4 WEEKS OLD TODAY!
JASON ~ MICHELLE ~ CARSON ~ OLIVIA ~ SPENCER
June 22, 2010
June 16, 2010
Spencer's Birth Story
3 weeks ago today....
Spencer Scott Hughes entered the world, and our lives will never be the same. What a sweet addition to our family, we are so glad God gave him to us.
I was due on Monday, May 26, and we had Jason's mom come come out a few days before that so she could be here when we had to go to the hospital and then get to meet him in his earliest days. She could only stay till Thursday, so we were sure hoping she'd get to meet him. I was 4 days early with Olivia and 2 days early with Carson so I was expecting this little boy to be a couple days early as well...and both C & O were born on Sundays, so we thought that would be kind of cool if he was too....but he was nice and cozy in my belly and decided to come 2 days after his due date. :-)
Tuesday night, Jason and I decided we'd take advantage of having his mom here to stay with the kids while we went out to a 9pm showing of Shrek 4 in 3D. We hadn't been out to a movie in a long time, so it was a fun little date. I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions for a few weeks on and off, and nothing unusual or more that day, but during the movie, I did notice some funny pains at the top of my groin, kind of a burning pain, different than I'd felt before, but nothing to really make me think that I'd be having a baby in a few hours.
We came home from the movie about 10:45, and I was really tired, so I got ready for bed right away, but started having some bigger contractions that did make me think that we might be heading to the hospital soon. At 11pm I was going to crawl into bed, but couldn't because the contractions came on so fast and furious, that we knew this was the night he'd be born. I was trying to get my things together, and breathe through my contractions.
Olivia came 4 hours after my labor started, so I knew I needed not to linger around home for very long. Time went by so fast while we got ourselves organized and ready to go, and we got to the hospital around 1am. I was so thankful that Patti was there and that the kids were asleep and we didn't have to worry about calling anyone to come over to help us with them. We had to go through the emergency room when we got there because they lock the front doors after hours, so they wheeled me down a long hall to Labor and Delivery (so grateful I didn't have to walk, I think Spencer would have been born in the hallway.)
My contractions were coming every couple minutes and were really strong, but when they checked me, I had only dilated to 3 or 4 cm, which made me feel discouraged because when I got to the hospital with Olivia, I was at 6 or 7. I knew I didn't want to have any pain medicine, but I was feeling a little discouraged that I was only at 4 cm, and wasn't sure if I could do this for a really long time......but only a half hour later I was dilated at 8 cm, and the urge to bear down and push was so great, it made it SO hard. I never had that feeling with the other kids. I was most comfortable in the bed, but I thought it might help to change positions, so I tried standing up by the side of my bed with my head down resting on the pillows....that was hard....then I tried sitting on the birthing ball, which I actually sort of liked because I could slowly bounce and rock and it was a nice change of position, and felt like when I had that huge urge to push that the ball would keep the baby in till it was time to really push. Having to resist that urge was so hard and crazy intense. Jason was a wonderful support to me....giving me back rubs, constantly giving me water or juice and chapstick, encouragement and words to keep me calm and slow down, and just his quiet presence was so good.
My sweet doctor had written all over my chart to call her, even if she wasn't the doctor on call because she wanted to be there to deliver my baby. I really liked her and I'm so glad she was able to come. They called her in right away when they saw I was at 8 cm, so I just had to wait for her to get there, and when she did, she broke my water and instantly I was dilated to 9 cm and a minute or 2 later I was just about at 10, with just a small lip of my cervix still there, but I had to push so bad, that she just held it back a little bit while I pushed and it went away. I remember the nurse calling the team in over the intercom saying, "Okay, we are going to start pushing at 2:23" which was in about 4 minutes. I guess this correlated with the timing of my contractions.
So at 2:23 I started pushing. It was really hard work, and I feel like I had to focus really hard on where to push. It's hard to explain, but I had to really concentrate on doing it right. So his head came out and he made a little cry, but his shoulder got stuck in there, so Jason and the nurses had to pull my legs way back and I had to push really hard while the nurse tried to turn him a little bit. And then at 2:35 his whole body slipped out....what a relief! I didn't see it, but they said the umbilical cord was all wrapped around him, under his arm, around his waist, between his legs, etc. Not tight or constricting, but he was definitely all tangled up. And the nurse said he was kicking the whole way out, which I did feel. It was kind of funny.
