Samantha

She's finally here!

Misty started having contractions late Saturday night. By around 3am they were consistent and painful enough for us to head to the hospital, which is about 50 minutes away. We got to the hospital and a midwife checked her around 4:30 or 5am Sunday morning. She was only a 1, her contractions had slowed down, and Samantha had moved up and away from the pelvis area. Apparently, Misty was in anti-labor. We decided to walk around the parking lot for a couple hours to see if that would help speed things up. The first hour or so of the walk Misty's contractions had picked up, but the second hour they were less than when we first came to the hospital. We went back to the midwife a little after 8am expecting to be sent home. She ended up being a 3 and Samantha had moved back down, so they admitted us and put Misty on an IV with antibiotics.

Misty just relaxed on her bed all morning, the contractions weren't too painful or close together. By noon they started the epidural because we were expecting to induce her within the next hour if she didn't speed up. Some time between 12:30 and 1 the midwife broke her water. She was still a 3 at this point and her contractions were 5 or 6 minutes apart. Finally her contractions picked up in frequency and strength, but her epidural was working by then. We were just sitting around like nothing was happening. At about 2pm the nurse checked her and she was at a 7. Then all of sudden the nurse said, "Whoa, she really wants to come now." And in minutes there was three nurses and a doctor in the room setting everything up. A few pushes later and Samantha Dawn Marsh was born at 2:22pm. Because she was born so fast, she still had a lot of fluid in her lungs when she came out, so she wasn't crying. We were worried at first but the doctor said it's normal and they cleaned her lungs out. She was 7 lbs 8 oz and 20 1/2 in long.

Both Misty and Samantha only had to stay in the hospital for 24 hours after delivery. They are happy and home now. We are a very blessed family.

Due Date

Today is my due date!

Still no Samantha, however. I had a Dr appt today and I am 1 cm and 90%-100%. Lot of contractions, but they are rarely regular. Although, last night they were every 3-5 min for about 2 hrs. They were painful, but not too bad. After 2 hrs, they switched to every 20-30 min, so we didn't go in. I was about to though b/c the hospital is 45-50 min away and I really want an epidural! ha ha.

So, I've had a few sleepless nights like that, and I'm a bit uncomfortable, but nothing like I was with the twins...constant pain...super swollen. So, physically, I'm okay waiting, but mentally/emotionally, I'm going crazy. Every day, I feel like I have to be prepared to have a baby......... or.......... not to. I plan meals as if I'm actually going to cook every day that week, but I have to make sure that if I can't make all the meals, I'm not buying a bunch of stuff that will go bad. I really want the last day of just the boys and I to be a lot of fun, so every day, we are trying to do something memorable (just small stuff)....I'm trying to enter ads a few days ahead of time so I can be more prepared to take time off for the business. So, that is really stressful the days I'm entering 3+ ads...and I've been doing it for a couple of weeks now. I'm constantly cleaning so that I have a nice clean house to come home to. Ugh!

Anyway, I know it's nothing to really complain about. I'm healthy, my baby is healthy, what more could I ask for, right? I saw the Midwife today, and she was concerned (as was I) that I haven't grown at all in 5 weeks. In fact, I am measuring smaller than I was last week (I measured 34 weeks today). She says sometimes it is just b/c the baby has dropped, but since I am 40 weeks, she sent me to the hospital to be tested. They did a very extensive ultrasound to estimate Samantha's size. They ended up coming up with 8 lbs, 8 oz give or take 8 oz. So 8-9 lbs! That seems huge to me since Micah and Noah were 4 lb 14 oz and 5 lb 14 oz. I hope it isn't all in her head! Big heads scare me!

Anyway, they say I just carry really low and that she is just extremely low in my pelvis. They also checked the fluid levels and although I was in the okay range, it was borderline, so they are going to have me go back on Monday to check again. If the level has dropped at all, they will induce me that day. Which would be fun since it is my sister's birthday.

Otherwise, if I haven't had her by Thursday, the 23rd, they will induce me regardless. I feel very lucky to have gotten that date as my Dr said two weeks ago that he wouldn't induce me until 42 weeks!!!! I think it is b/c I saw the midwife instead of him today.

Anyway, that is our update. We will keep you all posted!

