Levi's Birth Story

It's time for a final birth story. Our little family is now complete. It's been four weeks today since the birth, so I want to try to get all the details down in print before they are fading memories! For a look back at the others, you can find Ethan's story here, Noah's here, and Amos's here. This will be pretty detailed, so read on at your own risk!! ;)

As I posted in my last bump update, at 36 weeks, things were getting crazy, as we discovered that I had extra amniotic fluid and would require weekly ultrasounds and non-stress tests to monitor the baby. I was spending a lot of my time at the doctor's office! Then, just before 38 weeks, the ultrasound revealed that baby had turned and was now positioned frank breech, instead of head down. Ugh, not good. To avoid scheduling a C-section, we set up an appointment to go to the hospital the morning I was 38 weeks to try an external cephalic version, or ECV. They like to do those by 38 weeks at the latest, so that was going to be my one chance to get baby turned back around. Since baby was frank breech instead of completely breech, and given the extra fluid I had, it should have had a better likelihood of being successful. In we went at 6 am to wait for the doctor to arrive. We discussed everything, then he started the ultrasound to check baby's position that day. Wouldn't you know that stubborn little booger had turned again and was head down again?!? So yeah, that was quick - we got to go home without needing to do anything after all. Sigh of relief. At that point, I needed to try to do what I could to keep baby head down, which meant a lot of sitting on my big exercise ball, and trying to bind my belly with a maternity support binder. That was not fun.

At my next appointment the following Tuesday, at 38.5 weeks, we discussed induction. As much as I wanted baby to come on its own, I was absolutely miserable, in pain, and with the extra fluid, ok'd for an early delivery. So, we set up the induction for 39 weeks, on Friday the 13th. Yes, Friday the 13th. I wasn't thrilled about the date, but my midwife was on call that day. I had reached the point where I just wanted baby out, and I didn't care what day it was going to be anymore!! So there we were, one week later at the hospital, checking in again to head to labor & delivery.

I gowned up and we started the party. Pitocin was started at 7:30 am, at which time I was dilated only 3 cm. I was having fairly regular contractions, but they weren't really getting closer or more intense. My midwife broke my water at 11:45 am, at which time I was dilated just 4 cm. That was fun thanks to the extra fluid!! No, no it was not. I just kept leaking and leaking and leaking, which made things interesting for trying to get up and walk around when I was tired of sitting.

Things were still moving super slowly, so I got an epidural at 1:45 pm. I was hoping to relax my body and speed things along a bit! Like the epidural I had with Amos, it took pretty well, with no feeling on the left side, but enough feeling on the right side to experience some of the pain of the contractions. It also caused my blood pressure to drop super low, but we were able to get it evened back out within the hour. By 2:30 pm, I was dilated 6 cm and by 5 pm, I was still dilated just 7 cm. Sigh. I was starting to think this baby may not be born on the 13th after all!! And then things started moving really fast. My epidural was wearing off and I had called to get more medicine, but they were really busy on the floor by that point, and I never did get any, so by the time they came in to check me again, it was go time and I was feeling everything! Yikes! Fortunately, it only took about 5 minutes of pushing and baby had arrived...

Born at 6:12 pm was our FOURTH BOY!!! I kind of thought maybe Josh was joking when he told me it was another boy, haha! I was seriously convinced this one was a girl after how different everything was with this pregnancy, but alas, I was wrong. At 8 pounds, 4.1 ounces, 20 inches long, with a 14-inch head circumference, he was our second biggest baby. Born earlier than the rest though, he would've been the biggest had he cooked another 2.5 weeks like Ethan did! ;)

He was perfect!!

