And Then There Were Three!

Sorry we have been MIA for the last few months. Kenzie and I have both been staying busy with our new business and online shop Orchardbaby Boutique. This adventure has been both exciting and time consuming, but we are having so much fun with it, and we would love for you to check it out! 

Anyway, I am here to share some very exciting news! I am so thrilled to tell you all that Daniel and I are expecting our third baby. For those of you new to our blog, we currently have a daughter who is almost three and a son who is one and half. I want to make sure I write down and keep track of this pregnancy, and feel like this is the best way to do that. I hope you guys enjoy these little updates from time to time, and hopefully we can make some time to do some other posts, as well.

How far along: 14 Weeks + 2 Days
Total weight gain/loss: At my last appointment I was down 2lbs, however I'm sure that won't be the case at my next appointment. 
Maternity clothes: Maternity jeans, but mostly still regular tops, but getting close to busting out the maternity ones!
Sleep: It has been fine so far! Lack of sleep so far, only has to do with Simon, my youngest son. Hah.

Best moment this week: The kids had a sleepover at Grandma's house! Definitely a much needed and appreciated break.
Movement: I THINK I felt little baby flutters this week!
Food cravings: Subway! Specifically, their sweet onion chicken teriyaki sandwhich.
Gender: We will find out in early November!
Belly button- in or out?: In
What I miss: I never got any morning sickness, so that was amazing. I was pretty tired during the end of the first trimester, and I have been getting a bit more energy now that I am into my second trimesters, so that has been nice.

I hope you all have an awesome week! Stayed tuned for more updates along the way, and thanks for joining us for this new season of our life!

Pregnancy Photoshoot & Gender Reveal Announcement!

First of all, no I'm not pregnant again, but my beautiful sister Rachel is, and I couldn't be happier for her and her little family!! My Dad, sister, brother-in-law, and nephew were able to come visit us this past weekend. I always LOVE when my family makes it this way and visits us, we always have a great time. This time was no different. Saturday Rachel and I were able to take the kids out and have some fun, while the guys played in a golf tournament. Then on Sunday we, of course, watched the Seahawks game (which was painful and a definite disappointment). BUT I was also able to shoot some pregnancy photos for my sister, and that was so much fun! I thought I would share some of them with you, enjoy!

Thanks for stopping by! If you're looking for more gender reveal fun check out

Kayla's Baby Gender Reveal and Kenzie's Baby Gender Reveal posts. 

Have a wonderful day,

Little Benjamin and His Birth Story

I hope you all are having a wonderful weekend. I decided it was time to write up our little Benjamin's birth story and share pictures with you all. He was born on July 10th, 2014. 11 days after his due date. We could not be more thrilled to be parents to this sweet little boy!

On Wednesday the 9th, I had a doctor appointment scheduled for 11am. This was my 41 week checkup. I hadn't dilated at ALL the previous 3 weeks, so I was hoping I was farther along this time. I ended up being only 1 centimeter dilated about 80% thinned out. I was a bit disappointed as I'd been having contractions all morning! The doctor basically said we could go home and wait it out and come back later in the day, or be sent over to the hospital to get all set up. We opted for going to the hospital right away as we already had our things packed and were right next door. We ended up having to wait 3 hours for a room anyway, so I was able to eat a nice big lunch before we got all checked in.

We were all hooked up about 3pm. I was already having contractions on my own, but I was given pitocin to speed things along. And man did that work! I was having very painful contractions about 1 to 1.5 minutes apart. It was horrible. Around this time the doctor also broke my water. I was still only 1 centimeter dilated so it was too early to get the epidural even though it felt like I was in very active labor. I can't remember when I made it to 2 centimeters but I believe it was around around 4 am on Thursday. Then about 6am, I was told I was a 6-7! We we're thrilled! Oh, by the way, I decided to get the epidural while I was a 2. I was thankful I did because the contractions were so horrible because of the pitocin. In the end, it didn't end up taking on my right side. I also had problems with my catheter being painful. I had the epidural done a second time, but it still did not take well on the right side. I also had my catheter replaced 3 times! By 9am, I was dilated to 9 centimeters and we were hoping that baby Benjamin would make an appearance very soon!

During this time I had to keep getting what they were calling "boosters" in my epidural to stop the pain on my right side. It would only last for an hour or so, though. Then it was around 1pm, I was still at a 9, and they told me they could not boost the epidural any more. I was so scared I would have to deliver the baby completely feeling it on my right side. Anyway, that didn't end up happening because around 2:30pm, the doctor told me that since I was still at a 9 and it had been 5 and a half hours, they would have to do a C-section. They said I could wait another hour or so and see if anything happened, but the doctor seemed certain that wouldn't do anything and we would need the c-section anyway. So we decided to just go along with it. I had been in labor for 24 hours, and I was relieved/nervous/scared all at the same time.

