Early. Slow. Long. Beautiful.

Disclaimer: As in my previous birth stories, I'm not sparing any details!  Proceed with caution.  Reading detailed birth stories was incredibly helpful to me as I prepared for natural childbirth, so I want to be generous with my story if it can help others.  And I want to record in detail for my own memory's sake!  You've been warned ;)

Wiley's birth was all of those things.

I should have known, considering his pregnancy was so very different from his brothers' before him.  All three were early and the first two were relatively fast, but I had been warned that deliveries for third babies are the wild cards of midwifery and had thus braced myself for a late and slow delivery.

Late, he was not, but slow he certainly was.

At 38 weeks I got a wild hair to paint our hallway bathroom one Sunday afternoon.  It was the last project in a long line of to-dos before baby, and Jonathan asked me to paint the trim and leave the rest for him.  I painted the trim.  And then I rolled color on the walls.  And then, home alone with napping children, I got crazy and hauled the ladder into the bathroom, proceeding to paint every last bit of that room--two coats!--before a horrified Jonathan returned home to see what I had done.  Between the obsessive compulsion to finish the job and the massive energy burst it took to do it, I should have known things were about to get moving.

The next day, I attended a dear friend's wedding shower.  There was much baby and childbirth talk, and lots of delicious food.  That night, heartburn, indigestion, and restlessness plagued me.  I scolded myself for the glass of orange juice I drank at the shower, and finally gave in to the insomnia and trudged down the hall to peek in on my sleeping boys.  As I watched over them, the gravity of a new baby's imminent arrival hit me, and I couldn't resist the urge to be the creepy "I'll Love You Forever" mom.  In turn, I managed to heave my 9 month pregnant self into bed with each boy, snuggling close and soaking them in, knowing how big they would soon seem to me with the addition of their tiny brother.

On Tuesday, I joined in afternoon nap time but was wakened by subtle yet distinct contractions at around 1:45 p.m.  I was able to doze between them and tried to continue resting since they were sporadic.  As the afternoon continued, so did the contractions.  They were noticeable but bearable, requiring me to breathe through them, but not requiring me to stop what I was doing and not at all consistent.  I wasn't quite sure whether this was productive labor or just intense Braxton Hicks, but my experience with previous labors was fairly certain that these menstrual cramp-like pains were real contractions.  Just in case, I began to work through the house, picking up, doing some laundry, and cooking dinner.  At 5:30 p.m., bloody show confirmed that something was indeed happening.  By the time we were eating dinner at around 6:30, I had a contraction intense enough to stop me in my tracks.  Jonathan could see the shift in me and took action, calling his parents and packing up the boys for a sleepover.

Because of our experience with Rhett's whirlwind delivery, our urgency was heightened.  While my labor had by no means reached the intensity of even the earliest contractions with Rhett, we knew how quickly things could get going and did not want to waste any time.  Jonathan rushed off with the boys and I sat down to fold laundry.

As soon as I sat down, the contractions stopped.

Jonathan returned home and we decided to walk the neighborhood.  We walked for an hour and a half, and the entire time I had regular contractions at about 5 minute intervals, yet not intense enough to even require me to stop walking.  At around 9:30 p.m. we acknowledged that we couldn't just walk the elementary school track all night, so we headed home and sat down to watch television. Again, as soon as I sat down the contractions stopped.  Since we couldn't just sit awake waiting for something to happen, we eventually decided to just get some rest.  We made sure our hospital bags were in order and headed to bed.

Throughout the night, I had contractions at 5 to 20 minute intervals.  They would wake me from my sleep and I would lay in bed breathing through each one before falling back asleep.  The entire night passed this way, in and out of contractions and shallow sleep.  At no point did the contractions feel even close to the intensity I had experienced in the first hour of my previous labors.  I had no idea what to think and while I was physically and emotionally fine, I started to wonder how long this would go on.

