One Year With Riley Jean

It feels impossible that I’m writing this but our sweet little Riley tuned a whole year 10 days ago. I know that I have not done as well keeping up with her monthly posts. But it is not indicative of the amount of joy she brings to our lives. Having two little ones close together has proven a challenge to my blogging abilities. But as I look back on this year of her life I am overwhelmed with love, joy and gratefulness that we get to be her parents and have this sweet little one in our lives. It has all gone too fast as everyone says it does. The expression the days are long but the years are short continues to ring truer with every birthday we celebrate for our children. 

 

Stats:

She currently weights 20 lbs 12 oz putting her in the 70th percentile for weight. In true busy mom fashion, I left the little card they gave me with her stats on it on the exam table so can’t tell you exactly how tall she is. But I can tell you she is in the 50th percentile for height. It’s funny because she feels “tall” to me in comparison to how her brother seemed. But alas it seems neither of our children are destined to be pro basketball or volleyball players.

Likes: MOVING- this girl is all over the place. She is practically running at this point but she walks all over and when she isn’t walking it seems like she’s trying to climb something. She is definitely our little climber and the one we’ll have to watch extra closely! She loves anything and everything that brother is into. No one makes her smile and laugh more than her brother. She enjoys being outside, riding in the wagon, string cheese, fruit and fistfuls of veggie straws. She loves when daddy gets home from work and just lights up when she hears the door open. She likes to play peek-a-boo and clap her hands at anything that makes her happy and she LOVES to swing. Her and brother have that in common and it’s looking like we’ll need a second one to keep everyone happy. 

Dislikes: Having her diaper changed, although I suspect it is more the fact that she has to temporarily stop moving. She doesn’t like to be left out of anything, especially anything involving JB. But otherwise she is a very happy baby. 

Eating, Sleeping and Playing:

Little miss is finally developing a bigger appetite for table food. She’s always been great about trying things but hasn’t wanted to actually consume a whole lot but lately she has been really enjoying meal time! She is the world’s messiest eater but I just keep telling myself it’s a phase, she won’t throw her food all over forever. Some of her favorite foods are bananas (she seriously cannot get enough), cheese, pasta of any kind, rice, steak, pretty much all other fruit, green beans, peas, and rice cakes. 

She currently wakes anywhere from about 6:15-7:00. And she usually takes 2 naps each day- one at about 9:30 or so and the other around 1 or 1:30. Her first nap is her short nap and the afternoon nap is the long one The afternoon nap lines up with JB’s nap and it is the biggest gift of motherhood at the moment to have them nap simultaneously. In between naps we are playing, snacking, eating, more playing. 

We usually play with our toys in the morning, have some kind of outing before the afternoon nap and then spend some time outside in the yard or on a walk after nap before dinner time. After dinner there is usually more playtime with toys and then bath and bed. She loves her bath just like brother always has. 

She usually goes to bed around 7, give or take about a half hour. She is working on sleeping through the night. We had some rough months recently but she has been doing better and better. We’ve had several nights of sleeping all the way through the night. But even when she does wake, I just try to focus on how short a season this is. How I can’t remember the last time I rocked JB in the night and how they’re only this little for such a short time. How the late night snuggles might feel almost impossibly difficult now but I will look back and miss them one day. That said, I also savor the nights she sleeps all the way through and pray for her to do so every night for the foreseeable future. 

Favorite Moment: She experienced her first snow this month and it was magical and delightful to experience with her. While she’s been taking steps for a while now (since about 9.5 months), at about 11 months she really took off and so this month has been so fun having her really on the go and just getting to experience everything in a different way. Her birthday party of course is a highlight. It worked out to have it on her actual birthday which was so fun and just a joy to have so many people we love celebrate with us.

If I had to describe Riley to someone who’d never met her the main thing I’d say is she is the happiest, smiliest baby you have met. She smiles with her whole face and just lights up. It’s impossible not to smile when you see it. I hope she continues to radiate light and joy as she grows and feel honored to get to be part of that with her. 

I was looking back at the post I wrote for JB’s first birthday and at the end I wrote that I was both mourning the infant stages but also really looking forward to what was to come, sure I would enjoy that just as much. And as we embark on the adventure of toddlerhood with Riley and leave infancy behind I know with confidence that what’s coming will be so fun! I can’t wait to see who you become baby girl!  

Beachin’ It

Back in August we took a family beach trip. And in typical Maggie fashion I had big intentions to blog about it but it’s October and here we are. But it was the sweetest time so I don’t want to forget it and I want to have it to look back on. So I might be 2 months overdue but I’m going to recap it anyways! 

It was Riley’s first trip to the beach and even though JB has been to the beach before, he was much younger when we went before and it was just a short time so it felt like a milestone moment for him too. He was at SUCH a good age for this trip because he was old enough to actually enjoy it and his joy over all the things made it just a magical week. We went with my husbands side of the family- his parents as well as his brother and sister in-law. His parents had found us a great house on St. Simons Island, Georgia. The house was in a great spot right by the beach and had a pool which JB was a huge fan of. 

