I have about 50 topics that I want to write about and I think about them when I'm not in front of my computer, but once I turn it on and sit down, they all leave my brain. I'm going to need to get a notebook to write my ideas down when I'm thinking about them.
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So many things have happened since Riley was born. And yet, nothing much has happened. We do a lot of nothing these days. I'm working on figuring out how to have time to do other things except feed and change my little man.
Sleep. Last night was the first night where Riley went 3 hours in between most of his feeds. That translates to mama getting 8.5 hours of broken up sleep. It was amazing. Every time he woke me up I smiled when I saw how long it had been since we had last fed. I have very little faith that it will happen again tonight, but it was nice to have a break from 1.5 hours in between feeds. (Remember that that means from start of one feeding to the start of the next. Most of the time he takes 30 minutes to eat and burp, but sometimes takes a bit longer or shorter depending on how he is feeling at that moment [or whether his mama fell asleep while nursing or burping him ;)] That leaves only an hour in between where mom is allowed to sleep, and while most of the time she can fall asleep right away, sometimes it could take her as long as 15 minutes to lose consciousness. Therefore, that leaves her with 45 minutes of sleep at a time. Sometimes a bit less, sometimes a bit more. But ultimately not enough to feel rested.) If there is one thing I know about myself, it is that I do not do well with very little sleep. I'm not the nicest person when sleep deprived, let's just leave it at that.
Nursing. The boy surely loves to eat. And with all that eating comes a lot of pooping and peeing. And sleeping. He is currently trying to wake up from one of his many milk comas. It has been 2 hours, and therefore might be time again to feed. I've been lucky, we haven't had any problem with nursing. He is proof of that fact, at 5 days old (the earliest we could get in to the MD to be seen) he had gained an ounce, and was 6lbs 9 ounces. At 12 days old he weighed 6lbs 14 oz, and today at 22 days old he is 7lbs 12oz. I am so proud of the fact that I am the reason he is growing. Even still, I selfishly want him to stay little-tiny forever. Pretty soon I won't be able to dress him in his newborn clothes, and will have to move into size 1 diapers. Sigh. Back to nursing...While nursing is sometimes stressful, I am thankful that I am capable to provide for my son. It is so much more difficult to go on errands now. Remember he sometimes only goes 1.5 hours in between feedings, which we figured out above leaves mommy 45 minutes of free time, that means pack him up and run for the car. Speed to the desired location and cross your fingers that he might go longer than 1.5 hours. Otherwise, scope out a place to sit down and feed him. I have only nursed him in the doctor's waiting room and the movie theater, thus far. Mostly because I haven't travelled much with him yet. Today we went grocery shopping and he thankfully slept through the entire ordeal. (Which took 2 hours! What was I doing for 2 hours!? I guess Walmart isn't the best place for me to go grocery shopping, because I get lost in the aisles. But I was able to get some more nursing bras and camis at the same time as getting groceries which saved me a stop.)
As I said before, he is now mostly awake at 2.5 hours, so it is time to start the cycle all over again. Maybe I'll come back for more later. ;)
Friday, January 7, 2011
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Our New Arrival
Riley Oliver Neagle
December 16th at 12:59pm
6lbs 8 ounces
18-3/4" long
Birth story:
December 15th at 1900, I was just finishing dinner, sitting on the couch, when I felt a little teensie gush. I thought for a minute, and went to the bathroom. I've heard of people peeing their pants later on in pregnancy. I went to the bathroom, and as I was washing my hands, I felt more fluid leaking out. I yelled to Jamaal: "I think my water just broke." He was a little flustered and didn't really believe me at first. I was a bit flustered as well, and couldn't remember what we were supposed to do. Jamaal told me to call, so I did.
The midwife called back rather quickly. She took some history, looked up my Group B Strep results (I was negative) and told me I could go in whenever I wanted. My mom's first labor started very similarly: her water broke first, then she had some contractions, and in 3 hours she gave birth to my brother. I was nervous that that might happen to me, and I didn't want my son to be born in a moving vehicle. So, after showering and finishing up packing a few things, we left for the hospital. My mom and his mom and brother met us there.
At 2145, I was checked for the very first time and was 2-3cm and 50% effaced. My contractions were just starting, and were maybe as bad as menstrual cramping. They barely hurt. They put me on and off the monitors to check his heart rate and my contractions, in between being on the monitor I would get up and walk around my room. And bounced on a birthing ball. Meanwhile getting grossed out at how much fluid was leaking out of me. Eventually one of the nurses gave me one of the ginormous pads for after the birth, which helped me to not have to change my pad every hour or two. (The ginormous pads might as well be called Attends. I swear, I didn't know they made pads that big.)
My contractions didn't really go anywhere, so the midwife ordered me to take Cytotek (a pill) to help my cervix to dilate and my contractions to start. They gave me a half of a dose, as I was hoping to go pretty naturally. Shortly after I took that, I got tired (it was 3 am at this point), and went to sleep. Elf was just starting when I went to sleep and it just ending when I woke up, so I slept for about 2 hours.