They put him right up on my belly/chest, which I just love. love. love. It feels so good to feel that warm wet body and see the sweet baby I'd carried all those days. Jason cut his cord and they continued to deliver the placenta and sew me up with a couple stitches. It was a nice distraction from the pain of that to have Spencer up on my chest where I could focus on adoring him. :-) What a wonder...what a miracle, it's all such an amazing thing and I'm so glad things went the way they did.
Spencer weighed in at 8lbs. 13oz and 20 1/4 inches long!!! Our biggest babe yet. :-) And his wonderful head of blonde hair and his adorable little tiny nose, woah, what a cutie!
Seeing the joy on Carson and Olivia's faces the next day when they came to visit was priceless. It felt so right and good to all sit on the bed as a new family of 5. Thank you Lord!!
Spencer Scott Hughes entered the world, and our lives will never be the same. What a sweet addition to our family, we are so glad God gave him to us.
I was due on Monday, May 26, and we had Jason's mom come come out a few days before that so she could be here when we had to go to the hospital and then get to meet him in his earliest days. She could only stay till Thursday, so we were sure hoping she'd get to meet him. I was 4 days early with Olivia and 2 days early with Carson so I was expecting this little boy to be a couple days early as well...and both C & O were born on Sundays, so we thought that would be kind of cool if he was too....but he was nice and cozy in my belly and decided to come 2 days after his due date. :-)
Tuesday night, Jason and I decided we'd take advantage of having his mom here to stay with the kids while we went out to a 9pm showing of Shrek 4 in 3D. We hadn't been out to a movie in a long time, so it was a fun little date. I had been having Braxton Hicks contractions for a few weeks on and off, and nothing unusual or more that day, but during the movie, I did notice some funny pains at the top of my groin, kind of a burning pain, different than I'd felt before, but nothing to really make me think that I'd be having a baby in a few hours.
We came home from the movie about 10:45, and I was really tired, so I got ready for bed right away, but started having some bigger contractions that did make me think that we might be heading to the hospital soon. At 11pm I was going to crawl into bed, but couldn't because the contractions came on so fast and furious, that we knew this was the night he'd be born. I was trying to get my things together, and breathe through my contractions.
Olivia came 4 hours after my labor started, so I knew I needed not to linger around home for very long. Time went by so fast while we got ourselves organized and ready to go, and we got to the hospital around 1am. I was so thankful that Patti was there and that the kids were asleep and we didn't have to worry about calling anyone to come over to help us with them. We had to go through the emergency room when we got there because they lock the front doors after hours, so they wheeled me down a long hall to Labor and Delivery (so grateful I didn't have to walk, I think Spencer would have been born in the hallway.)
My contractions were coming every couple minutes and were really strong, but when they checked me, I had only dilated to 3 or 4 cm, which made me feel discouraged because when I got to the hospital with Olivia, I was at 6 or 7. I knew I didn't want to have any pain medicine, but I was feeling a little discouraged that I was only at 4 cm, and wasn't sure if I could do this for a really long time......but only a half hour later I was dilated at 8 cm, and the urge to bear down and push was so great, it made it SO hard. I never had that feeling with the other kids. I was most comfortable in the bed, but I thought it might help to change positions, so I tried standing up by the side of my bed with my head down resting on the pillows....that was hard....then I tried sitting on the birthing ball, which I actually sort of liked because I could slowly bounce and rock and it was a nice change of position, and felt like when I had that huge urge to push that the ball would keep the baby in till it was time to really push. Having to resist that urge was so hard and crazy intense. Jason was a wonderful support to me....giving me back rubs, constantly giving me water or juice and chapstick, encouragement and words to keep me calm and slow down, and just his quiet presence was so good.
My sweet doctor had written all over my chart to call her, even if she wasn't the doctor on call because she wanted to be there to deliver my baby. I really liked her and I'm so glad she was able to come. They called her in right away when they saw I was at 8 cm, so I just had to wait for her to get there, and when she did, she broke my water and instantly I was dilated to 9 cm and a minute or 2 later I was just about at 10, with just a small lip of my cervix still there, but I had to push so bad, that she just held it back a little bit while I pushed and it went away. I remember the nurse calling the team in over the intercom saying, "Okay, we are going to start pushing at 2:23" which was in about 4 minutes. I guess this correlated with the timing of my contractions.
