Delaney Piper Frost

I'm once again way past due on this, but I needed to get it down before it starts to fade away...be prepared, it's gonna be long!

Like most pregnant women, once I hit that magical 37 week mark where they tell you it could happen anytime and start checking to see if you are dialated, I started every trick I could think of to NOT be pregnant for another 3 weeks. And when I went to my ultrasound and doctor appointment on Friday, March 19th at 37 weeks and they said I was barely 1 centimeter dialated and my baby already weighed 8 lbs 15 oz, there was no way I was waiting around another 3 weeks. Of course, the doctor wasn't interested in inducing me that very second like I asked, but he did give us a few tips to try and speed things up. So the rest of that weekend was spent doing lots of walking, eating spicy foods (Buffalo Wild Wings has worked wonders for me BOTH times now!) and a few other things I won't mention here...lol. But I think it was laughter that did it.

On Sunday evening after a long trip to the park with Brayden, I took a walk with our neighbor Heather, her dog Gracie, Brayden and my mom up to the baseball field in our neighborhood. Heather had just bought one of those sticks that a tennis ball goes in and you can fling it really far for the dog to chase and she got a mini version for Brayden to use. So we were up there getting ready to leave with me waddling along behind my mom and Brayden with Heather and I decided to give Brayden's stick a try to see how far it would go. Well, apparently my aim when throwing balls on sticks is not too great, because it whizzed right by my mom's ear, so close we could see her hair move. I thought I was dead for sure (I'm still laughing hysterically thinking about this) because I would have really knocked her out. I was only about 6 feet behind her and whipped it as hard as I could. When we realized she didn't get hit, we laughed so hard. So so so very hard I could barely stand. We laughed the whole way home and right before the house I had a really hard contraction. But only 1 big one and that was it. So I went home, spent some extra time cuddling Brayden that night. Got a long hot shower and actually emptied and repacked my hospital bags because the weather had gotten so much warmer.

Time for bed and I'm still feeling great. But I can't sleep. So I lay there tossing and turning and trying to get comfortable, which is impossible and getting up to pee every 15 minutes. Around 1:30am I roll over for the 10,000th time and feel a big pop. I run for the bathroom and yep, my water broke! Brayden was in our bed and I'm whispering for Andy to get up and let him know it's time. I go into Brayden's room and sit on a towel on the floor to call my mom and the doctor. Andy calls Mark to come over and watch Brayden. Then I head back to the toilet to sit and wait to go to the hospital. At this point I am feeling no pain and having a great time! I'm happy and excited and ready to go! Brayden starts to wake up from all the lights on and running around Andy is doing. My mom shows up and Mark comes soon after. Brayden is laying on our bed yelling in, "Mom, whatcha doin in there? You going potty?" Then he realizes my mom is here too and he's out of bed and running around. So much for being quiet and keeping him asleep. Andy gets the bags in the car and Mark shows up and it's time to go! We head to the hospital at around 2:30am with me still laughing and no pain at all!

We get to the ER and they tell me I'm the 6th one to check in that night in labor. We head up to Labor & Delivery and get all settled in our room. They check and I'm still only 1 centimeter but my water is definitely broke so there's no going home now. At around 4:00 they let me get out of bed and walk for a bit to try and get the contractions started because I'm having a few, but very light and not painful. This is such a different experience from Brayden where I was in pain for days and get to the hospital having horrible contractions! We spend an hour walking the halls and they finally start to pick up and get painful. When we go back to the room at around 5:30am they check again and I'm about 3 centimeters, which is enough to get my epidural! I spend the next 45 minutes getting pumped with fluids and waiting on the anesthesiologist. This was the only time I was in any major pain and it still doesn't compare to what I felt with Brayden. Contractions have picked up to 5 minutes apart and getting stronger. They come to give me my drugs and all is good again. I did feel more pressure with contractions this time so I knew when they were happening, but the sharp pains were gone. They roll me over on my left side and we try and nap for a while since I'm thinking this will take the rest of the day. My mom goes off to make some phone calls and get something to drink. It's about 6:30am at this point.

At around 8am, after spending my nap time facebooking and texting everyone, I start to feel some pressure. I tell the nurse and she says she will get the doctor to check me and see how things are going. I send Andy to find my mom but she shows up right then and I let them know I'm ready to push. Dr. Cirucci comes in around 8:30 to check me and I'm having a lot of pressure and I'm 10 centimeters! It's time to push! The nurses get me ready and tell me we are going to start practice pushes. They aren't sure I'm completely 10 yet and think it will be a little while. There is another woman right across the hall that is about to deliver too. I push for about 10 minutes and she is right there and ready to come! The nurses scramble to get the bed ready and find the doctor. We hear the people across the hall cheer as their baby is born and the doctor runs into our room to catch Delaney! Once the doctor was in the room, one more push and she was here! I was shocked at how fast it went! I pushed 2 1/2 hours to get Brayden out and she was here in about 15 minutes! She was born at 9:04am on Monday, March 22nd, 2010.