Sadly, Josh and I had actually agreed on a girl's name that day as we hung out all day at the hospital, but we were still struggling with a boy's name. It's hard when you're on number four! We had narrowed it down to two choices and decided to put it to a family vote once the boys arrived to meet their little brother. :) After a 3-2 decision, Levi Frank received his name. Frank is my maiden name, and had been the plan for the middle name all along, so that part was easy! We require many things when picking a name for our children though (must be a two syllable first name and a one syllable middle name, can't start with the same letter as a sibling, and must be biblical; I also love that they all have different ending sounds, so when I'm yelling their names, they can better hear which one I'm yelling - haha!), so it was rough finding one that fit the bill! Also, the name had to fit into our scrabble board (preferably in order of arrival), which was harder than I thought it'd be! Ha!

I got to snuggle the little guy for awhile and feed him before they took him away to get him all cleaned up. It was nice that at this hospital, I was able to stay in the same room from beginning to end, instead of needing to move rooms after delivering. That was a first!

Check out that dark hair! We'll see if it stays that way, or falls out and comes back blond like the other three. Another strong Seeley boy to join the bunch though! Like big brothers, he was holding his head up on his own a mere hour after being born! Our boys seriously have freakishly strong neck muscles. Levi is all-around strong though. He sucks so "ferociously" (words of the lactation consultant that first week) that he can hold up a bottle without his hands, just by sucking. It's quite impressive. Hopefully it will help him hold his own in a couple years when he has to defend himself from his big brothers! ;)

Once we were all settled back in, my mom brought the boys to the hospital to meet their new sibling! Unfortunately, their reaction to the gender reveal (I had them open packets with blue confetti) wasn't as exciting as I had anticipated. Ha! They were happy, though, to meet their new little brother. I was unsure how Amos would react to having a little brother. He's been the baby for 4 years! I couldn't have been more happy about how excited he was to have a new little brother though. He absolutely adored him from day one!

That evening, and then again the next day, on Saturday morning, Levi was checked out by the on-call pediatrician from our peds office. He looked great and was given the go ahead to head home after his bloodwork was checked at 24 hours. We had to wait around until nearly 7 pm for that, but then we were finally able to pack up and head home around 8 pm that evening. It's always nice to be back at home and the boys were super excited to have us all back there.

The Monday after coming home, we were scheduled to visit our pediatrician's office to be sure that he still looked good, with no signs of jaundice. He looked great, but they wanted to see him again in a couple days to be sure he was gaining enough weight. He was discharged from the hospital at 7 lbs, 12 oz, and had dropped again to 7 lbs, 7 oz at the Monday appointment. My milk hadn't come in yet, so he had lost almost a pound since delivery. So, we supplemented with some formula that day while I pumped, and my milk came in by the end of the day. That Wednesday, he was up to 7 lbs, 15 oz, so we were headed in the right direction. By his 2-week appointment, he was up to a whopping 9 lbs 4 oz! They like to see them gain an ounce a day, so putting on 21 ounces in just 12 days was amazing! The boy likes to eat!

We're now adjusting to life as a family of six. It is definitely an adjustment! I think the hardest part is having two of them in school now. When Amos was born, Ethan and Noah were still just in preschool. When you roll into the parking lot late there, it's no big deal. Getting the big two on the bus daily, on time, and keeping up with homework and activities makes things a lot harder now! We'll manage, and I'm sure it will get easier, but it's definitely a team effort. Super thankful for the school cafeteria and their "grab 'n go" options, which my boys will eat daily if they need to! Ha! Fortunately, the boys have been great with helping out and mostly understanding when I need to tend to Levi first.

Welcome to the family, Levi! You complete us.

Me and my very own "five guys!" ;)

Like the "four seasons," I have my four "See(ley) sons." ;)

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Baby Bump Update: Week 36

Week of Pregnancy: 36 weeks, 4 days

Baby size: Baby is about the size of a head of romaine lettuce this week!

Baby is now around 18 1/2 inches long from head to heel and weighs almost 6 pounds! In the funnier, Dad-to-Be Edition of How Big is Baby? that I discovered, our little one is as long as a ukulele this week!

A fun website, babysizer.com, also states that the baby is the size of a footlong sub, a 2L bottle of pop, or a power drill!

