Happy 3rd Birthday Sarah Anne!

I can't believe my baby girl is 3. We had her birthday party tonight, and I am working on pics. I will upload some this weekend or early next week, but in the meantime, here is her birth story and some random pics.

We found out I was pregnant August 2 and I was already about 9 weeks along. We were planning on having another baby, just not right then. I was working at a hospital, and at 16 weeks, we thought we could tell it was a girl. I was shocked because I just assumed I'd have all boys, but I also didn't believe it completely because it was still so early.

I had my official ultrasound at 22 weeks, and she also confirmed it was a girl. We were absolutely thrilled. We decided to name her Sarah (I have always said my first girl would be named Sarah – ever since I was very little!) Anne (after my mom and my sister).

I was due either March 16 or 19, 2006, by the ultrasound dates. I had been having a lot of contractions and started dilating pretty early – around 35 weeks. At 39 weeks, I was still only 1 centimeter dilated, and she was still really high. The doctor asked me if I wanted to set up an induction, and I told her no.

At 40 weeks, she told me we were setting up an induction for the following week. I couldn't believe my little girl was going to be late! Both boys were early, so we kept saying, "She is stubborn." A friend of mine said, "Maybe she's not stubborn, maybe she's just patient." I liked that idea better. I think she heard her brothers always at each other and decided she wasn't coming out to that!

We got to the hospital at 7 a.m. Monday morning, March 27, 2006, for my induction. Baby Sarah was between 8 and 11 days late at that point, and we were quite certain she wasn't coming on her own. The nurse asked all of her questions and we finally got an IV started (on the third try).

By 7:20 a.m. or so, we were waiting for the doctor to show up to get things going. She didn't come until 9:40! We could have slept in. She checked me, and I was still only 2 centimeters dilated and 30 percent effaced and the baby was at a -3 station.

After she broke my water, I was "stretchy" to a 3. When she left, she told me she would give me until 1 p.m. to make "significant" progress before starting Pitocin. It wasn't the 5 or 6 hours we had agreed on, and I really hoped I wouldn't have to have it. I was nervous about it meaning that I had to be on the monitor, and I had never had it with either of my boys. I knew my labors started out slow, but when my babies decided to come, they come very quickly.

My nurse was awesome! I knew we'd be OK when she said, "You are in charge ... You call the shots." She was familiar with my birth plan and knew exactly what I wanted. I did have to be on the monitor 20 minutes of every hour, but I never had to call her when the 20 minutes were up. She always came back in, unplugged me and let me up. She also didn't run any fluids in my IV, which I appreciated.

My nurse checked me at noon and I was still 3 centimeters and 50 percent effaced. She checked me again at 1, and I was at a 4 and 60 percent effaced. She said she wasn't starting Pitocin since that was good enough for her. At 2 p.m., my doctor came in and checked me. I was still at 4, but 80 percent effaced. She said she was starting the Pitocin.

After she left, the nurse said she was starting it because she had been ordered to, but she didn't think I needed it and she didn't agree with it. She turned it on as low as she could. At that point, I had to be on the monitor and that scared me because I knew I would be wanting to get in the shower and stuff as it got more intense.

At 3 p.m., she checked me and I was at 5 or 6 and a -2 station. I decided to get a half dose of Stadol because I was starting to panic. At that point, I had to not only be on the monitor, but also in bed for half an hour. I sat up cross-legged and with each contraction could feel the baby moving down.

She had bumped up the Pitocin some by this point. Some of the contractions were lasting five or six minutes. Sometimes I'd have three in a row with almost no break. Sometimes I'd have three or four minutes between them. I listened to my husband, we did our breathing and I really stayed in control (even more so than with my other two). I just focused on the feeling of the baby coming down, even though I really don't like that feeling!

By 3:45 p.m. or so, I was at 8 centimeters and still a -2 station. The nurse told me that she didn't think it mattered and that she would just come right down and out once I hit 10. At 4:10 p.m., I was ready to push, though no one checked me. They called the doctor, but kept telling me not to push until she showed up. The doctor told me that since she had some slight meconium in her fluid, she wanted to suction her out first after her head came out.

I pushed about three or four times and her head was out. I then yelled at the doctor to get her out of me. I felt like I was being split in two! Both boys were born so quickly I didn't have that feeling and I didn't like it one bit.

The doctor asked how big the boys were and I said 7 pounds, 5 ounces and 7 pounds, 11 ounces. She said, "Well she has them whooped!" I didn't think she looked all that big.

They put her on my chest but she looked really blue. The doctor asked if they could take her to the warmer and I let them. I was watching them, and they were getting the oxygen out, and I saw they had the thing out to intubate her. When she was born, she took a breath in to scream and clamped her vocal cords shut. They had to use the intubation instrument to pry her cords apart. Her one minute Apgar was only a 3 – 2 for tone (because she was strong) and 1 for grimace. Her heart rate was in the 50s and she wasn't breathing. Once they did that and gave her about 15 seconds of oxygen, she was pink and doing great. Her five-minute Apgar was 9.

