Living La Vida Loca

I don't think this is exactly what Ricky Martin was talking about when he sang his hit song, but it immediately pops into my head when I think about the last week and a half.

I don't have the energy to tell you about this past week. I'll just say that it has been wonderfully busy. I try not to think about tomorrow, or next week, and instead focus on today, and this very hour. It is a little less stressful that way.

However, we haven't gotten away with that at all times as we had to pack up all of our monkeys to go to the store to go school shopping. That was fun. We were quite the spectacle all my handsome boys and pretty girl dressed in Packer gear. They had so many admirers. That made the shopping trip bearable. And I must say it was a very cool feeling looking behind me in the minivan and seeing all the seats full.

To quench your thirst for more baby pics I've left you with a few that sum up our week. Please note I do not have any pictures of me sleeping. ;)

We did lots of cuddling.
Gracie tried out her new (old) swing.

The boys took turns fighting over who would get to hold Gracie next. This time Tommy won out. As you can see he was thrilled. Look at those cute Packer fans. More snuggle time with daddy.

Showing off her pretty pink ladybug outfit.

Lots of burping.

And of course, more snuggling.

Yes. My life is full. Beautifully, wonderfully full.

The First Week

The first full week at home is already over. Time is flying even faster than before. Life is so crazy busy that the woman who never puts her camera down has had zero time to even pick it up. And though the week included a sick Tommy, a sicker Ben, round the clock every half hour pooping from Grace, sleepless nights, emergencies at the new house, extreme pain on my part, and a bit of an emotional breakdown or two by yours truly, it has been a blessed week.

The boys are so in love with their little sister. It is such a beautiful thing to see. She seems to be just as smitten with them, looking at them and paying such attention to their affections.

Grace is such a little lady. She seems to be patient and mild mannered so far, which is greatly appreciated by me in the middle of the night. When she does wake up she lets out little cries and saves the loud screams for extreme hunger. She is quite the little lady. I'm afraid she already has us all wrapped around her little finger.

Todd was able to get a couple of days off of work and made life so much easier for me. It was so wonderful having him home with us. He did have to go back to work yesterday, but the day still managed to go fairly smoothly, thank heavens.

In short, life is good. I am riding a huge wave of love. I never imagined in my wildest dreams that I would be so blessed. Surrounded by such love. I think I may just be the luckiest lady in the world.

She's Here

The first time I've ever labored longer than 7 hours (16 to be exact).

The first time I've ever cussed like a sailor during delivery (I am so embarrassed).

The first time one of my babies has come out on the very first long, hard push.

The first time one of my babies has had a full head of hair.

The first time one of my babies has had a full head of black hair.

The first time I've ever fallen in love with a little girl.


On Saturday, August 15, 2009 at 9:59 p.m. God graced us with Grace Marie.
She weighed 7lbs 12 oz, and is 20 1/2 inches long.

Her brothers are deeply smitten with their little sister.

And daddy was so impressed that she waited to make her entrance until after the Packer preseason game was over.

We are all back home now. Resting (somewhat) comfortably. Thanking God for this wonderful gift and knowing that life really doesn't get better than this.

Here We Go!

We are leaving for the hospital in a few minutes.

I have been having light contractions since 6 o'clock this morning, and they are finally picking up. They have been about five minutes apart all day, but they were not that painful. Todd, my mom, the boys and I even went for an hour long walk before lunch to try and move things along. I think it helped a bit, but the contractions have just recently gotten painful and closer together. So, we figured it was time to hit the road.

Say a little prayer, and I'll update you when I can. :)

I'm. Still. Here.

Nope. Still no baby.

I know many of you have been wondering if I am in the hospital right now so I thought I'd update you all. I'm still here. No baby.

(sigh)

The good news is that my face is getting fat. Todd told me as much this morning. He said, "Your face is definitely looking bigger." And you know what? I wasn't even insulted. Todd and I have come to the conclusion that my face gets very swollen on the day I go into labor. We never really noticed it until we were looking back at all of our hospital pictures and videos. So, now we are watching closely for it. Apparently, my face looks especially fat today. Yeah! And who knows, it may be even BIGGER tomorrow. So exciting.

The boys are beyond anxious. They are constantly talking into my belly button (what is it a microphone or something?) telling baby girl she should come out now. They tell her how much they love her and how they can't wait to hold her. Now what girl could resist that? So sweet.

And then the other day Tommy told me he thinks I should be thin again. Yeah. I'll see what I can do about that, you little neanderthal. Of course the boys later made up for that comment by telling me that I'm really not THAT big, and that they still think I'm beautiful. Aww. Sweet little liars. They must be able to tell how fragile I am right now because they have been especially good at stroking mommy's ego these last few days.

In the meantime I've thrown all caution to the wind with taking it easy. I have been taking the boys on super long walks and prepping the house like a crazy woman. Cleaning sheets, baking, sweeping floors, grocery shopping. It's all done. Cuz, I mean, this baby HAS to come sometime soon, right? She can't stay in my belly forever. Right? RIGHT???

Anywho, I will keep you all posted if anything of note happens. And if any of my IRL friends and family are reading this, don't call me, I'll call you. Picking up the phone every few minutes to answer the questions, "Baby isn't here YET?" and "When IS she coming?" has done nothing to improve my mood. Thanks.

DUE

Stick a fork in me, I'm DONE!

Or maybe not.

Here we are. We have arrived at the baby's due date, and still no baby. We went to the doctor and apparently, I am no closer to having this baby than I was two weeks ago. I mean, technically I suppose I am, but I'm still not dilated or effaced. Ho-hum.

