Tyler meets his baby sister ♥

I could not have been happier when my baby boy finally got to come see us! I hadn't seen him in over 24 hours- which was totally not cool!

He came to sit with Mama and Lia.

We chatted about her nose...

And her hair and hat- which Tyler found very amusing. He took off her hat and laughed. ♥

He begged to hold her. ♥

And he gave her some precious kisses.

My family of FOUR!

Pictures of Lia with her (obsessed) Family

Day One and Day Two

Pictures of Lia with her family... who all love her very very much. ;)

Mama and Lia

Dada and Lia

G and Lia

Gram and Lia

Meagan and Lia Meagan. ♥

Kels and Lia

Abs and Lia

Nick and Lia

Yep, she sure is loved!

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.

Introducing...

39 weeks

And that's as far as this countdown is going!!

I had an appointment with Dr. A this afternoon. My first truly productive appointment. 

{Stop reading now if you don't like hearing words like "cervix" "mucous plug" and "ruptured membranes"  lol}

The "boring" stuff first:

 

I am up 30lbs total. I don't remember what I've said in the past, but according to the charts, it's 30lbs exactly.

Dandelion's heart rate is 143. (Good)

Uterus size is perfect.
 She is still head down and ready to go!

Dr. A estimates that Dandelion weighs about 8lbs 2oz, maybe 8lbs 3oz.

And for the exciting stuff:

She checked my cervix, which was dilated 2cm. (Insert photo of me jumping for joy here)

Then she said to hold on for a sec, because she's gonna make it 3cm. (More jumping for joy)

Dr. A did the most "vigorous" exam she could do without rupturing my membranes. That was comfortable. 

(Sarcasm intended)

Yessiree, I am 3cm dilated and 50% effaced. This is good news.

But it gets better. Rather than being induced on Thursday at 7am, I'm going in on Wednesday (July 21) at noon. That, my friends, is less than 48 hours away.

And I'm not actually being induced- no pitocin if all goes as planned. I'll have my water broken and head straight to the hospital. 

And that's assuming I don't go into labor on my own before then... which is quite possible, especially when you factor in these crazy contractions I'm having! She said I'll have the contractions for a while because of the exam, and then they'll either slow down/stop or I'll be in labor. 

Now we're just waiting.

No "how I'm feeling" updates now, because all I'm "feeling" is impatience.
No craving updates either, because I'm not craving anything except holding a new baby!  
No new picture because Tory is at work... that may come later.  

July 17

{The picture is just because...}

I would like it to be known that quite a few months ago I predicted to Tory that I would have Dandelion on July 17th. That's tomorrow.

I picked Tyler's birthday correctly at least 3 months ahead of time... let's see if I can go 2 for 2. :)

"Consider your kid 'Stitched'"

Kels bought Tyler a stuffed Stitch when he was born, which Tyler has slept with every single night since. He loves his Stitch, and it's super special since it's from Kels!

So I asked her if she'd get something special for Dandelion. 

She responded with "Consider your kid 'Stitch-ed.'"

I should have expected something like this.

{If you know Kels, you understand...}

Here is my daughter's bed:

That's right. Her special stuffed animal from her aunt Kels is a Toy Story alien.

{Not sure what I'm going to call it. I can't see myself saying "C'mon sweetheart, time to go to sleep with the alien!" lol}

Gotta love it! ♥

38 weeks

Yessiree, I have made it to week number 38. This means, as of today, I have TEN DAYS left til induction! I gotta say, I'm glad Dr. A is taking Dandelion out a tad early. Very glad.

I had an appointment this morning... here are the stats from that.

I am up about 34lbs from pre-pregnancy weight. 
(I'm hoping that all goes away as soon as she's born, with no work on my part. lol)

Blood pressure = good

Uterus size = good

Dandelion's heartbeat = good. 
Actually, it was 130, which is the lowest I've ever heard, but the doctor said it's all good and Dandelion was just napping. ;)

Dilation = ZERO Centimeters. That's right. Big fat ZERO. 

Which I just don't get, because I have contractions all the freakin time. 

I am "slightly effaced", but frankly that means nothing to me. Yea it's a start to the whole labor thing, but it's not dilation! :P

 No, I'm not nervous about having this baby. To be honest, I am so not stressed about labor/delivery at all. The things I worry about are hilarious, actually. Like I'm afraid of my water breaking at awkward times. Like what if I'm painting my nails? And then it breaks and I don't have time to finish or let them dry. Oh the horrors! lol  But hey, I think it's better to stress about something silly like that rather than anything serious going wrong. ;)

I've been asked a dozen times in the last week or so, so here it is again. We are not having a baby shower, but we are registered at Target. The items on the registry are basic things we need, but we are not picky at all. 

For example, there are burp cloths on there- I don't give a darn what kind of burp cloths we get so feel free to shop wherever you want. ;)  Same with bibs, onesies, etc...

The only things we DON'T need are 0-3month clothes. If you wanna buy outfits for Dandelion, go for colder weather stuff in 6m+. :) 

Also, there's a glider on the registry. If you buy it for me, I will feel horrible that you dropped 200 bucks on me, but I will love you forever. lol
(Same with that ridiculously expensive, but totally gorgeous diaper bag!)
 

There's nothing new to say about how I'm feeling. I'm super tired, super heartburn-y, and super uncomfortable. But let's not complain about that. It'll be over in TEN DAYS.

Cravings: Vanilla yogurt. Don't ask why, I don't know. 

  Still cookin' my lil' girl! 

OH YEA!!! We have a name! Tory and I have agreed on one that we adore and have also agreed not to change it anymore. This does not mean you get to know what it is though. hahaha

Mee's House and Mee's House Two

There's not much to say that hasn't been said before, but the pictures are all new! (And super precious!!)

We went to dinner with Mee, Jon, and Jeff last night. And after dinner Tory and Tyler went to hang out at their house for a while. 

{I know what you're thinking, why don't I ever go to Mee's house? I can only handle a tiny bit of activity at a time, and dinner was about all I could take last night. Give me a couple weeks and I'll be back to my normal self. ;)}

Anywho, off my boys went. And it sure looks like they had a good time!

The pool is at Mee's neighbor's house... which Tyler calls "Mee's house two."

Paying close attention to whatever Mee was talking about. Probably frogs or something. ;)

LOVE this! Look at Ty's little leg sticking all the way up there!

Heading back to "Mee's House." 

(Her first house, not "two" lol)

Of course, he's gotta give "Asses" (Atlas) his treat. :)

Just hammin' it up for the camera. ♥♥

And so ends that evening at Mee's... and Tyler is ready to go back! :)

Just a Mani/Pedi

What can I say? My son loves to watch me paint my nails. And I may occasionally give in when he asks me for some "colors"...

Normally I do blue or green for him, but today he got pink. Just like Mama!

{Sorry Tor!}

  

That's his tattoo on his leg. Thanks to his aunt "Abba", he has 5 or 6 of them. ;)

I think it works with the whole pedicure thing. lol

Mama's turn!
He thinks it's so funny when he gets to "cut" my nails.

 Gotta love that Mama/Son bonding time! ♥