Olivia Rose

Our dear sweet Olivia Rose arrived last Friday afternoon. We have been so busy enjoying her company and getting adjusted to our new lives together.

Birth story:
As you know I was scheduled to be induced Friday as a precaution for my blood clot history. What a different kind of experience than a natural unplanned delivery. My parents and Carmen were all at home watching C. She got treated to the hilt! I don't think she missed us one bit! That of course put us at ease.
Nate and I took our time getting to the hospital. We checked into the maternity ward like we were checking into a hotel.:) the nurse took me to our room and let us get settled before bringing the dr in for our consultation.
It was decided that pitocin would be the best start for inducing. Induction began at noon. Nate and I tried to rest, watch tv, chat etc.... The impending pain was all I could think of.
Contractions were coming at a steady pace but nothing that was super painful. Finally 2 1/2 hours into it my contractions were strong enough I couldn't talk through them. I was 6cm. An hour later my water broke... That's when everything started happening fast!! My contractions were very close and really painful. I could tell we were only minutes away from meeting our daughter. The nurse who had been with us from the beginning was about to go on a shift change.... She was very familiar with my past delivery and complications. So she stayed as long as she could until the next nurse was there and updated. I really appreciated that!! The urge to push came really quickly. I called for the dr. The nurse said she had to check me first. This of course made me panic as I knew the cause of my last delivery complications was due to an absent dr there to deliver my baby. One nurse mentioned this was my last opportunity for an epidural if I wanted one. I knew this would slow down my delivery so I said YES PLEASE!!
In an instant I was given a spinal/epidural. (Insert a chorus of hallelujahs here. )
The dr came in, got ready, asked me to push... 3 pushes later we meet Olivia Rose. The whole induction took 4 hours. It was a quick one! But we were so ready to meet our little girl.
My first thought when I saw her was "oh wow! She looks just like Charlotte!" they really look so much alike from their baby pictures.
Her stats:
7lbs 3oz
19 3/4in long
Brown hair
Blue eyes
Petite... Newborn clothes are huge on her.:)

I did end up with a second degree tear but it's really not that painful. My recovery this time around is already night and day different from the last one. We are thanking the Lord for that blessing!

Nate is home this week to help out and to enjoy these first few days with the new family. It's been wonderful having this time together. We feel so blessed with these two little girls.

More updates to come. But right now it's nap time!!

Progress

Well I had my final dr. apt today to see how things are progressing. I was at a 2 last time and today I was 3-4cm! Yay!
I have my apt all scheduled and we're ready with the car seat, packed bags etc..
My babysitters are arriving tomorrow for the week. =) All exciting news. I can really tell this is going to happen soon!

I really appreciate my midwife Stacey. She is just so great! She found a dr to watch over my labor who she really respects and she gave him all the details about my complications last time. He said he would look after me. I'm really feeling good about this.

And from the sound of it, I could try to still do a natural labor because of how far along I've progressed. We'll see. I'm trying not to have expectations of a fast labor, but it could still be quick.

more details to come....

Finish line?

I can see the finish line, but I'm not sure if I'm running towards it or parked at a picnic bench starring at it.

I have one week to go. Signs are pointing that it could be sooner. Of course I'm trying all kinds of things. Suddenly doing lunges down my hallway is the new mode of walking in this house. I heard pineapple juice helps.... Check tried that. Long walks... C might be tired of walking by now.

All this to say I am ready to have this baby. Or maybe I should rephrase that... I am ready to not be pregnant!
Huge difference. I'm not sure I will ever be "ready" to welcome a new little one in the house. I am eager to meet her... Just also a little nervous about how our daily lives will change. I know it will be wonderful. I'm excited for c to have a sister and I feel blessed to be able to add another child to this family. Change also naturally makes me nervous. And boy have we had a lot of change in these past few months.

I am eagerly hugging my pillow at night as though I'm saying goodbye to a best friend for a while. I've been trying to have friends come over almost every day in anticipation of isolation. Many changes to come.... Many wonderful changes to come.

I'm ready to get this party started!!!

Getting closer

C had her dr apt last week. Turns out she has bronchitis and two ear infections. No wonder she hasn't been herself! The antibiotics really seem to be working well. Yesterday she was acting a lot more like herself.
I had cabin fever, so we did take a walk into town. She was all bundled up with her baby doll and kitty cat ( her two best friends.... They go everywhere with her). I think the outside air was good for both of us!

Well I am officially in the safe zone to have this baby. I'm waiting on an email from my midwife to know when my scheduled induction date will be. This is just a funny way to have a child- scheduled. I will be able to walk into the hospital pain free and check in at the front desk as though I was checking into a hotel. What a different experience from last time. With c, I could hardly walk or even talk to the ladies at the check in. Our conversation was interrupted by me breathing through contractions! This will be a new kind of experience.

Today I am freezing a few meals in preparation of being a busy mom.

Final stretch

As I get closer to my due date I find sleep to be harder and harder to get. Insomnia mixed with c waking up as well as the third trimester bathroom stops all break down to being up almost every hour.
Nap time with c has become a new necessity for me. And it's actually very peaceful. Ive never really been a mid day napper but I'm definitely learning to look forward to even just laying still for a while during the middle of the day. That seems to recharge me like a nap would.
I realize I have it pretty good that I can even take time to rest in my day. Some moms have several children who may nap at different times of the day or they may have home jobs that take up that quiet space during their day.
So I'm certainly grateful that I can nap.. Even as I write this at 4am.
Now to try to sleep.:)

Beautiful weekend

This weekend has been so beautiful! Perfect for playing outside and going on walks. In fact, C and I went on a long walk with some friends from church on Friday morning. We went to 2 different parks and let the kids play for a while. C wasn't really interested in the playground which is just not like her at all. We came home and I put her down for a nap. When she woke up, her entire body was on fire with a fever. I guess it's a virus going around. It lasts a few days. She doesn't seem too affected by it during the day....still runs around playing with her favorite little toy friends. But at night she just cannot sleep at all.

Last night Nate just stayed in her room and slept on the floor. I'm so grateful for him. There is no way I can sleep on the floor right now. We're praying this only lasts a short time as we're both growing very tired. We've taken turns napping. I guess in some ways this is just more prep for what's to come. =)

New medication

Today I start a new medication for the remainder of the pregnancy. It's a slower acting blood thinner that I take 2 times a day (shot). So if I happen to go into labor early the medicine won't be in my body as long.

I've been doing 1 shot a day for the past 6 months so I'm used to poking myself by now. And once the baby is born I will continue to do this for another 6 weeks.

We are getting down to the final stretch!
There are a few more things I need to do before the baby comes. For example: make some frozen meals, buy a few more necessities for baby, work on some forms for baby, file and try to get some things done ahead of time for next month. And if we can, do taxes while we still have our wits about us.:)

I'm so grateful the weather has been nice! And we just cleaned up our stroller and got the second seat ready. C loves her new "race car" seat on the back of the stroller. Good thing because that's where she will be sitting from now on.

Well off to another day!

BBQ and doughnuts

You know you're pregnant when....

You have a very real dream about food:)
Last night I had a dream that I went to a fast food BBQ wing place. Only they didn't serve anything BBQ. 2 things were on the menu... Hot cookies and fresh doughnuts.

The tag line at the place was "come on in where the food is hot and the doughnuts are fresh!"
Apparently my subconscious believes cookies to be another food group.