Family {Maternity} Photos

Richard has been done baking for almost five months now.  We are settling into a new groove as a family, and I love it.  But before too much more time passes I wanted to share some of the maternity/family photos we had taken by my sister's sister-in-law.  (Did you follow that?  My brother-in-law's sister.)  Carmella did a great job and we are so thankful for the sweet moments that she captured.

HB's Birth Story

The end of my pregnancy with HB brought incredible pain in my lower back and hip.  It was increasingly becoming worse.  On the Monday before my due date, I directed my Plant Science class to the greenhouse to spend the class period maintaining hydroponic tomato plants.  I trailed behind the students essentially “waddling” because walking was painful due to my hip and back pain.  I knew by the end of the day that I couldn't teach any longer; my body had reached its breaking point.  I let the school secretary know that my substitute teacher would be starting the next day.  I spent the remainder of that week trying to sleep, tidy the house and pretty much anything to make time go by.  I even washed Colby and JR in hopes it might help get the ball rolling.  I didn't have any contractions or signs that labor was even close to starting so it was a very uneventful but relaxing week.

HB’s official due date was Friday, April 20, four days after my last day of teaching.  I had a student whose birthday that same day so he was really hoping HB would come “on time.”  My 40-week OB appointment was scheduled for Friday afternoon.  I wasn't dilated at all so my OB suggested stripping my membrane as a possibility to start contractions.  She said it would hurt a little but I wasn't prepared for truly how bad.  I cried afterwardsL Thankfully it worked though and my contractions started almost exactly an hour later.  I can’t remember how consistent they were, but enough that I was having several an hour.  I made a green chile beef casserole for dinner and Dad and I headed to bed early.  Finally around 4am Saturday morning, I told Dad I thought we should go in.  I was fairly uncomfortable, although I didn't really know how much more intense my contractions could be since this was my first pregnancy.  I was also really worried about missing the window for an epidural so I may have been a bit over eagerJ We arrived at Banner Estrella Hospital and after checking into triage, the nurse checked my cervix and I was only dilated a little (maybe 4cm). They told me I wasn't dilated enough so I needed to try walking.  We headed outdoors – being the hungry pregnant person I was, I wanted McDonald’s before walking around the parking lot a few times. (I totally craved McDonald’s for breakfast during this pregnancy!) We went back around two hours later to get checked again and I wasn't dilated anymore.  I was totally disappointed, and frustrated, and even felt like a failure a little bit.  The nurse gave me a Percocet to help me get some rest.  At the time I didn't think I’d take it but ended up doing so at home and was so glad.  I was able to snooze on and off all day and not really even think about the contractions I was having.  Sarah Schroder brought La Placita by for lunch.  I think Dad and I both fell asleep in the living room watching TV that night; I remember waking him up to go to bed.  I had a restless night as my contractions continued to get stronger.   Around midnight on Sunday I was getting very uncomfortable with the contractions combined with my hip and lower back pain so we decided to go back to the hospital.  Again, I was nervous about missing the “window” for my epidural and at this point I didn't think I could deliver HB without one.

After arriving at the hospital and checking into triage a second time, we found out I wasn't dilated anymore than I was before, almost 24 hours ago.  When the nurse left so I could get dressed to walk the halls again I started crying and told Dad I didn't know if I could do this.  My hip and lower back pain was so bad.  I knew I had to try though because that was the only option I was given.  The nurse said we couldn't be admitted without being in active labor since there were no beds available.  (Who knew that would be the same problem we faced 2 ½ years later when we were ready with Richard? J)  Walking up and down the hall was a bit of a stretch, it was more like trudging.  I stopped every few feet to weather another contraction and the growing intensity of my hip pain.  I hadn't even made a full circle yet when I saw a nurse coming to get us.  She told us a bed had just opened up.  I would have jumped up and down and hugged her if I could have.  We picked up the pace a little and they showed us to our labor room.

Some of the next details are a bit fuzzy since I am writing this almost three years later.  The nurse requested an epidural immediately and once it started taking effect, I could actually relax.  I truly believe the epidural helped my body relax amidst the incredible pain I was feeling in my back and hip which helped me dilate further.  Even this much later I still think the pain in my hip was far worse than the contractions I was experiencing.  I think fell asleep between 4-5am and woke up around 7am when the nurses changed shifts.  My nurse for the remainder of labor was a sweet black woman named Sherry.  She was so kind and she told me to quit apologizing for asking for things.  Kelly left a little after 7am to get breakfast in the cafeteria (yes, biscuits and gravy) and my water broke, of course, while he was gone.  I dilated super quickly after that.  We were both certain HB would be here by lunch time.

