Not to be out done!

Nathan jumped off the bottom step and tripped. Whoops! There goes the tooth!

Zachary David Price

They broke my water at 6:45am. I was still a 3. At 8:15 I was a 5. At 10:00 I was a 7. At 10:20 I was done and ready to push. I was having a lot of pain in my right inner thigh that wasn't being controlled by the perfect epidural. I said while sobbing can I please push now and the nurse said no honey it isn't time. I said it is! She said I think I need to check her. Then she said "Oh, we are having a baby!" I had to wait about 30 minutes for the doctor to arrive. I pushed for 6 minutes and there he was. 11:04 am. 8 pounds, 20 inches long, 14 inch head circumference (off the charts). At one time he had a lot of hair but he rubbed much of it off in the last 3 weeks. We are all doing fine! We are home now! Nathan is excited, but not overly interested in his new brother.

Oh Yeah!

I just realized I'm going to the hospital to push a baby out of my body. I hadn't really thought about it yet. Here's to hoping he has a normal sized head and the epidural works!

Singing in Unison

It's midnight and I've been trying to sleep for about an hour. This baby is so low now that he is reeking havoc on all the nerves in my legs.

In 5 short hours I will be up, fixing my hair, putting on make-up, and driving to the hospital. It has been a long pregnancy, but despite all my complaining I haven't had any REAL complications. Not to mention getting to plan and schedule the day of delivery. I got to spend today with Nathan knowing that tomorrow our lives will be changed forever. We snuggled in his bed for a long time this morning, enjoyed blueberry waffles for breakfast, watched a little Sponge bob, and bought a gift for Nathan to give to Zachary. He got to finish the day playing with daddy. Then both Eric and I read him his bedtime stories, and told him what to expect tomorrow. If you had been listening outside his bedroom door around 8:00pm you would have heard all three of us singing "The Star Spangled Banner" in unison. Eric and I laughed and laughed. What a truly perfect end to our last day as a family of 3.

I greatly appreciate all my friends and family and all their words of wisdom and encouragement. I know I've been a bit of a handful at times and am so glad to be at the end of this part of the adventure. I'll keep you posted!

Feeling Nostalgic

Tonight after putting Nathan to bed, I suddenly realized that tomorrow is our last day as just the two of us.  I'm very excited to not be pregnant anymore and so anxious to hold Zach in my arms, but I'm feeling a little sad about losing time with Nathan.  I know that is there is enough love here for two boys, but for a second I started to wonder how I can possibly love Zachary as much as I love Nathan.   I'm going to try to make tomorrow a very special day for Nathan.  Maybe those of you with multiple children can share your experiences with adding number two.

JUST WAITING!

I saw the OB again today. She is just kind of smiling and shaking her head at the same time. I'm completely effaced, baby is at a +1 almost +2 (they crown at a +5 so he is literally 3.5 cm from crowning), but I'm still only dilated to at 3. The plan for Friday morning is to break my water and see what happens. So now I'm a lady in waiting!!!

Another OB update

Saw the doctor again today... no significant change since last week. I am scheduled for an induction at 6:00 am on Friday, the 29th. Yippy!!! There is at least a end in sight!

Mishka

Over the last few days I've been trying to spend extra quiet time with Nathan.  He loves to read books, play dress-up, and play make believe around the house.  Yesterday, he started playing exterminator walking around the house with goggles on and a water hose sprayer looking for bugs to exterminate.  He says his name is Jonathan(the name of the bug guy who came 3 months ago).  Today, he and Eric played Howler Monkey running around the house.  At one point he walked up to the TV to get the "first batch of TV bananas" to eat.  Then he offered both Eric and I some delicious TV bananas.  This evening after we discovered a little green caterpillar in the yard he started pretending he was a caterpillar walking through the leaves.  Suddenly, he jumped up and starting flying through the yard.  I asked what he was doing and he said "I changed into a beautiful butterfly named Mishka."  He ran and ran through the yard flapping his arms.  Despite my constant discomfort and stabbing pain in my thighs I sat in complete awe.  The pure joy on his face each time he comes up with a new character to become.  We spent the remainder of the evening practicing writing his name, which he can do surprisingly well, and playing Zoominos and Memory.  Quiet time has been really healing for me!  

OB Update

Saw the doctor again today... I am a solid 3 cm dilated, 90% effaced, and baby is at a station 0.  She said if the contractions are 6 minutes apart for an hour I shouldn't waste any time getting to the hospital.  This is very encouraging since I was at the hospital on Sunday night for 5 hours with contractions every 3 minutes.  Once again "false" labor because my cervix wasn't changing.   Sunday night I was only a 2-3 dilated, 80% effaced, and baby was high at a -3 station.  We are making progress!

A little bit of PEACE

So I've always loved to make things... It is a big part of who I am. Generally speaking, if I find myself in a little slump I realize that I haven't been creative in a while. Lately, since I quit teaching and became a full time mommy I've tried a few new things. I love getting an idea and coming up with a way to execute it. I've been building things. A couple small dressup wardrobes for my friends kids, a tv armoire (even though it technically isn't finished), an art table for Nate, and a window seat. I've also found a little bit of peace in creating art for my children. I'm not sure it can be called art so maybe just wall decorations. Someone asked me how I was decorating Zach's room, so I decided to add a little blog on the subject. The idea is brothers and family and how we are alike but different. I'm currently out of projects, so If you have something in mind, let me know. It really does keep me happy!

No more monkeys jumping on the bed!

Last week after playgroup Nathan took his friends upstairs to check out his new BIG bed!

Full Term!

Why not a belly shot??? 37 weeks pregnant!!!

A little bit of good news!

It wasn't a stretch mark after all! I was just a scratch or something. It kind of scabbed over and went away. So far my belly remains stretch mark free, which is something I can say positive about this pregnancy.

OB Update

Maybe we are getting close... at today's appt. I was dilated to a 3, 75% effaced, baby is very low, and I was having a strong contraction while they were trying to get baby's heart rate.

Nasty little sucker!

It's official I have my first belly stretch mark!  I was lucky to avoid these with Nathan's pregnancy, but Zachary hasn't been as kind.  It's just a little guy slightly above and to the left of my belly button.  I realize it is terribly vain, but I'm hoping baby comes soon before this nasty little sucker invites his friends to join the party!  I'll spare you and not attach a photo.

Getting Bigger!

About a month ago, Nathan decided he wanted to take the side off of his crib. He has always been such a great sleeper that I was hesitant. I was afraid that my little boy who stays in bed and sleeps through the night would start waking and coming to find me. Surprisingly, he didn't get out of bed one time. Even in the morning he patiently waits for me to come get him out of bed.

Then a few weeks ago the upstairs AC went out and Eric put Nathan to bed in the queen sized bed in the basement. I was really reluctant. Huge bed, strange room, but Nathan went right to sleep and once again slept until he heard daddy's alarm clock at 5:45am. But we were able to carry him up to his room and he went right back to sleep until his normal 8:00am wake up time. The next morning he told me he was too little for his toddler bed and need a big bed like the one in the basement.

We discussed it and decided to give in a try. He has spent the last two nights in his new full sized bed. He still goes to sleep easily, stays in bed, and sleeps through the night. This morning I got to wake him up by climbing in bed and snuggling with him. He amazes me! All the hard nights of crying when he was 5 months old have really paid off. He is truly an amazing sleeper and I'm very grateful!

Summertime!

Lately, we have been taking full advantage of the YMCA outdoor pool. We meet our best buddies there in the morning and play. The sun shines hot and the water is cool. Here are a few pictures of our summertime fun!