Kate's first ER visit

To say I'm tired is an understatement. ugh... where to begin...

Kate has had the sniffles for a few days, nothing more than a runny nose... no fever, no cough, nothing. Well that all changed at 10:30pm last night, 3 hours after she had gone to bed. She woke up crying and could barely breath. I was so scared. I thought that maybe she was just worked up from crying, so I nursed her and layed her in bed with me to keep an eye on her. She quickly fell back asleep, but her breathing was loud and labored. I called Paul to let him know that we may need to go to the ER if it didn't get better (luckily he was on his way home from work, after working a 16 hour shift). Kate woke up again around 12:30 and the breathing sounded worse. I was getting really worried, so we called Paul's mom to come and watch the girls while we took Kate to the ER. While we waited for her to arrive, Paul took Kate into the steamy bathroom and had a hot shower going... the steam seamed to break some of the congestion up and then I heard THE cough. Croup. No doubt about that... We decided to still go to the ER, since her breathing sounded so bad. Within 15 minutes of arriving at the ER we already had seen the nurse, doctor, had our diagnosis of croup and had a dose of steroids to help with the inflammation of her lungs. A breathing treatment started shortly after that. Luckily Kate slept through most of the breathing treatment. Paul and I tried to get some rest on the comfortable ER bed... LOL. I'm pretty sure Paul was able to get an hour or two of sleep there, but I couldn't sleep listening to Kate's breathing. It sounded so bad. Luckily within 3 hours it was getting better and we were allowed to go home. I pushed and pushed for permission to go home, I knew that we could treat her just fine at home, and the steroids were obviously kicking in. We got home about 4ish and I slept till about 6. Kate woke up sounding a lot better... still croupy but better than last night.

Getting the energy out...

I'm trying to be a better blogger, can you tell? Two posts in one week? Is it possible?
Lily's new thing the past two weeks or so is running laps around the house, or laps around the swingset in the yard, yelling that she has to get the energy out. I don't mind so much when its outside, but I normally have a problem with running in the house. Not really a habit I'd like to get into, but none the less, I have to giggle a bit when she does it. I think thats one of the hardest things about being a mom, trying not to laugh and keep a straight face at times. Generally though, our days are full of laughter. The things that come out of the girls' mouths are usually hilarious and they certainly keep me entertained.
Kate's new thing is rolling as a form of transportation, haha. I was so not prepared for my 5 month old to be able to roll across the house in a matter of minutes... literally. I guess I was pretty spoiled with Lily and Julia... both of them were late rollers, and were actually sitting up unassisted before they rolled over. And they never rolled in order to be mobile. Kate is a speed roller, and will literally be across the room in seconds. I should definitely try to get it on video.
Julia has been suffering with a bit of the sniffles this week, but I think we are on the tail end of it now, which I'm happy about. She's been more clingy than normal and so much more shy in new situations... I'm sure its just her not feeling well, and I'm certainly not complaining about the extra snuggles either.

Mom's Night Out

Once a month I get together for a Mom's night out with four of my friends. We met about a year ago when our children started preschool together. For 4 of us it was the first time we sent our child off to preschool. Last night was one of our nights together and we got together at one of friends' houses for good drinks, good food and of course great conversation. It dawned on me as I was driving that the 5 of us are completely different people but we somehow come together and have a great time. The 5 of us come from different walks of life, between us we have experienced divorce, adultery, annulment, stillbirth, adoption, infertility, unplanned pregnancies, we are SAHMs, working mommies, student mommies, we have had home births, elective cesareans, emergency c/s, inductions and natural childbirth, some of us breastfeed, some of us formula feed... the list of all our differences could go on and on... but all that aside, we each have a 4 year old that at some point was diagnosed with a learning delay. In the past year I have really grown to love and care for these women. We definitely have our differences, but I love listening to them and learning from them. I have such a fun time with them and really look forward to my one night out a month.

Now enough about me....

