TBT Things I did on my maternity leave...before Harlow

Sooo just because I found it amusing...I am going to give y'all a glimpse of what I did on my maternity leave....before this little bebe entered my life.

 

I decided to take off from work a little bit early so I had time to relax before baby got here... I realized that the unemployed life isn't so much for me...I got bored... fast.

 

 

 

1.) Wet my whistle with one of these babies...

Whats this you ask? A BSRL...

For those not well versed in Sbux lingo..that is a Blended Strawberry/Raspberry Lemonade... ERmergerd..DELISH.

Word of the wise: Don't let them make you a Strawberry Frap. This has happened to my seester and I on more than one occasion...

2.) Had a 7th birthday party for none other than Sullivan Louise

 

 

Mildred Jean also partook in the festivities

I'd like to think that she was thoroughly enjoying mums baking..not shunning it like this pic would suggest...

Clearly Selfies were not high on Sullivan's priorities

This duder is such a good sport with my crazy antics...pic with the birthday girl!

3.) Discovered that Millie Jean had no idea that Merriwhether existed...

once she realized...she spent ALL DAY like this...Who knew a fish could be so interesting. New besties.

4.) Disturbed Grandma Mill's slumber..

5.) Take Selfies with my newt and send them to papa Chim

 

 

Hope you enjoyed...haha xoxo



Going home!

On May 17th, 2014 we were discharged out of the hospital.

Despite a little fiasco where...umm we didn't have the clips to the car seat (queue us sitting there for 3 more hours while another car seat is found), we made it home in one piece and began our life with our new little family...our new normal

 

 

 

 

Gahh I just love her

I tried to dress her like a princess but she wasn't as excited about it as I was..

Harlow, will you please stay put?

I don't know why awful pictures of my daughter make me laugh...

Ruv

Ready to go mama!



Our first few days...

Throughout our hospital stay we were so well taken care of by both the hospital staff and by our friends and family. No amount of words of thanks would be enough or sufficient to tell them all how thankful we are for the support and gifts. To all the people who brought us things in the hospital...thank you. Or to the people who took such good care of our girls, the visitors...everything! Ahh I am overwhelmed by the love our family and friends have shown us.

 

 

Since I had a C-Section, we had to stay in the hospital quite a bit longer than if I would have had her vaginally. We went in on a Monday and did not leave the hospital until Friday afternoon. Besides being interrupted to take our vitals, our hospital stay was kind of nice. It was nice to have such big help while we struggled to figure out life with a newborn.

 

One of my struggles was the pain of breastfeeding. The pain of her latching on. I knew it would be uncomfortable..but I did not realize that I would want to scream out in pain. Oh my word. She latched great, that was not the problem. I think I am just very sensitive...and that area especially. Uff Da! So I would feed Harlow, she would be done, the nurse would take her out so we could get some sleep and then literally about 5 minutes later she would return and tell me that Harlow was hungry again. No bitch, she is not hungry. She just wants to use me as a human pacifier, and I am not going to let my poor nips go through that! This went on for a few days until I had a pacifier in my bag, and I gave it to Harlow and Voila!! She was perfectly content! It got to the point where the nurses would see us in the hallway or in our "Purple Crying" class...and be like oh is that Harlow? Room 7? Oh she needs her paci! Yes...yes she does. She has formed quite a friendship with it.

 

Well anyway, those few days that we spent in the hospital....I actually enjoyed. I was content. I didn't do much but sleep, and feed Harlow. It was nice to be able to be with Tim with our new baby and just enjoy each others company.

 

Just a few pics from those first few days...

 

 

Mama Carolyn's First grandbabe

Miss Harlow Wynter

 

Auntie Kristyyyyyyy

A hot mess and her child.

Ohana

Be still my heart!

Yittle toes

My poor chunky monkey and her arm full of IVs :(

At peace with her paci

Possibly milk drunk

I know a good dad when I see one..



Birth Story + Welcome to the world Harlow Wynter Otte

On May 12, 2014 I had a doctor appointment to check in and see how our little one was doing, especially since it was the day after our due date! May 11th had came and went, and even though I was anxious to meet our little girl, I was okay with that. I think part of me was terrified about labor and the actual process of bringing her to this world, so I think if that meant that I got some extra time by us going past her due date...then I was okay with that. I still don't think that I felt like it was real. I mean...yes I was hugely pregnant and felt disgusting, and could barely walk the last few days...but the fact that holy crap...I am going to be a mum after all of this....THAT hadn't really sunk in yet.