Fun times getting a NST this morning!

Appointment Notes: So I went for a check-up last Tuesday, at 35.5 weeks. Since they needed to do a Group B strep test, my midwife went ahead and checked for dilation and I was 2 cm dilated, but just at the opening. Sigh. Baby's heartbeat sounded good in the 130s, but my midwife was afraid that baby was lying transverse, instead of head down, so she wanted to do an ultrasound to check. Fortunately, the ultrasound revealed that baby was indeed head down, but the tech discovered that I had a lot of extra amniotic fluid (polyhydramnios), which can become problematic. The doctor decided he wanted me to have weekly biophysical profile checks, which means ultrasounds and non-stress tests (NST). So, I went back today and the ultrasound looked good, in that the fluid had remained stable, instead of increasing, but we'll continue to check it for changes. If it gets worse, they will want to induce at 39 weeks, but if all stays ok, I won't have to unless I want to. Also today, I had what should be a 20 minute non-stress tests (NST) to check baby's movements and heart rate to make sure things look good there, too. The test today ended up being more like 45 minutes since baby decided to take a nap halfway through, but they decided everything looked ok with that, too. Whew! What a high maintenance baby! I guess that's what I get for having a baby in my elderly state and all. ;) So, back I go this Friday for another NST and check, and again 2 times next week for a NST, ultrasound and check! Hopefully all remains ok and this little one hangs in there a bit longer. I definitely want to make it until October, but the idea of inducing at 39 weeks (which would be around the 14th) this time is quite enticing. I was measuring at about 37 weeks at the 35.5 week appt and ultrasound was measuring baby at around 6.5 pounds already, so maybe he or she will be early regardless!

Before and after!

Symptoms: Back and hip pain have actually not been too terrible lately. Weekly chiropractic adjustments have probably helped with that! Trying to turn from side to side at night brings much pain though. Mainly my belly is just so big at this point that it's hard to do much of anything. :( Fortunately, we have finally resolved my heartburn!! I'm now taking Nexium 24 hr, twice a day, and I haven't had a single issue since starting. What a relief! I've had some Braxton Hicks contractions, but nothing too terrible, or concerning, yet. The nurses at my appointment today said I had a few during the NST, but I didn't realize it! Ha! I did experience some really bad swelling last week - something new to me. My poor feet looked like sausages and bending my ankles to go up and down stairs actually hurt a bit. I was just overdoing it though. After some much-needed rest and elevation this weekend, they are looking much better again! :)

Food cravings: Food? Ugh. Back to nothing sounding good because there's no room left for food!

Food aversions: I finally enjoy hot coffee again! Woohoo! I don't want it every day, but definitely drinking it on a fairly regular basis again.

What I'm excited about: The end is in sight!! Also, a couple of weeks ago, I toured the hospital I will be giving birth at this time. It looks fantastic. Unfortunately, I couldn't go there when I delivered Amos due to insurance company issues, but those have since been resolved, and this hospital is back on our plan again. Yay! I love that everything is done in one room (labor, delivery and recovery) and they are really big on getting as much skin to skin contact as possible at the beginning. They don't whisk baby away after birth like other hospitals, but instead do as much as possible bedside, in the room.

What I've done to prepare for baby: Yeah...I have bought some newborn clothes, but haven't gone through the boxes of old clothes yet, nor have I washed anything up. :/ I also need to think about things like diapers, a swing, bouncer, etc. On the plus side, we did purchase a car seat, so we can at least get baby home from the hospital! ;) I'm hoping to accomplish a lot next week while the boys are on fall break. The nursery hasn't been painted, but I think at this point, Josh will be doing it after the baby has arrived and he is off work for a couple weeks.

Funny moment: Though he was sure baby was a boy before, Amos has been referring to the baby as "her" for several weeks now. Does he know something we don't?!? Also, a big surprise we discovered during my ultrasound last week...this baby has hair!!! All 3 of my boys were born bald and remained that way for their first year, like I did as a child. I was informed by both the tech last week and this week that the fuzzy white stuff you see in the photo below is indeed hair. I can't wait to see it!! I also got a look at baby's face in 3D today. So sweet!!

