Birth and Baby Fair in San Francisco!

Hello Everyone!

On Saturday June 25, 2011, I had the privilege to go to the Birth and Baby Fair in San Francisco's Fort Mason Center in the Marina District. When we went, the first 150 families got free bags of coupons and free stuff. 

What mom doesn't like FREE diapers?!

One awesome thing I noticed when we walked in was the changing table by the bathrooms. They had compostable diapers from sizes 1 - 6 for parents to use when changing their kid. I LOVED THEM! Cloth diapers are almost impossible for us right now because we live in an apartment and don't have our own washer and dryer, so these diapers seemed to be a GREAT fit for a family like us. 

I also pre-signed up for a workshop; Baby Sign-Language. The gentleman was very humorous. Not only did I learn a few simple signs such as "milk", "airplane", "poop", "more", and "food"... I also learned "margarita" and "horny"! LOL! He made the workshop so much fun. Other workshops include meet the doulas, baby sign language, vaccines, going green with baby, cloth diapering, baby wearing/slings and things, making your own baby food, pre and post natal yoga, and breastfeeding.

There are lots of activities for kids. My son and daughter did finger painting with all natural and edible paints. My daughter was 6 months old at the time and I didn't have to worry about her eating it. They also had face painting which my son LOVED! He got a Batman face... haha.

There was also a photographer there that was taking pictures for a contest. It was to win a free photo shoot from her. Her company is called STINKIEPANTZ PRODUCTIONS. So many people voted for the photos that she gave out extra prizes! My kids and I won $50 off a family photo session. I can't wait! To see her work, go to http://www.stinkiepantz.com/

There are also free prizes you can win from strollers to photo sessions to clothing and toys! It's a great place!

You can buy tickets from the link below:

http://birthandbabyfair.ticketleap.com/t/YMD/

I get $2 of every ticket sold so please tell your friends to buy from me as well!!! :)

Hope to see you there on Sunday October 2nd! (10am - 4pm)

Weight Loss Mission: LOTS OF WALKING!

So with my son starting school on Monday (August 29th, 2011), I have to do a LOT of walking to get him to school. It's not really a far walk, but when I looked up the mileage, it's a pretty good distance to be walking everyday.

So from my home to his school, it's 0.4 miles. That's a total of 0.8 miles for me to take him to school. Then I have to pick him up, so that's another 0.8 mile round trip for me. In total, I'm walking 1.6 miles everyday! Today I took a little extra walk to Starbucks near my apartment and that added an extra 0.6 miles onto my walking today! W00t W00t!

I've just weighed myself and I'm down a total of 14lbs! I'm currently 186lbs. and that means I'm down 2 pounds in 3 days! It's amazing what walking can really do for weight loss.

Not to mention I feel SO much healthier now that I'm walking a lot. Walking has always been my favorite form of exercise but I honestly haven't done as much as I would have liked to in the past. (This next part may be a little too much for some, but we're all adults here right? We've all dealt with this...) I've also noticed that I'm not so constipated anymore. I always felt bloated and whatnot, and I DO KNOW that walking does help with that, but I didn't know it could be so fast or THAT good! LOL!

I just feel GREAT over all... physically and emotionally. I have the support and love from the people I care about most and that's the best.

Weight Loss Mission: 12 Gone. 38 To Go!

So I know I haven't written in a while, but that's because nothing interesting has truly happened.

My weight is still going DOWN, but it's very slow. I guess after you loose the first 10 pounds, you kinda level off. LOL. But it's okay. I'm down 12 pounds all together!

My sister-in-law said she could send me some running shoes and once that happens, I can start running! :) I've been wanting to for a while but I don't have anything close to shoes I can run in.

Anyone know anyone who goes jogging in flip-flops or wedges?

Lets hope that I can loose this extra 38-ish pounds before next summer. I'd LOVE to wear a bikini ;-)

Weight Loss Mission: 190!

So last time, I said I haen't lost any extra weight. I was 192 for about 2 weeks in a row. Not sure why but it is what it is.

This week (on Monday) I'm 190! Woo Hoo!

