Our little Piper is here!

Most of you who use Facebook know that our baby girl is here and we couldn't be more excited! She is so perfect and we love her so much. Piper Kaye Howe was born Saturday Sept. 26th @ 3:54pm. Her weight was 5 lbs 11 oz and 18 inches long...tiny little thing :)

Although she didn't feel so tiny when I was pushing her out. hehe. The epidural this time wasnt very strong...so I felt most the pain. It just kinda took the edge off.

But, let me tell ya- It was really cool this time because they put up a mirror so that I could actually watch the birth. I thought it might be kinda gross, but my sister & mom totally talked me into it and I am SO glad I watched...it was so neat AND it really helped me with the pushing to actaully see what I was doing- so I got her out in 4 pushes. Anyone who is about to have a baby...DO THE MIRROR :)

She had the cord wrapped around her neck so her face was REALLY really bruised. My Dr. said she hadn't been growing inside me for the past 2-weeks...I think it is becuase the cord was all wrapped around her neck and body. So we are VERY VERY blessed that everything is ok with her. Just some brusising. She actually weight less than Kylin and Ky was 3-weeks earlier. crazy.

Anyways, it has been a AMAZING experience to be able to hold my baby after giving birth and actually having her there with me instead of being taken to the NICU. I kept asking them if they were going to hook her up to any monitors to monitor her heartbeat and they we like "nope, you just get to keep her here in the room with you." It was SO WEIRD! Plus- after 48 hours they let us take her home. Thanks to everyone who came and visited and helped me through it all :) You know who you guys are...LOVE YOU!

Craig helped me SO MUCH during the birthing process, which is another reason I got her out fast. He would take these big gulps of air with me and then say PUSH. It was SO so helpful.

My little girl was the first thing I got to hold...Gosh I love her so much! Of course I got all teary-eyed.

And this bad boy was the second thing I held! hehe. I was so freakin hungry. I started into labor at 11:00 and got done @4pm. Not to bad, I know, but I was starving :)

Craig is already SUCH a good daddy and a big help to me.

I know the picture is blurry, but it CRACKS ME UP! She looks so tiny in her car seat and not super happy. hehe.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

HOME AT LAST! :)

My kids LOVE HER SO MUCH! They were so excited to meet their baby sister. They couldn't come to the hospital because it is level 2 lock down because of the flu epidemic. No one under 15 allowed.

Look at the looks on their faces...they are so excited!

BUT Let me tell ya...HAVING 3 KIDS IS REALLY HARD! I have cried a lot this week because I am just so overwhelmed. I am so thankful my mom came and helped me for a few days. As soon as she left I cried cause I just thought to myself "I CAN'T DO THIS!" I spend most the day and night feeding Piper (who breast feeds pretty darn good I think...she just takes forever) She is my first kid who actually caught onto nursing-so this a new experience for me too. But- it is hard cause I want to still spend time with my other kids and want them to feel special. Plus- I am exhausted and have a hard time keeping the house clean now that my mom is gone. BUT I am not complaining..I LOVE LOVE our new addition. I just want to be a good mommy and am feeling overwhelmed.

Piper had her 5-day check up and she is doing good. She needs to be under lights for 4-days to get rid of her Jaundice- but they have lights we have set up at home. We just have to watch her lots so she doesn't pull the eye wear off like she likes to. Craig slept by her crib for 2-nights now so he can check on her every 1/2 hour. What good daddy!

Sorry such a long post...I just want to remember this time in our family. It has been so wonderful having this special little spirit in our home. THANKS everyone for being so wonderful and for people's help through it all :)

SWORDS...BOOK LABELS...and a RECIPE...

Random title I know :) But, I have not really been in the mood to blog lately...just been SO tired and busy trying to get my house unpacked and get everything ready before a certain someone arrives. That is IF she ever decides to come out! I am 37 1/2 weeks now which is considered full-term and dilated to a 5 and 95% thinned out! And let me tell you it is not fun to sit at home and dilate for weeks with these REALLY painful contractions. Ever since I got a TB shot to stop my labor a few weeks ago, I can't go into full-blown labor now. Don't get me wrong- I am SO GRATEFUL that she has been in here and didn't come early like my other kids, but it has just been a pretty difficult month and i'm in a lot of pain....so, I hope she decides to come out soon :) If any of you have labor inducing tricks...PLEASE SHARE! Except you Megan...hehe. I can't believe you went past your due date, I have a new found respect for you :)

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok- so on with my post...I have been trying to spend lots of time with my kids before Piper gets here, so we decided to make some She-Ra & He-Man swords yesterday because they LOVE that show...so did I when I was a kid. And yes- I know we are super ghetto and the swords look crazy funny. But, the kids LOVE them and it was something fun and different to do.

