Happy Labor Day!

And when I say Labor Day, I mean labor day! That's right, the newest member of our family arrived on Monday, September 5 at 8:30pm and IT'S A GIRL, Cora Belle Stier, 6lbs. 13 oz.!

We spent our last day as a family of three on the lake. We went to my parents by boat and enjoyed a beautiful day!

As I mentioned before, I have been on meds for preterm labor which I quit taking when my cerclage (the stitch to prevent my cervix from shortening) was removed at 37 weeks, Friday, August 26th. At my routine check my cervix was very thin but I was only 1 cm. In the wee hours of Monday morning I kept getting up to potty. At first I thought it was my usual deal, but after about the 5th time I wondered why my contractions were waking me up? Duh?! It finally dawned on me, I'm in labor! I got up around 5:45 and started doing dishes and laundry and anything to keep myself busy. When Lily woke up we hung out and cuddled over cartoons.

 A friend of ours entered Chapin's Labor Day parade and Pat was supposed to be Santa while Lily and I rode along with other friends. When he woke up I told him he could participate but I would be sitting this one out. (He thought it would be cool if we had to stop the parade because I was ready to have the baby) We all ended up staying home and Pat worked on getting some things done while I labored. By 10:30 the contractions were starting to get stronger so I sent my texts and made my calls to let everyone know. 

It is an interesting thing to do with a toddler around. I started off with a slight cringe, Lily responded, "You tired, Mommy? You go lay on the couch. Watch my movie." As things progressed I would get to hear, "Mommy, what you doing? Why you do that, Mommy?" repeatedly for 45-60 seconds! That helps you relax, let me tell you! By the time we were leaving my sweet little girl was saying, "Mommy, please don't cry. Don't cry, Mommy." 

As I entered the hospital I immediately had a contraction. As I braced myself on the wall to breathe through it, a women stopped to ask if I was okay. The timing couldn't have been better, she was a labor and delivery nurse that had just been called in. As we waited for the elevator Pat came in from parking the car. We followed her through the halls and in the back way. From there it was pretty routine. They checked me and got me to a labor and delivery room with an epidural on the way. My water broke during the epidural prep but I didn't realize that's what it was until the anesthesiologist was done. The nurse checked and I was 5 cm. The next time I was 8-9. This labor went so much more quickly than with Lily. That made me happy but I wondered if the delivery would be the same (quick and easy!)?  I was relieved that it was! Less than 5 hours after arriving at the hospital it was go time. Two pushes later I saw my baby! I was excited to have the same midwife I did with Lily. She instructed me to do as I did almost 3 years ago; I reached down and grabbed a tiny body pulling HER to my chest! She is perfect!

The moment Lily and Cora met was so much fun! Lily loves her! She cried, "My sister, my sister!" when they took her to the nursery for lab work. Over the last 5 days she has been a big help and doesn't seem to be phased in the shift of our household. I love when she looks at her and says, "Mommy, her so cute. Her so adorable!". Or, "Where's my baby?", "I want to hold my baby". I never had a sister so I am excited for them to have that special bond that only sisters do! I know there will lots of arguing and crying in our future but I am so happy to have 2 healthy, sweet and beautiful baby girls!

Everything went well with Cora in the hospital but just like last time, my body seems to think I gave birth to multiples. I am blessed with enough milk for 2 or 3 babies so we had a little setback in weight her first day home (due to my engorgement) but we worked it out and by the following day she gained almost 3 oz.! We have been doing great ever since. I also feel wonderful! (besides the few extremely uncomfortable days of being engorged) I have run a few quick errands and this morning we kept with our regular Saturday morning routine, plus one!

I am thankful everything went smoothly and everyone is happy and healthy. I am looking forward to settling into our new normal! In case you haven't seen enough...

When we brought Cora home Lily immediately ran to her and wanted to hold her.

Happy after bath time!

Our new bedtime routine.

Being smothered with love!

Lily made up a lullaby for Cora:

Don't cry baby,

Don't cry all day.

I right here all the days,

all the days.

All the days,

I'll be right here.

I'll be right here, all day, all day.

The End

*It took me a few days to finish this posts so the time frame might not be accurate. And for anyone interested in seeing all of the adorable videos I have taken, I have put them on YouTube!

