Savannah Jo's Story...and then some! part 2

Sitting at a table in the back of the church that Sunday morning, I didn't eat much. I wasn't feeling very good, and about 9-9.30 I started having contractions. These contractions were different than with Kyah. With Kyah they were sharp, intense, sudden, gripping contractions, wrapping around my belly and back and causing me to gasp for air.  These ones were a little more gradual. They would come in a wave, starting off in the back...radiating around to the front, then my stomach would tighten, and it was more of an intense cramping feeling, then a sharp pain. I was glad. Now I understood why some women had babies and wondered why it was so hard for others, these kind of contractions weren't so bad as the other ones. Of course if you give them long enough all contractions get to a point of ah...excruciatingness? Is that even a word?  I say it's a good word for contractions!

Anyways, I decided not to time the contractions persay, but I got out my cell phone, and a pen and paper. Each time during sunday school I had a contraction, I would glance at the time, and write it down. When one would hit, I'd close my eyes, breathe deep, and sometimes rubbing my belly helped. haha

So, it's no wonder, that after sunday school, Pastor inquired as to whether I was having contractions or not.  I told him I was, after checking my paper I noticed the contractions were coming about every 5-7 min.  We decided to stay for the rest of church, unless things continued quickly. Pastor announced that I could possibly be in labor, and I really hoped I would be having a baby that sunday!  I had many watchful eyes on me that day.  I continued my, "Check time, write it down, shut eyes, breathe deep" routine, and listened as much as I could. Which turned out not to be much...by the end of the sermon, the contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes.  I decided we should go to the hospital, if for nothing else but to see what was going on. I was scared to go, because on the way there, the contractions seemed to slow. I was sure by the time we got there they would stop. 

We had taken the Pastor's eldest daughter Ashley with us, to keep an eye on Kyah until my mum could come get her, she stayed with Kyah in the waiting room while they took me into the triage room and got me hooked up to the moniters.

When Kyah came in she seemed concerned for me, so I was a little bit glad that the contractions didn't feel so bad anymore. It turns out though, I was having contractions just as I had been earlier, but some of them I wasn't feeling as strong as I had been.  They thought it could still be a while, but there was a decel in the baby's heartrate at the first  contraction on the moniter, and since they didn't know why, and I was already overdue, they said they would admit me, and possibly break my water soon.

Stacy arrived not long after that, and Mum and Dad came to get Kyah and took her to church with them.  Ashley let me smell her lovely smelling chapstick every now and then, and my Sister-in-law Jessica came in case I wanted her to rub my back etc. I mostly loved her freezing cold hands on my neck and back!!

Stacy helped tell the girls when to quit touching me or talking to me, I much appreciated that.  She helped me breathe through the contractions, and "sink into the bed" with each one. That was some intense focusing I had to do there...but at the same time as the pain was increasing, I felt more encouraged that I was doing well, and was coping much better than with Kyah.  Stacy continued to encourage me and push me forward. Her calming technique of sliding her hand down over my side as I had a contraction really helped me to relax and breathe myway through.
Kyah came back for a visit, and my sister accidentaly took a picture of us mid-contraction, because she didn't realise I was having one.  That picture is so precious to me now. My beautiful, tender-hearted girl...comforting her momma!

There were snacks, games, and plenty of fun being had over at the table on the side of the room, and my lovely husband was watching sport, of course. Lol  It must be the manly tradition to do such things while your wife is in labor. haha  But I do have to give him credit, he was a better this time than with Kyah.  It did kind of drive me nuts, all the "shenanigans" over in the corner, but true to my nature, I didn't say anything, it's not very fun to watch so much fun be had when you're in agony. Some might argue that it is...but at this point in time, I didn't think so. My husband still makes fun of me for that..."how dare someone have fun, while you're in labor!!" ...Exactly, now he's getting somwehere! :) 

