Lydia's Birth Day

This is the super long version of Lydia's birth story. I guess I'm making up for lost time on here! I just don't want to forget anything!

On Friday the 22nd, I noticed my braxton hicks becoming more uncomfortable, but I pretty much just brushed them off. I ignored them because I tend to cramp and have them quite frequently near the end of my pregnancy. Looking back though, I'm sure things were kicking into gear. I had an appointment that afternoon and being Good Friday, Matt was off from work, so he was able to come and we brought Stevie along to see the Dr. again. My Dr. gave Stevie a little crocheted bunny magnet (I'm guessing for Easter) and did the usual checks on me. She called the baby a "she" again this visit, "She's a little wiggle worm"...and I was still left wondering if it was a "slip" or was that just what she was calling the baby this visit? Anyway, during my "check" she asked if I had any dilation prior to this 38 week visit. I was immediately disappointed by this question thinking I must have backtracked somehow and closed up. At 36 weeks, I had been a centimeter and 75%. I declined a check at 37 weeks. My disappointment quickly turned around when she said I was an easy 3 and 95%! I was so excited and said, "I don't even care if this baby takes another 3 weeks! It's just so nice knowing I've got some work out of the way before it's really begun!" Then my Dr. said something about seeing if I make it through the night or that week. Well, been there done that. Last time she said that with Stevie, and he didn't come for another month!

Even though I dismissed the Dr.'s comment about possibly not making it through the night, it really made the possibility real to Matt and I that the baby could come at any time. With baby #2, I was much more distracted...afterall, baby #1 and other life responsibilities were taking up a lot of time and attention. As we got to my final month, however, I just had this feeling this baby was going to come early...and I wouldn't be ready! With Stevie, we tried everything to try to put me into labor. With Lydia, we tried everything NOT to, haha. So, ask Matt, the final month was spent with me in a stressed panic mode. It drove him nuts...but it probably drove me nuts even more. I had so much to do to get ready for the baby...and I knew I wasn't going to get it all done. Once her name hat (and the hat we ordered had she been a boy) arrived when I was 37 weeks, I relaxed a bit. We decided that was going to be how we announced her gender and name at the hospital...so the baby couldn't come before the hats did! Anyway, after that final appointment, I called my mom, and we went out for dinner at good old Micky D's. My mom told me to eat something good because it might be awhile before I ate again...joking about me going into labor that night. But, excitement about the coming baby and those uncomfortable, frequent braxton hicks kept me from really enjoying my meal.

I don't remember anything else that happened after the meal that night until...

I must've been contracting during the night but trying to sleep through them...again not thinking much of them. At 4:45am however, I realized I was pretty regular and feeling a bit in my bottom, so maybe I better pay more attention and time them. At that point, they were 5 minutes apart. By 5am, I was pretty certain they were doing something...umm, didn't take me very long to figure it out, haha, so I turned the light on to finish tossing some things in the hospital bag. Matt woke up, but immune to my weird ways, didn't think anything of me doing that at 5am. So, I snapped him out of that state by telling him he may not be playing his long awaited 1st paintball game of the season that afternoon! He says he still didn't really believe it till he saw me stopping during some contractions. I didn't really believe it myself. I kept saying, "It's so early!" (because Stevie was 1-2 weeks late). I really hoped for delivery day to be May 1st (my Dr. was on call then, it was a few days early), so April 23rd just felt ridiculous....and while I packed, I repeated over and over, "so if this is real, she's a girl! She's going to be one prompt little girl!" I was hoping my water would break, so I would be sure...but it never did. We got some more things ready, I took a shower...and noticed a little pink (helping me feel like it really was time), and I called the Dr. by 5:45am...contractions were still about 5 minutes apart like clock work and I was told to come in. Yup, I was going to anyway! My mom and dad came to our house to take care of Stevie (who of course slept in like a champ till 8:30am...on an exciting day we weren't home for!) and we were off. Both Matt and I were so excited. I walked quickly to the van through the dark rain, completely convinced in those steps that we were about to have a baby girl. On our way to the hospital, I called my aunt who's a midwife out of state. She asked how long my contractions were...and I wasn't timing that, so again, I was nervous it wasn't real...but then they'd hit again, and I KNEW it was! I also had a feeling she was coming quickly. The half hour drive to the hospital was feeling like forever, and the whole morning I was telling our baby..."You have to wait till the shift change! You cannot come before 8am!!" (The Dr. on call that evening was large with large hands. So, I wanted to avoid a delivery and "checks" with "Big Man Hands")

