Not looking forward to today.

We went to Hilton Head, SC this past weekend (9 hours away) for a seminar for my new job.  I start this new job today.  I will be working part time for the next 2 weeks and then go full time.  I cried all day yesterday. 

My mom is going to be keeping Ava and  we are so grateful that she is doing this.  Daycare is crazy expensive and we know she will be loved, given plenty of attention, and get sick less.  So, this is the best option, even though I have my reservations. 

It is bitter sweet going back to work.  I am so excited to start this new job.  This is the area of health that I have changed to, NeuroCore Therapy.  It is so amazing and challenging.  I needed to be challenged and this fit the bill. I will also be personal training the clients who are in the weight loss portion of the therapy.  I took maternity leave 3 weeks before Ava was born, because I was miserable and the doctor said I could go "any day!"  Well, 3 weeks later....  I have had 7 weeks off of work and I am ready to contribute financially again.  Clint has told me that I don't have to go back to work, that I can stay home with Ava.  We could do it financially, but we would be penny pinching and struggling at times and I already worry too much, I can't imagine my stress level with legitimate financially concerns.  So, as much as I don't want to leave my precious girl, it is what I feel that I need to do. 

I am not looking forward to dropping her off at my parents.  I will probably cry all the way to work and when I talk to Clint on the phone and when I call my mom to check on her.  It is the nature of the beast as a full time working mama. 

Wish me luck today!

How did/are you going to cope with going back to work??

Here are some pics from Hilton Head Island this weekend.  My heart is so full of love for these two!

The best enchiladas ever!

I thought I would share this recipe with y'all.  If you like chicken, enchiladas, and spicy, you will love these.  This recipe was made for us by some great family friends after Ava arrived.  Tyler Florence has it going on!

Chicken Enchiladas


Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Prep Time:
1 hr 0 minInactive Prep Time:--Cook Time:15 minLevel:

IntermediateServes:
16 enchiladas, 8 servings

Ingredients3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast

Salt and pepper

2 teaspoons cumin powder

2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 teaspoon Mexican Spice Blend

1 red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

5 canned whole green chiles, seeded and coarsely chopped

4 canned chipotle chiles, seeded and minced

1 (28-ounce) can stewed tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon all-purpose flour

16 corn tortillas

1 1/2 cups enchilada sauce, canned

1 cup shredded Cheddar and Jack cheeses

Garnish: chopped cilantro leaves, chopped scallions, sour cream, chopped

tomatoes

Directions

Coat large saute pan with oil. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown

chicken over medium heat, allow 7 minutes each side or until no longer pink.

Sprinkle chicken with cumin, garlic powder and Mexican spices before turning.

Remove chicken to a platter, allow to cool.

Saute onion and garlic in chicken drippings until tender. Add corn and chiles.

Stir well to combine. Add canned tomatoes, saute 1 minute.

Pull chicken breasts apart by hand into shredded strips. Add shredded chicken to

saute pan, combine with vegetables. Dust the mixture with flour to help set.

Microwave tortillas on high for 30 seconds. This softens them and makes them

more pliable. Coat the bottom of 2 (13 by 9-inch) pans with a ladle of enchilada

sauce. Using a large shallow bowl, dip each tortilla in enchilada sauce to

lightly coat. Spoon 1/4 cup chicken mixture in each tortilla. Fold over filling,

place 8 enchiladas in each pan with seam side down. Top with remaining enchilada

sauce and cheese.

Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated 350 degree F oven until cheese melts. Garnish

with cilantro, scallion, sour cream and chopped tomatoes before serving. Serve

with Spanish rice and beans.
 
Nutritional Info

Servings Per Recipe: 16

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 230.3

Total Fat: 9.4 g

Cholesterol: 21.9 mg

Sodium: 539.1 mg

Total Carbs: 25.5 g

Dietary Fiber: 4.4 g

Protein: 10.2 g


*I decided to start a recipe/food tag.  So be on the lookout for healthy, yummy foods.

How you doing??

