Chileshe has arrived!!!

Chileshe’s Delivery (I know a little late)
We were scheduled to induce on the 2nd at 7:30 a.m. at Tuality Hospital. My doctor advised me when we set up the induction that she would most likely not deliver my baby unless the induction process was fat and I had the baby by 5 or 6 p.m. I was supposed to call the birthing center at 7 and let them know I was scheduled for 7:30 and they would let me know if there were any available beds. (This is the same thing we had to do for Malaika’s birth. ) I was prepared for them to tell me that there were no available beds and to call back around noon. That is exactly what happened. IMAGINE! Luckily I was prepared and did not have a freak out moment this time and I just hopped in the shower and went about my dad as usual. I knew they would get me in sooner or later. Around 11:30 we received a call and they asked if I could get in within the next 15 to 20 minutes. I loved it when the lady immediately said, “So I hear you want to have a baby today?” YES YES and YES!
Susanna had spent the night the night before so she could take care of Laika until my mom could get to the house. So we packed up the car and gave her hugs and kisses and off we went. Malaika was actually pushing us out the door. I think she was excited to have alone time with her favorite aunty.
We got to the hospital around noon and they admitted us into this HUGE suite. It was GIGANTIC! After all the paper work and blood tests and IV were put in the doctor came to talk about my options. At my last apt. (The day before) Dr. Bird had said I was measuring at a 3 almost a 4. That was exciting to me because I knew Pitocin would give me the kick I needed to start labor. BUT when I was checked by the nurse she said I was MAYBE a 2. (Oh, and for the record, I cannot stand nurses with little tiny hands. They were actually bracing themselves on the bed rail to check me. I had 3 different nurses come in because the two before said they could not “find” my cervix. UM? I know it didn’t walk away.)
They had called the doctor to check me and I thought they were going to send me home. But she checked and said I was a solid 3 and they needed to get started. (Take that small handed nurses! Haha Can you tell I felt victorious!)
They started the Pitocin around 1:30 and checked on me every hour or so. The contractions kept increasing. Around 7 they started noticing Chileshe’s heart rate dropping with each contraction. They were a little bit concerned so they started coming in every 20 minutes or so to check on us. The pain was increasing but I felt really good. I was dilated to about a 5 around 8 o’clock. (Oh and by the way I prayed that my night nurse would be gentle and have nice long fingers. The LORD absolutely loves me and sent me a long fingered angel of a nurse. She was so kind and GENTLE, no bracing herself and shoving her entire arm up my hoo ha. SHEESH! The constant checks from the day time nurses were almost as bad as the delivery itself!) The nurse advised me that Dr. Hendrickson, the Doctor on call was going to come in to break my water (If I wanted that) in about an hour. She said I could either have my epidural now or after the water was broke. I decided to have the epidural before the water breaking because with Malaika, as soon as my water broke she was on her way.
The anesthesiologist came in about 20 minutes later and inserted the epidural. I was actually really nervous about it. I always have these weird fears that if the epidural worked so well the first time (as far as side effects go) then it was bound to get me the second time. Well, the first epidural did not work. I felt no numbing of pain and well, I Felt everything! You are not supposed to if you have an epidural. She kept asking me if it was working and I kept thinking it would eventually kick in. So we waited … She left the room and I started crying, I told Edwin I could still feel everything but I felt bad asking her to come back and re-insert it. I was also scared to go through the procedure again. What if I annoyed the anesthesiologist and she comes in and does a hack job the second time? EEK! Edwin calmly told me that we were paying a TON of money for this epidural and if it was not working we needed to let them know. I of course wanted to get my money’s worth. LOL She came back in and re-inserted the tube and this time it was amazing!
About a half hour later the Doctor finally arrived to break my water and put things into motion. I knew as soon as my water broke delivery would be quick. With Malaika they broke my water around 6 and I had her by 8 (ish). It was now 10:00 and I was MORE than ready to have this baby. The Doctor said everything looked clear and fine and she would be back to check on me in a few hours. As soon as the doctor left I could feel pressure and some pain in my core. I tried to relax and watch some TV (Modern Family was on) BUT I could not concentrate at all. Around 11 I started shaking uncontrollably (just like Malaika’s delivery teeth chattering and all) GOSH I HATE the shakes! Edwin made fun of me after the delivery because I kept apologizing to everyone because I was shaking so much. I think I would win the award for the NICEST woman in delivery EVER! With each Contraction came a wave of shakes. I could feel her moving down and I told the nurse I was ready to push. She had me do a practice push (I don’t think she believed that I was really ready). I gave her one push and she said… “Uh, hold on I need to page the doctor. Do not push while I am gone!”
When she came back with the doctor she was surprised that it was time already. They set everything up and said I could start pushing. I remember looking at the clock at 11:40 and I was like, “Oh Edwin I think we will have this baby today on the 2nd. “ The Doctor dashed my hopes and said ; “Well, pushing takes a while so it will probably be a little longer.”
I showed her! I pushed her out in 3 rounds of 3 pushes each and at 11:51 pm on February the second Chileshe Amyra Mwango joined the Mwango clan (8 lbs. 7 oz. and 20 inches long)! She is AMAZING and beautiful and I could talk about her for hours! They put her right up on my chest and they actually left her up there for a while. They cleaned her and I was able to just look at her beautiful features. It is so rewarding after waiting for so long and all the hard work you put into labor to see such a beautiful face and know that this little baby is a part of you. I tear up thinking about what a blessing my kids have been to my life, they literally change you from the moment you look into their little face. You want to BE more for them and GIVE them everything you can. Your desire is no longer selfish but abundant. Nothing can compare!

