Too many doctors visits...

At Charlotte's initial check up at the pediatrician after she was born the doctor noticed that she had a dimple on her tailbone which she said can sometimes be a marker for a tethered spine.  She scheduled an appointment at the hospital for an ultrasound on Charlotte's spine just to rule that out so that we didn't have to worry about it.  That appointment was scheduled on the same day is her one month doctor visit a little later.  In the meantime, she had been a little jaundice. She was jaundice the day we left the hospital but they said it wasn't at a level that we had to worry about and that is should just go away on its own.  Well she began to look a little more and more jaundice as time went on at home and I just noticed that it wasn't seeming to go away. Here she is sunbathing in the sun trying to get rid of the jaundice.  I love how her hair was starting to fall out and leave a mohawk:)

 I called the doctor about it and asked how long to expect it to hang around and we took her in just to check her. Her level was higher than when we left the hospital but still not in a dangerous level.  This was a couple of weeks after she was born.  She wanted me to wait a couple of days and then have her tested again so we did.  The results came back exactly the same. So it was good that it wasn't getting worse but it really wasn't good that she wasn't improving at all. Doctor called and said that we had an ABO incompatibility which meant that my blood type wasn't compatible with hers and that somehow our blood had mixed (possibly at birth) or something like that and that it was possible that my blood was attacking her blood causing the blood cells to be destroyed in her which lowers her white cell blood count and hemoglobin and can also cause prolonged jaundice.  She said that we would have to monitor it to make sure that it would resolve on its own and that she didn't become anemic in the meantime if too much of her hemoglobin was being destroyed (disclaimer: it's been a while since this all happened and I'm trying to remember the details but some of the medical terms may not be exactly correct).  Anyways, I felt like we had already been back and forth to the doctor a million times at this point and the poor girl had her foot poked and blood taken way too many times. It was terrible.  Then it came time for the ultrasound appointment to check on her spine.  We went and had the ultrasound.  Here is my sweet little baby actually soothing herself on the table while waiting to get the ultrasound on her back.  I think she may have even fallen asleep in the middle of it. Sweet baby. Exactly one month old.

