Flat Acres Farms

Going to a pumpkin patch is something I have looked forward to doing ever since we started to even think about having kids. I know, that's a little weird. But it's one of those simple, yet fun experiences that I think kids should get to have.  And, we have finally done it. Lydia is now nearing 3 years old and we finally took her to one. And we had a blast!  Here some pictures from our little outing (I have some good videos I'll have to post later on):

Petting the Alpacas

I think the sheep was used to the whole "photo op" thing.

 There were also goats, roosters, ducks, and rabbits. She showed no fear and was so sweet to make sure they all got plenty of hay to eat. :)  They had a hand-washing station just outside the petting zoo area... nice touch.

She LOOOVED the corn kernel bin

He cried when I first put him in here, but after thinking it over, he decided he liked it. :)

Rubber ducky races!

This was Rapunzel's tower. And poor Derek was Mother Gothel. Haha I love her imagination.

Aboard the hay ride

I love him. I just realized it looks like I'm smothering Luke. Don't worry no babies were harmed in the taking of these pictures. He is resting. :)

 

 

Sadly, we didn't get pictures of the little kid hay bale maze (Lydia's first maze experience. It was so funny watching how confused she was when she couldn't find her way out.  She had fun with it.), the playground, the snake maze, or, ironically, the pumpkin patch. But, apparently, when you go to a pumpkin patch... getting a pumpkin is only a small part of it.

Luke's Birth Story

So I realize I planned to do this 2 months ago, but here it is, finally! WARNING: THIS IS REALLY LONG.

Before I begin some explanation is needed.  I was tested positive for group B strep. All pregnant women are tested for it. The woman who has it has no idea she has it.  It's harmless to her and comes and goes and she will never know it's there.  It is, however, potentially very harmful to an infant who comes in contact with it.  The doctor wanted me to come in early enough that I could get an antibiotic going in my body to ensure it didn't do anything when the baby came through the birth canal.  So, I was a little worried  (probably more so than necessary) about not making it in there soon enough.

In the days before he came, the only thing I knew was that I was dilated to 4 cm and 80% effaced.  And if I waited too long to go to the hospital it would be too late to start the meds.  Haha... so I was having this inner battle for days.  I knew the contractions didn't hurt terribly bad (not like I remembered labor contractions to feel like), so that was reassuring.  But I worried that once I dilated to a certain point my body would just go for it and I would run out of time. Also, last time I had an epidural when I was 5 cm and it took 16 hours for Lydia to come.  I wanted to go without pain meds as long as I could stand this time around and didn't know how long my body would take that way.

MARCH 9, 2012 

6:30 p.m. - So anyway, contractions were steadily about 7 minutes or so apart and I was just driving myself crazy with wondering. So, we took Lydia to her aunt and uncle's and Derek and I headed to labor and delivery - if for nothing more than reassurance.  Well, I was still at 4cm, but after they physically checked to see if I had dilated, the contractions sped up and became stronger (same thing happened with Lydia).  They were then coming about every 2 to 5 minutes.  My doc wanted to keep me to get the meds going and start me on pitocin, but I had previously decided against the use of it.  I suggested just letting me walk around for the next half hour and see how far that got me (which my doctor was more than ok with. He is the type that doesn't turn to meds first).  The doctor would then come and break my water.  None of us knew what breaking my water would do.  I had an epidural last time my water was broken. The hope was that it would speed it up so I could have the baby within the next several hours, though.

7:30 p.m. -Derek and I started walking laps in the labor and delivery and we had a good time just talking. It turns out the walking dilated me another centimeter - now at 5cm.   So, yay it was working!  And I was really in labor now. The contractions were getting closer to what I remembered from last time, but still really not all that bad.

8:00 p.m. - My doctor came in and broke my water (which was cool to experience.. I'd always wondered what it feels like. And for others who are curious.. I didn't feel a thing.. maybe just a little trickle as the waters came out).  He also got the antibiotics going.

