Birth story

I am shocked at how many people read birth stories. I enjoy reading some every now and then. I really like to know what other people went through and what to expect. My daughter's birth story is not very exciting but I know I read a lot about inductions when I was going to get one so here it goes.

Monday, January 5th 2015 at 4:00AM we woke up to head to the hospital; it was about 28 degrees outside. We had gone out to dinner and a movie the night before trying to hold our anxiety at bay, but that wasn't really successful. I remember thinking as my husband drove us to the hospital that everything was about to change. I was filled with every kind of emotion there was. 

When we arrived, the receptionist at the main entrance of the hospital wished us luck and we went up to the second floor, labor and delivery. We checked in at 5:30AM, got out super official wrist bands and got our room. By 7:30 we had filled out all the paper work, been hooked up to all the machines and started the pitocin. This is also when I met my two new best friends Amira, my nurse, and Dr. Bowe, my anesthesiologist. Shortly after we became acquainted, my doctor came in and broke my water. This is not a painful expierence. A little uncomfortable and wet, but not painful.

At first I was just so excited we were finally going to have a baby. I labored for about 4 hours while Miles and I watched TV and he fed me ice chips. After about 4cm I called in my friend Dr. Bowe, sadly she was in a c-section and I labored in pain for about an hour. Just as I was about ready to jump out of the bed and choke someone, she appeared to save the day. Epidurals do not hurt, well they might, but not as bad as active labor. If you are one that had a med free birth, you are a super hero. It wasn't something I was willing to put myself through. After the epidural I tried to sleep for about 2 hours. I say tried because I was constantly being moved. My baby's heart beat was unstable because of the pitocin. After two doctors and two nurses were in my room at the same time, I started to worry a little and sleep wasn't going to happen. 

Once baby's heart was more stabilized, they started the petocin again. By this time it was almost 4 o'clock and I was starting to feel a pressure in my right hip. I couldn't get comfortable since I couldn't move my legs very well, so I called in my bff. When she came in to up my epidural, my nurse informed her that I would be pushing soon so she wouldn't give me too much. What?! It's time? My nurse did one last cervical check and told me I was "complete" the word that every labor ing mother longs for! 

At that point there was a table brought in that was covered. We were told not touch anything under there since it was sterile, yeah okay let me just jump on out of this bed with numb legs. They also brought in a tiny diaper and a little hat, this is when my husband got excited. It had been almost 12 hours and he doesn't do well with daytime television, he was ready. 

My nurse came in for the final time after getting someone to keep an eye on her other patient. She took my bed apart, the bottoms drop off, qand took her place. She was a fantastic coach, I always thought pushing would be like having a horrible bowel movement but it's really like an awkward crunch. Pushing also isn't like the movies, you take breaks in between contractions. After about 5 rounds of pushing, my doctor came in. She had been waiting to deliver my baby and since it was already 5:40, I knew it was generous of her. While she suited up we apparently missed two sets of contractions, I don't know, I didn't feel a thing. Once she was in place I did one more set of pushing and my baby was here. January 5, 2015 at 5:59PM

They placed her on my belly/chest and I stared at her in amazement while my lady parts were being sewn back together. My husband, being well trained, took lots of very appropriate pictures of the first moments of our daughter's life. She stayed in the delivery room with me for an hour. After that her daddy accompanied her to the nursey for her first bath and such. That's when I got to eat for the first time in almost 24 hours.

After I ate they came in to clean me up and clear out the room for the next lady! My new nurse was not nearly as kind and as loving as my day nurse Amira. She came in and  ripped the epidural tape off my back, that hurt almost as much as labor, then I tried to walk. That was interesting. They wanted me to try to pee since I had had a catheter, the nurse helped to the toilet and when I went to sit down I fell into the wall. That was awesome! Then I was given the beautiful hospital underwear and wheeled up to my post partum room. I was feeling good and ready for my baby. We said goodbye to all of our visitors for the night and enjoyed out first night as parents. 

3rd Trimester

One day I am going to get together bad blog when things actually happen. Our daughter was born on January 5th, but there will be more on that later. 

