Addy Meets Her Family

After Adalyn was born and somewhat cleaned up, we decided to let the grand parents out of the waiting room in order to meet their newest grand  daughter!

DJ was holding her as they all came in the room. 

We let his mom (Nana) hold her first. 

This his dad (Pops).

And his stepmom (Grandma Dee).

This is the first time they were able to attend any of our births.

Then, she was passed on to my step dad (Papa).

I absolutely adore this picture of my mom and Ray. I love the look on my mom's face!

Finally, my mom stole her again and held her for a while.

Adalyn was given a bath next. 

And, her hair was washed.

I love that all of this was done in the hospital room. I really think it's important that you check with your hospital before birth to make sure that all of these important first moments, as well as any testing on the baby, is done in the hospital room.

We brought Adalyn a "Lil Sister" onesie and a hat and hair bow for her to wear. If you don't have your own, then your baby will be put in a hospital shirt, blanket, and hat. These are great keepsakes, but I love that we were able to bring our own and immediately put them on her, so she could get ready to meet her big sisters! And, the bow..... come on y'all- you knew she'd have a bow!

We took one more picture before the girls came up to visit.

And, our first picture as a family of five. 

Gretchen was so excited and even though MC doesn't look thrilled, she was! I think she was more terrified of all of the grandparents standing around and taking pictures of us! 

My aunt Jan came up and stayed with the girls on Friday. They were having naps when Adalyn arrived, so I asked that they come up after they had a chance to sleep! I knew that it would be a long afternoon for the girls, and I needed them as well rested as possible!

The girls giving their little sister a kiss.

Gretchen holding MC for the first time.

And, Meggie holding her- Megan was in baby heaven! She kept saying, "baby" and pointing out all of her little body parts.

Once the girls had met and welcomed their little sister, they opened presents that Adalyn brought for them.

Then, the grandparents passed her around again and we took a few more pictures!

My stepdad was holding Adalyn, and sometimes my girls are not his biggest fan, but as soon as Megan discovered that he was holding Adalyn, she crawled up in his lap so she could hold her 'baby'. 

Most of the grandparents went out and got dinner, and I was later transferred to another room. When DJ and his parents came back, the girls left to enjoy their own dinner and play date at Chick Fil A. 

I was so looking forward to the moment where the girls met their little sister. I told DJ that if I had any trouble with my labor that day, to remind me of this very moment. It's the one that I looked forward to the most, and the girls adored her instantly!

I love that God gave me these three little girls! Life is going to be full of pink, bows, and girly fun!

Adalyn's Arrival

Adalyn Pearl, our 3rd honey pie, arrived into the world on Friday, July 5th, 2013 at 1:20 pm. Here's her birth story.

I decided this pregnancy to go ahead and be induced. I was induced with both of the other girls, and I just found it much easier to have a scheduled plan so family could be here, and the older girls could be taken care of. 

My doctor agreed to an induction as long as I was 39 weeks, which was Friday, July 5th. I was so glad that he was not only willing to induce, but that he would induce the day after the 4th of July.

We were scheduled to arrive at the hospital at 7:30 am. We actually arrived around 7:10, and I checked in, waited on my nurse, and then went to the room. My doctor walked in around 8:00, and said we were all ready to go. He had to go to his office for appointments, and said that since I wasn't ready, (i.e: in the bed, changed, and hooked up to pitocin) that another doctor would come in that morning and break my water. 

I was hooked up to the piton around 8:30, and the nurse said that a doctor could come in and break my water at any time. I decided that I would rather have my epidural first and then they could break my water.

My plan for this labor was for it to be fast, easy, and painless. I remembered that it hurt when your water was broken, and I didn't want to feel anything.

My nurse agreed for me to go ahead and get the epidural, and DJ and the family left the room, while my mom walked me through the epidural process. The doctor was amazing and talked me through everything as well. I do think the epidural hurt worse this time around because I was fully aware and not in any pain at all from the contractions. 

