Millie's Birth Story

For someone that doesn't have paid maternity leave, the date of delivery may be important.  

For me, it was important.  I was only taking off 6 weeks from the school year and wanted to have more time off from my summer. I tried everything possible, other than an IV of Pitocin, to go into labor starting at 37 weeks.  I was scheduled to be induced on July 29th, but I wanted to go into labor myself to try and avoid Pitocin.  On July 24th, my mom and dad went to northern Louisiana and when I knew they would definitely make it back in time, I downed some castor oil with some orange juice  It was my last ditch effort.   I was 38 weeks pregnant and enjoying my pregnancy, but I wanted Millie to be at least 8 weeks upon entering the daycare.  This was my last shot.  

It worked!  I chugged it at 10pm and arrived at the hospital at 4:30am with contractions 4-5 minutes apart.  I wanted to labor more at home, but Eric was a little unnecessarily nervous about that.  He sure didn't want to deliver a baby.  We headed to the hospital.  I was still the same as my doctor's appt, 2cm when we arrived.  

I had to stay in the observation room alone for 2 hours.  This was the time I was grateful for a phone to entertain me.  Because we had all our children with us, Eric had to stay with them in the waiting room.   We decided to keep my labor a secret only because I didn't want people to start heading our way and then get sent home.  

At my 6:30 check, I was 4 cm.  Woohoo!  We headed upstairs.  I had chosen Brittany and my mom to be present for the delivery, so I called them first.  Brittany actually got news before anyone else.  I had texted her just to see what she was doing.  She was about to go get her oil changed.  Eric and I decided we better go ahead and tell her so she wasn't stuck without a car if things progressed quickly.  I then waited for the nurse to say, "You're going upstairs," before calling my mom.  Someone wasn't too happy that we didn't call at 4:30am.

We then had a good ole time in the labor room for many hours.

Oh, I forgot to mention I didn't tell anyone that I was planning on having a natural birth.  Surprise!  

I have trouble getting my bladder to wake up after anesthesia.  I had to go home with a catheter after my last surgery.  I thought giving birth without anesthesia would better may chances of having a wide-eyed and bushy tailed bladder.  

How did I prepare for this first time, no epidural birth?

I read birth stories.  I thought about watching a two hour Bradley Method video.  I texted a friend that was a doula.  She didn't reply.  I listened to Bill Cosby's breathing technique for his wife's birth.  I messaged with a cousin that had done it.

That is it.  My dad was a little concerned that I wasn't as prepared as he expected.  

I did have a husband that told me I couldn't do it.

  I think that was preparation/motivation enough to convince me I could.  

Here we are enjoying labor.

You may not notice, but I'm bouncing on a ball. I also did squats.  After doing some squats through a contraction, Eric said, "Are you even having contractions."  I promise if he would have been closer to me, they would have had to call the doctor for him. 

Walking was helpful for me.  I also thought biting Eric on the arm was a good way to get through a contraction.  I was right.  My OB offered to get me a leather belt or bullet.

Getting into the tub was helpful as well. At 8 centimeters I jokingly said, "I bet its too late for the epidural."  No one thought I was joking considering I wasn't in a joking mood, so the nurse told Eric she had to let me know an epidural was possible because I asked. No worries.  I declined because I knew I just had to be close. I totally didn't believe the nurse when she told me I was getting close.  While pushing I didn't believe them when she said she was almost out.  I looked at Brittany and said, "Is she really almost out?" 

I'm not going to say that it was easy.  Even looking back on it,
 I still remember the pain.  I do smile thinking about the fact that I did it.  It is a great accomplishment to me.  It surely helps to push the baby out faster because you want it OUT.
As for my bladder, I did have to be cathed once, but that was it.

The doctor said, "It's a girl!"
We all cheered.  She was perfect.
Millie weighed 7lbs and 0 ounces.  That was exactly what I gained.  The doctor fussed at me for that.  He didn't say a word about it while I was pregnant.  I guess since I was so healthy and having a great pregnancy, he never thought to check my starting weight.
We called in her sisters first.  They were all happy.  Lydda did announce that she wanted a boy and could not remember her name all day, but she was still happy.

