Tuesday, October 31, 2006
OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCING...
BRAXTON COLE PITCHFORD













Less talk today, more pics. I have lots to say, but I'm tired right now. I just got back from CVS and picking up my pain killers, and they were flabbergasted that I was out after just having had the baby yesterday. So, I guess I'm doing well right now. See you tomorrow, and I hope you have a great day!
 
posted by Christi at 12:34 AM | Permalink | 8 comments
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Braxton Cole is here!!!!!!
Julia here:

Born Sunday, October 29 around 5 pm. He's 8 lb 7 oz, 19 1/4" long. He has red hair and blue eyes. Everyone is healthy and doing great. Christi did a great job in spite of her bitchy nurse who wanted to send her home and didn't want to give her anything for her pain. Labor was fast and furious once it really got going. I couldn't get over how quickly it went. Christi and Trey make pretty babies! One of the nurses said he has the reddest hair of any baby she's seen in her two years here. This makes TJ happy! I'm sure Christi will have plenty more to say and pictures to post when she gets home. Until then, congratulations, Trey and Christi!!!
 
posted by Christi at 9:58 PM | Permalink | 11 comments
Confusion say....
I am MEGA confused right now. I was awakened, much earlier than I wanted to be, this morning by a HELLACIOUS pain "down there". My back and my private area (like, what do you call it?) are KILLING ME...and in nice little in and out runs, too. Could this be labor? I dunno. I'd like to know, b/c it HURTS!!!

So why am I confused? Well, it's all in my back. It's as though there is nothing going on in the front, aside from down at the bottom. I'm just waiting now for the dr. to call me back and let me know what to do and think. We'll see I guess.

That's about all I've got to say right now, except that I'm sure someone, probably me, will be back soon to let you know. Have a great day!
 
posted by Christi at 8:57 AM | Permalink | 0 comments
Confusion say....
I am MEGA confused right now. I was awakened, much earlier than I wanted to be, this morning by a HELLACIOUS pain "down there". My back and my private area (like, what do you call it?) are KILLING ME...and in nice little in and out runs, too. Could this be labor? I dunno. I'd like to know, b/c it HURTS!!!

So why am I confused? Well, it's all in my back. It's as though there is nothing going on in the front, aside from down at the bottom. I'm just waiting now for the dr. to call me back and let me know what to do and think. We'll see I guess.

That's about all I've got to say right now, except that I'm sure someone, probably me, will be back soon to let you know. Have a great day!
 
posted by Christi at 8:57 AM | Permalink | 3 comments
Wednesday, October 25, 2006
Oh, never mind!
You know, the suspense wouldn't be so bad, or as much, if the doc hadn't told me it was highly likely the baby'd be out before Friday. Yeah, well it's Wednesday now, and he ain't even acting like he cares to ever come out! What ticks me off is that at night he's all movey and I have lots of contractions here and there. Then, during the day I'm just tired (b/c I can't sleep at night) and feel like crap, and he only moves when I bother him. What's up with that!? JUST COME OUT ALREADY!!!!!!!

So anyway, I'm trying desperately just not to think about it. Which, of course, if you have ever been prego, you know isn't possible. My every effort is thwarted by any sudden pain or movement or just thought that this could be the moment. I really just want to say, "Hey, just wait, and he'll come when he comes," but come on. That just ain't happenin'. Since she won't induce me on Friday, though, I really, REALLY want him to come on his own by then. Mommy is leaving Sat. for Myrtle Beach, and if he comes while she's gone then she won't be here for it. How upsetting!

On a high note, though, I do have GREAT help around the house. Admittedly, we are all quite tired lately, and kinda letting things slip (mainly me), but last night my mens helped tidy up before TJ went to bed:


Taryn made sure to keep everybody in check and did a thorough inspection of their job before they were allowed to call it a day:


Man, am I lucky! Just imagine what I can do with THREE little sets of hands to do my dirty work! Ahh ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!

I hope you have a great day, and I'll see you soon, I hope. Or maybe not...
 
posted by Christi at 3:34 PM | Permalink | 9 comments
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Still here...
I haven't posted in a few days b/c I haven't really had much to say. I feel like anything I say will just be moaning and groaning about this baby not coming out yet. Of course, I suppose I could complain about how lowsy tips have been lately, but I don't think that's an improvement!