I think I started pushing around 11-11:30am.  We didn't know it at the time but HB had a huge head for a newborn which made the whole process take a lot longer than this first time momma expected.  It seemed I was not making any progress.  I pushed and pushed and pushed, and the little guy did not seem to be getting any closer.  Thankfully, HB showed no signs of stress throughout the entire active labor period.  Just as we were nearing the end Sherry gave me a face mask with oxygen.  It was the only thing throughout my entire labor that annoyed me – it kept all of my hot breath inside and made me feel really sweaty and gross and like I could not breathe.  Kelly, being the sweet man he is, tried adjusting it to make it more comfortable and I remember snapping at him that I just didn't want to wear the mask.  I literally felt like I couldn't push anymore, and just about voiced my concern when finally, a little after 1:30pm, our sweet first born arrived with a full head of hair and made the entire process worth it.  My “official” OB Dr. Fernandez was not on call, so another doctor from the practice, Dr. Suarez, delivered HB and did a great job.  I was so nervous throughout my entire pregnancy about having a male obstetrician deliver our baby but in the moment I didn't even give it a second thought. 

It was all so surreal.  Three years later, as I write this, it’s a little less surreal, but I still have to pinch myself.  I got pregnant.  I baked a baby for nine months.  I had contractions for almost 48 hours.  I delivered said baby.  And then parenting began.  At the time I almost felt like I should have completed some type of training course at the hospital before we were discharged but looking back I know there is no teacher like experience itself. 

It’s been a joyful {almost} three years with our son.  I am tearing up as I write this.  Three years?  Time has truly gone by too fast.  Just last night HB came out to the living room about 30 minutes after I had put him to bed.  He’s been making this a habit so I warned him not to come out or a spanking would be waiting for him.  Just as I was about to chastise him, I heard a little voice telling me that he will only be this little for awhile longer.  It will only be for a little while that he wants to sit on my lap and just rock after his brother and sister have fallen asleep.  So instead of swatting him, I pulled him into my lap and smelled the little boy smell on his temple and laid a few smooches on his cheek.  I still can’t believe we get to call HB our son every day.

She's here!!!!

Miss Katherine Beth Wright made her entrance into the world on Tuesday, May 21 at 7:12am.  She weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces and measured 19 inches long.  We are ecstatic that she is here.  And I am completely. In. Love.

(Birth story to come...)

HB loves her too!  He is making his first attempt to hold her hand in the car.  Total sweetness.

Our sweet angel baby.

Is today the day?

Today is baby Katherine's official due date folks: May 24!  Since I am putting this post together a few days early I'm not sure if she has arrived...or not.  In my opinion, most likely not.  She seems pretty happy right where she is at and enjoys making me uncomfortable, giving me heart burn and terrible leg cramps at night.

I asked family and friends to weigh in on their estimated due date and her weight - I wanted to record what everyone guesstimated for future prosperity of course! If you were not on the email I sent out, or did not respond, and would like to, feel free to leave your guesses in the comments section.  If you are interested in a little perspective from HB's delivery, my contractions started on his due date but then it took me almost 48 hours before delivering (45.5 hours!) and he weighed 8 pounds 14 ounces, so apparently I grew a chunky monkey that took awhile to convince it was time to come out!

Date:
May 17 VerRona (sorry friend, this date has sadly come and gone!)
May 19 Uncle Paul
May 21 Stephanie
May 22 Amy G.
May 23 Greta
May 25 Becca M./Kir/Sherry/Grandpa G.
May 26 Carrie Pedreiro
May 27 Aunt Anna Banana/Grandma G.
May 28 Ann/Daddy aka Kelly
June 1 Holly ( surely hope she comes before this!)

Weight (bless everyone who guessed less than 8 pounds!):
7lbs 5oz Sherry/Becca M.
7lbs 8oz VerRona
7lbs 10oz Ann/Carrie Pedreiro
7lbs 12oz Sarah Schroder
8lbs 1 oz Grandma G.
8lbs 2oz Greta
8lbs 3oz Kir/Stephanie/Holly/Amy G.
8lbs 4 1/2oz Grandpa G.
8lbs 8oz Daddy aka Kelly
9lbs 1oz Aunt Anna Banana (My sister said she was being realistic...but 9+  pounds sounds terrible!)

