So we've been a little busy!

Just like after Canaan was born blogging has definitely fallen by the wayside. Ezra was born beautiful and healthy and now we're just enjoying our time off of work with our TWO little guys. We've been to the Cincy Children's Museum, Bass Pro (to see Santa), the Aquarium and this weekend we're thinking about heading to Metamora. But mainly we've just been relaxing and getting to know our latest addition.

I'll maybe get around to posting about Ezra's birth in more detail at some point - but to sum up... it was amazing. If all we faced in having children was labor & delivery I could do it a hundred times more. Walking in the door I was 3cm along. I made it to 7cm with NO pain (pre-epidural - I kept thinking, "isn't this supposed to hurt?") and in total active labor only lasted about 2 hours. I pushed for less than 5 minutes (through three contractions) and he was born! Recovery has also been pretty easy this time around, though it has been tougher in the no-sleep department because Ezra is still sorting out day from night. Canaan has been really great in the role of big brother - he loves helping (fetching diapers, testing out pacifiers, etc. & making sure we're aware when Ezra starts crying - he's quick to let us know, "bebe crying! BEBE CRYING!")! All in all we're loving life as a family of FOUR!



Okay now, off to bed (for the moment anyway)! :)

The End of a Long Road

Last night Canaan woke about 40 minutes after BJ laid him down for the night, crying off and on. I could see on the monitor that he was okay, but couldn't help but sneak into his room to lift him out (something I've only done about 3 or 4 times in the last four months) and cuddle him in his chair for a good long time. I ran my fingers through his soft baby hair and just held him quietly, soaking him up and knowing that he'll be our only child for just another couple of days.

It's really hard to sum up the last four months. It's been a really... really long road but it has also been a time of tremendous blessing. And now to make it farther than anyone (even our doctors) dreamed possible... it's just overwhelming to live in this moment knowing we've been given such an amazing gift in our children both beating the odds.

Now we have one last hurdle to cross before we can start the next chapter of our lives. We are scheduled to be induced on Tuesday morning and if all goes well we will bring Ezra home on Thanksgiving Day (what could possibly be more appropriate?). We have so very much to be thankful for!

Not wanting to have a child on I-74...

My labor with Canaan was pretty quick (5 1/2 hours) and scary with nearly having to have an emergency c-section. This time around labor will likely be shorter (potentially much shorter). Plus we live about an hour from the hospital and have a little man to pack up! I felt for a little while there that my the doctors at my OB's office weren't understanding my quick labor fears - one of them (the OB who is also former Bengal's cheerleader and not the smartest cookie in the jar) actually did affirm this fear but told me that babies born in cars are usually fine and to just have string and towels ready (WHAT?!).

Thankfully at my last couple appointments I've been getting a lot more support (from the other doctors in the practice). Now the plan is (unless I do go into active labor) for a decision to be made at each of my OB appointments - starting at 37 weeks - whether to send me over to deliver. It's such a relief that my doctors might send me to be "induced" (for me induction just means breaking my water. No Pitocin is necessary when my body's been wanting labor for four months!)! Hopefully now I'll stop having dreams about delivering Ezra in our bathroom! And who knows, one of our appointment dates is 11/11/11, so that would be pretty sweet! :)

UPDATE FROM MONDAY (as you could probably guess) -

BJ and I are so excited to meet our sweet Ezra, but we're pretty thrilled that didn't happen yesterday! Our little guy is growing well (5lb, 12oz) and everything looks great!

Week 35 Update... Countdown to Ezra

So the biggest news is that this past week Ezra very officially dropped -- two weeks earlier than Canaan did -- making walking even more interesting (any movement on my part means both a contraction and managing the uncomfortable feeling of a very low baby)!

Friday we had a very interesting OB appointment. We found out that...

• I am 1cm dilated, confirmed that the baby has dropped - he is LOW (the doctor could feel that the baby's head is shaping to my pelvis so we should expect a cone-headed little babe).


