The Story of Mason

I mean, its only been almost 2 months right?! Hey, that's WAY better than the 2 YEARS I waited to record Nolin's story haha! Baby steps people, baby steps :)

The Beginning:
Mason was not planned. In fact, he was quite a shock. Apparently not to SOME people (ahem, Adam & Jamie) but he was to me. I was 7 weeks along before I took a test to confirm. I was convinced that my PCOS was back & that those 2 were making a big deal about nothing. The 1st test I took in the morning malfunctioned so Adam made me take another when I got home from work that evening. While he sat in the living room rocking Nolin, I stared in utter disbelief at my pee stick. I kinda wandered out to where they were & stood in the doorway with shifty eyes. Adam just smacked his forehead & started laughing. It was his fault after all :) My primary physician confirmed it & 2 weeks later I met with a new OB office (can you BLAME me after the debacle that happened with Nolin?!) They were AMAZING. They came highly referred by my friend & former co-worker Katie (btw, she has an awesome blog...check her out here) & she hit the nail on the head. They quickly scheduled an u/s for the following week & we got to see our little nugget! I spent the rest of my 1st trimester trying to hold food down...Until I found the prenatal vitamin of my dreams (seriously, check it out even if you're not pregnant Garden of Life RAW Prenatal)

Our Nugget :)

The Middle:
Once the nausea had subsided (thanks to the best vitamin in the world!) this officially became the easiest pregnancy. I had so much energy, was sleeping great, had no problems working full time or keeping up with Nolin, I wasn't in pain or starving to death all the time like I had the 1st time around...I felt fantastic! Then December came. What IS it about that month when I'm pregnant?! I was at work instructing my SLP to write up a cognitive workup on a patient when all of a sudden I thought I peed my pants. I was so embarrassed. I quickly excused myself & rushed to the bathroom. But what I found was NOT what I expected. I called the OB office in a panic, crying hysterically, to report that I was gushing blood at 19w6d. They told me to get to the ER immediately. Luckily I had a fantastic group of coworkers at that job (man I miss that job & those people!) & my dear friend Kelley rushed me to the hospital. They refused to send me to L&D because I wasn't 20w so I spent the entire day in the ER undergoing exams, u/s, tests & labs before I was finally discharged that evening with no news. I was told that I was in preterm labor, was to be on bed rest & had an appt with my doc the following day. The only possible cause they mentioned was that I had an incompetent cervix (which turned out to be FAR from the truth). The next day, even the doc was puzzled. He thought maybe I had an infection, prescribed a ridiculous amount of antibiotics (which I didn't take...I'm not an idiot lol) & referred us to a high-risk OB that afternoon. (Side note: I LOVED my high-risk OB! She was the cream of the crop as far as I was concerned!) Not long into the u/s the doc (who had been viewing from the other room on a jumbo screen) came rushing into the room. I was immediately told that I had a clot in my uterus, that it could compromise the baby's life & was put on bed rest. WORST MONTH OF MY LIFE. Do you know how hard it is to be on bed rest when you have a VERY active, heavy, needy toddler at home?! A few of you do. They decided to start monitoring the baby weekly to ensure his safety & proper growth. A couple weeks later he decided to flash his parts around on-screen...Another boy!

How we announced the sex :)

I finished out my 2nd trimester on part time bed rest while working part time with restrictions. My company had changed hands so I was forced to sign on with a new company & relocate. Awesome. We also got wind a month later of layoffs within Adam's company which resulted in him changing jobs as well. Which meant we changed insurance too...Sound familiar?!

34 1/2 weeks...Pretty much the only pic I have lol

The End:
Luckily I know myself. I know that my body NEVER cooperates so to avoid being caught off guard I scheduled my maternity leave to begin 2 weeks prior to my scheduled c-section date. Smart move. That 1st week (of April) I had contractions on & off so I just took it easy. I had my 37w checkup scheduled for that Friday & was told I was already 3cm but since the baby had been growing great, the risk of complications was limited & I wasn't in active labor they were going to try & hold out til my scheduled date. Yeah. Okay. It was Easter weekend, and Adam's birthday so his whole family was coming in town. By the time they arrived that evening I was having some pretty intense contractions. I was unsure of their timing & not convinced that I wasn't in false labor. I never went into active labor with Nolin so I was pretty clueless. My MIL offered to take me to the hospital but I ultimately decided against it. I didn't want to rack up another bill if it was false labor & figured if I was still having them the next day then I would go. (Not to mention that Adam had celebrated his bday a tad excessively & I didn't want him to miss the birth of his child haha!)