Meatloaf & Time Saver Tips

Whatcha Making Wednesday: Meatloaf

I don't know about you but I LOVE meatloaf!  My mom developed my affinity for this gourmet delight and I still aspire to make meatloaf as well as her.  I have already posted one meatloaf recipe this year so I am only going to share that I made meatloaf last night and we had it again for lunch today.  (Side bar: HB also loves meatloaf.  He tore up lunch today - most of the meatloaf on his plate actually ended up and STAYED in his mouth as opposed to on my floor.  You gotta love helping a 10 month old learn to eat.)  I did try a different recipe out of a new cookbook that I have and it turned out fairly well.  A tad on the salty side but sometimes I go little crazy when adding salt and pepper.

As Baby Girl's due date looms on the horizon (11 1/2 weeks left...) I am starting to try to make and freeze a few meals that will make my transition from a household of 4 to 5 a tad less stressful.  I am not going out of my way to do this, but while making freezer friendly meals I try to double the recipe so we can eat one now and freeze one for later.  My gracious hubby helped me actually triple a lasagna recipe two weeks ago so we could eat one, freeze one and deliver one to a couple in Buckeye who just had their first baby.  Tripling the recipe sounded easy until I looked at the pile of dishes we had to do but in the end I was glad we did it all at once.  On this note of saving time, I ended up tripling my meatloaf recipe last night so we could do the same thing: eat one, freeze one and well, freeze a second one.  The cookbook I used suggested a variation of using the meatloaf for bell pepper stuffing and I thought that was brilliant.  So now I have two more meals frozen and ready to go post delivery of Baby Girl.

I am looking for your suggestions friends - what are some of your freezer friendly meals and time saving tips in the kitchen? 

Sugar and Spice

Sugar and spice
and everything nice
that's what little girls are made of

Sunshine and rainbows
and ribbons for hairbows
that's what little girls are made of

Tea  parties, laces
and baby doll faces
that's what little girls are made of


Come May 24 we will welcome our DAUGHTER!  We are having a girl y'all! 

Dental woes

For those who live close enough to listen to me complain about my sorry teeth, I apologize for even bringing this up.  However, I like to keep the few friends I have in blogging world updated too.  HB's pregnancy was riddled with every type of discomfort that you can imagine - I won't list them but for those of you who have been pregnant you understand and can fathom what I am talking about.  After delivering my son this past April I was really looking forwad to some reprieve from said discomforts.  However, almost six months later I am still working through some issues.

I didn't know this before I was pregnant but I definitely know this now - pregnancy can absolutely ruin your pearly whites.  It did mine.  I started my pregnancy with zero cavities; I ended my pregnancy with 10 cavities.  TEN.  I had seven of them filled at one time, that was my first mistake.  It took way too long to complete all seven.  24 hours after I had sat in the examination room, I had one filling fall out while flossing.  Just up and fall out.  After having that filling repaired I proceeded to have 12+ weeks of extreme sensitivity and headaches.  It was great.  I ended up seeing an endodontist (a root canal specialist) where he informed me that it can take as long as 12 weeks for a filling to heal.  I had no idea.  Go figure.

Just recently I was starting to feel better and started resuming my normal consumption patterns - crunchy foods, chips, more meat (it was hard to tear when my teeth were killing me).  However I must have gotten too bold because I had a second filling fall out on a flight to Sacramento with my sister.  I was floored.  I've never actually known anyone to just lose a filling and here I lost two in about 12 weeks.  Surprisingly I had little to no pain after this second filling fell out.  I think my teeth roots are getting stronger. 

At this point I still have three cavities remaining and waiting to be filled.  I am considering a new dentist.  And praying my next pregnancy is easier on my teeth!

HB - the past four months

I don't want to take my blog count over the top or anything, but geez, I've only posted once in 2012.  That's definitely not hard to top!  I've been telling myself that I blogged four months ago but I guess I am mixing that date up with the birth date of my child.  It's hard to decide where to begin after an almost eight month hiatus from my blog but I thought I would begin with the bright spot of my year - my firstborn child, HB.  I want to keep it short and sweet tonight but I promise to connect the dots of the past eight months later. 

