February = Birthday Month

February is a busy month for birthdays here at the Hines household!  Ella is obviously our newest February birthday baby.  Myke had his birthday 2/20 and this week Chloë will be turning 4 on the 28th (how is my BABY turning 4 already?!).  Also, Kyla (our faithful golden retriever) will be turning 6 on Feb. 27th.  Non-stop fun!  Poor Myke's birthday is sandwiched right between Ella's and Chloë's with only a week or so between theirs and his.  

Myke's Birthday Cadillac Margarita

Myke & I had a "date night" for his birthday dinner...

(but Ella came, too)

Chloë had an birthday dinner this past weekend

Sisters Photos (Chloë LOVES holding Ella):  

Ella's Little Outfits:  

Swimming in this Newborn size fleece

Smallest leggings ever!

5 days old

Ella's first bath at home (at 5 days old)

Ella is 12 days old today and so far, so good.  She is such a good baby.  Myke and I keep wondering when the ball will drop... She's just so predictable so far.  Only cries when she is hungry and that is every 2-3 hours...usually closer to 3...sometimes 4.  At night she'll eat one last time between 10 & 11pm and then sleeps until somewhere between 3 & 4am which is an AWESOME stretch for a newborn.  Hey, it's an awesome stretch for me!  Let's be honest!  Then she's back to sleep for another 3 hours.  So, for the most part, I'm only getting up one time at night to feed her.  I'm loving that!  The lack of sleep part was what I was fearing the most--having to care for 4 kids all day and all.  So far, it's definitely not TOO bad at all.  We'll see how long the luck lasts.

We had a busy weekend- Myke's sister came to visit us for a long weekend and brought her youngest, "Baby Trent", who is 8 months old.  Myke had never met him so that made it even more special.  She also has Declan, who is 6 years old, and Mira, who is 3.  Hopefully, she'll be able to come out again for a visit and bring all of them next time.  We do feel bad that the kids don't know their cousins very well...but it's hard to get together when we live across the country from each other.

So we had a full house this weekend:  11 people (5 kids, 6 adults).  It was a fun time--but went by way too fast!  It's definitely nice having all the extra sets of hands to help out.  I'm not sure what I'll do when I'm on my own with all 4!  Luckily, Myke works from home so I can have him help out if I run into desperate times, which I'm SURE will happen now and again!  My main concern is how things will go when I'm feeding Ella...and the other 3 are on the loose!  Chloë is fine, and the boys are USUALLY okay...but you never know.  I had a little taste of it today while I was feeing Ella this morning.  Myke was working, my mom was showering and getting dressed, and Myke's parents were taking his sister and Trent to the airport.  Chloë was at school so I only had three kids on my own (3 under 2!).  I was sitting in the recliner and feeding Ella, watching Owen & Eli play on the carpet in front of me.  Then Eli decided he wanted me to read him a book so he climbs up on my lap.  I situate him on one arm of the recliner so I can read to him but he isn't sitting on Ella.  He was getting annoyed with her feet touching him and kept trying to push them away.  We finally got him settled and comfortable when Owen decides he wants in on the story time.  So he climbs up the other side of the recliner and tries to sit on Ella's head (more or less) so he can see the book.  So I have Eli on one side, Owen on the other and poor Ella squished in the middle trying to eat (and at the same time trying to survive).  It worked out okay in the end.  Wanting a book read to them was easy while I'm stuck in the recliner feeding the baby.  It's when they start wanting other things or start doing things they aren't supposed to (like throwing toys over the upstairs railing) while I'm confined to the chair....that's what I worry a little more about.  We'll cross that bridge when we get there!

Some pics:

"Gramma" & "Mom-Mom"

Our beautiful mommas!

Pop & Ella snuggling

Owen is very interested in his baby sis

(Eli not-so-much)

A typical dinner at our house

Gramma and her 4 grand-babies

"Baby Trent" and his beautiful blue eyes

Trent checking out Ella

Owen at the park

Kyla lounging in the sun

My Beautiful Ella Has Arrived...