 

So anyway, back to our appointment. Tim drove me to our appointment, and it went just like any other appointment. They didn't check to see if I was dilated, because they had done that the previous Thursday, and since it was hugely uncomfortable and at that time I was 3 cm Dilated and 70 percent effaced, I didn't feel a need for them to check me again so soon. She felt my stomach and was like, " Wow! You are really ALL baby" oh yes...thanks doc, that is exactly how I am feeling! She said that we should schedule a stress test for 2 weeks out, just in case Harlow decides to hang tight. 2 weeks!?!? You must be joking. If she decided to wait in there for 2 more weeks, I would probably cut her out myself. You think I am kidding...but no...no I am not. But nevertheless, we had to schedule the appointments for 2 weeks out... puke..

 

Then, after we made the appointments, we were on our merry way! Tim dropped me off at home around 11, and he went to work. I was feeling absolutely exhausted, and was hungry so decided to make myself some peanut butter toast and cut myself up some strawberries. Little did I know that this was going to be my last meal for awhile!

 

I settled in to watch 16 and pregnant...since um hello? What Else would I be watching on my maternity leave? My stomach started cramping a little bit shortly after I sat down. I was thinking to myself, that it was probably upset from the creamer I had in my coffee earlier that morning. I didn't really pay much attention to it, just kept thinking that my stomach is really upset and gahh I should really avoid dairy.

Around 12, my stomach was still really upset, but decided to call work to clear up some last minute insurance question things. As I was talking to my boss, I was finding it hard to concentrate on some stuff that she was saying, but the pain would come and go, so I still wasn't really thinking much of it. I decided to make Tim some macaroni and cheese so that way when he came home for lunch, he would have something to eat and we could have some lunch together. After I hung up the phone, I went back to the couch with my bowl of macaroni, and took one bite before I was keeled over in pain again. UGH These cramps really better go away. I decided to google If labor feels like severe period cramps. Hey what do you know...they apparently do! I called Tim in tears and told him that my stomach was hurting really bad, and I could neither confirm nor deny that this was labor. He asked if he should come home, but I told him no, because I didn't want him to come home and have it be a false alarm and have it take away from his sick time. Good thing, he knows me, and knows that I am stubborn and decided that he should probably get his ass home! He called the Doula and told her what I was experiencing, and she decided to call me to see how I was doing. When she called I was in tears and the cramps seemed to be increasing and more severe. I told her not to come because It was probably not labor, but based off te pain I was feeling she decided that she should probably head over. I am so glad that both of them went against my advice because by the time Tim got home at 1:00 I couldn't fathom going through those "cramps" which I now realize were contractions by myself. The doula told me to get in the tub, because it could probably help ease the severity of the contractions. Tim drew me a bath, and rubbed my back the entire time. My contractions were about 5 minutes apart at this time. When the doula got there around 2pm she took over rubbing my back while Tim packed up the car. My contractions were about 3 minutes apart by around 3pm, and I was in so much pain that the Doula and Tim decided to take me to the hospital. I was still in denial and convinced that I was going to be sent home for "false labor". I don't know why It wasn't ever "real" to me, but I was convinced that this was not happening.

 

We loaded up the car, and the doula told us that she would meet us at the hospital. We drove the 10 minutes from our house to Good Samaritan Hospital. We checked in at 3 ish, and they wheeled me upstairs. At this point, I felt like my pelvis was getting hit with a ton of bricks. We got admitted to our labor and delivery room- and it so happened to be the same room we had toured in our birth class! We set up our stuff and since I was in so much pain they immediately hooked me up to the two monitors- and tried to do an IV. I wasn't expecting it to hurt as bad as it did, so I jerked and of course ripped out the IV. They had to calm me down and had to redo it, this time in the crease of my arm- I was a crying mess- it hurt so bad! After the IV was in place, they started discussing different ways/methods to handle the pain of labor. Such as different positions and the option of the water birth (that, before I felt like a MAC truck had hit my pelvis...seemed like such a great option). I was in so much pain however, that I could not even fathom getting off the bed to try and do the labor that we had envisioned. I wanted/needed the epidural!

