~Garden Blog Updated~

We're finally getting summer out here in the Pacific Northwest. That's right, while all of you in the rest of the country were sweltering with record high temps in June, we were bundling up with sweaters and long pants. But, the weather has finally turned in our favor and my garden is finally taking off! I just posted lots of pictures, so if that interests you, check it out! (You can click over from my "links" list over to the right.)

Storytime with Daddy

The kids just love time with their Dad! I couldn't believe that all three sat still enough for a story, so I had to document it with a picture.

One Month Down....And I'm Still Standing!

Its been a crazy month adjusting to life with three kids! Its actually been harder than I thought it would be. I think in my mind Cade was going to be as easy a baby as Alayna was. I forgot that sometimes babies cry for absolutely no reason at all for hours on end. You would have thought I would have remembered that from dealing with Gavin as a baby, but somehow I thought he was going to be super easy. I've mastered nursing in public as I've found myself on several occasions with a screaming Cade as I walked through the aisles and felt self-conscious as everyone stared. I'm sure they were probably thinking "oh poor mom" thoughts, but I still felt like they were secretly judging me. I'd quickly find the closest place to sit; sometimes the deli area or the benches in front of the checkout. I'd nurse Cade discreetly, which with Alayna I would have been a little self-conscious about, but this time around I just don't even think about it. I'm just so relieved for him to not be crying anymore. I've also noticed that no one else seems to care either. I haven't gotten a single weird glance or stare or anything for that matter. I'm sure most people don't even realize what I'm doing (or care for that matter). Not sure if its because we live in a more progressive area of the country or if people are finally "getting it" that babies need to eat, even if its not the most convenient time or place.

Its not all just screaming and crying though (thankfully!). There are definitely the precious, priceless moments. My "banana baby" picture, for example. It was supposed to be a nice warm day, but was chilly and overcast instead. I wanted to put a little jacket on Cade but couldn't find anything clean. Digging through a box, I found this little yellow sweater hand-knit by a lady we used to go to church with. I put it on him and thought, "he looks like a little banana!"

My Three Kids

Its been neat to observe the kids as they interact with their new brother.

There are lots of silly moments!

Cade wearing a special outfit from Grammy!

Cade's Birth...in a nutshell

I started writing Cade's birth story in a Word document and my intention was to copy & paste it into the blog once I finished. However, I have become obsessed with putting every little detail into the story.....I want to make sure I account for every memory while it is still so fresh in my mind. So, I thought I'd write a shortened version here and for those of you who would like to know every detail, I'll be happy to email you the long version later.

Its hard to say when, exactly, my labor started. With Gavin and Alayna, it was so clear-cut with my water breaking and contractions starting right away. This time, my water didn't break. On Monday, May 19th, I started having contractions. They were light and pretty irregular. By that evening they were getting more regular, but still extremely mild. I thought I'd probably wake up in the middle of the night in "real" labor, however, the next morning I woke up and realized I had just gotten a wonderful night sleep (which was good and disappointing at the same time). Chad had been trying to figure out if he should go to Seattle (which had been the plan before I started having contractions) to train a new sales rep and because everything seemed to be moving so slowly, he decided to go just for the day. However, after he left, my contractions started picking up.....they became consistent at 4 to 5 minutes apart. I called Chad and he was less than an hour away. I told him I didn't think he should go to Seattle. I knew I was in early labor and he needed to come home.

Melissa came over around 10:00 and we went for two walks to get things moving a little more quickly. By 2:30 p.m., I felt like I wanted to go to the hospital. I had NOT been looking forward to the ride there and I just didn't want to progress any further until I was at the place where Cade would be born. Something interesting happened on the way to the hosital. My labor music was playing in the car and I was holding my pillow and bracing through the contractions. When we were about half-way to the hospital, I buried my face in my pillow and pictured Jesus' face. I prayed for strength and peace. My next contraction started and the weirdest thing happened. I felt the contraction....I felt the tightening and pressure, but I didn't feel any pain. I had read "Hypnobirthing" when I was pregnant with Alayna and I know the Bradley method also talks about pain-free childbirth, but I had never experienced anything like it. I stayed in my little hypnotic state all the way to the hospital.

