Catching Up

Boy it's been a week and a half! But don't worry - I'm still here. And still committed to everything this blog is about. But today is about catching you all up on the story of HOW Elizabeth was born.

At midnight on October 17, Amber told me she thought she was having bladder problems. We were 37 weeks along, and what they call "nearterm". Not premature, but not full term either. After discussing it a bit, we headed to the hospital. Sure enough - it was her water having broken. A slow leak. But no labor. No contractions. Had to get baby out within 24ish hours. They started a pitocin drip to induce labor.

She labored for hours and only dilated 2cm. They did an epidural. After 23 hours of labor, she'd advanced to 8-9cm. But was spiking a fever. When the doctor came in to talk to her about the fever, she was complete at 10cm. One good push. Amber's heart rate and the baby's jumped sky high. We stopped the pushing and discussed our options. The safest thing for everyone at this point was to go in and get Elizabeth with a C-Section.

I was in the room during it. Sitting with Amber. And when Elizabeth came out - holy cow! I cried for HOURS thereafter.

However - we weren't done. Because Amber had the fever, Elizabeth had to stay in the special care nursery to rule out an infection and receive antibiotics. We couldn't stay with her and hold her all the time. We had access, but it wasn't the same as having her in our room. And she slept. ALL the time. This is because, as we would find out, she had a bit of jaundice.

So once they ruled out infection - she STAYED in the nursery....

...under the lights. We were discharged, but she wasn't. We DESPERATELY wanted her to come home with us. So much so that we even tried bribing the nursing staff.

But alas, it didn't work. They kept her a few more days to get rid of the jaundice, and give her some extra nutrition. See - the jaundice made her sleepy which made her a poor eater which made her output low. One of those circle of life....things.

Friday the 23rd though - a MAGIC afternoon.

Time to go home, little one.
She's been at home ever since. Loving her blankets and swings and FEEDING like crazy. Oh yeah - and keeping us up at night. ;) But we ADORE her. I can't even begin to describe what a feeling I have for her in my heart. It's just incredible.

So there you go. Our baby girl is home and safe.

THANK YOU ALL for following me on Twitter, Facebook, AATM, and where-ever you did. It really made a difference. And now that we're home! We'll get pics that are CUTER and CUTER! :)

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Words cannot describe.

Welcome to the world baby girl.

A New Machine

First - a cheer to the fact that DUMBO is coming on Blu-Ray! YAY!!! Love that elephant! :)

Now - I actually ate according to plan yesterday - and actually got up and went to the gym today.

I'll wait a moment for that to sink in. :)

I got there and went to the elliptical machines. Saw a new variety, and since I always like the new stuff, hopped on.

WHOA.

This wasn't a standard elliptical. It was an elliptical that mimicked low-impact STAIR CLIMBING.

20 minutes on level ONE and I was sweating profusely and exhausted.

But I did it.

Maybe next time I do a regular elliptical...

Tomorrow I do weights, regardless.

But I'm going in the right direction. Have to lose at least 11 pounds FAST - got the new Wii Fit Plus and want to get back to my yoga! Missed it. But the balance board is only rated to 330. :(

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Updates - 341 - GASP

Okay - where to start?

Dad is the easiest place. He was home from the hospital on Thursday. Back IN the hospital on Friday. He'd put on 20 pounds in a day. He's in right sided heart failure as well. It's brought on by his vascular problems. They've drained the fluid with diuretics and he's doing better. Likely to be discharged today. Again. Although if he isn't "stable" the assisted living won't take him home. They'll send him to a nursing home first to stabilize first.

This has been really hard on me - especially since much of what's going on with dad is made worse by some choices he makes. And my mother just can't cope. Which makes me responsible for EVERYTHING.

Not to mention the whole baby thing on the way. We've been working on getting the nursery set up, and it's coming together nicely. Did some shopping. Did I mention I've been worried about how to PAY for all this what with the new business and all?

Anyhow - we saw the doctor on Friday - and Elizabeth is doing fine - no talk of early induction - we're just going to let Amber go to term and see how it goes. We hit 37 weeks on this coming Saturday - so it could be anytime after that.

Which emphasizes the need for me to take control here. Since my last weigh in I've gained around 8 pounds, pushing me up over 340 - over 50 pounds since last year around this time. I can't even begin to explain how ashamed of myself I am. How heartbroken. How utterly disgusted.

But - as I've been telling my father and mother for the last two weeks, we can't undo the past. All we can do is change our tomorrow and today. In fact, I've been working for the last week internally - soul searching - finding the strength to set the boundries I need to take care of MYSELF - which is crucial to avoid my past mistakes.

And as we all know, the past can hurt. But the way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it! So I choose to learn. We've set up a GOOD meal plan for this week - no fast foods - no eating out - lots of whole food cooking at home - and that will help a LOT. The weight gain isn't about being inactive - it's about eating way too much of the wrong things.

But activity has to be a part of this. And so I'll be giving you guys daily updates on my activity level this week - and we'll do another weigh in on Monday - and we WILL be on our way to that first goal of 325. I promise.

I feel like I'm in the process of turning a corner and reclaiming things. And if I can hold it together long enough to string a few good days together, we may just beat this thing!

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Here Come Da Judge...

So today I get to appear on the bench in a local district court for the first time.

I'm doing something called "Pro-Tem" judging. Basically substitute judging. I'm VERY excited about this.

Wanted to share. :)

As for dad - he's back home now - but may never quite be the same. They finally diagnosed this "confusion" he gets as essentially vascular related dementia stemming from old strokes. What it means is that as his health gets worse, his mind gets worse. If he's healthy - he's clearer. If he's sick...he makes no sense.

I can't even begin to describe how scary that is - how upsetting - how saddening - how....everything.

But I do know one thing. I'm going to try to keep him as healthy as possible.

And - Amber and I sat down and had a long talk about my goals over the weekend. We're going to get back to focusing on health for ME. Raising money. Setting goals. Not wallowing.

I know - you guys are tired of hearing me say that "I'm refocusing". But it's true. All I can do is re-start. I can't undo damage or laziness. I can just RE-start.

And THAT'S what I'm doing. I'll be formulating a plan over the next few days, and putting it into action as of Monday.

And I REALLY want your support. Cheer for me! Help me. :)

And then I'll see you in WDW in 2011 for the race! :)

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Checklist....

Okay - let's see what we have here....

Dad out of hospital. Check.

Dad back IN hospital. Check.

Wife 9 months pregnant. Check.

Wife 9 months pregnant with nesting urge vaccuming walls. Check.

Dishwasher breaks. Check.

Buy new dishwasher, wait one week for delivery, let dishes pile up, kitchen get messy. Check.

Emotional eating, lack of exercise, and general disarray. Check, check, check.

Okay folks - let's break this down. Dad's back in the hospital after his discharge - this time with more of the confusion we dealt with before his retirement. And it's scary. And I'm spending extra time driving mom back and forth to the hospital - trying to keep the business afloat - and manage my own sanity.

I'm not going CRAZY with eating - but I'm not really taking care of myself.

And it occurred to me this morning - there's always something, isn't there? And the only way to really take care of yourself is just to take care of yourself. Just keep plugging away at it - just keep in mind that you're focusing on your health and your body - and do the best you can. Make the most of the quiet times, and survive the crazy times.

And that's what I'm trying to do. I'm up about 3 pounds. But it could be worse. And soon I'll be posting losses. I just have to be vigilant and patient.

And hope you all don't give up on me in the meantime.

Although the good news....we have an ultrasound today. :) That ALWAYS makes things better, doesn't it?

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