Reagan Noelle is Born Part 2

After praying and crying in the car I pull myself together as we pull up to the hospital. And of course my pants are wet because my water just kept on breaking! I felt like a little girl trying to hide what had happened. I am admitted and I have the sweetest nurse ever. I told her how I really didn't want Pitocin and she said that she will tell the doctor and that she understands because "Pitocin makes things 1000 times worse" (her words!). It was nice to feel validated.
I get on the IV and they do what they gotta do. Husband takes a nap in the chair and I start watching TV.
I'm not sure about time, but I watched the following:
the end of Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
most of Miss Congeniality
and 2 full DVDS of Friends Season 1.
That with a couple of walking breaks in-between.
I would say it was during the 3rd Friends DVD where the Dr came in and said that she is sitting on her hands  trying to not to give me Pitocin.
So I decide I am going to make this happen. I literally get on my knees and pray. That is, I climb into the bed and get on my elbows and knees and pray.
That is when the contractions really started.
Every 3-5 minutes.
Then the nurse came in and we moved the bed to a high level and I leaned over the bed standing. During each contraction Husband drove his knuckles into my back.
 I was so sure I just couldn't take it anymore and I told Husband:
"I don't know why I think I can do these things" and
"I cant do it anymore" and
"I think I want the drugs".
He just looks at me and I'm sure he says something, but I can't recall.
Really it is when you think you can't take anymore when it is almost over.
Lo and Behold it was time to push.
I had to push.
I HAD TO!!!
But they told me not to because we had to wait for the doctor. That is probably the worst feeling ever. I would say it was 5 or more contractions of wanting to push but being told that I cant.
Finally she came, along with 3-4 nurses, and she climbed onto the foot of the bed. I was actually surprised. I thought for sure that she would tell me that I still had ways to go, but nope, the baby was coming.
Then the Dr. says: "Dad, are you okay, you look a little queasy?"
Husband: "I'm okay, I think it is just something I ate."
If I wasn't preoccupied I would have laughed out loud at this.
I think it was about 3 pushes and our little baby girl was born.
Push 1..."She has a lot of hair"
Push 2...Nurses and Doctors: "You are doing great, we can see her eyebrows"
I think: "Just her eyebrows! All that work for just her eyebrows!" I thought for sure she was half way out by now. I ask them "Cant you just pull her out?" They said no.
Push 3...Nurse says: "She is coming, look, open your eyes, look, look, look!"
I REFUSED to look or touch...its gross!
But then, baby is born and they put her warm gooey body on my body and I have 2 thoughts...
"ITS OVER" In a relieved sort of way. Like finally this pregnancy is over. The labor is over. The pushing is over. The waiting is over.
My other thought is "Wow, she looks just like Emily."
The first thing Husband says is "Now you can sleep on your belly" LOL.
(its been 3 weeks and I still have not done that :)
-------------------------------------------------------
It took us more than 24 hours to name our little girl Reagan Noelle.
Emily loves her...right now. Reagan hasn't offended her yet. :)
I did take a post labor pic and I am still not "one of those women" But the pic isn't THAT bad ;)

Reagan Noelle is Born Part 1

Friday, Sept 21st.
I am SO tired of being pregnant. I am not sleeping. I am hot. My clothes don't fit. I have to pee every 5 minutes. Standing makes me tired. Walking makes me tired. Cleaning is out of the question. Basically I have mentally called it quits. I decide to take matters into my own hands and I text the following...

I have a little fear of irony but I thought I would use irony against itself.  By reading this text you can tell what happened. Ironic huh?! :)
Saturday, Sept 22nd 
So at about 1am I went to bed, which is usual for me. Then at about 3am I woke up because I was itchy all over my body. It was terrible. It was like having restless leg syndrome but in my skin. I was just scratching myself all over in the living room, Googling itchy skin and pregnancy when I felt a trickle trickle.
Now my water did not break when I had Emily, (that one is still a mystery) so I did not know what to expect.
I Googled "Did my water break?" and Google confirmed what I had thought. I went to wake up the hubs and as I am telling him I think my water broke...it started again. And basically did not stop for the next hour. My water breaking was not like the movies.  You know, one splash and its over. It was more like waves on the shore. Just enough to get your feet wet...then it stopped, then it came back. Good times.
I called my Dr. and she told me to come in because I tested positive for Strep-B so that meant I had to be put on an IV of Penicillin through out labor.
This bummed me out because I really wanted to labor at home for as long as possible. That way the doctors wont get antsy and push Pitocin on me if things seem to be taking too long. I don't like Pitocin.
So my BFF comes over to watch the tot and we head to hospital. I start crying in the car because I am convinced that they are going to make me take the meds or have a C-Section. So I pray.

