Audrey Marie: A Birth Story

Nuzzled into the crook of my arm is the latest addition to the Five Blondes family,  Audrey. Seeing as she’s been part of the family for over two months now, I’m horribly behind on sharing info and, of course, pictures! I’m going to kick things off with the birth story and a few pictures.

How I managed to have a blue-eyed, reddish-haired child is beyond me.

Audrey’s Birth Story (warning, may be TMI for some. I tried to be modest but it’s a birth story. Modesty is an afterthought while in labour.) (Also, it’s long. 2000+ words long. Want a TL;DR? Audrey was born.)

My birth “experience” and Audrey’s introduction to the world was…long (60 hours long, though I was not in labour that entire time)…but of course very rewarding. After suffering a small seizure in my sleep the night before my due date, at my next appointment my OB decided that scheduling an induction would be the best way to get the ball rolling. I had been hoping to go into labour naturally, but we didn’t want to risk her health if I were to have another seizure. My induction was scheduled for 41w1d. Little did we know she wouldn’t be born until 41w3d!

In her 'lasagna pan' in the hospital

Tuesday -  We were told to expect to be called in to the hospital the evening before the induction so that a foley bulb (or foley catheter) could be inserted to help dilate my cervix (it was barely 1 cm dilated at my last OB appointment). However, I was never called…so that never happened. This confused us…

Wednesday – After a sleepless night, the phone rang at 6:30AM on the dot. It was really strange to be receiving a call telling me that it was time to have my baby. We got up, had breakfast, loaded up the car and headed to the hospital. I was admitted at around 8AM. We met our nurse and I was hooked up to an IV. The hospital staff were confused as to why we didn’t get a call the night before – just as confused as we were, I think! Apparently it had been a very busy day. They checked to see if I was any further dilated (nope) and went ahead with the foley bulb. At this point they also began administering oxytocin to try to start contractions. And then we waited. I had to be hooked up to the monitors to measure contractions…if I had any.

Approximately 2 hours later, with no progression, the OB on-call came in to discuss our ‘options’ with us. Basically, he told us that continuing to receive oxytocin intravenously might bring on contractions at an unmanageable pace and lead to the need for a c-section. If that wasn’t a risk we wanted to take, we could go home and they would put me on the induction list for Thursday. I don’t think this happens very often as everyone I tell this to is very surprised that they sent me home! We took a moment to mull it over and decided that we would both be much more comfortable at home – not to mention that a natural (or at least, vaginal) birth was my goal. The nurse (who was very friendly and I was sad to leave her) unhooked me from the various monitors and removed the IV (phew – I hate IVs). The foley bulb remained in place (awkward…) as it was intended to fall out on its own once I was dilated to 2 or 3 cm. We spent the afternoon and evening visiting my parents and Micaela to try and keep our minds off of the fact that we were going to be waiting even longer to meet Audrey. I was having contractions on and off but they were never frequent or long enough to warrant us going back to the hospital.

Thursday – Another sleepless night! I was staring at the clock radio when it turned to 6:30AM, fully expecting the phone to ring. It didn’t ring. The foley bulb came out as intended (I threw it in the garbage as instructed). It was good to know that my body was starting to get ready to let her out! All morning we would jump whenever the phone rang, anxious to drive out. We would (lovingly) tell whomever was calling not to call us again as it was causing unneeded stress (OMG the phone! is it time??). We waited all afternoon and into the evening. I bounced on the exercise ball and walked around the house. Contractions came and went. After we ate dinner, I called the hospital to confirm that I was definitely on the ‘induction list’ for the day as we were starting to doubt if they would ever call. Yup, I was on the list and would get a call when they were ready for me. Finally it was around 9:30PM and I decided that I had better get some sleep! I guess that was the key because the hospital called not 15 minutes after I decided that. So much for my sleep. I was admitted (again) around 11PM and while waiting to be shown to our labour room I realized that I would be giving birth on my half-birthday (exactly 6 months from my birthday)! It was a silly thought but fun to think that we would always share this. It will be hard for her to forget when her mommy’s birthday is ;)

Friday – Finally, the real action started. Around midnight the doctor came in and broke my water. I was having mild contractions so we decided that walking around the hospital might get them going so that I could avoid needing oxytocin. Nearly two hours were spent walking (though you might have called my walk an awkward shuffle) through the nearly-deserted hospital. My contractions began to get a little stronger. We headed back to our room because I was getting too tired to keep walking. Despite my contractions, I hadn’t progressed much further along and so they began an oxytocin drip again. I spent a few hours alternating between bouncing on an exercise ball, pacing in our hospital room, and resting as contractions picked up slowly but surely.

