Halloween at Christmas-time

 

Yep, I'm posting about Halloween two weeks before Christmas.  I do have a good excuse though…a new computer…a Mac.  Totally different format and no Windows Live Writer…ughh…the mac blog writers are horrible.  Otherwise, I'm loving my new iMac, but I digress.

This year was probably one of the best Halloweens I've ever had.  The older boys were out with friends so it was just J, me and V.  First we walked around our little cul de sac.

She didn't know how to say "trick or treat" so she said, "trickies!!!" instead.  It was so cute!

After trick or treating around the hood we went down to the Church for the annual trunk or treat.

I LOVE that we Mormons get all excited for Halloween and dress up our cars, our kids, and ourselves.  So much fun. Unfortunately, we weren't able to have a carnival this year as Halloween was on a Monday.  But, we were able to have the trunk or treat.  J had so much fun cruising from car to car asking for her trickies.

 

And, there were lots of other girls, both older and younger dressed up like Minnie Mouse too!

After the trunk or treat I got to go to our neighbor's house for hot chocolate and scones while my wonderful hubby got miss J showered and ready for bed.  Oh my goodness, does Deb make some good fried dough with honey butter! Yum!

We had so much fun this Halloween with our little sweetheart.  She is starting to understand the concept of the holidays.  I know she'll be excited about trick or treating next year but it won't be the same because she'll be a veteran at it.  I know I'm a goofball but those "first times", when you know your baby finally realizes what is going on, are the most precious to me.  I can't wait for Christmas!

Baby Julia

So I was finally induced on Wednesday the 28th. She weighed 8 lbs, 2 oz and is totally awesome and healthy!

Labor story:

They put me on Pitocin which wasn't too bad until they ramped it up. At first, I was fine. I didn't want to get an epidural this time as I have blood pressure problems with the medicine. Anyway, I had a doula who was just wonderful and she really helped me get through most of the labor. After the Pitocin was up pretty high, I felt the contractions becoming more effective. I started feel like I was going to throw up. The nurse midwife came in after I almost lost my cookies in the trash can and checked me...I was only 2 cm but fully effaced. I was 2 cm when I walked into the stupid hospital. I was crushed! I knew I couldn't take 4 more hours of the pain I was trying to cope with. I begged for an epidural.

The anesthesiologists came pretty quickly as the hospital was having a slow night. The Dr. was giving me the whole informed consent, don't sue me, spiel while I was nodding and hurrying him along. My husband said he'd never seen anybody put an epidural in as fast as this guy did. I didn't have any trouble with the medicine but as soon as I laid down on the bed, I had to push. The stupid epidural hadn't even kicked in. But, I COULD NOT wait for anybody, not even the midwife to show up. I started pushing like no tomorrow.

At this point in time it was only my husband, the nurse and the doula in the room. The nurse called for the midwife and was absolutely panicked as nobody expected me to be pushing that fast. Also, I had pushed part of the water bag out which was still in tact. Isn't that weird and disgusting? Anyway, I basically went from 2 to 10 cm in 20 minutes!!! The nurse couldn't get a hold of the midwife so she called in the M.D.s from the floor. Right as they came in, my midwife came running in. I guess the page system didn't work. Anyway, as I pushed again, the midwife informed me that the baby had pooped in the bag and had meconium all over her head. Yum! Next thing I know there were 4 perinatologists in the room waiting to take care of the baby. They were so calm, I didn't feel scared about the situation at all. Plus, I was in too much pain to care that much.

When I really started pushing I felt this horrible burning sensation. I was SO not prepared for that. I took a birthing class that totally helped with the contractions but did not prepare me for the ring of fire!!! I was yelling, "get it out" and asking whether they could give me something to numb up the area. They couldn't b/c she was crowning. I dropped the f bomb left and right. When I watched the birth video, it surprises me that nobody laughed as it was actually kind of funny.

I probably pushed 2 more times and she was out. Despite the fact they were worried about her b/c of the meconium, they put this bloody, purple baby on my chest for about 1 min and then took her over to the specialists to make sure she was okay. I thought that was pretty awesome. Her hair was totally green b/c of the poop. She looked like a leprechaun. But, she was healthy and crying.

Everybody at the hospital was so great and supportive. I'm glad I had the experience of having a baby naturally. In retrospect, I don't think I would do it again lol. I did ask for the epidural, it just didn't have time to kick in. It was a great experience and my last one barring any unforeseen "accident." I hope everybody likes the pictures. Oh, check out all her blonde hair!