I eventually got to that point where it was getting harder to breathe, and I was tensing up a little more. I felt like I would go out of my mind in pain, sometime soon, but when Stac asked if I wanted the epi, or for her to keep encouraging me and pushing me on, I opted for going some more. The Dr came and saw me and decided that with not mch progress, they would have to break my water. I was hesitant, I had heard horror stories of kids getting poked in the head.  So they said they'd be back in an hour, to check my progress. If  I wasn't getting anywhere, then they'd break my water, I agreed.  I continued through contractions for an hour, sure there was going to be progress. This is Savannah we are talking about remember, when they came back in an hour, they broke my water. It was surprisingly easier than I thought, the nurse/dr ...midwife? I can't remember who did it, but she came in with a BIG LONG needle, it totally freaked me out, so I looked away, she made sure I was ok, and I assured her I just didn't want to look, and I'd be ok.  I felt a warm gush, and there you have it, water broken.  Easy.  What came next, was not so easy!

The difference between contractions before and after "water breakage" is big! OUCH!!  The contractions picked up, and became increasingly tougher to breathe through. Someone came in and asked what the baby's name was going to be, and wrote WELCOME SAVANNAH JO on the board. I thought, this is it...Savannah's almost here...I'm having a baby! ...

I continued through contractions, for about an hour to an hour and a half more. By this time everyone had gone, except Joey and Stacy...I decided I wanted the Epi.  I couldn't keep steady through the contractions, I was shaky, tensing up, and they hurt SO bad. I tried and tried to relax and breathe, it just wasn't doing any good. So we called for the Epi. I was quite pleased to find I got the same "Bandana Guy" as with Kyah, I felt instantly at ease...same drill as before, he went through all the steps with me before, and explained them as he did it. Barely felt a thing, and there it was...that swoosh of relief. Unlike with Kyah, I could still feel the contractions, they just weren't intensly painful, just the tightening feeling. I can do this, I thought.  This time I'm going to get some rest!!

The nurses and Stacy let me know to tell them when I felt, "the pressure" I didn't feel it yet, so I turned to my side and faced stacy, who had pulled up a chair nearby. I remember talking a little bit about almost being ready to have the baby, how exciting it was, and then we rested. Suddenly, I felt "the pressure" with my contraction. I wasn't sure so I waited through about 5 contractions. Then I told Stacy I thought I was feeling it, she was like me and said to wait for a few contractions to make sure.  I was just going to sleep when a nurse, or someone came in and fiddled with the IV, and moniter. I looked at her with my eyes all blurred, and said something about feeling the pressure. I promptly fell asleep.

Next thing I know I'm being woken up by a strangely familiar looking nurse.  She wanted to check me, and at that point it almost felt like I could feel JoJo's head between my legs, I told her that. So she said, "let's take a look" and lifted the sheet to do the check, and got that wide-eyed, jaw dropping look. She said, "the heads right there" and ran out.

Stacy woke up Joey, who looked up all weerily, and half asleep.  He then realised what was happening and rushed over to my side, and hugged me, I think he stroked my face and said something sweet about it being time to have the baby, he gave me a sweet kiss, and we had a little, we're having a baby moment.  Stacy had hopped up as soon as the nurse came in, and was visibly excited when the nurse made her "announcement" and made her way to my right side. We were all charged with a new energy, at the thought of what was about to happen.   God was about to introduce us to our baby girl...He knew her, He formed her...and soon, we would meet her. *sigh*

A bunch of people came rushing in all at once and broke down the bed, set up the stirrups, and prepared the table with all the "tools" 

The midwife, asked me to push once, so off we went, Stacy and the nurse counted, (Stac was at my head again, on the right side, Joey was by her but at my right leg, the nurse was at my left side. ) I felt SO heavy, I breathed in as much as I could, but it felt like I was barely breathing in. I pushed my hardest, but it was more of a strain than anything. They told me to breath in deeper, as much as I could, and push hard. I did. It was no good. I told them I couldn't breathe properly, and my chest was heavy.  They propped my bed up,  sat me up  some more, and turned down the epidural.

