A little behind.....

Sorry for the lack of updates, lack of posts etc. We've been soooo busy! Especially me, I didn't realize going back to work full-time was going to take up so much time since it's still only 3 days a week but it's exhausting! Trying to keep up with a husband, baby, laundry, dishes, cleaning etc. Yikes! Not to mention catching up on sleep which I am currently at 2 hours sleep in the past 30 hours now. I'm a bit sleepy. On top of it all, trying to buy a house, searching for the perfect one and build into relationships that have fallen by the way side.....

This month we have gone to LA and San Diego to a quick family visit and a trip to the zoo. I have worked a ton, slept a little in between, and fallen more and more in love with Anna everyday. She is now cruising from coffee table to couch and back again, intentionally says mama and dada, points to things she wants or is interested in, loves playing with the kitty, babbles constantly to her toys, laughs, claps, walks with a push-toy, pulls up on everything, loves to pull everything out of the cupboards, crawl to where ever mama is and is just beginning stranger anxiety. And, not to mention yet another miserable cold has struck her just in time for Christmas!

Anyway, the month of December has been simply amazing! I fall more and more in love with my job at Enloe in the ER and loving every night as hard as some can be. They make me appreciate and love my family and friends so much more. I am constantly reminded of the Lord's goodness to me compared to others I see and care for in the ER. I am so richly blessed by his love, faithfulness, and commitment to me. The Lord is just amazing! As we celebrate him today, I am filled with a new joy which nothing else can touch. Happy Birthday Jesus!

updated pictures to come......

Processing.....

Life is quite a journey, especially these days. Moving back to Chico has been truly amazing. It's so fun to be back, loving my job, loving working at Enloe, walking through the park, walking around downtown, walking down to Buddy and Gail's when ever we feel like it, all the pretty Chico trees.....I feel like there are just so many things to process with being back, and feeling a little overwhelmed through it all. It's been a journey that is for sure. Figuring out what relationships look like, how they've changed over a year and a half, what church body we want to be a part of, how I truly feel about being our family's "provider" financially. Still just taking a deep breath and trying to take it all in. Praying through what the Lord wants for our family now that we are back in Chico and what it's all supposed to look like.......in relationships, a house, a job for Peter, and raising a precious gift of a baby in the midst of it all.

Chico is my Hometown....

Today I soaked in the goodness of being back in Chico. Anna and I took a trip to Safeway to buy some yummy organic produce and enjoy their amazing customer service, we took a walk in the park with Megan and Andrew, took naps, made some soup, and made some yummy homemade whole wheat bread. I decided that from now on, I'm going to make all our bread. It's so easy! And, then I know exactly what is going in it. It turned out amazing. The best recipe I've found so far! I'll post it at the end of this post.

In news of the LeDuc's. I haven't posted in a while so there is a lot to catch up on......we are officially moved to Truckee. I am completely done working in Reno and my last day in Truckee at the hospital was Nov 1st. I will terribly miss that hospital. Talk about a cush job! They bring the nurses dinner at night, let us take naps, and not to mention the pay was out of this world! The patients were so nice, and really, not even remotely close to how sick of patient's I'm used to taking care of in Reno. So, my job was cush, plush, easy and just simply amazing. And, the staff was so nice to work with! Enough said, I will miss it!

In other news, I am back full time in the ER at Enloe as a RN. I'm super excited to get back into the ER. I'm used to working in an ER three times Enloe's size so I'm sure it'll be busy but not as crazy as I am used to. I love the variety of it, all age ranges. I love working closely with the Dr.'s and let's just be honest, the ER could always use a nurse that actually cares to work in it. So, I am the one for the job. I was nervous about getting my job at first because the nurse manager said she was overwhelmed with the number of applicants for the position. So, I wasn't banking on getting the job. Mid interview, she hired me on the spot after hearing I worked in the ER in Reno and have my trauma certification. I was elated! I'm nervous about going back to full time since I haven't worked full time since Anna came around but it'll be good for the time being. It is only 3 days a week after all.

Peter is still on the hunt for a job. He's applied to Aero Union and some farming company that manufactures farm equipment. The job market is beyond crappy, especially in Chico so we'll see what doors the Lord opens in that area. At least for now, he'll have some quality bonding time with Anna. Over our move, I had a birthday which was just simply amazing. We walked around downtown, got smoothies, did some birthday shopping, and had family dinner. We also attempted a trip to the pumpkin patch but they were closed. We did get some good pictures though, Anna was sooooo happy all day! A true birthday blessing.

Anna is such a happy baby! She loves to feed herself Cheerios, army crawl, take baths, follow the kitty around the house and so much more! We are offically out of the baby food stage which is so nice! She loves feeding herself anything she can eat. She's eating yogurt, chicken, all veggies, most fruits, cheerios, cheese, beans, and pasta.....Blueberries are currently a favorite along with peas and cheerios. She's getting really good at sitting up but would still prefer to crawl everywhere. She's also starting to pull up on things. It makes me nervous! It's definately baby proofing season and just when you do, it seems they find something that you forgot to baby proof. Amazing little things babies are! Oh yeah, she was a lamb for halloween and hated the hat. She kept pulling on the ears!

We are currently settled at Peter's parents house for now. Yes, how cool are we, living with parents again. It's a temporary thing to save some major money in the next couple months to use as a down on another house. At least that is the goal. Now is the time to buy. We already own one home and have rentors in it for the time being through July. So, come summer we have the option of moving back into our house. Right now we're thinking of fixing up a total dump and making it super cute or buying a foreclosure and moving into our next home and keeping our current house as a rental. So many options it's a little overwhelming. If we can't figure it out by Jan 1st. We'll go rent an apartment somewhere until we figure it all out. The beauty of it is that we have the time and so many options! We're just in the midst of praying for some clarity in which direction to go.

So, that is the update for now! I'll keep you all posted on what unfolds. Through it all, we are so blessed to be back with family and friends who love us. We are thankful we escaped the Truckee snow, and I know I am so thankful to have an amazing job, family, and in-laws that love us enough to let us live with them for the time being! So much to be thankful for! Yay Chico, it truly is my hometown!

Oh, I'll post some pictures later and....Here's the bread recipe!

Whole Wheat Bread

3 1/2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
4 T. vital wheat gluten
1/8 cup flax meal
1/2 cup applesauce
1 T. oil
2 T. honey
2 T. molasses
1 cup water plus 7/8 of a cup (3/4+1/8)
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp instant yeast

Select the 2 lb. setting on the breadmaker and the whole wheat setting. I chose a medium crust but next time I will chose a light crust. Because my loaf rose so much, it was a little doughy after baking in the machine so I just pulled it out of the bread maker pan and put it in the oven at 350 for 10 mintues and it came out perfect!

Home Sweet Home

Home to Chico we come! We are so excited! Ever since we moved away from Chico, my heart strings have been pulled in a big way to return. I didn't realize it until we made the decision to move back that I had been counting down the days until it was possible. Well, it's now possible and we hope to move next Thursday! Wa Hoo! I can't wait for long walks in the park, hot hot summer days (yes, I am even thankful for the hot weather), sipping coffee with a good magazine in hand at Bidwell Perk, friends, family, farmer's market, not having to drive 30 minutes to get the simpest things, 24 hour stores, Costco only a drive away! Yay for Chico! Since we have rentors in our house until July, that leaves us looking for a place to live......still up in the air but we have some time to figure all those details out.

