Chronicles of a Kappes PCS: Day 4

Here it is. The drama of a PCS. I knew it would come sooner than later. It was going to well. Not today. Today...was long as fuck. Take it from the top? Ready? It will be long, just FYI.

The morning was good. Woke up to having a one year old. My sweet little Morgan turned one and slept until 7. SCORE! Nate woke up in a good mood, too. Another great start. We had breakfast then walked over to say yet another "see you later". I won't get into that again because it sucked. Again.

After we said "see you later" to some friends, we walked over to another friend's house who just arrived. A friend I have known since FOURTH grade! It was so amazing to see her and her family and we even get to have dinner together tomorrow night. But it also sucks because that's all we get. Just 2 days. We hung out for a few then needed to head home for lunch and Morgan's nap.

We walked home, I got Morgan to sleep, and Nate earned a few minutes on my tablet. Fifteen minutes goes by and I get a phone call. A phone call from Jason saying he fainted at the Army hospital of all places. He was trying to refill our prescriptions before we left so we went into the pharmacy. He said he got dizzy then fainted nose first right on the pharmacy counter. Awesome. (insert sarcastic look) I had to go pick him up because they said he need a CAT scan at the ER which is about 10 minutes off-post.

So what did I have to do while worrying? I had to wake up a baby who had been sleeping for a whole 15 minutes. I had to take the tablet away from Nate who had earned it. Morgan is crying, Nate is crying, I am sweating. It is a hot mess. Then Morgan's car seat isn't installed. Great. So I installed a car seat with 2 grumpy kids and a husband waiting on me.

I get them situated, get Jason, and we head off to the ER. Oh yeah, did I mention he never got the prescriptions? Yep, that also happened. So we still need to get those. We knew it was going to be awhile at the ER so I took Nate to McDonald's because I was in the process of making lunch when I had to leave. McDonald's has a play area so he got a chance to eat and play while we killed some time.

Poor Jason

It was all eating and fun until Nate had to poop. At McDonald's. So. Gross.
*Disclaimer* If you don't like poop stories scroll on past this paragraph.

With no exaggeration, we were in the bathroom no less than 20 minutes. TWENTY. Because his poop was stuck. He was trying and trying. And the automatic flusher kept flushing on him. He was crying because of stuck poop and an automatic flusher. In a bathroom. Do you know how loud a cry is in a bathroom? Loud. And it echoes. I am also holding a crazy baby who hasn't napped in my arms. After 10 minutes I said, "Fuck it", and Morgan was loose on the bathroom floor. She decided to just unroll the ENTIRE roll of toilet paper. I let her do it because it was better than crawling on the floor and I was trying to calm down Nate who was yelling, "What is the poop trying to do to me?! Why is it stuck!? What does green mean!? (the green flashing light that the automatic flusher has to let you know it is about to flush) I'm pushing as hard as I can!"

I don't even want to know the faces the people must have had while they were in there. If you really want to know...the poop finally came out. And all was well again. With Nate...because I was not ok. I needed a fucking drink. I had to settle for a Dr. Pepper.

We left McDonald's and headed back to the ER after an hour and a half. Jason was still getting checked. All labs and blood came back negative. Just elevated white blood count which they said could indicate a viral infection. Stress could also be a factor. But no real concrete answer. You know what else? He never had a CAT scan. What he was sent to the ER for. What in the actual fuck!?

It's now 3pm, my mom has landed at the airport and was waiting on us to pick her up. I wasn't completely packed for the hotel. I had to take Jason back to his car at the Army hospital, go back home, finish packing, load the kids up again, then to the airport.

We picked up my mom about an hour late. Sorry, mom!
Straight from the airport we went to the hotel to check in. Then to Fritz' train restaurant for dinner to celebrate Morgan's birthday.

Dinner was fun. Thank goodness. Morgan and Nate loved the trains. The food was eh, but the ambiance was so cute. We all shared an ice cream sundae and Nate sang Happy Birthday to Morgan.

We are now back at the hotel and so ready for bed.

Hoping tomorrow will be a little less hectic. And make sure Jason takes it easy which might be a difficult task because he thinks(and usually is) a freaking super human who can do anything. 

