Labor Day Weekend 2015

Labor Day Weekend 2015

Monday, April 25, 2011

Lucy pictures.

Long awaited by a few I'm sure, here are some pictures of the lovely little lady from this past week. 


Can you even find her in the bed? 


As snug as a bug in a rug...haha.


Even though I'm not a fan of how I'm looking here, Keller's face is priceless and I couldn't NOT share it!


Aww...she already got her cheek! Don't worry folks, no scarring...it's already gone.




"Hrm...what are these people doing to me?!"


Keller wanted to be swaddled too...


Big brother lovin' on the little sister!





Daddy and his little girl.






Loving the Reilly crest.


Creepers..

I'm not sure if it's just my children or if everyone's newborns are like this but it's simultaneously hilarious and creepy.  While Lucy sleeps (and Keller did this too), she hits REM sleep in about two seconds flat.  During REM, her little eyes just go crazy and open, close, cross!, wiggle around.  Then, too boot, her little mouth mimics nursing. Ahh haha, its really cute and if it weren't for the creepy eye movements, it'd be adorable all around.  She even throws in a smile or frown now and then.  I forget how much I enjoy just watching my little ones sleep.  :)






Until next time..

A favorite..

Just had to share (or more record) a favorite thing that Keller does.  While riding in the car, and really many time when he's just sitting around in a reclined position, he just chills and crosses his feet.  It's so cute.  Ahh, I wish I could have snapped a picture of it today but I'm just assuming that would have been a bad idea while driving... I just love looking back towards him and seeing his little ankles crossed.. :)

Until next time..

They smell so good!

Yes! I'm talking about my children.  I've always known that since our kids are genetically part us, we are programmed to think they are just the cutest darn things in the whole wide world.  I mean, who doesn't love something that looks like them?!  But just this morning as I was snuggling up to my little guy, K-man, I realized how much I love kissing and smelling the tops of their heads.  I already have this draw to Lucy (and really, it's been there all along).  I'm not sure if its the soap we use to clean them or just their natural smells, but I seriously could sit and sniff and kiss on their noggins all day long! haha. (and yes, I realize...this could all be my hormones ;) )

Until next time...

The first week with a family of FOUR!

Well here we are. Day 6. Ahh.  Today is the first day (mostly) that Broghan & I have been alone as a family of four and I think we're getting the hang of it.  We've had an overwhelming amount of support from our parents and immediate families and the people in Eau Claire that I'm fortunate enough to call my friends have been ridiculously generous in delivering ready-to-go meals.  Seriously, the lists of people I feel thanks towards is incredibly long!

As for little Lucy Ann, she is doing really well.  Our midwife has been back twice since the birth to check on me and the little one.  At 24 hrs. she had gone from 6lbs. 1 oz to 5 lbs. 13 oz, which is normal.  At 72 hrs. she was up to 5lbs 15 oz. so gaining :).  My milk came in on day 2 1/2 so we're pretty fortunate not having to wait for that and she is an eating machine!  I mean, I realize with Keller I was not only pumping every 2-3 hours but also being with him during his feedings at this point, but this seriously has felt like ALL the time.  Typical for a newborn I suppose.

Speaking of typical new born, I always find it somewhat hilarious when people ask if she's sleeping through the night.  I mean seriously?  She's been out of my womb for less than 7 days and you expect her to know day & night and to be on a sleep schedule?! She does sleep, a lot, but in small spurts and apparently still thinks "wakeful time" should be between 1AM and 5AM.  She's a new born and on her own time schedule people! just as she should be.

Along those lines, I really think Keller prepared me well.  It's hard to remember back to just a year ago, but I can recall being up ALL night and in and out of bed and responding to his wakings.  I think the slow process into a sleep routine makes you forget how much work it is in the beginning.  Just to think that in a year from now I might actually get a full nights sleep ;)...ahh...

Moving onto the Keller front he's been handling the transition into a four person household pretty well.  There hasn't been too much rebelling from his norm, but I think that has been because he's had someone here this whole week to give him attention.  Broghan's mom was able to stay all week and I can't even begin to imagine where the house, me, Lucy, Keller, Broghan or even Marvin would be if she hadn't.  I was literally incapacitated for three days and moving as slow as a bean these last four.

