana, 4 frozen strawbs, 1 tbsp flax meal, 2-3 spinach leaves

FREEZE

Grab one, dump in blender & add 1 cup almond milk for a smoothie

#3 Veggies

 Cut up carrots (I don't peel, I like the skin, but peel now if you are a peeler.)  Cut up broccoli, celery, cauli, red and green peppers, etc-- put a small amount of fresh water at the bottom of the containers of celery & carrot.

 #4 Mason Jar Salad-- 

on the site I reference above, she has tons of different mason jar salads-- they stay good for 5 days and you just put dressing in and shake it up!

 Applesauce muffins are cooled and going into storage-- the 64 oz container fits 12 muffins.  12 into the freezer, and 12 on the counter.

 2 school lunches (adult and 5 yr old)-- I just kept taking leftovers and putting them into their lunches as I prepped.

 12 muffins and the 5 smoothies in the freezer-- sectioned off in their bins  :)

My two "prep shelves"-- food prepped & ready to be added to something...
 Cut up veggies, hardboiled eggs, beans, grapes, cooked steel cut oats all on my "prep" shelf.

Fridge cleaned out!!!!
Shelves:
Top- Drinks, yogurt, eggs
Next 2- Prep shelves
Drawer- Cheeses/Dairy
Shelf under dairy drawer- Leftovers
Top drawer- Salad Veggies
Bottom drawer- Other Veggies (broc, etc), Fruit

 My girls (2 and 5 yrs) washed and pulled all the grapes off the stems for better storage and easier grabbing/packing while I cut veggies

How to swaddle a newborn

ORIGINALLY POSTED FEB 2013

How to swaddle a newborn

I just YouTubed "How to swaddle a baby" and was disappointed by the videos for a variety of reasons.  (The #1 reason was almost all of them were swaddled WAY too loose to "count" as swaddling.)

Check definition #3:
swad·dle  (swdl)

tr.v. swad·dled, swad·dling, swad·dles

1. To wrap or bind in bandages; swathe.

2. To wrap (a baby) in swaddling clothes.

3. To restrain or restrict.

Anyway--- as I sit here pregnant with #3, I realize for the amount of friends I showed my version of swaddling to we should have a made a video by now.  

We swaddled baby #1 til 7 mos and baby #2 til 9 mos.  We swear by it, and while we know everyone has different things that work, hope this video helps you swaddle if you're planning on it!

Here it is!

Did I win? The Valentine's Day Contest...

Originally posted: Thursday, February 14, 2013

Did I win? The Valentine's Day Contest...

I entered a "How Did You Meet Your Spouse" contest for Valentine's Day...

well, I didn't win, but I come away with a 200 word response to the question, so I'll print it for my 3 children and put it in their memory boxes.

I also made the "top 5" stories interesting enough to share.  :)  Click to read the contest finalists/winner.

2003

Valentine’s Day Contest:  

How I Met My Spouse in 100-200 words

by Emily C.

Following graduation, I lived for a year alone in NYC before finally being hired to perform in a sketch comedy group aboard a cruise ship.  Job manual in hand, little did I know my future husband was sprinkled on almost every page—in different costumes.  A soda jerk, an octopus on stilts, a football player, a clown—in endless explanations of comedy sketches.  I moved into my tiny cabin, #4111, which shared a wall with #4113—the cabin he’d vacated just months earlier.  After one month performing with my 3 other cast mates, the team captain, Ray, told me I “had to get onstage with Seth somehow”.  He said we were the male/female comedy version of each other.  One day while in port, Ray had me leave a message on his phone.  (We rapped it.)  That night, Seth called my cabin and we talked for five hours.  Seth flew to Miami a month later to meet me in person—just for the day.  Two months later, he replaced a cast member who got a pilot in L.A.  Six days into that fill-in, and three months after that first phone call, he pulled out a little black box and asked me to marry him.

"Luxuries" From Pregnancy #1 OR "Enjoy Your First Pregnancy"

Originally posted: Saturday, March 30, 2013

"Luxuries" From Pregnancy #1 OR "Enjoy Your First Pregnancy"

ENJOY your first pregnancy!

Here are just some of the "luxuries" I miss from pregnancy #1...

