Birth Day

I have quite a lot to catch up on, but I think the best place to start is with our little Elijah's birthday!

Monday finally came and I was more than ready to meet this little guy. The kids spent Sunday night at my parent's, so Brad and I had a quiet, relaxing evening together and then woke up first thing Monday morning and headed to the hospital.

The 2 hour prep seemed like a lot longer, especially since they had to try 3 times again to get an IV working right, but before we knew it we were in the OR ready to go. I wish I could say everything went perfectly, but it was actually the most difficult of all my c-sections. When they were administering the spinal they hit a nerve and I can't even describe the pain of that. It was like my legs were being electrocuted. That pretty much freaked me out and wasn't the best way to start. The surgery went really well, but again I had problems with the spinal. At first it wasn't numbing me high enough so I could feel a lot more than I wanted to, but then they would adjust it and it went too high so I felt like I couldn't breathe because it went up to my lungs/heart region. It basically went back and forth like that for the hour I was in the OR. I was pretty scared a few times, but we made it through.

As soon as they showed me the baby I was amazed that he looked almost exactly like Riley! I am still having deja vu because they are so similar, not just in looks but in mannerisms as well. The biggest shock was that he weighed in at just under 9 lbs! No wonder I was so uncomfortable! That's 2 pounds bigger than Riley and Naomi were! But honestly, as much as 9 lbs sounds like, he is still so teeny, and ended up getting down to 8 lbs while in the hospital.





It is so amazing to hold a newborn again. I didn't realize how much I missed it. There really isn't much better than snuggling a new baby. Elijah is a quiet baby. He is a very good eater. He is very strong and can lift and hold his head up to look around for several seconds. The doctor joked that he thinks he's 2 months old already!




We're so happy to have him here with us. It was fun to have Riley and Naomi come meet their new baby brother later that day with Grammy and Boppy.


They are so proud to be a big brother and big sister. They were enthralled by him. Naomi would giggle every time he would make noises and she loved to touch his cheeks and hair.

Riley just can't get enough of him. He loves to hold him and tells him all the things he is going to teach him. He is very gentle with him and very loving. It is so sweet to watch. Lots more pictures and stories to come. We had a fun Christmas. Things are still busy around here with Brad back to work and family in town, but I will get more pictures up soon!

Elijah Lukas

I'm thrilled to introduce you to our sweet baby, Elijah Lukas. He arrived safely at 10:00 am and is wonderful in every way. We'll share more details and photos soon.

Surrounded by Love

(38 1/2 weeks)

What's Happening to Me

So, with all the questions I've been getting about what's going on with these contractions and why haven't they moved up the c-section and all, I figured I would explain a bit about what's going on. Basically, I am in the small percentage of women who go through what is called Prodromal Labor and prolonged latent labor. I was lucky that I never reached this point with my daughter, but it did happen with my first son, so it is extra frustrating to go through it again when my body really doesn't need to get ready for labor. It just means that I am using a lot of energy now that will make me a lot more tired when the baby does come.

Prodromal labor can feel a lot like active labor, but it is not consistently progressive. It does help prepare the body for active labor and most women go through it without even noticing or feeling a thing...while others feel too much, like me. It can last only hours for some, or days for others, and can be very exhausting. I have a flat pelvis which makes it more difficult to have a natural childbirth, which could cause a lack of progression and contribute to this.

Many people have asked me why then haven't they just done the c-section already. Well, if I complained enough they probably would, but my first priority is the health of the baby and not my own personal comfort level (although that is quickly reaching it's limit after 9 days of this). Everytime we have had the baby monitored during this stage, he has had an excellent heartrate and shown signs that he is thriving and healthy. Technically, I am not considered "term" until 38 weeks which is in another day, so since the baby is totally fine, and not overly huge, there really isn't a good reason if I'm not in active labor. This week, that might change since I am just about 38 weeks, but since I've made it this far we are going to stick with the planned date for now.

I am functioning at a pretty low level, which is especially hard for me. I took Riley to preschool for the first time in a week (he had been sick with a fever and cough), and it pretty much took all my energy for most of the day to drop him off and pick him up. My stomach muscles feel strained from contracting for so long already and pretty much all my lower back and leg muscles are crampy and get pulled very easily with little movement. I am sleeping in small spurts at night, and resting/napping several times a day or at least laying in bed or on the couch, whenever the kids will give me a few quiet moments. They have been pretty good about it and know that mommy is extra tired from the baby. They are getting very excited to countdown to his birthday and their cute comments about getting to meet their baby brother do keep me smiling.

