Jackson's Birth Day

When I hit 38 weeks pregnant I was so done being pregnant. I felt huge and was exhausted. The dr told me I wasn't progressing much and it would be another week or so. Well on my 39th week check (the 25th), she said I was 2 centimeters dilated and from the pain I was having she thought I was in early labor. She went ahead and stripped my membranes again (also done at 38 weeks). I figured it would still be at least another week and was pretty upset. I spent the next 24 hours trying everything to get him out, lots of walking. The night of the 25th I was having lots of painful contractions but they wouldn't last more than 2 hours or so. The next day my mother in law was kind enough to get the girls since I was still having contractions. I decided to go for a long walk. After about an hour I started to have regular contractions so I went home and sat down for a bit and they got worse. I called my mother in law and she came to pick me up with the girls and take me to St. Vincent's. I called Adam and he was going to meet me there. I figured I would be sent home and didn't bring our bags or anything. I was induced with both girls and had no idea what it felt like to be in labor. Never really even felt more than a real contraction or two. We got there and got all hooked up to monitor contractions and I was having a few but nothing major. The dr came in and checked me and I was 3.5 centimeters (from 2 centimeters the day before) and 75% effaced. So she said she was going to strip my membranes again and to go walk for an hour. I barely made it an hour when we headed back and got hooked back up to monitor me. The dr came back in and I was already at a 4.5 and his head was moving down. The contractions were every two minutes when they took me to a room. By the time I got into the room about 30 min later, the contractions were about every 1.5 minutes and very strong. They checked me and I was a 5-6. So I was able to sit and rest for a little while in between contractions while the iv dripped. When they felt I had enough I was able to go sit in the rocking chair. I only lasted a few minutes there before the contractions were every minute and the nurse asked if I wanted to go into the Jacuzzi tub. I hesitated because I had always had an epidural and had never really labored before but I wanted to try so we went ahead and headed to the room and got into the jacuzzi. That felt wonderful but the contractions were every 30 seconds at that point and after about 15-20 min I got back out and into the room. I was checked again and was already at a 6-7 and zero station and full effaced. This was only 3 hours into labor. I was hoping to make it without an epidural but at that point I was in so much pain. They finally got the epidural in just in time to basically push because after about 10 min I was fully dilated and he was at a plus two station. So after about 4 hours total and 5 min of pushing he was here. He had a large head and weighed in at 8 pounds 11 ounces so it was rough 5 minutes of pushing but it was so worth it. He was gorgeous and I couldn't believe he was ours.
This labor was wonderful for me. Again with being induced I never really labored before and to have such a fast labor and a labor where I was able to try different coping techniques was amazing. We had amazing nurses and dr's and I feel so very blessed. Adam was a wonderful coach and very supportive. He told me for about 4 days after the birth how proud he was of me and that I did a great job. I think it amazed him that I was able to actually labor and not just give in and get the epidural since I had done that twice before.
The few days in the hospital were nice but Jackson was throwing up a lot. It was mostly old blood and mucus. He also slept for 15 hours straight other than a few min here and there to try to nurse and to be poked and prodded by nurses. I realized pretty quickly that he wasn't able to suck and was mostly biting. I looked in his mouth and realized he was tongue tied. So Friday morning the lactation consultants and pediatrician came in to see us and they confirmed what I saw, a very tongue tied baby. He had very little movement of his tongue. So that morning he had a circumcision and then he had his frenulum clipped. Poor boy had a rough morning. However he is doing great now and already weighs an ounce more than he did at birth which is great since he lost quite a bit during the hospital stay.
I will get more pictures up soon on facebook but wanted to jot down the birth before I forgot too much!

Update

Isabelle just turned 5 and already thinks she should be treated as a grown up. This was our first full year homeschooling Isabelle and she has enjoyed it and has learned to write all of her letters, both upper and lower case, we are still working on telling time and learning how to read! We are learning our addition and subtraction but so far she isn't a big fan of math.
She still enjoys getting outside to ride bikes or play at parks and would rather not just sit at home. She is also very into arts and crafts and could keep busy doing that all day.

Olivia is now almost 2.5 years old and is still very busy. She rarely ever walks and just wants to run everywhere. She loves to swing and loves to color and will jump off of just about anything. She is really working on learning a ton of words right now and thinks she knows all of her colors but she seems to get some mixed up still. She is learning to identify letters but only knows a few and she knows quite a few shapes. Both girls are wanting to get into gymnastics and hoping to be able to get them in some classes this summer.



