Its been a while.

So Things got crazy for a while there, and i kinda fell off the internet cause i was in such a funk of misery and discomfort that not even facebook could reel me in.  allow me to start at the beginning.

So end of march, i think around the 20th i dunno it was a friday though??  I started bleeding-- Ava wasnt due according to ultrasound until april 14th, so although i was contracting every 2-3 minutes they wouldnt "augment" my labor unless I got to 3cm dilated on my own.... well low and behold i got there, just not before the doctor that promised me some action switched off shifts to a midwife that didnt believe in doing anything to alter the natural process.  I went home. the contractions continued, but werent painful.  exactly a week later i started contracting very painfully went into labor and delivery and was 3 cm still, stayed for 2 hours contracting every 2-3 minutes, and was given the option to stay or go home, i went home again.  I should add that in the meantime, earlier that day my doctor called and told me they were planning to induce me that coming monday at 6 a.m.  I ended up getting sick over the weekend, pink eye and all, and monday morning bright and early went to L&D to get hooked up.  The catch with this delivery is that because i have brain stents and have been on blood thinners for the entire pregnancy, I was told I had to have a c-section by my neurologist.  My OB referred me to a high risk ob when i cried about having to have a csection for my last baby after 4 sucessful vaginal deliveries including a breech baby!  The high risk dr gave me the go ahead for a vaginal delivery as long as i got an epidural right off the bat and let them control my labor to avoid having me push, they also told me theyd probably use a vacuume to assist. 

my hubby had to work, no possible way of getting off, so I was in no rush for things to get hoppin that day, he took me to the hospital and stayed with me until the epi was placed, he left at 7:15 to go to work, and as soon as he walked out the door i started feeling sick... it was shift change and my nurse just happened to be coming in to introduce herself (again... she was the nurse that assisted with my amnio!) which was really a good thing cause i couldnt see (everything went white) and i couldnt hear (my ears were ringing LOUD) i was going to puke, and apparently was completely flushed.  She layed me flat and started messing with the monitors while she was yelling for the anesthesiologist to come back in the room.  long story short, i had a bad reaction to the epi, it bottomed out my blood pressure to 52/29.  They gave me the fastest 4 liters of fluid ever and started pushing 2.5mls of epinephrine every few minutes.  they couldnt get my bp up without making my babys heart rate tachy, so it was slow going and lasted all day... my bp was low until after i had her, and there was a nurse constantly in my room.  (btw, this nurse was awesome, and she will always have a special place in my heart, she literally saved my life and kept my baby healthy) anywho, lance got off work at 430, made it to me at 510, and shortly after my contractions got BAD, i had been stalled t 3cm all day, and within a few minutes of him being there, I could FEEL my baby moving down, the nurse checked me and i was 3, then 2 contractions later i was 6 and with each contraction after that i was another cm until i was complete... Avarie Berlin was born at 6:47 pm on april 4th, 2011 weighin in at 7lbs 3.2 oz and being a whole 20 inches long.  i was so happy to see her gorgeous face and even happier that she waited until her daddy could be there.  life was perfect UNTIL i was hemorrhaging cause by dilating so fast i ripped my cervix, and her being in a funky position didnt help cause it ripped me further... my doctor kept her cool for a second, but shortly after she realized how bad it really was she kicked everyone except my mom (for me) and my hubby (for my baby) out of the room. it took a lot of sewing and franticness, but the AMAZING staff got my bleeding under control.  the room looked like a murder scene, but it was all good, i had my baby and i was aliveeee!!!  we went home 2 days later, and lifes been good ever since!  im still havin a rough recovery, and i miss my belly (of course right? i couldnt WAIT to get rid of it before...) but shes perfect, and im loving her more than life itself.