Unfortunately, I was in a "triage room" and only had one bed in the room. That left Jamaal, and our Moms (his brother left just after midnight) without sleep. Jamaal slumped forward in a chair and got a little bit of sleep, but it was not very good rest. After 0700 our day nurse brought in a mat for him, which he only got to use for about 1-2 hours. I don't know why the night nurse didn't bring one in for us....I'm hoping it is because there weren't any available.
At 0700, our moms left to the cafeteria to eat and relax. It was right after they left, that I noticed my contractions were getting a lot worse. I was having a hard time relaxing, I found myself writhing in the bed, trying to get comfortable. By 0915, I had decided to get an epidural. I realized that I was panicking: if it hurts this bad now, how will it be in an hour? How will it be during the birth? I hadn't really complained at all about my contractions: they could tell in my face when I was having one, but I wasn't making much noise with them. After I went to the bathroom, and realized how uncomfortable I was, I went to my bed, and called my nurse. I told her I wanted to be checked to see if it was too late for an epidural. She asked if there was a certain point that if I made it that far, I would just keep going (that way she could encourage me one way or another). I wanted the epidural no matter what. I was 6cm dilated at that point.
The anesthesiologist was in the room within 5 minutes. It was at this point that my day nurse went on break to pump, and an older nurse came in to cover for her. It seems that she doesn't do patient care as much as she used to, or she is just kind of a flighty lady. Or perhaps both. The RN offered to put in my IV, but he wanted to get stuff moving along. (And I think he knew that if he let her start the IV, he would be waiting around for much longer than if he started it himself.) He had kind of a "time is money" attitude, whereas she had a much more relaxed way of thinking. She was making his job much harder than it had to be. Because of the contractions, I didn't really feel the IV get put in. He did a good job. Even though he seemed a bit rushed, he was really a nice guy, and I could tell that he was good at what he did. He sort of looked like House, but didn't have the attitude.
Once the IV was in, he had me dangle over the edge of the bed. I was really nervous about this part, which took way longer than I thought it would. Even though I know I was having contractions, I was so focused on what was going on behind me, that I didn't really care about them. It was very uncomfortable getting the epidural, at one point it felt like he was plucking strings on my back that were somehow connected to my spinal cord.
Once the epidural was in, things seemed to move really quickly. I got a new nurse (my third), since I was now laboring and needed a labor nurse. They didn't have a labor room available, so I stayed in the triage room to deliver. The only thing they needed to get to make it ready for delivery was a baby warmer. (Once they found an unused warmer and brought it to my room, another nurse tried to come and take it thinking a triage patient would not need to have a warmer. When she asked if she could take it about 5 people yelled "No! We need that!")
They left me on the monitors since I couldn't get up anyway, and his heart rate kept going down with contractions. At first the nurse just said it was normal decelerations associated with his head getting compressed with the contractions. But after a while his heart rate would decelerate (go down) and take a while to come back up, which concerned my nurses. They tried changing my position, (something I remember my maternity instructor calling "rotisserie labor,") but this only worked for a little bit. After the first big position change, I met my 4th and 5th nurse. This was at 1100. (The reason I got two nurses is that one of them was relatively new to nursing and worked at Enumclaw hospital (which only has like 4 beds total for labor and delivery) so she was at St. Joe's to get more experience with labor and delivery. At Enumclaw she might have one delivery during a shift, maybe. At St. Joe's they have several deliveries every day. She was nice. But because I was worried about things, I wasn't up to chit chat much, and she was trying to get me to talk. I was very worried that I was going to have to have a cesarean, and even more worried that there was something wrong with my baby.
Eventually the new nurse decided to try holding the heartbeat monitor a little tighter, and see if that helped keep his heart rate up, and it did! So all that worrying really was just the monitor not picking up his heart beat. Really once the epidural was started things seemed to really pick up. I don't remember it being very long before I was pushing, but I do know that it was over 3 hours before he was born after the epidural was started.
Just after noon, it was time to start pushing. My epidural had worn off just enough that I had good use of my legs, but couldn't feel much in my abdomen or pelvis. They kept telling me that I was a really good pusher, but it was really hard for me to tell if I was pushing or not. I ended up pushing for 40 minutes. I was getting cheered on, but near the end I kept thinking to myself that they were lying to me. They got out a mirror to give me some inspiration, but it really didn't help me much. It just made me more of a non-believer, because it didn't look like he was moving very much to me. ;) It was a lot easier for me to have my eyes closed during the pushing, though so I didn't really look in the mirror very much.
We (my mom, MIL and nurses) had talked about how it felt to finally get the head and body out, and really there is no relief quite like it. Emotions aside, it really was quite a relief to get to that point. I am SO thankful for a successful vaginal delivery. :D
I found out after he was born, that he was in a very difficult position to push out. Had he been much bigger, or had I not opted for the epidural, I probably would have had a cesarean.