Lily started preschool this week, and has done fabulously well at her new school. I've managed the morning time rush quite well I think. I've forgotten how quiet the house is without her here. Julia and I have enjoyed our time together as well. Most times I can get Kate down for a little nap in the morning, so that gives Julia and I some time together. I've also signed Julia up for a couple activities during the week. She starts her gym class today, which her aunt is taking her to. This will give me some nice time with Lily, which I'm looking forward to as well. I'm constantly feeling like I'm not giving each of them the one on one time they need... but both of them seem to be doing wonderfully, so I can't be doing that bad of a job. I also have Julia signed up for story time at our local library on Mondays and for a Farm class on Fridays. I think she'll really love the farm class, she'll be spending time outside, visiting animals, and whatnot. Julia's been going through a very shy phases, so I'm hoping that having these activities helps her socialize a bit better. She does great with familiar faces or if Lily is around... but if she's without Lily then she clams up most of the time.

Kate is doing pretty well too. My big girl is 5 months now and growing so big. I spent a good portion of this week getting all her 6-9 month clothes out, because she has certainly outgrown her 3-6 month clothes. I haven't even given solids a thought yet, I'm just so content with how she's growing and nursing, that the thought to add anything in the mix hasn't really crossed my mind. She's still waking to nurse at night, but she's only 5 months, and I have expectation of sleep at this age... haha.

yeah its been like 4 months

I have sat down a few times in the past few months to write a new blog post... but then someone starts crying, or someone is hungry, or someone needs to go potty, or the phone rings, etc... you get the idea. To say that having three kids is difficult is an understatement most days. But all in all we are adjusting rather well to being a family of five. The summer has been busy but relaxing at the same time.... if you can even relax with an infant in the house. Lily and Julia are outside all the time and its such a joy to watch them discover new things in their world. A couple weeks ago we had a mockingbird build a nest outside our guest room window. The girls were able to watch the bird build the nest, the eggs hatch, the babies eat, and learn how to fly. It was amazing, and so much fun to watch through their eyes. I do have to say that mommy bird was awfully busy!!!! In just 4 days her babies grew up and spread their wings.
We've also been doing some traveling, just locally. We've visited my sister in law in Long Island, went to Rochester a few times, and done some local things as well. My parents have visited us a couple times as well, and we are even planning another trip up there this weekend for a few days. Paul is even coming, so I'm excited. He hasn't visited Rochester in about 1 1/2 years, so he's due for a lovely family gathering, haha.
Paul is doing really well at work. Working lots of overtime, but its well worth it. He really seems to enjoy his job for the most part. Kate is growing like a weed as well. At 4 months she was 15lbs and 14oz... up from 7lbs 7oz at birth. She's exclusively breastfeeding, no bottles or anything. I'm really happy about it because for the first time, I don't have to pump, and its awesome! I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything because she doesn't take a bottle either. I still feel like I have freedom to go out for an hour or two when I'd like. She goes anywhere from 4-6 hours at night, so when she's down for the night, Paul and I have a bit of time if we wanted to go on a "date" or something (which we have once, LOL). I'm also cloth diapering this time, which I'm loving! Its so much fun (yeah its not your mama's or even your grandmother's cloth diapers)... no pins, no soaking, none of that. I love it. Besides being great for the environment, its easy on the checkbook too. Plus, she looks adorable sporting a pink or purple diaper! haha... yeah I'm a big dork.

Today marks my 27th birthday.... and I have to say its been about the girls today. We had a playdate this morning, played outside a lot this afternoon and had frenchfries with our dinner... yummy. And ya know what, as I was reading them a book tonight at bedtime, I realized I couldn't have asked for a better birthday. I've got three absolutely beautiful little girls, who are healthy and happy... I have a husband that works his a s s off every day so that I'm able to be home. Sure, I may not have the best sleeping 4 month old, or I may have the sassiest 4 year old or the whinest 2 year old... but in the grand scheme of things, those things won't matter... and I love it. So happy birthday to me. Life rocks.

and her name is....

Kate Elizabeth


We are calling her Katie as of right now.