Heres a few pictures of our little love.

shes hibernating in my ribs now.

ok so im getting to the uncomfortable point.  and to dull the pain ive finished the nursery.. nothing like a little retail and home decorating therapy right?  heres the look!










this isnt part of her room, itll actually probably move around the house a lot, but none the less, i LOVE it, and cant wait to try it out on her... now watch she wont like it haha

heres her carseat, I made a blankie to match :o)

and thats all!  I havent set anything else up cause its too tempting for little hands, and with all the ravioli and sticky hands that go on in this joint, it wouldnt last a week :o) so thatll be last minute-- this stuff i figure is pretty safe as long as its in our room!

you ever go back and read something you wrote only to be mortified by all the typos? lol

I have... this blog is no exception.  Anywho, this post has nothing to do with that, its actually an update on our "nursery"  yayyyy!!!  so were still far from done, and of course ill add pics as we progress, but for now, heres what we have done.  (excuse the poor quality pics, ill retake them in the daylight with our camera instead of my phone... the coloring is a bit off)
(pics no longer available)
again were not at all done, so reserve all negative feedback for later dates :o) oh and by the way, ava is a whopping 4 lbs!!  heres a couple shots from our last ultrasound.  she looks so much like Jujy, its not even funny... i cant wait to meet her face to face!


this is her face sideways (shes hiding between placenta chunks) Im posting it cause you can see her nose and lips and thats what reminds me so much of Jr.

and heres her big ol noggin!  the whispy white on top of her head is HAIR!!!  omg, i cant believe how close its coming to our due date!!!

Annnnddd Exhale.

I can officially say were done.  were done shopping for baby things, and it feels AMAZING.  I know i know theres still 8 weeks left (tops) but none the less, it was bugging me to look into her little corner and see emptiness.  A lot of the stuff we bought was ordered online either cause its custom just for her, or because thats the only place it was available (the crib) so not everything is "in house" but EVERYTHING is paid for and off the check list. 

Jrs getting more and more vocal about baby avaries arrival, and seems to be very excited to be a big brother soon which is great cause i worried about how much we baby him (we thought he was the last of the mohegans) becoming an issue when hes no longer the baby.  weve been working on preparing him giving him the whole we still love you just the same and youre still our favorite little 3 year old boy pep talks and telling him were going to need a lot of his help with the baby its a big job to be a big brother (he totally digs being given "jobs" to do) and it seems to be paying off.  Hes started asking about her more and more, and even exploring her things that are set up with no signs of jealousy that she has cool new things.  the transition THUS FAR seems to be going well.... now well see how long that lasts when theres a new little parana latched onto mommys boob 24/7 making it so his cuddle time it drastically cut down-- and well cross that bridge when we come to it.

I think I finally hit that wonderful "nesting" phase where you seem to have the motivation and energy to do things you never found necessary before carrying a beachball under your shirt for nearly 9 months.... every other pregnancy i had it RIGHT away (well as soon as i woke up from the first trimester nap) and this time ive just been so lazy.... i mean completely opposite of nesting... more like bacheloring (letting my house turn into a bachelor pad sty)so its nice to have some order be restored for atleast a few more weeks.... before all hell breaks loose and were drowing in poop and spit up and dragging the bags under our eyes about 2 feet behind us because theyre THAT huge. ahhhh the newborn phase.  like no other experience youll ever have.

anyway, I have a date to get a mini-shower today, and im a bit pood so i think ill take a nap in my amazingly comfy bed before i hit the road.  nightynight!

Let the Boxes Roll in

Well, its official, were getting quite a stash of baby stuff.  Little A now has a carseat (the graco snugride 35 in logan) complete with a super soft snuzzler (which are amazing for those of you concidering them) an adorable owl lamp
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Her crib and matress will be here within the week,

and were grabbing her stroller, "dresser", and everything else on thursday... theres a huge snow storm a brewing tonight that cancelled school for tomorrow, so thats kinda outta the question.... but bright and early thursday morn well be running store to store and bringin it all home with the intentions of starting to set up her room.  Fear not Ill be posting pics as soon as we make some more progress!!

Im swallowing my ego with this one.

