Luke is ONE!

i can NOT believe this is happening!  HOW is my baby one already?!  things get much easier as they get older but it's sad how fast they grow.

Luke at 1 year old
-says bye-bye, mama, and dada
-waves, claps, kisses, dances, just started consistently pulling himself up onto things, still army crawls, just learned to go from laying down to siting up on his own.
-takes two good naps.
-wakes around 7am. naps around 9am and 1/2pm and in bed between 7-8pm.
-is pretty picky compared to his sister.  the only solid produce he'll eat is strawberries, which he LOVES and cries/yells when they are gone.  it's pretty cute!  so even though he can eat all solids i still feed him purees (just glad he likes them!) so he'll get in veggies and other fruits.  as of right now he likes yogurt, cheese, eggs, hot dogs and meatballs sometimes, some crackers, Italian food, bread, and that's about it.  i'm always offering new things! but the kid doesn't even care for cheerios, even tried honey nut ones! but give him yogurt and strawberries and lasagna and he'll cry and yell for more when it's gone!
-still has an easy going temperament and is such a big mamas boy.  i kind of love it! especially when he opens his mouth real big with this little growling/laughing sound as he tries to kiss/eat all of my face.  so slobbery but so wonderful.
-goes to sleep great on his own but loves a little cuddle and song before he starts diving for his bed.
-we stopped breastfeeding completely this week and i'm a little sad about it (even though at the same time i was looking forward to being done i didn't know it'd feel so sad about it in the end).  he kind of wasn't that interested anymore.  he liked to flop himself all over our bed instead of nurse (and if there was any other tiniest little distraction he could care less about nursing) so it was easy to wean him.  and i did it gradually too so it was great on both of us! he never cried for it and no pain for me!
-luke LOVES the bath (if he sees me getting it started and he isn't in yet or i take him out when he's done he is not happy!), his daddy and sister quinn, balls, and being outside.
-he gets a little unsure and cautious or shy of new people, environments, or situations.  it's fun seeing how different his and Quinn's personalities are!
-he is the sweetest, loveliest little baby boy.  i love when he sees me for the first time when i come home from being out, or when i get him out of bed, he gets SO very excited that his whole body shows it!

(6 days old)

Luke - 10 months

Luke at ten months old!

-so close to one i just can't believe it!  i'm a little bit in denial!  but he's still so much of a baby so i'm just trying to keep it that way for a bit longer :)
-eating purees about twice a day now!  won't eat a veggie without some fruit mixed in but the fact that he's eating something is big improvement.  baby steps!
-and hello constipation!  poor boy :( even with just fruits and veggies his system is used to only breastmilk and so far only glycerin suppositories have done the trick.  but it was still a painful, sad, and sweaty event for him.
-down to two naps a day, finally.  naps about 9am and 1pm.  in bed about 6:30/7pm and up for the day about 7am.
-fiiiinally only nurses once during that 12 hour night sleeping stretch, usually around 11pm.
-wearing 12 month size clothes.
-still perfecting the fast army crawl, and still can't sit up for more than a minute or two on his own before he's falling over.
-he's just such a happy, chill baby that he's not in much of a rush to do things and i'm okay with that! (cause i don't need two quinn's around here!)
-he does love to stay busy playing.
-for a baby that doesn't cry much he has definitely started to let out a mad/sad cry in protests to what he wants, and it's pretty cute.  like if i'm holding him while i shut the front door he is not happy because he wants to go outside, or when i take him out the bath or away from something he really wants to play with.
-had his first trip to the store in the cart but ended up sliding himself down so he wasn't sitting upright no matter how many times i adjusted him. lazy little bum :)

we just love our handsome, sweet boy and can't get enough of his endless smiles and funny faces.

*target was out of our calendar for his monthly pictures when i went last.  sooo i guess another target trip is need very soon.  bummer! :)

Luke - 9 months

Luke at nine months!