Week 39 - We are ready!!!

Well, here we are in week 39 and I feel like I am twiddling my thumbs. I have ALL the clothes organized up to 12 months and I have purchased everything else possible. The house is as clean as it can be with a toddler running behind me undoing everything I have "done". LOL

I had my 39 week appointment on Monday and the doctor said that I was definitely 3 CM dilated but I was still measuring thick. It is so nice to go to a doctor appointment and have progress. I have been waking up with contractions all week around 2 am. (which is weird hat they are always at the same time) I usually lay there for a minute and try to time them and then get up and go to the bathroom and get a drink of water. By the time I do all of that the contractions have gone away. I told my doctor that the contractions were making it hard to sleep through the night and part of me was thinking about an induction if she thought I was a good candidate.
NOW let me say I have been SOOOO against having an induction this time around. With Malaika we had a lot of family drama going on and I really needed to have the induction and have all of my family around when she was born. With Chileshe I have not had a real reason to induce and I kind of want to see what labor feels like when you can do part of it at home. BUT I guess when you hit 39 weeks you could really care less what happens as long as you are healthy and baby is healthy. I am just ready to move forward with our little family and see what she looks like!!!

At my 38 week appointment I had my membranes stripped and I thought for sure that would bring on the contractions but I had no such luck. So the doctor stripped them again this week (CAN WE SAY PAINFUL!). She did advise me that she could induce Tuesday (which was today) but she also recommended that I wait and see what happens after the membrane stripping. She thinks I am going to have a Halloween baby.
Initially I said yes to the Tuesday induction, then Edwin and I discussed the pro's and con's and felt like we should wait a week and see what happens. So next Tuesday will be Chileshe's eviction notice.

I have felt fairly good this week. I gained 3 pounds bringing my grand total to 17 pounds this pregnancy. I am tempted to close my eyes next week so I can stay under 20. =0) I can't believe it is already October!

Stayed tuned for the Delivery...

