Storm's Birth Story.

My labor with Storm was much longer than with first DD. I had been having contractions since about friday night on and off. Sunday DH almost didn't go back to Pa. becuse they were 6-8 min apart, but not getting stronger or harder. Monday came and contractions seemed to stop. I just felt kinda gross and we said If I didn't feel better Tuesday, then I would go to the doctors. Well, Tuesday never came.

My water broke at 1:40 am and, let me tell you, when they said "you will know" they weren't kidding! It was a weird, popping feeling. After calling DH to wake him up and tell him to come home, I headed to the hospital with my sister on the doctor's orders :) When contractions finally started, it turns out I was only 1 cm dilated, and there was talk of inducing me, but we held it off. When DH arived at  6:35a.m.,  I jumped to 4cm but then we seemed to get stuck around 7 cm for a couple hrs and I was wearing out. After talking to my midwife, we decided to do an IV pain med and a small amt of pitocin to help me get some rest and hopefully dilate. There was a lot of pressure with the baby trying to move down, but my body was not ready.  The pain med did make me kinda loopy, but I needed the break and I think I did pass out for a bit.  Eventually my body took over and we knew it was time for the next stage. Unfortunatelym this is where it went down hill. My practice has 3 midwifes: one was on vacation, one (who came in earlier) just got off duty after being on all weekend and had to go home to her kids, and I don't know what happened with the third, but I was left with a doctor I didn't know and who, while nice just was not a good fit. She was willing to work with us on positions but didn't have the knowledge and I sure didn't have it. I just knew that the standard position was not working for me and I didn't  appreciate hearing, "well they look like they are working from this end."  In the end, thanks to my husband, mom, plus a really great nurse, they were able to make a couple changes and she was out within a few more pushes.  Then the real suprises began as they put a very large 9lb 6 oz baby on me to clean her up. She started pooping and peeing and gave the nurse a run for her money trying to clean me, my husband and the baby up. I did have them take her to the warmer for a bit because she was sounding kinda congested. After they cleaned out her lungs, and boy... does she have a set of lungs, gave her the vitemin k shot and glucose test,  we snuggled for a while and she started nursing with little issue. I'll admit I did have some worry. Because of her glucose being a bit low, they were a bit over-eager to get her to nurse as soon as posible.  Later that day she got her sponge bath and I was able to finally eat. 

Our "little Storm" has finally arrived :)

I am very Happy to annouce that our daughter was born on July 31st at 3:56 PM.  She was a surprise at 9 lbs 6.6 oz and 20.5 inches long.  While we expected a big baby, no one had a clue she was this big. It has been an eventful few days and I am working with DH to write up our hospital story, but being that we are in the middle of a relocation, the story will be somewhat delayed. 

Moving out of state.

This will be my first time moving out of state and, really, the first time I have had to deal with many issues like rent and a moving truck. Until now, I have either lived with family, in the dorms, or the house I inherited.

On one hand we are happy to be able to leave our city, the house that needs so much work, and many other issues.  On the other hand, this is the first time in my life I will not be living under the maple trees this blog was named after.  Looking back at the photos it seems that they have grown with me from the time I was a little girl toddling next to my grandfather.  We are also very sorry to have to move away from my 90 yr old neighbors.  They treat my daughter as part of the family and it will be a great loss on both sides.

As for where we are moving to... we are currently looking for a rental house/ apartment in the southeastern area of PA.

There are so many questions bouncing around in my head over this move that I am hoping some readers might have advice and referals to help me narrow down the choices.

• Starting with how did you find a rental to live in?  What questions are important, both when you start looking and to ask the landlord when you find a possible home?
• How did you find new doctors?  Do you have one in that area that you would recommend?  It seems like we just started to put the finishing touches on a team that we are happy with, ranging from  primary care, pediatrician, family therapist, dentist,  opthamologist, midwife, and chances are a few I am forgetting.  Starting to line these up from another state seems like a daunting task; especially when many doctors are not on board with ADD, SPD and food intolerance issues. 
• New homeschooling laws- We are still on the wire, but are looking at some of the virtual public schools in the area. This would save us some money with the move and time picking out curriculum and writing lesson plans. Also I would not have to worry if I was missing something in our transition with the difference in state laws.  I am leaning towards Calvert or Lincoln Interactive, but would love your suggestions.  We are looking for a program that is self paced and does not require computer class time.
• Activites for my daughter to get involved and meet other children, and myself to meet other moms. Whether this is a co-op, meetup group, playdates, or maybe a camp depending on when we move. I also have to find her some activites for the school year to replace her dance and nature classes. 
• Less on my mind but still necessary is moving over the car insurance/registration, quality food stores, state and local taxes, utilities and other budget related expenses.
• What other issues have been on your list when you moved?

