The holidays are over!!

The holidays have come and gone, and I am glad to see it is over. As much as I love the Christmas season, I just couldn't get into it this year. If it weren't for Phil, our tree would still be naked, and the house would not be decorated, and even with it being decorated it just isn't as well done as when I usually take an entire day and really make everything look festive. If I had my way the Christmas stuff would have been taken down today, but Phil likes it and wants it up until after New Year's, which is when we usually have it up until, so I said that was fine. I never did get around to having the time to do my cards, and trying to do any baking was just out of the question. Anyone who has had a newborn around the holidays understands where I am coming from. I am still getting myself back to feeling like I did before I got pregnant, and with having the c-section that takes a little longer then normal. Plus, even though John is getting himself on a schedule and sleeping through the night most of the time, I feel like I need a week to just stay in bed and catch up on all the sleep I have lost the past 9 weeks. Plus, certain family issues have me concerned and worried, so that is always on my mind as well.

I did get my wish for this year though. Last year at Christmas I said that I wanted to have a baby to celebrate Christmas with, and I accomplished that. He was definitely the best present I have ever had. He has grown so much, and I can't believe it is not 2 months old! He smiles all the time, and coos and is starting to laugh. He is just a very happy baby, so much so that when he wakes up in the morning he doesn't cry, he just laughs and coos and smiles to himself, waiting for one of us to come over to him and change him and give him a bottle. He has a wonderful personality already, he only cries when he is hungry or needs something and as soon as that need is met, he is happy. He doesn't even fuss that much. I am very lucky.

Next year, I told Phil that I plan on making sure we have a wonderful Christmas, not only next year but every year thereafter. John is going to be a year old next Christmas, and even though he'll still be too little to learn about Santa, I want to make sure there are lots of presents for him under the tree, and that we go out and do fun holiday things, like go to the zoo to see the zoolights, and go sit on Santa's lap. Being able to see Christmas through his eyes is going to give me a whole new appreciation on the holiday.

Yes, this is my baby

I've recently discovered something that I never thought would happen...people seem to think that my baby ISN'T my baby!

I first realized this about two weeks ago, when I took John for a little walk to meet Phil as he got off work. A women was jogging and she slowed down and said she noticed I hadn't been at work lately (turns out she is a customer at the store and sees me all the time) and then looked at John and said "That isn't your baby, is it??" I looked at her and said of course he is mine, and she said oh, well congrats, and jogged off. I thought it was a strange comment to make, and just brushed it off.

Since then, I have had numerous people around where I live ask me the same question. With our apartment complex being right next to the Walmart, there are a lot of people who live around here who shop there frequently and recognize me and didn't realize I was pregnant. It seems every time John and I head over to my mom's apartment, which is just across the way, someone stops me and asks me if I am either babysitting, or asks me whose baby it is.

The only thing I can think of is that people see me in a wheelchair and must think I just don't have the ability to carry a child because of that. I've even had a few people tell me they didn't know I could have children because of being in a chair. I know people don't realize by just looking at me that the only thing wrong with me is that I have arthritis and my knees just don't work anymore, but how rude to just tell someone that the newborn they are holding, who by the way, looks exactly like you, couldn't possibly be yours. I feel so insulted when I am asked that, and there is a lot I'd like to say to that person, but being a good mommy, I hold my tongue and just continue on my way.

My biggest concern has always been when John is older and starts school, how will kids react to his mommy being in a wheelchair, because let's face it, kids are mean. I never thought that adults would be mean as well and assume I couldn't be a parent. I hope this is something that we don't have to deal with, because I sure don't want to take my son to school and have stupid parents asking me if I am the aunt or something.

Video Blog: Baby John Playing

After a diaper change the other day, John decided he wanted to be awake and just be his cute baby self, and I couldn't help but video it for his big debut to the Kimbo Central blog. And yes, he is on the coffee table, because that's just where I happened to change him haha!

Happy Birthday Baby John!!

Weighing in at 8lbs 9ozs, measuring 21 1/2 inches long, born by emergency c-section on October 23, 2009 at 4:15pm, please put your hands together for John Phillip Fry!!

