Baby W

On Wednesday, July 18th at 9:08 am our little Baby W joined our family!  He weighed in at 8lbs 3 oz and was 20 inches long (our biggest baby yet).

With the last two children arriving via emergency c-sections that were pretty extreme I was beyond nervous for Baby W's arrival.  Thankfully I made it to the scheduled date (10 days early).

When I got to the hospital we got checked in and set up for our 9:30 scheduled time but the hospital was  so quiet that I was able to get in the OR early which was nice to just get on with it.  Here I am faking a smile because I was way too nervous for a real one!

It was so weird just walking straight into the OR and hopping up on the table to get my spinal.  There was zero rush, all the doctors and nurses were calm and social. 
There was a group of staff waiting for baby's arrival that were off to the side and hearing them chatting socially amongst themselves was a huge relief during the delivery because I knew that everything was going super smoothly.
About 10 mins into the surgery I heard the cutest cries and saw Baby W!  The best feeling in the world.  He was not super impressed with what was going on and was sure to let us know.  He had the cutest sad face.

For the next 40 mins or so Baby W kept us entertained as the surgery was finished.  Everything went so well and my bladder which was cut in my previous c-section made it through completely intact ;)

We headed to the recovery room for a while and enjoyed some bonding time, where I finally got to hold him, before heading off to our room and visitors.

He finally took a good look around.

 Survived his first bath!

 Our first family of 5 shot...........lol

 This time around was night and day compared to the last two c-sections.  The recovery was so much easier and I was able to get around really well thanks to some great meds and minimal blood loss.  I did run into a bit of a snag on the second day when I had an allergic reaction to one of the pain killers and ended up with a super sick stomach (i'll spare you the details) for about a  day until it cleared my system (miserable). 
For the first time with a c-section I actually felt up to having visitors and was so blessed with sweet friends and family that came to see us.  It helped make the stay a lot nicer. 

 AL and JA loved getting to give their baby brother a bottle.

 After 3.5 long days we finally headed home.  I am thrilled to be home but the pain is pretty intense with being taken off the heavy narcotics and the house hold taking a bit of a toll (part of the journey)! 

Baby W is seriously the sweetest thing and I couldn't be happier to have him complete our family. We are truly blessed.

And DONE!

Last belly pic!  38 weeks and 3 days

In just over 36 hours we will get to see what is inside this HUGE belly.  Excited and so very nervous all at the same time.
As silly as I have felt taking pics of myself every month, I am so glad that I actually did it for our 3rd and final member of the family.

My bags are packed, I am registered at the hospital, my blood has been cross matched and I am just about done the laundry and grocery shopping.  Praying for a super smooth delivery to make up for the last two!

Stay tuned for a baby post on the weekend when we are home from the hospital. 

The home stretch

We finally made it to the home stretch!  Baby is full term and taking up a ton of room and we have 11 days left on the children's paper chain countdown.  As uncomfortable as I am feeling (out of room and tons of contractions and pains as per usual) I am just hoping baby boy stays put until his assigned date ;)

My sweet friend came to town last week with her family and joined us for our ward (church) picnic and BBQ at the local park and spray park.  It was a hot day and I spent most of my time running around setting up activities for the primary kids to accompany the bouncy house and water balloons.  After we were all cleaned up my friend offered to take some maternity pics for me.  I was feeling anything but attractive (mostly just gross and sweaty) but some how she came away with some great shots.  I have mentioned before that I don't think I ever got a belly shot past the 31-32 wks mark with my first two pregnancies so it was a real treat to get these (check them out). 

*Thanks Kara Strate Photography*

Since I know I am for sure having a c-section this time around I am secretly hoping for a 10lb baby; might as well start the weight loss journey off with a good head start.....lol.

We have been keeping busy packing in lots of summer time fun while we can.  Sadly I have been a bit too lazy to bring the camera with on our park play dates, zoo trip, beach days, weiner roasts by the river, etc.  We had a few chillier rainy days this week and I felt like I was finally able to get on top of the house cleaning, freezer meal prep, laundry and grocery shopping.

