Whew. We’ve officially survived week one of having two kids. Although today is the first day I’m technically on my own. We had my mother-in-law with us for the birth and then P took off the last 3 days from work but now, now I’m back on lone mommy duty. So far so good. All mouths have been fed (including my own which is a total bonus) and butts have been changed. (however not my own, it’s amazing how making a quick trip to pee gets postponed all morning) Although the thought of getting everyone upstairs and dressed is just a bit too daunting, hence why I’m opting to stay put on the couch & blog. But hey, one step at a time right?
*note- I started writing this post at 8:45 am, it’s now 6:11 pm & I’m still writing. It’s been a lonnnnng day…
Samster is adjusting really well. She’s super sweet to the baby, everytime she sees her she goes, “Awwwwwwwww, baby! Sooo cute! Soooo tiny!”
She loves to help out, in fact that seems like the key to keeping the peace. Giving her little tasks like hand mommy a diaper, put the blanket on the baby, hold the baby’s hand while mommy nurses her…she gets a big smile and jumps right in. I won’t say it’s been all roses though, I’m hearing lots of “I DON’T WANNA!” She doesn’t wanna take a bath, doesn’t wanna eat her dinner…but I keep telling myself it’s to be expected. I’m trying to do little things with her too when Sophie is napping, although selfishly I just want to catch a little catnap myself. But, we’re surviving.
So about the birth…I’ve been dying to blog about this because I’m so excited!! It was everything I dreamed it would be, I just can’t get over how different it was…but let me start at the beginning.
As you know a couple of Tuesdays ago I had “prodromal labor“. We thought it was the real thing but I had no cervical change despite a whole day of regular, increasing contractions. We were eventually discharged & sent home to “wait it out”. The days that followed were some of the same, little spurts of contractions that would start to grow closer together & stronger but eventually would fizzle out.
It was infuriating.
Like a big ol’ birth tease.
Then a week later I went to the Dr & she said I had dilated another centimeter (2.5 cm at that point), Woohoo! At least all the contractions were doing something. That was on a Tuesday & since I would be 39 weeks that Friday she decided to go ahead & strip my membranes to see if it would get the contractions going more regularly. Well let me tell you, from the second she did that through the whole night & next morning I had the worst menstrual-like cramps of my life. Lots of people had told me early labor could start as cramps & then turn into contractions but mine weren’t, they were just continuous cramping. The next morning they still wouldn’t stop so around noon I called the Dr’s office just to make sure that was ok. I knew having your membranes stripped could cause some cramping but I just wasn’t sure it should cause it for that long. They said go ahead and come in & we’ll put you on the monitor. When P came home we headed in to the Dr. with every expectation of coming home a few hours later, we’d been through this drill before.
I was in a really crabby mood when we got there…too many cramps, too big of a belly, no sleep…I was DONE. All of that melted away when the Dr examined me. I had dilated to 3.5 cm & all those cramps were actually contractions!!! I was in early labor all morning and didn’t even know it! (I had even hosted a playdate at our house that morning, isn’t that crazy? I thought having friends over would be a nice distraction from the cramps…who knew I was in labor?!) My Dr. said my water was “bulging” and she thought if they broke it the baby would drop, put more pressure on my cervix & labor would go fast after that. She called & admitted us to the hospital, I was ECSTATIC!!!
We got checked into our room at 2:30pm & they started me on a slow drip of pitocin (the nurse described it as “just a whiff” of pitocin) to get things going a bit until the Dr could come over & break my water. The contractions picked up a bit but I was able to keep complete control during them. I did my breathing, listened to music, P made jokes & we watched a “Real Housewives of New Jersey” marathon. It was actually kind of fun. Then around 4pm my Dr arrived & broke my water, they also turned up the pitocin because nothing had changed in the time I’d been there.
That’s when the *$%# hit the fan.
