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funky funks

Being a mom rocks, frustrates, uplifts, angers, liberates, it does so many things to a woman.  It is a roller coaster ride.  Somedays you are up and somedays you are down, but you always know there is a curve coming and watching out for the loop-de-loops.  

Today is kinda like a loop-de-loop.  Kids crying, house is a mess, it's just a crazy crazy day, where you want to lock yourself up in a room with a bath and some nice music and enjoy some moments of sanity before you have to open the door to do the same thing you've been doing for the last who-knows-how-long.... until your loop-de-loop is over and you are on the upswing again.

Looking for the upswing, maybe it will be...tomorrow.

Arkansas Trip

We've been in Arkansas since about November 4th.  Gary's Nanny Sophie passed, and so we came down to Mississippi for the funeral.  We just stayed out after that and will return sometime around the 29th.  It's been fun being down here.  I haven't been able to exercise like I've wanted to after having a baby, but I will be for sure after we get home.  The kids have been having a blast being able to play on the big porch with scooters or in the backyard with cousins.  We have been with family almost everyday.  We eat and play cards and chit chat, and then we eat some more.  I haven't been on the scale for at least a week.  That's scary. 

It has been so nice to be around trees.  I really miss that being in SoCal most of the time, but it is so refreshing to be able to just be around tree and hills and streams, rivers, and creeks.  

The kids all have got some kind of cold or cough, and that is frustrating, but they are truckin' along just fine.  I am just hoping we can make it all the way through without having to go and see a doctor.  It seems like every trip we have to make at least one visit and usually it's because of an ear infection.  

Skyler McPhereson

Well Skyler is finally here, and I haven't been in contact with pretty much anyone.  I've just been busy and tired and not very sociable because I am so tired.  Gary's mom just left us today to go back home to Arkansas.  She was such a blessing.  I've never had anyone help me out after having a baby before, and this was bliss.  I was able to focus on me and Skyler and take pain meds that made me tired because she took care of everything for me.  It was awesome!!!! 
We've had to take Skyler in the last three days to check his billirubin levels for his jaundice.  Tuesday his levels were at 12.8, and yesterday was 14.  We'll see what the doc says about his test today.  I'm hoping not to have to take him in for light treatments.  He weighed 6lbs 3oz after I fed him at his doctor appointment on Tuesday.  He sleeps all the time just like a newborn should for his momma, but he seems to be a cluster feeder right now.  He looks pretty similar to Van, but I'm hoping for green eyes from him.  My milk has definitely come in; I am engorged and I don't want hugs from anyone and I wasn't able to take a nap today because I couldn't sleep with my chest being touched anywhere.  Side note:  I know what I would look like with larger breast implants.  HA!
On my last doctor appointment I was dilated to about 1 1/2 and 25% effaced.  Two days later, 9/24, we went to Universal Studios (b/c we had free tickets, Gary's mom was in town, and I could get some walking in to help the baby along).  It was a long, but fun day, and we went to Bubba Gump's for dinner.  It was our first time there, and everyone seemed to really like it, but the smells of the fish and overwhelming smell of fish made me extremely nauseous, so I got my order to go and ate it in the truck on the way home.  It was really good.  It was a Pear berry, chicken salad.  Yum!  We got home around 10pm, and I got to bed around midnight.  I had to pack my hospital bag and shower before I went to bed. 
I woke up at 3am to call the hospital about us coming in at 4am.  We were good to go, so I called my girlfriend to come over to help with the kids, and we ended up leaving our house about 3:45am with Gary and his mom in tow.  We got checked in at the hospital around 4:20am(ish).  The doctor wasn't due to be in until 7am.  They told me I was dilated to 1 1/2 and that I was 50% effaced.  They gave me a pill sometime in there to help soften my cervix more before they gave me Pitocin.  They took their time about everything.  I still wasn't having contractions.  Well, scratch that, I was having Braxton hicks(like) contractions.  They didn't hurt, it was just a tightening of the tummy, but they did register on the monitors.  Doctor Hordynski arrived at the hospital somewhere around 9am, but still hadn't come by to see us. 
The anesthesiologist had some kind of procedure to perform in the OR, so she gave me my epidural before she went in, because she didn't know how long she was going to be, so she opted to do it before hand to ensure I got one. Everything is a little foggy because I was so tired from 2 nights in a row with only about 4 hours of sleep each night.  When I had the Pitocin, it was giving me more of my Braxton hicks contractions, but that was it.  I think I got the Pitocin around 9am or so, and then the epidural around 10am.  I was effaced to about 70% and dilated to about a 4 or so at about 11am(ish).  I, thankfully, was still not having contractions besides my braxton hicks things, and the doctor still hadn't come by.  He had told me that he would break my water when I got to a 4.  We were all anxiously awaiting because we knew things would happen and happen fast once they broke my water, but it felt like a waiting game all morning waiting for the doc to get there to break my water.  He finally came in around 1pm, but had to leave to tend to someone else real quick, and than came back in and broke my water at 1:25pm. I checked the clock because I knew  it would be fast, and I told him that it would be.  I called a 3:00pm birth time to Gary and his mom.  Just like my other births, about 30 min later I started feeling contractions.  Thank goodness for the epidural.  It took the edge off and I was able to breathe through them all.  The last 30 minutes they were coming about about a minute apart and were really hurting (thank goodness again for the epidural!).  I pushed the button to get more medicine from the epidural, but succeeded in making my legs more tingly, but the pain from the contractions stayed about the same.  The edge was still off and I could breathe through them, but they HURT.  Oy!  We were watching the Razorback game at the time, and we were winning.  I thought it only appropriate to welcome our son into the world with a football game. 
The nurse had told me to let her know when I felt pressure, but this time, I didn't feel pressure, just more intense pain.  I had them go and get the nurse to check me.  She came in, opened my legs, and said, "we're having a baby, NOW, go get the doctor."  It was funny, but we had told them it would be quick.  About this point it was 2:56pm.  I said that I had 4 more minutes to make it by 3pm.  Dr.  Hordynski came in and told me not to push yet.  He got suited up, sat down, and said he was "ready to rock n' roll."  I pushed once and the head came out.  He asked for a little push, and then out came the shoulders, and one more push and everything came out.  It was 3:03pm.  I felt the relief after he had come out and again when the placenta came out.  aaaaah.  so. much. better. 
So, Skyler was 6 lbs., 9oz, and 19inches long.  He is smaller than my girls were, but he was also 4 days early.  He was covered with Vernix as well. 
We got skin-to-skin time for a few hours.  They told me it was only going to be a few minutes, so I didn't nurse him right away this time.  It was about 21 hours without eating anything, so by the time I did, I was hungry.  My sister was super sweet and brought me Quiznos.  I ate all of that and then had a hospital dinner in addition.
I was in the hospital until Monday, Sept 27th.  We checked out around 2pm or so. 
I look forward to losing weight, and getting sleep.  So far I'm down about 11 lbs with about 60 more to go.  Oy!
We are so glad he's here, and now that I've written down most of it, I hope this'll help me to remember those little things.