They rolled me to surgery and they decided to give me a spinal tap because my epidurals had not been working. What a weird feeling. I literally could not move anything below my chest. Then they got me all ready for surgery and our baby boy was delivered at 3:15pm! His first cry was the most beautiful thing. I cried instantly, and one of the techs in the surgery room patted my eyes dry. During this time, I was reacting to the pain medication with violent shakes, as well. Not fun. Adam was able to cut the cord and hold Benjamin by my head while they sewed me all up.

After surgery, we were taken to a recovery room for about an hour. They weighed and measured Benjamin. He was 8 pound 9.4 ounces! Big baby! That's why he couldn't make it out. He was 21 inches long. They then brought him over for skin to skin, and he began to nurse immediately. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. 

Once back in our labor and delivery room, I started my recovery from surgery. I was unable to change Benjamin's diaper or do any of those mommy things the first couple of days- except for feeding. My husband and Mom were such an amazing help. 

The next day I was encouraged to get up and start moving. Man, that was difficult. We ended up staying in the hospital until Sunday. But I'm happy to say that just over a week later, I am feeling much better and can get up and move around pretty easily.

Whew, it feels like I just wrote a novel. It was nice to get it all written down, though. I've found that I've mentally blocked most of labor, so it was good to sit down and think about it. It wasn't an ideal situation, and I'll admit that I am a bit traumatized. I tried to face it with as much peace as possible, and now I have a beautiful baby boy.

Thank you all for being so supportive. We really have such an amazing group of readers. Please have patience with us as we're adapting to new mommy hood (in my case). I've been working on this post the last few days, mostly around midnight while the baby is finally sleeping. :)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Kenzie: 40 Week Pregnancy Update + Bump Picture

Well, I've officially made it to my due date. As you're reading this, I'm actually a few days after it. Maybe Benjamin will be here by that time, but I am highly doubtful. He seems to be doing just fine in the belly. Here is my 40 week picture. I'm being brave putting this up because I honestly feel like a hippo. Everywhere I go I get comments, and they're getting pretty old at this point. Oh, the joys. Matter of fact, I'm looking a little less joyful in this picture than in any of my others. Blame it on Benjamin's head located on my sciatic nerve.

I found a fun end of pregnancy questionnaire, so I thought I would answer these questions instead of our normal ones. Plus, there will be some links to some of my pregnancy related blog posts.

Beginning height/weight? 5'3.5", 126
What you weigh now? 172! Yikes. Last several pounds have been water weight, at least.
Due date? June 30th, 2014
Gender? Boy
Name? Benjamin
Nursery colors/theme? Woodland forest, white, green, blue (check out the Nursery Reveal!)
Stretch marks? Yep. Only a few dark ones, the rest are very light.
Do you have braxton hicks? I haven't had very many.
Did you get any medical issues? Nope. I guess low iron, but apparently that's pretty normal.
Have you been checked for dilation/effaced? I've been checked 3 times. All have been about the same, with little to no progression.
If so what % are you? No dilation, 50ish% effaced.
How much does baby weigh? Doc said he should be around 8 pounds.
Have you started nesting? Have been for the last month or so.
Latest craving? No cravings recently.
Bags packed? They've been packed for a while. Check out What's in my Hospital Bags post.
If yes, are they in the car? Right now they are just because we had an appointment this morning. Normally they sit by the front door.
Car seat ready to go? It is.
C-section or vaginally? Hoping for vaginally, but not opposed to c-section if necessary.
Do you think baby will come early or late? Well, considering today is my due date, late!
Biggest fear? The whole tearing/ripping thing.
What are you most excited for? Just finally holding our baby.
Looking back, do you regret anything you did during this pregnancy? Not really.
Are you going to miss being pregnant? At this point, no... but I'm in the pretty miserable stage. Second trimester was good, though.
Favorite memory of your pregnancy? Just being pregnant in general. There were many times I thought I would never get pregnant, so I'm SO SO thankful.
Any sure signs labor is near yet (loss of plug etc)? I truly wish there were. But not really. I've had some sporadic contractions, but they don't really count since they are so few and far between.

Also, I put together my little collage of pregnancy bump pictures. I think it turned out pretty cool! I remember thinking my bump was SO huge at 20 weeks. HAH! How little you knew tiny lady.

 If you're interested in reading any of my other updates here are the links:
Our pregnancy announcement,
Gender Reveal & 20 Week update,
24 Week Update,
32 Week Update,
36 Week Update.

I doubt there will be any more pregnancy updates from me, but I know there will be a post up introducing out little boy to you all once he is here. Please send me good labor vibes, and pray that this show gets it's act together and starts moving along!

Have a great day!