Sorry for being so quiet.

As many of you that know me already have figured out, writing is not my strong point and, lately, I have not had the concentration to organize my thoughts.  In the last 6 months we have had a lot of changes in our house with many major ones yet to come.  Here's just a bit of a snap shot of what's been keeping me so busy.

We are expecting a Baby girl on August 8th!  While I still had some morning sickness, colds, and a tooth abcess with this pregnancy, overall I have felt so much  better than when I was pregnant with my daughter.  I can't tell you how much nicer it is not to deal with the back/hip issues and constantly being sick.  Crossing my fingers it continues. For those of you that have sensory issues, you realize pregnancy is an experience in itself that I could, and maybe should, create a whole post for.  I love having a baby, but combine it all and I am thrilled there are only a few months left.  I am going to try to post more, but with the computer triggering migraine symptoms they will be random and short, unfortunately.

Unfortunately, my dog, who we have had since I was pregnant with my daughter, developed seizures and we had to put him down.  It was a tough couple of months trying different medications and holding our breath that he would be ok.  I know that we made the right choice, but it has left a large hole in our household; especially for my daughter who thought of him as her sibling and best friend.

My husband was laid off in January from his job so has been home full time.  You would think that more would be accomplished with two adults home but somehow this is not the case in my household.

I and my daughter have also been getting some baby experience in by watching a friend's children two days a week.  I had forgotten how much I did enjoy childcare and watching my daughter learn to manage with the changing personalities of  younger children. 

With all that in the last six months, it's no wonder why I am having a hard time staying on track :)

As for the changes coming up...  My husband has received a job offer out of state.  There are still some hoops to jump through so I cannot say it's 100% done, but I am confident enough to start looking for an apartment, homeschooling options and packing the house.  Yes, this means the state I am delivering in is up in the air based on insurance issues, but I am putting my vote in for CT and staying with my own doctors.  Look for a post of all our moving questions soon!

Meal Planning Monday

This week is Thanksgiving so I am going to keep it simple. Between Thanksgiving prep and DD having a ton of junk at the parties this week, it's just not worth fighting until her taste goes back to normal. Last week I did make my own yogurt.  It is actually quite simple, but takes some practice to get it perfect. We also made crackers and Tortillas instead of bread. I am proud of myself!  I even ended up soaking the baked oatmeal. My daugther who hates oatmeal loved it, so it will be appearing on our menus now. Which leads me to think I have to redo our possible meal list soon.  We have added a few items and done away with some of our shopping list as we learned to make more from scratch.  Also, we found out my husband is allergic to sesame, so that limits the last of the crackers and other packaged items we used to buy.

Monday

Breakfast - Baked Oatmeal

Snack - apple sauce

Lunch - chicken fingers

Snack-  trail mix

Dinner-  chicken pot pie

Tuesday

Breakfast- pancakes

Snack -  crackers with pb

Lunch - salad

Snack - apple

Dinner - chili and pb+j

Wednesday

Breakfast - waffles

Snack - apple sauce

Lunch - egg salad

Snack - trail mix

Dinner - DH cooks

Thursday

Breakfast - Cereal

Late Lunch-  See our Thanksgiving meal plan

Friday

Breakfast- Pancakes

Snack- fruit

Lunch- turkey sandwich

Snack- Freebie

Dinner- salad

Saturday

Breakfast- pumpkin bread

Snack- Banana

Lunch- leftovers

Snack- apple sauce

Dinner- turkey soup

Sunday

Snack- baked oatmeal

brunch - french toast

Snack -  fruit

Dinner- free for all