More Visitors

We were lucky enough to have the Flanagans and the Rogers come visit Henry his first week home! The Flanagans have grown quite a bit since they visited Emme when she was born!

{This boy LOVES babies!}

Henry At 1 Week

This little man is such a joy to have around. He's content and snuggly and sweet, and has an adorable dimple when he smiles.

Some first week ramblings....

• Nursing has been more difficult this time around. The doctors in the hospital thought Henry was slightly tongue-tied, but they decided to let it be. As a result, his latch is not as good as Emme's was, and I've had quite a bit of cracking & bleeding. Ugh! But I think we're through the worst now.
• Henry sleeps like a champ! He does a 4 hour stretch and then a 5 hour stretch at night. Oh how I love your sleeping habits, little man!
• I'm not sure I'll ever get used to changing a little boy diaper. I'm just way too slow! Been peed/pooped on more times than I care to remember already. Girls are so much easier!
• Henry looks a lot like Emme to me -- he has her same cheeks. He also has her same hairline & cowlick, but in a much lighter color. Perhaps he'll go blonder than Emme did?
• Life feels so good lately. I barely keep up on the laundry, and between feeding Henry, myself and Emme, and changing diapers, the whole day is practically full. But it feels so nice. I love being a mom!

I can't wait for these two to become best friends. Emme is going to be the sweetest big sister in the whole world.

Going Home

I have to say, my recovery after baby #2 was ten million times better than after baby #1. {surprise, surprise} I was up and showered and wearing real clothes and walking around the next day. In fact, Chris and I went a little stir-crazy just sitting there for two days. If it weren't for our Aflac supplemental insurance that forced us to stay 48 hours, I think we would have checked out early. It was so nice to go home!

Visitors

We had a lot of fun visitors while we were in the hospital. I wasn't good at taking pictures with all of them, but I did get a bunch when Emme came to visit.

Chris's parents brought her up the day Henry was born. Here she is getting her first look at him when she came in the door, right as the nurse was giving him his first bath.

We were so glad to see her, and she was so glad to see us. I think she could tell something was up but didn't know what, and she missed her mom & dad.

Unfortunately, she didn't care much to see or hold the baby. "Emme, do you want to hold baby brother?" "No, he's too heavy!" Don't know where she came up with that, but we didn't push it any further that night.

Chris's parents brought her up again the next day, and they must have talked him up at home because all she wanted to do was hold him and kiss his head. She was in love with him!

What a sweetheart! And the obsession continues....this girl still can't keep her hands off baby brother. And we love it.

The Birth Story

{39 week belly pic. Go HERE to see my 39 week pic with Emme.}

At my last doctor's appointment on Thursday the 18th, I was still 1.5cm dilated and 70% effaced, so my doctor went ahead and stripped my membranes in hopes of moving things along before my induction. On Friday I lost my mucus plug (TMI) and had a few contractions throughout the day. That night we dropped Emme off at my inlaws and Chris and saw a movie for one last date night. During the movie I had two or three hefty contractions. I also got woken up by a few really strong ones during the night that night as I slept. I was hoping that these contractions were making some progress! My biggest fear was that being induced would try to force the baby before my body was ready and I didn't want to do that....but I also didn't want a baby with a giant head to tear my body in half again. I felt like we were treading a fine line.

On Saturday, the 21st we got called into the hospital at about 6:20 am for my induction. Chris and I got there around 7:20 and walked into a rather quiet hospital. They'd had a ton of action the day before due to the storm, but that day was rather quiet and I was the only scheduled induction for the day. Hooray! I saw lots of one-on-one attention from the nurses in our future.

They had me change into a gown (but not before I made Chris snap one last belly pic) and got my IV started with pitosin. When they did my initial cervix check before the pitosin, I was at a 2.5cm and 90%, so those contractions from the day before had been making some change. Yay! We decided to wait to call my mom for a few hours, since it could be a long day. Chris and I watched a movie, read news on the ipad and lounged for a good while. I was having contractions 2 minutes apart, but they were easy to take and I had no trouble laughing at the movie right through them. I was feeling them in my lower belly and the tops of my thighs, which was VERY different from the way I felt contractions with Emme in my back (since she was posterior). I had decided I wanted to brave the contractions as long as I could, because I knew with Emme my progress slowed considerably after my epidural. I felt it would be better for myself and for the baby to let my body progress naturally for as long as I could take it.