Ella has arrived!  In fact, she's almost a week old as I'm typing this!  I can't believe her first week has already gone by...I'm loving every minute of having her so far...and I truly mean that.  She's just a wonderful baby so far.  Just a little peaceful peanut.  I could eat her up! :)

As for the birth story- After no signs or indications of labor at all (besides 2-3cm dilation..which I had for over a week with no change) I decided to go in on 2-13-13 to be checked again and see if I had progressed and to decide if they should break my water to get things moving.  My plan was to attempt a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean) and there are some risks if your baby goes too far past their due date.  There are also extra risks when the mother is induced (both with the VBAC success rate and chances of uterine rupture).  We arrived at the hospital at 9am that Wednesday morning and they checked me into a room.  I was found to STILL be 2-3cm dilated.  So no real progress over the prior week and 1/2.  Baby was comfy in there.  I was hooked up to heart (for baby and myself) monitors and a contraction monitor and they watched what was going on for a bit before deciding what to do.  Well, in the first hour of monitoring I guess the baby's heart rate declined because suddenly 2 nurses ran in and yelled at me to get on my side and they threw an oxygen mask on my face.  Then baby settled back to normal.  I've watched a lot of TLC Baby Story in the past (when I actually had time to watch tv..so few years ago) and I know that baby heart rates decel pretty regularly (at least on the show).  So I wasn't too worried.  Anyways, I'll try not to make this story ridiculously long and detailed.  To move along, the baby's heart rate did that a few more times, but overall was okay.  However, they did not feel that they could just break my water without risk to the baby's health (due to the heart decels).  So it was decided that they would try Pitocin (a drug to start contractions).  Once going on this drug (given through an IV in my arm) I was no longer able to be under the care of the midwives and was moved to the doctor's care.  The doctor there that day happened to be Dr. Stephen Hebert--who happened to be the attending physician there on 5/16/11 and did my C-secton for the boys!  He was really great and down-to-earth and I was happy to be under his care.  So around 12:15pm they started the Pitocin drip to see if I would start having any contractions.  Fast forward 3 hours...I had had a few contractions here and there but nothing regular and nothing painful.  The nurses kept "upping" my dosage to see how I would do.  I know they were starting slow because they had no idea how I would react to the drug.  Finally, around 3:30-ish I started having some contractions to write home about.  They were a bit more uncomfortable...but still nothing too painful.  I could handle them by just closing my eyes and breathing.  I was pretty excited that it seemed like something was finally happening after sitting there in that hospital bed strapped to IV's and monitors all day.  Anyways, the next hour is somewhat of a blur.  I guess the baby's heart rate declined rapidly again...the nurse frantically called for Dr. Hebert.  He rushed in and found I was still on 4cm dilated (no way! that's it?!).  He decided to break my water to get things moving.  He said if that didn't get labor going then I was definitely going to be having a C-section to get the baby out as she obviously wasn't handling life in the womb too great anymore.  So he broke my water.  This was about 4pm.  That's when all hell broke loose!  Suddenly the contractions were ridiculous and painful.  I asked for the epidural peeps to get there asap!  I did not have an epidural for Chloë's birth and I didn't feel the need to repeat that fun event!  :)  However, yet again, it wasn't up to me how this delivery was going to go!  The epidural people were in another woman's room so I had to wait for them.  Meanwhile, the baby's heart rate apparently got worse because suddenly my room was a whirlwind of frantic activity.  Everyone was yelling at me "lay on your right side!" "lay on your left side"...trying to get me in a position that didn't distress the baby anymore and that would stabilize her heart.  It was VERY hard to keep moving in different positions when I had oxygen on my face, a heart monitor on my right hand and then an IV in my left arm.  Finally, they made me get on all fours on the bed.  It was horrible to deal with contractions in that position.  Dr. Hebert decided enough was enough and that I needed to be rushed to the operating room and be prepared for an emergency C-section.  He told me to be prepared to be put under because they needed to get the baby out ASAP.  In a quick rush I my bed was wheeled down the hall (with me still on all fours!...nice!  At least I had a gown on).  I just hope there was no tour of the Labor & Delivery ward for expectant parents going on as they rushed me by (because let me tell you, I had NO clue what was going on around me ...nor did I care in the least...contractions will do that to you.  All I cared about was getting through the next painful contractions and finding someone to give me some pain relief!).  So I was rushed into the OR and the nurses and doctors threw on their scrubs.  NICU pediatricians arrived and everyone prepared to do the emergency C-section.  I mentally prepared to be knocked out and thought of waking up in a fog after the surgery and meeting Ella then.  I didn't love the idea, but the contractions were so painful I was more than ready to be knocked out.  Then...the heart rate started to look OK again!  The epidural people came and were able to put an epidural in place...though they had to do it with me laying on my side since the baby's heart rate seemed to be okay in that position...something they don't usually do, apparently.  Then, mid-epidural-being-put-in-my-back, the heart rate declined yet again.  Dr. Hebert yelled at the epidural people to hurry up and gave them 30 seconds to finish as he had decided it was time for the emergency C-section.  Then the heart stabilized again, they found out I was 10 cm dilated and he said I can either push this baby out right away or get knocked out.  So with a team of 5-10 people in the room and Myke in scrubs (he finally got to come in), out came baby Ella!  Cord wrapped both around her neck and her torso (the reason for her heart decelerations) but she started crying immediately as they unwrapped it.  She was totally fine and healthy!  Born at 5:02pm.  The epidural kicked in just time for the placenta to come out after (TMI?).  Anyways, it was a whirlwind hour from 4pm-5pm of sudden  & intense labor!   But she's perfect!  

