My dearest Annabelle,

Hi my love. We are now within two weeks of finally meeting you and seeing your face, and it's an understatement to say that we are all excited. The wait has seemed so long this time around, and your brother and sister have been as patient as they know to be, but ask me daily when you'll be here. They have spent the past nine months rubbing on this belly of mine, kissing it, talking to it, and Lilly enjoys "reading" stories to you each night before bed. We have prayed for you, felt you flip around in there, and enjoyed every little ultrasound picture we've been able to see so far. You, my dear, are already so very loved. I'm trying to be patient and truly soak in these last days of having you all to myself, but even I am growing a little impatient. From the start you have made things a wee bit more uncomfortable than either of the other two did, and you're definitely making yourself known to me these days! Granted, I am still chasing around your siblings, which I did not have to do as much when I was carrying them, and they don't seem to slow down much for me. The three of you are definitely wearing me out these days, but you are all going to have so much fun together! I cannot believe how lucky I am to get to be the mommy of these three special people. God is so good to us.

Before you get here, I just wanted to make sure you know how much love is waiting for you once you decide to make your entrance into this world. You daddy and I talk about you all the time, and there is an entire church full of people asking when you're going to be here! Kiddo, never doubt that God has big plans for you, as He has already surrounded you with amazing people who look forward to being a part of your life. He knew you long before we did, and picked you out especially for us. I'm going to go ahead and warn you that we're not perfect, and we're going to mess up sometimes. Mommy's fuse gets a little short when i am really tired, sometimes I forget that playing on the floor with you is far more important than cleaning up the mess in the kitchen, and on occasion I place blame on one of you before I know the full story, but I'm working on it. Just know that no matter what mistakes I make and no matter how good or bad our day goes, I will always love you, always be here for you, and will always feel blessed that I can call you mine. I will do all that I can to help shape you into the girl (and eventually woman) that God has created you to be, and do all that I can to make sure you go after your big, scary dreams. I already know that you are special. You are valuable. You have talents beyond our wildest dreams. The anticipation of your arrival is hard, but I know that you are worth it.

We can't wait to have you in our arms, but I know the waiting (and discomfort, exhaustion, and all of the impending labor pain) is worth it. Brace yourself to be smothered in love... you have stolen our hearts already.

See you soon, baby girl.
xoxo, Mommy (and very anxious family)

Per A Friend's Request: Baby #3 Prego Post

Poor baby #3... he or she just gets overlooked from the start, right? Although not entirely I guess since this child had the coolest reveal out of all of them, but there is no week-by-week documentation or anything fun like that. It's just old hat by now (and I've never used that expression and probably did not use it correctly!). But since one of my very few readers requested one, and since this first trimester (which is finally coming to an end... thank goodness!) has been so different from my other two pregnancies, I think it would be good to document what's been happening with the little bean. So here goes:

How far along: 11 weeks, day 5 (thanks to the handy-dandy Baby Bump app)

Boy or girl?: Not sure yet. I've been feeling boy this whole time and the whole family refers to the baby as "he." Lilly is the only one who sometimes tells us that it's a little sister, but I think it's mainly because she wants one. Jake has told us with 100% certainty that mommy is having another boy.

Total weight gain/loss: I'm really not sure because I am not for sure what I was when I started. I do know that I have gained more than I probably should have by now thanks to some weird eating habits, so I'd say in the range of 7-10 pounds. 

Maternity clothes: I have broken down already and pulled out the elastic!

Stretch marks: Nothing that wasn't there already.

Sleep: I go to bed so early these days... by about 9pm, I am DONE. I wake up a couple of times each night, but fall back asleep pretty fast.

Best moment this week: Buying a new pair of maternity jeans. Mine were quite out of style since the last time I was pregnant in the winter was in 2009/2010. Granted, I forgot how expensive those suckers are, but it feels good to have something that fits and looks cute. This in-between (is she pregnant or just gaining a lot of weight?) phase is always my least favorite.

Movement: Too soon for that of course.

Food cravings: My diet has consisted mostly of ice cream, milkshakes, cereal, and fried food (particularly French fries). So healthy I know! There were days from about week 5 go week 8 where all I would or could eat was ice cream! Not that I hated it! And occasionally I'd throw in a fast food hamburger to round out the diet. The only healthy thing has been Honeycrisp apples, and I am going to cry once they are out of season.

Food aversions: MANY. This has been the weirdest part of this pregnancy. I was never sick with the other two. Occasionally I'd get queasy if I got too hungry, but I'd have a few crackers and I'd be all set. This time around, I spent a few weeks feeling nauseous all day long... like I had the flu. I never actually got sick, but it almost felt like I'd be better off if I did! I just felt like I could at any moment... ugh. I figured out about halfway through that coffee was my main trigger (so sad I know!). And Folgers coffee, which we brew at home, in particular. So reluctantly I've cut way back, which is probably good anyway. A from about week 5-8 I couldn't even look at meat of any kind. It sounded so unappetizing! And then basically anything that wasn't in the "cravings" category was off-limits, too. I'm finally starting to feel like myself again and add different (better) foods back in.