The hardest part of the week was absolutely the drive there- whew! It was about a 6 hour drive (but with kids it took 7) and neither of our kiddos was particularly happy during the drive. We did our best to keep everyone happy and entertained but were thrilled to finally arrive and meet up with people at a local brewery to get out of the car and get the vacation started. 

I won’t recap every day since most days were very similar and all delightful. Our typical “schedule” for the day was spending the morning at the beach, then heading back to the house for lunch/naps and then doing the pool in the afternoon .This worked out great because the beach wasn’t as hot in the morning, and y’all there is a ton of stuff to haul out there so doing it just once a day was enough. And keeping JB’s nap schedule the same was helpful in keeping anyone from being too crabby. 

Both kiddos loved the beach! JB loves to dig and is a big fan of sand so I knew he’d be in heaven and he was. He would have sat there all day if we’d let him. But he also loved the ocean! He liked to swim and splash in the tide pools and loved looking for crabs and fish to catch in his bucket and net. I thought he might not love the waves but he had a blast. Riley enjoyed taking her morning nap at the beach every day and also was able to enjoy the ocean in her little seat we brought but also down at the tide pools too! 

The afternoons at the pool were spent mostly with JB bossing everybody around telling them which float to get on and which one he wanted and going from one to another and back again. He also loved learning to jump in and show off some of his swim class skills. Riley loves hanging with whoever in the pool and just relaxing. She hasn’t started swim class yet but I think she’s going to be a fan too. 

After our full day of beach and pool we did dinner in most evenings, grilling some fresh seafood and steaks. And then enjoying the porches in the evenings and playing games after the kiddos went to sleep. We also took a few evening beach walks before bed which I always love. JB inevitably would end up wet and sandy but there is something so relaxing to me about a beach in the dusk hours. 

We had two days that were out of our usual. One morning we went “into town” to check out the dock, the lighthouse and get lunch at a local restaurant. JB liked seeing the fishermen fishing off the pier and we all enjoyed a yummy seafood lunch. The other special day was spent heading over to Jekyll Island for the morning. It was only about 30 minutes away and we got to visit the Georgia Sea Turtle Center as well as check out Driftwood Beach. Both were excellent experiences! The sea turtle center has lots of rescued sea turtles you can see as well as some other tortoises and local wildlife. We got to see a portion of a sea turtle surgery happening live and a recovering tortoise out for a walk around the property. We also got to see a feeding time for one of the turtles that’s about to be released. Driftwood Beach was not far from there and was so cool! I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting but the reality was definitely more than what I was thinking. It was very interesting to see, though I didn’t get great photos to do it justice. But JB loved climbing all over, looking for crabs and ended up covered in mud.

A few other highlights from the week- JB got to fly a kite! He loved it and wanted it to fly at all times once it was the in the air. Hubby and I got to enjoy a date night thanks to our in-laws which is always a treat and we got to see all kinds of wildlife including a shark (luckily not too close!). And we also got to snag some family photos which will certainly be treasured. 

The week simply felt like the epitome of summer joy. 

8 Months

Riley Jean is 8 months old and is just a delight! Sleep has been a little rough but honestly when you’re this adorable you get away with pretty much everything. And I mostly forget how tired I am when she scrunches her little face up into the sweetest smile. Once again I missed a month and I’ve just decided every other month is probably all I can manage but I’m going to keep trying nevertheless. 

Stats: Based on my at home scale she appears to be about 18.8 lbs and I don’t have a height but she sure looks extra tall when her brother tries to hold her all by himself.

Likes: She is on the move and that is definitely a favorite activity. She likes to crawl around, pull up on anything and everything, climb all over my, try to walk with her walker, still loves to chew on all the things, wave toys around  and bang them loudly on the ground, watch her brother do anything and everything, snack on puffs and look out the window and make big smiley faces at her daddy. 

I mean have you seen a cuter bonnet?!

Dislikes: Sleeping through the night, eating if anything else even remotely interesting is going on around her, not being able to walk by herself, getting stuck when trying to move around. 

Eat, Sleep, Play: As I mentioned earlier, sleep has been tough. On the bright side when I was looking at my last milestone post I had written she didn’t nap longer than 40 minutes and that is DONE! She does usually still take a shorter morning nap but then takes a good long afternoon nap. This is ideal because that is also when JB naps so many days I now get a chunk of time with both kiddos asleep. There are still a few odd days that she does 3 shorter naps but for the most part we’re on a 2 nap schedule with one being a shorter (often on the go) morning nap and another longer afternoon one. This means she is in bed anywhere from 6-7:30 for bedtime just depending on when that last nap ends. I prefer the 7-7:30 bedtime for her but we make it work whenever she needs to go down. Overnight we are seeing anywhere from 1- I lost count in terms of amount of wake-ups but we’re being patient and just know that all babies sleep through the night eventually so she’ll get there. She only eats once overnight and the other wakeups she just gets her paci and goes back down really quick which is good. Often in the early morning around 5:30/6 if she’s waking or restless I’ll bring her into our bed and let her snuggle and often she’ll sleep a little longer and I don’t mind the early wake for some extra cuddles! 