So at 2:23 I started pushing. It was really hard work, and I feel like I had to focus really hard on where to push. It's hard to explain, but I had to really concentrate on doing it right. So his head came out and he made a little cry, but his shoulder got stuck in there, so Jason and the nurses had to pull my legs way back and I had to push really hard while the nurse tried to turn him a little bit. And then at 2:35 his whole body slipped out....what a relief! I didn't see it, but they said the umbilical cord was all wrapped around him, under his arm, around his waist, between his legs, etc. Not tight or constricting, but he was definitely all tangled up. And the nurse said he was kicking the whole way out, which I did feel. It was kind of funny.
They put him right up on my belly/chest, which I just love. love. love. It feels so good to feel that warm wet body and see the sweet baby I'd carried all those days. Jason cut his cord and they continued to deliver the placenta and sew me up with a couple stitches. It was a nice distraction from the pain of that to have Spencer up on my chest where I could focus on adoring him. :-) What a wonder...what a miracle, it's all such an amazing thing and I'm so glad things went the way they did.
Spencer weighed in at 8lbs. 13oz and 20 1/4 inches long!!! Our biggest babe yet. :-) And his wonderful head of blonde hair and his adorable little tiny nose, woah, what a cutie!
Seeing the joy on Carson and Olivia's faces the next day when they came to visit was priceless. It felt so right and good to all sit on the bed as a new family of 5. Thank you Lord!!
May 22, 2010
The Belly
38 weeks
almost 40 weeksWhen I look at these pictures, I can see now why I've gotten so many comments in the past few weeks about my belly.
Here are some that I've heard:
Woah, are you growing a linebacker in there?
Have you been thieving watermelons?
Did you swallow a bowling ball?
Wow, I haven't seen a profile like that in a long time!
Are you sure you're not having twins?
And then from 3 different 2 year olds, as they look up at me they have all pointed and said said..."Ball?"
I am feeling quite large at this point, and quite ready to meet this little guy and kiss these feet that keep poking out my left side. I am feeling really well though. Having lots of Braxton Hicks, and just waiting for them to turn into real labor. I have high hopes that this labor will go as well and fast as Livi's, but I'm trying to keep an open mind for the way it turns out.
Hopefully in the next couple of days we'll be able to post some news about our boy. :-)
"The Lord gives strength to his people, the Lord blesses his people with peace." Psalm 29:11
May 20, 2010
Dancing
Livi did an 8-week dance class that just ended this week. It was perfect timing, as it finished up right before this baby is due to come. She LOVED it, and looked so precious learning different moves and twirling around. At the end of each lesson, they got to pick out a costume and fairy wings and get sprinkled with fairy body glitter, which was the highlight of the class for Liv. She definitely was in her element.
May 13, 2010
Baby Shower
A few weeks ago some dear friends threw me a baby shower, and it was so fun. It was a gorgeous day and we were able to do it out in my friend, Sarah's, meadow, which she turned into a lovely spot for the occasion. We ate delicious food, had fun chatting, and they even had 3 craft tables set up....one for watercolor painting, one for a scrapbooking project, and one with a sewing machine where we created a quilt for our little guy, right there on the spot...in the woods...it was SO cool. :-)
I'm so thankful for these special friends and the opportunity to celebrate the life of this boy growing inside me.
I'm so thankful for these special friends and the opportunity to celebrate the life of this boy growing inside me.
Isn't this a cool diaper cake Bethany made?And here she is painting a picture of the scenery:
Sarah cutting the fabric, Emily working on the scrapbook, Robyn (below) sewing the quilt.
Thank you for such a special day!!April 24, 2010
March 15, 2010
The Fairy Tea Party
We went to Tahoe last month, and I had brought along my Family Fun magazine to read in the car. Livi was looking through it one day when we were up there and she saw something in there that I hadn't come across yet. She called me over and said, "Mom...there's something in here that I really want, and I hope you say 'yes'!" I was thinking it must be some toy or craft or something, but it was an article about this fairy tea party that some little girls had. The pictures showed white toule hanging down from the ceiling, with pretty flowers attached to it, that came down and surrounded a table that was set with a pretty tablecloth and yummy food and tea. And the girls were dressed up and had their hair done up with fancy headbands, and when she saw this, she just "had to have it!"
