Fourth Trimester Needs, what do I need now?

 So you had your baby and you're home from the hospital..... now what?

This is the question all new parents have. You're incredibly tired, you're not sure why the baby is crying and you're not even completely sure what is going on with your body. Your boobs are filled with milk now, you're so sore down below, and to top it off.. you're going to have your "period" for around 4 weeks! How fun, right? Don't get stressed out about all of this stuff. You've got a sweet babe in your arms, and I promise they will make it all worth it!

Here's my list of things you should have on hand once you're home!

PHOTO FROM EARTHMAMAANGELBABY.COM

C-Mama Healing Salve / Mommy Bottom Spray/ balm:

I love Earth Mama Angel Baby products, (obviously) but if you happen to have your own brand preference, great! As an example though, I am using these. If I have a VBAC I will use the Mommy Bottom Spray, (and/or possibly this balm) and for my scheduled C-section my handsome and wonderful husband ordered this salve for me. You can buy the spray in stores at Target and Babies R Us, the C-section salve you have to order online.

To see their full collection of postpartum care products, go here.

Pads:

Let's face it. Nobody really wants to talk about the bleeding (lochia) that happens after birth. But it is going to happen regardless, to every mother. You can't wear tampons during this time frame (4-6 weeks) so what do ya do? In the hospital you'll be wearing these huge diaper-like pads that they provide. Last time, I bought my "favorite" pads, which were thin and what not. I hated it.This go around I bought maxi pads, because let's face it, thin just ain't gonna work. I made sure to buy nighttime ones too, because worrying about leaking all over my sheets is at the top of my worries. Blood just grosses me the heck out, and coming from there is even worse. For the first week to 10 days it'll be at it's heaviest. I will switch to a smaller, thinner pad once the bleeding goes down to a regular flow.. until then, maxi pads!

Belly Band:

I mentioned this in my hospital bag post, but I think it is fitting here too. Your belly is gonna be swollen and most likely your skin will be loose/ saggy feeling. These belly bands help hold everything up and in. It helps after a cesarean too, because you can protect your stitches/ scar from your clothes rubbing against it.

Lactation Cookies/ Teas:

I may pack a couple cookies for the hospital and have some on hand for my arrival home. Good to help your milk supply. I've heard from a lot of women that these types of products helped them. I have used the teas before, but never the cookies. I may give them a shot!

Postnatal Vitamins:

I will finish the bottle of prenatal gummy vitamins that I have and then I will switch to some postnatal vitamins and possibly add some specifically for nursing. I will talk to my OB about this, you should too.

Water Bottle:

The thirstiest you've ever been in your life will be the second your baby latches on to your breast. I promise. And if you are unable to get up to get something, you'll be a crazy woman demanding anyone in your house (possibly even your dog or cat) to get you a beautiful tall glass of ice water. So to avoid this scenario from happening, make sure to top off your water bottle before nursing.


Hope this helps you remember and plan for yourself AFTER birth.

xoxo, Chelsea.

38 Weeks Pregnant.

Photo cred: MY HUSBAND! Can you believe it!!

Wild Thing!

Holy cow, my final week of pregnancy is here!! I cannot believe it is here! I had an appointment with my OB yesterday, and was heartbroken to find out that the only 2 of the doctors that I feel comfortable with are both moving on and going to other bases in other states. It was a real bummer to find that they wont be taking care of me next week at my scheduled C-section, and they wont be there for my final check ups here in DC. But she did help me with a lot of my questions, gave me great advice and apologized for how awful I was treated by her colleagues at my last appointment. Turns out, at my last appointment they should've answered all of my questions and they could have actually scheduled my C-section at that appointment. But- it is what it is. The appointment is now scheduled and set!

"Its a surprise! Baby brother will be here next week!"

photo cred: MY HUSBAND! <3

We are going to keep the date and time a secret- kind of like a reverse surprise party. It is definitely going to be exciting surprising everyone (online) with his birth photos. Online is the only way- because everyone we love is all across the country from us! The only family that will be here will be my mother in law. Thankfully she is going to be here to watch Opal for Dillon and I. I really hope everything goes smoothly! Opal and I have never spent a day apart- so I am really sad to be away for 2 days.

Lately, I have been having contractions sporadically. The most intense ones have been last night actually! They were 10 minutes apart ALL NIGHT. They never stopped. They started around 11 pm and were still going at 6 am when I finally fell asleep. Hopefully the contractions can just hold off so that Oliver comes the day we chose, as planned.

