- Leash (aka Mommy) -

First CVS Deal

2008-06-03T21:24:00.000-07:00

I've been watching the CVS deals at several other blogs for several weeks now. I signed up for a CVS card online (they sent it to me within a week) and Sunday I checked the paper for the weekly deals and searched for coupons. Until I get a new printer, I pretty much have to stick with regular coupons. The online ones are too difficult. I did coax one $4 off $20 purchase printout from my pathetic printer. Tonight, off I went to CVS for a couple specific (NEEDED!) things. Here's what I got:

(Please pardon the table clutter and white Huggies wipes tub. Thnx.)

2 Always Clean UltraThin + Wipes (regularly $8.99) $6.00 each = $12.00
2 Pampers Swaddlers Size 2, 40 ct. (regularly $11.79) $7.99 each = $15.98
2 Pampers Wipes, 77 ct. (regularly $3.99) $2.99 each = $ 5.98
2 Dawn Botanicals Jasmine/Lavendar (regularly $2.99) $1.00 each = $ 2.00

Total $35.96

I used 2 $.25 off Dawn and 2 $2.00 off 2 Pampers coupons. About 5 minutes after I walked out, I remembered my $4 off $20 coupon, and they still GAVE IT TO ME as a refund!

Total $27.46

I also got:
$5 ExtraCare Bucks for spending $20 on Pampers
$3 ExtraCare Bucks for buying 2 Always pads
$1 ExtraCare Buck for buying 2 Dawn dishsoap

In a separate transaction afterwards I used $5.00 of my ECB to buy a pack of Pampers BabyDry Size 2 (48 ct, NOT the Swaddlers) diapers that they had on CLEARANCE for $5.75 (regularly $11.79); so I spent $.75 on those. And there was a pack of these that had a slice in it (like from a boxcutter opening the case) and when I showed it to the cashier/supervisor, they were going to just throw it away since it was on clearance to be discontinued. When I asked, she gave it to me. SCORE! (FYI: I opened up the pack and only ONE diaper was nicked.) *screams* Free diapers!

So, recap. I got $79 worth of diapers, wipes, pads and dishsoap for essentially $19.21 (plus tax) and I still have $4 ECB for next time. That's not bad at all if you ask me.

YAY!

My Name Is Alicia; I Think I'm Now An Alcoholic

2008-05-28T18:58:00.000-07:00

And this is how it happened:

I'm sorry, I just had to share. :-) *drools*

This Makes It All Worthwhile

2008-05-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

Before...

2008-05-10T10:57:00.000-07:00

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys or forgot the words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.
I had never cried because I forgot to buy milk.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that anything could change my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes just to convince myself everyone was still breathing.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being called Mommy.

I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom.

The Closest Thing...

2008-04-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

...to a vacation I've had in a very, very long time!

My mother and I are packing up Taryn and Devereaux and driving to Portland (Oregon). We're leaving tomorrow night after I get off work. We're renting a Dodge (a Caliber, I believe) and, yes, I'll be driving, thankyouverymuch.

We are going to visit my little sister, Brianna, and her husband, Ash. Mostly so I can drive their new Spyder. *grin* Okay, kidding.

Kinda.

We needed a reason to escape, and a place to escape to, before we both go back to work. Bri and Ash sounded fun to visit. They came down to see us for Christmas, so it's our turn. And what better reason than to show off the new baby, right? Bri is literally ecstatic to meet baby Dev.

We are going to the Portland Children's Museum on Friday night. It's Free Admission day. Woohoo. We are all going to spend a day at the Oregon Zoo (unfortunately the Dinosaur exhibit isn't there for a few more weeks yet). And Ash is going to take a day off so we can all go spend a day at the beach as well.

I'm excited. Yay!