Then they weighed her and said she was 8 pounds, 14 ounces (and she had pooped as soon as she was born so we think she was probably close to 9). I could not believe it! For a 9-pound baby, it was a relatively easy delivery. I thought she'd maybe be just over 8.

Joshua is so in love with his baby sister. He holds her and kisses on her constantly. It took Zachary a few days, but he is in love with her now ... He had told my mom he didn't want to bring her home.

Zachary's birthday pics

I decided that since Sarah's birthday is tomorrow, I better post some pics from Zachary's family birthday last Wednesday.

Happy Birthday Zachary Do-Da!

I can't believe Zachary is 6! He is growing up so quickly. Here are a few pictures of him growing up, and his birth story. We are having his family party tonight, so I'll have more pictures later.

Zachary was due March 20, 2003. This pregnancy was planned and we started trying when Joshua was about 15 months old. I got a positive pregnancy test the day before my 24th birthday and we were thrilled.

I knew from the get-go that it was another boy. Jason really wanted a girl, but I told him if he held on to that, he would be disappointed when we had our ultrasound and he found out it would be another boy. At 20 weeks, we did find out it was another boy and we decided on the name Zachary Joie (after my grandfather who was named Joie Bruce).

My doctor had been telling me for weeks that he was as low as he could get and if my water broke, he would be born within minutes, so I better be sure I was at the hospital or got there quickly. Jason was extremely concerned about the possibility of the baby being born at home because of this. Everyone at his work joked that every time the phone rang, he'd have one arm in his coat and ready to bolt out the door.

Monday, March 17, my sister Julie started on spring break (she was in college) and we spent the day together. We took Joshua to the park and went grocery shopping. Then we headed back to my house. I hadn't been feeling all that great that day.

By 5 o'clock, I could tell I was having contractions, and we went and started walking around the neighborhood. They were mostly pretty far apart, but sometimes they would be only four or five minutes apart. My husband and her husband were at a friend's house playing games.

By about 8 p.m., after my sister had given our oldest a bath and I had taken a shower to relax, we called Jason and told him that tonight was probably going to be the night, but there was no hurry. We also gave my mom a heads-up. My sister and brother-in-law took Joshua back to their house since it was Nate's job to watch Joshua when Zachary was born.

Jason and I played a game for a while and then decided to get some sleep. I was uncomfortable and could not sleep. When I was lying in bed, my contractions were nine minutes apart. Finally around 3 a.m., I got out of bed and Jason asked me what I was doing. I told him I couldn't sleep and I was hungry and going to eat a bowl of cereal. When we got down to the kitchen, he started timing the contractions and they were less than five minutes apart. We called the doctor, got dressed, called my mom and sister and headed to the hospital.

We arrived about 4 a.m., and I was only 3 centimeters dilated (had been 1 1/2 to 2 previously) and was having contractions. I was also told that the baby was extremely high and they would not break my water with him so high. I was so confused since I had been told he was so low. I didn't know if when she stripped my membranes, maybe the water all moved in front of his head?

I had a birth plan written out and signed by my doctor and on file with the hospital. I didn't have to have an IV right away. I got to eat and drink, and I stayed mobile.

Around 6 a.m., they started an IV and some fluids. At 7 a.m., the doctor (not mine) came in to check me. I was only 4 centimeters, he was still high and the doctor was not going to break my water because of that. The time frame is a little blurry to me, but I started having quite a bit of pain. It wasn't from the contractions; it was just a lot of pressure.

By 10 a.m., I was really starting to panic. I had been having strong contractions for 17 hours and I was starting to worry about not being able to handle it much longer. I opted to get in the shower when I found out I was only 5 centimeters. I really wanted to not even have Stadol this time around.

I stayed in the shower until the water got cold – about 45 minutes. The nurse checked me at 11 a.m. and I was only 5 1/2 centimeters but still in severe pain. I was told the doctor would come at lunch and break my water.

About 11:15 a.m., I decided I needed a half dose of Stadol because I was in so much pain. As she gave me the half dose of Stadol (I was 6 centimeters and it was 11:20 a.m.), my water broke. My eyes got huge and I said, "My water just broke!" The nurse said, "It's OK." I said, "No, you don't understand! This baby is coming right now!" She looked, and didn't even leave the room. She pushed the call button and yelled for people to come quick and to call the doctor.

A bunch of people came in and were all sure they were going to have to deliver the baby. The doctor showed up at 11:32 a.m. They put my feet on the foot pedals, and Zachary was born in maybe one push. I got totally gypped on the stadol since it didn't even have time to kick in before he was born.

He weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces and was 18 inches long. (I think they measured him wrong because he fit in his clothes better than his brother, who they said was two and a half inches longer, and at a week they said he was 21 inches long and he didn't grow 3 inches in a week!)

I had a second degree tear again, and this time only had 12 stitches. I felt wonderful and never had any pain or soreness. When my doctor came in to see me the morning after, she told me I would have to be induced with my next child because if my water would have broken at home at 3 centimeters, he still would have been born right then. It was an incredible experience, though it was longer and I felt more painful than my first labor.