Sarah

We're finally home! After 14 hours of travel yesterday (LONG layover) we got home at 3:00 this morning. I'm busy catching up on nearly 17,000 unread posts (you girls were busy!) and nearly 200 emails- not including my junk mail... yup, that's a lot of email! Anyway, we had a wonderful time. We spent June 1-5th at Dreams with Tammy, Steve, Jackson, and their family/friends. We really feel like part of their family- their parents are great, and Tammy & Steve made us feel right at home. Jackson is absolutely adorable, too cute for words. He has such a great personality If we do a BDW reunion trip next year, you all need to try to get there- Tammy & I had a great time just hanging out, chatting, catching up and reminiscing about our weddings, while doing some hard-core relaxation! After our 4 days at Dreams, we moved to Club Cascadas de Baja, downtown Cabo. My parents have a timeshare that we could use there, so we took advantage and extended our vacation. We were in Cabo for 12 wonderful days and are quite refreshed! Club Cascadas definitely has an "Old Mexico" feel to it, there are no tvs, phones, radios, or clocks in your rooms, so it really makes you relax. It's right next to Tabascos on the beach and a short walk (<15 min) to downtown, so we did a lot of shopping/sightseeing. Here are a few pics for you picture junkies... The ever adorable Jackson: Tammy, Steve, & Jackson at the welcome dinner: Tammy, Jackson & I: Jeff & I: Tammy & Steve: More Jackson: More Jeff &I : There was a sunken sailboat in front of Cascadas: Me being goofy: More to come...

Congrats Morgan! Love the sombreros...

Hey Erin! Just catching up on my 17,000 posts from while I was gone and found this... they turned out great! I love how you put them together

Just wanted to send out a little FYI.... I just got back from vacation and have a TON of monogram requests. I'm obviously behind my 48 hour turnaround, and have a bunch of other work I have to get done so it's going to be sometime within the next week when I get to everyone's monograms. Thanks for your patience

Woohoo! Welcome to the mod squad girls! You have no idea what you're in for... lol, j/k.... just help us hold the fort down, that's all

Alright off to bed I go. Two hours until we leave for the airport! Woohoo! See you all in a couple weeks

Oh we will, no worries I'm going to be an absolute paparazzi taking pics of Jackson I'm sure...lol

Quote: Originally Posted by Kat81 OMG Sarah! Congrats sweetie! A BABY! I tell ya.... you all are contagious! Have fun on your trip Thanks Kathi! Yeah, there's definitely something going on around here... this wasn't exactly planned, but nonetheless we're excited

Quote: Originally Posted by Kryztan Awww what great news! Congrats:) Have a great trip. You remind me of me. haha I went on a cruise when I was 8 weeks:) Well, I'm hoping I can stop puking long enough to enjoy my trip! lol I'm still determined to have a great time THanks!

Woohoo! Jeff & I are just finishing our packing. We'll be gone to Cabo from the 1st-12th. I'm soooo excited. This is technically our late anniversary trip, but also our last big vacation for a while since I'm pregnant! Some of you already know, but for those of you that don't, this is the big announcement I'm 8 weeks right now, so it's still a little scary, but we're being positive and hoping for a great pregnancy. So, I'll be gone from here for almost 2 weeks- I wonder how many thousands of unread posts I'll have when I get back! Also, for those of you that have me working on projects for you, I'll be back to work on June 14th and will answer all your emails then...

Wow Ann, she's growing up so fast. She just looks older I love her pink rocker outfit- those are little guitars, right? So cute. That's great that you got to be there for her bath. How fun! I'm going to miss so much over the next two weeks She'll be all grown up by the time I get back! And you're silly, we're never sick of her pictures!

Happy birthday sweetie! I hope you have the best birthday EVER xoxo

Gorgeous Mishka! I spent some time going through your galleries. You've done some amazing weddings

Those turned out great Mandy! I love that bird of paradise

Go get an Rx for Valtrex, the herpes medication. Cold sores are a herpes virus, and if you take Valtrex as soon as you feel one coming on, it significantly reduces the length of time it lasts. You also can take one a day prophylactically if you have a big event coming up and want to be sure you don't get one...