I pushed again, with this push I had a big WOOSH feeling come over me, and felt lightheaded and dizzy.  ...counting...and again PUSH... I started to say, "I think I'm gonna..." and I jerked my head over the bed to the left and threw up all over my side and the floor.  I continued to throw up, and gag. I was in tears, involuntarily, from the throwing up. But the nurses comforted me, and assured me it was ok, and that I was doing good. They thought I was upset. "you're doing great, it's alright, the babies coming,"  *little stifled giggle* "The babies heads coming out. It's working, you're doing great."  They looked on in awe and amazement. I could feel her head coming out each time I wretched...so gross, but so cool. It was amazing. Before I knew it, I felt her head come out.

Joey and Stacy, on the other hand, had no idea what was going on.  When I started throwing up, Stacy had rushed to get things to clean me up, and was washing my face, and along with the nurses, comforting me and encouraging me. I vaguely remember her holding my face...I think...hmm. Joey was somewhere over by the sink, looking for the notorious "blue thing" My poor husband, heard someone say grab the blue thing, meaning the long plastic sick bag thing, but there were also blue paper towels, blue cloths, and I believe blue chux pads...the poor guy was grabbing the wrong things, "no not that blue thing" He turned around to see Savannah's head out. haha he was quite surprised, as was Stacy. It happend so quickly...

They cleaned me off a little, with a wonderful cool cloth, and we were back at it. PUSH...I gave it my all, and out she came. They wisked her up onto my stomach, and Joey cut the cord.  I just stared at her, I was in awe. I didn't know what to do.  Kyah was taken away pretty quickly, so I just kept staring at her expecting them to take her. I looked into those beautiful big eyes...Savannah Jo...  

Savannah Jo Jaco was born at 2:20am, Dec 15th, 2008.  8lb. 20in.  

They wisked her over to the baby bed, and did all the weighing, taking her vitals, etc.  I remember thinking she looked like Kyah, but a more daddy-like version.  They took her footprints, which was something new since we had had Kyah. 

They took her over to the sink, and bathed her. It was so awesome to watch that, I missed Kyah's first bath.  I soaked it all in.

The nurses changed my gown, after I delivered the placenta with one push. No stiches. YEAH!! With Kyah I had pushed for an hour and a half, I only pushed for ten minutes with Savannah! Most of that was throwing up too. The nurses and I joked about how effective throwing up was for getting the baby out, we all decided,  it was quite a memorable experience.  In case you don't know what it's like to "throw up a baby" I highly recommend it. It's much easier than pushing!!  It got the job done nicely!

I was so hungry, one of the nurses brought me pain medicine, and a yummy hospital meal. A cheeseburger. That was almost the best burger ever. It probably helped that I hadn't eaten for so long...and worked hard. It was so good.  I ate while Daddy, and Stacy snuggled JoJo.  Then Stacy asked if I wanted to nurse her.

I admit, this moment was ackward for me with each of my kids. I Love breastfeeding them, it's no trouble at all...but that first time. I always felt unsure. Like I wouldn't know what to do or it wouldn't work, etc. I don't know why. Once I had each child in my arms, and started the feeding...*BLISS* It's so amazing to be able to do that. True to form, Savannah ate with gusto, letting us have a glimpse into the future.  She always did let us know her unique personality traits right away!

We transfered over to the postpartum room, and said goodbye to the nurses. I found out that the nurse I had recognized had helped me in postpartum with Kyah. It was nice to see a few familiar faces. I was wheeled over to the new room, and hopped into bed.  This time we had our own room. YAY!!

We had lots of visitors the next day...including BIG sister!! When Nana walked in carrying Kyah, she looked so big!  She was asleep.



Kyah was SO excited to see her baby sister. The first thing she did was say, "I hold her" when Daddy said no, she broke down...

Daddy then went on to explain to her, she could hold her, she just couldn't grab her and carry her on her own. So we got her up on the bed, and she got to hold her brand new sister. She was so proud!

