The Raw Details - Levi's birth

As requested by my friends...my birthing experience. I love hearing/reading about others experience so I will share mine too. Be aware...this is just raw details so don't read if you don't want to know about labor and all its glory.

I had such a different experience with all three of my boys. Levi seemed determined to come early. I had consistent contractions numerous times early on...way beyond the suggested hospital visit to make sure nothing is wrong. I would have them every 5 minutes for over two hours at times...not good. Despite many scares, Levi made it to 39 1/2 weeks! Only a few days early!

Here is how it went down...

When I got checked at 36 weeks I was dilated to a 1. The next time I was checked I was at a 4. So all these consistent contractions were actually working! It was just a really slow process. Then when I was checked on Tuesday, July 23rd, I was at a 5! I had continually been warned from my lactation consultant, my OBGYN's, etc. that I needed to get to the hospital if I have consistent contractions because they knew I was at a 5 and were worried I would have Levi at home. So, Wednesday after hours of contractions, John and I headed to the hospital around 8pm only to be sent home a couple hours later. I wasn't progressing and they knew I wanted to labor at home. After we went home, I went to bed and woke up the next morning (besides the bathroom break every hour) still pregnant. After that, I still had quite a few contractions but they would go away until it seemed my body was even less ready to deliver. Then, Saturday sometime before 1pm I started having contractions every 5-7 minutes and that lasted for several hours. Then they started coming every 3-5 minutes but were still just uncomfortable and not real painful. Due to my many warnings, I decided it was time John and I head up to the hospital. Again, we left around 8pm only to be back home around 11:30pm. I still hadn't progressed (only at a 5) and the contractions didn't increase in pain level. Let me just say, getting checked was awful. I had never felt pain in any of my pregnancies by any nurse or doctor when getting checked before! I hadn't even bled even though they say every time that I may bled a little due to getting checked. This nurse checking me was very painful and I bled right away. Ahh! Wasn't thrilled about that happening again! But after I was checked at 11pm, it seemed my contractions were finally starting to increase in pain. Maybe her checking me so roughly got things started? They did suggest breaking my water but knew that was against my birth plan wishes. They just wanted to give me the option since they knew I might be tired of waiting. I was but also wanted things to happen naturally. As we were leaving the hospital I looked a lot worse then when we arrived due to contractions; but we still went home. My contractions continued to get more painful and at 2:45am we decided to head back to the hospital. When I got checked I was at a 7! Praise the Lord! At that point, the pain was definitely there and I knew we were finally going to meet Levi! They were certainly not going to let me go home at a 7. At 3:30am my water broke. I didn't hear it but felt a pop and then leaked. Each contraction I would leak more. My contractions got significantly worse (yes, it is possible) at that point. Around 4:15am or so, I made it to a 10 but Levi still needed to descend into the birth canal. Not the news I wanted to hear at that point! I thought I had arrived only to be let down :( After that horrible, horrible pain, I was finally ready to push. My doctor was so wonderful at guiding me when to push so I wouldn't tear like I did on my other two babies. I took his advice (as hard as it was to 'not push' while the head was half way out) and waited for the head to stretch the skin. There is a reason they call that the 'ring of fire!' After that, I pushed him out after a few pushes. He arrived at 4:35am. 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 21 inches long. Praise God it was almost over! After that point, I was saying praise God over and over and thankful to see our perfect son in my arms. What a beautiful baby he is! Shortly after that I delivered the placenta. After nursing I got to walk to my post partem room. I was very excited about that. I was ready to lay down on that wonderful bed. I remembered loving it when I had Luke! They also told me I would get a 'real' breakfast tray. When you do not have an epidural or any drugs, then you can eat right away instead of having jello or broth to eat. It was yummy! After laying down a while, visiting with family, my doctor, nurses, and my lactation consultant, they said I could go home and they had my paperwork already ready to talk it over and release us. After lots of paper work we were ready! We were about to go when Levi started choking on some amniotic fluid. He came so fast that it was not squeezed out of him. He also could have got some when he was coming out since the fluid shot out every where. After 30 to 45 minutes or so of seeing him chock up and talking with the nurse, we finally headed out. We left around 2pm. We were only at the hospital 11 hours! I was grateful. I would have loved to have Levi at home but find comfort in the security of the hospital in case something goes wrong and you only have minutes. Overall, I was pleased with our experience and glad I could go along with my birth plan without complications. The nurse was even grateful to experience a woman's labor who had a birth plan and birthed naturally without intervention in any way. I am grateful I have no possible side effects since I didn't have an epidural. I am grateful I could eat and walk right away, I could come home much earlier, I could feel my body and push when I needed to so I didn't tear much (which means very easy recovery-in fact it doesn't even hurt!), I don't have to pay for it (Whoa! Expensive!), and the baby is not drugged (and yes they do get some despite what they tell you)! Isn't he precious...

