Baby Brother has arrived!!!

Baby Brother arrived right on his due date April 23, 2008 at 12:40 in the morning. He weighed 7 pounds 4 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long.

On Tuesday, the 22nd, I spent my birthday with Munchkin. I'd been having regular contractions for about 2 weeks, and almost thought we were in labor a couple of times. Yet, on the day before his due date, I was still pregnant. We went for a walk and fed the horses, we played sandcastle in the garden, we had lunch and then I layed her down for a nap. I was so exhauseted, so I decided to take a nap myself. At about 3:30, I noticed that the contractions were making it awfully uncomfortable to sleep. They quickly turned uncomfortable enough that I got up and turned the TV on and sat on my Yoga Ball and rocked during them. Munchkin woke up and came into our room and sat on my lap. I asked if she wanted to play a game with Mom, and she of course was delighted and ran into her room. She came back with 5 different games. We played for a while and around 5:00, I realized I was having a harder time focusing through the contractions, and decided to call Hikari at work and have him come home. When he got home, I told him we probably had a few more hours, but I just needed him home. The next contraction was much stronger, and I said "Call your mom, we're taking munchkin over there right now."

We took Munchkin over to Grandma's house, and I cried when I saw her leave, knowing that the next time we see her, she won't be my only baby. I know I was just really emotional at the time, but it was really hard to see her go.

We arrived at the hospital at 7:30, and they opted to immediately admit me, rather than send me to observation, as I was clearly in labor. I was only dilated to 3 cm, though, so I was a bit dissapointed, but at least we knew he was really on his way this time. Around 9:30, the nurse came in and said that one of the partner doctors was there for another patient, and if I wanted, he could come in and break my water to help things move along. I decided that would be alright with me, although I had hesitations due to the lenghth and problems that arose after having my water broken with Munchkin.

When he went to break my water, he said that I was still only at 3 cm. I thought, here we go again. I'm going to be here for another 18 hours! He broke my water, and immediately my contractions got stronger and closer together. The nurse said that since I was going natural she wasn't going to check me unless I wanted her too. A couple of hours went by and she came in at 11:30 to check on me. She wanted to monitor the baby a for a minute and I wanted to lay down. She checked and said I was between 5 and 6 cm. I was so glad! It took nearly 10 hours to get past that point with Munchkin. At that point, I knew my contractions were doing a lot more and that things would go a lot quicker than with Munchkin. Little did I know how quick!

15 minutes later I was starting to feel pressure, and Hikari told the nurse when she came in. She decided to check me again, and I was about 8 cm, but told me he was still a bit posterior. She asked if I wanted to go on my hands and knees and I said that I did, but asked if they had a bean bag for me to support myself with. She came back and said she couldn't find it, and so she sent one of the nurses looking for it. I was feeling a lot more pressure and by the time the nurse found the bean bag, I said I was NOT moving!!

The contractions were so much stronger than I was prepared for, and about the time the nurse mentioned that I was getting near transition, I was done. It was so much more intense than I remember with Munchkin. When the doctor arrived, I had started to feel pushing urges to push him further down, very different and much sooner than the pushing urge I felt with Munchkin, but the nurse insisted I needed to wait, as I was only 8 cm dilated. It was so overwhelming. The doctor sat down and looked at the baby and said, "I think she can push through it. Go ahead and push when you want to. I pushed so hard, and though it was a relief to push, the feeling was so intense, I just wanted him out! I took one more deep breathe and screamed. It was so intense. Then my loving husband leaned over and said, use that energy to push him out and not scream, I tried to stop screaming, and pushed his little head, and his little body quickly followed.

I had a much harder time focusing, as I don't think I was nearly as prepared as I thought I was. I think I figured that since I had done it once before, I didn't need to prepare myself as much. But even with that, it was an amazing experience. It seemed so much more intense, so much quicker, but I got the unmedicated, intervention-free birth that I wanted, and I felt great afterwards. The first thing I asked the doctor was "How much did I tear?" I thought for sure the damage was worse than the first time, but I didn't even need a single stitch, making the recovery MUCH nicer!

I look at him and think of the little miracle that he is...that each child is. How blessed I am to be able to experience such in intimate part of our Saviors plan, the creation of life. I have been blessed with a loving husband who knows what I need to hear, when I need to hear it, in order to continue and a loving daughter who tries her hardest to help and to be a good big sister. It's amazing the little spirits that we are priviliged to take care of on this short time on earth.

I wondered how I would share my love between these two children of my mine, and I found that just like when my daughter was born, my heart just grew to contain enough love for each of them.

I think this was probably around 11:00, inbetween contractions.

9 weeks and counting!!