35 week belly shot

Here I am at 35 weeks with Samantha (on the left) and 35 1/2 weeks with the boys (on the right). I can't believe how soon this baby is coming. This pregnancy has gone by SO FAST!
I had a Dr appt last week and everything still looks great. People keep asking how this pregnancy is different from the twins. So here is a little break down:

THE BOYS: I was MISERABLY sick until about 4 1/2 mo, but would still get sick once a day or so (w/o meds) until about 7 months.
SAMANTHA: I was MISERABLY sick until about 3 mo, but will still (at 8 mo) get sick about once a day (w/o meds).

THE BOYS: When I was 35 weeks pregnant, I measured 48 weeks.
SAMANTHA: I am 35 weeks pregnant, and I measure 35 weeks!

THE BOYS: I couldn't wear my wedding ring after about 28 weeks
SAMANTHA: I am still wearing my wedding ring just fine

THE BOYS: From about 30 weeks on, I spent about 22 hrs a day sleeping/resting/reading (and eating otter pops). As such, I don't remember being very tired.
SAMANTHA: I'm lucky if I get 6-7 hrs a day in bed, but I still love those otter pops! I ALWAYS feel tired.

THE BOYS: It was very painful to walk after about 30 weeks. I LOVED the pool b/c it took that pain away. However, I don't remember having any back pain (probably b/c I was always in bed and never lifting anything)
SAMANTHA: Walking isn't so bad, but sitting/lifting kills me. I have a lot of back pain. (probably b/c I lift two 25ish lb boys all day long)

BOTH: I've gain almost exactly the same amount of weight overall....

THE BOYS: I started having Braxton Hicks contractions around 20 weeks. and had them regularly (meaning around the clock) from about 28 weeks on. I would have 12-15 an hour...sometimes more and they would often last for more than 2 min. It was very difficult to breathe. I passed out often (once while driving). The Braxton Hicks started getting painful (occasionally) around 32 weeks. As such, I was on meds to prevent preterm labor and modified bedrest: I couldn't (or wasn't supposed to) be on my feet for more than 30 min a day.
SAMANTHA: I started having Braxton Hicks contractions around 30 weeks. I only have a few an hour. Occasionally, I may have 8 or so in an hour. Just this week a few have started to be slightly painful, but they rarely last for more than a few seconds. They still make it hard to breathe, but I have yet to pass out!

THE BOYS: We moved twice during their pregnancy. Once (from Utah to Thousand Oaks) at about 28 weeks and once (from Thousand Oaks to San Diego) at 32 weeks.
SAMANTHA: I haven't had to move at all this pregancy! Yeah! (Good luck Kristy!)

THE BOYS: I delivered both boys vaginally at 36 1/2 weeks. I was induced. Delivery of the boys (but NOT the placenta) was very easy (about 4 hrs from when they broke my water).
SAMANTHA: I still haven't delivered (yeah!). I will be 36 1/2 weeks on June 16th, so we will see!

Belly Shot

This is my most recent belly shot, taken 4/21/09 (about 27 weeks), so it is still a few weeks old, I will need to get another done soon! This pregnancy just seems to be going by SO FAST this time!

Belly Pic, Sleepy Boys

This picture was taken mid-march, so I was just under 5 months pregnant. I am a TON bigger now. I will post a new picture soon.



Occasionally, both boys will happily cuddle with mommy (usually, they won't cuddle with me at the same time, they just get jealous and push/shove each other) and I take full advantage. Cory getting out the camera distracted them a bit, they really were both just totally relaxed with me. It is awesome. I love cuddling with each of them, but both at once is a real treat.



We are going through the 2 nap to 1 nap transition right now and there are some days that the boys just don't quite make it. Noah loves to have his back tickled. He climbed up on Cory one morning and Cory started tickling his back. Within minutes he fell asleep. Too cute.

It's a.....

GIRL!

We are so excited to be welcoming a little girl into our family. Everything looked great and she seems to be very healthy. No matter how many ultrasounds I have (tons with the boys) it never ceases to amaze me how much they can see. It is such a neat experience.

She seems to be very active. Even the Ultrasound tech said she was one of the "quickest, strongest" babies she had worked with. She kicks a lot already and hard! Far more than the boys did at this stage.

