Tag Archives: mother

Becoming a Mother…. part 1

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This is going to turn into a birth story. There, I gave you plenty of warning. So you can stop reading here in the next few sentences to avoid anything that might creep you out.

In two days Peanut is turning one. How did this happen? It has been a busy couple weeks  preparing things for her party (a HUGE post to come!!). However, she didn’t make me a mother for the first time. Munchkin gave me that honor. Their births’ are very different but both hold a HUGE place in my heart.

I am what some might say crazy… but my goal was a non-medicated vaginal birth (ok I said vaginal… if you are still reading and that word made you freak out… STOP now!)  Tonight’s story is about Munchkin’s birth and the LONG ordeal that happened. Tomorrow I will fill you in on Miss Peanut’s story.

The  Birth Story  (Last chance to click the x in the top right corner!!!)

Well it all started on a Wednesday in 2008. I was definitely having contractions, which had been occurring irregularly for a few days. I had an NST (Non-stress test) the day before and the nurses told me I was definitely having some contractions but they were not close enough together.

Back to Wednesday, I called my husband at work and asked him to try and leave early because I wanted to get things set around the house.  We were having my Dad and  sister in law arriving  on Saturday. On his way home from work his radiator hose popped off… resulting in me having to bring him fluid and help him fix it (thank God he was not far from home) in the sweltering AZ afternoon heat. I must add I was LESS than thrilled about this!!!

When he got home he helped me bring in the groceries from my trip to the store. He brought in the dog food and as we were talking about his day in the kitchen, I felt water dripping around 5:30pm. I looked down and said “Uh, I think my water broke!” to which he replied, “I think so, seeing as it is hitting the floor!” I put on a pad and waited a bit- not wanting to go to L&D if I just peed myself. I made some dinner and we ate, I took a shower and we left for the hospital. I got all checked in and was in triage about 7:30pm. They did a preliminary test to see if the fluid was amniotic. Nope (great I am here and all I did was pee myself!!!)… but they did a second test and this one came back positive. Sure enough… it had broken!!!

All night I labored I was 3cm and barely effaced when I got there.  I wanted as natural a birth as possible. They were ok with just a heplock, until our baby started having a bizarre heart rate. Nothing terrible but they thought fluids would help.  I wasn’t too cool with it but I would do anything for the baby. I got 4 bags of fluids in about 18 hours. Needless to say I was swollen! Then they put me on Oxygen to try and help the heart rate as well. I was able to get up every hour though which really helped me get through the contractions- even attached to the IV pole.

By 6am I was 6cm…. by 9am no change… then they started the Pitocin.

Here is where I am going to insert a disclaimer…. Pitocin is a TERRIBLE drug! It caused my body to RUSH through labor and let me tell you it was more painful than the delivery!!!

I didn’t want this and was pretty upset. They also inserted an internal monitor to see if my contractions were intense enough (oh let me tell you they were). It didn’t take much Pitocin to get them moving. By 10 I was begging for meds. My husband knowing how I really wanted a natural birth was such an amazing coach. I ended up with a little bit of Stadol- that really just allowed me to relax. But by a little bit after 11am I was fully dilated.. . I pushed for 37mins and out our surprise Baby came… a beautiful girl! She was crying before I could get her shoulders out! It went so fast!!! Then the Dr. stitched and stitched (He did this for longer than I pushed)… who would have thought my 6lb. 9 oz. baby would do such damage! She was a 9/10 on her APGARs.

My husband was an amazing coach. He helped me through all the contractions. The Doctor who delivered Munchkin was someone I met that day (my OB was in Cancun!)- he wasn’t my favorite but he brought her into the world. Oh, and because of the full moon there were so many woman giving birth the night after I delivered we got moved @ 2:40AM to another room across the hospital! It was more than slightly annoying. My husband and I ended up sharing my hospital bed!!! The staff tried really hard to encourage me to get an epidural and thought I was nuts (many expressed this too me through out the course of my stay!), I am proud that I didn’t cave under their pressure!