Joey took Kyah home with him that night, and I had Savannah all to myself. I had my routine again of feed the baby, change the baby, go to bathroom, clean up myself, get baby to sleep, pain meds, and then it would start all over. I didn't really get any sleep. 

Jenn Campbell had been trying to get to the hospital to visit, but we were about to be discharged. Joey came and picked us up, and we decided to go to the campbells for a quick visit.

 

When we got home I was utterly exausted. I went to bed early, and I don't remember much. I don't remember ever being that exausted before. That is until I had Ava... But anyway. With Kyah we would both wake up, I'd sit up and feed her, Joey would change her diaper, I'd feed her the other side...lay her back down...etc.  Poor JoJo...at least she got fed. I was SO exausted, I don't even remember waking up, but I know I woke once and put her on one side, and again once more to switch her to the other for another feeding. WHen I woke up in the morning it was all a blur, but there she was...laying right next to me sleeping blissfully. Perfectly content. I fed her again. 

She got to meet her cousin Gracie. (whom she now says is her best friend) can you see the immediate connection? I Love it!!

Savannah Jo...we barely knew the meaning of scared until we met you.Oh, she's tripped, fallen, crashed, bashed and smashed just about every part of her, she's had a mild and moderate concussion, she's almost passed out, she's run into walls, jumped from places higher than she should have, climbed to places she shouldn't be able to, gotten into about everything imaginable...Oh our crazy little JoJo...How we love her. She's been so ill at times, she got us to drive halfway to the hospital at 2am after she screamed bloddy murder for an hour, like we'd never heard before, only to fall asleep in the car. We've thought we'd lose her, more than once.

But oh..those big beeming eyes, that sweet cheeky smile, that husky high voice, and crazy little giggle, that turns into an all out belly laugh. What would we do without you sweet little thing. Everyone has a JoJo...they require a lot more patience than most.  She's our Daredevil...that's for sure. But hey, she did warn us from the womb!! ...and she is the second child...we should have known!

 

Savannah Jo's Story...and then some! part 1

The Story behind the photo:



When we arrived back at the car, I realized my wedding ring was missing.  We looked back through the pictures, to see if I had it on in any of them, we combed the beach, I was in tears.  Joey said we could get another one, I was devestated. Looking through rocks, sand, shells, this was a beach. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack! This ring was irreplaceable, made by a good friend, with love. I was so sad.  I sat with Kyah on the front seat, I knew i hadn't taken the ring off. I had thought about it, but I didn't do it. Now i regretted that decision.  I had to give up. I prayed that we'd find it, and I prayed that God would help me not to be so concerned about it if we didn't. After all, there are more important things to worry about than a ring. 

I walked around to the back seat of the car to put Kyah in, and that's when I saw it. Something glimmered in the sunlight. I looked down at the "bump" in the middle of the floor of the backseat. There it sat, but beloved ring. I cried. I thanked the Lord that He showed me to the ring. He didn't have to, it could have been lost forever. But He blessed me, and He gave me my ring back. This may seem like a small thing. But I like to thank God in all things. This was an especially great thing. On our way home I noticed how even the mountains pointed to God...How beautiful.

*PHOTO*

Every day of that trip I woke up feeling a little nauseas. Every time I'd get that wooshy sick feeling, I'd think, "I wonder if I'm pregnant..." with a little giggle or grin, like I was hiding a secret, I'd tuck the thought away, until the next woosh came over me. We knew it was quite likely that I was pregnant. We had been trying.  My dear Husband would have probably had another right after Kyah. He Loves being a Daddy! We agreed that we wanted at least our first two to be close in age. Not too close (thought some would consider our age gaps too close) but not too far apart. We were so excited at the prospect of a second child.

When we arrived home, I took a test.  It was Positive!! :)  We waited until after the 8 week ultrasound to tell everyone.  Everybody was happy, well minus a few naysayers, who thought we obviously didn't know what we were getting into. (we knew perfectly well, and wouldn't change a thing!)  Everybody was hoping for a boy since we already had a girl. one of each right. Isn't that the "standard for the perfect family."  I always wanted a boy first...Luke Thomas Jaco. We love the name Luke, Thomas after my dad's and Joey's middle name.  We had about 5 boys names...quite the list of boy names.  It remains in tact...still a long list. Now girl's names were a different story.