Labor Signs: Obviously not.

Belly Button in or out? In... hopefully for awhile.

What I miss: Feeling good... haha! And my morning cup of coffee. I am able to handle a latte, but for $3-$4 a day, I usually just pass them up.

What I am looking forward to: Feeling good... are we seeing a trend here? I have some high hopes for the second trimester this time around!

Weekly Wisdom: I learned this week that I need to keep Tylenol in my purse. Twice now I've gotten a headache while we were out somewhere and everyone had Ibuprofin or Aleve or Advil, but nobody carries Tylenol it seems. So that's an easy fix.

Milestones: Getting to week 12 will be the first. And this coming Thursday we have our big ultrasound, where they check all of the organs and the overall health of this little one, so say some prayers that all looks good!

I haven't really started taking pictures all that frequently, but here's a teeny-tiny bump from week seven. I think I started taking pictures with the other two around week 12, so I should probably try and do that again with this one, just for the sake of not leaving him or her out entirely.  :)

So there you have it. I probably won't do this all that often this time around, but it is good to have it on record, so thanks for the encouragement! Here we go again!

Sharing our News

Well, the cat is out of the bag, and we have officially announced that Baby #3 will be making his or her way into the world in May 2015! We were planning to keep it a secret a little longer than we did, but our very excited 3-year-old daughter was basically telling everyone- friends, people at church, total strangers- that her mommy has a baby in her belly. Yeah, I didn't think that through… the thing is, Jake was 9-months old when we were pregnant with her, so it never really dawned on me that the two of them might break the news to others before we were ready! But such is life.

As for Josh, I promised him awhile back that if we were to have a third, that I would find a cool way to tell him. I always had the intentions to do that the first times around, but instead it always ended up as one of those, "uh honey, could you run to Walgreens for me?" moments instead. So this has been a long time in the making. 

Even though I had my idea for a long time, I did not realize just how tricky it was going to be to pull off. It stemmed around professional photos being taken, and one photo in particular. Ever since we got married, our family has had the same picture taken year after year, of our feet. It's cuter than it sounds… and as our family grew, there were more little cute tootsies (and sometimes the entire kiddo) in the shot. Here are some from years past:

I so desperately wanted to make this picture happen again, but once we were all lined up, I'd pull a pair of baby shoes out and set them down between all of our feet and SURPRISE! And of course, the photographer would be in on it and would take pictures of the whole thing. Easy peasy, right?

I have never been more proud of pulling something off. Between quickly finding a friend (who also happens to take gorgeous pictures) wo would be available to take "Lilly's Third Birthday Pictures", making sure she understood the plan, keeping the news TO MYSELF for a week and a half (yeah, there was a lot of deception going on!), playing off that we should probably all go (and be camera ready) "just in case" there was an opportunity to get a family shot, and successfully hiding baby shoes in my back pocket for just the right moment, there was a lot of stress involved, but it was worth it! 

It's funny though… he couldn't find a place to park and so he called me and said he'd just circle around until we were done. Um, excuse me??? I don't think so. So I made him illegally park where we could see the car and come out and join us. Then we added the shoe picture as if it was an afterthought and I "explained the concept" to our friend, Ellen, as if she didn't know it was coming. 

And here's the moment of truth… she captured it all so perfectly!

Lining up

Oh wait, I forgot something

These need to be in the picture, too!

Are you serious???

There was lots of laughter after that… he had NO idea!

The kids finally catch on. Yay! We're having a baby!

After that, we took some pretty cute shots that we could use later for an announcement to everyone else:

And so you have it. The family pictures and sweet ones of our first two kiddos were just an added bonus!

So there you have it… a super complicated way to announce some good news! We ended up telling our immediate family and some close friends the following weekend at Lilly's birthday party by having her unwrap a "Big Sister" shirt in front of everyone. I have video of everyone's reaction, but I'm not going to post it since it's mostly of the ceiling and 20 minutes long, because I never hit the record button again to stop it! And even though I'm sure you've seen it on Instagram by now, this is how we told the rest of our world:

A VERY special thank you to my dear friend, Ellen Turner, for taking these incredible photos, and for keeping a secret for as long as she did! And to a few others who helped me keep up appearances until the day came that I could pull this off. Needless to say, this family is very excited!

This and that...