This weekend we plan to take Opal out for her last weekend as an only child. We're going to take her baby doll out in the baby doll carseat and have some fun. I think we plan to go to Chuck E. Cheese, the toy store, several parks, and possibly the movies. We're definitely taking her to get donuts, lunch out, and the Disney store! I'm so excited to spoil her this weekend.

Before I wrap this week's update up, I want to publicly thank my hubby for taking these maternity photos of me. We are going to take another set this weekend with each other and Opal. I'm looking forward to showing these to Oliver some day so he knows how loved he was before he was even born.

Hopefully I'll have news about where we are moving next in my next personal life update- which should double as Oliver's birth announcement.

Have a blessed day! xoxo, Chelsea.

37 weeks pregnant!

Hey Everyone! We are another week closer to my sweet boy coming Earth side! 

   

Oliver should be around 6.5 lbs so far, and gaining 1/2 a pound each week! He also is pretty much at his birth length around 19-21 inches long. His lungs should be matured, but that doesn't mean he is necessarily ready to breathe on his own outside of the uterus.

He is now considered "Early term." I know a lot of people consider this week as full term, but that has actually been changed! "The nation’s ob-gyns have redefined ‘term pregnancy’ to improve newborn outcomes and expand efforts to prevent nonmedically indicated deliveries before 39 weeks of gestation," according to www.acog.org. You can read more about that here.

I am having Braxton Hicks contractions (false labor- practice contractions) here and there. They don't feel like period cramps this time around, they're more intense and feel comparable to shorter active labor contractions. I continue to have pubic bone pain. My OB's have said that it is because the ligaments in my pelvic bones are now too soft and separated too much. It is called Symphysis pubic dysfunction, or SPD. (You can read more about that here.) I experienced this with my first pregnancy, and have had the pain this time around since 20 weeks. It is not pleasant at all! 

With my last pregnancy I was devastated to see my tummy gradually be covered in stretch marks. It was painful to see my body tear itself the way it did. By the end of my whole birthing experience and being over packed with fluids in the hospital, I had stretch marks cover my hips, inner thighs, lower torso and everywhere under my undies. I was stretched to the max and my skin paid for it. So, this time around I was very scared that it would only get worse. 

I have been using Palmer's cocoa butter stretch mark tummy butter on it every day, and thankfully they have not gotten darker in color. Until this past week I actually hadn't been itchy or in pain. My C-section scar is starting to feel overstretched, sore and is now dark in color. the stretch marks that run through it are welted and swollen. They hurt to touch at this point. I hope this changes after my delivery.

Lastly, I am starting to really experience forgetfullness. I have been starting sentences and then I guess I just stop talking. My husband has been constantly asking me what I was going to say... and I don't even remember. I forget everything I need to take places with me, time and dates, etc. It is really getting annoying. I know this wont end soon... Exhausted mommy brain is going to be hitting me even harder in 2 weeks.

 I have been trying to make myself feel better every day by doing something for myself. I paint my nails a new color every other day. I try to have my hair done at all times. I try to sneak in long showers during nap time at the expense of cleaning my house. I do my makeup every Saturday and Sunday. I wear perfume nearly every day to smell and feel pretty too. 

It is ALL about self confidence this pregnancy. 

I am loving myself just as much as my children and husband love me.

This is the very end of my pregnancy, and this is what we plan to be my last pregnancy. We still plan on expanding our family- just not biologically. The plan for a couple years down the road once we are done with school will be to open our home to foster kids and hopefully adopt 2 more children. Ideally we would be bringing in a set of siblings to keep them together. That is my dream and something I really hope happens. We have so much love to give, I know we will be great foster and adoptive parents.

I actually opted out of my weekly visit for this week and just scheduled my next visit for my 38th week.  I will be scheduling my C-section at that appointment, so I will have more info on that next
Wednesday. :-)

On another note- the pregnancy cravings have shifted from breakfast foods (donuts) to milkshakes and french fries. Did you know that Five Guys is testing AMAZING milk shakes at certain locations? Well, you're welcome! They're delicious!!

xoxo, Chelsea.

Week 36 of pregnancy. Decision time.

I can't even believe we are finally SO close to meeting our little man.

We have about 4 weeks left, (3 if I elect a C-section!) THREE WEEKS!

He is around 19-22 inches long and 5.5 lbs. 

I definitely think he is on the long side, because he is making me super uncomfortable!

