The Anderson's: From two kids to three

Well the last month has been very busy with lots of changes! Around 38 weeks pregnant, I felt contractions come, I decided to time them and realized they were every 5 minutes apart! I was very excited this is it, I texted my husband David to come home from work to get to Flagstaff. Now the contractions weren't very strong, but they were consistent and started at the back and went to my abdomen, and living 30 minutes away from our birth center we decided to go up there and get checked! I get up there only to be told i'm sitting at 1 cm, not at all what I was expecting since Sophia's birth was 2 hours and Charles was 10 hours, so getting there and being a 1 having contractions for over an hour is not what I was expecting! So we stayed in Flagstaff until about 10 pm that night, the contractions didn't stop at all but continued five minutes apart, and I ended up 2 cm, but definitely not labor, so I went home had contractions for two days straight every five minutes only to have them stop completely! The next day I had lots of energy and did all the laundry in my house! (which was a lot of loads!) Then days go by with no more contractions, I was really puzzled, and pretty embarrassed, third baby I should know what labor feels like! Well 39 weeks pregnant, contractions every 5 minutes, stronger then last time! Again text David, and think "maybe" it is it this time, but still confused since last time. I go get checked, i'm still sitting at 2 cm, and contractions get more intense through the night, and I know for sure this is it this time, I try and sleep in between contractions in case I have to give birth soon. Only to wake up around 7 and realize they stopped sometime between 5 and 6 am. I go to the midwife, i'm sitting at a 4 cm but no more contractions! Finally realized my little one was sunny side up, so maybe that was the reason for all the weird contractions... I went home feeling so very puzzled! those contractions were as strong as my labor contractions from previous kids, again very embarrassed since my husband left his work a second time and we come home still no baby!

At this point I told David, i'm not going back until I know for sure its real labor this time! Although at this time, I am wondering how in the world will I know real labor anymore. Days go by no more contractions, and then about 40 weeks I wake up in the middle of the night with strong contractions and back pain! Since all the false labors I have had, I sleep through not very well the contractions until 7 am when they once again stop. Wow, glad I didn't go in again for the third time for no labor!! then 40 weeks 4 days I wake up and think oh my goodness I peed myself. Well if your water has never broken, and you think you peed yourself, you may want to double check that it isn't your water breaking!

So I go to the bathroom, confused since I have never had my water broken before, still not really having contractions at this point and its 12:30 am. So Once I finally brave a towel between my legs to go grab my phone I wake David up around 1 am. I call the midwife and tell her I think my water broke, she tells me I should come in, so I decide that's a good idea. Now with all these false labors, even my water breaking doesn't convince me i'm in labor. My contractions start around 1:30 and we finally get to the birthing center past 2 am. She invites us in doesn't even check me she's convinced this is it, even as I sit there having contractions i'm still confused, these contractions aren't any stronger, is this really it!? Well she finally checks me, i'm not even sure what time it is now and tells me that i'm almost complete just keep doing what i'm doing through contractions. At that point I was completely blown away! How is it these contractions feel just as strong but are finally doing something! Well i'm not going to complain, and at 4:30 am I finally get to snuggle my little Olivia Grace Anderson.

Then at 8:30 am four hours after her birth we get to head home! Well while we were at the birthing center, we were texting my mom's home phone not her cell phone. Needless to say on our way home we get a text asking where we are? We had been laughing about how this baby is never coming, so she just assumes we are out eating breakfast, and since we were on our way home we decided to surprise her and the kids! So we pull up I walk in and David searches for mom and asks if she wants to meet her newest grand baby! Her response was classic: shut up, you didn't have the baby, you did what! So she comes out and meets Olivia and so does her big brother and sister!

Then a few days after Olivia was born my mom takes the kids to California for 5 days so Olivia and mommy got special bonding time! Now she is almost three weeks old and as I write about the end of her pregnancy, I was completely convinced she was going to be trouble even after she was born. Although, I have been very blessed with a sweet content baby who actually sleeps all night, well except to eat but I can't complain about that. It's amazing for me to think of the rough end of pregnancy the pain we endure through labor and as soon as she's here its almost completely forgotten about! I mean I think back and I remember, but I guess in the end its all more then worth it to add another addition to our family!

Pictures of Olivia Grace Anderson

Born March 20th, 2015

weight: 7 lbs 14 oz

length- 21 inches