Thomas' Birth Story

Thomas Van Shipp

Born May 30, 2018

at 11:50am

8lbs 0oz

19.5 inches

I'll begin the story of Thomas' birth on May 29th (his official due date) when I went to the doctor for my 40 week checkup, where I had Dr. Watabe strip my membranes and I was already dilated to 3cm. I remember he told me that if I had strong contractions, but they were around 7 minutes apart, I should come to the hospital because things probably would progress quickly. That night, I enjoyed a normal night out at book club. ;)

The next morning was the day of my scheduled induction. I really wanted to have Thomas in May (not June; I felt like Delilah should be able to have June to herself since their birthdays would be so close together), so against my normal philosophy I scheduled an induction for the 30th. I woke up at 7am (in my bed--a rare occurance the last few weeks of this pregnancy since it became very painful in my pelvic area to sleep on my side, so I took to sleeping on the sofa most nights) and got a text from my Mom asking if there was any progress. Being prangry (pregnant-angry) by this point, I was bugged by the reminder that NO, I was not in fact in labor and I would have to be induced.

I finally got out of bed around 7:25am and decided to take a shower and do my hair for the big day. Trevor went downstairs to work while we waited for the call from the hospital for our scheduled induction time. As I prepared to get in the shower, I started noticing that my braxton hicks contractions (something I had very frequently this pregnancy, especially toward the end, and sometimes pretty strong, but not too painful) were stronger than they had ever felt before. As I was in the shower, I realized the contractions were actually pretty painful, too. However, they still seemed like braxton hicks contractions since my belly would harden. In my past two pregnancies, my labor contractions were pretty obviously different from the braxton hicks, so I was hesitant to be optimistic that I could actually be in labor.

By the time I got out of the shower, I called Trevor upstairs and tentatively told him, "You might want to call your Mom to have her start coming, because I think I'm feeling some real contractions. They're pretty painful." I didn't want to be an alarmist, though, and was a little afraid of being wrong, but it seemed like the right call to have her start coming over to our house to watch Charlie and Delilah.

For the next hour, I got ready for the day. I curled my hair and put on a little make up (I guess if I know I'm going to have a baby, I might as well look good! Ha!) while contracting at irregular intervals. Some would come every 5 minutes while sometimes I'd have a break for 15 minutes or so. It really had me second-guessing whether or not I was really in labor.

Around 9am, the hospital called to ask if I could arrive for my scheduled induction at 10am. I told them I would try (it's a 25 minute drive to the hospital), but we were still waiting for Jill to arrive to watch the older kids. I asked if it was okay if we were a little late and she said it would be okay if it was around 10:15or so. By this point, my contractions had become obviously painful and I knew for sure I was in labor on my own, although the contractions weren't consistent in their timing.

By 9:30am, Trevor's mom still hadn't arrived, although we knew she was on her way and getting really close. (I later learned that when he asked her to come he didn't tell her it was urgent so that's why she took a little while to get ready and arrive. Ha!) I was starting to panic a little because I knew I was in labor and I knew we had a scheduled time at the hospital. We got the bag in Trevor's car and then I sat inside, waiting, ready to go the moment she showed up. Her car drove down the street at 9:48am. A quick hug and a few instructions later, we were on our way. I swear I had at least 10 contractions on the drive to the hospital and kept saying "oh no, not another one!" I would close my eyes, hold on tight, breathe and count my breaths while each contraction passed.

We arrived at the hospital at 10:15am. I had a contraction in the parking lot, one in the elevator, and one at the check-in desk on the labor and delivery floor. I feel fortunate that they already had a room prepared and nurse waiting for me because of my scheduled induction. I got into my room right away and changed into the hospital gown. The nurse checked my dilation and I believe I was around 5 or 6cm. My memory is a little foggy as it's been nearly two months. ;) I remember requesting an epidural right away because I was quite done laboring on my own thank-you-very-much. I was shortly informed that the anesthesiologist was finishing up with another patient and had one other to do before getting to me. In the meantime I did my best to calmly make it through contractions, counting and breathing. It was very obvious at this point there would be no induction needed.

