Thankful for my BOY:)

Yes, today we get to celebrate a lot... Thanksgiving

And Chris' 5th Birthday!!!! Just amazing that he's 5!!!

The night I went into labor with him was Thanksgiving night or the wee hours of Black Friday (which my mother-in-law and I had planned to do!!).

I remember calling my midwives to ask if I was laboring enough to go to the hospital.... I think I confessed to them that I had eaten a LOT of turkey... he heee heee!! But they told me to go in... the rest of his birth story is HERE!





While Chris seemed like a "laid back" baby... the hardest part of his early days was getting him to sleep (finally resorted to running the vaccuum cleaner and white noise) and nursing. But we made it through...

and he was just too cute:) Still is:)

Chris is our very animated and funny kid. He is always thinking of the next thing to do that will cause laughs (or his sisters to scream!).

Chris is our very creative artist. We have ooodles of his monster, dragon, dinosaur and other battle scene drawings. We love all the spikes, the stories and the smiles on everyone's faces!

And of course his creativity and vivid imagination leads to all sorts of stories and adventures (with his sisters playing parts as well). Some days I see Chris being a playwright... other days he's a paleontologist:)

Chris is also very compassionate! He worries about his sisters when they are hurt or sick. When watching movies he gets very emotionally involved and will dart in and out of the room:)

He also soo smart, an auditory learner for sure!! He challenges me as his mommy-teacher to give him more challenging "work" although I usually have to push him hard to get started... when he does, he zips through it and asks for more;)

I wouldn't be giving an accurate picture of our family if I didn't share that Chris pushs me to be a better parent EVERY day... I have been taught soo much by being his mother!

So to remind you of some of our adventures with Chris, I pulled a few of my favorite pics of him (some you'll probably remember)!!!

1st Year

2nd Year

3rd Year

4th Year

And now he's 5!!!!!!

We did a list of favorite things for Anna's birthday this year!! SO I'll have Chris share his favorites this year:)

• Color : Blue
  
• Food : Hot Dogs
  
• Treat: Bubble Gum
  
• Subject : Math
  
• Animal: Elephant
  
• Do inside: Play Pretend w/Sisters
• Do outside: Swing
  
• Toys: Tool set
  
• Song to Sing: "dinosaur songs"?????
  
• Restaurant: Old McDonalds (lol... so he can get two hamburgers!!)
  
• Book: orange Bible
  
• Movie: How to Train Your Dragon (of course!!)
  
• PBSkids Show: Dinosaur Train, Curious George
  

Goals for his 5th year: Ride a bike with no training wheels

And when you ask him what he wants to be when he "grows up", he says a "paleontologist"!

Happy birthday to my Amazing BOY!!
We adore you and are soo thankful for the giggles and silliness you bring into our home!!

Dear Lord, Thank you soo much for all that you give us. And thank you for Christopher. We know you have such special and fun plans for him. We pray that we can encourage his strengths in ways that worship and serve You! May Chris grow to be a young man that loves you with his whole heart, soul and mind.

On the Other Side

Andrea posted Owen's Birth Slideshow today! HERE it is....

I know I am one of the most excited that she was able to put it together since I was able to be involved and do some of the pictures for her (until she felt well enough to get the camera into her hands again.... LOL!!).

I'm not sure where to begin how I got to be involved;)

Let's just say that when Andrea approached me about photographing the birth, I was very hesitant!! VERY, very hesitant..... first ME taking pictures for Andrea... she's a GREAT photographer, I am NOT!!! Then ME being at her baby's birth... like labor, and delivery and everything...

To say I was hesitant, honored and even overwhelmed is putting it mildly!

So for months I've been working with her manual SRL to figure out "How in the world am I going to take decent pics of this once-in-a-lifetime event???" And Andrea also gave me some websites/slideshows to watch for "inspiration"!

But on that Friday morning, I learned 1st hand the range of emotions from being "on the other side" of delivering a baby... the anxious friend in the room, quietly cheering you on and trying to work your SRL camera:)


I feel like part of the experience was very comfortable because I had the same midwife deliver Lydia and for all three deliveries I didn't have an epidural! So there were a lot of times I very much knew what was going on because I have been there.....


But in many ways I wasn't a participant, but in other ways everyone in the room is a participant when you are talking about a delivery room. As Andrea labored, I "felt" every contraction, I wanted to start the slow breathing to "help" her get through it.... or as she was pushing, so wanted to "help" her push!


I wanted my friend to have a great delivery and a healthy little boy! But during those intense moments at the end, as the doctor was called and Andrea was just exhausted.... we all felt the intensity of the birth....

And then there was Owen!!


