One weekend in early November we decided to take a trip over to Monterey. I had heard so much about the area from Ray's mom, Linda. To hear her speck about it is to hear about a school girl crush. I wanted to know what was it about Monterey that ignites such a sparkle in Linda's eyes and a sound of longing in her voice at the very mention of the place. I was soon to find out...
So, on we drove to the Monterey coast. You could smell the water even before you could make out the distant coast. Despite the rainy days that mark the winter months here, the gods gave us a beautiful clear day with a sky of blue that mocked in jealousy the blue of the waves that crashed on the shore before us. Even though the temperature was getting colder, it did not deter the die-hard surfers and sun bathers. The sandy cost was sprinkled with locals and the pier filled with tourist.
We walked the beach, picking sea shells and stones that had been smoothed to perfection in a way that only water can create. The seagulls sat in audience with us as we watched a family of seals swim by.
On the pier, the shop windows enticed deeper exploration. The perfume, an intoxicating mixture of simmering seafood and vintage wine, filled the air. Restaurants drew in the passerby who could not resist the free samplings of hot freshly made clam chowder that not only warmed the body but touched that part of us that longs to live a life by the sea, where everyday is filled with a drink of these moments and these experiences.
After dinner on the pier, when the dusk gave way to the darkness, we watched the coast transform as the fog floated in, covering the bustling area with an eerie silence. Shadows turned to ghost as the waves, that just hours before splashed in childhood play, now slowly rippled along with the age of a man that has seen too many wars.
As the remains of the coast faded into our rear view mirrors, I understood why people are drawn to Monterey. Why people are called to its beaches time and time again. It is an affair between sand and the soul. A pleasure to be experienced and never forgotten.
Friday, December 21, 2007
Halloween In Willow Glen
This October 31st marked Elektra's initiation into the time-old tradition of begging strangers for candy!
Weeks before, Ray and I searched for the perfect costume for Elektra. It had to be so cute and utterly sicking that we would be able to embarrass her with photos of the costume years from now. Our search ended when we found a pair of cute pink bunny ears at the local Halloween store.
On Halloween day starting at 11 a.m., Downtown Willow Glen merchants passed out candy to all the preschool and younger kids. Of course, never being one to turn down free candy, I bundled my little pink bunny up and we trekked our way downtown.
This picture was taken at a bathroom and kitchen store that filled one of their bathtubs and allowed kids to grab a handful of candy.
After cruising both sides of the three blocks that makeup downtown Willow Glen, Elektra came away with a nice bit of booty. (And yes, that is an actual box of Crayola crayons. Our local State Farm insurance passed those out.)
When Ray arrived home from work, we ate dinner and then prepared ourselves for the evening walk around the neighborhood for even more candy.
"Oh no! It's the scary pink bunny! Run!!!!!"The weather was getting cold real quick, so we didn't get to trick-or-treat as long as we would have liked. But we did get to a lot of houses where Elektra's sweet smile and cute bunny ears melted the hearts of everyone.
Elektra with her Halloween Booty! Girl, you made your parents proud.
Oh, in case anyone actually cared, Ray went out dressed as a dead sailor and I was dressed as a gypsy.
Monday, October 15, 2007
Elektra at 9 Months
A small snack between meals
Look what the movers unpacked, honey!
Just chillin' out at home
I think Poppy would agree with you- nothing is better then a good nap after a good meal.Elektra is now 9 months old. She can crawl, pull up on furniture and chew on her own feet. She has two teeth now. Both on the bottom center right next to each other. Her hair hasn't grown much, but she does have a beautiful set of well shaped eyebrows.
She now enjoys pulling her toys out of the toy box, (we now need to teach her how to put the toys back in). She also likes to rip up paper and chew on the pieces that we don't pick up in time. And when mommy and daddy are not looking, she likes to drop random things into the cats' litter box.
Overall, she is absolutely perfect and we wouldn't trade her for anything. (Except maybe a weekend away in Las Vegas with $500 spending money. Maybe.)
Our New Swank Neighborhood
The front of our new house with roses growing in front of the dinning room window
Our back patio
The backyard with two orange trees, a lemon three and more roses
Our garageAfter moving in to our new house we discovered that we live in one of the most posh area to live in San Jose - Willow Glen Community.
Here is what I think is a good comparison. Living in Willow Glen is like living in downtown Scottsdale or downtown Seattle. It is an address that everyone wants. Ray's co-workers could not believe we found a place to live in this area. I'm sure that by now they are thinking that Ray must have married a sugar-momma or that our family must have some connections with the mob.
I can only say that it is all God's doing. We had nothing to do with it. This house is a blessing that we are deeply thankful for.
A House Makes A Home For The Mattingly Family
Okay, here is what happened.
Ray was given one week of house-hunting leave. He flew into Phoenix and the next day we flew together as a family into San Jose, California. Our first stop was Moffett Field, an air force base that was now run by NASA. Even though it was no longer a military base, it still had military housing that we were hoping to get.
Well, the waiting list for Moffett housing is at least a year. We were put on a list of families still waiting for housing. We were number 20. So unless 19 families dropped off the list and a family already in housing planned on moving out in the next two days, there would be no chance of us getting into military housing.
So, we regrouped and decided to take another approach. We would locate exactly where Ray would be stationed and use that as are starting point in looking for a place to live.
We were given some advice to look at areas outside of Sunnyvale, which is where Ray would be working. There was rarely anything available in the Sunnyvale area. So, we moved our search to the surrounding towns - San Jose, Santa Clara and Mountain View.
For those of you who don't know, this is Santa Clara County area, more famously known as the heart of Silicon Valley. Almost all the major computer and Internet companies are here- Yahoo!, Ebay, Norton Security, MacAfee and Google, just to name a few. And of course, where there are multi-billion dollar companies there are sure to be multi-million dollar homes. Which for us meant places that were way beyond the income level of a U.S. sailor.
The search was long and frustrating. The rent for most two-bedroom apartments were more then what the average person in Arizona pays a month for a three-bedroom house! We looked at townhouses that started at $700,000.00 and apartments so small that we knew if we moved in most of our stuff would remain in storage for the next three years.
Now, please keep in mind that we were not trying to be picky, its just that we needed to find a place we could afford that would give us enough room for our growing family, (we hope to have two more kids in the next three years).
So, we find ourselves on Wednesday, still no closer to finding a place to call home. After looking at yet another disappointing townhouse we decide to just drive around the area and think of our next plan of action. As we are wondering through the neighborhoods when into a part of town that is just beautiful. The homes are the type you see in Martha Stewart or Better Homes and Gardens magazines. Ray suddenly spots a sign about an open house. We turn the corner and see a house for rent. We figured it wouldn't hurt to have a look. At the very least we could see how the other-half lives.
The house was beautiful. About 50 years old, the house has been own by the same couple for the last 30 years. They lived in it for the first five years and have been renting it out ever since. The house had history and character, with its own little cute quirks. We took the business card of the realtor but didn't seriously think we could afford a house like this.
Yet, something happened after seeing that house. We couldn't get the house out of our minds. No matter what else we looked at we ended up comparing to the house. And , "who on earth", we thought, "would have an open house on a Wednesday?" This had to be a sign, but there was only one way to find out. We called the realtor and discussed monthly rent. We put in an application and waited.
