When Nothing Helps

"Breathing doesn't help", "Squeezing your hand doesn't help" and "Swearing doesn't help" are some of the remarks of my patient on Tuesday as she was laboring and pushing to welcome her baby girl into this world. My second week in the labor and delivery unit is over and I am in love with working there. I have to admit that I got tears in my eyes when this baby girl's head finally appeared and I could see the dad's excitement and tears of joy as he urged his wife to push one more time to get rest of the baby out. Though my part in the last stage of labor is only coaching with the pushing and encouraging the mom, I felt like I really got to be part of something amazing.

Both of last week's deliveries ended up in C-section because the labor wasn't progressing quickly enough and the baby wasn't tolerating the contractions very well. Plus the doctors worried that maybe the baby was just too big to even be delivered the "old fashioned way".  I know that the only thing that really matters in the end is a healthy baby; however, I hope that I will not end up in the operating room when my time comes to deliver this baby. I come home each day from work and I tell Troy about what I saw and tell him to make sure that certain things won't happen unless it is a medical emergency in case I will be too tired or too much in pain to be assertive enough and advocate for myself. 

What do you think are the most important factors when it comes to good child birth experience? I know everyone has their own opinion and perspective, I would love to know more about what makes the experience good or bad for a mother. I hope to be sharing many births with women and I feel like the more I know about people's preferences or fears, the better support and education I can give them, which hopefully will result in a better experience for them.

I have about million things to blog about when it come to L&D now but I don't want to overload it since not everyone is into this stuff. 

The coolest part of this is that I will be delivering at this hospital so I have been able to see how the hospital works(the lovely policies and protocols of health care), gotten to know which nurses I would like to have in my delivery and see how the different doctors at my practice behave in a delivery situation since there is no guarantee that my doctor will deliver the baby.

Sweet Giveaway

I have never advertised a giveaway from another blog before but I figured this one is a good and other moms or future moms would like to try their luck. They are giving a way a double stroller and not just whatever double stroller but a Bumbleride, which is a very pricey one.  For some reason I am unable to load a picture of the stroller so you just have to click below to see what it looks like.

http://inevergrewup.net/giveaway-25-bumbleride-indie-stroller/

Holiday pounds to blame for the thicker waist?

Some of you might remember my plan (from September) to lose 5 pounds. I accomplished my goal in about 4 weeks or so by running and not eating sweets. However, when I step on the scale now or put on my jeans, the situation is little different. And this time, I gained the weight straight to my waist area...Our trip to Finland and the consumption of delicious Finnish food and chocolate could be the reason; fortunately, this time the reason isn't my lack of self-control around food. The following pictures of Christmas presents, generous giveaways and purchases might give some clues to the reason behind the extra pounds. 

Something to help me lose these pounds eventually
I couldn't resist when we went to an outlet mall.

I can't wait to use this glider when it's nursing time(which will be most of the time for a while).

So I am 18 weeks pregnant. That's a picture of my belly at 17 weeks. Obviously, it's not too big yet since it's my first baby and I have a long torse so the baby can fit in there just fine for now. However, I can sure feel the fact that I have a belly and I am loving it:) Few weeks ago, I still felt that I just had a roll, but now it's a baby bump so I'm happy with my new shape. 

We won't find out if it's a little Eevi or a little Troy until February 13th, so it will either be a very pink Valentine's day or few blue hearts thrown in there:)  I really don't have a preference. In the beginning of the pregnancy, I was really hoping for a girl(like majority of first time moms I believe); however, right now the idea of a little boy sounds so fun  and somehow I feel like it's a boy. All we really want is a healthy baby:)

Final Semester

I just received my placement for my last semester preceptorship and I got my #1 choice at St. Joseph's hospital for labor and delivery. I am so thrilled. Now I will spend the next few days reading all the details about labor again( it has been a year since the semester when I learned everything).  I know labor (observing it) isn't everyone's idea of a time well spent but I think it is amazing. I have probably seen about 5 births and 2 C-sections and I am always just amazed about the beauty of giving birth. And also amazed by these women who go through it!!

The fact that I am graduating in 5 months makes me so happy and the fact that I get to spent my last semester doing something that I love is even better!

A Lazy Day+Cable=Unusual Results

So Troy and I do not pay for cable, which means that we only get the standard channels. We ended up staying at Troy's parents for few days while they went to California. This meant that we were just being lazy around the house and we could watch all the cable we wanted. This might not sound very exciting to those of you who have cable at your disposal anytime; however, we got to explore shows that we never seen before. Somehow we ended up on Bravo and watched 6 hours---yes 6 hours of Project Runaway in one day. It sure was entertaining and I am not even that into fashion and most of the time think that runaway designs are ridiculous.

I know this was completely a "waste of time", but I do not feel guilty about being so lazy. I was working on a 1000 puzzle as I watched the show so I guess I was doing something little more intellectual at the same time.

We are now off to Finland for 12 days. So excited! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and had a chance to relax and maybe even do something unusually lazy or just different:)

Picture Tag

So I was tagged by Camille to post the 6th picture of the 6th folder on my computer. I only had two pictures in my 6th folder so this is what you guys get.

This picture of Anna and I is from last Christmas. We were about to start another intense game of "Ticket to Ride". Today is Anna's 22nd birthday. We are only year and half apart. I love having Anna so close to my age; I just wish that we could be little closer together geographically.

Things I love about Anna

-her loyalty

-her honesty

-her kindness

-her beauty and she doesn't even realize how beautiful she is

-the fact that she loves food as much as I do

And the list would obviously go on and on. Happy Birthday Anna! I hope you know how much I love you!

I miss Him

I took Troy to the airport yesterday around 4:30 pm then I came home and watched few of my shows that I had recorded. Then I started reading my book and around 7 pm I realized how much I already missed him and how bored I would be while he was gone. This is not a "my husband is the best, most perfect husband in the world" post because that would not be truthful; however, he is the best, most perfect husband for me. I look at the last 4 years that we have been together and I just amazed at how good life can be. It hasn't been perfect; we have lived through almost four semesters of nursing school that tends to make me a monster periodically(though this semester I have been so good if I must say so myself), he was there for me when my mom passed away and still has to comfort me often even though he knows that very few things bring comfort, he drives me crazy with his geek stuff at times and I know he wonders how is it possible to not put the cap on the toothpaste, but no matter what I have always known that my life will always be good(not easy) because I married Troy in the temple little more than three years ago.