Anyway, I went to the dr. today. She said I'm 3, almost 4, centimeters dilated. I asked her if I could be induced on Friday (assuming he doesn't come on his own before that) b/c my mom is leaving town Sat. for a week, and I really want her to be there. She said no, b/c it won't be my 39th week yet. Mind you, now, my 39th week begins THE NEXT DAY, but whatever. She said if he's not out by Friday, though, that she would definitely induce me on Monday....WTF!!!??? Anyway, she said it's a pretty sure thing that he will come out on his own before Friday, and that I need to do lots of walking and have plenty of sex. So far, I've been having little contractions all day, but nothing worth caring about. Like when does labor begin? Do I have to wait till I'm 10 cm. or something? Sadly, I have no idea. I've never gone into labor on my own, and I'm so nervous about how it works and what the moment will be like. I would think that 4 cm. would be a good time to start, though.

Anyway, that's my news. I'm still working, b/c really, why not? Since I was told to have lots of sex, I'm now going to make Trey's day and offer it up. Can't hurt, right? Talk to you later!
 
posted by Christi at 12:04 AM | Permalink | 2 comments
Saturday, October 21, 2006
It's time to pray...
Okay, this baby is too damn content inside of me. If he considers constant head-butts from TJ and Taryn sitting and bouncing on him everytime I lay down a comfortable place to be, then he's very much a glutton for punishment. Therefore, he'll do just fine once he's out, and we start the real tortures of being a Pitchford!

However, I am not fine with this. Not one bit. I now can't walk more than five feet w/o being TOTALLY out of energy. People feel sad for me and offer me chairs everywhere I turn b/c I am BIG and I look like I'm going to cry everytime I have to move. This on top of having been sick to my stomach and sore all over for the last three days straight now, and for no apparent reason other than being pregnant. Contractions are just the same ol' Braxton Hicks things, caused, of course, by Braxton himself (sorry, I had to say it!). Needless to say, I am scheduled to work tomorrow night, close, and I don't know if I can handle it or not, as easy as the job is.

Soooooo, I need your help. You MUST pray, hope, wish, whatever it is that you do that works for you, and ask that I go into real labor before 3 today (well, actually tomorrow, but most of you won't read this till later, so I'm talking about Sunday). That way, I'll have time to call in, and I'll have a totally legitimate excuse. I'm quite sure the baby is ready to come out. He just wants to see if you guys will do it first. Show that little guy that he is wanted, and PRAY, PRAY, PRAY!!!!

Thanks, I appreciate your help.
 
posted by Christi at 11:06 PM | Permalink | 5 comments
Thursday, October 19, 2006
I just want it today!
Yesterday, I had my first-ever real contraction made by my body w/o the help of any drugs. I was lying on the couch w/Taryn, and my back suddenly started to really hurt. Then, out of the blue, all of the pain went straight to my belly and I felt like somehow God had managed to tie me in a knot, just like a pretzel. It hurt like a BITCH! On the outside, I say that I don't want to have another one of those. However, deep down, I want to have lots and lots of them, preferrably very soon, so I can just get this over with! I spent the entire day just kinda waiting to see if I would feel it again, but it wasn't so. Like, who the hell has ONE contraction!? It was like my body was saying, "Hey, check this out. Sucks, don't it? Well, one day you can have some more...just wanted to let you have a little taste today." Oh, and I lost my mucus plug the night before that, too. I had thought I had already, but I'm sure I did then. Either that, or I have found a new way to blow my nose!

So all day today so far and yesterday I have felt like complete horse shit. I feel like it may have something to do w/the fact that I pushed myself a little hard yesterday trying to get the boys' room finished (which it is, mostly), and the fact that I did dishes at work last night and worked my butt off. However, after a night of "rest", I still feel bad, if not worse. I would really like for this to end now. Igh.

Oh, did you want to see the boys' room? It's hard to take pics that show it that well, and it still needs some accessorizing, but here it is:





Oh, and so not to leave Taryn out, here's a pic of her in some little sports jersey TJ has. Now that's my girl!
 
posted by Christi at 9:57 AM | Permalink | 6 comments
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Bets are on...
Hmmmm, so it seems I have a little pool going. Do I have to begift the winner? I still haven't gotten around to mailing out the gift to the winner of the "Pick the baby's name" contest I had a while back! Surely I'll have that done by the time he's in Kindergarten, I hope...