And she's here!

Birth story... part two.

After the 14 hours of labor I experienced on Tuesday, I was feeling pretty discouraged on Wednesday. I was emotionally and physically exhausted. Luckily, my body knew what it needed to do, I slept the best Wednesday night than I had any other night in my entire pregnancy. I slept for a solid 6 hours, then again for another solid 3 hours. Totally not normal for me, but soooo incredibly needed. I woke up feeling refreshed on Thursday morning. I started the day knowing full well that I was not in control of when my baby would arrive, and I had surrendered to the fact. One of my best friends, Krista, was planning on coming over to help me with the girls during the day. Before she arrived I spoke to my midwife, and we talked about "nudging" the baby along... not "evicting", but possibly nudging. She suggested a pedicure with a foot massage and acupuncture. She brought up herbs and Castor oil as well, and since I had no experience in that, I asked her about it. She suggested, that in order to "nudge" the baby along, to just start with 1/2 teaspoon the next day, and maybe 1 teaspoon the day after. She warned me that "evicting" the baby would be doing a couple tablespoons every 4 hours during the day, and that was too much. I completely agreed with her, and decided that maybe the next day I would attempt it. I asked Krista to pick some up for me on her way over.
Around 11am, about an hour before Krista arrived, I noticed a contraction. Wooptie do da... I'd been having them for days and weeks... so I obviously thought this one was no different. The girls and I went and played outside, and I noticed that they were coming about every 6 minutes apart. Krista arrived after lunch time with the Castor Oil, but I just set it aside on the counter, didn't think to even try it. When the girls went down for their nap, Krista, being the greatest ever, offered to go to the grocery store for me and pick up a few things. Once she left, and the girls were sleeping, the contractions picked up to every 4 minutes. They were about the same intensity that the contractions I had experienced in the early part of Tuesday were, so obviously I didn't think too much about it. However, as promised, I called my midwives and just let them know what was going on. When the girls woke up from their nap, Krista and I took them back outside to play and the contractions spaced out again, to about 6 minutes apart. Paul arrived home around 5 and we made dinner. Immediately the contractions picked up again, about every 3-4 minutes. I called Susan, my midwife, to let her know, and she said she'd be right over. Susan arrived around 6 or so and checked me. The baby sounded good and I was making some progress. My cervix had completely thinned out and the baby's head was a lot lower. It was good to know that progress was being made. Susan left about an hour or so later, to get some dinner with my other midwife, Birdie, and told me to call back if anything changed. Once the girls were in bed, Krista stayed at the house while Paul and I went for a walk. Contractions were coming every 3 minutes while we were walking and when we got home they spaced out a bit. I decided to just go upstairs and lay down. Krista left a bit later, and I called Susan at 9pm to let her know that things weren't getting any more intense, but that I was still having the contractions. I told her that so far it seemed to be pretty much the same as before, so I wasn't getting my hopes up. Her and Birdie decided to stop back over and just listen to the baby and check me again. No cervical changes had been made at 10pm, 4 hours after my last exam. I wasn't too concerned though, I figured, if this was the real thing, it was going to happen sooner or later, and if it wasn't, I was fine with just going to bed. Baby's heart rate seemed to be pretty fast and the baby was super active during my contractions. Around 10:45 or so I decided to try and go to bed. Birdie was going to hang out for a bit, then head home, and Susan decided to spend the night, just in case. Within minutes of going upstairs, contractions hit hard and fast. I came downstairs around 11 and went into full labor mode. I wanted to get in the pool that very minute, which obviously wasn't realistic, but Paul and Birdie started getting it ready. They emptied the hot water heater, boiled water, etc. Leading up until the point that I got into the pool, contractions were hard and fast. Once I was able to get into the pool I felt a lot more comfortable (for the time being at least!). Paul had called my friend Jen (who was acting as a doula for me) to come over and she arrived around 12:30am or so. She was there to hold my hand, put cold washcloths on my head and my neck, get me to drink juice, etc. I can't say enough about how incredibly helpful she was to me. Birdie checked me around 1am or so, and I was about 8cm dilated and the head was super low. Contractions were not easy and I had a difficult time coping through some of them. I remembered Julia's labor, where my midwife at that time broke my water, and it sent me right into transition and Julia was born 45 minutes later. I kept thinking, if only Birdie would break my water, then I know it would be over in less than an hour. I even begged her and Susan to at a few points, and they would say things like "lets do one more contraction", or "lets just get through the next one", and other positive things. I remember feeling whiny, but at the same time grateful for the minute breaks between contractions. I lived for each of those breaks, it allowed me to regain some composure, change positions, and remind myself that I was doing this, and that I could. Thank God for those breaks, because if I didn't have them, I honestly don't know how'd I cope. I remember getting "pushy" feeling... and wondering if I could push. I started to bear down a bit and I was able to feel my baby move down more. I thought that since Julia came out in two pushes, so would this one. Let this be a reminder that no two labor or deliveries are ever the same! My water still hadn't broken, and I was very concerned that this was holding me back. Soon I felt what I thought was the head starting to come out. I remember feeling the need to be gentle with my pushes, I didn't want to tear. This however was not the head, it was the bag of water. I was shocked it took me three pushes to just get the bag out, and dreaded doing it again for the head. The head was right behind the bag of water, and few contractions and pushes later I was able to push the head out. I waited for another contractions and pushed a couple of times to get the shoulders out. I honestly thought the shoulders were more difficult than the head, and I don't remember that being the case with Julia's labor or even Lily's. Again proving to me, I couldn't base one labor on another, haha. I ended up delivering her on all fours, and when I was handed her, I was able to sit down. I went to pull her up towards my chest, and wasn't able to. Her cord was super super short and I wasn't able to pull her out above the water. We got out of the tub pretty quickly and I delivered the placenta about 20-30 minutes later. After examining me, Birdie said I had a little "skidmark", and she could give me one stitch, but if I was careful during my recovery, it wasn't necessary. So we opted out of the stitch, because if there is one thing in the world that hurts more than giving birth... its the sutures that follow it. haha. During the newborn exam, Susan said she was worried about the sound of the fluid in the baby. However once the baby was suctioned and was able to nurse, everything was fine. Our baby was born covered in vernix, which means that she was not late at all. She was born at 1:48am, 7lbs 7oz, and 21 inches long. Our longest baby yet!

