Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Our Crazy Day - telling the tale of the tires and train wreck of a day

So, a mere 13 months after my last post, I thought I would tell the tale of our day.....
After a pleasant day of perfect temperatures, 3:30 PM became my crunch time because of so many activities sandwiched into such a small period of time.   I thought about taking 10 seconds to look for my cell, but talked myself out of it thinking "I will only be gone about 5 minutes...no need."

I took the now 13 month-old and cute as EVER Brayden and 4 year old Kylie with me in tow to pick up 9 year old Brooke and  6 year old Tyler from school.  Now, this is only my 2nd time EVER picking any kids up from school!  But Brooke had to get in costume and dropped off at a friend's house for car-pooling for a singing/dancing performance where she had TWO SOLOS :)

On the way to the school I look to see my gas tank was VERY much on empty.  As I look up at the computerized car updates, I noticed that there is an alert "LOW TIRE PRESSURE" - I think to myself - OK, we will have to fill those tires up a little.  However, as we pulled down the road to the school I hear a very odd low timbre sound against the road right as I see Brooke and Tyler waving to me enthusiastically in front of the school.  And I knew.  My tire is flat!

Panicked slightly, I take all 4 kids into the tiny school office and dejectly asked to use their phone and I silently chided myself for not taking those 10 extra seconds to quickly hunt my phone down.  Luckily Brian's parents were at our house that day, which was really a first for them to stay at our house overnight for an extended visit.  I called...no answer.  I knew they would not pick up unless I was persistant and annoying, trying to send the "urgent" tone.  SUCCESS!!  On the 4th time, they answered and sent my wonderful father in law to help!  I felt relief.

After he arrived and had been working 30 minutes trying to get the spare tire to descent from underneath the car.  It was loose but would not budge.  He tried getting the spare tire off of HIS minivan - SAME PROBLEM!!

 As he labors on, I took the now whining kids home in the in-laws van to get Brooke quickly changed into her costume and hair done to success.  She was dropped off...but  we see she is MISSING HALF OF HER COSTUME which the costume people had NOT included - the LEGGINGS to her dress!  But I couldn't think about that now. 

I drove back to meet my father in law, now the lone care in the parking lot, no progess on the stubborn spare tire.  I gave him a troubleshooting guide along with a hammer and screwdriver, as suggested, with NO LUCK.  Tyler by this time, all dressed up and ready to go, missed his baseball game.

Brian of course is in the middle of setting up for a cat dissection final the next day for Anatomy and cannot be reached in any way.  Finally at this point I got a hold of him, only for the call to drop.  WE SPENT THE NEXT 10 MINUTES CALLING EACH OTHER AT EXACTLY THE SAME TIME and got very strange results but never EACH OTHER on the call!!  AHHHHH!

Finally, after connecting, he was on his way to go look at the car. Back at home, all changed and ready to go to my class I teach LOCATED ONE HOUR AWAY, I heard the garage door and went to meet him with a hopeful expression.

" NO LUCK ON THE TIRE," he said....and then I saw it.  A look of puzzlement, frustration, and disbelief...


"SOMETHING HAPPENED TO THE CAR"....I couldn't breathe...

I freaked out internally and calmly asked, "What do you mean?"

He said quizzically, "I was going over a bump right before our subdivision and something happened...there is a weird cranking and grinding noise...I don't think you should drive it to your class tonite." 

My heart dropped - I had only 10 minutes before I had to leave.  I am the ONLY one who can teach, and I am LOCKED IN to teaching it.  Luckily Mark and Allison said, "No problem, just go to our house and get the keys to borrow our car,"

 Brian was on the phone with them and said, "Great!  Thanks!  .....Just one problem, we CANT ACTUALLY DRIVE THE CAR...can you pick Bonnie up?" 

Ironically they were driving very close and were able to pick me up, to take me to another car to drive.  On the verge of tears, but very grateful, I found myself driving their car to my distant class...as I called my mom a little bent out of place.

I get back home after 10, I came home to the SILVER LININGS.  I find that Brian's parent had gone to Brooke's performance and got her two solos on film, which was great.  I was told one of our friends had gone out to the minivan and found a partially broken-off release mechanism for the spare tire ABOVE the spare tire, where you have to reach around the tire in a weird way and release it.  Why don't they tell you THAT in the owners MANUAL!!!????