It's finally Friday! I feel like this week went on forever! And although I'm halfway through about three thought-out and pertinent posts, I don't have enough brain cells left to finish them.  So after the week that it's been my Friday post is going to be a bit random... so here is what's going on with us these days:

Week one of my "fresh start" has been a major success! I was up at 6am on Monday thru Wednesday (and "slept in" until 6:15am on Thursday by accident) and spent close to an hour each morning reading through Romans. Let me just say, when you put the time in, God really does speak to you and laid out exactly what I needed to hear each morning. It's the confirmation I need to keep up until this becomes a routine.

We had a sweet high school gal from our church over for dinner on Monday night and I just loved getting to know her better. She's asked me to be her mentor and I am beyond honored. But now that's made me realize that I should get one, too! I think everyone needs one... someone who has been where you've been and is where you want to go. Josh says that any mentor worth a dollar won't have time to do it, so I have one in mind and just have to muster up the courage to ask.

Other moms: you know how you don't really shed during pregnancy and then you go through a weird hair-falling-out phase about 4 or 5 months after giving birth? Well, I had remembered that, but forgot about the annoying hair-growing-back (again) phase that completes the cycle. I cannot do anything with these annoying baby hairs... does anyone else have this problem?  And no, I don't actually keep them slicked down like this, but they are hard to make blend in!  (and no, I can't believe I posted this)

Lilly has decided to start biting me (and only me) as a sign of affection (maybe?). How does one go about getting an 11-month-old to stop biting? And no, I have no desire to bite her back.

Speaking of Lilly, her favorite word for the past month has been "What?" (or more accurately "wwwwwwhhhhhhha-T" with an emphasis on the T sound). I have tried for a solid month to get it on video and she plays coy every time I pull out the camera. Such is life.

Jake has started a new obsession with the movie "The Incredibles" and asks to watch it 24/7. We are minorly convinced that he seriously thinks that he is Dash and runs around the house at top speed every time his character is on screen. It's actually a very appropriate comparison.

I am aware that I never posted about Jake's preschool experience... (1) because he refuses to stand still for a photo and I could not get a first-day-of-school picture like other moms do and (2) because so far he has a love/hate relationship with it. Day one was awesome, day two he realized that I was going to leave him and flipped out, day three was by far the worst and he clung to me like I was dropping him off at prison, and day four he marched in there like it was no big deal until he stepped foot in his classroom.  His teachers tell me that he only cries for 10 minutes (aside from the hour he cried on day two), but it still breaks this mama's heart. I know he's still adjusting, so I'm just trying to be patient with him. In other preschool news, his teachers sent home a list of all of the songs they are learning and I do not know a single one. Nope, not one. I'm not sure I'm going to be much help.

The closest thing I have to a "first day of preschool" picture.  Sigh.

 We rearranged our living room which made a world of difference in how much space we have and I love it! The only downside is that the paint color that I liked with the old arrangement now looks blah with our new arrangement (weird I know). So now I'm deciding if I can just live with it and get over it or if I want to go through the hassle of repainting. Also wondering what our landlord would think if I told him that I'm painting yet again in less than a year. Decisiveness is not my strong suit. And yes, I am aware that these are crummy iPhone pictures with really bad lighting and my living room is not in picture-perfect condition. For those of you who are new, I feel like it's my calling to post pictures of my home in "real life" rather than the beautiful ones when it's cleaned up, which I still do on occassion. It's like a ministry for other people like me who have good intentions, but also have multiple tornadoes coming through on a daily basis and messing up your hard work.  The "before" pictures are on top.

Something NEEDS to happen above the couch.  B-O-R-I-N-G.

The pictures don't do it justice, but the room feels SO much bigger and opened up... with more seating!

Not sure what's up with the color on the "after" picture... picture 1 is more accurate.
And yes, The Incredibles is on the TV! 

My husband and I are solely paying for the Redbox movie rental in our area. In the past three weeks we have racked up quite a bill on only three movies. We always think that watching a movie together sounds like a great idea, and then we're both too exhausted to ever start, thus the movie sitting on our mantle or coffee table for weeks on end (look closely at the above picture for proof). We need an intervention.

Okay, I think that's enough random rambling for today. Chances are that I won't get around to posting again until Tuesday since Sunday night will be a late one watching my husband become an IronMan! I'm so proud of him already for all of the time he has put in to prepare for this race!

Any big plans for your weekend? 

Mama's Month - Maternity Leave Survival

One of the perks of having a baby is the glorious three months of time off.  Oh yes, time to spend relaxing with your new little one, catching up on reading, tackling projects around the house, and becoming supermom to your new tenant.  

Riiiiiggggggghhhhhhht. 

