According to Audrey. Who is now 4.

Audrey says funny things every day.  99% of the time I can't remember them later to share with you all.  1% of the time I write them down so as not to forget.  Last week she cracked me up at the breakfast table with this:

"I love that baby on your lap.  He's the cutest baby boy you've ever had.   But I wanted it to be a girl.  I wanted to name it Rose.  Sometimes I call him Buddy.  Because I don't like to say the S at the end of Justus."  I had no idea!  But it's true, she does call him 'Buddy.'  And it's very sweet.

Whenever Justus cries, she remarks, "he probably needs a nap, or a diaper change, or to be burped, or he's hungry."  Yep, that about covers it.

Occasionally she gets more specific when he really gets to wailing.  "I think he's hungry.  You better get out your breast."  :)

She's a very matter-of-fact child.  Last week she watched Justus spit up all. over. me.  We're talking shirt, pants, socks, all the way from head to toe.  She didn't blink an eye.  Didn't show an ounce of worry or sympathy or any other emotion.  Just said, "you need to go change your clothes."

Thanks to some new books I bought recently, we've been having a lot of amazingly deep conversations about heaven at our house.  Audrey is really excited to go there someday, to attend a great big party with God where she is convinced there will be lots of cake.  When she asked what would happen to her body when she died, and what she would look like when she got to heaven, I told her we would all get new bodies.  She asked what hers would look like and I told her I didn't know, but that it would be perfect, and wouldn't ever get hurt, etc.  She is going to put in a request with God that her new body have black skin. :)  She thinks that would be pretty great.  She wants me to be in heaven with her, but was quite concerned about the possibility of me going before she does.  She wanted me to promise that daddy would stay here with her, in this house, to keep her company until it was her turn to go.  I promise you I did not initiate this conversation!!!  SO not prepared to go into such depth with her on this stuff yet...but if you say a word like "heaven," these are the gazillion rabbit trail questions that her mind leads her down.  She's a thinker, that Audrey!!

Over a month ago she turned 4.  I'm just now getting around to posting pictures.  She requested a Thomas the Train party.  The girl is obsessed with trains.  Thanks to some amazing garage sale finds, we were able to deliver her dream gift...

Heading downstairs with daddy for the big reveal.

A few spins just to disorient a bit. :)

Love this one.  Her first response was to give him a huge hug and say thank-you.  So sweet.

I took this birthday off from cake decorating, seeing as I had a 3 week old occupying most of my time.  Thanks to Hy-Vee, we got Thomas AND a major sugary frosting overload.

She's looking so grown-up these days!

Lots of cousins came to celebrate with us!  (Not pictured are my parents, my sister-in-law, and my grandparents who were also in attendance.  Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate Audrey!)

Justus' birth

In case you missed the first part, you can read Justus' pre-birth story here.

10:00--we arrived at the hospital.  Contractions stayed consistently strong and close together.  I felt like I was at exactly the same stage of labor that I was with Norah when we arrived at the hospital, and that time around I was at 9.5 cm when we arrived.  Imagine my surprise (and disappointment) to discover I was only 5 cm dilated this time around!  :(  When my doctor checked me, lots of fluid came out.  She asked if my water had broken at home, I told her I didn't think so, but when I described my "popping" sensation, she said it probably had broken, and was just barely leaking, or baby's head was so low that it blocked it from coming out.  This was a new experience for me; with both Audrey's and Norah's births, my water never broke on its own.  Instead I labored until 10 cm, then my midwives broke my water, and pushing started.  Needless to say, this was different.  I now understand why some women choose epidurals.  Oh. My. Goodness.

[All photos in this post courtesy of Mandi Hillman]

(Discussing Ina May's Sphincter Law, trying to figure out what would make me laugh during labor to speed things along.  This was obviously between contractions. ;)  

(And by the way, I love her book, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth.  I truly believe that reading this book was tremendously helpful in enabling me to go through with a natural, drug-free, labor and delivery 3 times.)


About an hour later my contractions got way more intense.  I thought surely I was getting close to transition.

(We joke that Tim could get a job as a doula, or "dude-la" as we would call it.  He is so attentive and helpful during labor.  Unfortunately for him I'm pretty hands-off during the whole childbirth process, so there's not a lot for him to do.  This was the first time I've ever even let him touch me while I was in labor, and it went something like this: "rub my back, rub my back, (for all of about 30 seconds, then) okay, that's enough!  Now don't touch me!  Stop, I don't want it anymore!")  

I asked my doctor to check me again, and I was at 7 cm. I wanted to cry, I felt like I should be so much closer!  She told me she would check me again when I started feeling a strong urge to push.  The pain got much more intense at this point.  I felt all of my contractions in my tailbone, and the only comfortable position was up on my feet, leaning over a table, or over the hospital bed which was raised up really high.  I literally spent all of this labor on my feet! (Which, for the record, were the most sore part of my whole body this pregnancy.  I've pretty much lived in my running shoes and arch supports from sun-up to sun-down for the last 3 months, so it wasn't a surprise (to me) that I wore them throughout my entire labor.  My doctor joked that I was going to be the first woman she had ever delivered a baby for while wearing Asics.) 

