Here's some fun pics we took of Mae a few weeks ago. At her last Dr. appointment she weighed 9 lbs so she's definitely filling out and starting to get some chubby rolls on her.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Mae's Blessing Day
Sweet Mae in her dress on the special day! We were so lucky to have both of our sets of parents come out to West Virginia to enjoy this day with us.
John's so happy to be a father of 2 now that he's 26. He's really getting up there!
John's parents being a little cheesy. We only got to see them for a few hours on their quick trip but we enjoyed every minute with them.
My mom with Mae. She's got a way with those newborns! Jonah loves her, too!
Thanks Mom and Dad for coming to visit! It was fun to have you here for a few days!
Jonah loved playing with Porter and getting the attention he wanted from all the family members around. I'm starting to realize he's not a baby anymore:(
We went with my parents to see historic Harper's Ferry. Jonah's highlight was the choo-choo's. We loved trying out our new double jogging stroller that neither of our kids wanted to sit in:)
John trying to mimic Jonah- guess he has a little separation anxiety from his twin Christian.
Beautiful, warm sunny day for January. We're so glad we could get outside with our TWO kids! Do we sound old or what?
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Mae's Birth Story
So I thought I'd write my labor story down since I obsess about the details of labor stories. It seems like women that have given birth love sharing and hearing birth stories, probably since it's an unforgettable, overwhelming, and miraculous experience.
Due Date Dec 15th
We went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse. Yum, I'm still dreaming about that Smothered Chicken, which was my last real meal for a few days. We walked around and did some Christmas shopping at Kohl's. I started to feel a few contractions, but they weren't too frequent or painful yet. That night I had a burst of energy and wanted to make a pumpkin pie- I think the abdominal workout of rolling out the pie crust is what did the trick of spurring on the labor:)
Dec 16th
I tried going to sleep that night but I was up until 2:30 AM due to the contractions getting more frequent and painful, and because of the excitement of probably having the baby soon.
I woke up at 4:00 AM and could no longer manage the pain of the contractions while laying down, which were coming 5-8 min apart. I resorted to the exercise ball, which allowed me to relax and move around some during my contractions. I used a rice bag to heat my back to help alleviate some of the pain.
John woke up at 6:00 AM and helped comfort me for a couple of hours, then went off to take his last Shelf Exam at 9:00 AM. Talk about good timing! I labored quite well throughout the day. This labor was much less painful than Jonah's was- I had a lot of back labor with Jonah, so this time I was much more prepared to relax and cope with the contractions.
As the afternoon progressed the contractions were coming 3-5 min apart, and it became increasingly more difficult for me to stay happy. We decided to go into the clinic for the midwives to check me (I desperately didn't want to go to the hospital too early like I did with Jonah) however when we called in they had just closed the office for the evening. So, we decided to go to Wal Mart to walk around and try to distract me. We walked down just about every aisle, and I tried to not look like I was in excruciating labor during contractions, pretending "Oh I really want to see these crayons on the bottom shelf", while crouching and wincing on the floor. We got home and John tried distracting me with the movie Rocky Balboa, but I had no idea what was going on around me. I just tried to rest and would collapse on John's shoulder for a few minutes between contractions. I threw up a few times, and around 9 PM I resorted to taking a shower, which I hoped would give me a break from the hard labor I was going through. My mind began to get weaker, and I started to think that the labor would never end. It had already been about 18 hours, and I felt that I hadn't progressed too far, just comparing to how things went with my last labor. Thinking I would be in labor indefinitely and knowing that I wouldn't be sleeping that night either, I decided that I was ready to go to the hospital. To heck with a natural labor, I was ready for the labor to end and was ready to get an epidural! John got everything ready for us to head to the hospital. Luckily John's mom was there (and had been helping me throughout the entire labor), who stayed at home with the oblivious sleeping Jonah until we arranged for our friend Jared to come stay with Jonah for the night.
I got to the hospital around 10:30 PM. "Yes I've been in labor for 18 hours. Make it go away!" What a blur that first hour at the hospital was. "Like I can sign my name when I'm in such a condition. I don't want to answer any questions and I don't know what's going on anyways."
My favorite midwife happened to the one on call that evening. She arrived and I broke down and told her that I didn't think I was very far along and wanted an epidural. She calmed me down and checked me. She said "How does 6 sound? See you haven't been laboring all this time for nothing." What a life saver. This progress was the encouragement I needed to hear to keep me positive, since I was devastated to hear I was only at a 2 or 3 when I arrived at the hospital to have Jonah.
After hearing this news, I decided to take a shower, and quickly found out the water wasn't warm enough and made my entire body shiver and convulse. I yelled for help and warm blankets, finally I was able to get warm again. I acted crazy until I could control my shivering again. The hospital's birthing ball was huge!!! I couldn't even reach the floor. So my two methods of coping with labor (hot shower and birthing ball) were quite disappointing. We resorted to walking up and down the hallways, which was the best method for moving the labor along. John's Mom gave me the needed advice to relax and stay in control of the pain, and John gave me the support I needed to not feel alone through all of this.
Dec. 17th
By 1:45 AM I was dilated to a 7 or 8, and the midwife broke my water to get things going a little faster. We then realized I was required to get another dose of antibiotics before having the baby. They hurried and got it in by 2:45, just in time for me to be mostly dilated and close to pushing. (Perfect timing- I wanted to minimize my hospital stay!) Wow, lets just say the rest of the story was really intense but quick. I was ready to push before the midwife was ready for me. I was thinking- lets just get this baby out now, to heck with getting your clothes dirty.
