Miss L's Birth Story

I think that several people have asked for my birth stories and I never got them fully written down.  However, the Lord has really preserved that part of my memory with them through the last couple of years.  Husband fills in some details that I don't remember which makes for a more interesting story.  So, with Baby #3 on the way I wanted to get Miss L and Miss A's story down and then be sure to get #3's down, too.  Sorry, she doesn't have a name yet so she is just #3 for now.

Miss L was born on a Thursday.  Her story really starts the weekend before.  My dad had just left to go back to New Mexico (he wasn't living here when Miss L was born) and Husband's parents had gone to Denver to celebrate an early Christmas with his grandparents.  We stopped by their house to check on something and as we were leaving I quipped, "You know, now that ALL the grandparents are gone something will happen."  It was a joke.  When I said those words I was only 35 weeks and some change.  That Monday I had an appointment with my OB.  They checked me -- "Soft but closed."  Miss L was breech which we had only recently confirmed through one of those fun family ultrasounds.  Turned out that the tech that ran this other business was also the tech at my doctor.  The doctors had been convinced that they were feeling her head when they felt my tummy.  I told them what I had discovered at this "other" ultrasound without giving away that their tech was moonlighting.  They sent me over to ultrasound to confirm for themselves that she was breech.  Sure enough... same tech found the SAME thing.  So, I made an appointment for Friday to talk about my options for turning this baby girl around.

Wednesday night I went to bed without a care in the world.  We were anticipating a friend's Christmas party that weekend and in the middle of lovely Advent celebrations.  Of course the night held the usual trip to the bathroom that began several months before.  Around 4:00 AM I bolted out of bed and to the bathroom.  Thankfully, they are not very far from each other.  I was wet.  What was all this?  I thought, "I have heard of incontinence in pregnancy but this is ridiculous!"  Husband had heard me gasp when I jumped out of bed but didn't think too much of it until I started calling his name.  He came to see me and I was laughing.

"Um...I'm pretty sure that my water just broke."

Not fully awake Husband made a comment about making it stop.  No, once he fully was awake he realized we can't put the water back.  You can make contractions stop but if that water breaks that baby is a comin'!  So, we tried to get ready as we wrapped our minds around the fact that our baby would be coming that very day and NOT in four weeks like we had anticipated.

I decided to take a shower and despite what I knew was coming (surgery) I still had a granola bar before we left because I was that hungry when we left around 5:00 AM.  We had no bag packed (on the list of things to do for the weekend) and just threw some things together.  Of course, we laughed as we called our parents at the crack of dawn.  Husbands parents were in Colorado and were going to try arrange flights to get back ASAP.  My dad prepared to head out from New Mexico and be there the next day.

Just before we left the house I felt a bit of pressure in my low back.  I didn't realize that it was the first of many contractions.  We laughed in the vehicle as I sat on a stack of towels and hurried to the hospital.  Once we got there I was taken into triage only to have them confirm that my water had indeed broke, I was in labor, and an ultrasound confirmed that Miss L was still breech.  With that, they started prepping me for the operating room.  I guess Miss L's heart tones wavered just enough for them to call it an "emergency c-section" but it was nothing like some of the emergencies that others have endured leading up to a c-section.  At this point, my contractions were starting to come more frequently and with more intensity.  I was not a happy girl.  The doctors still wanted to check how far dilated I was -- 5 cm.  Of course at this time they make the comment. "Gosh, if she wasn't breech we think you would have had a great natural labor!"  Thanks.  Not exactly what I wanted to hear right now when that is what I had planned and wanted!  However, I had prepared myself for a c-section until I knew she was turned.  She wasn't and this was the best thing for us.

Husband gets ready for the operating room, too.  They roll me away and tell him to wait in a particular area and inform him that they will come get him when they are ready.  I was not a huge fan of being separated at this point but I understood.  It was kind of funny in the OR and I appreciated the lightheartedness of it all!  The anesthesiologist did a great job.  We laughed that they had to extend the table a bit because I was too tall.  He felt my pain as he was well over six feet tall.  The epidural was painless and took effect fast.  I remember at one point my leg fell off the table -- the surgical assistant was there and caught me.  I laughed because I couldn't help him.  They laughed, too.  One thing I also remember is how incredibly cold I was in that room.  The only time that I was cold while being pregnant!  HA!  They piled on the warmed blankets.