I had been planning to use the waterbirth room for my labor, but when I got up to Labor & Delivery, I learned that it was in use. I was so relaxed and focused on my labor that I honestly didn't care at that moment. I knew the regular rooms had jacuzzi's so at least I'd be able to get into the water. They sent me to Triage to wait to be checked by my midwife. It seemed like forever that I stayed in Triage. I soon learned that the reason everything was taking so long was that they were totally booked up...there were NO labor rooms available! Someone joked about changing my name to Mary since there was no room at the inn. I was given the choice as to either delivering right there in triage (think of the little rooms you go into if you have to go to the E.R....that was about the size of the triage rooms) or delivering in the OR. Now, this VBAC mama was NOT going to deliver my baby in the OR!!! I was checked and to everyone's surprise (mine included!) I was dilated to 8!!! It was an awesome moment and we all got a little teary-eyed remembering how it took so long for me to dilate when I labored with Alayna. As my labor moved into transition, I got more and more uncomfortable. Thankfully, a L&D room opened up and I was able to move. I was SO thankful to be able to get into the tub. It was not nearly as big as the waterbirth tub, but at least it was warm water and it felt really, really good. While I was in the tub, I got to the place where I was done. I hated this. I couldn't remember why I wanted to do this without drugs. Frankly, I just didn't want to have a baby anymore. I recognized this as transition and knew I was almost there, but at the same time I was so tired and wanting this to be over. I also recognized that, like it or not, I was in this situation and the only way to get out of it would be to push this baby out! So, I got out of the tub and walked over to the bed. Now, I did not get into the bed, I just stood beside it.

Now, this is the part of the story that might be too weird and "hippie birthing" for some of you. One thing I did NOT want to do is have this baby in bed lying on my back. I've read way too much to know this is the worst, most painful position to be in. My midwives are well aware of this and were very open to birthing any way I wanted to. In preparation, we decided we'd decide on exactly what position I'd birth in "in the moment." My entire labor I didn't want to be in bed. I remember hating lying down when I was laboring with Alayna and even getting into bed just to be checked was almost excruciating. Standing felt so much better. So, we decided that I'd have this baby standing up. I didn't know exactly how this was going to work and I also wondered if my legs would give out while I was pushing. Well, that didn't happen, but pushing was the most intense thing I've ever experienced. Way more intense than pushing with Alayna. It felt like I was pushing forever, but I now realize that I pushed for a much shorter time than before. Then, all of a sudden, my midwife insisted that I get up onto the bed. This was quite awkward as Cade's head was crowning, but I could tell by the tone of her voice that I'd better do it quickly. With every bit of strength I had left, I leapt onto the bed and before I knew it, Cade was out.

I kept asking what was happening and at first he wasn't crying. Everyone kept saying he'll be ok, but I was pretty scared there for a moment. Then, we all breathed a sigh of relief as he let out a huge cry. In fact, he kept crying and I realized he was going to be just fine. I later found out that his shoulder had gotten stuck and they needed me to quickly change position to free him.

This should be the end of the story, but unfortunately its not. Once things calmed down, the midwife who delivered Cade (Linda Glenn, for those of you who know her) gave me some bad news. Apparently, my blood pressure had spiked during my labor so they ran some blood tests after I delivered and found that I had developed pre-eclampsia, an illness that they test for regularly during pregnancy. It is usually found during pregnancy and I've never even been borderline at risk for it. Linda was incredibly surprised that I got it, especially since this was my third child and I've never had it before with either of my pregnancies. So, this meant I had to go on a medicine that was going to make me feel drugged and out-of-it for the next 24 hours. It also meant that I would have to stay 24 more hours after that to be monitored. P.E. can potentially be very serious leading to seizures and kidney failure. Thankfully, the medicine worked and I was discharged on Friday morning.

Overall, I sum up the experience as a beautiful serene natural labor that I will remember and cherish always, a pretty traumatic delivery and a crummy initial postpartum. Ten days have passed now and Cade and I are both doing great! I am learning new things about him every day and I love watching his little personality develop right before my eyes. Gavin loves him and Alayna can't keep her hands off of him...she's like a little mother as she cares for him, gives him kisses and constantly wants to touch him. I finally feel like our family is complete.

So how's that for the short version?

First Pictures

Proud Grandpa

I'm awake now!



Where did all these people come from?

Ok, this is seriously not comfortable. Where's my mom?

There she is!

~Welcome Cade Thomas~

Cade Thomas Harris joined our family on Tuesday, May 20, 2008 at 8:24 p.m. He weighed 8 lbs, 2 oz. and after a few discrepencies on length, we believe his official length is 20 1/4 inches. He had a little bit of a rough start, getting his little shoulder caught on his way out, but he quickly recovered and has been healthy and perfect.....an excellent nurser! I've got lots to share, but we're at the hospital still and he loves being held by mama, which makes typing on the laptop hard, but soon enough I'll share more information.

Sunday Activities

Dad, Mom and the kids before church this morning

My cousin, Adrienne, and I this afternoon belly-to-belly at IKEA. She and her husband, Seth, came to Portland from Walla Walla (about a 4 hour drive) to pick up some cabinets for their new kitchen remodel. As you can see Adrienne is also pregnant (6 months), but barely looks it compared to my hugeness.....and no, I'm NOT having twins!

Still Waiting...

Dad arrived in Portland today. Its the first beautiful day we've had in quite awhile, so it was the perfect day to fly in. Gavin and Alayna just love having Grandpa here to play with. He'll be here for the next ten days. Still waiting for Cade to make his grand entrance. I am now 40 weeks....this is the longest I've ever been pregnant!

