Bryce's birth

I realized that I haven't recorded Bryce's birth story yet, so I figured I better write it down before I forget the details I want to remember (at least what I haven't forgotten already).

Baby Bryce, about 6 weeks old

And sorry if this is gross to some. Don't read it if you don't like to hear about the details. And it is really long. OK, you have been warned. :)

Here it goes.
All along I had told Stella the baby would be born after her birthday. She had pretty much counted on that. I even asked her what she would think if I had the baby before her birthday (Aug. 1) or on her birthday and she said she didn't like that. I was kind of afraid that I might have the baby that early, but hoped I wouldn't so that I could still be around for her birthday.
I had a doctor appointment on the morning of the 4th (Wed) and since Stella's birthday was past, and I was progressing somewhat, I had him strip the membranes. (With James when we did that, I gave birth the next day)
So I went home, sore and very ready to be done being huge and pregnant, but not counting on it too much. I just went about the rest of the day with Suzie and the kids. I started having some VERY minor contractions towards the evening, but didn't pay too much attention since I had been having Braxton Hicks a lot before that. On my way to pick up my dad from the airport between 7:30 and 8:00 I had a couple of notable contractions that were about 10 to 15 minutes apart. (Contractions while driving are kind of distracting. Luckily they weren't very big.) I had a couple more on the way home (about 10 or so minutes apart). I was trying not to pay too close attention to the contractions and timing because I didn't want to get my hopes up too much. When we got home, Josh had just gotten home from work and wasn't very convinced that I might be in labor. He had been working a lot that week since he had been on call with the liver surgery team (he does the blood work), and had done a couple livers at some crazy hours.
So I helped get the kids to bed and talked to Stella about it. I told her I might be going to have the baby during the night, so that if we weren't home in the morning we would be at the hospital. I'm really glad I did talk to her so that she could be more prepared. I started packing my bag for the hospital (and had to convince Josh that I really was in labor) and just got stuff ready to go. I sat and watched TV and had Suzie braid my hair. All the while having a contraction here and there. They were getting stronger and starting to hurt some. I stayed up late getting stuff done and then decided at around midnight I should try to get some sleep. About 10 minutes after laying down I had a couple of pretty strong contractions about 7 minutes apart. I figured with how things usually go for me that we should probably get going. I woke Josh up, got redressed, told my dad we were headed to the hospital, and asked him to take care of my kids. (He hadn't planned on being here for the birth, he was here to finish some classes he was taking.) On the way to the hospital the contractions were farther apart, but were already much stronger and more painful. Woo baby. We got all checked in and they stayed spaced out, but strong. And really long. Even the check in nurse commented on how long the one was as we were getting ready to go into triage. I got into triage, changed into a gown, had a couple more really painful contractions, and got the monitors hooked up. The nurse checked to see how dilated I was, and I was only 4cm. I was shocked. For how strong the contractions already were, and how close together they were. She wasn't sure if they would admit me yet since I wasn't progressed that much more than I was at my doctor's appointment that morning. She asked if I was planning on having an epidural or not, and I said no. I didn't have one when I had James, so I figured I could do it without.(Plus I really don't like epidurals for many reasons.)  She called my doctor and he said to go ahead since I had to have antibiotics and my labors move quickly. Meanwhile I was really in pain. The nurse said that the baby was posterior which was probably why I was feeling it so much more. They had me move to my side to see if we could get him to turn to a better position on his own (It worked. With each contraction he moved a little and got into a better position. Boy did that hurt.) I really didn't remember it being that painful that early on with my other two. Plus I was tired and hadn't slept yet.
We got to the hospital between at about 1:00 and it seemed like it took forever to get me admitted. Especially since I was hurting so badly. I think it was about 45 minutes or an hour and in that time I had dilated to 5 cm. By this point, the pain was so intense and I was having a really hard time getting through the contractions. I was feeling really frustrated with myself for not getting through it better (not a good feeling during labor). I wanted to stay positive, but I was really doubting myself and was really tired already.
I changed my mind about the epidural as soon as they were admitting me, and asked to have it as soon as possible. They got me to my room, and I was struggling the whole way there. I felt so weak. I was really shaking. When we got into the room I had to have Josh hold me up through a contraction before I could even lay down on the bed.
It seemed like forever later that the epidural lady came in and through some major pain and contractions (You want me to roll my back into a ball when I feel like I am ripping? OK, maybe that is an exaggeration, but oh man.), she got the epidural going. It was a good thing too, because I was already tired and weak and shaky. The epidural started to slowly set in and there was much relief. Even though I had not wanted to get an epidural I ended up being glad that I did. I was able to relax and calm down for a while, and Josh actually got a little nap. I never got completely numb (I could still move my feet the whole time and could actually move my legs by the time I delivered and could walk by the time I moved to the recovery room about an hour after) which I was actually really glad about, because I didn't want to lose all feeling and control. I still wanted to be able to feel when I was ready to push and be able to feel to push. I slept a little bit, but not soundly, and mostly Josh and I just talked about what we were going to name the little guy. I don't remember if the nurse checked my dilation at all during all of that.
At about 3:30 she checked me and I was completely dilated, but my water hadn't broken yet. She didn't want to mess with things too much for fear of breaking my water, and had me wait about a half hour to see if it would break on its own. It didn't.
 Just after 4:00 my doctor (who had been on call and there for a while and looked exhausted) came in so we could finish things up. He checked me, broke the water, and we got set up to push.  I pushed for maybe two contractions (me taking my time and trying to stay a little more relaxed to try to keep myself from tearing) and our little guy was born at 4:14. The doctor was there for about ten minutes and didn't have to stitch anything up (hallelujah, no tearing! That made the recovery so much better).
We were shocked that Bryce was actually smaller than both of the other kids by a decent amount. He was covered in the cheesy white stuff (vernix? I think it is called.) They wiped him off a little and got him wrapped up a little so I could hold him. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! He was so tiny and cute and red and had lots of baby bumps on his face. I thought he looked different than the other two kids, and maybe more like Josh as a baby. His eyes seemed lighter and his hair was (and still is) a super light blonde. SO CUTE!  I don't know how it can overwhelm me so much every time, but it is so wonderful and magical to hold my little babies for the first time. Such great relief after the pain!
Oh, and Suzie and Dad were surprised to hear that baby's name was Bryce when they brought the kids in later in the morning because Stella had convinced them that the baby was going to be named Zion. I'm not really sure where she got that or why she though that's what his name was going to be. She had only mentioned that once to us, but apparently she had told other people that as well. She had been watching Legacy a couple of times before that, and said that was where she got the name. Funny girl.

