Things I Already Forgot (about newborns)

• Breastfeeding makes you extremely hungry, thirsty, and sleepy...all at the same time.  I forget about this until I've got my newborn good and latched on and then realize I forgot to grab a snack or drink.
• Speaking of hungry...breastfeeding "hunger" is much more intense than pregnancy "hunger."
• It's fun to play dress-up with a new baby...they look cute in everything.  It is not much fun for the baby...she hates it.
• Nothing stimulates baby's bladder and bowels like a clean diaper.  Nothing.
• Babies are little, but their cries are not.  In the middle of the night, it is the loudest sound imaginable!
• Spit-up happens (always on a cute outfit or on my side of the bed).
• Apparently, Packard babies always look alike...boy or girl (see evidence below):

  

  Exhibit A (Penn)

  

  Exhibit B (Jude)

  

  Exhibit C (Anna)

  Thank you and goodnight:)

Anna's Birth Story

Just to warn you, this is a long, detailed story about a very short labor.  I've put in all the details that I can remember for Anna's birthday because I don't want to forget a thing.  I'm so thankful for every single detail in this story and I know that even if no one ever reads it, I'll always be glad I recorded the events from that day.  And if a detailed birth story (with photos) is not your thing, you may want to skip this post because HERE IT GOES...

 Anna's Birth Story 1/27/2012

Anna Hazel Packard--January 27, 2012

Thursday night (January 26th), my mom and sister Karen arrived at our house to stay with us for the weekend.  The hope was that I would go into labor while they were here and available to watch the boys for us to go to the hospital.  All day Thursday, I had irregular contractions that were on average about 10 minutes apart.  When I walked around, I had strange pains in the tops of my legs that made it hard to walk.  I wasn't in pain or terribly uncomfortable, but I felt like I was heading into labor (which is I guess what you should feel like at 39.5 weeks pregnant).  I went to sleep thinking that I would wake up needing to head to the hospital, but instead had a really solid night of sleep.  I woke up disappointed that I wasn't in labor.  Pack asked if he should go to work or not and I told him to go, but try to stay close by in case I needed him.  I figured if (by chance) I went into labor while he was gone, there would still be two adults at the house (one to take me to the hospital and one to watch the children).  After the false alarm from the night before, I expected a pretty uneventful day.

I was wrong.

We had a pretty normal morning.  Mom made breakfast for the kids, Karen, and I, and we sat around playing with the boys and taking care of Carmon who we were planning to take to a nearby Urgent Care for some respiratory issues she had started having the day before.  Instead of sending her alone, I decided to go with the two of them and see if Karen would drive me by my doctor's office to get checked out before the weekend.  I thought Pack might be less stressed over the weekend if he knew my contractions were just false labor ( like i thought they were, haha) and weren't helping me progress.  I was still having very irregular contractions, but instead of averaging 10 minutes, they were averaging about 7 minutes.  When I called the doctor's office, they said they could see me at about 12:15 to get checked out.

I told my doctor that I was "labor stupid."  Since I was induced twice before and never really felt any pre-labor contractions, I felt like I was a first-time mom.  I didn't think I was in labor, but I knew something was going on.  When he checked me, he said I was about 4 cm dilated, completely effaced, and the baby's head was "way down."  He wanted me to go right over to the hospital to get started on the antibiotic and discuss breaking my water to get things moving.  I didn't especially want my water broken artificially, but I did want to get the antibiotic in time for the baby to be born and I figured that my only two choices to start labor would be if my water was broken or if I started pitocin (which I definitely did not).

I got to the hospital at about 12:45 and was getting settled in a room by 1:00.  The nurses tried to quickly start the antibiotic.  The first IV attempt blew my vein.  On the second attempt, they tried to be nice and use a smaller needle (even though I didn't complain), but the catheter was too small and it wouldn't reach the spot they needed.  On the third time, they finally got it, but by then I felt like a pin cushion.  Once the catheter was in, they started me on the penicillin and I waited on Pack to make it to the hospital.