If you've been there before, then you know as well as I do that it can quickly turn into endless days in your sweats, sleep deprivation, and cabin fever.  You can't remember the last time you brushed your hair or teeth (much less took a shower... what's that?) and there doesn't seem to be an end to the emotional roller coaster ride you're on.  Family and friends are dropping by (or staying with you) and even though you love the company, you're hoping they don't notice the messy house or the fact that you may or may not have poop on your shirt.  Plus, you kind of wish they'd just leave so you can attempt to take a nap.

Well guess what, friends?  You're not alone!  While I don't have a perfect plan that works for everyone, here is the advice that I wish I would have received before the little bambino arrived:

#1 - Throw the rule book out the window

Demand feeding vs. scheduled feeding.  Am I holding my baby too much?  Swaddling vs. not swaddling.  Breastfeeding vs. Bottle feeding.  Is it okay that my baby sleeps better on his belly?  

EVERY baby is different.  If you spend all of your time frantically worrying about whether or not you're doing it "right," you're going to be one stressed out mess!  While it's great to talk to other mommy friends, keep in mind that there is no perfect formula.  If breastfeeding is making you miserable, try a bottle and see if that helps!  Sure there are great nutrients in breast milk, but formula is rich with vitamins and nutrients, too!  If you make your decisions based on YOUR instincts and YOUR baby's preferences (which you will figure out before anyone else) then you're going to enjoy those first few months a lot more.

#2 - Accept Help

I was terrible at this!  I had family staying with us to help take care of Jake, the house, etc., but I insisted on doing everything myself.  My theory was that I would have to do it all eventually, so I might as well get used to it.  Yes, you are going to have to do it all eventually, so give yourself a break while you can! If you have family staying with you, don't be afraid to delegate a little either.  Your mother-in-law probably won't mind throwing in a load of laundry if you need her to.  And trust me, the baby will be in great hands while you take yourself a little nap.

#3 - If you're about to snap, you need a nap!

Okay, I didn't even mean to rhyme!  Sleep deprivation is a horrible thing... that's why it's used as a war tactic to torture prisoners.  If you start noticing that you're getting snippy or even angry at those around you (and your child in particular for not giving you any "me-time"), a little snooze will probably do you some good.  If I ended up in tears, it was usually a red flag that I needed an hour or two away from my bundle of joy... and that's perfectly okay and you're a better mom for it!

#4 - Accept the emotional roller coaster 

 There is nothing that will prepare you for the waves of emotion that will sweep over you after childbirth. and the weeks that follow.  In fact, as soon as I stepped foot into our house with Jake and he was handed off to one of the waiting grandparents I went up to my room and sobbed.  Like ugly-crying sobbed.  It was awful.  And my reason?  I didn't want to "share" him with anyone, which is silly I know.  I also had this crazy resentment toward Josh's dad for those first few weeks because I felt like he was "hogging the baby" which he was by no means doing!  I've actually apologized to him for my crazy behavior and now I could not imagine my life without him being nearby!  Everyday I would literally cry tears of joy as I would rock and sing Jake to sleep and then I'd be crying tears of frustration five minutes later.  It's normal... and it's okay.  I do think it's important though to talk to someone about what you're going through.  I know of two good friends now that went through postpartum depression, but never knew it until much later.  If you're angry at your child for being born, or if you feel like you don't like him or her at all, these are signs and there are probably people right under your nose who can help you through it.  Don't bottle it in for the fear that someone might think you're crazy.

#5 - Take a break before finding "normal"

I think the first couple of weeks are the most special weeks of a new parent's life.  Even though you're never dressed or don't have any make-up on, you just get to cuddle and love on your newborn.  You will never get that time back, so allow yourself to have it.  After a week or two, however, face the real world again.  Getting "out there" with or without your child is so important and will do wonders for your sanity. And if you need gas or a gallon of milk, volunteer to go without your child just to get out of the house by yourself for a few.  It will clear your head and make you realize how much you love your child based on how much you miss your child!

#6 - Make "To-Do" lists

Once you're past the two week mark, make short-term and long-term "To-Do" lists.  Not having any sort of schedule at all will result in lots of time watching HGTV (trust me, I know!).  I would record TV shows and allow myself only to watch them while nursing, even if it meant that I could not get through a full program before I was finished... that was just my rule to avoid becoming a couch potato.  Sometimes my daily to-do list would only have one or two things on it, like "go for a walk" or "visit Josh at work" but it made me become intentional about getting up, getting dressed, and getting out of the house.  It also made sure that my house did not turn into a pig-stye!  As for long-term projects, pick one or two things that you've been putting off and take baby steps toward accomplishing the task.  You'll find that projects will progress much more slowly now, so you might as well get used to it!