Sorry to be crass but I can’t think of a better phrase to describe how quickly & harshly things changed. Within 5 minutes, FIVE, I was in full-blown active labor & I WAS DYING. It totally caught me off guard, I was not prepared to be in so much pain so quickly. In all honesty, I had no idea pain could feel that bad. And yes, I’m probably a bit of a dramatic person but I think even the most reserved girl would’ve agreed with me. The contractions were about a minute or two apart, as soon as I got through one the next was right there waiting for me. I tried my best to get a grip, I really hadn’t wanted an epidural but I just could not get control of my pain. P was incredible, I was pulling on his shirt, yelling & crying at him & resisting the urge to bite him (I know that sounds silly but I just wanted to bite something SO bad, perhaps too many vampire movies) but the whole time he just looked right in my eyes & talked me through every second of it. We tried the hypnobirthing CD’s to help me calm down but I just couldn’t hear them, after about 20 min I was in panic mode & wanted to run away. I kept thinking “Get a grip Natasha, just get your mind right for a minute & then you can get through each contraction one at a time” but then another one would hit & I would just fall apart. It was bad. I called the nurse because I really thought the baby was coming out but when she checked me I was still 4cm, as soon as I heard that I said, “I want drugs NOW!” It felt like a movie. Like you know in Baby Mama how Amy Polar tries to steal people’s IVs as they’re wheeling her down the hall…that was me. It was ridiculous. The anaesthesiologist came in soon after & every fear I had of an epidural went right out the window. She was truly an angel dropped down from heaven, my bff from here on out.
The epidural kicked in fully after about 20 minutes & I WAS HAPPY. I was able to relax & actually enjoy the experience, the Dr came back an hour & a half later & I couldn’t believe the news, I had dilated another 4cm! I guess it really is true that some people just need to relax to dilate, I was such a big ball of stress when I was in pain. I’m scared to think of how long my labor would’ve lasted if I hadn’t gotten some relief, not to mention how exhausted I’d be by the time I was ready to push. Major kudos to you superwomen who have had an unmedicated birth, I tried my best & I just don’t know how you do it.
Now my favorite part, it was finally time to push. This may sound weird but I’ve always thought I’d be good at pushing…I was really looking forward to it. Is that weird? And you know what, it was even better than I had hoped. The part I wasn’t expecting was how calm & chill the environment would be. There weren’t a bunch of people running in & out like you see in the movies…it was just us, our Dr & the nurse. The lights were kept dim & no one yelled at me to push, I just told them when a contraction was coming & everyone would count to ten 3x while I pushed my darndest. I had thought I’d like a mirror but wasn’t going to use one because P thought he’d be super squeemish at the sight but much to my surprise I looked over to see him peeking down, he was so excited that he could see the head! I asked for the mirror and at the end of each push I’d open my eyes & take a peek. It was INCREDIBLE. I don’t think P or I were prepared for how much we wanted to see her actually being born, it’s just one of those things where once you’re in the situation you can’t help but look. With the next push her head popped out & the Dr. asked me to wait while she suctioned her out. (“Um sure, I can just hold it right here with a small watermelon 1/2 out of me.”) One more push & out she flew, I put my arms out for her & was able to pull her right onto my chest. AMAZING.
What a difference from my c-section where I was shaky & out of it from the spinal anesthesia, scared because I was on an operating table & was not able to hold or see my baby until she was weighed & cleaned and even then I couldn’t hold her because my arms were too weak.
This time I was the first to hold her & I kept her for as long as I wanted. I’ll never forget it.
I don’t even need to tell you about the difference in recovery time, last time I couldn’t even get out of bed much less walk around. This time I was up walking, talking & even peeing within 20 minutes of giving birth. (Peeing on your own is a luxury you take for granted until you can’t do it) We even were able to go home the next night! Yep, 24 hrs later & I was sleeping in my own bed with my beautiful baby! (With Samster we were in the hospital for 4 nights) Not to mention it was such a relief to be able to put Sam down to bed that night, she was already wondering where the heck we were.
So there it is, if you’re interested in having a VBAC the best advice I could ever give you is to have a Dr. you completely trust who is supportive of your decision. If you’re unsure about someone than move on, there are great Dr’s out there who are on the same page as you, it’s just a matter of finding them. I interviewed 3 different practices before finding my Dr, at the time I wondered if I was wasting my time but now I’m so glad I did it. Sophie’s birth was everything I had ever wanted and then some. (:
Ok, as you can see by the post time blogging is going to be a bit more difficult than I had anticipated. I’m going to try my best though, I have about a dozen different things I want to do & write about now that the baby’s here but for the immediate future all I can think about is how much sleep I’m not getting & how does one get two kids in & out of carseats. Baby steps Samster Mommy, baby steps.