She is eating solids now which is fun! While I still feel some nerves like I did with JB I am much more relaxed and less tense at meal times when she’s trying foods. She has liked most things she’s tried so far which is great. She hasn’t had as big of an appetite for solids as JB did at this age, she often will just take a few bites and be done but I’m noticing that start to increase so hopefully she’ll be eating more soon. But in the meantime we’re just enjoying trying all the things. She’s already tried over 50 foods! She is a big fan of meat (especially pot roast and meatballs) and also loves fruit and broccoli just like her brother.

Favorite Moments: So many fun moments from the last 2 months! We went the the beach and her first beach trip is definitely a highlight, she loved it! She was a big fan of the beach nap (and so was I). But she also started crawling, pulling to stand and even taking steps with support this month so that’s definitely up there as well. 

She remains the smiliest baby there ever was. People are always commenting to me about her big smile because as soon as anyone smiles at her she gives them a big grin showing off her tiny little teeth and melting everyone’s heart. She is squishy and precious and happy and busy and all around a delight. Looking forward to the next month- and all the ones after! 

Half a Year With Our Ray of Sunshine

While I had every intention of doing a 4 month post then all the best intentions for a combined 4-5 month post- here we are 10 days after her 6 month milestone that I’m finally getting around to writing this update. I don’t know what it is but it is seemingly impossible to find time to blog. Or I should say it is seemingly impossible to find time to blog when I also have the mental capacity for writing, or the physical energy to keep my eyes open and look at a screen or the motivation to write instead of just relax after a full day of momming. I love being a a mom of two littles but by the end of the day I am wiped out! As for why I seem unable to write during the day, stay tuned for that below!

I didn’t manage to get 4 month photos with a sign but this little chunky monkey didn’t seem to mind.

Stats: Initially I was going to say I haven’t been to her appt yet…but then this post sat unfinished for 3 days and so you’re in luck! I have her updated stats. At 4 months she was just shy of 15lbs in the 50% for weight and just over 25 in in the 73% for height.

Today she was 16.69lbs putting her int he 52% for weight and she was just over 27 inches keeping her in the 75% percentile for height which is still a shocker to hubby and I. Although my mom reminds me that I was also “tall” as a baby and clearly that didn’t stick hah! 

Likes: Her most favorite thing is her big brother. She thinks he is the absolute best and she gives him all her best smiles and laughs whenever he’s around. 

She also loves chewing on anything and everything, playing in her little jumper table, dancing with daddy, smiling and making faces at everyone, splashing in the water, sitting up on her own, and did I mention chewing? 

Dislikes: Napping for longer than 40 minutes at a time, being in the car seat for extended periods of time, growing teeth.

Eat, Sleep, Play: She has had some ups and downs in the sleep department lately but the perk of being a 2nd time mom is knowing all of the sleep challenges are temporary and there are longer and more restful nights sleep in my future. Growing teeth is tough work and has led to a few rough nights. And since about 4.5/5 months she has given up any long naps and traded them for cat naps. Her brother did the same and I know at some point they started to lengthen again so for now we just roll with it. Every now and then she’ll nap for an hour-hour and a half but 30-40 minutes is her current preference (hence the lack of daytime blogging). This does not always line up with brother which can be tough too but we do our best to get an overlap when we can! 

Overnight she usually wakes up once to eat unless she’s teething in which case she may wake up more frequently. She’s typically down from about 7-6:30/7 (minus that middle of the night wakeup). And usually naps 3 times during the day. In between naps she spends her time eating, playing on the floor, playing in her jumper, watching whatever brother is doing or being out and about with brother and me being our favorite little sidekick.  

Favorite Moments: Well since I haven’t updated in a few months it is hard to narrow these down. But she’s had a big few months- she’s been rolling like a champ, we celebrated brother turning two, she had her first virus, she was baptized, her first 4th of July, she’s sitting up on her own, swam in the lake, has 2 little teeth, started eating solid foods and moved to her big girl car seat. She’s the best little pal for all of our outings and just rolls right along with whatever we’re doing! 

We’ve definitely had a few tougher moments in the last few months between the teething, inconsistent sleep, a yucky virus etc but even with all of this, we all still agree she is just the smiliest, sweetest thing on the planet and she brightens our day every day. How lucky are we to be her parents?!

3 Months With Our Little Sunshine

Our newest little lady is 3 months old! Well 3 and 1/2 by the time you’re reading this because once again blogging has taken a back burner to all the other life things. But hey…2 weeks late isn’t too bad. So let’s get to it! What have we been up to these last few weeks?