Last week, I was saving up my points to go to a karaoke bar on Saturday. Alcohol = points and apparently my favorite drink, and Adios... is like somewhere around 10 or 12 points each! So I had about 13 points left over for myself but I also had TWO drinks. So I guess I went over my points. But I must have sung all those calories out cuz I still lost another TWO pounds!

This week has been good so far. I actually had so many points left over yesterday that I was able to have some dark chocolate from Trader Joe's! YUM! Im such a chocoholic.

I should TECHNICALLY have 36 points for the day, but I think I'm going to go down to 33 because I'm taking away 1 for the weight loss and then another 2 for breastfeeding. Im substituting the bottle like maybe, once a day (on average) so I think I can afford to take away some more points. I am still MOSTLY breastfeeding, so I cant take away all those 'breastfeeding' points.

I'm also going to be starting that workout video thing.. I think it's called P90-X or whatever. Hopefully it will help since I cant go jogging. No running shoes and no jogging stroller >_<

Weight Loss Mission: Slightly Disappointed



That was a pic of me from Tuesday 7.12.11. I took it like, 30 minutes before posting this blog. LoL.

So apparently, as of Monday the 11th, I haven't lost any NEW weight. I'm still 192 (down 8 pounds from where I started) so it's a little disappointing. But at least I haven't GAINED any weight. That would totally suck!

There's one weird thing though.. on Friday, I weighed myself and I was 190(down 10 pounds!). Then I think the weekend happened and I just didnt do well. I wasn't home so I couldn't count my points. I had some ice cream I probably shouldn't have had. And on Sunday, I had some lasagna... Not a lot, but I'm sure it was still a good amount of points with all the cheese and crap. I don't even LIKE lasagna!

Well, this week WILL be better! I'm not gonna really be home this weekend either, but I WILL be counting my points as best I can and keeping a Weight Watchers food points list on my husbands Smart Phone so no matter what I eat, I can find it and count it.

Should I count the alcohol I'm gonna be having at the bar on Saturday though? Thoughts WELCOME! :)

Weight Loss Mission: 4th of July Weekend

See this picture of me? See those white pants I'm wearing? I couldn't fit them a MONTH ago. I'm tellin you, I love those pants and I'm so happy I can fit into them again! I do hope that some day, they will be too big for me ;-)

But as of Monday (July 4th) I have lost a total of 8 pounds! Woo Hoo! This fourth of July weekend was pretty tought though...

Saturday I went to a BBQ over in Richmond, CA with my family. The food was great but it was definately not weight loss friendly. LoL. There was macroni and cheese (with bacon in it), BBQ chicken, ribs, cake, blow pop martini's... and a whole lot of other yummy stuff.

To stay as good as I could with my weight loss mission, I had a small protion of two different types of mac & cheese and 3 chicken legs (the last one was later in the party). I also had 1 bite of Rice Krispy treat and like 2 bites of my own Peach Cobbler. I think I did a pretty good job with my options!

Saturday and Sunday we were in San Francisco so I wasn't able to count my points barely at all, so I just had to rely on my memory and just picking out what foods were best and portioning them out small.

So as of Monday July 4th, I am now 192 pounds! I am 8 pounds lighter and I am feeling great!

I have a karaoke bar to go to for a birthday party on the 16th and I'm hoping to look sexy for it! I'm confident enough in myself that I will look as best as I can be. It gives me an excuse to shop for a new dress. Haha!

Weight Loss Mission: GOING! GOING! GONE!!!

Hey everyone! I <3 my scale!

This past week was a little difficult, but still good.

Tueday (6-21-11) we went to San Francisco. I had some drinks and got a little drunk for the first time in over a year and half! It was fun. But I couldnt really count my points. I DID however pick the healthiest "snacks" at the bar. I don't think I went over my points.

Friday (6-24-11) evening we went out and I had some chips and salsa. I wasn't sure how many points it was, so I just ate very minimal. I got home a searched it up, wrote it down, and I still had points left over for the day! :)

Saturday (6-25-11) I went to the San Francisco Birth and Baby Fair. We had to leave early so I just had a 6 point bowl of cereal and I didnt eat again until like, 2pm. I wanted to, its just that the fair didn't have any healthy options. Just pies and fried stuff. I was starving! So I got a turkey sandwich at Safeway.

