10.9.10

Introducing...

Street Michael

9 lbs 7.1 oz

21 inches

I want to write Street's birth story before I forget the details. Friday I woke up and decided enough is enough. I was tired, swollen, and very over the pregnancy. I decided I would do everything in my power to get labor started but ultimately put it in the Lord's hands. Nathan and I had been attending birth classes and I was so determined to have a different birth experience this time around. Not that my other two births disappointed me in anyway and I can't really explain it, I just knew the Lord was doing something new this time.
So back to Friday...I walked Ellery to school that morning and just kept walking. Friday night I sat on an exercise ball doing all sorts of stretches I thought might help. Oh and on Thursday night, I went to see a chiropractor and had a massage.
At 10:30 on Friday night, I mentioned to Nathan that it kind of felt like my water had broken. I couldn't decide and ultimately decided I must have just peed on myself a little (pretty, I know). I decided to go to bed and just see what happened. At about 3:30am, I woke up to some cramping and that's when I knew labor had started. I called my midwife and told her my contractions were about 4-5 minutes apart but not too intense. She didn't want us to wait too long at home because this was my 3rd baby and there was a high possibility he/she could come really fast.
We took our time. Nathan showered, I finished packing us up, I went upstairs and kissed my two lovies, Nathan's mom arrived at our house to stay with the kids, and off we went. My contractions were still close together in the car and never let up, however, I was a little worried I would get to the hospital and it would be false labor or I would still be 1 cm dilated. I was pretty confident my water did break (although it wasn't that big gush you see in the movies) and felt better about waking my midwife up and getting her to the hospital so early on her BIRTHDAY!

We got to our labor and delivery room and waited on midwife Titi to arrive. She checked me and said I was 4-5 cm dilated and about 90% effaced. Phew... some progress. At about 7 am, her shift was over and another midwife Debbie arrived. I somehow always knew Debbie would be the one to deliver this baby. She was the one who gave us the "bad" news about our 20 week ultrasound and she even called me over the weekend to see how I was holding up until I could see the specialist the next week. Our personalities just clicked. My nurse Melissa was also wonderful. I had met her at my non-stress test in the hospital on Tuesday and she requested to be my nurse. The Lord hand-picked these precious ladies.

Debbie, Melissa, and I walked the halls, stopping for each contraction. When Debbie checked me at about 11am, she said I had made a little progress. She didn't think my water had fully broken and said that it would help get things really moving forward. After she broke my water, things got intense. I labored in the bathtub and on the birthing ball, the birthing ball being the best. My mom and sister came in the room to see me and while I was so happy they were there, it was hard. I actually teared up a bit when I saw them.

Debbie checked me again at about 12 pm and said that she thought this baby was not going to come down on his/her own without some help. She guessed that we might have a bigger baby on our hands. She decided to help me out (I will spare you the details) while I pushed a little. This is when I decided enough was enough. I was in so much pain. I wanted her hand out of me and I wanted this baby out. I told her to stop and that I needed a break. She gave me that "break" but what she did worked and I couldn't help but keep pushing. She later told me she saved me hours of labor. Nathan gave me an eye-to-eye pep talk and I realized that the only way to get through this was to push this baby out. I put my hands on the baby's head and at 12:42 pm, Street Michael entered this world. His shoulder got stuck a little and we soon realized why...he weighed 9 lbs, 7.1 oz! Nathan helped deliver him and declared "It's a boy. It's Street" with tears in his eyes. In an instant all the pain and discomfort turned to joy and relief. The baby nurse placed him on my chest, we let his cord pulsate, and he was given Apgars of 8 and 9. He stayed with me for about an hour before the nurse took him to be weighed and examined. Our baby boy was here and he was healthy and he was perfect. He has Price's light hair and maybe eyes and his nose and mouth look like Ellerys. At least that's our opinion as of today.

I am pretty sure I told Nathan I was never doing that again, EVER. He was my biggest supporter...he was incredible throughout it all. I love him even more after experiencing Street's birth together. The Lord has been gracious to us...that is how I have been feeling all weekend. He was gracious to give us the birth experience we had prayed for and so gracious to give us this healthy little guy after such an initial scare. Our "growth restricted baby" was not growth restricted in anyway. Gracious.

This is a long post with lots of run on sentences but I didn't want to forget anything. We are all doing well, just tired. Ellery is thrilled with her new baby brother and even though she had her sights set on a baby girl, she knows that God has given us what we needed. She is helping already and sweetly smothering him. Price just looks at Street and smiles. And when Street cries, Price's lips quiver and he looks like he might burst into tears as well. Brotherly love I guess.

Who wants a coke? (and a baby update)

I went to the hospital today for a non-stress test to check up on baby. Everything sounded great! My midwife was debating on giving me a medicine to help get this baby moving down and labor started, however, after much discussion we both decided against it. We are going to give my body more time to do its thing and if there is no baby by Sunday, we will have an induction on Monday. The standard is 40 weeks with our cord-issue and while I would be willing to go another week or so, I am trusting the doctor on this one.

I am so peaceful about it all and know the Lord has the perfect time and day for the arrival of this much-loved little one.

In the meantime, I am walking, walking, walking. In fact, if you saw a huge pregnant lady and a certain 4 year old walking down a busy street today...it was me and Ellery. Ellery has become quite the entrepreneur lately and wants to sell everything from art work to water to random household items. Today, she decided she wanted to sell cans of coke. At first I said no (I don't want to be the crazy neighbor) but then I thought back to my childhood. I was just like her! So we came up with a plan to give cokes away to people we saw in the neighborhood. She would be satisfied and I could get some walking in. We carried around a diaper box of cokes and handed them out one by one. There are several houses under construction and the workers had huge smiles on their faces when Ellery presented them with an ice-cold coke. One man gave her a dollar and that really made her day. We could have been a coca-cola commerical now that I think about it.

