Slip N' Slide (But Not the Fun Kind) Part 2

This is part 2 to my last post. Read on....

As soon as we arrived at the emergency room we told the woman at the ER desk what had happened. Immediately they got me a wheelchair and made me get into it, apparently when you come in with issues during pregnancy they do not let you walk to the labor and delivery department. As soon as I sat down in it I started to cry. The mere thought of having to get into a wheelchair terrified me and here I was in one. Somehow it made the whole situation even more real than it was on the way there. Binderclips saw me starting to cry and began to comfort me - telling me everything was going to be ok. In my mind I thought 'But I'm in a wheelchair, they don't make people who are fine get into a wheelchair!!' However, when I looked up at him I knew that I was just making it a bigger deal than it actually was, at least I hoped that was the case.

We arrived up in the labor and delivery department shortly after. Once in our own room I got into a gown and the nurse hooked me up to the external fetal monitor. The monitor has 2 bands that go around your abdomen; 1) to measure the baby's heart rate and 2) to measure if you are having contractions. Aside from worrying about not hearing our little one's heart beat (since they usually turn the speakers up so you can hear the heart beating) I was not concerned about having contractions or being in labor.

Boy was I ever wrong, I WAS having contractions - regular contractions, about every 3 minutes apart. I didn't even realize that that's what they were honestly, but it helped me identify what contractions felt like. I have a high pain tolerance, so I didn't find them painful at all just felt like I had to go the bathroom really bad...like, every 3 minutes.

Anyways, at this point a calm came over me, I still wasn't worried about delivering the baby that day (for some reason the reality of the situation didn't hit me) - then, I looked at Binderclips' face. He was trying to remain calm on the exterior but I could tell inside he was freaking out. It was at that point that he was near tears and that I realized that I could have the baby that day. All of a sudden I was terrified, but I tried to remain calm myself. I focused on the sound of the baby's heart beat. It was beating regularly and it was very strong.

The nurse began talking to us and telling us that the hospital we were in did not have a neonatal intensive care unit, so if the contractions didn't stop we'd be shuttled to another hospital that did. I'm pretty sure, almost simultaneously, Binderclips and I both realized the baby might be coming that day.

All I could think was 'we are not ready for this baby yet, what are we going to do? We aren't even home and by our doctor.' I also started to worry as to if the baby would make it our not, I mean, I was only 28 weeks along. At this point to say I was terrified is an understatement.

They started an IV and began loading me up with fluids, sometimes (in fact, many times) loading up on fluids stops the contractions. The good news is that this was the case for me. After 2-3 hours the contractions stopped, thank goodness. We didn't end up having the baby that day and are very thankful for that.

What I can tell you is even with some scares we've had since that day, I cannot recall a scarier day in my life so far. The situation made me realize that there is no other person in this world that I would have wanted by my side other than Binderclips. Not to end on a sappy note, but it was sincerely a life changing experience.

Any who, I hope all is well with you guys. I'm sorry I haven't posted or read any blogs lately. I'm doing fine, just very, very tired and BIG (read: uncomfortable). The picture above is one of our maternity pictures, it's me at 32 weeks (I'll share some others soon). Right now I'm 37 weeks along and the time is going by soo quickly!!

The news I will share with you before going is that we are having a girl!!!! YAY!! (We would've been happy either way honestly.) I'll try to post again soon. Later gators!

Slip N' Slide (But Not the Fun Kind)

This is a picture of me at 7 months pregnant (yep I am now the proud owner of a very obvious baby bump). I'm with my brother and his girlfriend (who have helped us tremendously with everything - thanks again guys!!!).

We all remember Slip n' Slides, right? Weren't they fun? I remember as a kid I would get really excited about being able to go on one. The wet plastic-y surface was something that my brother and I could not resist. We'd be soo excited to jump on the long plastic surface being doused with water and slide down it at full speed (even though it was likely one or both of us would end up hurt in some way or another).

I also remember being at a fraternity party a long time ago and them having one there. I didn't go on it. To me, it seemed like a bad idea (I mean like a really bad idea, like deciding to try to body surf on the top of a car moving at 100+ miles per hour) to combine alcohol consumption with Slip N' Slide usage (honestly, there should probably be a law against it, talk about dangerous).

Anyways, what I have to share with you today does have to do with slipping and sliding, but believe me it does not involve an actual Slip N' Slide (Binderclips won't even let me get gas on my own at this point in time, so you can imagine how he would feel about me wanting to go on a Slip N' Slide).