By 2:15, Pack arrived at the hospital.  He was shopping at a Food Lion across town that was closing when I called (pretty far away...go figure) and had to leave there to go home and get our bags before he came to the hospital since I didn't bring anything with me.  I was so happy to finally see his truck pull up in the parking lot.  Him being there brought me instant comfort.

My Favorite Coach!

At 3:15, the doctor came by and we decided to go ahead and break my water since the antibiotic had been started.  I was 5 cm when he checked me and he told me that I could walk around as much as I wanted.  I decided to wait until the antibiotic had been administered completely before I tried to get up so I didn't have to drag around the machine.  When he broke my water, I immediately noticed more pressure on my bottom.  The contractions weren't painful at all, but feeling the baby so low during the peak of the contractions was definitely uncomfortable.

Sometime between when my water was broken and 4:00, I noticed that I was having to breathe through the contractions.  I never studied "lamaze" or "Bradley" or anything really official, but a prenatal relaxation mp3 that I listened to regularly helped me to practice a simple breathing technique that seemed to really suit me.  I would inhale for a count of three through my nose and exhale for a count of six through my mouth.  I also tried to listen to music through the contractions so voices and other noises didn't distract me.  The first song I heard when I started listening to Pandora was "What'll She Look Like," by Stephen Speaks.  I thought it was amazingly appropriate.

Breathing and Music

The nurse told me that my doctor decided to leave for the day as long as I felt comfortable with the doctor on call (whom I had never met, but totally didn't care who delivered me).  She came by to meet me and mentioned that since my water had just been broken, she wouldn't check me, but would come around again after five and would check me if I wanted (which I did...I want to know my progress).  I figured we'd call my mom to come to the hospital when I was checked then so she wouldn't be sitting around for too long, but Pack told mom to come on anyway and she arrived at 4:35.

Mom didn't have to wait around as long as we thought:)

 I was still feeling pretty good when I wasn't having contractions, but found myself slipping away into music and breathing when the contractions would wave over me.

At 5:15, Dr. Davis said I could be disconnected from the IV if I wanted so I could move around easier.  I didn't really feel like getting out of the bed, but she checked me and I was 7 cm and said that if I walked around, it would help move things along.  I felt instantly better when I stood up...

for about 10 minutes...

I was talking to my dad on the phone when I started feeling really "different."  I handed the phone to my mom and looked at Pack and said, "Don't give me the phone again!"  I'm assuming this is the mind altering state known as "transition."  I went to the bathroom again and thought I felt like staying there for the rest of my pregnancy, but knew I didn't want to have my baby in the toilet.  When I finally came out, I typed in my notes, "Need to push?"  Five minutes later, I updated with "Yes!!!"  I had Pack and the nurse help me back in the bed and I asked when I would be checked again because I KNEW something had changed.  I thought my back was going to break in half and I couldn't stand up any longer. Pack got our camcorder out, sat it on the windowsill in view of the side of the bed and started recording from there.  (Maybe one day, I'll post the video...you can see how fast things happened from that point on for yourself!)

The urge to push was really intense and the contractions were coming with no break in between at this point.  My eyes were closed and concentrating so hard on keeping my breathing rhythmic and slow.  I kept arching my back to keep from pushing because I didn't want to start pushing too early, but I could tell my body was starting to push regardless.

At 5:30, Dr. Davis came in the room and started gowning up.  Shortly after, I was ready to push and it was such a relief!  The contractions gave me a break in between (just as they are supposed to) and I only ended up with a small tear.  I'm not sure how many contractions I pushed though, but Anna was born at 5:41.

Dr. Davis (who also has 3 children...2 older boys and her youngest, a girl...named Anna!)

My first baby born without the help of any medication and it was SO WORTH IT!  exactly the birth I wanted! As a matter of fact, my only regret was that it didn't last a little longer! I have been fortunate to have short, easy labors with all of my babies, but I was so thankful to be able to really experience this birth.

Holding my girl for the first time!