Congrats on your beautiful little girl! Isn't it amazing how your labor and deliveries can be completely different? I have two little girls (4 and 2) and my oldest is Sophia (but we call her Sophie). Love the name!! Congrats again and definitely choose sleep over blogging! 🙂
Congratulations again! You did great and Sophie is ADORABLE. Both your girls are adorable. 🙂
I didn't even bother not getting an epidural for my daughter. I was sick the night before, they said I was a few cm, so I was admitted. They put me on pain meds (I was throwing up all week and it pushed Madison down into my hip bone the wrong way). I slept it off. I woke up at 3am, asked for my epidural because the other pain meds stopped working. When I woke up at 10, I was 10cm! The nurses and I watched tv while I pushed. hahahaha. 20 minutes later, bam, there's Madison!
You did great!
I am so glad every thing went so well!!!! It's amazing how different each birth is. Hang in there. It does get easier. I promise!!!!! My son was only 21 months old when my little princess was born.
That last picture almost made me cry, we can feel so much happiness and pride from it!
Sophie is gorgeous!
Getting the baby and putting it on your chest yourself is the most wonderful experience I've ever felt, twice, and I've shared it with my man.
I'm happy everything went so well for you!
Congratulations! I just read your post to my husband and was all teary-eyed. I had a vaginal delivery with my son, but it was very traumatic and very difficult and I didn't have that experience you see on TV or in movies where the mother holds her baby and has this moving moment. I was so traumatized that I barely held him. My daughter was born 6 weeks ago and I had a completely different experience. Midwife, less intervention, and I held her immediately and didn't let her go until they made me. I, too, will always remember it.
The 2nd one is awesome. Enjoy it! I think I told you last time you posted that Sophie was born on my birthday! : )
Such a great story!! LOVE the picture of you three – you can tell how happy you both are!!! God Bless!!
She's so beautiful! I'm happy you had a good labor!
I was the opposite about the mirror. My husband was saying to look and then the nurse gave me a mirror and I thought it was disgusting! LOL! It made me want to stop pushing, not push harder!
I am SO happy for you! You look deliriously happy in that hospital pic. I'm glad you got the birth you wanted. I hope to have that experience someday with a doctor I trust. Blessings!
Congratulations!!!!! She is beautiful, and you are very very brave! Blessings to you and your family….
She is so beautiful! That last picture of you three has me tearing up a teeny bit. And little Sam's hand wrapped around the even tinier hand of her sister… so sweet!
Congratulations to all of you! I'm really glad you got to experience the VBAC you wanted. How wonderful!
Congratulations again!!! I am soooo happy for you! You are going to be such an amazing mom to 2 beautiful little girls!
Congratulations! Little Sophie is beautiful and it sounds like you had a great experience.
Congratulations! I tried the same approach with my son – breathing, relaxing, etc – but I had the same kind of pain you talked about. I've had bad cramps my whole life & I figured how much worse could it be? Oh, so much worse. I have a small shrine that I keep for the epidural guy. He was wonderful.
Congratulations on such a great birth experience! The pic of you & your hubby? Is fabulous. 🙂
Pitocin = devils medicine! lol I had my son almost 7 months ago now… first birth.. they induced me using cyto and than pitocin once my water broke. It wasn't bad until they said okay your water is broke now we are going to go ahead and up your pit… Than like you… Death was looming at the door… ! lol I was 3 cm when they up'd the pit…30 minutes later I told the nurse if they didn't get someone in with meds now I was going to tear through the hospital until I found the one that could stick me. Unfortunately it took 3 tries for them to get my epi in and than after 24 hours of labor (epi didn't work that great at first) I ended up with an emergency c-sec cause my little man was too fat! 10lbs 1oz! lol
Congrats and glad to see ya'll are doing well!
Don't you look absolutely gorgeous in the minutes after birth! Wow! 🙂 I hope your breastfeeding efforts go as happily for you as the outcome of your VBAC! Congratulations and well done.
Thanks for sharing your story! It made me get all happy teary-eyed when I read it. Congratulations!
p.s. Your girls look so much like their daddy!
Congratulations! I LOVE the picture of you, P, and Sophie.
I love birth stories. 🙂 I'm so glad you got to experience birth the way you wanted it! Congrats on your new sweet baby girl, and take it easy on yourself. I'm 4 months into life with 3 and we're still sifting life out into our new normal. 😉
How funny "birth tease" Ha Ha! I loved your story. Now go take a nap!
