Nellie's birth

I was due to have Nellie on November 27th (our anniversary.) On Sunday Dec 2, I started having mild contractions in the morning, so we stayed home from Church. My Mom came and got the kids in the afternoon and John and I stayed home and waited out the contractions. I cleaned the house in hopes that it would help get things moving. The contractions were coming off and on so we went to my parent's for dinner and hung out there for a while.
In the evening the contractions started getting closer and started hurting, so John and I went home and the kids stayed at my parent's for the night. I tried to sleep, but the contractions were hurting , so I hopped in the shower hoping to get things moving again. After about an hour, we decided to go to the hospital. I wanted to wait until I knew I was in labour cause I didn't want to get turned away. My body is slow moving at the start, but once I'm in labour it usually goes fast. So, we headed to the hospital. I was checked there and I was only 2cm, so they were going to send me away, but John talked them into letting me go in the shower for an hour and see if things progressed. The shower seems to be magical for me in labour and helps me relax. After and hour I was at a 3, so I was admitted.
I went in the shower again for a while until I felt like things were near the end. I was only 5cm. Argh. It was around 3 or 4 in the morning I think and I was tired. Labour was different this time and I wasn't sure I could keep it up without something to help. I had planned to not have an epidural. I had asked for one with all my other labours, but things went so fast that I never was able to get one (which I was glad about in the end), so I thought that mentally, this time it would help to plan to not get one. Well, I felt good about getting one, so we went ahead. 20min later the pain subsided to a manageable level. I soon got fully dilated and started pushing. Pushing was so weird with an epidural. I didn't have the animalistic get-this-baby-out-of-me feeling, so it was harder to know what I was doing exactly. Nellie wasn't descending, apparently because her head was sideways. My doctor (who was fabulous) suggested trying different positions to push. I went on all fours, squatted, on my side, still nothing. Nellie's head wasn't turning. It was decided that I should be given oxytocin so that the contractions were stronger to help get her out. I was told to rest and wait for it to kick in before pushing and move around to hopefully get Nellie to move.  By this time the epidural was worn off and I felt like I was dying, so they refilled it. Soon I was relaxed and ready to try again. After pushing for a while longer, Nellie still was not descending and her heartrate was lowering, so they used the vacuum to get her out. Because of this, they had to check her out before she was placed on my chest. She was fine and soon nursing. She was born at 11:24am weighing 8lbs 11oz (the same as I was when I was born). It had been a long night!
We got cleaned up and admitted to the maternity ward where we tried to sleep for a little before visitors came.
It was so fun for our kids to come see their new little sister. It is a little crazy to think that we have 5 kids now!

Progress

I'm hanging out with Nellie right now, waiting until she's asleep enough to go to bed. She's cute.

I've been reflecting a bit on how I have parented in the past. I think about how Hadley was 2 when the twins were born - the same as Sam is now with Nellie. I treated Hadley much differently than I do Sam. I hope I didn't mess her up too much. I am embarrassed by how I would put her in time-out when she threw a little tantrum. So dumb. I can't believe I actually ever thought that that was a good idea. How grateful I am that I have matured or something. I guess with your first kid, you feel like you have to do things like everyone says to, and time-outs seemed to be the go to for disciplinary action.

I'm glad that my parenting has evolved over the years, cause parenting a 2 year-old is much more enjoyable when you realize that their defiance comes from their natural desire for independence and autonomy. They are becoming their own little people and want to be in control!

So, when Sam throws a fit when I pour the cereal in the bowl the "wrong" way (not that he even knows what the "right" way is), I can be patient and help him figure it out.....and try not to get frustrated....and certainly not put him in time-out! Ha!

Who could get mad at this kid anyway?

I'm back....

I've been debating whether or not to keep going with this blog, and I guess the decision is to stay....so here I am!

Here's a quick update of the goings on around here:

 Hadley started grade 2 and loves it! Her friend Lucy is in her class again, so she is happy.

 We got a dog. John and I are not really dog people, but something inspired John to go to the animal shelter one day and pick out this dog. He is a great dog........but still a dog. I am learning to love him and hope that I can be more patient with him and his dog-ly attributes. The kids named him "Scout".

 Brian and Elijah are in hockey. They are in the beginning level again because they weren't quite ready for games. I love watching them skate around.

 We added this little lady to our family. She was born on Dec 3rd and we named her Nellie Elizabeth after her Great-Grandma Nellie. She is such a nice baby and is starting to smile at us. So fun. I'll write more about her birth later.

 We celebrated all the kids birthdays. All the boys are born in November and girls in December. Kind of crazy, but fun. Sam is now 2, Brian and Elijah are 5, and Hadley is 7. It still seems crazy that we have 5 kids!

So, that's where we're at now! I will try to update more often.