Kenzie: 36 Week Pregnancy Update + Bump Picture

Hello, everyone! It feels weird to be the only pregnant one around here, though I don't have much longer to go! Time is moving by so quickly, our little man will be here before we know it. Anywho, I thought I would do my monthly update today. Here's the bump picture...

How far along: 36 weeks & 1 day
Total weight gain/loss: 30+ pounds, won't know for sure until next appointment, which is next week.
Maternity clothes: Been wearing a lot of non-maternity dresses that I already had. They don't fit the greatest, but they keep me cool as it's getting hotter. 
Sleep: Not the greatest. Wake up several times to pee. Also, my hips & pelvis hurt so bad! It's so difficult to roll over or get up. Like...

Best moment this week: Hubby came home from a week long trip, and I'm so thankful that he's home. You'd think after having so many separations in the military, a week would be like nothing, but it was still hard!
Movement: Quite a bit. I can feel little feet trying to poke out, and of course his butt is always giving me a pointy belly.
Food cravings: Not really. Have sort of lost the majority of my appetite, probably because I don't have much room to put anything! I've been thirsty though, with lots of ice, since it's getting pretty warm around here.
Gender: BOY!
Labor signs: I've been having braxton hicks. And I felt like I was having real contractions the other day! They didn't last too long and faded after I took a warm bath. He is still head down, and making his way toward the exit. I feel like he's dropped some, but may have a bit more to go. I've also been having dreams of going into labor! That's a sign, right?
Belly button- in or out?: Flat. Out when he pushes against it.
Stretch marks: I've gotten a couple of darker ones on my side. Looks like I'm getting some more around my belly button, too. Not too bad, but I'm sure I'm not done yet!
What I miss: Just having energy. I am SO tired all the time. 

Also, I don't know if this is a normal thing, but my hands have been hurting quite a bit. I'm assuming because of the slight swelling I have. Anyway, it hurts to do pretty much anything with them.

What I am looking forward to: Just getting this show on the road! One more week and I'll be full term and happy if he came any time after that!
Milestones: Turning the calendar to June and seeing our due date! Crazy.

I hope you all are doing well, and that you're having a great week. My hands are killing me as I type this up, so I'm going to cut it short. Talk to you all soon and thanks so much for all of your support!

Welcome to the World, Simon Logan!

We made it! We are so excited to announce the arrival of our precious boy, Simon Logan. Born Wednesday, May 21st 2014 at 9:09AM. He weighed 7lbs 5.6oz, 20.25 inches long, and had a head full of dark hair. He is so handsome, and we are just smitten with him. It is such an amazing feeling to bring another baby into this world. Our hearts are just bursting with love and joy! God has truly blessed us.

      My labor went as well as it could go, really. But boy was it fast (no complaints)! My last prenatal appointment was the day before my due date, I was so anxious and was halfway waiting to here the Dr say, head to the hospital, you're in labor! However, that's not what happened. Lol. I was between 2-3cm and only about 60% thinned out. The Dr. expressed concern about my increased blood pressure levels, and so we opted to set an induction day of the following Wednesday (May 21st). 5 days later and still no baby, so it was INDUCTION TIME. We headed to the hospital at 4:00am - Arrived at 4:30 and finally got all set up in the hospital room about 5:45am.
     Funny thing is, I basically started having contractions right before they started hooking me up to the IV's and pitocin. At 6:15 I was 3-4cm dilated and 80% thinned out. An hour later my water broke and my contractions were already about 3 minutes apart. 8:30AM they finished giving me my epidural. Things were progressing so quickly, the nurse kept saying, "you're a house of fire! you're a house of fire!"
     The Dr came in and said I was between 8-9cm and that she was going to run to the office (across the street) real quick and come right back (it'll take two minutes she said). Little did she know that's about all it would take and I'd be ready to push! She got back to the room, out of breath from running back, and it was baby time! I had 3-4 sets of pushes and our beautiful baby boy arrived at 9:09AM. I am shocked at how quickly and smoothly my labor went (about 3 hours start to finish) Don't get me wrong, the contractions were horrible, my head was spinning, and the epidural didn't even have time to take full affect, but overall, it went great! I was able to have an hour of skin to skin contact, which was amazing, and something I didn't get to experience with Adeline.

 Safe and sound in Daddy's arms!

 We were all curious how Adeline would do with her new baby brother, but all in all she seemed fairly interested and was very sweet with him.

Here are a few pictures of our new addition Simon Logan!

He will already be one week old tomorrow, I can't believe it. Do you have a post about your labor and delivery? Be sure to leave a comment below, I love reading them. Every story is truly special and unique. Have a wonderful Tuesday! :)

Linking up to these parties HERE!

My Pregnancy Essentials

Hello world and happy Tuesday! As of yesterday, I'm 34 weeks along. I'm definitely feeling third trimester exhaustion, as well as aches and pains. It's kind of amazing how our bodies adapt to these rapid changes. I was just talking with my husband about everything hurting, and that it's no wonder since my body is holding an extra 30+ pounds and is off balance. Don't even get me started on the hormones!

