Brother and Sister Meet Each Other

Filed Under Big Sister, Birth- Taylor, Newborn- Taylor, Siblings, Two and a half years old | Leave a Comment

After Taylor was born, I was able to get up and walk around within about a half an hour. Not having an epidural was REALLY nice as far as recovery. I was on an IV with fluids basically in case they needed to give me something suddenly. After the delivery I was on Pitocin by IV. I had no idea they did that as a standard practice. Apparently it’s to cause contractions and shrink the uterus back down. I was surprised to hear that they were giving it to me though! Anyway as soon as the IV was out I was up and around, and ordered breakfast, and then they moved us to our regular room.

My parents brought Bailey up to visit soon after we moved to our room. My mom said she was SO excited to meet Baby Taylor. I had been looking forward to this moment for a long time and also stressing out about it. I was afraid it would set them up for sibling love, or hate, or something. It seemed like such a BIG moment. But it was just normal. It was my two kids, just checking each other out. Bailey was excited and wanted to touch his eyes, nose, ears etc. She said, “Hi Baby Taylor Owe-lin, I’m your big sister!” It was so sweet.

She also thought my hospital bed was pretty great and wanted to climb around on it. After crashing against my stomach several times she was removed from the bed.

Disney On Ice Giveaway

Filed Under Giveaways | 1 Comment

My friend Amy is giving away tickets to Disney on Ice in St. Louis. The winner gets a 4-pack of tickets to opening night on March 10th at 7:30PM. The winner will be able to pick up their tickets (with a Picture ID) at the will call window the night of the show.Click here to enter!

Taylor’s Birth Story

Filed Under Are you kidding me?, Birth- Taylor, Doctor Stuff, Newborn- Taylor, Second Pregnancy | 11 Comments

Now that he is a week old, I decided it was high time to write Taylor’s birth story before I forget the details. Things have been a little crazy at our house since he came home.

On Wednesday, February 17th my nesting mode kicked into high gear. I was on a mission to make sure EVERYTHING was finished. I took Bailey to her last cooking class, then went and did grocery shopping. During her nap, I baked brownies, wrote some thank you notes, and got a few packages ready to mail out (clothing etc I sold online). That night, I went to church with Bailey to work doing childcare for the Wednesday night events. I sat in a chair and relaxed and it was actually a pretty low-key evening. Bailey and I stopped by the church library to get a few new movies. I asked to have them for a month just in case I had the baby early, so I didn’t have to worry about returning them.

On the way home, I started having what felt like an achy lower back and period cramps. That had happened on and off for about a week but just a slight, dull ache. Once I got home I ate a bowl of cereal and took a warm bath and I felt much better. I woke up a few times during the night thinking my back was still achy but it wasn’t even worth taking Tylenol for. Around 5:45 a.m. I woke up having what I thought were mild contractions. Around 6:00 I woke Jonathon up and told him what was going on. At this point the pain was still just crampy.

I got up and washed the dishes that were in the sink and switched the laundry to the dryer. The contractions were consistently about 5-8 minutes apart but starting to be stronger. I called my mom to see if she could get ready in case we needed her to come over. She suggested that I call my doctor’s exchange and ask them what to do. The doctor on call said that since it was my second baby and I was already at least 3 cm I should go ahead and come in to L and D. My mom headed over and I got in the shower. Bailey woke up at some point during this and was excited about Grammy coming.

While I was in the shower my contractions got noticeably stronger. I got out and tried to put on makeup and get ready. About halfway through blow drying my hair they really started hurting and I gave up. I think the contractions were about 3-4 minutes apart. At this point I just told Jonathon we needed to leave. It was about 7:20. Once we got in the car everything went a little crazy. The pain really got bad but I was trying to decide whether or not we should drive through McDonalds and get some breakfast. (Obviously I was not really being rational at this point!) Then I decided to scrap that idea and hurry up and get to the hospital so I could get my epidural. The contractions started coming almost every minute after this and I was panicking a little bit. I was yelling at Jonathon to go around the traffic- of course it had to be morning rush hour- and at one point I thought I should get out and walk instead. He cut a few corners and we made it to the hospital. The last five or ten minutes I could feel a lot of pressure from the baby. I kept saying, “This is not okay. He’s going to come out.” I was panicking.

