Aubrey's Birth Story!

On our way to the c-section!

She's here!

They brought her over so I could see her!

Shane's first time holding Aubrey!

My first time holding her!

We welcomed our daughter, Aubrey Noel into the world on Monday, March 12th at 1:54pm.  She weighed 6 lbs, 14 oz and was 18 1/2" long.  We are so thankful that she and I are healthy. 

As many of you know, my c-section got moved up from 39 weeks to 37 weeks, due to atypical preeclampsia.  I was very glad for this change in delivery.  The last month of the pregnancy was really hard on my body and I was ready to just meet my daughter.

I was supposed to go in at 9am on Monday to get ready for the c-section at 11am.  The Friday before, my Dr. asked me to come in at 7am instead, for some bloodwork.  I wasn't sure why until we arrived there at 7am on Monday.  Apparantly, the Friday before, when I had blood drawn, it came back that my platelets were low (114).  So, they needed me in early on Monday to check them again.  They begin talking to me about how if they were below 100, they would put me to sleep for the c-section because if your platelets are low, you are not allowed to have a spinal (epidural type medicine) done.

At first, I was really hoping the platelets were low and they'd just knock me out.  You see, I was very afraid of the spinal.  It was by far the worst part of my c-section with Meghan and I was terrified of getting it done again.  It was something I had been praying would go great this time, but I didn't have my hopes up.

Then, the nurses explained that being put under was not the best thing.  It isn't good for the baby or I.  I would most likely wake up very sick and in a lot of pain.  So, my dream of that being better went out the window.  I then thought, 'Okay, I can put up with a 2 minute spinal proceedure.  I can do this!'

Thankfully, the platelet count came to 109, which isn't great, but still okay to do the c-section.

Though I was set for 11am, they had an emergency c-section they had to do first, so I got bumped to 1:15.  I was fine with this and thankful I wasn't an emergency.  The only thing about being bumped was that my Dr. couldn't do the c-section now.  But I had an amazing Dr. end up being my surgeon, whom I am very thankful for!

Mine and Shane's parents, along with my sister & 5 week old nephew were there at the hospital.  It was fun to hang out in my room with them as we all awaited to meet Aubrey.

So, 1:15 rolled around and they got Shane and I set to go in for the birth of our daughter.  A friend of mine from church was able to be in on the c-section (as well as Meghan's 3 years ago).  It was so comforting having her in there.  She stood in front of me 'holding me up' while I held onto a pillow, bent forward and the best anasthesiologist ever gave me the spinal.  This was such an answer to prayer.  Sure, it hurt...it's a giant needle going into my back.  But the pain was nothing like last time.  It was very bareble and seemed to be done in no time.  I remember breathing very heavily into my pillow and at one point whispering to my friend that I thought I was going to fall off the table :).  She didn't let that happen.

They laid me down on the bed and got me hooked up to all kinds of tubes and things.  They kept asking me if I could feel my toes, which at that point I could and I began to be nervous that the spinal didn't work and they'd have to do it again.  Thankfully, that was not the case.  It worked fine, and in about 10 minutes I was completely numb. 

The shock in my body set in and I began to be freezing cold.  So they pumped a heating pad thing that blew warm out onto me.  That helped a lot.  This c-section was more scary for me.  You'd think after 2, I'd be a pro at it, but for some reason I felt very anxious this time.  I asked for oxygen so I could just breathe deeply into that and try to relax.  I was suddenly very aware that it was the 3rd time I was being cut open.  I was nervous that I'd start bleeding to death.  I know, very irrational thoughts, but it was what was going on in my head.

It's really weird lying on a table, not being able to see anything, just waiting to hear your baby cry.  I remember them saying 'there's her head'. Then the most beautiful cry came at 1:54pm.  Followed by, 'there's your daughter'.  I was really glad she was actually a girl :).  I didn't have time or energy to re-do a bedroom and shop for boy things :).

They brought Aubrey over to us so we could see her, then went and weighed her & checked her out.  She was perfect!

They let Shane hold her for the remainder of my procedure.  Though I was upside down, I was able to gaze back and watch him hold his brand new daughter.  What a beautiful site that was.

