Caroline Summer's Birth Story

Caroline Summer has made her appearance!!

Monday was a really cold day. I was really hoping that the cold would shock my body into labor - ha! 

Tuesday came and it was still cold. I had some plans with some girlfriends to get pedicures and dinner. I was hoping that the cold plus the pedicure would do the trick - ha!

 I was 39 weeks along. 

Wednesday came, and to work I went! I really thought I was going to make it to Friday, which was my last official day of work. I was ok with that though, I still had things I needed to do.

After work, I got the girls from Mimi's and school. We came home.  I was getting ready to do laundry and the dishes, because, let's face it. My house is always in need of cleaning.

I had to make a pit stop to the bathroom before actually getting the laundry completely started .... but then after the bathroom, I kept having to go to the bathroom...  Well after 3-4 changes of clothes, I finally realized what had happened.

My water broke.  But I had never had my water break before, so I didn't know what it was. And it wasn't a continuous gush, but enough for me to know that it wasn't me not getting to the bathroom in time...continuously.

I called my doctor, and he said head to the hospital.

Great.

My bag still was not packed.  NO ONE was answering their phone to watch the girls. And Ron was at work.

Perfect.

Ron actually answered his phone, which is a miracle in itself, but he was on a call - ha! Luckily, the call got cancelled, so he was headed back to the station.

My mom finally answered her phone and she met us at the hospital to get the girls.

So, they admitted me and discovered that my water had, in fact, broke.

BUT.

I did not have any contractions nor was I dilated. This was going on 4 hours later.



But my water was still gushing. I've never had my water break on its own before. It's really disgusting. Like the worst feeling ever.

So, because lack of water in the sac can lead to an infection, I wanted to get the party started, so around 10:30 or so, my doctor started me on Pitocin.  Within an hour I was already feeling some nice sized contractions...so much so that I was already telling them to keep the epidural "guy" handy.

Around 11:30 they gave me setatol, the pain meds through the IV. That made me fell totally weird.  I couldn't stay awake on it and it helped ease the pain a little bit, so I was feeling the contractions on a totally different level, half awake.

Around 1:00 or so (I don't really remember time around this point), they gave me the epidural.  It was such a nice relief!

I finally got some real sleep. I was so exhausted, I didn't know how I would have been able to handle actual pushing if I didn't get some sleep before she came, so for this, I am so thankful for the epidural.

Around 3:45 or so, I started to feel some serious pain and pressure, and the nurse checked me and said that it was because the head was right there and I was about 9cm dilated.  Time to call for the doctor!

4:00 he comes in and gets me all prepared.

4:10 he tells me to start pushing.

3 pushes later, out comes our beautiful, sweet Caroline Summer.

Caroline Summer

November 20, 2014

4:13 a.m.

7 pounds, 14 ounces

20 1/4 inches long

We had some visitors during our stay at the hospital.  It was really nice that I had some family around this time to come see us.

My girl Matteson came, bearing the BEST pizza - our "post beach" pizza. BEST hospital present ever!

She also came bearing our car-seat. She offered to redo the covers because this is the original carseat from when Autumn was born, 6 years ago! eek!  Doesn't she have some serious skills??  I'm in awe of her talent.

My cousin Lisha came to visit with her boys. I'm so glad she lives around here right now! I love that we get to see them.

Her boys were so excited to be able to hold Caroline.

AND she came with a birthday cake for Caroline! I love it! Happy Birth-day, sweet girl!

My brother and his wife came with their baby Jack, but Caroline wasn't in the room at the time. But Demi made a beautiful lei that I got to wear and feel like royalty for a little bit.

AND Jason and Noelle were in town from Hawaii! Perfect timing! So glad they got to come and visit.

We were finally ready to go home, got all the discharge papers and everything...all packed up....

Then BAM!  Ooops, they didn't do her hearing test! 

Ugh. Hopes were then just squashed!  

We got discharged at 4:00 and we didn't get to leave until AFTER 5:00. Talk about annoyed.

We finally got home around 6:00. And the girls were instantly enamored with Caroline.

I now have my ABCs... my 3 beautiful girls:

Autumn Rose

Brooklynn Wynter

Caroline Summer

Starting with the End

With my parents back, that means that we can start working on my inside house projects while  we are working on the pool project. The pool project is going to take forever to get started because we're not just doing a pool - we're also adding in a "pool house" which is a shed/workshop for Ron as well as an "overhang" - kind of like another mini covered patio by the pool on the outside of the shed. And of course, we'll be putting in a fence.  This is all taking way to long for me. I just want to get started... forget the site plan and permit and survey and such. Can we just start digging, please??

Anyway, I also have a whole list of other things that I want done to the inside of the house. 

Well, my dad is ready to start on those whenever we are ready! BUT, we realized that everything we want to get done has to go with the flooring we're going to be putting in. But we're not putting the flooring in until last because we're remodeling the whole kitchen layout and my master bath layout.  

But we still need to know the floor we want so we can get our cabinets and countertops to "match."

So we went to Lowes today to find some flooring. 