The epidural kicked in and it wasn't much longer before my water was broken. 

The pitocin was turned up, and we took some time to relax with family and I tried to rest, but I failed miserably with everyone staring at me!

DJ's dad and stepmom arrived around 11:30 am, and around 12 or 12:30, my nurse checked me and I was only dilated to 5. I was kind of disappointed that it wasn't a larger number, but over the next thirty minutes, I could feel more pressure, and my mom said that the baby's heartbeat was dropping a tiny bit with every contraction. She assured us that it was normal and that it wouldn't be long for Adalyn to arrive.

My goal time was 1:30, and my mother in law guessed by 2:30.

Around 1:00, I decided to call in my nurse and asked her to check me again. I didn't think I'd be much further along, since it had only been about 30 minutes, but she informed us that I was complete and that it would be time to push. 

She called Dr. Nilson, and told my family to say their good-byes and then another nurse came in to help set up the room. I decided to up the epidural one more time for good measure and to make sure I really didn't feel a thing!

Dr. Nilson came in, and he was surprised that he could see the head already. He told me to push, and then he told me to stop, and there was Adalyn!

Here's her very first picture!

And, another one

And, then he placed her on me and we began rubbing off some of the vernix, and realized that she had pooped a bit.

I didn't remember the other girls having so much vernix, and it was definitely messy, but it was such a joy holding her!

I think DJ may have cut the cord before they placed her on my belly, but I can't remember.

They took her away for a minute to clean her up and so I could clean my hands, and then brought her back over to me. 

Our first picture with Adalyn.

DJ snuggling with his third little baby girl.

I was able to hold her again.

Then, we let my mom hold her.

I can't tell you how thankful I am that my mom has been in the delivery room when all three girls were born. I'm so blessed that she was there and able to help keep me calm, and see her grand daughters enter the world.

The nurse brought in the scale, and my mom guessed that she would weigh in around 7 lbs.... she was  7 lbs. 2 oz. to be exact.

After they weighed her, I was able to hold Adalyn skin to skin and breast feed her.

Then, I gave her back to DJ so he could hold her as our family came in to visit!

Her birth was absolutely perfect, and it was everything that I had intended it to be. I'm amazed at the women who have natural child birth, but after having three very different births, I decided that for my third, scheduled and pain free would be the way to go, and for me, it was the right decision.

I'll be posting a little more throughout this week with more of our story from this weekend and welcoming Adalyn into our family!

Our Last Week as a Family of 4

This is our last week as a family of four. In fact, I'm writing this on Wednesday evening, and we only have one more day left with just the four of us. As you are reading this, i'm in the hospital, being induced and waiting on Adalyn to arrive and make our family a family of 5.

I'm so glad that we've had this week and we've had tons of time to spend together and that we've been able to make some fun memories!

On Saturday, Gretchen attended a friends birthday party at Cherry Berry. She loves their ice cream and was thrilled to see some of her pre-k friends again. They had face painting and were able to play with bubbles and color on the chalk board wall. She had so much fun and I was able to have girl talk with some of the moms!

One of the mom's told me that Crazy 8 was having a huge sale, and I also needed to buy Adalyn's baby book, so we went to the mall after the party. I scored on clothes for the girls, and G asked to ride the Merry Go Round, so I obliged.

On Sunday morning, we got up and got dressed for church. I know we probably won't make it back for two weeks, so I wanted to make sure we were able to go.

After church, we had lunch at Red Robin.

The girls were being so silly!

As you saw in yesterday's post, we had a family campout Sunday night. We had hot dogs, roasted marshmallows, and made campfire popcorn. DJ and G slept outside in the tent, while MC and I snoozed in our own beds!

Monday morning, DJ cooked bacon, eggs, and sausage.

And we ate breakfast outside.

After cleaning up the dishes, the girls and I headed to the pool. The water was a bit too cold and G decided she'd rather rest than swim.

