Introducing Haley Joy

On Thursday morning, I had a doctor’s appt. and she did a membrane sweep.  At that point, I was 3 cm dilated.  I went for a long walk around suppertime, spent time with Jared, and then contractions started at 10 p.m. just as I was ready to go to bed.  I got up and started walking around and they were continually 5 min. apart, so at midnight, Jared’s Dad came to sleep at our house and we headed to the hospital.  My doula met us there and we spent most of the night walking around, with contractions 5 min. apart, but not very hard and not increasing in intensity or frequency.  By 6 a.m., the contractions had stopped and we got sent home.  That was VERY frustrating + disappointing.  Jared’s parents took the kids so that we could sleep Friday morning and I got 3 hours of sleep before contractions started again around 10:30 a.m.  They were quite far apart + not very painful.  I took a shower and then a bath and right after that, at 12:00 p.m., the contractions started 5 min. apart and were quite painful.  Jared decided to try to go to work for the afternoon, but was ready to leave at any time.  I called a close friend and she came over + blessed me with a slurpee and had rented a movie.  We were about 5 min. into the movie when I said, “Sorry, I have to go!”  I called Jared, he came home after being at work for half an hour, and then we left for the hospital at 2:15 p.m.  We had to wait in the waiting room for a while and when I finally got checked in triage at 3:30 p.m., they said I was 7 almost 8 cm dilated and immediately moved me to a private room.  I knew then that again, it was too late for the epidural.  I had read a book called Supernatural Childbirth and in it, they talk about how it’s possible to have a pain-free labor + delivery because Jesus died on the cross for all pain.  They talk about praying + speaking to your body, so I was praying almost the whole time (not out loud) and telling my body to relax.  My doula rubbed my back almost the whole time and I still had pain, but it was WAY less than my labor with Blake.  My contractions didn’t get a whole lot closer together and I still had breaks in between right until the end!  The doctor + nurses kept saying how well I was doing and I said, “Jesus is helping me.”  I was quiet almost the whole time and I just had my eyes closed and was praying as I breathed through each contraction.  I had asked Jared ahead of time to pray during each contraction, too, so later he told me he had.  At 5:00 p.m. I was 10 cm dilated, at around 5:15, I started pushing, and at 5:21 p.m., Haley Joy was born!  She was 8 lbs. 7 oz. and 22 inches long, so my biggest baby by half a pound and half an inch!  Haley means creative.  I was sort of guessing I might have another girl, but was unsure.  I wanted Kiera to have a sister and she thought the whole time she would have a baby sister and she was right!   I had also prayed that my labor would start at lunch time and I would have a baby at supper time, so God answered!  I also prayed that I wouldn’t tear like I did with Blake and I just had 2 tiny tears with one stitch each, which I can’t feel at all!  It’s making recovery SO much easier!  I’ve always had to stay in the hospital at least 48 hours because I’ve always been Group B Strep positive, but the hospital changed their policy and because both Haley + I were doing well, we got to go home the next day!  Praise God Haley is breastfeeding wonderfully, but she has her days + nights completely mixed up, so I’ve hardly slept in the last 3 days.  SO glad Jared is off work for 2 weeks and I’m praying her schedule straightens out before he goes back.  Here are some pictures of our sweet little princess!

Long feet

First picture as a family of 5 (taken by my Mom-in-law)

Ready to leave the hospital

Home sweet home

Maternity Photos

I just realized that I haven’t posted my favorite maternity pictures on here and my due date is tomorrow!  Most of you have probably already seen them on Facebook, but that’s ok.  My Mom-in-law was curious as to which are my favorites (she took them), so here they are.

This one below makes me miss my long hair, but it will grow back :)

LOVE this one below

Baby, you are already loved and we can hardly wait to meet you!

July Blessings

“The more I count these blessings, the more I realize that they really are not the product of my own efforts. They are truly gifts of grace from God above. It’s incredible to open my eyes to them week after week. And humbling. That I should be graced with such wonders? Me… whose heart is weak and black, yet covered with much mercy. How great is Your unfailing love, Lord God of all!” ~Sharaya Crossan

It’s been a while since I’ve done a thankful post, so here’s one last one before the baby arrives!

801. Watching the kids horse around with their Daddy

802. My first meeting with my mentor…I’ve never had a mentor before and I love her!

803. The new Skittles Blenders…I LOVE Skittles

804. A husband who has a full-time straight days job…that’s what I prayed for when I was single!

805. The kids sticking their bums up in the air and giggling just because

806. That I didn’t get any bladder infections this pregnancy, unlike my pregnancy with Blake

807. A craving satisfied

808. When I wake up to sunshine

809. Cuddle time after a bath

810. The food slowly accumulating in my freezer, which will make a few meals easier after the baby is born

811. New living room curtains

Before

After

812. Kiera trying on some reading glasses in a store

813. All of the preparation of getting ready for the baby…it’s exciting!

814. Bubble beards

815. That I may have reached my final week of pregnancy EVER, although that thought is sort of bittersweet, but I’m ready to be done!