I think this upcoming weekend I am going to go out and pick up the last of the things that I need for my hospital bag.. and I should pick out a little cute outfit for him to come home in. 

I am hoping it wont be too hot the day we bring him home. You just never know here in the DMV, it can be 90 degrees but raining out of no where! :-)

I am getting really nervous for my next appointment. For some reason my doctors like to pretend that the only thing that matters is that your baby is head down. But for some women, their positioning is JUST as important. I am not sure if there is something about my body (like the shape of my pelvis, or that my pelvis is misaligned) but my daughter was posterior (meaning that she was facing my belly button rather than my spine; also referred to as "sunnyside up".) This is a problem because the diameter of her head was too large to fit through my pelvic bones, and she got stuck pretty bad.

Because of the baby being in that position I had extreme back pain, long drawn out labor (weeks of prodromal labor [false labor], and days of actual labor). I was told by my doctors weeks ahead of time that she was sunnyside up. I was told the chances of it leading to a c-section but told that it probably wouldn't happen. But that was by ONE of my many doctors. She was really upfront about it all and honest. It gave me a lot of time to try to turn her with recommended exercises. (Check out Spinning Babies for more information.) 

But for some reason, a lot of the doctors at my clinic like to pretend that I am naive and don't know anything about the situation. They say that the baby will turn and that I have nothing to worry about. They said that everything I've read about and all the research is false. They said that the exercises on spinning babies is not going to do anything, (yet with my last pregnancy I was encouraged to do them....?) I hate that I don't have one set provider. I hate seeing strangers that don't know me. I hate that they all contradict eachother. Something inside of me tells me that if I listen to them and I attempt my VBAC everything is going to end up the same exact way it did last time. 

I don't think I am doubting myself; I think I am just coming to terms with the fact that a c-section is the smartest way to go if I know he is posterior. I just vaguely remember the surgeons saying that my pelvis was shaped a certain way while they were tugging away trying to get Opal's head out of my body. I have more peace in my heart knowing what will happen if I do elect a repeat c-section than if I let the doctors fill my head with my dream birth and then it be robbed from me again.

I honestly cannot let what happened last time happen again. I was there for 6 days with an infection. I was told I lost too much blood and was going to need blood transfusions.. I was swollen from head to toe because the nurses neglected to take my IV out causing my body to be over packed with fluid.. I didn't even get to use the restroom or walk until day 5. It was torture. I was neglected and not taken care of, honestly. I just want to go in, have my baby, and leave like a normal person. I don't want to be away from Opal for a week. I don't want to be in worse shape than the average woman who goes in and has a c-section, all because I was pressured into a VBAC knowing that my babies don't like to turn.

So, all in all, I am skipping my checkup for the 2 wk mark and just chose to go to the last appointment (38 weeks). I'll be scheduling my c-section and going to have Oliver the next week. I have been stewing over this decision for weeks now, and I am starting to feel happy and confident about it. I feel in my heart that this is what is best for my baby, and best for my body. I don't want to put myself through the painful labor that a posterior positioned baby causes. I want to be at peace with this birth, since I am still traumatized from the last. 

I don't think I will be choosing an "easy way out" that most people perceive about c-sections. I honestly think I am choosing the harder route. I am trying to mentally prepare myself for a potentially horrible looking scar (I am really happy with the one I have now, and don't want it to be worse), the fact that I will have weight lifting restrictions, not be able to hold my oldest for months, etc. I really will have a rough road ahead of me, especially with a move across country happening just 3 weeks later. I hope that it all works out. 

I am just so thankful that I have my husband and my daughter by my side. It is the most reassuring feeling. I hope that my sister and my in laws will be here for the birth or soon afterwards. It will help so much to have people here to show Opal that she is not forgotten or unloved. That is the last thing I want for my precious girl.

All in all, I know it will all work out. I know that it is the most stressful situation right now just because we still don't know whats going on with the Marine Corps or child care for Opal.. But I know in my heart that the Man above is watching over us and going to make sure we are taken care of and that all is well. I have faith. <3

xoxo, Chelsea.

April showers brings May flowers!