At about 11:00 am the doctor arrived and decided to check me and break my water. I was only at 3.5cm. Since I was her only delivery for the day, she headed home and gave the nurses instruction to call her when I was complete. Immediately after they broke my water, my contractions got really intense. They stayed 2 minutes apart, but I had to close my eyes and breathe through them. My mom arrived shortly after they broke my water, and it was such a relief to have her there. She helped remind me to breathe and Chris rubbed my legs and let me squeeze his hand.

At about noon I requested the epidural. The contractions were getting painful and I was beginning to get the shakes. By the time the anesthesiologist got in there and did his thing, it was about 12:30 and I was at 7cm. Relief! I could still feel the contractions under my rear (weird), but nothing in my belly. We watched the monitor for a few minutes and my contractions started to plateau, indicating I was in transition. We sent Chris and then my mom off to get some lunch at the cafeteria, to make sure they got fed before the action started.

About 30 minutes after the epidural, the nurse checked me and I was at 10cm. My mom was still in the cafeteria so we texted her to come back when she was done and we waited for her while the nurses prepped the room. They called the doctor and told her I was complete. Given the fact that I pushed for 4 hours with the last one, the doctor told the nurses to have me give a few practice pushes and to call her when the baby was close. They got the room all set up, handed Chris one leg and a nurse the other and instructed me to push when a contraction came. After one push the nurse held up her hand, smiled and said, "That's great, honey, don't push any more! I'm going to call the doctor."

About 30 minutes later the doctor arrived, prepped and ready to catch. After about 4 pushes, Henry George Spencer entered the world at 2:35 pm, right as it started to snow. It was peaceful and calm and beautiful. They laid him on my chest as they rubbed him down and wiped him off. I never got to have that experience with Emme. I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. It was so miraculous!



We hugged and kissed and cuddled him for a good long while before they finally took him to be weighed & measured. He was 7 lbs, 14 oz and 21 inches of chubby perfection.


On the way up to recovery, Chris and I thanked our labor & delivery nurses, who were amazing. I told the nurse if all my deliveries could be like that, I would have 10 more! Chris got wide eyes and started to shake his head. :) All in all, the second time around couldn't have been more opposite of the first. I only had one small stitch, and I was up and around and dressed & moving within 24 hours. (With Emme, I literally couldn't stand up straight for three days.) Henry is a champion nurser and sleeper, and such a content baby so far. We are just eating up every moment of his precious existence.

Plus, his awesome timing made for fun birthdays for our family so far:

Annalisa - October 21st
Emmeline - November 21st
Chris- December 21st
Henry - January 21st

We love you, Henry George Spencer! Welcome to our family!

Michelle's Girlfriend Shower

We threw a surprise girlfriend shower for Michelle this week. We knew she wouldn't let us throw her one if she knew about it, because she'd be embarassed to death about opening lingerie in front of a crowd, so we kept it under wraps and it was so much fun!
Julie pulled out all the stops and made some amazing food, all coordinated to our theme.

Melissa and I made the favors -- which were these lingerie cookies from an idea we found HERE via pinterest. They were super easy and turned out hilariously cute. The girls couldn't stop talking about the "bum" cookies.



If a person could die from blushing too much in one night, Michelle would have this night. It was so funny to watch her open all of her gifts -- it was like she didn't know what to do with her hands half of the time!


Nevertheless, it was a fun night to get together again with all of Michelle's friends from way-back-when. We all got a huge dose of laughter that night.

We're so excited for you, Michelley! Marriage is such an exciting journey, we are just thrilled for you & Jeff. Thank you for letting us embarrass & pamper you for a night!