Right before she came out, I hear my mom say "Oh my goodness" and wonder what this is about. Well, Delaney came out with a full head of curly dark hair! That was such a shock since I was expecting her to look just like Brayden. She also came out with the cord wrapped around her neck but everything was just fine. I had very little to no tearing this time and only had 1 stitch. I was up and walking in about an hour after having her.

Also, this time I decided to give breast-feeding a try and she had a great latch and fed very well right from the start. We were moved back to our room and got settled in for the next couple days.

To Be Continued...

Brayden

I have been trying for about 2 weeks now to sit and write about Brayden. Not about what he's doing exactly, or how he has grown. But about him as my little boy. About him as the center of my world and the love of my life and how that's all going to change, but I know deep down it won't. But everytime I try, I just end up crying and don't get very far and can't seem to get the words right to express what I mean. But yesterday I had a very special moment with you that made me need to get this done. So I wrote you a letter.

Dear Brayden,

As much as I am looking forward to meeting your baby sister, I can’t help but feel a little wistful, a little sad, about all the changes that are soon to come. When I was pregnant with you, the only thing I worried about was how much delivery would hurt, how I’d take care of a newborn and how badly my sleep would be interrupted. This time around, I’m not really concerned about those things at all. The only thing I worry about is you.

For nearly the past three years, you’ve had the undivided attention of your daddy and me. You are the center of our world, confident in our love for you, and I think that’s a big reason why you are such a sweet and caring kid. Because it’s my job to worry about you, lately I have worried about the impact on you when a new baby is thrown into the mix and we simply can’t make you the sole focus anymore. I don’t want you to feel jealous, or sad, or not as important as you used to be. One piece of luck that’s on our side is that you are such a good helper, and you seem to love babies, so I hope that you will enjoy being a part of the baby’s everyday care and that you will feel important and special in your role as “big brother.”

I know that I am probably overthinking all of this, as many parents before me have done. That’s because I know that soon, our relationship is destined to change. No longer will it be “just us.” And you are so wonderful, so sweet, so loving with your words and actions, that I selfishly don’t want anything to change. On Monday's, our day to spend together just the 2 of us, I go to bed feeling so sad that this might be our last Monday together just us. But change we must. That’s the nature of life. And when I’m not being all weepy and emotional about it, I know that as our relationship grows and changes, there will always be sweet new memories to be made.

You are so lucky to be getting a sibling soon. I’m grateful that you will have someone to grow up with, to play with, and even to fight with. Someone who can commiserate with you about how crazy your parents are, someone who will hopefully always have your back. And believe me, I think your sister is extra lucky to have you as her big brother because you are already so loving and caring.

Even though I tell you all the time, I am so proud of you and the little boy you are becoming. Your daddy and I love you more than words can express. You make us proud every day, and we are so fortunate to be here with you as you grow and learn. Life wouldn’t be the same without you, and soon, we are going to feel doubly fortunate to have another child. My love for you won’t ever change… my heart will just grow to allow room for another special baby to take her place in our family.
I love you, you're my boy and I'm your Mommy.
xoxo,
Mommy

Long Overdue...

Well, I've neglected this blog for way too long. It's time for a LONG overdue pregnancy update!

I'm now 33 weeks along and quickly approaching the end! Most of you already know, but this one is a little GIRL! We are planning on naming her Delaney Piper Frost. We had ALOT more trouble deciding on a name this time, but that one seems to have stuck.

Things have been going along pretty smoothly. I was again diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes and this time it was a little worse. I failed the 1 hour test so badly that I wasn't even made to suffer thru the 3 hour, but sent straight to the doctor. Luckily, I have been able to modify my diet enough to control my sugar levels during the day, but I do have to give myself insulin shots at night before bed. I've been doing this since about 18 weeks.

Besides that, everything has been moving right along. I have not gained much weight this time, probably due to the new diet, so as of my last appointment I am only up by 8 pounds. But at that last appointment, I was caught by surprise to hear that now that I am past 32 weeks, I am considered slightly high-risk, due to the diabetes and insulin. Because of this, I now will not only be seeing the OB every week instead of every other week, but I also have to go in for weekly Non-Stress Tests. I also will get to go in for ultrasounds every 2 weeks from now on to measure the growth and make sure she doesn't get too big. I had no idea about this, so this came as a huge surprise when I had to schedule all of this. Thank goodness I have a flexible schedule and will be going in every friday morning for the next month.