Hello, helllllo, hello!  This past weekend has been the warmest and brightest weekend the DMV area has seen this far. It was so pleasant and beautiful. We woke up on Saturday morning and just had to get out and enjoy the day. We had no exact plans- just a craving for the sun. So we decided to head to my favorite place in DC- Eastern Market- for my favorite lemonade and pretzel. We totally forgot about the Cherry Blossom festivals and what not- so we were in traffic fir a while.. But it was totally worth it, honestly. I love Eastern Market. It is a little farmers market on Capitol Hill near Barracks Row. It is super cute, full of awesome stands, fresh fruits and vegis, and best of all- tons of local food vendors! A pregnant gals dream! Afterwards, we walked around our favorite little neighborhood on Capitol Hill all the way down to the Capitol. It was refreshing and just so nostalgic for us. We grew up together in this city. We explored this city together. This city has been the only common ground and home for the both of us. It is really strange thinking about leaving here for good.

My favorite stand at Eastern! I also love Big Poppa's Popcorn, but we didn't get a bag this trip.

My main pregnancy craving! I got a strawberry lemonade and pretzel- yum!!

I promise it didn't last long.

Thank goodness for selfie sticks! We would have never got the Capitol in the shot... let alone all 3 of us!

After the Capitol we headed back to the car and let Opal stretch her little legs at our favorite park.I love seeing her explore here. It was at this very park that the yearning for a family started to grow within Dillon. He would talk about our future kids- and beg me to ditch my plan to wait many years. So to see him now playing alongside her has been a treat. I feel so blessed every time we go. I sit on the park bench and let the two of them go nuts.

At our favorite park.

Her daddy picked her this flower- she was loving it so much.

They seem to be a little crazier these days while we are out of the house because of how cooped up we have been lately due to the weather. Anyone else experiencing a lot of rainy weather lately? We sure are here in Virginia/ DC! It has been really gloomy... but I don't want y'all to be down in the dumps! So, as a little ray of sunshine for your life I have a free printable rainbow for you.

Excuse the signature being so off. This was my practice print. It is adjusted and fixed in the downloadable version.

 Download HERE- via dropbox.

THIS PRINT IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. FOR YOUR HOME OR AS A GIFT. DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK. DO NOT CLAIM AS YOUR OWN.

I hope this is something you can tape up or frame somewhere in your home to remind you that after each storm is a rainbow and some sunshine!

This is super relevant to my life right now because today is the day Dillon and I have been WAITING FOR. We should be hearing ANY day now in the next week to month about our future. I know it seems crazy, we're excited to still be waiting.. but that is how the military is sometimes. You wait... just for another waiting period to begin. But this should be the last waiting period for major news... until the next waiting of where we will be going next begins (hahha!).

I hope you have a blessed Wednesday!

xoxo, Chelsea.

P.S. YAY FOR ALSO BEING 32 WEEKS DONE WITH MY PREGNANCY!

My pregnancy at 31 weeks.

Hey guys! I'm another couple of weeks done with this pregnancy, and that much closer to meeting our little man! I am getting so excited with every week that passes. I am truly an inpatient woman and waiting 40 weeks for something so incredible is a true test of my patience. This pregnancy seems to be going by pretty fast, which is good and bad. Like I said in my previous pregancy post, we are waiting (still) to hear about our future with the Marine Corps. 

I thought for sure that I would have some good news to finally share with my friends, family, and blog followers about the whole thing, but we've been told that news wont come for ANOTHER 3 weeks. We've been waiting on this news for months now, and it just keeps getting pushed back. It has been hard dealing with the stress of not knowing where we will be working or living come the middle of July. But- that's life, I suppose.

Back to a more positive topic- THIS PREGNANCY! I saw my OB last week, and happened to see the one that delivered Opal in December 2013. (I have a whole team of OB's that I see through the span of my pregnancy. On the day of my delivery it will be whoever is on call that delivers my baby. I don't really get to choose just one.) So anyways, I shared an update on my personal IG, but not on my blog instagram.

I had a pretty great visit. She answered a lot of my questions about my upcoming VBAC.

I was told that if we don't have child care Opal can be with us in the room unless for some crazy reason I have to have a c-section again, I'd be in the operating room alone. I can go for a while without an epidural, but I do have to have one placed at some point (but it can be set to the setting JUST above a walking epi).

I only gained 2 lbs during that last month which is perfect. My gestational diabetes test came back great. My fundal height was measuring ahead, so she will order an ultrasound at my next appointment if it still is. I also came back as anemic so I'm on iron pills now. Basically, everything went great. I loved hearing from her especially that she thinks I am a good candidate for VBAC, because she remembers everything about my last delivery.

