An update...finally

So it has been over 6 months since my last post, for good reason, I promise!
I last posted the end of September. I had all these grand plans before baby came...I was going to do a what's in my hospital bag post (because I thought I had gotten it right this 2nd time around). I was going to do a my favorite things post for fall...but, as children are, baby Braden was VERY unpredictable.

Braden was born October 3rd, three weeks early, which wasnt too surprising since Sophia was born 4 weeks early in 2011. I thought I would have the perfect bonding experience with little man, at home, but shortly after arriving home, things were not what they should have been. See, Braden was VERY lethargic at home, barely opening his eyes, and only crying ONE time after we got home the first week of his life (during bath time...but I'd cry too!) He felt cold, I couldn't wake him, he wouldn't nurse. I took him to the pediatrician 3 times that first week home. The first check up was a normal first baby visit, I explained my concern that he wasnt eating enough (this wasnt my first rodeo) but he had gained weight, so it did not indicate a problem. Babies are sleepy, I was told, which is true and normal 99.9% of the time. I asked to come back in 2 days, and I did. By 7 days old He was sleeping 23.5 hours a day, and only drinking about 2 ounces a day. Still making wet diapers (I don't know how) and ge had gained an ounce. (How, i don't know!) But I still felt something was off. I was sent home. That Friday I called and made a sick visit because things were bad. He was still sleeping almost 24 hours a day, he only drank 1.5 ounces a day. I saw a different pediatrician, since my normal one was not available. They took him temperature.. 92.2 (something like that) I panicked, but the nurse went and got another thermometer, get his time it was somewhere between 92.2 and 93... I can't remember I just remember freaking out.
The doctor came in, and said he had gained an ounce, and that she didn't think their thermometers were very accurate, and he "felt" fine, so they sent me home.

Well flash forward 2 days later, Sunday night about 11:30pm, Braden was having trouble breathing, and breathing fast so we took him into the ER after calling our pediatrician our pediatrician a office, and that is where our nightmare started.

I won't go into ALL of the details of our 42 day stay in the hospital, but it included being told my son was in heart failure, being told he might not make it through the night, an emergency transfer to UVA hospital, my son being placed on a bypass machine to pump his heart because he was unable to do so, and being wait listed on the heart transplant list at status 1A.. The highest need. My life was in shambles, and I still see pieces of it, the worst days, like snapshots on a camera...but the feeling of being told your son may die, and his medical issue was unknown, stays with you forever....

I slept all 42 nights on a bench right beside my sons hospital bed. My husband and I were blessed with friends, family, and prayers all over the world and our prayers were answered. On the 42nd day, the week of thanksgiving, he came home with us.

Without writing a novel, the diagnosis was Myocarditis...a virus that attacked his heart muscle. This is very serious in newborns as there are not many known cases. We were told that most infants pass away in their sleep or it goes undiagnosed, or labeled SIDS. The rate of survival for a newborn was very, very small.

Although Braden has a long way to go, I am so blessed I have these days with him. Although his heart is not normal, and he may one day need a transplant if it gets weaker, I am so honored to be his mommy, and so blessed to have him in my life.

So there you have it. Occasionally I will make updates on the blog about Braden, but I don't want to dwell on the fact that he is not well, I want to rejoice in the fact that I have my family, and we can experience and enjoy every moment we are blessed with!
I hope to start blogging again soon, in between messy diapers, getting thrown up on, and a house full of crying babies, but you know what?....I love every moment......even the smelly ones......

A new job, a fresh start

So I left public accounting....I actually left. It was a bitter sweet moment for me, as i had been with the same Firm for 8 years. But I needed to move on and find something that worked a little better with my new life.

I started my new job 3 weeks ago, and its pretty awesome. I'm in private industry now.  I'm still working full time, but having a more regular schedule allows me to be present at home a little more, both physically and mentally.

I'm so excited for what the future holds in my career, but always remind myself of the most important job I have, mommy to 2 pretty amazing little kiddos.

(I'll keep telling myself that as I listen to my 2 year old have tantrum number 3 for the day... And it's only 8am! )

Love her always!

I think this year I bit off more than I can chew

I think this year I bit off more than I can chew.


Let me think about that saying for a bit. I visualize someone taking a huge bite of something like a candy bar….let’s say Snickers Bar (mmmm Snickers Bar), and they are sitting there chewing for what seems like eternity. I guess in my vision pieces of candy bar are like flying out of the person’s mouth. They get some on their shirt, some stuck in their teeth, but lo and behold, a few minutes later they’ve succeeded. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone literally take a bite of something that they couldn’t EVENTUALLY finish chewing (with a little clean up afterwards).

Story. Of. My. Life.

