Happy Birthday to Lucy!

One year ago today I was living the high life, sitting pretty and postpartum in my posh post-delivery suite and staring at the baby who made me wait through 2 long weeks of early labor before I could kiss her sweet cheeks, but I'm going to go ahead and say it was definitely worth it.

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The world would certainly be a sadder one without you in it, Lucy Josephine:

You've come a long way since your Cardinal Dolan days and your hair has finally stopped standing straight up in the back. I hold firmly that you are our most verbal 1-year-old so far, no matter what your father says :)

Your favorite things to say are:

• DADDY, or DA DEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE:
• Dookadat!: "look at that"
• BAWL: "ball"
• NO NO NO (while wagging your finger)
• nigh nigh: good night

and many more, none of which are "Mama", which I am in no way bitter about at all.

You have just cut a bunch of teeth which I am hoping is to blame for your erratic night wakings and if you could choose to be doing anything in world I think you would choose these three, in order of priority: 1) playing in the toilet or licking it, 2) playing in Naomi and Bernadette's room with them with the door closed or 3) nursing. We are working in weening, but you do not seem as interested in that as I am.

You have THE best and cutest relationship with your dad, much more than your sisters did at your age and while it may have arisen out of necessity (i.e. me neeeeeding your dad's help with you while I wrangle the older ones) it is so genuine and sweet and you love him so, so much.

We've had a great day so far complete with the customary birthday donut,

gift opening, which incidentally would have been super lame if not for the very best grandparents in the world on both sides, who made sure to have gifts here at the house on your big day.

After your morning slumber, we hit up the mall play place because it is your favorite play area with all of the equipiment being just the right size for you and way to small for your older sisters. They were not complaining one bit.

You've been so sweet all day and definitely know that something very special is happening. Every time someone sings "happy birthday to you" you dance and do this weird happy screech.

Big thank you to Aunt Becca for the sweet outfit!!

Count this as my formal request for you to stop growing. Right now.
Love,
Your sappy mother.

Documenting Lucy

If I had had a blog when Naomi was an infant I would have done this.
I did have one when Bernadette was tiny, but then it went away (for the better for sure) and I did write about her infanthood, but I am pretty sure my anal retentiveness got in the way of actually documenting anything worthwhile anyways. Plus, they're the funny ones, and get plenty of their own posts because of it.

So here we are with third child Lucy and it is imperative for me to do this for several reasons:

1) She is the best baby ever and I should never ever complain and if I ever do you can and should shut me up and refer me back here.

2) My memory for important things is fairly nonexistent.

3) #1 again.

Other than the 2 weeks of early labor I went through with her, her actual birth was a cinch. Epidural + 3 pushes + everything being in tact from her exit out of me (I will neverveverever use that word on this blog) = easiest labor and recovery ever. And her life has followed suit so far.

She was a rock star nurser from the start (as were both of her sisters). And slept contentedly next to me nursing just a couple times each night. Like most babies, she did not love to be set down, but she was always happy in a carrier if all else failed.

There was minimal crying or fussing for the first three months of life and while we had a few weeks around 3 months where it seemed like she was having some reflux issues (re- TONS and tons of spit-up and even more crying) I implemented every natural way to deal with infant reflux and it worked. Because she is that easy.

Around 3 months we kicked her out of our lair and into her own baby-cage. I felt even more like a jerk mother than when we had Naomi or Bernadette cry it out because she is SO good. But even her CIO reflected her goodness since we've only had a few rough nights of crying all told and for the most part it's short and sweet and she sleeps...

Like an absolute champion. I'm sure there will be bad-sleeping phases, and when she's gotten sick she's regressed to waking 3 or 4 times a night, but currently the norm is that she sleeps for 9 or 10 hours straight, wakes once to nurse, and then sleeps for 3 or 4 more hours. It is insane and amazing and I feel like I am cheating. Her sisters wake just as much as, and most nights more, than she does.

She is so content to sit in her bumbo seat/exersaucer/bouncy seat/swing and look at what everyone else is doing and if someone decides to talk to her, she lights up with smiles (and laughs if you are Naomi or Bernadette). There is nothing happening on the movement front (no rolling, sitting up, scooting) and overall she is completely lazy and fat, just the way I like it.

We have family in town right now and I was a little worried that she would exhibit the same "stranger anxiety" (so dramatic) that her sisters did around this age. But no, she has been delightful in anyone's arms and so generous with the smiles, which makes for one overly proud and braggy mother. Oh well.

The last 5 months with her have flown and I hate that she is getting so big, but I am loving every minute with her as a babe. I am glad there is a little more perspective this time around to be able to enjoy all the good moments and not freak out so much (although there is plenty of freaking out) over the hard ones.