Stats…I have no stats for Riley at this point. I haven’t been back to the dr with her to get her weight or height. But I am confident she is growing like a weed! Every time anyone sees her they comment how much she’s grown and she is outgrowing even some of her 3 month clothes. Which is of course exciting but also sad when I realize how fast she’s growing. 

Likes: What doesn’t this girl like? I mean seriously, she is just the world’s happiest baby! She smiles all the time and it is just the best. Some her favorite things are when anyone and everyone smiles or makes faces at her, watching her brother do pretty much anything, her playmat, toys that make noise, chewing on her hands, her paci, music, being upright to look around, her bouncer and snuggling. 

She is seriously THIS happy! 

Dislikes: Truly not much. She doesn’t like to have a wet diaper, she doesn’t like to be hungry and she doesn’t like to get over tired. I mentioned she didn’t love tummy time in the last post but she’s really coming around. She’ll tolerate it much longer now before she starts fussing to be moved. And now she can even get out of it herself sometimes as she’s figured out how to roll from her belly to her back. A fun milestone! She also does a lot of scooting around with all of her kicking. I often put her on her mat facing one way and before long she’ll have kicked and scooted herself in a complete 180. 

Eating, Sleeping and Playing: She’s still doing great with eating and sleeping! She is eating anywhere from every 2-3 hours but is definitely starting to lean towards the 3 hour mark for a lot of the day which is great. By late afternoon until bedtime she tends to eat closer together but I don’t mind if it means she’ll sleep well at night. Which speaking of sleeping well at night, she’s doing great! She usually goes down around 7:45 these days and while she isn’t sleeping through the night as consistently as she was, she is typically only waking up one time in the early morning so usually around 4-4:30. Then she will go back down until anywhere from 6:30-8. She does sleep all the way through still sometimes and those nights are extra sweet for mama. We’re pretty much out of the swaddle (which I think contributed to the small backslide in sleep). So she sometimes sleeps in a sleep sack but I often will put her in the swaddle but keep her arms out and only wrap her middle. But now that she’s rolling, we’ll be sticking with the sleep sacks from now on. 

This angel baby fell asleep on her playmat…didn’t I tell you she was the sweetest/easiest baby?

As far as naps she mostly takes about 4 naps a day, with still some days doing 5 if she needs it or if she took mostly small naps. Usually one nap is a longer nap of about 1.5-2 hours and the other naps are shorter, only about 45 minutes. But I’m thankful for how smooth it is overall! With her wake times she is usually up for about an hour and a half in between naps, sometimes 2 hours. During those wake times she eats, and then plays until she gets tired again- just tagging along with whatever JB and I are doing or playing on her mat, or just snuggling with mama. This month she is definitely more interested in her small toys than she had been. She’ll hold her rattles, and look at them or chew them which is a fun new development!

Firsts: First time to the aquarium this month! As well as her first trip to Costco (an obvious milestone)! I’m putting her first roll over here (although that may have happened a couple days after she turned 3 months, it happened before I wrote this post so I’m counting it!). 

Favorite Moments: I have several favorites from this month but I think my sis and her kiddos getting to meet Riley was my favorite. It is always special to be with my sister but this stage of life being in motherhood together is so sweet. So having all of our babies together was a great moment! I also have loved watching Riley learn new things like laughing, the rolling and being able to reach and grab things better. It is just amazing to watch their little brains grow so much! 

I can’ wait to see what month 4 has four us! *We’re technically already 2 weeks in and so far it’s great!* We love her so much! 

Baby Riley- Months 1 and 2

Months 1 and 2 really got away from me. And honestly month 3 is too! Since I’m writing this month1 and 2 update only 6 days before she turns 3 months (yikes!). Two under two keeps me busy and finding time (or energy when there is time)i s a challenge. But I love that I have these little updates for JB and so I want to have that for Riley as well. So here we go…

Current Stats:

As of her 2 month appointment she was 11lbs 13 oz and 23 inches. So she’s growing! 

Likes: She loves people! She loves to look at people and loves it when people make faces at her or just give her a big smile. She’ll smile right back and she has the absolute best smile! She likes to stretch out and lay down so she can kick her legs. She enjoys being outside in the backyard and going for walks. She loves to watch her brother. She likes her bouncer and is pretty happy in the bath too! She likes to listen to good country music with her daddy and luckily for us also seems to enjoy sleeping. 

Dislikes: Honestly as long as she is fed, clean/dry and not too tired she is a happy baby. So she doesn’t love being hungry, sleepy or having a wet/dirty diaper but who can blame her? Otherwise there aren’t too many things I’ve noticed as true dislikes. Unless you count turning her head to the right! She has some torticollis, which is just some extra tight neck muscles that make it hard for them to turn one way or the other. It is typically due to womb positioning and often works itself out but some babes do need some PT and we’ve started that so hopefully that will help her work out the kinks she’s dealing with. She also doesn’t necessarily love tummy time- I wouldn’t say she hates it but it’s not her favorite. She dealt with reflux quite a bit for the first couple weeks and that made tummy time hard for her- now that we’ve got that sorted she does better with it. 