I slept like a rock that night but woke up to the same contractions the next morning. And the more active I was, the worse they got. That afternoon as everyone was leaving, they rearranged their travel plans so that my MIL could stay behind & take me to the hospital. Nolin was being a handful so I really wanted to get him down for a nap before we left...For Adam's sake. I curled up with my baby boy & held him in my arms until he fell asleep...When we snuck away. I had no idea that would be the last time I held my baby for a few days. On one hand it makes me sad to think that he woke up to find neither of his parents there (apparently he freaked out) but on the other hand I'm glad that being calm & curled up in my arms was our parting memory. As soon as we arrived at the hospital they told my MIL to go home & switch places with Adam cause there would be a baby in 45 mins! Holy Crap. I was 5cm (almost 6) & in full blown labor! NOT what I expected lol. The contractions were intense...They took my breath away...But they weren't painful like I expected. I totally could've done natural childbirth...Booyah!

I was quickly prepped for surgery while they waited for Adam to arrive. The nurse & nurse anesthetist rocked my world. They were witty & personable which totally put me at ease. The doc talked me through everything while Adam watched, holding my hand. I swear, it was the most fun surgery I've ever had LOL! The doc told me not to freak out, that he was going to almost lay on top of my & when he did...Out popped Squirt. He just shot up out of my belly! Coolest trick ever :)  The doc held up the placenta & showed me the "clot" It looked like a giant kidney. Bizarre. He immediately informed us that it was not a clot & that they were sending everything off to pathology. Creepy. Who wants to be the guy that looks at slimy placenta with kidney shaped knots in it under a microscope?! I guess someone has to do it! The nurse grabbed Adam & the baby for all the typical APGAR, cleaning, measurements, etc.

Mason Daniel born 4/07/12 at 4:31 pm weighing 6lbs 9.5oz & a whopping 19in long

Next we were taken to recovery where Mason literally inched his way up my abdomen to inform me that he was hungry...Perfect moment :)

The Aftermath:
The day we were scheduled to go home...Actually, as Adam was pulling out of the driveway to come get us...A team of nurses & doctors rushed in to stop us. They had done one last heel prick that morning to check for jaundice & the results were in. They were also concerned because his weight has dropped down to 5lbs 15oz. They informed us that I was still being discharged but Mason couldn't leave yet. I had to decide to leave or stay as a guest. Basically, this was a private hospital so there wasn't really a nursery. Everything was private rooms...Even the NICU. So my room was being retained under Mason's name & I would be treated as a guest of his (in the same way my mother had been treated as a guest the nights she spent with us to help out). So that was a nice option! Mason was put under 24 hrs of phototherapy which he was NOT a fan of. He showed his manipulative side by deciding to attempt to nurse for 24 hrs straight as a way of getting out from under the lights lol!

Luckily it worked & we were released the next day. We had a series of follow up appts with his pediatrician (thank God that was better this time around...LOVE that woman!) & soon found out that he was having stomach issues. At this time, they have still not been resolved but we are working on diet elimination to determine the exact cause of his distress. Hopefully its nothing more serious than a sensitivity to something in my diet!

So far Mason has been the calmest, sweetest, most cuddly baby ever! He only cries when he's trying to pass gas or poop & gets mildly fussy when he's hungry. He loves to coo & smile. He's definitely a snuggler & for the 1st 6 weeks would only sleep in my arms. He has no signs of prematurity anymore & was up to 9lbs 1oz & 21in at his 1 month checkup! He's definitely a keeper :)

Sorry for another novel...But since I slacked on blogging through my pregnancies I had a lot of ground to cover! Future posts should be much more manageable :)

The Story of Nolin (Finally!)

