1 Week Later

We are a whole week into our new parenting of 3 kids journey and here's what it's been like:

• Some days we're like "it's ALREADY been a week" and other times we're like "it's ONLY been a week" haha. The days are definitely long, but it's also been so nice snuggling with the tiny little new sweetheart.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• In the beginning she would go to bed really well, but then when she'd get up for her first feeding she wouldn't stay down. We've had one great night, where she went down well and slept well after the feedings, but only one night. Luckily Larry has been SUPER helpful on hard nights and giving me naps during the day.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• We did our newborn photos on the 17th, I'm so excited to see them (it'll be 2 weeks until we get the gallery). Although we ended up doing them during the nap time (it was the time the photographer had open, not our choice) so the girls were SO done very quickly. I'm a little nervous about how the family shots will turn out. I'm hopeful we'll have one or two good ones that can be framed/shared.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• The biggest draw back with the newborn photos is that ever since then she now won't go down very well. It takes FOREVER. This is when Larry's been the most helpful. He always plans to stay up late so if I need it I can put her down with him and get some sleep and when she's ready for her next feeding he'll bring her up and go to bed and I can take the rest of the night.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• I'm a little worried she might have gas issues. She wakes up so cranky and lets out big farts (or sometimes poops). We're starting gas drops to help with that. Seems to be a common factor with all our babies...poor girlies.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Luckily we've been doing very good with breastfeeding this time around. She's been a great eater! Every 3 hours (and then some) and no latching problems! She lost quite a bit by her 3 day checkup, but it was the normal, expected amount so we're just working on getting her weight back up by her 2 week appointment. I'm going to start doing weight checks on our own every other day until her appointment to make sure we're still on track. I've also pumped some to give her bottles as well.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Even though breastfeeding is going well, we're making plans on how and when to introduce bottles to her routine. I know once I go back to work she'll have to be on some sort of bottle, but I also only plan to pump/nurse until she's 6 months. After that she'll be on formula, so we're making plans on when to introduce that as well. Honestly, I have loved nursing this time around (it's SO convenient when we're out of the house), so I'm not in any rush at this point to introduce those too often.
  
  
  
  
  
  

My post partum helpers:

• Plan one or two things to accomplish a day. I don't make it anything big, but it's made me feel so much more accomplished and in control/on top of things (for example, doing dishes is one thing, making sure garbages are collected in time, doing my ab workouts, making appointments, taking a shower etc.). It also helps me feel like my old routine is still there, just a little altered with newborn feedings. I also like to make plans for things to look forward to for the first 3 months (they get SO much fun at that point and it's a bit easier)...just little milestones to look forward to on harder days.
• Speaking of hard days - it helps to make a list of things you are grateful for just to keep things lighter and not slip into a depression. You will have days you don't stop crying (even if you don't know why) or are getting frustrated or miss things in your old life, but just to help remind yourself there are good things as well and this too shall pass.
• Plan to stay in the room when you put them down for the night...you'll just get frustrated if you plan to do stuff at that point. With Cara I was too afraid to leave her alone in the room so I'd always put on a movie when putting her down. It was quiet with captions on, but it made me feel better to have a movie to watch while putting her down. With Gwen I tried to plan things for once she was asleep and then when she'd have nights she wouldn't sleep I'd get so annoyed and Larry and I would end up dreading our nights to put her down. We learned somewhat quickly that you feel better and are more patient when you don't plan anything and just know you'll be stuck to the room until your bedtime.
• Pick a show or a few movies to watch while feeding. It has really helped me to pick a show that is my "night time feedings/bedtime" show to watch. I only watch it during those times. As I mentioned, with Cara I'd pick a movie that was streaming. With Gwen I re-watched Home Improvement. This time around is Boy Meets World. Although a week in I'm already through season one and halfway through season 2 so I might need to pick another show as I'm not sure this one will last haha.
• Have lots of water and snacks available. Breastfeeding makes you SO hungry and you need to stay hydrated to keep up your supply. It also just helps to keep them on hand for cluster feeding times...which happens a lot and can be very taxing!