Such a great telling of your birth story! 🙂
Don't you love how open you can be on a craft blog? Most of my "in real life" friends would be horrified to have a discussion even as tame as this…. I think it's an innate thing to want to shout it from the rooftops -you just did something wonderful! –Thanks for sharing with us! Congrats!!
Beautiful story, I am so happy for you!
Well done,Samster Mommy!
My daughter was born in 5 hours from first till last contraction,at 5:18 in the morning.I was up from morning day before,and fall a sleep just that evening,was awake about 38 hours,didn't get a drip or epidural,all natural birth.It was quick and painful.My sister told me that is most beautiful thing giving birth and the moment she was done with one,she was prepare to have more kids.Four years later,I'm still not prepare.I'm just sorry I didn't breastfeed her that moment,but few hours later,but at that time I didn't know that is possible,that I have milk that moment.
Enjoy this first moments with yours two beauties,take a nap,lots of hugs and kisses and be a mom.We will miss you,but we'll know where you are and enjoy with and for you!
Congratulations, they are both gorgeous. Having 2 girls rocks! Ursula x
Congratulations again.
Your birth story sounds like what I experienced with my first. The need to run away from the pain, I thought that was just me being wierd. Contractions also go into overdrive when the water breaks and unfortunatly Dr's like to break them when you're not ready. My waters broke naturally with my other 2 and their births were easier… I'm not saying less painful, but I was more focused and able to deal with the increase in pain gradually and not all at once.
Enjoy these precious moments with your new baby but make sure you rest aswell.
congratulations! You are right, baby steps baby steps. You will work out a way to get everyone in and out of the car and house. For now, you sound like superwoman!!Everyone clean and fed! Perfect! xxxxxx
I am so glad you got your wish of a VBAC , giving birth is empowering , we women are strong , and birth is magical , my Sophie's birth was one of the best experiences , I pulled her out of me , it is a memory I cherish , enjoy those babies , they grow so fast.
What a wonderful story. : ) I am so glad you got your VBAC. I had to have a c-section also and you have inspired me to do what I can to have a VBAC with my next one! I thought once you had a csection, the next one would have to be a section also.
Glad to hear everything is going well and hopefully you can catch up on some zzzz's soon!
wonderful story
I have 4 children all natural births –with the 4th they gave me pitocin–YIKES that stuff is crazy I would never take it again!
as for sibling issues ( not that you seem to have many!)–A wise older woman said to me once..
Imagine if your DH said to you one day "honey I am bring a new wife home, I will still love you, nothing will change except now there will be 2 of you for me to love"–how would that make YOU feel?? LOL kinda of like Samster's world right now!
Amazing! I am so happy you were able to have your VBAC. And I had the same experience with my daughter as far as stripping the membranes, getting a little bit of pitocin and then immediately needing the epidural. You can't even catch your breath between contractions! I was able to sleep after the epidural which was exactly what you need to push.
Congrats! 2 beautiful daughters!
So glad you got the birthing experience you wanted! Baby Sophie looks just like her big sister!! Congrats again!! And be sure to take it easy, Super women!
You brought tears to my eyes. You reminded me of the birth of my children. All 3 were pitocin and epidural babies. I too am not superwoman and I'm proud of it.
Congratulations to you and your family. Sophie is truly beautiful. You have two beautiful little girls. You are truly blessed.
Hope you get some rest.
Jessica
What a great birth story! Congratulations. That's good that you were able to get your VBAC. Good luck now with the kiddos. The pictures are beautiful. Sophie looks like her big sister.
Congrats Natasha! Thanks so much for sharing your story, it brought tears to my eyes just reading it! 🙂
Congratulations on the arrival of your beautiful baby! She is so precious!
Congratulations! She's beautiful! I had a similar experience with not being able to dilate until the epidural was in. I dilated so quickly (and painfully) I thought the epidural wasn't working. It turns out my baby was just ready to be pushed out. All the best to you and your beautiful family!
Congratulations! I'm glad you were able to get the birth experience you wanted!
What a beautiful birth story. Congratulations, Natasha.