So there we go. I'm excited to be in the home stretch, but more than ready to get some level of function back although I know I need to be realistic about my post-surgical abilities. After today at least we know it will be 6 days or less till we meet this little man and at this point we are MORE than ready!

The last 24 hours

Well...a lot has happened in the last 24 hours. Thankfully, I never had to go through this with my daughter, but for some reason these boys of mine like to put me through a long, difficult pre-labor. At least I know this time around it won't go past a certain point, but it's hard to be contracting so much when nothing is progressing and we're just waiting around buying our time to have the surgery. If we make it 10 more days it will be an act of God, but we are hanging in there as long as we can!

Those "20 min-apart contractions" I'd been having since Saturday turned a lot more painful and frequent last night. They woke me up around midnight and were coming a lot closer together, so I started timing them at 5-7 minutes apart for pretty much the entire night. Not much sleep happening around here. We stuck it out till morning and called in as the doctor requested. I knew they would want me to come in to get checked, but I also knew that I wasn't in active labor which meant they would monitor me again for awhile and probably end up sending me home. But, better safe than sorry, and we want to make sure this little guy continues to do well, so we went in.

I was dehydrated (hadn't eaten or drank anything in case we went ahead with the surgery) and had a slight fever so they gave me an IV (after blowing 2 of my veins - never had that happen before and boy does that hurt!! My arm is so sore now!) My contractions continued and were still pretty strong, but became less frequent than I was having during the night.

Good news is that the baby continues to be extremely active (everyone was amazed at how active he was - he didn't stop moving the whole time we were there! he's going to come out running I think!) and his heart rate was excellent. I learned that babies that are very happy in utero have spurts of accelerated heart rate, which is a great sign they are getting plenty of oxygen, and he had welllll over the number of spurts for a happy baby.

So, we are back home resting, and going to try some pain meds tonight to get some sleep. The doctor doesn't want me to be having contractions that close together again, so if they become that frequent and are strong enough to wake me up even with the meds, we'll go back in and evict this baby! With Brad working nights all weekend, the kids and I are going to stay at my parent's house so I'm not home alone with them at night, plus I'll be closer to the hospital. (Funny thing is that if we did have the c-section today, guess who was the one on call to do the surgery...Brad! Yeah they would have had to call someone in to replace him, haha.) Hopefully things will stay calm enough for me to sleep, and we can try to keep him happy in my tummy for a bit longer. As much as I can't wait to meet him, I want him to be born as healthy and developed as possible, so the closer we can get to my scheduled date the better.

10 days (or less!) and counting!

37 Week Update

Well, we are 37 weeks and had an eventful few days. I started having regular contractions on Saturday, about 20 minutes apart. They were regular but mild ("mild" as in relative to the excruciating ones I remember...), although certainly not comfortable, but I felt good about waiting it out until my appointment yesterday as long as nothing changed. I had a stress test done and the baby's heartbeat was excellent. The nurse said she'd never seen a more perfect heartbeat! So, obviously the baby is quite happy and healthy where he is, which is a relief. I am definitely contracting, and doing it regularly. Since it could be very dangerous to go into labor, we are going to keep a close eye on things and if they increase in strength at all or become any more frequent I will need to call and go in, but at this point things have been steady for the last 4 days so we are going to try to keep this baby in as long as possible.

We've been trying to just enjoy these last days as a family of four. We've seen our first, and second, snowfalls of the year.

We've had a lot of fun playing around and being together.
We even had a date night and made it to a Christmas party over the weekend with our wonderful friends in our small group. Here we are in front of our tree just before we left!

But most of all, I'm hanging in there and looking forward to having all 3 of my precious babies home with me for Christmas!

A New Frontier

We are about to venture into a new arena with baby #3. Cloth diapers.

Let me start by saying I feel very uneducated on the subject. When I started looking into this, I had no idea where to even start. My limited knowledge of CDing (cloth diapering) mostly consists of memories from the early 80's of towel-like rags and stretched out rubber covers. But, as we are only 4 weeks away (one month from TODAY!) from baby's arrival and my two older kids have been out of diapers for almost a full year, I cringe every time I go down the baby aisle and eye the price tags on those tiny diapers we will be buying again for the next 3 years or so. In fact, I sat down and added it up and it was in the thousands...each year! In researching the options that are out there now...well let's just say cloth diapering is at a whole, new level!

