Gavin 6yr Baseball

Gavin just finished up his season of baseball.  New this year was coach pitch and they actually counted outs.   Gavin struggled a little bit with hitting the pitched ball in the beginning but has improved so much over the season that he hasn’t had to use the tee for the last few games and hit almost all of his pitches after the first few games.  We had so much fun going to his games and Gavin had a lot of fun playing and asked if he could do it again next year. 

Ainsley - 2 weeks

So we survived the first two weeks as a new family of 6.  We had Ainsley’s first checkup last Friday and she was already back up to her birth weight which the nurse said was amazing.  The first few nights home were a little rough because she was up most of the night but that has gotten better and she’s sleeping a little better at night.  So far she’s been a pretty good baby and Lincoln just loves her.  His new favorite words are me and mine and anytime he’s in the same room as her he just pats his lap and says mine because he wants to hold her or he’s giving her kisses.  We’ve been trying to keep the older boys busy since it’s a little hard to go out and about with a newborn.  My mom, grandma and Jess took them to the Science Center and swimming last week and they played at Ryan’s parents a little bit which has helped.  Ryan has also been amazing at taking all 3 of them for walks or playing with them outside while I’m stuck in the house with the baby.  We even all ventured out to Wyatt's t-ball game last week and she did great.  

Ainsley had her 2 week check up this morning and she is still doing great.  She was already up to 8lbs, 13 ozs and 20 ¾ inches long.  I’m excited to see how she grows and changes over the next few weeks.

When it rains it pours

So we’ve been dealing with a little bit of craziness at our house lately.  As if adding a 4^th baby isn’t enough right J.  So it all started the week before Ainsley was born when we discovered that Friday that our freezer wasn’t working.  We thought it was just the freezer but then woke up Saturday morning to discover the fridge side was also broken and had to throw out most of our food.  Thankfully I never got super ambitious and made tons of freezer meals for after the baby because we would have lost them all.  Ryan was able to get a hold of a repair man and he was able to come out that Saturday and happened to have the part to fix the fridge so thankfully we didn’t have to run out and buy a new fridge just had to restock the old one with new food. 

We also discovered that Wyatt picked up head lice from school and Lincoln got it as well.  I’m not sure if Gavin ever officially had it but we treated him as well.  After this whole experience let’s just say that I am super thankful that we have boys because I can’t imagine going through this with 3 girls and long hair.  To be safe and make it easier to check we ended up giving all the boys buzz cuts and the day that I ended up going into labor with Ainsley I was treating all the boys hair, washing and re-making all the beds and bagging up all pillows and blankets that couldn’t be washed and vacuuming the house.  Exactly what a 40+ pregnant lady wants to be doing J.  If anything maybe all the extra activity is what finally put me into labor.  I’ve been checking the boys hair every night (which they love) and think we finally have it under control.  I just pray we don’t have to deal with this again or at least not any time soon. 

 Lastly while we were in the hospital Ryan’s parents watched our dog and they ended up having to take her to the vet because she was having issues going to the bathroom and needed to go out all the time.  An exam and xray later it turns out that she has a bladder stone that can only be fixed via surgery.  Not great news since the surgery is expensive and there is a 50% chance that she will have this problem again and with just having a new baby we weren’t sure if we’d be able to also deal with a recovering dog.  After talking to the vet a little more it sounds like the recovery should be fairly easy so we decided to go ahead with the surgery this one time but probably won’t do it again if it comes back.  She’s scheduled for surgery tomorrow so I’m praying that all goes well and her recovery goes smoothly.

Ainsley’s birth story

I was fully prepared for an induction on Monday so I was able to wrap everything up at work that Friday and decided I was just going to relax over the weekend and hang out with the boys since I’d been going on crazy walks and doing everything to try and put myself into labor.  I didn’t really have any notable contractions all day Saturday until around 9pm when I noticed that when they did come they were starting to get a little painful so I decided I should probably start tracking them on my phone since the only thing I really knew about going into labor was the 5-1-1 rule (contractions every 5 minutes, lasting a minute for over an hour).  After about an hour they were getting a little closer and still painful so we started to question if this was it but it was starting to get late and we didn’t want to call Ryan’s parents and have them come over just to have them stop and it be a false alarm so we watched some tv and waited a little longer. 