Let's see what we have here:

Renee-Oct. 19th
Aka_Meritt-Oct. 23rd
Margo-Oct. 30th
Natalie-Oct. 31st
Julia-Nov. 2nd

Soooo, my favorite friend right now....Renee, of course! My once best friend, now on my shit list. Sure, sure, so she's all using common sense and previous knowledge from the first two and blah, blah, but still...NOT COOL.

It's funny, though. When the dr. told me yesterday that something is bound to happen in the next week or two, probably on its own, it really freaked me out. I pray every single day that today will be the day, and I say that I'm soooooo ready for him to come out. Then, I find out that sometime in the next TWO WEEKS I will have a baby!? Oh my GOD! I'm not ready yet! No no no! I'm really going to have a baby so soon? I'm scared shitless, I tell ya!

I did finally get around to washing his, and the other, carseat today, as well as the cover to his swing. In the next few days I hope to finish painting TJ's/ his room. I think I'll work on that some while the kids are in bed tonight. I think that tomorrow I'll pack my bag, which won't be anywhere near as full as it was when I had TJ. Remember those lists of five thousand things you will DEFINITELY need while you're in the hospital? Yeah, bunk. I do need to make sure all of the batteries for all of the cameras are charged, too, eh? I guess I still do have a few things left to do. Better get on the ball, in case he really does decide to go ahead and make his entrance. I'm wondering just how much the kids realize what's going on. Judging from TJ's behavior lately, I'm betting he is very aware that something big is about to happen, and he's not exactly cool with the whole idea. He's been very, VERY mean to Taryn lately, and I think he may be trying to make a point. Yeah, maybe if I could just hold off having this kid for just a few more years, till TJ and Taryn are old enough to be cool with it....

Okay, now I'm really eager to go and tape the bedroom to finish painting. I'll talk to you later.
 
posted by Christi at 8:39 PM | Permalink | 3 comments
Monday, October 16, 2006
Pregnant forever?
Today, just out of the blue, I decided I want to have the baby today. I mean, I want to have the baby everyday, but I got it in my head that if I didn't have him today, it would never happen. I honestly thought for a few minutes that if he didn't come out, he really would never, ever be born. I'm pretty darn sure that's not possible. I had to convince myself that he will be born, even if it's later than I want him to be, but that he will, in fact, come out of me whether I like it or not. It does feel like that somedays, though. Like this baby is just never going to come. I mean, if he cared, he'd come when I asked him to, but nooooooooo.....

He obviously knows I'm talking about him, b/c now little Cole is going all to town in my belly, and kinda thumping on my ovaries or something. Kinda hurts.

Speaking of, I have to go to the dr. tomorrow, where I'm sure they'll yell at me for my slackness in managing this stupid diabetes. Blah, blah, blah...It sucks, too, b/c I have to take the kids. Trey is usually off on Mondays, but his boss screwed up the schedule, and now he has to work. I am really, really dreading this visit. Of course, I could have tried to find someone to watch them, but it didn't even occur to me until about 11 tonight that I have the appt. tomorrow morning. What makes me even madder about it is that they won't tell me anything I want to hear. I want to hear that I'm 100% effaced and 5 cm dialated, but nooooooo....I'm sure even the mention of that will just bring a chuckle. I don't even want to go to the dr. I have tomorrow. I want Dr. Campbell, but they keep giving me Dr. Cook. I don't care for her. She's nice enough, but dammit, she's skinny as a rail! I don't like skinny people seeing me naked!

Well, I guess that's enough for now. I'll go rant some more in my sleep now. Oh, and on the good side, I have a babysitter for my cheerin' tomorrow night! I'm looking forward to someone coming and playing with them (she's a hyper high school student that I work w/at Pizza Hut), and hopefully finding someone who may be a good backup in case my mom can't watch them sometime (like when she goes on her vacation the week I'm due with the baby!). I hope you have a great day, and I'll see you soon!
 
posted by Christi at 12:53 AM | Permalink | 10 comments
Saturday, October 14, 2006
Day 1 of the next five years...
Our anniversary night out was pretty cool. We went on a carriage ride in downtown Charleston, and learned a lot. I would have liked for the guide to have been a little louder, as we were in the back row, but hey, whaddya gonna do, eh? The couple that sat next to us was also celebrating their five year anniversary, which was also yesterday. I thought that was pretty cool. I found out that Charleston is the center of the world. You see, the Ashley and Cooper Rivers come together at the Battery (originally known as Oyster Point), and then turn into the the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic Ocean forms all of the other oceans in the world, so therefore, Charleston is the center of the world. Yep, we're pretty big stuff out here!

