Awaiting Her Arrival

How do you summarize your feelings about knowing your life is about to be changed in a miraculous way once again? That your family is about to grow in size by one little incredible human being? I/we were anxious, excited & overjoyed about meeting our precious McKenna Jane. I/we were also nervously anticipating how our birth experience would transpire. I became very emotional while sitting in the check in area at the birthing unit discussing with Travis how it didn't seem possible that the day was finally here. We were about to become parents once again (and for our final time - that was the emotional part). God had brought us to this place and He was going to see us through it. As I sat there looking over at my husband I couldn't help but have a smile spread across my face. We made this beauty and we were about to meet her for the first time!!!

Let's get this party started!
Early morning awaiting the doctor's arrival to break my water

Walking the halls
I was eager to progress active labor and have things move along quickly.
The above photo was taken just after I had been checked by the nurse.
I was dilated to 7 cm and was 90% effaced.

Shortly after I hit the "wall"

I became nervous and began questioning my ability to bear the pain and have this new little one "naturally." Our nurse tenderly yet firmly reminded me if I were to become dilated to 9 cm and 100% effaced, getting an epidural was no longer an option. Eeekk! I was also informed that this could happen within a matter of a minute or two or it could take several more hours. She also told us that the anesthesiologist and student were in a surgery so she was unaware of how quickly they could get to our room to prep me for an epi. I tolerated the labor pains another 40 minutes before opting for the epidural just minutes before 1pm.

Travis was the most incredible support partner and encourager throughout

the entire labor & delivery.

He was game to follow my birth plan (whatever that may have been at the moment ... walking the hallways reminiscing and laughing, sitting on the birthing ball or just simply breathing through the more difficult contractions).

Post epidural waiting to become complete.

{Interject the word HELL here. If I could change the hands of time I would NOT have had that horrendous epidural. It was anything BUT a pleasant experience}

1, 2, 3 ... push!

Belly Progression

Watch ME Grow

Photo taken 08/24/10 - 20 weeks gestation

Photo taken 10/12/10 - 27 weeks gestation

Photo taken 10/29/10 - 29 weeks, 3 days gestation

Photos taken 01/05/11 - 39 weeks gestation
Total weight gain with Gabrielle 33 lbs
Total weight gain with Dawson 38 lbs !!
Total weight gain with baby #3 around 27 lbs

A Sunday Celebration

This past Sunday my dear girlfriends hosted a baby shower in celebration of our sweet baby girl to be. They did such a bang up job with the decorations and food preparations. We feasted on mint oreo balls, moist mini cupcakes, chocolate dipped strawberries, delic' ice cream punch amongst other yummy finger foods.

Ms. Emily Cowden's 1st diaper cake ... isn't it adorable?

Pink Gerber Daisies from Rene'

Me with my #1
She is so excited to have her baby sister join our family

What this girl can't live without - Hostess powdered donettes (and moo juice, OJ, Dr. Pepper, cereal and ice cream .... but those donuts are a vice!)

The stinkin' cutest sweater from my neice Paige.
I am seeing this paired with a cute pair of jeggings or denim of some sorts :P
So with little more than two weeks until our official due date I am feeling great with no complaints other than mild shortness of breath after making the trek up and down the stairs dozens of times a day. Oh, and I can't forget the interrupted sleep to make the multiple bathroom visits. If there were only a way to bipass that in the wee hours of the morn'. We have very little to do before her arrival - hang the mobile, install the carseat and pack the hospital bag. We are all anxious, excited, filled with anticipation of what she will look like and how her siblings will receive her, and a tiny bit nervous about becoming a family of five. I guess God trusts that we have enough energy for another little one. My hope is this wee one will be the calm amongst the storm. I say that with much love!! We welcome any/all blog followers to send up prayers on our behalf for a safe and healthy delivery. We can't wait for you all to meet her!

What's in a name?