When we got to the hospital I jumped out of the car to go up to the maternity floor. I told him to park and meet me inside. The woman at the desk was all calm and slow and I was like, “MY BABY IS COMING OUT!” I think she thought I was exaggerating, then I about doubled over against the couch and she got on the phone to call a nurse. I was checked in at 7:55 a.m. and they took me straight back to a delivery room. When we got in the room I told them I needed to pee before getting into bed. When I sat down to pee my water broke but I don’t think I was even aware of it. I was fairly sure I was going to die from the pain. They put a gown on me and helped me into the bed. The house OB checked me and I was 8 cm at this point. I remember having either two or three really strong contractions where I freaked out. The nurse was yelling at me to look in her eyes and breathe with her.

I started asking where the anesthesiologist was. They said they had called her and she was on her way. I was saying, “I can’t do this, I swear I can’t, I need an epidural.” But it also felt like I was ready to push. They told me I had two options, I could either wait and lay still and get the epidural, or I could go ahead and push him out. The nurse said if it was her she would just push because it would help with the pain and it would be over sooner. I asked if it was okay since I was only at 8. They said that I was probably at 10 and they went to check me and they were like, “oh, he’s right there and he has hair!” I believe I pushed once for his head and either once or twice at the shoulders. I could feel him slide out. The actual pushing didn’t really hurt compared to the contractions so I was glad I just went ahead and did it. But that’s the story of how I gave birth without an epidural!

The house OB was the one who delivered Taylor. My OB walked in just a few minutes later. Apparently the anesthesiologist got there while I was pushing, too. They let me hold him right away and he was MAD. He was still really covered in white stuff from being a little early. They cut his cord (Jonathon didn’t care about doing it this time, he said it was kind of weird and not a big deal). She said I had torn a little bit but it was very minimal. I said that I did NOT want stitches after I had done all that without drugs. She said since it stopped bleeding with pressure that I could skip the stitches. Taylor’s APGAR scores were 8 at one minute and 9 at five minutes.

He was 7 pounds exactly, and 19 inches long. He arrived at 37 weeks 3 days.

Look at his proud daddy!

In love with my little man…

First family photo

Heading off to my room!

Taylor Owen is here!

Filed Under Birth- Taylor, Names | 10 Comments

So remember how I was just saying that Taylor was full term now? (Except that I didn’t tell you his name?) Well he decided to surprise everyone and come into the world on Thursday morning! After a super fast delivery with NO EPIDURAL, he was born at 8:20 a.m. He weighed 7 pounds and was 19 inches long. He did great right after delivery and then started having some breathing problems so he is still in the NICU at this point but he is getting better very quickly! I have been at the hospital with him so that I can be here for all his feedings and to snuggle him. It’s rough not having your baby with you right away but we are learning a lot about patience and God’s plans. He should be able to go home by Tuesday. Your prayers are appreciated, and I will post lots more updates and the whole birth story and his NICU story as I have the time and energy.

Of course I have to share a picture of my handsome little man!

Rough Week

Filed Under Are you kidding me?, Into Everything, Two and a half years old | 2 Comments

I know I mentioned this on Facebook (what, you aren’t all friends with me on Facebook??) but last week Bailey and I had a really rough week. I just really don’t have the energy to chase her down as much as I need to when she starts getting into stuff or running away from me. She has also been taking advantage of the time that I am in the shower or getting ready. I leave the door open so she can always come find me… but she knows I can’t see her!

So last week while I was getting ready- one day she colored on the couch with markers. Thank God they were washable. Daddy left them where she could reach them. She has NEVER colored on anything other than her own skin before so I was really shocked. She also got into some of my greeting cards that I made and messed those up. Then another day, she got down the Sweet Pea soap from the guest bathroom and “washed” the couch. And another day, she washed the tv stand! I was thankful that we have black faux wood tv stands and glass coffee tables and stuff like that instead of super expensive heavy wooden furniture. At least it wipes down easily. Then another day last week she tore apart a book and shoved little spit wads of paper up her nose. I got to pick all of them out later for her.

This is why I worry about having two children.

