We found out that #3 was a girl on February 10, and Sean & Lilly were at home eagerly awaiting the news of whether they were having a brother or sister (well, really only Sean because Lilly didn't understand what was going on!). Auntie Dawn was watching them at our house for us, and when we came through the door, we told him we had pictures of the new baby inside mommy's belly and if he wanted to guess what it was. He said, "a boy!" I said, "No, it's not a boy--you're having a sister" to which he said, "it doesn't have a wee-wee?" I guess in his mind that is the only difference...but it wanted to make me laugh and cry all at the same time (what with all the hormones going crazy inside me!) He looked at the pictures and said, "Aww, I love her!" which made me feel much better that he said that!
We told him her name was Brilee Grace (I left out in the earlier post that we had Grace picked out before Brilee and were going to use it with whatever first name we chose--I just love the significance of God's grace to us and thought it would be a beautiful middle name--especially considering that I've been praying for God's grace to help me raise these children to love Him and each other! He never stopped saying her name since then. He would often hug my tummy or kiss it and say, "hello, Brilee! I love you!" or something to that effect. Every night he would make sure to tell her goodnight, which I thought was so sweet.
So, the following Monday when Sean went to preschool, he wanted to share the news to his teachers that he was having another little sister--except I felt quite embarassed that I hadn't even said anything to them at all about expecting another baby! It had been SO cold so far that winter that I had been bundling up in my great big winter coat, which covered my ever-growing belly. So, it was kind of strange when Sean ran up to them and said, "I'm having a baby sister!" and they said, "That's great, how far along are you?" When I told them 20 weeks, they looked surprised, and said they had no clue. Even the parents of his friends had no idea, and I felt SO awkward when one of them had a birthday party the following weekend at Space Kidets, and when we walked in and I took my coat off, she looked shocked. Yeah, there's a baby in there--you can ask--I know most people don't ever ask a woman if she's pregnant for fear that they've just gained a lot of weight, but I think it was pretty obvious in my case. So, that gave me something to talk about with all the moms for awhile since we really didn't know each other that well and sometimes conversations can be awkward when you don't know each other and you're just sitting there watching your kids play together.
Well, though the weather had been extrememly cold up to this point in February, it seemed as though we were getting a break with some nice weather one weekend. So we loaded the kids up in the stroller (which hadn't been used in a few months) and went on a walk with our friends/neighbors up the street to our neighborhood park and enjoyed a respite from the chilly temperatures.
21 weeks pregnant
Since our family was getting bigger, and we were accumulating more things, toys, etc., Jon and I decided to rearrange the guest bedroom/office/playroom to allow for more room for the kids to play (since Sean and Lilly would be moving in the same room). The desk we had was SO large and was and "L" shape, so it took up 2 walls, leaving the bed basically in the middle of the room. We listed it on Craig's List and thankfully were able to sell it for more than we paid for a new computer armoire cabinet that allowed our paperwork mess to be easily closed up and hidden from sight (and away from curious little hands).
Sean as we were cleaning off the desk
Lilly playing as we box up desk items
As Spring approached, I was finding it more and more difficult to keep up with two active toddlers as my energy waned and my belly grew (or perhaps I should use the word "waxed" to complete the metaphor!) In any case, we stayed busy going to the park, having playdates, and running lots of errands to burn off energy. Here are some snapshots of my busy kids (none of me, but trust me, I was not sitting down a lot!)
Lilly was going through her "I want to wear Sean's shoes phase"
So, he decided he wanted to wear Daddy's shoes:
Sean & Lilly and their friend, Ezra
Lilly and the chalkboard Auntie Dawn rescused from Caribou Coffee!
I was tired of Lilly's hair in her face, so she's sporting the "Cindy Lou Who"
Sean swinging Lilly 4-3-10
Sweet brother and sister 4-3-10
Cloth Diapers
I had gotten so tired of how much money I was having to spend on diapers, and knew that I would be spending even more once Brilee arrived. When my friend, Karen, started talking to me about how she cloth diapered her son, I got very intrigued. I sat down with her at Panera one day and just picked her brain about cloth diapering since I had NEVER known anyone before who had done it. It sounded SO easy, and I really wanted to try it. So, I bought some diapers from her and started trying to make some of my own.
