Feelin' good...

I've had a lot of people telling me since Veronica's birth that I look really good for a woman who just had a baby. I'm vacillating between 8 and 10 pounds BELOW my pre-pregnancy weight. I have about 10-15 pounds until I'm feeling REALLY good, but I think I'm doing pretty good all things considered. I started on my thyroid medication again, so I'm hoping that will help me shed the last few pounds. Let us not forget that at this point after having Savannah, I started packing on about THIRTY POUNDS after losing all the pregnancy weight in the 6 weeks postpartum. Ah, thyroid condition, how I loathe thee...

Not only am I feeling better about my physical appearance, but I've had people mention how HAPPY I am now. I know that is totally from God. I withdrew emotionally, mentally, and spiritually after Savannah's birth. I do believe I had a good case of the "baby blues" after that. I don't think I truly shook them until after Veronica arrived. I prayed before I went into labor that God would give me a love for my girls that could not be shaken. I prayed that I would allow myself to see them for the blessings they truly are and that I would be the best mother I could be to them in all aspects.

Tonight, we went shopping for some things we needed, including a top for me to wear in our family pictures that we're getting this week. The first one I tried on was perfect. It was *just* form fitting enough without being obscene to show off the figure that I got from birthing children whom all hold a special place in my heart and soul. I put my hands on the hips that have spread slightly from carrying them for nine months. Without being vulgar, it accentuated the breasts that have provided nourishment for them. I rubbed my shoulders, stiff from carrying and snuggling them. I looked into the dressing room mirror, smiled back at the face with the eyes with a slight hint of circles under them from late nights playing with a toddler and early mornings babbling with a baby. And that's when it truly hit me...

I am a Mommy. I couldn't be happier.

Marley and Savannah...

Marley and Savannah are both ready for their close ups!


Marley's Ready from Katrina Marie on Vimeo.

Veronica video...

I finally caught Veronica smiling on camera, which meant I could share it with my family. I love my digital camera - it makes it so easy to share things with them now! (Ignore the annoying baby talk, please.)


Veronica Smiles! from Katrina Marie on Vimeo.

And here's some video of Veronica "talking" and practicing for her future career as an aerobics instructor.


Serious Kicking from Katrina Marie on Vimeo.

Savannah jamming with Daddy...

I looked into the other room, and this is what I saw. Take special note of how Savannah is standing - leg up on the table just like Daddy! Like father, like daughter, huh? If Jerry gets his way, this will be the loudest, most rockin' house in the neighborhood. I think I need to invest in a large stock of Tylenol for the years to come. :-D


Savannah's Jamming from Katrina Marie on Vimeo.

This is after she was jamming with her Daddy. She was telling me that she fell and was going to go stand on the table before playing guitar again.


Savannah's Jamming 2 from Katrina Marie on Vimeo.

Family photos...

My favorite shot of Veronica, in my hands.


Savannah, looking beautiful.


Veronica in Jerry's hand.


The bandannas were the photographer's idea. Veronica was not pleased.


Mommy loves Veronica.


Savannah and Blake.


Veronica and Blake.

The Big Sister

Savannah got to hold her little sister for the first time last night, and it was so stinking cute watching her get so excited!


The reaction to being asked if she wanted to hold her baby sister.


Holding her baby sister for the first time!


Giving big brother a hug...


...and kisses.


Being Little Miss Bossy.


Spending time with Mommy and Veronica.

Family Pool Day

On the way there, we told Savannah she needed to take a nap. She was so excited, this was the result. Yeah, not so much with the napping.


Blake played the "good big brother" that day and played with his sister a lot. She was LOVING it.


This was how I spent the better part of the afternoon. Not that I minded. SO SWEET! (I did get to dip my feet in the pool for about 5 minutes before she woke up hungry.)


Jerry took her so I could dip my feet in. Miss Veronica was not impressed with the heat.


Savannah "borrowed" Blake's goggles for a bit. CUTENESS!


Veronica was serious about wanting to go home at the end of the day.


Savannah was SUPER tired (and cranky) by the time we got home. Here Jerry wears his feelings on his face. I can't say that I blame him. Savannah was in RARE form.

More pictures...

Here's some more pictures from Veronica's birth day!


Jerry and I before the action started. I seriously felt great until 10 minutes before she was born.


A cute shot of Veronica sleeping peacefully.


Such a pretty girl... She looks so much like her sister did!


Me and my girls!


Jerry's dad with his grandkids from our family.


Jerry's mom with Veronica.

There will be more, but that's what we've got off the camera for now!

VERONICA IS HERE!

I'll post a bit more detail later, but for now, here's a quick announcement...