By 6 a.m., contractions had finally begun to be consistently about 5 minutes apart and more intense.  We packed up and left for the hospital.  As soon as I got in the car, I turned down the AC, which Jonathan had cranked at full blast.  That was the moment when I knew that things were nowhere near as far along as they were when I arrived at the hospital with the first two boys.  With those labors, when we got in the car I was already in the out-of-body, cold sweats, in-the-zone intensity of active labor.  Jonathan recalls feeling like we were playing Freeze-Out.  This time, after twelve hours of early labor I was turning down the air and putting on make up in the car while chatting with Jonathan.  It was bizarre to us after our first two intense speeding sprees in the dark of night!

In the lobby of the hospital before checking in.  

As we headed to the hospital, I had already been in labor longer than I had been with both of my previous labors combined.  Since I was at an 8 with Rhett and a 7 with Riggins when we arrived, I guessed that I was at a 6, and I was exactly right.  We spent about an hour in triage, and at this point my contractions had intensified somewhat, requiring me to stop talking and breathe through each one, yet between them I was able to chat with Jonathan and even doze off.  The walk between triage and my delivery room took quite awhile as I stopped to breathe through contractions, but I remained calm, still, and quiet.  Things were happening, but it was all very slow and chill.

Aside from the inability of the nurses to find a good vein for my port (it took three nurses and I don't remember how many attempts to get it set), everything was uneventful.  It was a busy morning in labor and delivery, so my midwife largely left Jonathan and I on our own, which was fine with me.  Although I had been excited to have many resources for natural childbirth available at our hospital (bathtub and shower, birthing balls, halls to roam, etc.), I ended up feeling most comfortable sitting on my bed, legs crossed Indian style, hands on my belly or knees, swaying side to side with my eyes closed and humming hymns. I looked like a little Buddha who happened to know a lot of Christian songs!  In retrospect, I wonder if forcing myself to move around more would have been helpful, but every time I tried I catapulted myself right back onto the bed into the same sitting position, unable to do anything else.  Labor is funny that way; your body just tells you what to do and you don't have much choice in the matter.

By noon, I had only progressed to a 7 and my water had not broken.  While I still felt very calm and relaxed, Jonathan and I began to wonder how much longer this would go on, but we knew I was on the verge of transition and assumed things would intensify soon.

They didn't.  For the next hour, the contractions lengthened in duration and grew in strength, and yet I never reached that level of out-of-body, other-worldly intensity so familiar to us.  The contractions were rating high on the monitor and lasting 3-4 minutes each; they would grow in intensity, peak, and then just linger in short waves of pain.

Another unique aspect of this labor was Jonathan's involvement.  In the past, my labors were so intense and so fast that I was in the zone from the beginning.  Jonathan may as well have been a fly on the wall.  I didn't want or need his input or help, but pretty much got into a comfortable position, closed my eyes, and tuned out the world.

This time was totally different.  I needed him.  He took his position in the corner of the room, and before long I was beckoning him to me and bossing him around, asking him to hold my hands, stand closer so I could lean on him, rub my back, and just be close.  I am so thankful that Wiley gave us this special experience together and will always cherish this delivery for that reason.

We finally asked our nurse and midwife about breaking my water, and they agreed that might help push my body over the edge and get things moving.  At that point, I had been in labor for about 22 hours and was ready to get the show on the road.

Sure enough, once my water was broken things started to pick up in intensity.  Even so, the contractions were manageable through relaxation and breathing.  At one point the midwife and nurse were watching the monitor through a contraction and when it was over they both said, "Wow, girl, that is some amazing control you've got there!"  Of course, that made me feel like a childbirth rock star.  Before too long, that feeling would change.

Several contractions after having my water broken, I began to feel the familiar urge to push.  Jonathan grabbed the midwife and the usual delivery hoopla began to take place in the room.  I got into position and started pushing, and yet it felt totally different from what I was used to.  With Rhett, the urge to push was overwhelming.  I couldn't have stopped if you paid me!  This time, the urges were sporadic and less intense.  Instead of feeling an undeniable urge, I felt like I was gearing myself up for each push and unable to feel or sense whether I was being productive.  Looking back I think I may have been so ready for something to happen that I jumped the gun a bit and should have waited through several more contractions until that urge to push was undeniable.