Our biggest hurdle with him has just been sleep (as always).  He's been getting less sleep than usually and I think a little combative and cranky because of it.  Hopefully in week 2, we'll be able to do some catch-up and he'll be back to normal.

I'm hoping to have time through the days to keep this blog up since these first few weeks/months always fly by  and its nice to have it written down.

Until next time...

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Hello Little GIRL!


LUCY ANN REILLY
4.17.2011




Hello folks! Not that any of you are upset about it, but my apologies on this story taking so long to put on here.  Recovery is different this time around, for plenty of different reasons, and I'm looking forward to feeling better soon!

Anyways, here's the rundown:

On Sunday, April 17th, 2011 I woke up at 6AM to very mild contractions.  What I considered Braxton Hicks (just tightening) with a little lower abdominal cramping to go with them.  I stayed in bed (I mean it was 6AM on a Sunday) for another half hour or so, happy to note that the sun was out and it was blue skies.  In that short span I experienced about 4 contractions and considered them to be consistent and rhythmic. All signs pointed to labor!  Calls were made to the families and of course our MW and if you want more details of all that, read the previous few posts.

The contractions were steady all day, staying 3-5 minutes apart and slowly gaining in intensity and length.  My last update on here was around 2:30PM I believe, when we had just gotten back from our second walk.  On that walk the contractions somewhat 'turned'.  They dropped down to 2 minutes apart and 1 minute long and I started to lean on Broghan during them to breathe through the peaks.  Anna, Krissy, my mom & dad were all here by this point and were doing exactly what I had hoped they'd be doing, entertaining Keller and just hanging around to be a great distraction.  I could just sit and listen and pipe in when I decided to and then do my breathing through the contractions and everyone just kind of let me do it without pausing (which is exactly what distractions are supposed to do)

We also decided to fill the tub around this point.  So Broghan got to that.  Of course the tub is too big for one round of hot water but as soon as we had used up our tank full, I got in.  Ahh...it felt nice and it was really a nice feeling of kind of being holed away in our basement office, away from bright lights and people talking.  Broghan lit a candle for me and had the country music going :).  So I was happy to just be sitting and relaxing in the warm water.

You might be wondering at this point where our midwives were but don't worry, they were on their way.  Ever since our 11AM check-in they had stayed within 10 minutes or so of our house, but taking care of some things that they had already scheduled.  This was my choice to have them do that since I didn't need them for anything and I knew the baby wasn't coming out for a few more hours.  I didn't really want them here just watching me breathe through a contraction every 2-3 minutes..haha..what a boring afternoon that would have made for them!

But once we decided to go into the tub, they worked their way back to our house and just as they showed up, it was perfect timing in a way.  I had been trying to snooze a bit between the contractions in the tub but it just wasn't working and I just felt like napping a bit when I could would be best.  I wasn't physically tired or even mentally, but it was now somewhere around I think 4PM and I'd been doing the whole contraction thing for about 10 hours.  So I got up out of the tub just as they walked downstairs and they were able to do another assessment of me and baby.  All was perfect!

As for my decision to lay down...yea...not the greatest.  Contractions got quite a bit harder as soon as my body went into the side-lying position (my guess is just the change in positioning did that).  So 3 contractions later, back to the tub!

Time really flew by and my timeline gets fuzzy at this point (totally typical of a progressive labor).  I can remember starting to vocalize during the contractions, doing what I just felt like for noises.  My goal at this point and through the rest of labor was to be louder than the pain was strong.  I've since apologized to all those at my house and to my neighbors because I still feel like it got quite loud :). No one cared though, which was nice.

I think the blessing of this labor all along was that my body really gave me breaks in between and even though they were shorter than the contractions themselves, it allowed my mind to almost re-set.  Like, because I could come back to consciousness about what was going on around me, I could put the last contraction (and every contraction up to that point) behind me and just know there was one more- that was it- the next contraction was it (even though there were MANY more coming).  Such a gift the body gives.

Broghan was amazing through everything and by this point he was now staying in the room with me at all times, just placing a hand on me through the contractions that I could lean on, or holding my arm to show he was there (which is all I really needed since my eyes were closed during the contractions).  At some point, and I think this was even before I got out of the tub before, we figured out that a little vibrating massage thing-y did a great job at interfering with the pain signals in my back, so he spent a lot of time during the contractions moving that around from my mid- to low- back. I'm sure his arms were ready to fall off.