Afterwards, we were at a loss as far as what to do next. I think we're so used to not being able to go out that we are clueless. We thought about going to eat, but at the time we weren't the least bit hungry. We could have walked around downtown, but walking is not exactly fun for me anymore, and it's REALLY slow going! So we drove for a while, debated just going to get the kids, then ended up going to Applebee's. Yeah, not a big place for an anniversary. However, when Trey and I met, that was the first place he took me out to eat at, and it was where we ate out most (while we still had money to spare and no kids!). Plus, I'm madly in love with their onion peels, and Trey is in love with the hot boneless chicken wings. So it was settled, and we were happy w/the decision.

That was about the extent of our big date night. It wasn't anything big, but I have to say I enjoyed it immensely. It was nice just being out alone w/Trey. I mean, sure, all we talked about was the kids and work and stuff, but...hey, it's not like our lives have anything else going on right now! Today Trey let me sleep in for a while, and hung out with the kids. I can't think of a better way to start the next five years of our lives! Kick ass!

I'll see you soon, and I hope you have a great day!
 
posted by Christi at 9:11 PM | Permalink | 7 comments
Friday, October 13, 2006
What I've been waiting for...
I knew that getting married on Oct. 13th, FIVE WHOLE YEARS AGO, would eventually mean that I got to celebrate my anniversary on a Friday the 13th. Today is the day! What's even better is that it's our big FIVE YEARS! I mean, in the grand scheme of things, that's pretty small, but really, it's quite a big thing if you think about it:

We've managed to make it five years now w/o killing each other. We still love each other like crazy (most days), and on most days can even stand the sight of each other. We've managed to stick together and get through a lot, I mean, A LOT of crap. As a team, we've completely ruined our finances, and yet, instead of letting that tear us up, we've worked together to put them back together, which of course we're still working diligently on.

Probably the most important and overwhelming thing we've done in these last five years, though, is manage to make two whole children and get one almost cooked. Can you believe that!? I think we're doing a bang-up job, too. Trey's turned out to be a pretty darn cool dad. Lord knows Taryn loves him to death. As far as she's concerned, he hung the stars. TJ is a momma's boy, but he definitely loves his daddy, too. Man, and in almost four years now, we haven't even broken one of them! I feel like I've gone and grown up or something!

I think this next five years might be all about slowing down and trying to get what we have (ie-three kids and a load of debt!) in order. Then we'll be close to teen years, and we'll have to be ready for the next five years of INSANITY. Won't that be fun?!

Anyway, it's been a fun ride this last five years. I wouldn't give up a second of it, although I might like to forget a bit of it! Tonight we're going out on a carriage ride in downtown Charleston (which I've never done, but always wanted to) and to get some dinner somewhere. I've been excited about it all week! Here's to five more years of fun w/the man I love!

HAPPY FIFTH ANNIVERSARY, TREY!!!
 
posted by Christi at 12:11 PM | Permalink | 8 comments
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Diabetes SUCKS!
Okay, I have officially tested my blood sugar twice now, and both times my poor little finger cried! Funny, I would like to think that overall I have a decent pain tolerance, but man, those tiny little finger pricks HURT! The second one stung, and wouldn't stop bleeding for ten minutes! However, so far my blood sugar has been where it's supposed to be. That's making me think maybe I'm not diabetic, and that I want to go back to my normal diet. There is a tiny little Hershey bar sitting in front of me right now that is calling my name. Surely that is part of a diabetic diet, right? Since I haven't been shopping yet, I don't know if I have anything even allowable for me to eat. For breakfast I had canned peaches and milk. Mmmmmm....Maybe for lunch I'll have a slice of turkey sandwich meat and an egg. Yeah, there you go. Oh wait, I don't think we have any eggs...okay, just a slice of turkey. So can you tell I'm not happy about this?