Beach Day

On Jared’s holidays last month, we took the kids to the beach for the first time.  They LOVED it!  Going to the beach with little kids definitely wasn’t very relaxing for us as we had to watch them so closely, but it was fun watching them splash around in the water and experience something new.  There weren’t very many people there that day, so that was also nice!

Blake’s swim shorts are a little bit big on him, so you could see his swim diaper

I actually got a smile from her when I asked this time!

This was the sweetest moment!  Blake was shivering like crazy, so Jared wrapped him up in a towel and held him like that for at least 20 minutes.  Blake was so tired that he just about fell asleep and this moment just melted my heart!

A Special Afternoon

I am behind on blog posts and I hope to catch up before the baby comes, but I guess we’ll see what happens!  During Jared’s holidays in July, my Mom took Blake for the afternoon while we surprised Kiera with an afternoon at a place with rides!  She has been asking to go there since she went last summer, so we finally went again.  We didn’t tell her where we were going until we got there and she had a blast!  Last year, she was a bit young and not confidant enough to try a lot of rides, but this year she did WAY better!  Her favorite ride was still the fish, which she went on about 25 times.  She switched fish each time because she wanted to try the different colors, which I thought was cute!

She only went in the little car a couple of times this year

Last year, she was too scared on the merry-go-round, but this year she was fine as long as either Jared or I were standing beside her.  We didn’t have to hold on to her, but just be next to her.

First time rides this year:

The airplanes

The helicopters (by pulling the bar, she went way up high)

The ladybugs

and the swings

This year, there were WAY less people there, so there was rarely a line-up at any of the rides, which is why she could go on over and over if she wanted to!  We packed a picnic lunch and had a really great time just the 3 of us.  Next year, we will bring Blake, too, and get someone to watch the baby, who will be a year old by then!  Crazy thought!  Oh, and she really was happy to be there, even though she’s only smiling in one picture.  Leaving was no problem, too, because Jared told her we were going to get ice cream, which we did! :)

Busy Fun

We had a fantastic week-end full of busy, fun activities!  I’m so thankful to be keeping busy right now as it is making the end of my pregnancy not drag on!  Single digits now…9 days ‘til due date! 

On Friday, I took the kids to a parade.  Jared showed up and surprised the kids!  I sat with some friends and they helped scoop up candy for the kids.  After, I took the kids out for lunch with some friends and their kids.  In the evening, we dropped the kids off with my Mom and Jared + I went on one last date before the baby comes!  We went to our favorite crepe restaurant and I had a rhubarb crisp in a rice flour crepe.  SO good!  I also had a green apple bubble tea which is one of my favorite flavors there.  This was a window on a building close by and I thought it was pretty.

After that, we went glow mini golfing.  I remember we actually went mini golfing on our last date before Blake was born.  I love mini golfing!  I bought a Groupon, so I paid $10 for 2 people instead of $20 and it included glow necklaces + bracelets.  We brought them back for the kids and they loved them!  This is Blake wearing his in the van.

On Saturday, I took Kiera to the mall and they had a petting zoo and face painting, which she LOVED!  We spent almost an hour in that area.  Here’s my cute little clown.

After that, she came grocery shopping with me and when we got back, we got ready to go to the beach for my friend’s 29th birthday.  The party was in the shade close to some play structures, so the kids just played + played the whole time and we were able to stay cool out of the sun.  Blake kept wandering off to meet new people and steal the ball they were playing with, so we were quite often chasing after him.  Kiera only went in the water for a bit right at the end.  On our way home, we decided to try to find Jared’s co-worker’s house out in the country that her + her husband are building (Jared knew approximately where it was), and our “stalking” trip was successful and we found them!  They gave us a tour and then we went home. 

On Sunday, we went to church and Jared + I did our last Sunday School “shift” as we will have a year off now with the baby coming.  I had woken up early to make slow cooker lasagna and we had my brother-in-law + sister-in-law over for lunch.  They stayed for a while and then an hour later, my sister-in-law stopped by with a container of fresh raspberries that she had just picked for me!  That was so sweet of her as I’ve been wanting to make raspberry muffins, so I did the next morning!  On Sunday evening, Jared worked at his pizza job and I took the kids to my friends’ parents’ house for games night. 

Yesterday, we all went to our friends’ house for lunch and they made bbq chicken and had fruit + veggies.  That was SO nice especially since I didn’t have to bring my own food.  My stomach has been acting up again, so I’ve put myself back on a very strict diet. :( We hung out for a couple of hours, came home and put Blake down for a nap, and then at 5:00, our friends came over to baby-sit while we went to a baseball game with some other friends.  Again, Jared got 4 tickets to a baseball game from work, so that was a lot of fun! 

Our friends, Jermey + Erin (yes, that’s how his name is spelled) who are a blast and they both work with Jared at the pizza place

My blue teeth from my blue raspberry slushie and you can see my 8-inch haircut

This is my hair, which is long enough to donate!

This was the first time in 3 3/4 years since Kiera was born that we paid for a baby-sitter!  Not too bad!  We left the game one inning early because it started to rain, but the team was losing really badly, so it was fine.  We had a great time and it was fantastic to get out and do a whole bunch of fun things this past week-end, as well as get some breaks from my kiddos after all the solo parenting I’ve done recently! :)