So the donut was on the minivan!!!  All looked a little brighter.  I just couldn't believe that our cars had been great and never broken down, and BOTH are rendered INCAPACITATED within 90 minutes of each other?!  WHAT ARE THE ODDS!!!

However,  with our many rescuers and many events that made our landing of this situation easier, there were so many tender mercies.  NOW, almost $1200 later POORER, we have NEW TIRES and a fixed axles and something else eluding me for the car.

WHAT A DAY!!!  I counted down the minutes to midnight and we MADE IT!

Monday, April 25, 2011

Natural Labor and Birth Story - not pretty - read at your own risk!!

So for "FUN" I am posting this!  I love to read other people labor and birth stories.  No two are alike and its always interesting to hear how babies come into the world.  Read only if you have a strong stomach for this kind of thing though - this one was not pretty - it was kind of horrible actually.  But in retrospect I feel stronger for going through it:


So the day of April 5th seemed like it could be the day – I was 3 days overdue and very tired of being pregnant.  I had contractions all day, which was new – they usually had come at night and made me think the baby was getting ready to come at night…hence my 3 calls 3 different nights to the midwives and my doula letting them know we were heading to the hospital, only to have the contractions die out quickly after the call…and call them back saying Nevermind…only to have sleep robbed from me for a couple more hours.

But Aug 5th was different – when we went on a walk I had to actually stop for the contractions – a good sign.  However, I would have to stimulate the contractions for them to keep going, as my midwife had suggested.  We had tried everything else – acupuncture, walks, evening primrose oil and lots more – everything we had been told.  So finally about 7 I called the midwives and told them contractions were pretty painful – about 3 to 10 minutes apart – what should I do?  I felt like my ability to decipher the situation was not quite up to par based on 3 false alarms the past week or so.  Karen, the midwife on call, had us come in for an eval to the triage room.   I was humming simple songs through the contractions – really just one…”High on a mountain top” and it seemed like a good distraction at the time – much nicer for myself to listen to than noises.   

At the triage room they monitored the contractions – there were some good ones – about 8 minutes apart.  So Karen said – lets have you stay and do manual nipple stimulation, which DID get the contractions going.  I called the doula not sure if she should come since my 5 cm to 10 cm is usually pretty quick and I was already at a 5.  I oscillated back and forth – she already had a sitter at the house so I told her to come.  I am SOOOOO glad I did.  Boy was I wrong in how things would play out.

I progressed about 1 cm every 45 minutes or so – so I was an 8 at 11:45…however , the head was still at a very high station  of -3 to -4 even, sometimes -2.  It bobbed up and down.  So instead of breaking the water, fearing the head could collapse onto the cored, not good, we decided to wait.  

The nurse and the midwife seemed amazed I could squat when laboring and pop back up so easily when the contraction abated.  They also were amazed that between contractions I was my normal self – laughing and joking. I joked it was “Bipolar laboring.” Although my contractions were getting harder and “High on a Mountain Top” was disappearing.  It became low groans instead.

Sarah, the doula was great.  It was my first experience with a doula – she would massage my hands with great smelling oil, suggest different positions – especially when I was tensing, she would tell me to relax my shoulders or my face, which was very helpful.  She would tell me I was brave and doing a good job.  She made sure the lights were down and she was always making sure I was drinking water.  And I really think she kept Brian awake – he was ready to crash at 10 – but she kept him going.  The nurse also made sure he had food and water – he had also been going all day with soccer games, working on the basement, AND he had not dinner.  Not good for a coach of an arduous labor.

At 1:30 I was 90 to 100% effaced and almost complete – 9 ½ with a little lip.  Things were painful by that point and I was thinking we were almost done.  My mistake! I still hadn’t gotten in the tub that had been filled up for my planned water birth, since they wanted to monitor the baby and give me the antibiotics, given thatI was Strep B positive.  I had been walking around, on the birthing ball, standing, squatting with Brian holding me up during the contraction – which was all great.  It was just this last part that was weird.  The head would NOT come down.  

So from 1:45 to 4:30 I was trying to figure out what the heck was going on.  At 1:45 Karen was going to break the bag of waters and guide him down.  Just was she was about to do this, My bag broke on its own, which was cool.  Then I thought it’d be a quick birth after that, but dog gone it – he was still at like -2 or -1 station, rather than the +2 station we wanted!!  What was going on!?!?!?!?