We also went to my mother's that day and she cooked some home made chilli and garlic bread and even a chocolate cake. I knew I had A LOT of points left over, so I has a small piece of cake. Even though I didn't really know how many points I had, I still felt good about the amount of food I ate that day.

Sunday (6-26-11) We were away from home as well. We had to leave early for San Francisco and I didnt eat breakfast until about 11am. I went out with my father-in-law and had about a 12 point breakfast. Once again, I couldn't look up exactly how many points I was eating, but 12 IS a lot. Most of the time, my breakfast its like 6-9 points...WITH COFFEE. I didnt eat much during the day and it was hard for me to find healthy LOW POINT things to eat. For dinner I had a burrito with beans, rice, and steak on a whole wheat tortilla. I looked it up and it said it was about 8 points for that, but just incase, I had 16 points left over before the burrito and I just didnt eat anything after.

So I COULD have had "rollover" points, and I could have not. Im not 100% sure. It's hard eating out and counting points. When you make your own food, it's easier because you know exactly what's going in it and you can control how healthy it is. I tried to order egg whites with breakfast on Sunday, but the restaurant didnt have it, so I had to eat regular eggs which is MORE points.

But I did weigh myself this morning..... GOOD NEWS!!!

Im down 6 pounds all together!

My current weight it now 194!

I'm really proud of myself. Even though it's easy to give into temptation and to just say "screw it!", I'm not gonna do it. The feeling of seeing myself weigh less every week is a much better high than I get from eating pizza, cheesburgers, or cookies.

It's all worth it!

Weight Loss Mission: Jessy Exposed!

Hey everyone. So I guess today is the day I DID say I would tell the world what my weight number is... I'm a little nervous so be gentle. LoL.

There are 3 different responses I'm expecting...

1) You're really brave/awesome/cool to say this aloud. Not many people have the guts like you do.
2) Who cares? Why are you making such a big deal out of it?
3) Wow, how the fuck did you let yourself get like that? HAHAHAHA!

Response to #1: Thank you so much for suppoting me. You're a true friend and I really appreciate it :)
Response to #2: It's a big deal because I always told myself that I would never get to this weight. I'm slightly embarrassed about it, but at least I'm doing something about it. It CAN be a big deal in a marriage and I don't want it to be anymore.
Response to #3: FUCK YOU! You're most likely one of the people in this world who has some serious self-esteem issues that YOU need to work out. So instead of making yourself feel better by trying to make me feel like shit, Focus on YOURSELF and stop reading my updates.

So here it is... I started this journey off at...
200lbs.

I weighed myself yesterday (5 days after I started my weight loss) an I now am...
198lbs.

THATS 2 POUNDS LOST! :-D

I feel so amazingly great, physically and mentally. I was feeling so sad for a while, but now I feel almost like a different person. My body and mind already feel better. I can't wait till I start REALLY looking better.

I'm happy to say GOODBYE to 200 and I'm on my way to saying HELLO to 130. I'm so proud of myself. I truly am. This is all for ME and nobody else. And I want it soooo bad! I cant wait till next summer. Maybe you'll see a picture of me in a bikini ;-)

Day 3 (6.16.11) of Weight Loss Mission

They say that when quiting a bad habit, the first three days are the hardest. My bad habit was over eating and I'm now eating about half as much as I was eating before. I can see how I got so big. LoL. But that's okay. I've realized that even if I dont loose a TON of weight, that I'll be happy being healthy and knowing that I'm not such a gluton! HaHa!

I've felt pretty good. I'm actually feeling phsyically and mentally better. It's weird.

This will be my last blog entry until Monday when I let thee world know my "number". I've told Brandon already. He's the only one that knows. I was SO scared to tell him. I'm not proud of myself for being this weight but I am proud of the fact that I'm owning up to it and deciding to change it. So I think it'll easier for me to admit if to the world on Monday now. I felt SO much better after I told him. It was like a HUGE chain was lifted off of me.

Yesterday food...

