A Birthday Story

October 27th, 2009

1:30 am: I awoke feeling like I was having menstrual cramps. I tossed and turned for awhile but when the cramping didn't go away I decided I was having contractions. I decided not to wake Manuel right away and instead got up around 2:15 and took a shower to see if moving around would make the contractions go away. Nope, still contracting every 15 to 20 minutes.

3:30 am: Manuel woke up and realized I was awake so I told him I thought I was having contractions. This was the perfect scenario in Manuel's opinion...for me to go into labor in the middle of night...because he would for sure be home to drive me to the hospital. Manuel had been stressing out over the notion that if I went into labor while he was at work he wouldn't make it from downtown on HWY 45 to The Woodlands in time for the birth, especially if it was rush hour. We started timing my contractions. They were kind of sporadic - anywhere from 2 minutes to 20 minutes apart and never really developed into a pattern but they never went away either.

8:00 am: After getting Andres and Jeremy off to school we decide to go to the doctor's office because we are convinced I am in labor. At the doctor's office we are told I am 70% effaced but only dilated to 1 cm. The doctor says I am not in labor because the contractions have not caused my cervix to dilate past 1 cm. In order to offically be "in labor" your cervix needs to be dilated to 4 cm. Uhhhhhh.....ok??? Anyways....

9:30 am: We decide to hang around The Woodlands for awhile longer instead of returning to Humble in case my contractions get worse. We are convinced the doctor is wrong. We eat breakfast at IHOP. I am continuing to have contractions. The contractions are uncomfortable and slightly painful but I can still walk around and carry on a conversation. After a while we decide we can't hang around IHOP all day and the contractions were not increasing in severity so we decide to head back to Humble. We start to doubt ourselves. Maybe the doctor is right.

11:15 am: We arrive back in Humble where we stop at an HEB to have a couple of prescriptions filled and do some grocery shopping. Manuel takes care of everything in the store because I elect to wait in the car. I am not in a ton of pain but I'm still having contractions. I decide even this amount of pain isn't worth it if I'm not in labor. I'm totally bummed.

12:15 noon: We arrive home. When I step out of the car I think I feel a small gush of water and decide that I need to go to the bathroom to check things out. I don't mention this to Manuel. Manuel carries in some groceries then returns to the car to get more items. I follow him into the house. I never make it to the bathroom because as I pass through the kitchen I feel a larger gush of water. I run/wobble back to the door and yell at Manuel that my water just broke, or I peed on myself. He comes running in the house in disbelief. We check things out and decide I do not have a bladder control problem; in fact, my water has broken. We jump back into the car and head back to The Woodlands. I phone my doctor's office and the nurse says to head straight to Labor and Delivery at Memorial Hermann - The Woodlands. Another huge gush of water in the car tha soaks through my clothes to the seat of the car an begins running down my legs. I'm freaking out that we won't make it all the way back to the hospital in time.

1:00 pm: We are admitted into Labor and Delivery. The doctor shows up expressing his surprise to see me again so soon. He checks me. I am dilated to 4 cm. He says it could be hours before I make it to 10 cm and since my contractions still are coming regularly he is going to administer pitocin. Ahhhhhh!!! I fear pitocin. It makes contractions more painful. I decide to give it a try.

2:00 pm: The contractions have gotten considerably worse and are about one and a half to two minutes apart. I'm in a lot of pain. I'm unhappy, uncomfortable, and don't feel like answering any of the nurse's questions.

3:00 pm: I request that I be given an epidural and the pitocin stop being administered. The nurse turns off the pitocin drip and says the epidural is on the way. About 20 minutes later the epidural arrives but as the doctor is explaining how he is going to administer the epdiural I have a contraction that makes me feel like I need to push. The nurse is shocked when she checks and discovers that I am fully dialted already. There is no time for an epidural. The nurse's scramble to reach my doctor by phone.

3:20pm: The doctor arrives. He again expresses his surprise at how quickly my labor has progressed. Then, he proceeds to do doctorly things...

3:34 pm: Isabella is born!!!!

Busy Enough to Pull My Hair Out!!

Where to begin...


I've been sooo busy that I have neglected to update my blog on a regular basis. But let me see if I can recap some recent events.

• Andres' football team is 5-0. Last season they went undefeated and won the super bowl and we are hoping for a repeat. I've included a pic of Manuel and Andres at his last game.



• Jeremy's boxing schedule was cut from five nights per week to three nights per week when school began in August because of scheduling conflicts :-( He is still enjoying boxing but I just can't get him there every night of the week because I have class and Manuel takes Andres to football practice.



• This week is mid-terms for me. Thank goodness the semester is half way over. I have been giving ridiculously long academic achievement tests (the kinds used to diagnose learning disabilities) to Jeremy, Andres, and Manuel for my Assessment in Special Education class. They have been gracious enough to sit for hours-literally-while I administer them all kinds of tests. I have a major paper and presentation due in a few weeks. I really should be working on that instead of blogging.