Hopefully when I give my 33rd week update I will have some more great news to share, both about the baby and our future with the USMC. :-) 

xoxo- Chelsea.

My pregnancy at 29 weeks.

As I type this I am sitting at the foot of my bed eating half a bagel topped with mixed berry cream cheese... Oh, and it's about to be 3 am. Sigh, I really can't sleep and my hips are hurting so darn bad!! I got this uncontrollable urge to eat a bagel while I was using the restroom for the 5th time tonight... This is pregnancy at its realist. I don't even feel bad.

I was actually once a sleeper. I slept peacefully every night... But then I had my daughter. And I haven't had a regular night's rest since.. What was I thinking when I decided I was ready for #2?! I know, I know... That they're so amazing I had to have another! Some day I will sleep and this will all have been worth it. It is worth it. Even with Opal waking up an hour after I lay her in her crib like clockwork. And then, when she cries in her sleep because of teething and growing pains and bangs her little noggin into my mouth or forehead... All while my hubby is sound asleep snoring 2 ft away from me. #mommyneedsavacation #imsotired #buticantsleepbecauseimpregnant

I hope you guys can read between my rant that is drowning in dry sarcasm and see that I'm just kidding. Well, not about the hashtags! Those are serious business. :-) 

I finally got all of my insurance sorted out and saw my OB not too long ago and was told I can attempt a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean). I am so excited that I look up successful VBAC stories daily and read them like they're game plans or something. I just feel so empowered through the experiences of other c-section mamas finally getting to do things the natural way. Its inspiring!

Next week I see my OB again for my 30 week check up, and will ask her some questions about it all.
I'm confident I will be alright as long as he isn't sunny side up like Opal was. I just don't think I could do it all again just to end up in a c-section. Which would suck and is pretty much not what I want at all. I hated the healing process, how long it took for me to be able to do just about anything alone, the trapped gas in my chest that made me feel like I was dying -literally. It was all torturous. I'd give anything to be able to go to the hospital, push a couple times, and have my baby born.. Then leave the next day. My week long stay last time was also a nightmare. Oh gosh, okay I'll stop rambling about that.

Anyway, my pregnancy is going by fast. Too fast if you ask me, ONLY because we're not ready for our PCS move... Or possible EAS move. We still have yet to hear back from the AR program that my husband applied for. Waiting game has been so dreadful for us the past 10 months. Sometimes the military life is really hard and really sucks. But, it is what it is, right?

Well, here's to being tired and stressed! xoxo, Chelsea.

-Here are some belly shots from my phone, don't wanna forget these gems down the road.-

half way there.

My pregnancy is going by amazingly easy. With Opal, I had a miserable time from day one. It was really honestly the hardest time.  I am loving this pregnancy, mostly because it is SO easy that I forget that I am even pregnant.

I recently started to feel him pushing up against me. I can feel his feet against my tummy and then release them away. My belly is nice a round up in the front. I don't look pregnant anywhere else, and in my last pregnancy you could tell from every angle that I was expecting.

I can't believe that we are already half way to this baby being in our arms. I don't know exactly how I am going to handle an 18 month old, newborn, packing my house, and moving two weeks postpartum to somewhere we still don't know of. I am the epitome of stressed and excited all rolled into one big pregnant messy haired lady.

I have a lot of excitement for the next 2 weeks though, because Opal and I will be driving to Washington, DC with Dillon to finish out the rest of his contract with the Marine Corps. We are still unsure of the next step for his career... we find out by the middle of March...
and we're nervous. So to get my mind off of that I have been getting myself super excited for the decorating of my new apartment!

This will be my fourth move.. and our third home. I am very excited. Our first apartment (400M) was on Capitol Hill and was basically a studio. I can't believe we lasted a whole year there. Our second home (on base) was a beautiful town home, but it was just too darn big. We loved it but it was hard to keep up with. I'm not sure how it will be going from three stories (and three bedrooms) to a smaller 2 bedroom apartment. I certainly hope it will be easy to maintain and to not get too cluttered.

Dillon went out and faithfully ordered our table and sofa set (without seeing them! The store didn't carry the specific ones I wanted in his location!) I just love them so darn much. I can't wait to get them in our new place. I feel  like they will look perfect and just so amazing. I have been day dreaming of cream colored curtains and a beautiful area rug... and cuddling my hubby with a soft throw on our sofa.

I can't wait for my life to be perfect and whole again in just 2 weeks!! And I can't wait to show you guys the transformation of our Virginia apartment.