Lila's Birth story

I went for my 39/40 week midwife appointment on Wednesday, March 17th. The week before I was 3cm and 50% effaced so I was hoping labor was not too far off. I got another cervical check and was now 4cm dilated! I couldn't believe I was 4cm and not in labor! At least things were moving along though.

We decided to spend the night at my parents house that night instead of driving the hour and a half home since they live only about 25 minutes from the birth center. I had my membranes stripped at my appointment and since it worked when we did it with Lochy I thought there was a possibility I would go into labor that night. If not we'd head home in the morning and continue to wait. My Mom and sister were supposed to be there with us at the birth center and my sister decided to spend the night at my parents' house too after she went out with friends for St. Patty's Day that night.

After my appointment I was contracting but it was no different than the contractions I had been getting for the past few months (just more Braxton Hicks nonsense that started when I was 17 weeks) and by dinner time I was feeling fine. This was a completely normal daily occurance for me so I was sure that night was not the night and we'd be heading home in the morning.

I was watching a show with Ian at 10pm and was ready to head to bed at 10:30 when it was over. I was laying on the couch and at 10:15pm my first contraction hit! I knew this was it and that this contraction was different. I told Ian that I was heading up to bed and that if he wanted any sleep that night to go to bed now because this was going to be it. I kept having to go to the bathroom after every contraction so neither of us got any sleep. At 11:10pm (55 minutes after my first contraction) as I was sitting on the potty my water broke everywhere! Every time any medical professional felt my belly they always commented on how much fluid was in there and boy were they right. The fluid just kept coming and coming and it was everywhere. I yelled for Ian to get me a pad and to call the midwife. The pad was completely pointless because as soon as I stood up it was completely soaked. I knew from my labors with the boys that when my water breaks in labor I have about 45 minutes til I'm holding a baby, so the clock was ticking! Our car was blocked in by my Dad's work van as well as my Mom's car so I got into her car and waited and waited. My Mom had lost her car keys (again!) and it took them a good 10 minutes to find them. The whole time I'm contracting and am completely soaked because the fluid just kept coming. I have no idea how far apart the contractions were at this point because I was so focused on them finding the darn keys and getting going!

Finally Ian found the keys and we were off. Things were getting more intense now and I was starting to panic that we weren't going to make it in time. Thankfully it was late so there was no traffic to contend with. The ride there though was pretty awful because I couldn't relax and couldn't focus on my hypnobirthing because I was so panicked we were going to be delivering her on the side of the road. We arrived at the birth center at about 11:45pm and as I walked into my room (the same one I delivered Lochy in!) I started pushing. My whole body was shaking and I couldn't catch my breath. Everything was just so intense, so much more so than it had ever been with either of the boys. After that contraction I got my wet clothes off and got on the bed so they could listen to her heartbeat with the doppler and check my cervix. The midwife said I was 8cm and completely effaced. They were going to administer a heplock just in case I needed an IV since I had hemorrhaged after I had Lochy but there was no time. They told Ian that if he wanted to catch her to go wash his hands now because she was coming. There just wasn't time so he stayed with me and held my hand. The next contraction came and I tried not to push because I was only 8cm but I had to, there was no holding back and by the end of that contraction her head was halfway out! With the next contraction, Lila Agnes was born at 11:52pm completely covered in vernix! She weighed 8lbs 14oz and was 21 inches long. It only took 1 hour and 37 minutes from first contraction to holding her in my arms--she really wanted that St. Patty's Day birthday!

I was so surprised at how fast she came. I was expecting about a 6 hour labor since that's roughly how long the boys' labors were. Boy was I wrong! And I'm so glad that we decided to stay at my parent's house that night because if we had come back home there is no way we would have made it to the birth center in time and Ian would have had to deliver her on the side of the road. We both agreed that next time would absolutely have to be a homebirth (like we wanted this time) just so we wouldn't have to worry about going anywhere! LOL

I am so thankful to have my little girl here and she is such a wonderful and amazing baby! She nurses excellently and has from the first moment, she sleeps great, and is just so easy going and serene. She is quite the Daddy's girl too and loves to snuggle up with Ian which is something our boys would never do. We are truly blessed and very lucky and love her so much!