We have really been struggling to nail down a name for the newest member of the Hicks family. We faced the same challenge when we were expecting Gabrielle as well. I don't know if you would agree, but we find it so much easier to choose a boys name. In fact we had our boy name picked out long before we found out for certain we were expecting another girl. Several times a week the topic will come up and we will give it some thought and discussion. The past several weeks Travis has gone into psycho mode spending a ton of time on numerous online sites looking up names - popular baby names, celebrity baby names, etc. He has researched the origin and meaning of the names which made our short list, crossed out names and added names. So over the weekend he shared with me that he was really leaning toward two very different names. One more common, the other not so common - both with different middle names. I have been dead set on MY name since very early in this pregnancy and I CAN NOT get him over to my side. (Enter some ill feeling here as I really have a strong feeling about this particular name). Anyhow, he turns to me and says with such emotion "I would never consider changing Gabrielle or Dawson's name. I love their names and feel they both suit them well. I want the same for this baby. I want to know without a doubt we gave her the right name." How can I argue with that? I want us to both be happy with whatever we name our little girl.
So precious baby to be, please know Daddy and Mommy have poured hours over your name and no matter what it may end up being we know it is perfect, just as you will be!

This one is for my Mom

Where to start?
I have really missed keeping up with our family blog, but if I am being 100% honest, I just have not made it a priority. So much has taken place since my last post. Fun and exciting outings, milestone and momentous moments, big firsts, ups and downs with personal life and child rearing. Looking back now I wish I had indeed taken the time to record each of those events be them small or large. This is where I am at in life at this moment. A mom struggling to juggle all the many hats we as moms wear - homemaker, meal planner & preparer, household banker, primary child caregiver, friend and most importantly my role as a wife. Since I already stated I would be 100% honest I will share that I feel I have failed miserably in most of the above areas as of recent. I have continued to maintain the house for the most part but can say that I am more than relieved that my somewhat severe tendency toward house cleaning has been kicked to the curbside. I feel like a super star if I do indeed have a well balanced meal prepared and on the table for my family for supper. The frustrating part is 9 out of 10 times the kids refuse to eat it and I (even in my 2nd trimester) still prefer a bowl of cereal or a PB bagel, so we have wasted a lot of good meat and vegetables lately. Argh! I, for the first time in my adult life, have paid two bills (Kohl's and VISA) a day late over the course of the past month. Do you know what that equals? Late fees! And if you want to see my tail feathers ruffled charge me a late fee when it is my own darn fault!! Several friendships have fallen by the wayside as I have been wrapped up in myself and my families needs. I think this pregnancy threw me into a tailspin. Please don't misinterpret that as saying that I am not over the moon excited about this little blessing because I am! I was pretty miserable my entire 1st trimester and leading into the first several weeks of the 2nd trimester. Enter week 15 through the current and I started to panic about everything that I no longer have and need to care for a newborn. I obsessed about taking inventory of what I had remaining and started hitting garage sales & the kids consignment sales hard. If any of you are still with me I will now share the #1 reason I have fallen off the blogging stratosphere. Life with kids can be tough. I mean really tough! I have two beautiful, wonderful, God fearing children, but those two have a little bit of the devil living in them :) I do not recall going through the struggles with Gabrielle that we are currently facing with Dawson. He was our child who never rocked the boat in the sense of getting into things he shouldn't, disobeying or discrediting authority, etc etc. Starting about three weeks ago that all changed for us. We jokingly and affectionately call him Pistol Pete or Dawson the Destroyer, but let me tell you he fits the names. There have been periods throughout the recent weeks where I frequently hear myself say out loud "Dawson, I am not playing your games right now," "Dawson, we said no and no means no now get down, shut the door, come inside, etc," "I HAVE HAD ENOUGH!" "Do you want me to swat your bottom?" "If I hear those potty words come out of your mouth again, you will get vinegar on your tongue" (this one always gets his attention!). You get the point. Many of you may be thinking this is normal 2 - 3 yr old behavior. I beg to differ with you. I shared with my women's Bible study group that I am contemplating scheduling a consultation with a child psychologist to establish if this is a true clinical case of sensory disorder or adolescent obsessive compulsive behavior. I could share sooooooo much more on this topic, but will spare you reading a book. Just know that I am still crazy in the love with the kid and that we have more good/great times of loving and sharing in the day than we do the bad. It is just that the bad tends to be really bad right now. We will be traveling this weekend to NW Iowa to spend time with some people that are very near and dear to us. I would ask for prayers that we have a smooth, tantrum free weekend. I am concerned as anytime we travel our kids schedules are compromised, they don't get the luxury of sleeping in their own beds and they tend to get over stimulated by the activities and surroundings.
Since this post has primarily focused on our struggles with our little man I will leave you with a handful of pictures from his 3rd birthday which we celebrated this Tuesday the 21st. Enjoy!
Please, please leave me a comment letting me know you have stopped by so I know someone out there is still reading this blog and if you have any psychologist referrals or recommendations on behavior modification I beg you to share.