awesome vs. Not awesome

Baby James

Two-year-old coloring on white bathroom door with bright blue crayon- not awesome

Four-year-old wanting to clean up scribbles without being asked while I fall asleep putting two and zero-year-olds down for a nap- Super awesome

Four-year-old spilling (some how?) too heavy bottle of bleach cleaning spray on her cute pants and carpet- really NOT awesome

Two very large bleached spots on carpet ruining that part of the carpet - really, really NOT awesome

Carpet with bleach spots not in my room in not my house- obviously NOT awesome. at. all

Four-year-old lying to me (for the first time!) about bleach on pants before bleached spots on carpet are found- make-me-want-to-cry NOT awesome


What I learned:

Don't trust that just because said four-year-old usually doesn't do naughty messy things while I nap with the younger ones, doesn't mean she won't.

Harmful cleaning supplies shouldn't be left where kids can reach them (duh!, I know), even if they are out of their space and have never messed with them before. 

Don't assume all the horrible messes are the two-year-old's fault.
My four-year-old is now old enough to know she doesn't want to get in trouble and might not be perfectly honest with me to get out of it.
Dad was actually very good not to lose it when we did things that ruined the carpet.

Struggling

So I have been debating/contemplating/deciding with myself for the last long while what I want this blog to be. Do I want it to be our online photo album for friends and family? Do I want to attempt to do more creative writing (a major stretch for me to make it interesting enough for anyone else to read) and be more of a "blogger"? I haven't been able to decide, and frankly haven't had much motivation for the last few months (obviously)  to do much that wasn't a necessity. I have been feeling a little more ready to start tackling extras the last few days or so (I actually planned a weeks menu and did the grocery shopping for it in the first time in who knows how long!), so we'll see. Maybe I'll get my blogging groove back. In the mean time enjoy this silly picture from a few months ago of me and the older two playing with the photo booth on Daddy's new laptop.

Bryce William

AJ just before Bryce was born

AJ just after Bryce was born,YEAH!