Ella Maureen Hines

2/13/13

5:02pm

6lb 14oz

19 3/4 inches

Family visitors the following afternoon: 

Valentine's Day Visitors- Chloë & Gramma

First family picture of the 6 of us!

Pop & Mom-Mom meet Ella

Chloë & Owen meeting Ella 

(Eli wasn't so sure about her...and still isn't!)

The Eve of My Possible Induction...

And I'm googling "what to pack in hospital bag".  Better late than never!  You'd think I'd know by the 4th child/3rd delivery.  I guess I do know, but I wanted to just double-check and see if I've forgotten anything.  I've never been at the hospital while experiencing labor so maybe there are some things I would need for that?  Isn't Myke supposed to roll tennis balls on my lower back during contractions?  Will I want some hard candies to suck on?  Are you even allowed things like that during labor?  I hope Myke has brushed up on labor coach duties...because that will be something new for him!

It's odd KNOWING that tomorrow is "the big day"...even though it was less than 2 years ago that I went through this with the boys with the scheduled C-section.  Surprisingly, I slept really well the night before they were born.  Hopefully, tonight will be the same.  It's strange thinking this might be my LAST night of real sleep for a very long time.  Disturbing!  It could be my last night of decent sleep IN MONTHS!!  It took the twins 8 months before they would sleep until 5am.  So there is A LOT of pressure for this to be an amazing night of restful sleep.  This is why I'm in bed by 9pm tonight.  Just to enjoy every minute of my comfy bed and (hopefully) sleep.  Ahhhhhh.   Sleep will be missed.  Luckily, all the kids sleep AWESOME right now.  They all do about 12 hours at night and no one really gets up until 7am.  Yes, that probably sounds dismal to my childless friends, not being able to EVER sleep past 7am, even on the weekend.  However, it's glorious!  I know a lot of parents whose kids get up for the day at 5:30/6am ...OR still wake up in the night for one reason or another.  Or wake up in the night when sick or teething.  Lucky for us, none of our kids ever woke up at nights when teething...and when they are sick they usually sleep even better than usual.  I hope it's genetic and this baby is JUST like them.  Slim chance?   Only time will tell...

Well, we'll see how tomorrow goes.  I'll either go have a baby or I'll come back home and hope that labor starts on its own over the next week.