We arrived at the hospital around 6:45 I think. I was checked at 4cm and 100%. The nurse looked at me, and asked, "What do you want to do?"
"Umm, huh?"
"What do you want to do? Do you want to leave and go home?"
I was more than confused and had to wait to wrap my mind around the question till a contraction was over. For real? Go home? I was having some good contractions at this point...no way! And my labor with Stevie wasn't all that long. I guess they couldn't read me well to know the intensity of my contractions? They kept acting like it wasn't real labor since my water hadn't broken. It was very weird and very frustrating. So, we were stuck in triage. Matt and I walked around to try to get things moving along even more, and I needed to stop and hold onto him for the good ones. They started coming on top of each other while I walked. I decided to head back to the bed in triage to relax a bit. Poor Matt. I kept asking him (more like drilling him), "When am I going to a room? What are they doing? What's that noise, it's driving me nuts! Tell them I want to go to a room!!" The nurse was busy on the computer and on the phone...I heard her talking about how I delivered a 9 lber. That was the talk of triage, but apparently they weren't as focused on THIS delivery, haha. I was very irritated....afterall, I was in labor. Finally, at 7:45ish (it seemed like a lot longer) the resident came by to check me again. I just wanted to go up to a room to deal with these contractions how I wanted...and relax a little about being "settled in." As she checked me, a look of complete shock swept over her face. "Do you have a high tolerance for pain?"
"Why?"....Well, because I was a 6 but could be stretched to an 8 with bulging bags (a term that sounds so lovely)! I was finally able to get the wheel chair (you know, after we waited awhile for that) and head up to a room!

By the time they got me up there, monitored me and baby for awhile and got my iv in (again more blow-outs...but Matt did superbly! hehe), I didn't have time to use the tub, which is where I wanted to be. The Dr. on call came by at 9, called me "calm as a cucumber" (ha!). (I guess I need to kick and scream to be taken seriously, haha.) I was a 9.5, they broke my water and left...leaving me to wait for the irresistable urge to push. During this time, I had back labor...so Matt was able to rub my back while I sat on the exercise ball. Man, that doesn't give you a break between contractions! (I didn't have this with Stevie, and Matt didn't get to "do" anything for me that labor.) I started thinking an epidural would really sound good at this point. After an hour, I still didn't feel like my uterus was going to push on it's own (and it didn't with Stevie either) but I wanted to get it going, so the resident came in. I gave a few pushes. She and the on call Dr. already started getting the gowns on...I couldn't believe it...I actually asked, "So, you really don't think this will take me 2 1/2 hours?" haha I started pushing sometime after 10, I don't know the exact time. I pushed for less than a half an hour this time (soo much better), but boy, that is where the pain meds would be totally worth it. Lydia Faith was born at 10:29am!!

Honestly, I don't know how this is, but she hurt more than Stevie as she entered the world! Her little self! I think it was because the Dr really tried to protect me from major tearing (thank you Dr!!)....and she had me breathe when she was crowning and do some half pushes. That's when I got SUPER vocal, cool as a cucumber flew out the window....grunting, blowing like a horse, and generally making awful loud noises. I remember wondering what the people in the hallway thought. That hurt so bad. They also mentioned her head came out transverse. The resident had guessed her to be about 7 1/2 lbs, but when she saw her "huge" head coming (which wasn't so huge), she thought she was way off...until she noticed her head was coming sideways.