I pushed for forty minutes and have never worked so hard in my life.  Jonathan said he felt like he was coaching a prize fighter in the ring.  He would mop the sweat from my face and chest and I would be drenched again within seconds.  After pushing three times with Wiley, I was psychologically unprepared to push for this amount of time.  Finally, I could feel his head descending and know that my pushing was doing something.

At this point, my midwife told me that she would really like to help me avoid tearing but that it was going to take some work.  Having had significant tears with my previous deliveries, I was game to avoid it if I could.  Although I can now say that it was completely worth it, the process was downright excruciating and wiped away every ounce of that "rock star" feeling of control I had experienced an hour earlier.

When his head crowned, I felt that classic "ring of fire" burning sensation that I had felt for a split second with Rhett.  Then my midwife told me to stop.  She then proceeded to spend the next several minutes guiding me through a series of tiny pushes and stops during which she would gently work his head out.  It was a constant ring of fire sensation, incredibly painful, and my primary memory is of the nurse saying, "Honey, I need you to calm down, I'm afraid you're going to hyperventilate!"  Jonathan tells me I was frantically panting and gasping, breathing out of control, and just pouring sweat.  It was intense.  

"Leslie! Open your eyes and reach down!!!" I heard my midwife, Robin, commanding me.  I obeyed, and felt his head, which snapped me out of the craziness and gave me the last bit of strength I needed to finish the job.  I looked down to see my baby's head in her hands.  The cord was around his neck, and I saw Robin work it free and pull him swiftly out without even another push.  They placed him straight on my chest, and I again experienced the incredible bliss of rocketing from the worst pain to the greatest joy in a matter of seconds.  It was 1:41 p.m.  Start to finish, it was 24 hours of work to welcome our little boy into the world.  Well worth every minute and I would do it again in a heartbeat.  Natural childbirth is insane like that.

Those initial moments that are probably only beautiful to mothers! 

Although the staff was kind to give me those initial moments, and I soaked them in, I could see the concern on the faces around me and quickly noticed that Wiley's color was not good and he was not crying.  They were encouraging me to rub him briskly as I held him, but soon even I was anxious to get him into their hands to make sure everything was alright.  He spent a good amount of time with the respiratory therapists due to his poor color and grunty crying.  As they worked, one of them yelled over to me, "What's his name?"

"Ummm....I think it's Wiley but don't start calling him that yet until I can see him again!"

Throughout this pregnancy we struggled to name this baby.  In the final weeks we had finally narrowed it down to two options but were fairly certain we would end up with Wiley Andrew.  Either way, we decided to keep the names to ourselves and wait until we had seen him to finalize it and announce it to friends and family.  Having decided and announced our other boys' names early in pregnancy, this was another special difference in our experience with Wiley.

Wiley eventually proved that he did have some good wailing lungs and they gave him back to me for skin-to-skin time and our first attempt at nursing.  This sweet time allowed Jonathan and I to get a good look at him and confirm that he was certainly our little Wiley Andrew.  Jonathan commented on how of all our boys, Wiley had the most perfect little head after birth.  I retorted that he'd better as I worked very hard for that perfect little head!  Despite the pain of that aspect of delivery, I did not tear a bit and had the easiest, quickest recovery of all three.  Although I was cursing Robin in the moment, I was singing her praises for weeks after delivery.  With a third baby, it was such a gift to have such an easy physical recovery.

Because pushing caught me off guard with its difficulty, it took me about 24 hours to wrap my head around the whole experience.  I realized that although I felt completely weak and out of control at the end, overall it had been another beautiful, albeit different, experience.  All three of my deliveries were beautiful in that they brought each of our sons into the world, but they were also each beautiful in the unique experiences they gave me as a woman.  Riggins' birth made me a mother and was just pure joy.  Rhett's fast and intense delivery was empowering and left me feeling like a badass rockstar who could conquer anything I dared to do for the rest of my life.  Wiley's slow marathon and difficult finish left me completely humbled, amazed at what God designed my body to do even when I thought I was at the absolute end of myself.