Then all of a sudden, Karen had to leave in the middle of all this because another girl who was overdue came in at an 8 and her water broke while sitting on the toilet and her baby was born in 25 minutes.  So during this time I was 9 ½ knowing I couldn’t materialize on any of the contractions because Karen was gone and we had to wait.  To tell someone with things to numb them  they have to wait awhile is one thing, but to  tell that to someone so close to the end and with super super horrendous contractions going natural is totally another situation!  I felt like I was fraying at the edges always wondering when Karen was coming back.  Meanwhile they had me go from every position you could think of – from hands and knees, to squatting, to on the birth stool, to side lying to the other side lying – trying to get the baby’s heart rate to like it and head to fit and try to switch him to the right position to come down.

Karen did come back in 25 minutes and I was grateful another doc was doing the “repair job” on the other lady.

Then another unforeseen curiosity…My contractions started slowing down of all things!  I felt like I was getting more and more of a break – very odd.  I even fell asleep a couple of times between contractions – getting a 4 minute respite in between.  This actually was worrysome.  Karen called this “outside the paremeters of a normal birth situation.”  What was happening was that all the progress I made with the contraction would go backwards with the lack of continuous contractions to keep the momentum going.  That head would pop back on up.  She made reference to the fact that my uterus had been going for 3 days non stop and was maybe overly tired and not doing what they wanted it to do.  That didn’t sound good.  She then added, “I THINK we can still TRY for a vaginal delivery…”  And that was really scary. 

I was not about to go to all these hours of intense pain AND be SO close – and cervically complete – JUST to have a C section and avoid the very thing that made me want to go natural – a long recovery!  It was just heart sickening.  

Thankfully, in the next hour,things did speed up with the contractions it seemed to me – they keep switching me – and it felt like I was getting less breaks.  The nurse kept telling Karen that  there was still “plenty of room up there” – and it just made my efforts of pulling my recti back, pulling my transverse to the spine seem just completely  worthless – and the pain and contractioned seemed like they were doing nothing.  

I was literally getting to my breaking point.  I was holding on to Sarah’s hand and Brian’s hand like my life depended on it. I head myself wimpering and crying after contractions.  My low groans had become very load groans, with weird vibrato signaling my approaching complete desperation.  At 4:30 am things were starting to look bleak.  They felt there was no progression and they wanted to bring in help.  Then all of a sudden the baby’s heart rate plummeted to a 60!!  VERY VERY LOW!  Karen and the nurse looked at each other and quickly wisked in a doctor and several nurses  - the doctor with the vacuum in his hand…and if that didn’t work..gulp – C section! I was not bargaining for 8 weeks of recovery,- surgery -  after all my preparations to let my body give birth how it had for my last three - and as natural as possible.

Karen was trying to work with the situation and was massaging the perineum to try and get it out of the way for the head.  I didn’t know what was going on down there - a lot of fiddling around – so I would call out, ‘Who is that?”  “What are you doing down there?”  She would say, “Sorry, that’s me” and I knew she was trying to help.

  I was praying, Sarah was praying, Brian was praying – I wanted him to give me a blessing but I couldn’t find the energy or the break to ask him.  I was holding on to both of their hands to with crushing force.  They wanted me to not hold my breath but to take little breaths so the baby could get more oxygen.  I was on an oxygen mask to get the baby more air.

I asked Heavenly Father over and over for the head to descend.  Then around 4:38 I got a burst and a finally a good sensation of feeling like I needed to push – the sensation I knew and could finally recognize during this birth.  I brought my transverse back and pushed and pushed -  I heard the word “HEAD” which gave me hope, so I took another breath during the contraction ready to make it work for me.  I saw in my minds eye the “ring of fire” and I know I had to go through and toward that ring of fire to get where I needed to go.  I was so glad I found it!  So I kept going and out the head popped, then the body squirmed out quickly.  This was all right before the vacuum was used.  So no one brought to the room had to do anything, thank goodness.  They came in right when everything finally clicked into place.   All I had was a wiff of Pitocin to get that last lip to go back, and afterwards to prevent hemorrhaging.

In retrospect, when the baby’s heart went to 60, it was actually turning the right way finally in the birth canal so it could make that final desent – so it was a good thing.

