tummy time is getting to be far more fun
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Saturday, December 25, 2004
christmas day
we had breakfast with grandpa andy and grandma linda and then headed to fremont for time with grandma and grandpa ritchie. we had lunch there and then turned right around and headed back to cleveland to see grandma. (ivy has too many grandparents to keep track of!!!) we basically ate dinner and had to leave..... nathan had to be at work at 10:30pm... what a busy way to spend your first christmas.... and sick on top of it!!!
Friday, December 24, 2004
christmas eve
we spent christmas eve at my dad's house.... he had dinner for us and then watched ivy so nathan and i could go to church. it was a really beautiful service, but ivy was running a fever the whole night. poor little thing!!
Thursday, December 23, 2004
Sunday, December 19, 2004
christmas part 2
we wnt to heather's last night for a christmas get together.... deanna, jason, jamie, jay, drew, bailey, heather, al and shelby were all there. we had pizza for dinner. ivy got some binkies, a set of winnie the pooh keys and a gloworm.... i think that is really neat because i had one when i was little, too. thank you, heather!
Saturday, December 18, 2004
the girl is loaded
ivy officially has a lot more money than her mommy. we took all her baptism money to the bank today and bought savings bonds. in about twelve years she will have $600.... not too shabby.
six shopping days 'til christmas....
and we've barely started shopping! of course, i am done with ivy's presents..... we had some gift cards from other gifts i've returned, so i used those and got her a ton of stuff. nathan keeps saying it doesn't matter because she's so little. i know it's just for me, but i want it to be awesome. anyway, we survived our week without nathan. he leaves again january 23rd. ivy had her first ER visit thursday night.... they said she had a virus (the easy way of saying they can't figure out what is wrong) but at the follow up on friday the doctor said ear infection. so she's back on amoxicillin, poor little thing. she's still sleeping a lot, but seems in better spirits.
Sunday, December 12, 2004
santa
ivy saw santa today at the american legion in brecksville. he brought her her first present.... a set of fisher price keys.
Sunday, December 05, 2004
baptized
ivy was baptized today in the same church where i was baptized and confirmed. she had a spectacular party at the american legion afterwards. she has one godfather (Jon) and two godmothers (Brandi and Andrea) now, who all love her very much.
ivy's baptism cake
ivy's baptism cake
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Sunday, November 28, 2004
Thanksgiving
Ivy's first Turkey Day went pretty well. We woke up to her first snow! We went to Grandma Ritchie's house first, where Ivy got to meet a lot of family she had never seen before. Then we went on to Cleveland to my grandma's for another dinner.... at this point, ivy's diaper basically exploded on her nice white outfit!!! i got most of it out, but it goes to show you, be prepared for anything! friday we went and bought ivy her christmas dress and then had dinner at my dad's. saturday was basically spent in the car.... 2 hours to my grandparents, brunch there (ivy met her great aunt cathy), 2 hours back to cleveland, dinner with dina, jason and peyton and 2 hours back home. we had to stop TWICE to feed her on the way back to toledo. i'm thinking maybe she's hitting another growth spurt
Saturday, November 27, 2004
Friday, November 26, 2004
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
ANOTHER website for Ivy
My little girl is going to be all over the internet! Another mommy on a yahoo group I belong to has a blog here, so I thought I'd try it out too.... maybe when I find something that's easy to manage I'll remember to keep updating it!!
Sunday, October 31, 2004
Sunday, October 24, 2004
Sunday, September 12, 2004
Friday, September 10, 2004
Sunday, September 05, 2004
Friday, September 03, 2004
My Birth Story
I have really debated posting this, because I know a lot of my family reads this blog and I don't necessarily think this is appropriate for everyone to hear. But the more I think about it, the more I know I want to have Ivy's birth story recorded somewhere where I can look at it when I want to and I won't lose it! So here is a copy of the e-mails I sent to my Mommies Group in the days following Ivy's birth. If you don't care to read it, that's fine with me. But if you do chose to read it, remember the intended audience was a bunch of women who had either just gone through what I had or were about to, and not my parents and grandparents and strangers on the internet!! There are plenty of typos, and nothing is capitalized, but oh well.
