Is this thing on?

It's been forever since I've been around here! Life has just been busy as ever between full time school, a one year old and a four year old! Let's start with school. I'm entering into what should hopefully be my last semester of prerequisites before applying to the dental hygiene program which will be a couple years away still since there is a wait list. It feels good seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Mark is four now and started pre-k at a local elementary school this year. It's hard to believe how fast he is growing up! Kelsey is a little over one now and such a feisty sassy little thing I swear! I dread the teen years lol. She gives so much love freely and is much more snuggly than Mark ever was though. Baby 3.0 is in the works as we speak! Yes you read that correctly, I'm somewhere between 4 and 5 weeks pregnant. We weren't preventing but not trying so imagine our surprise first cycle post-partum thanks to Kelsey breastfeeding so long we ended up with a BFP. I'm cautiously and optimistically happy about this baby and can't wait until we are able to get our first peek at him or her and hopefully to see a strong beating heart.

Thankful...

Around this time of the year we all start to think and realize what all we are thankful for. This thanksgiving is a special and unique day for us, it will be one year exactly since that beautiful word popped up on that test(and the two pink lines on the other one) and we got on that rollercoaster ride that resulted in our beautiful sweet daughter. I will always be thankful for both of my rainbow babies, they are daily reminders that when hope seems so dim truly beautiful things can happen. 

Life can change so much in just a year <3

Kelsey's Birth Story!!!

Wow it's been almost two months since I've been here! Life couldn't be better as a family of four, Mark adores Kelsey and the feeling is mutual. I need to type up her birth story so I can remember all the details, it was a fast and furious birth which was a little surprising considering how little progress I checked in with. Here we go... So I checked into the hospital around 4am to get the induction started, the monitors showed I was having contractions but they weren't strong or showing a consistent pattern. I want to make a note here that it was the same room that I delivered Mark in which I had secretly hoped for. They checked me around five before starting the pitocin and I was only 2cm and 70% and she was still hanging out pretty high. Once they started the pitocin the contractions picked up and they were harder this time around, I was given the go ahead for an epi but I wanted to labor as much as I could on my own. Around 8 the nurse checked me again and at this point I was 3-4 cm and 90%, the nurse "helped" stretch my cervix during this check and dear lord that hurt! Around 8:30 dr came and broke my water and at this point we discovered I had excess amniotic fluid which is most likely why Kelsey wouldn't drop and engage. By 9:30 I had my epidural in place because contractions were getting intense. Around 10:30 they checked and I was at 5, I was also feeling nauseous which I threw up during labor with Mark so I asked for zofran to help manage it. Around 12:30 the pain was picking up despite having an epi so I asked to be checked and I was only at 6. At 1:00 the pain really became intense so I asked the nurse to check and to our surprise I was at 8cm. Then 15 minutes later the pressure was intense and my epidural was doing nothing once again, the nurse checked and I was 10 and ready to push!! We did a couple practice pushes but since Kelsey was right there I needed to stop until the dr got there. Within minutes the dr was there and ready to deliver my daughter, it only took two contractions and pushing for 4 minutes and Kelsey was here and I barely ripped this time! It seemed crazy and fast at the time bc we went from sending texts that I was at 8 and progressing quickly to Kelsey is here in 30 minutes! They think I may just progress too quickly at the end for the epi to be super effective since it failed both times once I start to transition and that apparently 6cm is my magic number for things to shift into gear. She had jaundice as well, actually worse but luckily we were able to take her home with a biliblanket and skip a hospital stay :)

Still here...

And still pregnant. Who would have thought after pre-term contractions and constant contractions for the past 2 weeks that I would be sitting here with an inside baby still. Kelsey is just too comfortable in there and despite my contractions my dilation isn't progressing as well as it did with Mark and she won't drop or engage. There is an end in sight though, I'm currently scheduled for an induction at 4am on Monday morning and I'm really hoping L&D isn't super busy so we can get started on time. This pregnancy has been harder in many ways and I'm totally expecting labor to be harder. With M I dilated to 4cm without feeling contractions and even hooked up to pitocin my contractions weren't bad, this time the contractions are uncomfortable and sometimes almost painful and I'm barely 1.5cm dilated and 60-70% effaced. I probably won't update until sometime next week but I just can't wait to meet our little girl and see her with Jason and Mark :)

31 weeks!

I still can't believe how fast this pregnancy has went, yesterday I made the rest of my appointments and I only have 6 more left! Passed my three hour glucose but at yesterday's appt there is still trace amount of protein in my urine and my BP was up so we are definitely keeping an eye on that and hoping it doesn't get worse. Kelsey seems to be doing well though and in 1.5 weeks we get to see her again during my growth u/s. Here is a fun comparison pic of me pregnant with Mark(on the left) and with Kelsey(on the right), she is just as high as she looks in the pic and loves hanging out near my ribs.

Still here!

Just so so exhausted these days and a toddler who is on the move 24/7(not really but it sure feels like it!) doesn't help. Had an appt last monday to check on Kelsey who is still cooking away in there. Bad news is I failed my GD test so I have to take the 3 hour on wednesday, Good news is the previa has cleared up and even after the contractions my cervix is nice, long and staying closed. It was neat seeing Kelsey again since we never saw Mark after his anatomy scan at 18.5 weeks, she is still a girl lol and she looks perfectly healthy and was weighing 2.5 pounds(27 weeks 2 days). My appts are already every two weeks for the next 4 and then we switch to weekly, I can't believe how soon I will be holding my baby girl. I'm still in a fog about all of it and it still really hits me some days that this is really happening and that we will be bringing home a baby, I know my losses have a lot to do with this.

Another milestone...

Last night I had the unfortunate first L&D visit quite a few weeks earlier then I hoped for. I started having some pretty strong cramping and was super nauseous so I went in for monitoring, the Dr said it was probably nothing but better to be safe. Once admitted and hooked up to monitors they saw I was having small weak contractions but nothing really frequent thank goodness! I had a few tests ran to rule out infection and dehydration, which all came back normal and fine. Luckily the contractions fizzled out on their own and I was discharged with an irritable uterus and orders to take it easy. Hopefully no more contractions for several weeks and Kelsey stops getting anxious to meet us!