On Tuesday, we all pitched in to deep clean the house and I got a few snuggles with MC. 

We were able to get laundry done, the bathrooms cleaned, G's toys were organized, furniture was dusted, floors swept, vacuumed, and mopped, and windows cleaned inside and out. I was exhausted by the end of the day!

On Wednesday, DJ stayed home with the girls, and I used my mother's day gift to get an hour long prenatal massage, hour long facial, and then went to get a pedicure.

I told DJ I'd definitely go back to that spa, and he said, "I bet you would!" At least he knows he can always buy me spa gift certificates for my birthday, Christmas, our anniversary, Valentine's day, and Mother's day and i'll always be one happy girl!

Wednesday afternoon, I organized Adalyn's room a bit more, and started to size down the cloth diapers for her. MC worked on puzzles while I organized.

DJ and I were too lazy to think about what to do for dinner, and we had a few Chili's gift cards, so we went out to eat. I love this picture of the girls! MC would not let G stand any closer to her, and G was excited to wear her new sandals. 

We spoiled ourselves at dinner by ordering chips and queso, our meals, and then the molten chocolate lava cake!

After dinner, we went to the grocery store, so DJ could pick up the ribs that he smoked for the 4th of July- I'll get around to that post as soon as I get use to having Adalyn around!

And, here I am on the 3rd of July.... with only one more full day to go carrying Adalyn around in my belly. I'm so excited to meet her today and for Megan to become a big sister and for Gretchen to meet her newest little sister!

Say a prayer that all goes well today. I'm praying that things will be quick, easy, and painless!

Family Campout

Gretchen has been begging us for over a year to go camping! Camping just isn't my sort of thing, and we end up being so busy with other things, or it's just too hot, and we never have had the opportunity to  take her. Anyway, she asked us again recently, and we decided that Sunday night would be perfect for a campout. We were home with no other plans (other than waiting on Adalyn) and we want to spend as much time with these two as much as possible, so DJ planned tons of fun campout activities for us to enjoy Sunday evening.

I ended up taking G to the pool Sunday afternoon, and when we came home DJ had everything planned and ready.

We started the evening by grilling hot dogs for the kids and beer brats for the grown ups.

Then, we let the girls play and DJ started a campfire.

I was reminded to water our plant and as it was dripping water, MC decided she was thirsty:

Once the fire was going, we roasted marshmallows. G was a little disappointed we didn't make Smores, but she loves marshmallows and had fun roasting them.

MC wasn't so sure on the other hand. She would eat the marshmallows out of the bag, and DJ finally had to shove one in her mouth in order for her to try one!

Then, she decided it was okay, and wanted to roast one. But, she had to do it by herself! She is really exerting her independence this week!

DJ finally obliged and MC burnt two marshmallows to a crisp. But, she refused to let us help and wouldn't take her marshmallow out of the fire!

After marshmallows, we cleaned up the mess and washed the girls faces, and DJ popped popcorn on the campfire burners.

The girls loved watching and G was so amazed as the little pan grew bigger and bigger!

Once the popcorn was finished cooking, I fixed everyone a bowl and we sat around the fire eating and talking.

I put MC to bed, and left DJ and G outside to enjoy some daddy daughter time. DJ told her stories of him camping when he was little, and G made up scary stories to tell him. 

I cleaned up the kitchen and took a relaxing bath, and then went out to check on my campers.

G managed to sleep all night in the tent, and even slept until 8 Monday morning.... which was good, because she stayed awake until 11:30 pm. 

Monday morning DJ decided to cook breakfast outside too, and made eggs, bacon, and sausage... because that's what his dad use to cook when they went camping.

G declared that she would definitely go camping again and said that it was exactly how she dreamed it would be!

DJ and the girls will definitely have to go camping again... even if it's in the backyard, i'll be at the holiday inn!

And, hope y'all are all having a great 4th of July! We plan on spending the day at the pool, waiting on family to arrive, and smoking ribs- yum!