The first two diapers I made
Inside the diaper--Jon said, "these are too pretty to poop in!"
I wish I had known more about how I needed the diapers to work for a newborn, because almost all of the ones I made in the newborn size don't fit Brilee--only about 4 or 5 fit, but the other 10 are too small. I have some mediums made, but for the most part, they will probably be used to dress up baby dolls! At least I know now how to make some more the way I prefer (if I ever get the time to do, that is!)
Easter
Thankfully, we took the time to take some pictures on Easter morning, and got some pretty good shots of the kids (when they decided to look at the camera and put their hands down, that is!
An example of what we were dealing with:
This is the only one with me where neither Sean nor Lilly are acting silly--If only I'd known I wouldn't have this look of desperation on my face!
They decided to do much better with Daddy, ofcourse!
Some more shots from Easter weekend:
Sitting down is never a flattering position while preggo- 6 1/2 months
I think it was a couple of weeks after Easter that we started on our garden out back. We were going to do a larger tiered garden on our hill in the back of the yard, but we had to spend a lot of money on a little termite problem (thankfully it had just started and there was absolutely no damage to the house, but getting a termite treatment contract on your house is expensive!) So, instead, we decided to do a smaller garden beside our patio for this year and do a larger garden next year. This turned out to be the best idea anyway, what with me being so big and pregnant and having a newborn in the midst of the summer when we would need to be watering and pickiung every day. Now I can sit Brilee outside in the stroller (or bouncy seat up on the patio table) while I water the garden right next to it and she is completely in the shade but getting some good vitamin D from indirect sunlight! Here are some pics of our garden in progress:
Sean and his garden tools
7 months pregnant
The garden on May 8
The garden on May 25
First Squash
Tomatos (out of focus!)
Peppers
Hydrangea (my favorite!)
We took a trip to New Bern the weekend of May 14th--I wasn't supposed to travel farther than 2 hours away from home after that date (32 weeks,so this would be the last trip before Brilee's arrival). The kids had fun going to the beach for the day and playing at grandma and grandpa Hardison's house. Below are some of my favorite shots from that trip.
Playing in the sand-it ended up EVERYWHERE!
With granddaddy before going out in the canoe
Sitting on the pier by the bank
and falling backwards...
Sean in the canoe
Sean & Granddaddy on the pier
Sean swinging
Lilly's 1st ponytail
To the doctors ALL the time
At 30 weeks pregnant (yes, I'm backtracking a little bit, I forgot the timeline of all this as I was plugging away on our garden, etc!) the nurse heard an irregular heartbeat, and had the dr. recheck it. It was a pretty consistent skipped beat where it would go swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, pause...swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, pause (if you've ever heard a baby's heartbeat over a doppler, it sounds like a swoosh more than a thump, so that's how I always describe it!) The dr. told me it was probably nothing to be worried about and that occasionally he will hear this, and it is usually where there is so much blood pumping through so many places that it causes a premature beat that sounds like a skipped beat. But just to be sure, he sent me to a specialist to have her heartbeat checked out and to make sure she was developing ok. Maybe it was his reassurance, but I was not too worried about things. I was more excited to get another look at Brilee and to get another glimpse of her inside me.
So, on April 23rd we went to Presbyterian Maternal & Fetal Medicine to see a Perinatologist. The ultrasound tech did most of the work first measuring every single organ and looking at all her stats to see if everything was developing normally. Everything was great, and the dr. said she had Premature Atrial Contractions, which would go away as soon as she was born. I guess it is just the blood flow like my regular OB/Gyn said. He did say that if her heartbeat were to start beating too fast it would be a problem, so for that reason he wanted me to start having WEEKLY dr. visits to listen to her heartrate to make sure it was ok. So, I started getting even more familiar with my dr.'s office and having to find someone to watch the kids every week. Thankfully, Jon's mom didn't mind and watched them most of the time. I would just try to get an appointment first thing in the morning or the last I could get in the afternoon. They enjoyed their visits with Nana and I enjoyed hearing that sweet heartbeat every week.
