2 weeks of wonderful

Its been 2 weeks of wonderful around here! In the last two weeks I have fallen in love all over again... actually I think we all have! Thora has made it so easy for all of us to do that! She is truly a lovely and delightful child! In fact, I would say, she is captivating... seriously, I could stare at her all day!

In the last 2 weeks I have enjoyed watching Thora get to know her big brother and big sister... she is really one popular kid around here! Wyatt and Icyle fight over who gets to hold her and well, Thora doesn't seem to care one way or another... except when they literally fight over her. Its been a joy to watch the three of them together... even if it can be a bit stressful at times... like when I want to use the bathroom or take a shower but can't leave the room because the Wyatt and Icyle wont leave Thora alone! 

Thora seems to already have her own daily routine with two awake times, one in the late morning and one in the late evening, and other then that she pretty much sleeps and eats every 3 hours or so... and of course she poops a lot too... which is very entertaining to her big siblings! She also is a good sleeper at night... she wakes up to eat about 2-3 times most nights and falls back to sleep afterwards... which makes mommy very happy!

Its only been 2 weeks but I already can't imagine my life without her! She has already brought so much joy to our family and I look forward to every new day watching her grow and change... and many more weeks of wonderful!

 Happy 2 weeks Thora!

"We have 3 kids... we are really adults now" - Chris Hughes

Yep. 3 kids. 

We must really be adults now.

Going from 2 kids to three kids is an adjustment... however, I feel like it's going fairly well so far! But Chris is home and that is a huge help... I am not quite sure how things will go once he is back at work starting Saturday. But for now we are adjusting just fine.

Wyatt and Icyle are both terrific big siblings! They both adore Thora and "fight" over who gets to hold her. If Icyle is holding her she is thrilled but then Wyatt wants to hold her and if Wyatt is holding her he is thrilled but Icyle is usually crying and saying "Ma baby! Ma baby!" (translation "My baby!") and throwing herself on the floor or into the arms of either Chris or myself. I know it's going to be an adjustment for the kids to have a new sibling but so far they are just enjoying Thora and we are enjoying them enjoying her!

We realized last night that our nights might be a little different then we are used to... waking up to feed a baby every two hours is an adjustment that I am trying to make and Chris waking up with the big kids (whenever that happens) is an adjustment he is trying to make... but like Chris said "we have 3 kids... we are really adults now" and part of being adults is making adjustments and being flexible. So we are doing just that!

And, really, it's not so bad! We are more then blessed with these 3 beautiful children and we are completely thrilled that we get to be their parents and, well, I am happy that we are really adults now!

Thora Grace

After about 8 hours of labor, Thora Grace was delivered into her daddy's waiting hands... and I couldn't have been happier to have her out! It was not a hard labor for the most part... only the last hour was really, truly, painful... we (being me, Chris, the kids, my midwife and my friend Caroline) sat around talking, facebooking, and blogging until about 7 or so when I started getting the transition shakes. That's when I (or more my midwife) decided a nice hot shower might keep things moving along and ease the pain a little... she was right. I got into the shower and, with Chris' counting skills, I made it through the next however many contractions and finally felt like there was not much more time before she would be born.
After the shower I got into a night gown and headed for my bedroom... for about an hour and a half my contractions got worse and worse and worse until finally it was time... if you've had a baby then you know what time I mean... the time when your brain finally says "GET THIS BABY OUT NOW!" And I did just that... Stacy, my midwife, had just finished a story about how she has seen woman just push so hard that they have their babies before they are even fully dilated... and I thought to myself "I am fully dilated so all I need to do is push super hard and it will all be over!" so I did... and it was! Praise the Lord she was finally out!
Chris caught her and gave her to me, and after making sure she was actually a girl (because I always have to check to be sure), I snuggled with her for about an hour while her cord drained and I called and texted family and friends.
Now, I can't take all the credit here, I mean I did do a really awesome job, but there were others in the room making it all happen. Chris was amazing! He was a great birthing coach/partner... counting with me through contractions, giving me mints and water, putting on my chapstick, pushing on my hips to help with the pain, holding my leg, catching the baby... he was simply amazing! And Caroline, who was there to be our photographer, even got in on the action! What an awesome friend! She took photos, pushed on hips, was dubbed the "chapstick girl", gave me water, held my leg, and even made me some of the best tasting eggs for dinner when it was all done! And of course my midwife extraordinaire, Stacy! She is seriously incredible! I can't even write all the things she did during this birth... adjusting Thora's head, getting my through the really though contractions, making sure I didn't tear, making sure Thora was delivered safely, making sure I got a shower, unloading my dishwasher, and even making our bed at the end of it all so Chris and I could go to bed!
It was a good birth! Not that it wasn't painful... because it most definitely was... but it was everything I wanted and it ended with a beautiful healthy baby!

The "I'm in labor" post

I figured that not many people write a blog post when they are in labor... but I can... so I will... why not!

Today is my due date and I am officially in labor! My midwife came over earlier this afternoon and checked on my progress and then we decided she should break my water since I was dilated to a 4 * stop for contraction*... anyways... the contractions have been picking up rather nicely since then.

I have been having inconsistent, but strong, contractions since she broke my water. Now that I remember what contractions feel like, I wish I had more patience and could have waited for this baby to come on her own... but I am impatient and I * stop for contraction*... don't remember what I was going to say!