The third trimester was easy in the beginning. The second tri honeymoon was awesome. I was fortunate that I had very limited swelling. The only day it was bad was when I coached a basketball tournament at 36 weeks pregnant. My ankles quickly turned in to cankles 

December was a very uncomfortable month for me. I started to get the "I've been pregnant forever" attitude and became very anxious to meet my girl. At my OB appointment on the 22nd I asked about going back to work on the 5th of January. My doctor and I decided that since my LMP due date would have been December 28th ,and I work 2 and a half hours from the hospital, that we would induce on the 5th if she didn't come on her own. There is no joy when you're 37 weeks pregnant than knowing a for sure date you won't be pregnant anymore! 

I did not see the high risk OB after Thanksgiving because they were seeing more serious cases during the holidays. When we did see her, she looked great at every scan so I wasn't worried. 

They last few weeks of pregnancy were hard, especially being that pregnant during the holidays. Although I didn't love being pregnant, I did enjoy it and it is so worth the prize in the end. 

2nd trimester

With only 8 weeks to go, I feel the need to update our story. I went back and forth with myself about how much to share about this very eventful trimester. I finally decided to share it all.

Like most parents we were excited to enter the 2nd trimester. We announced to everyone on Facebook that we were adding to our family and the excitement began.

At 20 weeks we had our ultrasound. We were both very nervous and excited to see our little for the first time in 14 weeks! It was wonderful to see how much change had happened,the little blob from the first ultrasound was now looking like a real baby! We also found out that the baby is a girl! While we waited to see the doctor after the ultrasound we talked about what her name would be and how we were so sure it was a boy. 

We were not expecting any complications so you can imagine the shock when we were told there may be something wrong. They had seen a spot on her heart, an echogenic intracardiac focus. The doctor was sure it was nothing to worry about and ordered a genetic blood test for "peace of mind".

A few days later I got a call from the doctor. I knew it wasn't good because with her no news is always good news. We were told we be referred to a high risk specialist for further ultrasounds because our daughter has Turners Syndrome. 

If you have find yourself in high risk OB office you find the office full of rules, restrictions and other women with "complications". The staff is sensitive and friendly, but the rooms feel so sad. Seeing the high risk OB is the scariest thing I have ever done in my life. In the week that went by between the test results and our meeting, every possible situauton went through my mind. It was reassuring to hear that our daughter looked healthy. It was not reassuring to hear that it is impossible to tell how this will affect her until after she is born. All we have now is hope.

No parent wants to hear that there may be something wrong with their perfect little baby. If I had sat down to write this entry at the time we found out, I can assure that it would be much more emotional. The fact is, at 32 weeks, we have accepted the situation God has given us. She is our daughter no matter what happens once she's born. We love her and are preparing for her like all parents do for their babies. 

The doctors can't tell us if she has Turners or not because we denied further testing on our unborn child. They will test her at birth and we will begin to prepare for any complications after that. I am lucky that I have already found a support group and find comfort in the things the mothers there talk about. It is amazing to me that only 1% of girls with this abnormality are ever live birthed and many of them do not survive the first trimester. 

As far as anyone can tell, they are not expecting any complications at birth and she appears to be healthy. Our daughter is truly a miracle. I wrote about our expierence because I found comfort in hearing the stories of other families going this. I hope that I can bring that same comfort to a mother expierencing that overwhelming emotion that I felt the day we were diagnosed and the emotion I continue to feel. 

Our little one- 1st trimester

I don't really know why I have been absent from the blog except that getting pregnant and pregnancy has been a time consuming journey. I am going to attempt to catch up in the next few days.

We first found out we are pregnant in May. We had been trying for several months and had given up and were waiting for August for me to have surgery in hopes to fix the issue. God had other plans and we are thrilled. 

Then in June we went to the doctor and it became very real. We saw our sweet little baby and a strong heart. I think we have expierenced what every new parent goes through, extreme excitement and fear. I was lucky enough to take a very distracting and relaxing trip to Hawaii to wrap up the first trimester.

Our sweet baby is due January 10th.

Spring Break

Every teacher in the world loves Spring Break. Shoot we all loved it as students and I'm sure no one would complain about a week off of work. Do not be fooled, I don't really have a week off. I'm a coach, a track coach. I will be going to a track meet tomorrow. 

I haven't let the fact that I have to work stop me from getting some things done 

Piece one stained

Piece two stained and drying 

And I painted this for my nephew. My  husband made it I painted. I don't typically work with saws. 