At 1 I get to call in and have a conference call on "How to eat like a diabetic". I find this hilarious, b/c my dr. kept saying it just like that yesterday when she'd tell me about it. It makes me think diabetics eat differently, like they put their food up their butts instead of in their mouths or something. Maybe they grow a diabetic-eating mouth on their side. Yeah, I'm sure it's only funny to me, but man is it funny! I just hope they tell me I can eat candy, namely chocolate.

Oh, and aside from me, Taryn has taken to jewelry. She really likes bracelets, and she's not overly keen on me putting stuff in her hair (however, she loves it when Daddy does her hair???). I bought her some little jewelry the other day, which now most of it has been lost or TJ has broken, but it was cute while it lasted...
My baby's becoming a girl! OH NO!!!

Talk to you later! Have a great day!
 
posted by Christi at 11:58 AM | Permalink | 9 comments
Monday, October 09, 2006
They're taking my spotlight!
Okay, for those of you who didn't bother to read my last post b/c it was too long, the gist of it was that Taryn went to the emergency room Friday night. She is fine, of course. It, however, was not fun.

Tonight I was working happily, looking forward to closing time coming soon, and me going home. Trey called me, for what I assumed to be his nightly call on the way home from work. It was, except that he had also cut open his thumb on the trash compactor door at work. He told me all about the gruesomeness of it, but had decided he didn't want to go to the emergency room b/c he didn't want to wait. I insisted on it. Eventually, after going home, he finally did.

I met him up there w/his ID and insurance card b/c he's a slacker and doesn't carry that stuff w/him. That was at 11:15 pm. It is now 3:31 am, and I just got home. He will be home sometime shortly. Undoubtedly, he has some kind of metal or something in his hand, and will need orthopaedic surgery on his hand. Yippee! Of course, it took them four hours to figure this out! As for his finger, it's got some gauze and tape on it. Well, at least he'll live!

I guess sometime in the next couple of days TJ will need to go to the hospital. Then maybe it will finally be my turn, and I can go have this baby! I swear, all this fuss is really taking away from the focus on me and my whole I'M SUPER PREGNANT AND I NEED ALL OF THE ATTENTION thing.

Have a great day! I guess mabye tomorrow or the next day I'll let you know what TJ does!
 
posted by Christi at 3:33 AM | Permalink | 6 comments
Saturday, October 07, 2006
So much for days off...
I think I work more on my days off than I do at work!

Yesterday, I was fortunate to get to hang out with Mommy for a while. We spent the day running errands and shopping. Considering the fact that we pretty much just hauled them from store to store all day, the kids did pretty well. I mean, of course it took patience and a lot of "NO!"'s, but still, they could have been a LOT worse. We really didn't find a whole lot of bargains, but I got a couple of cute things for Taryn and the baby. I even found the bedskirt that matches TJ's sheet set on clearance, and that was a big thrill for me!

By the time we finished it was about time for dinner. Somehow we had managed to miss lunch altogether, and no one really was bothered by that fact. I think we did the snack all day kinda thing. However, upon realizing that dinner time was near, I think everyone's tummies immediately started growling. So we went to Mommy's house, and Bo was kind enough to run out and get some Chinese food for everyone.

While we were waiting for said food to come through the door, so we could voraciously attack him, TJ watched cartoons and Taryn pillaged and plundered anything she could get her chubby little hands on in Mommy's house. Fortunately, or so I thought, she focused herself on my purse. There's never anything in there that she can really hurt herself on, so I wasn't worried.

Needless to say, when, a few minutes later, Taryn walked up to me with foamy white stuff in her mouth and gagging like she'd just eaten my cooking, I wasn't worried at first. I figured she'd probably just found some cat food or something on the floor and popped it in her mouth as usual. Of course, after a second I realized that cat food isn't white...but my Lexapro pills are. At that same time I was also coming to the realization that I had put my Lexapro pill for the day in my purse on the way out the door that morning, and was planning on taking it as soon as I got a drink. Guess what...I forgot. Taryn reminded me.