Morgan's Birth Story

Today was my due date. June 22nd, 2015. I would've been 40 weeks pregnant with little miss Morgan. She decided to come six days early. She is already on my good list because it's what I wanted for our PCS situation. So, instead of doing a 40 week bump brief, I am writing about how she entered the world.

Here is her birth story...

The day before: I never did a 39 week bump brief. That Monday, my 39 week mark, I decided to go to the zoo with Nate. I knew it would be the last time I could do it solo before Morgan arrived. A friend and I took our boys there and were there for 4-5 hours. I felt great. I wore Nate in his Tula, I was walking around perfectly fine, not a care in the world. We had a great time and we went home for nap. While Nate napped, my friend and I started planning for the night. We wanted to take our husbands out to Dave and Buster's as a Father's Day fun night, but then another friend's husband needed his appendix out. Jason and I took Nate over to her house to watch her three kids, plus Nate. I still felt normal. I wasn't tired. I was even saying how much energy I had that day and felt like she had at least another week to cook in my belly. We babysat from 4-10-ish so our friend could be with her husband. We went home, got ready for bed, and I was asleep by 11:30pm.

And it begins...
It's 1:00am. A typical time for me to wake up and pee. Nothing unusual. I'm not sure why I looked at the toilet paper, but I did and there was blood. My mucus plug. I didn't think much about it. You can lose your mucus plug and go weeks without anything happening. I went back to bed.

2:45am. I wake up again to go pee. More blood and mucus. Go lay back down. My back started to hurt when I got back in bed so I just laid there. Had to pee again 15 minutes later. More blood and mucus and a contraction.

3:00am. I start feeling more back pain and had that one contraction. I decided I should probably download a contraction timer app just in case this was the beginning or for future use. I really didn't think I was in labor at this point, just uncomfortable.

3:27am. I started timing contractions. I must have had a few painful ones to make me start timing them. I'm not really sure, I only know this exact time because I went back and checked the app.

Contractions started to get painful, mostly in my back. They were lasting 30-45 seconds and about 4 minutes apart on average. I decided to wake Jason up and just get the idea in his head that this might be baby time. All I said was i started timing contractions, they were about 5 minutes apart, I'm getting in the shower, and that he should get some rest.

It took him a minute to process, understandably, since it was 3:30 in the morning. He quietly said "OK" and rolled over. As I was getting ready to get in the shower, he walked in the bathroom. I guess he has a better sense than me because he got up and realized he shouldn't go back to sleep.

He asked me if he should pack up the car. We hadn't even installed the car seat yet! Nate was asleep and I definitely didn't want to wake him up since he was already woken up when we left our friend's house after babysitting. I told Jason to pack the car while I showered.

I was in the shower for about 20 minutes. The hot water helped ease the pain a little bit. I got out and started timing again. They were 2-3 minutes apart and as I stood naked in the bathroom, water started to trickle down my leg. Jason watched. I told him I don't know if I peed myself or if it was my water. It didn't feel like a lot. Jason decided it was time to go.

At this point it was 5am. Jason picked out some yoga pants and my Giants shirt to wear, he got Nate in the car, and we headed to the hospital. It took me about 15 minutes to get dressed and in the car.

Oh the car ride. I could hear Nate in the back seat. "Where are we going to? I awake from a nap?" And going over steel plates during a contraction sucks. Thanks, Hawaii, for your constant road construction.

We arrived at the hospital around 5:30, Jason dropped me off at the front so he could park and get Nate out. I had to walk down a hallway, up a flight of stairs(maybe 15 total), to an elevator, up 2 floors, and down another hallway. It felt like I was walking forever.

I finally made it to the triage desk. Jason and Nate had beat me there. No surprise. They had me go in the check-in room to get in a gown so they could check me and see how far dilated I was. I said I needed to pee and it took me awhile to go pee and get that gown on.

Once I got myself together and on the bed, they called in a midwife to check me out. She looked really quick, told me she wasn't going to check me because she saw hair. WTF!? So..I have no idea how far along I was. I am assuming 9cm? The nurse put in my IV to take blood. She wrote 5:50am on the tape.