So I decided that since Nolin is almost 2...I should probably get around to blogging to his birth story. Especially since I'm about to have another one & I would hate to confuse details later on LOL!! I think I'm going to start at the beginning of the pregnancy though so I apologize in advance for the lengthy novel. Feel free to skip to the parts you care about :)


The Beginning:
I kinda knew right away that I was pregnant. Despite that test after test came back negative, I had a nagging suspicion. I had horrible, intense lower back pain & was chronically exhausted. Once I finally got a positive test I headed off to the doctor. They confirmed & ordered a round of blood work. 2 days later I received  a phone call telling me that I needed to have more blood work done. Concerned, I did & waited for my follow up call...When they finally called me again, they told me that I needed to come in & speak with the doctor. While my hCG levels were growing, they did not correspond with how many weeks I should've been so they were concerned that it was not a viable pregnancy. They did an u/s which turned out to be inconclusive. I was measuring at 5w when I should've been 7w. They were also unable to locate a heartbeat. They asked me to come back later that week for a repeat u/s. Boy were they shocked when not only was there a heartbeat but now I was measuring at 9w lol!!! (I blame it on the $70 worth of Red Lobster I ate that week haha!) So from there, we were good to go...Minus that they were having trouble pinning down a due date!

1st Trimester Bump

A few weeks later as I was entering my 2nd trimester, I became very ill. I had respiratory issues so they placed me on a medicine for the swine flu just in case (it was rampant in the area I was living). A few days later I woke up one morning in a pool of blood. Panicking I called the doc & was told to come in later that afternoon. They checked my cervix to find that it was still closed but were unable to find a heartbeat. They sent me home on bed rest & told me that I maybe miscarrying but since it wasn't my cervix...There was nothing they could do...


The Middle:
At my next check up they determined that I had not miscarried & moved my due date up 2w due to Nolin's size. They decided that I was 16w & scheduled me for my anatomy u/s. Once at the u/s, they took more accurate measurements & decided that I was not as far along as they thought & moved my due date back again. So frustrating. Meanwhile, I had accepted a job in Ohio & needed to switch  doctors. After moving, I asked several co-workers for recommendations but either no one lived in town or it had been 30+ years since they had children! I guess that's the price you pay for working in a retirement community lol! I finally just decided to see the practice at the hospital with the best NICU ratings...Big mistake...

2nd Trimester Bump

The End:
The hospital practice turned out to be a teaching hospital. Meaning, I never saw an attending physician. Just residents & interns that rotated every 4w so I never saw the same person 2x. At my 36w checkup I was checked in as usual by my favorite nurse & told to wait in an exam room. After an hour I rang for someone & asked for something to eat and/or drink if I was going to be kept waiting. Another hour passed before I finally got up the nerve to go ask why I hadn't been seen. Apparently the resident I was scheduled to see had been a no-show that day, the one filling in for her had gotten called away to surgery & the one currently seeing patients was full. Bottom line? They forgot to even tell her I was there. After a total of 4hrs in an exam room I left. Idiots...


The next week I was examined by a new resident who told me that I was 2cm dilated & that she had "accidentally" stripped my membranes...Meaning that I would probably go into labor that weekend. I frantically called our families to tell them to come in town & was  sent straight to Labor & Delivery. After spending the day in L&D, I had progressed to 5cm but was stalled so they decided to send me home. For me, contractions feel like cramps. Thankfully my sister was there to time my contractions by placing her hand on my abdomen! We  went back to the hospital the next day when I was having regular contractions, spent the day walking around trying to jump start things...Same thing the next day. Since I wasn't 39w they wouldn't induce so they sent me home with muscle relaxers.

