Zeke's Birth Story, Part 1

I left off with a 41 week pregnancy update and thought he would never be born. Ha!

By the end of that last week, I started trying more of the 'tricks' to induce labor. We took a very bumpy ride in Jared's hunting Jeep on Friday evening, then went for HOT wings and a walk before dark. Mae wasn't quite sure about the bumpy ride! Ha! I did have some contractions that evening, but they fizzled out pretty quickly.

Saturday morning, the 16th, all 3 kids went to Papaw and Mamaw's for the day. I took the opportunity to rest and to do something I said I'd never do....I took a half dose of castor oil, in hopes that it would get something started. Everything I read said that it would work, if your body was ready. Well, if it's not ready at 41+ weeks, it's never ready! I took a dose at 8:45 and another at 10:45. I had the GI side effects very mildly for about an hour, then nothing. Supposedly it takes 12-24 hours for labor to start after taking the castor oil, so I was hopeful! 

Jared took me on another bumpy Jeep ride, then I rested a lot in the afternoon. I did start having some contractions mid-afternoon, but they didn't hurt and were very short. Jared picked up the kids and got home around 7, I think. We got them bathed and settled and I took another walk. I had some more contractions on the walk.....more frequent, but still short. After I showered and rested, they spaced back out a bit, but were actually a little painful. I finally had hope that he would be born before the induction! 

Last baby belly picture (ever, I hope...ha!) at 41w3d.....I was pretty sure I was in early labor at this point. 

I tried to keep moving around, in hopes to keep them going, and it worked! I finally got in bed around 11 pm and tried to sleep some. I dozed until 11:45ish, then had to get up because of the contractions (so, 45 minutes of sleep the whole night). They were lasting about 45 seconds, but only really painful for about 10 seconds while they peaked. They were still irregular....some would be less than 3 minutes apart and some 5 minutes. 

This whole time, I've been worried about staying home too long and having the baby in the car or something. ha! So, I didn't want to wait too long, but I also didn't want to get there and have the contractions fade once they made me stay in the bed (for the most part). I have always HATED laying in the bed and laboring....really uncomfortable. I was hoping to get to the hospital around 5-6 cm. 

I woke Jared up and called the sitter around 1:30, I think, and we headed over to the hospital. I had pre-registered for the induction, so my info was all there and check in was quick. The poor lady at the desk was in a panic when I told her it was the 4th baby and 11 days overdue. I think she thought I was going to have him right there at her desk. Ha!

Once I got upstairs and settled into the triage room, they said I was 4 cm and "congratulations, you're in labor! You get to stay!". I told her that there was no way I would have left the hospital no matter what she said. :p Apparently a lot of people come in before it's time. 

I got to my room from there and, as I expected, the contractions slowed down some since I had to stay on the monitors. I finally convinced my nurse to let me get up and walk around some, but I was also sooooo sleepy (it was probably 4am at this point), so I wanted to rest too. I walked and rested for a bit and by 7 or so, I was 6.5 cm. The contractions were still spaced out several minutes and not hurting terribly bad, but the on-call Dr was coming soon and would break my water, which would make him drop down and the contractions pick up, so I went ahead and told them I'd take the epidural at any time.

The anesthesiologist came around 8, I think, and did the epidural. Tiny prick, no pain, and it took pretty well. They changed epidurals since I had Mae. It used to be a continuous dose and you couldn't bolus more (it always made me almost too numb anyway), but this time it's a smaller continuous dose and you have a button to push for more, if you need it. I really liked that because I could still move my legs some and feel the contractions, but it took the edge off. 

Everyone waiting: 

Julee Brooke picked up Arabelle, Bo, and Mae from the house and brought them to the hospital for us. Jared brought Arabelle and Bo in (didn't want Mae to get upset and not want to leave the room) after the epidural. Arabelle was a bit hesitant and didn't stay long, but Bo was his usual self. :)

I slept off and on after that. At 10ish, I was 9 cm. At some point before that they started some pitocin to get the contractions moving a long. 

Probably around 10:45, they started prepping the room and the nurse said I was 10 cm.  At 11, Dr Diamond came in and the show began and 12 minutes later, there was Zeke! 

