Okay, so it looks like I may have to do this in stages...I am having a hard time getting to the computer this past week and I still haven't typed out "The Birthing Story". There are a lot of twists to the story this time (I am known for fast and easy deliveries and this was far from that!) so it is going to take a while to get it all down...


Until then, I can tell you that God is good, all the time! Even though we had our trials through this labor and delivery, I had a mostly uneventful pregnancy leading up to last Thursday and since his birth, it has been smooth sailing. Well, maybe not smooth...but better that it could have gone.


Brady is a great baby! He is very good natured, like his brother and sister were. He is eating tremendously well. He had a weight check at the dr on Wednesday and was already up to 9lbs. That is 14 oz in 3 days, so needless to say he is doing fantastic and the dr doesn't want to see him until his 1 mo check! We are up quite frequently at night, but that is something that just comes with a newborn!

Peyton and Gavin are both adjusting very well to their new brother. The love to talk to him and even hold him. Gavin loves to run off with his pacifier and I have even found it in his mouth a couple of times. We have only had one "issue", if you can even call it that and it was when I had Brady covered with one of Gavin's baby afghans. He knew that was his blanket, even though he hadn't seen it since last winter! I just let him have it...he has gone through enough adjustments with changing rooms, sharing more things with his sister and now having to share with another person in the house as well!


So, enjoy the pictures and hopefully by the time the weekend is over, I will have the rest of the story! hahaha

Here he is, Brady James!

A wonderful gal from my MOPS group knits and is very talented. She knitted all of the new babies or baby to be-s little hats last year. I got mine at our last meeting in May and even remembered to take it to the hospital. They give you one in the hospital...but they aren't nearly as cute!

Peyton holding Brady the night we came home. She was very excited about her new brother! (She had pigtails in all day long as well as the head band...at her own request. The pigtails had come out, but the hair stayed the same!)


Gavin really wanted to hold him too. I think this was a couple days after we had come home though. The one who was my baby boy just last week looks so big now!

He loves the swing!

Welcome Brady James!

Brady James decided to arrive in a little different fashion than "normal"! He was born at 6:33 on Friday morning weighing in at 8 lbs 9.9 oz (why they don't just say 8lbs 10 oz, I will never know!) and 20 3/4 inches long! We are doing well and will be heading home this afternoon. Check back in the next few days for new pictures! Big Sister and Big Brother are doing great as well.

More details to come.

God is teaching me to be patient

Okay folks, no induction date as of yet! However, I think we should start with the positives of my visit...the only way I am keeping my sanity.

• She said that I had dropped considerably, as the baby was VERY low.

• I am dilated to 2 cm, which is great to hear that there is progress. It also doesn't mean a thing! I could stay here for weeks...but the point is that it at least has begun!

• She doesn't want me doing anything differently at home regarding trying to "turn the baby". She said that most babies turn during labor if they are going to and if he doesn't then (her exact words, in her little Argentine accent) "we will just have to push a little harder and a little longer". Not sure who that "we" is that she is referencing but she is right...the only way to get them out is to keep pushing. I will just do what it takes!

• She offered to induce me at 10:00 tomorrow morning and I had to turn her down. We really wanted a Thursday night or Friday morning induction, but due to surgeries and meetings, she couldn't do it then. I never thought I would turn down an offer to induce...but I did! I was afraid I would bust my butt getting all of the things done that I thought needed to be done and be completely beat tomorrow which would in turn slow things down. James and I decided that hopefully I will go on my own by this weekend, or we will hopefully be inducing labor on Monday or Tuesday. Monday is my actual due date. I have informed him however that if I DON'T go by this weekend, he will probably be a miserable, miserable man, because I am becoming harder and harder to live with each day!

So, once again we just sit and wait. My bag is packed, the car seat is ready, I just finished the kids' gifts from their new brother...there are a lot of little projects that still need to be done around the house, but that will always be the case! I AM READY!!!!! That is why I believe that God is trying to teach me something!

Goodnight all!

Keeping a promise!