I grabbed a paper towel out of the kitchen and wiped out as much of the white stuff as possible, and decided it best to call poison control. They sent me to the emergency room. Ugh. Of course Bo hadn't yet returned with the food, and the woman on the phone told me Taryn couldn't eat, so off we went, both hungry little horses.

I debated calling Trey about it and causing undue worry, but I went ahead and did it in case something bad did happen. I would be pretty upset if it were me and he waited to smack me in the face with some kind of phone call like, "Taryn's having convulsions and throwing up blood...Oh, and we've been here at the hospital for three hours now." Even though I told him just to be on the lookout for a call in case something did happen (which I kinda thought nothing would, so...), he went ahead and got off work and came to the hospital.

Anyway, this is getting long, isn't it? Taryn got hooked up to all kinds of little stickers on her chest connected to a machine to monitor her heartrate. She also got a gown that was the smallest they had, and completely sucked her in like quicksand. I kept having to dig her out of it. She even got to get an EKG, which I'm sure I will be paying out the butt for FOREVER. She was really good about the whole matter, and after a while didn't even fuss as she gave in to the fact that she couldn't get off of the all-too-tiny bed they gave her. I don't think it hurt that she was beyond tired, not having had a nap all day.

The best (as in most frustrating, challenging, and still pretty funny) part was trying to get her to drink/eat charcoal. Ummmm, ewww! The nurse said it was sweet, but she took one sip of that black, nasty goo and said, "HELL NO!" So we tried it w/milk. She said, "Do you think I was born yesterday?" Not a chance. I put it in her sippy cup and pretended to pour Coke into the cup. "Damn, people! Do I have STUPID stamped across my forehead!" Yeah, whereas we could trick TJ all day long, Taryn didn't play. TJ, of course, wanted to suck it down from the second Trey told him it was medicine. It was nasty looking. Finally, the nurse put some in chocolate pudding (which Taryn really isn't a fan of, making me wonder if she really is my child), and it was still a no-go. I was beginning to think they weren't going to let us leave until it was all gone, and had started planning how I was going to decorate the room for a nice, comfy living space for THE REST OF OUR LIVES. I finally got her to eat about five or six bites by taking her pacifier away and telling her she could only have it back if she ate "just one more bite" (which actually totalled five). She gave in. She also knocked the spoon a few times, and got charcoal EVERYWHERE. That stuff is NASTY messy!

After three hours they let us go. I had to pay a damn $75 copay! Like, what is up with that!??!!! She is/was fine. Trey and I have decided to get her some of her own, as she didn't even cry this morning when she got up, and has been in an even happier mood than usual, if that's even possible. Lord knows she handled her first dose of Lexapro better than I did! Sorry about the book-long saga...I guess I'm just feeling literary today.
 
posted by Christi at 2:51 PM | Permalink | 2 comments
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Guess what...
JOSH QUIT!!!! That means nothing to most of you, but oh man, is it great!

Oh, and I found out yesterday that I have gestational diabetes. Igh.
 
posted by Christi at 12:42 AM | Permalink | 6 comments
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
The toll is taken....
This whole working five nights a week thing is really starting to catch up to me. Here I am in the last month now, and I'm counting down the days till little Cole comes. However, this is the MOST tired I've ever been in a pregnancy, and it's all catching up more and more each day. I wake up in the mornings and don't have the energy to do anything b/c I have to save it so I can get through work. The last week or so, I've been in kind of a daze while working, and have to try really hard to concentrate. I even drink coffee before I go in to wake me up some. Of course, once I do that, then I'm up all night (not that I'd actually get any sleep if I went to bed anyway!)! I feel bad, b/c all I think about anymore is sleeping.

Which has led me to contemplate the idea of nursing. Julia told me the other day that babies sleep better through the night and earlier if they are nursed (or was that Marie, I don't know?) She told me some stuff that really made me think that I need to get over my whole mental block on it and just try, if nothing else. I mean, at least it would help save money, right! I'm still stuck. I'm just really freaked out by the idea of having a little person stuck to my chest, and I'm wondering if I could get over it...

Well, that's about it for now. Oh, I do need to thank Trey from the bottom of my heart. He has picked up a LOT of slack around here for me, and for that I'm eternally thankful. I am such a lucky woman!

Have a great day!
 
posted by Christi at 2:38 PM | Permalink | 6 comments