Time to talk about me.  I think it is easier to list things.
1. I gained 34lbs and am down 21. 
2. Breastfeeding is going great.  Call me Elsie the cow.  I definately am able to produce enough to feed Ava and pump to save for Clint to help with feedings once we give her a bottle.  I have even had the fortunate benefit of leaking.  Yes, my boobs leak, especially when too full or if Ava is close to me and crying. Lansinoh nipple butter is my best friend.  It works for me.
3. My boobs are AMAZING.  If only I could keep these forever.  Although I am not, I feel like J-WOWW from Jersey Shores.  (I think her fake boobs are crazy ridiculous and mesmerizing.) 
Clint is a boob man.  Well, when we got together, being a size nipple, he had to swap for the boo-tay.  Since Ava, he has definately been wow-ed by the boobs and reverted back to boob-man.
4.  I am not down to pre-pregnancy weight yet (119) and at 2.5 weeks postpartum I know that I won't be, but I am very content and extrememly comfortable with this new body. ( It also helps when your husband is your biggest fan!)  I know that once I am cleared by the doc that I will start exercising(I am excited to be able to just move) , but I know in the back of my mind that I can't go crazy exercise lady and still be able to keep my milk production up.  I will lose it slowly and get there sometime. 
5.  Postpartum bleeding is still happening.  Some days heavier than usual.  Still rocking a maxi.  Just a super and not the Ginormous one from the hospital.
6.  I am a thong wearer and have been for years, but having to wear the maxi-smaxi I had to go buy new butt covering panties.  I had no idea what kind I would like or what size.  After trial and error, I have found some I can live with for the time being.
7.  I am in a semi awkward position with my clothes.  When we got pregnant, I didn't want to buy clothes and I was given all of my maternity clothes from friends.  Now, the maternities are too big and my pre-preg clothes are still snug.  I am trying to hold out buying clothes hoping that my fall clothes from last year will fit when the weather starts to change.

That is all I can think of right now.  If you have any questions, don't hesitate!!  I am an open book!

Errand Running and Three Thankfuls for Thursday

Hi,
Ava and I have been doing a few errands each day to get out of the house and get some things done. We have went to see Clint at work and take him lunch, gone to see my family, and to the grocery store/bank(two in one errand). 

The thing about running errands now is that you have to plan when to go and how to go.  Running in somewhere for a something real quick is never going to happen again!!  Now, I have a little boo-bug and her diaper bag in tow.  You also have to go right after a feeding, so you have about 2-3 hour window of errand running and driving time before she starts making her sucking noises.  (Thankfully Ava is a car sleeper!)

I went to the grocery store with her yesterday for the 1st time and I was a wee bit nervous.  Why was I nervous?  Well, I will explain.
1.  I was nervous to put her carseat in the seat of the buggy, so I put her in the buggy itself.  Most people put the carseats in the seat, but I tried that today and I can not see over the carseat. (not a good thing!) The thing about putting her inside the buggy is that you can't get many things!  You are limited in space.

2.  I was nervous to walk away from the buggy AT ALL.  I kept picturing some man nonchantly walking away with her and my cart.  I forgot the main thing I went to the store for, so I had to back around the registers and get what I needed.  (Take a list!) 

3.  I was nervous putting her in the car and then loading the groceries in the back of the Murano.  I was thinking someone could just walk up and open the door. 

I know these nervous tendencies could be crazy thinking, but we all hear crazy stories on the news all over the place.  I am so much more aware of safety now and being extra careful and precautious.  I know I can't protect her from EVERY little thing, but being smart and aware of my surroundings are things that will keep us both safe on outings.

Three Thankfuls for Thursday
3.  We safely made it in and out of the grocery with all that we needed.
4.  Although annoying most of the time, my family adores Ava and mine and Clint's relationship with them is so much better.
5.  Our dogs love Ava, almost too much sometimes.  I have heard horror stories of people having to get rid of their fur-babies and thankfully we don't have to.

"All by myself......"

Well, it is Monday and Clint went back to work today after having 2 full weeks off of work.  It has been equally hard on both of us.  It's hard for Clint because he is at work and not at home with us.  Especially Ava.  He is a wonderful daddy and is so funny when he interacts with her.  He has been teaching Ava her name, who we are and what our dogs names are.  You can never start too soon.  haha. 

Since I have been breastfeeding, I have been doing the feeding of course, and Clint has been handling the diaper changing, burping, and majority of clothes changing.  (he does a really good job, even with accessorizing!) We are a well fine tuned machine. 

Today, with him not being here and her 2 week doc checkup, doing it by myself is a little more strenuous.  She has her schedule and is pretty consistent with it.(like her mama)  She typically has a feeding about 8am and we had an appt at 9. Ok, I thought maybe I can get her to hold off until after the appt. since she ate about 6am....um no.  About 7:50am she started sucking her hands, big sign of "mama, I am hungry."  I learned that you can do so much with one arm, a baby on your boob, and still get ready to go.  (brush your teeth, get the diaper bag together, find clothes to wear)  Apparently, the mama instinct does kick in and multi-tasking is a super hero characteristic. 

