Wednesday, December 12, 2012

My Zachary


I kept forgetting to take Zachary's 3 year pictures.  Here's a few I took the other day.  A few months after his 3rd birthday .. better late than never.


I love this kid.  He is so much fun.  He's pretty much past the annoying, crying all the time, super emotional stage and he's just plain fun now.  He makes me laugh all the time.  I don't even remember the last time I put him on time out .. he's just a good kid.


He is sweet and kind.  He is super shy around strangers.


He is ALL boy .. loves trains, planes and automobiles. 

A lot of people ask, "Where does he get the blond hair from?"

From ME!



This is a picture of me .. sorry it's blurry (I had to take a picture of the picture .. I need a scanner)  Not sure how old I was here.  But unless you're blind, you can pretty much see that Zach looks like me.



I guess that's why I call him "My Zachary".

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Avery is 4 weeks old!

I have been meaning to take some pictures of Avery .. for the last 4 weeks.

I finally set up my backdrop again today and we started out like this.



I knew it was going to be a fun photo shoot.

It got better though .. and Avery calmed down and we got some cute ones.

I can not believe this girl is already 4 weeks old!  Time just keeps on moving doesn't it?


She has gotten nice and chubby all over already.  She's getting the cheeks that I LOVE and can't stop kissing.


I love her blue eyes.


I love the look on her face in this one .. it's like she's saying, "Really mom?  Are we done yet?"







A bit cross-eyed .. which always makes me laugh.  Had to document it.




Then .. we started screaming again .. and I knew it was time to stop.



Love this girl!

Monday, November 26, 2012

Look who is 6!


My little girl turned 6 today!


I can NOT believe that 6 years ago she was just a tiny little baby.


She has grown into a wonderful little girl. 

She is kind and sweet to everyone.  She always gives compliments to everyone and always seems to see the good in everyone. 


She is in LOVE with horses .. like nobody's business.  I don't think it's something she'll grow out of anytime soon.  All of her friends and cousins are into horses right now too .. hope it is just a 6 year old thing.


She refuses to let me cut her hair.  She says if I cut it then she'll look like a boy.  She wants to have it be long like Rapunzel.  Thanks a heap Disney.


We had Parent/Teacher Conferences recently.  Mallory's Kindergarten teacher raved about her and how smart she is and how well she is doing at school.  It made me so happy to hear all the wonderful things she said.  All stuff I already knew .. of course. =o)


Happy Birthday Baby Girl!!  We love you!!

Monday, November 19, 2012

Part 6: Go Time

I was having contractions in my dreams.  I woke up and they were still happening.  I got out of bed and used the bathroom and decided to lay back in bed for a while to see if they would stay consistent.  They seemed to go away when I was standing and walking around.

I layed down in bed for 15 minutes or so and decided to walk around instead.  They were 5-7 minutes apart and getting a little more intense.  This was a great sign! 

I walked around in my bedroom and tried to relax all my muscles "down there" with each contraction, then I felt a GUSH of liquid come out of me.

I went into the bathroom and everything was wet.  It was a clear liquid, so I was pretty sure my water had broken.  I got changed into all new clothes and put my jacket on .. cause I was pretty convinced I was going to go to the hospital in the next little while.

Wesley was in bed this whole time, but he wasn't sleeping.  He was just waiting for me to give him the go ahead to get ready and take me to the hospital.  I told him I thought my water had broken, but I was going to go walk the contractions out in the living room for a while.  By this time it was about midnight. 

I went in the living room, got out the iPad and started Googling "timing contractions" and "when to go to the hospital".  It seemed that everything I read said if my water had broken, and if my contractions were 5 minutes apart, I should go.  I waited another 15 minutes .. and then told Wesley, "Maybe we should just go."

He got up, got dressed, I got my bag, He woke up his mom and told her we were leaving.  We got in the car around 12:30.  We were off!  This was really happening!  We were going to finally have this baby!

I thought about calling my mom, but I didn't want to wake her up.  AND .. it was raining outside.  I would feel terrible if my parents got up and drove 2 hours, in the rain, just to wait around for me to have a baby.  I told Wesley that maybe I would text her once we got to the hospital and found out how much I was dialated, etc.

Once we got checked in and into a room, it was around 12:45am or so.  A midwife, Jennifer Hess, came in and checked me.  She said I was at a 4 .. maybe a 4 1/2, but still up really high.  She asked if I had been over to the clinic recently.  I told her I had had an appointment with my midwife the day before and I was at a 1.  Then I told her that all my babies turn "sunny side up" at the last minute, so maybe that's why the head was still "high".  She checked me again, felt the babies head, and said, "Yup!  It's posterior!" 