After the ultrasound was done we headed straight to the pediatrician to have our regular one month check up.  While there and going through the standard questions they ask I mention that she has started to spit up a lot and also that she really seems to struggle a lot when trying to dirty her diaper.  Also she only dirties her diaper about once a week and there is hardly ever anything in the diaper afterwards, just a small amount. Also she seems to be really gassy and gets really fussy throughout the day and draws her legs up to her chest like she is in pain. After further discussion, the doctor sends me straight back over to the hospital to have an abdominal ultrasound.  We head back over and have that ultrasound and an xray. Poor little girl had a long day but was still an angel.  After all is done, we head home and wait for the doc to call.  When she calls she says that her ultrasound showed gas all the way from the top of her abdomen to the bottom of her abdomen, literally filling her entire body.  They had never seen a baby so gassy!! It made me feel so bad because to think of a baby that must be in that much pain she really wasn't that fussy. It made me so sad knowing her sweet disposition was just trying to deal with it and was only mildly fussy. Given the circumstances most babies would probably be screaming their head off!  They also noticed that there was water in the colon so they had to wonder why her colon was retaining water and why she was so gassy.  She said they would have to do a barium enema and do another ultrasound of her colon and lower GI to see what was going on.  So the next day we were back at the hospital getting this done (along with more blood work to check jaundice levels).  I was so exhausted from worry at this point and also from running around to all of these appointments.  Jared was with me this time and I was just so overcome at how sad it was to be worrying about our sweet little girl. I have been so blessed that our first two were perfectly healthy and never had a single problem.  I know this is so minor compared to what a lot of people go through with their children but it was so awful.  My heart just hurt having to watch her get poked and prodded and lay there in a little gown on a table while doctors and nurses worked on her.  Jared and I were allowed to stay in the room for the lower GI ultrasound.  They had us wear protective shields and then stand next to her to put our hands on her and talk to her and comfort her.  I was a basketcase inside but was able to keep myself cool on the outside...at least I think so.  After the ultrasound we had to wait for the doc to review everything and then come talk to us.  When she came back she told us that what they were looking for was an indication of Hirschprung's disease.  She said there wasn't 100% positive evidence of it in the  ultrasound but that there were a few things that were "suspicious" and she wouldn't feel comfortable completely ruling it out and would be suggesting to our doctor that we go to the head of Pediatric Gastroenterology at UL and look into it further.  We went to get some lunch afterwards and I was feeling so devastated.  We were looking all over our smartphones trying to find information about Hirschprung's and I just felt so devastated. I felt so overwhelmed and just wanted everything to be over and her to be better and we were just barely at the beginning of it.  Jared reassured me that everything would be fine and everything happens for a reason and that it would all be according to Heavenly Father's plan and just to have faith.  He is SO much more level headed than I am in these situations.  We went home and waited for the call from our doc who did call and refer us to the specialist and he actually agreed to come in on  his day off the next day just to meet with us.  We woke up super early the next morning and drove to the hospital and met with him.  He went over her entire history and evaluated the situation.  He said that he felt pretty sure that she did not have Hirschprung's but that he still wanted to do the biopsy just to make sure. In the meantime he wanted me to stop eating all dairy and other things that she might be sensitive to (eating no dairy was nearly impossible! I never realized how many things have some sort of dairy in them and good heavens I never knew how much I loved cheese until I couldn't have it!).  As far as her jaundice he said that he suspected that it might be something called "breastmilk jaundice" and said to alternate every feeding between breastmilk and formula.  He said that if it truly was breastmilk jaundice than by drinking the formula it would clear the jaundice up.  This was on a Friday and they scheduled the biopsy for the following Tuesday.  We alternated the formula until we saw him again on Tuesday and it was amazing how much better her jaundice looked in just a few days of having formula. Sure enough they tested her the day of her biopsy and sure enough her levels were drastically down and they were able to conclude it was breastmilk jaundice and after that it pretty much completely went away after a few days.  It was amazing.  As far as the biopsy, I was so sad and scared for her to have to have it done even though they assured us it was an easy, simple procedure.  It was so sad to go the Children's Hospital and be surrounded by so many sick kids who were there for so many different reasons. It might be the most depressing place on earth!  I felt blessed that we weren't there for something much more serious.  When we got called back to the prep room Charlotte was starting to get fussy and I asked if it was okay to feed her and they said she wasn't allowed to eat or drink before the procedure. I asked how long until it would all be done and they said a couple of hours. Are you kidding me? She was 4 weeks old and  you are telling me she has to skip a meal? She would seriously be SCREAMING the whole time.  I thought there was no way that could be right or a good way to start the procedure so I walked back to the nurses station and told them I wanted them to check with the doctor.  Sure enough they called him and he said to feed her.  Whew.  They were just going by protocol that patients not have food or drink before surgery but our situation was different.  So thank heavens I got to feed her.  It was so sad when they came to get her and took her away from us. We just sat in the little area while she was whisked away by the medical staff.  It was so hard.  Anyways, pretty quickly, about 30 minutes later they brought her back and said she did great and they were all done! Hooray!! I was so glad it was done. She wasn't a happy camper but at least she was back with me and the biopsy was done.  This is when they brought her back to me.  Here is one happy (and exhausted) momma and one unhappy baby!!

After we went home the doctor called me that night to let us know that she did not have Hirschprung's and just to go on with life as normal.  We didn't need to do any more testing!  We were so thrilled.  Sure enough, after a couple of months she started becoming more regular with her dirty diapers and the spitting up got better and she became completely normal.  My theory is just that since she was born a month early her poor little digestive system just wasn't developed yet and just had to develop a little more before it was working like normal.  How blessed we are that things turned out okay.  We still have to go get a MRI in a few weeks to check her spine again because that first test came back borderline.  Then you have to wait until they are around 9 months old and their body has grown a little to see what has happened to the spine as it has grown. So we will go get that done in a few weeks but I feel pretty good that it will come back fine.   But it will definitely be a relief when we get good news on that too.  But right now she is a perfect normal happy baby.  So blessed.  Love her:)