Quote: Originally Posted by JessicaLovesBrian Oh, good conversation. I miss so much when I sign on late in the day. I'm so glad this is a respectful discussion. I remember once having this discussion on another board (a parenting forum) and there were personal attacks and much name calling. So pointless! I totally agree Jessica. It really is a subject people are very passionate about, for obvious reasons. That's one of the reasons why I love this forum so much. I think we're pretty good at agreeing to disagree around here...

I have 2 things, that equal over 12k but I'd do them again in a heartbeat... 1) Pay for my mom, dad, brother, SIL, and niece to come to the wedding. We spent over 6k on their travel, but I wouldn't trade that family vacation for anything. My brother left for Air Force basic training the week after my wedding and that family vacation together is still one of our family's best memories. We talk about Cabo all the time and about how we can't wait to do it again. My family could never afford that type of vacation, so it really was a once-in-a-lifetime sort of thing for us to all be together like that. It was priceless. 2) Our wedding bands. We spend a ridiculous amount on just our bands (don't even get me started on what Jeff spent on my e-ring, despite the fabulous deal he got) but we LOVE our wedding bands. I don't think I've ever seen a guy show off his wedding band like Jeff does. It's truly his most prized possession.

Quote: Originally Posted by Alyssa Sarah, I don't take any offense - I value your medical opinion. I also think you know from our private conversation that K and I are serious about getting the 'best of both worlds' in terms of going natural in a hospital setting if it is healthy and allowed by what the baby needs. I am not adamant about anything, all I have ever said is that is the way WE WANT to go. I feel very strongly that nobody should be condemned for having a C-section, elective or not just as nobody should be condemned for trying to have natural childbirth. I absolutely understand Alyssa. We've talked about this one before Honestly, you're probably the most likely to make it without an epidural of anyone I know- you're a tough cookie! And I think that's the best attitude to have about things- know which way you want to go, and have an open mind. You'll have the best experience that way... I couldn't agree with you more- natural, c/s, either way- it's your own personal decision, and only you can decide your level of comfort with either scenario. I just hate it when misinformed people bash another point of view.