With the way the epidural worked, I could feel the contractions and feel him being born, but it wasn't a painful thing (thankfully!), just pressure. With the other kids, once the head was delivered, the rest of them came on with very little effort, but with Z, it was different (and a bit scary for a brief moment). His head was delivered and I started pushing for the rest of him, but he didn't come on out. Dr. Diamond (who is not my regular Dr, but delivered Arabelle) always seems so laid back, but he had a bit of panic/urgency in his voice when he said, "Come on Katie, you've got to get this baby out", so one BIG push and out he came! 

I can not even describe the immediate relief of having that big boy OUT of my body!

So happy to have him safely in my arms!

To me, he didn't look any bigger than the others did when they were born, but Dr D said right away that Zeke was a 10+ lb baby and all the nurses agreed. They cleaned him up and they took him to the nursery right quick to weigh him. I heard a nurse in the hall way say, "Wow!!!", then Jared came in and told me he weighed 10lb 13oz!! I couldn't believe it! I still can't really understand how that is physically possible. Ha! I also realized afterwards that he very well could have gotten stuck and we could have had a really awful situation. I am SO thankful God was taking care of us in that situation. 

Part 2 is coming.....the kids and family meet Zeke! 

First and Last Day of School

This school year flew by! We discovered Zeke was on his way at the beginning of the school year and he was born at the end of the school year. :)

I love comparing how much they grew in a school year, so here they are from August 2014 to May 2015.

Mae didn't quite understand the 'stand in front of the door for a picture' concept in August, but she sure did in May!

Now we're ready to enjoy the summer! 

Mae is 2 years old!

Didn't Mae just have her first birthday!? I can't believe she's already TWO years old!

She has grown and changed so much in the last few months.

• Mae is usually up for the day around 7 or 7:30. She LOVES her cup of Almond Milk in the mornings, so we go for that right away. She naps great in the afternoons still. She goes down around 12:30 or 1 and I usually have to wake her up around 3-3:30. She goes to bed at 8, but sometimes spends some time talking and rolling around her crib before she goes to sleep.
• She did sleep on the toddler bed for a nap and night one day a month or so ago, but she prefers the crib and that keeps her contained, so that's where she sleeps. :)
• She is a pretty good eater and LOVES to dip anything in ketchup or ranch. Her favorites are any fruit, but especially blueberries and strawberries, green beans, yogurt, cheese, pretty much chicken cooked any way, steak, and of course, any kind of ice cream, cake, cookies, etc. she can get her hands on. 
• She has become quite the talker in the last couple of months too. She still calls herself "Nae" and is VERY independent. She climbs up and down from the highchair by herself and if I try to help, she yells, "No Mama! I do!". She was sitting in the booster seat between Arabelle and Bo at meal times, but she kept swiping food off Bo's plate, so we went back to the high chair. Ha! 
• Mae LOVES Mickey Mouse, which she calls "Nick Nick". She likes to watch Mickey on the iPad before bed. 
• She still doesn't have all her baby teeth in yet. She is missing all 4 canines and her 2 year molars. 
• Mae still LOVES to be outside and do whatever Arabelle and Bo are doing....jumping on the trampoline, catching frogs, etc. She isn't a big fan of swimming/getting wet, but hopefully through the summer she will learn to enjoy that (especially since she's taking swim lessons this week!). 
• She finished her first year of pre-school last week. She really enjoyed her Mon, Wed, Fri, mornings at school! 
• Soooo, she was also pretty much 100% potty trained for pee, then my pregnancy got long and Zeke came and she has 100% regressed. Boo! She will still go on the potty occasionally, but she really doesn't even want to go in to sit and I do NOT have time to fight it right now, so back to diapers for a while. Maybe by the end of summer, when the newness of being a Big Sister wears off, we can go back to underwear. 
• She is FULL of energy and always on the go, but still loves to cuddle. 

On her actual birthday, Zeke was just 3 days old, so I was a little disappointed that I couldn't spoil her as much as I like to do on birthdays. Fortunately, she was happy with candles and singing over and over. :)

We had to wake her up for a quick breakfast before pre-school. Jared picked up some Mickey Mouse cupcakes and she had a little party at school.

That afternoon, she just HAD to have another cupcake!