In the meantime we stalked the house. Evey chance we got, we went back to the house. Walked around the outside peeking into the windows and taking pictures of it with our camera phones. We stalked the place so much I was afraid that the neighbors were going to call the police on us.
The realtor, which we found our would be our property manager if the application was accepted, informed us that the owners were concerned about us being a military family. The previous renters were military and when the husband was given orders to go to Iraq, they broke their lease after only three months and the wife moved back to her parent's place. The owners didn't want the same thing to happen again. We assured them that even if Ray was shipped of somewhere else that I had no intentions of moving anywhere else- at least for a year.
On our way back to Hawaii we found out that we were approved for the house. After Ray officially left his command we returned to San Jose to sign our lease and get our keys to our new home!!!!
After a couple of nights of sleeping on the floor our furniture arrived from storage. It was like Christmas, unpacking boxes of stuff neither of us had seen since February.
And now, with only a three boxes of odds and ends left, we are starting to see this house slowly transform into a place we can now call, "Home".
Ray was given one week of house-hunting leave. He flew into Phoenix and the next day we flew together as a family into San Jose, California. Our first stop was Moffett Field, an air force base that was now run by NASA. Even though it was no longer a military base, it still had military housing that we were hoping to get.
Well, the waiting list for Moffett housing is at least a year. We were put on a list of families still waiting for housing. We were number 20. So unless 19 families dropped off the list and a family already in housing planned on moving out in the next two days, there would be no chance of us getting into military housing.
So, we regrouped and decided to take another approach. We would locate exactly where Ray would be stationed and use that as are starting point in looking for a place to live.
We were given some advice to look at areas outside of Sunnyvale, which is where Ray would be working. There was rarely anything available in the Sunnyvale area. So, we moved our search to the surrounding towns - San Jose, Santa Clara and Mountain View.
For those of you who don't know, this is Santa Clara County area, more famously known as the heart of Silicon Valley. Almost all the major computer and Internet companies are here- Yahoo!, Ebay, Norton Security, MacAfee and Google, just to name a few. And of course, where there are multi-billion dollar companies there are sure to be multi-million dollar homes. Which for us meant places that were way beyond the income level of a U.S. sailor.
The search was long and frustrating. The rent for most two-bedroom apartments were more then what the average person in Arizona pays a month for a three-bedroom house! We looked at townhouses that started at $700,000.00 and apartments so small that we knew if we moved in most of our stuff would remain in storage for the next three years.
Now, please keep in mind that we were not trying to be picky, its just that we needed to find a place we could afford that would give us enough room for our growing family, (we hope to have two more kids in the next three years).
So, we find ourselves on Wednesday, still no closer to finding a place to call home. After looking at yet another disappointing townhouse we decide to just drive around the area and think of our next plan of action. As we are wondering through the neighborhoods when into a part of town that is just beautiful. The homes are the type you see in Martha Stewart or Better Homes and Gardens magazines. Ray suddenly spots a sign about an open house. We turn the corner and see a house for rent. We figured it wouldn't hurt to have a look. At the very least we could see how the other-half lives.
The house was beautiful. About 50 years old, the house has been own by the same couple for the last 30 years. They lived in it for the first five years and have been renting it out ever since. The house had history and character, with its own little cute quirks. We took the business card of the realtor but didn't seriously think we could afford a house like this.
Yet, something happened after seeing that house. We couldn't get the house out of our minds. No matter what else we looked at we ended up comparing to the house. And , "who on earth", we thought, "would have an open house on a Wednesday?" This had to be a sign, but there was only one way to find out. We called the realtor and discussed monthly rent. We put in an application and waited.
In the meantime we stalked the house. Evey chance we got, we went back to the house. Walked around the outside peeking into the windows and taking pictures of it with our camera phones. We stalked the place so much I was afraid that the neighbors were going to call the police on us.
The realtor, which we found our would be our property manager if the application was accepted, informed us that the owners were concerned about us being a military family. The previous renters were military and when the husband was given orders to go to Iraq, they broke their lease after only three months and the wife moved back to her parent's place. The owners didn't want the same thing to happen again. We assured them that even if Ray was shipped of somewhere else that I had no intentions of moving anywhere else- at least for a year.
On our way back to Hawaii we found out that we were approved for the house. After Ray officially left his command we returned to San Jose to sign our lease and get our keys to our new home!!!!
After a couple of nights of sleeping on the floor our furniture arrived from storage. It was like Christmas, unpacking boxes of stuff neither of us had seen since February.
And now, with only a three boxes of odds and ends left, we are starting to see this house slowly transform into a place we can now call, "Home".
Where In The World Is Elektra?
In the past ten months, Elektra has been doing some serious traveling. Let's see if you can add up the miles:
February: Road trip from Bremerton, WA to Laveen, AZ
February -April: Almost weekly trips from Laveen to Peoria, AZ
April-May: Flight from Phoenix, AZ to O'ahu, HI and back
June-August: Again, almost weekly trips from Laveen to Peoria, AZ
August-September: Flight from Phoenix, AZ to San Jose, CA then to O'ahu, HI
September: Flight from O'ahu, HI to San Jose, CA
Road trip from San Jose, CA to Laveen, AZ
Road trip from Laveen, AZ to Payson, AZ and back.
Road trip from Laveen, AZ to San Jose, CA
Needless to say we are all tired of traveling and it is a comfort in knowing that there are no major road trips planned for the month of October, (at least at the time this blog is being written). However, this is not the end of our travels this year. We still have a few more trips coming up, but those will be revealed in upcoming blogs.
February: Road trip from Bremerton, WA to Laveen, AZ
February -April: Almost weekly trips from Laveen to Peoria, AZ
April-May: Flight from Phoenix, AZ to O'ahu, HI and back
June-August: Again, almost weekly trips from Laveen to Peoria, AZ
August-September: Flight from Phoenix, AZ to San Jose, CA then to O'ahu, HI
September: Flight from O'ahu, HI to San Jose, CA
Road trip from San Jose, CA to Laveen, AZ
Road trip from Laveen, AZ to Payson, AZ and back.
Road trip from Laveen, AZ to San Jose, CA
Needless to say we are all tired of traveling and it is a comfort in knowing that there are no major road trips planned for the month of October, (at least at the time this blog is being written). However, this is not the end of our travels this year. We still have a few more trips coming up, but those will be revealed in upcoming blogs.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Yes, We Are Moving!!
If you haven't already heard, Ray has his new orders and this September we will be moving to Sunnyvale, California! He'll be working at some kind of Strategic Flight Something Plan Something That...oh, I don't know, just ask Ray, he's the one working there. All I know is that the job is off the sub and closer to friends and family.
I'll be flying over to California this month to hook up with Ray and go house hunting. There is a military base somewhere in the area with housing be we don't know how close it is to where he will be working. We are going to look at all the different housing options available to us. We plan on having at least two more kids during the time we are there so our place will need to be big enough to comfortable hold our expanding family.
After a week of house hunting we will all fly back to Hawaii so that Ray can finish one last stint out at sea. Then we fly back to Phoenix, pack up everything we have accumulated here and drive it all to California to join the rest of our stuff that has been sitting in storage since March.
We hope to get a chance to visit with everyone before we make our move to Cali, but now that we are so close I don't want to here any excuses from our Arizona friend about why they can't come to visit us.
I'll be flying over to California this month to hook up with Ray and go house hunting. There is a military base somewhere in the area with housing be we don't know how close it is to where he will be working. We are going to look at all the different housing options available to us. We plan on having at least two more kids during the time we are there so our place will need to be big enough to comfortable hold our expanding family.
