Rowan Carley Blake 10-7-2011

SHE IS HEEEEERE!  Rowan Carley (after great-great gmom) Blake made her grand entrance at 2:03 pm on October 7, 2011.  She weighed in at 7 lbs 1 oz and was 18.5 inches!!!  Here is our story....

Mommy started feeling some pressure on Thursday night before bed.  I fell asleep around 10 pm and woke up at 3:30 am to go to the bathroom and felt what I now know was my first contraction.  Since I could not fall back to sleep, I headed downstairs, made sure the hospital bags were ready, showered, had some coffee (decaf), and packed Liam up for MDO since he needed to be there at 9 am.  I woke Rick up at 5:30 to tell him that I thought I MAY be having contractions, but I could not exactly time them, so I was just going to wait until my regular OB appt. at 9:15 that morning...I told him to stay home from work just in case, so he could take Liam to school and then we could figure out the rest of the day once I saw my dr.
 
I headed to the drs. and Liam and RIck headed to school.  I had a scheduled sono, so they checked my weight, and I had lost a pound and a half, which had happened when I was going into labor with Liam....hmmmm.  Sono showed only 3.5 cm of fluid, and I should have 5.  The dr. did an exam and sure enough I was 4 cm and he could feel the head!  He walked me over to labor and delivery and told me we were having a baby!!!  :-)

I called Rick and my mom to let them know and we made plans to have the babysitter watch Liam after school and my SWEET, thoughtful, and generous friend Annie picked Liam up since she had a carseat.  They were both LIFESAVERS for us, since this was a little unexpected!  Rick made it to the hospital by 10:30.  I was in the bed ready to get my IV.  I felt GREAT!  Contractions not bad AT ALL!!!  After I was all hooked up, dr. checked me around 11:15 and I was 6 cm!  I could not believe how great I felt and how quickly it was going...then it kinda went downhill!  :/  They gave me pitocin (not sure why) and my contractions were UNBEARABLE by 12:45 and when they checked me then, I was still 6 cm...and I ordered the EPIDURAL STAT!  ;)  It only took to one side again and they pumped up the dose, so by 1:30 I was completely numb and feeling GREAT!  They drained my bladder and checked me again and I was 10 and the baby was right there!  They think she may have been stuck behind my full bladder.  Anyway, as General Hospital was starting on the TV in the room, they said push on this next contraction, and ONE PUSH, and Rowan was there!!!!!!

A little nervous, I heard Nuchal x 2...which meant the cord was wrapped twice around her neck...they were very surprised because her heart rate had stayed steady throughout the entire labor (which was pretty fast) and she never showed any signs of distress.  But, her coloring was very good once they got her cleaned up and she had an APGAR score of 9, same as Liam.  She looked SOOOO small to me because I am so used to looking at my 32 lb big boy!  But she was 7 lbs 1 oz, 18.5 inches (just like mama) and looked SOOO different than Liam when he was born.  We were SOOOO in love at one minute old!!! 
Here she is:

She let out a few whimpers and was able to feed right away for 20 minutes on either side...which brings me to my next thing.  This baby is AH-mazing!!!!
I was on the fence with whether I would breastfeed or not.  I had an awful experience with Liam...he was tongue tied and took over an hour for each feeding.  She eats in 15 minutes.  She barely cries...just small whimpers.  She loves her sponge bath.  And sleeping..O.M.G.  For the past 3 nights I have been getting 7-9 hours.  She is up during the day for about 3 hours total and sleeps the rest of the time.  Her most alert is abour 11 am-1 pm, 5-7 pm, and 8-10 pm....I PRAY this is not a honeymoon phase and she keeps it up!!!  I am SOOOO in love with having girl! 

We had our 3 day checkup on Tuesday.  Rowan was a little jaundice, so we have been sitting by the window one time per day and I think it has improved.  She was 6 lbs 15.5 oz..very close to birth weight again.  One thing I am awfully worried about, but it is very "fixable", was they found a hip click, which could be a sign of hip displaysia and she could have to wear a brace for a bit.  They will check her at her 2 week appt. and then at 6 and if it is still there, we will need to see a pediatric ortho dr.  Hopefully we will not, but there is great success with just wearing a brace for a bit, so that is very hopeful!!!!

Otherwise, all is GREAT!!!!  She is happy, healthy, and a WONDERFUL eater.  I cannot wait to watch her grow, but I want to keep this little baby for as long as I can!!  It is such a miracle!  Rowan you are a DREAM and mommy and daddy and BIG BRO love you soooo much!

                                           Going home!!!

