Connor Jace

So Connor was due on February 24th. We decided if he didn't come by March 2nd we were going to induce. I had my last doctor's appointment on Monday, March 1st. I was 3 cm dilated. That night I had lots of contractions. They started coming about every 10 minutes but never really got any closer. We headed to the hospital at 6am the next morning for our induction. It was so strange going to the hospital not being in active labor. Everything was so calm. We got there and got checked in. They checked me and I was at 5.5 cm. They also took blood and started my IV. They started me on petocin around 7:40 am. Shortly after that, the nurse came in and told me that when they ran the the tests on my blood my platelet count was low. I had no clue what this meant. I quickly found out I might not be able to have an epidural. They wanted to take some more blood and run the tests one more time. My platelet count went up a little bit but not enough for an epidural. I started to freak out, I was totally planning on having an epidural and didn't really have any other birth plan in mind. I was a mess, I started crying but was trying to stay positive. My mom and Mark's mom got to the hospital shortly after we received the bad news. They were both very supportive and encouraging, and since they had all three of their children naturally, they knew I would be fine. My doctor came in to see me about an hour later. She said that she talked to the anesthesiologist and gave her ok for me to go ahead and have the epidural. She explained that it was ultimately up to the head of anesthesiology to decide whether or not to give me the epidural but there was a small chance I could still have one. A little while later, the head of anesthesiology came in and examined me and decided I could go ahead and have the epidural. I'd never been so happy! So around 11 am I finally got my epidural, I was already at 7.5 cm and moving along pretty quickly. The next several hours were very calm. Me, Mark and the moms just hung out in the room reading magazines and waiting. Shara got to the hospital around 2 pm, just in time for all the action. The nurse came in to check me and I was at 10 cm. She paged the doctor and got the room all set up for delivery. She walked me through how to push and wanted me to practice. She was going to count to 10 and have me push. Well, she counted to 2 and then told me to stop because the baby was right there!! Dr. Meadows came in and I pushed twice and Connor was here. He was born at 2:41 pm. He weighed 8 pounds 9 oz and 21 and 3/4 inches long. The cord was wrapped tightly around his neck and had to be cut off, but other then that he was completely perfect. They put him in my arms and looking at his face it was like I had known him forever. After they got us both all cleaned up we were able to have visitors and Brody got to come and meet his little brother. He wasn't all that interested at first. He was really happy to see mommy and daddy. While Brody and grandpa were visiting they moved us to our postpartum room. The hospital was very relaxed and let us have as many visitors as we wanted. Abbey, Tim and Shara all came to visit. We had Chewy's for dinner and Mark's brother Alan arrived. Brody stayed until almost 9:30 which was way past his bedtime so the grandparents all left and took him home to bed. We had a pretty good night in the hospital; the nursery nurse even came and watched Connor for a couple of hours so we could get some sleep. The next day they came and got Connor bright and early for his circumcision, and after that he slept for almost 6 hours. Mark worked his magic and was able to talk them into letting us go home early so we checked out of the hospital around 4:30 pm and headed home. It was an amazing experience and I'm both glad and sad that it's over. I'm so happy we have our two amazing boys and our family is now complete.

Last belly pic, this is right as we were leaving for the hospital.

Dilated to 10cm time to push!

My first look at my new baby boy.

Totally in love.

Proud parents.

Glad that's over :)

8 pounds 9 oz, almost a pound bigger than Brody.

Some pics Abbey took while visiting.

Connor Jace

Oops they made him mad.

Mommy and Connor.

So glad my mom was with me!!

Brody being a goofball and jumping right in front of the camera.

Grandma Diane and Connor.

Grandma Judy and Connor.

Big Brother!

Mark, me and Connor.

Our new family of four.

Snowing in Austin

So on Tuesday we got snow in Austin. It was crazy, we went from 71 degree weather on Sunday to 30's and snow on Tuesday. Brody loved it. I bundled him up and took him outside for a little bit. I think he would have stayed out there all day if I would have let him. I was also really surprised how interested Shasta was. He kept going to the door and scratching to go out. He would play for about 10 minutes and then he was ready to come back in. He did this about 10 times. Anyway it snowed all day and then it was in the 60's the next day and all melted away.

This is the house across the street and our front yard.

Our neighbors built a snowman, cowboy boots and all.

Playing in the snow.

Took him a little bit to get used to his boots.

