Good Ole' Mother Nature

I think a large majority of us North Dakotans have thrown our arms into the air and shouted "Why God? We've had enough now. It's time to give us a break!"

The past few weeks of thunderstorms and hail, next day blizzard, and the following day flooding....repeat cycle---well, its a trying time for us all. But there is something I've noticed through all of this. While people are being evacuated from their flooded homes, while the city I live in is closed due to either water levels too high, or so much snow no one can drive safely anywhere, the people in this state are handling things so much differently than, well-other states.

You will not see people on the news shouting that this is the Presidents fault, or the governments fault. You will not see looting. You will not see people crying and screaming and DEMANDING someone come and rescue them and hold their hand through the next few months.

We have all come together as one and are working day and night to fight the flood, to clean the streets, to do what is necessary to get our lives back to normal. You will actually see people smiling and laughing as they fill those sandbags and pass them on down the line of people who are building these dikes. What else can you do really. Putting blame on everything and everyone else is not going to accomplish anything. This is weather. S#*! Happens! As awful as it is, we suck it up and deal with it. I have never witnessed such a thing as this-a whole state working together instead of waiting for someone else to do it for them.

I love being a North Dakotan. We are strong, and proud, and we will survive this.

Amelia is here!

I thought I would share some details of the big day. I was supposed to go in and be induced at 7:30am on Tuesday morning, but they were full so I didn't get to go in till 12:30 in the afternoon. At least it was the same day and not too late.

There was a med student that was going to be assisting with the delivery, who was actually my doctor's daughter so that was kind of neat. She checked me right away when I got there and said that I was dilated to 5. I was so excited to be that far, and a bit in shock since I was only at a 1 the week before. So they called the doc to come break my water. When she got there she checked me and informed me that the outside of my cervix was dilated to 5, but the inside was only at a 1. It funneled in and she was unable to break my water until the inside dilated more. So they put a pill in that was to help me dilate and then we walked the hallways for hours. At 9:00pm she broke my water and again we walked for hours. I was having contractions at this point, but they didn't get too terrible until about midnight.

At around 1:00am the anesthesiologist was coming to the floor for another lady, so they talked me into getting mine down right away as well. I was worried that it was too early yet and that it would slow things down. I was only at a 3 at this time. It took the guy 3 times to get it in right and then there was no more walking because I couldn't lift my legs. But I was able to relax from the contractions so Marei and I both slept finally. I was woke up on and off throughout the night, but I was kind of out of it so I don't remember too much about what they were all doing to me. At 5:30 they checked me and I was at 4. They checked me again at 6:30 and I was still at 4, but they said my cervix was completely thinned and that things should start to pick up now. I didn't believe them. It seemed like I had been there forever and just wasn't dilating fast enough. I was starting to worry about needing a c-section because I had my water broke for so long with nothing progressing. But when my doctor came in right before 8:00am she checked me and I was at 10 and ready to push. I couldn't believe it. I went from 4 to 10 in about an hour. So they brought in all the stuff they needed, and before I knew it they were telling me to push. After just a few pushes I was looking at a beautiful baby girl. She was in no hurry to come in the beginning, but when she decided it was time she meant it. We spent a couple hours with her before they took her to the nursery for her tests and so on. Then we tried to catch up on some sleep before we started to get guests that afternoon.

Olivia and Vanessa sure do love their sister. We were discharged at 2:45pm on Thursday and they haven't stopped competing for the chance to hold her or feed her since. So far Amelia is a wonderful baby. She cries only when she wants a bottle, otherwise she sleeps or just looks around at everything and everyone with these big eyes full of wonder. We couldn't be happier, or feel more blessed! God has been good to us and we are so thankful for our new baby girl!

P.S. I Love You

Dear Baby,

The doctor has scheduled me to be induced on Tuesday. I cannot believe in just four short days I will be heading to the hospital. Right now I am so excited to meet you. I'm sure that morning I will have so many mixed emotions-excited, anxious, nervous, scared. I'm still in shock when I think back to the beginning of our journey together. I thought I had mono, it just seemed so reasonable being Olivia had it and we were experiencing the same symptoms. But when Olivia was better and my symptoms were still there, I realized something else was going on. That was when I discovered you.

You had me very scared in the beginning. I tried not to get too excited-not because I didn't want you but because I was afraid of losing you. Mommy had a run of bad luck before you came so I was a little on edge about how to feel about you. When that 12th week arrived and you were still going strong, I began to finally smile and get excited. And when I saw your little face at that 20 week ultrasound, I knew you were going to be fine! For the first time I allowed myself to truly believe nothing bad was going to happen this time. You are my little miracle!

