Virtual Baby Shower

Over at Gunning It, Margie is throwing a virtual baby shower! She is expecting her second child! How exciting!

For Game #4, I am going to share my birth story! Yay! More nostalgia! (I've been feeling very nostalgic about pregnancy lately!)
I wrote this shortly after Anna was born on my first blog, on Myspace of course. ;)

Anna D___ P______
November 19, 2006
8:10 p.m.
7lbs 11oz
19 inches long

(Sorry if this seems short, I'm exhausted.) I went in to be induced on Sunday morning 5am. The doctor checked me and I was already 3cm dilated and 80% efffaced, so they broke my water to see if that alone would stimulate contractions, but it didn't. They gave me pitocin at like 8 am-ish. It really wasn't bad at all at first. They checked me, I was still very comfortable and when they checked me I was 4cm and 100% effaced. I actually remember thinking how "easy" it was at this point and the nursing staff was impressed that I wasn't begging for the epidural yet. I asked for one some time later when I was like 6 cm but only because it would take 20 minutes to kick in and I wanted it to work once I was fully dilated. Well, I got the epidural and the first dose did not work at all, I wasn't concerned at this point... then I got the second dose and I was able to sleep a little because it dulled the pain enough... THEN I woke up in terrible pain not 1 hour after the second dose. They gave me a third dose of the epidural and it STILL wasn't working. I was numb from the knees down and my butt was numb (gee, if I were giving birth through my toes it would have been very nice!) The anesthesiologist said that the epidural is equal to ones' height and by then they had given me the dose of a 6 foot 2 inch person! Unfortunately, Anna was also posterior, so I had the worst back labor as well. At last I was checked and I was 9 cm, then they checked me a half an hour later and I was +2. They asked me if I wanted to start pushing and I said YES! I was in so much pain, I just wanted it to end! So I pushed for an hour and I was so exhausted from hunger (I had only had a bowl of cereal at 5am that morning and by then it was 7. I pushed so hard for so long and it hurt so bad that I kept throwing up. The contractions were coming one after another. Finally my OBGYN came in and he said that he would try to use the vacuum to pull her out and if it didn't work I'd need a C-Section. Anna was stuck in the birth canal because of her posterior position and because I was too exhausted to push very hard or very consistently. I was so tired that I couldn't keep my eyes open and I was even resting during contractions. So, finally the doctor put on the pump and I pushed as hard as I could and some time during this the doctor gave me a "generous" episiotomy--I didn't even notice! The vacuum released which made my body pop back, then the doctor put it back on and pulled her out. I didn't even know that she was born until she was put on my stomach. I kept my eyes closed for most of the labor (I was too exhausted to keep them open...) She was screaming and everything and she is so cute. The only thing that hurts is the episiotomy. It was pretty big, too. I asked the doctor how many stitches I had and he said, "We're up to six so far." and he wasn't even close to being done yet!

Anyhow, I'm in a ton of pain and the Perkoset only helps a little with the pain, but Anna makes it all worth it! She is so beautiful! She has dark black hair and a poor scabby red mark from when the vacuum popped off. She's just adorable! It was all worth it. I'll just try not to relive that delivery, though!

Anna is a great little breastfeeder, too! She caught on right away and the nurses said that babies who have traumatic deliveries usually don't feed very well, but she caught on right away. I was able to try to feed her just an hour or two after she delivered.

For Pregnancy Photos, Please See THIS POST And THIS POST. Thank you!


EDIT: Here are my answers to the baby shower games:
My answers:
Game 1: 177 jellybeans
Game 2: http://mymommyology.blogspot.com/2008/04/wordless-wednesday-pregnancy.html
Game 3: 112 diapers
Game 4 URL: http://mymommyology.blogspot.com/2008/04/virtual-baby-shower.html

Top 5 Prizes:

8, Hanes
2, Blessed Mom
4, Chesapeake Ribbons
20,Sweet Pea Cakes, etc.
6, Cushie Pillow

Money Saving Blogs

Like I said before, I love deals... well I actually said I ♥ deals... but anyhow, I want to share a few of my favorite money saving blogs.
The first one is actually what got me into blogging really. I first came across Baby Cheapskate in search of diaper deals. And boy, howdy, did I find them!!! Once I got six packs of Luvs diapers for around $2.00 per pack of 53! It was awesome. I love saving money! http://babycheapskate.com/ lists everything from coupons, to freebies, to giveaways, to awesome sales! Even diaper reviews with cents-per-diaper breakdown! Oh how do I love this site!!!

The second site I just came across today. It's called Mimi's Jewel Box of Tips and Treasures (that's quite a mouthful!!!) So far, I see lots of freebies on this site and lots of deals. I think I'll be keeping this baby bookmarked!

The third one is Absurdly Cool Freebie Finder. This website lists freebies from all kinds of sites. I've signed up for lots of things on this site and so far I've only gotten a few things.... but I think that's more due to the individual sites and their volume of interest. I have gotten a cute little swaddling blanket, some free samples... such as razors... and coupons, which are always nice. :)

The final site I want to share with everyone is A Full Cup. This site is a little hard to navigate until you get a hold of it. You just click on Forums in the upper left corner to find a list of individual stores. In each store, there is a forum and people post about deals they have found at their stores. I have found that the Target part of the forum is very well used and a lot of people like to post their finds at their local Targets. People at AFC are awesomely crazy when it comes to combining sales and coupons! Thanks to tips here I've bought things like two packs of Huggies wipes for 49 cents! They also list coupons at the Target Coupon Generator part of the site. And there is a list of other sites which offer printable coupons. I love this site. It's one of my favorite deal sites! :)

You know... I thought I had thought of them all, but I completely forgot about Craig's List! This is another great site that I'm sure you're all familiar with! I love finding things for Anna at great discounts. I have found a pair of pretty new shoes, worn once at a wedding, for 4 dollars... originally 19.99 at our local Fred Meyer. I also bought Anna's toddler bed for $10.00 from a nice older grandfatherly gentlemen who kept the bed for his grandchild who is now too big for it when he/she visits. I also found 15 cloth diapers for 30 dollars, but unfortunately I didn't get them... someone beat me to them! Wah! LOL! (I'm a wanna be CD'er) ;)

Wordless Wednesday: Pregnancy

photos deleted by author

I wanted to share photos that my husband took of me at 38 weeks pregnant.