Now I have anniversary gift to work on and a gallery wall to finish. 

But first here is a picture of the momogram I made 

The best acne treatment ever

Allow me to be candid for awhile. Coming back from Spring Break is tough, I'm exhausted, stressed and I gotta keep going. This combined with the extreme winter we have had have really done a number on my skin. I mean I think I have more pimples than my teenage students. Oh wait I can call them "blemishes" now, right? Anyway they are annoying, even more annoying than when I was 17. 

Luckily, I have found an acne treatment that works!! It's all natural, super cheap, has not dried my skin out yet. It also smells good and my darling husband says it also tastes good. So here it is...

2 parts honey

1 part nutmeg 

1 part cinnamon

This is no secret, in fact it's all over the Internet, but unlike most things on the Internet this is true. This stuff cleared up my face in 3 days. I have found that it is not a cure, those nasty little bumps will come back, but if used regularly it works great. 

I'm not really into beauty products, but I am into not looking like a teenager. Hope it works for you. 

It's not pretty and it is really sticky, but it works like a charm!!

This old house

We love our old house but it has quirks. When we bought this home there were no interior doors. We decided today that that would change. 

We ordered the two doors for the downstairs bedrooms during Christmas. We ordered plain slab doors because we need then cut for a mortise lock and we needed them to fit in out door jams. 

First the doors had to be shaved down. I know there is a correct term, but I didn't work on that part. Then tools were sharpened. 

Then the place for the hinges had to be chiseled out.

Then we, I mean Miles while I tried to help, hung the door and then started working on drilling out the space for the mortise lock. 

After the holes the rest had to be chiseled and slowly worked out. Then chiseling around the outer part if the lock piece, I got to help this time.

Then several fitting attempts, a little more here, and a little more there...

Finally a bedroom door!! Yes it would have been a lot easier to hire someone, but it was fun! Using a regular style lock and knob would have been a lot easier too, but it was important to keep it time period. Still have one more to go. 

23 things response

Many people are writing responses to a recent blog post titled, "23 Things to do Instead of Getting Engaged Before You're 23", I have decided to weigh in here on my wedding blog turned family blog. I think many people that are responding are missing something... We are all different. 

Marriage is a controversial topic because it involves two of three things you shouldn't talk about with people and expect to get anywhere, religion and politics. The other is money. We were all raised with different values and we have all experienced life differently. 

I was engaged at 21 and married at 22. I am very happily married and I wouldn't want it any other way.  I met my husband at a young age and we have had a relationship in some capacity for the last 10 years. We continually have to work on our relationship: how we speak to each other, the amount of time we spend with each other, expectations of one another, etc. Marriage is a lot of work and not a commitment that either one of us took lightly. 

Many people my age that I know are getting married right now and maybe for the reasons this young woman listed in her post. To making a lifelong commitment to someone should not ever be referred to as "hip" or "cool". Marriage is not a fad or a trend that will go away when something else comes along. It is true that many young women are getting pregnant and may feel pressure to marry after they have made a child; a child is not a good reason to get married, especially if one of the people involved isn't ready. I think many people have unrealistic expectations about marriage, marriage takes work from both partners. Like this young woman, many people my age are selfish, entitled and live in a fantasy land*.

*See the Huffington Post blog entry http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/3930620/

I don't think either one of us know exactly who we are, I don't think you ever know who you are because you are always changing and growing. I also don't feel that I have any kind "inexpierence". I am educated, open-minded, career-oriented and I have traveled, although I would not say well traveled.

My marriage is by no means a "cop-out" and I wasn't in a rush. I dated my husband for 5 years before we married and it was important for me to graduate from college and get a job before I became his Mrs. Why wait around and "party, cuddle, travel, learn and explore" with the person you want to be with as your "friend", when they can be your spouse? I do all of those things with my husband and I prefer it that way. 

This young woman's immaturity and ignorance is proof that she is not ready for marriage and should continue her selfish, juvenile and otherwise strange dreams for the coming year. She should also maybe stop expressing herself to the world if she wishes to "develop alone". As millennials, we are more connected than any generation before us. Most of us have also been through a divorce once as children and don't desire the same outcome for our marriages, but our unrealistic expectations of life hurt our chances.