This analogy pretty much sums up the last 3 months of my life. I guess I would say I’ve bit off more than I should chew, but I chewed it. With my first tax season as a mom, working full time, I really pushed myself to the limit. Working 60-70 hours a week. Juggling taxes, cleaning the house, making baby food, cooking dinner, trying to stay social, spending time with my family, I definitely almost had a few meltdowns. I didn’t do it all, all the time. The laundry may not have been done as often as it should, the baby may have eaten a few jars of store bought baby food, the kitchen floor might not have been mopped for a few weeks (or 2 months), I may not have made it to the gym (at all), but I’ve come to terms that I did the best I could.

It is now April 18th, and I’ve survived! My schedule is back to a normal work week, and my daughter is starting to crawl. I’m really excited about the next few months. I'm ready to take it all on.

One thing that didn’t go as planned was this blog. But, I think I can salvage what I have left, and use this as a way to write about my challenges throughout the year as a working mother.

It's not always sunshine and rainbows, but sometimes it is, and that's what keeps me going!

A day in the life of a working mom: Pre Tax Season

Things have been crazy in the Millikan household. Between work, making/selling bows, the holidays, things have been completely packed!

I figured now would be a great time to list my daily schedule now that I'm a working mom. And I HAVE to be on some type of schedule to stay sane, so here it is.... A weekday in the life of a working mom:

5:30am Alarm goes off, and I wake up baby to eat
5:30am-6:00am Sophia eats
6:00am-6:45am Sophia goes back to her crib to rest/play, while I get dressed and do my hair/make-up
6:45am-7:00am Me/my husband (Ian) changes Sophia's diaper, dresses her in something acceptable (this step gets skipped if we run out of time...pj's at grandmas is alright attire! :)
7:00am-7:15am I wash and sterilize bottles/pump parts and pack up my Medela Pump in Style bag, packing an ice bag in a cooler.
7:15am-7:30am Drop Sophia off
7:30am-8:00am Ian and I carpool to work downtown.
8:00am-5:00pm WORK
5:00pm-5:45pm Ian and I drive home
5:45pm-6:00pm Pick up Sophia
6:00pm-6:30pm Hang out at home, relax, grab a snack
6:30pm feed dogs
6:30pm- Check work e-mail
7:00pm- feed Sophia oatmeal and her veggie of the day (see picture)
7:00pm-7:45pm Sophia naps while I cook dinner for Ian and I
7:45pm-8:00pm Ian and I eat,while Sophia wakes up and plays
8:00pm-8:30pm I shower while Ian does tummy time with Sophia
8:30pm diaper change and play time with Sophia
9:00pm- put Sophia down to bed (Ian showers)
9:00pm-10:00pm TV watching time/cleaning up the living room/house
10:00pm-10:15pm wash and sterilize some pump parts
10:15-10:30 pump before bed
10:30pm-5:30pm Sleep

REPEAT!!

This will be my schedule until January 15th, and then it will be completely different, as instead of 40-45 hours a week, I will be working 50-65 hours a week. I'll be sure to post that once I work out the kinks....

Being a working mom is stressful, hard and BUSY, but I wouldn't change it for the world! My career and my daughter keep me motivated to wake up and repeat this schedule day after day.

And, when I feel exhausted from a long day, I get to come home to this....

 

To poop or not to poop....

So I never thought I’d be so verbal about poop or talking about poop. But, as a mom, that 4 letter word is FREQUENT in your vocabulary. From the moment your child is born, they tell you to track your baby’s poop; the number of times a day, the color, texture, odor. It’s insane how much more you can tolerate once you have a kid. They literally gave us a picture chart of different types of poop. We’d match it up and log it in our book.


Well, a newborn infant poops constantly the first few months of life (especially a breastfed one). There were times Sophia did close to 10 times a day, so you realize my concern that my daughter (this weekend) has now gone over 48 hours without pooping!

Any moment…I’m sitting here waiting…and thank God for the internet. I google the craziest things (I only wish that I can go back and review everything I’ve googled since she was born) but yes I googled “My 4 month old hasn’t pooped in 2 days” and I got hits! It seems that as a mother, no matter what you are thinking, someone else has asked that same question.



It’s nice to know we are not alone fellow mommies! Let’s just hope I’m not alone when her no poop streak ends……

A new holiday tradition

Friday the husband and I decided to start our first holiday tradition as a family. We want to make decorating special for Sophia, and have decided to declare a whole night dedicated to decorating the house, in our PJ's after eating breakfast for dinner, scrambled eggs, pancakes and bacon.

I think it will be pretty fun tradition! I can't wait until Sophia is old enough to hang her own ornaments. This year we settled for her napping by the tree while we decorated. :)

What fun traditions does your family have?

MIA mommy

So I've been dropping the ball the past few days. This week marked my first FULL week back at work, and it has been eventful! Between tryin to work out a feeding schedule, sleep schedule, squeezing in dinner, laundry and a shower between the hours of 6pm and 10pm, it has been much more difficult than I have imagined.

Stay tuned for an upcoming post that goes through these past few days, and how I've managed to come out alive....or better yet....awake.....