The look on her face as she was absorbing all this while looking at the pictures was SO cute. She had that page bookmarked and constantly referred back to it. When we got home, she carried it around all the time and slept with the magazine in her bed open to that page, and wanted to know when we were going to do our own tea party.
So we talked about it a lot, and I thought it would be really fun to actually indulge her, so I told her we'd put it on the calendar so we could plan for it and get everything together that we needed to make it as special as she was hoping it would be. She just wanted our family to be there, and I was ordered to dress up fancy, too. She had in mind exactly what she wanted to wear, and how she wanted her hair done. Jason painted her nails in the colors she wanted, and applied sparkly powder to her her arms and neck. And of course, her new earrings would be a perfect addition to the attire.
She really wanted the toule to be part of the decorations, so we made a trip to the craft store and got 4 yards of toule (fortunately it was WAY cheaper than I had thought it was going into this). All week long she made decorations out of paper and markers and glitter and hung them up all over the walls in the playroom (her old room, baby's new room). We bought some silk flowers and attached them to the toule and hung it from the ceiling. It didn't quite drape down and around us or our table, because that would have been way more toule (and $) than I wanted to have/spend for this occasion, but it did look fun & pretty hanging above our table, and Livi was satisfied with it. :-)
We got out our small table and the plan was for us to kneel by it while we had our tea, so we got out a tablecloth and set the table with teacups and saucers and a small vase of the silk flowers and cloth napkins for everyone.
We prepared the food - chocolate dipped strawberries, sugar cookie star wands, cheese & crackers and grapes, and of course, the tea.
It was so cute to see her excitement during the several days that we were preparing for this day. She was so thrilled that we were actually doing it and making it look sort of like what she saw in the magazine. Fun memories were made that day, for sure.
Here are some pictures from the tea party. :-)
The look on her face as she was absorbing all this while looking at the pictures was SO cute. She had that page bookmarked and constantly referred back to it. When we got home, she carried it around all the time and slept with the magazine in her bed open to that page, and wanted to know when we were going to do our own tea party.
So we talked about it a lot, and I thought it would be really fun to actually indulge her, so I told her we'd put it on the calendar so we could plan for it and get everything together that we needed to make it as special as she was hoping it would be. She just wanted our family to be there, and I was ordered to dress up fancy, too. She had in mind exactly what she wanted to wear, and how she wanted her hair done. Jason painted her nails in the colors she wanted, and applied sparkly powder to her her arms and neck. And of course, her new earrings would be a perfect addition to the attire.
She really wanted the toule to be part of the decorations, so we made a trip to the craft store and got 4 yards of toule (fortunately it was WAY cheaper than I had thought it was going into this). All week long she made decorations out of paper and markers and glitter and hung them up all over the walls in the playroom (her old room, baby's new room). We bought some silk flowers and attached them to the toule and hung it from the ceiling. It didn't quite drape down and around us or our table, because that would have been way more toule (and $) than I wanted to have/spend for this occasion, but it did look fun & pretty hanging above our table, and Livi was satisfied with it. :-)
We got out our small table and the plan was for us to kneel by it while we had our tea, so we got out a tablecloth and set the table with teacups and saucers and a small vase of the silk flowers and cloth napkins for everyone.
We prepared the food - chocolate dipped strawberries, sugar cookie star wands, cheese & crackers and grapes, and of course, the tea.
It was so cute to see her excitement during the several days that we were preparing for this day. She was so thrilled that we were actually doing it and making it look sort of like what she saw in the magazine. Fun memories were made that day, for sure.
Here are some pictures from the tea party. :-)
March 1, 2010
Pierced Ears
Olivia has been wanting to get her ears pierced for a little while now, but last week, she was really ready and kept asking if we could go and do it. We talked it over a lot and told her it would hurt, but just for a little bit, and that she'd have to keep the earrings in for a long time until the holes formed, and that we'd have to take good care of them, etc. She was determined and excited, and especially motivated by the "fairy tea party" we were planning for on the weekend....she wanted to be all dolled up for it. (another post on that coming soon)
So I took her to Claire's in the mall and we looked at all the earring options and she found the ones she wanted (diamonds of course! - the April birthstone, even though she was born in August, but they were the prettiest, I thought, too.) We walked around the mall for a little while until another gal showed up for work at Claire's so they could do both ears at the same time. We kept talking it over and she really wanted to get it done. It was the cutest thing to see her so excited for it. And the outfit she wore that day, wow, she's got an interesting sense of style, but she wore her favorite things and it just added to the experience so much. She's been ULTRA girly lately, it cracks me up.