#7 - Give your body a break

Do you realize that you just had a baby?  Do you understand how amazing your body is???  One of the best things that ever happened to my confidence was childbirth.  I realize that I may never look like I did at 20, but I love the way I look now more than I ever did.  And I care about what goes into my body and how I take care of it more than I ever did.  Even though I'm a bit squishier, I care about my body so much more than I used to.  So wait at least three weeks before looking in a mirror and give yourself some time to just let it be.  And while you try to get the baby weight off, cut yourself some slack and appreciate the fact that God gave you such beautiful gift.

#8 - Know that it will get easier

I can still remember riding in the car with Josh on the way home from church.  Jake was about 12 weeks old and all of the sudden I looked up and felt my head clear.  I looked at Josh and told him that I felt like I as coming out of a cloud... like I had been living in a weird fog and I could finally see again.  I don't think this happens quite so literally for everyone, but understand that you will be so scatterbrained, confused, doubtful, and overwhelmed for a little while, and it's okay.  Eventually your baby will get over his or her colic.  Eventually your baby will sleep through the night.  Eventually you will understand what his or her cry means.  Keep in mind that this won't last forever.

#9 - Show that baby off!

It will happen.  You will walk into a room and suddenly disappear.  For nine months it was all about you, but now it's going to be "Oh hi, baby!" before they even see you.  Instead of letting that bother you, soak it up!  This is something YOU created... how amazing is that?  Great job, mama!

#10 - Believe it when they say that they grow up too fast

I hated this expression before I had kids.  I was always like "yeah, yeah... whatever."  And now Jake is two!  There is a reason people say this... it's so true!  So instead of always wishing for the next thing (I can't wait until he can hold his own bottle, I can't wait until she sleeps through the night, my life will be easier one he can talk, etc.) live IN every phase that you're at.  One day you'll blink and that baby will be a toddler, then a big kid, then a teenager, then off on his or her own.  

I don't think I set out to write ten of these and I probably could write ten more, but again, I wish I had someone who told me this stuff before Jake was born.  If you have advice on how to get the most out of your maternity leave time, I'd love for you to link up with me and share!

The Second Time Around

Labor and delivery... the fun part of having kids, right?  My doctor in Illinois told me that he wasn't sure which scenario was worse: having never been through it and having no clue how labor really feels or having been through it already and knowing (somewhat) what is coming for you.  I think he made a good point, but even with the long labor I had the firs time, I was actually looking forward to going through it again this time around.  Never in my life have I experienced something as miraculous as meeting my baby for the first time, and to have the opportunity to go through that again was something that I was very excited about.

Before I get into all of the details about how Lillian arrived into this world, I will preface it (for those of you who don't know) that with each of my pregnancies, I have to give myself a shot of blood thinners everyday.  When I was pregnant with Jake, a massive blood clot formed in my leg and so the doctors have me do this as a precautionary measure.  You can read all about it here, and about Jake's delivery here.  Because of the blood thinners, I am induced with each baby at 39 weeks, so that I can stop taking the shots 24 hours beforehand in order to prevent hemorrhaging.  In the event that I go into labor before 39 weeks, there is also a shot they could give me to reverse the thinners... it all sounds very complicated, but it's really not... especially since we knew the drill this time and also did not have the fear that an existing clot could possibly become dislodged during delivery like we had with Jake.  That alone made the idea of labor and delivery a little less stressful.

So anyhoo, just like with Jake, I really had the desire to go into labor on my own and have as natural of a birthing experience as possible.  I had some major issues with the epidural the first time (and I only got it because I so desperately needed sleep, which I never got!) and was nervous about going that route again.  I was measuring about a week and a half ahead (which was mostly fluid and not baby, thank goodness!) and having Braxton Hicks contractions for weeks, so I thought that there might be a good chance that it would happen.  So once again, I tried every old wives' tale in the book and even baked a batch of "Break Your Water Cookies" two nights before my induction date.  I could only stomach about seven of them before I felt like I was going to throw up... they taste a lot like gingerbread at first, but as soon as you swallow- look out!  There is a kick of cayenne pepper that will surprise (and potentially gag) you!  I would not recommend it, although they might be a nice thing to bake for that neighbor you don't like so much!  I also had two different doctors "strip my membranes" the week prior to help kick-start labor to no avail.  None of my efforts paid off, so by Sunday afternoon, I knew that we'd be heading to the hospital early in the morning for an induction.  Josh managed to go to bed pretty early, but I stayed up making sure the house was perfectly tidy for when I would bring Lilly home.  Once in bed, I laid awake and cherished every bump and move in my belly, knowing that I would miss it.  I was pretty bummed that once again nothing about my labor would be natural.  With Jake, they tried a "cervix-ripening" treatment to help me thin and dilate, but since I was already dilated to a 3 and 50% effaced, they would be going straight to pitocin from the get-go.  The plan was to start on that in the morning, the doctor would break my water a couple of hours later, and then the baby would probably arrive sometime that evening... again, nothing natural about it at all.  So as I laid there and thought about it, I went ahead and made the decision to stop debating about it and get an epidural.  If I was already going to be hooked up to all of the other machines, I might as well.

