The Birth Story

I really want to document Naomi's birth (for memory sake) and since this is practically my life's scrapbook I figure there is no place better than here. (You may stop reading here if you like). The Birth: I was scheduled to be induced on December 30th at 6:30am. Aaron & I both woke early, took showers, and prepared to go to the hospital only to get a call at 5:30am saying we had been bumped back a few hours. I was told to call at 9am and hopefully they'd give the go ahead for us to come to the hospital. At 9am I call and I'm told that we can come in for the induction. We head that way and when we get there my very apologetic midwife tells me that chaos has broken loose and we've been pushed back even further. She tells me to go shop, grab lunch, and hopefully they'll get me in before 1pm. If not we are postponed until possibly the 31st or after the weekend :( Aaron & I head out to Wal-Mart to do some walking and waste a little time before we catch lunch. As we are about to order lunch we get the call the the induction is a no-go and that we have been scheduled for the 31st at 6am. We are disappointed, but make the most of it by spending the day with Levi before baby sister arrives. The next morning we wake even earlier, get showers, and head to the hospital. When we arrive they take us straight back and get us set up. After answering tons of questions about everything under the sun I'm finally checked and I'm still only a 2 (I've been a 2 since Dec. 20th). I was pretty bummed because that meant I haven't progressed at all since my last appointment. We finally get the petocin drip going around 7:45am. The contractions aren't bad at all. I can see them on the monitor, but they are very mild. My midwife comes in to break my water at 9:50am and checks me. Only at 3cm. I feel I'm hardly progressing and this is going to be a long day. I start having flashbacks to Levi's birth - 19 hours of labor, 2 hours of pushing - horrible memories. Around 10:20am my contractions pick up and get stronger. I'm having 2 every 5 minutes. Some are more painful than others. The ones in my back are the worse - again like Levi's birth. I finally get comfortable on the bed where I think I can handle the contractions and her heart rate drops so I have to lay back in the bed which makes the contractions harder to handle. From Levi's birth I had already decided that I didn't want any pain medications except for an epidural. The medications from his birth made me so out of it that I hardly remember any of the actual birth. I feel like I missed out on so much of his birth that I really wanted to be coherent for Naomi's birth. Around 11:30am my nurse tells me that the anesthesiologist will be available at noon for an epidural. Knowing that I was only 3cm a little more than an hour ago I decided to have the epidural fearing a long labor. At 12:15pm I get the epidural and life is much better. I'm able to relax, watch a little tv, and bond with Aaron (more about his amazing support later). The check me after the epidural and I'm 5cm. At that moment I was glad I decided to go ahead with the epidural since I was progressing somewhat slowly. Two hours later my nurse checks me again and I'm 9.5cm!!! Aaron and I were both surprised that I had progressed so quickly since the epidural, especially since they sometimes make labor longer. The nurse tells me we'll probably start pushing in 30 minutes. Honestly I have a little moment of panic right then realizing that my daughter will be here soon and I will be responsible for another child in this world. Just ten minutes later my nurse returns and tells me that the doctor is at the hospital and if I can push we are going to go ahead and deliver the baby. I push once, she says I'm ready. The doctor comes in, everything is ready and I start pushing at 2:40pm. I twice and her head is out. Five minutes and she is here!!! Everything went so smoothly. The fact that our induction had been postponed ended up being a blessing in disguise because on the 31st we were the only ones in labor and delivery, so nothing was rushed and everyone was available to take care of us. We had the most amazing nurses. Everyone was so kind and helpful. It was actally a pretty enjoyable stay at the hospital. We had lots of family and frinds visit us and the fellowship was so nice. We left on Saturday, Jan.1 around 5pm. Levi was sick on the 31st and wasn't able to come to the hospital to meet his new sister. On the way home we picked him up and he was more than thrilled to finally meet Naomi. His reaction to her has been an answer to prayer. He absolutely adores her and wants to hold, kiss, and touch her constantly. We are absolutely in love with our daughter. She has already wrapped herself around our hearts and the joy we have is indescribable. We are more than blessed in every way imaginable, which is exactly why our blog is entitle "Blessed."

Waiting

Our induction for today was cancelled - TWICE!! We got up at 4:30am and just as we were about to leave we were called and told to call at 9am and hopefully they'd have a spot for us. Went back to bed and called at 9am and were told to come in, but to take our time because they probably wouldn't jump on us for a while. We arrive around 10:15am only to find out that everything has gone crazy and no spot is available. My midwife was there and suggested we hang out in town, grab some lunch, and possibly they'd get us in before 1pm. Just as we were about to grab lunch they called us and informed us that no induction would be happening today. So we are scheduled for tomorrow at 6am. We were told that I was the only appointment tomorrow so there is little likelyhood that I would be cancelled or postponed again. So we are waiting and looking forward to Naomi joining our family tomorrow. However, I am also welcoming labor to onset on its own anytime before then. Hopefully the next post will be a picture of our beautiful daughter!! P.S. To anyone who saw the crazy 9 month pregnant lady on the elliptical at Wal-Mart today...I'm sorry. I just wanted to go into labor. I know I looked crazy and perhaps I was.