I need to scan in the pictures from that ultrasound--I never got around to it at the time! It is neat to see now how her profile image looks exactly like her profile now (seems obvious, right? but I still find it amazing!) We also got another clear shot of confirmation that she was indeed still a girl! (Not sure why that thought crossed my mind except that I heard a story of someone who thought they were having a girl from the ultrasound and it turned out otherwise--but I think that thought crosses everyone's mind until the baby is actually born and you can see for yourself!) I got them scanned, and here is Brilee at 30 weeks:
Profile
Profile far away
Foot
As I went to the dr. each week, I felt the sense of peace knowing that everything was still ok, but I was also still in denial of how SOON she actually was coming! It wasn't until I was 37 weeks pregnant that I figured we should get things ready for her (i.e. get the carseat, pack & play, swing, etc out of the attic and clean and prepare everything for her!) When the dr. checked me that week I was already 2 cm. dilated and 50% effaced. I told her that with my first I was 90% effaced and 1 cm dilated and with Lilly I was 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. She told me it was the dilation that indicated earlier labor than the effacement, so I figured we should get things ready. Though my others came a few days late, you never know!
So, that Saturday morning, Jon started getting everything out of the attic and I had to keep the kids from trying to climb into the baby things...though I did take some pictures, which probably didn't reinforce the fact that they aren't allowed in them!
I was feeling pretty miserable from the 37 week mark till the end, mostly due to the heat rather than the baby! In NC we usually have fairly mild weather in June--usually with temps in the 80s...well, not this summer! Of course the summer I would be almost 9 months pregnant we would have consistent temps in the 90s basically all of the month of June! It was torture going anywhere, but if I didn't take the kids out at least in the mornings they were SO full of energy that it was harder than being hot! So, we often braved up and left the house early in the morning to get our playtime in before 10 or 11 am. Here's the last pictures I took at Colnol Francis Beatty Park on June 11 with my dear friend, Michelle and her children, John & Ruth. Michelle was going to take a picture of me with Lilly, but my camera battery died before she could! I kind of regret that because I was so huge by this point and would have liked to remember just how big! (Though I was still 25 pounds lighter than I was when pregnant with Sean or Lilly because I had lost some weight before this pregnancy).
I was also pretty miserable the last couple of months because of pregnancy induced carpel tunnel in my right hand/arm. My fingers felt numb pretty much all the time and I had pain in my forearm, up through my shoulder and neck. If I bent my arm, it got even worse, so I couldn't sleep on that side without my arm being stretched out straight. However, I needed to rotate sides to keep everything ELSE from going numb during the night...so, reluctantly, I slept in the guest bedroom the last couple of weeks so that I could stretch out all I wanted to without being in Jon's way :( It was nice to be able to stretch out and not worry about waking him up, but I missed him too! Thankfully the numbness is slowly going away in my hand (all this typing probably is not helping, huh?) I was prone to this anyway because I play the piano and developed a bit of carpel tunnel in my hands in high school while rehearsing Scott Joplin's Maple Leaf Rag for my senior recital over and over and over again--don't think I would be able to play even half of that song if I sat down at the piano today! In any case, I think I was so swollen mostly due to the heat because I didn't have that problem at all with Sean or Lilly.
Well, I was approaching 39 weeks and started havinge more and more intense Braxton Hicks contractions. I had been having them off and on during the day just because of being busy, but they were starting to come even while I was resting and at nighttime. I knew I was probably dilating more and thought in the back of my mind that I was never going to make it to 40 weeks. Father's day was June 20th, and the thought crossed my mind that if she was going to come early, how nice it would be if she came on Father's Day...that it would make her birthday even more significant and special for us. However, that day came and went, and I was a tad bit disappointed, because I still felt like her birth needed something special since she was #3 and I felt like this go around just didn't FEEL special yet. So, I decided to go out and find a couple of things that would be just HERS and not something that was passed down from Sean & Lilly--I didn't know what I was looking for, but when Nana came and got the kids one afternoon, I took some "me" time and went to the consignment shop and found a few cute little newborn summer outfits for her (Lilly was born in Nov. so all her little "outfits" were winter--usually I keep them in onesies and sleepers when they're so little, and those don't matter what season, but I thought a cute little summer outfit would be cute.) Somehow just that simple little thing made me feel better about having something ready just for her! Also, on another day I took Sean & Lilly to Target to pick out a little gift to her from them--Sean chose a blue and green elephant (they had a pink & green one but he chose the blue one!) We went home and wrapped it in a gift bag for them to take to the hospital when they visited her for the fist time.
