How to Make Your Mama Cry

When Brody was born, it seemed like my girls grew up instantly. Addie, who was my baby, suddenly got bigger. MUCH bigger. In comparison to tiny Brody, she is now a giant. Emma just seemed to have matured and really gotten sweet over night.

And then a week and a half ago, Emma showed me that she had a loose tooth.

Make that TWO loose teeth.

I couldn't believe it! She's not even five yet. I called the dentist to make sure it's okay to be losing teeth this early, and thankfully he said yes. But no, it's NOT okay. It means she's growing up and I can't do a thing to stop it!



So I took these pictures of Emma the other day, even though I was sure we'd have a few more weeks or months left with her baby teeth.



But we were wrong!



Yesterday after Bible Study, Emma leaned over to pick up a balloon and exclaimed, "My tooth!" I said, "What do you mean 'your tooth?'" She said, "It's on the floor!" She picked it up and looked at me, and sure enough, there was a new little gap in her mouth and a tooth in her hand. I don't know how, but she said it just fell out. It seems like it must have just literally, fallen out. It was there one second, and gone the next.



She was a little freaked out by the small amount of blood pooling in her new hole, and got a little teary. Addie said she was afraid too and kept saying, "Poor Emma!" But even though I was slightly devastated myself, I showed my excitement and reassured Emma that it's a great thing!



Since we hadn't left the church yet, I had Gary meet us at the door on our way out and when he saw our "surprise", I swear he turned ashen and held back tears.

So last night, we made a special envelope to keep the tooth in (I had wanted to make a cute little toothfairy pouch with Emma... someday... you know, when she was old enough to lose a tooth! But the envelope worked for now), and Emma willingly went to sleep so the toothfairy could come. She was VERY excited as she told me that the toothfairy would leave her a PENNY! Woo-hoo!







When I was little, I got a shiny fifty-cent piece for each tooth. They were VERY special. I'm wishing I'd saved them all to give to my own kids, but what kid thinks ahead like that? I meant to go the bank and forgot. So lucky little Emma got a sparkly Sacagawea dollar instead. Considering she was excited about a penny, I think maybe the toothfairy is going to cut back to a quarter for all teeth after the first one!




Once in awhile while Brody's sleeping, he'll smile a half-smile that just melts my heart and it makes me think back to the girls' toothless grins that I loved so much when they were babies. I didn't realize I'd be getting a glimpse of Emma's again so soon. *sigh*

One last thing... last night when we were eating dinner, we were talking about how sometimes people cry when they're happy (I cried when Brody was born, so now they bring it up occasionally). Emma said, "Yeah, that's why I was crying this morning when I lost my tooth. I was just so happy!" Mmmm-hmmm... sure!

Brody's Birth Day

Two weeks? Has it really been two weeks since I last posted? Seriously, where does the time go? Where did summer go? It was too short! Can I get an amen? And does that mean Brody is over two weeks old? It doesn't seem possible.

But yes, it has been two weeks since I posted. I've been a little busy.

With little this...

And little that...

And oh yeah, all these littles...

(Yes, he is screaming his head off. No, he didn't like snuggling between his two sisters.)

I thought I should back track and talk about Brody's Birth Day a little bit, more for my own sake than any of my readers, because it's amazing how quickly those moments you "swear you'll never forget" fade away. And it's probably a good thing, or the pain might just keep us from having more of these precious little things!

So here we go. And if there are any male readers out there, I'm talkin' about a real, live birthin' here, so read at your own risk.

On the morning of my due date, 8-8-08, I woke up at 5:50 in the morning to a quiet little "POP!" It startled me, and yet I knew instantly that it was probably my water breaking! I went back to the dusty corners of my mind from that childbirth class five (FIVE?!) years ago and remembered that your bag of waters can have a slow leak, be broken by the doctor, or literally POP like mine did. I got up expecting a gush, but when there wasn't one, I second guessed myself. But when I got in the shower a few minutes later, there was absolutely NO DOUBT that indeed my water had broken. It gushed! Gary called the hospital, and the doctor said to get there quickly since I was already 4cm. dilated the week before.

I got ready in record time - yes, hair and makeup - and finished packing my bag. I really didn't know what to do with the water which continued to gush, so I asked Gary to get me one of Addie's diapers. Oh yes, you read that right... I wore one of Addie's diapers. It's pretty much the only reason I'm glad she's not potty trained yet. It did the trick for the 15-minute drive to the hospital!

When Gary went into the girls' room to get the diaper, they woke up and he told them that we were headed to the hospital. They were ecstatic! They raced around the house singing, "The baby's coming! The baby's coming!" It was the cutest thing in the world. We kissed them goodbye and off we went!

