Jane Frances Hobby

So she's here. I can't believe she's 5 days old, it seems both like she's been here forever but it's also flying by. I guess I could technically still be pregnant since she was 9 days early.

It was so weird there at the end waiting for something- ANYTHING- to happen. I wanted to feel some contractions or something that meant we were on our way, but every time I felt anything I thought "just kidding, let's do this tomorrow, I remember this hurts." I was sleeping on the couch because sleeping in our bed hurt my side, when around 3:30 AM I felt my water break. Just like with Reese I went to tell Brady who said "Maybe you pee'd your pants." Then I had a few contractions and I knew. I started shaking and crying because there was no turning back now. I called my folks and they arrived to watch the girls around 4:30.

Little did we know Kaiser Walnut Creek was having their busiest month ever, and one of their busiest mornings ever. After being checked out- I was a keeper and they set us up in a delivery room. I wasn't having too many contractions so by 11 or so they started the Pitocin. My contractions were moving when they came in to tell me I was about an hour and half away from my epidural. She kindly turned the drug down and I willed my contractions to slow down (not really just luck I guess). By 1 or so hooked me up with an epidural and I was on my way again. Unfortunately it didn't work 100% and I still felt things. By 3:15 I was 5 centimeters, then 8, then 10. Just like with Reese and Lucy once I hit 5 it's all over. I pushed from 4:01 to 4:06 and out she came.

Brady was first to see and finally said "Do you want to know?" Yes! "It's a girl!" I was so excited. I'm glad we waited because it was fun to try it differently this time after knowing with both Reese and Lucy. Plus I was in love with her from the instant I saw her. Now it's hard to imagine having anything but another girl.

I feel really good! Surprisingly better than with the first two. After a day or so nothing even hurts. Except nursing of course, always my challenge. I think I have great pregnancies and deliveries so I can save my energy for the breastfeeding. But I'll keep hanging in.

Now it's hard to believe it's over and she's here. I felt a little sad that first night, I half expected to have two babies because in my head there was the possibility of a Jane Frances or a James Joseph- and only one would come to be. I know we're done and I'm glad to move on from pregnancy, etc. But I've enjoyed all three pregnancies and even the newborn thing. I love the shock when the pregnancy test turns positive. The way it feels to see the heartbeat the first time on an ultrasound, the anticipation for 9 months. But it's official- this is it! So I'm doing my best to suck up each and every precious day. Even the sleep deprivation.

37 1/ 2 weeks

37 Weeks and Counting

So I wanted to make sure and blog, just in case I'm lucky enough to have this baby early. But I had an appointment on Tuesday, nothing exciting to report. Measuring 37 weeks, gained 23 pounds to date (same as the girls), blood pressure 103/52, head down. I half hoped they'd say something was unusual and we could get this thing going. With both girls I wasn't too anxious but this time I know what I'm in for, so I just want to get this thing going.

With Reese I was convinced I'd be late so at 10 days before my due date when my water broke I WAS SHOCKED! Then with Lucy I was 5 days early. I can't help but hope this one will be early too but I joke it will be on it's due date or late. I have such mixed feelings. I know what I'm in for with a newborn: sleep deprivation, nursing, etc. And as long as it's in me it's easy to carry about. But once outside it's forever.

I'm excited to meet the baby. It still feels like it's happening to someone else. I feel like I've been pregnant forever so I'm ready to be done, but it's also flown by. In some ways I'm sad. I know this is the last time and I've enjoyed being pregnant. This has probably been the best so far, I feel blessed. I'm just starting to get to the point where sleeping is harder and my stomach is big and uncomfortable. But I only have a few weeks to go so I'll take it now. I'll miss feeling a baby kick inside me. I'll miss the excitement of waiting for something so amazing. I'll miss my mini celebrity status as a prego chick. But I can't be pregnant forever or just keep having them. Although I enjoy pregnancy and even have the little rascals around, we have to stop somewhere.

So when we head to the hospital I expect to be sad that it's almost over, excited to FINALLY find out what we're having, and scared. Labor was fast with Reese, no epidural, even faster with Lucy, thank goodness for the epidural. I just want to make it there this time. I'm also kind of scared to find out what we're having. There are so many people waiting. I almost just want Brady there only and some time to adjust either way. If it's a girl we will be so excited! But part of me knows people want a boy for us, like it's winning the lottery or something. I truly believe that God will give us what we need. I'm just excited to find out!

I HAVE THE BEST FRIENDS!

I have the best friends in the world! They threw me a shower for a third time. I promised them this was the last one. They had arranged a night out at Now We're Cooking in downtown. They each made meals for me for after the baby arrives. My sister-in-law Michelle even called ahead to order a few extras. I walked away with 10 meals for my freezer. So cool.

