The Birth Story

That's right, Dandelion is here! 

(And has been for almost a week... what can I say? I'm recovering!)

Here's how it all went down...

On Wednesday, July 21st, I had an OB appointment.

I got there and Dr. A said that she would check my cervix and either A) I would be dilated 4+ cm and she would send me straight to the hospital OR B) I would still "only" be 3cm and we would have to wait til tomorrow for my scheduled induction. 

Tory and I were very very very hopeful that the strong contractions I'd been having since Monday had been doing their job and gotten me one tiny centimeter closer to Dandelion!

Dr. A went on with the exam...

We waited impatiently for what seemed like forever, though I'm sure it was only a few seconds. ;)

And announced that I was, in fact, FIVE CENTIMETERS DILATED!! 

Off to the hospital we went. 

We were checked in and in a room around 1:00pm. I wasn't technically in labor yet, and Dr. A was going to come in a little later to break my water if we hadn't made any progress. 

{Me and my favorite guy... soon to be parents of TWO!}

She showed up at 2:30pm and sure enough, still 5cm. She busted that water and said she'd be back soon to check on me. 

(Side note: Having your water broken for you doesn't hurt as bad as I thought it would. Or maybe it helps that I'd been told it was extremely painful, so I was expecting the worst. Anyway, it wasn't bad at all.)

{Me and the sisters.}

 

{The soon to be big brother hanging out in the waiting room with Dada for a while (And G, Gram, Kels, Abba, Mee, and Jeff!)}

That did the trick. I don't remember when I ended up getting the epidural, but it wasn't much later. Some time around 5pm I was told I'd made it to 7cm and Dr. A was heading home for an hour or so. 

{This picture was taken when I was in extreme pain. My mother has no mercy. She told me I'd regret it if I didn't let her take pictures. lol}

I was told at that point to call a nurse if I felt the need to push, and otherwise just try to rest up for the big show.

{I told Tory to take this picture... we have one just like it from when I was in labor with Tyler. The only difference is that I had lime green nails with him. lol}

 It was 5:45ish when I felt the "urge". I waited a few contractions to make sure, then called the nurse. She checked me out and... voila! 10cm! We were ready to go! 

Now all we needed was a doctor!

The nurse said that as long as Dandelion's heartbeat stayed strong through the contractions we could wait for Dr. A. She stayed strong, and at 6:15 or so Dr. A came in, all set to go. 

We called my mom, Tory's mom, and Meagan to come on in for the show.

This baby was a bit happier to come out, and I only had to push through 4 contractions. (About 8-10minutes, rather than the 40-something it took with Tyler) Not too shabby! 

I do know that about halfway through the pushing Dr. A said something about the cord being around Baby's neck. Tory later told me that I turned white and he'd never seen me so scared. But it turned out to be "nothing"- yes, the cord was around her neck, but Dr. A was very quick and got it off with no issues, and out she came!

Tory cut the cord, and Dr. A put my baby girl in my arms, and I got to hold her for a good 20 minutes after she was born. ♥

{There is no better feeling than holding your baby for the first time.}

{Getting to know her Dada... who is already smitten. ;)}

Lia Meagan Hermens

July 21, 2010

6:36pm

8lbs 2oz, 20.5in

Lia and her Mama and Dada.

A Motorcycle and a Birthday Cake

The 3rd (or is it 4th?) and final of the birthday posts...

As soon as the kiddo woke up from his nap, we all headed over to G's house for even more presents and for cake!

Oh boy, what is this?!

He kept saying "out! out!" while Kels was trying to open it. He is not the most patient of people. ;)

D had to put part of it together for him, so Tyler sat on G's lap. Or maybe I should say she held him back from sitting on a motorcycle with no wheels...

D showing Tyler all the cool buttons!

That's right folks, my son is the super proud new owner of his very own Kawasaki Ninja!!!

You know you're jealous.

(I am, anyway!)

He also got some other super cool gifts- Kels gave him Woody and Buzz light-up shoes (which he's wearing in the previous picture) and a whole bunch of balloons featuring, who else? Woody and Buzz!

Nick gave him a giant blue ball... which of course he had to bounce on. ;)

After presents, it was time for dinner- hot dogs! And after hot dogs... CAKE!

"What are they doing in there??"

G made Tyler his very own small cake... complete with a motorcycle on top!!

{I'm waiting to see if they got any good "blowing out the candles" pictures. Mine didn't turn out. :(}

I think he enjoyed his cake.

Even though my son is totally weird and hates getting food on his hands. lol

This must have been the neatest two-year-old-eating-birthday-cake experience ever! ;)

So looking back over the last couple of days, I have to say that Tyler is a very spoiled loved little boy, and he had the best 2nd birthday ever!

Thank you to everyone who made it so perfect!! ♥

Choo-choo Playground on Tyler's Birthday!

