What NOT to pack for the hospital & how Oliver came along

'Member that time I had a baby? And I moved the weekend before his due date? And I didn't have a bag packed for the hospital when my water broke? And I packed jean shorts to come home in!?

Yeah. That happened. FYI, jean shorts are NOT what you want to come home in after having a baby. Which, if I'd taken the time to pack the bag before hand, I would've thought of. I did have a half packed bag with babies stuff and some things for laboring but I did not have my clothes in there yet. Next time, I'll be better at packing that sucker weeks in advance. Or at least I won't choose jean shorts, no matter the timing of my packing. Ya live and ya learn.

A little backstory - we MOVED a week before Oliver's due date. Here's Oliver's nursery about 3 days before his due date. This could explain my lack packing.

As Fab and I are thinking about when baby #2 might come, I decided I should update my hospital packing list and thought I'd share it with y'all. But first, let's chat about my birth experience with Ollie O. 

It was quite the first delivery experience, folks. I'd already decided that I wanted to labor at home and I wanted to avoid pitocin (starts or moves along your labor) and an epidural (pain meds) as much as I was able. I am a pretty easy going person and I wasn't too concerned with our "plan" changing as labor progressed. You just can't know what your experience is going to be like so if you do make a plan, don't be stressed if you have to change it for you or your baby's safety or even because it's plain ol' not working. It's OK.

Long story short - my water broke at 10:30 PM, labor started at 1:00 AM, Oliver was born at 2:43 AM. It was a super quick process. 

Long story not so short - 

10:30 PM, 6/20/14, Due Date

We'd just gotten home from dinner at my favorite sushi restaurant and a quick stop at Home Depot (for more paint for Oliver's room!). It was late and we were all pooped. My mom went straight to her room to get to bed and Fab and I were getting ready for bed. I was using the restroom when I heard a "pop." I looked at Fab and told him I thought my water had just broken but I wasn't sure - there wasn't a gush of liquid or anything and I'd never heard anyone say there might be a "pop" sound. What else could it be though?? A funny interaction followed with me trying to shoo him out of the bathroom so I could go finish using the restroom and him peeking his head in trying to figure out if it was really baby time. It was pretty comical. 

Sushi time! Fab has scary, red eyes and I look tired.

11:00 PM

After deciding that my water had broken, and I wasn't just continually peeing my pants, we quickly packed up a bag and left for the hospital. Well, first we got some gas then we went to the hospital. (We were totally on the ball and ready on all fronts, right?)

I wasn't having any contractions at this point. The doctor offered pitocin and we declined, letting them know I wanted to labor naturally at home. They didn't check to see how dilated I was at that point because of the risk of infection since my water had broken. I had two very very very mild contractions while we were there but they lasted about .2 seconds and were like the mildest period cramps you've ever experienced. It was nothing. The doctor recommended I take some tylenol and head home to get a good night's rest before labor really began. A++ option. Off we went. With my mom telling us that leaving was a terrible terrible idea. She wasn't on board with the laboring at home part. ha

         

Looking goofy, excited & tired.

Heading home. 

1:00 AM, 6/21/14, Oliver's Birthday

We immediately got changed for bed and as soon as I got into bed I had a contraction that felt pretty serious. I decided I'd go lay in the living room so I could get up if needed while Fab got some actual sleep. Nope, that's not happening. At 1:15 Fab started timing my contractions. They were coming every 3 minutes and lasting about 1 minute 15 seconds each. That lasted for an hour and then off to the hospital we went. (Side note: I was ready for that epidural! I couldn't imagine it getting even worse than this and lasting for hours and hours! Little did I know this was the beginning and end all wrapped into one hour of contractions!)

While making our way down the stairs I was stopping to get through a contraction and saying I needed to push while Fab and my mom both were yelling at me, "Don't push! Don't push!"

Fab sped his way to the hospital while I yelled at him to slow down so we could actually make it to the hospital!

2:24 AM

Fab dropped us off at the entrance and my mom and I headed upstairs while he parked the car. He got his parking garage ticket at 2:26 AM, that's the only reason I have any clue on what time we got there. They had us pass right by the triage room and go directly to the delivery room. After a contraction passed in the wheelchair they stood me up and got me on the bed. It was a whirlwind from there. Nurses everywhere hooking me up to things, moving me around, the doctor coming in to check how dilated I was. (Apparently she seemed to think there was no way I was ready to go so soon according to the reports from my mom and Fab afterwards. Until she checked me. I was.) 

2:33 AM (This detail was on my discharge notes.)

Fab had made it in the room by now. I started pushing. Phew, that hurt. After 2 or 3 pushes they stopped me and gave me a little oxygen. My labor nurse had me look at her and told me to just focus and breath - she was my savior in that moment. I definitely said "I can't," a few times before that. I pushed maybe 6 times or so...? I'm not sure. But not many! 