Eating, Sleeping, Playing: She is still eating pretty frequently, about every 2 hours during the day but that is starting to space out to closer to 3 hours which is great. She has done great with eating and we’ve had a great nursing journey so far. We did have the reflux to sort out initially and she did have a cows milk protein intolerance that had me stop dairy (for now) but otherwise it’s been pretty smooth sailing for which I am so grateful. I know breastfeeding can be so challenging for some and so I’m extra thankful for the smooth process it’s been for us. 

Overnight she is doing big long stretches which is just fabulous. I honestly don’t even like to say it out loud because I don’t want to jinx myself and because I know it cold change any time but she often sleeps through the night. If she doesn’t sleep through, she’ll have one early morning wake up usually around 3:30-5:00 before going back to sleep till anywhere from 6:30-8. She goes down for the night around 8 so this has been amazing and we hope she keeps it up! She is still in her bassinet and seems to be happy there. We’re currently in the process of transitioning her out of her swaddle which is going well- we’re doing one arm out at the moment and we’ll move to both arms out in a couple days before switching to a sleep sack. As far as naps that’s a bit more loosey goosey for her. I think she is doing about 5 naps per day still but honestly I don’t track her sleep the way I did JB. She tends to take shorter naps, so she does need more naps but I know that at some point she’ll start to lengthen them so I try not to stress. She naps wherever works at that moment. Sometimes its her bassinet, sometimes the pack n play in our living room ,sometimes its in the car on the go or in the carrier while we’re doing things around the house. She goes with the flow and we’re thankful for her flexibility. 

She typically stays awake about an hour and a half after a nap before going back down give or take a little bit. She’s always ready for that first nap sooner and she definitely needs her pre bedtime nap usually around 5:30 or 6 (it’s always just a short little catnap to tide her over till bedtime). Otherwise we’re not on a set nap schedule yet and that’s working fine. During her awake time, she tags along with whatever brother is doing. So she’ll hang on her mat while he’s playing with toys or be outside with us, or we go for walks or she helps me do chores (while in the carrier)- she’s along for the ride, whatever it is! She’s not super interested in her baby toys yet but does like her play mat! 

Favorite Moments: Well since I’m covering 2 whole months there are many to choose from…she’s gotten to meet all of her great grandparents which is always special. But I think my most favorite is her starting to smile…which happened several weeks ago and yet it still continues to thrill me every time I see it. She’s starting to chuckle too so I know that good baby belly laugh is just around the corner and I can’t wait! My other favorite moment is JB meeting her for the first time, that was a precious time that I hope I never forget. He continues to enjoy her, and for that we are grateful! He’s adjusted so well and we hope they grow up to be best buds. Oh and family photos would be another favorite. We had these done at I think 11 days old and they will be treasured for sure!

The move from one to two has definitely been a whirlwind but I am loving every minute! 

Welcome to the World

We welcomed our sweet little girl into the world in early February and I have been dying to get her birth story recorded here but man oh man, having two under two sure makes getting anything else done a challenge! Things are going so well overall though and we are just over the moon in love with our little girl. Her arrival was everything I’d hoped and been praying for over the last 9 months. I know birth stories aren’t for everyone so feel free to skip this post if that’s you. But for those who, like me, are sort of birth nerds, enjoy the story of how our sweet Riley Jean entered the world. 

To get to her actual birthday, we’ve got to back up a little bit for some other details. When I went to my 36 week appointment, it was the first appointment that my midwife offered a cervical check. My biggest concern as I neared the end of pregnancy was making sure we had care for our son when we went to the hospital. I am surrounded by the sweetest of friends all willing to step up and help but the ease of having my mom here and not having to worry about calling someone in the middle of the night or dropping him off somewhere was important to me. So even though I knew it didn’t really mean anything at this point, I went ahead and said yes to the check, figuring she’d tell me I was 0cm and I could go on with my plans of having my parents come the weekend before my Tuesday due date. 

Well that is not what she said. She told me I was actually about 3.5cm dilated already and about 65% effaced so making some progress. She basically reiterated what I knew- that it didn’t necessarily mean labor was imminent. But also told me that I should be ready for labor at anytime now. Basically it could be tomorrow or in another month but be ready! Well this changed things- I was about 4cm with JB when labor started and I went from 4-10 in about 2 hours. So the news of being 3.5 cm at 36 weeks and 3 days made me a bit wary of waiting until almost 40 weeks to have my parents here. So we made a change of plans and decided my mom would come by herself at 38 weeks and my dad would join once baby arrived. 

Week 37 appt- 4.5cm, 70% effaced- convinced I’m going into labor any minute (spoiler alert I was not)

Week 38 appt- 5 cm- 75% effaced- mom is in town, starting to feel impatient that I’m so far along but labor isn’t starting. 

