We present our daughter Evelyn Ruth Marshall

Evelyn Ruth Marshall was born Jan 1st at 9:23pm. 9.1 lbs and 21 1/2 inches long

40 weeks

Today is my official due date. I'm still hanging in there. With the way the pregnancy has gone I don't think anyone had the expectation that I would carry all the way but the Lord had other plans for growing this baby. I've spent the last week or so wondering each day if this would be the day and this morning I sit wondering the same thing. Later this afternoon I am going in for a chiropractic adjustment and acupuncture (It's not scary. I've had it done before for other things). Maybe that'll get things moving along. Although if it does move things along I'll probably always wonder if they would have on their own anyway. Some random things about this pregnancy that I wanted to jot down are.

*I've gained 35 pounds with this baby. Which is almost 15lbs less than I did with Hannah.

* Seeing the Chiropractor regularly has made a night and day difference on how I physically feel. I'm most amazed that adjusting my feet made my calf cramps completely stop.

* With each pregnancy I always start fretting about maternity clothes. I'm changed sizes and opinions on modesty with each time and so at the beginning of each pregnancy it seems like I'm having the start over. This time early on I just decided "not to worry about tomorrow" and as promised was taken care of by the Lord. Between garage saling, a dear friend, and a local online site I shop on I ended up with a larger maternity wardrobe that I have ever had. With basically starting from scratch I only ended up spending around $50.

* We now own 3 cribs and will have 3 in diapers. Neither boy is close to being ready for potty training at this point and I'm not going to push it. I actually think it's harder the first 6 months + of them being potty trained than it is just to change another diaper.

* Just like with other pregnancies I never had any cravings for anything in particular. I did sometimes just get on a kick of eating something every now and then. Yogurt, avocado & tomato on anything, ham & laughing cow cheese, & chocolate. I also normally lose the taste for coffee but this time around I've been drinking several cups a day (mostly de caf). I'm wondering if it's because it's a winter pregnancy.

*We've gotten more projects done around the house than ever before. I think it's because we've got a much better idea of how much things slow down after a new baby comes.

*Also we have been pleasantly surprised at how excited people along with us that we're expecting our 4th. We've gotten very few critical comments from strangers or family and it's been refreshing.

* I have been WAY more emotional this time around. Bless my sweet family for dealing with me gently.

Thats all the random thoughts for this morning. Hopefully the next update will be a picture of me with baby.

Bonus Day

Kyle started getting a end of the year bonus a few years ago when he started working for this new company. Getting a bonus was very new to us and we have prayed over the years for wisdom with what to do with the 'unexpected' money. One of the things Kyle started was that on the day the bonus hits our checking account he goes out all by himself and picks out a gift for each of the family members. He explains in a simple way that Daddy was rewarded for his hard work that year and that he wanted to thank and reward us for our hard work that year. The kids of course never hear any of this and are totally focused on what might be in the bag. Daddy's gifts are always a hit with the kids and are never things that Mommy would buy (which he says is why I am not invited to come along on that shopping trip) :).

We are very grateful that Kyle works for a company that isn't driven by money and that chooses to share the end of the year profits with the employees of the company. I am also so thankful for my husband who works very hard to provide for us and also works hard to bring glory to God in the work that he is doing (which is very hard sometimes).

Company Christmas party

We were blessed again this year by Kyle's company putting on such a nice Christmas party. Despite being nearly 38 weeks pregnant I put on my fancy heels and we partied hardy. This year the venue was across the street from a historical hotel so Kyle and I took advantage of having a night without kids before little miss makes her arrival. 

Green light! Red light! Green light! Red light!

Remember playing that game in grade school? Well that pretty much describes how things have been for me lately. At my 36 week check up I was explaining to my midwife that I have had several bouts of really good contractions over that past week that really pick up when I walk, or bend, or feel any sort of stress. We all decided that because of my labor with Joshua that it would be a good idea to go ahead and check me so that we know where I'd be starting out when labor actually started. I was 3 cm and about 50% effaced. We talked about things I could do to encourage her to stay in a little longer as 36 weeks is still quite early to be born. So for the rest of the week and throughout my birthday weekend I took it very very easy.

That Monday morning (right at 37 weeks) I woke up having contractions that were 3 minutes apart. At first they weren't too comfortable and didn't take much of my attention away. After a couple of hours of that they were starting to require more attention and the children asking questions and touching me etc was very distracting during contractions. My mom was home so I went to lay down in bed to see if they would settle down on their own. After laying there for about an hour I realized that they really weren't calming down and had possibly picked up. So I called Kyle home from work just in case. After he was home for about an hour we made the decision to call our midwives. They both saw the way I was laboring and thought it warranted a check.  There had been no change at all since the week before. Still 3 cm and 50% effaced. At that point they suggested we go walking for a while to see if they picked up or slowed down. So they left as did Kyle and I. Kyle and I went walking, ate a good lunch, came home and napped, got up and went walking again. During this whole time they stayed 3 minutes apart and would intensify when I was walking and calm down when I was sitting. Finally after 19 hours of contractions being 3 minutes apart they just stopped.