Everything just continued on and ramped up slowly and around (I think) 6:30PM Broghan got into the tub with me.  I had entered into the transitional phases of contractions and he sat next to me for a few, then behind me for more.  Between then and 7:30ish I kept switching positions from kneeling and draping my head/arms over the side and sitting in Broghan's lap (I think??...its fuzzy..) due to my legs going tingly from the kneeling position. But at around 7:30 (is my guess) I got into the kneeling position for the last and hardest contractions.  It was around this time that the "urge to push" started and well, you can watch any number of baby stories on youtube or hulu to know the crazy noises women can make.  I was not shy, I was not quiet and it felt good knowing that I could now be active in this labor and END it!

After watching the video, I now realize that my actual pushing phase was only 5-10 minutes long.  I attribute this to my choice not to get a 'cm' check at any point- making my only option then to wait until there was a pressure to push.  As strange as it sounds, I really forgot what that sensation felt like. You'd think that this being my 3rd pain-med free delivery, I'd have some clue.  But nope, I had to ask.  And it was obvious that it was time to bear down.  I  did ask also, that since I'd never decided to push on my own (always told and given the a-okay by a Dr. after they made sure I was 10 cm), how do I know if its alright and that I won't be pushing against cervix?  My midwife easily stated that, well...if you feel like bearing down, try it out.  If it feels like a good thing, you're ready and if it feels like it hurts or there is tension, don't push and wait.  Easy-peasy! Because it definitely felt good to push!

Anyways, as I noted before, I was kneeling and my head and arms were kind of draped over the side of the tub...facing away from everyone else in the room.  This was something I really liked because I was only aware of 2 other people...Erin and Broghan.  I knew the midwife was there because I could hear her voice and encouragement and I knew Broghan was there, well because he was in the tub with me and also giving me awesome words of encouragement.  AND rubbing my back with that vibrator thing! Such a trooper he was!

Anyways, this was my mental imagery during the pushing:  step 1: get the head out.  I knew that this was the hardest part, but that if it got too hard my body would probably pause a bit between a contraction to let me rest...and this did happen...twice during pushing!  So I could feel the 'head' crowning and that lovely little 'ring of fire' commencing.  Although I did notice it wasn't nearly as bad as I seemed to remember, but it was seeming a little bit more difficult to push through...but I also figured my baby was full term and much larger than Keller or Madison.  But after a little bit of hard bearing down...pop...'head' out!  And just like I expected...a pause to catch my breath! Again, such a gift the body gives!!  Once another contraction built up, I was focusing on the step 2: push the shoulders through and then the rest of the baby just kind of spills out.  Again, this was my mental imagery and I can vividly think...gosh, why am I feeling a 'ring of fire' again?  This baby has to have super broad shoulders!  But at this point, I figured this was my last thing (and it was) so I just got serious with myself (haha...like I wasn't serious before) and seriously pushed with every muscle in my body.  Out came the 'shoulders' and just as expected, the rest of the baby.

I was done.  No more pain.  Just relief.  and kind of an strange positioning since I couldn't see the little babe.  I had to swing a leg over the cord to turn and hold her.  Not that I knew it was a girl until a few minutes later.

I also got to learn (a few minutes later), that this little girl was born...not the way I visualized, but 100% frank breech!  SO the 'head', was the hips; and the 'shoulder' was the head! Super crazy stuff and totally explained why the double dose of fire happened.

Lucy Ann Reilly made her appearance into the world at 7:54PM on Sunday April 17th, 2011 (Palm Sunday).

Fun little postpartum details:
-we left the cord in tact and attached and didn't cut it until almost an hour later.  Yours truly was the one who got to cut it too!  Courtesy of Broghan since he said he got to cut Keller's, I should get to cut Lucy's.
-we stayed in the pool, took pictures, and held our little girl until after the placenta naturally detached.
-I got to put her to my chest and gave her the option to nurse a little within minutes of delivery which helped the post-birth cramping to start and the placenta to be released and for my uterus to start clamping down.
-Once out of the tub, I moved to the spare bedroom and relaxed with my baby girl while everyone chatted, took pictures, cleaned up.
-our midwives did monitor both of us every once in a while to make sure Lucy was warming up nicely and keeping a good color, breathing okay, and that my blood loss was under control.
-we didn't do weight/length stuff until about 2 hours after birth
-Lucy was either with me or dad at all times post-birth.
-Keller got to meet Lucy while we were still in the tub and again when we were lying in bed.

