Catch up...Life as a new mommy

Mom is staying with us for 2 weeks. Even though she is driving me insane at times, she is a HUGE help. She's been cooking me all this good Korean food that is supposed to be good for post partum. I love her. My sister came to visit for a few days too...it's weird to see how she handles babies. I can't believe she's an aunt...and I can't believe that my mom is a GRANDMA!!! My mom is too hot to be a grandma...lol

Not bad for just giving birth, huh?

Dannika Jane Romer was born on July 12, 2009 at 1227AM. She weighed 8lbs even and the hospital recorded her at 19 inches...even though she was actually 21...lol. 

My labor and delivery was crazy. Here are the details...

So I started having horrible cramps on Friday evening, and on Saturday evening, I gave in and Nick convinced me to go to the hospital on base to get looked at. I didn't think I was in labor or anything. So we drove the 45 mins it takes to get there from our house to get looked at. I was 4cm dilated (this is on my due date). Normally, that is protocol for hospitals to admit someone who is dilated that far...or at least tell them to go walk around for an hour and come back. Well..they told me they couldn't do anything for me and sent me home with a prescription for Ambien to help me sleep that night with some tylenol. I left the hospital and got home around 930 Saturday evening. I was in so much pain! so by 11pm, Nick said "F" it, and took me to Mission Hospital (5 mins away from my house) to the emergency room. By this point, I felt like I was gonna die...literally. When we got there, they took me straight to labor and delivery...I had peed all over myself (attractive thought, huh?). My water had broke on me in the wheel chair on the way to labor and delivery. I was screaming in pain. They could not believe that the naval hospital sent me home on my due date when I was 4 cm dilated! I was begging for the epidural as soon as i got there and was screaming bloody murder (Nick has the scratches on his arm to prove it). I don't think I've ever been in so much pain in my life! We were waiting on the anesthesiologist, but in a span of 10 mins, I went from 5 cms to 10....so basically...too late to get an epidural. As soon as I heard the words "it's too late for an epidural"...that's when I started panicking. Nowhere in birth plan had I ever imagined giving birth without medication. I started freaking out and yelling obscenities at the staff...

Well...I gave birth...all naturale...to a healthy bouncing baby girl...8lbs...19 inches...in a span of 30 minutes. the doc told me I coulda been in a birthing video. Either way...it was the most awful...most beautiful experience ever.

Oh yeah...postpartum sucks. It's worse than being pregnant, but when I look at my beautiful angel, it's all worth it. I still can't believe that she was inside of me just one week ago!!! Thankfully, Nick has been absolutely wonderful. He has been doing A LOT for me...night time feedings...and waiting on me hand and foot. I am so blessed that God gave me such a wonderful husband and father to my child.

Life after baby has been a little hectic. It's been overwhelming at times, and I'm sure a lot of it is my hormones. I'm a little sad about having to go back to work in 6 weeks and having to trust her with a stranger in daycare. I guess that is life.

Other than that...I have never been so in love with anyone in my entire life...Having Dannika has been like falling in love all over again. I haven't felt this good since I first fell in love with Nick :-)

New Home...New Future!

Still no baby...

thank God though, cause I don't know how we would have moved with me being in the hospital with a baby. Nick has been absolutely wonderful. He's been doing EVERYTHING....moving, putting blinds up, setting up the cable/inernet, fixing the toilets, fixing the ceiling fan, fixing the garage, hanging pictures of for me a million times cause I keep changing my mind on how I want it hung....cleaning...we're not used to doing all this stuff ourselves!! The ONLY thing I'll miss about apartment living is the fact that if something didn't work, they fixed it for us. We're finally ALMOST settled in. For the most part we have everything done, but our new house has so much wall space that I don't know what I want to do with it yet. I have so many new decorating ideas, but I gotta cut down on our spending! I love love love our new house though. We got a brand new frontloading washer and dryer. It is pretty much the most amazing washer and dryer I have ever had. We got a brand new stainless steel Samsung fridge too! I'm soo excited about it. The Best Buy guys delivered it this week, but the fridge doesn't fit through our door to the kitchen or through the dining room entrance...sooooo...we have to wait until tomorrow so that they can come with a 4 man team and lift it over our counter. It's been kinda crappy not having a fridge for the past couple days...you never know what you have until you don't have it. Anywys, other than that, I'm still sitting here waiting on the arrival of Miss Dannika Jane...I just hope she doesn't decide to be fashionably late!!!