I believe the anesthesiologist arrived around 11am to give me my epidural. I made Trevor come hold my hand through the contractions around this time. He later told me I was squeezing so hard it hurt him. I had no idea I could even squeeze that hard. The epidural was placed about 10 minutes later, but they had to go find a syringe of the medicine because he didn't have one on hand. By 11:20 or so, I was panicking that the epidural wasn't helping as much as I expected (so much pain!) and requested that the anesthesiologist come back to check things. He gave me a booster of some sort of quicker-acting medication and left. I think it took the edge off the pain, but I was still feeling a lot of what was going on.

Around 11:30am I had a monster contraction that I remember moaning and almost yelling through, despite the epidural. At the end I felt a weird pop, and a few seconds later the sensation of warm fluid. I turned and told the nurse, "I think my water just broke!" This had never happened to me before and was definitely an interesting, new sensation. She checked my dilation at this point and I was basically fully dilated to 9.5cm! I couldn't believe I had transitioned with very little pain management! And so quickly, too! I heard the panic in the nurse's voice as she said she would need to page Dr. Watabe right away. She hoped he would get there in time and I remember her "complaining" about the fact that I was in the labor and delivery room where she always had to deliver babies because they came so fast. Haha!

From here on out, things were a whirlwind for me. My memories of birth are a rush of moments and I'll do my best to describe what happened. It felt like Dr. Watabe arrived just moments after being paged (bless him!) and was ready to help me push. It was strictly business at this point. I remember the sensation of needing to push (I was in so much pain, and pushing made the pain go away. Nature is amazing!). We did 3-4 10-second pushes with each set and I could tell I was making good progress. I rested a little between each set, but my contractions were coming quickly. I also remember feeling myself poop and being so embarrassed and apologizing to everyone. The fact that I had the mental capacity to care about that at this point is kind of hilarious in hind sight.

After four sets of pushes and for the first time feeling the sensation of the "ring of fire" (although probably somewhat dulled by my semi-effective epidural), baby's head came out and with the next push, and a little aid from Dr. Watabe, the rest of him came too at 11:50am. I remember resting my head back with my hands on my face, crying with the relief of giving birth. Dr. Watabe asked me if I wanted to look and see what gender the baby was, since we kept it a surprise the entire pregnancy. I leaned forward to look, immediately saw his boy parts, and exclaimed "Oh! It's a boy!". Cue the waterworks again. I vaguely remember Dr. Watabe asking Trevor if he wanted to cut the umbilical cord, and despite saying "no thanks" to the nurse earlier when he was asked, he took the scissors and cut the cord. It made me so happy that he got to be involved in that way.

After the umbilical cord was cut, they put Thomas directly onto me. He was my first baby where I got to hold him straight out of the womb before he was cleaned up. I distinctly remember his blue-gray color, the sticky wetness of his skin and hair, and the specific yet un-describable smell of the fluids he had just emerged from. It was amazing. It took him a good minute to start crying and he sounded gurgly at first due to swallowing some of the amniotic fluid on the way out. Once he did start crying, he was pretty agitated and hard to calm down for the next hour or so. I remember lots of screaming and feeling sad for him and hoping he was okay. I guess my whirlwind labor was quite the whirlwind for him, too.

After holding him for the first 5-10 minutes, they took him to clean him up and suction him and brought him back to me. He wasn't too interested in latching and eating yet, which concerned me a little. Trevor ended up holding him for a while, too.

About an hour after giving birth, I was transferred to the recovery room on the second floor. My legs were so numb from the now effective epidural (eye roll), that I had to be helped into a wheelchair and rolled to my new room.

