Birth story

I'm so bummed cause I started this post a few days ago and now it's gone! Oh well.

Since I waited over a year to write out Blakely's birth story I figured I'd do Henry's now while it's fresh on my mind. I know I left out tiny details of B's that only I care about, but I want to remember it all!

I went in Friday for my last checkup and the doc said I was still a 2, and he stripped my membranes. I told him how bad I wanted to go into labor and he offered to strip them again- I didn't even know you could do that. I told him to go for it, duh. And boy am I glad I did.

So. I was scheduled to be induced Sunday night at 9pm, so we planned out our weekend. Stephens parents got in town Friday afternoon to take care of B while we were in the hospital. Saturday Stephen had a (last) fishing trip with his dad and my brother. Stephens mom and I planned to take B to the farmers market so I could get some biscuits and gravy and so B could see the dogs and play with friends. And Sunday we were going to clean the house really well and just relax! Well, B messed up those plans when she started getting sick on Thursday. Apparently I can't have a baby without Stephen getting sick, so naturally he caught it a day or two later. At least it wasn't ER worthy though!!! But he did feel pretty bad the whole time we were in the hospital.

Anyway, since B was sick she went down for a morning nap on Saturday- but I figured she wouldn't sleep long (cause she never does) and we could go to the market as soon as she woke up. I starved myself all morning cause I REALLY wanted to enjoy my biscuits and gravy, so OF COURSE Blakely slept for 2hrs and woke up 15 minutes before the market closed. I'm still sad I didn't get my biscuits and gravy! So we got panera for lunch instead and played all day.

We were outside a bunch and took a few walks around the block and Stephen and I got to go on some walks by ourselves- our favorite thing and probably the thing we miss the most from our no-kid days.

I had been having contractions all day but I was trying not to focus on them cause I knew I'd just psych myself out and loose sleep over nothing. Looking back, I had a LOT all day, and they got more painful as the day went on. That night Stephen and I walked several laps around our neighborhood and at that point I was really feeling like I was gonna go into labor but I didn't tell anyone. We went to bed and I tried to go to sleep but my contractions had become painful enough that there was no way I could sleep through them. Finally around 11:45pm I started timing them and Stephen woke up. As soon as I told him I thought I might be in labor he got up immediately and got dressed and packed his bag. I was still not ready to go anywhere. My hospital is all the way in Kansas city- 45 minutes away and I knew if I went in and wasn't in labor we'd be gone until morning. Not what I wanted my last night pregnant to look like. Well, when I started timing the contractions, they were 4-5 minutes apart. I was suppose to head to the hospital when they were 7-8 minutes apart, so we knew we had to make a decision quick. I convinced Stephen to wait about an hour and then he called the doc. Doc said to come when the contractions took my breath away and I couldn't talk through them. I was already there so we woke Stephens parents up and headed to the hospital.

It was really fun and exciting! Stephen was keeping track of my contractions and we were just laughing about how terrible it would be if it was a false alarm. We got to the hospital and I was dilated to a 4 and they confirmed that I was in fact in labor. We got there around 2am.

I was doing ok on pain- it hurt bad, but I was getting enough relief between contractions that I didn't want the epidural yet. I considered trying to go without the whole time, but knowing that Henry was a lot bigger than B, I was terrified of pushing without the epi. Around 5-6am I caved and decided to get it so I could get some rest. Stephen was very happy.

It didn't go like I planned. Just like with Blakely, it only took to my right side. They redid it and my right side became completely dead, but still no relief on my left. I was so upset. I was tired and emotional and I felt like I made a big mistake cause now I was stuck laying down unable to move with no pain relief. I wasn't sure if I wanted them to try again, cause I was afraid it wouldn't work again- and the whole process of getting it was painful. They called in another anesthesiologist that supposedly was really good so I decided to let her try. She told me she "rarely can't give a patient what they want." Her self assuredness was fine by me so I let her stick me. It didn't hurt at all, and it worked. Apparently I have scoliosis and didn't know it and it is just exacerbated by pregnancy. That's why the epi didn't work with B either. Now I know for next time!