"How Do I?" Get Ready for Baby

This post wasn't in my original thought of a "How Do I?" series, but driving home Saturday night, I thought it would be a good one to add since Adalyn is scheduled to arrive on Friday!

When I was first pregnant with Gretchen, DJ and I were very prepared! I'm talking months in advance. I found out I was pregnant in May, and in August, we had already purchased her carseat and stroller, and had put it together by September! 

I had my first baby shower in October, and my mom and grandma came and helped me set up her crib and changing table in our bedroom that same month! (We had her in our bedroom for the first two months because my grandma was coming to live with us while I went back to work.) I also purchased a package of different size diapers or baby shampoo every time I went to the grocery store.

When I was pregnant with Megan, I made the decision to cloth diaper, and I started buying diapers in January. (She was born the end of May.) In February, I had gone through all of Gretchen's clothes, and was able to get rid of the clothes that were stained or that weren't the correct season for Megan. Because we moved two weeks after Megan was born, I didn't focus on setting up a nursery, but I was able to put her pac-n-play up in our room, wash all of the diapers, and I left out all of her newborn clothes, but packed everything else for the move. I really felt like I waited until the last minute to get things settled and organized for Megan, but that probably had a lot to do with our move.

With this pregnancy, I was in denial for the first few months. I also knew that because she was our third girl, that I didn't have a lot to do. I had originally thought I'd use Megan's bedding for Adalyn, but my mom convinced me that Adalyn needed brand new bedding too. In February, we were able to pick out fabric and go shopping for accessories. I finally set up store registries in March, because I had two planned baby showers in April and May.

I didn't stock up on anything while I was pregnant. I bought a few more cloth diapers, because I knew we were very likely to have two babies in cloth at one time, and I bought a few outfits for winter when I found them on sale. 

In May, my mom and grandma came up while DJ was out of town and we set up the nursery. The two weekends before, DJ and I moved Gretchen's room upstairs and I was finally able to go through clothes. 

It was finally the end of May when I started making to-do lists and figuring out what we'd need to buy. Panic mode finally set in realizing that in 10 weeks, Adalyn would arrive, and I still felt like I had nothing together, even though clothes were hung up and the nursery was ready.

I finally bought new bottles, milk storage bags, and bottle liners. 

On Saturday, I finally purchased Adalyn's baby book.

Last week, I also made a month long menu and went to the grocery store, so we would have meals and food. I made a written list of phone numbers, directions to the hospital, our alarm code, and a list of things to do in our area, for family that would be coming in from out of town, and emailed everyone that would be coming in.

We have still not put the carseat in the car or put together the bassinet, but I plan on having DJ install the carseat before he comes to pick us up from the hospital and we'll put together the bassinet sometime this week or right after we get home from the hospital.

With every child, the preparation is different. But, here are my main tips for getting ready for any birth, your first, third, or fifth.

• Make purchases throughout your pregnancy. If you are going to use disposable diapers, purchase a variety of large packages. Don't forget the wipes. 
• Decide if you are going to breast feed, formula feed, or pump and bottle feed. Read at least one book on breastfeeding, if you go that route, so you'll be well informed, and set up a good support system for yourself. If you plan on breastfeeding, research pumps and purchase milk storage bags if you have to go back to work.
• Set up childcare for when you do go back to work. 
• If this is your first child, I wouldn't purchase too many clothes. You'll receive tons of clothes at your baby showers and have outfits that your child will never wear. If you absolutely can't resist, make sure to buy a variety of sizes, and think ahead about how old your child will be so they are seasonally appropriate.
• Set up your registry. Go ahead and over-register. You can take back whatever you get too many of, or if you decide you don't want something; just make sure you know your stores return policy.
• Plan the nursery and decide if you'll co-sleep or have the baby sleep in your room.
• Don't forget to register for the hospital by the beginning of your third trimester. I waited until the middle of my third trimester when my doctor reminded me to do so, and then I also had to register for my epidural. It's also helpful to attend a class and tour the hospital, sometime in your 2nd trimester.
• Decide who you want in the delivery room, and who will be able to visit you while you're there. If you have older children, decide who will care for them and where they will be staying.
• Freezer cook meals ahead of time or see if your friends and family will be brining you pre-prepared meals.
• Have a date night or go on a baby moon.
• Spend some extra one on one time with your older children.