Overall I was feeling really good physically! I am very fortunate that pregnancy really treats me well! I wasn’t having any contractions or other pains and while I was definitely feeling more pressure, it was nothing that was making me overly uncomfortable. I was certainly grateful that a lot of the hard work of labor was essentially being done without me having to put in any effort. I mean I was halfway there basically and hadn’t had a single contraction that I was aware of. But nevertheless I was starting to feel antsy just from the idea that it could be, and in theory would be, anytime but it just wasn’t happening. 

Mom and I walked A LOT each day, including some extremely steep hills to try and encourage things along. If I was sitting it was on my birth ball. I ate dates, drank the raspberry leaf tea, continued chiropractic care… all the things I could do to be sure my body was as ready as it could possibly be. My midwife told me I could try pumping to get things going if I was anxious and after mentioning this to hubby we both agreed I would try it when I hit 39 weeks, which happened to be hubby’s grandfather’s birthday so we thought that would be a fun birthday for our daughter to also have! 

So that Tuesday I woke up early (at 4am to be specific) so I could pump before hubby went to work. We were trying to keep him from having to go in and come home if it was successful in starting labor. While my midwife wasn’t sure when I would go into labor she felt very confident that things weren’t going to take long once they got going. This made sense since I was already halfway there! So we didn’t want to waste time waiting for hubby to get home from work if we could avoid it. Pumping brought on contractions but nothing that stuck around so hubby suggested a walk around the neighborhood. Nothing like a nice brisk walk at quarter to 5, in the pitch black, when it’s 34 degrees out to make you wish you’d feel a contraction. We enjoyed a cup of coffee together and then he headed off to work since nothing appeared to be happening. 

Wednesday we were up early again for another power walk (or waddle) around the neighborhood but still to no avail. I will say that while I am not a morning person by anyone’s standards- the three early mornings with hubby leading up to labor are really sweet memories for me and I’m grateful at his insistence on 4am wakeups.

Thursday, when my early wake up call rolled around, I decided to give the pump a try again. It brought on some inconsistent contractions again but this time when I stopped pumping I noticed they kept going which was different from before. So I was watching the time and noticing the contractions seeing if they were in a pattern and if that continued and got stronger. I was very hesitant to say this was it- I wanted to be sure. I did feel confident enough to tell my husband not to go to work for now. My first contraction after pumping was around 5:30 and I told my husband I wouldn’t call it labor unless I was still having contractions at 6:30. And I was.  I refused to sit down this whole time because I was worried if I sat down or stopped moving they would stop so I just swayed at the counter, paced around the island and wandered the kitchen. I ate a bowl of cereal so that I wouldn’t be starving if this was labor and I skipped the coffee to take it easy on my belly. 

I was keeping track of the waves using a contraction timer just to see how far apart they were and how long they were lasting and by about 7 they were consistently 5 minutes apart and lasting close to a minute each. Hubby said we should probably think about heading to the hospital but I wasn’t ready. I really wanted an unmedicated birth and I knew staying home as long as possible would help with that. The app I was using also wasn’t saying it was time yet either. Hubby said not to worry too much about that and we should go ahead and go, I could tell he was ready and not wanting to dawdle (like the midwife told us), but I was stubborn and said no. Later on in this story, I’ll be thankful that he kept asking if it was time!

Even though things were consistent and seemingly at that 5-1-1 rule- they were so manageable that I just knew it couldn’t be time. I was worried getting in the car and being in triage would cause my body to slow down and I’d end up being told I wasn’t really in active labor, they’d want to break my water or start pitocin and these were all things I wanted to avoid. So I told hubby I was waiting for the contractions to be more intense. I said we could maybe leave around 8:30 if things kept going this way. But right around 7:40 I had a contraction that all of a sudden was more intense than all of the others. It was still manageable but it just felt different and I told hubby you know what, I think you’re right-I think we should go. It was only that one, not a pattern of increased intensity but something just said- that was different, this is real, it’s ok to go. I knew they wouldn’t turn me away since I was so far along and that contraction reassured me that this was the real deal and I didn’t need to worry about getting there and having them try to intervene or move things along for me. My body was doing its thing and we could head over.

I had hubby snap a quick picture of me before leaving- something I’d forgotten to do with my first and was bummed about later on. So at 7:42 he took this photo of me…not knowing that just 2 hours later we’d have our girl in our arms.  

We were out the door by about 7:50 after a last hug and kiss for our big boy. I had been so worried about the car ride since I’ve heard it’s just the absolute worst and while the contractions I had in the car were not my favorite they continued to be manageable. It was during the drive that I put on my Christian hypnobirthing affirmations and then my labor playlist to help keep me relaxed. Like I had worried, my contractions did slow down just a bit. I can actually remember praying for a contraction to come when 8 minutes had passed without one and it did! Once I was at the hospital they did pick back up to about 5 minutes each- I think my body just was not a fan of the sitting position I was in and once I was up and moving again they picked back up. 

