Where do I begin?  Life with two under two...not quite what I expected!  I didn't expect Izabella to be so easygoing.  For the first few weeks she only slept and ate.  She was hardly ever awake and I was a little worried, to be honest!  She had her days and nights mixed up a little at first, but that was the only trouble.  Anderson was always so alert and awake, so I wasn't used to that, but it was a welcome change.  Praise the Lord (once again) for that one, because Anderson became a little boy I did not know!  Tantrums, sleep problems...I told Dr. Lu I thought we had ruined our perfect child!  Luckily, he and everyone else was right.  After just a few weeks, he was back to his old sweet self again! He loves his baby sister and still has not acted jealous of her.  Between a new sibling, turning two years old, and Adam and me both being home all day just shook his world up a little!  These pictures were taken when Izabella was just ten days old.  We had her newborn pictures taken by Kerry Guice, and this picture pretty much sums it up:

 

Anderson likes to point out her body parts: "He's got eyes, a mouth, etc..." Yes, he calls her a "he." We are working on that!

You would never guess this sweet little boy was going through such a difficult time!  He did SO good for the pictures.

My Grandma Reed passed away in December, and she loved little girls!  She was so excited to have a little girl to buy dresses and frilly things for, and I have wished more than once that she could be here to meet her.  I saved some flowers from her funeral and had them made into bracelets, including one for Izabella.

Some photos for fun...

Made/crocheted with love by Great Aunt NeNe!

She woke up for the last 10 minutes of the photo session!  With Anderson, we didn't get ANY sleeping baby pictures!  (They all looked exactly like these, actually!)

I feel so blessed, but even that feels like such an understatement.  Words cannot describe how thankful I am for our family, and for God's plan for all of us.

My New Year's resolution to "not stress out" has caused me to step back and cut out all the "non essentials" in my life.  I'm not into trying to "do it all," like I'm used to. I've also realized how even more valuable my time is. Two babies and being married to a football coach that works anywhere from 40 (summer time) to 80 (football season) hours a week will do that!  Working less hours at work, taking a leave from the Junior League, and becoming even more organized are some of the ways I'm maximizing my time these days.

Which brings me to this blog.  It has taken me two months to post this with her newborn pictures.  I have tons of pictures to share, and I'm often writing a post in my head, but then getting a chunk of time to type it and upload the pictures is so difficult.  It takes SO long to upoad photos to this thing!  And I have so many more pictures to share, but I'm not sure how... if anyone has any suggestion, please tell me!  Because blogging is looking like it is going to have to go!  I have decided I am going to make photobooks for events/time periods, since I am no longer able to scrapbook them all.  I know if I just kept the pictures until I got time to do that again, I would be so far behind and overwhelmed to even start!  Anyone with suggestions on documenting their children's lives and sharing them, and still have time to play with them?!

Hopefully the next post won't be of Anderson's high school graduation... :)

The Birthday of Izabella Reese

The Lord does it again.  Just when I thought I had  "gotten lucky" just one more time and "used up" all my blessings, He proves to be faithful over and over again.  Even when we don't deserve it.  My heart is so full and humbled by what we've experienced, and I am again forever changed.

Since Anderson technically was 11 days "late" last time (I hate that term, because he was not "late."  He was, in fact, on time, his time, when his body was ready), I was trying to mentally prepare myself for another similar performance by his sister.  And I say trying because no matter how much self talk and encouragement you give yourself, there is just something about your due date coming and going and finding yourself still pregnant that is disappointing.  When we showed up at church on April 15th, we jokingly told our Sunday School class  "Don't even act like you're surprised to see us here!  We'll likely be here next week too!"  The whole week following the "April 15" due date, I was fine.  I worked every day that week, trying to ignore the "You're still here?" remarks by patients and coworkers, insisting that I didn't want to start my maternity leave without my baby!  I have to admit when Saturday came, I was feeling pretty discouraged and then came the feeling of "I'm going to be pregnant forever!"  I even posted on Facebook at 10:30 that night, "Please nobody be surprised when I walk into church tomorrow still carrying a pumpkin sized being inside of me." 