3rd Trimester Road Block! (And clearly looking uncomfortable)

My next appt was 1 1/2w later. I was still stuck at 5cm with uneven contractions but now my bp was high (you try walking around for almost 2 weeks feeling like a watermelon is about to fall out & we'll see how your bp is doing lol!!) After much debate, they decided to induce me. I requested that they break my water 1st to see if that would jump start labor in hopes of avoiding Pitocin. I really wanted to do a natural childbirth. After an hour or so though the nurse came in to tell me that the anesthesiologist was backed up & that they were calling for help but with all the deliveries & emergency c-sections happening they needed to know right then if I wanted an epidural. She said that I was going to be given Pitocin regardless & that there was also no way I could handle a natural delivery with it. I was torn...Even though I wasn't in pain at the time I didn't want to get screwed later so I opted for the epidural. I was alone & scared out of my mind! Right as they finished, my Mom & Adam arrived...Just in time to see me almost die. I don't remember much. I remember feeling funny...And really cold. The next thing I knew there were alarms going off, people swarming me & stabbing me with giant needles...I had been rolled onto my side & was vomiting. And I could see the look of terror on Adam's face...Apparently the epidural caused my bp to bottom out. As a result, all labor stopped. Once I was stable they began Pitocin but in small doses since my epi had been turned down/off. I ended up being in hard labor for 24 hrs. Sometime in the middle of the night, with no doctors or residents around, a nurse decided that we should try pushing to see if we could make any progress. After 4 hrs, that kid hadn't moved. He didn't even budge.They started trying to convince me to let them use forceps or a vacuum. After 2 hrs of arguing with them, Adam finally stepped in to tell them that enough was enough. At this point it had been 1 1/2 days since I had food or sleep. I simply did NOT have the energy to keep pushing & he wasn't low enough for me to feel comfortable with the options presented to me (not to mention that over my dead body was someone inexperienced using that equipment!!) So they scheduled my c-section...


That's really the last thing I remember. I have some vague still-shot memories of laying on a table with my arms taped down...Hearing someone say that Nolin was stuck...Seeing Adam crying...Me throwing up again...But that's about it. I don't actually remember Nolin being born. Apparently the cocktail of medications in my epidural caused an amnesia affect. I'm actually missing about 6hrs of time from that day. According to Adam, Nolin was so stuck in the birth canal that it took 4 residents on stools to get him out without breaking his neck. Awesome. Super pumped that I refused to let them use the forceps or vacuum (and later one of them came back in to apologize for arguing with me & that I had clearly made the right decision). Most of the missing time I have was spent in recovery. Nolin was taken to the nursery for what they reported was breathing trouble & jaundice...Even though I was told he scored an 8 then a 10 on his Apgar. It was HOURS before I was allowed to see or hold him but they at least let Adam go into the nursery to take a picture so I could see him...

Born at 8:57 am Saturday June 12, 2010. He was 8 lbs 2 oz & 20 3/4 in. 

The Aftermath:
Not having any recommendations for a pediatrician, we decided to just use the family practice doctors from the hospital. Yet another big mistake! We were in the hospital for 4-5 days. They agreed to let Nolin come home with us but were concerned about his rising biliruben levels & jaundice. We were forced to go to the doctor/hospital every other day for heel sticks. Finally, I was ridiculed by the doctor for exclusively breastfeeding...I was told that I was basically killing my child & that they were going to be forced to hospitalize him again for the jaundice & also urinary issues due to a hydrocele. I was told I needed to switch to formula instead. They were also upset with me for not allowing him to have the Hep B vaccine while he was jaundiced & the week after Nolin was cleared, they sent a nurse in to vaccinate him. Despite that I had signed a decline form. That was the end of that practice for us!!! We now have an AMAZING pediatrician that is so supportive! I can't wait to see how much of a difference she will make in those 1st few weeks!


Sorry for the novel...I guess this is one post that's mostly for me. So that I can remember as much as possible! And for the road, here's a recent picture of our "Porkchop"

He's trouble with a capitol T!

We Couldn't Be More Thankful...

We couldn't be more thankful...For each other, for our families, for our health, for our safety in all our travels (especially around the holidays), for the joyful kicks of Nugget & of course for this mischevious little one...