 Anna was 7 pounds, 10 ounces at birth, 20 inches long, and scored two 9's on the APGAR scale.  She came out squalling and was put right on my chest where she rested as her Daddy cut the cord for the first time (I was shocked!).

Daddy's first time cutting a cord:)

 As soon as I was able to get in a comfortable position, I started nursing her and she picked it right up.  I joked with Pack and asked him if he thought she had done that before with someone else!

First feeding.

At some point, I checked to make sure she was actually a girl.  She was...the prettiest little girl I had ever seen!  Little Anna came into the world quickly and easily and worked here way into our hearts exactly the same way.

I have a daughter!!!

Last Year's Resolution...Year in Review!

I was feeling pretty ambitious last January.  I guess being in a new place gave me a bit of motivation to make some changes to my lifestyle and create some new habits.  I think I did okay considering all the outcomes of this past year, so I'm going to summarize what worked and what didn't for me last year.

1.  Start quilting.  Well, I didn't start quilting, but I did make a baby blanket.  You see, I didn't realize that measuring (my mortal enemy) was so important to quilting and as it turns out...I'm lazy.  I'm still planning on working on this, but I'm happy that I still ended the year with at least one blanket sewing project.

2.  Start a vegetable garden.  This is another one that I cheated on...kind of.  A friend gave me some patio tomatoes that I planted in pots and we were actually able to harvest a few that the squirrels and dogs didn't get to first.  I'm glad I started small.  It was a good trial run and maybe this year, we can actually build a garden of sorts.

3.  Read a Proverbs a day.  I did this off and on throughout the year.  I learned something new every time I read the same thing over and especially loved a study I didn't on the Proverbs 31 Woman by Nancy Leigh Demoss.  Although I faltered quite a bit on this resolution, I feel like I reaped the most benefits from this one alone!

4.  Eat out no more than once a week.  We did better on this last year than we thought we would.  Especially during my whole "first trimester funk" where I couldn't cook, go in a grocery store, or open my fridge.  We definitely ate out more than once a week a lot of times, but we kept pretty close to this goal.

5.  Get rid of most of my clothes.  Weeelllll....if you count putting all of my clothes in the attic and replacing them with a closet full of maternity clothes, then I did this perfectly!  I did manage to get rid of a lot though and now pretty much only have dresses and coats/sweaters in the closet and the rest of my clothes in three drawers.  Not bad considering that maternity clothes just take up more space than regular ones!

6.  Join and become active in a small group at our new church.  We totally did this and it was awesome.  Our group decided to split up toward the end of the year though and we are now getting ready to join another one, so long as this baby doesn't decide to come on the day GroupLink is scheduled.  Either way, I can't wait to get back into a small group asap!

7.  Lose 10 pounds.  Or gain 20...hmmmm.  Blame this one on the baby too.

8.  Renovate our kitchen by the end of the year.  We didn't do this at all.  Remember how I said the hubs would veto some of these?  Well this was one.  We did, however, get new windows all over the house (which made a huge difference), and for under $2000 we were able to redecorate our bedroom (including upgrading to a king sized bed), create a nursery, and buy a new-to-us sectional sofa bed for our living room (aka guest room)!  Gotta love Craigslist!

9.  Teach the boys how to serve others.  I guess this is one where I definitely feel through.  We did SOME things, but definitely not something organized once a month like I had hoped.  I'm keeping this one on the forefront this year and hopefully will do better.  I do have to say that despite my slackness, my boys have the kindest, sweetest little hearts I could hope for them to have and for that, I am so thankful and proud!

10.  When I think something nice (specifially about my husband), I want to make it a habit to say it, share it, or write it down for him to see.  I guess Pack could tell you how I improved on this one.  I will say that he's still the most awesome, fun, and loving husband in the WHOLE WORLD and I still find it hard to believe that he somehow wanted to end up with me.  I'm such a lucky girl and when I see his traits in our boys, I couldn't be more proud!

