sick

oy. I have a brutal cold.  super sore throat and tired, and today I woke up with no voice and had to cancel my clients by text.  don't you just love having to cancel $300 worth of work?  sometimes i try to imagine what it would be like to work in a field where i had sick days or vacation days where i got paid anyways.  sort of like living in a world where i didn't have to pay an additional 15% in self employment taxes above the traditional income tax... impossible to imagine but fun to dream about.  but then i suppose i would have to work much longer hours for less money, and follow a set schedule, and deal with annoying boss people... so i guess everyone has their drawbacks and bonuses at their job, and the grass really isn't always greener, eh?

Sarah, wow, i didn't realize that you are considered high risk, although i did know that you were undergoing extensive fertility treatment to conceive.  That is good that you have such a close relationship with your ob, it think that is really what matters.  Especially since you have such extensive needs in prenatal care, and i am so glad you have a person you trust and respect.  I know you will do great and i am so happy for you that you have your "gift baby", and especially that we are pregnant together again!

For me, my experience with Ava was so frustrating because i was treated as high risk because of having gestational diabetes, but not given support or extra care really.... just given extra protocols and stern warnings about terrible possible outcomes like macrosomia and babies with diabetic shock and birth defects and shoulders too wide to be delivered.  My ob was an absolute prick in brooklyn, and his female partner was no better, he literally introduced himself to me as Dr. so and so but to matthew with his first name.  AWESOME.  They made me have 3x per week non stress tests for the last 6 weeks of my pregnancy and almost induced me because they were positive that they didn't see enough amniotic fluid in my 37th week.  The whole thing was infused with this sense of domination and panic, and i never got the sense from them ever that they cared at all about me personally.  Frankly, it seemed as though they only knew my name because they read it off their chart before coming in the door.  Then of course, I went into labor naturally, had a great labor with no complications (other than the nurses who kept trying to get me to lay on my back with a monitor on) and delivered a perfect 7lb 9oz baby girl.  So what was all the fricking fuss about?

Because i was brought up in a medical family, with a father who literally gave his very heart and soul to his practice and his patients, the idea of a doctor who doesn't really care for his patients is unholy to me.  If i had a doctor who i trusted to have my best interest at heart i wouldn't care so much about hospitals and tests.  But sadly those are few and far between these days, especially in urban areas.  Luckily, I found a midwife who i adore.  She is funny and kind and smart and she encourages me to listen to my instincts and my own abilities.  Because the truth is that i don't believe i am high risk, GD or not.  I feel ok about monitoring it myself and i feel good in the knowledge that my belief system is such that no matter what happens I will be ok, because i do truly believe that what happens is what is meant to happen.  Good or bad, happy or sad my karma is my karma.  I guess my pregnancy this time is about doing it my way.

love you all

happy halloween

MaryStarr

Happy Days

:)
Today has been a puke free day.....so far.....

Maigan- Yes, I did have problems getting pregnant. We've worked with an infertility specialist for 3 years. So this is a "premium" pregnancy, but really, just an amazing blessing. Unlike MaryStarr (lucky girl- you rock), I'm labeled high risk and in addidion to my regular OB, I also see the perinatal specialist. I have ultrasounds every 6 weeks or so. Because my son has a congenital heart defect, we also have to have special ultrasounds where they look at the baby's heart, so we can prepare if there is a problem.

I don't think I have gained any weight. Actually have lost some. But today I feel better. yesterday I was in the ER because I needed IV fluids and potassium supplements (my level was too low from throwing up so much).

The girls had their cheer competition last week. They are on different teams, but both teams (different age groups) placed First Place.
:)
They were so freaking cute. Ashley's team was Amazing with their stunts!!!! Riley's team was just cute.

oops

here is that picture...

sweet ulltrasound

thanks for sharing it to friend :)

Maigan your story made me giggle... we are so alike.  I get so grouchy when folks refuse to be thinking, reasonable people.  grr.  I am sure Lizzy will make the worlds most beautiful snow white, for many days after halloween as well.

Do we have to dress up?  yeesh.

Ava is going to be a woodland fairy.  At first she said a monkey.  Then she said a bird.  Finally she said a fairy and I said woohoo because that is a far easier costume to come up with.  She has these awesome fairy wings i got her at the high sierra music festival this summer, they are all green and sparkly with cool leaves and branches on them.  And i asked my friend who is a budding fashion designer to make her a fairy skirt.  She make awesome clothes out of things she buys at thrift stores, cuts up and reassembles in funky ways... like skirts out of sweatpants and jeans, and dresses out of tshirts and long underwear.  She is selling her stuff on etsy.com, and the photo here is of me modeling for her promotional stuff.  Hopefully this means ava will have an awesome costume and i will not have to do any sewing at all!

