Here are a few pictures from our photo shoot today. Ursula was spending some time with GeGe and PawPaw, so it was just me and my little munchkin. Enjoy!
She must be having a nice dream....
Please, no pictures!
Start at the bottom first...these posted backwards. But at least I got some on here! More hopefully to come soon.
Getting ready to go home...
My little sunbather....
Well, we are finally home with our little Nahla (though from what I'm told, at over 8 1/2 pounds, she's not that little) and we are doing well. We've had 2 nights with her here, one great and the other not so much. We came home on Saturday and I don't think I slept at all that night since Nahla decided to stay awake the entire time. Sunday night, however, after a few little adjustments, she fell asleep around 12:00 and woke up around 4:45am to be fed and was up around 6:20 to start the day....waaaay better! She has had her first Dr, app't and she is doing great! Today I had my first day home alone with everyone, Ursula, Nahla, 3 dogs and 2 cats, as Steve had to attend a seminar for work. I was a little nervous at first, but I have to say, everything went well and much better than I expected. Even the nurse at the Dr office commented that I must be doing well since I was dressed in something other than sweats, my hair and makeup were done, and both my children were dressed and looking great! Now I just hope it continues to go like this and it's not just a fluke thing! We'll see.
Anyway, I am going to now go into all the details of Nahla's birth for those that are interested, and to those that are not, you might want to stop here.
I went to the hospital on Wednesday morning at 8:00am to be induced and truly thinking I would have a baby on the 27th. Well, as you will read, not everything (I mean, NOTHING) went according to plan. I gave my nurse my birth plan which is basically a list of things you would like to happen during and after the birth and I did tell her I was flexible and that I already had to cross off the one that says "Would like labor to start naturally". That should have been my clue as to how things were going to go!
I started receiving Pitocin to start my labor at 9:30am and at that time I was about 1 1/2cm dilated. I went until 3:30 with just mild contractions and made it to 3cm . At that point, the midwife went ahead and broke my water, which instantly started my contractions to become pretty intense.
I labored on until about 6:30 with severe contractions that were less than 1 minute apart and they never came down from their peaks. The midwife wanted to see a nice wave pattern with peaks and valleys, and I guess the high level of Pitocin I was being given caused me essentially to have one sharp contraction after another with no break in between. So I decided to get checked again and thought if I had progressed a bit, I would still continue to try to go without pain meds, but I was told that I was still at 3cm. She also noticed that I had a lot of scar tissue around my cervix (apparently from all the procedures I'd had from my miscarriages) that she didn't think I would progress any more on my own, so I decided to get an epidural. What a relief! Other than the fact that my left leg felt like a beached whale, it was nice to get a break from the pain for a bit....and little did I know I would need it later!
I finally dilated to 10cm around 10:30pm and I didn't get the urge to push until about midnight, so my Doula suggested I do some small pushes to try to get her to descend. Finally around 12:15 (there went May 27th!) I was able to officially start pushing and was told it could take just a few tries, or it sometimes take hours....well, you guessed it, I had to push for 3 hours! At about 2:15am, the midwife found that Nahla was face up and on a diagonal, which meant that once again, I was not going to be able to do this by myself, so she called my doctor in for assistance. He arrived about 3:00 and after several more pushes with the help of a vacuum extractor, Nahla Eveliese was born at 3:24am. My poor girl had a big purple lump on the right side of her head and only now it is back to normal in color and getting smaller everyday.
We had a pretty easy time the first day in the hospital, except for the fact that she started refusing to eat. (I was starting to think that this wasn't my daughter, if she doesn't want to eat! :) So throughout Thursday and Friday, I had all of the doctors, nurses and lactation consultants trying to help me get her to eat. She lost over 7oz the first day and if she lost much more, she wouldn't be able to come home on Sat. Also, her not eating caused her to develop mild jaundice so we had to put her on a lighted bed overnight Friday in hopes that her levels would drop so we could take her home the next day. Friday night in the nursery, she took several bottles and her levels did drop along with another 3oz, but she was still able to come home at 8lb 4oz.
Ever since we've come home, she is eating well and she had her first check-up on Monday. The doctor says she is on her way back up in weight and that everything is perfect so far. Ursula has her 2 year check-up tomorrow, 6/4 and I'm going to take Nahla too to get her weighed to make sure she is gaining what she's supposed to.
