Our Doctor's Visit at 2 Weeks

Yesterday, we went for our 2 week visit to the doctor. Landry Kate is back up to her birth weight (7.0 lbs) and has grown a quarter of an inch. (I didn't really want to hear about that growing part. I don't want my little baby to grow up, but inevitably it is going to happen whether I like it or not. I have to just accept that fact and cherish every moment I have with her.) She didn't really like the doctor and his tools, especially the stethoscope. She was wailing so much that he couldn't even hear her heart. I finally got her calmed down with a passie and a few encouraging words. It was a great feeling when she was so upset, but when she heard my voice she calmed down. Her Pops said, "Obviously she has bonded with you." Yes, and me with her. We are a team!! Again, just like at the hospital, the doctor told us we have a "perfect one" on our hands. She is perfect, in fact, last night we went to sleep around 11:00 and she didn't wake up until 6:00 this morning. But sleeping through the night isn't the only thing that makes her perfect. She isn't fussy unless she's hungry. She doesn't mind her bath as much as she used to. She doesn't mind that I don't really know exactly what I'm doing. But most of all she's perfect because she is mine, she is part of me.

I did figure out one thing this past weekend though. We went to her cousin Brittany's First Communion on Saturday and Landry Kate wore the cutest plaid dress. When we got back to Gwen's house she was fussy and kept wanting to eat and didn't really want anyone else to hold her but me. (Which is very unlike her.) I was kind of having a panic attack because she had never acted like that and I was worried that she might be getting sick. Like all "prepared mothers" I had a sleeper in her diaper bag and so I changed her into the sleeper and she was a whole new baby. She wasn't fussy. She let her Meme and all the rest of the guests hold her. While we were eating she slept in her car seat. A TOTALLY DIFFERENT BABY!!! I guest the moral of the story is Ms. Landry Kate doesn't like to wear dresses. At least not yet. She will though. She's going to have to because that is pretty much all she has to wear for the summer. : ) We hope everyone is doing as well as we are. We love to hear your comments, so keep posting them.

Home for a Week

Well, its been a while since my last post, but as most of you know things have been a little crazy. Since my last post I've been to the hospital in labor twice and the last time I actually got to take home a baby!!! On Thursday April 9th, at my next doctors visit, Dr. Hinton told me that there was no way I was going to make it to my due date and I should probably tell my kids at school good bye the next day. That really got me in gear and I started washing clothes and getting bags packed like a bad mamba jamba. In fact, I went to Wal-Mart the next morning at 6:30 to buy stuff for the hospital, just in case it happened that day. Anyway, things went off without a hitch on Friday at school. In fact, my students and some parents held a baby shower for us that day at school. Then, on Saturday I thought I was in labor, and come to find out I was, but the contractions "weren't strong enough". So, I was sent home with an Ambian and crushed hopes.

A little side note: they might as well have given me a big snort of crack because that is the effect Ambian has on me. I was out by the first stop light and totally out of my mind by the time we made it home. Luckily, my mom and brother are GREAT nursemaids and they made sure I got my McDonald's and helped me realize that no one had painted my dog blue!!!

After I regained my senses the next day, I brushed myself off, put my big girl panties on, and vowed that I would NOT return to that hospital until I was in so much pain that neither myself nor anyone else around me could stand it anymore. AND.....that's exactly what I did. Fast forward a week......Saturday, April 18th. My brother, my dad, and I went to breakfast and while we were there I started having contractions (which I had all week long), but this time it was different. It was a different kind of pain, in a different place, that just felt, well, different. Me, being Negative Nellie, wouldn't believe that these were for real this time, so I just winced in pain the whole day. After breakfast, my mom, brother, Jana, Addyson, and I went to the mall to walk of course (because that ALWAYS works : ). While we were there the contractions kept intensifying. So much that Jana and my mom were trying their darnedest to get me to the hospital, but with the bad taste left in my mouth the last week I was not going down easily. Finally, the pain was enough that I convinced myself that maybe, just maybe I should go to the hospital because lord knows I didn't want to miss the epidural. When we arrived at the hospital they did the old exam, walk for an hour, exam routine and nothing had changed. However, this time, by the grace of God, instead of just calling the doctor and giving him a report, the doctor actually came in to see about my condition for himself. When he saw what kind of pain I was in he immediately decided to keep me overnight to observe me and to provide me with a little pain relief by way of Demerol(LOVE that stuff). To make a long story short, by the time he came back in the morning I had dilated from a 2 to a 4 and my water had broken. After a long day of labor, which I didn't think was too long thanks to Dr. Harris and his amazing epidural, Ms. Landry Kate Elizabeth Gregory was born Sunday, April 19th at 4:48 pm. She weighed 7 lbs even and measured 20 inches long. AND SHE WAS/IS PERFECT!!!! We have now been home a little over a week and things were stressful at first, but now that we are getting to know one another things are getting easier. She is a wonderful baby! She hardly ever cries and doesn't mind the fact that sometimes I have no clue what I'm doing. We are a good team though. I can't imagine not having her in my life. She is truly a miracle and one that has made an impact on lots of lives. Thank you to everyone for coming to the hospital, visiting us here at the house, just giving us a phone call or e-mail, or just putting us in your prayers. We are truly blessed with the best friends and family that two girls could ever ask for!!!