A Heavenly Jolt

For those who don't me...I am NOT a morning person. In fact, I chose my career based on the option of having a flexible schedule. Particularly one that would not require me to arrive at a specific, predetermined time every day. However, having a child means that I am no longer on MY schedule! Nolin is a very routine child and an early bird. Every morning he wakes up jumping in his bed & takes off running as soon as his feet hit the ground!! That being said, clearly I need some instant caffeine to keep up with him!

As anyone who has a toddler may know, having a piping hot cup of coffee is a pretty far-fetched dream. I either spend so much time keeping his grubby little hands from dumping it and burning himself  or I spend so much time keeping his grubby little hands out of everything else (ie the trash &, dog food) that by the time I have a chance to sit down & enjoy my coffee...Its cold. Introducing the concept of iced coffee!! And I have become extremely tired of paying over-priced coffee houses and fast food joints for my morning jolt! I tried several recipes before I found the PERFECT one. Since many of you have the same morning obstacles...I decided to share. This recipe came from Pioneer Woman (whom my friend Katie speaks highly of and has been encouraging me to use for a year now) but required some tweaking on my part due to my lack of oversized kitchen containers. The original recipe can be found here.

You will need:
Your favorite brand of ground coffee
2 large containers (1 with an airtight lid)
Water
Measuring cup
A fine mesh strainer
Cheesecloth (or paper towels work just fine too!)
An airtight jug or pitcher for storage
Any "fixing" your little heart desires

Make:
I used a cheap brand of 5 O'Clock coffee with a net wt of 11 oz. Pour 1/2 of the bag into a large container with 1 1/2 qts of water (I prefer my coffee to be pretty strong. Adjust the water to your desired level. But you can always adjust the strength later with ice) & stir to make sure all of the grounds are saturated. Seal with a lid & set aside for 8 hrs.

Once your coffee has "brewed" place your fine mesh strainer over another large container. Line your strainer with cheesecloth (or paper towels) & slowly begin pouring your ground coffee mixture into the strainer. Don't shake the paper towels or they may rip...As the grounds collect, the liquid will drain slower. Just be patient! Once you have drained all of the heavenly goodness out, gather all 4 ends of your paper towels & toss your coffee grinds. Pour the coffee into your airtight pitcher or container (I use a dispensing jar for quick, spill-proof dispensing lol) & chill overnight.

My new morning routine now includes filling an insulated cup with coffee & ice! Individualize it as you prefer, but my favorite is an iced mocha with a Vietnamese twist! I use 1 T of raw organic sugar, 1 T of homemade chocolate syrup, 1 T of vanilla rice milk & 3 T of sweetened condensed milk. Obviously, you don't have to use organic & homemade syrups but they ARE healthier! Of course, I'm pretty sure that they are cancelled out by the sweetened condensed milk (aka heavenly goo lol). Stir it all up, sit back & wait for your jolt to kick in!! Enjoy a little taste of heaven :)

Happy Father's Day!

I've decided to quit apologizing for being behind in my blog...I'm a mom. And I'm Lindsey. If you don't know that I run on my own time, you don't know me very well :) Once we get settled into our new home next month though, hopefully things will slow down & I'll have a little extra time to devote to this!

We spent Father's Day in Louisville since Nolin's 1st birthday party was the day before. We started off the morning like any other Sunday by heading to church with my family. To give the guys the day off from cooking, Mom & I made my famous meatloaf, hashbrown casserole & green beans. A good 'ole Southern meal :)

For dessert, Jamie & I made "Grill Cupcakes" with brownie batter & candy. They were absolutely

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!! I had trialed them at work the week before with my friend Leah & they were a huge hit...

Unfortunately, I had forgotten my camera so I was not able to get a good picture of Nolin & Adam for Father's Day...So neither of us had a picture this year to celebrate :( I was able to capture this cute pic of Nolin playing outside after we ate though!

After all of the festivities, we gave the Fathers' their cards & gifts...

The SUPER easy, SUPER cute cards I made for Adam, my Dad & Donny. I loved how well they turned out! Inside each card was a poem specific to each father.

Adam, Jamie & I helped Donovan & Nolin make these for the new section of Poppy's garden.

