And then there were four...

Well our sweet girl is here! She is 1 week old today! It has been a wonderful week.

Pumpkin girl's birth story is not nearly as eventful as N's, mostly because it was so fast!! Which is still surprising to me. Last Tuesday, after I posted a blog at 5am, it was a regular work day. I came home with N and Ben was finishing the swing set outside so N and I blew bubbles and played while watching daddy build. I swept the decks and had some braxton hicks contractions that felt like they were getting a tiny bit stronger, but nothing to be concerned with. I came in to deal with some work things about 5 and told Ben that I probably needed to sit down for a few minutes because of the contractions. I was 39 weeks and 1 day. (N was born at 39 weeks and 1 day also :)

 

I took this Tuesday when I went upstairs to change clothes so I could play with N outside.  I was HUGE!

At 5:45, Ben had just gotten out of the shower (in case the contractions turned into anything) and I was sitting on the couch watching Noah play. I sat up to go shower also and my water broke. Now I know people say you'll know if its your water vs. pee, but I have to say... that is not all that clear to me. I went to the restroom and still, no clue if it was water vs. pee. I called the doctor, she said "You'll know if its your water, you'd have to change clothes." I said, "Well, if I peed myself I'd have to change clothes too." She said, "I'm pretty sure its your water." I made sure I had time to take a quick shower and yelled to Ben to pack up. I did eventually establish that it was my water b/c it does just keep coming. TMI? Anyways, so Ben ran around with N packing the car and dogs up. (We'd already had most things in the car ready to go.) We got in the car about 6: 15 for our 1.5 hour trip to the hospital and by then I was definitely having regular contractions.

 

On our way... in between contractions. 

 I was worried N would be worried about me whining and whimpering through contractions, but VeggieTales solved that problem. 

At about 7:30pm and WAY too many red lights later we made it to the hospital. My parents met us there and swapped cars with us to take N and the dogs to their house. By the time we were checked in and settled I was having SUPER-strong contractions. My nurse checked me and I was 3cm. (2cm the day before.) An hour later I was crazy-psycho in labor because the back labor was SO bad. It literally felt like my back was splitting in two. I told her I NEEDED the epidural! She said we needed to hold off a little while until the doctor got there.

The nurse kept asking my pain level and I guess when I told her that I was a 10 and yes, 10 meant I was dying, she called the doctor and asked if she could go ahead and order the epidural. The anesthesiologist took an incredibly long 10 minutes to arrive and when he walked in he saw me freaking out - I couldn't sit still on the bed during the contractions they hurt so bad - and said to me, "I'm going to have to leave because I can't give an epidural like that...." Then my nurse called for backup. HA!

I said, NO PLEASE I'll calm down, to which I PRAYED my heart out for God to help me sit still. Two nurses and 4 horrible contractions later I had an epidural. And, I sat still... praise the Lord! The nurse checked again and I was 5cm. I told the nurse N's labor went rather quickly during the active labor stage and she said she'd keep an eye on things. The doctor finally arrived (she was out to eat at the mexican restaurant down the street apparently) about 10pm. Checked again, 6cm.... 1 more cm in 15 minutes. Said she'd be back.

 

Ahhh....relief finally. 

At that point I think it took me a good 30 minutes to catch my breath and I was so relieved to not be in such intense pain anymore. We chatted with our amazing nurse and I turned on praise music. 45 minutes later I told her that she probably needed to check me again. She said they didn't like to check progress so frequently because of the risk of infection, but agreed. And... 10 cm! Literally from water breaking to 10 cm was 5 hours - 6cm to 10cm was 45 minutes.... She told me to do a 'practice push' to see if how fast the doctor needed to come and then said, no more! she definitely need to get the doctor.

The on-call doctor came back in and 2 pushes later, little girl was born. I was really in shock at how fast it all was although I wish I could say it wasn't excrutiating for an hour or so. But, once baby girl was out, epidural was off, we were able to have an hour or more of kangaroo care and just be in awe of her.

 

April 16 - 11:13pm - 7lbs 8oz - 19 inches long

N getting his temp checked with me.

Our hospital stay was fine, although maybe with baby #2 we weren't as nervous, so we were going a little more stir crazy - ready to go home. Plus our last 2 nurses we had were less than helpful. (they were frantic, didn't know anything about nursing, gave us wrong answers to hospital questions, etc.) Prior to that though we had wonderful nurses who's goal was to help. We were just very thankful Friday morning to leave and head home as a family of 4.

Since then baby girl has blessed us with good nights and contentedness. Noah has been really great with her, he's been getting sweeter and more aware of her - worrying when she cries, etc. Yesterday was his first day back at school and it must have  a little overwhelming for him. The kids in his class bombarded him when he walked in patting and hugging him, which made him cry. And then when he got home he was exhausted which meant, very whiny and went to bed an hour early. I'm sure today will be a better day for him.

 

Being welcomed back to school yesterday.