9 Months (weeks 36 - 40+)




Compare/Contrast: Oh man is this pregnancy so much more painful than I remember the last ones. I get the back pain and my belly gets tight like the others. With Gwen I got PGP pretty early on (around 20 weeks I believe) and that was HARD. I didn't get it as early on this time, but I think I do have it this time. But on top of all that I think I have something called Symphysis Pubis Dysfunction (SPD). The pain in my legs, especially when rolling over at night is SO painful. 

I obviously have made it MUCH farther along in this pregnancy as well - my due date was the 5th and she didn't come then. I've yet to make it to a due date before, so that was exciting, but then got old REAL quick haha. 

Also, it's still nice to know at each appointment that she's head down.

Running errands to walk her out
Also, everyone is so cute! 
Can't wait to add another here!

It's been interesting the differences between this pregnancy and my previous two, one big thing is the covid-19 precautions. I had to go get a test to make sure I don't have the virus two days before delivering - wasn't my favorite part, but it was interesting to say I've done one. Knowing I have to stay inside my house afterwards or get swabbed again (no thanks!) was also new, but good thing we had a lot to get done so it worked out. I was telling Larry that I wanted to go run errands after dinner time right now (at the end) because that's the time I make sure we're on lockdown with a newborn so that they don't fall asleep in the car and mess with their bedtime, so we went out on Tuesday (before my covid test and induction) to get a tie-dye kit and some shirts for our 4th of July shirts. Glad I got that done BEFORE the test - I almost waited until after it.

I've gotten to take some NST's (Non Stress Tests) for this pregnancy since I've gone over my due date. Those aren't bad at all, in fact, the chair is quite comfy. I'm almost bummed they are only about 20 minutes. I could easily take a nap during them haha. 

I so wish I could report that I went into spontaneous labor this time around, I REALLY (so very badly) wanted that story for this pregnancy, but I can only go on for so long and by the 10th I was BEYOND uncomfortable (not just with walking, but it was hard to breath when laying down, the PGP was getting to me, and she was getting SO heavy I knew my abs would be super shot and I might have a harder time recovering them this time around).

I have to get each kid their own 6 month shirt
This one was from Cabela's

Best Moments This Month: I think just saying I made it to my due date and getting everything ready for her to come was the best. Once I passed my due date I decided I'm very much ready to see her face and how she'll be.

Soaking up as much outside time as we can

Oh and it was nice to hear at my 39 week appointment that since my cervix was dilating already I could request an induction if I wanted. But I really wanted to go into spontaneous labor so I told her I'd be patient for now. 

Also, we had a last family date night out at Cheesecake Factory and even though I got something different than I ordered, the meal I got turned out to be super delicious and it was nice to eat AT a restaurant again. The girls did pretty good with behaving and eating and we walked the mall afterwards to give them some exercise. It was GREAT to have that moment before this girl was born. Larry and I also got a last movie date night and we watched a pretty good movie (Top Cop) so that was nice - it's rare our movie turns out to be one we both enjoy.

Our pretty, shiny new family car

What I'm Looking Forward To: Her being born! I'm just getting bigger and more uncomfortable and more tired and less motivated. I keep telling Larry I'm ready to start our 100 days of hell to hurry and get them over with. The good news is the longer she takes to come the later my maternity leave goes. So at this point I'm going into September, rather than the end of August - which will be nice because if we're back in the office when I'm done then it won't be that first week of school traffic I hate dealing with when I first go back.

I'm also looking forward to having a newborn during the warm summer again, not the stupid cold winter haha. 

She's here!!

Hello Lucy Amnell!

Birthing a baby is such a crazy experience. This time around was definitely no exception. Be prepared for a long story, as usual.

Last bump pic...so large!

