The Longest or Shortest Labor Ever!

I started having strong/painful contractions a week before I went into labor. These were more painful than anything I experienced with the girls and thought for sure I was going into labor, but they would abruptly stop. They continued for the next few days then went away for a couple of days. This was beyond frustrating. I kept thinking it was happening then nothing. My due date came and went and the contractions were back. I went to my appointment two days after my due date and my Dr. couldn't believe I wasn't in the hospital having a baby considering I was a 5. She messed with me a little and the contractions started pretty quickly. So what do you do when you might be in labor? I took the girls to meet my parents for lunch. However, my contractions were so painful that I ended up leaving and my parents brought the girls home. I told Jason I thought I was in labor but was ok at that point. I laid down upstairs while MeeMaw and PawPaw watched the kids. The contractions were incredibly strong but started getting further apart so I was worried it was stopping again. I wanted to labor at home as long as possible since I was going to see how far I could go without an epidural... This was difficult considering I'm in pain while the girls are trying to talk to me and I was trying to get stuff together. Jason finished work and started timing my contractions. He made us leave when he saw they were only 2 minutes apart. I think I'm always in denial about my labor being real. Luckily his parents were here so we could just leave without worrying about the kids. I was hurting really bad and had been most of the day. Thinking of doing it without an epidural was not looking appealing.

When I got checked into our room at the hospital I was already a 6. Those contractions were working! I had mentioned to my Doctor I might want to try it naturally, but honestly didn't really think I would be able to so we never prepared for it. Apparently this was on my chart as all the nurses mentioned it when they came in. It was nice not being hooked up to an IV. When my parents got there I told my Mom I was going to see how far I could go without anything. I think she thought I was crazy (probably since she had two natural births that were beyond painful due to positioning of my sister and me and other stuff). She tried to cram her months of Lamaze class into a couple of minutes for us since, again, we didn't really prepare for this. Well, with some tips from my Mom, Dana, and an awesome husband the rest of my labor progressed pretty fast. I can't even explain how wonderful and supportive Jason was. I couldn't have done it without him! There was definitely a point where I truly didn't think I could do it. I quickly felt the need to push then had to endure waiting until it was time to push. Then an amazing boy was born! It really was beyond amazing. I'm so glad with how everything went and I did feel I was more emotional, in a good way, after his birth. We're not sure if the hours after when I could not sleep due to excitement was from a baby high or the pain medication they gave me later :)

I don't even feel like I just had a baby. Besides being tired, I feel completely fine physically.

While we are fortunate to have 3 great labors/deliveries the best and most important part was our healthy baby.

Baby Boy Liam

William "Liam" Preston Shehane

March 21, 2012

7:55 PM

7lbs 12 oz, 20 inches

Perfect

40 Weeks (written earlier this week)

I always thought baby boy would be late but I'm officially ready. I'm tired and uncomfortable from all the contractions. Jason's parents came up to help me get ready for the baby. It's been really nice being able to run errands, go to Doctor's appointments, not make dinner... I know Jason especially appreciates the dinner part since we probably would have been eating grilled cheese for dinner if not for his Mom :)

40 Weeks

MeeMaw making cookies with the girls. Kate and Abby loved having MeeMaw and PawPaw visiting and I know they're going to be so sad when they leave.

*We really appreciate all the help Jason's parents were to us in prepping for baby boy's arrival. We're so blessed to have such great family!

Needs to Be Recorded

1. I received Jury Duty for the SIXTH time! It's truly a conspiracy to get me. They make it a pain to defer too. You have to find some hidden document on their site, get it notarized, then fax it to their office. Maybe they'll get the hint this time!

2. Today is officially Abby's 2nd Birthday (love my St. Patrick's Day baby)! She knows a ton of letters. It took us completely by surprise when she started naming all these random letters. I guess she pays attention. She can also count to 10 and sometimes 15 (not just randomly count, but count objects). She speaks in complete sentences. For example, "The squirrel went up the tree," or "The balloon is too high. I can't reach it." It's crazy listening to her talk.