Lucy officially weighed in at 6 lbs. 1 oz. and 20 inches long.  Neither myself or Lucy sustained any complications from her birth presentation.  Just a peanut of a little lady!

Welcome to our world Lucy!  Born at home and on purpose.  ;)

Sunday, April 17, 2011

making some progress..

Well, we had lunch and went for a walk and that seems to have helped a little. Contractions are now 2 minutes apart for 1 minute and again, somewhat more intense.  Broghan is being amazing (once again) at being my labor partner.  He's good about holding me, giving kisses and rubbing my back.  All great distractions during a contraction.

Ok..note, while updating just now I had a contraction and definitely yes, much more intense.  :).  Still tolerable.

Broghan is in the process of filling up the birth pool since due to the limitations of any hot water heater it's going to take a little while....meaning we'll run out of hot water before the tub is all the way filled up.

Also in the meanwhile, my family is being well..like my family always is. Entertaining.  My mom keeps making comments about my water breaking and how I should be sitting on a plastic thing.  My dad keeps asking if I'm ready to have the baby because "birth is imminent, definitely within the hour".  Now granted, he's been saying this since he's gotten here at noon.  Ahh dad...

Also, wanted to put it out there that this will probably be MY last update...since these suckers are picking up, I'm foreseeing myself being busy from here on out and not really apt to posting...so unless everything slows, next update will be about baby :)~

Until next time...

la ti da ti da...

Slow and steady is the name of the game apparently. Which is fine by me!  Contractions still 3-5 min apart and lasting just about a minute consistently.  The intensity has picked up a little but again, still able to follow along with everything else while they're happening.

My midwife Erin and her assistant Mel were able to stop over to do a quick assessment of me and the baby. All looks good! My BP is where it normally is: 90/50...yes ridiculously low but completely normal for me.  And the baby's heart-rate was base-lined in the 120's and reacted positively to movements and contractions. :) .  Although I wasn't worried, it's always a sense of relief to know the baby is doing good.

Also since the last update my sister Anna and her girlfriend Krissy have gotten here.  Its nice to have them visit and to be able to play with Keller when things do pick up.  My parents are also on their way over from MN now and should be arriving soon.  We'll have quite the full house but I think it will be fun to just have distractions and people here to chat with.  If only it warmed up outside, then we could make use of the sunshine and the yard.

Anyways, sorry not much of an update but doing good after 7 hours here :).  Just hanging in my rocking chair waiting for lunch and something more to happen!

Until next time...

still consistent.

Well as far as I can tell the contractions are still about the same time apart and might be a little longer now...

I can still talk and do normal stuff through them though, but because they are happening so low in my uterus walking isn't all that comfortable.  The baby is so incredibly low in my pelvis that I'm sure that's why.

I wanted to point out that there won't be any dilation updates...so sorry for those that look forward to the number updates.  I've gotten checked with both of my other deliveries and that was fine and dandy but really why do we do it?  Mostly out of curiosity I suppose...but knowing how far dilated your cervix is, really doesn't make a difference, except mentally.  It can really create stress when you haven't "progressed" in terms of dilation over a period of time and after a lot of reading and hearing of birth stories...every labor, every woman and every situation is different in terms of how long it takes to dilate and how quickly those "cm" numbers change.

Even personally I know it can be really crazy how fast or slow they change.  And since I don't particularly enjoy checks, I'm opting out! :) One less annoyance to deal with.  But sad to say for those following the updates, they'll be pretty vague and a lot of me just saying whether the contractions are harder/longer/closer...

Anywho, just got back from our walk.  It almost feels like fall outside..sunny and not too cold but chilly with the wind.  Broghan has now blown up the birthing pool and I think we'll wait a while to add water.  Plus, this way Keller will get to play in it for a bit ;).

Until next time...

Paternal nesting :) My husband rocks!

I don't want this aspect of today to go un-remembered.  Since waking and explaining that hrm.I think I'm having contractions, Broghan has been on a roll.  Breakfast made, dishes done, now vacuuming, tiding up here and there, cleaning the refrigerator out and organizing.  It just feels like I have such a great husband :).  Keller is doing his part too...he helped feed Marvin by carrying small handfuls of dog food from the bag to the bowl.  Hilarious! Now he's helping out by giving loves and kisses and being good about not taking a bunch of stuff out.  