How It Went

2008-04-28T14:37:00.000-07:00

Friday, March 21, 2008 (Devereaux's Due Date)
Morning-ish

After several false starts in past weeks (damn those Braxton-Hicks), I called my mother, whining that I thought the baby must be refusing to come out because the bassinet was not yet setup. Also whining because in order to setup said bassinet, I needed someone to help move my dresser across my bedroom. My mother finally gave in (we'd had this conversation before) and came over to do just that. After we got the dresser moved, I realized the bassinet was nearly the size of the crib and we might as well just put the crib together now. Right? Mom agreed, so we became Crib-Builders. Friday evening I went to be feeling accomplished, only a little disappointed that the act of crib building didn't encourage Baby Devereaux to make his debut.

Late Night/Early Next Morning

From about 4am on I kept waking up about every half hour. Never did I question this, I just figured I had to pee. A lot. The day HAD been my technical due date, after all.

Saturday, March 22, 2008 (Gestation: 40 weeks, 1 day)

9:30am I wake up with strong, intense pains in my abdomen. I briefly considered the thought that they might be contractions, then proceed to checking my email and such. Every other time I got excited for contractions, they vanished. I'm not falling for it this time. I look up as another one rips through my body to see that it's 9:57am. And then again at 10:03am. And then every 5 minutes after that. Holy cow, these are for real! It's only then that I realize that it was the contractions that were waking me up from 4:30am on.

I call my mother and calmly state these facts, while IMing my sister-in-law, Jenny. Everyone is agreeing with me, this is it. My mother comes over to see for herself. We call Jenny to come pick up my daughter. She will most likely be spending the weekend with them. I take a hot shower, which helps immensely with the pain, then finally call the Labor & Delivery department at the hospital. The very nice nurse I speak to asks me all the required questions without any urgency. I have a contraction on the phone with her and can barely catch my breath. She quickly asks me how long it takes to get to the hospital from my house, then tells me to just go there, it's time for the baby!

At Renown, they have issues with my pre-registration paperwork. It seems the doctor's office never sent over my name change information, as promised. After that's settled, they send me down for observation. It's right around noon at this point. The nurse there, after a couple of checks and very little progress, suggests walking and offers to discharge me temporarily. So I pace the halls for an hour and finally at about 3:30pm decide to go home where I can get back in the hot shower and eat before returning for the rest of my labor.

Mom and I leave for home, stopping at Arby's for lunch. We go home and pop in Titanic to watch while we are eating. My mom takes a nap and I hop in the shower for a little pain relief. I watch Titanic a little, take a second shower and then around 6:30pm I woke up my mom to return to the hospital. The contractions are definitely more severe at this point and have stayed about 5 minutes apart all day.

I return to Renown and get admitted, this time for good. We settle into my delivery room and meet my nurse for the night and the midwife on duty. It takes nearly an hour and three nurses to get my IV in place. Being Group B Strep Positive, I have to have a full course of antibiotics in my system before the baby is delivered. At this time, I requested IV painkillers as well. I remember them working fabulously when I delivered Taryn.

This time the IV drugs barely take the edge off my contractions, which are now every two to three minutes apart. I'm starting to lose it a little as they peak, they are so strong and I've been having them all day. After my allowed 3 hours of IV painkillers I'm fully effaced, but my dilation has ceased it's progression. I'm stuck dilated around 7, I believe. The midwife gives me a few things to try to get everything kickstarted back up. Nipple stimulation? Nope, no change. Switching from laying on my back to my side and back every fifteen minutes doesn't do the trick either. Finally, she starts throwing around the threat of Pitocin.

I desperately wanted to avoid being induced with Devereaux and was so grateful that labor started on it's own. I almost cried when my nurse brought in the Pitocin to go in my IV. I knew it would make my contractions worse. But we had to get this labor over with.