I walked in to the hospital check in desk while hubby parked so I wouldn’t have a long trek and went ahead and started getting checked in. They sent me up to L&D and told me hubby could meet me in triage (they always take mom back first without dad for a few minutes at our hospital). As I got out of the elevator and was making my way to the labor and delivery doorway, which admittedly is only about 50 feet, a nurse spotted me as I was breathing through a contraction, trying to walk but struggling to keep moving just a bit. Contractions? She said and I nodded, smiled and she took my arm and said come on back. Her name was Courtney and she was just the absolute best. My contractions were still hanging out at 5 minutes apart and while they were feeling pretty intense they were super manageable and truthfully I wasn’t in that much pain. 

So as I started to get into my hospital gown, I began to worry that I had been right before, that I was here too early and things weren’t progressing as fast as people thought they would. Courtney got some basic info from me about my contractions, and I let her know I had been 5cm at my last check (6days ago at this point) and then told me she was going to do a cervical check and see how things were going. I was now convinced she was going to say I was still 5cm or worse that I was somehow less than that- that my midwife had been wrong but I was definitely not 5cm. Labor can make you think some crazy things. 

Courtney let me know I was 8cm and I was floored. 8cm?! I should be in transition or I was right about to hit transition, the notably most uncomfortable labor stage. But nothing had really changed for me- things were still about 5 minutes ish apart maybe 4 at times. They were about as intense as they had been since I decided to go in to the hospital. I was amazed at how things were progressing. These were all things I had prayed for over my pregnancy. I continued to listen to my Christian Hypnobirthing affirmations, a track of encouraging scripture and my labor playlist- just kind of alternating between them every few minutes. 

After my initial check, Courtney got some details from me about my pregnancy so far and my birth wishes. I told her I was hoping for an unmedicated and very low intervention birth and she immediately was supportive. No one that was around for my birth ever questioned my desires. No one suggested I do things differently from how I wanted and no one was anything less than 100% supportive and I just could not have asked for a better team- something else I had prayed for was excellent supportive nurses and Courtney and Ashley were definitely an answer to that prayer. 

We moved from triage into the labor room where I got a new nurse- Ashley who was just as wonderful! We did some monitoring of baby girl to check her heart rate and how she was handling contractions. This part did mean I needed to stay in the bed for 30 minutes because when I would try to stand or move they would lose her heartbeat on the monitor. It wasn’t my favorite position but I just kept my playlist going and relaxed through it and it was over before long. At the tail end of this, my midwife arrived to check in on me. She let me know things looked great progress wise, that she was here if I needed her. She said I seemed to be doing great but that if I wanted her to stay and labor with me she could do that or I could just call her if I needed her. The fact that she was willing to stay with me was so amazing to me and just shows the wonderful care I received. However I did feel like I was doing great and was just kind of in my zone with my headphones in so I told her I’d let her know if I needed her. She let me know that she did have one other mom laboring who was at 7cm so if for some reason we ended up delivering at the same time, the laborist working that day would deliver one of us. I jokingly said, so its a race to see who gets to 10 first right? She assured me the laborist on call was wonderful and very natural supportive. But as she left, I prayed again like I had for months that my midwife, as opposed to an on call midwife or laborist, would be the one to deliver this baby.  

After she left we finished our monitoring of baby girl, everything looked great and I was able to get up and move freely at this point. I got the birth ball and was sitting on that just kind of rocking and swaying as contractions came, leaning on the bed. Ashley had stepped out to just let me do my thing and said she’d be back to check on me shortly. Shortly after this I decided I needed to go to the bathroom. I stood up and as I made my way to the bathroom I was feeling a little “pushy” as I’d heard it described in so many birth stories I’d read. I kind of ignored it but then I thought back to something my sister had told me about her birth stories and how towards the end she would end up in the bathroom convinced she needed to use the restroom but really she needed to have a baby. So I decided that I should call a nurse in and have them check on me to be sure I don’t accidentally have a baby on the toilet. So thanks for that sister! 

Hubby called the nurse button and asked someone to come back in. Courtney came in a few minutes later and by this point I was having a contraction that definitely felt like I needed to push. But I was still kind of in denial that anything was happening (because again, it was intense but not overwhelmingly so and I just didn’t think this could be it). So I told Courtney I just wanted her to check me because I might need to push but really I probably just need to go to the bathroom. And she looked at me and was like nope, it’s the baby. So she asked me to get on the bed so she could check and it was at this point that I all of a sudden realized how much pressure I was feeling because the idea of getting up on this bed and laying down seemed truly impossible. And I told Courtney as much. I just couldn’t do it. She was so kind and gentle and said she would help me, that if I couldn’t be on my back she could help me get down on my side. This was more manageable although still proved difficult. But we did it and Courtney said I was completely dilated.