Babies are born every day in a multitude of ways that are right for each mother and child.  There is no right or wrong way to do it, and every birth is beautiful.  I really do mean that.  That said, my two experiences of natural childbirth will forever be cherished.  There is something transcendent that occurs in those visceral, painful moments that is nearly impossible for me to describe, and yet I know that it has left me forever changed and empowered.  I encourage any woman who is considering that option to take a chance and believe that you are stronger than you think.  You really can do it if you want to, and the rewards outweigh the pain.

Wiley Andrew

Our third musketeer is here!

Wiley Andrew

Born Wednesday, August 27th

1:41 p.m.

7 lb. 12 oz., 20.5 inches 

Wiley is the sweetest little guy and we are all just smitten!  His big brothers adore him, and he is instantly calmed by the racket of their crazy antics.  We are slowly but surely finding our groove as parents to three little boys.  There are moments of pure chaos, to be sure, but the sweet moments far outweigh the overwhelming ones (or at least make them feel worth it!).  

When I'm not taking care of these three critters I am trying to catch some rest or have a complete conversation with my husband, but one of these days I want to write out Wiley's birth story here.  I feel so fortunate to have experienced another natural delivery.  While it was a beautiful experience, it was the total opposite of my other deliveries, which was somewhat disorienting.  It took me a bit to wrap my head around the experience and how I felt about it, but all in all it really was wonderful...just very different, which is fitting considering the entire pregnancy was different.  I think God was just preparing me for Wiley to be his own man despite his baby brother status!    

Wiley is named after my great grandfather, John Wiley Slocum Jr. (so technically he is named after  his great- great- AND triple-great grandfathers!).  His daughter was my grandmother, Betty Horn.  You might remember my writing about her after she passed away almost three years ago.  Grammy and I were very close and while I never met her father, I have heard stories about him throughout my life.  He was quite the renaissance man, and he loved the Lord.  Most importantly, he raised my beloved Grammy, so Wiley is a tribute to her most of all.  

Andrew is Jonathan's middle name, and a family name on his mother's side.  This kept with our tradition of giving our boys biblical family names for middle names (Riggins Thomas and Rhett Matthew).  

We actually didn't settle on his name until seeing him in the hospital, which was a fun change for us after naming our other boys early in pregnancy.  We were fairly certain he would be Wiley in the weeks leading up to his delivery, but it was fun to wait and announce his name once he arrived.   

We are immensely grateful to the Lord for another healthy baby.  Too many we know are longing to become parents or faced with incredible health challenges with their children, so we do not take for granted the gift of an uneventful birth and a healthy child.  It truly is miraculous.  

It's a BOY!

That's right, folks!  We will be welcoming our third son to the family and we couldn't be happier!  Weber is particularly satisfied that she will remain Daddy's Little Girl forever.  

First and foremost, this baby is healthy, from what we can tell via ultrasound.  Everyone focuses on the 20 week ultrasound as the big boy/girl disclosure, but we know that for so many families this is a moment of life-altering news about their child's health.  I have always gone into these halfway ultrasounds with that tentative excitement, truly praying for healthy over all.  We are just so thankful for that most important good news, more than pink or blue!  

I have to admit, I would have put money on this baby being a girl.  Not because we were trying for one or because I really wanted one more than a boy, but that was just my gut feeling.  Even Riggs and Rhett thought it was a girl!  This pregnancy has been so very different from my others and I bought into the wives tales thinking that indicated a different baby too!  I've always been a bit intimidated by the idea of a daughter, and always wanted to be a boy mom, but this time around I had started to come around to the idea of all the unique joys of having a girl and had gotten a little excited about about that possibility.  This was a huge change for me as in my previous pregnancies I was downright anxious about that possibility!  (No offense to my girl mama friends!)

When the ultrasound tech announced "It's a boy!" out of nowhere and without warning, I was just stunned.  Not upset or sad, just shocked!  My gut feeling was totally wrong!  (I had similar feelings about Riggs being a boy so I guess I was a bit overconfident in my accuracy record!).  It took me a few minutes to process reality, but thankfully Baby Boy left zero question about his anatomy!  Jonathan, on the other hand, immediately started belly laughing.  He has said it was a third boy all along, so this just confirmed his instincts and he was thrilled!  

