Baby Max is here!

In case you haven't heard, our baby boy has arrived! Max Thomas was born on Oct. 23rd, Sunday evening at 11:37 pm, weighing in at 10 lbs. 6 oz. and 23 1/2 in. long!

We had a beautiful home birth with three amazing midwives. I am still amazed at what I accomplished and what my body can do!

Here's the short version of my birth story...yes, "short". (I'll spare you the long version with little details you probably don't care about) Feel free to skip over this part!

My labor started out very slow.  It was one day after my due date when I woke up around 6:00 am with contractions about 10 min. apart. They stayed that way until the afternoon, with some starting to get closer together. In fact, all day, I kept wondering if I was really in labor. Honestly, I think it was because when I went into labor, I was afraid of the pain that was to come and was holding back and not letting myself let go for most of the day. Then Brynn and my midwife called me out on my fear and reluctance that evening after several hours of contractions. They told me to stop fearing the pain, let go, and get out of the way. I was not wanting to go through the effort of labor and the hard contractions to come, even though I knew we'd have a baby in the end. I'd done this before and I was fearing the pain that I was going to have to experience.

After a good cry and encouraging words from my midwife and sister, I let go of the fear and knew I just had to do it. My midwife then checked me and I was at 7 cm, which confused me because I was still walking around, smiling, and just pausing briefly to breath through contractions. I realized that my body was doing this and it wasn't too painful...I didn't have to fear this. We discussed breaking my water to get things moving faster, which made me nervous again. I thought, why would I want to bring on the pain when I already at 7 cm and not hurting? However, after checking my blood pressure and discovering it was high, Michele said she didn't like that and had no choice but to break my water so that we could get this baby out quicker.

Slowly, I went into active labor (transition), but still able to be calm, focused, relaxed, and breath/vocalize through each contraction one at a time. When each contraction came, I kept telling myself that I could do this one and after it was over, I'd be done with it and never have to feel that one again.  After about three hours of transition and 19 min. of pushing, I gave birth to our baby boy! I pushed with all my might because I wanted to get our baby out, like I was sprinting toward the finish line. It was amazing and empowering, even the third time around!  I am a birthing goddess!

John was amazing through the whole labor. He was my coach, my encourager, my support, my strength.  Brynn was able to be with us as well. Her and Mammy got here about 2 pm.  Mammy took Eli and Jed to play and get them out of the house, which was a big help!  Brynn stayed with us, which was a big help for me.  Just her being with me during labor is encouraging. She's been with me for all three births! She knew just what to say and what to do for me. Not to mention the labor photos she takes that we'll be seeing soon!  Mammy ended up coming back to our house after dropping the boys off at Rex and Jen's house so they could sleep there. (Thank you Rex and Jen for taking the boys last minute!)  So, Mammy was here at the end and was able to see Max being born.  I had no clue she was here until after he was born, but I'm glad she got to be here.

Max is a great baby.  I know it's only 4 days in, but he seems to go with the flow and not mind his loud brothers at all.  Eli and Jed have loved having Max around. They say sweet things to him and love it when he makes funny faces and noises. They like to hold him, check on him, draw him pictures, and bring him toys. They picked out some toys for him to welcome him into the family, and they also got toys from Max after he was born. Jed got a Spiderman blanket and Eli got some football and baseball cards from Max. Max was cool from the beginning since he knew just what they had been wanting!  Eli also made Max a card, which says "I luv yoow", "I lik Maks. I lik yoow" and "I lik yoo. Mom".  Melts my heart!

"I LUV YOOW"

"I LIK MAKS. I LIK YOOW" "I LIK YOO MOM."

"FUM ELI"

All in all, we are doing well as a family of 5 and getting used to our new normal.  I'm thankful for my family and my three big, healthy boys!

Soccer!

Tough soccer players

soccer ball bellies

I forgot to mention that Eli is playing soccer again this year through the YMCA. John is coaching his team this year. Go Cheetas! John is a natural at coaching the 4 and 5 year-olds, they love him!

It seems that our team is not very aggressive and smaller than the rest of the teams. They have gotten at least 12 goals against them every game, but they have no clue. There is no keeping score at this age, thankfully. I think the Cheetas have scored a total of two goals the whole season, plus maybe one scored by us for the other team last week. Eli got in an argument with a boy from another team a couple weeks ago that "it's not about winning, it's about having fun!". That's right, Eli! 

Eli had a good game today, and I think something may have clicked with his soccer playing. He scored a goal (the second of the season), was actually going after the ball, and playing some defense. So, I think he's getting the idea of the game and having fun doing it!

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Pumpkin Patch 2011

Yesterday, Eli had a day off of school for Columbus Day/parent conference day, so we went for our annual trip to the pumpkin patch in Elgin, TX. This is the third year in a row that we've gone with our friends, Jen, Mia, and Eleanor. Unknowingly, we got there 30 min. before they closed, but they let us stay late, so it was okay. We still got to go on the hay ride, do the mazes, feed the animals, pick out pumpkins, do the duck races, and take pumpkin pictures. The weather was perfect this time, overcast and cool. The friendly old farmer man weighing our pumpkin said it looked like I was smuggling my own pumpkin, and I think he's right!  Our pumpkin weighed in at 9 lbs. 10 oz., which could very well be the size of the baby!  He also said, "You didn't go on the hay ride, did you?", and when I told him I did, he said, "I hope you're not trying to bounce that baby out because we're not equipped for birthing no babies here!". It was funny. It was a fun time as always!

Pumpkin Smuggler

37 weeks

As of today, there are 19 days until the due date. I am feeling swollen, uncomfortable, and large. The boys like to set things on my belly shelf. It does come in handy! My feet and hands are so swollen and tight that I can only wear one pair of flip flops. I'm supposed to keep my feet up and drink tons of water. Hopefully, the cooler weather will help that some. Other than that, I'm doing pretty well.

Physically, I feel ready to have this baby, but there are still a few more things I'd like to get done before he comes...last minute appointments and things. However, if he came today, it would be fine. I'm expecting baby to come after my due date since both Eli and Jed were late, so if he comes early, I'll be pleasantly surprised! My midwife says that third labors are usually a wild card, so it could go either way...early, late, long, or short. So, we shall wait and see!

I feel like lately people look at me with either pity or amazement. I get all kinds of comments from strangers, positive and not so positive. I know I have a giant round belly and big swollen feet. I've just decided to embrace it and be proud of my preggo body. It really is an amazing thing!

I know y'all are wondering what name we have chosen. There's one that I think we both have settled on, but we still want to keep our options open. For some reason, we can't decide for sure, and we're not really feeling any pressure to pick one yet. It's hard to decide on a third boy's name! I'll let you know when we decide, which may be after he's born.

Okay, here are the belly pics...shock and awe!

Is is a basketball or watermelon?

maybe a watermelon

amazing!

my swollen hand

my swollen feet and cankles