Hadley's "Gwooks"

We got Hadley a baby doll as a gift when we were in the hospital. It's her baby Brooks doll... or baby Gwooks as she says. I am so glad that we did, because it's really helped her with the transition of Brooks joining our family. She is a little mommy to Gwooks and is constantly wanting to change his diaper and give him his papi (paci). The other evening Shane was at the station so I was home alone with both kids. Brooks was extra fussy so I was pulling out all the stops to calm him. I began to notice that every single thing I did and said to Brooks Hadley was doing and saying to Gwooks. It was so precious. I said "Shhhh" so Hadley said "Shhhh." I stood up to bounce him so Hadley stood up to bounce. I walked the living room and Hadley was right behind me. I was wishing someone else was there to witness.
Yesterday, I dressed Brooks and as I was changing Brooks and Gwooks diapers (yes, I change Gwooks diaper with Hadley) I realized they were dressed alike. Of course we had to document! Aren't our boys handsome!? : )

Two Kids in a Wagon

The weather is getting a tad cooler now-a-days so one of our favorite things to do is take a walk using our wagon. I love that I can fit both kids in and they both love it! Brooks gets rocked to sleep and Haddie gets to go for a ride. We are loving exploring our new neighborhood. Hadley and I will sing our favorite songs (Wheels on the Bus, Head Shoulders Knees Toes, Twinkle Twinkle or Drakle Drakle as Had says, Where is Thumbkin, and ABC's) as we go down the street. Hadley will sing then point to me and say, "You do it, mama. You do it." How can I say no? Of course I'll sing to you baby girl!

Tummy Time

Hadley and Brooks having a little tummy time the other day!

Surviving Two Kids

It's officially been three weeks since Brooks was born. That means it's officially been three weeks with two kids. I'm learning... slowly... with trial and error. For example, plan your showers very carefully. Or sometimes don't shower. It might not be worth it. 

It's obviously a lot easier when Shane's at home, but every third day he's at the station. A typical day for us on those days starts with me sleeping in until the very last minute. Hadley is my alarm clock right now. Brooks wakes up 3-4 times a night, sometimes more, so I try and stay in bed as long as possible. Once Had wakes up we'll usually eat breakfast in my bed while Brooks sleeps and we watch cartoons. 

After breakfast I'll do my best to get everyone, myself included, dressed and ready for the day. I like to have something planned for us to do, because I don't like sitting around all day. Some things that we've done include taking walks, going to eat lunch with Nonnie, going to lunch with Aubrey, working on projects around the house, attend MOPS, and run errands. I'm not super confident at running errands by myself with two little ones, so we don't do that a whole lot yet.
The kids don't know it, but they are pretty much in charge of what we do and when we do it. I won't let them know the power that they have. If we make any plans, they are always tentative.
Brooks sleeps a lot during the day right now. Sweet boy still has his days and nights mixed up. Here's a rare picture of him awake during the day.

 We'll usually eat lunch at home, just because it's so much easier with two kids.

After lunch Hadley will take her nap, and I'll try to get stuff done around the house if B lets me put him down. He loves to be held!

 The afternoon/evening activities vary. But often times this is what we look like...

It's definitely more challenging being a mom of two, but so worth it. These two are my heart outside of my body and make everyday worth living.

More Hospital Pictures...

These are some pictures that family/friends got on their cell phones. 

Shane holding his little boy for the first time...

 Brooks cord was wrapped around his neck so his sweet face was blue and bruised after he delivered. The blueness went away within the first day, but the bruising took several days to completely go away. The bruising looked like he had freckles all over his face. 

 Tank and Nonnie with all the grandkids. Russ and Genny came to visit us in the hospital the day that Brooks was born. 

 This is probably my favorite picture from the hospital. 

 Hadley, Dada, and Hadley's baby "Gwooks."

Brooks Birth

My sweet boy is here! Praise God for such an amazing little man! I couldn't be happier or more in love with him!

Here's the story of his perfect arrival:

On Monday, September 2nd, I woke up and went to the restroom. I quickly realized I had my bloody show and yelled at Shane to come quick. When I was pregnant with Hadley I got my bloody show and went into labor within a few hours. Suddenly, everything was real. The fear of labor and delivery, the fear of two kids and the fact that we didn't have our house unpacked hit me and I cried. It's not that I was sad he was coming, I had just wanted everything to be perfect for his arrival, and an unfinished nursery and a missed opportunity to have a last date as a family made me overwhelmed to the point of tears. We called our birth team as well as the doctor and we were assured that a bloody show doesn't necessarily mean labor would start immediately. With that information we decided that we were going to spend the day as a family. Our last day as a family of three. We got ready and went to lunch. We came home for Hadley's nap and relaxed as best we could. We went to dinner together then fed the ducks. Around 6 o'clock I began having contractions. We started timing them and they were consistently 10 minutes apart. After about 2 hours of these consistent contractions we called our doula, Mindie, and told her to start heading to Abilene. The contractions continued every 10 minutes the entire evening so around 11 o'clock we decided that it would be best for me to try to get some sleep and rest before his arrival. I was able to sleep until 3 o'clock when the contractions woke me up. They were getting more intense and closer together. Around 4 o'clock I woke up Shane to help me time them. By 5 o'clock they were about 6-7 minutes apart so we decided to get up and get ready to go to the hospital. I wanted to take a shower since I knew it would be awhile before I would able to again. When I was in the shower the contractions started coming pretty quick. I would call out to Shane when another one was coming and he would time them. When Shane saw that they were 3 minutes apart he became a little frantic and told me I needed to hurry and get in the car. On the way to the car I realized that I wasn't getting to say bye to Hadley so I started to cry. I know it seems silly since I was in labor, but I just felt so sorry for her since her world was about to get turned upside down. Shane and Mindie got me into the car and we headed out.
Shane drove 80 on the highway on the way to the hospital. My contractions slowed down to about 6 minutes apart, but the intensity didn't change. When we got to the hospital we went to triage to finish our paperwork and get hooked up to the machines to monitor the baby's heart rate and the contractions. They checked my cervix and I was a 6 and 90% effaced. Progress!
We were then admitted and transferred to a birthing room. My mom and Erin joined us in there. My labor experience with Brooks was so different then my experience with Hadley. I think this is due to a few reasons.
1. I wasn't surprised by the pain this time. I knew what to expect.
2. My friend Maggie sent me an encouraging message a few weeks before that reminded me not to fight the pain, but to give into it. That was my mantra the entire time.
3. I was in such a better mental state. With Hadley's labor, by the time I reached (and stalled out at) a 6 I had already been in the hospital for at least 10 hours. So to get to the hospital at a 6 was so encouraging. I had also been going on no sleep with Hadley's labor, and since I was able to labor at home with Brooks I had been able to sleep.
I really felt in control of my contractions. I was even able to talk and sometimes laugh in between them. At one point Erin made mention of how awesome I was doing and how different this was then the last time.

After a couple hours I was sure that I had made a ton of progress so my doctor checked me, but I was only at a 7. This is the bad part of getting checked. It really affects me mentally. The doctor offered to break my water and speed up the process, but I was too scared of the pain so I told her no. 

As time passed, I had my nurse check me again, and I was still at a 7. I decided I wanted to get this show on the road so I asked to have my water broken. 

My doctor came back and broke my water around 11 o'clock. I don't remember it hurting, but I do remember feeling the liquid coming out. I was stuck in the bed, due to having to be hooked up to the monitors, and going through contractions there. They were getting more intense and at one point my nurse came in and told me that the baby's heart rate was dropping during contractions. She asked me to lay down instead of sitting up during contractions so she could monitor them. I laid down and his heart rate went back to normal. On one hand I remember being frustrated that I was bound to this position while dealing with the contractions and on the other hand I remember being grateful that I was bound to this position because I didn't know if I had the strength to move around anyway. 

Around 11:30 my contractions became so intense. Mindie and Shane would watch the monitor and try to encourage me when they saw the contraction was dying down, but before it went away completely another contraction would start. I remember telling them, "It still hurts!!" I had no break in between contractions. And I was having trouble staying on top of them. I remember telling them that something was leaking during contractions. Mindie would tell me that that was good and it meant he was moving down. I also told Shane at one point that this was impossible- that there was no way he could come out. Shane tried to be encouraging and reminded me that I've done this before. 

After about 15-20 minutes of my contractions being on top of each other I started to loose it. I began trying to bear down during the contractions trying to get him out and end the pain. The doctor came back in and my nurse checked me. She said I was a 9, but bearing down. My doctor came and then 'stretched' me to a 10. This is the only way I know how to describe that: I remember that as soon as she stretched my cervix to a 10 it felt like I wasn't pushing against a wall anymore. Suddenly the room filled with nurses and they put my legs in the stirrups. This was all such a blur, because I was really loosing it. The doctor told me to push and I let out the most high pitched scream. It then dawned on me that screaming wasn't helping me push, so I bore down and pushed my hardest. They were all so encouraging saying things like, you're doing great, he's almost here, keep pushing. Nothing they said at that moment helped. I was ready to be done. I pushed twice before the doctor said she could see his hair. I pushed again and his head was out. At that point the doctor noticed his cord was wrapped around his neck. She gave nothing away and remained very calm and told me that this time we were going to push until we got him out. I bore down for the longest time and during this push yelled at my doctor to PULL HIM OUT. I bore down again and he slid out. (8 minutes total pushing)

I felt like I was in such a daze. The doctor instructed Shane on where to cut the cord then she handed him to me and I held my son for the first time. While I held him the nurses cleaned him and the doctor delivered my placenta and gave me one stitch. Brooks latched on like a pro and I was able to nurse him before they took him away. 

They then took him away to get his stats. My big boy was 21 inches long and 8 lb 15 oz!

Then it was time to show him off! First up, the birth team...

Then big sister Hadley! She wasn't sure what to think of all this...

And the rest of the grandparents...

I feel so blessed by our little man. He's absolutely perfect!