The Girls

Here are the girls enjoying the one brief period of sunshine we have had in the past 2 weeks.

2 Week Check-Up

Liam had his 2 week check-up this afternoon. It was scheduled for Monday, but he has been having some bleeding from his belly button since his umbilicus fell off so we went in today. He was 20" at birth and was 21 1/4" today. His weight was 7 lbs. 14 oz. which is lower than the doctor wanted. I feel fine about it since he is having so many wet diapers and stools and sleeps between feedings. But we will go back in 2 weeks for a weight check just to be sure. His head circumference has also grown from 34 cm at birth to 35 cm today. The pediatrician said that he looks great and observed a nursing session and said that he is doing great with that as well. Despite the crying pictures I have been posting, he really is a sweet, happy boy!

Sponge Bath

Liam doesn't really like his sponge bath!

Proud Big Sisters

Birth Story

Okay, so here is Liam's birth story for all of you inquiring minds. Sunday morning around 2:30 a.m. I was having contractions that were very hard to breathe through. About 4:30 I woke Will up and told him to call someone to come over and watch the girls, it was time to go to the hospital. Amanda and Christer came over and we left for the hospital around 5:00 a.m. Upon arrival and check in they told me that I was 3 cm dilated and 90% effaced. You can imagine my surprise since I was 3 cm on Friday and had been having non stop contractions since leaving the doctor's office on Friday. They said they would check me again in 2 hours. Well, two hours later still no change so they told me that they were just Braxton Hicks and to go home. Through tears I tried to explain that this was my 3rd baby and that I knew what real labor felt like and that I go very fast in the end. Still, they said go home and take a sleeping pill and come back for your induction in the morning. I got dressed, sobbing my eyes out because I knew I was in labor and did not want to go home.

Once we returned home I took an Ambien and went to bed. I woke up an hour later with contractions that were coming so close together I couldn't even time them. This was about 12:30 p.m. The girls were napping and Will was working on the computer. Two hours passed and the girls woke up. Will came in and told me that he was going to take them for a walk to keep them out of my hair. While they were gone I got up to get into a hot bath to help with the pain. Will had thus returned and was giving the girls a bath in their bathroom. I was screaming his name to come help me out of the bath tub but he couldn't hear me from the other end of the house. I had enough time between contractions at this point to yell his name twice before another one hit and they were hard! Finally, Page heard me yelling and Will came running in the bathroom. I told him that I needed him to get me out of the tub and get me dressed, I was about to have the baby. God has perfect timing because Will's parents drove up right as we were getting ready to get in the van. We left the girls with them and went to the hospital. I kept feeling like I needed to push the entire ride and all I could do was say hurry between contractions. For anyone who has gone through transition with no pain meds, you know how hard that ride to the hospital was! We got there and there at 5:15 p.m. They checked me and said that I was 6 cm, then with the next contraction they said no 8 cm. With the next contraction I started pushing and the nurse said to stop. The doctor was not there yet and I needed to wait. I rolled over to my back and continued to push with the next contraction despite her words. So she took it upon herself to push his head back in with her hand as I continued to try to push him out. I was so angry at that point and in so much pain I have no idea how I did not say some very ugly words to her. My water broke as he was crowning and the doctor walked in. The nurse moved her hand and out he came, face up. Then his shoulders got stuck and it took a minute to get the rest of him out at 5:40 p.m. weighing in at 8 lbs. 1 oz. and 20" long. All in all I had an amazing experience. I had no epesiotomy, no tearing and no medications, exactly how I had wanted it to play out; although it was quite a bit faster than I had thought it would be.

The next morning he was being checked out by his pediatrician and they found that he was having rapid respiration, between 80-100. It is supposed to be less than 60. So they took him to the special care nursery. He had a chest X-ray, blood work and a feeding tube put down his nose. I was crying so badly and really scared. The neonatologist came in and did a consult and he determined that he swallowed some amniotic fluid and just needed to be observed while it dried up which would take about 12 hours. The nurse told me that they had gotten 5 cc's of fluid from his stomach when they were putting in the feeding tube. I was so relieved, but very sad that he would be in the nursery all day. I had to pump every two hours until they decided it was safe to take him off of the feeding tube at which point I could nurse him in the nursery. Around 11:00 p.m. they brought him back to my room. That is when the shallow nursing started. Then on Tuesday he had to do his PKU test, hearing test and get circumcised! Poor guy had a very busy and somewhat painful first few days. But praise God he is doing great!!!!!He is such a blessing to our family.

