Faye had her baby blessing yesterday.

Doesn't she look lovely? She pooped all over her beautiful white blessing dress before we could take any pictures, and of course I didn't have any extra clothes for her, so this is how she came home from church. What a sweet girl.

Faye's flowers.

I love how this wall turned out! Before Faye was born, I knew that if she was a girl I wanted to use Amy Butler's Soul Blossoms fabric in her room somehow. My friend Carrie's baby shower gift to me was a bunch of that exact fabric. I am super happy with the decision to make them into flowers for this wall!

The latest from our girl (and boys).

Cheeks are still nice and chubby. Legs are still skinny. Eyes are turning dark blue, we think. 9 pounds 2 ounces at her two-week appointment. And somehow now she is four weeks old! Definitely has a fussy time in the evening. But then usually sleeps 5-6 hours.

 Has given a couple of smiles (but only for Daddy, of course).

 

Is absolutely adored by her biggest brother. Carson will drop anything to get her a diaper or burp rag. He always wants to hold her. He "plays" with her, talks to her, etc. etc. etc. I am surprised that he is so entertained by her even though she just lays there. In this pictures she is in his "rocket ship" with him.

 Doesn't get much attention from this brother. He has gotten mad at her a couple of times when she's occupying my lap. ("No way, baby!!") And don't be confused...Everett is not in a rocket ship; his is a boat at this moment. I love how he's starting to get into all the imaginative play like Carson.

Will be ready to move into her room pretty soon. The reason I took this picture is because I realized that when I am thinking about decorating a room, I get so into it that I start dressing like the room. I used to love the chocolate brown/light blue combo and would often find myself wearing those colors. Faye's room is teal and pink, and I think that subconsciously affected my outfit choice yesterday. 

And doesn't Faye look huge??? I am a little sad that she seems to already be past the newborn stage.

Pink.

Sometimes I still can't believe I have a girl.

A few days after Faye was born, I just had to visit my favorite little fabric shop. I have never been so happy looking at girly fabrics. The first project is finished: the cutest crib sheet ever.

I think she likes it.

Up next, I want to do some fabric wall silhouettes, like this. But I'm having trouble deciding what shapes to do. Not a giant rooster. I thought of doing several small flowers, or birds, or something, but I can't settle on an idea that I love. Ideas, please?

Valentines.

This was the first year we made Valentines at our house. What would we do without blogs for quick, easy ideas? We gave bouncy balls (from Everett), and Carson made his tootsie pop cards. I love how fun those picture cards look.

We're pretty happy with this little thing.

Even though nursing her made me sick for the first two weeks of her life, resulting in me finally showing up at the doctor convinced I was about to die. The antibiotics work like a charm, and we're hoping to never hear the word 'mastitis' around here again.

There are a lot of nice babies out there, but we're pretty sure Faye is one of the prettiest of them all.

Faye's Birth Story.

I really, really did not want to be induced to have this baby. I am one of those believers in a woman's body knowing what to do as far as carrying and delivering a baby are concerned. But after the due date came and went, and after spending a day sick from taking castor oil and trying every other natural induction technique under the sun, everyone seemed to agree that it was time. So the date was set, and in we went to the hospital at 4 p.m. on January 26th. I felt pretty nervous the whole day. I've had two exciting, natural deliveries, and this whole business of showing up at the hospital and having my labor artificially started for me was still unsettling and disappointing to me.

Since I am GBS positive, it was important for me to receive an antibiotic for at least four hours prior to the delivery. (Neither of my baby boys were able to get the full dose of the antibiotic because those labors were too fast, which puts the baby at risk for pneumonia, meningitis, etc.) So, at about 6 p.m. I was started on the antibiotic and given the tiniest bit of pitocin. This made for a very boring four hours! Rick and I caught up on the latest episode of Biggest Loser and just enjoyed being together. At some point, Rick gave me a blessing, which helped calm me and reassured me that this was a good way for this baby to come to us.

At 11 p.m., it was time to get things started. Up until this point I had really only been feeling a few tiny contractions. My doctor came in and broke my water, and they turned up the pitocin a bit more. About a half hour later, the contractions started to become more intense. I was able to take the monitors off for a while and labor on the birthing ball, with Rick massaging my back during each contraction.

At some point I got back in the bed, just breathing through those intense contractions. I think the doctor checked me and I was dilated to a 6, and I knew that those last few centimeters could go pretty quickly. The contractions really intensified, and they turned down the pitocin, letting my body do the work now. As transition came, I just had to change positions again, and I jumped up on all fours on the bed. (Thank you, Rick, for not being embarrassed of me!) That position really helped me get through those last strong contractions. I stood up and hung on to Rick for maybe just one more contraction, and then the urge to push came suddenly, really just taking over my body and making me push.

The doctor suggested I avoid having the baby on the floor and get back into the bed. Rick was all suited up and ready to deliver the baby, so he moved down to the end of the bed, and I grabbed the nurse's hand and breathed with her as the pushing started. This was at about 1:30 a.m., and I was so exhausted and worried about having the energy to push this baby out. The nurses were great cheerleaders, and I loved being able to look up at Rick and push the baby towards him. It was like we were working together; I did my job, and he did his, and we both encouraged each other. (Ok, so my way of encouraging him was to angrily yell something like, "PULL IT OUT, RICK," but I think he can forgive me since I was in the middle of something pretty painful at that point.) Rick did a beautiful job delivering, no episiotomy or tearing, and the baby was placed on my chest. I was pretty emotional at this point and just so happy to finally have this baby in my arms. Then somebody said it was a girl, and if I said I was emotional and happy before, this brought things to a whole new level. I just couldn't stop crying and saying, "We have a girl!! I can't believe it's a girl!! Rick!! We have a girl!!" I'm pretty sure everyone else in the room was laughing at me, and I was just wrapped up in this moment of realizing that I will forever be the mother to a beautiful girl.

In the end, it was a perfect delivery. I am actually grateful that I was induced. Perhaps this little one needed those four hours of antibiotics, which I wouldn't have been able to get if I had had another fast delivery. I am grateful that my boys were being taken care of by Carrie, one of their favorite people in the world. I am grateful that my labor was during nurse Rhonda's shift. When she walked in the room and said, "now I want to make this experience exactly how you want it to be," I knew she was one-of-a-kind. I am grateful that I was induced in the afternoon, because Jamie and Meghan were able to make it to take some priceless photos. I am grateful that Dr. Namak was my doctor, and that she allowed Rick to deliver his daughter. I am actually grateful for the late-night delivery, because the exhaustion sort of forced me to relax and close my eyes between those intense contractions. This little girl was worth the wait, and the worry, and the pain, and now the sacrifices of comfort and sleep. She is just perfect, and I wouldn't have her any other way.