Stork'd This is what happens if you go Skinny Dipping during Adult Swim at the Gene Pool.

Well, it's been 5.5 weeks since Finn made his appearance and it feels like 5 years and a week at the same time. I was really worried about him for the first few weeks on account of his jaundice and being early and the like. He recovered from that well with some formula feeding and some sun exposure. Then I was on antibiotics that and formula fed him some more. He was so sleepy early on. At week 2 my dad came into town. Then we all got sick. The fevers, the snotty noses, the hacking coughs. I was surprised that mine only lasted a couple of days. I was really worried about Finn for a few days when I was waking up every 30 minutes to suction out his nose. Well, okay, so I wasn't waking up, I was already awake. That lasted a few days but when I started to see improvement, I was happy. Two and a half weeks later, Ingrid finally was used to my dad enough to play with him, just in time for him to leave 4 days later. My dad got home with pneumonia.

Now my dad is gone, we all feel better, and the days have been lovely. we had 3 days of 70+ degree weather and even though today it's raining, it's supposed to be warm again. Ingrid and Finn are keeping me pretty busy and what little time I'm not busy with them, I'm either knitting or trying to sleep. I should just be trying to sleep.

I've given up on exclusively breastfeeding. He's just not satisfied with it and I get NO sleep. We're doing formula at night and a little in the day. Ingrid has been really funny about the breastfeeding stuff. Yesterday she found my hand breastpump and started trying to use it on herself. Then she used it as a trumpet. Then she wanted to put my breastpads on. I got some Lilypads, the reusable silicone shields that make you not leak milk all over.

When I got the lilypads, I also stocked up on some overdue items. I got Ingrid some larger shiurts and stretchy pants. She hates jeans. I also got Finn an infant and toddler rocking chair. he's currently in it having a bottle. I have also put him in the Baby Bjorn for shopping. it's nice to have options.

I got a chance to clean the living room a bit yesterday and feel less crazy about being in here. I put almost all of Ingrid's toys in her playroom, except books and a magnetic drawing pad. She still manages to make a mess, but not a complete disaster area. 

The natives are getting restless so I have to cut this short.

So, as many of you know, the like 3 people that read this, I mean ;) we has the storm of the century here in Maryland last week. It started on Friday the 5th and blasted us over the weekend. We dug ourselves out and then got hit again on Monday the 8th. It was about 5 feet of snow total and the second threw/blew about 3 feet of snow along our whole street. We're at the back part of the culdesac, so it was a block worth of 3 feet of snow.

On Tuesday Peter dug out the jeep for a just in case, and since I heard we were going to get hit again I slowly and without strenuous strokes, dug out my car, since he wasn't planning on doing it. I then parked the cars both in our driveway. The blizzard was ferocious but blew over on Wednesady evening and Thursday was clear. I did some minor house picking up, but even scooting around the kitchen on my desk chair and bending slightly to get stuff wiped off the floor was apparently too much. .. Cue the mayhem.

I went upstairs with Ingrid to put her down for her nap as Peter was getting on a call at about 2pm. As I was sitting there reading her a story, it felt like I wet my pants slightly and I jumped up to go to the bathroom. There was a pink tinge and they always tell you to call the doc if that happens, so I did. I got through to the RN at about 2:25pm and she said to lay down do a kick count, call back in an hour or if there was red blood. After my hour, everything was okay but I had instructions to call/ go to the hospital if I had red blood. Within the hour I dropped my mucus plug. It's a pretty disgusting thing that I didn't really experience before. Last time since my everything came out at once while in labor and I was too busy trying tro not push Ingrid out on the floor to notice what all was there.

I had Peter call and schedule a cab while I got downstairs, because our car was blocked by several feet of snow deep and about 40 feet in length to the nearest open space. He helped me walk through that 3 feet of snow for a block so that the cab could get to us and sent me on my way to Frederick Memorial Hospital alone while he tried to figure out how to deal with the situation and Ingrid. 

I got to the hospital at 5pm and checked in at the registration desk. They wheeled me back to Labor and Delivery Triage where I'd had my stay when my knee went out. They hooked me up to the monitors and finally had enough data by 5:30 to let me walk. They told me to walk for 30 minutes and come back to get checked. While I was standing at the locked door knocking, my water broke. Not the gush and splash like last time, but the I feel like I just uncontrollably peed myself kind. They had me clean myself up, and a gal came over from Labor and Delivery and took me to a real room.They checked me and I was 3cm dialated.

I was starting to fret. It was 6pm, Peter hadn't figured out to do with Ingrid and I felt like I was going to be going through the whole process alone or over the phone or something. I laid down and didn't want to get up for the life of me. I think that's partially why it went so fast the last time. I was standing all through labor. While he and I were on the phone at about 7pm, his boss's wife called and offered to watch Ingrid. He still had to sort the logistics. He had to get he and Ingrid to the hospital which involved lugging a stay bag, a toddler and a carseat a block through the snow in order to get to a taxi to bring him to the hospital and Kim would meet him there and get Ingrid. I think he arrived around 9pm and Kim showed up a little bit after. That taken care of, he could focus on helping me focus. I think it was either right before he got there, or while he was out handing off Ingrid that a nurse came in and checked my cervix again and said it was 5 1/2, but then immediately left got another nurse to check me who  said I was 7-8 cm dialated. Um, big difference folks! And shoving your hand in a laboring woman's vagina is not the most comfortable thing to do to her, so you might want to get someone who can do it right the first time, eah? Peter was a good coach, again and helped me breathe through the contractions.  At a little after 11pm the contractions changed flavor. They were lower numbers on the monitor, but way higher intensity and so I knew he was coming, when I started muttering and crying about just wanting them to stop. I told the nurse that he was coming and she checked my cervix (the same one that got 5 1/5 when I was 7-8) and said I was at 7. Then she left the room. I really wish people would listen to me. I felt movement. I had Peter call the nurse and as they were out there not believing me, I had a huge surge and I felt him push down the birth canal and Peter saw him crowning. They rushed in, the nurse held him in! until the doctor could get into the room and I was trying to hold back. With that big surge, I shat all over the table. It's the grosest feeling.

More later since this has taken me 5 days to write...