I spent the next few hours getting to know my little man and encouraging him to eat. He had this adorable little furrowed brow and wasn't too interested in opening his eyes.

Trevor went home that evening around 7:30pm to be with our older kids. I spent the night restlessly, worrying and thinking about my new babe, feeding him every few hours. The next morning, we finally settled on a name: Thomas Van Shipp. It wasn't easy to name him and we went back and forth and had to try out Thomas for a while before we settled it for sure. Honestly, it took me a good 3-4 days after coming home to really get used to his name. But now it totally suits him and he's our little baby Tom. <3

In the afternoon on the 31st, Trevor brought Charlie and Delilah to meet little Thomas and to bring us home. Delilah was excited to see him, but then got really scared and nervous to get up on the bed with me. It was totally unexpected. I thought she'd be in heaven. Charlie was happy to see Thomas, but was definitely more interested in exploring the fun lights, switches, and machines in my hospital room.

After making sure all the paperwork was done, things were packed, and our ducks were in a row, we put Thomas in the car seat and were discharged. I walked out of the hospital slowly and gingerly, but I was proud I could do it! It was a hot, sort of smoggy day, and I remember hating that we were bringing this perfect little angel baby into such a dirty, corrupt world. It's that feeling of hoping I can protect him for as long as possible and be the best parent.

After a rough first few weeks with breastfeeding (so much pain--I had to get Newman's ointment as a prescription from a lactation specialist on day 5), we have adjusted to our new life with Thomas and everyone is in love. He is such a sweet baby and a great sleeper. He's so good, he ALMOST makes us think we could have another one day. Haha! <3

He loves sleeping with his hands free and gets mad almost every time I wrap his arms up tight. Silly boy.

We're over the moon for you, baby Thomas.

Delilah's Birth Story

Fair warning... this post is a novel. This blog serves as my personal journal, and I want to remember every little detail of her birth. Good for you if you make it through the whole thing. :)

Life has totally just taken off since Delilah was born. Being a Mom of two kids is definitely busy, and I just haven't found a lot of time to sit down and write down the story of Delilah's birth. She turns two months old today, and therefore it really is time to post about her birth day! :)

The story starts a few days before she arrived. I had heard from my doctors that second babies on average come earlier than the first babies... on average about a week earlier. I tried not to get my hopes up, but by the end of my pregnancy I was VERY ready to have my baby! So, when the 39 week mark came and went, I started feeling a little impatient. My Mom arrived in town on June 6th, two days before her due date. She was scheduled to be there helping for about 11 days... and so I started to feel a little pressure and panic about her arrival. I knew I didn't want to be induced unless I medically had to, or when the doctors made me (i.e. 41 weeks). However, if I waited until 41 weeks, my Mom would have been scheduled to leave only a couple days later! So, I started to consider an earlier induction date based around Trevor's work schedule and my Mom's timeline. I called and scheduled an induction date for Monday, June 9th (a day after my due date), hoping that I wouldn't make it to that day.

Days passed, and my due date grew nearer and nearer, much to my dismay. The Friday before my due date, I had one of my doctors strip my membranes, but it didn't seem to help. Then my due date (Sunday June 8th) came... and went. I was now standing face to face with my induction date... and I was definitely re-thinking the decision. They were supposed to call me on Sunday night to give me a time for induction the next day, but when the hospital called me, they said they had quite a few scheduled C-Sections in the morning, and they couldn't assign times until those were over, because no one knows how long those things will take. I was also 5th on the induction list. They told me they'd call me the next day.

First thing I did on Monday morning was call my doctor's office to try and get an appointment. I wanted to talk things over with my doctor and have them check me for any progress. I had been dilated to 2cm and 70% effaced for about 2-3 weeks, but hadn't progressed much recently (so disheartening when you're pregnant!). They said they were pretty booked and I had to make an appointment for later in the day, but I told them I was worried the hospital would call with an induction time before I could get advice from my doctor. Miraculously, a nurse called me back a few minutes later and asked if I could come in right away because they could squeeze me in. I was SO happy! I hopped in my car (sans-Charlie, thanks Mom!) and got there as fast as I could.