And then.....she was here! SHE was here! For most of the pregnancy I was convinced she was a boy until that morning I went into labor. Matt leaned into my face with a soft but elated whisper voice and confirmed what we both already knew, "It's a girl!" I looked down at her, overjoyed, and the first thing I noticed was the white creamy vernix (which my mom has said I was the only one of the 4 to have) and, "She's soo tiny! She's so tiny!" She was such a skinny thing! The Dr. (who was a riot...her English wasn't always very clear) looked at me and said, "Tiny?"
"Uh huh!"...Ok, so maybe she's average size but compared to Stevie, what a peanut! Then she peed, haha, and I immediately felt badly as I looked down at her tiny little self as she cried thinking, "Ohh, one day you will have to do this." I don't ever want her to feel such pain, but oh the joy! I held her for a long while as she sucked her middle fingers, and then they asked us to guess her weight as they put her on the scale, and I had no idea. 7lbs 9oz! She was born so quickly she had the perfect little head and face...no cone head or marks! :)



I called my mom who was busy with Stevie and getting the Easter meal together (sorry about that, Mom) and told her the baby was here. She was shocked she was born so quickly, and said she couldn't wait to know the details till she came. So, I told her she had a granddaughter! She cried and was so excited...she had been wanting her girl to have a girl I know.

Then my aunt called to give me last minute advice for the labor and delivery, haha. Welp, didn't need that!

Then my cousin, Chrissy, called to see if I had been sent home or not! Definitely not! haha

We were so thrilled! The Dr. kept telling me how weird I was...her word...I think because of how quickly and smoothly it went...and apparently how "calm" I was, surprising them all. The nurse told me I should go into business birthing babies. Ha. She was cute. And at that moment, the last thing in the world I wanted to do was experience that ring of fire again. As I held our little girl, I leaned over to Matt, "So, your little girl already has you missing paintball games!" He told me over and over again how much she was worth it! What a man! What a Daddy! It was quite hilarious as people called him asking about paintball that afternoon and him saying, "Well, my wife and I just had a baby this morning so..." I could've listened to that all day...and I did! She even came with plenty of time for him to make it though if he had really wanted to.

We had the most wonderful time together, Matt and I, with Lydia. It was like a weekend away, haha. We joked that having a baby is what it takes to get a weekend away. Stevie had a great time with Grandma and Grandpa, and we were so thankful he did well away from us (and that I did too...we had never spent a night away from each other...or that much time apart during the day either). He was always ready to leave with them (gladly, haha) when they left the hospital. My recovery has gone amazingly well this time around...a true answer to prayer. I can't even believe it, after such a rough go the first time. I am all for another smaller baby again the next time! Though, we calculated, had Lydia been born a week late, she easily could've been just as big as Stevie too!

Lydia was originally due (by the old fashioned method of calculating) April 23rd! So, see she was a prompt girl! Though her changed due date was May 5th, so she came almost 2 weeks early! We love you so much, Lyddie!!

It's a Girl!!

Yes, I've been a bit busy around here with our little girl coming almost 2 weeks early! It's been so long since I've been on here, blogger didn't want to let me in.

We'd like to introduce you to our daughter, Lydia Faith.



She arrived April 23 (the day before Easter...my parents guessed she'd be an Easter baby) at 10:29 am. She was 7 lbs 9 oz and 21 1/2 inches long. I will be posting her birth story as soon as I can...including how they almost sent me home, and she was born a mere 3 hours later!



I am still so surprised (but at the same time not) that she's here already! And, I'm still surprised she's a she! More on that later! For now, I need to get back to my 2 kids! :)

"Ceese"

Stevie is starting to gain a bigger vocabulary much to our delight. The word building has been a bit of a slow go and frustrations (and temper tantrums, ugh) resulted from him not being able to communicate.

We finally got the word "please" down a few weeks ago. "Ceese." (Which sounds very similiar, umm almost identical, to his version of "keys.") I need to get that on camera because it's so sweet. The boy loves 3-2-1 Penguins, and he'll grab a video tape (yes, I said a video tape) and carry it over to me indicating he'd like to watch it. (Is any other mom ready for summer weather? He would watch these videos all day if he could.) If he hasn't said "Ceese" I remind him..."You would like to watch this, please?" He reached a stubborn stage quickly and would refuse to say please. So, no video, which resulted in an unhappy boy. I would try and try to get him to say it...I know he knows! Well, then he started saying it again, and we'd get all excited and yell, "Yay! You said 'please'!" give him high 5's, and just live it up, and pop the video in with great enthusiasm. He loved it.

And so the other day, Stevie brought over his beloved video tape wanting to watch. I waited for the magic word. Silence. So, I said, "Please?" Stevie's response: "Yay!!" and clapping and joyful dances, congratulating his mother on a job well done.