Soon, the procedure started.  Husband was watching over the curtain.  One time he asked me, "You didn't feel that?"  I said, "No."  "Good," he replied.  I again laughed.  Soon I had to just concentrate with my eyes somewhere else because the tugging and pressure were a lot.  The next thing I know Miss L was out!  She arrived at 7:59 AM, 7lbs 6 oz (at 36 weeks to the day), and 20 3/4 inches long.  She was perfectly healthy!  APGAR scores were as high as they can possibly be without being perfect (we learned that no baby is ever given a perfect score).  Husband's eyes were filled with tears of joy -- so much had happened in the last few hours!  He went with Miss L to the nursery while they closed me up.  I was coming down from my adrenaline rush.  All I wanted to do was sleep.  So, I did.  I realized I could see all that the doctors were doing on the other side of the curtain by the reflection in the surgery light.  The best thing to do was close my eyes.  I got a bit of rest for which I was thankful.

Soon I found myself in a makeshift room just off of triage.  The maternity ward was full and they hoped to have me in a room by evening.  Until then we would just have to wait it out there.  Pastor N was the first person to come see us.  Then family friend KW surprised us but it was really fun to see familiar faces for awhile.  Honestly, it was hard to know what to do with this new baby in this closed off room.  I had leg compression machines on my legs to help prevent blood clots.  I think the lactation consultant visited us.  We mostly just cuddled with our new little girl.  By evening they did have a room for us.  Elder K and his wife came to visit and soon after Husband's parents arrived fresh from Colorado to see their granddaughter.

We were tired and I was thankful that Husband would be staying with me for the night.  We learned quickly that we were not so very good at swaddling and Miss L was squirming out from time to time.  I think I finally just held her on my chest to get some sleep.

The next day (Friday) is spent trying to figure out nursing and healing.  I am hooked up to all sorts of things to help with the process.  What I really want is to be able to go to the bathroom without some big production.  It's a relatively average day.  My dad arrives from New Mexico to meet his first grandchild.

At different points in the night Miss L was taken for routine tests.  I think some of it had to do with how many hours old she was and it happened to fall in the middle of the night.  The nurse was supposed to bring her back at a particular time (early Saturday morning about 1:30) to nurse.  The nurse walked in... no baby.  The first thing out of her mouth, "Everything is fine... but..."  A million things run through my head.  I like this nurse so her concern for me and Miss L are genuine.  She told me how she had been watching Miss L and how she had looked a little "off" and jittery.  She checked her blood sugar and it had tanked... significantly.  She knew that I did not want to give Miss L formula but she was in such a bad place that she gave her just enough to balance Miss L out and then the nurse came to talk to me about next steps.  And thus began a long and difficult road of nursing of which I will not recount here.  I was thankful, however, to figure out the problem then rather than later.  I was also thankful that things had not been worse for Miss L.  And, no, it was not a nurse trying to push formula on me either. 

At that point, on top of everything, Miss L had jaundice.  So much so that they decided she needed to be under therapy lights for 24 hours before they would even think about letting us go.  UGH.  I had a very hard time with this.  She was only allowed "out" for 30 minutes to nurse.  It seemed like 15 of those minutes were used to just get her latched on.  Stress me out.  It was hard for me to want to go see her as there was nothing I could do to help her.  I felt like it was my fault and I had not done all that I could to care for her properly.  I cried.  A lot.  Foolish, now, I know.  But in the midst of crazy postpartum hormones that is where I was.  So, this was the icing on the cake after a fairly stressful night.  Lovely.

After all was said and done we were in the hospital 4 full days (Thursday AM - Sunday PM) and I have never been so excited to go home.  Miss L was healthy and doing well.

Now we had to figure some things out on our own....  ha ha ha!!

Chipotle Bean Burritos

My friend, AMH, pinned this recipe and she blogged about it later.  So, here I am doing the same thing.  She warned me that this may be a little too spicy for the little mouths that gather around my table so I proceeded with caution.  As I read through the recipe I decided that I would take beans out for the girls before the mashing of some of the beans and the addition of salsa.  That seemed to work as the girls gobbled it up without blinking an eye.  However, the beans for the girls were a bit dry when I started mashing them.  I added a couple of teaspoons of water.  Next time I think I will add some stock or something with more flavor.  Also, my girls love pico de gallo so I will give them that instead of salsa (although they sometimes devour salsa, too).  The original photo and recipe can be found on the website My Recipes.

Overall, this was a pretty yummy meal.  I think that I would actually increase the chipotle pepper after I take the beans out for the kiddos.  I know my spice isn't very old and I wanted to taste it a bit more.

We generally have all these ingredients on hand (or things that are easily done without or substituted) so this makes a cheap and easy meal for us.  Even my husband who is sometimes apprehensive about our meatless meals thought this was pretty good and was up for eating it again.  YAY!!