-not too much has changed from last month but...
-he has six teeth now! four on top two on bottom.
-he is a crazy fast army crawler getting everywhere and anywhere!
-he loves balls and isn't always occupied or excited by baby toys anymore.
-working on offering foods more often and he'll take a few bites without spitting it out now but doesn't want much past that.  the very first bite he makes a face like it's a lemon or something crazy haha.

and we'll just pretend these blurry pictures were not taken one week before he turns ten months :)

Luke - 8 months

Luke at 8 months old!

-hallelujah! i've found the secret to get him to consistently nap longer than 30-40 minutes!  he now naps in our pitch black bathroom, with the vent going as white noise, in the rock and play.  i think just the fact that it's absolutely pitch black is what does it.  i've always used some kind of white noise when my kids sleep and he's napped in the rock and play in our room before.  but when he does wake after that first sleep cycle at 30-40 min he's able to stay/get back to sleep quickly because it's so dark instead of waking up still tired.  now, most of the time, he will take 1-2 hour naps at home!
-still wearing 9 month clothes but can fit into a lot of 12 months and already in 12 month pjs.
-still sooo not interested in real foods, pureed or not.
-still nurses twice a night but in the last week or so he randomly did two nights of an 8 hour stretch between feedings which has never happened! wasn't asleep those whole 8 hours and still woke up at the time he'd normally nurse but i just gave him his paci a couple times and he kept on sleeping!  just hoping that means longer stretches are soon to come more often! cause it's about dang time.
-started inch worming to reach something if he really wants it.  but still happily getting around every where by rolling and spinning around on his belly.
-starting to 'get into things'.  he'll try real hard to reach up onto something to pull things down or into something to get what he wants.
-has his two bottom teeth and one, i think almost two, top teeth!
-definitely knows my voice and can see me from a mile away.  he'll protest if he wants me or if i walk away.  a little unsure of strangers and once he sees me again starts the little saddest cry like why did you just leave me?! or just busts out the biggest smiles you ever did see.
-claps!
-still takes three naps. since his awake time is two hours he has a short evening one to get him until bedtime.
-up around 7am. naps about 9am, 12:30/1pm, 4/5pm. in bed about 7/8pm.
-nurses about every 3-3 1/2 hours during the day.  and anywhere from 4-5 at night.
-not sitting up on his own for more than a couple seconds.
-so very ticklish and giggly.
-quinn was never this way so i'm not sure if it's just him or a lot of babies are like this but he loooves to feel different textures.  so interested in them and just rubbing and feeling and patting them.  he'll make his way over to the kitchen floor (our super fancy apartment linoleum)  from the carpet as often as he can just to pat and rub the hard floor and then put his hand back to the carpet to feel the difference.  he isn't so much a fan of the bumbo for very long which is fine cause it's not the best for their development but instead of playing with toys in it he just rubs his hands all over it to feel it... and then almost falls out trying to reach back to the carpet.
-gets distracted from nursing so easily now.  wants to know what every little sound/footstep/person is.  and if it's quinn i swear he can hear her from a mile away!  she really loves to take advantage of this and starts being so sweet to him saying "hiii luke!" in the sweetest voice to get him all excited JUST because she knows i'm trying to feed him when i really want her to just go away haha!

(i know, i reeeally need to be taking these pictures at a different time of day so the lightening won't be so horrible!! but with three naps a day the time he is actually awake i never seem to remember and get too busy doing other things, or we're not home, or playing outside with the kids!  i'll try harder to remember next time!)

Luke - 7 months

Luke at 7 months old!

-a bottom tooth has popped through!  he was the maddest, saddest little thing.
-he laughs, and loves when i play peek-a-boo with him.
-totally not a fan of purees.  but i gave him some real chunks of banana just smashed with my fingers and he gobbled it up!  only to barf it up about 4 hours later that night in his sleep. dang it!
-wearing nine month clothing.
-still as cuddly and smiley as ever.
-still so good at taking short naps.
-still nursing twice a night.
-makes more sounds now like 'ba' and 'da' and is more verbal, especially when he is tired.
-likes to make little raspberry/fast blowing sounds with his lips.
-loves his exersaucer.
-still just rolling around and chewing on things like crazy.
-such a flirt.
-will NOT take a bottle :( but nurses fast!
-a usual routine for him:

-up around 6/7am, nurse around 6:30/7:30.