I think her favorite birthday gift just may be baby Zeke. :)

And every girl needs a 'day after the birthday' cupcake, right? :)

Happy Birthday Mae! We love you! 

You can see Bo's two year post here. And Mae's 12 month post and 18 month posts also! 

Meet Zeke

Our baby boy is finally here! William Ezekiel "Zeke" Roberts was born on Sunday, May 17th at 11:12 am. He was 10lb 13oz and 21.5 inches long.

More pictures to come! Any free time I have is spent napping these days.

Staying Busy

Being overdue is really frustrating, so we've tried to stay really busy and do a lot of fun activities!

Bo is the frog hunting master. He found and named this one "Mr. Big Pants". Ha!

Mae is always grabbing my phone and saying "I see Nae!" and wanting to take pictures of herself.

Arabelle and Bo wanted to go down the slip-n-slide together. She would put Bo on her back, walk a few steps, and try to slide. It didn't really work, but they had fun!

Last Monday evening, Sambo and Leigh Leigh hosted a 'Blueberry Party' for Bo and Tripp's little friends. It was such a fun idea! The kids picked and ate blueberries, played on the playset, and had pizza and snacks. 

Mae is a blueberry picking pro. 

Tuesday morning, I had my Dr, appt, so our babysitter kept the kids. I brought home packs of balloons and surprised them with a picnic lunch (with the leftover pizza from the blueberry party!). Arabelle loves picnics so much!

Wednesday, Mae was sick with a fever and cold symptoms, so she couldn't go to preschool. I had my non-stress test appt, so she and I went to that, while Arabelle played with Sambo and Leigh Leigh and Bo went to school. Once the appt was over, the girls and I busted Bo out of school early, picked up donuts and cupcakes, then went to the park. 

 Mae played on the playground equipment for awhile, then joined Arabelle and Bo in the little creek to look for 'treasure'.

Friday, Mae was STILL running a fever and seemed sickly, so I took her to get checked out. I assumed it was viral, but considering the situation (weekend + baby by Monday), it seemed like the best choice. Her ears and chest were clear, so it was viral. Phew. Obviously, we needed another donut that day. 

Friday afternoon Jared took us for a bumpy ride in his hunting Jeep in hopes of convincing baby brother to come out. No luck, but the kids had fun!

And we still wait.....

*I'm scheduling this on Saturday....the baby should be here by the time it posts! :)

41 weeks with baby #4

Not surprisingly, I hit the one week overdue mark with this pregnancy.

Pregnancy Highlights:

• How far along: Wed. May 13th was 41 weeks
• Size of baby: I had an ultrasound at my Dr office on Tuesday and the baby was an estimated 8lb 8oz, plus or minus 1.5 lb. So, obviously not super accurate at this point. I'm sure he'll be 9 lb at least. 
• Total weight gain: 32 lbs.
• Movement: He still moves a TON in the evenings and any time I get still. I can tell he has dropped a little because he's not up in my ribs anymore. 
• Symptoms: A few painless Braxton Hicks here and there, but nothing serious. At my Dr appt I was 2cm and 70% effaced. The baby had dropped a little and was at a -2 station. I had a Non-Stress test (sitting in a recliner with a monitor on the baby and it measures the baby's heartbeat to look for heart rate variation with baby's movement) on Wed. and the baby looked great. 
• What's next: Scheduled an induction for Monday, May 18th, if he's not here by then.

We did get a pretty good picture of his face at the ultrasound on Tuesday! You can see his left eye (the dark spot), nose, and mouth. So ready to see this sweet face!!!!

This was on Mother's Day at 40 weeks and 4 days. He's grown since then. :P

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was Sunday, May 10th and I was half surprised to not have baby #4 yet, but half expecting to still be waiting too. It was nice to have the day to enjoy the kids and get spoiled a little! :)

I did want a picture of myself with the kids WITHOUT the whining that is usually involved. Once simple sentence helped...."Let's take a picture then you can have CANDY". Worked like a charm. Bo especially is cracking me up because he hates pictures, but he's sitting there smiling like it's his favorite thing. Ha!

It was a really nice day.....church, lunch, a long nap, playing outside with the kids, Mamaw & Papaw came, and Jared grilled for supper. 

Seven years of celebrating Mother's Day! So thankful God entrusted these kids with us!