New pictures to come as soon as I find the camera cord.

Update on us

There isn't a ton to update and unfortunately I have no pictures. This computer is awful and has now decided not to let me upload pics. I'm trying to work on it but so far its a no go.

We had a great Christmas this year. We kept it very low key and stayed at home. We had a great Christmas Eve dinner which my parents were also there for and they stayed the night as well. Liam and Loch loved having both sets of grandparents there Christmas morning! They got a lot of great presents and had a blast playing all day. We decided last year that we wouldn't be going out and about on Christmas day and I'm so glad we stuck to it! It was so nice not having to run around for once.

My Liam turned 4 on December 30th! I can't believe how big he is getting. It seems like he was just a little baby not too long ago and now he's such a big boy! I hate how the time flies but I love watching him learn and grow so much. We had a nice little party for him on January 2nd and he got lots of great presents.

It's been really cold here lately so outside time has pretty much been non existent, especially since we're all battling colds still to a degree. I'll take the cold over the hot weather any day though!

Ian and I are still car shopping, which really sucks! I hate looking for a car (Honda Odyssey to be exact) but it's something we absolutely need before the new baby comes and our time line is getting shorter and shorter for that. Hopefully soon we'll find something!

I cannot wait until March as this little girl is getting really painful to carry. Between all the contractions, cramping, and intense pelvic pain and pressure I don't know how I'm going to make it another 9 weeks (or more!). Obviously I want her baking as long as possible but I could use a little break. I'm already dilated and effaced (as of 29 weeks) so I've been trying to take it easy (easier said than done with two little guys to keep up with) as much as possible. As much as I want Lila here, I don't want her here anytime soon! As long as she comes between February 20th and April 3rd I'm good since I can only deliver at the birth center between those dates and a hospital is just about the last place I want to have her.

We're all gearing up for Jaclyn's wedding which is fast approaching too! Just a few more weeks! So it'll be very busy around here the next couple months! Hopefully I'll have some pictures to share soon.

Christmas Pictures

We took the boys to get their Christmas pictures done a few days ago. I'm so happy with how they turned out! Lochy was a little shy at first but the lady was great and he warmed up very quickly. Only a few more weeks til Christmas and Liam's 4th birthday!!!

Here's some of the shots:

Diaper Free!!!

Well, we are 10 days now diaper free! Lochy was super eager to go on the potty full time and my little man is doing a fantastic job. The first 2 days he had a bit of a hard time getting his poop timing down--he tended to tell me as he was pooping and therefore too late. But he's been great ever since and has even stayed dry during naps and overnight!

I feel kinda bad because he was really ready back in July but between the morning sickness, fatigue, and then my father in law's heart attack the consistency just wasn't there on my end. So he was a part time underwear wearer. Plus we had a hard time finding underwear to fit him since he's so little.

He's so proud to be a big boy and I'm so incredibly proud of him!!! We had to get another seat for the upstairs toilet though because he and Liam seem to poop at the same time of day and that's where our initial accidents were coming from. All is well now that we're equipped to handle the double load.

Halloween and Spilling the Beans

We had a great time trick or treating this year! They boys warmed up quickly to it and by the 3rd house were yelling "Trick or Treat!!!" before we even rang the bell! I haven't uploaded the pictures of them in their costumes yet but Lochy was a puppy (he picked it out) and Liam was a tiger. They looked so cute even though Loch wouldn't leave the puppy ears on and no one knew what he was.

I do have some pictures from our pumpkin painting and carving extravaganza. They had such a great time doing this and it's something we've done every year since Liam's first Halloween when he was just 10 months old.

Here they are starting out:




Lochy's messiness begins:


And the aftermath:


Ok and now for spilling the beans. We've kept it under wraps for as long as possible but with my sister's shower yesterday just about everyone now knows that

I AM PREGNANT!!!!!