Still nothing today!  I'm still scheduled to go in tomorrow morning to have my water broken--but as the date arrives I'm having 2nd thoughts about induction in general.  Greater chance of a more painful labor and/or C-section with an induction--something I'm hoping to avoid.  So the plan at this point is for me to still go in tomorrow morning and "see where I'm at".  At that point I'll discuss further with the midwife and/or physician about what is the best step for me.  I'd much rather go into labor naturally than with the use of artificial means, whether it be breaking my water or drugs to start contractions.  There is no medically-necessary reason to force my body into labor tomorrow....so I very well may give myself a little more time for it to happen on it's own.  We'll see!

Still No Sign of Baby Hines #4!

Chloe with her baby belly

Nothing yet!  I'm not good at waiting but at least I have so much going on to keep me busy that I don't have time to notice it ("it" being the wait) most of the time.  Believe me, it never gets boring here at the Hines' household!  The latest big event is that Myke's mom stepped in an odd way on our stairs, slipped, and ended up breaking her ankle in two places on Saturday night!  She didn't even seem to be in too much pain when it happened so we were shocked to learn that there were multiple breaks.  Thom (my father-in-law) drove her to the ER that evening and we haven't seen her since!  They did X-rays, then had to put her under anesthesia while they set the bones, then yesterday (Sunday) she had surgery in the afternoon to place some pins or a plate in the ankle.  She stayed overnight last night, too, and we're hoping she gets to come back later today but are waiting to hear what the doctor says this morning.  

Thom is calling us "Patient 1" and "Patient 2".  Nothing is going on with this patient.  I'm still scheduled for having my water broken on Wednesday morning.  I guess this is considered induction?? Though they didn't mention putting me on any medicines to start labor...hopefully, I won't need that but we'll see.  I'll be 41 weeks on Wednesday.  That's long enough wait for me.  I've had a natural birth with not one ounce of pain medication where you feel EVERYTHING (Chloe) then a scheduled C-section eviction with the boys where you feel NOTHING (until the numbness wears off after the procedure), so now this time I'll get to try the planned, non-C-section route I guess (unless I go into labor on my own in the next 48 hours..which I guess could happen...but I really have no signs of it).  I'm attempting a VBAC this time and hoping to avoid the recovery time involved with a C-section.  Apparently, the longer a pregnancy goes, the more risky VBACs become.  However, overall they are safe and apparently I'm a "good candidate" for a successful one, given my history.  We'll see what happens.  We all know that I'm not the one in control here.  

Oh, and our house just got a little more full.  We called in the back-up help after not being sure how Maureen would be post-surgery and not being sure how long she would be out-of-commission.  So my mom flew back in last night (from Las Vegas where she was visiting her sister, so she wasn't too far away) to help us out.  Otherwise, Thom would have had 3 small children and a wife to take care of on his own while we go to the hospital.  That would have been pretty difficult with the boys still being so little, needing diaper changes, both boys having colds right now, Chloë's preschool schedule, her gymnastics class, meals, cleaning, and not to mention our poor, neglected dog who needs to be taken out, too!  So an extra set of hands is a definite blessing!  And Maureen is going to be designated baby-holder, snuggler and book-reader for the kids once she returns, which will be great :)

Once we bring this baby home we'll have 5 adults and 4 children in the house for a bit!  I like that ratio!  It takes a village....

Friday...

and the wait continues... starting to wonder if I just ate too much over the past 9 months.  Maybe I'm not really pregnant?  Though today was the due date they gave me at my initial appointment, so technically I'm not even overdue at this point.   I guess I just assumed this baby would be here by now. At this point I'd rather it wait to happen so I don't have to deal with Friday rush hour traffic on a rainy day.  San Diegans DO NOT know how to drive in the rain!

Walking with the K-dog this morning

This blog post should be entitled "Hines Family NOT-Happenins"... enough said.  Due date was yesterday (well, last summer they gave me the due date of 2/8/13 at one appointment and then 2/6/13 at the next appointment- all based on measurement of the fetus...the "official" one in the records is 2/6 so we've been going with that one).  I had another midwife appointment yesterday and I'm still at 2-3cm dilated and 75% effaced.  Basically, the same as last Friday.  Chloë came the day after her due date, so if history was to repeat itself I would have the baby today.  The evening 2/27/09 (Chloë's due date) Myke and I went out for Thai food (spicy), I had a small glass of red wine,  and the next day we went hiking (where I proceeded to go into labor).  So last night Myke and I went out for Thai food, I had a little bit of red wine, and today I went on a 2 mile walk.  Still nothing!  Oh well.  I tried!