Finally ready to head back in.

More Maternity Pics

So I was hoping my next post would be to announce the arrival of our new little boy but he is taking his sweet time. Instead I have a few more maternity pics to post. Shara's friend Melissa had asked if she could take some maternity pics for her book and I was happy to help her out. She brought the pics over last night and here are a few of our favorites.

The belly just keeps getting bigger.

In the nursery.

Brody loves the baby's giraffe.

Kisses for baby.

Ready to be a big brother!

Hopefully it won't be much longer!

Valentine's Day Weekend

So last weekend we had really nice family weekend. Matt and Abbey had invited us to go to a children's museum in New Braunfels but on Friday night I started to have contractions so we decided not to venture too far from home. So Saturday we took Brody to two different museums in Austin. One was more of a natural history museum. It had a cool dinosaur bones exhibit that Brody just loved. The 2nd one was the Dell Children's Discovery center. This was a more kid oriented place with fun learning things. He really liked both places for different reasons. Then we finished our afternoon off with burgers, fries and a milkshake. We really wanted to have just a special day all about Brody and I think we were really successful, he seemed to have such a good time. Sunday was Valentine's Day which is always special for Mark and I b/c it was the day we got engaged 8 years ago. I can't believe it's been that long! Again we weren't really up for going out or making big plans so we just made a really yummy dinner and hung out at home. We attempted gnocchi for the first time with a mushroom cream sauce. Everything came out pretty good. Gnocchi is a tough thing to make, it was a little softer then I would have liked but I think we learned a lot and can make it better next time. Mark made an AMAZING mushroom cream sauce. It came out so good, even Brody liked it. Now we are just waiting for baby #2 to make his appearance. I think the last few weeks of pregnancy are always the hardest. I'm very anxious to be done! Well hopefully the next post will be to welcome our new little boy.

Brody on Friday showing off his Stegosaurus.

Loving the dinosaur bones!

Something he could touch.

Looking at more bones with daddy.

He really liked this exhibit that showed different kinds of Texas wildlife.

Putting shapes into holes at the Dell museum.

He got this cool hat at the Dell museum.

The next day still wearing his new hat.

Relaxing after a long weekend, he cracks me up!

Photos by Abbey

So last Saturday Matt, Abbey and Kinsey came up to take some family and belly pics. I was really excited because I always love how the pics Matt and Abbey take come out. We tried to do some family pics on a trail by our house but Brody had just woken up from his nap and wanted nothing to do with taking pictures. Also, it was really cold out so we didn't spend a bunch of time trying to warm him up to the idea. After that we headed back to the house and Abbey got a bunch of pics of the belly. They came out really good. I haven't seen all the pics yet but Abbey put a bunch on her website so I snagged a few for the blog. There are more on her website which is http://www.photographybyabbey.com/ and she is going to give me a cd with all of the pics on it so I'm sure there will be more to come. Thanks Abbey, you did such a great job and we really LOVE all the pics.

He wouldn't look at the camera but at least we got him in a pic.

Me and Mark.

I thought this was cute.

The belly.

I really liked these ones.

I think this is my favorite.

8 Months Pregnant

So I've entered the final stretch. This pregnancy hasn't been that much different from my first pregnancy but I've been able to enjoy it a little more for some reason. I think in part you know what to expect with the second pregnancy so you can relax and enjoy the process a little more. Also, I'm planning on this being my last pregnancy so I tried to really relish every kick and flutter. The second trimester was definitely the best, I had lots of energy and really felt good. Actually I felt pretty good up until the last few weeks. Now I'm ready to be done. I feel like there is no more room left in my tummy. I have continued to do yoga throughout my pregnancy, something I'm actually a little surprised about. My goal was just to go as long as I could and so far I'm still going about 4 days a week. I also haven't gained as much weight this time around, which I don't think has affected my overall pregnancy, but I'm hoping it will make a difference after I have the baby. Mark and I decided to mess around with the camera and try to get a few pics of the belly. Also Shara has a friend who is a photographer and she needed some more maternity pics for her portfolio and asked if she could take some shots of me. She came by on Monday and took some pictures. She said she would give me a cd of all the pics once she edits them so I'll share those once I get them. In the mean time here are some of the ones Mark took.

3 weeks to go!

Brody was helping.

Big belly.

Kisses for the baby, such a sweet boy.