So we went back to the store. She climbed up on the chair and held on to her babydoll tightly, a tad nervous, super shy, but very excited and determined. The did both ears at the same time and it was over so fast. She didn't even cry, but her face did get all red and she winced a little bit. She got a lollipop afterward and it was so cute to see her look in the mirror and see her pretty pierced ears. I think part of my heart was pierced at the same time! This was one of those experiences that she might remember forever and eventually tell her children about when she has to make the decision to let her daughter (Lord willing) pierce her ears. It's only the beginning of these types of situations, and this was a fun one. Hopefully she'll just keep it at that, no other piercings, tatoos, etc. till she's on her own. :-)
She's been so proud of her earrings and her ears are doing really well. No yukky crusties or anything, we're just taking good care of them and she's sure to remind me when I forget. :-)
the wince
So I took her to Claire's in the mall and we looked at all the earring options and she found the ones she wanted (diamonds of course! - the April birthstone, even though she was born in August, but they were the prettiest, I thought, too.) We walked around the mall for a little while until another gal showed up for work at Claire's so they could do both ears at the same time. We kept talking it over and she really wanted to get it done. It was the cutest thing to see her so excited for it. And the outfit she wore that day, wow, she's got an interesting sense of style, but she wore her favorite things and it just added to the experience so much. She's been ULTRA girly lately, it cracks me up.
So we went back to the store. She climbed up on the chair and held on to her babydoll tightly, a tad nervous, super shy, but very excited and determined. The did both ears at the same time and it was over so fast. She didn't even cry, but her face did get all red and she winced a little bit. She got a lollipop afterward and it was so cute to see her look in the mirror and see her pretty pierced ears. I think part of my heart was pierced at the same time! This was one of those experiences that she might remember forever and eventually tell her children about when she has to make the decision to let her daughter (Lord willing) pierce her ears. It's only the beginning of these types of situations, and this was a fun one. Hopefully she'll just keep it at that, no other piercings, tatoos, etc. till she's on her own. :-)
She's been so proud of her earrings and her ears are doing really well. No yukky crusties or anything, we're just taking good care of them and she's sure to remind me when I forget. :-)
the wince
February 26, 2010
Tahoe 2010
We had such an enjoyable trip away in Tahoe for our 3rd annual trek to the snow with the Mathison and the Thomas families!
Unfortunately the Friday morning we were supposed to leave, I woke up with the stomach flu....but we decided to go anyways after resting it off for a little while and getting a bit later start than we planned. It was a long trip, but the roads were clear and the traffic wasn't too bad, and I didn't get sick along the way. :-) I felt bad bringing my sickness along with me, but we also hated to miss the trip, so I hope no one else has gotten it this week!
The 8 kids all did amazing and had such fun together. The highlight was, of course, playing out in the snow, and the dads built an amazing sled run right outside the house. It was almost like their own bobsled course, including a tunnel at the end. Here's a video of Carson going down:
Unfortunately the Friday morning we were supposed to leave, I woke up with the stomach flu....but we decided to go anyways after resting it off for a little while and getting a bit later start than we planned. It was a long trip, but the roads were clear and the traffic wasn't too bad, and I didn't get sick along the way. :-) I felt bad bringing my sickness along with me, but we also hated to miss the trip, so I hope no one else has gotten it this week!
The 8 kids all did amazing and had such fun together. The highlight was, of course, playing out in the snow, and the dads built an amazing sled run right outside the house. It was almost like their own bobsled course, including a tunnel at the end. Here's a video of Carson going down:
Olivia and Breck
Carson and Micah
Olivia and Reese
Another favored indoor activity for Olivia and Reese was paper crafts, as well as playing with their Binky Bunnies (the stuffed bunnies I made them for their 4th birthdays). They were so cute together. 
Tahoe 2010
Next year there will be another little boy in the picture. :-) I'm already looking forward to it.
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