2:46 AM

Oliver is born! A few hours after his due date and in record time. It was such a crazy and fast experience. Unfortunately, I had some serious tearing and had to go into surgery following the delivery. That stunk. In the moment it wasn't a big deal since I really didn't have time to focus on much of anything. Looking back though, it stunk to not be with Fab and Oliver in the hour after delivery. Maybe it was a good time to get some rest and quiet though. I mean, I didn't sleep, but after the craziness of the previous two hours and the people who would be in and out in the coming hours - that quiet was probably good for me. I do not thrive in a lot of loud and crazy.

Little pursed lips right after a yawn. :)

So there's my story. Did I need an exercise ball or music or anything else for the actual laboring process? Nope. But the other hospital essentials, for after delivery, I needed. 

We'll pick it up tomorrow with a list of my hospital bag essentials!

Care to share your delivery experience? If you've had more than one, what have you learned or adjusted as you've gone from pregnancy to pregnancy? I love how different each story and each person's needs are!

My Moment of Genius

Hi all. Yeah, it's been a while. Again. Let's not even pretend that I'm any good at this consistency thing.

But here I am for a post in the blue. And this one is good, folks. I'm pretty excited about my genius here and just had to share.

A few weeks ago I was putting away the clothes that Oliver no longer fits into and thinking how there was just no good way to keep them organized in their bins. More than one size fits in a bin and they were going to fall over each other and get all mixed up and I'd just have to go through them yet again when it came time to unpack them. UH. What. A. Pain.

But THEN!

I could tie them together in their stacks and label each stack with painters tape.

It's a thing of beauty I tell ya.

Do you sense my unusual, weirdo-Kem, excitement? It's all ovah the place.

I label my bins with painters tape, too. It's easy to remove and update, if needed, or just to move when I inevitably stick that label on crooked to begin with. I also started labeling the bins on two sides so that if (when!) they get moved or turned I'll still know what's happening in there.

I've already had to update that maternity/newborn clothes bin label once when I moved some stuff out and added the swaddles in there. Easy peasy.

Best idea ever. I slept like a baby that night in my organized bliss.

If you already thought of this, shhhh, just nod along with me and tell me how genius I am, friends.

Do you have any tips for storing away your little ones outgrown clothing? I'd love to hear them!

resolution set.

I just had to do the math to figure out my age... am I 27 or 28? 28... no, 27... but Fab is 31 so I have to be 28... I'm not 28... I'm 27.

I'm 28. That is the correct answer. Apparently I just forgot an entire year. I think I'm still considered too young to be forgetting my age.

Well, I'm a mama to an 8-month-old come the 21st. This kid is the coolest. He's just started scooching all over the place, from room to room, dusting my floors for me. Thanks, kid. Starting those chores early... he knows mopping is my least favorite.

Here he is showing off his tambourine skills.

I've been wanting to get back into some kind of blogging again. Again? "Again," when you blogged for 0.2 seconds, Kem? YES. ;) I don't have any time that I want to give up to do it super consistently but sharing something here and there would be nice. I have thoughts, ya know? Ok... I cook things and want other people to cook them, too.

It would also give me something to do and work on. I've been trying to be more disciplined... stick to things that I say I'm going to do even if they don't actually HAVE to be done. All will be well in the world if I do not blog but if I say I'm going to do it then I should stick to it. Recently I've been frustrated with my messy house that is also lacking in decor, which makes the mess even worse. I resolved about two weeks ago to clean the kitchen before bed so that I start the day ahead of the game. So far, so good. Obviously there will be times when it doesn't happen and that's ok but those will be the exceptions, not the norm.

I am resolving to post here at least once a week over the next three months.

.... Now do I post this or save it as a draft until I'm REALLY ready to commit?
Posting.
Week 1. Check.

things have changed

Blogging consistently takes time I'm rarely (can I say rarely when it's been over a year since my last post? That IS rarely...) willing to give. I want to share fun things and chronicle life for myself and friends & family who aren't near... I just need to give up time doing other things to do so. Meh.

Life Update.
I was pregnant!
Now I have a baby!
He's a month old already!

Woah.

I'm still in the "I can't believe I have a baby!" mind set. Does that ever go away? I am in awe of him.

He's currently sleeping peacefully and I should be napping or prepping dinner or working but instead I'm typing this, searching for a place to go blueberry picking and seeing what movie is playing tonight at the Hatch Shell.

Being a mom is amazing... + some.. more than I can put into words. My love for this little guy is greater than anything I could imagine. (and to think, God loves me even more! what!? ridiculous.) My love for Fab has grown exponentially since I got pregnant. And again, even more, since having Oliver. We brought this little life into the world. I just can't wrap my head around it fully. I think I'll always be in a bit of a state of disbelief. It's such an amazing miracle. Too big for my little mind to completely grasp. God size.