So really, I'd like to say my biggest goal was to go into spontaneous, natural labor this time around. I was attempting a VBAC and so being induced, I was told, was off the table as it could potentially cause my C-section incision to rupture and, if that happened and was bad enough, could lead to an emergency hysterectomy. Larry and I definitely aren't done having kids so to have that choice made for us was very scary. Granted, it's rare that that would happen, but the more you force your body and push it into labor, the higher the chances of that happening. So I was absolutely determined to just let my body do it's thing.

I was told somewhere around 38 or 39 weeks that my body was progressing and dilating on it's own so I could choose to be induced at that point if I'd like, but I wanted to make it to my due date - or as close as possible - and I was going to be patient. Also, we had a TON I wanted to finish getting ready that I left for the last minute so I was okay waiting, even though I was very uncomfortable and in a bit of pain every day (not to mention I was so done working and was ready to have the time off haha).

Walking in the mall to get this girl out!

My due date (the 5th) came and went. Nothing happened. I tell ya, after that point I was SO uncomfortable that any idea of discomfort before was such a laughing matter. My belly was tight, there was so much pressure in my lower half (lower belly, groin area, upper legs, etc.) that it was hard to move. Getting in and out of bed was so difficult (which is where I was working so that made it more difficult), putting clothes on was difficult, getting in and out of a car was difficult, doing anything with the girls other than cuddling on the couch was torture....it was HARD.

Monday after my due date I went in for an NST to make sure the baby was okay (not for any reason except that I was past my due date). I was telling Larry that even though I wasn't meeting with a midwife I was going to see if I could mention putting my name on the induction schedule. I was told they wouldn't let me go past 41 weeks, but if I could get on at any point that week I'd be happy. Well after my test showed she was more than comfortable in me and would not likely make an appearance on her own soon I was happy to hear that my NST (nurse?) handles the induction schedule and wanted to know if I would like to be put on it (I probably was way too enthusiastic in my YES response haha). She said she would put me on for that Friday, just in case I didn't actually go into labor on my own. I was SO relieved to have that, but still wanted to see if I could start something on my own.

Tuesday after my due date we went to Hobby Lobby (to get some tie dye kits for fun 4th of July shirts I want to try to do this year) and I swear I was about to induce labor on my own. I had to keep taking breaks because my body was doing all sorts of weird things. I was having some major cramping that night and thought for sure I was going to go into labor by the next morning. Of course, after we put the girls down and I relaxed everything calmed down and I was fine. This was getting frustrating.

Wednesday after my due date I had to go in for a covid test to make sure I didn't have the virus. THAT was fun...not! I'll say it wasn't necessarily painful, but a whole different level of discomfort and was something I'd never want to do again. Then they told me I had to stay home after this test because if I leave my house for any reason I'd have to be re-swabbed - that wasn't going to happen so now I was officially on house arrest/quarantine until at least Friday, but was so hopeful it wouldn't be that long.

Thursday after my due date, I had to go in for another NST, which still showed little girl was too comfortable. I then met with a midwife who checked my cervix and said I was only at a 3 (just up a half a cm from my last visit the week prior), but that it was very soft and that was ideal for inductions and was a good sign. She went over that the plan was to break my water first and see what that did for a couple hours and if they needed to they'd give me a low dose of Pitocin after that to get things started. I told her it sounded great and that I'd see them the next day to finally have this baby. I got a call that night saying to come in, bright and early, at 6:45 AM to get the process going. Earlier than I was wanting (especially since we'd have to leave before the girls woke up and that broke my heart a little bit), but I wasn't going to complain. Marie came over that night so that the girls would see her and it would be an easier (hopefully) transition in the morning for them. I decided to watch The Green Mile since I hadn't seen it and thought this was probably my last time being able to stay up to watch a long movie and still feel pretty well rested the next morning - at least for a while.

