Breastfeeding Status and car problems
Oct 04Well I’m finding time to blog thanks to being at my mother’s house for the night but not by choice. Gracie has been doing very well after the initial coming home adjustment. Breast feeding ended up being incredibly stressful, painful, and by Friday morning I was on the verge of snapping. She wasn’t latching correctly and as a result it hurt so bad. When she DID get latched she’d often lose it due to falling asleep and then she wasn’t getting full enough which led to her screaming with no consolation. Friday morning I dropped her off at Randy’s moms with a can of formula and went home. We slept and I felt defeated but I needed to do what was best for my mental status. I picked her up Friday night and we went to my grandma’s where my mom watched her while I bought a breast pump and then we went home to try again. I kept her on formula for the night and pumped. Saturday morning she had her last bottle of formula and I’ve been pumping every 3-4 hours to feed her and it is working out MUCH better. She’s actually sleeping and generally a much happier baby. My goal is to exclusively pump. We’ll see how it works. She got to spend a lot of time with daddy this weekend. He’s doing very well with her.
On the bad news front, on the way from taking my brother somewhere my car decided to buck at a stoplight. I immediately knew it was my transmission so i pulled into the gas station and it’s pissing fluid out. The damn gas station had no fluid but thankfully I had about half a gallon in my trunk. I had to find a water bottle inside to use to squirt it in b/c the transmission fluid resivour is WAY down and the funnel ended up being buried under the spare tire and I wasn’t aware Randy moved it so I assumed we didn’t have one. I put it in and hauled ass the 7 miles to my house to get Randy. He and I bought MORE fluid, packed up Gracie enough to stay a night or two at my mom’s in case we got stranded, and I grabbed a few other necessities and we made the 20 mile trip here. He discovered the part is the tranmission seal which is only $9.99 BUT he has to separate the motor and tranny to fix it which is a VERY long process. So I’m at mom’s b/c I don’t like the idea of being alone w/o a vehicle. My mom’s truck is also broke down so it’s a lovely day I tell you. Randy got his sister to give him a ride to work and Corey is bringing him home. I’m exhausted and thankfully my mom is here to assist a bit but Miss Gracie has been sleeping a LOT since being fed BM through a bottle. It’s one of the best choices I’ve made.
Gracie Lynn Beverly Rumble born at 9:10pm on 9/28/2009
Oct 01As the title says, Gracie Lynn Beverly Rumble was born at 9:10pm on 9/28/2009. We’ll see how typing this up goes. Pic heavy.
Today is the day
Sep 28Well since the date is officially September 28th, today is the day that Gracie is going to be born. At 7am I will be at the hospital for the induction. For all I know though I could’ve progressed since Thursday. I’ve definitely felt a lot more cramping and such since then but I’m not sure what to think about it since I’ve never been pregnant before. I had really bad lower back pain yesterday and right now she’s moving like crazy. At this point though, I want her to hold out a few more hours. I’m picking up Randy at 6 and from there we’re going right to the hospital.
Her name is going to be Gracie Lynn Beverly Rumble. The Beverly has been added in due to wanting to recognize my grandmother. As much as I don’t want to admit it, she doesn’t have much time left and this is one way to pay tribute to her I think. My family likes it and Randy is definitely on board with the idea.
We had a good day today visiting with my family. We brought Colby out because mom is watching him while we’re at the hospital. I miss him terribly already. I went to take Randy to work and he went to call Colby. We both concluded we would be lost without him. Then we had mom take a pic on her cell and send it to us. My big baby boy. This house is so lonely at night without him. We decided to go to Applebee’s for dinner since we didn’t have to worry about Colby being home alone and used our gift card to have our last meal as a couple without Gracie being introduced to the world yet. It was quite yummy and I have leftovers in the fridge.
Since I’ve been home I managed to slide the dresser out of the way to sweep/swiffer/mop the bedroom and tackle the rest of it since Colby’s hair loves to collect, put all the dishes that were clean away and wash the dirty ones, wash and hang up a load of laundry, and tidy up any things out of place. I don’t want to come home to a mess. I’m doing ChaCha and almost 2 days ahead to compensate for not being able to while I’m at the hospital. Then I need to hop in the shower and catch a few zzzzz’s since I’m leaving at 5:30.
I’m nervous. I’m excited. I’m scared. I can’t wait!
