Summer Lovin'

So my little sister, Jamie, got married June 19th. We now share the same wedding day and I was so thrilled to be part of her wedding. She had a vision- mountain cabins, vintage feel, an abundance of flowers and lots of love.

My sister and brother, Jamie and Travis. Twins!

Our whole family rallied together the day of the wedding to transform the grounds of this cabin retreat. It was beautiful already but throw in glass vases filled with peonies and wildflowers, photographs hung from twine twisting down wooden poles, haystacks covered with bright blue, purple and yellow fabric, picnic tables adorned with homemade napkins, colorful plates and delicious organic food, and key lime pie flown in from Florida. Oh perfection!

Jamie looked beautiful! Gasp worthy. The weather held out through the ceremony and dinner. The skies then opened and poured down rain, good luck ya know.

Lily and Marley are the sweetest girls and looked just beautiful. So sweet.

Jamie dancing with our most amazing father.

All smiles.

Oh and Luke caught the garter. Everyone cheered and he stood there stunned. He decided it was best suited as a headband.

It was lovely. Exquisite in every way. Congratulations Jamie and Jex!!

Chins.

If you ask me there is just nothing cuter than chubby babies and chubby cats. Since we don't have any cats I am thrilled I finally have a chubby baby. Baby James was fighting a little cold last week so I took a quick trip to the pediatrician. He weighed in at 12 pounds 6 ounces. Holy cow! The doctor could not believe it and I am just glad all of our hardwork (late nights breastfeeding) is paying off. Matt told me, "Check out his chins." Usually those don't come in pairs but I love that his do.

Brothers.

The boys do look a like, sort of. Here are pictures of each of them at one week old.

The first picture is James, the second is Eli and the third is Luke!

So, that is why they call it labor!

Leading up to the arrival of Baby James, we were told stories again and again at the birthing center about fast labors, mommas delivering at home, in the car, etc. So, Matt and I knew we needed to have a plan in place and act quickly to have the calm, peaceful birth we hoped for. However, we were also warned that Baby #3 was usually a Wild Card, meaning they tended to not follow the pattern of previous births.

Little James proved to be our Wild Card in so many ways!

Saturday:

6pm- We are outside and the boys riding bikes, I am planting my first terrarium and it all starts. A back ache, subtle but enough to make me notice.

7pm- The backache continues and I decide to start timing- 8-15 minutes apart. Now I get flashbacks from when Eli is born. I went from this point to delivering him in 2 hours. I decide it is time to call my doula. She recommends I take bath and give her a call back to see if anything has changed. It has not.

8pm- I call the midwife. Sarah is on call and we discuss my past labors and desire for a calm and peaceful birth this go around. The contractions are not getting any stronger nor closer together so we decide to meet at the birthing center at 9:30pm.

9pm- Mrs. Mary arrives to watch the boys. I am in very good spirits and tell her we will see her in a few hours with a little boy.

9:30pm- Matt and I are thrillled, we arrive at the birthing center. Jacie, our doula, meets us there as does the midwife. We have a chance to get settled in and I am checked to see where we are. 3cm dialated, perfect. Right on track, I guess the baby will arrive at 1am.

10pm- We lay down and the contractions continue. Not too strong but enough to wake me out of sleep and send me to the bathroom. Sitting on a toilet is extremely comfortable at this point.

11pm-7am- nothing. Yep, nothing changed. No baby and only 1cm more dialated. We are all surprised, little Wild Card.

Sunday:

7am- The new midwife arrives- Laura- and at this point we can either go home and see what the day brings or stay. I send Matt home for a shower (we did not really pack anything thinking we would only be there a short while) and I take a walk around the neighbor.

12pm- Laura checks me- 4 cm and fully effaced, progress but so very slowly. I am tired from a night without sleep and psychologically drained. I run through my positive affirmations and visualize the birth.

3pm- 5 cm now. Laura tells me we can either head home or can try to get things moving. I am torn- Luke and Eli are at home and I miss them so. What if we head home only for active labor to start? Plus, I am already so tired.