Now here is a recap of my first and second experience: My birth plan was to also do it naturally but it didn't work out this first time. I had been at a 1 for three weeks and once my water broke at 2am (while I was sleeping) I had 24 hours to get him out. After 14 hours of labor I was only at a tight 3. During those 14 hours, they gave me pitocin and increased it several times since I wasn't going anywhere. So, not only was the natural labor painful but pitocin makes the contractions evern worse. Not something you want if you are trying to go natural! At this point, there was nothing else I could do but get an epidural. They told me it was that or do this naturally for 24 hours and then get a c-section because my body was not progressing. I certainly didn't want a c-section if I could help it! Once I got the epidural, my body relaxed and I progressed. I had Noah 21 1/2 hours after my water broke. 1 1/2 hours of that was pushing after I was at a 10! That was a hard work out even with the epidural. Boy it sure was nice to not feel it though! Healing was really, really rough and took weeks of pain, swelling, and bleeding. I had no idea it would be that hard after labor!

With my second, I had it in my birth plan that I wanted to do it naturally and I got to this time. I labored all night at home and once I got to the hospital I was only there two hours before I had him. I only had to push 20 minutes. I could feel everything and knew what to do. The experience was so much better than my first and I torn much less. I just had to have a few stitches! I healed so much faster and got to go home faster.

I definitely suggest having a birth plan and be aware of your choices. Just because a doctor or nurse suggests something, doesn't mean it is best for you and baby. I am grateful my doctors gave me options but were open to letting me experience it the way I wanted. You have to be open because ultimately you have to do what is best for you and baby. only 2 of my 3 experiences went according to plan. And praise God for it all. Lord knows I couldn't have dealt with pregnancy or labor without his grace! 

The boys really thought it was neat that we finally brought home Levi after all these months of Mommy's belly growing and reading books about being good big brothers. It was a special time! They loved holding Levi and were so proud! Here are some pictures of the older two boys meeting Levi. 

28 weeks!

OK; I've been majorly slacking at blogging lately. Which happens to include the fact that I am slacking at blogging during this pregnancy too. 3rd child...what do you expect? With my first, I blogged every week, giving out my stats of my appointments and even took a picture of my growing belly. This time, not so. But I decided it was about time to give an update. I am sure my family thinks it is about time. Sorry, no picture but you will get to feel Levi kicking soon or just visually see the tidal wave on my belly from his movements!

I went to my wonderful glucose testing appointment today. I know you can just hear the excitement in my voice. They take 5 or 6 viles of blood, you have to drink this awful orange drink and then you get your blood taken again an hour later. Although I would rather watch a movie and eat popcorn, giving blood is not a big deal to me. The stick hurts a little but in perspective...I've gone through natural labor. A little stick is just a little stick. I already gotten a call with results from my OBGYN and I do NOT have gestational diabetes. Yea! But, I am low in iron...I am not surprised. I've always been on the low side. In fact, if I don't eat regularly (even when not pregnant) I can easily faint. So I have to take an iron pill to get my iron up for delivery. My sister had to do that in her pregnancy, I've had to do it before, and my Dad is the same way about eating. Runs in the family!

My blood pressure was normal again...106 over 70 or so (I am not real knowledgeable about blood pressure numbers and they always say it is great so I have a hard time remember the exact number). I weighted 145! I've already gained 30 pounds in 28 weeks! I still have 12 weeks to go! This worried me a little. I asked my doc about the weight and he said that he was not worried about it. I gained 45 lbs. or so with Luke and was healthy. But this pregnancy just seems so much harder. My body seems to be telling me that my child bearing years are over. I think some women can take pregnancy easier than others. So with the large weight gain so fast, the fact that I am in my 30's now, and my body seems to be struggling more, I was concerned. My doctor said that I didn't need to be concerned because I didn't start overweight, I work out, and I look fine. Whew! He just kept saying we typically like women to gain between 20 and 30 lbs. total but that I should be fine. He said that several times...in my head I thought, OK rub that number in a little more. Ha! But, I lost the weight with Luke so I hope I can do it as easily with Levi in my 30's as it was with my others in my 20's. Plus I've been told in the last couple days by my husband and a couple friends that I don't even look pregnant from behind. This is good. That makes me feel a little better. :) This is my third time to carry STRAIGHT out. Hence the fact that my body is having a hard time carrying the weight of my belly I daily wear a pregnancy belly belt. I feel old saying that but it REALLY helps and my back is grateful. I truly feel like my muscles are ripping under the weight of my belly when I don't have it on. Lovely I know.

