Stay At Home Mommy!

Well, work at home mommy anyway. I gave 30 days notice at my job last week and it felt so good! My last day is January 8th. Just four more weeks and I'll be home with my baby full time. I am so happy I can hardly stand it!

Everything is falling into place for my home day care. I am CPR and First Aid certified, I have my food handlers permit, I'm calling Tooele City about my business license tomorrow, I have all of things to safety proof my house. I should be ready to open up for business mid January.

I am so happy. I feel so blessed that I have this opportunity. Merry Christmas to me and my wonderful family! It's the best gift ever! =)

An Update of Sorts...

Well, it's been a month since I've posted so I thought I would update. I just never have time anymore.

Chili is fine. Our neighbors were assholes and said that Chili bit their dog when he didn't. He passed all of his aggression tests and was very well behaved while in quarentine. So we got him back after two days instead of ten. I'm so thankful I got my dog back.

The newest thing that I'm going through is postpartum depression. I didn't really understand how anyone could be so depressed after giving birth to a beautiful baby. What is there to be sad about? Now I have PPD.

It is awful! I cry everyday. It's mostly when I'm at work. I think about Tristan and I bawl my eyes out because I'm not with him. Sometimes I cry for no reason. I haven't been sleeping well, I never want to eat. I know that my hormones and brain chemicals are out of whack, but I hate feeling like this all of the time.

My doctor prescribed me Zoloft. It's been taking the edge off, but it's making me sick. Apparently my body needs to adjust to it for a couple of weeks though. I have an appt on the 15th to talk about it with my doc.

I think that me being home with Tristan will help so much though. I got my CPR and First Aid Certification today so I'm one step closer to getting my day care business. I'm going to be able to turn in my two weeks after Christmas and that keeps me sane every day I sit behind that desk. Getting state licensed is a lot of work, but it will be so worth it. I'm very grateful to my dad for helping me get started. I couldn't do it without him. At least not this soon.

That's the jist of what's happening now. I'll post again when I can.

I Hate Animal Control

Wow! I haven't blogged in such a long time. I've really been slacking. I do feel that this is important though and I want to share it with all of you.

We came home from work around 5:30 on Friday and found a notice on our door from Tooele City Animal Control. It said that Chili was involved in an incident of biting another dog and that he would have to be quarentined for a minimum of 10 days. It also said if we didn't take him in within 24 hours they would be forced to take further action.

Needless to say, I was in a panic. We rushed inside, then headed straight for our backyard. Chili and Roadie were both still out there. We checked our gate and it was locked and secure. Chili did rip a couple of the planks of our wood fence out which sucks for us, but the hole wasn't big enough for Chili to fit through and he didn't do any damage to the chain link fence in our neighbors yard.

We called animal control to find out what happened. If you know Chili, you know his mouth is too big to fit through a hole in a chain link fence so there was no way he could have bit a dog through there. The lady at animal control had no information because the officer that left the notice on our door didn't file the report before her shift ended. They said we could call back on Monday, but in the mean time we had to bring Chili in, or they would issue a warrant, they would come take him, and we would be fined!

I was furious! They didn't even have a record of what happened, but he has to be quarentined and observed for 10 days anyway and they threatened to fine us and take him away if we didn't comply. So we still have no idea what he did, but if he really did bite our neighbors dog, he was in our neighbors back yard playing so it obviously wasn't serious enough to need medical attention.

Now we have to just wait. If they decide he's not a threat they will release him back to us. If they decide he is dangerous or even potentially dangerous he will have to have a hearing and we can be fined anywhere from $50 to $500. Worst case scenario is that he'll be put down.

I'm so scared for Chili. When we brought him in he was shaking, he was so scared. He started whimpering and crying when they put him in the kennel. The kennels there are so disgusting! It smelled like shit and it didn't look like anyone had cleaned the kennels for days. I felt awful having to leave him there. I hope he's good while he's there so we can bring him home.

I'll post another blog when we get some answers. Fuck Tooele City Animal Control! I am so furious with them and I'm terrified for the fate of Chili Pepper. Everyone cross your fingers and pray that we can bring him home.

