Sisters

Madisyn at 2 days old
Grace at 1 day old.

Do you think they're related???

The Story of Grace

Here is the story of Grace's arrival, as promised. Since we knew we were being induced there is no super exciting story but still a great one in my opinion. Dave and I got up about 4am on the 20th to get ready to head to the hospital. We left our house about 5am to be to the hospital for our 6am check in, we were a little anxious. We were able to get started a little early and got all of the paperwork, etc. out of the way. By about 7am I was all hooked up to the iv and the Pitocin was started. Fairly soon after I started to feel some contractions but nothing was consistent and it was not too painful. I was dilated to a 4 when we arrived at the hospital which was promising. They continued to up the dose of Pitocin and I finally started having some pretty good contractions. I was checked a little while later and had only dilated to a 5. The contractions continued and my Dr. came around 8am and broke my water during her morning rounds. I waivered back and forth between getting an epidural or not but decided to go ahead with it. My mechanic minded husband put it to me this way; in the summer you have air conditioning in your car, why would you not use it and suffer through the heat. It was a good decision for me in the end though the feeling of not being able to feel was very strange and it took FOREVER for one of my legs to come out of it. About 11:15 I was checked again and was still only at a 5. I was feeling pretty bummed. Around noon I told the nurse I was really able to feel the contractions again and was feeling some pressure. Sure enough, she checked and I was at 9 1/2cm. They called my dr. who had a 15 minute drive to the hospital and in the mean time I started pusing with the nurse. The Dr. came in, took off her coat, suited up, sat down and I pushed a few more times and Grace was born at 1:28pm, perfect in every way. It's hard to imagine being able to love someone as much as you love your first born but I quickly found out that it is completely possible. I love both of my girls so much and I think it's a little unfair to all the other mom's out there that God gave me the two most beautiful girls on earth. What a lucky mom I am.

Happy Birthday Grace Lori Reed

Daddy and all his girls!
Mommy and her two beautiful little ladies, I couldn't love them more.

Today we welcomed the newest member of the Reed family! Grace Lori Reed was born at 1:28pm weighing 8lbs. 11oz, 20 1/2 inches long, lots of dark hair and perfect in every way! Here are a few pictures, I will post the "story" later on.

Day after tomorrow!

I had another Dr. appointment today and we will be heading to the hospital on Wedensday morning at 6am to begin the process of being induced. The dr. checked me today and I am dialated to a 3 right now. I'm still hoping that Grace will decide to come on her own, I'm very nervous about being induced. My Dr. makes her rounds about 8am at which time she will break my water and we will "have a baby" as she told me, making it sound so easy:) I'm very excited but nervous at the same time. Check back on Wednesday for pics of our girl!

Quote of the day...

Madi and I were laying in bed looking at pregnancy books; she has an obsession with one book that has pictures of a baby's growth throughout the pregnancy. Anyway, we were sitting there and she tells me, "The belly transforms into a baby then the baby transforms out of the belly." Where does this kid get this stuff? Sometimes she is too smart for her own good. Then she proceeded to ask me questions about blood. I think we may have a future Dr. on our hands!

We had a really nice weekend and we're looking forward to the coming week and finally having our Grace here. Saturday we took Madi to a place called Badger Bouncers so she could bounce away some of her energy. They have a room full of inflatable bounce houses. She had a great time; her hair was soaked (with sweat) and her little cheeks were bright red after she was done. We took the camera but it was a little hard to get a good picture of our bouncing girl. Today we went to Green Bay and did a little shopping and went out to eat then we went and saw The Chipmunk Squeakquel. Even though Madi has already seen it once she loved it again. We will keep everyone posted on what's happening with us this week so stay tuned!

Maternity Leave Here I Come!