Quote: Originally Posted by starchild I love the idea of a midwife and would totally like to do it as natural as possible. Generally I would trust a grandma who has delivered 50 babies over many doctors, but I'm kind of deterred by Sarah's experiences. I know she didn't share to scare or deter anyone, but if that's what she sees as a L&D nurse...I wonder if the midwives in her cases were just ignorant or if it's dangerous in general? I need to do my own research on this. Alyssa maybe you and I will be the BDW midwife test cases..lol I'm not anti-midwife. I really like the midwife at my OBGYN office. I just think she's willing to take chances I'm just not, in the spirit of going the "natural" route. And in her defense, she's as interventional as her patients tolerate, if that makes sense. To be honest, most of the patients of hers that push for 4 hours and then deliver a gorked kid do so because they won't take any instruction from her, won't take any instruction from the nurse, and insist that their "bodies will tell them what to do" and push half-assed because it hurts. These are also the same people that will refuse antibiotics in labor, because it's "unnatural", again, in the spirit of their bodies being smart and knowing what to do. Then their baby ends up on a vent in resp. distress getting IV antibiotics because it's septic. Guess what women? Sometimes our bodies DON'T know what's best for us! Why do placentas abrupt? Why do cords knot? Why do all those things happen if our bodies know what's best for us? I can't tell you the heartache I've seen as a result of that thinking... Quote: Originally Posted by Alyssa Jamy, I have actually had extensive conversations with Sarah about Midwives and she is very much PRO midwife, her concerns are around 'the right midwives' and dealing with a group that is integrated into a hospital (in case things happen). (Sarah - sorry for speaking for you! I will leave room for you to interject) So, I am going with an OBGYN group that has a bunch of Dr.'s, NPT and midwives that all work together. I don't like to chew gum b/c it has artificial shit in it, i never take tylenol or advil for pain, eat organic, etc. i can not imagine getting meds unless of an extreme emergency. i also have a high tolerance for pain and would expect childbirth to hurt like hell but feel like we will do our best to prepare to mentally accept the pain and just deal with it. does that make sense? No problem, I kinda answered above. I have no problem doing things as natural as possible. In fact, my favorite delivery I've ever done, to date, was with a midwife, where the women used hypnobirthing techniques, and delivered naturally. And here's the BEST part about that delivery.... her fetal heart tones looked like CRAP. But never bad enough that an imminent c-section was necessary. However, she couldn't be intermittently monitored- she had to stay on the monitors at all times. She was reasonable, and after discussing with the CNM and & the reasons why she needed an IV and needed to be monitored, she agreed. It was such a nice delivery, the woman was so in-control, the people in the room so respectful of her delivery wishes, it was just awesome. That is the best of both worlds- keeping everything as natural as possible, yet using medical intervention when necessary. And Alyssa, please don't take this the wrong way...(also Calia)... I have patients like you ALL the time. You do everything natural, you don't want anything for pain, you don't take meds at home, you don't want an epidural, you don't want pain meds, etc. Well, you also never gone through labor. I wish I had a dollar for every patient that adamantly didn't want pain meds/epidural when she admitted to the hospital. And I'm very respectful of that- I'm all for delivering naturally if that's what you want, and I'll do everything I can to help my patients achieve that goal. But, I'm also there to do what my patients decide is the best thing for them during their labor, within the realm of safety, and 9 times out of 10, they are begging me for an epidural before they're 5cm. I can't tell you how many girls I've tried to talk out of it, how I've encouraged that they can make it, don't give up on your goal! Nope, they can't take it, they want an epidural. No, it's not the hospital pushing these all-natural girls into getting an epidural like TBOBB and some of those articles would like you to think. It's the patient demanding one because someone told them the pain is a spiritual experience, that it's worth it in the end, that their delivery "wasn't that bad" and so they thing theirs will be the same way. Quote: Originally Posted by Christine well said Nicole. Jamy and Alyssa, I have a friend from my prenatal yoga class that labored for 30 hours at a birth center and wound up being rushed to the hospital for an emergency c-section. That story alone is a good reason for me to labor in a hospital. Can you imagine laboring for 30 hours with no meds at all, not only would you be to tired to push the kid out your baby would be to tired to work to come out. I think that someone said it well (possibly Sarah) it doesn't matter how the baby comes out, only that is comes out healthy and happy, because in the end we all get the same trophy-a beautiful baby! Could you imagine also having a 4th-degree laceration (where your vajayjay and butthole become one!) and not having anyone trained to repair that kind of tear? And then, because it's been open for 4 hours (yes, FOUR HOURS before they saw it necessary to try to repair it... probably because she was in a tub, or breastfeeding or something else- never mind infection risk!) no one will touch it. Our unit wouldn't take her, the other hospital in town wouldn't take her... she ended up having to go to the ER. Could you imagine? Going to an ER right after delivering your baby... non-hospital birth centers are scary places. Oh the stories I could tell you. That's a mild one. Yes, Christine. That's my favorite line. It's usually handed out to the girls that are having a complete emotional breakdown and are in hysterics because they decide they want to get an epidural, or they're going to have a c-section, or some other loss of an unrealistic dream they have... no one gives out prizes at the end of labor for those who did it without pain meds, or pushed out an 11-pounder vaginally, or refused their c-section. Everyone gets the same trophy- a beautiful baby. All that other stuff pales in comparison.

Oh wow Missy. I am so terribly sorry. I'll say a prayer for your family and your friend's family. What a horrible thing to go through...

