And then there were 4!

Somehow I blinked and bam...I have four children. Crazy town! Time always flew by when I was a kid, but man, when you start having your own, it goes by that much faster. Jase is 7 and a half, Ally is 5, Finn is 2 and now we have Miss Mae at 2 weeks old today. Goodness. Feeling blessed and overwhelmed at the same time!

Dear Lord, please guide my every step while raising these children. Thank you for entrusting Shawn and I to nurture and shape them. Help us to turn to You in all that we do. May our actions never be about furthering our agenda, but your kingdom and for your glory. Help us to live a life pleasing to you, and not just on Sunday or in the public eye, but everyday here in this home. Thank you for your grace {unmerited, undeserved favor} you have poured out on us. Help us, in return, to show this same grace to our own children and people around us. Thank you for loving us unconditionally.

In Jesus' name,
Amen.

A Baby Story: Maebry Leigh

A week ago today, I delivered our baby girl: Maebry Leigh French. Mae was my Nana's middle name {whom I was super close to; she passed away in 2011} and I wanted to use it somehow. When I came across Maebry {it was spelled differently} I knew that was it and Shawn was a fan as well! And Leigh is my middle name...so I'm passing it on. :-)

To catch you up on baby current events, I went to the doctor last Monday morning and I was pretty emotional. What can I say, I was past my due date and as ready as it gets. My doctor had me come in early Tuesday at 8:45 am and he told me he was going to have the hospital monitor the baby for decreased fetal movement. Now this wasn't a lie because during the last week her activity did slow down, but probably because she was out of room! He said he was not concerned about the baby, but this would get me in labor and delivery and hopefully they would keep me. {I was still on the waiting list for the induction list.} When he checked me I was 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced.

Shawn and the kids stayed close by and ate breakfast while I was at my appointment. Here is some footage of them in the car that morning...love it! I walked over to labor and delivery at the hospital {it is connected to my doctor's office}, got changed and connected to the monitors around 10:00 am. My nurse monitored me for an hour and did not see anything out of the norm at all. Such a blessing to know that all was ok. I did have some contractions on my own while being monitored, but they were not consistent. She called the doctor to let him know of the results and see what he wanted to do. She told me that she told him that she did not want to release me {which is what he wanted to hear}, so I was admitted! Here we go...baby day!!

I called Shawn and let him know what all was going on. He drove the kids out to couple's house from our home group. Such a blessing and huge relief. I was hooked up to an IV at 11:15 am to help keep me hydrated. At this point in time I was really wishing I was not such a rule follower and would have ate something for breakfast! I wasn't sure what the plan was, but I decided not to eat, just in case I went to labor and delivery. Ice chips it is!! My nurse started Pitocin at 11:38 am. Shawn arrived shortly after this. I started to have some contractions, not too painful, but I could fill them. Then at 1:00 pm the doctor came in broke my water. That definitely sped up the process, as there was no more barrier. Oh and the liquid was clear, no meconium {stool} in the amniotic fluid. I was surprised since I was over a week late {there was meconium with Allyson}.

I was starting to really feel the pain, so I had my nurse check me at 2:47 pm and I was 6 cm. I was still back and forth on getting an epidural since I still felt pain with Ally and Finn with an epidural, but I wasn't sure if I was ready for delivery without one!! At this point in time I opted for some pain medicine in my IV. It toned down the pain some. Contractions were every 2-3 minutes. My nurse said that you will usually dilate a cm an hour on Pitocin, which was what I had done. I remember saying that I have another 3 hours or so until I am complete and ready to go. Geez!! Really considering the epidural at this point. Pain is increasing. I asked the nurse if the pain will get more intense, can I handle it, what should I do?? She said it will definitely get more intense the closer I get. Contractions were pretty close together, every 1.5-2 minutes. I had my nurse check me at 3:07 pm, just 20 minutes later, and I was at 9 cm. No epidural it is...all natural on this one! My nurse called the doctor and told him he needed to come. Almost go time! Did I mention I was feeling some pain?! Wowsers. My eyes stayed closed most of the time, trying to block the pain out. For the record, I am not a screamer. You can ask my hubby. ;-) 

Whoa, then the pain got worse just minutes later and I felt the urge to push. It's amazing how your body tells you what to do. With Jase, they had to tell me to push {I was in epidural heaven}, and with Ally and Finn I felt the contractions coming on, but I don't think I felt the urge to push like I did with Maebry. My nurse checked me just 3 minutes later at 3:10 pm and I was 10 cm dilated and complete...this baby was ready to come out. The doctor showed up shortly after that, maybe 5 or so minutes later. I had to fight the urge to push until all was ready to go. Once I got the ok to push, I pushed during two contractions and our little blessing entered this world.