That's right! Another baby is on the way!!! This week I will be 22 weeks pregnant and I'm due mid March. We did find out the gender. I wanted it to be a suprise but Ian really wanted to know. It was more important for him to know than it was for me to be surprised so we did find out. We are all very excited to be welcoming a baby girl to our family!!! Her name is Lila Agnes (Agnes after Ian's Grandma who passed away on Easter in 2007) and we can't wait to meet her!

So far she is much more mellow than the boys. She definitely has her active times of the day but she's not nonstop like the boys were. Everything is going well so far. I am a little bummed I won't be getting my homebirth this time like we wanted but I'll be back at the birth center I had Lochy at so I'm happy with how things have turned out. I haven't gained any weight yet and I'm actually still 2 pounds below pre-pregnancy weight (although to look at me you'd never know that!). Morning sickness ended at 13 1/2 weeks and my old friend Braxton Hicks contractions started up at 17 weeks. I get several every day, more if I over do it. Well, that's about it for now. I'll probably post more about the pregnancy over the coming months. In the meantime here's a few pictures of Lila:

She was moving around like crazy so it was hard to get some good shots. I guess too much apple juice got her going! LOL




And the ever important "money shot"

Update on the boys

It has been absolutely forever since I've given an update on the boys. I guess there really hasn't been much new to tell.

We did find a new pediatrician only minutes from our house that we love and am so happy with! So at the beginnin of the month we took the boys for a well check up. Lochy's 2 year (2 months late) and Liam's 4 year (almost 3 months early). I wasn't planning on sharing that Lochy was still nursing (he weaned a couple days ago at 26 months old) but the milk question came up. So I had to tell her that no he doesn't drink cow's milk but he still nurses then I braced myself. To my delight (and surprise) she said, "That's great!" And she was totally cool with us holding off on vaccinations til he's at least 3. I can't begin to say how wonderful it is to have a pediatrician that is supportive of our parenting choices.

Lochy pitched a fit about having to take off his clothes to get weighed and measured. He was fighting me taking off his shirt and kept yelling, "NO, I'm handsome!" He thought he looked pretty good that day and didn't want to lose it I guess. LOL

They are both small for their ages--big surprise. Of course we knew that already. Liam weighs 30lbs and Lochy weighs 23lbs. They are both the same proportionately. They are 25% for height and 3% for weight. She was not at all concerned saying that's just the way they are and just to make sure they eat every couple hours. We do that so we're not concerned especially since Ian was always small growing up, though you'd never know that to look at him now.

Developmentally they are doing great too. Two very smart little boys if I do say so myself! I couldn't be prouder of my guys, they really are such a blessing even though they can really drive me nuts! Lochy is going through a biting phase that is getting really old but he mostly does it when he's excited, like he can't help himself. We're working on it though. Mostly they play really nicely together though they definitely like to push each others buttons. I can't help but laugh sometimes at the way they tease each other.

We had a great time picking out our pumpkins and the boys had a great time painting theirs. It's obvious why we strip down to t-shirts and underwear when we paint (at least for Lochy). I have some pics of that I still need to upload but here's a couple others that are fairly recent:

Liam:


And Lochy trying to race cars on Xbox (the last hair buzz of the year):

Happy Birthday Lochlann!!!

Well I'm a little late and I have no pictures yet but my baby turned 2 this past Friday (the 21st)! I can't believe he's 2 already! Where did the time go?

He's definitely a hand full and my "spirited" child. But I wouldn't have him any other way. He keeps me on my toes and is a real joy.

He had a great birthday on Friday and Grammy came up to celebrate with us. We had pizza and some ice cream cake. His party won't be until the 5th of September since Roger, my father in law, suffered a massive heart attack about a month ago. We almost lost him twice but he's been home for a few weeks now and doing great! We just wanted to give him an extra couple weeks to feel a little better.

I'll have pictures of the small party for sure and in the mean time hope to get a few recent ones of the boys. This time is going by so fast. Before I know it it'll be a couple more months and my Liam will be 4!