• Isabella is due in three weeks! I am visiting the doctor weekly now. I have an appointment on Friday when I will have my 37 week ultrasound to determine how big she is and her presentation. We can't wait to meet her :-)



• Last week the ladies at my school hosted a babyshower for me and another pregnant teacher. It was so sweet of them. The theme was bath time and I got all kinds of bath gear including a bath tub, rubber duckies, and hooded towels.


• Katrena, Vernon, Sam and Nala dropped by last week for dinner. Nala is 4 months now. It's amazing how alert Nala is and Sam looked ridiculously cute in his cowboy boots.


• This weekend we bought a high chair, two car seats, a stroller, and a play pen. We feel ready!



• My last day at work is October 30th. I am busy preparing lesson plans and making copies for the remainder of the semester so the long term sub will have everything she needs. I am very happy that this particular sub agreed to "be me" for the months of November and December because she is excellent with the kids and she is a former principal and director of special education services at schools in Illinois and California.

• Today I spent most of the day studying for mid-terms. Thank goodness I didn't have to be at work since it is Columbus Day and school is out. Shortly, we are meeting Teah for dinner. Mexican food - yummmm!

Have a great week!

KaSandra

I'm too busy to blog!!!!

I thought I would be able to update my blog weekly BUT I'm a pregnant working mother of two and a graduate student with two night classes per week who is reading chapters and typing papers at a table next to the boxing ring during Jeremy's boxing practices. Ahhhhhhh!!! I'll try to do better. Check out a few baby shower pics!

Manuel, Manuel, Manuel

Manuel is soooooo excited about Isabella coming into our lives. Don't get me wrong - he nearly turned green when the ultrasound technician said, "It's a girl!" Manuel is a real guy's guy if you know what I mean. All macho, all the time and totally into man stuff, man shows, and hot women etc., etc., etc. Manuel would be perfectly content to have a house full of sons. Boys are what he understands and what he is comfortable with because he is one. Football, baseball, boxing, weight lifting, fishing are typical in the life of Manuel. So, "It's a girl!" gave him visions of cement rooms to keep her in and shot guns to point when boys come calling. He really got himself stressed out about it. All Manuel could focus on was Isabella as a teenager and how she would dress, act, treat boys, and how boys would treat her. The issue of boys is the big one. I think Manuel remembers what he was like as a teenage boy and suddenly all those fond memories are haunting him because he knows someday some boy will try all the same things on his precious Isabella. Probably serves him right ;-) But Manuel has had plenty of time to consider having a little girl - his "monita" he calls her (little monkey). I think Manuel now loves the idea of having a LITTLE girl. Note: the key word is little. The notion of a baby girl, a toddler girl, a grade school aged girl is wonderful to him but a teenage girl still gives him pause. And, oh my goodness, the double standard!!!!! You wouldn't believe the long list of things Isabella will never be allowed to do but if Jeremy or Andres were to do these same things Manuel wouldn't even give it a second thought. He knows and readily admits to the double standard but that doesn't change the way he feels about it. Thank goodness Isabella will have me and her tia to counter balance the double standard :-) She's gonna need it. Even though I give him a hard time about it constantly (playfully, of course) that fact that Manuel is already so concerned about Isabella's well being is comforting to me. But, shhhhh, don't tell Manuel. I intend to keep right on picking on him about this double standard/gender bias BS ;-)

Manuel's birthday was this past week. I'll post some pics. We also attended one of his friend's babyshowers. I'll post pics of that too.

Jeremy update: My son got his first bloody nose in boxing last night! But he handled it very well and I'm very proud of his efforts. He's working very hard.

Andres update: The new football uniform is really nice! He's going to look like a stud :-)

Til next time,

K

Promised Pictures

In the blog I published moments ago I promised pics of all my neices and nephews but I ran into some technical troubles...so here is some more pics to ensure everyone gets equal face time.

IN THE PICS:

Ryan on his balcony (Katy's son)

Christian in his bouncer (Keri's son)

Me holding Sam (Katrena's son)

Nala sleeping (Katrena's daughter)

Jeremy (my son) with me and Nala

To 4D or Not to 4D? That is the question.