And then they spoiled me with a new diaper bag. Now I'm all ready. The next morning Lucy and Reese were excited to help me pack it. Now I just need to pack myself and wait. Yikes, this is coming... here's hoping it's a few weeks (but most likely more like a month).

35 Weeks

This past weekend was Lucy's 2nd birthday party, complete with a family party and a swim party the next day. I'm 34/35 weeks here. Getting things organized now. Lucy has "officially" moved in with Reese, or at least all of her stuff has. She has a bed in there but I'm keeping her in the crib in the "baby's room" as long as possible. I have the room set up for the baby, items washed in drawers, equipment ready to go again. I still need a few things, pack a bag in a few weeks, put the carseat in, etc. I like to feel ready.

The only thing we don't have is a name!!! This is so unlike us. We had Reese picked before we were even married, then Lucy before we even got pregnant the second time. This time we have like 10 boy, 10 girl names. And lots of reasons each name isn't perfect. Plus we keep adding names rather than narrowing down. I'm looking for one that doesn't belong to a close relative or friend, works with Reese and Lucy, and of course the last name Hobby. Plus I feel like this is our last name so I'm being too picky. In reality any of these will work. I don't really care what other people think so it doesn't hurt my feelings if you don't like them. Reese and Lucy weren't popular with everyone.

Boy- Sam, Max, Davis, James, Anders, Anderson, Jake, Jonah, Oliver, Walker, David, Thomas, Griffin, Ryan, Noah, Brooks, Everett, Miles, Tyce

Girl- Cameron, Reagan, Jane, Caroline, Maguire, Maggie, Alice, Beatrice, Maisy, Ingrid, Frances, Anderson, Mae, Natalie, Juliet, Tess.

YIKES!

32 Weeks and Counting...

So I'm probably the only woman crazy enough to post a picture of my pregnant self in a swimsuit. But believe it or not this is only the second picture I have while prego this time (and my neighbor took it and emailed it to me). I think I'm around 32 weeks here. I went to the doctor that week and I'm right on, one pound more than with Lucy, one pound less than Reese. Belly measures exactly same size to the due date. Too weird. She loved my chart because it was essentially blank (meaning I don't complain I guess). I know I shouldn't but I try and push it to five weeks in between appointments because all they do is measure, weigh me, and make me pee in a cup. I either have to take the girls with me (yuck!) or find childcare. So I try to stretch the time in between :)

I'm starting to get really excited. This baby moves every night from 9:45-10:30 or so, reminding me they are there. The girls love to feel my tummy but it kind of creeps Brady out. We're not that couple that stares into each other's eyes with our hands on my belly discussing the wonder of life inside my belly. Instead we're practical (okay mostly me). I have been finally making progress on moving Lucy into Reese's room to share and getting the baby stuff out again. I have to say it can be exciting at times not knowing what we are having but soooooooo inconvenient. I have a to do list if it's a boy that I wish I could just knock out right now if I knew. I can see myself with a newborn, 2 year old, and 4 year old running errands all over the valley. And I have a drawer of clean newborn girl clothes and a drawer of clean newborn boy clothes. Creates a lot of extra work doubling up. But everyone swears the day when the baby pops out is so much fun!!!

Finally Some Pictures

I've been so bad this pregnancy about taking pictures. Probably because the novelty of a gigantic belly and my body as a science experiment has worn off the third time around. So here I am at 25 Weeks and just taking my first belly shots. I'm looking pretty much the same shape wise (which confirms my already strong feelings about it being another girl). I'm just bigger in the belly faster this time. I saw the doctor a week or so ago and I'm right on weight gain of the other two pregnancies, I guess my belly just knows what to do even more.

Feeling good for the most part. I have some low blood pressure (103/45 last they checked), and low blood sugar issues that make me feel light headed and queasy at times. I hate to even complain because some women suffer so much during pregnancy, but I like it for the most part. I told Brady I even prefer my body pregnant (20 weeks prego, not the later freak huge). I don't have to suck in my stomach, I get my boobs back for a while, it's okay. But check in with me in a few months when I'm enormous.

These pictures are from a wedding we went to this past weekend. And the other one is of my girlfriend Danielle from England. She's having her third today so we took one final picture of the two of us last night. Doesn't she look awesome? We're almost the same size and she's 15 weeks ahead of me :)

It's a ....

We had our "Big" ultrasound this morning. I'm officially 18 1/2 weeks now. To tell you the truth I wasn't really looking forward to it. If you're not finding out- it's not nearly as fun. You drink water till you think you'll explode, pee your pants, or both. Then you wait and pray as they check over each organ. We told the tech we weren't going to find out. Not that I didn't want to, in fact I half hoped she'd slip up. I even thought I heard her say "she" then "he." I was looking at everything and thought I saw girl parts, then boy parts, then girl parts again.