Everything went smoothly today though and we got through it.  He couldn't wait to get his hands on those beautiful cheeks.  I got a kiss first though!

Her appt details:
Weight at birth: 7lbs 11oz
Length at birth: 19 3/4in

Weight at 2 weeks 2 days old: 8lbs 2oz
Length at 2 weeks 2 days old: 20in

She is healthy and growing great.  We go back when she is 2 months and that is when she gets her 1st round of major shots.  I made sure to schedule it in the afternoon so Clint can come with me.  I don't know who will cry more, me or Ava.

How could you not love this sweet face?!?!

**Next post will be about me and postpartum weight and body stuff!

Three Thankfuls for Thursday

Hey y'all, I got this idea from a blog I stumbled upon and love, Alysha from The Tarr Pit.  She does "Thankful on a Thursday" and I decided to put my spin on it and do "Three Thankfuls for Thursday."  So, unless something crazy happens, I will do this post every Thursday.  \

1. A husband who is wonderful and got to take off work for 2 weeks and help with our new life change.
2. A healthy, beautiful baby girl.
3. A quick and pretty easy delivery.



On a different note, Ava lost mine and her last piece of connection today!  Yes folks, she lost her cord.  It has been hanging by a thread for a few days.  My scab picking husband has been itching to just take it off!  He did restrain and it fell off on it's own.  She has the cutest belly button.  (only a mama would say that!)

Have you ever heard of people keeping the cord? My brother's girlfriend's mom kept hers and her brothers.  That kind of creeps me out!  I don't know about y'all but that's some cheap cord blood banking! hahaha  What are your opinions??

Change up

Until, I can get to a serious post about life, (and boy there are some) here is some fun to breakup the baby talk.  I got this from Cardio Pizza.
ANSWERS IN FOURS:

Four Jobs I’ve Had
Cutting grass for my dad's lawncare business
Sorting pictures at photography
Trainer Hostess Fox and Hound pub and grill
Personal Trainer/Fitness class teacher

Four Places I’ve lived
Joelton, TN (2 different places)
Nashville, TN
Chattanooga, TN

Four TV Shows I Love
Renovation Realities
Hell's Kitchen
Color Splash
Lie to me


Four Places I’ve Traveled To
Cozumel, Mexico
San Diego, CA
Canton, OH
Panama City, FL


Four of My Favorite FoodsSalads
Sweet potato
Lucky Charms
grapes

Four Places I’d Rather Be
Any where with Clint and Ava will do.
Sorry this is a cop-out.
Four Blogs I Visit (these are blogs that I have recently started following)
Redefining Motherhood
Melissa's Journey: A pro figure pregnancy
The Tarr Pit
Subfertile Frugalista

Postpartum care!

Ok girls.  Postpartum stuff is not really talked about, but I am about to discuss some things.  Beware of TMI, but after having a baby and your vajayjay exposed to 8 people, modesty has flown out the window.


1.  Bleeding.  After you deliver, it is like a period on steroids.  You continue to bleed and have lochia(postpartum discharge stuff) for about 6 weeks.

2.  Mesh panties and GINORMO pads. To accommodate the period roidage you have to wear the biggest maxi pad ever made.  It's like wearing a depends without the sticky tabs and the nurse wiping your butt. To hold the pad you get to wear the Postpartum Secrets.  They are these fabulous boy short mesh panties that the hospital so graciously gives you to wear and take some home.  LOVELY!

3. Taking care of the goods.  Because you are sore and stitched, you have this routine given to you every time you go to the bathroom.  EVERY time, and I mean every time, you go pee for the next 6 weeks you have to take the BOTTLE.  The BOTTLE(my nurse named my BOB the BOTTLE) is filled with warm water to, for better words, squirt yourself clean.  The hospital gave me this cold spray, tucks pads, and this foam ointment.  This is all to help you heal and not get infected during the healing process.

4.  Not allowed to do anything!  I'm not allowed to lift anything heavier than Ava or do much of anything for 2 weeks.  That is very hard to do when you feel fine, but after doing minor things your body will tell you when it is doing more than you are supposed to. (Hence more bleeding!)

5.  Bowel movement.  The hospital gives you stool softeners while you are in the hospital and then they send some home with you.  With all of the drugs and with labor your body has a hard time doing the doo!  Well, they do not tell you that it could be the worst doo EVER.  I felt like I needed an epidural to get through it!  I did not know either that with the horrible experience, you are liable to get (if you don't already have them) HEMMORRHOIDS.  I have a glorious one on top(I guess I could say on bottom =/ ) of all of the new bodily functions that go with labor.