1.  Not having two crazy tiny people constantly running and butting into my stomach

2.  Being #1 in line in my house to pee... not being trumped by a potty training toddler

3.  Dozing off... NOT to be awakened by a 5 year old whining about needing help getting the glue out of the bottle... even though Mommy had set her up nicely with everything she needed in hopes of a 20 minute nap

4.  Seeing my husband in our bedroom... mostly I see him in the hall now   ;)

5.  Quietly waiting for things

6.  Just carrying the inner child without anyone else hanging off of my outsides

7.  Using my energy for my own projects.

8.  Being able to skip making dinner any night I wanted, or several in a  row

9.  Setting up baby things without fear of them being taken over as "new toys"

10.  Reading a book or mag in the waiting room of prenatal visits vs. wrangling snacks and activities to keep my toddler from melting down

11.  The only thing waking me up at night was from stuff going on from the child INSIDE, no one on the outside.

12.  Not having two tiny sidekicks who are oblivious to my plight.

13.  Updating people on my pregnancy without realizing they don't care.

14.  Thinking since I'd be breastfeeding I'd be losing the babyweight in 3 months.

15.  Knowing my parenting style... I knew it way better before I had kids.  :)


All of that said... it's kind of a funny time, these last 3 weeks before baby #3 is due.  I do actually love watching my daughters get excited, bored, inquisitive-- all waiting for their brother.  And it's nice to hear them vocalize what I feel... "How much longer!?"  Also, I feel like my husband and I spend a lot more time laughing about how nuts we must be and feeling closer in our partnership versus being worried about unknowns.

Still... enjoy your first pregnancy!

Baby #1... Birthstory

Zoe’s Birth Story: July 11, 2007

Zoe was due on July 9, 2007, but everyone was convinced she was coming early since my belly looked like it couldn’t get any bigger!  When July 9 came and went, I got upset.  I was getting so uncomfortable, it was 95 degrees everyday, and I was still working.  July 10, we went to the doctor, and I was hoping they’d induce me that day---nope!  They said they couldn’t induce me till July 16.  AH!  I cried… a lot.  The nurses felt bad as we were leaving—I just couldn’t stop crying--- but we went home and tried to think of things to do to pass the next few days.  Later that day, the doctor called back and said they would try to schedule me for induction on Friday July 13, so that made us feel a little bit better, but it still felt far away because of how uncomfortable I was, plus I started my maternity leave on July 10 and I was upset that every day we waited for Zoe to be born was a wasted day of leave.  It was an emotional night, I also received calls from work and I was upset because I was on leave and didn’t want to be bothered!  We went to bed kind of late, just after midnight, after all the hubbub of the day and decided to see Harry Potter 5 the next day (opening day) to pass some time, also knowing we might not go to a movie again for awhile!!!

3:15am

I got up to go to the bathroom (something that was happening almost every 45 minutes at this point!) and shuffled back to bed.  I lifted one knee onto the bed and WOOSH! a handful of water dropped out!  I ran to the bathroom and stood over the floor calling for Seth, “I think my water broke—can you come smell it t make sure it’s not pee!?”  Being a good sport, Seth smelled it several times over to reassure me it was in fact amniotic fluid.  I wasn’t having any contractions, but then I noticed a small amount of blood, so we called the doctor and she said since I wasn’t having contractions to get to the hospital around 6am.  Seth thought we should try to sleep till then, so I tried, but I just couldn’t.  I was too excited, and I was starting to have mild cramping. 

4am

Called mom and told her my water broke and that we were going to the hospital at 6am.  Se sounded very alert for 4am!  Seth slept.  I got on the computer and emailed some people to tell them “It’s time, we’re going to the hospital!” and also got on my pregnancy message board and told them my water broke and that I’d keep them posted with text messages.  (Eight of us were due in July and it turned out 3 of us had our babies right in a row!  July 11, 12, 13).  Watched the rest of an episode of Days of Our Lives.

5:30am

Ate a scrambled egg and some cranberry juice since I know I wouldn’t be eating anything for a long time.  Just about to leave and had to poop!  (Good thing!)

6:10am

Parked at hospital and walked in with Seth.  Went up to 3^rd floor to check in… on our way a lady on the elevator pushed in front of us and started talking to the check in people about visiting one of the new moms.  We couldn’t believe this woman pushed in front of a woman in labor!!!!