First few weeks

As soon as Charlotte was born we could tell that she had a very sweet spirit and mild temperament.  She is so easy going and such a sweetheart.  I remember preparing myself for her birth because everyone kept telling me how hard it was to have the third and that three was the number that just changed everything!  And then I remember those first few weeks after she was born thinking "this isn't that hard at all..what's the big deal?".  Granted, she was a very good baby and also Jared was able to take quite a bit of time off work to be home and help.  So he pretty much took care of the older two kids and I just had Charlotte to worry about. In the beginning it was almost like just having one baby all over again.  And a really good baby at that. The hardest part for me was actually just having routines completely shifted and also not being able to do the things with the older two that I was used to.  I really felt bad about not being able to spend as much time with them as I did before and I missed that and I also felt guilty about it. I could tell that they were subconsciously feeling a little neglected and I felt terrible about it. In the end, they are fine and I am sure it happens to every kid every time a new sibling is born but it was still hard.  Now we have developed entirely new routines and everyone is back in the swing of things!  Here are a few pics of Charlotte's first few weeks:
She loved being swaddled. I could stare at her for hours when she is so peacefully sleeping...so perfect!

 I pretty much carried her around swaddled in my arms non stop for the first few weeks.  I would get busy doing whatever I was doing and then occasionally look down at her and every time I would find her just content and looking right back at me. I couldn't even stand the cuteness of it.  I had to take a few pics of it.

Always just hanging out and staring back at me:)

 This was the first attempt we made at going out in public with all three kids. I think Charlotte is about 2 weeks old in this pic. We went to the store for something.  I looked back and saw Jared pushing the cart with all three kids and it was the first time it hit me for real...we have THREE KIDS!! Holy Moly!!:)

 A few weeks old and starting to smile!

REALLY SMILE!! :) Melt my heart...

 Just lookin' cute in her car seat (as a side note, this girl lived in bibs for the first few months of life because she seriously spit up.  And I got sick of changing outfits all day so I decided it was easier to change bibs. Doesn't look as cute but with kid #3 it's all about being practical:)

 Can't get enough of a sleeping baby...

 Getting a good shot of all three of these kids is nearly impossible. I took a billion and then decided at least even though there wasn't a single good one that at least here was just something that documented them at this age.

 To say that Logan and Savannah ADORE Charlotte would be an understatement.  There are no words for it.  They seriously LOVE her to pieces!! Logan is very sweet and adoring.  Savannah is so in love with Charlotte that she could squish her and smother her with love all day long...and all day long I am telling her to be careful or to be a little more gentle:) The way that Logan is looking at her in the pic below says it all for him.  Logan and Charlotte have seemingly had a special bond since birth.  She just lights up when she sees him and he is sooo good with her.  She smiles at Savannah too but for now it just seems a little deeper with Logan.

 Savannah is always so happy if I let her sit next to Charlotte or hold her or do just about anything with her.  You can tell how happy she is in this pic just because I sat Charlotte next to her.  Too bad a piece of my hair got in front of the camera:(

 Logan and Savannah had a blast those first few weeks entertaining the baby.  They just thought it was so fun to show the baby how to do just about anything.  This particular day they were putting on a dance party for her.  I am pretty sure that Charlotte was quite amused.  Take note of Savannah's outfit.  She was in a phase of dressing herself and changing her outfit about 5 times a day. This particular "outfit" was by far her favorite for a while.  It is her bathing suit top with bathing suit bottoms and pair of tights OVER the bottoms of her swimsuit.  Didn't matter that it was still cold outside and didn't matter that it was all put on wrong. She loved it.

Well there is no doubt that this baby will be spoiled and will get plenty of love and attention. It has been so fun to have a baby when there are older siblings around.  They love and appreciate her so much.  It's so fun to see them interact and love each other.  Ahhh, I love my family of five! :)

Sweet Charlotte

I have had this post saved as a draft forever waiting to download pictures from Charlotte's birth from Jared's phone because he had way more pictures than me, but it just ain't happening and I don't feel like I can procrastinate any longer! So I posting this post just using the pics from my phone. They will have to do!