37 Week Checkup

Filed Under Baby Gear, Doctor Stuff, Second Pregnancy, Week by Week | 1 Comment

Today at my dr’s appointment, she said, “Congratulations! You have a full-term baby!” Thank you, God, for letting me carry this baby for 37 weeks. I am always convinced that I am going to have an early unexpected delivery for some reason. I am trying to enjoy these last few weeks with Baby Boy inside me. Even right now he is thumping. I think he has the hiccups. His heartbeat has been consistently around 140 at every checkup.

I am starting to really look forward to meeting him, to holding him and kissing his little face and rubbing his peach fuzz hair against my cheek. It’s going to be so soon. While I’m not completely ready, I’m ready enough. My heart is full of love and hope and nervous flutters. My bag is (finally) packed. His clothes are all washed and put away. The baby swing a friend so kindly loaned us is waiting in the living room. Grandma has been sleeping with her cell phone next to her at night in case she needs to come watch Bailey. Our fridge is empty, so I need to take care of that. Or else Jonathon can…. whatever… that is not a priority right now. My big priorities are relaxing, snuggling with my daughter as much as possible while she is still my only visible child, and trying to be nice to my husband.

And the good news? I am now at 3 centimeters- a welcome change from the HALF centimeter last week! Yay for progress!

More Valentine’s Day

Filed Under Playdates, St. Louis, Two and a half years old, Valentine's Day | Leave a Comment

We had a playdate the other day with my friends Amy and Casey and their girls. Bailey was excited to play with Kaitlynn and Addison. We met at a new bakery shop called Yummy and Co. They sell individual cupcakes, cookies, coffees and drinks. They also do custom cakes and stuff like that. They have a room in the back that can be rented out for birthday parties and showers (but it looks like it might be pricey to rent the room from what I’ve seen). When the room isn’t being rented though, you can sit back there and let the kids play. They have lots of toys, a kitchen set, chalkboard etc. It was enough to keep the girls busy for about an hour before they started arguing.

Definitely a cute spot I would go back to again to meet up with a friend for coffee and snacks. Although not too often- their cupcakes were SO good but I felt like I needed fat burner pills after stuffing myself that day!

Baby Boy’s Room

Filed Under Clothes, Home Sweet Home, Nursery, Second Pregnancy | 2 Comments

Decided it was high time to share some pictures of the baby’s room. It is almost all ready. Well, he could move in now and be fine… but I want to get another toy bin (for his books) and some letters to spell his name on his wall, and maybe a picture frame or something.

The view coming straight in the door… no I have no idea why there is an exercise ball in his room. It’s not there anymore. I want a picture or something for this wall though.

The crib side of the room. This wall is adjacent to Bailey’s room. His name will be above his bed once I remember to buy some letters and some paint for them. Might be doing that tomorrow since Jonathon’s off work. The baskets and stuff have been moved from under his bed, the boppy has been unpacked and covered with a new “boy” pattern cover…

And I just love this puppy bedding.

My mom warned me that I might want to cover the lower part of this wall hanging (or comforter, whatever) with plastic to protect it from pee in the beginning… His diapers and cream and everything are all ready to go. There are wipes in the warmer (okay not wipes, we had to use soft “cloth-like” paper towels in the beginning with Bailey because of her sensitive skin, even the sensitive wipes made her bleed so we are just doing the same for Baby Boy). Just need to add water and turn it on when he comes home!

And the beginning of his clothing stash. It took me a while but I have finally gotten into shopping for him. In fact I feel like I might need to go up to the mall later today and look at the President’s Day sale stuff at Gymboree. Uh oh.

2009 Taxes

Filed Under Random | Leave a Comment

Just have to announce that I have just filed my 2009 tax return. Stupid Turbotax (which has been a pain in my butt this year) just told me that it has been successfully transmitted. Thank God, one less thing on my to-do list! Plus we get a decent refund so I will look forward to that money dropping in my bank account in a week or two.

My husband used to laugh at me about how anal I am about our finances. I am always the one who balances our checkbook, pays bills, etc. I like to know that everything is under control though. I don’t want to be in need of a credit repair service five or ten years down the road! I love having great credit and we don’t “finance” things we can’t afford. We pay cash with the exception of cars and house so that probably makes things easier, too.