I am so blessed and excited to get my job back on DCU without a question, no interview process, no nothing. I just need to go sign my hire paper work. It could not have been easier. Now, I have not officially accepted it because I have an interview with the ER on Friday at 1:00. I am excited about this possibility considering most of my nursing experience is in the ER and Trauma. Secondly, they have a 3-3 shift open which is still considered night shift so I get the fatty bonus and 3.00 more an hour. Not to meniton a 3-3 which is so much better than 7-7! I'm super excited. So, we'll see where the interview process leads. The manager said there are a ton of applicants, more than she could have ever expected so I don't know how likely I am to actually get the job. But.....I can walk back to my old floor without a question. So, there is a very good back up plan, both jobs I know I will love. No matter what anyone says about Enloe, after working at 3 different hospitals up here, it is truly an amazing place to work.

So, yay for family, yay for friends, a church community, and grandparents who are excited to babysit! Maybe date night can be reinstated? It's been a while.....

and......Jenna, I agree, completely addicting!
87 words

Speed test

SOOOOOOO Much Fun!

"Hiding a tooth and a hand"


Scooter......


And....some giggles playing with momma....


I am absolutely amazed at this week in development! Sounds, teeth, rocking on all fours, sitting up on her own. All happened in one week! I was taking pictures of her and just happened to catch video of her rocking on all fours for the first time ever even though it was only for a second, I was really suprised. I'm bummed the video is so dark, I'm not used to taking video on our digital camera....So, enjoy with me some of these happenings.......

I heard.......

Peter woke me up today ( I worked last night and work tonight again) to hear the sounds of......"mamamamamamamamamamama!" Yay! It's so sweet to hear Anna say mama. It's not quite an intentional "name" yet, just sounds, but so fun! I love all these new milestones, teeth and mama in two days, so fun!

Update:

Today came bababababababa. These sounds are just the best!

Better than a Rollie Pollie....

A cute picture of Anna at 6 months with her sweet cousins Selah and Ansley. There's nothing like cousin lovin (:


Tooth! Well, a corner of a tooth. On the upper right. Not even a bottom tooth. Our pediatrician told me on Thursday when we went in for Anna's 6 month visit that she was very close to teething. I took it with a grain of salt and figured it would happen eventually. Everyone has been telling me for months how close she is because of how she chews on things. But, low and behold the Dr. was right! Today she was laying on her back playing and smiled up at me and I saw a little flash of white. Exploring I went and found her little tooth trying to peak through! She's been so good, not fussy at all and just as happy as a little clam.

Thursday was shots, it went well besides the actual shot part but Anna did great the rest of the day. She's 25 1/2 inches long and 16 lbs even. She is in the 25th percentile for height, 50th for weight and 10th for her head. Better than the 5th percentile. I guess little heads run in our family. She's such a happy baby, almost crawling, certainly army crawling towards everything, sitting up when she wants to, rolls better than a rollie pollie, and loves standing up and bouncing with help from mommy or daddy. She has found her voice and has become quite fond of happy screams and squeals. Anna loves her veggies, hates the fruits except apricots (which I made last night) and is very picky with the temperature of her fluids. No cold water if in a sippy cup, if it's out of our glass, she just can't get enough. She doesn't like diluted juice which just reinforces her dislike of fruit. Mommy milk she continues to love as long as it's straight from the source or warm and in her glass bottles........

The baby proofing begins......

JH and 6 months

The LeDuc family, headed to JH Ranch for our annual Labor Day Weekend trip. Another amazing year with Peter's family. The trip included 5 amazingly cute girls 4 and under, horseback riding, good naps, fun games, and quality family time. Anna did great and it was amazing how the Lord orchestrated our trip down there! I must share: I was supposed to work that Friday night to begin the weekend so we were going to be late and go Sat. morning after I got off work, no fun! We were worried about how Anna was going to do with 5 1/2 hours in the car staring at the back of the seat. I prayed and prayed and prayed that I would get a mandatory night off at work on Friday afternoon and I did! The census was so low they didn't need me! So, we headed up Friday night. We left around 6, Anna napped. We stopped in Susanville just in time for her to wake up, feed, and for us to eat dinner. We spent more time than we wanted at dinner but figured we were in no hurry to get up to the Ranch. So, we packed up again, Anna fell asleep. Just as we got to Hwy 89, it was closed! There was a semi accident and they closed it but were going to re-open it within 10 minutes. So, we waited, Anna woke up, I fed her a little bit more, 89 opened and we went on our way. If we hadn't spent so much time at dinner, we would have either waited forever on the side of the road, parked, or we would have had to take an hour detour to get to Redding and then go up 5. Way out of the way! So, first I got the night off, second we made perfect timing avoiding the road closure, third, Anna slept pretty much the whole trip up there! Every answer to our prayers. It was amazing and such a blessing. On the way we could have potentially hit, a large rabbit, 5 deer, a big black bear, and 2 skunks all of these we saw on the road and managed to dodge. Thank you again Lord for safety! All in all, it was a great weekend.

On to exciting Anna news, she is getting soooooo big! She's giggling all the time, smiling, loves to eat my face, snuggle, eat, she's almost sitting up on her own. I really have to encourage sitting, she would rather roll or scoot. She is doing the ever famous army crawl and makes it about 4-5 feet before she gives up and goes back to rolling. She is so proud of herself when she makes it to her toys! She is such a good sleeper these days and is just so easy going and happy most of the time. I can't believe we've hit the 1/2 birthday mark already! I spent today clearing out the clothes in her dresser that don't fit her anymore and found a ton of clothes that will fit her now. It's amazing how much stuff we got at baby showers! I had completely forgotten. It was so much fun to find all the new things that will fit her for the next couple months! Where does the time go?

A gummy grin.....

I have a feeling teething will be upon us here pretty soon......drooly baby, fussy at times, biting.....maybe she's just learning new things to do with her mouth? I must admit I am getting a little sad about the thought of her teething! I love her little gummy grin and it's sad to think it will be gone once her pearly whites break through. Yikes! This whole baby growing up thing is a little harder than most explained........New stages are exciting but are making me a little sad. I'm missing my little cuddly newborn.

No Thank you Mama....

Is what Anna would say if she could talk when it comes to pears. She hates them! Third times is not the charm with this little lady. We'll keep trying but she just can't get these pears down. Even mixed with applesauce, or oatmeal. I should stick them in some zucchini because she LOVES zucchini. So far, we've tried rice cereal, oatmeal, applesauce, butternut squash, zucchini, bananas, and now pears. I think if she had her pick, she'd eat zucchini morning, noon and night, along with mommy milk of course.

Happy Baby Eating Oatmeal


Not so Happy Baby Eating Pears

Blue!

I can't get enough of these blue eyes, even when welling up with tears......



Thank you Peter for passing on those amazing eyes (:

"Mmmmmm"

Here are some pictures of Anna's first cereal experience. Now on to oatmeal....I made a trip to the New Moon Natural food store today to stock up on veggies and summer fruits to start my first baby food making experience. I went with the baking route. I was so proud of my baby making food skills! Today I made butternut sqush, applesauce, plums, nectarines, peaches, zucchini, yellow squash, and oatmeal cereal. I went a little overboard but I wanted to stock up on the summer fruits before they are gone. They are now frozen in perfect 1 oz portions and in ziplock bags in the freezer. Anna is loving eating and so eager! Still learning how to use a sippy cup, I need to get a different one that is easier to use. Right now she just drenches herself with water.

She wants to grab the spoon herself, everytime, which makes for a messy experience. Thanks for the encouragement to let her get messy with eating Jenna, I need a little encouragement! We'll start some veggies on Sunday and go from there! More pictures of the "fun" foods later.......