These are things that happened to me.  I am just informing you of things that could or possibly happen, NOT WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU.  Every woman's experience is different.  Although, postpartum isn't all that it is cracked up to be, look what I got in return....

WAY WORTH EVERYTHING!!!

Ava's 1st doctor visit

          Yesterday, we took Ava for her 1st visit to see Dr. N.  We really didn't know what to expect at the visit.  We had met Dr. N in the hospital when he came to check on her each morning and we really liked him.  We didn't do an interview with Dr. N, but a friend at church gave him very high regards and we trusted her judgment.  We were not disappointed.  He treats us and Ava like people and not just another patient to get in and out of the office. 
          We sat in the newborn waiting area until we, well Ava, was called back.  The nurse took us to the room and started asking us questions about the delivery, if we are breastfeeding or bottle feeding, (I am breastfeeding.), how many pees and poops she is having a day, any concerns, and a few more questions about Ava.  We took her adorable outfit off and got her down to her diaper and they weighed her in at 7lbs, 4oz.  Remembering that scales can be off some, she has lost 7oz from her 7lbs, 11oz birth weight.  This loss of weight is normal since I am breastfeeding and my milk just came in completely today.  Her length was recorded as well as her head circumference.  We went back to the room and waited for Dr. N.  He came in about 15 minutes later and looked at her color, which is good, checked her heartbeat and pulse, felt of her tummy, and looked at her belly button.  Everything he checked was good. 
          Whew, relief.  We have noticed that for us, there is always that concern about htings going on with her and just want confirmation that everything is healthy for her.
           We go back to see Dr. N at Ava's 2 week birthday, which is next Saturday, but we will go that Monday morning.

Our Labor Day!

At 5am Saturday morning on July 31, 2010, I woke up to go to the bathroom. I noticed something was “off“, but for the past few weeks things had been “off” so I went back to bed. I woke up again at 6am and went in to the kitchen and I felt a trickle down my leg, thinking I had just peed myself, I went into the bathroom and peed again. I thought I might have broke my water, but wasn’t exactly sure. I went and got my makeup and put on eyeliner and mascara (hey, if this was “it” I didn’t want to look like a hag all day!). I was sitting in the chair and felt that trickle sensation and knew then this was the real deal. I went into our bedroom and woke Clint up and said, “baby, I’m pretty sure my water just broke.” He immediately woke up and pretended to get frantic and get excited. Although, he was excited he overreacted on purpose. He said, “I’m going to get in the shower while you call the doctor”. I called our doctor’s office emergency line and they paged the on call doctor. Dr. H (we met her at one of our visits) called me back in 2 minutes and asked me some questions and told us to eat something, shower if I want and come on in to the hospital.


We told our dogs where we were going (they knew something was up) and got everything ready, well all the things we hadn’t packed. (We have had our bags in the Murano 3 weeks previously because I have been dilated to 3cm for that long and our doctor told us we could go any time.) We left the house about 7am and stopped at McDonald’s on the way for breakfast. A huge storm was passing through that morning, so we definitely weren’t speeding the huge downpour.

We arrived at the hospital about 7:30am and I was leaking so much I forfeited the underwear and had on a dress and a towel between my legs. It is the weirdest feeling “peeing” yourself but not really!! We were the only patients arriving at the time and were checked into triage in about 10 minutes. The lady at the desk said that storms cause more women’s waters to break that full moons because of the barometric pressure. Thank God for storms. She showed us to our triage room to validate that we were in labor. The nurse came in and swabbed me with the ph paper and I had for sure broke my water. Although, she said the constant leaking and a towel between my legs were a dead give away!! The nurse hooked me up to the monitor and asked if I had had any contractions and I hadn’t or so I thought.

She said, “do you feel that?”

ME:“Um no ma’am.”

Nurse: “You are having a contraction right now.”

Me: “OH! Alright then.”

She did an internal and I was now at 4cm. YES!!!! She left to call Dr. H to let her know we were really about the get this party started and came back to wheel me into my labor and delivery room. (So exciting!!)