After only about 15 minutes on the Pitocin, a really intense contraction hit me. And it kept going, and going... After several minutes, the nurse started to seem worried. I started getting vulgar. My mom kept staring at the monitor, telling the nurses, "No, that's STILL the same contraction." I noticed a quick, quiet conversation between the nurses, then one pulled a syringe from my bedside drawer. I'm screaming, literally, "Make it STOP!" repeatedly at them, they are trying to calm me down and worriedly disconnecting the Pitocin drip. The nurse tries to tell me that the medication she's about to give me will counteract the Pitocin and stop the contraction. At that moment, thankfully, the contraction hit it's peak and started to become less severe. Only a minute later, another one starts. I beg them not to give me any more Pitocin. I also beg them to please have mercy and get me an epidural! The midwife comes in to tell me that as long as I have progress I won't need it, so "Let's see where we are, shall we?" Oh, lookie, progress! Yes!

The nurses promise me the epidural is ordered and the anesthesiologist will be here as soon as I finish one more bag of IV fluids. Every other contraction or so, I beg for my epidural. They continue to politely assure me I'll get it soon. And then, once it's in, sweet relief! That epidural saved my sanity. And now I know that the epidural I had when I gave birth to Taryn was a sham. A monitor is placed on the baby's scalp.

It's 6am or so and she tells me I am finally fully dilated! And that the pushing shall commence very soon. My mother runs outside to have a quick cigarette before we get underway with the exciting stuff. The nurses ask me for a test push to see if I have the right idea. They are pleasantly surprised and tell me I'm a "Great Pusher!" My mom returns and the baby is crowning before the midwife shows up. She's excited that I'm doing so well. I'm excited that the horrible pain is gone and that pushing is nothing like the catastrophic event it was when Taryn was born. The nurses and midwife are pleasant and encouraging. All is well!

Every contraction, I push dutifully. Finally, the baby's head stops retreating at the end of every push. The staff chat amongst themselves about the amount of hair on his head and his acrobatics inside the womb. He's managed to get himself spun completely around since the nurse put the monitor on his head. Then his head is out completely, with the cord wrapped around his neck. Everything starts to take on quite an urgent tone. The baby's shoulders are stuck. NICU sends a doctor to my room. It's 7am and shift change, so the day nurse, Erin, introduces herself. Everything is prepared for the baby.

At 7:06am, I finally feel that deflated feeling as Devereaux enters the world. He's whisked off to the side to see the NICU doctor; he's grey and not breathing. After several minutes my relief turns to worry and panic because "OHMIGOD my baby isn't crying! WHY is he not crying? Where is he? MAKE HIM CRY!" And then... A soft, pitiful bleat.

I smiled. That was my baby boy. He cries for real then. He's here, and he's okay.

I hold him for a moment. The nurses pass him around to guess how big he is. Everyone guesses right around 8 1/2 lbs. Devereaux has to go to the nursery for testing and all that stuff. I send my mom with him.

She returns with this:

Proof that he's a big boy. 9 lbs, 3 oz. 20 inches long. And with a full head of red hair!

Wait. What? Red hair??? First of all, Taryn was bald until after her first birthday. Where'd he get all that hair? And red? Seriously?

Yep. Seriously. He's adorable. :-D

Oh, If I Only Had The Time

2008-04-15T23:35:00.000-07:00

I'd post Devereaux's birth story. All the fun details, yeah, all 23 hours of it.

Sure, I could do it right now. But I'm posting this right now.

I'll do it soon. Promise.

Oh, by the way, I'm a procrastinator. Did I mention that??? (My header still says Mommy to one and a half. I need to fix that, huh?)

It's Been Long Enough...

2008-04-03T14:46:00.000-07:00

Announcing:

Devereaux Alix

Born March 23, 2008

at 7:06am

Weighing 9 lbs, 3 oz

20 inches long

Can You Help Us...?

2008-02-29T17:18:00.001-08:00

My Baby Middle Name dilemma is being tackled by name aficionados Swistle and Mairzy at

Swistle's Baby Names.

Go see what they have to say... Read, vote, leave comments. :-)

THANX!!!

Job Description

2008-02-28T11:25:00.000-08:00

As the mother of a toddler, I am many things. I cannot be defined by one or two words. Although I have a real name, it has been replaced by Mom, Mama, and Mommy, among others, yet I answer to many other monikers. I'm like a superhero with many identities:

I am the Chaser of the BogeyMan. I make sure my child can go to sleep in peace, knowing that the bad guys from the cartoon she was just watching are nowhere in sight.