Brian didn’t even realize what was happening – he looked up and was shocked to see the baby was out!  He hadn’t realized what was going on.  No one even mentioned “head is coming” or “here it comes” or anything along those lines.  It just happened quickly after the finally descent.  I felt totally drained of every single reserve my body possessed.  I began shaking violently – teeth, legs, head – everything.  I couldn’t get warm.  I went into shock a little – it had felt so traumatic to me.  I wondered why I couldn’t remember it beautifully like I did Kylie’s birth or Brooke’s birth.

Finally after an hour I calmed down enough to where I wanted to see the baby, hold him, and to nurse him.  I had to calm myself down enough and get out of the shock mode.  Even though it had been 60 minutes – the baby still nursed well and latched on right away.  So cute.  He had bruising –light spots that looked like freckles all over his face from the trauma as well – we were both a little scarred.

 There was also some worry afterwards…they saw lots of liquid blood still coming out – and were worried there was uterine hemorrhaging or deep cervical tear that would have to be repaired.  So they had to go in and look and my swollen cervix and see what the heck was going on – it was very painful – and lots of instruments.  They concluded, as I was praying, that there was no tearing or hemorrhaging.  I don’t think I could have taken it, I was still on the brink of hysteria from the craziness I had just been through.  The silver lining is that I only had a slight abrasion only on my perineum, and didn’t need to have any stitches.  That was a huge blessing.

He was the biggest of my babies – at 8 lbs 1 oz – and 21 inches long – so I think the longest as well.  Glad he didn’t get any bigger.  In hindsight, as I felt like we needed to go in tonite – it just wasn’t totally what I bargained for. I had wanted Isabelle because I had bonded with her, but Karen was so great, and so well seasoned – and I really needed someone in this situation with more experience to draw upon. I was so blessed she was on call.  

 Brian said he didn’t want to go through natural childbirth again.  I had said, which Tami and my mom mentioned to me separately, - yes but it could have been a C section had I gone the “normal route” because my choices would have been limited in how I moved around to get him to get into the right position, as well as the limited muscle awareness to do what I needed to do.  You never know how things could have played out…

It was amazing how modesty totally left me in this whole situation – that is the crazy thing about births.  You just bare it all and deal with it.  

I am glad its done – Ironic that I felt like I had my own Garden of Gethsemane on the [real] anniversary of Christ’s birth and resurrection – April 6th.  So glad for a healthy baby finally here!




Saturday, April 16, 2011

Birth Announcement and pictures!!

So one more indulgent post....
FINALLY!  Our little boy decided to arrive in this world 3 days late!  He was born April 6th, 2011.  Labor was O' Natural and had some minor complications, but it turned out well with a couple miraculous turns - both literally and figuratively.  I was assissted by a FANTASTIC doula, an AMAZING husband, a great midwife and nurse.

Brayden Michael was 8 lbs 1 oz, 21 inches long.

The same photographer SharaleaPhotography who did my maternity shoot also did my newborn shots - and I am drooling just looking at them.  They had me leave the room so he could settle down and not smell "mom" and then they were able to take these AMAZING shots!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

My Maternity Photo Shoot - brilliant photographer!!

So its hard to believe I am posting more than once every 6 months - but I had to share these pics!!  I just LOVE LOVE LOVE them!!  My photographer is this awesome talented girl in our ward - check out her site!
Here is the site http://www.facebook.com/SharaleaPhotography   - she does AMAZING work.  If she can make my 9 mo. preggo belly look good, she can do anything :)


Sunday, March 13, 2011

Its a MIRACLE!! WE ARE ALIVE MY FRIENDS!!


So as many of you have probably noticed, I fell off the face of the earth for awhile.  I am sure no one even checks this forgotten and forsaken blog anymore.  So for anyone who still checks to see if we are alive – WE ARE!!

So first of all – 2 weeks and 6 days to go – for #4.   I  have been so anxious this time around to just have my normal body back.  Probably having to deal with 3 other kids and pick up that many toys off the ground and after that many people makes me just want to bend over NORMALLY instead of with a big huge lump to work around.  So apart from just wanting my normal body back – its been a pretty darn good pregnancy.  I really can’t complain.

Also, I am officially on maternity leave of my own accord TODAY.   Yesterday I trained my last 2 people and I am giving myself a glorious 2 months free to take care of my sanity my last 2 ½ weeks of 3 kid-dom, and for 6 weeks afterwards.  Although I LOVE what I do (www.beautifulafterthebelly.blogspot.com) it feels remarkably liberating to give myself a break – very rejuvenating. 