Around noon I was dilated to 5cm and was having consistent and strong contractions. Our nurse was noting that they were beginning to “double” and “triple” – meaning that I was having multiple contractions very close together – which was caused by the oxytocin. It began to get to be a little too much for me to handle – not to mention that I was going on only a few hours of sleep over the past few days and no food, save for the hospital jello and popsicles (sidenote: these foods are not entirely unpleasant when they come back up). After some consideration, I decided to ask for an epidural. It had been offered several times at this point but I was really hoping for a natural delivery and had turned it down. The nurse told me it would be a little while before the anesthesiologist would arrive and then the procedure would be in blocks of 15 minutes: 15 minutes to go over the procedure and the risks, 15 to insert, 15 for it to really start to take effect.

This is where things get a little…interesting.

The resident anesthesiologist arrived after about 30 minutes and went over the risks. Next, they wheeled over a high tabletop for me to lean over onto a pillow and had Denis stand on the other side to support me and hold on to me. Finally, the anesthesiologist got set up and began to locate the spot on my back to insert the needle. However, he couldn’t quite find the correct spot. So he tried again. Nope. He had me push my lower back out further…adjust this way…that way…keep in mind that my contractions were now quite strong! I did my best to stay as relaxed as possible. I remember being quite shaky at this point and later on the nurse remarked that she thought I might have been in transition as the epidural was being inserted. The resident eventually gave up and called the anesthesiologist on-call to our room to complete the procedure. After a few minutes of her trying to find the right angle, she asked me if I had ever been diagnosed with scoliosis, because she was pretty convinced that I had it, which was why they could not insert the needle very easily.

Wow. What a time to find out that you (probably) have scoliosis…

It took about an hour to get the epi in place (after the 15 minutes for the risks). My back was later described as a ‘dartboard’ due to the multiple attempts to insert the needle into my spine. In addition, the epidural never fully took effect. What is did do, however, was allow me to sleep for about 4 or 5 hours! My body managed to do a lot of the work while I was sleeping – after a quick check, the nurse told me that I was fully dilated and would be ready to push soon! Whoa! I was overwhelmed at the prospect that we would soon be meeting our little girl.

Less than an hour later, I was starting to feel the urge to push. Now, I have read a lot of birth stories that describe how just ‘a few pushes’ were needed…or that the labouring mom pushed for ‘twenty minutes’. Then again, I knew of moms who pushed for much longer, or pushed for some time only to end up having a c-section. I didn’t know what to expect but maintained a positive outlook. The nurse told us that the general practice at the hospital was to let you push for about 2 hours (if needed) before taking any measures to help the baby out – most often the OBs would use forceps and there was one who might use a vacuum. I kept all of this in the back of my mind.

You’ll have to excuse the fact that I don’t have much of a concept of time from this point on. All I know is that I started pushing around 5PM and was still pushing approximately two hours later. Our nurse was coaching me through pushing and Denis was supporting me, making sure that I was breathing and staying relaxed in between contractions. Yes, I was forgetting to breathe. When I realized that two hours had gone by I started silently worrying – I had met the 2 hour mark, now what? She was incredibly close to being born – I had already seen the top of her head (yes, I looked in the mirror) and confirmed that she had hair! I didn’t go through all of this to have a c-section. Naturally, I was going to do whatever was necessary to have a healthy baby, but I felt sure I could keep going for a little while. The worst pain I was feeling was just under my ribs. It felt like the worst ‘stitch’ in my side (although it radiated across my entire torso) that I had ever felt.

7PM meant the nursing shift change. I didn’t love the nurse we had during the day on Friday – she did her job just fine but didn’t have a lot of energy. The instant the new nurse took over, there was a shift in the energy of the room! She was excited – upbeat – made me want to push even harder! I feel so bad that I can’t remember her name. I don’t think she ever really introduced herself seeing as I was mid-push when she joined us, so I guess it’s forgivable.

