balloons from Granwendy & Grandaddy

We have been incredibly blessed by support from family and friends, even since before Little Guy made his appearance. My parents took care of Bear on Monday and Tuesday. We had several visitors at the hospital, but not too many. Upon arrival home, a friend from church brought a meal, and the next day our next door neighbors brought over a crock pot full of pulled pork (BBQ here in the south) as well as a tray full to freeze for later. Bear's friends came to meet her little brother (their mom brought us drinks from Sonic while we were still in the hospital- yummy lemon berry slush!) And Tech Mom and Dad, Caslon & Camera Guy were here until this morning. They took great care of us, and gave Bear the extra attention I am not able to give her just yet.

flowers from hubby

Overall, recovery has been easier so far than after Bear's birth. Oh, I am still exhausted. That won't change for about 18 years, I suspect. Little Guy is nursing better than his sister ever did, though I am still a bit anxious about weight gain, etc. Trying to relax. That's my biggest concern right now. (Yes, i did see a Lactation Consultant before I left the hospital.) He had dropped less than 8% of his birth weigh the morning we went home, considering he fasted after the circumcision, that's not too bad. But of course, I can't help but worry a bit. So pray for peace for Mama, lots of milk for baby, etc...

sweet feet

Home....

no play by plays like you are used to. :) we're doing well, tired of course. Brandon, aka "big shooter" as his daddy calls him and "squeaker" as i have dubbed him, is napping.
he is absolutely precious! last night was a making up for not eating night, so i am going to try to get some rest myself before he wakes up.

zann, i was already almost 3 cm at my last checkup, and by the time i was giving in to the fatigue and pain, it was too late... the epidural would have kicked in after the birth! i am still shocked that we made it through, and thankful. God definitely gave me the desire to try to deliver without the epidural (i did have to have iv meds for GBS+ and fluids, though). I am sure a longer labor would have been too much for me to take... when we left the house around 7-ish the contractions were 12-15 minutes apart, and my body kicked into full speed. I was barely on the IV for the amount of time they want the baby to get the medicine before delivery.

Hubby says next time we can hire 2 doulas, someone help me hold him to that, LOL! (If there is a next time, no rush here....)

Thank you!

Thanks for all your prayers and well-wishes! My Dad brought his laptop to the hospital tonight, so I am able to check comments. I'm sorry I don't have time to respond to everyone individually.

I am very tired, but things are going well overall. Becca summarized things very well. Our little guy is precious. He has been a sleepy-head today, not nursing quite as much, but I'm told that is normal following "boy surgery."

I thought I would share today's quips:

The anesthesiologist came in to check on me. "You're doing well? No back pain from the epidural?" he asked. "I feel great, I didn't actually get the epidural." Apparently I was on his list since I had signed the consent forms just in case. He congratulated me and and moved on to the next patient. I did tell him that by the time I had decided to ask for it I Was already dilated to 8cm and figured it wouldn't kick in in time to help. And I am very glad, still a little shocked, that I was able to make it through. I am normally a wimp with very little tolerance for pain, but with an awesome support team including my beloved. And if you have seen the business of being born, do not let it scare you into thinking all hospitals are unsupportive of goals for natural childbirth. If you make up your mind to try it, your doctors and nurses may just surprise you... especially if you bring a supportive spouse and doula along for the ride.

We let Hannah hold her little brother in the hospital bed, with pillow support, of course. She lifted up her shirt with the hand that was not around her brother, and stated, "I feed Brandon milk from my breasts."

Let the adventures in parenting two begin...

Lauren and baby Brandon are doing great! He is soooo cute (perhaps Aunt Becca is a little bit partial). He's an adorable little munk-a-chunk with the most perfectly round head that I've ever seen from a regular delivery. He doesn't have as much hair as Hannah did... he has most of his hair in the mullet area :) His hair looked sort of wavy on top a lot like Hannah's, so we'll see if he ends up with curly hair as well. Brandon is pretty laid back thus far and if the first few hours of his life are any indication, he may turn out to be an "easy" baby.
Joel did a great job coaching Lauren through her all natural child birth, along with the help of a doula. Lauren said that it was VERY hard, but very worth it. Although, she is pretty certain that if the labor lasted too much longer she wouldn't have been able to continue. I can certainly tell a difference between this recovery and the last one. When I (Becca) visited she was practically bouncing off the wall happy. Well, as much as a woman who just gave birth can be. She was so relaxed and able to get around well. Brandon is already eating and pooping like a champ! Hannah is already a very loving big sister.

Without further ado, here are some pics of the bouncing baby boy! GranWendy and I are staying the night with Hannah tonight, so these are the unedited photos. Hopefully I'll be able to share some better pics soon, but this will at least give you an idea. Enjoy!
P.S.- If Brandon looks mad in some pics, it's because he was getting a bath :)






















What's the big deal with that bright light?