So I know very well that I have expensive taste, im not sure if its just cause im all about quality or if its a complex Ive developed over time.  Either way it goes, Im also a big bargain hunter, if i cant get what I want for cheaper than normal, im all over it.  So Lancelot and I originally were planning on getting the Teutonia T-Linx travel system for baby A.  the theory being that she is our last baby, why not get what we REALLY want, no matter the cost ($700) Im well aware its not the highest end system, however after hours and hours being spent browsing buybuybaby with empty strollers of all prices, believe it or not, it was by far the best roller, and I fell in love.  we had previously thought we wanted the orbit system but after reading consumer reports and safety issues having been in its past, we decided to nix that idea completely.  Well, were nearing the point that we need to make a for sure choice, being 31 weeks into this journey isnt leavin much room for lolligaggin when we have none of the large items actually purchased, and half of them require shipping.  That being said, I was online browsing and came across Gracos new stroller in the "signature series" and decided before we take the final leap that it at least deserved a push around babies r us.  Graco and Teutonia are very similar, while teutonia is German made, they are partners with Graco when it comes to the American available products, even modeling thier infant seat after the graco snugride35.  Anywho one random afternoon between picking up Moe and waiting for Liv and Tim to get out of school, i decided to make the trip to check it out..... lemme tell ya, its just as amazing as the teutonia.  It rides just like it, and there are a few improvements on the Teut (in my opinion) as well as a couple drawbacks (also in my op) Plus #1- the price.  the t linx system is $700, never on sale, no coupons accepted.  the graco is $300 for the stroller and the average carseat is around 4150- $170 but can be even cheaper depending on seat type and sales or coupons you can catch.  Plus Numero dos- cup holders.  theres cup holders for both the parent and the kid, super great for a starbucks fan such as myself.  the Tuet sells a cup holder separately for an additional 25 bucks, and there are many different "snack trays" you can find for the baby, however, thats not exactly ideal if you ask me. Plus #3- The basket.  It not a must, just like cup holders, but with 5 kids a big basket deff has its perks.  the gracos basket is about twice the size of the teutonias, and for me, thats rather sexy.  Short comings of the graco are few, and not really short comings, but here they are- the handle.  its a funny shape, while its designed to make it so youre closer to baby, I dig the handles that you can attach the diaper bag to like the teutonias, also, the teutonia has a flipping handle making it so you can change the direction the kids facing with the pull of a button-- granted the seats are reversible on both strollers, so its not a huge deal, but I will make not of it for the die hard teutonia lovers.  Finally, for the fashion savvy mommas out there, the graco is only available in 2 very similar and rather dull patters, both mostly black, the teuts can be completely personalized, the system comes in black or red, but there are accessories sold separately to dress either color up and make it completely individual.  All in all, i really feel like theyre bout the same stroller, and after I got off my high horse and got more logical, i decided the graco is right for us, plus the strollers are so similar (almost exact in measurements) I can always buys the teutonias accessories and dress up the graco a bit :o)  moral of the story, dont let your ego get in the way of a great steal.  Im takin in an old booster to BRU for the trade in event and getting 25% off the stroller bringin it to 224, then im tradin in another used carseat for the snugride in logan, and then i plan to buy a houndstooth teutonia pad for the stroller, and voila, perfect set for us.  Im posting this in the event that theres anyone else in a similar position, maybe unable to try either of these strollers out but wanted to know how they handled, theyre both amazing, but if youre lookin for a better bang for your buck the gracos the way to go :o)
Graco stuff-

Teutonia t-duo cushion im gettin :o)


Teutonia T-Linx

Family Time

so sir lancelot and I are very family oriented, it probably helps that were both homebodies, and love doing kids friendly things, but lately, Im so pooped (for no real reason other then being pregnant) that i find myself switching the "scheduled" family date for "movie night" I know its not terrible, and theres a lot of people that dont do family time at all, but my kids have become very dependant on having family time every night, and i love that they love it so much, i dont want their opinions to change when they get tired of movies on demand!  Tonights going to be a little different, were going to watch american idol.  Its something we started last night, and they seemed to love it, so maybe itll keep their interest goin a little longer.... 12 more weeks (tops)  I CAN DO IT!!!  then well just have to battle the newborn not sleeping tiredness.... lord have mercy, please let this kid be a sleeper.