First Doctor's Appointment

Liam had his first appointment this morning. He did so great! I however, was a mess. I had only 5 minutes to shower, dress, pack a diaper bag and eat. I don't know what I would have done if Will and my mom weren't there to help with the girls. We would have never made it out the door. I managed to eat a bowl of cereal, get dressed and grab a few diapers before loading him into the van. Will took the girls for the morning to have some daddy time and they loved it. Okay, back to Liam's check up. He was up 2 ounces from his discharge weight. This morning he weighed 7 pounds 12 ounces. He has no signs of jaundice and is in perfect health! I was so happy and relieved to know that he is getting enough milk since we are having some nursing problems. His suck is very shallow and I felt like he wasn't able to pull the milk out very effectively. But I guess he is!! So my big man is growing and healthy and I am so happy! Gotta go, he is crying.

Some Of My Favorites

We're Home

We have made it home and are now adjusting to a family of 5! I can hardly believe it myself. The girls have been VERY attentive to Liam and his presence in the house. It was such an amazing feeling to have our growing family together in one room last night. Here are some pictures of the family. Liam is such a great baby. He does not like to have a dirty diaper and did not like his first sponge bath, but otherwise he is happy and content. When I get a little more time I will post his birth story and the details of his first 48 hours.

Shameless baby pictures

What can I say, my wife just had a baby.

Nothing much to post...

...other than a new baby boy. Liam was born at 5:40pm today and weighed in at 8 lb. 1 oz. Later we found out he's 20" long. I'll let Kerri tell the long version, but, basically, she went into early labor on Thursday. We went in this morning at 5:30 and they sent us home at 10am. On Friday for her doctor's visit she was 3cm/75%. This morning right before we left, she was 3cm/80-90% effaced. To make thing more interesting, her friend Amy called as we were being discharged and said she had her little boy, Noah, just before. (She was 37 weeks. Congrats Amy and Robbie!! Happy Father's Day to you too.) Anyhow, we came home. I put the girls down for a nap, then took them for a walk to keep the house quiet. Upon returning, I threw them in the tub. Since our bathroom is on one end of the house and theirs is on the other, I couldn't hear Kerri screaming for 20 minutes between contractions. My parents pulled up as I was getting Kerri out of the tub. We handed off the kids and took off. At 5:15 they admitted us. Kerri was 6cm in probably 0 station, but the nurse didn't want to check since the membrane would potentially rupture with pressure. Well, on the very next push, she did...and within roughly five minutes, he was out. So, no medication, other than a sleeping pill they told Kerri to take after we left this morning. (That's another story unto itself.) At any rate, enough of my yammering. Here are the long awaited pictures. Mother and boy are well. The girls LOVE him. Thanks for everyone's help, especially Amanda, Christer and my parents. More details to come...

Perhaps the best Father’s Day present one can imagine

As of the moment I’m sending this, we think that Liam has finally decided to listen to Page and come on out to meet us. We are heading to the hospital and are praying for a fast labor. Please pray with us that all will go well and will go quickly. Once I get a moment, we will be certain to send pictures and all the details for the information-hungry (i.e, you babyblogaddict.com types). And I’m sure not long after that I will be adding a blog post. I mean, come one, what would our life be without a blog post for this event!!

Thanks for all the prayers and excited expectation! Soon to be a family of one more.

Will

Kevin and Hannah

I received a phone call last night from my baby brother, Kevin, announcing his engagement to his girlfriend, Hannah! We are very excited for the two of them. I don't know all of the details, but Hannah said that he was very romantic and sounded so happy on the phone. They will be coming in for a visit to meet Liam and see the girls in the beginning of July so I will get a picture of the newly engaged couple then. Congratulations again Kevin and Hannah, we couldn't be happier for you!

My Last Ultrasound

I had my last ultrasound today. They are going to induce me on Monday morning if I don't have him on my own this weekend. He is doing fine right now, but they don't know how much longer that will be the case and since I have had that episode Wednesday night and again last night they feel like it is a good idea to do the induction. I am 3 cm dilated and still only 75% effaced and have added another pound to the grand total = 25 pounds. The MFM Dr. looked at my stomach and said that Liam is well over 7 pounds, but didn't do any real measurements during the ultrasound for his weight so it will be somewhat a surprise. Page's prediction day is tomorrow so I am still holding out that she is right and that there won't be any need for induction, but I am happy to know that we will have Liam in our arms by Monday at the latest! So unless something happens this weekend, it looks like Jamie is going to be the winner for the due date poll we took a few weeks ago. Will has gotten off of work and arrangements are now being made for the girls and with his parents. (My mom is flying in Tuesday night to stay through the end of the month.)

Happy anniversary mom and dad and happy birthday Louis!

False Alarm!

