First

So there was a first at our house on Friday, in the early am. And no, it wasn't for Parker, it was for me. I got to take my first trip to the ER.

You see, I woke up around 1:30 with pain in my upper ab area. It felt kind of like a cross between being ravenously hungry and feeling like I needed to throw up. I got up to go to the bathroom and when I came back, Sonny said we should go to the ER. I felt so crappy that I didn't even argue with him.

We left to go to Urgent Care but they were not open, so we stopped at the gas station and got a 7up and came home to eat saltines and drink a little of that. I thought maybe if I did that, the feeling would pass and I could go back to bed. But an hour later, I was feeling worse instead of better and the pain had spread to my back. So off we went again, this time to the ER.

It turned out that it was my gallbladder. They did an ultrasound and saw that I have gallstones. I will need to have it removed, but thankfully they did not admit me (they let me decide. and since it was Friday and we have a newborn at home, they didn't argue with letting us leave seeing as we probably wouldn't get in for surgery that day anyway.)

So, on Monday, we met with a surgeon who recommended having it removed, and so that is what we will do, but we have to wait for the appointment lady to call us tomorrow so we can set that up. I hope it's soon because I don't want to be worried about this for the rest of the summer.

Visitors

Here's the two pictures that I got from when my sister and her husband were here.


The one that Lukin refused to be a part of.



The one that Lukin would be in with Stacie and Mike.

Brothers

A couple pictures of the boys


This would be a rare picture where Lukin was too tired (and snuggly) to try to avoid the camera.


Lukin looking at Parker (he thought I was looking at some other pictures so I could take pictures without him noticing...hehe.)


Lukin, the little brother entertainer.



Lukin had never tried to hold Parker before, but he was a natural when I set him up for the pictures.


He seems to enjoy being the big brother. That makes Mommy so proud of her big boy.


My favorite picture of my boys thus far.

Perspective

So, I have been thinking about this quite a bit lately, or at least since I found out. One of my classmates from elementary through high school was also expecting a baby. I didn't really remember this until I came home from having my baby.

In fact, when I got a chance to get on the computer after coming home, I noticed that she had posted a comment on Facebook on June 10th about being tired of being pregnant and wanting to meet her little girl already. I could totally relate about 4 days prior. I also noticed that by that Saturday, many people were posting their condolences on her Facebook page, as the baby had died.

I felt so sad for her. I wanted to offer my condolences but felt like that would be inappropriate as I was now home with my newborn, who was alive, and she was mourning the loss of her little one.

My best friend helped me realize that all condolences are welcome and I posted mine anyway. I felt better having done that. It doesn't change anything, but lets her know I am thinking of her.

Then last night, I noticed that she had pictures of the baby on her Facebook page, and that brought me to tears again. It's just such a sad situation. I don't even really know what exactly happened, but I know that she lost her baby, and that is just so sad.

So, when I am up at 3:30 am to feed Parker, who eats well and then is wide awake, I should be thankful that I have the opportunity to be awake at 3:30 with my baby, and not be super tired or cranky that we are wide awake at 3:30 in the morning.

It just goes to show that sometimes people want what they don't have. For me, I would like a good night of sleep, but when I look at what the alternative could be, I will gladly get up with my little boy (or my big boy too), at any hour of the night. I just wish that my friend from school could be having that same opportunity.

The car ride home

So, just like with Lukin, we got to stay an extra day in the hospital. I am not sure why I got to stay exactly. I would guess due to them wanting to continue to monitor my blood pressure, as they were still concerned about preeclampsia after Parker was born. And Parker got to stay because of the CRP test not being entirely conclusive one way or the other to say if he had an infection or not. (And in the end, he did not have one but they wanted test results that were more solid before they would let him leave.)

Anyway, on Thursday, June 11th, in the afternoon, we finally got to leave the second floor of the hospital and go home. Here's some pix.


He just looks so tiny. I don't even remember Lukin looking that small.


But he seems content. He didn't cry at all. Maybe he was happy for the change in position.


He seems so relaxed that he finally put his arms down when he was sleeping.


But he's keeping an eye on Mommy. Where's his pirate hat? "Aarrrgh. I'll look at you with me good eye mum!"


