I had no idea...

(I started this last night, but didn't get a chance to finish...)


Eight years ago on this very evening, I had no idea how much my life was about to change.

Tom got home from work and I was where I could usually be found, in bed.  You see, I was put on bedrest  for what ended up being four months.  Yes FOUR months!  When he got home I told him that I really thought we needed to get our digital camera.  He wasn't so sure, but I insisted.  So, we loaded up into the car and headed towards Best Buy.

When we finally arrived at Best Buy, we both looked at the clock and realized that we may need to do this quickly because the store would be closing in 30 minutes.  I got up out of the car and immediately knew something was wrong...  I yelled to Tom, "Either I am peeing my pants or my water just broke!!"

"WHAT?!?!?!?" he screamed, "Go to the bathroom to be sure!"

We get into Best Buy and I headed towards the bathroom.  At that point, I was sure that my water had broken.  While I was in the bathroom I heard a knock on the door. It was Tom asking me if I was ok.

"Yes, but I am 99% sure my water broke!" I hear the door shut.  It then opens again and I hear Tom say, "Jenny, I got you a wheelchair!"

Great... I am going to get wheeled out of Best Buy because my water broke!  As we are leaving, Tom looks at the kid (and I mean, kid... no older than 19 or so) who was working the front security desk and says, "My wife's water just broke, I am going to wheel her out to the car.  Can you follow us and wheel the chair back in?"  I wish you would have seen the look of sheer horror on this kid's face.  But, he followed us out and Tom helped me into the car.  The Best Buy worker reluctantly took the wheelchair and headed back into the store.  Tom and I were howling with laughter!

We left Best Buy and headed towards Mount Carmel East.  I called the on-call Dr. just to let them know we were on our way to the hospital.  She didn't seem as excited as we were, but nonetheless we were on our way... to the hospital... to have a BABY!!!

We got to Mount Carmel East and had to go in through the emergency room doors.  That poor lady sitting at the front desk may have had a heart attack when Tom went running up to her to tell her my water broke and I was in labor.  She scrambled around to find a wheelchair, got me situated and started pushing me towards labor and delivery.  I think it was her first night on the job...  she was a HOT mess!

When we got up to labor and delivery, she left us to check in.  I had Tom go up and do the checking in since I was a little embarrassed to get up.  He came back and sat down in front of me.  Now, if you know anything about the people at the labor and delivery check in, they never seem to be in a hurry.  So we sat there for a while.  Tom was getting antsy, so he decided that he was going to go up and see what the hold up was.  He pushed the wheelchair back a tad, not realizing that my hands were in the spokes of the wheels and both of my hands got caught in between the spokes and another metal bar on the chair.  I let out a scream and everyone in the waiting room turned to look at me.  I think that got the ladies working at the front desk going a little faster. They thought I was having labor pains... no, I just got my hand stuck in the wheelchair.  Regardless, we were back in triage in no time!

Because Hayden decided to come a little early, we weren't completely ready for his arrival.  I still had the cerclage in (if you don't know what that is... Google it, I will spare the rest of you the details), so they had to quickly remove it.  That was BY FAR the worst part of this whole experience.

Because my contractions weren't too strong or too close together, they started me on an IV of fluids and antibiotics.  They also gave me some medicine to help me sleep through the night.

I got very little sleep between the contractions and people coming in taking my vitals.  I remember thinking to myself, "Why the heck did they offer to give me medicine to help me sleep when they were just going to keep coming in and waking me up?!?!?"

On the morning of March 20th, they asked me if I wanted to sit on a birthing ball.  Since I had been on bedrest and wasn't able to go to any of the classes, I didn't really know what I was doing. I agreed to try it.  Well, that lasted about a minute or two until I puked.  I told them I just wanted to be in my bed and I didn't want any of that fancy birthing stuff.

After an epidural and some pitocin to get my contractions going, I noticed the room start to fill with people and lots of things.  First of all, they brought in all the stuff to help the delivery and as they called the Dr. close to delivery time, I noticed another group of people standing near the baby warmer.  I asked who they were and I was told they were from the NICU... THE WHAT?!?!?  I was a little freaked out!  But, the nurse reassured me that it was normal for them to be in on a delivery of a baby born so early.  That didn't make me feel a ton better, but a I did feel a little better.

At 2:30 in the afternoon, Hayden Thomas Coalter arrived.  He was 6 lbs. 1 oz.  I remember looking at him knowing I was already so much in love with him.  He had the cutest little cry.  He kind of sounded like a baby kitten.

From that moment on, I knew that my life would never be the same... but I can honestly say it has been for the better.  Hayden has blessed out lives in more ways than imaginable.  He has taught me about patience and perseverance.  He also taught me that it is NOT a good idea to go a Dave Matthew's Band concert and then have to care for a baby the next day... definitely not a good idea.

On March 22nd, they finally gave us the green light to go home.  I was really in no hurry. I was scared.  As the nursed wheeled me towards the car, I started sobbing.  She asked me what was wrong and I told her, "I am crying because you are staying here!"  I could not believe that Tom and I would be taking care of this little guy all on our own.  For the first two days of his life, there were tons of people to help out, keep him in the nursery so I could sleep, etc.  Now, we had to do it on our own.

When we celebrate Hayden's birthday, we also celebrate the time that we became parents.  We celebrate that God trusted us with such a special little guy.  We also celebrate that we have all made it this far.  :)

I had no idea how my life would change, but I can honestly say, I wouldn't want it any other way.

Oh, and for the record... we didn't get our camera at Best Buy that night.  Luckily, my mom let us borrow her camera.

Time for me...

It is no secret... I have always struggled with my weight.  I have always been jealous of those who could eat what they wanted and never gain a pound.  I have always felt like I gain weight if I look at something fattening!

I turned to food for comfort, when I was bored or just when I knew something tasted good.  I also used my pregnancies to justify eating whatever I wanted.  

For years, I have sought ways to "fix" this problem... I have tried every diet known to man.  I would start out great, but then when I wasn't losing the weight as quickly as I wanted I would get frustrated and give up.  I think this is called yo- yo dieting.

Last Summer, I noticed that a gym would be going in the shopping center close to our house.  For the longest time, I had thought it would be so nice to have a workout facility close to our house.  This way there is no excuse to not workout.  The name of this new gym was Spike Fitness.  I went to check it out and met Spike and Debbie Johnson.  Little did I know that at that point, my life would be forever changed.

When the gym opened, I was there the first day and tried a zumba class.  I loved it!  I then took a spinning class and it reminded me of how good it feels to work out and feel that energy.  Soon after that, a few girls and I decided to start personal training with Steve Burke.  I have to say it is the best money I have ever spent!  He makes me work hard and do things that I never thought I could do.

From all of this I have realized that I need to start putting my self first.  That is such a hard thing for a mommy to do (especially when your kids are a HANDFUL!)  But, I knew I needed to do this for my kids, for my husband and most importantly for myself.

I know this will be a struggle for the rest of my life, but I hope that one day my struggle with weight and food won't consume my everyday.  I have taken the steps to have a more healthy, active lifestyle!

So, here's to me! :)