At this point, I feel like I've had a pretty typical pregnancy- so I thought it could help other pregnant ladies (especially early on) to list some products and general tips on what I've found helpful. I'm going to try to do this based on when things started happening in my pregnancy.

First Trimester:

Prenatal Vitamins.

As soon as you find out you're pregnant, you need to start taking prenatal vitamins. If you aren't pregnant yet but are trying, start taking them now, too! I tried a few different kinds. I tried 2 different pill kinds, and the chewy ones. I ended up giving my chewy ones to Kayla because they left a bad taste in my mouth and did not help with my nausea, but she loved them. I ended up sticking with these ones from Nature Made (which they sell at Costco!):

Quick tip: if you have morning sickness, try taking your prenatal at night before bed.

Books.

I only bought What to Expect When You're Expecting, and it has been super helpful for this first time Mom. It's also fun to read how your baby is progressing. You could also start looking at baby books, some include parts to fill out while you're pregnant. I picked up this one by Amy Krouse.

Hard/sour candies.

Think Skittles and Sour Patch Kids. I tried these to help with my nausea. They helped a little bit, and were definitely tasty! Give them a go if you're experiencing nausea during the day. They also sell ginger candies, which might help, too.

Anti-nausea meds.

These ended up being a life saver for me! I know some Moms want to avoid any medication at all when pregnant, but at this point it was either take these meds or not eat. I'd rather my baby get food. I'd lost weight in my first 12 weeks, and I really didn't have too much to lose. These were my last resort, but were so so amazing. Ask your doctor if you think you might need medication to help with your nausea, though my doctor suggested them very early on. I took Ondansetron, which are little tablets that dissolve on your tongue.

Stretch Mark Lotion/Cream.

Now is a good time to start putting on lotion to help prevent stretch marks. I also had some pretty dry skin, and this helped with that too. I've used a mixture of Palmer's Cocoa Butter for Stretch Marks (found at Target) and The Body Shop's Coconut Butter (found at Ulta). From what I've heard, if you're going to get stretch marks, you're going to get them. The lotion does help, though. I'm very prone to stretch marks and I've gotten only a few so far. We will see how the rest of pregnancy pans out.

Second Trimester:
Maternity Clothes.
I found almost all of mine at Ross or Target. Ross actually had the best selection, and the best prices. I found myself wearing 3 different pairs of Maternity jeans a lot. They all had a full panel, which I found to be the most comfortable. The larger I've gotten, the less I've worn the jeans, though. As for shirts, go ahead a buy some actual maternity shirts. They are made to flatter your bump, and actually fit correctly. You can definitely get away with wearing normal shirts, but they aren't always long enough or hug your bump the right way.

As I've gotten farther along, I've been wearing a lot more skirts and dresses. Baby must be sitting lower, so anything with a band or tightness around the base of my belly is uncomfortable. Think maxi skirts and dresses!

Pillows.
Toward the end of my second trimester, I began getting extremely uncomfortable at night. I have to sleep semi-propped up because of heartburn, and then on my side. I use 2 small pillows on either side of me to prop under my belly to give support. I also prop the one on my other side under my back a little bit.

Tums.
I hate heartburn. It has just been getting worse the farther I go. I bought 2 of the big bottles from Costco, and it helps to always have some handy. It's hard to eat anything if you're feeling like all of your food from several hours ago is just sitting there. I also have tried the chewy tums, and really like them. These are awesome for keeping in your purse.

Heating pad.

Got some severe back pain? Try a heating pad. Works really well. You could also try a warm bath or massage from your hubby. :)

Nursing/Breast Pads.

Yep. A super lovely part of pregnancy. I think I started leaking before I even got to 20 weeks. I was thankful I had a few of these already, but I've almost gone through 2 boxes at this point. Might be a good idea to get some of these, just in case. 

Third Trimester:

Liners and Wet Wipes.

Speaking of pads. Keep some panty liners handy. You may notice more discharge than normal. Also, wet wipes make you feel a bit more fresh... tmi? 

Nightlights.

Maybe you should do this earlier on. But you're going to be making lots of pee trips in the night. Invest in a few night lights to get you from your bed to the bathroom without having to flip any switches.

Comfy shoes.

At this point, your feet will be hurting. Probably from extra weight. The bottoms of my feet kill me after standing for hardly any time at all. I picked up a pair of memory foam flip flops, and they are HEAVEN. I wish I would have gotten them sooner. Here is a similar pair.

And, I think that's it! Obviously pregnancy is different for everyone, and you may find that you don't need some of these things, or you may need more. 

I hope you all are doing very well! Thank you so much for your support, we really appreciate it. Talk to you all soon,

We link to these parties.