-down for morning nap between 8:30-9 (this is why most days when we leave the house for a Quinn activity i am out the door just before 9am so he can get a chance for a good nap in the stroller where ever we are and we aren't having to leave in the middle of his nap or after he's way too tired.) and

(since he takes 30-45 min naps not all days are consistent with his last couple naps.  but sometimes he can get back to sleep after that waking, and get a real nap.  his awake span is about two hours depending on how well he napped the time before.)  

-nurse around 10:30/11.  

-down for second nap, depending on how long his first was, anywhere from 11:30-1:30pm. 

-nurse around 2/3pm and either back down to finish his short afternoon nap, (making for 4 naps) or doesn't nap again until an evening one anywhere from 4-5:30. 

-nursing around 5/6 and in bed for the night between 6:45-7:30 depending on when his last nap fell.

-wakes only to nurse around 10/11pm and right back to sleep.  and again anywhere from 2-4am. a lot of nights he will wake up randomly in between those night feedings just to cry for a second and i'll have to give him his paci.  needless to say, those are the mornings i. am. so. tired.

Quinn update - 2 1/2 years old!

I meant to write down some things about Quinn at 2 1/2 which was back on july 24th.... but here we are sometime later.  She's still the same with just a little more sass and bossiness to her :)

-Quinn is non-stop busy, active, loves life, talkative, a dare devil when it comes to "going fast", very concerned and emotional when someone is hurt or sad, smart, sensitive, loves babies and kids, especially ones a little bigger than her, stubborn but most of the time easily redirected or distracted, observant, silly, very detail oriented... it has to be just so
-her vocabulary and diction for her age is completely amazing!  i hear it everyday so to me it's normal but almost every time when we are out and about someone comments on it.  one example that shows how sometimes i don't even notice... we had just gotten to the park from running around the lake and were there for maybe only two minutes when another mom asked how old quinn was.  i thought she was asking because of her size and so i said almost 2 1/2, she's just small.  and the lady was like oh no her vocabulary is amazing.  i honestly didn't even hear quinn talking those first couple minutes we had been there!  so who knows what she was saying in that short time!
-and she doesn't stop talking. like EVER.  and you must repeat what she has said... not a simple reply like "oh ok, quinn." ...exactly what she says! or she will keep on saying it fifty times over.  sometimes it's real fun.
-she is tall and skinny.  and gets so so tan very easy! lucky girl has her aunt stacie's skin!
-loves her "new baby" like it's the only thing in the world!  it's the one that she got as a gift from Luke when he was born.  she is constantly putting Luke's clothes and diapers on it.  she changes a diaper better than some adults!  like every little detail i do when changing one she does it just the same.  loves to nurse or bottle feed it, put it to sleep.  but she does it all exactly how i would for Luke.
-she is extremely observant.  (this is why she is so good at taking care of her baby.)  she watches so closely at what i'm (or anyone) is doing to know how to do whatever it is.  even on the playground or where there are other kids she will just stand back and watch.
-she loves all kinds of food but is such a busy girl it can be a struggle to get her to want to eat.  we still buckle her in a booster seat so she isn't up every second while eating.
-loves lots of fruits and veggies and healthy foods but her favorite foods that she would eat for every meal if we let her are: mac n cheese, quesadillas, popcorn, and chips.  but she's the kid that will eat more cut up apples or broccoli and cauliflower than crackers.  i've learned it really does take over 20 times for a kid to like some things!  ....eat in front of them while talking about how yummy it is and offer it to them enough and they'll learn to love it!
-hates milk though! she'll ask for it and i'll give it to her then a whinny, "i can't like it!" after the tinniest sip with a disgusted face haha.  even if i use it as a base in a fruit smoothie, "i can't like it!".  but a spinach fruit smoothie with oj as the base she'll drink right up!
-she loves Luke and always talks about him and will usually help me if i need a diaper or something but isn't exactly very outwardly lovey towards him yet.  she doesn't ask to hold him much but will gladly (roughly) roll him over or try to wake him if he's sleeping.  and she isn't a fan of him having any toys that she wants.  she has adjusted better than i thought she would but she is definitely more interested in her own "new baby".  everything that is Luke's she needs for her "new baby".  Q in a whinny, high pitch, bossy voice, "that is for my new baby! no Luke can't have it!" haha
-loves to read books and has a handful of them memorized and will read them to herself.  and if it's before nap or bedtime she'll sit still on your lap (which is a rare occasion) and want every single book read to her.
-knows a handful of letters and numbers.  i could be spending more time on this with her though.
-still loves animals, swings, the water, and being outside.
-currently loves to "look for bugs" (did not get that from mom!), to be a dog or baby (when she is a baby she doesn't talk! it's like magic!), do somersaults (a trick), run, swim, take pink bubble baths (or any food coloring she chooses).
-takes a good 2-3 hour nap every day around 1pm.  wakes up around 7am and in bed about 8pm.
-she'll go to the park, sea world, the zoo, and grandma's house any chance she gets.
-likes to negotiate.  it is pretty funny.  she knows that 2 is more than, and that 5 more than 2... but then quickly goes to "a lot in a bowl!" haha.  like the other day she saw my dark chocolate covered almonds... i said okay just one. "2?!" no, just one. "5?! ....a lot in a bowl?!!"
-wears size 2T/3T and size 7 shoe.  weighs about 24lbs, i think, and about 33in tall.
-finallyyyy sits to watch and is interested in movies and shows!

