Three peas in a pod...two of them napping

Here is a pic from "movie time" today. L-town picked out Z's clothing. Nice. It looks like the '80's gone wrong...as if they weren't "wrong" enough! The other is of both my babies napping. (I don't know how often that one will happen!! :)

One week old

It was such a pretty day yesterday that we "took a walk" for a very few minutes. Langston pushed the stroller most of the time. :) happy birthday, Zora!

Zora's first visitors

Baby Z's first visitors were my folks. They came in from AL on Tues. night & she was born on Wed. They left on Sat. (?my days are blurry...wonder why!) And B's parents arrived. Amir & family came by our house & we got a pic of Z with her men. :) Here are all the grandparents & uncle Spence...seriously in love.

A few more pix from "the big day"

The one of L. with his arm around B. is the first time L. got to see "sister." The other is the following day. I LOVE his proud smile. He has really been great. There are a couple of Tammy, my wonderful doula. One can really see the "blueberry baby" in the one of Tammy & Zora. Sorry Z! Mommy pushed really hard & you arrived really quickly at the end! (Her color is much prettier now, folks, but I did bruise her little eyes.)

The belly...

Here's "the Zora belly" about 2 days before she entered the whole. Subtitle: painful. And here is the belly post-Z. Subtitle: tired mom.

moooo & thank you

Any advice for engorgement? Call me or email, please, wise mommies. I know I was feverish, etc. with L. but I don't remember being this bad. Little Zora is a great nurser, but I think I produce for twins. Ice, hot showers, massage on the "lumps" has been done. I'm trying not to pump so much so that I don't keep over producing.
And now for the thanks. My family came in & helped a lot. Thanks so much to you, family!! I love you! We wish that we were closer!
And to my wonderful hubby...thanks to you for taking over so much. I love you & I'm excited to begin this new journey with you.

My baby girl is here!

Baby Zora arrived Wed. the 16th around 3:13 pm. She was 7 lb. 14 oz. & 20 1/2" long. She beat out big bro. on the size by only a few oz. & less than an inch. :) She arrived into the world via an all natural birth (holy moley, guys, it was a tough time). I did have Tylenol & something else eventually, but not much on the whole.
And now, her "birth story"...
I was scheduled for a potential "water breaking" on Friday (although I was still having a difficult time with "picking her b'day"...I wanted her to do it). So, my parents & Spencer came in from AL on Tues. night...around 10:30. We let L. stay up & play till he passed out from family fun. :) That evening, I was feeling really crampy & lots of pressure, but not any "contractions" as I had experienced them with L. I didn't sleep much at all (b't pain & potty). At around 4 a.m., I started having a few contractions here & there. Around 5:30 I had a few 8 min. apart, so I called my OB & asked when I should go in. He said whenever I wanted, since I was strep B negative & had done most all of this by myself before. So, I did what I did 3 years & 4 months ago with L & woke my hubby up, ate b'fast, got a shower, & mentally prepared for a big day. ;) I told my mom what was up & she got in the bed with L. so that he'd have someone there when he woke up. Barclay & I arrived at the hospital & I could tell that the ladies at the desk didn't believe me when I told them I was in labor. (Seriously, gals, I've done this before.) They checked me twice (fun times) & I was a 5-6, but my contractions weren't regular, so they still wanted to send me home...until my wonderful midwife called & said that she was coming in & to keep me. Sharie, my midwife, came in around 8:30 & broke my water (clear). I called Tammy, my doula, & told her I still felt fine, but whenever she had time, she could come in. Barclay went to get my mom & Tammy came in a little later. Then Barclay left & he, dad, Spence, & L-town had a morning of boy fun. (Park, pet store, comic book store, lunch.) We actually had a morning of "girl fun," too. We talked & laughed. My contractions came & went, but weren't too bad. Then, around 1:30 p.m., the real deal began. (I called Barclay & told him I thought he should come back soon around 12:30, so he was already there.) I was dilated to about an 8, which is when I got an epidural with L, so I had never felt the pain from 8-10. Let me tell y'all...for me, it was a night & day difference. I only opened my eyes twice from about 1:30/1:45 till the pushing part of baby story. Tammy was wonderful...Sharie was great. My mom cried & was very supportive. Barclay was super & supportive (like last time), but he let the wisdom of Tammy & Sharie rule. Overall, I had a great team. Carolyn, the nurse, was a little bossy...& towards the end I had three sets of directions yelled at me...which was a little frustrating in the moment...BUT! It was a good group to help me. The pushing part was a little bit of a painful blur. I pushed probably a little bit before I should've, but I was at the "get her out of me" point. Sharie made me breathe through two more contractions before I pushed again, but on push #3, little Zora made her grand entrance. She was out so quickly that she had a little "blueberry face," but her body was pink & her APGAR was a 9. She cried, screamed, & (only a few minutes later) nursed like a champ. :) I will say that I don't think all natural is for all women. Embracing pain isn't for everyone, but I would encourage more women to think about a more natural labor. It is a neat experience & you get the "ultimate prize" at the end. Maybe sometime I'll blog about the chemicals released during a natural labor, health care, midwives vs. o.b.s, etc. The film The Business of Being Born is a great one to watch on this subject. As usual, I encourage those thinking about becoming a mommy to educate themselves before making their decisions. There are many options out there...don't just take what the medical giants tell you as the end all. A C-section is a major surgery...although sometimes needed. And ladies, no one is "too posh to push," as the trend might tell you. Having a baby is a natural process, so don't buy into the theory that it's a medical procedure. There's my sermon for today. ;) Now I'm gone to eat with my family...and enjoy my new love!