Welcome baby Molly!

Friday, February 05, 2010 Edit This 0 Comments »
If you're "following" my blog (I say "follow" loosely since I don't post often! ha!), I'm assuming you already know the great news.  Molly Kay Garcia joined our family on Friday, January 15th, 2010 at 4:38 PM.  She weighed in at 7lbs even, and 20 inches long.  

Here's the story behind her birth:
The day before, Thursday the 14th, I felt absolutely miserable.  I woke up feeling fine and took a shower as usual.  After I got out of the shower, I was spent.  I had no energy and was exhausted.  But off to work I went.  I kept thinking throughout the day how bad I felt and that I was ready for Molly to arrive.  At the same time, however, I knew that there was no way I'd have the energy that day to go through labor and delivery.  My Thursday's always end up being longer days than planned, and of course, this Thursday was nothing out of the ordinary.  I couldn't wait to get home and hit the couch for the evening.  I survived Thursday but kept hoping the rest of my pregnancy wouldn't be that miserable.  I knew at the time how relatively easy my pregnancy had been so far, and I didn't want to complain seeing as how some women have it really bad.  BUT it must have been my body telling me she was ready!

So I woke up on Friday, the 15th, ready to go to work.  While I was getting ready for work that morning, I thought maybe my water had broken.  I say "thought" because it wasn't an insane amount of fluid, but at the same time I had no clue because...I'VE NEVER DONE THIS BEFORE!  I had no clue if I was being paranoid...or hopeful at this point!  I kept note of it, but also kept going on with my day as scheduled.  I was at work and thought there was more "trickling".  So I hopped on the computer to my go to website: whattoexpect.com to see what my water breaking might be like.  Well, I had some of the signs, and it suggested to call my doctor to let them know.  I almost didn't call, but something inside of me said to call even if I was wrong.  I really didn't want to be one of those women who had 'false alarms' though.  I called my doctor's office and ended up speaking with my doctor's nurse.  My doctor was already at a hospital for the day doing surgeries.  BUT it wasn't the hospital we were hoping to deliver at.  My doctor ended up telling his nurse to have us go to the hospital to get checked.  Apparently he didn't believe I was in labor, or definitely thought I wouldn't be delivering anytime soon, because he let us go to our hospital of choice.  I received that call at 10:30am.  I called Jason and told him to meet me at home and to finish packing our bags.  Jason was concerned about me driving home (what a good hubby) but I assured him I had NO pain and wasn't even sure if I was in labor, let alone if it really was my water breaking.  We met at home and headed to the hospital.

We arrived at the hospital at noon.  We went to the labor and delivery floor and got checked in.  By the time we got registered, got a room and had the nurse come to check the basics, it was probably at least 1:00 or 1:30 by the time I actually got checked by a doctor to see if my water had broken.  Good news..it had.  It hadn't broken all the way though, and they would need to do that.  More good news: I was already 4-5 cm dialated (still wasn't feeling contractions as this point) and we were off to an official delivery room.  To be honest, it all went so fast and with my bad memory, my timing may be off a little with the following events:  I started feeling contractions while waiting to have my membranes completely ruptured.  Go figure the first major one I had, that sent me into hot sweats, was when Jason stepped out to get something to eat.  He was refusing to leave until my parents go to the hospital, but I reassured him it was best to go sooner than later.  I was not about to have him pass out during delivery because he didn't eat.  By the time Jason got back,  I was really uncomfortable.  I was going to try to deliver without an epidural, but at this point, the contractions were strong and I wasn't sure how far along I was.  I hadn't been checked in a while and I was leary.  If I wasn't much further thatn 4-5 cm, then there was NO WAY I could deal with the pain of getting to 10 cm, BUT if I was already like 8 or 9, I knew I could do it.  I didn't want to wait to long, and I'm horrible with making quick decisions, but I didn't want to wait too long.  I told the nurse to go ahead with the epidural.  I had my water broken completely shortly after that and the doctor said I was 7 cm.  This was probably around 3pm.  At this point, my doctor wasn't to our hospital yet, but I didn't care.  I was going to have this baby whether he was there or not!
Shortly after my membranes were completely ruptured, the anesthesiologist arrived to give me an epidural.  This was probably around 3:30 and he ended up having to give me 3 doses of the medicine because I wasn't numb yet. My doctor finally arrived at 4pm and was going to check me.  Jason and I could tell that he didn't think I was far along.  WRONG! I was 10 cm at 4pm and ready to push.  I started pushing and the fastest 38 minutes later...MOLLY KAY GARCIA was born.  My doctor was wonderful.  He really kept an eye on my blood pressure and pulse during delivery due to my condition so I wouldn't pass out.  The hospital delivery nurse was amazing as well. We also had some nice surprises during delivery.  For my very last push, my doctor told me to put my hands 'down'.  Not having time to think about it, I did.  Next thing I know, I was helping delivery Molly.  She went right on my chest and it was amazing.  Jason was wonderful throughout and he was such a great support system.  So encouraging yet strong for me.  He cut the umbilical cord...something I know he wasn't sure if he wanted to do or not.  Jason had been told our whole pregnancy that when the time came, he would really be into the delivery and not be grossed out.  They were right.  There isn't a thing about the delivery I have a regret about...and I'm sure he can say the same.