Luke - 6 months

Luke at 6 months old!

-weighs about 17 pounds (34%),  26 3/4 inches long (51%), and head circumference is 18 inches (97%).
-still nursing twice a night.
-making progress on his morning nap for the last week or so!  going 1.5-2 hours!  still will wake after the first 30-40 minutes but will actually go back to sleep after i give him back his his paci.  this is huge!! now just hoping he can start doing this for his afternoon nap too!
-still wearing some 6 and some 9 month clothes.
-naps in his bed a lot better now!  we retired his swing because he would just pull himself up to sit up in it and not lay down.
-we tried some solids (i made my own and mixed carrots and bananas since that's what i had on hand).  he was not interested at all!  he just wanted to chew on the spoon and would basically spit out every bit or make a disgusted face, like what the heck is in my mouth and why isn't it milk?!  i'm ok with him not being ready yet.  it's just more work and mess and for me anyways.  i just wanted to try it out to see if he'd like it and maybe want to sleep longer at night.  oh well, not yet.
-can sort of sit up for a bit with his arms supporting him.  he'd be able to do it longer if he didn't try and eat his hands so much.
-a rolling machine!  we lay him down on a blanket and find him on the other side of the room or smashed up against some furniture.
-always needs some toy to chew on.

more pictures brought to you by more horrible lighting and focusing...
i would say he was mad that i was two weeks late taking these but really he was mad cause he only took a 30 min and was still so tired.  (he wasn't the only upset about another short nap!)

and alllll he wanted to do was roll over and touch/scratch at that paper!  he might have been more mad that i kept turning him back over, poor buddy.

but loook at the chubby little baby body of yumminess... i just want to scoop it right up and eat it up! 

Luke - 5 months

Luke at 5 months old!

-on the 12th of august Luke turned 5 months and i also had an appendectomy so i still don't have any calendar pictures yet (recovery has been real fun!) but i wanted to get to writing so i don't forget anything and before he gets any bigger!
-since a couple weeks ago rolling from back to belly every chance he gets!  the very second we lay him down on the floor he flips right over to his belly but then isn't good at rolling to his back so most of the time after he's decided he is done on his belly he just cries.  it's a real fun stage! ...like we can't lay him down not in some kind of seat buckled up if we need to get something done for more than two seconds.
-getting pretty good at holding onto a toy.
-alllllways smiling!  like even when he is so tired... the second he sees you he just can't help it and gets the biggest grin.  one flirty boy!
-laughs the best and the most when he's over tired (which he is a lot of the time due to short naps alll day long) must get that tired, slap happy thing from mom :)
-trying really hard to inch worm around while on his belly.  he gets the butt and legs working but then his arms just get stuck underneath his chest haha
-some of his 6 month clothes are even too small now! (if they run smaller) and can even fit in some 6-9 month stuff.  so chunky!
-still loves a good cuddle when he's tired.
-drool king!  and because he has pretty sensitive skin he gets a rash if he sits in wet drool clothes so i'm either changing his clothes or a bib multiple times a day.
-stiiiiill torturing us with 30-45 min naps (which means i never get a nap) and waking lots at night... some days my goal is only to survive and keep my kids alive and happy. (i figure i can sleep, exercise consistently, wear make-up, and have a clean house in like 30 years right?!)  but for how much of a non-sleeper (if that is a thing..?) he is still a happy, content babe!