I forgot that I promised to upload the ultra sound pictures from last week once I got my printer/scanner hooked up to my new computer. Well, I just now did that tonight. I was working on another project and needed to print some things and finally got around to connecting it! Here are the 2 really great side profile shots of the head only. My friend Lisa and I laughed because we said that he already looks like Gavin! Gavin has one very defining feature and that is his upper lip. He is very expressive and has a TON of lip action when he talks and that is what this photo reminded us of!

Enjoy!

39 wks here we come!

I don't want this to turn out into a list of complaints...which it has a very good opportunity of going that way, so I am just going to tell you that I am getting bigger, have posted a picture to the right and have an appt tomorrow where I can relay some more facts to you. I am hoping to make a plan with my care giver regarding possible induction once we check everything out and see if there has been any progress happening with the pain and discomfort. ;)



James has been working like crazy. This is really great for us financially and for his business, but really odd timing! He was gone before 8 am every day last week and didn't get home until after 9:30 pm every evening except for Thursday night. Thursday night was the night that my girl friends in Muncie took me out to Chili's (which was absolutely wonderful!!! It was fun to laugh at Kyla for a change instead of me being the funny one! Hahaha Right Laura? Kyla, we told you we would blog about it...be thankful we didn't give details!). Anyway, since we were out in Muncie that night, the kids and I didn't get home until 10:00. James had been home since 7:00 and was already in bed...long down the road of deep sleep and didn't even know we were home until he woke up the next morning! ;)



So, needless to say since we didn't see him at all last week, I am very thankful that God put so many awesome friends in my life to help me get through. I don't know how single moms do it! We had lunch with Grammy Elda on Monday which was lots of fun. I know she enjoyed laughing at my kids! My friend Emma came over with her boys on Monday evening. The boys entertained the kids (they are very exciting boys with lots of energy and my kids LOVE them!) while Emma and I cleaned the kitchen. She is one of the main reasons that my kitchen gets cleaned and my laundry stays somewhat kept up. She comes and pick up several loads at a time and brings them back clean, folded and even ironed! I think she is nuts, but she loves me! Tuesday, my friend Lisa kept the kids so that James and I could go to my dr appt and then I joined them at their house for lunch and we stayed WAY past our welcome...not leaving until after 3:00. The kids were all playing really well together and when Lisa and I get to talking...no one can shut us up! We were all in desperate need of a nap! Tami came over that evening and I made us dinner. She helped play referee with the kids for a while and then headed home to finish getting stuff ready for her classroom!



Wednesday, James' gramma came over and made us a wonderful lunch of meatloaf, fresh grilled squash and strawberries for dessert. There was plenty left over for James to have as left overs too, so he really appreciated that! She folded more laundry while the kids napped and then played with them when they woke up a little too early so that I could get some more sleep! She is such an amazing woman! You don't find many people in their early 80's that can and will do what she does for me. She serves as a gramma to me sometimes, but mostly as one of my best friends! She and I have gotten really close this past year.



Thursday, the kids and I just had a lazy play day here at the house since I wanted to conserve energy to make it to my dinner that night. We had a picnic on a sheet in their bedroom floor and they thought that was LOTS of fun! We all napped (anyone see a trend here) and headed over to James' gramma's house again. She watched the kids while I went to dinner at Chili's with 2 girlfriends that I used to work with. We were there for several hours visiting, laughing and of course indulging on chips and ranch and my Monterey Chicken! It was really great. (They both have small children as well and don't get much girl time either).



Friday, I don't even remember...except for we had card night at one of our friends' amazing homes! Just think 3600 sq ft, awesome floor plan layout, in ground heated pool, swingset/playground area that resembles a small park, amazing back patio and high 60's to low 70 degree weather for card playing! Not to mention that great food and company that we had! This little group has been great for James and I to keep our relationships with so many families that we miss from our old church!



Saturday, we had fun with our friends Josh and Bailey and their twins letting the kids play together and us adults playing games as well. We usually go to their house and just end up staying the night because they have 4 bedrooms and we usually can't get a card game in until we put all 4 kids to bed. This late in my pregnancy...we thought trying to stay the night elsewhere was a little risky since I haven't been sleeping much so they came out here! They are 2 of our closest friends and it has been so wonderful having them back from Texas!