Bryce just after

Finally

Father and Son moment


Bryce was born at 0414 on August 5, 2010. He weighed in at the smallest 7 lbs. 3 oz. and was 20 inches long. AJ and I went in around one in the morning and so it was about a typical labor for her, but I'll let her tell her side of it later. She was really tired by the end of it and so was I, considering we didn't get to sleep all night. It was all worth it though, Bryce is a cute little addition to our family and a true blessing straight from heaven.

Stella's Birthday Party

Cute Princess Cake

Princess Stella and Princess Kiki

Stella's Birthday

Dress from Grandma Cox

New drawing board from Mom and Dad

Close to being done, and I am the worst blogger ever.

Okay, so I guess I could rattle off a bunch of excuses as to why I never post anything on this sad blog anymore, but basically I just haven't felt the desire to bother. I know super lame. I just don't feel creative or inspired I guess. But anyway, just as an update I guess I should post something. And maybe, I'll add pictures here one of these days to spice it up.
Anyway, so yeah I am less than a month (hopefully) away from having this little boy. Part of me actually feels like this pregnancy has gone way too fast (like, I am not sure if we are ready for a third demanding child yet. This baby had better be more mild, or I may go crazy.) But I am feeling super sore and ready for this little boy to stop squishing all my internal organs. I can feel any tiny movement that he makes, and most of his movements are not so tiny. It has amazed me with all three of these kiddos that I can look down and actually see a foot (or elbow or shoulder, or whatever body part it is) bulging out on my side. I honestly haven't taken any "belly" pictures yet this pregnancy, but I guess I need to just to document it. I actually think my belly is smaller than the last time, but any pictures I have seen of me I feel huger all over. Maybe it is because it is so HOT here in Arizona that I have had to wear less clothing, so less covering of the huge-o pregnantness. Either way, we are super excited for this new baby and once again are struggling with a name. I have two or three that I really like and Josh has one or two, but of course we don't really agree. Hopefully baby doesn't come early so we keep deciding before he comes.
Stella and James are as crazy and funny as ever. They are getting more and more independent and are mostly good kids. They both are whiny and cranky fairly often, and throw their little tantrums if they don't get what they want. James is very "two" and wants to do everything himself ("I do it!") or do everything that Stella does. He is actually pretty independent (sounds just like his big sister and his daddy :)) and can even brush his teeth by himself (without toothpaste) since we found a stool that is actually high enough for my kids to reach the bathroom counter. He is also a great helper when he wants to be and cleans up and even helps put the dishes away from the dishwasher. He talks constantly at home and loves to be silly and ham it up, but when we are in public around other people he barely talks and when he does, it is usually mumbling. He is definitely more inhibited than his big sister. Stella still loves to be the center of attention and loves constant social interaction. She is constantly asking to play with cousins or go somewhere. She loves that she is getting bigger and talks constantly about all the things she is going to do when she gets bigger. She has a really funny way of saying it though. She thinks that "used to" means in the future, so she says things like "I used to use that make-up when I get bigger." Its really funny and I have tried to help her understand that she "will" do things.
I will really try to get pictures on here too in the next couple of days, but we'll see how that goes.

New NEWS- Finally!!

13 Weeks

19 Weeks- and it's a.............. BOY!!!
Stella and James are super excited for a baby brother, not that it mattered to them what it is rather that it is another play thing

Dress Up Days

Stella and one of her Sunbeam buddies

This is what Charlie does when he comes to our house to play. I'm sure Ben is so proud of him.

Then you have our weird kids who entertain with the least of all things.

James' Major Hair Cut

This is before the Hair cut. Looks like a beach bum, and he actually liked it. I wonder if that's saying anything about him.

AJ did the job for us. Actually, she wouldn't let me do it because she knows I'll butch him up.

Random Pics

This is just a compilation of pictures since we have moved to AZ. James has taken to posing for several and loves getting into mischief. Stella is still Stella, no need to explain there.

Jake and Lauren's Sealing

Shawna and I had our own little reunion since we hadn't seen each other for a long time. She was freezing and I was thawing out. We were the bachelor and bachelorette of the wedding

We were so glad all the siblings could be together once again and especially to witness this event.

This was both families together

Christmas Day in AZ

This was about noon on Christmas day when I flew in from Minnesota. We opened presents together and had a great time puting toys together, at least AJ did. Stella and James just go from one present to the next. They each got another ornament for next year. Not too many pictures for Christmas. We spent the day resting and checking things out in the new house here that Mom and Dad Cox bought, which is where we are right now.