But I just think he is so cute!

In the hospital

I know that I haven't been very good at keeping this updated, but I hope you all can appreciate that I have a reason why I haven't been very good at keeping this updated. Anyway, here are some pictures of Baby and family in the hospital.


Letting Mommy know he is here, and cold, and not happy about it.


The all-important first skin-to-skin contact.


Daddy and Parker, on Tuesday


Lukin, this is your new brother, Parker.


Grandpa Dan holding Parker.


Grandma Carin and Parker


Grandma Mel talking to her new grandson.


Grandpa Jim (or as my sister calls him: "Baby Hog" (Love you Dad!)) and Parker


Baby Boof ready to rock out, I guess.


Lukin giving Parker the toy that he picked out for Parker...he was very proud that he got Parker an elephant that was blue.

Baby Boy S. arrives!!

Disclaimer: This is the same info as the email that was sent out to those of you I have email addresses for...just wanted to let you all know.

So I know that I have been behind in letting everyone know, but for those of you who still may not know, our baby boy was born June 8th, 2009 at 11:05 pm. We named him Parker Scott Siebert. He weighed in at 7 pounds 3 ounces and was 19.5 inches long.

Here's how it basically all went down:

We were not really expecting to go to our doctor appointment Monday afternoon and end up being sent to St. Paul to have a ripening agent applied. And even more than we weren't expecting to do that, we weren't expecting to get to that second appointment to find out that we weren't going to get the ripening agent, and instead were going to be admitted because we had a bishop score of 8 (whatever that means) and I guess that meant that I was admittable and induceable.

I was kind of freaked out, but think that I handled it pretty well, until contractions started coming more frequently and I actually started to feel them...in my back. It was a quick evening as we were admitted between 5 and 6 pm, and he was born at 11. It was especially quick as they never applied the ripening agent and they never even started the induction medication.

I had to go to the bathroom about once an hour from 8 pm on, and about 10 pm, I went and then had to go again about 15 minutes later. The nurse said that she wanted to check me first as I had been holding steady at about 1.5 cm for dialation. So she checked me and said something along the lines of "oh my, the cervix is gone. It's time to deliver this baby." I asked her if I would get my epidural then and she said, "Oh honey, we don't have time." That was about 10:30, and from that time until Parker was born, I was in super freak out mode. Sonny says that I didn't cry. And I know I didn't curse a blue streak (I think I swore 2 times). But I was still freaking out. I was just plain panicked.

But as I mentioned, we got through it. Parker was born at 11:05 pm and I didn't have to worry anymore about going into labor when Sonny was at work.

If you would like to see pictures of Parker, please go to the unitedhospital.com website and you will be able to find the picture. Or just copy and paste this link:

http://www.our365.com/NewbornPortraits/HospitalResults.aspx?sid=7870&S=true&SM=ByHospital&BM=6&BY=2009&BD=8

I will try to get some of our candid shots up here soon. But as you can see, it's 12:15 am as I write this and I should get some shut eye before the next feeding, so it will have to wait for now.

I think this might be the week.

So, we should find out at our appointments this afternoon if we will be having this baby this week or not. If the protein number from the urine sample is high enough, coupled with my recent high blood pressure readings, I think that will give the doctor enough justification to warrant inducing me. But, like I said, I won't know that until this afternoon.

Regardless, for some reason, I feel like tomorrow is the day. (Maybe it's because there is a job interview that I don't especially want to go to.) Or maybe it's because Sonny is home from work, or maybe it's because it's the day between the doctor appointments this week. I don't really know why I have that feeling, but I do know that it could be wrong. I wouldn't even mind if the baby was born on Friday, then both of my children would have been born on the 12th (and on Friday the 12th to boot). But I guess we will have to wait and see.

Rain, bags and Little Debbie

So today we finally got rain. For those of you who don't live in the metro area, May went down as the 3rd driest since they have been keeping records. So the fact that it rained all day long was actually a blessing. It was a nice slow rain too so that when the big downpours come next week (as I heard Sven predicting), the ground will actually be able to soak it up since it won't be so dry. So that's good.