They finished up with me, then for the first time, they actually put her on my chest and let her lay on me while they wheeled me to recovery.  With Josiah and Meghan, they took them away and I didn't see them for an hour.  This new way they're trying was so much better.  I loved being able to hold Aubrey almost right away and stay with her.

In recovery, I started feeling very nauscious.  It was the first c-section I had experienced that with.  I told Shane to grab Aubrey because I was going to be sick.  They gave me medicine really fast, so I ended up not throwing up.  I remained quite nauseous for a while, even throughout the time that the kids and family members came in to meet her.  Hence, why I look so sick and out of it in the pictures :).

The recovery has gone very well.  I thought it would be worse the 3rd time around, but maybe my body just knew what to do.  Getting out of bed the first time is the hardest, but after I started walking around, the pain got a lot better.

Shane has been amazing this past week.  I am so thankful that he has helped me otu so much.  He's done the laundry, dishes, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc.  I am grateful for him!

We are overwhelmed with love for her.  It has been such a joy to have her as part of our family.

My pregnancy & our eventful weekend

7 Weeks

15 Weeks

20 Weeks

26 Weeks

31 Weeks

35 Weeks

Pregnancy update:

At 31 weeks, some tests came back that indicated I might be developing preeclampsia.  I've been having to go in for blood pressure checks, and blood work weekly to monitor this.

This past weekend, at 35 weeks:

Shane and I went to Las Vegas this weekend for one last Get-Away before our baby arrives.  I got the okay to go from a mid-wife I saw a few weeks back.  So, we headed there on Friday.  The day before, I had gotten some blood drawn to see how my kidney & liver were doing.  On Saturday, I checked my email and had a message from my Dr. titled 'Abnormal test results, go to Labor & Delivery Immediately'. 

That was a very daunting email title.  As I read it, I quickly became aware that our last Get-Away had just ended.  The email said that she has tried contacting me several times & thinks I may have 'atypical preeclampsia'.  She told me not to eat or drink anything in case I end up in a c-section that night.

So, I called Shane (who was out golfing) and we drove back to California.

We stopped by home real fast to find 9 message left on our phone from the Dr.  I began to get really nervous.

We checked into the hospital and they told me that they would run some more tests.  If the tests came back worse than a few days before, then they would be delivering the baby that night. 

So, they drew more blood to check my results again.  They also took an ultrasound of my liver, kidney, pancreas and galbladder.  The ultrasounds came back fine (though we won't get the pancreas result until tomorrow).  The blood work had a little better results than 2 days before.

Because the results were not worse, they decided I could go home.  But due to the fact that I have 'atypical preeclampsia' now, they would be delivering our little girl at 37 weeks now instead of at 39. 

What a day!  It happened to be Shane's Birthday, also.  So, if we would have had Aubrey that night, she would have shared her Dad's Birthday.  I'm really glad the results weren't worse and that she may be able to stay in and grow for 2 more weeks.

I have always loved being pregnant.  But this last month has been really hard on my body.  It's very different than I've experienced before.  Usually I'm just tired & more swollen toward the end, so it's harder to get around.  This time, though, it's more painful to get around.  I can't walk very far or long without hurting. So, I've been trying to take it as easy as I can.  I've gotten a lot of help from family and friends.  I am so thankful for them!

We are so grateful to God for the protection He has given the baby & I.  Though there were a few times I began to get nervous, we were mainly very calm throughout this process.  We continue to pray for mine and the babies health!

We really look forward to meeting our daughter in 2 weeks and pray that it's no sooner!

Homeschooling has begun!

Despite the denial I was feeling for weeks before the big day, it came. I have begun Homeschooling Josiah.

To give a little background, about a year ago, when Josiah was 4, Shane and I begun talking about what we would do for school with Josiah. I just always assumed we'd put him in a public school because we can't afford private and thre was no way I was Homeschooling. As we sat down to talk, Shane began mentioning how he would like it if I could Homeschool him. My exact thought in my head was, 'Um, yeah, I'm not doing that!'. But I continued to listen patiently to him, thinking that it was a nice thought he had but it wasn't going to happen.

But things began to change. Well, God changed things. I thought that if it was something Shane was bringing up, and it was on his heart, then I should pray about it. Within a matter of a couple of weeks, God had done a complete change in my heart. I started to not only be okay with giving Homeschooling a shot, but I actually really wanted to do it and was super excited about the opportunity to do so.