Only nine weeks left!! Hopefully, the baby will have somewhere to sleep when he gets here. The office that is getting transplanted to the basement to make room for baby brother (yes, that is still the child's name) is still in the works, but it is getting closer. I really don't think it is possible to do a home improvement project without "umpteen" trips to the hardware store. Forget getting everything at once!!! There is always a tool that you need, or a fixture that doesn't fit quite right. But it's coming. We finished painting and Hikari and my dad finished the electrical (with the exception of a glitch with the track lighting). This week the job is to install the laminate floor, and then we are getting the cabinets and countertop for the built-in desk next week, and then it's furniture moving. If all goes as planned, which it never does, we will be able to start in on the babies room a few weeks before my due date!! Won't that be fun! Oh well, at least we have a roof over our head, and food in the fridge, and smiles on our faces, right? I do know what we are doing for the baby's room, though. I bought the paint a few weekends ago and I can't wait to get started!
This is the cute bedding set that I found. The walls are going to be the same green as the trim on top with a white chair rail, and then a really light green on the bottom. I'll have to post pictures once it's all put together. This picture really doesn't do it justice. The colors are a lot brighter and it is so cute!!! Anyway, like I said, hopefully this kid will have someplace to sleep come D-day!!

My Baby...but not for much longer.

I must say that I sure have a cute baby!!! Okay, I know that she is almost three, and very much a big girl, but I only have a few more months left before my baby is a big sister and I have a new baby to be the mommy to. The closer this baby comes, the more I hug her tighter, and play with her longer, and read "one more story" at night. It's kindof a wierd feeling going from one to two. We've been a family of three longer than we were a family of two with just me and Hikari! It's such a bittersweet feeling. I feel like we are ending a chapter in Munchkin's life and I just not quite ready, yet. I told her this morning that we are going to the doctor after mommy comes home from work, and she got so excited to see baby brother on the TV tonight. She holds the pictures and proudly walks out to show all the nurses her baby brother in mommy's tummy! She is going to be such a great big sister. In the morning, she'll sneak into our room, with the bottle of lotion so that she can rub lotion on mommy's belly. It's so wonderful to have such a loving and giving daughter. How lucky can I get???

My baby is Santa's helper!!

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Tag:Motherhood

1. How long have you been a MOTHER? 3 years
2. How many kids call you mommy? 1 and 1 on the way
3. When you were pregnant did you know what you were having? Yes.
4. How old were you when you became a mom? 22
5. How long were you in labor? That's a really funny question. I went into labor on a Sunday morning, finally went into the hospital on Wednesday (three days later) and was in hard labor at the hospital for 18 hours. We're hoping this trend does not repeat itself with our little boy.
6. What's your favorite thing about being a mom? Climbing into Munchkin's bed on Saturday mornings (that is, if I wake up before her, which doesn't happen too often) and waking her up and reading books while snuggling.
7. What's your least favorite thing? Having to go to work each morning and say good-bye. Although coming in a close second would be dealing with her terrible two tantrums!
8. Do you want more kids? Of course
9. Have you ever taken your kid(s) on a trip? We've been on little trips with our families, but we had planned to go to San Diego this summer, but then decided to buy a house, and then found out we were expecting. With both of working, its been hard to take vacations, but some of the best times were when we just went with the three of us on outings. This year, we've gone to the Living Planet Aquarium, a Jazz game, and the zoo. It's fun to watch Munchkin see new things, even if they are only 30 minutes from our house!
10. How many times have you been peed on? More than once, but I really don't remember how many
11. How many times have you been barfed on? once. She was so fussy and right when I picked her up from her crib and took her in the other room, she lost it. It was all I could do not to lose it myself, but she was so scared. I think she was only one.
12. Are your kids named after someone? Her first name is "beautiful Flower" in Japanese and is after a little girl in a family that he baptized in Japan on his mission. She has my first name as her middle name.
13. When is the last time you had a sitter; What did you do?Because we both work, she is with someone else all week, and I hate being away from her more than I have to. We've only had a sitter for us to "go out" a couple of times. The last was for our Anniversary in June. We went to dinner and stayed at bed and breakfast, then went golfing. It was fun, but I still had a bit of heartache over it. But when we called my parents to see how she did, she was having a ball and didn't want to talk to me because she was busy playing outside with the dog!
14. When your kids gets in trouble, who is the bad guy? I discipline more often, but if she is acting up when hikari is around, she knows that she is in trouble. She's in a place where she loves to test our limits right now!
15. What is the longest you have been away from your kid(s)? 1 night. When we went to the bed and breakfast for our Anniversary
16. Are your toes painted right now? Yes. On Saturdays, Munchkins favorite thing to do is help me clean the bathroom and then she pulls down all the nailpolish and wants to paint toes.
17. Last movie you saw in theater? uuuuhh...I really don't remember.
18. One thing you will not give up just because you're a mom: My baths. Every once in a while, I will lock the door, and take a hot bath. If Munchkin comes knocking she gets upset that the door is locked and Hikari will take her away and let me have my few minutes.
19. One thing you did give up now that you're a mom? Time fore myself. Which isn't necissarily a bad thing. I used to spend a lot more time doing crossstitch and scarpbooking, and maybe when I'm home more, I will be able to that again, but because my time at home is limited, I spent it all with munchkin, which I love! We do stamping together, though, so I do get a few of my things in there.
20. Favorite Cartoon: All I can think of is Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.
21. Favorite Snack: Anything sweet. Although lately I have truly been craving pickles A LOT.
22. When the kid(s) are napping, you are: Usually trying to get some cleaning in, although on Sunday afternoons, we all take a nap together.
23. Where is/are your kid(s) now? At my wonderful Sister in Laws house. Hopefully napping and giving her a break for the day
24. If I could do it over, I'd do this differently: Be more patient. My time is so little with her. For a long time I would jsut get frustrated and upset if she didn't do what i needed her to right then. I've learned that some of the best times we've had, is when I slow down, and just play with her when I get home from work, rather than worry about all the other things going on in our lives. Especially now that another will be coming soon, I am very attached to my little baby!
Now your it!