When my sister Katrena was pregnant with her first child she emailed me a picture of her son in utero. The picture was taken using 4D ultrasound. I understand 2D and 3D but I have don't have a clue about the fourth dimension, however; I do know this...4D makes a pretty picture. The color is a golden hue but the baby can be seen in much greater detail than the traditional 2D ultrasound pictures. You remember 2D - the grainy black and white images you get in which you can identify the baby's profile and its bones. Anyway, she said her doctor's office performed the 4D ultrasound at no additional cost to her. Since that time a few friends and co-workers have excitedly presented 4D pictures of their unborn as well. I assumed I would receive the same services but you can guess where assuming got me. My doctor's office provides 4D ultrasound but at a cost of $150. First, I planned on paying the fee because I was soooo excited to see what/who little Isabella looks like. Then I changed my mind and decided it is ridiculous to pay $150 because for centuries parents have been surprised by what their child looks like on his/her birthday (and always pleasantly so - even if the little bugger looks like quasimoto). Recently, I had this bright idea that I would search online for an office that performs 4D ultrasounds at a fraction of the price my doctor's office charges. Wrong! Apparently, 4D is big business these days and the typical package deal will cost you $285. I've once again settled on waiting and being surprised. By the way, my sister's son was born looking exactly like he did in his 4D ultrasound pictures. On the other hand, a friend of mine thought the 4D picture had a resemblence to her baby but wasn't spot on.

I can't wait to see who Isabella looks like. My son, Jeremy, looks more like his father than me - same hair line, same coloring, same lips as his dad. Jeremy got his dad's height too. The only obvious characteristic I gave him is his eye color: green and maybe his nose but the nose is debateable. Manuel is POSITIVE Isabella will look just like him, except her nose. On what does he base this, you ask? His son. Manuel says Andres looks exactly like him, but that Andres has his mother's nose. Manuel insists that he posseses very strong genes (except the nose gene) so he believes the baby will look more like him but have my nose. I imagine Isabella will have dark curly hair like her father and most likely his coloring as well, but I want her to resemble me. I want a mini-me!!!! Mhaw ha ha ha :-)

I think all my neices and nephews are terrific looking children so I am posting pictures of all the them for your viewing pleasure.

POSTSCRIPT: I tried to upload many pictures but apparently I have a limit of five...and when I tried to arrange the pics two of them disappeared. So I'll post a second blo with pictures of my other neices and nephews so noone feels left out ;-)

TOP: Matthias, son of my sister Katy

MIDDLE: Sam, son of my sister Katrena

BOTTOM: Matthias and Ryan with their father Wolfy (my sister Katy's sons and husband)

The Boys Feelings About Baby

Manuel and I stressed long and hard about telling our boys we were having a baby. We put it off and put it off. We finally decided after Andres and Jeremy had taken the TAKS tests in April we would break the news to them. We discussed if we should tell them together or seperately and how we should go about doing it. Of cource, none of the options we came up with panned out. It just kind of happened one morning. We were lying in bed talking about how we couldn't put it off forever because I was starting to show. I think I was about 14 weeks pregnant. I was totally stressed about telling Jeremy because I was absolutely certain he would not be happy about the news. He had been an only child for 12 years. Jeremy and I had never discussed the possiblility of him having a sibling because I never had any plans to have another child. I was scared he was going to totally freak out and it would effect his behavior and grades at school. So anyways, I was lying in bed and I looked at Manuel and jokingly said something like, "Maybe you can just tell both of the boys so I don't have to do it." He got up out of bed and said he would be right back. The next thing I hear is him in the kitchen talking to the boys about how nice it would be to have a sister or brother. I panicked and ran into the kitchen. I didn't think he was actually going to do it by himself!!! The boys did not like the idea of having a sibling but neither Andres or Jeremy seemed concerned because they thought this was a hypothetical scenario. When we broke the news the kids thought we were joking at first. Then things turned a little more serious. Neither boy totally freaked out but I could tell by their expressions joy was not the emotion either was feeling.

Fastworward to today. I am 27 weeks pregnant. The boys have opened up to the idea of having a little sister. Andres seems pretty excited about it now even though he keeps emphasizing to me how much he prefers a baby brother to a baby sister. Even so, he occassionally climbs into bed with me to watch baby shows on TLC or Discovery Health in the mornings. He is very inquisitive and I try to answer all his questions about giving birth with a PG-13 answer. One morning Andres declared that he would like to be in the delivery room when I give birth! Uhhhhh...no...but it's cute that he thinks this is a good idea. Jeremy doesn't ask as many questions as Andres but I think he is excited too. He occassionally makes little comments about the baby and asks if she is hungry or kicking or offers to change her diapers. I wouldn't dare say Jeremy is the silent type. On the contrary, he is very loud, but he tends to keep more of his feelings and thoughts about the baby to himself than Andres does. Jeremy's main concern is that Manuel will NEVER allow the baby to eat ice cream or have a dessert because Manuel has spoken several times about making sure the baby is raised to be a healthy eater. To Jeremy such a notion is like removing the joy out of life. He doesn't understand that Manuel means such treats should be occassional and not an everyday habit.

The boys are keeping us plenty busy. This past weekend Lilia and Mike took the boys to lunch and I took them to see Aliens in the Attic and to play miniature golf. Tonight Andres has football and Jeremy has boxing. Busy, busy.

Tired & HOT!!!!!

KaSandra