Here are some pictures to summarize Molly's first week of life.   I'm bias, but she's sooo darn cute.  There are too many photos I want to post, so I'll have to break the next few posts up by weeks of her life.

E
N
J
O
Y

and THANK YOU to all our great FAMILY and friends for your support during the past 9 months! 

Molly's first week of life:

Jason waiting with me in triage



Waiting to find out if we were staying to have a baby or not



Molly's first picture.  Weighing in at 7 lbs even.  This was the FIRST time Jason used the camera and it was on the wrong setting, hence the funny colors and blurry image.


The Garcia 3!



Molly's first bath (in the hospital)



Snug as a bug after her bath...whew, that's tiring!



Daddy and his little girl



Mommy and Molly



Molly's ready to go home!



Molly's first doctor's appointment.  Had to get her bilirubin checked because she was a little jaundice.  Had blood drawn (she was a champ!) and results came back normal.



Getting ready to leave the doctor's appointment.  We call this her "homey" look.  Haha



She's awake!!



Yes, she's holding her pacifier!

November 2009

Monday, December 28, 2009 Edit This 0 Comments »

I know, I know....FINALLY AN UPDATE!

Since I haven't updated in almost 2 months, I guess I'll try to make a post to summarize month by month!

Since my last post in November:


BABY UPDATE:
I ended up failing my 1 hour glucose screening. I have to admit, I was very disappointed. I did not want to do the 3-hour test..but it's what's best for the baby. So right before Thanksgiving, I had the 3-hour test done. My instructions were to fast starting at midnight of the day of my appointment. You should fast for 8 hours, but I started fasting after I had dinner that night.
When I arrived to my appointment at 8:30am, I had blood drawn and they checked my sugar levels. They have to check the sugar levels before the test begins just to make sure I didn't have a sugar level issue for fasting for that period of time. Good sugar levels are between 80-120. My starting level was 82...I was ready to begin the test.
I then had to drink a glucose liquid like I did for my first test. YUCK! It was fruit punch flavored...which is a flavor I do not enjoy to begin with. After I chugged the drink, I had to get my blood drawn every hour for three hours. Away to the waiting room I went.
First of all, being pregnant, I eat almomst immediately when I wake up due to being hungry. So not eating for a long time and then having to sit in the waiting room for 3 hours....not fun! While the doctor's office was able to check my blood sugar level at the initial blood draw, the next 3 were being sent to a lab. Cha-ching! Personally, that doesn't make sense to me. I'm sure it's a more precise measurement of the sugar levels, but that just means more people to pay to get this little procedure done. (Ok, enough complaining!)
I survived the 3 hour test and was told I would get a call within the next few days.
Well, I never got a call. I found out at my next appt that I passed though. Whoo hoo!
That's all that had happened as far as pregnancy is concerned for November.


BABY SHOWER:
My mom, sister, and sister-in-law threw a baby shower for me in the middle of November. We had it at my house in Columbus. It was wonderful. It was so nice to see my family and friends. We also got a lot of the things we registered for...which were primarily all necessities for having a baby. Here are some pictures:

Me and my mom


Me and my sister Jodie




The group!



