Sunday September 14th, my due date, I was starting to think I would never go into labor. That evening I started having some pretty intense contractions. Well I had had many evenings with contractions that turned into nothing, but these were more intense. So I called my mom and told her if I woke up with them, we would be heading up.

We went to bed and about 2:00 I was awoken by a contraction. I got up, went to the bathroom, and tried to go back to sleep. About 3:00 I woke up with another really strong contraction and then another not long after. So I got up and started timing them they were 5-8 minutes apart. I wanted to let Tim sleep as long as possible, so I went about getting things ready to go. About 4:00 I had a contraction that I couln’t keep quiet and Tim woke up.

We packed up and drove to the cabin stopping for some MacDonalds on the way. We got there about 9:00am and contractions were 4-6 minutes apart. My mom came down to the cabin, she was supposed to be helping to watch Ava but really she watched Tim watch Ava.  I made brownies and miso soup in between contractions. About 1:30 my contractions were getting too strong to have Ava around,  we couldn’t set the pool up with ava there, so she went down to my parents.

My Dr. showed up a little later around 2:30, when he checked me I was 4cm and 50% effaced. He encouraged me to get out of the pool and move around, which I did. That’s when things started to progress or so I thought. Two hours later after walking to my parents and back and rolling on my ball I was just feeling more tired and when my Dr checked again I had not progressed at all. My Dr. went to check on another patient who had given birth at 8:00 that morning and said he would be back in a couple of hours.

So it was just Tim and I left there. I was so tired and I needed some rest so I got into the pool to ride out the contractions then I would try to sleep in between them. My friend showed up after about an hour, and then my Dr. arrived back at the cabin. The rest and relaxation had helped, I had progressed to 6cm & 80% effacement. Here is my friends account of what happened from there…

“So I was able to make it to my friends, home-water birth monday night. She started having steady contractions late Sunday night/early Monday morning so they packed everything up and headed to the cabin where they would be having the baby. Before the contractions really started she was only 2 cm dilated and she knew she wasn’t really progressing quickly enough for me to rush up there. After work I headed up to the cabin and when I got there around 7: 40ish, the last time the doctor had checked her, 5:40ish she was 4 cm with 50% effacement. The doctor arrived back at the cabin shortly after me and checked her again – 6.5 cm with 80% effacement! Wonderful progress. She was doing great riding out the contracts in her birthing pool, with candles and soft music playing. I kind of felt like a bump on a log as we quietly waited for each contraction to come and go. She sat in her pool, looked at her tummy and said, “Ok this is how this is going to happen; I am going to dilate 1cm every 30 minutes until I get to 10! Then you’re coming out Josie!!” We all chuckled and hoped for quick dilation since she was beginning to have terrible back pain from transition. She said she could feel Josie’s head on her butt and that was putting tons of pressure on her tail bone. Things seemed to really kick in around 8:30 when the doctor checked her and confirmed she had progressed to a ‘stretchy’ 8 cm with full effacement. She was dilating at the rate she wanted, but she was beginning to have the urge to push. Her doctor checked her again and it was a little too early to push. By 9:15 she was 10 cm, but her membranes hadn’t ruptured yet, after the doctor ruptured her membranes Josie was out at 9:45 p.m. It was the most intense, yet amazing experience I’ve ever witnessed. I am so thankful that she let me be a part of it all. Josie even breastfed like a champ and tipped the scales at 7 lbs. 8 oz. She appeared smaller than her big sister, but actually weighed more than Ava did at birth. I’m looking forward to my own water birth and hoping that my friend will be operating the camera at mine like I was at hers.”

she left out a few things though…
After Ava went to sleep my mom came down to be there for the birth. She wouldn’t stop talking during the contractions even though I asked her nicely 3 different times not to.  Finallyduring one rather painful contraction I finally yelled at her to “SHUTUP” for which I feel horrible and she is still upset.  Also Tim caught little Josie but then almost let go of her because the vernix really freaked him out, LOL. My favorite part is that I cut the chord this time

Everyone was gone from the cabin by 10:45/11, we got Ava to sleep and it was just DH,  I and Josie we stayed up until about 1:00am just looking at her then we all had a great sleep. It was exactly the birth experience we had wanted.

8/10/08

My dear friend Sarah threw me a shower yesterday, we only invited my 5 closest friends and my Mom. By chance all of my friends had major things going on, one was in another state, one was in the middle of moving, my mom had to go the hospital for a blood clot in her foot yesterday morning, and one is taking care of her MIL who had surgery on Friday.So I had one friend show up and my friend who threw it. Up until I got there I was pretty depressed about the whole situation, but my two friends made it a wonderfully memorable afternoon.

1st we made matching shirts for Ava and Josie while sipping on a tastey iced-tea sweetened with splenda just for me, then we ate some wonderful fruit salad and cheese and crackers. Then I opened some presents and I’ll tell you those two girls went all out. I got a My Brest Friend pillow, which I wanted so badly. Some extra large breast sheilds, LOL. 3 of the cutest outfits and 2 of the softest prettiest blankets. Then we had some chocolate peanut butter cheesecake, mmmmmmmm, so good!