The research, Homeschooling convention, talking to other Homeschooling families and continual prayer started. That process felt overwhelming to me. Do we teach independently, go through a school, what do we do? The options, though there weren't too many, seemed endless.

Just when I thought we'd go through a certain school, God (through a friend's encouragement) got my attention that I was only going that route for the money. Though, that may not be a bad thing in many situations, in this one it was not the way I needed to go about it. With the free money option, it left me without being able to pick my curriculum, going on field trips & play dates that were in a completely different city which would feel very far away and cost a lot of gas money, etc. When I let go of the money, and trusted God that He would provide for whatever materials we needed, I had a great peace.

So, I had to really re-evaluate why I was Homeschooling Josiah. It came down to wanting to be able to invest in him...his character, education, personality, etc. We had already found great resources we wanted to use, and I liked the flexibility idea of me just doing it on my own instead of having to go by what a school was telling me.

That's how we came to the conclusion to just Homeschool independantly. Once we decided that, I felt very peaceful about it. I'm real thankful that we figured out a plan that works for our family.

Here's what most of our days will look like:

7:45 Bible time with Josiah

8:00 Breakfast

8:20 Piano practice

8:40 Character Study (kindness, obedience, patience, etc.)

9:00 Bible verse

9:05 Months of the year, Days of the week, Seasons

9:10 # of the week

9:15 Math

9:25 Letter of the week

9:30 Writing

9:40-10 Reading

Today was our first try at this. It seemed to go by fast and it was a lot of fun. Taking a few minutes to learn something and then move on, was great! We weren't spending a lot of time drilling one thing. For example, this week, we're learning to write the letter 'S'. He traced it about 6 times and wrote it himself another 6. That was it for letters. Next week we'll add in another letter and also write 'S' a few times to keep him up on it.

I have a few fears, that I know are normal and understandable. One, is just how Josiah and I relate to eachother. I need to make sure that later in our day is some fun and play time, so that Mommy doesn't just become a teacher role. Another is my patience with him. Patience is one of my weakest character qualities and it is something I have to rely on God to grow in me. Something else, is Josiah wants to give up easily if he thinks he can't do something. This will require my patients, and also me helping him understand that even if he doesn't do it right or perfectly, it's okay. We'll work on it. The last thing that may pose a problem is entertaining Meghan during these 2 hours of school. I think she'll have fun just being there with us, coloring or painting while we're doing school. She can join in on some 'writing' time as I give her dry-erase markers to play on the white board with. She loves having reading time with us too.

I'm so thankful that God laide Homeschooling on Shane's heart and that He guided me into the decision as well.

Pictures!

Mother's Day at Lucille's for dinner and dessert.

Playing soccer with AYSO.

At The Children's Museum dressed up as a Police Officer.

His first piano lesson :).

Being silly at the beach.

In mommy's sunglasses :).

Loving her shopping cart she got for her birthday.

Hunting for eggs at Easter.

Pushing her baby in a stroller around the mall :).

Giving her brother kisses!

Ahhhh!!! Brother & Sister!

I found them like this on our couch. I can't believe she got a pillow & blanket too :). They're too funny.

Out for a Family Movie Night.

Meghan and Shane.

Me and Josiah at Disneyland.

Shane and Josiah racing through a bounce house. Josiah caught air!

On the carousel at Disneyland.

Those are some pictures of what has been going on in our lives over the last several months.

It's been a while

I haven't blogged in 9 months! It hasn't really been on my mind. Life has been very busy. Between church stuff, fun classes for the kids through the city, Disneyland passes, Homeschooling research, doctors visits, and I'm sure much more, I just haven't had the time or brain power to blog.

We celebrated Meghan's 2nd Birthday in January at McDonalds with her cousins and family. Josiah turned 5 in April and he had a 'Jake and The Neverland Pirates' party (from Disney). It is wonderful watching my kids grow up and seeing the things they're into lately.

Josiah:

*He just started piano lessons with Shane. He's had 1 lesson so far, but likes it a lot.

*He just ended his first soccer league through AYSO. Though our overall experience wasn't the best, Josiah still had a good time. He even scored 2 goals!