This waiting thing is so not me. But we did it!!! I know we made the right decision because two complete strangers today alone have expressed their hopes and wishes for us to have a boy. Like having a boy would be like winning the lottery. We just want healthy. I think this is a lesson God is trying to teach me. I'm not good at being teased. 100% honesty, I'm looking forward to another girl. And the main reason I'd like a boy is so that the rest of my life I'm not teased for having 3 girls. So if it comes to pass then I'll know God is trying to tell me to suck it up and learn to laugh at myself a little more.

So here are a few pictures of our little darling. It was so fun to watch her move and open and close her mouth. The baby flipped around twice while we were there. I've been feeling things for about 3 weeks but it's fun to have them confirmed!

Last week we headed south to Palm Springs for Spring Break. Nothing like 7 hours each way with two kids. But it was worth it. Lucy wasn't quite into the Botanical Cactus gardens, but Reese loved them! We all loved the 85 degree weather and the pool. And gotta love the "free" hotel nights thanks to our timeshare points.

I'll be 15 weeks this weekend. I think I'm starting to feel better but it's hard to tell because I never really felt that bad to begin with. Still just gross here and there after I eat. Not really tired either. Except for the 7 pounds the doctor told me about and hearing the heartbeat a few days ago, I hardly feel pregnant. Just like with the girls! My skin is good, my stomach is growing by the second, and I have trouble sleeping some. I keep saying that now that I'm out of my first trimester I need to get back to yoga and walking but it's easier to just sit here. I'm looking forward to it warming up for real so I can wear cute comfy summer clothes. I had all these plans to make this third and final perfect- always feel cute, exercise, take more pictures of my belly.

It's going too fast already. I'm sure by summer I'll be wishing it to go faster but right now I'm sad this is the last time. Four is out of the question- it's too much for anyone to have your family over for dinner, no one wants to watch them for a few days while you go away, it's gets totally ridiculous to fly anywhere for vacation, not to mention braces, college, and get real with us it would be weddings for 4 girls. So three it is. Boo hoo.

Eggstravaganza

These are my favorite Easter pictures from a few weeks ago. Lucy loved picking up the eggs but kept falling over. And Reese kept showing crack when bending over. We did the Eggstravaganza in downtown with their cousins and our friends, then spent Easter morning at church and here for brunch.

My Prego Buddy

Lisa and I were pregnant together with Colton and Lucy (her first, my second). They were born exactly 9 weeks apart. A few weeks back at Michelle's engagement party I was fishing around to see what her current status on baby #2 may be. Finally she said, "I can't lie to you I'm 6 weeks." I said, "I can't lie to you I'm 8 weeks." So here we are again. We're due two weeks apart this time. Fun, fun, fun. So she came over yesterday and we took a picture of all three of them in their Big Sis/Bro t-shirts.

The Big Announcement

I finally get to share our good news!!! We are expecting a baby (and let's get real, a baby girl :), around October 10th. That makes me around 9 weeks pregnant. We are really excited, especially Brady who wanted this much sooner than I did. You can read more info below if you'd like, but it may be too much info for you :) This blog is mostly for me. I want to record everything this time around because it's definitely my last. Our newest business venture is going really well and I want to be able to stay involved (although I will finally have to hire help during the week so I can keep my commitments).

I wanted to enjoy telling everyone in person so I waited until Brady's folks were in town this weekend for Reese's 4th birthday. I had wrapped two Big Sister shirts up as her gift, one size 4t, one size 2t. I wanted to see how long after she opened it until people figured it out. It was a surprise that my dad was the first.

I'm sure everyone's next question is will we find out again what we're having??? I absolutely love finding out. I love the decorating of the room,pink instead of unisex, washing little pink outfits, and feeling ready for my girls. But as much as it's already driving me insane not knowing, I think we're going to wait this time. Mostly because I know how people react when you say you have 2 girls, and now are having a third, OR when you say you have 2 girls and are now having a boy. People are just more genuinely excited for you when you get that boy. I know because I do it too and it drives me crazy. We wouldn't have had a third unless we were willing to have a third girl, the odds are against having a boy. So if it's a girl, people's pity, especially for Brady, will drive me crazy the whole pregnancy. Once the baby is here I won't care what anyone says.

This will probably be the hardest thing ever for me. It's inconvenient not to know and will create a logistic nightmare getting ready- moving the girls' rooms around, get out the hand-me-downs, do I use the girl stuff regardless???, I don't have any unisex clothes... etc. I'll have a lot of errands to do with three kids in tow after the baby arrives. So this doesn't sound like fun to me. But it's worth it regardless. We'll see....