Riley was placed on my chest right after delivery, and we stared at each other for quite some time before he was taken to be weighed and measured. We did not nurse right away, which goes against everything I read about (and was told) prior to delivery. Since I had gestational diabetes, he was at high risk of having a low blood sugar, and early and frequent nursing helps to prevent this. I was too nervous to try to do it myself, and no one helped to get him to latch on. I'm not too upset by this, and didn't really think about it much at the time, only now, as I'm writing this did I think much about it. He barely cried, and did a lot of grunting. He is still about the same, he makes a lot of noise, but doesn't cry too much.
Food never tasted so good as that first meal after delivery. I had a grilled cheese and fries, fruit and strawberry ice cream. Mostly carbs of course. I didn't eat it all, but it was scrumptious.
Everything else went pretty smoothly. His blood sugars and temperatures were normal. He passed his hearing screening (after having to recheck his right ear). And he successfully peed and pooped within 24 hours of being born.
Nursing has been natural for us. It is exhausting, which is my only complaint. I have had moments of despair when I think how much easier it would be to formula feed, and how much more sleep I might have if I could pass off a feeding or two to someone else. These thoughts are even stronger those nights that he wants to feed every hour and a half. Sometimes he feeds for as long as 45 minutes and still might want to feed again in 45 minutes. I am able to fall asleep rather quickly, but 45 minutes of sleep isn't enough for me to feel rested. My midwife told me that I need to get 8 hours of sleep, especially when it is in short bursts like it has been. I was fine for the first couple weeks, but earlier this week, when he started fussing after only 30 minutes, I started crying. I moved into the living room and nursed him in the recliner chair and slept with him on my chest. This seems to help me get more rest, but I am concerned that he might get spoiled and want to sleep only when held.
I will post some more later, right now I have a fussy baby with an open mouth waiting for my services. I mostly just wanted to get this written out. If you made it this far, thanks for reading. ;)
The anesthesiologist was in the room within 5 minutes. It was at this point that my day nurse went on break to pump, and an older nurse came in to cover for her. It seems that she doesn't do patient care as much as she used to, or she is just kind of a flighty lady. Or perhaps both. The RN offered to put in my IV, but he wanted to get stuff moving along. (And I think he knew that if he let her start the IV, he would be waiting around for much longer than if he started it himself.) He had kind of a "time is money" attitude, whereas she had a much more relaxed way of thinking. She was making his job much harder than it had to be. Because of the contractions, I didn't really feel the IV get put in. He did a good job. Even though he seemed a bit rushed, he was really a nice guy, and I could tell that he was good at what he did. He sort of looked like House, but didn't have the attitude.
Once the IV was in, he had me dangle over the edge of the bed. I was really nervous about this part, which took way longer than I thought it would. Even though I know I was having contractions, I was so focused on what was going on behind me, that I didn't really care about them. It was very uncomfortable getting the epidural, at one point it felt like he was plucking strings on my back that were somehow connected to my spinal cord.
Once the epidural was in, things seemed to move really quickly. I got a new nurse (my third), since I was now laboring and needed a labor nurse. They didn't have a labor room available, so I stayed in the triage room to deliver. The only thing they needed to get to make it ready for delivery was a baby warmer. (Once they found an unused warmer and brought it to my room, another nurse tried to come and take it thinking a triage patient would not need to have a warmer. When she asked if she could take it about 5 people yelled "No! We need that!")
They left me on the monitors since I couldn't get up anyway, and his heart rate kept going down with contractions. At first the nurse just said it was normal decelerations associated with his head getting compressed with the contractions. But after a while his heart rate would decelerate (go down) and take a while to come back up, which concerned my nurses. They tried changing my position, (something I remember my maternity instructor calling "rotisserie labor,") but this only worked for a little bit. After the first big position change, I met my 4th and 5th nurse. This was at 1100. (The reason I got two nurses is that one of them was relatively new to nursing and worked at Enumclaw hospital (which only has like 4 beds total for labor and delivery) so she was at St. Joe's to get more experience with labor and delivery. At Enumclaw she might have one delivery during a shift, maybe. At St. Joe's they have several deliveries every day. She was nice. But because I was worried about things, I wasn't up to chit chat much, and she was trying to get me to talk. I was very worried that I was going to have to have a cesarean, and even more worried that there was something wrong with my baby.
Eventually the new nurse decided to try holding the heartbeat monitor a little tighter, and see if that helped keep his heart rate up, and it did! So all that worrying really was just the monitor not picking up his heart beat. Really once the epidural was started things seemed to really pick up. I don't remember it being very long before I was pushing, but I do know that it was over 3 hours before he was born after the epidural was started.