And in conclusion, I think we'll keep her.

*after-note: while I wrote this she woke up 4 times for me to nurse/pacify her back to sleep for a nap. She is good at everything else but napping. I'll take it.

Lucy's Birth: The Whole Thing

In order to *fully* document the birth of Lucy, I must start on the day of my 36 week check-up (technically I was 36 weeks 5 days). Also, this may have to take place in installments--I hope it doesn't come to that--but I am going to try my darnedest to get this thing typed and just give it to you straight, so you're not left hanging. I hate cliff hangers. So it may need to be divided into chapters, but at least you will have it at your birth-story-loving finger tips.

Already one week old, dressed in naomi's baby doll dress, best ever

Chapter 1: Prodromal Labor is the Worst

I woke up that morning feeling, um, different. My typical waddle had gone from duck-like to very-very-pregnant-duck-about-ready-to-drop-a-dozen-eggs-any-day. I was feeling really yucky and my braxton hicks had kicked it up a notch. I was super glad I had an appointment that day where I knew that the Doc would be checking to see if I was dilated. I was guessing--based on how I was feeling--that I would be (at least a little), but I was also bracing myself for the reality that I may not be dilated at all and that all this "feeling different" stuff would end up being in my head. The doctor would also be doing an ultrasound that day to double check that the baby's head was down, since my last baby was a c-section due to her being very breech.

I hopped in the car sans kids (muchas gracias, Mike), excited to be out without them and excited to see little Lucy on the ultrasound. Cue the appointment: Doctor goes to check me first, then we'd do the ultrasound. Her eyes open widely and she exclaims with surprise that I am already a whopping 4 cm dilated and 70% effaced and there is no need to do an ultrasound since she can feel the head- it is right there. "4 flipping cm?!?!?! Can I just have her now??"--was the thought going through my head. I was 5 cm when I went in to give birth to Naomi. I was totally shocked and super excited, I figured the most I would have been was a 3, but FOUR?!?! This was monumental. Or so I thought.

I called Mike to share the news, then I called my doula to give her the update. I felt sure we would be having this baby by 37 weeks and that there was no way I would be going in for another doctor appointment. I was still contracting fairly regularly all day that day and feeling really gross. The next day would be Bernadette's birthday and I started getting really excited about the thought of them sharing a birthday- maybe they would! Or not.

The contractions continued, getting stronger and stronger, and woke me up around 11 the night after my appointment. I started timing them- 5 minutes apart, 1 minute each. While laying awake I timed them for about an hour, then got up to tell Mike that I thought it might be time to ask his sister and her husband to come over so that we could leave for the hospital. We called her, and I got up and started getting stuff ready to go, and just like that the contractions started spreading out and getting weaker. Great. Mike's sister and her husband got to our place around 12:30am and by then the contractions had pretty much stopped. BLURG! Since we thought that my labor might pick back up and that we might still be going to the hospital that night, we had them stay over. Long story short: no more strong labor, no trip to hospital, baby not born.

The entire next day as we celebrated Bernadette the contractions kept up, confusing the heck out of me, so I finally called the doctor who said it sounded like early labor but that they would need to pick up in intensity for me to go in to the hospital. So I did lots of squats, ran up and down the stairs as many times as I could, crawled around on the floor as much as possible, and rested a little. Nothing.

I will just say this: prodromal labor (<--read the link!) sucks. I remembered hearing about it and just hoped so hard that it would never happen to me. However, it only took a couple of these awful false alarms-- including our doula coming to our house and one hospital trip (I was told I was still just 4 cm and so was sent home)--to realize that this is exactly what were dealing with. Well, that and my doula flat out saying that is was prodromal labor during one of our false alarms.

last preggy pic taken @ 38 weeks

Chapter 2: Getting Things Going

So what does one do when one has a baby not quite in the right position and is having painful, time-able contractions every day, all day? Well I hung upside down off the couch, crawled around as much as I possibly could, did lots of lunges, squats, running up and down stairs, swimming, walked 3 miles with the girls in the double stroller, bounced on the edge of the bed a lot, ate spicy foods and pineapple, drank some caster oil, and prayed a thousand Memorares that my water would just break so that then at least they'd have to keep me at the hospital and we'd know the baby was actually coming. Eventually it all worked.

Last Sunday-- one week ago yesterday-- things got real. I did not let myself think they were real;  I was NOT going to be able to withstand the embarrassment of going to the hospital and getting sent home again.