The most important thing I would like to address is this though. As a young married person, I do not feel in anyway that I am setting a standard for what people in their 20s should be doing. Yes I am married, educated, live in a house with a white picket fence (literally) that I own, I am happy with my career and I also dream of being finished having children by 30. This is not normal, there is no normal. Dr. Seuss said it best, "Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than you" Please get married for the right reasons, to the right person, at the right time, no matter what age you are. If you want to eat an entire jar of Nutella during your single years, do that too, but do what's best for you today because there may be no tomorrow.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Christmas 2013 had come and gone. Christmas is always busy for us, we have many places to go and many people to see. Our family is very blessed to have so many cute babies. We actually have one on every side. We got some great stuff we needed for the house. Christmas 2013 was a huge success and we have really enjoyed all the people that have taken time during the holiday to come by and see our house and our new kitten.

When Annie ran away after Thanksgiving we debated getting a new pet pretty heavily. To be honest, Annie was never ours. She showed up one day and was gone a few weeks later. We thought about getting a puppy, but we are gone a lot and often work long hours. My grandmother rescued a litter of kittens and was trying to find homes for them. That's how we got Annie 2, well at least that what we thought. We took "Annie" to the vet last week and found out that she is a he. We still love ANDY and he loves his pink flower collar. 

It's that time

Not only is basketball season keeping me super busy, but Christmas has snuck up on me. Today I was able to get all but one gift bought! I also found time to work on some of the homemade gifts. I still have a ways to go, but it's a good start. School is out on Friday so it's going to be an interesting week. In other news, our cat ran away while we were gone for Thanksgiving. We are considering getting a new pet, but that is a developing story. 

I don't know how people do craft blogs, crafting takes so much time. But here are my final products

These are reversible you may have seen them on Pinterst this is my version. My husband cut them from some extra wood we had at the house. 

This is my first expierence with "string art" I am happy with the way it turned out. I usually rely on printing letters and pictures and transferring them with carbon paper. I have not used it with these projects. I am getting much better at lettering after the wedding calligraphy. 

I also love these little baby shoes. They turned out better than I had hoped. I am going to see if I can get two more pairs made before the 25th. But first I need to get these Christmas cards out.

Until next time. Merry Christmas!!

Babies

We are so happy that a couple of weeks ago we got to meet sweet baby Dean 

And Miles actually held him. He should feel really special. I will never get tired of pictures of him, we love him already. 

We also have a new pet. Our little kitten still needs a name, but Miles said she can stay so... I had to bring my wreath in

Dean

Miles and I are happy to announce that on Friday afternoon we became and aunt and uncle. We are so excited to meet our nephew during Thanksgiving and we are overjoyed that he and his mother are doing great. Friday night I went to see Lindsay cheer at one of her last football games. We also ran another 5K yesterday. Basketball season is kicking off this week with a scrimmage on tomorrow and Friday. It's a busy time. 

WoW!!!

 I can't believe it's been over a year since I have posted. I would like to get back into it, so the time is now!!! So many things have happened since last year.

1) we got married 

2) my first cute baby cousin was born

3) I finished my first year of teaching and coaching. 

4) we went to California for our honeymoon

5) my second cute baby cousin was born 

6) I graduated from Grad school

And

7)we bought a house!!

Any day now were are going to become aunt and uncle. We are exited for his arrival! 

I am well into my second year teaching, seniors this time around. I have found that I really like talking to them about college admissions and helping them with the process. 

There will be more to come now that I'm done with school. I can't believe we will be celebrating our first anniversary in just 1 month. I don't know where the time goes!

6 weeks to go!

It is just 6 short weeks until we say "I do". It is coming up so fast now. Some important updates...

The invitations are out. Please let me know if your invitation has not made it to your home, or if you have moved so I know where to send yours when it gets sent back.

I ordered our cake toppers and our wedding tree. The tree is an alternative guest book.

We registered for gifts a few weeks ago, which was both fun and tiring.

We are currently working on favors. I am still not sure what we are doing for that.

We are also working on the music playlist for the wedding. If you have any requests, now is the time to make them. We will not be having a DJ.

I am taking my bridal portraits on Saturday. For now the weather seems like it will cooperate, keep your fingers crossed.