Here are some pictures that my mom took thinking that this was it.

Fast forward to last night. The boys had a stomach bug all day so I was quarantined to my room for the whole day as we tried to avoid me catching it. It had been a long day for my mom who stayed home to take care of the kids so Kyle picked up burgers for dinner. While he was on his way home I started randomly having contractions again. This time 2-3 minutes apart and they started out strong. By the time Kyle got home I wasn't wanting to talk during contractions but wasn't ready to call this 'it'. I was just sitting down blogging when they started so I tried laying down.

When I laid down they picked up so I tried doing the opposite, walking. I started piddling in my room and around the house 'readying' things. I told Kyle to quickly eat in case it progressed as quickly as things had with Joshua. He left to eat and I ate some yogurt and drank a whole large glass of water just to see if that changed things either. When he got back into the room we decided to give our Toni (our midwife) a heads up that she might be heading this way. We told her we'd keep her updated.

Sitting hurt, laying down hurt, and walking felt great so Kyle and I went out side our house and walked up and down the street. Not wanting to believe it was labor I wanted to see how long I could walk through the contractions and if I could make myself talk during them. Stopping and moaning felt better but I could walk and talk. (side note Kyle laughed at me when I told him what I was trying to do and said "Kristine I'm fairly confident that you could walk through pushing the baby out" ). It got to the point where I truly couldn't walk or talk through them and any break in focus during a contractions was unbearable. So Kyle called and told Toni to send Andrea (the other midwife who lives super close to us) over that this was it.

Andrea got here checked baby's heart rate, took my pulse, blood pressure, and then did a check. I was still at 3cm 50% effaced. So Andrea left and said feel free to call back if she needed to come back. They slowed when Andrea got here. When she left I was a little upset and went back outside to clear my head. Came back in, ate my burger, and laid down to sleep. After about an hour I woke up still having pretty good contractions 2-3 minutes apart but they fizzled out about an hour after that.

So it's 10 days before my 'due date' and I feel confused, frustrated, and yet peaceful all at the same time.  I have been praying for God's perfect timing and peace for this birth. I've now added to my prayers for God to please give me a super clear sign when I am actually in labor. There are lots of theories as to why labor will start up and then suddenly stop like this. I am grateful to be able to labor the way my body tells me to and not in a situation where I am encouraged to take pitocin or anything else to keep labor going. I trust that my body works, that if this is how it needs to happen that there is a reason for it and there for it's good, and that Little miss will decide to show herself in prefect timing.

Edit-

Had another bought of contractions on Christmas Eve for about 2 hours. I'm 39 weeks and 3 days now.  Come on baby girl. We are ready. Kyle snapped this picture above during the contractions I had on Christmas Eve. They got pretty dang intense again. I was actually in the middle of wrapping last minute gifts and stuffing stockings and had to stop. You can kinda see the stuff sitting on our bed. You can also see the birth kit and bag of sterilized stuff sitting in the crib just waiting.

Wordless not Wednesday

My Birthday

This year my birthday was on a weekend and so my Godparents (I call them that because I know God sent them to me) make plans to come in and celebrate with us for the weekend. They also brought Granny with them which made it even more special. We had lots of outdoor activities planned but the major cold front/ice storm we had came through cancelled all of those. 

We still had a great time though. We ate at my newly discovered favorite restaurant. Because of the weather we were really the only ones there. That evening they had a bluegrass style band playing there. 

The naughty list behind me in this picture had my name on it. There was a nice list on the other side where the owner had put Kyle's name. ;)

Sweet moment between Great-grandmother and great-grandchild

There wasn't much point in going anywhere on Saturday so about halfway through the day I recruited help with putting up our Christmas decorations.

Joshua got to help Daddy put on the star this year

Since we wouldn't be seeing them again before Christmas we went ahead and exchanged gifts.

Kyle got the biggest surprise of all. Kyle is very musical and has played french horn for 18 years now but has never owned one because they are very expensive. So lately he has been talking and talking about getting a guitar and trying to learn to play it. Well they surprised him really really good with a guitar. He was actually giddy about it.

Thank you Lord for another year on this earth with my family. I hope that the way I serve you this next year of my life is pleasing to you.