Just after noon, it was time to start pushing. My epidural had worn off just enough that I had good use of my legs, but couldn't feel much in my abdomen or pelvis. They kept telling me that I was a really good pusher, but it was really hard for me to tell if I was pushing or not. I ended up pushing for 40 minutes. I was getting cheered on, but near the end I kept thinking to myself that they were lying to me. They got out a mirror to give me some inspiration, but it really didn't help me much. It just made me more of a non-believer, because it didn't look like he was moving very much to me. ;) It was a lot easier for me to have my eyes closed during the pushing, though so I didn't really look in the mirror very much.
We (my mom, MIL and nurses) had talked about how it felt to finally get the head and body out, and really there is no relief quite like it. Emotions aside, it really was quite a relief to get to that point. I am SO thankful for a successful vaginal delivery. :D
I found out after he was born, that he was in a very difficult position to push out. Had he been much bigger, or had I not opted for the epidural, I probably would have had a cesarean.
Riley was placed on my chest right after delivery, and we stared at each other for quite some time before he was taken to be weighed and measured. We did not nurse right away, which goes against everything I read about (and was told) prior to delivery. Since I had gestational diabetes, he was at high risk of having a low blood sugar, and early and frequent nursing helps to prevent this. I was too nervous to try to do it myself, and no one helped to get him to latch on. I'm not too upset by this, and didn't really think about it much at the time, only now, as I'm writing this did I think much about it. He barely cried, and did a lot of grunting. He is still about the same, he makes a lot of noise, but doesn't cry too much.
Food never tasted so good as that first meal after delivery. I had a grilled cheese and fries, fruit and strawberry ice cream. Mostly carbs of course. I didn't eat it all, but it was scrumptious.
Everything else went pretty smoothly. His blood sugars and temperatures were normal. He passed his hearing screening (after having to recheck his right ear). And he successfully peed and pooped within 24 hours of being born.
Nursing has been natural for us. It is exhausting, which is my only complaint. I have had moments of despair when I think how much easier it would be to formula feed, and how much more sleep I might have if I could pass off a feeding or two to someone else. These thoughts are even stronger those nights that he wants to feed every hour and a half. Sometimes he feeds for as long as 45 minutes and still might want to feed again in 45 minutes. I am able to fall asleep rather quickly, but 45 minutes of sleep isn't enough for me to feel rested. My midwife told me that I need to get 8 hours of sleep, especially when it is in short bursts like it has been. I was fine for the first couple weeks, but earlier this week, when he started fussing after only 30 minutes, I started crying. I moved into the living room and nursed him in the recliner chair and slept with him on my chest. This seems to help me get more rest, but I am concerned that he might get spoiled and want to sleep only when held.
I will post some more later, right now I have a fussy baby with an open mouth waiting for my services. I mostly just wanted to get this written out. If you made it this far, thanks for reading. ;)
Thursday, December 9, 2010
37 weeks
well, tomorrow I will be. That means, Thundercats are GO! ;) It can happen any time now. I've been trying to be a little bit more active, but with more activity, comes more swelling to my right leg. I walked a mile the other day with my girls when the rain stopped. I definitely felt pressure during the walk. I'm also still doing water aerobics. I try to be extra jumpy. ;)
Today we had our appointment with our midwife. She said the baby is low, but still has room to go lower. She did not check my cervix, because as one midwife explained to me, it doesn't really tell you much. You can be 4cm and not go into labor for a while, and you can be 1cm and have the baby that same day. It is essentially, not worth the pain. I am, however, curious to know what my cervix is up to.
My midwife told me today that they usually don't like people with gestational diabetes to go too much past their due date. I knew this already, because usually babies are a bit bigger if their mom had GD. So, that might mean I will be getting induced at the end of this month. If I can't coax him out on my own. ;)
Work.
I'm still going to work. I was thinking of stopping early and making Friday night my last night, but I realized that we need the money, and though I'm hopeful I'll have this baby early, it rarely happens on its own. If I leave early, then I have to go back earlier than I planned. And I might just miss being around this little guy, so I'd like to spend as much time as I can with him. Work, however, is sometimes very rough on me. The last shift I worked wasn't too bad. I was assigned an appropriate assignment: one with very few turns. The shift prior to that I had a dependent turner, which means I have to ask for a lot of help at least every 2 hours. I can barely reach the patient with my big ole belly; besides the fact that it really isn't good for my back to be lifting at this point. I hate asking for a lot of help. If I keep having decent assignments, where I have an appropriate load and don't have to move too fast, I'll be able to go to my planned date of the 19th. I have 8 shifts left, or less if he decides to come early. ;) I can do it...
I added a couple more things I won't miss to the previous post, check it out.
Today we had our appointment with our midwife. She said the baby is low, but still has room to go lower. She did not check my cervix, because as one midwife explained to me, it doesn't really tell you much. You can be 4cm and not go into labor for a while, and you can be 1cm and have the baby that same day. It is essentially, not worth the pain. I am, however, curious to know what my cervix is up to.