                                             sweet angelSpeaking of big bro, he is adjusting very well.  Poor thing has been sick for the past week, AGAIN!!!--ugh!, so he was not able to come to the hospital.  :(  He has never had a cough in his 21 months, and of course, it is NOW he gets one.  All that aside, he is doing so awesome with her!  Gmom flew in on Sat. and Liam and Rick spent some quality time with her while Rowan an mommy spent their last night in the hospital.  Gmom watched Liam while daddy came to pick us up on Sunday morning around 11 am.  I missed my little guy sooo much and could not wait to see him!  We got home and he pretty much ignored her for a few hours.  Then, after nap, out of no where he went over to his sister in her bouncy chair and said, "baby" and kissed her on the forehead!!! Made us all cry!  Since then, you are want to share your crayons, books, and food with your sister and always say baby and look for her.  You are an amazing big bro, just as I knew you would be!!!!  It has been a little stressful trying to keep you from coughing on her or getting your runny nose on her, but I could never kill your sweet spirit with her.  Love you and I am so proud of you!!!
We are loving having gmom here this week:

              And here is Liam with his special present from his sister!

Cannot wait to add lots of fun experiences as a family of four!!!  Happy Thursday!

Sad and Happy Things

Yesterday was a sad day for daddy and gmom.  James Edward Maxfield, Rick's grandfather and gmom's daddy past away late Monday night.  He was loved by many and lived a very full life.  Although he will be missed, we hope he is at peace now and with his own mom and dad and rest of his family.  xoxo

Keeping on the "sad things note"...I AM STILL PREGGERS!"  what the heck is this all about little, sweet girl?!?!  You are super cozy and giving mommy lots of extra rest before you make your grand entrance.  You seem to have a mind of your own already, but I am very anxious to meet you and this little personality!  Any time now, really, it will be just fine!  ;)

HAPPY day today....Liam went to school again with no tears, but instead seemed very excited.  Mommy left and went to get my haircut (just a trim with some long layers), a pedi, and some yummy breakfast.  Now, I am sitting with my feet up on the couch now after an awesome night's sleep last night.  Life is pretty good right now and I know I will be longing for this time in a week or so!

This time next week we should be getting released from the hospital to come home!  I am really anxious to get started into our daily routines, that I know will be complete madness in the beginning!  I want to ENJOY every minute of this baby time.  With Liam, everything was so new and scary.  I am hoping to be MUCH more relaxed with this one!  We shall see!

I have discovered selling stuff on Craigslist...could be my new addiction.  So easy and hopefully will be productive financially!  ;)  Just posted two strollers last night.  Let's hope we get some inquiries!!!

Liam has been a VERY good boy this week!  On Monday, we went to a friend's house for a "College Teams Playdate".  Mommy forgot until that morning that he was supposed to wear some college gear, so she dressed you in an 18 month Villanova jersey Aunt Kristen had gotten for you when you were born...a little snug but did the trick!  Here is a picture of you having fun jumping on the trampoline with your buddy Cole.

So cute! That afternoon you took a LONG nap and we went to the park.  You are SOOOO interested in playing and "talking" to the "big boys".  It truly amazes me how sweet they usually are to you!  You found two buddies that played football with you.  They would give you the ball and you would run it to the other boy and give it to him....it was really adorable.  You were in heaven playing with them!  Then we went to Market St. and home to make and eat dinner.  Yesterday we went to the library for Storytime and you were SOOOO well behaved.  I think you have a crush on the woman who presents on Tuesday...you are ALWAYS really good on Tuesday, but Thursday, you seem like you just want to get out of there and could care less.  You just stare at this lady the whole time!  It is really cute.  We played for a little bit, looking at books.  You also love to sit at the computer and pretend like you are "talking on the mouse"...some serious business calls!  ;)  We then went to Stonebriar and you played for a little bit.  Then we ate Chick Fil A for lunch and went to Target to buy a new Blues Clues movie.  Yours went missing and every day since you have been asking for "puppy", so I had to get a replacement.  We came home after a long morning and you watched part of the movie and went down for a nap.  I had ot wake you up at 4:45 and we went out front to play with some of the kiddos on the street.  You LOVE Brendan next door and ran right over to his house carrying your sidewalk chalk and pumpkin???...not sure what the pumpkin was for, but you HAD to bring it!  They went in to eat dinner and then we played with Hudson for a bit.  He is 14 months and you were VERY sweet to him...sharing your car and your chalk.  Then it was dinner and bed again.  You have been sleeping in until AT LEAST 8 am...some days 9!  Sleepy head!  Love you so much and I am so proud of what a big boy you are becoming!

We are looking forward to gmom coming to Dallas on Saturday.  It will be a crazy week, but it will be very nice for Liam time with his gmom.