I'm now realizing I'm feeling your last kicks, last hiccups, last movements inside. Its bittersweet--I will miss those feelings, yet I am so excited to finally hold you in my arms, hear your cry, see your face, and to watch you grow. You have two sisters who are very anxious to meet you. Although they hope you are a boy, I know that they will love you just the same if you are a little girl. Daddy just wants you to come out so that he can finally meet the new member of our family and be a more active part of your life. We are ready for you! Everything you will need is waiting to be used, and I find myself staring into the bassinet with a smile on my face-just waiting with anticipation to see you laying inside.

So until that time comes, I would just like to send out my last requests. If you can make this a smooth and quick delivery, you will make your mommy so happy! Well, I will be happy no matter what when you arrive, but it sure would be a nice bonus. Also, your sisters were very good sleepers from day one. If you could please follow in their footsteps and stay away from that dreaded 'colic' that I had as a baby, that would be greatly appreciated. With daddy working two full-time jobs, he won't be able to assist as much with the nightly feedings/diaper changes. So you and I need to cooperate with each other and then things will be just fine! And with that, all I have left to say is that I can't wait to meet you on tuesday and you are more than welcome to make an early arrival this weekend if you choose to do so.

Love,
Mommy

P.S. I LOVE YOU

Is it cat time?

A little over a month ago we had lost our beloved cat. We had him since the day he was born and of all the cats I've had in my lifetime this cat was the best! Olivia is a big cat-lover, and this cat was a big Olivia-lover. His name originally was White Socks, but Olivia was young when he arrived and she just called him Kitty. Eventually that became his name, with the nickname of Big Fat Fatty following because of his enormous size. But Fatty became sick and telling Olivia that he had passed on was the most difficult moment I've experienced as a parent so far. I cried all day just thinking about having to tell her, and when she shrieked out and latched on to Marei and just shook and sobbed-it was just horrible.

Since then she has been able to move on. We still talk about Fatty every day, and although we are able to smile at the memories we have of him, it still makes my heart hurt a bit to think that he is truly gone from our lives. Olivia has recently mentioned that she is ready to start looking for another cat. The baby will be arriving in less than a week and of course we will have to get settled in with the baby first before we bring a new cat into the house. I am thinking that an adult cat might be a better option for us. Kittens are fun and adorable, but there are so many adult cats needing to be adopted from pet shelters or being given away from their owners who for whatever reason cannot have them any longer. I'm nervous about it this time around. Normally when you get a pet you think of all the fun stuff, picking a name, playing with it, watching it be silly and making the kids laugh. But now all I can think of is...Is it healthy, How long will this 0ne be around for, what if it gets sick, what if it doesn't adjust to us or our dog? I'm so afraid of losing another pet and having to go through all of that again. I guess I just have to do some smart shopping this time, ask all the right questions, and pray for the best.

It's been awhile!

Wow, I haven't been on here forever! Thought it might be time to post some new info on here.

I'm now 37 weeks. I'm very uncomfortable. I get mad when I see these extremely pregnant women walking around like no big deal. I can barely move without feeling pain throughout my stomach, back, and 'down there'. Doc says my body is reacting differently cuz I'm older now. I guess I didn't realize that 31 was getting too old to have babies! How do those 40-something women do it?

I started having contractions back when I was around 34 weeks. I thought they were Braxton Hicks. Never had them with the girls so I wasn't too sure. It got pretty uncomfortable one night so I went in to have them check it out for me. They were registering as real contractions. They were mild and irregular, so I was sent back home and told to take it easy to prevent myself from going into actual labor. I must have done good, since I'm now at the end stage and wishing those contractions would get stronger and closer together.

I had an appointment on wednesday and was sent in for an ultrasound to make sure the baby wasn't breach-it wasn't. The ultrasound tech said that from the look of everything I could have this baby any day now. He also said that the baby is weighing in at approximately 7 pounds 10 ounces already. My due date is the 18th which is still 3 weeks away. My doc is leaving town on the 14th so she had planned on inducing on either the 11th or 12th. Now I'm kind of hoping she will up it to this coming week to make the baby's weight just a tad bit easier on me! Olivia was 10 pounds 4 ounces, Vanessa was close to 9. I would love to stick in the 8 pound range if at all possible-experience an average sized baby for once! But I can't complain-they may have been big but they were healthy.

So now I'm just playing the waiting game. Hoping that this baby will decide it's ready soon. I've never experienced going into labor naturally. I would like to not have to be induced this time around, but at the same time I don't want to wait too much longer either. So I've packed our bags, got all the baby items we needed to get, and I'm gonna spend the weekend cleaning everything I possibly can in the house to keep my mind off of it!