Monday morning we were both wide awake bright and early.  Josh and I were on the road by a quarter after five and drove through torrential downpours and thunderstorms to get to the hospital.  We did manage a stop at McDonald's though so that I could get a sausage biscuit, which I knew might be my last meal for awhile that day.  Once we arrived at the hospital, Josh dropped me off at the door and I went upstairs to get registered.  A family getting out of the elevator saw me walking in with my bags and said that I was looking pretty good for it to be that time.  I thanked them and did not mention that unfortunately I was not actually in labor.  Once upstairs, I registered with the front desk and Josh came upstairs just as I was headed to our room.  It was around six o'clock on the dot by the time the first IV went in, and it did not go well.  The nurse missed my vein and it burst, causing a big bump on my hand. I teared up a little once it was pulled back out because I felt like everything was already going wrong and my nerves started getting to me.  It was really the first time in nine months that I had any sort of anxiety, but Josh assured me that all was going to be just fine.  A second nurse came in and put a new IV in properly and they started me on a saline drip... our day had begun!

Bye bye, belly!  And notice the really hot (I mean, they were literally HOT) compression socks I had to wear for better circulation.  I make labor look GOOD!

The first hour was spent with nurses coming in and out to check blood pressure and get things set up.  The weather was still pretty terrible and we heard that there were tornado watches all around us.  It has rained on every single one of mine and Josh's special occasions, so something about that news calmed me down a bit.  Around seven, the nurse came in and turned on the dreaded pitocin, but assured me that she was only setting it to a 2.  I wasn't sure what the highest number was, but a 2 sounded reasonable.  We called my sister, Angie, and let her know that my induction was officially underway and she could head over whenever.  I was given the privilege of seeing my friend Chelsea's baby come into the world back in January and once I learned that my sisters had never been given the opportunity to see it for themselves, I invited them both to be there for Lilly's arrival.  Mindy had to work unfortunately, but she's got dibs (along with Chelsea... I owe her one!) on our next child... which will hopefully be a few years down the road!  Angie must have been waiting by the door because she got there quickly!  I'm not sure who was more excited!

A couple of hours passed and they had turned up my pitocin a couple of times when the doctor came in to check me around ten o'clock.  I was at a 3 and a half, which made him decide that it was time to break my water.  When I had Jake, my water broke unexpectedly and it was by far one of the strangest things I had ever experienced.  This time it was much more methodical and the gush of water (sorry... from here on out it will probably get a bit more graphic, so if you don't want to hear about it, I recommend that you stop reading now!) was much more gradual.  And when they had said that I had a lot of fluid, they were not kidding!  I could literally hear it pooling underneath me and Josh said that it looked to be about twice as much as I had with Jake.  She sure had a nice little private pool for nine months!

This is the point when my epidural debate started again.  From all of the reading I had done, I knew that an epidural could slow down labor.  I asked the nurse when she thought I should get it and she told me that it was up to me.  I didn't want to get it too soon so I decided to wait until my contractions started getting stronger, which did not take long at all.  Within a half of an hour they were right on top of each other and pretty intense, so I was breathing through each one and trying to stay relaxed.  I started getting clammy and nauseous and was quickly reminded of how fun labor really is!  The funny part about deciding that I would get an epidural is once I had my mind set on it, the anesthesiologist could not have gotten there quickly enough!  I felt like I had to wait forever, but it was probably only about fifteen minutes of hard contractions that I had to endure.  The woman who administered it was a sweet lady named Mae, and she quickly became my favorite person.  She talked me through everything that she was doing and immediately put a booster in my line to help ease the intensity (and cool me off) a bit.  I will say, the best part (in my opinion) about the epidural was how cold it felt on my back.  I tend to stay really hot and sweaty, which leads to nauseous and throwing up (fun!) so I was grateful for the change in my body temperature.  After about 10 minutes, the tingly feeling started in my legs and within 15 I could not feel a thing.  NOT. A. THING. in my belly.  My sister would watch the contraction monitor and comment on how big each contraction was, but I was oblivious.  For a girl who was at one time pretty anti-epidural, I sure changed my tune!  And the anesthesiologist clearly knew what she was doing because I could still move my legs and wiggle my toes unlike the last time.  It was bliss I tell you.

