sibling love

these guys cant get enough of her....

frankie made a noise and Abe kinda freaked out.

labor of love

alot of my friends have asked about my labor. it was really wonderful experience. i had prayed that it would be on a weekend, during the day, that she would turn the right way (she was posterior) and that my sister would get here on time. on friday i saw the doctor and i was almost 3 cm and she was turned! all that chiropractor work and sitting on a ball worked! my sister and her daughter drove that day and made it in time for all of us to go to eat with some of our friends. saturday morning i woke up at 5 with contractions about 10 mins. apart.  i dont even really count those hours because they were so easy. i laid in bed until 7 practicing my hypnobirthing techniques and the bradley method. at 7 i woke matt up and told him he needed to get ready for the day. at 7 they started coming about 5 mins. apart. i sat in bed until 8 and had my tea and ate a little breakfast.

mojo and my sister goofing off behind my back....nice....

the kids played in their room with their cousin ellie and would come in every once in a while but they were so excited she was here that they hardly realized anything was going on.

at 8 they started coming stronger and i needed help relaxing through them. i made my sister hurry and read all the coaching sections of the bradley book. by 9 they were coming 2 mins apart and we decided to go to the hospital since they were so close. we left around 9:30 once our good friend betsy came over to stay with the kids.

 and just like the other two kids, as soon as i got to the hospital i started throwing up. its like clockwork for me. i mean, as soon as i step into the doors (with all 3 of the kids!) i started throwing up. not sure if its being in the car, or the stress of being in the hospital or just the pain ramps up enough....but its weird how timely it all is.

 here i am smiling because mojo just reminded me we would be meeting frankie in a little bit.

at 6 cm i started to have the urge to push. this is dangerous to start pushing at this point b/c your body isnt ready. it happened with Abraham so i knew it meant it would go very quickly from that point on.
my zen posture went out the window and no amount of relaxation can help. its a force of nature so strong its like trying to hold back a tsunami with your fingertips. i kept looking at my doc to see if i could push...this part was quite awful but like Abraham's birth i dilated from 6 to 10 in about 30 minutes.

                                                   zen going out the window...

i pushed with Frankie much longer than with the other two. i think the most i pushed the other times was like 3 times. i think i pushed around 40 mins. with Frankie. i clearly remember thinking, "man, this is taking forever." i actually preferred with this way, because with the other two it was so quick and intense that i just had to go with it, my body took over and i was not even a participant. i just watched it happened. but for Frankie i really had to work at it. arms hurt for days after from squeezing so hard on the bars. i was really present with this birth and i really enjoyed it. Abrahams was so intense and hardcore that i just had to hang on for dear life and ride that tiger out. Frankies was equally intense but i actually had a break between contractions (which i didnt with Abe and didnt with Maggie after a long time).

this is gross but my bag of waters stayed intact until she came out and it was so intense when the water broke that it sprayed everywhere. mojo, my sister and the doctor started laughing-it grossed me out so i just closed my eyes. my sister video taped her coming out but i knocked the camera over with one of my flaying hands so all you hear is my screaming....its so high pitched when her shoulders come out that its kinda other wordly....i could only listen to it once and it gave me shivers.... she was born at 11:51....

                                  shiny and new

                                 joy. (she looks big considering she was just in my belly doesnt she?)

                                 my amazing birth coach and baby daddy

                                 making sure everything is working right

                                      all in a days work....

juggling

having 3 is in some ways a lot easier than i thought it would be but also in some ways just as hard as i expected. granted, we are just at the beginning so i know things will get easier. we are all still adjusting. i think the hardest thing is rarely having my hands free. (hence the lack of blogging!) my little frankie loves to be held and her nap times consist of me trying unsuccessfully to get her to sleep in her crib. the times she is  sleeping in her crib or swing i run around trying to keep the house in order. we are so very thankful for our dear friends and neighbors bringing us meals. i am sure it would be nightly pbjs without them!
our little frank and beans is 3 weeks old today and i have yet to figure out how to successfully take a shower with all three home. i attempted again yesterday and had to get out 4 times to calm frankie down and then maggie came in and said, abraham is playing with the toaster---i took that as my cue to go without shaving that other leg or conditioning my hair.
we are all in a state of learning. and really, i wouldn't trade it for all the quiet showers in the world. her new baby smell, her new smiles and coos. seeing the kids with her-maggie obsessively getting up at 6 in the morning just to see her and abraham saying (every time he sees her)-is that my baby? and although we are all a bit tired and house isn't as neat as i'd like....we are all madly in love.

4 days old and already a stunner...

random thoughts post childbirth

*new baby smell is intoxicating
*i never thought my biceps could hurt so much
*i shaved my legs with ease this morning
*i'm so thankful for modern gadgets like baby swings
*a woman's body is both amazing and scary
*i've never been so excited to see the outline of my abs
*i need some sun. i look like i belong in Twilight
*this new baby of ours is edible i tell you!
*if frankie makes it through abe's love, we'll be happy
*sleep deprivation really is torture
*the thought of giving birth unmedicated again makes me have a little ptsd