Well I guess that was about it. My appointment in all its glory. Too bad I didn't get a sonogram! That would have made it so wonderful! I guess I will just have to go back and look at my other sono pics. Can't wait to meet little Levi. So blessed to have another sweet, active, boy! Boys love their Mommas! And boy do I love the snuggles I daily get from Noah and Luke and look forward to cherishing with Levi! So blessed!

Discipleship From a Busy Woman

My parents are Christians and sought to raise my sisters and I up in the Lord. I learned many things from them and felt they were the same at home as they were at church. I did NOT see hypocrisy in the way they lived. Because of that and many other reasons, I felt like I saw 'the faith' work for them and knew it could also 'work' for me. Unfortunately, many have a very different experience. Either Jesus was nowhere in the picture, or their parents put on a smile at church and acted differently at home, teaching their children that 'church/God/faith' really doesn't work and that it is just a game we play. Some of these youth play the same game and then leave church when they go off to college. Because the youth never had a true faith themselves and never saw it 'work' they were ready to move on. I not only had godly examples as parents but had other adults pouring into my life as well. Richard Ross, the co-founder of True Love Waits and guru in youth ministry, once said it takes 5 adults outside a child's parents for that child to properly mature (especially spiritually). I sure can see that in my life! I can truly say I lived among a Christian community where many adults poured into my life. I know discipleship/mentoring is a foreign concept for many because they have never seen it done, don't feel they have time, and I guess either consciously or ignorantly don't feel that those verses in the Bible are meant to be obeyed. Just so we are on the same page...here are a few...

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20 ESV

"So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come." Psalm 71:18 ESV

"Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
things that we have heard and known,
that our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children,
but tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.
He established a testimony in Jacob
and appointed a law in Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;
and that they should not be like their fathers,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God." Psalm 78:1-8 ESV

"Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled." Titus 2:3-5 ESV

"and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." 2 Timothy 2:2 ESV

We are definitely commanded to make disciples, train, teach, etc. So let's do it! The Bible doesn't tell this only to those who have time to disciple or only to those who have gone to seminary, but we are all called to this important mission. Obviously we are all in different seasons of life, have different jobs, schedules, and are in different spots in our spiritual walk. Discipleship/mentoring may look slightly different to different people.

I had a great mentor growing up. She was/is a pastor's wife, speaker, and mother of 3. She was/is a very busy woman. She influenced so many people and still continues to pour into lives all around her through her speaking and living her life for Christ. Her love for Christ overflows, you can't help but smile around her and desire to be in her presence again. She has truly taken on the character of Christ! She is compassionate, loving, joyful, gracious, giving, faithful, kind, obedient, a servant, a teacher, a mentor, a guide, a leader, and very zealous for the Lord. I was so blessed as a high school student to be with her a lot. She mentored me in so many ways. Because she loves the Lord so well, it overflowed to me. I wanted to know Christ more and have that love and joy in my life. Because of her, I desired to read the Word and worship the Lord in all I did. Although I did attend some of the classes she taught in church or other times, we didn't set out to do a Bible study one-on-one. I think that is one of the misconceptions of discipleship--that you just have to sit down and study the Bible. That is not the whole of discipleship. Yes, we are to strive to be in the Word and we must center everything we do around it and encourage one another in it, but we don't always need to add another study in our life. For some who are not involved in a church or Bible study, that may be a good part of your time spent together. But for others it may just be doing life together. Beverly and I just did life together. Like I said, she was a busy woman but still made the time to take me under her wing. We never called it discipleship and I didn't specifically ask her to spend time with me, but thankfully it worked out that way. I saw how she acted at church, how she spoke and counseled people, how she was excited about going to church, reading the Word, and pursuing Scripture memory. I helped her cook dinner, I saw how she talked to and respected her husband, how she treated her kids, how she served others, how she wasn't lazy or selfish with her time, how she handled herself when she felt she failed at something, how she always had a worship song for the Lord in her heart, how she brought Scripture memory to mind in a situation...really just how she spent her life for the Lord. She would have been doing those things whether I was there or not but she blessed me by allowing me to be there to see how a love for the Lord changes every aspect of your life. And now that I am a pastor's wife, I can see what a blessing that was in my training. To see how a pastor's wife supports her husband and that pastors and their families are still human, not perfect, but still real. Like I said, my parents are godly examples, but I am not going to lie...I was a teenager once and that is a point in your (or at least my) life where your parents just are not cool. They never changed, I just had that teenage prideful, independent attitude. They were not necessarily the first person I ran to for advice or the like at that stage in life. I have learned a great deal of what it means to be a godly woman, have a godly marriage, and be a godly parent from my parents but can see the need and desire I had at that time to have someone outside my parents to disciple and mentor me. There were other people outside my parents who also invested in me but Beverly was a huge example of what it means to be a godly woman at an important time in my life.