At some point the OB joined us as well. I felt like I had been pushing for.ev.er. and not really getting anywhere so it was great to hear her say that I was pushing ‘really well’. I was starting to doubt myself so I asked her, “you’re not just saying that to make me feel good, right?” She wasn’t :) After about another 30 minutes, the OB told us that her head was soooo close to being out but was getting stuck by my ‘pelvic ridge’. She presented us with two options: either keep pushing which could take 45-60 minutes, or she could help me with a small vacuum and have Audrey out in 5 minutes. I pondered this offer for a few minutes and decided to take their help. The instant I said “yes” all systems were go!

It seemed like a whirlwind of action as the doctor and nurse (and resident…and student…lots of observers!) quickly set up and got ready for the delivery. I caught a glimpse of the vacuum – it wasn’t what I expected, which was a bell-shaped cup. Rather, it was the size and shape of a saucer – quite flat. I didn’t have much time to dwell on what it looked like because with my next contraction Audrey was born! I pushed as the doctor guided her head under my pelvic ridge. I cried. Denis cried. Finally, Audrey cried. Our new family was born!

St. Patrick’s Day DIY

So this St. Patrick’s day I was thinking about what I was going to wear like a month in advance. My friend Leah offered me a shirt she wore last year, but I had seen a lot of fun tshirt DIYs on my pinterest and on the craftgawker app, which I recently uploaded onto my iPhone, so I decided to make my own shirt! Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures of the process (which was crazy, because I had no idea what I was doing), but I have a couple of after pictures which should do just fine!

I’m kind of loving the ombre trend, especially with hair, even though I would be way too scared to do that to my own boring blonde hair. So I sort of used this tutorial from cotton & curls, only I had a bathing suit on and there were 2 cats getting all up in my dying business the whole time. Yes, a bathing suit. It is March in London, Ontario and it is bathing suit weather! Mother nature is on drugs.

Yes, I am wearing shamrock sunglasses, and yes, those are my friends, haha. We loove to dress up for the holidays!

Any fun St. Patrick’s day DIYs out there, or just cool DIYs in general?

When I got to Michael’s they only had ONE green dye left, and it was dark green, so I was praying that it would work. I also used my 40% any one item coupon at Michaels, so the dye was a lovely $2. Since my tank was $8 from Joe Fresh, that means that this shirt only cost about $10 to make, and I got SO many compliments on it and people asking me where I bought it from!
I did the ombre and it turned out pretty awesome. My only concern about it was that it was SUPER hard to get the exact right amount of dye in the mix to make it just a shade lighter, so my shirt was pretty much 2 shades of green- light green, and dark, forest green. Oh well, I still loved it.

After I did my ombre-ing (is that a word?), I wanted to put some sort of shamrock on the front. I had seen some tutorials online about bleach pens, and making designs with those, but I didn’t have one of those or some place close enough to pop out and buy one. I’d also seen tutorials for shirts like the one here on Scissors and Safety Pins on pinterest and fell in love.

So with my moms help we printed off a shamrock design with her Cricut, I stuck it on my shirt, sprayed it with bleach and fell in love! You can pretty much see how it turned out here. The stencil sort of took away from the ombre effect, but you can still notice it!

Figuring it all out and finding your spark.

There is no doubt that one learns a lot in their post-secondary education. But it’s not until your career do you really start figure it all out. There is a world of difference between the two events, but they are not mutually exclusive. I graduated from University in 2008 with a bachelors in Gerontology with a lot of knowledge, but not a lot of specific direction. As Lauren knows all too well, the dreaded ‘what are you going to do when you graduate?’ questions starts getting pounced upon you about six months before graduation. Sometimes, you don’t know. You just don’t, and people telling you what they think you should do is not a solution. Kate detested her first job out of University, and she quickly figured out exactly what she didn’t want to do before being challenged in the field (…quite literally, in a field of crops) she knew was a fit for her. Lau is still in the ‘figuring it all out’ phase, which is exactly where she needs to be right now. Micaela worked hard and patiently waited for her dream job and Eri settled calmly into a position which recognizes and utilizes her unique skills and abilities.