So that's it...a little girl!

Can anyone guess?

Yes....we are expecting!!!!

Shocked?!? So were we! I was actually over a week late before we even thought that maybe we should take a pregnancy test. We had just completely accepted that having more kids of our own just wasn't in the cards for us. But, when we took the test, it was positive!

We found out about a week before we left for Utah, so we got to surprise my family, and Cory's mom and brother while we were there. That was fun...never thought we'd have that experience!

We actually thought I had miscarried over Thanksgiving and we had a tough week or so, but everything has turned out to be fine. We are so grateful and excited for this opportunity.

I am about 12 1/2 weeks along and have been pretty sick again. However, I am actually starting to feel much better. I had a few rough weeks...throwing up as many as 8-9 times a day which is why I have been MIA from almost everything (including this blog) for a while. With the boys, I was sick until about 7 months, but I have actually felt pretty good this last week or so. We are hoping that means it will just be the normal 1st trimester sickness.

Another thing that makes it REALLY great is that I have three sister in laws that are due around the same time. Cory's sister Jonelle is due in late April. His brother's wife, Kristy is due in late June. My brother's wife, Barbara is also due in late June, and we are due July 17th! So LOTS of cousins the same age! Crazy!

Here are some ultrasound photos of the newest Marsh:



Can you even believe how blessed we are?!

46 weeks!!

I had a doctor's appt on Friday and they measured my uterus for the 1st time. (I guess they don't do that a lot with twins b/c it always shows you are further along than you are, but he said he just thought it would be interesting to find out) I measured 46 weeks! No wonder I feel so huge! The doctor just laughed and said "I guess your body thinks you are 46 weeks pregnant, but the babies don't agree." (the hormone that triggers labor starts with the babies). So, yes, I'm pretty uncomfortable, but I have decided that I just need to be patient and focus on how grateful I am that everything has gone SO well with this pregnancy. As far as twin pregnancies go, it couldn't be better.

We also had an ultrasound last week and the nurse just started freaking out b/c the babies were lying chest to chest and you could see both their heartbeats at the same time in the screen. (I guess it is pretty rare, she says she has never seen that in 30 years) It was pretty sweet. They also told us that we should pretty much expect a C-Section. Unless Baby B flips vertex again (which they say is possible) or their weight difference goes down (which they say is pretty unlikely), we will have to have a C-Section. So when/if I go into labor they would do another ultrasound to see positions/weight and we would decide then. If I haven't gone into labor by next Monday (17th), they will do a similar ultrasound that day and schedule either a C-Section or induction for sometime in the following 5-7 days.

Contractions

So...TONS of painful contractions last night. They started about 10:30 and came every 6-8 minutes after that for about 3 hours. They got stronger/more painful, although I still wouldn't say they were that bad (maybe a 3 on a 1-10). I finally got out of bed to finish packing my bag, shower, finish up some bills etc b/c I was just sure that we would be on our way to the hospital in the next few hours. However, they stopped when I sat up/stood up. I stayed up for over an hour, but they never came back. So, I went back to bed and they started up again! Same frequency, same pain. This time they only lasted for an hour though and then I was able to sleep. I haven't had any this morning yet. I swear I'm going to go crazy!

We are still waiting...

We are both so anxious for these little boys to come! I've been on meds/partial bedrest for the last two months to prevent preterm labor b/c I was having a significant # of contractions. The doctor took me off the meds on Friday and we found out that I am 2cm dilated and 50% effaced. So, we got really excited and thought that we were going to get to meet our boys this weekend, which would have been perfect with Cory's school and everything. Cory has had me taking laps on the stairs in our apartment (17 of them!), we have gone on a few walks, and I spent 3 hours grocery shopping today w/o using one of those little electronic wheelchair things. Considering I haven't been on my feet for more than 15-30 min at a time for the last 2 months, this weekend was pretty significant! However, I'm still not in labor. I'm having TONS of contractions, but very few that are painful...and I think we are both going to go crazy analyzing EVERY little pain, contraction, etc. I think we are just a little overly excited!

The Pregnancy

Just some fun pics...each one is a month apart starting the end of May (top right) and finishing with last night (bottom left). Funny how I though I was really showing in May!