Once the shock wore off, I did allow myself a moment to process.  It's hard to articulate, because I am really and truly excited to have another boy.  But there was also a small part of me that had to acknowledge that since this is probably our last baby I will never have a daughter.  I just had to take a minute to let go of everything that goes with that.  Once Jonathan and I got to chat about that in the car afterward, I was good to go and able to fully embrace my joy over this little boy!

We got to enjoy a celebratory date night together at Whisky Cake (a delicious virgin cocktail for me, fried green tomatoes, mussels with chorizo and fennel, lamb french dip, and whisky cake of course!) and talked and laughed about our future with three little boys.  We reflected on how amazing it was that God knew our plans to move back to Oklahoma and live in a cute little historic home in Midtown were totally not what we needed, and led us so perfectly to our home out in the country that will be perfect for three boys.  A few months ago we had a builder come out to confirm whether or not our attic could be refinished into a bonus room in the future, so we laughed that we'll now really need that attic room as a man cave for these three fellas!  (Gotta keep the boy smells confined if I can, right? ;)  We talked about the huge responsibility of raising men who will love God, their families, and their communities.  We dreamed about the bond these brothers will share as they grow together.  And then we high tailed it over to Full Circle Bookstore to flip through some baby name books since we have NO EARTHLY IDEA what we are going to name this sweet child!  Suggestions welcome!  

Thankfully, Riggins and Rhett were excited about the news of their baby brother too!  Since Riggins was so confident he was having a sister, I worried about his reaction, but he didn't skip a beat!  It has been fun to experience pregnancy with a child who is old enough to have some understanding (although he did try to look at the baby through my belly button the other day, so we're not totally there ;)

Baby boy, we love you so much already and look forward to meeting you soon.  Thanks for officially making me a full-blown Boy Mom!  

Halfway the Hard Way

Goodness gracious, I am 20 weeks pregnant today!  I'm in that strange land where I feel like I've been pregnant forever and that it has flown by all at the same time.  Honestly, this go-round has been my toughest yet, so I haven't been doing a lot of picture-taking, memory-recording, or reflecting.  I need to change that now that I'm halfway there and (fingers crossed, Lord willing, yada yada) hopefully almost out of the woods of these difficult first few months.  

First bathroom bump pic at around 13 weeks.  

So let's start with the positives.  The baby has been perfectly healthy and the pregnancy itself has been totally boring.  Nothing wrong with the baby or my ability to carry the baby, so for that I am completely grateful.  And, hello, I'm pregnant.  An undeserved gift that I will never take for granted!  

Nevertheless, my wise counselor of a brother-in-law always says that while you can certainly always find someone with a worse situation, it's important not to minimize your own pain.  And, y'all, the last few months have been painful for me.  As I mentioned in my first post about this pregnancy, I have been sicker this time around.  I've always experienced the fairly constant nausea and occasional vomiting, but this time the vomiting was much more frequent.  In early March I had one scary Saturday where I started vomiting from letting my stomach get too empty and then just couldn't stop.  From 3 to midnight I couldn't keep down foods or liquids, and it wasn't a stomach bug; just pure morning sickness.  Thank goodness we have a dear friend who is an OB who was able to give us counsel and recommend an over the counter solution that calmed the nausea and kept us from a trip to the hospital.  

The day before that happened, March 13th, I woke up with red, irritated eyes.  Jonathan brought me into the office and diagnosed classic allergic conjunctivitis.  He and his colleagues got me hooked up with all the best drugs that are still appropriate for pregnant women, and although things got worse before they got better, we started to see improvement.  Then about a week later, I spent some time outside and flared up even worse than before.  For a person who had never suffered from anything allergy related, it was a sudden and extreme reaction.  Jonathan and his partners declared it to be the worst case of allergic conjunctivitis they had ever seen (and these guys have seen a lot of crazy stuff!).  My conjunctiva (the white area of your eye) was swelling up over my iris.  Jonathan took one look through the slit lamp and my sweet minister's son hubby said curse words...that's when I knew it was bad! The really strange thing was that it also affected my lids, making them hugely swollen, puffy, and droopy.  Furthermore, none of the typical meds were touching it, and the slightest irritation would cause another flare up, even with those drugs in my system.  