11.  Make less waste.  Okay, this one, I feel good about.  I think the only disposable product that we're still really attached to is toilet paper (and we're not giving that one up any time soon).  I only bought throw-away plates, cups, and napkins for birthday celebrations this year and we don't even think about paper towels anymore.  There were also a few other throw-away products that I switched over to this year and not one of my choices as created more work for me.  Awesome!

Bonus:  Pack's new year's resolution last year was to not buy any sliced bread from the store for our home (which of course, was one more resolution for me).  I got a bread machine last Christmas and I guess he wanted to make sure we got good at using it.  I'm proud to say that for the entire year of 2011, we did not buy one loaf of regular sliced bread for sandwiches and such.  We did however, occasionally buy things like  hotdog buns and tortillas since I don't know how to make those (and didn't feel like trying to learn), but overall...SUCCESS!

The Longest Month

I knew I would feel this way.  January is tough enough in general.  The end of the year always flies by because of the holidays and all the festivities and then things tend to turn to sludge in January.  Last year, my January was pretty busy because of all the New Year's Resolutions I made.  This year...my only resolution is to end the month with a healthy baby.  That makes this the longest month ever.

The waiting game.

 I'm 37 (and a half) weeks and I'd be thrilled if Little Bean decided to make her appearance any time now.  I realize this is just wishful thinking.  Even with two previous inductions and being dilated 3-4 cm for weeks prior, I never had a baby before 39 weeks.  But seriously...I have done everything I know to get this ball rolling and apparently Anna is not quite ready to come out yet.  After my "progress" has been the same for the past two weeks, my doctor jokingly said that I must make a really cozy home for my babies in there.  I like to think he's right.  She definitely seems pretty happy in there.  Honestly though, I realize there's still some cooking to be done and I'm okay to wait through these last few weeks...even if that means Anna has a...cringe...February birthday.  And it's not like I just am sitting around with nothing to do.  There is cleaning to be done and stuff to be organized because OBVIOUSLY, we cannot bring a baby home to a messy kitchen floor. 

On the bright side....my house has never been cleaner.  We've gotten a new sofa and we've done away with the "play area" in the living room (which we fondly remember as the "disaster area") and it is amazing  how much easier it is to keep an open space neater.  Not to mention how much Penn and Jude love having a more open space to run and dance around in.  We do a lot of dancing in this house.

New Sectional with built-in-bed!

As an aside about my doctor...he's wonderful.  I had wished for a while that I had switched to a midwife in order to have a better chance at a natural childbirth, but I am really happy I didn't leave where I am.  My doctor is wonderful and is everything I could possibly want in a midwife.  I was pretty concerned about having to be induced due to my GBS colonization, but he completely put my mind at ease.  He asked me what my feelings were on inductions in general and I told him that although I had been through two previously, I wanted to avoid another one.  He simply said, "Well, that's all we really need to discuss about it then.  There's no reason at this point we would even consider that and if you don't want to do it, then I don't want you to either."  Wow...there are wonderful OBGYN's out there, and I'm glad that I'm seeing one. 

I guess that's about all I can force my mind to think about right now...it's looking and feeling a lot like nap time, so I guess I'll see what I can do about that;)

Celebrating 9 months...with pictures!

Thanks to a special new friend who planted the seed about taking these pictures for me.  Although I was hesitant, nervous, and overall not the best subject to photograph, she left me with a handful of pictures that I will always treasure because they remind me what a miraculous and special gift a new baby is.  I can't stop looking at these...that belly is WILD!

Our Bargain Baby!

As I've mentioned before, this pregnancy was a surprise more than either of my other pregnancies.  Although we wanted another baby, our "plan" was to wait until next year (2012) to really make an effort.  One of my concerns early on in this pregnancy was how we would afford to get "baby things" during the most expensive time of the year (I've never had a winter baby before).  We set a limit of $500 to buy everything for the baby, including a crib, dresser, and carseat, but I had my doubts knowing how expensive these things can be and also knowing that we would need to buy more than just these three things (like clothes and diapers).  Even though this was our third child, almost all of our "required" baby gear was still being used by Penn and Jude, had been sold, or given away.  We were starting pretty much from scratch and I was stressed about it.