New find.........(updated)

I have a new find up here in the beautiful Lake Tahoe region. I found the most beautiful, perfect, amazing, breathtaking beach! I'm usually not one for the beach, suprising, I know. I find it funny so many people usually love the beach. I could usually pass a day at the beach, at least the typical beach. Smelly like salt water, gritty sand that sticks to everywhere and loves to hide in your crack (the kind you still find after a couple days, in the shower). Lots of people, the idea of sharks, loud crashing out of control waves etc. Anyway, this beach is amazing. It's like the carribean but in the mountains. The water is crystal clear, green, blue beautiful, the sand is perfect and just brushes off instead of sticking to everything.......people are relatively calm, the water is the perfect temperature, no sharks, no icky smells, no crazy waves.

It's Sand Harbor, my new favorite place. Many may have been there before, it's known as one of Lake Tahoe's epic beaches. It's quite amazing. So, if anyone makes it up our way, we'd love to take you to a day at the beach. It's only about a 1/2 an hour drive.

Anna also has a new find! Rice cereal! We wanted to wait until she was 6 months old but this girl is just growing and growing and growing! I went to the lactation consultant to ask some questions about how many ounces I should be giving her, starting solids, etc. We've been giving her a 5 ounce bottle, she's ok with it usually, but lately has been getting really mad when she finishes it! So, we switched back to the level 1 nipples so she has to work a little harder for all that yummy milk and per the lactation consultant, we have a big girl at 14 pounds even who needs 6-7 ounces. She's also waking up in the night again consistently, at different times genuinely hungry. The L.C. suggested we start a couple teaspoons of rice cereal just once a day for the next month to see if that ties her over a little bit. We don't have any allergies in our family, she's soooooooooo eager to eat, pulling anything off our plates she can, sitting up well, has good double hand control to the mouth, and no extrusion reflex. She's eating like a champ and so proud of herself that she gets to eat with us at the dinner table. Again, I really really really wanted to wait, talked to the L.C. about how much I wanted to wait until 6 months to the recommendation of the american academy of pediatrics. She eased my mind by encouraging me that if cereal will hold her over, we can avoid formula, but Anna's little body requires something a little more, or more milk which I am just not producing! Anyway, I will post some pictures soon.....So much to learn. Did you know you should avoid carrots and spinach unless it's made by a baby food company because of the high nitrate levels and only the baby food companies monitor their nitrate levels. Crazy! I do know I'll be making my own baby food........

There are so many questions and ways to start solids. Everyone says something different about it. Mommy friends, what do you think? How did you start solids, what foods did you start first? Yellow veggies, green veggies, fruits, grains? How much, how often?

Mia K.

Anna's "Mia K." (Peter's mom, Kathy) is so great! Thank you Mia for letting me take good naps, for taking Anna on long walks several times a day, for loving her, playing with her, feeding her in the middle of the night, for changing diapers and for letting me sleep for a little while after a long night at work! Thank you for the yummy fruit you brought with you to share and for helping our broken Daddy out for a night. We so appreciated you coming up to help! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Booties anyone?

My mom started making these cute booties. She's going to start selling them at a boutique in Chico. Let me know if you are interested! Anna has two pairs and I love them. I've gotten a ton of compliments on them already!

A sweet smelling rose and smiles.....

I love these sweet smiles. My parents came up to help with Anna on Tuesday and stayed until Wed. night. It was so amazing having them here! It was such a huge help. I was able to take a good nap on Wednesday while Anna was just a doll with them. She loves playing with them. Especially my Dad. She loves his beard. We potted my new rose bush that Peter's mom got me for Mother's day. I am so excited! We trimmed it back, put it in a big pretty pot and I cut off all my new blooms from it. I am loving them and the way they smell, they smell amazing! It's a double delight rose, my favorite.

Here's a picture of the first bloom:



It was nice to get some things done around here with some help for once. My mom did all of our laundry which was AMAZING since I hate laundry duty. I feel caught up, a little more rested and have enjoyed the rest of my week. I have been praising the Lord this week for the restoration he has brought to our relationship with my parents!

Shredded

Peter's achilles was indeed shredded, gone, nothing left. The awesome Dr. Kiechbush sewed the threads of shred back together and said he should be as good as new in about 8-10 weeks. Well, at least he can come out of his 10 pound boot by then. The new question is, how do you hold baby and crutch every where at the same time? He's supposed to be non-weight bearing for 8 weeks minimum and that was heavily stressed from the Dr. himself. Apparently an achilles repair isn't so simple and a high majority of patients have to go back in for multiple surgeries because they re-tear them. I'm praying this doesn't happen. God is completely capable of healing this tendon and I have faith and trust he will heal it right the first time. It's going to be an interesting two months with him not being able to carry Anna around. I'm pretty sure he'll come to heavily rely on the baby bjorn and the moby! I'm feeling weary already having to do all of the work with Anna and working nights. It's all catching up with me. I know I'm only doing 2 nights a week but they are spread out and it takes a good day and a half to recover. By the time I'm recovered, I'm back for another shift. I'm tired, worn out, exhausted. I would love to sleep for 3 days straight! Anna has also hit another growth spurt so we're back to waking up every 3 hours to feed. I feel like I'm just a boob lately. Also, my nursing doesn't stop when I leave work, I now take care of a hurting husband post-op. At least making sure he gets pain meds around the clock coincides with Anna's every 3-4 schedule so it's not too hard to remember with this foggy brain I have. Two peas in a pod I tell ya. I would love some prayers for the weariness I'm feeling. I'm feeling as shredded as Peter's achilles.........

Waiting.....

I'm here at the surgery center of Reno waiting for Peter to get out of surgery. This surgery center is great! They have computers for family to use when waiting, movies with TVs, etc. Not to mention really comfy couches in the lounge! Not what I had expected. I was ready to sit in a hard chair in a 1980's waiting room with me, myself, and my book listening to the secretary answer phones all morning. No siree is this what I had in mind. It's great! I am so thankful my parents came up to watch Anna today and will be here to help tomorrow. Then, we're on our own. Still a broken husband, a cute baby girl, and a very tired mommy. I'll keep you all posted on how Peter's doing. He should be out of surgery any minute now.

Dr. Kiechbush and a Broken Husband

Peter did it. He crashed on his motorcycle racing on the 4th of July......So, we spent some time in Enloe's prompt care getting his 1 1/2 inch puncture wound on his left elbow irrigated, numbed, x-rayed etc. We got some great antibiotics and left on our merry way being told to come back on Sunday for a wound re-check. Being a nurse, I figured we could wait until Monday morning to go to the Dr. in Truckee. Well, Sunday he was going to try to race and down play his injuries. He called on Sunday and said his arm was so swollen that he couldn't bend it or get his leathers on and was going to come home. Around 4:00 he came hobbling up the door. My first thoughts were "what now?" I opened the door and with a smile and a purple swollen left ankle to top off his previous injuries, he said, "I twisted my ankle." Off to the Dr. again this time for an ankle x-ray. Not broken but with a report that he may need surgery on his elbow puncture wound to clean it out and get rid of the huge (half an apple size) blood clot in his joint.