They called in the Anesthesiologist, and luckily he was already on his way! They had me sign some sort of waiver, and Tim held my hand while they administered yet another needle. Hopefully this would bring some sort of relief. Well long story short, it did...but it didn't work as well as it should have. I still felt so much pain-every contraction felt like I was getting blown to pieces by cement blocks...not a good feeling f you ask me.
I was progressing nicely for the first few hours of labor- and when they finally got the epidural in I felt so much better! The difference was night and day! I could actually sit through the tests and screening and checking of vitals without wanting to rip my hair out! I progressed until 6cm and then stalled for about 8 hours. Lovely. During that time, they were telling me that I needed to get rest and for Tim and the Doula to turn off the TV because I needed to rest. Well hello...kind of hard to rest when they come in every 5 minutes to check my vitals. My mum got there about 11pm. She had flown from California to Portland. Hopped in a rental car and drove down to be there for the birth of Harlow! So amazing. Also my seester Kristine (you know the one from the previous post had basically just gotten home from her tournament and her and her man Cory packed up the car and drove down to also be there. This meant the world to me! They arrived...I think around 11/12pm as well? Its hard to say I was so drugged up and in so much pain that I have a hard time piecing this together. So I tried sleeping to no avail- I was in so much pain that I couldn't...I also could hear this lady screaming down the hall. Terrifying. I am glad I had the epidural even if it wasn't working so well, to take the edge off.

Misery

Cheese

The view from our room

 

Room 4103- Labor Room

Anyway, they kept coming in and trying new doses of medicine and things because they kept saying..you shouldn't be in this much pain...well thanks...but I am. Also, they kept checking me to see if I had progressed at all. Nothing. During this time, they decided to break my water to try to move things along. This didn't work. I also developed an infection and developed a really high fever. This meant I also had to be on antibiotics, and when Harlow finally came...she also had to have an IV of meds just in case I passed this infection to the baby.
Around 7 am on May 13, they decided to check me again, when I hadn't progressed they decided to start me on Pitocin to see if that could kick my dilation into gear. They decided they would give me some time to hopefully dilate. They checked me again around 10 am. I had dilated to 8cm. I was thinking hooray! Almost there...however, my body stopped responding to the Pitocin- they took me off the Pitocin, and my body had gotten used to it, so then the contractions stopped. The baby went into distress...so the only other option was a C section. I couldn't believe it...after all this...it was ending in a C section after all...the only thing I didn't want. I burst into tears...I have never been into surgery before...I was so scared. Luckily, Tim and the Doula and my mum were so sweet and amazing with it all. Telling  me what to expect, and what I would feel (nothing). I am so thankful to have such amazing people in my life!

Doula and Mum...mum Is showing me a picture of my swollen feet...haha

They came in to take me in to surgery and Tim kissed me and told me that he would be there in about 5 minutes and he would be there through the whole thing! As they wheeled me into the Operating Room, I remember I could barely keep my eyes open...I was so exhausted from the previous day and being up all night, having no food at all and just the stress and toll this was taking on my body. They wheeled me into this bright room, and there were just swarms of people...I guess there were a ton of residency students...so about 15 people in the room. As they prepped me and placed the oxygen mask on  my face, I just remember thinking about my baby girl that I would meet soon. I couldn't wait...but I was just so scared. Tim and the Doula came in and sat by me and talked to me about anything to keep my mind off of it. I can't remember exactly what they were saying, because I was fading in and out, but I remember singing Pocahontas songs to calm me down. I used to do that when I was a kid when I was nervous about something. For some reason, " Just around the River bend", is soothing. Just me? oooookkkk

So anyway, I didn't feel pain just tugging and tugging and tugging. I wondered when that would end. ( I guess after talking with the Doctor later, she exclaimed that my C-section was one of the hardest she has seen, and Harlow would not come out...hence..the tugging that would not end). After what seemed like an eternity, and about the 6th go around of "Colors of the Wind", I heard them exclaim, " OH mY GOSH, Look at all that hair"! Followed by, " A little girl? boy?" I remember thinking to myself, " If it is a boy after all this so  help me God".
And then I heard, " Oh wow this is a big baby".
And then...the sweetest sounds ever...our baby girl crying!!
Harlow Wynter Otte was born at 12:07pm, 8 lbs 7 oz and 20.5" long!

I was so relieved, Tim went over to see her, and get pictures and just burst into tears. He came over to me and told me she was perfect and amazing, and he loved me and her so much! I have never felt so much love in my life, than in that moment. I don't think I could have loved him anymore....until I saw him hold her. I can't describe the feeling, and it is one that I am assuming you will never know until it happens to you. I love him more now than what I ever thought possible. I had no idea I could love someone so much, and feel so incredibly blessed to have him in my life. I love him now more than I ever thought possible, and it just gets stronger every day seeing him with our baby girl.

