41 weeks 1 day- Birth Day

Victoria Michelle was born today at 5:43pm.  She weighs 7 pounds 11 ounces and is 19 3/4 inches long.  She is beautiful.  I will write her birth story in the next couple of days.

Happy Mother's Day

Today is Mother's Day, one of my favorite holiday's of the year. Nine (9) years ago I celebrated my first mother's day by bringing my baby girl home from the hospital. I was so overwhelmed with emotions as the nurses came in and told me that the OB and pediatrician were working on the paperwork and I would be released as soon as everything was done. "WOW, are you serious? Your going to let me leave the hospital with this new little life? Are you sure you know what your doing? Because I am so not sure I know what I am doing!" I was so scared. I was now responsible for this little person and I felt that I needed to know everything but actually knew nothing. Over the days, weeks, months, and even years, my new phrase became "I don't know." "Why is she crying? - I don't know." "Is she hungry?- I don't know." "What do you want me to do? (Michael would ask)- I don't know!" It was so frustrating at times because I thought before having children that I knew so much. I had babysat and nannied for years. I had so much experience with kids I thought I was a pro, but there is something totally different when you bring home a baby that belongs to you that you are responsible for completely.  But, what a blessing that little girl has been to me and our family.  Happy Mother's Day to me!

40 weeks 6 days- Celebrating Birth

Ok, so things are still the same. Contractions, cramping, backaches, but nothing is going anywhere. I know that people think I am crazy that I am still pregnant. Most thought I would deliver before now and since I haven't most people think that I am crazy not to schedule an induction. I know that it is not typical to "choose" to continue to be pregnant when there are so many things I could do to but really I truly believe that when she is ready she will come. There are so many risks to inducing labor including fetal distress with low heart rate, increased chance of c-section, and more painful labor requiring epidural. I know that the end result is the most important, having a healthy baby here, but that may not happen with induction. My doctor is totally fine with waiting so I am waiting too.

As anxious as I am to have her here with me in my arms, I am really ok with waiting. We spend 90% of our lives waiting for something. Once she gets here I will be waiting for her to sleep through the night. Then I will be waiting for her to smile at me. And then roll over, sit up, crawl, walk, etc, etc, etc. I just want to enjoy every moment that I have, and right now I have been a few extra days to enjoy my husband and children.

I have had one last date night with my husband, which was wonderful!!!!

Today went to Micah's soccer game. The weather was perfect and he thought it was great to have everyone there to cheer him on.

Then this afternoon we had a surprise birthday party for Bella. It was great. She was SO surprised. With the baby coming so close to her birthday I wanted so much to reassure her that her birthday will always be special to us. We had all the family over. Michael took her out while we waited for everyone to get here. When he got here we jumped out and surprised her. It was awesome. On the 11th she will be 9 years old. Unbelievable.

Anyway, we are waiting patiently and enjoying each other until we add another. Just keep praying for us.

40 weeks 4 days

We are still here as of 12:30pm. It's ok though. I am resolved and at peace with where I am. I am enjoying my kids, my husband, my sister, and my freedom. I have even planned a "date night" with my man tonight that he doesn't know aobut yet. I know he will be happy to have a night out with me before the baby gets here. If anything changes today, I will update. Otherwise I am going to take a nap and enjoy a night out with my husband.

40 weeks 3 days

Today was a good day. I went to my doctors appointment and had an ultrasound and non-stress test. The ultrasound was fun because I got see our little girl. I would much rather be holding her but at this point any look at her was great. She was not very cooperative with the sonographer. It was funny. Everytime the sonographer would try to measure her head she would turn it funny so she couldn't get a good picture. She is a very active little girl. Oh, I also had her check again to make sure it is a girl. I have been a little worried that maybe they were wrong and it would come out a boy. If that was the case we would have NOTHING for him because EVERYTHING is pink and purple. But, it was very evident that it is definitely a girl.

After the ultrasound I did a non-stress test. I just laid on the table and listened to her heart beat. It is very strong and very fast, about 149 bpm. There was no change in the dilation but that is really normal for the 4th baby. So we are still waiting. Dr. H did mention induction but doesn't think that it will be necessary. That really is my biggest fear about being late, but I know that the main thing is getting her out safe and sound, so if it comes to that I will just have to be alright with it.