Friday morning - I woke up around 5:15 and decided that was early enough to eat some breakfast and start getting ready. Larry was up shortly after that and we headed out by 6:15 to the hospital. Labor always makes me so nervous, you never know what to expect and you can't plan for much. Plus my labors have felt SO long and I wonder how to make use of the time, which is hard when you're strapped to a bed. We checked in to the labor and delivery unit (with masks on - that was the weirdest part) and got changed and set up in the bed. At 7:15 the nurses went over what we were about to do and since she was training a nursing student she mentioned that, in her experience, breaking the water isn't fully effective and to expect we'll need Pitocin at some point. She also mentioned since my stomach muscles weren't very tight that this increased the odds of needing another C-section, but we were going to keep an open mind about this. At 8:15 my midwife (Stevie) came in to break my water. I asked if I needed to have the epidural before having that done and they asked if I wanted it before. I told them not if I don't need it, I'm okay letting things happen before I do that. She mentioned that was a good idea as an epidural can slow labor down quite a bit. Having my water broken felt very, very unusual. I told Larry that from the time you are potty trained you have it in your mind that being in a puddle of your own liquid isn't good and so it felt unnatural to just sit there and feel all that come out (gross - I know). Well about 30 minutes later (IF that), I start to feel my first contraction. On the TOCO scale (measuring contractions in units of 10) I got up to a 60. It hurt! 5 minutes later I had another contraction - another 60. These hurt, but I was able to breath through them well enough. 5 minutes later ANOTHER one! Larry made some joke about how quickly they were coming and wouldn't it be funny if by the time they checked on my I was already 9 cm and they told me I had to have the baby naturally. I told him that's not even a little funny! 5 minutes later another contraction - another 60. I decided that was enough and when the nurses came to check on me I mentioned that I was ready to have my epidural. They told me the person was in with a C-section and I'd be first on the list once they were done. I told them no rush, I didn't want to slow my labor and I could handle the contractions fine. Well after they left I had another one, only the numbers were climbing. I got to a 60 and then I hear Larry say "60...65....70...75" I screamed out "stop saying numbers!!" That pain was TOO much. 5 minutes later, another one, got up to 70 again. I was in so much pain and watching the clock knowing another one was coming soon would make me whimper (not to mention I couldn't just breath through the pain anymore...I was making ALL the loud sounds just because that's the only thing I could do). Larry made some comment about how cool it was to watch the numbers go up...I again, reminded him, that that isn't funny (haha - I can look back on it now and laugh at these moments). So the contractions keep coming, they hurt, and they are growing on the scale. I made NUMEROUS comments about how women who do this naturally are insane! At one point, one hit and it hurt SO much I thought I was going to break my bed. I looked over at Larry when it passed and he had this shocked look on his face and said "that one got to a 100 and stayed there for over a minute!" He seemed almost impressed. At this point I called the nurses to ask about my epidural and they said the person had to do one other person and would be with my in about 10 minutes. I figured that's 2 more contractions - I can do that. I then felt another one and it was SO intense and before it could go all the way down another one hit right after it. It was another 100 one and I just kept screaming out in pain. 2 minutes later another one hit, followed by a close second one again. Now I was getting scared I actually was progressing too quickly and they would find out I was further along than I was. I was also scared that now that they were coming every 2 minutes that meant I had to go through so many more before my epidural. After a few more contractions, Larry called the nurses to check on my epidural and when they answered I made sure to scream out "ow ow ow ow!" loudly so that they could hear my pain. They came rushing in (I guess they finally looked at my contraction chart), made comments about how they heard me screaming, but assumed it was another patient - not theirs - and how it was impressive how quickly I had progressed and so quickly off just my water breaking. They also mentioned that it was probably a good thing that didn't happen outside the hospital. They checked my cervix and found that I was at an 8, almost 9, and mentioned that I was so far along they'd actually need to do a spinal, not an epidural. That's when they told me the worst part - they said with the noises I was making and how quickly I had progressed, the spinal might not come in time and there was a good chance I was going to have to delivery naturally. I almost cried my eyes out at that point. I have NEVER wanted to have a natural delivery. I'm not a pain person. I always knew you couldn't fully plan a delivery, but assumed an epidural was something you could plan on. Right as I was saying "OH NO!" the spinal person came in (this was about 9:30). I was so relieved when they said that was faster than they thought and I could get it done. I answered all her questions (VERY rapidly), sat up, they put the spinal in and I immediately felt SO much better. I felt so relaxed and suddenly couldn't feel a single thing below my shoulders. It was absolute bliss! At one point Larry asked me if I could feel the contraction that was hitting me at that time and when I told him no he said it was another 100. I was so happy to hear that haha. These things were better than epidurals.