Sunshine Award

Filed Under Awards, Blogging | 2 Comments

I was given the “Sunshine Award” by Dawn at The Bent Bunch! She has two adorable kids, James and Natalie. Natalie is one tough little girl who just had another heart surgery and is doing amazing! Dawn manages to stay optimistic about life most of the time- and when she’s not being optimistic she’s still pretty darn funny! I enjoy reading her blog and I’m glad we’ve become “online friends.” Thanks!

So here are the rules of this cute award:
- Put the logo on your blog or within your post.
- Pass the award onto 12 bloggers.
- Link the nominees within your post.
- Let the nominees know they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
- Share the love and link to the person from whom you received this award.

Here is my list of blogs that make me smile

Baby Makes Three
Chasing Groundhogs
Happily Ever After
Life in the Soupbowl
Adventures in Adam Land
This Magic Life
Happiness Times Two

Okay so not exactly twelve but these are some that I look forward to reading when they have a new post in my feed reader. And now I have to run and get dinner started (just meatloaf and potatoes, nothing exciting, but the leftover meatloaf will freeze well for after baby and that’s my goal at this point!)

Love & War

Filed Under Books, Marriage, Sponsored, This Rocks | 2 Comments

I am about halfway through a new book called Love & War that is completely changing my mindset about marriage. I am usually hesitant to read “self-help” type books but I am familiar with John and Stasi Eldredge and knew that this would probably be a good one. And plus, I knew that I needed a better attitude about my relationship with Jonathon. (What, you thought we were perfect? ha ha) We do “fine” together but lately we just seem to be missing something. And it’s easy to get bogged down by life with a two year old, a baby on the way, a job, taking care of the house etc. But how do you get back to where you want to be?

This book has been great because the writers are both so honest. It’s a husband and wife team and they each share from their own perspective. First off, they admit that marriage is not going to be easy. Do you know what a relief it is to hear someone actually say that? It’s not just us. We’re not the only ones who struggle. I struggle to be nice to my husband on a daily basis, to appreciate him, to show him respect. With the way my hormones have been lately, I’m guessing that he struggles to not strangle me!

Love and War talks about how marriage won’t be better until we learn to seek fulfillment from God and not our spouse. It discusses dealing with hurts and insecurities, working as a team, learning about our differences… stuff I’ve heard before. But the way the message is conveyed is captivating and really got under my skin. It made me want a change, to want something better, to believe it’s possible. I honestly recommend this book for anyone who is married or about to be married. I think it will change the way you approach your relationship. If you want to borrow it when I’m finished, just let me know.

And I just wanted to share some of my favorite quotes from this book:

“God created marriage as a living, breathing portrait laid out before the eyes of the world so that they might see the story of the ages. A love story, set in the midst of desperate times. It is a story of redemption, a story of healing; it is a story of love. God give sus marriage to illustrate his heart toward us. It is the deepest and most mythic reality in the world–that love is true, that God pursues us. Our love is meant ot be a picture of both his love and his fight. The masculine and the feminine, the courage and sacrifice, and yes, the blood, sweat, and tears–these play out for us and for the world the story of truest Love and his Beloved. God is fighting for the hearts of his people. He is a valiant king and lover, who will set his people free.”

“So there you have it–we live in a great love story, set in the mindst of war. We need each other, desperately. We have been entrusted with the heart of another human being. Our loving will prove to the world that love is real. We will play out before watching eyes the Great Love Story of the ages.”

This was book was provided for review by WaterBrook Multnomah.

My Little Valentine

Filed Under Posing for Pictures, Two and a half years old, Valentine's Day, classes | 3 Comments

I know it’s not Valentine’s Day yet, but I wanted to share a few pictures anyway. These were taken the other day before Bailey’s cooking class at the Early Childhood Center. She has gotten really into posing for the camera– which is quite a refreshing change from the tears and facing-hiding of a few months ago!

And a few from class-

36 Week Checkup

Filed Under Doctor Stuff, Gender, Second Pregnancy, Symptoms, Two and a half years old | 5 Comments

Today I had my 36 week appointment at the OB’s office. So here is my official TMI warning. If you don’t want to hear about my cervix, stop reading.
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After a freakishly uncomfortable internal exam (really, I don’t remember it being that bad before!) she told me that I was only a HALF centimeter dilated. I almost cried… but then she told me that my cervix is thinned and soft and the baby’s head is against it. So- that means that he has officially dropped. No wonder I feel like I’m waddling lately. Bailey never actually “dropped” until I was in labor at the hospital with her. That also explains all the pinchy feelings I keep getting in that area!

