such a wonderful day!

I just had the most amazing birth experience ever! Chloe Marcella was born at 10:08 this morning, weighing 8 lbs, 15 oz and measuring 20.5 inches long. It was a lot of work but the most rewarding work I've ever done! :D

I will work on writing a "formal" birth story soon. :)

no sleep for me.

guess i was able to doze for a few min between contrax... but they are too intense when i'm laying down.

now find i vocalize my way thru.... and standing and leaning is the most tolerable position. just waiting for these bad boys to pick up in frequency.

btw, a shower feels great on my belly but actually laboring in a bath is kind of nasty.

ctx are about 2 min apart - may head to hospital soon? not sure....

attempting to sleep.

I'm going to see how this works out... contractions have been spaced about five minutes apart for the last five hours, lol. Varying in intensity but mostly mild, when you look at the big picture. I totally just took a shower and reapplied my makeup... and dried my bangs.

By the way, contractions aren't too bad in the shower... the water feels so good on my belly. I think I'm going to have Matt bring me my cool compress so I can keep that on my abdomen while I attempt to fall asleep.

Wish me luck!

contractions.

Yep, I've been having timeable contractions for the last two hours, woohoo! They are still 5-1/2 minutes apart so obviously I'm in early labor but that is better than nothin'!

Okay, that's it - I'm out. American Idol is coming on and I need to focus. On both labor and American Idol.

update: 41 weeks, 4 days

Because I told y'all I wouldn't leave y'all hangin'. I'm a woman of my word. Listen to that Southern slang.

I've been restricting myself to sitting on the yoga ball or the floor since yesterday... except for the few select times I forgot about my couch ban... like this morning. Only for a little bit. Gotsta keep the hips open so baby can stay low! I've been doing a little bouncy bounce, hip circles, etc.

I started feeling some mild contractions this morning around 6:30 or 7:00. Well, probably before that since I'm pretty sure I was having some in my sleep right before I woke up because I was dreaming about timing them on my phone. But when I say MILD... I mean mild. Don't get excited.

These babies are only lasting maybe 30 seconds, on average. In fact, let's check the stats (I've really been timing them on my phone's nifty little app). Average duration: 28 seconds. Average interval: 6 minutes, 52 seconds. So yeah. Nothing really to write home about... but I kind of am anyway. Just because it's exciting because I've never gotten to actually time contractions before, lol.

So... I just ate some Frosted Mini Wheats to keep me calm, full and focused... you can't be too prepared. I really need to paint my nails now so that I'm fully prepared for big events in my future. Even if that big event is forced to happen on Friday. But I should be doing plenty of walking today since my mom and I are going to go do a little shopping around G-Vegas.

I chuckled to myself this morning during my bubble bath when I remembered an emotional milestone being "loss of modesty" when you're far along in labor. Since I really don't have much modesty to begin with, that wouldn't be a good one to gauge my labor, bwahaha!

So I'll just describe these contractions for memory's sake. They're a little sharp on the lower half of my abdomen... right down by the waist of my pants. It starts out as a slowwwww build and gradually gets sharper and then subsides. The peak pretty much feels exactly how a strong period cramp feels. And these are pretty wimpy contractions so it's not too bad. Some are a little bit stronger than others.

And... I guess I better get crackin' on this whole nail-painting excursion. My mom is still asleep... I'm going to try to keep any semblance of labor signs a secret from her because I get the feeling that she will call every single person saved in her phone's address book if she even gets wind of the mere POSSIBILITY that I'm in labor.

update: 41 weeks, 3 days

Well, GREAT news! When my midwife went to strip my membranes today, she said the baby was definitely lower so if she wanted to break my water today, she could. Woohoo! That means I will not have to be induced with Pitocin, as long as baby stays low. So I'm only allowing myself to sit on a yoga ball or the floor to keep my hips open and allow baby to remain low.

That really lifted my spirits today. And my mom is in town now so I no longer have to stress about the possibility of having to head to the hospital at such an odd hour that it might be difficult to find a sitter for Noah.