My midwife told me today that they usually don't like people with gestational diabetes to go too much past their due date. I knew this already, because usually babies are a bit bigger if their mom had GD. So, that might mean I will be getting induced at the end of this month. If I can't coax him out on my own. ;)
Work.
I'm still going to work. I was thinking of stopping early and making Friday night my last night, but I realized that we need the money, and though I'm hopeful I'll have this baby early, it rarely happens on its own. If I leave early, then I have to go back earlier than I planned. And I might just miss being around this little guy, so I'd like to spend as much time as I can with him. Work, however, is sometimes very rough on me. The last shift I worked wasn't too bad. I was assigned an appropriate assignment: one with very few turns. The shift prior to that I had a dependent turner, which means I have to ask for a lot of help at least every 2 hours. I can barely reach the patient with my big ole belly; besides the fact that it really isn't good for my back to be lifting at this point. I hate asking for a lot of help. If I keep having decent assignments, where I have an appropriate load and don't have to move too fast, I'll be able to go to my planned date of the 19th. I have 8 shifts left, or less if he decides to come early. ;) I can do it...
I added a couple more things I won't miss to the previous post, check it out.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Ready to go
While I am not too terribly uncomfortable all the time, there are things that I am looking forward to once the babe is born:
- Normal sized legs. I would love to see my right ankle bones again. I usually get to peek at my left ankle bones. Some days it is so bad I can barely put on my shoes. (I can't fit in my Saritas (similar to a Dansko) unless I only wear the left one...
- Heartburn that is rare. I'm sometimes concerned if I don't have heartburn at this point. Tums are a lifesaver most of the time. But the other night I ate last at like 1830, went to bed at 2230, and by 2345 I was worshipping the porcelain god.
- Being able to bend over. At work nowadays if I drop something, I leave it on the ground. Unless it is something gross that I feel guilty for leaving. But I drop about 5 gloves a shift, because you can never take out 2 gloves in a box without others trying to escape. They are clean, so I don't worry my little self over picking them up. A couple people I work with follow me around cleaning my messes. ;) They really do, just a few minutes to hours later.
- Being able to sit normal in the car. I have been ridin' like a gangster for a while now, with my seat reclined back. It makes it difficult to check my blind spots, but otherwise I feel like I'm going to wet myself, or I start contracting, or both if I leave the seat in my normal position.
- Some things in the bedroom are a little different right now, if you know what I mean. I'm looking forward to having a bit of my flexibility back again. Enough said.
- Eating carbs again. I am thankful that I do know how to eat now, and that it will allow me to lose baby weight. However, there are things I miss, like ice cream, and french fries. You don't realize how many things have a high carbohydrate content until you can't eat them.
- Drinking alcohol. It's not like I drank a lot prior to getting pregnant, but once I found out I was preggo, wine sounded good to me. I have seen several different types that I've wanted to try like Apple Wine, and a couple others that I nearly bought for later. But decided that since I hardly ever drank wine before, it might just sit on the fridge for several years before I break down and try it. I can't wait to be able to go wine tasting in Prosser for my first time. (But next time I'm flying in. ;) Is there even an airport?)
- *NEW* Kayleen made a good point. I also miss being able to sleep in whatever position I like. Either on my back, or on my stomach. I am finding that in the last couple weeks I can only sleep for so long before my hips are sore and my body is angry. Which means that I can no longer sleep. Previously pregnant women warned me about this, but I didn't believe them since I haven't had any problems with sleep...until now.
- *NEW* I too, miss having my baby girls in my lap. They make their way up on whatever lap they can find, but it usually ends with them standing or stepping on my growing belly. Which, as you can imagine, does not feel too good. I think Bella is going to miss my belly. She likes to rest her head on it. I've tried getting pictures but they never really turn out right. Picture it in your head, and know that it is cute. ;)
- *NEW* I will not miss having a melon with arms resting on my bladder. Not only do I think he might take up soccer, but I believe he'd like to be a boxer as well. He enjoys punching at my bladder. On pretty much every ultrasound he has had his head resting on my bladder like a pillow. And ever so often I feel him move and jab at it. Thus far I haven't lost control, but it has been very very close. I will not miss needing to find a bathroom every hour (or less) only to trickle a small amount of pee out. There is definitely a lot of pressure down there.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Where I've been
My dad picked me up on Wednesday, and I had packed things for work the next morning, and clothes for Thanksgiving dinner. I had some food, and things for my lunch the next day. I also brought activities to work on if I got bored. I had pillows and also Bella packed up. He was a little bit skeptical, as I hadn't yet asked him to drive me to work the next day. But he knew something was up as I was bringing a lot of stuff. :)
When we got to my parent's house, I told my mom I hadn't asked my dad to drive me to work in the morning, yet. I told him that it was her idea. They were more concerned about me driving home in the afternoon, as it was unknown how the weather would be later on. (Turned out to be fine.)