My parents were scheduled to come into town on their way back home from a trip on June 22, but they were delayed and didn't end up coming into town until two days later on the 24th. I was a little frustrated because I had spent that whole day cleaning and had a meal in the crock pot ready, and didn't know they were going to be later until that evening about 5:00. Boy, don't let a pregnant lady get upset! It took me a little bit to calm down, but in the end everything worked out ok because it turned out that those were the last couple of days I had with the kids with just us before the chaos of having a newborn came (and I didn't know it at the time!) so we had some good playtime those days without the pressure of having company.
I woke up in the middle of the night/early am of the 24th with contractions and looked up at the clock that projects onto our ceiling to see what time it was. It was 3am, and I had another contraction come in about 10 min., so I got out of bed and went downstairs to get my phone. A few weeks ago I had downloaded an application for my phone called "Contraction Timer." You click on the "start" button when it starts and "stop" when it ends, and it records the duration of the contration and the time between contractions. (beats the kitchen timer I used with Sean & Lilly where I couldn't see the "history" of all the contractions!) They were about every 10 min. and lasted about 30 seconds each and continued for a few hours, but got farther apart when I got up and moving around. I already had a regularly scheduled appointment that morning at 9:30, so I was hoping that he would tell me I was a lot more dilated and just keep me there at the hospital (based on my experience with Lilly where I was 5 cm and I didn't ask if I could stay there when sent me home telling me to "stay close by" then I went in 2 evenings later already 8-9 cm dilated and it was VERY rushed and chaotic!).
Jon stayed home that morning and sent a message to his boss letting him know that I was having contractions and he was going with me, and Jon's sister came to stay with the kids. When I got to the clinic, I told them I had been having contractions and asked if I could be checked. Dr. Reynolds did, and I was 3.5 cm, to which he said that we would just have to wait until the contractions got more consistent or my water broke. So, we went home a little disappointed, and Jon went back to work. As the kids were about to go down for their nap, there was a knock at the door, and it was my parents. The kids were excited, but thankfully, they still went down for their nap. I told my parents I was so exhausted, and went upstairs and promptly took a 2 hour nap! I woke up when the kids started making noise about 3:00 and went down with them. The kids were having fun playing with my parents, and I decided to start getting supper ready for that evening. (We were having the roast that I had made in the crock pot two days earlier, but had set aside in the fridge for when they came) I was going to make mashed potatos to go with them, so I decided to start peeling them. My mom helped me cut them after I peeled them because she wasn't quite as handy with the peeler. My back was hurting because of standing up and I noticed it was getting quite warm in the house, but thought it was just b/c of being preggo. After they were peeled and diced I put them in the boiling water and noticed I was getting even hotter--but thought it was the boiling water going on in the kitchen in combination with the heat of the sun shining through the blinds. So, we closed the blinds, and I went and checked the thermostat. To my dismay, it read 83 even though it was set on 76. It had been having a hard time keeping up the last couple of weeks due to the heat, but usually it would at least stay below 79 or 78. So, my dad went outside to check the unit, and came back in and said that the fan wasn't running outside--uh oh!