So here I am at 36 weeks with each of my pregnancies. Definitely bigger each time! Haha! I do think I am carrying different this time though, and much lower already. I'm wearing the same top for the last 2 pics and it is definitely getting too small to adequately cover my belly this time!

It's been an interesting couple of weeks, but hopefully things will calm a bit before the storm. I feel like I am ready to meet this little one, but I know it will be quite the adjustment for all of us having a newborn again!

Baby Bump Update: Week 28

Week of Pregnancy: 28 weeks, 4 days

Baby size: Baby is about the size of a large eggplant this week!

Baby is almost 15 inches long from head to heel and weighs around 2 1/4 pounds. In the funnier, Dad-to-Be Edition of How Big is Baby?, baby is as big as a kid's lunchbox this week! Wow!

A fun website, babysizer.com, also states that the baby is the size of a 1 pound basket of wings, a Nintendo, or a baseball cap!




Appointment Notes: Everything looked/sounded great at my OB appointment on Friday. Baby's heartbeat was strong at 148 and I was measuring right on target for 28 weeks. Now it's time to start bi-monthly appointments. It's starting to get real!

Symptoms: Back and hip pain are still probably my biggest complaints. Trying to turn from side to side at night brings much pain. My back is also getting worse again, with sciatica kicking in - pain shooting down my left leg (funny that looking back, it was my right with Amos!), and making it difficult to walk at times. Ugh. Also a big complaint, heartburn. I'm taking maximum strength famotodine twice a day right now, and that sometimes isn't enough. :( One of the midwives at the OB office suggested her home remedy of a shot of 1 part baking soda to 2 parts water. I've tried it once. Whew! It was rough, but is now my back-up plan if the OTC meds can't keep up. I guess it's comforting to know that I was experiencing these same things at this point in my pregnancy with Amos, nearly 4 years ago. So, I may be "elderly" now, but apparently not any worse than I was at that point. ;)

Food cravings: I have been wanting fruit and salads! Say what?? Yep, I often find myself reaching for a bowl of cherries when I'm hungry now. I've also been wanting salad more as a dinner option. As my belly expands, my desire for dinner decreases. How much longer now??

Food aversions: I can't believe that I still don't want hot coffee in the mornings, but I guess it's probably better that way. When I do get my caffeine fix with an iced drink, it unfortunately doesn't help to keep me awake during the day...just at night, when I'm trying to sleep!!

What I'm excited about: The boys heading back to school this week, so hopefully I'll manage to start tackling some baby projects around the house!

What I've done to prepare for baby: Still nothing, but I think I've finally decided on a color for the nursery walls. Yay! And, I think I'm going to risk it and use a beautiful fabric that I have to make the curtains, bedding, etc. for the room. It's a girly print/colors, so I guess my backup plan will be to purchase an alternative set if it's a boy, and sell the girly items!

Funny moment: The other day, Amos noticed my belly button sticking out under my shirt and he pushed it and called it my baby button! He wanted to push it to make the baby come out. Oh how I wish! He also informed me today that the baby is a boy. Because "Ethan is a boy, Noah is a boy, I am a boy....the baby is a boy." We shall see!!!

Baby Bump Update: Week 24

Week of Pregnancy: 24 weeks, 3 days

Baby size: Baby is the length of an ear of corn this week!

Baby is about a foot long from head to heel and weighs around 1 1/4 pounds.

A fun website, babysizer.com, also states that the baby is the size of a package of Oreos, Mr. Burns' teddy bear, Bobo (the Simpsons), or a Philly cheesesteak. Yuuummm.




Appointment Notes: Everything looked/sounded great at my OB appointment this morning. Baby's heartbeat was strong at 142 and he/she was actually weighing in at 1 lb 12 oz by U/S, so a "healthy" 76th percentile. ;) They were able to view the heart vessels this time and all looks good there as well. I also had my glucose testing this morning and managed to just squeak through that one! Whew!