Even though I am so busy at this time in my life discipling my own children, I can still invest in others' lives. So I encourage you to as well. Bring someone along to study the Word with and/or just walk through life together. It is such a blessing to all those involved, and it IS commanded after all...

If you would like a good read on this topic, check out this blog post: As Iron Sharpens Iron

Luke's 2nd Birthday

We celebrated Luke turning two last week end! Wow; when did our baby grow up...thankfully we have been blessed with another one! 

It was a fun party with lots of kids and food! Since we had a morning party, we had cinnamon rolls instead of cake as well as pumpkin bread, peanut butter popcorn, fruit, and mocha punch. Some of Luke's favorite breakfast foods minus pancakes and bacon. The cinnamon rolls and mocha punch were equally as sweet as cake and ice cream but socially acceptable for morning treats!

We got out the Toy Story birthday stuff from Noah's 3rd birthday party. I imagine with another boy coming, we will use it a couple more times!

And that would be the extend of pictures my old, charged camera took. I will have to get a new camera at some point. (Blogging is not nearly exciting without cute pictures of our boys!) Thankfully, John has an IPhone so he got a picture of the birthday boy blowing out his candles...

Happy Birthday Luke! You are such a blessing and joy! We love seeing you learn new things, the expressions on your face as you discover something, and how you love playing with your older brother. Love you dearly!

#3 @ 16 Weeks Prego

I was 16 weeks on Wednesday and went to the OBGYN. I've gained 15 pounds total (ahh!) and the heartbeat was 150 bpm. I also got to make my appointment for my sono to check the baby out and find out the sex of the baby! We can't wait! I am thinking about drinking a pop to get the child dancing so we don't miss any important parts. We will see.

Overall, I am ready to hold our precious new addition. I know...I have a long way to go! I have ALL the wonderful aches and pains that go along with pregnancy. Since my tummy is too big to sleep on my back and my hips hurt too much from expanding (thanks to that chemical my body is releasing for this amazing feat of delivery) and the fact that I have to pee several times at night (TMI...I know...but most of you can relate!) sleep is very limited. But in the end, a Mom just deals with it to enjoy that baby the rest of her life! It is only 9 months right! I am not going to lie, I am already looking forward to getting the weight off so I am live normal again! Hey, at this point, I can still see my toes and put my shoes on!

On a more exiting note, it seems like I can feel some movement. One day, it felt like the baby was doing somersaults. That is a crazy feeling! Other than that, I think I've just felt a few kicks...or hoping it was anyway. I am looking forward to John and Noah feeling the baby kick for the first time! Noah is going to think that is so neat! I love seeing him discover the miracle of life through #3. He almost daily makes a comment about the baby getting bigger...whether it be my shirt is going to pop, the baby is going to come out 10 (yrs. old), or the baby is this big (as he measures the length of my tummy). He is so excited about being a big brother for the second time and tells me how he is going to hold the baby, etc. Love it!

We will announce the sex of the baby the day of the sono and possibly the name. We've had a girls name picked out for 10 years and if the baby is a boy then we will have to narrow down the list to figure out a third boys name. Either way we will be so blessed. If the baby is a boy, we don't have to paint the nursery...nice! If the baby is a girl we have to paint but we will have TONS of clothes and toys from my sister. So either way, we are set! Can't wait to see!

