Wrenn’s Birth Story: Party Three

In case you missed it, here is part one and part two of Wrenn’s birth story.

————————————————

After Wrenn was born, Mr. Right and I spent about an hour with her, just the three of us. She breastfed a little, but mostly we just loved on her and savored those first few moments as a family of three. Then we welcomed back all of our family members, who had waited so patiently all day (the entire labor was 11.5 hours from the time my water broke until the time she was born), to meet our precious little girl.

Once they left, it was still several hours before I was recovered enough to move to a postpartum room. Moving me from one bed to the other was by far the most painful part of the entire childbirth process – so painful that I couldn’t sit down in a wheelchair, so they had to move me on a “people mover” – basically a dolly – and roll me down the hallway, half standing, half sitting, wrapped in a blanket at 3:30 in the morning.

Let’s just say that it wasn’t my finest moment.

I only got an hour of sleep that night because my body was still so wired from the day’s events. The next day we had visitors from around 8:00 in the morning until 10:00 that night. It was a wonderful, exhausting blur – such a joy to introduce our precious daughter to our closest friends and family (and coworkers… lot’s of coworkers since I delivered at the same place I work). I was still in a good amount of pain, but I was also able to take a shower and do my hair, which made me feel so much better.

1005432_10103489247367184_72173855_n

17581_10103488995407114_1278265929_n

The second night in the hospital was much harder. Miss Wrenn decided she was no longer interested in feeding, so Mr. Right and I spent half the night trying unsuccessfully to get her to latch and eat – a two person job that left us with almost no sleep.

This is the part where I should tell you that on Wednesday, while I was in labor, we found out that Mr. Right had a fractured pelvis. It was from last month’s bicycle accident – his pain had gotten worse and worse over the past few days, and he had gotten an MRI that morning (thinking I would be induced the next day), and the results came in half-way through my labor. He was in major pain but gallantly pushed ahead with the help of some strong pain medicine his doctor called in for him.

993923_10103490867220984_349158717_n

However, during a 2:00 a.m. feeding, he took one of those pain pills on an empty stomach. By 6:00, he was violently ill, so much so that I had to send him home to get some food in his system and sleep it off. I called my mom and asked her to come up to the hospital to help me while Mr. Right suffered alone at home. My heart broke for him.

He was sick ALL DAY LONG. Around noon we started to wonder if instead of a bad reaction to his medicine, maybe he had picked up a virus or food poisoning. Here we had a two-day-old newborn, we were scheduled to be discharged from the hospital, and I possibly had a contagious husband at home. We started thinking about Plan B, and Plan C… would he go stay with his parents? Would I take Wrenn to my parents? Could we coexist at home without exposing baby girl to germs?

I broke down and cried. This was NOT how I planned things. I so wanted to go home to my house, with my husband to help me. I’m sure the hormones and the fact that I hadn’t slept in two days didn’t help.

I’m so thankful for Wrenn’s pediatrician. I explained everything to him at her discharge visit and he told us that even if Mr. Right had a stomach virus, he wouldn’t spread it to her unless he kissed on her. He said it would be fine to go home and have him there with us. My sister offered to spend the night and help care for her so that we could both get some much-needed sleep between feedings. Mr. Right was finally okay enough to pick us up at the hospital and drive us home around 5:00 that evening.

1005977_10151502226591120_1348261409_n

1013463_10103495917350484_1777790664_n

1069279_10103495917889404_1462697467_n

This is where I should mention how thankful I am for my mom and my sister who so kindly helped us out during this unexpected mini-crisis. My family, along with Mr. Right’s family, helped us so much during those first few days so that both of us could get some rest – something I just couldn’t get enough of.

16562_10151508850526120_148188259_n

Poor Mr. Right couldn’t hold his brand-new baby that entire day. We decided it was just too risky, so he waited until Saturday morning, 24 hours after his symptoms had arrived, to get to cuddle that sweet baby of ours. He spent the entire morning with her sleeping on his chest, soaking her up. It was the sweetest thing to watch – he is such a loving daddy.

