January 19, 2012
Thanksgiving 2011
Thanksgiving was pretty hectic. We were still in the duplex, but busy with packing and getting ready to move the next week.
We drove to Durant that morning and back that evening. I didn’t have the energy to pack and spend the night.
The New House
So we finally worked out a deal. I notified the property manager that we would be moving out of the duplex and scheduled the movers and the home inspector. We were scheduled to close on Dec. 7th. I planned to move out on the 30th of November and “store” our stuff somehow till we could move in.
Home inspection turned up a framing issue and a fogged window. I had said that if anything significant was wrong I wanted to back out. But dh wanted to move forward as long as everything was fixed. Thus began our second round with the other realtor and the sellers. The other Realtor didn’t want to agree to that. He did not consult his sellers though. So I played hardball and threatened to walk. Then he got worried and all of the sudden we could close on the 30th of November as we had requested, the house would be professionally cleaned, and everything would be fixed. So we moved forward.
We had some lender issues. I knew better but I wanted to repay a mortgage broker for having helped me with credit checks, broker’s opens, etc. Big mistake. This favor cost us time and money. Not again!! The documentation I had to dig up exceeded ridiculous. But we did it. And yet we were still not ready to close on the 30th.
We asked for early occupancy and they agreed. Moving went smoothly although it was still an all day, exhausting experience. We cleaned the duplex at the same time and turned in the keys the next day. All was well till the next Monday. All of the sudden, the other realtor’s tone changed again. The extension and early occupancy agreement we had in place was no longer acceptable. They wanted us to pay rent from the 30th at the rate of their mortgage. I was fine with paying rent, if they had told us in advance. But they had told us no rent. Ugh. It became a real nightmare — at one point theyntold us to vacate. But dh worked something out. I was too mad.
Closing finally came. I wouldn’t even look at the sellers. I scribbled their rent check. The other Realtor tried to make us sign a revised occupancy agreement. I refused. It was highly contentious.
But it was over and it was ours!
January 17, 2012
Post Baby
Lots of things have changed around here since mid-September. Where oh where to start …
The week after baby arrived, I ended up with mastitis. Then the next week, I developed strep. Sick for my birthday. Found out my hand numbness was moderate to severe carpal tunnel.
And somewhere in there our air conditioning at the duplex went out, again. That made for a hot mommy and baby, since the weather was still warm and there was almost no air flow in the place.
A few days post-birthday, the repairman comese to fix it. He leaves, I turn the ac on and I start to hear a loud whirring. I dismiss it at first but then it gets louder and louder and then there was a loud pop and then darkness … and smoke. The breaker box had blown. I was freaking out and would probably have lost it had mom not been there. We evacuated. Took Thanny to school and started making urgent calls. The landlord wanted to use his home warranty company, of course, so we had to wait on their repair people. In the meantime, I loaded up the fridge and freezer including a ton of blue and gold sausage etc belonging to Eddison and distributed it to other homes. The verdict: the electricians would not be able to repair this until Monday. It was Thursday afternoon.
So, we became gypsies for a few days. One night with the in-laws, two nights with my mom while we celebrated Ava’s 3rd birthday, and then one night in a hotel (we pretty much demanded they put us up). It was an exhausting experience with 3 kiddoes, while sick, and breastfeeding.
On Monday, the electricians did not show up bright and early and it was after 3 when they finished. Then there was confusion over when the city would inspect it. The electricians were mad set me and the property manager for bugging them. It took several weeks for the inspector to show up and when he did, I was not home. I had been given no notice. So, he made an appointment for the next day. That day, he called to say he would be late. But he eventually showed up. And sid the wiring job was UNSAFE — failing the repair. I was flabbergasted. I got on the phone and told dh I was going to look at houses.
MIL and I loaded up the kids and started looking. I think we looked at arou nd five on that first day (which was a Monday). Then, I took dh back that night to look at a few favorites. But we did not love any of them.
The next day, we went looking again. And … Found a “wow” house. We looked at several more and then took dh back that night. We spent a lot of time in the house and before we left we were already talking offer. I called the realtor that night. We offered. They countered. We did not like the counter, so we told them we’d look again on Saturday. I continued to look at houses. I scheduled 3 for a saturday, starting with the one we had offered on. We never made it to the others. We knew it was the one.
So, we countered their counter. There was lots of wrangling and frustration. And I gave in and was a bad negotiator but eventually ai was able to make it happen. Oh, the drama was just beginning …
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October 22, 2011
Homecoming (from September 15, 2011)
After making it sound unlikely that she would be released on Thursday, things changed quickly that morning. We learned that the NICU was expecting four high risk newborns, so we were fastracked out of there. By lunchtime, we were home!!!
Dh took brother to school and we tried to get unpacked. And began the process of undoing what Baby Lorraine had learned about bottles in the NICU.
In the interim, I tried to pump to increase supply and to use to bottle feed her. Unfortunately, I was having no luck with my old pump. After consulting with lactation at the hospital, we headed out to buy a new and improved pump. I hated to do it, but felt I had no choice (and didn’t have time to shop around). Success!! I gradually was able to pump enough to feed her because she was not interested in latching on.