I got relief immediately and although I couldn't sleep, I could at least rest. Funny thing was, as soon as I got this one, my contractions slowed way down. I'm glad I got it though cause my doc came and broke my water to get things moving again. My contractions picked back up. They were thinking of giving me pitocen to speed things up more and I chimed in and told them to do whatever they needed to get this show on the road!

So they did, I progressed, I told them to crank it up, and around 10 I was dilated 6-7. Then about an hour later I felt the urge to push and they wanted me to "labor down" for a little bit. I guess it just means let your body get the baby as far as it can without pushing. Then they were ready for me to push around 11:35. I literally pushed for one contraction- my doctor laughed- and there was Henry! I couldn't believe it. Two and a half pounds bigger, and even easier delivery than B.

He cried a lot more at first than Blakely did. She cried once, then was content on my chest. Henry was pretty ticked to be out of his warm wet home. Henry immidately latched and nursed well- Blakely didn't latch until the 3rd day with a nipple shield. Henry wants to eat about every hour and a half/ two hours. It's exhausting! But I must say, it is much nicer to have a kid who loves to eat than one who I have to fight with about it! Henry likes to fall asleep though, probably why he doesn't always go 3 hours between feedings. He is getting better though. Like B, he is a spitter. Sometimes it seems like he spits up his whole meal.

We stayed in the hospital Sunday night, then again Monday night because Henry was jaundiced. He had to be on the "billi bed" with the blue lights to get his billiruben to go down. He had a hard time peeing- I think because of his circumcision. Now he is a peeing machine. He has peed or pooped on me at least 5 times now- once in the face. Lovely. :) He is a grunter like Blakely, and it drives me crazy! I don't know why, but I worry about every little noise he makes. I'll just have to get use to it. When we left the hospital he weighed 6lbs 6oz, and the next day he was 6lbs 8oz. Today he was 7lbs 8oz. (21%)

He got an eye infection and we are putting ointment on it and he is on some reflux medicine. His plastibell fell off Tuesday and his umbilical cord fell off today.

Blakely really seems to like Henry, but she gets frustrated by all the "rules." *no touching while he is sleeping, *no touching his face, *no touching with inanimate objects, *only touch gently, *no rocking his bassinet, *no feeding Henry, *no screaming when Henry is sleeping, etc. All of these are VERY hard for her. She LOVES to give him kisses and hugs. It is hard to get on to her for not being gentle when she is hugging and kissing him. We are trying to teach her that one hug and one kiss is enough She is sweet. She has stopped trying to pick him up, thankfully, but we still can't leave her for more than a second unsupervised. He's gonna be a tough little brother!

Stephen's parents went home the day after we got home from the hospital. Blakely had a GREAT time with them, but sortof became a basketcase when we got home. I think the emotional buildup of us being gone a couple days and everything changing caught up to her. After Stephen's parents left, my parents came and stayed with us. I love having the help, but it will be really good for B to adjust to our new life with no visitors for a little while. Blakely has been giving me the cold shoulder. She knows things are different now that Henry occupies my lap much of the time, and I think it will take a little while for her to warm back up to me. She is LOVING her daddy right now though. She has gotten a couple of "ouchies" lately and she ONLY wants him to hold her when she is upset. It is pretty funny.

Here are some pictures!

Henry Joseph is here!

He decided he wanted his birthday a day earlier, so he was born Sunday morning, May 20th at 11:36am! He was 6lbs 13oz and 18.5in long. We got to come home today so we are both still adjusting to our new lives! More later!

Grandma and mothers day

I feel so blessed to have a mom and to be a mom. Sunday was a sweet day just thinking about the gift of motherhood, and also appreciating what my mom has been for me. There is nothing that opens your eyes more to the endless sacrifices that your mom gave for you than becoming a mom yourself. I can always count on my mom to empathize with me, offer advice, and to just feel sorry for me outloud when it comes to the hardships of being a mom.