After my appointment I spent the day with my sister. We took Aria to get shaved ice (a daily craving of mine) and went to a consignment shop. It was really beautiful so sitting outside eating shaved ice was great.

Last night, after dinner, Sis and I went for a 30 minute walk. It felt so good to get out and walk. I am going to start doing that everyday until the baby gets here. Hopefuly not much longer now.

40 weeks 2 days

Just wanted to update everyone. Things here are holding steady. Yesterday I had contractions all day that got progressively closer all day long until last night around 6 they were coming 5 minutes apart. We put several people on "alert" just in case. But, after the kids went to bed they started spacing out. I decided to go to sleep because I wanted to be rested if things picked up again. I was up several times last night with strong contractions that were about 10 minutes apart but this morning I they are spaced out again. It is very frustrating but I am determined to let her come when she is ready. My original due date was the 9th, so maybe technically I am not even late yet. Who knows? I brought Isabella home on Mother's Day 9 years ago, so maybe I will have the same blessing this year. Just please pray that Michael and I will be patient during this situation. Actually we need patience with the situation, the kids, and each other, since all of us are REALLY ready to meet the new addition to our family.

Update:
So today shaped up better than it started. I was depressed this morning so I called my girlfriend, Sarah. I went over to her house for a while. We made salsa and talked and laughed. It was a great distraction for me. After that I went home, straightened the house, and then went to pick up Bella. After I got the kids we went to Sonic, bought Bella some shoes, and then made it a chiropractor appointment. She did some procedures that hopefully will induce labor, so we will see. By the time we got home it was time to cook dinner and get the kids ready for bed. Now my sister is on her way over to spend the night. All-in-all it's been a pretty good day, even though I am officially the size of a beached whale.

Waiting...

Well, here it is, May 2nd, my due date and our little girl is obviously content. I mean why wouldn't she be? She is in a spa environment. She's in a hot tub, being fed, and although she can hear some noise, it is muffled. And almost daily now she is getting a foot massage. Who would want to leave that?

On the flip side though is a host of people who are anxiously awaiting her arrival. I have had everyone from family to the librarian asking me when we are going to get to meet her. Unfortunately, I do not know. You see, I am not an induction/c-section kind of girl (and have nothing against those who are). I was induced with Isabella on my due date and the experience was difficult on both of us to say the least. I had contractions that were so painful that I had to have a epidural (not a problem for some people but I personally wanted a unmedicated, natural birth experience). After the epidural, my labor slowed (which is common), and then Isabella went into distress. When she finally came out they wisked her away from me for almost an hour to suction her stomach and lungs to make sure she had not injested any meconium. I was terrified until I heard her first cry which was about 10 mintues after she was born.

So, needless to say, when we were blessed with Micah I wanted things to be different. So, I went totally natural with him. He came about 3 days early and the experience was just wonderful. Was it painful? Excruciatingly so, but it was so worth it. I felt so powerful and alive, like I had just conquered the world. I was immediately ready to do it again (I know, I have heard it a million time, I am crazy). Micah came out and I held him immediately. He didn't cry at all, until the took him away to clean him up.

After Micah, we vowed we were done. We had our girl and our boy. That was good enough for us. I family small enough to still fit into a 4 door sedan. Perfect. Obviously we had not heard the quote, "if you want to make God laugh, just tell him your plans." Because four years and two months later we brought Aria into the world. She came into this world just like Micah did and the experience was once again absolutley wonderful. A little more painful than I remembered from Micah, but still exactly the way I wanted it. And might I add that God apperently know what he is doing because she is such a perfect addition to our "not-so-little anymore" family. We could not imagine our family without her.

After Aria was born we had to get a minivan becasue we no longer could fit into a 4-door sedan. And can I just say, I love my minivan. I know that there are many people out there who do not like minivans but I love mine. Anyway, now here we are 4 years and 3 1/2 months later and we are waiting again for the new addition to our family. The waiting has been so much more difficult this time. Partly because Micah and Aria came the week before my due date and partly because the kids are very anxious for her to get here so they ask me everyday if she is going to coem out today. Even Michael has been somewhat impatient.

So today I rest in the shadow of the almighty and wait patiently for the Lord. Not an easy task, I must say.