On a more serious note-PREGNANCY & BIRTH-

So I know there are other funny and crazy things that have happened between Easter Sunday and present but my brain is overwhelmed with thoughts of my experience the past 5 days, and I can't think of anything else really.

The past 38 weeks have gone by so quickly- literally from the time I handed Brian that + test--up to now just seem like a handful of days. I never experienced morning sickness, had a handful of cravings, couldn't see my feet past 3 1/2 months of pregnancy, got humongous, gained a total of 46 pounds, had convinced myself I was having a toddler, tried to "shave" the area all by myself...it looked like I had broken out in the worst STD infection someone has ever seen because of all of the razorburn...so I opted to never do that again and was completely obsessed with my belly and the little thing inside of it. I was convinced it was a monkey because it moved around all of the time but later found out that it was infact a human, a little girl that we instantly named Reagan Layne. She became our pride and joy and we talked about her like she was already with us. I thought she was amazing! So....37 weeks and 5 days pregnant.....and I develop high blood pressure.... preeclampsia. They decided on Monday, the day I was 38 weeks, to induce labor. I had not had any emotions, really, the entire time I had been preganant. In the begining I cried a little because I wanted her to be perfect and ok- and when that passed I never had a hormonal madness or sadness time. I was pretty jolly the entire pregnancy...until Monday, October 11th when I had to go to the doctor so they could check my blood pressure. I went straight from there to Brian's office, took one look at him, said "We are having a baby today," and completelty lost it....and have yet to find it! We get our bags and head to Vanderbilt. I was prepared for a natural childbirth- no drugs- mind over matter- and oh yea, Brian and I were supposed to be taking a childbirth class/newborn infant care class on Thursday!

So the induction process starts around 4ish. We r just hanging out. My mom is there, Brian, and a team of doctors that explain how slow this process will be and that since my BP was so high I would be on a Magnesium drip so I would be bedridden with a catheter- making natural childbirth less fun because you can't walk around....so fastforward to 4:00am as I am screaming out in pain and finally call for an epidural. That part was great and about an hour later I am telling the nurse that it's not pain- but pressure that is becoming too much. She checks me...and yep, we are ready to go. I text everyone in the family to let them know that pushing starts about 5:30 and we could have baby by 6:00am :)...... wishful, wishful thinking. I pushed for 3 hours and the resident said it's enough. You have two options, forceps or c-section, I was lliterally so dead tired that I couldn't even talk- much less make a decision- so I was asking everyone in the room to make the decision for me- I am pretty certain my mumbled words were...it's whatever! hahah So I took about a 45 minute nap- yes, contractions and all, and then pushed for about 20 more minutes with forceps and out came my tiny monkey! And there is was, Tuesday, October 12th @ 11:04 am. I OFFICIALLY became a mommy. It was amazing- SHE was amazing- black and blue from being stuck under my pelvis for so long; but she was amazing nonetheless. It was more emotion and love then I have ever felt...more love than I could have ever imagined. They put her on my belly/chest and left her there for a minute and then Brian cut the cord and they took her right over to a team of NICU nurses that cleaned her up and weighed her. I muscled up enough energy to ask how much she weighed and when one of the nurses said "6 lbs. 9 oz." I responded that "that was unacceptable" and "I needed to know what they did with the toddler I was carrying around!" Once I knew my baby girl was good to go, had a bracelet that matched mine and saw Brian following close behind where she was going, I passed out! The whole 20 hour process was a lot to handle!

So fastforward to today (October 15th). We are still in the hospital. I have been discharged but my precious little girl is jaundice and is still here. I can not seem to get my emotions under control. I can't stop crying, I just want to be able to take my little girl home- and to see her laying there helpless under the phototherapy lights....I seriously have never felt this heartbroken ever before! We have been through so much the past 3 days and as hard as it has been, I have never felt more in love with my husband as I do right now. Something changes when you have a baby...it was like I fell in love with Brian all over again, even more so than the first time. I also don't deserve him. Because I had a magnesium drip I could not get up from the bed for 24 hours after birth (did I mention I couldn't eat anything either!); this means no walking to/fro the bathroom; which means either cath or bed pan. I chose the bed pan. My poor husband was actually helping the nurses change the bed pan, my pads and putting medication in places that most husbands probably don't even know exist! I have never appreciated anyone as much as I appreciate him. It has definitely been a humiliatig experience for me- it is not what husbands sign up for- yet my Brian took it all in stride and simple said, "It is what I am here for." Not to mention he is trying to keep my sanity from running away while we wait for some news about us being discharged.