I am the Doctor. I apply bandages and kisses to boo-boos and owies.

I am the Exterminator. As scary as it is for me, I kill baby spiders so tiny they can only be seen with a microscope or the eyes of a frightened 3-year-old.

I am the Clown. If my kid is scared or in pain, I will fall down, make funny faces, and talk in silly voices just to make her laugh.

I am the Diaper Changer. I've seen more poop and pee than a worker at the sewage treatment plant.

I am the Punisher. I seem larger than life and scary when my child has done something wrong.

I am the Chauffeur. I make sure my daughter gets to school, the doctor's office, the grocery store, her cousins' house, and anywhere else she may need to go. This identity gives many thanks to Grandma and Aunt Jenny, by the way!

I am the Keeper of the Remote Control. No one should fight me on this one. I don't care who you are, you'll lose. When it comes down to it, when there's something I want to watch, we will watch it.

I am the Toy Finder. I am the one who instructs my child to look in the bathtub or the cat's food dish when she's somehow misplaced her favorite baby horse for the 32nd consecutive time in one day; my daughter is continually amazed every time she finds the Toy Finder was right. And then she says, "I told you!"

I am Santa Clause. Shhh... Don't tell.

I am the Playmate. It's my duty to lose at every game, from checkers to ticklefests to video games.

I am the Teacher. I will show you all the important things in life. No, not the three R's. I teach truly important things, like how to play poker, the titles of every movie Johnny Depp has ever been in, and the importance of mascara.

I am your Maid. I constantly clean up your messes, even after telling you repeatedly that I am not your maid and that I will no longer clean up your messes.

I am the World's Biggest Hypocrite. Don't cuss, don't drink, don't smoke, don't do drugs, don't flunk out of college, don't eat junk, and don't eat too much fast food. Do as I say, not as I've done.

I am your Chef. I can open a can of Chef Boyardee like nobody's business and serve you your feast of raviolis.

I am the Great Contradictor. I tell you to grow up and punish you for acting like a little kid, but then become greatly upset at the thought of you growing up and no longer needing me.

But most of all...

I am your Mother. And don't you forget it.

Oh, lookie, more whining...

2008-02-11T20:48:00.000-08:00

I have reached the stage of this pregnancy where I can no longer breathe. This causes me incessant aggravation. I'm not happy, not happy at all. So... I'm going to share Taryn's birth story, so we can compare later.
_____________________________________________________________

With Taryn, I had placenta previa (basically the placenta was blocking her way out) and at the point I'm at now I was seeing the doctor every week. Oh goodie. I stopped working early cuz there was no way my fat self was getting behind the wheel of a minivan (and then out again) fifty plus times a day. Then, at magical week #40, I saw the doctor three times a week. We were doing stress tests and non-stress tests and cervical exams galore. The next week, I saw the doctor every day. Yes. Every day. On Thursday, I was set up with an appointment at the hospital to get that cervical softener goo. The doctor told me that should get everything rolling, but to come back Friday. Friday, no change.

At this point, I was certain I was literally going to be pregnant FOREVER. My doctor, way more optimistic. We setup an induction for Monday @ 5am, but the doctor is quick to assure that this baby "will definitely be born this weekend." Sure, doc. Whatever you say.

Of course, Sunday night came with absolutely no labor in sight. I was up having mini panic attacks all night, partly scared and partly way too excited to sleep. Arrived bright and early Monday morning for my induction, which they got underway very, very quickly. By 6am I was IV'd and having Pitocin contractions. Holy cow, that's not fun!
After that, the timing starts to get blurry for me, I don't remember what time anything happened really, just the order of events.

Later that day, I convinced the doctor I needed drugs (but NO epidural for me, nosiree!); then I was happy. After my three allotted hourly doses of IV pain meds I was told that I was just too exhausted and labor was going too slow and that I really should get an epidural. My mom says this was about 15 hours in, so maybe 8pm? The epidural came around an hour later.

