Cinco de Mayo!

In the wee hours of the morning on May 5, 2013, Drew and I welcomed our second son into the world.

It was a long labor; 26 hours. Asher was nice and comfy in his wet water world and didn't want to come out!

My contractions began around 11 on Friday night. I had been in bed since 9, exhausted from being sick all day. I drifted in and out of consciousness for a few hours, finally waking up enough to realize that I was having contractions. 

It was a long night. I basically slept for about 3 hours, and only after taking Tylenol PM (midwife recommended). The next morning, we called our friends to watch our kids and started getting ready to leave for the hospital.  

All morning, I'm thinking, Hallie's labor was only 12 hours -- I could have this baby by lunchtime!!

And then things just stopped. Again. 

Twelve hours of contractions came to a complete halt. Disappointing. Frustrating!

Drew's family were already on their way down. It was awful calling to tell them -- again -- that it was a false alarm. (They decided to come anyway and I'm so thankful!)

I remember telling Drew over lunch, "I am not willing for this to be false labor. After twelve hours, at almost 41 weeks? No. It's one thing to have false labor at 38 weeks. But 41? No!"

And we prayed that things would pick back up again. 

Finally -- FINALLY -- around 6 that evening, they did. By 8 the contractions were coming pretty regularly, and we left for the hospital around 9:30.

At midnight, I looked at the clock in the labor room, and said, "So much for a Star Wars baby... Happy Cinco de Mayo!"

Asher Mark Louis was born at 1:41am. 

A few minutes old.

What a blessing he has been to our lives in the short week he's been with us! 

Ready to leave the hospital!

Big brother and sister adore him, which makes this Mama's heart just melt.

And he is the smiliest baby! He gave me his first smile less than 12 hours after birth. He has since smiled at Daddy, Bubba, Sissy, and Honey, as well as multiple times at Mama.

I love him so much more than I thought possible. 

He is truly a blessing sent from God. 

The Waiting Game

Last Tuesday, we thought I was in labor.

I started having contractions around 1am.  We went into the hospital for my scheduled prenatal appointment at 11am and were told that there was no progress.  The midwife gave us two options:  go home and rest or go on a walk.  

We opted for a walk.  After all, walking was how I got labor really going with Gabriel.

But after lunch and two hours of walking on and off, things were looking the same.  A disappointed and exhausted Daddy and Mommy headed home to get some much needed rest.

The contractions went away gradually.  For a few hours, I was convinced we'd have to go back to the hospital that night, but alas... things finally got quiet.

And they've remained so for a week.  

Every time I have even the slightest Braxton Hicks, I hold my breath to see if it goes anywhere.

Every night, I go through a mental list of stuff, "just in case."  

Bags -- packed.

Clothes -- clean.

Car seat -- ready.

Still nothing.

I've gotten stuff done.  There are seven meals in my freezer that weren't there last Tuesday.  I've done laundry and gone grocery shopping a few times, making sure my kids will have something to eat and wear while I'm in the hospital.

This girl is so ready to be a big sister!

But what I'm really doing is waiting.

Any suggestions for distracting my mind?!  I know it's unlikely for labor to come when I'm just sitting around, but it's hard for me to want to do anything else!

So Little Time, So Much to Do!

If there's one thing I've learned about myself in my now three pregnancies, it's that I am not a nester.

I'm actually a little envious of the mamas who get those little spurts of energy at the very end.  For me, the closer it gets to D-Day, the lazier I get.

Hey, the way I look at it, my body is hard at work nourishing two lives, so the best thing I can do for my body is rest.  And eat.  But that's another story. ;)

The 12ish projects that I planned to accomplish before Asher arrives... the ones I was going to tackle one-per-week and be done by April 1st?  Yeah, they pretty much flew out the window after the second week (which was at the end of January). Since then, I've done a grand total of three-and-a-half.

At least the cradle is set up and ready to go!

Third trimester kicks serious booty, y'all.

And now that Asher is full term (YAY!), I doubt I'll get any of the rest of them done.  There are more important things to think about... like packing for the hospital (my first time delivering at one! eep!), writing out my birth "plan," making freezer meals, and praying that I don't have any more near-panic attacks about giving birth.  I also have to stay caught up on laundry, grocery shop, and feed my family.

I have so much respect for women who get anything done in their third trimester.  Seriously, all I want to do is lay in bed (the only place my rib cage gets any relief).

Well.  It's laundry time.  Two loads to fold and one to wash/dry.

At least one of the loads is baby clothes!

Eighteen days and counting...