Coming Home

On Monday, August 6th, we were released from the hospital to bring baby Collyn home to see his big brother Alden.

Alden stayed the night at my sisters house and played with Hannah and Hayden, his cousins, while I was in the hospital. The next day, he went to my parents house until we got home.

We went to their house before we came home so Alden could meet his new brother and HE could take him to our house. :)

When we walked in the door, Alden was very excited to see Momma and Daddy. Then, he saw the baby. We have practiced a lot lately with a baby doll and now he got to hold the real thing. We quickly pulled Collyn out of the carrier and Alden was able to hold his brother for the first time.

After everyone was able to see Collyn and he was passed around to all my family, we left for home.

Alden acted up a little when we got home because he was confused about why the baby was staying. We didn't get to bed until about 11 PM that night and Alden cried for the last hour of that (Which is not normal at all for him). We finally got him to sleep and took a deep breath.

Collyn had a typical first night home. Pretty rough. Lyndon and I switched out sitting in the recliner with him in the living room. I would nurse and take care of him for a few hours and then once I nursed again, Lyndon would come take care of him. We think he had his nights and days mixed up. The next night was better.

The first day home was a rough one, but since then it has been going pretty smooth. Bringing home your second baby is a lot easier than bringing home your first. I am so much more relaxed with Collyn coming home. He just adjusts to our routine. I'm already in "Mommy Mode" so it wasn't a huge change.

The Birth Of Collyn

I know everyone likes hearing the birth story of your little ones, and I have been telling the story over and over, so I figured I would post it here too, so everyone could read it. :)

There were so many things that were the same with Collyn's birth as Alden's, but it was also so different at the same time. So, here I go.

I woke up Sunday, August 5th feeling... Eh... Okay. I was having light contractions, but I figured they were just like the ones I had before and so there was no reason to be worried about them. They were no closer than 15 minutes apart. No worries. :)

Lyndon got up for church without waking Alden and I up and was going to leave us at home to rest. I thought I would go to church because I hadn't been there in weeks and I hadn't been out of the house much for weeks because it was hot and I was so miserably pregnant. I showered and got Alden ready and we went to church.

I took Alden to the nursery and stayed there with him (As always) while Lyndon taught his class. The nursery was short staffed so I helped. There were about 8-10 kids under the age of 3 and 2 of them were 7 months and younger. I had my hands full. I think this is what kick started real labor. I just kept feeling worse and worse.

We headed home after church and I just didn't feel good so I layed down with Alden and took a nap with him. I woke up about an hour into the nap with contractions, much harder, about 7-10 minutes apart. I let Alden and Lyndon finish the nap and then told Lyndon maybe we should make a run to the hospital to get checked out. (Remember: I was not dialater OR effaced at my doctors appointment). I figured I was a cm or two dialated.

We dropped Alden off at my sisters house so he could "Play" with his cousins and headed to the hospital, 20 minutes away. Contractions were about 6 minutes apart. When we got to the hospital, there were no wheelchairs in the Emergency Room entrance. I told Lyndon I was feeling pretty good, so we could walk to the elevators. I walked through the whole hospital, walked to the maternity ward on the 3rd floor and told them I was having contractions, but there was no progress at my doctors apointment, so don't worry to much, I just want to see if anything was happening.

They got me layed down (In the same room Alden was born in) and checked me. Fully effaced, dialated 5 cm. Active labor. They asked me my birth plan. EPIDURAL! :) They ordered the epidural and I was admitted to the hospital. After about an hour, I got my epidural. I was dialated to about a 6 and contracting a lot. Thank goodness for pain medication.

After about 4 hours of contractions, I was dialated and ready to push. I pushed for 15 minutes and Collyn arrived. He came out Sunny Side Up (Face towards the ceiling) so it was a lot harder to get him out. The pain broke through my epidural. I didn't tear as bad as I did with Alden so I only needed a couple stitches. He came out pink and crying. We left the hospital the next afternoon. ,/p>

Last time I had issues with bleeding after delivery. They took extra precautions this time, but nothing happened. THANK GOODNESS. My bleeding was normal. Last time, Alden wouldn't latch to nurse and I struggled. This little guy has no issues latching and loves to breastfeed. We offered him a bottle and he refused it. So, I am exclusively nursing.

It is strange to say, but I enjoyed the process of delivery, again. It is just such a magical moment when your child enters the world. We are definitely taking a break now. We aren't going to have any more for a while. I'm very satisfied with my two little boys! :)

Welcome To The World: Collyn James

He has arrived.

