Introducing Gavin Michael

A little less than 48 hours ago, we celebrated the birth of our third baby and second boy in our family. Gavin Michael was born on Wednesday night at 10:03pm and was 7lbs 2oz and 2 days late. My labor with him was mostly a blur and went so quickly that I wasn't even completely convinced I was in true labor until my water broke in the car on our way to the hospital. After being triaged and admitted to L&D I decided I most definitely wanted an epidural (NOW please!) and wasn't up for the experience of another natural birth. I received nods and "we'll sees" from both the nurses and my midwife, who knew there wasn't a chance that we had time for that and I eventually quit begging when I realized it was time to push and my complaining wasn't going to get the baby out any faster. My midwife and John were both amazingly supportive and worked hard to keep me focused and from losing my mind during the whole experience. And once that beautiful baby boy was in my arms, all was mostly forgotten and I was one very grateful mama. Gavin came out with the rarity of having his umbilical cord tied into a complete knot and the nurses and midwife were all shocked by how healthy and perfect he was, as apparently infants with this condition in-utero do not typically have "happy" outcomes because the blood & nutrient flow to the baby is compromised. John told them that we serve a mighty God and we were certainly praising Him for protecting our son's life. Thank you Jesus!

There is nothing so sweet as that newborn baby smell, the little grunts, and a tiny warm body cuddled up on your chest. I know there are many sleepless nights and long, exhausting days to come, but I'm not worried about those right now. With each new baby, I realize a little more how precious these early days are and how quickly they will pass and become distant memories. So I am soaking them up and feeling so overwhelmingly happy and blessed tonight with our new little family of 5.

The umbilical knot

                           

Things we do while we wait for baby

John and I received a fancy ice-cream maker as a wedding gift and we have used it exactly one time in almost 6 years. You know, one of those gifts you register for as your mom rolls her eyes and tells you how much space it will take up to store and how you'll never use it, yet you scan it anyway because you picture yourself giggling in the kitchen with your new hubby as you make batch after batch of delicious goodness that you feed each other off a shared spoon as Norah Jones croons in the background. 

Fast forward 6 years and 2.9 kids and okay, I can admit we haven't used it quite as much as I anticipated we would, but there's no time like the present right? And since the kids seems to share an obsession  appreciation of ice-cream equal to their mama's, its a good way to keep them happy and entertained for a good 30 minutes. Today we made a batch of chocolate cookies n' cream and oh my goodness, was it delicious. And I consider myself to be a connoisseur, so I wouldn't say that if it wasn't true. There is something about the creamy perfection of homemade ice-cream that beats anything you can buy in the store. And that is what I had for lunch today friends. And seeing as I'm moments away from birthing a baby, I think that is just perfectly acceptable.

Pour in all the ingredients

and then turn on machine and wait....

and wait some more.

Crush up Oreos with rubber mallet..

add to mixture, and then wait just a bit longer

Ready to pounce as soon as the timer beeps

Creamy, perfection in only 25 minutes

Chocolate on the face, arms, legs, shirt, shorts, and table means it must be pretty good

Chocolate warrior princess

To sum things up, its just the perfect treat for a lazy Sunday afternoon. 

And perhaps also perfect at 3am when I am up watching House Hunters tonight because I can't sleep... but that's just speculation.

Tick-Tock

Today marks the one week countdown to D-day, which in my case, probably means 2 weeks. I am feeling antsy and so excited to meet this little babe and finally discover if its a boy or girl. However, I am not in a huge rush for this pregnancy to be over either. I am still fairly comfortable and love having this baby all to myself and feeling all the little kicks and knees and elbows. I know once he or she is born I will miss that incredible closeness, so I don't mind holding for on a little longer. So now we will just wait and see what day God has planned for little one's birth-day. 

And both of these kids are positive the baby is a boy, for the record. 

*You can tell Eli was just thrilled to be included in this photo

Almost 26 weeks...

I am so not a fan of pregnancy belly shots. My personal opinion is that what many people deem as "artistic" can actually be quite weird when it comes to maternity photos. Though I think it is miraculous and beautiful and super cool that God created a woman's body to sustain and grow a human life, you will not find me creating a plaster mold of my belly to display on the mantle as a reminder that it really did get that big.

However, I'm about to enter into the third-trimester of this pregnancy and thought it might be nice to document at least one photo of our third "bun in the oven" before my face starts to swell and I resort to wearing all of John's t-shirts.

Yesterday a woman told me I was definitely carrying all boy. I still don't get why people say that kind of stuff, but I do know that this baby feels enormous. So, boy or girl, you be the judge....

*Love*

We got to peak in on our little peanut this morning at my 19 week ultrasound appointment and he or she is absolutely beautiful. It is unfathomable to me how one could not believe in a loving Creator after seeing the images of this perfectly formed, complete human being that is so tiny and yet so unbelievably intricate at only 19 weeks along. The wonder of it never gets old for me and I lay there awestruck that I get to be a part of God's miraculous creation and that He is entrusting us with another baby for our family.