FOOD                                        POINTS
                                                      37
2 Pieces French Toast                   - 7
Syrup and blueberries                    - 1
                                                     29pts.
1 cup coffee w/ milk                     - 1
                                                     28pts.
1/2 cup frozen yogurt                   - 2
Small brownie                              - 3
                                                     22pts.
1 cup brown rice                         - 4
brocolli                                        - 0
green beans                                 - 0
chicken                                       - 3
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce                  - 1
                                                   14pts.
2 cups rice Krispy's                    - 4
1 cup (2%) milk                         - 3
                                                  7pts.
1 cup frozen yogurt                    - 4
Small brownie (the other half)     - 3
                                                  0pts.

Haha it was hot yesterday so I had some frozen yogurt :) And can you tell I like Rice Krispy's? HaHa! They're low calorie and low fat. YAY!

YUMMY! YUMMY! YUMMY!

Day 2 of Weight Loss (6.15.11)

Yesterday was a GREAT day!

I had a good breakfast.

I was out of the house for a few hours so I wasn't noticing my hunger much.

I've noticed that when I'm at home, I tend to eat more. Is it like that with everybody?

Well anyways, here's my food from yesterday :)

FOOD                                   POINTS
                                                37
3 egg whites                             - 1
2 bacon                                   - 2
High Fiber toast w/ butter        - 3
1 banana                                 - 2
                                               29pts.
2 cups rice krispys                  - 4
1 cup (2%) milk                      - 3
                                              22pts.
1 1/2 cups brown rice            - 6
4+ ounces baked chicken       - 3
Mushrooms                           - 0
Green Breans                        - 0
Baby carrots                         - 0
1/4 cup Teriyaki sauce          - 1 

                                             12pts.

Holy cow! Can you belive I had 12 points left over?! After dinner we went to see Grease in an outside movie event, so I didn't get to indulge in any dessert. So maybe today I will and save the rest for the BBQ Sunday. I have a total of 14 "roll over" points. LoL. At the end of the week, they disappear though. They're only good for the current week.

I <3 veggies! Most of them have no points per serving and they're yummy and healthy for you!

Feelings About Day 1 (6.14.11) of my Weight Loss Mission

So day one was okay.

I was hungry but I wasn't starving.

It feels like I'm on a diet, but I dont feel it's impossible.

I was sad I couldn't have one of my home baked brownie.

I got pretty upset when Brandon decided to eat frozen yogurt and a brownie right in front of me. But I realized that I need to get used to it because there are going to be people around me who are eating things I can't eat right now. But he also needs to be supportive and understand how much of a chocoholic I am. And he does. But chocolate is my weakness. Im suprised (yet proud of myself) that I didn't just give in.



The Weight Watchers has given me some structure and I need that. I can't do this without a plan.

Here was my list of food and points for yesterday

Daily amount of points: 37 (I get more than normal because I'm still breastfeeding)

FOOD                                                       POINTS
2 cups oatmeal                                         - 6
1/2 apple                                                   - 1
1/4 cup dried cranberries                         - 2
                                                                28pts.
1 cup coffee with milk                              - 1
1 cup Mother's Milk Tea                        - 0
                                                                 27pts.
Two pieces bread(high fiber)                   - 2 
3 pieces bacon                                          - 3
Lettuce                                                      - 0
Tomato                                                      - 0
                                                                  22pts.
2 cups rice krispy's                                   - 4
1 cup milk                                                 - 3
                                                                   15pts.
Homemade shrimp alfredo                       -13
                                                                 2pts. Left!
Now here's my delema. Do I eat a small desert at the end of the day to finish out my points? Or should I save them for the BBQ for Father's Day this Sunday? I'm not sure what to do... HELP ME!
         

My Weight Loss Mission

Hey Everyone!

So tomorrow (June 14th, 2011) I'm going to start my weight loss mission. I have my weight watchers daily points calculated and I can find a generic food points list online. I'm going to be measuring out everything I eat and writing down everything I eat. A "food journal". I'm also going to be documenting on here pictures of myself every week so show my progress. If you would like to follow me and support me, that would be great. I could use it because I'm a little nervous. There is a LOT of weight for me to loose and I really don't want to fail.