Sigh. One day, he'll get it.

Post Overload?

You may or may not have noticed a lot of posts have been published all of the sudden recently. I have this habit of starting posts, and then they sit as drafts unpublished. Sometimes, they are waiting to be finished, and often, they are just waiting for me to hit that publish button. I don't know what it is. I guess I just wonder why anyone would want to read most of them. And some of my posts are just pretty personal, and I'm hesitant to let that out. But, then I need to remember this blog is more for me than anyone else. I need to record these moments. I want to remember these times...the good and the bad and how far we've come. I could just keep a journal, but I think I'd be even worse at finishing entries. So, I keep this public...and if others are encouraged or get a chuckle out of my life, well, that's some good icing on the cake I guess. So, I'm a real girl, a real wife, and a real mom...learning as I go. If you're still sharing the journey with me, thank you! Oh, and if you're wondering, I'm now 35 weeks pregnant with #2! I'm in nesting mode and a little frazzled. I'll try to be back soon!

Boyness in the House

A glimpse of what's been happening in this house of boys (at least for now)...pretty much what you'd rather not know.

Confession time to my husband:
Confession #1: Stevie grabbed your toothbrush this morning....and used it. (The boy loves toothbrushes.)

Confession #2: Umm, I was glad he didn't use mine.

Awful? Matt laughed...he didn't really care...as I suspected. I don't like sharing straws with my husband. I'm not even thrilled with 2 straws in the same cup. (I have more issues I could go on about.) Boys (yes, I'm generalizing here...good or bad) just aren't as grossed out by things as girls (or me anyway). Let's continue with this theme.

My warrior boy discovered a new toy today and was running around the upstairs with it...briefly (aka, just until Mommy saw and let out a "Nooo!"). He was happy as could be with the... plunger! He was so close to sticking his face right in it too. (He likes to try to peek through things.) Gross!! This large, pregnant mama raced over to him pretty quickly! We'll find new things to "slay the dragons" with.

I still have to sometimes keep Stevie's hands away when I'm trying to change him....he just has an itchy bottom I guess! When he walks from his room to the bathroom for his shower (we don't have a bath tub...poor kid), he will hold my hand or dad's (to keep him focused on the destination without a diaper on), and his other hand is usually scratching his bare behind. He chats the whole way. Maybe it's a thing only a mom can find funny and cute.

He pulled an empty container out of the bathroom garbage, and I quickly exchanged it for a container not in the garbage. He was completely content with this...and when he was done, he threw that container away too. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be thrown away. I guess he thought that was where I got his new "toy." No, mommy does not get toys for you from the garbage! (Ok, ok, sometimes we find a cool toy on the side of the road...or your basketball hoop in a recycling bin, but that's different!)

When I sweep our floors, I have to be quick. He loves watching me sweep, and if he spies a cheerio in the pile, it looks tasty. Yes, I have to be quick. I will get you a fresh snack, Stevie!

I've already mentioned how he likes to swim in a pile of dirty laundry, and if he sees one of his blankets in the pile...it's love time. Ahh!

Of course he likes to play outside in dirt, mud, and snow...especially with sticks. That's not so bad. And, I'm thankful he really likes his showers! :)

Isaiah 25:1

"LORD, you are my God;
I will exalt you and praise your name,
for in perfect faithfulness
you have done wonderful things,
things planned long ago." Isaiah 25:1