After about a couple more contractions they told me I was good and ready to push. They lifted up my legs and began counting. Funny thing was because I couldn't feel anything I couldn't really tell I was pushing. All I knew I was doing was holding my breath haha. They said I was doing good so I figured that it was working. At some points they mentioned I needed to push harder or think about pushing the baby towards the ceiling (yeah right - I couldn't even tell you when my legs were up if I had my eyes closed). So with spinals they say they have a 2 hour window before they wear off and if I was still in labor at that point I'd have to do it naturally because they can't put anything in at that point so I was officially on the clock. They started the spinal at 9:30 ish, they thought for sure I'd push this baby right out with how quickly I had progressed, but it took over an hour of pushing before I heard them say "we can see the head!" that was a little disheartening. It also got hard because my blood pressure had dropped pretty badly at one point and they had to give me oxygen to bring it back up. I only have my blood pressure drop when I'm in labor and it makes me SO sick and dizzy; It's probably my least favorite part. Luckily around 10:45 they said "two more contractions and she'll be out." Music to my ears! The two contractions came and I gave it my absolute all with my pushes (they were initially having me push 3 times each contraction, but with these last two I asked if I could keep pushing - I was SO ready to meet this baby!). At 10:54 am Lucy Amnell Bradsby made her gorgeous appearance and we were happy parents to another little (8 lbs. 5 oz. 20 in. long) girl.

Our first pic together

She took a minute to cry (Larry says the cord was wrapped around her neck a little bit), but once she did it was amazing. It was the first time I didn't immediately fall asleep after having a baby. They put her on me and I was the most relieved of all deliveries to see her face! She did have a bit of a rapid pulse when she was born so they had to watch her a bit more than our other girls to get that to go down, but other than that she was perfect. She immediately pooped after delivery and once they cleaned her up and brought her back to me she quickly latched on to eat - I had a feeling breast feeding would be easier this time around. They did have to take my placenta out in chunks so it sounded like that might cause some issues - I'm not sure, but so far I've felt great. As soon as we could, we ordered some food for me - which I ate so quickly I almost didn't taste most of it (I was SO hungry my belly would grumble during contractions haha). The spinal definitely wore off at the 2 hour marker so that was also nice. It made it easier to get up and walk around really quickly. This is already one of the easiest recoveries I've had and I'm not sure if it's because I labored SO much without meds or if it's because I got a spinal or if it's just 3rd time is the charm and I just knew what needed to be done.

Our first (and only) night in the hospital was a bit rough - Lucy did NOT want to sleep in her bassinet. The second we laid her down she would cry and scream. Larry and I ended up taking shifts so that we could get SOME sleep. I was so ready to be home with her I was happy they had the new 24 hour kick out rule (because of COVID-19). I felt like once we got home things would be much more comfortable and we'd get some better sleep and be able to relax. So far Lucy goes down really easy at night, we'll see if she does well with feedings and diaper changes in the middle of the night. Wish us luck on our 100 days of hell journey now, I know I'm feeling GREAT now, but we'll see how long it lasts :)

Going home

They seem to like her

Prepping for our newest girlie

Today is my due date. This is the first time I've ever made it to a due date. I was excited to reach such a milestone, however I never knew it meant I'd be SO uncomfortable. It's like overnight my body has decided it should be done being pregnant, but this little girl isn't quite ready to make her appearance. You'd think having a 3rd kid you'd think I'd have the prep game down, but alas this time I've surprised myself with how much I want to make sure gets done.