Luke - 4 months

Luke at four months old!

-you're getting so big! i just pulled out your next size clothes, 3-6 months.  and we're using up the last of our size 2 diaper and on to size 3.
-all of the sudden you decided you did not want to be swaddled for sleeping anymore.
-you LOVE watching quinn.  you will crank your head as far as it can go just so you can keep watching her, where ever she's off to.  and you get a little excited when you start to hear her coming.
-you rolled over from tummy to back for the first time on june 23rd.  you've only done it once since then. but you can rotate around while on your back... i'll set you down one way and look back later and you've twisted around facing another way.
-still working on getting past those short naps.
-you sleep better though if we're out on the go since your carseat is moving or you're in the ergo. so most mornings we try and get out and you'll get a great morning nap while quinn plays.
-nursing once a night still and for a little while it was back to twice a night but it think you were going through a growth spurt.
-you nurse really fast, like 3-7 minutes per side! (unless you're really tired) but you are obviously getting enough cause you're getting more and more chunky by the day!
-you're just a smiley, cuddly, content little man who likes a good mommy cuddle when he's tired.

Luke - 3 months

Luke at three months old!

-on june 4th (2 months and three weeks) you weighed 13.1 pounds (35%), length 24.25  inches (64%), head circumference 42 inches (93%).  you'll be passing up your sister in no time!  and i can't believe your head was so big... didn't seem that big to me until it was measured!
-talking/cooing lots more!
-you've made some little giggles here and there.
-definitely ticklish but just aren't sure what to do about it yet.
-you go to sleep great on your own at night but for naps you are in your swing.  i'm a little worried about this habit but i guess we still have a little time and at least it's in your swing and not on me.
-still loves a good swaddle and paci to sleep.
-asleep for the night around 7:30-8:30 depending on your last nap. up once to eat around 1-3am and then up for the day about 7ish. lately though you get really restless around 5am so i just have to give you your paci a few times until you're really ready to wake up.  makes for one tired mom!
-awake span is still about an hour. maybe a little more if you got a good nap.
-still a pro at the 30-45 minute nap so instead of eat, play, nap for a good chunk... it's usually a short nap but you're still tired so you stay in your swing until you fall back to sleep for another short nap until you eat again.  i feel like all you're doing is trying to get to sleep!  cause one short nap is never enough for you and then you'll get way over tired and not want to nurse.
-nursing about every 3+ hours in the day.
-found your hands.  eating and watching them.
-still working on tummy time being longer than a couple minutes without getting upset.  but i guess having a big head might make it a little harder :)
-still loves a warm bath.
-following objects or people with your eyes.
-getting great at falling asleep in your carseat now! (as long as you have a paci!) i'm grateful for this too because it is a must being number two!  most morning naps are in your carseat while we do a quinn related activity out of the house.
-still a happy, content baby when your needs are met.
-i can't eat broccoli or eggs without you getting a horrible belly ache.  you scream your head off for about an hour and nothing makes you feel better!  no paci, all the holding/rocking i can do, a bath... nothing.  it's too sad.  so i've learned my lesson.
-size 2 diapers
-you looove to wait to poop until you're all swaddled and almost asleep for a nap!  and it takes you a while to get all the way to sleep so i'm not enjoying this little trick!

it just keeps getting better

(this was going to be luke's three month update but then i felt like i needed get out some thoughts on being a mom of two.  cause saying i have two kids makes me really feel like a mom now!  ya know, like deep down in your soul feeling.  not that i wasn't a mom before with just one but i really feel like i'm living the life.)