11:30 ish--I started feeling a really strong urge to push.  My doctor checked me again and I was at 8 cm, but finally fully effaced.  At this point I think I started to cry, and said I couldn't do it anymore!

Tim and my mom both told me that I was doing great, and that I was almost there.  I just couldn't believe how much more painful this labor was than my first two!  It really was unbelievably painful.  My doctor was really amazing though, and practiced so much like a midwife.  (Audrey and Norah were both delivered by midwives, so this was my first experience with a doctor, and honestly I was a little nervous about how it might be different.)  She encouraged me to start grunting or groaning during contractions, when I felt the urge to push, and also gave me some other suggestions for different positions to get in.  She was so flexible, and never once asked me to lie down in the bed, even for checks, because she knew it wasn't my most comfortable position.  I remember the nurse bringing the fetal heart monitor over to me and holding it to my belly while I was standing, leaning over the bed, to check baby's heart rate.

11:50 p.m.--I got to the point where I literally could not control the urge to push.  Such an amazing feeling, my body was completely taking over.  (I never got to this point with the girls, so again, this was another new experience!)  Dr. Lines checked me again and I was at a 10!  I can't even describe the relief I felt knowing that it was finally time to PUSH THIS BABY OUT!  And I was ecstatic that I progressed from 8-10 cm so quickly.

(I love this picture because it captures my support system so well.  My mom was pulling my hair back out of my eyes, Tim was holding my water to my mouth so I could take a drink.)

At this point I think I asked Tim if he would buy me a new pair of shoes because I really didn't want to take mine off, and wanted to try and deliver this baby in an upright position.  (And my doctor was okay with that!)  I can't believe I had the coherancy of mind to worry about my shoes getting ruined.  Tim assured me that he would buy me new shoes, good man that he is. :)  But I couldn't get the leverage that I needed to really push well, though, and after trying a few different positions, ended up opting to take off my beloved Asics and get into bed.

12:10 a.m.---Thanks to great coaching by Dr. Lines on when and how strong to push, (as well as birthing 2 babies before this one) it only took about 5 or 6 pushes and out came baby's (14 inch) head and shoulders, without a single tear!  The most amazing part of this experience was when doctor Lines told me to open my eyes and reach down to grab my baby.  She let me pull baby the rest of the way out and up and onto my chest.  She didn't announce the sex, instead waiting and letting us discover for ourselves.  Tim and I were both reaching, looking between the legs; we saw at the same time and both said, "it's a BOY!"

Start to finish, labor and delivery took about 3 1/2 hours.  It felt more like 13.   :)

Daddy with his boy.

He could. not. wait. to share the news!!!  :)

So proud.

Grandma with her first grandson.

Meeting Papa.

Our sweet, precious bundle of boy.

Everything went absolutely wonderfully until about 2 hours after delivery.  Part 3 to this story coming soon...a complication after the birth.

Friday Quick 5: Birthday Edition

Our sweet Norah Lou turned 2 on Wednesday.  I know every parent says it, but I cannot believe she is 2 years old already.  

1.  Started the morning off with a surprise in the kitchen...her own little kitchen.  

2.  Next surprise:  Daddy came home from work to take us out for breakfast at our favorite place!  (We're practically like family there...the manager made sure Norah got 2 candles in her pancakes.) : ) 

3.  "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie" cupcakes...a success.  (Tutorial later if you're interested.  These were SUPER easy to make!)

"Wait, why did you wake me up from my nap? "

"Well I'm not too excited about this cake business, but I'll lick all the frosting off the top.  And eat a few other people's mice off theirs too while I'm at it..."

4.  Presents.  (She did get the Mary Poppins DVD, as requested, from Papa and Grandma.  I wish I would have gotten her reaction on video.  "Mary Poppins!!!  (Huge grin.)  It's magic!"

5.  Lots of love.  Thanks to all who came and helped us celebrate.  Norah had a great time, and loves you all!

Norah's Birthday Wish List

For those Grandparents and Aunts/Uncles who have asked, here are some of the things on Norah's wish list for her birthday.  I can't believe it's coming up in just a few weeks!

Laura Numeroff books, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, or If You Give a Pig a Pancake

 

Seeds Family Worship---really any of their albums would be great.  

Mary Poppins DVD  (Norah hasn't ever seen this movie all the way through, but she has all of the songs memorized, and sings them every day!)

My Father's World Preschool Puzzles:  (These will come in handy for homeschool mornings next Fall, as well as part of our nursing basket!)

     Fit-A-Space Puzzle                                                      Shape and Color Sorter

                           

     

Toddler Tote                                                                      Number Express

                                    

Slugs and Bugs and Lullabies, by Andrew Peterson and Randall Goodgame  (CD or MP3 download)

NO pressure to get her anything, just wanted to pass along some suggestions for those who have asked!