(video to follow)...

brandon john arrived this afternoon at 12:18pm!
he weighed in at a healthy 8 lbs. 9oz and measured 21inches.
mom and baby are resting comfortably.
i've not spoken to wandering heart, but i'm sure she appreciates your prayers and well-wishes!

he's on his way...
a wandering heart went to the hospital about an hour ago.
please pray all goes as planned!

happy mcfamily and i will keep you posted

Silly Six Meme

I have been tagged by Kristi.

The rules are:
1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules.
3. Tell six unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag six bloggers by linking.
5. Leave a comment for each blogger.

OK, here goes:

1. I have a harmonica collection of about 15. I don't play any of them well. When I was in 5th grade, my parent bought me a harmonica because I liked playing my Grandpa's so well when we would visit him in NY. A neighbor's Uncle Ed came to visit and heard/saw me sitting on the front porch playing my harmonica (bet the neighbors loved that), and he sent me his collection. He died of cancer shortly after that. Conincidentally, Uncle Ed was from the Pacific Northwest, the same region where several of my blogging buddies reside.

2. I would rather do yard work than keep my house clean. Under normal circumstances. This far along in pregnancy, I am not up to either, though I have at least made myself keep up with laundry and dishes.

3. I am usually pretty laid back, but don't you dare mess up my everyday silverware drawer. It will drive me nuts until I can fix it. I've begun to notice since MIL came to help me "nest" that there are other certain things that must now be in their respective correct places. But the average person would never notice them. (She sorted my towels by color, I prefer to organize them by size and then color. For example, she had blue hand towels and washcloths in a stack with the bath towels. Well, I use them all at different rates, so for me it makes more sense to stack them according to towel type so the wash cloths and hand towels don't get lost in the stacks. I never realized that would bother me so much, considering how when I grew up we were just lucky if the linens didn't fall out of the closet onto us.)

4. I collect digital photos. On my computer. I do not print them out often enough.

5. I am addicted to Facebook. I have re-connected with a couple of people from elementary school, middle school, and cousins who I would not normally recognize if I passed them on a street thanks to FB. I'm getting to know more recently made friends better, too.

6. I find myself using phrases my Mom still uses with me when talking with my little girl. "I'm so glad your my daughter." One of Bear's favorite lullabies is a rendition of one Mom sang to us as kids. Pretty soon, as she starts gaining responsibilities, I'm sure, "I don't expect perfection, but appreciate the effort!" will be added to the list.
****

Okay, I played along. Now this little guy needs to come OUT! Seriously. I had some contractions after my last post, went to sleep, and they stopped. We're going on 41 weeks here. I can't imagine how people who gain TONS of weight manage... I'm approaching 30 lbs, and that's more than enough for me!

I tag Becca, Caslon, Becky, Jenn, Steph in TX, and Emily D.

good golly, miss molly

doc wasn't joking when she said there was lots of mucous. it decided to dislodge itself. i think my body is definitely getting ready... the question is, how long will the getting itself ready take?

no contractions since before dinner...

false alarm
(potentially tmi)

I woke up at 3 am to pee and felt extra moist. Went to the doctor, nothing more than my body prepping for the big event. It was not the extremely slow leak I had hoped it was.

Dilation is about the same (between 2 and 3), effacement has continued to 70-80%. So progress has been made.

My belly feels like a watermelon.

Still sporadic contractions, but nothing consistent, though talking on the phone tends to set them into gear. Too bad I don't feel like talking all the time!!!

So we're waiting until Wednesday for the NST and u/s. At that point, if Little Guy still hasn't decided to leave his cozy home, I will most likely request an induction for Thursday or Friday. I went into this trimester hoping to be able to find out what it's like for my body to start labor naturally. And the OB who was on call today respects that. She sympathetically yet flat out told me that there is no medical reason to induce at this point, when my body is showing signs that it is prepping for the big event. (Though they would do it if I asked them to.) So we're giving it a couple of more days, and praying, as we have every day for a week or so, that today is the big day. ;-) This doc also induced her first one and waited to go into labor on her own for the 2nd, so she obviously understands the emotional aspect of wanting to let how God designed us take it's course when it is possible. And she comforted me by saying that at the very end she was going crazy wondering, and she is a physician who sees women go through it all the time. God knew who needed to be on call today.

I took a good nap this afternoon and have a homemade chicken pot pie in the oven. I figured the heat from the oven could bring on contractions! (The crusts are the roll out kind, don't think I'm too insane.)

It's been a good day, overall.

So far, baby is still baking. But that's ok, he'll come when he's ready, or be evicted no later than Friday, I am sure. I felt loved by my church family, loved by my parents, hubby and daughter, and all those who called to wish me happy birthday and find out if Little Guy seemed any closer to making his appearance.

Little Guy danced in my womb during the worship service, and that is one of my favorite parts of pregnancy. We sang one of my all-time favorite hymns, "The Solid Rock."