There is a constant joke - if your marriage can survive the building of a house (or the remodel of a house), then you're probably going to make it all the way. lol. I get that. We haven't even barely begun.... this is going to be fun! haha! I mean seriously, Ron is shade blind... should he even get a say in colors?? lol! 

Let's talk flooring, for a minute, shall we??

We want wood - or the wood look.  My friend put the tile that looks like wood in her house and I really like it, so that's the way I was going to go. 

This is, essentially, the look I'm going for:

see pin {HERE}

Ron really likes the dark wood and furniture. I do too, but I don't want everything to be dark, I like the contrasting colors. and the cream color furniture and cabinets can go either way - shabby shic, antique, or beachy chic.  

So now the problem is... what kind of floors to get. Wood or tile??

When I say wood, I don't mean like REAL wood because the kids and furniture will definitely scratch it up. And I don't want laminate.  I mean like Bamboo or Pergo wood...the strong stuff!

Or the tile that looks like wood?? Our house has REALLY tall vaulted ceilings in every room (totally unnecessary and a pain in the but, if you ask me). so the tile makes everything echo. Plus, if you chip or crack the tile, it's really noticeable.

The engineered wood, like bamboo or pergo is really strong wood... but I wonder about wet spills... and scratches??

Anyone have any insights??

So, while the inside is moving along, let's talk about where we are with the outside.

Well, we've signed the contract with the pool company. 

He's come out and spray painted our lawn and put in stakes, which of course, we've already moved and now have to have him back out to redo where the pool and patio are going. 

This is going nowhere fast.  I'm already annoyed at it because I want it done....like yesterday. I'm impatient and I loathe paperwork... I know - not good for being a teacher, either. I get the irony.

But do you see all those pine needles?? I'm so excited because those pine trees have to get cut down for our pool!!! Oh darn. I hate pine trees.  Thankfully, we are working around my cluster of oak trees and palm trees. Those I must keep!

Ready for Baby C!

So, last Wednesday, I had a doctor's appointment. Just a regular ole check-up on the baby...

She already a wild one...ha!  Movin' all over the place, making it hard to get a good heartbeat.

She's head down and way down too.  Doctor says that I could be starting my real contractions any day now...I have contractions all the time, but just the braxton hicks ones...

So, since he said that she could come any day now, I kind of am in the mood to make sure she has the necessities ready for her arrival.

It's so funny.... 

When you have your first baby, everyone who is on their "multiple" kid tells you what you need to have - and that list is vastly different from what you think you need as a first time parent.

But you don't believe them.

Then, eventually, you figure out that they were right. All along.

Crazy.

So, here's what we have for Baby C - and I think we're ready!

We have:

1. pack n' play - she has a place to sleep now!  No place for a crib since my parents may still need the spare room, which is fine because both A and B slept in our room until they were 6-9 months old.

2.  bathtub - got it out of the attic!

3. boppy - that is actually one wise investment (we still had ours from A)

4. a pack of NB and size 1 diapers - don't know which size she'll need and for how long. Autumn stayed in NB for 3-4 months, while B was out of them much quicker

5.  clothes - yep... all kinds of good handme downs! lol

6.  nursing paraphernalia - just had to go re-buy all of my nursing tanks, bras, and pads. I still have my nursing cover that my sister made for me when I had A.

7. moby wraps - didn't need to buy these... still had 2 from when I had A; just needed to wash them

8. diaper bag - not really a diaper bag... just a bigger purse. I tend to just throw wipes and diapers and a change of clothes in a ziploc bag and then throw it in my purse. I don't want to carry around two bags....shoot. I don't even want to carry a purse most of the time as it is, so this works well for me.

9. Car seat - got them out of the attic and washed the covers - check!

So, I think we're ready... After a few kids, you kind of know what you are really going to need and don't make much to do about it.  I don't view it as "so sad for the baby for getting the shaft" as much as I do as being "realistic" with our money and needs.  Right?

Brooklynn Wynter's Birth Story

So this is my sweet little Brooklynn's birth story!

You can read Autumn's story {HERE} and the story of our miscarriage {HERE}

This was Christmas Day... our last family picture as a family of 3!

The night before we had to go into the hospital, being goofy with my momma.

Brooklynn was a planned birth. She was due January 2nd. But because of a snafoo with our insurance and the fact that my doctor was going to be out of town and may not be around to deliver her, we opted to be induced on the 28th of December.

That meant that I had to go in on the 27th. He had to give me some kind of medication (maybe pitocin?) that took 24 hours to work its magic to put me into labor. I started having some serious contractions but I wasn't dilating nor had my water broken. There was a point where they said they had to go in an break my water and that would hopefully help with the dilating.  Since my contractions were pretty bad, I went ahead and told them to give me the epidural.

They gave me the epidural and then broke my water.

Time went on and on and on... still no dilating.

FINALLY, I started to dilate.

But the epidural had worn off by this point.

Too late to do anything about it at this point.

She was coming!

Have you ever given a natural birth?? It was THE coolest thing I've EVER felt in my life. I could feel her arms and shoulders and everything coming through.

After 3 pushes, 8 minutes, Brooklynn was born!!