*He is really into hearing Bible stories and learning about characters in the Bible. I love it! Shane is great at sitting down and telling him about people in the Bible that we can learn from.

*He got a scooter for his birthday and loves riding it.

*His tonsils are HUGE! They got that way during the 2 times he had strep throat a few months ago. We got them checked out and they're a '3' out of '4'. So, the doctor said he would pull them if he wanted us to, but right now he'd like to wait since he doesn't have sleep apnea. We're still thinking about what to do. I hear it's better to take them out as kids than when they're adults.

Meghan:

*She wants to sing with us at bedtime now instead of us just singing to her. She actually hits some correct notes in there a lot of times.

*She really wants to pray by herself...which is adorable. So, she repeats after us.

*She's taking a really long time to go to sleep at bedtime. I might need to start putting her down for a nap earlier. Bed time is at 8, but she's still up there talking & singing past 9.

*She's answering back when cartoons on tv ask her questions...'Do you like balloons?'...she respond, 'yes' :).

Here's Us:

*February marked our 10 years together! That blows my mind. We've been together since we were teenagers. How fun that is! It was been the best experience to marry my best friend and watch eachother grow and change and do life together! In August, we'll have been married for 8 years :).

*Shane just started his new position at work. We are grateful for it! Though it does not come with a pay increase, it got him away from sitting behind a desk. He is now a field technician, so he drives around and installs and fixes computers for his company. He likes it.

*Shane has been playing the bass in the band at church, which he just picked up 3 days before he was asked to play. That just amazes me! He still plays the keyboard some Sundays as well. The talent, I tell you!

*I helped with our church's Women's Conference again this year. That is always a great experience to help with an event that brings women together where they can learn about how to follow God better.

*I was trained in leading a Women's Small Group last month. At first, the experience was nerve wracking for me as I felt at a loss. But, God really helped me to rely on Him and relax as I led the discussion for woman. He came through!

*We'd like to have another baby, and are waiting on God's timing with that.

*A few months ago, we spent over $400 on doctor's visits in 6 weeks. The sickness kept being passed around an it just wouldn't end!!!

*We're trying to decide what to do this Summer with the kids and also our Anniversary. I'm really looking forward to spending time together!

*The biggest thing on our minds right now is Homeschooling.

Homeschooling!...Not something I would have ever imagined myself doing. When Shane and I started to discussing it a little over a year ago, I was expecting him to say, 'We'll put him in the nearest public school to us'. I knew we couldn't afford a Private School and Homeschooling was the farthest thing from my mind. In fact, to be honest, I knew I would never homeschool my kids. It didn't appeal to me in the slightest. But, when Shane brought up the idea that he'd like us to think about it, I did what I knew I needed to: PRAY!!! I thought that if it was something on Shane's heart, I need to see if it is something God wants me to do. As it turns out, He wants me to do it! Boy, have I had a heart change. In a matter of a few months, I went from hating the idea of homeschooling, to now being genuinly excited about it. I'm excited because I get to continue to spend the day with Josiah, teaching him, shaping him, getting to know him more and spending time with him. School will be done in aprox. 1 1/2 hours and we'll have the rest of the day to do whatever we want. So, now we're in the process of researching curriculum and organizations to go through. It's really important to us to keep Josiah involved in things that will still get him around other kids and adults. So, we'll find a place to go through that offers field trips and possibly a class a week for him to build relationships with other Homeschooled kids.

That's all for now :). I'll post some pictures of what has been going on in our lives in another blog.

Old Town Temecula

Last weekend, the kids & I spent the day at my parents house in Temecula. That evening, we went out for a fun evening in Old Town Temecula. Every Friday night in the Summer, they have sidewalk vendors, music, balloon artists, food & more. It was so nice walking around together. Josiah loved stopping & listening to the bands play music. The first picture below is of us stopping for a dance together :). We 'boogied' for about 5 minutes! He cracks me up! We walked to another corner & there was a balloon artist. He was making animals, hands, swords & more for kids & any adults too. They were even free! I picked a purple poodle for Meghan. She really liked it, but not as much as the swords. Josiah was too shy to ask for anything, so I got him a sword. The balloon artist not only gave us 1 sword, he gave us 5 & a sword carrier. He thought it would be fun for us to all have a sword fight...and it was sooooooo much fun! By far my favorite part of the evening. Josiah & I dancin' in the streets :)

Our swords...they were awesome!