I can't really explain the pain and discomfort, but it was as miserable as it looked!  I had never experienced anything like it, but if you've ever had significant eye trouble you know if affects everything.  On the worst days it was so disabling that I couldn't drive, go to work, or do anything but lay in bed with ice packs on my face.  On the best days it still made me want to claw my eyes out, and that constant level of irritation made me irritated with everything and everyone.  I was not a good wife or mommy, I knew it, I couldn't help it, and it made me crazy.  I would go several days thinking "Things could be so much worse!  This is temporary! You're ok!  Laugh at yourself!"  And then the frustration and pain would reach a threshold and I'd break down.  In order to resist further flare ups I have not been able to go outside unless absolutely necessary.  Missing out on these beautiful spring days with my boys really breaks my heart!  Not to mention the vanity aspect of feeling like I am getting fatter and uglier by the day, and the guilt and sadness not enjoying what will probably be my last pregnancy.  It has certainly been an exercise in humility and dependence on the Lord and those who love me.  

I finally saw an allergist last week who confirmed our suspicion that this has all been caused by my sudden high exposure to red cedar pollen during a record high year in Oklahoma and my first spring living in a house out in the country surrounded by red cedar.  Combined with the wacky effects pregnancy can have on your immune system, it was the perfect storm for an extreme, severe reaction.  Yay!  He is going to conduct allergy testing next week so that we can start a plan of preventative treatment for the future.  Until then, after avoiding oral steroids out of concern for the baby I reached my ultimate desperation point where something more just had to be done.  We are fortunate to have knowledgable friends in the medical field (we have smart friends, people, and we are so thankful!) who worked together to figure out a med dosage that is perfectly safe for baby and yet packs a punch to kick this junk to the curb!  I am SO DONE!  

But enough of that!  There have still been plenty of bright spots in the last few months!  I started feeling the baby move at around 16 weeks, celebrated Rhett's 2nd birthday, and have continued teaching my class at OBU with an incredible group of students who have been so kind and flexible as I've dealt with all this junk.  They have been such an unexpected joy this semester!  And of course, I still get to spend each day with Riggs and Rhett, who have been so sweet about mommy's "Owie eyes."  And Jonathan...oh my stars...this man wins all the prizes.  As miserable as I have been, I realize that this bump in the road has majorly affected his life as well, and he has risen to the occasion with flying colors.  He has carried more than his fair share of the weight, cooking, cleaning, playing with the boys, doing the evening routine, coming home at lunch to help.  All while providing medical care to me AND all of his patients during some of his busiest months at the practice yet.  Oh, and let's not forget graciously loving a wife who fluctuates between snappy and irritable, optimistic and strong, and depressed and weepy.  

So, I'm grasping for the good stuff, hopeful about this new treatment, and looking forward to a more enjoyable and uneventful second half of this pregnancy!  I've had a few talks with this baby about how mommy is taking one for the team and he better hold up his end of the bargain when he arrives: no colic and sleeping through the night ASAP, please, my darling!  

Photos taken at around 16-17 weeks when I thought I was out of the woods!  Jonathan's practice is a supporter of our public school district's foundation, and we got to attend their annual banquet.  I've also tried to attend Jazzercise when the thought of my face getting hot and sweaty doesn't make me curl up in the fetal position.  

One of the scary photos on the right up top was taken on Thursday.  This picture below was taken this morning, Saturday, after only 3 doses of my current med.  Seeing a huge improvement and praying it lasts!  Also, this is Linda Curry, a dear family friend who made our wedding cake almost 10 years ago.  The other night I confessed a wedding cake craving on Facebook, and this morning Linda rang my doorbell and delivered a wedding cake just for my own indulgence!  (Although Lord knows I'll have to share, or HELLO gestational diabetes!) If that's not the picture of servanthood and using your gifts to minister to others, I don't know what is!  See?  Lots to be joyful about and thankful for. 