Oh that fateful post.  I never made it to church.  I woke up at 12:30 having contractions, making it very difficult to sleep.  I finally texted Amy, my midwife, at 3:30 am and she suggested I try to go back to sleep in case this was early labor.  I was able to sleep a little more, and I thought maybe I could still go to church, but the contractions were too strong.  Amy suggested we send Anderson to church with his grandparents so Adam and I could rest.  I did get some good sleep and when we woke back up about 11:30, the contractions had pretty much stopped.  "Sometimes in second labors, it can start and stop several times before it actually continues to active labor," Amy told me.  Ugh.  I was sure I would have another fast labor, possibly even faster than Anderson's five hour one.  NOT what I wanted to hear.

Anderson came back home and we played.  Amy and doula/friend, Dena, kept checking on me, and suggested we go for a walk to get things going again.  I told Adam I didn't want to "get things going" because it hurt too much!  Finally about 3:30, Adam, Anderson, and I went for a walk.  I was only able to go to the first street before I had to turn around and come back.  I was having to stop every few minutes because of contractions.  We came back home and Anderson conveniently wanted to go to GiGi's house.  So I got out the timer and started timing the contractions again.  Adam has been on a Monopoly kick lately, and wanted to play.  Although that was the last thing I wanted to do, I needed a distraction, so I did my best to not go bankrupt and move my thimble as far as I could.  They were getting stronger, and I was becoming increasingly irritated with Adam pressuring me to buy houses and hotels.  I was doing good to roll the dice!  I just kept thinking about how this was going to be a long, drawn out labor and how I didn't think I could handle it.

We debated whether to tell anybody I was having contractions and "might" be in labor, but Amy suggested that we just put Anderson to bed a little early, both to keep him in his routine, and also to ease my mind not to worry about what to do with Anderson.  So at 6:30, I called Dena and asked her to come over, althought I was hesitant because I was worried it might be a while before anything happened.  At the same time, I felt like I needed someone else there; besides, Adam was putting Anderson to bed.  Dena said not to worry, that she was fine to just come over and get on Facebook with her iPhone.  I told my friend, Cristina, she was welcome to come over, but that it may be a while.  She assured me she was bringing reading material and for me not to feel bad if it lasted a long time.  I also texted work and told them although I wasn't sure how fast this was going to go, to count me out tomorrow/Monday.  Since Adam and I had forsaken the Monopoly game, I no longer had anything to distract me, so I tried to entertain my guests by showing them Anderson's Easter pictures and offering them popsicles.  I thought I was doing a good job, I just had to stop talking every couple of minutes when I had a contraction.  Then every time they talked, I started getting really annoyed.  I needed Adam.  I needed Amy.  I needed something!  Dena and Cristina started trying to put the birth pool together, even though I knew it would be a while before I could get in because it can stall labor if you get in too early.  Adam came out of Anderson's room and I stayed on the birth/exercise ball.  It provided the most relief during the contractions.

It seemed like forever before Amy got there, but she got there shortly before 8:00.  It was so reassuring to hear the voice that had calmed all my fears throughout my entire pregnancy (I always had lots of questions and concerns at every appointment- surprise, surprise- but she never failed to answer me so thoroughly and patiently.).  It was SO intense.  I remember announcing that it felt like my pelvis was going to explode!  It was at this point that I considered having Amy check me just so I could know if this was almost over.  But then I thought about how uncomfortable that would be, and I decided to stay put on the birthing ball.

That pool was looking better and better, but I was too scared to get in- I did NOT want to slow this down- I needed this over with ASAP!  Finally it was filled up, but then before I got in, I started feeling the urge to push.  Amy said the water was too hot for the baby to come out in it so they would have to cool it down some before I got in.  I NEEDED that water, and it felt SO good when I got in.  I wish I would have gotten in there sooner!  I could no longer control it.  I was pushing.  Hard.  Something popped, and my water broke.  Then her head came out and Amy asked if I wanted to feel her head.  I didn't, but I did anyway, and I felt lots of hair!  Cristina later told me that was the first time I smiled.  I got really excited and kept pushing her out, trying to remember to push slowly like Amy told me, to reduce tearing.  Although I thought I pushed for half an hour, I later found out I only pushed for 5 minutes!  That sure was nice after pushing for an hour and a half with Anderson!