I'm not going to go through every little detail here, so this part will be an abbreviated version of what happened over the next 10 hours. Because, really, who wants to hear what we did for 10 hours of non-labor? It's not like Gary hijacked my Facebook account or anything like that.

My plan was to have as much of a natural labor as possible, unless I just couldn't take it or the baby was in danger. I've done it both with an epidural and meds and without in the past, and couldn't honestly say that I preferred one way over the other. So this time, I was just going to go with the flow and decide as we went.

The problem was that even though the doctor urged us to get there quickly, I wasn't having regular contractions when my water broke. It's ironic, because for a month before that, I was having regular contractions several hours a day. After we got to the hospital, it seemed like every time my contractions would pick up, they'd stall out and we'd just sit and wait and nothing would happen. The catch is that after each contraction I did have, the baby's heart rate dropped dramatically. It's a scary thing to watch the monitor and see that little line plummet and hear those "beeps" get slower and slower. After losing our baby last August, I can assure you that we were a little on edge.

The doctor and nurses explained that the baby may have been sitting on or pinching his cord in some way, which could explain the drops in his heart rate. That one word - CORD - was all they had to say to get MY heart racing.

The concern over the baby's well being really tensed me up, and I couldn't concentrate enough to breathe through contractions which although weren't consistent, were getting more intense. I opted to get the epidural, which brought much relief and I have no regrets. The baby's heart rate actually got better at this point, probably because I was more relaxed. They gave me an oxygen mask to wear for the baby's sake, not mine, and the extra dose of oxygen also helped the baby.The doctor recommended a small dose of Pitocin, which I was very hesitant about, but she hoped it might get the contractions going in order to get the baby out of there - they were all concerned about his well being as his heart rate began to drop again, despite the oxygen and changing positions multiple times to get the baby in a more comfortable place. I've not heard good things about Pitocin (bad experiences with friends, mostly), but I completely trust my doctor, and because I was very worried about my baby, I gave it a shot. It turned out that it didn't help, so after just a few minutes, they took me off of the Pitocin.

Because so much time had gone by after my water breaking and because I had lost so much water as the day wore on, they actually put some water BACK IN, in hopes they could float the baby more so that he wouldn't be pinching his cord. Who knew they could do that?! Thankfully, it worked a little bit, but there was still concern.

I'm telling you... I felt like a marionette with all of the cords and catheters coming out of me! (And for what it's worth, I learned that a catheter is any tube coming from your body - not just for pee. Sorry... just had to put that out there.) It wasn't exactly how I'd pictured it, but I was thankful to be taken care of by such a competent staff at the hospital.

Finally, the doctor and nurses were out of options and approached me about the possibility of having to do a C-section. I had been adamant all along that it would absolutely be a last resort. They explained that the baby's heart rate just wasn't where they wanted it to be and the contractions weren't indicating that we were very close yet. My heart was pounding and I sent up a short, desperate prayer to God that my baby would be okay and that we could make it through this. I felt tears sting my eyes and I remember silently pleading with Him that I wouldn't need a C-Section. And I was terrified that I might lose another baby.

But out of the blue, the doctor decided to check me one more time. She said, "Oh! You're at 10 centimeters. It's time to push!" In the next eight minutes, I pushed through two contractions, insisted on pushing one last time (despite them telling me to stop), and Brody Ryan was born. Gary helped pull him out and put him on my chest, as I sobbed and cried and thanked the Lord over and over again.

My hospital has a new rule where the mother holds the baby skin-to-skin for the first hour, even before the baby is weighed or anything. It was bliss. I cherished every second of that hour, experiencing nearly every emotion imaginable. I nursed him for the first time, which he took to easily, and I just thanked the Lord for such a gift in this sweet boy.



I was so eager to pass him to his Daddy after the hour was up, and it was a sweet moment to watch Gary holding his son. He's not proud or anything...


We wanted our girls to be the first people besides ourselves to hold baby Brody, so they came in and we shared some sweet moments alone with them. You've never seen two prouder big sisters. They were so tender and quiet with him, and really continue to be two weeks later.







There's so much more to share... the dynamics of having three, details about how the girls love on Brody, the rollercoaster of emotion I've been on in the last few weeks, how we chose his name and just little things that make Brody who he is. But I'll have to come back to those, or this post will be a kajillion times longer than it already is!

Dr. Jensen high-fiving the girls after Brody was born


It was difficult to go through the day without thinking of Joshua, Brody's older brother. I need to write more about it later, but I can say without hesitation that although Joshua cannot be replaced, Brody has filled the hole in our hearts that has been there for a year. The day Brody was born, there were so many comparisons and stark contrasts to the day Joshua was born, and it was impossible to ignore them. But God is so good and Brody is here to prove that. Much more on that later... there's still so much I'm processing.