As for a name, we don't have one yet, but I'll keep you posted!

Birth Story Part One

Part One....

My due date based on conception was April 4, so that put me at 4 days past my due date when another round of contractions started on April 8. For over a week, I'd go through spurts of regular contractions, but they'd always fizzle out. I assumed on this time would be no different. However, in attempts to get labor started, I walked around outside with the kids, kept active making dinner, and tried to keep the contractions going. Around 5:30pm the contractions weren't letting up, some were getting harder to concentrate during, and they were coming a bit closer together, anywhere from 4-5 minutes apart. I called my midwife, Susan, to give her a heads up, but to let her know they could very well fizzle like they had in the past week. She called back to check on me about an hour later. At this point the contractions were definitely more painful then they had been, and some were even coming 3 minutes apart. She decided to come over and check me, to see if any progress was being made... worst cast senario, it was false labor again, and we'd just do our normal prenatal appointment that we had scheduled for the next morning. Susan arrive around 7:30 pm. After my cervical check, she estimated I was about 4cm dilated, sometimes even a 6 during a contraction. However the head was still high, my cervix was very long and thick. We assumed I was in the early stages of labor. Susan called the other midwife, Birdie, and after talking, decided Birdie would come over as well just to see what was going on. Contractions started picking up a bit more and I found myself rocking, moaning, and concentrating the best I could through all of them. They were still coming every 3-4 minutes, but definitely increasing in intensity. I called my friend Jen, who was planning on being present for the birth, and she headed over as well. Both Birdie and Jen arrived between 9-10pm. We all hung out and chatted while I dealt with each contraction. Around 11:15 I sent Paul to bed. I knew that I'd want him rested for whatever came next. Susan, Birdie and Jen all decided to rest as well, and I headed upstairs to lay down around 11:45pm. Within minutes of laying down, I immediately noticed a change in my contractions. They were much closer together, and incredibly more painful. After laying down and trying to deal with them for about 45 minutes, I took a nice shower. After my shower, I layed back down and immediately the contractions started back up again. I headed back downstairs around 1:30am and talked to Jen. She woke up my midwives after seeing me trying to cope through a couple of these "new" contractions. Birdie checked me and I was 5cm dilated, with my cervix thinning out, the baby was dropping lower, etc. I got a nasty case of nausea and to top it off I was experiencing hot and cold flashes. This went on till about 4am. Around then I noticed that I'd go 10 or 15 minutes with no contractions, then 15 minutes of straight painful contractions. Definitely not a "normal" labor pattern. At around 5am, the contractions pretty much fizzled out and I headed upstairs back to bed with Paul feeling discouraged and upset. I sobbed in bed for about 10-15 minutes. I was exhausted... I felt like my body didn't know what to do. I felt defeated.
Julia woke up at 6:30am, and thus began my day. My midwives and Jen all left around 8am or so. Before leaving Birdie checked me one more time and said that my contractions were obviously doing something... progress has been made.
So now its a wait and see sorta thing...