The last week or so has been great. We had to go buy some clothing because NOTHING fit her.  Breastfeeding was tough at first but each day we both get better. We finally got to use our cloth diapers the middle of the week and LOVE them.  My husband commented on how much easier they are then disposables.

Though I didn’t deliver completely med-free I am very glad I didn’t get the Epi. It was amazing to feel in control. I can say though I understand why someone would choose it! In the end… no matter how it happened there was a beautiful baby waiting!

This was written a week or so after Munchkin came into our lives. Now over 3 years later she is a beautiful, intelligent, and caring little girl. I am proud to be her mother. I am really thankful she chose to have us as her parents. We are blessed… I can’t wait to see where she takes us!!

Bye Bye Christmas… Hello Consignment Sale Season!

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For those of you who aren’t personal friends of mine I am going to let you in on an addiction of mine. Besides Pinterest (hehe), I am going to publicly come out and admit it. I am addicted and in love with consignment sales and stores!

 

I know  it is an addiction because do you see that picture above. Just looking at it makes me get all excited. I have mentioned before but will reiterate here, I am cheap! Thrifty really. I have nice taste in clothing, but can’t justify spending a bunch of money on an outfit that might be worn once before being covered in a bodily fluid, rejected because it has; too few ruffles, too many buttons, ect.  or out grown with in a week (how does that happen?!). So that brings me to my point. Consignment sales allow me to buy the clothing brands and styles I want for nearly nothing and then make some money back by reselling them!

Now we have been living in this area for a couple years so I have become aware of what sales I like to shop and sell at. Once you start shopping Consignment sales you will figure out your favorites too!

Typically, I sell what the girls have out grown. This consists of clothing, toys (those that don’t get played with or drive us parents crazy!), and gear (think jumperoos, baby baths ect.).  I have a pretty easy system for storing my items ready to consign. As Peanut grows out of things I throw them into a box. When the box is overflowing I take it to our basement. There I have a couple tubs ready for the next sale. One for fall/winter clothing, one for spring/summer clothing, and one for toys/odds and ends.

Usually I shove pieces of an outfit together (bloomers into the dress/skirt or pants into the shirt), this really helps so you have it all in one place. Outfits sell better than single pieces but all the items in an outfit need to be the same size when hung up.  Save all those store hangers to use for the sales. No need to spend money on hangers! Also, invest in a tagging gun. You will want one after you poke yourself 1 or 15 times using safety pins. They are not very expensive and worth the $7 on eBay! Blood on clothing doesn’t help it sell. :)

Every thing sold is hung up and each sale has specific rules about tagging and hanging. One thing ALL sales have in common a quality control inspection. Before items are hung up or put out sales have people checking each item to see that it is stain free and all parts work (zippers, buttons, batteries, ect). Obviously, there are items that get missed but this is helpful for the consumer.

I spend a few nights hanging and tagging the items, but it is worth it! Last year I sold about $300 worth of items (this was the $$$ in my pocket) and bought about $150 between all the sales! This got me MOST of them items needed for both girls for the fall! I was also able to offset the cost of Peanut’s new big girl carseat with my earnings.

My fall 2011 Haul

 

Above you can see my haul from one of the sales I went to this fall. In that photo I have 2 name brand winter coats (Old Navy and Osh Kosh), 2 name brand Christmas dresses (Gymboree and Carter’s), a hand full of sleepers, holiday outfits, and a bunch of toys (most were given for Christmas- the zebra is for Peanut’s birthday!). How much do you think I spent… wait for it…. $100. Yup, you read that correctly! $100.  I will use all the stuff I bought for Munchkin again for Peanut, and resell after her.

These sales are NO joke. You need to try and get to the presale if at all possible! The best of the best are sold most of the time before the public even walks in! In order to get to the presales  you need to work a shift (hanging, sorting, checking in items) or be a consignor. I really try and work a shift during set up so I can scope out the stuff we have to have. I usually show up with an empty stroller/wagon and a couple of big blue Ikea bags to grab my loot!

Now you are asking yourself, why haven’t I consigned and shopped consignment sales? Where are they Mae? How can I find these gems in my area? Well look no further… Consignment Mommies  has the answer. They are getting the latest information on sales across the country!