I am now ten weeks pregnant, and I decided that doing concurrent care at Kaiser permanente was redundant and annoying so I will only be seeing my homebirth midwife now and i am so happy.  This means I have to pay for my own glucose monitor test strips, which are expensive, but it also means that i will not be subjected to any more tests, vaginal exams, peeing in cups, being weighed, waiting in waiting rooms or counseling about genetic testing that i do not wish to have.  woohoo!

See, i was thinking that i would do concurrent prenatal care at Kaiser along with my prenatal care with my midwives so that I could have all the testing that was necessary covered and so that in the event of a transfer from home during delivery they would not automatically label me high risk because they would have their own records.  But then after being informed that they wanted to re-do my 3 hour glucose test every four weeks to "monitor me" and being given a "standard procedure" 8 week vaginal sonogram with no discussion of whether i wanted one or not I realized that I was denying myself the real homebirth experience.  DUH.  I am so unbelievably relieved and happy now.  Talk about a weight being lifted.

sorry to be so lame about posting lately.  am committing to being better about it.  the world is better when we are chatty in here!

xoxo

MaryStarr

Just checking in

First off congrats to Sarah! Yay!

We had our 7th annual Halloween party this last weekend and it was a blast. The only down side is that a cold has wormed its way back into our house only a week after we got over the last one! All four of us are sick with stuffy/runny noses and yucky coughs.

I'm not sure what my boys will be wearing. I have two costumes for Jaxon, one is a little devil and the other is a fluffy bear costume. I may opt for the bear one just because it looks warm and it's mighty cold over here. For Garrett he has not shown any preference but I may just dress him as a knight and call it good.

I hope everyone enjoys Halloween!

Halloween

Great U/S picture Sarah!! Now...if I remember correctly, you had some issues getting pregnant last time...did you have the same issues this time, or did it happen on its own? When are you due again?

Lizzy is getting very excited about Halloween...she is going to be Snow White. I had high hopes of making her a costume so it would be special and unique, but I am sorry to admit I didn't get it done. I ended up ordering her costume and I guess it's OK. I spent the extra money and got the "deluxe" version, but I really don't see what's so deluxe about it. She'll have fun wearing it though, so I guess that's what matters. Lizzy likes to wear a princess dress or something fancy every day, so I am sure she will get lots of use out of it. I wanted to find a dwarf costume for Allie, but they are very hard to find. I did find this very dwarfish dress at Old Navy, but when I got it home it was way too small. I took it back and they only had a 4T. I ended up leaving all pissed off because they we not willing to order it from another store for me, and I didn't want to pay shipping ($7)!!! I've never heard of such a thing. Any other store you go to will gladly either get it shipped to the store from another location free of charge or they will give you a coupon to put in online and waive the shipping costs. I may never go to Old Navy again it's got me so worked up. I ended up buying some striped tights and some felt that I will make a little dwarf hat out of. I am just going to put her in a tunic and call it good. She won't go out trick or treating anyhow, so technically it doesn't matter. I just wanted to get a picture out of the deal. I don't think I will dress up, but it will be fun to take Lizzy around.

Coming soon!!!!!

We saw the perinatologist last Monday, everything measured right on track with no visable signs of any problems.

We return in 5 weeks for a repeat ultrasound.

Good to hear from you Kri. Lots of hugs for you right now, hope things slow down for you.

Marystarr, I too want to thank you for the email about Obama.

It has been slightly more hectic around here. I took a seasonal job at a Halloween store so quite a few of my afternoons have been taken up by that.

i'm back.....

good evening ladies....
i am so sorry to have been gone for so long. first gustav happened and i worked at the hospital for five straight days (24hr shifts-those are fun). and then our power wasn't on for a few days so i wasn't near a computor for a while. then our fucking computor crashed as i was trying to set it back up !!! needless to say, i was pissed. but not as pissed as i was about to become. we finanlly decided to buy a laptop from Dell and (to make a long story short) they lost our first one and took their sweetass time to deliver the second one.
anyway, that is why i have been gone - no internet access. but i'm back now. i will read everyone's posts and write more later. i'm working five 12hr shifts a week right now so i'm not thinking straight right now. i do want to say thanks to marystarr, though, for the email. i loved that picture of barack obama. this is the first time i've ever felt inspired for a leader and i thought that photo was quite poignent. thanks girl - you rock !
all my love
kri

:)

halloween is approaching........
Riley is going to be a Chicken. She has a fantastic Chicken costume, from last year, that still fits, and she loves it.

I am doing well, as you are MaryStarr, for most of the days. Today I am 11 weeks. According to a cool website, the baby is about the size of a Lime. (now wouldn't a margarita be good.....??)
At work a couple days ago, I borrowed the doppler and could hear it's heartbeat. Can't wait to post a "real" ultrasound picture!!!!