Oh yah! I figured this baby is going to come out one day or another and either day it's going to hurt so I mine as well do it now!

I am really excited to meet * stop for contraction*... this little girl! I keep wondering what she will look like and what if one of my kids actually has brown hair... how crazy would that be! I have all her things set up just waiting for her * stop for contraction*... and I know her daddy, brother and sister are ready for her come out too!

We finally decided on an official middle name... it was a debate between Mercy and Grace. You will have to wait to find out which one we finally decided on! * stop for contraction* (That was a short one)

Now we are deciding what to feed the kids for dinner and when I should call my midwife since I have had 4 strong contractions in the last 5 or 6 minutes... hmm... I think we will do PB&J's for the kids and... meh... we will see what the next contraction feels like before I make a decision on contacting my midwife!

Having your water broken is a funny thing! Every time I move or laugh or walk I feel like I am peeing my pants and I feel so sexy since I am wearing a depends adult diaper! But hey, it gets the job done * stop for contraction*... okay... that one hurt... anyways back to depends... they are super great for labor and right after because I don't have to worry about leaking... it's really a win win situation... and I mean I look really good in them!

* stop for contraction*... that one hurt too!

Alright... so that is all for this "I'm in labor" post. Next time I post I will have a * stop for contraction*... ouch... new baby!

Due

This baby is due tomorrow and I intend to make my due date!

Today my midwife came and checked on my progress... I was dilated to a 2/3 and not fully effaced yet so she stripped my membranes and gave me some tinctures to take to help me dilate. She said it looked like tomorrow, if I keep dilating, will be the day!

So nice to know that I will hopefully be having a baby within the next 24 hours!

And either her stripping the membranes or these tinctures she has me taking are making me have lots of strong contractions... which is a good thing! I am gladly embracing these strong contractions knowing that they are bringing me closer to delivery!

Since this baby is coming tomorrow, hopefully, I am in "get it done" mode... we set up our tree, I am doing laundry, I put all the folded laundry away, made sure the house was picked up, gave the kids baths and now I am about to fold more laundry and put that away as well!

I am just so excited for this newest member of our family to be here!

When daddy is home...

Today daddy was home...

and not that we condone drawing on yourself... but...

it was super cute...

and she was super proud of her work...

"mmmmmah" - it is SO cute when Icyle gives kisses these days....

and when daddy is home there is usually hanging upside down time...

and Icyle was still really proud of her work...

and of course snuggles are always wanted from daddy when he is home... 

I am 39 weeks pregnant today... aka very ready to have this baby...

and these are the three loves of my life...

and the kids did some flying...

yep... so that's what happened today when daddy was home!

Random thinkings

The house is decorated for Christmas... and it's clean... very clean... so clean in fact that I have given this baby permission to come out at any time... well, any time after Sunday. I say Sunday because my midwife will be home from her vacation on Sunday and I really would like her to be here to deliver this little peanut!

So, yes, any time after Sunday baby...

It's fun having the house set up for Christmas... makes me happy and sort of giddy! I look at fire place with 5 stockings lined up along the mantle and think about Christmas morning when my family will be here and the kids will come down the stairs on Christmas morning and see their stockings all full of fun surprises... how excited their little faces will be and the fact that we will have a new bundle of joy to celebrate with! And I think about how different life will be for us in just a couple short weeks or maybe even days... when this new little one joins our family... it will be so fun and yet I remember how much work new babies are!

However, it will be a lot easier to eat once she is born... tonight while I was eating dinner I found it frustrating how far away from the table I had to sit in order to make room for my baby bump... I felt like I could hardly reach my plate and I was afraid that every bite was going to end up in my lap before it got to my mouth! But I managed... a pregnant woman always does!

That gets me thinking... wouldn't it be really nice to make a table for pregnant women with a crescent shaped cut out to make room for her belly? I think that would be really lovely... maybe it could be a removable piece that you could put back after the baby is born! Now I'm thinking... this is a genius idea... I should totally market it!

Anyways, Icyle fell on her head tonight... I felt really bad! She was doing something (like reaching for a book on the floor or a toy or something) and fell over the arm of the chair and landed on her forehead/nose ... she cried really hard and I don't blame her... we have concrete floors! She now is sporting a lovely bruise on her forehead and I am curious to find out what it will look like in the morning! I swear during bath time I could see it getting darker! Poor girl...

I put them to bed early tonight... they were both tired... and a little bit very cranky tonight. I just decided they needed to go to bed early... so they took their baths and were in bed by 7. I didn't hear a peep out of either of them so I am assuming they knew, just like I knew, that they needed to go to bed early. I am grateful that it now gets dark around 6ish so that I can put them to bed early and they don't even really know it is early because it is already dark outside! In the summer time that doesn't work as well since it is super bright outside till like 9pm... but that doesn't matter now.

I am super tired myself... but I am trying to wait up for Chris to get home... but I don't know if that will happen. He said he was going to bring me home this one dish I have wanted to try so I really, REALLY hope he does... I don't remember what it's called but every time I see the commercial for it I drool! I guess I could always go to bed now and eat it for breakfast tomorrow! We'll see!

Yah... I think I'll do that... go to bed now and eat Olive Garden for breakfast! Nighty night!