baby T's birth story

It has taken me 3 months to write this.  Not out of dread or procrastination ,but simply because life with 3 kids is chaotic and challenging. There are lots of similarities to my previous 2 deliveries and a few differences. In comparing all 3, E's delivery was my easiest but this one was the most positive experience of the 3.

My labors by the numbers:

Baby #1 (W; 39 weeks 1 day): In labor for 24 hours start to finish. Arrived at the hospital at 5 cm and he arrived 6 hrs later pushing only for a half hour

Baby #2 (E; 39 weeks 1 day): In labor for 12 hours start to finish. Arrived at the hospital at 7 cm and she arrived 2 hrs later and after one push

Baby #3 (T; 39 weeks 2 days): In labor for 7 hours start to finish. Arrived at the hospital at 5 cm and he arrived 2.5 hrs later and after pushing for 15 mins

The day I went into labor, we cut up a branch that had fallen in our backyard. I spent the morning and afternoon hauling wood in hopes that it would be put me into labor.  A and I decided to go on a date that night because we knew our chances to go out alone were running out.  I had contractions off and on and I knew it was the start of early labor but I really had no idea how long it would take to get things going.  Around 11 I started timing them and by 2:30 they were getting to be uncomfortable but they sporadic and hard to time. By 3:30 we decided it was time to go to the hospital.

I was checked in to the room by 4 and the "house" dr came to see me.  He checked me and said I was at 5 cm and I was pretty bummed. The contractions had kind of died off and I had a feeling we were in for a long day.  Then my nurse had to give me my IV.  In each of deliveries, the IV has gotten progressively worse.  From no issues with W, to getting stuck 3 times with E, to almost passing out with T. They had to lay me flat because I thought I was going to faint and T's heart rate really dropped.  The  dr came in and we thought for sure we were in for an emergency c-section the way the nurses and the dr were worried.  Thankfully he mellowed out fast and the dr from my practice showed up.  At this point I knew my dr wasn't on-call (as was the case with my other 2 deliveries because my kids love being born on the weekends) but I once again lucked out and ended up loving the on-call dr more than my original dr.  She was actually a midwife and she made the experience so positive.  She stayed with me in the room the entire time I was in labor (really only an hour and a half by the time she got there).  She had me moving all over the bed to get the pressure off my back to get him to turn because all my babes are always flipped and I have terrible back labor!

I never really had the urge to push but I was ready to try once I hit 10 cm. I found this difference odd compared to the last 2 because I remember having that urge as soon as I hit 10.  Another difference was they didn't separate the bed or do anything special (no bar to hold onto, etc) it was this very natural and organic way of delivering.  Not sure if this was a traditional delivery for that hospital or if this is just how the midwife did her deliveries. She also didn't get all suited up and put on a mask like both my other drs did. I really loved the personal experience.  Although there are no other babies in our future, I would use her for my next baby if that ever were to be the case :)  I pushed for about 15 mins and then he was placed right on my chest.  He immediately started lifting his head off my chest to look around and the nurses all commented on how they'd never seen a newborn with that kind of head control.  He weighed in at 7 lbs 3 oz and 19" which made him my shortest and biggest baby :)  W was 6 lbs 10 oz and 21.5" and E was 6 lbs 7 oz and 19.1"

We've adjusted well to being a family of 3.  The kids are still head-over-heels in love with their little brother and I have no doubt they will always be his biggest supported and watch out for him.  He makes our family complete :)

101 Things February Update

This month my goal was to cross 8 things off my list but unfortunately I only made it to  3.  I did start 3 other items though so I'd say I'm not doing too bad!

46. Visit the Science Center (Feburary 28, 2016)

For my mom's birthday we visited the science center in Cleveland.  My kids had a blast and I was amazed at all the fun stuff they had to do.  We easily spent 3 hours there and probably could have spent a lot more time up there!

70. Volunteer for a work event (excludes events I'm require to attend) (February 20, 2016)

For this one A and I volunteered for a charity bowling tournament.  I haven't been bowling in 6+ years so I didn't know what to expect, but it was sooo much fun! We competed against another branch and had these weird league rules but I can't wait to do it again next year.  Plus it's great to raise money for a local kids charity :)

71. Have a no-spend month (February 2016)

This was my first attempt at a no-spend month and I think it went fairly well. I had to exclude items that were for birthdays/gifts (we have 2 family birthdays in February and my niece was born this month).  I also excluded anything A decided to purchase as I didn't force him to do this with me.  I'm hoping to attempt this again in a few months and get him on board too!

5 months :)

Yay we made it past halfway!!

Maternity clothes: Some of my non-maternity still fits with a bellyband but I'm most comfortable in my maternity pants. I don't have a need for maternity shirts yet.