If he comes tomorrow, he and his sister will have been born on the same day of their birth months. That would be nice. (My brother and I were born on the same day of our birth months, so it would be kind of like continuing a family tradition, plus make it easy to remember. The number would also be the same as one of her cousins.)

Pray for rest for me, I am tired and though I really want to meet my little one ASAP, a good night of sleep sure sounds appealing.

comforting words... and not so much

caslon called to wish me happy birthday and see if her newest nephew was showing any signs of making an appearance yet. her best friend from childhood was the youngest of 4, came the latest and the longest labor. while that might discouraged some, at least i know i am not alone in the waiting game. i keep reminding myself he's not a week late yet.

then gramma m called to wish me happy birthday and tell me a girl in her church gave birth this morning. good for her!

little guy has definitely dropped lower, there are some early signs that he could come soon, but they are the kinds subtle of signs that mean "soon" could be 8 hours away or 2 weeks away, because every woman, her pregnancy and baby are different. but some signs are better than none at all. and there are still 8 hours left in the day, so while not probably, the arrival of my little guy on my birthday could be possible.

after church, mom and dad treated us to lunch. they were not-so-secretly hoping my water would break or contractions would set it while all of us were together.

bear is awake from her nap and calling my name. time to waddle downstairs. maybe i'll let her tackle me and see if that helps bring on labor.

aah...
I can breath a little better. Of course, I am peeing more and my belly rests on my thighs when I sit up with my back straight.

Today was restful, except for the occasional Braxton Hicks and one pretty crazy back spasm. And while my solitary walk was peaceful, that hardly qualifies as restful when you are 9+ months pregnant.

If I am so motivated, I might write a new verse to the tune of the Christmas carol, "Here we come a caroling."

Here I come a waddling.
Along the streets so hard.
Here I come a waddling,
past the neighbors' yards....

Okay, someone else can finish it for me. I don't feel like thinking that much.

wild things

we have a "pet" canary. it's lime green with black, and it lives in our birch tree. i assume that it was someone else's pet, it got away, and now it likes us well enough to stick around our yard. two days ago, it flew right up next to me on the sidewalk, and when i whistled at it, it whistled back. yesterday, it flew next to me and bear on the front porch and landed on the back of the chair, within 2 feet, staying for just a moment. i went inside for my camera, but it did not return.

mr. woodchuck has also been returning to munch on our lousy excuse for a lawn just about every morning. we have given up watering, so it must like crunchy grass.

and last, but not least, hubby got his new battery for his motorcycle and is out for a morning ride. he washed his baby last night. i'm tempted to jump on the back for a ride when he returns. if i can fit.

waiting...

still....

does a rushing increase in hormonal responses mean labor is eminent? because my mood swings are not getting any better.... maybe i just need prozac...

Update on the twins

My friend's sister and her twin boys are on their way home to GA. She is on meds to keep her body from going into labor (it may want to, thinking the surgery was labor). She is also on meds for Joseph's heart. They could not find Little Joe (Joshua's) bladder during surgery.

Still a lot of uncertainty for this precious family. Please pray for God to take care of Mommy and the little ones who are growing inside of her!!!


Also, my friend Sandy(the sister of the Mommy) is expecting a little one in December, so keep her and her little one in your prayers, too!

Update on little Joseph....

He passed away at the age of 4. Please pray for his family.



******
BTW, yes I know sleep can help relax the body to bring on labor, too.
I tried to get to sleep, it didn't happen. Let's hope the 2nd time is the charm! (At least for the sleep part, the whole waiting game is not ALL that terrible unless I am trying to get up from lying down. Or get to sleep.)

because i'm obsessed...

pardon the richard simmons 'do on bear. she apparently sleeps like her mommy...
all over the place. my hair is a tad bit more forgiving. anyway, she has decided her bouncy ball is an exercise ball, but her feet don't touch the floor. it makes keeping my balance a bit more difficult.

tonight, before mexican food

Just for kicks... and in case I get desperate.

What natural labor-inducers have any of you tried that worked? Castor oil is out of the question, don't even bother suggesting that. I'm thinking more along the lines of foods, something that might actually provide nourishment for me and baby (and preferably taste good). Walking and assorted household chores are apparently not going to work. Of course, Doc says they are all wives tales, etc... but I figure what's the harm in trying (some of them, at least).

40 week self-portrait

... well, the most prominent physical part of my self right now.

I've been trying to keep myself occupied by keeping up with dishes, laundry, etc.... The hike halfway down the biggest hill in the subdivision did not make a lick of difference. I thought about ringing my friend Katrin's doorbell at 7 a.m. to see if the magic Xocaii chocolates she sells will induce labor. But I abstained, my mom taught me not to disturb people before 9 a.m. (Though sometimes she forgets that rule herself.)