Chipotle Bean Burritos

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 (15-ounce) can organic black beans, drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can organic kidney beans, drained
• 3 tablespoons refrigerated fresh salsa
• 6 (10-inch) reduced-fat flour tortillas (such as Mission)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese
• 1 1/2 cups chopped plum tomato (about 3)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
• 6 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
• 6 tablespoons light sour cream

Preparation

• 1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in chile powder and salt; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/3 cup water and beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in salsa. Partially mash bean mixture with a fork.
• 2. Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spoon about 1/3 cup bean mixture into center of each tortilla. Top each serving with about 2 1/2 tablespoons cheese, 1/4 cup tomato, 1/4 cup lettuce, 1 tablespoon onions, and 1 tablespoon sour cream; roll up.

Maureen Callahan, Cooking Light 
JANUARY 2010

Freezer Meals: Update

UGH!  I am not making it through this list as fast as I would like to at this point.  The only thing I crossed off this month was Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti.  However, I can add that I randomly made a tator-tot casserole and doubled the recipe.  So, I froze half.  Also, my very sweet, kind, and oh-so-gracious mother-in-law made two meals for me.  I'll add those meals (and cross them off because it's fun) so I will have a running list.


I think I need to sit down and look at the budget with Husband to see if we can extend the budget a bit so I can make these extra meals while still feeding us.  I had been doing pretty well with that but it seems like all of a sudden the prices went up in stores and the good sales came to a grinding halt.  I anticipate some good sales on certain items with the holidays coming up so we will flex when that time comes.


Also, a sweet blessing in timing is that Zaycon Foods will be offering their yummy chicken to all lower 48 states soon at $1.49/lb.  We'll probably get two units this time around.  If you are interested in using my referral link please let me know.  :)  Can't beat that price these days!  It will be a good stock up item for us and as my husband says, "I like meat!"  He's been good in enduring my "meatless" meals from time to time but he likes to remind me that he is an omnivore with more carnivorous tendencies!  Anyway, once we get the chicken I think I will be able to cross things off a bit more quickly with the purchase of a few simple items.  YAY!!


Of course, I am always finding more recipes that I want to try... never enough time :)


Tator Tot Casserole x 1
Mom C's Meatloaf x1
Stuffed Peppers x 1
Husband's Lasagna x 2
Italian Stuffed Meatloaf x 2
My Chile x 2
Veggie Chile x 3
Ren's Chocolate Muffins x 2 (has good stuff like pumpkin, flax, etc -- it's not ALL sugar)
Chicken Pot Pie x 2
Fiesta Chicken x 2
Fiesta Chicken (Green Version) x 2
Spaghetti Sauce x 3 or 4
Spinach & Artichoke Mac & Cheese x 2
Green Chile Enchiladas x 3 (or more at the request of Husband)
Spaghetti Pizza x 2
Turkey & Vegetable Meatloaf x 2
Meatballs (not sure how many yet)
Brown Bag Burritos x 1 (makes 20-ish)
Chicken Spaghetti (Pioneer Woman) x 2
Pulled Pork x 1 (more if meat comes on sale again)
Breakfast Burritos x 1 (will probably make more - cranks out about 16)
Chicken & Rice (Quinoa) Burritos x 1 (makes about 8?)
Baked Ziti x 2
BBQ Beef & Bean Corn Bread Casserole x 2
Bacon, Egg, Cheese Biscuit Cups x 1
Ham & Cheese Pockets x 1
Sausage Biscuits x 1
Twice Cooked Mashed Potatoes x 2
Cranberry Chicken x 2
Broccoli & Cheddar Soup x 2
Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken x 2
Lactation Cookies x LOTS!

Coupon Organization

I like to coupon.  It's true.  However, when I watch a particular show about people who are extreme in this area I have a difficult time wrapping my head around the fact that they spend 35+ hours a week cutting coupons, planning, etc.  I will soon have three girls three and under -- I don't have that kind of time to spend and if I did there are other things I would rather do with that time.  That's just where I am with things.  However, with the increase in food prices and our growing family I want to make our dollars stretch.  I have to find a happy balance.  So, I appreciate the coupon service that I subscribe to and the websites that do many of the coupon to product match-ups for me.

Another thing that was taking up a lot of my time was clipping the coupons.  I would tend to clip almost ALL the coupons (minus things like make-up or pet food or other things that I knew we would NEVER use, etc) -- I clipped because I thought, "If I don't it will be on super sale or free and I will miss out!"  It may not have been such a big deal if I only had one copy of each coupon insert.  However, there are week that I can end up with three or more of the inserts.  I didn't want to cut ALL of them out just in case.  Because then after they are cut they were entered into a spreadsheet.  UGH.  Drive me bananas!!

So, I streamlined it a bit.

I purchased a portable file box and some hanging folders.  My simple system was ready to put in place.  I mark the coupon insert boldly with a marker with the date on front.  Create a label for that date on a folder.  Slide them in and there you go.  When I get to where I need more folders I will return to the front of the folder and check those inserts for coupons that may still be good.  However, odds are they will all be expired.  Toss the old inserts in the recycle bin, create new label, and we are good to go.

