Day 3

What a difference a day makes. Yesterday I felt so much better than Friday and today I have felt pretty good too. We decided to stay another night to take advantage of the nighttime nursery so we could sleep. We'll go home tomorrow morning - and we are so ready to see Noa and Ruthie! Can't wait to be back together again!

Here's a picture of the beautiful hospital gown that Linda made for me!

And here's a sweet little video of Lydia. Mostly for my mom. :) She is such a sweetie!

Lydia Kate Miller

Just a few pictures of our sweet girl. Everything went very well with the surgery yesterday and I felt at peace the whole time. I was afraid that I would be thinking about all the gory details as I was laying there, but that really wasn't the case, and the whole thing was rather fascinating to me. The comfort of the Lord is truly an amazing thing.

So, sometime around 8:20 a.m. (we're not totally sure) on January 28th, Lydia Kate Miller was born weighing 10 lbs., 15 ounces and 22 inches long. Big girl!! As soon as we both saw her, we thought she looked just like Noa's baby pictures, and she keeps reminding us of her the more we're around her. Such a sweet, precious gift from God.

So yes, we changed the name. Every time we tried to call her Kate, it just didn't seem right. Lydia has been in the running for some time, and this morning when we talked about it, it just seemed like the right thing. (Sorry to my wonderful mom, whose middle name was bumped at the last minute, but since we seem to make girls, it could possibly be used for the next baby). So, that's the deal. Lydia Kate. Enjoy the pictures of our new sweetie!!

I think Noa was a bit star-struck, I think. :) It was so sweet. She loved holding her!

The New Latest

Not much has changed since the old latest. Just thought I would update incase anyone is dying to know if she's here or something. Nope. In fact, not much is going on. I feel pretty much the same as I usually do (not what you want when you're hoping to go into labor), but of course, there aren't really any great indicators as to when someone will go into labor anyway. 38.5 weeks is still a tad early, so I'm not surprised.

Had a doctor's appointment yesterday (today I don't have one - yippee!! - free day!!) and unfortunately the baby fell asleep while they were trying to monitor their heart - so I had to be on the fetal monitor for about an hour and a half. That's a long time for a big pregnant woman to be sitting in the same position! Not to mention, they really had the heat cranked in that room and I was sweating when Dr. Frampton came in! I mean, really sweating! But, the baby finally did her stuff and I talked to him for about 5 minutes and then we were done.

It kind of makes me laugh that if we end up having the baby on Friday via c-section, I really have no idea what to expect. I remember working at the Orthodontist and letting each patient know what was coming - every single little tiny step - and that was just getting braces on! They're about to slice and dice and I have no idea when I'm even supposed to show up at the hospital! So, yesterday, I asked Dr. Frampton if there was any paperwork that their office handed out explaining the process or giving me any information I need to know. "Not really," he said. He sat down and talked to me for a few minutes about it, but I need the paper! I need to look on a sheet of paper and check off boxes, and make sure I know what's coming! Anyway, just the pre-baby jitters, I guess. And, I guess if I went into labor on my own, I wouldn't know exactly what was coming anyway... :) But still!

In other news, Ruthie has managed to finally say (with consistency) her first word. She's mumbled around with "Mamamamama" before, but never with a ton of recognition, so I won't let that count. Here is her ridiculous first word:

MINNIE!!!!!

The girls love Minnie, but I'm not actually sure where they saw her in the first place. Anyway, Babers latched right on, so now I suppose we'll have to cart them all down to Disney World some day soon. But she has also started saying Mama, cracker, Noa (wa wa), nose, Nana, doggie... I think that's it. I think I might be the only one who can decipher some of them though... but, she's really trying! It is so cute! I'll have to get a video of it soon and post it.

Well... with that, I'm signing off. I don't have the girls this morning so I'm going to pack all of our hospital bags, which I'm excited about. I hate packing, but this will make me feel one step closer... Ah, what a week it will be!

The Latest

Well, baby girl is getting huge, although I'm pretty proud that at the last 3 appointments, my weight has stayed the same... so hopefully we're leveling off a little bit.

As usual, we've had several appointments in the last few weeks and thankfully Russ has been able to go with me to talk about the delivery options. As I said before, he's just way better at that than I am. He's able to let them know our desires and also listen to their concerns, and I just getting nervous and crying... so, I was glad he was there.