THANKSGIVING:
For Thanksgiving, I had to work the following day, so Jason and I stayed in Columbus and I made a dinner for the 2 of us Thanksgiving night. That weekend, Jason and I spent time with my family in Perrysburg, OH at the Holiday Inn French Quarter. It's a Holidome with indoor activities (ping pong, pool) with and 2 indoor swimming pools that are connected to the outdoor pools. We had a really fun time with my family. It was nice to be able to relax and not have my mom have to work so hard for a meal. Most know, she's a great cook....but that woman deserves a break!! We ended up eating our big family meal at the restaurant in the hotel. They have an excellent buffet with prime rib, crab legs, salads and more. We were all STUFFED to say the least after that meal!
While we were in Toledo, Jason and I were able to eat at our favorite restaurants. My parents ordered our favorite pizza for when we all arrived on Friday evening. Vito's=Yummo! Then on Saturday, for lunch, Jason and I went to our favorite Lebanese deli (Tiger Lebanese). Columbus is much larger than Toledo and does have a lot to offer...but it is seriously lacking in the mediterranean/greek/lebanese food department. We were in heaven with our favorite foods!! We had a really nice time with my family, relaxing and playing games. Needless to say, we had a great Thanksgiving weekend! (Thank you Mom and Dad!)

Recent happenings...

Wednesday, November 11, 2009 Edit This 0 Comments »
It's been 4 weeks since I've last written. So here's an update!

I ended up getting sick last week. I thought it started as my asthma acting up but ended up with a lot of chest congestion, body aches, and wheezing. So I ended up getting an appointment with my internist. Luckily, it was only bronchitis..not H1N1! I still have a deep cough at times, but it is sooo much better than a week and a half ago. I also was able to get my H1N1 vaccine this past week, despite being a little sick and I had the great company of my sister while I waited for the vaccine. So hopefully I'm immune now! The other good news is Jason hasn't gotten sick, so it was definitely bronchitis, not the flu!

This past Satuday through Tuesday, I was in Nashville with my parents. We've had this planned for a while, and have actually had to cancel on my parents several other times, so I am very happy I was able to finally go! Unfortunately, because of Jason's new job, he was unable to go. I went anyway...I needed a few days off! We had gorgeous weather and my parents were quite the tour guides/hosts!

Saturday we left Columbus and drove to Nashville. We got there in the late afternoon/early evening. We went to a steak house and then to the Grand Ole Opry at the Ryman Auditorium. They didn't really have any 'big' names there, but it was still a good time. Little Jimmy Dickens was a host of one of the 1/2 hour time slots. What a funny old man!


Sunday we drove around downtown Nashville. My parents took me past Vanderbilt University. It's a beautiful university! I had applied to graduate school there; luckily I didn't get accepted, because I probably never would have come back to Ohio. And Jason and I never would have ever happened! Regardless, the campus is beautiful! We also walked around downtown on Broadway, where all the bars are. We also went by the Country Music Hall of Fame. They were inducting Kid Rock, Dolly Parton, and Charlie Daniels into their Walk of Fame. I got a few pictures of them.

Dolly Parton

Kid rock
We didn't stay long because it was actually hot outside with the sun beating on us. After downtown, we had a late lunch at The Loveless Cafe...a restaurant that was featured on the Food Network on Throwdown with Bobby Flay. We all had fantastic southern meals. After eating, we ended up going back to my parent's timeshare to relax. I took a much needed nap and felt refreshed and ready to go! We went to the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in the evening to walk around. It is 60 acres under a roof...and is gorgeous!! They had everything decorated for the holiday season already, it was really nice to see. They have restaurants, bars, shopping stores, you name it! It was quite amazing, and we were there for a couple of hours just walking through. The Gaylord Opryland Hotel is basically across the road from my parent's timeshare, so it was convenient to get to. Here are some pictures of the outside and inside decorated for the holidays.




After walking around there, we went to a bar to relax and listen to their live music. The singer ended up being from Ohio. Small world!

Monday we took a tour of Nashville on a bus. I brought the average age down a good 50 years on that bus!! haha! The tour was nice; it lasted 4 hours and took us all over the city. We saw a lot of houses of country singers. Surprisingly, some live pretty modestly, all things considered!