The rest of this will be very picture heavy, as they really tell more about the day than I could. So I'll just end with pictures, pictures, and more pictures! Because you can't have enough pictures of a tiny, newborn little miracle. And he is.





My mom, me, and Brody... just a couple hours old


My sisters, Brody and me


Emma and Brody, 1 day old

Addie's an expert at holding babies





All the grandparents

He's here!

(Lest you think I'm STILL in labor!)

Brody Ryan Osborne arrived on his due date, August 8th, 2008 at 4:38 p.m. He weighed 6 lbs., 13 oz. and was 19" long. Hearing his tiny cry upon his entrance into this world was the sweetest thing I've ever heard. More details to come, but I didn't want to leave the last post hanging like that!

We're all doing fine. Baby Brody is healthy and sweet and sooo loved by his big sisters. I can't wait to write more about that!

Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers. It was fun to blog and keep up with Facebook the day he was born, but I'm telling you, he's totally trumped both since then. :)

I'll be back soon...

For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:13-16

Today's To-Do List

I woke up today with a very different to-do list than what I've been working on lately. It goes something like this...

1. Breathe
2. Push
3. Hold my baby

I'm in labor! My water broke this morning on it's own and I'm here at the hospital now. More details to come, but the girls were so, SO excited when they woke up this morning and realized we were leaving to come have the baby! Tehy ran around the house singing, "The baby's coming! The baby's coming!" SO CUTE!

Cheryl suggested I do live blogging during labor. I've not ruled it out, so who knows! (That really made me laugh, Cheryl!)

Gotta go... there's another contraction...

Guess who went to the ER?!

Nope, not me! Still no baby... maybe he really will make his appearance on his 08-08-08 due date! Wouldn't that be fun?

Instead, it was precious little Addie. Gary and I have been amazed that we haven't made a trip there yet, but figured when we did it would be for her first. Emma is crazy and way too daring for her own good, and although Addie isn't far behind her in that category, she's a little less coordinated. We figured she'd be acquainted with the good doctors at the ER first. We were right!

She fell off of the climbing wall at the park last night during our neighborhood block party. In my mind I should have screamed and panicked when the other moms came rushing over to tell me Addie was hurt, but I calmly smiled, excused myself from the conversation and strolled over to see what was wrong. Um, that's not normal, especially in my hormone induced state. I guess God just gave me peace so it wouldn't put me in labor. One girl with an injury in the backseat and one mama in the front seat in labor might've been too much for Gary on the way to the hospital.

Anyway, enough about me. This is about Addie.

So Gary's mom was there holding her and Gary picked her up, and when I saw her, her eye was bleeding down her cheek and into her ear, so it was hard to tell exactly what had happened. Gary rushed home with her (just 3 doors down) and I gathered the girls' shoes, said my goodbyes and went home to see how she was. However, on my way home, I lost my balance and fell, twisting my knee, scraping my knees and ankles and bumping my tummy. I felt like such a dork. I took a digger right on my bum. Thankfully, the baby was very active the rest of the night, so I wasn't concerned about him, it just added to the excitement of the night.

But back to Addie.

I got home to find that Gary had cleaned her up really well, but that she had a cut under her eye which was pretty deep, so off to the ER we went! Emma stayed behind with Gary's parents, but just as we were leaving, she ran back upstairs to get her horse to give to Addie so that Addie would know she was thinking of her. How sweet is that?!

Addie was the most cheerful, happy little girl in the car. We think she was thrilled to have us all to herself despite her injury. She was a chatterbox the whole way there!



So, to make a short story a little longer...

Addie is "shy to boys" and reminds us all the time, so imagine her delight when the nurse was a boy. She wouldn't even look at him. But thankfully he was very gentle and kind and she warmed up to him and even bragged to us later that she wasn't shy to him anymore. We were thankful though, that God gave us a "girl doctor" who was able to heal her cut with Dermabond instead of stitches. Praise God for that, because I don't think Addie would've taken well to the stitches. However, she was the bravest, most compliant little girl. She was so good and cheerful the whole time they worked on her eye. They said they want 10 more like her!

When we were done, Addie marched proudly down the hall, showing off her new bracelet (the hospital bracelet - very cool in the eyes of a 2 year old) and flashing her shiner for all to see.



And that concludes our first visit to the ER. It was a breeze. I figured I'd be a wreck, but the doctors and Gary and Addie all made it totally bearable, and dare I say... almost fun!? Crazy, I know.

Please note: this grouchy face had nothing to do with her eye... it had everything to do with the fact that I wanted to wash her face and brush her hair. But it's a nice touch.


And please tell me I'm not alone in thinking about how this will really enhance all of the new-baby pictures we're about to take. After I saw she was fine, I admit it was one of my first thoughts. C'mon. I know I'm not alone!