And.......we're back!

Fresh out of the oven...8lbs 2oz, 20.5 inches

Well it's been over three months since I've blogged. I was put on bed rest the last 2 1/2 weeks of my pregnancy. Then one week before my due date I was induced due to my high blood pressure among other complications (horrible pitting edema, a rash, etc...). I was 4cm and 70% when I went in for my induction, lucky me, because that means my body was very favorable for induction. So here's a short version....

At 7am on July 16 we arrived at the hospital after a completely sleepless night...how the heck could I sleep knowing that I was going to meet my baby so soon!? The nurse checked me and started my IV. Then at 8am she started me on a drip of pitocin. I didn't feel any of the contractions even though I was having them. At 9am my doctor arrived and broke my water...then about 30 minutes later, out of no where the pitocin induced contractions hit me like a train...there was no real buildup to them, they came on very strong. I couldn't stop shaking, crying, and eventually screaming. I wasn't allowed to labor out of the bed or really switch positions because of my high blood pressure. When the nurse suggested I get my epidural by about 10am, I was all for it. Getting the epidural was difficult because you have to hold very still and I couldn't stop shaking. By 10:45 I was very relaxed and took a nap, which I really needed since I didn't sleep the night before. About 12:30pm the nurse checked me and I was ready to go! I did some "practice" pushes. And by 1pm my doctor arrived again and after about 45 minutes of pushing Tatiana Antoinette was born at 1:46pm. Before she was all the way out my doctor had to cut her cord because it was wrapped so tightly around her neck that she couldn't unwrap it, Tatiana was not crying when she first came out. I honestly don't remember a lot of it because it went so fast, but Bjorn says the nurses took her and she started crying soon after that.

Giving birth is THE most amazing experience EVER. I can't even think about it without getting teary eyed. We now have an almost 3 month old baby. The first few weeks were crazy and very trying, but I wouldn't give any of it back for anything. Tatiana is a very good baby, we've been very lucky. And now that I've finally gotten used to life the way it is, I have to go back to work tomorrow...boooo! And so once again Tatiana and I will have to make another adjustment. Did I mention that Bjorn is an amazing father? He's so patient with her, and she loves him. So now...onto some photos...

Daddy helpin' out...

Meeting my daughter

 A couple hours after being born, and right after her first bath.

 

Ready to go home from the hospital.

Meeting the dogs for the first time.

One of her first smiles captured by the camera, a little over a month old here...

And here's what she looks like today at 11 days shy of 3 months old...

A new hobby and baby possibly making an early appearance!

 
So for Mother's Day this year my MIL gave me a bracelet she made...complete with a little letter 'T' charm (for Tatiana). She has started making some really cool necklaces and such, which in turn caused me to catch the jewelry making itch. We went to Bead Monkey in Edina to take advantage of their 30% off anniversary sale yesterday. I picked out some stone beads and whatever else I was going to need to make a necklace (magnetic clasps are awesome btw!). That night my MIL guided me in making two necklaces...it was soooo easy and I love them! Lets hope this doesn't become my newest hobby, because my wallet will be in tears (as if it's not already in tears after my $1400 car repair). It was also nice to make something that didn't involve my sewing machine, because as this belly continues to grow it's getting harder and harder to try and use my machine.

This one is my favorite...I can't remember what kind of stone the teal blue ones are, but the colored ones are all agate.

This one is "new jade" stone, which is really a stone called serpentine, but seems to be called "new jade" everywhere. These stone beads are 2mm bigger, and I used gold accents instead of silver.

Now...onto this pregnancy business....

Here I am out by the lilies in our yard at 36 weeks and 2 days. People now look at me like I'm a freak show when I go out in public. I had an appointment with my OB today...and besides the fact that my swelling is continuing to worsen (seriously my legs are not human anymore, whose legs are these!?) and I still have high blood pressure, it was a great appointment. We have...PROGRESS...my OB asked if I'd been having contractions and I said I didn't think so, so she checked me and said I have obviously been having them and just not feeling them because I am already dilated and effaced a good amount, which is amazing at this point in time for a first timer. She said she's pretty sure I will not be making it to my due date...I could have wept at her feet in happiness! I sooo hope this is true, because I have been in a lot of pain and very uncomfortable. 

On a scary note (for me) the baby is measuring ahead 2 1/2 weeks (no this doesn't mean that my due date gets pushed up 2 1/2 weeks, it just means that the baby is above average size for most babies at 36 weeks and 4 days). I will just look at the positives to this, I have heard from many people that bigger babies tend to sleep and eat better. Hmmm...speaking of sleep...I got hardly any last night because  my belly was in so much pain...I spent most of the night tossing and turning. I can't believe my head hasn't hit the desk yet....or maybe I'm still just high on the fact that our baby may be here sooner than the 24 days I have left until my due date. Now that I have announced this to the world I will probably end up going over my due date (fingers crossed this doesn't happen).

35 Weeks.

35 Weeks (and 1 day)

Maternity Clothes: Yes, mixed with some regular stuff out of my closet.

Stretch Marks: Nada....yet...I hope they just stay away, but I have a strange feeling I'm going to wake up one day and they will have exploded!

Sleep: What? What's this? I do take several naps at night time in between being in pain and going to the bathroom.

Movement: Sharp jabs, owww! Especially in the ribs. But I'll take it any day over no or very little movement.

