Sweet Caroline...in pictures

Bigger boy, littler girl

Luke is determined to teach her
to suck her thumb!

And there are more pictures here:   https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150982499946281.474565.620991280&type=1&l=d483b434bc

The Birth Story

I don't know that I've written or shared any of my birth stories before, somehow I'm compelled to this time.  Maybe because it will probably be the last one...or because it went so vastly different than I expected or hoped it would.  In any case, here it is.

First...some of my preconceived ideas of how it would go...

Luke was born via c-section nine years ago.  And due to the fact that the labor began 5 days prior to 40 weeks when the doctor accidentally broke my water in her office when checking for dilation, I've always automatically discounted that birth as being a normal one for me.  First clue: don't discount anything!  It's all relevant!

Second...for months I've been reading and planning and hoping to have an unmedicated birth this time.  Honestly, as time drew nearer, my resolution waned, and I became more amenable to the idea of an epidural.  Good thing!!

Well, Cade's birth was unmedicated...or rather, I should say that it was epidural-free.  I did have a shot of Nubain at one point, but otherwise, no drugs.  I swore I would NEVER do that again.  And so when Elsa was on the way, an epidural was in the plan from the very start.  And her birth was by far the easiest.  I even commented to Stephen afterwards, "Hmm, I could do that again."

But somehow this time I got it in my head that it would just be better - for me and baby - to go without the epidural, and I wanted to try it again.  See, I've always had LOOOONG pushing stages, but I was hoping that given this was a fourth baby, she might just pop out (like Luke and Leia on the Lego Star Wars video game, you know? POP! POP!).

So....here's the story, start to finish...

I fully expected to go 40 weeks since both Cade and Elsa - my normal births - were 40 weeks plus one or two days.  And it was no surprise when my due date came and went and there was no baby.  

I also fully expected to have a long labor at home before heading to the hospital as that's what happened with Cade and Elsa...12+ hours of labor at home and then another 6-8 hours of harder labor at the hospital.  

I'd been having contractions all week, some harder and some not so hard.  But on Friday evening around the time we finished eating dinner (the day after my "due date"), I announced that I was having what felt like real contractions because I was feeling them in my back as opposed to just having a tight tummy.  We didn't get too excited yet, but I had a feeling that we'd be meeting the baby next day.

When we put the kids to bed at 9pm, we let the boys know that there was a possibility that we might not be there in the morning when they woke up, but one of our trusted neighbors would be with them if we had to leave.  It was lights out for us at 10pm, and I did get some sleep for about 2 hours.

Then Elsa woke up crying at midnight.  She didn't feel well and ended up puking in the bathroom.  After that, she felt fine and went right back to bed.  

So did I, but I had a hard time getting back to sleep because the baby was moving around SO MUCH.  It felt like she never stopped moving during those two hours.  And I could hardly even tell if the contractions were still happening because of her constant movement.  I began to wonder if I were dreaming all of it.

But shortly after 2am, I needed to get up to go to the bathroom - again - and on my way into the bathroom, there was a flood.  I wasn't sure if I had wet my pants or if my water had broken.  I called for Stephen and woke him up.  It wasn't long until the contractions began in earnest (hard and just a few minutes apart), and we decided there was no time to waste.

He called our neighbor across the street to ask her to come over to stay with the kids, but there was no answer (they were out of town for the night).  He decided to try a different neighbor instead, and she came over quickly.

I had a nice, long list of food items to grab at the last minute, including a turkey sandwich in case we had another late night birth and the cafeteria was closed.  We didn't bring any of them in our haste to depart.

Our drive to the hospital is typically about 45 or 50 minutes - during non-rush-hour traffic.  But at 2:40am, we were blessed to hit all the green lights and find that all of the police cars were traveling faster than we were!  We made it in a record 30-ish minutes.  At one point, the contractions were coming so hard and fast (3 mins apart) that I was afraid that we might not make it there before it was TIME.  

Thankfully, we did.  Then, we were slowed down by the check-in process - even though I had already pre-registered with the hospital.  I had thought we would just sail in and be placed in a room, but it took a bit longer than I had hoped.  

Although the intensity of the contractions didn't diminish once we reached our room, it seemed as though things slowed down.  I had been thinking it was close to time to push, but it turned out that I was only 8cm.  I knew things would get more intense as I entered transition, and that was the point when I decided that an epidural would be a really good thing!  Stephen knew that I had waffled on an unmedicated vs. a medicated birth, so he made certain that I was sure of this decision.  I was sure!  