AL had been begging me to go to swimming lessons again for the past several months so I finally broke down and signed her up.  I just didn't have the energy to join JA in a parented class (luckily there wasn't one at the same time) and thankfully he seems content to sit on the side lines and watch. We are heading to his favorite swimming pool tomorrow for his special swimming "lessons" with Daddy.  We made it through the first week of lessons and have one more week of daily lessons to go!  AL has loved every minute of it; the heat and humidity on the pool deck are a bit hard for me to take but what can you do.

Today after swimming I got "brave" and decided to attempt the movie theatres with Grandma.  We have never had any success getting through an entire movie at the theatres but today that changed!  JA almost didn't make it to the start of the movie after a super creepy preview/commercial had him in tears and begging me to take him home but once the movie started he loved every minute of it.  Brave was adorable but the bear is for sure a bit scary and I saw several parents leave with upset children.

With plus 30 degree temps in the forecast for the next week I thinking we will be doing everything we can to stay cool while we wait for Baby W to make his appearance!  Wish me luck not swelling up into a balloon before the week is done :)

A little cutting and sewing

A couple months back I was on a big kick getting a few projects tackled for the baby.  I was pretty much done but for some reason took forever to just sew the final straps on the last project.  Today it finally got done; I am pretty sure realizing that I don't have all the time in the world finally kicked in today!

I am not a great seamstress so it is always exciting when things get done. 

A little look:

I love how cute this car seat cover turned out and think it should be great for blocking the wind and the light for our summer time baby.

While dragging my children to several fabric stores they spotted some pretty exciting fleece fabric that they loved ( I couldn't resist since it was 80% off ).  They LOVE their fleece blankets!

I ordered some adorabe fabric from Fabric.com and made Baby W a nice soft blanket.  Both of my babies had a favorite blankie (minkey/flannel combo) that I had made them.  In fact they both still love them so I figured this guy would love one too.  JA has already tried to steal it a few times ;)

Lastly, I wiped up a "Super" cape yesterday for my girl.  JA has become pretty attached to this Batman cape my Mom had made years ago for my nephew.  He flies around the house playing Superman, Batman or Super Bunny all day long.  AL wanted in on the fun and was pretty particular about the color combo (the pink and yellow make me think of a circus performer!).  Now I have two Super kids.

Growth Spurt

I took a belly pic and was frankly a little surprised by just how much bigger it had gotten over the past 4 weeks.  Baby W must have had a little growth spurt!  (My dear friend LF did try to assure me today that I looked bigger in the pic then in real life.........what a good friend ;)

Here we are at 34 weeks:

I am at the point over the past week where exhaustion is starting to become a constant companion.  I am sure most of that is due to the fact that I haven't slept more then 1-2 hours straight all night long for weeks.  Good prep for baby boys arrival but I would much rather log a few more solid sleep hours before then!
We are still keeping busy packing in as much fun as we can with the playground, dinosaur forrest, spray park, etc.  We did finally get the crib set up in JA's room this weekend and every night when he goes to bed he asks where the baby is!  We are getting excited to meet him.

30 weeks

Time for another belly shot update! Here is baby boy at 30 weeks.

63 days and we will be holding our baby boy in our arms. Hard to believe how little time is left. A friend of mine called me last night and needed a "model" for a photography lighting tutorial she had booked for this morning so I may have a few belly pics to add to the 30 week collection (ones that aren't actually taken in the reflection of my spotty mirror........lol) And just because, here are a few pics of my "babies" and me on Mother's Day. Words can't express how grateful I am for this opportunity to be a Mom.