I remember the nice nurse and the nice doctor both left. Both were replaced by evil sidekicks. Eventually (like almost 2am Tuesday morning) it was pushing time. Taryn was born at 2:37am amid doctor and nurses shouting if we didn't get this baby out we were having a c-section.

Yeah, 21 hour induced labor I really don't want to repeat.

I'm done now... Heh.

Pregnancy Questions...

2008-02-05T20:47:00.000-08:00

...Myspace style.

Your name? Leash
Fathers name? Eric
Are you still with him? Nope, he left.
Were you trying to get pregnant? Not really.
When did you find out? Less than a week later, I knew.
Were did you find out? I just knew. Confirmed it at the Health Department, after 3 positive home tests.
How far along were you? Only a few weeks.
What was your reaction? Mixed. Scared, excited. In denial. Depressed, anxious.
Who was the first person you told? My mom. Then Jenny.
How did you tell the father? When I tried to tell him he said he already knew.
What was his reaction? It was not pleasant.
When is your due date? March 21, 2008
Did you have any morning sickness? Only some.
What are your fears? Favoritism from their Daddy. Unpreparedness. Money.
What are you most happy about? He's healthy.
Did you want a boy or girl? I wanted a girl.
What did the father want boy or girl? He didn't.
Do you know what your haveing? It's a boy!
Do you have a name picked out? Devereaux. Middle name still up for debate.
How much weight have you gained? - 38 lbs. Yes, negative.
Have you felt the baby move? Oh yes, lots and lots.
Are you keeping the baby? Of course.
Do you plan on a natural or medicated birth? I like drugs. Hate epidurals, but I like drugs.
Are you scared about labor? Not really. Taryn's was really bad.
What do you think will be the worst part of labor? If it's induced.
Have you taken any classes? I took a class during my first pregnancy.
Who will be in the delivery room? Me. Duh. Probably Jenny and my mom.
Are you having the birth videotaped? Nope.
Do you think you will cry when you see the baby for the first time? I dunno.
What do you think the fathers reaction to the baby will be? He doesn't seem to have strong feelings either way anymore.
How do you think family and friends will feel? Certain people I know will be excited.

My Diet

2008-02-05T18:31:00.000-08:00

Went to kitchen to grab a VitaminWater (oh, how I love those things) from the fridge.

Spied cream cheese container on fridge shelf. It was looking rather forlorn.

Hunted through kitchen for suitable mate for the pitiful cream cheese.

Found San Francisco Sourdough Snacks in bread basket.

Commenced with spreading cream cheese on sourdough snacks.

Got bored with the over-seasoned sourdough snacks after only a handful.

Called Mom to whine about not having any bagels for my poor cream cheese.

Mom suggests toast. Or a spoon.

Eat a spoonful of cream cheese. Decide not to do that anymore.

Return to kichen to put food away. And to grab the VitaminWater I had previously forgotten.

Spy Poptarts (the Frosted Strawberry kind) on the cabinet shelf. Only ONE pack left!

Seriously consider spreading cream cheese on said poptarts.

Decide not to do that while waiting for toaster.

Eat a handful of marshmallows instead.

Happily munch Strawberry Poptarts, at 6:30pm. VitaminWater yet again forgotten.

____________________

And the doctor says that I've lost another 2 1/2 lbs as of today.

Don't hate me.

In The Beginning...

2008-02-03T19:43:00.000-08:00

My very first blog post! Yay. And also, ohmigosh, what am I getting myself into?

I believe I need an outlet, hopefully a creative one. This shall be my place to vent and rant and whine. (Ye have been warned!)

I am a single mommy of one, currently, but #2 is very much on the way. I will of course share much more about myself as time goes on. I have no secrets... Okay, maybe a few, but I'm pretty much an open book.

For anyone who happens upon my musings, please feel free to leave a comment and say HI!!!