We aren't going exclusively cloth, in fact we plan on still using disposables quite a bit, especially at first. We know that there are going to be a lot of times when disposable is going to be easier, or even necessary, and we are totally okay with that. But, if using cloth diapers while at home or whenever we can will help cut the costs, we are willing to give it a try. Plus, when I found out you can get disposable diaper liners to help make messy clean-ups easier, I felt a lot better about trying it. That is much less intimidating to me as a beginner.

There are SO many options out there it can be overwhelming. But, we have narrowed it to the bumGenius 3.0 One Size (all the CD brand names are so funny!) that will work best for us and got great reviews. These diapers are made by Cotton Babies, which seems to be a well-esteemed company in the cloth diapering world.

These diapers adjust to 4 different sizes so they grow with the baby which was a big seller to us as well, plus (surprisingly) they are supposed to have a great resale value. I guess if someone else is willing to buy our used diapers I am more than willing to let them :).

Sadly, I decided we would return the Beco Carrier I purchased earlier, and use the credit towards getting started with these diapers. I think this will be a wiser use of our money in the long run, especially since I found a Mei Tai carrier that I LOVE on eBay for only $20. After trying both carriers (as much as I loved the Beco), I am sure I will be using the Mei Tai way more since it fits me so much better.

We are starting out with 6 diapers and will see how it goes. If it seems manageable, we will look into purchasing some more so we can really use them without doing laundry 3 times a day. So, as we start this new adventure I'm sure I will keep track of how it is going! Any CD users out there, feel free to share your advice with this CD newbie! :)

34

I am 34 weeks pregnant and we have 34 days to go until we meet this precious little boy.
He has certainly grown since my last two pregnancy posts here and here. At my checkup yesterday I had gained 18 lbs total. Still on track to end up around 25-30lbs, which I will be happy with. It is definitely harder to roll over in bed and sit up from a laying position, and I absolutely am perfecting the waddle these days :).

He has been head down for quite a while now, and I seem to be way more sensitive to the baby's movement this time around, probably because by the third the uterus is stretched and thinned. His feet are always over on my right side and will either move back and forth and tickle me, or give a swift kick and make me physically jump!

Still feeding my addiction to sour candy, gummies in particular. I also have been eating tons of apples now that nectarine season is over, and crave lots of orange juice, which normally I don't drink very often. I've also discovered that I can't eat enough nuts. My favorite snack these days is apples and cashews.

The kids have a lot of excitement and input about the baby. According to Riley, this is how a baby is born. "They open your tummy and take it off, then the baby crawls out and says mama. Then they sew it back on and take care of you and the baby grows. " :)

I have had good days, and harder days. I get frustrated at how limited I am physically. I tire much quicker and can't keep up with the pace of life that I am used to living, so I've had to learn to ask for help, or be patient to get things done when someone is around to give an extra hand. Riley and Naomi have both been very helpful to me lately and know that mommy isn't able to do everything normally because the baby is so much bigger. I am definitely ready to be done being pregnant, but I know the next month will go very quickly and he will be here before we know it.

We're at 34.

So Much

So much excitement. So much anticipation. So much fun.
So much love.

29

Today is the first day of a fresh new year for me --the last of what has been a wonderful and amazing decade during which I've become a wife, a college graduate, a teacher, a mother, a homeowner, a mother, a business owner, a mother...

So many things to be thankful for...and so many things to look forward to.

The birth of our new baby boy 7 weeks from today, that will make us a family of 5!

The completion of our residency/fellowship years when Brad will officially join the staff as a primary physician at a practice. Wow, it has been a long road, but God has been so faithful to us during these many training years as it is coming to an end . . . and a new beginning.






The kids will continue to hit precious milestones and amaze us with

their love, their growth, their discovery, and their joy. They will continue to teach me more than I could ever teach them.

The enjoyment and blessings of friends and family and friends who are like family. Meeting and making new friends in this new year, and growing and sharing life with the old ones.

The chance to live life simply, to love God fully.

To enjoy the sweet, precious moments in life as they come (click to view video)

To walk ahead into this next year of life with an attitude of joy, thankfulness, and love.

"This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!" Psalm 118:24

30 weeks

This is me and baby boy at 30 weeks! It is an exciting day because we will meet our boy exactly 2 months from today (well... if not sooner, but we'll stick to the plan for now)!