I've gotten to just relax through these super annoying contractions and get dressed and I do believe we'll be heading out for a walk in a few minutes.  Also noteworthy is that its finally sunny outside again...not sure on the temps., as I'm sure it's still only in the 40's. but I'll take what I can get!

Until next time...


Could April 17th be it?!

Good morning folks.  It's amazing how these past three days have gone.  Friday (the 15th) I was annoyed at how good my body was feeling...knowing that labor was definitely not in the cards for that day.  Then yesterday (Saturday the 16th) I seriously felt like crap.  I hurt, was tired and spiked a fever (102-103 :/ ) in the afternoon.  So again, not thinking of labor...just wanted to snuggle on the couch and stay warm.  Thankfully, my fever went away (didn't even break with sweats! which was awesome) at around 1:30 AM and I got plenty of sleep between yesterday afternoon and this morning.  So upon waking at around 6AM thanks to my little K-man I noticed that my usual Braxton Hicks were coming attached to some decently mild cramping as well.  Could this be it?! Labor?! ;).  Well..I've been up now for two hours and these suckers are still rocking away.  Every 3-5 minutes; 30 sec to 1 minute long; and making me grateful for not having had menstrual cramps regularly for the past three years.  The "stage" I'm at is what is called Early Labor.  It tends to be the longest part of labor but also the most mild.  We've already put the calls into my sister, parents and Broghan's parents and of course have been in contact with our midwife since yesterday due to the fever.  Exciting stuff!  It's funny too because Broghan just had to point out "this is what you do when you start having contractions; you tell people and call and let them know...you don't just assume its NOT labor and go all day"  **he's referring to the method I chose to take when I was in labor with Keller...staying in denial for almost 12 hours and THEN fessing up that it was labor**

Anyways, updates to come! Not sure if they'll be from me or whoever or if they'll even be before the baby arrives...it all balances on how these contractions act!

Until next time...

Friday, April 15, 2011

Patiently (sort of) waiting..

I know this is completely cliche, but waiting sucks.  And I know it doesn't matter that we're even planning a home birth, because this part of the pregnancy experience is the same no matter where you're going to push the baby out.  I think the most difficult thing for me isn't the being pregnant.  I feel good, still sleeping well and actually since the baby dropped my acid reflux has been practically non-existent.

However, I feel this pressure to keep certain things "ready to-go".  One being me.  I need to be able to put normal life responsibilities on hold for who knows how long at any moment.  I also need to be sure Keller is ready...mostly that means that his things are put away where they should be and he is completely stocked on his necessities (diapers, snacks, clothes, books, etc...-yes books are a necessity to him).

On that list are also things that I know we mom's hear time and time again just aren't that important.  Like keeping my house somewhat tidy.  I just know that my stress levels will be so much more in check if I know that my laundry isn't sitting there waiting for me like an ugly monster, or that the refrigerator isn't empty.  I also do realize, at least on a conscious level, that when people come, they can take care of themselves and really do not care about any of that stuff.  At least I know when I go over to visit others' in this type of situations, that's my perspective.  But subconsciously, I'm not sure I believe it. And I think that's where this annoyance with waiting comes into play for not only myself but a lot of pregnant women.

You can ask my husband about my abilities to stay functional on a non-planned day.  I tend to loose sight and just float through it.  While, okay, it might seem relaxing at the time, I just end up more annoyed that I wasn't at least productive in some way.  Which could even just mean taking care of myself physically and going for a walk.  It's for this reason that I use my planner so much.  I have to write things down and schedule things ahead of time so I know how the day will go, especially with Keller.  With this whole birth thing, its unpredictable (a blessing and a curse).  Who knows when this baby will come! I wish I could say I had some sort of intuition-al feeling about it, but I just don't.  Today would be great! But really, not feeling like it's going to be.  Oh well...at least we know it won't be more than 3 1/2 weeks longer...that is guaranteed!

Sooo...back to waiting and being patient I guess...

Until next time..

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Baby update..

Today is 38 weeks and the baby is still in my belly.  That's all... :)

Lost a battle, but uh WINNING!