i can't believe i have a three month already! i'm sure i'm going to say that about every age for both my kids, but really!!  i can't believe it!  i feel like it was just yesterday that i was wondering how everything would change adding another little human to our lives, our home.  how quinn would do... would i go crazy from figuring out how to juggle two...  how hard would the bad days really be...  what kind of baby would he be...  turns out it's all been much better than i was preparing myself for.  i'm not saying it's easy or anything, cause man sometimes it really feels like so. much. work. (maybe cause it is)
but then there are the times in between all the hard work, and the learning to juggle toddler needs with a new baby's needs,  that make it all seem perfect.  like i can do this!  like i'm doing exactly what i should be doing and who cares if i don't get all the cleaning done in one shot anymore or i'm not wearing make-up for the third day in a row, or my nursing cravings are totally winning right now cause i'm too tired to really care.  it's in the moments when luke is watching his big sister, like really watching, and busts out with the biggest smile.  or when quinn gently says, "it's oookay buddy, it's ok." when luke is crying and goes to rub his head or give him his paci.  or when i watch my husband get on the ground with the kids and make luke "walk" while quinn sends her head back laughing, thinking it's the best thing ever that "luke is walking!".

i'm constantly feeling guilty that i can't do and be as much for quinn as i want to be or as much as i was before luke came.  honestly, it has made me really really sad a lot of days.  i know she doesn't really know the difference, but i do.  and that has been the hardest part for me.  i miss my quinn.  (i don't want someone to help me with her while i'm caring for/nursing luke... i want to do it!) and then all at the same time i feel like i'm not giving luke as much i could.  i guess it all goes with the territory, right?!
but i feel now that he is three months i can breathe a sigh of relief.  i've always heard the first few months are the hardest when adjusting to adding a new baby.  i hope they're right because i feel like we're getting there.  i may still want to nap within only minutes of being awake in the morning but then i smother my babies with kisses on their sweet, soft skin and feel that, deep in my soul, feeling that i'm really a mom and i'll be missing these days sooner than later.

^^first brother-sister high fives together! (was he ever really that teeny?!)^^

Luke - 2 months

Luke at two months old!

-thankfully your growth spurt didn't last forever but it was a good two weeks or so long!

-nursing every 3 (give or take a half hour) hours during the day.  last feeding for the day between 8-9pm and asleep for the night about an hour after that or sooner if you didn't take your last nap well.  then up once to eat in the night anytime between 3-5am.  most of the time you go right back to sleep but sometimes it takes a little more rocking and convincing you to stop smiling at me!  then up for the day anywhere between 7:30-8:30am.

-awake span is about an hour (including feeding time) so your first nap is always an hour after you wake up.  we try to keep an eat, play, sleep routine and it makes things much easier!

-likes to be swaddled with a paci to sleep.  

-likes to fight naps often and takes some good rocking to get you to fall asleep.  if i'm lucky you'll fall asleep in your swing once we swaddle you.

-besides sometimes fighting naps you are a great baby!  really only cry for a reason to let us know you're hungry, need to be put to sleep, or have big poop or burp coming.

-loves the bath if you're not cold and napping in the moby wrap.

-you don't talk much (but quinn was a talker from the start so i don't know any different) so we hear little coos every now and then but not often.  

-you are SUPER smiley especially when we talk to you up close.  you love that!

-had your first evening beach trip with the family.  i forgot to get any pictures of you cause you slept in the ergo on me for the first part and then we left after i fed you.  but the short time you were awake i laid you on the towel after you had just eaten and you looked like you were loving the wind and taking it all in.

-not a fan of your carseat all the time.

-finally had your first trip to church on mother's day.  surprisingly, you stayed asleep in your carseat for all of sacrament meeting and longer!  

-wearing size 0-3 month clothes and size 1 diapers.

(i don't have a good camera nor do i really know what i'm doing when it comes to taking pictures so bare with me on the bad lighting and quality of these!)

it's amazing how much you look like quinn did but just in a boy version!