And it's a good thing.  What we hoped would be a quick and uncomplicated birth turned out to be a bit different from our expectations.  Baby Caroline had been posterior (aka "sunny-side-up") for quite a while, and we expected that flipping her over for birth would require longer pushing.  But we didn't guess that she wouldn't flip after an hour and a half of pushing.

The midwife called for the doctor's opinion...and her extra-long fingers for an attempt to flip the baby manually (sorry about TMI!).  The doctor did her thing (and at that point I was REALLY glad for the epidural!), and the baby flipped.  But then she flipped right back over.  

They had me stop pushing and hang out on my hands and knees for an hour in hopes that gravity would turn her over.  No success.  So more pushing - an hour more.  

By then the doctor and midwife had changed shifts, so the new doc came in to give her assessment.  She explained that it was up to us ultimately, and I could continue to push for longer if I wanted to, but the baby had made little to no progress, and she didn't expect her to move down any further.  She recommended a c-section.

We talked about it briefly, and I shed a few tears.  It hadn't occurred to me that another c-section was really a possibility since I had successfully done two VBACs.  I was concerned about needing extra help during recovery, but Stephen reassured me that I would have whatever help I need.  So we decided to go ahead with it, albeit reluctantly.

Stephen, ready for the OR

And it was the right decision.  Up to that point, the doctors thought that this baby was in the low-to-mid 7 pound range.  Turns out she was 9lb. 3oz.  The doctor who delivered her later said that had she realized how big the baby was, she wouldn't have let me push for so long.  

But the big kicker was the full knot in the umbilical cord.  The doctors thought that perhaps due to the knot, Caroline couldn't turn over comfortably.  And when she was turned by the doctor, she immediately turned herself back because it pulled the cord too far.  

It makes me weep with thankfulness when I think about it.  God is so kind to us in sparing her life.  Sure, I wouldn't have chosen a c-section or the longer recovery time.  But mostly I'm just overwhelmed with the joy of a safe birth for Caroline.

Safely born into Dr. Cunningham's arms

Daddy's arms - even better!

 

Introducing...

...Miss Caroline Elaine who weighed in at 9lb. 3oz. and measured 22" long!  She fooled us all - even during labor, the doctors were guessing in the 7lb. range.  But she is no skinny little thing like her sister was. She's got some chubb on her thighs already.

She has the most hair of any of our babies, and it's so dark!  Adorable!  Her eyes look very dark too, and perhaps we will have a brown-eyed girl this time. Her brothers and sister are smitten with her, just as we are.  Yesterday, Luke just kept commenting that she smells like a baby - and he meant that in a good way.  She'd just had her first bath.    

  

I am so thankful for the many prayers of our family and friends as we waited for her arrival and during the labor and birth.  God has richly blessed us once again!

No news is good news?

Hmmph.  Whoever said that apparently wasn't an overdue pregnant woman.  And he probably wasn't talking to one either or he likely would have gotten a punch in the nose.

Ok. It's only been a day past my date, and I am trying HARD not to get antsy.  But Stephen decided to take off work the last two days to be a help here at home, and now I feel like we're just waiting.  Like everybody is just waiting on me...as if I have some control over this.  Even the three year old is demanding to know when her sister is going to come out.

I'd like to keep busy, but there is no baseball this weekend due to the holiday, and I don't want to stray too far from home either.  The laundry is all done - except for the load of sheets in the dryer - and I did the cleaning earlier this week.  I'm being told to relax, but it's hard to do at the moment.

So Stephen has gone to the store for a propane tank refill for the grill and some burgers and veggies for dinner.  And after dinner we're going to do a family movie night and introduce the kids to an old Disney favorite - Blackbeard's Ghost.

We do have a wedding to go to tomorrow, but somehow I had it in my head that we wouldn't get to go as, surely, I'd be in L & D by that point.  Well, we'll see.  Maybe I'll get all dolled-up for the wedding and instead get to birth this girl with hair and makeup done.

So that's all there is to report.  Or rather all there isn't.

Counting Down

That's right; the countdown is on.

Two days until my "official" due date.  But I typically go a few days later than that.  At this point, I'm hopeful of holding a baby girl in my arms by the weekend.  I see the midwife tomorrow, and we'll see how everything is progressing.