Lukin is a big fan of the rain. Whenever we check the weather channel or watch the weather and he sees rain, he yells it. He is so excited. Then today, we went to Panera for lunch after my lab appt. and he was giggling as he splashed his way through every puddle on his way in. It's cute to see him that excited about something that is just part of nature.

Tonight, when we got home from driving by the work-in-progress new Twins stadium, I worked on packing bags. And I am happy to say that I am two-thirds done: baby and Lukin are done, I still need to throw in a few things, although I do have my clothes to wear home packed, so if I had to leave and that's all I had packed, I would basically be ready. I decided that I needed to do this because: a)the date this baby is coming is literally any day in the next two weeks, b)I'm tired of seeing it still on my things to do list (it's the only one that hasn't got crossed off within a day of being added), and c)last night, I had a little scare and ended up calling labor and delivery to find out everything sounded fine to the nurse. But that put me on hyper-alert, so this has to get done.

On the flip side though, if anyone remembers, Sonny was telling me that I needed to pack a bag for Lukin's birth and I told him that I would get to it, and not to worry about it, and the next morning, my water broke. That showed me that I maybe should have listened, but more importantly that I could pack in super speed if needed (of course, I didn't pack everything I really needed, but just the very basics...remember having to bring me a bag of stuff, Stacie?). But I'm still not really worried, because if you know me, you know that I have everything that I will need written down on a list, so I know specifically what to grab (if it isn't already packed) to finish my bag before heading off to the hospital.

Lastly, today Lukin and I went to Target and because he has recently learned about Ho Hos, we bought a box of Swiss Cake Rolls (because they are basically the same thing, but cheaper). So I just wanted to tell Amanda that I am currently nibbling on a SCR as I write this. I know that will drive her nuts because I don't eat them like a 'normal' individual would. No, I eat all the chocolate off the outside, then eat the cake all the way around until it looks like a piece of celery, then lick all the icing out before finishing the cake. It's a way to make a little snack last a lot longer. Yay Little Debbie!

Still home. Still pregnant. Still collecting urine.

Sometimes I think that some of the stuff that a person goes through when they are pregnant are enough to make a person not want to be pregnant, or if they have never been, not want to get pregnant. This was the case with my PSA when I was subbing for the English teacher who quit. She said that listening to my stories about being pregnant were enough to make her not want to be pregnant. Ever. I was sorry that I had done that, but at the same time, she needs to know.

Take today's entry for example. No one that I have ever met, pregnant or not, are big fans of when you have to leave a urine sample at the doctor. It's a bother that we would rather not deal with.

Now envision being 37 weeks pregnant and being told that you have to do this for 24 hours. Yay. But thankfully, I have only about 10 more hours of collecting to do. That's good because it's not really my favorite thing to do. Lukin wants to know what the collection seat is, I told him it was Mommy's grown up potty chair. That answer seemed to satisfy him.

But now, as I am typing this, I realize that I have to figure out is how I am going to get my collection to the clinic tomorrow for my lab appointment while keeping it cool. Wish me luck on that one. I hope I don't mess that part up and end up having to start over...I will have to do some creative brainstorming because we don't have an ice maker, and so no ice. Great.

Today's doctor appointment

Today was my 37 week appointment and I had the option to be checked or not because it isn't required at 37 weeks, but will be from here on out. I chose to get checked because I wanted to know how things were progressing, if they were at all.

It turns out that my cervix is still 70% effaced, which is exactly where it was last week, and the big change is that I am now dialated to one centimeter where I was at zero last week.

I told my doctor today that I am pretty much ready to be done being pregnant. With my BP back up again (142/86), she is in agreement with me on that. She doesn't want me to go beyond 39 weeks.

So, this all comes back to when she was checking me. I remembered that it was painful last week, but today, I wanted to jump through the ceiling it hurt so bad. In fact, I was trying to inch away and away and away from her on the examining table. It brought tears to my eyes. When she was done, she told me and my husband that she separated something from, well, from whatever it is attached to. For the life of me, I don't remember what exactly she separated from what. I have tried to look online, but have had no success. Anyway, she did this to try to help my cervix make progress. She said that she doesn't want to have to use a ripening agent. I don't want her to have to do that either.