Just for fun, here is my 30 week photo from pregnancy #1 with Riley and the one from #3, my new little boy. The doctor this week thinks I'm on track to grow another 7 lb baby (Riley was 7lb 3oz and Naomi was 7 lb 1oz) By the looks of these two photos I'd say that is pretty accurate, but we have 8 weeks to go, so we'll see! Can't believe I have doctors appointments every 2 weeks now - wow.

I'm feeling pretty good other than the usual discomforts and sleeping issues of the 3rd trimester. Little boy continues to be very strong and active especially during the evening/night hours, so I am expecting we have a little night owl on our hands. My big goal this month, or really in the next 2-3 weeks, is to get the Christmas shopping done. Only 2 months until baby means only slightly over 2 months until Christmas! We are obviously planning to have a pretty low key holiday, but I do want to make it special for the kids and it will be good to have that part all taken care of.

Two months will fly by and before we know it he will be here!!!

Special Surprise

Today we took the kids for a very special surprise! When Brad worked on the ultrasound team in September, his friends told him to bring me in when I was close to 30 weeks and they would let us do an ultrasound for fun...so today was the day! We picked Riley up from school and headed over to the hospital to get another peek at our sweet boy. I think it was a really good experience for the kids. They had a lot of questions, and their faces lit up when they saw and heard the heart beat. He measured at about 3 lbs, 3 oz. We were able to see part of his face in 4D as well. He was so sweet with his little arm up by his face, so he didn't give us a full view, but I think the photos are precious. Here are a few of the pictures from today. I will try to get a 30 week belly picture up soon too! Only 9 weeks to go!

4D - Picture of face, with his little arm up

4D - Another picture of the face - his arm was blocking a clear shot, but he looked very comfy!


side view - profile facing up

Foot - est measurement 6 cm

Baby Paraphernalia

It's amazing how with the third baby there really isn't much to purchase for them, especially if you've already had one of each gender. Since I have been in major "clean out" mode this isn't such a bad thing (for our bank account either!), but I have to admit it is pretty fun to wander the baby aisles and admire all the cute stuff. There have been a few things we have purchased over the last couple weeks in preparation for baby boy -- mostly things that I didn't have back when my other two were babies, and I could justify buying when there isn't much we need.

I bought him one little newborn outfit {wish you could feel it - it is SOOO soft and snuggly! and the hood has little bear ears, hehe}, that I am thinking will be his "coming home" outfit. I never owned any newborn clothes for Riley--they were all 0-3 mo, which I remember being extremely too large for him the first 2-3 weeks. He looked silly in everything I had brought for him at the hospital, so I am hoping this snuggly little outfit will fit our new little one better. And at least he'll be able to say at least one outfit he wore as a baby wasn't a hand me down from his big brother :).


I also got him a little pair of leathery shoes from Target that I didn't discover as wonderful until I had Naomi, so I only have a couple girly pairs that I won't make him wear {wink}. I knew he needed these great little booties, especially since he will be a winter baby and need to keep his tootsies warm! They are the only type of baby shoe I could ever get to stay on, and don't you just love the giraffes?!

We have purchased our very first pack of diapers in many many months. It was slightly painful (lol) but we figured we'd better start stocking up now, so I'm going to try and pick up a pack each time we go grocery shopping so we have a couple on hand when he arrives.

I have a friend who introduced me to this very handy nursing cover that she has been using with her little boy. It is a large piece of fabric with an adjustable strap that goes around your neck like an oversized apron. It also is made so the middle top stays stiff and doesn't smother the baby like a blanket tends to do and you can see your baby as you are nursing. It also folds up super small because it's as thin as a piece of fabric, and doesn't overheat the baby like a blanket. I wish I had one of these with my first two! I was thinking about making one, but I realized by the time I'd have the time and energy I might as well purchase one...which I did for a very reasonable price on Etsy. Just search for {nursing covers} and you'll get all kinds of great options and fabric choices.

And the final purchase thus far, which took me a loooong time to decide to make after a lot of research and pricing, was a baby carrier. I never had a great one when I had Riley. I think we picked an old one up at a garage sale and it ended up being so uncomfortable and awkward we never really used it, but he mostly rode in the stroller anyways. With Naomi a carrier was a huge essential! We borrowed a Baby Bjorn from a friend that was one of the most used baby items we had, especially for walks and grocery shopping because Riley was so little he needed to be in the cart/stroller. I remember how much we used the carrier, and Brad agreed we wanted to have one that we really liked and will be functional and comfortable for both of us to use.