We left........went home......and first thing Monday morning went to our Dr. in Truckee. She took one look at his arm and sent us for a surgery consult in Reno to the ER. We spend most all day in the ER only for Dr. Cole to tell us to go see Dr. Kiechbush an orthopaedic surgeon for the consult on the elbow now being told it may be broken. Not to mention it's now so hugely swollen he can't even bend his fingers at all and is black, blue and purple from mid bicep to palm. So, this morning Peter went to see the ortho guy. Not concerned about the arm.....well, at least not as much as with the ankle. Turns out he tore his achilles tendon and is now going in for surgery this upcoming Tuesday. They missed this in Chico and missed it in the ER in Reno. Good thing we have good insurance to take care of all this! I knew God had me working for a reason (:

In the mean time, we are trying to make it together taking care of Anna.....mostly me on my own doing most of the work now. Peter's left arm is in an immobilizer at 90 degrees and his left ankle is now in a huge boot and he has a spiffy pair of crutches to help him hobble around. Although, after a trip to the Dr. today his strict instructions were to keep his toe above his nose unless he has to get up to pee. These next couple days are going to be quite interesting.......

Through it all Anna is still just as cute and happy and smiley as ever. For an update, she's now rolling all over the place. Tummy to back, back to tummy, spins in 360's, smiles, laughs, coos, grasps things. I just started giving her a sippy cup at dinner with a little bit of my mommy milk in it. She loves holding it and tipping to up to try to drink out of it. She almost has it figured out on her own. She's getting so big so fast and it's fun to watch her learn and grow and do something new everyday. She's quite the trooper.

Did I mention Peter is officially grounded from racing??

A Year Ago.....

I woke up this morning and remembered that it was a year ago today that we found out we were welcoming a baby to our little family. I was scared, reluctant, terrified, not ready, excited, nervous, happy, etc. The emotions ran the whole gamet. Peter was excited, thrilled, happy and super positive about the 4 positive pregnancy tests. To re-live the moment.......I was unpacking our bathroom stuff as we had just unpacked our whole new house the night before, and I stumbled upon a pregnancy test we always kept around "just in case." We certainly weren't planning on getting pregnant. I figured we didn't need to keep it around, let alone unpack it because I wasn't pregnant or was planning on it any time soon. Well, I figured I was 3 days late which wasn't like me and I didn't want to keep this test around so I'd just take it. So, I peed on the stick and waited the 3 minutes....more like 20 seconds and I saw a little plus sign emerge. My first thoughts were that it wasn't right, couldn't be right but maybe it was?? Peter came home 1/2 an hour later and I showed him the test. He was immediately excited while I cried through telling him my findings. How we had just moved away from everyone and as far as I was concerned, everything. How we weren't ready for this. He reassured me that this was an incredible blessing, one that we could and should embrace. We then proceeded to Longs Drugs to take 4 more tests, all of which were positive. Once reality sank in, we went and took a picture in front of the Truckee population sign reading 14,300. Peter held up 3 fingers in front of the last 0 to make the population now 14,303.

Looking back on this day makes me smile. I would have never imagined that Anna would be half as amazing as she is. I couldn't picture what our family would look like, what it would be like to be a mommy, the completeness it would bring our marriage. Needless to say, God knew what he was doing in giving the gift of this little baby to us. She has been such a joy and delight. We love her more than we could have imagined, and I love my husband even more for joining me in the journey of parenting. Our baby girl is such a blessing, it's fun to reflect on this day we found out she was coming!

Cheese-Bur-Ger

After living in Truckee for almost a year now, I finally learned of the "cheeseburger birds!" They have a little whistle that sounds like a three syllable "cheese-bur-ger." Quite amazing! Now when I hear them, it makes me smile. I can't wait for Anna to notice the cheeseburger bird whistles throughout the cool summer days in Truckee........

"Ham Bone"

This is Anna's new nickname from her daddy. All day yesterday I think she had the happiest day of her life yet. She smiled all day despite all the errands we had to run. I worked on Monday night, slept for 3 hours on Tuesday morning until Anna woke up and then we had to drive to Reno for my dentist appt. (I got a good report by the way!) She fell asleep in the car during our 35 minute drive and I was hoping she would sleep right through the whole appt. because we left the house at the start of nap time. Anyway, we got to the dentist's office and she had her little peepers wide open looking around at this strange new place she'd never been before. So, I picked her up and changed her diaper. Within 5 minutes just about every woman in the office was saying hello to her. I was a little worried so many people would overwhelm her because she gets overwhelmed very easily. This time, she was smiling, talking back to them, almost giggling and just eating up every minute of attention. They all fell in love to say the least. During the whole time I was getting my teeth cleaned, she layed on her back on my stomach in the chair and played with her toy and just cooed and cooed and cooed. She was making us all laugh. I was so happy she did so good! Then, off to costco where we made the grocery run. She was smiling and cooing at everyone there also. She took a great afternoon nap and again, woke up so happy. Anna is usually a happy baby but has her fussy time also. I think the Lord especially blessed me yesterday with her happy mood because I was so tired and running on 3 hours of sleep.

We ate dinner. She loves eating with us now and watching everything. We put her in her bumbo on the table with us when we eat. Through all of dinner she was smiling at Peter and talking to him. It was so cute to see them bond. She's responding to him more and more since I've gone back to work and spending more time together. After dinner I put a new hat on her that my mom got her this past weekend and got some pictures. For the first time, she was smiling, cooing, and making her "I'm excited" noises at the camera. She was quite a ham. She did this for about 20 minutes. Peter and I were just laughing at her, we've never seen her so happy! After a bath with daddy and a last feeding, she went down with out a fuss and Peter and I had our much enjoyed alone time for a couple hours before we went to bed. We watched Hairspray. I didn't think it would be that good but we loved it! John Travolta was quite a kick in that movie playing the fat mom. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. Anyway, we loved last night of good family time. It was so fun, and our little "ham bone" was quite entertaining.

"Jack.....NO!

I'm pretty convinced that these will be Anna's first words. Even before mommy or daddy or kitty etc. Jack (our beloved attack cat) has been driving me absolutely bonkers lately! Talk about having spring fever. Summer fever now I guess. He is an indoor only cat but I'm almost to the point of letting him get outside. He's been jumping in the window sills, playing with the blinds, jumping on the counters (a huge no) batting at everything in site, runing around the house like he's on crack, seriously, trying to do almost everything crazy imaginable. He's going going going at about 100 miles an hour all day long! It's driving me nuts. Maybe I need to give him a little more attention than he's getting, maybe he's acting out like a kid?? I don't know but all week it's been..."Jack, NO!" to just about everything he does.

Anyway, onto life's more important things. I am officially back at work. It's going well so far but I am absolutely exhausted! I don't know how long I'm going to be able to do it on my own with watching Anna. My previous plans of working Fridays so I can sleep on Sat. has been destroyed by out of town adventures to Chico (way too much) and Peter's racing plans and desires. It's been frustrating trying to work out the schedule and I am starting to feel the effects of it. Even going home where we have help isn't restful either. Too much to do, too many people to see, and a baby that I really want to spend time with even as tired as I am. It's been a bumpy road to figuring this out!! I just keep praying that the Lord would show us how to make this work and honestly if I am really called to go back to work or go down to per diem (just one day a week). I pray he shows us here soon, or at least teach Peter how to happily flex his desires more (something that he struggles with). It's been hard to find a balance for him between work, family, and play time lately. I feel it's more play time these days that the other two which just makes me more tired and exhausted feeling that I have most of the time with Anna. SIGH.....I think I'm just exhausted! I struggle with wanting to be a nurse, work, a mommy and a good wife. I try to justify it that I'm working for health benefits but we could get private insurance also and afford it all in the same. So, the question becomes, am I working to afford Peter's hobbies or am I working because I want to and I feel called to it. What comes first? What is most important right now....to me, raising Anna. Time with Anna.....family....work.....or hobbies? Yikes, huge revelations today! Things I've been too tired to think about lately. So, a lot to sort out recently. A lot to put into perspective. Not to mention the true role of becoming parents and making our lives work with Anna now in the mix is starting to come to fruition. How does it all work? How do people make it work? What does it look like to live in a Godly household and to raise your children under his authority? What a learning process I tell you! There is so much to think about and such a huge commandment on mother's to raise your child as the Lord has called us to, every day. Big responsibilities!