Much Needed Update

Wow! I don't think I've ever gone this long without updating my blog. It's been a crazy couple of weeks. Between bringing a new baby home, my bedroom ceiling starting to cave in, and my basement flooding, I haven't had time to update. I'll write about part of what has happened now.

Let's start with my favorite, Tristan. =) He is doing so well! When I took him to his two week appointment, he weighed 8 lbs 9 oz, was 22 inches long, and his head circumferance is 37.5 cm. He has a normal sized head and is long and skinny like his daddy. Lol!

He is going through a growth spurt now so all he wants to do is eat. He has been sleeping a lot today, so hopefully he'll be back to his normal schedule soon. He was sleeping in four hour stretches before.

I love my little man so much. I had the baby blues bad for the first two weeks. I cried everyday. I was so overwhelmed with being a mom and having my life change so much. It's hard caring for a newborn 24/7. I'm starting to adjust now though and I love being a mother. It's going to be so hard going back to work in October. =(

Okay, now to my house problems. Our bedroom ceiling started caving in. At first we thought it was water damage from the swamp cooler, but no. The contractor that built this house got lazy and didn't seam two pieces of the dry wall so the ceiling started to sag. Luckily my hubbie took construction trade classes and can fix just about anything. So that wasn't bad.

Now to my basement. My mom stayed with me for a week to help around the house while I adjusted to being a mom. Her intentions were good, but she ended up costing us $1,400! She put a shitload of potato peels, peach skins, cherry tomatoes, and God knows what else down our disposal and clogged that drain. So much pressure built up in it that when the drain couldn't hold anymore it burst and all of that water leaked into our basement. I was furious to say the least.

We got it taken care of, but it took a huge chunk out of our pocket that we needed for Robbie's car. Just a lot of un-needed stress.

There is much more going on, but I will write another blog later. I'll try to be better about my weekly posts. =)

Tristan Jude Randall

Is finally here! Well, he was born one week ago, but I haven't had time to blog about his birth yet. There is only so much time when you have a newborn.

Tristan Jude Randall was born on Sunday, August 30, 2009 at 9:42 pm MST. He weighed 7 pounds 8 ounces and was 21 inches long at birth. He has a full head of dark hair, has Robbie's nose, and is healthy and perfect!

I had a really good labor and delivery. There were no complications and it was only six hours from the time I was admitted to the time that I delivered him. Of course, I did go to labor and delivery twice before thinking I was in labor. I was, but it was early labor so they sent me home both times. =(

When they admitted me I was 4 cm dilated and 100% effaced. They checked me about an hour later and nothing had changed, so the doctor decided to break my water to make my labor progress faster. It worked. I was dilated to 10 cm by 8:15. They still wanted me to wait 30 minutes before I started pushing because Tristan needed to descend a little bit more.

I started pushing at 8:45. I pushed for 45 minutes, but I couldn't get his head past my pelvic bone for some reason. I was scared that his head was too big, but as soon as the doctor came in she saw that he was posterior, or face up. Luckily, she was able to turn him around safely. Ten minutes after he was turned I had my beautiful baby boy in my arms.

I can't describe the happiness I felt at that moment. Robbie and I both teared up a bit. The first week has been tough to say the least, but it is so worth it. Everyone tells me it gets much easier once mom and baby have some time to adjust. So I'll trust the words of wisdom from other moms that have been giving me advice. I'm just so glad he is here. I couldn't be happier. =)

40 Weeks

"It's hard to say for sure how big your baby will be, but the average newborn weighs about 7 1/2 pounds (a small pumpkin) and is about 20 inches long. His skull bones are not yet fused, which allows them to overlap a bit if it's a snug fit through the birth canal during labor. This so-called "molding" is the reason your baby's noggin may look a little conehead-ish after birth. Rest assured — it's normal and temporary."

Today is my due date, but I am still pregnant. =( Tristan is being a tease. I'll get contractions for hours, but they aren't consistent at all. They will start five minutes apart, then seven minutes, then ten minutes, then 14 minutes, then they stop. I don't know if that's normal or not. They hurt, but they are bearable at least.