I had a bunch of contractions last evening, but I'm attributing that to all of the vacuuming I did in the afternoon.  Hey, whatever works to get this little girl moving!  But I admit I was hoping to be woken during the night by some harder contractions that I just couldn't ignore.  Unfortunately, I only woke because #1- I needed to use the bathroom...again...and #2- a little girl came shrieking into our room during a thunderstorm.  

Well, we finished school yesterday - except for math which we'll continue through the summer.  Can't let them forget what they've learned!  But now that school is done, I've been cleaning like crazy.  I think my house is now cleaner than it has been for the last eight months.  Seriously.  Doing laundry too, and the freezer is mostly full which will be a blessing on those nights when there is just no time or energy to fix dinner.  And I'm sure those evenings will be a-plenty.  This has been the longest stretch that our home has been without a baby in it, but I haven't forgotten the five-o-clock witching hour.  And I now have two boys who are eating machines.  So those freezer meals are rather important to have on hand!

Birthday Boy

We celebrated Luke's 9th birthday last week.  I can hardly believe he's 9 already!
  
He opened his gift on his actual birthday...an iPod Shuffle.  He LOVES music and audiobooks!  

But we saved the birthday dinner for Saturday evening when Stephen was home and we didn't have a baseball game to get to.  I made Chicken Fried Rice (one of his favorites) and Berry Cupcakes.

This was Luke's first birthday cupcake made with milk and butter.  What a treat!  We still can't use butter in the frosting since it's not cooked, but I've found that palm shortening is a great substitute and not nearly as greasy as regular Crisco shortening.  Strawberry jam in the middle and a fresh berry on top - yum!!

Lost and Found

It was after Cade's baseball game last evening.  I was responsible for providing snack for his team, so I was dutifully standing at the table handing out hot dogs and juice boxes (yeah, I call that dinner!).  She was hanging out next to me wanting a juice box too for the longest time.

And then she was gone.  I stood scanning the crowd, for it had suddenly become crowded around the table with all of the parents and the kids from other teams as their games finished as well.  I could not spot her.  

So I grabbed my bag and started frantically searching through the crowd.  Another mom who has become a friend asked what was wrong, and when I told her that Elsa was missing, she quickly joined in looking for her.  The coaches and their wives began looking as well and assured me that they would find her.

In the past I've been pretty calm in an emergency.  I guess I tend to go into auto-mode or something.  But this was different.  My heart squeezed tight, and my emotions were spinning into a panic.

She wasn't in the bathroom.  She wasn't playing with any of her little friends.  She wasn't hiding under the picnic table.  Around and around we looked, and the tears were threatening to roll over.

And then suddenly, I spotted her around the other side of a building, climbing on the support columns.

Well, I couldn't run, although I wanted to.  But I couldn't hold back the tears anymore either.  They spilled over as I reached her and took her in my arms.  She didn't understand why I was crying or what was wrong...couldn't even understand why she shouldn't go off to play by herself.  

I parked her at the table and gave her a hot dog and juice box.  She stayed put then.  I think next week when it's my snack-time, I'll have to start off by giving her a hot dog and juice box!  Maybe then she'll stay put.

I had to walk away to throw out the trash then, and I sternly told her not to move from the table.  Our somewhat gruff coach assured me he had his eyes on her.

What a heart-wrenching experience!  I know I'm not the only one ever to lose track of a child, but I sure hope I never go through that again.  It's one thing when it happens at church where I mostly know and trust the other people.  But when it's at the baseball field...and there are lots of people I don't know at all...it's just scarier.  Now I'm feeling rather wary of adding another child to my responsibilities.  At least #4 won't be able to go far on her own for a while yet!

This girl...looks so innocent here (this was last Saturday at the game)...but, boy, can she stir up the mischief!

To top off the night, when we got home she was walking around the backyard (wearing rainboots, so she couldn't run), and a woman walking - on a posted golf-cart path that abuts the yard - came by with her big dog which wasn't on a leash.  The dog immediately bounded into the yard up to Elsa scaring her half to death.  She wanted to run to us on the deck, but her boots didn't allow it.  And she was frozen in fear anyway.

We told her to be still and tried to get to her without stirring up the dog any more while the owner just kept on walking slowly by calling the dog to her.  She finally got the dog's collar, and I got to Elsa who was crying hysterically.  

Can you say "furious"?  I sure was.  But I kept my mouth shut and didn't lambast her like I wanted to.  She was walking on a posted path - and she does so regularly because we've seen her before.  (I'm pretty sure it's her dog that was prancing around on our deck one evening a month or so ago while we were inside eating dinner.)  And she had her dog off of his leash which is against the law here (when she's not on her own private property).  She let him run into our yard and scared the snot out of a three-year old little girl and then walked on without an apology or any concern for the child.