The plan of action now is... wait... walk (aka shopping)... and I'm going in for a second round of membrane stripping Thursday morning if nothing happens before then. Acupuncture appointment is still on for Thursday afternoon. After that, it's in this baby's hands until Friday morning when its little home is going to be ruptured, lol.

Sorry, baby... but you just can't stay in there forever.

update: 41 weeks, 2 days

I'll start off by saying this little one almost had me going yesterday. I was feeling quite crampy and uncomfortable while (TMI alert) going to the bathroom. It was pretty much worse than a contraction because I was having contractions while, at the same time, (TMI alert still in effect) feeling like I had just gotten an enema. 'Nuff said.

So I had a checkup today (I MADE IT!) with my midwife and she checked my pieces. I also had an ultrasound and fluid levels are great; placenta looks good. I opted out of having my membranes stripped because I didn't want to risk forcing anything to happen tonight out of fear of having to find someone to watch Noah. I know it could still very well happen but anything to try to avoid it helps, lol.

But I am returning to the office tomorrow to get my membranes stripped (at which point, my mom will be in town so we will have a 24-hour sitter available). I'd also like to note the fact that baby is high... meaning an induction will NOT begin with my water being artificially broken (AROM) like it was last time. That's kind of a bummer... but I'm willing to try something different. That something different being put on Pitocin right away. :/ Oh, I should probably clarify that because the baby is still high, cord prolapse would be too great of a risk with an AROM right off the bat. So I'm hoping that if my uterus got a little taste of Pitocin, it would kick things into gear and I could be taken off to see how I progress naturally... if it comes down to that.

If nothing happens between tomorrow and Thursday, I'm going in AGAIN on Thursday morning for a second membrane stripping and then I have my acupuncture appointment in the afternoon. I mean... seriously. Give me somethin' here!

So... that is all I have for now. Oh, and the ultrasound showed that baby's definitely got some hair. And if/when my water does break, it is going to be quite the production. I'm kind of scared about going out in public after learning that little fun fact.

for your viewing pleasure.

I present to you my 40-week belly! Aaaand... a new haircut! I thought today was the day... because it was payday... to get my hair cut and eyebrows waxed before I don't have time to mess with it for a while.

I also did some damage at Babies R Us and Target. Let's start with BRU. I got some little newborn hats and onesies that I truly didn't need but this way the little guy or gal won't have to wear the hospital hat and they were buy one, get one 50% off. I also got some Medela HydroGel pads because I remember sending Matt out searching high and low for those bad boys in the early days of nursing and he couldn't find them anywhere! So now I have some. I also got a nursing cover. And some laundry detergent since I had a $5.00 off coupon. And then, of course, I had to browse through the clearance rack for Noah because all clearance items were buy one, get one free. I got him some new PJ's and a t-shirt. Oh, and let's not forget replacement pillows for the wipes warmer. That reminds me, I forgot to look for some new washcloths at Target but oh well. Lastly, I picked up some plates for Noah because he still has no toddler plates, lol. So I got a pack of those and a new style of sippy cup for him to try (all Gerber Graduates items were buy one, get one 50% off so... duh). I think that was all the damage I did at Babies R Us today. Luckily, I had that $5.00 coupon, 20% off one item (the nursing cover) and $40.00 in gift cards.

Now Target is where it gets dicey. So my intention is to only go in there for a closet shelf, two more storage totes in navy blue, some granny panties for my post-partum and/or laboring self (I don't do hospital gowns) and check out some sandals for Noah since the weather is getting too warm for closed shoes. Okay, wait... I did pretty good after all. I got all of the above plus a pajama t-shirt for myself that was on clearance for $4.00. I thought that would be a super cute & comfy top paired with a pair of the black hipster panties (Hanes, also purchased) to wear during labor. So one extra thing... not bad. I guess I did more harm at BRU. Oh and I also got a little Sterilite container to keep my bobby pins and hairties in.

I should also add pictures of the awesomeness that is now Noah's and #2's closet.