A nurse had quietly told me to NOT take pictures before Owen had been checked over by the NICU.... so I held the camera but not snapping away... until the actual doctor brought Owen up and said, "Did you get a pic of him, yet?" or something like that!!!!

My eyes quickly filled-up... all was well!! Owen was healthy! Andrea did it!! (Oh, wait, doc.... I need to get that picture!!!) LOL!!

It was truely amazing to be a part of the miracle of Owen's birth and Andrea's labor!!

Some have asked if being with Andrea in labor has affected my own labor plans in a month or so! Well, yes and no..... :)

Having had my three without an epidural I will still go that route!! While the level of pain is intense with an epidural-free birth, I still feel confident that it's the best way for us. If anything Andrea's labor was encouraging because she did it as her 3rd birth!!

The staff that attended Andrea were amazing. They had her in different positions for pushing that really helped.... I remembering telling the midwife, "I need to do that when I labor this time." So I learned some new ways to labor as well:) And I'm SOOOOO hoping Nate will come when Andrea's nurse is on-duty... I'm asking for HER by NAME!!!


It was also nice that while Andrea labored and described some of her pain, I could identify some of the "stages of labor". I have always found it comforting to know the "stages" because you know your body is working right. You know the pain/feeling is normal. And you know that the end is getting closer!! So I am TOTALLY reviewing my laboring information so I can be "prepared"!

I've totally been "sitting the fence" about having someone attend the birth to take pictures.... I have already been questioning myself about this after the few that Andrea posted from her delivery and now with the SLideshow!! I have some of when I had Anna... my mom was snapping away, so a little more graphic than I'd like... LOL!! So this conversation has been restarted in our house as we prepare for our labor and delivery of Nate:) We will see!!

The other side of labor & delivery is amazing and I definitely got to see the miracle and "enjoy" it without the pain:)

You did AWESOME Andrea and Travis!! And Thank you for letting me be the "fly on the wall".

Lydia's Birth Story: Waiting, then Induction and scary moments

With my pregnancy with Lydia I got VERY tired at month 9!! I know a lot of my exhaustion was being limited to travel and having Christmas at our house.... the normal Christmas season is busy enough, but then add preparing for and hosting both families (which we were VERY glad to do!!), cooking, cleaning up and caring for a 2.5 yr old and a 14 month old on top of being 9 months pregnant!!

I had had Anna 5 days before my due date and Chris 10 days... so I was totally expecting Lydia to be early, like Chris since the pregnancy was soo close to Chris'.

I had two weeks at like week 36 and 37 when I was MORE than ready to birth my Lydia!!! I actually ASKED what I could do to "bring on some labor"!! The midwives told me to squat to pick up toys and stay active...LOL!! NOT what I wanted to hear:)

**pic of when I was 39 weeks preggo with Lydia:)

After hearing that... That's what I did! I walked with the kids, took them everywhere I went and listened to everyone say, "You are HUGE. When are you due?" I think my final answer was funny... I had Chris and Anna at Walmart and when they asked I said,"yesterday!" because I was.

The fun thing was that my mom had arranged her schedule to be "available" when Lydia came. So she stayed with us after the due date!! Brian and I got to go to my OB appt together and got a "kid-free" lunch after. The next evening while having mild contractions, we brought our hospital bags with us out to eat and a movie..... no Lydia:(

Since I had tried not to have too much medical intervention with the other births... I really didn't want to be induced with Lydia. While with the midwives we discussed the choices of having a stress test or being induced when I was past my due date! And I honestly felt better about just having the stress test..... BUT...

that last week Lydia really had changed her movements. She'd been pretty active in my belly, but after 40 weeks she had really slowed down and wasn't moving half as much.... she was still moving some and her heartbeats were fine... but I was worried!!! So we scheduled the induction for 3 days later.... hoping I'd go into labor first.

I remembered my mom's worried comments as we left for the hospital on "induction day". She said she was worried I might have to have a C-section. I remember my response back," A C-section wouldn't be the WORST case scenario... having a sick baby would be."

Once settled in the room and all the IVs and pitocin pumping into me, we waited. I actually worked on Lydia's baby book and finished MOST of it before my contractions were regular enough to be labor....

I remember the first part of labor felt like an intense urge to use the potty, we'd call the nurse who would try to get me unhooked to use the potty and then the urge would go away. After the 4th or 5th time we just started laughing, realizing it was contractions.... like I'd never felt before!!

After being 3 -4 cm dilated and contractions really taking over, a LDPR opened up (that's a room where you labor, deliver and then stay postpartum until you leave the hospital... usually a little bigger with room for Daddy to camp out.... love these rooms!!). My midwife asked if I wanted to have that room and I quickly said yes. But that meant that we had to pack up and move down two halls;) So we did.... I was walking in active labor pushing my little "pitocin pole" .... LOL!!