The girls announced our news to the rest of the family upon entering the room.
It was such a wonderful day.  

They were enamored and in love.

We went home on day three.

We had to return the next day for jaundice.  That was a three day stay.  

Hear no evil, See no evil. Speak no evil.

It took her a long time to get over the jaundice.

She still struggled the next two weeks.

Now we know it was because she wasn't eating enough from me to poop it out. 

Millie has a tied tongue and lip.  We are in speech therapy right not to help her suck better.

She has a laser procedure scheduled in two weeks to fix her ties.  

I am pumping like crazy.  All I want for Christmas is a successfully nursing Millie.

At three and a half months, Millie has finally hit ten pounds.
Here are some sweet pictures of our newest joy.

Evergreen

Emogene comes home from school and comes to me very concerned, "Mommy, some of the kids are calling me Evergreen.  High school boys are now doing it.  I don't know what it means, but I think it is bad."

I was a bit concerned as well.  My girls tend to not go with the flow like other students.  As Christians we are to stand apart from others and visibly be different, but it saddens me when the girls are teased for being different.  I continue to encourage them and tell them to be different.

Well, I wanted to get to the bottom of "Evergreen's" problem.  I went to the trusty Urban dictionary.  Although it did actually have a few meaning for it, none of them seemed to fit Emogene.  She wasn't carrying around lots of money or walking around with the munchies and bloodshot eyes (I checked). 

It was puzzling Eric and I, and I was getting worried that kids had an inside joke about her.

I went to another teacher at school that has a high school aged child on Emogene's volleyball team. When I asked, she started to giggle.  Uh oh!  Well, I was giggling after she explained.  

Apparently one of the high school boys that frequents the volleyball games thought we were cheering for "Evergreen."  He thought that was her name.  His friends asked him why he was calling Emogene by that name and he said, "Isn't that her name?"  They all got a giggle out of it and they are teasing him any time they call Emogene "Evergreen."  You better bet Eric and I call her that from time to time too.

Preggo Side Effects

At one of my prenatal appointments I mentioned a knot/lump I found on my boob near my underarm. I was sent to a breast specialist that day. They could feel it but couldn't see anything on an ultrasound. I went back after a few weeks to get it checked again. The boob doc was pretty sure it was extra breast tissue growing (bigger and bigger) because of my hormones.  

Let's talk about this extra boob growing out of my underarm. I've never been a big boobed person but I'm also not a small boobed person. You'd think having an extra growth of breast tissue would excite most women, but let me describe it to you. Remember It is only on one boob and almost in my armpit. Also, imagine the beautiful side boob talked about at the Oscars when those beautiful actresses have the side of their boob showing (inappropriate, I know). Now change the vision to side "make you gag" boob. Nonetheless, I was determined to wear my tank tops all summer, so basically grossing people out for the summer. It won't go away on its own and the doc can't remove it until I'm done breast feeding or I will leak milk out of my side boob forever. That would be a problem.

Well, after Millie was born, the theory of it being extra breast tissue was confirmed by the hard as a rock knot full of breast milk. Let's add two more under my other arm pit as well. It was very weird. I am super thankful that it is not something scary and that I didn't have an extra nipple to cause me to lactate out of it. That has totally happened to other people.

And that folks proves that not all pregnancies are the same. Having an extra side boob was a first for me.

Millie's Room

I had fun planning Millie's room. We waited to find out what we were having so I had to come up with things that could be for a boy or girl.

I started with these three pieces.  We had the armoire for years as an entertainment cabinet.  With the invention of flat screen tvs and us getting a much bigger tv, it was taking up space.  I tried selling it, but couldn't find any takers.  

The chair was from Eric's grandmother.  She passed away, and we went to go find things to take home to forever remind us of her, and I found the orange chair.  

I picked up the small dresser/nightstand from a junk furniture group on faceb**k.