After a week of house hunting we will all fly back to Hawaii so that Ray can finish one last stint out at sea. Then we fly back to Phoenix, pack up everything we have accumulated here and drive it all to California to join the rest of our stuff that has been sitting in storage since March.
We hope to get a chance to visit with everyone before we make our move to Cali, but now that we are so close I don't want to here any excuses from our Arizona friend about why they can't come to visit us.
Allergies!!!
Shortly before our trip to Hawaii, Elektra has been experiencing some skin problems. She had been to the ER once already due to an allergic reaction to the perfume I was wearing. Her eyes had got all puffy and red. It took half a week to get her looking normal again.
In Hawaii as I was attending a Passion Party at a friend's house, Ray took care of Elektra. He fed her some pre-made formula and she broke out really bad. He skin from her neck down to her thighs turned red and was covered in hives.
Back in Arizona I noticed she would rash up after meals. It was getting so frustrating and I was so afraid to feed her anything because I didn't know what would break her out. There were scratches all over her body. No matter how much I trimmed her nails she would still scratch herself raw. So, I took her in to see her doctor. He took one look at her and said that she has really bad allergies.
I was given a referral to see an allergy specialist. There was a five page form that was mailed to me before her appointment. I had to answer questions about everything she comes in contact with from the type of area we live in to the number of people on both sides of the family that have allergies.
At her appointment, the specialist looked at her and confirmed to me that she has Eczema like I do. Then they did an allergy test on her. They used a marker and numbered her back from 1 to 10. Then they took small needles that were treated with different common food allergies and lightly pricked her back next to each number. The needles are so small that she didn't even feel them. The hard part came next- waiting. We had to sit there and wait 15 minutes for the test to take full effect. I had to keep her busy and make sure that she didn't start scratching. It was so hard to sit there and watch almost each spot they pricked start to get red and see hives form.
When the test was done the nurses came in and measured the hives. All the information was put into the computer. They wiped down her back and applied an anti-itch spray. A few moments later the doctor came in with the results. Elektra has high allergic proteins to the following foods:
Milk
Soy
Fish
Peanuts
Eggs
In order for something to qualify as a true allergy, you must have high allergy protein levels as well as a physical reaction when you come in contact with the substance. You can have high protein levels and never have an allergic reaction. Elektra has had a physical reaction to milk and because her number are so high for both Soy and Peanuts, the doctor is pretty sure she might have allergies to those, but we won't know for sure unless she actually eats some.
However, due to how quick her flare-ups are when she comes in contact with something she is allergic to, the doctor has advised that I keep her away from Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Eggs, Shell fish and Soy until she is at least 3 years old. Then we can feed her a very small amount and see if there is a reaction. Until then, I have medication to help her with her Eczema and minor allergic reactions and, should she accidentally eat something she is extremely allergic to, the doctor has given us a Food Allergy Action Plan that includes carrying with me at all times a EPI-PEN Jr, which is an injectible epinephrine to be used for severe allergy reactions of throat tightening, immediate hives, and or severe rapid onset of shortness of breath.
As you can imagine this is a lot for our family to take in. There is so much I don't know about allergies. Most people know I have an allergy to eggs, so i can color the Easter eggs but I just can't eat them, no big deal. Ray's allergies are a little worst so he has to stay away from certain plants or his sinuses go crazy. But neither of us were ready for this.
There is a small chance that she may outgrow some of these allergies and that is what we are praying for. In the mean time, please do not feel offended if we ever come over for dinner and I grill you about every single ingredient in the foods you just prepared. I feel good knowing we have a Food Allergy Action Plan, but I will feel even better if we never have to use it.
In Hawaii as I was attending a Passion Party at a friend's house, Ray took care of Elektra. He fed her some pre-made formula and she broke out really bad. He skin from her neck down to her thighs turned red and was covered in hives.
Back in Arizona I noticed she would rash up after meals. It was getting so frustrating and I was so afraid to feed her anything because I didn't know what would break her out. There were scratches all over her body. No matter how much I trimmed her nails she would still scratch herself raw. So, I took her in to see her doctor. He took one look at her and said that she has really bad allergies.
I was given a referral to see an allergy specialist. There was a five page form that was mailed to me before her appointment. I had to answer questions about everything she comes in contact with from the type of area we live in to the number of people on both sides of the family that have allergies.
At her appointment, the specialist looked at her and confirmed to me that she has Eczema like I do. Then they did an allergy test on her. They used a marker and numbered her back from 1 to 10. Then they took small needles that were treated with different common food allergies and lightly pricked her back next to each number. The needles are so small that she didn't even feel them. The hard part came next- waiting. We had to sit there and wait 15 minutes for the test to take full effect. I had to keep her busy and make sure that she didn't start scratching. It was so hard to sit there and watch almost each spot they pricked start to get red and see hives form.
When the test was done the nurses came in and measured the hives. All the information was put into the computer. They wiped down her back and applied an anti-itch spray. A few moments later the doctor came in with the results. Elektra has high allergic proteins to the following foods:
Milk
Soy
Fish
Peanuts
Eggs
In order for something to qualify as a true allergy, you must have high allergy protein levels as well as a physical reaction when you come in contact with the substance. You can have high protein levels and never have an allergic reaction. Elektra has had a physical reaction to milk and because her number are so high for both Soy and Peanuts, the doctor is pretty sure she might have allergies to those, but we won't know for sure unless she actually eats some.
However, due to how quick her flare-ups are when she comes in contact with something she is allergic to, the doctor has advised that I keep her away from Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Eggs, Shell fish and Soy until she is at least 3 years old. Then we can feed her a very small amount and see if there is a reaction. Until then, I have medication to help her with her Eczema and minor allergic reactions and, should she accidentally eat something she is extremely allergic to, the doctor has given us a Food Allergy Action Plan that includes carrying with me at all times a EPI-PEN Jr, which is an injectible epinephrine to be used for severe allergy reactions of throat tightening, immediate hives, and or severe rapid onset of shortness of breath.
As you can imagine this is a lot for our family to take in. There is so much I don't know about allergies. Most people know I have an allergy to eggs, so i can color the Easter eggs but I just can't eat them, no big deal. Ray's allergies are a little worst so he has to stay away from certain plants or his sinuses go crazy. But neither of us were ready for this.
There is a small chance that she may outgrow some of these allergies and that is what we are praying for. In the mean time, please do not feel offended if we ever come over for dinner and I grill you about every single ingredient in the foods you just prepared. I feel good knowing we have a Food Allergy Action Plan, but I will feel even better if we never have to use it.
Oh, The Things You'll Learn
Every day, Elektra is learning and growing. I wake up excited each morning wondering what new discovery she will make today. She has discovered her feet and spends several moments during the day playing with them or trying to eat her own toes!
Now she is learning to crawl. She is able to pull herself across the floor and if she gets tired of doing that then she just rolls herself over to where she wants to go.
She loves jumping and is content spending hours just doing that. But the greatest thing she has learned to do by far is smiling. Every morning she wakes up with a smile on her face. (I'm serious, you can ask Ray, Linda and my mom, they've all seen it). I've joked about the fact that while most babies wake up with a look on their face that says, "Don't even talk to me until I've had my Starbucks", Elektra wakes up like Snow White with her hair perfectly in place and birds dancing all around her while I'm expecting at any moment for her to break out into a song.