Although SOMEHOW, we have one of the busiest weeks EVER this next week.  The goal is to get all 5 people visit taught this week, Brooke having gotten baptized 3 weeks ago is now in Activity Day girls – 2 things this week, plus my splits with the missioaries, plus Brian’ Elders Quorum visits, me teaching joy school AGAIN this week, doctors appointments, plus getting shelves built in our pantry and baseboard up in our basement before we get new carpeting – AND of course making sure we have the time to watch the BYU basketball games this week – we are full to the brim! 

We still have live-ins in our basement- which has grown to 3 people down there.  The short sale Mark and Allison were waiting for fell through, so back to square 1.  Meanwhile, we are adding another human on the upper floor.  So the population of our house has gone from 5 to 7 to 8 and now to 9 since the summer.  We Waynes are getting very numerous, or so it would seem.

The great news is that it gets dark at 7 PM instead of 6, which is such a huge difference from December’s 4:30 sunset – 7 is HEAVEN!!! And SPRING – YAY!!  February seems to be one of those bleak months with the blizzard and all, and all the cloudy days.  I will take March ANY DAY – it’s the light at the end of the tunnel.  I start my seeds too which is another constant reminder that its time to plant things soon – amazing.  I might even get sassy and put my lettuce in this week!

Well, enough rambling for now – just wanted to say we are alive and well – and hopefully I will be posting more regularly!




Friday, September 10, 2010

PICS!! Our mostly completed basement, our newly 5 year old son, pics from vacation

The most beautiful rainbow I personally have ever seen - doesn't even show how it totally fills the sky.  It was amazing!
Aunt Allison reading harry potter to the kids looking into the great room - AFTER PIC.  By the way - all these pics get unwieldy - so as you read this try not to become too discombobulated in how they jump around.  Its 12:30 and I just can't fiddle around with the pics anymore to make the order make sense.  Either I can't figure out the best way to do this, or blogger is stupid!
this is a before of the great room wall looking toward the study
AFTER:  Brooke and Tyler already at home in the new playroom...how do I know?  Its a DISASTER!  Reaquainting themselves with out of reach toys that had been in hiding for months during construction
this is part of the great room - the back area for future fooze ball BEFORE
looking into hobby/kids study area from the stairway
in the great room
from the great room looking at kids study/hobby area
from great room looking toward the kids/study hobby area
the temporary home for Mark and Allisons life in boxes - this table will be where a foozeball table will be SOMEDAY
Bedroom #1 in basement - Mark and Allison's current Master Bedroom - no doors yet...we are working on that one
Bedroom #2- now currently a playroom - the kids LOVE it in there...we have some cool car rugs on the floor - no carpeting yet
Here is Brooke annoyed at my picture taking
Kylie is 2 going on 20 and insists on putting together her own very INTERESTING outfits
Although I can't figure out how to get the pics exactly how I want them in this blog - here is the storage pantry when you first come down the steps - VERY handy...especially with my crazy couponing I STILL do
A look at where the bar and bathroom are by the great room
Her is Kylie - 2 - or as we call her "Ko Ko" back from church
In Kentucky in August at Red River Gorge with a break in the rain.  These guys were GREAT hikers!
My little guy is FIVE!
This pic cracks me up - from one camping night to another - eating PLAIN oatmeal with no complaints at a gas station parking lot
Brooke is SEVEN and in 2nd grade - what a grown up!
this is a before of the library and study area when you first come down steps - a pantry is to the left
Tyler chose a SANTA birthday cake.  Since he still can't have sugar,  I used Stevia in this one.  We used creme, strawberries, and raspberry coulis for the frosting.  He had THIRDS!  I had THIRDS!
this is the CURRENT office/ hobby area for the kids - and no flooring or doors YET...or baseboards - that a 2011 project for the most part!
looking at the office/hobby area from different angle
this is the long wall of the great room - now faux painted to look like the inside of the cheesecake factory/italy
AFTER:  the bathroom all finished!
this is the wall of the library studye AFTER with the large cubby hole that was debated over and debated oer.  It will be finished with dry wall and be sort of hidden away
this is the bar area - AFTER - well mid process.  It currently has a microwave!
This is the BEFORE of  the big wall of the great room framed out

this is the AFTER of the very first framed pic - looking toward the stairs
Brooke on her first day of 2nd grade - and VERY impatient to get to the bus