As we were putting the girls to bed, my contractions finally started feeling serious. I had been timing them all day (what else was new?) but now they were finally to the point where I couldn't say nighttime prayers with Mike and the girls. I tried to go to sleep right after the girls went down, but every 5 minutes one would come and wake me up. I would breath through it and try again to sleep. This kept up until around 3 a.m. Now some were coming 3 minutes apart, but I was still sure that the second we loaded up to go to the hospital they would stop. But then one came that really hurt. So I rolled out of bed onto the floor to breathe through it and POP went my water. YAY!!!!!! I was absolutely thrilled. Thrilled and terrified.

Chapter 3: At the Hospital

When Naomi was born my water had broken, and it had immediately made my contractions get crazy, so I knew this was going to greatly intensify things. And it did. We called Mike's sister and her husband and this time we had something real to tell her. We got in the car and left for the hospital.

As expected, the good folks at the hospital didn't initially believe that my water had broken (this had happened with Naomi too), but their doubts were soon put to rest and we got settle in to have this baby. Well, sort of.

I was on the fence about whether I wanted to try to do the natural tub-birth thing that I had done with Naomi or just get an epidural. I was leaning entirely toward the epidural route- especially after weeks of early labor and then a whole night of no sleep and labor-- but this hospital only has one tub and you have to get into that room if you want to use it. So, we went first to the tub room to play it safe. They checked me to see how far I was. STILL ONLY 4 CM?!?! What the H??!? My contractions were already feeling so strong, and I decided that I couldn't face the prospect of laboring indefinitely.  So I promptly left the tub room, opting for the epidural route instead.

At this point it was about 4:30am and we were told it would be at least an hour before we would be getting the epidural. I was disappointed about this, but it was ok because I could still talk in between contractions and stay fairly relaxed during them. However, the anesthesiologist could not have come at a better time because after that hour was up this was NOT the case anymore. These contractions were getting mighty crazy, and it was quite the feat to stay still and relaxed while the nice man stuck my back with that needle. But it was oh so worth it.

The epidural was in and doing its thing by 6 a.m. and I was able to sleep-- SLEEP!-- while in active, crazy labor! I was in heaven. I was only worried that the epidural would slow things down and that they'd have to give me pitocin (we took a Bradley class during my first pregnancy and I was adequately schooled on all the many dangers and evils of the epidural). Anyways, around 7:20am Mike decided he should probably run home to give his sister the girls' car seats. I figured this was fine since I was sure we had a couple more hours of labor left and we only live 10 minutes from the hospital. I gave him the OK and he left.

Chapter 4: The Birth

At 7:30am, an hour and a half after I got the epidural, the doctor came in to check me again. "Oh my, you're fully dilated and ready to push," she exclaimed. WHAT THE H AGAIN?!?!?!?! I explained that my husband had just left and that I would realy really like it if he could be there for the birth. She calmly responded that, since I wasn't really feeling any of the contractions or the need to push, we could just wait for Mike to return. Besides, she said, she wanted to shower beforehand anyways.

I called Mike immediately to give him the deats, and luckily he was already almost back to the hospital. He made it with a few minutes to spare, so we sat together and let it sink in that we'd be seeing our new daughter within the next 10 minutes- as if it is possible for something that to actually sink in.

About 5 minutes before little Lucy made her grand entrance into the world

The doctor eventually walked in looking refreshed and ready to catch a baby. I am still a little confused and shocked that I could just sit there with a baby practically hanging out (sorry, that was a gross word-picture), but seriously. I got all ready to do a "practice push," but it only took the doctor one look to see I would not be needing any practice- the baby was about to come out. So I pushed once, I pushed twice, and I pushed a nice big third time, and out she came! On October 15, 2012, at 8:10 in the morning, 38 weeks 4 days -- and with 2 full weeks of early labor-- little Lucy Josephine was ready to come out.

Praise. The. Lord.

And our lives will never be the same.

please keep the focus on the sweet daddy staring at baby and not sleep-deprived mother's face

Lucy Josephine Hahn

I just ate 2 sugar cookies next to a child who didn't ask me for a bite. New favorite? We'll see...

Hat off/Hat on

Birth story to come. Thank you all so much for the encouragement and prayers, we are so so so happy she is here.

Mike Check: Baby Gender

I know I said that posting Mike's sayings would not be a recurring thing, and it probably shouldn't since I think it might be getting to his head- every time he says something even mildly amusing he points at me and yells "Mike check!".

However I thought I would make an exception just this once (and maybe again if he says something funny enough) to announce the gender of our third child.

While at dinner last week with my sister-in-law and her fiance, Mike announced the gender of the new baby to Hannah's fiance who she had not yet told, he said:

"Well it's either a girl, or a boy with labia"

We'll hope for girl.

Agatha Lucy Hahn, "Baby Lucy", due 10/25/2012