Our baby shower was scheduled to be on 7/30 in Michigan, however we arrived in Michigan on 7/28 and planned on working from my In-Laws' home on 7/29. The morning of 7/29 things were going somewhat as planned (we didn't have internet access, which we both needed to do our jobs, but Binderclips was working on it). I got us some breakfast and took Binderclips his up the stairs to where he was working to make sure he ate something (a hungry hubs = a grumpy hubs and a grumpy hubs is not my favorite kind). I had put on my running socks since I find them to be super comfy (they're as comfy as slippers honestly) to walk around in.

Anyways, as I descended down the stairs with Binderclips' bowl in my right hand the stairs became my own personal Slip N' Slide. The combination of my running socks and the carpet (well and probably my changed center of gravity due to being pregnant) resulted in me slipping down the last 3 stairs. I landed on my butt, but I landed hard people. So hard, that as soon as I landed I felt major cramping in my abdomen start to happen immediately.

I sat there for a minute just holding my abdomen like my insides might spill out if I didn't, then Binderclips yelled down to me "Are you ok? What happened down there?" "I slipped down some stairs, but I think I'm ok. Just sitting here resting for a minute" I responded. "How many stairs?! OMG!" he said, following it up with "It sounded like a hard fall from up here".

As I sat there I kept telling myself the cramping 'will go away if I just sit here for a little bit', but it didn't. I got up and the cramping remained. It was then I decided to call my doctor back in Wisconsin. They told me to go to the nearest emergency room (ER) immediately. I began to cry. Hubs was already stressed out enough about us not having internet connectivity and now I needed to go to the ER to have them do some fetal monitoring to make sure nothing happened to the baby. This wasn't going to be good.

It was at this point he came in to the room I was in and saw me crying. Worried he asked "What did they say?" When I told him we needed to go to the ER there was no hesitation in his voice as he said "Let's go now."

Soon after we were on our way to the ER. On the way there we talked about how we were sure it would be fine, that once on the monitor we'd see the baby's heart beat and they'd discharge us soon after. I wish it would have happened that way, but it didn't. To be continued....

French Toast Failure = Motherhood Failure?

Look how happy I am that I no longer throw up daily, now I'm just hungry constantly!

While Callie gets swallowed up whole by our lovesac I pose for the camera (aren't I sweet?). This is me at 27 weeks. I will be 28 weeks this Thursday (geesh, where does the time go?!) 

About a month or so back I woke up in a panic. I mean a real panic people. I nearly felt like I was hyperventilating. After I calmed myself down I still could not get what had me in a panic off my mind, although I didn't know if it was something I could talk to Binderclips about - so, I kept it to myself.

Well, as the day progressed I got more and more distracted by my thoughts. Finally, I must have looked distraught because Binderclips asked me what was wrong. All I could say to him is "how about we have French toast for breakfast tomorrow?" (We never eat French toast or sweet-type stuff for breakfast EVER.) He responded with "Oh, ok, sure" in a very confused tone, then said "but you still didn't tell me what's wrong."

I thought I had by asking him about the French toast, but clearly he missed the very obvious response. So, I responded with "Well, it has to do with the French toast" as I started to tear up. With a concerned look on his face he responds with "Ok, sounds like we need to talk about it." "I'm not sure I can talk about it without crying" I say. "I've seen you cry before, so I think we're covered there" he says as serious as he can.

"Ok, well I'm afraid..." I start sobbing "thatifIcantmake" I sob a little harder so that the words become unrecognizable for the rest of the sentence "fren..most..mumble (sob) mumble (sniffle) mumble (trying to catch my breath)..ure" I say as I wipe the tears from my eyes, then look up at him. Binderclips gets me a kleenex then just gives me a hug, I'm certain at this point he thinks 'man, this must be some traumatizing French toast experience to have her so upset' as he tries to comfort me. He lets me cry it out a little before trying to talk to me again.

"So, let me get this straight - we need to have French toast for breakfast tomorrow but it makes you really upset?" he asks. "Did you have a bad experience with French toast at some point? I mean whatever it did to you I am a man and can certainly take care of this terrible French toast" he says acting all macho. Then he follows it up with "We can make the French toast then chop it up into teeny tiny pieces, then eat it for punishment...is that what you had in mind?" he asks with hope in his voice. I suspect it was at this point he probably thought I'd start laughing also, but I didn't - I just started crying more.