Seriously black & blue!



Catching Up!

Well, since I had some time on my hands (having just given birth but we will get back to that later), I figured now was a perfect time to seriously update the blog!

It has been forever and a day since I have last been on and so many things have happened. Some funny, some sad but nonetheless every bit entertaining. Oh yes, the pregnancy story- short and sweet. So it was a cold winter, we were bored, we made a baby....I sort of thought I may be pregnant but I have NEVER been one of those girls that kept track of THAT sort of thing (now I clearly know I had NO idea what ovulation was) and I just sort of waited for "Pearl" to come visit each month. I was going to happy hour with some girlfriends so I took a PG test - just to make sure...it was negative- same thing the next day- negative again, so on Wed. afternoon I go with some girls and have about 8 margaritas too many- wake up the next morning at the crack of dawn to go to a boot camp class- take a PG test and there it was......the + symbol. Granted, it was 4 in the morning so I thought it was just me. I threw it aside on the counter and thought, "I will come back to this later." Well before I left again, like a child looking for Santa to come down the chimney, I crept in the bathroom and looked over onto the counter....still +. Dang! So I run upstairs, turn on all of the lights, ask Brian if his glasses are on his nightstand- his response "What for....you have all of the lights on...I can see!" So I hand him the stick and ask him what he thinks + means. He looks at me and says, "I guess it means your pregnant, how do you feel?" I said, "It's so weird....we are going to have a baby?!?!?!?  How do you feel?" He says, "Weird!" I said, "What, that we are pregnant or the fact that you are holding a stick full of urine??!" And with that I kissed his mouth and ran out the door to my bootcamp class- which was the last time I went because after that I was just plain tired!  So yes- pregnant we were!

So where should I start...I am trying to think about about events over the past year and one in particular really sticks out, we will just call it Easter Sunday.

EASTER SUNDAY-

I guess at this point in life I am only about 2 months and some change pregnant, totally exhausted 100% of the time and had seriously gained like 12 pounds already....and had not changed my diet. I just figured I must be having a giant! So it is Easter Sunday morning and Brian and I are getting ready for church. I am downstairs in the shirt I am going to wear and my underwear- ironing my white pants; Brian is upstairs getting ready and all is content in our little lives. Our Rhodesian Ridgeback, Sadie, comes over to my leg while I'm ironing and sits right by me. I give her a quick glance and think, "Oh, she must know I'm prego, what a sweetie!" But something catches my eye and I have to look at her again.....OMG she has a freaking squirrel hanging out of her mouth and has brought it to me to reward her...yes a SQUIRREL....not a stuffed one either- like one she chased down outside! AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH I started screaming and screaming..."Brian, Brian, Brian.....OMG come here- HELP!" I was scared to death the thing wasn't dead- I had visions of Chevy Chase and Christmas vacation running through my head....I was like "Sadie, NO- GO!" Well that scared her- so she dropped it, (yes- right near me), and started pacing back and forth because she thought she was in trouble. I hear Brian running upstairs, get to the stairs, run down about 4 and then leap down the rest. Landing flat footed on the hardwood floor, he grabs his back and starts screaming- note- he isn't running toward me like he should have been. I immediately start screaming- OMG YOU ARE PARALYZED!!!!!!!!  So take a step back and invision this, dog pacing and barking around the prizze squirrel, other dog running back and forth because he has NO idea what is going on, ME, in my underwear screaming that my husband is paralyzed and my poor husband standing in the livingroom holding his back,, not moving and going "ow, ow, ow!"
So, he manages to make his way over to me and is like "What...what is it?" I guess in all of the confusion he didn't realize he was standing right by the squirrel; so I pointed and said "THAT!" hahhahah Brian jumps back and screams. So he goes downstairs to get something to get it with. While in the basement the squirrels tail starts to move so I, again, go into instant panic mode and start screaming. Brian runs up and is like, "WHAT?" I cease all screaming and in the most sarcastic of my tones look at him and say, "Really....paper towels...you brought up papertowels to get the squirrel?!?!" Brian said, "Oh, is it alive?"
Anyway- he ends up stuffing the squirrel in the trash and we finally make it to church; however, Brian did lay down some ground rules from that point on...me being pregnant and all. He said this....exactly, "The next time there is an emergency in the house, don't just scream. You need to scream out the emergency. Like if there is a fire you will say "FIRE, FIRE, FIRE" or if you are having pain you will say...I interuppted and clearly let Captain Safety know....I got it!