Week 37 - the waiting game begins

So, I really don't mind being pregnant. The minor aches and pains cannot compare to the alien like stomach movements at the end of each day. I can have the toughest day, and then I feel a little person move inside of me and I realize this is SOOOOO worth it. I had my 37 week appointment yesterday and I am almost done with the doctor rotation. It will be good to see my doctor again next week. So the highlights of this weeks appointment were;
* Gained 1 pound - That puts me at a total of 12 pounds this pregnancy
* Baby's heartbeat was fine and she found it down low so she is still in position
* This was my first internal exam and she said I was 2 CM dilated and 25% effaced
*She could also feel the bag of waters and Chileshe's head. (SO COOL!)
* They asked me if I wanted to have the flu shot and I said, OF COURSE! (Now my arm hurts like I had a serious weight lifting session. )

My next appointment is Monday and they will check me again. hopefully I will have progressed.

Last night I woke up to a few contractions. They were coming pretty regularly but my stomach was not hard like a rock. But these suckers were painful. Once I got up and went to the bathroom and drank a glass of water they went away.

I was making fun of Edwin this week because he is in TOTAL nesting mode. He is cleaning out drawers of paperwork and organizing cupboards in the kitchen. Last night we pulled the totes of baby clothes down and I sorted through them. I am trying to get a little bit ahead of the game on these clothes. It is one of the most annoying tasks. We also have an extra playpen, breast pump, and jogging stroller that I am going to see if my internship location would like or need.
Well, that is all I can think of right now. I need to go study for my final tomorrow night (biomedical ethics - gotta LOVE it)and then I need to relax! I have my last day of my internship on Thursday and I am SOOOOO excited to have finished all of those hours in such a short period of time. I will miss seeing the girls, but I know they are going to text me constantly. I will be posting a blog about my first maternity photo shoot that I did with one of the girls and her sister. They let me practice on them and it went REALLY well.

Week 34- Baby Chileshe, we are almost done!

Since I left you all in suspense at week 14, I thought it was about time I let everyone in on my "never-ending" pregnancy. (At least that is what this week feels like)

I currently have 2 days left in week 34 and I am not going to be sad to see it go! I have been a sore, emotional, irritable, and a pathetic MESS this entire week. It all started when Chileshe decided to flip into position, which I am VERY thankful for since Malaika was Breech up until the end. The consequences of her flipping have brought the constant reminder to my lower back that I have a baby growing inside of me.

All whining aside I am so excited that we are nearing the end of this journey and I get to meet my sweet little baby in a few weeks! This pregnancy has been COMPLETELY different from my pregnancy with Malaika.HEre is my mental list;
* In the beginning I had a lot more morning sickness

* With Malaika I had bleeding and a lot of complications and with Chileshe I have had a pretty uneventful pregnancy.

* I would say I have been a little more emotional this pregnancy. But you would probably have to ask my husband or my mom since they are the ones who have to deal with me crying.

* Had one ultrasound at 18 weeks and found out we were having a GIRL! The doctor told me I will not have anymore ultrasounds soooo we are hoping they were correct when they told us a girl. (18 weeks is a little early) If not then we have a TON of pink clothes to give away!

* Had my Rho-gam shot for the RH negative blood type around 24 weeks.

* Edwin is getting more excited as we draw near to the end. He is really excited to have two little girls!

* This baby is a MOVER and a SHAKER! She is constantly doing flips and kicks and jabs. With Malaika I had to drink Orange juice and lay down and pray I would feel 20 kicks. I have not had to do that once with Chileshe. She is awake when I wake up in the morning. When I eat she kicks, when I go to the bathroom she kicks, and when I go to bed at night she rolls around! It has been really nice to not have to worry about her and I kind of like the feeling.

* I think we have decided on the middle name...maybe? I won't say yet because we have changed our mind SOOOO many times.

* Had an AMAZING baby shower and feel so blessed by all the friends and family in our lives!

* Pretty much have everything washed and organized. We just need to set up the cradle and playpen.

* Still working on getting Malaika into her own bed. We have our good weeks and then our bad weeks. But I do kind of like having her around so much. I just miss snuggling my husband!