Last Friday, I went into the doctor for my weekly fetal non-stress test and while I was hooked up to the fetal monitor they took my blood pressure, which was very high. It has been high throughout the pregnancy, but this was higher then it had ever been, and the doctor came in and told me she wanted me to be admitted until I had the baby because she felt it would be safer for me. When I asked if I would be having the baby that day, she said she thought it would either be that weekend or they would just have me wait until the 30th, which is when I had my original c-section scheduled. So off to the hospital we went, and they put me in the OB Triage to wait for the nurse to be in to get me all set up. Phil and I were in that room for about 5 minutes when the nurse came in and said that the doctor on duty set me up to have my c-section a few hours from then, and they were going to take me to labor and delivery to start getting me prepped. Phil and I just looked at each other like what!!?? It was a total surprise that it was going to be happening right then and there, because I thought for sure they were going to make me wait another week. So I called my mom to tell her and dad to get done there as soon as they can, and off to labor and delivery we went.

After getting prepped and my parents finally getting to the hospital, they had Phil dress in scrubs and took me off to the operating room to get the epidural and start the c-section. I have never been so nervous in my life, I was shaking like a leaf the entire time and nothing I could do could stop that. Luckily the epidural went in without any problems, and once I was laid down on the table and the medicine started kicking in, Phil was brought in to sit next to me. At 4:08pm they started and at 4:15pm John was born. He cried right away and my heart just soared and as soon as they brought him around the curtain and showed him to me I just started crying. He was perfect, and he was ours, and we had waited so long for him. Phil went right over to him and they had him cut the cord and since he was doing so well, they took him to recovery to weigh him and wait for me, and they sent Phil with them while they spent the next 45 minutes putting me back together. I was so impatient the entire time, I just wanted them to hurry up so I could get to recovery and see my baby boy.

In recovery, I was still shaking so bad, and the nurse told me that it is normal, it was just hormones from just having a baby, and it was so bad at first I wasn't able to hold John, but they brought him to me and I just couldn't believe how beautiful he was and that I did that. My family came in two at a time to see him and two hours later, I was transferred to my postpartum room and was finally able to really hold John and check him out, of course checking to make sure he had all his fingers and toes.

I was in the hospital for four days, and was able to come home Tuesday night. John is in perfect health and even though he seems to have his days and nights mixed up and Phil and I pretty much are running on a few hours sleep here and there, we couldn't be prouder of what we have created and the new family we now have. It seems so strange to me at times that I actually have a son. I guess I thought I would never have a child of my own, just like a never thought I would get married, but now I have a family of my own, we just moved into a nice and bigger apartment that allows John to have his own room, a dog that is still trying to figure out what the heck this little person is, and great family and friends that love me and support me along the way. I couldn't be more blessed.

37 Week Appointment and Hospital Stay

Tuesday we went in for our normal prenatal appointment and as always, they first get me hooked up to the fetal monitor and take my blood pressure. Now, since becoming pregnant my blood pressure has been on the high side, but I have had every lab test done and even done a 24 hour urine collection and all has come back that I just have maternal hypertension and I'll be fine. Well, my blood pressure was through the roof both times they checked it, so the doctor told me she wanted me to go right to the hospital and be admitted for a 24 hour observation and also do another 24 hour urine collection to rule out the possibility of me having preeclampsia. They kept asking me if I had a headache or blurred vision or felt bad, but I felt fine. I was more worried about baby then myself, but they assured me that he was fine, it was me that they were concerned about, and if there was any health risks to me, they would take the baby right away.

So basically, I sat in the hospital for 24 hours, collecting my pee, just for them to tell me last night around 10pm that everything came back fine and I was free to go home right then and just go to my regular prenatal visit next week. In a way, I know it was best for me to be in there because if there was a problem then things about be done, but I truly felt like I could have been taking my blood pressure at home and peeing in a bucket at home where I would have been comfortable. I guess a lot of it is because since I was already in the hospital, I just wanted John to be able to be delivered, because I am at the point where I am just uncomfortable and ready for him to come out. Plus, when the did an ultrasound on him, he is already at 8 1/2 pounds!!! But they say his lungs may still need to be developed a little more, so once I heard that, I felt better about making sure he stays in here at least another week or so. But more then likely they are going to schedule the c-section for next week.

So now I am home and taking it easy. We are moving this weekend and have so much to do around here, and I keep feeling the need to grab some boxes and just start packing and cleaning, but I am having a lot of Braxton Hicks contractions when I do too much, which they said is normal, and plus with my blood pressure I know I have to take it easy and just let Phil handle everything. The best news today though is that my doctor's office just called and they are faxing a note to my work letting them know I missed work yesterday because I was in the hospital, and that I am on restricted activity and will not be able to return to work through the remainder of my pregnancy, so I am officially on maternity leave!! Another thing I don't have to worry about, just as long as we can get through this move and then bring this baby into the world and home where he belongs.