By this point my midwife, Katie Beth, was walking in the room- I assume a nurse called her. And I think Ashley came back in at this point too. I know she was back by the time I delivered but the exact details get just a smidge fuzzy for these last few minutes. Courtney told her I was fully dilated and that I had been feeling like I wanted to push. Katie Beth let me know to just push as I felt I needed to and that they were going to be getting things ready around me. I told her what I really needed was to be in any other position than I was right now. She helped me off my side and into a hands and knees position on the bed and this immediately felt better and I could feel myself pushing. The other noticeable change was that I was vocalizing much more. Up until this point, the only real noise I’d been making was just breathing but now, I was almost unintentionally moaning/grunting through the contraction. Like my body couldn’t not make those sounds, they just came out as the contraction would start. When Katie Beth heard this change she just immediately encouraged me saying that I was doing great and just push when I felt like it, baby was coming soon. 

As she helped me move into the hands and knees position she told me I could stay this way if this felt comfortable and that she would pass the baby through my legs to me once she arrived. I was so grateful that there was never a mention of needing to push on my back- they just let me do what my body felt was natural and not only let me but really encouraged it. In these maybe 5 minutes (seriously from me asking hubby to call the nurse to this point of me being on my hands and knees ready to push was so quick)- everything had picked up. And this is the one point of my labor that felt overwhelming and like maybe I couldn’t do it. And that is what I said. Things had gone from calm, peaceful and only mildly uncomfortable to extremely intense in a very short amount of time. When the next contraction hit, I felt the baby really move down- it is such an odd sensation to be able to feel where baby is in your pelvis. And it just felt like there was no way she could come out- it just didn’t feel possible to make room for her. 

So as this contraction hit I told everyone I can’t do this. And everyone in the room told me I absolutely could. And they encouraged me to push into the pain, that it meant she was almost here.  I had heard that a lot in birth stories I’d listened to as well- that you pushing into the pain as opposed to trying to shy away from it actually made it better.  So I determined that I would do that with the next push and I did…and my water broke! I honestly had kind of forgotten about my waters at this point until I heard the splash. And I’ll admit I was mildly disappointed that this effort did not push baby girl’s head out but I did find that pushing into the contraction was better than trying to hold back- not great, but definitely better. I vaguely registered that my midwife noted meconium in my water. I can remember her telling me that the delivery team was here but that I didn’t need to worry because everyone in the room was supposed to be here. I did not register exactly what she meant at the time because honestly I hadn’t even realized that more people had come in. Because of how I was positioned, I was facing the wall so all I could really register was hubby in my left peripheral, Courtney in my right and I could hear Ashley and Katie Beth talking to me. There could have been an entire marching band behind me and I wouldn’t have known I don’t think. I was just in my birth zone. Now I realize that they had called in the NICU team because of the meconium- just as standard procedure in the hospital- in case baby girl had aspirated meconium and needed breathing support. I’m glad I did not register this at the time because it would have alarmed me but all I could focus on was getting baby out. 

With the next contraction I pushed and thought to myself that I just need to keep pushing because if I don’t get her head out this time, I’ll just have to do this whole crowning part again. Looking back this would have been the “ring of fire”. And it definitely was the hardest part of labor but was so quick it was not as horrible as I’d heard it could be. I know they tell you to not push to hard during this part to prevent tearing and I guess there are people who can not push during this part but I absolutely could not.  Once her head was out, there was a brief pause before one more push to get her shoulders and body out. And then the last few minutes of discomfort completely disappeared and I was just nothing but happy! 

I’m not sure I could ever adequately put words to the feeling of those moments immediately after birth. The pure joy, the overwhelming love, and intense pride is just unlike anything else. 

This birth was absolutely everything I had prayed for. My sister gave me a prayer journal 2 Christmases ago and the journal is meant to be a 5 year journal. Each daily page has space to write for 5 years. So on January 1 2027 I can look back at what I prayed on January 1, 2023 and so on. And I cannot even wait to read through my prayers next year as I am writing new ones. I can’t wait to read myself praying for this labor, birth and baby and know that those prayers were answered so fully. 

So at 9:41 am, a mere 4 hours after contractions began, Riley Jean made her arrival into the world. This is where I’m extra thankful that hubby kept encouraging us to get to the hospital. There is less than 2 hours between that picture hubby took before we left and Riley being born. We were at the hospital only about an hour and a half total before her arrival so had I waited too much longer at home I could have been welcoming her on the side of the highway instead! 

After some skin to skin it was time to get her measurements. Hubby and I had been sure that she was so much smaller than JB (who had weight 8lbs10oz). Certainly she wasn’t more than 7lb10oz- if that. The nurse laughed at us and assured us this baby was AT LEAST 8lbs and we just couldn’t believe her. But sure enough she ended up being 8lbs 9oz and 19.5 inches long- almost the exact same size as JB. I guess you just forget how small they are at first- even when they’re not very small! Then it was time to get cleaned up and head down to our postpartum room.

Postpartum recovery at the hospital went great. I had two more fabulous nurses, no major complications and hubby and I just relaxed with our newest love for about 24 hours. And then we were out of there as soon as they’d let us leave. 

I am so grateful for how her birth unfolded and for the sweet growth of our family. These first two months have been busy but also so sweet and special.