Rhett is TWO!

April 5, 2014

Dear Rhett,

Happy birthday, little buddy!  Two years ago you entered the world in a whirlwind, giving me what might just be one of my favorite life moments to date.  You've continued to live up to your grand entrance, bringing lots of humor, passion, and sweetness to our family.  At two years old, you are very sweet, affectionate, and tender-hearted, while also being very spunky, strong, and funny.  You are always up for snuggling, especially after waking up.  You adore your big brother, "Riggy," and we joke that you're on a 15 second delay of doing or saying everything he does or says!  The two of you are becoming such good buds.  Although you are very easy going and sweet, you have quite the temper  once something sets you off!  

 At two years old you weigh 30.5 pounds (75th percentile) and are 36.5 inches long (90th percentile).  You wear size 24 month or 2T clothing, a size 7 shoe, and a size 5 diaper.  You sleep from about 8pm to 7am each night and nap every afternoon from about 1-3 or 4.  We just bought bunk beds so this past week we started trying out the toddler bed.  You're popping up like a jack-in-a-box a few times each night after we put you down, but after that you're out til morning.  You'll get the hang of it soon!  

Like the average toddler, you are a temperamental eater; somedays you are a bottomless pit and will eat anything, and other days you are super picky.  You consistently love cheese, apples, bananas, cereal, Kashi bars, green beans, grapes, tomatoes, mac and cheese, and hot dogs.  You're often heard saying, "NACK!" and you want to be fed as soon as you wake up in the morning, just like your Daddy!  

   

Developmentally, you are quite talkative and have begun stringing together short sentences and repeating everything we say.  You can count to ten and have recently shown interest in learning letters.  My favorite thing is to hear you having conversations with Riggs as you play.  You have a low, raspy voice when you're being serious, and a precious higher voice when you're being sweet or funny.  These days we hear a lot of "no," "me do it!," "hold you," and "mine!"  You also  love to sing!  

 You love to be outside!  I am thankful that our home allows me to let you out in the back yard and still keep an eye on you, and I love to watch you exploring.  You are so content to play on your own out there, just walking the yard, digging in your sand box, rolling your trucks, and riding in the Jeep with Riggins.  You also love listening to music, rolling cars up and down the halls and walls, playing chase ("race me!"), and reading stories.  Favorite books are Pete the Cat, Goodnight Moon, and Llama Llama books.  You also remind me to read our "Bible stowee" every morning at breakfast.  You like to watch TroTro, Daniel Tiger, and Leap Frog shows, and you enjoy big brother's Rescue Bots and Jake and the Neverland Pirates too (the theme song from which you've been known to yell at the top of your lungs through the grocery store!)

Speaking of big brothers, you're going to be one!  We found out in January that a new baby is on the way, and the day before your birthday we found out it's another boy!  Knowing your affectionate and tender heart, I'm so looking forward to watching you as a big brother; I have a feeling you're going to be extra sweet!  I think you three boys are going to be such a gift to one another and I feel so blessed to get to witness the special bond between brothers.  

Rhett, you are such a precious boy.  Everyone who meets you comments on what a sweetheart you are.  Your teachers at church, MDO, and BSF just rave about you every time we pick you up from somewhere, so apparently we aren't the only ones who think you're a little jewel of a guy!  We love you so much, Rhett Matthew, and pray for many, many more birthdays shared together!  

A Good Reason to Blog

I'm not sure if anyone even pops by this old blog anymore, and since I haven't posted anything in a ridiculously long time I sure wouldn't blame you.  There are no great excuses for my absence other than lack of motivation and inspiration to write.  Life is full and when I get bits of downtime I'm content to read the blogs of others and post quick snippets to Instagram.  But a little something has happened in our lives and out of sheer mom guilt I feel the need to keep things equal between our THREE children and blog about it:

It just wouldn't be fair to this little peanut to not get the same Internet introduction as his or her big brothers, now would it?