Food Cravings/Aversions: Water, juice, ice tea, MILK. I can't stop drinking. And I am obsessed with milk, and I hardly ever drank it before being pregnant.

Gender: What do you think?

Belly Button In or Out: In...pretty sure it'll stay that way.

What I Miss: Not being in pain all the time. Walking at a normal pace and not being told that when I get out of my chair at work and walk I remind people of an old lady, thanks! lol

What I am Looking Forward To: Meeting my baby.

Best Moment This Week: Oh no...I'm totally drawing a blank!...hmm I do have a neighborhood baby shower tomorrow though, so that might be it.

So life has been very low key for us the past few weeks. I am not feeling very well...pelvic pain, back pain, horrible heartburn, braxton hicks contractions (and if that's not what they are it sure as heck is a lot of cramping and pressure!), swelling, exhaustion, etc... I have been seeing a chiropractor and that helps...but about a day after she adjusts me everything goes back to how it was, those pregnancy hormones are strong, and do not like when you mess with their work (such as the misalignment of my pelvis in preparation for birth). But even if it's just for a day, the relief is amazing.

We are true home bodies lately....which Bjorn loves. I did pretty much nothing last weekend except rest and nap. I'm SO glad the nursery is done, because I don't have the energy for it anymore. Last night I packed Tatiana's and my hospital bag. And I feel relieved to have it finally done. I'm not usually a procrastinator, but I can't stand packing (and unpacking)...I waited until the day of our departure to pack for our honeymoon!

My garden is growing nicely...almost out of control. We had a lot of rain lately which brought out a whole bunch of slugs who devoured 2 huge bunches of my pretty neon green lettuce. Bjorn saved the day and cleaned it up and got rid of the nasty little slugs, I hope they don't come back! Hopefully I will post a 35 week picture tonight or tomorrow....sorry for the overall lack of photos on this post, but seriously our lives have been so quiet lately that I haven't had much to take photos of!

AND....DONE. With the nursery that is!

One of my favorite parts of being pregnant was getting to decorate a room for my baby. I did everything, with the exception of the dresser and crib assembly (Bjorn did that). The room was already painted...when we moved into our house almost two years ago we painted every single room (seriously every room in the house was pink or mauve, even the kitchen) and who knew at the time that I would pick a color for this room that would work so nicely for a baby girl or boy!

Room Size: SMALL. 9 feet, 9 inches x 9 feet, 9 inches


Theme: Cupcakes and mix & match fabric.

Paint: Ralph Lauren, Thistle

Dresser: Ikea (actually really nice quality too)

Crib: Graco

Cubby Bookshelf: The Land of Nod

Rocking Chair: Hand me down from a friend. Varnish was worn off in many places  and it came from a smoking home. Two cans of spray primer and two cans of white spray paint and it was a new chair. Rocking chair cover from Carousel Designs.

Wall Art: All by me, using mix and match fabrics from, Amy Butler, Michael Miller, Free Spirit, and some batiks

Crib Bedding: Sheet and skirt by my mother in law. Bumper, Target clearance! Regularly $35, paid $7.

Storage Bins: Target... the ones with the flower designs are from the Liberty of London line, which are now gone from the stores, but might still be available online.

...and in hopes to continue the cupcake theme, our proposed "coming home" outfit for Tatiana.

Learning the hard way...

So this past memorial day weekend we didn't do anything too spectacular. We had my parents over for dinner one night and then they had us over the next night. On Saturday my Dad and I went shopping for garden stuff, which amounted to a whole lot of walking around in 90 degree weather. Then later that evening we went to a car show (vintage cars!) down where my mom has her antique store. This also amounted to a good amount of walking around. So...I threw my back out, from walking... now I've thrown my back out numerous times but never just from casually walking. This combined with my horrible pelvic pain (apparently my pelvic bones no longer stay together but move apart from each other when I stand or walk in preparation for child birth, it's quite excruciating) has made me feel pretty broken. It hurts to do anything, including walking from my car to the door at work. I'm hoping that my back will at least continue to heal and get better on it's own, because I don't think I can handle 7 more weeks of this back + pelvic pain combination.

I ended up going to the doctor yesterday because I had lots of cramping for 2 days, so they wanted to do a stress test just to make sure I wasn't having any contractions. They said the baby looked fantastic and I was having no contractions....so basically they think it could be my pelvic bones moving around pushing on everything that was the cause of the cramps, joy! I know I need to rest more, but I can't stand just sitting or laying around all evening after work. I definitely won't be going for any long walks, simply because it's too excruciating, but I still have to make dinner, clean the house, do laundry, etc... 50 more days of this...just 50 more days...

Here's some photos from out in our yard this past weekend...

Happy 1 Year Anniversary to Us!

First...please excuse the massive amount of photos below (22 to be exact), we had an amazing photographer so it makes it really hard to eliminate any! One year ago on this day after 4 1/2 years of dating Bjorn and I got married. It was an amazing day, and sometimes I get sad when I think I don't ever get to do it again, that I've already done it....but the outcome of the day has been so amazing (married to a wonderful man) that I guess it's okay. ;) They say the first year of marriage is the hardest, and all I have to say is, if this was supposed to be our hardest year of marriage then I can't wait for the next 50+ because I found it really quite blissful, even including the fact that for 7 out of the 12 months I have been a raging hormonal pregnant woman.