So anyway, after we got to see her, they had to take her away to do a bunch of tests on her, because of my infection. After that, Tim got to take her out to the waiting room to meet her grandma and her Auntie Kristine and Uncle Coro...and I think Tim's mum was also there at that point. I had to stay and get stitched up...and then wheeled into recovery. I don't remember that at all actually. I don't know how I got from that operating room to my room. It is all a blur.

 

We love her so much. Our family seems so complete somehow...I feel so blessed that I get to have this amazing man and perfect little one by my side through life. What an amazing feeling, and I don't know how I got so lucky to be chosen to be her mum...but I am so glad I did.

 

xoxo

 

 

 



40 weeks + Due Date + Mothers Day and Hellooooooo Behbeh!!

As of May 11, 2014 I was 40 weeks! This was my due date and happened to be my very first Mothers Day as well!

As most of you know, Due Date = No Behbeh

 

That weekend, I was so lucky my Seeeessterrr had a volleyball tournament thing that she was going to be in town for! We were hoping that Harlow would make an appearance that weekend, so that my seester and Mama Jan would already be in town and be able to make the birth right away! Well clearly, this child is on her own agenda...so we decided to have dinner instead. At none other than the dirty bird, Red Robin. It was so fun to be able to catch up and see her and my second mum....nevermind the fact that I was grossly pregnant and ready to burst.

No pics of the event...except for this one..

 

Gahhh I just love her!

After dinner, I really wanted to go to Target...no particular reason just something I do when I am living dangerously...go to Target to "look". I hobbled around for about 10 minutes and then decided that I was exhausted and we should probably just go home.

The very next morning, was Mother's day! Tim surprised me with a beautiful bouquet of Lilies for my first Mother's day! Even though Harlow decided not to make an appearance, it was still such a nice day! We went to Tim's parents house for a BBQ and took what would be our last pictures as just the two of us...and the last pictures of me being pregnant.. Hooray!!

 

Just a few photos of the day....my girls relaxing, me at 40 weeks, and my flowers!

 

Little did we know, that labor would start shortly after our appointment the very next day!

 

xoxo

 



35 Week Bump-Date

As of 04/03/2014 I was 35 weeks! I have pictures...but not at this moment...haha
Sorry about your luck, friends?

Pregnancy Highlights

 

How Far Along:
35 weeks today! Holy Crap!

Size of baby:
According to The Bump, Baby GIRL is the size of a Coconut!

Maternity Clothes:
Same as before, still trying to find what fits from my old closet..which isn’t much these days, but every once in awhile I will find a shirt that fits from my old wardrobe..the problem now is that most of these shirts are getting shorter.

Gender:
It’s a GIRL! See previous post about Gender Reveal. Squee!

Movement:
All the freaking time! I am pretty sure I am growing a gymnast…either that or a tiny dancer, the doctor said that she is turned so hopefully little baby girl stays that way!

Sleep:
About the same, getting up more and more throughout the night to use the restroom. And have to shift every few hours from side to side to get comfy.

What I miss:
This week I am missing laying on my tum, and just having my old body. I can’t wait to get back into shape, I feel like with this pregnancy I haven’t been as active (especially since it has been winter), and it is really starting to bother me. I can’t wait until she is out, and I get the ok from my doctor to start working out and running again. We are so active during the summer, and I would just go stir crazy having to be cooped up in the house all day!

Cravings:
Nothing crazy, my stomach has been upset for the last week. And around 2-3pm hits and I am so tired, but with working 9-5:35, I don’t have time to be tired!

Symptoms:
Same as before, My bones hurt…my body aches..you know normal preggo symptoms I guess? My energy is also starting to burn out a little bit! Also, I have been using this hot heart massager that I bought at a Pure Romance party a few years back for my back pain. Well, in order to reuse said heart, you have to boil it down. Well Tim, being the ever so loving man that he is, recognized that my back was hurting and put it on the stove for me, so it would be ready for me when I was ready to relax.  Well…we both forgot about it!! AHH!!! Cue us going in and smoke billowing out of our poor little stove top. All of the water that was in the pot had been evaporated and my poor little heart massager had exploded!! It was so sad…and kind of funny all at the same time. I am lucky that my new pot from my dad for Christmas wasn’t ruined, but my heart was in ruins! So needless to say, we are looking for another one of these suckers….