Until next time... which may be the wedding, thanks for reading.

Wedding updates

Okay so maybe I wasn't as "back" as I thought. Here a few wedding updates...

First of all my dress came in over the summer and it is even more beautiful than the sample I tried on in the store. I am having my first dress fitting on the 8th and I am planning on taking my bridal portraits at the beginning of October.

I have hired a wonderful photographer. Pagette Callender will be photographing my bridal portraits and the wedding.

We have hired a baker. She is wonderful and we are working on exactly what Miles wants his cake to look like.

We also ordered the bridesmaids' dresses and the flowergirls' dresses. Everyone will look great on the big day including the boys. Miles and the groomsmen have been hard at work getting all the suits in and altered before the wedding.

Next on my wedding to-do list...

Invitations they still need to be put together and sent out. I don't have too many that still need to be addressed. (Thank goodness, yes I am addressing them by hand!)

Music we need to decide what music to play at the ceremony and what music we are going to play at the reception. If you have any requests head over to the wedding website and leave a song in the comment part.

Registry Miles and I are registering for gifts this weekend! I'm not sure how its going to go, it should be fun though!

I'm back...

So sorry for the extreme lag between my posts this summer. I have been so busy with many different things, so its time to catch up. Don't worry I will post several different posts so that it doesn't get too overwhelming or super unorganized.

This post is all about the things that have been going on this summer, and believe me there is a lot to tell. The last time we were together you may remember that I warned you, I may be absent for awhile and I was so right. First, in June I hit the ground running as a graduate student to begin working on my Master of Education degree. The first month of the summer went by so fast and before I knew it grades were in and it was time to move home.

Yes, its true, like most college graduates I moved home after graduation and continued my job search. While I was still putting in applications, I was blessed with an opportunity to come back and work at St. Monica's while I waited for an interview. Well after about a week of working at Saint Monica's I got the call for an interview at Yoakum High School. A few days later I got the call that I have been hoping for since April. That I was being offered a job as World Geography teacher and that I would also be coaching girls basketball and track. I am so excited to have this opportunity and I am excited for school to start in a couple weeks.

I have learned recently that not too many people know where Yoakum is and to help clarify, It's about 40 miles south of Flatonia (which is half way between San Antonio and Houston). As you may know Miles has been commuting to work while I have finished school so he was thrilled when I got a job pretty close to his work. We got really lucky and found a really sweet little cottage to rent in Moulton, Texas. Moulton is wonderful and we really like it so far. Although our house is only 680 sq.ft. all are welcome to visit.

Everything in our lives is falling into place perfectly for us as we get ready to get married. I will do my best to keep up now that I have high speed Internet for the first time in 2 months!

Here is our new house. It has numbers now since UPS told me they couldn't
find my house on Main Street!! (There are only 3 houses, come on!)

6 Months

Well by the time I post this it will probably be after midnight and technically 6 months from yesterday. I am doing so good with my blog posts. It is amazing what I can do without having to go to school. But all that ends next week!! I will start graduate school on Tuesday and my frequent blog posting will end. Time  seems to be flying by and I can't believe that Miles and I have already been engaged for 14 months!!

Time for business... My dress should be in any day now and I am waiting by the phone for the call. I am also waiting for calls about jobs. Speaking of calling me,  I have a new number and if you would like to have it please message me on Facebook or comment on my blog and I will text you. I still have all my numbers, but I just have a new number now. My number is kind of wedding related. Miles and I made our first transition to married life, he has officially taken financial responsibility for my cell phone bill (since I am unemployed and all). Now back to the serious stuff. I am pretty much caught up for my things to do in the coming month. There are a few save the dates that still have not gone out and I promise they are coming eventually. This weekend Miles is coming to visit and after we go and buy my textbooks, ugh, we are going to look at some clothing options for the groomsmen and the GROOM! I am also still waiting   to finalize everything with my cake baker. My paper samples came in today and I think I found a good maroonish shimmer card stock to back the invitations.

This will probably be my last post for awhile unless something awesome happens. "Today" will also be my last day of work at the office I have worked at for the past 3 and a half years. I will miss all the wonderful people I have had the pleasure of getting to know during my time there, but it is time to move on. I cannot imagine how my experience at Texas A&M would have been without all the caring people that looked after me and took a genuine interest in my life. I know a couple of them follow my blog and I just want to say you will not be forgotten and I love you all.