Update

Naomi's due date is January 1. She is doing great and should be here any minute. I am having a few contractions, but nothing consistent. I am scheduled to be induced on Thursday morning at 6:30am. There is a possibility that if the hospital is full they may cancel the induction :(. I really would prefer to go into labor on my own, but that isn't happening. Right now my prayer is that labor begins before the induction, and that if that doesn't happen that the induction doesn't get cancelled. We are very anxious to meet our daughter and are excited about the next few days. Please keep us in your prayers that the labor and delivery will be smooth, quick, and easy. As soon as she's here we'll let you all know.

My New Best Friend

That's right! I have a new best friend and her name is baking soda. My pregnancy has been so great and easy with one exception...HEARTBURN! I'm sure you saw my post several months ago about how horrible my heartburn has been this pregnancy and how nothing would help it go away. Well a friend from church told me about a home remedy using baking soda and my life has changed! I simply mix 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda with 1/2 cup of warm water and drink. Its not the best drink ever, but I'm a desperate woman so I don't care about the taste - just the relief, and relief I have found. If you are suffering with me I hope this helps, but beware of this disclaimer: you will burp - and burp loud. You may even wake the neighbors, but who cares if you get relief? Cheers!

Showers of Blessings

Yesterday my sister Amy threw an amazing baby shower for our little Naomi who is expected to arrive in about 7 weeks. I was completely blessed by the demonstration of generosity by all of my friends and family that came to love on me and Naomi in preparation for her arrival. I got tons of adorable clothes, bows, blankets, and of course those wonderful necessities like diapers, burp clothes, wipes, and towels. To everyone who came and loved on us THANK YOU! You truly are the most amazing friends in the world. Unfortunately I had my camera, but didn't pull it out once to take a picture. Boo me because my sister did an amazing job of decorating and serving us up a fun time.

What's In A Name?

A LOT! Aaron and I take the names of our children very seriously. Maybe a little too seriously, but we want our children to know that they were named for very specific reasons with God, love, and family in mind. We like to use Biblical names for their first name and family names for the middle name. Everyone has been asking me about the name of our little girl and until recently we hadn't decided on a name for her. Right before our trip to Texas we decided on a name and I've commented on the name in my previous post in the comment section, but for those of you dying to know what name we've chosen for out little girl and haven't read those comments - here it is...

Naomi Elizabeth

Naomi is Hebrew for Beautiful or Gentle. Elizabeth is Hebrew for God is my oath. We always have stories behind our kids names so here is the story behind her name. Aaron and I were both hoping for a little boy (I know what woman wouldn't want a little girl - but I am different). When we found out we were having a girl we were slightly disappointed, but the anticipation of her arrival has brought so much excitement to our lives. We were wrestling between two names when a few weeks ago Aaron was listening to the radio and heard an interview with a man. In the interview the man was speaking of how they had an unexpected addition to their family and what a beautiful blessing it had been. We already knew that Naomi meant beautiful, but we had only looked at it from one perspective - a physical beauty. We had entirely overlooked the beautiful spiritual aspect from God. Having a little girl is going to be an entirely new adventure for us. Her coming into our lives is going to be a beautiful blessing to our entire family. Now we see beautiful in a new way. Not only will she be full of physical beauty (I mean how could she not be the most beautiful girl in the world?), but she is going to bring a beauty to our family we've never imagined before. Her middle name Elizabeth is also special to us because we are naming her after my great-grandmother. Grannie Bone has been such an example of a godly woman to us, and has led our family in faith for so many years. She celebrated her 90th birthday 2 weeks ago and we wanted to honor her in this way. We are so blessed and so excited to meet our new baby girl! {If you don't know the story behind Levi's name I'll try and post it in the next couple of weeks.}

Running Out of Time

I have less than 12 weeks before this sweet little girl makes her debut. Where has my time gone??

I still have a laundry list of things to do...paint rooms, order car seat cover, get crib set up, make room in the closet for her, get a nursing cover, new Baby Bjorn, pull out toys, swing, bouncer, and oh yeah, get her some things to wear! Guess I should stop blogging and get working!

