Rowan's Birth Story

 Our little family of three grew to a family of four with the arrival of Rowan Claire on Tuesday, May 27th!

My doctor had scheduled an induction at my request. My parents live in South Dakota and my dad just happened to be visiting the southeast during the month of May in order to perform two weddings. He planned to come visit us the last week of May but had to leave to go back to work on Saturday, May 31 (my due date). I did not want him to be here for an entire week and miss meeting his granddaughter so I asked my doctor if she would consider doing an induction during that week.

She was happy to do it since I was induced with Blakely and had no problems. Once my induction date was set, my mom made her arrangements to come as well. She arrived on Sunday night and was able to spend Monday helping me get last minute things done.

Kevin, my mom, and me arrived at the hospital on Tuesday morning at 7:30. By 8:00, I was in my room and the doctor had broken my water. Being the wimp that I am, I asked for my epidural immediately. Also, I had been given an epidural before my first induction. So I had no idea what contractions felt like and I was more than happy to keep it that way. 

The doctor told me that she liked patients to wait until they were at least 5 cm dilated and were feeling contractions before getting the epidural. So I had to endure a little pain in the meantime. The pain wasn't awful but I was more than happy to get that epidural about 5 hours later when the contractions were becoming more intense and coming closer together. At 1:00 pm, I received my epidural and then continued to wait until I got to 10 cm. While we waited, my mom, dad, Kevin, and his parents kept me company. I watched some TV, played some Candy Crush, and read the latest edition of People magazine. I definitely had a very positive laboring experience, especially with the pain relief. 

At 4:45 pm the nurse checked me and I was fully dilated. However, this hospital likes for patients to wait to push until after the baby has had a chance to work its way down a little more because it cuts down on the amount of time that the mother has to push. With Blakely, I waited an hour before pushing. But with Rowan, the nurse said I probably only needed 20 minutes. I started feeling a little pressure and at 5:05, the nurse came back in the room to check me again. I told her I was feeling a weird pressure and when she looked, she said, "Oh no! We have to get the doctor immediately. There's a head." She told me that I was not to push at all until the doctor came in. As she was calling the doctor, Kevin was holding my leg and began yelling, "HEAD! HEAD!" By the time the doctor arrived about 2 minutes later, Rowan's head was almost completely out. She threw on her gloves and told me to give one tiny push. I pushed for about 10 seconds and out Rowan came!
She looked very similar to Blakely, but was quite a bit smaller. She weighed 7 lbs. 10 ounces and was 19 1/2 inches long.

The doctor immediately put her on my chest and I was able to hold her while they cleaned her. My mom and Kevin's mom were both in the delivery room when she was born so Kevin and I and the grandmothers were able to spend a good amount of time with her before the rest of the family came back to see her.

Once she was cleaned, Kevin went and got Blakely. She was so excited to see her baby sister. When she saw Rowan, she said, "Oh mommy! That's my baby Rowan. I want to hold her." We let her hold her for a little while and all Blakely wanted to do was give her hugs and kisses. It was really precious.

Overall, I had a wonderful labor and delivery experience and my recovery has been really easy so far. My mom will be here for two weeks total so that has been a huge help, especially with an almost 3 year old to chase around. It will certainly be an adjustment keeping up with two kids, but we feel so blessed to have these two wonderful daughters to raise!

38 Weeks

Homestretch baby...and surprisingly I'm not as uncomfortable or tired as I thought I'd be!

I'm still working, although being on my feet most of the day makes me very tired. My students have gotten use to me doing most of my teaching from a stool in the front of the room. This will be my last week, so hopefully I'll make it all the way to Friday. 

The nesting period has set in and I'm slowly starting to put baby things away.  Unfortunately, I'm not as on top of things as I was during my first pregnancy. With Blakely, everything was put away and the nursery was totally ready when I was 34 weeks pregnant. With this baby, the crib still has not been converted back from a toddler bed and there is junk sitting in the middle of the nursery. Oh well, I guess it will get done eventually. 

The good news is our master bathroom renovation is almost complete! So after 5 months of all of us sharing one bathroom, Kevin and I will hopefully have a fully functioning adult bathroom separate from the kids before Rowan arrives. 

My induction date is set for May 27 so at the most, I only have 9 days of pregnancy left. I'm so ready to meet my little girl but am also enjoying this last full week of sleeping through the night and having some extra time to myself when Blakely naps. 

This will probably be my last pregnancy post, so here's one last list of pregnancy stats!

How far along: 38 weeks

Weight Gain: about 33 pounds

Cravings: everything, especially cookies

Annoyances: not being able to easily shave my legs, having major difficulty picking things up off the floor, non-stop bathroom breaks

Sleeping: Great! (although sometimes I have to sleep on the couch because it is a harder surface)

Movement: smaller movements during the day but major activity around 7:00pm

Things I miss: eating sushi, having more than 5 outfit choices and one pair of pajamas that fit, walking around the neighborhood on a daily basis

What I am most looking forward to: seeing Blakely's reaction to her new baby sister

35 Weeks!

Four more weeks, four more weeks! I think I can, I think I can.
This last week has really been tough and I expect this last month will be a little difficult. But I've had the most wonderful pregnancy so I really have nothing to complain about.
Starting last weekend, I began finding it extremely difficult to sleep. I have been averaging 3-4 hours of uninterrupted sleep a night. Not fun, especially when I have to deal with 75 6th graders everyday. Then on Wednesday of this week I got a cold. My doctor told me I could either take medicine at night to help me sleep, or during the day to help me function. But not both. So I chose nighttime. I finally slept for 10 hours on Thursday night and have felt better ever since.
I'm also finding it incredibly difficult to pick things up off of the floor and roll myself off the couch. But I know all the inconveniences will be worth it in just a few short weeks.

How far along: 35 Weeks
Weight Gain: 30 pounds
Cravings: fruit and yogurt
Annoyances: major foot and toe cramps, not being able to take a deep breath, not sleeping
Sleeping: not great
Movement: Still a lot of movement but they are smaller and less frequent
Things I miss: getting out of bed easily, standing for long periods of time
What I am most looking forward to: Looking at Rowan, wearing my regular clothes, seeing my feet again

Fun in 'Tucky

This past weekend, Kevin, Blakely and I had the awesome privilege of spending the weekend with his great aunt and uncle (Mamaw and Papaw) in Kentucky (or 'Tucky as Blakely calls it). I am on Spring Break right now so we left Friday after Kevin and I got off work and stayed until Tuesday.

We had the most amazing time just relaxing in the mountains, playing outside, and eating, and eating, and eating. His aunt is the most amazing cook ever and I totally expected to gain 5-7 pounds in a matter of days! 

Blakely had a great time playing with her cousins and getting lots and lots of attention. I think my favorite part of the trip was the fact that Blakely was completely filthy at the end of every day. She played outside all day and had a blast riding up and down the holler (what they call their street) in the golf cart and riding with daddy on the 4-wheeler. 

Eating doughnuts on the 4-wheeler!

Washing dishes with Mamaw

During one particular golf cart ride, Blakely got to have her first outhouse experience. She really needed to go potty and couldn't make it back to the house. So Mamaw knew of an outhouse in the woods nearby and let her stop there. 

There was another experience where my little hillbilly decided to poop right in their front yard. But I'll keep that photo private since teenage Blakely might not find it so funny on the internet!!

We had such an amazing time and can't wait to go back soon! We are so thankful for his aunt and uncle's wonderful hospitality, good home cooking, and love that they showed us while we were there. We love you Mamaw and Papaw!