So this morning, I'm feeling thankful that my little girl is safe and sound.  Thankful for God's protection over her even in the moments that I can't protect her like I want to.  Thankful that He cares for her and loves her even more than I do.

Mother's Day 2012

Yesterday I was remembering Mother's Day 2003 when I was hugely pregnant with Luke.  Stephen took this picture of me (and the cat) before church that morning, and although I wasn't due until the following week, it turned out to be the last Sunday before Luke was born.  The quality of the picture is terrible as those were the days of very expensive, low-pixel-count digital cameras.

I don't anticipate another early birth story for this baby, but we did take a Mother's Day picture yesterday too.  Actually, we took A LOT of pictures, but these were the two that turned out the best.  We happen to have a three-year-old who turns rather uncooperative when the camera appears, so it took about twenty takes.

This was after they (and by "they" I mean my devoted and loving husband!) spoiled me with Berry-topped Belgian Waffles for breakfast. YUM!

My plate...

...and a Cupcake-sized plate.

 Can't forget the beautiful pink and white lilies!  These are the same kind of lilies that I carried in our wedding - my sweet husband thinks of everything. 

And then he took me out for the evening - one last haircut before Baby arrives and a delicious dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.

What a day!!

A Good Day for the Twins

Last week Luke's team practiced twice in addition to their Monday night game.  Saturday they were up against the Yankees, the only team that had beat them this season.  

Cade's team also had two practices in addition to their Tuesday night game as they would be playing the Pirates on Saturday - again, the team that had beaten them earlier this season.

Well, it paid off!  Both Luke's and Cade's teams won their games.

And even better, Cade was given the game ball after his team's victory.  He has been wanting to earn the game ball for so long now, and I was so excited for him.  He doesn't get too much action as second baseman, but when the ball came his way, he knew what to do, and he did it.  Way to go, Cade!

Luke then played a solid game at shortstop, fielding well and making some plays.  And he got the game ball for his team's victory.  This wasn't his first game ball, but it was the first this year.  He was really excited to have beaten the rival team and been awarded the game ball.

Two happy boys!!

Around the New Room

I guess the painting has been done for about two months now, and we got her a new dresser and shelf-unit from IKEA (can't believe I'm just now discovering the awesomeness of IKEA!).  But there was still a shelf I wanted to hang.  This week I finally got the shelf up (and cleaned up the mess of toys!) and took some pictures of Elsa's big girl room.

And you see here that she really is a big girl now.  She had her first trip to the dentist this week.  She did just fine.

Her baby sister's room is almost ready now too with her name on the wall and everything.  And pictures of it are floating around here on my hard drive.  But you'll have to wait a few more weeks for her to put in an appearance before we reveal the name!

Glowing, she says

After my fussing over rude strangers' remarks, I was nearly brought to tears by a kind stranger at Walmart today.

We were almost finished with our shopping, and, amazingly enough, even though it was in the middle of Elsa's naptime, no tempers had been lost and no tears had been shed.  I was headed toward the apples to grab one last item that was on my mental list (see, it wasn't even an organized shopping trip!), and a perfect stranger approached me and said, "You look beautiful!"

Well, that got my attention! :-)

She was a young mom herself with a little one in her cart, and she went on, "You are just glowing.  When are you due?"

At that point, I was fighting the tears, and I told her that she had just made my day...my week!

I didn't bother to explain that it wasn't really a glow...that I was just a bit overheated from pushing the cart around the store because, hey, it was the kindest compliment I've received from a stranger, and I didn't really want her to take it back!

36 (and a half!) weeks

The "half" counts; it really does!  Especially if you knew just how many people have said to me, "Hey, you're about ready to go, aren't you?" or "Wow, that baby's coming soon, huh?"

"Yeah.  Thanks for making me feel like I couldn't possibly get any bigger."

Even better, the cashier at the grocery store the other day said, "When are you due?" 

"End of next month," I replied.

"I think end of this month."  For the record, it was 25th of the month.

What??!?  Thanks.  

Well, I meant to take a 36 week picture on Sunday morning when I was dressed in my best, but we had a sick kiddo and I needed to be sure to be on time for nursery service.  So it got scrapped.  And here's the substitute instead; just thought I'd try out a self-portrait this time since I'm not sure I can really trust my almost-9-year-old to get it focused properly and I didn't want to drag out the tripod.