Adam was right there the whole time.  Did I mention how intense it was?  I was so glad to have him right there supporting me.

I couldn't believe she was actually here!  Total labor time:  4.5 hours

 I was so emotional at this point, so overwhelmed, and so happy!

This baby we had no intention of having, was here in our arms!

She scored a 9 and a 10 on the Apgar scale :)

It felt so good sitting in the warm water, relaxing with my baby.  I needed a lot of coaxing to get out!

Adam held her while I dried off.

Mary, the back up midwife, finishing up her umbilical cord.  Notice the Monoply game in the background...

This is Amy taking her measurements.  I was soaking in this amazing herbal bath they drew up for me!  Izabella later joined me and she loved it too!

Amy and Mary assessing Izabella.

Amy weighing her.  9 pounds, 8 ounces!

22 1/4 inches!  My suspicions confirmed- a very long baby!  No wonder my ribs were being moved out of place!

Cristina, who was the first person- even before Adam (see story here)- to know I was expecting this unplanned little surprise!  Thankful for her support throughout, and so excited to welcome her bundle of joy in October!

Adam getting her dressed for the first time.

Wonderful, encouraging women!  Mary has been doing this for 40 years!

So did I tell you the real reason I had a homebirth?  While Izabella and I were soaking in our bath, Amy and Mary packed up the pool, cleaned the dishes, did a load of laundry, and changed our sheets!  So here we are in our freshly made bed :)

I was feeling pretty awesome at this point, and just like last time, I was ready to call everybody and have a party!  But Amy and Mary reminded us that Izabella would go into the deepest sleep she'll have for several months, and that we needed to rest in preparation for our guests the next day.  So we all curled up together and went to sleep!  Heaven!

Anderson meets "Baby Sister"

I will never forget waking up early and staring at the monitor, waiting for Anderson to wake up so we could show him his baby sister.  Of course, this morning he would sleep later than normal!  Adam went and got him and told him the Baby Sister was here, and he said, "Inside?"  We told him, "Nope, she's not inside Mommy's belly anymore!  She came out to live with us!"

Once Anderson had met his baby sister, we began calling our family.  It was so fun to tell them she was here and to come over to see her!  No, we aren't at the hospital!  We're at home!  No, we're not kidding.  Yes, everyone is great.  And yes, we planned it that way!  So by now, most people know we don't always do things the "conventional" way, but in the way that makes the most sense to us.  Here is a recap of our thought process throughout this pregnancy and also thoughts about the birth in retrospect:

I had always said that Anderson's birth was wonderful, and that the only thing that would have made it perfect is if we'd done it at home.  I was able to deliver him according to my birth plan, with no drugs or interventions, and Dr. Sellers was even on call, so that made it even more great!  I had my doula, Dena Jones, and a wonderful nurse, Crissy, that was familiar with natural birth and encouraged me so much.  However, here is what I didn't like about the hospital experience:

1.  Riding in Adam's truck having contractions!  OMG, so uncomfortable!

2.  The long walk into the labor and delivery room, having to walk past everybody while I'm in active labor.  A girl in the waiting room (who obviously was NOT in active labor) yelling, "They don't have any rooms!"  Do you know what I wanted to say to her?  Let's just say they got me a room!

3.  Standing at the nurses station having contractions while waiting for them to clean a room for me.

4.  Walking into the delivery room and the CNA handed me a hospital gown.  When I told her, "No, thank you," she replied, "It's your clothes!"

5.  Having to agree to a hep lock IV "just in case."

6.  Having to be hooked up to the fetal monitor for 20 minutes when I first got there.  I had to be on the bed and could not move around.  Not only did this make everything more painful, this was the only time Anderson's heart rate dropped and they had to put an oxygen mask on me.  (Once I was allowed to get back up, his heart rate returned to normal)

7.  Cervical exams while my contractions were one on top of the other.  First time they checked, I was 8/9, and the next time I was a 10.

8.  The post delivery uterus "massage" to force my placenta out!  Excruciating!  To Adam, that appeared more painful than labor! All while I'm holding my little baby in my arms for the first time, trying to nurse him!  And then no wonder I needed pitocin to stop the bleeding!