1069394_10151510814216120_287599981_n

993635_10151522633531120_1197170892_n

935048_10151513452851120_1336466316_n

The past three weeks have since been a blur of around-the-clock feedings, sleepless nights, visits from friends and family, and trying to find a rhythm to this new life of ours. I will admit that I have cried almost every single day (I hear it’s the hormones – I’ll be so glad when they level off again), but I have also felt such overwhelming moments of joy. After the first week we started venturing out – we had our first family date night, I took her out by myself for the first time, I ventured out for some “me time” without her for the first time. Each “first” brought satisfaction that this is our new normal as a family of three… that we can do this parenthood thing, even though at times it’s a bit messy (like when she screamed… and screamed, and SCREAMED at the store last week).

1001201_10151513454826120_2097025171_n

photo-196

And through it all, I am more in love with Mr. Right than I ever knew was possible. Watching him take care of both of us… taking shifts so that I could sleep, encouraging me to get out of the house alone so I could have a break, calling the lactation consultant when I became discouraged. And watching him love on his first daughter and seeing him as a dad for the first time is the sweetest sight for these tired eyes of mine.

575139_10151529259116120_1112210507_n

We are so in love with that beautiful baby girl of ours. I don’t know what we ever did without her.

Wrenn’s Birth Story: Part Two

For part one of Wrenn’s birth story, see this post.

A few hours after I got my epidural, Mr. Right, my parents, and sister were hanging out in my room, we were enjoying a good conversation, when all of a sudden my pain level spiked. I buzzed the nurse to tell her I needed a “boost” on my epidural, and when she came in she said she’d go ahead and check me to see how dilated I was. The last time she had checked me I was around a 6.

We ushered my family out of the room, and in that short amount of time I started to shake all over from pain. It was my first time all day to be in extreme pain, and I became desperate for the anesthesiologist to come back and make it better. The nurse checked me, and her voice nervously shook as she said, “Well, looks like you’re an 8… or a 9. We’re going to go call the doctor and get everything ready… things are moving VERY quickly.”

My response? “PLEASE CALL THE ANESTHESIOLOGIST FIRST!”

The hour or so after that was the worst part of the whole day. I started shaking from what I found out was a combination of pain and adrenaline. I was in the famous “transition” stage, where your body is almost ready to deliver, and as several people have put it, things get “real.” The anesthesiologist quickly came and boosted my epidural and eventually my shaking started to subside. My doctor quickly appeared and told me that she was going to let me lie there and rest for about 30 minutes in order to save some energy for pushing.   She turned out the lights and left Mr. Right and me alone to wait.

That was the hardest part of the day – my belly hurt, my lower back hurt, and the shakes came and went. I got relief from having Mr. Right rub on my belly and wipe my forehead with a wet washcloth, and I got really nervous about what I thought would be several hours of pushing. In the midst of worry, I was also overcome with thankfulness that my labor had progressed exactly as it was supposed to and that I was going to avoid having a C-section. I asked Mr. Right to pray for me, and cried and tried to gear up all my bravery to tackle the biggest part of the day.

After about 30 minutes, the doctor and a few nurses came back and set up equipment in the room for the delivery and for the baby. Everything seemed to happen quickly, and all of a sudden my doctor was talking to me, coaching me on how she wanted me to push.

She asked me if I wanted a mirror to watch everything. Now, I may have worked at a hospital for ten years, but I am absolutely terrified of blood. I knew if I saw any I would lose my nerve. I told her no, and she and the nurse kept encouraging me to get the mirror anyway. That’s when my husband, in his infinite wisdom, finally said, “Trust me, she does NOT need the mirror.” It was those little moments when he took control that made me love him so much more, and made me thankful that I had an advocate and partner who knew me well. (And let’s face it, after watching me deliver a baby – from the foot of the bed – he REALLY knows me well now.)

My doctor asked for a trial push through a contraction, and I pushed as hard as I could. My epidural was so strong I couldn’t feel a pushing sensation at all – I just pushed the way I knew in my head I was supposed to, and other than feeling like my face might explode, I couldn’t feel anything. Amazingly, I felt absolutely NO pain.