Once in the LDPR, my midwife thought it would be a good time to break my waters.... I was all for it!! Ready for my body to take over!! And it SOOOOO did!!!

But once the "waters" was broken we realized that Lydia was in meconium which is VERY dangerous! While her heartbeats were steady and labor was normal, the NICU was put in place for when she arrived.

Laboring I was having double the contractions with my body laboring and the pitocin making more contractions! Plus the knowledge that something could be wrong, labor was intense!!

I remember my midwife suggesting for me to find a position to be "comfortable". So I moved around in all sorts of positions, some she suggested, some that just sounded good to me. But I felt soo unsteady in every position. Finally I looked at her in desperation and said, "I just can't get comfortable!!" She sweetly put her hand on my shoulder and gently said,"Kelly, you are in transition. Laboring with pitocin and NO pain medication. There is NO position that is going to be pain-free!"

So I laid in the bed on my side and rested until I was completely dilated and ready to push. I don't remember it taking long to push her out. But I DO remember the instructions... Lydia was going to be put on my chest, but I was not to stimulate her or make her cry. That was to prevent any mecoinum from being aspirated by Lydia... which could cause illness and even brain damage. I kept her still on my chest until the umbilical cord was cut.

Then the NIC-U team came rushing in and whisked her to the "baby warmer" to clean out her mouth and check her over. The NIC-U team looked like a bunch of teenagers wearing white coats... they looked soo young!! But I remember looking over at them caring for Lydia and there was my little girl cooo-ing and trying to talk to them:)

RELIEF.... our little girl was fine!!!

Lydia was fine. Her Apgar scores were fine. And although I really, really, really didn't want to be induced and flooded with IVs, I felt like we had made the best decision for us and Lydia.

OH!! I should mention that I was cared for the whole time by my midwife.... one that I love and hope to see at the hospital with Nate:) But that there was another physician who checked in on us regularly after my "waters" were broken and the meconium found. The physician also came in later to check on me and she was soo encouraging!! Another plus to my practice!

***Not wanting to start a debate.... but Lydia's birth was a reason I wanted to go to a hospital with a NIC-U! I'm glad that Lydia didn't need intensive care but it was available to us at the hospital we were at. And who would have known that she even needed them to check her after I had had a very normal, no complications, no red flags, no high-risk pregnancy???

I can't find Lydia's birth pictures?????? So here is the closest thing I have.... a montage I made for her 1st birthday... the first couple of pictures are from the hospital and that first trip home.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Chris' Birth Story : 1st Birth with Midwives

I shared some of Anna's birth story with you all earlier this week.... the birth that drove me to find some midwives!!

I really enjoyed my pregnancy with Christopher as I was under the care of a great group of midwives!! I was sooo glad with how they were accepting about my birth plan....wanting to know how I wanted to labor (if possible)!

But none of us was truly expecting Chris when he decided to make his appearance.... LOL!! I was limited to home (since I was 38 weeks preggo) when the Thanksgiving holiday rolled around, so we had Brian's clan come celebrate with us at our house. I prepared the house for them and helped with the meal.... basically had a normal day:)

We had a restless evening since Anna (18 months) was dealing with a cold and was in bed with me... neither of us sleeping b/c she was insistent to have her itty bitty arms around my neck for comfort:) I'm thankul now that I was able to snuggle with just her for that evening.... before our Little Man took over!

Very early I started to feel contractions.... so I worked hard to really get Anna sleeping as I watched the clock to figure out how far apart the contractions were. She finally feel asleep as the contractions were STRONG and about 5 minutes apart...

I woke Brian sleeping on the floor in the baby room. I still laugh at his response, "We have to go tonight? Now?" We were all soo tired!!! He woke his parents and packed some stuff in a bag.

We headed to the hospital about 3 or 4 AM, calling our midwife on the way:)

In triage, they hooked me up and realized I WAS in labor and was only feeling half the contractions.... so they were really coming about 2 minutes apart!! And they called our midwife to make sure she was on her way.... she was:)

Once in my room they put in a heparin lock only and said that the midwife would decide if I needed an IV. They also hooked me up to monitors, to monitor the baby. When the midwife got there with her radio and soothing music she saw the readings off the monitor and unhooked me... suggesting that I move around as I pleased.... oh, and no IVs needed!

As we look back we don't remember anyone being in the room with us for awhile..... Brian helping me through contractions... nurses checking every once in a while.

***Let me send huge Kudos to my hubby!! He is super great when I'm in labor! It was during Chris' birth when we were in the room alone for a while that he started telling me stories to "distract" me during contractions. It really works for me... just gets the focus off the contractions and myself.