Congratulations!! Glad everything went the way you wanted. I am very excited about following your blog during the next several months. I am due to have my second child at the beginning of December and I too am wondering how people handle two children in car seats??? =)
Congrats! I am crying reading this birth story. What am amazing birth eperience. I can only wish that for myself 🙂
Congrats on the new baby and congrats on the VBAC! I also had a csection, although mine went really smoothly, but I would still love to have the chance to have a natural birth! Your post brought tears to my eyes!
So pleased that your delivery went well! Love the "birth tease", my boys did the same! You'll soon get used to juggling! Love from the UK xxx
Congratulations!! What a beautiful story! So glad that things went the way that you wanted! 🙂
congrats! She's adorable. with my second I had pitocin, and no epidural-I don't know how I did that. Don't think I would again. 😉 It does get easier-getting out with two kids! Just take your time and try and keep it to one or two errands per day-otherwise you'll go crazy- and they will too!
Good luck!
Congratulations! Sophie is beautiful! I'm so glad to hear the birth went well. I tried going natural with my first but ended up getting the epidural. Turns out I was able to relax and the birth went much faster and smoother. I had no problem asking for the drugs first thing with the rest of them. 🙂 My baby girl is almost two month old already. Time is really flying by! Good luck with the two little ones!
Congratulations! I'm so happy you got the birth you wanted. She's gorgeous.
Congrats! I'm about to embark on the same "trying to raise a two year old while introducing a new baby" adventure. I will definitely be following along for some mommy advice during these next few months.
Birth is awesome, but I'm even more excited to be breastfeeding another baby. It was such a fulfilling bonding experience the first time, I hope it's as great the second.
So happy that you got to enjoy everything (so to speak, minus the labor pains and all). Good luck with everything. I have a sneaking suspicion that you will do great!
Congrats on two beautiful girls!!! The picture of the three of you is gorgeous! Simply amazing but what happened with the doula???
I'm so glad you were able to experience the VBAC experience. I'm with you on the kudos to the women that have had them natural, but with inductions that lasted two days on all six of my children, the anesthesiologist was always my best friend and right away each time I went from a dilation of 3 to 8 or 10 so the relaxation from the epidural was the key to moving things along. Sophie is beautiful and resembles both of you just like Samster!
Oh beautiful little girl! I too needed an epidural in order to move things along. I totally get what you were saying: With baby #2, I took a little nap after the epidural started and went from 2cm to fully dialated in about 45 minutes. I am SO glad I couldn't feel *that*!
Welcome little Sophie. The world is filled with love.
Beautiful story! I hope to have a VBAC with my next birth. It's inspirational!!
Congrats on your amazing VBAC experience Natasha! I am so happy that you were able to have that, instead of another c-section. It truly is an amazing time. 🙂 I posted the story of having my newest little girl on my blog. Check it out when you get a chance. I did not know I was in labor either, and this was my 3rd kid! It really is true that every pregnancy and every woman is different. Oh and about your wanting to nap when the baby naps–do it! I have been told by so many friends who have more than 3 kids that they got all of the kids to nap together, even if it is just one time, so that you can get a little rest. Good luck! I am still trying to sneak in a little sleep when I can.
Oh goodness girl! You pretty much wrote my whole story of my son being born. I had a section with my daughter as well and was attempting the VBAC with my son. And succeeded! It was crazy intense and oh yes, I wanted to bit my husband and I practically ripped his shirt off from pulling on it during those intense contractions. But it was so great in the end and the recovery was like nothing else and I'm so glad it worked out that way for you too. Congratulations on your beautiful daughter. 🙂
Sophie is beautiful! Good job Mommy 🙂
Congrats to you, P & big sis Samster!
Thank you for posting your VBAC story! I had a vaginal birth with my son last year and ended up with a c-section this past April for my daughter…I HATED the c-section! It was scary and painful and not nearly as gratifying as giving birth vaginally. The c-section felt like I didn't "give birth" if that makes any sense. Anyways, right after the c-section I decided that I would def. be trying for a VBAC on my next pregnancy. I wasn't aware of how controversial it was until I got home and researched a little. It's so nice to hear a positive story! Thankfully I have an amazing midwife who told me right after I had my daughter that I am a ogood candidate for a VBAC and she would be more than happy to assist me in my next pregnancy! Congrats on your baby! She's adorable 🙂
Many congratulations on the birth of your beautiful little girl. I had a VBAC at home in May last year (not an easy thing to attain even here in the UK believe me!). It was the most amazing experience of my life, catching my baby as she was born and bringing her out of the birthpool to meet us, her eyes wide open the whole time, is an experience i will treasure forever. I have four children and love every one of them, but i have never experienced such an instant connection as i did with her.