The next hour was pretty uneventful, but I was able to joke around and chat with Josh, Angie, and the nurses.  Around eleven the nurse came in to check me, and was just as surprised as I was when she announced that I was already at an 8!  I had been at a 3 1/2 just about an hour ago!  Apparently the epidural does not have the slow-down effect on me that I had read about!  She left us alone again and we all just talked about how excited we were to meet Lillian.  By the time she came back to check me again (around noon), she told me that it was time to call the doctor!  I was tremedously surprised and ecstatic to say the least.  She left to get the doctor and suddenly about four other nurses and four nursing students walked in.  Two of the nurses were from the nursery and would be taking care of Lillian, one was another labor and delivery nurse, and one was the nursing students' instructor.  Upon check-in that morning, I had signed a waiver that said that I was willing to have nursing students in the room with me to observe.  Granted, I was expecting maybe one student, so it was a bit of a surprise to have four!  But again, I was in epidural-heaven and just went with it.  If it had been my first baby, or if I was trying for natural labor again, I probably would not have been too thrilled, but everything had been so easy thus far that I thought why not!  

The nurse finally came back and told me that both doctors were in surgery so it would be about fifteen minutes "doctor time."  Which meant that they'd be there whenever they got done.  The room cleared out again and we just sat and waited.  And sat.  And waited.  And sat.  And... well, you get the point.  It turned out that "doctor time" was really around an hour, and the whole time I could literally feel Lillian pushing on my pelvic bones every time I had a contraction, so every couple of minutes I would feel insane amounts of pressure.  Had I not had an epidural, I'm pretty sure my body would have reacted and started pushing, so I was thankful that I was able to relax.  I told Josh that I was pretty sure the baby was going to fall out at any minute!

Around 1:00 my doctor finally came in along with the parade of nurses.  In total, there were eleven people in the room, not counting myself!  Once everything was set up and ready to go (which didn't take long since they had everything ready about an hour earlier) she told me that she could already see the baby's head!  Crazy!  With Jake it had taken me almost an hour to get to that point, so that was awesome news to hear.  I will say, the only downside of the epidural was that I could not tell when I needed to push.  With Jake, it was such a relief to push through those painful contractions, but since I was numb, they had to tell me when to start and stop.  And then I couldn't really tell if I was doing a good job or not.  It was weird.  I'm actually glad that I had been through it before without the numbness because I could kind of remember how to "bear down" and push effectively.  At one point between pushes I looked up and saw all of these faces staring back at me and all of the students had these excited expressions on their faces.  I started laughing because of the absurdity of it all!  I'm still a little stunned that I could actually just laugh and enjoy myself at this point in the day.  The doctor had me not push through one of the contractions and I learned later that the cord had been around her neck and she took that time to untangle it.  I would have never known since she stayed so calm and handled it like it was no big deal... which I guess it isn't if you're a doctor who sees these things frequently.  Surprisingly, after about 20 minutes, she told me that it would take one more push and she was right!  At 1:29 PM Lillian Joy Mauney made her entrance into this world and even received a round of applause.  Or maybe that was for me... either way, it was pretty awesome.  They wiped her down and put her on me, which is always the most magical moment for me.  She was pretty purple, but absolutely beautiful.  I felt much more alert and lucid after delivery this time around, and those first moments of me and Josh holding her and loving on her were so very special.  Angie took video of our "first meeting" and I tear up every time I see it... I still stick to my theory that those moments are the closest a person can ever get to physically meeting God here on earth. Josh stayed with her as she was weighed and measured and the nurses finished cleaning up.  I could not believe that everything had happened so quickly and honestly, I would do it again tomorrow if it went that way every time!  What a difference from the first time.

How many people does it take to deliver a baby?

One of my favorite pics... the students were SO excited to observe!

First meeting our daughter... love those magical moments

Brand new beauty... love at first sight

Lilly and our wonderful doctor... we loved her!

Proud Daddy

Our first visitors arrived shortly after she was born, and the first one in the room was Jake.  It was so good to see and love on him!  He climbed right up into the bed with me and the two of us shared some cookies.  Josh brought the baby over, but he was much more interested in his snack.  It's now 2 1/2 weeks later and not much has changed in that department!  He says "baby" when he remembers that she's in the room or when she cries, but pretty much ignores her for the most part.  He does try to put her pacifier in her mouth from time to time, even if she's sleeping, so that's pretty cute, and only once has he hugged her, which almost made me cry.  I actually prefer that he leaves her alone because I don't have to worry too much about him messing with her, but I'm sure things will change dramatically when she starts doing more than just sleeping.  He also hasn't had many jealousy issues, although he did get pretty upset when I wouldn't pick him up and carry him the first week that we were home.  I'm glad that phase has passed.

He looks even bigger to me now!  He's going to be a great big brother!

Throughout the day we had all of our family in the area come and visit the newest member, including Mindy and Michael who drove down from Cincinnati.  Angie agreed that being on the "other side" of labor was an amazing experience and I know that Mindy was bummed that she had to miss out.  We would've loved to have had her there, too.