We remained faithful to our decision not to find out the gender (although we were VERY tempted), but we do know that this baby is healthy, and growing, and already very much loved. God is so good.

I mean how could you not love this sweet little face and these impossibly tiny arms?

Tick Tock

2 weeks until D-day. I felt it was a milestone I needed to share. Of course I'd be more than happy to take an early arrival from baby girl Costello.
Feeling ginormous? Yep. Can't sleep? Uh-huh. Thinking my water is going to break every time I stand up? Kinda. Craving Lucky Charms around the clock? You betcha. Looks like everything is an affirmative for the end of pregnancy "Get out of my belly!!" kind of feeling. Oh, are those my feet down there? I wouldn't know, I can't see them. How's my polish? John did a lovely job with the application don't you think?

Stay tuned, news is bound to be coming soon...

It's a Girl!!

Sugar and spice
and everything nice
that's what little girls are made of

Sunshine and rainbows
and ribbons for hair bows
that's what little girls are made of

Tea parties, laces
and baby doll faces
that's what little girls are made of
-Author unknown

Meet our sweet baby girl

All snuggled up and cozy

Getting a little sleepy from all the attention

Perfect chubby cheeks

Peace

"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well..."
Psalm 139

Thank you Lord for this healthy, beautiful girl. We stand
completely humbled by such a

perfect gift

Pregnancy then and now

Well I've officially reached the 20 week mark in my pregnancy, which means I am halfway through this journey. This is where I step back, thank God (again), and give a huge sigh of relief. The 20 week mark is momentous to me in many ways, of which I wont bother to bore you with all the emotional details. It's amazing to me how different this pregnancy is from my one with Eli simply because, well, of Eli. Here are my top 10 pregnancy then vs. pregnancy now observations...

1. Then, in the weeks of the first trimester when I felt so very sick, I could vomit in a discrete and dignified manner, privately.

Now, in the weeks of the first trimester when I felt so very sick, my then 16 month old would stand over me and not only laugh but also attempt to imitate my retching and thus make himself laugh harder. Dignity, gone.

2. Then, I had the luxury of laying in bed for an extra hour in the morning after snacking on crackers until my stomach felt more settled.

Now, 7am is wake-up time and toddler's don't have a snooze button.

3. Then, if you were to ask me how far along I was I could tell you in hours, as in I'm 15 weeks, 2 days and 3 hours.

Now, I actually have to keep a written reminder in my planner of the weeks passage and I usually answer people in terms of 25% through, halfway through, etc.

4. Then, I invested in the expensive stretch mark creams "guaranteed" to prevent any evidence that you were ever pregnant at all.

Now, I slather those lovely scars in Jergens and just pray that no new atrocities will form this time around.

5. Then, I spent hours watching live birthing videos on Youtube and trying to prepare myself for my big moment by apparently scaring myself to death.

Now, been there, seen that.

6. Then, every day at 4pm was my "me" time where I would pop a bag of popcorn, make a big ole' mug of hot chocolate and kick up my feet for an hour while I watched Oprah, perhaps dozing in and out of consciousness.

Now, I can get 24 minutes of "me" time thanks to free Barney on Demand, if I'm lucky. Popcorn must be shared with a ferociously hungry boy repeating the phrase "moe pease" while clambering for a place on my lap. Relaxing? Not so much.

7. Then, I spent days writing and perfecting my birth plan and then proudly presented it to my OB explaining how I wanted things to go.

Now, I laugh in the face of birth plans. My plan is end up at the hospital and go home with a baby. Preferably mine.

8. Then, I hoped my belly would grow really fast so everyone would know I was pregnant and I could wear all the cute maternity fashions.

Now, I'm pretty much always sucking in and just counting down the days until my tummy tuck.

9. Then, I thought one baby would be a cinch. All it takes is organization, preparation, and proper planning. I planned on having 4-5 kids back to back.

Now, Eli struggles to understand my organizational needs. I am amazed at the utter destruction one child can cause to a clean house. I still want 4-5 kids, maybe.

10. Then, I was pretty sure I would like being a mom. I was pretty sure I had everything figured out already and could conquer parenting like I conquer home improvement projects.

Now, it's all the more exciting knowing the miraculous gift that birth and babies and parenting is. I certainly have realized that I have nothing figured out except that you cannot conquer parenting. You survive each day and pray that God empowers you to be a better mom tomorrow than you were yesterday.

Goodbye buttons and zippers, Hellooo stretchies!

Ok, I must confess: I had a personal goal to make it to the 12 week mark before pulling out the ole' maternity clothes. But yesterday, at 10.5 weeks and straining to get my favorite pair of jeans buttoned, I thought, "why this torture?" I mean here I am squeezing and forcing myself into clothes that require buttoning and zipping, when I can just reach into that big bin and slide into pants with an entirely elastic waist. Ahh, sweet relief. And I just shaved 7 second off my morning routine. Personal goal not met.