Symptoms: Hip/pelvic/low back pain is my biggest complaint right now. It's hard to get comfortable most nights and trying to get up from sitting on the floor is probably quite amusing for others to watch. Sigh. Heartburn is still mostly under control now with OTC meds. Hoping it stays that way!

Food cravings: Still cereal!

Food aversions: Still coffee. Sigh. I'm fine with the iced stuff, but still zero interest in hot coffee!

What I'm excited about: Passing my glucose test! I was so worried about failing it this time that I'd even had dreams about it this past week. I needed to stay below 130 mg/dL, and I slid in at 121. Probably means I should be a bit more careful about my diet now though.

What I've done to prepare for baby: I think we may have names picked out?!? Pretty solid on a girl's name, but boy's name may still be up for debate...I'm still trying to get maternity workouts in as much as I can handle. I've been seriously exhausted this past month though. Lab results today also showed I have some pregnancy anemia, so that may be the culprit! I think I've found a cute gender neutral bedding set that I like at Target. Surprise! With an aqua, green, yellow and gray patchwork design, it will be cute for either a boy or a girl. Part of me still wonders if I want to wait until after baby is born to pick, so I can go super girly if that's the case! ;)

Funny moment: Looking back at my pregnancy with Amos, Ethan had wanted a little sister and was sad when we found out it was going to be another boy. This time, all three boys are wanting yet another brother!!

Here's a fun look back at each of my pregnancies at 24 weeks! Definitely bigger with each baby, except maybe a tie between the last two?? My weight is actually quite a bit more than it was at this point with Amos though. :( I'm just going to say it's due to the increased muscle I had built up before this pregnancy. ;) Right?!? I guess it's the added four years (you know, in my elderly pregnancy state now, haha) that are making this one even rougher than the previous pregnancies on my body. It's going to be a long 16 weeks!

Happy 4th tomorrow!

Baby Bump Update: Week 20

Week of Pregnancy: 20 weeks, 1 day

Baby size: Baby is the length of a banana this week!

Baby is about 6 1/2 inches from head to bottom, and 10 inches from head to heel. Baby weighs between 1/2 and 3/4 pound.

A fun website, babysizer.com, also states that the baby is the size of a pint of root beer, or a red Swingline stapler (yay Office Space!), or a fat stack of cash. Haha.




Symptoms: It appears that the nausea may have finally subsided within the last week. Whew. I've definitely had some nice long stretches where I haven't needed to chew gum at least. It's still iffy after dinner most nights, but much better during the daytime now. Yay! Hip/pelvic pain is probably my biggest complaint right now. I guess everything is getting roomier to get ready for delivery already and it kind of feels like it's being ripped apart some days. Fun stuff. I've been battling the acid reflux with some OTC heartburn meds. That, and using 2 pillows at night, has helped a lot.

Food cravings: Still cereal and now cookie dough ice cream!! Fortunately, Halo Top makes a pretty decent one, so when I eat a pint (oops!), I don't have to feel quite as bad. ;) I was in a bad habit of buying Kroger's soft top cranberry-orange cookies every week at the store, but have since traded those in for my Shakeology shakes again. Chocolate PB and chocolate-covered cherry are my favorites. Fortunately, those are pretty much satisfying my sweet tooth now, with only the occasional need for other desserts. ;)

Food aversions: Still coffee. Sigh. I have had some iced caramel macchiatos and I do fine with those, but I'm still not wanting anything to do with hot coffee. By this point with Amos, I was drinking it again, so we shall see. My body has actually adjusted to no caffeine at this point, so it may be best to save it for when I'm not sleeping much at night once baby arrives! Haha.