To Be Continued.

 see what I did there... ;)

Why I Go Natural

I don't love pain. I don't hate modern medicine. I'm not holistic nor do I buy only organic or vegan products. I just want to clarify since it seems there is a little bit of stigma or association with women that decide to go through child birth without pain meds. Not that there is anything wrong with being holistic or vegan, its just not me.
What I really want is control.
There are SO many things that happen during childbirth. So many variables.
The doctor can give you a due date, but it is just a best guess. Even if you have gone through childbirth before, the next one can be completely different.
I decided many years before I was pregnant that I would want to deliver without medication because of stories that heard from other women. EVERY story I heard about a mom getting an epidural had some sort of cringe factor and weird side-effect.
"They hit my bone with the needle and I could hear the clicking."
"I kept hearing ringing in my ears."
"I cant feel this part of my leg anymore."
And my favorite "It didn't work."
Now those things don't sound so bad by themselves. They really just sound like inconveniences.
What I was/am truly afraid of is Pitocin.
Its the drug they use to induce labor. It MAKES your body have contractions. And from what I heard across the board, induced labor is VERY VERY painful. Then you really have no option but to get the epidural.
I've also heard but am not sure of the statistics that sometimes when you get the epidural, the contractions become less active and then you are induced with Pitocin.
So Epidural leads to Pitocin which leads to  more pain meds--->more Pitocin...and it just keeps going.
So what if you are induced with Pitocin, you are going through additional pain in an already very painful process and you get the pain medication and it doesn't work???
That is/was my greatest fear.
I knew it was going to hurt. I didn't want to add more pain.
The contractions hurt, but you know its going to end.
If I were injured or sick and in pain, I will take the pain meds.
But I'm not injured. There is an end. And I have some sort of control. I know it will end. I don't have to worry  about side effects or wondering if the meds will work. I can "concentrate" (there is no concentrating in labor) on the current situation and deal and wait and labor through it.
Another upside to going through childbirth naturally is I don't have to talk about stuff with the anesthesiologist before I am discharged. I don't know what he talks to  you about or what he says, but its one less thing.
I also got to be discharged early.
My favorite part is the adrenaline I feel the moment the baby is born. The pain is over and I feel like I have all the energy in the world...for about 3 days. I've read here and there that women that had the drugs don't feel this because they have to wait for the drugs to wear off. I cant really verify that though.
So there you have it.
I'm not "crunchy" or "granola". I just wanted control. And I have been blessed enough to have my child-birthing experiences the way I wanted them.

30 with 30 Maternity Edition...The Last Mash Up

Its official. I am out of options with my original 30 pieces for the 30x30  challenge. If I wasn't such a slacker I could have started 3 weeks earlier and possibly made all 30 mash-ups, but alas that is not the case. I have outgrown almost everything I own and I still have "6 weeks" to go. I put "6 weeks" in quotations because I will be surprised if I last that long. You can laugh at me later when I am a week past my due date. 

3 more options x-ed out that I never got to try. :(

Its official, I'm out of pants. 

I already featured the shirts that are left. 

Sure I could swap out some items for some maternity jeans. But that just makes me...well sad.

Here is the weird thing...I bought a few of these pieces in this challenge 2 days before Emily was born so I could have something to wear to work. That was at 40 weeks pregnancy. Those SAME items were too small for me 2 weeks ago at week 32! But I weigh 20 pounds less...I don't get it. 

Here is my last outfit...

I made this dress here. You can see how on this post. 

Now imagine this dress paired with the shirt below and the blue belt over top. I would have totally taken a new pic with the top BUT I cant find it!!! How tragic is that...i can wear like 5 things and one of them has gone MIA!!!