Stubborn Baby

Last Tuesday, at our 36 week prenatal appointment, they checked the baby's fluid and we discovered that John is still in the breech position, his head is up, right above my belly button, and in fact every time he turns his head from side to side (which he does a lot), the whole top of my belly moves. As cute as that is, the doctor gave us about a 5 percent chance that he is going to turn on his own, which means it looks like I am going to end up having a scheduled c-section. To be honest, as much as I would love to have a regular delivery, there has always been something in my head that made me think I was going to end up having the c-section, and I wasn't even upset when the doctor told me this. Disappointed, yes, but not upset, because whatever we need to do to deliver him safely is what I care about, and if it means surgery, then I am for it. So Tuesday we go for his growth ultrasound and we will see what they said then. I doubt very much he is going to turn on his own, because he is still in the same position, and I think he is just comfy there. My main worries and concerns are after the c-section, such as my healing time, which they say will be longer for me because I am unable to walk, and what it will be like for me when I have to transfer from my chair to the car or my bed, and such. But those things are for me to deal with, and I will with no complaints, because it means that my son came into this world safely and is happy and healthy. As a mother, you have to put your needs aside for the well-being of your child, and I would go through this a thousand times over just to be able to have him here with us.

As for everything else, I feel like I am living in chaos as our move is coming up on the 18th and our house is just a mess. Moving is such a pain, trying to pack up everything, and weed through things you haven't used since you first moved in. And I am really no help at all because I can no longer bend over easily, or lift anything, and anything I do just wears me out, so Phil has to be the one who does this whole thing. I try to help out with what I can, but mostly I just supervise. Then, once we get moved next weekend, that place will be a mess, and we have a very short time to get it somewhat organized and get John's room ready before his arrival. Of course, this is not the best time to move when your nine months pregnant and could go into labor at anytime, but our lease is up and we couldn't pass up on the amazing deal with were able to get on a two bedroom, plus John needed his own room. Luckily, my aunt Kelly, uncle Rick, and cousin J are helping Phil with the move, so I don't feel so bad about just sitting back and directing where the boxes go, as that is about all anyone will let me do.

And lastly, it looks like I am going to be taking my maternity leave 2 weeks earlier then I had planned. Work is just getting to be really tough on me, I can't sit in my chair for very long because my back hurts all the time and my feet and ankles get so swollen, and the bigger I get the more tired I am, and trying to work for 8 hours is miserable. So tonight I work a 4 hour shift, and the same with Monday, and then on Tuesday I am having the doctor write me a note saying I am taking my leave now. They have me starting my leave as of my due date, Nov. 5th, but with scheduling a c-section he is more then likely going to be here before that, and I really could just use this time to rest, get his nursery ready at the new place, and have a little Kimbo time before it all becomes John time.

Back up and running!

I finally had the Internet fixed around here, so I am able to be back online again full time, which means more time for blogging!! I just need to get a wireless router now so I can use my laptop here at home again, but I have to send it out to Dell to get fixed because the screen lid decided to break.

Well, October is upon us and this is going to be one busy month around the Fry household. We are going to be moving on the 18th to the other side of our complex to a two-bedroom that we were able to score an amazing deal on, $30 less then what we are paying for now, and it is really a good thing we were able to get the two-bedroom because as we start buying things for the baby, like his travel system (stroller and car seat combo) and people start giving us gifts like lots of clothes and a baby bath, we soon realized that for such a little guy, his things are big and taking up a lot of space. Plus, my mom is throwing me a baby shower that same week, so things are going to be pretty busy. Not to mention that once we move, we have about two weeks before my due date, so my mom said that she will come over and help me get things settled in, so our house is somewhat organized when John comes.

Speaking of John, things are going well, we will be at 35 weeks tomorrow. He is still as active as ever, and at the doctor they have been hooking me up to a fetal monitor to check his heartbeat and the doctor says he seems pretty happy in here. I had to cancel my appointment for yesterday due to Phil and I having a cold (which he is better because he can take some good medicine for it, I am toughing it out with no meds), so we go on Friday and should have another growth ultrasound. I am interested to see how big he is now, he was 4.8 pounds about 3 weeks ago, and I am also hoping he cooperates and lets us get a good 3D picture of his face this time.