No matter how much friends and family share about having children I have learned that nothing can fully prepare you for how truly wonderful and delightful motherhood is.  Or how challenging some of its early moments can also be.  Becoming a mom has simply been more - more thrilling, more joyful, more fun, more blessed than I could have ever imagined.  It's hard to think my life before this point - my son has brought so much joy and wonder to my life and I am so grateful for the reminder that he is of God's awesome creating hand in our lives.  I am reminded of God's great power and intricate creativity on a daily basis as I observe my son developing and growing.

With all that said, enjoy the amateur cell phone pictures of the month-by-month growth of my sweet son.  (I am working on the whole "taking pictures from consistent distances and angles.")  Clockwise, from top left, one month, two months, three months and four months.  He has gone from posing as a sack of potatoes at  one month to actually sitting up pretty well on his own at four.  Hubby is the "spotter" ready at a moment's notice to reach out with cat-like reflexes and prevent Lil Man from face planting it into the arm rest of his great-great-great grandfather's rocking chair.

Southwestern Turkey Soup

Hubby and I hosted Thanksgiving this year - we had 12 people over and really enjoyed the day with both sides of our family. Some of the highlights from the day include seeing my grandmother, my sister-in-law's green bean casserole made from scratch and the cute comments from my nieces and nephews. Oh, and how can I forget the fact that hubby and I were moving furniture out of the living room and back into the guest bedroom and nursery one hour before everyone arrived. Kelly was in a MAD RUSH to install, sand and finish new hardwood floors in our bedrooms and he finished in the nick of time. I am very much thankful for my husband's handiness and hardwork and grateful for his willingness to help get everything ready for Thanksgiving including cleaning the house and helping prepare food.

My favorite moment though was when we revealed baby Wright's gender to our family - I really wanted it to be a surprise because we called everyone to share the news that I was pregnant back in August. When I got done with school Wednesday last week, Kelly and I went for my first ultrasound. I picked up an outfit at Wal-Mart that evening and wrapped it up. Once everyone had arrived on Thanksgiving day, my youngest nephew opened the gift to reveal an orange and blue (Go Gators!) outfit for a little BOY!! He won't be able to wear the outfit until the Gator's 2013 season when he is a year and a half, but at least we're prepared! It was so fun to see everyone's faces when we revealed the news - I will try to remember to post a picture when my dad's gives me a CD of pictures from the day.

In the spirit of abundant leftovers, I wanted to share a delightful recipe that I tried last night. It was published in Cooking Light and chicken was the original protein featured in this recipe. Hubby acquired a 4x4x4 cement vault and installed it in the ground as our new pit barbecue; we inaugurated it by cooking two turkeys, some lamb and pork for Thanksgiving. The turkey had a wonderfully smoky flavor infused from the mesquite wood which blended really well with the cumin and lime juice in the recipe. I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, and enjoy this recipe!

Southwestern Turkey Soup
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves minced (I love garlic so I always had a couple more for good measure!)
6 cups fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup uncooked white rice
1 (16-ounce) can Great Northern beans (aka canellini), rinsed and drained
3 cups chopped turkey
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped seeded tomato
3/4 cup diced peeled avocado (I just used 1 whole avocado.)
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
6 lime wedges

1. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray or olive oil. Add onion and garlic and saute three minutes. Add broth, rice, cumin and beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 15 minutes. Stir in chicken, cilantro pepper and salt; simmer five minutes or until turkey is thoroughly eated.

2. Remove from heat, and stir in tomato, avocado, and lime juice. Serve with lime wedges.

Beef and Other News on the Homefront

I love beef. Hopefully most of you know that by now. However, this delightful piece of protein is not something I desire to consume since becoming pregnant. Ahem, what did I say? Pregnant? Yes, you read that correctly, I am pregnant and due April 20! What a subtle way to sneak this HUGE news into a seemingly normal blog post. Hehe. Well, more on baby W and the havoc he/she is wreaking on my body later. Back to beef.

Did you know that the protein in beef helps you maintain a healthy metabolism? Even better news though is the growing body of evidence that the protein in beef may be helpful in preventing chronic diseases such as Type-2 diabetes and osteoporosis.

Back to baby now. I have known for about the past eight weeks about the delightful changes happening in my uterus and since the discovery I have been terribly sick with what I call "all day sickness" as opposed to morning sickness. I have been sick all day, almost everyday. Hope is dawning though, this past week has been semi-normal but I did stay home today. I am thankful for the end result and am praying for joy and endurance through the yucky days.

I hope all is well with you and yours! Eat some beef now:)