I'm physically and emotionally exhausted. 1 1/2 hours of sleep is just not enough for me today.

overdue

Eeek... I am not enjoying being overdue at this point. I really thought I'd have my baby by now. I really should shut up though, because this baby could come at anytime and when he/she does he or she will certainly throw our world upside down. I guess I wouldn't really be complaining too much if I wasn't having contractions all the time. For the past week or so, I've been having consistent painful contractions that haven't amounted to anything. Hopefully they will soon and my next blog entry will be announcing our newest addition... but in the meantime I'll just complain.

6 days to go

My due date is 6 days from today. I was perfectly content being pregnant last week, I was enjoying the last part, not too uncomfortable, I was doing really well.... until this week hit. I feel like I've been run over by a pile of bricks. I'm so over the pregnant thing at this point. I'm ready to look down and see my feet. I'm ready to not have to pee every 5 minutes. I"m just ready to meet this little person inside of me, give him/her a name, and snuggle up.
Everything is going really well though, all my midwife appointments are pretty uneventful at this point. I'm measuring right on target, blood pressure is good, weight gain has stopped (in fact I lost 6lbs last week!). No cervical checks are being done, so I don't know if all my Braxton Hicks Contractions are doing anything, but I'm sure they are. I'm pretty excited for my homebirth!
Paul and the girls are doing well. Paul is FINALLY done field training as of Easter Sunday. What this means is that he is on his own now, and able to pick up lots of overtime. In fact, since ending field training 6 days ago, he's picked up three overtime shifts. We haven't seen much of him this week, and I know that he's super tired... but I know he is doing what he thinks is best for our family. He's planning on being home at least one week (if not more) when I have the baby, so he's just trying to save up some extra money for while he's home. But to be honest, I miss him a bit. Not to mention HIS children are driving me insane... LOL.
The girls are actually doing pretty well. Lily is going through a SUPER sassy stage that I honestly have no patience for. The things that come out of her mouth make my head spin, but after some "gentle" reminders about the nice way to talk, and a few time outs, or "quiet time" in her bedroom, she gets the picture. She is very excited to meet the baby, and talks about all the things she is going to teach the baby. Julia is doing really well. She has perfected the art of going limp in your arms and belting out a scream that could crack glass. I keep reminding myself (and Paul) that she is ALMOST two, so its to be expected. I honestly think she's easier at this age than Lily was at this age.. mostly because she can talk and verbalize with Paul and I as to what she wants and doesn't want. She is currently on an Elmo kick. I hate it, but she loves it, so we go with it.
All in all, we are all doing pretty well. I'm trying to be patient waiting for this little boy/girl to make his/her appearance. Wish us luck!