What is everyone dressing as for Halloween?

Love to all!
sarah and Riley

8 weeks

Hi all

sorry to be MIA last week.  I was in New Hampshire visiting my family with Ava. It was fun, but loooooooong and I am glad to be home and have Ava back in school.  I am just not cut out for solo parenting a four year old 24 hours a day.  Whew!  

Today I had my 8 week sonogram, and got to see the little bean and it's heartbeat.  Still no morning sickness, really, although occasional vague nausea and very tired.  Nothing like with Ava... no puking, no fainting.  So far so good.

But I feel like the goodyear blimp.  It is all in my head, I know, but nevertheless I feel FAT and it SUCKS.  Also, was tested early for my favorite pregnancy condition Gestational Diabetes.  FAILED.  So back I am on the diet and the four time daily blood sugar testing.

more soon.  Hooray for Jennifer!  Cute pics ladies... Maigan you look gorgeous...

xoxo

MaryStarr

Fall Fun

Had a great time this weekend in the beautiful fall weather. We went to a local farm and picked pumpkins and went on a hayride...good times.

Thank you for posting the article Maigan. I will have to discuss that with Ron and ask my brother for his opinion as well (snake owner for over 2 years). I really appreciate it as it is always best to be fully informed on pet owning decisions.

Pet Warning

I stumbled upon this today when checking my email...good info about pet choices...

http://www.comcast.net/articles/news-health/20081006/MED.Exotic.Pets/

I'm baaack...

I wanted to post a quick hello with some recent pics of the boys, it's a little late I'm sick so this will be short.


I love the look he's giving my mom! So that is of course Garrett and those are my glasses. Here are some recent ones of Jaxon, now 10 months old. Yes that is blond hair you see, don't know where it came from and I only hope it lasts because he is even more adorable with light colored hair and I get what I always wanted, two boys one dark one light.

good memory, friend

I am INDEED a phish fan!  it was when i was 36 weeks pregnant with Ava that I walked 10 miles each way in and out of the "last phish show ever" in northern vermont (because the mud was so bad they closed the campgrounds and 80,000 people camped by the side of the road or in peoples yards and hiked in and out every day).

imagine my delight that they have rebanded and are planning to play in march!  Woohoo!!  

xoxo

MaryStarr

Marystarr, I read an article online today that made me think of you. If memory serves me right you are a Phish fan. http://music.msn.com/music/article.aspx/?news=333127&GT1=28102

Just wondering what everyone's political opinions are for this election. I am personally voting for Obama.

Wednesday

Here is another perfect princess moment...I was unaware of this, but apparantly fixing a motorcycle with Dad is the perfect opportunity to wear your favorite princess dress...if you get a little grease on your hands, no problem...simply wipe them on your dress and Mom will come up with a way to get the grease out!!!

Happy Wednesday ladies. I'm halfway thru my work week...hooray. I hate working. I will admit it. I am one of those people you always hear about who spends the majority of their workday watching the clock waiting for it to be time to go home. The only thing I get out of my job that is even somewhat satisfying is my paycheck. I used to like it, but so many of my responsibilities have been taken away due to centralization that I find it truly boring and an utter waste of my time to even be here. I think the only reason I stick with it is because I have been here for 5 years now and I get to work from 7-3, so I have the perfect schedule. I am sure that sounds horrible, but it's true. I dream of the day I can stay home with my kids. It may never happen, but I am holding on to the dream!!!

I am especially upset this week because two girls in my office are sick, yet they come to work. I hate that. If you are sick, stay home. At this job you start with 20 days of paid time off per year plus paid holidays...then it goes to 25...then to 30...I think that is extremely generous and allows for you to take the time off you need when sick...no such luck. I make a spectacle out of them any chance I get though and I go thru the office at least twice a day with Clorox wipes cleaning the fax machine and copier and all of the light switches and door handles...they probably hate me. I don't care. I think they're totally rude.



Amy ~ I am sure you have already researched this, but make sure the kids are really good about washing their hands after handling the gecko. Reptiles are known to carry Salmonella and you certainly don't want an outbreak of that in your house!!



Marystarr ~ Very cute picture of Ava...she looks like a little star in the making.

It's supposed to be in the high 80's here today then turn to rain tomorrow...just in time for soccer practice. I was informed by the coach that the only time they don't play is if there is lightening. I think that's crazy. Who ever heard of 4-year-olds playing soccer in a rainstorm. Plus, our season goes into the middle of November, so we are almost guaranteed snow by then. I have decided if the weather is horrible, we are staying home.

Have a wonderful day!!