My mom and I made the pies. She did most everything, but I did cut and peel most of the apples. And I mixed up the pumpkin filling for the pumpkin pies, as well as mixed up the cherry filling. Shortly after we finished Kristina came over to visit (her parent's live down the street from mine), and we had a good little chat. :D
The next morning, my dad and I went to Starbucks. Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Lattes are my favorite right now. (I'm not a fan of sugar free vanilla or caramel, but Starbucks also carries sugar free cinnamon dolce syrup that is mighty tasty.) And during the drive to work, I got a phone call. I always love these phone calls, as I know what it means. I was offered the day off of work. I actually might not have taken it if I was driving myself, but because my dad would have to pick me up in the afternoon, I decided to take the time off. Taking the time off, also meant that I could go with Jamaal to his family's Thanksgiving dinner as well.
I was able to keep my sugars down during the day. Which was a pleasant surprise. My midwife today told me that many people had bad sugars from last week. So I'm doing well.
My mom and I successfully made a Splenda-blend Cherry pie that tasted much like a full sugar pie. My brother had a piece, I asked him how it tasted, and he said good. I then told him it was made with a Splenda-blend and he quickly said it tasted gross. ;) He couldn't tell. And honestly, I can't tell either. It tastes quite scrumptious. I have one more piece to enjoy. Maybe tonight? We'll see. I always gauge my desserts by how well my after dinner sugars are.
My mom and I kept with our tradition of Black Friday shopping at 4am on Friday. I must be honest, it was much harder on me this year, for obvious reasons. I was pretty grumpy and not as patient as normal. I didn't buy much, just a few movies and socks for Jamaal and I at Fred Meyer. We always end our shopping trip there. I only napped a couple hours before going to work from 1500-2330. So I was pretty tired when I got home that night.
Tonight is my first night back on night shift. I'll be working 4 nights in a row this week, which is going to be rough, since I only worked one evening shift last week. I'm ready for this guy to come, so that I don't have to work anymore. ;)
When we got to my parent's house, I told my mom I hadn't asked my dad to drive me to work in the morning, yet. I told him that it was her idea. They were more concerned about me driving home in the afternoon, as it was unknown how the weather would be later on. (Turned out to be fine.)
My mom and I made the pies. She did most everything, but I did cut and peel most of the apples. And I mixed up the pumpkin filling for the pumpkin pies, as well as mixed up the cherry filling. Shortly after we finished Kristina came over to visit (her parent's live down the street from mine), and we had a good little chat. :D
The next morning, my dad and I went to Starbucks. Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Lattes are my favorite right now. (I'm not a fan of sugar free vanilla or caramel, but Starbucks also carries sugar free cinnamon dolce syrup that is mighty tasty.) And during the drive to work, I got a phone call. I always love these phone calls, as I know what it means. I was offered the day off of work. I actually might not have taken it if I was driving myself, but because my dad would have to pick me up in the afternoon, I decided to take the time off. Taking the time off, also meant that I could go with Jamaal to his family's Thanksgiving dinner as well.
I was able to keep my sugars down during the day. Which was a pleasant surprise. My midwife today told me that many people had bad sugars from last week. So I'm doing well.
My mom and I successfully made a Splenda-blend Cherry pie that tasted much like a full sugar pie. My brother had a piece, I asked him how it tasted, and he said good. I then told him it was made with a Splenda-blend and he quickly said it tasted gross. ;) He couldn't tell. And honestly, I can't tell either. It tastes quite scrumptious. I have one more piece to enjoy. Maybe tonight? We'll see. I always gauge my desserts by how well my after dinner sugars are.
My mom and I kept with our tradition of Black Friday shopping at 4am on Friday. I must be honest, it was much harder on me this year, for obvious reasons. I was pretty grumpy and not as patient as normal. I didn't buy much, just a few movies and socks for Jamaal and I at Fred Meyer. We always end our shopping trip there. I only napped a couple hours before going to work from 1500-2330. So I was pretty tired when I got home that night.
Tonight is my first night back on night shift. I'll be working 4 nights in a row this week, which is going to be rough, since I only worked one evening shift last week. I'm ready for this guy to come, so that I don't have to work anymore. ;)
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
I'm dreaming...
Of a white Thanksgiving?
They say it is going to warm up, melt the snow and *gasp* rain. But I'm not holding my breath. ;)
On Monday, I had a dentist appointment at 10, but I made it as far as 320th on military, and realized that while I could probably make it to my appointment, I remembered there was a giant hill that I would have to climb. If military wasn't cleared off at all, I didn't believe the hill would be either. I called and rescheduled, then turned around and went home to warmth. At about 1530, I went and napped, to prepare for my shift later that night. By the time I woke up there was a new blanket of about 3 inches. My mom called me mid-nap to tell me it was crazy outside. I was a little bit shocked, because before I went to sleep it wasn't really all that bad out there. A lot had changed during my 2-hour nap. I was supposed to work from 2300-0730, but I don't think I would've been able to make it to work. The freeway was a sheet of ice with many, many cars, slipping and sliding, and abandoned.