I decided to move clear across the country, across the prairies and into the West to start to figure it all out. And slowly, I did just that. I am four years, two full-time jobs with a few part-time ones on the side into figuring it all out and directing myself into my chosen career path. Upon leaving my first job to move back to Ontario I confessed to my boss that I still didn’t understand why she hired me given my lack of hands-on experience in the field, and I will never forget when she told me that ‘sometimes you just see a spark in somebody. The knowledge that comes with a career? That can be taught. But when you find someone that has the spark inside of them you take a chance, and you don’t regret it’. That statement has influenced my career in every way, and in a way, is my personal motto. I don’t know everything, neither do you and and even together neither of us ever will. But with that spark inside, tasks can be taught, knowledge will be learned and surrounding yourself with people that believe in you will help you to achieve whatever goals you set for yourself.

When I moved to Toronto (jobless with hundreds of resumes and cover letters in hand) people started asked the dreaded question ’what are you going to do when you get there?’ and I desparately thought to myself ‘I will do almost anything for anybody who will hire me’. A year into a challenging full time job later, I am inspired to find and achieve my niche. I am not so desparate anymore and am finally able to write down tangible goals and what it will take for me to achieve them onto a piece of paper – one which sits in my desk where I can see it every day. I am ready to move again, this time into a position which will sharpen my career even further.

And finally, because there is nothing like a good Venn diagram to support one’s logic.

 

Source

I’ve always dreamed of becoming a homeowner. When I was little I pictured myself living alone in a tiny little white home with a white picket fence and a huge shaggy St. Bernard (which is odd because I am not even a dog person at all. I was terrified of all dogs when I was growing up, I think what I really wanted was a protector). In the past year a home kind of fell into my lap but I never really did get to experience the excitement of open houses and choosing a house that is perfect for me. I love my home though, when I am there I don’t ever want to leave it. Two and a half long months until I can live there forever and ever. 

Yesterday I was cruising around Guelph with my friend Stef and we passed by an ‘Open House’ sign in a really cute area. I convinced her to go in with me, and when we first did a drive-by of the home it was so perfect for her that we both screamed – this house was quite possibly the cutest home I have ever seen ever. I have never just randomly gone to an open house before but I have always wanted to!

15 Charles st. 

Even the address sounds beautiful – 15 Charles st. Every corner and every room and every detail in this home is so bright and Pinterest-worthy. The photos DO NO do this house justice at all. If you live in Guelph and are in the market for a downtown Century home I beg you to go and look at it. And then have lots of tea parties so I can come and sit on the back patio while the lilacs pour over the fence.

Ahh, I love Guelph. When Tim moved away I seriously considered moving to Guelph and commuting to downtown TO every day, but I got the offer of a lifetime from my Aunt who lives right in TO so obviously I didn’t move there. However, I slept over at Stef’s in Guelph last night and took the GO train in this morning – the GO train which left Guelph at 6:15am AKA FAR TOO EARLY. Including travel time my work day wound be over 12 hours long which is unreal. I know people do it every day, and all the power to them, but I couldn’t wouldn’t want to do it. As it is I get ready for work in 14 minutes flat then run out the door to catch the bus to the subway which I do my fair share of complaining about. I definitely made the right decision to live with my Aunt.

Stef and I also went to visit Eri and Denis and Audrey yesterday! She loved me (even though Eri’s cats didn’t… Eri if you ever have to get rid of your cats please give them to me) but cried every time Stef held her. Ha, ha Stef.

Audrey & I

Vegas, Twitter, Pinterest. Also known as ‘What All The Cool Kids Are Doing These Days’.

I’m often told that I should blog more, and I am always telling myself to blog more. At this point in my life, as I told my cousin Em in an e-mail this week, I feel like I have a lot to say but not enough energy to say it! Life is good, life is hectic, life is busy and I DRIVE A LOT. Silly long distance relationships, so very … well, so very long distance all the time. I’m still in TO and Tim is still at the farm. My job ends in May so I better enjoy the city while I can!

Tim and I recently went on an incredibly fun and amazing trip to Vegas which was a blast. It was the most amount of time we spent together since July! Hard to believe considering we used to live together and were practically attached at the hip heart.

I went to Vegas on a Bachelorette trip last May and I feel like you can’t really fully understand The Hangover until you go there and experience the craziness in real life. Altogether, I would approximate that the two weeks I spent in Vegas took six years off of my life. Those pictures? Stay hidden in a box for a very long time. I told Tim I didn’t take any pictures at  the Bachelorette because it was just safer that way.