Brother and sister were so happy to see her (as they had not been allowed in the NICU).
And, Aunt Quinn came to help out.
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Baby Gets a Name (from September 14, 2011)
I didn’t make it down to the NICU until around 9 a.m.
I had an okay night of rest. Just as I was heading out, the lactation consultant arrived and she stayed for quite a while. She helped me manually express (very weird) some colostrum to take to the NICU.
Of course, the NICU was not interested. Unbeknownst to me, they had been feeding her formula from a bottle all night. I had been told they were going to be giving her glucose via an iv. Nobody said anything about bottles. I was a little ticked, but it quickly became apparent that I had no control over my own baby.
I asked to feed her. They let me try to nurse one time. After that, I was told that it took too much energy for her to try and nurse and that from then on, I was not allowed to even try. Only bottles for baby.
Dh came to the hospital shortly thereafter. We spent most of the day with her. We had several visitors, but the NICU staff was none too kind to them. Maama was told she could hold her, but was told not to pet on her or stroke her in any way. Papa was not allowed to hold her. I was not pleased. Her numbers had improved, and she was weaned off the glucose iv. Her numbers were consistently above what they wanted, without the iv. I called our pediatrician because I wanted her out of there.
In the early afternoon, we decided on a name. Alana Lorraine.
Throughout the day, I asked the NICU staff about when she would be released. They were vague and made it sound like release the following day was not likely.
Bloss kept me company that second night (Maama was too cold). We visited Alana late that night.
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Welcome Baby (from September 13, 2011)
Around 12:30 pm on the morning of the 13th, I texted her the following: “Thinking little Lorraine might just miss her aunt velora’s birthday.” Around that time, Ava woke up. At 12:45, I carried her into DH (who was asleep in our room) and told him it was time.
Shortly thereafter, I called Cathy and asked her to come over, but not to hurry. I promptly got the rest of my things together. I wasn’t miserable, just uncomfortable at times. Dh got up and put Ava back to bed. Cathy arrived a little after 1 a.m. I wasn’t sure what to do at that point. I couldn’t get comfortable and labor with a “stranger” around. So, we headed out. At 1:27 a.m., I texted my siblings and my mom that we were headed to the hospital.
We made it in about fifteen minutes. Once there, we checked in and were taken to triage. The hospital was recently remodeled and apparently they always take you to triage. Not a comfortable place — especially for dh. Tiny room with hard chairs and no place to put anything. Dh was very uncomfortable. They had me change, do a urine sample, and hooked me up to the monitors. Then, they came in to check me around 2 a.m. I was a 2. The monitor was having a hard time picking up my contractions. And they did seem to settle down, but they were still coming every 2 to 5 minutes.
We tried to pass the time by watching “3rd Rock” between 2:15 and 3:00, when they checked me again. I was beginning to get frustrated. I had already been doubting myself and now I really was. The contractions weren’t getting stronger or closer together. I was ready to go home. But, they wanted me to stay for 2 more hours.
A little after 4 a.m., I requested to go home, but the nurse convinced me to stay for 30 more minutes. Oh, during all of this, they were having a hard time checking me. Apparently my cervix was really high. My first nurse couldn’t even do it!! They had to bring in someone else. And then it was extremely painful.
I was ready to go!
At 4:30, the nurse came back to check me and determined that I was now 2-3 cm dilated. Slight progress. I thought that had sealed it. I was planning my morning (I did have 3 people wanting to see my rental listing). At 4:45, the nurse came back and said “let’s have a baby.” Dr. K wanted to keep me. He thought I was in early labor but thought it was worthwhile to go ahead and keep me. I was shocked. We were moved to room 413 and they started an iv. I warned the nurse about putting an iv in my hand, and as a result, there were no problems. It barely even hurt. Dh was finally comfortable, with blankets, pillows, and a couch that turned into a bed. We decided to rest and see what happened.
Around 8:10 (after the shift change), our new nurse came in. Shortly thereafter, Dr. K popped by and broke my water. I thought things would pick up at this point, but still no.
At 9:54, the new nurse checked me. The baby was still high but I was now a tight 4. To try and move things along, I asked to walk around. I was offered pitocin, but wanted to try “natural” first. I started out walking around the room, but decided to move to the hallway. Just as I did, mom arrived. Somehow, I think my babies cannot come until Maama arrives . . .
We made a few trips down the hall, before the nurse stopped to tell me that my walking was over — that Dr. K wanted to start pitocin. He was actually a little ticked that I hadn’t started pitocin immediately, but the nurse wanted to let me decide for myself. She was really pushing me to get an epidural too. At this point, I was in virtually no pain. Not even that uncomfortable except for the occasional gush of fluid and my carpal tunnel pain. But I was afraid of the pitocin and how that would change things. But, I was also afraid of getting the epidural too early and ending up with a c-section. So, I was still stubborn and held out as long as I could (the anesthesiologist was needed for a c-section at 12:00, so I would have to have the epidural in place prior to that if I wanted one and I definitely wanted one). Although I still wasn’t hurting, I had the epidural placed around 11:30.