Its all good though. The only place I dress up for is church now. So Ill just rotate the same things for the next "6 weeks".

So there you have it, I made 15 outfits out of 21 pieces.

If I make it to Sept 15th, Ill be a happy camper. I am going to a Beth Moore Conference that is now non-refundable. I knew it was a risk when I bought the tix. :)

And as long as I dont go into labor on the 6th. My Bestie is getting married and EVERY SINGLE PERSON I would call to watch Em will be at that wedding.

Now the REAL question is...What am I going to wear?

Enjoy the rest of the challenge fellow 30x30er's!

Philippians 4:19

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

You Don’t Know!

In about 6 weeks we are having a girl.  I am pretty positive about that since that is what the doctor said after looking at our ultrasound. It is pretty cut and dry right? Either something is there or nothing is there…right?!
Sunday morning I woke up and felt extra sausagy, meaning I felt like I grew overnight. I felt more swollen and a lot slower and could really feel the weight I am carrying. I retired my wedding bands to my necklace and stopped wearing my hair in a bun because I felt like a looked like a chubby samurai. It was a good start to the morning.
That same day I had an older woman tell me that she knows I told her that I am having girl but because of the way I am carrying she still thinks that I am having a boy. I just say okay and smile and go on about my day. My sausagy feeling kinda day.
I later go to the grocery store and am REALLY taking my time in the dairy section because it was so refreshingly cold there. A woman of the same generation as previously mentioned (slightly younger than the Queen) approaches me and said… “Oh, Let me guess, You are having a boy!” I smile and say no, but that she is not the first person to say that to me today. She said she thought that because I am carrying only in the front and really low. I really should have worn this shirt.
Something about pregnancy makes people feel like they can talk to you even if they don’t know you. I usually have a McKayly Maroney type of face when I am doing my thing. Kinda meanish even though I might not be thinking mean thoughts…yet.

I apparently left my McKayla-ness at home because a few aisles later I discover that I have a little 4 year old stalker and I look down and say “Hi” and she says “You’re having a baby and it is going to come out soon!” I just say “You’re right I am”. She says more stuff, but it was something along the lines of how when I eat, the food goes into my belly and the baby eats it…I just laugh and move on.
In the parking lot, I am loading up my car and a man’s voice from behind chimes out and asks “When are you due?” I jump and tell him that he scared me. He should know that. I have a thing about solitary men talking to solitary pregnant women or women with children. See here. He seems to get the message sort-of and keeps walking, but still talking. He asks when I am due again, and I just say September.
“Oh that is any day now!” Its August 12th.
“I hope not!”
“Oh…Well I hope you carry to the due date.”
“Thanks…” and I get in my car and drive away.
If I took signs from the universe and kept tabs or felt that the people in my smallish town knew everything, then after today I would be sure that my doctors are wrong and that I am not having a girl but a boy and any second now.
Good thing I don’t, except…
I went to babycenter.com and took the babygender predictor test and it said I was having a boy! Gah!
Now if it turns out I push out a little boy instead of a little girl I know I wont care and I’ll be happy as long as the baby is healthy…blah blah blah blah…Lets be real. If I have a boy after thinking that I am having a girl for 20 or so weeks I will be an emotional wreck! I have done NOTHING in prep for a boy  a new baby at all because I have the girly baby stuff already. I have been thinking the person that has hijacked my body as a girl. I’d have to shift all that thinking and I don’t imagine that happens immediately. We have zero boy clothes, zero boy anything! And I am not a gender neutral kinda mom.
Also I’m not ready to have this baby 6 weeks early. I don’t think my baby wants to be born 6 weeks early either. So I’m just going to mentally prepare myself for strangers telling me whatever it is that they want because they obviously know everything and move on and do my thing. Whatever that is.

Want some sausage?

30 with 30 Maternity Edition: Week 5

I’ll just start with this…last week was rough. I was always hot and slept terrible almost every night. I looked a hot mess most of the time and couldn’t bring myself to mash up any outfits. Then when I was feeling like mashing up some clothes…well it turns out a few pieces don’t fit.