I really didn't want to call out, to waste my benefit time, but I value my cars condition, and my life a little too much to try to drive on ice, in the dark.
My MIL decided to stay the night on Monday (so a coworker who lives nearby could drive her to work the next day), so her and I watched the news, had some tea and waited for her son to come home. I cooked dinner (bratwurst), and right after I decided dinner was ready went to the front door to look and see if my husband was home yet. It was late for him. I hadn't called him, because I didn't want to distract him during his drive in these slippery conditions. As I was looking out the door, the power flickered off, back on, then right back off again. I watched the other houses on the block lose power.
Jamaal finally called shortly after we lost power, and hadn't even left work yet. I got after him for not telling me he was staying late, that I had been worried about him. He was upset that we had no power. I'm thankful that my MIL had decided to stay, because I would have been alone, in the dark, for a couple hours. I'm also thankful that dinner was finished right before the power went out.
I have lots of candles, as my sister in law sells Partylite, so I got out several, and lit them around the living room. It smelt pretty yummy. ;) I got out my knitting and knitted a couple rows by candle light.
Jamaal made it home safe and sound, but said it was really scary out there.
Tuesday afternoon was my next midwife appointment. My dad stayed home from work so that he could drive me to it in his big truck. It was really quite nice of him. The roads were all pretty much dry and bare. There were some bad spots, but for the most part it was an easy drive. It was a nice trip with my father. And the appointment went really fast. The midwife came in early on to talk to me, said everything looked good. And said once I had been on the monitor for 20 minutes, I could go.
Since I had to cook dinner for my MIL and my husband, I felt a little bit of extra pressure, and didn't prepare well before leaving for the appointment. So, my dad took me to the grocery store before taking me home.
My dad is going to pick me up after he gets off work today, and take me to my parent's house so that I can help my mom with making pies. I'm going to try to make one for me with Splenda blends instead of sugar.
My mom wants my dad to take me to work tomorrow morning, because there are some rough spots out there still, that won't be melted until the afternoon. I'll talk to him about it to see what he thinks. BUT if he does take me to work, then I will spend the night at their house to make it easier for him.
Carrying a baby makes people treat you like one. ;) But I don't mind.
They say it is going to warm up, melt the snow and *gasp* rain. But I'm not holding my breath. ;)
On Monday, I had a dentist appointment at 10, but I made it as far as 320th on military, and realized that while I could probably make it to my appointment, I remembered there was a giant hill that I would have to climb. If military wasn't cleared off at all, I didn't believe the hill would be either. I called and rescheduled, then turned around and went home to warmth. At about 1530, I went and napped, to prepare for my shift later that night. By the time I woke up there was a new blanket of about 3 inches. My mom called me mid-nap to tell me it was crazy outside. I was a little bit shocked, because before I went to sleep it wasn't really all that bad out there. A lot had changed during my 2-hour nap. I was supposed to work from 2300-0730, but I don't think I would've been able to make it to work. The freeway was a sheet of ice with many, many cars, slipping and sliding, and abandoned.
I really didn't want to call out, to waste my benefit time, but I value my cars condition, and my life a little too much to try to drive on ice, in the dark.
My MIL decided to stay the night on Monday (so a coworker who lives nearby could drive her to work the next day), so her and I watched the news, had some tea and waited for her son to come home. I cooked dinner (bratwurst), and right after I decided dinner was ready went to the front door to look and see if my husband was home yet. It was late for him. I hadn't called him, because I didn't want to distract him during his drive in these slippery conditions. As I was looking out the door, the power flickered off, back on, then right back off again. I watched the other houses on the block lose power.
Jamaal finally called shortly after we lost power, and hadn't even left work yet. I got after him for not telling me he was staying late, that I had been worried about him. He was upset that we had no power. I'm thankful that my MIL had decided to stay, because I would have been alone, in the dark, for a couple hours. I'm also thankful that dinner was finished right before the power went out.
I have lots of candles, as my sister in law sells Partylite, so I got out several, and lit them around the living room. It smelt pretty yummy. ;) I got out my knitting and knitted a couple rows by candle light.
Jamaal made it home safe and sound, but said it was really scary out there.
Tuesday afternoon was my next midwife appointment. My dad stayed home from work so that he could drive me to it in his big truck. It was really quite nice of him. The roads were all pretty much dry and bare. There were some bad spots, but for the most part it was an easy drive. It was a nice trip with my father. And the appointment went really fast. The midwife came in early on to talk to me, said everything looked good. And said once I had been on the monitor for 20 minutes, I could go.