Dr. Bean was the one who I saw that morning. He checked me and said I was a 2+ and 80% effaced. It didn't sound like much progress, but he said I was ready anytime. I was an emotional mess... trying to stay true to myself (not getting induced), but also trying to make it convenient for my husband and fit with my mom's flight schedule (getting induced). Lots of my friends thought I was crazy for not wanting to be induced, but I really enjoyed going into labor on my own with Charlie, and I wanted to have that experience again with my second child. And I wanted to see if I could progress farther and labor longer without an epidural... just to see how well I could manage the contractions. I guess I just like to push myself when it comes to the birth experience. Maybe I am crazy! Anyway, I also didn't like the idea of being pumped full of fake oxytocin hormones. I'd much rather trust my body, and wait until it's ready and creating the so-called "love" hormones itself.

My doctor was so understanding and even told me that I should pray about it! Only in Utah... ;) But it was excellent advice. The last thing he did was strip my membranes again. And this time... HOLY COW... did he ever strip my membranes. It was pretty darn painful (unlike the first time) and I even recall saying "Whoa... that's definitely not what the other doctor did on Friday!". He told me that he stripped all the remaining membranes, and that it would definitely kick-start my labor if my body was on the cusp of going into labor anyway.

After the appointment I went home and decided to make the best of the rest of my day (instead of waiting around sulking). So, my mom, Charlie, and I went to the pool. I saw quite a few of my neighborhood friends there who all asked me when I was due ("Oh, yesterday") and, again, thought I was crazy for not wanting to be induced. Haha. Swimming in the pool was awesome, especially because my belly felt so light! I was also feeling just a little crampy after having my membranes stripped, so it was nice for relieving those cramps too.

We got home from the pool a little after 2pm. Still no call from the hospital. So, the next thing I did was to take a shower to get refreshed after swimming. Somewhere between showering and drying my hair, I started realizing that I was having a few semi-painful, crampy contractions. I was pretty sure they weren't the usual Braxton Hicks contractions that I had been having for weeks, but I wasn't convinced that it was not false labor. Just to be safe, though, I told Trevor about the contractions and said that I better get working on some work he needed me to do, just in case.

So, from about 3:30-5ish, I went downstairs and did some design work on the computer. The contractions continued, but didn't disrupt my work too much. Just before 5pm, the hospital finally called with an induction time, and I told them I had changed my mind on getting induced anyway. Yay for staying true to myself! Plus, in my mind, I was hoping that I might actually be in labor anyway!

After my work was finished, I suggested that we all go out and get some dinner. I put on my makeup and we drove to Rumbi Grill in Lehi/American Fork just before 7pm. By then, the contractions were continuing and getting more intense, where I'd have to breathe through them a bit, but I still wasn't wholly convinced it was for real. However, by the time I finished my delicious dinner around 8pm, I was having to close my eyes and breathe, they were getting closer together, and I was allowing myself to believe I was in labor. I called the on-call nurse at my doctor to tell her how I was feeling. She suggested waiting a little longer to go to the hospital, especially because I could still kind-of talk through my contractions. (I definitely didn't want to be turned away!)

Contractions intensified on the ride home. We were all getting pretty excited, and I think Trevor was feeling like it was about to be a long night. Haha :) We got home a little before 9pm and got Charlie into bed for the night. I was excited to settle in at home and labor on the sofa while watching TV. And then things changed... quickly. The contractions started coming very hard (I had to get on all fours and breathe when they came), and I realized they were coming so close together I was hardly getting a break! That's when I started feeling a bit more panicky. It's harder to deal with the pain when you don't have much of a recovery time in between. Trevor had started packing a few things to take to the hospital, but I told him he better speed up the process because I was ready to go as soon as possible (it was 20+ minutes away!!). We took a minute and Trevor gave me a blessing of peace, strength, and health during the birthing process. I am truly grateful for my husband and that he is worthy to hold the Priesthood and give me such wonderful blessings.