Maebry Leigh French

11/11/2014 at 3:25 pm

8 lb 2 oz

20 inches

Such a sweet sweet baby. Tons of light brown hair. And since I rarely had any indigestion with this one, this throws out the old wives tale of indigestion indicating a head full of hair. Eye color is still hard to tell. Some days they look blue and others they look brown. My oldest two have brown eyes and Finn has blue eyes. Time will tell. 

Daddy left and picked up the kiddos and they just love her. It is really sweet to see them want to hold and touch her. Finn is not sure what to think about her when she cries and he usually ends up crying too. Poor guy. We just keep reminding him that's what babies do. It has definitely gotten better over the past week.

We are so blessed that Miss Maebry is here with us now. Praise the Lord for a good pregnancy, safe delivery and a healthy baby girl. She even has a cute little nickname: Mae Mae.

Psalm 127:3-5

Children are a heritage from the Lord,

    offspring a reward from him.

Like arrows in the hands of a warrior

    are children born in one’s youth.

Blessed is the man

    whose quiver is full of them.

They will not be put to shame

    when they contend with their opponents in court.

41 weeks, oh my!

{FYI: This post contains more information than I usually share. Please feel free to laugh, with me!}

I got this notification this morning. Why thank you, Baby Center! There is hope that she will come out after all!

I was hoping that my next blog post would be introducing Miss Maebry to everyone, but as you can see, I am not in control. Ha! 41 weeks and taking it day by day. Wish I could say 41 weeks and going strong, but let's be real!

Last thing I posted had to do with my two weekly appointments this past Tuesday and Thursday. My exam or any of the home remedies I have tried since then have not helped induced labor whatsoever.

Speaking of home remedies for inducing labor, let me share one with you on NOT to try. I searched exercises for inducing labor and came across a post that mentioned a Yoga Dance that helped some people. Hey, we like to dance over here, let's check it out. I came across a couple of videos when searching. Here is the first one.

Did you laugh? I died watching it. Rest assured, I did not try that one. And I tried to picture myself doing that dance, having Shawn record it and then posting it to YouTube. Not in a million years.

Then I found the one I had read about. It basically suggested that you rub your belly counter clockwise for 1 minute and then do wide leg squats for 3 minutes, then repeat. Here is the video for that one. There was not a whole lot of dancing going on in my end...I was trying to get through the squats! I ended up doing 2 reps: 2 minutes of belly rubs and 6 minutes of squats. This was late Thursday night.

Fast forward to Friday afternoon. I started feeling not so great. Pain in my rear and thighs. {Here is your TMI warning.} The pain in my rear ended up being a hemorrhoid. Holy cow. I do not wish one of those on anyone. I think all of the pressure from the baby and the 6 minutes of squats created that monster. Shawn went to the store and bought some things to help me cope with the pain. And you know that feeling when you haven't worked out in forever, and then completely over do it and are sore for nearly 3 days?? That's me right now. I had thoughts about sleeping on the toilet so I would not have to get up and down to use the restroom in the middle of the night. Haha! Geez!!! Moral of the story: do not do exercises that you have not been regularly doing at 41 weeks pregnant! This too shall pass.

I called Labor and Delivery yesterday to check the induction list {on a desperate plea to be induced}. I was informed that I was on the waiting list for Monday - Thursday. Thursday...why in the world would I be on the list for Thursday?!? Dear Lord, please hear my cries. Not even kidding. I just called again to check on Monday and I am on the waiting list for tomorrow, not even on THE list yet. So, unless I go into labor on my own or unless some people ahead of me on the list go into labor on their own, Monday will not be the day.

Miss Mae, we are so excited about your arrival. Every morning Jase is disappointed to see me because he wants me to be at the hospital, delivering you! He asks me several times a day "when are you going to have Maebry?" I sure wish I knew. I know that you are being formed to God's perfection and you are beyond worth the wait {and the hemorrhoid}. Looking forward to holding you in my arms for the first time.

I love you a bushel and a peck and a hug around the neck,
Mama

Waiting game

Late Sunday night I had some contractions, but they eventually stopped early Monday morning. They never became too painful and the frequency was inconsistent with my previous labor experiences.

Monday afternoon I wanted to go for a walk, so Jase took me on a tour of the neighborhood. He rode his bike and I followed behind him on foot. He and Shawn have explored more of the neighborhood than I have for sure. It was a sweet time with him. He would ride up ahead of me just a ways and then stop and wait on me. He did not want to leave me too far behind if something were to happen to me. We were gone for about 40 minutes and he took me on quite the trek!

When we arrived back at the house, Nanny was there. She flew up so she could be here for our new arrival and help with the kiddos at home while I was in the hospital.