Yesterday, was just a relaxing day trying to get energy to make it through another week! ;) James has about the same type of schedule this week, unless we have the baby and then all of those appts will have to be rescheduled! His gramma is coming over again today (see how good she is to me!) and will also be watching the kids tomorrow here at our house for my dr appt.



I don't know what I would do if God didn't give us just what we needed when we needed it you know? He always knows so much better than we do! hahaha



Check back for a hopeful update tomorrow evening after my appt! Until then...

Sit and wait

I don't have much more to report after my appt and ultra sound today. My weight is good, my blood pressure is perfect and I am still measuring a week further along than I am...however none of that information tells us anything!

The ultra sound was supposed to be done in order to check the fluid level, baby size and position. Well, I have plenty of fluid, the baby is currently measuring in at 8 lbs (incredibly scary for me, however at this stage of pregnancy, the weight estimations can be anywhere from 1/2 lb to 2 lbs off...so needless to say, they aren't too accurate.) The baby is currently down and "in place" however he is posterior facing, meaning he is front facing or "sunny side up" another strange nick name that is used for this. This also could mean nothing but it also could mean a really long labor...There is a possibility that the baby could turn around between now and the big day, including during labor even...so once again, we just sit and wait. My dr doesn't seem concerned with either of these issues, so we will just address them next week if they are going to be problems.

One big problem/pain for people getting ultra sounds this late in pregnancy is actually being able to capture visibly good shots of the face, limbs, etc since the baby is so cramped in there and there is so much shadowing. However, at the very end of my ultra sound today, the tech was able to get 2 fantastic profile shots. We were even able to see his little mouth moving in a sucking motion! It made all of the poking and prodding worth it! I found out tonight that my scanner isn't installed on my new computer yet, so I will try and get that done in the next day or 2 and post one of those pictures for everyone!

Thanks goes to my friend Lisa for babysitting the kids and I today and also to Tami for providing adult interaction for me tonight! We look forward to James' gramma babysitting all of us tomorrow! ;)

Still here, Still pregnant!

Yet another excerpt from Babycenter.com

Your pregnancy: 38 weeks

How your baby's growing:Your baby has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds and is over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). He has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If he's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If he's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time he's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after he's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)

***Doesn't say a whole lot, huh? Well we have an ultra sound before our appt tomorrow morning to check the fluid levels and size of the baby, so hopefully we can tell you more then. We are not in the "wait and see" stage though...just trying to get through every day as productively as we can...without me ended up completely exhausted. That is a hard one as the smallest activities wear me out! hahaha The kids and I are doing a lot of "table play" or "floor play" (when I can actually get on the floor) instead of running with them and picking them up/carrying them! Funny how that is all Gavin wants lately though! We sit on the couch and read lots of books and snuggle though!

I continue to feel miserable although I have stayed in my bed the entire night the last 2 nights. I had been having to move to the couch where I could be more inclined to help with pain and heart burn! I also keep getting comments like "I didn't think you could get any bigger". Those are the encouraging ones! (Just happened yesterday at church! Those people really love me! hahaha) I know that I will be missing being pregnant once it is over as babies are so much easier to care for when they are surrounded by a sac of water, fed without any additional effort, and can't cry...but I am really ready to get this baby here!

By the way, we have named him. I know I keep referring to him as "this baby", but James would like a couple of people to be surprised at the name when he calls to announce the birth, so we will make it absolutely public to everyone once he arrives! Those of you who already know, please don't post it here in the comments, hahaha. For that reason, I will post pictures of the nursery once we are home from the hospital...the name is on the wall!

My mom is currently planning on coming in on the 19th, which is only a week away from tomorrow, so if I can just hang in that long...she won't miss another birth of a grandchild. So hopefully, I can emotionally and physically endure another week! ;)

Peyton is starting to get really excited for the new baby and Gavin still has no clue what is going on! He will be totally shocked when mommy doesn't have a hard belly anymore and there is a something crying all of the time! I don't think that Peyton totally understands, but she talks about it like she does. She talks about me going to the hospital and bringing home a baby and the baby sleeping in the baby bed. It is all good in theory, we will just see how the adjustments come once he is here!