I think we're ready for Adalyn to arrive. We'll get to enjoy the 4th of July with family tomorrow, and then we make our way to the hospital Friday morning! By Friday evening, we should be holding our sweet baby girl in our arms!

Shop Update: Collegiate Wear

I'm busily working this week on finishing up collegiate orders before Adalyn arrives! Be sure to check out my facebook album for all of the collegiate designs made so far!

My mom embroidered this "Tulsa Girl" shirt for Adalyn, but she accidentally placed it to low on the onesie, so I added the ribbon and bow, and I love the end result! It totally looks like we did this on purpose, and sometimes mistakes turn into fabulous outcomes! 

This design is $20.00

I've had three more tutu, shirt, and bow orders and I finished this USC set this past weekend. A full set like this retails for $55.00. 

Here's a close up of the matching bow.

I'm currently working on another Florida Gators set and a Michigan set and can't wait to see them finished!

Adalyn should arrive on Friday, so I'm busy getting everything completed and shipped before she arrives, or at the least within the first week after!

I will be planning a little vacation while we get settled and then i'll be up and running again with ready to ship bows and a huge 5 year anniversary giveaway and sale!

Don't forget to follow me via Bloglovin, and feel free to pin any of these images on Pinterest with credit to HPA!

Answered Prayers

Sometimes God answers prayers that we didn't even know we had. For that, I am thankful.

We were not planning on putting our Indiana house on the market. We had renters in the house for the last year and a half, and we expected them to sign another 6 month lease, and stay for at least another year, and then DJ and I planned to list the house in Spring 2014. 

However, God had different plans for us. We found out in May that our renters were moving out, and we decided to go ahead and list the house for a few months. Thankfully, our realtor was more than willing to only list until July, and then we knew that we had to have renters back in the house by the first of August. 

We had several showings, and some of them were promising. and others not so much. We were told that the market was improving, but that home prices had not increased, so we were looking at loosing money or hopefully breaking even.

God has big plans, and two weeks ago, DJ and I signed a sale pending contract on our home. I ams till praying that God will see this through until the closing date scheduled for August 12th, and that everything will work out. 

I was honestly, scared to death about listing our home, not finding a renter or buyer, the work that would need to be made after the renters moved out, and carrying a mortgage on our own, along with paying our rent. 

But God is faithful to us, and his timing of right now, proved to be better than our timing of next spring.

God has also blessed us with Adalyn who will arrive on July 5th. DJ and I weren't planning on becoming pregnant with our third baby. Last October, we had occasionally discussed that we may want a third child, when Megan was two or three years old, but we definitely were not making plans on having a child so soon.

In November, I found out I was pregnant and my first thought was "Oh Shit". Now, I know that is not a Godly response, but I was so shocked, and all of our plans on buying a boat one day were thrown out the window.

Throughout the last 38 weeks, I have joking called Adalyn our "accident baby" or our "mistake", but I know that she's not God's accidents and that she's not God's mistake. I know that she is going to add to our family and that God has planned her just for us!

I'm so excited to meet our little blessing and to meet the result of the prayer that we didn't even know we were praying for.

Finally, DJ and I were not expecting finances to work in our favor this summer. God always pulls through though and he's found a way to make sure that we are going to not only be able to afford me to be home until September, but that we have the money in our savings account to pay for the closing costs on our house. It was another unexpected blessing, that God knew how much we needed, and he provided.

I know I don't share a lot about my faith on my blog, but I'm so grateful for a providing father. I'm blessed to be his child, and i'm thankful for answered, unanswered, and unexpected prayers.