Contractions freaking hurt at this point. I could hear Jason tell me to slow down my breathing or to actually breath. He was doing this while holding Nate. The plan was to have a friend take him, but it was middle of the night and she didn't get my messages. Understandable.

I think they were trying to find a labor room for me? I really don't know. I told the nurse I felt the need to push so she called the midwife back in. Sure enough, it was time. All of a sudden, around 6 people ran in, bringing in supplies to deliver her. She told me next contraction to go ahead and push. 4 pushes and Morgan was born. Just like that. Didn't even make it to a delivery room. Nate and Jason watched the whole thing. The original plan was to have Jason catch her, but he couldn't because the room was so small and he was holding Nate.

They placed her on me, we waited for the umbilical cord to stop pulsating, then Jason and Nate, together, cut the cord. It was really amazing. Although Jason couldn't catch her, having them both cut the cord is a once in a lifetime experience. A nurse said he would take pictures of them cutting it, but them came out horrible. We don't have any other labor pictures because, again, Jason was holding Nate and it all happened so fast!

Morgan Emily Kappes. Officially a family member. Born at 6:02am, 8lbs 4.5oz, 19 1/2in. She was perfect just like her brother. Chunky little thing.

The first pictures...

Then we waited. I was taken to a recovery area until they have a room for us in the Mother/Baby unit. My friend arrived to take Nate to her house. She brought me a glazed donut and a Dr. Pepper. She knows me so well.

We finally got a room and got settled in our new home for the next at least 24 hours.

Morgan took to breastfeeding well, her brother is so excited, and we are just thrilled to have her in our family. We got discharged after about 30 hours or so and headed home to start our life as a family of four. We are complete.

Hospital Bag is Packed!

11 days until my due date!! I think he will be late, but I still want to be ready. I've asked many people want the essentials were to have in the diaper bag, what I need, and what Jason would need when we head to the hospital. There was a lot of answers and opinions...which I expected. I took every one's advice and got to packing.

What is in Nathan's diaper bag?
1. Diapers: I know the hospital has diapers, but we are using cloth and I really want to start in the hospital if possible. Crossing my fingers they fit the lil' guy.
2. Going home outfit: onesie, pants, socks, mittens, beanie
3. Two extra outfits: for pictures and in case going home outfit is too small (pants, socks, mittens, beanies)
4: Three sleepers
5. One jacket
6. Extra onesies
7. Baby Ugg (fake) boots
8. One receiving blanket
9. Scarf: because it's cold and for pictures
10: Two pacifiers

I'm sure this is way too much, but it fits all in the diaper bag.

Organized to make sure I have everything.

What is in mommy and daddy's bag?
Dad's stuff:
1. Pajamas
2. Pair of pants
3. Pair of shorts
4. Two shirts
5. Two pairs of socks and boxers
Mom's stuff:
1. Going home outfit: yoga pants, tank top, cardigan, jacket
2. Two pairs of comfy socks
3. Undies: will probably use the mesh ones I keep hearing about at the hospital though...
4. Two sports bras and One nursing bra
5. Two tanks with built in bras
6. Toiletries: shampoo, conditioner, body wash, hair ties, toothpaste, toothbrush, hair spray, mousse, face wipes, Q-tips
7. Tennis ball: to relieve back pain while in labor

This is probably another bag with way too much, but again, all this fits in one overnight duffel bag.

Last minute items and non-bag items?
1. Phones and chargers
2. Camera and charger
3. Ipod
4. Make-up bag and brush
5. Snacks
6. Kindle, books, magazine
7. Pillow: I want mine :)
8. Car seat with bundle me and blanket
9. Boppy
10. Feed cats: gotta take care of our fur babies, too

List is on our fridge.

Everything is sitting in the nursery. I'm not putting it by the front door because I don't think we will be sprinting out. Also, our cats would have a field day with all that stuff on the floor.

This is a picture of all the loot!

Can't even take a picture without those curious kitties. :)

We shall see if I packed enough, too much, necessary and/or unnecessary things. We only live 10 minutes away from the hospital, so I'm not worried if we forgot something. I'm trying to stay in a "go with the flow" mentality. Trying is the key word. I am fighting the urge to look in the diaper bag and our bag multiple times a day to make sure we have everything.