Ok sorry for the Charlie Sheen reference but it's quite fitting for these past two days.  Overall, I'd say I do well controlling and keeping Keller in line and on schedule, however, as with every parent and every child there are those days.  All of us moms are familiar.  The day when even though your child's antics and behaviors aren't any different, the amount in which they need to do them to send us over the edge is for one reason or another substantially smaller than usual.   That was yesterday.  And Keller gets a tally in his "W" column. 

Today, I'm happy to report that I'm back on the winning side of this lifetime battle of being a parent.  Granted, Keller was with dad for the entire morning and maybe that's why I feel so good about it all.  Haha. We've also very recently put in place some new "child proofing" things to help me out.  We purchased fencing (gate looking stuff) to barricade Keller (and Marvin) into the back yard.  They can still get out by wandering past our back driveway, but considering how isolated it is back there (only two other driveways of retired folks) and how far they'd seriously need to wander to get close to a road, I feel much more calm about Keller being outside.  He also is becoming a professional at going out the door by himself, down the stairs successfully, and up the stairs and IN through the doggie door.  Haha, we knew it'd be a useful purchase.  I think Keller just really enjoys being outside, just as anyone would. 

All in all today is great.  Hopefully tomorrow follows in today's footprints.  :).





Until next time...

Friday, April 8, 2011

Outdoor Adventures

I can't get over how nice it is outside! Our family is LOVING this weather.  I might even get to break out the maternity shorts (they're the type that go just above the knee...so totally a mom type of shorts) that I bought way back on Black Friday!. Yippee!

Today has been an up and down kind of day with Keller.  For some reason he is getting cranky with me but after his late-morning nap, he was doing good and we played outside for a while.  Broghan came home for lunch today which was nice as well and took Keller across the street to play on the playground for a bit while I made lunch.  I ended up packing up the food and bringing a blanket with to have a little picnic over at the park, so we were able to play outside a little longer.

Keller loved loved LOVED the playground equipment and impressed Broghan and I with his ability to climb around on everything and get up to the slides and go down the slides! First time being over there and he figured it out!

Keller and his bubble machine! 



There are two videos here.  They're of Keller climbing up on the playground equipment and working his way to the slide.  The first video ends before he actually goes down the slide because he decided to stall.  The second is of him actually GOING down the slide..







Thursday, April 7, 2011

The plight of a business owner..

As you know by now, our family owns and operates our very own little Chiropractic office (Reilly Chiropractic - www.chiropractorlakehallie.com - go here to check out my "intro" video).  We bought it back in the middle of December 2010 and have been running smoothly for about 4 months now.  This isn't going to be a long post ranting about the weight of owning a business, but I just spent quite some time updating our QuickBooks and it is just exhausting! I also keep track of payroll and all the liabilities (tax payments) we have to make each month and sometimes it gets confusing how my numbers end up different than QuickBooks and how in the world do I reconcile them? Blah.  It's just a lot.  Never really THAT hard, but just mental work...and to be honest, I've been so far removed from the work force and from the learning environments of school that sometimes the mathematics and logistics of it all can be overwhelming.

And that's it.  I'm sure many of you can relate, since the same feelings and situations happen within personal finances and handling household budgets too.  But, I just wanted to put down those feelings so hopefully sleeping tonight will go well!

Oh and no baby news, as far as I can tell, baby HAS dropped quite a bit since last week (heck since this last weekend).  It's now pretty low into my pelvis and pretty well centered in my belly (different from the usual side-lying position...what can I say....I'm short!).  Other than that nothing super exciting to report.  Lots of squirming around from the little one and a few Braxton Hicks contractions every once in a while, but nothing for real.

Maybe tomorrow though ;).

Until next time...

Keller...future MBL player.

So as many who have kids know, they go through these "phases" of having favorites.  Keller's once was bananas and our dog's dog food.  We're slowly but surely getting over the dog food fascination and bananas are apparently a thing of the past.  But as Keller is moving into "toddler-hood", he is in love with any type of ball or item he can throw.  In particular, his Uncle Logan got him a T-ball stand for this past Christmas and I've been slightly amazed at how well Keller is able to hit the ball with the bat.  We've been working on two hands and he seems to get the idea.  I've gotten a few pictures and some videos as proof. :).  We have a future MBL player on our hands! Maybe a future Twins player?!




OUR 1st day of spring..