The first ultrasound

I went in today so they could "officially" confirm what we already know. I feel queasy, I've gained five pounds already, if they didn't say I was pregnant I was going to fall over. But I saw the little heartbeat and they measured me. I was measuring a few days behind what I thought but those things are so random anyway. I can hardly see what they are looking at and they use their cursor to declare, 7 weeks/3 days, no wait 7 weeks/6 days." Changing by the moment, I don't really trust it anyway. Their dates aren't even possible anyway.

Reese's special birthday present is wrapped and the family arrives in a few days. I'm so ready for this to be out. I kind of get why people wait out of concern everything will stay okay with the baby, but I don't get it because I'd tell everyone anyway if something bad happens. I feel so wrong lying to everyone's face when they ask if we're going to have another someday, knowing I'm pregnant right now. I know how I feel when someone tells me and I know they've lied to me again and again.

Weekend With the Girls

So my girlfriends from college (aka Cotati Hotties) came to town this weekend for a much overdue girls' weekend. Michelle got engaged over the holidays so we were celebrating her engagement and her 30th birthday. We spent time out here in Danville which we hadn't done in a while and always means a lot to me. And then we hit SF yesterday for bridal dress shopping at Neiman Marcus and a night out.

I wanted to tell them desperately!!! Everyone knows I'm a talker and an open book about most everything. But I kept quiet. Mostly because it was Michelle's weekend and I didn't want to steal her thunder. Engagment and 30th birthday are a once in a lifetime and although each pregnancy is awesome, I've been the lucky center of exciting attention quite a few times in recent years. In addition a couple of the girls have been working hard for their own little buns in the ovens and I know how it feels when you want it and someone you are close to announces "I'm prego and we weren't even trying." I keep hoping that this is the month and we'll all be pregnant together.

I feel a little like a lier and can't believe people ever wait to tell anyone (with Reese I barely lasted a few weeks, with Lucy barely a few days). So this lying to everyone's face is new to me and feels awful!!!! But I think they will appreciate me waiting.

My First Blog

So I thought I'd join the new millennium and get myself a blog. Just when I think our friends and family can't stand another email with pictures of my kids, someone goes and asks me to send more. Everyone knows I'm an avid scrapper and my girlfriend Wendy told me she was going to print out her blogs for her scrapbooks. At least if I can't scrap for a while, I'll remember what we were doing when the pictures were taken.

And I guess I wanted to do something special for this BABY...yes baby. It's taken me a few weeks but I'm finally adjusting to the fact that we are pregnant with #3. We always teased about wanting a third and secretly I think we both hoped it would happen...someday. Well SOMEDAY came sooner than we'd planned. I thought "Wouldn't it be nice to be pregnant with my sister next time she's prego, or one of my Cotati Hottie friends. Reese would be in elementary school, Lucy in preschool." So I was thinking a year or two from now. Well, you know what they say, "the best laid plans, blah, blah, blah." If all goes well this new baby and Lucy will only be slightly over 2 years apart- YIKES!

Two weeks ago Brady was in Tahoe for a boys ski weekend. I was with the Reese and Lucy and on my way out to my friend Abby's 30th birthday. I had this nagging feeling to take a test. I had just been shopping and bought these ridiculously expensive Paige jeans. I thought "If I'm prego those are so going back." The first two pregnancies weren't easy to come by, I needed help from drugs, etc. so I thought there was no way. I was shocked when it came back positive. I was shaking as I drove the girls to Longs buy myself to buy two more. I didn't believe it.

I took a picture of the two positive tests and sent Brady an email that said "You got your wish." Because he was bugging me to have another one and I had agreed to think about it in the next year. After the party I returned his call and of course he'd seen the email. He was so excited, and we both agreed however overwhelming it may be, this was a gift from God on His time not ours.

So...with that we decided to wait a bit to tell our family and friends. My sister's little guy Mason is only 6 weeks old and I want her to have my family's full attention right now. Plus Brady's folks are coming out in March for Reese's birthday and we thought since this is the last one we'd really enjoy telling everyone face to face. I think the family will be a excited but a little nervous (especially my dad) seeing that we recently started our company. But in reality Brady's been at it forever and so have I, just not officially. My dad just had surgery so my family is a little busy right now to be bothered with yet another baby announcement from me. And I want to make sure it's "confirmed" with a doctor before I start telling everyone at school, getting them all worked up that I'll be out again right after school starts.

With that I'm going to fake it for three more weeks. I'll be 9 weeks at that point. Until then I hope no one notices I've gained 5 lbs. Just like with Lucy, a positive test and I immediately can't fit in my jeans.

I just want to enjoy every minute of what will be the last time around for us. I want to record it mostly for ourselves so we never forget what an amazing time this is.