Well, I called Jon and told him that the fan on the A/C wasn't running, while my dad checked the breaker out in the garage. My dad said it wasn't the breaker, so Jon decided to go ahead and call an A/C repair company. I also asked him if he could go ahead and come home instead of staying and hour late to make up the time (his company had been requiring them to work and EXTRA hour a day for the past YEAR--which I was getting quite tired of! This just ended last week, BTW and Jon is thankful to be doing 8-5 again instead of 7-6 or 8-6!) So, Jon starts heading home at 5:00 and my contractions are coming closer together while we all sit down to eat. I was sitting there eating and just knew that they were not going to go away as they had that morning. So, when Jon got home at 6:00 I went ahead and called the dr.'s office an dtold them that my contractions were now about a minute long in duration and were coming anywhere from 7 min. apart to 4 min. apart--they were different each time! The nurse told me to come on in for them to check me out. In the midst of my conversation, Jon was on the phone trying to find someone who could come look at our A/C that night. It was getting hotter and hotter and we knew the kids and my parents couldn't stay here that night without it getting fixed. So, we leave not knowing if someone could come out because everyone was saying it wouldnj't be until Monday (and this was Thursday!) They were all just SO busy because of the extreme heat the past few weeks and with so many people needing A/C repair.
Thankfully, Jon's parents have a rental house (which was Jon's grandmother's) and it was currently empty, so my parents were able to stay there on a blow up mattress while Sean & Lilly stayed at Jon's parents house. THankfully I wasn't too worried about where everyone was staying because my mind was on getting to the hospital and hoping I wasnt too dilated already and that things wouldnt be similar to Lillys birth.
By time time we got to the hospital it was 7:00 and they were ready for me when we got there. The nurse started leading us back up the hall from where we came in, and I quickly realized that she was taking me to the SAME room I was in with Lilly! Though that was very special to have them born in the same room, I was also disappointed because it was the room right beside the main entrance doors to the maternity floor, and it kept waking me up when I was there with Lilly going "ka-Bam" everytime someone came through. The nurses' break room was also across the hall and it kept slamming shut all night. I asked her if there was anothe room, and she said this was the last room available and that they were SLAMMED all day and pretty much all week. She said it must be the heat putting everyone into labor! I told her our A/C had gone out at our house that day, and she said, "I bet it feels good to be back in cool air!" In any case, the room was the largest on the hallway, and was the nicest room, I was just disappointed about all the noise.
When we first got to the hospital--didn't want Jon to take this pic at the time, but really glad he did so I could remember just how BIG I was!
After I got dressed into the hospital gown and the nurse checked me, and thankfully I was only 4 cm dilated (a far cry from the 8-9 with Lilly) so I was SO relieved that I would be able to get my epidural in a calm fashion rather than all rushed and hurried along!
She went ahead and started a fetal monitor to see the baby's heartrate and checked my blood pressure. The heartrate was fine, but my blood pressure was elevated--she said it was either from the heat or from the pain! In any case, she said it should lower after I got the epidural but because of it being elevated, she had to keep me hooked up to the fetal monitor and blood pressure machine instead of being able to walk around a little bit. Another nurse came in and started my IV and they got the fluid started that I would need before I could get the epidural. Dr. Barnes was on call and came in to talk to me. He said that they would go ahead and get the epidural in me and then he would break my water. I was so relieved at how things were going and though I would have another fairly "pain of contractions" free delivery as I had with Sean.
I asked the nurse who the anesthesiologist was on call and she said Dr. Rubin (and Jon had to text my nurse anesthesist friend, Karen, to let her know it was him because she works with all of them). She said he was great but not so much of a bedside manner. She also said he was Russian, which I thought wasn't that significant, until he came in I had a hard time understanding him because of his thick accent. However, I thought he had great bedside manner and asked me a lot of questions and made sure I was ok. It was quite hard to remain still while doubled over a pillow and trying to breathe through each contraction, which were getting worse and worse by this point. I have scoliosis, and he was having a hard time locating a good space to put in the epidural--I could literally feel him poking around inside my spine with that needle! I'm just glad I couldn't see it--that's the worst for me.
Once he got the epidural in (about 9:00), and I felt that nice cool rush through my spine, I thought the rest would be downhill from here--ha! Hardly. Yes, the quite intense contractions started to slowly fade away, until I was oblivious that the contractions were even coming anymore except by looking at the monitor and saying, "Oh! That's a big one!" However, this time would be short lived.