I would also like to write here everyday to say how my day was and weather or not I felt bad about what I ate...just the daily life in losing weight. I think it will help me a lot if I do. And please, your comments are welcome.

Next week on Monday, I will be letting the world know how much I weigh NOW. Once I loose a "weeks worth or weight", I will let my details be know. Nobody knows my TRUE number right now, not even my own husband. So this is seriously a BIG step for me. I'm doing it because I never want to be this big ever again in my life(unless I'm pregnant, but even then....I still don't want to be this big). I want to get down to 130 pounds.

Wish me luck! Here's a current picture of me....

Richard Scarry's 92nd Birthday

This morning, Google switched its homepage logo over to one of a fantastical cityscape featuring mice riding motorcycles and other anthropomorphic animals peaking out from windows and managing the rescue of a second-floor cat from a burning house.

The design is meant to celebrate the 92nd birthday of famed children's book illustrator and author, Richard Scarry. Scarry passed away in Switzerland at the age of 74, but his work continues to live on in the hearts of children as their bookshelves often include at least a few volumes of the more than 300 that Scarry helped to create. As a child, I often watched The Busy World of Richard Scarry, an animated series that aired on Nickelodeon until 2000. I now have my son Brandon who is 4 1/2 and he's super into the series. He has the book "Richard Scarry's: What Do People Do All Day", "Busy World of Richard Scarry" in a DVD set with 30 full episodes, and "Richard Scarry's BUSYTOWN: Eye Found It!" Game. The game teaches kids to work together where EVERY player either wins or looses.

Scarry's first book, Two Little Miners (1949), was published in the Little Golden Books series; decades later, he would make a key move to Random House," the Washington Post notes. "His breakthrough book commercially was 1963's Best Word Book Ever, which labeled roughly 1,400 pictures." A 1989 list assembled by Publishers Weekly of the 50 bestselling hardcover books of all time included Scarry as the creator of eight, according to Brian Gillie.

Here are some links I reccommend.
"Richard Scarry's What Do People Do All Day" Book

"The Busy World of Richard Scarry: Everyday There's Something New" DVD

"Richard Scarry's BUSYTOWN: Eye Found It!" Game

Learning

Being a mother and wife has really tought me how to live my life to the fullest. Before I met Brandon, or had kids, I wasn't very happy with my life. Sure I was young, but I know I was only enough to know what was good and bad. Right a wrong. And what made me happy or sad.

I met my husband Brandon and he tought me how to love myself. It was really hard for me to do, and I always felt like I was fighting myself to do it, but i did. And I love myself more that I could have ever imagined growing up. I was never told I was beautiful by a guy that didnt "want something" else. I never felt respected by ANY man I had in my life. I never really had a positive role model to look up to...to talk to about sex, boys, love, puberty... nothing. I basically had to figure it out all on my own. And that didn't really lead to very many good decisions. And I never really felt apart of my family. At times I still don't, but hey, thats what being the "half-sister" gets you right? I was always the different one. I never felt like I fit in anywhere.

Then after Brandon came into my life, I was always learning about myself and our relationship, and what it meant to be TRULY loved. He tought me that it didnt matter what other people thought of me, or weather or not THEY loved me, but what really matter was what I thought of myself, and what I believed in.

After having my son in 2006, i grew so much as a person. Not only because I was forced to, but because I was a completely different person than I used to be a year before. I learned how to be positive and look at life as a whole big expierence. I took the good and bad with open arms because it's the bad expierences you learn from and are the most benificial. The good ones you just have to make sure you cherish for a life time, and you learn to appreciate the good things that come your way. It was hard to begin raising a child at 18, but I think I did better than most women my age. The cards of fate were dealt and I had to learn to play with them.

During the planning of our August 2009 wedding, we hit a speed bump in our relationship...We had almost broken up. Stress was mounting and I had no idea what to do. We weren't happy with ourselves and what we wanted for eachother and we had to figure it out. We realized that we needed to focus on ourselves (me on myself, and Brandon on himself) to be able to make eachother happy. You can't love someone else until you learn to love yourself. This was a HUGE learning expierence for me because I thought that I knew all there was to know about being in a relationship and being a mother.... I was wrong. I very quickly noticed that I wasn't taking care of myself as well as I should have and that I needed to make a change in order for my relationship with my husband AND son to be healthy as well. I also didnt know that when I truly believe in something (our love), that I will fight for it till the death. I never knew that I had that kind of power in me...In the end, it made our relationship stronger.