 

Brother kisses!

Last night baby girl slept 7 hours straight, I fed her and then she slept another 3... crazy!!! I know this won't last, but I am so thankful for each long stretch of sleep I do get with her. She is a MUCH better nurser than N. She eats in less than 30 minutes where he was at least an hour to an hour & half - which led to me exclusively pumping for the rest of the year. I'm hoping with baby girl we can just nurse unless I'm at work. I weighed her after eating a couple times yesterday and at just 6 days old she was eating 2.5 ounces! I have my doubts this is right, but it said it a few times after she ate.  She's had 2 doctor appointments to check her bilirubin and praise the Lord yesterday, it went down 2 points and she gained 4 ounces in two days. Which means no light bed! (That is NOT fun...)

Well - that is our life so far. And I turn 30 in 3 days :) My family is coming to our house to cook out and just hang around, and I'm excited. Honestly though, I'm so happy right now with life that I'm not too concerned about my birthday. God is just so good. I have the next 6 weeks off and then I work 2 days a week all summer. Ben's mom will come here and watch L during those 2 days. By the time I go back full time, baby girl will be 17 weeks old. That is such a blessing too. Little N had to go to day care at 8 weeks.

Praise the Lord for this sweet precious family and time he's given us.

Baby L - 38/39 weeks

I had my 39th week appointment yesterday (it is currently 5am, and I can't sleep bc it's too hot in our house, so I'm watching the duggars :)
It was uneventful - same report for both 38 & 39 week appointments - measuring 38 weeks, almost 2cm and 0 effaced, which means pretty much nothing.

We are waiting this little girl out and not scheduling an induction at this point. Just a regular appt at 40 weeks and maybe baby girl will grace us with her presence by then.

In the meantime-
I'm more comfortable since a cough I've had for what seems forever has mostly subsided and the not one, but two back muscles I've pulled coughing have healed. I definitely need to strengthen some muscles soon so that doesn't happen again. :)

Ben has started on N's Swingset in the backyard, we are so excited! We had a great weekend just loving the last little time as a family of 3, and enjoying the great weather blowing bubbles and running around outside. If baby girl stays put one more weekend, hopefully Ben can finish the Swingset just in time for N to have a great place to play.

Baby girl - 37 weeks

Well in spite of my groaning and complaining, I've successfully made it to 37 weeks with zero progress towards going into labor any time soon. Literally- 1cm and 0 effaced. I think I decided tonight, I can mentally make it another 3 weeks, although if you ask me tomorrow my answer may be the complete opposite. :)

Baby girls heart rate was 143 today, pretty typical of each appointment. Blood pressure was 106/68, weight gain of 3lbs in one week... Making the grand total 36lbs so far. I have a terrible cough though that is making this milestone of 37 weeks less fun... It's the kind of cough that makes your head pound each time you cough - which also makes me feel like I'll have a baby every time also. Interesting feeling.

Here's to at least one more week pregnant! And a comparison picture for you:

Spring Break 2013

We've had a wonderful last few days of spring break, although the week started out quite rough. N didn't sleep through the night Monday and Tuesday which is very out of the ordinary - even though he just moved into his new big boy safari room. He did great in there over the weekend, so we knew something was wrong. Wednesday I finally took him to the doctor after hours of screaming crying all night long and turned out he had a horrible bleeding ear infection and a virus that caused ulcers in his mouth, so he wasn't eating/drinking much either. 24 hours of antibiotics and he was back to his old self! We traveled to my parents house to meet up with my sister-in-law and nieces.

Friday we took N to his first zoo trip! He had a good time, but wasn't quite amazed like I thought he'd be. We'll get there! After 3 hours of walking around though, I think I over did it. I was sure I'd be having baby with the giraffe family. I haven't quite recovered since then either, which feels weird, but I am a day away from 37 weeks pregnant. Whew....!

We then played outside the rest of the day and had fun Easter activities today. The egg hunt was hilarious. I think Ben took it more seriously than any one! Tomorrow we will go to church and celebrate that Jesus is risen! We owe him so much and I am so thankful for the life he's given me. I love our new church and small-group. I feel like we are growing into the family, couple and people we are supposed to be in Christ.

As for my 36 week appointment last Monday, I'm huge, ready to have a baby, but she's not ready to be here yet. I KNOW this is a good thing so she can continue to grow in there, but WOW.... I am very ready. I need to look back on the posts where I was this pregnant with N, b/c I truly do not remember being this uncomfortable. I've had a few days this week where I felt back to myself, but mostly I feel like.... oh, my, gosh am I going to make it any longer?! 3 weeks and 1 day left until her due date.

N is in his new room. The nursery is all L's. Both their bags are packed and in the car along with a car seat for both. My clothes bag is ready, but bathroom items are hard to pack since we use them daily.

Here are some of my favorites from the past week:

Thank you da-da

N has been quite polite (at least to us at home... his behavior at school lately has been less than stellar) for a few weeks now saying 'thank you!' when we give him something and most recently 'please?' when wanting something.