The past several months have been "sprinkled" (some times it seems like dumped) with some trials and difficult times. I shared several on here in previous posts. It was like we were still catching up, trying to tread water since Matt's layoff this summer. We were so thankful when he was hired on by a new company. He was actually hired the day his benefits at his last company ran out. Coincidence? I don't think so. Unfortunately, Matt's new paycheck was not what it had been before and no benefits were provided until he had worked there a certain amount of time. Paying for family health insurance out of pocket was a heavy burden. It was a significant amount more than we could actually afford every month. You can imagine (or maybe you also are in that boat!) the stress of that. We were just trying to "make it" until the benefits rolled in at his work. When the time came, we realized the plan offered at work was no cheaper, so we stuck with what we had. The stress in my gut grew deeper. Well, let me tell you: Miraculously, we were provided for during that time...even though we were so short ourselves. Little blessings along the way and things we don't even know about I'm sure, somehow filled in the gap. Yes, God filled in that gap in ways He can only do. This weekend, things just seemed to smack us though. We felt very attacked through the weekend and into Monday. We are dealing with some diapering "issues" still with Stevie that needed attention ASAP, we had slid into a guardrail on the slippery snow, and we had been in process of switching to a different health care plan to try to make it more affordable for MONTHS! Then Sunday night, our sump pump bit the dust, Matt (going back to school) received his first graded assignment back (and he's almost done with the class in 2 weeks...it would be nice to know how he's doing before then), and it was not good. Our basement is filling with water, and it's too late to get a sump pump on a Sunday night. Matt tried using something else with no success. However, in that process, he stumbled upon another pump in the basement. (We don't spend much time down there, haha, because it's an old, old cellar of an 1800's house...we've been here since June.) He hooked it up, and well, we know why it wasn't the one installed because it only works when it wants to. For days, Matt (or I had to when he as at work and class) had to go down and jiggle it to kick on...over and over and over. Not my favorite thing to do in the least....stomping through the standing water in the basement in Matt's big boots! After Stevie's Dr's appointment (waiting in the waiting room for over an hour and a half and dealing with more insurance issues...and still trying to deal with his diapering issues after we got home), I was spent. I cried the whole way home. By the time I pulled into the driveway, I said, "God, I know you're bigger than all of this. I NEED You to help. I NEED You to do...this."

A few weeks earlier, when we were looking at our budget in stress, I was telling Matt that I loved him. I loved him way more than any money he brought in, and I appreciated his faithful provision for our family. It's our choice that I stay home, and I will not complain about how much we have or don't have. We needed to do our best and let God fill in the rest because only He can. I said, "Sometimes I think He likes to show us a glimpse of How big He is and how amazing He is when we are so short." So in those moments in the car parked in our driveway, I was faithfully putting all these things in His hands. Like this verse: "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me." 2 Corinthians 12:9.

Well, we are still waiting for more of an answer in Stevie's diapering department, but never in my wildest dreams would I have expected Him to show His power to us so quickly. The next day, Matt called from work saying he got a raise!! This was so significant that it will meet our financial needs and maybe even a bit more! (Yup, when Matt called me...I cried. I called my mom...and cried. She was confused, "This is a good thing isn't it?" haha.) We are blessed I tell ya! Yes, there is a God. And my God, is a big God who deeply cares and is personally involved in our day to day lives. It is so very humbling to mean that much to Him, and to see His hand at work in our lives. And, how sweet it is to receive such blessing right in the thick of trials. It is so important to me to give praise where it is due...to our great God, and to record these things as further evidence of His greatness and love so I don't forget and can teach them to my children.

Saturday could've been better. We received unfortunate news in the mail on our way out that night...that Matt's G.I. Bill pay for going back to school will be half of what we expected due to new legislation. (Shall I say, "typical.") That was a super bummer. I don't think Matt will be taking more than half time in credits again any time soon because it just isn't worth it financially or stress-wise on the family. As we're running our errands (including a family grocery trip so I don't have to do it on my own every time as a huge pregnant lady with a cute little boy...I cannot tell you how much I love that Matt will come with us in this stage of the game), Matt discovers he doesn't have his wallet. Thankfully, it was not missing (phew!)...just in the car.

Just when I didn't even realize I needed it, while laughing through the store with my 2 favorite men...and waddling severely from a good dinner, waiting for over a half an hour in line, I paid for our groceries, and the woman behind us leans into me and softly says, "I just have to tell you this: You have the cutest baby belly I have ever seen. Congratulations! And your little boy, he's a cutie too!" I'm telling you folks, you want to make a pregnant woman's day, you tell her something positive about the way she looks. (Forget the comments about the hugeness. That doesn't really help.) That lady made my night. She was a complete stranger. She didn't have to say anything out of obligation like those close to you do (or feel like they do, haha).

We head out into the snowy night, and true to form, lost control of the car and hit a guard rail. It could've been way worse....we didn't hit it hard at all, and the damage is really minimal, and of course, most importantly we're all fine.

But oy! 2 steps back and $2 (give or take) short!