Check THAT out. Assembled at 40 weeks pregnant. I only messed up a small part but no one needs to know where that is. Have you ever seen so much storage? I don't even know what to do with it.

my crappy immune system.

It looks like I will be getting hit again with another cold this week. Ugh... I hope that's a sign that labor is nowhere near because my throat hurts and I'm all congested. I feel like ass. I cannot birth a baby in this condition!

Fast-forward to Monday... I didn't get to post all this stuff right away because for some reason our laptop will not let me post anymore! So now it's Monday.

I've got my 40 week checkup today but I will be seeing the nurse practitioner since my midwife is out for surgery. I'm hoping this baby can hang on until next week when she will hopefully be able to help me out in labor!

Today is my first "official" day of maternity leave. I was not able to sleep well at all last night so after I got Noah ready for daycare and ate breakfast, I went back to bed, lol. Then I went to the store to pick up a few things (namely, taco shells since I forgot about that important ingredient for tacos when I was grocery shopping on Saturday). I confirmed my chiro appointment this Friday and am trying to reach the hair salon to get a haircut on Wednesday but I can't seem to get through! >:( Anyway, I spent some quality time in the bedroom putting all my clothes away which is always a huge feat for me. I would still like to sort through the contents of my dresser and declutter my nightstand but that will have to wait. I need a break. I've got to leave for my appointment in about 20 minutes.

I totally forgot to divulge the results of my consignment sale excursion last week. My co-worker and I went to this huge sale that they put on twice a year here in town where anyone can consign any kind of baby items they no longer use. Side note: I am pretty excited that I now know where I can get rid of all of the baby items I'll no longer have a use for... and get some money for it! It's basically like a community garage sale that this person hosts inside an empty building but it's specifically for baby items. Anyway, we went and I made out with six shirts, a rashguard (that just happens to go perfectly with Noah's new swim trunks), two pairs of pants and three pairs of shorts for Noah... all for $33.00! A couple of the things were still brand new. I think the best deal I scored was a pair of Ralph Lauren khakis for $1.00. So that was pretty exciting. I can't wait to check that out again this fall. What an awesome idea.

I wanted to take a picture of Noah this morning but I completely forgot. He looked so adorable in his little argyle sweater vest since today is picture day at Childtime. I hope he smiles good! :D His last portraits didn't turn out so well. :/

And I still feel like butt. I can't breathe through my nose but at least my throat is a little better and my mucus is clear, lol.

and today is the day.

The magical day, also known as "estimated due date." The key word there being "estimated." I don't feel any different... I don't feel like anything special is about to happen. I started re-sorting through all of Noah's old clothes and putting them into boxes according to season. I left out all the seasonal newborn stuff that this little one may be able to wear. We just got back from our weekly grocery excursion and I also ran into Babies R Us to take advantage of their special offer today: If you buy two huge boxes of diapers, you get a free $20 gift card. I figured, this baby is going to need diapers so I might as well get a free $20 out of it! I like to start out using disposable diapers with newborns since they poop every 30 minutes but I'm certainly waiting on our tax refund with much anticipation so that I can increase our cloth diaper stock.

So anywho... hamburgers on the grill for dinner this evening - with mashed potatoes and corn. Yummy. This has been my fifth consecutive week cooking dinner every single night. Can you BELIEVE that? I can't. But I find that I enjoy getting home from work and cooking dinner every day. It's fun!

Speaking of work... work is no more (until June) for I am officially on maternity leave! That's pretty exciting. It's going to be weird not having to wake up & go to work Monday morning.

And so we wait.

yes, you will know.

It amazes me, some of the people who call and ask Matt if we have any "news." Really? Yes, we had the baby three days ago but decided not to tell anybody. I mean, seriously, do you remember how long I was pregnant last time? Just wondering. Am I in an ill mood? Possibly.

However, I would like to continue updates on this blog while I am laboring... just for memories' sake... because I'm sure I can come up with some pretty funny things to record. It's just a matter of how far I can get in labor while maintaining blog updates. That's the big question. Maybe Matt could take over for me at some point.