Also, I’m back on the Twitter. I’m not a very good tweeter anymore but still, I’m there. I’m also on Pinterest, I have been for awhile but I am not very good at making boards – I just like to look at all the beautiful things. Everyday gMail tells me how many new people are following me and I never understand why they follow me because I am so boring on there. I started making some boards so I think they will enjoy following me now.

In the end, Tweet me, Pin me, squeeze me, ‘Like’ me, retweet me, friend me, hug me, LinkedIn me, follow me, do whatever. I’m back in  the game, yo.

 

 

Introducing…Audrey Marie!

What do you say to introduce your blog audience to the newest addition to the blog?

Audrey Marie – born February 17 at 7:44PM. We are beyond thrilled to finally have her home. More details to follow!

Home For a Rest

I ended off me and Rhian’s stay at home with a visit to Katelyns here a loong time ago, but there has been some moving, and TONS of login trouble on my part, so I’m just getting to the most exciting part of our trip now. Mom had a party for a sewing group that she is a part of, and as one of the last ones to leave was walking out the door she came back in and said “Umm Connie? I think there’s a fire near the barns!”. Cue mom (understandably) freaking out, and calling 911. We live in a small town, so luckily our local fire department was there very quickly to put out what turned out to be a fire in one of our corn bins!


Wordless Wednesday: Fiveblondes together.

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Merry Christmas to my favourite sisters!







A Christmas Survey

A little nap time blogging for your enjoyment.

Mic just posted this survey, which Lauren completed 2 years ago. Since I finally have some down time with 2 kids sleeping I’m going to give it a go, and waste precious nap time.

1)Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? I love Hot Chocolate (especially specialty kinds like Rolo hot chocolate and white hot chocolate)

2)Does Santa Wrap Presents or Just Sit Them Under The Tree? They are wrapped (unless they are oversized), but the presents in the stockings are not wrapped.
3)Colored Lights or White Lights. We have warm white on the tree and cool white (look blueish) outside. I think multi-coloured are really pretty as well though, as long as they are perfect multi-coloured.

4)Do you hang Mistletoe?
Nope.

5)When Do You Put Your Christmas Decorations Up?
End of November, whenever my Christmas spirit starts to kick in.
6) What is Your Favorite Holiday Dish? Stuffing, Mashed Potatoes (with Oma’s gravy, although since we normally make it now I guess I can’t call it that anymore) and ceaser salad. 7) Favorite Holiday Memory as a Child. Running downstairs to open our stockings and looking at all the presents wrapped under the tree and wondering what they are! I also remember taking things from our stockings and going to show mom and dad. 8)When and How Did You Learn The Truth About Santa? Like Mic, I really don’t remember.

9) Do You Open a Gift on Christmas Eve? We used to open our sister gifts on Christmas eve, but this year we are doing that on boxing day. We have one side of the family Christmas on Christmas eve and we have a Christmas exchange at it.

10)How Do You Decorate Your Christmas Tree? First lights, Second any ribbon or garlands, third everything else. I keep the nice ornaments at the top away from Hailey’s hands. Good thing too because she decided she loves to take off ornaments and throw them behind the tv stand. I have no clue where she got that crazy idea.

11)Snow! Love it or Dread it? Oh my goodness love it. But hate driving in it.

12)Can You Ice Skate? Yup, not too hot at stopping though.

13)Do You Remember Your Favorite Gift? My engagement ring! But that shouldn’t count as a Christmas present since any other time of the year it would just be an engagement present. So I guess I totally got jipped that year and all I got was a picture frame. I remember getting skiis and lessons when we were young, I loved that gift because it got us addicted to the ski hill!

14)What’s The Most Important Thing About The Holidays For You? Getting to see my family.

15)What is Your Favorite Holiday Dessert? I love any and all holiday desserts.

16)What is Your Favorite Holiday Tradition? Parades, Christmas mass, singing Christmas carols, watching Christmas specials on tv, new Christmas outfits and now getting to come up with my own holiday tradition for my family.

17) What Tops Your tree? Nothing, because I can’t find a star I like enough to put up there.

18) Which Do You Prefer: Giving or Receiving? I like giving them, especially when I know they will love the gift.

19)What is Your Favorite Christmas Song? O Holy Night

20)Candy Canes…good or bad? Good!

21)Favorite Christmas Show? Elf. So funny!

22) Saddest Christmas Song? Christmas Shoes.

Christmas 2010