Great.  Just .. great.  These wonderful posterior babies of mine!  They are hard to push out that way!

The midwife told me to get on my knees and face the back of the bed and we would try and get the baby to turn.  She also said that with each contraction, the baby's heart rate goes down because of the pressure on it's head, so the nurses were going to be coming in a lot to check on me.

I faced the back of the bed for about 15 minutes or so and then they moved me into a labor/delivery/recovery room.  I can NOT sit still during contractions .. I HAVE to walk them out.  I walked around the room while one nurse asked me a bunch of questions and another was getting stuff set up for my IV and a more portable monitor .. so I could continue to walk.  Then, one of the nurses told me to lay down so she could put my IV in.  I was right in the middle of a contraction.  She told me to lay down once that one was over and she would be right back.  She left the room, I layed down .. I waited.  I had about 3 more contractions while I layed there, gripping the side of the bed, wondering WHY I was laying down and wondering where the heck the nurse went!  I told Wesley to come behind me and rub my back with each contraction.  They were getting too intense to just lay there and breath through them.

Finally, a different nurse came in and told me she was going to do my IV.  She wanted me to lay on my right side so she could put the IV in my right hand.  I couldn't move.  I had 3 contractions, one on top of the other.  They weren't stopping.  I couldn't physically move my legs and lay on my other side.  Wesley and the nurse helped me roll over.  I gripped the side of the bed, trying to relax and let the contractions "work" and do their job.  I literally felt the baby's head decend in the birth canal and then I started to sob.  The pain was intense.  I couldn't breath through each contraction anymore - they were too close together.  The nurse couldn't get my IV in through all of this .. not surprised.  The midwife came in and said, "Let me check her."  I couldn't even open my legs.  Every part of me felt like it was contracting and I couldn't think straight.  I just remember the midwife saying, "She's complete.  She can start pushing at the next contraction." 
WHAT?!  Did you just say I was ready to push?  I have literally been at the hospital for an hour and I am ready to push?  Are you kidding me?  I didn't get my epidural yet!

It all happened so fast and I couldn't even wrap my head around the idea that the baby was coming.  I started pushing.  The nurse, Renee, was on my right hand side.  Telling me how to breath, telling me exactly what to do and how to do it.  She was amazing.  At one point I remember gripping her arm and hand so tight while I was trying to push.  She got right in my face and told me to keep pushing, to focus, to push towards the burn.  I was leaning way to the right, it felt better to lean to the side than to stay on my back.  The midwife wanted me to straighten up and push on my back, but Renee said, "Let her try and lay on her side." I layed on my right side and pushed.  It felt so much better to push that way .. not "better", but more effective.  I could feel my baby coming out .. I could feel myself making more progress with each contraction.  It was a total of 4 contractions and the baby was out.

In an instant, the pain was gone, completely gone and I had this perfect baby laying on top of my stomach instead of inside me.  I checked the baby over and looked up at Wesley, with tears in both our eyes, I said, "It's a girl."




She was perfect.


I cried and held her and told her how long I had waited to see her.  I told her, "Happy Birthday" and I kept looking up at Wesley, in shock that we had just brought our third child into this world. 

The midwife didn't cut the cord right away.  She let all the good blood drain into the baby and she waited till the cord stopped "pumping".  Then she let Wesley cut it, right in front of me. I had never seen the cord cut before.  She let my little girl just stay right on top of me while she sewed me up and while the nurses checked her over.

Avery lifted her head up and smacked her lips together.  She was ready to eat.

I nursed her and stroked her face and head and every tiny part of her, amazed and in awe that she was here.  That she was finally here.



After I nursed her, the nurse took her and got her measured and weighed and bathed.

She was 6 lbs, 9 oz and 19.5 inches long.  She was born at 2:08 am.


First Bath.


And Footprints.


There is something wonderful about having a natural birth.  I was able to get up, walk around and everything right after I had her.  It was awesome.


Our first picture of the three of us .. this was about an hour after she was born.


I waited till about 6:45am to call my mom.  When she answered the phone, she knew I had had the baby.

She said she knew she should have come up the night before.  If I had called her on our way to the hospital, she still wouldn't have made it on time.  Everything happened so fast, there was no way they could have gotten there for the birth.