i went into the hospital at 6:30am on friday. personally, i think that is a stupid time for them to tell me to be there since the nurses change at 7.... they asked me all sorts of questions and did some initial admitting things, but didn't start my IV until around 8am. my mom and her friend bob got there around 9am... basically we all just sat around and talked, watched TV... the moniter showed i was having really regular contractions, 2-3 minutes apart, but i felt NOTHING. eventually, i could feel tightness in my uterus, but no pain at all. around 1pm donna (my new midwife) got there. she checked me and i was "a good 3cm." yeah, i was 2-3 when i got there, so that was very discouraging. she broke my water at that point.... that was when i actually started being able to feel the contractions, but it was not bad at all. i agree with lea when she said that they push epidurals at the hospital... the nurse knew tha ti was in all likelihood going to get one, but she kept asking if i was ready for it, basically every time she came in the room....which ws a lot because i had to have my blood pressure and pitocin checked every 30 minutes. anyway, around 3pm i decided i was ready for the epidural. theywouldn't check me to tell me how far i had progressed since my water had already broken, but i felt it was time... i was starting to be in a lot of pain. so my mom and nathan went downstairs (bob was already gone, he just came to drop my mom off) and the epidural man came in. yeah, they totally messed it up and had to do it twice which was NOT a fun experience. i guess a resident did it the first time and it really hurt... the anastesiologist (sp?) pulled it out and did it again. it sucked that they had to do it twice, but it was definately worth it in the end. it took them almost an hour, so around 5pm nathan and my mom came back in the room with my dad andstepmom.... i guess they had gotten there shortly after i started getting the epi. i was pain free and in a darn good mood til around 7 or 7:30.... i started feeling something around my vagina and asked the nurse if the midwife could check me. donna asked if it felt like i had to poop and i said no, because the pressure (darn close to pain) was in the front, not the back. so she checked me and i was at 4!!!! i almost cried! it had been so long and that was it, 1 cm!!! almost as soon as donna left, i started feeling like i had to poop. i figured it was just power of suggestion, you know? so i didn't say anything for a little bit, but mentioned it to the nurse the next time she came in. she said she was sure donna wouldn't come running back to check me since she had just been there, but she'd be sure to let me know. around 8, donna came to check me..... i was at 9 or 9and a half. it happened so fast. when she checked me, it really started to hurt... she put me on my side with my leg up in a stirup to open my hips up that last bit.... then my epidural pump started beeping... the nurse check it and it didn't seem like there was anything wrong with it, but i was really in some pain... so they called for another pump... yeah, that one didn't work either. by this time, it was really too late... i really really had to push. i actually don't remember a lot from this point on... i kinda flipped out. nathan was really really great trying to calm me down, but i went a little crazy i think. my mom said that donna said "i know it hurts, i've done it three times" and i screamed at her "WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS THREE TIMES?" i started pushing at 8:15 and ivy was born at 8:28pm. honestly, as soon as they put her on my stomach i forgot about the pain i had been through. she was just so little and perfect.
after actually giving birth, we stayed in the LDR room for about an hour. i got to eat (and i ordered one of everything, lol... soup,salad, chips, a sandwich, a pepsi.... ). my dad and stepmom left when i got in the shower. after i got out of the shower, there was a lot of blood on the shower floor and such... dh asked if that was normal and the nurse said yes. then, i got super dizzy and told the nurse i didn't feel good... she sat me down in the wheelchair and i felt better pretty quick. my mom and my dh went with me to the postpartum wing of the floor.... i settled into bed and they took ivy for her first bath and to be measured and stuff. dh left to take my mom back to our house to spend the night, but was coming back. my postpartum nurse told me to make sure she was there the first time i went to the bathroom (i think cuz of the epidural?). so i called a couple of my friends and then called the nurse in so i could go to the bathroom. i told her it felt like i was leaking. she pretty much said "yeah, you'll bleed" and i was like "no, it feels like i am leaking through my pad." when she looked she seemed a little concerned and helped me towards the bathroom. she helped me take my underwear off and sit on the toilet. as soon as i sat down, i said "i don't feel good" and basically fell forward. the nurse caught me... i heard her pull the call for help thing and then there were more nurses... i don't really remember a lot of what happened.... i just remember two big guys carrying me to my bed. my nurse said i never passed out, that i was talking to her the whole time.... but i really don't remember anything. i guess i was passing HUGE clots... (tmi, i know) they had to put an IV back in me and a cathader and give me a shot of something to stop the bleeding. it was really scary, especially since dh wasn't there. everything turned out fine, though, aside from having to be checked every 15 minutes that night! ivy stayed in the nursery because i really felt like hell... i felt really guilty about it because i know they had to give her formula, but i really needed the rest.