Getting the basement all cleaned up

We got her room themed decor in February. I decided to do a mermaid theme. Well actually if I'm honest I I originally was thinking of doing a bear theme, but try and make it more feminine. Then I talked to my friend after I couldn't find just the right set and she reminded me I used to love mermaids so why not do that theme? Eureka! It's perfect! I found this adorable set online and immediately bought it. I'm so happy I found a theme I love!

Decor Stace made once we had the theme set

So once we decided on the mermaid theme and I saw these adorable mermaid themed onesies I knew I had to get them. I also found some cute mermaid squad shirts for the older girls as a gift from the new baby type of thing. I am loving this theme so so much! 

Picking the cute 6 month shirt from Cabela's

We also knew having a 3rd kid meant getting a new car. Luckily since we had plans on having at least this many kids we knew we'd have to make changes to our car situation so we knew we'd keep our black crossover and sell/upgrade our red sedan to a minivan. Since we knew we were due early June we figured Memorial Day weekend would be the best time to get a deal on a car. We did research on what kind of minivan we'd want and a Honda Oddysey was the best choice. We went to the local Honda dealership, traded it in, and never looked back. I was SO happy to get rid of the red car (that I had been driving since we sold my white Nissan and the black car was the only one that Larry could use to transport the kids in case of emergency).

I've also been going crazy cleaning, purging, and nesting like crazy. I've pulled apart every baby item we have and washed them. Things I NEVER did for my other babies. I pulled out all blankets, pillows, wraps, and bedding and washed those. I washed all the newborn clothes that are seasonally appropriate for her. I also have been getting our hospital bag ready and planning our last movie nights we have left. Everything I can do to be as ready as possible.

My most recent belly shot...SO ready!

I had a stress test this last week and another one next week, which I don't hate having (the chair is SO comfortable!). Things are shaping up for this baby and I hope I'm as ready as I think I am. Hopefully I can get this labor started any day (or minute) now.

Summer Fun

Summer time is upon us and while we're waiting for this girl to make her appearance we're going to make the most of our last days as a family of 4. Quarantine time has really helped us appreciate each day as it is rather than planning too much into the future. It's really hard for me to not know what we're doing each weekend, but I'm working on getting over that a little bit.

So far this summer we've had some fun days swimming in our backyard. Unfortunately, I had to pay 3 times as much for the same inflatable pool since our last one popped, but it's worth it to see the girls have so much fun splashing around. Our neighborhood pool is obviously closed so this is the closest we have to giving them pool time.

We also have a fun opportunity this summer of showing the girls about birds and their nests. We found we have a couple of birds making nests against our house and we get to show them about how birds build them, live in them, feed their babies, and learn to fly. I love being able to have a new learning experience for them, especially when it's animal related.

We've had some fun letting the girls draw with sidewalk chalk on our driveway. I usually just sit in front of the garage so I can keep an eye on the whole front area for where the girls run around. I actually love letting them run in the front yard and on the sidewalk to see where the limits are. I think they feel they have more freedom, but they are good at listening to us if they get too far or too close to the road.

We've also been doing some light yard work. Larry's been moving the large rocks into our back yard (with Cara's help). We also have reached out to companies to get some grass installed in our back yard. We finally made the decision that half our yard should be grass and the other half can be drought tolerant. The grass part won't be completed until after the baby is born, but we at least have it scheduled and I'll be SO excited to have that part done. We'll probably finish the rest next summer.

We've also finally been able to run a few mini errands to get out of the house once in a while. We have walked Cabelas and Hobby Lobby (where we got a tie-dye kit for Independence Day shirts I plan to do this year) and we're hoping to have one more dinner night out before this girl is born.

Summer has just started and it's already been so great!