Tender Mercies

The past two days have been on the rough side of things. I have been having huge sciatic nerve pain in my lower back and then I must have done something in my sleep Sunday night and caused some painful injury to my right side running right down my ribs. Yawning is crazy painful so pretty much everything else is bad too! Last night I was exhausted and went to bed at 8pm to ease my back only to come down with a fever and chills that have been plaguing me ever since. My heart is full of emotion for the sweetness that was shown to me today by friends. The offers to help were touching and I get teary eyed just thinking about it now (probably a bit of exhaustion and hormones mixed in with it too). A dear friend picked up AL mid morning and out for lunch with her daughter and then to and from school. Another sweet friend had dinner at my door just after lunch in the crock pot. I had my few moments where it was hard to agree to the help but what a blessing it was. I had been laying in my bed (while the children happily played and destroyed their rooms) the hour leading up to dinner. I hadn't been able to stop shaking from the chills the entire time. Knowing that dinner was ready on my counter was just a pure relief; especially after T called and ended up working late. I am hoping after some sleep tonight and a massage tomorrow I will be so much better. I love that the Lord answers our prayers through our dear friends and neighbors.

Sneak Peek

I had been dreading going for my ultrasound for weeks. At 27-28 weeks with JA I ended up on bed rest due to the results of a sad ultrasound (I'll save the details) and the chances of having the same thing happen with this baby were super high. I lucked out and got the sweetest, nicest ultrasound tech which is a bonus in and of itself. She actually turned the monitor my direction and explained every measurement and image as she went (so rare). I couldn't stop smiling (even after the invasive ultrasound style) when I found out that my cervix is still holding as strong as it was at 18 weeks (which was right on the border of the "good" category). Amazing! A true answer to tons and tons of prayer. I honestly felt the hugest weight lift off my shoulders with that news. I was dreading the thought of ending up on bed rest or even worse serving that time partially in the hospital. I walked out of the building feeling at least 10 lbs lighter. I don't think I had realized just how much extra stress it had been causing me. I still need to take it easy but that I can handle. The ultrasound tech gave me a special treat and "played" around for a while watching our little boy while she waited for the radiologist to get back from lunch. This little boy is more then wedged deep, head down which explained a lot of the extra discomfort recently. He did eventually turn his head a bit so I could watch him as he sucked on his wrist, chewed, waved and wriggled around. Here is a little sneak peek of what our little boy is looking like right now. Cute. 2D of his face looking straight forward and a little hand in there too

3D images cord running right under his neck

Baby update

It's been a month since the last baby belly pic so with trying to stick with my goal of taking pics the entire pregnancy, I figured it was time to break down and take another (incase there is any confusion, I feel like a total dork taking pics of myself!). Here it is at just over 26wks.

AL offered to take a pic too (a good angel to see just how low my babies always reside........and a nice double chin too)

Moments later she drew me two pictures of "a baby in its water bag" because it is "just like the baby brother in your tummy Mom".

Not long after that she drew a "hippo with a baby in its mouth"..........hmmmmmm! At the end of the 3rd trimester I am enjoying a bit of energy and motivation to get a few baby projects made. At the same time I am being plagued with some major sciatic pain so all the cleaning that has been happening has been taking a serious toll. I am breaking down and hiring a dear sweet friend to start doing some of the heavy cleaning around here a couple times a month until I recover from the c-section. Speaking of, c-section has been scheduled for July 23 (only a few days before my due date) so I am going to do my best to get that date switched at my next appt. I am honestly trying to get as much done around here before my ultrasound in a week (that is when I ended up on bed rest with JA). Hoping like crazy that my body is holding strong and I won't have to endure that torture again!

Requested

I had a little request for an updated belly pic. I so don't love taking pics of myself but this pregnancy I have vowed to get a pic every month if I can, including the day I deliver. Looking back with the last two babies I realized that I didn't take a single pic past maybe 32-34 weeks (I'm pretty sure feeling LARGE got in the way of that). I am going to be brave this time around and keep on posing for pics!

22 weeks (taking self pics is a challenge.......I did try to enlist AL's help but I only came away with a pic of my legs ;)

It's a Baby.................

There was no debating what we saw on the ultrasound screen this afternoon

We are thrilled to be having another

BOY!!!!

I was relieved to hear that the cervix is holding strong too so we are going to go ahead and book a little trip away for April.

