Livy is here

July 1, 2015 at 1:41pm, we welcomed Olivia Frances Ryder to our family.

Tuesday afternoon (June 30th) I new she was coming either that night or the next day.  My contractions were getting closer and stronger throughout the day.  I tried to get everything settles at work because in the back of my head I knew I wasn't coming back the next day.  I did make it to a work party that evening where I felt my contractions getting even stronger. I was also making bets that she would be here sooner than later - I won.

By about 10pm that evening my contractions were pretty regular and strong enough to keep me from sleeping.  I called my mom so she would be prepared to come up.  I also got Susan to come stay at our house to watch Luke since I would probably be going in during the middle of the night.  Since I didn't go into labor with Luke, I didn't really know what to expect and was nervous about waiting too long.  We went to the hospital around midnight where much to my dismay, I was only 2.5cm dilated. They did keep me because my contractions were regular and I was slowly progressing (3cm about an hour later). 
After a restless night of no sleep, lots of walking and very little progression, I sent my mom to our house to get some rest and Steve to work to see a few patients.  At 8am I was stuck at 4.5cm.  The contractions got a lot stronger and much closer together.  By about 11:30 when I was only 5cm I knew I couldn't endure the pain for 5 more cm. so I asked for my epidural.
After I got the epidural about an hour later, they checked me and I was close to 6cm.  I finally could rest without the pain.  Steve was starving so I told him to go ahead and get some lunch since nothing seems to be happening to quickly.  Around 1:30 the nurse came in to check me and said I was about 6.5 but could stretch me to 7cm.  A few minutes later (seriously, less than 5) the doctor came in to tell me her heart rate was dropping which meant either she was ready to be born or that her umbilical cord was being compressed.  Since I was just checked and was only about 7cm, they wanted to put a cord in me to relieve the pressure from the umbilical cord since that seemed to be the case.
As soon as he went to insert the cord, I saw the Dr.'s eyes get big.  He looked at me and said, nope, she's here.  You're going to push on your next contraction.  Steve was still at Taco Bell.  I made my mom call him as the Dr. called in for the equipment.  Fortunately, Steve had just gotten back and walked in the door with the nurses.  At 1:38 (I remember looking at the big clock on the wall) I started pushing.  Two pushes later, our beautiful daughter was born. 20.5 in, 7lb 2oz and she looked just like Luke when he was born.  The next day, we finally decided to name her Olivia "Livi" Frances Ryder.

While I stayed up laboring...

39 weeks

We are so close to meeting our baby girl.  At this point we're just waiting until she is born to name her which means no cute monogrammed clothes to bring her home in but I think we'll survive it.
We're still not 100% prepared but can you ever be? Luke still thinks my belly button is the baby. He's probably the least prepared. Mostly all we have left to do are minor nursery details and getting baby gear that we won't even need in the beginning such as bottles.  I'll just keep drinking my rootbeer floats (one of my cravings throughout this pregnancy) and do what I can when I can.
The greatest blessing so far is that my ankle/foot has healed almost to full function.  Last Thursday Dr. Barbierre even gave me the go ahead to run.  I kind of looked at him like he was crazy since I'm carting this extra 30lbs on me .  Turns out, I was the crazy one since I could hardley wait to test my new ankle out that evening.  We went on one of two more runs as a family of 3 that afternoon.

We also celebrated Steve on Father's day.  I was hoping that she would be born on this day since it was also my mom's birthday.  However, I'd rather her stay in and be as healthy as possible when she gets here.  So, Steve only had 1 child to wake him up this Sunday morning.

37 weeks

I'm getting so close to the end which is exciting and scary.  I can't wait to meet our daughter (who still doesn't have a name for sure) and see what she looks like and how her temperament is.  I'm also tired of being pregnant and all of the aches and pains that come with it.  So far my swelling has been minimal unlike my pregnancy with Luke. However, my back and feet are killing me!  On the flip side I'm nervous because I know what is coming this time.  I remember the sleepless nights, the anxiety of "Am I doing everything right?," the days without shower, the pain of healing from labor and I don't know if I'm ready for that to start just yet.  I feel like I need a good nap first.  Then again I remember the love and joy of bonding with a little person Steve and I created and all the misery is worth it.  Also, I can drink some wine if I hurry up and have her.  Either way, she will come when she gets here and I just have to be patient. 
I did have a little scare at the end of last week after working a children's camp. (Never decide to direct a children's camp in summer when you are very pregnant).  I got up at the end of the day and realized my pants were wet.  Since I was induced with Luke, I don't know what it feels like to have my water break.  So, I walked back to my office and googled "how do I know if my water broke."  I finally decided that since my pants did not get any wetter then I probably just sat on a towel from one of the campers.
Besides the water breaking scare and the pains, we've continued to try to enjoy our last days as a family of 3 since it will be a while before we can get out and play as a family of four.

We made a trip to Lynn Meadows

Luke had a blast but the trains were his favorite

We've been getting in lots of pool time

and a little fishing

Luke's impression of mamma's belly

We celebrated Caiden's 1st birthday

partying wore him out

35 Weeks

I didn't have the standard photo but there is my big belly in my 2 piece at 35 weeks.  My 1 piece would only stretch so far.

The cast is off!  I feel like a free woman. After 3 weeks in a splint and 5 weeks in a cast, I welcomed the boot and a life without crutches. My back got a little relief too since all of my weight isn't on one leg and messing up my already shifting pelvis.

My last moments in the cast

only a little atrophy.  The scar doesn't show too much here.

Steve and I went to the coast and celebrated our 6th anniversary and probably last chance at alone time for several months.  It was a great getaway and so nice to have "us" time and be on our own schedule.  We even stayed up to about 11:30pm!

We had an awesome dinner at Chimney's and had a beach view

 

 

 

 

Leaving Luke with Nana.  You can see my bellybutton here.

Luke started swim lessons and is quite the fish.  We joined the "mommy and me class" which I had to get substitutes for since I was still in a cast the first 2 classes.  However, he did so well he got moved to the 3 year old class for his next lesson.  I hope Luke and his sister love the water as much as I do.

Mrs. Susan helped on his 1st day

I just proudly watched

Dad was able to help the 2nd class

And by the 3rd class he was with the big kids

Luke had a field trip at the end of May to the zoo.  He had a great time with his friends and I decided to extend the day into a mommy son day since his time as the center of attention is coming to an end shortly.  We enjoyed a trip to pet smart (this is like going to the zoo for him), books a million, and then ice cream.  I was pooped afterwards and our little girl (I think we're going with Olivia now but it's always subject to change) was letting me know I had done a little too much.  Over the weekend she started dropping and I've started getting some braxton hicks.  I didn't have these (at least not noticeably) with Luke. 

They liked the tiger

Not a huge fan of the snake

The splash pad is always a favorite

He loves the puppies

He also loves some ice cream

I didn't realize how busy we've been the past few weeks trying to squeeze in as much fun as possible and prepare for the newest member of our family.  My mom helped tremendously with cleaning out and getting the nursery ready. Now our little girl has a pretty room of her own as well as lots of clothes thanks to friends who have little girls already.

Getting snuggle time in with mom and sister.  Luke is in a naked stage.

We had a fun playdate with lots of Luke's friends and ours for Memorial day

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We even got to do a little fishing.  Luke caught this one.

Olivia (if we stick with that name)  has a friend coming about a month after she's born

All we need is our daughter.  And maybe some organization in the rest of the house, sleep, for me to be walking better, and to get all my ducks in a row at work.  Then we'll be ready for her.