We are almost through our third pregnancy. It has been the longest and roughest pregnancy so far. The first 3 months of the pregnancy I felt sick and just plain exhausted. I couldn't eat anything and could barely look at or smell food. When I was finally feeling better we learned we had to go in for more testing to see if our baby had a genetic disorder. After about 8 weeks of testing and WAITING we found out our baby BOY is healthy. We are very excited to be welcoming a baby brother into our family. The girls seem very excited but we will see what happens when he actually gets here. Isabelle tries to be as helpful as she can be right now when she knows mommy is having a sore day. Olivia just likes to play with my belly button that is mostly popped out. :) In about 5 weeks or less we should meet this little guy and we can't wait.



Adam is working full time in SE and attending school and right now he is very busy and has very little free time. But we know in about a year when he is finished it will all be worth it.




As for me, I am still loving being at home with the girls and have enjoyed teaching Isabelle this year. I can't wait to see what this next year holds.

Our adventures with cousin Jen!

My cousin Jen came into town this last week for a visit. She flew in from Florida and stayed for
almost a week. Our first adventure with her included the fountain in Tualatin and dinner. The girls had a great time playing and feeding the ducks at the fountain and then eventually found enough courage to go in the water. It wasn't much warmer than 70 degrees so by the time they were done they were shivering.






Our next adventure was tea and a movie. Isabelle came with us to tea. My grandma, cousin Jessalyn, Jen and my Aunt Sally went to tea at Sleighbells in Sherwood. We had a great time just chatting and eating. I dropped Isabelle off at home with daddy and Olivia and met my grandma and cousins for a movie. It was nice to get out for a while with out the girls.



Last adventure was a bbq at a park for memorial day. We had lots of family there and the girls had a wonderful time. It was sad to say goodbye to Jen but we are always so thankful she can come out and visit at least once a year.




I spent an hour blowing up water balloons...kids loved it but it lasted only 15 min before they were gone



She loves her dessert

Hagg Lake

Today was a day of firsts for us. Our first trip up to Hagg Lake as a family (I used to go with my family when I was younger) and Isabelle's first time in a boat and fishing. The drive to the lake was beautiful. When we arrived, it was quiet and not many people were there. It was a gorgeous day. My dad (grandpa Scott), Ray (grandpa Ray), my brother Will and his GF Emma, and of course my hubby all took Isabelle out in the boat. She was so excited to go until it came time to get the life vest on and to actually get into the boat. She didn't want to get on but once she did, she had a great time. While they were all on the boat, Karla, Olivia and I hung around the picnic site and went for a short walk and just enjoyed the peace and quiet (until later in the day when more people started to arrive). Olivia was even allowed to dip her feet into the water and she loved it.
We had a bbq for lunch and about that time Olivia tuckered out and fell asleep on mommy. We packed up and headed for home. Isabelle told us that it was the best day ever. She had such a wonderful time, we all had a wonderful time!

Isabelle waiting for the guys to get the boat in the water

Olivia just after we arrived

Grandpa Ray

Isabelle driving the boat

Lunch time

Daddy coming up for lunch

Olivia and I right before she fell asleep

Mothers Day with Grandma Allyson

We spent all morning with my mom, also known as Grandma Allyson. We weren't able to see her last Sunday for Mothers Day and wanted to make sure we spent some time with her. Isabelle and Grandma Allyson have a special bond, they always have. We spent the morning shopping for clothes and then I bought lunch for us girls. Grandma and the girls went outside to pick flowers when we got back to her house. When it was time to go Isabelle was quite upset she couldn't stay and sit out in the sun anymore. It was a wonderful time spent with just us girls!
Grandma Allyson and her girls





The girls playing with Sassy



Dancing to a chicken that plays music

Anniversary weekend and Mothers Day

This past weekend Adam and I were so fortunate to take a mini vacation. While we didn't travel far, we had a wonderfully relaxing weekend. It's so wonderful that after 9 years of being together we still enjoy each other so much. I feel so blessed to have him as a husband and father to our girls.
Our hotel offered a free full, hot breakfast and then in the evening offered free drinks and appetizers. We took full advantage of the free food. We missed our girls but knew they were in great hands.





My sister kept Isabelle for the first evening and they had such a fun time doing arts and crafts and making cupcakes. The next day they went to fountain downtown and Saturday market. My in laws kept Olivia Friday night and then picked up Isabelle Saturday afternoon. The girls had a great time playing outside and making cookies.



Sunday was Mother's Day so we left the hotel and headed to my in laws to have lunch and see our girls. We enjoyed delicious food and a relaxing afternoon with wonderful family.

Afternoon with Grandma Karla!

We often spend a weekend afternoon with Ray and Karla, also known as mom and dad or grandma and grandpa. The girls love being up there and playing and running. We feel so blessed to have such wonderful grandparents for our girls. Here are a few pics from our last visit!
Building a tower with Legos


Playing soccer with grandma