3:15pm- I lose my mucus plug and take my first of 4 cotton root bark tinctures.

4pm- Contractions begin a consistent pattern. We call Jacie to come in. I get the birthing ball and begin to utilize deep breathing techniques through the contractions.

5pm- Jacie arrives. Matt and I enter the birthing tub. It is warm and comforting, helping to take the pressure off my body. At this point I can tell Laura is making preparations for a delivery. My deep breathes get even deeper, closer to a groan. I try to keep my toes from curling, Matt is holding my arms tightly as I am on my hand's and knees. He is breathing with me. Jacie is reminding me to relax and breathe the baby down. Pure exhaustion kicks in, can I do this?

5:15pm- I feel the urge to push. It is a bit confusing for me as with Luke and Eli I am sitting upright in a bed. Now I am on my hands and knees so it felt as though I was pushing backwards. I deliver my water bag thinking it is the baby, oh how much longer? Then I feel pressure, pressure through the pushes. Sweet baby had come down so quickly Laura kept him at the crowning position so I would not tear.

5:36pm- And then he arrives, just about 24 hours after feeling my first contraction....little Wild Card.

I am overcome with joy, relief and exhaustion. Oh yes, that was labor. We make our way to the bed to recover. I am administerd an IV of fluids and arnica as I did not feel well. Over the next four hours, we nurse and surprisingly James latches on and eats right away. I am given an herbal bath and we marvel at this sweet boy.

Dad getting lots of cuddle time before we head home that night.

My biggest baby- little Wild Card- at a week early he is 7 lbs and 5 ounces. Both Eli and Luke were under 7 pounds.

What a blessing- a third little boy to love!

James Matthew.

So much for my motherly intuition. I thought this sweet baby was going to arrive Friday, May 6th but he had other plans and made his debut on Sunday, May 1st at 5:36pm. He weighed 7 lbs and 5 ounces and was 20 inches long.

Welcome sweet boy!

Final countdown.

So, 10 days and counting until my due date! Everything is in line, finally. The house is in order, baby stuff is washed and out, doula is ready to go, Mrs. Mary is on call to watch the boys, Matt is in town and I am feeling great!

I am not sure what has been so different about this pregnancy but wow, it has been different. Is it the altitude of living in Colorado, me being just a bit older, having two other children to care for........I am not sure but it has been more challenging. I have been more tired and feel everything! With Luke and Eli I never really got contractions prior to going into labor and now I am feeling them all the time. I have also not had the energy I am used to, for a girl that likes to get things done this is not a good thing. One minor break down to Matt though and he put it all into perspective- you are doing just fine! I am. With about a week left (and I predict this fellow will make his entrance on May 6th) I am preparing to have the most amazing and wonderful birth experience yet! Oh and we still have no idea on a name- James and Jacob are still holding the top spots but no decision has been made.

I just can't wait to meet you Little Guy!

Mrs. Mary

We were lucky enough to cross paths with Mrs. Mary about a year ago and persuaded her to come and help me with the kiddos. Originally, she would come over two mornings a week for two hours so I could slip out and run an errand or get a work out in. A few months into it, Matt and I discussed the fact that we needed a little better work and life balance. Our weekends seemed to be filled to the brim with errands, haircuts, grocery shopping, work for him, just regular life stuff. We decided at that point we needed a little more sanity and the best way to get that was for me to help him with his work and to have Mary come more often.

What a life changer this was........some weeks I helped Matt, other weeks were full of meetings with housing contractors, going through closing paperwork on the house or midwife appointments for the baby but we have enjoyed so much quality time together as a family come Saturday and Sunday.

Mary is just so wonderful. The boys adore her, she is creative and loving. I never hesitate to ask her for advice on parenting (having raised two wonderful children herself), she is a wonderful cook and good person. We are so better for having her in our lives! So, she is my secret weapon with this 3rd kiddo. With no family around this time I am feeling a bit overwhelmed but with Mary around it all seems more manageable. A real life Mary Poppins.