Today is my last day of work until March 22nd!!! I, with a little coaxing from my boss, decided that just taking all of next week off would be good for me; it will give me time to rest and spend a couple days with Madisyn before we ruin her life:) I always tell my brother that the day he was born ruined my life forever:) Madisyn may think that for a while but give her and Grace 23 years or so and they may learn to enjoy eachother's company, Doug and I have afterall! It is such a great feeling knowing that I will have the next 2+ months to spend with my girls; the only better feeling would be knowing that I don't have to come back at all. Since that's not in our cards right now though, I plan to make the most of this next 2 months. Hooray for maternity leave!!!

Grace

It looks like our sweet new addition will be here no later than a week from tomorrow!!! I had my Dr. appointment today and Grace is roughly 8lbs. 3oz. already! I will go to the Dr. again on Monday and she will check to see if I'm making any progress on my own and then we will likely schedule me to be induced, next Wednesday or Thursday. I can hardly wait to meet her. We also had an ultrasound today and Grace looks EXACTLY like her sister from the pictures, it was so crazy to see those same chubby cheeks we saw almost 3 1/2 years ago! We also saw some hair in the pictures and the ultrasound tech said it's the most hair she's seen in a long time. I am so ready to meet this little girl!!! For some reason on the way home from the Dr. I had a small meltdown and cried the entire way...I was thinking about how next week our lives are totally going to change and when we leave Madi to go to the hospital, thinking about how that will be the last time I leave "my baby" although she will always be my baby. I don't know if knowing when Grace is going to come or not is worse, gives me too much time to think. Could be a combination of the lack of sleep and hormones too! I know we'll all adjust fine, it's just the worrier in me:) But, I am just super excited to meet this little girl and now at work when someone asks me, "when are you going to have that baby" I can actually give them an answer!!!

36 Weeks

Total weight gain: Still 30 lbs., haven't gained any weight in about 2 months now
Maternity clothes? Absolutely, I wear the same 5 outfits each week because very few shirts will cover Ms. Grace
Stretch marks? Yes, probably some new and old although I know I was much bigger with Madisyn, I guess it's just how differently I'm carrying Grace
Sleep: What is sleep? My legs, hips and back are killing me making sleep very scarce.
Best moment this week: I guess the anticipation is the best and the worst; I can't stand this waiting game but knowing our little girl could be here anytime is super exciting.
Movement: Still quite a bit of movement but it's getting pretty tight in there, today she's pretty quiet.
Food cravings: I cannot wait until I can have a day of not worrying about my blood sugars after Grace is born. There is an ice cream place very close to the hospital that we will be visiting after my Dr. gives me the all clear:)
Gender: "Still a girl"
Labor Signs: Contractions each day, alot of lower back pain since Friday and lots of pressure.
What I miss: Sleep and dessert:)
What I am looking forward to: Going to the Dr. tomorrow and seeing what she has to say. We will have an ultrasound and stress test to make sure Grace is doing what she needs to be. I was hoping to have her before tomorrow or tomorrow since it's my mom's birthday, I guess it could still happen.
Weekly Wisdom: I feel like such a major whiner this time around, like my pain tolerance has taken a nose dive. I feel like all I do is compain about how uncomfortable I am or how tired I am, I just don't remember it being like this with Madi...it makes me scared for the actual birth! I do feel like I finally don't have lists at home and work, giving me more time to just hang out with Dave and Madi at night. This past weekend we really got everything that I wanted to be done, done so I'm feeling pretty good. I made about 7 meals to put in the freezer for after she's born and my sister-in-law to be made us some meals too (thanks Sarah!!!) so we are in good shape there. I just need my baby girl to get here and soon!
Milestones: 9 months!!! The end is in sight!

Prediction of a psychic...

Today at work I was helping a woman who is a "psychic." I use the term loosely:) Anyways, she told me good luck with the baby and said it would be here soon and also asked me if I knew it was a girl. I told her I did know it was a girl and, out of curiosity, asked how soon. She told me she would be here before the 11th, that she will be a good girl and an athlete. She knew all this because she was "talking" to her while I was helping her. A little strange but oh how I hope she's right! If she is I may be a little creeped out. It was a smile for the day anyway!