There is so much to post and I'm feeling so far behind that I am just going to have to focus on her birth story in this post.  Well, my due date was March 21st but I assumed I would be going a few weeks early since I had with my other two. I thought it would be between 37 to 38 weeks.  Nearing the end, I was starting to get pretty anxious about going into labor.  First, I was worried that I wouldn't be sure when I was going into labor since that's what happened with Savannah.  With this pregnancy I starting having Braxton Hicks around 26 weeks and they never stopped until I had the baby.  It was the same way with Savannah.  They get a lot stronger toward the end as well.  So I was worried that I would be in labor and not know it and then at the last minute realize this is the real thing and then not be able to make it to the hospital in time....just like with Savannah but the difference is when I had Savannah I lived 5 minutes from the hospital and that's why we were barely able to make it.  But now, I live 35 minutes from the hospital so if the same thing happened, well then, Jared would be delivering the baby on the side of the road.  Terrible.  BUT if I was over cautious and went to the hospital when I thought I might be in labor and I wasn't, then it is super annoying because if it's in the middle of the night I have woken people up to come over to the house to watch the kids, driven all the way to the hospital and then feel stupid saying "Thanks for coming over and getting no sleep tonight, but I just overreacted and I'm not in labor:(".  Haha.  So I just started to think of all the things that could go wrong and it started to freak me out a little.  Well, on the morning of February 24th, a Sunday, the second I stood out of bed I thought "I am really uncomfortable...like drastically more than yesterday". But I am in the primary presidency and it was my turn to teach sharing time so we all still got ready and went to church.  The whole time I was sitting there waiting to teach my lesson I was having what I thought were Braxton Hicks the whole time, but they were annoyingly painful.  I even said a prayer that they would go away so I could focus on teaching my lesson:)! So stayed through church but the second we got home I told Jared I was laying down because I was having steady Braxton Hicks all morning and that I just wanted to lay down.  Then I started timing them to see if they were consistent or if they would go away with laying down. Jared took care of the kids for the afternoon, made me lunch and brought it to me in bed, and I just laid there for about an hour and a half. They wouldn't go away.  So I called the on call doctor at my ob/gyn's office and asked what they thought I should do. I was only 36 weeks so they said it probably wasn't labor but if it got to the point where I was hunched over in pain then go to the hospital. The problem with that is that I NEVER hunch over in pain until the very very end!! So anyways, I decided to take a bath and see if they would go away then.  I took a nice hot bath and they did start to feel a little better.  So I thought "OK this isn't labor then because the contractions wouldn't subside." We were supposed to go over to my parents for dinner with the whole family. Jared had some work to do so after much debate about whether or not I was really in labor and if he should go in case I was, he decided to stay at home to catch up on a few things. I picked up my sister and drove our families to my parents.  As we were finishing up eating, the pain started coming back.  At this point I was really uncomfortable (but still thinking it might just be Braxton Hicks!), so we stayed a little while longer and then we headed home.  We got home around 9:00 pm and I walked in the door and told Jared I was going to go straight to bed.  He got the kids in bed and I fell asleep. I woke up around midnight because of the pain.  I laid there for a little while and tried to ignore it and go back to sleep but every time I fell back asleep I would wake up because of pain.  I decided to try the bath thing again to see if they went away. They didn't and I started timing them and noticing they were coming every 5 minutes.  At this point, it was around 2:30 a.m.. I woke up Jared and said "I think we should probably go to the hospital." I called my sister, Melanie, who was knowingly "on call". She drove right over to stay with the kids since they were asleep. I packed a quick hospital bag and we left.  On the car ride there we chit chatted and I even commented how much better this was than the last time since the overall feeling was so relaxed!  We would talk and then I would say "yup, here is another one and it's been exactly five minutes" then I would just be quiet waiting for it to pass.  We got to the hospital around 3:30. Jared dropped me off at the entrance while he parked.  Unfortunately that entrance was closed, but he left to park so quickly that he didn't notice that I couldn't get in so my poor little pregnant waddling body had to walk to the next entrance. Fortunately, it wasn't far at all:) We registered and then the nurses came to check me to see if I really was in labor.  When they checked me I was a 6 1/2 to 7! I couldn't believe it! First of all, it WAS labor which means I had been in labor forever since these had not been Braxton Hicks and also because I couldn't believe in a matter of hours it would all be over and I would be holding her in my arms! It was so surreal! They wheeled me back to our room and we called my sister to let her know we would be staying:) Everything from there went really quickly. They came in and gave me the epidural.  Since I had Savannah natural, I was neutral going into this one. I thought that I might as well get the epidural if I had the choice and enough time, but I was okay with going natural if I had the time.  FYI, if I have another one I have my mind made up I am going natural again.  By the time the epidural kicked in, I had her about 20 minutes later.  Not even worth it and no thanks to another needle in my back.  But anyways, they checked me and said I was about a 9 1/2 but that she was still pretty high up. They left the room and within 2 or 3 minutes I felt crazy pressure and then my water broke.  We called the nurse back and the baby had moved all the way down. She told the nurses to call the doctor right away and then before we knew it the baby was already coming out and she was born minutes before the doctor got there.  AGAIN.  No doctors were there for Savannah and no doctor for Charlotte. That's just how we roll:) They handed her to me and it was of course, the most wonderful moment.  I LOVE this moment.  It is one of the moments that makes me thing I should have 10 kids.  Each of those moments has been the best moment of my life. Totally indescribable and irreplaceable. One of the first things we noticed was how much hair she had! I didn't remember my other ones having so much hair.  Tons of dark brown hair.  She was born at 5:58 and weighed 5 lbs. 13 oz.  and 19 inches long.  Weight exactly the same as Savannah's but Savannah was two inches longer.  She is such an angel and has the sweetest temperament.  They were big on "kangaroo method" or something like that at this hospital which meant that they wanted you to have as much time skin to skin with  your new baby. So they laid her on my chest and we just sat there for about 20 minutes. Oh the love!! My heart was overflowing!! She just snuggled right up to me and was perfectly content. It's amazing that even though they are now on the outside, she for sure knew that I was still her mother.  She knew that I was the same person that had been carrying her around this whole time.  Well, they wheeled us up to the post delivery room and there we were for three days. I missed my other kids so badly and by the time the three days were over, I was ready to get out of there.  Kuddos out to my parents, sister and husband who made sure that the older two kids were totally taken care of the whole time.  As a side note, the first time that I went to use the bathroom after I had Charlotte, the nurse went with me just to make sure that everything was okay and sure enough, yup, I fainted. Right there in the bathroom in the nurses arms.  One of the last things I remember is her pulling on the emergency call cord and then I guess Jared came in because I was out and he carried me to the bed. I was full on dreaming.  It was weird and I kind of felt stupid. I am not sure why it happened but it didn't happen again, thank heavens. Anyways, she is a gem and a true joy to our family. So in love...Introducing Charlotte Isabelle:

 So this picture makes me laugh because it reminds me when Jared brought the kids to see us that day I can't even remember now what they were wearing but I remembering thinking to myself "what in the heck are they wearing?" All I know is that yes I am pretty sure Savannah's hair isn't brushed and yes, she really is wearing her bathing suit top for her shirt. In February nonetheless.  Awesome. I guess this is what happens when Mom's not around. It cracked me up.
As a side note, when Logan and Savannah first came in the room to meet her for the first time they were both SO shy about touching or holding her.  I'm pretty sure the first day they didn't get closer than like a foot away from her.  But it didn't take long at all for them to warm up.  The picture of Logan included with all three of them must be on Jared's phone. I may add those later.

 On her birth day. I'm exhausted:)

 Sweetest pose ever:

 Seriously, look at the hair. I couldn't believe it.  I LOVE it!

 Happy Daddy!

Pregnancy

So here we are just a few weeks away from having our third baby, a baby girl.  I am so overwhelmed with gratitude and excitement.  First of all, as any mom knows having kids is pretty much the best thing ever. The love that I feel for the two I already have is completely indescribable and in every way completes me as a human being.  Being a mom is simply the best.  Secondly, I love babies. I mean seriously. I melt whenever I see a newborn.  Even though taking care of a newborn is a hard phase, I love it. I love love love holding a tiny little human being so innocent and new in my arms.  Third, I know I am not in the majority, but I love being pregnant. Yup, I really do.  I am sure it has to do with the fact that I don't get sick.  Like I never even feel nauseous.  Feel completely normal except maybe loss of appetite, foods that don't sound good and being very tired. And that's it, until I get big and then I'm just plain uncomfortable. But nothing terrible.  And it totally gets overshadowed by all the fun things like looking at the baby at the ultrasound and feeling the baby move and kick and the plain excitement of a new person joining our family.