She smiles at everyone and where ever we go, she seems to have a natural way of brightening people's day. I just hope that this is a stage she never grows out of.
Pearl Harbor Memorial
No amount of pictures or videos can do justice to this site. The emotional impact that you feel when you visit the museum and then take the ferry over to the memorial is just overwhelming. The Pearl Harbor Memorial alone is worth the plane ticket to Hawaii. Let this be on your list of things to do before you die.
Elektra and her Daddy
" I've got my daddy and I'm not going to let him go!!!!"
Cuddling with baby - the best excuse for running late for work.
I'm sorry Elektra, but even with the hat on, you still can't go with daddy on the big submarine.Our Hawaiian Princess
Here is our little tropical princess enjoying a walk through the park after a nice morning checking out the surfers at the beach.Monday, June 18, 2007
Mommy & Baby Have Gone M.I.A.
Yes, it is true. For the last couple of months Elektra and I seem to have gown missing in action. But before you start yelling at us, let me explain....
Our disappearance was for a good reason. We left the hot dry heat of Arizona to spend two wonderful fun-filled months in Hawaii ! ! ! ! ! ! What better way to kick off the summer months then on the cool beaches of Hawaii with the two loves of my life - Rum & Coke. (Oh, sorry, I meant Ray & Elektra).
On April 17th, after way too much time apart, we arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii and was greeted by my hubby and one of our friends. During our time there, Ray showed us the military bases, we spent time at the beach and I finally got to see his sub up close and personal. We also attended the annual SPAM festival. Yes, Hawaii is a huge fan of SPAM. They even have a SPAM McMuffin on the McDonald's breakfast menu!
It was great when Ray's family flew in to spend a week with us. We toured many historical sites including the Pearl Harbor Memorial.
If you have never been to Hawaii I strongly recommend that you go, and if you've been there already I suggest you make plans to go again. Hawaii is constantly changing and new things are being built all the time. Even one of the crew members on ray's sub, who's family lives there, could not believe all the changes that happened in the one year that he was away.
So, now, yes we are back and I do plan to keep this blog up-to-date on all the newsworthy events going on in the life of the Mattingly's.
Our disappearance was for a good reason. We left the hot dry heat of Arizona to spend two wonderful fun-filled months in Hawaii ! ! ! ! ! ! What better way to kick off the summer months then on the cool beaches of Hawaii with the two loves of my life - Rum & Coke. (Oh, sorry, I meant Ray & Elektra).
On April 17th, after way too much time apart, we arrived in Honolulu, Hawaii and was greeted by my hubby and one of our friends. During our time there, Ray showed us the military bases, we spent time at the beach and I finally got to see his sub up close and personal. We also attended the annual SPAM festival. Yes, Hawaii is a huge fan of SPAM. They even have a SPAM McMuffin on the McDonald's breakfast menu!
It was great when Ray's family flew in to spend a week with us. We toured many historical sites including the Pearl Harbor Memorial.
If you have never been to Hawaii I strongly recommend that you go, and if you've been there already I suggest you make plans to go again. Hawaii is constantly changing and new things are being built all the time. Even one of the crew members on ray's sub, who's family lives there, could not believe all the changes that happened in the one year that he was away.
So, now, yes we are back and I do plan to keep this blog up-to-date on all the newsworthy events going on in the life of the Mattingly's.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Cousins
This is Elektra hanging out with my new great-niece, Lynnae, (pronounced len-nay). They are four months apart.
Yup, they are both pacifier babies.
Lynnae is the daugther of my oldest nephew, Jeff.
My Side of the Family
These are pictures from when my mom, Elektra and I went to see my sister, ReGina. We hung out at her house and watched her work on her new deck in the backyard. My nieces, Keisha and Tia, (yes they have grown that big), enjoyed holding Elektra. She slept most of the time we were there.
Godparents Rock!
On March 25th John and Margaret, (better known as JJ and Maggie), met their godchild for the first time. I had hoped that Elektra's cuteness would convince the two of them to start trying for their own bundle of joy. Unfortunately, Elektra was not in a good mood and I'm afraid that all her crying may have put a wrench in Ray's and my efforts to get JJ and Maggie to make cute babies.
We may have lost this battle, but we have not lost the war!
Me At Two Months
Elektra is now a little over two months old! She is 21 and 1/2 inches long. She weights 10 pounds 3 ounces. She smiles, blows spit bubbles and is slowly starting to find her voice. Her favorite thing to do? Watching the ceilling fan spin around!First Trip To Phoenix College
This was Elektra's first trip to my old school / work. We met Lisa C. and her lovable son, Seth there.
I've been told that, at least for now, Elektra is the closest thing to a granddaughter that Gary, Gerry and Geof have. That's cool! They can use Elektra to practice on how to spoil a grandchild.
Proud Grandparents
I just wanted to show off the grandparents. They all look so cute holding Elektra. now the next step it to teach her how to beg her grandparents for stuff!!
Back In Arizona!
Hello Everyone!
Yes, Elektra and I are back in Arizona. Yup, it's hot, I'm tired, and we both miss Ray a lot! The good news is we have tons of family and friends here to help out and keep us company.
The road trip here was great. Elektra did better then I had expected. The cats, however, were a different story.
The cats were not too fond of the 'All-Girls' road trip and would have preferred to stay in Washington. Throughout the trip Whilley Kit yelled her complaints at us several time a day with Whilley Cat joining in from time to time. I must give some huge props to Linda for digging the cats out from behind the hotel beds every morning and managing to get both cats back into their cat carrier.
Elektra has made her rounds through both sides of the family and now she is making her rounds to all my friends. If you haven't got a chance to see and hold Elektra yet, don't worry, you will!!
We don't have much of a set schedule. I try to do something everyday, even if it is just taking a walk to the park nearby.
My time is split between Linda & David's house in Laveen and my mom's place in Glendale. Usually I'm in Laveen. Feel free to stop by and pay us a visit. But please call first just to make sure which house I'm at.
I do miss my friends in Washington and my friends that are now in Hawaii. But I must admit that it does feel nice to be back in Arizona. But it's still too freakin' hot!!!
Yes, Elektra and I are back in Arizona. Yup, it's hot, I'm tired, and we both miss Ray a lot! The good news is we have tons of family and friends here to help out and keep us company.
The road trip here was great. Elektra did better then I had expected. The cats, however, were a different story.
The cats were not too fond of the 'All-Girls' road trip and would have preferred to stay in Washington. Throughout the trip Whilley Kit yelled her complaints at us several time a day with Whilley Cat joining in from time to time. I must give some huge props to Linda for digging the cats out from behind the hotel beds every morning and managing to get both cats back into their cat carrier.
Elektra has made her rounds through both sides of the family and now she is making her rounds to all my friends. If you haven't got a chance to see and hold Elektra yet, don't worry, you will!!
We don't have much of a set schedule. I try to do something everyday, even if it is just taking a walk to the park nearby.
My time is split between Linda & David's house in Laveen and my mom's place in Glendale. Usually I'm in Laveen. Feel free to stop by and pay us a visit. But please call first just to make sure which house I'm at.
I do miss my friends in Washington and my friends that are now in Hawaii. But I must admit that it does feel nice to be back in Arizona. But it's still too freakin' hot!!!