Labor??? Just kidding!

I went in for a check up today. I was (still am) sweating like a pig, have a ton of pelvic pressure, and just down right uncomfortable. The doc checked me and told me I was 3cm dilated. She said I looked like I was in labor cause I was sweating so bad and the hospital was comfortably air conditioned. She told me to go walk around for an hour or two and go to labor and delivery. Well, Nick and I kinda freaked out cause we weren't prepared for that news. I had driven my govt vehicle to the hospital...sooooo...here are the sequence of events....

1. Drove from base to my apt to pick up my overnight bag

2. Drove from my apt to my work to drop off my govt vehicle

3. Picked up my car and Nick got in his truck (that he left at my work)

4. Drove back to the apt to drop off Nick's truck.

5. Stopped at Mickey D's to grab some food.

6. Drove back on base to the hospital...

(this all took 2 hours and some change)

Only to find out I only dilated like half a centimeter more and am having no contractions...

which means...

they can't admit me. 

And they think Baby Dannika is really long...so she got Nick's tall gene...

However, on the bright side...we got the keys to our home today!!!!! We officially move TOMORROW!!! Baby Dannika will have a room!!

Done Baking 38 weeks

Well, at least I feel like I'm "done", but mother nature obviously doesn't think so. Miss Dannika has not made her debut into the world yet. The days and weeks are getting so loooong. The nights are restless, and poor Nick doesn't get any sleep either cause of me. I have to pee like every 5 minutes, and I can feel her wiggling inside of me in the very lower part of my pelvis. It's totally weird. At my 37 week check up, my doctor said she was head down and let me feel her little butt at the top of my tummy. We are getting ready to move into our new home next week, and I am just hoping that she stays inside of me until the move is complete, and I can set up her nursery! I am SOO excited to finally have a house that Nick and I can call our own. We started packing up our little apartment, and it's still a little bittersweet. I mean afterall, this was OUR first home, and in the short year we've lived here, we've created a lot of memories in it. We went to Best Buy yesterday and bought a brand new stainless steel fridge and a frontloading washer/dryer set. It was 3600 bucks for all of that!!!! I am still excited though, cause it's OUR appliances. The photos from Melissa Lyn Photography came in, and they turned out GREAT. I am posting the slideshow at the end of it...be warned...it might make you cry! I can't wait till the infant photoshoot when Dannika is born. 

Here is the link to our maternity shoot

http://www.melissalynphotography.com/slideshows/romermaternity09

Oh, and lastly...cause I want Dannika to read this when she is older...

Rest In Peace....

Michael Jackson

Farah Fawcett

Ed McMahon

and Jon & Kate are divorcing :-(

weeks 34 and 35

Ok. I know I suck at keeping up with this thing, but the whole being pregnant thing has been sucking. I've had a pretty good pregnancy up until now. The last month is kicking my ass...heartburn, indigestion, sleepless nights, constipation (ok, I'm sure you didn't care to read that last one...). This month has also been dragging by. I swear it feels like the longest month of my life! Miss Dannika has figured out how to kick my ribs constantly and squirm around on my bladder. It makes me feel like I have to pee constantly...even though I don't have to. My mom is coming out here on July 7th. I don't know how I feel about that. Everyone keeps telling me that she'll drive me crazy...which I'm sure she will. I can only take her in small doses...sorry mom...I love ya to death still. Other than that, I have a professional maternity photo session tomorrow on San Clemente Beach with Melissa Lyn Photography. Her portraits are GORGEOUS, and I am absolutely thrilled about it! I've also already booked her for a newborn session as well. 600 BUCKS!!!! Pictures are priceless though, so I'm trying not to think about what i am spending on them. For other big news, Nick and I went into escrow last week on a condo in San Juan Capistrano. It's absolutely gorgeous. Maplewood floors, crown molding, granite countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms, bathrooms with designer tile, updated stainless steel appliances...2 car garage...It is absolutely EXACTLY what we have been looking for, for the past 5 months or so. As long as everything goes good with escrow, we should close on the 30th and be able to move in before the baby gets here...that is as long as she doesn't decide to come into the world early. So, there's my update. See...told ya nothing toooooo interesting has happened!