Have a great rest of the week everyone!!!  :-)

Fun Weekend as a Family of 3

Well, the hope that my drs. appt on Friday would "stir things up" and throw me into labor was a no go!  So we had a nice, relaxing, but fun weekend as yet still a family of 3.  Friday afternoon Liam and I went and had his haircut.  He needed it soooo bad and has always LOVED it, but I think he is associating so many things with drs. these days, he started crying as soon as they put him in the car (the seat to cut his hair)...he got better towards the end, but still was not a huge fan this time.  We then went to pick up yummy pizza for dinner which was not ready so Liam played with some sugar packets while we waited.  ;)  We got home around 5:30 and daddy was already home!  It was nice to have him home early.  We ate and went for a nice walk (really to try to walk the baby out) but that did not work either.  haha 

Saturday morning started early with Liam's last day if soccer for this session.  Dada and Liam slept til 8:30 and we rushed out to make it there by 9, but we did!  Liam has come a long way and it has been hard playing with all older kids.  Taking turns and listening was really hard at first, but he is doing so much better with it.  He still likes to use his hands more than his feet, but it is fun for all of the kiddos there.  ;) We plan to sign up for the next session too, but just have not gotten around to it.  It will be something nice for daddy and Liam to do when the new baby comes.

We went to breakfast at Le Peep (our fave) and stopped home to write down directions to the pumpkin farm.  SOOOOO glad we went!  It was so much fun for all of us.  We got there around noon and stayed till 1:30iash and made it home just in time for a late nap.
Here are some fun pics:

 Mommy forgot to dress you in Orange, but this pic is still soooo cute! 

Liam, yhou LOVE animals so much!  your face lights up when you see them and you had a BLAST feeding them.  I think you could have stayed there all day!  A pet is in your future, let's just get through all these diapers first!  ;)

Your first hayride!  Loved it once we started moving.  And you loved picking out all of the hay and throwing it.  ;)

Next, we went to pick out a pumpkin.  You were very into THROWING the pumpkins and loved playing in the dirt.  Mommy and daddy found a special one for you and you really liked it!  You carried it in your stroller after and we put it on the front step when we got home.  You cried because you still wanted it in the house.

                                         Your special pumpkin!
You also played on a tractor and with some more pumpkins after we ate lunch.  You would not eat the hot dog...you just had some grapes instead.
I am trying to post some more pics of all of that, but having some technical difficulties, so maybe I will add them later.  We all had a GREAT time!

When we got home, you took a nap, daddy cut the grass, and mommy relaxed on the couch.  When you woke up from your nap, we realized the DVD player was broken (I wonder how THAT happened!!!)...so we headed to Best Buy to get a new one.  Then to the mall so you could play, but you were not all about it yesterday.  After that, we went to dinner at Down Under Pub (because we had a coupon and mommy is OBSESSED with coupons!) which was really yummy.  You played with your crayons and coloring books the WHOLE time.  You were so good but so into coloring, you did not eat anything, except for your FAVE...FRENCH FRIES!  Then, mommy and daddy picked up a movie and we headed home.  Bath and bed when we got home and we watched a WEIRD movie called Roommates.  Redbox is great, but never know what to pick and usually I do not pick a good one!  Mommy went to bed at 10:15 and good thing because I was up at 4 again until 5:30 and then back to sleep.

Today, Sunday, was perfect so far!  Liam woke up around 7:30 and mommy got up with him.  We got dressed, played, watched a DVD, and you ate a banana.  Mommy cooked Sunday breakfast around 9:30 and we all ate together.  Tried again to give you eggs, but it was a NO!  You ate some sausage, strawberries, and a hashbrown.  You LOVE hashbrowns and french fries.  Then, mommy and daddy got ready and we headed to the Cottonwood Festival in Richardson...I think this is definitely Liam's favorite festival so far.  There was chalk and chalkboards, good music, and a playground.  Have some great pics, but again, I cannot upload anymore for some reason.  Anyway, it was great fun and beautiful weather and we were home by 2 for your nap.  You were such a good boy all day!  Even in the car when we were stuck in tollway traffic for an hour.  Give you some crayons and a coloring book these days and you are VERY happy!!!!  You are sound asleep now and look so cute in the monitor!

As for baby #2, I have not even said anything to Rick, but around 11 am, I started with some light cramping and it has continued throughout the afternoon...I cannot find a regular pattern, so I do not THINK they are contractions, but who knows!  It is the only sign of labor I have had yet!  I was feeling no pains or pressure all week prior to this...Maybe I will be posting next that they WERE and she is HERE!!!  We shall see!

GREAT weekend!!!  I love our little family SOOO much!