Baby "Sister"

On Thursday I had my 1 hour glucose appointment. While I waited for them to draw my blood they did an ultrasound. Aaron and Levi came with me to see "little sister" and we were all pretty excited about seeing her again. I thought the pictures came out great, and I just love that you can see her beautiful face in the first two pictures. I can't wait to welcome her into our family, hold her, kiss her, and begin our life with her. We are making preparations for her by moving Levi into his big boy bed and our next project is painting. I can't believe I am already 25 weeks and that she'll be here in 15 short weeks! We are still deciding on a name for our sweetness, but as soon as we decide I'm sure it will be a post. Until then, you'll have to be content with these precious photos.

Her foot.

You can see her face and the chamber of her heart.

I'm Not One to Complian, BUT...

My pregnancy has been going wonderfully. I feel great with the exception of the minor aches and pains associated with a growing belly and baby. That being said, I really hate to complain about an awesome and smooth pregnancy, but I do have one complaint...HEARTBURN! I had heartburn with Levi, but the really bad stuff didn't start until about month 6 or 7. I'm in my 6th month (24 weeks) now and have been having horrible heartburn for weeks (probably since the 4th month). It is absolutely horrible. Worst is that I feel like everything causes it. Any kind of food, eating too little, eating too much, eating too early, eating too late, even water, and all in between. Seriously everything and even nothing cause me to have heartburn. I've been taking Prevacid, but even that doesn't help all the time. I am really appreciative for the relief it gives, but I'm really looking forward to the end of the road when heartburn is no longer an everyday irritation. So there is my complaint. A friend told me yesterday of a remedy she used while pregnant (sounds like her heartburn was just as bad as mine is) that I'm anxious to try. I'll let you know if I find relief.

IT'S A GIRL!

We found out at our 3D ultrasound yesterday that we are welcoming a BABY GIRL into our family! If anyone had asked me I would have sworn we were having a boy - my pregnancy was exactly the same as Levi's, the heartbeat was getting lower at each visit, etc. Not to mention we really wanted another boy. Had the name picked out and everything. So it was a complete shock and total surprise when the ultrasound tech said "It's a girl!" Levi was with us at the ultrasound and was so excited about his new sister. She kept waving on the monitor and Levi would wave back. Although we were "wanting" a boy, we are thrilled that we will be having a little girl at the end of the year. To get myself excited about a little girl I've made a list of all the things to look forward to:

• CLOTHES! Girls have the best clothes and there are always more girl clothes to choose from then boy clothes.
• Now my sisters have a ring bearer and a flower girl for their weddings.
• Hair - not that I even have a clue of what to do, but now we get to play with bows and such, and my friend Lisa has her own business for stuff such as this so I'm looking forward to giving her some business.
• I think my mom still has some of my clothes from when I was a baby and I'm looking forward to putting her into all of it.
• I can't wait to see what she looks like. Big brown eyes with blond hair. I think she will be adorable to say the least.
• Shoes - boys need what? 2 or 3 pairs. Girls need tons! So exciting.
• Now I can register for all the blog giveaways that are for girly things like bows, hats, dresses, etc. *Alison - any cute hats you want to send our way we would love it*
• A mommy's girl!!

Here's to a wonderful new adventure that we are so excited about!

15 Weeks

Yesterday marked 15 weeks in this pregnancy! We are so excited about our little one, and can't wait for him (yes - we want a "him") to grace us with his presence. I have been feeling great with no real pregnancy symptoms thus far. Everything has been so easy going that I sometimes forget I'm pregnant. During my pregnancy with Levi I got weekly emails telling me about the development of the baby for each passing week. I am getting the same emails with this pregnancy and I love it! I love reading about what milestones my baby is reaching and how awesome God is in creating life in the womb. It literally amazes me. Here are a few of the awesome milestones our little one has been achieving in the last few weeks: Week 13: Fingerprints have formed on his tiny fingertips, his veins and organs are clearly visible through his still-thin skin, and his body is starting to catch up with his head -- which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Week 14: He can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb. Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him -- a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb. Week 15: He's busy moving amniotic fluid through his nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in his lungs begin to develop. His legs are growing longer than his arms now, and he can move all of her joints and limbs. Although his eyelids are still fused shut, he can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, he's likely to move away from the beam. Isn't this just AMAZING! Our God truly is an awesome God!

And Baby Makes 4!

We have been eagerly waiting to share this news with you all. We are indeed expecting our second child! I am 12 weeks and the due date is January 1, 2011!!! We are thrilled, and so excited to add another blessing to our family. So far I feel great with the exception of being a little more tired. Thank you for all your well wishes, thoughts, and prayers during this time. We are blessed to have friends and family like you.

Our Little Man!

Aunt Lou reporting:

Levi Aaron

May 28, 2008

7 lbs 14 oz

20 inches long

8:47 pm

Mom and baby are doing well! Jill and baby will be at the hospital for at least one more night. She says she is up for visitors.