She is such a good baby, she sleeps and eats all the time and rarely cries. If she does, it's only for a couple of minutes and it's usually if she's getting a bath or I can't feed her fast enough (now that's more like my daughter :)
Ursula is a huge help, getting out diapers and wipes and cream and she gives her sissy kisses all the time. She's so into baby mode that for the last 2 days, her Mr. Potato head and stuffed duck needed diapers because they poo pooed. The first day it was cute when she took off the diaper and insisted that it needed to be thrown away since it was yuck yuck, but I quickly nipped that in the bud after realizing that we would go through a ton of diapers that way!
Nahla wakes up about once or twice at night, which isn't bad, except she wants to be awake then, so we need to get her little schedule changed a bit so I can get some sleep eventually....other than that, she is a great baby and Ursula is a great big sister. Life is good!
Ok, so I just previewed this post and found that I repeated things, there are 2 different fonts used and some of it might not make sense. Life as a sleepless mother of 2...need I say more???
Quick post for now and photos to follow...
Nahla Eveliese Raab was born May 28, 2009 at 3:24am
She is 8lbs. 14.2 ounces and 19 3/4 in length
She's very healthy and doing well.
Well, I went in today for the start of my induction process and here's how it went... my appointment was for 2:00pm. The Labor and Delivery floor was bustling with activity this afternoon and my poor nurse was the only one on in the assessment center (outpatient area). I guess May is a popular month for new babies, at least in Harrisburg. Anyway, after hanging out awhile, the nurse midwife came to check my status and administer the gel. I had actually progressed to 1 1/2 cm dilated, 80% effaced and -1 station, so I had a little action over the Memorial Day weekend (even though I didn't know it). I finally received the gel around 3:45pm and after being on the monitor for 1/2 hour, I was able to go home. So now, it's been about 6 hours since I left, and nothing much is happening. I am having some contractions, at least I think that's what they are, but they are not painful so I am planning on going back in the morning for the big day!
Ursula is having a sleepover at Gammie's house, and I can't wait to introduce her to her new sister! I was actually a little teary eyed today thinking that it was her last day as an only child, but I do think she'll love her little sis.
It might be a little while before I can post again, so wish me luck for a smooth and painless (I can hope, right?) delivery. I will have Steve post the details soon!
Hi all! Just a quick update on the baby front here...I go to the hospital today at 2:00 to start my induction process by getting Prostoglandin gel and if nothing happens by tomorrow morning, I will be admitted at 8:00am to start Pitocin. So it looks like probably sometime tomorrow May 27th, we should finally have a new addition to our family! It's funny, if it does happen tomorrow, because that is the original date I wanted her to be born...Ursula's birthday is 5/29/07 and tomorrow is 5/27/09. Just a cute little play on the numbers (those types of things amuse me). So, that's about it for now, I'll keep you posted!
Hi all! Back again from another hiatus, I seem to be averaging one post a month instead of the once a week I was aiming for. Oh well, I guess I'm not perfect after all...just don't tell my husband that :)
(I've been having a tough time loading pictures on here and that's the main reason I fall behind with my posts, so for now I'm just going to update and try to add pictures later to catch everyone up...sorry!)
Anyway, here's what's been going on around here:
We celebrated our first Easter together and Ursula loved it! She liked the Easter Bunny and would say "Hi" and give him high fives, but wasn't thrilled to sit on his lap by herself. We do have a picture with her sitting on his lap, but Mommy's also in it with Ursula's arms around her neck like a choke hold. I totally thought my Easter Bunny photos were over...guess not! She got so many Easter baskets that it looked like Christmas at our house! Luckily, the Easter Bunny is smart and did not bring a lot of candy...he brought little toys and puzzles and fun things instead. She did get a few mini Reeses PB cups and tried them for the first time...let me just say...they were a hit!
We celebrated Ursula's 2nd (can you believe she's 2? I can't) birthday a few weeks early this year (last year, it was a few weeks late...we'll try for on time next year :) Anyway, she had a ladybug themed party and she loved it! I wanted her to have her own special day before the baby comes and I think it went very well. She blew out her candle all by herself, and was so proud. She got lots of presents, including many ladybug items...dresses, game, plate/cup/placemat, and beach towel. She also got a small bat and ball set and is actually really good at hitting the ball when thrown to her...Mama is so proud! Another thing she got is a crab sandbox, that we're really excited to set up for her for the summer. So thanks to everyone who came and made her 2nd birthday lots of fun!
We haven't been doing too much these last few weeks as we are waiting for the new baby to arrive, so we don't have many exciting adventures to talk about. We've been going for walks pretty much on a daily basis (trying to start labor) and we've been to City Island several times. We've just been having some Mommy and me time, running errands, grabbing lunch, playing at home etc.
