sabbatical

So I totally dropped the ball on posting everyday in October.   I overestimated my mental capacity after having a baby.   My brain is not working at its finest these days, and it is pretty difficult to put together coherent thoughts.   That is my excuse.   But now I have an excuse on top of an excuse.   Tim and I have decided to live in a one bedroom, one bath loft apartment in Fort Myers for a little while, so our family can finally be together.   This place in kind of in the "country," so there is no internet access.   We are going to pretend we are on vacation.   Hope that helps.   A super nice family from the school has offered it to us, and we decided it is what we need to do for now.   There are a few other "inconveniences" besides the internet access like no washer/dryer, no dishwasher and you have to go upstairs to access the front door. (That should be really fun with the baby, two year old, and groceries).   But I plan to make the most of it and just enjoy the time we will have with all five of us together.   It has been too long, since we actually "lived" together.   I don't know how long we will be there. (We will be looking for a more permanent place while we stay there).   So I don't know how long I will be unplugged from this virtual world.   Wish me luck:)   Lastly, here is a picture of my girl's double chin.  

 

She isn't even two weeks old yet, and look at that fatty deliciousness.

 

I am so proud.

 

Asleep

Lexi is now 8 days old.   And she is absolutely perfect.   Perfectly beautiful.   Perfectly tiny.   Perfectly made for our family.   But . . . I am in serious need of some sleep. (And maybe a shower, but that is besides the point.)  

 

Little lady pretty much sleeps all day.

 

Except when she wants to eat . . . which is pretty often at this point.

 

 

For the last nine months I have been up pretty much every hour because she loved to push on my bladder while in the womb.

 

Now, I am up every couple hours to feed this baby.

 

I think the person who carried this child for nine months and then had to push her out of a hole that was entirely too small should be allowed to sleep all day too.

 

 

Don't you?

 

Girl Pictures

When we had the boys we bought the pictures they take in the hospital and called it a day.   Those were their professional newborn pictures.   We took a million and one of them with our own camera, so we never saw a need to do anymore professional ones until they were older.   But . . . along came Lexi.   First of all, the photographer who did hers in the hospital was terrible.   She got four pictures total, and they stunk.   So we decided to look into other options.   My sister has a very good friend from college who has a photography business.   She was in our sorority and goes to our current church, so she is a friend of mine also.   She was kind enough to fit us in this week and even bring her "stuff" to our house to do them there.   It was a total God-send.   She was wonderful, and the pictures are perfect.    Here are just a few to show off her work.  

  I know she has her name in the corner of all the pictures . . but if you are local and need some pictures, check out Ashley Posusta Photogaphy.   She is amazing.   And so is my baby.  

The Daddy

I don't usually get too serious on here.   I don't really like to complain or be negative because I don't want to go back and read that.   And I am sure no one else likes to read it either.   But . . . I am really sad.   Tonight Tim and George will go back to Fort Myers and leave me with Ethan and Lexi.   :(   I am anxious.   I am scared.   I am lonely already.   My parents live pretty close, but it just isn't the same as having Tim here to help.   He is quite the daddy.   The last two nights when Lexi wouldn't sleep . . . he got up and took care of her between nursing sessions so I could rest.   That is my love language. . . sleep.   Not only will I miss his babysitting skills, but I will miss just being with him.   He is truly my best friend.   After 7 years of marriage my love for him has only grown.   He shows me unconditional love in ways that I seriously never knew existed.   And this being without him stuff stinks.   In a big way.   Our family is the most important thing on this earth to both of us, and having to be apart for an undefined amount of time is so hard.   I know God is in control and has a plan for all this.   I know that.   But the process has been really trying.   Again . . . I don't want to complain because I know things could be worse.   A lot worse.   And I am so thankful to have a husband like the one I do.   I just wish I could see his cute face more often.  

 

An outing with three

We took our first family outing to the park today with all three kids.

Intense.

  I honestly don't know how I am going to go anywhere with all three of them by myself.   I know people do it all the time, and I need to just buck up.   But seriously . . . it was quite the task.

Tim's comment after getting back into the car after playing was . . .   "That is a lot of straps."   Between the car seats and the stroller we have to clip in a million times.

  Pray for us!

Birthing a Baby

Well, we are home.   Finally!   I wanted to get Lexi's "birth story" down before I forgot.  

Because Tim is working in Fort Myers and this was my third baby, the doctor decided we could induce at week 39.

I was a little anxious about being induced because I know there can be a lot of risks.

But after the experience I have to say that we were so blessed with a great induction, and I would do it again in a second.