Thursday, March 01, 2007
Elektra's After-Birth Baby Shower
I wanted to thank the ladies at our church in Washington for giving Elektra a perfectly sweet baby shower. We had a lot of fun. Thank you soooooo much.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Welcome to the world!!!!!
Elektra Cali Mattingly
Born On
Saturday, January 20th @ 9:42 pm
6 Pounds, 14 Ounces
Thursday, January 25, 2007
A Birth Story
Despite the efforts of the doctors at Madigan, I did not get induced on January 16th. After doing a lot of research and a lot more praying, Ray and I decided it would be best if we allowed our daughter to be born naturally.
On the evening of January 19th I started feeling some “serious” contractions. Ray tried to help me keep my mind off the pain. We watched a movie, joked around and enjoyed a great dinner. We both felt it was best for me to get as much sleep as I could before the contractions started getting really intense, so we went to bed early.
Around 6am the contractions were coming harder and closer together. I woke up Ray and he started timing them for me. They were seven to ten minutes apart. Madigan was at least on hour away on a good day, so we decided it was best to get ready and go.
The bags were packed and taken to the car. The baby car seat had already been installed a week before. We loaded the last minute items and Ray put a towel on my seat, “just in case”. Soon we were on our way.
During the drive there, Ray continued to time my contractions. By the time we reached Madigan parking lot my contractions were four minutes apart. We took our time getting to the Labor & Delivery wing. We had took the advice of our doctor and pre-registered the week before so that all we had to do was just show up and have the baby.
I was taken to triage and placed on monitors. My vitals were taken and as I laid there on the bed, Ray and I began using the breathing and touch-release exercises we learned in childbirth class. One of the doctors came in and explained some of the things that may go on during labor and the usual standard of care in each situation.
Soon I was taken to my birthing room.
“Hello Mrs. Mattingly. I’m going to me your nurse this morning. After I ask you a few questions and enter some information into the computer I’m going to start your IV.”
After answering her questions she started prepping me for the IV.
“Don’t worry Michelle, this will only take a minute.”
She stabbed me five times before she finally called in a specialist.
“So Michelle, what would you like for pain relief?”
“Oh, I would like IV meds please.”
“Well the problem with IV meds is that during the last couple of hours when the pain is the most intense, that’s the time we have to stop giving you meds through your IV so it won’t transfer to the baby.”
“I’m well aware of that. I would just prefer to have IV drugs. I really don’t want an epidural.”
“Is this your first child, Michelle?”
“Yes.”
“Well, most first time parents come in thinking they are not going to get an epidural. They always change their mind later.”
“Well, I am not like most first time moms”, I whispered under my breath.
Ray stood by me and protected me. He was my advocate, making sure that my needs were met and that nothing was done to me that I didn’t want done. This really ticked off my nurse. At one point when everyone had stepped out of the room my nurse approached me.
“Michelle, your husband feels very strongly about you not getting a epidural and not having a catheter.”
“Yes, it’s because I don’t like either one. I’ve had two spinal taps so I sort of know what an epidural feels like. I’ve also had problems in the past regarding catheters, so I’d rather avoid one when possible.”
“Has anyone ever hurt you, Michelle?”
“No.”
“Do you feel threaten of feel you would be threaten or hurt if you speak for yourself?”
“No. I speak for myself and when I can’t, my husband speaks for me.”
“He is very strong-minded and forceful.”
“He has to be. We’ve been through a lot during this pregnancy.”
“And this is your first child ever?”
“Yes.”
“And for your husband, does he have any other children.”
“No. This is a first for both of us.”
“And throughout this pregnancy no one close to you has physically hurt you or said anything that made you feel threatened?”
“No. My husband does not abuse me!”
Just then Ray came back into the room.
In a short time another doctor came in the check my cervix. Despite all my contracting I was only one centimeter dilated. But I wasn’t worried and neither was the doctor. She told me that my cervix might need a little help getting started and suggested a balloon method. (I’m not going into details about how this works. If you really want to know just do a Google search on methods of inducing.)
At some point the baby’s heart rate dropped. I only knew this because all at once five nurses came running in and started pushing me every which way in order to get her heart rate back up. Her heart did get back to normal. However, the doctor was very concerned.
The hours passed quickly. Soon our friends David and Elsa arrived to keep us company. Our dear friend Chaplin Wheaton also joined us for a little while.
As the day went on I had only progressed two centimeters. The baby’s heart rate was starting to do some funny things. The doctor suggested I get an epidural because the chance of getting a C-section was becoming greater and greater for me. After talking alone with Ray we decided that it would be best to have one now while everything was still calm then to try and have one in the midst of an emergency.
Let me tell you right now. I HATE EPIDURALS!!!!! I have never felt something so uncomfortable in my life. And I’m not just talking about the five times that the specialist had to stab me in the back before she found a good spot. The best way I can describe an epidural is it feels like your body is going into a coma and there is nothing you can do to stop it. I couldn’t even feel myself breathing. I’ll take the pains of labor over an epidural any day!
Now, laying there almost completely motionless we waited.
The doctor came in and explained that it was getting harder to get a good reading of the baby’s heartbeat, so she had one of the nurses come in and try to insert an internal monitor. My water broke and it was discovered that the baby had already had a bowl movement. The doctor waited to see if my labor would start to progress more now that my water had broke.
However, not long after she left the room she came running back in followed by four other nurses.
“Michelle, we need you to turn over. The baby’s heart rate has dropped.”
She yelled for more help as about three other nurses came running in. I was placed on my side. I was given a caffeine shot to wake the baby. I was placed on my other side and then asked to get up on all fours. But nothing was working.
“Michelle, her heart rate is not going up. We have to do an emergency C-section.”
This was one of my greatest fears and biggest nightmare all through my pregnancy. And now here I was living within this nightmare with no way of waking up from it.
Still on all fours my bed was rushed to the operating room just down the hall. Ray tried to follow, but someone had grab him by the shoulder and asked him to put on some scrubs.
The O.R. was filled with nurses moving quickly to get everything assembled for the operation. The doctor in charged explained what was going on and what would soon be happening. They nowlaid me on the operating table. I was given a oxygen mask and told to just concentrate on breathing.
The baby’s heart rate went back up. The doctor announced this to everyone in the room. She advised everyone to slow there pace a little and proceed as a normal C-section. Stronger medication was starting to be pumped into my epidural.
I knew that most C-sections took place with the mother still being fully awake for the operation. In this situation the husband can be with his wife sitting next to her head and keeping her company. I hoped this would be the case for us. I was so scared and I wanted Ray with me more then anything at that moment.
Suddenly the baby’s heart rate dropped again. I looked to the side just in time to see the heart monitor show her hear rate rapidly drop from 130 bpm to 40 bpm. The medicine in my epidural had not yet kicked in. But there was no time.
“I’m sorry Michelle, but we are going to have to put you under.”
Two nurses came over , grabbed my arms and strapped them down quickly. Someone was flushing medication into my IV with great speed. It hurt so bad, I tried to scream. But I never got a chance to.
(I would be told later that during this time Ray waited in the birthing room all dressed in his scrubs hoping to join me during the operation. After some time had passed he realized that something was wrong. No one was coming to get him. Elsa said that Ray’s face had a look on it that she had never seen before. “I didn’t know what to say or do, Michelle. No one would tell your husband what was going on. Suddenly Ray just got down on his knees and started praying”.)