One sad note for me...I had to put my cat Pookie to sleep last week and I'm still pretty devastated. I got him when I first moved out on my own almost 16 years ago, so I always referred to him as "my first born". He was with me through my single years and through my married years too. The one thing that really bothers me is that he loved Ursula and she loved him, so it's hard to know what to say when she mentions him. He was actually healthy up until about a month ago, when he started walking like his back leg was paralyzed. I took him to see the vet and they did all kinds of tests and xrays, but really couldn't find anything significant. He was on steroids for 3 weeks and didn't get any better, in fact, his right front leg ended up the same way and he could barely get around. We would carry him to where he needed to go, but it was just a sad situation and I think it finally took a toll on him mentally too. I hated having to make that decision, but I think that's one of the things you sign up for when you have pets. Ok, enough sad stuff, onto our new addition....
Yes, for everyone wondering, I am STILL pregnant and could be for quite some time (and yes, my due date is Friday the 22nd) I went to the Dr's last Thursday and there was no activity and the Dr told me I was a fingertip dilated (I think he just told me that to make me feel better). So I went again today...I had a different Dr and I told her what the Dr last week had said. So, she checked me and confirmed that yes, I am indeed a fingertip dilated! Well, that wasn't what I was hoping to hear! She also checked my fluid and we almost had a bit of a scare when she couldn't find any, but in the end she totaled up plenty...it is just getting crowded in there and the fluid had shifted a bit around the baby so it's in sporadic pockets around her. She suggested to get put on the schedule for the end of next week for an induction, if I don't go sooner, which at this point, I'm not too optimistic about. So, I go home and get a call from the lady who does the scheduling...next week is all booked up and the soonest she could get me in is Sunday May 31st...WHAT???? She told me she'll call tomorrow and again next Tues and every day after that to see if they have any spots open up, so I can get in sooner than that. She said spots usually do open thanks to people who go before their date (I'd like to be one of those people please!), so keep your fingers crossed that I can get a spot sooner! The Dr's estimated the baby at 7 1/2 pounds about 3 weeks ago and if continue to stay pregnant, I'm afraid I'll have a 10 pound baby...Yikes! That's what Steve weighed when he was born, and come to think of it, that's almost half of what Ursula weighs at 2 years old! So that's the status here...I am glad that she is happy and healthy in there, but I am sooo ready for her to make her appearance, both to meet her and so I can have my body back! :) I guess this is my payback for a pretty uneventful pregnancy.
I will try to post again next week as we celebrate Ursula's one year homecoming on the 29th (which happens to be her actual birthday as well). I can't believe it's been a year already that she has been home with us! I never would've imagined that a year ago we were a childless couple and within that year, we'll be a family of 4! Life is so unpredictable sometimes!
I'm also in the process of changing our blog, but really can't until the new baby arrives so we can add her pictures. So stay tuned for a new look and also a new site name...we obviously can't say Raab party of 3 anymore! By the way, I haven't settled on a new site name yet, so if you have any cute suggestions, I'd be open to hear them. I'm looking for something similar to what I already have, maybe incorporating a family of 4, or something about the girls. I just need something that people can remember and that isn't terribly long. Let me know if you have any ideas! Thanks!
I will try to get some pics on here soon and keep you all posted on the baby front.
A few weeks ago, I got a great idea to take Ursula to the mall to the Build A Bear Workshop. When we got to the mall, however, they were having a Read Across America night with lots of local news achors reading to kids in the middle of the mall and there were some fun characters there as well. The Cat in the Hat was there and Ursula's personal favorite, the Auntie Anne Pretzel guy was also circling around. Much to my surprise, Ursula soooo preferred the pretzel man to making any type of bear, cat, dog, whatever...even after I went through the entire stock with her 3 or 10 times (I guess I'm the one who really wants to make a bear). Ursula did make out with a little heart (the ones that go inside the bears) and some stickers from the bear shop, a few books, a group of balloons and plenty of stalking time, of the pretzel man, I mean, and after a few hours, she was pooped and ready for bed....and we didn't even spend any money! I guess I still have to learn a few things about what an almost 2 year old is really interested in :)
The first meeting....
Hey, where are you going???
Sneaking up behind him...
A high-five for the Cat in the Hat...
Ursula is now starting to be very opinionated about certain things...she likes to tell me things she'd like to wear, like, hats, bows, sunglasses, etc. As soon as we put one of these things on her, she says, with a wave of her finger... "doh, doh, doh" which stands for don't touch, or don't take off. She would always have a habit of leaving these types of items on for about a nanosecond, which does not make Mommy very happy.