Luke's Birthday

Luke surprised us two weeks early on Wednesday, March 12, 2014 at 4:04 pm.  He was due on Tuesday the 25th.  He weighed 7.6 pounds and was 20 1/4 inches long.  Labor was 14 hours and pushing was seven minutes!  Seven! ...with Quinn I was in labor for 27 hours and pushed for 2 hours and it would have been hours more if I didn't get an episiotomy.  So all of Luke's labor and delivery was a welcomed surprise for sure.

Tuesday morning, the day before he was born, Brian left for a one night camping trip with a few of his buddies from his police squad.  It was only an hour and a half away, one night, he'd be home by 2ish the next day (Wednesday).  And I really did have two weeks left so although I was a tiny bit worried for him to go I would have felt like a mean wife if I had said no.  He was really looking forward to going.  The only catch was that I didn't really know he wouldn't have cell reception where he was at.  I kind of found that out too late in the game for me to say I didn't feel too comfortable with him going.  But you know, I did still had two weeks to go!

(warning- this is about childbirth so if you don't want to know about mucus plugs and such things stay away.  i'm not shy about discussing these things.)
So at 1:45am Wednesday morning I woke up having to pee, and within minutes or less contractions started.  I had been having painful braxton hicks consistently for weeks by then and had been super uncomfortable for days, like more than I ever was with Quinn, so I didn't think too much about the pain and discomfort I was having.  I just thought to myself, I feel like he's coming sooner than later but it better not be tonight!  I laid back down and tried to go back to sleep but I couldn't.  I had to go to the bathroom again and when my mucus plug came with I knew things were about to get real.  And I couldn't believe it was happening then!  I know you can loose it way before you go into labor but these pains were a little different and I just knew (i had been feeling different all day)... even though I was telling myself this. is. not. happening!  My husband is sleeping in the woods somewhere far away and I have a needy/busy toddler that is going to wake up in about five hours! (and she freaks out crying if she sees me in pain, even if I try to hide it, she knows.)

I laid down again trying to sleep and waiting to see if these contractions would keep coming or not.  After I realized for sure that they weren't stopping, and I could no longer sleep because of everything happening, I got in the shower.  I really was so tired and just wanted to go back to sleep but I knew that if I wanted to get anything done I better do it now before things got too intense and before Quinn woke up.  And I was planning on showering that morning before a doctors appointment anyways.  So I showered, got a few more things together in mine and Quinn's bags that were already half packed, and then laid down again to see if I could get some sleep since it wasn't too crazy yet (I also thought that I would have a lot longer of a labor than I did.)  I called and texted Brian and texted every single guy he was with! (he gave me all their numbers incase this were to happen.) Of course I still couldn't sleep and I started to be all like... all the things must be put away and everything so clean!  And I knew it was now or never so I swept the kitchen floor and cleaned up like a crazy pregnant lady in labor taking breaks for contractions to come and go.  In the end I realized it was way better that I was up and moving even though I really wanted to just lay down because I was still tired.  I felt so much better to be standing, I mean hunched over the counter, and swaying/moving during contractions.  Even though my legs were so tired I just could not sit!  It was way more uncomfortable if I did.  Being able to be up and moving and actually getting a break in between contractions was also a welcomed surprise this time around.  I was all like ohhh this is what women mean when they say they feel fine in between and it gives them a little break until another pain comes.  With Quinn I was shaking uncontrollably during and in between from the very beginning (I never got a break with her, ever!).  As much as I wanted to try moving around to help things along all I could do was lay there and feel like dying.  So this was a big blessing that I could get things together and done in between the pain since Brian wasn't here and because I had Quinn to think about too.

By this time I think it's about 4:30/5am and I know Brian's mom is awake (we planned for her to take Quinn) but she had to be home because the kids she watches come early.  I texted her saying that today was the day and to plan on having Quinn sometime soon and that I still haven't gotten ahold of Brian, and that I would call my mom in a couple hours once she was up to come over and help get Quinn up.  My mom got to our place around 7:30.  By this time the contractions were the kind I had to concentrate on working through.  She helped me get Quinn up and ready for Brian's mom to pick her up after she took kids to school.  We still hadn't gotten ahold of Brian, surprisingly I wasn't freaking out too much about this. (I knew eventually they were going to be at a spot to hike that morning that would get reception.  I was just praying that he would actually remember to check his phone!)   But things were working out as best as they could!  Quinn was picked up by 9am.  I realized  I hadn't eaten anything since the night before and I knew I wouldn't be eating much at the hospital so I forced myself to eat some cereal when I couldn't finish it and decided it was finally time to get ready to leave for the hospital.  Brian finally called when we were halfway there.