If you are a working mother, what is your advice on how to get more sleep during the work week, but get the housework done, and spend time with your little one and husband too?

REVERSE Nesting?

So, we've all heard the term "nesting" in regards to when pregnant mothers begin to get the house ready for the new baby. Cleaning, doing laundry, yelling at our husbands to finish half started house projects, these are all common signs of "nesting." I had my share of nesting. My husband may even say I nested BEFORE I was even pregnant. I don't think buying baby toys on clearance to store them in my closet before knowing I was pregnant really counts as nesting...more like crazy? haha (Okay, I know that there are others that do this too, don't lie!)

Anyways, I'm digressing. When I "nested" I apparently made a whole list titled "Cr*p that needs to get done before the baby comes" and e-mailed it to my husband. Well, 2 days later, (and a whole month early) Sophia came, and my list never was completed. This was my first lesson I learned as a mom. "When it comes to having children, you can plan, but 99% of the time, things aren't going to work exactly as planned." So there was my short lived nesting phase when it came to my daughter.

Well, for those of you that don't know, starting in October, I went back to work 2 days a week, to ease myself back into my full time job. Well, next week, the week of October 31st, I start 5 days a week, full time. Well, this past week, on one of my days off, my husband came home an hour early, and caught me on my hands and knees scrubbing the floor of the kitchen. We're talking moved the breakfast table and chairs into the other room, and really getting the floor clean. He took one look at me and said, "So.....is this reverse nesting?"

Now, in the context of things, I don't think he meant quite what he was saying because when I initially thought of "reverse nesting" I thought it meant not getting things ready, or being lazy (I almost took the spatula from the kitchen counter and beat him over the head with it, if that was his intention of what it meant.) But, he went on to say "Is this where you go crazy and get everything neat and tidy before going back to work." You know, I think it was.

So, although the term "Reverse Nesting" can seem odd, I like the sound of it. So I fully admit to my reverse nesting phase. *Hopefully* I will get a clean house out of this!

Dear Michaels, I miss you

Recently I wrote an e-mail to Michaels, the store. I use to frequent that store weekly, but since having Sophia, I haven't really gone into the store, and I finally realized why.
I decided to write them so they would understand why I and some others may (consciously or subconsciously) avoid their store.
SO, this is evidence that if a change is made, it may possibly be because of this e-mail I just wrote. (PS. this proves how much of a dork I am, since I'm spending the time writing this e-mail, and then of course a blog about the e-mail...geeze....lol)

"Michaels! I just want to say I LOVE your store, and your SpookyTown collection gets my husband and I in every year. I do want to communicate a recent change in my life that has caused me to not be able to shop in your store as frequently. As a marketing major in college I studied the trends of consumers, and when I realized what I was actually doing, why I was beginning to avoid your store, I decided I HAD to let you know (in case others subconsciously were avoiding it as well).

I recently had a baby. Upon entering your store for the first time I realized I could not fit my child's car seat into your shopping cart basket. Your baskets are TOO small. "Big Deal" one might think, but it WAS a big deal. Not being able to place my daughter safely inside the large part of the shopping cart meant I had to lug around the entire car seat with baby in it. Too heavy, it caused me to wander around the store for 2 minutes and then leave. I haven't been back since because when I went to JoAnn Fabrics the car seat fit into the stroller, and I spent a whole hour strolling around a nice quiet sleeping baby.

So, over the past few weeks when I've had the need for crafts, I have only gone to JoAnns. The main purpose being because my car seat fits into my cart.

As a mom it's too much effort to take my infant child out of her car seat to go into a store, and if she is sleeping, no way will I take her out of it! Popping her in the stroller makes a quick trip in a one stop store a nightmare (as the effort to uncollapse and collapse the stroller is an extra step, and it is hard to maneuver around the aisle with a stroller and a basket). I save the stroller for the mall.

So, this is my friendly request. Consider making your shopping baskets a little bigger so I can again enjoy my weekly trips to your store!

Thanks!"
 
So my bloggie friends, if Michaels ends up getting bigger baskets, this may in fact be my one and only claim to fame. Here's to big baskets, being lazy and placing our carseats in them!

Ashland Berry Farm

We took Sophia to her first Pumpkin Patch. We decided to make the drive to Ashland Berry Farm. They
had a great hayride (free admission) and we did the "all you can carry for $20" Ian was forced to carry 8 pumpkins!
The reason we chose Ashland was because they did not charge an admission to get in and do the hayride. And, since Sophia is too young to enjoy rides, mazes, and games, it was the most economical route. Plus, this way you pay for what you actually enjoy!
Their decorations were great, and their gift shop was a fun way to end the day.

I highly recommend Ashland Berry Farm! Visit their website at: http://ashlandberryfarm.com/

Here is a picture of the trial run. I don't have a picture of the final carry, but we tossed 3 more pumpkins on him. Ian survived, and everyone got their pumpkins!