6:20am

Admitted to hospital and put in a triage room.  Looked at by nurse Teresa and cervix checked.  When she checked my cervix she said I was between 1-2 cm, but as she checked me the rest of my water broke and came gushing out.  I couldn’t believe how much there was!  Hooked up to an IV and baby monitor.

7:45am

Taken to private labor and delivery room.  Introduced to Jill Kelley, our L&D nurse—the most amazing nurse ever.  Still no contractions.

8:15am

Given pitocin.  Jill showed me how we might use the bouncy ball during contractions to help move the baby down the birth canal and to ease pain.

9:15am

Contractions starting to heat up.  Amniotic fluid, blood, and urine continually leak out and I am feeling yucky!  Seth sticks by me and helps me every step of the way—through some pretty gross stuff, too!

11:15am

Contractions getting unbearable, begging for an epidural.  Jill checks my cervix and I was 6cm!  She orders the epidural.  They tell me the anesthesiologist has to do someone else first and then he’ll be in to do me.

11:40am

I get the epidural!  Have to stay still while getting it and have a contraction during tat time—awful to stay still!  They tell me I should feel it by noon.

Noon

Feeling the epidural!  Jill checks my cervix and I am 8cm!!!!  Everyone is surprised at how fast this is going, especially since I had to be put on pitocin and I came in barely 2cm, and that it’s my first baby.  Seth & I continue to text friends with updates (now that I’ve had the epidural and feel relaxed) and talk to mom periodically to update her.  The epidural really relaxes me and I take a 30 minute nap.  (Seth still hasn’t left my side for a second!)

1:15pm

Dr. Tobon checks in.  Jill and him tell me we’ll probably start pushing soon.  Jill practices a few pushes techniques with me.  Tug of war, grabbing my ankles and bowing my knees out, grabbing behind my knees, etc.  (The winner in the end ends up being grabbing my ankles and bowing my knees out.)

1:45pm

Jill checks my cervix—10cm!  But… the baby still hasn’t dropped down quite far enough so we’re going to wait a bit.

2:00pm

Time to start pushing!!!  I had no idea how hard this would be or that it was going to take so long!  Pushing became difficult because my epidural was so good.  They eventually had to turn it almost all the way off so I could feel when to push.

3:50pm

I can’t believe I am still pushing.  I am irritated and beyond exhausted.  There are 3 women nurses (Jill, Lorell, Judy) on my right, and Seth and a male nursing student (Cory) on my left, and Dr. Tobon between my legs.  I feel upset with all of them because they aren’t helping me.  Really, I know I have to do this on my own, but I feel like I need help.  I am worried that I just can’t push her out---it’s so hard.  Finally, Dr. Tobon says her head is too big and gives me an episiotomy.  The nurses get right in my face and tell me to push.  I am so happy to have 3 women there—I felt like I needed to be surrounded by women.  I push HARD and scream, “Take her!”  They say, “Stop talking, just push!  Get angry and push this baby out, Emily you can do it!”  I push a few more times, feel like I’m going to break—and then I feel her start to come out.  She feels huge.  I am still told to push, but I feel emotional, so now I am crying and pushing—not an effective combination! 

3:54pm

Beautiful Zoe is born!  I feel… overwhelmed.  An immediate flood of love rushes through me and it’s hard to withstand.  All I want to do is hold Zoe, but I feel like I need to be held, too!  So glad Seth is beside me, and so glad it was just the two of us to share that first moment.  (Well, plus the medical people!)

Baby #2... Birthstory

Teagan’s Birth Story

(Forgive past/present tense--- this is written all at different times.)

April 12, 2010- Due date

Couldn’t believe you hadn’t arrived yet!  Contractions all the night before, but mild.  You stopped moving in the middle of the night, and in the morning wouldn’t react when I kept poking you, so I got upset, called Daddy on his way to work and he turned around to come listen for your heartbeat.  He found it—but you still weren’t moving, so I called the midwife and they sent me for fetal monitoring at St. XXXX’s Hospital.  You were totally fine at 135 beats per minute.  At 2:30pm, I had my 40 week checkup and Hope (the midwife) did the first cervix check.  I was 2 cm and 80% effaced and your head was VERY low.  By 6pm, I was exhausted and very nauseated.  Had to lay down.