I took off the top doors of the entertainment cabinet and made it into a changing table.  I can later add more shelves or a rod for clothing storage or other things.

  

Although it doesn't look like it, the dresser and changing table are the same color.  

I matched it as best I could to both beddings I picked for a boy and girl.

I found an incredible upholstery man in Mississippi that covered my chair for $175.  

What!!!!?  You heard that right.  All the other places were upwards of $400. 

 I could have bought a brand new chair for that price.

I had to throw in this cutie.

I don't have all of the wall art ready, but we did hang the pompoms for her mobile.  

I love it and she does too.

My happy monkey

I still need to tell her birth story. 

I'll get to it soon.

...And Then I Breastfed My Dog

You'd think after breastfeeding, quite successfully I might add, two previous children, I'd have the hang of it.  NOT!

There is a video circulating Facebook of a dog eating a bone.  While chewing on the bone, he sees his back leg approaching the bone.  He growls at his own leg and bites it because he thinks it is trying to steal his bone.  THAT is Millie.  She is in constant battle over my boob with her own hands.

Here is a nursing session at our house.
Latch #1: I pinch my boob fiercely with the "C" hold they tell you to use in all the books.  By the way, this is the first time I've ever had to do this.  She will latch on for 10 seconds and then she'll punch my boob with her own hand and pop my boob out of her mouth.  Millie then screams because "someone" took away her food.  We then start all over again.

Latch #2:  The next time, she latches quickly, sucking like a champ and then she takes her hand and puts it under her chin and pinches the fire out of her neck, starts screaming because "someone" pinched her, and we then have to start all over again.

Latch #3: I pinch my boob in the C hold, getting a bit aggressive with myself, and she latches on quickly this time.  Lydda walks up and rubs her head and says, "Hey shugah!"  Millie freaks out at this terrible disturbance and gives Lydda THE LOOK.  THE LOOK is a sideways glare of disgust that she gives us all the time.  She screams in protest.  We then need to start all over again.

Latch #4:  C hold, latch, unlatch, latch, unlatch, latch.  I start to relax because it is finally working.  She is sucking and swallowing a lot.  Millie suddenly starts to freak out again.  Something is in the way of her legs kicking.  She likes to kick her legs.  Daddy has gotten too close to her and has ruined her kicking rhythm.
Let's start again.

Latch #5:  The C hold is not working.  Lydda has given up on this boob.  She is telling me, "Mother, there is spit on this boob.  How can you expect me to eat off of that?  That is disgusting!"

We switch boobs.

Let's repeat numbers 1-5 but also throw in a couple of fingers she tries to sneak in her mouth while nursing.   Also, Lydda is about to be banished to her room along with Emogene who constantly wants to know if she is ready to burp.  They know complete silence is needed for Millie's concentration and they are refusing to comply.

Before I know it, 2 hours have gone by.

So, now you know what led me to breastfeed my dog.  You might think my pure exhaustion during the night caused me to accidentally grab the dog instead of Millie.  I think the fact that he would latch on better would make me realize I had the wrong creature.  That soooo didn't happen.

I was sitting on the couch.  I was trying to get her to latch on either boob.  We were on try number 10 or 100.  My head was focused on one side coaxing her, begging her to latch and STAY latched.  My dog, Shadow, took it upon himself to give Millie a tutorial.  He ran up and licked my other nipple TWICE.  Hey, maybe it helped.  She has gotten much better.

It's a Girl!!!!

Introducing Millie Tess!

7lbs 0oz

20.5 inches long

We were all overjoyed to welcome another daughter.  

She is beautiful and so loved.

Her sisters are baby hogs and don't like me to get a chance to hold her, but school starts next week and I will have her all to myself.

 Millie loves to suck on her fingers.

We introduced the pacifier quickly.

 Bright eyed in the middle of the night

 Lydda loves her!

Don't say she looks like Lydda though.  Lydda doesn't like that at all.

 Hattie was the first sister to change her diaper.  She has done it many times.