So if you're truly worried that we are going to keep the birth of this baby a big, bad secret, fear not. Everything will be right here. I promise.

st. patty's day.

Hey! It's my fantasy birth date! But I'm actually feeling a little tired today so I'm not so sure it's a good day to have a baby. Maybe this little one needs to wait until the 31st so that I can use next week to nest and REST. I make the mistake of blaming Noah for my tiredness but, in reality, I just wake up in the middle of the night and I can't seem to get back to sleep. I just feel like I'm laying there for hours. Noah wakes up once and it takes me 10 minutes to rock him back to sleep and he's done. I guess that's easy in the grand scheme of things.

Speaking of next week, I'm so glad I take my maternity leave before I have the baby because I can't tell you how annoying I can see it being if I walked into work every morning past my due date and heard, "You're still HERE?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!" Wow. But I'm also glad to have any opportunity "past due" to just rest up and prepare the house.

names, sprinkle, etc.

I was just checking up on my little name poll and here are the standings as of right this second:

Chloe Marcella is in the lead with a total of 56%. Isla Colette has 47%. Landon William is in the lead for the boys with 100% and Landon Phillip has 50%.

I pretty much agree with those standings. I might favor Chloe a little more than Isla and I think I favor L.W. over L.P., too.

So about this sprinkle thing... a "baby sprinkle," if you will. My co-workers surprised me with a bag full of baby goods last week! I thought that was super sweet of them. I got (or baby got, I should say) some burp cloths, onesies, pacifiers, lap pads, a Boppy cover and some dishwasher baskets. And also a gift card & some cashola. So now that I'm on the topic of baby necessities, I better make myself a list of all things BABY that I might need to purchase in the near future so I can keep my thoughts organized:

- Closet shelving unit (Target)
- Bookshelf (Target)
- Storage bins (Land of Nod)
- Nursing pads (almost forgot about those)
- Nursing cover (which I think I will be using my gift card on)
- Book organizer (Land of Nod)
- Crib sheets (Target)
- Crib (eventually)
- Feeding chair (eventually)
- Convertible car seat (eventually)
- Bottle labels (for daycare)
- Woven wrap carrier (not really something I NEED but we'll throw it in there)
- Cloth diapers (Kushies prefolds with Thirsties covers)
- Wet bag (another one for good measure)

Speaking of cloth diapers... to anyone who laughed at me when I was pregnant with Noah about using cloth diapers... who's laughing now?? I love cloth diapers!

- Washcloths for wipes (Circo & Carter's are the best)
- Disposable newborn-size diapers (because they poop so much)

new plan of action.

Okay, so I'm not seriously thinking that I can schedule my baby's arrival. That's one of the obvious things out of your control for which you sign up when you become pregnant. However, I find no harm in positive thinking. And I REALLY need some positive thinking this week! I found out this morning that my midwife needs to have some minor surgery done next Monday... two days after my estimated due date. She will be out for 1-2 weeks after that, meaning that if I go until labor during that window of time, I'm SOL for having her attend the birth. I guess I need to be thinking positively whatever the outcome is, but I would really like to believe that this baby loves me enough to either a.) arrive by Monday or b.) hold off until the 31st. Being that the 31st is dangerously close to an induction (but don't get me wrong, I will gladly take that chance if it means my midwife is there!), I hereby declare my new fantasy birth date to be this Thursday, March 17, at 1:00pm (and that has nothing to do with the fact that it's St. Patrick's Day)! But any time around there is good, too.

Just please, sweet little one, if you care at all about Momma's well-being (and your own), PLEASE come soon! I will give you whatever you want. ;)

So aside from all that, things are fine. I have been feeling contractions here and there... some stronger than others but nothing timeable. If you know anything about prostaglandins and where they are found at their best, you will know that Matt is going to be a very happy man this week. Sorry, TMI.