It has been fun having kids that are older this time because they are so excited about it. When we first told them, Logan was really excited although he had a hard time really believing it.  Savannah said, "Oh no thanks. I'd rather have a puppy":) But then when she really understood what I was talking about she was so excited and was convinced it was a girl and that she would have a sister. Logan of course, was hoping for a boy.  I kept telling Savannah that we don't know if it's a boy or girl and that we will be happy either way so she wasn't so disappointed if it was a boy. Well after we found out it was a girl, she told me for probably a month "I told you so!". So funny. Logan took the news pretty well.  He was disappointed for about 60 seconds and then he was over it. Love him:)

Here is the 11 weeks ultrasound and our first look at baby:

I think another one of the reasons that I love pregnancy so much is because I have been blessed with smooth pregnancies.  Not a single worry.  Go to my scheduled appointments and everything always looks normal and all tests come back great and we just go through the routine with hardly any stress.  Well that changed with this pregnancy and it was the first time that I thought, "This isn't so fun. I have a whole pregnancy to worry about her and if things are normal, etc."  Probably the way it is for a lot of women I just have been so naive and taken for granted the ease and blessing of no problems during pregnancy.  Well for this one the stress started when I got my 20 week ultrasound.  I felt a little more worried this time about making sure that things would be normal but was mostly thinking about the excitement of finding out the gender.  Jared and I had Savannah with us because we were running late and didn't have time to take her to my Mom and Dad's first but we thought it would be fun to let her be involved anyway (Logan was at school). So we got the ultrasound and found out it was a girl (which immediately brought on an "I told you so!" from Savannah:)) We were relishing in this for a while (it's not like it really mattered to us since we already have one of each) and then the ultrasound tech said everything looked normal, printed us some pictures and that was that. She said that the doctor would just meet with me really quick to finish up the appointment. So Jared took Savannah back out in the waiting room while I waited in another room for the doctor. When she came in she looked a little somber and started going over the numbers with me as far as the measurements go. When she got to the head measurement she said that the head was measuring abnormally small and that it was often a marker for a chromosomal abnormality and that she would immediately refer me to a high risk specialist so that I could get further testing and they would take blood work that day to determine my likelihood for genetic abnormalities.  She said the high risk doctor would do an extensive ultrasound but that the only way to know certain things for sure was to get an amniocentesis but that I could go over all of that with the high risk doctor.  So I got the blood work done and then told her I wasn't sure if I could remember all the details of our conversation to pass along to my husband so she said to bring him back and she could go over everything with him as well.  So I walked out to the waiting room and saw Jared's happy face thinking we were good and were leaving and had to tell him that actually there was a problem and for about 3 seconds couldn't hold in my tears. It was so horrible to go from thinking things were great to thinking that they were not good at all in about 5 seconds.  And then to pass along that news to Jared was heartbreaking.  So we go back to talk to the doctor again and she explains everything to Jared.  He asked how often she has seen this and her reply was that she never had.  So that made us feel pretty grim.  So we left the appointment with a million people to call to let them know boy or girl but there was this big damper on the whole thing.  What a weird change in the day.  There is also such a broad range of chromosomal abnormalities that it was so hard to even imagine what we were dealing with.  It could be something as small as a slight learning disability to a baby that will always need to be on machines and just be a vegetable for life or even die soon after birth.  It was hard and to say the least I was devastated. But within a few hours I was feeling better about it and Jared was a rock the whole time.  It was such a strengthening experience for us as a couple having to rely on each other and to have faith together.  I was so amazed and comforted by Jared's faith and strength through it. He never for one second freaked out (at least he didn't show it).  He just kept reassuring me that she would be fine and even if she wasn't that it was all part of Heavenly Father's plan and that everything would be okay.  And I did believe that.  We had to wait a week to be able to get in to see the high risk doctor.  Surprisingly that week, neither one of us stressed out too much and just went on like normal. I really feel like we were blessed and prayers for comfort were miraculously answered.  Our high risk appointment finally came and after the ultrasound was done the high risk doctor came in and talked to us and said that the baby looked absolutely perfect and that there was absolutely nothing to worry about and that we would just resume the rest of the pregnancy with our normal doctor. Talk about good news! It was such a relief. Even though we had felt good all week, it was so amazing to get confirmation that she looked totally fine.  She thinks the head measurement was just off because the baby was breech at that point and her head measurements may have just been off due to her position. The whole experience definitely was a faith builder and also made me realize that every healthy baby is nothing to be taken for granted and each one is such a miracle! Feeling so grateful...