These are just the pieces that I haven’t gotten to use as much as I wanted or had more ideas for or even tried yet. So I have one pic to show you, just one…

Top:OldNavy~Treggings:H&M~Shoes:Payless~Bangles:Old Navy~Watch:Fossil

I am debating on whether or not to replace the skirt and dress with maternity dresses. But like I mentioned earlier, there is not a whole lot of creativity with maternity dresses. You wear them or you don’t. :) I could always throw in this shirt.

Today to church I wore one of my maternity dresses that I got on consignment. It is blue and white and I was going to wear these…

I got these shoes online someplace random but I've seen an identical pair at Charlotte Russe. 

After I put them on I felt myself putting in A LOT of effort to keep from toppling over and I didn’t want to die! Listen, the 30x30 challenge is fun, but I don’t think Lauren and Kate would want that kind of thing hanging over their heads. So I put on something a little more boring sensible.

Next week I think Ill have some things to work with. Hopefully…I’m getting larger as I type this.

Just Sayin'

30 with 30 Maternity Edition: Mash Up 4

It is week 4 of the 30 with 30 challenge...and it is getting challenging as I get larger! This week I feature my H&M Treggings or Denim Leggings. I love them because they have an elastic waste band...Sexy!

Fossil Necklace~Charming Charlies Bangle~H&M Treggings~Payless Sandals~H&M Top

Old Navy Top~Old Navy Cardi

Macy's Dress~Target Belt~Payless Wedges

The Last outfit is my fave because it has pockets. I heart pockets!

If you want to see my entire 30 pieces click here.
12 down, 18 to go. Not sure I can make it. Its getting tight Y'all!

Philippians 4:19

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

30 with 30 Maternity Edition: Mash Up 3

Going on week 3 of the 30 with 30 challenge.
This week I am wearing one of my favorite pieces, My Target Maxi dress. I wore it when I was pregnant with Em and I wear it a lot now. It was fun changing the dress up a bit.

Target Dress~Target Belt~Payless Shoes

 I wore the H&M navy top over my maxi dress. I tried it with the ruffles sticking out. It made me feel a little Amish-like. No-offense to any Amish reading my blog ;) I personally like the look on the right a little better.

H&M Shirt~Old Navy Bangles~Fossil Necklace, Earrings and Watch 

This was my favorite mash-up. I felt very Grecian in the pic on the left, but I also like the look on the right. I also wore the maxi belt from the dress in my hair as a little accent piece. 

Goodwill top

If you want to see my entire 30 pieces click here.
9 down, 21 to go.

Philippians 4:19

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

  

30 with 30 Maternity Edition: Mash Up 2

It is week 2 for me on the 30 with 30 challenge happening out there in BlogLand.
You can see the pieces I pulled for this project here. And you can see the first Mash-Up here. 
If you would like to participate, you can find out all the info here and see what some other bloggers are doing. Its fun and makes you feel a little bit better about your wardrobe.

For this Mash-Up, my main piece is a shirt that was given to me by a friend. She didn't want it anymore :) The tag inside says Forever...not Forever 21, just Forever, So I'm not real sure where she got it.
The cardigan is my 30th piece, since I only had 29 pieces when I first posted. HAHA! Lets blame pregnancy brain. This week I used Husbands fancy-schmancy camera and tripod. And since I was letting y'all in our bedroom this week, I took the time to clean off my dresser. I also ironed for the Mash-Up!!! This particular project has made me put in a little extra effort which is always I good thing I guess.

Old Navy Cardi~"Forever" Shirt~H&M Treggings~Payless Wedges

Old Navy Cargos at 3 different lengths...lots o' choices. :)

H&M shorts~Target Belt

None of my pants are maternity pants. I'm still able to get away with wearing the Baby Band and wearing long shirts, but not sure for how much longer.

So thats 6 outfits...24 to go! Right?!

Philippians 4:19

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Maternity and MotherHood Set

Maternity and Motherhood Fashion is very alluring...add this to your Pinterest Closet. Feeling sexy yet? 