• While I am now officially scheduled to be induced on November 22nd at 39 weeks, I was told not to expect to make it that far (probably a safe assumption).


• Lastly - probably because Ezra has dropped - my belly is measuring at 30 weeks (5 weeks too small). We are going to have an ultrasound on Monday to be sure he hasn’t stopped growing since the last time we took a peek at him. If there is a growth restriction issue then they might send me to have him on MONDAY... like tomorrow. Obviously we’re hoping that he’s growing fine and I’m just small! If we can avoid the NICU by hanging on another couple of weeks that would be so wonderful.

Another big thank you to my sister Julie for snapping a couple pics of me and my belly!

And we're still okay!

At the beginning of this pregnancy I was already pretty sad about its end - as we figure that this will be our last time having a baby. I wanted to savor every little thing knowing that I will more than likely never be pregnant again (even though we would love to have more children). And, in a lot of ways I still feel that way. Every little baby hiccup and kick is still amazing to me, and there is the thrill of the unknowns (happy unknowns) - will he look like Canaan? Be big or small? Have red hair? What will his personality be like?

We are so blessed to have this little one on his way, and we feel really confident at this point, in huge part because of all the support and answered prayers, that he will come home to us healthy and near/at full term.

But we are also at the point now where we are ready to be done and move onto a hopefully more calm, normal life for a while (albeit one with of course much less sleep and post-baby physical recovery for me).

So far during this pregnancy (between BJ and I) we have had 3 hospital stays (total of 4 stays this year) and have faced/continue to face preterm labor, anemia, kidney stones (this and the recovery after the birth of Canaan are the two most painful things I have ever experienced), hydronephrosis (compression of the tube between my bladdar & kidney causing my right kidney to atrophy), extremely low blood pressure (in the hospital this week I was at 55/34 - they actually brought in another blood pressure machine because they thought theirs must be broken) and BJ's pericarditis (inflammation around the heart).

Yes, it's getting a little ridiculous! :) With all this drama I'm starting to get a little more nervous about the BIRTH (please not in the car, PLEASE not in the car)! I'm just praying things go smooth since we have a pretty bad track record lately! BUT, no matter what, we have a truly amazing and faithful God who, with each challenge, has helped carry us through. It seems like EVERY time I start to feel overwhelmed and unsure there is suddenly a solution out of nowhere - usually in the form of an amazing friend or family member stepping in to show our family love and support. It's easy to keep coming back to how blessed we are!

Baby Bump Update

Tomorrow I will be... dun da DA!! THIRTY weeks!

This is the milestone I have been so excited for! This whole process for me is like running... which I hate. The only way to keep going is just to convince myself to run to just that mailbox. Then when I get there... just to the light pole, and so on. And pretty soon, before I know it I've run 200 meters ;) (yep, really hate running).

So now that we're here at 30 weeks I can look forward to 32... then 34. Now, with each milestone I am getting some pretty sweet rewards! Each one to me is like Christmas morning. With this one (30), I am allowed to sit up a little more AND try going downstairs every few days and lay on the couch (can't wait to do this tomorrow!!). And as long as I continue to stay stable (ie not dilate), around 32 weeks my doctor will let me start going to church again (in the wheelchair). After nine weeks laying in bed these privileges make the next 8 weeks seem so much less daunting (especially since I know that the closer we get to the end the more time is going to draaagggg). But now that I've made it to the mailbox I know I can make it to that light pole! :)

And another bonus, I passed my 3-hour glucose test! :)

I will leave you now with some adorableness...






A big thank you to Julie for capturing these moments!

All up in there...

Dear Ezra,

Let me introduce you to the underside of my ribs. Just a little FYI, this is NOT an awesome place to hang out. You can just take my word for it. I promise.

Okay, well... so you're pretty much are in control of everything right now anyway... and are putting up with hundreds of contractions... so I guess you can go ahead and enjoy the new-found spot. :) Just this once. And then not again.

Love,
Momma

PS. love you to a million pieces.