The Birth Story of Logan Henry. May 7th 2010

Logan's birth was my most difficult physically. I suppose it was natures way of preparing me for what was to come in the weeks ahead. I went into labor at 37 weeks. On Friday morning the 7th of May. We were fortunate enough to have been blessed with amazing nurses who were so supportive and excited for us to have a natural birth.(This is rare in our local hospitals) Things had gone so quickly with Noah I hurried to the hospital as soon as my contractions were steady with Logan. We made the decision to strip my membranes and we did a lot of walking and some slow dancing to Ben Harper. Still things were slow. I expected a short easy birth, but it just goes to show you each birth is different. By early evening I was stuck at 7 and contractions had all but completely stopped. The doctor had stopped asking to break me water because we had told him from the beginning we wanted as little intervention as possible.
At around 7 that night we decided to go ahead and allow him to to it. I then practically flooded our room! I have always had a ton of amniotic fluid, and my water has never once broken on its own. I set on a stack of towels that I kept soaking through. Things were moving again. I immediately had strong contractions just a minute or two apart and an hour later I felt the urge to push. The doctor brought several nurses in who were scattered around the room silently watching. Josh later remarked how it had annoyed him and he saw no point in having that many people in the room. (At that point, things were going smoothly and they was so reason to anticipate any problems during the birth or with Logan.) I pushed a few times and I heard a nurse say it looked like the baby had a lot of hair. The doctor then asked if I wanted him to do a pundendal block. I said "No, that's OK." like he was asking me if I wanted more coffee or something. I had told him repeatedly I didn't want one earlier and that I would rather tear than be cut. Also, I knew if he didn't do the block he wouldn't give me an episiotomy. And it worked! No tear, no epsiotomy. I pushed again and tried holding my legs back but it didn't feel right. I instinctively put my hands down to support Logan's head as it started to crown. Then the doctor asked me if I wanted to catch him. Of course I said yes! With a few more pushes my beautiful Logan Henry was born, 7 lbs 10 ozs, 20 1/2 inches long.I pulled him up onto my stomach and was just in aw of how gorgeous he was. Later, it was even more precious and sacred to me that I was given to opportunity to catch him and be the first to touch him. Because it would be days before I could hold him again. Logan is such a little fighter, he has a warrior spirit. We are so thankful and blessed each day that he not only survived but is thriving.

Finally back on here again!

I'm going to make it a point to try to get on here at least a couple times a month. Just to do little updates. It's so much fun to look back and read all the blogs from last year. So much has changed! In the last month we have... moved again, back to east Tennessee. We are right across the street from Bella's school and two huge playgrounds, the kids have plenty of room to ride bikes and play.Also, the 4th addition to our family will be here sooner than later, baby boy #3 will be making his appearance this May. We are SO excited! At first Bella, was a little disappointed she really wanted a little sister but now she can't wait to meet her new baby brother, it just makes sense for her to be the only girl and the leader of all these little guys. I'm so thankful to be back in Tennessee and near family. I can't wait to see what the new year brings.

Trick or Treat and a trip to Tennessee...

We were able to take a trip to Tennessee a few weeks ago. We stayed with my mom, the leaves were at their peak and were absolutely beautiful! I drove up to NC with my dad one afternoon and it was so pretty, the air smelled so good. The whole thing made me so home sick! I cried as soon as we left to go back to Florida. But, I know in my heart as long as we are together as a family we will be okay. Also we had the big trick or treat 2009. It was a success! Noah was Elmo, Jack Tigger, Bella was Belle, Bella's friend was a fairy! They kids had a blast and got lots of candy!

So...

I'm a negative Nancy, I know. I miss the mountains. I miss our back yard. The kids have been sick for a month it feels like. Noah's eardrum ruptured from his very first ear infection it was awful. I just rocked him for hours and he cried and cried. Now Bella was home for a week with the flu...
I hate Tallahassee. There, I said it! I feel so much better now. Josh is still applying for different jobs all over the place. Mainly in the South, North and South Carolina, Georgia, Virgina, a couple in Florida, some up north. Please pray and send out positive thoughts he will find something soon and we will get out of here.

Moving on.

So... it looks like we may not be in Tallahassee that long after all. After lots of talking Josh decided the 4 yr. Grad program he was beginning wasn't for him. He told me his heart just wasn't in it, he wasn't passionate about it. He was ready to try something new, to get out and try to make a difference. From the beginning it didn't feel right to me either. It was just such a relief for him to finally talk about it! After we both decided for sure he was going to leave the program he called and talked to both his parents. And they both completely understood, and are behind him. So off on another adventure we go! We will stay put for now. He's applying for jobs in the Fl panhandle and mainly in the south.Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina... we will certainly not be going back to East TN anytime soon. But anything else is a possibility. So we will see what happens.

The past few weeks have been so busy! We've had family come to visit for the past two weeks. And we all had colds that wouldn't quit. Noah got sick for the first time ever! And it took him nearly a week to get over it. But he's doing so much better today! His first ear infection, with a fever and cutting 3 teeth makes for a loooong week.

Birth Matters

Your birth matters! This video is amazing! It brought me to tears. It was also awesome that many of the couples who chose to home birth were doctors. Spread the word. Women need to know the facts, know the statistics,be aware. Then make a decision that is right for you and your family.

School Days

Here was her first homework assignment. Her about ME poster. We cut out pictures of all her favorite things and glued them on. Hello Kitty, ice cream, doggies, Nail polish, and Mimi. Ha!

Nearly three weeks ago Isabella started school! She did much better than I thought she would. She was supposed to start last year but because the school district was so bad where we used to live we decided to wait and held her back a year. We thought emotionally, socially, she wasn't ready either. Some of her her fine motor skills were lagging and I really wanted the extra time to work with her.

Josh didn't have his first class until late in the afternoon so we were all able to go and take her together. I felt fine until we got right outside her classroom and then it hit me. My eyes welled up with tears which I sucked back because the last thing I wanted was for her to see ME cry. I was scared that she would lose it. She did great though! We found her little cubbie and I helped her put her stuff up then we found her desk and she sat right down and started coloring a worksheet.

Then after lots of hugs and kisses I went out in the hallway with the boys while Josh said his goodbyes. I started tearing up more then Jack started wailing and tears were streaming down his face. "Isabella, I want my sister, I want Isabella!!" I picked him up and cried with him and said "I want Isabella too!"
I actually saw a lot more parents breaking down then kids.
The NEXT day was the really tough one. We didn't get to walk into class and get her settled in. I had to force her into line with her class when the bell rang. I watched her ears turn red and I knew she was crying a little and it broke my heart!!! I wanted to run in and grab her and race home. I seriously thought about going in to check back on her. But instead I went home and looked at the clock about every 3 minutes until it was finally time to pick her up! My baby is growing up! Afterwords she was fine, she was all excited about her music class, and show and tell day. And even met a new friend and they colored together. I can't believe my baby girl is growing up!