Fundal height: 39
Heart rate: 140's
Weight: Don't even go there.
Heart burn: As terrible as ever.
Pee: Too frequently.
Sleep: Almost nonexistant.
Sciatica: A pain in the (literally) rear.

ideal timing.

The BEST option would be to go into labor in the early morning (like 6:00 or 7:00am), have Matt take Noah to daycare as usual and then give birth in the afternoon (like 1:00pm). Then, Matt could spend the afternoon bonding with us for a few hours, go get Noah from daycare and bring him to the hospital to visit and then Matt could take Noah home and just stay there with him for the night and we wouldn't have to worry about finding overnight arrangements for Noah. Then, Matt and Noah could come back the next morning (or just Matt if it's a weekday) and then check out of the hospital. This must occur on a Tuesday, Thursday or Friday since that's when my midwife would be able to oversee the birth AND daycare would be open for Noah.

So let's look at our options: March 15, 17 or 18 (which are pretty unlikely considering my EDD is not even until the 19th)... OR... March 22, 24 or 25. Actually, the latter week would be optimal since I will already be on maternity leave.

OTHERWISE... if I can't start labor in the early morning like I would prefer, then it must hold off until the 29th when my mom gets here so she can watch Noah on the off-hours. If not the 29th, then the 30th is out because my midwife has to be in the office so we would have to hope for the 31st, which is just stepping on the toes of induction.... because that would happen on April 1st if I didn't go into labor on my own.

SO. With all that being said... giving birth at about 1:00pm on March 24 would be my favorite circumstance. My midwife will be there... daycare will have Noah... Matt can take the afternoon to bond as a family at the hospital, then go pick up Noah and bring him back to meet the new baby, then they could go home for the night. Then Noah could still go to daycare the following day for at least a couple of hours while we get checked out of the hospital and settled in at home. Then Matt can also be with me the following Monday to help out (and that would only end up being three days he has to take off from work) and my mom will be arriving on the 29th so then she will be there to help while Matt goes back to work! So if anyone wants to send me "March 24 at 1:00pm" vibes, that would be spectacular! :D

march christmas gifts: check.

For the little Nohster: An accessory to his wooden railway set that I bought for him in January!


















And for the little noobster: A pack of organic bodysuits from American Apparel. And its the last month that I won't know the sex of this child! Then I can start buying super cute girly things or more awesome boy things. :P

give me sugar or give me death.

I can't get enough sugar. I just want to eat the entire candy aisle in the grocery store... and some cookies and ice cream, too. I CRAVE it. Ugh. Please... I've gained enough weight already. But there is a mountain of chocolate in our office thanks to our "candy man" who brought enough leftover Valentine's Day stock to easily last us until he brings the leftover Easter stock (but at least I won't be here for that... although I'm sure there will still be some leftover by the time I come back).

I had my 38-week checkup this morning. Baby's heart rate was in the upper 130's. My fundal height was measuring 39cm and my midwife guesstimated the baby's weight to be around 7-1/2 lbs right now. The swelling in my feet really took off over the weekend, lol. It's pretty annoying when it gets so bad that I can feel it on the top of my foot... but right now, it's all good. Physically, I feel like I'm about to crumble or spontaneously explode. I never really understood why a lot of women complained about being pregnant toward the end. 40 weeks is 40 weeks, that's what you signed up for! So I'm still trying not to complain too much but I definitely understand why others do now, hahaha. It was not this bad with Noah! I don't know if it has to do with the fact that this is my second pregnancy or my pregnancies were relatively close together or what... but it is taking a toll on me now. But I only have a little time left so I can deal with it.

I've had my eye on these amazing nursing tops from Undercover Mama for a while now and Babysteals.com has them at 50% off today! I ordered two... and I hope the sizing works out okay. So I've got my two Bravado bras and two nursing tops on the way. Now I just need my boobs to work, haha. But seriously.

So last night I woke up at 1:00... 2:00... 3:00... 4:00...