Munchkin Bunch Member

Thanks to everyone's support and voting, Sophia made it as a Munchkin Bunch Member! She wins scholarship money and a prize package of Munchkin, Inc. products every month through May 2012

She received her first package on Thursday. It was filled with tons of Munchkin products!

Thank you again for your support. Sophia is excited to share her monthly product reviews with you and the rest of the Munchkin, Inc. Family!

Thursday Rant: I need space!

I don't like complaining. I love being a mom, and I dont' mind the extra hassles and new struggles being a mom brings. But, sometimes it's nice to talk about some of those struggles to see if anyone else relates. Plus it allows me to get it off my chest, and laugh about it, so here goes! :)

So, today I took Sophia out to run a couple errands. Mom decode: going to 2-3 stores for an hour or two, and needing about an hour to prepare for the trip. (Bottles, diapers, change of clothes, timing the last feed, getting the stroller ready, etc.)

Well, I had some issues today that I need to rant about! First, I'm in the fitting room at Ross, and out of the 10 fitting rooms,there was one large fitting room, and 9 smaller fitting rooms. Well, some lady all by her lonesome is in the large fitting room, and the 9 other rooms are empty! So, me, and my tugboat stroller, are left waiting for her to finish so I could actually fit my child in the room with me while I changed. So after 10 minutes of waiting I was tired of "talking" to my child "OK Sophia, we have to wait for the big room since we REALLY need it" to which the lady did not take a hint, so eventually I surrendered had to go into a small room and change with the door open with the stroller stuck in the doorway.

Then, in the next store, Kohls, it was about the time where Sophia was crying and needed to be changed and fed. Off to the bathroom I went. There were 6 regular stalls, and 1 big stall. NONE of the regular stalls were being used, but the big stall was occupied. REALLY...really? Why do people do this? I thought about it, and I guess it's sort of like if you were waiting to get on an airplane, and they said "OK folks, you can choose (for no charge) to sit in First Class, Business, or Coach" Of course you're going to choose First Class right?" Sigh...but really... the toilets ARE THE SAME SIZE. Okay, so you get 2 extra feet of empty space, what are you going to use it for if you are not handicapped, or don't have a large boat like stroller? Are you going to dance around in it?
I need the big stall to fit my stroller in, to use the changing table, so I waited again...
I thought, maybe it IS someone else with a stroller, or maybe a handicapped person (a very legitimate reason to use the large stall), but no, it was a single young (skinny) woman.

Okay, I think I'm done with my Thursday rant. I Marian, will never take the big stall, or the big changing room, when it's just me, by myself. :)

The Rainstorm Portraits

I'm the type of person that if I bring an umbrella out, it wont rain, but if I don't bring an umbrella, I find myself stuck in a rainstorm.
Well, today I was smart, it was ALREADY raining, and I was heading out with Sophia for some quick Sear portraits, meeting up with my parents coming in from out of town. I was going to outsmart my bad rain Karma, and bring an umbrella. Surely it would stop raining once I got in the car but I would have my umbrella!
I venture out with Sophia in tow, and the rain gets stronger and stronger. You would of thought I was driving in a hurricane! Once I get to Sears it's raining so bad, and my appointment was in 5 minutes, I had to think fast.
I parked as close as possible (about 25 feet from the entrance) and thought out my strategy. I somehow had to get myself, my child in her carseat, my stroller (which I would have to uncollapse from the trunk) and my photo props into the mall. Okay, so I knew I wasn't going to make that happen without things getting wet, but hopefully I could control HOW wet they get. First, since I was so close to the entrance, I would get the stroller uncollapsed put the props in it and over to the door of the mall. I knew I couldn't manage snapping my carseated child into the car seat without her gettng soaked, so I figured if I did this fast, and because I was only 25 feet away from her I would be okay. So I held my breath (I don't know why I did that) and jumped out of the car, opened the truck, pulled out the stroller, popped it open, and raced it to the entrace of the mall under the roofed area. Then, I ran back to the car and jumped into the backseat to catch my breath (again, I don't know why I held my breath). When I looked back at my stroller I was in horror, STUPID me forgot to put the brake on and there it went down the ramp, and through the parking lot, into the rainstorm. So much for trying not to get it too wet. I had to chase it, which left me AND the stroller soaked. I then tossed a blanket over my childs carseat and ran her into the mall.

I think only mothers can relate to the effort and exhaustion it takes just to plan for a situation like this. I deal with it everytime I drive anywhere, do I bring JUST the carseat in? Do I bring just the child in with the baby bjourn? Do I bring the whole stroller in? How long am I going to be in the store, does it justify the strength I need to pop open the stroller? Do I even have the strength to pop open the stroller? Ok, I've decided.... I'm going to go home and try this later. STORY OF MY LIFE.