I knew the minute I saw those two pink lines, I had to at least "check into' this homebirth thing.  I mean, really, the staff at Baptist didn't do anything for me I couldn't do at home, you know?!  Dr. Sellers walked in, caught Anderson, and stitched me up.  Everything a midwife is trained to do, only in a relaxed and familiar atmosphere.  For those wondering, I was followed by an OB throughout my pregnancy to ensure I was, indeed, low risk.  (Not everyone is a homebirth candidate- it's not like a daredevil stint that requires bravery and courage.  It's about educating yourself to stay low risk through lifestyle choices, as well as surrounding yourself with educated professionals.  In my case, that was Amy Cefalo and Mary Alexander, licensed midwives that continually communicate with Dr. Jones, my OB.)  While homebirth made the most sense to me, there is just something about hearing your doctor affirm that women and babies have no better outcomes in the hospital than at home.  The only difference is the amout of interventions utilized.  (You all know I research EVERYTHING, don't you?)

Here is a link that explains the homebirth choice further.  I especially like points 6,7, and 8 Labor, Complications, and Birth.

Things I loved about my midwife and homebirth:

1.  Hugs at every appointment

2.  Sitting on the couch talking about my diet, sleep, and anything else that would impact my baby and my pregnancy, and THEN back to listen to my baby's heartbeat and take blood pressure, etc. 

3  My appointments started on time, and Adam and I had at least an hour of face to face time with Amy.

4.  Constant encouragement and support

5.  Staying at home and not disrupting Anderson's routine; not having to get in the truck and ride to the hospital; eating my own popsicles and walking around my house.

6.  No cervical exams.  Amy just went on my outward signs and allowed my body to do what it needed to do.  There was nothing intrusive; Amy monitored me and my baby without me even realizing it, in an uninvasive way.

7.  THE BIRTH POOL; it felt so good, and I also feel that is what kept me from tearing!  That's right.  I am not a big girl, and I birthed a big ol' baby.  There is a tub at Baptist to labor in, but not to deliver in.  What a wonderful transition for my baby into this new world too!

8.  Sitting in the pool with my baby while Mary and Amy admired my placenta.  Yes, that's right.  They showed it to me, and pointed out all the parts of it.  I got to truly appreciate the organ my body made to sustain my baby!  It was so cool.  At Baptist, it was sent to Pathlogy since Anderson was "overdue."

9.  Delivering the placenta unassisted; it came out on its own after about 30 minutes with no jabbing on my stomach!  Minimal bleeding this time; pitocin not indicated.

10.  The herbal bath afterward

11.  Climbing in my fresh bed with my husband and my baby!  Adam would say he's thankful for not having to sleep on that hospital couch!

12.  Complete and thorough prenatal and postnatal care.  Amy came to check on us the next day, the next week, and has been to our house two more times since then.  Not to mention phone calls//text messages in between appointments.

13.  Calling our family the next morning and them coming over to take care of us :)

Here are some pictures from that day:

I have to tell the story of how my mom met Izabella.  Adam called her around 7:30 Monday morning to ask for a cup of sugar.  (He said he was making something for Anderson, and I wasn't feeling well)  She came to do the door, and Adam promptly took the cup of sugar and thanked her with Izabella in his arms!  She wanted to know how she was expected to go to work after that!

Leota/Nana's response to learning her newest granddaughter was born at home:  "I am glad I didn't know she was going to be born at home because I would have been a nervous wreck!"  She didn't even believe Adam when he called he!  She wanted my mom to send her a picture!

Pat/Mammaw's response:  "When are you all going to the hospital?"  We're not!  They came here to check us out!  And they'll be back again tomorrow!

I believe we finally decided on a name around Day 3.  Izabella (to be called "Izabella," or maybe "Izzie," but not "Bella.")  Reese is Adam's mother's maiden name.  Acklin is mine and Adam's last name.  :)

Introducing Izabella Reese Acklin

Born April 22, 2012 at 8:40 pm

9 lbs. 8 oz

22 1/4 inches long

Most precious gift we never knew we wanted!  Praise the Lord for His plan!