Valentines

The boys are in Mother's Day Out for the first time this year and they have a Valentines party in their classes. I try to be intentional in all I do so I didn't want my boys giving out Valentines that said, 'Be mine,' 'Pick me Valentine,' or some other loving adult phrase they don't understand and should not say. But the first one I found was cute so I went with that. It says, 'I like how you roll' and comes with a bag of tootsie rolls. I just found the tiny bags in the cake decorating aisle at Walmart and printed out the hearts from a free pinterest website. Cute, simple, and appropriate.

 Noah trying on my tall boots; love him!

   And here is the picture I took while it was still snowing at our house. I think we had around 5 or 6 inches. Not sure the official number but the ground was covered after an hour and it continued to snow the whole day! We made snow ice cream (8 cups snow, 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk, 2 tsp. Mexican vanilla). It was yummy! I think that is my favorite recipe so far. I've made it with heavy whipping cream in the past. 

A Little Play and a Little Work

Sword fight...Superman vs. the Basketball!

 Truck and car inventory...menial task but working hard.

Number 3!!!

John and I went to my first OBGYN appointment Tuesday. I was 11 weeks yesterday. It was hard to wait until after the new year to have my first appointment but for insurance purposes we wanted to have all appointments in the same year. I was so comforted to see our sweet little one and hear the heat beat. What a precious miracle from God. We are so blessed! It was also nice to know whether we were having twins or just one. I've already gained 8 lbs. but we are only having one. I always think I am having twins because I gain weight real easy when I am pregnant. I am not the only one who typically thinks I am having twins, I always get the comment from those really 'wise' people who say, "Are you sure you are not having twins." P.S. Never say that to a pregnant women...she knows she is big! Praise God the weight falls off while nursing! 

#3 looked looked like he/she was praying! So sweet!

My OBGYN said the baby looked real good and she would keep my due date the same since we are confident of that date and the baby was on track for that size. She also said the baby was real active...shocker!

I have already started nesting as I am realizing we are going to have 5 people in this 3 bedroom house! It is amazing the amount of things you need (or that are just real convenient) with an 8 lb. child! John has been such a big help in working so hard to help me organize, throw away, and donate so many things. It is already looking better!

We are blessed!

Boy fun...

Flying double...

  Game time! We are all about games at our house. They boys play one game after another. Noah has recently been playing a few games by the rules but for the most part Luke and Noah just play with the pieces of each game. I can't wait until they are older and we can have family game night where the whole family plays a game by the rules. Fun times!

So serious...

 The boys loved mouse trap. We didn't actually play the game this time but they watched the two silver balls go through the course over and over again. I could just see their minds trying to figure out the science behind it. Little engineers in the making!

 As I took on the 'nesting/reorganizing/give away-ever-inch-of-the-house' project, we got out a few more of John's old toys. The boys are in little boy Heaven! They have been OBSESSED and constantly playing with all of the John Deere equipment. Thank you, thank you Grammy for keeping this for soooooooo long! They love trucks, etc. There were two skid steers, an 18-wheeler truck, two different green tractors, a front end loader, a red combine, and a tractor with two different attachments to till the soil, etc. I think that was all. They had been playing with all the mini ones John had as a little boy but we hadn't brought out these big ones until now. Wow! They probably wouldn't miss most of their toys if I happened to get rid of them! Luke is enjoying all of them by himself while Noah is at MDO. Happy boy!

John and I did go through every single toy in the house last night. We kept some and organized them, threw some away, took some to the church since we are adding a new classroom for all the wonderful little ones coming to church now, and took some to the Etc. Shop (a good will type of place). The house looks so much better. Thank you John for working so hard on this mission. He has been such a good helper in our 'complete house redo' and really leads by example in what it means to be a man of the 'second shift.' I know he would probably like to sit on the coach and relax when he gets home but instead, he is selfless in serving the family, playing with the boys, and ministering to so many. I've got a good one. I love you, John!

Snow Day

I am just now getting around to blogging again after Christmas but here we go...

We were in the City for Christmas and stayed an extra couple days after the snow storm. It was such a fun time with family! My favorite present was a precious primer design necklace with Noah and Luke's name on it. I love it! I guess I will have to add another name to it this summer when #3 comes along!

The snow was still fresh and ready for little boys when we got home. After we got back both boys bundled up and Luke only lasted about 5 minutes. He just had cotton gloves on. They didn't last long and he got cold. Noah had the right gloves and gear and played several times for an hour each each day. We had a blast!

Shoveling...

 Sledding...

 And sliding...

We tried to make a snow man but the snow was too fluffy and dry. I added some water to make some small snow balls but that was the extent I went to. Maybe next time we will be able to make a big snow man!