Anyways,the portrait session itself went well! We had some cute pictures taken and Sears did a good job. However, today was officially Sophia's first bad hairday, thanks to the rainstorm, and I have pictures to help me remember! :)

Top 10 Finalist

Out of 3,500 applicants, Sophia was chosen as a top 10 finalist to be a member of the Munchkin Bunch! Now it's up to facebook to select the top 5, and Sophia needs every vote she can get!
If you have a Facebook account please vote! You are allowed to vote for her 5 times per day. Here is the link:

http://www.facebook.com/MunchkinInc?sk=app_159117397504600

You have to allow access to the voting application and like the page for Munchkin, Inc. Then click on her picture, and click vote 5 times. Munchkin, Inc is a popular developer of infant toys and gear such as the Arm & Hammer diaper pail. They also make safety gear, feeding gear, and tons of other useful items for mom and baby.




Please spread the word, and help Sophia make the top 5. Voting ends October 1st! :)

Potty Time

So, it's been a running joke that Sophia likes to poop and pee on Ian when he's changing her. She likes to hold in some extra just for the occasion, and seems to time it perfectly. Ian has concluded that this could only mean she is ready to be potty trained. Even though he was joking, he brought up the idea of putting her on the potty the other day. (Sunday August 14th to be exact) I told Ian he was crazy, and that if he dropped her into the toilet I would kill him.

When he asked for my help that morning, I figured I'd let him have his moment, and help him (my sole purpose was to make sure my child did not get injured during this attempt). Ian held her under her arms, and I held her litle legs up and out a little. Ian then firmly told her "Sophia, go potty!" and lo and behold, 3 seconds later, she peed in the potty. My 2 and a half week old pee peed in the potty!

Granted, this was probably just a coincidence, and I may have wiffed a little bit of cold air towards her, but the end result is she did it! We will always remember this memory. And, to keep our memory of this, we have the following picture. Notice Sophia is holding up her #1 finger, as if she is saying "I WENT #1!"

My Labor Story

It was a beautiful day on July 27th. I remember staring at my closet trying to figure out what to wear for work. I was 36 weeks 1 day pregnant, and I had decided on some calf length black stretchy dress pants (on loan from Jenni Hawkins). I remember worrying that we aren't supposed to wear capri pants to work, but, I was pregnant, and I felt like I needed something stretchy and relaxing that day, so that's what I wore.

The morning went slow. Around 10am I decided to have a nice conversation with Jessica. She is also pregnant, expecting her first, and was due mid September. We went into depth discussing our maternity leave plans for work. We both agreed we wanted to time it out perfectly. I wanted my child to come at the very end of August, or beginning of September. That way I could time my PTO and short term disability and get paid for labor day, and then be out for September and October (my favorite month of the year). Jessica had a similar plan, she wanted her son born a week late, so she could take off the rest of the year and the holidays.

Shortly after that conversation I passed by Brandy's cube, letting her know I was excited about Quizno's for lunch which was going to be in half an hour. I waddled back over to my cube, and then...........my water broke. Or, what I actually thought was I peed myself! Did I really just pee myself? I grabbed my cell phone and waddled over to the bathroom on the other side of the office. Well, moments later (I will leave out all of the gross details) I decided I was 90% sure it was my water breaking, and I called Ian, from the bathroom stall. He didn't pick up at first (typical) but he picked up when I immediately called again. I said "I think my water just broke." He asked if I was sure, ad I said "I'm 90% sure." He then told me he was going to pack up his stuff and meet me at my office. (we carpool, and his office is a 5 minute walk away, and I park the car at my office.)

After I hung up the phone with Ian, I didn't know what to do, so I walked briskly over to my old bosses office (Karen). She was meeting with a coworker, and I walked into her doorway. She noticed something was wrong by the look on my face. She asked what was wrong, and I burst into tears. I couldn't formulate any words for at least a whole 2 minutes, and then I blurted it out "My water broke." Karen calmly asked me where Ian was, and if my hospital bag was packed. "NO, my bag isn't packed.....I'M NOT READY FOR THIS." Karen calmly responded "well, you are going to have a baby today." She walked me over to my desk to collect my things and walked with me to the lobby to wait with for Ian. I remember asking her "does this mean I HAVE to have the baby today, or can I wait a while?" Wow Marian, THAT's what you were thinking about?

I called my doctors office and made an immediate appointment, and then I saw Ian's face when the elevator doors opened, we got into our car, and he drove me to our house. We had 20 minutes before our doctors appointment, so we started packing our bags. Tossing everything and the kitchen sink into our bags to make sure nothing was forgotten. It was going through my head that I hadn't downloaded my labor music, I didn't have my noise cancelling headphones, my aromatherapy oils were not ordered. Me, Marian, the most prepared person on the earth, was NOT ready.