Some how over the past few days his thank you has turned into a new phrase...
N: 'More please?'
(I give him something.)
N: 'Thank you Dada!'
Um... What???
Me: 'I'm Mama.....thank you MA-MA..'
N: 'Thank you Dada!'
Me: 'Hmmm.... You're welcome'

This happens all day long now, most surprisingly when dada is no where to be found... Like in the car, at school or grocery store with just me and N. silly silly boy.

The word 'cup' that he's been saying for months has also become 'cupple'.... What on earth is a cupple?? Cup+Apple=cupple? Although its milk in there.... No apples.

:)

Our little boy

There are only 6ish weeks where N will be an only child. I am trying so much to enjoy these last weeks with just him. It is made more difficult with the enormous belly I'm sporting, but we still find time to play, read a lot of books and sing & dance. I don't think this will change too drastically when baby L gets here, but it is still hard to imagine how life with 2 will change things..especially life with a newborn and a 20 month old.

 Love these baby blues.

 So tired on the way home from playing with friends.

 Daddy gave him bubble bath for Valentine's Day - it is our newest favorite activity!

 I take that back... eating ice cream is probably his favorite activity.

 Visiting the doctor last weekend after several days of a high fever... still a happy camper, just a fever virus thank goodness.

 A quote from our favorite book, "My daddy thinks he's very tall, but I'm the biggest of them all!"

 Picnic lunch outside on one of the two days we've had sun this year! HURRY UP SPRING!

 We love to read books! Reading the Baby Bible with Daddy before bed.

 This is another one of our favorites. Its short, super sweet and makes me think of N.

 We read this one every night too and it has a 'boo-boo' (dog) on almost every page which is his favorite, and N puts his little hands together to pray. :) Love. 

"I love you through and through... yesterday, today and tomorrow too." 

I love this sweet boy and can't wait to see him as a big brother. We haven't moved him out of the nursery yet, which was planned to have taken place at least a month ago. I am hoping this weekend's weather will allow us to get some painting finished so we can finish his jungle room!

N at 20 months:
Says 'Thank you' a lot and yesterday started saying please
Loves to give hugs and kisses - makes a 'mmmmm-mwah!' noise when he kisses
Doesn't like to eat anything except bananas and cheese at the moment
Weighs right in at 25 pounds
Can say animal noises of just about all the animals I know the noises of.
Still prefers to be outside with no toys than inside with every toy in the world.
Loves his 'choo-choos' (we got a train table)
Has to go in time-out occasionally, but is getting better about being in there and wants a hug as soon as he can get out.
Still gets his paci at bed time and prior to today car rides, but today we decided to break car rides and it be an ONLY bed time thing. Wish us luck!
Still thinks fake crying will help him get his way a few times a day... it does not lol!
He has had a few 'cloudy' days at school lately and his teacher said her sweet N has gotten tough. I was so sad. She said he had to get tough to keep up with the 2 year olds in the class (there are 8 boys and 1 girl in there - all of which are MUCH older than N). I hope his sweet self will return when he is reshuffled into the classes next year with kids closer to his age.
Goes to bed later now because they take late naps from 12:30-3:30 at school - so he goes to bed around 7, but it takes him about 30 minutes or so to fall asleep. He'll still lay in there and talk or wiggle around. I have to wake him up from a solid sleep every morning at 6:45. On weekends he'll give us until about 8 most mornings.

32 weeks and a name!

Just 8 short weeks left until our sweet baby girl is expected to arrive! She has a first name too!!!!! :) hooray!!!!

We'd been arguing/discussing it for months about what to name her. Ben got stuck on his Mom's maiden name as a first name that I couldn't love. If you know our last name it just didn't go we'll together. Her maiden name is Brinkley.

So after we prayed about it together a couple weeks ago, the next day I just said nonchalantly, 'what about Layla?' To which he said, yeah... That sounds good.' Ha! I grabbed it and ran that we FINALLY agreed on something! It was one we'd thrown out there a couple times, but wasn't in either of our favorites list. I do love it though. It goes well with our strange last name and with N's name too.

We found out a few days after that a couple that goes to our new church has a Leila, pronounced, Layla, but I just don't care at this point. I was DESPERATE to have this baby named. I needed to know who she was. Ben told me I was getting crazy about it, to which I replied, I'm only going to get crazier....until she's named!

Now we are just working on a middle name and getting N moved into his big boy room so little L can have the nursery. A few more pieces of furniture need to be finished being painted and it'll be ready.

32 week appt today.
Measuring 2 weeks ahead for the 6th week now.
Gained 27lbs
Her heart rate 138
Head down ready to go!
We toured the new hospital today too and saw the water-labor suite... Hmm... Something to consider? :)

N has been sick this weekend, but at least he's still sweet and precious, even sick. Praying he overcomes this illness quickly!