Veronica Louise arrived into the world on May 30, 2008 at 1:05am. She weighed 7 lbs. 6 oz. and we're not sure on her length. (No one's told us yet!) The labor was very fast. I only had to push for about 10 minutes, same as with Savannah. Once I got the urge, the midwife told me to go with it and I did!

Jerry was wonderful, and I've been told I was a lot nicer this time around. :-D My midwife Jonne was perfect - she was exactly what I needed. I'm still kind of amazed at how quickly everything happened.

Well, back to oogling my new daughter. Here's a picture of her almost immediately after her birth...

Say goodbye to work...

...until after maternity leave, that is!

I'm officially home from work after my trip to labor & delivery on the 22nd. I had a follow up appointment on Tuesday with my midwife and she sent me home with a letter saying I was signed out of work on medical leave due to pregnancy related complications. After my appointment, Jerry, Savannah and I headed to the branch to turn in my keys and I finished up some things that got left on Thursday.

And then I left, not to return until my maternity leave is over. We're hoping I'll be able to stay out the entire 12 weeks, but I might have to return earlier depending on the money situation. (I only get paid for 6 weeks.)

And this is what makes this a happy post...

I get to enjoy more of this now! YAY!

My happy fun trip to labor & delivery...

I came home from work early yesterday due to some pretty regular contractions that were 10 minutes apart. They petered off after about 2 hours, though. I had some more after midnight, but they weren't regular at all.

Woke up this morning and the day was going pretty normal. I was sitting at my desk when a client came in to see me. As I was talking to her, I got a spot in my vision, kind of like what you'd get if you stared into a bright light. I thought it was odd and kept talking to her, as we were waiting for her husband to arrive. When he got there, I looked over at him and said hello and the spot was bigger. And it kept getting bigger. I was adding him onto her account, so I was looking at his ID and that's when it happened. I couldn't see anything at all. I tried not to show my panic to my clients. I closed my eyes tightly and prayed that I would be able to see when I opened them. I could see just a little bit. I stumbled through the rest of the time with them. The wife could tell something was amiss and asked if I was ok. I said I was fine, finished up with them, and then booked it to the back office to call my midwives.

I left a message for them and then called Jerry to tell him what was going on. I told him to get up and get ready, because I'd most likely need him to come get me. I then went to my manager and told him I was having some major issues and that I couldn't see. He asked if I was ok and I told him I was waiting for my midwife to call me back and that Jerry was ready to come get me. He told me to take it easy. The midwife called back and said I needed to come in ASAP. Jerry got there not too much longer after that and we headed to the office.

Got there and while in the waiting room, our friends from couple's group who were due on Sunday came in. We chatted with them until I got called back. I was woozy walking down the hallway. Gave my urine sample and then got to the exam room. The midwife came in and checked my legs, which were very swollen. She pushed her thumb into my calf and the indention stayed put. Not good. My blood pressure was normal, though. I did have a large amount of protein in my urine, so she wanted me to go to the hospital for blood work and monitoring. If things didn't look good, I'd need to be induced. Ugh, I was not happy to hear that. She also put me on official bed rest until my next appointment on Tuesday.

As we were checking out, we ran into our OTHER friend from couple's group who is due the same day as me. We told her what was going on, and she said she'd pray for us. We went to the hospital and got checked in. I went into a triage room and got hooked up to the monitors. I was so very uncomfortable on the little cot they call a bed. I have also been spoiled by the phlebotomist at my midwife practice because the blood draw HURT LIKE HELL. I never even feel it when she sticks me at the office. Jerry and I spent the two hours we were there watching game shows and guessing answers. At one point, Veronica kicked so hard, she flipped the contraction monitor up and off of me. The nurse came in and fixed it.

My blood pressure remained consistently low and the blood work was normal. So, yet again, I am a medical oddity and they have no idea what caused my issues today. I had some contractions while there, and the midwife checked me at the office and I'm only 1cm dilated. I'm not "on my way" or anything like that. I'm just having some issues. So, that's about it. We'll just see what happens this weekend and get to my appointment on Tuesday and hopefully I'll be ok.

Haven't posted in a while...

It's been a while, but there's been a lot going on. Between the branch I work at getting robbed, various illnesses running through the family and now having some weird ailment that is going to take blood work to diagnose... Well, I'm a bit overwhelmed right now. There's 6 weeks left in the pregnancy and all I can think about it getting healthy so that I'm able to go through the birthing process with little to no complications like last time.

Jerry has been wonderful through all of this. I've basically been on modified bed rest for the past month. I come home, come upstairs, and sleep. Sometimes I'm able to come down for dinner, other times I'm so weak or exhausted that he'll bring me something upstairs. Savannah's getting over conjunctivitis and a double ear infection, so he's been dealing with a cranky 2 1/2 year old on top of not feeling so hot himself. I seriously married Superman.