Thursday, February 7, 2013, 1:13 PM
It is Ben's day off and, tired of being cooped up in the house all week, I convince him to go to Good Stuff for burgers and shakes (didn't take much convincing). During the 40 minutes we're out, UPS comes to deliver Ben's birthday present and leaves a notice that they will try again on Friday. No problem, we'll be home then.
Later, we walk to the store to pick up a couple things and come back home with a movie from Redbox. Dinner, phone call with Ben's parents, a movie and then bedtime. I go to bed disappointed. Tired as I am of being pregnant, our daughter shows no sign of coming soon.
Friday, February 8, 2013, 10:20 AM
After a late breakfast of knock-off Cinnamon Toast Crunch, I ask Ben to let me use the bathroom before he takes a shower... wait a minute... that is NOT pee.
"Ben. I think you should get ready to go to the hospital... my water broke."
I've been waiting for this moment for nine months and now that it's here, I panic. I expected to have more time, to feel it coming. But that morning brought no back pain, no contractions, no cramps - nothing. So I'm running around, trying to put clothes on and pack last minute essentials like phones and wallets, describing what happened to the nurse from Kaiser, and Ben asks if he can take a shower. I give him 2 minutes. Impressively enough, he accomplishes a 2-minute shower and is ready to walk out the door before me. We see my doctor at Kaiser first. She confirms my bag of waters ruptured and we are sent to Washington hospital center.
12:10 PM
I'm checked into my labor and delivery suite at the hospital... still no contractions. I'm told we will wait a couple hours and see what happens.
2:30 PM
Two hours later and nothing happened. Four hours into this saga and I am no further than where I started. Needless to say, I am quite frustrated. The process of inducing labor begins.
8:24 PM
As the hours go slowly and somewhat painfully by, the nurses and doctors change for the night shift. They tell me the contractions are increasing but we still have awhile. At this point, things are getting quite painful and they check how I'm progressing. In the 10 hours since my water broke, I've barely gotten anywhere but the pain has increased to almost unbearable. Enter epidural - not originally in the plans, but this was taking forever. The pain subsides almost instantly and I prepare to wait into the morning.
10:33 PM
The pain is returning. The nurse tells me I'm contracting fine on my own now (I can feel it - not pleasant) but there is a small blip in my baby's heartbeat so I'm on oxygen and laying on my left side to try to help baby.
11:52 PM
Something needs to be done. The baby's heartbeat hasn't gotten better. They want to put something next to baby so they can continue inducing without disturbing her (or something like that, I'm kind of out of it by this time). They check the baby's position and how far dilated I am. I guess I jumped really far, very quickly. The doctor says it is time to prep for delivery. An announcement is made to the nurse station and the preparations begin.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
No Words
Originally, I envisioned me writing this post while still in recovery at the hospital, so excited to share the good news of Wilhelmina's birth with the world. I was excited and I did want to share, but when I went to post or say anything, it was never quite enough. All the text messages were too boring and straightforward. Status updates and tweets, too commonplace. No picture could quite capture the miracle and blessing that I held in my arms. Nothing was big enough. The same person who was so excited about her bathtub that she told you all about it within an hour of taking a bath, was silent upon the birth of her daughter - the reason for this blog.
I couldn't write because there were no words in the English language to describe the roller coaster of thoughts and feelings I had just been through. Mary Poppins tried to make one up but I was more than supercalifragilisticexpialadocious (I think I spelled that right). I was _____. I do want to tell you all about the exciting day/day before Mina's birth. I know I will want a record of it for myself in the future. I will try to get to that in the next week but I'm pretty sure I have a poopy diaper to change. So for now, I will just say I am completely overwhelmed in the best possible way. Our daughter is a tiny miracle and we couldn't be happier. Well... I might be happier if every piece of fabric in the house didn't end up as a burp cloth, but more on that later. It's changing time.
I couldn't write because there were no words in the English language to describe the roller coaster of thoughts and feelings I had just been through. Mary Poppins tried to make one up but I was more than supercalifragilisticexpialadocious (I think I spelled that right). I was _____. I do want to tell you all about the exciting day/day before Mina's birth. I know I will want a record of it for myself in the future. I will try to get to that in the next week but I'm pretty sure I have a poopy diaper to change. So for now, I will just say I am completely overwhelmed in the best possible way. Our daughter is a tiny miracle and we couldn't be happier. Well... I might be happier if every piece of fabric in the house didn't end up as a burp cloth, but more on that later. It's changing time.
Monday, February 4, 2013
4th Grade Math
Today, my mom sent me a picture of two plastic cups. One had "weight?" written on it. The other said "day?" Yes, my always creative mom found yet another way to make math for her fourth graders more engaging. I guess hamburger fractions weren't enough this year. My baby and I get to be a part of her estimation unit. Each student got to guess the birth date and weight of the baby (within reasonable limits). The winner in each category gets a prize. I thought we could all use a refresher in fourth grade mathematics, so I am conducting a poll of my own. On the right side, you will notice two polls. Vote on what you think is the most likely answer. Those of you who know my exact due date may have an advantage :) There may or may not be prizes involved since I'm not sure I will be able to see who voted or not. But I think it will be fun. And my mom and I can compare notes and see whether, as a group, my readers or her students were closer. Enjoy!