OK, I could write a short novel here... as a Labor & Delivery nurse, I too am alarmed at the rising number of c-sections. But, I can tell you that there is sooooooo much more to the story than is evident in these articles. They are definitely written in an anti-c/s point of view. The rising percentage of c/s in the US is a result of many factors, and I will be the first to agree that physician convenience is occasionally a contributor. However, this is LARGELY the exception, not the rule. In my 3 years as a L&D nurse, I can think of THREE c/s that I attended and thought they were for a BS reason. Regardless of whether it is right or not, fear of litigation is a ruling factor in ALL American medicine, and obstetrics holds the highest rate of litigation- for obvious reasons. Here's the thing (and probably a novel concept for non-medical personnell): PATIENTS are to blame for this, NOT the medical professionals. Doctors and nurses are only responding to the enviroment in which we've been forced to work. If your baby is having decelerations that are ominous, and yet we delay a c/s (as many of these articles, and other anti-c/s advocates) because we are "relying" on a machine, sure, things might turn out just fine. But what if they don't? Yup, you'll sue us. I, the nurse, the doctor, and all involved are going to get dragged into court. Do you know that the hospital has QI initiatives to improve the "call to cut" time for c-sections? That means we need to get patients to the OR FASTER becase of bad outcomes. Also, in response to the article about preterm infants and higher c-section rates, consider this.... in the US, women have way more comorbidities than in any other country. We deliver women who weigh 500lbs, are diabetic, have cardiac issues, have major health issues- in another country these women would either not become pregnant, wouldn't keep their pregnancy, or would die before they got the chance to go into labor! lol We have advanced medicine to such a point that NOTHING is natural anymore. Natural selection would weed these patients out- they simply wouldn't survive pregnancy, much less have the opportunity to become a statistic. This is also why we have so many more complications in this country- the obesity alone is a HUGE contributor. Another thought: Do you have any idea how many elective inductions we do? Many of these result in a c-section. These are inductions purely for the patient's convenience. Not because the doctors are making them- these women WANT to be delivered, regardless of the method. Ask poor Christine, who can't sleep, can't eat, can't do anything right now she's so uncomfortable. I bet, given the option, that she'd have to resist hard not to pick an induction or c-section right now rather than wait almost another month. We'll labor people for DAYS before we finally have to do a c-section. Have you seen "The Business of Being Born"? It's a documentary by Ricki Lake. You'd probably like it- it's definitely anti c/s. But, it's full of so many contradictory statements, and misinformation it's maddening. However, to the lay person, it's taken as gospel truth. How many babies have CP and other disorders related to oxygen deprivation related to deliveries where intervention was denied? I could tell you absolute HORROR stories of things that have happened at our local "Birth Center" run by midwives. Yes, I could tell you horror stories of things that happened in the hospital too- but those are things that happened despite our ability to intervene. Bad things happen in a birth center because people are too ignorant to know what intervention is needed. Yes, women have been having babies for thousands of years. And it is a natural process. But, if you knew something could save your life, or save your baby's life, wouldn't you want that option? The last 2 infant codes I've been in on have been midwife deliveries, btw...deliveries without fetal monitoring, without much intervention, etc. Sorry if I sound harsh, but there is soooo much ignorance on this topic. It is a huge problem. But, it's not just the medical system's problem. It starts with the patient, and the choices that patients make.

I just can't get over how huge she is Ann. What does she weigh now. Is she gaining yet? I'm so happy with how things are going. Like you, I'm cautiously optimistic. But, I have to say, things seem to be going really well so far So happy for you guys!

Quote: Originally Posted by jean-marcus i didnt get any cake... it was all served up before i got a chance to snag a slice... saddnesss cake is the reason i do what i do. its not the travel, or the money, or the creativness or the people or the fact i get to have the best job in the world... ITS THE CAKE haha Ya know JM? I often feel that way too. Although not a photographer, I often feel as though my sole purpose in life is to eat cake. Well, pizza too, but cake is the most important...lol

Very nice And I'm in love with her cake...

Congratulations! It seemed like the boys were taking over on here for a while, and now we have a run of girls