I went to labor and delivery yesterday morning because my contractions were really strong and I was having a lot of them. They checked me and monitored Tristan. I'm 2 cm dilated and 90% effaced. There were no problems with me or Tristan, which is good, but they sent me home and told me to come back in when my contractions are four to five minutes apart and I need to time them for an hour.

That was discouraging to say the least. I was really hoping that was true labor, but I guess it wasn't. I hope he comes before my next appointment on the 2nd. My friend, Tannin, told me that her midwife had her take primrose oil tablets to help get labor going. The primrose oil softens your cervix apparently. It's all natural, 100% safe, and no icky side effects like castor oil. So I'm going to try that and see if it helps.

Come on baby boy! I know it's warm and snug in there, but we all love you and want to meet you and hold you. Come out into the world!

And The Waiting Game Continues...

I went to the doctor today. She checked me and I'm still 1.5 cm dilated and 80% effaced, so she stripped my membranes again! I was really hoping I would have better news this week. I've been trying everything to induce labor. Well, except castor oil, but I refuse to do that.

I have been having stronger contractions since my OB stripped my membranes again, but they aren't consistent at all. They are still really sporadic. =( Ash and I are going to go for a long walk tomorrow and see if we can't help him come out. He is just a really stubborn baby I guess. There is nothing wrong with either one of us. He just wants to stay in there.

I have another appointment scheduled for September 2nd. My doctor said that if I am still pregnant by then we are going to schedule an induction. Please come out before then, Tristan! I don't know if I can handle another week. Everyone keep your fingers crossed!

Why is it...

... That anytime Robbie and I help one of our siblings out that they take complete advantage of us and use us as fucking doormats!?

My brother has been living with us since April. He's going to school full time and working part time. He needed a room to rent, so Robbie and I offered our guest bedroom in our house for $250 a month plus $100 a month for food. Not bad considering I don't make him pay utilities. I had no issue with that until I realized what an ungrateful bastard he is!

He rarely pays rent on time. He'll pay it a week late, or later some months. He knows that I won't just throw him out into the streets because I'm his sister, so he takes advantage of that. He never seems to have money to pitch in for food, but he always seems to have enough to go to Salt Lake and go clubbing with his friends. Oh, but he has no problem raiding our fridge and eating all of the food that we pay for!

My in-laws got us some fried chicken tonight so we didn't have to cook. Before Robbie and I even have a chance to help ourselves my brother takes four pieces. Plus, he eats like eight times a day. What the fuck!?

And don't even get me started on him helping around the house. The only thing he'll do without being asked is the dishes. He doesn't actually clean the kitchen, just the dishes. I guess he expects me or Robbie to finish the half-assed job he does. I ask him to keep the guest bathroom clean and he can't manage to do that either. Grrr!!! >=(

Most of you are probably wondering if I've talked to him about all of this. You bet your ass I have. Multiple times in fact. I tried to be nice at first, but then I finally had to get mean and blunt about it. That changed things for about a week and then he starts doing the same shit over again!

What do you guys think I should do? Should I kick his ass to the curb? I'm really starting to think so. Tristan is coming soon and we'll need every penny we can get to stay afloat until I go back to work since I'm only getting 60% of my normal pay. My brother is actually costing us money rather than saving us money, so financially kicking him out would be the best option, but do I want to deal with the bullshit from my family? Help?

Tristan's Nursery

Finally! Tristan's nursery is all done! I'm really happy with the way it turned out. Here are the pics...

39 Weeks

"Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath."

Tristan Jude Randall, please come out now. You are fully developed, healthy, and you've already dropped, but I'm still only 1.5 cm dilated and 80% effaced. Why must you tease me like this? It really is okay to come out. We all want to meet you!

I went to the doctors office yesterday morning and my OB stripped my membranes (OUCH!) to make contractions start, but nothing has happened yet. Although she did say it could happen within 24 to 48 hours so there is always tomorrow, I guess.

I am so ready to give birth! My hospital bag is packed and ready to go, Tristan's nursery is all done (pics are soon to come), his car seat is installed, I am officially on maternity leave... it's time.

Everyone hope and pray that I go into labor this weekend. I really don't want to be induced if I can help it. =/ Here are my 39 week and hopefully my last pregnant belly pics. Enjoy!