Honestly, I have over a month's worth of inserts to file.  I have just been lazy lately.  Although, I think with about 30 minutes after the girls go down for nap I will be all caught up.  Easy peasy.

The downside to this method is that you are not as familiar with what coupons you have on hand.  I'm okay with that right now.  However, I can also look through the inserts before I file them to help with that some.  For those that like having ALL their coupons with them in the store just in case this is not the method for you.  I generally just take the coupons for the items that I will buy.  If I find a great deal at the store, I can always go back.  This just helps me stay on budget a bit better.  If I am looking for a particular coupon or if there is one available I simply consult a coupon database that is available through my coupon service and most sites that match up coupons for you.

This saves me the most time right now.  I may go back to the other way some day.  But for now, I really like the simplicity of this method.

Ham & Cheese Sliders

I keep seeing this recipe being "repinned" on Pinterest and I always think to myself, "Good recipe, I need to blog about it."  This was one of the first things I tried from Pinterest.  It was originally pinned from The Girl Who Ate Everything.  (I need to look through this blog a bit more! HA!)

Ham happened to be on sale that week.  I will say because of the general expense of meat I probably would not go out of my way to make this meal again.  However, it will be in rotation for when we generally have leftovers of ham.  So, think Resurrection Day/Easter, Christmas or New Year's if that's your thing... or anytime it is on sale.  This recipe may work well with deli sliced ham if you find a good deal on it.  This meal was a bit on the expensive side for me because I got the swiss cheese in the deli.  However, my buyer's remorse was short lived with how well this meal went over with everyone AND I was able to use the cheese I had not only for this meal but for another meal and some lunches.

I actually halved this recipe because I didn't think we would need ALL of them.  Plus, I was running short on time (I forgot I still had to slice the ham myself!) and I had opted earlier to only buy one bag of rolls.  Next time I will make the full recipe as they were gobbled up and they would make AWESOME leftovers.  Just sayin'.

Ham and Cheese Sliders

adapted slightly from the Recipe Club

24 good white dinner rolls

24 pieces good honey ham
24 small slices Swiss cheese
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup miracle whip

Poppy seed sauce
1 T poppyseeds
1 1/2 T yellow mustard
1 stick butter, melted
1 T minced onion
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and miracle whip. Spread onto both sides of the center of each roll. Place a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss inside of each roll. Close rolls and place them into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet. Place very close together.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. Let sit 10 minutes or until butter sets slightly. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover and cook for 2 additional minutes. Serve warm.

** sandwiches can be assembled a day ahead and kept in the fridge ready to bake.

Lessons from the Weekend

Friday evening started off well enough.  Grandparents were over for dinner to help me with the girls as Husband had a late appointment.  When Husband returned our normal evening routine fell into place and the girls were down for the night leaving us to enjoy a quiet night together.  Or so we thought...

Around 10 or so we heard a cry from Miss L's room followed by an odd noise and more intense crying.  UGH.  I told Husband as we ran to her room, "I think she just threw up."  Sure enough.  I'll spare you the details but this went on and off until about 1:30 in the morning.  In the process we also started 4 loads of laundry -- sheets, towels, pajamas, etc.  One stuffed animal made its way to the trash bin.  I don't think she'll notice for awhile.

I realized with two more children that will eventually be in "big girl" beds it will be a good idea to have some extra sheets for occasions such as this.  Sure I want the girls to have lovely sheets that are fun and cute on a daily basis.  However, for nights like the ones we had it would be good to have sheets that can take a beating and if it comes down to it are "no skin off my nose" if we opt to just throw them away.  My plan is to check in and see if Goodwill has some cheap sets or check out clearance areas and discount places from time to time for sets to have on hand.

I also had a fleeting thought to abandon my beloved colored towels for an extended season and just do white towels for everyone so they can be easily bleached.  However, I am not sure that I am ready to go that far...yet  Although, I did come to the realization that I need to replace some towels in our collection.  Or at least get rid of some because they have become overly worn, bleach spots, etc.  I need to be okay with making them rags or tossing them out.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention Reorganization.

Bright Spots

A friend cleaning off Miss A's baptism certificate and Miss L making the connection of baptism and Jesus.

Miss L always asking if we are going to church and then being disappointed if that is not the end destination.  She's in the service with us so it's not like she is looking forward to toys in the nursery, etc.  She's met the pastor's daughter but they haven't had a lot of interaction.  We think she just loves Jesus :)

Miss L going up front in church on her own for instruction on different parts of the service.  She was so excited and she did SO well.

Miss L and Miss A splashing in the kiddie pool and not caring that it is 107 degrees outside.  Although, mama feels every degree of that!

*These are from several weeks back and I apparently forgot to publish them.  I guess better late than never.