I thought last night was it! After a very long day of problems I got into bed around 10:30. (A/C went out, Page wouldn't nap and had horrible behavior, I got a terrible cough and cold, and I hadn't slept the night before.) At 12:30 a.m. I woke up with really intense contractions. They were coming one on top of the other. It took 4-5 before I could even speak to wake up Will. We decided that a warm bath might help with the pain so I tried it around 1:30 a.m. After a long soak in the tub I got out to get dressed and get things together for the hospital when they started spreading out a bit. I told Will that maybe it wasn't the real thing, you would think I could tell after two already, and to try to get some sleep. I promised to wake him if they got any worse or got closer together again. By around 3:30 a.m. they had lost most of their intensity and had spread out some more. I was able to sleep between contractions and by 5:30 when Will woke up they were pretty much gone. I haven't had any today but I am pretty sore from the ones last night and very tired due to the cold and lack of sleep. Tomorrow is our nephew's birthday and my parent's anniversary so both sides of the family are hoping I go to 39 weeks, or beyond! Only time will tell.

Haircut

Page went with Will to get a haircut last weekend and she wanted to get one too. Unfortunately the wait was another 45 minutes once she said that she wanted one and we had to say no. I promised her that she could get one the next weekend so I took her on Sunday afternoon to Supercuts. She was such a big girl and did great. She was so proud of herself and is telling everyone about her haircut. I decided that I needed a haircut too, as you can see. It was not supposed to be that short, but she had to cut it 3 times due to changes in my hair that I had not noticed. She said that the underside of my hair was so curly that it looked like I had a perm and it just wouldn't work with the way I had wanted it cut. So she went shorter and it still didn't work. So we finally ended up with this very short haircut. Will loves it and I think it will be very easy to take care of once Liam is born. Anyway, here are pictures of Page's first "professional" haircut. (I am tempted to bring her back and let them see how uneven it is!)

38 Weeks!

I certainly didn't think I would make it this long, but here I am still pregnant!

Another Appointment Update

I saw both doctors this morning for my weekly visit. The ultrasound looked good. The placenta is still functioning well and the amniotic fluid is still within normal range. I was so relieved to hear that news because Tuesday night was the last time I felt any good movements from Liam and was so happy to hear that all is still well. His growth has slowed down a bit and he is showing to be in the 45% for weight at 6 lbs. 12 oz. Doctor is not worried about this at all since everything else looks so good and because his head was so low that it was hard to get a good reading. My O.B. checked me for dilation again today and there was some change! 2 cm dilated and 75% effaced. Being that this is my third time around, I know not to stake too much into those readings, but I am glad that the contractions I have been having are doing something! She also said that his head was way down and that I need to get as much rest as possible. I gained 1 pound bringing my total up to 24 pounds now, I think?! They also did some more blood work today. So everything looks good and I will post my 38 week progression picture on Sunday. (I finally got my hospital bag packed last night!) Hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Liam's Room

Here is a glimpse of Liam's room. I was holding the camera a little crooked for the picture with the shadow boxes and didn't notice until now, but you get the idea. To the left of the dresser is the crib and a window. To the right is going to be the rocking chair (which is currently in my room) in the corner and the changing table is against the wall opposite the crib. Across from the dresser are 3 doors, two of which are closet, and one more shadow box between the two closet doors. The girls loved playing in Liam's bed, and I have had a hard time explaining to them why they can't any more. Check out Emma's choice of clothing, she is so funny and so eclectic! Page is pretending to sleep because she didn't want her picture taken.

Sleeping Beauty

37 Weeks - AKA - Full Term

The Month of Liam's Birth Has Arrived!

We have been telling Page that Liam is coming in June. Last night she asked if it was June yet and we said yes. It took a while to explain that There are a lot of days in June and that only God knows exactly what day will be Liam's birthday. So we pulled out the calendar and had some fun guessing what day it was going to be. Our predictions are as follows:
Will - June 10
Page - June 16
Kerri - June 19
Emma - just wants to color, lol

What's your prediction? Here are some facts to help with your guess. I will be 37 weeks Sunday, June 3 and 40 weeks Sunday, June 24. Emma was born 10 days early, Page was born 1 day early. I can no longer eat more than a few bites of food at a time and have really lost my appetite in the past few days. I am generally annoyed at all times and am tired of being pregnant. I feel like I am suffocating from the inside out and waddle like a duck. It is painful to walk and to sit; walking has become quite a chore. Sound like I am close yet? Page told me to go look in a mirror yesterday because I just had to see how big my stomach had gotten. (I told her that I knew how big I was and she said, no mommy, you really need to go look!) So send us your predictions and we will add them to our calendar and see who is right!