We took our "luggage" and went to my women's doctor, arrived around 1:20pm, who confirmed my water had broken and I was going to have this baby tonight or tomorrow morning. She ordered me to check into the hospital, and we did just that. We checked in and got situated into our room. We took the LAST room at St. Francis. (Thank goodness!) The nurse was ordered to start me on pitocin to get my contractions started. Although my water broke, I did not have any contractions. I asked the nurse politely "do you think I have time to take a shower first" and I did just that. I took a nice hot shower, washed my hair, blow dried it straight, put on my maternity gown and jumped into the hospital bed. I remember telling myself "wow, this labor thing isn't that bad, I'm refreshed, relaxed and ready to go."

The nurse started me on Pitocin through an IV, some fluids, and penicillin. The Penicillin was ordered because at 36 weeks I had not had my Strep B test. So, they were going to treat me as if I would have tested positive and go ahead and give me the Penicillin just to be safe. That IV BURNED like hell. It was so painful, they had to dilute it down because I couldn't take it. At that point I thought "If I can't handle an IV, how am I going to give birth!?!"

The contractions started. They were not regular, and the intensity was only a medium. Ian and I did our breathing anyways, to stay focused and relaxed. I was hungry so the nurse got me a Popsicle. I was debating whether to ask someone to bring Rita's Italian Ice for me. An hour late the contractions started picking up. My mind was going a mile a minute trying to figure out canceling my work parking pass, trying to get short term disability paperwork copied and to Brandy (a co-worker who was stopping by that evening to pick up the paperwork to deliver to my benefits coordinator the next morning.) I remember Ian leaving to check on the photo copies, and me going through 3 huge contractions by myself, alone, in the room. I thought that was bad, but around 5pm things started getting bad. The contractions were pretty painful, so I asked for my epidural. Easy right? The nurse checked me and I was 6+ centimeters dilated. I was proud I got that far without pain meds (even though that wasn't my intention). The nurse told me the anesthesiologist would be in, in around 15 minutes. Well, 30 minutes passed, then 45 minutes, and the pain was unbearable. I remember holding tight onto the side of the hospital bed screaming "EPIDURAL!!! Just get me my epidural." Ian kept telling me to breath and apparently I told him I didn't want to. My doctor came in to say hello, and I was in so much pain, and was crying so bad, that my nose had stuffed up, and I couldn't breathe (keep in mind I'm still leaned to the side of my bed gripping onto the rail). They gave me an oxygen mask to help me get oxygen, but the pain was so bad, I thought was going to pass out, or throw up, or both.
an hour and 45 minutes had passed with no epidural, and then ta da, the anesthesiologist showed up. FINALLY, dude, what took you so long!
Right before he was going to give me my epidural, I felt pressure, almost like I needed to push. I didn't want to say anything to anyone because I was afraid they'd say it was too late for and epidural, and I was getting my darn epidural!! So I asked if I could go to the bathroom, and the nurse said to let the anesthesiologist give me my epidural and they'd give me a catheter. A Catheter? Gross, no I was going to use the bathroom now thanks, so I got up and wheeled my iv cart into the bathroom.
When I was done I wheeled back and received my epidural. Within 5 minutes I could relax. But, I could still feel the contractions as really INTENSE pressure, and I told the nurse I felt like I needed to push. The next 20 minutes was a blur. The nurse and Ian coached me through my pushes 10 seconds long, 3 sets at a time. After about 10 minutes of pushing the nurse goes "woah, stop, don't push" and she called for my doctor. My doctor came in, put on her scrubs, laid out all of her supplies, stuck her hands down there and told me to push. I did 2 more sets of pushes and out popped out baby girl. She cried instantly. I was in so much shock because I didn't realize how quickly everything went. They tried to give her to me, but apparently her umbilical cord was "the shortest they'd ever seen" so she could go past my upper thighs. Ian had to cut the cord right there. I remember them cleaning her up and placing her on my chest. I saw her hair first, and then her face, and her cry. I will always remember the sound of that cry. It was my baby's cry, she was mine, and my life was going to be forever changed.

That's pretty much my labor story in a nutshell. Sophia Nicole Millikan was born 8:16pm on Wednesday July 27th. I was in labor for about 5 hours, an hour and a half of that being incredibly horrible, but totally worth it. If I would of had my epidural when I asked for it, my labor probably would have been amazing. I still think my labor was pretty easy, but man, I should have gotten that epidural a lot sooner than I did.

34 weeks

Less than 6 weeks left! I will be a mom next month! (hopefully, unless baby girl is over a week late!) This week I was in line at Kroger waiting for the movie rental when a woman walks by and goes "geeze, when are you due?" so I told her "oh, like 5 more weeks" (okay so I lied a little...... she had this look on her face like I was huge.) She responds "well you look it! you look like you can pop any day!" I was kind of caught off guard, figuring I'd only gained about 20 lbs, and I've been told I don't look very pregnant except for my belly. Oh well! Either I was having a rough day that day, and my outfit wasn't very forgiving, or this lady has never seen a pregnant person before!