WE'RE ON THE BLUE TEAM!!

Last night we had a VERY convinving look at our little growing baby BOY!! Ayana is so excited that she is having a baby brother. I asked her last night while she was getting ready for bed, what we should call him, and she said "A boy!" At least she knows not to call him a girl! Now we just need to decide on a name. It's such a big decision. The fate of a child lies in the name that is chosen for them by thier parents! It's such a big responsibility. I know that I don't want to be the reason that my child has a complex for the rest of his life. But at the same time, he better like whatever we choose, because we choose it for a reason!

And the Kick OFF...

Well, I started feeling the baby kick a week or so ago. But today, I am starting to feel it quite a bit more. I was looking through Munckin's Baby book and saw that I had recorded her first kick around 15 weeks, with this one, I was 14 weeks. It makes me so excited to feel what I'm going to feel over the next few months. As I've been reminiscing about Munckin's birth, I have been thinking quite a bit about the actual birth, and what I want with the delivery of my next child. I delivered my daughter after 4 days of labor, 18 hours of which was in hard active labor at the hospital. I was given pitocin after 8 hours, and declined ALL pain medication during labor. Why is it that we live in a society where birth is a "medical condition." I've given thought to the idea of birthing at home, even. However, not only is my Hikari not comfortable with the idea, but I have serious anxiety issues about it, and for me, a hospital birth gives me the peace of mind that I need in order to relax. When I was in labor with Munckin, the nurse I had kept offering "other forms of pain relief." Did she not get the memo? I politely declined, but was quite frustrated that she wanted to sabbatoge any efforts that I had made to experience this without any medication. In the morning when the shift changed, not only did I have a nurse who had actually HAD children, I had a nurse that gave me support for my decision and even had suggestions on breathing and labor positions. My doctor was on board with me from the beginning and understood my desires, of which I am grateful.
I guess these past few weeks, I have been thinking about what I enjoyed about Munchkin's birth, and what I want different. I think that a better education on my part would have led to a more successful birth experience. We went to one birthing class while I was pregnant, and the nurse was certainly not "pro-epidural" but she wasn't openly against it either. She let all the women know that whatever their choice, they will probably have to get through a few hours of contractions on thier own, and it would be helpful to know some breathing and position techniques. But she also explained each of the different procedures that may or may not happen. Not once did she discuss the pros and cons to each procedure, but what it was and how they did it. What they never said was that every single one of them was in interference with the natural process that our bodies are made to do. I think there is certainly a place and a need for some of those procdures, but all too often, women go in expecting to have an IV put in, a pitocin drip started, an epidural placed, and episiotomy performed, and foreceps used. That when one says, I'm going to have a baby, that's what they have to look forward to. Women have been birthing children since the beginning of time. And I know that until the last century or less, they were born without those procedures.
When we first were married, I had told Hikari that I think I want to have a natural child birth when we have children. I did a little research and decided to move forward with it, against the advice from many women who had recently had children, all with epidurals. But I have a craving to go into this one armed with as much information as I can get my hands on, so that every decision I make and every nod of my head is an educated decision and not just because "the nurse/doctor told me that's what I should do."
If I have my appendix rupture I would more than likely nod my head and say, "because the doctor said I should probably have it out before I die." But when it comes to my own child...to doing something that my body was made to do, to doing something that is not a medical emergency, please let me have a baby in a hospital, but let me have my baby, not "perform a medical procedure."