Meghan really got into the sword fight!

I love how involved my Dad is. He plays great with Josiah & Meghan. They love playing with him!!!

Beach, Farrell's, Mulligans & More

Josiah laughing at the waves...?!!! :)

All cutely wrapped in her towel

Mommy & Sis

Josiah helping Daddy

At Farrell's

Josiah enjoying the fun

Meghan enjoying the ice cream cone!

Josiah got a hole in 1!!!

Getting ready to go in the laser tag room

Drivin' with Mommy

Here we go, Dad!

Riding around the property

Mommy & Meghan dancin'

Josiah dancing with me outside. He wouldn't dance in front of people :)

Here's the explanation of the pictures above...

We've gone on a few family day-cation trips...if that's a word :). We took the kids to the BEACH. It was Meghan's first time and Josiah hadn't been in about 2 years. We weren't quite sure what to expect, but it ended up being a great day. Shane had Josiah carry his own beach chair from the car to our spot on the beach. He was not excited about this & complained a great deal of the way. I thought it was good that Shane had him do that, to teach him to start helping us & that we all pitch in together. At first they said no to the water as soon as their feet hit it (it was pretty cold). But after some ball playing, snacks & running around in the sand, Josiah was up for it. He loved it! He kept 'chasing' the waves & then running from them. They took him under a couple times, but it didn't seem to phase him. Our little messy Meghan just wanted to play in the sand...all day! I love seeing how different my kids are. Josiah hates being dirty & Meghan thoroughly enjoys it :). The day was wonderful & we can't wait to go back. Though next time I will give them showers at the beach instead of waiting until I have 2 sleeping children that I have to wake up & bathe when we get home.

If you & your family haven't had the chance to go to FARRELL'S Restaurant in Mission Viejo, I highly recommend it. The place is full of fun, candy, balloons & ice cream :). We should have planned the evening out a little better. We thought we left in plenty of time to get there around 6. But both our kids had to go to the bathroom a few times on the way down, so we had to make several stops. We got there around 7, but it took us 45 minutes in the line to finally get in. It was well worth the wait though. We ordered scrumpious dinners...hamburgers for us & pizza for the kids. A balloon artist walks around & makes you a hat, animal, or whatever you'd like. Then if someone orders certain ice cream platters off the menu, the staff starts ringing bells, setting off sirens & running around the place with a wheel barrell. They have the customer do some silly things too. Josiah & Meghan got a kick out of watching everyone. We, of course got some ice cream as well. None that would make us sing or push our noses up like pigs though! After the eating was over, we took the kids into the candy shop & let them pick out a few things. When all was said & done, we left at 9:30 pm! I had no idea it was that time. The kids bedtime is at 8, so we had some pretty exhausted little ones on the car ride home.

The next day we headed to MULLIGAN'S Family Fun Center in Murrieta. My Mom met us there & took Meghan to her house. We thought it would be better if we just spent the day with Josiah since there wasn't much for Meghan to do anyway. We got the all you can play & ride pass. We started off playing miniature golf (Josiah's request). Then headed in for some arcades. Josiah kept wanting to go play golf, so we ended up playing 3 times (18 holes each). He was getting quite good towards the end. Shane beat me 2 out of 3 games. We tried to get Josiah to play Laser Tag, but he was very unsure about it. So they let Shane hold Josiah & run around the room with him while I played. He got a little freaked out when he looked at my face under the blue lights. My freckles sure stand out under that lighting! We road the bumper boats only once...they weren't that great. Then we each took him on the Race Cars. He really liked that...though I must say there are some crazy teenagers on those tracks that don't look out for us slow drivers! One fun part of the day was that it started pouring rain while we were on the golf course. The day was beautiful, then just started raining! It was fun trying to finish our last hole & then run inside :).

Some MORE fun we had was spending the day at my Aunt's 50th b-day party. The kids got to ride around in my Uncle's jeep, Meghan played in the dirt a lot & Josiah enjoyed throwing the football around. I took some time to dance with the kids. They enjoy dancing with me, so I take advantage of that time together.