Every single time we drive by this particular playground (Briar Patch, for those who are local), Tyler shouts about the "choo choo". His eyes must be really good, because the choo choo is really a very small part of this playground, and there's no stop light/sign near there for him to dwell on it. 

Anyway, I've never taken him there, but we decided today was an excellent day for it. He was very happy with that decision!

First, a picture of us... the parents of a two year old!!
{I haven't cried yet. But there's still time. ;)}

Tyler is growing way too fast for my liking.

I thought (hoped) he'd need help. But he didn't.

He can do it all by himself! :(

We moved on to the swings...

Tyler and Dada were chillin' in one of the choo choo cars, talking about important things I'm sure. ♥

Happy happy happy.

Tyler went down the slide first. I think he was showing Dada that it was safe...

...because Dada came down next!

We "bounce bounced" a lot. He loves these things. ;)

Then it was time for some re-hydrating.
[During which he drank most of Mama's Gatorade. ;)]

You don't need to tell me how beautiful he is. I see it. ;)

And then G and Ab showed up!
They got right down to business and climbed up with Tyler. ;)

He played with them for a while but he soon decided it was lunch time, so after a few slides we all headed off to Foster's to eat.

And there's the end of my photos... so far. Once the kiddo is up from his nap, we're heading out to G's house for dinner and cake and presents. I can promise there will be plenty more pictures tonight. ;)

Presents with Mama and Dada

It's official. My baby boy is two years old! 

Tyler is taking a nap now, and I'm taking this time to sort through the 108 pictures we took this morning. We haven't even gone to my mom's house yet, and we have 108 pictures. lol I decided to break them down a bit... so here's part one: Presents with the parents. (Except that Dada is the better picture-taker, so he isn't in any of these. Oops)

He's getting pretty good at unwrapping gifts!

But between tearing off the wrapping paper of each gift, we have to open everything too. It takes a little while. lol

Still loves those motorcycles! So we got him 4 more. ;)

When he first saw the red one, he said "WOW". ♥

He also loves Woody. Although I don't know why... he won't sit down and watch the movie!

But that's ok, we got him a Woody doll anyway. And he is sleeping with it now. ;)

When he pulled the paper off of Woody, he asked for a hat. I failed as a mother and did not buy a cowboy hat for my son. I'm gonna have to get on that...

 And let's not forget the Woody (and Buzz) playground ball!

He was super excited and shouted "BALL" when he got this one opened.

And then of course he and Dada had to throw it around a bit. ;)

Yep, I made him sit still for a picture. It turned out pretty good, considering he had a bunch of new motorcycles and a brand new ball calling his name!

Next up, the Choo-choo playground!

Let the Celebration Continue! {Picture heavy. Again.}

Today is June 6th, Tyler's due date was two years ago today! 

We celebrated his 2nd birthday with the Hermens side of the family today. I think Tyler had some fun... and I have the pictures to prove it. ;)

We spent the morning with Gram, uncle Sam, great-aunt Mee and her son Jeff, and great-aunt Wees (Lisa) and her sons Joey and Luke. Unfortunately Dada had to work, and Cup was doing media at church. :(

I really like when people come over, because Tyler is unsure for a few minutes and insists on snuggling me. ♥

But then he warms up. Too quickly if you ask me. ;)

Mee gave him his present... which is his favorite thing in the world. Seriously.

He helped Jeff put the batteries in...

...and then he was off!

And he has been vacuuming ever since. No joke. 

That was, oh, about 9 hours ago, and the darn thing has been on literally all day except when Tyler was napping. lol  {Good thing the noise it makes isn't an obnoxious one!} [Oh, and it actually picks stuff up!!]

Yep, it's on even now. {Thanks Mee! ;)}

We pried the vacuum out of his hands so he could have breakfast- a chocolate donut with sprinkles!

And then he opened a few more presents:

He got some awesome cars and a tractor and a dump truck from Wees and the boys. And a tool box from Mee and Jeff.

And of course, some bubbles! We had to try those out. ;)

Jeff helped open them up...

...and then Tyler took over.

Not sure who he's shushing here, but I thought it was pretty funny!

Next, he opened up his other presents from Grandma and Cup. (You know, as if they hadn't gotten him enough with the slide and water table!)

He was pretty excited to have some more "guys". These "guys" are Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Darby, and Buster! He looooves him some Pooh!

And they got him a... thing. Yea I don't remember what it's called. But he sits in it and spins.

(and it flips over and becomes a stool)

He likes to "spin spin" and then he says "all fall down" and tips himself over. Goober. ;)

Then he decided that it'd be fun to "spin spin" all of his other gifts. ♥

Yessiree, it's safe to say that day two of the kiddo's birthday celebrations was a very good day!

Thank you Gram, Samma, Meee, Jeff, Wees, Joey, and Luke for hanging out with us this morning!