3. Kate has turned into the most affectionate child. Which if you knew her as a baby you would understand why I need to record this. I mean she is hugging, laying on you, climbing on you, kissing you, holding your hand....

4. I have been having contractions on and off since Wednesday night. They were so strong Wed that I though for sure it was really happening. I almsot woke Jason but let him sleep just in case it was for real. I fell asleep at 3:45AM and they went away :( But since then they've been on and off. Not your usual braxton hicks either. These have been really intense! Hopefully it will be happen soon but who knows???

Date Night 2.0

A date with an almost 2 year old is also the perfect evening! We spent some one on one time with Abby before the baby could make his big arrival. Abby LOVES to swing so we went to the park and then to Smash Burger for dinner. She had a blast at the park and ate a big plate of fries for dinner :)

Who knew a receipt could be so much fun? It rolls, it’s a telescope, it’s a megaphone… She’s so cute!

Date Night 4.0

A date with a 4 year old is the perfect evening! We wanted to take Kate out before the baby comes. She loves movies and has only seen one before in the theater (Tangled) so we went to see The Lorax. Such a cute movie! She was a little scared at one part but loved the rest. I know she was excited to go out with just us because she kept emphasizing to Abby that Abby was going to Grandma and Granddads and not with Mommy and Daddy :) It’s so fun to be able to spend some one on one time with our kids and do activates they enjoy.

My Baby Girl is 2

We celebrated Abby’s birthday a little early because I didn’t want it to get overshadowed. She LOVES Dora and Diego so that was the theme of our little party. At almost 2, Abby is just amazing. Her vocabulary blows everyone away. It’s crazy having her talking like a preschooler. She can also count and knows her shapes and likes to sing. She is great at playing by herself but loves to show us her “tricks.” We laugh on a regular basis at all the funny things she does. We love her so much!

Her “birthday” started off with her favorite thing, balloons on her door.

Peek-a-Boo, I see you

My parents came over for her party. We opened presents then ate pizza and cupcakes. She would want to play with each present so we had to encourage her to keep opening her gifts.

Such a happy girl!

She sure does love her Daddy!

Doing her tricks and opening her presents

Feeding her baby doll :)

Family Picture

Happy Birthday Abby!

Full Term!

I am officially 38 weeks pregnant. I can’t believe how close we are to my due date! I still have things I want to get done but for the most part I’m ready for baby boy. At 37 weeks I had to go in for an ultrasound (stomach measured small and they wanted to make sure it was his position and not fluid or anything). I was 37 weeks 2 days and I measured 37 weeks 1 day, so right on schedule. Everything looked perfect with baby and they estimated him to weigh 6lbs 11ozs. Hopefully, that doesn’t mean he’ll be a large baby! However, his heart rate was a little low. He responded great but when resting his heart rate would drop. After an appointment, eating, couple of non stress tests, almost 3 hours later his resting heart rate finally steadied at 120-130 and I could finally go home. So glad everything was okay! I only had one moment of panic. Laying there in the room by myself, doing the test and staring at the monitor and his heart rate not going up; I realized that I was full term and if there was a complication they would deliver this baby. I’m so glad he is healthy and didn’t have to come that early. I went home though and set up the pack-n-play in our room and washed some clothes and started to pack my hospital bag. While I don’t think he’ll come early it was definitely a wake up call for me.

Kate had a Doctors appointment today and I was surprised to find out that her arm healed enough to take the cast off. She has a splint to wear when she’s playing for the next 3(!) months. Luckily, she doesn’t have to wear it when sleeping or bathing. I’m glad she was able to get it off before the baby came.

Pictures from when I was 37 weeks

Introducing Hudson

Ty and Dana’s baby, Hudson Griffin, was born this morning at 7:07AM. He is such a cute baby! Dana looked so great too. You would never know she was up ALL night in labor and had just delivered a baby that morning! I can’t wait for our little boys to become the best of friends. We’re really going to be able to have fun with our two families, especially when the kids get older.

Look how cute he is!