So Long Summer

Summer sure did fly by! I am going to miss the long days, sunshine, swimming and all of the other things that make summertime so wonderful but for the first time I am actually welcoming the beginning of the school year! Being an orthodontics assistant, I spend quite a bit of time on my feet and hunched over patients. And with our grueling summer schedule, pregnant or not it is exhausting. This is what we have been up to the last few months...

We finished out July with our annual trip to Virginia Beach for the Building Materials Suppliers Association meeting.

Beach massages, toddler style.

Lincoln turned 1!

There were more lake days of course. Evening boat rides and watching the purple martins is one of my favorite things about summer.

This summer we learned that Molly is afraid of thunderstorms. She feels most secure in small, confined spaces. (For those of you that have not met Molly, she is not as small as she may appear in these pictures. She weighs almost 60 lbs. but she thinks she's a lap dog)

Lily has been sleeping in a "big bed" since Christmas but I decided against decorating her room because I knew we would be planning for another baby and I wanted to move her to the bigger room with the bigger closet when that time came. Well, I never imagined I would put it off this long but I have spent the last few weeks getting her room ready. I am still waiting on some fabric and pictures to come in but she has officially made the switch. She was not open to the idea of a new room at first. We have had her bed in there for a few months but anytime we would talk about it she would tell us, "This is where the baby is going to live." I was given the advice of waiting until the room was complete to show her, in hopes that it would be more impressive to her and it worked! Her reaction was priceless!

So that means I have spent my spare time preparing Lily's room and doing absolutely NOTHING for the baby. Luckily my mom is thinking ahead and offered to wash clothes and blankets for me. It is true what they say about the second baby...poor things are such an after thought. My pregnancy with Lily was so unconventional I wasn't sure what to expect when it came to carrying around all this extra weight. I figured at this point I would feel like most people, done. But I don't. I wouldn't mind another week or two; one, to get things done and two, to soak time with my family the way we have enjoyed it for the last 2+ years. I also feel great! I mean, my legs and feet hurt by the end of the day but I haven't had any back pain and overall my energy level is good. I saw the doctor on Friday and I am 70% effaced and 1 cm dilated so I guess it could be any day now! Thanks to my wonderful friends, diapers will not be a worry for me for a while. Last weekend, they surprised me with a shower! I'm not one to be easily fooled so I was in complete shock when we returned from our usual Saturday morning breakfast/peanut run to a house full of loved ones!

Our Saturday morning ride to breakfast!

Lily loved the shower, I think she thought it was for her. She wanted everyone to see her "beautiful room" and immediately put on her princess attire, complete with a dance performance. Not only does she make the perfect princess but recently she has become quite the ballerina. I definitely see dance classes in her future. She is also a very sweet and caring mama. I hope this continues when the real deal arrives!

Last nights performance was one of her best. The lighting was terrible and the staging could have been better but there is no denying the talent! ;)

Happy Birthday America!

We spent the Fourth of July at Ryan and Haley's in Charleston. I had the week off so Lily and I were able to spend a couple extra days down there. Before leaving town we made a few snacks and some festive cookies.

We joined everyone in the pool the as soon as we arrived on Saturday. Actually, this is were we spent most of our time. It was cute to watch all of the little fish swim together!

It's still a little surreal how well this pregnancy is going. I am not supposed to do anything too active or strenuous (including picking up Lily :( ) but I did jump all over the opportunity to go paddle boarding. It was HOT but beautiful!

This was the first time in a long time that all of the Stier siblings were together. We managed to get a few family photos before heading to the fireworks.

The grandparents and the many faces of their grandchildren, minus one.

Oh, there is Cruz! 

Everyone!

Monday, morning we went to breakfast and made a quick stop at the park.

This is what happened on our first attempt at a race, makes me laugh so hard! First, Lily unintentionally cut Denver off, causing him to trip over her foot and fall. She proudly rejoices in her win seeming to have no idea what really happened. LOL!

Then we were back in the pool!

Tuesday Lily and I went to the beach for a few hours.

We headed home mid-week and were able to spend some time on the lake. Pat was thrilled to finally take Lily for a spin on the jet ski while I sat and enjoyed the show and beautiful sunset.

Boy, it will be hard to get back to reality on Monday but we had a good stay-cation and the thought of all the fun weekends we have to come will keep me going!