During this time, Ava’s school called to tell me I’d forgotten to send her nap mat. Really? They knew I was in labor! Grandma had to take her a blankie. I also had to arrange for someone to cover my showings for me. I was in touch with clients, associates, tenants, etc.
The nurse checked me shortly thereafter. At 11:53, I was a “loose 4.” We continued to hang out. I tried to get dh to go get some food.
By 12:32 p.m., I was at a 5.
At 1:14, I was at a 7.
At 1:25, Dr. K came by. At first, he says I am almost there. But after he finishes checking me, he decides I am ready. The room then erupted with activity. After 2 pushes, baby was born at 1:41 p.m. She had tons of dark hair, weighed 7 lbs 10 ozs and was 19 1/2 inches tall.
Maama was out in the hall, so she was the baby’s first visitor. Then, Bloss and Ed arrived (he left school early).
Dh went home to get the kiddoes and bring them for their first visit.
Around 4:35 p.m., we were moved to our post-delivery room and received a new nurse. We had several visitors in the late afternoon, including the Aunts and the cousins, Grandma, Grandpa, the pastor, and Van Tran. Papa brought me dinner.
After delivery, tests revealed that baby had low blood sugar. I tried to nurse her but of course I had no milk and little colostrum. They had me finger feed her some formula to help her numbers. There was little mention of her blood sugar (that I remember) till early evening. At that time, they started making quite a fuss. If her blood sugar wasn’t above XX by 9 p.m., they were sending her to the NICU. Of course, by this time DH had had to take the little guys home. So, I was alone with mom, Ed, and baby. Her numbers didn’t rise, unfortunately. They didn’t give us a choice, they had us walk her to the NICU just after 10 p.m.
I had to leave her alone. They told me I could see her as early as 5:40 a.m. the next morning.
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September 12, 2011
I had good intentions of posting in the days before the baby arrived, to chronicle my aches and pains, but I only ended up with one brief post.
I really wanted to go into labor on Friday, September 9th. I had collected my items necessary for a natural induction — red raspberry tea, castor oil, and something else. But for some reason, I just couldn’t bring myself to take any of them.
After a not so restful weekend, Monday came, and it was off to the doctor for my 10:00 appointment. I had some pinkish discharge before I left, as well as lower back pain. Cathy came over to watch the kids while I ran to the doctor and dropped off a project at the History Center. At the doctor’s office, they checked my weight, my blood pressure and my urine. All good. As I was going into the exam room, the nurse told me not to change. Such a few words, that made me so mad. I was 37 weeks and 5 days, and my doctor had yet to check my cervix. Dh was like, “are you surprised?” No, I wasn’t. Dr. K did not check me until the day before DS was born. But for some reason, I was really, really devastated this time around. So much so, that I almost left, before I even saw the doctor. What was the point? He was going to listen to the baby’s hb (I didn’t need to hear that to know she was still alive and kicking) and in response to my complaints, he would tell me to be glad I was pregnant. I was almost in tears . . . almost hyperventilating. But I did not leave. I complained again about my numb hands — he blamed it on carpal tunnel. And he said “see you next week.” I told him I thought I would see him before then.
I could barely contain myself until I reached the car. I was in tears and hyperventilating at that point. But I had to keep it together to get to the History Center. I did not waste any time there though. I said I had to get home to rest. They didn’t try to stop me . . .
I didn’t feel well. I had diarrhea, but who could tell the cause. Ava had been sick.
I took Thanny to school at 12:30. Then, I came home to chill out with Ava. I walked over to pick up DS at 2:50. I came home and worked on dinner.
Around 4:00, I started feeling the contractions like I had back in August. Every 10 minutes or so, but not really paintful. We ate and then DH went to play cards. By the time dh got home, I was having contractions more like every 5 minutes. But they really didn’t seem to be progressing. I tried to rest but around 10:30/11:00, they seemed to change and become more “real.” I was becoming more and more uncomfortable.
But I was still doubting myself. Around 11:00, Bloss and I were chatting about baby names.
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Sunday, Sunday, Sunday (from September 11, 2011)
I didn’t want to go into labor on the 11th . . . people at church gave me a really hard time about still being there, but where else should I have been? I must admit, I asked for prayer to go into labor. Everybody gave me a hard time and there were more of the “are you sure it is not twins” comments.
After church, we headed to the in-laws and spent the majority of the afternoon there. The other ladies went out shopping, so dh, bil, and I wrangled the kids.
After leaving the in-laws, we just crashed at home in preparation for the week to come.
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Our Last Saturday as a Family of Four (from September 10, 2011)
Saturday was a full day . . .
We headed to Yukon for a five year old’s outdoor birthday party. I’d forgotten to pick up a gift, so we had to run by Target first. The kids had a great time at the Mario themed party, complete with bounce house. Although not a hundred degrees outside, it was still very warm and we had to do some walking. I was beat.
On the way home, Ava had diarrhea and ended up pooping her pants (which she never does). We had to stop at a truck stop on I-40 to clean her up. That’s one pair of underwear that never made it home …
After that, we had a nice lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings and then headed home to be lazy.
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