This mothers day was bittersweet though. As Stephen and Blakely appreciated me, my mom's mom was passing away. She lost consciousness Sunday afternoon and passed away Monday evening.

I have always been very close to my grandma, but my deepest sadness is for my mom losing her mom. I just can't, and don't want to imagine.

My grandma- Betty Lou Yount was one of my favorite people. I feel very lucky to have had the relationship that I did with my grandma. I grew up 5-6 hours away from my grandparents, and I feel like it gave me a greater appreciation for my time with them. Seeing them was always exciting and something I looked forward to. For as long as I can remember, my grandma was one of my favorite people. I would have told you she was my best friend until sometime in late middle school, and only not then because I realized it was normal to have a best friend a little closer to my age. :) When my brother and I were really young we started going to their house for weeks every summer. I said I was going to college in smithville (where my gma lived) until I was old enough to understand that there was no college in smithville. And after that I still said, for a very long time, that I was moving there when I grew up.

My cousins and I would eat at "Betty's Diner." Where she would make us eggs to order, serve us juice out of wine glasses and let us eat off her nice china. We would fight over who she would rock on her lap, and luckily her lap was big enough for 2 of the 3 of us. She and I would play cards- "13"- and she usually beat me. We'd stay up late and drink homemade tomato juice and watch "Golden Girls" and "Roseanne"- which was a special treat since I wasn't allowed to watch it at home. :) She taught me how to cook and bake. I even recently got a lesson in how to make her homemade jelly, and I had my first solo attempt a few days ago. I made a huge mess, burned myself, and Stephen says I'm not allowed make jelly again- but I'd say it was a success! :)

When my grandparents would come visit, my gram would sleep with me and my gpa would sleep on the couch. We would stay awake talking for way too long, then she'd keep me awake snoring. She had a very distinct snore that I will never forget. :) It wasn't until pretty late into high school that I finally stopped crying when they left our house or we left theirs. I genuinely couldn't fight back the tears because I hated to see them go.

My grandma was pretty notorious for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. She was usually the first to tell me when I had put on weight, lost too much, or my hair looked bad. She might have been accused of being insensitive, but she certainly didn't require any special treatment herself. she expected the same honesty from everyone else. I would rudely try and tell her that she had put on some weight herself, but she never cared. She'd just laugh and agree. It was one of her strengths. You never had to wonder where you stood with her. She'd let you know long before you wondered. And she was loyal. She always stuck up for and fought for the people she loved. Ask my dad- it took him a while to convince her he was good enough for my mom.
She had a great sense of humor and a lively cackle to go along with it. She was always making fun and joking around with everyone. And she was always up for a good time. Her energy was impressive for an over 70 year old woman. She was always the one pushing for us to get up at 3am for the black Friday deals. She didn't even want or need the deals- she just thought it was fun. Even after she found out she had terminal cancer, she continued to live her life and planned to stick around for many years longer than we were lucky enough to have her. Sometimes her optimism was frustrating- but it was the best thing for her.

My grandma was very special to me. I feel blessed that Blakely got to spend quite a bit of time over the last year and a half with her. Blakely liked her. Monday morning we visited her and I told Blakely to give my grandpa and cousin hugs goodbye, and Blakely insisted on giving grandma a hug too.

It was hard watching her suffer these last few weeks, and because of that I am thankful that she is no longer in pain. But it still- and will for a long time- hurts to know that one of the most special people in my life is no longer here.