Maternity and MotherHood Set by legendaryee 

This Says It All

No Words Needed

To Answer Your Questions

I forgot how much you sound like a broken record when you are pregnant. Not that you can help it but people are curious and ask you the same questions over and over and over, at work, at the store, at church and you answer with smile.

When are you due?

What are you having?

Do you have any names yet? 

When I was pregnant with Em I thought about wearing a T-Shirt that answered it all. Or walking around with a sandwich board. Either way I wouldn't have to talk :)

This time around I decided to do it.

My Read before Asking shirt :)

I searched around for the cheapest tank I could find. Forever 21 has tanks for $4.80. Then I bought the fabric Iron-On paper at Joann Fabrics and I bought the cheapest pack which has only 3 sheets. So I was SOOOooooo careful when creating this and practiced on regular paper, then I measured and drew lines so I knew exactly where to place the transfer paper. After being sooooo careful I was ready to iron and wouldn't you know I started ironing the stupid thing UPSIDE-DOWN! By the time I noticed, the damage was done to the tank and the paper...sigh. So I used one of my Hanes tanks and reprinted and will find some use for the ruined tank. 

Oh yeah, and while I was purchasing these items the cashier asked me..."Oh When are you Due?" and "Do you know what you having." I got a kick out of that. 

Good Times! 

30 With 30 Maternity Edition: Mash-Up 1

If you are following along Im doing the 30 with 30 challenge to see how far I can stretch my wardrobe...literally ;)

So here is my first Mash-Up.

Please pardon the poor quality of photos and the awkward camera in the mirror. I am thinking next week Ill set up husbands fancy camera on the tripod and try using the remote shutter...we will see. :)

For this set I'm wearing the same blue dress 3 different ways. Thats 3 Sundays of church wear Yall!!! Here is where you can see all the pieces I pulled for this project.

Gap Dress, Payless shoes, Target Belt

Thrifted Shirt, Gap Dress, DSW shoes

Thrifted Shirt, Gap Dress, Payless Shoes, Old Navy Bangles and my Staples. 

Like I said, I am getting bigger every week. We will see how far I can take this project.

Philippians 4:19

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Oh Baby By Motherhood Surplice Ruffle Dress

30 with 30: Maternity Edition

I am not by any means a "Style Blogger" (To be honest I don't know what category I would fall in :). But there is a little project out there in the blog-world called 30 with 30. Basically you go through your closet and  try to mix and match outfits in different ways in an effort to stretch your wardrobe. I hate buying maternity clothes (I feel like they are such a waste of money) so I thought I would give this project a try. I am getting bigger every week and am not sure how far I can stretch this project but its kinda fun and I realized I have  A LOT of clothes that I can use! I think this will also be a good reminder to NOT go shopping for a little while :)

Below are pics of the pieces I have chosen. I didn't include some maternity dresses and shirts because they don't really lend themselves to creativity. 

Here I am at week 28, I am now at week 29. This is NOT a maternity dress. See how short it is :)

8 dresses~2 skirts

1 pair of treggings~1 pair of cargo's~1 pair of shorts

6 tops

 

2 pair o' leggings, pink bangles, blue bangles, yellow belt, 4 shoes and my "staples"

These are my "staple" items that I wear practically everyday. They are all from Fossil.  

After posting this pic I realized I really only have 29 items...LOL! Ill rotate one in there some where :) Tomorrow I hope to post my first 3 mash-ups! Stay tuned!

Philippians 4:19

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

   

Its been a while...

Its been a while since I posted anything real. I have been a little preoccupied. I've been growing another human being for the past five months! I was pretty darn sick and didn't do much for about 6 weeks.
I feel MUCH better now and have been working on some projects and now I am ready to dive back into this little blog.
So yes, I am expecting another little girl. I am very happy and very excited. Em is such a fun little tot and to be honest I love her little girl clothes so much, I REALLY wanted to use them again.
I have a WHOLE list of projects I want to complete before baby numero dos shows up (Thank you Pinterest).
I have also been working on expanding my skills so that I can expand my resume and portfolio a little further so that hopefully I can make a little more money working from home. So I think I am going to be pretty busy this summer!
All in all things are good and we are EXTREMELY blessed. :)

Supposed to be me and Em and my belly :)
Created in Illustrator.