A Quick HELLO!

Goals. My goal is to fix the layout of my blog so that it doesn’t drive me nuts every time I view it on a computer! Some day, my friends. Some day.

Hiiiii btw! It’s me, Melanie. It’s been a while. The last time I checked in appears to be when I was 28 weeks pregnant. I had intentions of posting an announcement here but instead went the lazy route and posted on my Instagram page! I also shared the birth story on there but I am still wanting to type that one out so I can reference it in writing too whenever I’m feeling nostalgic.

One of my last pics while pregnant:

pregnancy 4

I am now a mama to three boys and a baby GIRL! Beautiful Ava joined our circus on July 31st, 2020. This was my longest pregnancy. She was born at 38 weeks and 4 days. She made her entrance fast and fierce just like her brothers. She was 6 lbs 15oz and 20 perfect inches. My experience at Willow Birth Center in Minneapolis (shout out!) was beyond amazing. I am so blessed to be able to say my fourth and final birth was everything I dreamt it would be.

Minutes before she was born:

Being surprised by the gender was the best decision. Not that meeting your baby for the very first time isn’t motivating enough when you’re in labor, but not knowing the gender just amplifies the anticipation and excitement! I was, and still am in disbelief that I have a girl. History repeats itself…I am the youngest of four children in my family. I have three older brothers. Now I have a fun fact to share when someone asks!

Adapting to a life with four littles has been a little nuts. Blake is freshly two and definitely acts like it. He adores his baby sis as do all of the boys, but he doesn’t quite understand that he is much bigger than her and that she is so fragile. I have to keep my eye on him more so than I ever did with the boys. But man is he cute.

The boys are all adjusting well to having Ava in the house. When they are away from me and her they tell me that they missed me, but that they missed her the most. Thanks guys. I love that love though so I am okay with it.

We are in the final days before moving into our new home. We are so gracious to my in-laws for letting us stay here, but it’s getting pretty cramped especially now that Bode is distance learning three days a week and Dana home-offices. Ava’s naps have been tricky because there’s a lot of tiny humans interrupting her slumber, so I’m hoping we can get her into a better routine once we move in to the new digs.

Cliff’s notes today but man it feels good to check in. I hope you are all well!

 

xoxoxo

Continue Reading A Quick HELLO!

A Beautiful Surprise!

Not long after I wrote the last post announcing my pregnancy, we had a big surprise!

Benjamin Thomas was born on September 24th, 2016 at 11:41 am. He decided 36 weeks was a long enough wait and he just had to come meet us! His birth weight was 6#1oz and he 19 1/4 inches long.

He is a sweet and healthy rock star and has been from the start.

Labor and delivery was just like with Bode’s in a sense: quick. I woke up with back pain from what I thought was just a bad sleep position but then started noticing contractions fairly frequently. I was thinking these were Braxton Hicks contractions and began to time them out; about 10 minutes apart. I called the midwife and gave her the low-down. My options were to go into the hospital and have baby monitored for a couple of hours to see what was going on, or to first try to sit down and relax with a cup of water to see if the contractions and back pain would subside. Since I hadn’t had anything to eat that morning and had been on my feet since I woke up, I wanted to try to relax with a big cup of water first, and see if I was just dehydrated. As some time passed, the back pain was progressively getting worse and the brunt of it was coinciding with the contractions. Dana and I decided that it was time to go in to the hospital.

Backing it up a bit…

My plan was to deliver at a small birth center with two beautiful suites, and my hope was to try for a water birth again. Because I was potentially going in to labor at 36 weeks, which is considered premature, I was not going to be able to deliver at the birth center. The good news was, my midwives could still deliver the baby at two local hospitals. I chose one of the two (one that we hadn’t toured) and that was that. It wasn’t what I had planned but such is life.

Again with our “plan,” the plan was to pack for the birth center/hospital that particular weekend. As a couple who likes to be prepared, this whole surprise threw us off our rockers a bit!

Okay back to the story…

We tossed a suitcase together. We hustled and rounded up my neighbor and then my parents to take care of Bode so we could head to the hospital. The drive there wasn’t so bad. I made a couple of phone calls and had a snack since I hadn’t eaten breakfast.

When we got to the hospital, we spent a good 10-15 minutes just trying to figure out where to park and where their labor and delivery floor was. By the time we got there and got into triage, I was having contractions 3-4 minutes apart and I was 3-4 centimeters dilated. At that point, the nurse told me I wasn’t going anywhere. The flood gates opened and my emotions drowned me. I was ready, I wasn’t ready, is Bode going to be okay?, am I going to be a good mom to two kids?, am I mentally prepared?. It didn’t matter if I was ready or not, because this baby had an entrance to make! I pulled myself together and started getting into my “place” so that I could mentally prepare myself to get this baby into our arms.

After the midwife arrived, I walked myself to the labor and delivery room. Just as with Bode, Benjamin was in the “sunny-side-up” position which equals terrible back labor. And just like his brother, he turned himself just enough before making his way down the birth canal. To speed things up a bit with the story, I transitioned very quickly and had that baby about an hour and a half after arriving into that room. People were serious when they said the second time pushing baby out tends to be easier! The pushing part lasted all of about five minutes. Not complaining about that.

When baby was placed on my belly, I looked down and saw a head of thick dark hair! Dana got his mini me! All of his screenings came back perfect. We got to go home 48 hours later.

I am so blessed to have two beautiful and healthy boys. Bode is adjusting and we are beginning to notice some behavioral changes with him. I know this is all normal and we are all learning how to be a family of four.

That is the birth story in a nutshell! Life is so good.

And just for fun, a couple of my last pregnancy pics:

Continue Reading A Beautiful Surprise!