( 19 weeks in this pic.......hopefully the horizontal stripes are making me look larger then I am ;)

Friday Reflections

I had a little request for a new post. I have had a few ideas floating around in my head but it has kind of been a blah kind of week. Nothing too exciting has been happening and with a little pregnancy induced insomnia, a cold and a husband working very long/late hours every day I haven't had any extra energy!

A few reflections for you:

1. This is going to sound VAIN but I'm going to say in anyway at risk of drawing attention to my flaws. Do you ever make a larger purchase that you love love and love for years to come? (Believe me, I have had a few of the opposites too). Anway, as I was looking through years of old pics in order to compile my previous anniversary post I was struck with a realization (besides the fact that I am the luckiest girl to be married to such an amazing man)...........here comes the vain part.......I LOVE the results of my Invisalign braces. Seriously a purchase that I love every time I look in the mirror or see pictures. The benefits of having a jaw that doesn't lock, a bite that lines up and a lack of extreme jaw and head pain from grinding my teeth at night are pretty great too. I still glady wear my braces every night now and will for the rest of my life with a smile on my face. (Don't judge me too harshly ;)

2. I am so grateful for inspriation and guidance as I serve in my calling in primary at church. A STRESSFUL situation climaxed on Sunday night. I won't go into details but there were a lot of people and strong emotions involved. Can I just tell you how grateful I am for the inspiration I had for dealing with it. Let me tell you pregnancy hormones and exhaustion could have made things way worse! Good to know that help is only a prayer away.

3. My little Buddy has been giving me a run for my money. I got some great advice from friends and family for some more creative solutions since I am a bit limited with not being able to pick him up. I have been making a HUGE effort to focus on the positive and give him tons and tons of praise and be more attentive to him.

This morning I was in a rush trying to get the dishwasher unloaded before we had to run out and JA instantly noticed the water that was accumulating in the door of the dishwasher off a few items. He ran and grabbed a pile of cars to play "car wash" with. I realized I had two choices, I could close the dishwasher or aid in his fun and encourage his imagination. I had a sink full of bubbles for the items I was hand washing and scooped him out handfuls of bubbles to add to his car wash. A simple thing but something I need to do more often.

4. Baby #3 is 18+ weeks and seems to be doing well. I have gained a couple more pounds so I am hoping that means baby is growing well! We have our ultrasound on Monday and I can't wait to find out what we are having so I can start getting things ready. I honestly don't care either way if it is a boy or girl, all I want is a healthy and strong baby. My guess is leaning towards it being a girl. Time to place your guesses.........what do you think it is???
Stay tuned for a post on Monday (hopefully this is a cooperative little one)

Pop

*This post is for you LM*

A little belly has popped out the past couple weeks. I don't think I ever remember having much of anything at this stage (shy of 15 wks) with the other ones. It always seems to grow even bigger by the end of the day. T and I were laughing about this when he commented that he was pretty sure it was more of a chip belly then a baby belly.......sadly there is some serious truth to that (I have an insane addiction to chips right now ;)

Updates

1. Operation:Organization Update - A few months ago I went on a serious mission to get the toys organized and under control in our house. Over the past two months a lot of that beautiful organization went to heck. With not feeling well (barely able to pull myself off the couch for anything other then the essentails - food prep, large spills, vital cleaning & laundry) things started to get out of control quickly.
I have been blessed/cursed with a lovely daughter that has a serious bag lady/hoarding issue! If there is a purse, bag, bin, tote, gift bag, even a pillow case within her reach she will cart toys around the house faster then you can blink your eyes. I seriously remove a full bag of garbage from her room every few weeks. Anyone else have child like this?
This morning my sweet husband helped me and my daughter (under much protest) get things back to their spots and get toys in bins and up and out of reach. The good news is that this took about 1.5 hours not the days and days it took in the fall. Hooray for the organizing that I spent so much time on..........so easy to get re-organized when everything has a place to be put. Sigh of relief for this neat freak ;)
Good thing AL doesn't typically have access to a cage of this size or she would fill it to the brim every chance she got!