Apparently I’m a really good pusher (add that to the resume). Two more rounds of pushing and just a few minutes later, and Wrenn Olivia was here. It took less than 10 minutes and suddenly I was watching them pull her out of me, I could hear her cries, and I watched them suction fluid out of her little stomach, quickly wipe her off, and then she was lying on my chest, cradled in my arms.

baby

IMG_3305

I started crying the moment I saw her, and didn’t stop for a long time. I cried so hard that both Mr. Right and my doctor asked if I was crying from pain, but it wasn’t pain at all – it was just the biggest wave of emotion that I have ever felt in my life. My baby girl was here, and I was her mother, and I had delivered her. I did it. We did it. It was the most overwhelming, wonderful feeling.

(I’m crying now as I type it… reliving that moment all over again).

labor 3

1043903_10103487966444164_1395114772_n

My baby girl was absolutely perfect… 7 pounds, 2 ounces, about 19 inches long (we’re not completely sure because five days later my doctor measured her as 20.75 inches long), born at 10:04 p.m. My doctor later told me, after everything calmed down, that Wrenn had come out with the umbilical cord wrapped tightly around her neck… twice. Everybody else had known (including Mr. Right), but because I had warned them before the delivery that I wanted to be on a “need to know basis,” they wisely didn’t say a word until everything was okay. I think it was all God’s doing that she came so quickly, because it meant that the cord did no damage to her. It’s just another example of God’s protection and grace during this pregnancy.

The rest of the story, which includes a very sick husband and a major change of plans, to come soon…

Wrenn’s Birth Story: Part One

It was Wednesday morning, July 10. We were scheduled to be admitted for induction that evening at 7:00. I’d been on bed rest for high blood pressure for a week, and finally decided it was time to get off my couch, do some last-minute things around the house, and make sure everything was packed and ready to go before we left for the hospital.

The night before I had suffered a bit of a pregnancy meltdown. I was so tired of being stuck at home on bed rest – I was lonely, extremely uncomfortable, and also terrified of the induction. I cried frustrated tears to Mr. Right, then went and took a bath and sobbed and sobbed until I couldn’t cry any longer. He came in and asked me what I was worried about – I realized it was stupid to be both so READY to not be pregnant anymore but also so TERRIFIED of the childbirth that was required to get her here.

The crying wore me out, I popped an Ambien and slept for ten glorious hours. Wednesday morning Mr. Right cooked me a big breakfast, then left me to get some work done and run last-minute errands before baby got here.

So back to the chores – after putting away all the laundry and finishing my bag, I started feeling really sick… and hot. I climbed onto my bed to rest, thinking I had overdone it. A few minutes later… woosh – my water broke. As soon as I felt the sensation, I jumped off the bed, and water spilled on the carpet. Thankfully none got on our bed.

I high-tailed it to the bathroom (as quickly as a giant pregnant girl can run), and climbed into our bathtub as my water continued to flow out. I called Mr. Right and told him, “My water just broke,” and he was so shocked all he could muster was, “I’m on my way home,” and hung up before we could talk anymore. As I stood there, I wondered if all of a sudden giant contractions would hit me like a freight train… but they didn’t. I had been having contractions for ten days, and I didn’t feel anything stronger than I’d been feeling all along.

I was still standing in the bathtub when he got home, afraid to leak all over our house. When he got home I finally got the nerve to climb out, get dressed, grab some last-minute items and head for the car. I wore a horrendous giant black t-shirt and work out shorts with flip-flops for the trip to the hospital and fretted that I hadn’t had time to take a shower that morning (I was hoping to have my hair done for labor – so vain).