We got in the car at about 10pm, headed for American Fork Hospital. Trevor got on the phone with his Mom to let her know that things were happening, but while he was talking to her I think he forgot that we were in a hurry because he wasn't speeding at all and he stopped at lights when we probably could have sped through and made it. I was DYING in the passenger seat, holding onto the handle on the ceiling for dear life and breathing hard every time a contraction hit. I was thrilled when we finally found a place to park at the hospital.

We walked up to the third floor and we were put in a room at about 10:30pm. From the way I was reacting to my contractions and how close together they were, the nurses were pretty sure I'd be staying. When they finally checked me, I was dilated to (only!!) about 4.5cm. With all that pain, I had expected more. But, I definitely was progressing fast and hard. By this time, I was getting tired and having a harder time breathing through my contractions without tensing up and moaning a bit. I requested my epidural right away and they ordered it for me. They also showed Trevor how he could push up my bent legs towards my belly to help me take some pressure off while I was feeling contractions. It was really helpful! Thank goodness for such a good teammate!

The anesthesiologist arrived within about 30-45 minutes (can't quite remember) of us getting to the hospital. I'm not a big fan of giant things poking into my spinal column, so I made sure to keep super still while he put the epidural in. Within the next half hour, just before midnight, I was feeling pretty happy! The pain was gone, but somehow I still had a bit of feeling and control left in my legs! Looking back, I'd say that it was the perfect epidural. He must have hit the "sweet spot" because it was the best of both worlds. All epidurals should be that way!

Now that I was feeling relaxed and pain-free, Trevor and I decided it was time to try to get some rest before the show. He slept on-and-off on the sofa nearby while I attempted to close my eyes and get some sleep, but I was just too darn excited. And, let's be honest, with all the interruptions from the nurses coming in to check and poke and prod and ask questions, it's nearly impossible.

Since Dr. Bean was the doctor on call until 6am, he told the nurses that if I chose to get an epidural and it slowed me down, then he would insist that I get a dose of pitocin to speed things along. I agreed, knowing I probably wouldn't need it. Around 1am or so, a nurse came into the room with a bag of pitocin and every intention of using it on me. A little shocked, I reminded her to please check me first, just to see how far I'd progressed. I was at 7cm and fully effaced! She was a little surprised, as I'd only been at a 5 just a little while earlier. Based on my speedy labor, she didn't need to use the pitocin (Thank goodness! Again, let my body do it, please and thank you). She also decided to call Dr. Bean and let him know that I was getting close. He was at another hospital about 15 minutes down the road.

By 3am, I was checked and was fully dilated! I was excited and ready to go, but the doctor still wasn't at the hospital yet. I remember feeling frustrated, thinking "Whoa now, what if I didn't have an epidural? Would you make me wait? How is this fair to my body, to make me wait for the doctor, when I'm ready to go... even if I'm not feeling pain?" I remember asking the nurse quite often if Dr. Bean had finally gotten there yet. And since I was starting to feel a bit of pain and didn't know when I'd be able to push, I had to give myself another little dose of the epidural.

At exactly 4am, Dr. Bean came into my room, suited up and ready to help deliver my baby! I was ready to get the show on the road! Trevor had been sleeping and groggily woke up to come over and help hold a leg. After a few pushes, I heard a nurse ask my husband if he was okay. I looked up at him and he was looking a little pale. He said he was feeling lightheaded and everyone started almost-yelling at him to "please sit down!!" before he passed out. He went to sit on the sofa and I told him it was okay, I could hold up my legs by myself because I could feel them enough to do it on my own. He said later that he felt that way because he was tired and groggy, because it was difficult to watch me working so hard, and from the sights and smells of birth. I don't blame him. I was totally fine... in the zone... but it's got to be a totally different experience to watch someone go through it.