Funny lookin' swords:) But see how much they love them. Look at the big bruise on Mckay's forehead...he got it from in his own words, "running into the most beautiful girl in the world that I love". I think he has found his first crush in preschool :)

We will see how long they last with all the fighting that is going to be happening. They are only double layered cardboard, tin foil and shiny jewels :)

And of course we had to make them sword holders just like in the show so they can carry them around on their backs.

This is Kylin with her sword watching She-Ra...All day I have heard "I AM SHE-RA" and "I HAVE THE POWER!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also- I thought I would share something made recently. We are big readers in this house...at least when we have time and we loan out a lot of our books to family & friends. So, I decided to make these labels to put on the insides of all our books so that they hopefully will get back to us after we loan them out.

There is a Microsoft word file you can DL, which you can just print out on labels (Avery 8163) that you can get from any store OR you can just DL the JPEG file and print them on normal paper, cut them out and glue or tape them on the inside of the book yourself. Maybe some of you are book loaners too and could use them :) Here are the download links:

WORD FILE

JPEG FILE

----------------------------------------------------------------

Lastly here is an AWESOME recipe from my mother in law that I LOVE and we had for breakfast!!! So, I am sharing I hope she doesn't care :)

Sneak Peek...

Here is a look at what I have done on the nursery so far....BARELY ANYTHING! She could be coming any day now and I don't even have her clothes out in the dresser or the dresser painted for that matter! I still need to do bumper pads for the crib, some vinyl and to finish her

bench, but you can kinda see a little bit in the direction that I am going :) I wanted something simple and modern and cheap! I have done this whole nursery INCLUDING the crib for about $150 just because I made almost everything to keep the cost low :) Lots of work, but worth it and super fun! I will post pictures when it is all done...hopefully before she gets here. Thanks babe for all your help and patience!

**UPDATE ON PIPER and I**

This is officially the LONGEST I have ever been pregnant...WAHOO! My Dr. only gives me another week tops, but I am still pretty darn excited to have gone this long. I have totally dropped if you can see my belly, I am 80% effaced and dilated to a 2. Plus, I am super sick and having LOTS of contractions. So, it should be any day now. I hope she is healthy. THANKS to all of your well wishes! :)

Piper Pictures...

I had an ultra sound today to check and make sure Piper has lots of fluids to swim in and be sure that I am not leaking. I was super excited to see her becuase I haven't had an ultra sounds since 18-weeks. I cried a little bit when I saw her sweet little face....SHE IS REAL!

Sometimes you just forget that it really really is this little person growing inside of you. Look at that cute little profile in the middle picture...I can't wait to meet her! Well, I take that back...I CAN wait another month or longer if possible. :) It is so crazy how much I already love this little girl! Makes all of this SO worth it. The Ultra-sound tech said that she has plenty of fluid, all her organs looks great, and she is growing well. She is almost 4 lbs now.

A few days shy of 30 Weeks...

Finally I have hit the 30-week mark! It has been a ruff 30-weeks, but every day that I can keep Piper in here is wonderful....not easy though. I have already been to the ER once at 2 a.m. to stop me from going into labor. They gave me a shot and I was able to go home with no baby. I have had 2 steriod shots in my butt to develop Piper's lungs, I am on antibiotics in case my water starts to leak and I don't know it (happened with Kylin & she had a bad lung infection) I take medicine everyday to try to help slow down the contractions that I have almost every hour or SEVERAL times an hour. Plus, I am anemic (I just take Iron pills) and on BED REST...which is pretty much impossible with 2-kids! Although, Craig has been a huge help this summer being home most of the day.

So it has been a super fun pregnancy :) I am 50% effaced (thinned out) and dialted to a 2. So, like I said every day I can keep this little girl in my belly is a blessing. I want so badly to have a healthy little girl and not have complications and be able to take her home. Kylin and Mckay were both in the NICU for 3-weeks after they were born at 32 and 34 weeks. If I can just make it the end of August I will be so happy- even though my due date isn't till Oct. 13th. My Dr. doesnt think I will last that much longer though, but we are sure hoping and praying! So that is the update on this little baby :)

You know you are pregnant when...