Favorite Moment This Week:
This past week we started our Childbirth Preparation class. It is a 2 hour long class every Monday from 6:30-8:30pm. It makes for a long day because we get off work at around 5:45ish, and then have to rush home and try to eat something real quick before we head to class for 2 hours. I think they will be really helpful though, and one of the class sessions we actually get to see the maternity floor! We also met with a Maternity Connections coordinator through the hospital. She was super helpful in setting us up with a birth plan, and getting our preferences for how we wanted our room to be when we are admitted. She also went over the signs of labor and what to watch out for, which was pretty helpful…since hello? We are not seasoned pros at this! We also got more of the nursery finished up, and found out from my mum that she is buying us the crib and the mattress! H ooray!! I will post pics when we get everything in there. I have also done all of the laundry for the clothes that we have received thus far, and organized everything in her closet. Tim also finished up the little night stand table for next to the rocking chair, so that also turned out SUPER CUTE! Also, Tims mum came to visit! We hadn’t seen her since before Christmas, so that was really nice to be able to spend some time with her! She has a pretty busy schedule, so hasn’t been able to see us since before then, and wont have a free weekend until after Harlow is born!

Worst Moment This Week:?
Just my back pain has steadily been getting worse. I will be fine one minute and then start limping the next. I can’t wait to have my body back and be able to go running and lose this baby weight!

 

 

 

 

 

 

33 Week Bump-Date

March 25, 2014

 

Pregnancy Highlights

 

How Far Along:
33 Weeks and 5 days! 7 weeks to go! CRAZY!

Size of baby:
According to The Bump, Baby GIRL is the size of a durian…who the freak knows what a durian is!?! I wish there was a type of produce I could relate to…meh!

Maternity Clothes:
Same as before, Tim’s sister-in-law gave me some new maternity clothes that she had when she was pregnant, and so that has been nice to have a few more basics to go with my ever-shrinking closet! I can’t WAIT to hopefully be able to fit back into my old clothes again, I tell you Im going to be working like a damn fool to get back into those clothes by the time  I have to go to work!

Gender:
It’s a GIRL! See previous post about Gender Reveal. Squee!

Movement:
More and More every day! Last night at class she was sure moving and I am pretty sure I got a nice little elbow or knee jab and my belly was kind of sticking out all weird and it was really pointy and hard where she was… SO that was exciting!

Sleep:
Not too terrible, I toss and turn at night just trying to get comfy, but overall I am doing pretty well in that department

What I miss:
Same as before, Laying on my stomach and being a part of a fancy wine and fancy cheese club.

Cravings:
Nothing too much or crazy! This morning I had a weird craving for a bowl of Cheerios..not the honey nut, just the plain kind. I didn’t indulge, just thought they sounded rather delicious. Besides that, nothing too bad recently.  

Symptoms:
Same as before, My bones hurt…my body aches..you know normal preggo symptoms I guess? My energy is also starting to burn out a little bit! Also, I have been using this hot heart massager that I bought at a Pure Romance party a few years back for my back pain. Well, in order to reuse said heart, you have to boil it down. Well Tim, being the ever so loving man that he is, recognized that my back was hurting and put it on the stove for me, so it would be ready for me when I was ready to relax.  Well…we both forgot about it!! AHH!!! Cue us going in and smoke billowing out of our poor little stove top. All of the water that was in the pot had been evaporated and my poor little heart massager had exploded!! It was so sad…and kind of funny all at the same time. I am lucky that my new pot from my dad for Christmas wasn’t ruined, but my heart was in ruins! So needless to say, we are looking for another one of these suckers….

Favorite Moment This Week:
This past week we started our Childbirth Preparation class. It is a 2 hour long class every Monday from 6:30-8:30pm. It makes for a long day because we get off work at around 5:45ish, and then have to rush home and try to eat something real quick before we head to class for 2 hours. I think they will be really helpful though, and one of the class sessions we actually get to see the maternity floor! We also met with a Maternity Connections coordinator through the hospital. She was super helpful in setting us up with a birth plan, and getting our preferences for how we wanted our room to be when we are admitted. She also went over the signs of labor and what to watch out for, which was pretty helpful…since hello? We are not seasoned pros at this! We also got more of the nursery finished up, and found out from my mum that she is buying us the crib and the mattress! H ooray!! I will post pics when we get everything in there. I have also done all of the laundry for the clothes that we have received thus far, and organized everything in her closet. Tim also finished up the little night stand table for next to the rocking chair, so that also turned out SUPER CUTE! Also, Tims mum came to visit! We hadn’t seen her since before Christmas, so that was really nice to be able to spend some time with her! She has a pretty busy schedule, so hasn’t been able to see us since before then, and wont have a free weekend until after Harlow is born!

Worst Moment This Week:?
Just my back pain has steadily been getting worse. I will be fine one minute and then start limping the next. I can’t wait to have my body back and be able to go running and lose this baby weight!