* So far I have not had any outrageous cravings EXCEPT: Hash-browns! For a good two weeks that was all I wanted and one night I almost cried when I burned them. LOL
Watermelon is a constant and I think it is the reason I do not gain very much weight in pregnancy.

* As of my appointment on Monday I have only gained 9 pounds this pregnancy!!! THANK YOU JESUS! The doctor told me to expect about 2 pounds per week from now on so I am bracing myself to see that scale move up.


That is pretty much all I can think of right now. I am really thankful for my husband and his hard working bones. I have been able to be a stay at home mom throughout this entire pregnancy and I feel so blessed to have this time with Malaika and time to focus on school. I graduate this December with my Bachelors in Healthcare Administration and then I am looking at a Master's program in Public Health to start winter term. God just keeps providing for our family and helping things work out!

I will try to keep everyone posted in these final weeks and also post pictures ASAP!

Mwango Baby #2 - week 14

Hey everybody,
I wanted to share a little bit about this pregnancy so far and finally have some free time to do it. I am currently 14 weeks and 2 days along. This pregnancy has been completely different from Malaika's. I have been SOOOO sick and crabby and emotional. Some days it hits me so hard I feel like I need to hide in another room so no one can see me like this. HAHA! But alas, my husband has been a trooper and has tried his hardest to understand when I need him to and lend me a shoulder to cry on. He is also enjoying cold cereal for dinner multiple times a week. =)

I have not had as many doctor appointments which has made the pregnancy feel a little unrealistic. Some days I feel like I am making the whole thing up. BUT then my nausea kicks in or my boobs hurt and I remember what is really happening. LOL
My next doctor appointment is set up for May 18th. My doctor said that we will schedule my first ultrasound at that appointment. YIPPIE! That will be my 20 week ultrasound and I will know the sex of the baby. Edwin and I both have a strong feeling that it is a girl and I just cannot WAIT to find out so we can get started on transitioning Malaika's room into a big girl and baby room. As far as weight gain goes this time, my home scale says I have lost 8 pounds and the last time I went to the doctor it said I was the exact same as my first appointment. I am hoping I can keep it up and not gain very much so I can lose it quickly afterwards.

Malaika is VERY excited about being a big sister. She tells everyone that she has a baby in her belly and she comes and talks to my belly and gives it kisses throughout the day. It will be interesting to see what she thinks when the baby is actually here and she see's it for the first time. Potty training is going FANTASTIC! She will definitely be out of pull-ups (except the nighttime ones) by the time the baby comes. This is going to save us a LOT of money! Hooray!

Hope everyone is doing good and enjoying MAY! Hopefully the sun will grace us with its presence soon.

Malaika would like to announce...

That she is going to be a "Big Sister"!! We are sooo excited and cannot wait to add to our little family. If you ask Malaika what is in mommy's belly she will tell you, " A BABY" and then she will walk over and start saying hi to my tummy and giving it a kiss. So cute! Then if you ask her what is in her belly she will say, "Baby Andre!" (That is her cousin who is the only baby she knows.) It will be fun to see how she reacts as my tummy gets bigger and when the new baby arrives.

So far this pregnancy has been just as complicated as Malaika's except I have had MORNING SICKNESS. UGH! I found out I was pregnant in the beginning of February.(We had taken Mirena out the day before Thanksgiving) I contacted the doctor and they set up my first apt. for March 24th for the vital history and blood and urine test and April 13th for the first Doc apt and the fetal heartbeat (can't wait for that!)
At about six weeks I started to bleed (surprise surprise) and I felt all those emotions coming back from my pregnancy with Malaika. I contacted the doctor and she wanted me to keep an eye on it and contact them if it got worse. I waited it out but a few days later I was still bleeding.I decided I needed to just ask the doctor if I could at least get my Rogham since I am RH negative. They said they would see me the next day to check everything out.
After my exam she said the bleeding was not coming from the uterus and everything looked okay. (PHEW) So I was sent off with the message of only call if I have cramping accompanied with bleeding. (yada yada)

On March 24th I had the usually prenatal screening, blood work, urine, and medical history questionnaire. Everything went well and they gave me the packet of info with all the things you can and cannot do while you are pregnant. BUT a few days later they called and said I have a UTI and I will need to take medication for that. (yippee)OH well I will take it all and enjoy these precious prego moments.