April 13, 2010- One day late

Woke up feeling fine.  Kind of upset----- was hoping to be in labor!  Lost my temper a lot throughout the day.  Took Zoe to her JW Tumbles class.  Symptoms (diarrhea, contrax, nausea, etc.) all pretty much gone.  6:30pm drank iced coffee.  8:30pm, diarrhea.  Contrax from 9pm-6am about 8 minutes apart—rough estimate, not too painful.  Stopped about 7am April 14--- so frustrating.

April 14, 2010- Two days late

Every day feels sooooo long waiting for you to come already.  Truthfully, I feel a bit angry with you.  I can feel how big you are in there!  Why won’t you come?

April 15, 2010- Three days late

Trying to hold you in because it’s Grammy’s birthday and I want you to have your own day.  Grammy came up this evening, mainly because she was antsy waiting and figured she’d come before having to head to West Palm.

April 16, 2010- Four days late

Threw up at 2am, bad cramps—thought it could be it, but was all gone by 5am.  Upset and uncomfortable, called midwife to have cervix checked.  Waited two hours in waiting room because a woman was in labor.  Zoe had two pee accidents and Grammy took a nap.  I was a mess and overwhelmed.  By the time Sharon checked my cervix, she just told me I was the same—1-2cm and 80% effaced.  I cried.  She told me God has a birthday picked out for my baby and that day will come.  She also told me this was the “transition” of the pregnancy—when I say “I can’t do this anymore” and I am close.  She said she thinks I’ll have the baby in the next week.  WEEK!!?!

April 17, 2010- Five days late

Grammy left to go to Aunt Jen’s 30^th birthday and Ama’s ARC Memorial and tree planting in West Palm.  Had a glass of red wine.

April 18, 2010- Six days late

Everyone’s patience is thin in this house.  I am snapping at Daddy and Zoe, they are snapping at each other… we cannot take much more of this.  I am incredibly uncomfortable and feel like my belly skin is about to split open.  Just in case you are posterior or head is crooked, I am constantly trying to be on my hands and knees and rock you into position to allow labor to start.

Your mom is so awesome…Daddy

April 19, 2010- Seven days late

Went to the midwife with Zoe at 11am.  She checked your position and it looks like the hands/knees/chest position worked—you are in a GREAT position and all the way down!  Sharon said she didn’t think it would be too much longer now.  Still—made an appt to strip my membranes and check amniotic fluid on April 21 at 9am.

April 20, 2010- Eight days late

Water broke at 10:45pm while Daddy was giving me a massage on the bed.  Whooohoooo!  So relieved!  Called Sharon just to give her a heads up.  She told me to get some sleep and not wait up for the contractions to come.  Called Vanessa to give her a heads up she may be watching Zoe soon!  Emailed Aunt Nancy who was planning to come from Ocala the next day to help out with Zoe after my membranes were stripped.  Emailed Grammy.  Called Auntie Shelley---yay!  Went to bed after midnight and woke up to cramps at 2:30am--- dozed off and on--- couch and bed—while timing contrax till 7am.  Totally irregular—anywhere from 2-23 minutes apart.  (From 2:30-4:30am they were 6-8 mins apart, as we approached Zoe’s wake time, they spaced out and when she woke up they essentially disappeared.) 

April 21, 2010- BIRTH DAY!!!