With my parents toward the end of tour at the Ryman Auditorium.
After the tour, we ate at a barbeque restaurant called Neely's Bar-b-q. It is owned by The Neely's on the Food Network. It was good barbeque! We ended up walking around a mall later and called it a night.

That pretty much sums up our Nashville trip. It was fantastic and my parents spoiled me to say the least. I'm very very lucky!!!


Also, as requested by some...here are the latest pics of me...at 28 weeks, 4 days

24 weeks

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 Edit This 0 Comments »
We had another appt with our doctor on Monday 10/12/09. We are 24 weeks along. The baby's heartrate was 147....still going strong! It's interesting to see where Baby G keeps moving around. To find the heartbeat, the nurse started on the right side of my belly, but had to move over to the left side to find it. Go Lefties!! haha
What a strong heartbeat! I love that sound...and since we have to wait about 10 more weeks to see Baby G again, I'll settle for the sound.

Overall, everything checked out fine. At our next appt I will have a glucose tolerance test done. I have to drink some glucose liquid an hour before my appt. Then I have to get my blood drawn when I get to the appt. The results will indicate if I need further testing done.
A one-hour glucose test screens for (but does not diagnose) gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). If sugar levels seem high after a one-hour test, I'll have to come back for further testing, probably a 3-hour test.

I'm starting to feel some discomfort, more in the evening, in my belly. I think it's just from growing. I finally had to break down and buy a pillow to sleep with between my legs. It makes SUCH a difference. The first night of having it, Jason commented that he was going to steal it. I told him he must have planted the seed in his subconscious, because in the middle of the night, I woke up (one of the many times) and found my pillow missing. I had to sit up in bed to make sure it didn't fall off the bed..nope not there! Next, I feel something by Jason. That little booger had my pillow! I yanked it from him as hard as I could to make a point :), and quickly, he realized what had happened and he laughed out loud. Now I laugh about it, but it's not so funny in the middle of the night when I have to search for it. So this week I've been threatening him to STAY AWAY FROM MY PILLOW!!! He can get a big pillow when he has a baby growing inside of him! :)

I also had to adjust my closet to make room for maternity clothes. I did that this past weekend. I had been folding them in a little pile, but realized, I'm starting to get a good amount. Plus, I need to have them for a daily basis for the most part. I'm still fitting into most of my basic regular clothes (yay!). So I'm just layering maternity clothes and regular clothes. Luckily, I don't have to "dress up" for work; I just wear business casual, so I have a plenty of clothes that fits into the category.

On news other than the baby-- Jason started a new job on Monday! YEAH!! So far so good!

Nursery

Saturday, October 10, 2009 Edit This 0 Comments »
Finally posting some pictures of the nursery on here. Luckily we had the room painted this color when we moved in. We were intending it to be a nursery all along. That way, we didn't have to worry about painting it while I was pregnant.


The only personalized piece in the room. My craft project.


So far..I love this crib! It's super sturdy and was soo easy to put together. I'm pretty hands-on, so of course, I put the crib together. Easiest thing to put together.




We still intend on doing something about this lamp....doesn't quite go with the color scheme.




We got the changing table early-on in the pregnancy at a garage sale. Jason did a great job of sanding it and refinishing it.




The bargain shopper in me (I get it from my mom) would like to point out our super deals! While having brand new things would be nice...it isn't necessary nor practical.
The crib is the only thing that needed to be assembled. But of course, we still got a bargain on it! We got it at BabiesRus.
The changing table, like I said earlier, was a garage sale find that just needed a little TLC.
We already had the book case, and it goes perfectly with all the white trim in our house.
We got the glider/ottoman set at BabiesRus. We ended up getting the store model because it was discontinued. Nana Snyder helped us out in cleaning the fabric. Looks brand new!
I got the bedding on eBay. There are so many good deals on there, plus it was brand new! A 10-piece set for $50!!
I picked up the different baskets/bins on sale at a variety of places at very good prices.

2nd Ultrasound Pics

Saturday, October 10, 2009 Edit This 0 Comments »
Here are the pictures from our 2nd ultrasound on September 14th, we were 20 weeks along. I'm still figuring out the formatting....bear with me! (I think I'll be saying that A LOT on here!)