I got hooked up to an IV of fluids and some pitocin set at 1. Geez I hate needles. Whew. My parents got there about 9:30ish and I was now able to feel the contractions and things were moving along. Our nurse Penny ( a God-send) would come in every 15-20 and up my dosage of pitocin. I started having to breathe through them around level 3. The contractions got progressively harder and I was at level 6 when Penny asked if I wanted an epidural. I could handle the pain and was getting through them, so I told her not yet. She said if that was the case she was going on her break and I told her I would get the epidural when she got back. The back up nurse came in and was asking if I wanted one and sold me. She said, “this could take many more hours and do you want to go through that when you don’t have to?” I never had any reserves about getting the drugs and felt like I had endured the pain and knew what labor felt like, but if there is a drug that can make things that much more bearable, then order me up a round please. She called in the anesthesiologist and she arrived about 15 minutes later. The nurse said only 1 person could stay, so Clint stayed obviously and my parents left. They got me sitting up leaning over telling me everything that will happen before. It was a very weird experience and it wasn’t that horrible or painful, except for having to be completely still while having a huge needle go in your back while you are having a contraction. Things were looking good and then the anesthesiologist says, “this catheter doesn’t look right.” She calls in another lady and they start chatting about how there is some sort of kink somewhere and they have never seen this before. (GREAT!! I love to be the first for this!) After a few very scary minutes for me and Clint, they figured it out and I was on my way to happy town. My nurse Penny came back in and we waited a good 15 minutes to let everything start numbing up and then she checked me internally. I was at 4cm now at about 12:45pm. Penny had joked that she got off of work at 7pm so it would be great to have her around 5:30pm so she could get her paperwork done. Alright, Mrs. Penny I can do that. They put a catheter in me at this point and it is so weird to know they are doing something, but not be able to feel it at all.

So now I am in Happy land. Although, I can still feel the strong contractions, they are not painful.

By now, so many of our family are in the waiting room. The hospital allows 4 people other than Clint to come in and out by switching wristbands. So, it was a revolving door of family tagging in and out to come in and see how things were going. At about 4pm I was at 6cm and full effaced. We were chatting with people and laughing with our nurse telling stories. She checks me at 5pm and she is cheesing!

Penny: “what number do you want?”

ME and CLINT: “um 10 please.”

PENNY: “Well, we are at 10cm!”

ME:YAY!!!

She told us that we could start pushing and be pushing for the next couple of hours or we could turn me partly on my stomach and partly on my side and kind of let gravity help things along. We decided on gravity. We weren’t in a rush and I didn’t want to wear myself out if I didn’t have to. I got really tired and started to shake at this time while people continued to come in and out, but Clint entertained and the monitor was the entertainment for everyone. They seemed to be entranced by it. I lay there until about 5:30ish and she checked me again and said her head was right there and I thought “game on” let’s go. Penny told my family that we were going to start pushing. They left and it was me, Clint and Penny. Clint had one leg and Penny had one. We started pushing at 5:50pm. The epidural was still on, but I could feel pressure and could still push. (I would encourage keeping it on!) Penny and Clint were so encouraging. Clint had talked about being leery about watching the birth, but he said he couldn’t stop himself from looking and how amazing it was. They both asked if I wanted to watch. I declined. I have this perfect picture in my head and didn’t want to mutilate it by what things really looked like. Dr. H was hanging around and came in to just to observe the pushing process. I pushed and all of a sudden she said “stop pushing, this baby is coming.” (It’s very hard to not to push by the way.) They all frantically got ready to go and I started pushing again. At 6:07pm Ava Quinn was born. That is 17 minutes of pushing! We all were amazed it was that short of a time.

Clint went over to the warmer with Ava and they delivered the placenta (that thing is pretty amazing) and started to fix me up. I had a pretty deep 2nd degree tear and it took a good 30 minutes to stitch and make me cosmetically and functionally all right. Ava weighed in at 7lbs, 11oz and 19 ¾ inches.

Our nurse Penny was so amazing and I couldn’t have asked for a better one. She came over after and hugged and kissed me on the cheek and thanked me for letting her be a part of this experience with us. A wonderful lady! Clint and I had our special family time with our baby girl for about 30 minutes. I wouldn’t trade that special moment of family time for anything.



There is our birth story. I know it was quite long, but it was short in real life to us at least.

I want....

to introduce to you our daughter!!!!!!

Ava Quinn was born at 6:07pm July 31.  She weighed in at 7lbs 11oz and was 19 3/4 in.  I will write our birth story when I have a little more time.  We just got home today and we are so in love!  I fell in love with Clint all over and we both fell in love with Ava instantly.

Here are some pics.  I know I am biased but she really is a beautiful baby!!

After her quick arrival!!

I get to see her while I am getting "fixed" up.

Our special family moment.  We took some time to ourselves before we let anyone in to see her.

First posed family portrait!!

Look at those eyes!!

Daddy and Ava! My two favorite people in the entire world.