Newfound love for cleaning
Sep 18I’ve been very into cleaning lately and I’m not sure whether it’s a nesting thing or it’s because this apartment is mine. At my mother’s house I dreaded it but I went shopping today and bought boring stuff like carpet deodorizer, a swiffer, air fresheners, sponges, and a few other household items and I think I get entirely too excited about purchasing them. I got the swiffer wet cloths that have febreeze in them but soon discovered that the dry ones do work better than I predicted for catching hair so I’ll have to pick some of them up too. I also got a downy ball so I can stop having to watch for the rinse cycle in my washer to add the softener. It may also be because we have pretty defined roles between Randy and I.
The kitchen is my territory. He does not touch my cleaning products or attempt to clean the dishes or do the laundry. I’m set in my ways and if things get out of sorts it annoys me. He also doesn’t vacuum in the house. His area of expertise is cleaning up after Colby outside (pooper scooper anyone?), tools, the car (which he vacuumed this morning in preparation for installing the carseat. I had hair galore from Colby in there) , and of course doing that whole work outside the home thing. I’m a creature of habit and minor changes throw off my whole day. I also do most of the cooking although he does know how. I just like the traditional roles I guess. I also feel that I should be doing the majority of the work at home since I’m choosing to be a stay at home mother while he takes on 10-12 hour shifts 6 days a week.
How do you and your significant other delegate responsibilities in and out of the home? How do you feel about it?
39 weeks and 1 day. Dum dum dum
Sep 14Well today was *hopefully* my last doctor appointment. Knowing my luck, Gracie is going to make us wait until after the due date though. The appointment went the same as always. I’ve lost 2 lbs and my BP is excellent. If I don’t go into labor before Monday’s appointment then on Monday he’s going to see if I’m dilated at all but he doesn’t want to rush things if my body isn’t ready which I am SO grateful for. I don’t want an induction. I’m also on orders to keep off my feet as much as possible due to the constant pain and swelling in my left foot which is unexplainable. I think I might end up in labor before then or so I’m hoping that these random feelings of twinges in my vagina (TMI yes), back pain, cramps, and the omg I have to pee every 20-30 minutes instead of every hour aren’t just psychological. I’ve definitely noticed it’s a bit tighter to drive with my belly being so rounded out.
Randy’s working overtime tonight which isn’t surprising to me in the least. He likes money. I like the attitude he’s got about working to support myself and Gracie. I see FAR too many relationships built with lazy men mooching off of their women just because they can like Randy’s cousin. She worked until 3 days before her due date. There is NOTHING wrong with women working or both working but her boyfriend should have been working to help instead of lounging around while she supported both of them. It’s ridiculous. Randy and I are on the same page when it comes to me working. He wants me to stay at home with Gracie and he works to support us financially. I help out a bit with ChaCha and I do the majority of the housework. It’s equal to us as a trade off. I just hate seeing girls who do ALL of it such as Randy’s sister, cousin, and a few other people that we know personally. Ah well though. All I can do is live my life and appreciate that I have a good man who is on the same page when it comes to goals and ideals.
With that being said, I’m going to go try to earn the last few dollars on ChaCha before midnight’s monthly payoff cutoff and then organize some more baby clothes/do the dishes. I might decide to put some clothes on as well considering I’m sitting wrapped in a towel right now. There are some perks to being completely alone in the house. ^_^
Baby shower turnout
Sep 14Well today was the baby shower and it went very well. Randy’s mom did the organizing along with his sister Heather. The food was good, family on both sides were there, and it was overall a great time. Both of our families have been so supportive and helpful with everything related to Gracie and I appreciate it more than any of them know I think. I got a ton of clothes, bath items, a bath tub, a bassinet, a boppy pillow, a crib (have to pick up from my aunt), a scrapbook, a dresser from my mom, and a personalized changing table from Randy’s dad that has Gracie’s name carved into it and the wood re-finished. It was my big surprise gift that I wasn’t allowed to know about or see until I got home because Randy and his dad dropped it off for me. I was so surprised and I LOVE it. I apologize for the poor quality pictures but I took them with my phone and am too lazy to get my camera and then upload/resize blah blah. So here is the bassinet and changing table.
I may be forgetting a few gifts since I’m so tired and overwhelmed by all the stuff I have to organize/put away but everything will get put to use. We also got an antennae because Randy and I are too cheap to pay for satellite/cable and I like my locals. (Football anyone?) Right now I’m doing some ChaCha while curled up with Colby trying to earn the last few dollars before the payoff cutoff at midnight tomorrow. We use that for rent and make up the difference with Randy’s income. This month I slacked due to the wedding and overall feeling like poo but I’ve made about 70% which is a lot better than 0 we both agree.