We drove to the hospital, both of us in total shock that I was actually in labor on my own, after waiting for what seemed like an eternity for the moment to arrive. We got settled into a room and hooked up to machines. There was meconium in my water when it broke, so the nurse hooked me up to a machine that would flush out all of the dirty water and clean it so that when Wrenn was born, she wouldn’t inhale it and get it in her lungs. They had trouble hearing her heartbeat, so in went the internal monitors to better hear her heartbeat, as well as measure the intensity of my contractions. I got an IV and they started pumping me full of fluids, and we waited for the contractions to ramp up.

photo-195

Once we got settled, Mr. Right handed me a small, square box from Neiman’s. A push present – a gorgeous, sparkly cocktail ring. He told me he wanted me to have it before things got intense, before I was on any drugs, and before I had that gorgeous baby to gaze at. Throughout the day, as things got harder, he would distract me with admiring that gorgeous ring, and I wore it on my swollen finger the rest of the hospital stay.

labor 1

The contractions started to ramp up. Stronger and stronger, but not strong enough or fast enough, so after a few hours, they added some pitocin. And that’s when the contractions got REALLY strong. Even the nurse, whom we just loved, told me that my contractions were pretty intense and offered to give me some pain medicine until it was time for the epidural. I wanted to be tough – I could totally handle the pain, even though it was uncomfortable. And that’s when Mr. Right stepped in.

My wonderful husband, who knows me sometimes better than I know myself, looked me in the eye and told me to get the drugs. He told me that I wouldn’t get a medal for being a hero. That I needed to conserve my energy for a long day ahead. And, he knew that the drugs, which the nurse said would have a calming effect, would keep me – the queen of anxiety – from getting too worked up. He looked at me the way only a husband can do, and told me, “You need to do this.”

I’m so glad I listened to him.

I got the drugs, and it was the best thing I did all day. It gave me an opportunity to rest for a few hours before it was time for the epidural. It took the edge off of the pain (I could still feel the pressure from the contractions, but not that sharp pain that had been with them), and felt well enough to let family members take turns coming back and hanging out with us for a few hours.

600233_10103486051192344_1158436859_n-1

I came into the hospital dilated to a 3, but there was a lot of effacing that had to be done before I could progress to a 4. What seemed like half a day later, I finally made it to a 4… the contractions were even more intense, and it was time to get my epidural.

The epidural wasn’t bad at all. The anticipation of the epidural? Now THAT was bad. It was about as painful as a steroid shot in the hiney, but sitting on the side of the bed, with intense contractions, waiting for the doctor to stick me in the spine with a giant needle was terrifying. It was one of the many moments that came during the day where I got really nervous, but I knew I didn’t have a choice, so I would just have to do it. Next time I have a baby I won’t be nervous at all – it was a non-issue.

It took a little while to get the epidural calibrated correctly to take care of the pain. It never totally masked the pain like I had hoped, but it was definitely better than nothing. The weirdest part was not being able to feel my legs. After the epidural, I continued to hang out with Mr. Right and various family members as we waited for the big moment to arrive. It was turning into be a pretty enjoyable day.

A few hours passed… and that’s when things got REAL. More on that next time…

New prints & a bedrest update

I’ve spent the past few days hanging out on the couch and in bed, watching TV and, well, designing new prints. The longer we wait for Wrenn to arrive, the more action this blog and my Etsy shop is going to see. If only I could sit down at my sewing machine and quilt… I’m going through some serious withdrawals.

We got good news from the doctor. They ran some more tests and things seem to be less worrisome than originally thought, so I’m off the “only get up to use the restroom” bedrest and instead on the “spend most of your time lying down but at least you’re allowed to walk around your house” version of bedrest. Which is good because I would have lost my mind on the other one.

I’ve had braxton hicks contractions since Sunday, and Thursday night they got really intense and 5-6 minutes apart. I really thought it was time, but they never got to that magic 5-minute mark required to go to the hospital. I slept a little that night, but spent much of the night up with pain. Friday… nothing. And so we continue to wait for that precious baby girl to arrive.

So, back to the prints – I designed two new prints for the shop this week. Both are available for instant download for just $10 each. This means as soon as you purchase it online, you’ll get a link to download the file so you can print it yourself – I’m hoping this adds some convenience (and speed) to my shoppers.