Ok, a lot of rambling but these are the things that have been on my heart this morning and that I have been thinking about. I am exhausted and it's time for Anna's nap, so until next time.....

Tagged.....

I was tagged by Heather! so here it goes:

4 things i was doing 10 years ago:
1. I got bumped up to be a level 8 gymnast
2. graduating from 8th grade
3. enjoying the summer off
4. won the "golden rolling pin" in home econ.

4 things i was doing 5 years ago:
1. taking my nursing prerequisites
2. leading a small group bible study
3. supporting myself through college
4. Getting to know Peter as a friend

4 things i did yesterday:
1. Took a nap
2. Went shopping in Reno
3. bought Anna some cute new things on sale
4. Made dinner

4 shows i like to watch:
1. Gray's Anatomy
2. House
3. NCIS
4. CSI

The Lake.....

I am beginning to love where we live. Today, my new friend Kendra and I went to the lake with another friend, Tracy, and of course all the kids. Tracy's in-laws own a condo in Incline Village with a private beach on lake Tahoe. So, with the kids in tow, Kendra and I made the 25 minute drive to Incline Village to visit the beach. It was an amazing day! Friends, fellowship, fun with the kids, a cool breeze, clear blue Tahoe water, 84 degrees and perfect sun. I got to finally wear my new bathing suit I got at the Patagonia outlet last year for 9.99 (so excited for that find!) and I was even more happy that it still fits considering I bought it without knowing a baby was coming (: Anna even had her new sunglasses for the trip. We tried them on this morning and she smiled away in them.....A beautiful day up here in Tahoe! Definately not missing the Chico heat right about now. It's amazing to just drive to the lake and be in one of the most beautiful places in the world. It made me feel like we were on vacation. I'll have to go to the lake more often. We do only live 13 miles from it!

Speaking of vacation, it's over for me. I start back to work Tuesday night for my first shift in the ICU at Saint Mary's. I'm excited but also nervous about going back. My biggest worry right now is when I will sleep, or if I will sleep. I'll do 2 nights a week and split them so it won't be as bad. We'll see. I continue to pray that this schedule works out and that God gives me the strength to not need much sleep. I tear up thinking I won't be home for Anna's 5 AM feeding ): I know she won't miss me too much and she does sleep the whole night, I just hate the idea that I'll be so far away from her and not here if she or Peter needs me. It's bittersweet for sure. I'm excited to go back, but dreading it at the same time. I pray the Lord changes my heart on this and gives me a lot more excitement about this new job than I have. I'll keep you all posted as to how this first week goes!

74 and Tears....

On the way to our "house" in Truckee (I refuse to call it home, Chico is home, Truckee is just where our house is) on highway 20, I woke up to the sound of my wonderful husband saying "shoot" and flashing blue and red lights. My first words, "Peter, (sigh), how fast were you going? in a half awake attempt. The answer, "Alli, I don't know, it's late." So, the officer came to my side, I sat up in my seat, and he didn't look happy. The dreaded question, "So, do you know how fast you were going?" Answer: "Not a clue officer." "74 he replied." My first thoughts, CRAP! This is a 55 and 74 in a 55 no good, especially with a baby in the back seat. So, WE royally got chewed out by the officer, one for going 74, two, he said it was my job to reach over and smack Peter for going that fast and that it's my responsibility as the passenger to do this, three, for "endangering a 10 week old baby." Oh brother! I replied that I was sorry and that I would had, had I the opportunity, but that I had just woken up to his flashing lights. Even better, he seemed to focus on me as if I was responsible for the driving. He asked if I worked for care flight because we have a care flight sticker in the back window of the subaru, ("Subi" we call it) from the previous owner who I worked with (he worked for care flight). His advice was not to remove it as it would "save me someday." I said no, but that I was a nurse in Reno. He preceded to lecture me about how I should know better for speeding and that there are bears, deer, and mountain lions and I of all people should know from working in the ER that accidents happen and the number one cause is speeding. I sheepishly said, "I know officer, and I'm sorry." Geez! I wasn't even driving! Good thing I was too tired to care at the time. So, in his custody was Peter's license, our registration and proof of insurance. Meanwhile, Anna woke up in the back seat and was not happy about the light situation. When the officer came back, he explained that when he "rips someone a new one," he doesn't ticket them and that since I'm a nurse, he'd let us go. Yay for nurses! He told "us" to slow down and to get the baby home safely. A huge sigh of relief from me and we were back on the road! I think Peter had it easy in this situation. Once again, I reminded him why I love being a nurse and why I've left the sticker on the window that he thinks is stupid. Thanks for the tip on the sticker Marcus! Then, we had a short discussion of remembering that racing is for the track, not subaru outbacks on ANY road.......Peter was less than amused and just smiled proudly of his love for racing.......

So, home safe, late, but safe. Sleep was less than stellar. I woke groggy this morning, fed Anna, packed her bags and had everything ready for our friend that was going to watch her today because it was my first day back to work. So, I get in the car, feeling proud I'm even a little early and I get to her house. Knock, no answer. Doorbell, no answer. CRAP! No Tahoe in the driveway. SHOOT! She wasn't there! Completely flaked on me! My next thoughts, what am I going to do as I hold back the tears? I called Peter to take her back to him as this was my only option. I can't call in to work on my first day! On my way, I saw our Pastor's car in the driveway at our church. Being our babysitter and friend is his daughter-in-law, I figured I could ask what the deal was. He didn't have a clue but offered up his lovely wife for her babysitting services. At this time, I was in tears, fighting them but I just couldn't. He gave me a huge hug and gently said, "follow me." Off to his house we went, I collected myself and successfully dropped Anna off. Once I was on the freeway, I lost it. I was in tears, crying. Not only did all my plans fall apart, I was in a panic of "what would I do" and I had to leave Anna all day for the first time! Needless to say, it's been a hard day emotionally. I'm tired, I'm not wanting to return to work, Anna is still so needy. To top it off, it's a new job, new hospital, new people and it's like starting from square one. Sigh ):

So, a nap for me at the moment is what I would love to accomplish as Anna is now down for a nap and the house is quiet.....

My Little Love

I just love this picture! I can't help but smile when I see that little smirk.

A Proud Moment......

I am going to sleep tonight feeling pretty proud of myself. These long nights of sleep training has finally paid off and tonight was the first evidence of it! I nursed Anna, laid her down at 9:00 PM, groggy but still awake as they recommend, in her crib, on her back (which she has refused to sleep on since she was born) and she made two really cute coos and she was out! I watched Grey's Anatomy in perfect peace, took an amazing, long, hot shower and did one last tip toe in to make sure she was still breathing since she hadn't made a peep. Peter was left speechless on the couch reading his book in a moment of AWE and shear pride!