That's right...Baby #3 is on the way and expected to arrive in early September.  We are once again grateful and thrilled to take on the journey of welcoming a new life and adding to the joy of our family.  

For my own memory and for any inquiring minds, here are some thoughts on the first trimester of this pregnancy:

Yes, this was planned :)  Some people ask, but everyone is thinking it, right?  Once you get past two kids, everyone wants to know if it was a surprise!  We always knew we wanted a third child.  Jonathan, who is a few years older than me, has been ready for awhile now.  I took a little longer to feel ready to start the whole process again.  But once we were both ready things happened pretty quickly and on New Years Eve we got the news that 2014 would bring a new baby with it!  

No, we were not "trying for a girl."  We love having boys.  We will be thrilled if we find out we are expecting a third boy.  As I watch our boys romp around on our land I can't help but think what a magical place this would be for three brothers to grow up together.  We would also be thrilled to have a girl!  I will say that I hoped for boys with my first two pregnancies and that this is the first time that I find myself thinking that girls aren't so scary after all and that it would be really fun to have the experience of raising a daughter.  And I might need a buddy when these boys run off and leave me for other women (SOB!).  So truly, we are just praying for a healthy baby and look forward to finding out how the dynamic of our family will change with the addition of a boy or a girl.  We should find out in early April.  

I feel like junk, but I'm glad to feel like junk.  It is not lost on me that being pregnant is an undeserved gift that many women I know are longing for, so you will never hear me complain about the inconveniences involved.  I'm in my 13th week and have my fingers crossed that I'll begin to turn the corner soon, but I have definitely been sick and exhausted.  In typical form for me, I felt great until about 7 weeks and then the nausea, vomiting, and exhaustion hit in full force.  I experienced morning sickness and some vomiting with both boys, but I this round has been worse.  This past week I added to the mix with a hit of the stomach bug from Wednesday to Thursday and then a miserable cold that hit me Saturday night.  As you can imagine, I'm ready for the second trimester to kick in; and a dose of Spring wouldn't hurt either!  

One big change is that this is our first time to have a baby in Oklahoma instead of Memphis.  I absolutely adored my OB/GYN in Memphis (for reals, y'all, at my last appointment we were both in tears!) so it has been a bit of an adjustment to not walk back into that familiar office with familiar faces and familiar routines.  The plus side is that I am getting to try something that I always thought I would like, and that is using a midwife.  In Oklahoma we are fortunate to be able to have certified nurse midwives in the hospital.  (In Tennessee, midwifery is only allowed at home births.)  At my particular hospital they work in a group with OBs, so if at any point your pregnancy or delivery shows evidence of risk you are moved over to the care of an OB.  Since my previous pregnancies and deliveries have been uneventful, and since I enjoyed a great experience with Rhett's natural delivery in particular, I've decided to try this approach this time.  I've only had one appointment but so far I think it's going to be a good fit, especially for a third baby where a low-key, minimal intervention approach is more in line with my needs.  

Oh, and the last big adjustment of this pregnancy?  This will be my first time to ever be pregnant in the summer!  Yikes!  Both of my boys were born in April, so I've always been pregnant in fall and winter.  I've been spoiled by being able to drape my growing body in sweaters and scarves and curl up indoors, so I'm a bit intimidated by the idea of pregnancy during a season that necessitates minimal clothing in sweltering heat!  And wearing a swimsuit in the third trimester!?!  Oh sweet Lord, help me and all those who get to see that spectacle.  (But I hear the pool is the only place to survive a summer pregnancy so I fully intend to be the beached whale of my in-laws' neighborhood pool this July and August!)  

So all you mamas to summer and fall babies, please fill me in on your maternity wardrobe essentials and tricks, because I'm going to need to do some shopping.  And if you have any warm weather maternity clothes you'd like to lend out or give away, I'd be happy to take them off your hands ;)  But seriously, what did you live in with your summer pregnancy?  Dresses?  Shorts?  What should I invest in this go-around?