Hope everyone has a great week...I probably won't be posting anything more than baby updates unless I get a lot of down time, and that is not anticipated for a while! hahaha

Date Night

Last Thursday, James and I got to go out on an actual date. We don't do this often enough. We went down to a new mall area that has lots of fun new restaurants, shops and an IMAX theater. We ended up eating dinner at Qdoba which was wonderful! It was cool enough and had a little bit of a breeze that we were able to sit outside on their patio and eat. This gave us some quiet where we could just listen to each other. We talked and laughed so much. I was worried because I didn't take my tums, but it ended up being alright. ;) Then we did a little bit of shopping because we had time before the movie.

At 9:15 we headed over to the IMAX theater to see the new Batman movie. It was fantastic! We paid the little extra and saw it on the IMAX screen. I had never been to an IMAX before and it was really cool and worth the extra bucks. I was worried that I was going to fall asleep during the movie because it was late and I don't last that long in the evenings anymore but that wasn't even a possibility. It is like the screen wraps you completely up in the movie! During the previews, you actually had to turn your head from side to side to capture it all!

• Dinner with my husband: fantastic
• Getting him to shop a little to waste some time: even better ;)
• Movie: incredibly awesome
• Not getting home until after 12:30 in the am...totally worth it! (Thanks to the built in babysitter we had last week!)

We are going to work harder on a date night for the 2 of us...even if it is just something at home for a while once the new baby comes, you know trying to catch an hour of adult conversation together once all of the kids are in bed for the night (you know that 1 hr time slot, that by chance MAY happen) ;) Hahaha We will see!

***I don't think I am going to do an entire post to Vegging Out Saturday, so here is what happened! My MIL got up before all of us and was able to spend almost an hour with Gavin by herself before James and I got up. We had to wake Peyton up so that she could see her Nana before she left for OH that morning! (Peyton has always been our sleeper!) We had breakfast together, Nana was off and I rested for about an hour on the couch. We then took the kids out for some play time and ended up getting the slip n slide out for them while James and I sat on the swing and visited and laughed every time Gavin tried to drink the water out of the side that was spraying and it shot right up his nose! We came in, had lunch, took naps! YEAH!!! and then went to WalMart as a family later that night. That is all folks...No laundry, not a dish...nothing but relaxing family time! It was fantastic!

Thanks again so much Kathy for everything that you did last week! It really put us in a great position of accomplishment before this new baby gets here and has made me get some relaxing/resting time that I have been in such desperate need of!

Girl time with Peyton

I can't believe that I didn't take any pictures of this event and I am so sorry to all of you for that!

For my birthday, James got me a gift certificate to a local nail salon for a pedicure and manicure. I have been fortunate enough to have been blessed with one of this before having both of the other children as well and have really started to like them! Uh Oh! Anyway, in order to start my date night off right with James, he wanted me to have a nice/relaxing day where I felt pampered.

I took advantage of this time and included some special girl time for just Peyton and I! I took her to the nail salon with me. I know it is crazy...but I just knew she was gonna love it! While my feet were soaking in the foot spa and I was getting the back rub from the massage chair, the girl painted Peyton's finger nails and toe nails.

Peyton thought it was the coolest thing ever! She did really well too, until it was time for me to get my nails done. She had a hard time just wanting to sit still while the girl finished up my nails and then when they were under the dryer/hardener. She made it through it though and was SO proud of her new pretty nails. She kept saying that she was going to show her daddy and he was going to be so proud of her nails! How cute is that!

Going Away lunch for my SIL

There have been several traditions that have been started since I became a part of the Abels' family in just the last 6 yrs. One of those seems to be that they are always moving and when they do, the Abels' "gals" have gotten together for a girls' lunch before they go!

When my SIL, Amy moved to North Carolina the first time 5 years ago, one of my best friends Allison and I took her and her girls out to dinner at Apple Bee's.

When my SIL, Cristy moved to TX 3 years ago James' mom, gramma and I took her to a cute little place for brunch called the Tea Cart! (It is no more!)

When my MIL moved to OH a year and a half ago James' gramma, Amy and I took her to Carino's.

Even though we had Amy's kids with us the first time, it was still a Girls Only meal! She hadn't had Ethan yet.