After all the advice (which really has just left me discouraged and overwhelmed), all the "you shoulds" and "try this" from EVERYONE who felt they needed to chime in, the choices I have made for Anna and what I have found works for her and what I am comfortable with as her momma is beginning to come to fruition. I think the turning point was staying calm about the whole bedtime routine myself combined with a whole lot of prayer! Jesus can teach us anything right? I realized last week that I am a big girl myself, that I sleep through the night and that I sleep in my own bed and have for a very long time now. Remembering this calmed me down and made me realize that Anna would also in due time. In her own time and whenever she chose to would be ok with me because I trusted it would happen someday when she was ready. I must say it's a proud moment and a little self esteem booster. I sleep tonight feeling like I'm finally doing something right. I've finally taught my baby the gift of a quality night of sleep.....YAY!

And, what was I doing?.........

This week I am realizing that sleep deprivation is catching up with me. For one, I thought my brother's birthday was on Wednesday when it really was on Monday. I had the date right, just not the day of the week. In the nick of time, I set up a babysitter for Anna so I could work on Tuesday and to top it off, the laundry I've been meaning to get done is still just sitting there. I've been meaning to get so many things done and the next thing I know I'm doing something else and have completely forgotten about what I really need to do! I'm just so tired! Good news, Anna is sleeping so much better! The crib transition is complete, at least for now. I think I'm still holding my breath a little on this one but she's spent the last 4 nights now in her crib on her own. It's been amazing! She's also sleeping 6-7 hour stretches. It was taking 2-3 hours to get her to sleep and now it's only about 20 minutes, she's really learning to soothe herself. I'm loving it!

Just as a great routine gets started, she got her first set of shots today. I'm hoping it doens't throw everything off! She's doing well so far, just a little fussy and she cries when she moves her legs. So, she's been getting tylenol around the clock. It just breaks my heart to see her uncomfortable! She's growing, getting so big and this is just another milestone to get through. She's now 10 lbs 5 oz and almost 22 inches long! Such a big girl! Ok, off to bed for me.....here's a little cartoon that describes my week (:

Our Sweet Baby Girl....

Watch for birth announcements in the mail, they should be on their way! Here is the picture I used. I just love it!

Smiles.....

Anna started smiling this weekend! It is absolutely adorable. There is just nothing better. I woke up this morning and she was grunting away and making her little noises. I started talking to her telling her good morning and she just smiled. Now, I am not a morning person what so ever or at least I really don't like waking up early but for a smile, it's worth it (: It is so fun to watch and wonder what she will do next. She is currently in the swing smiling away at her fish mobile. She loves it. Not so much the swinging part but the music and watching something.

On another note in mommy world. I put in my two weeks at Renown in the ER and have accepted a job at Saint Mary's the other hospital in Reno in the ICU. It is part time nights which is just two nights a week which will be great. Now it's just figuring out what two nights will work the best with Peter and I's schedules. We'll have to figure that out. I left Renown because they only gave me 6 weeks leave which would put me back at work this upcoming Monday. No way! At Saints, I don't start until May 12th so I have another 5 weeks at home to watch these amazing smiles! I'll try posting a picture as soon as she smiles long enough to capture a good shot....can't wait to share!

Pictures

Some new pictures from the last couple weeks (: It's amazing to see how big she's gotten! I can't believe how much she's changed just in the last couple weeks......



"Hmmm....I don't know if I like this swing....."



"Big yawn!"



"Daddy, what am I wearing?? Please work on the color coordination and matching....(:" This is what Peter chose for Anna to wear after her bath.....I just laughed and smiled. Good thing she doesn't mind too much right now!



"I love my bouncer!"

Running on empty....

Any advice from other breastfeeding mommies?? My body has seemed to first be in milk producing overdrive, now it's calmed down. I'm learning that I make just enough to make Anna satisfied with each feeding every 3 hours. I just can't seem to get ahead so I can pump a bottle for her if I'm gone. A reserve for Peter. I'm pumping in the morning and now after each feeding to try to get some saved up! Any other advice from my mommy friends? Who ever said this whole breastfeeding business was easy? They lied!

Sacrifices

Tonight I ventured out after bible study to spend an hour and a half at the gym. Well, at least that was the goal. I think I made it there, had enough time to pee and then hit the treadmill. Just as I was getting into the groove with some good quality worship music on my iPod, the phone rings. (Mind you, I instructed Peter to call only if Anna had been crying for at least 10 minutes and if he really thought I needed to come home) On the phone, Peter and a crying Anna in the background. He told me it was time to come home. My first thought....ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I've only been here for 6 minutes please don't make me come home! My response was this: Have you tried the pacifier? Is she wet? She shouldn't be hungry, it's only been an hour and a half. Did you wake her up when she was sleeping? Have you tried the swing? Have you tried the 5 S's? You get the drift, running through the whole list. I guess the scenario was she was sleeping in her car seat (we had just gotten home from bible study) and he woke her up while getting her out. I'm starting to think she takes after me in this area, she recently hates getting woken up from sleeping. She will cry for about 10 minutes and after some snuggling, she's back to sleep and the world is happy again. So, after doing his best, she was still crying. He begged me to come home insisting she needed to eat. I tried reassuring him that she would calm down and to let her cry it out a little while longer. I couldn't convince him.

Mom came home despite her own desires. What do I find? A baby fast asleep in Daddy's arms. I think it's easy for me to not worry about this case because I'm with her all day and have started to really get to know her. Peter is only with her at night and is still learning so much about her and how to soothe her and what calms her down which is why I think he wanted me to come home. I so badly wanted to have some alone time, some time to call my own, and start making that a priority in my day. Of course Anna and Peter will come first but, I really want to start setting aside some "worship and workout time" I call it, for myself. Some time where no one is crying, asking what is for dinner, asking where a shirt is, if the dishes are clean or dirty. You get the drift.

Apart from my disapointment of having to come home early and end my night I find a joy in coming home to nurture Anna. I love knowing that if she needs to eat, she needs me....mostly, I love that Peter and I are a team when it comes to nurturing Anna. We work together to figure out what works and what doesn't. There is so much to learn! Mainly, I learned tonight that the sacrifices we make as moms, big and small are so rewarding. So, as Anna sleeps on Peter's chest for the next hour until her next feeding, I'm going to try to slip in some sit-ups and try to regain the stomach I once had as the gym is now closed until the morning........

The Stats.....

Today Anna had her 2 week appt. Even though she's almost 3 weeks.......anyway, I am so amazed at how much she has grown! She has grown an inch and a quarter and she's now 7 lbs on the dot. Amazing! So, she's 20.25 inches and 7 lbs. Growing like a little weed. She's in the 10th percentile for weight and 25th percentile for height. The doctor said she looks amazing and is doing really well. When we were leaving to go to the Dr. I put Anna in her carseat and when I was strapping her in, she started looking at her toy! I was so proud! She's starting to look at as so much more and it just seems like she is so much more aware of things around her. It's exciting to watch her meet these little milestones!

Moving on to life's issues.........So, work has only approved a six week leave of absence. That puts me going back to work on April 14th which there is no way I'm willing to do that! That's 3 weeks from now and even before my 6 week appt. with Dr. Mellum! Before I had her, my manager verbally approved a 12 week leave and now I got a paper in the mail with a 6 week only approval. So, I need to talk to my manager and put in my 2 weeks if she will not approve another 6 weeks. With that said, I've really been praying about this issue this week. It is not in my personality to quit just because I'm not getting what I want. On the other hand, I really feel like the Lord is telling me that I need to not back down on this issue and not settle for any offer of extended leave but my full request. I truly feel like I need the full 12 weeks with Anna. It has been such a sweet time with her and she needs me for everything! It's amazing to get to know her more and more each day. I know her cries, what calms her down, what she does when she's hungry, when she's tired, when she just wants to be held. It's amazing! So, the 12 weeks I will take with her, even if it means starting over at a whole new hospital and a new job. I applied to St. Mary's the other hospital in Reno today and have a couple offers on different floors. I would really love to be in the ICU and bypass all the patient ratio dilemmas. Hopefully I'll hear back soon and have more of an idea of what direction to take. Ideally, I would love to just be home with Anna, but I carry the health insurance for the family and have to work at least part time to be benefited. I continue to pray that the Lord would direct me in this place of uncertainty............first a new place to live, then an unexpected pregnancy, a new job, new friends, now a new baby......this past year has been in one word OVERWHELMING. Now maybe another new job. I rest tonight in the peace that the Lord knows his plan for me and that he'll direct my path in this decision......