It took a little longer this time to get sick.  I even had a few fleeting thoughts, that I might not get so sick this time. Maybe I'll just have regular "morning sickness." Nausea in the morning...and then it hit me...like a ton of bricks.  Worse than with Kyah.  I didn't even know it could possibly be worse. The second I'd open my eyes in the morning, it would hit, the gagging, the wretching, I couldn't eat, drink, I could barely function. But this time I knew what to do. I called in to my Dr, and got my lifeline...ZOFRAN! It helped. This time I only lost 6 pounds before getting the meds. It didn't take the sickness completely away, I was still pretty nauseas, but it took away the 24/7 throwing up! (Hyperemesis Gravedarum, for those who'd like to know the name of the dreaded illness! YUCK!)  Praise the Lord for that medecine! 

At our 20 week ultrasound we found out we were having another girl.  Sisters...we were so thankful, for another blessing, another daughter. But there was one problem...what would we call her!?  We eventually settled on Savannah Jo. Jo after myself and Joey, and my Pop. I'm Karly Jae, after my Pop, Joe. My Uncle Danny's middle name is also Joe, and obviously Joey's name is Joseph. So we made it femenine and went with Jo. Savannah, was literally the ONLY name we both liked. and there you have it...

Savannah Jo Jaco!

Oh, Savannah Jo, she spoke volumes of her personality while in the womb! She often kicked or jabbed me with such force that I'd let out a yelp, and I often felt sore from her kicking and punching my insides. She even kicked her Auntie Jessica's hand so hard once it made her jump!  She was so strong...and she was a stubborn one too!  I knew she'd be the feisty one, the go-getter, possibly a "tomboy" we often wondered what we'd gotten ourselves into. Lol

Kyah was so peaceful, so quiet, so calm, so well-behaved.  Of course she is a child, and just like any other child she got in her fair share of trouble, but she just has a calm, sensetive nature. 

Throw in a couple of Kyah pics...

Then there's Savannah Jo...most commonly known as JoJo. 

Our stubborn girl. I do have to give her credit though. She gave us fair warning of her personality traits! She was due December 11th, 2008.  But everyone expected her to be a day late and arrive on Uncle Donny's birthday. Eveyone but me that is. My response to the "hold her in for a day" comments, was this, " even a day late is too long." Little did I know...

This pregnancy was busy, not only did I have Kyah to care for, but I also looked after my neice Gracie, and 3 days a week Chloe too. I had watched Everret in the beginning, but he started going to his grandma's after he was a few months old. The house we lived in had stairs. Kitchen and living room downstairs, bedrooms upstairs. I made countless trips up and down those stairs, and swore if we ever bought a house it would not have stairs. (although now i think it's a great excersize routine for when you're pregnant, since you have no choice but to go up and down. haha) 

I worked non-stop. Up and down the staris with laundry, a kid on my hip, juggling. Lol (yes, all mothers are jugglers! it's in the job description!)  Surprisingly I didn't really have any scares with JoJo, as I did with Kyah, I did end up in bed once after doing too much and putting my back out, that was fun! I also had a lot of anxiety, and had a few (what I refer to now as mild or moderate) panic attacks.  The Lord was using it all to teach me numerous things, and thankfully I had a painfully honest husband, who encouraged me to work on me. To press on, and do what I could to impact others. Wether it is well received, or taken for granted, I needed to step it up and do what God allows me to do best. Encourage others. I was missing opportunities to share Christ, the ecnourage, to uplift. What time is better than the present to serve, and what better way for a stay at home wife/mom to serve her family than to pour her whole heart into her home. And that's what I did. I tried to make our home a haven, keep it clean, tidy, welcoming. A place you want to come hom to after a hard day's work.  I am happiest when I am serving others, God continues to remind me of this in new ways...I am always amazed at His goodness to me.