One day, I realized that all the things this baby would "need," were things we already had (mommy's milk, a safe home, and a loving family).  Everything else would just be considered extra.  I prayed for God to provide us with some of these "extras" and He absolutely did!  Every time I look at Anna's completed room, I am so thankful for the way God  has shown his love for us.  Sometimes, I think we feel guilty for asking God for things we consider to be "frivolous," but we forget that He is the "God of all Comfort," and "The God who Provides!"  As I said in this post, God cares about the little things too...the extras.

In this post, I would like to share with you some of the things that He provided us with, once we let him do his thing... (Side note:  Isn't it amazing how smoothly things go when we stop trying to control everything???)

Changing Table-$30
Pack bought this from a State Sale while he was traveling with work.

Crib and Mattress-$150
IKEA...we couldn't find a used one in good shape for this price!

Dresser-$20
Happened upon this at a yard sale and repainted it.

Rocking Chair-Free!
My Mother's Day present two years ago that I FINALLY repainted and found a home for:)

The rest of the pictures are things we bought from Craigslist...our favorite resource!

Moses Basket-$30

Carseat (new with tags and no recalls)-$35

Cloth diapers (over 80)-$220

The total amount we spent to furnish the nursery was $485 (under budget!!!) AND  we have the added bonus of not needing to add disposable diapers to our shopping list when Anna arrives!  Cloth diapers are a little more work, but every time I wash these diapers, I'll be thinking of how much money we're saving by not having to buy disposables.  $220 is a great price for diapers for one child that will last from birth until potty training!  I've also had a shower given by family where I got a bunch of cute clothes and accessories, bought some clothes on consignment, and received some way-cute hand-me-downs from Anna's cousin, Carmon!  We're set!

Good news/Not so good news...

I had my 32 week check-up this morning (although I'll be 33 weeks tomorrow...oh well) and everything went smoothly.  I'm feeling great, baby is growing and in position, and I got to hear that sweet heartbeat.  I was mostly excited about the fact (or the FLUKE) that I only gained 2 oz. in the past two weeks.  I'm sure the doctor didn't mean that I should leave his office and go to Dunkin Donuts to indulge in a creme-filled donut, a pumpkin muffin, and a sausage, egg, and cheese croissant, but he didn't specify, so I just assumed it was okay...  I'm pretty thrilled that I'll probably finish this pregnancy just a little lighter than my end weights with Penn or Jude.

That was the good news.

The not so good news (not really bad...just disappointing, I guess) was when I started asking questions about what being Group B Strep-positive would mean for my upcoming labor and delivery.  I had pretty quick labors with both of the boys (even with inductions, which is fairly unusual) and chances are that I'll have another quick one with this little girl.  The concerning part is that if I end up at 39 weeks being 4 cm dilated, but not going into labor, odds are I'll end up having another induction so they can make sure I have antibiotics in my system for delivery.  I REALLY, REALLY want to avoid an induction for a lot of reasons, but that being said, I want to make sure my baby gets the dose of antibiotics that she needs to protect her.  From researching, I know that the risk is small that there would be anything that would go wrong even if we didn't get it, but in this situation (even if it is a precaution more than a necessity), I feel that the risks outweigh the benefits of foregoing the antibiotics, so I will be getting them.  On a more positive note, my doctor informed me that generally, a fast labor puts women at lower risks for passing an infection on to their babies, so that actually works in my favor and will give me peace of mind if I actually DO go into labor on my own this time.

Basically, if I start dilating early (as I usually do), then at 37 weeks, all systems are go for plan "Baby Makes Five."  This pregnant lady is going to do a lot of walking, eating pineapple, getting foot rubs, and doing "anything else" (wink, wink) that safely and naturally induces labor;).  Please pray that the rest of this pregnancy is uneventful and that labor happens on it's own, as this something I really feel would be best for me and baby.  The middle of January can't come too soon for me!