P.S. Anna is AMAZING! Still so in love!

So in love.......

Today I found myself staring at Anna. I really do think I could stare at her all day long! She is absolutely the most perfect thing I've ever seen. She's amazing. I love her facial expressions, her yawns, her squeaks, the way she loves to suck on her fingers. I just love everything about her. I love being up with her at 2 AM (I'm sure that won't last long). I'm already sad at the thought of having to go back to work. I just want to be home with my baby all day long!

On another note, we went to our first breastfeeding class today. It wasn't really a class, more a time to get help breastfeeding in a group. Crazy how modesty just flies out the window when you have a baby. At the class, there were probably 8 moms with their boobs out in the open trying to figure out the mechanics. Before, I would have not joined the crowd but for some reason, I had no problem with it! I was one of them, boob to the wind trying to make this whole breastfeeding thing work without even thinking twice! The nurses in the hospital were absolutely useless when it came to helping. I kept telling them that it hurt so bad and their reply, "honey, breastfeeding just hurts. You just have to get used it it." Well, after just 3 days I was cracked, bleeding, blistered and hurting! Honestly, I was quite convinced breastfeeding is worse than labor. Then again, I had a near perfect labor story. The pump became my new best friend for the next couple days until today. Anna took right to it once we got help finding a good latch! I fed her all day today and suprise suprise, it doesn't hurt anymore! Quite excited to get this figured out! Peter has been absolutely amazing with helping me figure out this whole process. He's been so supportive. He always makes sure I have a glass of water and drink it when I nurse to make sure I'm getting enough fluids. He makes sure I'm doing ok and checks to see if I need anything. Then, after I nurse, he'll take her and burp her and check her diaper. He's already such an amazing daddy. I've loved seeing him begin to bond with her and just want to be with her. Truly an amazing process. I'm so in love with our little growing family......

A little Peanut named Anna.....

Anna Grace LeDuc has arrived! In truly one amazing story. Friday night, leap day, my water broke as I was getting ready for work around 6:00 pm. I wasn't quite sure if it was it or not because I coughed and figured I peed again as pregnancy goes, it's a little hard to hold your bladder with a good sneeze, especially with all the weight on your bladder! Anyway, so I went to the bathroom to see if I had to pee and no.....nothing but I still had a little leak. So, I figured it was my water! I told Peter and we packed our bags and headed for Reno. We got to the hospital around 7:30 and were in a room around 8 pm. No contractions yet, just hanging out. The nurse wanted to get a good sample of leaking fluid to do a ferning test to make sure it was my water that broke, especially because it was a pretty slow continuous leak. It took a while to get a good test because I kept leaking! So, she had my lay down completely flat and wait for it to pool. Finally around 11:30 she got a good sample and by 12 AM they told us we were officially admitted. So, we settled in at 12 AMish. I got an IV started and because I wasn't having great regular contractions yet, they started pitocin around 1:00. I was 4 cm at this point. Around 1:30 I got an epidural, not because I was hurting but because I was so tired and wanted to sleep. So, numb I was for about 1/2 an hour. Then, I started feeling everything on my left side so the epidural didn't completely work. I was regretting it at this point because I had numb legs, a numb butt, was tired, and still could feel everything in my left hip. In the mean time I was able to rest a little bit while Peter slept. Around 3 AM the nurse kept coming in about every 10 minutes because she couldn't get Anna to stay on the monitor to watch her heart rate so they kept re-adjusting the monitor. Around 4:15 she came in again with another nurse and told me they were going to put an internal monitor on her just to get a good tracing. At this point they also asked if I was feeling any pressure.......my answer.....nope, and the pain on the left side is gone. They weren't too suprised as they didn't expected me to progress all that quickly being a first baby and all. The nurse went to put the monitor in and paused....she then told the other nurse we wouldn't need the monitor and to go call the doctor because she could see Anna's head! The doctor got there at about 4:30 and I pushed with 4 contractions and she was here, no tears, no rips, no stiches, and no episiotomies!! It went so fast!

We came home today around noon. Anna got the ok from the pediatrician and I'm feeling great. It's nice to be home in a quiet house and begin to get to know her. She's absolutely amazing and perfect and I'm so thankful today!

The stats:

6 lbs 4 oz
19 inches long
March 1, 2008 at 4:56 AM

10 days and counting!

38 weeks and 4 days today......Dr. appt pretty uneventful. Anna I guess hit a huge growth spurt since last week, I'm now measuring 37 cm compared to last weeks 34 1/2. Dr. Mellum was impressed. Anyway, some progress has been made, I'm 3 cm and 50% effaced. He stripped my membranes so hopefully......the labor process will begin! Just hoping not on leap year (:

"Now you can go into Labor"

"Now you can go into labor" are the words of my husband today after completing our childbirth 101 prep class. He's been so worried that labor would start without going to the class first and in his mind, nothing could happen until we went to the class. He was feeling so unprepared. Following the class, he's much more comfortable with the process and almost seems like a completely different man! His mind set has changed and now he says he's ready for Anna and the labor process. It's been fun to watch him take it all in.......so, just a waiting game. I'm still working and contracting a ton at work. The minute I get home of course, they stop and then I sleep.....pretty uneventful. We'll keep you all posted!

37 weeks 4 days....

Another uneventful Dr. appt yesterday. Still, he did not check me. So, I have no clue whether or not I've had any progress! We'll see next week for sure. My belly is now measuring 3 1/2 weeks small so I had another ultrasound to make sure Anna looked good. Much to Dr. Mellum's suprise, my AFI is the highest it's been throughout the whole pregnancy! It's finally 13, where he's wanted it all along. As far as Anna goes, she looks great, her head is really low, she's growing proportionally, and now weighs 6 lbs 9 oz. We know for sure she has at least 5 fingers on one hand (: Her little hand looks so big now compared to previous ultrasounds, a clear picture, it was amazing to see. Hopefully she doesn't get much bigger in the next 16 days! Also, my GBS test came back negative which is good, I won't have to worry about getting antibiotics before delivery. Everything else looks good, total weight gain so far is 18 lbs. Dr. Mellum said he'll see me back next week "if I'm still pregnant." It was fun to finally hear that, it makes the end sound like it is actually coming not just dragging on........I'll keep you all posted!

36 weeks, 4 days.....

The official countdown is on. I just got back from my Dr. appt and everything looks good. I'll have another ultrasound next week for measurements. Anna is slowing down on her growth and Dr. Mellum just wants to make sure she's still within the normal range. I'm measuring a little over 2 weeks smaller than I should be. Geez, at first they were thinking big baby because at 32 weeks she was already 4 lbs 9 oz and now she's on the small side! Crazy how things can change. The US today looked good, my fluid is still ok. I had the group B strep swab done, not a big deal at all, it was quick. So, next week some measurements and he'll check me for dilation and effacement. He offered to check me today but I told him that if I heard I was posterior and thick, I'd be a little disapointed, he laughed and said he usually doesn't start checking until 37-38 weeks anyway. So, we agreed we'll wait another week and see if I've dialated at least a little bit! I'll keep you all posted.......