In talking quite extensively to 2 of our 3 doctors, we decided to go until 39 weeks (which is when both of the other girls were born - not that that makes any difference other than the fact that they were very big even a week early), which is next Friday, the 28th. If I go into labor before then, I'm pretty sure we're going to try to just have a normal delivery. If we hit next Friday, we will delivery by c-section at 8 a.m. At first I was kind of bummed about the whole thing, but really we've been placing this in the Lord's hands, and feel that this is the right decision. I don't feel bullied by my doctors at all and I actually feel like this was our decision. There's a whole lot more to the story, but it would be a really boring post, I think. So, for now, I am happy that at the very most I only have one week to go. Hopefully sooner, but we'll see what happens!

We would still love your prayer concerning the timing of everything, and also the size of the baby. Next week I have an appointment 4 out of 5 days, which can be rather taxing to go to, but also to find babysitting, etc. for. So, please pray that the final stretch goes well. We are excited to meet our sweet girl!

Picture Time!

Just a few random pictures of the girls...

Ahh... we have such sweet and beautiful girls!

But they are totally weird too! (Those are Mr. Potato Head's glasses that he never gets to wear anymore).

Noa's new favorite thing to do is stack the toilet paper. She asked to take a picture with it.

It makes me laugh that she always gets so serious when she wants you to take a picture of her. Here she is in her little fire truck fort.

Babers just looked soooo cute today at church that Daddy had to take a few pics of her.

37 Weeks

Well, in about a day. I feel like this is the slowest pregnancy ever on record. Ever. It is 4 a.m. and I've been up for about an hour and a half. The baby is so far up in my ribs, I keep getting the feeling that I can't breathe, so needless-to-say, it is a little hard to sleep.

Anyway, thought it might be a good time to ask for prayer. With every pregnancy we have tried to avoid a C-section, which we have miraculously, and successfully done the last 2 times. The doctors like to remind me that had they known how big Noa & Ruthie were, they would've been much more aggressive with pushing for a C-section. I'm glad they didn't because each birth was wonderful, safe, and actually very easy. I had no problem pushing Noa (9 lbs., 7 oz) out in 40 minutes and even less of a problem pushing Ruthie (10 lbs., 4 oz) in 20 minutes. I seem to remember it being 3 big pushes. Anyway, even after talking with my doctor once again about my "proven pelvis," I feel rather discouraged after today's appointment. Let me bottom-line the details for you.

1. I am aware that I have big babies. I have no hopes of this one being 6 lbs. or anything. The only problem is that no one can tell, with any accuracy, how big. So, decisions based on size alone are incomplete. (Can't think of a better word right now, but you know what I'm saying).

2. The structure of babies born to a diabetic mom is different. Their trunk is larger and their bony structure is potentially wider, if that makes sense. The doctors get very concerned about shoulder dystocia, which means the baby gets stuck after the head comes out. They can usually use different maneuvers to get the baby out, sometimes having to pop the clavicle out of place. While this sounds rather horrific, in our discussions with the doctors, it doesn't seem as terrible as it sounds. What is frustrating to me is that it won't necessarily happen. Actually, it happens in normal size babies just as much, as far as I understand it. The unknowns of a potentially difficult delivery are what the doctors are trying to avoid. I understand that. Sort of. But if it is do-able, and if the majority of babies recover well after such an event, I don't mind going that route.

3. A C-section is a major abdominal surgery! They act like it isn't. This really bothers me. I have a 2 year old, a 1 year old and a brand new baby to think about! While I'm sure I would have a lot of help, it is hard to get my mind around electing for that type of major surgery when the recovery could be much more difficult and much longer. It seems that the doctors give me all the risks of delivering a large baby (over and over and over again), but when suggesting this route, they don't seem to mention the risks. Also, the American College of Obstetrics and Gyn (whatever it is called - their own group) says that large babies are not a good reason to elect for a c-section and that the outcome is no more favorable (and potentially worse) than a vaginal delivery. I don't ever hear about this in my appointments.

My mind is getting a little foggy. I need to go back to bed. BUT... to let you know what is happening in the next 2 weeks:

1. I will most likely go to MUSC for some type of ultrasound, where they try to measure (once again, with a great deal of inaccuracy) the bony structure of this baby. I didn't have to do this with the previous two, which makes me think it is more ammunition for the doctors to say a c-section is necessary. Anyway, maybe I'll get some good pictures out of it... who knows. I think it is a rather worthless thing to do since we already know this is a big baby. That is not in question. What is in question is how we will handle the delivery of a big baby. I'm not sure this ultrasound will help with that...