I pushed with Dr. Bean (after he broke my water) for about 15 minutes. I knew I was making some progress, but he told me that we'd have to stop for a bit because he had another delivery down the hall that he needed to be at immediately. I was a little shocked that he was just going to leave me in the middle of pushing. I was extra shocked that they told me not to push for a little while. Say WHAT? I don't think so. I told the nurse I wanted to keep pushing, so she said "okay, we can do some more practice pushes". Practice pushes? No way, Jose... this is for real. So, with the nurse by my side, I pushed with all my might. And then the coolest thing happened... I could feel my baby crowning! I knew I was close, especially when my nurse started saying "Ok, ok, small pushes, take it slow so you don't tear...". Again, I loved my epidural because I could feel everything happening, but it took away enough of the pain that I was able to do it without totally freaking out. So, I feel like I've experienced what is called "the ring of fire" to a small extent, and that makes me happy.

So, I'm sitting there crowning and trying not to push and telling whoever would listen that they BETTER get SOMEONE in the room asap because this baby is coming out. I didn't even care who... just someone needed to be down there to catch my baby! Within a minute or two, a certified nurse midwife with the last name Seamons, I believe, came in from the hallway to help me deliver my sweet girl. Just a push or two later, at 4:37am, she was born! I did it! All on my own (with a little pain relief)! It was such an awesome moment and Trevor was standing (now strongly) by my side. She was here, after about 13 hours of labor and a half hour of pushing!

I had requested that they put her directly on my chest after being born, but since there was meconium in her fluid, they needed to take her away and make sure she didn't get any in her lungs and wipe her off a bit. They ended up keeping her for longer than I'd hoped, doing the APGAR tests and cleaning her up.

Meanwhile, my nurse midwife helped me birth my placenta (and showed it to me... so cool!) and then stitched me up. I kept asking Trevor what she looked like... if she looked like Charlie or not. All he could really say was "uhhh... no... she looks different". I couldn't wait to hold her.

And finally, after what seemed like a long time, they put her in my arms and she laid there with me chest-to-chest for probably an hour. It's the most magical thing in the world. And I decided that she definitely had her Daddy's eyes, very different from Charlie who has my eyes. I also remember thinking that her lips were huge, but later I just realized that was from swelling. :)

While she was lying there and we had a quiet moment just the three of us, we picked a name for her from my list. And we knew she was our Delilah Jane. I also let her try to breastfeed for the first time. She latched right on and it's been great ever since, which is wonderful because I didn't get that experience with my sweet Charlie.

Later that day, Charlie and Kimma arrived at the hospital to meet Delilah for the first time. I'm pretty sure I was on cloud nine during that moment when siblings first met. There's nothing quite like that to make your heart sing. And even though Charlie was only interested for maybe a minute or two, he was still sweet and gentle with her. He also brought her a gift: a plush little doll. And she gave him a gift, too: an awesome play doctor's kit!

The next 36 hours after birth were spent in the hospital with me getting to know and feeding my new baby Delilah, and doing a bit of recovering. I could walk and pee very soon after birth, again a function of an excellent epidural! The meals at the hospital were delicious, one of my favorite parts! Only Delilah and I spent the night at the hospital that night. I sent her to the nursery until she was hungry and they brought her to me. But she never got really upset about eating, which I was glad about. They would just bring her to me when she woke up and started rooting and trying to eat her hand.

We had a few of our closest friends and family come visit us in the hospital, including Trevor's parents and brother Troy, my best friend Chris and her husband Darren, and (not pictured) Jenny Buck and her two sweet kids.

We decided to go home the next day, because home is so much more comfortable (and less expensive!) than the hospital. We were discharged on Wednesday late afternoon and had a pleasant ride home. Delilah seemed to love her car seat and riding in the car!