Check them out on Facebook too. They offer tons of suggestions on how to shop, what to look for, how to organize your items to get the most  money for your stuff! You are going to want to check them out and learn from all the seasoned shoppers that frequent their wall. There is a method to consigning and shopping consignment sales and you can gain a lot of information from their posts on Facebook.

This is only the first of what I am sure will be MANY posts on consignment shopping you will see! I am getting excited because the sales are right around the corner.

Munchkin’s 2011 Interview

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Oh Pinterest you always keep me busy, between crafts, recipes, organization ideas, I have found myself being  MUCH more productive.

A while back I had read this blog post from Hey, ho, KellyGO and then my friend Stacy over at Just Two Sisters did something similar with her crew. I figured why not see if Munchkin would participate and answer a few questions for me too! Needless to say at first she said the same answer for everything. UGH…  So we took a break and I revisited today.  She finally gave me real answers!

I also saw an idea about asking some questions on the kiddo’s birthday. So we might be trying that too.  We will see!

Needless to say, here is our 2011 end of year Interview (artwork by Munchkin)

2011 End of Year Interview

Munchkin Age 3

1. What makes you happy?

Playing and sharing toys

2. What makes you sad?

Friends that don’t share

3. What makes you laugh?

Funny things like when Peanut is silly

4.What is your favorite thing to do?

Feed Nii (the Fish)

5. What are you really good at?

Learning at school

6. What are you not very good at?

Kicking things at people

7. What is your favorite food and drink?

Peanut Butter Sandwich

8. What’s your favorite color?

Purple and Pink and blue

9. Where is your favorite place to go?

School

10. Who are your best friends?

A, C, and F

11. What are your favorite movies or TV shows?

Belle (Beauty and the Beast)

12. What are your favorite books?

Princess books

13. If you were a cartoon character, who would you be?

Belle

14. What does Mommy do when you’re not around?

Play catch up… (though I think she meant Ketchup)

15. What do you do when Mommy isn’t around?

Play with balls (the ball pit)

16. What is something Mommy always says to you?

I love you!

17. What do you and Mommy do together?

We play alone when there is no Daddy or Peanut

18. How are you and Mommy the same?

We always love each other

19. How are you and Mommy different?

You are a Mommy and I am a Munchkin

20. How do you know Mommy loves you?

You hug me.

21. What is your favorite toy?

Belle Doll

22. What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?

Daddy time when we play with Peanut

So excited to see what 2012 brings!!!!

Three is such a … ‘Magical’ Age

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Ahh.. where to begin…. this is going to be a very random post of all the things I have learned about so far in the past 5 months or so since Munchkin has turned 3.  I will come out and say both girls are in bed and I am sipping on a well deserved glass of Moscato as I compose this.

First, I will start by saying Munchkin really is a great kid, and I know this is a phase (it is right?!?!). I constantly repeat (sometimes in my head and other times out loud) it will be better to fight her on  this at 3 than at 7 (there will be different battles at 7).

I was watching Parenthood a few weeks ago and I swear the scene could have been from my house! Parenthood is this amazing show on NBC about a great family (all the adult brothers and sisters and their kids). One of the girls was throwing a fit in her room and the mother was sitting outside the door with a bottle of wine. All I could think of was “why haven’t I done this!?!” I would probably be less angry about the whole ordeal!

Anyway, I have learned a few things here are a couple. I am sure I will do another post of things in the future. So here are three ideas I have had recently with Munchkin.

1. It is amazing that any 3 year old hasn’t been poisoned by dinner. Honestly, everything is inedible. From plain pancakes, to pasta with ‘spicy’ spaghetti sauce, or maybe there might be things that touch on the same PLATE! I am not from the school of thought that you have to clean your plate but you do have to make a sincere attempt at eating. I never make things that I know Munchkin won’t eat  (OK I do see “Buffalo Chicken” but I always make her an option on those nights that she has liked at one point in her life!). I am now reserving dinner for breakfast. Amazingly enough she is eating it!

Dinner conversation tonight.

Munchkin: I don’t think I want to eat this roast. I am SOOO full.