Nisseria Meningitis and Triage Nursing

Of the top ten things I would never want to be sick or exposed to, nisseria meningitis is one of them! Well, to my luck, I was exposed to a patient along with several other co-workers who had nisseria meningitis. It all started out at triage......

For one, triage is not my favorite place to work. For the past couple weeks, they have been putting me on trauma and triage mainly because only some of us are trained to work these areas, I, being one of the nurses who are. Anyway, work has been an absolute nightmare lately! I don't know what it is but the last two weekends I've worked it has been so busy! Last Thursday night I was in triage. Basically triage it is where you go after you get registered in the computer in the ER. You get registered, then you see the triage nurse. Based on the chief complaint and how sick the patient looks and depending on the "story" and their vital signs, I then decide how sick they really are and what number acuity they should be assigned a 1-5. I have to decide who are the sickest, who should be seen first, in what order they should be seen and who deserves to sit out in the lobby on the night we had 8 hour wait times. For starters, this is not a fun job because it comes with a ton of responsibility mainly because if you have 32 patients in the lobby, I as the triage nurse am responsible for all of them. Second, people get mad when they have to wait, and do they understand the triage process? NO! My theory, if you are sick enough to go outside and smoke all night and then come yell at me because you haven't been seen yet, you should just go home because if you feel well enough to do that, then you can see your own doctor in the morning. Makes sense to me! On the other hand, there are genuinely sick people that can crump at any second and you have to be watching those who have that potential, keep everyone else calm, and triage new arrivals all at the same time. Not an easy feat. Anyway, to make matters worse we were so busy, had no rooms, had ambulances coming in right and left......so, knowing I had some "stupid" complaints in the lobby, like feverish babies and kids with runny noses (not ER appropriate if you ask me. Children's tylenol is 4-6$ at the store) I told the ER docs that I could room some of them in 3 triage rooms I had and take them on as patients so they could be "treated and streeted." The docs were more than willing to do this as the whole staff was working really hard to get patients seen and in and out as fast as they could because so many were waiting! So, I was doing triage, and taking on a patient load. FUN! Anyway, this was working great. The docs were seeing patients, of course they took one look at the kids, said they "have a cold" and sent them on their way. This really helped clear out some of the waiting room.

Well, I had this one baby who actually looked great, no fever, no complaints, but the hospital had called to tell them that they had to come back to have the baby seen again because of positive blood cultures. This pt was there 2 days prior and had blood cultures drawn and sent home with the diagnosis of an ear infection. I triaged this baby and then they sat in the waiting room for 5 hours. I called one of the docs to see if I could put this pt. in one of my triage rooms to get them seen sooner because I knew they would have to be admitted to the hospital because of the blood cultures. Doc said yes, great. So, I had this pt. for 6 hours until they were admitted and went upstairs to Pediatrics. Mind you, I changed diapers, weighed the baby, got vitals at least 4 times, held the baby etc.....The next day I get to work and they say "do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars, before you do anything, you need to go to the pharmacy and get your dose of cipro." I was a little confused as I had not gotten the full memo yet. The charge nurse then told me that the baby I had the night before ended up having nisseria meningitis and I needed to go get a dose of antibiotics to prevent me from getting it. So, I went to the pharmacy to get my dose of cipro. I get there and the pharmacist took one look at me and said I needed to call whoever was on for OB and ask what they recommended because I can't take cipro because of pregnancy. It just so happens that Dr. Mellum was on call so I called him and he said a series of rocephin shots would do the trick. So, I got a shot of rocephin in my butt and let me tell you, it still hurts! No fun. But, at least I hopefully don't get nisseria meningitis (bacterial meningitis is extremely dangerous and rarely has a good outcome). It's been 4 days now since then and I feel great so I should be in the clear. Just a scary thought! You never know what will come in through triage.....another reason, I don't like it! You get exposed to everything under the sun.

In all, Anna should be safe as long as I stay healthy. So they say, I just can't help but worry though. I'm so ready for a break from work! It's been so busy and crazy and with how big I'm getting, it's not getting any easier. Especially after a night like Thursday night in triage and then a night with 12 traumas. One right after another. It's been nuts! 25 days to the countdown and I just get more and more excited!

A crib for Anna.....

I am so proud of myself today! I finally finished all of Anna's crib bedding....it look amazing! I finished the bumper about a week ago following the original pattern, big mistake! It told me to use high loft batting, the bumper looked great, then I put it in the crib and droopy city it was! It had no form, no structure, it just fell into the crib. It made me so sad! I worked so hard on it, followed the pattern, made sure everything was perfect, and then it was just a huge disapointment. So, promising I would deal with it later, much later because I was so frustrated, I left if alone for a week. This week rolled around and I decided to fix it. So, I made the trip to Reno yesterday to go to Joann's and ask some questions about what else I could use instead of that awful batting. I've heard foam, I've heard double the batting......anyway, they actually make bumper pads! I was so excited! So, I got a package of those with a 40% off coupon, even better, and headed home to work on it. I finished it last night, put it in the crib and it looks amazing! It is exactly what I wanted. I love the fabric I found when I was in Alabama and even more, I just love the thought of putting Anna in it (: Here are some pictures of my best and most productive sewing project yet......

Burning in my Esophagus!

Holy cow, so I really never had much sympathy for people with heartburn. Honestly, I don't think I've ever heard anyone complain too much about it or they just say, "oh, I need some Tums." I've always thought of heartburn with a nonchalant attitude. Well, I have a much different attitude when it comes to heartburn. Since Monday, I've really thought this baby is trying to burn a hole in my esophagus. I've never had heartburn so bad before! After downing Tums like candy and hoping it would go away, it didn't. So, I tried the small frequent meals, drinking water with baking soda, lying upright, sleeping with 3 pillows. Nothing! No relief! I've been up since 3 AM this morning all because of heartburn. It sounds stupid but holy cow, I've never been so uncomfortable. It's never ending.

I was relieved this morning to go to my Dr. appt and see my favorite Dr. Mellum and talk with him about this problem. I'm sure he hears it all the time from his patients, it's pretty common in pregnancy. I was relieved when he walked in the room and the first thing he said was "you look miserably uncomfortable." So glad I didn't have to be the one more woman complaining of heartburn, after all I figured there is much worse to complain about. After explaing to him that I can't sleep, it's constant, won't go away and I'm at my wits end over this, he offered a solution! Prescription for Zantac--extra strength. I'm so excited I can hardly wait to go get it!

Enough of the complaining of the heartburn. On a happy note, my AFI still looks good. I had another US today and he said my "pockets" of fluid are looking good. He didn't measure them to give me an actual number, he just said by the way it looks, it looks good for now and to keep doing what I'm doing. Anna looks great, growing big and strong right on track. I also asked about my total weight gain. I thought I had gained 18 lbs so far.....turns out, I've only gained 14 lbs. We had a little chat about that, he's not worried, as long as I feel good, baby looks good and I continue to gain until delivery he's happy. He's not as stuck on the 25-35 lbs most Dr's are. He did encourage a run to In and Out if I so desire though. Since my fluid looks good, I'll see him in 2 weeks on Feb. 12th then every week after that.......it's all coming to an end......if only the heartburn would stop so I can get some sleep!