After about 3 contractions, Mae was born at 3:26 AM. She actually started crying before she was all the way out. I was so happy to hold her and didn't want to give her up to anyone else to hold. I was beaming inside that the labor was finally over, and no matter what other pains I was going through I had a perfect little baby in my arms and everything was going to be alright. John was so glad to have me back (I had been stressing about this labor for the past 18 months), and was so happy to have another little baby. We are so blessed to have such a sweet, healthy baby girl join our growing family.
Due Date Dec 15th
We went out to eat at Texas Roadhouse. Yum, I'm still dreaming about that Smothered Chicken, which was my last real meal for a few days. We walked around and did some Christmas shopping at Kohl's. I started to feel a few contractions, but they weren't too frequent or painful yet. That night I had a burst of energy and wanted to make a pumpkin pie- I think the abdominal workout of rolling out the pie crust is what did the trick of spurring on the labor:)
Dec 16th
I tried going to sleep that night but I was up until 2:30 AM due to the contractions getting more frequent and painful, and because of the excitement of probably having the baby soon.
I woke up at 4:00 AM and could no longer manage the pain of the contractions while laying down, which were coming 5-8 min apart. I resorted to the exercise ball, which allowed me to relax and move around some during my contractions. I used a rice bag to heat my back to help alleviate some of the pain.
John woke up at 6:00 AM and helped comfort me for a couple of hours, then went off to take his last Shelf Exam at 9:00 AM. Talk about good timing! I labored quite well throughout the day. This labor was much less painful than Jonah's was- I had a lot of back labor with Jonah, so this time I was much more prepared to relax and cope with the contractions.
As the afternoon progressed the contractions were coming 3-5 min apart, and it became increasingly more difficult for me to stay happy. We decided to go into the clinic for the midwives to check me (I desperately didn't want to go to the hospital too early like I did with Jonah) however when we called in they had just closed the office for the evening. So, we decided to go to Wal Mart to walk around and try to distract me. We walked down just about every aisle, and I tried to not look like I was in excruciating labor during contractions, pretending "Oh I really want to see these crayons on the bottom shelf", while crouching and wincing on the floor. We got home and John tried distracting me with the movie Rocky Balboa, but I had no idea what was going on around me. I just tried to rest and would collapse on John's shoulder for a few minutes between contractions. I threw up a few times, and around 9 PM I resorted to taking a shower, which I hoped would give me a break from the hard labor I was going through. My mind began to get weaker, and I started to think that the labor would never end. It had already been about 18 hours, and I felt that I hadn't progressed too far, just comparing to how things went with my last labor. Thinking I would be in labor indefinitely and knowing that I wouldn't be sleeping that night either, I decided that I was ready to go to the hospital. To heck with a natural labor, I was ready for the labor to end and was ready to get an epidural! John got everything ready for us to head to the hospital. Luckily John's mom was there (and had been helping me throughout the entire labor), who stayed at home with the oblivious sleeping Jonah until we arranged for our friend Jared to come stay with Jonah for the night.
I got to the hospital around 10:30 PM. "Yes I've been in labor for 18 hours. Make it go away!" What a blur that first hour at the hospital was. "Like I can sign my name when I'm in such a condition. I don't want to answer any questions and I don't know what's going on anyways."
My favorite midwife happened to the one on call that evening. She arrived and I broke down and told her that I didn't think I was very far along and wanted an epidural. She calmed me down and checked me. She said "How does 6 sound? See you haven't been laboring all this time for nothing." What a life saver. This progress was the encouragement I needed to hear to keep me positive, since I was devastated to hear I was only at a 2 or 3 when I arrived at the hospital to have Jonah.
After hearing this news, I decided to take a shower, and quickly found out the water wasn't warm enough and made my entire body shiver and convulse. I yelled for help and warm blankets, finally I was able to get warm again. I acted crazy until I could control my shivering again. The hospital's birthing ball was huge!!! I couldn't even reach the floor. So my two methods of coping with labor (hot shower and birthing ball) were quite disappointing. We resorted to walking up and down the hallways, which was the best method for moving the labor along. John's Mom gave me the needed advice to relax and stay in control of the pain, and John gave me the support I needed to not feel alone through all of this.
Dec. 17th
By 1:45 AM I was dilated to a 7 or 8, and the midwife broke my water to get things going a little faster. We then realized I was required to get another dose of antibiotics before having the baby. They hurried and got it in by 2:45, just in time for me to be mostly dilated and close to pushing. (Perfect timing- I wanted to minimize my hospital stay!) Wow, lets just say the rest of the story was really intense but quick. I was ready to push before the midwife was ready for me. I was thinking- lets just get this baby out now, to heck with getting your clothes dirty.
After about 3 contractions, Mae was born at 3:26 AM. She actually started crying before she was all the way out. I was so happy to hold her and didn't want to give her up to anyone else to hold. I was beaming inside that the labor was finally over, and no matter what other pains I was going through I had a perfect little baby in my arms and everything was going to be alright. John was so glad to have me back (I had been stressing about this labor for the past 18 months), and was so happy to have another little baby. We are so blessed to have such a sweet, healthy baby girl join our growing family.
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