“Mrs. Mattingly. Mrs. Mattingly, wake up. Congratulations. Your baby is fine. She is nice and healthy. She is with your husband now. Your husband is very anxious to see you. He has been asking about you ever since we took you back here. I have never seen a man so committed to his wife's care and safety like that. You two are very lucky to have each other.”
My bed was being wheeled back into the birthing room. As we turned the corner into the room there was Ray standing there just beaming with a little bundle held close to his heart.
The next few hours were mostly a blur. I do remember Elsa and David saying their goodbyes to us. I also remember that sometime during the night we were transferred to another room.
As soon as the drugs wore off I got to hold our little girl and feed her for the first time. I must make a confession- I didn’t exactly bond with her the moment I saw her. I fell in love with her instantly. But it was strange. I knew this was my daughter but it didn’t feel like she was mine. One moment I was pregnant, I was put to under and when I woke up I was told I was no longer pregnant. I cried. I cried over the lost of a birth experience I felt cheated out of. And I cried again when Ray told me why I ended up getting an emergency C-section.
“Honey, the reason why her heart rate kept dropping was because the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice. The more your contractions started pushing her down the more she was being strangled. The part of the umbilical cord that was around her neck was the part closest to the placenta wall which would have ripped out and caused massive bleeding. Both of you were in danger. There was no other way she could have been born.”
During the next few days Ray and I would be tested as new parents. Low blood sugar would send Elektra to the NICU and it would take a fight on our part to get her out of there. The NICU wanted to keep her for weeks or months if necessary until their doctors felt satisfied with her blood sugar level. Unfortunately there was a new doctor overseeing the NICU every shift. So what satisfied one doctor didn’t satisfy the next. Eventually we had to stand our ground for our child’s sake. When they realized we weren’t backing down or leaving the hospital without our baby, they called in a lactation specialist and it was discovered that the problem was that her jaws just wasn’t strong enough yet to fully breastfeed and that I would have to pump for awhile.
Now we are finally home and settling into life as new parents. Ray will be leaving to go back to Hawaii soon. And shortly after, I will be moving back to Arizona. When Ray finishes his sea time our goal is to have him spend the rest of his shore duty working in the Phoenix area.
Depending of his sub’s schedule I hope Elektra and I will get to spend time with Ray in Hawaii during his birthday and for the Fourth of July.
Right now Ray is spending every moment he can with his daughter, no matter how short the time may. It is sad to know that Ray won’t get a chance to see the look on his mom’s face when she first lays eyes on her new grandchild. And he will miss the honor of introducing Elektra to her Godparents. This will be a painful separation for us but it is the best and only option we have right now. I’ve promised to fill his email box weekly with tons of pictures of our beautiful baby girl. I know that in the end, Elektra won’t remember the seven months when her father was away; only the many years to come when her father will always be there for her.
On the evening of January 19th I started feeling some “serious” contractions. Ray tried to help me keep my mind off the pain. We watched a movie, joked around and enjoyed a great dinner. We both felt it was best for me to get as much sleep as I could before the contractions started getting really intense, so we went to bed early.
Around 6am the contractions were coming harder and closer together. I woke up Ray and he started timing them for me. They were seven to ten minutes apart. Madigan was at least on hour away on a good day, so we decided it was best to get ready and go.
The bags were packed and taken to the car. The baby car seat had already been installed a week before. We loaded the last minute items and Ray put a towel on my seat, “just in case”. Soon we were on our way.
During the drive there, Ray continued to time my contractions. By the time we reached Madigan parking lot my contractions were four minutes apart. We took our time getting to the Labor & Delivery wing. We had took the advice of our doctor and pre-registered the week before so that all we had to do was just show up and have the baby.
I was taken to triage and placed on monitors. My vitals were taken and as I laid there on the bed, Ray and I began using the breathing and touch-release exercises we learned in childbirth class. One of the doctors came in and explained some of the things that may go on during labor and the usual standard of care in each situation.
Soon I was taken to my birthing room.
“Hello Mrs. Mattingly. I’m going to me your nurse this morning. After I ask you a few questions and enter some information into the computer I’m going to start your IV.”
After answering her questions she started prepping me for the IV.
“Don’t worry Michelle, this will only take a minute.”
She stabbed me five times before she finally called in a specialist.
“So Michelle, what would you like for pain relief?”
“Oh, I would like IV meds please.”
“Well the problem with IV meds is that during the last couple of hours when the pain is the most intense, that’s the time we have to stop giving you meds through your IV so it won’t transfer to the baby.”
“I’m well aware of that. I would just prefer to have IV drugs. I really don’t want an epidural.”
“Is this your first child, Michelle?”
“Yes.”
“Well, most first time parents come in thinking they are not going to get an epidural. They always change their mind later.”
“Well, I am not like most first time moms”, I whispered under my breath.
Ray stood by me and protected me. He was my advocate, making sure that my needs were met and that nothing was done to me that I didn’t want done. This really ticked off my nurse. At one point when everyone had stepped out of the room my nurse approached me.
“Michelle, your husband feels very strongly about you not getting a epidural and not having a catheter.”
“Yes, it’s because I don’t like either one. I’ve had two spinal taps so I sort of know what an epidural feels like. I’ve also had problems in the past regarding catheters, so I’d rather avoid one when possible.”
“Has anyone ever hurt you, Michelle?”
“No.”
“Do you feel threaten of feel you would be threaten or hurt if you speak for yourself?”
“No. I speak for myself and when I can’t, my husband speaks for me.”
“He is very strong-minded and forceful.”
“He has to be. We’ve been through a lot during this pregnancy.”
“And this is your first child ever?”
“Yes.”
“And for your husband, does he have any other children.”
“No. This is a first for both of us.”
“And throughout this pregnancy no one close to you has physically hurt you or said anything that made you feel threatened?”
“No. My husband does not abuse me!”
Just then Ray came back into the room.
In a short time another doctor came in the check my cervix. Despite all my contracting I was only one centimeter dilated. But I wasn’t worried and neither was the doctor. She told me that my cervix might need a little help getting started and suggested a balloon method. (I’m not going into details about how this works. If you really want to know just do a Google search on methods of inducing.)
At some point the baby’s heart rate dropped. I only knew this because all at once five nurses came running in and started pushing me every which way in order to get her heart rate back up. Her heart did get back to normal. However, the doctor was very concerned.
The hours passed quickly. Soon our friends David and Elsa arrived to keep us company. Our dear friend Chaplin Wheaton also joined us for a little while.
As the day went on I had only progressed two centimeters. The baby’s heart rate was starting to do some funny things. The doctor suggested I get an epidural because the chance of getting a C-section was becoming greater and greater for me. After talking alone with Ray we decided that it would be best to have one now while everything was still calm then to try and have one in the midst of an emergency.
Let me tell you right now. I HATE EPIDURALS!!!!! I have never felt something so uncomfortable in my life. And I’m not just talking about the five times that the specialist had to stab me in the back before she found a good spot. The best way I can describe an epidural is it feels like your body is going into a coma and there is nothing you can do to stop it. I couldn’t even feel myself breathing. I’ll take the pains of labor over an epidural any day!
Now, laying there almost completely motionless we waited.
The doctor came in and explained that it was getting harder to get a good reading of the baby’s heartbeat, so she had one of the nurses come in and try to insert an internal monitor. My water broke and it was discovered that the baby had already had a bowl movement. The doctor waited to see if my labor would start to progress more now that my water had broke.