Delilah is the sweetest little spirit. She does have an intense side to her little personality (if she gets too hungry she will let you know!), but she is such a laid-back and happy baby. I'd say she's even easier than Charlie was, which is saying something because he was a good baby! We are totally in love...

Here's a few more pictures for you to enjoy :)

Uncle Mike came to visit that weekend:

We are truly blessed.

February and Valentine's Day Festivities

February started out like any other normal winter month... trying to figure out fun things to do inside while it was too cold outside to play! I've started making some routine adjustments with Charlie, preparing him for baby sister to come. One adjustment is having him eat in the adult chairs and use his utensils more often. He's actually getting pretty good at eating cereal with milk... with minimal milk spilling each time ;)

The week leading up to Valentine's Day, we had our new backsplash installed! Finally! It took me forever to decide what type of backsplash I wanted, but I'm happy with the way it turned out. Here's the before and after pictures (and I can't believe how different everything looks with the lights turned on and turned off... the wall colors, countertop colors, and cabinet colors all stayed the same, even though they look so different!):

The day after we got our backsplash installed, and two days before Valentine's Day, Trevor lost his job. It was completely sudden and unexpected since the FTC just busted in and shut down operations instantly. It's never fun to lose your job, but Trev took it extra hard because he put so much of his time and heart and soul into his work for the last two years. It was also scary thinking about having all of our regular expenses to pay, plus losing our health insurance with a baby coming, without having much income at all. I wished I could help out in some way... get a part-time job or something... but I was feeling pretty worthless being almost 6 months pregnant. Anyway, I'll update more about all of that later... but it definitely put a damper on our activities for the following weeks.

Valentine's Day still came, as planned! :) I helped Charlie make homemade cards for his Daddy and Grandparents, and I even went to a girl's night where we made cards for our husbands!

Here's the front of my card to Trev, and the envelope of the card from Charlie to his Daddy:

Here's Trev's stash of cards and goodies, my two dozen BEAUTIFUL roses from my sweet husband, and a little treat and stuffed animal for Charlie:

I even decided to try my hand at baking sugar cookies from scratch! I found an excellent recipe online and the cookies were soft and delicious! Charlie was excellent at helping me press out the cookies. He kept saying "hahts" for hearts and counting them! :) I did cop out and buy the frosting, colored it pink, and then decorated the cookies with some help from Chandler (my brother Mike's girlfriend at the time... they were in town visiting!).

As evidenced by the above collection of photos, Charlie's becoming my little copycat these days. Both in facial expression and with his words. Gotta start watching what I say even more carefully! ;) We also had a couple days where it was warm enough to visit the neighborhood park. Thank goodness for FREE activities that help run my kid ragged! :) We spent quite a bit of time watching the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Charlie even tried his hand at figure skating in our living room (aka spinning in a circle!). So cute, little mimic! :)

Here's a picture of my pregnancy progress at 25 weeks. I was feeling so big and always had pains from stretching. The second picture is pretty self-explanatory... Dads make pretty good horses! Haha :)

Despite the job loss, we decided to go forward with our plans to add a fireplace and wainscoting to our living room, since we had just sent in a check for half the cost of the fireplace about a day before his company was shut down. Plus, I had done so much planning and picking out features for the fireplace that we figured we might as well just get it done. (Thank goodness for having some savings!) At the end of February, the process got started as we had contractors route the gas line, move the electrical, and start building the fireplace!

The weather started warming up just enough that the neighbors have been coming out of their houses and spending time outside! It has been SO nice! One of the neighbor girls even took Charlie for a ride in her battery-powered police car. Honestly, I'm the type of Mom where I get a little nervous when Charlie does something new for the first time... and I just hoped that he wouldn't try to stand up and get out while the little car was moving. Fortunately, he didn't, and he really enjoyed his ride! :) Maybe I need to learn to relax. Haha

March updates coming soon!!!