I pressed on, and continued to work hard, oftne times too hard, and my body paid for it, but I also felt fulfilled knowing I was doing what the Lord had called me to do.  I continued to pray for the Lord to guide me, and help me be all He would have me to be. Time kept moving on and before I knew it I was almost done with my pregnancy. 

We had been house hunting for the better part of my pregnancy, and knew we would be moving out of a shared house with my Brother and sister in law, into our own house in January. So a lot of my time was spent preparing and packing, since I didn't want to have to pack things at 9 months pregnant, or immediately after having a baby. 

The Church gave us a Baby shower...

Now, if you've ever been pregnant, you know how it goes. After about 35 weeks time starts to drag. You start to wonder about how the labor will go, will it be easier than before, what will it be like? What will the baby look like? Will it come out the predicted sex? How big will this baby be? You start to get anxious, maybe get things ready. Well I had everything ready by 37 weeks. if not before. Bags packed, baby bed ready, clothes washed and organised, everything was ready for Savannah Jo to enter the world. 

Thankfully God bestowed much patience on me as I hit the 37 week mark, and started receiving the when are you due? You look ready to pop. You're Huge, comments.  Oh and he also gave me the merciful spirit not to slap some people. haha Really, some people just don't know how to talk to a pregnant woman!

Since we lived a fair way from the hospital, and we were warned of second deliveries going faster than the first, we came up with a plan.  (It's all lies by the way!! It does NOT get easier, different yes. Easier NO WAY!! now I may not be the best person to ask...haha but going from 17 hours labor to 17 and a half hours labor, to 46 hours! Yes, FORTY-SIX hours...uummm yeah, so not easier! But anyway...)

Our plan was for me to go with the girls and stay at grandma Glenna's house during the day, that way I'd be about 10 min from Joey's work, and 10 min from the hospital, and in case of an emergency, we could leave the kids with Grandma.

So at 38 weeks pregnant, and a few days, we started going to Grandmas.  Most women that are mothers know that once you hit that 38 week mark, there's a feeling of "any day now" that you begin to have. Plus everyone else seems to think that you will just drop the baby out any second, HA if only it was that easy.

It was a tough task getting up literally at the crack of dawn. Getting two toddlers ready. We'd wake up about 5am and rug up the girls, bundle everyone up in the car and head to grandmas.  Grandma was so gracious to us setting out blankets on the couch, and making sure the heater was on for us in the living room.

I'd get gracie organised on one couch and snuggle up with Kyah on the other and we'd go back to sleep for about an hour. Waking back up around 8am. Some days though I'd just lay there in the quiet, and wonder, "is this the day?" contemplating what was ahead, and just soaking up the time with my Kyah and Gracie girl! I was perfectly content to soak up the last few days of Kyah being our only child.  I watched those two make memories and knew all too well, that this would be gone too quickly, it felt like only days before I was meeting my beautiful Gracie girl for the first time. I remembered holding her, rocking her to sleep...everyone thought she looked just like she could be our child...funny thing is, Gracie and Kyah are opposite in looks! But the way they love each other, they may as well be sisters!

                    

We spent our days just hanging out with grandma, I so enjoyed the time spent with her. The kids played, we chatted. I got to hear many stories, about my husband growing up, about my brother-in-law,  and stories from grandmas life. The fellowship of family was sweet, but even sweeter, being family in Christ.  If you have grandparents, be sure to soak up all you can from them! I Lost most of my grandparents before I was born, and though I had my Nana and More-Nana, I lost them at a young age too. My More Nana died while I was young, and My Nana had many strokes before I was old enough to remember things. My Great Aunt, Auntie Dossie, has made a lot of memories with me, but I'll save those for another day.  Grandparents have a wealth of information. Enjoy them while you have the chance. I Have been incredibly blessed by inheriting two wonderful grandmas, by marriage. I Love them both dearly.  Thankyou Lord for blessing me so. 