20 week ultrasound:

Fast forward in the pregnancy and about a couple of weeks ago my doctor started mentioning that the baby was still breech.  This was at about 33 weeks. I guess the babies usually flip by this point but it's definitely not unheard of if they haven't, it's just something that they start noticing at this point.  At my 34 week appointment the baby was still breech so she talking about different options of what would happen if baby stayed breech.  This pretty much always means C section which completely freaks me out on top of the fact that seriously, after two regular deliveries and a super speed recovery with my second, I was going to have a c section and terrible recovery. Terrible option.  The problem is that they won't typically medically intervene until 39 weeks to be sure that the baby is totally ready to be delivered.  At that point they would try manual manipulation to try to get the baby to flip or schedule a csection.  But I have never made it to 39 weeks before so it was looking like with this one if she was still breech at delivery I was going to have to rush to the hospital the second I felt contractions and either rush into an emergency C section or she said if I didn't make it to the hospital in time (I delivered Savannah very quickly and now I live 30 minutes from the hospital) to have a C section that they would just try to deliver the baby bottom first.  Another terrible option.  So needless to say I have been worried about this like crazy.  I read all about things online I could do to try to get the baby to flip and no matter how crazy it sounded I was willing to give it a try.  I read on tons of different sites that you should shine a flashlight on the bottom of your belly (I think the theory is that the baby will flip to put her head closer to the light) and also that you can put an ice pack on the top of your belly where her head is and that she will flip to turn away from the cold.  So no matter how ridiculous or voodoo-ish it sounded I was going to try it.  So that night while we watched TV I had a flashlight shining on my lower belly and an ice pack on the top. I was quite a sight:) She started moving like crazy and I swore to Jared that I felt one crazy painful big movement but I was sure it was all in my head. The next morning I had my doctor's appointment and sure enough....she had flipped!! No longer breech! I was so darn excited.  I couldn't believe it. I was so excited I could just enjoy these last few weeks without any anxiety. Now I'm not sure if it was coincidence or not, maybe she just flipped on her own at some point the previous week or maybe it was the light and cold pack....I'll never know. But I don't care. I'm just so stinking excited she's not breech.

Me and Savannah went straight from the doctor and got "Five Guys" to celebrate the good news. This is my "trying to show I'm happy, but instead just looks weird face:)":) I probably wouldn't have posted it if Savannah's happiness wasn't so stinkin' cute...

Here is the ultrasound from 33 weeks, looking cute as ever:):

And here is my belly in all of it's glory at 35 weeks, same day I found out baby flipped!:

So here I am at 35 weeks (Savannah came at 37 weeks and Logan at 38), 1 cm dilated, and on the countdown...WAHOO! We are really excited to meet this little bundle of joy. Now if we could just decide on a name:)

"Country" life:)

Ever since the first time that Jared visited Kentucky with me he said he would love to live here and all he has talked about is how he wanted a place with land.  Well we finally moved to a new home in October and now we are surrounded by "land". We have loved living here and love feeling like we are in the country.  I am getting used to being further away from a mall or Target (about 25 minutes away  - not even bad I know but it feels like it). I am anxiously awaiting the spring time again though when the kids can just go play in the back yard and when everything is in full bloom again. There is definitely something refreshing about being surrounded by trees and green grass. I love our black fence that surrounds the yard and I love that in the rolling hills around us there are cows that roam and come close. The kids think it's so neat that you can see cows from our yard.  And on another good note, Logan's school is only about a mile down the road so we are nice and close. I love it and Jared really loves it:) One view from the backyard:

The rest of summer

So I guess there were a few other things from summer I forgot to put on here besides just going to the beach.   Here are some random pictures from other things we did in the summer.
Daddy took the kids fishing a lot and a few times in the back yard at Grandma and Grandpa's.  I went outside and found them pleased as peaches about digging up worms:

Who knew worms could make you so happy?  