We had to be at the hospital at 6 am to do all the paperwork.

Our doctor got there around 7:30 and checked to see if I had made any more progress.

As of Monday in her office the baby was still too high for her to break my water before starting the pitocin.

When I got there on Friday the baby had gotten lower (one of many answers to prayer) and the doctor said she could break my water right then. 

She stuck her lovely hook in and was taking quite a while.

I guess Lexi was acting like a plug and the water wouldn't break.

She told me she might have scratched her head, so she stopped.

Once I got up to use the bathroom, though, I started leaking, so it actually did work.

My doctor wasn't on call that day, but she was doing me a favor by delivering. 

As soon as she broke it she left to see patients in her office.

She gave me the advice not too wait too long to get my epidural because on third babies things can progress rapidly.

(That is great advice, BTW)

Around 10 or 10:30 am the contractions started getting somewhat painful, so the nurse checked me.

I was at 5 centimeters, so I decided to go ahead and get the epidural.

(No, I don't have any problems with getting an epidural and never think about going without it).

I do, however, like to have the actual anesthesiologist do my epidurals.

The doctor came in and ended up having to stick me 8 times.

Yes, EIGHT times.

He said my back is extra strong, and I don't have much space between vertebrae to stick the catheter in.

This is interesting because I have had two before, and neither doctor has ever had this trouble or told me about my strong back.

ahem.

It was so painful because he kept hitting the bone.

But honestly all I could think about the whole time was "what if I can't get one at all?"

I was in no way mentally prepared for natural childbirth.

Thankfully, (and thanks to the Lord) he finally got one in on the 8th try and all was good for a while.

Within 45 minutes I started to feel extreme pressure.

Extreme.

I called the nurse, and she told me to press the epidural button for a little extra kick of medicine.

So I did.

Still extreme pressure.

She told me to wait 15 minutes.

I did.

Still extreme pressure.

I finally convinced her to check me and the baby was "right there" to quote the nurse.

So . . . she goes and calls my doc.

And she tells me not to push . . . much easier said than done.

All the while someone had to call Tim to come back up to the room because he had just walked down to the cafeteria with our boys and grandpas to eat lunch.

We thought things would take a little while, but we obviously were very off in our timing.

(Aren't we always "off" when it comes to God's timing on things.)

We waited about 15 minutes for the doctor to get there.

The doctor's office is right across the street, so it should only take her five minutes to get there.

My nurse doesn't seem concerned, but I was getting a little anxious at this point.

I turned to my mom and told her that I have the doctor's cell phone number . . . Let's call her.

She had called me from her phone the day before to ask if it was ok for her medical student to watch the birth.

Again,, this was a total blessing because we were able to call her and get her there immediately.

She explained later that when the nurse had called the office all she said was, "Send the doctor now."

Well, the ladies at the front desk had no idea what she was talking about because my doctor wasn't on call.

So they just let the call go.

Thank goodness we called ourselves or who knows when she would have gotten there.

I told her I would never use the cell phone number again:)

Unless it was medically necessary . . . obviously.

Anyways, she runs in.

Tim puts his gown and gloves on.

Our doctor always lets him deliver our babies . . . which is such an awesome experience.

Baby comes out in 3 minutes flat.

I was having a conversation with the doctor the entire time.

It was seriously a dream delivery.

Don't hate.

God is good.

And He totally provided beyond all my wildest dreams.

We are so thankful and don't take it for granted.

Lexi entered the world at 12:24pm at 7 lbs. and 6 oz . . . 20.5 inches long.

I told Tim afterwards I didn't even have to miss a meal.

I ate breakfast before we left for the hospital and got to eat lunch as soon as I delivered.

Again, we can't even believe how God blessed us.

We know many were praying for us, and we are so thankful!

Head Bling

Biggest difference so far about having a girl compared to boys . . . 

The head bling.

Look at this photo shoot we had today during Lexi's "wake" time.

She was a good sport while we oohed and aahed over her extremely large flower headband on her tini little head.

And her daddy wanted to add this picture of her actual hair.

Can't wait to put bows in that in the very near future.

It is official . . . 

Love, love, love dressing her cute body and her cute head.

Little Lady Makes Her Appearance

Lexi is here!!!!
We are all doing really good, and I am so thankful for a healthy girl and a quick delivery.
God has truly blessed us!

6 am came REALLY early:)

The most amazing doctor ever.  Love, love, love her!!!!

Her stats.

All three of my kids.  Yes, I said THREE!!!

Her birthday cake . . . since she can't eat it, I guess I will have to celebrate for her.

Birth story coming soon.