Called Sharon at 8am to fill her in—she said to come in, she’d check my cervix.  If it was different, we’d stay, otherwise, she’d send us home with stuff to try.  She said I had till 5pm to be in active labor.  (If I didn’t get there, I’d have to go get induced in the hospital.)  Vanessa came to watch Zoe at 9:15, we go to the birth center before 10am, Sharon checked—still 2cm.  She stripped my membranes and sent Seth & me to walk around St Johns Town Center till contrax were closer.  She said if I wasn’t closer by 1pm, we’d do castor oil.  Got to St Johns Town Center, first few steps and bad contrax!  Hard to walk!  Kept stopping and holding onto Seth.  I was hungry, so we went to Chipotle at 11am and ate burrtios and lemonade.  Bad contrax leaving—but not close enough, so went to Target to get Seth deodorant.  Walked in and couldn’t make it—so I sent him to get it and waited at the front.  A Stroller Strides mom saw me and said, “Still pregnant, oh no!” and I told her I was in labor.  This was about 11:35am.  Left Target and headed back to birth center, got there at noon and Sharon set us up in the labor room.  Contrax about 5 min apart now.  Sharon saw patients and Seth and I hung out timing contrax.  Quickly they became 4 min apart.  I danced around during them, it was the only thing that helped.  Sharon came in and laughed.  I got into a sports bra and t-shirt and bounced on the ball.  Sometime after 1:30pm, contrax were two min apart, then somehow by 2 or 2:30pm, they were 1 min apart and so unbearable.  It was much harder than what I had visualized--- I just thought the marathon of pain would be hard, but the actual level of pain was awful.  It was so hard.  I complained a lot (something I had been coaching myself not to do) and said things like, “I hate it!” and “I need a break, I just need a break so bad.”  About 1:30pm, I think, is when I got into the tub—it was awful—I pooped in there 3 times!  I got out of the tub about 2:30 or 3pm and Sharon checked me—she didn’t tell me, but I was only 5cm!  I asked if I could use a birthing stool because I really needed to sit somehow.  I got on and wanted to get off, but Sharon told me to stick with it, this was the best place for me.  Seth got behind me and I pushed against him during contractions.  This part felt like forever to me, but apparently, this next part was inside 30 minutes or so, only 7 of them pushing.  I got on there and the contrax ripped through me—I really didn’t think she would come out, it seemed like too much.  I kept wanting to know how much longer, but of course, no one could say.  I screamed awfully a couple times and Sharon said not to.  I started to push when Sharon told me and I thought I would rip in half.  I kept thinking, “Next baby, I am back to an epidural!”  Sharon said she could help me, but it would hurt.  She said she could massage my cervix open while I push during a contraction.  I agreed, but was scared.  We did it and it was awful!  I quickly told Seth to kiss me because I had read that can ease contrax pain like nothing else, so he did and it helped a bit.  I think I only pushed 3-5 pushes but each was so torturous and I never had the urge to--- it went against my instinct.  The second push, I reached down and felt her head up in me, and I was encouraged.  Around it, I felt all this swollen tissue and it scared the crap out of me.  For what felt like the third time, I pushed and I just committed to doing it really hard to be done, and Sharon said to stop.  I did it one more time---had to wait a LONG time for next contraction to do this, but then I, again, pushed really hard so I could be done.  My legs were shaking, I was so tired, I wanted to nap more than anything, I just wanted to lay down.  It hurt like crazy, but on that push, to my surprise, Sharon grabbed my arms and said, “Emily, catch your baby!” and I caught my little Teagan at 3:29pm and brought her right up on my chest while I sat on the birth stool.  I kissed and kissed her cheeks and just loved her so much right away.  I had to stay on the stool another minute, which felt like an eternity, I was so exhausted.  Seth cut the cord from behind me.  I was guided to the bed (can’t believe I could walk there!) and laid back while Sharon massaged my uterus and delivered my placenta and sewed up my 2^nd degree tear (I tore along my episiotomy scar).  Seth laid next to me in the bed.  Teagan was toweled off and given back to me and we tried a first feeding.  That’s when I noticed the dimple in her chin—sweet girl!   After 30 minutes of bonding, they led me to take a shower and Seth held Teagan.  After the shower, the 3 of us went back to the bed and bonded and rested.  At 4:20pm, we just told Grammy and texted a couple people that Teagan was “Born at 3:29pm, more later.”  Maybe at 5:30pm they came in and did Teagan’s exam--- gave her a shot of vitamin K and eye drops, weighed her, measured her, checked her, etc--- mostly all on the bed.   They did her footprints in our baby book, we dressed her.  They had washed my clothes in with the laundry and packed them back for me in my bag, and about 6:15pm, Sharon said, “How do you feel about going home?” and I was so surprised that I was really, really itching to go!  I thought I’d want to hang there and bond, but I really did just have the desire to get home, see Zoe, and be at home all four of us.  We were home a few minutes before 7pm, and Grammy and Zoe got home 10 minutes later from dinner.  Zoe was happy to see Teagan, but not surprised!  I was so, so happy to be home with my little Teagan.  I am so happy I had a natural birth.  It was so much harder than I thought, but the reward was amazing.  The moment of birth was wonderful and everything after just seemed so blissful.  I felt so completely bonded with Teagan the moment I pulled her up to my face.  Completely in love.

Teagan3:29pm-8lbs 10 oz- 21 inches

*My milk came in April 23 about 11pm, fully engorged—2 cup sizes bigger than April 21

*My first poop April 25, phew!