i went into the hospital at 6:30am on friday. personally, i think that is a stupid time for them to tell me to be there since the nurses change at 7.... they asked me all sorts of questions and did some initial admitting things, but didn't start my IV until around 8am. my mom and her friend bob got there around 9am... basically we all just sat around and talked, watched TV... the moniter showed i was having really regular contractions, 2-3 minutes apart, but i felt NOTHING. eventually, i could feel tightness in my uterus, but no pain at all. around 1pm donna (my new midwife) got there. she checked me and i was "a good 3cm." yeah, i was 2-3 when i got there, so that was very discouraging. she broke my water at that point.... that was when i actually started being able to feel the contractions, but it was not bad at all. i agree with lea when she said that they push epidurals at the hospital... the nurse knew tha ti was in all likelihood going to get one, but she kept asking if i was ready for it, basically every time she came in the room....which ws a lot because i had to have my blood pressure and pitocin checked every 30 minutes. anyway, around 3pm i decided i was ready for the epidural. theywouldn't check me to tell me how far i had progressed since my water had already broken, but i felt it was time... i was starting to be in a lot of pain. so my mom and nathan went downstairs (bob was already gone, he just came to drop my mom off) and the epidural man came in. yeah, they totally messed it up and had to do it twice which was NOT a fun experience. i guess a resident did it the first time and it really hurt... the anastesiologist (sp?) pulled it out and did it again. it sucked that they had to do it twice, but it was definately worth it in the end. it took them almost an hour, so around 5pm nathan and my mom came back in the room with my dad andstepmom.... i guess they had gotten there shortly after i started getting the epi. i was pain free and in a darn good mood til around 7 or 7:30.... i started feeling something around my vagina and asked the nurse if the midwife could check me. donna asked if it felt like i had to poop and i said no, because the pressure (darn close to pain) was in the front, not the back. so she checked me and i was at 4!!!! i almost cried! it had been so long and that was it, 1 cm!!! almost as soon as donna left, i started feeling like i had to poop. i figured it was just power of suggestion, you know? so i didn't say anything for a little bit, but mentioned it to the nurse the next time she came in. she said she was sure donna wouldn't come running back to check me since she had just been there, but she'd be sure to let me know. around 8, donna came to check me..... i was at 9 or 9and a half. it happened so fast. when she checked me, it really started to hurt... she put me on my side with my leg up in a stirup to open my hips up that last bit.... then my epidural pump started beeping... the nurse check it and it didn't seem like there was anything wrong with it, but i was really in some pain... so they called for another pump... yeah, that one didn't work either. by this time, it was really too late... i really really had to push. i actually don't remember a lot from this point on... i kinda flipped out. nathan was really really great trying to calm me down, but i went a little crazy i think. my mom said that donna said "i know it hurts, i've done it three times" and i screamed at her "WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS THREE TIMES?" i started pushing at 8:15 and ivy was born at 8:28pm. honestly, as soon as they put her on my stomach i forgot about the pain i had been through. she was just so little and perfect.
after actually giving birth, we stayed in the LDR room for about an hour. i got to eat (and i ordered one of everything, lol... soup,salad, chips, a sandwich, a pepsi.... ). my dad and stepmom left when i got in the shower. after i got out of the shower, there was a lot of blood on the shower floor and such... dh asked if that was normal and the nurse said yes. then, i got super dizzy and told the nurse i didn't feel good... she sat me down in the wheelchair and i felt better pretty quick. my mom and my dh went with me to the postpartum wing of the floor.... i settled into bed and they took ivy for her first bath and to be measured and stuff. dh left to take my mom back to our house to spend the night, but was coming back. my postpartum nurse told me to make sure she was there the first time i went to the bathroom (i think cuz of the epidural?). so i called a couple of my friends and then called the nurse in so i could go to the bathroom. i told her it felt like i was leaking. she pretty much said "yeah, you'll bleed" and i was like "no, it feels like i am leaking through my pad." when she looked she seemed a little concerned and helped me towards the bathroom. she helped me take my underwear off and sit on the toilet. as soon as i sat down, i said "i don't feel good" and basically fell forward. the nurse caught me... i heard her pull the call for help thing and then there were more nurses... i don't really remember a lot of what happened.... i just remember two big guys carrying me to my bed. my nurse said i never passed out, that i was talking to her the whole time.... but i really don't remember anything. i guess i was passing HUGE clots... (tmi, i know) they had to put an IV back in me and a cathader and give me a shot of something to stop the bleeding. it was really scary, especially since dh wasn't there. everything turned out fine, though, aside from having to be checked every 15 minutes that night! ivy stayed in the nursery because i really felt like hell... i felt really guilty about it because i know they had to give her formula, but i really needed the rest.
birthday
Ivy Lynn Ritchie came into this world today, September 3rd, 2004 at 8:28pm. Her mommy, her daddy, grandma, grandpa andy and grandma linda were all there to greet her. She weighed seven pounds and was 20 1/2 inches long.... ten fingers and ten toes.... perfect.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)