What I'm excited about: I had my ultrasound last week at 19 weeks! I actually kept my eyes closed for almost the entire time, and only peeked when she told me it was safe. I wanted to be sure to not accidentally see any parts that would reveal the gender! Baby Seeley #4 looked great and weighed in at 10 ounces. The only anatomy they couldn't get a look at were the vessels coming out of the heart, so I'll have another quick ultrasound at 24 weeks to be sure those aren't transposed. The doctor thinks they are probably fine given there were no defects within the chambers of the heart, but they like to see them just to be sure. I'll also get to do the fun glucose test at that appointment. Hopefully, I pass again, so I can enjoy my birthday sweets later that week! ;) I love that they did some 3D ultrasound at this visit. Check out that adorable baby yawn! Swoon.

What I've done to prepare for baby: I'm still trying to decide how I want to decorate the nursery. Once I choose fabric/bedding, then I'll decide on wall colors and hopefully start painting. I'd love to have the room done before I get super huge! I have done a pretty good job keeping up with my maternity workouts. I'm hoping that is helping my body feel better this time and will make for a super easy delivery! A girl can dream, right?

Funny moment: Earlier in the week, Noah was doing my maternity workout with me and during a boat pose, he was making me look bad with how easily he could do it. I told him I was struggling to hold my legs up that long and he responded matter-of-factly, "Probably because they're heavy. Daddy's are even bigger and I have trouble holding them up with both arms." LOL. I can always count on Noah to tell it like it is. ;)

May the Fourth be With Us

I originally wanted to wait until today to make the big announcement...I mean, what would have been more perfect than announcing on May the Fourth, aka Star Wars day?!?

But, I couldn't wait another month, so I had to announce last month to family and friends! Haha!

I'm due October 21st, so I will be 16 weeks tomorrow...time for a bump update! :)

Week of Pregnancy: 16 weeks

Baby size: Baby is the size of an avocado this week!

Baby is 4 1/2 inches long from head to bottom and weighs ~3 1/2 ounces. 

A fun website, babysizer.com, also states that the baby is the size of a can of pop, or a can of SPAM, or a duct tape cardboard roll. Haha.

Seriously?!? I'm 35...

Symptoms: Nausea hit me hard just after week 6. Ugh. What's more fun than a Caribbean cruise while you feel sick to your stomach 24/7?? Pretty much anything. So, not the vacation I had in mind, but we still managed to have a good time. I never actually get sick when I'm pregnant, but sometimes I think that would be easier than feeling sick all day if it would make that nausea go away! So I tried both Phenergan and Zofran, but neither provided much relief. Jolly ranchers helped some, but continually popping those all day got old. Ginger beer wasn't bad, but not something I wanted all the time either. Finally, Ethan's teacher gave me the idea of chewing gum (she's also preggo - due today!!)! I don't know why I had never heard of that one in my 3 previous pregnancies, or tried it, but I'm so glad she clued me in. I've been chewing gum pretty much non-stop since then and that has been the biggest help! I am finally getting to the point now where I don't feel like I need it all the time, but I'm still chewing my fair share. Hopefully, complete relief will come soon as I progress farther into this 2nd trimester. The 1st trimester left me exhausted as well. I don't remember being so tired with the others, but this time I was going to bed by 9 pm and still needed an afternoon nap daily! I guess given my "elderly" status this time around, I shouldn't be surprised. Hahahaha. Fortunately, I have more energy now and I'm not requiring as much sleep. I even started my maternity workouts again today! Go me! With most of the nausea and exhaustion behind me, I'd like to start eating better again and working out more regularly. I still have my Beachbody on Demand membership, and Autumn has a great Active Maternity workout. I'd love to go into this delivery in better shape than I usually do. Here's hoping I can keep it up.