Stretch marks: None yet but I'm not really looking ;P

Sleep: Not so great this month. If I wake in the middle of the night it takes me 2+ hours to fall back asleep if I fall asleep at all.

Best moment this month: Finding out we're going to have another little boy!  He weighed 11 ounces at the ultrasound and was sitting right up on my bladder.  He has a few cysts on his head but everything came back negative from the blood tests for abnormalities and genetic issues so it's something that should be resolved on its own.

Food cravings/aversions: This month has been slightly better with red meat but my cravings have been non-stop.  The strongest craving has been for rootbeer floats, I've probably had 3 a week for the past month :)

Gender: A little man!

What I miss: Not having to restrict myself. I keep forgetting I'm pregnant and try to do too much and then end up exhausted or feeling like I've over done it.

What I'm looking forward to: Maybe, hopefully, deciding on a name in the next month!

Milestones: Feeling him move a lot and noticing patterns to his movements.

Pregnancy with W on the left and with E on the right

Gender Old Wives Tale Predictions

Today is the day we find out the gender of baby #3! I went back and forth between wanting to find out and not, but A wanted to find out so that ultimately won out.  I'm going to compare to the other 2 (1st pregnancy having been a boy and 2nd pregnancy having been a girl)

Chinese calendar: 1st pregnancy - boy; 2nd pregnancy - girl (both were correct)
                                3rd pregnancy - girl

Heartbeat: 1st pregnancy W's heartbeat was typically under 155 - boy; 2nd pregnancy E's was 167 the only time I heard it - girl
                    3rd pregnancy I've only heard it once and it was 152 - boy

Sweet/salty/sour cravings: 1st pregnancy sour - boy; 2nd pregnancy sweet & salty (boy or girl)
                                              3rd pregnancy sweet & sour (boy or girl)

Mayan calendar: 1st pregnancy - even age+even year = girl; 2nd pregnancy - even age+odd year = boy
                               3rd pregnancy - even age+odd year = boy

Clear skin/breaking out: 1st pregnancy clear skin - boy; 2nd pregnancy breaking out - girl
                                           3rd pregnancy clear skin - boy

Location during ultrasound: 1st pregnancy - didn't have one; 2nd pregnancy baby on the left - girl
                                                  3rd pregnancy baby on the left - girl


This pregnancy has had lots of similarities to both of my pregnancies so I don't feel very strongly either way about a gender.  I'm excited to find out!

Throwback to Halloween

54. Go trick or treating (October 31, 2015)

I completely forgot to post pics of the kids trick or treating this past year.  This was their first year going and they LOVED it!

E went as Minnie :)

W went as a minion :)

4 months :)

Fast approaching the halfway point already!

Maternity clothes? Not yet. I got a new bellyband for Christmas because I had given mine away but that's all I've need so far.

Stretch marks? No new ones but the old ones are becoming more apparent

Sleep? Sleep has been great so far, can't complain yet :)

Best moment this month? Hearing the baby's heartbeat for the first time.  It was 152 bpms which was almost identical to W's at that same point.

Food cravings/aversions? Still a huge aversion to red meat and I have occasional queasy mornings.  No significant cravings still.

Gender? We *should* be finding out in two weeks.  Our insurance is a mess right now so there is a chance the appointment will be pushed back to February.  The kids and A are very convinced it's a girl while I have been leaning more towards boy.  The heartbeat is what really makes me think boy because E's was always higher than 160 and W's was always under that.

What I miss? Not feeling exhausted by 2 pm

What I'm looking forward to? Finding out baby's gender so we can start looking at names.  

Milestones: Feeling the baby more and more. I can tell he/she is settled on the left side and I feel them most frequently when I'm laying on my left side. (This was what I wrote when I was 17 weeks pregnant with E and it totally applies now!)

  Pregnancy with E on left and W on right  

13 weeks - 2nd trimester!

Maternity clothes: Still not yet, thankfully!

Stretch marks: None :)

Sleep: I'm starting to have a hard time falling asleep, but once I'm asleep I'm fine.

Best moment so far: Telling my coworkers and finding out there are 5 other girls that are due in June in our county!

Food cravings/aversions: Thank goodness I'm starting to feel much more like myself, but still have slight aversions to any kind of beef. No significant cravings right now.

Gender: Still mostly leaning towards boy. I'm still very undecided though!

Movement: Not yet :)

What I miss: I've really been wanting soft cheese this week - particularly goat cheese! And sushi :) Although I had some fully cooked sushi on our anniversary.

What I'm looking forward to: Hearing the heartbeat at my appt at the end of the month.

 

I feel like this time around I have zero bump compared to my first 2 pregnancies! I was definitely starting to look pregnant by the 2nd trimester with W and E.