Me: That is fine you can have it for breakfast when you will be REALLY hungry since you skipped dinner.

Munchkin: That is fine.

Me: Okay!

No tears… no fighting. Her roast, potatoes, and carrots are currently in the fridge awaiting their return for breakfast! She told me she couldn’t eat it because there wasn’t Parmesan cheese on it.  Sigh…

2. Why is it that the child will cry out and say “I want my Mommy/Daddy!” As soon as  that parent leaves from putting them in time out.  :)

3. Munchkin is going to be a lawyer. I am ok with this… because she is going to be a GOOD lawyer. Her skills at finding the loophole, reading the fine print- with only knowing her letters and sounds (she is that GOOD people), and coming up with a diversion tactic are AMAZING! She is so good that often times I have to remember that I asked was please put away your baby doll and her blankets.

Me: Munchkin, please put away your Danielle baby and her blankets so we can head out.

Munchkin: Okay Mom, but first I need to finish feeding Danielle (proceeds to sit and nurse her)

Me: Munchkin, great job she is so full, let’s put her away so we can get our shoes on. 

Munchkin: I will Mom, but I need to get her to sleep, she is SOOO fussy.

Me: Munchkin… we need to go… 

This is a normal conversation with her…

I love her dearly, her imagination and intelligence are phenomenal. I know that in 3  years I will be dealing with the same stuff from Peanut. I just pray that some how this ‘Magical’ Age really turns off at 4.

Off to go drink my neglected glass of wine!

By the way, I will post the Roast that almost poisoned my daughter (but the other 3 of us LOVED) Tomorrow!

I am a Mother…

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I have struggled titling this and writing this post, but  I feel like it  needs to written. That being said, I am NOT a ‘supermom’. There I said it, I feel like 100lbs lighter!

A Mom photo... far from what I look like!

I have a huge group of amazing women that I am friends with, many are mothers, and others that will be in the future.  All of us have have amazing skills in so many different areas! I have friends in tons of professions; fitness instructors, veterinarians, doctors,  teachers, day care providers, speech language pathologists, hair stylists, photographers, nurses, physicphysicans assistants, Physicians assistants, I could go on and on. The point is what we all bring to the ‘Mommy Table’ is makes us amazing parents. Some of my friends  work out side the home, others do not. I am really lucky to be able to stay home but some days it doesn’t seem that way.  I am going to come clean and say it… ready… here it comes…  I miss being a teacher.

I loved working as an educator. I mean that. Yes, it had  tough days but working in Special Education was so rewarding for me. I couldn’t get enough of seeing kids succeed.  I never set a ceiling because there was NO need to limit kids.

People have asked me,  what are you plans for when your kids go to school? This is such a hard question to answer. Part of me wants to go back to teaching, maybe even teach at the school where the girls go (but not be their teacher :) ).

Then there is the part that wants to help mothers. I wanted to be a lactation consultant but  you really need to be an RN to get hired at hospitals.  I don’t want to be an RN so there went that plan.

Right now I am toying with becoming a doula. I think I am going to see if I can meet with one locally and shadow her to really decide if it is right for me.  However, for the next 4ish years I have one main job… be a mother to Munchkin and Peanut.

I have chosen to see this as a reduction in class size (ever teachers dream!). I went from about 30 kids on my caseload to 2! I will add this job is the hardest I have EVER had. I would kill some days for a 45 minute planning period :) . I do my best to keep us all busy and learning new things!

Some days I feel like this

Anyway, I wanted my fellow Moms to know that despite how it appears that I have it together 24/7, I don’t.  I make mistakes, skip the gym some nights, grab a pizza just because, turn on PBS for a 25 minute break, and even the greenest of greenies throws out a plastic bottle at times!

I am learning as I go, that is the Art and Adventures part of this blog! I  stumble regularly and often you will even get to read about that too.  So while reading my blog and know sometimes I Facebook instead of meal planning, or play on Pinterest instead of making dinner (don’t worry this is when I go get a pizza- no starving kids or husband I swear!!) and much more.

One more Anne Traitor image…