Ok, Rabbit trail aside...A week went by.  Still no baby.  Noone seemed to mind, I think everyone hoped she'd come on Uncle Donny's birthday.  I just kept praying, and God continued to give me patience, and a calm. I was unusually content to keep waiting. ...Just so you know, it didn't last...

My main concern was my stubborn girl being breech. At 36 weeks, I went into my dr's office with a big buldge shoving into my ribs...I couldn't even sit up straight. Nurse Stone commented the she hoped it was a butt and not a head. ...Keep in mind this is JOJO!!! WHen she couldn't  find the heartbeat down low, she went up by the buldge, sure enough it was her head!! I tried all kinds of excersizes that didn't work, and eventually went to have a special accupuncture technique done. It was amazing, and she turned. But of course, as a mum, I still worried a little that she would flip back.  She was so active, even those last few weeks!!

As the days went by, I had no signs of labor. My sweet husband, texted me every day, asking things like, "any contractions?" "did you have the baby?" LoL it was so cute that he was anxious and excited to meet our daughter, but I know he also loves to do those little things that just might get me a little irritated. hehe usually those constant comments would drive me nuts. But from him, they were funny and sweet. I just Love my husband, he is such an amazing Daddy! I admire him in so many ways...*sigh* marriage just gets better... more on that later...

December 11th, came and went.  Kyah having been four days early made those days leading up the her due date dragged on.  We said goodbye to grandma on the thursday afternoon, hoping we wouldn't see her the next day. Hopefully we would be in the hospital.

So the next morning...we showed up at grandma's house again, I was one very pregnant momma! My biggest clothes barely fit anymore...

I'll let you in on something that almost makes being overdue fun.  Coupled with the fact that my belly was huge, being overdue, had an excellent shock value!  That afternoon after leaving Grandma's we went to the christian bookstore.  As I waddled up to the counter, behind my husband, the Lady asked, "When are you due?" I replied, "Yesterday..." The look on her face was priceless.  It was one of those, eyes pop out of your head jaw dropping looks. ...I kind of enjoyed it.  She mentioned something about sitting down or resting as we left...resting was the last thing on my mind. If this stubborn girl wasn't coming yet, I was sure gonna keep busy while waiting!

I Slept restlessly that night, in case you didn't know, its extremely difficult to get comfortable when 9 months plus pregnant!  Saturday Night came around and I battled the bedtime routine again...I was finally at the point where I thought I couldn't take anymore. In tears i wondered do I deal with this "neverendingness!?" ...I had no choice but to continue, and to pray more earnestly. My prayers, began to change ... they seemed to become more like pleas. "Please God help me get through this" "Please let today be the day the baby comes"..."Please can I just get SOME sleep..."  I still had a week to wait until we could even discuss inducing. I was at that illogical point of feeling like I'd be pregnant forever!

I finally drifted off to sleep somewhere around 1am...only to wake up at about 2am. I waddled to the bathroom, expecting the usual routine. But what followed was not the norm. I started having a "cramping feeling. THinking it was bathroom related, i stayed in there.  After about a half hour of the pains becoming excrusiating, and my ending up in a ball on the floor in agony...I began to think this might be it, I was almost hopeful. "please God let this be it...it hurts so bad..this has to be real labor. I tried calling out to Joey, but he didn't hear me. I stayed there dealing with the pains for  while, until I could finally get up.  I slowly made my way back to bed, I woke Joey up with this, "I've been in the bathroom for over an hour I'm having super bad pains, I think I'm in labor, I'll let you know if we need to leave." ...He went back to sleep. The pains faded away, I was exausted in every way!  I was disappointed, I cried. But I didn't think about it too much, my body shut down, and I drifted to sleep...it was about 5am.

We woke up a few hours later and got ready for church...it was sweet sunday. Everyone was surprised to see me. Some even asked why I was there. Granted I was utterly exausted. But where else would I be on such a fine sunday morning. I wasn't in labor...But that all would soon change.

Pretty soon Our little family of three would grow...

Keep Looking Up!