I researched everything -- slings and pouches, baby wraps and soft carriers, structured carriers and backpacks -- and we finally decided on the Beco Butterfly II carrier. I was leaning toward a mei tai, but was worried that it wouldn't be supportive enough, so when I found this similar version, but with more structure and buckles instead of tying fabric, I knew I found the winner. The reviews were top notch all around, and I love that it can be used as a front or a back carrier pretty easily {you can put the baby in and then put it on your back instead of needing an extra person to put the baby in after you put it on}. It also comes with an infant insert so you can start using it even when your baby is still pretty tiny. There isn't much variation in price out there, but if you sign up on BabySnazz you can get 5% off your purchase and free shipping, which is the best deal I could find...and they have some exclusive prints that you won't find anywhere else, like the Henna Garden one I chose. I can't wait to get it and try it out!

Can't believe we are at 28 weeks and there isn't long to go. I looked at my baby girl on Sunday, all dressed for church, and it hit me how grown up she looked! She's only going to be my baby for a few more weeks, but she's not even a baby anymore!

And I'm sure she will look even more grown up to me in 2 1/2 months when her baby brother arrives!

Third Time's A Charm

I've been meaning to jot down a few things to remember about my third pregnancy. I didn't have this blog when I was pregnant with the first two, but I know how easy it is with each additional child to lose track of the little things that the first child has recorded in full detail in giant scrapbook complete with pictures, stats, and journaling.... Poor #2...I'm sure she will forgive me someday :).

Things to Remember About Lucky #3

How far along am I? Tomorrow I will be 27 weeks. This pregnancy has gone much faster than the first two, probably because I am so occupied with them! Our C-Section date is all set and with the Fall upon us, and the upcoming holidays, I'm sure it will be here before we know it!

Morning Sickness? I did have morning sickness, beginning around 8 or 9 weeks, which made me suspect that I was having a boy since I was also sick with Riley, but not with Naomi. Unfortunately, the morning sickness was more like "all-day" sickness, the worst being in the evenings (also true with my first), but the difference was it lasted well into the second trimester. I finally started to feel "normal" and regained a healthy appetite right around 19 weeks. I was nervous it would last the entire pregnancy, but thankfully it subsided.

Total weight gain/loss: As of this week, I am only +6 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight. This is probably due to the fact that my sickness did last so long and I lost a lot of weight initially, but the doctor seems to think everything is just fine now that the pounds are starting to add up. With my previous pregnancies I gained a total of 25 pounds, so that is my goal this time too. I have also been keeping up with my Pilates workouts this pregnancy, doing a prenatal routine 3-4 times a week and I hope to be diligent about getting back into good shape following the birth, which I know is an added challenge with a c-section.

Maternity clothes? I have started wearing a few maternity tops lately, but most of my regular clothes still fit. (Someone asked where I buy my clothes a few posts back - most of the ones I think that I have been pictured in recently are from Old Navy or Kohls). I have been sticking to the ones that are styled better for a preggo belly. Haven't had to pull out the maternity pants yet, but I'm sure that is right around the corner. By the third one I know I want to put it off as long as possible because I am going to get sick of them!

Cravings? I have mentioned this before, but my biggest vice is sour gummies. I have figured out that as much as I love the gummies, it is really the "sour" that I am addicted to, so I have been popping sour ice breakers to help with the cravings since they are sugar-free and low cal :). I also have eaten tons of nectarines this pregnancy.

Movement/Sleep: Baby boy is moving a TON. Both Brad and Riley have been able to feel him kick so far and he kicks hard enough already for me to see my belly moving. I do enjoy feeling him move, but he is very active at night and there have been several nights when his moving has waken me and kept me up. He seems to respond quite a bit when the kids are talking around me - I think he loves his big brother and sister already! :)

What am I looking forward to? I am excited because my friend Yaicha (right) had Jackson in May, Maryellen (middle) is expecting a boy in two weeks, and we are already calling these boys the three musketeers :). I love this photo taken last weekend at a shower we threw for Maryellen. Plus, we have a couple other little boys in our small group, so he will be born having lots of little friends waiting in the world for him!

I am excited to hold a snuggly, little newborn again.

I am excited to see my kids interact with their new baby brother.

I am excited to meet this new little person who God chose to be a part of our family.

I love you baby boy!