I am reminded more this week than ever of God's control over all our lives. Whether we choose to give it to him or not. As we anxiously wait for Henry to get here, we are grieving the loss off my grandma. Job's words have never felt more true "He gives and takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." -Job 1:21

Update

I'll start with Henry. I went to my OB yesterday and he said he was comfortable with the other docs decision for me to continue being pregnant. I told him I was not comfortable with it. :)

Luckily I am 2cm dilated. And though I know that doesn't actually mean anything for me going into labor, i am still hoping. He stripped my membranes- and let me just say: yowza. I didn't know what that was... But hey, whatever gets me closer to not being pregnant! I ate Thai food a couple days ago hoping some spicy food would do the trick, and I have been taking quite a few walks around the block. I had contractions all day and all night last night. It was hard not to get my hopes up. But alas, here I am, not in labor. :)

On to Blakely. She is 17 months as of 2 days ago! I completely forgot too. Well what's she up to? Lots! She has really improved in her behavior. I think our lives were hectic trying to get our house on the market and Stephen was going out of town a lot and I think it was throwing her off. She still throws fits when she is tired. But she is getting SO much better at communicating with sign language and words and that is helping her so much.
I am not even going to attempt to list the words she can say. She has new ones every day. And she has her own words that we are figuring out.

She is WAY into pretending right now. She has a baby with a stroller that she pushes all over the house, feeds her bottles (and takes sips herself...), puts her to bed, shares her binky with her, and her new thing is swaddling her in dish towels. I have no idea where she got that cause we never use blankets with her and she's not around any babies. It's pretty cute though. She even occasionally swaddles other things...like sippy cups and bowls and food. :) She is obsessed with being outside- where 90% of her fits come from (us saying we have to stay in or go in) She would literally be out there all day if we let her. She loves to pick leaves and smell them and have you smell them. She also tries to feed the rabbits that live in our backyard. She pushes the wagon way more than she rides in it and she collects rocks.

We are attempting to move to 1 nap a day. She will take 2 but has been having trouble going to sleep for the second one and at bedtime. We had the perfect day today- up at 6:30, 2.5 hour nap at noon, asleep at 7:30. And she was in a great mood all day! I hope we can keep this up. I am sad to loose her (my) morning nap, but I think it's for the best. I probably wouldn't be able to sleep then anyway once Henry gets here.

Here's lots of pictures!

Still pregnant

Well, I'm a little over 37 weeks pregnant.  At my last checkup my belly measured 32 weeks pregnant (way behind) so my doc ordered an early growth scan that I had today.  He made me think that I was probably going to find out that I would have this baby this week.  I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up.  I have to be honest, this whole growth thing is rather frustrating.  It is hard because, of course, I want Henry to be growing and healthy.  However, each time I go in and find out that my belly isn't measuring where it should be, it just means another week (or more) of wondering what the next growth scan will say.  So then when I find out that Henry seems to be growing ok- well why isn't my belly getting any bigger?  Don't get me wrong...I'd rather not get any bigger than I am, but it still concerns me a little.  When we found out that we had to have Blakely early, it was bittersweet.  We were worried, but also excited that we got to have her and see her and know for sure that she was ok.  AND because she did SO well after I had her, it makes it even harder with this one, because I almost wish they would say I need to go ahead and have him.  Especially now that I know he is 6lbs 14oz.  Getting a little too big, if you ask me.  (kidding...sortof)  At the last growth scan, there was no cause for worry.  He was well above average in all growth areas.  Including a bigger head than I'd like to try and push out...  Well, this time all of the numbers went down, quite a bit- if you ask me.  His overall weight is fine, but his abdomen and head percentages went way down from last time.  So I am just confused at what they are looking for.  I don't remember exact numbers from Blakely, but I feel like her numbers were similar when they decided I needed to go ahead and have her, so I am just confused. 

Anyway, I go in tomorrow to my regular OB, who makes the final call anyway, so I will ask him a million questions.  I am also still holding out hope that some spicy food, and a few walks around the block will put me into labor.  I know it's just wishful thinking, but my pregnant brain can't help it! 