Baby #3... Birthstory

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

April 14, 2013
Rough night's sleep.  Had cramping all night long and a long hard contraction that seemed to last all night.

April 15, 2013-- 39 weeks today
Worried me enough that I called the midwife at 8am.  She said a low pressure storm system had moved through town last night and it affected a lot of pregnant moms-- to make sure to drink more water and take some magnesium.

11:25am
Was on Skype with Seth and telling him what midwife said about the storm and asking him to get magnesium on the way home when my water broke!  Can't believe my water broke kicking off all 3 births, but was so happy Seth didn't miss that last one-- we were seconds away from  hanging up, saying, "Okay, bye." when it happened!  Teagan had been napping on the loveseat--she fell asleep watching 'Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood'.
Called midwife to tell them when my water broke, she said wait for contractions to start.  I knew if this labor followed Zoe and Teagan's, they wouldn't start for a bit, but just in case, I wanted to lay low.  I wanted to hold off till midnight so he wouldn't be born April 15 and share his birthday with his grandmother, he'd have his own day.
At home, Teagan was amazing, she just cuddled with me and we watched TV till daddy and Zoe got home 2 hours later.  No contrax, just leaking fluid.
I called my friend Stacy who was going to be watching Zoe and Teagan and gave her a heads up.  I said it could be awhile, but checked that they could stay over tonight.  Yes!  We planned for Seth to come install cars seats in her minivan when he got home.
I got on Facebook and told a few friends in private messages.
Meanwhile at school, Seth kept the news to himself.  He didnt want to be told to go home nor did he want his assistant trying to get involved in the event.  So, he waited til his kids were dismissed around 1:15pm and then went down to tell the office, got Zoe, and headed home.

2pm
Seth and Zoe get home.  We finish getting their overnight bags together, talk to them.  Seth holds down the fort while I go shower and take a short nap.  Richmond is moving and hiccupping a lot.

3:15-4pm
Nap

4pm
I wake up, still no contrax.  We decide to have Stacy & family pick the girls up after they finish at soccer, about 6:15pm.

4:45pm
Call Fruitful Vine birth center to ask what comes next-- wanted to call before they closed at 5pm.  Ashley, the midwife on call, suggests chilling til the girls get picked up, then going for a walk to try to start contrax.

6:15pm
Zoe and Teagan get picked up and I cry.  This will be the first night we ever spend away from either of them.  Ever.  We go for a walk and call Seth's dad to let him in on the news.
The walk is rough.  My back hurts so badly and am having a ton of pressure and nerve pinching.  After 25 mins I want to stop.  No contrax anyway.  We walk home.

7:30pm
Talk to Ashley again.  She suggests nipple stimulation to get contrax going.  Seth gets the breast pump, but I don't use it yet.

8:30pm
Ashley suggests we meet her at the birth center around 10:30pm.  She is with another couple in labor that need to be transferred to the hospital and she will be with them about 2 hours.  Seth & I decide to go out to dinner.  We bring all of our stuff with us including the breast pump, birth bag, etc.  By the time we get to St Johns Town Center it's 9:15pm.  We wanted to go back there because that's where we went to walk when I was in labor with Teagan.  But, now it's 9:15pm on a Monday night and not much is open. 

9:15pm
We go to California Pizza Kitchen.  We tell the waitress I'm in labor, they are very nice.  I got a club sandwich with avocado, field greens, bacon, onion, tomato (I felt like bacon for labor, whatever!) with a cup of pea soup.  daddy got fish tacos.  YUM.  While we sat and ate, it was nice-- we usually aren't out just the two of us late at night.  But, the whole time, my water kept leaking and my pants were soaking wet.  I got another of the same sandwich and soup to take to the birth center to eat after I gave birth-- I figured it'd be 3am or something and I'd want something hearty and nothing would be open.

10:15pm
Done with dinner, decide to go for a walk.  Short walk, but contrax are starting, tho they are VERY mild.  We call Ashley.  She says she'll meet us at the birth center in about 20 minutes.