Myke's parents took the twins to a music program at the local library and Chloë was in preschool this morning, so it was my "day off".  The walk was really nice.   I can't even think of when the last time I got to go on a walk with just me and the dog.  It was very relaxing.

Anyways, so that's where we are at for now!

(Oh, and I'm scheduled to have my water broken next Wednesday if nothing happens by then....so worst case, this baby will be born 2/13/13)

Super Bowl Sunday

...and no signs of any baby coming any time soon!  

Myke and I may go out on a date night later tonight while we have the chance.  I've been wanting to go see a movie before the baby is born.  Myke isn't as interested in going to the movies but I'll drag him along with me.  Maybe we'll go out to dinner, too.

My mom headed to Las Vegas to visit family yesterday and will return to San Diego in 3 weeks.  Myke's mom flew in to be here for the baby's arrival.  She and his father (who has been in town staying with us since the end of December) have never been out here in San Diego when we've delivered any of the other kids, so this is their turn :)  Hopefully, the baby will arrive before they are scheduled to leave on Feb. 19th!  I will be very UNHAPPY if I'm still pregnant in over two weeks!

I went to my midwife yesterday for a check-up.  Baby is doing great.  Heart rate is perfect...and I'm 2-3 cm dilated and 75% effaced.  So things are moving in the right direction.  However, I do know that women have walked around dilated for a week or more like this before actually giving birth.  So who knows!  It's just a wait-and-see thing.  I feel great and have energy, so that's good.  I HAVE to with 3 other small children to tend to.  Then again, I felt great and had energy right up until a couple hours before Chloë was born (I was hiking in the wilderness when I went into labor with her!) so I'm not sure that how I am feeling as any indication one way or the other.

Either way, we have been so blessed to have my mom and Myke's father both in town helping us out for the entire month of January.  I wasn't sure how I would be feeling in my final month of pregnancy and it was just nice to have the extra sets of hands and the support system here.  I didn't have to find babysitters in order to go to my doctor appointments, I was able to do some one-on-one activities with the kids, I was able to run errands on my own, we have gotten our house pretty much entirely in order/unpacked/set up after being here on a month, we've gotten to sleep in (well, at least a little bit) on occasion (which still means 7am)....and just overall, it kept my stress level nice and low.  Usually, I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off during the day, trying to get everyone up, dressed, meals, cleaned up, diapers, laundry, taking the dog out, etc...not to mention just taking a breath.  So, I'm so thankful for them being here for that :)   Also, Myke's dad has done a bunch of handyman fix-it's around the house for us--and is now refurbishing the bathroom cabinets for us (which NEEDED it!).  So we're feeling very lucky to have our family out here :)


On another note, some of my amazing mom-friends came over on Saturday and set up the nursery for the baby.  All their own idea & plan.  I had no sort of decor or "theme" or anything ready for this baby.  We barely had a crib (it got set up Saturday morning).  These girls came in with their crafty talents and a bunch of handmade items and put the entire room together for me while I sat in the glider sipping Starbucks and eating gourmet cupcakes.  It was awesome :)   The room looks absolutely gorgeous!  We're just waiting on the curtains and it's pretty much ready to go!  Thank you, ladies!  I'm blessed to have you as friends!

Crib and changing table (with handmade songbird mobile/handmade blanket)

mirror decorations

Baby's crib (we've been calling her "Ella" for awhile now...)

Chloë checking out the room

They even framed some photos of the other kids to hang!

More hand made artwork and a clip holder 

handmade songbird onesie

Belly Shot Time Line

20 Weeks

23 Weeks

27 Weeks

32 Weeks

36 Weeks

39 Weeks

Friday 2/1/13