Another thing she likes to do now is help with anything and everything. She empties her garbage can in her bedroom about 3 times a day (even if there is only one small thing in there) and loves to pick up "yuck, yuck", which is anything that goes in the garbage like dust bunnies (and with 6 pets, this keeps her very busy!). She is starting to want to help me with anything in the kitchen, such as making meals, putting dishes away, groceries, you name it. I actually love the help, she's really quite organized, but right now, it is wearing on my back to constantly pick up a 20 pounder just to press the buttons on the microwave. I might have to invest in a step stool :)
She has recently begun to climb on everything...she can scale the dining chairs in less than a second and for awhile I was moving any item she wasn't supposed to have to the middle of the table until the other day I found her on all fours crawling across the table to get to them :( She is totally fearless and is very trusting which that combination, I'm afraid, is going to lead to many bumps and bruises.
Anyway, here is a pic of her in her pretty headband that we bought for her in Guatemala, made from worry dolls. She wanted to wear it the other day and was so proud to show it off...
(Doesn't she look so big? Where did my little girl go???)
So onto baby sister's update...Not much to mention, everything is going well, I have another check up next week and this Friday will mark the start of my 30th week...can you believe how fast it's going??? I know I can't! I was thinking the other day the we are into March already and that May comes right after April (I know, I have been called a genius!) but seriously, it's only two months away!!!
Steve has decided now that he really likes one of the names I had picked originally (perfect timing, I know), so we are still considering that one also. We are keeping both in the running and might wait until we see her to see which one suits her more.
I have been shopping quite a lot, now that I have the time to, and have been picking up a lot of the things I need for a newborn, since we never needed these items previously. I think I'm pretty prepared, I guess I'll see how it goes after she's here :)
Last week we started our Prepared Childbirth classes and have 5 more to go. Steve really enjoyed it and is looking forward to taking the rest....I'll give a status update after we get into the graphic parts, I believe his enthusiasm will change :) Steve is going to be in the room with me, of course, and my friend Tina along with my doula will be my support system throughout the labor and delivery. My only apprehension right now is the fact that I am having some major back issues lately...the baby has been putting pressure on my sciatic nerve and there are times that I can barely walk :( I am feeling pretty good otherwise, but that really can make a good day turn bad very quickly. I'm a little concerned how that might affect labor, but I am keeping all of my options open in case things don't go the way I'd like.
That's about it for now...I'll update this weekend with a fun little surprise post! Stay tuned!
Geesh! Has it been a month and a half since my last update? Well, yes it has and a lot has happened in that short time, so I'll try to remember everything and get you caught up (if you're still out there :)
Ok, this all might not be in order, but, here goes....
First up, on Jan 16th, we went to the Pennsylvania Farm Show, which is a pretty big thing around here. Lots of animals and agricultural information to be seen/learned. And some good food too! The milkshakes are a must!
Anyway, Ursula had a great time checking out all of the livestock and here are some pics...
Looking at the bunnies...
Petting the bunnies....
Just a couple of my favorites, and yes, it's a bunny!
Next we decided to redo our dining room floor (well, I decided to tear up the carpet before Christmas, insisting that we had nice hardwood underneath). To my disappointment, the wood was not what I was expecting and was in horrible condition! I couldn't make up my mind what I wanted to do, so we suffered through the holidays with ugly floors and finally decided on laying laminate over the existing wood....and we did it ourselves!!!! I think it looks great and the only thing we are going to get help with is the finishing trim around the edges, we know we won't be able to do that part. Here's a look at the before and after...
We received the car seat and stroller for "Baby Sister" and have it all ready to go. Ursula was happy to try it out for me and it got her seal of approval :) She is all ready to put her snack and drink cups to use and I had to pry her out of it to put it away!
Now onto Daddy's proud moment....his trip to the Superbowl where his beloved Steelers won!!! Not only did he get to go watch the Superbowl in person, which in and of itself is exciting, but his team was playing in it and they won too! Urs and I watched on TV like most, but we were so excited for Daddy to be there, he said it was the trip of a lifetime!
Participating in the NFL Experience before the game...
View from his seat...
Being presented with the trophy after winning their 6th Superbowl!