 This is a pretty regular thing around here.  Savannah is obsessed with brushing hair and putting pretend makeup on me.  She is so happy if I will sit and let her brush my hair or use crayons to put makeup on my face.  Thank heavens they don't really make marks. Gotta love the kids poses in this pic:)

 Logan completed his first swim lesson this past summer.  He loved it.  It was the first swim lesson I had ever been to so I didn't know what to expect. We just signed up for the class at the local YMCA.  In the beginning I was a little disappointed in the program but I think my expectations were a little high regarding what they would teach at this age or the individual attention they would be able to give but in the end, at the end of the course, Logan was able to "swim" (more like doggie paddle) from one side of the pool to the other and so I was happy.  He was getting so good at swimming by the end of the summer after lots of practice in Grandma and Grandpa's pool and going to the beach. I think he will be really good by the end of next summer.

And when a parent realizes that the house is way too quiet and goes to check on their kids, who doesn't love to find them playing together in a bed, giggling, and happy as can be! Melt my heart.

And we got a good taste of Kentucky history but visiting Squire Boone Caverns.  I have memories of going here on a field trip in elementary school and loving it but hadn't been back since.  We had so much fun. I guess this is where Daniel Boone's brother, Squire Boone, settled with his family.  It is was about a 40 minute drive from our house.  Here was the old mill that they used.  It was absolutely beautiful.  It kind of rained on and off that day and so it was misty and made it that much prettier.  We had a blast walking around playing in the creek bed and seeing the old buildings.  As you walk around the settlement you can see people in each of the different building doing the things people had to do by hand back then.  Very interesting and fun for kids.  

 

Behind us is the tiny spot at the beginning of the creek where they say Squire Boone discovered the entrance to the cave when he was running from Indians.  

 Poor Logan.  Jared really wanted a picture of him in a coon-skin (is that how you say and spell that?!) hat because he thought it was so hilarious.  Logan didn't really love it at all.

 Down inside the caves.  Glad the kids weren't scared.  I wasn't sure if they would be since they had never gone in a cave before but they loved it.  As you can see from the next three pictures, this is right around the time when Savannah decided she would smile and say cheese and pose for pictures.  I love it:)

 More pics of inside the cave.

 Playing on the playground.

Kindergarten

So I am so behind that I figured I would just tackle updating the blog little by little which means that the posts are going to be a little old, but better late than never! I never put an entry on here about Logan's first day of Kindergarten.  To send him to Kindergarten was such a big decision for me.  I struggled with it for so long and in the end I think it wasn't a question of whether or not he was ready, because there was no doubt that academically he was ready.  I talked to his preschool teachers about it and they agreed that he was right on track to start Kindergarten and there were no concerns at all that would make them think he needed to wait another year.  I know with a summer birthday it is common to hold children, especially boys, back until they are 6 to start Kindergarten.  I think the most enticing part of this was that I would get to keep him closer to me for another year.  In the end, I know that my biggest struggle was the idea of him being gone from me every day and for that long.  And then the fact that he would be exposed to all the outside influences beyond my control.  My sweet little boy was going out into the big bad world!! That is honestly how I felt about it. But I knew it was inevitable and there was a day during the summer that it just hit me like a ton of bricks how  bored he was being at home out of school everyday. He was so ready to go.  So I figured why delay the inevitable and signed him up! He has been such a champ.  He was so excited and didn't even hesitate.  When I wake him up out of a dead sleep in the morning to get up so he can go to school there has never been one single complaint. I can't believe it. I'm sure that time will come:) but for now he is just LOVING school.  He loves to learn and so he loves going and learning new things everyday. Here he is in the hallway outside of his classroom on the first day:

 Going into his classroom and getting ready to sit in his seat.  Yeah thinking back on it I'm not sure if I saw any other mom's outside their kid's class taking pictures.  Oh well...

So after this big struggle I had sending him to school, a couple of months into it we ended up moving to a new house which meant that Logan would have to switch schools in the middle of the school year. I felt so bad about it.  I was dying over how hard this would be on him to make new friends, come in and be the new kid, and learn a whole new routine at a different school.  I tried to talk to him about it a couple of times but he just kept acting like it was no big deal.  On his first day of going to his new school he hopped right out of the car and went straight in and once again, never even flinched.  What a good kid!! Seriously?! I was so much more stressed about it than he was and he was the one that had to do it! I've asked him since which school he likes better and he says the new one because it "has a better playground".  Well, alright. I guess I didn't think of that. And I guess I was worried about all the wrong things. How could I forget about the playground:)
Oh man I love this boy.