Leah is two weeks old now. I feel like I’ve made it past a hump and can start getting life back to normal. Well, normal for 3 kids, right? She is still a wonderful baby even though she is waking up a bit more. I’m hoping that her sweet personality holds on for a while.

I’ve managed to make these thank you cards for all of our sweet neighbors and friends that have given Leah such cute little outfits. I think it has taken me about a week to get the templates made and ready for the internet but I guess that is the pace my days will be for a while. I haven’t even thought about actually delivering them. Yikes!

I thought they turned out pretty cute so I figured they’d be worth sharing. Enjoy. Download here.

This is what my page looked like before I printed them out on card stock. I added elements on the side of the page for cutting out and gluing. I think it adds some nice dimension. I would take some nice pictures of the actual cards and show you how cute they turned out but the truth is… my camera is challenged. Okay, I’m challenged- I can’t seem to get the light right. It took many tries to get the pitiful example in my preview. Sorry.

We are still doing great. Leah has been my easiest baby so far. I know things could change at any minute but I’m counting my blessings while I have them. I’m feeling pretty well rested but want to make sure not to do to much too soon.

I did have one adventure though… Jer got some Wicked tickets from work. We debated and debated what to do with them. Do we take Leah, have a baby sitter?  I ended up going with Emma and Jer stayed home with Leah. She took a bottle of expressed milk great for him and by the time I got home I was bursting. Luckily she was a willing nurser. The show was great and it was nice to give myself a little night out. There is a reason they recommend the show for ages 8 and up though. Emma enjoyed the first half but was completely bushed and ready to go home by the second half. Glinda and her bubble machine only hold their magic until 10:00.

Check out these cute little shoes my sis made for Leah. Darling!

One reason I wanted Leah to arrive on this earth a little bit closer to her due date is because Isaac’s birthday was yesterday, the 16th but I’m at least happy that they are not sharing the same day. 3 days apart is not much though, especially this year.

Adding a new baby in the family makes me want to make sure Emma and Isaac feel loved and not left out. The past couple days I’ve gone out of my way to give them hugs and kisses and see how their day has gone. Emma of course adores Leah and probably understands a bit more about why mommy is laying around in bed. She is happy to be spending time with Grandma and her cousins. Isaac on the other hand still seems a bit clueless. He’ll notice the baby, pat her head and blow her a kiss, but they he’s off to “get the bad guys.” He does like to talk about her little hands because then he’ll say “Isaac hands big” and of course you can’t understand much of it but he holds his big toddler hands up for me to see and I realize how big he actually is.

Yes, he has gotten so big.

My boy turned 3. He doesn’t really know it either. All week we’ve been telling him that he’s having a birthday but he’s just too busy to pay attention. Even though I just had a baby, I wanted to make sure we had a little celebration for him but there just wasn’t much I could do. I had to put Jer on birthday duty because I’m spending my days in my green cave of a bedroom.

So it was a pitiful party. No balloons or streamers. No cake and ice cream. Only an aunt and uncle as party guests. Jer whipped up some blue berry muffins which came out on the done side of things and popped 3 candles into one of them. Isaac was excited to blow out his candles and have his muffin but after one bite and realizing it wasn’t a cupcake but a muffin he went straight to the pantry to look for a cake mix. It was so sad we had to laugh at our miserable attempt.

Jer did run out to buy presents. He of course bought very boyish toys that I wouldn’t have glanced twice at but Isaac has loved them. Spiderman and The Incredible Hulk have been the favorite game to play between the two of them so he bought some figurines. I hear nothing but shooting and fighting noises and how they are going to getting the bad guys. Whatever happened to cars and trucks and cute wooden blocks?

The worst toy of all though, is this massive green and orange machine gun. It has lights and makes the most noisiest noises. Grenades and automatic weapons were going off all night through out the house. I woke up this morning to a war zone in Isaac’s room. I have since banished to horrific toy to the basement which is terribly sad because it’s his favorite but honestly, I can not wait until those batteries run out.

Here is another little picture of my sleepy Leah for you. She has been laying here like a sweetie while her mommy types away. It’s time to feed her though… I’m bursting!!

So far so good. My new girl and I are doing great. I’ve got all the usual soreness and such but I’ve been able to get a good amount of sleep. I’m telling you… I’m a huge home birthing fan. I’ve slept much better at home than either time at the hospital.

We’ve decided to name this little angel Leah Lyn (the middle name comes from her grandmas.) It seems to fit her and Emma has had a blast making up little songs about her. Leah has been sleeping and eating so wonderfully that I think it’s to good to be true.

It’s a Girl!

Our baby girl finally decided to enter this world yesterday evening. It was a whirlwind of labor and delivery. It only took 3 hours! (compared to Isaac’s 34 hours.) At 2:30 pm I was sitting out on my neighbor’s lawn chatting about yard care and at 5:16 I was holding a baby girl in my arms. Wowzers!!