Invitations and CAKE

I have ordered wedding invitations! I am so happy Stacy, a lady that works with me, told me that Copy Corner (a kind of Kinkos on steroids here is College Station) recreates wedding invitations. I was able to get invitations, insert cards and envelopes for about a $1 an invitation. I saved so much money doing that and they look really good. As soon as I get them I will post a picture. I am working on getting some maroon shimmer paper to back them and possibly some envelop liners. My paper samples should be here tomorrow. It seems I get so many things in the mail now that I am planning a wedding. I am also hoping that the envelopes come in soon so I can start addressing them, yes 6 months before the wedding. It took a long time to do the save the dates and the wedding invitations will be more elaborate. This time I will get Miles to put the stamps on!

We, as in me and ol' MOBzilla, are working on Jr. Bridesmaids and flower girl dresses. There are so many choices. 

I also contacted the baker for my cake and I am waiting to hear from her again to work out all the details. I am still waiting for Miles to decide what his cake is going to look like and who is going to make it. All I know is that it will be red velvet. 

Believe me there will be many more posts this summer. 

Here is a picture of what I want my cake to look like and the cake toppers I am going to order. 

Graduation!

Well it's true, I have officially graduated and now I am about two weeks from graduate school. I am also actively seeking employment and have at this time applied to 13 different school districts. Now that I have a short break its time to get super serious about wedding planning.

The most recent centerpiece trial was successful and now we are searching for supplies.

The bridesmaid dresses have been chosen. There was a lot of drama surrounding this particular topic, but it seems to be resolved now.

Click to see the bridesmaids dresses

Last week I met with the caterer who is also now the florist. (Thank goodness for full service event companies, some people think that my wedding is a holiday sheesh!) We seem to have everything worked out.

We have also hired our photographer which is very exciting! Thanks Aunt JoAnne!

And most importantly.....

THE SAVE THE DATES HAVE BEEN MAILED!!!! 

After a lot of time addressing each one, yes I even got so tired I let Miles help, they are finally in the mail and being hand delivered by various people. I love the way they turned out, but there is one problem! NO RETURN ADDRESS! Who does that? Anyway if yours doesn't come in the mail, I proimise you were not forgotten. I might have the wrong address for you, but it won't get sent back so... email me and I will get you one.( kayla.hamer@hotmail.com ). Now that the wedding is only about 6 months away I hope to have more frequent and exciting blog posts.

April Wedding Update!

The Save the Date postcards have arrived!!! As each wedding planning item is completed it seems more real! I can't believe we have already been engaged for 13 months and we have a little over 7 months to go. I have finalized the guest list, as much as a guest list can be finalized, and am I in the process of addressing them. Along with many other distractions that come with being a student and a bride, I had to halt save the date addressing to address graduation announcements. While there are over seven months until the wedding, graduation is only 24 days away. There are so many exciting things going on right not. I am doing my very best to stay focused, even though my allergies are all I really think about right now. Save the dates will hopefully go out before the 24 of May (6 months out). My very helpful fiance has offered to help with addressing, but I think we all know I am not going to let that happen, but he is sweet to offer. If I have not collected your address and my mom does not have it, please send it to me via email, comment or Facebook message. Also, friends many of you are graduating and moving, please please please let me know your new address or some have sent some permanent address.

While all that is coming in the future, I have something for you right now!! I have set up our official wedding website. It is hamerguelker.ourwedding.com  Miles did help me with the content and checked it for typos. You should check it out.

I also think I solved my centerpiece crisis.

I think this is exactly what I am looking for. I am going to add gold to the color palette. I am also going to cut the ornaments and cranberries from the picture above. I am planning a trip to Garden Ridge this weekend to gather supplies. 

As soon as class is over I am going to order invitations. I have found a place here in College Station to recreate the invitation I fell in love with for a fraction of the price. I am still working on the wording and the insert cards but I can only do one thing at a time and right now priorities are: school, work, job hunting,  save the dates, invitations. I must have them before I leave College Station this summer because I will not come back to get them. 

Finally I would like to congratulate my uncle and future aunt on their wedding this weekend, we are looking forward to a great day.