This print was inspired by a quote Mr. Right sent me a few months ago. I’m a bit of a reformed feminist, and it’s very important to me that I teach Wrenn that she can do anything she sets her mind to, but that she should also always conduct herself as a lady, and a humble one at that. It’s an important balance.

Lady

(Available here)

And this print is inspired by the scripture I’ve been meditating on all week. We’ve been studying David Platt’s new book in our Sunday School class, and he talks about duty vs. delight when it comes to our faith. I’ve been praying all week that God would help me to take a new delight in his Word… and thus this print came to be.

Her-delight

(Available here)

And one more thing… Texas Lovely now has a Facebook page! Do me a favor and go “like” it – I’ll be posting discount codes and links to new products.

That time I went on bedrest… and an induction date

photo-179

Tuesday I woke up feeling crummy and swollen. I weighed myself and realized I’d gained about 5 pounds in just a few days – probably water weight. My face, my feet, and my ankles were swollen, and as the day went on I felt worse and worse. No day is especially easy when you’re 38 weeks pregnant, but something was just off and I wasn’t sure what.

I finished the work day and started to drive home, then started thinking that maybe my blood pressure might be high. Since I work at a hospital, I circled back to work and asked someone to take my blood pressure – it was 169/79. I typically run really low (normal is 120/80 for most people, but I run lower than that).

I called up to the Labor & Delivery Department to see what they thought, and they told me I should come in to get monitored. So, Mr. Right and I grabbed my overnight bag (just in case) and went up for about four hours of tests and monitoring. Turns out I was also having contractions 2-4 minutes apart (I could barely feel them), and Mr. Right climbed in bed with me and we watched our favorite show while we waited to see if we were going to have a baby that night.

We didn’t. Turns out the contractions were just braxton hicks, and my blood pressure finally went back down, and my lab tests came back good, so we got discharged and headed back home.

I went back to the doctor this morning, and she decided to put me on strict bed rest (aka – only get up to go to the bathroom, must be lying down at all times) until Baby Girl arrives. Which, we found out, will be no later than July 11. So, we’ll be holding our little girl within a week! I can’t believe it.

photo-180

In the meantime, I’m hanging out on the couch watching TV and movies. Expect a lot of blogging, some new prints in the shop (including this one I designed today), and at least one give-away. Feel free to leave a comment – or a hundred – to give me some much-needed human interaction.

In the meantime, we wait for that precious Baby Girl’s arrival!

The big reveal! Wrenn’s Baby Quilt!

I’ve made a lot of baby quilts in the five years that I’ve had this little hobby of mine. But I must say that this one was the most special by far, because this time it was for MY baby girl and not someone else’s. Squeal!

quilt5

Mr. Right helped me pick out the fabrics, because we used them as a jumping off point for the rest of our nursery. The bright colors are a tribute to my man and his love of color. I probably have the only husband who has been to a quilting store… multiple times! Such a trooper, that man.

quilt3

I realize I’ve maxed out on my use of chevron, but it’s still my favorite pattern, and I wanted it for my baby girl, so she got it. Plus, I tried a few different patterns and this fabric just begged for chevron. (Yes, sometimes fabric begs to be sewn a certain way – it’s the truth.)

Speaking of chevron – I’ve had several people ask me for a tutorial on chevron quilts. Someday I will do some tutorials, but right now life is a bit nutty, so I thought I’d point you toward other people’s tutorials. I learned a lot of my sewing through blogs and YouTube, so never be afraid to just google something. Two ways to do chevron – or any triangle quilt –  are this way (my way is the first way they listed) and that way (I don’t do it this way, but it looks efficient so I may give it a try someday). Also, typically I cut my squares to 6 inches, simply because I like the finished look – not too big, not too small. They’re closer to 5 inches once sewn with a 1/4 inch seam allowance.

quilt2

I quilted everything with white thread (I almost always use white – that way I can just stock up on it in advance) and I loosely followed a chevron pattern. I’ve found that quilts are a lot softer and more snuggly if you quilt them more loosely – the more stitches, the stiffer it will be.