Friday, February 1, 2013
Boredom... or how to get Whitney to clean the house
Many of you may know I've never been the best at keeping my room/house clean. I wash my dishes and don't let the bathtub get too filmy, but I will never have any desire to keep a perfectly clean home all the time (though I have improved since high school). Usually, I let stuff just build up and then once or twice every six months, I have a major cleaning spree where I freak out about the mess and try to clean everything at once. Then I tire myself out for the next several months. Lately, however, I have found myself at home, by myself, with nothing to do. Something crazy happened... I started cleaning. Some people claim there is a "nesting" instinct that increases as pregnancy progresses that prompts cleaning. I don't buy it. It's cabin fever. Women who are no longer working have to do something to keep their minds off how pregnant they are and when this watermelon is going to pop out.
Anyway, today I tackled the mound of utensils we have piled up in our kitchen that we have no space for. Somehow several useless/redundant pieces have made it through 3+ moves. Now, I will share with you my steps for tackling the utensil drawer. Each utensil should go through a series of tests:
Test 1) Do I really need 5 ladles?
There are a few things I like to have more than one of - wooden spoons, rubber spatulas, pancake flippers* and bottle openers (those things have a way of ending up all over the house). Other than that, multiples are just taking up space. Throw them out.**
*technically called turners I believe but I think everyone understands me better this way
**Please try to donate or freecycle lightly used utensils first.
Test 2) I use this all the time, like...
If you can count the number of times you've used something in the last year on one hand, it is not worth the space. I find this test also works great on clothes. Specialty items like icing spatulas and pie servers may be worth keeping, but try to find a place other than your main utensil drawer or crock.
Test 3) The one-trick pony
This test is best to employ before buying something, but if you already have a banana slicer, it's best to cut your losses and say goodbye. Almost all kitchen tasks can be accomplished with a good knife.
At work, we did purchase a cherry pitter for the cherry pies but I was pitting a flat of cherries at a time (I think thats 8 of the normal-size bags). So unless, you are pitting a flat of cherries, find another way. And a word of advice to anyone who is pitting a ridiculous amount of cherries - wear gloves. I found that one out the hard way.
Test 4) It's just one morning's cup of coffee
Don't horde utensils. We have a tendency to hang onto ladles with melted handles, cracked and splintered wooden spoons, and rubber spatulas with the ends broken off. Don't be wasteful and just get rid of everything that isn't new and shiny, but if it really needs to go, toss it. Melted and cracked utensils have a lot of crevices for bacteria to thrive in and contaminate your food. Wouldn't you be much happier running to Target and spending $5?
So those are the tests I employed to clear out some of my utensils. I feel like they are so obvious but it is easy to become irrational when it comes to kitchen gadgets and tools. Do you have any other tricks for deciding which ones make the cut?
Anyway, today I tackled the mound of utensils we have piled up in our kitchen that we have no space for. Somehow several useless/redundant pieces have made it through 3+ moves. Now, I will share with you my steps for tackling the utensil drawer. Each utensil should go through a series of tests:
Test 1) Do I really need 5 ladles?
There are a few things I like to have more than one of - wooden spoons, rubber spatulas, pancake flippers* and bottle openers (those things have a way of ending up all over the house). Other than that, multiples are just taking up space. Throw them out.**
*technically called turners I believe but I think everyone understands me better this way
**Please try to donate or freecycle lightly used utensils first.
Test 2) I use this all the time, like...
If you can count the number of times you've used something in the last year on one hand, it is not worth the space. I find this test also works great on clothes. Specialty items like icing spatulas and pie servers may be worth keeping, but try to find a place other than your main utensil drawer or crock.
Test 3) The one-trick pony
This test is best to employ before buying something, but if you already have a banana slicer, it's best to cut your losses and say goodbye. Almost all kitchen tasks can be accomplished with a good knife.
At work, we did purchase a cherry pitter for the cherry pies but I was pitting a flat of cherries at a time (I think thats 8 of the normal-size bags). So unless, you are pitting a flat of cherries, find another way. And a word of advice to anyone who is pitting a ridiculous amount of cherries - wear gloves. I found that one out the hard way.
Test 4) It's just one morning's cup of coffee
Don't horde utensils. We have a tendency to hang onto ladles with melted handles, cracked and splintered wooden spoons, and rubber spatulas with the ends broken off. Don't be wasteful and just get rid of everything that isn't new and shiny, but if it really needs to go, toss it. Melted and cracked utensils have a lot of crevices for bacteria to thrive in and contaminate your food. Wouldn't you be much happier running to Target and spending $5?
So those are the tests I employed to clear out some of my utensils. I feel like they are so obvious but it is easy to become irrational when it comes to kitchen gadgets and tools. Do you have any other tricks for deciding which ones make the cut?
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