"No" I say as I try to calm myself down. I wipe the tears that are pouring from my eyes away, then take a couple of deep breaths. I calm down enough so that I can explain and say "If I can't make French toast I'm afraid I'll be a failure of a mom" then look at him with what I'm guessing are as close to puppy-dog eyes I can have. I suspect this because I kind of see him start to laugh, then he sees me and tries to maintain his composure. "Ok, well I know you're going to be a great mom and I'm sure the French toast will be a success" he says. This makes me feel better, but the rest of the night I keep thinking about if I fail at it, I just would not/could not calm down until I successfully made the French toast.

The next morning I did succeed, but as I thought about it more I wondered why that defined me being successful as a mom. I think it's because my Dad used to make my brother and I French toast all the time when I was little and I always looked up to him so much that I wanted to believe our little bundle would feel the same way about me. I will say, that I hope it's for more than just making French toast, but I blame the pregnancy for my unstable mental state that lead to this incident. Let's hope that goes away after the baby comes! :)

This prompted me to think about the actual things that I think would define me as a good/successful mom. Some of the things on my list are having patience, being caring, leading by example, teaching to value relationships over material items, being disciplined, giving discipline, and giving motivation (just to name a few). What defines you guys as successful people in your own lives? I'd love to hear if you want to share!

Have a great day everyone! Later gators!

Vietnamese Waltz & Baby Bump Update

With the popularity of dance shows these days, we all have been able to see many different types of dances performed. In fact, these different types of dances have become more well known to society than ever....well, some members of society, but not all. Case and point - Binderclips and I are watching TV one night and the following transpires:

We're watching So You Think You Can Dance and they announce that one of the couples is going to perform the Viennese Waltz next.

Binderclips: "Really?!" he says surprised as he looks at the TV (as if he and it are having a conversation or something)


Hulabuns: I look at him very confused, then look at the TV with the same confused look as if I've missed something it's said. I even think 'Did I miss something?' to myself.


Binderclips: He's staring at the TV baffled as if the TV is providing some long explanation as to what he's so surprised about


Hulabuns: I, again, look at the TV confused wondering what on EARTH he's doing and having an imaginary conversation with it about. I say "What is going on here?" looking at him then at the TV and back again while making a hand motion back and forth as well.

Binderclips: "I didn't know the Waltz was a Vietnamese dance" he says as serious as can be.

Hulabuns: I bust out laughing

Binderclips: "What!?" he says still as confused as ever

Hulabuns: I respond with "It's Viennese NOT Vietnamese" still laughing

I love my life. lol

Any who, here are some updated pictures...just a warning, I've really blown up since my 23 week pictures. Today I'm 25 weeks and a day and I feel the baby moving all the time. In fact, Binderclips can feel it move also. It's great.

Hope you enjoy the pictures! Have a great weekend. Later gators!!

PS We successfully got moved - YAY! That's why the LoveSac (Larry the LoveSac) is all wrapped up in the background...just fyi :)

Morning Beauty

I looked in the mirror today to be confronted with this:

I was really impressed with the mere height of it, the picture below shows that a bit better though (as creepy as I look in it). lol

If you're asking yourself if I decided to try a new hairstyle, the answer is no. I woke up like this, and I will tell you that I'm very familiar with crazy hair (I have naturally curly hair, so my hair can be classified as "crazy" 95% of the time), but I've never woken up with it looking quite like this before. Don't I look beautiful? Ok, don't answer that - I really don't want to know the answer. In any event, I felt like I needed to share how I looked with you all. A bit embarrassing? Maybe. But I'm ok with that (you all remember my Conversation with a Llama and My Halloween Costume idea posts, right?). Embarrassing myself is one of the things I do best, so why not laugh with you guys?

In other news, Binderclips and I have been packing for our next move (can't you tell by all the boxes in the background?). Yes, we did just move not too long ago, but now we're moving to an apartment in the same complex with NO STAIRS. Our current place has approximately 40 and going up and down 40 stairs with a baby just doesn't seem like the best way to go. So, they're letting us move into a lower unit with no stairs, thank goodness. Wish us luck on the packing! We got a lot done last weekend, but still have a lot to do this weekend.

I know you guys are probably getting sick of seeing these pictures, but why not bore you with some more? Below are my recent belly pictures. I'm 23 weeks today and my belly has blown up! Yesterday, I said to Binderclips "My belly is really getting big, isn't it?" He didn't respond at all (which is not uncommon, he's usually not really paying attention to me, especially right after work when he still has work on his mind). So, I said "Do you hear me? I'm trying to conversate with you..." To which he responded "Yeah, sorry. I want to conversate with you too" but then gave me a look like conversate meant something else (boys will be boys I guess). "I'm serious. Do you see this?" I said pointing to my belly "It's really starting to stick out there." In which he responded with "You really want to talk about this? 'Cause I don't think it's a good idea."