Looking a little scrunched in there!

Not actually sucking her finger thumb...it's just the angle.

Baby Timeline

Sunday, October 04, 2009 Edit This 0 Comments »
As part of having this blog, Jason and I were hoping to keep everyone "up-to-date" with our pregnancy. Since I started the blog over half way through the pregnancy, I figured I'd create a timeline..for you..and for us to look back at some day!


May 22nd- We were heading home to my parents for Memorial Day weekend. Not that we were really trying to get pregnant, I just wanted to take a pregnancy test to see. It was negative. Ok, time to enjoy the weekend


May 24th- Spent the weekend with the Snyder's. While there on Sunday, I felt things were not happening as usually expected and thought I may need to take another pregnancy test when we got back to Columbus. So we get back and I buy a pack of 3. I take one...start to see the line immediately! WOW! Jason was downstairs, so I thought I'd try another one. I know the tests detect a level of hCG and the only way women have that hormone if is they are pregnant. So I took the second one..again, a line is there immediately! I called Jason upstairs to see. He was stunned; I was too! He thought it would be a good idea to find wait until Monday (Memorial Day) to take the 3rd test. It's a funny thought, but we did it anyway.


May 25th- Memorial Day...take the 3rd test..positive! No surprise here!


In the next week I started asking co-workers some doctors they recommend. Not to be obvious of needing an ob-gyn, I asked for all types of doctors: family practice, dentist, an ob-gyn also.
After several recommendations, I picked a doctor.
I called and set up an appointment for June 8th.


June 8th- 6 weeks along. Had our first appt. with the nurse practitioner of the practice. It was basically a yearly check up for me, but also to verify I was pregnant. Poor Jason was just sitting there during the whole exam...definitely NOT what he was expecting! :)


June 22nd- Had a consultation with our Dr. so we could meet him and run over any questions/concerns. Nothing too exciting.


July 16th- Going on 12 weeks. First ultrasound! Our Dr. actually does the ultrasounds, so that is more personal and a nice touch by the practice I'd say!

August 13th- Going on 16 weeks. Another appt with our doctor. Baby's heartrate was 142. We had the AFP (alpha-fetoprotein) screening done. AFP screenings are done to detect if women are carrying a fetus with certain genetic abnormalities such as:
Open neural tube defects (ONTD), such as spina bifida
Down Syndrome
Chromosomal abnormalities, such as trisomy 18
Defects in the abdominal wall of the fetus They drew some blood and awaited results.


Depending if we had a positive screening would depend on our next appt. More than likely we would have had a 3-d ultrasound done.

September 12- 20 weeks along. Starting to show a bit. Took our first picture of me and the belly!



September 14th- 20 weeks along. No news is good news....the AFP screening came back fine. We had our 2nd ultrasound. Our Dr. took a long time going over different parts of our baby and was very thorough. Again...so nice the actual Dr. did it! Baby G is breach right now, but that's nothing to worry about yet. There is still plenty of time to get flipped around.
From what we could see, our Dr. was about 90% sure it is a girl!! He said what he saw usually tends to be a girl, but since Baby G wasn't cooperting the best and spreading those legs, we never got the best image. She was moving EVERYTHING else though! So we started telling people we were about 90% sure it's a girl but we still weren't telling anyone the name at this point.



September 19th- 21 weeks along. Jason felt our baby kick for the first time! I had been feeling it for a while, but was unsure of whether it was the baby or just my body expanding. Unfortunately, I don't have the exact date of when I first felt Baby G kick.


September 20th- We were having lunch with some friends. I was eating and felt the baby kick. Just the night before I was saying our girl name to Jason when I felt a kick like. So at lunch I said "oh ____ must like the food". As soon as it came out of my mouth I looked at Jason. He just looked at me. I couldn't put my head down soon enough and thought "oh no one heard that". One second later our friend Lindsey said "did you just say the name?" After denying it and Lindsey's boyfriend said he heard it clearly, we decided we might as well tell them.

Later in the day we also decided we should tell our family and friends the name, there's no sense in not telling people now that a few people know. So on September 20th....MOLLY was said aloud for the first time to our friends and family! Molly Kay Garcia. Kay is my mom's middle name.


That brings us up to date with all of our appointments.
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