I will keep everyone posted as long as I can. And, I will try to pay better attention so that next time she tells me something (like what she just did) right after she makes me teary-eyed from pain, that I will be able to remember it better.

Irrational

I know that the last word that anyone would ever use to describe the ranting of a pregnant woman would be "irrational" (not because we are not capable of being irrational, but for fear of losing a limb or something), but I am using the word to describe my thought process today.

I had an interview and I am really hoping that I made a great impression and am praying that I get offered the job. That thought, and those prayers are not irrational.

I also pray daily that the baby is floating happily and healthily right now and that the baby will be happy and healthy when it is born and as it grows up. Also, not irrational.

The irrationality is that I feel like I can't ask for both things right now. I feel like I have to pick one or the other to pray for. I can't explain this thought process. Hence why I am saying it's irrational.

Forgetting I'm pregnant

I know that the subject line may seem hard to fathom for some people, but even though I am 37 weeks pregnant, and have never been this large in my life, there are times when I forget that I am pregnant.

Take this morning for example. The boys decided to go to the zoo for a couple hours to let mommy rest and to wear out Lukin before nap time. So, once they left, I found myself lying on the couch watching Gilmore Girls (because I have never seen the one where Lane gets married even though I am not really a Gilmore Girls follower), and when the show was over, I went to roll off the couch to go hop in the shower. And until I went to roll off the couch, it was like I had forgotten that I was pregnant. I was just curled up under my blankey, unaware of the huge protruding belly that was under the blanket.

I laughed to myself as I got up to waddle down to take a shower because, how does one forget that? I mean really.

Job interviews

So today I had a job interview and after it was over, I was thinking about my responses and sharing my answers with Sonny and we were joking about how a person answers and how you wish you could answer.

One of the questions had to do with what type of professional goal I would like to set for myself. I talked about how I would like to find an area to specialize in so that I could be a valuable resource to someone in one particular area. One of the ladies asked me if there was any area that was calling me. I didn't really know. She asked if there were a bunch of workshops being offered, which type I would want to go to. I said that it would depend on the students on my case load. She said to pretend I didn't have a caseload and that I could just pick whichever. And honestly, the first answer that popped into my head, without thinking about a caseload, is that I can't afford to go to workshops without having a particular reason to go. But that's not the answer I gave.

When I told Sonny this answer, he said I should have said that and that they would have come back with, "Suppose you didn't have to worry about it?" Then he answered for me, "If I didn't have to worry about money, I wouldn't be at this interview." That would have been the golden answer. But even when a particular job is not at the top of my desire list, I still can't give those types of answers. I still answer like I really want the job. I don't know why that is exactly, it's just the way I am, I guess.

Conversations with my husband in the middle of the night

The last couple nights, my husband has said or done something funny in the middle of the nigh that I would like to share.

Last night, he jumped out of bed in a panic at about a quarter to four. I roll over to realize that he has jumped out of bed and is freaking out because he thinks he is late for work, but hasn't yet realized, or remembered, that he doesn't work on Mondays. (Now I have to say that we have joked back and forth about how when he does this some night that he doesn't work, that I should let him think he's late for work, offer to call work for him while he gets in the shower and the giggle to myself as he heads off to work, still in a tizzy, because he doesn't know that he doesn't work that day...I didn't do this last night because a)I can't stand to see him all panicked that he is late, and b)when he thinks he is late, he is really loud in the morning and I didn't want Lukin up at 4 am). So I calmly tell him that he is not late for work. He asks if I am sure (he's not really that awake but awake enough to see that the time on the clock is past when he is supposed to be there). I reassure him that he doesn't work and that his plan for the day is to drive me to my job interview. He calms down and gets back into bed and is back asleep within five minutes.

The night before, I got up to go to the bathroom. When I come back to bed, my husband looks at me as I am trying to get myself into a comfortable sleeping position again and asks, "Did your water break?" Yes honey my water broke and I thought, instead of getting ready to head to the hospital (seeing as I haven't started packing anyone's bag yet), I thought I would crawl back into bed and try to get some more shut eye.

Okay, so maybe they weren't that funny, but they were funny to me.