I did want to keep talking about it, but he did have a point. When we were taking a labor and delivery class a couple weeks back he made the mistake of telling me I looked as big as the lady who was 7 months pregnant. (In his defense he meant that she looked really small for being 7 months, so he didn't mean any harm by the comment. But, of course, I didn't take it that way at the time.)

Any who, I hope all is well with you guys out there! Later gators!

My How a Week Makes a Difference!

This Thursday will be 5.5 months for us! Where does all the time go?? Within the last week I have grown tremendously - just look at me!

Front view

You can barely see it in this one but my veiny-ness is in full force.  If you look closely you can see my veins  big time. Kinda gross, but this isn't uncommon while pregnant and they are sticking out all over my chest area also. I kind of have a blue tint to my skin because so many are visible (but please refrain from any smurf jokes). ;)

For some reason you can't see it as much in this picture, but I feel much much bigger than I was!

Now after seeing pictures of me, wouldn't you love to see pictures of the baby??!! Well, I try to never disappoint - so, here you go! (I've taken the liberty to add captions for what I believe the baby is saying in the pictures. I also should add that these pictures make me ridiculously happy, every time I look at them I can't help but smile.)

Are you talkin' to me?

Ok, ok, I get it you're talking to me....now stop shaking me all around, it tickles!
( I swear if you compare this picture to the one above it - it appears that the baby is smiling. Just look at those pushed up cheeks!)

What? Sorry, I'm very very busy in here...there's lots of thumb sucking to be done and you can bet I'll be the one to do it!

Oh yeah, that feels good - just stretching the legs a bit here. Man, do I wish I had a little more room, this space is kind of small! 

Zzzzzzzzzz.....

I hope you all enjoy the pictures as much as we do! Later gators!

Do I know you?

The other day I went to the kitchen to get something to eat because I was hungry. I picked up a bag of pumpkin seeds and saw a chocolate treat and decided to eat that. My intention was to take the pumpkin seeds back to my desk to eat them, however in the middle of eating my chocolate treat something happened....

...I totally forgot what I was doing... I mean - totally forgot. As I stood there (still eating the chocolate and holding the bag of pumpkin seeds) I wondered 'what am I doing here in the kitchen?' As I continued to eat my chocolate I started to think 'well, I am kind of hungry'. It was at that point that I realized that I had already gone through the thought process of 'I'm hungry, I should get something to eat from the kitchen' because:

1) I was already in the kitchen

2) I was already eating a chocolate

3) I already had a bag of pumpkin seeds in my hand that I was planning on eating

Also, on several occasions I've forgotten words in the middle of sentences. One day Binderclips and I were having a conversation about something (I forget what exactly - are you surprised?). Anyways, I could not remember what you call that thing that things are shipped in, you know that's made out of cardboard, that's square....what do you call those things again? 

Unfortunately I could not remember the word and Binderclips had to say "Are you talking about a box?". "YES!" I said enthusiastically "that's exactly what I'm talking about!" I felt relieved that the descriptions I had provided had helped him figure out what I was talking about. All he could say was "Really? You really could not remember the word 'box'?"

What I'm describing above is called 'mommy brain'. Did you guys know something like this existed or happened to pregnant woman? I didn't, that is, until it happened to me. I mean I had heard of it - and you know, I thought that it may have been some weird made up thing, but it is REAL. Let me explain why*:

The brain actually shrinks during pregnancy! Now, we don't lose brain sells or anything, but the brain does restructure itself as a pregnant woman's metabolism changes. The restructuring is primarily having to do with the connections between cells and is supposed to help mothers prepare for motherhood. Interestingly, the brain begins to again increase in size 1-2 weeks before birth! Weird, right? In the end, it ends up being stronger than it was before. YAY! 

In short, babies (in utero) are head (well, brain) shrinkers!! Maybe from now on they should call it "Mommy Brain aka Shrunken Brain Syndrome"?

Any who, I hope all is well with you guys! Wait, what? Oh pictures, you mean you want to see pictures? Oh ok, but only a few as I am starting to really show and become more self conscious. Here you go!

I'm 20 weeks and a day (that's 5 months and day) today! :)

Have a great weekend everyone! Later gators!

*This is the simplified explanation, there are said to be lots of other things that contribute to "mommy brain" also, just something to remember (if you can remember anything) ;)