Rockdale Medical Center, visiting hours: 1pm-9pm.

Aaron is one proud Papa!

It's Almost Time!

I am so glad that I finally received some good news at my doctor's visit today. At today's visit I was dilated to a tight 2. Although they don't think the baby is going to be as big as they once thought, they are still worried about him being on the hefty side. At this time they think he is probably about 8 and a half pounds, so they don't want to wait much longer. On that note they have decided to induce labor! They tried getting me in today or tomorrow, but the earliest they can fit me in is this Thursday. I still could go in early if there is a cancellation. As of now, I go in Thursday night at 6pm to start a drug to prepare my body for labor. If all is well Friday morning, I will likely start pitocin at that time. Hopefully we'll have a bouncing baby boy by Friday evening! Please keep us in your thoughts, and pray that everything goes smoothly. We'll update soon - hopefully with pictures of our sweet boy!

Into the Single Digits

So we have officially reached the single digits of our countdown. Only 9 days to go to Levi's due date. It is crazy how 9 days seems so short and so long all at the same time. Levi is moving so much - morning, noon, and night. Sometimes he moves so much I wonder if he ever sleeps anymore. I hope this isn't a preview of his behavior once he arrives. I will be posting some belly pics soon for all of you that have been requesting them. Other than that, nothing new thus far. I hope to be able to post some better new soon.

One More Week...Maybe.

Everyone had been asking me about the baby, and what the doctor's plan is. Well, unfortunately we are still waiting on our little guy to make his big arrival. Last Thursday I went to the doctor and was dilated to a 1cm. Everything looked well with the exception of the swelling in my ankles and feet. The midwife told me to come back in on Monday, and they would check me again to see if I had made any progress over the weekend. If so, they may induce me this week. Needless to say, I did everything I could think of to make some progress. The results...none. This morning when I went back in I was still only a 1cm. She felt the baby and did say that she didn't think he was getting too big which was a good sign since we were talking about the possibility of a 10 pounder not too long ago. We decided to wait another week, and see what happens. Hopefully I will go into labor this week before my next visit gets here. However, if I make it to my next visit they will probably induce me due to the continuous swelling in my feet, but that is still not definite. Right now it is just wait and see. Everyone pray that our little man decides to grace us with his presence soon!

About to Pop

I just wanted to say that I am about to POP, well my feet are at least. I am retaining water, but all in my feet. I really hope to go into labor soon, but I also realize that most first pregnancies go late, not early :( I am praying to receive some good news at this week's doctor's appointment, but either way I'll be sure to post any news that I get.

More Presents for Levi

This past Sunday afternoon my mom's side of the family threw my a baby shower. As you can see from the pictures it was a rubber duckie theme - and very cute if I may add. They went way beyond my expectations. Everything was awesome. The decorations and of course the food. You can see the great cake they had made in pictures below. Levi received lots of great things, and I think we are actually ready for his arrival (as far as having what we need). I guess we'll see the truth in that once he actually gets here. I want to say a great big "THANK YOU" to all my wonderful family that helped throw the shower, and for all the generous gifts. You have blessed up more than words can say.

After the shower was over we thought it would be fun to see how ready dad is for Levi. Aaron's parents gave us his pack-n-play, so we made dad open it up, and without any instructions try to put it together. We got a good laugh for about a minute until he requested the instructions (typical for my dad). Needless to say, he put it together quite quickly after that, so I guess he's ready afterall.

One Big Boy

I cannot believe that in less than 30 days I will meet my new son! Aaron and I are so excited! I went to the doctor yesterday, and have officially started the weekly appointments. This is exciting because I know it won't be long now. It is also a little nerve racking for the same reason. At my doctor's visit they did an ultrasound to determine fetal weight. Drum roll please....he weighs 6 lbs., 15 oz.!!! He's just an ounce shy of 7 pounds at 36 weeks! Needless to say, he's a little big for 36 weeks. Normally babies gain about half a pound in the last few weeks, which means he still has the potential of gaining another 2 pounds by the due date. Since a 9 pound baby isn't exactly the optimal birthing conditions (for me at least), they are discussing inducing me at 38 weeks. I should know more as the 38 week visit nears. On another note, the baby looks good. He is already in the head-down position, and his heart rate sounded great clocking in at 144. I'll be sure to keep you all posted.

Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep...

I received part of Levi's nursery bedding this week. I was so excited I had to go ahead and get the crib ready for him. I think it is just adorable. I tried to go with something pretty neutral so that I could use it with either a boy or a girl. I am really pleased with how it looks. The teddy bear in the corner is one that my dad's aunt made for me for my first Christmas. I had been looking for it for a while, so I'm thrilled that mom came across it.