My mom helped me get checked into triage.  I felt like we were there for forever waiting for a delivery room.  But maybe it just felt like forever since I felt like I was dying.  When they checked me I was at a 3 and 80% effaced.  They hooked me up to monitor the baby and consistency of my contractions.  This was torture.  I was so sweaty and in pain that those elastic belts were were so itchy and driving me nuts because I still could not sit!  I feel like we made it to the hospital just in time because the contractions came full force right after we got into triage.  Finally after I knew that Brian wasn't going to be there for a while longer I asked for an epidural.  As soon as I asked they wheeled me up to a room and was given one within minutes, they hadn't even gotten the room fully set up.  I think it was around 12pm by then.  Things were getting crazy.  Oh, and Brian got to the delivery room literally two seconds after I got the epidural.  Lucky him.  He wouldn't have liked it but I'm sure I would have made it much longer without one had he been there!  I don't think they checked me again for another hour or more.  I don't really remember what I was when they checked me the next couple times.  All I know is that my water was still intact and the nurse said it was literally right there bulging and she tried breaking it a couple times but she couldn't.  She had me moving a lot the next few hours because Luke's heart rate would decelerate often.  She was quiet about it, which didn't help me think calmly about it.  I don't know the details cause they wouldn't tell me much but I heard her calling up the NICU just incase.  I was freaking out.

My water still hadn't broke and I started to feel crazy amounts of painful pressure because of it... the nurse checked me.  I was at a 9 and then things got super crazy!  I thought I would be waiting a little longer to push until I got to a 10 but nope!  As soon as she said I was at a 9 and I was clearly (loudly) feeling the pressure and pain, and because of his heart decelerations, they started having me push right away.  Everyone came rushing in, setting things up, and the doctor kept telling me to push, like none stop.  I was pushing but didn't feel like I was at all.  Apparently the doctor just wanted the baby out fast and wasn't waiting for a contraction to come.  Finally the nurse realized this and helped get things under control and he was out with the next few minutes.  I couldn't believe I had just had a baby!  Everything happened so fast.  Oh and my water shot out every where sometime during all that.  They were so intense about getting him out NOW that I was so worried once he was out.  They took him to the warming table right away and said I was loosing a lot of blood.  They gave me pitocin to control my bleeding.  Luke had swallowed meconium so he was still on the table being suctioned and his heart checked.  Luckily, he only got a little in him and after what seemed like forever I finally got to see him, nurse, and be skin to skin for the next couple hours.  I really was in shock and couldn't believe I had another baby.  He was perfect.  And I realized, I love having babies!  It is the most amazing thing your body can do.  It feels incredible!  Everything was so much better this time around that I even told Brian that we could have a third just minutes after he was out.  I did tear along my scar tissue from my old episiotomy but only needed a couple stitches.  Which was like nothing compared to the first time around.

Recovery, nursing, adjusting to a new baby, everything has been wayyy easier than I thought it would be this time around.  Thank goodness!  Quinn of course had to, and still is adjusting but has done so much better than I thought she would.  It's definitely work juggling two babies when daddy has to be working but I think I was well prepared for the job and I couldn't be happier doing it!  I feel so blessed to have this little family of mine.  Life couldn't get any better.

^^^couldn't even get a picture of her holding him for the first time because she pushed him away within seconds.^^^

^^^her present from baby Luke.^^^

^^^and then this is all she wanted to do.^^^

^^^this was the next morning.  Brian went and got her so we could have some just the four of us time and she could have us without all the family around like the night before.  it was perfect being together that morning.  she was so good and just wanted to change her new babies diaper over and over.^^^