I also got swabbed for Butt Strep, a.k.a. Group B Strep. So we’ll get those results next week. I’m assuming I don’t have it, I didn’t when I was pregnant before, but who knows. Who even knew your butt could GET strep? Gross…

Baby Boy’s heartbeat was in the low 140s as it has been at every checkup since about 12 weeks. So far he is holding true to the old wives tale about heart rate. I also got a new prescription written for my prenatals so I can start getting them filled at the grocery store where they are now free!

Bailey did surprisingly well during the checkup. She sat in the chair and looked at pictures in a magazine. And wiggled a lot, and told the doctor she was going to be a doctor when she grows up. And then she said, “Dr. _____, I have a question for you.” So the doctor tried to ask what her question was but all she would say was “It’s a question about Grammy.” Then she hopped up on the table after I was done, leaned back, opened her legs and said, “My turn for a checkup!”

Bailey and her friend Claire

Filed Under Friends, Home Sweet Home, Playdates, Two and a half years old | 1 Comment

Lately Bailey has really enjoyed playdates with her friend Claire. I think because Claire is getting old enough to start interacting with her and she sees her as more of a kid or friend now instead of “Baby Claire.” And of course Jonathon and I always enjoy getting to spend time with Claire’s parents, Sarah and Ryan!

Just wanted to share a few pictures I took last week when they came over. You know it’s a good friend when your kid can wear her jammies for a playdate…

The only thing that bugs me about having playdates here is our furniture. We ended up getting more of a modern furniture style and so the coffee tables and end tables had sharp metal/glass corners. They are all packed away downstairs and so there’s nowhere to set a drink etc in our living room now. But someday our kids will be grown and we will have real furniture and I will probably wish for the days when we had little kids…

New Interests

Filed Under Big Sister, Books, Learning, Milestones, Names, Second Pregnancy, Siblings, This Rocks, Two and a half years old | 2 Comments

I know I have mentioned how Bailey is really into dressing up lately- not so much the actual princess dresses, but the tutu, wand, shoes, tiara, wings etc. The other night while I was out, Jonathon went in to check on her and she had taken her socks off and put on a pair of high heeled princess shoes to go to sleep. I scolded him for not getting a picture!

She is also really into “big girl books” with real pages. She looks at board books sometimes but has to be in the right mood. Her current favorite books are anything princess (Especially Cinderella!), Wocket in my Pocket, Where the Wild Things Are (she calls it “Wild Fings ARE”), Sneetches, Dora Visits the Dentist, and Berenstein Bears Big Honey Hunt. She used to like the Little Mermaid but we were at a friends house one day and the movie was on. She saw the part where Ursula turns back into the Sea Witch at the end and now all she says is, “I don’t like the bad lady!” and she won’t have anything to do with it anymore. We have to be really careful what she watches and what parts of the books we “edit” when we read because she has such a big imagination!

Another thing she loves is her new colored pencils. She likes to draw with them. She doesn’t like coloring books much anymore- she would rather draw her own pictures and have us draw/color with her on blank paper. I guess that’s a good thing because it gets her to be more creative. She also likes to pretend to wrap presents for us. Anytime she can find a piece of tissue paper or scrap paper she starts folding it around a small object and then brings us the present to open.

She has just started learning the “grownup names” of people in our family. I think it’s good that she knows what our real names are, including last names, in case she ever needs to get help or talk to another adult for some reason. We are also going to start working on a phone number soon. She can say her full name and we are starting to learn how to spell it. She really likes knowing what adults’ names are, and she knows not to use their names but for some reason thinks it’s fun just to know.

She loves talking about her baby brother, and talking to him while he’s inside me. She always tells him, “Hi, Baby _____ ______. I’m your big sister! I love you and I will take care of you.” She puts stickers on my tummy for him, and talks about how she will hold toys for him to look at and read books to him when he is too little to hold the toys by himself. I love to see her excitement about him.