Two days before Valentine’s Day I went to the hospital to have my blood drawn to check its platelet count. Unfortunately, the count was a little lower than they wanted it to be, but it wasn’t going to upset our plans. The doctor told me we’d draw my blood again before the surgery to see if anything had changed, but at this point they’d just make sure to have extra platelets available and we’d continue to have the c-section as scheduled.

So, the morning of the c-section my husband Ty and I checked in at 5:30 a.m. and the nurses began prepping me for the surgery. My blood was drawn and we waited for the results. Then, the anesthesiologist came in with surprising news: my platelet count was down and he wasn’t comfortable giving me a spinal because of the bleeding risks. So, alternatively, they planned to put me under.

Putting me under general anesthesia meant that I wouldn’t be awake for the birth of the baby, obviously, but it also meant that Ty couldn’t watch from the other side of the curtain like the dads normally do during c-sections. Instead, they’d allow him to be in the OR but he’d have to watch from the other side of the curtain. And… because I wasn’t going to experience the birth they’d even let him record it!

My nerves really blew-up over the thought of going under. However, I trusted the doctors and anesthesiologist and tried to be brave. I’d had a c-section before and knew what to expect, but I really had no idea what it’d be like to have a baby WHILE I WAS ASLEEP.

Things moved really quickly. I felt everything they did to prep me for the surgery, and although some of it was uncomfortable I knew better than to complain about a little sting here and there. After all, I could be PUSHING out a baby, right? I did that for three hours with my son before having the c-section. I knew things could hurt A LOT more. My nerves had me shaking as I waited for the anesthesia, which I’d be getting via the IV.

The next thing I knew I was in another room and my husband walked in gently jiggling our baby girl in his arms. I never felt like I even went to sleep. My awareness went right from one moment to the next. The birth was lost time.

I have to say, although not being awake the moment my daughter was born was disappointing, it was likely the easiest possible way to have a baby! The recovery, of course, was the hard part. I’d like to thank the doctors and nurses at Bartlett for their great care! Special shout out to MJ!

Oh, and yes, Dr. Valentine delivered Kristin on Valentine’s Day! Thank you, Dr. Valentine!

Fortunately, my husband was able to record enough of baby Kristin’s first moments for me to make this little video.

Read more birth stories from other Juneau Moms!

Here’s a little video of what you can expect from Toddler Time at the Rock Dump:

Also, for more information, read “Where toddlers rule: New Toddler Time at the Rock Dump aims to expand user base of local climbing gym“ from the Juneau Empire

The Rock Dump is located at 1310 Eastaugh Way, just past downtown off Thane Rd.

lilsugar.com

If you love sporting the newest trends in baby gear you’ll want to see what’s going to be hitting store shelves in 2013!

Website lilsugar has a preview of almost 100 products that were on display this fall at the ABC Kids Expo.

REACH is located at 213 E. 3rd St. downtown.

Elmo sings with the band Train on a new episode of ‘Sesame Street’

A lot has changed in the 13 years Sesame Street has been running the segment “Elmo’s World.” If you and your family watch the show regularly you may have noticed how some things seem outdated. My personal favorite is the episode about photography, in which a little girl explains how she takes pictures. First her mom helps her put film in the camera, then she looks through the viewfinder and clicks the button. When she’s done taking pictures, they take the film to get developed and wait a few days for their prints. Ha! Film? Developed? What? That’s so last century!

So, Sesame Street and Elmo are moving on to a new musical segment focusing on math, science and engineering. Read more about it in the article: ‘Sesame Street’ Switching Things Up for Elmo

According to NBC Nightly News, a new study determines that it is okay to let your baby cry until he falls asleep. Click here to see the story, Study: Ok to cry it out.

You do not have to answer every question. Deadline is Wednesday, September 26.

Brevin and I playing at Savikko Park

I will admit that I feel like I’ve struggled to adjust to life as a mom, and especially life as a stay-at home mom. I, like most mothers, really want to do everything right and realizing I can’t has really frustrated me. I mean, first of all, I don’t really know what doing everything right means for me. Obviously every mom is different with different opinions on how to do things, but where exactly do I stand? I have big worries and small ones. Am I doing the right thing by staying at home with my kids instead of continuing on with my career? Am I off to the right start with nurturing my child’s development? Is it okay that Brevin still drinks from a Nuby sippy cup? Should we have moved on already? What if we struggle with potty training?

On the other hand, with a two year old and another baby on the way I am also really concerned about savoring every moment of these fleeting stages of pregnancy, babyhood and early childhood. I may not have a clue what I’m doing as a mom, but I don’t want to spend so much time worrying about how I’m doing that I don’t appreciate these precious experiences.

I recently found an article, “What We Wish We Knew Then,” that spoke to me about what parents really end up regretting when their kids are grown. Was it all about how long they were able to nurse their babies? No. Was it about how and when they potty-trained their toddlers? Nope. It was less about sweating the small stuff and more about enjoying the little things.

So, if your head is spinning like mine is, take a few minutes to read about what other parents wish they’d known. It might help you see your stage of parenting from a new perspective.

Sample Meal Train from Peas and Thank You

Making dinners for families in the event of a new baby is not a new idea. However, these days it’s much easier too coordinate who brings what and when with the help of the internet. My friends and I are using Meal Train, but there are other sites, like Meal Baby, that offer the same service. Both are free to join and use.

Of course, we all remember how all-consuming having a newborn can be. Add the stream of visitors and who has time to cook? It’s such a blessing to have something homemade that you can just pop in the oven or microwave!

With sites like Meal Train you can post information about how many people to cook for, dietary preferences, a drop-off time and address and any other special instructions. That way contributors will know if the grandparents will be visiting and if someone in the family has an allergy or aversion to something.

Dropping off your meal to the family also gives you the opportunity to set up an “appointment” to visit that new baby!

You may decide to bring other goodies along with the meal. When my son was born a friend brought us a reusable shopping bag full of snacks like Gardetto’s, M&M’s, bananas, and apple sauce, along with other fun stuff like gum and chap stick. The bag was packed full and I thought it was just the most awesome gift! I’ve been bringing my friends muffins. For fun, I thought I’d post the recipe for the Strawberry Surprise Muffins I made for my friend Karen.

Strawberry Surprise Muffins
Adapted from Perfectly Simple Muffins

1 3/4   cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup vegetable oil
strawberry jam

Streusel Topping
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp flour
2 tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix ingredients until well blended. Fill greased or lined muffin pans 1/3 full. Add 1 teaspoon of jam and then fill pans with more batter so that they are 2/3 full.

Mix ingredients for streusel topping. Sprinkle on top of muffins and bake for 15-20 minutes.