10:45pm
Meet Ashley at the birth center.  She checks me and I am NOTHING... not thinned, not dialated, zip.  She does her best to sweep my membranes, but my cervix is so far back, she isn't able to do much.  She sends me into the birth room to use the breast pump.  I do, but it is so painful and is making me so angry and on top of that isn't stimulating contrax, so I stop after some tears and do some walking, then dancing.  After an hour or so of this, Ashley comes in and says she's talked to Sharon and how would we feel about trying an enema at home and then going to sleep and waiting for contrax to wake me?   Maybe some rest and giving my body time to do it's thing is what we need to do?  We were disappointed, but it seemed smart, but I was concerned that at 5:30am was the 18 hour mark of when my water broke and I'd have to be in active labor or they'd transfer me to the hospital to be induced (which I found out is what happened with that couple earlier tonight).  She said because of my two previous labors that were similar, they are confident my body will do it, it just seems to take a bit longer.  So, that was a relief, though I still wasn't sure exactly how long I had til they would have to transfer me and I knew I shouldn't focus on it.

MIDNIGHT
Well, It's officially April 16!  So, we feel a little better that at least we made it past April 15, but at the same time did not think we'd be headed home at this time... at exactly this time we are pumping gas.


April 16, 2013

12:05am
Into CVS for a Fleet enema!  The cashier says, "Looks like you're ready to go!"  I say, "Actually, I'm in labor right now."  We drive home and I yell at Seth half the way because he is falling asleep and I am upset.  I feel like he has no energy and even though we are going home to presumably sleep, what if things pick up?  There is no way he can be a good coach as exhausted as he is.

12:30am
Home!  Kind of depressing... and WEIRD without the girls here.  I do the enema--- lots of poop, but no contrax.  I try to lay down and rest, but I keep feeling like I should be trying harder to go into labor.  I kind of wrestle between resting and walking until 3:45am when I finally tell Seth I want to lie down in a  bed, so we go and lie together in the loft bed.  I am feeling so discouraged.  I had gone for a walk around 3am and asked the "skies" for help doing this and kept asking if there was something I was holding on to that was keeping me from going into labor.

5:20am
Wake up.  Ask Seth to go for a walk with me.  Intermittent contrax, totally mild and not at all frequent.  Call Ashley to come back.

5:45am
Back at the birth center.

6:30am
Ashley debates about checking me since I am 19 hours past water breaking.  She has to offer me antibiotics because my GBS results never came back, but I waive them.  She checks me and says I am thinned and 2cm--and even though it doesn't sound like a lot that is a LOT from where I was at 11pm.  She is able to sweep my membranes!  (OUCH.) 

6:30-8:30am
This was mentally one of the most challenging chunks for me.  I felt pessimistic, I was exhausted, and all of a sudden I missed Zoe and Teagan so badly I wanted to stop everything and just go be with them.  I kept crying and saying that I missed them.  Seth and I were going for walks and not much was happening.  It was such a mind-fuck, I have to say.  We were exhausted-- no labor before ever took this long, we knew there was some time limit, and nothing seemed to be happening.  Suddenly I decided, at 8:30am things would pick up because things picked up with Teagan's birth 2 hours after my membranes were swept.  So, at that point, I decided not to start worrying til 8:30am.  Meanwhile we had the iPad mini and kept checking Facebook.  Part of me felt that was a hindrance, but part of me liked the distraction.  Everyone assumed the baby would be born by his point, so I felt pressure and also frustration.

8:40am
Things picked up!  Contrax started coming every 4 minutes!  Still, at this point, I felt I'd waited so long I wanted the rest to happen very quickly-- like by 10am.  Contrax kept on and I got a burst of positivity and knew this would happen.  Contrax kept on but I was wishing they'd come closer.  Eventually they were 3 mins apart, but they seems to stay at the 3 min mark forever.  Seth starts naming my contrax... Jorge, Sedrick, Monty...

9:30am
Sharon arrives!!!  At some point between here and 10:30am, she checks me and says I have "turned the corner".  I don't ask because I know I dilate quickly at the end of labor historically--  after Richmond was born she told me I was 4cm.  Lori the birth asst arrives so I get the sense I'm getting closer.

10:30am??
Eventually contrax picked up to a point where they really hurt.
I kept wanting to hug Seth and lean on him or bury my face in his neck, that was very comforting.  We were both exhausted after being up most of the night.
I bent over the bathroom sink and just wanted to stay there.  Ashley rubbed my back and talked to me reminding me my body was doing the exact right thing to move Richmond out.
Sharon got Rebecca (her daughter who was at Teagan's birth) on Facetime to be at the labor.