A friendly game of battleship!

I went to the doctor on Tuesday afternoon. Not a lot of change since Friday. Blood pressure was good, heartbeat was in the 130's. I was dilated to a 3 and still 50% effaced. The doctor stripped my membranes, which separates the bag of water from the side of the uterus. I read that hormones are released when the water bag is separated from the uterus and that may soften the uterus and may start contractions and help the cervix to open.

I am trying nearly every home remedy I can to naturally jump start labor. The weather was pretty dreary on Tuesday and Wednesday, but Shawn and I were able to go for a couple of walks Wednesday evening and I could feel cramps from the walk, but no contractions.

This morning Jase and I went for a walk/bike ride early this morning. It was chilly outside, 48 degrees to be exact. Again, some cramping, but that's about it. It was a special time for Jase and I this morning. He again waited on me and did not want to get too far away from me. Sweet boy. On the second lap he put his bike up and we walked together, hand in hand. We talked about whatever he wanted to: Pirates of the Caribbean, Disney World, the Wii. I was all ears. 

This afternoon I had another appointment. Blood pressure was 104/70. Baby's heart rate was in the 160's, which was higher than normal. I asked the doctor about it, but he said that it changes so much and it was perfectly normal. I was still 3 cm dilated and 50% effaced. He stripped the membranes again and we are in a waiting game. I was put on a list this past Tuesday for an induction, if necessary. He said probably the induction would either be this coming up Monday or Tuesday, just depending upon the flow of patients. He said if he could take me to the hospital right now and give me a room to be induced, he would, but there are currently no open rooms for induction. Of course, if I were to go into labor on my own there are plenty of rooms available for that. Come on baby!! While he understands that I am ready, I am still in a good window of time when compared to my due date. He said that some practices in California will not even talk about inducing labor until you're 42 weeks!! Crazy town right there! It wouldn't be any different if I were in Houston at my old doctor. He set up an induction for me to deliver Ally at 41 weeks, but I ended up going into labor on my own that very morning.

Here are the kiddos in the car with their new seating assignment. Ally moved over behind the driver and Finn and Jase both got moved to the back seat. We entertained the idea of leaving Finn in the front and moving the two bigger kids to the back, but Mr. Finn can be a little aggressive at times, and we really didn't want to see how that would play out. Plus, Ally will be a good little helper. Hopefully Miss Maebry will be in her car seat soon enough!

40 Weeks!

Well, I made it to my due date! I thought for sure I would have an October baby, but I was wrong. I'm glad I'm not a betting woman!

I went to the doctor on Friday morning and my blood pressure was good {110/72} and the baby's heart rate was in the 140's. When he checked me, there was no change from last week. Still at 2 cm and 50% effaced. And my baby girl was up higher than last week. My doctor said it could have been from a full bladder, but there's no telling. I'm pretty sure Ally followed this same pattern {and I went into labor with her at 41 weeks}. My girls just may take longer to get ready, you know all that Princess Prep! While I am excited and ready, I know she needs this time to finish developing. Can't wait for her arrival in the next week or sooner!

Here are the kids on the way to church this morning. Car seat is installed and we are ready to go! I think we will be making one switch on the seating assignments. Finn and Ally will be switching places. Mr. Finn can be a bit rough at times, so I think we have agreed to boys in the back and girls in the front. That way Ally can help Mommy with the baby, if needed.

Below was my bed this morning. We had a long, long night with Finn. We made the mistake of letting him take a late nap, so he stayed up later than usual because of that. Then he just wasn't a happy camper throughout the night, not sure what was going on. And Miss Ally has been making a nightly appearance in our room lately. It is usually in the early morning hours and she wants Mommy. We explained that once her baby sister arrives, she will need to stay in her own bed all night. We shall see how that goes. We have a king-sized bed, but with crazy sleepers there was no room for two adults. Shawn ended up sleeping in Ally's bed for the remaining hours, but looking back on it...wow, what a deal he got! LOL! I told him next time I am going in Ally's room! By the way, Finn's head is touching my side. Close quarters.

Pecan Trail

Wednesday evening we went for a little walk by our house. There are quite a few trails in our neighborhood and the one that neighbors ours. The weather was great and the kids got to stretch their legs a bit. Look at this little cutie below: him and his funny faces!

And Ally just looks way too old in the pictures below. As we started down the trail, we ran into several pecan trees with ripe pecans on the ground. All 5 of us loved picking up the pecans. One day, when I'm grown ;-), I will own some property with pecan trees on it. That has always been one of my dreams for some reason.

Jase decided to name the trail "Pecan Trail". I'm sure we will be back again soon!

We brought pecans home and have some cracking to do. The ones we tasted on the trail were very yummy and fresh.