I decided to get my bags packed just in case and make sure the boys stuff was ready to go.  Finally around 11pm Ryan decided he was going to call his parents.  They didn’t pick up so I thought this is a sign and we should just wait a little longer because I wasn’t convinced it was the real deal.  Then Ryan talked some sense into me and we decided to call again since we knew it would take them at least 15 minutes to get to our house and another 15-20 minutes to get to the hospital plus he convinced me they wouldn’t turn me away since I was already scheduled for an induction on Monday.  Ryan’s parents showed up and we headed to the hospital.  I still had my doubts but then did have a couple of painful contractions in the car which was encouraging.  We got to the hospital around 12am and admitting took forever for some reason.  I just walked the halls while the lady got all the paperwork ready because I didn’t want my contractions to stop now that I was finally at the hospital.  I was doing pretty good but when my contractions did come they were pretty painful and seemed to be getting closer together.  Finally they led us to our room and while I was in the bathroom changing into my gown I had a really intense contraction that broke my water and was glad we had made it just in time. 

I got dressed and the nurse told me I was between 5-6 cms dilated.  We sat there and answered her questions while I continued to have some hard contractions.  Then the anesthesiologist came in to introduce himself.  It was my plan to go drug-free but for VBAC cases they have a dedicated anesthesiologist on  standby just in case.  After a few minutes he left and I had some pretty intense contractions where I was thinking we need to get him back in here I don’t think I can do this without the drugs lol.  Then a few minutes later I told the nurse that I started to feel some pressure and sure enough I was at a 9 1/2.  It escalated pretty quickly and I was ready to push with no doctor.  She was still on her way in so I had to try and breath through several contractions without pushing which was really hard.  This baby was ready to come! 

Finally the doctor arrived and discovered that the baby was sunny side up.  She tried to turn her around a few times which was very painful but no luck so she was born sunny side up after a few pushes.  I was so relieved to have the baby out that I totally forgot all about the sex and then the doctor announced it’s a girl and I think Ryan and I were both in shock.  Her little face was a little bruised from coming out face up but other than that she was perfect.  I still can’t believe that I ended up going into labor on my own and how fast it all went and am so thankful that everything went smoothly with a quick recovery on my part.

 

My grandma, mom, Jen, Avrie, Jess and Scot came to visit Ainsley on Sunday and showered us with lots of girly things.

 

Keith and Jan brought the boys by to meet their new sister on Monday.  Wyatt was so excited that it was a baby girl and just loved meeting her.  Lincoln was also super excited about the baby and it was so cute to see him give her kisses.  It’s crazy how grown up he seems with her in the picture.  They brought us flowers which was so adorable and had a great few days with grandma and papa while we were in the hospital.

Heading home on Tuesday:

 

It's a GIRL!

Ainsley Joan was born on Sunday at 1:28am. She was 8 lbs and 20 1/4 inches. Everyone is doing great. I'll post more details on her birth story when we get home. 

Dr's Appointment

It's official, we are scheduled for Monday!  So excited to have a date and actually be able to prepare and get everything ready for the boys and not have it need to be a mad dash out the door.  Not exactly the best week with 3 baseball games for the boys and a dentist appointment but we'll work with what we're given!  Gavin keeps asking when the baby's going to hatch which cracks me up.  We'll try to update the blog once the baby is here.  Gavin is on team boy and Wyatt is on team girl so we'll see who is right :).

Due Date

So today is my due date and still no baby L.  I never in a million years thought I would still be pregnant by now until at my last appointment they told me I had to just keep waiting.  I knew I would never go into labor on my own at least not before my due date so I was very disappointed.  I have my next doctor’s appointment on Friday and I’m very anxious about how it will all go.  I have a lot of concerns and have not been very happy with my doctor’s office lately.  They weren’t able to get me in any sooner which was frustrating.  It’s been incredibly difficult to get any sort of appointment lately which is just ridiculous for someone approaching and past their due date and I’m being forced to see a brand new doctor that I’ve never met before who knows nothing about my background.  I’m very nervous that this will turn out like Gavin’s birth which is what I’ve been trying to avoid and why I’ve been induced early in the past.  Send prayers that I go into labor on my own in the next few days but honestly I have little faith that this will happen and am anticipating the worst.  Here’s the latest belly pic.  I’m huge and getting tired of hearing all the comments from everyone on my appearance.  Note to all non-pregnant folks out there if you feel the need to make a comment to someone who is obviously very pregnant just say they look great and instead of reassuring their fears give them hope that the best outcome will happen.