Food cravings: Cereal. Cereal. Cereal. This seems to be a trend for me while preggo, but even more so this time around. With Amos, I craved eggs, over easy in the mornings, but this time, I just want a big ol' bowl of cereal. Preferably LIFE right now. I normally crave the sugary kids stuff (i.e., Captain Crunch, Apple Jacks, Sugar Crisp, etc), but this time, adult cereal does the trick. Haha. Add to the list fruit, especially grapes, and all things lemon (I craved lemon with Noah and Amos, too!). I've had to start avoiding the bakery section at Kroger. Their soft top cranberry-orange cookies are my weakness. I'm trying to do better now. I love a glass of ice cold milk with dinner (it literally needs ice cubes in it) and a glass of grape-orange juice at night before bed. A glass of lemonade during the day is awesome, too. Need to work on that sugar intake before gestational diabetes testing time...

Food aversions: Coffee!! :'( So, so sad. I went from drinking my fair share every day to none at week 6. I can't even stand smelling Josh's coffee brew in the morning. Ten weeks later and I'm still not interested. I guess that's good for baby, and I seem to have adjusted to the lack of daily caffeine. With the others, I was still good with my favorite, iced caramel macchiatos, but this time even those don't sound great. I also despised water at the beginning. Not good. Finally a couple weeks ago, I was able to start drinking it again without issues. It just has to be very cold. :)

What I'm excited about: Meeting this little guy/gal! Despite my sister's lack of faith in my ability to go this entire pregnancy without finding out the sex, I am determined. We found out for all 3 of the boys, and with this definitely being our last, it's my final chance to be surprised in the delivery room, so I want to do it. It will probably drive the OCD planner in me insane, but hopefully I'll manage. :)

What I've done to prepare for baby: I've purchased a few gender neutral clothing items. Given the fact that I donated all of the newborn and 0-3 month baby clothes I had (when I thought I didn't want any more babies, sigh), we will need to get some things. Oops! Fortunately, my sister still had all the bigger items that Amos had outgrown, so I'm holding on to those now. ;) I guess it won't matter if it's a girl, but I have a gut feeling this is boy #4!

Funny moment: Amos's preschool teacher let me know that Amos has been talking about being a big brother and that he was going to get the baby out of my belly for me. He's been pretending to get babies out of bellies at school, too. I guess I don't need that midwife. Amos will be a pro after practicing for another ~5 months! LOL.

Amos's Birth Story

It's time for another birth story! :) It's been four weeks now since his birth (say what?!?), so I want to get all the details down in print before I forget them! For a look back at the others, you can find Ethan's story here, and Noah's here. This will be pretty detailed, so read on at your own risk!! ;)

As I posted in my last bump update, at my 37-week appointment, I was still at 2-3 cm. At my 38-week appointment, I was dilated a solid 3 cm, and at my 39-week appointment, on the 4th, I was dilated 3-4 cm, and starting to thin out some. I was also measuring at 40 weeks. They offered to induce me anytime I wanted to, but I was still hoping to go into labor on my own. That night, I started having more contractions and they stuck around through the night, instead of going away like they normally did when I laid down. When I woke up that morning to get ready to take the boys to preschool, the contractions still weren't stopping, and I had a feeling that these were different, though they still weren't painful. I had Josh stay home from work and my mom took the boys to school (fortunately, I had her come back down a couple days before that day). I went ahead and finished packing my hospital bag while Josh tied up loose ends with work. The contractions were getting closer and more uncomfortable. We finally loaded up the 4-Runner and made our way towards the hospital. Not long after we were on the road, the contractions started getting really painful, and were lasting around a minute, mostly under 5 minutes apart. At this point, I knew I was in labor, no doubts about it!

One last pic with the boys before heading to the hospital!

We arrived at the hospital and Josh dropped me off at the front while he parked. A nice employee must have noticed my pain and offered me a wheelchair to get me upstairs to Labor & Delivery. We made our way up, checked in, and were in an L&D suite in minutes. They started through the usual checklist of questions while I got ready to be checked. At that point, the nurse found that I was already dilated 6 cm, 70% effaced, and baby was at station 0!