I love this crazy zebra backing and bright turquoise binding. I wanted this quilt to scream fabulous and fun and not necessarily just baby.

quilt

I hope this is one of those things she keeps the rest of her life. I still have the quilt my grandmother made for me when I was a baby. As I did my sewing I imagined my little blonde-haired girl dragging this all over our house, snuggling with it at night, and having it as a forever reminder that her mama loves her dearly.

———————————–

Interested in seeing my other quilts? Click here. Interested in seeing what’s offered in my online shop? Go visit me on Etsy!

Looks like she’ll be staying awhile longer

At our 38 week doctor appointment yesterday, our doctor was just a little bit concerned that my belly hasn’t grown in several weeks now. After measuring ahead for so long, I was now measuring a bit behind, and the doctor was concerned that little Wrenn might not be growing anymore, or I might not have enough amniotic fluid. Or, there was a chance that maybe Baby Girl was just petite.

If findings weren’t ideal, they were going to induce early. Like, tomorrow.

Which means Will and I were half giddy, and a tiny bit concerned. But mostly giddy to get to meet Wrenn sooner rather than later.

So tonight we went in for a sonogram (our first in about 18 weeks), and turns out Wrenn is perfectly fine. We are SO thankful that she’s healthy, and we’re content to keep on waiting until she gets here. What’s another week… or two… or three, right?

PS–They think she’s approximately 7.2 pounds. I realize that’s just an estimate and could be off by a pound. But regardless, looks like she’s a very healthy size!

On to the important part… the pictures. Here is her little face, viewed straight on. You can see her eyes, nose, pouty lips and big cheeks.

face - front

Here is her profile – you can see her nose, and her hands are up next to her face.

face - profile

And here’s her foot.

foot

It was such a treat to see our Baby Girl… I can’t wait to hold her in my arms sometime in the next 2-3 weeks! Hurry Wrenn, we want to meet you!

A huge thank you and a virtual hug

I want to say a HUGE thank you to all of you mama friends of mine who left a comment on my last blog post, on my Facebook page, or sent me a private message with ENCOURAGEMENT and helpful advice. I just love it when women can encourage other women – that’s what we’re supposed to do! I think there’s so much judging that goes on amongst us, especially with motherhood (but heck, with life in general), and it’s so refreshing to have dozens of women send notes that say YOU CAN DO THIS.

You girls rock. We’re all on the same team.

So thank you. If you were here I’d give you a hug (which is saying a lot because I’m not a hugger). So instead, just trust that I appreciate you, and I know I will be referring back to some of your handy tips in a few weeks when Baby Girl is here and our little family is figuring this whole thing out for ourselves.

I have this verse posted next to my computer at work, and I think it’s perfect for this, as well as motherhood in general. I can’t tell you how excited I am, but I also feel like I’m standing on the edge of a high diving board, afraid to let go of the rails and just JUMP. I know I’ll be fine when I do, but I also don’t know what to expect on the way down.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” –John 14:27

Here goes nothing…

Breastfeeding – am I the only one who is overwhelmed?

To my mama friends out there in blog land – I have one question: Breastfeeding – how did you do it?

We took a breastfeeding class on Saturday, and I must say that it was pretty overwhelming. I already knew it was going to be challenging, and probably painful at times, and that I wouldn’t get much sleep. But my goodness, you hear all of it at once and it makes me wonder how women have done this since the beginning of time!

Between the leaking and engorgement and keeping baby off a bottle (but making sure she’ll take a bottle) and pumping (but not too much pumping), not to mention washing the pump parts and heating the milk and storing the milk and not poisoning the baby with milk that’s been sitting out too long and not leaking in public and holding baby in the correct “football hold” position and keeping my supply just right and … AND… AND…!!!!

So for you expert moms out there – please send some encouragement and (positive) advice my way! You know at 37 weeks pregnant, I don’t need ANYTHING to send me over the edge – so please keep your horror stories to yourself! (although I do love a good laugh – so if you’re determined to tell a horror story, it had better be crazy funny)

Here’s what scares me:

1. We’re pretty gung-ho about trying to get baby on a schedule (aka – Baby Wise). I realize not everybody is a fan, but according to what I learned in class, it seems nearly impossible to have a baby who sleeps through the night AND have my body produce enough milk during the day. Have any of you managed it?