This is the table, it was so pretty. The bottles have bath salts in them, which I can’t wait to use:)

Joy getting ready to make some shirts:

Ava and my friends son, Noah, playing with his boots:

The shirts – Joy’s Onesies:
The shirts I made:

Sarah’s princess shirts:

http://www.pollpub.com/help-us-pick-our-new-baby-girls-name.aspx

Well I have been terrible about updating.  Time just seems to pass me by some days.  I guess it’s because I am busy with a 16 month old.  This is definitely the most wonderfully tiring job I have ever had.

Ava got her first stomach virus last week and I hope her last.  Poor thing.  She woke up last Sunday night throwing up and it continued for about 4 days.  She finally kept everything she consumed down Saturday.  Then I got it and man was it wicked. 

Saturday night I started feeling nauseaus and once it started it didn’t seem like it was going to stop.  I knew I was getting dehydrated by 3:00am Sunday morning because I started having contractions.  So we decided I should go to the hospital.  Tim stayed home so we wouldn’t have to wake up Ava, but when I got to Labor and Delivery they wouldn’t give me anything, not even fluids, because I was alone.  So I called my dear friend Tia, who was just great.  She took better care of me than the nurses for the most part.  After a ton of fluid and anti-nausea medicine I was sent home.  I didn’t get sick again but I felt like I had been hit by a car and the major dehydration brought on a major headache that I am still somewhat fighting.

Yesterday we had our regular prenatal appt.  We were’nt expecting to get an U/S but Dr. Hayes offered so ofcourse we took him up on it.  Especially with everything my body and baby had been through this past weekend. We got to see that everything was OK and that she is still quite a she.  She is breech right now but it is still early so nothing to worry about yet.  The Placenta is far out of the way and she was moving like crazy.  Overall it was a wonderful appt.

Since we got confirmation that we are indeed still having a girl we have finally picked out a name…

I was not expecting to have another shower with this one, mostly because it is such an iffy subject, etiquette wise.  However my dear friend Sarah has offered to throw one for me at her house.  I can’t tell you how touched I was.  Not to mention I would hate for Isabella to think we celebrated her coming any less than we did Ava’s.  After all we have been through, I feel like all of our children are amazing blessings and it just feels right to celebrate their existance.

Well gotta go do mommy stuff.

3/18/08 ~ Our appointment went very well Monday. We didn’t get to find out the sex but, the Placenta has completely moved away from the Cervix. I really want to have a natural home birth again so barring any other unforseen complications(fingers crossed), we will be getting our cabin water birth.

We go back in February at 18 weeks and we will most likely get to find out what the little one is.

Ava is growing so much, every day I fall more in love with her, and in turn I can’t wait to fall in love with this one the same way. She is still too young to understand the baby thing, but we still tell her there is a baby brother or sister in mommys belly. I think she is more entertained by the fact that my belly jiggles, LOL.

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1/21/08 6 weeks 1 day ~ The 1st prenatal appointment

“I don’t see a 6 week pregnancy here, that’s for sure.” That was what the Doctor finally said after looking around for what seemed like forever. Honestly, I refused to believe it and I told him to keep looking, when all of a sudden we saw a fluttering, it was hard to see the little one because of how low it implanted. It was so hard to see that he had to check my pulse to make sure the fluttering wasn’t a vein of mine, but it wasn’t, it was my little bean’s heartbeat!

Ultrasound of pregnancy#4 at 6 weeks

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7 weeks ~ Belly shot

1/27/08 ~ 7 weeks and the nausea is starting, small waves every so often, but nothing major. My pants are getting tighter and my stomache is starting to grow, I think, either that or I am just bloated. This week I am craving lemonade, specifically Chick-Filet’s sugar-free lemonade.

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The little one waving at us:

This shows the complete Placenta Previa:

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11 weeks ~ Belly shot

2/25/08 ~ 11 weeks and I’m craving carbs, which I really am not supposed to have, so that stinks why can’t I crave meats and cheese? Instead the thought of meats and cheese right now just makes me sick.  So for now it’s mainly chicken broth.  I have been much more sick this pregnancy than I was with Ava, but sporadically. I had one really bad week where I was sick 24 hours a day, but I think we are past that and through the worst now.

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12 weeks ~ Belly shot

3/04/08 ~ 12 weeks, I can tell I am going to “pop” sooner this time, I feel huge already.  On the up side, the weather is getting beautiful and the morning sickness is somewhat lightened up.  So ava and I have been able to get out and do a little more.  Lately we have been hitting Furman Lake and the Reedy River Falls. 

 

 

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13 weeks ~ well here’s the progression so far

3/11/08 ~ 13 weeks, Yeah, almost out of the 1st trimester. We go back to Dr. Hayes on Monday, I can’t wait, I really start to feel a little crazy the week before my appt’s. I’m just so afraid something will happen to this little one. Cravings this week include, cocktail onions, hummus and mild pepperoncini peppers. I have felt a fish flopping a few times and I assume it’s Jr. in there.

I also had my first “toe injury” I tripped going over the child gate last night and broke my poor little “little” toe.   It’s all fun from here on out.

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