Being a GOOD wife is truly a hard job. It's not easy supporting your husband sometimes... I love my husband very much, but there are times where I just dont understand his decisions and I still have to support him because I love and trust him. I would never lie to him, and I think I've learned to do that without hurting his feelings. It's hard putting a smile on your face when you've had a rough day at your own part-time job AND at home with your kid. I didn't know so much pressure was put on wives being absoloutely PERFECT in everyones eyes...especially to the people who DON'T know what going on 100%. Like finances, or arguments, or just no sex for that week. A lot of my friends weren't/aren't married or have kids so it was hard for me to let out how I felt about things. In a way, its a blessing because I get to talk to my husband more about what's bothering me and how it can be fixed. It doesn't always work out the way I planned, but hey, thats the learned expierence. I'm STILL learning how to talk to my husband so he won't get mad when I tell him that he's not cuddling me enough, or that he hasn't helped out with the kids that day. And he's still learning how to respond to accusations I make about him. Marriage is WORK! No doubt about it. And I don't think it's something I'll ever figure out 100%, but I look forward to the challanges and experiences it will bring me.

I hope I will always be learning about myself, my husband, and my kids for the rest of my life. Sadly, I will never know everything.

Jessy's Delicious Fudge Brownies Recipe.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Ingredients:
- 5oz. DARK Chocolate
- 1 stick unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- Pinch of salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup flour

1) Grease or butter the bottom and sides of a 9in. square baking pan

2) Melt the dark chocolate and butter together in a heat proof bowl on top of boiling water. Stir until just smooth

3) Remove from heat and whisk in the cocoa powder, sugar, and salt. Whisk in the eggs and then then flour until incorporated.

4) Pour batter evenly in prepared baking pan

5) Cook for 25-35 minutes (depending on your oven.) Brownies are done when knife inserted into center comes out clean.

The Birth of Evelyn Rose

Evelyn Rose Kissinger was born on December 1st, 2010 at 1:45pm. She was 10lbs. and 2oz. and 21 inches long. I was 22 years old.

After having a pregnancy filled with heartbreak, happiness, more scarryness, overjoyment, pain, and irritation, I finally went into labor 7 days after my due date. Once again, I woke up at about 4am having to pee. I felt a SLIGHT cramping. I woke Brandon up and told him that I believe that my early labor had started. I told him that I was fine and that we should just wait, considering they wern't strong at all. His worry was that we wouldn't get to our birth center Sage Femme in San Francisco in time. We had moved to San Jose (an hour away) while I was pregnant to be closer to Brandon's job. So anyways, I told Brandon to go to work and that I would call him if and when the contractions got stronger. Well, two hours later, I called him and told him that I was for sure in labor. He came home and started running around the whole apartment getting thigs ready like a loonatic. LOL. It was so funny and cute to see him like that. I was still talking through my contractions, but I called my midwife Judi to let her know that my labor had started. She also talked Brandon into calming down. I also called our doula Shannon and as she was on her way over to our apartment, I decided to take a relaxing shower. My contractions were slower getting stronger and with every one, Brandon got more and more nervous. Shannon got to our place at a little before 12 noon and she brought donuts! So nice. My contractions immediately picked up and she started rubbing my feet and back. I wasn't able to really talk through my contractions anymore and they were coming really fast. Shannon called Judi and told her that we were on our way... an hours drive to the city.

The car ride was TERRIBLE! My husband's car is a Ford Mustang so it leaves little room to move. I put a pillow under my thigh to help lift my bum off the seat so the contractions wouldn't hurt so much. Shannon kept reminding me to "breath the contraction out...low breathing...low moans..." and it really helped. She also kept our 4 year old son Brandon calm in the back seat with her.