I am currently 9 weeks and 2 days and according to the online calculation I will be due October 30, 2010. (Which is a week behind Malaika's original due date which was Nov 4th, 2007)

So there you have it, all up to date! Hopefully the second trimester will be a little kinder to me and I can relax and enjoy. Poor Edwin, I am not sure if he wants to have anymore kids after this round. (hehe)

The Mwango's go to Africa ~Part one~

We finally did it! After YEARS of planning and promising, we finally took the plunge and went to Zambia. The only word that comes to mind when people ask about our trip is AMAZING! I loved the people and the area and the country. Now that I am home I wish I would have blogged everyday so that I could have kept track of my exact feelings each day BUT I will try to re-cap the event and stay as true to my feelings as I can remember. Sooo here it goes....

I will start with packing. We started packing a few months before we left. We were taking a total of seven bags and I wanted to make sure we had EVERYTHING we could possibly need while we were there. Three of the bags were packed full of things for Edwin's family members. I lucked out and hit the clearance racks in August for summer clothing since we would be in Africa during their hottest season. We packed shoes and purses and suits and LOTS and LOTS of baby clothes for his family. For Edwin and I it was fairly easy, all the summer clothing that I needed to pack away for the winter was packed into suitcases. I didn't know what the temperature would be like so I tried to pack a little bit of everything. Malaika was the tough part. When packing for a baby there is this maternal demon that sits on your shoulder and tells you bad things are going to happen if you don't pack THIS! Even though I KNEW I would not need Malaika's heavy winter coat, I could foresee Africa having their first and ONLY snow while we were there and Malaika freezing to death because I am such an unprepared mother! Haha! She did not even wear half the items I packed for her. (but if any catastrophe happened I would have been prepared..LOL) Her diaper bag was full of toys and coloring books and things that I though would entertain her on the LONG plane rides.
The main concern with the luggage was weight. we were only allowed 50lbs per bag that we were checking and they had to be certain dimensions. At home each bag weighed about 49lbs.(except one) PHEW! Susanna came and stayed with us the night before we left and drove us to the airport in the morning around 5 a.m. the baggage went through and the lady was so nice. we had one bag that was over the weight limit by 20 lbs. we were prepared for this and thought it would be an extra 50 dollar charge but it was actually a 150.00 charge. she said that because we had a baby we could take one more bag. She provided a box to put the excess stuff in and checked it all at no extra cost!! She also kept telling us (at least a hundred times) that we should continue to have more babies, and when we have them to come see her. What can I say, we make cute babies!
*Here is a tip for all you travelers out there... TRAVEL WITH A BABY! You get the most amazing service everywhere you go!* We were always escorted to the front of the line.
I was extra nervous about flying. I have not flown since I was in high school and the farthest I have ever flown is to Kansas. Now I have a (almost) two yr. old and a 36 hour flight ahead of me! EEK! The first flight was a 3 hour flight from Portland to Minneapolis. Since Malaika was under two we didn't have to purchase a ticket for her, she was a lap baby. this flight posed a slight problem because it was packed completely full and in the row of three seats were Edwin, Malaika and myself as well as another lady and her baby! Talk about cramped! For some reason every flight we had Malaika would pass out right before take off. It was almost like she knew what was going to happen. She would suck on her binky the entire time and we never had a problem with her screaming or crying because of her ears. She slept through the entire first flight *AMAZING*! The next flight was from Minneapolis to Amsterdam this was an 8 hour flight and it was the nicest plane! All the seats had individual movie screens and you could watch TV and listen to music. Malaika slept through half of the flight and the other half she watched dora (on the I touch) and Ice age on the seat screen. She cracked us up on this flight because she ate soooo much food! I had packed a few snacks (chex mix, cheerios, and goldfish crackers) she ate almost all of those and both mine and Edwin's plane food! In Amsterdam we had a 5 hour layover which was good and bad... (If I was telling you this in person, this is the part where Edwin would start laughing at me) I decided to go the comfortable route and wear a tracksuit on the plane. I wanted comfort and not style for a 36 hour flight. The problem is that the tracksuit was on the baggy side and after a few hours of being in a plane it had stretched out more. this would not have been a problem if we had not just landed in the most FASHIONABLE airport I have EVER been in. Everyone was wearing suits and fur and stiletto's! On top of that they all smelled SOOOO good! I smelled like an eight hour plane ride who's seat was directly across from the bathroom. UGH! My adoring husband did not help...He had unfortunately told me, before we left,that I should not wear the baggy tracksuit and that I should wear nice jeans and a nice shirt. He proceeded to tell me this for the ENTIRE 5 hour layover in Amsterdam and continued on the next flight! I hate when he is right! All of my nastiness aside, Amsterdam has an AMAZING airport. The changing room alone was beautiful! As you stepped in the dimly lit room there was light classical music in the background. There were about 10 round sectional couches and each had a built-in crib and sheer white curtains draped around them. BEAUTIFUL and relaxing is what it was. The playroom for the kids was furnished with wooden tree houses and lots of slides... Malaika enjoyed.