I wish you and your little family every happiness.
Kelly.x
beautiful <3 congratulations!
I stumbled onto your blog today for you sewing pants 101 post….they turned out beautifully! Thank you! Then I decided to check out some of your other posts. We are so much alike it's frightening! I just couldn't get over all of your projects and how similar they are to things I've been trying to do or thinking about doing…(and so glad I have your blog now to help fully execute these lofty plans). But the kicker was coming across your Sophie birth story!!
I'm about 2 weeks away from my 2nd VBAC (hopefully). I did it all natural the last time and it was horrendously painful but AMAZING & AWESOME & couldn't have possibly been better. But then I had a false labor episode 2 weeks ago and all of the "not so pretty" memories came flooding back. I was PISSED and HYSTERICAL! My midwife and I had decided that natural was the way to go last time, as she will not use pitocin for fear of increasing risk of uterine rupture and since epidurals can sometimes slow labor, that could be problematic without having an option for inducing. I also just got all gnarly & really wanted to show off my natural birthing skills. At any rate, I pulled it off. Labor was hard & fast (all said & done in about 6 hours) and again, HORRENDOUS, but totally awesome.
But back to this false labor bullsh*t. What a horrible deal! I couldn't believe how I just lost any & all ambition to have a natural childbirth. After this futile trip to the hospital (whereupon my very regular contractions promptly ceased upon arrival), I was in a panic for about 5 days before my next OB visit. I was seriously considering scheduling a c-section to avoid another natural childbirth. But instead I decided to discuss the possibilities of an epidural with my midwife and another OB doctor at the practice. And who knew!? They totally support my decision to have an epidural in my plan. Since I powered through my 1st VBAC so well, they're pretty confident that another vaginal birth won't be significantly slowed by an epidural so long as I'm truly in active labor when it's administered. My midwife wants me to wait until I'm at 3 or 4 cm. And while getting that far was among the worst of it for me last time (er…not really. it was all crazy!), just knowing that I have the epidural in my plan is enough to chill me out. I very well may get all gnarly again & decide to tough it out. But I've been there, done that, basked in it & now I want a freakin' epidural!!!! Thank you for sharing your experience and totally validating my choice. Of course, I know things might not work out as I've planned, but at least I'm not all bitter & panic-stricken for the remaining couple of weeks of my third and FINAL pregnancy. I'm totally looking forward to following your blog. Thanks so much!
And oh yes…the transition from 1 to 2 kiddos! CRAZY!!! My husband and I may be complete morons, but we are just damn certain that the transition from 2 to 3 HAS to be better. We were so blown away by how hard it was to go from 1 to 2. If nothing else, we have zero expectations this time around; whereas, you can't help but think #2 was going to be somewhat like #1…and it's just NOT. This time I may sound like a fool to say it has to be easier, but at least I know (or think I know) what I'm up against. Man, I sound like a walking contradiction. We're probably screwed.
Oh well! Que sera!
Hope you're easing into it beautifully!!!
Cheers,
Kelly
I just found your blog today through another's link, and I love it! You have great ideas. I personally connected with your labor story because I, too, completely lost all sanity when the contractions came hard and every 1-2 min. Nothing really prepares you for that!! Congratulations on the new baby!
I just stumbled onto your blog looking for baby headband instructions. I started reading your birth story and felt the familiar pangs of jealousy at your normal birth– I just had a csection a year ago, and am due to deliver again in a few months. Then I got to the end of your post and realized it was a vbac! I just wanted to say thank you for sharing you story, and giving me a little hope.
What a great story! What a great blog!
I had my first 7 children vaginally, some with epidurals, some without (aka: HELL). My last little guy was an emergency C-section, they had to put me to sleep. I lost so much! I felt so disappointed and sad. Getting better now after 5 years! My daughter had the same thing with the "false labor" type thing. They kept sending us home. She looked into my eyes and said "Mama, I think I'm gonna die." My tough girl never talked like that! Ran her back and she was at 8cm. Isn't it amazing how different each birth is? My daughter is halfway to baby #2 now.
Bless you and your family. So glad I found your blog!