36 weeks 2 days

Can you believe it? I certainly can't! In just 4 weeks my world will be turned upside down with the arrival of baby #3. Gender is still a surprise and the name is unknown to even Paul and I. I have a name in mind... just have to convince Paul. I really can't believe its already March... spring is coming. Lily asks me just about every morning if its spring yet. I keep wanting to say yes, but then we get more snow. Ugh. The snow has all melted here but its still really cold, windy and rainy most days. You can tell that spring is coming though.

I bought Lily and Julia their Easter dresses this week, they match of course. Just have to pick up matching sweaters and their outfits will be complete. My parents are coming to visit Easter weekend so I know the girls will have a wonderful time. Our Church is having an Easter Egg hunt for the children after Easter Service, so I know the girls will just love that!!!

Paul and I are planning on getting the girls and Baby baptized on Mother's Day this year. I am really excited about it. Not so excited about hosting such a large party afterwards... but I know it will be a special day for our family. I'm hoping some of our out of town family is able to make it. We asked our good friends Jeff and Jenn to be the Godparents for all three of our children, and they happily accepted. Jeff and Paul are childhood friends (Paul stood up in his wedding last July, as did Lily as the flower girl). I'm looking forward to sharing our children's lives with them. Hopefully our children don't scare them out of having children themselves, haha!! Paul always says a night with our kids serves as birth control for most.

Paul is doing really well at work. The schedule changes have been hard for the girls to get used to, but we are managing the best we can. I'll be so happy when he's done field training and can start picking up more overtime. We've added the expense of a carpayment this month. There was no way I was going to be able to fit three car seats into the Honda or the Jetta, so we traded in my beloved Civic for a Nissan Quest Minivan... thats right folks... I'm officially a soccer mom. It was sad to say goodbye to the Civic... thats been my car since 2002, and has seen me through lots of wild college memories. But the time had definitely come to buy a more family friendly car. So now I'm driving my mini van, and loving it. Thats right, I love it. Shhhhh, don't tell anyone. I'll never admit to it again.

31 weeks, 3 days

Ummm yeah, I have a baby coming in 2 friggen months. Have I done ANYTHING to prepare? Umm, not really. Ok thats a lie, I ordered my birth kit. Woohoo. I have a list of supplies I need to get as well. I have time, right? I'm oddly relaxed about this whole thing. I remember being pregnant with Lily and having all the first time mom anxiety... I remember being pregnant with Julia and having anxiety about wanting a natural childbirth, and anxiety about breastfeeding, and anxiety about having a second child (Could I love another as much?).... this time, I'm not really having any anxiety. I KNOW I'll love this child as much as my two girls, I know I can birth naturally, and I know I can breastfeed. Of course there is the fear of the unknown... can I take three children grocery shopping and survive? But I figure, that comes with the territory of motherhood. I am pretty excited about not having to go back to work this time around. With Lily and Julia I spent most of my postpartum time trying to figure out how I was supposed to leave my baby at 7 weeks... granted it was with Paul, but still, it was like this gloom was looming over my maternity leave. This time, I don't have that. I don't have to leave. I get to stay home with my baby. No worries about pumping enough milk....

This past weekend, my friend Jen and I went to see a documentary, The Business of Being Born. It was amazing! First off, I got a night out without kids and a husband... I honestly don't remember the last time that has happened, maybe in years? haha. Secondly, it is an amazing documentary. I think it should be required viewing for every woman. I went in thinking it could very well end up being this big pro-home birth propaganda filled movie. But it really wasn't. It stressed the importance of a woman's responsibility to research her child birth options and take the responsibility of her birth away from her doctor and place it on herself. It made a lot of sense to me. I really enjoyed it. The documentary really solidified my desire to have my home birth. I am so excited and looking forward to it. I know what I'm doing/planning on is safest for me and my child.

Ok I"m getting off my soap box now. LOL