Brooklynn Wynter Ross

December 28, 2011 3:03 p.m.

8 pounds, 2 ounces

21 inches long

Autumn got to come see her sister...and it just melted my heart how much she loved her!

This is one my favorite pictures of all time. Autumn just loved the nose sucker thing and thought it was a toy to play with.  She was so excited about that thing! 

Then it was time to go home! We actually got to leave early, but it felt like I was at the hospital for an eternity since I had to go in a day early for the initial medicine.

And so our family grew from 3 to 4....it was complete! 

Or so we thought... then came baby Caroline!

In Between A and B

You might want to grab tissues for this post (at least I need to).

In between A and B.

There is no letter between A and B, is what you're thinking, I bet.

Well, for us there is.In between Autumn and Brooklynn, we were actually pregnant with another child. 

It was around November/December of 2010.  My mom was coming for Christmas, so I was holding out telling anyone until I could tell her face to face.In the mean time, we decided we needed to start looking for a new house - a bigger one. 

We were already outgrowing the "Starter Home" that I had bought before I even met Ron.BUT, during that time, I lost the baby.I was about 9-10 weeks along.  The morning my mom was coming to town to visit.

I woke up with bleeding. Ron had to work that day (as did I), but we headed to the hospital around 5:30/6:00.  The thing about being a teacher, is that no matter what you're going through, you still have to stop and find someone to make sure your class has lesson plans...and to call in for a sub for you.... NOT something on the top of your list to do at a time when you're rushing to the hospital.  That's for sure.

We went to the hospital and they said that I was no longer "carrying."

It was hard. I was devastated. 

My poor husband didn't even know how to help me...except to keep Autumn distracted. He tried. He held me, he let me cry on him constantly. But really, what could he do?  

It took a while, but a few months later, I was able to talk about it.

Here's what I wrote down when I was ready:

"So, I have had some of you ask me 'why all the sudden are you guys moving to a bigger house?! Are you expecting?? or anticipating a growing a family??' lol. Well, my answer is no, we're not pregnant.But, I will tell you that the reason that this all started was because we were pregnant. There, I actually said it. I know a lot of you have been wondering and speculating. But yes, I had a miscarriage. When I found out I was pregnant, we decided not to tell anyone because my mom was coming about a month later, and I had a great idea about telling her in person since she was told about Autumn over the phone. So, that's why we didn't tell anyone. Then, 3 days before Christmas break, I woke up bleeding. I was about 9-10 weeks along. So, yes, that's why I randomly was not at work the last days before break. Needless to say, I was devastated, broken-hearted. And to top it off, that morning, my mother was coming into town. I had to muster up the strength to move on. I was in pain for her visit here, which really brought me down because we had some fun plans.I knew that Christmas was already going to be a hard one - my mom was leaving before Christmas and Ron was working Christmas and new years, but then to add in what I went through. I didn't feel like talking to anyone about it, and I knew I wasn't going to be able to "play happy" very well, so I just kept to myself during the break. Once I went back to work, I got better, because I kept busy. And I'm better now with it - although, I must say I'm a little teary eyed now..lolSo now you know. I know that it was God's way of getting rid of something that probably would not have thrived later on. Though, at the time, it's hard to think like that.  Looking back, I just have to be thankful that I was only 9 weeks. I know of others who have had to give birth even though they knew their baby would be born a still- born. I can't even imagine! My heart goes out to every single mother who has to go through that, and I pray that none of you will ever have to go through it."

Still to this day, I get teary-eyed reading it. I've always said that everything happens for a reason, whether or not we know God's reason, or believe that there could possibly even BE a reason for it.


When my little Brooklynn turned 1, I finally realized what the reason was.  

My Brooklynn was born around the same time that we lost this baby. And had that pregnancy worked out, we would not have my little B.  

So, I not that I would ever be thankful for something so tragic as the loss of a baby, but I am so thankful that we get to have my B!  She is definitely a God-Send.

Moving Day!!

The day has finally come!!

My parents have moved back.

It's been a long six years not having them. My mom and I are super close, and have only gotten to see them a few times a year.

They actually got into town Saturday night, but with how tired they were from driving for 4-5 days across the country, they just went straight to their destination.

We met up with them first thing Sunday morning to help them unload their uhaul into their storage unit. Autumn was so excited to see them!  And I think Grandma was a little excited to see her too. (melt my heart)

She drew a picture for Woody and got Grandma a fun book. 

Then it was time to get to work! Ron came to help, as well as Woody's boys (Hans and Erich). 

The girls did their part to help too...

And of course, they got to play around a little bit. AND of course, we couldn't have a day without Brooklynn hurting herself. She ended up busting her lip...again. haha. The girl seriously has some "grace" issues.

My cousin came down from Daytona to help out too! She's a blogger too - you can follow her journey as a family who is living in an RV, life with 2 kids, and homeschooling on the road.

annnnnd I helped out a lot too....see??? hehe

It took a while, and a lot of "geometry-ing" of boxes and tools and kayaks and couches. But we got them all in. They are here. My parents have moved back. My girls have their grandparents. The new chapter has begun!