Side note, Gary gave me a blessing around 6am on Saturday morning because i was starting to feel a little panicky.   I felt assured that the people working that day were specially arranged to help me get through this birth after having the last experience I'd had with Van, and .everyone was amazing!

baby is coming

we are about to leave for the hospital for me to be induced!  it's strange waking up with no contractions and my water not having broken to go have a baby, especially since i was having some great sleep.  oh well.  hopefully sooner than later we'll have a new baby, although i will be exhausted again and as usual.  i'm praying i don't have to be on pitocin long, and we can get this "show on the road".  on my last check from the doctor i was at 1 1/2 and 25% effaced.  we'll see what they say in a few hours.  i have at least since then lost my mucous plug and have had some more braxton hicks, so i hope that means i'm progressing even further.  i can't believe i'm awake. 
the nurse said to bring pillows and blankets and only 2 people can be in the room with me at one time.  HA!  that's easy enough.  it will be me and mamma lee. 

that's it for now, just waiting for trish to get here so we can leave my other 3 precious kids, to go bring us another one.  when i showed hazel skyler's "take home outfit" she asked if he was really gonna be that tiny. i think it made it a little more real for her, and it was cute.

My boyfriend's back.....

Yeah, not really.  I got a random email from an ex-boyfriend of mine today.  It was a relationship that I ended and was definitely not going to pursue.  He had an anger problem that I wasn't going to let him fix on me.  In addition to that Gary was getting off of his mission, and he was my first priority to explore that option, so it was perfect timing to end my previous relationship.  It ended kinda badly.  He told me some things that affected me and even further cemented my decision to break up with him.  (I had always told every boyfriend that Gary was a possibility when he got home from his mission- I was up front about that from the start).  Anyway, so I got this message today from him today saying how he'd had things on his mind for about 10 years and that he was sorry about how he had acted and that he was embarrassed and that he had been childish and was embarrassed about that.  He said that I had been a good friend to him.  Anyway, he also told me about things that he said to me that weren't true, so I'm guessing now that he said them to hurt me because I was hurting him by leaving him.  It sure threw me for a loop getting that message, but reflecting back now, I'm glad to know that some of those things weren't true that he said, and also that he knows he acted badly.  Maybe that makes him a better person today for knowing that about himself from so long ago.  It also makes me wonder if it had really been plaguing him, cuz that would suck for him.  I just keep thinking that I have been so blissfully happy with Gary and that once I broke up with the other guy I never looked back.  Part of me feels vindicated and part of me just feels sad for him.  But all in all, it was still kind of a cool message to get.  Thought I'd share.

Just listen to her

Well, this may be premature, but I'm writing about it anyway.  For the last couple of weeks, Scarlett keeps having near fits when we go to put diapers on for bed.  She kept telling me that she didn't want a diaper.  I told her that if she can have a dry diaper in the morning that we will let her sleep in panties.  She kept waking up wet, so we'd still been putting her in diapers.  She is 32 months now.  Well 2-3 days ago,  I was checking on everyone before I went to bed and found her stark naked.  I didn't want to chance waking her up by putting on a diaper because frankly I didn't want to deal, so I just let it go.  Tonight is the third night now that I am putting her to bed sans diaper because she has been dry the last two mornings.  I may have accidentally gotten myself into having only 1 kid in diapers now (at least till Skyler comes along next month).  I'm super excited about the whole thing and just hope she keeps it up.  When Hazel decided she was done with diapers at night she did it kind of all of a sudden too.  It's awesome.  I'm hoping Van will only be in diapers another year before we can have him potty training.  fingers crossed.