Collyn James Haines

Born: August 5th, 2012 8:25 PM

Weight: 6 Lbs 15 Oz

Height: 19 1/2 Inches

Baby Issues

Having an 18 month old in the house when you are about to have a newborn is interesting. You can't explain to them that there is a baby coming, or that their lives are going to change drastically, or that they will have to share their toys, etc.

We have been working really hard with Alden about "There is a baby in Momma's Belly." "Can you say Hi to baby Collyn" "Where is Collyn?"

It was working until he asked Lyndon to see the baby is his belly. "Dada Baby??" and lifted his shirt. So, now every day he goes around to all of us, lifts our shirts (Including himself) and tells us that there is a baby in there.

We got him a baby doll to play with. I've shown him how to feed the baby with a bottle and how to hold the baby and we are gentle with baby... He loves the doll. He will find it every once in a while and "practice". Still, I don't think it is clicking.

We look online at my friends who have had babies recently. He points out the babies.

With all of these great things happening.... This is happening...

He wants in the bassinet, wrapped like a newborn and says to me... "I the baby."

I let him do it. I figure it is a phase and he will get over it when the baby comes. We have been trying to get him to do "Big Boy" things, like help daddy mow the lawn (Which means he plays in the yard while daddy mows) and going to do big boy things like getting a milkshake with Momma and daddy.

We will see how things go when Collyn arrives.

38 Week Check-Up

38 week check-up went great. I didn't gain any weight this last week, which is so strange to me because I have been eating like crazy! I have been told that means you are close to the end if you don't gain weight... we will see.

My doctors appointment went good. My doctor checked me and I'm still not dialated, but I have thinned out a little bit. It was kind of painful when he checked me. Last time that happened, I was close to delivery. He could feel Collyns head during the exam, so he is definitely head WAY down. I'm pretty crampy after the exam.

My doctor is going to be gone the whole next week so if I do deliver, I will have the midwife that works in his office. I've never met her, but my next appointment (If I make it until next week) will be with her. My doctor mentioned being induced. I said I want to go naturally, unless I am past my due date, then we can talk. He agreed.

We will see what happens for the days to come. Collyn is just very comfortable in my belly and doesn't want to show any sign of wanting to be out. :) Unlike his brother....

38 Weeks

38 weeks. 2 weeks (Or less) to go! :)

ABOUT BABY: Collyn is weighing around 7 pounds and about 20 inches in length (According to babycenter.com) All of his organs are working properly and he is ready to out of me.... He is now just gaining weight. His movements are getting slower and not as often, but still moving enough I'm not worried.

ABOUT ME: I am MISERABLE. I don't know how else to put it. Chasing a 1 year old around all day puts strain on your body when you are carrying a 7 pound baby inside of you. My appetite as increased dramatically. My mom thinks I will have him this week because I'm eating so much and storing up all that energy. We will see. I'm still napping with Alden during the day, which helps a lot. He likes to take a 1 1/2- 2 hour nap, so I get a good 2 hours of rest in the afternoon. My back is starting to kill me. I think that Collyn has pushed something out of alignment in my lower back/pelvis.

Bags are packed. :) Aldens bag is ready to go. The plan is that he will be staying with my brother-in-law when I go into labor. (It gave him a good excuse to not be at the hospital). :) If he is working or isn't able to watch him, my grandma volunteered to watch him. So, we have some backup plans. We'll see how that all works out. The car seat is getting installed in the car tonight. Just today, I realized I don't have a baby book for Collyn, so we are on a mission to find one before he comes. If anything we will buy one at the hospital.

Lyndon is back to work like normal. So, things have slowed down a little bit! My parents are back from their trip to Alabama, so they are ready for the baby to come anytime.

I have my 38 week check-up tomorrow, so we will see if there is ANY progression at all. I'm definitely ready for this baby to be out of me!

Update On Parker

My nephew Parker is close to 2 months old. He is still in the NICU at the Children's hospital in Boise.

Recently, he had surgery on his stomach. The doctors are hoping this will help get him home and help with the acid reflux problem that is causing most of his issues. He had surgery on Tuesday and things seemed to be looking up.

After his surgery he was given a breathing tube to breathe for him to help him heal and use less energy breathing. It looked like his recovery was going well until something horrible happened. My sister was holding him and his heart rate dropped twice and the doctors called a Code Blue. They got him back and stabilized after some time.

The issue was some mucus that plugged the breathing tube and caused everything to happen. They gave him some pain medication and got him comfortable again.

I got an update from my sister this morning and the breathing tube has been removed. We are moving in the right direction. It looks like Parker may be coming home around the same time I am due with Collyn.

Being so pregnant, I am not able to make the trip to Boise, which is a little over an hour away to be with my sister and Parker. Facebook and phone calls have been our communication.

Keep Parker in your prayers! :)