"Look, I am 3!"

T.G.I.F.

What a week!!
I am so glad to see this week behind me. It has NOT been a good one.
Should have been, but was not.
Tuesday I kept my girlfriends kids and I was queesy (is that even a legit word?) all day. The kids caught me laying down every chance I could. Sorry, but a girl has got to do what a girl has got to do to get through a day. My parents returned from vacation with some dear family friends and stopped by for a visit. They weren't here 10 minutes when I bolted off the couch with the 1st of MANY trips to the bathroom to regurgitate every ounce of anything I had put in my mouth that day.
Wednesday was my 35th birthday AND Travis and my 10th wedding anniversary.
10 years folks
That is a big one!
I spent the ENTIRE day in bed with the exception of the times I was in the bathroom with my head hanging over the toilet. I have dined on NOTHING but dry toast & applesauce for three days now. Can I hear a blah? Poor girl? Awwww? Travis has been absolutely amazing catering to me and checking in on me. He brought me Dairy Queen ice cream cake Wednesday night and I have yet to attempt to feast on a slice. I was so fortunate to catch one BIG break in all this madness. My Mom had taken Wednesday off work to enjoy her company and kept the kids the entire day for me. She transported them to Gabrielle's weekly literacy class, the park, McDonald's for ice cream, then back to her house for rest time. She is an amazing Mema to say the least. Thursday the kids and I had a quiet day in. I was able to get a few small tasks accomplished around the house but for the most part played it easy. Today. Today is Friday and today is a new day. Although I am definitely not back to 100%, I am feeling more energized and able to face the day. I look forward to enjoying the kids today and especially spending some quality time with Travis over the weekend celebrating a decade of marriage.

A Hug from Heaven

These two have been such a blessing to me as of the past month. Hold your horses, this isn't a bragging session, I promise. I believe their sense of imagination, ability to play together (as well as independently) for hours, fend for themselves in many ways ... the list goes on has been a little hug from heaven direct from God to little ol' me. You see, God rocked our world about this time last month when it was revealed to us that his plans for our family were much different than what we had thought. Travis and I had many talks about being fortunate enough to have one healthy girl and one healthy boy (after what seemed like a rough 1st year). We talked about the emotional ups and downs with all the testing and therapy we endured with Dawson as well as were raw and honest with one another about our fears of having a baby born with even larger scale health issues as we have had others close to us experience. Let's be completely honest here, we also discussed the fact that we were loving our new gained independence to do things and go places with ease ... we talked about the financial aspect of raising a larger family and we touched on the issue of "did we have enough energy and stamina" to start over again. Guess who is in control? GOD! So, here we are - almost 11 weeks pregnant with baby #3. I am fatigued and dealing with awful indigestion. I had virtually stopped ALL cooking, cleaning and couponing (catch your breath as I am here). I am compulsive about cleaning and am passionate about couponing and frugal shopping so putting those things on hold was a stretch for me. I have felt much better over the course of this past week and am happy to report I have prepared and served at least two hot meals to my family so far this week. I am so thankful for my little one's sweet attitudes when they have heard their mommy say repeatedly "Mommy doesn't feel so good right now" or "Let Mommy rest a few more minutes then we will work on getting lunch together." I am grateful that Gabrielle allows me to rest EVERY day during Dawson's nap time and she fills that time with creative play and making an awesome disaster in her room. I have began referring to the disaster in her room as an extension of her creative being. I am blessed beyond measure that my amazing parents live within a 5 minutes walk from here. They never fail to make special time for the kids and fill their love tanks to overflowing on a regular basis. I am loved more than I realize by my husband who works from 6:30AM until supper time then walks in the door and immediately takes over meal preparation & clean up, entertains the kids & gets them ready and tucked into bed. I appreciate that we live in a beautiful neighborhood that has a community pool that has provided more than one "bath" for my kids on occasion over the past few weeks. So, what I am feeling right now is a deep sense of overwhelming joy that the Lord has entrusted us to be parents again and that he is daily sending me a Hug from Heaven letting me know that this 1st trimester blah stage will soon be past allowing me to enjoy my family more.
Grateful - yes!!!

Sweet smiles from the Big Brother and Big Sister to be!!