I'm Back...........

I realize it has been a hot minute since I have posted anything, much less been on here, but I have been extremely busy since Florida. When I have a lot more time, I will fill everyone in on how Florida was....and all the funny, sad, and of course unusually odd things that would only happen to me! Just know that I am back and I am going to try to update as often as possible! Pictures and stories to come!!!

How Could I Forget

Oh yea, how could I forget the backpack story?!?

So this past weekend the new girl...yes more about her...wanted a backpack. We had gone to several outdoor stores but not one had the pretty pink backpack that her little German heart desired, so we went to K-Mart. It is right down the street from our house and I was certain that we could find what she was looking for, and we did. There was a plethora to choose from and she finally decided on one of those single- across the chest strap kind. She makes the purchase, loudly telling the cashier that she wanted to sign for the purchase and not use PIN. Anyway, we get outside and I help her cram her purse inside the backpack so that we can hop on our bikes and be on our way. She seems a bit confused and is asking how to put it on. I explain that one arm goes through and then it goes over the head. I thought that was simple enough, but I look over and she has it thrown over one shoulder like you would a normal strap purse. "Like this," she asked. I was like NO- put your arm through and then over the head, and turn it around...because she had it backwards. Well "TURN IT AROUND" must have been the only thing she heard because she turns around, literally- turns her body to face the opposite direction, and throws the backpack over the shoulder again, like  a purse. The other girl that was with us, and myself, were laughing uncontrollably as we went through the motions several times. She would just turn in a half circle and do it again. Finally I couldn't take it anymore and had to put it on for her. Apparently she wasn't paying attention when I did this FOR her because now she just unbuckles it, puts it on her back in place, and then takes the top strap and puts it over her shoulder and connects it to the bottom strap. Was my direction that hard to follow? Could it have been that my constant laughter made it hard for her to hear me?? At any rate she looks over at the other girl and myself and asks, "Are you laughing with me or at me?" Honey....it doesn't appear that you are laughing at all, so you decide!!!

I promise I am not mean to her....I have been one of 2 that actually help her- but COME ON PEOPLE...she is definitely not the brightest crayon in the box. It makes it worse that the other girl that was with us is also from Germany and she is like- "WOW, she is making us look bad!"

So Much to Talk About

Ok, I realize it has been a while, but geez it is very difficult to write when you have no internet access at home, and are completely busy at work! I hate not having a connection at the house, I feel like we are living back in the day of the encyclopedia!!!

So, Let me just start with the beginning of my first week. The company that I am working for provides us bikes to ride while we are staying here, island life is very simple and everything is nearby so there is no need for me to drive most of the time. Anyway, I am super excited about my bike- all I can think about is "Sweet, maybe I will get into shape while I am here, you know riding around everywhere!" This, in whole, is a large misconception because work is like 0.4 miles away from where I live! I don't think riding that FAR is going to do a thing for these thighs! So it is the first day of work and I am about to hop on this bike for the first time, actually, hop on ANY bike for the first time in a LONG LONG TIME. (Please picture this) I hop on the bike and I am about to start going, which I think is a great start, but we have a little like sidewalk path that you have to ride down before you can get to the open parking lot....apparently I have ZERO balance because the path was small and making me steer all crazy to try and stay on it. Anyway, one of the tires goes off the side of path causing me to go with it, nailing my crotch and catching the inside of my thigh on the bar that connects the seat to the handlebars. Needless to say that my pride was hurt more than anything, although, I do have a significantly large bruise on my inner thigh....nice seeing as how I am in a swimsuit 5 days a week!


NEW GIRL

As luck would have it I was only the new girl for about 3 days and then another girl from Germany showed up, thus making her the "new girl." I was relieved that my turn as the newbie was over as quickly as it had started and now it was my turn to show this new-new girl around. Hopefully I would do a better job than was done for me- (Nothing like missing a meeting on your first day of work because your WONDERFUL roomies forgot to tell you that you had one- and it wasn't on the schedule...assholes). Anyway, she needed to go to the grocery store and I am one of two that actually drove down here, so I offered to take her to Publix. OMG it was like one of the most entertaining things I have ever experienced!