One thing I notice more now that I'm far along, are things that are getting more difficult. For example, washing my face. I'm short, and my bathroom counters are tall. So, my belly hits againsts the counter. Well, now I'm so big that I can't get close enough to the counter to bend over and wash my face without getting water all over the floor.... sigh.... I guess it could be worse right?


Weeks: 34 weeks
Weight Gain: 23 lbs
Belly: 39 inches still.
Sleep: Sleep has been hard. There are nights where I can't sleep for more than 2 hours. Once,I woke up at 2am, and couldn't get back to sleep until 4am. Ian said he woke up at 3 in the morning to see me sitting up in the bed eating goldfish crackers, and playing on my iphone. Yup, that was me.
Food Cravings: Hot Dogs
Food Aversions: Pizza (which I loved a few months ago)
Movement: Pretty much all of the time. Especially after eating or drinking. I can see what looks to be like her rolling over. She also loves classical music, she goes crazy when I put the music from my ipod on and onto my stomach. But then she is quiet. I think she moves to get close to the sound, and then she falls asleep. What a precious baby!
Symptoms: Insomnia, and feeling like I need to pee every hour! (It is seriously getting old)
Belly Button in or out: still in.
What I miss: Coffee. Especially something really deep/dark, like an espresso! mmm
Best moment this week: Maternity Pictures with Dave Marks Photography. Macee took our pictures on Sunday and we already have proofs. They look AMAZING. She did such a great job!
Weekly Wisdom: You can never tell your husband you love and appreciate him too much. I catch myself telling Ian more and more that I appreciate how much he helps around the house, gets stuff for me so I don't have to walk all the way up or down the stairs. He's taking such good care of me, and I try and tell him all of the time. Sometimes there are people in our lives that go above and beyond to take care of us. Don't forget to just simply say "I appreciate you" or "I love you." It will go a long way!
What I’m looking forward to: My Northern Virginia shower on Saturday! I get to see a lot of people I haven't seen in a long time!

I leave you with a sneak pic of some of my maternity pictures by Dave Marks Photography (www.dmfoto.com) Macee took my pictures, and there were so many amazing shots. Here are a few.

32 Weeks

I feel like I’m in the home stretch, but with 8 weeks left there still seems to be so much to do! We finished painting the nursery and have put up the chair rail. I’ve picked out the curtain rods and put up the curtains, labeled the closet organizers, and started washing the loads of baby clothes and blankets. Is this really happening? We are almost there!

The furniture we ordered gets picked up on Saturday. I’m excited to see the room finished, and can’t wait to post some pictures. I can feel myself start to slow down, and the pain in my lower legs, thighs, abdomen, and back are getting pretty bad, especially before bed, in the middle of the night, and in the morning. Sometimes I have to think for a minute on if I can actually get out of bed, or if I should just not even try to get up.

With the 4th of July holiday around the corner, I will have an extra day to relax and spend time with friends (which I am very much looking forward to). The weather hasn’t been too hot, which has been a blessing, but I know there are plenty of hot days coming up.

I’m definitely getting comments as I am out and about in public, so I’m trying to manage that attention well. Mostly, it’s just people asking when I’m due, or what I’m having. The worst is when people ask Ian or I what we are naming the child, and we say we have a name but are not telling anyone, they seem to be offended, or think we are odd for not sharing the name with them since we won’t see them again. So, now we just tell strangers that we haven’t fully decided yet. I guess that is a lie, but it’s only so they don’t get upset!

Weeks: 32 weeks
Weight Gain: 19 lbs (do you think I can stay under 30 for this pregnancy?)
Belly: 39 inches as of a couple days ago. Definitely been a growth spurt over the past few weeks.
Sleep: Sleep has been alright with only 1 bathroom break required in the middle of the night (around 4am), but I still wake up a couple of other times to turn over, or flex out some pain in my legs.
Food Cravings: Vegetables, and Dairy products
Food Aversions: tomatoes
Movement: It seems like all of the time now! I felt baby girl stretch for the first time about a week and a half ago. I felt her jab both ends of my stomach, it was crazy. And, yesterday I actually saw her foot poke through the side of my stomach. I lightly grabbed at it with my fingers, and she pulled it away, and kicked it back. It seems so surreal!
Symptoms: Back pain, leg pain, exhaustion. Hard to get up once I’ve sat down on the floor. Pretty much just physical symptoms like that. Not headaches, or nausea, etc.
Belly Button in or out: still in, I can see the inside of my belly button, but it hasn’t popped out. I don’t think it will.
What I miss: Coffee! Especially when the exhaustion hits.
Best moment this week: Seeing the painted nursery with curtains, and feeling my baby’s foot for the first time. (although kind of odd and creepy).
Weekly Wisdom: If people offer to help, definitely take them up on their offer. My mom visited this week, and she asked if there was anything she could do, and I told her that I was having trouble getting the bathroom and shower clean, and told her I really wanted to get it super clean, and do a whole scrub down. Then, while I was at work she cleaned my bathroom AND my kitchen. It was such a great help, now I just need to keep it clean until the baby comes!
What I’m looking forward to: Picking up our furniture on Saturday and getting it situated in the room.