2. Working moms – how did you manage pumping every 2-3 hours at work? (I’m going back to work at around 9 weeks.)  My schedule is different every single day (besides the fact that when you’re putting on an event, you can’t exactly pump in the middle of it) and I just can’t figure out how I’m going to swing that. 

3. Working moms – did you end up supplementing with formula just to survive? I don’t want to – but do you have any other secrets for survival? Or if you supplemented, feel free to tell me I’m not a horrible mom…

Any other misc. tips you can send my way (or encouragement – heck, just lie to me if you need to) would be greatly appreciated! I know that I’m not the first – or last – new mom to give breastfeeding a try. I’m in good company.

And one thing I know – baby girl is never going to go hungry, regardless of whether or not I figure this thing out. And she will be loved. And I’ve never heard of someone ending up in therapy because their mom couldn’t figure out the whole breastfeeding thing. So there’s that.

Weekend recap: A fancy night out, a trip to the ER, and twinkle lights

Oh my blog friends, what a weekend! It was one of those that takes you the rest of the week to recover from. Here’s a recap of our adventures – you’ll see what I mean:

Friday night I surprised Mr. Right with a fabulous First Father’s Day Date to our favorite gourmet restaurant, and showered him with a new car stereo for his 10-year-old car (he needed one badly). It had all the makings to be one of our best nights in a long time, until I took my first bite of dinner and got struck with a tidal wave of nausea (yea for lingering stomach bug at 36 weeks pregnant) and little Miss Wrenn moved into some weird position that had me almost barreled over in pain. Silly girl.

We managed to make it through dinner without me getting physically ill, packed up my almost untouched food and headed home (after a small detour to get some gelato, of course – Mr. Right knows how to cheer a girl up). We ended the night with me in bed, hugging a body pillow trying to coax Baby Girl back to a less painful position, and Mr. Right on the couch with an ice pack in severe pain from his bike injury. It was not the most romantic First Father’s Day, to say the least.

Saturday we headed to the hospital for an all day childbirth/breastfeeding class. After ten hours of learning about the beauty – and horror – of childbirth, and me still feeling nauseous and unable to eat much, we headed home for what we hoped would be a quiet, peaceful night. (note: Breastfeeding is so intimidating! It deserves its own post where I desperately need some advice from you seasoned mamas out there. Stay tuned.)

Instead, an hour later we ended up BACK at the hospital, this time in the ER to have Mr. Right’s bicycle wreck injuries checked out. They had gotten much, much worse, and when we showed our childbirth nurse the bruise on his leg (bruise doesn’t really describe it – it’s like you took purple paint and painted several square feet of his left hip/thigh, from hip bone to knee), even the nurse said we should get it checked out.

bethe1

(I tried to snag a pic of all three of us in the ER. Sadly this isn’t even Wrenn’s first ER visit.)

I’m not sure if you should be proud when you have an injury so bad that you can actually shock the ER doctor, but we did just that. Every nurse who saw it just gasped. It was THAT bad. Thankfully, we got FAST, wonderful care (I work at a great hospital with some really great people), and Mr. Right’s injuries checked out fine, which means I will sleep much better (because you know I’d been up all night googling his injuries and had been horrified by what I read). Now he’s got some medicine for the pain and should make a full recovery in 6-8 weeks.

In the meantime, if you want to see the gnarliest bruise in the history of the world – call us.

We finally got home at 10:00 p.m. – exhausted, hurting, nauseous, and ready to retreat from the real world for a little while. And we did just that – we spent most of Sunday just resting and recovering emotionally from a stressful week. We did manage to have Mr. Right’s parents over for a wonderfully relaxing Father’s Day dinner (and praise Jesus my nausea was finally gone!), and then Mr. Right and I ended the weekend sitting on our back porch, admiring the pergola he built me and enjoying each other’s company under the twinkle lights.

bethe2

Finally, we got our romantic evening we’d been hoping for.