I am off to eat some spicy chili for dinner. And maybe some pineapple for dessert. Isn't that the old-wives tale about labor-inducing food?

Getting stronger

No baby news. I have had an increasing amount of contractions each day and have been trying to get in some walking to hopefully help get this labor thing started, but nothing real significant to report. I suppose Nathan missed Texas/OU weekend for nothing, although I'm not really sure he would have enjoyed it considering the outcome.

Price is really gaining some arm strength. He has started to push up on his arms and scoot himself back. Nathan will get on the floor with him and they do push-ups together. He even got himself into a sitting position from his tummy. It's amazing to me how all of the little pieces have to come together to get our body to move in a certain way. When I watch 2 year olds at the park, I'm in complete awe. We know that crawling will open up a whole new world for Price, as pulling up is pretty impossible to do while on your stomach (and believe me, he tries). It's so encouraging to see him gain new skills and strength. Your prayers for Price mean so much to our family! All of the glory to the Lord!

Baby update

We had our last (hopefully) appointment with our fetal specialist. Everything is looking good with the baby and he/she is measuring right on schedule. He/she is estimated to be about 7 1/2 pounds right now which pretty much means this one will likely be right on target with Ellery and Price who were close to 8 lbs. I am so thankful that no growth issues have come up throughout this pregnancy.

I have had quite a few comments about how miserable I must be now. However, I don't feel miserable at all and I'm not complaining. The only thing is that my feet are the size of Texas and I have serious cankles. I never swelled with Ellery or Price, so this is a new symptom for me. But, like I said, no complaints here. So many of the moms at therapy had their babies prematurely and my sister was on bed rest after going into labor at 25 weeks...and so how could I complain? Labor will be a different story, however!

Our fetal specialist said it's best to not go past my due date with our cord issue, so if this baby does not come in the next week and a half I am supposing they will most likely induce. I am just praying and hoping that this little one will come on his/her own timing. Ellery was 9 days early and I was induced with Price a couple days before my due date because of the hurricane, so I really have no expectations about when the big day might be!

The fear has tried to creep in over the past couple of weeks. What if this baby has hypotonia? What if something is wrong? What if we have to do this therapy/doctor thing all over again? And so I am just trying to combat it with prayer and the truth, relying on the grace of God to give me faith instead of fear.

Oh, and just a funny side note. We have been doing a nightly devotional with Ellery. A couple of nights ago it was on the Lord giving us the desires of our heart and if we are following Him, it will be what He wants. Nathan told me later that night that Ellery's exact words were, "I wish for rainbows each day and I wish there were unicorns for real on earth." Oh, to be a child again!

Day of nesting

My dad, Nathan, and Ellery were on the road early today to make it to the Texas game in Austin. My mom, Price, and I decided to stay at home since the game was going to be a middle-of-the-day scorcher. My mom is the most organized person I know, and I always enjoy her coming over to our house to "do some work". And some work we did! Kids closets, nursery, pictures hung, laundry done, and the grand finale my closet! I have done very little shopping since before Price was born...all of a sudden we were thrown into appointments with him and therapy and my clothes and style took a backseat. (Don't feel too sorry for me though, because my mom was always looking out for me. :) ) And being very pregnant now, I just wanted to get rid of everything and little by little start all over. My closet looks very empty...a clean slate...and it feels so good. I have nothing to wear...but it really does feel good.

After our purging, we decided to make a trip to the galleria of course. I needed a couple of things for labor and after delivery, and the kids both were in need of pajamas. Of course, a little detour through Nordstroms was a necessity as well. Too bad I am too big for the clothes and too swollen for the shoes.

Price seemed to enjoy his one-on-one time with the ladies. He doesn't get out and about much these days. One, because he is always at therapy and two, because he is difficult for me to maneuver right now. He loved the galleria with so many people and things to look at. His favorites were the elevator and the balloon that a lady in the shoe department gave him.

Here he is holding his balloon and doing his fake "smile" for the camera. I love this boy!

Sitting pretty

I was called out of the waiting room at therapy to come see my boy sitting on a step! It's such a BIG accomplishment for our low-tone little guy! Go Pricey!

Piper time

Thanks to everyone who said prayers for Price on Friday. We actually re-scheduled his procedure. Orally sedating a 2 year-old just didn't seem like a great idea to us...we just don't want to take any risks. It would have left him still awake, able to feel the procedure, and still able to move. And even though he can't move as much as most 2 year-olds, he can and would have still tried to get away and squirm. I will let you know when the new date is.

Piper and Paige are in town and we are loving it! She's such a doll and it makes me even more anxious to meet our little one. Speaking of little one, I went to the doctor on Friday and I am maybe 1 cm dilated and the baby has not descended at all. I am thinking I might go the full three weeks. I am feeling great, other than being tired and hot, but no complaints.

I always tell the Lord that I believe He heals. I know He can heal. I read about healing all over the Bible. Sometimes though, I doubt that He will. Gasp, I know. Most days I am full of faith and belief and then I will have a day where I have my doubts. Well, the Lord provided a most perfect example of His healing power and His working of a miracle in a good friend's life. Most of all, I am thrilled for this friend of mine and just thanking the Lord for His goodness and faithfulness in her life. I get teary-eyed just thinking about it. But, I am also encouraged. It was almost like He was saying to me, Look here my child, I am still in the business of miracles. I am the God who heals. The same God you read about is the same God I am today. I am so thankful I serve such a powerful God.