So while the world and nature apparently think the first day of Spring was officially back in March, here in WI and at the Reilly household, I don't consider it spring until ~80-90% of the snow is gone and it's warm enough for us to actually spend decent time outdoors.  Also, it needs to be nice for more than one day. Plain and simple, I think Spring is FINALLY here!  Two day ago (Tuesday 4/5/11) our little family was fortunate enough to get to spend some time outside, enjoying the warmth and sunshine.  Broghan continued his plight to clean up the yard from months worth of....well...Marvin using it as his own personal restroom; Keller wandered around and picked up sticks from the driveway (he gets a twig or two and then is content to just carry them around...I see it as a form of cleaning the driveway); and I got to work on painting a shelf that will end up back in our kitchen and sanding down a railing for our step leading to the downstairs of our house.  Broghan also did some manual labor work on our future egress window space...digging the hole a few feet deeper.  Here are some photos I snapped of the boys.

  

Twigs in hand.


Broghan in the future egress window hole




These were my (twice) failed attempts at getting a picture of Keller pretending to paint the side of the house...


Marvin doing what dogs do...lounging in the sunshine and chewing on a stick.


Keller and his bucket.  Watch the video on here to see how far he wandered with it.








Monday, April 4, 2011

Final Countdown!

I've been waiting and waiting to be able to say this but it truly is THE FINAL COUNTDOWN! Full term tomorrow...holy crap. 37 weeks tomorrow and sometime in the next 5 we'll be a family of 4 (ok 5 if you count the dog)...part of me is still in disbelief that I haven't gone into labor yet.  I guess with two pre-term deliveries it's not surprising though.  It's kind of a cool feeling to feel part of the majority for once.  So lets just hope it stays that way and I don't end up with another crazy situation on my hands. :).

I'm not sure if I mentioned it on here or on a babycenter.com board (I'm seriously on that website way too much these days) but a few weeks back Broghan changed the background on the computer to a picture of closed flower buds.  We both agree that visualization and mental thought processes can have a big effect on your bodies ability to either go into or stay out of labor (for example being chronically stress - in the flight/fight response mode - will prevent labor from progressing OR cause it to go extremely fast).  So each time I turn on my computer I get to see this picture and think "I'm a close little flower".  It seriously makes me giggle each time but heck I'm full term so who knows!  



But now that I AM full term...maybe I should change it to a nice wide open flower picture ;). 



But then again, maybe I'm not so ready to have a baby TODAY...haha. This waiting game is hard!  You can be sure though that there will be blog and FB updates if/when the time actually does come for this baby to be born (even if Broghan gives me crap about it).  I really just want to do it so I have real-time records of what all happens....and of course I want all of you to be in the know ;).

Until next time...

Home Sweet Home.

To say that I'm excited for this home birth is a complete and udder understatement.  The idea of being able to just relax once contractions start, not worrying about "when to go" and not having to shuffle Keller and Marvin around is just a great feeling.  Plus, once everything is done, I just get to curl up with my new little babe and my family  in one of our beds!  No interruptions from nurses, no waiting for discharge papers, no packing up the car, no scary car ride home (even though its just a mile).

Yesterday and into last night I spent many hours getting some organization done and creating what I like to call my own private "birthing center" in our downstairs.  We're really fortunate that our house has a completely finished basement and as soon as I get some things in the mail (hopefully tomorrow or Wednesday) we'll be completely ready to go in terms of supplies.  I also moved some small shelves and cleared out space in our office so that when the time comes we can blow up our birthing pool, which is already ready and waiting on the floor in there.  The rooms downstairs each have their own heat source too which is nice so that the temperatures can be easily managed without affecting the whole house and I'll be putting a small lamp in the office space so that way we can dim the lights lower and create a calmer atmosphere.

I also spent many hours getting about 10 loads of laundry done (finally) and washing all of the towels in the house so the ones we need are folded and ready to go.  I will say it was really fun going back through all of the Newborn sized clothing we've had packed away for so long.  Such cute little outfits! Sadly, only a few are going to really work well if it's a girl (granted, no one really cares what colors they're in) but most of the clothes are definitely blue and boy themed.  And we're all stocked up on NB and size 1 Diapers.  I'm sure we'll go through them in about a week, but hopefully we won't even need them all since we still have the x-small clothe diapers from Keller.

I'm starting to lose focus here on this post and feel myself drifting onto other topics, so to sum it up: I love that we're planning a home birth. :).

**pictures of the set-up to follow..**

Until next time..