My second weekly visit

Well, since I'm in the last month of my pregnancy I have to/get to go to the doctor every week. This is both exciting and a bit exhausting. Yesterday was my second "dive in" appointment and it wasn't as great of an experience as the first one. However, I did find out that I am now more than 50% effaced and 1 centimeter dilated, so that's the good news. At least I am progressing from week to week.

When you go to these appointments, the first thing the doctors always ask you is if you have any questions. My questions ALWAYS are: When is she going to be born? and How big is she going to be? Both of which they can never answer. This time, when I asked when she was going to be born, Dr. Gorman said to expect her after my due date. That way if she comes before the 25th I can say he was wrong. That was the first bummer. The second bummer: after he had done the examination and I was going to get my blood work done for my thyroid, I realized I was bleeding, so I had to go get rechecked again only to find out he had broken some blood vessels during the examination. This was an extreme relief in more ways than one. First, a relief because there wasn't anything wrong with either of us. Second, a relief because I wasn't going in to labor. However, as I was sitting there waiting for Dr. Gorman to come back to do another exam, it hit me......OH NO, What if I'm in labor? What are we going to do? We're not ready for her to come yet? How is she going to come home, we don't even have her car seat in the car yet? A full on panic attack had set in and I was almost in tears when I remembered that being a mother is the only thing I ever wanted to be in my life, so I know I can do this. I may not have all the answers right now, but with the guidance of all the great moms that I have in my life I will be able to get through anything. Every day when someone asks (and someone asks EVERY day) "How are you feeling?", I always say, "Good, but I'm ready to not be pregnant any more." This is the honest truth, but the realization of having and being responsible for a child of my own has not been more vivid than when I was sitting on that exam table waiting on the doctor.

Busy, busy week(s)

Sorry that it's been so long since my last post, but , even though last week was spring break, I have been super busy. I hope everyone is doing well.

Well, last Thursday, the 26th, we went to the doctor for our first weekly visit and were told that I am 50% effaced and 1/2 a centimeter dilated. Which, my brain perceives that as half way there and ONLY 9 1/2 centimeters to go! After my exam, when the doctor was telling me all of this, I realized that maybe I didn't want to know all that information. Maybe I was better off not knowing she could come any day now. You know.....what you don't know can't hurt you. It's a scary thing knowing that you are going to be responsible for another life, another human being life, in just 3 weeks (or less). After my doctor's appointment I was sitting on the couch watching TV, thinking to myself (and kind of freaking out) "I am never going to be able to do this AGAIN, EVER!" The girls at work assure me I can watch TV, just not without my "attachment". I know whatever fears I/we have will all go away when she is born. She is the one that is probably going to be thinking, "I wish this woman would leave me alone and let me sleep/eat/dirty my diaper in peace!" In all reality, we can't wait until she is here for us to hold in our arms. It's hard to believe, but extremely exciting at the same time, that our miracle, Landry Kate, will be arriving so soon.

As I said in my first post, be patient I am new at this.....I am working on downloading pictures of my showers and hopefully I will have those posted soon. Thank you for all of your love and support.

Be patient I'm new at this : )

Thank you to my cousin Tennille for suggesting that I start a blog so that we can keep everyone up to date with my pregnancy and Landry Kate. (Yes, if you are looking at the time of this posting, I am writing this at 4:oo a.m. Insomnia, it's just one of the great "side effects" of pregnancy.) As of today we only have 5 weeks and 4 days left until our baby girl is born. We are all very excited and anxious at the same time. Me, anxious because I'm the one who has to endure the pain and the unexpected. And everyone else, anxious because they just want her to be here! We would love to hear your comments and questions, and we are very excited to share our journey with everyone.