Happy (Belated) Father's Day out there to all you Dads! Especially to mine who has always guided me & been supportive even when I've disappointed him. And to Adam who never fails to make our lives sweeter. Thank you for all of your hard work & dedication to our family baby! We love you both Daddy & Poppy!

Happy (Belated) Birthday Porkchop!!

Yes I know its almost 1 1/2 months since his actual birthday but true to my nature, I'm running behind again!!

On June 12th my little porkchop turned 1. I still can't believe its been a year already!!! Despite the fact that he decided to hit his "Terrible 2's" the week before his 1st birthday, he's still Mommy's sweet little boy (when he wants to be of course!) To celebrate we held 2 parties: One in Cleveland on June 5th & one in Louisville on June 18th. Both were a rock star theme to celebrate his love of music (& of course to stay in tune with his attitude!) We are SO thankful for all of the friends & family who came out to celebrate with us & spoil our little monster rotten!! Especially everyone in Cleveland who witnessed the horrible display of attitude & crankiness!! Since I can now look back on that day & laugh...Maybe its a GOOD thing that my blogs run behind!! Nolin received so many fun gifts...One of my favorite things about him is that he plays with EVERY SINGLE TOY he has every day. He has his favorites but he is very good about enjoying & discovering each one. While it can be frustrating to clean everything up at the end of each play time, its worth it for him to get as much use out of them as he does since I'm everyone put money & thought into them! Here's some of my favorite "Birthday Boy" pictures...

Nibbling on the drumsticks to his cake!

My friend Tricia took this one...He was very intrigued by all the other kids at his party in Louisville. He just sat back & watched every thing they did.

Once he had his nap in Cleveland, he was in a GREAT mood!

This is how our little Rock Star spent most of his party in Cleveland! He missed visiting & meeting so many important people :(

Thanks again to everyone who came to celebrate the BEST year of our lives!!

A Mother's Love

Its about time I got around to this post! I really am running behind! But this time, the weather was to blame! With all the rain & humidity we weren't able to complete our Mother's Day gift for Adam's mom, Debbie! And this post simply would not have been complete without it!!

In case you haven't noticed, I have an obsession with projects that involve Nolin's prints...Thumbs, fingers, hands or feet...I don't discriminate! So here is the cheesy but adorable Mother's Day cards we made using his thumbprints as "petals". I just loved the little poem inside!

Best friends forever, Mom & me

Picking flowers & climbing trees

A shoulder to cry on, secrets to share

Warm hearts & hand that really care

Now for my mom's gift, Jamie & I collaborated with Donovan & Nolin. Since we were in town for Easter, she received her gift early. We're pretty proud of our creativity on this one! It turned out better than I had even hoped!! The blue & green "dots" are the boys' thumbprints. Nolin had ZERO interest in this until he saw his big cousin do it! Donovan absolutely loves crafts & was so intrigued by everything. And of course their Mimi loved it :)

Isn't it adorable?!?! I wanted one too! I wish that our project for Adam's mom had turned out as well! Nolin was a little stinker during that one! He was so confused about the concrete & kept grabbing it. Which of course meant that we had to keep re-setting it. By the time we were finally able to get a solid print, the concrete had already started to set & we ran out of time to place our design. Its definitely more bland than I had envisioned but I still think its cute. And the most important part (his hand) turned out well! Besides, as long as Grammy likes it, that's all that matters!

My 1st official Mother's Day was a pretty great day...Adam's mom & grandmother drove down to spend the day with us so that was nice. With his crazy work schedule, Adam did not have time to take Nolin out to get me a present but that's okay. He cleaned the house later that week & surprised me with flowers the next week! He prefers to be thoughtful "just because" rather than because Hallmark told him to anyway haha! Besides, the best, most perfect gift I could have ever been given on Mother's Day is the gift of a Mother's love...Being a mother to such a sweet, adorable little boy has showed me the true meaning of love! Although he can be a handful at times, I wouldn't trade a single moment! All the tears & frustration are worth it every time I hear his cute little chuckle or see that big ol smile beaming my way! God has blessed my life in ways that I never dreamt were imaginable...These 2 boys are all I need in life to be satisfied...