The day that Steve left to go to Florida, I had an unexpected surprise happen to me. What I thought was going to be a bad thing, actually turned out to be wonderful! I now have a new job title...Stay at Home Mom! That's right, I got laid off from my job on Friday, January 30th and have been home with Ursula ever since. I now have an extended maternity leave and to top it off, the way things worked out, I will be making more money than I was recently making, go figure! I have, for so long, wanted to leave there, but it was just easier to stay than to look for something else. Now, the decision was made for me and it was the push I needed. I am enjoying being at home with my little girl (soon to be 2 little girls), and I can't believe the differences I've seen in Ursula in just the last 2 weeks. She is learning so much every day and it's great to see her development and share it with Steve when he gets home.
Some other random notes...we went to a local mall for their family fun day and waited in line for a balloon animal. We waited probably an hour or so (I know, I'm crazy, but Ursula loves balloons and I thought she needed one). Anyway, we ended up being the very last customer and he made Ursula the biggest, girliest thing he knew how to make. I think it turned out really cute! 
Also, everyday the mail comes, Ursula always thinks it's for her and is really disappointed if she doesn't get something (we actually look forward to junk mail just for her :). Here's one day she was soooo happy getting her mail for the day, she actually got a credit card! (No, not a real one, but we won't tell her that!)
We had our first Valentine's Day as a family this year and it was really nice. Usually Steve and I don't do much, but this year, we actually got to go out, just the two of us! It was the first time we've been out by ourselves in a very long time, probably our pick up trip for Ursula is the last time that I can think of :) Anyway, we had a nice dinner and the rest of our day together was interesting. I wouldn't call it romantic, by any means, but it was very family oriented...we became the proud owners of this little number....
I know, I know, you are all jealous, I mean, who wouldn't want this parked in their driveway? Well, after much deliberation, we came to the conclusion that a minivan is the best option for our growing family and many pets. I had to come to terms with the fact that my coolness factor has now completely gone out the window, but really, being in my mid thirties, married 6 1/2 years, with almost 2 kids, how much coolness do I have left anyway? I guess this just seals the deal :) I do have to admit, it is the most comfortable vehicle I've ever had, with cushy leather heated seats (it's nice to have your bum warmed when the temps outside are in the 30's :) and tons of other options I've never had before and I love, love, love the power side doors for the ease of getting kids in and out...I'll stop there, since it sounds like I'm trying to talk everybody into a minivan (then I won't be the only one :)
Finally, I'll update on baby #2. Everything is right on track with her, she is becoming quite the little kickboxer and growing as she should. I go this week for my Glucose test and Rhogam shot and have another appointment next week. In March and April, my appointments with increase to every other week and then in May, they will go to every week. This Friday will be the start of my 3rd trimester and I can't believe how fast it is going...only 3 more months until she arrives! We did finally pick a name and I wanted to thank you for all of your ideas, but we won't be announcing it until she is here, so you have a little while longer to wait. I will say it is a name that fits all of my criteria and I personally do not know another person with this name, so we are happy with our choice. Well that's enough for now, I'll be back soon, I promise!
That's right....there will be another girl in the Raab household in a few months! We are super excited to have a little sister for her and also, it should make things a little easier for us, as we can use all of the things we already have and just add the newborn necessities that we never needed before.
Everything looked good during the ultrasound, she looks healthy and alert. She is also very limber as her one knee is almost touching her forehead and her foot is extended above her head (which is bothering Steve, as he thinks it is hurting her :) Anyway, I have a follow up appt with my doctor next Friday and I shouldn't need another ultrasound until the 32 week mark. I do believe at week 28 or so, I am to get an injection of Rhogam, for those of you not familiar with that, it is a shot to provide me with antibodies so that if my blood would come into contact with the baby's, my body would not try to fight it off as foreign. The reason for this for me and not most people is that I have rh negative blood type. Nothing serious, just a normal precautionary measure that is taken, I've had injections with every miscarriage, so I'm used to it by now.
On another note....the one "bad" thing about us having a girl is that we can't agree on a name. We had a solid choice for a boy, but we just can't find the perfect one for a girl. Since I have some time and every time I search the books and internet I get a headache, I'm going to throw it out to everyone and ask for suggestions. Here are the "guidelines": it can't be too trendy, too popular (in the top 100), and should sound good with Ursula. I like to try to find a name that I can picture on a baby, a preschooler, a teenager, and an adult and still sound good. I prefer somewhat unusual (if that's the right word) but not unheard of names, like Ursula. It's different enough that it hasn't been used for some time, but most people have heard of it. So, there you go....send me your ideas! You can either leave them in the comment section or email me if you don't want them read by all.