Once I hit 37 weeks, they will move my appointments to the Sewickley hospital and I will probably have to go twice a week. And they have already warned me...pack my bags and bring them with me to these appointments, because if necessary, I will be going straight to the hospital if needed!

So this has put me in a bit of a panic. I guess I have been just plodding along this time, not really in any hurry to get anything done. And now it feels like it's going really fast and I'd better get my butt in gear! So this week Andy and I have started doing some major cleaning and organizing around the house. We are going to start this weekend with pulling out the carseat and swing and just finding all the baby stuff that is packed away. The nesting has begun!!

Loving Two

LOVING TWO I walk along holding your 2-year-old hand, basking in the glow of our magical relationship.Suddenly I feel a kick from within, as if to remind me that our time alone is limited.And I wonder, how could I love another child as I love you?

Then she is born, and I watch you.I watch as the pain you feel at having to share me as you have never shared me before.

I hear you telling me in your own way, "Please love only me" and I hear myself telling you in mine "I can't".Knowing in fact that I never can again.You cry, I cry with you.I almost see our baby as an intruder on the precious relationship we once shared. A relationship we can never have again.

But then, barely noticing, I find myself attached to that new being, and feeling almost guilty.I'm afraid to let you see me enjoying her -- as though I am betraying you.But then I notice your resentment change, first to curiosity, then to protectiveness, finally to genuine affection.

More days pass, and we are settling into a new routine.The memory of days with just the two of us is fading fast.But something is replacing those wonderful times we shared, just us two.There are new times -- only now we are three.I watch the love between you grow, the way you look at each other, touch each other.

I watch how she adores you, as I have for so long.I see how excited you are by each of her new accomplishments.I begin to realize that I haven't taken something from you, I've given something to you.I notice that I am no longer afraid to share my love openly with both of you.I find that my love for each of you is as different as you are, but equally strong.And my question is finally answered to my amazement.Yes, I can love another child as much as I love you, only differently.

And although I realize that you may have to share my time, I know you'll never share my love.There's enough of that for both of you -- you each have your own supply.

I love you both and I thank you both for blessing my life.

~Author Unknown~

Take A Guess!

My BIG ultrasound is coming up soon! Monday, November 9th at 10:30am we finally get a glimpse of our little one! I can not wait! So while you are waiting, please go to this site and vote for what you think! Boy or Girl??

http://www.acepolls.com/polls/1048993-baby-frost-ii---boy-or-girl

12 Week Appointment

The other day I went for my 12-week appointment at the doctor's office. Pretty amazing I'm out of the first trimester already! It's going way too fast for me. With Brayden, it seemed like it took forever and this time it just flew by. I guess it being during the summer really helped because we have been busy all the time.

Let's recap the past 12 weeks. Well, the 8-9 that I actually knew I was pregnant. Sick, tired, sick, tired, sick, tired, tired & now fat. That's pretty much how it went. Since I basically felt perfectly fine with my first pregnancy, I was tricked into thinking this one would be the same. Nope, not at all. I have every symptom possible. Haven't missed out on a single one. And I'm still waiting for it to start to go away. While it has been better the last 2 weeks, I definitely haven't been able to eat the same and I'm still waiting on the "burst of energy" to kick in.

My appointment was pretty uneventful. Got weighed (actually lost 1/2 a pound!), peed in a cup and checked my blood pressure. Everything looks good. Then we tried to hear the heartbeat. At first we had no luck and the doctor was worried I would panic I think, so she decided to try something else. I had to have an internal anyways, so after that, she must have got him/her up and moving. When she tried again, we were able to hear it right away. So everything is looking good and right on track. I don't go back for 4 more weeks. I do have to go for the glucose screening sometime soon. Not happy about that one...that drink is nasty. But since I had gestational diabetes last time, I have to test at 14 weeks and again at 26 weeks.

That's about it for now. At least on the pregnancy front. I'll post a good one with some pics of Brayden later in the week!

Big Fat Slacking Slacker...

Yep, that's me. I suck. I totally basically quit my blog for the entire summer because I'm lazy. But I'm back! Yes, I'm actually going to start up again! I feel pretty obligated to now...because I'm pregnant again! Most everyone that would read this already knows that, but I thought I'd throw it out there just in case. And since I kept a pretty decent blog during my pregnancy with Brayden, I better not start out slacking with this kid or I will never catch up. So here we go again! I know some of you will be pleased! ;)