Here are the stats:
Mon, April 13, 2009
5:16 pm
Location: my bedroom floor
Weight: 7 lbs 15.5 oz  (round up to 8lbs even)
Length: 20 ¾ inches

Here is the summary of my birthing experience for you curious moms…

For the first hour of labor I didn’t call anyone. I was timing contractions, watching a little HGTV and doing the dishes hoping that it was real labor. After an hour of steady contractions at 3 min apart I finally called Jeremy, my mom and my midwife.

Jer came home and we started to set up the Aqua Doula pool. Before I knew it, I was of no help setting up anything because the contractions were coming on top of each other so fast and strong. When my water broke it wasn’t much water so I wasn’t sure what it was. It wasn’t much longer when I the contractions got super intense and I started feeling pushy. I was a little bit panicked that I had no where to lay down or sit knowing that stuff was going to start coming out of me. I grabbed a shower curtain and knelt down on the floor and leaned on a chair. Jer was running around trying to figure out where the shower adapter was for the hose. He’d occasionally come and rub my back but I felt like he should be doing something else so I’d shoo him off.

My midwife was on her way but she had no idea how close I actually was. We gave her a call and when she heard me moaning and groaning she stepped on the gas, ran a stop sign and made one of my neighbors super mad as she flew into our circle. It’s a good thing she did though, because 5 minutes after she arrived we had a baby. So much for my luxiourious home birthing experience. If there is a next time I’ll have to set up the pool before I’m in labor!

I think we have a name for our little sweetie but we are taking our time to try it out and see if it feels right. She is a sleepy little thing but makes the cutest feminine noises. Love her already.

I don’t know why I let myself get so hopeful. I knew this was going to happen. I planned for it. I accepted my later due date and told everyone from the beginning that I’d be late. But there was some point where I started feeling hopeful that I’d be going sooner.

Ya, it hasn’t happened despite having all these random contractions and loosing my plug. I better just give myself another week and don’t worry; my water levels are still good and my kick counts are still good.

Every morning I wake up pregnant and have this little bout of depression. I can hardly believe that it’s another day. I obviously don’t want to get out of bed but my back aches too much to just lay there. I finally make myself get moving and accept the fact that another day is going to go by without this new little one arriving. This morning is one of those mornings.

Last week I was at a one… Tonight I’m at a 2/3. I’ve been having a bunch of irregular, far apart contractions that are just barely strong enough to take my breath away. I’m still walking, talking and functioning with them so I wouldn’t say that I’m in any type of labor.

I may still have a long road ahead of me but at least something is going on, right?

Still no baby. I was really hoping today would be the day. It would be the most perfect day for this new little person to arrive. Emma has spring break this week so I wouldn’t have to worry about getting her to school or doing homework. Jer has minimal work going on at the office and wouldn’t be missed one bit. My mother-in-law is in town until Friday and would be a great help. Besides I’m really starting to feel it. I’m achy and starting to waddle about because of loosening ligaments.

I’m also really getting tired of explaining my due date dilemma to everyone I meet (can’t the cashiers just mind their own business? I need to wear a sign, “I’m overdue so don’t ask!”) but I’ll explain it here for posterity:

According to the first day of my last period, I have a due date of March 26th. That would put me at 41 weeks and 4 days today. According to my 20 week ultrasound, my baby measured at a due date of April 4th. That would put me at 40 weeks and 2 days today. That is a 9 day difference.

Now, usually doctors and midwives do not use 20 week ultrasounds to determine due dates because they are not that accurate, give or take 2 weeks because babies come in all shapes and sizes. But!! given my history of going late with Isaac (3 weeks late), I was willing to use the April 4th date in case I went late again and my midwife was willing as well. It then makes it legal for my midwife to deliver me so late. The plan is that this will give me plenty of time to start on my own and avoid induction (going natural is important to me.)

Now that April 4th has come and gone I feel like my patience has come and gone too. I was really hoping that I wasn’t going to be quite as late this time.

I tried to find some stats on line about how many women actually deliver on their due date. I found these.

Before 37 weeks: 4%
37 weeks: 5%
38-39 weeks: 10%
39-40 weeks: 20%
40-41 weeks: 35%
41-42 weeks: 20%
Over 42 weeks: 10%

I guess I’m one of those lucky 10% that go over 42 weeks. Yea for me! I also found that 5% of babies are born on their due date, but I thought I remembered hearing something more like 1%.

I’m starting to wish that people would just ask, “What season are you due in?” Then I could just say “Spring” and then I wouldn’t hear any comments about my size or surprised looks that I’m still walking about. I especially hate questions about induction. Can’t babies come when they are ready?

Yes, I’m still pregnant.