Patiently Waiting....

39 Weeks, 3 days. Well, I think we're as ready as we'll ever be. Mom arrived this past Tuesday, I had a lovely blessingway on Wednesday evening hosted by my wonderful friend Melissa. Thursday, May 8th was going to be my big day. However, the day came and went and I kept expecting something to happen, but no contractions, no labor signs, nothing. Well, maybe I shouldn't say "nothing". I've had this runny nose for about a week now and haven't really thought much of it, but the last few days its gotten a bit worse and I'm afraid its turning into a full-blown cold. I keep wondering if my body is holding off labor in order to fight this nastiness.

I took Mom out to dinner for Mother's Day last night (yes, a day early....you never know, I may have a Mother's Day baby.....wouldn't that be a present?) and stopped by Lloyd Center Mall afterward. We were in Sears at the register and a cute young girl was ringing up our purchase. She looked at me a few times and then said, "is your baby due soon?" "Any day," I replied. "Wow," she said, "I don't mean to be offensive, but I've just never seen a belly so big!" I laughed! "Don't worry, I'm not offended."

Where did that lid go?

Peanut Butter is yummy! I love it when Mom is distracted making Gavin's sandwich for lunch!

Time for a Snooze?

Of course, after fighting and fighting and FIGHTING her nap for HOURS, I finally give up and say "fine, don't nap". So of course, I then try to actually keep her up until a decent bedtime hour. Without fail, she always chooses right after dinner to decide its time to go to bed. Why the middle of kitchen is the perfect place, I'll never know . (BTW, I love that she puts the little kitchen towel down on the floor as a pillow!)

I'm a Big Girl Now

Despite my efforts to actually avoid potty training until after the baby comes, Alayna decided she has other ideas and wants to be able to use the potty now. So, at our last trip to WalMart, Alayna picked out some "big girl undies" and, of course, she chose Disney Princesses. She is currently wearing the Cinderella panties and is very proud!

36 Weeks and Counting!

I've received some requests for a photo of my pregnant self, so here you go! Chad and I keep commenting on how quickly the time has flown for this pregnancy. Its hard to believe that in less than a month, our little guy will be here! I guess being insanely busy with two kids already makes the time pass quickly!

Gavin is Accepted to Arthur Academy!

Many of you know we've been waiting for months to find out if Gavin will be attending Arthur Academy Charter School next year for Kindergarten. Well, I finally got the call the other day and Gavin has been accepted....yay!!!!

We know several families whose kids either currently attend Arthur Academy or have in the past and we've heard nothing but rave reviews. However, due to space restrictions, they hold a lottery each year and only accept 25 kindergarteners and I have no idea how many children applied. Although we've been praying and hoping that Gavin would be accepted, I was also very guarded in my excitement, knowing that there was always the chance he wouldn't be chosen. Our public schools are actually quite good (I've heard great comments by many local families) so I knew that we were in a win-win situation. However, I still crossed my fingers for Arthur, knowing that they have an excellent reading program and that it would really give Gavin a head start in that area. I also just looked up Arthur Academy on GreatSchools.net (a site that gives all kinds of great information about schools) and found outstanding parent reviews!

Gavin is already getting excited. He has asked me to drive past his school twice already. He is still not quite understanding that he has to wait until September to begin going there...when I took him to preschool yesterday he asked me if that was going to be his last day at that school. Its funny because he shows real mixed emotions. At first, he was very sad when I talked about the new school. I soon realized that he knew that meant he'd have to leave his friends from preschool. Of course, I then explained to him that all of his preschool friends were going to other schools as well and that we'd just have to keep in touch with his closest buddies. That seemed to cheer him up and he is very excited about the new school now.

Spring has Sprung!

It may only be March, but the daffodils and some of my other bulbs have decided that its spring! I'm trying not to get my hopes up and I keep expecting the cold temps to return, but so far so good. Today we had another 60-degree day!

Two Kids in a Bucket

A Trip to Washington Park with Aunt Kelly

Woman VBACs at Hospital Banning VBACs

So, this woman (I think she's in Arkansas?) walks into a hospital in labor. This particular hospital has banned VBACs (vaginal births after cesareans) and this woman just says "no, you can't cut me open...I'm going to have this baby the way God intended." (my paraphrase) Awesome! I just LOVE it when women defend their rights to birth the way they want to. Shame on every hospital that bans VBACs!!!

Oh, and my "favorite" part of the article was the very last sentence where the hospital stands by their VBAC ban and adds that they will only allow a VBAC in an emergency situation......um, I thought c-sections were for emergencies. My how times have changed!

Check out this article: http://www.kfsm.com/Global/story.asp?S=7930912

A Beautiful Day in February

What a day! Clear sky, high of 60 degrees and sunny. I'm so glad we are having great weather while my sister, Kelly, is visiting from Michigan. Last time she was here it rained the entire week, so this has just been wonderful!