 Sleeping Beauty

 Going home for the first time

Millie was readmitted the next day for jaundice.  We had to stay 3 more days.

 Emogene is a little mama.

She loves to burp her.

 They were so happy!

 Mommy loving

Hear no evil, see not evil, speak no evil

Millie was all ready to go back under the billi lights.

This was such a hard time. Not being able to hold her was breaking my heart. 

 Lots of tears from both of us.

I'll blog later about her delivery.  I did it without an epidural, 

and I want to blog about it while it is fresh in my mind.

What is going on this week?

This has been one busy weekend.  My parents and I headed on a road trip on Saturday to bring 6 youngsters to church camp in Northern Mississippi.  They were all very excited to go.  We stopped halfway and stayed in a hotel.  It was a great deal I found online.  We got there early so the kids could swim all evening.  Well, the pool was green and closed.  Bummer!  Some insane people risked it and swam anyway.  Gross!  Hattie very dramatically told me, "They're gonna DIE!"  She said Paw Paw told her that.  He denied it.  

We got up early Sunday morning, went to church, and then got on the road to continue to camp.

We spent a couple hours more than planned at the camp because of an insane thunderstorm.  We finally got all the kids in their cabins and said our goodbyes.  My parents and I headed out for the drive home.  

We got home at 10:30 that night.  I was tuckered out and feeling yucky from a summer cold that hit me the day before.  My ankles and feet were rebelling from sitting in a car for so long.  Eric was shocked at the size of them.  I collapsed in bed and got up bright and early on Monday to take Lydda three hours away to meet her Aunt Kristi.  Lydda was very excited to get to spend the week with her cousin Emersyn.  My mom, Collins, and I then drove back home.  I stopped for a pedicure before going home to hopefully help the fluid continuing to collect in my feet.  It didn't really help.  I decided I was going to prop my feet up when I got home and do nothing the rest of the night.  That didn't go as planned.

An hour after arriving home, I got a phone call from the nurse at church camp. Hattie was coughing a lot, running a fever, and had a 25 minute nosebleed.  She wasn't feeling good at all, but did not want me to come and get her.  She had been excited about camp for a year and had packed 2 weeks early.  We knew that she would just get worse if she stayed.  The heat was doing a number on her and bringing her home was what was best.  Eric and I jumped in the car and drove 3 hours to pick her up.  One of the counselors was very nice and drove to meet us so we didn't have to drive 6 hours.  We got home in the wee hours of the morning.  I was glad to have my baby girl in my arms safe and sound.  She is laying next to me resting.  I have a couple of fun things planned for the rest of the week for us to do together.  She is getting lots of extra loving and attention from us.  

 Here is my resting baby.

She is heartbroken and crying a lot.  

She keeps checking the time and letting me know what Emogene is doing at camp.

I did cry quite a lot on my way to pick her up because I knew how upset she would be.

I thought I would be spending a week alone with my baby belly puttering around the house.

Now I have Hattie to keep me company.  34 weeks pregnant and feeling great, except for the summer cold.  I'm working on getting the swelling down now that I won't be driving around so much.

We have been working hard to get everything ready for the baby.  We got new carpet installed last week.  This was super exciting because it meant I could start fixing up Bean's room.  The furniture is situated.  We sent off a rocking chair to be reupholstered.  That will be the final piece. 

We have the baby bed put together and the mini crib almost put together in my room.  Eric and I had a big laugh. He had put together the mini crib while I was driving to Jackson.  He texted me a picture of it and asked if I noticed anything.  We now call it the mini-cage.

The bottom of it was not in the box.  We are going to start training the baby early for the UFC championship.  Ha!  Eric has been emailing the company back and forth trying to get the right parts for it.  They will get it straightened out and send them soon.  It looks very cute next to my bed.  Only a few weeks left to go.  Oh!  I am up to 7 pounds gained.  If this fluid stays with me, I'll have lots more pounds gained for my appointment next week.

Lunatics!

It must have been obvious that these flatlanders were enamored by the hill at the park.