Wesley's mom came to visit that night.  She had been with us the week before, waiting for the baby to come.  She stayed till November 8th, helping us with the kids and everything around the house.  She is amazing.


Later on Thursday, we finally decided to name this girl Avery Hope.


On Friday, we were waiting to be discharged from the hospital for quite a while.  I got Avery all dressed and ready to go and then she pooped and peed ALL over herself .. and me.  It was awesome.

Wesley had to go back to the car and get the "boy" outfit we had brought to the hospital.  She wore the boy outfit home, with her little pink hat they gave her at the hospital.


Right before we left, they brought my lunch in.

It didn't go to waste. 

Wesley ate it for me.


The kids were SO excited for us to come home.  Mallory couldn't wait to see Avery.

Zachary didn't care about her at all .. he still has yet to really touch her or hold her.  Every once in a while he comes up and pushes on my stomach and asks, "Did the baby come out of your tummy?" and I'll say Yes and then he just walks away.


We're so glad our little Avery is here.  We love her so much and feel so blessed she is a part of our family.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Part 5: Halloween

The night of October 30th, I got about 2 hours of sleep.

I had contractions ALL night long. 

Some were 5 minutes apart, some 20.  Around 2am, they just stopped all together and I fell asleep. 

I woke up Halloween morning thinking, "I am definitely going to have this baby today!"


I got up and got this cute cowgirl dressed for school.



Someone please buy this girl a horse.  She needs one.

She makes one adorable cowgirl.


Zach wanted to come out and be in the pictures.  He was still in his jammies.

The rest of the day went on without a single contraction.  I was SO irritated.

I went to my Chiropractic appointment in the morning and then right afterwards I had an appointment with my midwife.  I was bound and determined to get her to "strip my membranes".  Once I got there, she checked me and I was dialated to a 1.  1?  Ugh.  She also said the baby was up really high still.  I told her I would love to get my membranes stripped and she said she doesn't like to do that because it could cause infection, I could be in labor for a really long time if my body wasn't ready .. blah, blah, blah.  I was annoyed.  I was so ready to have this baby!

She scheduled me for a non-stress test for the following Monday and then another appointment with her the next Wednesday.  Excuse me?  Another week!?  I have to be pregnant for another WEEK!? 

I don't think so.


While I was making dinner that night ... I definitely started going into labor.  I'm not going into too much detail, but stuff started happening .. and leaking out of me .. too much info?  Yeah.  I thought so.

I got excited and I decided to go out Trick or Treating with the kids.  Wesley and I walked them around the court and then the block.  I had contractions the whole time, but nothing consistent.


We got home and poured our candy all over the floor and started eating it right away.

I got the kids to bed and then put myself to bed around 8:30.  I was exhausted from being up the night before and I was still annoyed that I wasn't in full-on labor. 

I fell right to sleep and woke up around 11pm in a lot of pain. 

Good pain. 

Labor pain.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Part 4: The Belly

The Baby Belly!

I never was able to find time to get Wesley to take some nice pictures of me and my belly.

So .. all of these phone camera photos will have to do.


I really do love being pregnant.  I am very blessed with "easy" pregnancies and I love sporting the bump.



Interesting fact: Strangers do NOT ever come up to me and ask if they can touch my belly.  No one ever touches it.  It's weird.  A lot of people complain about that happening to them, but it's never happened to me.

Maybe I'm not that approachable?





I don't mind people touching it.

I love it when Wesley rubs my belly. 





It made a great "shelf" at the end of my pregnancy.  Perfect for holding my cereal bowl .. ice cream bowl .. any type of bowl.







This was my last belly shot - I took it on Halloween.  I felt ready to pop.  Avery came out less than 12 hours after I took this picture.


Right in the middle of my pregnancy, we went in for the "big" ultrasound .. the one where you usually find out the gender of your baby.  We decided we wanted it to be a surprise.  We have a boy and a girl already .. and all our kids are born in the Fall .. so we had everything we needed. 

When we were at the Ultrasound, the technician asked if we wanted to know the gender.  I looked at Wesley and asked, "Do we?".  I secretly hoped that he would change his mind and ask to know the gender.

He didn't.

Overall, it was fun having it be a surprise.  I thought it was a girl and Wesley thought it was a boy.  Zachary thought it was a boy too.

Mallory, on the other hand, thought it was twins.  We kept telling her there was only one baby, but she insisted on wanting a brother AND a sister.  Greedy girl.