Kenzi's Great Day!

We're trying to give each of our girls some special one-on-one time before their little brother arrives! I got to spend the day with our monster, Tori, while Kenny took Kenzi out for her big day. They started the day with Jilly and Brent at Twins Fest where they got to meet some of the players, walk on the field, get Kenzi's face painted, paint a bat, and take pics with Bulls Eye. Kenzi even got to go in a jumper!! Auntie Jilly said she was in heaven and made her wait in line 6 times! After Twins Fest, Jilly took Kenzi to see Mr. McGee and the Biting Flea at the Children's Theatre. She loved the play!

Baby Update: No contractions for the past few days. Curious to see what my midwife says tomorrow!

Mtka Dance Team 09-10

It has been such a crazy year coaching for the Minnetonka HS Dance Team! My friend Maggie asked me to come coach with her after she heard my previous team at Armstrong was no longer able to have their program. I have been coaching Varsity dance teams for the past 5 years, but I thought taking on a JV position would be a nice change. Let's just say this season was not at all what I had expected! I absolutely loved working with the JV girls and the Mtka parents are wonderful!!

I have decided to take a break from coaching for a few years so I can concentrate on my kids and be there for them whenever they need me. This was a very tough decision to make, I absolutely LOVE coaching dance!  So today was bittersweet for me, my last competition as a coach...for now! The girls did a FABULOUS job today at Sections. I was so proud to be a part of their journey. I'm going to miss these girls!!

Sucks to be sick

Last Wednesday, Kenzi came down with some terrible flu bug. She was such a brave girl and handled it so well. We were up with her every hour that night, it was so exhausting! Toria decided she didn't want to miss out on the fun, so she started getting sick on Thursday. Kenny and I stayed up with her throughout the night, tired, but thankful that we still felt fine. Friday night, it hit me, and it hit me hard. The pains from my stomach were so bad every time I got sick I wasn't sure I would get through the night. Poor baby Graham would kick like crazy after I finally stopped puking, which of course made it so much worse. I was delirious from pain and exhaustion by 3am, but there wasn't a thing I could do about it. By 6am, things were starting to get better, but I hadn't felt Graham move in a few hours. I tried all my tricks that usually made him move, Kenny tried talking to him, and we even played him some of his favorite music. We were about to head to the hospital when he finally made his move at 7:30am. That was possibly the longest few hours of my life. I managed to pull myself together and make it to my dance competition, but came home to a puking husband. At least we all took turns, huh! Now I'm just trying to focus on catching up on 3 nights of no sleep and healing my aching stomach muscles. I really want to have Graham naturally and I know that's going to take a well rested body!!

Our Birth Plan!

We've never actually had a birth plan before, so we thought we'd create one this time! Of course, this would be best case scenario...I'm not holding my breath!

Home Labor Goals
• We would like to labor at home as long as possible, with our doula present, before going to the hospital.

• We will call our midwife when contractions are 5 minutes apart

• We will go to the hospital when contractions are 3-4 minutes apart and painful


Hospital Labor Goals

• We plan to have present at the birth and or labor: Midwife, Father- Kenny, Doula- Kelly Hagen

• The mother prefers not to have an IV administered unless determined to be required for another procedure to facilitate delivery.

• The mother prefers not to have a catheter unless determined to be required for another procedure to facilitate delivery.

• The mother would like to wear her own gown, although the staff may offer her a hospital gown.

• The mother would like the opportunity to be up out of bed as much as possible during labor, depending on her needs.

• The mother would like to be allowed snacks and water during labor if necessary to give her body the energy it needs.

• We would prefer to not use an electronic fetal heart monitor if possible


Birth Goals

• We are attempting to have a natural, un-medicated birth without unnecessary medical or chemical intervention!!!

• We would like to be allowed to labor as long as it takes, with no time limit (within reason)

• We would prefer not to have the water artificially broken.
• We understand that there are procedures which may become necessary. Except in the case of an emergency, we ask that we be given the opportunity to accept or refuse any procedure or medication.
• We request that the least invasive or restricting versions of procedures be used.


Induction (if necessary)

• We ask that non-chemical induction methods be tried first: walking, breast stimulation, sexual intercourse.


Pain Management Goals
• We plan to handle pain with relaxation, massage and water (shower or tub).

Delivery Goals
• The mother prefers not to have an episiotomy unless determined to be medically necessary. She would first like to try perineal massage, support and warm compresses.
• If labor or delivery seems stalled, we would like the opportunity to try different positions (hands and knees, squatting, birth stools, etc.).
• We would like to have the baby placed on the mother's chest with skin-to-skin contact immediately after the birth and for the first 1 to 2 hours following the birth.

• We would like the initial examinations for baby done while baby is laying on mom.
• We would like to try to have the baby breastfeed as soon as possible.


Umbilical Cord

• We would like to allow time for the cord to stop pulsing before cutting the umbilical cord.

• Please offer the father the opportunity to cut the cord


Newborn Care Goals
• Please delay all procedures until we have spent some time with the baby, preferably as long as possible before leaving the labor and delivery room.
• We would like to be present at the baby's first bath.


Circumcision
• We would like the father to be present at the circumcision.

Cesarean Section (if necessary)• The mother would like to be conscious

• The mother would like the father present

• We would prefer that our baby breastfeed immediately or as soon as possible afterward in the recovery room.

• We prefer the baby and father remain in the recovery room with the mother.


Breastfeeding Goals

• We would like to establish breastfeeding. Please do not offer any bottles to the baby without parents' notification of a medical need.

• We would like to meet with a lactation consultant before leaving the hospital to have techniques checked.


Thank you for taking the time to help us achieve a natural childbirth for our baby!

What's goin on in there?

This pregnancy has been so different than the others! I had a few BH (Braxton Hicks) contractions with Tori the last few weeks of pregnancy, but nothing like the ones I've been having the past TWO WEEKS with this little guy. I keep thinking "Today is the day!"...and 6 hours later the contractions disapear. At my midwife appointment last Monday, we got some exciting news. I was dilated 4-5cm already! My midwife laughed and actually had to check again just to make sure. She said to go home and get lots of rest, this baby was comin! Here we are, 5 days and many hours of painful contractions later, and I'm STILL pregnant. Wonder what he's doin in there that is so darn exciting??

WHAT A GLORIOUS DAY!!!

Exciting news for the Nash family!

I am officially "3cm dialated and ready to go at any time" says my midwife!!! She warned us that because of the quick progress I have made since last week's appointment, things will probably move quickly from here on out. WOOHOO!!!!

We also met with Mackenzi's surgeon today to discuss her most recent tests and guess what...HER VERTEBRAE FUSED!!! She has recovered even better than they had imagined and she is now free to be a normal kid again :) The abnormal mass they saw a few months back is just a stubborn collection of spinal fluid from her surgery that won't re-absorb so they are not going to worry about it. Our brave girl just has to go back every year for follow-up tests.

Kenny and I just can't stop smiling today, WE ARE SO BLESSED!!!! Thank you God for wrapping your loving arms around us constantly!

Brit's Birthday Night Out!

I got to go to my favorite restaurant with my favorite people for my birthday! I met all of these girls when Mackenzi was just a few months old through ECFE and we have been friends ever since. They were so sweet to join me at Ichiban's to celebrate my bday! THANK YOU!!!

When I got home (at 11:00pm) Mackenzi was waiting up for me with a very special birthday cake.
It was a green dinosaur heart cake... so sweet!