However, not long after she left the room she came running back in followed by four other nurses.
“Michelle, we need you to turn over. The baby’s heart rate has dropped.”
She yelled for more help as about three other nurses came running in. I was placed on my side. I was given a caffeine shot to wake the baby. I was placed on my other side and then asked to get up on all fours. But nothing was working.
“Michelle, her heart rate is not going up. We have to do an emergency C-section.”
This was one of my greatest fears and biggest nightmare all through my pregnancy. And now here I was living within this nightmare with no way of waking up from it.
Still on all fours my bed was rushed to the operating room just down the hall. Ray tried to follow, but someone had grab him by the shoulder and asked him to put on some scrubs.
The O.R. was filled with nurses moving quickly to get everything assembled for the operation. The doctor in charged explained what was going on and what would soon be happening. They nowlaid me on the operating table. I was given a oxygen mask and told to just concentrate on breathing.
The baby’s heart rate went back up. The doctor announced this to everyone in the room. She advised everyone to slow there pace a little and proceed as a normal C-section. Stronger medication was starting to be pumped into my epidural.
I knew that most C-sections took place with the mother still being fully awake for the operation. In this situation the husband can be with his wife sitting next to her head and keeping her company. I hoped this would be the case for us. I was so scared and I wanted Ray with me more then anything at that moment.
Suddenly the baby’s heart rate dropped again. I looked to the side just in time to see the heart monitor show her hear rate rapidly drop from 130 bpm to 40 bpm. The medicine in my epidural had not yet kicked in. But there was no time.
“I’m sorry Michelle, but we are going to have to put you under.”
Two nurses came over , grabbed my arms and strapped them down quickly. Someone was flushing medication into my IV with great speed. It hurt so bad, I tried to scream. But I never got a chance to.
(I would be told later that during this time Ray waited in the birthing room all dressed in his scrubs hoping to join me during the operation. After some time had passed he realized that something was wrong. No one was coming to get him. Elsa said that Ray’s face had a look on it that she had never seen before. “I didn’t know what to say or do, Michelle. No one would tell your husband what was going on. Suddenly Ray just got down on his knees and started praying”.)
“Mrs. Mattingly. Mrs. Mattingly, wake up. Congratulations. Your baby is fine. She is nice and healthy. She is with your husband now. Your husband is very anxious to see you. He has been asking about you ever since we took you back here. I have never seen a man so committed to his wife's care and safety like that. You two are very lucky to have each other.”
My bed was being wheeled back into the birthing room. As we turned the corner into the room there was Ray standing there just beaming with a little bundle held close to his heart.
The next few hours were mostly a blur. I do remember Elsa and David saying their goodbyes to us. I also remember that sometime during the night we were transferred to another room.
As soon as the drugs wore off I got to hold our little girl and feed her for the first time. I must make a confession- I didn’t exactly bond with her the moment I saw her. I fell in love with her instantly. But it was strange. I knew this was my daughter but it didn’t feel like she was mine. One moment I was pregnant, I was put to under and when I woke up I was told I was no longer pregnant. I cried. I cried over the lost of a birth experience I felt cheated out of. And I cried again when Ray told me why I ended up getting an emergency C-section.
“Honey, the reason why her heart rate kept dropping was because the umbilical cord was wrapped around her neck twice. The more your contractions started pushing her down the more she was being strangled. The part of the umbilical cord that was around her neck was the part closest to the placenta wall which would have ripped out and caused massive bleeding. Both of you were in danger. There was no other way she could have been born.”
During the next few days Ray and I would be tested as new parents. Low blood sugar would send Elektra to the NICU and it would take a fight on our part to get her out of there. The NICU wanted to keep her for weeks or months if necessary until their doctors felt satisfied with her blood sugar level. Unfortunately there was a new doctor overseeing the NICU every shift. So what satisfied one doctor didn’t satisfy the next. Eventually we had to stand our ground for our child’s sake. When they realized we weren’t backing down or leaving the hospital without our baby, they called in a lactation specialist and it was discovered that the problem was that her jaws just wasn’t strong enough yet to fully breastfeed and that I would have to pump for awhile.
Now we are finally home and settling into life as new parents. Ray will be leaving to go back to Hawaii soon. And shortly after, I will be moving back to Arizona. When Ray finishes his sea time our goal is to have him spend the rest of his shore duty working in the Phoenix area.
Depending of his sub’s schedule I hope Elektra and I will get to spend time with Ray in Hawaii during his birthday and for the Fourth of July.
Right now Ray is spending every moment he can with his daughter, no matter how short the time may. It is sad to know that Ray won’t get a chance to see the look on his mom’s face when she first lays eyes on her new grandchild. And he will miss the honor of introducing Elektra to her Godparents. This will be a painful separation for us but it is the best and only option we have right now. I’ve promised to fill his email box weekly with tons of pictures of our beautiful baby girl. I know that in the end, Elektra won’t remember the seven months when her father was away; only the many years to come when her father will always be there for her.
Getting Ready to Pop
Here I am at 38 weeks! Finally there is something on my body that is actually bigger then my butt!
Thursday, January 18, 2007
The OB Visit
On December 26th Ray and I went to Madigan for my scheduled OB appointment. Earlier that morning Ray had been online researching pregnancy and Sickle Cell disease. Ray was shocked at the amount of things that were not done for me during my pregnancy. He printed out the information and we took it with us along with that bottle of pee I was asked to bring in.
Going to the OB always starts with a bit of a battle for Ray and I. The reason is that Madigan has this policy of bring the pregnant woman in first and then later bringing in the husband. The reason is due to what they call, 'Patient Confidentiality'. This always makes me laugh because the only thing they do when they take me to the back room is get my weight, height and blood pressure.
Well, earlier in my pregnancy, after about the second OB visit, Ray decided that he had every right to be with me every second of my appointment. This got him into some heated arguments with the nurses every time we came. Despite their best efforts and their worst threats, Ray would not leave my side. And this day was no different.
Before the nurse could get a word out Ray blurted out, "I know what your policy is, but I'm not leaving my wife alone. She is pregnant and not feeling too well today so I'm staying with her. You are not doing anything that I can't be allowed to watch."
This particular nurse tried to block Ray from coming down the hall behind me. Using her most stern nurse voice she stated to Ray that I would only be away from him for just a moment and if he would so kindly wait in a room, that I would join him shortly.
"Why do I have to wait in another room?"
"We have to protect the privacy of our patients. This is why we ask you to wait outside, so if you..."
"What privacy? That's my wife. You're not even doing anything but taking vitals. What? I'm not allowed to see how much she weights? No, I'm not going to another room, I'm staying with her. If you want to stop me then we'll just both leave and you can tell the doctor why we left."
She still continued to put up a fight, but Ray was no longer listening. He pushed his way pass her and joined me just as another nurse was helping me get up on the scale.
After the vitals were done we were escorted to a room to wait for the doctor.
A nurse came in to inform us that the doctor I was scheduled to met with was pulled away to do an emergency C-section and that I would be seeing one of the other OB's.
To our surprise, this other doctor was an Airforce doctor. Not what you would usually find at an Army hospital. This doctor was very nice and it was a relief to find out that he actually knew a little about Sickle Cell. We let him know our complaints and how I felt unfairly treated during my last crisis. He understood our concerns and apologized for the actions of those that had treated me while I was admitted.