We arrived at the birth center at around 1pm. I got out of the car, and the pain went half away when I stood up. It felt so good to be out of that car. When Judi checked to see how dialated I was, she said I was 8cm! I had progressed about 4cm in ONE hour! We all immediately made our way to the birthing suite and I got into the birthing tub. The pain went half away again. It was sooooo relaxing to be in warm water all to myself. Brandon and our son Brandon Jr. we're giving me water, and rubbing my hair; it felt great. I was completely dialated shortly after. Just as i started to push, our friend Anna came into the birthing room. She had made it! And about 5 minutes before Evelyn was born, my mother-in-law walked into the room. I was sooo happy she made it! Okay, it was time to really give it a hard push because Judi said her heart rate was dropping a bit. I had no idea she was crowing but I just listened to Judi's voice and did was she told me to do. She told me to look down and Evelyn's shoulders we're already out! I had no clue! LoL. Brandon cought her and I pulled her out of the water on to my chest. It took her about 5-10 seconds to start crying but when she did, the whole room filled with joy! My placenta was delivered 10 minutes later with Evelyn still attached by the cord. Brandon and Brandon Jr cut the cord together. I had no tears at all.

We left 5-6 hours after she was born. I was able to walk out very easily for just having a baby. I felt GREAT actually! It was so nice to be home in my own bed where I could relax in comfort.

The Birth of Brandon Jr.

Brandon Anthony Kissinger was born on October 11, 2006 at 5:10pm. He was 9 lbs. 7oz. and was 19.5 inches long. I was 18 years old.

I was 8 days over due and I was beginning to think that this little man was NOT going to come out. I woke up on October 11th, 2006 at about 5am having to use the bathroom. I noticed a LITTLE bit of pink bloody discharge and I had thought my water broke(LoL). I called St. Luke's Hospital's L&D and they told me to come in. I wasnt feeling any contractions yet, and I knew I wasn't going to be able to eat when I got there, so I decided to stay at home and eat a little breakfast before I went. Banana pancakes were on the menu and maaann did they taste good! As I was eating, I started to feel some cramping. I told Brandon(my husband) "I think we're going to have a baby today".

So after breakfast, we drove to the hospital and while we were waiting. my contractions were getting stronger. The midwives told me to go home because they didn't think I was far enought dialated (3cm) to be admitted to the hospital. But they didnt even check me! So I asked. They realized that I in fact was 3cm and that I would soon be in active labor. Never the less, they told me to go home anyways. That was at about 12 noon.

At home, I got into the bath tub, and my contractions were getting stronger really really fast! Brandon came in the bathroom with a video camera and inbetween a contractions I told him to make sure NOT to get my boobs on camera(haha)! He said he didn't but of course he actually did! He helped me out of the bath tub, I got dressed and we got back into the car again. The car ride SUCKED! Everytime I would have a contraction, It would hurt so bad to sit on my bottom, so I grabbed that "oh shit" handle and pulled myself up so I wouldn't be sitting while I was having a contraction. They felt like period cramps but I also felt pinching inside me as well. That was at about 2pm.

We got to the hospital and they checked to see how dialated I was. I was 6cm! In two hours I had progressed 3cm! I was for sure going to have this baby. In the labor and delivery room, I was so happy to see my favorite 2 midwives that I had seen through-out my pregnancy. During the transition phase(7cm-10cm) I had Brandon running his fingers through my hair, and his mother video taping. Brandon was the best! I couldn't have done it without him. At onw point, he got up and walked away for a quick moment, and my contraction seemed to have hurt more when he wasnt there. I made a vow not to have any pain medication and to have my son naturally. I asked for "The 'E' Word" (Epidural) and the midwives told me I was ALMOST 10cm. "No wonder you want an Epidural!" they said. So I just decided that I could do this without one. And I did. After an hour of pushing, and one TINY tear, Brandon Anthony Kissinger was born. He was immediately put on my chest and began to cry. Brandon said "Oh my God! He's huge! He's like a Sumo baby!". He was able to cut the umbilical cord and he was pretty nervous.

During this whole process, my mother apparently had to have security called and on the Nurse's board, next to my name it said "security". FOR HER! I was so embarassed. I had LOTS of visiors and I appreciated all the gifts I got. It was such an amazing experience and I will never forget it.