Since I had to cook dinner for my MIL and my husband, I felt a little bit of extra pressure, and didn't prepare well before leaving for the appointment. So, my dad took me to the grocery store before taking me home.
My dad is going to pick me up after he gets off work today, and take me to my parent's house so that I can help my mom with making pies. I'm going to try to make one for me with Splenda blends instead of sugar.
My mom wants my dad to take me to work tomorrow morning, because there are some rough spots out there still, that won't be melted until the afternoon. I'll talk to him about it to see what he thinks. BUT if he does take me to work, then I will spend the night at their house to make it easier for him.
Carrying a baby makes people treat you like one. ;) But I don't mind.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
Last night I had pie
and my sugars were in control!
Friday night, I fell asleep on the couch, as per my usual routine. I eat dinner, set my alarm on my phone for an hour later, so I can check my sugar, and try to stay awake. I usually play games on my phone while kind of "watching" my husband play video games, until eventually my eyelids are so heavy, I don't even fight them anymore.
When Jamaal is ready for bed, he wakes me up and into bed I go. I try again to stay awake for a minute or two, but usually am out shortly after my head hits the pillow.
Friday night I was so out of it, after getting woken up, I went straight to bed. I didn't take my medicine. (I guess I haven't mentioned that at the appointment where I was sent to the hospital, I was started on Metformin at bedtime, to help keep my waking blood sugars down. It has helped a lot to keep my sugars down through the day as well.)
My Saturday morning sugar was a little on the high side, without being high. I know it is because I missed my bedtime dose. Since I was planning on going to the Sew, quilt and craft show, and I didn't know what sort of foods would be readily available to me, I decided to take my missed dose in the morning. My sugars were perfect all day. I had a Grande, Skinny, Cinnamon Dolce Latte from Starbucks, a mini pot pie from Marie Callendar's, and a slice of Custard Pie for dessert. Those were all of my splurges, but of course I had snacks in between.
At Fred Meyer on Friday, I found these bars:
The wonderful thing about them, is they have very little sugar, and low carbohydrate for a "granola" bar. They have lots of protein as well. Mostly because they are made with nuts, but they also add a soy protein. The South Beach granola bars I've been eating have 17g carb and like 6g protein, where as this particular flavor has 11g carb and 10g protein.
Taste wise, I'd go for the South Beach ones before the KIND bars, but they might grow on me. I've only had one flavor so far, and maybe some are better than others.
They are also sold at Starbucks if you're interested in trying one out. ;)
I'm nervous for Thanksgiving, but am getting more and more confident in my ability to figure out how much to eat at once. I also plan on taking a Metformin in the morning and at night to help keep my sugars down. I think that helped me a lot yesterday. I'll run it past my midwife, but even if they say I don't need to, I think I'll still do it.
Nurses make the worst patients. ;)
Friday night, I fell asleep on the couch, as per my usual routine. I eat dinner, set my alarm on my phone for an hour later, so I can check my sugar, and try to stay awake. I usually play games on my phone while kind of "watching" my husband play video games, until eventually my eyelids are so heavy, I don't even fight them anymore.
When Jamaal is ready for bed, he wakes me up and into bed I go. I try again to stay awake for a minute or two, but usually am out shortly after my head hits the pillow.
Friday night I was so out of it, after getting woken up, I went straight to bed. I didn't take my medicine. (I guess I haven't mentioned that at the appointment where I was sent to the hospital, I was started on Metformin at bedtime, to help keep my waking blood sugars down. It has helped a lot to keep my sugars down through the day as well.)
My Saturday morning sugar was a little on the high side, without being high. I know it is because I missed my bedtime dose. Since I was planning on going to the Sew, quilt and craft show, and I didn't know what sort of foods would be readily available to me, I decided to take my missed dose in the morning. My sugars were perfect all day. I had a Grande, Skinny, Cinnamon Dolce Latte from Starbucks, a mini pot pie from Marie Callendar's, and a slice of Custard Pie for dessert. Those were all of my splurges, but of course I had snacks in between.
At Fred Meyer on Friday, I found these bars:
The wonderful thing about them, is they have very little sugar, and low carbohydrate for a "granola" bar. They have lots of protein as well. Mostly because they are made with nuts, but they also add a soy protein. The South Beach granola bars I've been eating have 17g carb and like 6g protein, where as this particular flavor has 11g carb and 10g protein.
Taste wise, I'd go for the South Beach ones before the KIND bars, but they might grow on me. I've only had one flavor so far, and maybe some are better than others.
They are also sold at Starbucks if you're interested in trying one out. ;)
I'm nervous for Thanksgiving, but am getting more and more confident in my ability to figure out how much to eat at once. I also plan on taking a Metformin in the morning and at night to help keep my sugars down. I think that helped me a lot yesterday. I'll run it past my midwife, but even if they say I don't need to, I think I'll still do it.
Nurses make the worst patients. ;)
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