30 Weeks

Man, 30 weeks. I feel like this is a milestone week. I'm now down to a countdown that involves a single digit weeks!! I'm at the stage now where I'm nervous about going into labor, and the actual birth. I heard that at about 37-39 weeks you are over it, and just want your baby out! So, hopefully I'm not as nervous then.

Funny story I forgot to mention last week. I was in a Christmas store, you know the stores that sell all Christmas ornaments and decorations. Well, I walked in, and turned to Ian and said "you know, this Christmas is going to be so different, yet so amazing.... we're going to have a baby girl!" and then the tears came. I just started crying in the middle of the Christmas store! How embarrassing!! These hormones are starting to get to me, seriously.

Also this week, Ian has decided that baby girl needed to start listening to some classical music. So, he downloaded a mix, and has me play it on the ipod to my stomach each day. It's funny though because she will be hyper and moving around, and I'll put the music on and she will stop. It may just be a coincidence, but I like to think that the music soothes her to sleep, and that I can use this method once she's here. (I know what all you current mothers are thinking....yeah right!!!) Oh well, I can only hope right?

Weeks: 30 weeks
Weight Gain: 16 lbs (I think I'm a little under, but I've seriously noticed a huge pick up in the amount of food I'm eating, I'm sure I'll be gaining a few pounds this week for sure!)
Belly: 37.5 inches
Sleep: Better! I stopped using the body pillow. I think I was in pain because I was latched onto the body pillow, and I didn't move all night.
Food Cravings: Watermelon!
Food Aversions: Lettuce, tomato based things (Gives me bad heart burn!)
Best Movement: I actually felt her stretch this week for the first time. It was crazy! I felt a jab on each side of my stomach. That was definitely a first!
Symptoms: Back to being exhausted. Similar to the end of the 1st trimester beginning of the 2nd. I also get bored easily when I'm just sitting, and for some reason when I get bored I get sad/depressed. Darn Hormones! I've learned to focus my attention to online baby articles, and of course, online shopping/browsing.
Belly Button: Still in! I don't think it's going to pop (thank goodness). I love my belly button in!
What I miss: being able to turn over without having the brace myself, and being able to get up off the couch without being somewhat out of breath.
Best moment this week: Moving the office furniture out of the soon to be nursery, and putting the blue painters tape up!
What I’m looking forward to: seeing the painted nursery, and painting baby girls letters to put up on her wall. (still not saying what the name is yet!)

Here are some pictures of the nursery project. It should be completed by the first week of July!

BEFORE (WHEN IT WAS THE OFFICE)


BROWN PAINT


PINK AND BROWN, AND PREPARING THE CHAIR RAIL FOR PAINTING (IT WILL SEPARATE THE PINK AND BROWN)

29 Weeks

I've survived another week!
This was our first full week back after vacation. It was hard getting back into the swing of things, but we managed.
Highlights of the week include painting our guest bathroom. (Ian picked another amazing color), and getting ready to move the office furniture out of the soon to be nursery. We have picked out our nursery colors, it will be brown and pink, and Ian will be putting in some chair rail, to make the room look more formal. (I'm still trying to convince him to put in a baby chandelier for our little princess, but he thinks that's a little over the top.)

Some lowlights of the week include sleep. Man, have I had issues getting a full night sleep. One night last week I woke up at 3am, stayed awake for a bit playing on my iphone, then went downstairs and proceeded to clean the living room and kitchen. Exhausted the next day, I attempted to have a better sleep that night, and woke up in the morning to a terrible leg cramp/charlie horse, and screamed my head off. Luckily Ian was quick to react, and got me some water, a banana, and massaged my leg. What a good husband!

The picture I have this week is one Ian took of me in Canada at Niagara on the Lake.



Weeks: 29 weeks
Weight Gain: 15 lbs (how I lost 2 pounds...I have no clue! Does this mean I can eat whatever I want this week?)
Belly: 37 inches
Sleep: Horrible
Food Cravings: Fruit, Fruit and more Fruit. Strawberry's and Mango's especially!
Food Aversions: Salad, still
Movement: Like crazy! It's like a little dance party in there.
Symptoms: muscle cramps, exhaustion, a couple headaches here and there, and general largeness to where I have to work at getting out of bed.
Belly Button: It hasn't popped, but i can see it flattening out. I still don't think it will pop!
What I miss: Wine, especially after seeing so many wineries in Canada!
Best moment this week: Picking out paint with Ian for the nursery.
What I’m looking forward to: Getting our furniture in, the Governer School Picnic this weekend, and going to a Squirrels game next week with the VSCPA!