I would REALLY appreciate it if baby girl could find a way to make her grand entrance SOON. You see, Todd has worked very hard to try and clear his work schedule so that he can have at least a few days at home with us when baby arrives. He has attempted this with each birth of our children and because they were either early or late I have never had Todd home with me for more than a half a day after baby arrived. This time he cleared (mostly cleared) his schedule for a larger amount of time, and it is still running out. Next week his schedule will pick up again. When you are self employed (meaning, no work= no paycheck) there is no such thing as family leave or extended vacations. He is starting to panic. He really, really would love to be able to spend some quality time with his boys and his new baby girl and be able to help me out when I am fresh out of the hospital. And I know I would certainly welcome his help. So, if you have any extra prayers y'all could send out for us to have this baby ASAP that would be great.

And I think I can finally say that I am done with this pregnancy. Up until now I have been content to wait it out because I really do love being pregnant, but my excitement at finally seeing baby girl has taken over my love of this pregnancy. Well, that and I would really love to be able to feel my fingers again. Swollen feet and hands, aching back, stuffy nose, uncomfortable sleep. I mean, I know it all sounds fun and glamorous, but I'm willing to give it up for baby girl. ;)

I have always believed that when baby is ready to come, the baby will come. I don't really think that there is anything you can do to make a baby to come before he/she is ready. Besides, I have already tried all the "recommended" old wives tales on getting your baby out when I was late with Ben. You know, spicy foods, sex, foot rubs, long walks, blah, blah, blah. None of it worked. Do you have anything that has definitely worked for you? I may just be willing to give it another shot. You know, just in case.

So anywho, here is the last (hopefully) shot of the baby belly. This is me at TEN months. DUE DATE!
P.S. - Sorry about teasing you all with that last post title. It seemed to really miff a few of you. I loved Dysfunctional Mom's comment - " *GLARE* The end of your pregnancy is obviously making you MEAN!!!:P~~ ". Hehehe. What can I say? A girl's gotta have some fun, right? ;)

Finally!

We have been waiting all summer long for some real hot weather and we finally are getting it this week. Today is supposed to hover around 100 degrees, the air thick with humidity. Normally you would think that a woman who could go into labor at any second would not want this kind of heat, but seeing how this summer has been mostly around the low 70s, I'm welcoming the heat. Of course, it did make mass rather difficult this morning as our huge, old church does not have air conditioning. I thought for one brief moment that I was actually seeing Jesus, but I managed to plow through and not pass out for the whole hour.

If the thunderstorms can hold off the boys will actually get a chance to play in their pudgie pool this afternoon. I really hope they can, because I wouldn't mind sitting in some cold water right now too.

Hmm. I just read my title over and realized I probably had you all thinking that baby is finally here. Hehe. Sorry. She did manage to wait until Todd got back home (thankfully) but I think she is planning on waiting a bit longer than that now. So far I haven't felt much in the way of contractions so it may be a few days yet. Which is fine by me. Whenever she is ready. I know I am very uncomfortable right now and everything, but I can definitely put off labor for a while longer. Oh yes. And sleep deprivation too. I am savoring these last few "lazy" days while I've got them. But I promise to keep you all updated as soon as I start to suspect changes.

For now I am going to take a little snooze on the couch while the boys are napping and then hopefully dip my tootsies in the boys' pool a little later. I may even treat myself to some ice tea to celebrate the heat. Woohoo! Let's hear it for summer!

Keeping My Legs Tightly Crossed

Todd is out of town all day today and won't be back until tomorrow. He is going to be an hour and a half away staining all of the woodwork that will be going in the new house. Though I know the staining has to be done this weekend for the construction project to remain on schedule I must admit that I am a little freaked out.

As you may have read here, my labors are all pretty quick. I'm a little concerned that if baby decides to come between now and tomorrow Todd may miss the birth.

I did have a doctor's appointment yesterday and was told that I am still not dilated. I was pretty happy hearing that until the doctor said that it could just mean that I will go from 0 cm to delivering in no time at all since I have a history of quick labors. Hmm. Not good.

So, today I am taking it as easy as possible. No long walks with the boys, no chasing after them at the park, no bike rides, no running errands, and no cleaning. I think I will park my buns on the couch and keep my legs tightly crossed for the remainder of the day. Besides, I don't mind soaking up these last days of my last pregnancy. I have to take advantage of my lovely cup holder while I've got it.

(Please excuse the tired expression, the ratty top, the bedhead, and the glasses. I just woke up.)

In the meantime, keep your fingers crossed that baby waits to make her grand entrance until at least Saturday evening.

Waiting Patiently

Distraction

I've been trying not to think about it, but now that baby's arrival is only a week or so away it has been sneaking back into my thoughts.

Labor. It hurts. Every once in a while I will remember exactly how much it hurts and I break out into a cold sweat. Oh man. And the crazy thing is, no matter how clearly I remember the pain it always seems to be even worse than I imagined. Scary.

I usually don't dwell on those thoughts too long since I know it won't do me any good. I am pretty good with pain. I can handle it. But it still makes me cringe when I think about it. Maybe this time I should just break down and get a doggone epidural. We'll see.

But today was a welcomed break. Today I didn't think much about labor. Today was the perfect day to relax and get my mind off of the forthcoming agony. Today I got a manicure, pedicure, and haircut. It was bliss! I made the appointment a long time ago and I wasn't sure baby would hold out long enough for me to enjoy it, but I am sure glad she did. Now my hair is looking pretty, my fingers and toes are a soft pinky-peach shade, and I am feeling at ease and relaxed. Hooray for distractions!(Yes, they may look like huge, swollen footballs, but at least they are soft and colorful, right?)