Our other labor partner... thanks, Angie!

Finally a girl!  Lilly with her mommy and two awesome aunties!

It was nice to have a couple of days to spend as just the three of us, but we were definitely ready to get home when it came time!  And I must say, these first few weeks of being a family of four have been so great.  I feel so blessed to have two beautiful children and a loving husband.  Lillian has definitely turned out to be the easier baby of the two thus far, so I feel like I am enjoying this early stage even more than I did the first time.  Plus, I am more confident in my mothering skills, which helps tremendously.  And I am loving the time off from work to just love on the both of them everyday.  It doesn't get much better than that!  One of these days when I find some time (ha!) I will update my blog header so that she's included... Mauneyland now has an official population of FOUR!

35 Week Bumpdate... It's Lilly Month!

September is HERE... which means that we are within 30 days of meeting our baby girl and this mama is more than ready!  

Between Braxton Hicks contractions (which I never had with Jake), backaches (which I don't remember with Jake), heartburn, and the constant rearranging of my insides, I will be happy to be the only occupant of this body again.  So even though I generally don't do these prego-surveys, I thought that since it's been so long it might be worth it this time around.  So here goes...

How far along: 35 weeks, 6 days (so almost 36 weeks if you want to get specific)

Total weight gain/loss: Ha!  Like I'm going to tell you that!  Let's just say that I have surpassed the highest weight I ever reached while carrying Jake (and started this one about 4 pounds lighter).  In other words... A LOT.

Maternity clothes: Yeah, since about week 8.  You know it's time when you're belly is showing in even your longest maternity shirts.  And several pairs of my maternity pants no longer fit.

Stretch marks: A few pinkish ones around my belly button.  I got a few like this after Jake was born (how unfair is that?) and they went away over time, so I'm hoping that these are temporary, too.

Sleep: Sleep?  What's that?  Between a body temperature that stays around 145 degrees and a toddler who still occasionally wants to have a middle-of-the-night party, I can't remember the last time I slept through the night.  But it's no big deal considering that the situation is not going to change any time soon.  I get the occasional nap and that works just fine for me!

Best moment this week: Ummm... we've had lots of good moments since our move, so I'm not entirely sure.  Seeing my sisters and their families as frequently as I have been has probably been the highlight.

Movement: She beats me up a lot more than Jake ever did.  I'd get an occasional jab or kick from him, but she likes to press my insides outward and then move, creating this odd sensation and a sight to watch!  I had an ultrasound today and the doctor said that I have lots of fluid in there (which thankfully might be why I'm measuring big... and by big I mean a week or two ahead of schedule) so she still has plenty of room to move around.  It's no wonder that I am short of breath so often!

Food cravings: Oh wow, what don't I crave?  The biggest one this time around has been Coke floats.  Weird I know.  I'm also really enjoying chips and cheese dip these days.

Food aversions: None.  Baby likes to eat!

Labor Signs: I had one day of some pretty good contractions and it was conveniently on a day when I had a doctor appointment.  According to the monitoring (which I get weekly), my uterus was demonstrating "erratic behavior," whatever that means.  The next day I was fine though and aside from some mild Braxton Hicks, all is business as usual... no dilation yet either... she must like it in there.

Belly Button in or out? Like a turkey thermometer, it's popped out.  This bird is cooked!

What I miss: Not going to lie... a frosty beverage or a glass of red wine would be heavenly!  And I'm kind of (and that's a very small kind of) getting antsy to run again.  I think it has something to do with living near my favorite running buddies.

What I am looking forward to: Meeting her (duh!)

Weekly Wisdom: This should probably be something about getting plenty of rest before baby, but I can't seem to do that.  I'm a busy-body.  I have managed to slow down a bit, but should probably stop and put my feet up more often.  

Milestones: Ummmm.... I couldn't really tell you.  In about a week I'll be considered full-term, so that's kind of what I'm waiting on right now.  I'm still set to be induced at 39 weeks (like I was with Jake and will be with every child I ever have) but I'm hoping that she decides to come a couple of days early so that I can experience what it's like to go into labor.  We'll see.

So I think that covers everything and more and makes up for my lack of posts about the bump this time around.  And since no decent bumpdate is complete without a photo, here is the latest:

I don't have one from my pregnancy with Jake at 36/37 weeks, but I do have one from 38 weeks with him for comparison purposes:

I think she's siting a little bit higher than he did, but I am glad to see that they are fairly similar.  As I've mentioned previously, the extra weight gain is in my lower back, love handles, and rear, which thankfully does not show up in photos!

So now you're updated, which is good considering that I'm not sure if another one will happen or not before her arrival.  Now it's just a matter of counting the days... and oh how I can't wait to kiss those sweet cheeks!