In keeping with tradition, it was time for Amy to move again! They had been "back" for 2 years so that her husband could finish up some clinicals at the hospital and get his Med Tech certification, but were returning to North Carolina; a place that they love and adore. So, James' mom, gramma and I took Amy to Ruby Tuesday's!

It was great getting to visit together without sharing the conversation with any men or children and the food was absolutely wonderful! This time it was a little different though. We ALL went to my dr appt first, and then sent the kids with James and took off to lunch. Amy hasn't been here for my other 2 pregnancies so it was nice for her to be a part of "something" since she almost made it to the birth! (I still think you guys should have waited 3 more weeks to move!) Kathy was in town and James' gramma loves every part of experiencing the pregnancies right along with me! Hahaha So it was a really special time for the 4 of us. They all got to hear the baby's heart beat and also hear my adorable Argentine Dr's accent. She is from the same city in Argentina that my SIL, Cristy is from, so I love listening to her.

It was great! Well, except for the whole moving part, but now I guess we just have another place to visit again!

Last week of July = Spoiled by friends and family

I have already told you how much my MIL did while she was here last week, so I am on to tell you about my Monday evening. 4 of my girl friends from church picked me up and we headed to Indy. Now, the spoiling began first thing. Due to the generosity of one of my friend's family members, we were able to travel in style in a gorgeous, pearly white, Cadillac Escalade! I had never ridden in one. It was VERY nice!



We first went to P.F. Chang's, where I filled myself to the brim with crab won tons and Beef and Broccoli! It was a nice dinner without any children to feed first, share our food with, or share our conversation with! (all but one of us have small children). We then went walking around the mall, looking at all kinds of fun things...places that I wouldn't dare take my children into for a leisurely shopping trip! These were places like Saks Fifth Ave, Pottery Barn for Kids and Victoria Secret. Our main goal for even going shopping was to work up an appetite for dessert. It worked!



We went straight from their to a Cold Stone Creamery, which I had never been to! The girls made fun of me because I was only going to get a frozen Mt Dew, so I got both! I got a frozen Mt Dew and a delicious dish of chocolate ice cream with strawberries and pecans mixed in! It was wonderful! They ended the night with gifts of diapers and wipes galore and an adorable gift basket of scrap booking stickers, First Year Calendar, onesie that said "New in Town" and bath stuff!



We did take a cheesy picture of all of us in the dark corner booth and I will post it as soon as Tami gets back from vacation!



God has been so good to me with the friends that he has brought into my life and it was a blast just getting to go out with "just the girls"!



(Don't forget the start to my summer with my trip to Texas and the ultimate spoiling trip by my friend Brandy!)



This was just the beginning of my week. Check back for more post in a couple of days to include:

• Ladies Going Away Lunch for my SIL


• Girl time with Peyton


• Date night with my husband


• Vegging Day Saturday

37 weeks

Yet another excerpt from Babycenter.com

Your pregnancy: 37 weeks

How your baby's growing: Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away. Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

***I told you last week that my mother in law was going to be here all week and she got SO much done. She mopped all of my hard wood floors (my house is all hard wood except for the bathroom, kitchen and laundry room), cleaned all of the windows, helped my finish the decorative touches of the babies room as well as wash all of the bedding and clothing, made lots of meals for my freezer for later, kept my house cleaned and all of my laundry done the whole time she was here and even did some weeding/yard work. All of this was done while she also entertained my kids because you know they didn't have anything to do with me while their Nana was here!

I was able to catch a nap almost every day as well...and I have REALLY been needing those. I am plum wiped out and really beginning to be miserable. Although I have actually only gained 9 lbs, this pregnancy has been really tough on my body. Now, don't get me wrong...it has been relatively smooth medically speaking...it has just been tough running after 2 toddlers all of the time when all I really want to do is just be still! Heartburn has started to become a real problem the past few weeks, but Tums have become my best friend and they work wonders!

Well, I am beginning to sound like I am complaining so I will leave this post for now and work on telling you all about being spoiled by both my friends and my husband as well last week! Look for these post to come over the next few days!

Also, I will get a picture posted along the side as soon as I get dressed and going for the day! hahaha