Seven. A lucky number?

Yesterday while shopping at the commissary with my mom, she asked me why I don't have any gray hairs.  I told her, "I do.  I have four of them.  They grow here, here, here, and here," I pointed out. 

Then she told me that at my age (33) she was starting to color her hair to hide the gray. 

Well, tonight after shining the sink and mirror in my bathroom I looked a little closer inspecting my hair.  I found a gray hair.  and another.  and another.  All in the same spot!  I was horrified and began the plucking process.

When I was done there was a total of SEVEN that I plucked-- All in the same spot!  I waved my tweezers at my mom and said, "You jinxed me!  I just found seven gray hairs!"

Then I went and found Danny and told him my sad, sad news.  He didn't seem the slightest bit ruffled by my bad fortune.  He simply said, "Well, you know about my gray nose hair."

I was going to say that "Gray hair on men is distinguished but on a woman it looks old,"  when he followed up with, "You have seven kids.  What do you expect?"

No sympathy.  I am grateful that I have such thick hair that my head won't notice seven discarded ones. 

Bloggy world meet Baby Girl

Picture taken Thursday, November 18, 2010

Baby #7 birth story - and the winner.

The anesthesiologist calmed any fears I had.  He talked me through how the anesthesia would work and using the oxygen mask, keeping my eyes open so he could see how I was doing, etc.  He talked about how they would test to make sure I was numb before making any incisions. 

The on-call doctor was confident and reassuring (even encouraging me to squeeze his hands if I felt any pain) while they gave me the spinal block/epidural.  I felt barely a pinch. 

They started.  I was elated that I couldn't feel anything.  I asked Danny, "Have they cut me open yet?"  He said, "It's a good thing you're numb." 

It seemed to be just moments before I heard her first cry.

I said, "Is it a girl?  It's a girl right?"

Someone answered, "It's a girl!  That's a good thing right?  That's what you expected?"

"Yeah!  Finally!" 

They brought her over to me.  She looked just like a newborn girl Pookie to me.  I kissed her sweet little face.  The nurse told Danny he could follow along to the nursery while they check her stats and clean her up. 

In recovery the doctor explained to me that I don't have any muscle in my lower right abdomen.  Seriously.  He said, "It's gone.  There's just connective tissue there but no muscle."  That explains why I couldn't do sit-ups between the twins pregnancy and this one.  It must've gone AWOL some time ago.

The baby stats came back.

November 12, 2010, at 6:40 a.m.

19 1/4 inches long

7 lbs. 1 oz. 

She was on a little oxygen for a couple hours since inhaling some fluid when she was born.  The nurses said there was an enormous amount of amniotic fluid and it kind of washed over her when she took her first breath.

Later during an x-ray to check her lungs they discovered she had a fractured clavicle.  That's not very common for a c-section but would heal with no problem in just a few weeks.

Now, at one week post-partum, I am recovering quite well.  I am excited that I was able to room-in with her at the hospital, nurse her, cuddle and bond with her.  I love that I can dress her in pink.  :)

There was a three-way tie between Sara, Lisa, and Sarah M.  Random.org chose Lisa.  Lisa, please email me your mailing address.

Baby #7's birth story: Part 2 of probably 3

How's that for a post title?  By the way, I didn't mean to leave you hanging for so long.

I grabbed my Rubix cube and it's instructions/clues for solving.

Angela arrived to watch the sleeping kids.

I listed the reasons for bringing the Rubix cube with Danny emphasizing that he'd have something to keep him awake if we're just waiting a long time while they monitor my contractions.  I also may have threatened him with his life if he fiddled with it while I was in any sort of pain.  He declined bringing it.

I timed my contractions on the way to the hospital.  They seemed to be about 3-5 minutes apart from the start of one contraction to the start of the next.  Irregular.  Could it be Braxton-Hicks?  still??

I found myself unable to talk during the contractions.  But not so bad that I need to murderize anything.  yet.

In the wee hours of the morning, only the ER entrance of the hospital is open.  I was wheeled from the ER over to Labor & Delivery. 

I changed into my gown and was hooked up to the monitors.  My nurse checked my cervix.  I prayed for some validation that would convince the on-call doctor to deliver instead of trying to stop the contractions and send me home.  Please let it be at least be 2 centimeters.

It was barely 1 centimeter.  But my contractions were picking up on the monitors at 3 1/2 minutes apart.

When my nurse came back and told me they were indeed going to do the c-section that morning, I'm pretty sure I said, "I love you," to her.

But then I started to get a little nervous remembering the c-section from the twins' birth.  I was also bummed that my doctor wouldn't be the one delivering my baby girl.  He was on vacation for a couple days.

And now for an exciting cliffhanger. 

My laptop battery is going to die.  To be continued . . .

I hereby end the game started in the last post.

I awoke mid-dream with a contraction 3:30 a.m. on Friday, November 12, 2010.  I attempted to get out of bed and use the toilet.  I could hardly get to the foot of the bed.  I tried timing the contractions, but couldn't tell where one stopped and the next one started.  When I sat on the toilet for a few minutes deciding whether I should shower or just put on a bra, I realized, this is it.  My brain was this foggy when I went into labor with my first. 

Danny hopped in the shower and entertained scenarios of which phone to use when calling 911 this time should he need help being guided through delivery. 

I called Angela.  I was cold.  surprisingly.  I grabbed a princess receiving blanket with stripes on one side to keep myself warm.

The nurse is coming in soon and I have to shower.  To be continued . . .

A little game to pass the time since I'm just twiddling my thumbs.

The facts: 

I am 36 weeks today.

The previous 6 children arrived between 34 weeks 1 day and 37 weeks 5 days.

They weighed between 5 lbs. 9 oz. and 7 lbs. 1 oz.

They measured between 18 inches long and 21 inches.

This baby girl is due December 2.  C-section is scheduled for November 24th (38 weeks 6 days).

Yesterday I "dropped."

The questions:

When will she arrive?

How much will she weigh?

How long will she be?

The points:

Five points for each correct guess.  I will accept the first correct guess only on each of the three questions.  So pick fast.  Leave a comment on this post.

One entry per person.

The prize:

Charlie the Guinea Pig! 

Baby named after you!

Two pairs of beaded socks: 

1.  Princess Blend - Pink, Purple, Blue

2. Christmas Blend- Red, opaque White, Green

On your mark.  Get set.  GO!

WHEN should Pookieville give thanks??

The C-section is scheduled for the day before Thanksgiving, November 24th.  The twenty-fourth of November is also my sister's birthday.  I'm pretty excited for baby girl to share the same birthday as her.  She's a pretty awesome sister. 

I am realizing that this Thanksgiving through Christmas season is going to be a crazy blur.  So, I'm thinking of setting up my Christmas tree early, ie. this week.  shh!  Don't tell Danny.

Anyhow, I would like to hear your opinion. 

Ye that celebrate Thanksgiving, what would you vote for:

a.  celebrating Thanksgiving early- like a week early about November 18th

b.  celebrate Thanksgiving late- like after I'm home from the hospital (10-14 days post-partum)

c.  let them make their own turkey, stuffing, potatoes, pies, rolls, etc. while I nosh on hospital Thanksgiving food most likely from pathology - this translates to the home people possibly eating boxed stuffing, Sara Lee pies, bakery rolls, and turkey in a box sans veggie platter and cheeseball.