I continued to contract regularly, with increasing pain. I hadn't decided whether or not I wanted to get an epidural, but as time went on, with little progression, I decided to go ahead and get one. The epidural was done by 11:30 am. It took pretty well, with no feeling on the left side, but enough feeling on the right side to experience a little bit of the pain of the contractions. By 12:30 pm, I was dilated 8 cm. My doctor came and broke my water around 1:30 pm, to help speed things up. By 3:15 pm, I was finally dilated to 9 cm. Things started to get a little scary for a bit, as baby's heart rate started dropping every time I had a contraction. My doctor was worried about the position of his cord. They tried to have me keep changing positions so that his heart rate would stabilize. As I neared full dilation, I think the epidural prevented me from knowing when I felt like I needed to start pushing. By the time I told the nurse that I thought I was ready, I was really ready, but my doctor had not arrived yet. When she finally came in the room and started gowning up, she took a look and had to tell me to hold on! Apparently, the little guy wasn't waiting, as he was crowning already! She quickly got some gloves on and had me start trying to push. I pushed once and he continued to make his way out. By the 2nd push, his head was out and she was able to guide the rest of him on out! Craziness! It's amazing the difference between birthing the 1st and the 3rd! I pushed with Ethan for four very long hours. With Noah, it was much, much shorter, around 10 minutes, but I was quite surprised when this baby came out after just 2 pushes! Yahoo!

Amos James made his arrival at 4:51 pm on September 5th, weighing in at 7 pounds, 7.3 ounces...

Our smallest baby, weighing in at 7 lbs, 7.3 oz!

...and measuring 20.5 inches long. His head was 13.5 inches...much smaller than his big brothers, who had 14+ inch heads!

Tied for longest baby, with Noah, at 20.5 inches!

He was perfect!!

Opening his eyes to meet Mommy for the first time! :)

We decided to name him after two of his Great Grandfathers. Amos was Josh's father's father and James was my mother's father. Amos is a family name that has been in the Seeley family for a very long time. The name has been used as a first or middle name in nearly every generation dating back to the early 19th century. So, we thought it might be neat to carry on the tradition! :) Here's a look at the history of the name...

After the delivery, we were able to stay in the L&D suite for a bit, as it was time for a shift change.

Happy he had finally arrived! His first feeding, in the L&D suite.

They brought dinner in and once the night staff was on, they took me to my room. My mom brought the boys up to the hospital so they could meet the little guy!

The boys meeting their little brother for the first time!

I was unsure how Noah would react to having a little brother. Ethan wasn't super excited when Noah was born, and didn't want to hold him for weeks. Noah, however, is in love! He couldn't stop touching, or patting him, and pointing out/naming all of his tiny body parts. It was absolutely adorable. He is still really fascinated by him and loves giving him hugs and kisses. :)

Noah was absolutely smitten with Amos! :)

After their visit, the boys headed home and we settled in for the night. We had the nursery keep him that night, so I would be able to rest up a bit easier. They brought him in several times to eat that night. He caught on very quickly to that, and is still a super eater now! Haha!

The next day, he was checked out by the on-call pediatrician, as our regular pediatrician doesn't make rounds at the hospital we had to deliver at. He looked great and was given the go ahead to head home after his bloodwork was checked at 24 hours. We ended up having to wait around awhile to get those results, and were finally able to head home around 9 pm that night.

One day old and ready to leave the hospital! :)

The boys wanted to wait up to see the little guy again. They were so excited!

I love all my guys! :)

The morning after coming home, we were scheduled to visit our regular pediatrician's office to be sure that he still looked good, with no signs of jaundice. He looked great (his levels were excellent, so no threat of him becoming jaundiced), but they wanted to see him again in a couple days to be sure he was gaining enough weight. At that 2nd visit, at just 4 days old, he was back up to his birth weight, so they were happy with that.

We're now adjusting to life as a family of six (yep, Daisy still counts!). It is definitely an adjustment! Now that they outnumber us, it's a bit harder at times, but Ethan and Noah have been great helpers so far.

Ethan is ready to help take care of littlest brother!

Welcome to the family, Amos!