You get all TEARY-EYED at a freakin' WALMART COMMERCIAL! Seriously what is wrong with me? It was about making a great summer for your kids and all the stuff you can get from Wal-mart to do that, and I am crying about it. Yeah- I am defiantly pregnant :)

20-WEEKS!

FINALLY I am 1/2 way there! Well probably more than half way if this baby comes early like my others. But, hopefully not! I have been having contractions already, so I hope that I am not dilating yet. I started dilating at 25-weeks with my two other kiddos and they put me on bed rest and gave me some medicine and shots to stop the contractions.
So-we will see how it goes, I am sure it will be the same story with Piper. But, I want to keep this baby baking as long as possible. It is hard having these high-risk pregnancies, and then the NICU, but I am SO GRATEFUL I am able to have kids even going through all of this.

I have been trying to get all of Piper's stuff ready, I figure if I do it gradually it wont be so overwhelming. So, I decided to go through all the kids old clothes and get rid of all the boy ones and the girl ones that are going to be the wrong season for Piper.

I have come to realize I have a little bit of a addiction to buying my kids clothes. I should have shown you the HUGE piles of clothes after I dumped all these bags and totes out. But, in my defense I am an AWESOME bargin shopper and found such good deals on most of this stuff that I couldnt pass it up. I am selling LOTS of ebay and took a bunch to kid-to-kid. It has kinda been fun going through all the clothes and having the memories of my kids in a certain outfit, and a little sad to get rid of them.


On a random note- This is what happens when Kylin is left alone for more than 5-minutes....this is her toilet seat stuck on her head! She was screaming because she could not get it off!

And this is a video of my silly Ky dancing! She cracks me up becuause this is really how she is ALL day...NEVER runs out of this energy.

Need some opinions....

**UPDATE**

Ok- So I know you all have been losing sleep over this. hehe. But, I thought I would share with you the DIAPER BAG WINNER! I decided on this Rowdy bag in white:
I LOVE it because it is WAY functional and it is cute like a purse, plus it is white and will match with everything (also comes in tan if anyone is interested) Look how cute it is with the model :)

So WAHOO! I want to tell Katie THANKS SO MUCH for getting me an AWESOME deal on it...I am SUPER excited. If you all want to check out what Rowdy has to offer HERE is their website. Thanks to everyone for their input, I love hearing your opinions and getting your help :)

***************************************************************************

Ok- I know this is no big deal, but Craig told my since we have most the girl stuff we need that I could at least get a new diaper bag! WAHOO! I am obsessed with bags. The problem is, is that I have been searching for days on Etsy, eBay, babies-r-us and I am not totally sold on any yet.

Where did you get your diaper bag from....do you like it??? Do you have links to some cute stores? I want something really functional and dang cute too! All the ones I REALLY like are about $85 and I can't spend that. Here are some cheaper ones I found so far...do u like any of them???

Drum roll please.....

Yep- We are having another little girl! We are super excited :) I thought I would show you this cute picture of her profile instead of her little "taco" but she is for sure a girl. The kids have said all the long it was a girl and they are WAY excited and LOVED being there to see her during the ultra sound. So her name will be....

This is an almost straight on picture. Her little face is so cute! The Dr. said she is healthy as can be and all her measurements are great and her organs look good! Huge sigh of relief for me :) So despite me being so sick, she is just fine. Also- I am back up to the weight I was before I got pregnant...so that is good news too.

Names...

So- I am REALLY excited to find out what are baby is on the 14th! I honestly have NO clue. At first I thought it was a little girl and now I am leaning towards the boy side. So, we will see. But, I though I would share our names with you that we have picked out. I know they are a little different and maybe quirky, but we like that :) So here they are:

OR

We have had the name "Beckam Rivers" picked out for the past 2-years. We would call him "Beck" for short. And, NO we are not huge soccer fans....just loved the name. And, I will be SOOO proud of anyone who knows Craig and where we got the middle name "Rivers" from :)

Piper is actually a new name we fell in love with for this baby...it's not on any of my lists. But I really love it and I think as a nick name when she's little I call her "pips".

I have SO Many ideas for colors and decorations for a nursery that I want to do, I can't wait to start making them all :) Once we find out what it is I will show you my ideas :) Of course, We wont have a nursery now...unless we move in the next 5-months, which Craig tells me we will. But, I don't know. I just don't know how we will fit 3-kiddos in on room.

As for me feeling better, I actually am feeling MUCH better. Yes- I still throw up every once in a while and feel nauseous most of the time, but it is usually just after 3pm and I can function for most of the day...So I am SOOO happy :) Thanks for caring and checking up on me everyone.