Wow, where do I begin with this? First thing she walks in, grabs a cart and literally screams "ONE OF THESE?" My reply was "yes" and again she screams "Let's go shopping." I was no where near as excited as she was about what was to come...nonetheless I felt like it was my duty as an American citizen to show the newbie around the store lol! She had made a list, which was a good start, so I just thought we would go down the list and I would just search for the isle that we needed. I am still not very familiar with the store at this point. When I asked her what the first thing on the list was....she read it to me in German....HELLO, I have no idea what you just said!!!! So we start walking and pass one of those cereal displays. You know, the kind that is sponsored by one brand and just has a few of the cereals that they offer. Well she was ECSTATIC! She was like "HOOF, SO MUCH DECISION, I DON'T KNOW!" I was "Oh no, this is just one display, the cereal isle is here." WOW- I have never EVER seen anyone so excited about cereal. The black lady standing next to us looked at the new girl in amazement and just died laughing, I explained that it was "the little things in life," and we carried on. Next was the "JUICE" isle. I don't drink juice unless it is mixed with something alcoholic so I could have cared less, but again, utter excitement. This continues on until we have finally gotten everything on the list and go stand in line to check out, which is where things get extremely interesting!

The new girl takes everything out of her cart and puts it on the little moving belt to be scanned. As she finishes, the bagger; which happens to be an older gentleman that a appears to be around 60 something, grabs her cart and rolls it over near him- you know, to put the groceries back in when he is done. LOL, the new girl grabs the cart from him and pulls it back over to her so he tries one more time to get the cart and then concedes. He just looks at her like she is crazy and begins to bag her stuff. He grabs some grapes, bananas, and apples and is about to put them in a bag when she literally jumps over the payment area and takes everything from him, I not kidding, she is practically laying on top of her stuff, wrapping her arms around it. I am about to die laughing when  I realized what was going on. In between cracking up I try and explain that he is not trying to steal her things, he is just doing his job. I explained that this is what happens in America when you go to the store, unless you choose to use a U-SCAN! The Latina cashier looks at her in amazement and says "Girl, where you from!?"  She says "Germany" and the cashier says "You gotta do that yourself where you live?" I mean, REALLY!

Needless to say, it was the most memorable trip to the store that I have ever had!

Life in Key Largo

Sorry it has been a minute since last time but I was traveling for 2 days to get here and have just been trying to get settled in....also, the house in not wifi ready so I have to wait until I get to work or come to the pool where there is wifi; I know...tough life so far.

So a little bit about what I am doing here. I am interning at a dolphin assisted therapy facility and it is truly amazing. I am living in a house with 8 other interns (all female) and  I  am certain there will be some exciting stories to share. I don't actually start work until tomorrow but Saturday morning we got to do a structured swim with the dolphins (where they pull you around and push you through the water by your feet) and a natural swim (where it is just you and the dolphins, no play involved). Check out the video below. More to come and hopefully some funny and exciting stories. For now, just island life and dolphins- exciting but not too funny!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AXcDPpOD_g



I miss everyone, especially Cozby and the dogs! I am such a sucker for my hubby and the pups!   Love you all and I promise to write everyday now!

Halloween in September

Last night was our 3rd annual Halloween party. It was a huge success. We figured that about 33 people came, but there was only about 25 people at the house at any given time- which is perfect! It was a hit and tons of fun; all except for Cowboy Troy leaving the front door open and one of the babies (dogs) running out and not wanting to come back. She decided to play a game of cat and mouse and run from us...right into the street...almost getting hit by a car! That definitely brought the stress level up a notch.  But I think everyone had a good time.

It was actually really sad to look around at all of our friends and know that last night was the last time I will see any of them for 6 whole weeks. It will certainly be strange because we are so used to just walking across the street on any given day, and walk directly into the neighbors house just to sit and have a beer- wonder who's house I can just walk into while in Florida?!

I am not feeling extremely inspired to write this morning, my head is feeling the lingering effects of last night :( So maybe more to come later....or not, The Wizard of Oz comes on tonigtht!