2. School Kids Update - this was a big week here. AL has officially been registered for Kindergarten (gulp) and JA has been registered for preschool in the fall. There is only 13 mths between JA and AL but I have decided to hold JA back a year and put him in 2 years of preschool before kindergarten. Long story short I want him to have as much success as he can in school. He has a December birthday, is tiny for his age, has a speech delay and is learning things at his own slower pace so I know this is by far the best decision for him.

3. Baby #3 Update - At 14 weeks I have been delighted and surprised to be able to feel little baby movements the past few days (at least a week earlier then with the other two). Such a great feeling!

4. Winter Days Update - After barely being able to convince JA to wear a costume at Halloween I was pleasantly surprised this week when he has decided that playing dress up is the best.thing.ever. I have been surrounded by dinosaurs, fairies, dogs, princesses and firemen all week. I love seeing imaginations soar when a costume is put on. Fun.

5.Date Night Update - We made a goal last year to hire a babysitter at least once a month and go on a date. If we could get lucky and convince the Grandparents to watch the kids we have been able to get out even more! This has been just the best thing ever. I have been a bit of a slacker with getting a sitter when Thomas suggests it the past two months (let's face it, when you want to just crawl in bed by 8pm it is hard to go out). We finally got a sitter last night and went to the temple and then out for some food with a great group of friends from church. I was beyond touched when our sitter refused to let me pay for her service since we were at the temple. I did manage to convince her to take a bit of money since we went out after but there was no way she would take it all. Moments like those really are the sweetest.

Into the 2nd Trimester

First off I want to thank you all for the overwhelming love and support that came with the announcement of expecting baby #3.
I thought I would give a little back info and an update for those who are interested (those who aren't, I will catch you on the next post ;)

Deciding to have another baby is not a decision we made lightly. There was a lot of thought, prayer, inquiries with my doctor, time and stress that went into the decision. My last pregnancy and delivery was anything but ideal (8cm placenta tear, thin cervix, bed rest, prolapse cord, emergency c-section, intubation, cut bladder, catheter at home for weeks as a short version). I am not even lieing when I say that I had some serious post traumatic stress after it all!
After lots of discussion with my doctor that assured me that there is no guarantee that I will have a repeat of any of the problems in the past (just higher risk) and of course a couple years of spending a lot of energy getting myself mentally and physically ready to try again we decided to go for it. I half expected I would get pregnant right away since it took so much time to decide but of course the fertility issues of the past were a problem again. After 9-10 months and no luck I went to get a referral for fertility treatments again. While waiting the couple months for a fertility doctor to contact me we managed to get pregnant (something about taking the stress away must have helped).
So far things are going much better this time around. My placenta is still holding strong so that is a huge plus! I had an ultrasound at 8 weeks and things were pretty good (just minor tearing). At my family doctor's office last week I heard a good strong heart beat.
Today we had our first OB prenatal appointment and had another strong heart beat (160)! I scheduled a c-section to avoid any complications that delivery brings because clearly my body just wasn't made for giving birth. My doctor is also pretty confident in his ability to avoid cutting my bladder again. I was concerned I may need surgery to stitch my cervix shut (TMI I know) but he is just going to monitor it and worst case I will end up on bed rest but at least this time I won't have an infant to take care of at the same time. I have been banned from running (boo) and lifting my children (sorry JA) and really anything else that is strain inducing.
I am finally starting to feel slightly better then I was the first month or so and hopefully I will be Diclectin free sooner then later.
I will keep you posted on how things progress and continue to work on not stressing out about things that are out of my control!

The Sound of a Miracle

For my birthday today (29 and still holding....again) I got to hear a sound that makes my heart melt. The sound of a miracle. The sound that beats to the tune of




167 Beats/Minute


That's right friends.

2012 is about to get a lot more exciting come July. I am 12 weeks pregnant with baby #3! We are excited, overwhelmed, stressed and thrilled about this last and final addition to our family. Now we are just saying lots of prayers for less complications and struggles with this pregnancy and delivery then the last one!