Ray noticed the doctor's ranking on his uniform. When the doctor had to step out of the room for a moment, Ray turned to me.
"Honey, in Army ranking he out ranks every doctor we've ever seen here at Madigan. He even outranks the MFM's. In the Navy he would be like right above my CO."
The doctor returned and we went over the notes from my last visit. The January 2nd induction was thrown out the window. We instead talked about a possible induction on the 16th in which time our baby's lungs would be fully ready for the outside world. Ray and I left the OB appointment feeling very relieved. We still didn't feel to great about the whole induction but the doctor gave us a lot of information to think over to help us make a decision.
Later that evening I got a call from Dr. Yee, who I was suppose to meet with that day. He saw in his notes that I would not be coming in on January 2nd for an amnio and induction. He apologized for not being able to meet with us and told me that he put in the paperwork to have my induction rescheduled for the 16th.
I still wasn't sure about the whole induction thing, but now I knew I had some time to research the facts and make an informed decision.
Going to the OB always starts with a bit of a battle for Ray and I. The reason is that Madigan has this policy of bring the pregnant woman in first and then later bringing in the husband. The reason is due to what they call, 'Patient Confidentiality'. This always makes me laugh because the only thing they do when they take me to the back room is get my weight, height and blood pressure.
Well, earlier in my pregnancy, after about the second OB visit, Ray decided that he had every right to be with me every second of my appointment. This got him into some heated arguments with the nurses every time we came. Despite their best efforts and their worst threats, Ray would not leave my side. And this day was no different.
Before the nurse could get a word out Ray blurted out, "I know what your policy is, but I'm not leaving my wife alone. She is pregnant and not feeling too well today so I'm staying with her. You are not doing anything that I can't be allowed to watch."
This particular nurse tried to block Ray from coming down the hall behind me. Using her most stern nurse voice she stated to Ray that I would only be away from him for just a moment and if he would so kindly wait in a room, that I would join him shortly.
"Why do I have to wait in another room?"
"We have to protect the privacy of our patients. This is why we ask you to wait outside, so if you..."
"What privacy? That's my wife. You're not even doing anything but taking vitals. What? I'm not allowed to see how much she weights? No, I'm not going to another room, I'm staying with her. If you want to stop me then we'll just both leave and you can tell the doctor why we left."
She still continued to put up a fight, but Ray was no longer listening. He pushed his way pass her and joined me just as another nurse was helping me get up on the scale.
After the vitals were done we were escorted to a room to wait for the doctor.
A nurse came in to inform us that the doctor I was scheduled to met with was pulled away to do an emergency C-section and that I would be seeing one of the other OB's.
To our surprise, this other doctor was an Airforce doctor. Not what you would usually find at an Army hospital. This doctor was very nice and it was a relief to find out that he actually knew a little about Sickle Cell. We let him know our complaints and how I felt unfairly treated during my last crisis. He understood our concerns and apologized for the actions of those that had treated me while I was admitted.
Ray noticed the doctor's ranking on his uniform. When the doctor had to step out of the room for a moment, Ray turned to me.
"Honey, in Army ranking he out ranks every doctor we've ever seen here at Madigan. He even outranks the MFM's. In the Navy he would be like right above my CO."
The doctor returned and we went over the notes from my last visit. The January 2nd induction was thrown out the window. We instead talked about a possible induction on the 16th in which time our baby's lungs would be fully ready for the outside world. Ray and I left the OB appointment feeling very relieved. We still didn't feel to great about the whole induction but the doctor gave us a lot of information to think over to help us make a decision.
Later that evening I got a call from Dr. Yee, who I was suppose to meet with that day. He saw in his notes that I would not be coming in on January 2nd for an amnio and induction. He apologized for not being able to meet with us and told me that he put in the paperwork to have my induction rescheduled for the 16th.
I still wasn't sure about the whole induction thing, but now I knew I had some time to research the facts and make an informed decision.
Christmas
Ray flew back to Washington the evening of December 22nd. It was so nice to have him home. I was still in shock with the realization that I would be spending Christmas with my hubby. I had been all prepared to spend a quite Christmas alone. (Well, not really alone. There are the cats and a constantly moving baby in my tummy).
Christmas eve morning found us at church enjoying our first ever lighting of the Advent candles. Ray was so excited to be given the honor of lighting all five candles. We spent the rest of Christmas eve cleaning the house, putting up the Christmas tree and discussing my most recent visit to Madigan Hospital. We unloaded the wonderful Christmas presents that Ray's family sent us and placed them under the tree. We were very proud of ourselves this year. We actually managed to send out Christmas cards. Due to the fact I was in the hospital they got mailed out a little late, but as long as they arrived before New Years we figured it would still be okay.
That evening we attended the midnight service at the local United Methodist Church. It was wonderful singing our way through the Nativity story. The music was great and the service was just as we like it- short and sweet. The service ended with the lighting of the candles and a blessing for a wonderful new year.
After service we stopped by Shari's, a local diner and filled ourselves with some midnight snacks. Then we went home and crashed in bed like two kids who stayed up way too long waiting for Santa.
Christmas morning almost came and went without a creature stirring in the Mattingly house. It was almost noon before we got up and came downstairs to open gifts.
Because of the extra blood in my system due to the pregnancy I have developed arthritis in both hands. This has resulted in my hands going painfully numb to the point that I can not do simple things like tie my shoes or open a can of soda. So, after laughing over the site of me trying to remove a bow from a gift, Ray took on the job of pre-opening all my gifts for me.
Later that evening we had our friends- David, Elisa and Crystal over for Christmas dinner. Overall, it turned out to be a surprisingly peaceful Christmas. As Christmas day came to a close Ray and I both realized that this may be the last peaceful Christmas we will have for a very long time. Which just made this Christmas all the more special!
Christmas eve morning found us at church enjoying our first ever lighting of the Advent candles. Ray was so excited to be given the honor of lighting all five candles. We spent the rest of Christmas eve cleaning the house, putting up the Christmas tree and discussing my most recent visit to Madigan Hospital. We unloaded the wonderful Christmas presents that Ray's family sent us and placed them under the tree. We were very proud of ourselves this year. We actually managed to send out Christmas cards. Due to the fact I was in the hospital they got mailed out a little late, but as long as they arrived before New Years we figured it would still be okay.
That evening we attended the midnight service at the local United Methodist Church. It was wonderful singing our way through the Nativity story. The music was great and the service was just as we like it- short and sweet. The service ended with the lighting of the candles and a blessing for a wonderful new year.
After service we stopped by Shari's, a local diner and filled ourselves with some midnight snacks. Then we went home and crashed in bed like two kids who stayed up way too long waiting for Santa.
Christmas morning almost came and went without a creature stirring in the Mattingly house. It was almost noon before we got up and came downstairs to open gifts.
Because of the extra blood in my system due to the pregnancy I have developed arthritis in both hands. This has resulted in my hands going painfully numb to the point that I can not do simple things like tie my shoes or open a can of soda. So, after laughing over the site of me trying to remove a bow from a gift, Ray took on the job of pre-opening all my gifts for me.
Later that evening we had our friends- David, Elisa and Crystal over for Christmas dinner. Overall, it turned out to be a surprisingly peaceful Christmas. As Christmas day came to a close Ray and I both realized that this may be the last peaceful Christmas we will have for a very long time. Which just made this Christmas all the more special!
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