I woke up to pee at 1:00, 2:00 and 3:00. Mostly because something disturbs me and I either a.) realize I really must go or b.) I better get up and go in case I need to go comfort Noah and I cannot rock him while having to pee... I tried it last week and it's torture. But at 4:00 I really did have to go rock him but since I just went pee at like 3:15 or something, I figured I'd be okay. So I did that... then realize he peed a LOT in his sleep last night... so much so that his diaper leaked. I had him all rocked to drowsiness and found this out. So I changed his diaper while he was laying in his crib, just hoping and praying that that wouldn't disturb him to the point of wakefulness (it didn't, thank goodness). Then I decided that Cinnamon Toast Crunch sounded really good. So I had some of that. Then I went to the bathroom again and finally went back to bed around 4:30.

names.

Our boy name has changed. Yes, that's right. Emery is no more. Our new pick? Landon. That's all we have agreed upon for now, at least! Matt decided that Emery was too similar to Emily and just wasn't a very strong name. I can see that. After all, it is a unisex name. I still love it but I wasn't completely attached to it (see, I do that for a good reason).

Now, thinking up a middle name for Landon has proven to be quite the challenge. Or I should say... thinking up a middle name for Landon that we both agree upon has proven to be quite the challenge. Matt is still set on a Biblical/Hebrew name and that's FINAL. I, on the other hand, think a family tie is more important. Choosing a name you don't love just because it's Biblical doesn't make too much sense to me but whatever... we'll let that slide, I suppose.

I did some research and discovered that we have two family names that can be associated with the Bible: Philip (OK) and August (meh). So I like Philip but don't completely love it...

Landon Philip Hales
Landon August Hales

I think I can force myself to like Landon Philip (not sure if we would spell it Philip or Phillip)... but Landon August is kind of a stretch.

Then I thought of Landon Forster (Forster is a surname from Matt's side of the family). It flows so NICELY.

Landon Forster Hales - But it's not BIBLICAL. I tried telling Matt that there must be a forest mentioned somewhere in the Bible and Forster means "forest" so... connection! But I don't think he's going to buy it.

oh, hell.

My due date is THIS MONTH!

I was telling Matt last night about how, even though I'm the one who's carrying this baby, I still don't think I'll be able to fully wrap my head around being a parent of two until the day is actually here when I'm holding the little one in my arms. YIKES.

Round two, here we come... Give me one more year of infancy and I think I'll be set for life... but I'm still happy with our decision to have two back-to-back. I would rather pay now and live later. ;) Although we might have one more. We'll see.

Anyway, my weekly checkup yesterday morning was GREAT! Why so great? Because I passed the final test... GBS negative. That means that I can labor at home and birth at the hospital. Phew! And that also means we can go home from the hospital the next day. I think now the thing I'm stressing about the most is burdening someone with having to babysit Noah overnight. We have gotten offers for help which we'll certainly take but it's still stressful to think about because I've never been away from Noah overnight... ever. And I keep thinking what if none of the three people who've offered aren't around or can't come for whatever reason? We take Noah to the hospital with us? Matt drops me off and goes back home with Noah? lol! That would be terrible. But hopefully that doesn't happen.

In other news, fundal height was measuring 36 (at 37 weeks) and heart rate was in the 150's.

I've been thinking more about baby names lately, too (I don't know why, it's not like we don't already have it narrowed down enough)... I think mostly for the girl names though because we have more middle name options. I think I've decided that Lilah/Lyla/Lila is my least favorite of the three. I don't know why... I even had a dream about talking about not liking it. I think it's just too frilly-sounding or something and that's totally not my style. Chloe and Isla, on the other hand, are some pretty cool, chillax girl names. Isla reminds me of Isla Fischer who is cute and hilarious but not over-the-top. And Chloe is just adorable but not too cutesy. That one reminds me of Chloe Sevigny, who seems to be pretty laid-back and I like her style. You know, good associations are important. And we will leave the middle name open for Emery (Nolan or William) and wait until we see him before making that call. I'm just so excited to find out if Noah will get a little sister or a little brother! :)