The next flight was an eight hour flight from Amsterdam to Kenya. This was BY FAR the worst flight we had. Time changes were catching up to us and it was our night and their day time. We were sitting next to a VERY loud group of Men (kenyan's as edwin called them) who did not speak a word of English but every word they spoke was in a LOUD yelling laughing tone! Malaika slept through this entire flight, she would not even wake up when we tried to wake her for food, and I wanted to join her so badly. Every time I would tune out the loud passengers and drift off the stewardess would wake me up to ask if I wanted something to drink or eat. UGH! NO I want sleep!!!!! There were no TV's and the battery to the I touch had gone down so I can strongly say that was the longest flight of my life!

When we arrived in Kenya It felt so good to FINALLY arrive in Africa. It was late in the evening for them (9 PM for them but afternoon for us time wise) This layover was not very enjoyable. Since it was late most of the shops were closed. My tracksuit was BEYOND baggy at this point and Malaika had just woken up from an 8 hour sleep. She was very perky! I had to use the restroom and when I went in the floor was covered in water. I hiked up my pants and headed to the stall (thinking this is normal?) the toilet was a hole in the floor... hmmmm. I checked the other stall and found a semi -normal toilet and decided I would rather chance an over flowing toilet then my balance on the other one. Good choice! We waited for about 3 hours and then boarded the plane to Lusaka. FINALLY!

This flight was about 2 hours and very exciting, we knew we were almost there. Malaika slept through this entire flight as well (we were soo lucky). The food on this flight was really good and the staff were also very nice. When we landed in lusaka it was around 11:45 PM and it took FOREVER to get through the customs line. We finally made it through and started looking for our bags. All but one made it, my bag was the only one that did not make it. Unfortunately that was the only bag I had packed anything in. I had an extra pair of pajama's in my carry on and luckily they were light and airy because I would be wearing them for the next 5 days! EEK! (Yes I cried... I cried a lot! )

Edwin's sister and brother-in-law were there to pick us up and they had paid for us to stay in a REALLY nice lodge for the night.(The shower had like 10 nozzles and a back massaging spa!) They dropped us off and told us to get some sleep and they would pick us up in the morning. That was my first night sleeping under a mosquito net and it was magical!!! I love AFRICA~!

-------TO BE CONTINUED---- hopefully not 3 months from now------