11:30am?
The time frame from 10-1 is murky to me... I'm not really sure of the timeline, just the order.
Contrax got really painful and I kept saying, "I'm lucky, I'm lucky, not all women get to do this."  I was very aware of my friend Mimi who wound up with an emergency c-section after 3 days of labor, or how I'd spent 10 weeks on bedrest with placenta previa hoping I'd avoid a c-section.
Sharon kept coaching me, I'd firmly tell the contrax, "Open my cervix!"  I kept asking if I could just push, but I wasn't dialated enough.

Eventually, I moved to the birthing stool.   Seth was behind me.  I tried a few pushes but it was so hard.  I was crying for awhile now.  I remember saying, "I don't think I'm one of those women who is really tough enough for this."

Sharon tells me if I move to the bed she can help me more by pulling back my cervix while I push but it'll hurt more.  I say fine.  I move to the bed on all fours.  I push but it is awful-- I don't think I'll be able to do it.  I can't push past the pain it is too bad.  It feels like the pushing will never end.  Finally, I ask Seth to ge on the iPad and Facetime Mimi.  He gets her on the cell on speaker and I yell, "You have to help me!  I cannot do this!"  From whenever this is (maybe 12:30?) til when Richmond is born, she keeps talking to me.  Telling me to take it one contraction at a time.  I am trying to push on every contraction but it is so hard-- it feels so much harder than the last two births.  I also feel sapped of energy to do it.  Finally, I push and start to feel the ring of fire.  "Is that his head?!" I scream.  They tell me yes.  I try to push more, but so tired.  Everyone keeps talking to me.  I have my face buried in the bed, phone next to my face, tush in the air pushing... it's hard- I keep pushing and pretending I am blowing up a balloon, remembering to bear down.  I start to scream which feels better mentally but takes more physical energy. 
Sharon tells me to turn on my side for the end.  Seth has one leg in the air, the other is on the bed, I am on my side.  I am trying so hard to push, but I need help, I just feel weak.  I push and feel his head, the pushing goes slow here-- and it feels slow.  It's good in the aftermath because there is no tearing (first birth with no stitches!), but I wanted it to be over so badly, I would have taken a tear.  This is the first time Seth is on that "end" of me for birth.  I don't care, I jus want him to tell me if I seem close.  I push and I think it's the last one but Sharon says, "Oh, that's the problem."  which panics me, only because I know it means extra pushing.  His hand is next to his face.  I think it was just one more push after this and Sharon helps me reach down and pull him up.  I thank Mimi and say it must have been hard for her to help me.

1:01pm
Richmond is BORN! 
I'm crying an exhausted and he's so sweet and coughs and clears his own lungs right away.  I am surprised he has dark brown hair-- I really thought it would be red!  He seems so little to me and I keep saying to Seth, "Doesn't he seem so much littler than the girls?"  and"Wow, he doesn't look like the girls at all, does he?"
Bonding in bed with the sweet boy and daddy and first nursing.

2pm
I shower while they clean up and remake the bed.  Hard time walking, very hunched over.  Shower feels good, I'm cold.

2:30pm
Richmond's exam is done, he's 8 lbs 9oz, 19.25", Apgar of 9.9.  So sweet.  I am feeling worse than after Teagan's birth.  My uterus is in a  lot of pain, there is more bleeding apparently because even though the placenta previa resolved, it was still low-lying and caused more bleeding.  They have to give me a shot of pitocin in my leg about 20 minutes after Richmond is born to help the bleeding and also some kind of meds in my tush.

4:30pm
Arrive home-- feel like I didn't soak in that time after birth at the birth center, my mind was scattered.  Feeling a little sad, wanted to lay with Seth and talk and snuggle Richmond-- we sort of did, but I was so distracted and also feeling bad that we'd left the girls with friends for almost 24 hours.

5pm
Stacy & co. bring Zoe and Teagan home!

6pm
We have a birthday cake for Richmond!

Afterthoughts:

• Burst blood vessels in both eyes from pushing.  4 days postpartum both eyes look pretty bad.
• Horrible after pains this time, often as strong as the contrax during birth, for first 4 days postpartum
• 12 days postpartum, still bright red bleeding-- longer than previous births, midwife will need to check it if it keeps up past 2 weeks
• Still could write so much more detail, but time is precious, I'll have to leave the story at this!