8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. -Ok. Holy. cow.  Now I know what happens when my water is broken.  Instantly the contractions sped up a LOT and were really really strong. Derek and I dipped into what we'd learned about pain management in our child birth class more than 2 years ago.  I was still determined to go without medications as long as I felt I could. I wanted to really push my pain threshold.  It helped that it was only Derek and I in the room.  I could completely focus on making my body relax.  Derek did perfectly as my coach.  I remember thinking with Lydia that relaxation during labor was impossible and absurd, but it's actually not.  Haha.  I was able to do it for the most part. My environment and situation were the perfect set up for this.  Eventually the contractions were so close together that I couldn't talk anymore and it was getting trickier to relax.  I decided it would be a good idea to use the bathroom one more time before the baby came, so we unhooked the monitors and Derek helped me walk the 10 feet to the bathroom.  And as I sat there I started to wonder if I would have the baby right there. Haha.  Derek tried helping me get back up and walk back to the bed, but the contractions were on top of each other at this point and I couldn't really move.  After several minutes we made it the edge of my bed and and I sat down.  The nurse came in and I was able to squeak out that the contractions were overlapping, so she asked if I could lay back down and they'd put the monitors back on to see how it looked.  Haha I just wanted to laugh at her. I didn't think movement was an option anymore. But with hers and Derek's help I managed it. She quickly checked to see if I had dilated and lo and behold I was at an 8 and 100% effaced.  I announced at this time that an epidural would be much appreciated (the pain was basically constant now and I couldn't get my bearings on the relaxation again).  It seemed like an eternity as the wonderful anesthesiologist got it all ready to go and they sat me up and leaned me over.  And as they did so I announced that I felt the need to push! Such a weird feeling. Haha I literally thought this baby was going to pop out any second.  When I laid back down and the nurse checked me she said I was completely dilated. Not a shocker to me let me tell ya!  The nurse left to call my doctor and I was thinking, "you haven't done that yet?! This kid is coming!!!" Haha.

After epidural started kicking in

9:00 p.m. - 9:36 p.m. - The doctor showed up just after the epidural had started to dull the pain a little.  It was so nice to have a break. I was so exhausted.  It took him a few minutes to get things ready and we all just chatted as he did so. He's a great doctor. We've loved him. Anyway, My legs were still very tingly when the pushing started.  I was able to feel a lot of the pressure, which was cool.  It was exactly what I was hoping would happen. I only had to push for about 15 minutes and he was here! I didn't get to do skin-to-skin or nurse right away with Lydia (she needed some help breathing), so it was soooo cool that I got to have that experience this time. He nursed like a champ and with the exception of some amniotic fluid in his lungs which caused a little worry, he was in great health! The antibiotics were only going for an hour and a half when he was born, which isn't ideal, so they kept a good eye on him.  I continued to watch him carefully for anything for the first week as well. But it all turned out fine. :) 

Honestly, this was the exact experience I could have hoped for.  It was completely unexpected, but it turned out perfectly. :)

Thanksgiving in Minot

We made the long drive up to North Dakota for Thanksgiving week. It was so fun to be able to spend so much time with my brother and his family. They got a lot of snow, so of course a snow fort was built. I didn't help at all with it, so I can't take any credit. It's pretty awesome huh? I thought making a face was an excellent touch!

We had such a large amount of food that we all wanted to make that we decided to make a Thanksgiving meal a couple different times that week. We ate VERY well. :) We had a lot of awesome leftovers.

My dad (a.k.a. Papa) and Lydia

My brother Ryan, Derek, and my Dad. They all took the opportunity of being on vacation for a week to grow goatees. Derek had almost a week head start on the other two. They all looked pretty studly I think. :)

My girly girl!

This is a pretty typical day for Lydia. She loves to get all dressed up and wear "princess dresses." These 4 pictures were taken in probably November. I'm sorry this first one is sideways... I don't know why it did that.

Lydia's hair has officially become long enough for french braids. This was my first attempt at it, and if she'd sit still long enough, I'd do it everyday. She looks so grown up. :( (she has also begun smiling on command, as you can see. hehe.)

Going back a few months :)

Halloween!! So here we have Hans Solo and a pregnant Princess Leia. :)

Lydia is helping me clean out the pumpkin. We used this pumpkin to make some yummy cupcakes.

Our camera was dead on Halloween, so I didn't get any pictures of Lydia in her costume that day, sadly. I actually finally got her back in her costume in December to make sure we got a few pics. You can kind of see part of Christmas tree back there. hehe. In case you can't tell, she was a lady bug.

Time to play catch up...

I've recently (finally) organized all my pictures into their appropriate folders on my computer and so I am going to post about some things that I've neglected for the last few months. I'm going to try to post on here more often, because I would like it to double as a journal. So I'm gonna get crackin' :)