Dr. Barnes came in and broke my water, and said that things should start to progress more quickly now. We continued to look at the monitor and comment about how big they were and I was SO glad I couldn't feel them anymore so I could get some rest! We both tried to nap a little--I think I may have gotten a little bit of a nap in. Jon realized that he hadn't had ANY supper and was starving by this point. The nurse had said she would get a sandwich, but with all the other things going on, this got pushed down on her list, and he went down to the snack machine and paid an outrageous amount of money for a Snickers and drink. About 5 min. later the nurse came in with a sandwich!
It was about 11 that I noticed I could start to feel some pressure as the contractions came. I buzzed the nurse and asked if she could check me because I was really starting to feel that she was probably headed farther down with the pressure I was feeling (something I had never felt with the epidural I had with Sean--forget Lilly's as comparison as it hadn't taken effect before she popped out!) So,she checked me and said, yeah, honey--you're about 8 cm...it won't be long now! I was excited, hoping that she would be born before midnight (if you know me well you know I have a thing for even numbers, and I liked the 24th for a birthdate mroe than 25th--odd, I know!) ALSO, however, and MORE important than even numbers is that June 24th happens to also be my parents' wedding anniversary, and I thought that would be special for her birthday to share that occasion with them!
I continued to feel more pressure that increasingly became more uncomfortable--painful in fact. The nurse came in and said that there was a "boost" button I could push to get more anesthesia medicine (apparently they had told me that but I didn't hear!) She said, however, that at this point it wouldn't help because nothing could take away the feeling of the pressure in the perineum area--well, believe me--this was starting to be MORE than pressure and I really believe it was starting to wear off because I hadn't pushed that boost button sooner!
It was about 11:30 and I REALLY started to feel the urge like I needed to push--and also that I was about to explode. I buzzed for the nurse again and she came in and checked me and said, "wow--that was fast! you are 9 1/2 now and have just a tiny little edge left before you can push.....BUT....and this was a BIG BUT....you can't get there too soon, because Dr. Barnes is in surgery in the middle of a c-section! Imagine that...I have to wait to dilate because he is in surgery! Well, the nurses started pouring into the room and she said, "I'm gonna have these other ladies here with me in case you have to deliver before Dr. Barnes comes. One of the new nurses checked me and she said, "She's there...she's fully dilated and ready." They said, however, "Hold on, sweetie! He's gonna be finished ANY minute now!" HA HA. That was the most painful 15 minutes of waiting I think I've EVER endured! I kept breathing in and out as hard as I could and resisting the urge to push--especially each time the wave of contractions would come over me--because I could really feel them now--and I coudl feel her head--and I just wanted her OUT! I think I about squeezed the circulation out of Jon's hand. The nurses kept telling me, "you're doing good...hold on...he's gonna be here soon" One of them said, though, "Oh, honey, push if you need to! I wouldn't be able to do this!" I thought I was about to have to and they were all there ready to catch her if I needed to, when all of a sudden Dr. Barnes comes into the room and they said, "Just in time!"
He really was too. The next contraction came and I started pushing and I only had to push through that one contraction...she came out and I think I yelled as loud as I had for the 20 min. I had with Lilly and so I know Jon is glad I only had 1 yell this time! It was such a relief to have her out and they laid her on top of me, and I remember saying, "Oh, you're so sweet!"
They took her over to clean her off and the nurse said, "I'm really glad the dr. got here because the cord was wrapped around her neck, but we didn't know it because her heartrate never dropped!" I am thankful that she hadn't gone into distress since I know how seriously they take that, and I'm sure the nurses could have unwrapped it just as easily as the dr. but I guess he has the liability insurance to cover him in anything went wrong!
Anyway, I was SO relieved she was out AND that she was born BARELY on June 24, 2010 at 11:57 pm. She weighed 7 lbs (0 oz!) and was 19 1/4 in. long. What a precious little girl!
Her fingers were so Blue! I guess from the cord wrapped around her neck!
Jon brought Sean & Lilly along with my parents and his mom and sister up the next morning (though they forgot the gift for Brilee since they were not at our house!--Thankfully Jon went over to the house later that morning and fixed the A/C all by himself with just buying a $15 part! Love my hubby!) Anyway, these are my favorite pics from the hospital!
Lilly giving her sweet hugs
I Love my children!
You know she's a Youngblood with that dimpled chin!
Welcome to our family, Brilee! We love you!
