Oh Baby!

Time stands still for no one!  It has been forever since I've posted and so much has happened.  Timothy broke his foot, Alexis turned 6, Christmas, Timothy started preschool, Timothy turned 4 and we had a baby.  Say what?  No wonder I'm always tired.
I guess I better start with the new baby part, before I forget more details.  We found out mid August of 2011 that we were expecting.  We decided not to tell anyone, including the kids until I was about 15 weeks along.  We knew that once we told Alexis it wouldn't be fair to expect her to keep a secret.  When we told the kids they were beyond excited.  Alexis was jumping around the house and kept saying she couldn't believe it.  Timothy was excited too, but was not as sure of what it meant.
When we found out I was pregnant, I was joining a growing list of pregnant family members.  David's sisters, Kathy and Jenafer, and sister-in-law Linda were also pregnant.  To tell his family our news we had everyone over for dinner.  When we blessed the food we had Alexis say the prayer.  She proceeded to bless "Kathy and her baby, Jenafer and her baby, Linda and her baby, and Mommy and her baby."  Some laughed in the middle of the prayer thinking she had just gotten carried away, but it was soon obvious that she had not.  It was a fun moment.
My pregnancy was pretty much the same as the previous ones.  My blood pressure crept up and made life miserable.  The main difference this time was that I went with an OB instead of a midwife.  My doc was great though.  She was pretty laid back and personable.  They also were not allowed to induce before 39 weeks.  With both previous times I was induced at 38 weeks. I didn't have to deal with it this time though.  My labor and delivery this time was much different.

At my 37 week dr. apointment my blood pressure skyrocketed to 159/110.  They sent me to the hospital for observation and possible induction.  I went into panic mode.  There was no need though, because after a few hours they sent me home on bedrest.  I was devastated.  At that point I truly felt that I was going to be pregnant forever.
At my next appointment they scheduled me for an induction the following Monday at 39 weeks.  I was still frustrated, but knew that there was an end in sight.  My mom had not yet arrived though, so it was good when she arrived on Thurs April 5th.  I knew the that no matter what happened the kids wouldn't have to be waken in the middle of the night and could be at home.  When my mom and sister arrived I noticed that it was a full moon.  I sent David a text (he was at work) and told him that it might be the night because it was a full moon.  He then proceeded to send me a picture of a "ware baby" and asked if I really wanted a full moon baby.  I decided we could wait.  Our little bundle of joy didn't wait though.
The next morning, Friday April 6th my water broke at about 5am.  I had never experienced this before and was a bit caught off guard at the whole situation.  My reaction awoke David and he got up and started to walk around the room aimlessly.  He eventually got ready and asked it I wanted to hang around the house for awhile.  I wasn't in the mood and asked that we begin our drive to the hospital which is 30 minutes away.          My contractions were about 7 minutes apart at this point and we arrived at the hospital around 7:20am.  It took about two hours to get admitted. It was a very different experience.  It was relaxed and I was allowed to walk around.  David and I were even sent to grab breakfast.  Once I was admitted my nurse sent us out on a scavenger hunt around the hospital.  It was a good distraction.  We walked and walked a lot.  While out and about my water "broke" again.  I didn't know that there are different areas around the baby that could "brake" separately.    The moment my water broke again the contractions immediately were minutes apart and constant.   I managed for several more hours but finally decided to get an epidural.  My nurse asked if I wanted her to check my progress before the epidural and we decided to check after the epidural.
The epidural was awful!  It was not like the other times, and took forever to get in.  It literally felt like someone was digging a knife in my back while being told not to move.  After the epidural was finally in the nurse checked me and I was already at 9cm.  Looking back I wish I had been checked before the epidural because I probably would have delivered sooner and skipped the epidural.  Oh well.  Lesson learned.
An hour after the epidural I was ready to deliver.  At that moment I think reality of having three kids finally kicked in.  I think I'd been in denial before or just to busy with the other two kids to really think about it.  My doctor came in and I was told to push and within three pushes I delivered.  Not knowing the gender ahead of time made the moment all that more special.  David looked at me with tears in his eyes to tell me we had another daughter.  My heart swelled with joy and I loved her instantly.

It took awhile to finalize her name but, Brooklyn Marie was born at 4:34pm, April 6th.  8 lbs. 4oz.  and 21 1/2 inches long.  She is by far, the biggest of the kids at birth.  She didn't make much noise when she was born. She loved the heat lamp and wanted to get the perfect tan for her first appearance.  She still is a quiet little girl and loves to be outside.

Alexis had hoped for a sister and Timothy wanted a brother.  We were worried about how Timothy would react when he found out it was a girl.  I know he was a bit disappointed but he loves her.  They saw her for the first time later the day she was born.  They were so sweet and sang her songs and took on the big sibling roles. When I asked if we should keep her, they said we should and then Alexis asked where we would return her to should we not want to keep her.  Good question... glad we are keeping her.  

Recovery this time around was much better, other than my back and blood pressure.  My back hurt like crazy from the epidural.   My blood pressure has remained high, and I am on meds for it, but hope that soon it will drop back to normal.  In the end, it was worth it all.  Our little Brooklyn is an amazing blessing and we love her so much!