We later found out that our midwife was needed for an emergency case and when she came in, I realized that the contractions were "overwhelming" me. I just didn't feel in control enough to RELAX... knowing that I didn't want an epidural, she suggested Nubane that could be done through the Heparin Lock.

I took her advice... the Nubane made me dizzy and nauseous though so after that one dose I stayed in the bed. I do think it helped me feel more in control and relax a bit.

I don't remember when the midwife suggested "breaking my waters". It already had been leaking and I had been laboring for a few hours, so it we all needed a little boost:) LOL!!


Not very long after it was time to push.... and it seemed Chris came right out! We had a very quiet, dim room with just Brian, our nurse, the midwife and a nurse for Chris.

Here was his 1st picture...Brian took it at 8:45am!! (less than 6 hours after heading to the hospital which is 45 minutes away)

One of the funniest parts of Christopher's birth was our 1st visitor. We had a sweet college student nearby and he had called our house EARLY in the AM to see if we had had Chris since another friend had delivered her baby Thanksgiving night. When Brian's parents told him we were at the hospital he drove RIGHT over...

I think the nurse was still cleaning Chris when he got there (9ish...I think!) LOL!! I remember him telling me later how tired I looked.... LOL!!! I'd been up all night with Anna and up all morning delivering Chris:) I think it's funny/sweet how excited he was to jump into the car and visit soo quickly:)

Brian's parents and brother came to visit with Anna in the afternoon.... so our 1st "new" family picture was taken at 3:30pm .... just 6.5 hours after delivering Chris!!

I must have napped b/c I don't look THAT tired.... LOL!! Can you believe how little Anna was with her little paci:)

The mood of the delivery room was soooo much different with Chris. It was very calm, peaceful and controlled.... there wasn't any tension between the midwife and hospital staff, or us. I really felt like with midwives, I was given the ability to make some of our own choices about how to labor and that I had someone who was helping me to labor....

Ok.... this might sound super CRAZY.... but we almost "enjoyed" labor. We look back on Chris' birth and have many positive and funny memories!

Why I Chose to See Midwives

Let me start this post with the fact that I go to a practice that has midwives and doctors that are ready to back them up when needed.... and that comforts me! But I still have chosen to see the midwives. And this is why.....

Anna's delivery.

Sure, it was my first labor.... I entered into a whole "unknown world"! But we had attended a childbirth class at the hospital we delivered at and so I did know some of the policies. And I was very fortunate to have my mom (had 4 kids naturally) come 2 or 3 hours into labor at the hospital and a final delivery nurse that also had a few kids naturally.


The nurse that initially got us settled into the room was new and seemed to have no experience with someone wanting little (to no) medical intervention. She immediately got IVs in me and then wouldn't let me get up from the bed for hours to use the bathroom, yes, even when I asked. She was too scared that I was going to deliver our baby in the bathroom... LOL!!


The doctor came in to check us and really was in and out saying that I still had some laboring to go and wouldn't deliver on her shift. And then she was out again??? She did check on us again before she left and had me attempt to push at 9 cms... but I had a very FULL BLADDER and Anna got stuck.... but she left...


Another doctor came in a little later announcing that he was now on shift but had to change... he seriously looked like he had just gotten off the golf course!! He was in and out throughout me laboring.


When it was time to push, the nurse (and my mom) thought that maybe Anna was stuck. They suggested that I move around a bit to see if we could get Anna "unstuck".... the doctor says "nope, she stays in the bed on her back". So then we welcomed some tension in the room and the nurse no longer "questioned" the doctor!


Then some how someone thought to ask when I had last used the potty.... oh, man, that's right.... she's been asking but no one will let her up... LOL!!! Seriously, the nurse was sooo amazed my bladder didn't burst!


Fast forward a couple of hours, then some pushing and more pushing and more pushing (LOL... my 1st baby!!!). Into my 2nd hour of pushing the doctor decided we needed to use the vacuum. And finally our sweet, patient cone-headed baby Anna was born!!

We were sooo excited to see her and she was soo strong and healthy:) A great final blessing to the work of labor.

But as the doctor was tending to some of my needs... I was in PAIN!!! He looked at me and said,"You shouldn't feel that amount of pain with the epidural."

I grunted back to him,"I didn't have an epidural!!"

I remember his look. I think he really started to question some of the decisions HE had made... not letting me up to move, using the vacuum and then stitches without Novocaine. I have often wondered if he even read my chart before walking into my room to care for me and deliver my baby????

**Now I know this was my experience with only 2 OB doctors and that there are some awesome OB doctors out there (I now know a few)! But when we found out we were preggo with #2 (Chris), I searched for a practice that included midwives!!

I hope to share my other labor stories this week:) As time allows.... :)