2. They will not do anything (induce, etc.) before 39 weeks because the baby would be pre-mature. I appreciate this. With the last 2 pregnancies, my water broke (with no contractions following) at 39 weeks, so my body was ready when they induced (because I wasn't having contractions on my own).

What you can pray for:

- I have 2 OB appointments each week until the baby comes. These can be awkward and confrontational. Currently we feel peace about aiming for a vaginal delivery, even with a big baby. This can be a point of contention as my doctors really want to schedule a C-section. Russ usually isn't there and I'm terrible at difficult conversations like this! Pray for strength and clarity as I/we have these difficult conversations.

- I am hoping and praying for spontaneous labor to start on or before 39 weeks. I would hope to then just have a regular, vaginal delivery -- no interventions needed.

- Pray that the shoulders would not get stuck.

- Pray that if we have to have a c-section, that somehow we would know that it is necessary and we would feel peace about it. I just can't get my mind around having that type of surgery if it weren't necessary.

I'm sure there's more, but it is time to go back to bed. I know that when these types of prayer requests are not your own, they don't seem that urgent. Obviously, trying to navigate through this birth is very much on my mind, and I would appreciate your prayers. :) Above all though, we hope and pray for a healthy mom, healthy baby... we know that is more important than the type of birth. In the meantime though, we also love to let our dear Father know our desires and our requests.

Thanks!

2011

For me, I kind of feel like 2010 was the year of complaining and accomplishing nothing. I know that can't be entirely true because I obviously have given all my time to keeping 2 little girls alive and for the most part satisfied (that's gotta count for something, right?). But truthfully, I would like to aim a little higher in 2011. Hmmm. We're 3 days into it and I'm already not sure how it is going.

New Year's Eve was kind of off my radar because I spent all day and night throwing up. I guess I caught some 24-hour bug and just laid on the couch for what seemed like forever. With the other 2 pregnancies, I was never sick late into the pregnancy, but it sure wasn't fun having a terrible stomach ache and also being kicked from the inside constantly. Thankfully, Saturday I had a chance to recover a little bit and Sunday I was officially done leading worship and didn't have to be in extra early for that...

Then there were the fireworks. I've never been into them much, but having small kids that stay up all night because they're scared of them is especially irritating. I about got my big pregnant butt in our mini van to drive around and give everyone a piece of my mind. Thankfully, I realized that it only happens twice a year (4th of July is another favorite) and we all went to sleep around 4 a.m. Yes, it was that bad. Yikes.

Sunday after church the girls suddenly came down with a terrible cough and pink eye in both eyes. It came out of nowhere! We spent yesterday afternoon at the hospital in the after hours clinic (not the speediest place around) and once again, everyone finally fell asleep around 1 a.m.... Kids are just crazy when they're sick. Everything from getting the eye drops in their eyes to their continual waking (because of coughing) pushed us right over the edge. I was about to check myself into a mental facility. Sometimes I wonder how single moms do it. I am so thankful for Russ who has been a constant help and source of encouragement during these last few months (yes, months) of sickness in our house.

This morning, after another terrible night of sleep and pink-eye goop and snot everywhere, I decided the only thing that would help was a donut. I really love donuts. So, we all got in the car and went to Dunkin Donuts, which I think I've only been to one other time. The girls were covered in chocolate, I was covered in smiles, and skinny Russ abstained. I don't get it. Anyway, here's a picture of Noa. She wanted to take a picture by the "D's" since she's learning her letters. She was really mesmerized by them. Does she look awful or what?!?! But somehow still sweet... Ruthie looks almost as bad, but didn't care about the "D's" so we have no picture of her.

So... I'm wondering what the Lord is drilling into us. Most likely more dependence on Him, more joy in our circumstances, and hearts full of thanksgiving for how He has blessed us. So many days go by (maybe all of 2010) when my heart is not focused on these things at all. Self abounds. We are a work in progress...

I'm learning that His grace is sufficient for each season though. And I already know 2 great things about 2011!!! #1 - In about 3-4 weeks I will be holding a new and sweet little member of our family! and #2 - In about 3-4 weeks I will no longer be pregnant! It couldn't come too soon.