I am thankful to be able to be pregnant, and I am thankful that Henry is healthy, but I am tired of being pregnant!  My mother in law was telling me that her sister in law went THREE weeks past her due date.  WHAT?!  1.  What were the doctors thinking 40 years ago?  2. It's amazing that she had TWO more children after that.  3.  The poor poor woman.  Amazingly he was only 10lbs.  I mean, that's a lot, but not that much considering how long she was pregnant.  Praise the Lord that at most I have less than 2 weeks.  I WILL be induced at 39 weeks.  I know, I know, I should let the baby pick his birthday himself- but no thanks.  So long as he keeps jabbing me under the ribs with his feet and making me get up to use the bathroom every hour at night, and pinching some nerve in my leg, I will be the one to pick his birthday.  Unless of course he'd rather it be sooner.  :)

Thanks to my good friend Claire taking the day to play with Blakely, I had a cooking day yesterday.  I would say it was successful, but I didn't get as much done as I'd hoped.  I somehow forgot that I don't have a foodnetwork kitchen, and someone else to clean up after me.  :)  I did get 3 whole chickens cooked and the meat frozen for various things like tacos, soups, etc., enough lasagna rolls for probably 3-4 meals, a chicken curry dish, chicken marinading ready to thaw and go straight to the grill, and at least 5 servings of a healthy spinnach mac and cheese.  All in the freezer waiting for Henry.  I still plan to make some beef and bean burritos and freeze in single servings, and make some breakfast items to freeze too.  It only took 3 runs of the dishwasher, plus stephen washing all the pots and pans by hand, and Blakely only pulled the raw chicken packages out of the trash and got chicken juice all over her and the floor one time.  Talk about a disaster.  My husband has been scarred with 3 terrible bouts of food poisoning in the last 5 years, one of them being during the birth of Blakely, so I think he lost a few hours of sleep last night in fear that she or I would get sick from the raw chicken.  Luckily we all woke up fine and dandy today, so I think we are good.

Had to share this last photo.  This girl was reading her pregnancy pamphlet outloud to her husband in the waiting room today at the doc.  I just thought it was hilarious.  Clearly he is enthralled with the information. 

36 weeks!

Well I am officially more pregnant than I've ever been. Not only is Henry significantly bigger than Blakely was when she was born, but I didn't make it this far in pregnancy with her.

I found out last week that Henry is oblique- which means his head is in my hip socket instead of down in my pelvis where it needs to be. The doc said if he doesn't scoot over then he'll attempt to move him while I'm in labor and if that doesn't work then I'll have to have a c-section. Huge bummer- I do NOT want that. So I have been doing some goofy exercises that I read about online that supposedly encourage him to move over. Its probably just a trick to get you to di silly and uncomfortable things. I should video it because some are pretty ridiculous.

Stephen has been at staff training all weekend and gets home today. His mom and dad came to babysit me and B, and his mom is staying a few extra days to be here while Stephen goes to a wedding this weekend. We are having fun with BB, but We are SICK of dada being gone! Blakely definitely turned into a maniac the last couple days and I'm convinced it's cause she's done with me and ready for dad. She might not be too happy when he leaves again in a couple days. But it's his last trip for a LONG time.

Back to Henry. I'm definitely growing to new levels. No matter how good the cause, it never is pleasant to see the number on the scale climb. Especially since that number is bigger than last time and I can't help but think of how hard its going to be to get it back down. My physical abilities are also rapidly declining. I decided to walk the other day, and I felt ok during, but by the end of the day I was HURTING. I'm pretty sure I pulled something in my groin. As if it's not hard enough moving around with my 25lb belly... So I have been hobbling around grunting and groaning every time I move, and trying to explain to Blakely why I can't carry her.

I go back and forth on whether I'm ready to have him or not. Part of me would be happy not to be pregnant anymore, but I also know I'll be getting even less sleep than I am now when he gets here- so I can wait a little... I am by no means miserable like I know some people can get, but it seems that a new unpleasant pregnancy symptom pops up daily! But I won't complain :) Here's a few pics of me and Henry!